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Four new PS3 game and controller bundles announced for Europe
After getting our attention with the hotter than hot-cakes Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle, Sony has gone into overdrive by lining up another four bundle packs exclusively for Europe. The games on offer are Folklore, Motorstorm, Formula One CE or GT5: Prologue complete with sixaxis controller. Just to point out, these bundles don't include a […]
Sixaxis headlines
MGS4 Gun Metal Bundle sells out in seven minutes
According to P3F, the exclusive-to-the-US 80GB MGS4 PS3 bundle sold out on Amazon.com in just seven minutes. Demand for the bundle was so high, that it actually brought the retailer giant to its knees. Hilarious. MGS4 will be released worldwide on June 12 and no, for the last time, us lowly Europeans aren't getting the […]
DualShock 3 shipping in US now, Sixaxis discontinued
DualShock 3 is now shipping in the US, according to this. The controller will completely phase Sixaxis out, apparently, with rather rapid effect. "Sixaxis will no longer be offered after it's completely sold through at retail (likely by the summer timeframe)," said a SCEA rep. Can we have it in Europe now, please?
Satin Silver PS3 out in Japan now
And here it is. £217 to you, provided you can get someone to post it to you. Play-Asia won't ship them to anywhere in the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway. We're sure you can find a way around that. It'll be faster than waiting for SCEE to release it over here.
Sixaxis is used "sparingly" in MGS4
According to this, MGS4 assistant producer Ryan Payton has said the motion-sensign capabilities of Sixaxis haven't been done to death in Konami's upcoming action game. "The trick is to use Sixaxis sparingly and have fun with it," he said. "I don't think anybody wants to play a long game while consistently having to tilt the […]
SCEE: "No plans for silver PS3 in Europe"
SCEE has just confirmed to VG247 that European gamers aren't going to be seeing that lovely satin silver PS3 any time soon. "SCEE currently has no plans to release a satin silver PS3 in Europe," said a spokesperson. The machine is launching in Japan next month for the equivalent of £189, with a Sixaxis controller, […]
Dualshock 3 not packaged with Japanese silver PS3 bundle
And eagle eye award of the day goes to Blerk, for spotting that the "satin" silver Japanese PS3 bundle announced this morning doesn't, in fact, come bundled with a Dualshock 3 controller. It's got a Sixaxis in it, so it says here. If Japanese people want a Dualshock 3 they have to buy it separately […]
New PAL PS3 bundle for Oz
Australian gamers are soon going to be able to pick up a new, AU$800 PS3 bundle, if this is to be believed. The pack includes a 40Gb machine, a Sixaxis and one of the following games: Heavenly Sword, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction or NBA 08. We have Australian readers. We […]
Sixaxis latest
Four new PS3 game and controller bundles announced for Europe


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Google Changing Street View to Appease EU
At the request of a European data protection group, Google has made a few changes to the international version of its Street View feature.
Street View is a popular feature within Google Maps which provides street-by-street, 360-degree photographs of major cities throughout the world. European privacy laws are stricter than they are in the U.S., so Google has been working with the Article 29 Working Party, a group of 27 European data protection authorities, to ensure that Street View is in line with their rules.
The group "asked us to make a few additional modifications to ensure Street View better aligns to local interpretations of privacy requirements across the whole of Europe," Peter Fleischer, global privacy counsel for Google, wrote in a blog post.
First up, they asked that Google continue to give advance notice about when and where its specially equipped cars will be driving, as it did earlier this year when driving through countries like Ireland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Czech Republic, and Switzerland.
"As you can probably imagine, it can be tricky at times to say exactly where our cars will be and when; we're affected by lots of things outside our control such as the weather and lighting conditions, we also rely on the local knowledge of our drivers to decide which places it is best to drive when, taking into account traffic conditions and other local factors," Fleischer wrote. "Nonetheless, we are committed to working within the Article 29 Working Party's guidelines on this issue."
When Street View launched in 2007, some people were alarmed to see their own photos walking down streets, talking out the garbage, or running errands. To alleviate privacy concerns, Google later announced that it would blur peoples' faces, as well as license plate numbers.
European regulators want Google to take it one step further and set a time limit for how long the "unblurred" images are retained on Google servers.
"This is a challenge," Fleischer wrote. "Software sometimes makes mistakes, labeling part of the image as containing a face or a license plate when in fact it doesn't. While we like to think we've gotten pretty good at this stuff, we still have lots of these 'false positives'."
"We're constantly working on ways to improve our technology [but] we need access to the original unblurred copies of the images" to do that, Fleischer said.
Nonetheless, Google pledged to work with the working party to determine an appropriate time to retain unblurred images. No time limit has been determined yet, however.

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Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 6, by Edward Gibbon, [1788], at sacred-texts.com
Partition Of The Empire By The French And Venetians, - Five Latin Emperors Of The Houses Of Flanders And Courtenay. - Their Wars Against The Bulgarians And Greeks. - Weakness And Poverty Of The Latin Empire. - Recovery Of Constantinople By The Greeks. - General Consequences Of The Crusades.
After the death of the lawful princes, the French and Venetians, confident of justice and victory, agreed to divide and regulate their future possessions. 1 It was stipulated by treaty, that twelve electors, six of either nation, should be nominated; that a majority should choose the emperor of the East; and that, if the votes were equal, the decision of chance should ascertain the successful candidate. To him, with all the titles and prerogatives of the Byzantine throne, they assigned the two palaces of Boucoleon and Blachernae, with a fourth part of the Greek monarchy. It was defined that the three remaining portions should be equally shared between the republic of Venice and the barons of France; that each feudatory, with an honorable exception for the doge, should acknowledge and perform the duties of homage and military service to the supreme head of the empire; that the nation which gave an emperor, should resign to their brethren the choice of a patriarch; and that the pilgrims, whatever might be their impatience to visit the Holy Land, should devote another year to the conquest and defence of the Greek provinces. After the conquest of Constantinople by the Latins, the treaty was confirmed and executed; and the first and most important step was the creation of an emperor. The six electors of the French nation were all ecclesiastics, the abbot of Loces, the archbishop elect of Acre in Palestine, and the bishops of Troyes, Soissons, Halberstadt, and Bethlehem, the last of whom exercised in the camp the office of pope's legate: their profession and knowledge were respectable; and as they could not be the objects, they were best qualified to be the authors of the choice. The six Venetians were the principal servants of the state, and in this list the noble families of Querini and Contarini are still proud to discover their ancestors. The twelve assembled in the chapel of the palace; and after the solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, they proceeded to deliberate and vote. A just impulse of respect and gratitude prompted them to crown the virtues of the doge; his wisdom had inspired their enterprise; and the most youthful knights might envy and applaud the exploits of blindness and age. But the patriot Dandolo was devoid of all personal ambition, and fully satisfied that he had been judged worthy to reign. His nomination was overruled by the Venetians themselves: his countrymen, and perhaps his friends, 2 represented, with the eloquence of truth, the mischiefs that might arise to national freedom and the common cause, from the union of two incompatible characters, of the first magistrate of a republic and the emperor of the East. The exclusion of the doge left room for the more equal merits of Boniface and Baldwin; and at their names all meaner candidates respectfully withdrew. The marquis of Montferrat was recommended by his mature age and fair reputation, by the choice of the adventurers, and the wishes of the Greeks; nor can I believe that Venice, the mistress of the sea, could be seriously apprehensive of a petty lord at the foot of the Alps. 3 But the count of Flanders was the chief of a wealthy and warlike people: he was valiant, pious, and chaste; in the prime of life, since he was only thirty- two years of age; a descendant of Charlemagne, a cousin of the king of France, and a compeer of the prelates and barons who had yielded with reluctance to the command of a foreigner. Without the chapel, these barons, with the doge and marquis at their head, expected the decision of the twelve electors. It was announced by the bishop of Soissons, in the name of his colleagues: "Ye have sworn to obey the prince whom we should choose: by our unanimous suffrage, Baldwin count of Flanders and Hainault is now your sovereign, and the emperor of the East." He was saluted with loud applause, and the proclamation was reechoed through the city by the joy of the Latins, and the trembling adulation of the Greeks. Boniface was the first to kiss the hand of his rival, and to raise him on the buckler: and Baldwin was transported to the cathedral, and solemnly invested with the purple buskins. At the end of three weeks he was crowned by the legate, in the vacancy of the patriarch; but the Venetian clergy soon filled the chapter of St. Sophia, seated Thomas Morosini on the ecclesiastical throne, and employed every art to perpetuate in their own nation the honors and benefices of the Greek church. 4 Without delay the successor of Constantine instructed Palestine, France, and Rome, of this memorable revolution. To Palestine he sent, as a trophy, the gates of Constantinople, and the chain of the harbor; 5 and adopted, from the Assise of Jerusalem, the laws or customs best adapted to a French colony and conquest in the East. In his epistles, the natives of France are encouraged to swell that colony, and to secure that conquest, to people a magnificent city and a fertile land, which will reward the labors both of the priest and the soldier. He congratulates the Roman pontiff on the restoration of his authority in the East; invites him to extinguish the Greek schism by his presence in a general council; and implores his blessing and forgiveness for the disobedient pilgrims. Prudence and dignity are blended in the answer of Innocent. 6 In the subversion of the Byzantine empire, he arraigns the vices of man, and adores the providence of God; the conquerors will be absolved or condemned by their future conduct; the validity of their treaty depends on the judgment of St. Peter; but he inculcates their most sacred duty of establishing a just subordination of obedience and tribute, from the Greeks to the Latins, from the magistrate to the clergy, and from the clergy to the pope.
