text:
José Ramos-Horta
Nobel Lecture
Nobel Lecture, December 10, 1996
Suas Majestades, Honoráveis Membros do Comité Nobel da Paz, Senhores Presidentes, Senhores Primeiros Ministros, Excelências:
Com vossa permissão as minhas primeiras palavras serão na lingua de Camões, Fernando Pessoa, Agostinho Neto, Jorge Amado, Xanana Gusmão.
Apesar da brutal colonização Indonésia e da repressão cultural dos últimos 21 anos, da proibição de uma lingua e cultura que chegaram à nossa região há cerca de 500 anos, em Timor Leste esta língua secular ainda persiste teimosamente.
Sendo o segundo timorense de nacionalidade portuguesa a ser honrado com o Prémio Nobel da Paz, o primeiro é o nosso respeitado e venerado bispo Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, faltaria à minha herança histórica e consciência se não começasse esta minha intervenção na língua que hoje une mais de 200 milhões de pessoas nas cinco regiões do mundo.
É com um profundo sentimento de humildade que me associo aqui a Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo para receber o Prémio Nobel da Paz 1996 que foi outorgado ao povo de Timor Leste.
Registo a minha eterna gratidão àqueles que me, propuseram para este prémio. Estou Ihes para sempre moralmente endividado e asseguro que as modestas dádivas de saúde e inteligência que Deus me deu serão sempre postas ao serviço da paz e justiça para o meu povo e para a causa da paz, liberdade e democracia em todas as latitudes onde a minha fraca voz possa ser ouvida.
Apenas par razões práticas vou continuar a minha intervenção na língua inglesa.
I will now resume my speech in English
Your Majesties, Honourable Members of the Nobel Committee, Presidents, Prime Ministers, Excellencies:
With your permission, my first words will be in the language of Camões, Fernando Pessoa, Agostinho Neto, Jorge Amado and Xanana Gusmão.
In spite of the brutal Indonesian colonisation and cultural repression of the past 21 years that attempted to eradicate a language and culture that reached our region almost 500 centuries ago, in East Timor this rich centuries-old language survives stubbornly.
Being the second East Timorese of Portuguese nationality to be honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize (the first is our respected and revered Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo), I would be failing my own historical heritage and conscience if I were to start this Nobel lecture in another language other than in the language that unites more than 200 million people in the five regions of the world.
It is with a deep feeling of humility that I join today with Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo to receive the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize that has been bestowed on the people of East Timor.
My eternal gratitude to those who nominated me. I am for ever morally indebted to, and I can assure them, that God's modest gifts of health and wisdom to me will always be put to the service of peace and justice not only for my country and people but also for the cause of peace, freedom and democracy everywhere where my faint voice can be heard.
My deepest appreciation goes to the Nobel Committee for having chosen us for the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize. Your generosity in thinking of the wretched of the earth, and your courage in standing up to the might of States, the cynicism and indifference of too many and betrayal by some, tells also a lot about the soul and history of courage of this great country of yours that fought bravely during World War II.
In recent years Norway has played a central role in fostering dialogue and peace among historical enemies. In the Middle East and Central America, your discreet nature, determination and creativity have proven that some of the world's seemingly intractable conflicts can be resolved when there is an honest mediator and when the parties in the conflict are willing to end the war.
Small countries like Norway, Costa Rica and Portugal, and others, can succeed in mediating conflicts when mighty powers failed. Diplomacy and mediation are not prerogatives of the major powers. The small and medium-size countries without ambitions to a neo-imperial role and whose strength is their moral integrity are best placed to open dialogue among the parties in a conflict.
The East Timorese Church
The real winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize is our spiritual leader, Dom Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo. He is the embodiment of the East Timorese people's resilience, moral rectitude, dignity and identity, and its long quest for peace and freedom. In Dom Carlos the people of East Timor have found spiritual comfort and some sense of security from the daily threats to their very existence.
The people of East Timor owe almost everything to their Church. Hence, the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize is a tribute to the whole church, the courageous priests, nuns and lay workers and the people of East Timor.
My share of the Nobel Peace prize will go entirely to a Foundation to be called Peace and Democracy Dom Martinho da Costa Lopes. I know this is too small a tribute to this great man who gave his life to his church and people.
The solidarity movement
I would like also to express my gratitude to three organisations that in the past honoured my people with less well-known awards but with equal importance for our people. To Professor Thoralf Rafto Human Rights Foundation from Bergen, Gleitsman Foundation, from California, and the UN-Represented Nations and Peoples Organisation (UNPO) based in The Hague, goes my profound gratitude.
With the men, women and children in many parts of the world who have given us so many years of their lives I wish to share this moment of joy. Without the generous solidarity movement we would be even poorer and alone. Some of our good friends have passed away from this earth: Denis Freney, Michelle Turner, Michel Robert, Carlos Vilares, the little and beautiful Sarah Taylor whom God took away at age 15. We will remember them forever.
Angola, Cap Verde, Guinea Bissau, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe
My special greetings of friendship and eternal gratitude to my good friend, President Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, for having taken the trouble to fly to Oslo to be with us.
You have been with us in our most lonely years when the rest of the world pretended we did not exist or offered us advice on how best to surrender. From this Noble rostrum I bow to your late predecessor, Samora Moisés Machel, one of the greatest men Africa has known.
My special greetings and deepest gratitude to presidents José Eduardo dos Santos of Angola, Mascarenhas Monteiro of Cape Verde, Nino Vieira of Guinea-Bissau, and Miguel Trovoada of São Tomé and Príncipe for their friendship and generosity.
Your peoples and countries have been with us through our lonely years and I believe that you will be with us still in the years to come.
To the people of Angola who have suffered beyond imagination and are still in a painful process of national reconciliation, I extend our solidarity and friendship.
Angola paid a heavy price for the liberation of Namibia and South Africa. Yet there has not been enough recognition of the enormous contribution that the two lusophone countries, Angola and Mozambique, gave to the liberation of Southern Africa.
I wish to state from this august rostrum the eternal gratitude of the people of East Timor and my own to the people of Portugal, the President, our good friend Dr. Jorge Sampaio and his predecessor, Dr. Mário Soares, a man of principles and compassion.
Through Your Excellency, Mr. President, I humbly ask you to convey to your wonderful and generous people, members of Parliament and government, past and present, our most heartfelt appreciation for your gallant efforts in support of our struggle.
For many years you fought a lonely battle in the European Union against the indifference and even hostility of some of your partners. Yon have shown not only to us the East Timorese but to other smaller nations in the world that principles and morality have not been taken over completely by mercantile interests.
I recently visited Brazil and was warmly welcomed by everyone. I humbly ask President Jose Sarney to convey to President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and through him to all the people of Brazil our admiration and affection for your great country and people. My warmest greetings to Betinho, Dom Paulo Evaristo and Dom Helder Camara, the conscience of the poor of Brazil and the world.
Your Majesties:
This speech belongs to someone else who should be here today. He is an outstanding man of courage, tolerance and statesmanship. Yet, this man is in prison for no crime other than his ideas and vision of peace, freedom and dignity of his people.
Xanana Gusmão, leader of the people of East Timor, remains incommunicado in a prison thousands of miles away from his country. His trial in 1993 was universally condemned as a charade and was no more valid than the Dutch imprisonment and trial of the late President Sukarno, founding father of the Indonesian Republic.
I bow to Xanana and through him to my good friends Nino Konis Santana, David Alex, Tahur Matan Ruak, Fernando Araújo and all East Timorese prisoners of conscience in jails in East Timor and Indonesia, to the thousands of victims of torture, widows and orphans. I bow to the memory of Sabalae and the thousands of our dead.
Through Xanana I bow to my people with profound respect, loyalty and humility because they are the martyrs, the real heroes and peace-makers.
The New Order regime and the Indonesian people
The East Timorese are not the exclusive victims of the Indonesian New Order regime installed in 1965. For more than 30 years, the Indonesian people have known massacres, imprisonment, torture, bans on writers, journalists, academics and labour leaders. Moslems, Catholics, Buddhists and Hindus have all known their share of repression. The only non-discriminatory policy of the New Order regime is when it comes to repression.
I pay tribute to the many tens of thousands of Indonesians who died in their own struggle for freedom and democracy, who languished in the jails of the New Order, or were forced into exile in China, Albania, USSR and Western Europe. I met many of them over the years and shared long hours of conversation about our people's suffering and dreams.
The lessons of the Jewish holocaust
In 1939, a few months before the outbreak of World War II, Harry Truman read a passionate message from President Roosevelt to the "National Meeting for Moral Rearmament" held in Washington.
The same time as the conference delegates were listening and applauding President Roosevelt's moral speech, 900 Jewish refugees on a boat from Germany anchored off Florida were waiting for a decision from Washington as to whether they should find sanctuary in the US or be sent back.
Finally, word came that their application for refugee status had been denied. The desperate refugees did not convince the morally courageous delegates to the "National Meeting for Moral Rearmament" that they had a valid fear of persecution. The 900 men, women and children were sent back to Germany. Many ended up in Hitler's death camps.
More than half a century after the Jewish holocaust and centuries after the genocide of the indigenous peoples of Australia and the Americas, the same attitude that has allowed these crimes to take place persists today.
Opinion-makers and leaders, academics, writers and journalists who pretend to be objective and neutral in the face of racism and discrimination, the rape of a small nation by a larger power, the persecution of a weaker people by a ruthless army must share the guilt. No amount of intellectual argument will suffice to erase their responsibility.
Synagogues are still being desecrated. Gypsies are still discriminated against. Indigenous peoples continue to see their ancestral land taken over by developers, their culture and beliefs, and their very existence reduced to a tourist commodity.
Like the Jews and Armenians in the past, like the Kurdish, Gypsies, Tibetans, Aborigines of Australia, Maoris of Aotearoa (New Zealand), Kanakis of New Caledonia, the peoples of Western Sahara, and the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, the East Timorese are a mere footnote of history, an expendable people.
Cold War footnote
The conflict in East Timor can be traced back to the political context of the Cold War.
Yon might recall a picture that made headlines in the spring of 1975. I refer to the picture of an American helicopter landing on the rooftop of the IKS Embassy in Saigon to rescue remaining diplomats, CIA operatives and a few privileged South Vietnamese stooges as Saigon fell to the Vietcong. Cambodia and Laos followed. This picture illustrated better than a thousand words the ignominious American retreat from Indochina.
