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About the new Brazilian passport.

P.H. Nuñez — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:35:36 +0000

Sobre o novo passaporte Brasileiro. a) Quais as principais mudanças do novo passaporte? O novo passa

The Cat Piano: A City of Imprisoned Singing Cats

disembedded — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:18:07 +0000

The Cat Piano: A City of Imprisoned Singing Cats

The Cat Piano is an award-winning 8-minute animated short film directed by Australian filmmakers Eddie White and Ari Gibson, featuring narration by the iconic Australian musician Nick Cave. The film is a remarkable animation, a visual marvel that’s a perfectly executed narrative, seamlessly coalescing its gothic influences into a hypnotically sinister aesthetic that is never at odds with itself. The Cat Piano was named last week as one of 10 films to advance in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards.

The story opens in a city of musically talented singing cats, where a lonely beat poet falls for the call of a beautiful musical siren. However, a mysteriously dark and evil human soon emerges and begins kidnapping the town’s singing cats to imprison them inside of a cat piano, intent on carrying out his depraved musical plans to perform a twisted feline symphony. At that point, the poet realizes that he must save his muse and put an end to the nefarious tune that threatens to destroy the entire city.

The Cat Piano: A City of Imprisoned Singing Cats

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CHINA OVERCAPACITY WREAKS GLOBAL HARM, EU GROUP SAYS!

juancarlosnavanava — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:49:02 +0000

China Overcapacity Wreaks Global Harm, EU Group Says (Update1)

via China Overcapacity Wreaks Global Harm, EU Group Says (Update1) – Bloomberg.com.

L'EURO SUR LA BARRE DE 1.51 DOLLAR

juancarlosnavanava — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 10:38:19 +0000

L'euro sur la barre de 1,51 dollar

via L’euro sur la barre de 1,51 dollar.

brown sauce.

jamesr0012 — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 09:57:06 +0000

mad longboard video from darn sarf for video ‘fusion’. one of my mates told me, ‘you should never pump a longboard down the line’ – i knew he was wrong all along.

think his next statment was something like, ‘brown sauce tastes rubbish with bacon sandwiches’.

A Matter of Loaf and Death: Big Trouble at the Mill

disembedded — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 05:03:23 +0000

A Matter of Loaf and Death: Big Trouble at the Mill

A Matter of Loaf and Death is an award-winning, delightful clay-animated short film directed by Nick Clark, a four-time Academy Award-winning English filmmaker of stop-motion animation. The film, starring the much-loved duo Wallace and his faithful dog Gromit, was named last week as one of 10 films to advance in the Animated Short Films category for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. A Matter of Loaf and Death played on BBC Television last year and was the highest-rated program of 2008 and the highest-rated non-sporting event in the United Kingdom since 2004. In 2008, the film won the BAFTA Award for Best Short Animation and the Annie Award for Best Animated Short Subject.

A Matter of Loaf and Death is a suspenseful, romantic high-action murder mystery, with Wallace and and the ever-trusty Gromit starting a new bakery business, Top Bun. Gromit learns that a number of bakers in town have been mysteriously disappearing, and tries to solve the case before Wallace ends up a victim himself. The mystery involves a new love interest for Wallace, Ms. Piella Bakewell, who is a bread enthusiast and former pin-up girl for the “Bake-O-Lite” bread company, as well as, for the first time, a cute sweetheart for Gromit: Ms. Bakewell’s charming little French poodle, Fluffles. The very urgent question now is: will Gromit be able to discover the identity of the Cereal Killer before poor Wallace ends up becoming the next ghastly victim?

done

A Matter of Loaf and Death: Big Trouble at the Mill

The full-version of A Matter of Loaf and Death can also be viewed here.

Slide Show: A Matter of Loaf and Death

(Please Click Image to View Slide Show)

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A summary of how the conversation was

P.H. Nuñez — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:34:29 +0000

Tive que vir escrever hoje… A conversa com Eduardo durou aproximadamente 2 horas. Nós praticam

Have You Heard Of: Florence + the Machine

theeurocentric — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 03:05:58 +0000

I must confess… I have fallen in love with a certain Florence and her Machine. I tried to resist, but it turns out the British press and listening public were correct in their crowning the act (essentially a moniker for Florence Welch) the Next…Big…Thing. Her unique brand of art-pop, equal parts soulful, theatrical, and ethereal, hit the indie world by storm and her debut album Lungs became a bona fide hit overseas (it reached #2 in her native UK and eventually went Platinum). She solidified her success by garnering an impressive number of award recognition, including a Mercury Prize nomination, a BRIT Award, and three Q Award nominations amongst others. It really is no surprise, though, that the album found such a rapturous reception with both professional critics and the average music fan; her songs are swelling gale forces of musical emotion, while simultaneously being extremely catchy and listenable. And her preoccupation with death and pain, her liberal use of Gothic imagery, and willingness to take risks set her apart from both the mainstream pop world and indie community.

Florence herself as said she draws inspiration from artists like Kate Bush, Bjork, and Tom Waits, while also incorporating influences from her childhood like jazz vocalists and opera. According to her official website, “the common thread [amongst her influences] is always the emotion” and it’s not hard to see that reflected in her own music; songs such as “Dog Days are Over”, “Kiss With a Fist”, and “Hurricane Drunk” are bursting at the seams with her passionate vocals and full-blown instrumentation.

Of course, when one is responsible for such a distinct and self-assured first album as Lungs a follow-up that at least matches the quality of its predecessor can often be a tall order. I really don’t think fans should be worried, though.

Mitchell: Palestinian-Israeli negotiations should have a 'mix of contacts'

dhharrison — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:42:45 +0000

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Press Release)–Following is the text of a U.S. State Department press briefing given on Wednesday by George Mitchell, the U.S. special envoy for Middle East peace. He was introduced by State Department spokesman Robert Wood.

MR. WOOD: Good afternoon, everybody. Welcome to the briefing. As promised, Senator Mitchell is here, and he is going to give you an update on the recent announcement by the Israeli Government with regard to settlements. So without further ado, Senator Mitchell.