In the division of the Greek provinces, 7 the share of the Venetians was more ample than that of the Latin emperor. No more than one fourth was appropriated to his domain; a clear moiety of the remainder was reserved for Venice; and the other moiety was distributed among the adventures of France and Lombardy. The venerable Dandolo was proclaimed despot of Romania, and invested after the Greek fashion with the purple buskins. He ended at Constantinople his long and glorious life; and if the prerogative was personal, the title was used by his successors till the middle of the fourteenth century, with the singular, though true, addition of lords of one fourth and a half of the Roman empire. 8 The doge, a slave of state, was seldom permitted to depart from the helm of the republic; but his place was supplied by the bail, or regent, who exercised a supreme jurisdiction over the colony of Venetians: they possessed three of the eight quarters of the city; and his independent tribunal was composed of six judges, four counsellors, two chamberlains two fiscal advocates, and a constable. Their long experience of the Eastern trade enabled them to select their portion with discernment: they had rashly accepted the dominion and defence of Adrianople; but it was the more reasonable aim of their policy to form a chain of factories, and cities, and islands, along the maritime coast, from the neighborhood of Ragusa to the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. The labor and cost of such extensive conquests exhausted their treasury: they abandoned their maxims of government, adopted a feudal system, and contented themselves with the homage of their nobles, 9 for the possessions which these private vassals undertook to reduce and maintain. And thus it was that the family of Sanut acquired the duchy of Naxos, which involved the greatest part of the archipelago. For the price of ten thousand marks, the republic purchased of the marquis of Montferrat the fertile Island of Crete or Candia, with the ruins of a hundred cities; 10 but its improvement was stinted by the proud and narrow spirit of an aristocracy; 11 and the wisest senators would confess that the sea, not the land, was the treasury of St. Mark. In the moiety of the adventurers the marquis Boniface might claim the most liberal reward; and, besides the Isle of Crete, his exclusion from the throne was compensated by the royal title and the provinces beyond the Hellespont. But he prudently exchanged that distant and difficult conquest for the kingdom of Thessalonica Macedonia, twelve days' journey from the capital, where he might be supported by the neighboring powers of his brother-in-law the king of Hungary. His progress was hailed by the voluntary or reluctant acclamations of the natives; and Greece, the proper and ancient Greece, again received a Latin conqueror, 12 who trod with indifference that classic ground. He viewed with a careless eye the beauties of the valley of Tempe; traversed with a cautious step the straits of Thermopylae; occupied the unknown cities of Thebes, Athens, and Argos; and assaulted the fortifications of Corinth and Napoli, 13 which resisted his arms. The lots of the Latin pilgrims were regulated by chance, or choice, or subsequent exchange; and they abused, with intemperate joy, their triumph over the lives and fortunes of a great people. After a minute survey of the provinces, they weighed in the scales of avarice the revenue of each district, the advantage of the situation, and the ample on scanty supplies for the maintenance of soldiers and horses. Their presumption claimed and divided the long-lost dependencies of the Roman sceptre: the Nile and Euphrates rolled through their imaginary realms; and happy was the warrior who drew for his prize the palace of the Turkish sultan of Iconium. 14 I shall not descend to the pedigree of families and the rent- roll of estates, but I wish to specify that the counts of Blois and St. Pol were invested with the duchy of Nice and the lordship of Demotica: 15 the principal fiefs were held by the service of constable, chamberlain, cup- bearer, butler, and chief cook; and our historian, Jeffrey of Villehardouin, obtained a fair establishment on the banks of the Hebrus, and united the double office of marshal of Champagne and Romania. At the head of his knights and archers, each baron mounted on horseback to secure the possession of his share, and their first efforts were generally successful. But the public force was weakened by their dispersion; and a thousand quarrels must arise under a law, and among men, whose sole umpire was the sword. Within three months after the conquest of Constantinople, the emperor and the king of Thessalonica drew their hostile followers into the field; they were reconciled by the authority of the doge, the advice of the marshal, and the firm freedom of their peers. 16
Two fugitives, who had reigned at Constantinople, still asserted the title of emperor; and the subjects of their fallen throne might be moved to pity by the misfortunes of the elder Alexius, or excited to revenge by the spirit of Mourzoufle. A domestic alliance, a common interest, a similar guilt, and the merit of extinguishing his enemies, a brother and a nephew, induced the more recent usurper to unite with the former the relics of his power. Mourzoufle was received with smiles and honors in the camp of his father Alexius; but the wicked can never love, and should rarely trust, their fellow-criminals; he was seized in the bath, deprived of his eyes, stripped of his troops and treasures, and turned out to wander an object of horror and contempt to those who with more propriety could hate, and with more justice could punish, the assassin of the emperor Isaac and his son. As the tyrant, pursued by fear or remorse, was stealing over to Asia, he was seized by the Latins of Constantinople, and condemned, after an open trial, to an ignominious death. His judges debated the mode of his execution, the axe, the wheel, or the stake; and it was resolved that Mourzoufle 17 should ascend the Theodosian column, a pillar of white marble of one hundred and forty-seven feet in height. 18 From the summit he was cast down headlong, and dashed in pieces on the pavement, in the presence of innumerable spectators, who filled the forum of Taurus, and admired the accomplishment of an old prediction, which was explained by this singular event. 19 The fate of Alexius is less tragical: he was sent by the marquis a captive to Italy, and a gift to the king of the Romans; but he had not much to applaud his fortune, if the sentence of imprisonment and exile were changed from a fortress in the Alps to a monastery in Asia. But his daughter, before the national calamity, had been given in marriage to a young hero who continued the succession, and restored the throne, of the Greek princes. 20 The valor of Theodore Lascaris was signalized in the two sieges of Constantinople. After the flight of Mourzoufle, when the Latins were already in the city, he offered himself as their emperor to the soldiers and people; and his ambition, which might be virtuous, was undoubtedly brave. Could he have infused a soul into the multitude, they might have crushed the strangers under their feet: their abject despair refused his aid; and Theodore retired to breathe the air of freedom in Anatolia, beyond the immediate view and pursuit of the conquerors. Under the title, at first of despot, and afterwards of emperor, he drew to his standard the bolder spirits, who were fortified against slavery by the contempt of life; and as every means was lawful for the public safety implored without scruple the alliance of the Turkish sultan Nice, where Theodore established his residence, Prusa and Philadelphia, Smyrna and Ephesus, opened their gates to their deliverer: he derived strength and reputation from his victories, and even from his defeats; and the successor of Constantine preserved a fragment of the empire from the banks of the Maeander to the suburbs of Nicomedia, and at length of Constantinople. Another portion, distant and obscure, was possessed by the lineal heir of the Comneni, a son of the virtuous Manuel, a grandson of the tyrant Andronicus. His name was Alexius; and the epithet of great *_0012 was applied perhaps to his stature, rather than to his exploits. By the indulgence of the Angeli, he was appointed governor or duke of Trebizond: 21 !_0012 his birth gave him ambition, the revolution independence; and, without changing his title, he reigned in peace from Sinope to the Phasis, along the coast of the Black Sea. His nameless son and successor !!