The annulment of a young Muslim couple’s marriage because the bride was not a virgin has caused anger in France, prompting President Sarkozy’s party to call for a change in the law.
The decision by a court in Lille was condemned by the Government, media, feminists and civil rights organisations after it was reported in a legal journal on Thursday. Patrick Devedjian, leader of the ruling Union for a Popular Movement, said it was unacceptable that the law could be used for religious reasons to repudiate a bride. It must be modified “to put an end to this extremely disturbing situation”, he said.
The case, which had previously gone unreported, involved an engineer in his 30s, named as Mr X, who married Ms Y, a student nurse in her 20s, in 2006. The wedding night party was still under way at the family’s home in Roubaix when the groom came down from the bedroom complaining that his bride was not a virgin. He could not display the blood-stained sheet that is traditionally exhibited as proof of the bride’s “purity”. More...
Click Sikhs in France plan new school to combat turban ban...
And this: Michel and Monique Fourniret, the couple who "hunted virgins..."
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Soccer: the world's 20 highest paid players...
Powerful Chelsea striker was Premier League's top goal scorer in 2006-07 and Africa's Footballer of the Year in 2006. Rich vein of form has continued this season, and he remains the Blues' first choice striker ahead of some very expensive competing talent. Grew up in France from age 5, playing for Olympique de Marseille, where he won French Player of the Year, before moving to Chelsea as the club's then record signing for 23.8 million pounds. Full story...
See also: If only soccer were this sexy...
And this: Oliver Kapo's gift to his boot-boy: a Mercedes!! Wow!
And this: Real Madrid to offer record sum for Cristiano Ronaldo?
In spite of the computer, the typewriter is still not dead...
They're clunky, dirty and can't access the internet, yet every year thousands of people buy typewriters when they could probably afford a computer. Why?
When asked how he writes, Frederick Forsyth has a simple answer. "With a typewriter."
He admits this is to avoid the more difficult business of describing his creative process, but it also means he can celebrate old friends.
There was the steel-cased portable he used as a foreign correspondent in the 1960s. "It had a crease across the lid which was done by a bullet in Biafra. It just kept tapping away. It didn't need power, it didn't need batteries, it didn't need recharging. One ribbon went back and forward and back until it was a rag, almost, and out came the dispatches."
And after 50 years and a dozen novels including The Day of the Jackal, why change now, he asks.
"I have never had an accident where I have pressed a button and accidentally sent seven chapters into cyberspace, never to be seen again. And have you ever tried to hack into my typewriter? It is very secure." More...
See also: The missing dot in the "i" leads to two murders...
And this: Outrageous! Doctors' bad hand-writing kills 7000 peope annually!!
When asked how he writes, Frederick Forsyth has a simple answer. "With a typewriter."
He admits this is to avoid the more difficult business of describing his creative process, but it also means he can celebrate old friends.
There was the steel-cased portable he used as a foreign correspondent in the 1960s. "It had a crease across the lid which was done by a bullet in Biafra. It just kept tapping away. It didn't need power, it didn't need batteries, it didn't need recharging. One ribbon went back and forward and back until it was a rag, almost, and out came the dispatches."
And after 50 years and a dozen novels including The Day of the Jackal, why change now, he asks.
"I have never had an accident where I have pressed a button and accidentally sent seven chapters into cyberspace, never to be seen again. And have you ever tried to hack into my typewriter? It is very secure." More...
See also: The missing dot in the "i" leads to two murders...
And this: Outrageous! Doctors' bad hand-writing kills 7000 peope annually!!
Japon : une femme vivait dans son placard!!
Intrigué par la disparition d'aliments dans son réfrigérateur, un Japonais a eu la surprise de découvrir qu'une femme vivait clandestinement dans un placard de sa maison depuis plusieurs mois.
Intrigué par la disparition mystérieuse d'aliments dans son réfrigérateur, un Japonais a eu la surprise de découvrir qu'une femme vivait clandestinement dans un placard de sa maison depuis plusieurs mois, a-t-on appris vendredi 30 mai.
C'est grâce à une caméra de sécurité qu'il avait installée dans sa maison de Fukuoka afin de comprendre ce qui se passait dans sa cuisine que ce célibataire de 57 ans a découvert la clandestine. La voyant, sur l'écran de son téléphone portable, se promener chez lui en son absence, il a aussitôt alerté la police.
"Nous avons fouillé la maison et avons découvert la femme dans un placard", a raconté un porte-parole de la police de Fukuoka.
La clandestine, Tatsuko Horikawa, âgée de 58 ans, était cachée dans la partie supérieure d'un placard, dans un espace à peine suffisant pour une personne allongée, qu'elle avait aménagé en disposant un matelas et des bouteilles d'eau.
La femme, qui a été arrêtée, "a expliqué aux enquêteurs qu'elle n'avait nulle part où habiter. Elle semble avoir vécu ici pendant environ un an, mais pas en permanence", a précisé le porte-parole de la police, qui la soupçonne d'avoir investi d'autres caches dans les maisons alentour.
Source: nouvel obs.com
Voir aussi: Le japonais et la table! Bizarre!
Intrigué par la disparition mystérieuse d'aliments dans son réfrigérateur, un Japonais a eu la surprise de découvrir qu'une femme vivait clandestinement dans un placard de sa maison depuis plusieurs mois, a-t-on appris vendredi 30 mai.
C'est grâce à une caméra de sécurité qu'il avait installée dans sa maison de Fukuoka afin de comprendre ce qui se passait dans sa cuisine que ce célibataire de 57 ans a découvert la clandestine. La voyant, sur l'écran de son téléphone portable, se promener chez lui en son absence, il a aussitôt alerté la police.
"Nous avons fouillé la maison et avons découvert la femme dans un placard", a raconté un porte-parole de la police de Fukuoka.
La clandestine, Tatsuko Horikawa, âgée de 58 ans, était cachée dans la partie supérieure d'un placard, dans un espace à peine suffisant pour une personne allongée, qu'elle avait aménagé en disposant un matelas et des bouteilles d'eau.
La femme, qui a été arrêtée, "a expliqué aux enquêteurs qu'elle n'avait nulle part où habiter. Elle semble avoir vécu ici pendant environ un an, mais pas en permanence", a précisé le porte-parole de la police, qui la soupçonne d'avoir investi d'autres caches dans les maisons alentour.
Source: nouvel obs.com
Voir aussi: Le japonais et la table! Bizarre!
Une tribu isolée découverte au Brésil...
L'une des dernières tribus isolées d'Amazonie a été découverte dans l'ouest du Brésil, non loin de la frontière péruvienne, a annoncé, jeudi 29 mai, la Fundação Nacional do Índio (Fondation nationale des Indiens, Funai). Les Indiens ont été aperçus dans une zone protégée, à proximité de la rivière Envira, dans l'Etat de l'Acre.
La Funai dit avoir photographié des guerriers, six huttes et une grande zone cultivée. Mais elle ne sait pas à quel groupe ils appartiennent."Il y a quatre peuples dans cette région, nous les accompagnons depuis vingt ans", a dit Jose Carlos Meirelles Junior, un expert de la Funai.
L'ONG Survival International – qui dénombre une centaine de tribus isolées dans le monde, essentiellement au Brésil et au Pérou – estime que ces Indiens sont menacés par la déforestation au Pérou, qui pousse d'autres tribus vers le Brésil et pourrait mener à des conflits. L'ONG appelle à la protection de leur territoire. "Sans cela, ils sont menacés d'extinction."
Source: leMonde.fr
La Funai dit avoir photographié des guerriers, six huttes et une grande zone cultivée. Mais elle ne sait pas à quel groupe ils appartiennent."Il y a quatre peuples dans cette région, nous les accompagnons depuis vingt ans", a dit Jose Carlos Meirelles Junior, un expert de la Funai.
L'ONG Survival International – qui dénombre une centaine de tribus isolées dans le monde, essentiellement au Brésil et au Pérou – estime que ces Indiens sont menacés par la déforestation au Pérou, qui pousse d'autres tribus vers le Brésil et pourrait mener à des conflits. L'ONG appelle à la protection de leur territoire. "Sans cela, ils sont menacés d'extinction."
Source: leMonde.fr
Friday, May 30, 2008
WTF!Indian woman burnt as a witch...
An Indian woman accused of witchcraft was beaten, gagged and burnt to death in a remote eastern village, police said on Friday.
The woman was dragged out of her home, her hands and legs tied and taken to a crematorium where she was set on fire in front of the village which ignored her screams for help.
The incident took place in a tribal village in Orissa and occurred last week, but came to light on Thursday with the arrest of three villagers.
The victim was murdered by the husband and relatives of a neighbour whose death was blamed on her witchcraft.
Dozens of women are killed every year on suspicion of being witches or witch doctors in India, where superstition is widespread, especially in rural areas that lack an effective schooling system.
Source: Yahoo News
See also: Wasn't the Inquisition bad enough?
And this: Kenya mob burns 15 women to death over witchcraft...
And this: India: 3 young men beat mother to death in exorcism ritual...
The woman was dragged out of her home, her hands and legs tied and taken to a crematorium where she was set on fire in front of the village which ignored her screams for help.
The incident took place in a tribal village in Orissa and occurred last week, but came to light on Thursday with the arrest of three villagers.
The victim was murdered by the husband and relatives of a neighbour whose death was blamed on her witchcraft.
Dozens of women are killed every year on suspicion of being witches or witch doctors in India, where superstition is widespread, especially in rural areas that lack an effective schooling system.
Source: Yahoo News
See also: Wasn't the Inquisition bad enough?
And this: Kenya mob burns 15 women to death over witchcraft...
And this: India: 3 young men beat mother to death in exorcism ritual...
31,000 scientists deny man-made global warming...
More than 31,000 scientists have signed a petition denying that man is responsible for global warming.
The academics, including 9,000 with PhDs, claim that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are actually beneficial for the environment.
The petition was created in 1998 by an American physicist, the late Frederick Seitz, in response to the Kyoto Protocol a year earlier.
It urged the US government to reject the treaty and said: "The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind."
It added: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of ... greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the forseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments."
The petition was reissued last year by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, an independent research group, partly in response to Al Gore’s film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth.
Its president, Arthur Robinson, said: "If this many American scientists will sign this petition, you certainly can’t continue to contend that there is a consensus on this subject."
One of the signatories, Frank Nuttall, a professor of medicine, said he believed the Earth was becoming warmer, despite his signature.
"This issue is whether the major reason for this is from human activities. I consider that inconclusive at the present time," he said.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
See also: The Great Global Warming Fraud?
And this: Global warming and the threat to freedom (must read)
The academics, including 9,000 with PhDs, claim that greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are actually beneficial for the environment.
The petition was created in 1998 by an American physicist, the late Frederick Seitz, in response to the Kyoto Protocol a year earlier.
It urged the US government to reject the treaty and said: "The proposed limits on greenhouse gases would harm the environment, hinder the advance of science and technology, and damage the health and welfare of mankind."
It added: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of ... greenhouse gases is causing or will, in the forseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere and disruption of the Earth’s climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments."
The petition was reissued last year by the Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, an independent research group, partly in response to Al Gore’s film on climate change, An Inconvenient Truth.
Its president, Arthur Robinson, said: "If this many American scientists will sign this petition, you certainly can’t continue to contend that there is a consensus on this subject."
One of the signatories, Frank Nuttall, a professor of medicine, said he believed the Earth was becoming warmer, despite his signature.
"This issue is whether the major reason for this is from human activities. I consider that inconclusive at the present time," he said.
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
See also: The Great Global Warming Fraud?
And this: Global warming and the threat to freedom (must read)
Le plus gros mensonge du XX1e siècle?
Récemment, j’ai commencé à douter de la thèse officielle à propos des attentats du 11 septembre 2001. Maintenant, j’ai la conviction que les coupables ne sont pas une bande de terroristes planqués dans des grottes en Afghanistan, mais plutôt ceux qui sont au pouvoir et leurs potes.
Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, j’étais bien confortablement installé dans l’idée que Ben Laden était le seul responsable des faits, même si j’avais compris que Bush avait des liens douteux avec la famille du leader d’Al Qaïda. Il y avait quelques trucs louches dans cette affaire, mais je croyais vraiment que des arabes illuminés avaient pris le contrôle d’avions de ligne pour les envoyer s’écraser sur plusieurs points stratégiques aux Etats-Unis.
Ensuite, j’ai regardé une vidéo qui affirme que les tours du World Trade Center se sont écroulées à cause d’une démolition contrôlée plutôt qu’un incendie causé par le crash d’avions de ligne. Depuis ce jour, je me documente sur tous les faits qui ont pris place ce fameux 11 septembre 2001. Sans revenir en détails sur le « comment ? » que j’ai commencé à aborder dans mon billet sur l’invalidité de la thèse officielle, je peux affirmer que :
1. Il n’y a pas eu d’avion qui a percuté le Pentagone.
2. Ce n’est pas le vol United 93 qui s’est écrasé en Pennsylvanie.
3. Les tours du World Trade Center se sont effondrées par démolition contrôlée.
Sur les trois attaques du 11/09/01, il n’y en a pas une qui porte la trace limpide d’une action terroriste émanant d’Al Qaïda. La version officielle est carrément louche, impliquant que la vérité est ailleurs. Il y a trop de questions qui restent sans réponse pour ne pas penser qu’il s’agit d’un complot. Pourtant, ceux qui doutent de la théorie officielle passent pour des illuminés, au même rang que ceux qui croient qu’Elvis est toujours vivant, qu’un OVNI s’est écrasé à Area 51 et que le monstre du Loch Ness existe. Il réside une surprenante et évidente volonté générale de nier l’évidence, surtout de la part des médias. Suite...
Voir aussi: Was 9/11 an inside job? (Vostf)
Jusqu’à aujourd’hui, j’étais bien confortablement installé dans l’idée que Ben Laden était le seul responsable des faits, même si j’avais compris que Bush avait des liens douteux avec la famille du leader d’Al Qaïda. Il y avait quelques trucs louches dans cette affaire, mais je croyais vraiment que des arabes illuminés avaient pris le contrôle d’avions de ligne pour les envoyer s’écraser sur plusieurs points stratégiques aux Etats-Unis.
Ensuite, j’ai regardé une vidéo qui affirme que les tours du World Trade Center se sont écroulées à cause d’une démolition contrôlée plutôt qu’un incendie causé par le crash d’avions de ligne. Depuis ce jour, je me documente sur tous les faits qui ont pris place ce fameux 11 septembre 2001. Sans revenir en détails sur le « comment ? » que j’ai commencé à aborder dans mon billet sur l’invalidité de la thèse officielle, je peux affirmer que :
1. Il n’y a pas eu d’avion qui a percuté le Pentagone.
2. Ce n’est pas le vol United 93 qui s’est écrasé en Pennsylvanie.
3. Les tours du World Trade Center se sont effondrées par démolition contrôlée.
Sur les trois attaques du 11/09/01, il n’y en a pas une qui porte la trace limpide d’une action terroriste émanant d’Al Qaïda. La version officielle est carrément louche, impliquant que la vérité est ailleurs. Il y a trop de questions qui restent sans réponse pour ne pas penser qu’il s’agit d’un complot. Pourtant, ceux qui doutent de la théorie officielle passent pour des illuminés, au même rang que ceux qui croient qu’Elvis est toujours vivant, qu’un OVNI s’est écrasé à Area 51 et que le monstre du Loch Ness existe. Il réside une surprenante et évidente volonté générale de nier l’évidence, surtout de la part des médias. Suite...
Voir aussi: Was 9/11 an inside job? (Vostf)
Tribe that hid from the world: leave them alone,please!
Three near-naked figures are visible in the forest clearing. Two of them are men, their bodies daubed with a red dye, and they are aiming their bows at the sky.
A third figure appears to be a woman, her body blackened and only her pale hands and face betraying her natural colour.
These remarkable photographs are the first proof of the existence of one of the world's last uncontacted tribes. Taken from a plane that was flying low over the canopy of the Amazon rainforest near the border between Brazil and Peru, it could play a vital part in ensuring the tribe's survival.
"We did the overflight to show their houses, to show they are there, to show they exist," said José Carlos dos Reis Meirelles Junior, an expert on the remote tribal people who live beyond the boundaries of the modern world. "This is very important because there are some who doubt their existence." More...
See also: " Uncontacted Indian tribe" fires arrows at helicopter...
Tollé après l'annulation d'un mariage pour non-virginité...
Les condamnations ont fusé de toute part hier. Féministes, médecins, politiques, tous ont jugé « choquante » la décision du tribunal de Lille d'annuler un mariage au motif que l'épouse avait menti sur sa virginité.
«SCANDALEUSE », « honteuse », « archaïque »... La décision du tribunal de grande instance de Lille d'annuler un mariage, en avril, parce que la jeune mariée avait menti sur sa virginité, a provoqué un tollé hier. Un déferlement de réactions indignées contre cette décision dévoilée dans la revue juridique le « Recueil Dalloz », mais aussi contre cette pratique culturelle musulmane toujours bien vivace en France, qui oblige les femmes à arriver vierges au mariage.
« Une fille qui ne serait pas vierge aurait toutes les difficultés à trouver un mari », confirme Diaby Doucouré, le directeur d'une maison de quartier à Aubervilliers. A Paris, une assistante sociale avoue « rencontrer des filles affolées à l'approche de leur mariage, qui redoutent le rituel du drap ensanglanté présenté à la famille et à la belle-famille après la nuit de noces ».
Hier soir, Valérie Létard, la secrétaire d'Etat en charge du Droit des femmes, s'est déclarée « consternée de voir qu'aujourd'hui en France certaines dispositions du Code civil conduisent par l'interprétation qui peut en être faite, à une régression du statut de la femme ». Mouloud Aounit, le président du Mrap, considère, lui, que « cette décision du tribunal est une épée de Damoclès au-dessus des libertés individuelles et sexuelles ». « Une fatwa contre la liberté des femmes, s'est indignée quant à elle Sihem Habchi, la présidente de Ni putes ni soumises. Cela revient à ériger la virginité comme une qualité essentielle pour le consentement au mariage. C'est comme si on légitimait les hommes à répudier les femmes parce qu'elles ne sont pas vierges. »
Des opérations dans des cliniques privées
Aussi virulente, la philosophe Elisabeth Badinter a dit sa « honte » pour la justice française, « parce que la sexualité des femmes est une affaire privée et libre en France, absolument libre ». Elle estime que « ça aboutit tout simplement à faire courir nombre de jeunes filles musulmanes dans les hôpitaux pour se faire refaire l'hymen ». Des opérations de reconstruction de l'hymen proposées par les cliniques esthétiques privées de la région parisienne pour 1 000 à 2 000 €. Des agences de voyages organisent même des séjours hymenoplastie en Tunisie pour 1 250 €... « Depuis cinq ans, nous avons de plus en plus de demandes, reconnaît un chirurgien parisien. Ces jeunes filles, issues des quartiers de banlieue comme des quartiers chic de la capitale, sont prêtes à tout pour masquer la honte de leur famille. »
Pourtant, le Collège national des gynécologues obstétriciens a toujours affirmé son opposition à « ces actes attentatoires à la dignité de la femme ». « Refaire les hymens c'est aider à la soumission de la femme et participer à une coutume machiste du sang sur le drap le soir de la nuit de noces qui n'a rien à voir avec la foi. »
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: Mariage annulé faute de virginité!!
Et ceci: Quel chic, les Françaises !
«SCANDALEUSE », « honteuse », « archaïque »... La décision du tribunal de grande instance de Lille d'annuler un mariage, en avril, parce que la jeune mariée avait menti sur sa virginité, a provoqué un tollé hier. Un déferlement de réactions indignées contre cette décision dévoilée dans la revue juridique le « Recueil Dalloz », mais aussi contre cette pratique culturelle musulmane toujours bien vivace en France, qui oblige les femmes à arriver vierges au mariage.
« Une fille qui ne serait pas vierge aurait toutes les difficultés à trouver un mari », confirme Diaby Doucouré, le directeur d'une maison de quartier à Aubervilliers. A Paris, une assistante sociale avoue « rencontrer des filles affolées à l'approche de leur mariage, qui redoutent le rituel du drap ensanglanté présenté à la famille et à la belle-famille après la nuit de noces ».
Hier soir, Valérie Létard, la secrétaire d'Etat en charge du Droit des femmes, s'est déclarée « consternée de voir qu'aujourd'hui en France certaines dispositions du Code civil conduisent par l'interprétation qui peut en être faite, à une régression du statut de la femme ». Mouloud Aounit, le président du Mrap, considère, lui, que « cette décision du tribunal est une épée de Damoclès au-dessus des libertés individuelles et sexuelles ». « Une fatwa contre la liberté des femmes, s'est indignée quant à elle Sihem Habchi, la présidente de Ni putes ni soumises. Cela revient à ériger la virginité comme une qualité essentielle pour le consentement au mariage. C'est comme si on légitimait les hommes à répudier les femmes parce qu'elles ne sont pas vierges. »
Des opérations dans des cliniques privées
Aussi virulente, la philosophe Elisabeth Badinter a dit sa « honte » pour la justice française, « parce que la sexualité des femmes est une affaire privée et libre en France, absolument libre ». Elle estime que « ça aboutit tout simplement à faire courir nombre de jeunes filles musulmanes dans les hôpitaux pour se faire refaire l'hymen ». Des opérations de reconstruction de l'hymen proposées par les cliniques esthétiques privées de la région parisienne pour 1 000 à 2 000 €. Des agences de voyages organisent même des séjours hymenoplastie en Tunisie pour 1 250 €... « Depuis cinq ans, nous avons de plus en plus de demandes, reconnaît un chirurgien parisien. Ces jeunes filles, issues des quartiers de banlieue comme des quartiers chic de la capitale, sont prêtes à tout pour masquer la honte de leur famille. »
Pourtant, le Collège national des gynécologues obstétriciens a toujours affirmé son opposition à « ces actes attentatoires à la dignité de la femme ». « Refaire les hymens c'est aider à la soumission de la femme et participer à une coutume machiste du sang sur le drap le soir de la nuit de noces qui n'a rien à voir avec la foi. »
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: Mariage annulé faute de virginité!!
Et ceci: Quel chic, les Françaises !
OMG! Japanese man discovers a woman living in his wardrobe!!!
A JAPANESE man puzzled by food mysteriously disappearing from his refrigerator got a shock when he discovered a woman had been living in his home for months without permission, police said today.