MR. MITCHELL: Great. Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Prime Minister Netanyahu has just announced his government’s moratorium on new settlement buildings. I think it’s important to look at this issue in a broader context, particularly how it affects the situation on the ground and how it can contribute to a constructive negotiating process that will ultimately lead to an end to the conflict and to a two-state solution.

It falls short of a full settlement freeze, but it is more than any Israeli Government has done before, and can help move toward agreement between the parties. As President Obama has said many times, we believe that a two-state solution to the conflict is the best way to realize the shared goal of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. It is also in the national security interest of the United States. It is urgently needed.

The President knows that achieving this goal will be difficult, but he also has said that he will not waiver in his persistent pursuit of a comprehensive peace in the Middle East. For that reason, he has dedicated himself and his Administration to the resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and to the creation of an atmosphere that maximizes the prospects for success.

To be clear, the steps we have suggested to all parties – Israel, the Palestinians, and the Arab States – to improve the atmosphere for negotiations are not ends in themselves, and they certainly are not preconditions to negotiations. But they can make a valuable contribution toward achieving our goal of successful negotiations that result in a two-state solution. That’s why we’ve urged the Palestinians to expand and improve their security efforts and to take strong and meaningful action on incitement. It’s why we’ve urged the Arab states to take steps toward normalization of relations with Israel, and it’s why we’ve urged Israel to stop settlement activity.

As I said earlier, while they fall short of a full freeze, we believe the steps announced by the prime minister are significant and could have substantial impact on the ground. For the first time ever, an Israeli Government will stop housing approvals and all new construction of housing units and related infrastructure in West Bank settlements. That’s a positive development. The Israelis have said that the only exception will be a small number of public buildings, such as schools and synagogues, within existing settlements.

Under the moratorium, those buildings already under construction will be completed. But the number of buildings under construction will decline since, as each new building is completed, there will not be a new building started. So implementation of the moratorium could mean much less settlement construction than would occur if there is no moratorium.

The steps announced today are the result of a unilateral decision by the Government of Israel. This is not an agreement with the United States, nor is it an agreement with the Palestinians. United States policy on settlements remains unaffected and unchanged. As the President has said, America does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.

We recognize that the Palestinians and other Arabs are concerned because Israel’s moratorium permits the completion of buildings already started and limits the effect of the moratorium to the West Bank – concerns which we share.

As to Jerusalem, United States policy remains unaffected and unchanged. As has been stated by every previous administration which addressed this issue, the status of Jerusalem and all other permanent status issues must be resolved by the parties through negotiations.

The United States also disagrees with some Israeli actions in Jerusalem affecting Palestinians in areas such as housing, including the continuing pattern of evictions and demolitions of Palestinian homes. The United States has not accepted and disagrees with any unilateral action by either party which could have the effect of preempting negotiations. As we and others have said many times, the way to move forward is to enter negotiations without preconditions and reach agreements on the two-state solution: a Jewish state of Israel living side by side in peace and security with an independent, contiguous, and viable Palestinian state.

As the Secretary of State said today, and I quote, “Today’s announcement by the Government of Israel helps move forward toward resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We believe that through good-faith negotiations, the parties can mutually agree on an outcome which ends the conflict and reconciles the Palestinian goal of an independent and viable state, based on the 1967 lines, with agreed swaps, and the Israeli goal of a Jewish state with secure and recognized borders that reflect subsequent developments and meet Israeli security requirements. Let me say to all the people of the region and world: Our commitment to achieving a solution with two states living side by side in peace and security is unwavering.” That’s the end of the Secretary’s quote.

Despite the difficulties and the complex political circumstances in the region, we are committed to the re-launch of negotiations and to the two-state solution. We will not be deterred by setbacks. We are determined to stay the course in the cause of comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and I’ll now be pleased to respond to your questions.

QUESTION: So we all thought you were going to come down here and say you were frustrated and you were going to resign, but I guess that’s not the case. (Laughter.)

You’re going to keep at it? I guess the question is: Is this the best that you could get? And are you going to try to sell it to the Palestinians as the best that they could get? As you probably know, senior Palestinian officials have already come out and said this is not enough, it has to – anything has to include East Jerusalem. And this, as you noted, does not. So I guess the bottom line is: Is this the best you could get out of the Israelis?

MR. MITCHELL: I’ll address the latter part of your question first and then I’ll return to your earlier comment. Our goal remains the re-launch of negotiations as soon as possible in an atmosphere in which they can succeed. We recognize that the internal political situation is more challenging on both sides, especially in light of the after-effects of the Goldstone report. We’ve always intended that negotiations will proceed on a variety of tracks, including high-level direct talks that establish the framework and set the tone, parallel talks with the U.S. about key issues, and lower-level direct talks where the details of issues are often worked out. Given the current environment, we think it makes sense to explore a re-launch of negotiations through a mix of these tracks. As the Secretary said, we believe that the differing views of the parties can be reconciled through good-faith negotiations.

Now, as to your earlier comment about being discouraged, although there are many differences between the Middle East and Northern Ireland, in this respect, my experience there is relevant. Over a period of five years, I chaired three separate sets of discussions. The main negotiation lasted for nearly two years. For most of that time, there was little or no progress and our effort was branded a failure. The question you asked me today I was asked hundreds of times there. But then after two years of saying no, both sides said yes. In a real sense, we had 700 days of failure and one day of success.

I know that if anything, the Middle East is more difficult and more complex. But no matter where the conflict is or what it’s about, if you’re serious about peace, you can’t take as final the first no, the second no, or even the hundredth no. You can’t get discouraged by setbacks and you can’t be deterred by criticism. You have to be patient, persevering, and determined. Neither the President, the Secretary of State, nor I have ever promised anything other than a total commitment to comprehensive peace in the Middle East. That remains our commitment and our goal.

MR. WOOD: Janine.

QUESTION: Senator Mitchell, given that you’re hoping this will launch final status talks, I was wondering if you could talk to us a little bit about any contacts you’ve had with President Abbas since he announced that he doesn’t plan to run. And do you think he’s sincere about that? Or what has the United States been doing to try to convince him – or if they are, maybe they’re not – to stay on?