In another continent, in the horn of Africa, the longest reigning US ally, emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, had been overthrown a year earlier by radical army officers. Further south, the Portuguese empire had collapsed. These events seemed to confirm Lyndon B. Johnson's domino theory which was the rationale for US intervention in Indochina.
It was in this geopolitical context that President Gerald Ford and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, visited Jakarta in early December 1975 as part of an Asian tour to reassure leaders of the region that the US would continue to honour its security commitments in Asia.
The invasion of East Timor which took place within hours of Ford's departure from Jakarta was a mere footnote in the Cold War events of 1975. Thousands of East Timorese who died in the days, weeks, months and years that followed were mere footnotes to the post-Vietnam and Cold War.
Inviolability of colonial boundaries
One and a half years before these events, in June 1974, I visited Jakarta, in my capacity as Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Timorese Social Democratic Association, that had just been created, less than a month earlier. I had the privilege of meeting with the then Foreign Minister of Indonesia, Mr. Adam Malik. After our third round of talks, Mr. Malik addressed to me a letter which read in part:
The independence of every country is the right of every nation, with no exception for the people of (East) Timor;
… whoever will govern in Timor in the future after independence can be assured that the government of Indonesia will always strive to maintain good relations, friendship and co-operation for the benefit of both countries.
The following year, in April 1975, I again visited Indonesia and met with President Suharto's senior adviser, Gen. Ali Mortopo, to whom I reiterated our collective desire to develop friendly relations with Indonesia. Gen. Mortopo reassured me that Indonesia harboured no territorial ambitions over East Timor. However, we soon learned that the word of an Indonesian general or diplomat can be broken as easily as it is spoken.
Some simple but fundamental issues need to be addressed. Does Indonesia have a valid historical claim to East Timor?
The current boundary of the Republic of Indonesia is a product of the Dutch East Indies administration. West New Guinea was absorbed by the Republic not because of a reasonable historical, cultural, ethnic kinship or geographic continuity. The only link that justified the annexation was West New Guinea's brief colonisation by the Dutch.
The arbitrary carving up of Africa at the Berlin Conference can be blamed for some of Africa's problems today but respect for the colonial boundaries, as unfair as most might be, has provided some peace and stability and kept most of Africa, Latin America and Asia from disintegrating.
Saddam Hussein of Iraq attempted to redraw the map and rectify what he perceived to be an unfair colonial legacy by invading Kuwait. Iran has longstanding claims over Bahrain. In Latin America there are some inter-state territorial disputes as a result of perceived unfair border delimitation.
The right of peoples to self-determination
From the Chittagon Hill Tracts in Bangladesh to Bougainville, Kurdistan, Sri Lanka, India, Tibet, Chechnya, Ogoni, West Papua, millions of peoples seek to assert their most fundamental rights and if we attempt to find a common denominator for the problems I have just listed there is one: the right of peoples to self-determination.
In most cases the demands are not for secession. They are about their survival as a people with a language and a culture, with their land and environment protected from rapacious multinationals. Only when these basic demands are not met has there been recourse to other forms of struggle with an escalation in their demands.
While self-determination in the de-colonisation process of the non-self-governing territories almost always led to independence, this is not the case in most of the conflicts of today. The cases of Western Sahara and East Timor, are the two most salient failure's of decolonization. In the case of Western Sahara, the UN has allowed itself to be a pawn in the machinations of a minor regional power.
The preservation of the territorial integrity of a country can be achieved only if those in power are sensitive to the basic demands and aspirations of the many indigenous peoples and nationalities that make up the country.
Brute force might silence and keep dormant the dreams and aspirations of a people but the anger simmering for decades will inevitably resurface and break-up the country.
The right of the people of East Timor to self-determination
The right of the people of East Timor to self-determination is widely recognised. Apart from the former Spanish territory of Western Sahara, East Timor is the largest non-self-governing territory in the UN GA decolonization list which dates back to 1960.
The UN General Assembly and Security Council have adopted a total of 10 resolutions on the question of East Timor all reaffirming this right.
In its ruling of 30 June 1995 on the Case Concerning East Timor, Portugal vs Australia, the International Court of Justice stated that the right of sell-determination has an erga omnes character and that the people of East Timor are entitled to it.
Dialogue without pre-conditions and the CNRM Peace Plan
The Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and South Africa's transition to democracy give us renewed hope in that they demonstrate that seemingly intractable problems can be resolved if there is political will and vision by all involved.
In this room today there are East Timorese leaders of every persuasion, some have come all the way from East Timor, Portugal and Australia, and I can speak for all when I say that we are ready to enter into a process of dialogue with the Indonesian authorities, under the auspices of the United Nations, without pre-conditions, to explore all possible ideas towards a comprehensive settlement of the conflict.
In 1992, after thorough consultation with our people in the country, Xanana Gusmão gave his seal of authority to what is now known as the CNRM Peace Plan which was formally presented to a meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels on 22 April 1992.
The CNRM proposal remains valid as a modest contribution towards finding a solution to the conflict.
Phase One – Humanitarian phase
This phase which should take up to two years to be fully implemented, would involve all three parties working with the UN to implement a wide range of "confidence building measures", (CBMs) but would not deal with the core of the problem which is the issue of self-determination.
These CBMs must include release of all prisoners, end of torture and summary executions and a drastic reduction in Indonesia troop presence in the territory.
These are some of the ideas which I believe could be implemented immediately without loss of face for Indonesia. Its international standing would improve significantly and its presence in the territory would be less resented, thus relieving a very tense situation.
In view of the time constraints, the full text of this plan is attached to this speech.
Phase Two – Autonomy, 5 years
Phase two, lasting between five to ten years, would be a period of genuine political autonomy based on ample powers vested in a local, democratically elected Territorial People's Assembly.
At the end of the second phase, the autonomous status of the territory could be extended by mutual accord.
The East Timorese people, having enjoyed a period of peace and freedom without the presence of the most hated symbol of the occupation, the army, might accept to continue this form of association.
Conversely, the changing generation, altitudes and perception in Indonesia might result in Indonesia accepting as natural that East Timor becomes independent.
Phase Three – Self-determination
If all parties agree that Phase Three should enter into effect immediately, then the UN begins to prepare a referendum on self-determination to determine the final status of the territory.
If God willing, East Timor becomes independent, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to share with you, our vision for our country's future and role in the region.
Our vision for the future
East Timor is at the crossroads of three major cultures: Melanesian, which binds us to our brothers and sisters of the South Pacific region; Malay-Polynesian binding us to Southeast Asia; and the Latin Catholic influence, a legacy of almost 500 years of Portuguese colonisation. This rich historical and cultural existence place us in a unique position to build bridges of dialogue and co-operation between the peoples of the region.
East Timor will maintain close lies with Portugal, a country which colonised us for almost half a millennium has shown an abiding commitment to our right to self-determination. Portugal and East Timor will be most valuable partners for ASEAN in its relations with the ELI, Africa and Latin America.
Australia and the South Pacific
The majority of the East Timorese residents outside the country are in Australia. In spite of our sadness over Australia's role on East Timor I wish to state here our deepest appreciation to Australia for the shelter, hospitality and generosity shown to the thousands of East Timorese refugees on Australian soil.
We appreciate the many representations the previous and current governments of Australia have made to impress upon the government of Indonesia regarding the human rights situation in East Timor. No other Western country has been more persistent in this regard.
We fought together during World War II and many East Timorese gave their lives for our common cause. Now and in the future, we look up to Australia for help. An independent East Timor will seek close relations with Australia and membership in the South Pacific Forum.
ASEAN and APEC
We are conscious of our geography which compels us to co-exist with our neighbours in that part of the world. We will seek membership in ASEAN and APEC within days of our independence.
A Zone of Peace
We will not have a standing army. For our external security, we will rely on a Treaty of Neutrality to be guaranteed by the permanent members of the Security Council. We will endeavour with the UN and our neighbours to declare our region and the seas surrounding East Timor a Zone of Peace and Development.
Rule of Law
We will endeavour to build a strong democratic state based on the rule of law which must emanate from the will of the people expressed through free and democratic elections.
Human rights and international obligations
All international human rights treaties will be submitted to the Parliament for ratification.
We believe that human rights transcend boundaries and must prevail over state sovereignty.
We will introduce into the school curriculum at an early stage starting in the kindergarten the subject of human rights.
We will actively work with like-minded countries, NGOs and the media to strengthen the UN human rights machinery.
Amnesty and national reconciliation
East Timorese now serving in the Indonesian administration in East Timor, the security forces and police, should not fear an independent East Timor. They will be invited to stay on. Their full and active involvement in running the country will be necessary to insure a smooth transition.
Our society will not be based on revenge. Because of its credibility and standing, the Catholic Church will be expected to play a major role in the healing process of our society.
In August 1975, too many East Timorese died in brief but violent civil strife. Many more died even after the invasion because some in the leadership of the movement I belonged to, took upon themselves the role of judges and executioners.
National reconstruction and development
East Timor is a relatively small country. But with an area of 18,889 km2 and a total population of 700,000 (1974 figures), it is at least equal to, if not larger, in size and population, than some 40 independent states. It is potentially self-sufficient in most agricultural goods, meat and fish. It has large reserves of oil, natural gas, marble and manganese.
The invasion up-rooted thousands of people. Properties were abandoned, destroyed or sold at unfair prices. This situation will be redressed. A voluntary resettlement plan will be effected to allow the many tens of thousands of displaced East Timorese to return to their ancestral lands. We believe in free education and health care for our people. The money saved from not having a standing army will be well used in these areas. With the co-operation of WHO we will seek to eradicate malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases within a decade.
Indonesian migrants
ll is estimated that over 100,000 Indonesians are now living in East Timor. Most are poor Indonesians who came to our country looking for a better life. Indonesian migrants in East Timor will be welcome to stay.
The Suharto regime, its achievements and what it should do
