CHINA TOWN BANGKOK Mad Mad World of Yen Yang Flow

Earth Clock

2008-09-21T11:16:00.000+07:00

Mike's Amazing Cakes===REALLY

2007-10-24T06:16:00.000+07:00

Visual break:

Mike's Amazing Cakes is a Redmond, Wash., sculpture studio for cake. These are amazing.

http://www.mikesamazingcakes.com/default.asp?audvar=true

2007 Solar Decathlon...GERMANY WINS

2007-10-24T05:58:00.000+07:00

Students' energy-efficient house designs compete in Solar Decathlon, Germans win

Germany wins the 2007 Solar Decathlon!. The blog Inhabitat has been covering the event:

It has just been announced that the German University, Technische Universität Darmstadt is the winner of this years Solar Decathlon competition! In order to win this prestigious design competition, the German team had to beat out a whole slew of American universities on U.S. turf (the National Mall in Washington DC). Frankly, however, we’re not surprised to see a winning design emerge from the land of high-quality engineering. And the Darmstadt Solar Decathlon house was a worthy winner of the coveted prize. The stunning solar house was simple, elegant, and extremely innovative in its use of solar shutters and fold-up interior space.

There's a gallery of the exterior of all the entries at the official site.

The first visual impression of the bunch is boxes, and shoeboxes, slants and angles. Only one, below, has a visible curve. but Inhabitat has better photos of some, with interiors.

Entry by University of Missouri-Rolla

My favorite took second place,Maryland’s Solar Decathlon Zero Energy Home, with an indoor waterfall — "a liquid desiccant wall system that's used to control humidity." The outdoor wall is pretty nice, too. (Rainwater from the roof is collected to water the plants.) Morning glories, of course, in my version.

Inhabitat is a stylish and interesting blog, worth bookmarking. Cutlery that's 70 percent potatoes? That's here....

Related: A Right Livelihood Award to Grameen Shakti which has installed more than 110,000 solar home systems in rural Bangladesh.

Three other awards were given, including one to Percy and Louise Schmeiser, a Canadian farming couple who are challenging Monsanto over genetically modified seed.

via Jeff Hess's Have Coffee Will Write.

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 12:05 AM | Permalink | Comments: 0

Panties for PEACE

2007-10-23T06:22:00.000+07:00

Panties for Peace uses superstition against Burma's junta

The bilingual blog Lanna Action for Burma spearheads the women's panty-protest movement against the government of Burma:

· Post Your Panties for Peace! Global action Beginning 16th October The Burma military regime is not only brutal but very superstitious. They believe that contact with a woman’s panties or sarong can rob them of their power
So this is your chance to use your Panty Power to take away the power from the SPDC!

Post or deliver your panties to the closest Burmese Embassy ongoing from 16th October.

Myanmar Embassy
132 Sathorn Nua Road
Bangkok

Here's a list of contact addresses -- street, phone, fax and email -- for Burmese embassies around the world, including Washington, D.C. and the U.N. Mission in New York.

The Irrawaddy News Magazine is all over Burma Crisis 2007, with video links on its homepage.

It reports “Panties for Peace” Campaign Wins Wide Support,

Liz Hilton, a supporter of the Lanna Action for Burma and a member of the Empower foundation, said that by sending underwear to the men of Burma’s overseas embassies women would be delivering a strong message to the regime.
“The SPDC is famous for its abuse of women, so this can be a very strong signal from women around the world supporting the women in Burma,” she said.

“Many feel there’s little we can do. It is like living next to domestic violence when we see the military government brutal crack down in Burma. We can hear that fighting in the next-door house or in the same village. We have tried to talk, we have tried to do many things. But we need to express our feelings.”

In another unusual popular protest action, people in Rangoon are hanging pictures of Than Shwe around the necks of stray dogs. It’s a very serious insult in Burma to associate anybody with a dog.

...“The people of Burma are doing what they can inside [the country],” said Liz Hilton. “We should do whatever we can outside. Most of us are not politicians, we are not powerful people. But women do have the power of their panties—let’s use that.”

In this photo released by the Democratic Voice of Burma, Buddhist monks stand in front of riot police as they demonstrate in Yangon Myanmar on Wednesday Sept. 26, 2007. Security forces fired warning shots and tear gas into swollen crowds of demonstrators in Myanmar's biggest city Wednesday, while hauling away defiant Buddhist monks into waiting trucks, the first mass arrests since protests in this military dictatorship erupted last month. (AP Photo/Democratic Voice of Burma)

Majesty of the Seas----EXTRAORDINARY

2007-10-22T07:35:00.000+07:00

Cruise Ship Built at Home

Francois Zanella, a 58 year old former mine worker has built a cruise ship at his home in Morsbach, Moselle in North-Eastern part of France.

He started building his ship on August 10-th, 1994. By that time, he had already spent more than 3,500 hours designing in excruciating detail all the components of the ship. It took him 11 long years to build the ship, a process that was completed on June 23, 2005. On that day his ship started sailing from port Sarreguemines.

Francois built his ship based on the model of Royal Caribbean's 1992 cruise ship Majesty of the Seas, but on a smaller scale. Because of that, he also named his ship Majesty of the Seas. Building this ship was a dream come true for Francois, a dream for which he happily spent 25,000 hours of his life.

He also became quite famous in France because of this project. One of the main TV channels in the country - France 3 - created a special program named Thalassa which followed his work during the construction process. He received considerable amount of fan mail because of that.

Currently Francois is enjoying the fruits of his labor by traveling around the world in his own cruise ship - Majesty of the Seas.

Here is the cruise ship sitting in the exact place where it was built.

Here is how the ship was transported to sea.

Here is Francois Zanella, the man who built the ship.

Alaskan Cruise Home Alaskan Cruise Forum

Surreal Spider, etc

2007-10-22T06:43:00.000+07:00

Surrealism, Halloween and a... barking spider?

Jacek Yerka, The Walking Lesson

Surreal and prolific: Fascinating Worlds of Jacek Yerka at Dark Roasted Blend. More at Yerka's site.

Locally surreal: Today's Lifebeat section is full of Halloween -- things to do in the real world, especially if you're in Rhode Island.

Here are some spooky things to browse on the Web that aren't on everybody's route:

The Museum of Supernatural History is divided into a number of departments, each of which focuses on a magical, malefic or fantastical area of study. Each haunted antique (hauntique) is a gateway between two worlds. Individuals known as 'sensitives' are the key that can open these gateways. Of course, activating certain artefacts in the collection entails a risk of triggering a catastrophe of apocalyptic proportions.

The Haunted Museum: Ghosts of the Prairie's Chronicle of Ghost Research, from the Heyday of Spiritualism to the Modern Era.

How the Irish invented Hallowe'en

Poppycock! Balderdash! Cold water! The Skeptiseum: The skeptical museum of the paranormal.

And a ringer...

Posted by Sheila Lennon at 12:39 PM | Permalink | Comments: 0

Buck Fush

2007-09-24T20:32:00.000+07:00

Editor of Paper in Controversy Over Anti-Bush Curse Led Army Recruitment 'Sting' Two Years Ago
By E&P Staff Published: September 23, 2007 10:25 AM ET
NEW YORK Colorado State University's student newspaper has lost $30,000 in advertising and had to cut pay and other budgets by 10 percent due to fallout from the use of a four-letter word in an editorial about President Bush, the paper reported Saturday. In large type, the Collegian editorial included the words "Taser this Fuck Bush." The editorial said it had the support of the Collegian's editorial board. The editor says he will not step down. His name has a familiar ring. Two years ago, David McShane drew national attention when, as a high schooler, he carried out an elaborate "sting" operation to expose how the U.S. Army was lowering its wartime standards in recruitment. McShane pretended he had a marijuana habit and secretly taped the conversations with recruiters. The two recruiters were later suspended and Army recruitment shut down temporarily across the country. Here is a profile of McShane written by Graham Webster for E&P on July 1, 2005. David McSwane had seen the military recruiters around town. He had seen them at the high school. And he knew that with recruitment rates down due to the Iraq war, they were working hard to attract new cadets. And it gave him an idea. "I wanted to see how far they'd go to get another soldier," says McSwane, a reporter for the Westwind at Arvada West High School in Arvada, Colo. So he set up a sting investigation, posing as a high school dropout with a marijuana habit and went down to his local Colorado Army recruitment station to enlist. It would lead to a national shutdown of such recruitment and fame for him in The New York Times and other national news outlets. McSwane, 17, knew he would have to document his conversations with the recruiters, so he taped the telephone conversations, enlisted his sister to pose as a proud sibling so she could photograph parts of the process, and asked a friend to operate a video camera across from a local head shop. But how did McSwane get an recruiter to visit a head shop with him? Simple. The honor student, pretending to have a ganja habit he couldn't kick, went there to score a detoxifying kit the Army office claimed had helped two previous recruits pass drug tests, according to a taped phone conversation broadcast on local TV. McSwane told his recruiter he didn't know what the detox formula looked like, so the man agreed to go to the store with him. Aside from his drug problem, McSwane said he had no high school diploma — which at that time was true, as he graduated about two months later — and that he had dropped out of high school. No problem, the recruiters told him. There are Web sites where anyone can order a diploma from a school they make up. "It can be like Faith Hill Baptist School or whatever you choose," one recruiter can be heard saying on one of the taped exchanges. After the fruits of his investigation ran in the Westwind, there was a brief lull.
Then a Denver TV station picked up the story and ran with it, first airing McSwane's findings on April 28. Within a few days the boy's sting had made national headlines, and the U.S. Army froze recruiting operations nationwide for a day. (His two would-be recruiters were suspended.)
"It's been kind of cool to see a reaction from the Pentagon on a story done in a high school paper," the teen reporter says. He has appeared on local and national TV, and articles on his investigation have appeared in the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and The New York Times. One could understand if the school was a bit unaccustomed to all the media attention.
Rick Kaufman, a spokesman for Jefferson County Public Schools, said that after the initial report ran in Westwind, "the principal was very clear with David that the articles could not go any further into his undercover actions." Because the school paper is produced as part of a class, the principal reviews the paper prior to publication and has the power to spike any story.
McSwane says his scrupulous documentation has for the most part prevented naysayers from calling his investigation false. Still, he says, some have questioned the ethics involved in a deceptive operation like the one he orchestrated: "Any undercover investigation, you're going in there as a lie. And a lot of people don't like it." In the fall McSwane plans to start on a journalism degree at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. But he's not taking it easy in the meantime. "I work retail graveyard shifts right now, because I've got to make money for college," he says, upon waking in the mid-afternoon. On his days off, he interns at the Arvada (Colo.) Press.
Like any good romance, McSwane's love of journalism started with something of an accident. "I guess I've always had a knack for writing," he says. "One day one of my English teachers just put me in newspaper class without my permission."e mid-afternoon. On his days off, he interns at the Arvada (Colo.) Press.

Lasso the Link

Mad Mad Duck Ripper

2007-09-24T20:10:00.000+07:00

Man accused of beheading duck

A guest at the Embassy Suites hotel in St. Paul was accused of killing a duck on Saturday.

According to hotel staff, the 26-year-old Scott Clark cornered one of the hotel's domestic ducks and ripped its head off.

He was witnessed by the hotel's security officer for the Embassy Suites Hotel located at 175 East 10th Street.

Clark, from Denver, Colorado, was taken into custody by the security officer who later called police.

The man is in jail on suspicion of felony animal cruelty and could face up to two years in jail and a $5,000 fine.

He is scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Quack Quack Link

HOT PROPERTY: Spacious Missle Base as Your Home

2007-09-24T19:58:00.000+07:00

View smaller image

Looking for a new home with a bit more space as well as a 1950s Cold War ambiance?

