more than just facebook newsfeed?

Agence French Presse:
MI6 pokes Facebook for new spy recruits

Britain's overseas security service, MI6, has turned to social networking website Facebook to help recruit new agents, it emerged Sunday.

"The open recruitment campaign continues to target wide pools of talent representative of British society today," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said.

"A number of channels are used to promote job opportunities in the organisation. Facebook is a recent example."

MI6 launched Facebook job advertisements a few weeks ago to try and reach a larger variety of people, she added.

The intelligence service began using radio and newspapers for recruitment more than two years ago. Budding spies can also apply for jobs at the MI6 website.

Paul Newman

I have this problem that makes me want to write to people who influence me. It's a "thank you" note of sorts, I suppose. The way that media had attempted to exploit his private life with his sickness was unnecessary. I had debated writing Paul Newman, but I just found that it would be inconsiderate of me to do that.

So no real letter now, but something short and sweet is what I can attempt to muster up.

I express my thanks to an acting legend who inspired me and many others through the arts and through charity. To have met such a level-headed and inspiring person nearly six years ago still remains one of the greatest highlights of my life. The personality and kindness is something that I know extends beyond the screen and the stage after such a short stage door meeting.
My thanks always.

Rest in peace.

Dinner with Ahmadenijad

In honor of Ahmadenijad. Oh dearest Ahmadenijad, sorry that I couldn't make it to your dinner. Business calls overseas. But I want you to know my feelings (Thanks to Val for this one).

@ Yahoo! Video

I swear this is it

Ok, I'll try and make this the last of it. I swear. I'm trying. At first I thought it had been Sarah Palin that was getting to me, but it's people too. I don't mean all Palin supporters, of course, but there's definately something about people in the U.S. that still scaares me. Yes, I go to NYU. Am I a Democrat? No. Am I a Republican? No. I've always considered myself in the middle or undecided so that I have more freedoms to make polical choices. I think it's obvious what my decision is for this coming election, though. My friend invited me to a group on facebook called "Students Against Sarah Palin." Obviously, considering the nomination is fairly new, the group is fairly new, but it already has more than 3,000 members. Several members recieved this message:

"Figures you go to NYU..where WELFARE and American disassociation reign surpreme! Liberals are killing this country. You did'nt learn a thing from 9-11, right in your own "hood". Well maybe next time some Towel Head, or Communist or Mexican kill 10,000 people in one bombing then you'll get some real perspective...what are you 24?"

Rose Donlon
316 Westwood Rd,Lancaster, NY 14086
(716) 686-0549

Look, I don't argue with differing political beliefs. You want to vote for Palin? Go ahead. It's every citizen's right to vote and make their own decisions. But the note isn't something about politics for me, it's just sick racism. I can be 20 and know that. I was 13 when 9/11 happened and I knew it then too. We don't need a right-wing racist from upstate New York to say this. I know what happened to my community, my friends' parents in the towers, or how to think when it was so close to me.

We've got enough perspective.

A continuation

Really?

Palin and the Presidency

So Jill's first election that she'll be able to vote in will be coming up.  I'm scared.  Seriously.  I guess it doesn't matter too much for me because Connecticut usually votes Blue, but I'm still scared.  I'm still technically "in the middle," but that doesn't take any fear away.  It's not McCain that scares me either.

In my inbox today:

"better than  preaching to the choir,  here's a way to spread our strong feelings!
 