No one can honestly suggest that the 30-year regime of Gen. Suharto has not done good for Indonesia. The record of the past 20 years has been impressive. The Suharto regime lifted the Indonesian economy from extreme poverty to the status of an economic tiger. Living standards, literacy, health care and food production increased to impressive levels.
President Suharto can show leadership by releasing all prisoners, meeting Indonesia's greatest living author, Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Megawati Sukarnoputri, leader of the PDI, daughter of Indonesia's founding father, the late Bung Karno, Muchtar Pakpahan, Indonesia's Lech Walesa, Sri Bintang, George Aditjondro, Indonesia's most decorated environmentalist.
The leaders and militants of the PRD are among the best children of Indonesia. Instead of hunting them he should invite them to his palace for dialogue about the future.
Fostering a democratic and peaceful transition in Indonesia
No country, no matter how rich and endowed with natural resources, is an island unto itself. In an increasingly smaller world and competitive age, where modern electronic communications break the barriers of silence erected by dictators, Indonesia cannot continue to flout the right of the people of East Timor to self-determination and the rule of law in Indonesia.
The next two to three years will witness a transition in Indonesia. Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada and the EU can encourage a peaceful, evolutionary transition with a discrete yet firm policy of pushing for democratic reforms and rule of law in Indonesia and for a genuine act of self-determination in East Timor.
The role of the international community
We are as determined as we are optimistic about our future. To Indonesia and our other neighbours in the ASEAN we are offering a hand of friendship and appealing to them to help us bring peace and freedom to East Timor.
The EU, working with the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Indonesia's partners in ASEAN, can accelerate the on-going dialogue under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General, and give it some impetus and real substance.
The US Administration is the only major power that has adopted some concrete measures to encourage changes in Indonesia and East Timor. I express here our sincere appreciation to President Clinton for his actions on East Timor and I appeal to him to lend his youthful energy and compassion towards a permanent resolution of the conflict which he once described as "unconscionable".
The West and arms sales
We are not asking that Indonesia be punished with comprehensive economic sanctions. We believe that economic engagement with a country can at times foster positive changes through the development of a democratically conscious class.
However, we find it repulsive that the Western countries that more loudly make rhetorical speeches about human rights are the ones that manufacture most weapons that have killed more than 20 million people in the developing world since World War II.
Land mines, torture equipment, cluster bombs, chemical weapons are weapons designed to inflict pain and death on human beings. Most victims are civilians, women and children. How can arms manufacturers, weapons designers, plant managers, politicians, who have families of their own whom they love, be so insensitive when it comes to the suffering of other human beings?
Human rights and "Asian values"
The peoples of Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, and the democracy movements in China and Indonesia are telling the rest of the world that democracy and human rights are not an invention of the West.
The thousands of Asians who died in the streets of Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta, Rangoon, Beijing, did not die for a so-called "Asian value" that denies the people of Asia the basic and fundamental freedoms enjoyed in Europe, Latin America and in an increasing number of countries in Africa.
South Korea
The brave people of Korea who endured decades of dictatorship and occupation won the struggle for democracy not with guns but with their tenacity in fighting the troops in the streets of Seoul and Kwangju.
The South Korean people can also show greater courage by being magnanimous and forgive those who have done wrong. Sometimes in history individuals in power are driven to commit wanton crimes but those who survive and are in power today should resist the temptation to exact revenge in the name of justice.
The death sentence must be abolished and the brave people of Korea should set the example by commuting the death sentence on former President Chun Do Hwan. From here I appeal to my Korean friends not to exact revenge against those who have been defeated. In victory be magnanimous.
I extend our most heartfelt solidarity to the brave people of Burma and their elected leader, Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, in their struggle for democracy, rule of law and human rights.
At a time when some ASEAN rulers are conniving with the SLORC regime to deny the people of Burma their democratic victory, we must all stand up and redouble our efforts to restore democracy to Burma.
The US and the EU must be commended for their leadership in support of the restoration of democracy in Burma but they must escalate the pressure with additional diplomatic and economic sanctions against the SLORC.
I also fully endorse the recommendations on Burma adopted by the Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia Pacific led by Kim Dae Jung and Cory Aquino in their recent meeting in Manila.
China, Taiwan, Tibet
When the UN SC debated the issue of East Timor in 1975 and 1976 China was our closest ally. I worked closely with very able Chinese diplomats. In spite of the indifference of the other four permanent members, China, along with other non-permanent members, succeeded in pushing the SC to adopt two resolutions on East Timor.
It is with this feeling of gratitude and admiration for China that I appeal to the Chinese leaders to listen to their own people's opinions and desires for a more open society, based on the rule of law, democracy, and freedom of speech. These are after all rights that are granted to each Chinese citizen by their own Constitution.
Wei Jing Zhen is one of China's best children. He is being wasted away when his talents could best be used in the service of his fellow Chinese people and country.
The people of Taiwan have shown great maturity, responsibility and commitment to peace and democracy. While there is no dispute that Taiwan is part of China, as long as there is no progress on the issue of peaceful reunification of the two countries, I believe that the cause of dialogue and peace can best be served if Taiwan is granted observer status in the UN as was the case in the past with South and North Korea, South and North Vietnam. After all, China has not objected to Taiwan and Hong Kong joining the APEC.
China should listen to the voice of peace and moderation of the Tibetan people. For many years the Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, has offered a moderate peace proposal to the Chinese authorities to settle the Tibetan conflict.
Cyprus, a shining example of democracy and tolerance, remains divided and occupied by a NATO ally whose history of aggression and violence is well-known.
Recently I received a letter signed by the students of Classes C11 and C22 of Kykko B Lyceum in Nicosia who wrote:
Your homeland is an occupied country at the far end of the ocean. Our homeland lies partly occupied at the far end of the Mediterranean. We live in a divided city and we cannot cross the dividing line …
To the students of Kykko B Lyceum I can only say that like the ancient Armenia you too will recover your lost land.
The prophets of doom
The world has changed dramatically over the last few years and the theorists of irreversibility and status quo have been discredited by the collapse of the USSR.
Who would have thought it possible that the great Armenian people, persecuted for hundreds of years would regain a country called Armenia? The entire world conspired against the Eritrean people. Americans, Russians and Cubans all connived against that small nation. Two great nations, Israelis and Palestinians, who swore eternal hatred have shown courage and wisdom and began a painful process of dialogue. In South Africa, former enemies are trying to rebuild their common home.
Last but not least, for the prophets of doom, for those in government who counsel us "realism", allow me to remind them of a news item in the ever reliable BBC a few years ago.
It was sometime in early 1991 and I was driving from the small Swiss town of Nyon, to the Palais des Nations in Geneva, to yet another round of futility in a place where some diplomats pretend to be too busy to listen to real problems of real peoples.
The BBC was telling us the story of a Soviet cosmonaut who had gone into space a few months earlier on one of those record-breaking missions in space. When he was blasted off from somewhere in the Soviet Union he carried a passport and a nationality granted to him by the most feared military empire in the world.
Once he completed his tour of duty for the pride of the socialist motherland he prepared the spacecraft for its return voyage to earth. But he no longer had a country to return to. The mighty empire had ceased to exist. He was forced to circle the earth a few days longer until people of good will on earth decided to which country he should go to.
With this note, I will end with renewed hope that no matter the level of brute force used against us, our dreams will never die.
God bless you all. Thank you.
Phase One (one to two years to be implemented)
The CNRM does not pretend that this plan is the only blue-print for a peaceful resolution of the East Timor conflict. However, it believes that it at least can be the basis for discussion by all parties.
This phase of the talks must focus on achieving:
- Immediate end to all armed activities in East Timor;
- Reduction of Indonesian troop presence to a maximum of 1000 within a six-month period;
- Removal of all heavy weapons, tanks, helicopters, combat aircraft, long-range artillery;
- Immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners;
- Reduction by 50 per cent of Indonesian civil servants in East Timor;
- Stationing in the territory of UN Specialised Agencies such as UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, FAO;
- A comprehensive census of the population;
- Establishment of an independent Human Rights Commission under the Catholic Bishop;
- Lifting of all media control by the army;
- Freedom of political activities;
- Removal of restrictions on the teaching of Portuguese; a Portuguese Cultural Institute is set up;
- Appointment of a resident representative of the UN Secretary-General.
Phase Two — Autonomy phase (5 to 10 years)
Full implementation of phase one is a pre-requisite for the successful implementation of phase two. Elections for a Territorial Assembly will be free and fair only if they are conducted after the full implementation of phase one.
The following must be implemented in the second phase:
- Political parties, including those advocating independence for East Timor; are legalised;
- The EU sets up a legation in East Timor headed by a senior Portuguese official;
- Elections are held for a Territorial, Assembly. The UN to provide technical support and supervision of the entire process;
- Only Timorese identified as such may vote and be eligible;
- The Assembly elects a Governor of the Territory;
- The Assembly and the Governor have a 5-year mandate;
- The Territory may enter into trade relations with foreign countries, promulgate its own laws affecting investment, land ownership, property, immigration, etc.;
- Remaining Indonesian troops are withdrawn within three months;
- The Territory will have no army. A police force is trained by the UN and is placed under the elected governor;
- Further reduction of Indonesian civil servants;
- Portugal and Indonesia normalise relations.
The second phase can be extended only if a 2/3 majority of the Assembly deputies vote for such an extension and this recommendation has to be put to a referendum.
This referendum is a safeguard for the people since there is no guarantee that the Territorial Assembly members will reflect the true sentiments of the people on such a crucial issue.
It is obvious that if the result of this referendum results in a majority rejection of the extension of the autonomy status the implication will be that the people will reject integration in Indonesia.
Phase Three (referendum on self-determination)
If the Territorial Assembly rejects an extension of the autonomy phase, or if the Assembly votes in support of an extension but this vote is rejected in a referendum, then the final status of the territory is resolved.
A UN-supervised referendum is held on the three options provided for in the UN GA Res. 1514 (XV) of 15 December 1960: independence, free association (with the colonial power Portugal) or integration with another independent state (Indonesia).
A referendum must be held within one year of the end of Phase Two.
Watch the 2023 Nobel Prize announcements
Watch the live stream of the announcements.


