Conduct your own Sarah Palin interview

H/T Belledame

Conduct your own Sarah Palin interview. It's very random and quite scary.

Has that parrot joined the choir invisible?

Oh, well, some decisions that have provided me an interest in our day, politicians have readily shared much lesser tales of adversity than the nightmare world in which this man, and others equally brave, served and suffered for their kids. That's got to show the support, in this post-9/11 world, where we're able to speak God's words.

A leader who's not looking at poll numbers. What I know that inaction is not supposed to work. Thanks to my kids have provided me a lot of things that John McCain has inspired with his words.

Is Severus Snape a force for good or evil?

They're our next door neighbors.We need to pursue those and we need them. They need on their team to provide for the right agenda for America. ...It's to make a difference, they make people's lives better. I did recognize though that Commissioner Monegan could provide for better public service, I haven't micromanaged them. So, I didn't hesitate, no.

A leader who's not looking for a year. [And so] on a personal level, when I learned I was very appropriate that we need someone like that was just born recently, And he's just an awesome sweet baby. Trig was born with Down Syndrome has opened my eyes too to challenges that others have. Every American I'm speaking of now, [an] oil service company's undue influence of lobbyists in public service in another area, so I didn't blink then even when asked to do is rid this world where war is hell and I replied back then, as I would never presume to know God's will or to speak with him with no preconditions being met." Diplomacy is about doing a lot of concerns from not just self-protection, but also for our military, those who would have followed any law anyway? No. You start banning guns and you ask that question is kind of irrelevant, because it's accepted. Of course you can raise a family.

Do you believe in witchcraft?

Putin thinks otherwise. Obviously, he thinks otherwise, but...

Help me Barack Obama you're my only hope

Another opportunity to become a millionaire

I'm a little confused as I don't really belong to any church, much less am the DEAREST ONE OF GOD. Can it be possible that an Ivorian woman from Kuwait called Susan Morgan wants to give me $2.5 million? In her place, I'd use the money to work on a cure but I'm selfish this way. I don't think I'm the appropriate person on whom to bestow this ton of money.

ATTN DEAREST ONE OF GOD

I am the above named person from Kuwait. I am married to Mr.Abram Morgan, who worked with Kuwait embassy in Ivory Coast for nine years before he died in the year 2004. We were married for eleven years without a child. He died after a brief illness that lasted for only four days.

Before his death we were both born again Christian. Since his death I decided not to remarry or get a child outside my matrimonial home which the Bible is against. When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of $2. 5 Million (Two Million Five Hundred U.S. Dollars) in the bank here in Abidjan in suspense account.

Presently, the fund is still with the bank. Recently, my Doctor told me that i have serious sickness which is cancer problem. The one that disturbs me most is my stroke sickness. Having known my condition I decided to donate this fund to a church or individual that will utilize this money the way I am going to instruct herein. I want a church that will use this fund for orphanages, widows, propagating the word of God and to endeavour that the house of God is maintained.

...

Contact me on the above e-mail address for more information抯, any delay in your reply will give me room in sourcing another church or individual for this same purpose. Please assure me that you will act accordingly as I Stated herein. Hoping to receive your reply.

Nicely put. Reply at once or lose this wonderful opportunity. I'd going to kindly decline because I'm not an idiot. People do believe these emails and waste thousands of dollars on "transfer fees". Other people write hilarious replies.

NGOs pose terrorist threats?

The PM intends to pass a new law to regulate NGOs

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen said Friday that the new government will establish a law to manage the non-government organizations in the country.

"We have to know the sources of their fund. We are concerned that their fund could come from terrorist groups," Hun Sen said at the first cabinet meeting.

Terrorist groups could use the non-government organizations or associations as their shelters, he said.

Right. Because building an equitable society and alleviating poverty is the work of terrorists. It already takes mounds og red tape, palm greasing and several months or indeed years to establish an NGO. Many do work under the table because it is so difficult.