The 57-year-old man who lives alone - or so he thought - in the western city of Fukuoka installed a security camera and called the police when he saw images of someone walking around his home while he was out.
"We searched the house in the man's presence. We found the woman in the closet," said a local police spokesman.
The woman, named as 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa, was found in a flat storage space only just big enough for a person to squeeze into lying down.
She had sneaked a mattress and several plastic bottles into the cubby hole, police said, adding that the women had been arrested.
"She told police that she had nowhere to live," the spokesman said.
"She seems to have lived there for about a year, but not all the time."
It is unclear how she managed to enter the home undetected. Police suspect she might have been closet-hopping, moving from house to house.
Source: news.com.au
See also: Japan: Oshiya or train pusher: this is crazy!
The 57-year-old man who lives alone - or so he thought - in the western city of Fukuoka installed a security camera and called the police when he saw images of someone walking around his home while he was out.
"We searched the house in the man's presence. We found the woman in the closet," said a local police spokesman.
The woman, named as 58-year-old Tatsuko Horikawa, was found in a flat storage space only just big enough for a person to squeeze into lying down.
She had sneaked a mattress and several plastic bottles into the cubby hole, police said, adding that the women had been arrested.
"She told police that she had nowhere to live," the spokesman said.
"She seems to have lived there for about a year, but not all the time."
It is unclear how she managed to enter the home undetected. Police suspect she might have been closet-hopping, moving from house to house.
Source: news.com.au
See also: Japan: Oshiya or train pusher: this is crazy!
Fini la monarchie:le Népal devient une république...
L'Assemblée constituante issue des élections du 10 avril dernier proclamera demain 28 mai la république, mettant fin à 240 de règne de la dynastie Shah. Les 28, 28 et 30 mai seront fériés pour fêter l'événement. Le roi Gyanendra, qui a refusé de quitter le pays et de s'exiler en Inde, deviendra alors un citoyen ordinaire.
C'est à la fin du XVIe siècle que l'empereur moghol Akbar confère le titre de Shah à un illustre aïeul du roi Gyanendra. Le fils de ce nobliau fonde ensuite le royaume de Gorkha dont le territoire correspond à une région du Népal actuel. Le pays n'est unifié qu'en 1768 sous le règne de Prithvi Narayan Shah, considéré aujourd'hui comme le fondateur de la monarchie népalaise.
Arrivé sur le trône après la mort du roi Birendra et de ses fils lors d'un massacre au palais royal en 2001, Gyanendra a suscité un très fort sentiment antimonarchique lorsqu'il s'est arrogé les pleins pouvoirs et a suspendu le Parlement en 2005 , sous prétexte de lutter contre l'insurrection maoïste qui faisait rage depuis 1996. Début 2006, un grand mouvement populaire réclame la démocratie. Les différents partis politiques du pays forment une coalition et s'allient aux maoïstes. Le roi est finalement obligé de convoquer à nouveau le Parlement et de nommer un gouvernement intérimaire. Les maoïstes sont sortis grands vainqueurs des élections du 10 avril dernier et l'Assemblée constituante, majoritairement mao, s'est réunie pour la première fois le 27 mai.
Source: courrier international
If you are a dumb criminal, please don't post your exploits on YouTube!!
A man who posted videos of his speeding, drug-taking and other offences on YouTube has been banned from boasting about his criminal activities on the internet.
Andrew Kellett, 23, was branded the city’s “dumbest criminal” by Leeds City Council after posting more than 80 videos showing himself and others committing a range of offences.
The videos included leaving a petrol station apparently without paying, trespassing and shouting abuse, dangerous driving and racing at high speeds and the taking of class A drugs.
Yesterday, Kellett, of Stanks Drive, Swarcliffe, Leeds, who has been previously convicted of various offences, received an interim anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) at Leeds Magistrates’ Court to stop him showing unlawful activities on the video-sharing website. More...
See also: YouTube fame at any price?
And this: The Great Del Taco Scam...
Andrew Kellett, 23, was branded the city’s “dumbest criminal” by Leeds City Council after posting more than 80 videos showing himself and others committing a range of offences.
The videos included leaving a petrol station apparently without paying, trespassing and shouting abuse, dangerous driving and racing at high speeds and the taking of class A drugs.
Yesterday, Kellett, of Stanks Drive, Swarcliffe, Leeds, who has been previously convicted of various offences, received an interim anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) at Leeds Magistrates’ Court to stop him showing unlawful activities on the video-sharing website. More...
See also: YouTube fame at any price?
And this: The Great Del Taco Scam...
Livermore, the light bulb that has been burning for more than a century...
Five years after his retirement, ex-firefighter Tom Bramell still likes to visit Station No. 6 for old times' sake, whistling in amazement at all the changes -- the strange faces and slick high-tech engines.
But one thing remains exactly the same, and it's what Bramell misses the most about his firefighting days. The sturdy little object hangs from the ceiling in the firehouse's engine bay, emitting its familiar faint orange glow.
He calls it the long-lived lightbulb of Livermore.
That's actually something of an understatement.
At 107 years and counting, the low-watt wonder with the curlicue carbon filament has been named the planet's longest continuously burning bulb by both Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
As objet d'art and enduring symbol of American reliability and ingenuity, it's been lauded by senators and presidents.
It boasts a website -- www.centennialbulb.org, drawing a million hits a year -- a historical society and even a webcam that allows curious fans to check on it 24 hours a day.
The Livermore lightbulb, you see, never gets turned off, which many suspect is the secret to its longevity. More...
See also: How they advertise light bulbs in Thailand!!! Hilarious!
But one thing remains exactly the same, and it's what Bramell misses the most about his firefighting days. The sturdy little object hangs from the ceiling in the firehouse's engine bay, emitting its familiar faint orange glow.
He calls it the long-lived lightbulb of Livermore.
That's actually something of an understatement.
At 107 years and counting, the low-watt wonder with the curlicue carbon filament has been named the planet's longest continuously burning bulb by both Guinness World Records and Ripley's Believe It Or Not.
As objet d'art and enduring symbol of American reliability and ingenuity, it's been lauded by senators and presidents.
It boasts a website -- www.centennialbulb.org, drawing a million hits a year -- a historical society and even a webcam that allows curious fans to check on it 24 hours a day.
The Livermore lightbulb, you see, never gets turned off, which many suspect is the secret to its longevity. More...
See also: How they advertise light bulbs in Thailand!!! Hilarious!
" Uncontacted Indian tribe" fires arrows at helicopter...
ONE of the world’s last ‘uncontacted Indian’ tribes has been photographed from the air near the Brazil-Peru border.
The photos were taken by global organisation Survival International, over one of the remotest parts of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil’s Acre state.
Survival’s director Stephen Corry said: "These pictures are further evidence that uncontacted tribes really do exist.
"The world needs to wake up to this, and ensure that their territory is protected in accordance with international law. Otherwise, they will soon be made extinct."
There are more than 100 uncontacted tribes worldwide, with more than half living in either Brazil or Peru.
They are in danger of being forced off their land, killed or dying from new diseases.
Survival International supports 82 countries working for tribal peoples' rights.
Source: The Sun
Sharon Stone's apology does not impress the Chinese...
Hollywood star Sharon Stone has apologised for suggesting China's earthquake was bad "karma" for its handling of Tibet, but Christian Dior on Thursday dropped her from its local ads amid a public uproar.
The 50-year-old US actress offered to help with relief efforts after the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people, in an effort to smooth over tensions sparked by her controversial comments at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this," she said in a statement issued by Dior China and sent to AFP on Thursday.
"I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity and to do my utmost to help Chinese people affected by the disaster," she added.
But Dior said Stone -- who promotes the French luxury brand's anti-ageing skin-care line, among other products -- would no longer appear in its ads in China.
"In light of the negative reaction that Sharon Stone's inappropriate remarks have triggered, Dior China has decided to immediately cancel and stop any advertisements, marketing campaigns and commercial activities associated with Sharon Stone," it said.
Stone -- perhaps best known for her starring role in "Basic Instinct" -- sparked the controversy last week, which has angered people across China and led to pledges by some cinemas here to boycott her films. More...
See also: Chinese furious at Sharon Stone's "karma" comment...
And this: China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
The 50-year-old US actress offered to help with relief efforts after the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 people, in an effort to smooth over tensions sparked by her controversial comments at the Cannes Film Festival last week.
"My erroneous words and deeds angered and saddened the Chinese people, and I sincerely apologise for this," she said in a statement issued by Dior China and sent to AFP on Thursday.
"I'm willing to participate in any earthquake relief activity and to do my utmost to help Chinese people affected by the disaster," she added.
But Dior said Stone -- who promotes the French luxury brand's anti-ageing skin-care line, among other products -- would no longer appear in its ads in China.
"In light of the negative reaction that Sharon Stone's inappropriate remarks have triggered, Dior China has decided to immediately cancel and stop any advertisements, marketing campaigns and commercial activities associated with Sharon Stone," it said.
Stone -- perhaps best known for her starring role in "Basic Instinct" -- sparked the controversy last week, which has angered people across China and led to pledges by some cinemas here to boycott her films. More...
See also: Chinese furious at Sharon Stone's "karma" comment...
And this: China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
The days of paper airline tickets are over..
The paper airline ticket comes to the end of its life on Sunday when 240 carriers of the IATA switch to digital tickets.
IATA members account for 94 per cent of world airline traffic and by the end of February, 94 per cent of them had already abandoned the rectangle of stiff paper in favour of digital technology.
In Africa, 87 per cent of IATA airlines had made the switch.
The last paper tickets will be sold on Saturday, and the International Air Transport Association estimates that its member airlines will save $US3 billion a year, a much needed economy in the face of a huge rise in fuel costs.
Paper tickets issued before the deadline will still be valid for the travel dates indicated on them.
The issue and handling of a paper ticket costs an airline $US10: its electronic replacement $US1 dollar on average.
IATA also calculates that the end of the paper ticket will save 50,000 trees per year.
Source: cjreport
See also: Lonely Planet: fact or fiction?
IATA members account for 94 per cent of world airline traffic and by the end of February, 94 per cent of them had already abandoned the rectangle of stiff paper in favour of digital technology.
In Africa, 87 per cent of IATA airlines had made the switch.
The last paper tickets will be sold on Saturday, and the International Air Transport Association estimates that its member airlines will save $US3 billion a year, a much needed economy in the face of a huge rise in fuel costs.
Paper tickets issued before the deadline will still be valid for the travel dates indicated on them.
The issue and handling of a paper ticket costs an airline $US10: its electronic replacement $US1 dollar on average.
IATA also calculates that the end of the paper ticket will save 50,000 trees per year.
Source: cjreport
See also: Lonely Planet: fact or fiction?
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Sikhs in France plan new school to combat turban ban...
The French ban on turbans for Sikh boys at school has brought extraordinary problems for parents and extraordinary solutions.
When Sikh boys play on the streets of Paris, their parents can worry in more ways than one.
Because they never know when it could become all play and no work - they run the risk of being stopped from going to school.
President Sarkozy introduced a law as home minister in 2004 banning essentially the headscarf for Muslim girls going to school; but the law also roped in the Sikh children.
“The first day I went, they asked me to take the turban off, now I cover my head with a handkerchief and go,” says a Sikh boy.
As the French see it, they are defending the principle of secular separation of religion from state. But for the minorities, it is a denial of religious rights.
Sundri Kaur a resident of Paris says, "In France I think a lot of people want to try to understand but we need time to understand and I think it is very important for Sikh people to be present, be involved, in action, political, social and cultural, and time after time I think French people can understand."
Teaching the French a lesson or two is Gurdial Singh, who is starting a school where children of all religions can practice their faith openly. The classrooms are ready for the students who can in a sense circumvent the French system.
Singh says, “I want every religion children to come here and respect the children and college also but if anybody respects their religion and comes here, I respect them."
Sikhs are preparing to beat the French ban on the turban by opening school especially for Sikhs and for others to practice their faith as freely and as visibly as they like.
Source: IBN live
See also: Einstein: religion is "childish superstitions".
And this: "Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off"
When Sikh boys play on the streets of Paris, their parents can worry in more ways than one.
Because they never know when it could become all play and no work - they run the risk of being stopped from going to school.
President Sarkozy introduced a law as home minister in 2004 banning essentially the headscarf for Muslim girls going to school; but the law also roped in the Sikh children.
“The first day I went, they asked me to take the turban off, now I cover my head with a handkerchief and go,” says a Sikh boy.
As the French see it, they are defending the principle of secular separation of religion from state. But for the minorities, it is a denial of religious rights.
Sundri Kaur a resident of Paris says, "In France I think a lot of people want to try to understand but we need time to understand and I think it is very important for Sikh people to be present, be involved, in action, political, social and cultural, and time after time I think French people can understand."
Teaching the French a lesson or two is Gurdial Singh, who is starting a school where children of all religions can practice their faith openly. The classrooms are ready for the students who can in a sense circumvent the French system.
Singh says, “I want every religion children to come here and respect the children and college also but if anybody respects their religion and comes here, I respect them."
Sikhs are preparing to beat the French ban on the turban by opening school especially for Sikhs and for others to practice their faith as freely and as visibly as they like.
Source: IBN live
See also: Einstein: religion is "childish superstitions".
And this: "Women Are Being Beheaded for Taking Their Veil Off"
WTF! Babies dumped "because they were girls..."
A couple who had IVF in India are believed to have dumped their twin babies in a British hospital after finding out they were girls.
The mother aged 59 and the father 72, are said to have abandoned the babies after telling medics they were the 'wrong sex' because they wanted boys.
It is understood that the babies, who are now less than two weeks old, were abandoned soon after birth and have not been visited once by their parents.
The couple travelled to India for fertility treatment but returned to Britain for the birth. The twins were born by Caesarean Section at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
Their mother - one of Britain's oldest - reportedly discharged herself against the advice of doctors who told her she should stay in hospital for a week after her operation.
She and her husband are thought to be of Indian descent but British residents living in the West Midlands.
Aftter the birth in Wolverhampton, the children were transferred to another hospital in Birmingham.
A spokeswoman for New Cross Hospital said today: 'We can confirm a pair of twins were born at New Cross Hospital. They were healthy and well.
'They were born here because the maternity (facility) where the parents were living was busy, so a few days later they were transferred to a Birmingham hospital, where the parents were living.'
In certain Asian cultures, sons are more highly prized than daughters because it is believed they will work from a younger age and carry on the family name.
In India, girls are considered an economic burden as their parents traditionally need to provide a dowry payment for them when they get married - often resulting in financial ruin or extreme hardship for many families when the women marry. More...
See also: Genocide: India's missing daughters...
And this: Tanzania's missing girls...
The mother aged 59 and the father 72, are said to have abandoned the babies after telling medics they were the 'wrong sex' because they wanted boys.
It is understood that the babies, who are now less than two weeks old, were abandoned soon after birth and have not been visited once by their parents.
The couple travelled to India for fertility treatment but returned to Britain for the birth. The twins were born by Caesarean Section at New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton.
Their mother - one of Britain's oldest - reportedly discharged herself against the advice of doctors who told her she should stay in hospital for a week after her operation.
She and her husband are thought to be of Indian descent but British residents living in the West Midlands.
Aftter the birth in Wolverhampton, the children were transferred to another hospital in Birmingham.
A spokeswoman for New Cross Hospital said today: 'We can confirm a pair of twins were born at New Cross Hospital. They were healthy and well.
'They were born here because the maternity (facility) where the parents were living was busy, so a few days later they were transferred to a Birmingham hospital, where the parents were living.'
In certain Asian cultures, sons are more highly prized than daughters because it is believed they will work from a younger age and carry on the family name.
In India, girls are considered an economic burden as their parents traditionally need to provide a dowry payment for them when they get married - often resulting in financial ruin or extreme hardship for many families when the women marry. More...
See also: Genocide: India's missing daughters...
And this: Tanzania's missing girls...
Mariage annulé faute de virginité!!
La philosophe et écrivain française Elisabeth Badinter a dit jeudi sa «honte» pour la justice française après la décision du tribunal de grande instance de Lille d'annuler un mariage parce que l'épouse du futur mari, musulmane comme lui, n'était pas vierge.
«Je suis ulcérée par la décision du tribunal d'accepter de juger ça parce que la sexualité des femmes est une affaire privée et libre en France, absolument libre», a déclaré Mme Badinter sur France Inter.
«Très inquiète» de ce jugement annulant un mariage «parce que la jeune femme n'est pas vierge et a menti sur sa virginité», Mme Badinter estime que «ça aboutit tout simplement à faire courir nombre de jeunes filles musulmanes dans les hôpitaux pour se faire refaire l'hymen.
Et par conséquent au lieu pour un tribunal de défendre les femmes, de défendre ces jeunes femmes, au contraire il accentue la pression sur elles».
«Et je vous dis franchement, je pense à cette malheureuse jeune fille, humiliée, publiquement humiliée, revenant dans sa famille, ce qu'elle a dû vivre a dû être épouvantable. J'ai honte que la justice française n'ait pas pris a coeur de défendre toutes ces jeunes filles», a-t-elle conclu.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: La Suisse et le mariage forcé...
Et ceci: L’Esclavage dans les pays musulmans
«Je suis ulcérée par la décision du tribunal d'accepter de juger ça parce que la sexualité des femmes est une affaire privée et libre en France, absolument libre», a déclaré Mme Badinter sur France Inter.
«Très inquiète» de ce jugement annulant un mariage «parce que la jeune femme n'est pas vierge et a menti sur sa virginité», Mme Badinter estime que «ça aboutit tout simplement à faire courir nombre de jeunes filles musulmanes dans les hôpitaux pour se faire refaire l'hymen.
Et par conséquent au lieu pour un tribunal de défendre les femmes, de défendre ces jeunes femmes, au contraire il accentue la pression sur elles».
«Et je vous dis franchement, je pense à cette malheureuse jeune fille, humiliée, publiquement humiliée, revenant dans sa famille, ce qu'elle a dû vivre a dû être épouvantable. J'ai honte que la justice française n'ait pas pris a coeur de défendre toutes ces jeunes filles», a-t-elle conclu.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: La Suisse et le mariage forcé...
Et ceci: L’Esclavage dans les pays musulmans
La ville d'Oran en Algérie saccagée pour une histoire de foot...
ORAN PRESENTAIT, hier, l'aspect d'une ville morte, après deux jours d'émeutes de protestation contre la relégation, en division inférieure, du club de football de la ville. La métropole de l'Ouest algérien a été le théâtre de violentes manifestations, rassemblant plusieurs milliers de jeunes, qui ont exprimé leur colère après la relégation en Deuxième Division du Mouloudia Club d'Oran. Le club avait remporté, à plusieurs reprises, le Championnat et la Coupe d'Algérie durant les quarante dernières années, et a vu évoluer plusieurs internationaux, dont Lakhdar Belloumi, qui avait marqué un but victorieux contre l'Allemagne, en 1982.
Les manifestations ont éclaté lundi soir, peu après la fin d'un match, qui s'est terminé par un nul défavorable aux Oranais. « La ville s'est soudain embrasée », raconte un témoin. Les jeunes se sont répandus dans divers quartiers de la cité, saccageant des édifices publics, des sièges de banque, pillant des commerces et s'attaquant à des salles de cinéma. Selon un premier bilan, ces émeutes ont fait au moins une centaine de blessés, dont plusieurs policiers.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: L'Asie, terre de prospection pour les grands clubs anglais...
Et ceci: Le sportif français le mieux payé est ...
Les manifestations ont éclaté lundi soir, peu après la fin d'un match, qui s'est terminé par un nul défavorable aux Oranais. « La ville s'est soudain embrasée », raconte un témoin. Les jeunes se sont répandus dans divers quartiers de la cité, saccageant des édifices publics, des sièges de banque, pillant des commerces et s'attaquant à des salles de cinéma. Selon un premier bilan, ces émeutes ont fait au moins une centaine de blessés, dont plusieurs policiers.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir aussi: L'Asie, terre de prospection pour les grands clubs anglais...
Et ceci: Le sportif français le mieux payé est ...
Chinese furious at Sharon Stone's "karma" comment...
Actress Sharon Stone has sparked criticism in China after claiming the recent earthquake could have been the result of bad "karma".
The US star, speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, linked the recent disaster to Beijing's policy on Tibet.
She said: "I thought, 'Is that karma?' When you are not nice, bad things happen to you."
But Stone added she "cried" after the Tibetan Foundation asked her to help quake victims.
Stone, 50, said: "They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry.
"It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you." More...
See the video here: China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
The US star, speaking at the Cannes Film Festival, linked the recent disaster to Beijing's policy on Tibet.
She said: "I thought, 'Is that karma?' When you are not nice, bad things happen to you."
But Stone added she "cried" after the Tibetan Foundation asked her to help quake victims.
Stone, 50, said: "They wanted to go and be helpful, and that made me cry.
"It was a big lesson to me that sometimes you have to learn to put your head down and be of service even to people who aren't nice to you." More...
See the video here: China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
Life under the Nazis was one big orgy of sex and promiscuity...
A new book which suggests that the German occupation of France encouraged the sexual liberation of women has shocked a country still struggling to come to terms with its troubled history of collaboration with the Nazis.
Like a recent photographic exhibition showing Parisians enjoying themselves under the occupation, the book’s depiction of life in Paris as one big party is at odds with the collective memory of hunger, resistance and fear.
“It is a taboo subject, a story nobody wants to hear,” said Patrick Buisson, author of 1940-1945 Années Erotiques (“erotic years”). “It may hurt our national pride, but the reality is that people adapted to occupation.”
Many might prefer to forget but, with their husbands in prison camps, numerous women slept not only with German soldiers – the young “blond barbarians” were particularly attractive to French women, says Buisson – but also conducted affairs with anyone else who could help them through financially difficult times: “They gave way to the advances of the boss, to the tradesman they owed money to, their neighbour. In times of rationing, the body is the only renewable, inexhaustible currency.” More...
See also: Occupied Paris: when life was "normal..."
And this: Olympic Torch: why so much fuss about a Nazi symbol?
And this: The Russian Neo-Nazi movement...
Like a recent photographic exhibition showing Parisians enjoying themselves under the occupation, the book’s depiction of life in Paris as one big party is at odds with the collective memory of hunger, resistance and fear.
“It is a taboo subject, a story nobody wants to hear,” said Patrick Buisson, author of 1940-1945 Années Erotiques (“erotic years”). “It may hurt our national pride, but the reality is that people adapted to occupation.”