_0012 is described as the vassal of the sultan, whom he served with two hundred lances: that Comnenian prince was no more than duke of Trebizond, and the title of emperor was first assumed by the pride and envy of the grandson of Alexius. In the West, a third fragment was saved from the common shipwreck by Michael, a bastard of the house of Angeli, who, before the revolution, had been known as a hostage, a soldier, and a rebel. His flight from the camp of the marquis Boniface secured his freedom; by his marriage with the governor's daughter, he commanded the important place of Durazzo, assumed the title of despot, and founded a strong and conspicuous principality in Epirus, Aetolia, and Thessaly, which have ever been peopled by a warlike race. The Greeks, who had offered their service to their new sovereigns, were excluded by the haughty Latins 22 from all civil and military honors, as a nation born to tremble and obey. Their resentment prompted them to show that they might have been useful friends, since they could be dangerous enemies: their nerves were braced by adversity: whatever was learned or holy, whatever was noble or valiant, rolled away into the independent states of Trebizond, Epirus, and Nice; and a single patrician is marked by the ambiguous praise of attachment and loyalty to the Franks. The vulgar herd of the cities and the country would have gladly submitted to a mild and regular servitude; and the transient disorders of war would have been obliterated by some years of industry and peace. But peace was banished, and industry was crushed, in the disorders of the feudal system. The Roman emperors of Constantinople, if they were endowed with abilities, were armed with power for the protection of their subjects: their laws were wise, and their administration was simple. The Latin throne was filled by a titular prince, the chief, and often the servant, of his licentious confederates; the fiefs of the empire, from a kingdom to a castle, were held and ruled by the sword of the barons; and their discord, poverty, and ignorance, extended the ramifications of tyranny to the most sequestered villages. The Greeks were oppressed by the double weight of the priest, who were invested with temporal power, and of the soldier, who was inflamed by fanatic hatred; and the insuperable bar of religion and language forever separated the stranger and the native. As long as the crusaders were united at Constantinople, the memory of their conquest, and the terror of their arms, imposed silence on the captive land: their dispersion betrayed the smallness of their numbers and the defects of their discipline; and some failures and mischances revealed the secret, that they were not invincible. As the fears of the Greeks abated, their hatred increased. They murdered; they conspired; and before a year of slavery had elapsed, they implored, or accepted, the succor of a Barbarian, whose power they had felt, and whose gratitude they trusted. 23
The Latin conquerors had been saluted with a solemn and early embassy from John, or Joannice, or Calo-John, the revolted chief of the Bulgarians and Walachians. He deemed himself their brother, as the votary of the Roman pontiff, from whom he had received the regal title and a holy banner; and in the subversion of the Greek monarchy, he might aspire to the name of their friend and accomplice. But Calo-John was astonished to find, that the Count of Flanders had assumed the pomp and pride of the successors of Constantine; and his ambassadors were dismissed with a haughty message, that the rebel must deserve a pardon, by touching with his forehead the footstool of the Imperial throne. His resentment 24 would have exhaled in acts of violence and blood: his cooler policy watched the rising discontent of the Greeks; affected a tender concern for their sufferings; and promised, that their first struggles for freedom should be supported by his person and kingdom. The conspiracy was propagated by national hatred, the firmest band of association and secrecy: the Greeks were impatient to sheathe their daggers in the breasts of the victorious strangers; but the execution was prudently delayed, till Henry, the emperor's brother, had transported the flower of his troops beyond the Hellespont. Most of the towns and villages of Thrace were true to the moment and the signal; and the Latins, without arms or suspicion, were slaughtered by the vile and merciless revenge of their slaves. From Demotica, the first scene of the massacre, the surviving vassals of the count of St. Pol escaped to Adrianople; but the French and Venetians, who occupied that city, were slain or expelled by the furious multitude: the garrisons that could effect their retreat fell back on each other towards the metropolis; and the fortresses, that separately stood against the rebels, were ignorant of each other's and of their sovereign's fate. The voice of fame and fear announced the revolt of the Greeks and the rapid approach of their Bulgarian ally; and Calo-John, not depending on the forces of his own kingdom, had drawn from the Scythian wilderness a body of fourteen thousand Comans, who drank, as it was said, the blood of their captives, and sacrificed the Christians on the altars of their gods. 25
Alarmed by this sudden and growing danger, the emperor despatched a swift messenger to recall Count Henry and his troops; and had Baldwin expected the return of his gallant brother, with a supply of twenty thousand Armenians, he might have encountered the invader with equal numbers and a decisive superiority of arms and discipline. But the spirit of chivalry could seldom discriminate caution from cowardice; and the emperor took the field with a hundred and forty knights, and their train of archers and sergeants. The marshal, who dissuaded and obeyed, led the vanguard in their march to Adrianople; the main body was commanded by the count of Blois; the aged doge of Venice followed with the rear; and their scanty numbers were increased from all sides by the fugitive Latins. They undertook to besiege the rebels of Adrianople; and such was the pious tendency of the crusades that they employed the holy week in pillaging the country for their subsistence, and in framing engines for the destruction of their fellow- Christians. But the Latins were soon interrupted and alarmed by the light cavalry of the Comans, who boldly skirmished to the edge of their imperfect lines: and a proclamation was issued by the marshal of Romania, that, on the trumpet's sound, the cavalry should mount and form; but that none, under pain of death, should abandon themselves to a desultory and dangerous pursuit. This wise injunction was first disobeyed by the count of Blois, who involved the emperor in his rashness and ruin. The Comans, of the Parthian or Tartar school, fled before their first charge; but after a career of two leagues, when the knights and their horses were almost breathless, they suddenly turned, rallied, and encompassed the heavy squadrons of the Franks. The count was slain on the field; the emperor was made prisoner; and if the one disdained to fly, if the other refused to yield, their personal bravery made a poor atonement for their ignorance, or neglect, of the duties of a general. 26
1 See the original treaty of partition, in the Venetian Chronicle of Andrew Dandolo, p. 326 - 330, and the subsequent election in Ville hardouin, No. 136 - 140, with Ducange in his Observations, and the book of his Histoire de Constantinople sous l'Empire des Francois
2 After mentioning the nomination of the doge by a French elector his kinsman Andrew Dandolo approves his exclusion, quidam Venetorum fidelis et nobilis senex, usus oratione satis probabili, &c., which has been embroidered by modern writers from Blondus to Le Beau.
3 Nicetas, (p. 384,) with the vain ignorance of a Greek, describes the marquis of Montferrat as a maritime power. Was he deceived by the Byzantine theme of Lombardy which extended along the coast of Calabria?
4 They exacted an oath from Thomas Morosini to appoint no canons of St. Sophia the lawful electors, except Venetians who had lived ten years at Venice, &c. But the foreign clergy was envious, the pope disapproved this national monopoly, and of the six Latin patriarchs of Constantinople, only the first and the last were Venetians.
5 Nicetas, p. 383.
6 The Epistles of Innocent III. are a rich fund for the ecclesiastical and civil institution of the Latin empire of Constantinople; and the most important of these epistles (of which the collection in 2 vols. in folio is published by Stephen Baluze) are inserted in his Gesta, in Muratori, Script. Rerum Italicarum,, tom. iii. p. l. c. 94 - 105.
