Guest Poster should be fixed now. Let me know if there are any more problems. I thought it felt kind of lonely in here... Hope I haven't busted anything else. I'm going to bed early...
Posted by: Fred Pruitt ||
03/14/2004 8:35:50 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
Lends a new dimension to "fun house," doesn't it?
China's largest adult-only sexuality museum and combined natural theme park has opened in southern Guangdong province, boasting such attractions as "penis-like" rocks and "vagina-like" caves.
"Liu! This cave! It's... warm! And the walls are pink!"
"Yes, and it seems to be getting more slippery the longer we're in it!"
The 2,400 square metre sex museum is located not far from Hong Kong on Danxia Mountain near Shaoguan city and is believed to be the biggest such museum in China. "Danxia Mountain is well-known for its special red physiognomy and called 'a naked park' for its penis-like big stone, vagina-like cave, rocks shaped like breasts and naked 'sleeping beauty'," the report said of the park. The mountain was listed on February 13 as one of the "28 world geo-parks" by the United Nations cultural arm UNESCO, the report said. Investment in the museum topped 15 million yuan ($US1.8 million) with six exhibition areas, showcasing such themes as "Sex in Waters and Mountains," "Sex in Phallism," "Sex in Chinese characteristics" and "Sex and Literature," it said. "The museum is a perfect integration of sexual culture and tourism... [and] is open only to adults," it said.
"Was it good for you, too, cave?"
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2004 12:05:07 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Are there any "Merry-got-mounds"?
Posted by: Charles ||
03/14/2004 0:32 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"Was it good for you, too, cave?"
My god, the guy must have answered all the penis extension/expansion/lengthening/straightening spams he ever got.
I think he'd look a bit like a bloke standing next to the goodyear blimp.
Posted by: Tony (UK) ||
03/14/2004 4:56 Comments ||
Top||
#3
What do they sell at the gift shops, and are they giving away free samples?
#4
Talk about a difficult job for a janitorial staff, even I would not want to hose that park. Some bodily fluid are not water soluble and I'm sure that I would have to have an incredibly numerous battery of immunizations before hiring. As for non-hose type janitorial work in that park, I would be petrified to even pick up a napkin from the pavement without a complete chem/bio suit.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/14/2004 12:03 Comments ||
Top||
#5
SH - I bet there's a character there with your name on it!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2004 12:11 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Frank, that took me a minute. I shall have to go offline so that I can call for medical attention.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/14/2004 12:16 Comments ||
Top||
#7
SH. It's your mission. You don't want to be known as regular hose do ya? What would Shamu think?
Saudi Arabiaâs first elections ever will take place in October and should lead to general elections, a newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting senior members of the Majlis ash-Shura, the kingdomâs consultative council. âElections in Saudi Arabia will take place next October,â Saleh al-Malik told Asharq al-Awsat daily. âThere is no question of going back on the municipal elections,â added Salih al-Omeir, who is heading a Shura delegation visiting London. âThe experience of the Shura and the municipal elections will be a positive factor to generalise the idea of elections, so that they are general and not just municipal.â
Malik also told the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) that the participation of women in the Shura was under study and that a decision on whether women will be able to vote in the municipal poll would ânot take a long time.â Saudi Arabia announced last October that the first polls in the kingdom would take place within a year to elect half the members of new municipal councils. Semi-official reports have since said polls would be held within three years to fill one-third of the Shura Councilâs 120 seats, and that half the members of regional councils would be elected within two years.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/14/2004 3:44:41 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
This is great news! Further evidence of the Slow and Gradual⢠change taking place in the magic kindom.
(/sarcasm)
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/14/2004 18:04 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Great, they'll probably have a choice of one from column A and one from columnA
China's premier said Sunday that the survival of the country and the Communist Party "hung in the balance" during the 1989 crackdown on Tiananmen Square democracy protesters. However, he wouldn't say whether the government would ever admit it made a mistake.
"No, no! Certainly not!"
Wen Jiabao did not respond directly to a question from The Associated Press about a petition by a respected military surgeon who called on the government to declare the student-led demonstrations a "patriotic movement."
Doubt they'd do that. Admitting to that would make the government's actions unpatriotic. So it won't happen.