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Venus - Mixed Media Painting on Canvas
Venus - Mixed Media Painting on Canvas
Bizarre Cartoons
Type: original work of art
Medium: acrylic, spray paint on canvas
Date: 2022
Dimensions: 12 inches wide x 16 inches
Cost: This artwork is available for purchase with the cost of shipping (CAN & USA) plus applicable taxes. Local pickup is available (no shipping cost locally).
Artwork is original (not a copy or print) and is signed & dated on the front and back by the artist. If the artwork is a painting, it will have wiring to be ready for display but it is recommended to custom frame for enhanced effect. Artwork will be carefully packed and shipped the next business day upon receipt of payment.
Chameleon: The Artwork of M. H. Yaghooti
A portfolio of over 100 selected early works from the years 2000-2010 in a variety of mediums.

subset: commoncrawl


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LinkedIn will now notify its members whenever their contacts interact with them in a variety of ways, such as liking something they posted.
These alerts will be added in real time to a new section of the user's account home page, called Notifications. Whenever there is a new item, a red circle will appear on the Notifications section label.
"This new feature is all part of our ongoing effort to make it easier to keep engaging discussions going with your network," wrote LinkedIn official Angela Yang in a blog post on Wednesday.
LinkedIn started rolling out this feature Wednesday, but it may take "a few weeks" to be activated for all users.
This notifications feature will also "soon" be added to LinkedIn's mobile applications for iOS and Android devices.
LinkedIn has about 175 million members worldwide who use the site to engage in professional networking.
With a LinkedIn account, users can create profiles detailing their professional experience, build a list of contacts, post comments and links, join groups, check out job postings and view news relevant to them.
In addition to basic free accounts, LinkedIn also has paid accounts that give subscribers more features and capabilities, primarily in the area of job hunting. LinkedIn also offers paid accounts tailored for professional recruiters and for sales executives.
In the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, LinkedIn increased its revenue year over year by almost 90 percent to US$228.2 million, while net income fell 38 percent to $2.8 million. LinkedIn's stock closed at $113.28 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange, up 5.5 percent. In the past 52 weeks, it has ranged from $55.98 to $120.63.
Juan Carlos Perez covers enterprise communication/collaboration suites, operating systems, browsers and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Juan on Twitter at @JuanCPerezIDG.


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Sweet trail, sweet riding from the coastal crew! If you have already seen this excerpt from the movie Kranked Revolved, I hope you won't mind watching it again. Otherwise, if you are seeing it for the first time, get ready for one of the funnest looking trails you have ever seen (if that kind of riding is your style). As a fellow freeride trail builder, seeing this trail inspires me, it is simply amazing work.
Love the riding too, of course!


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Thanksgiving recipes
Get recipes for gingerbread cookies, gingerbread cake, gingerbread muffins—even gingerbread waffles and pancakes. These treats will fill your home with the scents of nutmeg, ginger, cloves and more.
These 11 Thanksgiving recipes hew to tradition, but a handful of small changes—orange zest in the biscuits, cider in the gravy—transform familiar dishes. Try our recipes for Thanksgiving turkey, side...
Sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole, roasted sweet potatoes, sweet potato soup, sweet potato rolls—browse more than 30 sweet potato recipes to find the right one for your meal.
Scandinavian cookies, creamy dips and roasted meats from three Midwest chefs are among the recipes in our November/December 2014 issue.
Take a crowd-pleasing vegetable, dessert, salad, appetizer or stuffing to your holiday potluck dinner with any of our recipes.
Peppermint adds to the festive look and flavor of these holiday dessert recipes: cookies, pies, fudge, ice cream, brownies, cheesecake and more.
From the first cookies to the final toast, the holidays are all about making, baking and sharing food. Let our annual Holiday Cookbook recipes inspire a season of good eats.
Nine Midwest inns share treasured recipes to make your holiday season delicious.
Not sure what to do with that leftover bird? Try our ideas for soups, casseroles, pot pie, sandwiches and salads.
Our 2011 annual holiday cookbook features holiday appetizers, main meals, desserts and drinks to help celebrate the season with family and friends.


