Iran is seeking to create a paradise for female tourists by turning an island on a north-western lake into a male-free zone, the press reported on Wednesday.
It's the fabled Island of Nekkid Wimmin!
All public transport, restaurants and facilities on the island -- on the gigantic Oroumiyeh lake close to the Turkish border -- will be staffed only by women, officials said. "The island of Arezou [Wish], one of the 102 islands in the Oroumiyeh lake, will be equipped especially for women," a municipal official in the West Azerbaijan province, identified only as Aghai, was quoted as saying by the Tehran Emrouz newspaper. "There will be no men on the island," he said.
"And there will be snap inspection tours by delegations of high-ranking holy men to make sure that's the case!"
"It will also boost tourism in the area."
The surrounding Men-only islands are expecting a rise in reservation levels, and the boat concessions are expecting their most profitable year ever.
I want the binoculars concession ...
The construction of hotels, small restaurants and medical centres under the management of women is one of the specifications for the island, the first such in the country, he said. The initiative has even been cleared by supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's provincial representative, who declared that a women-only island is not against Islamic sharia law, the official said.
"Matter of fact, you're supposed to have them. It's in the Koran someplace. You could look it up."
Iran's Islamic codes strictly prohibit exposure of unveiled women to men. Iran has already partitioned parts of its southern and northern beaches as women-only zones where women can legally remove their headscarves and overcoats in freedom. In some cities, there are also special "women parks".
#6
The construction of hotels, small restaurants, and medical centres Bass Pro Shop, John Deere, Hooters, Great Alaskan Bush Co. under the management of women.
Gourmet meals, masseuses, private rooms with fireplace and a view of one of the world's most exclusive beaches are what greeted Britney Spears when she checked in to try and regain control of her dysfunctional life.
Malibu is one of the capitals of high-end detox. There are about 25 rehab centres with inviting names such as Harmony Place, Renaissance and Cliffside. The Promises website pledges an "unparalleled recovery experience" and refers to itself as the choice of executives and government officials in addition to celebrities.
Her latest temporary home, the Promises Residential Treatment Center, boasts such alumni as Ben Affleck, Charlie Sheen and Diana Ross. Treatment does not come cheap. A 30-day stay is $48,000 (£24,500), which buys a personal trainer, beautician, tennis courts, two pools and riding nearby. The place is so up-scale that the chefs are not called that, but "recovery nutritionists".
Malibu is one of the capitals of high-end detox. There are about 25 rehab centres with inviting names such as Harmony Place, Renaissance and Cliffside. The Promises website pledges an "unparalleled recovery experience" and refers to itself as the choice of executives and government officials in addition to celebrities.
Steve Cron, a criminal defence attorney from Santa Monica, has visited numerous clients at Promises. "I've often said if I had nothing else to do and a substance abuse problem and had $40,000 lying around I'd go there for a vacation," he says. Then adds, judiciously: "All kidding aside, it's an outstanding programme."
Fred's not too sure he's willing to accept advice from someone who refers to himself in the 3rd person.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
The Jonathan says, if only he could afford to bake his brains and then go on vacation to dry out. The rehab, she sounds like the crock of bullpuckey.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
02/25/2007 11:34 Comments ||
Top||
#2
"Spin Dry"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
02/25/2007 11:53 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Shaving one's head, exposing one's privates, clubbing at all hours whilst one's kids are with a nanny or the ex, getting tattooed, and beating on a car with an umbrella does not sound like a case of 'the angry'.
The Manolo may know the shoes, but nothing about the heels.
JOHANNESBURG: The government announced yesterday that it had approved an African Union request to deploy 1 100 troops to Burundi to help stabilise a fragile peace there.
I thought the Burundis were sending troops to Somalia. Now the SA is sending troops to Burundi. Does Nigeria get to send troops to SA?
South Africa, which already has about 800 troops in the country, has been spearheading peace talks between the Burundi government and Hutu rebels. The two sides signed a ceasefire last year.
"This deployment will contribute to peace and stability in Burundi and ensure that the progress towards peace in that country is not reversed," the South African cabinet said.
South Africa, which first sent troops to Burundi about five years ago, was criticised earlier this year when it said that it would not send soldiers to war-torn Somalia because its defence forces were already stretched too thinly.
Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji of Chad died early on Friday in a Paris hospital after a brain haemorrhage, the ambassador of the impoverished north-central African state said. Yoadimnadji, a close political ally of President Idriss Déby Itno, was 56. The premier had been flown from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, on Wednesday after he collapsed with high blood pressure.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
died early on Friday in a Paris hospital after a brain haemorrhage,
Was that a 9mm or .38 caliber "brain haemorrhage"?
