Reuters UK
Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:22am GMT
UNICEF says Japan failing to control child porn

Japan's government is inching towards a ban on the possession of obscene images of children, which would bring it into line with most other industrialised countries. But the Japan branch of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) urged Tokyo to beef up its laws by banning child pornography in manga comics, animated films and computer games as well as individual possession.

Japan and Russia are alone among G8 countries in not banning possession of child pornography. Some members of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party oppose a ban because it might grant police too much power, domestic newspaper reports have said.

It doesn't happen often, but I have to commend the U.N. this time.

UNICEF vs. Japan

Richard Dyer, Friends of the Earth's transport campaigner said: "Flying virtually empty planes is an obscene waste of fuel. Through no fault of their own, each passenger's carbon footprint for this flight is about 45 times what it would have been if the plane had been full.

Oh, but it's O.K. for politicians around the world to do that every day. Geez...

As a passenger, I would've loved it! I seriously doubt that those five passengers were worried about their carbon footprints, but I think Gerard Arpey would rather see his business be a little more cost-effective. lol

Plane flies five passengers from US to London

I gave the president my book. He raised an eyebrow. "Who wrote this for ya, Geldof?" he said without looking up from the cover. Very dry. "Who will you get to read it for you, Mr. President?" I replied. No response.

The Most Powerful Man in the World studied the front cover. Geldof in Africa — " 'The international best seller.' You write that bit yourself?" "That's right. It's called marketing. Something you obviously have no clue about or else I wouldn't have to be here telling people your Africa story."

This is a strange but entertaining article about their trip.

Geldof and Bush: Diary From the Road

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Astronauts aboard the International Space Station apparently have access to a gun.

Russian Cosmonauts carry a gun on their Soyuz space capsule, which is attached to the space station. Every spacecraft carries survival gear for crash landings, and the Russian Soyuz has a kit that includes the gun. A photo of a space tourist using one version of the weapon is posted on his [who's?] Web site.

But although the gun has been there for as long as the space station has been in orbit, its existence is kept quiet. NASA and Russian officials won't talk publicly about it. Former NASA engineer Jim Oberg, who is an author and journalist, wrote about the gun on his Web site. He said the gun has no place in an environment where people are under such high stress. "There have been cases of severe psychological strain on people in space, strain that they have taken out -- that their shipmates worried about the ultimate actions," Oberg said.

Experts said the idea of an astronaut losing control was unthinkable until one year ago, when Lisa Nowak shattered the myth. Her own attorney said she was insane when arrested for hunting down another woman, and prosecutors said she was heavily armed. Nowak had flown in space just seven months earlier. Oberg knows an astronaut bent on orbital manslaughter could simply throw any number of switches to do the job, but he said the crews would be safer if the gun was locked up or left on Earth.

The gun is located in a survival kit between some seats aboard the Soyuz spacecraft. All the crewmembers know about it, and U.S. astronauts who fly aboard the Soyuz are trained to use it.

You know you're a firearms enthusiast when... you read an article like that and come away frustrated because the author failed to mention the make, model, and caliber of the weapon in question. I found a description of the weapon carried on the Soyuz at Jim Oberg's website (I had to dig around to find the photos).

Russian participation means that there are guns on board the ISS, and the guns belong to the Russians. This is not quite as alarming as it sounds, and officially it’s no secret. However, I could never find any mention of this design feature on NASA web sites or mission press kits. Actually, it’s a safety feature, and not an unreasonable one.

American astronauts who trained for the 1995–1997 Mir visits, and later as part of the Soyuz spacecraft crews for the International Space Station, encountered a unique feature that cosmonauts need to master: target practice. Th... [ Read More (0.3k in body) ]

Space Station Crew Can Access Gun

'Jesus' cosmetic row in Singapore
BBC News
Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 19:16 GMT

A leading retailer in Singapore has withdrawn a cosmetics range with a Jesus theme after complaints from local Roman Catholics, local media report. The range, named Lookin' Good for Jesus, was on sale at three Topshop outlets in the Asian city state.

Catholics complained the cosmetics' marketing was disrespectful, full of sexual innuendo and trivialised Christianity. About 15% of Singapore's 4.4 million population is Christian. The products included a "Virtuous vanilla" lip balm and a "Get Tight with Christ" hand and body cream, featuring a picture of Christ flanked by two adoring women.

"Why would anyone use religious figures to promote vanity products? It's very disrespectful and distasteful," the Straits Times newspaper quoted accountant Grace Ong, 24, as saying. A spokesman for the Wing Tai company, which runs Topshop's outlets in Singapore, told the newspaper it did not want to offend its customers, and withdrew the products last month. It was not clear whether other shops were still selling the range, which is produced by the US-based company, Blue Q.

Lookin' Good for Jesus

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has again stirred up controversy — this time over a biographical entry on the prophet Muhammad.

Nearly 100,000 people worldwide have signed a Web-based petition asking Wikipedia to remove all depictions of the Prophet from its English-language entry, viewable here.

Muslims Protest Wikipedia Images of Muhammad

Sailor Jerry's Spiced Navy Rum ($16-$25 750ml)

In this review you'll read the word “bouquet” only once. There.

