A woman has been slapped with an Antisocial Behaviour Order (ASBO) after magistrates were forced to sit through tapes of her loud love-making sessions.
Caroline Cartwright, 47, was also fined £515 after being found guilty of breaching a noise abatement notice served on her after 25 complaints to police about her marathon sex romps with husband Steve. He escaped prosecution because he was less noisy than his more enthusiastic wife.
Their sessions were so loud that one partially-deaf neighbour told the court she hadn't had a decent night's sleep in two years.
The tape made in Ms O'Connor's flat was recorded through a sound-proofed wall, but words and the sounds of slapping were still audible.
Environmental health officer Pamela Spark told the court that she had listened to 23 recordings of the couple having sex. She said: 'There was an excessive screaming female voice on the recordings. I felt that the noise was a clear breach of the abatement notice at that level.'
#1
Environmental health officer Pamela Spark told the court that she had listened to 23 recordings of the couple having sex.
I mean, I had to listen to them 23 times to make sure that they were really, really loud.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
04/17/2009 17:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
The tape made in Ms O'Connor's flat was recorded through a sound-proofed wall, but words and the sounds of slapping were still audible.
I'd have the authorities pull the contractor's license and the building inspector's credentials if they signed off on it being 'sound proofed'. Send a copy of the tape to Gitmo Bagram for keeping the 'detainees' up all night before morning interrogation after coffee.
#1
Considering that the victims were his Supervisors I suspect a poor work evaluation (or "inventory" problems). If his self identity was tightly tied to his work then ????
[Al Arabiya Latest] Apparently hummus and tabouleh are no substitute for the succulent kebabs Lebanon is famous for because Lebanon's environment minister on Thursday shunned a call to give up kebabs and live on the country's wide range of vegetarian dishes.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) appealed to minister Antoine Karam to "lead Lebanon and the world in the charge against climate change and environmental destruction by going vegetarian and advocating a vegetarian diet."
The request is part of the organization's campaign for Earth Day, which is celebrated on April 22 every year.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I did not even know Lebanon HAD an environment minister, or for that matter a sane minister of anything.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Archeologists believe that they have finally found the final resting place of 'Cleopatra' -- the celebrated queen of ancient Egypt.
Zahi Hawass, director of Egypt's Superior Council for Antiquities, said Wednesday that a radar survey of the Tabusiris Magna temple has found a complex tunnel system that may contain the tombs of Cleopatra VII and celebrated Roman general, Mark Antony.
Teams from Egypt and the Dominican Republic will next week begin excavating the sites, which lie some 17 miles from the city of Alexandria.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"Not a BEAUTY" > read, LIZ TAYLOR's MOVIE as by most reliable accounts few in science-academia ever argued that she was. BEST > Cleo was "GOOD/FINE UGLY" = "FUGLY", GOOD ENUFF TO CAPTURE JULIUS CAESAR + 'OLE MARKO.
Such being his temper, the last and crowning mischief that could befall him came in the love of Cleopatra, to awaken and kindle to fury passions that as yet lay still and dormant in his nature, and to stifle and finally corrupt any elements that yet made resistance in him of goodness and a sound judgment. He fell into the snare thus. When making preparation for the Parthian war, he sent to command her to make her personal appearance in Cilicia, to answer an accusation, that she had given great assistance, in the late wars, to [Roman general Gaius] Cassius [Longinus]. Dellius, who was sent on this message, had no sooner seen her face, and remarked her adroitness and subtlety in speech, but he felt convinced that Antony would not so much as think of giving any molestation to a woman like this; on the contrary, she would be the first in favour with him. So he set himself at once to pay his court to the Egyptian, and gave her his advice, 'to go,' in the Homeric style, to Cilicia, 'in her best attire,' and bade her fear nothing from Antony, the gentlest and kindest of soldiers. She had some faith in the words of Dellius, but more in her own attractions; which, having formerly recommended her to [Roman general Gaius Julius] Cæsar and the young [Roman general] Cnæus Pompey she did not doubt might prove yet more successful with Antony. Their acquaintance was with her when a girl, young and ignorant of the world, but she was to meet Antony in the time of life when women's beauty is most splendid, and their intellects are in full maturity. She made great preparation for her journey, of money, gifts, and ornaments of value, such as so wealthy a kingdom might afford, but she brought with her her surest hopes in her own magic arts and charms.
Sorta like Austrians speak Austrian.
It's the Ptolemy family. Macedonian rulers who were somewhat a trailer park dynasty, "All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy. Ptolemaic queens, some of whom were the sisters of their husbands, were usually called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice." Paging Mr. Spinger to the white courtesy phone.
#8
Academics at the University of Newcastle have also argued that Cleopatra was a pointy-nosed, thin-lipped woman with a jutting jaw line - an assessment based on a Roman coin.
Depends on when the coin was made. The victors not only write the history books but draw the pictures too.