NGOs provide services that the Government does not or cannot. NGOs provide services while the powers that be grab land and sell off natural resources.

Taking my time

It's Pchum Ben again. I'm catching up with house cleaning and watching the Daily Show and Colbert Report. The town is deserted and it's pleasant to be here with the streets so empty. It's also a little freaky but I'm used to that now. Tomorrow I may use the opportunity to take some photographs, catch up on my reading and practice my recorder. Since there's nothing to read here, check out other people's writing:

Ranariddh is back from exile after the King of Cambodia pardoned him

Inflation is rising higher than is acknowledged by the powers that be

Wrapping presents in money is criminal waste when 90% of the world's wealth is owned by 10% of the population

Obama won the debate

Save the poor Wall Street traders

China's spaceship returns to Earth

RIP Paul Newman. I love "Cat on a hot tin roof"

UN on YouTube

The UN has a YouTube channel.

Check it out

More wars?

VIA Debs.

There are disturbing images in this vid

Justice denied

Born Samnang and Sok Sam Oeun have been in prison for 1 700 days for the murder of trade unionist Chea Vichea. Most people believe that they are innocent. They are 1700 days into a 20 year sentence.

Licadho are releasing 1 700 balloons at midday in the hope that it will give the two men hope.

The appeal court upheld the conviction. The supreme court has not responded to the submitted motion.

H/T Cambodia Daily 23/09/2008

A little late but "Peace day"

"Simply the absence of war is not peace" - Anam Prem.

The UN Secretary General made a statement.

Peace is the United Nations’ highest calling. It defines our mission. It drives our discourse. And it draws together all of our world wide work, from peacekeeping and preventive diplomacy to promoting human rights and development.

UN peace day photos . Here are messages from all over the world. You can still be heard. Send a text, write a postcard to tell world leaders how you feel.



Make our peace

Pictures from NYT

There are some pretty pictures in the slideshow accompanying the New York Times article 36 hours in Phnom Penh.

Best thing ever or complete sacrilege?

Eoin Colfer is to write a book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. Is it great that Ford Prefect, Trillian and Zaphod Beeblebrox get another outing or is it the worst thing since cheese in a can? I'm reserving judgement till I read it. The Guardian has this to say:

The book will "make no claims for Eoin being Douglas", according to Prior. "It's not Eoin Colfer writing as Douglas Adams, as was the case with Sebastian Faulks," she said, pointing to Penguin's successful publication of Faulks's new James Bond novel Devil May Care earlier this year. "It's absolutely about him being himself – Eoin the author, but with the cast of Hitchhiker."

Colfer himself is currently grappling with nerves over the quality of his addition to Adams' oeuvre. "I feel more pressure to perform now than I ever have with my own books, and that is why I am bloody determined that this will be the best thing I have ever written," he said. "For the first time in decades I feel the uncertainty that I last felt in my teenage years. There are people out there that really want to like this book."

Douglas Adams was an amazing writer. Who else could come up with lines like

The hotel shop only had two decent books, and I'd written both of them.

He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.

Many had seen it as clinching proof that the whole of known creation had finally gone bananas.

Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful could have evolved purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God. The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove that I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing." "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED." "Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

It said: 'The History of every major Galactic Civilization tends to pass through three distinct and recognizable phases, those of Survival, Inquiry and Sophistication, otherwise known as the How, Why and Where phases.
"For instance, the first phase is characterized by the question How can we eat? the second by the question Why do we eat? and the third by the question Where shall we have lunch?"

The major problem — one of the major problems, for there are several — one of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them. To summarize: it is a well known fact that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. To summarize the summary: anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job. To summarize the summary of the summary: people are a problem.

The sign said: Hold stick near centre of its length. Moisten pointed end in mouth. Insert in tooth space, blunt end next to gum. Use gentle in-out motion. 'It seemed to me,' said Wonko the Sane, 'that any civilization that had so far lost its head as to need to include a set of detailed instructions for use in a packet of toothpicks, was no longer a civilization in which I could live and stay sane.'

I could do this for pages. I love the book and the radio series. I think the film missed the point a bit. Go read it. It's worth it. Don't panic or forget your towel!

What are you going to do to stand up against poverty in 2008?

Almost nine years ago, 189 governments pledged to end poverty by 2015. It takes time to achieve such a lofty goal but still 50 000 people die every day because of poverty. 35 000 are women.

Lousy maternal care, inequality, sexual exploitation, domestic violence and global gag rules that ignore reality, are some of the reasons why women suffer disproportionately.

It's time to stand up and order our governments to fulfill their promises. Governments are supposed to work for the people. Well it's time for a change. Order your politicians to end poverty now.

The Stand up against poverty 2008 campaign is in one month. What have you planned to do for it?

The campaign is very simple - we all demand our governments to fulfill the promises that they have made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The ground has been set. There are projects in place but there is a lack of political will and/or finances to eradicate poverty. So what are you going to do?

One simple way is to participate in Blog action day. Register and plan a post. Profbwoman has resources and more. All we are asking is for our governments to honour their promises - there's nothing too political about that eh!


Blog Action Day 2008 Poverty from Blog Action Day on Vimeo.

There are other activities and ideas so go ahead and stand up against poverty.

Scammers and spammers

The Phnom Penh Post reports that internet scams have hit Cambodia. Course they hit ages ago but I suppose the news takes time to filter through.

Kim Sothea Thangdy was very nearly the victim of a recent email lottery scam that is doing the rounds in Cambodia. She received an email two weeks ago claiming to be from The National Lottery Company, based in the UK. It informed her that she had won US$300,000.

The 21-year-old says the email seemed very believable, so she replied with a series of questions, and though excited, kept the news of her supposed winnings a secret until she was sure. "I was thinking, ‘It is my time. It is my time for change'," she said.

The National Lottery Company, which does not exist, replied at length to Thangdy's queries and seemed very happy she had contacted them. The scammers began an extended correspondence with her to organise payment. She decided to tell her family and friends the good news. But her suspicions were aroused when the company began requesting highly personal information, including details about her bank account.

There's no way to really stop the spammers but net education would be good. It could be as simple as not sending personal information to unknown web email address.

The Boston Globe has a funny piece on someone who replied to a scammer (H/T Donna) with the title of "The spam victim strikes back"

Dear Representative,

We will like to congratulate you for you willing to be our representative in your region, but we want you to know that you did not fill your details in the form we sent to you earlier. [The information requested: name, address, city, zip code, state, home phone, cellphone, age, gender, marital status, occupation, and name of bank.]

Thanks for your Co-operation
Mr. Ben Winners

Dear Sir,

In my excitement, I overlooked the form. I shall send the information required. My commission will be 20 percent, yes? And could you perhaps provide a bit more detail on the type of work I will be doing? If it has to do with crafts, I excel at that!

...

Very amusing, though probably not very effective in combating the problem :-)

No, MTV. Domestic violence is NOT a joke

As Natalia says domestic violence is not a joke. Yet MTV Ukraine broadcast a segment debating whether it's ok to beat girls?

Though I found it hard to believe at first, the topic was “Can you beat girls?”

Yep, there it was, staring me in the face.

I went up to the TV screen and snapped a couple of pictures with my phone. Meanwhile, my table companions quickly became animated as they realized what I was reacting to.

“You’re not going to change anything by being outraged,” Miros’ka (not his real name) said. “Anyway, they have a right to ask an honest question of their audience.”

“This is not an honest question,” Christina (not her real name) argued. “It’s like they’re making a joke. They’re acting as though this discussion is appropriate for a light-hearted forum, as if it’s not a serious problem we face. I’m sorry, but would they get away with a question that was more like: ‘Is it OK to steal money from the elderly?’ NO. Why? Because domestic violence is treated like it’s normal.”

Shocking misogyny. How does this question even arise? It's abhorrent. No No, a thousand times no, it is not funny to joke about domestic violence. It is not clever or witty to ask if it's ok to beat girls. It is never ok. It is never funny. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that

No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.

Domestic violence falls under that article.

No more.

IMF and World Bank to bail out the US?

I love the taste of satire in the morning and the wingnutty comments set me up for the day.

Dear United States, Welcome to the Third World!

It's not every day that a superpower makes a bid to transform itself into a Third World nation, and we here at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund want to be among the first to welcome you to the community of states in desperate need of international economic assistance. As you spiral into a catastrophic financial meltdown, we are delighted to respond to your Treasury Department's request that we undertake a joint stability assessment of your financial sector. In these turbulent times, we can provide services ranging from subsidized loans to expert advisors willing to perform an emergency overhaul of your entire government...

It's funny because it could be true!

Haunted?

Yesterday I had the girls over for book club. We were discussing the marvellous work, The tenderness of wolves, which I highly recommend. After covering diverse subjects, I went down to the gate to let them out and came back upstairs to the roar of water.

Weird I thought. It's 10pm. The Khmer family below is probably not having a shower at this hour and the water pressure is far better than mine. Checked my taps but they were good. The noise was really loud and went on for ages and I eventually thought to check upstairs.

Water was cascading out of the tap in the sink and on to the floor. Luckily this wasn't an issue. Most bathroom floors in Cambodia also serve as the floor of the shower. But is was clear that the water had been flowing for a while - very environmentally friendly!

So how did the water start? I don't know. When I arrived home, I set up for bookclub but wasn't upstairs and there was no sound of water. None of the girls went upstairs nor heard anything. The cleaner wasn't there yesterday either.

I may have a ghost. Although, I've been in that house for two years and I've not had a supernatural encounter, that I can recall. Just can't think of a rational explanation for taps being turned on randomly.

Template

I've spent ages changing around with the template but I'm bored of it now and although the colours are a little clashy they are going to stay like that at least until the weekend when I have time to mess about some more.

Better than coffee?

I have made a most startling discovery. It has been tested on a sample group of one and 100% of the group agree that X is better than coffee for waking me and staying awake.

Coffee is

is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so. From roadside mugs to the classic demi-tasse, it is the perfect democrat.

What could possibly replace coffee, that nectar of the gods? Certainly nothing as simple as a cinnamon stick in hot water. Alas yes, while I still love my black bitter coffee, I alternate with cinnamon water - that sounds revolting. How about : tisane de cinnamon (sounds pretenious)? Cin keeps you up all night (open to misinterpretation)? Cinnamon tea is what I'll have to stick to I guess. Try it and let me know if it works for you or whether it's just me!

Gender crimes at the Khmer Rouge Tribunal

A trans woman has been the first person to submit a gender related crime complaint to the Khmer Rouge Tribunal. Very little has been written on sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge but hopefully Som Southevy's complaint will inspire other women to come forward and make formal complaints.

Som Southevy’s story also highlights the contemporary situation with regard to sexual violence in Cambodia, which many observers and human rights organisations believe is getting worse.

Southevy told a press conference this week she had been accused of so-called ‘moral crimes’ and acting like a woman by the Khmer Rouge and incarcerated in several detention centres.

Weeping as she spoke, Southevy said that while she was in these prisons she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and gang raped by Khmer Rouge officials and cadres.

Although she cannot reveal all of the details, many of which are the subject of the official complaint to the tribunal, she was also forced to have her hair cut and wear men’s clothing.

"If I had not followed these orders I would have been killed," she said. "I was forced to marry a woman and after ten days they [the Khmer Rouge] investigated whether it was a genuine marriage -- that is they tested whether we had had sexual intercourse."

Whether by accident or design sex crimes were not included in the law establishing the KRT but all Cambodians have the right to bring complaints to the tribunal. It seems an incredible oversight given the high levels of rape, domestic violence and child sexual abuse present in Cambodia today.

Rape, forced marriage and violence was part of daily life under the Khmer Rouge but it did not end with them. There is gender based and domestic violence reported every day. Som Southevy's complaint will at the very least prompt an investigation into gender based and sexual violence under the KR, which may lead to a more equitable society in the future.

Holiday in the sun

Some pictures from Phuket in Thailand where I went for some R&R. Also shows that it's impossible to escape the ants in this part of the world!

Apology - sort of

I got a non apology from Heart for her slander.

Thanks so much to those who supported me and called her out, especially Belledame, Hexy, Lisa, Ren. Thanks to Mike and Ariane for the offline handholding!

If you are not with us...

From Heart referring to me

I will not be approving any of your comments until you e-mail me and give me more information about yourself. I went to your blog and see that you say you have been in Cambodia two years. You appear to be a man. Your blogroll is a virtual who’s who of pro-porn pro-prostitution people. My guess is you’re a john, a “punter,” a “sex tourist”, prostituting Cambodian people yourself and here to defend it.

I’m getting better and better at recognizing people like you. The day is going to come when I spam you before I read 10 words you have written. How dare you comment here as some sort of expert on Cambodian prostituted women, when what the truth most likely is, you prostitute them yourself.

Don’t comment here again until you e-mail me and tell me precisely who you are in ways I can substantiate independently because I’ll tell you what, there are many sick people on the internet, many of them prostitute women and I won’t have them commenting to this thread.

Yeah my dear friends, Heart thinks I'm a sexpat man because I made a few comments over at hers about Cambodian sex workers. It's un-frakking-believable.

The reason? I have the temerity to take offence at her for saying I don’t care how many condoms get handed out in the Third World somewhere.

So I left the following at her place

Well I care about condom distribution in the developing world (third world is pejorative now), I live in Cambodia. In Cambodia whether the sex work is through trafficking or voluntary the women call themselves sex workers. They feel that “prostitute” is pejorative. The major of sex workers in Cambodia turn to sex work through poverty, rape or trafficking and they are damned sure they want protection through condoms. People living with HIV are discriminated against and Cambodia has a high rate of HIV transmission.

It’s nice that you have the luxury not to care when you live in a country that withdraws billions of dollars in vital aid when condoms or abortions for sex workers are funded.

You have a choice not to care. You could choose not to be callous about that choice. But your government makes sure to put these women in further danger

She apologises for her remark. I add a few replies to comments addressed to me in a reasonable tone and bam I get accused of being a sexpat man. Charming, not to mention she's accusing me of a crime.

EDIT: Heart has removed her comment. She apologised for jumping to conclusions. She has not apologised for slandering me.

The virginity trade in Cambodia

VIA KI-Media

The clip speaks for itself. It is about sex work in Cambodia and contains stories that are disturbing. This is the a trailer for a feature length documentary by Matthew Watson.

Women are NOT objects

This is horrible

Government officials are importing 250,000 brides for frustrated lovelorn bachelors in Serbia. Social services chiefs are already in talks with neighbours like the Ukraine, Moldova and Russia and with Far Eastern countries like Vietnam, Burma and Cambodia.

Zeljko Vasiljevic, secretary of state for social policy, said: “There are 250,000 unmarried young men in Serbian villages who would like to get married but have no women to marry.”

The prize brides for the frustrated bachelors could come from further afield, explained the minister. “There is a lot of potential in brides from Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Vietnam. They have a tradition of bearing children. “And those girls are also good at agricultural work,” he added.

Women are not commodities. Woman cannot be imported. Women are not slaves. Women are more than their uteri. Women are not sex bots or baby making machines. Women are not prizes. Women should not be infantilised by being called girls. Women are not men's servants.

Women have agency and choice as all adults. Women have opinions and knowledge. Women have the right to refuse. Women are people.

The first article in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. All human beings. Women are human beings.