A US intercontinental ballistic missile base, equipped with a vast underground network of tunnels and rooms but no atomic warheads, is for sale in a remote corner of the United States. The warheads and missiles went when the US government abandoned the Titan bases in the 1970s. Located near remote Moses Lake in the northwest state of Washington, the former Larsen military base includes 4,000 square meters (43,000 square feet) of "usable" space on 23 hectares (56 acres) of land, and the owner is only asking for 1.5 million dollars -- which might buy a small home in Hollywood. The seller, Bari Hotchkiss, sees the base as a "gorgeous" property and potential resort. He has put it up for sale on the eBay auction site. "We used to use it as a summer camp, for our kids and their friends," he told AFP. "The only limit is imagination. We've always wanted to see it turn into summer camp or resort camp," he said. The Los Angeles investor bought the former base 10 years ago from owners who had purchased the property in the 1970s, when the US government concluded the Titan missiles had become obsolete. Hotchkiss said there are 18 former Titan bases and nearly all of them were sold off, but -- sounding like most proud property owners -- he said his base is in excellent condition. "Most of those former bases are much much smaller, and most all of them have water problems with water leaking in them. So they're filled with water or so wet there is terrible rust, and ours is dry, and portions of our missile base look like it's built last year," he said. "It is kind of like a big shopping center underground that needs to be refurbished," he said. To use the entire underground network, he said several million dollars worth of remodeling would be required. But a cheaper option was also possible. "If you only need one or a couple of the buildings to begin with, several hundred thousand dollars might do it," he said.
The ailing housing market in the United States might slow down the sale, Hotchkiss admitted. But he said he's patient. "There is plenty of time. No rush. And the base is really reasonable priced." There is competition, however. The website missilebases.com offers up a similar underground base for Titan missiles outside of Denver, Colorado, touted as a "very rare piece of history" with a mountain views and only 20 minutes from the local airport. All this for the asking price of 1.8 million dollars, in cash. According to the website, this base is "the ultimate home" offering "the utmost security," while providing a chance for the buyer to enjoy "your own underground city." The website offers other bases for sale, which it calls the "castles of the 20th century." Designed to withstand nuclear attack, these unique properties "bring new meaning to the word 'shelter.'"

Lasso Link

Apes Blamed For Crime Spree

2007-09-24T19:37:00.000+07:00

Apes Blamed For Crime Spree

By Emma Hurd
Africa correspondent
Updated: 09:10, Monday September 24, 2007

South Africa's crime problem has taken a new twist.

A gang of baboons is being blamed for a series of break-ins.

Baboon lookout outside a house

The chacma baboons, which live wild in the Cape peninsula, have been raiding people's homes for food and causing thousands of pounds in damage. "People here are getting very angry," Dr Peter Kirsh said, as a baboon strutted along the street beneath his balcony. "They get into the kitchens, they know where the fridge is, they open it and take everything, and then they defecate everywhere." Dr Kirsch is just one of many victims of "baboon crime" in the Cape Peninsula. "I put these bars on my windows," John Lourens says, gripping the metal. "But still, the next thing I knew I had a baboon in my living room." The residents say the "invasions" happen almost daily and claim the baboons are aggressive as they search for food. Hundreds have signed a petition demanding that the animals be moved to a nature reserve. Some have gone even further and shot at them. The chacma baboons in the Cape are a protected species but, to the alarm of conservationists, at least twenty out of the population of 350 have been killed in the past two years. "Tammy lost her leg because her femur was shattered by a bullet," Jenni Trethowan told me, pointing out a three legged female hopping through the Cape scrub with her tiny baby. Ms Trethowan runs an organisation called Baboon Matters, which aims to educate people about the animals and reduce conflict. She employs a team of monitors who try to herd the baboon troops out of the villages and into the mountains, where instead of dining on supermarket food they eat a more natural diet of berries and leaves. She admits it doesn't always work but says that the residents should enjoy their visitors rather than harming them. "As humans we are privileged to be living alongside these animals," she said. They are certainly entertaining. Down by the roadside we saw a group of tourists being ambushed by one baboon as they stopped to admire him. The visitors had made the mistake of leaving their car unlocked and within seconds the big male had opened the door and was rooting around inside. Great fun, but it's the tourists who feed the baboons who are blamed for most of the problems. And the residents aren't laughing any more.

Lasso Baboon Link

Bilbao on the Nervion River 10 years on

2007-09-23T06:18:00.000+07:00

Denis Doyle for The New York Times

The Guggenheim Bilbao along the banks of the Nervión River. The river was once polluted by industrial waste.

By DENNY LEE

Published: September 23, 2007

A LIGHT patter bounced off the titanium fish scales of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao as a tour bus pulled up beside “Puppy,” Jeff Koons's 43-foot-tall topiary terrier made of freshly potted pansies. A stream of tourists fanned out across the crisp limestone plaza, tripping over each other as they rushed to capture the moment on camera. After the frisson of excitement dimmed, they made their way down a gently sloping stairway and into the belly of the museum, paying 10.50 euros to see the work of an artist that most had never heard of.

Read more, interesting recap..... Lasso Link

Cranes Stretch Up In Foggy Boom Boom Town

2007-09-22T19:41:00.000+07:00

Boom Town
Morning fog rolls into the Dubai marina, where construction is underway on three man-made islands and the world's tallest building.

http://www.time.com/time/picturesoftheweek/0,29409,1663882,00.html

Thursday, September 20, 2007

On sale for the first time: Van Gogh's final masterpiece

2007-09-22T18:20:00.001+07:00

By: Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent Published: 22 September 2007

A Van Gogh masterpiece believed to be the artist's final piece of work is to be put on the public market for the first time, where it is expected to become one of the most highly-valued paintings ever auctioned. The Fields (Wheat Fields) was completed on 10 July 1890, just 19 days before Vincent Van Gogh died. It hung in his room as he bled to death in his bed, where he had staggered after shooting himself in a field. The work, only previously seen once in Britain, is one of just a few of Van Gogh's greatest works to remain in private hands and is celebrated for shedding significant light on the emotions felt by the artist in the days before his death.
The Fields will be unveiled at Sotheby's in London on 7 October and sold at auction in New York a month later with an estimated list price £17m. But due to its extraordinary provenance and the booming art market, it is likely to provoke one of the heaviest bidding wars in the auction house's history and greatly exceed this price. When the painting was exhibited in Amsterdam in 2001, as a privately owned work, there was an immediate, if vain, rush by buyers to place offers.

"As a unique work of art from the final days of the artist's life, the price will most likely be driven by passion. This is perhaps the last opportunity for a collector to acquire a landscape of this quality by Vincent van Gogh," said a spokeswoman for Sotheby's. Van Gogh's brother, Theo, was so emotionally attached to the painting that he kept it in the family collection for 20 years before his widow, Johanna, finally sold it to a private collector, Paul Cassirer, in 1907. Since then, it has remained in private collections, exchanging hands between collectors privately but never entering the public market. David Norman, executive vice-president at Sotheby's, said that after Van Gogh's death, much of his work was sold to collectors but had not gone to public auction.
There has been much debate over the years as to which was the last piece Van Gogh worked on before committing suicide. A number of respected experts, including Walter Feilchenfeldt, the Swiss collector and Van Gogh scholar, believe that The Fields was the final creative project that the tormented artist undertook. Many mistakenly believe Van Gogh's far more brooding painting, Wheat Field with Crows, which he also executed in the last year of his life, to be his final painting due to its gloomy overtones – which have led some to argue that it was Van Gogh's "suicide note". But although it conveys the melancholia that Van Gogh was feeling in his final weeks, there is evidence to suggest it was painted earlier. And in a letter written by Van Gogh to Theo on the 10 July, the artist described having just painted what experts believe to be The Fields, along with two other works. He wrote: "They are vast fields of wheat under troubled skies, and I did not need to go out of my way to try to express sadness and extreme loneliness. I hope you see them soon – for I hope to bring them to see you in Paris as soon as possible, since I almost think that these canvases will tell you what I cannot say in words, the health and restorative forces that I see in the country," he said. If it was the final work, The Fields illustrates how Van Gogh was able to separate his deep inner turmoil and stormy emotions from the hope and celebration of life that is instilled in this painting, said Mr Norman.

"Here is an artist literally on the verge of taking his life and filled with tremendous despondency, yet he is still painting with lemon yellows, azure blues and emerald greens.

Loaned to various collections over the years; The Fields hung in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for six years alongside a series of moving landscapes painted in the final year of the artist's life. It was displayed in Britain for the first and only time in 1995 at a Royal Academy show.

Van Gogh had no formal artistic training and he did not embark on a career as a painter until 1880, spending his early life working for a firm of art dealers, and after a brief spell as a teacher, he became a missionary worker. Most of his best-known works were produced in the final two years of his life, during which time he cut off part of his left ear following a breakdown in his friendship with the artist, Paul Gauguin. After this he suffered recurrent bouts of mental illness, which led to his suicide.

On 8 May 1889 Van Gogh committed himself to the mental hospital in a former monastery in Saint Rémy de Provence, near Arles. On 27 July, at the age of 37, he walked into the fields and shot himself in the chest with a revolver and staggered back to the inn at Auvers, not realising he had fatally wounded himself. He died in his bed two days later, with Theo by his side, who is said to have reported his last words to be "La tristesse durera toujours" ("the sadness will last forever").

Lasso Link

LIFESAVER This could prove to be TOPS in field equipment

2007-09-22T13:36:00.000+07:00

What is LIFESAVER bottle?
LIFESAVER bottle is the world’s first all in one ultra filtration water bottle.
It will remove bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi and all other microbiological
waterborne pathogens without using chemicals like iodine or chlorine which leave
a distinctive foul taste. LIFESAVER bottle produces filtered sterile drinking water
quickly and easily. It incorporates LIFESAVER systems’ unique FAILSAFE technology
(another world first) which shuts off the bottle’s cartridge upon expiry, preventing
contaminated water from being drunk. With LIFESAVER bottle there is no need for
tablets, boiling, chemicals, tubes, shaking, scrubbing, waiting or effort.
LIFESAVER bottle produces clean, sterile drinking water with no foul taste - fast!

Lasso Lifesaver Link

Chris Crocker's on a Web Star

2007-09-22T12:58:00.000+07:00

Internet celebrity Chris Crocker poses at a park near his home in Tennessee Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. The teenager has captured millions of viewers on MySpace and YouTube with his passionate, campy and sometimes furious monologues about life. It was "Leave Britney Alone" -- a profane, smeared-mascara answer to critics of Spears' performance on the MTV Video Music Awards -- that earned him instant fame and 8 million YouTube clicks.(AP Photo/Earl Carter)

(AP) -- Chris Crocker has been called "queer," "a human train wreck," the "Britney guy," an androgynous "it" and much, much worse. But how does this 19-year-old Internet phenomenon, known worldwide for his tearful YouTube defense of Britney Spears, define himself?
"I'm the key to world peace," says Crocker, sporting a sleeveless black T-shirt with a hot pink silhouette of Marilyn Monroe. His blond bob is swept behind an ear and the eye liner is, as always, flawless. World peace aside, the teenager has captured millions of viewers on MySpace and YouTube with his passionate, campy and sometimes furious monologues about life.

Crocker, which is a stage name, had a cult following after he started posting video blogs a year ago. But it was "Leave Britney Alone" - a profane, smeared-mascara answer to critics of Spears' performance on the MTV Video Music Awards - that earned him instant fame and 8 million YouTube clicks. "You're lucky she even performed for you!" he screams. "If anybody has a problem with her, you deal with me!" Since then he's been featured on late night, cable and network news and scores of radio shows. The video itself has been parodied by dozens of other YouTube users, most famously by actor Seth Green. And Crocker has done it all from his bedroom in his grandparents' home in eastern Tennessee. (He asked The Associated Press not to reveal his real name or exact hometown because his critics can be vicious, and he doesn't want anyone to know where he lives.) Earlier this year, Crocker signed a development deal for a reality TV show originally intended to be filmed in his hometown, but now he thinks it may be time to leave. It's tough to be openly gay in a conservative Southern town, he says. There have always been death threats, bullying and glares at his clothes and makeup. Oh, and he's always pushing someone's buttons. "My grandparents can't go to their church any more," said Crocker, his spunk clouded momentarily with genuine concern. He's fiercely protective of his grandparents, Pentecostal Christians who took over raising him when his teenage parents couldn't. Crocker said his outrageous behavior, a stark contrast to the rest of the family, started when he was in kindergarten. He raised eyebrows that year for bringing Barbie dolls to class for show-and-tell. "What I do affects them, and I feel bad for that," he said of his family.

Crocker's grandmother, who declined to be interviewed, is seen in a handful of his videos, appearing as an uncomfortable bystander. In one, Crocker is imitating a Christian woman interviewing his grandmother, who says she loves her grandson. In another, his grandmother is patiently arguing with him over his attitude. Crocker said that when she agreed to be taped, "she didn't really grasp the size of the audience." Since August, Crocker and 44 Blue Productions, a Studio City, Calif., firm specializing in documentaries and reality programming, have been pitching shows to several networks, including MTV and LOGO, a gay and lesbian channel. Crocker signed on with 44 Blue in May. "Chris first got on our radar a year ago," Rasha Drachkovitch, president and co-founder of 44 Blue, said in a statement. 44 Blue considers Crocker "a rebel character that people will find interesting. He's going to be a TV star." Crocker said there wasn't much interest in him as a reality TV star - until the "Leave Britney Alone" video hit. "It's just sad to me it takes a Britney video" to generate mainstream interest, he said.
He initially wasn't even going to post the Britney video, fearing that it would turn off his usual audience. "They're not used to me talking about celebrities," he said. "I'm glad I posted it now, though, because I'm just giving Britney fans a voice." Crocker sees Spears as a role model and says they have plenty in common: They're both Southerners, performers and "easy targets."
Most important to Crocker, he and Spears are both Sagittarians, the "entertainers" of the Zodiac. (Crocker had some serious reservations about being interviewed by a Capricorn for this story.)
If his proposed "Complaining with Chris Crocker" show is ever launched, he would love to host Spears. "I always say Britney's been my mom ... Britney's been there for me when my parents haven't," he said. With all this talk of Spears, have the two actually met or even chatted?

Crocker coyly answered, "I can't say."
On the Net:

http://www.youtube.com/itschriscrocker
http://www.myspace.com/itschriscrocker

Lasso Link

Indecent exposure laws a fad or here to stay??

2007-09-22T12:49:00.000+07:00

Are these indecent exposure laws a fad or are they here to stay?

"I always thought the fashion police were a myth, but they seem to be real," Richards says.

A growing number of cities have enacted laws that would make wearing saggy or low-slung pants indecent exposure. "It's an interesting question whether these laws would violate the First Amendment as currently understood," says Neil Richards, professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis. "Saggy pants laws form a hybrid case.

They are regulating in terms of indecent exposure but seem to be directed at the expression of identity through clothing." Richards is available to discuss the constitutional issues surrounding these laws. His current comments on the laws follow:

Does the intended purpose of these laws stand up to First Amendment analysis?

"The harms that these laws seek to remedy are those of personal offense and outrage — something like 'I am offended by the dress of that young man over there,'" Richards says.

"Laws that try to protect hurt feelings or to protect people from being upset, particularly in public, tend to do very poorly when subjected to First Amendment analysis. Moreover, because saggy pants laws single out a particular fashion for regulation, I would think that they raise serious constitutional problems under the First Amendment. That said, given the murky government power to enact indecent exposure laws, I'd be hesitant to call all saggy pants laws categorically unconstitutional under current doctrine."

Is this what the government should be focusing on?

"Putting First Amendment doctrine to the side, I still think saggy pants laws would be a terrible idea," he says. "Our clothes can be a form of personal expression — they are one of the most important ways we project ourselves and our identities to the world. The government may decide to regulate the dress of children in school in pursuit of educational objectives generally, but outside that narrow context, it is up to children and their parents to decide how they should dress. "Indecent fashion statements, like other forms of expression, are not the kinds of things that the government should be wasting its time, energy and scarce law enforcement resources on. I would imagine that the police probably have more pressing problems to deal with than young people showing too much thong.

Cultural questions:

"There's a significant racial component to this issue, as the fashions being scrutinized are inspired and associated with Black popular culture," Richards says. "This is an additional consideration of constitutional magnitude counseling a light regulatory hand here.

"I think that in the long run, we'll look back on this question with the same incredulity that we now regard the fuss over Elvis Presley's swiveling hips on Ed Sullivan or the long-haired men and short-haired women of the 1960s. I hope this fashion for these kinds of laws will soon go the way of New Wave hairdos and other regrettable fashion mistakes."
Comments.........

On 21-Sep-2007 by Argiod

http://www.physorg.com/news109602774.html

I think all laws relating to how a person dresses, or doesn"t dress, should be abolished. How long are the rest of us going to put up with a few anal retentive, uptight religious types dictating our lifestyle to us? ...in a supposedly 'free' country...

Personally, I am offended by the robotic quality of men"s suits. Does that mean I have a right to insist on passing laws that tell executive types they can"t wear suits because it offends me? That"s the ultimate test of this law. If you can"t regulate suits, you can"t regulate any sort of clothing.

Conversely, if this law passes "Constitutional" muster, then I want business suits outlawed, as I find them more offensive than baggy pants, which at least are comfortable. Then I"ll start on banning all those ugly women"s hats and flower print dresses.

Come to think of it, why don"t we simply ban all clothing whatsoever, as I"m sure every sort of attire is considered offensive by somebody somewhere. After all, God made our bodies, so they must be considered perfect. And, who can argue with God? Except, of course, those arrogant church leaders who think they know more about God's plan than anyone else...

Malaysian Islamic body rules on how to pray, wash and die in space

2007-09-22T09:23:00.000+07:00

Malaysia's first astronaut will blast off into space next month armed with guidelines from Muslim authorities on how to pray, wash and even be "buried" in space.
Two Malaysian candidates, a doctor and an army dentist who are both Muslims, are undergoing training in Russia with the winner expected to be announced on Friday, ahead of the 11-day space mission which starts on October 10. Other Muslims have ventured into space, but none during the fasting month of Ramadan which began last week, and Malaysia's Department of Islamic Development (JAKIM) is hopeful the astronaut will choose to fast during his voyage.

"Conditions at the International Space Station which are so different from those on earth are not a hindrance for the astronaut to fulfil his obligations as a Muslim," it said in a 20-page booklet.

"In difficult conditions, Islam has conveniences to ensure that religious worship can still be performed." Because the space station circles the Earth 16 times a day, theoretically a Muslim would have to pray 80 times a day while staying there. But the guidelines stipulate that the astronaut need only pray five times a day, just as on Earth, and that the times should follow the location where the spacecraft blasted off from -- in this case, Baikonur in Russia.

In the unlikely event the Muslim astronaut dies in space, the religious directives said his body should be brought back to Earth for the usual burial rituals. If that's not possible, he should be "interred" in Space after a brief ceremony, though the guidelines failed to explain how that should be done.

The booklet covers Islamic washing rituals required before prayer, saying that if water is not available the astronaut can symbolically "sweep holy dust" onto the face and hands "even if there is no dust" in the space station.

There are also suggestions on how to pray in a zero-gravity environment. "During the prayer ritual, if you can't stand up straight, you can hunch. If you can't stand, you can sit. If you can't sit, you should lie down," according to the booklet.

Muslims are required to eat food that is halal, which rules out pork and its by-products, alcohol and animals not slaughtered according to Koranic procedures are forbidden -- but again in Space there is flexibility. "If it is doubtful that the food has been prepared in the halal manner, you should eat just enough to ward off hunger," the booklet said.

JAKIM said it held a conference with the Malaysian National Space Agency last year to identify the issues and problems facing a Muslim astronaut, and compiled the results in the booklet released earlier this year. Malaysia's would-be astronauts were chosen from thousands of hopefuls in a nationwide contest. The project was conceived in 2003 when Russia agreed to send a Malaysian to the space station as part of a billion-dollar purchase of 18 Sukhoi 30-MKM fighter jets.

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Pirates!!! For real.....modern pirates in the Strait of Malacca

2007-09-22T07:28:00.000+07:00

By Peter Gwin	Photographs by John Stanmeyer
Modern pirates have long plagued Southeast Asia’s Strait of Malacca, robbing sailors, kidnapping crews, and stealing entire ships.

“I can smell the sea from here,” says the prisoner. That seems a wild improbability coming from a man in a soundproof cell in northern Malaysia, several miles as the gull flies from the closest salt water. All I can smell in this humid, whitewashed prison is the faint tang of ammonia used to clean the floors. It is hard to know what to believe of the prisoner’s claims. At times he has declared his innocence and then later confessed to being a willing criminal. He mentions he has three children, later the number is four. His passport lists his name as Johan Ariffin, but Malaysian authorities doubt that’s his real name. His age is noted as 44 (streaks of gray in his black hair make that plausible) and his residence as Batam, an Indonesian island just south of Singapore. Men like him often come from Batam, a guard says.

Though his jailers remain unsure who he is, they know exactly what he is: lanun (pronounced la-noon). When asked for a direct English equivalent, an interpreter explains that there is none, that it is a word freighted with many layers of culture and history. The short, imperfect answer is: The prisoner is a pirate.

He earned that epithet when Malaysia’s marine police captured him and nine accomplices after they hijacked the Nepline Delima, a tanker carrying 7,000 tons of diesel fuel worth three million dollars, in the Strait of Malacca. It was one of several attacks reported during 2005 in the 550-mile channel separating the Indonesian island of Sumatra from the Malay Peninsula, Singapore perched at its southern tip.

For centuries, this sliver of ocean has captivated seamen, offering the most direct route between India and China, along with a bounty of resources, including spices, rubber, mahogany, and tin. But it is a watery kingdom unto itself, harboring hundreds of rivers that feed into the channel, miles of swampy shoreline, and a vast constellation of tiny islands, reefs, and shoals. Its early inhabitants learned to lead amphibian lives, building their villages over water and devising specialized boats for fishing, trading, and warfare. Some made their living as pirates, preying on foreign vessels that dared to ply their waters. Armadas of these skilled sea raiders in light, maneuverable craft regularly plundered passing ships and retreated upriver to fortified villages. Their raids yielded troves of gold, gems, gunpowder, opium, and slaves, which they used to build powerful sultanates that dominated much of the Sumatran and Malaysian coastlines.

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NEW MOSCOW METRO---Trubnaya Station

2007-09-21T13:43:00.000+07:00

The Moscow subway will have a new addition next week, with the long-awaited opening of Trubnaya Station scheduled for Aug. 30, just in time for City Day celebrations. Over 10 years in the making, Trubnaya will mark the first time in 20 years that Moscow has seen a new subway station inside the Garden Ring.

With just the finishing touches left before the public sees the new station, architects say it will resemble the stations of old, with the kind of elaborate design characteristic of vestibules and platforms built during the 1950s. And this is no accident, since Trubnaya is situated in the heart of Moscow's historic city center, at the intersection of Tsvetnoi, Petrovsky and Rozhdestvensky Boulevards. Exits from the platform will lead passengers to both sides of Tsvetnoi Boulevard. Trubnaya Station will have a transfer Tsvetnoi Boulvard Station on Serpukhovskaya, or gray line.

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Muslim fashion designers moving beyond the traditional

2007-09-21T10:25:00.001+07:00

A cover of the Dutch magazine MSLM.

By Robb Young

Published: September 18, 2007

LONDON:

Punks or ravers they certainly are not. Discrete and devout, their kind of fashion statement could not be further from the razor-sharp mohawks or day-glo accessories of those counter-culture types. But young Muslim entrepreneurs around the world are making their own fashion statements, modestly, challenging the status quo in their communities as well as stereotypes outside.

In an ever-influential global pop culture that idolizes the shortest of skirts and catwalks where flesh can overshadow fabric, Muslims from Sydney to Saudi Arabia who love fashion are taking matters into their own hands.

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Ari Versluis/Muslim Girl magazine

A cover of the Dutch magazine MSLM.

(photo: Nadine)

Natasa in MAGAZINE op

HERE COMES THE SUMMER!

http://www.xentic.nl/mama/

“The practice of female circumcision is virtually universal among women of reproductive age in Egypt.” Egypt, Rising Push Against Genital Cutting

2007-09-20T19:20:00.000+07:00

Shawn Baldwin for the New York Times

Egyptian health care workers and nursing students observe a minute of silence following the death of a 13 year-old girl during an operation to remove her clitoris.

The girl died, but that was not the source of the outrage. After her death, the government shut down the clinic, and that got everyone stirred up. “They will not stop us,” shouted Saad Yehia, a tea shop owner along the main street. “We support circumcision!” he shouted over and over.
“Even if the state doesn’t like it, we will circumcise the girls,” shouted Fahmy Ezzeddin Shaweesh, an elder in the village. Circumcision, as supporters call it, or female genital mutilation, as opponents refer to it, was suddenly a ferocious focus of debate in Egypt this summer. A nationwide campaign to stop the practice has become one of the most powerful social movements in Egypt in decades, uniting an unlikely alliance of government forces, official religious leaders and street-level activists.