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The most significant story in Central America right now is also the most underreported. El Salvador, the tiniest country in the land belt connecting North and South America, has long suffered socioeconomic violence—first in its civil war during the 1980s, then in the period of organized crime's rising power in the 1990s, and most recently under the mano dura years of conservative authoritarianism—largely in answer to the growing influence of transnational criminal gangs in the 2000s. But since the start of May, El Salvador's murder rate—by some estimates, the highest in the world in 2011—has dropped by nearly 66 percent, the result of a truce between the country's two leading gangs (or maras, as they are popularly known) that was brokered in March by religious and government representatives and deepened by gang leaders on May 2.
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) and its rival, MS-18, were formed on the streets of South Central Los Angeles by young refugees of the Central American wars of the 1980s and 90s. Largely comprising Honduran and Salvadoran youths, the gangs initially provided protection to Latinos excluded from Mexican gangs, and the largely African-American Bloods and Crips. The maras blossomed, growing in scope and capacity to carry out sophisticated operations. Before long, the maras appeared on the FBI's radar and in 1996, changes in the immigration law allowed the FBI to deport tens of thousands of suspected mareros back to their native countries. Not surprisingly, back home and without ready access to formal market opportunity, they set up shop and continued their business as usual. Since then, the gangs have grown so strong that they are virtually uncontrollable in Central America, and have become worrisome threats to the security of the United States. The truce between the maras, then, comes as a welcome relief on all sides.
And the good news extends beyond declining rates of violence and symbolic "days without murder." As the Economist reports, "The mobs have since made further concessions. On May 2nd they promised not to recruit in schools. Five days later inmates at La Esperanza, an overcrowded prison, vowed to stop extorting people using jail phones. 'I want to ask forgiveness from society and those who gave us the chance to change," said Dionisio Arístides, the Salvatrucha leader. "We're human beings who aren't just here to do evil.'"
This is not to say that the truce between rival gangs will hold up in the long term. Many, as the Economist coverage suggests, are suspicious that the maras will be peaceful long enough to allow El Salvador's economy recover from the damage it has suffered as the gangs duke it out for monopoly control over territory, extortion rackets, and trafficking networks. But a bigger concern lies in the worry that the gangs have grown so big and unwieldy that even if the higher ups in MS-13 and MS-18, many of whom are directing traffic from prison, genuinely endorse the peace plan, they may not be able to effectively enforce it.
Nor is it to suggest that government security forces have given up their old ways. In some respects, the spirit of mano dura—the heavily militarized approach to combating maras under former president, Tony Saca—is alive and well. When leftist president Mauricio Funes announced earlier this year that his government intended to implement a nationwide curfew and beef up school security by calling in the military to stand guard, Insight Crime noted that these policies "appear to be part of Funes' escalation of the war against street gangs…Funes is mimicking the…strategy of his predecessors, placing ex-military officials in top security posts, some of whom are intimating that they may begin mass incarcerations of suspected gang members. These policies have more than a few critics. El Salvador's focus on incarcerating suspected gang members has placed more inmates in badly overcrowded prisons… These overcrowded prisons may have worsened crime and violence in the country."
Nevertheless, things in El Salvador right now look markedly more hopeful than they have in decades. Any substantial reduction of violence is obviously to be embraced, as are efforts that the Funes administration has made to match iron-fist policies by extending an open hand to former criminals seeking social reintegration. Perhaps most encouragingly, gang members from opposing factions have begun to collaborate on music projects and other forms of cultural production which may have positive normative effects—both within the gangs and more broadly in Salvadoran society—and which seem like an awfully elaborate, and unlikely, PR ruse if the maras weren't serious about giving peace a chance.
Still, any optimism on this count must be met with a heavy dose of caution.


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Today a group of paleontologists announced the results of an extensive study of several well-preserved dinosaur feathers encased in amber. Their work, which included samples from many stages in the evolution of feathers, bolstered the findings of other scientists who've suggested that dinosaurs (winged and otherwise) had multicolored and transparent feathers of the sort you might see on birds today. The researchers also presented evidence, based on the feathers' pigmentation and structures, that today's bird feathers could have evolved from dinosaur feathers.
We've got a gallery of these intriguing feathers preserved in amber.
In a profile of lead researcher Ryan McKellar, The Atlantic's Hans Villarica writes:
These specimens represent distinct stages of feather evolution, from early-stage, single filament protofeathers to much more complex structures associated with modern diving birds . . . They can't determine which feathers belonged to birds or dinosaurs yet, but they did observe filament structures that are similar to those seen in other non-avian dinosaur fossils.
Villarica also did io9 readers a favor and asked McKellar whether this discovery could lead to a Jurassic Park scenario. McKellar said:
Put simply, no. The specimens that we examined are extremely small and would not be expected to contain any DNA material. To put this into context, the only genetic material that has been recovered from amber is from lumps of mummified insect muscle tissue in much younger Dominican amber that are approximately 17 million years old and well after the age of dinosaurs.
So much for our dreams of dino domination.
What you'll notice in the gallery below is that the researchers are emphasizing two basic pieces of evidence: the similarity in coloration to today's bird feathers, and the similarity in morphology or shape. Some of these feathers strongly resemble those of diving water birds today (and the researchers include one example of a modern diving bird feather so you can compare them). Other structures, however, look nothing like feathers of today. In a news report about McKellar's findings in Science, Sid Perkins writes:
In one instance, the amber holds regularly spaced, hollow filaments, each of which is about 16 micrometers in diameter, about the size of the finest human hair. The filaments apparently have no cell walls, so they're not plant fibers or fungal threads, McKellar says. And they don't have features that look like small scales, as mammal hair does. "We don't absolutely know what they are, but we're pretty sure what they're not," he notes. They could be protofeathers, McKellar says.
Often this kind of structure is called "dinofuzz."
Check out the feathers and the fuzz for yourself. All captions are taken from materials provided by the researchers in their paper, published today in Science.
An isolated barb from a vaned feather, trapped within a tangled mass of spider's web in Late Cretaceous Canadian amber. Pigment distribution within this feather fragment suggests that the barb may have been gray or black. Image via Science/AAAS
Numerous individual filaments in Late Cretaceous Canadian amber. These filaments are morphologically similar to the protofeathers that have been found as compression fossils associated with some dinosaur skeletons. Pigment distributions within these filaments range from translucent (unpigmented) to near-black (heavily pigmented). Image via Science/AAAS
Cross-section through a feather with basally-coiled barbules, accompanied by a microphysid plant bug. The helical coiling observed within these barbules is most obvious in isolated barbules within the image, and is directly comparable to coils found in modern bird feathers specialized for water uptake. The high number of coils in the amber-entombed feather is suggestive of diving behavior, but similar structures are also used by some modern birds to transport water to the nest. Image via Science/AAAS
Series of six feather barbs in Late Cretaceous Canadian amber. Localized pigmentation creates a beaded appearance within each barbule: This has implications for the structural interpretation of fossil feathers exhibiting this general morphology. Pigment distribution within the specimen suggests that the feather would have originally been medium- or dark-brown in color. Image via Science/AAAS
Photomicrograph of coiled barbules in Late Cretaceous Canadian amber. The cork-screw shaped structures in the image are the tightly coiled bases of feather barbules, and these are interrupted towards the bottom of the image, where they exit the amber piece. Image via Science/AAAS
An isolated barb from a white belly feather of a modern grebe bird (Aechmophorus occidentalis), illustrating coiled barbule bases comparable to those in the Cretaceous specimen. In both cases, the coiling is a structural adaptation that allows the feather to absorb water. Image via Science/AAAS
A feather barb within Late Cretaceous Canadian amber that shows some indication of original coloration. The oblong brown masses within the dark-field photomicrograph are concentrated regions of pigmentation within the barbules. In this specimen, the overall feather color appears to have been medium- or dark-brown. Image via Science/AAAS
Overview of 16 clumped feather barbs in Canadian Late Cretaceous amber. Image via Science/AAAS
Overview of six pigmented feather barbs in Canadian Late Cretaceous amber. Image via Science/AAAS
Overview of isolated, unpigmented feather barb and a mite in Canadian Late Cretaceous amber. Image via Science/AAAS


