AFP/nowlebanon: France regrets postponement of European Mideast peace bid

France "regrets" postponement of European Mideast peace bid
April 13, 2011
http://www.nowlebanon.com/NewsArticleDetails.aspx?ID=261302#ixzz1JPcSzbUg

France said Wednesday it regretted the postponement of a Middle East Quartet
meeting due in Berlin this week aimed at breaking the peace process
deadlock.

Diplomats at the United Nations said Tuesday that the meeting planned for
Friday was put off because the United States was blocking a European bid to
break the stalemate.

"We regret the postponement of the Quartet meeting set to be held in Berlin
on April 15," French foreign ministry spokesperson Bernard Valero told
journalists.

"We call on the Quartet to adopt as soon as possible a statement detailing
final status issues - notably borders and security - so that direct talks
between Israelis and Palestinians can resume on this basis," he said.

Top officials from the Quartet - the United States, European Union, Russia
and the UN - had already had one meeting in March pushed back.

Britain, France and Germany had wanted to use the Berlin Quartet meeting
this week to propose the outline of a final settlement for the
Israel-Palestinian conflict.

They have been pressing for a Quartet statement, setting out the framework
for a deal such as borders and a land swap, which they hoped would revive
direct talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

The Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, told AFP that Britain,
France and Germany "have been working at the highest level for the
acceptance of these parameters to pave the way for the resumption of direct
talks.

"It appears that Washington is not yet ready to accept this outline."

Mansour said that Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas will go to France to
meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy early next week.

The United States set a target date of September this year for an accord on
setting up an independent Palestinian state.

Direct Israel-Palestinian talks ended in late September when Israel refused
to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied territories.
Israel has insisted that all issues, including the settlements, should be
hammered out in direct talks.

-AFP/NOW Lebanon

This one really hits where it hurts

What is the epidemic nobody talks about? Worse than AIDS. More of a threat than swine flu or global warming. Yet nobody talks about it?  What is responsible for the precipitious fall in birthrates? Women's lib? Pollution? Permissive Morals? Guess again. Read more about the epidemic nobody talks about.

 

Athlete defends funding London 2012 training with proceeds from his brothel

Athlete defends funding London 2012 training with proceeds from his brothel

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/oct/07/brothel-logan-campbell-london-2012

• Taekwondo athlete started brothel to finance his Olympic bid
• New Zealand Olympic Committee threatening legal action

• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 7 October 2009 11.33 BST

 

A New Zealand athlete has defended running a brothel to finance his participation in the London 2012 Olympics. Photograph: John Van Hasselt/Corbis

The New Zealand Olympic Committee has threatened to sue a local taekwondo athlete who plans to finance his participation in the 2012 London Games with the proceeds from a brothel.

Logan Campbell, whose participation in the Beijing Olympics last year cost him close to £70,000, most of which came from his parents, opened a brothel with a friend in Auckland earlier this year.

Campbell, 23, went public with the scheme in July and said he hoped to raise £140,000 to alleviate any financial burden on his parents and to have more time to concentrate on training. After remaining silent on the issue for three months, the New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) have written to Campbell demanding he cease linking the Olympics to his business or face legal action.

New Zealand's TV3 channel quoted the letter, signed by NZOC secretary-general Barry Maister, as saying: "Based on the Olympic values of excellence, friendship and respect, we would place your actions as totally inconsistent.

"Your open solicitation of 'clients' for your 'business' while using the Olympic or Olympian connection must cease immediately, or the NZOC will be forced to consider taking legal action against you."

Campbell, who finished outside the medals in the featherweight division at Beijing, defended his business and fundraising efforts. Owning and running brothels is legal in New Zealand, where laws governing prostitution are relatively liberal by world standards.

"At the end of the day, I feel like I'm not exploiting anyone because no one has to be here, we are not forcing anyone to be here. They are here of their own free will," he told the network. Campbell was now threatening legal action of his own, TV3 added.

