[An Nahar] Amsterdam's red-light district opened its first "prostitution museum" on Thursday, hoping to lure tourists who always wondered what life was like for those on the other side of the infamous glass windows -- but were too afraid to ask. I dunno about you, but when I think "hookers" I don't think "museum quality," if y'know what I mean...
"How do they live? What happens in their world?" said Melcher de Wind, a founder of the "Red Light Secrets Museum of Prostitution" which showcases one of the Dutch capital's most famous attractions.
"I have always wondered what really happens behind those neighborhood windows."
Nestled between two famous brothels overlooking a canal, the new attraction seeks to offer something different to nearby museums on the subject such as the Sex Museum or the Museum of Eroticism.
"The other museums focus on sex and sexual performance. The new museum gives you a glimpse into the world of sex workers -- what it feels like to stand behind a window and the looks you get," explained Yolanda van Doeveren, who deals with prostitution for the Amsterdam municipality.
"Maybe tourists will get a chance to change their behavior and show a little more respect," she added.
Inside the small museum, a large television screen shows a woman performing a strip-tease. Visitors are then shown a film about the other side of prostitution -- women with families living everyday lives.
There are exhibits showing how both fashions and attitudes towards the world's oldest profession have changed over the centuries.
Visitors are shown a display of the tools of the trade -- condoms, lubricants and sex toys -- based on the experiences of former hooker Ilonka Stakelborough who advised the museum.
Prostitution in the Netherlands was legalized in 2000 and there are now around 7,000 people working in the industry in Amsterdam.
How many where there before legalization? I remember seeing guided tour groups being shown round Amsterdam's red light district back in the '80s -- several streets with women sitting in widows being photogenic until a serious customer came by.
Around three-quarters of the women come from low-income countries, mainly from Eastern Europe, according to Amsterdam municipality figures.
They pay 150 euros ($202) to hire one of Amsterdam's 409 "frames", which comes with a chair in front and a bed at the back.
Many women work 11 hours a day, six days a week with a visit to a hooker lasting around 10 minutes.
The museum depicts BDSM (bondage, domination, sado-masochism) practices, and also features a "luxury" room with mirrored ceilings, a bed lit from below, and a bathtub next to an open bottle of champagne.
By way of contrast, there is a small room with barely space for a single bed that was used by a Polish hooker when she was not with clients.
"We want to show all aspects of prostitution," Stakelborough told AFP.
"Yes, there are women who are victims of human trafficking, but prostitution is mostly a career many women volunteer for."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"prostitution museum"
Bet the gift shop's a hoot.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/08/2014 4:53 Comments ||
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#3
During a casual walkabout there a few months back,, there was a noticeable amount of unsold 'frames,' not to be confused with those that were dimly lit and curtains closed.....
#5
Well, I guess I mean I assume that's what string theory would say, not really up on it to be honest. Would string theory like Schrodinger's kittuah have a decent life for once? O' wow a 9/16th socket appears.
#9
#5 Well, I guess I mean I assume that's what string theory would say, not really up on it to be honest.
Of cosmology, Hawking's the king!
Permit him to explain everything:
"At the point of creation,
After frantic vibration,
Cosmic cans can emit Silly String."
Prices for pistol Ammunition were mostly lower, while prices for rifle ammunition were mixed.
Prices for all classes of used firearms were mixed.
Pistol Ammo
.45 Caliber, 230 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged (2 weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tulammo, steel cased, .30 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 5000 rounds: Jack Ross Ammunition, reloaded, .32 per round (-.01 Each from last week)
.40 Caliber Smith & Wesson, 180 grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each (Unchanged, previous 4 weeks)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Selway Armory, Ultra Max, reloaded brass, .28 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Jack Ross Ammunition, reloaded, .27 per round (From Last Week: -.01 Each (-.02 over two weeks )
9mm Parabellum, 115 grain, From Last Week: -.07 Each (!) (After +.05 Each previous week)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tulammo, steel case, .18 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Orca Arms, BFA, reloaded, .22 per round (-.01 Each) (-.02 over two weeks)
.357 Magnum, 158 grain, From Last Week: +.01 Each
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Wideners, Federal CCI, JHP, .44 per round
Cheapest Bulk: 500 Rounds: LAX Ammunition, JSP, .49 per round (from last week -.07 Each (!))
Rifle Ammunition
.223 Caliber/5.56mm 55 grain, From Last Week: Unchanged
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Tulammo, steel cased, .25 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Cheaper Than Dirt, Tulammo, steel cased, .29 per round (-.02 Each from last week (-.03 Each over three weeks))
.308 NATO 145 grain, From Last Week: -.01 Each -.06 over two weeks)
Cheapest, 20 rounds: Munire USA, Prvi Partizan, brass cased, .58 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 1,000 rounds: Ammunition to Go, Prvi Partizan, brass cased, .65 per round (Unchanged (3 weeks))
7.62x39 AK 123 Grain, From Last Week: -.02 Each
Cheapest, 20 rounds: FireArms for Sale, Wolf Polyformance, steel core and case, .24 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 600 rounds: Griz Guy, Red Army Standard, steel core and case, .21 per round (-.01 from Last week (Unchanged previous 2 weeks))
.22 LR 40 Grain, From Last Week: +.06 Each (!)
Cheapest, 50 rounds: Ammofast, CCI Blazer, .15 per round
Cheapest Bulk, 500 rounds: Smokey Mountain Munitions, CCI, .18 per round (+.10 per round (!))
Guns for Private Sale
Rifles
.223/5.56mm (AR Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $740 Last Week Avg: $699 (+)
California: Del-Ton: $800 (FFL Only)
Texas: Diamondback Firearms: $600
New York: Colt LE-6920: $800
Virgina: Spikes Tactical: $799
Florida: Bushmaster: $700
.308 NATO (AR-10 Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $1,480 Last Week Avg: $1,568(-)
California: DPMS LAR-308: $1,500
Texas: DPMS LAR-308: $1,800
New York: Kel Tec (Bullpup): 1,700
Virginia: Smith & Wesson M&P-10: $1,400
Florida: DPMS LAR-308: $1,000 (!)
7.62x39mm (AK Pattern Semiautomatic) Average Price: $785 Last Week Avg: $670 (+)
California: WASR: $750
Texas:Romak: $750
New York: Unspecified Build: $1,000 (Same Gun)
Virginia: Vepr: $750
Florida: Zastava: $675
.45 caliber ACP (M1911 Pattern Semiautomatic Pistol) Average Price: $590 Last Week Avg: $580 (+)
California: Auto Ordnance: $550
Texas: Ruger SR1911: $700
New York: Sig Sauer: $700
Virginia: Rock Island Armory: $450
Florida: Ruger SR1911: $550
9mm Beretta 92FS or other Semiautomatic Average Price: $385 Last Week Avg: $425 (-)
California: Ruger P85: $400 (Prolly Same Gun)
Texas: Kawr CW-9: $420
New York: Sig Sauer P250: $375
Virginia: Smith & Wesson SW9VE: $380
Florida: Smith & Wesson SD9: $350
.40 caliber S&W (Glock and other semiautomatic) Average Price: $433 Last Week Avg: $420 (+)
California: Glock 23: $500
Texas: EAA Witness: $340 (Prolly Same Gun, lower price)
New York: Glock 23: $475 (Same Gun)
Virginia: Smith & Wesson SD40VE: $350 (Same Gun)
Florida: Glock 22: $500
#3
In WWII Manila, Philippines, my father's artillery unit was mistaken as an enemy artillery unit and was being bracketed in by the other US unit. He ordered his artillery to immediately braket the other unit while his radio man was screaming at Company Headquarters to order immediate cease fire or his unit will take out the other unit.
Doesn't matter who is shooting at you, your buddies or your family. It's the other guy, not you that needs taking out when bullets start to fly.
#4
Damn, she is cute, reminds me of a lady Marine I once worked with at (redacted).... she was very aquatic too....Good work GolfBravoUSMC.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/08/2014 16:45 Comments ||
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#5
I thought that the mayor of Keeppoopsie was ordered to reject those voices warning of tyranny.
I had to break down and check the filmography of heroin boy. I have seen Labowski and Twister 1001 each and did not know that...or even really care. I would venture a guess that entourage and followers lean active legalization of all drugs and do not get the joke.
[Libya Herald] The Prime Minister has asked the General National Congress pass a law recognising the historic role King Idris played in the creation of Libya and to repeal Qadaffy's laws against the royal family. These, said Ali Zeidan in a letter to the GNC President Nuri Abu Sahmain, included death sentences against members of the family as well the confiscation of their property and stripping them of Libyan nationality.
It was time, Zeidan said, that Libyans recognised, and let the world know, the wrongs done to the royal family by Qadaffy as well as that King Idris had been the leader of the struggle for Libyan independence. He had been eager to build a modern state, Zeidan said. He should be recognised by Libya as its founder.
The proposed law to Congress submitted by the Prime Minister contains three clauses. The first states that the role and positions of the late king, Queen Fatima, Crown Prince Hassan and his family are of historic value. The second states that "all wrongs created by the tyrant Qadaffy" against the king and the royal family be declared "null and void"; the third, that Congress ensures the above decisions are implemented.
King Idris, born in 1889 at Jaghbub in south eastern Libya, was head of the Senussi movement and family that led the opposition to the Italians during the colonial period. His abdication announcement in August 1969 in favour of his nephew, the Crown Prince, due to have come into effect on 2 September, prompted Qadaffy's coup a day earlier. A frugal man, he died in Cairo in 1983 and was buried at Medina in Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... . Queen Fatima died in 2009 and was likewise buried in Medina.
Qadaffy's hatred of the Senussis was such that the Crown Prince and his family were forced to live in a Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... beach cabin for four years before finally being allowed to go for medical treatment in 1988 to London where he died in 1992.
Crown Prince Hassan's eldest son is Prince Mohammed Al-Rida.
The properties owned by the royal family were not many, and were mainly in Tobruk, although the British Residence near the Foreign Ministry in Tripoli's Zawiat Al-Dahmani was owned by Queen Fatima.
The King's Palace in Tripoli along with the Crown Prince's Palace, now the Egyptian Ambassador's residence, and the royal farm at Swani were state property rather than privately owned.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] The death of an ailing woman student at a Saudi university has stirred controversy on social media after an ambulance was denied access under the conservative Mohammedan kingdom's segregation laws.
Amna Bawazeer, 24, died of a heart attack in the compound of the social sciences faculty of Riyadh's King Saud University.
Local media said medics in an ambulance were denied access because they were not accompanied by a "mahram", a legal guardian or male member of her family.
Angry female students have gone on Twitter to blame faculty officials for Bawazeer's death.
But the university's administration hit back in a statement to stress that the student had suffered from a heart condition from the age of four.
She had died of a heart attack which proved fatal, despite the best efforts of the faculty's own infirmary to save her life.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] United Arab Emirates (UAE) authorities have tossed in the clink Book 'im, Mahmoud! seven Bangladeshi migrant workers for their involvement in killing two compatriots in a scuffle over a pair of shoes.
"The UAE authorities have detained seven Bangladeshis in a week following the killing of two Bangladeshis by their fellow workers," AKM Mizanur Rahman, first secretary of the Bangladesh labour wing in the UAE told the Dhaka Tribune over the phone yesterday.
He said more were to be arrested in this regard, as the investigating agencies were trying to trace all those involved in the incident.
On January 31, two Bangladeshi migrant workers were stabbed to death and three were seriously injured as they engaged in an argument with fellow workers over the ownership of a pair of shoes at a labour camp in the Sharjah industrial area. All of them were construction workers hailing from Comilla.
The conditions of the three injured -- Abdus Salam, Mohammad Saddam Hossain and Nazmul Haque -- are now stable. They are receiving treatment at the Kuwaiti Hospital in Sarjhah.
The UAE, which used to be one of the largest labour recruiting countries for Bangladesh, put restrictions on hiring manpower from Bangladesh in August, 2012, alleging that Bangladeshi migrant workers' were involved in criminal activities.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
"Hands off my Manolos!"
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/08/2014 13:34 Comments ||
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#2
"Hands off my Manolos!"
I believe the actual quote was
"Hands off my manolo blahnik or I'll put the lights out on the next man olo snatcher."
Wonder what color the shoes that were involved in the incident - the lime green ones perhaps?
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/08/2014 16:32 Comments ||
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#3
Ah The Manolo was a favorite of Seafarious, I miss her.
[An Nahar] Colombia's FARC guerrilla movement said Friday it would not observe a ceasefire during legislative elections next month unless the government also agreed to a truce.
President Juan Manuel Santos has repeatedly rejected rebel calls for a bilateral ceasefire, arguing that the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC or FARC-EP, is either a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization or a drug cartel based in Colombia. It claims to represent the rural poor in a struggle against Colombia's wealthier classes, and opposes United States influence in Colombia, neo-imperialism, monopolization of natural resources by multinational corporations, and the usual raft of complaints. It funds itself principally through ransom kidnappings, taxation of the drug trade, extortion, shakedowns, and donations. It has lately begun calling itself Bolivarian and is greatly admired by Venezuela's President-for-Life Chavez, who seemingly fantasizes about living in the woods and kidnapping people himself. He provides FARC with safe areas along the border. ) would use it to regroup.