MR. MITCHELL: I’ve had several meetings with President Abbas since then, and several conversations. We have encouraged him to remain in office and to work with us in achieving his longstanding goal of a two-state solution, which includes, as I said earlier, an independent, viable, and contiguous Palestinian state. We hope that he does stay. We hope to continue working with him.

MR. WOOD: Michel.

QUESTION: Yes. Senator Mitchell, Matt has asked this question, but the Palestinian Authority has refused the Israeli offer because it doesn’t include the East Jerusalem. How can you push them to go to the negotiations?

MR. MITCHELL: Well, as I said, we believe that the best way forward is to re-launch negotiations in an atmosphere in which they can succeed. We will encourage both sides to continue to take steps that will lead to that result and enable us to begin negotiations in a way that affords what I believe to be a reasonable and good prospect of achieving what the Palestinians want and what we want; that is, a two-state solution with an independent and a viable and a contiguous Palestinian state, and a state of Israel living with secure and recognized borders with security for all of its people. And we are going to continue to pursue that objective.

MR. WOOD: Kirit.

QUESTION: Kirit Radia with ABC News. You’ve got now a 10-month window. Do you think that’s long enough? What would you like to see happen during that period? What would you like the Palestinians to do next? And where do you see the process 10 months from now?

MR. MITCHELL: We would like very much to begin negotiations on the permanent status issues. As I said earlier in my response to the first question, we think the best approach is a mix of contacts – direct, bilateral in some cases, at varying levels, contacts with us for discussions on permanent status issues. We hope that there will be substantial progress. My personal and fervent wish is that we will during this process at some point have a resolution of the issue of borders so that there will no longer be any question about settlement construction, so that Israelis will be able to build what they want in Israel and Palestinians will be able to build what they want in Palestine. And we think that the negotiations should begin as soon as possible. We hope that they will be time limited to a period at the end of which all of the permanent status issues will be resolved and the people of the region can achieve their objective.

I want to be clear, however, that while this discussion has understandably focused on the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, when the President addresses his vision of comprehensive peace, he includes, in addition, Israel and Syria, Israel and Lebanon, and the full normalization of relations between Israel and all of its Arab neighbors. And we’re going to continue to pursue those objectives at the same time with the same vigor.

MR. WOOD: Right here. And please state your name and news organization.

QUESTION: Muna Shikaki with Al-Arabiya TV. There is talk about terms of reference from the Americans as guarantees to the Palestinians so that they can resume negotiations, including 1967 borders, changing some areas from B to A, and perhaps releasing some prisoners. Is there – are there any American guarantees or terms of reference that you’re preparing?

MR. MITCHELL: We have been in discussions with both Israelis and Palestinians for some time regarding terms of reference for negotiations. We have closed many gaps between them. And while admittedly important differences remain, we’ve made very substantial progress. And we continue to explore those, and I will pursue those on my next visit to the region, which will be in the near future, to continue that dialogue and that effort as part of trying to bring the parties together.

In addition, some of the points you mentioned represent steps that Israel can take, and we have encouraged action in that regard as a means of both steps to create an atmosphere toward conducive and what we hope will be good-faith and constructive negotiations, and as ways to move us toward the final result.

MR. WOOD: Glenn.

QUESTION: Hi, Glenn Kessler with The Washington Post. I mean, I noticed you didn’t, in your statement, call this unprecedented, though you came very close to that. And I’m just wondering, was there – is there anything different between what Israel has outlined today versus what the Secretary labeled as unprecedented when she was in the region a few weeks ago? And can you outline in what ways this is superior to the unstated agreement that the Bush Administration had with the state of Israel?

MR. MITCHELL: Well, first, I said that this has never happened before, and if you look in the dictionary, that is the definition of unprecedented. (Laughter.)

QUESTION: I know, but there was – that word was loaded. So like I said, you came close to unprecedented.

MR. MITCHELL: Nothing like this occurred during the Bush Administration. From 2000 to 2008, there were new housing construction starts on nearly 20,000 new housing units, 9,000 of them between 2004 and 2008. In the moratorium just announced by the Government of Israel, there will be no new housing construction starts during the 10-month period. None. There will be no approval of any housing projects during the 10-month moratorium. None. No Israeli Government has ever taken this step, and nothing remotely like this occurred during the Bush Administration.

QUESTION: John Terrett from Al Jazeera English Television. The desk has just sent over to me here Mahmoud Abbas’s comments, and he’s pressing the necessity that Israel put an end to illegal settlements on Palestinian territories, which he says block the viability of the geographic border of the future Palestinian state, which must have East Jerusalem as its capital. Could you talk to what you think it is in this announcement today by Mr. Netanyahu that you think the Palestinians should find some optimism in or some hope in?

MR. MITCHELL: Anyone who opposes settlement construction, continued settlement activity, as does the United States, should, of course, take into account that under the moratorium announced today, there will be much less settlement housing construction activity than there would have been if there were no moratorium. That’s a fact.

Now, we will continue in our efforts to persuade the parties that the best way forward is to enter negotiations, with the United States as an active participant and supporter of the parties, encouraging them in their direct talks to move forward. And we believe that’s the best way to achieve what is the common goal, not just of the leaders, but more importantly, of the people they represent on both sides to be able to live in peace and security. And we will continue to pursue that objective vigorously and to seek to persuade both sides that the way forward is through negotiation and agreement.

MR. WOOD: Question here. We’re going to take two more after this.

QUESTION: Yes. Joyce Karam with Al-Hayat newspaper. Senator, there are many cynics in the Arab world that are saying if Washington couldn’t get the Israelis to completely freeze settlements, how can they force them to withdraw to the 1967 borders? I mean, how do you respond to this? What kind of assurances can you give the Arab world that these negotiations are – be different than the one we had previously multiple times? And what can the Arab governments do to contribute to the success of such negotiations?

MR. MITCHELL: Right. As I mentioned briefly in response to an earlier question and in my remarks, we have asked all of the Arab governments to join in the effort in support of the Arab Peace Initiative to take steps toward normalization of relations with Israel. We’ve not asked anyone to take the final step of full normalization.

What we’ve asked is gestures, actions, statements and movement in that direction. For example, we are seeking, and we believe we’ve gotten a good response, to a multilateral track in which several governments of the region would meet to discuss regional issues that they have in common, such as energy and water, which would follow the resumption of direct negotiations. It won’t occur before then, but if direct negotiations can get underway, we believe this could occur.

And this would operate to the benefit of everyone in the region, whatever country they happen to live in, because it would help to deal with these important issues that they all face in common. And we think that increased contacts between political and nonpolitical leaders, cultural and other exchanges, trade relations and other forms of contact for mutual benefit, all of that can form an ever-strengthening web of support for the concept of normal relations throughout the region.

Now, in response to your first question, of course, there can be no absolute total guarantee in advance of what is going to occur in a negotiation. I said earlier that if you’re serious about this, you can’t take the first or the second or the hundredth no for an answer, and that has to be the case here. We have to continue to urge, to encourage, to seek to persuade. The alternative is to accept for the people of the region endless conflict, never-ending disagreement, and the absence of opportunity and hope for the future.

Now, nobody gets everything they want in a negotiation seeking to resolve a conflict like this. There has to be a willingness on everyone’s part to give more than they want to give and to accept less than they want to get. That applies to everyone in the process. That takes time, it takes patience, it takes courageous leadership. I believe that it can and will be done for one overriding reason: It is in the best interest of the people of the region – Israelis, Palestinians, and other Arabs.

A continuation of this conflict and further delay in attempting to resolve it does not serve the interest of any of them. And the leadership now should commit themselves that the next generation – young people now growing up, those yet to come, Israeli, Palestinian and Arab – don’t have to live through what the present leaders have had to live through. And we believe that that can be done, and we are determined that it will be done.

MR. WOOD: The gentleman right here, please.

QUESTION: Thank you. Senator Mitchell, you’re making it sound as though the Israelis have given a concession by their decision today to temporarily phase the building of new settlements, when it is actually an agreement that had taken place in Annapolis meeting years ago, during the Bush Administration. Now, asking the Arabs also to normalize – to take steps to normalize the relations with Israel – is like putting the horse before the cart where it is actually supposed to be a result of a peace agreement.

Now, the Syria Government – and I am Syrian reporter, my name is Zaher Imadi. I’m sorry I didn’t mention that.

MR. WOOD: That’s all right.

QUESTION: But the Syrian Government has welcomed so much the speech of President Obama – your mission. But President Asad has asked in the last interview if there were any roadmap to execute the peace agreement or peace negotiations that are supposed to take place in the future with the Israelis. Do you have any elaborate plan or detailed plan for your mission where the steps could be taken, one after the other, that you could emphasize that the parties must take in order to bridge that peace. What is your goal? Do you still recognize 232, 338, the United Nations resolutions? Is it peace-for-land kind of negotiations? I need some explanation along these lines, Mr. Mitchell, please.

MR. MITCHELL: Well, thank you. I’ll attempt to provide it.

QUESTION: Thank you.

MR. MITCHELL: We’ve been consulting intensively with Israel and Syria for several months. We’re seeking a mutually agreeable basis for the parties to renew talks, and we have strongly encouraged them to do so. Both sides are well aware that President Obama’s vision of comprehensive peace, as I’ve just explained a few moments ago, includes Israel and Syria. We think that is an important part of the objective.

I have met with President al-Asad and with Prime Minister Netanyahu and discussed directly with them our hope and our encouragement that peace talks be revived, and we will continue in that effort. Until now, while they both state a willingness to get into them, their differences on how to do so have prevented them. The Government of Syria wishes to conclude the indirect talks which were begun through Turkey last year before going to direct talks. The Government of Israel prefers to go directly to direct talks without preconditions. We are attempting to find a mechanism on which both can agree, because we think it’s important that they begin the process. We want them to do so. We want to support that effort in any way that we can. And that will continue.

MR. WOOD: Last question, back here. Please, the lady. Yes.

QUESTION: Thanks so much. This is Tulin Daloglu with the Turkish daily newspaper Haberturk. You talked about the Israeli-Syrian talks, and Turkey has played a role in that. Do you still see a role for Turkey to play at this time?

MR. MITCHELL: I have had several meetings with Turkish officials, including the president, the prime minister, the foreign minister, and others. And we welcome their further participation, but that is, of course, a decision for the parties to make, whether or not they wish to continue the indirect talks in that manner. So it would be up to them to decide how best to proceed. I have told the Turkish officials and both the Syrian and Israeli officials we welcome that as one mechanism. We welcome any mechanism that will result in progress.

And so we hope – I intend to make this a part of my discussion in my next visit, because we do want this process to proceed, not to the detriment of, not as an alternative to, talks between Israelis and Palestinians. I want to make that very clear. These are not exclusive alternatives. These both must happen. We believe they both should begin. And we will encourage the parties and we ourselves will do all we can to make that possible.

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen, for your presence here today.

*
Preceding provided by the U.S. State Department

PRN: 2009/1179

Cruising Around the United Kingdom

sterlingtravelinc — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:21:11 +0000

I recently returned from a fabulous cruise on Holland America’s Prinsendam around the United Kingdom. The cruise was 14 days with 10 ports of call (not counting London/Greenwich where we boarded, Dover where the cruise ended, and Scrabster, Scotland where we couldn’t stop due to rough seas). This itinerary had a lot to offer for a wide variety of interests. If you like to explore castles and/or old churches, every port had one or more of each. Although castles are not my personal favorite, I did explore two. One was at our first port of call, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. Alnwick (pronounced “Annick”) Castle is one of the largest inhabited castles in England (700 years of Percy family history), home to the Duke and Duchess of Northumberland and their family. Parts of the Harry Potter movies were filmed here, and a group from the University of Minnesota was living there for the summer studying. The other castle I visited was Castle Cornet in St. Peter Port on the Isle of Guernsey. This castle dates back to the 13^th century and now houses 3 military museums. At noon every day a soldier in 19^th century costume fires a canon. Somewhere in the bay is a very large pile of canon balls!! Last year I read the book “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society” and learned that Guernsey was occupied by the Germans for 5 years during World War II. There are many monuments dedicated to those who survived the occupation and to those who did not. Apparently only the people who went on shore excursions inland saw any Guernsey cows!

