The world according to USA
Bill Maher : Can you define in a word some of the international leaders that I’m gonna name for you?
Madeleine Albright : SI’ll try!
B.M. : OK, here we go! Mmm…Sarkozy of France
M.A. : Dynamic!
B.M. : He is, isn’t it? Ok, how about Bashir, president of Sudan
M.A.: War criminal
B.M.: Hmm. Hugo Chavez of Venezuela?
M.A.: Demagog!
B.M.: Amadinejad in Iran
M.A.: Nuts!
B.M.: Lil’ Kim! (Laughs in audience) I mean, Kim from Nord Corea. I call him Lil’ Kim, but you know..
M.A.: I think…Paranoid!
B.M.: Yeah! And what about Osama Bin Laden
M.A.: Nuts!
B.M.: OK! Thank you!
Note: Bill Maher - host of Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO
Madelaine Albright - former State Secretary under Bill Clinton
I’m going Hindu
Just got out from a meeting for a new project. While I was in the room, I couldn’t help it but looking at the big fat calendar in front of me. And looking for available dates to build the schedule for the job, I observed that October is the best month in the entire year for Indian people. Because there are like a dozen of free days from work. National holydays of some sort but very well placed inside that month. Not too many at a time but enough to get the people happy.
So I went to my boss and announced him that starting first October I’m going Hindu but at first November I’ll return to my previous religion. In October I want to be a guest Hindu and for that matter to be able to enjoy the holydays, I told him.
He went beserk, yelling at me that I need to proof myself by speaking Hindi or Bengali. And that if I am not able to finish a simple conversation I can forget about the free time. He told me that he will put Devraj to check me. Devraj is our genitor.
So I am a little concerned right now. I want those free days but at the same time it seems improbable that I will be ready to learn Hindi fast enough. So I took myself loads of Indian movies and maybe at the end of the week I could fool Devraj. I am pretty sure that he will be so amazed by my ability to speak his language that he will forget to clean our offices for a week.
Romanii ca brazii
Iaca ce zice Associated Press:
Romanian immigrant gives birth to 18th child in British Columbia
BBOTSFORD, British Columbia (AP) - A Romanian immigrant has given birth to her 18th child in British Columbia,
making her the province’s most prolific mother in 20 years. Proud dad Alexandru Ionce said Saturday that his 44-year-old wife, Livia, gave birth on Tuesday. Their daughter Abigail weighed in at seven pounds, 12 ounces (3.5 kilograms).
“We never planned how many children to have. We just let God guide our lives, you know, because we strongly believe life comes from God and that’s the reason we did not stop the life,” said Alexandru Ionce.
The couple immigrated to Canada from Romania in 1990 and now lives in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Their 17 other children range in age from 20 months to 23 years old. Ionce said he did not know if the couple would have more children. The family now has 10 girls and eight boys.
“We would have liked a boy to be even,” he said. “We thank God all of them are healthy and happy.”
Ionce said the family has received calls from Germany, Romania and England, as well as from media outlets across
Canada.
Moldova - Post-Communist Europe’s ”New Man” Or Sick Patient?
Courtesy of Eugen Tomiuc
Moldova has been a permanent geopolitical sore spot on Europe’s map ever since its inception as an independent state more than 15 years ago. Uncertain about its identity, the formerly prosperous agrarian ex-Soviet republic found itself involved in a conflict with a Moscow-supported separatist region even before declaring independence in 1991. The falsely idyllic image painted by the Soviet propaganda about the Moldovan country-side – simple, hospitable people making excellent wines for their masters in Moscow and for the rest of the Soviet camp – gave way to a tough new reality where abhorrent poverty lead to human trafficking, crime, and mass-migration.
Troubled Identity
Continuous pressure applied by Trandniestrian separatists, who in 1992 fought a proxy war with Moldova on Moscow’s behalf, left the country in economic and political limbo - too poor to appeal to Western investors, and too troubled to be considered a viable political partner for the West. However, the European Union’s eastward expansion and international unease about Kosovo’s recently proclaimed independence might be offering Moldova’s cornered communist government an unexpected way out of a growing domestic and foreign-policy crisis.
Most of what is now the Republic of Moldova had been under Czarist Russia’s domination for the previous century, under the name of Bessarabia. From the early Middle Ages until the start of the 19th century, present-day Moldova was the eastern half of the principality of Moldova, which in mid-19th century united with the other Romanian principality, Wallachia, to form modern Romania. Notably, nowadays Moldova was not part of the Principality of Moldova when it declared its union with Wallachia, in 1859. However, its population has always been overwhelmingly Romanian-speaking, despite a massive influx of Russian-speaking population from the rest of the Soviet Union after the end of World War II.
Trabajo Si, Salsa No!
Guest post by Abaddon
The world is a’changing — and fast!
Cuba’s new President, Comrade Castro — yea-yea, I know, it sounds like the old one, but believe you me, this dude is no Fidel or, at least he does not show fidelity to his brother’s Stalinist traits — has decided to allow ordinary Cubans to stay at hotels previously reserved for foreigners only!
This comes hot on the heels of other whirlwind changes on the reclusive island over the past several days — such as permitting Cubans to buy fridges, and TV sets, and, incredibly, I know, letting them use mobile phones!
My biggest worry is that, carried away by this self-propelled cart-wagon of reforms, young Raul — he’s only 76, this greenhorn — might end up one morning legalizing Viagra on the island.
The best picture of Montreal
One of the best pictures of Montreal I’ve seen to date, it’s absolutely amazing! View from Mont Royal through the downtown and in the back is St Laurent River. Click on the photo to get the real beauty.
Source: Digital Apopthosis
Will Romania recognize Kosovo’s independence?
From our point of view Kosovo will be like Transnistria for
Doesn’t matter in
The war for taking over Yahoo!
The media is all atwitter finding out that Yahoo! Is seeking the help of Rupert Murdoch to counter the offer of $44.6 billion currently in game from Microsoft. What started on TechCrunch blogs has now been picked up by the Wall Street Journal, which, since it’s now owned by News Corp, is the best positioned to comment these rumors.
I really like the old grandpa Murdoch! Business is business even when it comes to new media and internet. And to think only last week he was saying that he wasn’t interested in acquiring Yahoo!. When asked about the exchange of MySpace for a piece of Yahoo, he said, “I think that day has passed, but you never know.”
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