Report: 4 year pregnancy

General News of Sunday, 1 February 2009

Woman Delivers After Four-Year Pregnancy
http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=157080
A woman who allegedly conceived for four years has finally delivered a bouncing baby boy at Akyem Takyiman in the eastern region.

A disappointed couple, Dominic Adu, 29 and Grace Arthur 21, all from Akyem Takyiman who had married for five years had to divorce upon pressures from their parents to bring forth children.

The couple made steps by consulting local herbalists for solution for several months but could not get any good result. They further diverted to the Akwatia Government Hospital for examination, when they suspected the wife missed her period for four months.

The Laboratory test and scanning however proved negative. Mr. Adu was frustrated and had to abandon the wife and attempted to seek for a new partner, who could bring forth children for him.

Later, the aunt of Grace Arthur directed the couple to see one Dr. Isaiah K. Boateng of Isaboaco Herbal Clinic at Kade for medical attention who confirm that Ms. Arthur was actually pregnant for almost four years but the pregnancy was affected by a strange disease.

At this juncture the husband was said to have left the wife to her fate and even went to the extend of insinuating the Herbal Doctor who started given the wife some medication to prove her woman hood.

Dr. Isaiah with his experience counseled the couple and advised them to stick to their medication.

After some time, Ms. Arthur delivered a bouncing baby boy. The couple has now come together as man and wife and was seen in a happy mood when our reporter met them at the Clinic in Kade when they had gone to thank Dr. Isaiah.

****

Disclaimer: No responsibility is assumed for the physiological accuracy of the report or the veracity of the facts. It is not known if actual babies or mothers were hurt in preparing the above report.

 

 

A little Portuguese

Sonnets from the Portuguese - Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

 

I	I thought once how Theocritus had sung
II	But only three in all God's universe
III	Unlike are we, unlike, O princely Heart!
IV	Thou hast thy calling to some palace-floor
V	I lift my heavy heart up solemnly
VI	Go from me. Yet I feel that I shall stand
VII	The face of all the world is changed, I think
VIII	What can I give thee back, O liberal
IX	Can it be right to give what I can give?
X	Yet, love, mere love, is beautiful indeed
XI	And therefore if to love can be desert
XII	Indeed this very love which is my boast
XIII	And wilt thou have me fashion into speech
XIV	If thou must love me, let it be for nought
XV	Accuse me not, beseech thee, that I wear
XVI	And yet, because thou overcomest so
XVII	My poet thou canst touch on all the notes
XVIII	I never gave a lock of hair away
XIX	The soul's Rialto hath its merchandize
XX	Beloved, my beloved, when I think
XXI	Say over again, and yet once over again
XXII	When our two souls stand up erect and strong
XXIII	Is it indeed so? If I lay here dead
XXIV	Let the world's sharpness like a clasping knife
XXV	A heavy heart, Beloved, have I borne
XXVI	I lived with visions for my company
XXVII	My own Beloved, who hast lifted me
XXVIII	My letters! all dead paper, mute and white!
XXIX	I think of thee!—my thoughts do twine and bud
XXX	I see thine image through my tears to-night
XXXI	Thou comest! all is said without a word
XXXII	The first time that the sun rose on thine oath
XXXIII	Yes, call me by my pet-name! let me hear
XXXIV	With the same heart, I said, I'll answer thee
XXXV	If I leave all for thee, wilt thou exchange
XXXVI	When we met first and loved, I did not build
XXXVII	Pardon, oh, pardon, that my soul should make
XXXVIII	First time he kissed me, he but only kissed
XXXIX	Because thou hast the power and own'st the grace
XL	Oh, yes! they love through all this world of ours!
XLI	I thank all who have loved me in their hearts
XLII	My future will not copy fair my past
XLIII	How do I love thee? Let me count the ways
XLIV	Beloved, thou hast brought me many flowe

Some of my favorite poems

From my favorite poet... (sometimes)  

 

http://lovepoems.yu-hu.com/cummings/ee_cummings_poems.shtml

 