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Xi Jinping Urges Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Negotiate with Vladimir Putin, but Zelenskyy may not be interested to end this profitable war.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate with Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Friday, according to a readout from the Chinese foreign ministry.
The call was the first between the two leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.
Xi said that China is "deeply concerned" about the situation in Ukraine and called for an "early ceasefire" and a "political solution" to the conflict.
He also said that China is willing to play a "constructive role" in the peace process.
Zelenskyy thanked Xi for China's "support" and said that he is "ready for dialogue" with Putin, but put unrealistic conditions to make it happen.
He also said that he is "grateful" for China's "humanitarian assistance" to Ukraine.
The call comes amid growing international pressure on China to take a more active role in the peace process.
The United States and its allies have accused China of trying to make peace in a war that serve the western interests.
The call between Xi and Zelenskyy is a sign that China is trying to maintain a delicate balance between its two major partners, Russia and the United States.
China has close economic ties with Russia, but it also has strong economic and strategic interests in the West.
The Chinese government is likely to continue to call for a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Ukraine, but it is unclear how much pressure it will put on Volodymyr Zelenskyy to end this profitable war.
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158 days ago
I see panatimes took down my earlier post about this little jewish Nazi that the US government has realized has stolen about 400 million US taxpayer dollars. Guess they can't handle the truth
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In his career as a guidance counselor at Newburgh Free Academy, Thomas Hill '96 helps students identify their interests, set reasonable goals, and plan actions to reach those goals. The 2013 first-place winner of Tour de Syracuse and the New York State Bicycle Racing Association Championship (both category 4) uses the same strategies in his pursuit of victory in cycle racing.
Four years ago, Hill was content to enjoy cycling as a way to socialize with friends. "When I bought my first road bike, I thought I'd never race it. Then the competitive side of me took over, and I decided to train for an event," he said. Now, he's on the road for approximately 150 miles a week. On a recent outing, he completed 6,000 feet of climbing over a 45-mile stretch.
"Basically, we just climbed four mountains that day," Hill said. "I go out with the goal of torturing myself." By pushing beyond the limits of the previous training session, Hill builds strength and endurance. As a positive side benefit, he has lost 50 to 60 pounds and gained stamina.
"Racing is a great motivation to get in shape," Hill said. "Every pound on your body, you carry with you on every cycling session. Having that race goal in my mind, reaching for the win, helps me focus on my health and fitness."
As NYSBRA champion, category 4, Hill could have been content to maintain the status quo. But, instead, he has continued to train hard and compete aggressively. By conquering his own best times and adding wins, he has moved to category 3. The upgrade to a more competitive category has made a big change in Hill's goals and expectations, and he focuses now on improving his time rather than on winning each race he enters.
Hill and his wife, Sandra, a school nurse teacher, live in Walden with their six-year-old son, Thomas, who spends a lot of time riding his BMX bike.
Hill says he is proud to be part of an "Oswego Family." His mother, Deborah Dixson Hill '66 and father, Paul Hill '66, met in Symphonic Choir when Dr. Maurice Boyd was the director. Before retirement, Paul taught chemistry at Newburgh Free Academy, and Deborah was a reading specialist at the elementary level. Both work part-time in college-level education programs.
"My parents were careful not to influence me in my college decision," Hill said. "I had a few choices in mind, but when I visited the campus, that clinched it for me." He majored in Zoology and Spanish at Oswego, and earned a master's of science degree at Fordham University.
Hill's mother is not surprised that he has excelled at road racing. "Tom was always a good athlete," she said, "and he loves moving fast." Still, it is the slower, more serene moments at his alma mater that stay with him today.
"I'll always be grateful for the years I spent at Oswego," Hill said. "Some of my fondest memories are those of just relaxing at the shore with friends."
—Linda Loomis '90 M'97
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Web sites that strip personally identifiable information about their users and then share that data may be compromising their users' privacy, according to researchers at the University of Texas at Austin.
They took a close look at the way anonymous data can be analyzed and have come to some troubling conclusions. In a paper set to be delivered at an upcoming security conference, they showed how they were able to map out the connections on public social networks such as Twitter and Flickr. They were then able to identify people who were on both networks by looking at the many connections surrounding their network of friends. The technique isn't 100 percent effective, but it may make some users uncomfortable about whether they should allow their data to be shared in an anonymous format.
Web site operators often share data about users with partners and advertisers after stripping it of any personally identifiable information such as names, addresses or birth dates. Arvind Narayanan and fellow researcher Vitaly Shmatikov found that by analyzing these "anonymized" data sets, they could identify Flickr users who were also on Twitter about two-thirds of the time, depending on how much information they have to work with.
"A lot of the time people will share information online and they'll expect that they are anonymous," Narayanan said in an interview. But if their identity can be ascertained on one social network, its possible to find out who they are on some other network, or at least make a "strong guess," he said.
They do this not just by looking at one person's immediate circle of friends, but by analyzing the patterns in the connections between all friends on the social network. "The more of a person's network you can map out, the easier it gets to de-anonymize someone in the future, wherever they might go," he said.
In 2006, hoping to give search researchers a useful tool, AOL released a database of more than 650,000 user search records. Although this data was scrubbed, it didn't take long for the New York Times to identify one user based on her search queries, showing how supposedly anonymous data could be used to identify people.
The technique described by the University of Texas researchers could be used by government agencies looking to do surveillance or by online marketers or even scammers who want to target people with their messages. And it doesn't only apply to social networks. This method could be used to identify users in databases of phone calls too, the researchers say.
Narayanan and Shmatikov used similar techniques two years ago to show how they could identify Netflix users by comparing the anonymous movie rating data released by Netflix with publicly available reviews posted to the Internet Movie Database.
The research also has implications for privacy policies on social networks, which share information on users, but with personally identifiable information such as names removed. According to Narayanan and Shmatikov, current techniques simply do not make people anonymous.
"Social-network operators should stop relying on anonymization as the 'get out of jail' card insofar as user privacy is concerned," they write on their Web site. "They should inform users when their information is disclosed to third parties, even if this information has been anonymized, and give them the opportunity to opt out."


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We Brits love our sauce, whether it's what we lash on our food, read on our seaside postcards, or write in our stories. Come and enjoy a buffet of tasty LGBTQ treats!From marriages to reunions, via practical jokes and football matches, to weresloths and possibly the oddest Tarts and Vicars party in the world, join us as we celebrate the UK Meet in the best way we know: telling the story.As a follow-up to the critically acclaimed British Flash and Tea and Crumpet anthologies, our talented writers bring you sixteen stories about gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and genderqueer characters enjoying what Britain and mainland Europe have to offer, with their wonderfully diverse range of cultures and landscapes and some incredibly colourful and quirky people.Contributors include: Tam Ames, Becky Black, Anne Brooke, Charlie Cochrane, Rebecca Cohen, Lillian Francis, Elin Gregory, Clare London, Sandra Lindsey, JL Merrow, Emily Moreton, Josephine Myles, Zahra Owens, Jordan Castillo Price, Elyan Smith and Robbie Whyte. Edited by: UK MAT (UK Meet Acquisitions Team: Alex Beecroft, Charlie Cochrane, Clare London, JL Merrow and Josephine Myles). This anthology is a souvenir of the 2012 UK Meet, an occasion for GLBTQ supporters to get together in a relaxed setting to celebrate and chat about the fiction community they love. Funds from the sale of this anthology will go towards future UK Meets, to which all are welcome. Please visit the website for details, or contact UK MAT through the publisher.EXCERPT FROM "Post Mortem" by Jordan Castillo Price:Note: may contain sexually explicit scenes of a homoerotic nature.


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Slowly but surely, the details behind J.J. Abrams' mysterious new movie Super 8 are leaking out. We were sent an exclusive Super 8 viral clip, which we've managed to splice together with a few other clips.
Above is our little video clip that we were sent in the mail (both in digital format, and on Kodachrome film). Alone, it doesn't make much sense. But, if you head over to the Super 8 Editing Room more clips are available. We're assuming that Paramount is going to release clip after clip over time, but for now we scrounged together some of the bits and mashed them up into this video:
This is what we learned. The video continues to call the creature a "subject," so we're still in the dark on whether the monster in question is human-made, or alien in origin. However, the first person in the video talks about the subject's "escape attempt," so clearly the monster has tried to escape multiple times. And it seems like what happens in the trailer is a successful escape attempt. We also noticed A LOT of talk about a cube. This smacks of Lost science, some sort of fictional device with unfathomable (and possibly never properly explained power). No doubt, this "cube" directly impacts the creature in some way or another. And finally, who do we have here?
It's actor Glynn Turman! Is this the new Pierre Chang? He was absolutely in the trailer:
What is he doing there? Only time — and more video clips — will tell. We'll keep our eyes peeled on the Super 8 editing site and update you when more details surface. Until then, let us know what you make of this jumbled video.


