gobbledonk

I see no end to this madness short of nuclear annhilation. Algeria, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Egypt, Syria - so much for 'world peace'. http://www.news.com.au/world/al-qaeda-seizes-hostages-in-algeria/story-fndir2ev-1226555513214

By now, most of you will know the blog where I get these rib splitters, but this is just flatout sad. I just visited Jkrt on 5-7Jan2013. Helped by my friend (local peolpe), I've hanging around Classic, Malioboro, Emporium and Senayan City shopping mall for the purpose to get an indonesian ladies to be my wife (hopefully). Unfortunately, what I've foun,if it's good looking (like a filmstar or model), she will be gold digger. If she is nice and lovely, the look no so nice to be looked. My Indonesian friend said, Jakarta is the best place to seek beatiful lady to be wife because they wish better living with expat. So, nex week, I'll be in Jakarta again to find any model-looking girl who willing to be my so called- perfect wife. Basically, the guy went to 3 expensive strip clubs (glorified brothels, with women from Indonesia and elsewhere) and a shopping mall, couldnt find the 'stunner' he was looking for, and left 2 days later. Yep, the lucky gal who lands this sensational catch will be doing cartwheels - all the way back to the funny farm ....... The parallels with Thailand are obvious - the 55 year old Farang who falls deeply in lust with the 19-year old dancer from a Cowboy go-go yada yada - but I'm stunned that anyone this thick came by the airfare to Jakarta. Makes me ashamed to have a penis.

Slight detour, as its not US-specific, but we introduced the plain-packaging laws in Oz a month or two ago. I'm sure you've all seen the cartons of fags with the gangrenous foot or 'decaying' mouth on the package - apparently most smokers can ignore those, but they have one with a photo of a dying man, complete with inset showing him 'before' he got cancer and it really aint pretty. Anecdotal evidence has it that this particular image is having the desired effect - if only to the point where smokers are using stickers to obscure the image. Personally, having two parents who smoked was enough to make me a lifetime non-smoker : I guess they got something right after all ....

It's easily 2 kilometres from the 'Walking St' sign at the entrance to that overcrowded 'Russian promenade' to Soi 6 - I've walked Beach Road many times and it can be an ordeal in peak season, but I feel much more in control than I do on the baht buses where I seem to get jammed in up the front of the bus as the Thais all want to be at the back where they can leap off. Besides, once you get past the girls at the dreaded 'Coconut Bar', the second half of the walk can be reasonably relaxing - sea breeze and all that. Absolutely loathe the beach during the heat of the day - way too many vendors - but its better at night.

Adds new meaning to the term 'Rustang' (Did I mention that I know pretty much everything about vintage musclecars ? I havent annoyed anyone with my encyclopaedic grasp of that subject matter for at least a month)

Not even sure where to start with that last comment - its up there with Chocolate Steve's earlier comment re 'imagining what I would do in a zombie apocalypse'. Basically, the 'gangs of looters, rapists and murderers' aren't going to come at you and your family with harsh language - they will be armed to the teeth. If the ATF were prepared to kill women and children by setting fire to the buildings at Waco, imagine what people who REALLY dont give a shit about human life will be prepared to do. I'm all for putting up a fight, but the best defense against another LA riot / Katrina is to get the hell out at the first sign of trouble - houses can be rebuilt, people cant.

zzzz, I take it you arent old enough to recall the LA riots ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkCU_-0v4OY Roughly half-way through the video, Korean shopkeepers adopt a 'shoot first and ask questions later' approach. I can understand people raiding food and water in an emergency, but the looting that seems to accompany disasters in the US is pathetic, not to mention the rapes which were allegedly committed post Katrina. Some truly sad fucks masquerading as humans in the general population.

+1 When a BM who is normally level-headed seems to be supporting the gun lobby, or at the very least discounting calls for change, I'm disappointed. It's interesting that the Americans on the board, normally critical of so many things in the 'old country', cant see a way out of the current obsession with guns while those of us from outside the US can see a way forward. I wonder if you would be willing to defend the indefensible if you found yourselves face-to-face with the parents of one of the dead kids.

1 per cent of > 10,000 gun-related homicides each year isnt cause for celebration. I wonder how many of the other homicides involved the murderer shooting a 5-year old in the face ? Automatic/semi-automatic weapons dont belong in the hands of civilians - simple as that. There will always be a black market, and the 'bad guys' will always get the weapons they want, but you wont have the situation where a paranoid grade-school teacher can turn her house into an armory *legally*. His mother reportedly believed that the 'end times' were a-coming, and wanted to ensure that her family would be 'safe' : even Ted Nugent could see the irony in that.

How many mass shootings (Tianamen notwithstanding) do they have in China ? Over a billion people, a massive gap between the rich and poor, but anyone contemplating such a thing knows exactly what the outcome will be. No lengthy trial/appeals process/20 years on death row - the Chinese Police would probably carry out 'sentence' on the spot.

I make no such apology - we now have US Senators appearing on TV to say that this has 'changed their stance' on gun control, and politicians who appear fired up enough to actually do something. Whether any of it will amount to a 'hill of beans' once the photo ops disappear is anyone's guess, but ask yourself this : how many of these politicians are prepared to face the media WHEN the next mass shooting leaves more innocent people in bodybags ?

Forgot to add - initial reports were the security at the school 'buzzed' the killer through because his mother worked there - the media is now claiming he 'forced his way in'. Crackerjack security, guys - absolutely first rate.