)when what hugs stopping earth than silent is

all ignorance toboggans into know

All in green went my love riding

along the brittle treacherous bright streets

because i love you)last night

because it's

being to timelessness as it's to time,

i am so glad and very

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

i go to this window

i have found what you are like

i like my body when it is with your

i love you much(most beautiful darling)

if everything happens that can't be done

If I have made, my lady, intricate

if I believe

if i love You

if strangers meet

in spite of everything

it is at moments after i have dreamed

it may not always be so;and i say

if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have

lily has a rose

love is a place

love is the every only god

Marianne Moore

may my heart

my father moved through dooms of love

my love

my love is building a building

my sweet old etc

nothing false and possible is love

Of Nicolette

one's not half two. It's two are halves of one:

since feeling is first

somewhere I have never travelled, gladly beyond

speaking of love(of

supposing i dreamed this)

Thy fingers make early flowers

true lovers in each happening of their hearts

unto thee i

when faces called flowers float out of the ground

Where's Madge then,

who knows if the moon's

yes is a pleasant country:

you being in love

you said Is

you shall above all things be glad and young

And some analysis:

http://lovepoems.yu-hu.com/cummings/reading_ee_cummings.shtml

 

Sex, Law and the City: Right to know who visits a ho

Now this is a pity: Judge Orders Lid On Phone Records. The phone records in question are from a ho house in Washington DC. The public has a right to know who was getting hisself some on the side, doesn't it? And even if we don't have the right, at least we have the desire, right?

 

It says:

Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the woman accused of being the D.C. madam, can't release any more phone records that would reveal patrons of her Washington escort service, a federal judge said yesterday.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler placed a temporary restraining order on Palfrey and her civil attorney, prohibiting them from sharing additional phone records with news organizations or the public.

Palfrey has said that she regretted any embarrassment felt by her former customers but that she was letting a news organization mine her records so she could find potential defense witnesses and fight government charges that she ran an illegal prostitution ring. Palfrey said her escorts provided legal massages and fantasies.

Right. A woman is innocent until proven guilty.....

ABC News reporters' calls to possible customers last month ultimately led Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias to resign after he acknowledged using Palfrey's escort service. Tobias said he got a massage, not sex.

A positive development. Anyone who went to that sort of outfit and only got a massage is too much of a sucker to work for the government. No wonder US foreign policy looks the way it does. Putin would never settle for just a massage, and if he did, he wouldn't be dumb enough to admit it.

 

S. Sharer

Coming out of the closet - rights for everyone

I am always afraid to write about Atheism, because it will alienate people, and because I learned long ago that it will not change many opinions, and because somewhere inside me there must be a little something that warns about the lightning bolt that will strike me down, :-)

 

Data show that the percentage of Atheists or Agnostics in many countries is substantial - up to 65% in Japan, 31-44% in Britain, up to 9% in the USA. Probably about 20% overall.

 

That is a big non-religion, perhaps as big as Catholicism and Islam, and certainly bigger than Judaism or many Protestant sects, at least in industrialzed countries, yet we are not heard from.

 

Every cause now claims legitimacy, including suicide bombers and pedophiles. Isn't it time we came out of the closet?

 

S. Sharer

---

Hundreds of Proofs of God's Existence
http://www.godlessgeeks.com/LINKS/GodProof.htm

 

 

History and Development of Science and Scientific Naturalism

http://www.godlessgeeks.com/WhyAtheism.htm

 

Excerpts:

The ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epicurean  summed it up well when he wrote these ideas:

Either God wants to abolish evil, and cannot; or he can and does not want to.
If he wants to, but cannot, he is impotent.
If he can, but does not want to, he is wicked.
If, as they say, God can abolish evil, and God really wants to do it, why is there evil in the world?

......

Many religious people ask how Atheists can be happy without God.  For me and for many Atheists I know, the realization of our Atheism has been extremely freeing and has opened us to our own happiness.

Atheism helps us to see reality as it actually is, without the mental filters of superstition preventing us from directly experiencing it.

Atheism opens us to experience our selves, without the debasing idea that we are innately sinful.