Posted by: ed ||
04/17/2009 19:49 Comments ||
Top||
#9
Don't plan on visiting the site. On Nov. 17, 1997, Muslim Brotherhood terrorists massacred dozens of tourists at Luxor, Egypt. The foreigners had been viewing 3000 year old ruins. Three generations of a single US family were slaughtered in the tragedy. Within 4 years, 19,000 MB members were in Egypt's jails. Four years after 9-11, most had been released after President Bush pressured Egypt to include the MB in the political process.
Posted by: Jans Wittlesbach2039 ||
04/17/2009 21:10 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Some accounts say she servants roll her up in a carpet and have the carpet delivered to Mark Anthony. When the carpet arrived and was unrolled, she slithered out like a sinuous snake and did a bellydance. Ugly or not, she was creative, or at least good at putting on eyeliner!
#11
I had a dream like that once GT. When I woke up the electricity and AC were out, I was all sweaty, and my feet were all tangled up at the bottom of my poncho liner.
#12
Cleopatra is part of the collective imagination. I always envisioned her looking like Cher, with some weird see thru get up and a huge papyrus headdress-not the best look.
I think the point is people imagine her how they want to, and Egyptologists are losers to try and pretend they could figure out if shes pretty or not. Bottom line, if Cleopatra was at a tavern today, some guy would mack on her and buy her a drink.
Maybe they had make-overs and glamour shots equivalents back in those days for the less than perfect 7's or 8's. Besides they wore a lot of gold jewelry---that could hide figure flaws and dazzle you with its shine.
Allah must be bored today...
BHEZAD KHEIL, Afghanistan Two earthquakes shook eastern Afghanistan early Friday, collapsing mud-brick homes on top of villagers while they slept and killing at least 21 people. The quakes hit four villages in the high mountains of the eastern province of Nangarhar, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the Pakistan border. Halliburton Earthquake/Tsunami Division. How may I direct your call?
Oh. Hello, Mr. Cheney...
Shafiqullah from the village of Bhezad Kheil said 21 people were buried in a cemetery, including two of his young neighbors. Nijad, 10, and Sima, 7, both died after the roof above their second-story bedroom collapsed, raining down wood beams and chunks of mud, he said. "There were two shakes," said Shafiqullah, 30. "The first shake was very strong, when everyone was asleep. The first shake destroyed everything. Then the crying and the shouting started."
The quakes destroyed or damaged an estimated 100 houses in the four villages in Sherzad district, about 50 miles (90 kilometers) east of Kabul, said governor's spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai.
The U.S. Geological Survey said Nangarhar province was hit by two earthquakes a 5.5 magnitude quake at about 2 a.m., and a 5.1 magnitude aftershock two hours later. A villager in Sherzad, Shah Mohammad Khan, told The Associated Press that 40 people were killed and 60 wounded, but government officials had not confirmed those figures.
Afghanistan's Hindu Kush mountain range is hit by dozens of minor earthquakes each year. Many Afghan homes are made of dried mud, so even moderate earthquakes can cause many deaths and major damage to infrastructure.
Ambulances from the Afghan Red Crescent Society helped ferry the wounded from the remote earthquake site, reachable only after hours of travel on bumpy dirt roads.
U.S. forces stationed in the region also were standing by to assist if the Afghan government requested help, said spokeswoman Capt. Elizabeth Mathias.
#2
See also SPACEWEATHER > ERUPTION IN PROGRESS [NASA observs sudden Solar Prominence].
HMMMMM, could explain the very strong EM SKy Bursts [windshield = "dollar-coin" sized or slightly larger] since Thursday, thru after midnite Saturday AM [Guam time] oer Hagatna Bay-WESTPAC.
[ADN Kronos] Egypt has expelled two western diplomats who arrived at Cairo's international airport without a valid entry visa. According to the Arab television network, Al-Jazeera, the diplomats, an American and a German who are both working in Africa, were refused entry on Tuesday.
It is the first time that Egypt has applied to western diplomats the same treatment received by Egyptian diplomats in the US and Europe.
The US diplomat reportedly arrived in Cairo from Ghana, while the German had come from Sudan. Airport officials took steps to send the diplomats back to the countries from where they had travelled.
In the past few weeks, the Egyptian foreign ministry has complained several times to western embassies in Cairo, the country's capital, about the treatment received by their diplomats abroad.
Following a meeting between ministry and airport officials this week, Egyptian authorities decided to enforce the new requirement that diplomats hold a valid entry visa, as well as a diplomatic passport.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[Maghrebia] Mauritania junta leader General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz officially resigned on Wednesday (April 15th) to run for president in the June 6th elections. Senate Chairman Ba Mamadou Mbare was sworn in as the country's interim leader. In an address to the nation, Aziz said he presented his resignation in accordance with constitutional provisions. He expressed his "sincere wish to build a new Mauritania based on justice, equality, and liberty".
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
[Maghrebia] Libyan leader and African Union Chairman Moamer Kadhafi on Wednesday (April 15th) called for speeding up implementation of his project to transform the AU into a pan-African government. Under the proposal presented in Tripoli to the AU Council of Ministers, the new authority would replace all other institutions. Al-Qaeda The AU executive committee would take over all foreign policy, Al-Qaeda the AU Peace and Security Council would become the African Ministry of Defence and Security, and Al-Qaeda the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) would be in charge of foreign trade and international co-operation, Kadhafi explained.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And lo, VIRGINA, the AFROZONE begins, led by UNCLE "THE COLONEL" MUHAMMAR???