Many might prefer to forget but, with their husbands in prison camps, numerous women slept not only with German soldiers – the young “blond barbarians” were particularly attractive to French women, says Buisson – but also conducted affairs with anyone else who could help them through financially difficult times: “They gave way to the advances of the boss, to the tradesman they owed money to, their neighbour. In times of rationing, the body is the only renewable, inexhaustible currency.” More...
See also: Occupied Paris: when life was "normal..."
And this: Olympic Torch: why so much fuss about a Nazi symbol?
And this: The Russian Neo-Nazi movement...
Golden Shield, China's all-seeing eye. ( Must read)
The security cameras are just one part of a much broader high-tech surveillance and censorship program known in China as "Golden Shield." The end goal is to use the latest people-tracking technology — thoughtfully supplied by American giants like IBM, Honeywell and General Electric — to create an airtight consumer cocoon: a place where Visa cards, Adidas sneakers, China Mobile cellphones, McDonald's Happy Meals, Tsingtao beer and UPS delivery (to name just a few of the official sponsors of the Beijing Olympics) can be enjoyed under the unblinking eye of the state, without the threat of democracy breaking out. With political unrest on the rise across China, the government hopes to use the surveillance shield to identify and counteract dissent before it explodes into a mass movement like the one that grabbed the world's attention at Tiananmen Square.
Remember how we've always been told that free markets and free people go hand in hand? That was a lie. It turns out that the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state, fortressed with American "homeland security" technologies, pumped up with "war on terror" rhetoric. And the global corporations currently earning superprofits from this social experiment are unlikely to be content if the lucrative new market remains confined to cities such as Shenzhen. Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you. Full story...
See also: Big Brother: are they about to violate the privacy of our minds?
And this: ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails...
Remember how we've always been told that free markets and free people go hand in hand? That was a lie. It turns out that the most efficient delivery system for capitalism is actually a communist-style police state, fortressed with American "homeland security" technologies, pumped up with "war on terror" rhetoric. And the global corporations currently earning superprofits from this social experiment are unlikely to be content if the lucrative new market remains confined to cities such as Shenzhen. Like everything else assembled in China with American parts, Police State 2.0 is ready for export to a neighborhood near you. Full story...
See also: Big Brother: are they about to violate the privacy of our minds?
And this: ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails...
Lorsque Sharon Stone raconte des conneries...
"Est-ce le karma, quand on se comporte mal et que les pires catastrophes vous arrivent ?" Cette question faussement ingénue de l'actrice américaine Sharon Stone lors du Festival de Cannes a provoqué un véritable tollé en Chine, au moment où le pays entier pleure ses morts.
Interviewée le 20 mai par la chaîne hongkongaise CATV au sujet du tremblement de terre du Sichuan, la vedette de Basic Instinct a déclaré : "... C'est vraiment intéressant parce que, de prime abord, je n'aime pas la façon dont les Chinois traitent les Tibétains. Je me demande quelle position adopter au sujet des Jeux olympiques. Les Chinois se comportent mal avec le dalaï-lama, qui est un bon ami à moi. Et, maintenant, il y a ce séisme."
Sharon Stone s'est un peu ravisée par la suite, après avoir reçu une lettre d'une organisation caritative tibétaine annonçant qu'elle allait venir en aide aux victimes du séisme. "C'est une grande leçon pour moi : il faut apprendre à aider même les gens qui ne se comportent pas bien avec vous", a-t-elle déclaré.
Largement diffusée sur des sites chinois et sur YouTube, son interview a été visionnée par plus de 200 000 internautes par jour. L'un d'entre eux, qui se dit un fan, raconte sa déception : "Le QI de Sharon Stone est de 154. Elle avait pour habitude d'être très sexy et de porter des vêtements osés pour se balader devant les réalisateurs. Elle a accepté le rôle principal de Basic Instinct, ce que beaucoup d'autres actrices célèbres ont refusé. Et puis il a suffi qu'elle se déshabille pour devenir une star. Désormais, j'ai des doutes, aurait-elle pété un câble ?" Un autre internaute rappelle que "l'épicentre du séisme se situe dans une région où vivent de nombreux Tibétains".
Les milieux artistiques chinois ont également réagi vivement aux propos de l'actrice. Wu Siyuan, un cinéaste hongkongais, a proposé de "boycotter Sharon Stone". "Même par simple humanité, il convient d'avoir un minimum de respect pour la vie", s'indigne la comédienne Weng Hong, star du cinéma hongkongais. Et Feima, présentatrice vedette de la télé hongkongaise, décrit désormais Sharon Stone comme l'"ennemie publique de tous les Chinois". En 2007, la même Sharon Stone avait été élue "star étrangère préférée du public chinois", à l'occasion du festival international du film de Shanghai.
Source: Courrier international
Voir la video ici(en anglais): China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
Interviewée le 20 mai par la chaîne hongkongaise CATV au sujet du tremblement de terre du Sichuan, la vedette de Basic Instinct a déclaré : "... C'est vraiment intéressant parce que, de prime abord, je n'aime pas la façon dont les Chinois traitent les Tibétains. Je me demande quelle position adopter au sujet des Jeux olympiques. Les Chinois se comportent mal avec le dalaï-lama, qui est un bon ami à moi. Et, maintenant, il y a ce séisme."
Sharon Stone s'est un peu ravisée par la suite, après avoir reçu une lettre d'une organisation caritative tibétaine annonçant qu'elle allait venir en aide aux victimes du séisme. "C'est une grande leçon pour moi : il faut apprendre à aider même les gens qui ne se comportent pas bien avec vous", a-t-elle déclaré.
Largement diffusée sur des sites chinois et sur YouTube, son interview a été visionnée par plus de 200 000 internautes par jour. L'un d'entre eux, qui se dit un fan, raconte sa déception : "Le QI de Sharon Stone est de 154. Elle avait pour habitude d'être très sexy et de porter des vêtements osés pour se balader devant les réalisateurs. Elle a accepté le rôle principal de Basic Instinct, ce que beaucoup d'autres actrices célèbres ont refusé. Et puis il a suffi qu'elle se déshabille pour devenir une star. Désormais, j'ai des doutes, aurait-elle pété un câble ?" Un autre internaute rappelle que "l'épicentre du séisme se situe dans une région où vivent de nombreux Tibétains".
Les milieux artistiques chinois ont également réagi vivement aux propos de l'actrice. Wu Siyuan, un cinéaste hongkongais, a proposé de "boycotter Sharon Stone". "Même par simple humanité, il convient d'avoir un minimum de respect pour la vie", s'indigne la comédienne Weng Hong, star du cinéma hongkongais. Et Feima, présentatrice vedette de la télé hongkongaise, décrit désormais Sharon Stone comme l'"ennemie publique de tous les Chinois". En 2007, la même Sharon Stone avait été élue "star étrangère préférée du public chinois", à l'occasion du festival international du film de Shanghai.
Source: Courrier international
Voir la video ici(en anglais): China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
Britain is now "worse than Iraq..."
The 27-year-old hero spoke out as the country was rocked by yet another 24 hours of vicious attacks. The horror toll in the last few days includes:
FIFTEEN knife thugs slashing at customers as two drug gangs battled in a family pub in Bickley, Kent — leaving two men fighting for life and the bar looking "like an abattoir".
A PUB landlord being stabbed by three thieves in nearby Sidcup. Harry Potter actor Rob Knox, 18, was killed trying to protect his brother from a yob in the town on Saturday.
A MARRIED man aged 31 being stabbed to death by a baying mob who smashed his car and hauled him out in Bradford, West Yorks.
THREE boys aged 12, 13, and 15 being quizzed over the killing of Amar Aslam, 17, in Dewsbury, West Yorks — including one alleged to have taken a picture as Amar lay dying.
FATHER-of-two Alan Riddock, 41, being stabbed to death when he challenged vandals at a pub in Bedminster, Bristol. More...
See also: Voronin: Britain a cultural backwater...
And this: Hello America, this is Britain...
FIFTEEN knife thugs slashing at customers as two drug gangs battled in a family pub in Bickley, Kent — leaving two men fighting for life and the bar looking "like an abattoir".
A PUB landlord being stabbed by three thieves in nearby Sidcup. Harry Potter actor Rob Knox, 18, was killed trying to protect his brother from a yob in the town on Saturday.
A MARRIED man aged 31 being stabbed to death by a baying mob who smashed his car and hauled him out in Bradford, West Yorks.
THREE boys aged 12, 13, and 15 being quizzed over the killing of Amar Aslam, 17, in Dewsbury, West Yorks — including one alleged to have taken a picture as Amar lay dying.
FATHER-of-two Alan Riddock, 41, being stabbed to death when he challenged vandals at a pub in Bedminster, Bristol. More...
See also: Voronin: Britain a cultural backwater...
And this: Hello America, this is Britain...
Nepal no longer a monarchy...
Nepal's newly elected leadership changed the country from a monarchy to a republic just before midnight Wednesday, a historic move that ended about 240 years of autocratic rule in the country.
After approving the move by an overwhelming vote, the body said it would send a letter to 60-year-old King Gyanendra and his family, informing them that they have 15 days to vacate the royal palace.
Of the 564 members of the assembly present for the vote, only four voted to keep the monarchy.
The group met all day in a convention center to reach the agreement and even continued to work after the facility was bombed.
Two apparent bombs damaged the building about 8:20 p.m. local time, said a CNN journalist covering the meetings.
There were no reports of injuries, and the group was back working within 10 minutes of the blasts. More...
See also: Bhutan: Gross National Happiness vs Democracy...
And this: The Democracy Bullshit (Must Read)
After approving the move by an overwhelming vote, the body said it would send a letter to 60-year-old King Gyanendra and his family, informing them that they have 15 days to vacate the royal palace.
Of the 564 members of the assembly present for the vote, only four voted to keep the monarchy.
The group met all day in a convention center to reach the agreement and even continued to work after the facility was bombed.
Two apparent bombs damaged the building about 8:20 p.m. local time, said a CNN journalist covering the meetings.
There were no reports of injuries, and the group was back working within 10 minutes of the blasts. More...
See also: Bhutan: Gross National Happiness vs Democracy...
And this: The Democracy Bullshit (Must Read)
They came at 4a.m. in the morning, with 2 bull-dozers...
"They came at four in the morning, with two bulldozers, and they left before 8am. I own this chicken farm with my three brothers, and we worked day and night for eighteen years to build up our business. The Israelis destroyed everything in less then four hours."
Nasser Jaber’s chicken farm was bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) ten days ago, in the early morning hours of May 16, while he was sleeping at home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. He still looks stunned. Wearily he guides us round the ruins of his eighteen-year business. "This was a lifetime project for me and my brothers" he says as we clamber over rubble, wire, shattered sheets of metal and thousands of putrefying chickens. "I have never belonged to any political faction, and I have never been to jail. I don’t know why they did this." The farm workers who are starting to clear some of the rubble are all wearing facemasks. Forty thousand dead chickens lie smashed amidst the rubble and the stench is sickening. More...
See also: Norman Finkelstein banned and deported from Israel...
And this: British Jews: "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary"
Nasser Jaber’s chicken farm was bulldozed by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) ten days ago, in the early morning hours of May 16, while he was sleeping at home in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip. He still looks stunned. Wearily he guides us round the ruins of his eighteen-year business. "This was a lifetime project for me and my brothers" he says as we clamber over rubble, wire, shattered sheets of metal and thousands of putrefying chickens. "I have never belonged to any political faction, and I have never been to jail. I don’t know why they did this." The farm workers who are starting to clear some of the rubble are all wearing facemasks. Forty thousand dead chickens lie smashed amidst the rubble and the stench is sickening. More...
See also: Norman Finkelstein banned and deported from Israel...
And this: British Jews: "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary"
Man arrested for soy-sauce attack!!!
A man suspected of squirting soy sauce over high school girls using a water pistol to "blow off steam" has been arrested, police said.
The 22-year-old man, Kenichi Ogawa, was arrested on suspicion of assault. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations, telling police he did it to relieve his stress.
Police said that several high school girls in Maebashi had been attacked in similar incidents this month, and police are investigating a possible connection between the attacks.
Investigators accuse Ogawa of getting on a motorcycle and approaching a 17-year-old high school girl cycling along a street in the city at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and squirting soy sauce on her back as he passed her. The girl was traveling home with a friend at the time, and the back of her uniform was left covered in soy sauce.
Source: Mainichi Daily News
The 22-year-old man, Kenichi Ogawa, was arrested on suspicion of assault. He has reportedly admitted to the allegations, telling police he did it to relieve his stress.
Police said that several high school girls in Maebashi had been attacked in similar incidents this month, and police are investigating a possible connection between the attacks.
Investigators accuse Ogawa of getting on a motorcycle and approaching a 17-year-old high school girl cycling along a street in the city at about 5 p.m. on Tuesday, and squirting soy sauce on her back as he passed her. The girl was traveling home with a friend at the time, and the back of her uniform was left covered in soy sauce.
Source: Mainichi Daily News
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Michel and Monique Fourniret, the couple who "hunted virgins..."
Michel Fourniret, a diminutive, bespectacled man, was dubbed the "Ogre of Ardennes" for the crimes he committed alongside his grey-haired wife, Monique.
He has been found guilty of murdering seven girls and women aged between 12 and 22 from 1987 onwards.
By his own admission, however, he has killed more - strangling, shooting or stabbing his victims with a screwdriver.
From their chateau on the forested border region between France and Belgium the pair would head out in their small van, sometimes with their baby son in the vehicle, looking for victims.
Monique Oliver and Michel Fourniret had signed a criminal pact: she pledged to help him find the young women he sought; he, in return, promised that he would kill her former husband. More...
See also: Boys 'enjoyed' killing two-year-old...
And this: Boys, aged 11, rape (sister) and record it on cell-phone...
He has been found guilty of murdering seven girls and women aged between 12 and 22 from 1987 onwards.
By his own admission, however, he has killed more - strangling, shooting or stabbing his victims with a screwdriver.
From their chateau on the forested border region between France and Belgium the pair would head out in their small van, sometimes with their baby son in the vehicle, looking for victims.
Monique Oliver and Michel Fourniret had signed a criminal pact: she pledged to help him find the young women he sought; he, in return, promised that he would kill her former husband. More...
See also: Boys 'enjoyed' killing two-year-old...
And this: Boys, aged 11, rape (sister) and record it on cell-phone...
Amnesty épingle la Suisse...
Amnesty International (AI) déplore l'absence de mesures gouvernementales «efficaces» contre la montée du racisme en Suisse. Dans son rapport annuel, l'organisation de défense des droits de l'homme pointe particulièrement du doigt la droite nationaliste.
AI se réfère aux conclusions du rapporteur de l'ONU sur le racisme Doudou Diène. Ce dernier concluait «que l'absence, au niveau national, de législation complète et de politique cohérente contre le racisme et la xénophobie constitue un obstacle majeur à l'efficacité du combat contre le racisme».
Amnesty pointe du doigt l'Union démocratique du centre (UDC / droite nationaliste) et la campagne que le parti a menée lors des élections fédérales de 2007. L'organisation revient sur les affiches sur lesquelles figuraient des moutons blancs dont un chassait d'une ruade un mouton noir hors du drapeau helvétique.
AI fait aussi état de «violations des droits humains» commises par la police et les forces de sécurité, sans citer toutefois d'exemples précis. Concernant les requérants d'asile, AI déplore que de nombreuses personnes se sont vu refuser la possibilité de déposer une demande d'asile au motif qu'elles n'avaient pas de papiers d'identité.
Enfin, l'organisation critique le recours à des pistolets paralysants (tasers) et à des chiens policiers dans le cadre des renvois forcés d'étrangers.
Source: suisseinfo.ch
Voir aussi: Amnesty International and waterboarding...
Et ceci: Le "hit-parade" des exécutions en 2007...
AI se réfère aux conclusions du rapporteur de l'ONU sur le racisme Doudou Diène. Ce dernier concluait «que l'absence, au niveau national, de législation complète et de politique cohérente contre le racisme et la xénophobie constitue un obstacle majeur à l'efficacité du combat contre le racisme».
Amnesty pointe du doigt l'Union démocratique du centre (UDC / droite nationaliste) et la campagne que le parti a menée lors des élections fédérales de 2007. L'organisation revient sur les affiches sur lesquelles figuraient des moutons blancs dont un chassait d'une ruade un mouton noir hors du drapeau helvétique.
AI fait aussi état de «violations des droits humains» commises par la police et les forces de sécurité, sans citer toutefois d'exemples précis. Concernant les requérants d'asile, AI déplore que de nombreuses personnes se sont vu refuser la possibilité de déposer une demande d'asile au motif qu'elles n'avaient pas de papiers d'identité.
Enfin, l'organisation critique le recours à des pistolets paralysants (tasers) et à des chiens policiers dans le cadre des renvois forcés d'étrangers.
Source: suisseinfo.ch
Voir aussi: Amnesty International and waterboarding...
Et ceci: Le "hit-parade" des exécutions en 2007...
Chine : le mauvais karma de Sharon Stone...
Une remarque de l'actrice américaine Sharon Stone suggérant que le séisme qui a frappé la Chine le 12 mai dernier pouvait être la conséquence d'un mauvais «karma» lié à la politique de Pékin au Tibet suscite de vives critiques dans en Chine.
Des cinémas ont même annoncé qu'ils ne diffuseraient plus ses films. Et une grande marque de cosmétiques -Dior- aurait retiré les publicités où elle apparaissait pour éviter un boycott. Des journalistes chinois ont ainsi relevé que les boutiques Dior dans les principaux centres commerciaux de Pékin ont retiré hier soir les affiches de la star, visage de la gamme anti-rides de la maison française.
«Je n'apprécie pas la façon dont les Chinois traitent les Tibétains car je crois que personne ne devrait se montrer méchant envers quelqu'un d'autre», avait dit la star américaine à Cannes, selon des images disponibles sur le site internet YouTube.
«Et puis est arrivé ce tremblement de terre et tout ce qui s'est passé. Et je me suis demandé, est-ce que ce ne serait pas le karma - quand vous n'êtes pas gentils et que de mauvaises choses vous arrivent?», s'était interrogé Sharon Stone durant le Festival.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir la video ici(en anglais):China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
Des cinémas ont même annoncé qu'ils ne diffuseraient plus ses films. Et une grande marque de cosmétiques -Dior- aurait retiré les publicités où elle apparaissait pour éviter un boycott. Des journalistes chinois ont ainsi relevé que les boutiques Dior dans les principaux centres commerciaux de Pékin ont retiré hier soir les affiches de la star, visage de la gamme anti-rides de la maison française.
«Je n'apprécie pas la façon dont les Chinois traitent les Tibétains car je crois que personne ne devrait se montrer méchant envers quelqu'un d'autre», avait dit la star américaine à Cannes, selon des images disponibles sur le site internet YouTube.
«Et puis est arrivé ce tremblement de terre et tout ce qui s'est passé. Et je me suis demandé, est-ce que ce ne serait pas le karma - quand vous n'êtes pas gentils et que de mauvaises choses vous arrivent?», s'était interrogé Sharon Stone durant le Festival.
Source: leParisien.fr
Voir la video ici(en anglais):China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
Sumo:Ozeki Kotooshu, 1st. European to win the Emperor's Cup...
Bulgarian Kotooshu made history in Japan's ancient sport of sumo
Saturday as he became the first European to win an Emperor's Cup.
The 25-year-old Bulgarian star needed only one win from his weekend bouts to claim the title. He jump-started Mongolian opponent Ama from the face-off and crashed into the sekiwake's chest, getting both arms wrapped around his "mawashi" belt to bulldoze him over to the side of the ring.
Kotooshu then tackled him from behind, throwing himself on top of the opponent who went smashing down to the dirt surface at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.
The victory lifted Kotooshu, real name Kaloyan Mahlyanov, to a 13-1 record, claiming the title with a bout to spare. More...
See also: Le Sumo et le Gringalet...
And this: The Experiences of a black man in Japan...
Saturday as he became the first European to win an Emperor's Cup.
The 25-year-old Bulgarian star needed only one win from his weekend bouts to claim the title. He jump-started Mongolian opponent Ama from the face-off and crashed into the sekiwake's chest, getting both arms wrapped around his "mawashi" belt to bulldoze him over to the side of the ring.
Kotooshu then tackled him from behind, throwing himself on top of the opponent who went smashing down to the dirt surface at Tokyo's Ryogoku Kokugikan arena.
The victory lifted Kotooshu, real name Kaloyan Mahlyanov, to a 13-1 record, claiming the title with a bout to spare. More...
See also: Le Sumo et le Gringalet...
And this: The Experiences of a black man in Japan...
Chinese official begs on his knees to prevent protests!!
The image was startling: A Chinese official on his knees, begging.
The Communist Party secretary of Mianzhu city pleaded with protesting parents — whose children were killed in a school collapse during China's recent devastating earthquake — not to complain to higher authorities, the Southern Metropolis Daily newspaper reported Monday.
Despite Jiang Guohua's pleas, the parents of the 127 children who died in the collapse kept marching Sunday and eventually met with higher officials, who told them the government would investigate.
The march was the latest example of growing anger among Chinese about the quake, especially the fact that nearly 7,000 schoolrooms were destroyed while school was in session. Parents at several schools have held protests, defying the government's general disapproval of such demonstrations.
A photograph on the newspaper's Web site shows Jiang on his knees, his arms outstretched in vain. More...
See also: China earthquake: Sharon Stone talking nonsense...
And this: The Chinese earthquake and socialist central planning...
Are Icelanders the happiest people on earth?
Highest birth rate in Europe + highest divorce rate + highest percentage of women working outside the home = the best country in the world in which to live. There has to be something wrong with this equation. Put those three factors together - loads of children, broken homes, absent mothers - and what you have, surely, is a recipe for misery and social chaos. But no. Iceland, the block of sub-Arctic lava to which these statistics apply, tops the latest table of the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Human Development Index rankings, meaning that as a society and as an economy - in terms of wealth, health and education - they are champions of the world. To which one might respond: Yes, but - what with the dark winters and the far from tropical summers - are Icelanders happy? Actually, in so far as one can reliably measure such things, they are. According to a seemingly serious academic study reported in the Guardian in 2006, Icelanders are the happiest people on earth. (The study was lent some credibility by the finding that the Russians were the most unhappy.)