Campaigning for Sunday's presidential election in Senegal has begun to close with tensions raised by clashes between supporters of incumbent leader Abdoulaye Wade and those of one of his main challengers. The wooing of voters officially ends at midnight on Friday, sealing three weeks of a generally peaceful campaign marred by the violence on Wednesday night, which left about 10 people hurt in a nation presented as a model of democracy in Africa.
The skirmishes pitting Wade loyalists against fans of former prime minister Idriss Seck caused concern after an otherwise calm pre-electoral period marked by street carnivals and musical jamborees as well as slogans and speeches. A spokesperson for the West African Civil Society Forum, which has deployed nearly 100 observers, on Friday described the run-up to the poll as "peaceful, even if people are apprehensive". A record 15 candidates jostling for the country's top job are likely to split the vote, which means there will be a second round if none of them garners the minimum 50% of ballots needed for an outright victory.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
And you need at least 75% of the total population in votes to even get into the runoff.
Successive Election Commissions (ECs) have been ignoring electoral laws regarding voter identity (ID) cards for the last seven years by stalling the process of issuing the cards to the voters.
A high-powered inquiry committee, which unearthed the reasons behind the failure of the project for issuing voter ID cards before the parliamentary election in 1996, said the EC's step to stop the process of issuing the cards was not lawful as it is mandatory for the commission to issue them, according to sources. But the EC has been ignoring the legal provision since 2000 and now the reconstituted EC, which initiated the process of bringing massive reforms in electoral laws, has yet to decide whether it will issue the ID cards.
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) ATM Shamsul Huda last Sunday said the EC will take a decision on whether it will issue voter ID cards or a voter list with photographs after considering different options. Officials of the EC Secretariat however said the process of issuing the ID cards was stopped as mandatory use of the cards in elections had been suspended. But the existing laws empower the EC to issue voter ID cards and it can start the process of issuing them anytime, the officials added.
Since the introduction of the laws regarding issuance of the ID cards in 1994, the EC continued the process of issuance between 1995 and 2000, but could not complete it. It prepared voter lists twice, in 2000 and 2006, but it did not consider implementation of the electoral laws regarding issuance of voter ID cards, the sources said.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
I wondered if this was Florida or California.
Could've been Illinois or New York, too, but it's Bangladesh.
Posted by: Bobby ||
02/25/2007 7:29 Comments ||
Top||
#2
I was wondering the same thing until I hit the name Shamsul Huda, although then I wondered if it was Michigan.
Posted by: Jim ||
02/25/2007 9:29 Comments ||
Top||
The 72-hour deadline for submissions of wealth statements by 50 corruption suspects to the Anti-corruption Commission (ACC) expires at 5:00pm today with only five of them so far complying with the order. If any listed suspect fails to submit his or her wealth statement to the anti-graft commission within the deadline, movable and immovable properties of that person will be confiscated, according to the summons signed by ACC Secretary Delwar Hossain. Delwar Hossain on Thursday told newsmen that some of the listed suspects received the summons late, so the commission might extend the deadline for them till 12 noon or 1:00pm Monday.
Former BNP lawmaker Rashiduzzaman Millat and former Jamaat lawmaker Shajahan Chowdhury submitted their wealth statements on Tuesday. Awami League Presidium Member and former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir, Jamuna Group Chairman Nurul Islam Babul, and Sonali Bank CBA President BM Bakir Hossain submitted their statements on Thursday. Borhanuddin Khan Jahangir submitted his brother Alamgir's statement, as he is in jail.
The ACC on February 18 had published the first list of 50 corruption suspects, mostly politicians from BNP and Awami League and sent them summons the following day directing them to submit their wealth statements within 72 hours of receiving the notice. Those in jail were served notices through the inspector general (prison) while the ACC sent the notices through its own couriers to the remaining suspects at their most updated addresses. According to the ACC directive, the suspects who are not arrested will have to submit their statements appearing at the ACC in person and those who are already detained will have to submit theirs through legal representatives.
Despite the summons being served on February 19, it took quite a while for the deadline to arrive as Wednesday, Friday and Saturday were national and weekly holidays. The newly appointed ACC Chairman Lt Gen (retd) Hasan Mashhud Chowdhury, and the two commissioners will assume their offices today. Despite the 72-hour deadline expiring today, it is not clear whether the suspects who have yet to submit their wealth statements are going to go to the ACC in person at all, as intelligence officials arrested Jamuna Group Chairman Nurul Islam soon after he had come out of the ACC on Thursday. Besides, mystery shrouds the reported arrest of CBA leader BM Bakir Hossain as conflicting versions of the incident are being reported.
