Russ McClintock - the blog

The pound has hit a 14-year high against the dollar amid speculation that the Bank of England will raise interest rates in the New Year.

Periods of snow, sleet or freezing rain this evening changing to all sleet and freezing rain overnight. Windy. Thunder possible. Low 29F. Winds NNE at 20 to 30 mph. 2 to 4 inches of snow expected.
Windy. Snow during the morning followed by a few snow showers during the afternoon. Temps nearly steady in the low […]

RIGA, Latvia, Nov. 28 — On the eve of a high-profile trip to Jordan to meet Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki of Iraq, President Bush on Tuesday dismissed suggestions that Iraq has descended into civil war, blamed Al Qaeda for the latest wave of sectarian violence and vowed not to withdraw troops “until the mission is […]

Nov 27 (Reuters) - Following are security developments in Iraq as of 2100 GMT on Monday.
MUQDIDIYA - Gunmen shot dead the owner of a mobile telephone shop in Muqdidiya 90 km (50 miles) northeast of Baghdad and then planted bombs. When onlookers gathered, the bombs exploded, killing four and wounding 25, police said.
BAGHDAD - Baghdad […]

The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist attack on April 19, 1995, in which the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, a U.S. government office complex in downtown Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was destroyed, killing 168 people. It is the deadliest domestic terrorist attack in the history of the United States.

Experts are predicting one of the busiest travel seasons to date, with an estimated 38.3 million people expected to travel at least 50 miles this holiday season, up by one million from last year.

Michael Richards, a sitcom star in the 90’s, repeatedly called two black hecklers the “n-word” and enthusiastically referenced a time when blacks were often victims of civil rights abuses, during a recent comeback attempt of stand-up comedy in Los Angeles.
“I’m not a racist. That’s what’s so insane about this,” Richards said, his tone becoming angry […]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas have turned the United States into the world’s most unfriendly country for international travelers, according to a global survey released on Monday.
The survey showed that the United States was ranked “the worst” in terms of visas and immigration procedures by twice the percentage […]

This is a fairly typical shot of the electric meters on my apartment building.

Metal bands are also branching out into literature and mythology.

Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under international law. - Principle VII of the Nuremberg Tribunal

“A whole society is a society which welcomes basic freedoms, and there’s no more basic freedom than the basic — the freedom to worship as you see fit. My hope is that people all across the world will be able to express religion [sic]* freedom.” - George W. Bush, November 19, 2006.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales contended Saturday that some critics of the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program were defining freedom in a way that presents a “grave threat” to U.S. security.
Gonzales was the second administration official in two days to attack a federal judge’s ruling last August that the program was unconstitutional. Vice […]

I miss summer. Warm breezes, distant lands and rainbows.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East said Wednesday he is optimistic that “we can stabilize Iraq.” - November 15, 2006.
President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make “a last big push” to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning […]