fashion beach

Someone should tell ATV's newsreaders that the name of China's currency is not pronounced as "You Ann". They should also be told that, while there may be such a creature as the "bog otter", it is not the name of Colombia's capital.

Or perhaps they were trying to say "begotter", which brings us neatly to another media mistake. British scandal sheet (newspaper would be too polite a word for it), The Sun, in between plugging a Tory election victory that would no doubt benefit its owner Rupert Murdoch's already bulging coffers, found space on its website a couple of days ago for a headline saying "ANCESTOR of Alice Hawkins, jailed for role in suffragettes, meets women who won’t vote". When you click through to the actual story, it turns out to be about a young woman whose great great grandmother was jailed five times for her activities in the suffragette movement that eventually won British women the vote. Last time I looked, that would make her a descendant, not an ancestor, but a knowledge of the English language has always been less highly regarded at The Sun than the ability to come up with the most excruciating puns in headlines.

Of course, Hong Kong women - and men - are still waiting for full universal suffrage, but that's another story.

It will be little surprise that Iceland's voters overwhelmingly rejected a plan that would have made each of them liable to repay thousands of dollars to the British and Dutch governments for compensation they paid out to investors who lost money when Iceland's banks collapsed in 2008 following the global financial crisis.

Quite apart from not seeing why they should bear the consequences of the actions of a few greedy people, Icelanders are naturally pissed off that Britain invoked anti-terrorist legislation following the collapse to freeze Icelandic funds held in London. Since Iceland is Britain's NATO ally and one of the most peaceful countries on Earth, how could such a thing happen?

My own theory is that it was all a misunderstanding. A report from Britain's Environment Ministry landed on Gordon Brown's desk saying that Iceland was a threat to whales (which it is one of the few nations still hunting). Owing to an unfortunate typo, Brown glanced at it and took it to be an intelligence report saying that Iceland was a threat to Wales. Naturally he had to take action.

Of course, another possible explanation could be that Gordon Brown is an unprincipled opportunist willing to bend the law to get what he wants. But no one would believe that of a British Prime Minister, would they?

The Morning Post today highlights America's criticism of the lack of democracy in Hong Kong, saying "The US government has criticised the Hong Kong government for limiting the ability of its people to change their government". While agreeing with the criticism, I wonder if they should first turn their attention to their own system. The US is, after all, the country where a clear majority of electors voted for Al Gore in 2000 and got ... George W. Bush. What was that saying about pots and kettles?

Every so often one hears of the death of someone who has been so long out of the public eye that one has assumed them to be dead already. So it is with the passing at age 96 of Michael Foot, former leader of the British (Old) Labour Party, and best remembered for his unfortunate loss of the 1983 election to the execrable Margaret Thatcher.

"He was as far removed from the techniques of modern politics as you could possibly imagine."
--Tony Blair

Could there possibly be higher praise than that?

A few weeks ago, needing a new battery for my little Samsung digital camera, I went to the service centre address in Russell Street listed on their website, only to find they had recently moved a few blocks away to Causeway Centre.

Needing to take another Samsung product for service, I rechecked their website this morning, only to find that the service centre address has still not been updated.

"In everything we do, we strive to help people live better lives"

says Samsung's website. Everything except keeping their website up to date, that is.

Sexy Hot Arab Women - Headdress and Legs

So now I know that I am probably breaking all kinds of taboo rules in the Muslim culture by posting this picture, but I just couldn’t help it. I found it provocative and intriguing. I don’t even know if this girl is actually Arab or is making fun. Oh well. Here we are. So what we see here is an “Arab” woman in full headdress where you only see her eyes. I’ve always found this custom interesting because traditionally, when you only see the eyes I find that one of the sexiest ways to look at a women which contradicts the original point. You see, I feel that the eyes are one of the most seductive traits of a woman and, if used properly, can seduce any man.

This picture, however, doesn’t stop there. Here, we actually see her legs. They are an ok pair of legs, but they make quite a statement. Not sure what it is, but I’m sure it has something to do with women’s sexuality or something. Finally, she’s wearing a pair of red Stiletto high heels. My God, how much more in your face do you have to get.

Ironically, the sexiest part of this picture is still the eyes. So I’m not sure what that says or whose side I’m on.

I don't know which government department is responsible for erecting these signs, but you would think the person putting this one up would have noticed that the sign to Blake Pier is pointing in exactly the opposite direction to where it should be - especially as the pier is clearly visible from this point! Perhaps he was confusing it with the old Blake Pier in Central, which was demolished a couple of decades ago.