The rebels, who have been in peace talks with the government since November 2012, have twice observed self-imposed ceasefires, most recently during the year-end holidays.
But Andres Gay Paree, a FARC delegate to the talks in Havana, said there were no plans for a unilateral ceasefire during the March 9 elections.
"We are ready to institute a bilateral ceasefire," he said.
The legislative elections will be an important test for Santos, who is seeking a second term in subsequent presidential polls on May 25.
Among those running for the Senate next month is conservative former president Alvaro Uribe, a vehement opponent of the grinding of the peace processor who considers Santos' pursuit of a pact with the FARC a "betrayal."
Santos served as Uribe's defense minister during a 2002-2010 presidency that delivered major military setbacks to the FARC.
Santos believes the military successes created conditions for a negotiated peace in the 50-year-old conflict, while Uribe contends it has given the FARC a political platform.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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In the recordings, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Washington's Kiev ambassador frankly discuss which opposition figures should go into the new Ukrainian government -- comments that play directly into Russia's charges of Western meddling in its neighbour's affairs.
"That would be great I think to help glue this thing and have the UN glue it and you know, f**k the EU," Nuland says at one point.
Nuland herself did not dispute the authenticity of the call while refusing further comment.
"I will not comment on a private diplomatic conversation," Nuland told reporters in Kiev on Friday.
"It was pretty impressive tradecraft," she added. "Audio quality was very good."
The US State Department immediately pointed an incriminating finger at Russia for allegedly bugging diplomats' phones.
"Certainly we think this is a new low in Russian tradecraft," US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said.
#1
Rooters is claiming the call was on an unencrypted (aka plain vanilla) cellphone. One endpoint of the call was in the Ukraine. This sounds more like garden-variety bugging than genius tradecraft.
Seems to me, ignorant as I am, that if you are in the middle of an international mess in a foreign country, its reasonable to assume someone is listening and watch what you say if you are using an insecure channel. But then this is the US State Dept, eh?
#3
Look - many high level DoS folks don't think gravity applies to them. Basic OPSEC is violated on a daily basis. Most of them are clueless. I deal with this on a regular and routine basis ("Why can't I bring phone into the SCIF? I'm expecting an important call.")
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
02/08/2014 6:37 Comments ||
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#4
("Why can't I bring phone into the SCIF? I'm expecting an important call.")
.....I only lost 3 collateral laptops and 1 dip passport last year, why the fuss.
#9
Certainly there is a fuss that the the Russians bugged the call, but that the Obama administration is complaining about it is the pot calling the kettle black.
On the other hand, "f**k the EU" is a sentiment that we all share.
of course, a stopped clock is correct twice a day.
[An Nahar] Music, dance and plenty of Russian bravado unleashed the ultimate achievement of Vladimir Putin ...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead... 's Russia on Thursday -- a Winter Olympics to showcase the best athletes on ice and snow that the world has to offer.
The opening ceremony on the edge of the Black Sea and subsequent games are Russia's chance to tell its story of post-Soviet resurrection to the world, and dispel the anger, fear and suspicion that has marred the buildup to these most expensive Olympics ever.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
The towering presence, the empire that ascended to affirm a colossal footprint. The revolution that birthed one of modern historys pivotal experiments. But if politics has long shaped our sense of who they are, its passion that endures. As a more reliable right to their collective heart. What they build in aspirations lifted by imagination. What they craft, through the wonder of every last detail. How magical the fusion of sound and movement can be. How much a glass of distilled perfection and an overflowing table can matter. Discover the Russian people through these indelible signatures. Discover what we share with them through the games that open here tonight. - NBC on opening day
#4
Maybe it's just me, but since the end of the Cold War, I just don't have any interest in watching the olympics. It's just not as exciting or meaningful to me.
#3
I love watching the bitc*ing and moaning over Russian WC's. I wish the media would show some middle eastern "bathrooms" with utility bucket, and 1 meter, duel-purpose garden hose attachment.
[An Nahar] Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... vowed Friday that the United States would defend Japan against attack including over islands claimed by China as tensions boil between the Asian powers. "Yeah, it's a red line with us, so don't get any ideas!"
Kerry, who said he would visit China next week, met in Washington with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida and reaffirmed the 1960 treaty that commits the United States to protect its ally.
