dutch baklavah: take away a life, that is so fun

"Facism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is the merger of State and corporate power." /benito mussolini
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via the guardian:

The Bush gang's parting gift: a final, frantic looting of public wealth

When European colonialists realised that they had no choice but to hand over power to the indigenous citizens, they would often turn their attention to stripping the local treasury of its gold and grabbing valuable livestock. If they were really nasty, like the Portuguese in Mozambique in the mid-1970s, they poured concrete down the elevator shafts.

Nothing so barbaric for the Bush gang. Rather than open plunder, it prefers bureaucratic instruments, such as "distressed asset" auctions and the "equity purchase program". But make no mistake: the goal is the same as it was for the defeated Portuguese - a final, frantic looting of the public wealth before they hand over the keys to the safe.

Man who posed as James Bond jailed

Newitt's fake ID documents were carried in a leather wallet with a crown on the front. The letters CMG – standing for a high-ranking award fictitiously presented to James Bond in the story From Russia with Love – were printed after his name.

The failed businessman from Osgathorpe, near Loughborough, made an arrest on the M6 motorway while driving a Volvo fitted with blue strobe police lights and a siren, said Adrian Harris, prosecuting, at Leicester crown court today.

"He's a conman and a fantasist who's styled himself as a James Bond character. His life has been a spectacular illusion," Harris said. "He's tricked several people, even police officers, into believing his lies."

sounds like a REAL life james bond. trickery and cunning are a must when it comes to sexy, international defense.
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also from the guardian:

Troublemaker – Stefano Unterthiner, Italy. Winner, animal portraits
This young adult Sulawesi black-crested macaque, nicknamed Troublemaker, was more interested in the photographer than foraging for food, so getting a close-up wasn’t difficult. Troublemaker’s expression captures, Stefano says, "the spirit of these wonderful monkeys", and the setting makes it an unforgettable portrait

The Show – Catriona Parfitt, UK. Winner, young wildlife photographer of the year
Catriona’s image pictures a lion launching a risky attack on an adult giraffe at a waterhole in Namibia. "Perhaps a twitchy, solitary giraffe was just too much of a temptation for a bored lion, because every time the giraffe got anywhere near the water, the lion loped down and chased it away," said the 15-year-old

Colourful business, Noam Kortler, Israel. Highly commended in the underwater world category
‘A little cleaner fish will dart out and pick off a couple of parasites,’ says Noam about the reef around Moses Rock, Eilat, Israel. Most big reef fish make a point of turning up daily for a grooming session, which can last several minutes. Here a bullethead parrotfish holds its mouth open so a cleaner can peck inside.

Treetop jigsaw, Brittany Fried, USA. Highly commended in the 10 years and under category
‘I found it intriguing’, says Brittany about the rainforest in Malaysia, ‘that something as simple as treetops could look as beautiful as these did.’ They slotted together in a way that reminded her of a jigsaw. ‘I love nature,’ she says, ‘and the thought of a giant puzzle made me think how amazing the Earth is and how small humans are.

a whole bunch more amazing wildlife photos can be found here
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so says nyt:

the fine points - you finish, you win

As an Alpine spectacle, the Hahnenkamm in Kitzbühel, Austria, is unrivaled — two minutes of fear, skill and brinkmanship delivered at close to 90 miles per hour on a mountainside packed with 45,000 schnapps-sodden fans. “There’s no comparison,” says Doug Lewis, a five-time American competitor at Kitzbühel, when asked to compare the annual event with winning Olympic gold. “For pure skiing and for the respect of your peers, it’s the Hahnenkamm.”
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la times reports on palin's prankability:

The fake Sarkozy spoke of his love of hunting, saying, "I just love killing those animals. Take away a life, that is so fun." He also told Alaska's governor that he could see Belgium from his house, that Sarkozy's wife -- model Carla Bruni -- was "so hot in bed" and that the French equivalent of Joe the Plumber is "Marcel, the guy with bread under his armpit."

and lat online's most-viewed story at the time of this post:

Obama may have 'skinny legs,' but can Schwarzenegger beat him in basketball?
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via pitchfork:

When Beirut's Zach Condon canceled his European tour earlier this year to collect himself, he didn't just sit around reading On the Road, watching "Oprah", and wolfing down Ben & Jerry's by the tubful. Well okay, who knows really, maybe he did. But he also spent some time cooking up a nifty little double-disc release.

(somewhat related: when i was in amsterdam, i could have sworn i saw zach condon there just walking around. if it wasn't him, the guy's attire, hair, and stature were uncannily akin to condon's. i didn't get a good shot of his face, but i was walking probably twenty yards behind him for a little bit. i was listening to beirut when i saw him, so i could be biased without warrant. still.)

Brooklynites Melissa Livaudais and Busy Gangnes, aka Telepathe, have some pretty cool friends. They're currently on the Mad Decent tour with Diplo, Abe Vigoda, Boy 8-Bit, and dancing junk food, and for their forthcoming debut full-length, they received help from TV on the Radio bandmates Dave Sitek (production) and Kyp Malone (vocals), as well as !!!'s Shannon Funchess (vocals). As far as business associates go, you could do worse.
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metric's weirdly coded (layout style, not cryptic) website offers some text and a video about 2009's ep, "help, i'm alive:"