Atheism allows us to experience true interpersonal love, without any imaginary supernatural intervention.

Atheism gives us the freedom to think for ourselves, to construct our own meanings.  We each can choose what we think has value.

Atheism shows us that we can gain meaning by seeking to make our world a better place, for ourselves and our posterity.

Atheism teaches us to take responsibility for our behaviors in the here and now, not in an imaginary afterlife.

Atheism lets us see that we have to make choices about our future.  No big daddy god is going to protect us from bad decisions.

Atheism teaches us to treasure this moment, this life, and this world ― because we realize that it's all we have.

Atheism also can work well for free societies.  Free nations with high levels of Atheism ― such as Sweden, the Netherlands, Australia, Switzerland and Japan ― are among the healthiest, wealthiest, most educated, and most free societies on Earth.

Most Atheists are also Secular Humanists.  The philosophy of Secular Humanism takes the Atheist position and adds another layer.  It declares that humans are most important, not any imaginary gods.  We have the power, thru love, reason, science, courage, and vision, to solve our problems.  We shape our destiny.  We are each capable of personal development and satisfaction.  Humanism holds as its highest goal the happiness, fulfillment, and freedom of all humankind.

This has been a long and involved article, so I would like to conclude with letting you know the bad news ... and the good news.  The bad news is that there is no god to watch over and care for us.  The good news is that there is no hell, and we can all love and care for each other ― if we so choose.

Profound wisdom...

Profound wisdom...

 

An old Indian Chief sat in his hut on the reservation, smoking a ceremonial pipe and eyeing two U. S. Government officials sent to interview him.

"Chief Two Eagles," asked one official, "You have observed the white man for 90 years. You've seen his wars and his technological advances. You've seen his progress, and the damage he's done."

The Chief nodded in agreement.

The official continued, "Considering all these events, in your opinion, where
did the white man go wrong?"

The Chief stared at the Government Officials for over a minute and then
calmly replied,

"When white man found the land, Indians were running it.

No taxes.

No debt.

Plenty buffalo.

Plenty beaver.

Women did all the work.

Medicine man free.

 

Indian man spent all day hunting and fishing.

 

All night having sex."

 

Then the Chief leaned back and smiled,

"Only white man dumb enough to think he could improve system like that."

 

Whores in Government?

Feds Seek To Gag D.C. Madam

Prosecutors fear leak of sensitive client, escort information

MARCH 7--Federal prosecutors want to gag an indicted former Washington, D.C. madam who has recently threatened to go public with details about her former customers. In a motion filed Monday in U.S. District Court, investigators are seeking a protective order covering discovery material to be provided to Deborah Palfrey and her lawyers. Palfrey, 50, was indicted last week on racketeering and money laundering charges stemming from her operation of the Pamela Martin & Associates escort service, which closed last summer after 13 years in business.

In their motion, a copy of which you'll find below, government lawyers claim that some discovery documents contain "personal information" about Palfrey's former johns and prostitutes that is "sensitive." The prosecution filing does not detail the nature of this confidential information, though the identity of Palfrey's D.C. customers would surely be cloaked if the protective order was signed by Judge Gladys Kessler.

Additional at http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0307071palfrey1.html

Removing Evil Sprits: Mayan Priests To 'Purify' Bush Site

[Not a joke, apparently]

Mayan Priests To 'Purify' Bush Site
Sacred Site Will Be Cleansed After Pres. Bush Visit
 http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=bizarre&id=5105873

 

GUATEMALA CITY (AP) - March 9, 2007 - Mayan priests will purify a sacred archaeological site to eliminate "bad spirits" after President Bush visits next week, an official with close ties to the group said Thursday.

"That a person like (Bush), with the persecution of our migrant brothers in the United States, with the wars he has provoked, is going to walk in our sacred lands, is an offense for the Mayan people and their culture," Juan Tiney, the director of a Mayan nongovernmental organization with close ties to Mayan religious and political leaders, said Thursday.