Named for the legendary tattoo artist, you'll find this liquor nicely spiced and fiery in a friendly Puff-the-Magic-Dragon sort of way. I can assure you without qualification that this 92-proof contender is one of the few rums suitable for shooting straight. Which I did.

After five shots you'll feel as if you're relaxing on the deck of your own personal pirate ship; the sky is clear and the world is yours for the taking. A couple more and you and your mates may launch into lusty shanties about won battles and lost loves. As you approach the tenth visit to the well, you may become curious as to what would happen to certain objects if they were flung into a rapidly-spinning ceiling fan. Around 15 shots or so (you may lose count at this point), you'll— well, you'll probably remember as much as I do, which isn't much.

I do remember a dull hangover surprisingly mild for a heavier rum. Very hard to find fault with this winner, and unfortunately equally hard to find in liquor stores. Their website can point you in the right direction, however: http://www.sailorjerry.com/rum.php.

Modern Drunkard Magazine - Product Review

Whitlock has an interesting take on the Atlanta Falcons' current situation.

America's refusal to allow ex-cons to re-enter our society and workforce is one of the biggest crises facing minority men.

Some people want Michael Vick locked out of the NFL forever. I don't.

You take away a man's dream forever and you create a hopeless, dangerous man. When you do it to a group of young men (black and brown men), you create a hopeless, dangerous culture.

What are the Falcons supposed to do, paint a portrait of Vick on a cross at the 50-yard line?

If there's a Vicktim in any of this, it's Arthur Blank. He gave Vick the $130 million contract, made him a franchise quarterback and rationalized Vick's missteps. Blank was influenced by all the Vick apologists who claimed any criticism of the misguided, video-game-playing, weed-smoking, unprepared quarterback was a product of racism.

Blank went down with Michael Titanic, trading away Matt Schaub before this season. Vick created such a mess in Atlanta that Bobby Petrino ran away from the organization like the Colts leaving Baltimore, in the middle of the night under the cover of darkness.

Jason Whitlock on Michael Vick: 'Blank's a hero, Petrino gets a pass'

Garry Kasparov said that Russia’s election were the "dirtiest" in the nation's history.

"There are no illusions that what is being called elections was the most unfair and dirtiest in the whole history of modern Russia," Kasparov said at a news conference, pointing at reports of massive vote violations.

"We fully realize that it's useless to seek the truth in Russian courts," he added.

Kasparov, who heads the Other Russia coalition of opposition groups, was arrested and jailed for five days for leading a protest rally in Moscow on Nov. 24. His group was not allowed to run for parliament.

Kasparov said that activists of the pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, which means Ours, attacked his group's office Monday.

Earlier Monday, Nashi held a rally in Moscow, mobilizing its supporters to thwart what it described as a possible attempt by U.S.-backed "thieves and traitors" to mount protests and seize public buildings and squares. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman called the claim "ridiculous."

Kasparov calls Russian elections 'dirtiest' in nation's history.

This probably won't be available to guest members after a few days, so I posted the entire article.

Rush Limbaugh
November 8, 2007
Radio Show Transcript

RUSH: By the way, this next stuff is great. Let me preface it by giving you a little story here of what's going on out in San Francisco. "National civil rights organizations are celebrating the passage by the House of legislation that would add 'sexual orientation' to a list of federally protected classes, but some San Francisco groups refuse to take part in the party." They're not happy about it. They are the transgender and transsexuals, and they're at the back of the bus on this civil rights issue. "The vote Wednesday on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, also known as ENDA...was ultimately revised to remove protection for transgender workers, which upset gay rights groups here and across the country. ... 'People are livid,' said John Newsome, co-founder of And Castro for All, a bias awareness group. 'If the first step out of the gate leaves people behind, it is an ill-conceived first step.'" Barney Frank was getting tarred and feathered over this, and he told the transgenders and the transsexuals (paraphrased), "Just take your time. You're going to screw up this whole thing. We'll get this done in steps," but they're not listening. They're not happy. Here's John Lewis, who marched with Dr. King and got beat upside the head several times in the Selma march and so forth, late yesterday on the floor of the House of Representatives.

LEWIS: I, for one, fought too long and too hard to end discrimination based on race and color, not to stand up against discrimination against our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters. During the 1960s, we broke down those signs that said "white" and "colored." Call it what you mean, to discriminate against someone because they are gay, is wrong, it is wrong! It is not right. Today we have an opportunity to bring down those signs! Now is the time to do what is right, what is fair, what is just! The time is always right to do right. Let us pass this bill.

RUSH: And next up, Barney Frank, a portion of his remarks.

FRANK: I feel an obligation to 15-year-olds dreading to go to school because of the torments, to people afraid they'll lose their job in a gas station if someone finds out who they are. I feel an obligation to use the status I have been lucky enough to get to help them, and I want to ask my colleagues here, Mr. Speaker, on a personal basis, "Please, don't fall for this sham. Don't send me out of here having failed to help those people." Yeah, this is personal. There are people who are your fellow citizens being discriminated against. We have a simple bill that says, "You can go to work and be judged on how you work, and not be penalized." Please don't turn your back on them. (applause)

RUSH: Yup. San Francisco values have to be brought to the House of Representatives h... [ Read More (0.2k in body) ]

Limbaugh - 'Democrats Shaft Transgenders'