Sniff, sniff, now iff only UNCLE FIDEL-RAUL can do the same wid QUBA!
#3
Not that the EU has shown that it might not be a good idea even in an first-second world economic environment. I get the 'consolidation of power' bit, but he misses the shift of power to the bureaucrats over local personalities.
[Bangla Daily Star] The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed five cases against seven former officials of Bangladesh Telegraph and Telephone Board (BTTB), now Bangladesh Telecommunications Company Ltd (BTCL), in Chittagong for misappropriating over Tk 2.88 crore.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
The shut-down of two RAF Tornado squadrons is to go ahead a year early in order to save money, leaving Britain with just eight aircraft kept ready to protect its skies, it has been reported.
The 43 and 111 squadrons, which were due to stand down in late 2010, could be merged or axed from September although the Ministry of Defence says it has not worked out the full details.
The move will reportedly cut the number of fighter jets on standby to protect Britain from 25 to 12. However, it is said that at all times, four of these will be undergoing maintenance, leaving only eight on standby at any one time.
#2
They don't even want to put up the facade of defense, workfare, anymore while on their American military security welfare free ride. Should have pulled out when the Wall came down. Packed bags and turned the lights off.
#4
Dire headlines to signifying nothing. Typhoons (which are actually designed for this mission) have been on 24hr standby alert for at least a year. 8 can cover the 4 points of the compass. It's not a big country. In reality, only the northern approach is interesting.
Posted by: ed ||
04/17/2009 9:39 Comments ||
Top||
#1
ION WORLD MIL FORUM [GOOGLE Chinglish transl.] > IIUC JAPANESE AIRCRAFT CARRIER MAY SIGNAL FUTURE NUCLEAR AMBITIONS [nuclear weapons/rearmament]; + CHINA CANNOT RELAX ITS VIGILANCE AGZ JAPAN, + US, INDIAN CONSERVATIVES UNEASY/ALARMED OVER F16 ADVANCED COMBAT AIRCRAFT SALES TO PAKISTAN [over 5 years]. SALE MAY INDUCE AN UNSTOPPABLE REGIONAL ARMS RACE., + NORTH KOREA: IFF JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, AND IRAN CAN LAUNCH A SATELLITE, WHY CAN'T NORTH KOREA?
Union busting apparently isn't enough to bring the costs in line ...
The New York Times unveiled plans on Thursday to eliminate several weekly sections of the newspaper in the latest cost-cutting move at the prestigious but financially troubled daily. The Washington Post, meanwhile, announced a sweeping editorial reorganization at the newspaper and details of its plan to merge its currently separate print and online operations into a single newsroom.
The Times said it was doing away with several weekly sections "in a bid to save millions of dollars" in ink, paper and freelance reporter costs, absorbing them into other parts of the newspaper. On the chopping board are the "Escapes" travel section in Friday editions, the regular fashion layout in The New York Times Magazine and regional weekly sections for surrounding areas such as New Jersey, the Times said.
Since no one in Joisey can read ...
In a memorandum to employees, Times executive editor Bill Keller said he hoped the latest moves, which come on top of a five percent pay cut earlier this year, would eliminate the need for further reductions. "The hope and expectation remain that the pay cuts and the spending cuts outlined above will get us through the year without the need for other significant reductions," Keller said.
At the Washington Post, executive editor Marcus Brauchli unveiled a number of personnel changes and the creation of a "Universal News Desk" that will edit stories for both the print and online editions of the newspaper. He said the reorganization was designed to "create new reporting groups, streamline editing desks and anticipate the impending integration of our print and digital news operations."
"We want to empower journalists and encourage them to work across departments and platforms," he said. "A single editor ultimately ought to be able to oversee all versions of a story, whether it appears in print, online or on a BlackBerry or iPhone."
Earlier this month, the Times threatened to shut down the Boston Globe, which was purchased by the Times Co. for 1.1 billion dollars in 1993, unless unions at the daily agree to pay cuts and other cost-saving measures.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/17/2009 00:01 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.
Heh heh heh... What's the german word? Schadensomething...
[Iran Press TV Latest] Turkey's employment rate has jumped to an all-time high of 15.5 percent, foreshowing a deep economic slump for the emerging economy. Figures released by the Turkish Statistics Institute on Wednesday showed that the number of unemployed people in Turkey had risen by 1.59 million in January 2009 compared to the same period last year. The total number of jobless individuals now stands at about 3.650 million, showing a staggering increase compared to last year's 11.3 percent.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Does this mean that BO will bail them out? They can't vote here. Or maybe they can if ACORN gets involved?
Liberal actress and political activist Janeane Garofalo, in all seriousness, said activists who attended tea parties are racists with dysfunctional brains in a recent prime-time television appearance.
"Let's be very honest about what this is about. This is not about bashing Democrats. It's not about taxes. They have no idea what the Boston Tea party was about. They don't know their history at all. It's about hating a black man in the White House," she said on MSNBC's "The Countdown" with Keith Olbermann Thursday evening. "This is racism straight up and is nothing but a bunch of teabagging rednecks. There is no way around that."