The lawyer of controversial businessman Giasuddin Al Mamun's brother and former BNP lawmaker Hafiz Ibrahim went to the ACC on Tuesday and said Hafiz Ibrahim might submit his wealth statement on Thursday. However, he did not show up on Thursday.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
February 21, 2007: Venezuela is negotiating with Russia to buy nine diesel-electric submarines from Russia, for about $335 million each. That would nearly double the $3.4 billion in weapons Venezuela has already bought from Russia. Venezuela wants the subs in order to defend itself from American attack. U.S. aircraft carriers would be a crucial part of any American attack force. The U.S. has denied any intention of attacking, but no matter.
Venezuela already has two 1970s era German Type 209 subs. The Russians would provide much more modern Kilo class boats. Iran, China and several other nations, already use the Kilo. Venezuela has also approached France and Germany, but these nations are reluctant to pursue such an offer. Mainly because Venezuela is seen squandering billions on weapons it doesn't need, while domestic needs are ignored. Thus, it's not the prospect of supplying weapons for use against the United States navy that discourages the French and German sub builders, but the fear of being seen as less than politically correct regarding the way Venezuela is being misgoverned
#4
Nne Kilos aren't a panacea. It's gonna take years for them to be even reasonably proficient. Then they have to deal with US subs, land-based ASW aircraft, etc.
Millions of migrants have crossed illegally from Mexico into the United States. Their experience could hardly be more real. But now at a controversial theme park in Mexico, tourists can pretend to be an illegal migrant.
Tourists pretend to be illegal migrants who are chased and shot
Torch, check. Heavy boots, check. Willingness to hide under bushes, check. Ability to see in the dark, an advantage. Preparation for what, you might think? A hike across Dartmoor? Try a night out in a theme park.
Continued on Page 49
#3
Agreed, NS, it's a Mexican Government training camp for the invasion of the US. Call 'em immigrants, if you wish, but they're still invaders and would be colonizers to me.
#4
A bit further on, the real heavy stuff began. The shooting, I mean. They had assured us that the fake border guards were using blanks, but they certainly sounded real. "Come out, we know you are there," the guards taunt us, as we crouch in our bushes.
The fighters doing the loops and rolls at 10,000m over the sea suddenly swooped down in high-speed dive to less than 100m before they skimmed above the sea waves. This is a spectacular scene the reporters saw recently at an exercise staged over the sea by a fighter regiment of the air force of the Nanjing Military Area Command. Nanjing Military District is responsible for Taiwan.
In future air battles over the sea, the air fleet on long-range raid mission is easy to be picked up by American "enemy" radars. In view of this fact, this regiment has, in its training, prioritized "stealth" drill of its fighter planes and pilots under complex electromagnetic environment, and on the basis of skillfully grasping ultra low-altitude flying technique, the pilots were also required to study and drill on penetration tactics so as to gradually build up the ultra low-altitude, long-duration and long-range penetration capability of its fighter formations. Longest sentence ever?
With this objective in mind, this regiment has intensified the ultra low-altitude flying training since the kick-off of the annual training program this year. So far it has organized confrontational exercises in partnership with radar troops, and also organized emergency ferrying flight, maximum range flight and maximum combat radius flight in strange air spaces in raining and foggy days or other changeable weather conditions. In this way it has effectively boosted the long-range trans-regional mobile operational capability of its troops.
Not even close. I was recently attempting to read a Peter Straub novel and both of his first two chapter opening sentences were so long I found myself wondering if he was trying to go for the record himself.
However, they're all pikers. According to Wikipedia,
The Guinness Book of World Records has an entry for what it claims is the longest sentence in English. It cites a sentence from one of William Faulkner's novels, Absalom, Absalom! containing 1,287 words. Other sources mention a 4,391 word sentence from James Joyce's Ulysses. In 2001 Jonathan Coe surpassed both with a 13,955 word sentence in his novel, The Rotters' Club.
#3
One of the effects of Chinglish is excessively long sentences. Evidently, in Chinese, this is OK. I had to translate some documents from Chinglish into English recently, and it was hard to know when to break up these long sentences.
US Vice President Dick Cheney is to make an emergency stopover in Singapore after his plane, Air Force Two, developed mechanical problems on its way home from Australia.
Mr Cheney left Sydney on Sunday morning, after a whirlwind three-day trip which sparked traffic chaos and angry protests in the city. But about three hours into the flight, a problem was reported with the plane. It will now divert to Singapore to allow safety checks and any necessary repairs to be carried out.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, told reporters he was aware the plane had encountered some difficulties, but said he did not know what had caused the alert. "I'm not aware of the full circumstances," he said. "I have not been told, except that it has been diverted."