Friends, compatriots, fellow-lamenters,
We are writing to you because of the fury and dread we have felt since the announcement of Sarah Palin as the Vice-Presidential candidate for the Republican Party. We believe that this terrible decision has surpassed mere partisanship; that it is a dangerous farce on the part of a pandering and rudderless Presidential candidate and that nonetheless, it has a real possibility of becoming fact.
Perhaps like us, as American women, you share the fear of what Ms. Palin and her professed beliefs and proven record could lead to for ourselves and for our present or future daughters. To date, she is against sex education, birth control, the pro-choice platform, environmental protection, alternative energy development, freedom of speech (as mayor she wanted to ban books and attempted to fire the librarian who stood against her), gun control, the separation of church and state, and polar bears. That says nothing about her unpreparedness to become the second-most-powerful person on the planet.
We want to clarify that w e are not against Sarah Palin as a woman, a mother, or, for that matter, a parent of a pregnant teenager, but solely as a rash, incompetent, and altogether devastating choice for Vice President. Ms. Palin's political views are a slap in the face to the accomplishments so fiercely fought for and from which weve so demonstrably benefited from.
Most important, Ms. Palin does not represent us. She neither expresses nor upholds our interests as American women. It is presumed that the inclusion of a woman on the Republican ticket could win over women voters. We disagree emphatically and publicly.
Therefore, we invite you to reply here with a short, succinct message about why you, as a woman living in this country, do not support this candidate as second-in-command for our nation.
Please include your name (last initial is fine), age, and place of residence.
We will post your responses on a blog called "Women Against Sarah Palin," which we intend to publicize as widely as possible. Please send us your reply at your earliest convenience...the greater the volume of responses, the stronger our message.
Thank you for your time and action.
Sincerely,
Quinn Latimer and Lyra Kilston
New York, NY"

Well, of course we also have to look at the frighteningly dead-on Fey/Palin SNL skit.

And not to steal any thunder from Noga, there's this one from Matt Damon:

By the way, Palin also tried to argue that polar bears are actually not the endangered species list and it was absolutely ridiculous that they should be because that listing prevents the drilling of oil in Alaska.

Why am I panicking about this election?

Sunday in Berlin

Things not open in Berlin:

Your local library

Access to your university

Things that are open in Berlin on Sundays:

Dönner Kebab Imbiß

Everyone Relax! They fixed him! Hitler's back!

Yahoo News:

Adolf Hitler has returned to Berlin.

Madame Tussaud's said Saturday it had returned a wax figure of the Nazi dictator to its newly opened Berlin branch weeks after the statue was beheaded by a 41-year-old German.

Hitler's figure can be viewed sitting at a desk in a replica of his bunker, Madame Tussaud's, the British waxworks maker, said. Hitler committed suicide in the bunker in 1945 as the Red Army converged on Berlin.

The Berlin branch said it does not allow visitors to enter the replica of the bunker, so that the figure is protected.

Madame Tussaud's has defended its display of the Hitler figure in Berlin as "a legitimate part of our show" because he "stands for an important part of German history."

The presence of the Nazi dictator's likeness in the new museum led to criticism in German media before the branch's opening in July.

Sweets

So they say that you'll find the best sweets in Europe.

Reuters:

Police closed down a Berlin sweet shop after discovering the owner was selling chocolates and lollipops laced with hallucinogenic mushrooms and marijuana.

The 23-year old owner of the shop in the trendy east Berlin district of Prenzlauer Berg, an area known for its vibrant night life, was taken into custody on suspicion of drug-dealing.

"In the shop we found 120 pieces of magic mushroom chocolate and countless cannabis lollipops," said police, who confiscated around 70 sachets containing various drugs, about 20 marijuana joints, a range of pills and some jars of drug-laced honey.

Police said one customer, who appeared intoxicated, was arrested after trying to buy a bag of hallucinogenic mushrooms from an officer in the shop.

(Writing by Josie Cox, editing by Peter Millership)

Some Germanic Updates

Remember my last post when I was pretty certain I would die?  Well, I almost did!  Not really, but close.  Prior to take off after taxiing out onto the tar matt at Heathrow Airport and waiting nearly a half hour, we pulled back to the terminal.  Problem?  Of course.  Technical difficulties. Electronic difficulties.  Apparently enough of a problem that we had to switch planes and be two and a half hours late.  Sweet stuff.

Whatever.  It’s in the past now.