Olbermann did not once try to challenge her on those assertions.
The actress went on to describe the brain size of typical "right-winger, Republican or conservative or your average white power activist."
"Their synapses are misfiring. ... It is a neurological problem we are dealing with," she said. This isn't the first time she's offered this analysis, either. Ms. Garofalo said similar things about Alaskan GOP Governor Sarah Palin's brain last February in an interview with an environmental blog.
The actress went on to bash the GOP on MSNBC Thursday because it had "crystallized into the white power movement" as well as Fox News, which she said has captured the "Klan demo[graphic]."
"Who else is Fox talking to? Urban older white guys and their girlfriends who suffer from Stockholm Syndrome," she said.
Ironically, Ms. Garofalo is currently playing a role on the drama 24, which is aired by the Fox Broadcasting Company and is popular among conservative circles.
#3
Just keep talking, Miss Garofalo... please just keep talking. With every word, you reveal your own abysmal ignorance and bigotry, and dig yourself deeper and deeper into a pit of irrelevance.
#7
I'd like to know how she made it big in showbiz. Typically the only two routes are talent or beauty.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/17/2009 15:55 Comments ||
Top||
#8
There reputedly is one other way, Mike - but she's a two-bagger, so I can't see happening either.
Unless maybe the producer can't see the face of the person (of either sex) giving him that BJ....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/17/2009 15:58 Comments ||
Top||
#9
I was going to comment, but then I'm fairly sure I'd get sinktrapped. And to be honest, subhuman vermin like her aren't worth noticing unless it's sticking to your shoe or something. Then you can find a car with an Obama sticker to scrape it off onto.
#10
This liberal actress (Actress?) and lightweight thinker's career must be sagging as much as the rest of her. Are you certain you haven't served "hard time" somewhere sport? Tattoos look like homemade prison tattoos.
#12
I had a whole long thing here about looks and talent and how it seems most people assume they must go together, and that's especially true of Hollywood and so just what the hell is Garofalo thinking, but instead I'll just link to this: Janeane Garofalo plays the ugly chick in The Truth about Cats and Dogs.
I see women like this all the time in Wal-Mart. They look like they were passed around at a biker rally. I wonder what the hell they're thinking, too.
Posted by: Large Thinert9789 ||
04/17/2009 18:53 Comments ||
Top||
#13
Please Large, the bikers I know have SOME standards to uphold.
Posted by: ed ||
04/17/2009 19:43 Comments ||
Top||
#14
thought that was a oversized tat of Fidel's Beard, thinking "Whoa! That's nasty!" Then found out her sweats just slipped down
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/17/2009 21:12 Comments ||
Top||
#15
In her case, Barbara, a three bagger. One for the dog so he'll still respect you.
A (4-legged) dog's respect is very important. 2-legged ones, not so much. ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
04/17/2009 23:19 Comments ||
Top||
#19
What a 15 year old trapped in a 42 year old woman's body with Dorian Gray syndrome: "Realizing that one day hisher beauty will fade, Doriana cries out, expressing his her desire to sell her soul... Dorian's Doriana's wish is fulfilled, subsequently plunging her into a series of debauched acts like excessive artless tatoos, bisexual leanings, and hair that says "I'm too cool to care."
For thousands of Americans, Tax Day was a moment to protest what they see as bloated budgets and a pile of debt being passed on to their children.
For CNN, MSNBC and other media outlets, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to use the word "teabagging" in a sentence.
Teabagging, for those who don't live in a frat house, refers to a sexual act involving part of the male genitalia and a second person's face or mouth.
So when the anti-tax "tea party" protests were held Wednesday across the country, cable anchors and guests -- who for weeks had all but ignored the story -- covered the protests by cracking a litany of barely concealed sexual references.
CNN anchor Anderson Cooper interspersed "teabagging" references with analyst David Gergen's more staid commentary on how Republicans are still "searching for their voice."
"It's hard to talk when you're teabagging," Cooper explained. Gergen laughed, but Cooper kept a straight face.
MSNBC's David Shuster weaved a tapestry of "Animal House" humor Monday as he filled in for Countdown host Keith Olbermann.
The protests, he explained, amount to "Teabagging day for the right wing and they are going nuts for it."
He described the parties as simultaneously "full-throated" and "toothless," and continued: "They want to give President Obama a strong tongue-lashing and lick government spending." Shuster also noted how the protesters "whipped out" the demonstrations this past weekend.
Tea Party participants were not amused. The events were held in dozens of cities across the country, and while some demonstrators were criticized for wielding off-topic and sometimes insensitive protest signs, most took to the streets to speak out against government spending.
Brent Bozell, president of the conservative Media Research Center, said the media coverage was "insulting," reacting specifically to CNN reporter Susan Roesgen's combative interviews with Illinois demonstrators in which she declared that the protests were "anti-CNN" and supported by FOX News. She left the teabagging jokes to her colleagues, though.