Air Force Two was temporarily delayed for an unknown reason as it left Sydney earlier. The aircraft had been revving its engines on its way to the runway when it suddenly powered down. Its main door opened and the mobile stairwell was taken to the plane before being waved away. The plane then took off.
Posted by: Captain America ||
02/25/2007 0:56 Comments ||
Top||
#2
...Something doesn't sound right. Any kind of problem that led to a runway stop should have immediately led to the plane being towed back to the ramp. Instead, with something apparently dodgy, they took off for the US - and then diverted to Singapore?
Take a look at the maps, 'Burgers. They diverted in the wrong direction...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
02/25/2007 11:03 Comments ||
Top||
#4
Not necessarily. Australia to California is probably longer than Australia to Florida. I haven't measured it the great-circle distances, but I know that the Pacific covers darned near 50% of the globe.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Can a state commit genocide? Should an entire nation - not just its presidents, generals, and soldiers - be held responsible for humanity's worst crime? In one of the most momentous cases in its 60 years, the U.N.'s highest court will deliver its judgment Monday on Bosnia's demand to make Serbia accountable for the slaughter, terrorizing, rape and displacement of Bosnian Muslims in the early 1990s.
If it rules for Bosnia, the International Court of Justice could open the way for compensation amounting to billions of dollars from Serbia, the successor state of Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia, although specific claims would be addressed only later. It also would be a permanent stain on Serbia in the eyes of history, regardless of any effort by Belgrade to distance itself from the brutality of those years.
Reflecting the complexities, the 16 judges have deliberated for 10 months since hearing final arguments. Officials at the World Court, as it is informally known, say reading out the summary of the judgment is likely to take three hours.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
02/25/2007 12:12 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[1 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Can a state commit genocide? Should an entire nation - not just its presidents, generals, and soldiers - be held responsible for humanity's worst crime?
Only if the 'victims' are muslims and the 'perps' are Christians.
United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package shipper, and plane maker Airbus said Friday that they have agreed that either company can cancel an order this year for 10 A380 freighters after repeated production delays. UPS will decide whether to retain the $2.8 billion order after getting new delivery dates from Airbus, UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said in an interview. The companies declined to provide details of the accord.
Airbus' ability to void the order heightens chances that the manufacturer may scrap the troubled cargo version of the world's largest commercial jet amid cost overruns and customer cancellations. Atlanta-based UPS is now the only buyer for the A380 freighter. "Two out of three customers cancel or convert orders, not a lot of market demand, engineers needed elsewhere. That's a recipe for cancellation," said Richard Aboulafia, vice president of Teal Group, a Fairfax, Va.-based aerospace consulting firm.
At its peak, the A380 freighter program had orders for 27 of the planes from four customers, compared with 54 orders to date from seven customers for Boeing's 747-8 freighter, said Douglas Runte, an analyst at RBS Greenwich Capital. The 747-8 starts flight tests next year. "The market has spoken on which aircraft type makes a better large freighter," Runte said. "While Airbus might not formally cancel the freighter, the prospect for orders is growing even dimmer."
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[3 views]
Top|| File under:
#3
What has always bothered me about the A380F delays was the tying the delays to the 'wiring' for the PAX entertainment systems. A freighter wiring is not nearly as complex; flight controls/ avionics and basic intercommunication systems for the crew and any off duty crew in a crew rest area. This would not need the complexities of the PAX variant. Would have seemed to me that the prudent course of action would have been to expedite the 'F' and get it in service and gain face time with it, while working ou the PAX bugs. Amending the contract so that either party can cnx sounds like the A380F is in its death spiral.
Wonder if the rest of the program is going to catch whatever the 'F' has??
#4
Wonder if the rest of the program is going to catch whatever the 'F' has??
Use of the future tense is not appropriate. And the answer is yes, the rest of the program has caught what the 'F' has. The announcement is just being delayed.
(Xinhua) -- Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday turned down Romano Prodi's offer to resign as prime minister and asked him to face a confidence vote in parliament.
Prodi lost a vote on foreign policy in the Senate, including the government's plan to keep troops in Afghanistan. President Napolitano announced his decision after two days of talks with party leaders. He said most party leaders agreed that holding early elections is pointless and there is no alternative to sending Prodi's government back to parliament for a vote of confidence. After meeting with Napolitano for about 30 minutes on Saturday, Prodi said he was grateful to the president's support for him and the center-left coalition, and will seek a vote of confidence as soon as possible.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"No, no! Stay on for a while longer, Signore Prodi. It's amusing watching you being humiliated."
