AdamSmith

hito, please. Assange in a foreign country: Manning in the U.S.: ...While in Kuwait he was placed on suicide watch after his behavior caused concern.[56] He was moved from Kuwait to the Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, on July 29, 2010, and classified as a maximum custody detainee, with Prevention of Injury (POI) status. POI status is one stop short of suicide watch, entailing checks by guards every five minutes. His lawyer, David Coombs, a former military attorney, said he was not allowed to sleep between 5 am (7 am at weekends) and 8 pm, and was made to stand or sit up if he tried to. He was required to remain visible at all times, including at night, which entailed no access to sheets, no pillow except one built into his mattress, and a blanket designed not to be shredded.[57] Manning complained that he regarded it as pre-trial punishment.[58] His cell was 6 × 12 ft with no window, containing a bed, toilet, and sink. The jail had 30 cells built in a U shape, and although detainees could talk to one another, they were unable to see each other. His lawyer said the guards behaved professionally, and had not tried to harass or embarrass Manning. He was allowed to walk for up to one hour a day, meals were taken in the cell, and he was shackled during visits. There was access to television when it was placed in the corridor, and he was allowed to keep one magazine and one book. Because he was in pre-trial detention, he received full pay and benefits.[57] On January 18, 2011, the jail classified him as a suicide risk after an altercation with the guards. Manning said the guards began issuing conflicting commands, such as "turn left, don't turn left," and upbraiding him for responding to commands with "yes" instead of "aye." Shortly afterwards, he was placed on suicide risk, had his clothing and eyeglasses removed, and was required to remain in his cell 24 hours a day. The suicide watch was lifted on January 21 after a complaint from his lawyer, and the brig commander who ordered it was replaced.[59] On March 2, 2011, he was told that his request that his POI status be removed had been denied. His lawyer said Manning joked to the guards that, if he wanted to harm himself, he could do so with his underwear or his flip-flops. The comment resulted in him having his clothes removed at night, and he had to present himself naked one morning for inspection...[60] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradley_Manning#Detention

How do you know it isn't their church?

...I Tiresias, though blind, throbbing between two lives, Old man with wrinkled female breasts, can see At the violet hour, the evening hour that strives Homeward, and brings the sailor home from sea, The typist home at teatime, clears her breakfast, lights Her stove, and lays out food in tins. Out of the window perilously spread Her drying combinations touched by the sun's last rays, On the divan are piled (at night her bed) Stockings, slippers, camisoles and stays. I Tiresias, old man with wrinkled dugs Perceived the scene, and foretold the rest--

Trapped in Transit: Orwellian Moscow airport hotel . . . . IAN PHILLIPS June 28, 2013 SHEREMETYEVO AIRPORT (AP) — "An interesting route, Mr. Phillips," says the airport transit desk employee. "This activity makes for suspicion." It was the start of an Orwellian adventure in which I deliberately got myself sequestered in the hopes of finding Edward Snowden at Moscow's main airport. The experience leaves me feeling that if the NSA leaker is indeed in the transit zone of the airport, as President Vladimir Putin claims, he may already have a taste of what it's like to be in prison. Snowden is possibly holed up in the wing of an airport hotel reserved for travelers in transit who don't have visas to enter Russia. The Novotel's main building, located outside the airport, has a plush lobby with a fountain, a trendy bar and luxury shops. One wing, however, lies within the airport's transit zone — a kind of international limbo that is not officially Russian territory. And that's where Snowden, whose U.S. passport has been revoked, may be hiding. ___ EDITOR'S NOTE: Eastern Europe News Director Ian Phillips flew from his home base of Prague in the Czech Republic to Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport with the goal of getting to the bottom of the mystery of fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden. What followed was a surreal 21 hours. This photo taken Thursday, June 27, 2013 shows a view of the lobby of the Novotel Hotel in Moscow's … ___ The woman at the transit desk raises an eyebrow and stares at my flight itinerary, which includes a 21-hour layover in Moscow before a connection to Ukraine. "Why would ANYONE stay here in transit for so long? There are so many earlier connections you could have taken. This is strange behavior." After a nearly two-hour wait inside the terminal, a bus picks me up — only me — from the transit area. We drive slowly across the tarmac, through a barrier, past electronic gates covered in barbed wire and security cameras. The main part of the Novotel is out of bounds. My allotted wing feels like a lockup: You are obliged to stay in your room, except for brief walks along the corridor. Three cameras track your movements along the hallway and beam the images back to a multiscreen monitor. It's comforting to see a sign instructing me that, in case of an emergency, the locks on heavily fortified doors leading to the elevators will open. When I try to leave my room, the guard outside springs to his feet. I ask him why room service isn't responding and if there's any other way to get food. He growls: "Extension 70!" I rile him by asking about the Wi-Fi, which isn't working: "Extension 75!" he snarls. "Don't worry, Mr. Phillips," the transit desk employee had said. "We have all your details and information. We will come and get you from your room at 6 p.m. on Friday, one hour before your connecting flight." Now it's midnight, and I'm getting edgy. I feel trapped inside my airless room, whose double windows are tightly sealed. And the room is extortionate: It costs $300 a night, with a surcharge of 50 percent slapped on because I will be staying past noon. This photo taken on Wednesday, June 26, 2013 shows a view of the Novotel Hotel in Moscow's Sheremety … ("Can't I just wait in the lobby after midday?" I asked the receptionist at check-in. "Of course not," she retorted. "You have no visa. You will stay until you are picked up.") I look out the window. If Snowden is here and has the same view, he can see the approach to the departures terminal at the airport. A large billboard shows a red 4x4 vehicle driving along an ocean road. A parking lot below is filled with vehicles. A man in green overalls is watering a patch of parched grass. Vehicles whizz in and out of the airport. A maid has just brought a tea bag. She puts a tick against the room number on the three-page document on her trolley. On it, there are no guest names, only numbers — and departure dates. A quick look suggests there are perhaps a few dozen people staying here. A couple of rooms on my floor have tell-tale signs of occupancy — food trays lying outside from the night before. But no sign of Snowden. The guard allows me to stretch my legs in the corridor. The signs on the wall rub things in. Under a pretty picture of the Moscow skyline and Red Square, a message reads: "Should you wish to see the full range of facilities offered by our hotel during your next stay, we strongly recommend you to get a visa before flying to Moscow." A fleeting glimpse of a possible change of scene: a set of guidelines posted on the wall say I can go out for a smoke! Rule No. 6: "It is possible to go and smoke one time per hour for 5 minutes in the beginning of each hour escorted by security service." I don't smoke, but this would be a way to escape this floor. But when I ask him to take me down, the security guard scoffs. "No!" he says flatly. I call the front desk. "You need a visa to go outside and smoke, Mr. Phillips" the receptionist says. If he's here, Snowden has access to a few international TV stations. He also has a fair amount of options with room service — the only source of food in this wing. But after almost a week, he might be getting bored. And he'd need a credit card or a lot of Russian cash. A selection: Buffalo mozzarella and pesto dressing starter? 720 rubles (about $20). Ribeye steak: 1,500 rubles (about $50). Bottle of Brunello di Montalcino red wine: 5,280 rubles ($165). A miniature bottle of Hennessy XO cognac: 2,420 rubles ($80). I've called all the 37 rooms on my floor in hopes of reaching Snowden. No reply except for when I get my security guard. The floor above? A similarly futile attempt. I only reach a handful of tired and irritated Russians who growl "Da? Da? Da?" — "Yes? Yes? Yes?" http://news.yahoo.com/trapped-transit-orwellian-moscow-airport-hotel-152338275.html

Caught me! ... In the guttur. http://www.yourdictionary.com/nostalgie-de-la-boue

For hitoall...

Wonderful news! Congratulations.

Oh, got it. That makes sense. (Well, I mean it's consistent.)

"Why is Pope Francis familiar and Benedict hard to remember?" http://ncronline.org/blogs/bulletins-human-side/why-pope-francis-familiar-and-benedict-hard-remember

So "masturbation for hire" is legal in some states? Interesting!

Just came across this vid of Clarke with Cronkite at Apollo 11 launch.

I was completely serious.

