Wino

Not sure what "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is all about. I take it you like the television series!

Lvdkeyes stated, "I had a black friend tell me one time, "You can use the "N" word with me." I told him I wouldn't do that."

Isn't that sweet, what a true friend. Did you tell him in he can use " honkey" with you? If you were inclined to use the "N" word, make sure you use nigga instead of nigger.

In certain circumstances, I think Cobra is extendable beyond the 18 months.

I have not read the testimony. Granted, Polanski committed terrible offenses and has admitted as such. But the paedophile statement is unfair. Because he is older than the girl's mother he should have know the girl was underage? I believe he stated he did not know she was underage. If my memory serves me right, in the photo I saw she had rather large breasts. In my opinion and judging from the photo I saw, she could have easily passed as an eighteen year old.

No matter how much money one has, it seems you can always use a little more. Or maybe they just love to play music in front of a large audience? For some that is an adrenaline rush.

ManCrunch? Although I have never heard of the company, I would be surprised if they had $3 million for a 30 second ad.

You cannot judge a book by its cover and paying more money does not really mean a safer home. A building may look safe, but you really have to try and find out the reputation of the builder. If you are not up on your building safety codes, I would try and hire a qualified inspector. If it were me, I would make sure the electrical system was grounded.

I disagree with the general audience statement. I would put my neck on the line and say the audience is predominantly male.

The article states, About 6,000 additional security will be deployed in the capital, where 200 checkpoints will be set up at "every entrance into Bangkok," he said.

As if traffic is bad enough in Bangkok and now 200 checkpoints. I guess it is worth the bother if it helps keep the peace.

No leader and what are their demands? Do they want an independent state? Do they want to be part of Malaysia?

I noticed a large shoe outlet at the new Central Festival yesterday. The vendor set up shop on the ground floor outside the entrance, close to the food store on the 2nd road side. I saw a large selection of sneakers, but not sure of the sizes. If you like to stick out in a crowd, I noticed a nice gold pair and another pair, bright red.

No use to bring in anything, if they sell everything there for cheap. I usually drink beer but it is nice to have a bottle and share it.

I buy the coffee at Tops. It comes in a blue box and inside the coffee is a vacuum sealed container. The cost is 89 baht for 250 gm.

I doubt if a free visa enters into the equation to travel to Thailand. It doesn't matter to me, but some enjoy the perk.

There is talk of more political unrest. Who knows the government may re-enact the free tourist visas in the very near future?

And instincts drive a female to have as many partners, as well?

Why don't these guys retire gracefully? Do they need the money?

I saw the picture on the internet. I could not believe it either. Google it and see what you think.

The Moccona brand also has roasted and ground coffee for use in a drip coffee maker. Nice robust flavor and it is not expensive.

I don't think there is any shortage of companies that are willing to pay the high dollar for super bowl ads. Like you said, executives must think it is worth the money. Perhaps the game targets the audience the company is after.

JAL is a big player in the Asia market. No wonder Delta offered big money to JAL.

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA and HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writers TOKYO – Japan Airlines, wooed for months by Delta Air Lines with promises of cash and a broad global network, spurned the world's biggest carrier and opted to keep its alliance with American Airlines.The Japanese carrier said in a statement Tuesday it will strengthen its partnership with American and the two airlines will jointly ask the U.S. and Japanese governments for antitrust immunity on trans-Pacific routes.

The decision brings to an end a fierce tug-of-war over Japan's ailing flagship carrier, which is restructuring under bankruptcy but offers the U.S. airlines access to lucrative Asian routes.

In an aggressive courtship, Delta and its partners offered JAL $1 billion to leave oneworld. American and its partners said they would give JAL as much as $1.4 billion to stay. There was no mention in JAL's statement Tuesday of money being part of the deal.

Delta in a statement didn't directly address JAL's choice of American, instead asserting it remains a big player in Asia.

"With recently announced plans to invest $1 billion in our product, Delta remains committed to providing a leading option for travel across the Pacific," the airline said.

American, based in Fort Worth, Texas, said in a statement it believes JAL made the right choice. It reiterated that American and its oneworld partners plan to deliver to JAL roughly $2 billion in ongoing and incremental revenue over three years.

"American and JAL will now focus on building a joint venture that can offer JAL significant revenue growth beyond the stability that oneworld offers today," American said.

Its victory seemed improbable just a few weeks ago when Japanese officials, convinced of the long-term revenue benefits, were pushing JAL toward Delta and its SkyTeam partners. But after taking over last month, new JAL chairman Kazuo Inamori insisted that management would re-evaluate both proposals from scratch.

JAL's loyalties swung back to American in the end as executives decided an alliance switch would do more harm than good during a restructuring that is expected to take three years.

"The biggest reason for our decision to strengthen our alliance with American is to avoid inconvenience to our customers as much as we can," Daiji Nagai, senior vice president of corporate planning, told reporters.

Also, antitrust immunity — the key to a closer revenue-sharing relationship between U.S. and Asian carriers — would likely have been difficult for JAL to achieve with Delta because of competition concerns.