I visited 2 churches, again not my passion, but plenty of them in every port to see. The first was Bath Abbey, a 1600 year old parish church that was once the great church of a monastery, in the town of Bath, England. The port was Newport (Cardiff), Wales. Bath Abbey was very impressive, especially the stained glass window (contains 56 scenes of the life of Christ). The village also had beautiful gardens and parks which I enjoyed more…and great ice cream! In the port of Portland, England I took an excursion to Salisbury Cathedral, Britain’s finest 13^th century cathedral featuring the highest spire in Britain, the world’s oldest mechanical working clock (1386), Britain’s largest medieval Cloisters and Cathedral Close, and home of the finest of 4 surviving original (1215) Magna Carta. Although Salisbury was beautiful, the main event of this excursion was a visit to Stonehenge, the unique, ancient circle of stones that evolved between 3000 BC and 1600 BC. The stones are aligned with the rising and setting of the sun at the solstices. It was awe-inspiring!

If pub crawling is your favorite way to pass the time, there is no better place! I can’t believe I missed them all this trip, but I have it on good authority that between the pubs, breweries and distilleries, you would never go thirsty! The pubs also offer good food at reasonable prices, and visiting pubs is definitely a good way to meet the locals. I did visit one distillery, Talisker’s on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. It is the only working distillery on Skye, in operation since 1830, making the best single malt.
I enjoy walking through parks and gardens. I think my favorite place on this trip was Edinburgh, Scotland. We arrived the day after a big rain storm and everything looked so clean and green (except, I suppose, for the trash in the streets). Walking through East Princes Street Gardens was spectacular. A lot of open grassy area, trees, flowers, monuments…and a FREE art museum. You could see the famous Edinburgh Castle up on the cliff across the park.
We came across several bagpipers playing on the street. As we were waiting for the shuttle back to the ship, standing in from of the Register House, you could hear the sound of bagpipes in the air. For me, that was Scotland.

In the port of Waterford, Ireland, I went on an excursion to Woodstock Gardens & Arboretum located in the village of Inistioge on the banks of the River Nore in County Kilkenny. It rained for a short time while we were there…guess who wore sandals and had no umbrella! But it was worth it. Everything looked so beautiful..the flowers, trees, buildings. The gardens were designed and created in the mid to late 1800’s. After visiting the gardens, we spent some time strolling through the town of Inistioge. It was Sunday so most places were closed. However, the local river park was beautiful and many of the homes had beautiful flowers planted outside. The movies “Circle of Friends” and “Widow’s Peak” were filmed here.
The 2 biggest cities we visited were Belfast, Ulster (northern Ireland) and Dublin, Ireland. Belfast has “The Wheel”, a huge ferris wheel next to City Hall in Donegall Square. We rode it for 15 minutes, giving us a great view in all directions of Belfast. Since they weren’t busy, we got an extra few turns around. Next to the Wheel there is a memorial honoring Titanic victims. The Titanic was built in Belfast. Then we found St George’s Market shortly before closing. It’s a large farmer’s market/swap meet. Lots of good buys for local crafts (bought a stained glass lighthouse there). I had a fabulous chocolate & strawberry crepe for lunch! The next day we were in Dublin which is a large busy city. It was Saturday and the place was very crowded with young people as there was to be a huge rock concert that night. Again I walked and shopped and took pictures. At this point I needed to rest and do laundry. (day eight)

The port of Falmouth, England was a fun day of strolling, shopping and eating. I tried my first Cornish pasty (or oggy or oggin as they’re called in Cornwall). I tried a whole wheat vegie pasty. It took most of the day to eat it…it was so big and so filling…and not that great. Maybe if it was filled with chocolate…….hmmm. I did buy some clotted cream fudge to send to my brother-in-law who loves Cornwall. I tried some too…it’s caramel! I bought chocolate fudge for myself. Our cruise ended in Dover. The cliffs are really white! No bluebirds though. I saw so much in those 14 days…four countries, 10 ports, and I only had to unpack once. I saw cities, countryside and ports…gardens, lighthouses and marketplaces…I traveled by boat, bus, taxi and van…and I slept in the same bed every night. Definitely my favorite way to travel!

Rosanna Brown

Will Amazon's Global Kindle Work in YOUR Country?

Mary Mimouna — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 22:52:52 +0000

In case you are thinking of purchasing the new global version of Amazon’s Kindle for Christmas, be aware that there are still quite a few places that the global version will NOT work. I was disappointed to find that the new version still will not work in my country.

Apparently the new global version will only work in SOME countries. I thought it would be helpful to most expats to have a complete list of which countries it will, or will not work in (below).

It’s also interesting to note the PATTERN of groups of countries where the Kindle doesn’t work–some countries probably lack satellite coverage or delivery systems, while others probably don’t WANT readers to be able to download whatever they want by satellite.

STARRED (*) countries marked below indicate that Kindle needs to be ordered from a SPECIAL PAGE on the Amazon site.

The Global Kindle version DOES work in (as of Dec. 2009):

Aland Islands, Albania, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Australia*, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Boznia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland Islands, Faroe Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guernsey, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liberia, Leichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Moldovia, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Mozembique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Virgin Islands – British, Virgin Islands – U.S., Wallis and Futuna, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

The Global Kindle version does NOT work in (as of Dec. 2009) the following countries:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Antarctica, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bouvet Island, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, Chad, China, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, French Southern Territories, Gambia, Guinea, Heard Island and McDonald Islands, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Isle of Man, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea – Democratic People’s Republic of, Korea – Republic of, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco (including the Western Sahara), New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Pitcairn, Qatar, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Helena, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, South Georgia and the Sandwich Islands, Sudan, Svalbard and Jan Mayan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United States Minor Outlying Islands, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

Wang Zifei, Obama Girl In Black

emptysuit — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:56:47 +0000

Wang Zifei, a student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, attended Obama’s town hall at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Zifei sat in a spot that resulted in her appearing in a number of photos from the event. She has become an Internet sensation, with people referring her to as the ‘beauty in black beside Obama.’

