Granted the film Downfall has been used for a lot of humorous internet videos but this one is up there with the best of the memes that I've come across.

The war with Iran that has been long predicted by 'conspiracy theorists' and actively pursued by elements of the US Government/Military appears to be looming ever closer. With reports such as these from the Scottish Herald, PressTV and Reuters I can, with great sadness, see war breaking out in the following manner.

There was a time, about 4 - 5 years ago when I was pretty much 100% flash as far as websites went. I loved the capabilities of the software and the flexibility of choice it allowed in pushing forward ideas and creativity. The ability to integrate data, add layers of interactivity unparalleled in any other digital medium and play that across multiple platforms with no compatibility worries was mind blowing. To put it simply I couldn't imagine building websites and online applications without it.

Fast forward to 2010 and I haven't touched flash in over 2 years now. It feels congested, bloated, awkward and completely over the top for most web development purposes. With the rise of modern browsers and javascript so much of what was achievable in flash feels easier and more practical through tools like jQuery. Considerations like SEO, accessibility, legacy hardware/software support, software costs and development time means flash just doesn't cut it where it really needs to. That's not to say it doesn't have its uses (video is just one area, along with online games, where Flash really does shine) but for most web building tasks its overkill and quite detrimental.

Interesting to see then that Apple's rhetoric with regards to non-flash support in the iPhone and iPad is resonating quite strongly with many developers (regardless of their love or hatred for Apple), even if they don't subscribe entirely to Apple's logic.

With the fallout from Fedor's first defeat in 10 years it's going to be interesting to see how much longer the 'Last Emperor' continues to draw the attention that he does. I've always felt that he won't be able to compete with the top level of the UFC heavyweights or even Overeem in Strikeforce for that matter. What will be good for the sport though is seeing M-1's bargaining power reduced considerably thanks to Fedor's loss. That organisation has so little to offer yet acts like a major player. Hopefully this will be the start of their exit from the major leagues, as every organisation they've partnered with has gone bust and the lack of 'real' competition for Fedor has been a thorn in the side of many MMA enthusiasts.