"I've never seen anything like it," Bozell said. "The oral sex jokes on (CNN) and particularly MSNBC on teabagging ... they had them by the dozens. That's how insulting they were toward people who believe they're being taxed too highly."
Max Pappas, public policy vice president at FreedomWorks -- a small-government group which promoted the tea parties -- said it's a "shame" media outlets cracked jokes at a genuine "grassroots uprising."
"I think what that reveals is how worried they are that this might actually be something serious. You make fun of things you're afraid of, I'd say," Pappas said.
If anyone thinks the orally charged remarks on mainstream cable were just a coincidence, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow's segments over the past week with guest, Air America's Ana Marie Cox, would dissolve all doubt. Their on-air gymnastics, dancing around the double entendre of the week, looked like live-action Beavis and Butthead.
By one count, the two of them used the word "teabag" more than 50 times on one show. And on Monday, Cox even let the viewers in on their joke -- referencing Urbandictionary.com, a site which offers a number of colorful definitions for the term "teabagging."
"Well, there is a lot of love in teabagging," Cox said. "It is curious, though, as you point out, they do not use the verb 'teabag.' It might be because they're less enthusiastic about teabagging than some of the more corporate conservatives who seem to have taken to it quite easily."
Jenny Beth Martin, a Republican activist who helped organize one protest in Atlanta, said she's not too worried about the protests being dismissed by some media outlets. She estimated 750,000 people attended more than 800 protests in all 50 states, and that at the very least the local media and community newspapers documented it.
"Our message definitely got out where it needed to get," she said.
#2
You know, I thought I would have heard most of the slang words for oral sex when I was in the military, and if I hadn't, my Marine daughter would have heard more of the up-to-date ones.
Was this particular term all that wide-spread more than two weeks ago? And is it being especially and deliberately propagated now by our own very dear lame-stream media, as a way to embarrass people out of attending or participating a Tea Party protest? Was this an item on the 'journolist' discussion board, perhaps: "ooooh,lads - here's this very obscure bit of slang that we can bring out and wave around to make fun of the poor rubes who have then nerve to ignore the dictates of their betters?"
Any similar thoughts or suspicions from other Rantburgundians?
#4
Sgt. Mom, given the military 'don't ask, don't tell' policy and the s*xual identity of Mr. Cooper (and so many others in the media elite), one might guess where the teabag term came from and why you were not familiar with it (or me or anyone else at the gatherings, for that matter).
#9
Immaturely giggling their merry way to their own demise.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
04/17/2009 13:29 Comments ||
Top||
#10
Our Media is again at a new low, acting like chidren while they ignore their professional duties. The National Enquirer has a higher standard of professional ethics.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/17/2009 14:43 Comments ||
Top||
#11
Sgt. Mom, it's more a gay culture thing than frat boy. I first heard it in the John Waters movie Pecker, which coincidentally was the first and only John Walters movie I've ever seen.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
04/17/2009 14:58 Comments ||
Top||
#12
Normally I google phrases like this that I've never heard before but I'm afraid with this one I really don't want to know.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/17/2009 15:29 Comments ||
Top||
#13
The term must refer to some common practice at CNN. I have never heard the term.
#14
Anderson has had personal experience, he just pronounced it differently with his mouf full
Posted by: Frank G ||
04/17/2009 21:14 Comments ||
Top||
#15
It is common in the Online shooter game field. After you get killed, a guy will sometimes teabag your corpse to further drive home the fact you suck.
[Geo News] Teacher of a school in Multan severely beat a 7-year old girl student for failing to complete homework. According to Geo News correspondent, the teacher hit young Alizah on not completing homework, bruising her back and arms. Punjab Chief Minister, Shahbaz Sharif taking notice of the incident, ordered RPO Multan to submit report of the incident.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Looks more like a mild disciplinary action to me, for that part of the world, that is. Anyway, what's a 7 year old "woman" doing in school, anyway? She should be home tending her husband's younger wives.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
04/17/2009 12:24 Comments ||
Top||
[Geo News] Pakistan People Party (PPP) ministers will resign from Punjab cabinet, Minister of State for Ports and Shipping Nabeel Gabool said Thursday. He said this in response to the PML-N's decision not to join the federal government. "It is PML-N's own decision not to join the government at the center, he said, adding that PPP ministers will also quit the provincial cabinet."
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[Geo News] PakistanŽŽs allies and aid donors are expected to promise about 4 billion dollars in tomorrow's donors' conference but will also try to spur it to more urgent action against an increasingly formidable insurgency. Japan's share in the total aid would be 1 billion dollars According to an official of Japan foreign office, Japan's target would be to collect 4 billion dollars for Pakistan which would be provided to it over the next two years. Japanese media says Japanese government would pledge 1 billion dollar to Pakistan for war against terrorism and its economic stability. Cash-strapped Pakistan will outline its medium-term strategies to fight the insurgency and revive its economy at a Friends of Pakistan group meeting in Tokyo on Friday morning. In the afternoon, those friends, who include the United States, Japan, China and Saudi Arabia, will join other donors to promise aid for the next two years.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[4 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#3
I've said it before: give 'em a billion dollars for each nuke they hand over to us. If they don't wanna do that then leave 'em to the tender mercies of the Taliban because they've shown no inclination to fight the Taliban whether we give 'em money or not.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
04/17/2009 15:35 Comments ||
Top||
[Bangla Daily Star] Indians voted in their tens of millions yesterday as the world's largest democracy kicked off month-long, five-stage elections, with little hope of a clear winner emerging at the end of it all.