Oddny Sturludottir, a 31-year-old mother of two, told me she had a good friend who was 25 and had three children by a man who had just left her. 'But she has no sense of crisis at all,' Oddny said. 'She's preparing to get on with her life and her career in a perfectly optimistic frame of mind.' The answer to why the friend perceives no crisis in what any woman in a similar predicament anywhere else in the western world might consider a full-blown catastrophe goes a long way towards explaining why Iceland's 313,000 inhabitants are such a sane, cheerful, successful lot. More...
See also: And the world's happiest country is ...
And this: The Meaning of Happiness...
Oddny Sturludottir, a 31-year-old mother of two, told me she had a good friend who was 25 and had three children by a man who had just left her. 'But she has no sense of crisis at all,' Oddny said. 'She's preparing to get on with her life and her career in a perfectly optimistic frame of mind.' The answer to why the friend perceives no crisis in what any woman in a similar predicament anywhere else in the western world might consider a full-blown catastrophe goes a long way towards explaining why Iceland's 313,000 inhabitants are such a sane, cheerful, successful lot. More...
See also: And the world's happiest country is ...
And this: The Meaning of Happiness...
The Chinese earthquake and socialist central planning...
When buildings collapse following an earthquake anywhere in the world, the first instinct is to presume Mother Nature is at fault. The second is to wonder why the buildings weren’t built to account for the risk of earthquakes. The third step is where people go really wrong. They blame the builders for failing to observe building codes and the government for failing to enforce them.
This is the state of commentary on the hellish situation in Dujiangyan, China, where tens of thousands of people died – including thousands of children in as many as 7,000 schoolrooms.
A particular focus of much coverage has been the Xianjian Primary School, where hundreds of kids died. A parent of one of the children told the New York Times: "This is not a natural disaster. This is not good steel. It doesn't meet standards. They stole our children."
Now people are demanding that the local government be held accountable. More...
See also: China's earthquake provokes a shockwave of solidarity...
And this: China's earthquake: where are the children?
This is the state of commentary on the hellish situation in Dujiangyan, China, where tens of thousands of people died – including thousands of children in as many as 7,000 schoolrooms.
A particular focus of much coverage has been the Xianjian Primary School, where hundreds of kids died. A parent of one of the children told the New York Times: "This is not a natural disaster. This is not good steel. It doesn't meet standards. They stole our children."
Now people are demanding that the local government be held accountable. More...
See also: China's earthquake provokes a shockwave of solidarity...
And this: China's earthquake: where are the children?
Norman Finkelstein banned and deported from Israel...
Norman Finkelstein, the controversial Jewish American academic and fierce critic of Israel, has been deported from the country and banned from the Jewish state for 10 years, it emerged yesterday.Finkelstein, the son of a Holocaust survivor who has accused Israel of using the genocidal Nazi campaign against Jews to justify its actions against the Palestinians, was detained by the Israeli security service, Shin Bet, when he landed at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion airport on Friday.
Shin Bet interrogated him for around 24 hours about his contact with the Lebanese Islamic militia, Hizbullah, when he travelled to Lebanon earlier this year and expressed solidarity with the group which waged war against Israel in 2006. He was also accused of having contact with al-Qaida. But Finkelstein rejected the accusations, saying he had travelled to Israel to visit an old friend.
“I did my best to provide absolutely candid and comprehensive answers to all the questions put to me,” he told an Israeli newspaper in an email exchange.
“I am confident that I have nothing to hide. Apart from my political views, and the supporting scholarship, there isn’t much more to say for myself: alas, no suicide missions or secret rendezvous with terrorist organisations. I’ve always supported a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. I’m not an enemy of Israel.”
Finkelstein is one of several scholars rejected by Israel in the increasingly bitter divide in academic circles, between those who support and those who criticise its treatment of Palestinians. More...
See also: An interview with Norman --- the Holocaust Industry --- Finkelstein
And this: Is Israel on the road to oblivion?
Shin Bet interrogated him for around 24 hours about his contact with the Lebanese Islamic militia, Hizbullah, when he travelled to Lebanon earlier this year and expressed solidarity with the group which waged war against Israel in 2006. He was also accused of having contact with al-Qaida. But Finkelstein rejected the accusations, saying he had travelled to Israel to visit an old friend.
“I did my best to provide absolutely candid and comprehensive answers to all the questions put to me,” he told an Israeli newspaper in an email exchange.
“I am confident that I have nothing to hide. Apart from my political views, and the supporting scholarship, there isn’t much more to say for myself: alas, no suicide missions or secret rendezvous with terrorist organisations. I’ve always supported a two-state solution based on the 1967 borders. I’m not an enemy of Israel.”
Finkelstein is one of several scholars rejected by Israel in the increasingly bitter divide in academic circles, between those who support and those who criticise its treatment of Palestinians. More...
See also: An interview with Norman --- the Holocaust Industry --- Finkelstein
And this: Is Israel on the road to oblivion?
WTF! S'pore firm claims patent to image search!
A local company has laid claims to a technology that Web sites across the globe deploy to link images to other Web pages, and sent out notification letters to several companies demanding to be paid licensing fees.
Dubbing itself "pioneers of visual search technology", Vuestar Technologies said it owns the patent to the technology that enables "Internet searching via visual images".
In sum, the company implied that any Web site that uses pictures and graphics to link to another site or Web page will need a license from Vuestar.
"Those who use visual images which hyperlink to other Web pages or Web sites...whether on the first page or subsequent pages of a Web site require a Vuestar 'license of use'," the company said on its site.
Singapore law firm Keystone Law issued a note to its clients Tuesday, urging those that intend to take up a licensing agreement with companies such as Vuestar, to "carefully examine the terms of such licenses and the claims of the licensors".
Bryan Tan, director at Keystone Law, said in an e-mail interview: "Always examine such claims carefully and take legal advice if you are not familiar [with the company's claims]. Even if you decide to settle a claim, make sure you know what 'rights' you are paying for." Keystone specializes in technology law.
In his note to the firm's clients, Tan added: "We understand that Vuestar has sent invoices for around S$5,000 (US$3,676) to various parties in Singapore asking them to enter into such license agreements, or to cease allowing images on a parties' Web site to be downloaded or used in Singapore."
"We believe that this development would have a wide-ranging impact on the Internet community in Singapore, given the wide claims made by Vuestar on the intellectual property covered by the patents," he said. "Parties operating Web sites, offering Web services or developing Web-based and WAP-based products and services need to be especially careful."
Vuestar said it does not intend to claim licensing fees from charities and government agencies. The company added that its patent extends beyond Singapore and to "several parts of the world".
According to Tan, Vuestar's patent--tagged under publication number 95940--appears also to have been granted in Australia, New Zealand and United States.
It is not clear how the company's patent will impact other visual search technology companies such as Like.com, which claims to have developed the "first true visual search engine".
Established in August 2004, Like.com also said it owns almost 12 patents in the areas of visual recognition and search.
Source: ZDNet Asia
See also: Singapore students learn about the birds and the bees!!!
And this: Singapore TV station fined for "positive" gay show...
Dubbing itself "pioneers of visual search technology", Vuestar Technologies said it owns the patent to the technology that enables "Internet searching via visual images".
In sum, the company implied that any Web site that uses pictures and graphics to link to another site or Web page will need a license from Vuestar.
"Those who use visual images which hyperlink to other Web pages or Web sites...whether on the first page or subsequent pages of a Web site require a Vuestar 'license of use'," the company said on its site.
Singapore law firm Keystone Law issued a note to its clients Tuesday, urging those that intend to take up a licensing agreement with companies such as Vuestar, to "carefully examine the terms of such licenses and the claims of the licensors".
Bryan Tan, director at Keystone Law, said in an e-mail interview: "Always examine such claims carefully and take legal advice if you are not familiar [with the company's claims]. Even if you decide to settle a claim, make sure you know what 'rights' you are paying for." Keystone specializes in technology law.
In his note to the firm's clients, Tan added: "We understand that Vuestar has sent invoices for around S$5,000 (US$3,676) to various parties in Singapore asking them to enter into such license agreements, or to cease allowing images on a parties' Web site to be downloaded or used in Singapore."
"We believe that this development would have a wide-ranging impact on the Internet community in Singapore, given the wide claims made by Vuestar on the intellectual property covered by the patents," he said. "Parties operating Web sites, offering Web services or developing Web-based and WAP-based products and services need to be especially careful."
Vuestar said it does not intend to claim licensing fees from charities and government agencies. The company added that its patent extends beyond Singapore and to "several parts of the world".
According to Tan, Vuestar's patent--tagged under publication number 95940--appears also to have been granted in Australia, New Zealand and United States.
It is not clear how the company's patent will impact other visual search technology companies such as Like.com, which claims to have developed the "first true visual search engine".
Established in August 2004, Like.com also said it owns almost 12 patents in the areas of visual recognition and search.
Source: ZDNet Asia
See also: Singapore students learn about the birds and the bees!!!
And this: Singapore TV station fined for "positive" gay show...
Internet Pornography Statistics...
The pornography industry is larger than the revenues of the top technology companies combined: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, eBay, Yahoo!, Apple, Netflix and EarthLink.
US porn revenue exceeds the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC.
( I don't know if these statistics are reliable but they are worth a look...)
Full statistics...
See also: Underage girls and the modelling/porn industry...
And this: Porn for the blind...
And this: Lasrado, the rise and fall of a porn king...
32,000 people in Japan committed suicide last year...
The number of people who committed suicide in 2007 is estimated to have topped the 30,000 mark for the 10th straight year despite a recovery in the economy, a tally based on police data showed Tuesday.
The data provided by the country's 47 prefectural police departments put the number of suicides last year at about 32,000. Some of the departments provided only general figures.
The National Police Agency is expected to release its own statistics around June. More...
See also: India: 16,000 students committed suicide in the last 3 years...
And this: The Japanese and suicide...
And this: Chen Si, the Good Samaritan of Nanjing Bridge...
The data provided by the country's 47 prefectural police departments put the number of suicides last year at about 32,000. Some of the departments provided only general figures.
The National Police Agency is expected to release its own statistics around June. More...
See also: India: 16,000 students committed suicide in the last 3 years...
And this: The Japanese and suicide...
And this: Chen Si, the Good Samaritan of Nanjing Bridge...
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Carter:Israel 'has 150 nuclear weapons...'
Ex-US President Jimmy Carter has said Israel has at least 150 atomic weapons in its arsenal.
The Israelis have never confirmed they have nuclear weapons, but this has been widely assumed since a scientist leaked details in the 1980s.
Mr Carter made his comments on Israel's weapons at a press conference at the annual literary Hay Festival in Wales.
He also described Israeli treatment of Palestinians as "one of the greatest human rights crimes on earth". More...
See also: Israel's strange coincidences...
And this: Gaza, a human and Palestinian tragedy...
WTF! Aid workers abusing,raping children..
Humanitarian aid workers and United Nation peacekeepers are sexually abusing small children in several war-ravaged and food-poor countries, a leading European charity has said.
Children as young as 6 have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food a
In the report, "No One To Turn To" a 15-year-old girl from Haiti told researchers: "My friends and I were walking by the National Palace one evening when we encountered a couple of humanitarian men. The men called us over and showed us their penises. More...
See also: The Coltan War
And this: WTF! Couple abuse 4-month old baby! Are these really humans?
Children as young as 6 have been forced to have sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in return for food a
In the report, "No One To Turn To" a 15-year-old girl from Haiti told researchers: "My friends and I were walking by the National Palace one evening when we encountered a couple of humanitarian men. The men called us over and showed us their penises. More...
See also: The Coltan War
And this: WTF! Couple abuse 4-month old baby! Are these really humans?
OMG! Pilots run out of fuel, pray, land near Jesus sign!!
t seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field — coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord."
Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died.
"My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
He said he prayed during the ill-fated flight Sunday that the tiny craft would get over the top of a ridge and that they would find a landing site that was not too steep — or in the nearby sea.
Wilson said that the pair would have been in deep trouble if the fuel had run out five minutes earlier.
"If it had to run out, that was the place to be," he said. "There was an instantaneous answer to prayer as we crossed the ridge and there was an airfield — I didn't know it existed till then."
After Wilson glided the powerless craft to a landing on the grassy strip, the pair noticed they were beside a 20-foot-tall sign that read, "Jesus is Lord — The Bible."
"When we saw that, we started laughing," Stubbs said.
Nearby residents provided them with gas to fly the home-built plane back to base.
Source: Yahoo News
See also: OMG! What would Jesus d...
And this: The Pagan Christ and the Jesus that never existed...
And this: Jesus loves me?
Grant Stubbs and Owen Wilson, both from the town of Blenheim on the country's South Island, were flying up the sloping valley of Pelorus Sound when the engine spluttered, coughed and died.
"My friend and I are both Christians so our immediate reaction in a life-threatening situation was to ask for God's help," Stubbs told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
He said he prayed during the ill-fated flight Sunday that the tiny craft would get over the top of a ridge and that they would find a landing site that was not too steep — or in the nearby sea.
Wilson said that the pair would have been in deep trouble if the fuel had run out five minutes earlier.
"If it had to run out, that was the place to be," he said. "There was an instantaneous answer to prayer as we crossed the ridge and there was an airfield — I didn't know it existed till then."
After Wilson glided the powerless craft to a landing on the grassy strip, the pair noticed they were beside a 20-foot-tall sign that read, "Jesus is Lord — The Bible."
"When we saw that, we started laughing," Stubbs said.
Nearby residents provided them with gas to fly the home-built plane back to base.
Source: Yahoo News
See also: OMG! What would Jesus d...
And this: The Pagan Christ and the Jesus that never existed...
And this: Jesus loves me?
Amstetten: Kirstin Fritzl wakes up from coma...
THE 19-year-old daughter of a woman held captive in an underground dungeon in Austria for 24 years has woken from a coma.
Kerstin Fritzl had been in a coma since late last month after she was taken to hospital from the cellar she shared with her mother, Elisabeth, and two younger brothers.
The three children were fathered by Elisabeth's father Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned them in the dungeon beneath his family home.
Doctors had feared Kerstin might die when her organs began to fail earlier this month.
But they have now revealed that she opened her eyes at the weekend, sparking hope that she'll recover.
"In a world that was very dark, the Fritzls now have light,'' a source told the Daily Mirror newspaper in Britain.
"Elisabeth and family are very happy, but they know they mustn't get their hopes up too high.
"Kerstin's incredibly fragile. She'll be in bed a long time - probably months.''
The 19-year-old has not yet managed to speak to doctors or her family.
"She moves when she feels pressure on her skin,'' the source said.
"Everybody's crossing their fingers this recovery will continue but nobody can predict it.''
Authorities say Fritzl confessed to locking up his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years in the cellar below his home in Amstetten, Austria, repeatedly raping her and fathering seven children with her.
Investigators say he told them three of the children were raised in the cellar, three others were brought up above ground and one died in infancy.
DNA tests have confirmed Fritzl is the biological father of the six surviving children.
Source: Daily Telegraph
See also: Amstetten:Elisabeth Fritzl taught maths and grammar to her dungeon kids...
And this: Amstetten: police involved in the Fritzl case traumatised and in need of counselling...
Kerstin Fritzl had been in a coma since late last month after she was taken to hospital from the cellar she shared with her mother, Elisabeth, and two younger brothers.
The three children were fathered by Elisabeth's father Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned them in the dungeon beneath his family home.
Doctors had feared Kerstin might die when her organs began to fail earlier this month.
But they have now revealed that she opened her eyes at the weekend, sparking hope that she'll recover.
"In a world that was very dark, the Fritzls now have light,'' a source told the Daily Mirror newspaper in Britain.
"Elisabeth and family are very happy, but they know they mustn't get their hopes up too high.
"Kerstin's incredibly fragile. She'll be in bed a long time - probably months.''
The 19-year-old has not yet managed to speak to doctors or her family.
"She moves when she feels pressure on her skin,'' the source said.
"Everybody's crossing their fingers this recovery will continue but nobody can predict it.''
Authorities say Fritzl confessed to locking up his daughter Elisabeth for 24 years in the cellar below his home in Amstetten, Austria, repeatedly raping her and fathering seven children with her.
Investigators say he told them three of the children were raised in the cellar, three others were brought up above ground and one died in infancy.
DNA tests have confirmed Fritzl is the biological father of the six surviving children.
Source: Daily Telegraph
See also: Amstetten:Elisabeth Fritzl taught maths and grammar to her dungeon kids...
And this: Amstetten: police involved in the Fritzl case traumatised and in need of counselling...
Facebook: deux millions d'utilisateurs en France!
Près de 75 millions d'utilisateurs, 3 206 380 de plus depuis mon dernier relevé, il y a moins de 3 semaines, soit plus d'1 million de nouveaux adhérents au service chaque semaine ! Et quasiment 20 millions de plus depuis le début de l'année, ce qui corrobore une moyenne de 4 millions par mois, soit un taux de progression dépassant celui de MySpace, qui aurait probablement besoin d'un coup de jeune...
Deux millions d'utilisateurs en France, soit +6% des internautes français (moi qui pensais que le cap serait franchi fin juin - début juillet, mes prévisions sont pulvérisées) ! Suite...
Voir aussi: Facebook: Fouad Mourtada gracié!
Et ceci: The Facebook Anthem! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Deux millions d'utilisateurs en France, soit +6% des internautes français (moi qui pensais que le cap serait franchi fin juin - début juillet, mes prévisions sont pulvérisées) ! Suite...
Voir aussi: Facebook: Fouad Mourtada gracié!
Et ceci: The Facebook Anthem! Ha! Ha! Ha!
Sarkozy : «Le problème d'Internet est considérable!»
« Le problème d'Internet est considérable. » L'opinion du président de la République sur le web a le mérite de la nuance. Lors de son intervention matinale sur RTL, Internet a été cité comme deuxième « cause » de la crise de la presse après la question des points de vente. Parce que, comme l'a expliqué Nicolas Sarkozy, le journal gratuit sur Internet, «c'est pas sain (...) comment voulez-vous que les gens achètent leurs journaux en kiosque s'il est gratuit sur Internet ? » Ben oui parce que, en Angleterre ou en Allemagne par exemple, ils vendent beaucoup plus de quotidiens et ils n'ont pas Internet. Ah si ? Bon, on m'aura mal renseigné...
En plus, sur Internet, y'a que des pédophiles... Suite...
Voir aussi: Blogs: le petit flic de Sarkozy...
Et ceci: Sarkozy en guerre contre les blogs?
En plus, sur Internet, y'a que des pédophiles... Suite...
Voir aussi: Blogs: le petit flic de Sarkozy...
Et ceci: Sarkozy en guerre contre les blogs?
Monday, May 26, 2008
Posting your son on eBay is not a good idea..
Authorities in southern Germany have taken custody of a 7-month-old boy after his parents posted an ad on eBay offering to sell him for one euro, or about $1.60.
Police spokesman Peter Hieber says the baby was placed in the care of youth services in the southwestern Allgaeu region.
Hieber said on Saturday that the mother told police the Internet ad was only a joke. Authorities have begun an investigation into possible child trafficking against the parents.
No offers were made for the child in the two hours and 30 minutes the ad was posted. The Internet auction site deleted the posting later.
Several people who saw the ad alerted police.
Source: FoxNews
See also: Wenden: 3 dead babies in freezer!!
And this: Aussie seat belt situation: is a case of beer more important than a child?
Police spokesman Peter Hieber says the baby was placed in the care of youth services in the southwestern Allgaeu region.
Hieber said on Saturday that the mother told police the Internet ad was only a joke. Authorities have begun an investigation into possible child trafficking against the parents.
No offers were made for the child in the two hours and 30 minutes the ad was posted. The Internet auction site deleted the posting later.
Several people who saw the ad alerted police.
Source: FoxNews
See also: Wenden: 3 dead babies in freezer!!
And this: Aussie seat belt situation: is a case of beer more important than a child?
Tony Blair jeered at Yale over Iraq war...
Tony Blair was left reeling last night after students disrupted his debut speech at Yale University to protest at his role in taking Britain and America to war in Iraq.
The former Prime Minister, who is normally immensely popular in the US for his support for President George W Bush's 'war on terror', faced an unexpected protest from anti-war protesters when he arrived to give his lecture at the Ivy League university.
Some smuggled banners bearing anti-war slogans into the venue which they held up as Mr Blair was speaking and when he had finished boos could be heard amid the applause.
Mr Blair's arrival was met by a small but vocal contingent of protestors waving placards that read "No to Blair" and "Yale! Don't Support a War Criminal", but police held them back from the ceremony, which was held in a large gated garden.
But as he took to the podium, Mr Blair, 54, was met with dozens of red signs that students had hidden under their graduation robes, reading "Peace Now" and "No War".
One student, a young woman wearing a headscarf, stood throughout the ceremony, holding a "Peace Now" sign above her head just 10ft in front of the former Prime Minister, who appeared to be doing his best to avoid looking at her. More...
See also: Mahathir wants Bush, Blair and Howard to be tried for war crimes...
And this: Tony Blair caught travelling in train without ticket!!!
The former Prime Minister, who is normally immensely popular in the US for his support for President George W Bush's 'war on terror', faced an unexpected protest from anti-war protesters when he arrived to give his lecture at the Ivy League university.
Some smuggled banners bearing anti-war slogans into the venue which they held up as Mr Blair was speaking and when he had finished boos could be heard amid the applause.
Mr Blair's arrival was met by a small but vocal contingent of protestors waving placards that read "No to Blair" and "Yale! Don't Support a War Criminal", but police held them back from the ceremony, which was held in a large gated garden.
But as he took to the podium, Mr Blair, 54, was met with dozens of red signs that students had hidden under their graduation robes, reading "Peace Now" and "No War".
One student, a young woman wearing a headscarf, stood throughout the ceremony, holding a "Peace Now" sign above her head just 10ft in front of the former Prime Minister, who appeared to be doing his best to avoid looking at her. More...
See also: Mahathir wants Bush, Blair and Howard to be tried for war crimes...
And this: Tony Blair caught travelling in train without ticket!!!
Castrillo de Murcia, Corpus Christi and jumping over babies...
Grown men have been leaping over rows of babies in the north Spanish village of Castrillo de Murcia in an annual rite meant to ward off the Devil.
Jumpers dressed as the Colacho, a character representing the Devil, bounded over clusters of bemused infants laid out on mattresses.
Nobody appeared to get hurt in this year's festive event.