"That includes with respect to the South China Sea," he said, before correcting himself to say the East China Sea, where China and Japan have conflicting claims.
Fears of conflict rose in November when China imposed an Air Defense Identification Zone over much of the East China Sea.
Beijing says it now requires notification from planes crossing a group of islands administered by Tokyo, known in Japanese as the Senkaku and in Chinese as Diaoyu.
"The United States neither recognizes nor accepts China's declared East China Sea ADIZ and the United States has no intention of changing how we conduct operations in the region," Kerry said.
The United States and its allies are increasingly concerned China will take similar action in the South China Sea, where the Philippines in particular has voiced worries about Beijing's maritime claims.
Kishida, for his part, extended an invitation for President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... to make a state visit to Japan.
Diplomats say Obama is likely to visit Japan on an April tour of Asia, although Kerry is not expected to stop in Tokyo on his upcoming trip.
Kishida was visiting Washington after a rare open disagreement between the two allies.
The United States voiced disappointment in December when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, known for his conservative views, paid a pilgrimage to the Yasukuni shrine which honors 2.5 million Japanese war dead including convicted war criminals from World War II.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
See also GLOBAL NATION > AQUINO SQUANDERS CHANCE TO IMPROVE TIES WID CHINA: BEIJING MEDIA.
RELATED = ... ...
> SAME = CHINA FOREMOST IN AQUINO'S MIND.
> MANILA BULLETIN = NO END TO [China-PHIL] WAR OF WORDS, as per the SCS.
* WORLD MILITARY FORUM > OFFICIAL: TO PREVENT OUTBREAK OF CHINA-JAPAN WAR, JAPAN PM ABE MUST LEAVE OFFICE, preferably by resigning immediately.
* SAME > PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT BENIGNO AQUINO IMPLEMENTS "THREE AXES" ANTI-CHINA PLAN TO IMPROVE ARMED FORCES ABILITY TO DEFEND ITS CLAIMS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA - PHIL NAVAL EXPANSION, PURCHASES OF NEW MODERN ARMS, LEVERAGING OF FOREIGN NATIONAL, MILITARY AID WID ACQUISITION OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES.
versus
* REAL CLEAR WORLD > OBAMA LETTING JAPAN RE-MILITARIZE?
China wants Guam + Hawaii, so the Bammer lets US Asia allies re-arm + go Nukulaar, thus maintaining the accuracy of OWG Globalist math /calculus of "1/2-1/2" sharing of East Asia + Pacific"???
* TOPIX > [Chosun Ilbo] NORTH KOREANS "WANT REUNIFICATION", wid the South.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [AFP] CHINA WOOS TAWIAN WID OFFSHORE "COMMON HOMELAND" ISLAND. CONCEPT [Pingtan Island off coast of SE Fujian province].
Offshore quasi-DMZ with Las Vegas, Walt Disney homey characteristics.
WHAT SAYETH HILLARY TO POTENTIAL 2016 POTUS ELEX RIVAL SECSTATE KERRY'S REMARKS???
#5
"The 127th Stern Notes Battalion is fully mobilized, I tell you."
Posted by: Matt ||
02/08/2014 9:26 Comments ||
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#6
I'm certain the Japanese are reassured by this touching display of solidarity. They can discuss with the Vietnamese and the Iraqis the warm glow of security that this gives them.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
02/08/2014 10:02 Comments ||
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#7
Up until China threatens to stop buying out bonds and notes.
The Regime has to be able to support it's voter base with trillions of dollars or be thrown out - what's a few million dead Japanese compared to that?
#9
The Chinese have a very serious problem with accounts receivable problem. Thanks for the iPads. U like the Straits of Molucca? Yes? Anyone else want to play scold the Uncle? No. Fine.
#10
"You can keep your island nation if you like it"
Considering Obama back out of Iraq after stabilizing, bows to Saudis, backs Palestinians, and backed down from Iran. I think it is time for Japan to load up the Toyota highlander and head for the mountains.
[Egypt Independent] Beijing on Friday dismissed a US official's warning against possible Chinese expansion in the skies over the South China Sea, calling the remarks "irresponsible".
The United States had urged Beijing to clarify or adjust its claims in the South China Sea, calling for a peaceful solution to one of Asia's growing flashpoints.
"Some US officials make groundless accusations against China," Chinese foreign ministry front man Hong Lei told news hounds at a regular briefing.