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San Diego Buyer Agent > Communities > Metro San Diego > Altadena Buyer's Agent 92104
Altadena San Diego Buyer Agent - 92104
Thank you for checking out my website. My name is Justin Gramm, and I am an Altadena buyer's agent / North Park buyer broker (and San Diego exclusive buyer's broker). Are you looking for a San Diego real estate agent who truly has the best interests of the buyer at heart? I'd be honored to talk to you about your potential real estate purchase. I live in Metro San Diego, and I've helped all sorts of home buyers with their San Diego home and condo purchases. Most importantly, I am a home buyer representation specialist - I never take listings (because I represent buyers only). I repeat this point only because most people don't believe it at first. As a San Diego exclusive buyer agent, my business and expertise are specifically focused on representing your best interests (the home buyer's). It makes a huge difference to have a buyer's agent who is on your side throughout the entire home buying process. If you are looking for a friendly, intelligent, and committed Altadena San Diego buyer's agent, I look forward to talking to you soon!
Read what some recent clients had to say about their experience with me:
"We've bought two other homes in the past, neither in a market nearly as tough as San Diego, and we've never worked with a more diligent and helpful broker." Read the complete letter from this couple who relocated to Metro San Diego from another state.
More Client Reviews and Testimonials
The first step towards hiring me as your San Diego buyer's agent is to schedule an interview. Whether you prefer to email or call, please initiate contact with me today, and we will set up a time that works for both you and me to meet for an initial interview. I look forward to hearing from you!About Justin Gramm
Justin Gramm is the founder of Globella Buyers Realty and works full time as a San Diego exclusive buyer agent. Exclusive buyer agents never take listings or represent sellers. Exclusive buyer agents represent buyers-only 100% of the time, allowing you to hire a San Diego buyer's broker without the conflict of dual agency. Justin has helped many wonderful people from all over the world buy homes and condos in San Diego over the years. If you'd like to talk to Justin about your potential San Diego home purchase, you are welcome to schedule an interview. Feel free to call or email to get the process started. More About Justin Gramm
Justin Gramm on Google+.
San Diego Buyer Agent > Communities > Metro San Diego > Altadena Buyer's Agent 92104


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— Other Baseball Stuff
Wednesday, March 10, 2004
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Baseball Think Factory is dedicated to providing freely accessible, engaging, rigorous, and entertaining baseball content to a wide variety of baseball fans, and to providing new outlets and opportunities for baseball analysts, fans, and writers.
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BTF Staff Posted: March 10, 2004 at 05:11 PM | 29 comment(s)
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Reader Comments and Retorts
Statements posted here are those of our readers and do not represent the BaseballThinkFactory. Names are provided by the poster and are not verified. We ask that posters follow our submission policy. Please report any inappropriate comments.1. Der Komminsk-sar Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:55 PM (#3243490)
I'd never seen these icons until today - has this been in use?2. Shock has moved on Posted: July 06, 2009 at 06:57 PM (#3243496)
They were around briefly a couple years ago, but most of the populus didn't like them and they were removed. My guess is their re-appearance is for a "friendly reminder."3. Der Komminsk-sar Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:03 PM (#3243509)
I like it.4. jimfurtado Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:05 PM (#3243511)
The contributions of members are very much appreciated. We currently don't have things in place to thank people who've generously donated to help sustain the site. At this point, I wanted to, at the least, show my public thanks by identifying them to the community. In the future, however, I hope to add some requested special features to reward them for helping out.5. Harveys Wallbangers Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:16 PM (#3243529)
Jim:6. BDC Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:20 PM (#3243537)
Contribution sent. Thanks again to you and the others for the continued hard work.
It is appreciated.
I hope to add some requested special features to reward them for helping out7. Shock has moved on Posted: July 06, 2009 at 07:30 PM (#3243555)
I would like a bot that writes "RDF! Primey for ##" every time I post something.
I would like a bot that writes "RDF! Primey for ##" every time I post something.
I'll do it for $50
Jim can you check to be sure I actually donated, I don't remember doing it (as I said in another thread I may have been drunk when I did, I know that my sim league wanted us to donate for using zips, but I didn't remember ever going through the motions)9. Meatwad Posted: July 07, 2009 at 03:18 AM (#3243983)
some people drunk post, other drunk donate. quite the mix here10. The Ghost of Sox Fans Past Posted: August 20, 2009 at 02:53 AM (#3298983)
I donated a couple days ago, but didn't get a little diamond by my handle in threads. I think I may have a different email address for PayPal than for BTF; that probably is the key, right?11. Harry Balsagne Posted: August 20, 2009 at 04:06 AM (#3299030)
I donated a couple days ago, but didn't get a little diamond by my handle in threads. I think I may have a different email address for PayPal than for BTF; that probably is the key, right?12. jimfurtado Posted: August 20, 2009 at 01:22 PM (#3299178)
Same here. I got an email from Jim asking for my user name, but haven't gotten anything back since. I think he's just busy.
Sorry about the delay. I'm on vacation with my kids. I'll catch up later this afternoon.13. SoSHially Unacceptable Posted: December 27, 2009 at 05:55 PM (#3422749)
If your email address is different please pass along an email so I can link your screen name.
BTW, thanks very much for your support; it is very much appreciated.
How did this suddenly pop up on the Hot Topics bar, if the last post (before mine) was made Aug. 20?14. Danny Posted: December 27, 2009 at 06:00 PM (#3422753)
How did this suddenly pop up on the Hot Topics bar, if the last post (before mine) was made Aug. 20?
Spam, since deleted.
Edit: But it reminded me that I wanted to donate for 8.5 years of glorious timewasting and occasional learning.
Jim -- I just donated. Love the site, obviously. Thanks.16. The Ghost of Sox Fans Past Posted: September 02, 2010 at 07:47 PM (#3632315)
After yesterday's technical problems and Jim announcement that he'll be upgrading, it seemed like a good time to toss some more coins in the jar.17. Infinite Yost (Voxter) Posted: October 21, 2010 at 03:11 AM (#3670805)
There's a "Donate" button on the upper right hand corner of every page.
Thanks for all that you do, Jim, Dan, Repoz, et al.
Is it just me, or has every time stamp on every post turned into a link that brings you here?18. Jack Sommers Posted: November 09, 2010 at 04:20 PM (#3686666)
Is it just me, or has every time stamp on every post turned into a link that brings you here?
Ha ! I was wondering how I got here.
Ok...ok...I can take a hint.
Huh, I donated back when I said I would in post 14, but I never got a little diamond icon. Injustice!20. Go-Kart Mozart Posted: March 08, 2011 at 02:27 AM (#3765785)
donation made :) nice job fellas21. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: March 10, 2011 at 07:22 PM (#3768132)
Made a donation a couple of days ago. I could not live without this place.22. Busted Flush Posted: May 27, 2011 at 09:39 PM (#3839674)
Happy to support. Keep up the great work.23. Jim Wisinski Posted: May 27, 2011 at 10:17 PM (#3839691)
I donated $25 on March 10th (and sent Furtado an e-mail linking the Paypal name with my account) and have never received my icon. I join with Danny in demanding justice and our little graphics.24. dlf Posted: May 27, 2011 at 10:24 PM (#3839697)
I sent money via paypal back in March also. 'Twas the least I can do since I lurk here countless hours each week. I don't care about a little graphic, but do hope that contributions are being received.25. Busted Flush Posted: May 27, 2011 at 11:27 PM (#3839738)
Like dlf, I lurk here all the time and rarely post, so again, thanks for keeping this great site up.26. staring out the window and waiting for fenderbelly Posted: September 14, 2011 at 06:40 AM (#3924381)
Unlike dlf, my delicate sensibilities need the symbolic icon.
Test?27. Greg K Posted: September 14, 2011 at 07:26 AM (#3924388)
Is there a way to donate online without using PayPal? I seem to be the one human being who can't quite grasp that program.28. Bote Man Posted: February 19, 2012 at 04:07 PM (#4064380)
Or I could mail some UK pounds.
I just donated via PayPal, but it says that jimmyf...@yahoo.com is "Unregistered". Under any other circumstances I would be scared, but I assume that this address has been working for years so I'll just go with it. I'm not sure how you can receive money from PayPal without having registered, but apparently from reading their help text you can.
With new servers and coding new features I figured a donation is overdue for me. We should all make it an annual tithe.
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Photographs: Jayanta Shaw/Reuters Paul Carsten and Adam Jourdan in Beijing/Shanghai
Chinese state media branded Apple Inc's iPhone a threat to national security because of the smartphone's ability to track and time-stamp user locations.
A report by broadcaster CCTV on Friday criticised the iPhone's 'Frequent Locations' function for allowing users to be tracked and information about them revealed.
"This is extremely sensitive data," said a researcher interviewed by the broadcaster. If the data were accessed, it could reveal an entire country's economic situation and "even state secrets," the researcher said.
Please . . .
'Apple iPhone a danger to China's national security'
Photographs: Kimberly White/Reuters
Apple said in a statement sent to Reuters on Saturday that it was committed to protecting the privacy of its users, and that no unique information related to the user or the device was transmitted when using the location functions.
"We appreciate CCTV's effort to help educate customers on a topic we think is very important.
"We want to make sure all of our customers in China are clear about what we do and we don't do when it comes to privacy and your personal data," it said.
"Apple does not track users' locations -- Apple has never done so and has no plans to ever do so," it added.
Please . . .
'Apple iPhone a danger to China's national security'
Photographs: Christian Hartmann/Reuters
Apple has frequently come under fire from Chinese state media, which accused the company of providing user data to US intelligence agencies and have called for 'severe punishment'.
It has also been criticised for poor customer service.
Apple, however, said it had 'never worked with any government agency from any country' to create a back door in any of its products or services.
"We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will," the US firm added.
Please . . .
'Apple iPhone a danger to China's national security'
Photographs: Robert Galbraith/Reuters
The California-based company is not the only US firm to suffer from Chinese media ire.
Google Inc services have been disrupted in China for over a month, while the central government procurement office has banned new government computers from using Microsoft Corp's Windows 8 operating system.
Other US hardware firms such as Cisco Systems Inc and IBM Corp have experienced a backlash in China from what analysts and companies have termed the 'Snowden Effect', after US spying revelations released last year by former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.