Castrillo, near Burgos, has been holding the event since 1620 to mark the Catholic feast of Corpus Christi.
The feast is widely celebrated in Spain, often with processions and mystery plays.
Pageants can feature dancers depicting demons and angels or other characters.
Source: BBC
See also: WTF! Infants thrown off roofs to thank God!!!
Lucie Leprêtre: elle a 12 ans et elle publie un roman!
Paru il y a peu de temps aux Editions XO, "L’Envol de Petit Aigle" est le premier roman de Lucie Leprêtre, une toute jeune romancière de 12 ans. Avec ce premier ouvrage de 286 pages, Lucie Leprêtre, arrive dans la cour des auteurs qui écrivent des romans pour jeunes, à cette différence près, qu’elle a l’âge de ses lecteurs ! Une histoire sortie de son imagination dans laquelle elle narre les aventures de Petit Aigle, un personnage créé de toute pièce par Lucie qui en a fait son compagnon de tous les jours. Suite...
Voir aussi: Calaspia: deux ados indo/suisse comme Tolkien?
Eurovision: is it talent that matters or biased voting?
It had all the usual ingredients. . . cheesy songs, strange costumes, waspish comments from Terry Wogan - and tactical voting.
Russian heartthrob Dima Bilan became the 2008 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest after many Eastern European countries awarded him the maximum 12 points, while Ukraine came second.
Saturday night's blatant bloc voting so upset presenter Wogan that he is wondering whether to quit the contest for good.
He had been rooting for Britain's entrant, former binman Andy Abraham, whose song Even If finished joint last with 14 points. Only San Marino and Ireland voted for him. More...
See also: Britain's Got Talent and Suleman Mirza! Michael Jackson Bhangra!
And this: Britain's Got Talent and Donald Bell-Gam! Hilarious!
Russian heartthrob Dima Bilan became the 2008 winner of the Eurovision Song Contest after many Eastern European countries awarded him the maximum 12 points, while Ukraine came second.
Saturday night's blatant bloc voting so upset presenter Wogan that he is wondering whether to quit the contest for good.
He had been rooting for Britain's entrant, former binman Andy Abraham, whose song Even If finished joint last with 14 points. Only San Marino and Ireland voted for him. More...
See also: Britain's Got Talent and Suleman Mirza! Michael Jackson Bhangra!
And this: Britain's Got Talent and Donald Bell-Gam! Hilarious!
Oh boy! The face of Jesus appears on a cider bottle!!!
As miracles go, it is hardly in the same league as turning water into wine.
But Michael Cartwright was still pretty impressed when Jesus appeared in the foil wrapping of his cider bottle down at the pub.
"When I saw it I got goose pimples," 35-year-old Mr Cartwright said yesterday. "I have no doubt it is the face of Jesus. You can even see his beard and hair."
Mr Cartwright, a taxi driver from Darlington, noticed the extraordinary image while drinking with a group of friends at his local, the Tanners Hall.
"As the barmaid removed the cap to the cider I suddenly realised what was staring back at me," he added.
One of Mr Cartwright's friends took a photograph. It was only the following morning that he realised how clear the image was. But by then it was too late to retrieve the bottle.
"It ended up getting collected by a barmaid when no one was paying attention and thrown away," said Mr Cartwright
"I'm not sure what message Jesus was sending and maybe now we'll never know."
Had they only held on to the bottle it could have been worth considerably more than the £2.49 it cost over the bar.
Four years ago on eBay, American Diana Duyser sold a piece of ten-year-old toasted cheese sandwich - which appeared to feature the face of the Virgin Mary - for £15,000.
Source: MailOnline
See also: The Berlin-Charlottenburg holy potato miracle!!!
And this: Lali,the two-faced "miracle" baby worshipped as goddess in India...
Mexican donkey jailed for behaving like a jackass!!!
A Mexican donkey has been freed from jail after doing time for acting like a jackass.
The Televisa network on Wednesday showed Blacky gobbling food from a bucket after spending three days in a jail that normally holds people for public drunkenness and other disturbances.
Blacky was jailed for biting and kicking two men near a ranch outside Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas.
Officials freed the donkey after its owner paid a fine of $36 and the $115 hospital bill of the men, who suffered bites to the chest and a broken ankle. Authorities say he also must pay $480 to each man for missed work days.
The victims said the donkey bit Genaro Vazquez, 63, in the chest on Sunday and then kicked 52-year-old Andres Hernandez as he tried to come to the rescue, fracturing his ankle.
"All of a sudden, the animal was on top of us like it was rabid," Hernandez said.
Police said it took a half-dozen men to control the enraged beast.
Chiapas police have thrown animals in the slammer before, including a bull that devoured corn crops and destroyed two wooden vending stands in March.
In 2006, a dog was locked up for 12 days after biting someone. His owners were fined $18.
Source: msnbc
See also: Man sexually assaults two dogs...
And this: Want to cuddle a tiger? You can ... at the Tiger Temple!
The Televisa network on Wednesday showed Blacky gobbling food from a bucket after spending three days in a jail that normally holds people for public drunkenness and other disturbances.
Blacky was jailed for biting and kicking two men near a ranch outside Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of the southern state of Chiapas.
Officials freed the donkey after its owner paid a fine of $36 and the $115 hospital bill of the men, who suffered bites to the chest and a broken ankle. Authorities say he also must pay $480 to each man for missed work days.
The victims said the donkey bit Genaro Vazquez, 63, in the chest on Sunday and then kicked 52-year-old Andres Hernandez as he tried to come to the rescue, fracturing his ankle.
"All of a sudden, the animal was on top of us like it was rabid," Hernandez said.
Police said it took a half-dozen men to control the enraged beast.
Chiapas police have thrown animals in the slammer before, including a bull that devoured corn crops and destroyed two wooden vending stands in March.
In 2006, a dog was locked up for 12 days after biting someone. His owners were fined $18.
Source: msnbc
See also: Man sexually assaults two dogs...
And this: Want to cuddle a tiger? You can ... at the Tiger Temple!
Unmarked chopper patrols New York City...
On a cloudless spring day, the NYPD helicopter soars over the city, its sights set on the Statue of Liberty.
A dramatic close-up of Lady Liberty's frozen gaze fills one of three flat-screen computer monitors mounted on a console. Hundreds of sightseers below are oblivious to the fact that a helicopter is peering down on them from a mile and a half away.
"They don't even know we're here," said crew chief John Diaz, speaking into a headset over the din of the aircraft's engine.
The helicopter's unmarked paint job belies what's inside: an arsenal of sophisticated surveillance and tracking equipment powerful enough to read license plates — or scan pedestrians' faces — from high above the nation's largest metropolis.
Police say the chopper's sweeps of landmarks and other potential targets are invaluable in helping guard against another terrorist attack, providing a see-but-avoid-being-seen advantage against bad guys.
"It looks like just another helicopter in the sky," said Assistant Police Chief Charles Kammerdener, who oversees the department's aviation unit. More...
See also: Romans flee Google Street View car!!! WTF!
And this: Insect spies? Jesus! This is scary, folks!
A dramatic close-up of Lady Liberty's frozen gaze fills one of three flat-screen computer monitors mounted on a console. Hundreds of sightseers below are oblivious to the fact that a helicopter is peering down on them from a mile and a half away.
"They don't even know we're here," said crew chief John Diaz, speaking into a headset over the din of the aircraft's engine.
The helicopter's unmarked paint job belies what's inside: an arsenal of sophisticated surveillance and tracking equipment powerful enough to read license plates — or scan pedestrians' faces — from high above the nation's largest metropolis.
Police say the chopper's sweeps of landmarks and other potential targets are invaluable in helping guard against another terrorist attack, providing a see-but-avoid-being-seen advantage against bad guys.
"It looks like just another helicopter in the sky," said Assistant Police Chief Charles Kammerdener, who oversees the department's aviation unit. More...
See also: Romans flee Google Street View car!!! WTF!
And this: Insect spies? Jesus! This is scary, folks!
Bush's War on Children in Iraq...
Surely nothing that President Bush has done in his two wretched terms of office—not the invasion and destruction of Iraq, not the overturning of the five-centuries-old tradition of habeas corpus, not his authorization and encouragement of torture, not his campaign of domestic spying—nothing, can compare in its ugliness as his approval, as commander in chief, of the imprisoning of over 2500 children.
According to the US government’s own figures, that is how many kids 17 years and younger have been held since 2001 as “enemy combatants”—often for over a year, and sometimes for over five years. At least eight of those children, some reportedly as young as 10, were held at Guantanamo. They even had a special camp for them there: Camp Iguana. One of those kids committed suicide at the age of 21, after spending five years in confinement at Guantanamo. (Ironically and tragically, that particular victim of the president’s criminal policy, had been determined by the Pentagon to have been innocent only two weeks before he took his own life, but nobody bothered to tell him he was slated for release and a return home to Afghanistan.) More...
See also: The Children of Iraq...
And this: Iraqi woman and her son
According to the US government’s own figures, that is how many kids 17 years and younger have been held since 2001 as “enemy combatants”—often for over a year, and sometimes for over five years. At least eight of those children, some reportedly as young as 10, were held at Guantanamo. They even had a special camp for them there: Camp Iguana. One of those kids committed suicide at the age of 21, after spending five years in confinement at Guantanamo. (Ironically and tragically, that particular victim of the president’s criminal policy, had been determined by the Pentagon to have been innocent only two weeks before he took his own life, but nobody bothered to tell him he was slated for release and a return home to Afghanistan.) More...
See also: The Children of Iraq...
And this: Iraqi woman and her son
Big Brother: are they about to violate the privacy of our minds?
Imagine a world of streets lined with video cameras that alert authorities to any suspicious activity. A world where police officers can read the minds of potential criminals and arrest them before they commit any crimes. A world in which a suspect who lies under questioning gets caught immediately because his brain has given him away.
Though that may sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report," it's not science fiction: We're not so far away from that world. But does it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one? It's a question we should be asking as the federal government invests millions of dollars in emerging technology aimed at detecting and decoding brain activity. Though government funding focuses on military uses for these new technologies, they can and do end up in the hands of civilian law enforcement and in commercial applications.
As spending continues and neurotechnology advances, that imagined world is no longer the stuff of science fiction or futuristic movies, and we postpone at our peril confronting the ethical and legal dilemmas it poses for a society that values not just personal safety but civil liberty. More...
See also: ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails...
And this: Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision...
Though that may sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report," it's not science fiction: We're not so far away from that world. But does it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one? It's a question we should be asking as the federal government invests millions of dollars in emerging technology aimed at detecting and decoding brain activity. Though government funding focuses on military uses for these new technologies, they can and do end up in the hands of civilian law enforcement and in commercial applications.
As spending continues and neurotechnology advances, that imagined world is no longer the stuff of science fiction or futuristic movies, and we postpone at our peril confronting the ethical and legal dilemmas it poses for a society that values not just personal safety but civil liberty. More...
See also: ‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails...
And this: Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision...
Sunday, May 25, 2008
OMG! Man has sex with taxi-cab!!!
A naked man was arrested Saturday on suspicion of trying to have sex with a taxi cab in Avila Beach, authorities said.
Cody Eugene Williams, 27, of El Dorado Hills, was found about 6:15 p.m. on First Street wearing only his birthday suit and simulating intercourse on the windshield of the cab, according to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s officials.
The cabbie was still inside the taxi, investigators said.
Williams, reportedly intoxicated, also jumped on at least three other cars and broke a windshield, sheriff's officials said.
Williams was booked at County Jail on suspicion of vandalism, indecent exposure and committing a lewd act.
Source: SanLuisObispo.com
See also: Edward Smith,the man who has had sex with more than 1000 cars!!!
And this: Man who had sex with bike...
Cody Eugene Williams, 27, of El Dorado Hills, was found about 6:15 p.m. on First Street wearing only his birthday suit and simulating intercourse on the windshield of the cab, according to San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s officials.
The cabbie was still inside the taxi, investigators said.
Williams, reportedly intoxicated, also jumped on at least three other cars and broke a windshield, sheriff's officials said.
Williams was booked at County Jail on suspicion of vandalism, indecent exposure and committing a lewd act.
Source: SanLuisObispo.com
See also: Edward Smith,the man who has had sex with more than 1000 cars!!!
And this: Man who had sex with bike...
Thousands march against South Africa's racial violence...
housands of people marched through South Africa's biggest city on Saturday, calling for an end to the violence that has killed at least 50 African migrants and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes.
Demonstrators carrying placards saying "Xenophobia hurts like apartheid" and "We stand against xenophobia" brought traffic to a standstill in Johannesburg's city centre.
People in the Hillbrow district, home to many African immigrants, cheered the march, which was organized by churches and labor unions.
Police said townships around Johannesburg were quiet but shops were looted and burnt outside Cape Town late on Friday.
The South African government has been criticized for its slow reaction to the violence, the worst since apartheid ended 14 years ago, and for not addressing the poverty that is widely blamed for the bloodshed. More...
See also: What's going on in South Africa?
And this: Racist violence escalates in South Africa...
Demonstrators carrying placards saying "Xenophobia hurts like apartheid" and "We stand against xenophobia" brought traffic to a standstill in Johannesburg's city centre.
People in the Hillbrow district, home to many African immigrants, cheered the march, which was organized by churches and labor unions.
Police said townships around Johannesburg were quiet but shops were looted and burnt outside Cape Town late on Friday.
The South African government has been criticized for its slow reaction to the violence, the worst since apartheid ended 14 years ago, and for not addressing the poverty that is widely blamed for the bloodshed. More...
See also: What's going on in South Africa?
And this: Racist violence escalates in South Africa...
Abby & Brittany Hensel, the twins with one body. (Must see)
Abby & Brittany Hensel, deux personnes mais un seul corps!!! (A voir absolument!)
Unasur: Union of South American Nations...
The leaders of 12 South American nations have formed a regional body aimed at boosting economic and political integration in the region.
At a summit in Brazil, they signed a treaty which created the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the move showed that South America was becoming a "global player".
But tensions between several members will make it difficult for the group to achieve its goals, observers say.
Mr Lula said at the summit in Brasilia that the differences between some Unasur governments were a sign of vitality in the region. More...
See also: Organisations without borders, a step towards World Government?
And this: A rice cartel of five Asian nations?
At a summit in Brazil, they signed a treaty which created the Union of South American Nations (Unasur).
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the move showed that South America was becoming a "global player".
But tensions between several members will make it difficult for the group to achieve its goals, observers say.
Mr Lula said at the summit in Brasilia that the differences between some Unasur governments were a sign of vitality in the region. More...
See also: Organisations without borders, a step towards World Government?
And this: A rice cartel of five Asian nations?
Sarkozy partie civile dans une affaire de tee-shirts...
Après Lacoste et Heineken, Nicolas Sarkozy s'est constitué partie civile dans une affaire instruite à Alberville (Savoie) et portant sur des tee-shirts parodiques dont certains utilisaient son patronyme suivi du slogan «tolérance zéro».
Elle vise en particulier un tee-shirt dont le logo transforme le «o» du patronyme présidentiel en cible avec en dessous un slogan «tolérance zéro...50 points». Au dessus du nom, la devise républicaine «liberté, égalité, fraternité» est maculée d'une tâche de sang, révèle samedi le Dauphiné Libéré.
La majorité des tee-shirts concernés, dont certains ont été saisis sur un marché d'Albertville, ont été commercialisés par des sociétés lyonnaise et avignonnaise dont les gérants ont été mis en examen courant avril pour «contrefaçon, détournement de marque sans autorisation», a précisé leur avocat, Me Roland Marmillot.
«J'ai été désagréablement surpris lorsque j'ai appris vendredi que le Président de la République se constituait partie civile, en se plaignant à la justice de caricature le représentant. On est dans l'humour», a-t-il ajouté.
L'un de ses clients installé en Bretagne a été mis en examen notamment pour «incitation au terrorisme» après avoir transformé sur le tee-shirt qu'il vendait un oeuf de la marque «Kinder» en grenade renommée «Killer», a-t-il conclu.
Source: leparisien.fr
Voir aussi: Le Top 10 de Nicolas Sarkozy...
Et ceci: Serrer la main de Sarkozy? Non, merci!!
Elle vise en particulier un tee-shirt dont le logo transforme le «o» du patronyme présidentiel en cible avec en dessous un slogan «tolérance zéro...50 points». Au dessus du nom, la devise républicaine «liberté, égalité, fraternité» est maculée d'une tâche de sang, révèle samedi le Dauphiné Libéré.
La majorité des tee-shirts concernés, dont certains ont été saisis sur un marché d'Albertville, ont été commercialisés par des sociétés lyonnaise et avignonnaise dont les gérants ont été mis en examen courant avril pour «contrefaçon, détournement de marque sans autorisation», a précisé leur avocat, Me Roland Marmillot.
«J'ai été désagréablement surpris lorsque j'ai appris vendredi que le Président de la République se constituait partie civile, en se plaignant à la justice de caricature le représentant. On est dans l'humour», a-t-il ajouté.
L'un de ses clients installé en Bretagne a été mis en examen notamment pour «incitation au terrorisme» après avoir transformé sur le tee-shirt qu'il vendait un oeuf de la marque «Kinder» en grenade renommée «Killer», a-t-il conclu.
Source: leparisien.fr
Voir aussi: Le Top 10 de Nicolas Sarkozy...
Et ceci: Serrer la main de Sarkozy? Non, merci!!
Organisations without borders, a step towards World Government?
Doctors without borders. Journalists without borders. Educators without borders. Librarians without borders. Rivers without borders. Potters without borders. Hydrogeologists without borders. Facilitators without borders. Builders without borders. Life without borders. Students without borders. Veterinarians without borders. Friends without borders. MBAs without borders. Words without borders. Dogs without borders (see here). Mexicans without borders. Slavery without borders. Dumping without borders (see here).
These are only some of the quickly burgeoning groups that share the same last (two) name(s), "without borders."
What is going on here? What accounts for this new "without borders" initiative? What do all these groups have in common? Do they resemble each other in any way apart from choice of appellation? And, where are the "libertarians without borders?"
At first glance, these groups are as dissimilar as they can be. What, after all, do doctors, reporters and Mexicans share apart from their humanity, of course? But, by digging a little deeper we are able, at least, to hazard an informed guess as to what is going on. More..
See also: World food crisis: a conspiracy to reduce world population?
These are only some of the quickly burgeoning groups that share the same last (two) name(s), "without borders."
What is going on here? What accounts for this new "without borders" initiative? What do all these groups have in common? Do they resemble each other in any way apart from choice of appellation? And, where are the "libertarians without borders?"
At first glance, these groups are as dissimilar as they can be. What, after all, do doctors, reporters and Mexicans share apart from their humanity, of course? But, by digging a little deeper we are able, at least, to hazard an informed guess as to what is going on. More..
See also: World food crisis: a conspiracy to reduce world population?
Yosuke, le perroquet avisé...
Yosuke, le perroquet égaré, a retrouvé le chemin de chez lui – en donnant son nom et son adresse. Recueilli par un policier de Nagareyama, dans la banlieue de Tokyo, le volatile a passé la nuit au poste avant d'être confié à une clinique vétérinaire, rapporte le Mainichi Daily News. Le perroquet gris d'Afrique n'a pas ouvert le bec au commissariat, mais a répété inlassablement "je suis M. Yosuke Nakamura" au vétérinaire, en indiquant son domicile, comme le lui avait appris son propriétaire, Yoshio Nakamura.
Source: Courrier international
Tanzania's missing girls...
For five months last year Kim Kitchen, a Canadian expert on sexual violence and community development, lived in a crowded shantytown on the outskirts of the Tanzanian capital of Dar es Salaam while she set up a women's safety program. She began to notice that nightfall was an anxious time for mothers.
"One of the startling realities for me was as the sun started to set I observed the women would start calling in their daughters," said Kitchen. "As the sun set more and more, and daughters hadn't come, the urgency in their calls grew. It was just a matter of fact that every girl has to be in their home after dark."
Across East Africa--once a corridor for merchants trading slaves from the continent's interior for fine cloth, frankincense and spices from the Middle East--conditions are in place for a boom market in the traffic of human beings. Poverty and instability in the region mean many are desperate enough to trade themselves or their children for a ticket out. Tanzania is no exception.
More...
See also: Underage girls and the modelling/porn industry...
And this: Genocide: India's missing daughters...
"One of the startling realities for me was as the sun started to set I observed the women would start calling in their daughters," said Kitchen. "As the sun set more and more, and daughters hadn't come, the urgency in their calls grew. It was just a matter of fact that every girl has to be in their home after dark."
Across East Africa--once a corridor for merchants trading slaves from the continent's interior for fine cloth, frankincense and spices from the Middle East--conditions are in place for a boom market in the traffic of human beings. Poverty and instability in the region mean many are desperate enough to trade themselves or their children for a ticket out. Tanzania is no exception.
More...
See also: Underage girls and the modelling/porn industry...
And this: Genocide: India's missing daughters...
Charges dropped against teen who called Scientology a cult..
Today the City of London Police have dropped the charges against a 16-year-old anti-Scientology protestor for using the word “cult” in a move the human rights group Liberty called a “free speech victory.”
Liberty’s Legal Director James Welch, who is advising the young man, said:
“At last an outbreak of common sense; but pretty worrying for free speech that the police even threatened this young man with prosecution. They may have ended their inquiries into this tawdry incident but rest assured that Liberty’s inquiry will continue.”
“Democracy is all about clashing ideas and the police should protect peaceful protest, not stifle it.”
The anti-Scientology protester, who as a minor cannot be named, was issued a summons by the City of London Police on 10 May for refusing to remove his sign reading: “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.”
The police said that his use of the word “cult” violated Section 5 of the Public Order Act (1986), which makes it an offence to display a sign which is threatening, insulting or abusive, within the hearing or sight of someone likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress by it. The boy was taking part in a group demonstration outside the Church of Scientology’s central London headquarters.
City of London Police today told the youth that they would not be pursuing the prosecution. Liberty is exploring the possibilities of action against the police amid concerns of police policy in this area.
Source: Liberty
See also: Teenager facing prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'...
And this: Why I fled the Church of Scientology...
Liberty’s Legal Director James Welch, who is advising the young man, said:
“At last an outbreak of common sense; but pretty worrying for free speech that the police even threatened this young man with prosecution. They may have ended their inquiries into this tawdry incident but rest assured that Liberty’s inquiry will continue.”