China asks if 'happy ending' services are illegal GILLIAN WONG 6 hours ago BEIJING (AP) — China's law enforcers are having an unusually public debate about a delicate topic: Do paid sexual services known as "happy endings" at massage parlors count as crimes if they don't involve actual sexual intercourse? While prostitution is illegal in China, its boundaries are being discussed with rare candor by courts, police and state media — even the usually stodgy flagship newspaper of the Communist Party. "Various places have different standards for whether masturbation services are a crime; judicial interpretation urgently needed," read a headline of the People's Daily newspaper, which usually spends its time lecturing party members about discipline or obscure ideological issues. The debate centers on sexual services provided by employees of usually low-end massage parlors or hair salons, advertised to customers with colorful phrases such as "hitting the airplane" and "breast massage." While common in Beijing and many other Chinese cities, the services became part of a conspicuous national conversation only this week, following newspaper reports about a crackdown that fizzled in southern Guangdong province. Police in the city of Foshan arrested hair salon staff for providing sexual services, only to have prostitution charges against them overturned by a local court. A precedent apparently was set last year when the Foshan Intermediate People's Court threw out a verdict against a group of salon staff, including three managers who had been sentenced to five years' imprisonment for "organizing prostitution." Now courts, police, prosecutors, lawyers and academics are being quoted discussing oral sex and other types of sexual services facilitated by body parts excluding genitals, typically taboo topics that have captured the public's attention. The question is whether such services can be considered prostitution if there is no intercourse. Technically, no — at least according to the highest court in Guangdong province, which says such services fall outside the legal definition of prostitution. On its official microblog, the court pressed the legislature to clear up the matter, saying that although no law bars such services, they "significantly damage social order and have a certain degree of social harm." The high court in eastern Zhejiang reportedly concurs that if there is no intercourse, there's no prostitution, but police in the capital Beijing, southern Guiyang and elsewhere disagree. The discrepancy in views is unusual in a society where police, prosecutors and courts are often seen as working in lock-step with one another. The debate also highlights how much more open urban Chinese have become in their attitudes toward sex, as prosperity rises and government controls on personal freedoms ease. Attitudes remain more traditional in the countryside. Sociologist and sex expert Li Yinhe said the debate showed the country has come a long way since two decades ago, when displays of public affection and even dancing with members of the opposite sex could be punished. "The whole social atmosphere has changed. Even in the 1980s the crackdowns were very strong, very severe," Li said. "... In the past, organizing prostitution used to be punishable by death." She took in the unexpected court verdict with mock horror, saying, "This is simply too subversive." ___ Associated Press researcher Flora Ji contributed to this report. http://news.yahoo.com/china-asks-happy-ending-services-illegal-111935726.html

This may help with the language question...

Insofar as governorships matter -- oh, Lord... After big loss, Martha Coakley eyes comeback http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/martha-coakley-massachusetts-governor-2014-93563.html?hp=l4

Tease!

Mary's Meals founder meets Pope Francis The founder of Mary's Meals – the charity set up to help feed the poorest children in the world – has travelled to the Vatican at the invitation of Pope Francis. Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow presents Pope Francis with the blue Mary’s Meals mug Photo: fotografiafelici.com By Harriet Alexander 7:39PM BST 26 Jun 2013 The Telegraph Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, who set up the organisation in 2002, was invited to Rome after the Pope heard about his work within the Catholic community. His charity, which was one of the organisations previously supported by The Telegraph's Christmas Appeal, provides food for 750,000 children every school day. Mr MacFarlane-Barrow said: "It was a huge privilege and blessing to meet the Holy Father today and represent everyone involved in the mission of Mary's Meals. "I presented Pope Francis with the blue Mary's Meals mug and let him know we are now reaching over three quarters of a million children every school day – many of them having escaped the rubbish dumps where they used to scavenge for their next meal, or the fields where they worked. He gave us a blessing, which we were very grateful for." Pope Francis held a general audience in St Peter's Square on Wednesday morning, before meeting Mr MacFarlane-Barrow and his wife. The Scotsman was inspired to start the charity by a visit to Malawi during the 2002 famine, where he met a 14-year-old boy, Edward, who told him: "I want to have enough food to eat and to go to school one day". Mary's Meals began by feeding 200 children in a school in Malawi, and now provides daily sustenance for children in schools in Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Pope Francis has made championing the poor a key pillar of his papacy. Earlier this year he said: "Poverty in the world is a scandal. In a world where there is so much wealth, so many resources to feed everyone, it is unfathomable that there are so many hungry children, that there are so many children without an education, so many poor persons. "We all have to think if we can become a little poorer, all of us have to do this." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/the-pope/10144309/Marys-Meals-founder-meets-Pope-Francis.html