For centuries Egyptian girls, usually between the ages of 7 and 13, have been taken to have the procedure done, sometimes by a doctor, sometimes by a barber or whoever else in the village would do it. As recently as 2005, a government health survey showed that 96 percent of the thousands of married, divorced or widowed women interviewed said they had undergone the procedure — a figure that astounds even many Egyptians. In the language of the survey, “The practice of female circumcision is virtually universal among women of reproductive age in Egypt.” Though the practice is common and increasingly contentious throughout sub-Saharan Africa, among Arab states the only other place where this practice is customary is in southern Yemen, experts here said. In Saudi Arabia, where women cannot drive, cannot vote, cannot hold most jobs, the practice is viewed as abhorrent, a reflection of pre-Islamic traditions. But now, quite suddenly, forces opposing genital cutting in Egypt are pressing back as never before. More than a century after the first efforts to curb this custom, the movement has broken through one of the main barriers to change: It is no longer considered taboo to discuss it in public. That shift seems to have coincided with a small but growing acceptance of talking about human sexuality on television and radio. For the first time, opponents said, television news shows and newspapers have aggressively reported details of botched operations. This summer two young girls died, and it was front-page news in Al Masry al Yom, an independent and popular daily. Activists highlighted the deaths with public demonstrations, which generated even more coverage.

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12 inch Miracle Tube Proof Remains Aloof

2007-09-19T08:32:00.000+07:00

Hot stuff: Ecowatts boss Paul Calver with the device

Even the makers of the device are at a loss to explain exactly how it works - but sceptical independent scientists carried out their own tests and discovered that the 12in x 2in tube really does produce far more heat energy than the electrical energy put in. The device seems to break the fundamental physical law that energy cannot be created from nothing - but researchers believe it taps into a previously unrecognised source of energy, stored at a sub-atomic level within the hydrogen atoms in water.

The system - developed by scientists at a firm called Ecowatts in a nondescript laboratory on an industrial estate at Lancing, West Sussex - involves passing an electrical current through a mixture of water, potassium carbonate (otherwise known as potash) and a secret liquid catalyst, based on chrome. This creates a reaction that releases an incredible amount of energy compared to that put in. If the reaction takes place in a unit surrounded by water, the liquid heats up, which could form the basis for a household heating system. If the technology can be developed on a domestic scale, it means consumers will need much less energy for heating and hot water - creating smaller bills and fewer greenhouse gases. Jim Lyons, of the University of York, independently evaluated the system. He said: 'Let's be honest, people are generally pretty sceptical about this kind of thing. Our team was happy to take on the evaluation, even if to prove it didn't work. 'But this is a very efficient replacement for the traditional immersion heater. We have examined this interesting technology and when we got the rig operating, we were getting 150 to 200 per cent more energy out than we put in, without trying too hard.

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Tourists, monks and history: Whose islands are they?

2007-09-18T21:58:00.000+07:00

Monks, followed by a group of Russian Orthodox pilgrims, leading a Sunday prayer procession at the Solovetsky Monastery. (Abraham Nowitz for The New York Times)

SOLOVETSKY ISLANDS JOURNAL

By Michael Schwirtz

Published: September 18, 2007

SOLOVETSKY ISLANDS, Russia: Maria Smirnova barreled past the heavy granite walls of the 16th-century Solovetsky Monastery, blaring French hip-hop in her oversized truck to the consternation of the nearby monks whose long, black cloaks billowed in the northerly breeze.

Smirnova, 23, runs an adventure tour company on the Solovetsky Islands, an archipelago in the White Sea of northwestern Russia, about 100 miles from the Arctic Circle.

Though growing in popularity, her business has roiled the monks and some residents, who accuse her of sullying the island's religious traditions and ignoring its bloody past.

The islands, also known as Solovki, are one of the holiest sites in Russian Orthodox Christianity, and the 40 or so monks who reside here consider the land their own. Their predecessors settled here in the 15th century, creating a monastic dynasty that lasted nearly 500 years. They built the white-walled Transfiguration Cathedral, capped with silver cupolas, and enclosed it in fortress-thick walls of granite. An intricate canal system linking dozens of lakes still supplies fresh water to the islands' 1,000 inhabitants.

Fiercely opposed to religion, the Soviets imprisoned or killed most of the clergy members and lopped off the cupolas. Having only recently returned after a banishment of nearly 70 years, many of the monks are now alarmed by the efforts of entrepreneurs like Smirnova to open the islands to tourists.

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Femininity, with a sharp jab, in Thailand Obedient and gracious at home, girls hold nothing back in ring

2007-09-16T11:42:00.000+07:00

Thomas Fuller/International Herald Tribune

"To be a good girl," says Pannipa Chaiyated, left, a demure 13-year-old, "you must have manners, speak politely and help with the housework." That's when she's not slugging it out in the ring. In a country where femininity is highly prized and girls are often taught to be obedient and gracious, female boxing is now a surprise hit.

NERN MAPRANG, Thailand: "To be a good girl," says Pannipa Chaiyated, a demure 13-year-old, "you must have manners, speak politely and help with the housework." That's when she's not slugging her opponents in the ring. In a country where femininity is highly prized and girls are often told by their parents to be discreet, obedient and gracious, female boxing is now a surprise hit. Chanin Preechakul, founder of the Women's Thai Boxing Club of Thailand, estimates that more than 100 boxing camps around the country train girls, with a high concentration in Thailand's poor, rice-farming heartland. "Ten or twenty years ago, there was a saying that any female boxer who had three matches in one year was very lucky," Chanin said. "Now there are matches every weekend."

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Giant Spider Web in Rockwall, Texas WOW

2007-09-16T11:16:00.000+07:00

Lake Tawakoni State Park, n. Wills Point, Hunt Co., Texas
August 15, 2007 (Donna Garde)

This web was first found by park staff on August 6, 2007, after an approximate two week absence of walking the trail. This web and two other smaller versions are on the park's large northeastern peninsula jutting out into the lake.

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Big Target for Arab/Jew collaboration

2007-09-13T21:32:00.000+07:00

View smaller image

The world's tallest building, still under construction in the booming Gulf emirate of Dubai, has become the world's tallest free-standing structure, its developers said on Thursday.

The Burj Dubai tower is now 555 metres (1,831.5 feet) tall and has surpassed the 553-metre- (1,824.9-feet) CN Tower in Toronto, Canada, which held the record for the world's tallest free-standing structure since 1976, developers Emaar Properties said in a statement.

The skyscraper, being built by South Korea's Samsung and set for completion at the end of next year, is one of several mega projects taking shape in Dubai, which is part of the United Arab Emirates.

The statement did not reveal the tower's final projected height or its final number of storeys, which Emaar has kept secret since launching the project in January 2004.

The developer announced in July that Burj Dubai, Arabic for Dubai Tower, had exceeded Taiwan's Taipei 101 which is 508 metres (1,676.4 feet) tall, to become the tallest building in the world.

Saudi Feminist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Wants to Drive a Car---Crazy Yen Yang Flow

2007-09-13T09:36:00.000+07:00

Saudi Feminist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Launches New Campaign: Let Us Drive Cars

On September 4, 2007, the liberal Arab website Aafaq published a statement from the newly established League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia, asking women to sign a message demanding that women be given the right to drive. The league plans to deliver the message to King 'Abdallah on Saudi Arabia's national holiday, September 23.

"The [Right to Free Movement]... Was Enjoyed by Our Mothers And Grandmothers, in Complete Freedom, Through the Means of Transportation Available In Their Day"

"In the name of Allah the Merciful and the Beneficent: Al-salam 'alaykunna (peace be upon you women), and Allah's mercy and blessing.

"On the occasion of the second anniversary of the accession of the Keeper of the Two Holy Sites, King 'Abdallah Bin 'Abd Al-'Aziz, and with the national holiday approaching on September 23, we, the League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia, announce that we will be delivering a message to King 'Abdallah, may Allah preserve him, demanding that he return that which has been stolen from women: the right to [free] movement through the use of cars, [which are] the means of transportation today.

"This [right to free movement] is a right that was enjoyed by our mothers and grandmothers in complete freedom, through the means of transportation available in their day. "Women interested in being among the signatories to the message should send this in writing as soon as possible, so that we can deliver the message on the national holiday…

"We Would Like to Remind Everyone That Rights Are Not Given or Earned – They Are Taken"

"We would like to remind everyone that rights are not given or earned; they are taken, through the various peaceful means available – [means] that have been recognized by all international conventions.

"Thank you for your cooperation and for your awareness of your rights,

"[Signed,] The League of Demanders of Women's Right to Drive Cars in Saudi Arabia.

"Women interested in signing are requested to send the following information: name, profession, nationality, and city of residence, to yes2womendriving@hotmail.com."

Link

Garment workers strip, throw underwear, demand compensation

2007-09-12T14:51:00.000+07:00

Bangkok has the BEST in Coups and Protests!!!!!!

Female workers from the recently-closed Inter Moda garment factory throw their underwear into the grounds of Government House to protest the government's failure to help them get severance pay from their company after they were laid off. They were protesting for a second day outside Government House yesterday.

But the 300 workers from Inter Moda factory who rallied at Government House yesterday were not convinced their dispute would be settled and vowed to protest again on Sept 19.

Yesterday's rally began with protesters dividing up into small groups of 10-20 people each, to block all gates to Government House, inconveniencing officials and people trying to use them.

About 11am the protesters laid their Inter Moda factory uniforms on Phitsanulok road and then set them on fire.

Ten female workers later took off more of their clothes, keeping only their bras and panties on. They then wrapped the protest placards around their bodies before taking off their underwear, which they later threw into the grounds of Government House in front of police guarding the building to show they were really broke after being made redundant.

Inter Moda factory closed its gates on Sept 3.

Management said a drop in export orders was the reason.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/12Sep2007_news08.php

Suicide Bomber Abdul visits Seymour Sheep & Marty Mole

2007-09-12T09:53:00.000+07:00

a tassle.

Would be nice indeed, but I kinda like this 'less is more' design. :)

View Sevensheaven design's map

Taken in (See more photos here)

This satirical suicide bomber character from the Seamour Sheep comic strip series will soon be available as a designer vinyl figure, produced by Crazy Label.
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Provocative New Tool for Audience Participatory Engagement 3M™ Digital Media System 800 Series

2007-09-10T22:51:00.000+07:00

3M™ Digital Media System 800 Series

Great for use with digital whiteboards or traditional screens.

Includes: XGA Projector, 40 Watt speaker system built-in, Built-in anti-theft systems

Engage your audience.

Stay in front of the audience and control computer mouse functions from the screen.
Increase retention by digitally drawing and highlighting over key elements.
Keep team members and students on track and engaged by having them participate using the presentation pen.
Expand current capabilities with the easy-to-use annotation software compatible with most other software applications.

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Public Protest in Singapore Extraordinaire

2007-09-10T21:15:00.000+07:00

The Action Figures had a party at Youth Park. If the Singaporean anime fans, IT geeks and otaku could have taken to the streets to express their sentiments on the ODEX saga, it would probably look something like this.

MAJULAH!!

On 25 August, at 1600hrs, the Action Figures made their presence felt at the Youth Park.

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Reuters - Friday, September 7

SINGAPORE, Sept 7 - A protest action by a group of Singaporeans with Japanese anime figurines such as the 5-inch tall Ultramen, robots and monsters with placards met some real-life police in the city-state. armfuls of the toys to protest against a clampdown on Internet downloading of anime material by Singapore animation distributor Odex. The incident was not reported in the local press, but pictures and accounts have started circulating on many blogs and political Web sites. "The police didn't stop us from what we wanted to do. But their being there was enough to intimidate," the event's organiser -- who only wanted to be known by his online moniker Zer0 -- told Reuters by telephone. He added that police -- who had four anti-riot vans at the scene -- also took down the anime fans' particulars and that they were filmed by plainclothes policemen. A police spokeswoman said she could not immediately comment. Public protests are rare in Singapore, where outdoor demonstrations are banned and any public gathering of more than four people requires a permit.

35 years of Shinjuku expansion in 10 seconds

2007-09-10T20:41:00.000+07:00

Thanks to astaire 007 youtube production

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Ocean Residences--Private Ship--Luxury Living

2007-09-10T13:37:00.000+07:00

The world’s greatest cities and most exotic ports are ready to receive their newest resident – You.

Presenting Four Seasons Ocean Residences. Setting a new standard of maritime luxury with 112 graciously appointed homes at sea. Circumnavigating the globe on a private tour of unrivalled international destinations on all seven continents. And surrounding you, the service, amenities and elegance of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.