From the southern tropical state of Kerala to the Himalayan foothills of Kashmir in the north, they cast their ballots at the start of a process so complex and spread out that six million civil and security personnel are needed to keep it on track.
Neither the ruling Congress party nor its main rival, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is expected to win outright when voting wraps up on May 13, setting the stage for some old-fashioned political horse-trading to build a coalition that can govern India's one billion people.
The election comes at a pivotal time for India and its 714 million electorate, with a once red-hot economy feeling the strain of the global downturn and relations with neighbouring Pakistan at a new low since the deadly Mumbai attacks in November.
Domestic security concerns were highlighted soon after polling opened when Maoist rebels launched attacks in several eastern states, killing at least 18 people, including 10 paramilitary troopers and five election workers.
The Maoists, who say they are fighting for the rights of neglected tribal people and landless farmers, have been described by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the biggest overall threat to India's stability.
Elsewhere, patient voters formed long and often colourful queues to use the electronic voting machines and have their fingers stained with indelible ink to prevent any fraud.
"As citizens of this country we want basic facilities for development like electricity, water, jobs for our young," said Chotte Lal Singh Patel, 60, a village elder from the outskirts of the Hindu holy city of Varanasi.
Such grassroots issues are behind the rise of regional and local groupings who have succeeded in splintering national support for the established parties by catering to small constituencies.
Many voters are also expected to make their choices along purely religious and caste lines, making the final result almost impossible to predict.
In the inevitable rush to cobble together a post-poll coalition, both national parties will be looking to the tactical skills of their veteran leaders: Manmohan Singh, 76, for the Congress and the BJP's L.K. Advani, 81.
Around 143 million people -- more than the population of Russia -- were eligible to vote in Thursday's first phase, which wrapped up at 5:00pm (1130 GMT).
"Our kids are so desperate for food," said Ruksana Begun, as she cast her ballot in Varanasi, with only her eyes visible from under an all-enveloping black burka.
"Everything is expensive and the people here are very distressed by the prices," she said.
After five successive years of near-double-digit growth, which lent the country the international clout it has long sought, the economy has been badly hit by the global downturn.
India's fiscal deficit for the last financial year was six percent of GDP -- more than double the target -- and 11 percent if the deficits of regional state governments are included.
And there are major security concerns over growing regional instability, particularly arch-rival Pakistan where the growing influence of the Taliban has been watched from New Delhi with increasing alarm.
"India needs a strong government at this stage to be able to tide us over the economic crisis in particular, besides issues like relations with Pakistan and instability elsewhere," said analyst Rasheed Kidwai.
"But it seems increasingly likely that we're going to get a weak coalition that will probably only last two to three years," Kidwai said.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
The only embarrassment is of choice. Sex sells in the souk, where Syrians flock to buy the latest lingerie, some of it edible, some sporting flashing lights and all of it kitsch personified. Chocolate knickers, panties adorned with singing canaries, feathered bras that twinkle in the dark all this and more can be found in the popular Al-Hamidiyeh market, the best known in the capital Damascus.
"Women, veiled or otherwise, come here to buy and so do men," lingerie seller Samer says at his colourful stall on the way to the celebrated Omayyad Mosque. He waves an arm at underwear of every description, colour and material. Fluffy, flounced, vinyl complete with pocket for mobile phone, G-strings that fall away at the clap of hands, and of course the strawberry-flavoured.
This year Samer plans to boost his business with a new line of naughty outfits, focusing on the schoolgirl, housewife and nurse. His shop may be tiny, but he is not just selling "smalls". Piled on a table is aphrodisiac chewing gum called "Jaguar Power", sexy massage oils and even delay sprays imported from China and Thailand. "Many women buy these for themselves, and also for their husbands," he confides, unfazed to be surrounded by a rainbow orgy of frilly bodices and skimpy thongs.
Sales of such lingerie are scantier than they were three years ago, but merchants such as Samer are loath to blame global economic problems on a reduction in raunchiness. They hope that come summer their shops will be bulging with tourists, mainly from Gulf Arab states, attracted by the delights of such alluring fripperies.
That such sexy garments are visibly on sale in a well-frequented Damascus market should come as no surprise, according to one Syrian sociologist who prefers not to be identified. "The culture of sexual pleasure has an important role in Islam," he says of a patriarchal and conservative society in which polygamy is allowed. "A Muslim woman works hard to ensure she is attractive. But she keeps her eroticism for her husband. She may be limited in personal liberties outside the home, but inside anything goes."
Amal, a pretty woman of 42 sporting a colourful scarf, has come to the Al-Hamidiyeh souk to choose lingerie for her daughter who will be marrying her cousin this summer. A belly-dancing outfit has become a must for young brides, Amal says as she picks out a gold-sequinned version for the blushing bride-to-be. "Muslim wives must be desirable and pleasure their husbands so they don't stray," she adds with a large grin.