“Democracy is all about clashing ideas and the police should protect peaceful protest, not stifle it.”
The anti-Scientology protester, who as a minor cannot be named, was issued a summons by the City of London Police on 10 May for refusing to remove his sign reading: “Scientology is not a religion, it is a dangerous cult.”
The police said that his use of the word “cult” violated Section 5 of the Public Order Act (1986), which makes it an offence to display a sign which is threatening, insulting or abusive, within the hearing or sight of someone likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress by it. The boy was taking part in a group demonstration outside the Church of Scientology’s central London headquarters.
City of London Police today told the youth that they would not be pursuing the prosecution. Liberty is exploring the possibilities of action against the police amid concerns of police policy in this area.
Source: Liberty
See also: Teenager facing prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'...
And this: Why I fled the Church of Scientology...
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Cat turns into a woman!!!
WHAT could be described as a fairy tale turned real on Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, as a cat allegedly turned into a middle-aged woman after being hit by a commercial motorcycle (Okada) on Aba/Port Harcourt Expressway.
Nigerian Tribune learnt that three cats were crossing the busy road when the okada ran over one of them which immediately turned into a woman. This strange occurrence quickly attracted people around who descended on the animals. One of them, it was learnt, was able to escape while the third one was beaten to death, still as a cat though.
According to a source who witnessed what happened, the cat-woman said she and the two other cat-fellows had travelled from Abuja to Port Harcourt to kill three people. “The woman said they came to Port Harcourt from Abuja and that they came to kill three people. She said they had succeeded in killing two people, but the third person, whom I guess might be a pastor, was difficult for them and that they were preparing to go back to Abuja,” said the source. More...
See also: Kenya mob burns 15 women to death over witchcraft...
And this: India: 3 young men beat mother to death in exorcism ritual...
Friday, May 23, 2008
At 203 in doggie years, is Bella the mongrel the world's oldest dog ever?
The joy of gnawing on a bone is a distant memory and these days the only walkies she can manage is a potter around the garden.
But that's not bad going considering Bella the Labrador cross is around 29 years old.
That's 203 if every year of a dog's life equals seven human years.
The faithful pet is believed to be the world's oldest living dog and could even be the oldest dog ever.
Unfortunately her owner David Richardson, 76, has no documentation to prove her precise date of birth and so Bella's extraordinary longevity will never enter the record books.
Mr Richardson bought Bella for £70 from an RSPCA rescue centre on June 21, 1982, when she was "about three years old".
They have been companions ever since.
But only this week the pensioner thought he was finally going to lose his faithful old friend.
Bella suddenly fell ill and was unable to walk. More...
See also: Zeeke the dog to receive Bachelor's Degree!!!
And this: The dog and the motherless kittens...
Afrique du Sud: les violences xénophobes se propagent au Cap...
Les violences xénophobes, qui ravagent des townships sud-africains depuis douze jours, se sont pour la première fois propagées à la région du Cap (sud-ouest), a annoncé vendredi la police.
Une réunion publique dans le bidonville de Du Noon, situé à 20 kilomètres au nord de la ville du Cap, a dégénéré en violences, selon un porte-parole de la police locale, Billy Jones.
«Des bandes dans la foule ont commencé à piller des boutiques appartenant à des Zimbabwéens et d'autres étrangers», a-t-il déclaré par téléphone à l'AFP, précisant qu'il s'agissait du premier incident du genre dans les environs du Cap.
«Certaines personnes ont été attaquées, mais ce sont surtout des boutiques qui ont été pillées.»
Quelque 500 immigrés ont fui le bidonville pour se réfugier dans des centres sociaux où ils ont été pris en charge«, a-t-il précisé.
Les incidents ont débuté jeudi vers 18h00 (16h00 GMT) et la police n'a réussi à reprendre le contrôle de la situation que vers 02H00 (00H00 GMT) vendredi, arrêtant 12 personnes pour violence publique.
»La situation s'est stabilisée, mais reste tendue«, a-t-il ajouté, précisant que la police patrouille la zone à pied.
Au moins 42 personnes ont été tuées, des centaines blessées, 16.000 déplacées et plus de 500 arrêtées par la police depuis le début de ces violences le 11 mai à Johannesburg.
Source: leparisien.fr
Voir aussi: Racist violence escalates in South Africa...
Une réunion publique dans le bidonville de Du Noon, situé à 20 kilomètres au nord de la ville du Cap, a dégénéré en violences, selon un porte-parole de la police locale, Billy Jones.
«Des bandes dans la foule ont commencé à piller des boutiques appartenant à des Zimbabwéens et d'autres étrangers», a-t-il déclaré par téléphone à l'AFP, précisant qu'il s'agissait du premier incident du genre dans les environs du Cap.
«Certaines personnes ont été attaquées, mais ce sont surtout des boutiques qui ont été pillées.»
Quelque 500 immigrés ont fui le bidonville pour se réfugier dans des centres sociaux où ils ont été pris en charge«, a-t-il précisé.
Les incidents ont débuté jeudi vers 18h00 (16h00 GMT) et la police n'a réussi à reprendre le contrôle de la situation que vers 02H00 (00H00 GMT) vendredi, arrêtant 12 personnes pour violence publique.
»La situation s'est stabilisée, mais reste tendue«, a-t-il ajouté, précisant que la police patrouille la zone à pied.
Au moins 42 personnes ont été tuées, des centaines blessées, 16.000 déplacées et plus de 500 arrêtées par la police depuis le début de ces violences le 11 mai à Johannesburg.
Source: leparisien.fr
Voir aussi: Racist violence escalates in South Africa...
Australian police shut down a Bill Henson naked child photo exhibit..
A photographic exhibition in Sydney of naked 12 and 13-year-old children, closed by police only hours before its opening night, has sparked a heated debate over whether adolescent nudity is art or pornography.
Police on Thursday night closed the exhibition by Australian photographer Bill Henson which features photographs of naked children, saying they were investigating its legality.
The show includes large photographic prints of topless girls.
"I think they're revolting. Kids deserve to have the innocence of their childhood protected," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told local television on Friday.
"I have a very deep view of this. For God sake let's just allow kids to be kids, whatever the artistic view or the merits of that sort of stuff. Frankly I don't think there are any."
Child protection advocate Hetty Johnston said the photographer and exhibitor should both be prosecuted.
"You can call it anything you want, but at the end of the day, these are images of naked adolescents," Johnston said.
"We all have a responsibility to look after children. Putting naked photos up there on public display in a gallery ... and even on the internet is just totally betraying our duty of care to children," Johnston said.
In media interviews ahead of the exhibition, Henson said he left interpretation of the images to audiences.
"You can't control the way individuals respond to the work," he said, saying he photographed adolescents because they reflected a humanity and vulnerability.
Artists and gallery patrons, some of whom were turned away from the gallery on Thursday night, said the shutdown of the photographic exhibition was censorship of art.
Art market analyst Michael Reid said the images had not been "sexualised" and were not pornographic, adding Henson frequently used young adolescent models as part of his range of work.
"I think the sexualisation of children is an extremely important (issue). The naked body, whatever age, has been a subject for thousands of years," Reid told local radio.
"The question is was there consent, which I can't answer, and has the image been sexualised? In my opinion, it wasn't."
Senior curator of photography at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which has exhibited Henson's work, defended his images.
"I think it is unfortunate if people confuse it with pornography. I think the question then goes back to these people, these rabble rousers, what do they think is pornographic about this work?," said Judy Annear.
Source: Swissinfo.ch
See also: WTF! Five year-old kids kick-boxing Thai style...
And this: Different strokes, or how paedophiles lure kids...
Police on Thursday night closed the exhibition by Australian photographer Bill Henson which features photographs of naked children, saying they were investigating its legality.
The show includes large photographic prints of topless girls.
"I think they're revolting. Kids deserve to have the innocence of their childhood protected," Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told local television on Friday.
"I have a very deep view of this. For God sake let's just allow kids to be kids, whatever the artistic view or the merits of that sort of stuff. Frankly I don't think there are any."
Child protection advocate Hetty Johnston said the photographer and exhibitor should both be prosecuted.
"You can call it anything you want, but at the end of the day, these are images of naked adolescents," Johnston said.
"We all have a responsibility to look after children. Putting naked photos up there on public display in a gallery ... and even on the internet is just totally betraying our duty of care to children," Johnston said.
In media interviews ahead of the exhibition, Henson said he left interpretation of the images to audiences.
"You can't control the way individuals respond to the work," he said, saying he photographed adolescents because they reflected a humanity and vulnerability.
Artists and gallery patrons, some of whom were turned away from the gallery on Thursday night, said the shutdown of the photographic exhibition was censorship of art.
Art market analyst Michael Reid said the images had not been "sexualised" and were not pornographic, adding Henson frequently used young adolescent models as part of his range of work.
"I think the sexualisation of children is an extremely important (issue). The naked body, whatever age, has been a subject for thousands of years," Reid told local radio.
"The question is was there consent, which I can't answer, and has the image been sexualised? In my opinion, it wasn't."
Senior curator of photography at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, which has exhibited Henson's work, defended his images.
"I think it is unfortunate if people confuse it with pornography. I think the question then goes back to these people, these rabble rousers, what do they think is pornographic about this work?," said Judy Annear.
Source: Swissinfo.ch
See also: WTF! Five year-old kids kick-boxing Thai style...
And this: Different strokes, or how paedophiles lure kids...
Is Israel on the road to oblivion?
When Amnon Rubinstein speaks, many people in Israel listen. As an intellectual who has held the posts of minister of education and of justice, Rubinstein commands the respect of the Israeli elite regardless of their intellectual and political leanings. And yet Rubinstein surprised Israelis when in interview with Hebrew Radio in mid-April he anticipated that the Israeli state would not survive. Rubinstein is not the only person to have reached this conclusion. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of Israel's establishment, Israeli intellectuals teemed with pessimistic predictions about the future. An increasing number of politicians and Zionists have begun to openly express the belief that the entity of Israel is on a path to oblivion.
Since these predictions were made public, the Israeli press has dubbed them "visions of the end of time". They have gained weight because they undermine the appearance of confidence that Israel's leaders are keen to convey at any opportunity, but also because their proponents have played important decision-making roles or have long been connected to the establishment and are not merely members of elite intellectual circles on the margins of society. These intellectuals explain that their conclusion results from three basic factors: external threat; lack of confidence in the state's future; and severe polarisation among society's components. Rubinstein holds that Israel has failed counter Arab threats, in particular failing to extinguish the desire of Palestinians to obtain their rights in struggle against Israel. More...
See also: British Jews: "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary"
And this: Gaza, a human and Palestinian tragedy...
Since these predictions were made public, the Israeli press has dubbed them "visions of the end of time". They have gained weight because they undermine the appearance of confidence that Israel's leaders are keen to convey at any opportunity, but also because their proponents have played important decision-making roles or have long been connected to the establishment and are not merely members of elite intellectual circles on the margins of society. These intellectuals explain that their conclusion results from three basic factors: external threat; lack of confidence in the state's future; and severe polarisation among society's components. Rubinstein holds that Israel has failed counter Arab threats, in particular failing to extinguish the desire of Palestinians to obtain their rights in struggle against Israel. More...
See also: British Jews: "We're not celebrating Israel's anniversary"
And this: Gaza, a human and Palestinian tragedy...
Boys 'enjoyed' killing two-year-old...
TWO brothers, aged seven and nine, told psychiatrists they slowly, coldly tortured a two-year-old girl to death - a revelation that has Argentines debating whether to do away with a law prohibiting the prosecution of minors for heinous crimes.
Judge Marta Pascual said the children confessed to slaying little neighbour Milagros Belizan in a shantytown south of the capital.
"They understood her pain but it did not move them," Judge Pascualsaid after meeting with psychiatrists who examined the boys. "In some form it gave them pleasure."
Little Milagros disappeared from her home in the poverty-stricken Almirante Brown neighbourhood on Sunday. Her family found her body in a vacant lot 10 blocks away.
She had been stripped naked, beaten and strangled with telephone cord that was found wrapped around her neck. More...
See also: Boys, aged 11, rape (sister) and record it on cell-phone...
Judge Marta Pascual said the children confessed to slaying little neighbour Milagros Belizan in a shantytown south of the capital.
"They understood her pain but it did not move them," Judge Pascualsaid after meeting with psychiatrists who examined the boys. "In some form it gave them pleasure."
Little Milagros disappeared from her home in the poverty-stricken Almirante Brown neighbourhood on Sunday. Her family found her body in a vacant lot 10 blocks away.
She had been stripped naked, beaten and strangled with telephone cord that was found wrapped around her neck. More...
See also: Boys, aged 11, rape (sister) and record it on cell-phone...
WTF! Severed feet keep turning up on B.C.coast...
Another severed foot has washed ashore on the British Columbia coast.
It's the fourth foot that's been found in less than a year, and police don't know if there are any links between them. Const. Nycki Basra of the Richmond RCMP says a passerby contacted police around noon on Thursday after spotting the shoe on Kirkland Island, south of Vancouver.
Like the three other feet, it was firmly nestled in a shoe.
In February, the remains of a right foot was found on the east side of Valdez Island.
Last August, a foot was found inside a man's Reebok sneaker on a heavily-used trail on Gabriola Island, just a few days after another foot was discovered by beachcombers on Jedidiah Island.
Source: The Canadian Press
It's the fourth foot that's been found in less than a year, and police don't know if there are any links between them. Const. Nycki Basra of the Richmond RCMP says a passerby contacted police around noon on Thursday after spotting the shoe on Kirkland Island, south of Vancouver.
Like the three other feet, it was firmly nestled in a shoe.
In February, the remains of a right foot was found on the east side of Valdez Island.
Last August, a foot was found inside a man's Reebok sneaker on a heavily-used trail on Gabriola Island, just a few days after another foot was discovered by beachcombers on Jedidiah Island.
Source: The Canadian Press
What's going on in South Africa?
Feneck Mgawa, a 39-year-old mechanic from Malawi, came to South Africa 18 months ago. He owned a box of tools and got work right away, living modestly in a hovel in a squatter camp and sending cash home each month to his wife and two children.
He was exactly the kind of foreigner the hateful mob wanted to kill.
Last weekend, the marauders came to his shack and looked him over. Just to be sure they were not misdirecting their rage, they asked, "Are you a foreigner?" He spoke enough Zulu to lie, but what was the use? His accent would have given him away. He escaped with his life only after being beaten with sticks and pelted with rocks, he said.
Mgawa is now one of 6,000 immigrants displaced in recent days by xenophobic violence in Reiger Park, just east of Johannesburg. Like many of the others, he is afraid to return to his shack or go to his job. He sleeps on the floor of a church and eats sandwiches and porridge donated by South Africans who are appalled at the murderous behavior of their countrymen. More...
See also: Racist violence escalates in South Africa...
And this: The Coltan War
Western Shugden members protest during Dalai Lama's speech in Germany...
Against the chilling backdrop of the Zeppelin Field, where Hitler addressed the vast Nazi rallies in the 30’s, the Dalai Lama gave a talk at the Arena Versicherung in Nürnberg, Germany on Sunday May 18.
While he lectured his audience on human rights and the importance of religious tolerance, outside hundreds of victims of his own human rights abuses and religious intolerance demonstrated to bring his duplicity to the attention of the world.
In then persecuting those who refuse to follow him in his betrayal, threatening to “knock on their doors” if they do not comply, and condemning those who retain the practice to the status of “untouchables” within the exiled Tibetan community, he has shown himself to be a tyrant who is prepared to create schisms among his own people and use fear and intimidation to retain his grip on political power. More...
See also: The Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden...
And this: The Western Shugden Society attacks the Dalai Lama...
While he lectured his audience on human rights and the importance of religious tolerance, outside hundreds of victims of his own human rights abuses and religious intolerance demonstrated to bring his duplicity to the attention of the world.
In then persecuting those who refuse to follow him in his betrayal, threatening to “knock on their doors” if they do not comply, and condemning those who retain the practice to the status of “untouchables” within the exiled Tibetan community, he has shown himself to be a tyrant who is prepared to create schisms among his own people and use fear and intimidation to retain his grip on political power. More...
See also: The Dalai Lama and Dorje Shugden...
And this: The Western Shugden Society attacks the Dalai Lama...
Thursday, May 22, 2008
‘Big Brother’ database for phones and e-mails...
A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials.
The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts.
The proposal will raise further alarm about a “Big Brother” society, as it follows plans for vast databases for the ID cards scheme and NHS patients. There will also be concern about the ability of the Government to manage a system holding billions of records. About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated 3 billion e-mails are sent every day. More...
See also: Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision...
And this: Big Brother is Here, There and Everywhere...
The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts.
The proposal will raise further alarm about a “Big Brother” society, as it follows plans for vast databases for the ID cards scheme and NHS patients. There will also be concern about the ability of the Government to manage a system holding billions of records. About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated 3 billion e-mails are sent every day. More...
See also: Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision...
And this: Big Brother is Here, There and Everywhere...
" Le silence des autres", le livre de Lydia Gouardo, sort aujourd'hui...
Violée par son père dont elle a eu six enfants, Lydia Gouardo témoigne dans « le Silence des autres » . Un livre dont nous publions des extraits.
INCROYABLE. Ce mot, Lydia Gouardo, 45 ans, l'a tellement entendu qu'elle n'a pas cherché à le combattre. Jusque-là.
Car à lire son livre qui paraît aujourd'hui* et dont nous publions des extraits, on ne peut que croire à l'histoire. Et trembler. Trente-sept années de sévices, de coups, de viols, infligés par un père qui lui fit six enfants. Trente-sept années de conditionnement mental dans la terreur des autres, de l'abandon, droguée à l'éther quand elle se rebellait, séquestrée quand elle fuguait. Une vie sans école, sans ami, sans un frère et une soeur qui étaient, eux, parvenus à s'échapper, sans autre repère que ce père monstrueux. Si bien que Lydia écrit ces mots terribles : « A l'époque, je pensais vraiment que mon père avait tous les droits parce que j'étais sa fille. Je pensais surtout que la vie c'était comme ça et qu'il ne fallait compter sur personne, à part sur sa famille. »
Dans ce livre, fidèle à elle-même, Lydia dit tout, sans faux-semblant ni calcul. Au travers de ce récit, tricoté - avec peine - par Jean-Michel Caradec'h, on comprend l'incroyable enchaînement qui a permis à Raymond Gouardo, « le Vieux », de terroriser et de museler famille, proches et voisins. On comprend moins l'absence de réponse des institutions, le nouveau cheval de bataille de Lydia et de son compagnon Sylvain.
Source...
Voir aussi: Lydia Gouardo: Les services sociaux se mobilisent enfin...
Et ceci: Comme Elisabeth Fritzl à Amstetten, voici Lydia Gouardo en France...
INCROYABLE. Ce mot, Lydia Gouardo, 45 ans, l'a tellement entendu qu'elle n'a pas cherché à le combattre. Jusque-là.
Car à lire son livre qui paraît aujourd'hui* et dont nous publions des extraits, on ne peut que croire à l'histoire. Et trembler. Trente-sept années de sévices, de coups, de viols, infligés par un père qui lui fit six enfants. Trente-sept années de conditionnement mental dans la terreur des autres, de l'abandon, droguée à l'éther quand elle se rebellait, séquestrée quand elle fuguait. Une vie sans école, sans ami, sans un frère et une soeur qui étaient, eux, parvenus à s'échapper, sans autre repère que ce père monstrueux. Si bien que Lydia écrit ces mots terribles : « A l'époque, je pensais vraiment que mon père avait tous les droits parce que j'étais sa fille. Je pensais surtout que la vie c'était comme ça et qu'il ne fallait compter sur personne, à part sur sa famille. »
Dans ce livre, fidèle à elle-même, Lydia dit tout, sans faux-semblant ni calcul. Au travers de ce récit, tricoté - avec peine - par Jean-Michel Caradec'h, on comprend l'incroyable enchaînement qui a permis à Raymond Gouardo, « le Vieux », de terroriser et de museler famille, proches et voisins. On comprend moins l'absence de réponse des institutions, le nouveau cheval de bataille de Lydia et de son compagnon Sylvain.
Source...
Voir aussi: Lydia Gouardo: Les services sociaux se mobilisent enfin...
Et ceci: Comme Elisabeth Fritzl à Amstetten, voici Lydia Gouardo en France...
Kenya mob burns 15 women to death over witchcraft...
A rampaging mob in western Kenya burnt 15 women accused of witchcraft to death, a local official and villagers told AFP Wednesday.
"This is unacceptable. People must not take the law into their own hands simply because they suspected someone," said Mwangi Ngunyi, the head of Nyamaiya district. "We will hunt the suspects down," he added.
The gang of about 100 people moved from house to house late Tuesday, tied up their victims and set them ablaze, the official said.
Ngunyi added that the mob also torched 50 houses in Nyakeo village, located some 300 kilometres (180 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.
"I can't believe my wife of many years would be killed so brutally by people who cannot prove their case even before God," said Enoch Obiero, a pastor.
"My mother has always been a role model to the entire village and why the mob had to kill her will remain a mystery to me forever," lamented 32-year-old Emily Monari.
The region, populated mainly by the Kisii tribe, has been dubbed Kenya's "sorcery belt" due to mob attacks on women suspected of witchcraft.
Efforts by the authorities to clamp down on vigilante and mob justice have been unsuccessful.
Dozens of suspected people were killed in western Kenya in the 1990s, amid allegations of sorcery.
Several cases were also reported in recent months in neighbouring Tanzania, forcing President Jakaya Kikwete to order special protection for albino, who were being murdered and mutilated for good luck by with-doctors.
Source: Breitbart.com
See also: Wasn't the Inquisition bad enough?
And this: India: 3 young men beat mother to death in exorcism ritual...
"This is unacceptable. People must not take the law into their own hands simply because they suspected someone," said Mwangi Ngunyi, the head of Nyamaiya district. "We will hunt the suspects down," he added.
The gang of about 100 people moved from house to house late Tuesday, tied up their victims and set them ablaze, the official said.
Ngunyi added that the mob also torched 50 houses in Nyakeo village, located some 300 kilometres (180 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.
"I can't believe my wife of many years would be killed so brutally by people who cannot prove their case even before God," said Enoch Obiero, a pastor.
"My mother has always been a role model to the entire village and why the mob had to kill her will remain a mystery to me forever," lamented 32-year-old Emily Monari.