This “Obama girl in black” or the “woman in black behind Obama” also captured attention by wearing a bright red coat to the event, and she became the subject of a popular animation which shows the coat being taken off, which you can watch here.

The same overnight fame happened to Mayara Tavares when Obama and France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy did some site-seeing at the G8 summit in L’Aquila, Italy. Obama, Looking at woman in Italy

Click On Links:
Mayara Tavares
Obama, Looking at woman in Italy
Obama Visits Great Wall In China
Obama Bowing To Japan’s Emperor Akihito
Obama Wants More Internet Freedom In China
The World’s Most Powerful People
Burning Man Obama
Obamamania Hits Japan
Obama Image in Tomb
Michelle Obama Chimp Image On Google
Nicolas Sarkozy et Carla Bruni dans les Simpson !

DUBAI WORLD'S DEFAULT RISK SOARS

juancarlosnavanava — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:52:39 +0000

Dubai World Seeks to Delay Debt as Default Risk Soars (Update2)

via Dubai World Seeks to Delay Debt as Default Risk Soars (Update2) – Bloomberg.com.

UK and US complicity in the torture of terror suspects in Pakistan (HRW report)

César Salgado — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:29:44 +0000

Human Rights Watch (HRW) publicou onte un informe sobre a complicidade do Reino Unido (e dos Estados Unidos) na tortura de varios detidos en Pakistán. O informe leva por título “Cruel Britannia: British Complicity in the Torture and Ill-treatment of Terror Suspects in Pakistan”. Copio un extracto da súa introducción:

[...] This report provides accounts from victims and their families about the cases of five UK citizens of Pakistani origin-Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Rangzieb Ahmed, Rashid Rauf and a fifth individual who wishes to remain anonymous-tortured in Pakistan between 2004 and 2007. The men were tortured and ill-treated by the military-controlled Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency, the civilian-controlled Intelligence Bureau (IB), or other Pakistani security agencies. Their abuse was part of a longstanding pattern of routine, systematic torture by the Pakistani authorities that has been extensively documented. The accuracy of their accounts of mistreatment has been confirmed by Pakistani and British security and intelligence officials.

Primary responsibility for the use of torture against these individuals lies with the Pakistani authorities. No one in Pakistan has been held accountable. The Pakistani authorities have not prosecuted or disciplined any security officers alleged to have been involved in these incidents, or indeed in any other of the myriad cases of torture. There is no sign that they have even initiated any inquiries. While deeply disappointing, this is hardly surprising –Pakistani and international human rights groups, lawyers, the media, the US State Department, and the United Nations have long documented torture, arbitrary arrests and detention, enforced disappearances, and other human rights abuses by Pakistani government security forces and intelligence agencies taking place with complete impunity.

In Pakistan, torture often follows illegal abductions or “disappearances” by the ISI, other intelligence agencies, the military, or other security services. These practices are systematic and routine, whether in ordinary criminal matters to obtain confessions or information, against political and ideological opponents, or in more sensitive intelligence and counterterrorism cases.

HRW has no evidence of UK officials directly participating in torture. But UK complicity is clear. First, it is inconceivable that the UK government was unaware of the systematic use of torture in Pakistan. In the circumstances of the close security relationship between the two countries this would represent a significant failure of British intelligence. Reports by governments, including the United States, reports by NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, court cases in Pakistan, and media accounts put everyone on notice that torture has long been endemic in Pakistan. No one in government in Pakistan has ever challenged this in conversations with Human Rights Watch.

Second, UK officials engaged in acts that virtually required that they knew about the use of torture in specific cases. Four men –Salahuddin Amin, Zeeshan Siddiqui, Rangzieb Ahmed, and an individual who wishes to remain anonymous– have described meeting British officials while detained in Pakistan. In some cases this happened shortly after sessions in which the individuals had been tortured, when it was likely that clear and visible signs of torture were present. For example, Rangzieb Ahmed alleges that he was interrogated by British security officials shortly after three fingernails had been pulled out.

Further, UK officials supplied questions and lines of enquiry to Pakistan intelligence sources in cases in which detainees were tortured. UK officials knew that interrogations of these UK citizens were taking place and that torture was routinely used in interrogations. The UK was also putting pressure on Pakistani authorities for results. In this environment, passing questions and offering other cooperation in such cases without ensuring that the detainees were treated appropriately was an invitation to abuse.

Members of Pakistani intelligence agencies have corroborated Human Rights Watch’s information from detainees that British officials were aware of specific cases of mistreatment. They have said that British officials knew that Pakistani intelligence agencies routinely tortured detained terror suspects –what Pakistani officers described to HRW as being “processed” in the “traditional way”.

Officials describe being under immense pressure from the UK and the United States to “perform” in the “war on terror”, and have noted “we do what we are asked to do”. Pakistani intelligence sources described Salahuddin Amin, for example, as a “high pressure” case, saying that the British (and American) agents involved were “perfectly aware that we were using all means possible to extract information from him and were grateful that we were doing so”. [...]