The shopkeeper steers a male customer towards pink nighties trimmed with feathers and lacy basques or teddies. Rashad (37) chooses a little red-laced chiffon and vinyl number, for which he hands over $37. "It's a present for my wife," he says. "I often buy her gifts to keep things new."
"Islam orders the woman to keep herself pretty for her husband, that's well-known," Mohammad Habash, head of the Damascus Centre for Islamic Studies says. He says there is nothing at all contradictory in a veiled Muslim woman buying sexy underwear. "A woman can buy whatever she desires, even a dancer's outfit for when she wants to give pleasure to her husband," Habash adds. "This is not only her right, it's an obligation."
WHO authorities are working with Russian authorities to track the case and ensure it did not represent an international public health threat. The above comments on the train passengers quarantined in Russia raise concerns that the atypical bilateral pneumonia in the fatal case was caused by H5N1.
China had issued an alert in January for atypical pneumonia cases because of the spate of H5N1 infections. These human infections were not linked to H5N1 confirmed poultry outbreaks and the reported cases ceased in February. Prior to the outbreaks in patients, there were poultry outbreaks in Jiangsu which were cause by clade 7 H5N1.
The first reported case was in Beijing, A/Beijing/01/2009, which was also likely caused by clade 7. The first confirmed H5N1 cases in China was a patient with atypical pneumonia who was misdiagnosed as SARS, but was subsequently found to be infected with clade 7 H5N1, A/Beijing/01/2003.
The victim on the train was a Chinese citizen who boarded the train at the Russian border with northeastern China. The patient was symptomatic for four days on the train before dying, raising concerns of spread to the relatives on the train, who have a temperature.
Passengers in other cars, who were released, were given Ribavarin, signaling a suspected viral etiology. The involvement of WHO in the investigation increases concerns that the virus is H5N1.
More information of the symptoms of the relatives / contacts, who were initially said to have high fever and were subsequently said to have low fever, would be useful. Chinese woman gets on Russian train at border, dies four days later with acute respiratory symptoms. Russians quarantine rail car, passengers, and hospital to which the other passengers have been transported.
#3
Glenmore: Remember the chess games between chess masters and IBMs Big Blue? Influenza is both so gene flexible, and such a master of natural selection, that on the macro level, it behaves like a computer. Any treatment you come up with for it is countered and trumped with scary speed.
Within two years after the increased use of the three major antiviral agents, especially Tamiflu, in Asia, the *normal* flu strains, in America, have evolved 100% resistance.
As far as Avian flu goes, right now it is progressing on three fronts.
In China, it (clade 7) is extending its endemic range, with completely isolated outbreaks hundreds of miles apart. That is why the nationwide alert to doctors for atypical pneumonia. The Chinese are justifiably frightened.
In Bangladesh, a different strain holds a greater risk of wiping out enormous numbers of animals and birds, causing widespread famine.
In Egypt, they have just announced a third strain of mild pediatric Avian flu that infected a dozen small children but only killed one of them. This is a critical pandemic step, because once inside a human population, it will quickly learn how to become human to human transmissible.
Once it learns how to do this, then the severe lethality will once again reemerge. This is one of the worst danger signals yet.
#4
What I think I recall reading about was a vaccine approach that worked from a piece of the virus a level 'deeper' in its structure, so it would apply to a lot more strains at a time, and thus last longer against mutations.
#5
Lifeforms can be pretty sneaky. A breakthrough in cancer treatment came when they realized that tumors will try to defend themselves from treatment, so they now use at least three different attacks at once, to kill it before it can adapt.
I'm not holding my breath with the idea we can beat influenza that has been evolving in competition for thousands of years. Oh maybe for a while.
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Sondhi Limthongkul, the Thai media owner whose protest group helped oust three prime ministers, was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt that threatens the governments efforts to restore political stability.
Gunmen firing M-16 automatic rifles from a pick-up truck sprayed Sondhis car with more than 50 bullets at about 5:45 a.m. Bangkok time, King Kwangvisetchaisri, the police officer in charge of the district where the attack occurred, said today. Sondhi and a bodyguard were wounded and his driver is in serious condition, he said.
The attack may jeopardize attempts by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to ease political tension after he was forced to impose emergency rule in Bangkok last weekend to disperse a rival set of demonstrators who are seeking his ouster. Sondhi, an Abhisit supporter whose Peoples Alliance for Democracy seized Bangkoks two airports last year, leads opposition to former Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, now living in exile.
What happened may be linked to politics, Parnthep Pourpongpan, a spokesman for the Peoples Alliance said in an interview with TNN television. Some groups may want to get rid of him. Sondhi has been taken to hospital and is not seriously wounded, Parnthep said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Straits Times] OUSTED Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra urges his supporters to be a part of reconciliation talks with the Thai government.
On his terms of course ...
Tens of thousands of protesters who support him paralysed the Thai capital for days with violent demonstrations, demanding new elections. They called off protests Tuesday after facing a major military crackdown.