He added that "right-wing forces in Japan" were responsible for stirring up "rumours" on the issue.
Hong was responding to comments made on Wednesday by the top US diplomat for the region, Danny Russel, warning Beijing not to move to impose an air zone over the territory.
Beijing claims the South China Sea almost in its entirety, even areas a long way from its shoreline, but portions are also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.
Russel supported the Philippines' right to take its case to a United Nations ...the Oyster Bay money pit... tribunal -- a move last year that was denounced by China -- as part of efforts to find a "peaceful, non-coercive" solution.
"China's lack of clarity with regard to its South China Sea claims has created uncertainty in the region and limits the prospect for achieving mutually agreeable resolution or equitable joint development arrangements," Russel told a congressional committee.
Japan's Asahi Shimbun, citing Chinese government sources, recently reported that Beijing had drafted proposals for the new air zone, with tensions already high over its imposition of an air zone above islands administered by Japan in the East China Sea.
That Air Defence Identification Zone (ADIZ), set up in November, immediately drew condemnation from Washington as well as Tokyo, with which China is embroiled in a separate territorial row.
"We neither recognize nor accept China's declared ADIZ," Russel, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, told the committee.
He added that the US had "made clear to China that it shouldn't attempt to implement that ADIZ and should refrain from taking similar actions elsewhere in the region".
Hong on Friday reiterated Beijing's position that "as a sovereign state, China has the right to act" in order to defend its air security.
"No country has the right to make irresponsible remarks on that," he said of Russel's comments.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[Breitbart] Disappointing Wall Street, General Motors' earnings from the fourth quarter of 2013 fell short of expectations. Perhaps they should take the USPS lead and consider the banking industry.... oh wait !
GM made $913 million in the fourth quarter, which was more than the $892 million from the fourth quarter of 2012, but the companys revenue of $40.5 billion made 67 cents per share when excluding one-time items. Some experts had projected revenue to be $40.8 billion, yielding 88 cents per share. In 2013, GM's earnings fell 18%. In other 'just in time' news: Government Dumps GM Stock, Loses $10.5 Billion on Auto Bailout.
#1
Too bad they were forced to dump Pontiac as part of the Obama bailout and keep Buick since that was the preferred car of the Chinese....
and the new Caddys look like rebadged Chevys (which they are)
[An Nahar] French President Francois Hollande ...the Socialist president of La Belle France, an economic bad joke for la Belle France but seemingly a foreign policy realist... 's dumped ex, Valerie Trierweiler, is to sue Closer magazine after the French glossy published pictures of her getting over her break-up on a tropical beach.
The former first lady announced the move in a statement to Agence La Belle France Presse.
The pictures of Trierweiler, 48, and two girlfriends relaxing in bikinis on the island of Mauritius hit newstands on Friday, four weeks after Closer revealed Hollande's affair with an actress, Julie Gayet.
According to Closer, the trio rented a luxury beach villa that costs upwards of $2,000 a night shortly after Trierweiler's return from a charity trip to India, which she made the day after Hollande ended their relationship.
Trierweiler's companions on the trip, journalist Valerie de Senneville and actress Saida Jawad, are also suing Closer under La Belle France's privacy law, with the latter also bringing a case related to image rights.
During her trip to India, Trierweiler told journalists she had not ruled out writing a book about her time with Hollande.
The Socialist leader left the mother of his four children, Segolene Royal, for Trierweiler in 2005. According to Closer, his affair with Gayet began two years ago but it is unclear whether the relationship is continuing.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I don't see what all the excitement is about, they look like a middle-aged couple out for a romp in the sea.
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/08/2014 14:31 Comments ||
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[An Nahar] Dozens of people were maimed in Kosovo Friday as riot police clashed with students demanding the resignation of a university dean accused of faking research.
Police used tear gas and batons to prevent hundreds of student protesters from entering the university compound in Pristina, an Agence La Belle France Presse news hound witnessed.
The students had been protesting peacefully outside the university for eight days to demand the resignation of its dean Ibrahim Gashi and other teaching staff reported to have falsified research.
Police said 29 officers were maimed when students began throwing stones at a security cordon, adding that 35 protesters were incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not...
Local media said dozens of students had also sought medical help, mostly for the effects of tear gas.
The students are angry at what they say is the failure of the government and justice system to root out corruption among academics.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] Greek and Turkish Cypriots have agreed on a roadmap prepared by the U.N. to resume reunification talks, the Turkish Cypriot leadership said Friday.