Here I am in Germany.  I don’t really know what to think.  I live in Kreuzberg in Berlin.  Well, by technicality it’s Mitte based on my zip code. It’s a little bit like telling somebody there’s a nice uptown apartment and then plugging them in Harlem.  Not bad, not great.  It’s just there.

It’s a strange city though.  As fun as I’ve found it so far, I’m still calling it the City of Broken Glass, which I don’t think is politically correct but I’m sticking with it.  I also call it the City That Loves Its Dogs, But Doesn’t Like to Pick Up After Them.  And the dogs here don’t take neat little shits and wait for their owners to pick them up.  Nope, they explode shit - nice little addition to the shards of broken beer bottles that sprinkle the sidewalks.  Flip-flops may not be the best option here.  We wonder why the Europeans really enjoy their snazzy sneakers.

But it’s not a bad place at all.  It’s certainly got its history.  It’s swelling with guilt and tensions that have not been eased over the years.  I feel like there’s this constant shadow looming over Germany that just constantly reminds them, “Baaaad, Germany.  You stupid child.”  And Germany nods its head, sits in the corner and doesn’t cry.  It just feels guilty.

I suppose a lot has happened, but it’s hard to put together everything.  The drinking age is lower and cigarettes are cheaper and though I hate to admit it, I’ve had a drink nearly every night and smoked cigarettes as if I’m on set.  Bad, I know.  It’s my personal opinion, though that smoking in Europe is considered healthier.  I mean, look at the French.  They’re known for their incredibly satisfying sex lives AND their inability to put a cigarette down.  I rest my case.  Don’t try and argue it, you won’t win.

More to come, I guess.  Let’s plug a photo in.  Not a flickr one, but a touristy one, I think.

Bad Writing: An Ode to Twilight

So my roommate here in Germany is reading "Twilight."  We've immediately discovered that the writing style basically sucks.  Granted, my writing isn't great, but I'm not looking for any sort of publication.  Thank you, "Twilight" for your cheap adjectives and your unnecessary descriptions. Given a topic, the challenge was set forth: Write something seemingly descriptive and epic with a completely mundane topic.  DONE.  Here is what I give you:

"Mail: An Ode to Twilight"

It was cold out.  Not so cold as to make one wear a jacket or even a coat, but enough of a chill that when I stepped outside in my flip flops it took me a moment to adjust to the cold.  It was that strange sort of cold that I wasn’t really sure what to think of.  Winter?  No.  Fall?  No.  But almost.  Yes, it was almost fall.  The summer was ending and I wasn’t exactly sure why the chill had come as quickly as it did.  Granted it had been a mild summer but the warm was barely evident.

It was then I realized that I was standing in the shade.  I took a few more steps forward to bask in the sun.  Ah, warmth.  It was warm.  Apparently the darkness, that strange darkness of the shadows covered me in its cool embrace, shielding me from the once familiar sunny rays.  Sunglasses.  Next time I would bring them.  I didn’t want to burn my retinas.

I walked down the rocky pavement, my driveway.  Its gray color bland and yet it was the perfect gray.  As if it were a hue mixed with the perfect shades of black and white.  That gray.

The cars zoomed by down the road.  And yet with some sort of hesitation, I paused, hesitated, as one would as if lost in thought…and I was.  The cars slowed before speeding by again.  Could it be?  What force benevolent or malignant could beckon these cars to act in such a way.  It could only be one thing.  That white truck with the driver’s steering wheel placed on the opposite side of any other normal car.  The eagle, bold and all knowing stretched across the letters USPS…Ah, yes, the United States Postal Service.

I lagged behind for a few moments, waiting for the truck to pass my driveway, turning my head to feign distraction, as if I had not seen the truck or the man driving it…or woman.  I waited a little longer before I finally approached the mailbox, beaten, aged from last winter’s snow plows, rain, and age.  I reached inside.  I hardly knew what to expect.  There it was in my hands now.  Tuesday’s mail.