Lilly's Bits

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Lilly's Bits is a new series which I will post each Sunday. It will cover a wrap up of the week as I see it. This series has strangely been inspired by the Google-ites who have come to my site searching for Lilly's Bits. Inspiration does indeed come from the strangest places.

NOTE: Readers, if these 'bytes' below are not the 'bits' you had in mind when arriving at this site, please look at the photo of the spare bits on the left. Yes, Lilly can make you any extra bits you are looking for - heads, hands, legs......whatever. You just have to ask. Latex is a very versatile product!

1. Oh, just one more reason to diet.....or avoid airports

Body-scanning machines that show images of people underneath their clothing are being installed in 10 of the USA's busiest airports in one of the biggest public uses of security devices that reveal intimate body parts. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recently started using body scans on randomly chosen passengers in Los Angeles, Baltimore, Denver, Albuquerque and at New York's Kennedy airport. Airports in Dallas, Detroit, Las Vegas and Miami will be added this month. Reagan National Airport in Washington starts using a body scanner today. A total of 38 machines will be in use within weeks. Just call me cynical but I wonder how many good looking females and males will suddenly become a security target. Read more


2. The Big Fat Lies just keep on coming.....

The US Senate Intelligence Committee has released the long-delayed final phase of its report on prewar intelligence, highlighting the Bush administration's misuse of that intelligence to lead us into war in Iraq. Richard Clarke, former counterterrorism advisor to both the Clinton and Bush administrations, appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann to discuss the implications of the report. Clarke stated that figures in the administration lied then and that Senator John McCain is not telling the truth now when he defends them. "Someone should have to pay in some way," Clarke emphasized. Read more . I also came across a blog this morning about Nostradamus. You can read the psychic's prediction for the 2008 Presidential Election here. Intriguing.

3. Oil prices skyrocket 8% because he said what?

"Israel "will attack" Iran if it continues to develop nuclear weapons, one of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's deputies warned yesterday. Shaul Mofaz, a former defence minister and a contender to replace the scandal-battered Olmert, said military action would be "unavoidable" if Tehran proved able to acquire the technology to manufacture atomic bombs. Can't some people just learn to keep their views to themselves for the good of their fellow man lined up crying at the petrol pumps? Read more

4. Shanghai Diaries

For those with an interest in China the Shanghai Diaries is a fantastic video blog. The action being taken by the Chinese government in the lead up to the Olympics (from the view point of a Western journalist who lives there) is riveting. Listen here.

5. The Hills have spoken, except....

In my last Message from your Mother post I told you about my friend Tulip (yep, we Aussies are really a bunch of you know what..) who advocates using nature in a more productive way to communicate with our fellow man. She emailed me this picture of her latest handiwork from the Middle East somewhere. However, before I could ask her what the message actually says, she has flown off to do another project in Morocco. Um, is the message upside down or does it actually say something? Can anyone translate? Or, Tulip, if you do happen to log on somewhere, what are you trying to tell us?


6. Bob knows the Answers

I think Bob still has all the answers. He really is one of the greatest poets of our time no matter what you may think about his vocal talent. His music is timeless. Here is a reminder for those who need reminding. What's changed since 1963? (except maybe Bob's hair). As far as I can tell, the answers are still blowin' in the wind.

Photo: Spare parts handmade by Lilly