The region, populated mainly by the Kisii tribe, has been dubbed Kenya's "sorcery belt" due to mob attacks on women suspected of witchcraft.
Efforts by the authorities to clamp down on vigilante and mob justice have been unsuccessful.
Dozens of suspected people were killed in western Kenya in the 1990s, amid allegations of sorcery.
Several cases were also reported in recent months in neighbouring Tanzania, forcing President Jakaya Kikwete to order special protection for albino, who were being murdered and mutilated for good luck by with-doctors.
Source: Breitbart.com
See also: Wasn't the Inquisition bad enough?
And this: India: 3 young men beat mother to death in exorcism ritual...
Man.Utd: Kings of England, Kings of Europe!!!
Manchester United's victorious players are returning to England with the Champions League trophy after their thrilling win over Chelsea in Moscow.
The United squad celebrated the penalty shoot-out win well into the early hours at a party in their hotel.
BBC sports news correspondent James Pearce said the party had gone on until 1000 local time, and the team's return has been put back by at least an hour.
Meanwhile, Chelsea have already begun their trip back to Gatwick airport.
In a dramatic final, Manchester United took the lead through Ronaldo before Frank Lampard equalised for Chelsea. More...
See also: Manchester United: the greatest team ever?
And this: Manchester United clinch 17th. English League title...
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Amstetten:Elisabeth Fritzl taught maths and grammar to her dungeon kids...
Elisabeth Fritzl taught her children maths and grammar while she was incarcerated in her father's dungeon, her lawyer said.
Christoph Herbst told a Channel 4 documentary that Elisabeth has not decided whether to seek compensation from her father for his years of abuse.
The family are also undecided about changing their identity.
In his first British TV interview, the lawyer told how Elisabeth's five-year-old son, Felix, recently saw a thunderstorm for the first time.
He said the family live a "more or less regular life" in the Austrian hospital they have lived in since the authorities discovered that Josef Fritzl had locked up his secret family in the cellar.
He said: "They rise at about six or seven in the morning. Then they have breakfast together.
"They get the breakfast from the hospital... Then they sit together at a large table and talk, discuss and make jokes.
"Then everybody does their own thing. They play on the computer, they read books, do some drawings, whatever they want ... It's very amazing to watch the family because they behave like a normal family."
He said of the children: "Elisabeth tried to educate the children in the dungeon. They had lessons, they learned grammar, they learned the language, mathematics.
"So they have been raised very well, they are very well behaved....I think Elisabeth tried to give them a structure and a good life under the circumstances in the dungeon."
He told The Secrets of the Austrian Cellar that Elisabeth gets on "very well" with the three children who were taken away from her to live upstairs with their father.
But it was "difficult" for the children whose normal lives have been disrupted by the media attention.
Source:Mailonline
See also: The Fritzl victims in Amstetten: the future looks bleak...
And this: Amstetten: police involved in the Fritzl case traumatised and in need of counselling...
Christoph Herbst told a Channel 4 documentary that Elisabeth has not decided whether to seek compensation from her father for his years of abuse.
The family are also undecided about changing their identity.
In his first British TV interview, the lawyer told how Elisabeth's five-year-old son, Felix, recently saw a thunderstorm for the first time.
He said the family live a "more or less regular life" in the Austrian hospital they have lived in since the authorities discovered that Josef Fritzl had locked up his secret family in the cellar.
He said: "They rise at about six or seven in the morning. Then they have breakfast together.
"They get the breakfast from the hospital... Then they sit together at a large table and talk, discuss and make jokes.
"Then everybody does their own thing. They play on the computer, they read books, do some drawings, whatever they want ... It's very amazing to watch the family because they behave like a normal family."
He said of the children: "Elisabeth tried to educate the children in the dungeon. They had lessons, they learned grammar, they learned the language, mathematics.
"So they have been raised very well, they are very well behaved....I think Elisabeth tried to give them a structure and a good life under the circumstances in the dungeon."
He told The Secrets of the Austrian Cellar that Elisabeth gets on "very well" with the three children who were taken away from her to live upstairs with their father.
But it was "difficult" for the children whose normal lives have been disrupted by the media attention.
Source:Mailonline
See also: The Fritzl victims in Amstetten: the future looks bleak...
And this: Amstetten: police involved in the Fritzl case traumatised and in need of counselling...
Edward Smith,the man who has had sex with more than 1000 cars!!!
Edward Smith, who lives with his current "girlfriend" – a white Volkswagen Beetle named Vanilla, insisted that he was not "sick" and had no desire to change his ways.
"I appreciate beauty and I go a little bit beyond appreciating the beauty of a car only to the point of what I feel is an expression of love," he said.
"Maybe I'm a little bit off the wall but when I see movies like Herbie and Knight Rider, where cars become loveable, huggable characters it's just wonderful. More...
See also: Man who had sex with a table is free!!!
And this: WTF! Man caught screwing vacuum cleaner!!!
One country's waste,another country's feast...
Grocery bills are rising through the roof. Food banks are running short of donations. And food shortages are causing sporadic riots in poor countries through the world.
You’d never know it if you saw what was ending up in your landfill. As it turns out, Americans waste an astounding amount of food — an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study — and it happens at the supermarket, in restaurants and cafeterias and in your very own kitchen. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American.
After President Bush said recently that India’s burgeoning middle class was helping to push up food prices by demanding better food, officials in India complained that not only do Americans eat too much — if they slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, said one, “many people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plate” — but they also throw out too much food. Full story...
See also: What a waste... my family is throwing away £1,800 worth of food a year...
And this: How much food do you throw away?
You’d never know it if you saw what was ending up in your landfill. As it turns out, Americans waste an astounding amount of food — an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study — and it happens at the supermarket, in restaurants and cafeterias and in your very own kitchen. It works out to about a pound of food every day for every American.
After President Bush said recently that India’s burgeoning middle class was helping to push up food prices by demanding better food, officials in India complained that not only do Americans eat too much — if they slimmed down to the weight of middle-class Indians, said one, “many people in sub-Saharan Africa would find food on their plate” — but they also throw out too much food. Full story...
See also: What a waste... my family is throwing away £1,800 worth of food a year...
And this: How much food do you throw away?
Are Led Zeppelin rip-off artists?
A short compilation of just a few songs that Led Zeppelin didn't write but originally credited themselves with doing so. Among those are "Whole Lotta Love", "Dazed and Confused", "I Can't Quit You, Baby" and more. Since the release of these songs, many artists have settled in our or out of court to receive credit for the songs Led Zeppelin ripped off.
Yosuke,the lost parrot that told the vet his address...
When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.
He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we've found Yosuke," Uemura said.
The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.
But Yosuke apparently wasn't keen on opening up to police officials.
"I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said.
Source: Yahoo!News
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.
He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we've found Yosuke," Uemura said.
The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.
But Yosuke apparently wasn't keen on opening up to police officials.
"I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said.
Source: Yahoo!News
Giving up milk and dairy products results in better health...
Mike Adams: I gave up milk years ago, and after doing so, my sinuses cleared up, digestion was much easier, I had more energy, less fatigue. It was an amazing transformation.
Robert Cohen: Well, it's something you noticed, and it's something anybody will notice right away. You can read the propaganda from the dairy industry, and you can go to my website, http://www.notmilk.com, and read. I've written a column every day for the last 5 years. But when it comes down to it, you are your best doctor. Try seven days -- don't eat any dairy products -- no milk or cheese -- 7 days. And on day 8, go treat yourself to pizza, and have ice cream for dessert, see what happens on day 9.
Mike Adams: If you dare, right?
Robert Cohen: Well, during the first 7 days, the mucus, the phlegm -- you're going to lose three to four quarts of mucus that are clogging your kidney, spleen, pancreas -- all your internal organs. You don't even know it's there! Because it's what the average American eats every day. When you cleanse yourself, it's like a fog lifts out of your body. More...
Robert Cohen: Well, it's something you noticed, and it's something anybody will notice right away. You can read the propaganda from the dairy industry, and you can go to my website, http://www.notmilk.com, and read. I've written a column every day for the last 5 years. But when it comes down to it, you are your best doctor. Try seven days -- don't eat any dairy products -- no milk or cheese -- 7 days. And on day 8, go treat yourself to pizza, and have ice cream for dessert, see what happens on day 9.
Mike Adams: If you dare, right?
Robert Cohen: Well, during the first 7 days, the mucus, the phlegm -- you're going to lose three to four quarts of mucus that are clogging your kidney, spleen, pancreas -- all your internal organs. You don't even know it's there! Because it's what the average American eats every day. When you cleanse yourself, it's like a fog lifts out of your body. More...
See also:
World food crisis: a conspiracy to reduce world population?
Food protests and riots have swept more than 20 countries in the past few months, including Egypt.
On 2 April, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a meeting in Washington that there are 33 countries where price hikes could cause widespread social unrest. The UN World Food Programme called the crisis the silent tsunami, with wheat prices almost doubling in the past year alone, and stocks falling to the lowest level since the perilous post-WWII days. One billion people live on less than $1 a day. Some 850 million are starving. Meanwhile, world food production increased a mere 1 per cent in 2006, and, with increasing amounts of output going to biofuels, per capita consumption is declining.
The most commonly stated reasons include rising fuel costs, global warming, deterioration of soils, and increased demand in China and India. So is it all just a case of hard luck and poor planning?
There is just too much of a pattern, and too many elements all pointing in the same direction. Anyone following the news will have heard of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which first met in 1921, and the group that represents the inner circle within the inner circle, the Bilderberg Group, which first met in 1954. The latter, once a highly secretive organisation bringing together select world political and business leaders, was exposed to the media spotlight in 1990s and since then has had to endure increasing criticism for its, to say the least, undemocratic role in shaping political leaders’ thinking and actions in accordance with the desires of the world business elite.
The US has never been shy about flaunting world opinion. A case in point is its sole “nay” to multiple UN General Assembly and conference resolutions which declare that “health care and proper nourishment are human rights.” The resolution was approved by a vote of 135-1 in 1981 under president Ronald Reagan, and at UN-sponsored food summits by similar margins in 1996 under president Bill Clinton and in 2002 under President George W. Bush, dismissing any “right to food.” More...
See also: The poor suffer, the multinationals make record profits...
And this: The food crisis in photos...
On 2 April, World Bank President Robert Zoellick told a meeting in Washington that there are 33 countries where price hikes could cause widespread social unrest. The UN World Food Programme called the crisis the silent tsunami, with wheat prices almost doubling in the past year alone, and stocks falling to the lowest level since the perilous post-WWII days. One billion people live on less than $1 a day. Some 850 million are starving. Meanwhile, world food production increased a mere 1 per cent in 2006, and, with increasing amounts of output going to biofuels, per capita consumption is declining.
The most commonly stated reasons include rising fuel costs, global warming, deterioration of soils, and increased demand in China and India. So is it all just a case of hard luck and poor planning?
There is just too much of a pattern, and too many elements all pointing in the same direction. Anyone following the news will have heard of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), which first met in 1921, and the group that represents the inner circle within the inner circle, the Bilderberg Group, which first met in 1954. The latter, once a highly secretive organisation bringing together select world political and business leaders, was exposed to the media spotlight in 1990s and since then has had to endure increasing criticism for its, to say the least, undemocratic role in shaping political leaders’ thinking and actions in accordance with the desires of the world business elite.
The US has never been shy about flaunting world opinion. A case in point is its sole “nay” to multiple UN General Assembly and conference resolutions which declare that “health care and proper nourishment are human rights.” The resolution was approved by a vote of 135-1 in 1981 under president Ronald Reagan, and at UN-sponsored food summits by similar margins in 1996 under president Bill Clinton and in 2002 under President George W. Bush, dismissing any “right to food.” More...
See also: The poor suffer, the multinationals make record profits...
And this: The food crisis in photos...
30 mins before the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China...
D'étranges lueurs dans le ciel de Sichuan 30 minutes avant le tremblement de terre...
Looking for a new kind of pet? How about a mini pig?
A Devon fun farm is reaping the rewards of a nine-year breeding programme for miniature pigs.
The pigs, which are about a fifth of the size of ordinary pigs, have been a hit with visitors at Pennywell Farm.
TV celebrity Jonathan Ross bought two of the pint-sized porkers as pets at £150 each and there have even been offers from as far away as Australia.
The pocket pigs are a variant of the rare kune kune breed, which are found in New Zealand.
Chris Murray, co-owner of the farm near Buckfastleigh, began cross-breeding the pigs nine years ago and believes he has the perfect pet pig. More...
See also: WTF! Pets being abandoned for stupid reasons...
And this: Teacup dogs, the latest Japanese trend?
Tanya Andersen, the new Superhero in town...
I always used to get p!ssed when they added girl superheroes just because the male version sold so well, it was the companie’s way of trying to get girls interested in comics and action figures too, for example after Superman came Supergirl, Batman -> Batgirl (like Catwoman wasn’t enough, the only good thing about batgirl was… we got to see Alicia Silverstone in leather), even the Hulk got She Hulk (Fer F*cks sake!) but it’s with pleasure I introduce you to the newest superhero in town: Tanya Andersen.
At first glance one might wonder what makes her a superhero… after all she is in her 40’s, single mother, has a small preteen daughter and is physically disabled, a highly unlikely candidate BUT appearances can be deceptive (if you have seen enough cartoons you should know that by now), it’s not so much the appearance of the superhero but the powers they have and the enemies they face that makes one a superhero. More...
See also: Bad Day For The RIAA:Tanya Andersen and Jammie Thomas...
And this: Tanya Andersen wins her battle against the RIAA!
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Thomas Beatie, the world's first pregnant "man..."
Thomas Beatie, 34, was born a woman then began the process of changing sex, before halting the procedure to allow himself to be artificially inseminated using an anonymous donor’s sperm.
Mr Beatie is officially male and lives with his wife Nancy, 45, in Oregon, USA, but is carrying a baby and is due to give birth to it in six weeks.
He said: “We’re a happy couple deeply in love. My belly is growing with a new life inside me. I am stable and confident being the man I am.”
However, he added: “I always feel so bloated. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as man-ternity clothes.”
Mr Beatie, who was born Tracey Lagondino, began the sex change 10 years ago, with injections of the male hormone testosterone, which prompted the growth of thicker facial hair, and had a double mastectomy.
His pregnancy became public in March, when he was interviewed by Oprah Winfrey on her US television programme.
The couple have tried for children before but failed.
In 2006, he became pregnant with triplets but miscarried under intense criticism from his family, including his brother who said: “Who knows what kind of monster it would have been?”
Source: Telegraph.co.uk
See also: Thomas Beatie, the pregnant man!!!
And this: 10-year old gives birth!!!
US cop jailed for 102 years for faking robberies as raids...
A former Los Angeles police officer who took part in home robberies staged to look like police raids has been sentenced to 102 years in prison.
William Ferguson was convicted of participating in more than 40 phoney raids from early 1999 to June 2001 at homes in working-class neighbourhoods while he worked at the department's scandal-ridden Rampart Division.
In January, a federal jury convicted him of conspiracy to deprive people of their civil rights, conspiracy to possess marijuana and cocaine, violating the civil rights of others and using a firearm during a violent crime.
Ferguson's sentence was so severe because he was convicted of four firearms charges which carry a mandatory sentence of 82 years in prison.
US District Judge Gary Allen Feess said that US Congress passed such sentencing laws "because they don't trust people like me".
"It's not a reasonable sentence," he said.
After the hearing, Assistant US Attorney Douglas Miller said prosecutors were pleased.
Ferguson's lawyer, Philip Deitch, said it was unfair and violated the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
"He's going to be 147 years old when he gets out," Deitch said.
"He's probably not going to see his children again."
Deitch said Ferguson was unfairly punished because prosecutors would not give him a plea agreement unless he testified against his brother Joseph Ferguson, an ex-Long Beach officer.
Otherwise, his client would have pleaded guilty long ago, he said.
Joseph Ferguson, 33, was convicted of charges that included conspiring to violate civil rights and conspiring to possess drugs with the intent to distribute them. He was sentenced earlier this month to more than eight years in prison.
Besides the Ferguson brothers, 15 other people have pleaded guilty or were convicted in the case, including lawmen from other departments.
Two others who have been indicted are fugitives.
Source: ninemsn
See also: Philadelphia cops involved in taped beatings to be fired...
And this: Rate my cop...
William Ferguson was convicted of participating in more than 40 phoney raids from early 1999 to June 2001 at homes in working-class neighbourhoods while he worked at the department's scandal-ridden Rampart Division.
In January, a federal jury convicted him of conspiracy to deprive people of their civil rights, conspiracy to possess marijuana and cocaine, violating the civil rights of others and using a firearm during a violent crime.
Ferguson's sentence was so severe because he was convicted of four firearms charges which carry a mandatory sentence of 82 years in prison.
US District Judge Gary Allen Feess said that US Congress passed such sentencing laws "because they don't trust people like me".
"It's not a reasonable sentence," he said.
After the hearing, Assistant US Attorney Douglas Miller said prosecutors were pleased.
Ferguson's lawyer, Philip Deitch, said it was unfair and violated the Eighth Amendment of the US Constitution which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.
"He's going to be 147 years old when he gets out," Deitch said.
"He's probably not going to see his children again."
Deitch said Ferguson was unfairly punished because prosecutors would not give him a plea agreement unless he testified against his brother Joseph Ferguson, an ex-Long Beach officer.
Otherwise, his client would have pleaded guilty long ago, he said.
Joseph Ferguson, 33, was convicted of charges that included conspiring to violate civil rights and conspiring to possess drugs with the intent to distribute them. He was sentenced earlier this month to more than eight years in prison.
Besides the Ferguson brothers, 15 other people have pleaded guilty or were convicted in the case, including lawmen from other departments.
Two others who have been indicted are fugitives.
Source: ninemsn
See also: Philadelphia cops involved in taped beatings to be fired...
And this: Rate my cop...
Teenager facing prosecution for calling Scientology 'cult'...
A teenager is facing prosecution for using the word "cult" to describe the Church of Scientology.
The unnamed youth was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the headquarters of the controversial religion in London.
Officers confiscated a placard with the word "cult" on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
A date has not yet been set for him to appear in court.
The decision to issue the summons has angered human rights activists and support groups for the victims of cults. More...
See also: Kaja Bordevich Ballo: suicide after Scientology personality test...
And this: Why I fled the Church of Scientology...
The unnamed youth was served the summons by City of London police when he took part in a peaceful demonstration opposite the headquarters of the controversial religion in London.
Officers confiscated a placard with the word "cult" on it from the youth, who is under 18, and a case file has been sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.
A date has not yet been set for him to appear in court.
The decision to issue the summons has angered human rights activists and support groups for the victims of cults. More...
See also: Kaja Bordevich Ballo: suicide after Scientology personality test...
And this: Why I fled the Church of Scientology...
Singapore set to overtake the U.S. as the most competitive State?
Asian economies are overtaking the U.S. and Northern Europe to become the most competitive in the world, according to an annual study by one of Europe's top business schools.
The 20th World Competitiveness Yearbook, released May 15 by IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, ranks the U.S. No. 1 for the 15th straight year. But the report's author, professor Stéphane Garelli, expects Singapore to take the top spot next year. The small city-state trails the U.S. by less than seven-tenths of a point in the 2008 rankings. While it still has the world's strongest domestic economy, the U.S. is particularly vulnerable because its financial sector contributes 40% to corporate profits.
Meanwhile, Asia has proven relatively immune to the financial crisis gripping the U.S. Garelli says that Asia's roaring economies, led by China, will likely raise their competitive edge relative to the star-spangled superpower and slowing European countries this year. "Asia is discovering that it is not so much the hostage of the American economy, that it can have a life by itself," Garelli says. "They make life difficult for European countries, especially because, let's face it, Europe is suffering from the euro." More...
See also: The world's best airports...and they are all in Asia!!
And this: The world's most expensive apartment rents...
The 20th World Competitiveness Yearbook, released May 15 by IMD business school in Lausanne, Switzerland, ranks the U.S. No. 1 for the 15th straight year. But the report's author, professor Stéphane Garelli, expects Singapore to take the top spot next year. The small city-state trails the U.S. by less than seven-tenths of a point in the 2008 rankings. While it still has the world's strongest domestic economy, the U.S. is particularly vulnerable because its financial sector contributes 40% to corporate profits.
Meanwhile, Asia has proven relatively immune to the financial crisis gripping the U.S. Garelli says that Asia's roaring economies, led by China, will likely raise their competitive edge relative to the star-spangled superpower and slowing European countries this year. "Asia is discovering that it is not so much the hostage of the American economy, that it can have a life by itself," Garelli says. "They make life difficult for European countries, especially because, let's face it, Europe is suffering from the euro." More...
See also: The world's best airports...and they are all in Asia!!
And this: The world's most expensive apartment rents...
Burmese prisoners executed during cyclone....
Soldiers and riot police opened fire at Insein Prison in Rangoon, the capital of Burma, or Myanmar, after inmates there rioted, according to reports.
The facility, which houses many political prisoners who oppose the country’s military junta, has been described by former inmates as “the darkest hell-hole in Burma”.
The chilling report came after the Burmese authorities raised the estimate of the dead and missing to more than 60,000.
It is feared that the secretive regime’s paranoia has hampered the flow of aid which has now started flowing into the country.
According to state television, 22,464 had been killed and another 41,054 were missing after cyclone Nargis barrelled into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta with 120mph winds, bringing with it an enormous storm surge that inundated towns and villages.
The social welfare minister Maung Maung Swe said that 95 per cent of houses in the delta town of Bogalay had been “destroyed”.
“More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself,” he added. “The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages. They did not have anywhere to flee.”
The cyclone ripped the roofs of thousands of buildings including Insein Prison. More...
See also: Burma: this regime is good at killing people, not at helping them...
And this: Attacking Burma, or the rip-off that's camouflaged as "aid".(Must read)
The facility, which houses many political prisoners who oppose the country’s military junta, has been described by former inmates as “the darkest hell-hole in Burma”.
The chilling report came after the Burmese authorities raised the estimate of the dead and missing to more than 60,000.
It is feared that the secretive regime’s paranoia has hampered the flow of aid which has now started flowing into the country.
According to state television, 22,464 had been killed and another 41,054 were missing after cyclone Nargis barrelled into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta with 120mph winds, bringing with it an enormous storm surge that inundated towns and villages.
The social welfare minister Maung Maung Swe said that 95 per cent of houses in the delta town of Bogalay had been “destroyed”.