7 In the treaty of partition, most of the names are corrupted by the scribes: they might be restored, and a good map, suited to the last age of the Byzantine empire, would be an improvement of geography. But, alas D'Anville is no more!
8 Their style was dominus quartae partis et dimidiae imperii Romani, till Giovanni Dolfino, who was elected doge in the year of 1356, (Sanuto, p. 530, 641.) For the government of Constantinople, see Ducange, Histoire de C. P. i. 37.
9 Ducange (Hist. de C. P. ii. 6) has marked the conquests made by the state or nobles of Venice of the Islands of Candia, Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Naxos, Paros, Melos, Andros, Mycone, Syro, Cea, and Lemnos.
10 Boniface sold the Isle of Candia, August 12, A.D. 1204. See the act in Sanuto, p. 533: but I cannot understand how it could be his mother's portion, or how she could be the daughter of an emperor Alexius.
11 In the year 1212, the doge Peter Zani sent a colony to Candia, drawn from every quarter of Venice. But in their savage manners and frequent rebellions, the Candiots may be compared to the Corsicans under the yoke of Genoa; and when I compare the accounts of Belon and Tournefort, I cannot discern much difference between the Venetian and the Turkish island.
12 Villehardouin (No. 159, 160, 173 - 177) and Nicetas (p. 387 - 394) describe the expedition into Greece of the marquis Boniface. The Choniate might derive his information from his brother Michael, archbishop of Athens, whom he paints as an orator, a statesman, and a saint. His encomium of Athens, and the description of Tempe, should be published from the Bodleian MS. of Nicetas, (Fabric. Bibliot. Graec. tom. vi. p. 405,) and would have deserved Mr. Harris's inquiries.
13 Napoli de Romania, or Nauplia, the ancient seaport of Argos, is still a place of strength and consideration, situate on a rocky peninsula, with a good harbor, (Chandler's Travels into Greece, p. 227.)
14 I have softened the expression of Nicetas, who strives to expose the presumption of the Franks. See the Rebus post C.P. expugnatam, p. 375 - 384.
15 A city surrounded by the River Hebrus, and six leagues to the south of Adrianople, received from its double wall the Greek name of Didymoteichos, insensibly corrupted into Demotica and Dimot. I have preferred the more convenient and modern appellation of Demotica. This place was the last Turkish residence of Charles XII.
16 Their quarrel is told by Villehardouin (No. 146 - 158) with the spirit of freedom. The merit and reputation of the marshal are so knowledged by the Greek historian (p. 387): unlike some modern heroes, whose exploits are only visible in their own memoirs.
Note: William de Champlite, brother of the count of Dijon, assumed the title of Prince of Achaia: on the death of his brother, he returned, with regret, to France, to assume his paternal inheritance, and left Villehardouin his "bailli," on condition that if he did not return within a year Villehardouin was to retain an investiture. Brosset's Add. to Le Beau, vol. xvii. p. 200. M. Brosset adds, from the Greek chronicler edited by M. Buchon, the somewhat unknightly trick by which Villehardouin disembarrassed himself from the troublesome claim of Robert, the cousin of the count of Dijon. to the succession. He contrived that Robert should arrive just fifteen days too late; and with the general concurrence of the assembled knights was himself invested with the principality. Ibid p. 283. M.
17 See the fate of Mourzoufle in Nicetas, (p. 393,) Villehardouin, (No. 141 - 145, 163,) and Guntherus, (c. 20, 21.) Neither the marshal nor the monk afford a grain of pity for a tyrant or rebel, whose punishment, however, was more unexampled than his crime.
18 The column of Arcadius, which represents in basso relievo his victories, or those of his father Theodosius, is still extant at Constantinople. It is described and measured, Gyllius, (Topograph. iv. 7,) Banduri, (ad l. i. Antiquit. C.P. p. 507, &c.,) and Tournefort, (Voyage du Levant, tom. ii. lettre xii. p. 231.) (Compare Wilken, note, vol. v p. 388. - M.)
19 The nonsense of Gunther and the modern Greeks concerning this columna fatidica, is unworthy of notice; but it is singular enough, that fifty years before the Latin conquest, the poet Tzetzes, (Chiliad, ix. 277) relates the dream of a matron, who saw an army in the forum, and a man sitting on the column, clapping his hands, and uttering a loud exclamation. Note: We read in the "Chronicle of the Conquest of Constantinople, and of the Establishment of the French in the Morea," translated by J A Buchon, Paris, 1825, p. 64 that Leo VI., called the Philosopher, had prophesied that a perfidious emperor should be precipitated from the top of this column. The crusaders considered themselves under an obligation to fulfil this prophecy. Brosset, note on Le Beau, vol. xvii. p. 180. M Brosset announces that a complete edition of this work, of which the original Greek of the first book only has been published by M. Buchon in preparation, to form part of the new series of the Byzantine historian - M.
20 The dynasties of Nice, Trebizond, and Epirus (of which Nicetas saw the origin without much pleasure or hope) are learnedly explored, and clearly represented, in the Familiae Byzantinae of Ducange.
*_0012 This was a title, not a personal appellation. Joinville speaks of the "Grant Comnenie, et sire de Traffezzontes." Fallmerayer, p. 82. - M.
21 Except some facts in Pachymer and Nicephorus Gregoras, which will hereafter be used, the Byzantine writers disdain to speak of the empire of Trebizond, or principality of the Lazi; and among the Latins, it is conspicuous only in the romancers of the xivth or xvth centuries. Yet the indefatigable Ducange has dug out (Fam. Byz. p. 192) two authentic passages in Vincent of Beauvais (l. xxxi. c. 144) and the prothonotary Ogerius, (apud Wading, A.D. 1279, No. 4.)
!_0012 On the revolutions of Trebizond under the later empire down to this period, see Fallmerayer, Geschichte des Kaiserthums von Trapezunt, ch. iii. The wife of Manuel fled with her infant sons and her treasure from the relentless enmity of Isaac Angelus. Fallmerayer conjectures that her arrival enabled the Greeks of that region to make head against the formidable Thamar, the Georgian queen of Teflis, p. 42. They gradually formed a dominion on the banks of the Phasis, which the distracted government of the Angeli neglected or were unable to suppress. On the capture of Constantinople by the Latins, Alexius was joined by many noble fugitives from Constantinople. He had always retained the name of Caesar. He now fixed the seat of his empire at Trebizond; but he had never abandoned his pretensions to the Byzantine throne, ch. iii. Fallmerayer appears to make out a triumphant case as to the assumption of the royal title by Alexius the First. Since the publication of M. Fallmerayer's work, (Munchen, 1827,) M. Tafel has published, at the end of the opuscula of Eustathius, a curious chronicle of Trebizond by Michael Panaretas, (Frankfort, 1832.) It gives the succession of the emperors, and some other curious circumstances of their wars with the several Mahometan powers. - M.
!!_0012 The successor of Alexius was his son-in-law Andronicus I., of the Comnenian family, surnamed Gidon. There were five successions between Alexius and John, according to Fallmerayer, p. 103. The troops of Trebizond fought in the army of Dschelaleddin, the Karismian, against Alleddin, the Seljukian sultan of Roum, but as allies rather than vassals, p. 107. It was after the defeat of Dschelaleddin that they furnished their contingent to Alai-eddin. Fallmerayer struggles in vain to mitigate this mark of the subjection of the Comneni to the sultan. p. 116. - M.
22 The portrait of the French Latins is drawn in Nicetas by the hand of prejudice and resentment. (P. 791 Ed. Bak.)
23 I here begin to use, with freedom and confidence, the eight books of the Histoire de C. P. sous l'Empire des Francois, which Ducange has given as a supplement to Villehardouin; and which, in a barbarous style, deserves the praise of an original and classic work.