"The Greek and Turkish sides in Cyprus have reached an agreement on a common declaration for resuming negotiations," it said in a statement. It said the talks were expected to resume next week, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Greek Cypriot side.
Efforts to relaunch U.N.-brokered talks on ending the four-decade division of the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus gathered pace this week. Greek and Turkish Cypriots have worked feverishly to finalize a joint declaration that would allow them to restart the negotiations.
The last round of talks was suspended in 2012 when Cyprus took over the rotating presidency of the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
Their resumption was further delayed by the eurozone debt crisis, which forced the Nicosia government to secure a bailout from international creditors last March.
But on Wednesday, Greek Cypriot government front man Christos Stylianides said the two sides were close to agreeing on a joint declaration that will pave the way for a new round of talks.
Cyprus has been divided since a 1974 Turkish invasion of its northern third in reaction to a coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece. The divided island joined the EU in 2004, after a plan to reunify Cyprus was approved by the Turkish Cypriots but rejected by the Greek Cypriots, whose government is internationally recognized.
A self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Ankara.
Earlier Friday, Greece gave its backing to the renewed talks, with Prime Minister Antonis Samaras describing them as "one of the leading priorities of Greek foreign policy".
The two sides will "sit around the table and will be responsible for driving the negotiations towards a solution," he said in Athens after talks with Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader.
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02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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This is an Atlanta city map enlargement. Stay on I-285 East until you reach the I-75 turn-off. Don't get off the Interstate, keep you pistol handy, and don't stop for anything until you reach Valdosta. Enjoy your Florida vacation folks, and come again soon.
[An Nahar] The Basque separatist movement ETA plans to make "significant contributions" towards a lasting settlement to its armed independence campaign, a newspaper close to the group said on Friday.
"ETA announces it will make 'significant contributions' to the process 'without delay'," said the Basque newspaper Gara, the usual mouthpiece for statements by the group in Spain.
In a more detailed statement to be published in Gara Saturday, "ETA does an extensive review of events over the past months" and notes that "interesting opportunities for progress have emerged in the Basque Country," the paper said.
ETA is blamed for the deaths of 829 people in a four-decade campaign of shootings and bombings for an independent Basque homeland in northern Spain and southwestern La Belle France.
In October 2011 it announced a "definitive end" to armed activity but it has not formally disarmed or disbanded as the Spanish and French governments demand.
Tensions have risen in recent months as ETA prisoners have sought in vain to gain concessions over their conditions, outraging victims' families.
The governments of Spain and La Belle France refuse to negotiate with ETA, which is classed as a terrorist organization by the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... and the United States.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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[An Nahar] More than 150 people were maimed in Bosnia on Friday when protesters stormed government buildings and clashed with riot police as anger over the dire state of the economy boiled over.
With unemployment at 44 percent and one in five people living below the poverty line, Bosnians have taken to the streets to protest the authorities' failure to address the economic situation.
As anger spiraled on Friday -- the third day of the protests -- demonstrators set fire to government buildings in the capital Sarajevo and Tuzla, the northeastern industrial hub where the unrest began.
Continued on Page 49
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[BBC.CO.UK] Germany's Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany. She was educated in East Germany when is was still run by commies, but in 1989 got involved with the growing democracy movement when the Berlin Wall fell. Merkel is sometimes referred to by Germans as Mom... has said a US official's apparent insult of the EU's efforts to mediate in the Ukraine crisis is "totally unacceptable".
Victoria Nuland has apologised after she referred disparagingly to the EU's role during a conversation said to be with the US ambassador to Ukraine.
A recording of the exchange was posted online, with the US hinting at Russia's involvement in bugging and leaking it.
The EU and US are involved in talks to end months of unrest in Ukraine.
In Kiev, Ms Nuland - an assistant secretary of state - said she would not make a public statement on the matter.
She described the leak as "pretty impressive tradecraft. [The] audio quality was very good".
The state department said she had apologised in private to EU officials.
Mass anti-government protests erupted in Ukraine in late November after President Viktor Yanukovych refused to sign a far-reaching association and trade agreement with the EU - under heavy pressure from Moscow.
Russia has been widely accused of using its economic clout to persuade Mr Yanukovych not to pursue closer ties with Brussels.
Russia has itself accused Washington and the EU of meddling in Ukraine.
German government spokeswoman Christiane Wirtz said Ms Merkel fully supported the work done by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to find a solution to the crisis.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/08/2014 00:00 ||
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Saw her on BBC answering questions.