 

Bush's seven-day tour of Latin America includes a stopover beginning late Sunday in Guatemala. On Monday morning he is scheduled to visit the archaeological site Iximche on the high western plateau in a region of the Central American country populated mostly by Mayans.

 

Tiney said the "spirit guides of the Mayan community" decided it would be necessary to cleanse the sacred site of "bad spirits" after Bush's visit so that their ancestors could rest in peace. He also said the rites - which entail chanting and burning incense, herbs and candles - would prepare the site for the third summit of Latin American Indians March 26-30.

 

Bush's trip has already has sparked protests elsewhere in Latin America, including protests and clashes with police in Brazil hours before his arrival. In Bogota, Colombia, which Bush will visit on Sunday, 200 masked students battled 300 riot police with rocks and small homemade explosives.

 

The tour is aimed at challenging a widespread perception that the United States has neglected the region and at combatting the rising influence of Venezuelan leftist President Hugo Chavez, who has called Bush "history's greatest killer" and "the devil."

 

Iximche, 30 miles west of the capital of Guatemala City, was founded as the capital of the Kaqchiqueles kingdom before the Spanish conquest in 1524.

 

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Cocaine on 94 percent of Spanish banknotes

Cocaine on 94 percent of Spanish banknotes
Sun Dec 24, 2006 10:45 AM ET
http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-12-24T154502Z_01_L24188874_RTRUKOC_0_US-SPAIN-COCAINE.xml

MADRID (Reuters) - Traces of cocaine can be found on 94 percent of banknotes
in Spain, a country that has one of the world's highest rates of users,
according to a study published on Sunday.

The 100 notes tested were collected in gyms, supermarkets and pharmacies
across Spain, where increased affluence and falling street prices have made
the drug more and more accessible.

Cocaine now sells for as little as 60 euros ($80) a gram, or 5 euros ($7) a
line, and it is regularly used by 1.6 percent of Spaniards, up from 0.9
percent in 1999, a government report said this month.

Law enforcement agencies say cocaine is getting cheaper and more popular in
Europe because of efforts to boost production by Colombian paramilitaries and
rebels who need money for weapons. Spain is a major entry point to Europe for
the smugglers.

It was not clear how many of the notes had been used to snort cocaine and how
many had picked up traces from other bills, according to the study by the
Sailab laboratory, published in the daily El Mundo.

Condoms 'too big' for Indian men

An embarrassing difficulty.   Last Updated: Friday, 8 December 2006, 13:08 GMT E-mail this to a friend Printable version Condoms 'too big' for Indian men http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6161691.stm   By Damian Grammaticus BBC News, Delhi There is a "lack of awareness" over condom sizes A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men. The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms. It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India. The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research. Representative Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country had their penises measured precisely, down to the last millimetre. The scientists even checked their sample was representative of India as a whole in terms of class, religion and urban and rural dwellers. The problem affects HIV prevention The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture. Doctor Chander Puri, a specialist in reproductive health at the Indian Council of Medical Research, told the BBC there was an obvious need in India for custom-made condoms, as most of those currently on sale are too large. The issue is serious because about one in every five times a condom is used in India it either falls off or tears, an extremely high failure rate. And the country already has the highest number of HIV infections of any nation. Mr Puri said that since Indians would be embarrassed about going to a chemist to ask for smaller condoms there should be vending machines dispensing different sizes all around the country. "Smaller condoms are on sale in India. But there is a lack of awareness that different sizes are available. There is anxiety talking about the issue. And normally one feels shy to go to a chemist's shop and ask for a smaller size condom." 'Not a problem' But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally according to Sunil Mehra, the former editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim. "It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said. "From our population, the evidence is Indians are doing pretty well. "With apologies to the poet Alexander Pope, you could say, for inches and centimetres, let fools contend."