Ocean Residences – Private Ship

Library Wagon

2007-09-10T11:31:00.000+07:00

Bookinist

This is handy dandy. Three of these and my space would be uncluttered chic.

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Clear the Alps!!!! Black Sheep Out!!!

2007-09-07T10:04:00.000+07:00

The black sheep of Swiss politics

Posted by:: The Economist | BRUSSELS

THE WORLD does not pay close attention to Swiss elections, perhaps because there are so many votes in that most referendum-obsessed of countries. Perhaps it is time people did pay more attention, because there are some unsettling things afoot up there in the Alps.

In the run-up to parliamentary elections next month, the largest Swiss party, the Swiss People's Party, has plastered a pretty startling poster across the country, showing a black cartoon sheep being kicked out of a stylised Swiss field by three white sheep, with the slogan that translates to something like: "Make things safer", or "For more security". The sheep refer to a campaign pledge to expel foreign criminals from Switzerland.

Now, yes, black sheep are a traditional image, and are not inherently racist. But when the posters are illustrating a campaign for a ballot initiative to make it compulsory to deport all criminals accused of serious offences (at the moment, the authorities have the power to do this, but it is not automatic), it does not seem ludicrous to guess that a "dog whistle" campaign is underway, to quote a piece of campaigning jargon, in which core voters are meant to hear a message that others may not otherwise pick up.

Especially when the same party has posted a campaign video contrasting scenes of urban violence and images of black-skinned Africans (described as a "Hell" offered by left wing parties), with the "Heaven" of picture postcard images of Switzerland.

The cute cartoon sheep are part of a campaign that calls for the obligatory expulsion of all foreigners convicted of serious crimes, or of fraudulently claiming benefits (including refugees and minors, whose parents may also be deported with them, if circumstances indicate they should be held responsible for their children's wrongdoing).

The Swiss president, Micheline Calmy-Rey (who is admittedly from a rival political party, on the centre-left), has called the sheep poster campaign "racist", and said it disgusts her.

Here it is, in French and German. You decide.

Persian Dylan on the Lute

2007-09-01T09:05:00.000+07:00

Newsha Tavoklian/Polaris, for The New York Times

The Iranian singer Mohsen Namjoo most controversial in Persian music today.

AZILA FATHI

Published: September 1, 2007 TEHRAN

HE plays the setar, a traditional Persian lute, and is a master of classical Persian literature and poetry. But the sounds he draws from the instrument, along with his deep voice and his playful but subtly cutting lyrics about growing up in an Islamic state, have made Mohsen Namjoo the most controversial, and certainly the most daring, figure in Persian music today.

Some call him a genius, a sort of Bob Dylan of Iran, and say his satirical music accurately reflects the frustrations and disillusionment of young Iranians. His critics say his music makes a mockery of Persian classical and traditional music as he constantly blends it with Western jazz, blues and rock. Mr. Namjoo, 31, is a singer, composer and musician, but most of all, his fans say, he is a great performer. “I wanted to save Persian music,” he said in an interview at one of his studios in Tehran. “It does not belong to the present time and cannot satisfy the younger generation. The fact is that Persian music is very close to other styles, and it is possible to mix in other styles with a little shrewdness.” His blending of Western and Persian music produces unexpected moments that jar the traditionalists but are thrilling to his fans, who are mostly young artists and intellectuals. His music sounds Persian, but the melodies take away the melancholy that often suffuses classical Persian music. But it is Mr. Namjoo’s lyrics, his fans say, that make his music so important. He sings old Persian poetry, such as works by the 13th-century mystic poet Rumi or the 14th-century poet Hafiz, with its connotations of love and lust. But with his mastery of Persian literature, he is able to write his own lyrics into the accepted forms, adding layers of meaning. “The first time I listened to his music, I found it unexpected,” said Mahsa Vahdat, a 33-year-old singer. “It started with a laugh for me and ended with a cry. His music and his lyrics express the bitter situation of my generation, and they represent the society we live in.”

Defying Iran’s cultural police, he does not shy away from contemporary issues.

“What belongs to us is an apologetic government,” he sings in a song called “Neo-Kanti.” “What belongs to us is a losing national team.” Those are references to the widespread disappointment with the government of the former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, and the constant losses of Iran’s soccer teams. “What belongs to us, maybe, is the future,” he adds, in a voice that is more resigned than hopeful. In another popular song he sings, “One morning you wake up and realize that you are gone by the wind, there is no one around you and a few more of your hairs have gone gray, your birthday is a mourning ceremony again.” After throwing in an unexpected Western melody, he goes on in a lower voice, saying, “that you are born in Asia is called the oppression of geography, you are up in the air and your breakfast has become tea and a cigarette.”

Atabak Elyassi, a musician and a professor of music at the Music College at Art University in Tehran, said there was protest and satire in Mr. Namjoo’s music. “In the meantime, it is very Iranian,” he said, “because he constantly points to issues that are about the lives of Iranians.”

MR. NAMJOO was raised in the religious city of Mashhad in northeastern Iran, where he started learning classical Persian music when he was 12. As he grew older, he said, he listened to Western music and became interested in Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton and the Irish pop singer Chris de Burgh. He read philosophy and Persian literature, and developed a fondness for a strain of modern Persian poetry that stresses phonetics over the meanings of words. But what changed his approach more than anything, he said, was his experience in the theater. When he was admitted to the University of Fine Art in 1994, he was told that he had to wait a year before starting classes. So he decided to pass the time studying theater. “A musical instrument is a medium for a musician to play music,” he said. “So is the voice of a singer — it is like a medium to sing through it. But neither of them is involved in building relations with a living creature. “But when I studied theater I learned to connect with my audience, and that was when my poems changed,” he said. It is hard to gauge Mr. Namjoo’s popularity, for he has come of age in a time of intense pressure on Iranian music. Most music was banned after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, with only religious and revolutionary songs deemed appropriate. To this day, women are not allowed to sing. Over time the restrictions were eased, first on classical Iranian music and then, in the mid-1990s, on pop music. But after the election in 2005 of Iran’s current, conservative president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, music came under a cloud once again. The authorities canceled a concert of rock and jazz music in Tehran in July. In August, more than 200 people who attended a private rock concert in Karaj, 30 miles west of Tehran, were arrested. The public prosecutor in Karaj, Ali Fallahi, called the concert “satanic,” local news agencies reported. Mr. Namjoo himself has not yet been able to give a live, public performance, and he has not received a government license to sell his CDs. But he is able to perform privately, his CDs are sold on the black market and, in an inexplicable twist, his songs are played on Iranian radio stations. As of early August, his manager said, 1.6 million people had heard his music on YouTube. In July, he did receive an invitation to a government ceremony to sing a few songs in praise of Imam Ali, the martyred son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and the man whom Shiite Muslims consider Muhammad’s legitimate successor. Yet, the room was filled with artists and musicians, rather than government officials. BECAUSE of his cutting-edge style, Mr. Namjoo is under another kind of pressure. Most classical musicians are purists, insisting that the music not be altered in any fashion. They dismiss Mr. Namjoo’s music as absurd because of the way he has incorporated Western influences. If you take Iranian classical music on one side, and Western music on the other, said one critic, Reza Ismailinia, who runs a small art gallery in Tehran, “then I think Mr. Namjoo’s music is like a caricature in between, or a kind of fantasy.” But many disagree with Mr. Ismailinia. “I think he will be remembered as a courageous artist who opened a window toward creating something new and for going beyond traditional barriers,” said Alireza Samiazar, the former director the Contemporary Museum of Art in Tehran. “I think his contribution to our music will be great.” Undeterred by the critics, Mr. Namjoo says his next ambition is to study music abroad. “I want to be challenged and get acquainted with Western music,” he said. “I was accepted too easily here.”

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NOW THIS IS A RANCH.........Fazenda Santo Antonio do Paraiso

2007-08-30T08:13:00.000+07:00

Now this is a RANCH, practically a country......Happy Trails to you and your herd of puma.

Encompassing 255,371Â±-deeded acres, this property is one of the most reputable and beautiful ranches in all of Brazil. Located a 2.5 hour drive from a large, well-served domestic airport, the ranch is flanked by two large rivers flowing 80 miles along two of the ranch borders. Seventy percent of this land lies within the Pantanal Wetlands Complex which is the largest wetland in the world. Four distinct ecosystems harbor a rich and diverse array of flora and an incredible concentration of wildlife including jaguar, puma, marsh deer, anaconda, caiman and over 640 species of birds. A 500-acre lake also holds large numbers of Peacock Bass and other game fish. Additionally, this is one of Brazil's most famous "Panteneiro" (cowboy) ranches running 23,000+ mother cows and farming soybeans on 12,000Â± tilled acres with far greater potential than its current operation. The ranch is substantially supported by a variety of structures and includes six runways.
Acreage:
255,371+/- Deeded
Acreage Breakdown:
Deeded: 255,371 acres
102,972 hectares

INFASTRUCTURE
One noteworthy historical fact is that the previous owner maintained 11 wives, an amazing feat in and of itself, not to mention the fact that he had to build a house that could "roost" this large harem. This 11-room house includes a large living room with a central fireplace, a kitchen with a large wood-burning stove, a thatched roof, outside dining area, and a walk-in gun room.

Other dwellings include 8 employee houses, a "cantina" that serves as a cafeteria, tack shed, barn, sawmill, hydroelectric turbine house, school, chapel, tannery, 8-stall dog kennel, laundry house, 5 retiros (cow camps) complete with housing, tack sheds, generator houses, watering systems, traps for horses, etc., and each has an airstrip. Excellent roads service the entire property, including all-weather roads through the wetlands and forest trails that meander through the beautiful cerrado forests on the plateau.

The main ranch runway is adequate for King Airs and it has a compacted gravel surface. A sturdy concrete hangar can service two single-engine aircraft.

Location

The name of the ranch, Fazenda Santo Antonio do Paraíso, is very telling. At least as far back as the late 1800's this name has been known to represent one of the true paradises of Brazil, a rare jewel and microcosm of the larger ecosystem which it borders; the Pantanal.

Fazenda Santo Antonio do Paraiso is located on the northeastern edge of the Pantanal wetlands approximately 80 miles south of the agricultural boomtown of Rondonópolis, Mato Grosso in southwestern Brazil. Rondonópolis hosts a public airport that offers commercial flights to various domestic locations. An international airport is located 138 miles northwest in Cuiabá, the state capital of Mato Grosso. Cuiabá serves as the northern gateway for tourist activities in the Mato Grosso Pantanal whereas Rondonópolis acts as an industrial and supply base for the agricultural expansion belt in the southern part of the state. The property offers excellent gravel road access to the major federal paved highway BR163 that lies approximately 15 miles east of the ranch headquarters. Ranch headquarters are located at S17 29' 29" W055 13' 53".

Joao Carlos Marinho Lutz is offering to sell 50 years of arduous labor, vision, and conservation ethic to a buyer that he hopes will appreciate his family's efforts and will continue to perpetuate the legacy of the ranch. Previous offers from buyers whose intentions to exploit the ranch's natural splendor by building substantial hotel infrastructure to facilitate a large scale ecotourism business have been negated for fear that development would damage the ecosystems. This ranch is quite suitable for a buyer with a strong interest in conservation and agricultural opportunities.

Click for additional photos

Legendary Yasgur's Farm FOR SALE!!!

2007-08-27T08:00:00.000+07:00

I came upon a child of God, He was walking along the road

And I asked him where are you going, And this he told me —

I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm, I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band

I'm going to camp out on the land, I'm going to try an' get my soul free..

On August 15, 1969, a farmer named Max Yasgur addressed one of largest assemblies ever to gather when he addressed the crowd at the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival in the name of peace, love and music. Mr. Yasgur, now a cultural icon, allowed 40 acres of his 1,100 acre farm in upstate New York, to be used for Woodstock, thus making the musical and cultural event of the century possible. Today, the home, barn and lands of the world’s most celebrated farmer can be yours, as the “For Sale” sign has gone up on the original homestead of Max Yasgur.

Today, the original site of Woodstock is home to the $70 million Bethel Woods Center for the Arts. Local property values have benefited greatly from the development of the Arts Center, which is located less than 2 miles from the farm. The Arts Center features top-rated rock, pop, jazz, and classical performances from talents such as Bob Dylan, Dave Brubeck, The New York Philharmonic and Earth, Wind & Fire.