Francis continues working to tighten his noose around the Church's neck. Pope Francis Appoints Panel to Watch Bank By GAIA PIANIGIANI Published: June 26, 2013 The New York Times In another move to clean up the troubled Vatican Bank, Pope Francis on Wednesday appointed a commission of inquiry that will report directly to him about the bank’s activities. Known for its secrecy, the bank has been under mounting pressure in recent years to meet European transparency and anti-money laundering norms. The committee is authorized to gather documents, data and information about the bank with the “prompt collaboration” of the bank’s staff and that of other Vatican departments. The committee’s members include four Vatican officials, including Monsignor Peter Wells, and one noncleric: Mary Ann Glendon, a professor at Harvard Law School and a former United States ambassador to the Holy See. This month, Francis named a trusted monsignor as interim prelate of the bank. In bold move, Pope names commission to reform Vatican bank By Philip Pullella, Reuters VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis set up a special commission of inquiry on Wednesday to reform the Vatican bank, his boldest move yet to get to grips with an institution that has embarrassed the Catholic Church for decades. The high-powered, five-member panel, which includes four prelates and a female Harvard law professor, will report directly to him, bypassing the Vatican bureaucracy that itself has sometimes been hit by allegations of scandal and corruption. The Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), as the bank is formally known, has long been tarnished by accusations that it has failed to meet international transparency standards intended to combat money laundering and tax evasion. The Vatican said the commission, which Francis set up with a personal decree known as a "chirografo," would enable him "to know better the juridical position and the activities of the Institute to allow an improved harmonization with the mission of the universal Church". It said the commission would have full powers to obtain all documentation and data necessary and bypass usual rules that oblige officials to respect the secrecy of their office. The decree ordered the commission to give its conclusions and all supporting documents directly to him. The bank, founded in 1942, will continue to be run by current administrators and be overseen by existing regulators while the commission carries out its task. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the bank was not being put under "special administration" but that the commission would have ample powers. The announcement of the new commission came as Vatican sources confirmed media reports that Italian magistrates were investigating Monsignor Nunzio Scarano, an accountant in another Vatican department that deals with financial administration, on suspicion of money laundering. Vatican sources told Reuters in April the pope, who has said he wants the Church to be a model of austerity and honesty, could decide to radically restructure the bank or even close it. ACCOUNTS UNDER REVIEW Francis has laid great emphasis on removing an image of privilege from Church operations, and IOR's new president Ernst von Freyberg, a German, has begun a review of all its accounts and activities. The commission is made up of Italian Cardinal Raffaele Farina, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Spanish Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Cinchetru, American Monsignor Peter Wells and Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard professor who is president of the Vatican's Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and a former U.S. ambassador to the Vatican. The papal decree says bank employees as well as staff in other Vatican departments had to cooperate with the commission. The European anti-money laundering committee, Moneyval, said in a July report that the IOR still had to enact more reforms in order to meet international standards against money laundering. The Vatican is due to give Moneyval a progress report this year. Von Freyberg, 54, a German lawyer, told Reuters in an interview this month he was committed to total transparency and has started a review of the IOR's some 19,000 accounts, mostly held by Vatican employees and departments, orders of priests and nuns, and charities. On Wednesday, he declined to comment on the Pope's decision to set up the commission. The bank has assets of $7.1 billion under management and profits of 86.6 million euros ($114.3 million), used to support Catholic activities around the world. It does not lend money. Last year, the Vatican detected six possible attempts to use the Holy See to launder money. At least seven have been detected so far this year. The bank is trying to clean up its image after a history of scandals, most notably in 1982 when it was enmeshed in the bankruptcy of Italy's Banco Ambrosiano, whose chairman Roberto Calvi was found hanging from London's Blackfriars Bridge. In 2010, Rome magistrates investigating money laundering froze 23 million euros ($33 million) held by the IOR in an Italian bank. The IOR said it was transferring its own funds between accounts in Italy and Germany. The money was released in June 2011 but the investigation continues. http://news.yahoo.com/pope-francis-sets-special-review-vatican-bank-110039523.html