24 In Calo-John's answer to the pope we may find his claims and complaints, (Gesta Innocent III. c. 108, 109:) he was cherished at Rome as the prodigal son.
25 The Comans were a Tartar or Turkman horde, which encamped in the xiith and xiiith centuries on the verge of Moldavia. The greater part were pagans, but some were Mahometans, and the whole horde was converted to Christianity (A.D. 1370) by Lewis, king of Hungary
26 Nicetas, from ignorance or malice, imputes the defeat to the cowardice of Dandolo, (p. 383;) but Villehardouin shares his own glory with his venerable friend, qui viels home ere et gote ne veoit, mais mult ere sages et preus et vigueros, (No. 193.)
Note: Gibbon appears to me to have misapprehended the passage of Nicetas. He says, "that principal and subtlest mischief. that primary cause of all the horrible miseries suffered by the Romans," i. e. the Byzantines. It is an effusion of malicious triumph against the Venetians, to whom he always ascribes the capture of Constantinople. - M.


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With a follow up to his incredible Boba Fett creation, Theo Stylianides throws down a wild redesign of the Mass Effect leader Commander Shepard.
[Spoiler alert!] "Bionic leg and arm from his death experience, Saren's shoulder pad from the close encounter, some Geth eye pieces for a tally and even some collector heads and skin to remember them by." - Theo
Commander Shepard by Theo Stylianides/StTheo (CGHUB)
Need your daily fill of geek eye candy? If so, head over to Justin Page's Rampaged Reality and get your fix. Republished with permission.


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My popular Painting Panels are deep cradled, Birch wood panels with fine art reproductions applied and sealed. The reproductions are based on my original watercolor paintings.They can be hung on the wall without any additional framing or placed on a … [continue reading]
Fine Art Prints of Original Watercolor Paintings by Teresa Silvestri Made with premium archival inks on acid-free card stock, with an acid-free mat and backing board made to fit standard size frames. These Fine Art Prints have the … [continue reading]
Greeting Cards come packaged in sets of 4 and 8. The all occasion greeting cards are blank inside and measure 5" x 6 1/2". Comes with matching envelope. Cards and envelopes come wrapped in a clear cello package. Note: If you would like to order a … [continue reading]


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These are all the News & Announcements posted in November, 2007.
Thursday, 29
Online Access to the Herald Journal
Did you know that you can get free online access to the Herald Journal through the Logan Library website? The Logan Library has a subscription to Newsbank which provides online access to hundreds of national and international newspapers, including the Herald Journal. Articles from the Herald Journal are available from 1999 to the present. You can read Frequently Asked Questions about online access to the Herald Journal or you can go directly to the Herald Journal Archives. A Logan Library card number and pin number are required for access outside the library.
If the article you are looking for is not in the online archives, or if you would like an article published before 1999, we have older editions of the Herald Journal available on microfilm in the library.
Posted By Logan Library at 11:48 AM / Category:Website
Monday, 26
Sign-up for Storytime
Registration for the next block of Storytime starts Monday, December 3 at 10:00 a.m. You can register online, by phone, or in person at the library. This block of Storytime runs six weeks from January 8 to February 14. For more information, visit our Storytime page.
Posted By Logan Library at 12:53 PM / Category:Children
Wednesday, 21
Have a Novel Christmas 2007
Bridgerland Literacy is conducting their annual Have a Novel Christmas book drive. Have a Novel Christmas distributes books to children in need throughout Cache Valley. To donate simply drop-off new and like-new books in the donation box located in the Logan Library before December 10. For more information, contact Bridgerland Literacy at 716-9141.
Posted By Logan Library at 11:04 AM / Category:Community
The Latest News!
Oct 16, 2018
» Community Book Discussion Oct 10, 2018
» The Dead Awaken Oct 5, 2018
» Library Closed Columbus Day


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NHTSA — Power Train: Manual Transmission Problems
CarComplaints.com Notes: The automatic transmission on the 2nd generation CL (2001-2003) is a downshifting mess. According to reports it slips, flares, and eventually fails --- sometimes around 40,000 miles.
The troubled transmission got an extended warranty for some CL owners that was later extended even further thanks to a class-action lawsuit in the United States. But even with the extended warranty, the transmission in this car is well known for overheating and locking up suddenly and without warning.
4.7definitely annoying
- Crashes / Fires:
- 0 / 0
- Injuries / Deaths:
- 0 / 0
- Average Mileage:
- 22,633 miles
About These NHTSA Complaints:
This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.
So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.
transmission problem


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How to Pick the Right Shoes for Yourself?
"Foot" is very important part of your body because this part of your body you have to use everyday. Many times that you may overlooked on your foot or be harmed by the improper selection of shoes that may cause foot pain or abnormal symptoms. Nowadays, there are a lot of good shoes for you to select in shoes industry that not harm your foots. Below you will see tips on how to select right shoes for yourselfs.
First. Purchase shoes that look like your feet or fit like foot wide. and you should not wear shoes that have narrow head because it may cause foot pain.
Second. The material of your shoes should made for soft material for inside and outside. Because these types of shoes will prevent cushioning and breathable. For shoes that made from leather usually have flexible more than faux leather.
Third. You should purchase shoes that can change size or can be scalable because it will make your foot fit with your shoe.
Fourth. Fork over the shoes is not good because it can cause friction grooves at the toe plus it not suitable for some foot type.
Fifth. Heel Shoes must be strong and must be flexible on non slip flooring.
Sixth. Before your make a purchase you should try in late afternoon because your foot is larger at these period of time (because of blood flow to the feet more at these time). It is ideal to choose shoes to prevent tight shoes but it's also depended on the activity and your daily life.
Seventh. Before your buy shoes you should try your shoes for both side because size of our foot is not always the same so your should select shoes to fit your feet and try to walk before make purchase.
Eighth. Before your purchase you should consider carefully. High Heels may cause ingrown toenails polished top tips or ligament injuries. American Medical Accociation recommends that you should wear high heels two inches or less and wearing flats can help distribute your weight better.
Nine. Do not follow trend. If the shoes does not fit your body you should put that shoes back to it place even thought it is beautiful or suitable for you. Otherwise it can be painful for your ankles.
Are you looking for latest high street fashion clothing?
If you are the one that looking for street fashion apparel and accessories which the most famous street fashion apparel is in Asia such as Hong Kong, Japan and Thailand and which street fashion is suit for your style? the question that you must ask yourself first is which style that you like. If you need any inspire you can look at fashion street show from many top website around the world which these can help you understand more about your style and you will understand more what you want to wear. There are a lot of online street fashion clothing store for you to shop online nowadays. So do not miss to find out some street fashion clothing for yourself.
Many time that women have to denied their dress because their dress is not fit for her body and there are many time that you buy your dress and you can not wear it. If you do not want to waste your money first of all you muse explore your shapes before you desire to buy any dresses.
Small Shape
Try to focus on certain texture on your dress and do not wate your time to covering your shape because it will make you look smaller. You must focus on your little legs in order to make your leg look longer by using pants or skirts which short pants and skirts can make your leg look longer. For sometime you can put your belt or waist line to make your shape look better as well but your belt must big enough to make your shape look more perfect.
Hip Motion Shape
For women who have him motion which you should select your dress to fitted waist and flared out the little late. This will make your hips and thighs look smaller. Dark tone can also help Hip Motion Shape because dark tone can help cover your weak point.
Big Shape
For women who have big shape which you muse dress to fit your shapes and flared your bottom out. This can help your dress not nest on your hips and thighs. For a tip to help big shape is focuses on your neck which it can make you more interesting by wearing V neck or you can find accessories like necklace or jewelry to draw attention to your face instead of your hip.
For women who have busty shape you must not wearing any tights dresses because it will make your body look disproportionate and it is not enhance your arc body that it supposed to be. You should focus on V neck shirts or shirt sleeve with high waist band in order to accentuate the upper part of your body and make your shape much more interesting.