The Original Settlement House on the property dates back to 1876, when the property was known as the Sleath Farm. The ceiling exposes the original hand hewn beams and studs. Two extensions were recently added to the original structure bringing the total square footage of the house to almost 5,000 sq ft.

Some of the amenities of the home include:

Gourmet kitchen with stainless steel appliances, double convection ovens, Viking stove, antique soapstone sink, 22 ft. vaulted ceilings and expansive views of the Pocono Mountains;
Ground floor master suite with private entrance, built-in cabinets, custom closet, laundry room access and exercise room with sauna;
Master bathroom with double whirlpool tub, steam shower, bidet and double vanity;
Two upstairs bedrooms, full bathroom and cedar ceiling loft with western exposure;
18 ft. vaulted living room ceiling with antique soapstone wood burning stove;
25 ft. by 40 ft. outdoor deck with spiral staircase leading to the second floor;
Radiant heat floors with propane burner and seven separate heating zones;
Two car garage
Stone foundation cellar

The Yasgur residence (circa 1940) is approximately 2,000 sq. ft. and has the original fireplace, built-in-cabinets (built by Mr. Yasgur), 3 bedrooms, sun rooms off the kitchen and master bedroom, and detached two-car garage. Max’s Barn is approximately 7,000 sq ft. and is close to 100 years old. It has a stone foundation and original exterior, emblazoned with the name Yasgur, as well as hand-painted windows with 60’s music icons created by local artist Jewel Eggink. The floor and metal roof were replaced and the beams shored in 1997. The property is comprised of over 103 acres on five separate deeds with approximately 2,000 ft. of road frontage on State Route 17B. Yasgur Road is a 520 ft. road that leads into the private property.

This property is a part of cultural and musical history and represents the legacy of a generation.

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The Aphrodite Project: Platforms “Helping sex workers protect themselves”

2007-08-19T13:36:00.000+07:00

“Helping sex workers protect themselves”

The Aphrodite Project Team is pleased to announce the launch of Platforms, a new line of footwear specifically designed for sex work. Platforms are both an homage to Aphrodite and her prostitute-priestesses as well as a practical tool for the contemporary sex worker. With Platforms, we have created a seamlessly integrated system of shoes and online services. Our shoes use the latest technology to bring sex workers on par with other public workers, whose lives are valued highly because they work in dangerous professions that serve the needs of the community.

Our first shoe, a demo version of the Platform 001 sandal, was inspired by the prostitutes of ancient Greece and Rome, who enticed clients with their flutes and sandals that left ‘follow me’ footprints in the earth. Our contemporary sandals combine these poetic images from antiquity with promotional and safety features designed to meet the needs of today’s sex workers.

The workers of the oldest profession in history will be able to wear high-heeled shoes equipped with Global Positioning System, emergency alarm and liquid-crystal display.

Women who offer sex for money in brothels, cabarets or just in the streets have been exposed to a great quantity of dangerous situations that have put their own lives in danger since medieval times.

The main objective of the Aphrodite Project is to protect them and it promotes the use of equipped high-heeled shoes for dangerous situations. With the slogan “Helping sex workers protect themselves”, the people of Aphrodite Project show in their web site the footwear with noise alarms to frighten away attackers and secret compartments to keep money, keys and condoms. These high-heeled shoes also have a GPS, a global positioning system for the girls, or rather, for their high-heeled shoes to be located in case they don’t come back home.

The buttons that activate the different functions are located on the heel. If a button is pressed, an emergency signal is sent to the other girls of the group or to the police station.

All the girls wearing these high-heeled shoes can be part of a virtual community from where they can advertise the characteristics of their services (including telephone number and e-mail address). They can advertise in a blog where unbearable and dangerous customers are threw out of a window and they can also be part of a chat room where they can exchange the experiences of the profession. The liquid-crystal display is located on the other side of the heel and it is used to attend the customers, receive e-mails and even download music and video files to kill time when they are not working or just as an extra service of their job.

promotional video at GPS Sexy Shoes official website
Read More: sexygpsshoes Via: theuncoolhunter

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Magic Fish Spa

2007-08-17T10:34:00.000+07:00

Magic "Fish Spa" Attracts More

A girl soaks in the hot spring enjoying the "fish spa" in Huizhou, south China's Guangdong Province. [Photo: photo.eastday.com]

A newly emerged "fish spa" is becoming fashionable in many hot spring resorts, and has attracted even more customers, all curious about this peculiar treatment.

At such a spa, many Garra Rufa, a type of small tropical fish, also nicknamed Chinchin Yu, nibble fish or simply doctor fish, are put in hot springs. As they can live and swim freely in at least 43-degree-hot waters, they are naturally used for the treatment of skin diseases in such spas.

When placed in the spa, these fish can feed themselves on the dead cells of the human body, since they only consume such cells, leaving the healthy skin of the human body to grow. The whole process is reportedly free of pain. It won't hurt and the bather might feel a pleasant tingling on his or her skin.

The fish species are often found in the river basins in the Middle East, including Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkey, and thus is also called Turkish Fish. It is legally protected from commercial exploitation in Turkey due to concerns over harvesting for export.

In 2006, the first Asian Doctor Fish spa resort opened in Hakone, Japan. These fish are used to clean the feet of the bathers at the spa. Recently, such spas become fashionable in resorts in China and South Korea.

Two bathers soak in the hot spring enjoying a "fish spa" in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province. [Photo: photo.eastday.com]

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CHINA First National Park Pudacuo National Park

2007-08-15T10:39:00.000+07:00

The Nature Conservancy has helped China achieve a conservation landmark: the establishment of that country's first national park, which will also serve as a model for a new Chinese national park system.

The new park — Pudacuo National Park in China's Northwest Yunnan Province — is located in one of the most biodiverse regions of the world. While the region comprises only 0.7 percent of China's land area, it contains more than 20 percent of the country’s plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species.

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Chinese Whopper

2007-08-15T05:35:00.000+07:00

August 11, 2007

Giant man-eating catfish found in Guangdong reservoir?

Huadu's Furong Reservoir

It's a 3 metre long man-eating catfish whose head alone is 1 metre wide! After cutting up the catfish people were surprised to find the remains of a man inside.

| Link |

Colonizing Planet Earth--World Changing Team

2007-08-14T08:32:00.000+07:00

Realistic plan -- Go to Mars to learn how to manage Globe Earth....top notch thinking & discussion.

Colonizing Planet Earth

WorldChanging Team

August 12, 2007 3:24 PM

by WorldchangingCanada writer Karl Schroeder

If our civilization requires the resource equivalent of three earths to be sustainable, then we have to stop drawing on ecosystem services that are overstretched. In fact, maybe we should start acting like there are no ecosystem services available to us at all.

What's an ecosystem service? Here's Wikipedia's definition:

Ecosystem services are distinct from other ecosystem products and functions because there is human demand for these natural assets. Services can be subdivided into five categories: provisioning such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits; and preserving, which includes guarding against uncertainty through the maintenance of diversity.

Economically, ecosystem services provide us with assets that we would otherwise have to produce ourselves. The simplest example is water treatment, which is done for free by our aquifers. It's possible to directly measure the equivalent cost of a water treatment plant for a given set of wetlands or aquifer, which means you can exactly quantify the value of many ecosystem services. Pollination is another hugely important ecosystem service, which is provided largely for free by bees.

There's a lot of discussion about ecosystem services these days, and about our ecological footprint. The usual line is this: we're using three earths worth of resources, so we have to find a way to cut back or we're all sunk. This is true, but as I've pointed out before, there's a dramatic difference in terms of motivating people, between framing something as a positive, or as a negative. The "three earths" metaphor is good for scaring people, but it's a negative: it evokes images of austerity and sacrifice. If we want to motivate people to change things, it's always better to frame the change in terms of opportunity.

READ MORE, this is excellent forward thinking for creative change ........

http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/007092.html

The Great Khan：A Man Misunderstood Mongol Empire by Genghis'Khan's 36th Granddaughter writes novel to restore historical truth

2007-08-13T12:53:00.000+07:00

Genghis Khan, the man who founded the Mongol Empire and conquered half of Europe, died in 1227, leaving behind many mysteries. Around the 780th anniversary of his death, an attempt was made to unveil them via a newly published book trilogy, Mongol Empire. The series caused a sensation in China, partly because of the rarity of the content carried in the book and partly because of the rarity of the DNA carried by the author. She is the 36th generation of Genghis Khan.

Bao Liying, 39 years old, graduated from Peking University, scribbled away at her three part epic for over 20 years, namely, Genghis Khan, Batu and Kublai, according to the West China City Daily report.

As a direct descendant of Genghis Khan, Bao noted in her book a point that surprises many: among the big three, Genghis Khan was the least understood khan in history.

Rumors about him abound. Some say he conquered the world only to vanquish the hearts of women, some say he was a ruthless and blood thirsty despot. Bao denies all these allegations by providing many facts. She astutely cites the defensive fight against Jin Dynasty, which was commonly accepted as staged by Genghis Khan.

"The truth is, Jin launched a scorched earth campaign at the Mongols first," Bao stated, "Every three years the Jin troops intruded on Mongolian lands, killing men and capturing women. A brother of Genghis Khan's grandfather was tortured to death by them. It's only natural for him to have sought revenge later, avenging both his family and his nation."

"It's not that he made the war, it's more the fact that the war made him," Bao insists. "For he was so brilliant and brave while leading his army."

Bao also stresses the need to draw a line between a historical novel and a playful interpretation of history, which is also the purpose of her writing this book.

Mongol Empire significantly fills certain blanks in China's literature. Wang Qilong, a professor of Mongolian history from Tsinghua University points out, by this standard, Batu, among all three volumes, holds the highest value.

Batu, the grandson of Genghis Khan, founded the Khanate of Kipchak, colloquially known as the Golden Horde. His empire once expanded westward as to the Danube. Although stories of Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan's families are repeated in countless books today, the story of Batu himself remains largely untold, except via one Soviet writer.

The motivation behind such a book can be traced back to 1986, when Bao Liying entered Peking University majoring in chemistry. In the university library she inadvertently discovered many distorted facts in historical books covering the Yuan Dynasty so she set her mind on restoring the truth for her ancestors. And after some 20 years of effort, her dream has come true.

During her long writer's journey, Bao's leisure time was spent writing. She can't type so she wrote her book in longhand. Stooping for hours over a desk, she developed pains: in the neck, waist and shoulders. Finally her sufferings evolved into chronic diseases. Bao endured all these difficulties to meet her goal.

Considering herself as the guard of the Genghis Khan family legacy, she succinctly wrote in her book's preface, "I kept marching forward on my long journey as if they were watching me."

(China.org.cn by Xu Jin, August 11, 2007)

São Paulo: A City Without Ads--China Town Next???

2007-08-13T09:37:00.000+07:00

Imagine China Town Bangkok without outdoor ad signage!!! That would be harder than achieving world peace.

In 2007, the world’s fourth-largest metropolis and Brazil’s most important city, São Paulo, became the first city outside of the communist world to put into effect a radical, near-complete ban on outdoor advertising. Known on one hand for being the country’s slick commercial capital and on the other for its extreme gang violence and crushing poverty, São Paulo’s “Lei Cidade Limpa” or Clean City Law was an unexpected success, owing largely to the singular determination of the city’s conservative mayor, Gilberto Kassab.

Tony de MarcoAs the driving force behind the measure, mayor Kassab quelled the rebellion from the advertising industry with the help of key allies amongst the city’s elite. On many occasions, Kassab made the point that he has nothing against advertising in and of itself, but rather with its excess. He explained, “The Clean City Law came from a necessity to combat pollution . . . pollution of water, sound, air, and the visual. We decided that we should start combating pollution with the most conspicuous sector – visual pollution.” Since then, billboards, outdoor video screens and ads on buses have been eliminated at breakneck speed. Even pamphleteering in public spaces has been made illegal, and strict new regulations have drastically reduced the allowable size of storefront signage. Nearly $8 million in fines were issued to cleanse São Paulo of the blight on its landscape. From Adbusters #73, Aug-Sep 2007

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MEAN GREEN MACHINE.....Tesla Roadster

2007-08-12T08:19:00.000+07:00

Tesla Motors---Tesla Roadster. Tesla has taken the most radical approach to being green; they removed the internal combustion engine and substituted a small 70-pound electric motor. Powered by a 3-phase, 4-pole electric motor producing 248 horsepower, which is good for 0-60 mph in 4 seconds. Despite the 70-pound motor, the battery adds enough weight to bring the total weight up to 2690. The one thing you don’t hear from the bio-fueled cars is gas mileage. The Tesla can proudly say it gets 135 miles per gallon equivalent.