American and Delta were vying to keep pace with the Star alliance, which includes United Airlines, Continental Airlines and JAL rival All Nippon Airways. Star alliance has 31 percent of U.S.-Japan market share.

United, Continental and All Nippon Airways have applied for antitrust immunity so they can form a joint venture and work together more closely on flights across the Pacific. Delta would have submitted its own application if it landed Japan Airlines. But it will be American, part of the oneworld alliance, taking on that task now.

A joint venture allows airlines to share costs and revenue on certain flights regardless of which airline owns or flies the aircraft. It differs from a codesharing agreement where one airline bears all the cost but another airline might get a share of the revenue for booking a customer on a flight.

JAL President Masaru Onishi said the Tokyo-based company analyzed the issue "in great detail."

He said management "firmly believe that the advantages of this development with American Airlines can strongly support JAL at a time when we are striving toward the revival of our business, which we are determined to achieve."

There is no guarantee American and Japan Airlines will be able to get antitrust immunity, either. But JAL in the end wasn't willing to take the risk of moving to Delta.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_airlines_american

I do not usually like instant coffee, but that Moccona brand is really not too bad.

Can you buy a bottle of Sang Som at the festival, or do you bring one along? I suppose they have plenty of places to buy ice and mixers.

For some reason on my computer, the edit option does not show up after I post something. Forgive me in advance for stupid mistakes.

Here is a Chinese man investigating the tragic death of school children after an earthquake. He received five years for subversion of state power. This is a classic example of how a repressive regime controlling the populous.

By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer BEIJING – A Chinese court Tuesday sentenced an activist who investigated the deaths of thousands of schoolchildren in the country's massive 2008 earthquake to five years in jail for inciting subversion of state power, the man's lawyer said.Attorney Pu Zhiqiang said activist Tan Zuoren was convicted and sentenced Tuesday by the Chengdu Intermediate Court. Tan's trial in August had concluded with no ruling, during which police detained and threatened his supporters.

Tan's supporters believe authorities were trying to silence him for his investigation into the collapse of schools in the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck in Sichuan province in May 2008, leaving almost 90,000 dead or missing. Tan estimated at least 5,600 students were among the dead, while a figure released by the government last May put the count at 5,335.

The charge of inciting subversion of state power was also linked to essays he wrote about the 1989 student-led demonstrations in Beijing's Tiananmen Square that ended in a deadly military crackdown. China routinely uses such broad and vaguely defined accusations to imprison dissidents, sometimes for years.

"Tan thinks one of the reasons behind this case is that he was leading an investigation into the poorly built schools after the earthquake, which would have embarrassed the local government in Chengdu," Pu said.

Critics allege that shoddy construction, enabled by corruption, caused several schools to collapse while buildings nearby remained intact — a politically sensitive theory that the government has tried to quash, fearing it could undermine the admiration and goodwill it earned after its massive rescue effort.

But activists and parents — many of whom lost their only children in the quake — have repeatedly demanded those responsible for shoddy construction be investigated and punished. Those who've pressed the issue have been detained, harassed and threatened by police and thugs believed to be hired by local officials.

Pu said Tan would appeal the court's verdict, which he said was based on a diary entry Tan had written in 2007 and a campaign last year looking at how authorities handled the 1989 Tiananmen protests.

"The court was very smart. They took out any mention of the earthquake from the verdict because they are afraid of referring to it," Pu said.

In a sign of the sensitivity that continues to surround the case, Chinese police officers tried to block nine Hong Kong journalists from interviewing Pu outside the courthouse, Hong Kong's radio RTHK said.

The reporters were led to a room inside the courthouse and released after the verdict was announced, RTHK said.

Calls to the court rang unanswered Tuesday.

Amnesty International urged Chinese authorities to release Tan, saying his case highlighted China's use of vague and broad laws to silence dissenting voices.

"The Chinese authorities cannot continue to claim that they are dealing with human rights defenders according to the law when they violate so many of their own legal procedures in cases like this," the organization's Asia-Pacific deputy director, Roseann Rife, said in an e-mailed statement.

In a related case, the same court rejected the appeal of Huang Qi, a prominent dissident who criticized the government's response to the Sichuan earthquake.

Huang had appealed against a three-year jail sentence he was handed in November on the charge of illegally possessing state secrets, his lawyer Mo Shaoping said. Mo said he was notified of the court's decision in a letter he received Tuesday and that no hearing had been held.

Huang, founder of a human rights Web site, was detained in June 2008 and had previously served a five-year prison sentence on subversion charges linked to politically sensitive articles posted on his site.

Since his release in 2005, Huang has supported a wide range of causes, including aiding families of those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and publicizing the complaints of farmers involved in land disputes with authorities.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100209/ap_on_re_as/as_china_earthquake_dissident;_ylt=AqF7trZ2QAjFZQFMblMQyjtv24cA;_ylu=X3oDMTNpdGVycmloBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMjA5L2FzX2NoaW5hX2VhcnRocXVha2VfZGlzc2lkZW50BGNjb2RlA21vc3Rwb3B1bGFyBGNwb3MDNgRwb3MDNgRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3JpZXMEc2xrA2NoaW5hc2VudGVuYw--