"What hung in the balance was the future of our party and our country. The party central committee closely rallied the party and all of the Chinese people together," Wen said at a news conference. "We successfully stabilized the situation of reform and opening up and the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics." He added: "These achievements are self-evident for all."
Except for the kids who died then; they can't see it all.
The vagueness of Wen's answers reflected a long-standing reluctance by the Chinese government to publicly elaborate on the events of May and June 1989, which ended with a military crackdown in which hundreds, perhaps thousands, were killed. "At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, China faced a very serious political disturbance," Wen said.
Democracy always is disturbing to thugs, ain't it?
The sensitivity of the subject - aired live on the government broadcaster's flagship TV station after the close of the National People's Congress - was underscored by the translation into Chinese. Wen's interpreter, translating the question, never mentioned "Tiananmen" or "June 4," the shorthand for the crackdown. Instead, she referred to "that 1989 affair."
"Honey, why do you keep badgering me about it? Let's not get into 'that affair' anymore!"
Wen put the demonstrations and military response in the context of the age, saying that the impending fall of communism - and the end of the Soviet Union in 1991 - created turmoil for China that threatened the Communist party senior leader Deng Xiaoping'sgrip on absolute power economic reforms. "We have always upheld our grip on power unity of the party and safeguarded our grip on power social and political stability in this country," Wen said. "The next 20 years will be another important strategic opportunity for China's development. We must concentrate our grip on power on this and never lose our grip on power any opportunities." The military surgeon, Dr. Jiang Yanyong, called on the government at the beginning of the legislature to admit it made mistakes during the 1989 crackdown. Jiang said in a letter dated Feb. 24 that ordinary Chinese will be "increasingly disappointed and angry" if the Communist Party does not revise its judgment on the incident, which says the protests were a counterrevolutionary riot. He called on officials to "reappraise" the demonstrations as a "patriotic movement." Jiang, 72, is credited with breaking official secrecy to reveal the true scale of Beijing's severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak. That was followed by embarrassing official admissions and the firing of a Cabinet minister.
Jiang ought to be careful, he could "get a case of the flu" if he isn't.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/14/2004 1:03:40 PM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Another outbreak of the 50 caliber virus is due to engulf China.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/14/2004 15:06 Comments ||
Top||
(Hat tip: Cracker Barrel Philosopher) Lurch is a fish? Must be a carp! John Kerry says he has no intention of apologizing for calling Republicans "the most crooked ... lying group that Iâve ever seen." After all, spokeswoman Stephanie Cutter says, it was in response to the "high level ... Republican attack machine" thatâs been working "to smear" Democrats. "Weâre trying to make this campaign about issues," she said. "Republicans are making it about attacks." Standard Dem tactics: (1) Lie; (2) Accuse the other side of doing exactly what youâre doing or plan to do.
Ah, there it is -- the Kerry campaign strategy: Should anyone question your record on the issues, itâs an "attack" and a "smear." Such a tactic is the first refuge of liberal scoundrels who have a record as abysmal as Mr. Kerryâs. John Kerry is the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate. And if heâs consistent about anything, itâs his inconsistencies. Sen. Fishâs flips and flops are so legion that they total 37 pages on the Google Internet search engine. Among them:
In 1988, Kerry voted against a minimum work requirement for two-parent welfare homes. In 1996, he voted for stricter welfare reforms.
A decade ago, Kerry voted against mandatory minimum sentences. He now supports them.
The 1992 John Kerry opposed affirmative action. Except, of course, for bluebloods like himself.
The 2004 John Kerry supports affirmative action, even touting his consistency on the issue.
In 1996, Kerry opposed capital punishment for terrorists. Today, he conveniently supports it. At least if he gets to blow bin Ladenâs head off himself.
In 1998, Kerry didnât think much of teachers unions. Iâm shocked. A Dem-o-Rat against a union? He must have been very ill in 1998.
These days heâs their pimp.
Double taxation on tax dividends? Hated it in 2002, loved it in 2003.