Acceleration & Torque----------Instant Freedom

The first time you drive the Tesla Roadster, prepare to be surprised. You're at freeway speed in seconds without even thinking about it. There is no clutch pedal to contend with and no race-car driving techniques to perform. Just the touch of your foot and you're off, without any of the sluggishness of an automatic. How powerful is the acceleration? A quick story to illustrate. A favorite trick here at Tesla Motors is to invite a passenger along and ask him to turn on the radio. At the precise moment we ask, we accelerate. Our passenger simply can't sit forward enough to reach the dials. But who needs music when you're experiencing such a symphony of motion. Rest assured that this responsiveness works at all speeds, as noticeable when you're inching your way through parking lots as when flying along freeways. 100% Torque, 100% of the Time. The Tesla Roadster delivers full availability of performance every moment you are in the car, even while at a stoplight. Its peak torque begins at zero rpm and stays powerful beyond 13,000 rpm. This is the precise opposite of what you experience with a gasoline engine, which has very little torque at a low rpm and only reaches peak torque in a narrow rpm range. This forces you to make frequent gear changes to maintain optimal torque. With the Tesla Roadster, you get great acceleration and the highest energy efficiency at the same time. All while requiring no special driving skills to enjoy it. This makes the Tesla Roadster six times as efficient as the best sports cars while producing one-tenth of the pollution.

AND all sold out for 2007, place an order with 50,000usd deposit, take delivery in mid 2008.

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More Green Machines (and wallpaper)

2007-08-12T08:11:00.000+07:00

Tesla Roadster
The most fun you can have without fuel

Jay Leno

People think that if you’re a car enthusiast you have something against electric cars. Not in the least. To me the nice thing about electric vehicles is, if nothing else, they free up the gasoline for our other cars. I think many car enthusiasts see the future as one where they will use some kind of electric car or hydrogen car during the week and will save their sports cars for the weekend, just as you would play golf or football at the weekend. What Tesla, an American company that has made an electric version of the very British Lotus Elise, has done is find a way to enjoy a sports car all week long and be green. Read more lasso the link below.........

Lasso Link Jay Leno Review Tesla Roadster

WONDERFUL WORLD of CAT GIRL

2007-08-11T15:06:00.001+07:00

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Splendid Advertisment

2007-08-11T13:44:00.001+07:00

Hard to beat this one!!! GOOD JOB!!

SHOOT A YAK!!!! WHY ME???

2007-08-11T11:41:00.001+07:00

WHY ME!!!??? I ain't done nothing!! Please don't tag me as an aphrodisiac.

China to promote wild animal hunt---

China is to auction licences for foreigners to hunt wild animals, including endangered species, according to local media.

The auction will offer the right to hunt yaks, wolves and other wild animals in five western provinces.

The price of a licence will depend on the type and number of animals to be hunted, the Beijing Youth Daily said. The auctioneers told the BBC that the sale, the first of its kind in China, would go ahead on Sunday. A licence to hunt a wolf could go for about $200 (£105), while permission to shoot a yak could be as much as $40,000 (£21,000), the daily said. Shooting an argali, a large wild sheep, will cost about $10,000 (£5,000) while a blue sheep will cost $2,500 (£1,300), the paper said..

"Some animals are from the first and second category of national wildlife protection, but with the strict limitations in place, the hunting could not destroy wild animal populations," the daily said. The wolf is the only carnivore on the list of animals that could be hunted. The licences will cover five areas of western China - Qinghai, Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and the autonomous regions of Ningxia and Xinjiang. Proceeds from the auction would be used to protect wild animals, the daily said.

Tried and true find the keyhole method

2007-08-11T09:10:00.001+07:00

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Thai Army Attacked by Volley of Arrows from Thai Warriors

2007-08-09T21:01:00.001+07:00

Protesters from the United Front of Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) marched from the Democracy Monument intending to carry out their planned protest at the Royal Thai Army headquarters, dressed in ancient Siam Warrior dress and carrying bows and arrows they marched forward in a classic manner.

When asked to halt the protesters stopped their march and announced their statement, calling for the revocation of martial law for the transparency of the national referendum due on August 19. Then several volleys of arrows were launched in two areas along Rajdamnoen Avenue near Democracy Momument.
Some 100 police officers are stationed at the Royal Thai Army headquarters and barriers have been set up at three locations to prevent protesters from entering the headquarters. Peaceful protest that drew much attention.

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Piss Screen Test -- Innovative Thought Provoker

2007-08-09T11:31:00.000+07:00

The Piss-Screen - a pressure-sensitive inlay set within urinals, enabling users to play while they pee. We installed this newfangled creation in male restrooms across Frankfurt, teaming up with a variety of bars, clubs and cafés. The game itself was displayed on a screen above each urinal, and would automatically start as soon as someone began to pee. The player could then control the car whilst relieving himself – if they wanted the car to go right, they simply peed to the right (and visa versa).

The overall design of the driving game was similar in style to that of Need for Speed, requiring relatively quick reactions. Obviously the more drunk you are, the slower your response, reinforcing the effects of alcohol to the gamer. The game ultimately culminates in a shocking crash-sequence, leaving the viewer with little doubt as to the repercussions of driving while drunk.

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Chinese Sex Conspiracy on Russian Culture

2007-08-09T11:13:00.000+07:00

Lately some Russian newspapers post photos of these strange Chinese dolls. You can see the scanned piece of article from one Russian regional newspaper. The reason for the panic is that in Russian children toy stores have appeared strange Chinese dolls looking like a girl-doll but if fully undressed there can be something found that better would suit for a boy-doll.
People demand to band those dolls from being sold on the territory of Russia and claim that it maybe done on purpose by some evil forces from outside of Russia in order to form a bad perception of female/male orientation from the early age. Below is the more detailed photo of those strange Chinese toys freely sold in Russian kid stores:

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Iranian Ad for Kool Aid

2007-08-09T10:38:00.000+07:00

Persian Kool Aid ---- Deep Strawberry, maybe? Likely not very current, this was the Shah's time, before Jimmy Carter.

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Spy Fly on the Wall --Robotics World

2007-08-09T09:40:00.000+07:00

Tiny Spy Fly

Fake Fly Will Be Spy In The Sky

A spy in the sky not much bigger than a fly has been developed by a top American university.

Scientists at Harvard have invented a robotic fly to send on reconnaissance missions in areas too dangerous for humans, such as those contaminated by chemical or biological weapons. It can also be used to find hidden bombs and in search missions. The "flybot", which can fit on a fingertip, is made of lightweight carbon and weighs less than a pin. Researchers, led by Professor Robert Wood, spent seven years on the project with the backing of the US military. "The real benefit of the fly is that from a military aspect, you probably wouldn't be able to notice it," said Prof Wood.

Recreating a fly's efficient movements in a robot roughly the size of the real insect was difficult because existing manufacturing processes could not be used to make the sturdy, lightweight parts required. The motors, bearings, and joints typically used for large-scale robots would not work for something the size of a fly. Ultimately, the team developed its own fabrication process, and using laser micromachining, researchers cut thin sheets of carbon fibre and polymer. But while the two-winged device can now take to the air using the same motions as a real fly, the team has yet to work out how to control it in flight.

SO WATCH OUT SPY FLY!!!!!

The world's first autonomously-controlled robotic fish are the latest attraction at the London Aquarium. The new designs can avoid objects, react to their environment and swim around a specially designed tank entirely of their own accord.

Life-like robots of the deep

Biologically-inspired to mimic the sinuous movement of real fish, the robots swim at the same speed as tuna, have the acceleration of a pike and the navigation skills of an eel. Professor Huosheng Hu and his team of scientists at the University of Essex worked with the London Aquarium for three years to develop the brightly-jewelled cyberfish. Professor Hu hopes that bringing the public into direct contact with robots will increase their understanding of science and technology.

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BAGNGKOK NEWS FLASH

2007-08-08T16:06:00.000+07:00

Bangkok Post Flash....This will liven up the political chase, long time power broker trio, always aligned but keeping distance now announcing a team effort.

Chavalit teams with Chalerm

MONGKOL BANGPRAPA & PRADIT RUANGDIT

Former prime minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh has rejected an invitation to join the People's Power party and instead favours working with New Alternative leader Chalerm Yubamrung, according to his close aide Sornchai Montriwat. Maj-Gen Sornchai said people from People's Power, which recently took in members of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party, had approached Gen Chavalit to take the leadership. Gen Chavalit turned down the offer, said Maj-Gen Sornchai. The party's viewpoint and working style did not suit him, Maj-Gen Sornchai said. Nor had Gen Chavalit committed himself to joining a political group led by former Thai Rak Thai party executive member Suwat Liptapanlop. Pol Cpt Chalerm, on the other hand, had been in regular contact with Gen Chavalit and the two politicians had discussed their political future together, Maj-Gen Sornchai said. Pol Cpt Chalerm was deputy leader of the New Aspiration party led by Gen Chavalit, who later abandoned it to join Thai Rak Thai. The outcome of the Aug 19 referendum would have a bearing on how Gen Chavalit works with Pol Cpt Chalerm, Maj-Gen Sornchai said. The Constitution Drafting Committee yesterday agreed to water down a proposed amendment to the Political Party Act which bars former executives of dissolved political parties from engaging in any political activities at all while they serve a five-year political ban. If passed into law, this would directly affect 111 former executives of the dissolved Thai Rak Thai party, some of whom are accused of being de facto executive members of the new political parties they are hooking up with. But the stipulation forbidding them from serving as advisers to political parties has been left intact.

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Great Wall Gets FREE TIBET Banner

2007-08-08T09:40:00.000+07:00

Tuesday morning, 6 amazing people of conscience risked their lives to defend the Tibetan people.
Click here to watch the video.

At 9 am today Mel, Sam, Leslie, Pete, Nupur and Duane dropped a 450-square foot banner from the Great Wall of China. News of this action has already spread around the world, inserting the message “One World One Dream Free Tibet” into every news story being filed about the one-year countdown to the 2008 Games.

This is what the Chinese government gets for trying to sell the world a lie. They want the Olympic spotlight and they want to improve their global image without actually doing anything to change their authoritarian ways. Simply window dressing the capital at this time is not enough.

We don’t know where the ‘Great Wall 6′ are right now. There is no word yet. But they are in the hearts, minds and prayers of countless of people around the world. We trust the Chinese authorities will treat them well and release them soon. The whole world is watching…

Lasso Link Here

Tibetan Antelope Defects Olympic Team

2007-08-08T09:37:00.000+07:00

Tibetan Antelope Defects from China's Olympic Team

Yingsel goes underground to work for Tibetan freedom

One of China’s official Olympics mascots, the Tibetan antelope they call "Ying Ying" has defected from the Olympic team and has gone underground to work for Tibetan freedom. Yingsel (that's her real Tibetan name) announced that she would no longer be used as a tool in the Chinese government's efforts to use the Olympic Games as a means to cover up its brutal occupation of Tibet. Click here to read the full press release.

Click here to view Students for a Free Tibet's press conference held in New York City.

Learn more about Yingsel and find out how you can take action by visiting her blog: http://Yingsel2008.com

Request Before Reincarnating

2007-08-07T14:04:00.000+07:00

August 4, 2007

China tells living Buddhas to obtain permission before they reincarnate

The rules effectively exclude the Dali Lama from any role in recognising a living Buddha

Jane Macartney in Beijing

Tibet’s living Buddhas have been banned from reincarnation without permission from China’s atheist leaders. The ban is included in new rules intended to assert Beijing’s authority over Tibet’s restive and deeply Buddhist people.

“The so-called reincarnated living Buddha without government approval is illegal and invalid,” according to the order, which comes into effect on September 1.

The 14-part regulation issued by the State Administration for Religious Affairs is aimed at limiting the influence of Tibet’s exiled god-king, the Dalai Lama, and at preventing the re-incarnation of the 72-year-old monk without approval from Beijing.

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The Incorruptible Warrior--RELEASE & FLOODED

2007-08-07T13:37:00.000+07:00

Chinese game The Incorruptible Warrior allows players to execute the corrupt officials that control the people's lives, gaining points and moral status along the way. The release brought on floods of hits to acquire the game. Opinions from the original post, noted below, offer a clue to why the big success, which is reported to be a surprise.