text: Enterprises unable to process the flood of alerts received each day from security systems have several options available to regain control and improve network defenses, experts say.The average North American enterprise has to contend with 10,000 alerts a day, with the noisiest networks generating an overwhelming 150,000 alerts, according to a recent study by security vendor Damballa. The numbers come from an analysis of traffic from Internet service providers and enterprises.[Best practices for network security management]Software or appliances that fall under the product category of security information and event management (SIEM) generate most of the alerts triggered by anomalies detected in hardware and software on the corporate network.To contend with the alert flood, enterprises have the option of moving to a different model for detecting malware or learning to make better use of the SIEM systems they have, experts said Wednesday.Matthew Neeley, director of strategy initiatives for consulting firm SecureState, advises companies to do the latter to avoid the expense of ripping and replacing technology."I'm a bigger fan of having (clients) make good use of the technology they have," he said. "Once they are making good use of that, then look at whether there are other technologies that can be brought in to give them a better view."In using SIEM systems, enterprises often place too much trust in the default settings, Jason Wood, principal consultant for Secure Ideas, said."Some organizations purchase a device with the hope that it will some how make sense of their environment and magically only tell them what they need to know," Wood said. "The problem is that the products can\u2019t do that automatically and need someone working with the system to make it useful."Wood advises setting aside time each day to review security and log data, determine the data and events that are normal in the network and then configure the system to only alert on abnormalities."By training systems in the environment, we can get better automatic responses to events," Wood said. "We can focus on what\u2019s actually important and meaningful to the organization."Neely is a fan of identifying where sensitive data is stored and then focusing monitors only on those systems to reduce noise."Additionally, we recommend companies take this a step further and move these critical systems into protected networks," he said. "These networks should have higher levels of protection and should also be where their monitoring is focused."For companies ready for something other than traditional SIEM systems, Chris Morales, a research director at NSS Labs, recommends looking at technology that monitors outbound traffic, which produces fewer alerts.SIEM systems will collect information from anti-virus software, firewalls, intrusion detection systems and other technologies focused on inbound traffic.Vendors such as Damballa, FireEye, Lastline and General Dynamics Fidelis Cybersecurity Solutions apply intelligence to outbound traffic to spot possible malware in the network."I call the posture assumed breach," Morales said. "Instead of trying to stop breaches, I try to stop data loss."In general, the technology checks the IP addresses where data is heading and compares them to a continuously updated blacklist of known addresses used by cybercriminals.The technology can also analyze packets to determine whether they contain characteristics indicative of malware.[Major companies, like Target, often fail to act on malware alerts]Currently, these types of systems require a combination of hardware and management services provided by the vendor, Morales said.As the technology matures, he expects more automation and less of a need for outside services."Right now, there's too much manual processing (of data)," Morales said.


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In May 2011, shortly after a special operations team of Navy SEALs killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, there was a fresh surge of enthusiasm for covert operations. That is unfortunate because, behind the scenes, secret warfare is actually in crisis. We need to re-examine the suitability and constitutionality of covert operations and, among other things, devise a sound constitutional framework for conducting them.
A delegation of Pakistani officials recently completed a visit to Washington for very private talks about a secret war. Representing that nation's premier spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and headed by its chief, Lieutenant General Ahmed Shuja Pasha, the Pakistani delegation came to America to rein in the CIA. While CIA spokesmen put the best possible face on this event – calling the talks "productive" – there was no real meeting of the minds. The raid on bin Laden, executed without reference to Pakistani sovereignty, added insult to injury, since Pakistani demands to be kept fully informed of U.S. activities were clearly ignored in the SEAL operation. And just to pile on, American pundits, including former CIA director Leon Panetta, proceeded to accuse Pakistan of complicity or incompetence, given bin Laden's presence in a Pakistani garrison town. Observers should be in no doubt that this moment marks a watershed in the South Asian secret war. Much like the Tet Offensive in the Vietnam conflict, the event signifies the instant when U.S. capabilities peak, past which further escalation on any plane becomes less probable.


text:
Researchers from the Seoul National University found that wild birds appear to "think faster" when humans, and possibly predators in general, are directly looking at them.
"We started this study from our experience" says Dr. Sang-im Lee, the leader of magpie research team and the first author of the paper. "For a long time we had this impression that somehow magpies know that we are watching them because they often fly away from us when we observe them. But when we don't observe them, we can pass them pretty close-by but they don't fly away!"
The finding that animals notice the gaze of humans is not new. Usually animals use gaze of the conspecifics in social contexts and therefore pet animals pay attention to the gaze of humans -- their social mates. Also in the case of predator and prey interactions it is well known that animals such like birds, lizards or deer move away or escape from humans at larger distances when people look directly at them. In these situations it was believed that animals react at larger distance and sooner because the gaze is an indicator to the prey that the predator "wants to catch it." Therefore, when a prey notices the gaze of a predator it moves away from the predator in order to increase safety. Not surprisingly, the researchers found that magpies on the campus of the Seoul National University also flew away at larger distances when humans were directly looking at them.
But this is not the most important finding of this research. When researchers, who were approaching foraging magpies, looked directly at the magpies, the magpies took the decisions faster regardless of whether the final decision was to return to foraging or to fly away and whether the stress or danger perceived by a magpie was low or high. But when the approaching pair of humans did not look at the magpies, the decision to escape or not was taken with a delay. In other words even if the magpies did not perceive the humans as dangerous they still took the decision faster (in this case decision to stay and continue foraging) when the humans were looking at them. This is consistent with the idea that the birds are able to extract more information for their quick decisions from people's faces and/or gaze direction regardless of what kind of information they get. Magpies have lived near humans for centuries or even millenia and such skills might have been important for their survival.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution at Seoul National University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
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Here are some new scootery baby clothes from both Baby Gap and Old Navy.
First up is a mod number that looks like a top and bottom set but is actually a onesie. It's 100% cotton and snaps at the shoulder and inseam. Sizes are from newborns to 2 years. It's $19.95 at Baby Gap.
The pink two-piece dog-centric number is also 100% cotton and is now on sale at Old Navy for $10.00 but only the 18-24 mos. size is left. So hurry!