People's reactions here are really confusing … ehm … and amusing as well. Ok, believe it or not, but some people here were really happy that a fire has destroyed Egypt's iconic Parliamentary building.

Zeinobia describes how some people felt here:

They are happy seriously happy in a way you can’t imagine , of course today the fire of the Shura Council is still the talk of the town , most P190808_19.46[01]of the Egyptians did not see the grand fire of Cairo 1952 , so to see this one like this live on TV screen till the hours of the morning was something new. The people are feeling that they are suppressed and can’t take it any longer . They are so angry and pissed off this government and regime
The people who were gathering in the street were watching the scene in joy ,I felt , they did not put in consideration the historical value of the building , I do not know if this is because of cultural ignorance or 7areeq6 the hate of every thing that represents the regime , I think it is more the second option

Even on Facebook, a new group was created under the name: “Anybody else is happy for what happened to the Parliament!”.

El Motamangeh on the other hand writes here about the government's failure to put out the fire:

سؤال يطرح Ù†Ùسه : الدولة التي Ùشلت ÙÙŠ تأمين برلمانها ضد الحرائق ثم Ùشلت ÙÙŠ اخماد حريق بسيط ÙÙŠ مبني من 3 أدوار، كي٠ستنجح ÙÙŠ تأمين حدودها الشرقية؟

A very important question: A government that failed to protect its own Parliament building and then failed to put off the fire in the three-storey building - so how can it protect its eastern borders?

Some other bloggers voiced conspiracy theories as to what caused the disaster. Politikia, for example, writes here about the rumours which surfaced in the aftermath of the fire:

Rumors say that the fire can be an intentional one, to burn documents related to some recent important incidents (related to corruption) Like Mamdouh Ismail Salam 98 case for example.

Other bloggers are really saddened as the Shura Council building possessed an historic value. Nawara writes here about how sad she is for what happened:

زعلانة قوي
ليه كده؟ للدرجة دي؟ عايز ياخد ورق ياخده باي طريقة، ده تاريخنا، دي بلدنا
مبنى الشورى بينهار، ده مش زي احتراق الاوبرا، ده مجلسي الشعب والشورى، دي Ùلوسنا

I am really sad.
If they really want to destroy those documents, they sure have other options. It's our history, and our country. The Shura Building is falling down, it's not like what happened to the Opera House (more than 50 years ago). it's our parliament and our own money.

And finally, this incident didn't stop Egyptian leftists from showcasing their sense of humor. They mock a popular telecommunication's giant advertisement here . The banner for Mubarakfone says “Seeing a Cigarette Butt”, as cigarette butts are always the usual suspects when it comes to intended fires meant to destroy some documents. The ad also says: “Mubarakfone will set the country on fire.”

Au cours d'une interview du réalisateur mexicain disponible en podcast, celui-ci n'a pas discuté que de son deuxième Hellboy.
Voilà ce qu'il déclare notamment au niveau de Bilbo le Hobbit : « On dirait que je dispose d'un puits sans fonds de matière. J'ai commencé par lire tout ce que je pouvais me mettre sous la main concernant ce que Tolkien a écrit au sujet de la Terre du Milieu. Je veux devenir aussi familier que possible avec la cosmologie, la généalogie et la géographie de ce monde. Car, pour beaucoup, dont moi-même, il faut que cela redevienne un lieu réel. » Des déclarations fidèles à ce qu'il a déjà pu confier.
Puis, sur l'écriture elle-même : « Je suis plongé jusqu'au cou dans la rédaction des grandes lignes de l'histoire avec Peter, Fran et Philippa. Vous savez, tous les quatre, nous reformons les Beatles. Et je découvre des aspects du monde de Tolkien et de la Terre du Milieu que je trouve fascinants en cela qu'ils reflètent, de façon volontaire ou pas, les épisodes de sa génération. Traverser la Première Guerre Mondiale et les tranchées et voir l'abandon et la corruption de l'honneur par l'avidité et la brutalité. Cela éclaire vraiment la progression dramatique de Bilbo - l'histoire de l'Âge d'Or de la Comté, jusqu'à un monde plus sombre à la fin de l'histoire. »

En discuter sur le forum

“At his young age, he already understands that it doesn’t matter how many times you cross the line of illegality as long as you keep applauding. For him, if they let him continue to line his pockets, socialism could well be eternal”: Yoani Sanchez blogs about corruption and its strong link to survival in Cuba.

National Review:
Wow [Rich Lowry] From McCain campaign:  —  Please see comment from me on Barack Obama's new ad supposedly running in Georgia:  —  “Barack Obama's ad is ridiculous.  Because of John McCain, corruption was exposed and people like Jack Abramoff went to jail.

RMS: « Microsoft consummated its corruption of the International Standards Organization, which dismissed an appeal by several countries against the approval of OOXML.

read more

The new Grenadian Prime Minister announces his intent to “set up an Integrity Commission to ensure integrity in public life”. Corruption-free Anguilla comments: “If he is really serious, then one of the most corrupt, failed states in the West Indies may yet be turned around. If it is just empty promises…then we shall have been betrayed by our leaders once again.”

Kenya's ex anti-corruption chief, John Githongo, is due back in his homeland after three years of self-imposed exile.

File this one under bemused disbelief. According to the Associated Press, the controversial country star behind the pro-war track "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" is not a Republican, but rather a Democrat in hawk's clothing. Even stranger, he's not a McCain fan. He likes the other guy.

Have pigs flown? Doth hell freeze over? Am I high?

None of the above. Toby Keith simply has a movie, called Beer For My Horses, to sell, and he's a savvy salesman. His market has been thoroughly tapped, and change is blowing in the wind. Might as well get in good with the rest of the market early. That's one crafty cowboy.

As for Obama, "I think he's the best Democratic candidate we've had since Bill Clinton," Keith confessed to the AP. "And that's coming from a Democrat."

Keith has been making the rounds in support of Beer For My Horses, appearing once again on The Colbert Report and elsewhere. Which is not to say he's getting a free pass. Huffington Post journo Max Blumenthal heckled Keith for engineering a "pro-lynching publicity tour," arguing that the following lyrics and video for the song "Beer For My Horses" were patently racist:

Grandpappy told my pappy back in my day, son
A man had to answer for the wicked that he'd done
Take all the rope in Texas
Find a tall oak tree, round up all of them bad boys
Hang them high in the street
For all the people to see...
We got too many gangsters doing dirty deeds
too much corruption and crime in the streets
It's time the long arm of the law put a few more in the ground
Send 'em all to their maker a