No Shi'ite, Sherlock: "US 'not winning conflict in Iraq'"

No Shi'ite, Sherlock: "US 'not winning conflict in Iraq' For some reason this was headline news:   US 'not winning conflict in Iraq' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6209356.stm

US Defence Secretary nominee Robert Gates has told a Senate committee that the US is not winning the war in Iraq

 

In other news, the Japanese emperor announced that his country was definitely not winning World War II, and Al Gore conceded that it is unlikely he would win the 2000 presidential elections, and the Governor of Alabama conceded that it was unlikely that the Confederate States of America  would win the Civil War.

 

Could you imagine if Gates had said the US is winning the Iraq war?

 

S. Sharer

 

North Dakota Tribe Barring Church Protesters

North Dakota Tribe Barring Church Protesters
By James MacPherson
The Associated Press
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/120206G.shtml

Saturday 02 December 2006

Bismarck, North Dakota - A church group that protests at military funerals
around the country will be barred from services for an American Indian soldier
on a reservation, tribal officials say.

Members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., planned to
demonstrate at National Guard Cpl. Nathan Goodiron's funeral on Saturday at
the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Church members say the deaths of soldiers are punishment from God for the
country's tolerance of homosexuals.

Tribal leaders passed a resolution Friday that prohibits the group from
protesting on the reservation, said Marcus Wells Jr., chairman of the Three
Affiliated Tribes.

"We will not tolerate any harassment that is intended to provoke ill
feelings and violence," he said.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of the Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., pastor of
Westboro Baptist, said her group planned to protest outside the reservation
"on public rights of way."

"We don't get into anyone's private area," said Phelps-Roper, the church's
attorney and its spokeswoman. "We don't go on private land."

Goodiron, 25, of Mandaree, known on the reservation as Young Eagle, was
killed Thanksgiving Day in Afghanistan when a grenade struck his vehicle while
he was on patrol. He was a member of the 1st Battalion of the North Dakota
National Guard's 188th Air Defense Artillery.

Tribal officials said he was the first member of the Three Affiliated
Tribes to be killed in the war on terror.

American and tribal flags are being flown at half staff on the reservation
to honor Goodiron.

"We recognize and respect the right to free speech and the public's right
to assemble, but we want everyone to know that the Three Affiliated Tribes, as
a sovereign tribal government, has the right to regulate any person or persons
who harass and show disrespectful conduct towards our members, within our
boundaries," Wells said in a statement.

Wells said tribal police would prevent the protesters from coming on the
reservation.

Is Russia back to being Russia??

Not for nothing did President Putin observe that his years as a KGB
agent were good training for his new career as ruler of Russia.

Spy's death-bed Putin accusation

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6180068.stm

Russian ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko has accused Russian President
Vladimir Putin of involvement in his death, in a statement dictated before he
died.
Mr Litvinenko, 43, who died in a London hospital on Thursday evening and
is thought to have been poisoned, said his killer was "barbaric and ruthless".

Protest from around the world "will reverberate, Mr Putin, in your ears
for the rest of your life," he said.

The Kremlin has dismissed allegations it was involved as "sheer
nonsense".

Scotland Yard said officers were now investigating "an unexplained
death".

Anti-terror police are leading the investigation, and it is still
unclear what killed the former KGB agent.

Friends have said he was poisoned because of his criticism of Russia.

'Barbaric and ruthless'

In the statement, read out by his friend Alex Goldfarb outside
University College Hospital, London, Mr Litvinenko said he had a "message to
the person responsible for my present condition".

"You may succeed in silencing me, but that silence comes at a price.

"You have shown yourself to be as barbaric and ruthless as your most
hostile critics have claimed."

"The howl of protest from around the world will reverberate Mr Putin in
your ears for the rest of your life," the statement added.

The statement was dictated on 21 November, when Mr Litvinenko realised
he could die.

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated the Kremlin's earlier
dismissal of allegations of involvement in the poisoning as sheer nonsense.

"Any death is always a tragedy," he said.

"Now it's up to the UK law enforcement agencies to investigate what
happened."

'Excruciating death'

After Mr Goldfarb had read out the statement, Mr Litvinenko's elderly
father, Walter - who flew to the UK from Russia this week - said his son had
been killed by a "tiny nuclear bomb".