And the flip-flops go on and on. Kerry says he wants to have a serious debate on the issues. Fine. When he finally decides what his positions are, weâre sure Republicans will be happy to entertain one. Ouch.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut bskolaut@hotmail.com ||
03/14/2004 11:56:50 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
A carp? That's much too high a rating. I'd suggest "flounder", both as a description and an appelation.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
03/14/2004 12:52 Comments ||
Top||
#2
OP, it should be a catfish - bottom feeder that eats the excrement of other life forms. Kerry would have to grow a Fu Manchu, though, to make it work visually.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/14/2004 13:16 Comments ||
Top||
#3
OP, I shouldn't do this but compare the characterization of what the marine did to get awarded the Bronze Star with Kerry's Silver Star winning boat attack.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
03/14/2004 13:19 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Well, it's also what the Marine didn't do, which is to pick up a microphone and start accusing his fellow Marines of committing atrocities.
Posted by: Matt ||
03/14/2004 13:52 Comments ||
Top||
#5
And - I only specifically target the VC-with-RPG incident - there was actual physical risk involved ... doesn't take a lot of bravery to coup de grace a man long dead from who-knows-how-many .50-cal rounds outta a Ma Deuce ...
Posted by: Edward Yee ||
03/14/2004 14:22 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Thanks for gussying it up, Fred! You da' man!
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
03/14/2004 14:55 Comments ||
Top||
#7
"In 1996, Kerry opposed capital punishment for terrorists. Today, he conveniently supports it.
'At least if he gets to blow bin Ladenâs head off himself.'"
That Cowpoke Kerry must have some mighty painful straddle soars.
Posted by: Mr. Oni ||
03/14/2004 19:56 Comments ||
Top||
Conrad of The Gweilo Diaries says it so much better than I...
If terrorism, SARS, civil unrest, bird flu and dengu fever arenât sufficient to scare the average Indonesian shitless, hereâs news that the regionâs most inept and corrupt government is considering building a nuclear power plant on the earthquake prone main island of Java. Should they proceed, the absolute best one can hope for is that, like the Philippines, Indonesia ends up with an extraordinarily expensive, inoperative, white elephant. The worst, and by no means unlikely outcome, would be the irradiation of all of southeast Asia. Like bourbon and orange juice, Indonesians and nuclear fission are not a happy combination.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
03/14/2004 12:32:01 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
That takes care of Abu Sayef scumbags...
Posted by: Charles ||
03/14/2004 0:44 Comments ||
Top||
#2
but of course! like Iran, another country swimming in oil and natural gas, they have to have nuclear weapons power!
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/14/2004 8:43 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Of course they have to have their own nuclear power plants. God knows they can't rely on the NKors, Pakland or Iran for portable, high output, short lived nuclear power plants intend for export to Australia, New Zealand, the Phillipines and other prime export markets. No for this you need a home grown industry.
The departing soldiers, commanded by Lt. Col. Steve Russell, took over Tikrit on April 19, shortly after Saddam was deposed. The town was still teeming with support for the dictator, who was captured nearby on Dec. 13. Through Iraq's scorching summer, Russell's roughly 700 soldiers patrolled the area's meanest streets, confronting, killing and capturing insurgents while losing nine of their own. During the summer, U.S. forces here were attacked about 20 times daily. Now, clashes are infrequent. Russell, 40, of Del City, Okla., said the local insurgency was dealt a major blow by the capture of Saddam and the July 22 deaths of his two sons, Odai and Qusai. "Saddam's supporters started to realize that the old regime wasn't coming back," Russell told The Associated Press at a farmhouse near Uja, the former dictator's birthplace, during Friday's raid. Two wanted weapons dealers were captured in the operation, the first conducted by the incoming regiment, led by Lt. Col. Jeff Sinclair, 40, of Grafton, W.Va. "It is a good feeling to take over command," Sinclair said.
Russell's soldiers have arrested several of the 55 most wanted Iraqis and rounded up hundreds of people suspected of attacking U.S. troops and other anti-coalition activities. They also helped supporters of the U.S.-led occupation form a regional government and establish Iraqi police and civil defense forces. "But to those who hung on to Saddam's ruthless regime, we were swift, violent and deadly," Russell said Russell. Some of the "controversial" tactics his forces used included ringing Uja in razor-sharp barbed wire to prevent insurgents entering or leaving, shooting Iraqis dead in the street if they carried a weapon, and strictly enforcing the area's 11 p.m. curfew. Russell said his Baptist faith has helped him operate under hostile fire and reconcile killing others. "We must see it (killing someone) in terms of for good to happen, evil must be removed," he said.