London, November 2009

vanishingpoint000 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:16:48 +0000

The Policing Pledge: The Home Office's new campaign

everydaylifestyle — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:07:09 +0000

最近テレビでよく見る、Home Office（イギリス内務省）が先日21日に新しく始めた「The Policing Pledge（警察活動の誓約）」の広告。190万ポンドをかけたこの全国的な広告キャンペーンは、11月、12月の間、イングランドとウェールズの警察が地域住民への義務を謳ったもので、テレビ、ラジオ、雑誌、インターネットで展開、また600万戸の家庭にパンフレットが配られる。

このPolicing Pledgeは、警官は80％の時間を地域のために使い、緊急ではない問題を届け出た住人には48時間以内に会うこと等を約束している。また、12月には、「Name and Shame（名前を公表して恥をさらす）plan」を地元警察と地方自治体に通達、有罪判決を受けた犯罪者をウェブサイトで公表する計画だ。

これは昨年度の統計で、盗みや窃盗などの軽犯罪から性犯罪、強盗、詐欺、暴力犯罪、薬物犯罪の重犯罪まで、全犯罪520万件のうち約3分の1に当たる170万件もの犯罪が、「screening out（ふるい分け）」されて取り調べてられていなかったとして、警察が批判を浴びたことが背景にある。最悪なのはロンドンの首都警察で、通報された犯罪のうち、たった48％しか捜査に至っていない。平均で75％の盗み、70％の器物損壊、55％の窃盗、44％の詐欺や偽造、20％の強盗、15％の暴力犯罪、2％の性犯罪、1％以下の薬物犯罪が「ふるいわけ」されたと言う。私たちもMの自転車を盗まれたり、バイクのナンバープレートを偽造されたりしたことがあるけれど、こんな些細なこと、警察は何もしてくれていないんだろうな。でもこの「ふるい分けシステム」が続けば、犯罪者のやり得、逆に犯罪率が高くなるか心配だ。この「約束」がちゃんと実行されて、地域住民が安心して生活できるよう頑張ってもらいたい。

ちなみにこの広告キャンペーンに使われているデザインは、第二次世界大戦初期の1939年に政府によって作られたポスター（実際には使われなかったが）、「Keep Calm and Carry On（平常心を保って、頑張れ）」を元にしている。このポスターが2000年に「再発見」されてから、多くの企業が使用、このデザインを使ったTシャツやマグカップ、バッグ、ポスター、tea towel（布巾）等さまざまなグッズが作られている。私もこのシンプルだけれど、インパクトのあるデザインが好きで、ポスターを2枚持っている。Mはしばしばパニクってしまうことがあるので、その際はポスターを指差し、冷静になるように自制を促すのにも役立っている。

Recently I have seen few times the TV advertisement of “The Policing Pledge“, a £1.9m national advertising campaign explaining what should be expected of police in England and Wales. Launched on November 21, the Home Office’s campaign involves adverts on television, radio, magazines and internet throughout November and December, as well as leaflets distributed to 6 million homes.

According to the Policing Pledge, neighbourhood officers should spend 80% of their time on duty in the community and members of the public reporting a non-emergency problems will be seen within 48 hours. In December, the Home Office also introduce “Name and Shame” plan, which encourage police forces and councils to use websites to name key local convicted criminals.

What urges the Home Office to put up the Policing Pledge is the criticism against the police that failed to investigate around 1.7 million out of 5.2 million reported crimes last year, including sex attacks, robberies, fraud, violent crimes and drug offences, as well as large numbers of burglaries and thefts – around one-third of all offences were dismissed as unsolvable within hours by “screening out”. The highest rate of screening out was by the Metropolitan Police, with only 48% of reported offences dealt with in 2008/9. In parts of the country, an average of around 75% of theft are screened out, as well as around 70% for criminal damage, 55% for burglary, 44% for fraud and forgery, 20% for robbery, 15% for violent offences, 2% for sexual attacks, and less than 1% for drug offences. We experienced petit crimes like M’s bicycle stolen or his Vespa’s number plate cloned, but I guess that nothing have been done for it. But criminals are the sole winner with this ”screening out” system, and this could endanger the security of the community and possibly encourage more crimes to happen. Hope this campaign will work to regain the public’s confidence and trust in police force, and contribute to reduce the crime rate.

The design used for the Policing Pledge is originally from “Keep Calm and Carry On“, the World War II motivational poster produced by the government in 1939 but never used. It was rediscovered in 2000 and has been re-issued by a number of companies, and used in a range of products such as T-shirts, mugs, bags, posters, tea towels and so on. I like this simple but strong design, and we have two posters ourselves. M gets panic easily and when that happens, it is useful for me to remind him what he should do, by just pointing out the poster!

The Policing Pledge Posters photographed in the summer 2009

Climate Change 'More Alarming Than Ever' Claim UK Groups

LKBlog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:25:39 +0000

BBC News, November 24, 2009 Three UK groups studying climate change have issued a strong statement a

Unlike the United States, Israel clearly discerns identity of its enemies

dhharrison — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:19:01 +0000

By Ira Sharkansky

JERUSALEM—You want a conundrum? The New York Times describes a great example.

In declaring Tuesday that he would “finish the job” in Afghanistan, President Obama used a phrase clearly meant to imply that even as he deploys an additional 30,000 or so troops, he has finally figured out how to bring the eight-year-long conflict to an end. . . .And as Mr. Obama’s own aides concede, the messages directed at some may undercut the messages sent to others. . . . He must convince Democrats, especially the antiwar base that helped elect him . . . that in sending more troops he is not escalating the war L.B.J.-style. . . . But at the same moment, he must persuade Republicans that he is giving the military what it needs to beat back the Taliban and keep Al Qaeda from threatening the United States. . . . One of his national security strategists put Mr. Obama’s challenge this way: The trick, he said, will be “signaling resolve to the allies while not signaling open-ended commitment to the American people.” . . . Mr. Obama must signal resolve — and staying power — because the Dutch and the Canadians are both scheduled to be pulling their troops . . So far, the administration has been successful only with the British, who have pledged an additional 500 troops. Germany, Italy and other NATO contributors have been silent. . . the United States is stuck between not wanting to suggest it will be a military presence in the region forever and showing enough commitment to encourage Pakistan to change its behavior. . . . Mr. Obama has a similar signaling problem with President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan. . . . But Mr. Obama is not likely to say what will happen if Mr. Karzai fails to deliver, for fear of further alienating the mercurial Afghan president.

Whatever President Obama says in his public speeches, commentators will trash him within minutes. What the New York Times does not say, and what the commentators will probably not say, is that the United States is stuck with its power. The problem is not Barack Obama. It is not even George W. Bush, although he may be faulted for invading Iraq without sufficient reason and making things worse for the United States, the region, and Iraqis.