"It was an excruciating death, he was taking it as a real man," he said.

"Even before his death, in such a state, he never lost his human
dignity."

Mr Litvinenko had recently been investigating the murder of his friend,
Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, another critic of the Putin government.

Russian dissident Oleg Gordievsky, a former KGB colonel and friend of Mr
Litvinenko, maintained that the poisoning had been the work of the Russians.

The Russian security service had "sent a man with a poisonous pill to
Britain", put a pill into Mr Litvinenko's tea and killed him, he told BBC
News.

Intelligence analyst Glenmore Trenear Harvey said Mr Litvinenko had
"made a lot of enemies" when he had been tasked with fighting corruption
during his time with the Federal Security Service (FSB) - the KGB's successor.

Mr Harvey also said the poisoning could have been carried out by the
"Russian mafia", made up of former-KGB men who had formed the group when the
service broke up.

"So I think that while one could say they were trained by the KGB this
is not in any way a Russian intelligence service hit," he told BBC News.

London meetings

Before Mr Litvinenko's death, police said they suspected "deliberate
poisoning" was behind his illness.

Investigators have been examining two meetings he had on 1 November -
one at a London hotel with a former KGB agent and another man, and a later
rendezvous with Italian security consultant Mario Scaramella, at a sushi
restaurant in London's West End.

Mr Litvinenko, who was granted asylum in the UK in 2000 after
complaining of persecution in Russia, fell ill later that day.

In an interview with Friday's Telegraph newspaper, former KGB bodyguard
Andrei Lugovoi said he had met Mr Litvinenko at the Millennium Hotel in
Grosvenor Square but vigorously denied any involvement in the poisoning.

Mr Scaramella, who is involved in an Italian parliamentary inquiry into
Russian secret service activity, said they met because he wanted to discuss an
e-mail he had received.

Speaking in Friday's Times, film-maker Andrei Nekrasov said that, before
he fell unconscious for the last time, his friend had told him: "I want to
survive, just to show them. The bastards got me but they won't get everybody."

Sexual Consent

Too bad Hayim Ramon, Bill Clinton and Israeli President Moshe Katsav didn't
see this one:

http://www.glumbert.com/media/consent

They should see this. Bill Clinton too.

Group scraps attempt to smoke biggest joint

Group scraps attempt to smoke biggest joint
Wed Nov 22, 2006 9:29 AM ET

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-11-22T142913Z_01_L22903935_RTRUKOC_0_US-DUTCH-CANNABIS.xml&WTmodLoc=OddNewsHome_C1_%5bFeed%5d-8

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - A plan to roll and smoke the world's largest joint was cancelled at short notice in Amsterdam when the organizers realized they could be breaking the law.

"We have now read the small print and realize there could be problems," Thijs Verheij, one of the organizers, was quoted as saying by ANP news agency after consulting Dutch drugs laws.

The group had wanted to roll a five-foot-long pure-weed joint, stuffed with more than a pound of marijuana and containing no tobacco, and smoke it in a bar.

It had initially thought the attempt would be legal if 100 people each brought along the five grams of the drug tolerated by Dutch authorities for personal use.

"Unfortunately it looks like this will not be possible," Verheij said. The attempt had been planned for Wednesday.

A police spokesman said: "We would definitely have investigated this. If you make a single joint with half a kilo of cannabis in it, it would cross the line."

Verheij said the group had hoped to beat a record set with a joint containing 100 grams of marijuana.

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Google & Sex

Notice that in some blogs it says "blogthis" in the bar  Google  places at the top of the blog? That bar is there by force majuer of course. Even Google has the "We know better than you what is good for you" big corporation syndrome it seems. Well if you look at the bar at  the top of this blog it says "Flag This" - so you can rat on me if you find the content objectionable.

 

Of course, Google has no problem listing Stormfront and similar Web sites. That's free speech. I wonder what is "objectionable content" that they would not host?  

 

Is Google on the Pacific coast in the 21st century or back in Salem in the 17th century?

 

Hmm.....