Alright - then give EVERYONE guns - from 12 year olds to geriatrics. I read an interview with a Texan many years ago who claimed that 'an armed society is a polite society'. He went on to say that you dont start trouble in a Texas bar when you know that half the customers are likely to be carrying - I wonder how that logic holds up to reality ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_and_gun_control_in_Texas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luby%27s_massacre Finally, to those who rant about the need for the 'righteous' to be able to arm themselves (otherwise only the 'bad guys' would have guns ...), where were these righteous men and women in each of the following ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_Mine_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_U.S._Post_Office_massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_Massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_Aurora_shooting but this is my personal favorite for sheer insanity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting Despite being surrounded by armed military, he killed 13 and wounded 29 people : the key element was surprise. You dont expect 'your own people' to turn their weapons on you - shades of the ANA soldiers shooting coalition 'allies' then running off to join/rejoin Al Qaeda. Finally, lets consider the situation in Russia - surely a land where the 'bad guys' have truckloads of guns ? I expect that some have forgotten Beslan: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis An extremely heavy-handed 'kill em all' response from the Russians saw 334 bodies, many summarily executed in their seats, on the floor of the theatre when the smoke cleared. That was almost 10 years ago, was NOT initiated by a lone gunman with no political motive, and the bulk of the Russian population seems content to get hammered and pass out on icy streets instead of shooting schoolchildren. If a country as fucked up as Russia can keep a lid on mass shootings, why cant the US ?

OK - I'll turn this around - why arent US taxpayers forced to pay for armed security in every school / community hall / library etc in the country ? If you want the guns, fine - just be prepared to pay to have someone in place who can return fire. Bring the Marines back from Afghanistan and put them to use protecting the people who pay their wages. http://www.deccanchronicle.com/121214/news-world/article/man-stabs-22-children-china How many of these kids do you think would still be alive if the Chinese nutter had access to automatic weapons ? Beijing: The dreaded attacks on schoolchildren returned to haunt China today after 22 of them were injured besides an 85-year-old woman after a ‘mentally deranged’ man, armed with a knife, went on a slashing spree at a primary school. Armed with a knife Min Yingjun, 36 attacked group of children at the gate of a primary school in central China's Henan Province setting off panic in the village. The woman and most of the injured students suffered head wounds. Some of them were in shock, according to the People's Hospital of the county, which received most of the people injured in the attack.

What the fuck is it going to take for US politicians to take on the gun lobby ? Even if they did manage to enact any worthwhile legislation, I suspect that it's too late - getting millions of weapons off the streets would take decades, and there will always be a black market somewhere. Again, the concept of 'hell' isnt completely without merit. Homegrown fruitcake, presumably with no political or religious motives : seriously fucked up.

This is entertaining..... http://www.usdebtclock.org/ Little wonder Canberra is cosying up to China.

No - they parked their cars their DURING THE DAY while they worked nearby. Come dusk and a whole other 'shift' moved into the square.

Sorry to hear that - I believe I was introduced to him in 2008. At the time, I didn't realise his legendary status - just another old bloke in a bar. RIP.

Granted, but at the risk of offending any black Americans who may read this, I get the distinct impression that many in the southern US have embraced the Latino population as a cheap, inexhaustible supply of cheap labor who, in many cases, are too afraid to speak up about poor pay/conditions. That may not be slavery circa 1800, but it seems hypocritical for 'liberals' in California to bemoan the efforts of people like Romney to maintain a permanent underclass while they continue to pay their gardener less than the minimum wage because they know they can get away with it.

http://www.news.com.au/world/romney-breaks-silence-in-bitter-broadside-at-obama/story-fndir2ev-1226517390563 On paper, this doesnt sound all that 'bitter', but the media seem intent on grinding Romney into the dust of 2012.

Compared to his wife, she is a 12. On a scale of a 1 to 5 .... Holly may well be America's sweetheart, but that is one very homely looking lady, I'm afraid, Little wonder Petraeus strayed from the reservation.

Saw an interview with Levi Johnston on Dr Phil (!) yesterday : yet another in the long line of people willing to come out and say that Palin isnt the person she pretends to be when the cameras and microphones are pointed in her direction. I expect that there are two sides to this story, but the guy seemed more credible than many of the crazies they usually drag onto these shows, and his claims re threats and intimidation line up with a lot of the other 'kiss-and-tell' accounts of Palin's off-camera persona. The sooner she disappears entirely from the political landscape, the sooner Americans can get back to the real issues IMO. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_positions_of_Sarah_Palin That reads like the CV for someone auditioning for the next movie about the Antichrist.

For a Republican, the New Jersey Governor does have on redeeming feature. The governor is known for his devotion to rock star Bruce Springsteen, a New Jersey native, despite Springsteen's liberal politics and active campaigning for Obama. Maybe there is hope after all. Maybe.

Stone's own problems are pretty well documented - I wouldnt damn Obama on the basis of anything that guy wrote. Watching the footage from the 'Super Storm' here this afternoon our time and its pretty surreal. They dragged the newscrew down to Times Square to tell us that 3 million people are without power, yet the famous neon signs still blaze into the NYC night, surrounded by blocks of blacked out skyscrapers. WTF ? No-one there to see it other than emergency personnel and media, but presumably the advertisers have some kind of penalty in place for any 'downtime'. Only in America.