Georgia has reportedly put its armed forces on alert after President Mikhail Saakashvili was barred from entering the troubled region of Ajaria. Georgian TV showed footage of troops loyal to Ajarian leader Aslan Abashidze blocking Mr Saakashviliâs convoy at a checkpoint on a road into the region. Meanwhile Russia warned Georgia not to send its troops into the region. Mr Abashidze opposed the events of December 2003 which led to the ousting of former leader Eduard Shevardnadze. Security Council chief Vano Merabishvili told the TV Mr Saakashviliâs convoy was met with warning shots as it approached the checkpoint near the town of Cholokhi. The president decided to turn round, leaving other senior officials to negotiate with the local authorities. Georgian TV reported tanks and armoured vehicles in the streets of the Ajarian capital Batumi, and said firearms were being distributed to civilians.
Mr Saakashvili had decided to visit the region to campaign for parliamentary elections set for late March, and is thought to have had no plans to meet regional leaders. On Saturday he warned the Ajarian leadership to abide by Georgian law after it briefly detained his finance minister. "If Abashidze intends to blackmail the Georgian president like a feudal lord from the Middle Ages, he is making a big mistake," he said. Mr Abashidze is currently in Moscow, where on Saturday he accused the new Georgian authorities of preparing to invade Ajaria. And the Russian foreign ministry said Georgia would be to blame for any use of force in the region. But Mr Saakashvili said he did not want to use force. Correspondents say there is a strong personal animosity between Aslan Abashidze and Mr Saakashvili. The Ajarian leadership wants to remain firmly under Russiaâs influence, while the central Georgian authorities are strongly pro-Western.
Posted by: Paul Moloney ||
03/14/2004 7:13:06 AM ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Ajarians= Georgian-speaking Muslims, who conveted from Orthodox Christianity under the rule of the Ottomans. No surprise, in other words.
#3
Adjarans (they apparently prefer dropping the "i") are indeed Muslim Georgians, but most Western sources are outdated in describing them as a majority within their own autonomous region. By all contemporary accounts, they are a substantial minority.
An anectodal example comes from "Living With Caucasians," a blog written by some American expatriates living in Tbilisi. Just a couple weeks before Shevardnadze got his pink slip, Mary Neal wrote:
When we were in Batumi, we were allowed by the very gracious imam to tour the one (1) mosque in the city of 140,000 or so. He said that on Fridays, he usually sees about 1,500 people in attendance. [edit some fairly logical demographic assumptions] ... then that would represent a population of, say, 7,500 observant Muslims. This does not constitute a majority of the population of Ajara.
And, on the Sunday when we toured Batumi, the formerly R.C. church, St. Mary's I think it was, which has been reconsecrated Orthodox, was packed. I mean packed, and it's a big church.
... I can't imagine that rural folks outnumber urbanites. Even if the rural population has a far greater proportion of Muslims, I still can't get the numbers to show that the vast majority of Ajarans are Muslim. But I keep reading this (as if it's the reason the autonomous region is autonomous, and as if it's going to stay that way forever).
As a political entity, Adjara in the here-and-now is probably best described as a mafia state, the personal fiefdom of Aslan Abashidze ... and the ball is firmly in HIS court.
Whether or not he successfully manipulates Adjaran/Muslim aspirations to further his own political survival (as, say, Slobo did with Serbian nationalism) is another question. No single overarching personality was behind the Abkhazian uprising, but I've read that ethnic Abkhazi accounted for less than a quarter of Abkhazia's pre-1992 population. Abkhazian secession was -- again -- driven largely by local ethnic Russians and other "Russophile" nationalites (other Slavs, Armenians, Pontic Greeks, etc.).
Obviously, this is all short on statistics and long on anecdotal evidence. Any 'Burgers got some stats?
Posted by: Another Dan ||
03/14/2004 14:46 Comments ||
Top||
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.