(The player is in combat against a "mistress of corrupt official" clad in bikini)

What is so interesting about this game? After all, the executable file is only 78M, the pictures are crude, the scenes are spare, the copyright is suspect (because it borrows a great deal of material from other games), the lone server is unstable and the financial sponsor is the Chinese Communist Party Disciplinary Committee of the Haishu district in Ningbo city.

The reason for the public interest is that the hero of the game is an "honest and upright official" whose assignment is to weed out corrupt officials, along with their children and mistresses. Here 'weed out' does not 'putting in jail' -- it means using weapons, magic and torture to kill them. There are 165 major characters taken from Chinese history. On your side are the famous incorruptible officials such as Hai Rui and Lord Bao. On the opposite side are the famous corrupt officials such as Zhao Gao, Huo Shen and others who exhibit different degrees of force (=corruption) as indicated by the gauge levels over their heads. When you kill a corrupt official, you gain experience points. For example, killing the notorious eunuch official Wei Zhongxian from the Ming dynasty gains you 100 experience points. As you accumulate points, you increase your powers for "Combatting corruption," "Moral character" and "Degree of being corruption free" instead of the usual "life," "magic" and "strength" in other kinds of games. Your ultimate goal is to reach , where "the birds sing, the flowers give out fragrance, the people are full of love and harmony, the nation is prospering and the world is calm and peaceful."

LASSO THE LINK

ZEITGEIST-----THE MOVIE

2007-08-07T09:13:00.000+07:00

ZEITGEIST, The Movie

Google Video released for viewing, Zeitgeist, the Movie. This may show why China as a future power has no worry about any prolonged struggle from the Arab/Jewish/Christian side of the fence. All tangled up in each other's entanglements, too tied up to see.

Is that a giant alarm clock in the background? Have a look, can you hear?

It's a 3 part production

I. The Greatest Story Ever Told, Christianity/Paganism

II. All The World's A Stage, Planned Terrorism For Control

III. Don't Mind The Men Behind The Curtain, Super Rich Maintain Control and Perpetuate Wealth.

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Chinese Language Pod Cast QUICK EASY

2007-08-07T05:45:00.000+07:00

Scheduled lessons ...

Review your vocabulary... Connect with others...

Brush up on grammar or pronunciation...

Take a test to check your level... Review your practice plan...

Latest Lessons:

There is a 15 day trial period, after that it's a paid affair. Serious students could use this, it's clear and strong. ChinesePod

Lasso ChinesePod

Good Morning China!!!! Sunlight Map

2007-08-07T04:55:00.000+07:00

Updated: Monday, 06-Aug-2007 14:33:05 PDT

World Sunlight Map

Watch the sun rise and set all over the world on this real-time, computer-generated illustration of the earth's patterns of sunlight and darkness. The clouds are updated every 3 hours with current weather satellite imagery.

Lasso Sunlight

Hangzhou, Shanghai, Pudong--NOW DUBAI!!!! HOOTERS HOLY LAND, too

2007-08-07T03:55:00.000+07:00

Hooters to open in Dubai, UAE....Udders Are Edible

US restaurant chain Hooters, renowned for its scantily clad waitresses, could open its first of three outlets in Dubai by the end of the year, the company’s local partner said on Tuesday.

“I am trying to secure a location to open one restaurant this year and a year from now I will have two to three potential locations,” Jamal Al Shaheen, a Kuwaiti investor with franchise rights to Hooters in Dubai, told Dow Jones.

Shalom Hooters

Franchise Agreement Signed for Introducing Popular Restaurant Concept in Israel

Hooters of America, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has entered into an exclusive franchise agreement with llana and Ofer Ahiraz to open the first Hooters Restaurant this year in Israel, with many additional locations to follow.

"We are extremely excited to introduce the Hooters concept into Israel," stated Ofer Ahiraz, Hooters franchisee. "The vibrant, fun loving Israeli community suits the fun, American, casual dining theme that Hooters Restaurants are known for. I am positive that the Israeli's quest for great food and atmosphere will end at Hooters."

There are over 430 Hooters Restaurants in the US and 23 other countries including China, Australia, Switzerland and Brazil. In the next 2 years, the soon to be World famous chain will bring its hot wings and fun atmosphere to Columbia, Dubai, Guam, New Zealand, and India as well.

Link

Wikipedia Jimmy Wales NO BOW to China

2007-08-06T22:32:00.000+07:00

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales Says He Refuses To Bow To Chinese Officials Like Google & Yahoo.

Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales has indicated that he will try to talk with China about their decision to block his user-updated online encyclopedia. Although Wikipedia’s content is currently blocked in China, Chinese search engine Baidu has been offering some of the website’s content…claiming it as its own copyrighted material.

Wales said he would travel to China in September to meet with high-level officials to address the issue of blockage. But he said he refuses to censor his site’s content to gain official approval the way Google and Yahoo have done.

Regarding the decision to censor its site for Chinese users, Google says it can play a more useful role in China by participating than by boycotting it, despite the compromises involved. In an official statement Google said that “While removing search results is inconsistent with Google’s mission, providing no information (or a heavily degraded user experience that amounts to no information) is more inconsistent with our mission.”

With an estimated 110 million web surfers, China’s internet community is second only to the U.S.

The country’s Internet control system reportedly employs 30,000-50-000 people. According to a 2002 Harvard University report, China’s government blocked at least 19,000 sites during a six month period and may have blocked as man as 50,000 Internet sites.

It looks like Jimmy Wales may be fighting a losing battle.

She never cheated on me, shi shi ni

2007-08-06T19:50:00.000+07:00

Elderly Couple Live in a Valley Secluded from the World for Over 30 Years

By Feng Yiran

The Epoch Times

Mar 06, 2007

Entrance to the cave pass. (The Epoch Times)

CHINA—In the mountains that border Sichuan and Hunan provinces in China, Mr. Qin Daihua and his wife Li Caimei have lived in their home, secluded from the world, for the past 33 years.

Their home is situated in a valley surrounded by perilous cliffs and precipices. It is reached by passing through two hidden and narrow caves. In the quiet and lonely valley, the elderly couple lives a quiet life.

After walking on a small path in a lofty mountain range for half an hour, one comes to an inconspicuous, narrow opening to a cave that is a pass into another place.

Inside the cave, there is a winding stone staircase that goes down for dozens of meters.

When you come out of that cave, the sun shines brightly. Within several hundred meters, and after climbing a precipice, one arrives at another cave entrance. A one-meter-high wooden door seals the entrance to this cave. On the other side of the door lies the mountain valley, where the land is flat, buildings are neatly arranged, and you hear roosters crowing and dogs barking—indeed you are looking at true a haven of peace.

Mr. Qin said he and his wife moved there in 1974. Prior to that they lived in Boyang Township in Lichuan city dozens of kilometers away. The couple lived with Mr. Qin's large family in a small house. On top of that, their land was barren and the harvests were poor. Often they had nothing to eat due to lack of crops. Seeing his wife becoming thinner every day from starvation, Mr. Qin decided to find a paradise for his wife.

After searching far and wide, Mr. Qin finally found a little known valley hidden deep in the mountains at 1,200 meters above sea level. Hence, the couple moved there quietly, built a thatch house and other buildings, cultivated the land, and started a new life away from worldly strife. Mr. Qin and his wife cultivated approximately twenty mu of farmland (about 3.5 acres), raised pigs, chickens, and bees, and lived in self-sufficiency all by themselves. Over time, Ms. Li Caimei gave birth to two healthy sons and the couple was no longer lonely in the mountain valley.

In recent years both their sons Qin Xinping and Qin Xinbin have left the valley and started families elsewhere. As they do not come back to the valley very often, the couple feels lonely but have no complaints. They have not left the valley for many years. They said, "we are used to living here; when we die, we want to die here."

Click here to read the original article in Chinese

China Camel Caravan

2007-08-06T17:11:00.000+07:00

Back

China Camel Caravan Sunset

2007-08-06T17:08:00.000+07:00

CHINA TOWN BANGKOK Mad Mad World of Yen Yang Flow

Earth Clock

Mike's Amazing Cakes===REALLY

2007 Solar Decathlon...GERMANY WINS

Students' energy-efficient house designs compete in Solar Decathlon, Germans win

Panties for PEACE

Panties for Peace uses superstition against Burma's junta

Majesty of the Seas----EXTRAORDINARY

Cruise Ship Built at Home

Surreal Spider, etc

Surrealism, Halloween and a... barking spider?

Buck Fush

Mad Mad Duck Ripper

HOT PROPERTY: Spacious Missle Base as Your Home

Apes Blamed For Crime Spree

Apes Blamed For Crime Spree

South Africa's crime problem has taken a new twist.

A gang of baboons is being blamed for a series of break-ins.

Bilbao on the Nervion River 10 years on

Cranes Stretch Up In Foggy Boom Boom Town

On sale for the first time: Van Gogh's final masterpiece

By: Arifa Akbar, Arts Correspondent Published: 22 September 2007

LIFESAVER This could prove to be TOPS in field equipment

Chris Crocker's on a Web Star

Indecent exposure laws a fad or here to stay??

Malaysian Islamic body rules on how to pray, wash and die in space

Pirates!!! For real.....modern pirates in the Strait of Malacca

NEW MOSCOW METRO---Trubnaya Station

Muslim fashion designers moving beyond the traditional

HERE COMES THE SUMMER!

“The practice of female circumcision is virtually universal among women of reproductive age in Egypt.” Egypt, Rising Push Against Genital Cutting

12 inch Miracle Tube Proof Remains Aloof

Tourists, monks and history: Whose islands are they?

SOLOVETSKY ISLANDS JOURNAL

Femininity, with a sharp jab, in Thailand Obedient and gracious at home, girls hold nothing back in ring

Giant Spider Web in Rockwall, Texas WOW

Lake Tawakoni State Park, n. Wills Point, Hunt Co., TexasAugust 15, 2007 (Donna Garde)

Big Target for Arab/Jew collaboration

Saudi Feminist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Wants to Drive a Car---Crazy Yen Yang Flow

Saudi Feminist Wajeha Al-Huwaidar Launches New Campaign: Let Us Drive Cars

Garment workers strip, throw underwear, demand compensation

Suicide Bomber Abdul visits Seymour Sheep & Marty Mole

Provocative New Tool for Audience Participatory Engagement 3M™ Digital Media System 800 Series

Public Protest in Singapore Extraordinaire

35 years of Shinjuku expansion in 10 seconds

Ocean Residences--Private Ship--Luxury Living

Library Wagon

Bookinist

Clear the Alps!!!! Black Sheep Out!!!

The black sheep of Swiss politics

Persian Dylan on the Lute

NOW THIS IS A RANCH.........Fazenda Santo Antonio do Paraiso

Legendary Yasgur's Farm FOR SALE!!!

The Aphrodite Project: Platforms “Helping sex workers protect themselves”

“Helping sex workers protect themselves”

Magic Fish Spa

CHINA First National Park Pudacuo National Park

Chinese Whopper

August 11, 2007

Giant man-eating catfish found in Guangdong reservoir?

Colonizing Planet Earth--World Changing Team

Realistic plan -- Go to Mars to learn how to manage Globe Earth....top notch thinking & discussion.

Colonizing Planet Earth

WorldChanging Team

The Great Khan：A Man Misunderstood Mongol Empire by Genghis'Khan's 36th Granddaughter writes novel to restore historical truth

São Paulo: A City Without Ads--China Town Next???

MEAN GREEN MACHINE.....Tesla Roadster

WONDERFUL WORLD of CAT GIRL

Splendid Advertisment

SHOOT A YAK!!!! WHY ME???

Tried and true find the keyhole method

Thai Army Attacked by Volley of Arrows from Thai Warriors

Piss Screen Test -- Innovative Thought Provoker

Chinese Sex Conspiracy on Russian Culture

Iranian Ad for Kool Aid

Spy Fly on the Wall --Robotics World

Fake Fly Will Be Spy In The Sky

A spy in the sky not much bigger than a fly has been developed by a top American university.

The world's first autonomously-controlled robotic fish are the latest attraction at the London Aquarium. The new designs can avoid objects, react to their environment and swim around a specially designed tank entirely of their own accord.

BAGNGKOK NEWS FLASH

Lake Tawakoni State Park, n. Wills Point, Hunt Co., Texas
August 15, 2007 (Donna Garde)