“More deaths were caused by the tidal wave than the storm itself,” he added. “The wave was up to 12 feet high and it swept away and inundated half the houses in low-lying villages. They did not have anywhere to flee.”
The cyclone ripped the roofs of thousands of buildings including Insein Prison. More...
See also: Burma: this regime is good at killing people, not at helping them...
And this: Attacking Burma, or the rip-off that's camouflaged as "aid".(Must read)
59 killed in India after drinking tainted liquor...
Locally brewed liquor apparently tainted with lethal chemicals killed at least 59 people in southern India over the weekend, police said Monday.
Bootleggers began selling the deadly brew on Saturday after police shut authorized liquor shops in parts of the Karnataka state because of voting for the state government, said Sri Kumar, the state police chief.
In India, liquor stores and bars are routinely closed during elections to prevent politicians from handing out free alcohol in a bid to win votes.
Since Saturday, 59 people, most of them poor laborers, have died and 17 others were in hospital, said Kumar.
Twenty-seven deaths occurred in Bangalore, India's key information technology hub, and 19 died in the neighboring Kolar district. Another 13 people died in a village just across the state border with Tamil Nadu state, he said.
Kumar said six people have been arrested for selling the killer concoction, and police were analyzing the drink to determine what made it so deadly.
Deaths from illicitly brewed liquor are frequent in Indian villages and towns, where locally made brew is often spiked with pesticides or chemicals like the banned methyl alcohol to make it stronger or increase the amount.
Source: seattlepi.com
See also: How India promotes condoms and safe sex!!!
And also: India:killing for "honour", and being proud of it...
Bootleggers began selling the deadly brew on Saturday after police shut authorized liquor shops in parts of the Karnataka state because of voting for the state government, said Sri Kumar, the state police chief.
In India, liquor stores and bars are routinely closed during elections to prevent politicians from handing out free alcohol in a bid to win votes.
Since Saturday, 59 people, most of them poor laborers, have died and 17 others were in hospital, said Kumar.
Twenty-seven deaths occurred in Bangalore, India's key information technology hub, and 19 died in the neighboring Kolar district. Another 13 people died in a village just across the state border with Tamil Nadu state, he said.
Kumar said six people have been arrested for selling the killer concoction, and police were analyzing the drink to determine what made it so deadly.
Deaths from illicitly brewed liquor are frequent in Indian villages and towns, where locally made brew is often spiked with pesticides or chemicals like the banned methyl alcohol to make it stronger or increase the amount.
Source: seattlepi.com
See also: How India promotes condoms and safe sex!!!
And also: India:killing for "honour", and being proud of it...
Gynaecomastia, or boys growing breasts!!
Obesity has been blamed for the growing problem of “boy-boobs” – cases of teenage boys with breasts so well developed that surgery is needed to reduce them.
Doctors at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool say that they are seeing dozens of teenagers every year with gynaecomastia, the condition in which males develop breasts.
Christian Duncan, a plastic surgeon specialising in obesity-related surgery, said that in the past 12 months he had performed at least 20 breast-reduction operations on young boys who had developed the condition.
Mr Duncan is treating others who do not yet qualify for surgery by encouraging them to make changes to their lifestyle, such as starting a healthy diet or beginning an exercise programme. More...
See also: What a relief!! It's not a crime to ogle a man's moobs...
And this: Want to enlarge your breasts? Here's how...
Doctors at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool say that they are seeing dozens of teenagers every year with gynaecomastia, the condition in which males develop breasts.
Christian Duncan, a plastic surgeon specialising in obesity-related surgery, said that in the past 12 months he had performed at least 20 breast-reduction operations on young boys who had developed the condition.
Mr Duncan is treating others who do not yet qualify for surgery by encouraging them to make changes to their lifestyle, such as starting a healthy diet or beginning an exercise programme. More...
See also: What a relief!! It's not a crime to ogle a man's moobs...
And this: Want to enlarge your breasts? Here's how...
Emo, passing fad or sinister cult?
On the night before she died, she came into their room, kissed her father Raymond on the cheek and cheerfully told him: "I love you, Dad."
The following day Hannah's mother Heather went to check on her daughter and found her hanging by a tie from the top rail of her bunk bed.
They could find only one clue: Hannah was what is known as an "emo".
Some describe it as a cult or a sect, but in reality the term ? derived from the word "emotional" ? encapsulates a trend that is becoming hugely popular among Britain's schoolchildren.
A trans-Atlantic import, its followers dress in black, favouring tight jeans, T-shirts, studded belts and sneakers or skater shoes.
Hair is all-important: often dyed black and straightened, it is worn in a long fringe brushed to one side of the face.
Music also plays a critical role.
Emos like guitar-based rock with emotional lyrics.
American bands such as My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte and Blink 182 are particular favourites.
No doubt many adults would ask: "So what?"
On the surface, it all sounds typically teenage ? angst-ridden, over-dramatic and tribal. Full story...
See also: Last doomsday cult members abandon cave...
And this: The Oprah Winfrey cult?
The following day Hannah's mother Heather went to check on her daughter and found her hanging by a tie from the top rail of her bunk bed.
They could find only one clue: Hannah was what is known as an "emo".
Some describe it as a cult or a sect, but in reality the term ? derived from the word "emotional" ? encapsulates a trend that is becoming hugely popular among Britain's schoolchildren.
A trans-Atlantic import, its followers dress in black, favouring tight jeans, T-shirts, studded belts and sneakers or skater shoes.
Hair is all-important: often dyed black and straightened, it is worn in a long fringe brushed to one side of the face.
Music also plays a critical role.
Emos like guitar-based rock with emotional lyrics.
American bands such as My Chemical Romance, Good Charlotte and Blink 182 are particular favourites.
No doubt many adults would ask: "So what?"
On the surface, it all sounds typically teenage ? angst-ridden, over-dramatic and tribal. Full story...
See also: Last doomsday cult members abandon cave...
And this: The Oprah Winfrey cult?
Zeeke the dog to receive Bachelor's Degree!!!
A well-trained golden retriever will receive a bachelor's degree from Ohio Northern University today along with the rest of the graduating class.
Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor's of science degree in canine companionship. The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior's honors project.
ONU President Kendall Baker said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal.
Zeeke has learned to pull a wheelchair, open doors and retrieve fallen objects.
Canine Companions for Independence places service dogs with people in need for free.
Source: 13 abc
See also: Man sexually assaults two dogs...
And this: Japan: have pets become more important than children?
Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor's of science degree in canine companionship. The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior's honors project.
ONU President Kendall Baker said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal.
Zeeke has learned to pull a wheelchair, open doors and retrieve fallen objects.
Canine Companions for Independence places service dogs with people in need for free.
Source: 13 abc
See also: Man sexually assaults two dogs...
And this: Japan: have pets become more important than children?
Microchips Everywhere: a Future Vision...
Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future:
_Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items _ and, by extension, consumers _ wherever they go, from a distance.
_A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them.
_In "Smart Homes," sensors built into walls, floors and appliances will inventory possessions, record eating habits, monitor medicine cabinets _ all the while, silently reporting data to marketers eager for a peek into the occupants' private lives.
Science fiction?
In truth, much of the radio frequency identification technology that enables objects and people to be tagged and tracked wirelessly already exists _ and new and potentially intrusive uses of it are being patented, perfected and deployed. More...
See also: Surveillance cameras a huge waste of money...
And this: Rejoice folks! Big Brother is interested in your underwear...
_Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items _ and, by extension, consumers _ wherever they go, from a distance.
_A seamless, global network of electronic "sniffers" will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, "live spam," may be beamed at them.
_In "Smart Homes," sensors built into walls, floors and appliances will inventory possessions, record eating habits, monitor medicine cabinets _ all the while, silently reporting data to marketers eager for a peek into the occupants' private lives.
Science fiction?
In truth, much of the radio frequency identification technology that enables objects and people to be tagged and tracked wirelessly already exists _ and new and potentially intrusive uses of it are being patented, perfected and deployed. More...
See also: Surveillance cameras a huge waste of money...
And this: Rejoice folks! Big Brother is interested in your underwear...
Philadelphia cops involved in taped beatings to be fired...
Four Philadelphia police officers will be fired, three others will be disciplined and a supervising sergeant will be demoted because of the violent beating of three suspects caught after a shooting, the city's mayor and police commissioner said Monday.
On May 5, a television news helicopter captured footage of more than a dozen predominantly white police officers pulling three African-American men out of a car after a pursuit.
The video footage shows the officers kicking, punching and striking the suspects with batons while the men lie restrained on the ground.
Two of the men were struck at least 20 times each. More...
See also: The Cop, Culture, and People Power (Must see)
On May 5, a television news helicopter captured footage of more than a dozen predominantly white police officers pulling three African-American men out of a car after a pursuit.
The video footage shows the officers kicking, punching and striking the suspects with batons while the men lie restrained on the ground.
Two of the men were struck at least 20 times each. More...
See also: The Cop, Culture, and People Power (Must see)
Saturday, May 17, 2008
China's earthquake provokes a shockwave of solidarity...
With their expensive Mercedes-Benz sports vehicles, the wealthy members of the Chongqing car club are normally accustomed to tooling around town in their luxury cars and taking weekend leisure trips.
But this week they piled into their SUVs, filled up their vehicles with boxes of medicine and food, and drove 500 kilometres to the scene of the Sichuan earthquake. Nearly 100 club members raced to the disaster zone, in convoys of 20 cars or more, to bring relief supplies to homeless survivors.
“We didn't even think about it,” one of the club members said. “We definitely have a duty to help our brothers and sisters.”
In a country with no tradition of private philanthropy or community activism, the Sichuan earthquake has given birth to a remarkable development: a grassroots volunteer movement on a massive scale. Some analysts say it could be a historic moment, the first signs of the emergence of broad-based civil society in a country where emperors and autocrats have ruled for centuries.
The volunteers have come from all over China. In the city of Leshan, more than 400 kilometres from the earthquake, a former soldier named Shao Zhi saw the disaster coverage on television.
“I can't just sit here,” he told his family. “People are still alive, and I want to help them.” More...
See also: China quake: the despair and the agony. (Images)
And this: China quake: "Entire generation wiped out..."
But this week they piled into their SUVs, filled up their vehicles with boxes of medicine and food, and drove 500 kilometres to the scene of the Sichuan earthquake. Nearly 100 club members raced to the disaster zone, in convoys of 20 cars or more, to bring relief supplies to homeless survivors.
“We didn't even think about it,” one of the club members said. “We definitely have a duty to help our brothers and sisters.”
In a country with no tradition of private philanthropy or community activism, the Sichuan earthquake has given birth to a remarkable development: a grassroots volunteer movement on a massive scale. Some analysts say it could be a historic moment, the first signs of the emergence of broad-based civil society in a country where emperors and autocrats have ruled for centuries.
The volunteers have come from all over China. In the city of Leshan, more than 400 kilometres from the earthquake, a former soldier named Shao Zhi saw the disaster coverage on television.
“I can't just sit here,” he told his family. “People are still alive, and I want to help them.” More...
See also: China quake: the despair and the agony. (Images)
And this: China quake: "Entire generation wiped out..."
China quake: the town of Yingxiu in Sichuan province,wiped off the face of the earth...
Once it was a thriving little town nestling in one of the most picturesque parts of China.
Now it is the scene of death and utter devastation.
This is Yingxiu in Sichuan province, a town at the epicentre of the massive earthquake which rocked China last Monday.
Government officials say 8,000 of the 10,000 people who lived here have died, most of them crushed as half of the town's buildings fell in on them. Most of those buildings that have not collapsed now teeter at frightening angles, as though ready to tumble too. More...
See also: China's earthquake: where are the children?
And this: China earthquake: once again, why did so many schools collapse...
Top free software from the BBC ...
There may be no such thing as a free lunch, but free software and applications are remarkably easy to come across. Here is just a smattering of reliable goodies amongst the tens of thousands of freebies on offer. More...
See also: Apple launches browser war with Safari...
And this: Adobe launches Photoshop Express for free...
Italians and "ethnic cleansing ..."
Sixty-eight per cent of Italians, fuelled by often inflammatory attacks by the new rightwing government, want to see all of the country's 150,000 Gypsies, many of them Italian citizens, expelled, according to an opinion poll.
The survey, published as mobs in Naples burned down Gypsy camps this week, revealed that the majority also wanted all Gypsy camps in Italy to be demolished .
About 70,000 Gypsies in Italy hold Italian passports, including about 30,000 descended from 15th-century Gypsy settlers in the country. The remainder have arrived since, many fleeing the Balkans during the 1990s.
Another 10,000 Gypsies came from Romania after it joined the European Union in January 2007, according to an Italian human rights organisation, EveryOne, part of the approximately half million Romanians believed to be in Italy.
Romanians were among the 268 immigrants rounded up in a nationwide police crackdown on prostitution and drug dealing this week, after new prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's likening of foreign criminals to "an army of evil". More...
See also: Hitler dolls in the Ukraine...
And this: No love lost between Bardot and Muslims...
The survey, published as mobs in Naples burned down Gypsy camps this week, revealed that the majority also wanted all Gypsy camps in Italy to be demolished .
About 70,000 Gypsies in Italy hold Italian passports, including about 30,000 descended from 15th-century Gypsy settlers in the country. The remainder have arrived since, many fleeing the Balkans during the 1990s.
Another 10,000 Gypsies came from Romania after it joined the European Union in January 2007, according to an Italian human rights organisation, EveryOne, part of the approximately half million Romanians believed to be in Italy.
Romanians were among the 268 immigrants rounded up in a nationwide police crackdown on prostitution and drug dealing this week, after new prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's likening of foreign criminals to "an army of evil". More...
See also: Hitler dolls in the Ukraine...
And this: No love lost between Bardot and Muslims...
Syrian blogger sentenced to three years in jail...
A human rights group says a 24-year-old Syrian blogger has been convicted and sentenced to three years in prison on charges of undermining the prestige of the state and weakening national morale.
In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria condemned the verdict issued the day before as "outrageous" and called for Tarek Bayassi's immediate release.
The rights group says Bayassi's sentence was commuted to three years after an original sentence of six years.
Bayassi was arrested last May in northwest Syria for surfing sites of Syrian opposition groups and posting comments online.
The Syrian government frequently arrests activists for posting comments critical of the government online.
Source: canoe.ca
See also: Cubans take to blogging with gusto...
And this: Chinese bloggers turn to conspiracy theories to explain...
In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Wednesday, The National Organization for Human Rights in Syria condemned the verdict issued the day before as "outrageous" and called for Tarek Bayassi's immediate release.
The rights group says Bayassi's sentence was commuted to three years after an original sentence of six years.
Bayassi was arrested last May in northwest Syria for surfing sites of Syrian opposition groups and posting comments online.
The Syrian government frequently arrests activists for posting comments critical of the government online.
Source: canoe.ca
See also: Cubans take to blogging with gusto...
And this: Chinese bloggers turn to conspiracy theories to explain...
Boys, aged 11, rape (sister) and record it on cell-phone...
TWO boys have been charged in France for the rape of a 10-year-old girl that they recorded on mobile phone video and showed to friends at their Paris area school, a judicial source says.
The rape occurred after one of the boys, aged 11, had watched a pornographic film with his 12-year-old friend and his sister, and decided to reproduce scenes from the movies, the source said.
The boys from the Montfort-l'Amaury school in Versailles, outside Paris, filmed the rape and showed the footage to about 100 fellow students over a week.
The duo have been detained and are due to undergo psychological testing.
Under French law, the two cannot be sentenced to a jail term as they are under 13, but they may be ordered to do community work or face some other penalty.
Source: news.com.au
See also: Article in french
And this: Five cops rape 12-year-old girl...
The rape occurred after one of the boys, aged 11, had watched a pornographic film with his 12-year-old friend and his sister, and decided to reproduce scenes from the movies, the source said.
The boys from the Montfort-l'Amaury school in Versailles, outside Paris, filmed the rape and showed the footage to about 100 fellow students over a week.
The duo have been detained and are due to undergo psychological testing.
Under French law, the two cannot be sentenced to a jail term as they are under 13, but they may be ordered to do community work or face some other penalty.
Source: news.com.au
See also: Article in french
And this: Five cops rape 12-year-old girl...
A cat and a mouse cause a black-out in Tirana!!!
A cat chasing a mouse in Tirana's main power station caused a 72-hour blackout across parts of the Albanian capital, the electricity company said on Friday.
"A cat and a mouse ran into the high-voltage cables," a company spokeswoman said, showing pictures of the electrocuted animals. "We took pictures because we've never had anything like this."
Albanians complain bitterly about the power cuts that have plagued them for decades, and are mostly blamed on drought and the dilapidation of the communist-era grid. Most homes and shops in Tirana rely on petrol generators.
Source: Reuters
See also: An engineer's guide to cats! (Must see!)
And this: The Dog, the Cat, and the Rat ....
Beat the speed trap ... and get scolded by a teen!!!
Tearful driver Patty Ryan vowed to slow down as she hugged the young woman she had just "killed" on an Oshawa street.
"Did you know you were speeding and have struck me dead?" Felicia Petric, 16, told her moments earlier. "I had many plans for this life and I can feel them all speeding away."
Ryan, who had been doing 63 km/h in a 50 zone, was one of 63 motorists lectured by high school students yesterday in an innovative approach to deterring speeders by Durham Region police. Drivers pulled over in a speed trap had a choice of getting a ticket (with a minimum $90 fine) or listening to a one-page essay by teens waiting nearby. Only one opted for a ticket.
"This is a damn good idea," said Ryan, dabbing at her eyes. "It really touched me. It can save a life." More...
See also: The Police will do anything to hide...
And this: YouTube fame at any price?
"Did you know you were speeding and have struck me dead?" Felicia Petric, 16, told her moments earlier. "I had many plans for this life and I can feel them all speeding away."
Ryan, who had been doing 63 km/h in a 50 zone, was one of 63 motorists lectured by high school students yesterday in an innovative approach to deterring speeders by Durham Region police. Drivers pulled over in a speed trap had a choice of getting a ticket (with a minimum $90 fine) or listening to a one-page essay by teens waiting nearby. Only one opted for a ticket.
"This is a damn good idea," said Ryan, dabbing at her eyes. "It really touched me. It can save a life." More...
See also: The Police will do anything to hide...
And this: YouTube fame at any price?
La tumeur d'une fillette grecque était l'embryon de son jumeau, absorbé in utero!!
Une fillette grecque de neuf ans conduite à l'hôpital pour des maux de ventre a découvert qu'elle portait en elle l'embryon de son jumeau ingéré in utero, a-t-on appris de source médicale jeudi.
Après examen, les médecins de l'hôpital de Larissa avaient opéré la petite fille pour retirer une grosseur qui s'est avérée être un embryon d'environ six centimètres de long.
"Ils voyaient bien que le côté droit de son ventre était gonflé, mais il ne pouvait pas prévoir que cette tumeur dissimulait en réalité un embryon", a expliqué le directeur de l'établissement Iakovos Brouskelis.
La petite fille est entièrement rétablie, a-t-il ajouté.
Le médecin-chef du service de pédiatrie Andreas Marjou a indiqué que l'embryon était un foetus formé, avec une tête, des cheveux et des yeux, mais pas de cerveau ni de cordon ombilical.
Il a précisé que ce genre de cas où un foetus absorbe son jumeau dans le ventre de la mère se produit une fois toutes les 500.000 naissances.
La famille de la petite fille a souhaité garder l'anonymat, a indiqué l'hôpital.
Source: Yahoo.France
Voir aussi: En Inde on jette les bébés depuis les toits !!!
Et ceci: Donna, le bébé vendu aux enchères sur Internet...
Après examen, les médecins de l'hôpital de Larissa avaient opéré la petite fille pour retirer une grosseur qui s'est avérée être un embryon d'environ six centimètres de long.
"Ils voyaient bien que le côté droit de son ventre était gonflé, mais il ne pouvait pas prévoir que cette tumeur dissimulait en réalité un embryon", a expliqué le directeur de l'établissement Iakovos Brouskelis.
La petite fille est entièrement rétablie, a-t-il ajouté.
Le médecin-chef du service de pédiatrie Andreas Marjou a indiqué que l'embryon était un foetus formé, avec une tête, des cheveux et des yeux, mais pas de cerveau ni de cordon ombilical.
Il a précisé que ce genre de cas où un foetus absorbe son jumeau dans le ventre de la mère se produit une fois toutes les 500.000 naissances.
La famille de la petite fille a souhaité garder l'anonymat, a indiqué l'hôpital.
Source: Yahoo.France
Voir aussi: En Inde on jette les bébés depuis les toits !!!
Et ceci: Donna, le bébé vendu aux enchères sur Internet...
Prestonwood (Texas) Minister arrested for soliciting sex with under-age girl...
A minister at one of the largest churches in North Texas was arrested in a sex sting operation in Bryan.
Police confirm that Joe Barron was taken into custody after driving more than three hours to have sex with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Barron serves as a minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. The 52-year-old is a senior minister who works with married adults at the church that has some 26,000 members. Barron had only been with the church for the past 18 months.
Friday morning Prestonwood Baptist Church Executive Pastor Mike Buster issued a statement saying: "We are disturbed and saddened by the reports we have heard and we are praying for the Barron family. We are fully cooperating with the police in their investigation."
Barron had chatted online for about two weeks with "the teenager," who was in reality a Bryan police officer. Officials say during the online communication Barron told "the girl" he wanted to have sex with her and asked her to skip school and meet with him. More...
See also: Underage girls and the modelling/porn industry...
And this: "Ashamed" Pope vows no more pedophile priests...
Police confirm that Joe Barron was taken into custody after driving more than three hours to have sex with what he thought was a 13-year-old girl.
Barron serves as a minister at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. The 52-year-old is a senior minister who works with married adults at the church that has some 26,000 members. Barron had only been with the church for the past 18 months.
Friday morning Prestonwood Baptist Church Executive Pastor Mike Buster issued a statement saying: "We are disturbed and saddened by the reports we have heard and we are praying for the Barron family. We are fully cooperating with the police in their investigation."
Barron had chatted online for about two weeks with "the teenager," who was in reality a Bryan police officer. Officials say during the online communication Barron told "the girl" he wanted to have sex with her and asked her to skip school and meet with him. More...
See also: Underage girls and the modelling/porn industry...
And this: "Ashamed" Pope vows no more pedophile priests...