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From All Access:
BAHAKEL COMMUNICATIONS Active Rock KILO/COLORADO SPRINGS, CO longtime PD ROSS FORD is upped to OM/PD of KILO and sister Alternative KRXP (THE ALTERNATIVE RXP @ 103.9). At KRXP, morning … more
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The San Diego Scout Shop is located adjacent to the Council headquarters in Balboa Park. Come visit and browse through our exciting new items! You'll find a great assortment of all the standard uniforms, supplies, badges, awards, books and many other items to fulfill your Scouting needs.
Extended Hours Tuesday and Thursday!
The Service Center and the Scout Shop are open extended hours
on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help with all your Scouting needs.
9:00 am to 5:00 pm - Monday-Saturday
Closed - Sunday
San Diego Scout Shop
1207 Upas Street
San Diego, CA 92103
Phone: 619.294.3806
Fax: 619.294.3011


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Here's a brief run-down of reports available in our research store that caught our eye over the past week or so...
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Find us on:
Find out which birth control methods may be right for you.
Review Date: Wednesday, December 02, 2015
National Health Information Center - NHICU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Emergency contraception, or emergency birth control, is used to help keep a woman from getting pregnant after she has had sex without using birth control or if the birth control method failed. This page offers answers to frequently asked questions about emergency contraception.
Review Date: Friday, February 06, 2015
Office on Women's Health
Consistent and correct use of the male latex condom reduces the risk of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. This fact sheet describes how to use condoms correctly.
Review Date: Thursday, January 19, 2012
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - CDCU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Kids may not feel comfortable approaching parents with questions about sexuality but let them know your views on sex and birth control. Knowing where you stand helps kids make choices that are right for them.
Review Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Nemours Foundation
Toxic shock syndrome (TSS) is a serious but uncommon infection caused by either Staphylococcus aureus bacteria or by streptococcus bacteria. Originally linked to the use of tampons, it is now also known to be associated with the diaphragm and other birth control methods.
Review Date: Monday, December 31, 2012
People are abstinent for many reasons, including to prevent pregnancy. Here are some of the most common questions we hear people ask about abstinence.
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Currently, condoms are the only widely available, proven method for reducing transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) during intercourse. Find out how to use condoms correctly and consistently.
Review Date: Wednesday, April 01, 2015
American Sexual Health Association
This guide gives the basic facts about the different kinds of FDA-approved medicines and devices for birth control. Ask your doctor to tell you about all of the risks and benefits of using these products.
Review Date: Monday, January 29, 2018
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
What are the different types of birth control? Do they have side effects? Are birth control pills safe? Find answers to these questions, and more.
Your birth control options may include oral contraceptives, barrier methods or natural family planning. Find out how to choose the method of contraception that works best for you.
Review Date: Monday, December 01, 2014
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Menstrual manipulation refers to changing the way you take birth control pills so that you delay or stop menstruation.
Review Date: Friday, July 11, 2014
Emergency contraception is a way of preventing pregnancy after unprotected sex. Learn about how it works and how it is used. Emergency contraception offers no protection against sexually transmitted diseases.
Review Date: Wednesday, December 17, 2014
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
There are so many myths about preventing pregnancy. These videos set the record straight.
Review Date: Thursday, April 05, 2012
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
Emergency contraception is birth control that prevents pregnancy after sex, which is why it is sometimes called "the morning after pill," or "the day after pill." Emergency contraception makes it much less likely you will get pregnant.
Review Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Educational Institution — Click the resource link above to learn more
Family planning clinics across the country are available to provide women and men with reproductive health care. Find a clinic near you by city, state or zip code.
Review Date: Monday, July 14, 2014
Office of Family Planning, Office of Population Affairs
Search from more than 820 health centers nationwide for a nearby health center that provides high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive health care for women, men, and teens.
Review Date: Wednesday, December 09, 2015
You are unique and so are your birth control needs. Use this tool to compare methods on the criteria that matter most to you.
Association of Reproductive Health Professionals
Birth control methods are not one-size-fits-all. My Method is here to help you think about your options.
A fact sheet about research on the risk of developing cancer of the breast, cervix, liver and ovary from the use of oral contraceptives.
Review Date: Wednesday, November 25, 2015
NIH National Cancer Institute
Read the answers to some of the most common questions about sterilization for women.
Using condoms correctly and consistently is a key way to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Don't be shy to talk with your partner about safer sex and condoms: For both of you, this is one of the most important conversations you can have.
Find quick tips for using condoms and dental dams safely and effectively.
Review Date: Wednesday, January 25, 2012
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
A tubal ligation reversal can allow a woman who's had a tubal ligation to get pregnant without further medical assistance. A tubal ligation reversal isn't appropriate for everyone. Learn more about this procedure.
Use this site to compare the pros and cons of 10 birth control methods, including condoms, the pill, cervical caps, IUD's, and more.
Review Date: Thursday, April 02, 2015
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Freedom in the World
You are here
2013 Scores
Freedom Rating (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Civil Liberties (1 = best, 7 = worst)
Political Rights (1 = best, 7 = worst)
The UN-backed tribunal trying former leaders of the Khmer Rouge experienced severe problems in 2012, with several foreign judges resigning amid allegations of government meddling and public outrage after a former high-ranking official was declared mentally unfit to stand trial. Violent crackdowns on journalists and protesters occurred throughout the year, including against those attempting to organize around meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which Cambodia hosted in 2012.
Cambodia won independence from France in 1953. King Norodom Sihanouk ruled until he was ousted in 1970 by U.S.-backed military commander Lon Nol, and the communist Khmer Rouge (KR) seized power in 1975. Approximately two million of Cambodia's seven million people died from disease, overwork, starvation, or execution under the KR before Vietnamese forces toppled the regime and installed a new communist government in 1979. Fighting continued in the 1980s between the Hanoi-backed government and the allied armies of Sihanouk, the KR, and other political contenders. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords halted open warfare, but the KR continued to wage a low-grade insurgency until its disintegration in the late 1990s.
Since entering government as part of the Vietnamese-backed regime in 1979, Prime Minister Hun Sen and his Cambodian People's Party (CPP) have played a leading role in the country's politics, generally controlling the National Assembly, military, courts, and police. In the early 1990s, Hun Sen used his control of the security forces to coerce the royalist party, known as Funcinpec, into sharing power, even though Funcinpec won the largest number of seats in the first parliamentary elections after the peace accords, held in 1993. Hun Sen later ousted the prime minister, Prince Norodom Ranariddh of Funcinpec, in a 1997 coup, and the CPP won a majority of seats in the 1998 parliamentary elections, which were held under restrictive conditions.
The deeply flawed parliamentary elections in 2003 featured violence and voter intimidation by the CPP. Nevertheless, the party failed to obtain the two-thirds majority required to form a government. Following the formation of a CPP-Funcinpec coalition, Hun Sen turned to silencing opposition leader Sam Rainsy's attacks on government corruption and abuse. After fleeing the country, Rainsy was convicted in absentia of defaming Prince Ranariddh and Hun Sen in 2005. However, under pressure from international donors, Hun Sen negotiated a settlement in 2006 that allowed Rainsy to receive a royal pardon and return to Cambodia in exchange for a public apology and a withdrawal of his allegations.
In the 2008 elections, the CPP took 90 of 123 parliamentary seats, and Hun Sen was reelected as prime minister. Opposition parties rejected the results, citing political intimidation and violence. However, with the opposition divided and unproven in the eyes of voters, and the country enjoying relative political stability and sustained economic growth, the CPP had started to command a measure of popular credibility. Meanwhile, Rainsy returned to exile ahead of a 2010 conviction on charges related to his claims that the government had ceded territory along the border to Vietnam, and he remained outside the country at the end of 2012.
Local elections were held at the commune level in 2012, with the CPP winning nearly every commune. International observers found widespread electoral irregularities; Reporters Without Borders noted that the Cambodian information ministry had banned foreign broadcasters such as Radio Free Asia from reporting on the elections and from transmitting their broadcasts throughout Cambodia. Participation in the elections fell to 54 percent of eligible voters, down from 87 percent ten years prior.