There seems no doubt that Afghanistan was the nest that spawned 9-11. A wise response might have been to give the country a mighty blow, and rely on deterrence to prevent retaliation. But who knows how to deal with Islamic fanaticism?

The major problem for the United States is being the lone super power, entangled in a world it cannot fix. It does not have the power, skill, or intelligence (information not IQ) to make Afghanistan into a responsible country.

Domestically the United States is affected by a society with numerous loyalties and beliefs. National unity has never been its trait, and should not be expected. The military draft worked in the context of World War II, but not Vietnam. So far things are holding together with volunteers sent to distant and unpopular wars, but one should not assume continued support from Congress, the media, or the people. As the case of Major Hasan indicates, the United States is so affected by multi-culturalism that it has trouble identifying its threats.

The half of my life spent in Israel has impressed me with the advantages of a small country, with a high degree of homogeneity, whose enemies are close and clearly identified.

During times of trouble, reserve units have reported that more than 100% of the men called show up. Older soldiers who were not called did not want to miss the opportunity. High schoolers from good families have paid for private pre-army training to increase their chances of being selected for commando units.

There is also a capacity to compartmentalize dispute and duty. My function in the IDF was to lecture about public policy, and to provide the troops opportunities to ventilate their feelings. More than once I refereed arguments amongs fighters in Lebanon and Gaza, only minutes from having been on duty or before going back on duty. I once met a university colleague, outspoken as an left wing critic of the government, on his way home for the weekend from serving as a tank commander. He boasted about his activities in battle. He was on his way to change clothes and take part in an anti-war demonstration. Two days later he went back to his tank.

Israel is not like the United States, or the other western countries that Obama wants to keep in Afghanistan. Not only are they far from the conflict. They have not decided how to keep themselves from being changed by Muslim immigrants.

Israelis worry about the shrill animosity directed at them from those places. We also worry about decent Americans and Europeans being asked to fight enemies so far away, who they cannot understand, and who have cousins so close to their own homes.

*
Sharkansky is professor emeritus of political science at Hebrew University

You can't handle the truth

nicolagale — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:37:44 +0000

The Iraq enquiry is finally underway headed by retired civil servant Sir John Chilcot.

Sir John has promised a full and frank enquiry, something which the previous five Iraq enquiries also promised but never delievered on. However will we ever know the truth about the decisions behind the war with Iraq? No of course not, simply because we, the British public, cannot handle the truth.

This enquiry like the others will never see the documentation of the decisions made because the all powerful Official Secrets Act will prevent it. More importantly the people who really made the decisions, the United States, will never allow us to see it.

We know there were no ‘Weapons of Mass Destruction’, the public knew that from the start, so why did we really send our troops into this conflict? It’s a question we will never know the answer to and we would be kidding ourselves if we ever thought we will truely know what happened.

We think we live in an open and honest democracy, but lets face it, we don’t. There is always information the Government and security services keep from us for ours and their protection. We could never hope to even know the half of it.

So is the new Iraq enquiry a waste of time and money? of course it is, it can never unveil the truth because they don’t know what it is themselves.

The only thing we can hope to get out of this gigantic waste of time is that we learn from history….but then we have never done that before so why would we start now?

I’m sure I will have much, much more to say on this issue!

UKW Saturday Night Mayhem, Episode 4, Retribution, 20/11/09

Carnage Chronicles — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:20:41 +0000

UKW Saturday Night Mayhem, Episode 4, Retribution, 20/11/09 is now Live on the UKW-TV Page: http://w

Supreme Court backs banks on unauthorised overdraft charges

Stefanie Linhardt — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:13:40 +0000

Millions of bank customers hoping to get their unauthorised overdraft charges refunded were disappointed today.

The UK Supreme Court, who decided on the matter of fairness of unauthorised overdraft charges by banks announced that the proceedings were fair.

Thus, the highest court overturned earlier court rulings and put an end to the Office of Fair Trading’s (OFT) investigations into the fairness of these charges.

Stefanie Linhardt has more:

'Sack Round the Freezing Tree' by Sean Burn

theendofsomething — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:17:00 +0000

Name: sean burn
Location: tyneside, northern england
Link: www.gobscure.info / http://nosobrasotros.blogspot.com/

Title: sack round the freezing tree
Description:
a response to the tumultuous events in london this spring at the time of the g20 meeting/protests and very much inspired by brechts poem spring 1938. while not comparing our times to the coming world war that brecht wrote about we are nevertheless all losers in the invididious if subtle war currently taking place against our environments, our economies and our freedoms

Licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Licence. (i.e. only the non-commercial bit is different)

Porn is a good reason to get that UK visa

saintbarry — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:14:29 +0000

When you never really had the time to go down to the UK embassy in Makati and sacrifice half a workday, this poster reminds you that, yeah, maybe, to go to London may be worth the while after all.

Erotica, the 14th annual sex-themed expo is billed by its organizers as “the best-attended adult lifestyle event in the world,” and this year attracted some 70,000 visitors over three days in November.

It’s not just the exhibitionists at the exhibition, though there are plenty of them, goose-pimpled in the chilly air. It’s the way that sex, the perennial tool for advertisers seeking to sell products, has been commoditized into a must-have range of products.

For example, jobs like pizza delivery can be tiring, stressful and dangerous. But in porn-land, pizza delivery is just risque. In porn-land, pizza delivery is a great job. *wink wink*

'Torquay is Closed' by Martin Bizarro

theendofsomething — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 11:11:01 +0000

Name: Martin Bizarro
Location: Torquay, England

Title: Torquay is Closed
Description: This is Torquay on the south coast of England. I wandered around a couple of shopping arcades noting what was closed or struggling. The sound quality isn’t very good – I was speaking into the microphone on my camera.

'For Ebb (Falling)' by Song-Ming Ang

theendofsomething — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 11:22:17 +0000

Name: Song-Ming Ang
Location: London, UK
Link: http://www.circadiansongs.com
Title: For Ebb (Falling)
Description: When there is a recession people are poor. Some resort to stealing. This is a poor man’s version of James Tenney’s “For Ann (Rising)”.