Jerk doesn't begin to begin to describe Victoria.
Wife thought she was a mean directed person with an agenda of her own and no fear.
[An Nahar] A Turkish MP from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi only they haven't dumped him yet... 's ruling party quit Friday in protest at his handling of a major corruption probe, the ninth such departure since the scandal broke in December.
Lawmaker Ilhan Isbilen is close to Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher living in the United States whose Hizmet network Erdogan has blamed for orchestrating the investigation.
"I have reached the point where even my closest friends are asking me how I can stay in this party with all these violent attacks on the Hizmet movement and Fethullah Gulen," Isbilen told news hounds.
"Right now I can see no reason for me to remain within the AKP," he said, referring to Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, which rose to power with the help of Hizmet.
Despite the departure of Isbilen and the others, the AKP still holds a comfortable majority in parliament with 318 of the 550 seats in the chamber.
More than 50 people including the sons of cabinet ministers and business leaders were rounded up in December as part of the probe into alleged money laundering linked to Iran, gold smuggling and bribery in real estate projects.
Erdogan, saying the Hizmet movement forms a "parallel state" within the Turkish establishment, has responded by sacking or reassigning thousands of police and hundreds of prosecutors, sparking unease abroad.
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The Australian Woodside Petroleum company signed a $2.5 billion deal to enter the Leviathan gas field in offshore Israel.
The owners of Leviathan were in Australia this week to try to finalize a year-old non-binding deal, worth up to $2.3 billion, The Australian daily reported. Boycott, schmoycoot
#1
Boycott is well and good, but there's serious money to be made here boys, don't let your good intentions beggar you. You can always boycott them later.
[Dhaka Tribune] The US military is funding a project to develop electronics that can self-destruct like the secret messages in the Mission Impossible TV show. Why just clone Windows ME?
Darpa, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has awarded computing giant IBM ...contributed $532,372 to the 2008 Obama campaign... a $3.5m (£2.1m) contract to work on its Vanishing Programmable Resources (VAPR) project.
It is looking to develop a class of "transient" electronics that can be destroyed by remote control.
The kit could be used in combat zones.
IBM's proposal involves the use of a radio frequency trigger that could shatter a glass coating on a silicon chip and turn it into powder.
"A trigger, such as a fuse or a reactive metal layer will be used to initiate shattering, in at least one location, on the glass substrate," the US government said in its grant award notice.
Darpa wants to develop large distributed networks of sensors that can collect and transmit data for a limited period and then be destroyed instantly to prevent them falling into enemy hands.
VAPR tech could also have applications in medical diagnosis and treatment, Darpa believes, if sensors can be developed that the body can reabsorb.
The Pentagon's research arm also granted $2.1m to Xerox company, Palo Alto Research Center (Parc) -- a specialist in bioinformatics and large-area electronics.
Its proposed solution is similar to IBM's and relies on the materials being engineered under stress, so that when an electrical signal is received, the circuit crumbles into dust instantly as the stress is released.
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IBM's proposal involves the use of a radio frequency trigger that could shatter a glass coating on a silicon chip and turn it into powder.
Well, how much is this going to cost ?
Posted by: Au Auric ||
02/08/2014 13:59 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[An Nahar] Amsterdam's red-light district opened its first "prostitution museum" on Thursday, hoping to lure tourists who always wondered what life was like for those on the other side of the infamous glass windows -- but were too afraid to ask.
By Chris Covert
[An Nahar] The death of an ailing woman student at a Saudi university has stirred controversy on social media after an ambulance was denied access under the conservative 
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
In the recordings, US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Washington's Kiev ambassador frankly discuss which opposition figures should go into the new Ukrainian government -- comments that play directly into Russia's charges of Western meddling in its neighbour's affairs.
No, not wittingly. 
...Second and fourth President of the Russian Federation and the first to remain sober. Putin is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from polonium poisoning. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to Putin. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead...
[An Nahar] Secretary of State 
[An Nahar] Greek and Turkish Cypriots have agreed on a roadmap prepared by the U.N. to resume reunification talks, the Turkish Cypriot leadership said Friday.
This is an Atlanta city map enlargement. Stay on I-285 East until you reach the I-75 turn-off. Don't get off the Interstate, keep you pistol handy, and don't stop for anything until you reach Valdosta. Enjoy your Florida vacation folks, and come again soon. 
[BBC.CO.UK] Germany's 