There remains a great deal of controversy surrounding attempts to try the accused perpetrators of atrocities committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. In July 2010, the former chief of the Tuol Sleng prison, Kang Kek Ieu (also known as Duch), was found guilty of war crimes and sentenced to 35 years in prison, reduced to 19 years given time served. In June 2011, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia began trial proceedings against four high-ranking former KR officials on charges of genocide and other crimes against humanity. One of the four defendants, Ieng Thirith, was declared mentally unfit to stand trial, a verdict that sparked widespread public protest; she was released in 2012. Meanwhile, several foreign judges quit the tribunal in 2011 and 2012 after having their attempts to charge and try additional suspects rebuffed by their Cambodian colleagues. Hun Sen has publicly called for the tribunal not to investigate any other former KR officials, and allegedly does not want the tribunal to delve too deeply into the past or weaken the prevailing climate of impunity for the powerful.
In 2012, the government eased its dispute with Thailand over a shared border temple, in part because the new Thai government, elected in 2011, was led by Yingluck Shinawatra, sister of former Cambodian prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and a friend of Hun Sen. The government had been using the conflict to boost nationalism and place more power in the hands of Hun Sen's son, who oversaw Cambodian forces on the border.
In 2012, Cambodia served as the host of meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a task that rotates among members of the 10-country organization. At the organization's July meeting for foreign ministers, several ASEAN members alleged that Cambodian officials had been leaking information about internal ASEAN deliberations to China, which is Cambodia's largest donor and investor. Also at the meeting, the organization was unable to come to a consensus on a statement regarding territorial disputes in the South China Sea, and some members accused Cambodia of purposely blocking consensus on behalf of China. Meanwhile, violence against activists and journalists intensified in 2012, including against those attempting to organize around the ASEAN meetings.
Cambodia is not an electoral democracy. Elections are conducted under often repressive conditions, and the opposition is hampered by serious legal and physical harassment. The current constitution was promulgated in 1993 by the king, who serves as head of state. The monarchy remains highly revered as a symbol of national unity, but has little political power. Prince Norodom Sihamoni, who lived abroad for much of his life, succeeded his father, King Norodom Sihanouk, in 2004, after the latter abdicated for health reasons. Some palace experts charge that Sihamoni is a virtual prisoner of the government, with no control over his own activities.
The prime minister and cabinet must be approved by a majority vote in the 123-seat National Assembly, whose members are elected by party-list voting to serve five-year terms. The upper house of the bicameral parliament, the Senate, has 61 members, of whom 2 are appointed by the king, 2 are elected by the National Assembly, and 57 are chosen by local legislators. Senators serve six-year terms. Voting is tied to a citizen's permanent resident status in a village, township, or urban district, and this status cannot be changed easily. The CPP's strong influence in rural areas, with its presence of party members and control of local and provincial government officials, gives it an advantage over the opposition Sam Rainsy Party, which finds support mainly in urban centers.
Corruption is a serious problem that hinders economic development and social stability. Many in the ruling elite abuse their positions for private gain. While economic growth in recent years has been sustained by increased investment in mining, forestry, agriculture, textile manufacturing, tourism, hydropower, and real estate, these enterprises frequently involve land grabs by powerful politicians, bureaucrats, and military officers. Repeated efforts by international donors to promote tough anticorruption laws have been stalled and watered down by the government.
The government does not fully respect freedom of speech. Media controls are largely focused on local broadcast outlets. Print journalists are somewhat freer to criticize the government, but the print media reach only about 10 percent of the population. There are many privately owned print and broadcast outlets, including several owned and operated by the CPP and opposition parties, though broadcast licensing processes remain opaque. There are no restrictions on access to foreign broadcasts via satellite. The government has increasingly used lawsuits and criminal prosecution as a means of media intimidation over the past three years. A 2010 penal code drew criticism for several vague provisions relating to freedom of expression, including one that criminalizes any action that "affects the dignity" of a public official. In September 2012, journalist Hang Serei Odom, who had focused on illegal logging and its link to wealthy politicians, was killed, allegedly by a military policeman. His colleagues urged a more thorough investigation into the murder, but none was forthcoming. In April, writer and environmentalist Chut Watty, who focused on logging in protected forests, also was murdered, allegedly by police. The internet is fairly free of government control, though access is largely limited to urban centers. In November 2012, the Ministry of Communications issued a decree prohibiting internet cafes from being located within 500 meters of a school or allowing access to websites with pornographic content or those used for playing games, such as betting on football. Critics of the decree, including Reporters Without Borders, charge that the provisions can be widely interpreted by the authorities and represent a step toward tighter government control over the internet.
The majority of Cambodians are Theravada Buddhists and can generally practice their faith freely, but societal discrimination against ethnic Cham Muslims remains a problem. Terrorist attacks by Islamist militants elsewhere in Southeast Asia in recent years have raised new suspicions about Muslims. The government generally respects academic freedom, though criticism of the prime minister and his family is often punished.
The authorities' tolerance for freedoms of association and assembly has declined over the past few years, with violence against activists increasing in 2012. Authorities jailed at least thirteen women during the year, plus one activist monk, for protesting the forced resettlement of families at Boeung Kak Lake in Phnom Penh; in several instances, demonstrators also used violence, including throwing Molotov cocktails at police and smashing officers with bricks. In January, authorities opened fire on demonstrators in a land dispute in Kratie Province, and in February, local authorities shot three protestors in Bavet during a labor rally. A few weeks later, a girl was killed by authorities while protesting a forced eviction.
Civil society groups work on a broad spectrum of issues and offer social services, frequently with funding from overseas. Those that work on social or health issues, as opposed to justice and human rights, generally face less harassment from the state. Civil society activists who attempted to organize during the 2012 ASEAN meetings hosted by Cambodia were detained and kept out of meeting spaces, allegedly had electricity to their gatherings cut, and were arrested for trying to bring the issue of land evictions to members of the media present at the ASEAN events.
Cambodia has a small number of independent unions. Workers have the right to strike, and many have done so to protest low wages and poor or dangerous working conditions. Lack of resources and experience limits union success in collective bargaining, and union leaders report harassment and physical threats. The garment industry has made several compacts with international companies to ensure the fair treatment of workers, but these have not prevented the harassment of union leaders in the industry.
The judiciary is marred by inefficiency, corruption, and a lack of independence. There is a severe shortage of lawyers, and the system's poorly trained judges are subject to political pressure from the CPP, which has also undermined the Khmer Rouge tribunal. Abuse by law enforcement officers, including illegal detention and the torture of suspects, is common. Jails are seriously overcrowded, and inmates often lack sufficient food, water, and health care. Police, soldiers, and government officials are widely believed to tolerate, or be involved in, the trafficking of guns, drugs, and people, as well as other crimes.
The constitution guarantees the right to freedom of travel and movement, and the government generally respects this right. However, there have been reports of authorities restricting travel for opposition politicians, particularly during election campaigns. The Cambodian government closed the UN refugee center in Phnom Penh in early 2011, making it more difficult for Uighurs from China, Montagnards from Vietnam, and other people fleeing persecution to gain refugee status in Cambodia.
Land and property rights are regularly abused for the sake of private development projects. Over the past several years, tens of thousands of people have been forcibly removed—from both rural and urban areas, and with little or no compensation or relocation assistance—to make room for commercial plantations, mine operations, factories, and high-end office and residential developments. High-ranking officials and their family members are frequently involved in these ventures, alongside international investors.
Women suffer widespread economic and social discrimination, lagging behind men in secondary and higher education. Rape and domestic violence are common and are often tied to alcohol and drug abuse by men. Women and girls are trafficked to and from Cambodia for prostitution.


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As NHL players return to North America—those who aren't claiming asylum to escape the Islanders regime, anyway—they're being set upon by their neglected beat writers, and sharing some strange stories of their sabbaticals. Alex Picard made some new friends in the shower. Ryan Jones was handcuffed and detained at the border.