(Xinhua) -- President of Indonesia Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said here Saturday that the Chinese Indonesians are an inalienable part of Indonesian nationality and have equal rights with other Indonesian citizens. If y'gotta say it, they prob'ly don't.
In a speech delivered at a Lunar New Year ceremony organized by the Confucian High Council, Susilo expressed his greetings to all the ethnic Chinese around Indonesia. He said, the constitution of Indonesia gives all the Indonesian people equal rights and obligations including the Chinese ethnics. The whole society should respect differences in ethnics and religions, and meanwhile abandon discrimination, unfair and distrust. Susilo emphasized that, the Chinese Indonesians have contributed a lot to the development of Indonesia not only in public service but also in private sectors, and have become an inalienable part of Indonesia nationality. @
Posted by: Fred ||
02/25/2007 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under:
This is bizarre. It doesn't appear to be a satellite launch (even a microsatellite) and the "material" cannot be recovered. Is this a threat to contaminate LEO with debris if they are attacked?
"The first space rocket has been successfully launched into space," Iranian TV said.
It quoted the head of Iran's aerospace research centre, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying that "the rocket was carrying material intended for research created by the ministries of science and defence".
Posted by: John Frum ||
02/25/2007 07:39 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[9 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
Looks like it is just a sub-orbital sounding rocket
Iran has launched a sub-orbital rocket for scientific research not a missile capable of reaching space as earlier reported, an aerospace official told an Iranian news agency on Sunday.
Ali Akbar Golrou, the executive deputy of Iran's aerospace research center, told Fars News Agency the rocket would not stay in orbit but could rise to about 150 km (94 miles) into atmosphere before falling to earth by parachute.
State television's Web site had earlier quoted the head of the aerospace research center, Mohsen Bahrami, as saying Iran had fired a missile able to reach space.
Iranian advances in building missiles capable of reaching space are watched closely by the West because the same technology could be used to build intercontinental ballistic missiles.
"What was announced by the head of the research center was the news of launching this sounding rocket," Golrou said, denying the earlier report.
So-called "sounding rockets" are often used to probe atmospheric conditions between 45 km and 160 km (28 miles and 100 miles) above the earth, between the maximum altitude of weather balloons and the minimum altitude of orbiting satellites.
Posted by: John Frum ||
02/25/2007 12:58 Comments ||
Top||
#6
This software is just dumb. The whole universe they've created just caters to the most banal kind of human vanity.
SLLA bombings have been viewed by Linden as "mock terrorism" done in fun to catalyze debate about the in-world power structure.
"We believe recent events involving SLLA protest lack malicious intent," Smith said. "Resident reaction to such attacks has been decidedly tongue-in-cheek."
Well, duh. Bunch of poseurs delighted to get their names into print.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Iran is seeking to create a paradise for female tourists by turning an island on a north-western lake into a male-free zone, the press reported on Wednesday.
Gourmet meals, masseuses, private rooms with fireplace and a view of one of the world's most exclusive beaches are what greeted Britney Spears when she checked in to try and regain control of her dysfunctional life. 
Prime Minister Pascal Yoadimnadji of Chad died early on Friday in a Paris hospital after a brain haemorrhage, the ambassador of the impoverished north-central African state said. Yoadimnadji, a close political ally of President Idriss Déby Itno, was 56. The premier had been flown from the Chadian capital, Ndjamena, on Wednesday after he collapsed with high blood pressure.
Campaigning for Sunday's presidential election in Senegal has begun to close with tensions raised by clashes between supporters of incumbent leader Abdoulaye Wade and those of one of his main challengers. The wooing of voters officially ends at midnight on Friday, sealing three weeks of a generally peaceful campaign marred by the violence on Wednesday night, which left about 10 people hurt in a nation presented as a model of democracy in Africa.
US Vice President Dick Cheney is to make an emergency stopover in Singapore after his plane, Air Force Two, developed mechanical problems on its way home from Australia.
United Parcel Service Inc., the world's largest package shipper, and plane maker Airbus said Friday that they have agreed that either company can cancel an order this year for 10 A380 freighters after repeated production delays. UPS will decide whether to retain the $2.8 billion order after getting new delivery dates from Airbus, UPS spokesman Mark Giuffre said in an interview. The companies declined to provide details of the accord.
(Xinhua) -- Italian President Giorgio Napolitano on Saturday turned down Romano Prodi's offer to resign as prime minister and asked him to face a confidence vote in parliament. 