Thaksin told The Associated Press in an interview that he would encourage his supporters to participate in talks, 'if the government wants to reconcile.'
He has been on the run since fleeing Thailand ahead of a corruption conviction last year, returning only once - briefly - while his allies were in power. Thai authorities revoked his passport on Sunday after accusing him inciting protesters.
You can now reach him at the guest house in Managua ...
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Straits Times] THAI Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva pledged to call elections once stability is restored, as offices, banks and the stock exchange opened after anti- government riots killed two and injured 135 people in Bangkok. The capital and surrounding provinces entered their fifth day of emergency rule on Thursday as Thais returned to work after a three-day New Year holiday.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Straits Times] A SENIOR member of Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim's party resigned on Thursday following an investigation into alleged corruption. Mohamad Fairus Khairuddin, who was the deputy chief minister in the northern Penang state and a member of the state parliament, announced his resignation in a statement, saying his move will 'allow me the space to clear my name'.
Anti-corruption authorities have investigated him for allegedly collaborating in a cover-up with illegal quarry operators, according to Malaysian media reports.
The resignation would pave the way for a by-election under Malaysia's election laws, which will be the sixth since the general election a year ago in which the opposition gained unprecedented ground.
'The seat is now vacant and the Election Commission will decide the date to conduct the by-election which has to be called within 60 days,' Azmin Ali, vice-president of Mr Anwar's Keadilan party, told AFP.
New Prime Minister Najib Razak has already taken a knock from voters in by-elections on April 7. He lost two of the three votes, which the opposition said showed voters rejected the new premier.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Straits Times] THAILAND'S fugitive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra now has a Nicaraguan passport, complicating efforts to extradite him as Thai authorities pressed ahead on Thursday with a search for his supporters accused of leading violent riots in Bangkok. The Nicaraguan government announced late Wednesday it had named Thaksin a 'Nicaraguan ambassador on a special mission' to bring investment to the Central American country and issued him a passport in January.
The announcement came just hours after the Thai government said it had revoked Thaksin's personal passport, accusing him of stoking the unrest that paralysed the Thai capital earlier this week.
Ousted in a 2006 coup, Thaksin has been on the run since he fled Thailand ahead of a corruption conviction last year. He has been spotted in Central America, Africa, London, Dubai and Hong Kong among other places. He recently said that several countries had offered him passports but did not specify them.
Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said he could not confirm Thaksin's Nicaraguan passport but said authorities were trying to 'make clear which other passports he is holding.' He said he was not aware of any extradition treaty between Thailand and Nicaragua.
Thailand had already revoked Thaksin's diplomatic passport.
A state of emergency in Bangkok remained in place for a fifth day on Thursday, but normalcy returned after the rioting earlier this week when Thaksin's supporters clashed with soldiers and burned empty buses at major intersections. Two people were killed and 123 injuries in the violence.
Police were still searching for dozens of protest leaders, only three of whom were in custody. Bangkok's Criminal Court was deciding on Thursday whether to grant the three bail or extend their detention.
A total of 13 arrest warrants were issued on Tuesday against leaders of the Bangkok unrest, including one for Thaksin who addressed supporters regularly via video link and at one point called for a 'revolution.' The warrants were issued for inciting the public to break the law and causing a public disturbance, which carry prison terms of seven years and two years, respectively.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
[Straits Times] A CAMPAIGN by MalaysiaŽs new prime minister to promote racial harmony received a nasty jolt after a pro-ruling party newspaper on Wednesday urged the Malay majority to Žrise and uniteŽ against demands by the ethnic minorities. In a front-page article, the Utusan Malaysia daily quoted several Malay politicians and activists as saying Malays should put aside their political differences so that they can jointly resist pressure from the Chinese and Indian minorities.
Posted by: Fred ||
04/17/2009 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[0 views]
Top|| File under:
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.
[Iran Press TV Latest] Turkey's employment rate has jumped to an all-time high of 15.5 percent, foreshowing a deep economic slump for the emerging economy. Figures released by the Turkish Statistics Institute on Wednesday showed that the number of unemployed people in Turkey had risen by 1.59 million in January 2009 compared to the same period last year. The total number of jobless individuals now stands at about 3.650 million, showing a staggering increase compared to last year's 11.3 percent.
Liberal actress and political activist Janeane Garofalo, in all seriousness, said activists who attended tea parties are racists with dysfunctional brains in a recent prime-time television appearance.
The only embarrassment is of choice. Sex sells in the souk, where Syrians flock to buy the latest lingerie, some of it edible, some sporting flashing lights and all of it kitsch personified. Chocolate knickers, panties adorned with singing canaries, feathered bras that twinkle in the dark
all this and more can be found in the popular Al-Hamidiyeh market, the best known in the capital Damascus. 
WHO authorities are working with Russian authorities to track the case and ensure it did not represent an international public health threat. The above comments on the train passengers quarantined in Russia raise concerns that the atypical bilateral pneumonia in the fatal case was caused by H5N1. 
April 17 (Bloomberg) -- Sondhi Limthongkul, the Thai media owner whose protest group helped oust three prime ministers, was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt that threatens the governments efforts to restore political stability.