But our favorite comes from Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk, who was playing for EC Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian league. Salzburg is sponsored by, yes, energy drink company Red Bull. And according to CSN New England's Joe Haggerty, that sponsorship extended to the tiniest detail.
This seems incredibly dangerous. Sugary and caffeinated drinks may not kill you outright, but they're probably not the best thing for a sweaty, tired athlete. Hydration is key, and unless Boychuk was smuggling in bladders of water taped to his body, I'm not sure he could have survived a full season in Salzburg.


text:
Remarks by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General
Dublin, 4 November 2009
Minister Lenihan, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is a pleasure to be in Dublin to launch the 2009 OECD Economic Survey of Ireland.
Growth in the OECD area is resuming after the worst financial and economic crisis in decades. Some countries, including Ireland, have been hit very hard and the social impact, particularly on the jobs front, has been dramatic. The recovery in the OECD area so far is not only modest, but it is also very much policy-driven, reflecting the strong global response to the crisis over the past year. Much remains to be done in OECD economies to turn these early signs of improvement into self-sustaining growth. Ireland has already taken some major policy steps to get back on track.
Just over 15 years ago, this country began a period of economic growth virtually unprecedented in OECD countries. Based on open and market-oriented policies, good governance and steadfast social partnership, Ireland made the most of its membership in the European Union, fully benefitting from Structural Funds and access to the Single Market. A dynamic and flexible economy with an increasingly well-educated workforce attracted large flows of foreign investment. Employment rose and living standards increased by one-third in ten years. The country was in some respects a model of best practices. It was even dubbed the "Celtic Tiger".
Today, Ireland is going through hard times. The global crisis and the end of a massive and unsustainable property boom have hit the economy very hard. The economic contraction will be large by historical and international comparisons: the peak-to-trough contraction in real GNP is likely to be close to 13%. Recent news about the Irish economy has been more encouraging and, as a very open economy, Ireland should be able to benefit from the strengthening international economy. However, Ireland's own recovery will only begin well into 2010 and it looks like it will be relatively weak.
This 2009 OECD Economic Survey is about how Ireland puts itself on the road to recovery. Policy adjustment in Ireland has already begun and indeed is well-advanced compared with some other countries. The immediate priority was to stabilise the banking system. NAMA is designed to restore the banking system to health by cleaning up their balance sheets. Efforts should now concentrate on ensuring that NAMA implements its mandate fully to allow the banks to lend again and to protect Irish taxpayers.
More generally, if the right policy decisions continue to be taken, Ireland will be on the path to a more sustainable and ultimately stronger economy.
Let me introduce vey briefly the main messages of the Survey. The study highlights three challenges.
1. Rebuilding the public finances
First, the need to repair public finances. Following many years of budget surplus, the fiscal balance swung dramatically into deficit to reach over 8% of GDP in 2008. This has helped to support the real economy but did not leave any room for discretionary fiscal expansion in the aftermath of the crisis.
The deficit has continued to worsen this year. Tax revenues have collapsed: current receipts are 16% lower this year than last despite tax increases. With higher unemployment, social spending is inevitably also on the rise. From a low starting position, public debt is rising at fast pace.
The government has taken several necessary and courageous measures to stabilise the public finances: fiscal consolidation amounting to around 5% of GDP has already been undertaken. But, the deficit will remain high. Substantial fiscal consolidation remains necessary in the forthcoming budget and over subsequent years. The government should stick to the budgetary plans it has outlined. This will require hard choices.
Measures have been taken to raise revenues. The Income levy does this in an efficient and progressive way. However, there remains scope to do more to broaden the tax base. The Commission on Taxation has set out useful proposals.
During the property boom, OECD Economic Surveys warned of the risks from the bias in the Irish tax system in favour of home ownership. Ireland cannot afford to go into another economic cycle without a reform of property taxation. Property taxes are an efficient way of raising revenue and the Commission on Taxation has recommended their introduction.
Government expenditure in recent years increased rapidly: spending was 50% higher in real terms last year than five years before. Some of this was justified as public services adjusted to the needs of a larger and more affluent population. High public investment contributed to a much needed upgrading of the infrastructure. But, this level of spending cannot be sustained and must now be adjusted.
This is a delicate manoeuvre. Adjustment must be carefully planned and targeted to preserve services to the public and ensure that the most vulnerable in society are supported. The Special Group on public spending, known as An Bord Snip, has identified a wide range of possible actions, calling for steps to raise public sector efficiency.
The required reductions in government spending are an opportunity to reform and modernise public services to make them more efficient and responsive to citizens. The OECD's 2008 review "Towards An Integrated Public Service" recommended increasing the focus on performance, stronger budgetary frameworks, cutting the number of agencies, increasing flexibility of staffing, and better use of e-government. You can count on the OECD's support to move forward in these crucial lines of action.
2. Getting people into work
The second big and urgent challenge is tackling unemployment and getting people into work. More than 12% of the workforce is now out of work, up from just 4.5% two years ago. We understand the strain this puts on families and local communities. Labour demand is weak and joblessness will unfortunately remain high in the short run, even with strong outward migration.
The Irish labour market benefits from being very flexible and this has again been demonstrated in this downturn. But, unless the right targeted policies are put in place to help people back into work, the risk is that unemployment will remain very high for a long time, even as economic activity begins to recover.
As the Survey shows, unemployment insurance benefits for low-skilled people in Ireland can be high by international comparison, making it less attractive to look for work. At the same time, OECD analysis has shown that Ireland's activation policies to help the unemployed return to work are less demanding than in other countries, with less frequent contact expected with employment services.
More than ever, Ireland needs to make sure that it has first-class policies to help unemployed people back into jobs. Along with reassessing benefit payments, this requires more effective activation measures. As international best practices show, the objective has to be to encourage people to stay connected to the labour market. This is particularly important for young people and other vulnerable groups.
Specifically, the Survey recommends creating a single agency dealing with the unemployed, both ensuring they get the right benefits and encouraging them to find work or learn new skills through training. Most OECD countries have already moved to this model. Some existing and costly labour market programmes, such as Community Employment, will need to be scaled back. Disability benefits should be reformed to make sure that they do not encourage older workers, who could still work, to drop out of the labour market. Taken together, these reforms would help to reduce unemployment as the economy picks up.
3. Boosting competitiveness
The third challenge that we highlight is the need to restore international competitiveness. Ireland has been a favoured destination for foreign investors. But, Irish costs have risen fast in the past decade, putting the economy at a competitive disadvantage. Wages and prices need to fall back to boost Ireland's exports as the world economy recovers and to move away from over-reliance on domestic demand.
Prices are already falling, and by more than the average for the euro area: the harmonized index of consumer prices fell by 3% in September from a year ago. There is also evidence of a reduction in nominal wages. This shows a remarkable degree of flexibility by international standards, both in the private and public sectors, although the effects on indebtedness will need to be handled carefully.
Prices in sheltered services are high by international comparison because of weak competition among firms and providers. These include important sectors like retail, the legal profession, pharmacies, doctors and pubs, in addition to the network industries. The Survey recommends removing unnecessarily restrictive regulations, strengthening competition policy and changes to planning laws. Greater competition will mean lower prices for consumers and businesses, as well as reinforcing Ireland's attractiveness to foreign investment.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Irish experience from the mid-1990s has been remarkable. The gains in living standards from a dynamic, flexible and highly-skilled economy will be sustained in the long run, despite the current downturn. While Ireland's high growth rates of the late 1990s are unlikely to be repeated, taking the right determined decisions today will help to ensure that this recovery gathers momentum and leads to a more sustainable and stronger economy in the future. The authorities have already taken big steps, but further efforts will be required in the coming months and years.
We very much hope that this Survey can contribute to your efforts to achieve a full economic recovery and give Ireland the bright, innovative and confident future it deserves .
Thank you very much.
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