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Friday, February 2, 2007

An advertising campaign for shows on Adult Swim, a programming block on Cartoon Network, which is owned by Turner Broadcasting, gave local and federal law-enforcement a scare when devices were discovered on eight different bridges and roads.

The U.S. city of Boston was snarled in traffic jams January 31 as police investigated devices with flashing lights representing a cartoon character were placed around bridges and other areas throughout the city.

Different governmental agencies were brought in to help deal with the problem, which was later found to be no threat, as described by Boston Police Department spokesperson Eddy Chrispin. A bomb squad was deployed under supervision of the FBI, Boston police, the US Coast Guard, and different federal agencies.

The advertising campaign, for the widely popular program Aqua Teen Hunger Force, featuring characters from that series, was in place for two to three weeks in Boston, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many other major US cities.

Two people have been arrested for alleged participation in this incident.

Turner Broadcasting Systems hired New York marketing firm Interference Inc. which in turn hired individuals in the various cities to place the devices promoting the cartoon’s fifth season, scheduled for a February 23 premiere. Road and rail traffic was disrupted by police as they investigated and removed the devices.

The mostly flat devices resemble two-foot-square Lite-Brites with batteries attached to the bottom and visible wires.

G4TV has dubbed the incident “Aquagate” on its broadcast of Attack of the Show segment The Feed.

It is not known why the devices took police several weeks to notice, nor why the devices were believed to be dangerous.

Friday, June 15, 2007

A videotaped address by Thaksin Shinawatra was played for a crowd of around 15,000 supporters today in Bangkok, with the ousted former prime minister calling for the military-installed government of Thailand to hold elections later this year as promised.

“Please speed up the new elections and turn the country back to democracy,” Thaksin said in his message, taped in London, where he has been living in exile since being ousted in a coup last year. “It is time for reconciliation and to move forward with elections. That is the best solution for the country.”

“Let the people decide for themselves who should be voted into office and run the country,” he said.

Interim Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has said the elections would likely be held in December, after a constitutional referendum, which might occur in August or September.

Thaksin’s address began at around 9 p.m. local time (1400 GMT), and was shown on six screens at the Sanam Luang protest-staging ground. Organizers of the demonstration, the pro-Thaksin satellite television station PTV, also known as the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship, said they had hoped for a live broadcast via Internet, but switched to a pre-recorded message because they feared the transmission would be blocked by the military-run government. The government had earlier said they would allow Thaksin to make a live address, but only if he would say nothing provocative, and that they would monitor the transmission.

The live-broadcast service of the PTV website could not be accessed before or during the speech, The Nation newspaper reported. Access to several pro-Thaksin websites was blocked by the ministry.

Thaksin railed against the government for its seizure of his bank accounts in Thailand, calling the move “unfair.”

“I wouldn’t mind if it was just me they were persecuting, but my wife and children have also become victims, which I didn’t expect to happen,” Thaksin said.

“The government seized my assets because they want to discredit me and to prevent Thai Rak Thai from winning in new elections. That’s not democracy,” he said, referring to the political party he once led, which was ordered dissolved by a Constitutional Tribunal over elections violations. “I haven’t done anything wrong,” he said. “I repeat that I have already given up politics,” he added.

He in struggle for power boasted he would return to Thailand “to protect my reputation,” though he did not specify exactly when he would return. “I will fight to get my dignity back, and to restore the credibility of Thailand’s legal system,” he said. “I will fight within the rule of law.”

In spite of the fact that Mr Abhisit, the Democrat party leader in Thailand, said the content of the pre-recorded message played to demonstrators at Sanam Luang was nothing short of expectations. He said Mr Thaksin should not blame anyone but himself that his wife and children were facing graft investigations.

“His wife and children find themselves in this situation all because of Mr Thaksin’s decisions,” he said. “He threw the problems at them by transferring shares to them and it is not clear that he gave up management of those assets.”

Deputy Democrat leader Wittaya Kaewparadai said the video address reflected Mr Thaksin’s obsession with his own personal interests. He did not show strong reactions when he was toppled by the coup makers but rose to “defend his dignity” when his assets were frozen, he said.

Mr Wittaya said he believed Mr Thaksin’s address was meant to rouse his supporters and instigate violence

However Mr Thaksin still asked that all Thais unite to mark the 80th birthday of King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand’s monarch who has reigned for 60 years.

Thaksin claimed that the coup and the military government have hurt Thailand’s economy. The coup “rendered a lack of confidence on the part of the world community in this country’s political and economic developments.” He said the poor and the business sector would continue to suffer until democracy was restored.

Police estimated that 8,000 people were present at the Sanam Luang rally venue, while organisers of the rally put the numbers closer to 50,000. There was a heavy presence of police as well as military personnel and their vehicles, and some roads were blocked to traffic. There was no report of any untoward incident or violence at the rally venue.

Demonstrations organized by the Democratic Alliance against Dictatorship have grown in the past two weeks, and a large demonstration and march from Sanam Luang to Royal Thai Army headquarters is expected tomorrow.

The government has said it will deploy 13,000 soldiers for the event, though Premier Surayud said the protests would be allowed, but warned that emergency law would be enforced if things turn violent.

Wednesday, November 1, 2006

The first comprehensive global study of sexual behaviour, published today as part of The Lancet’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Online Series, found that people aren’t losing their virginity at ever younger ages, married people have the most sex, and there is no firm link between promiscuity and sexually transmitted diseases.

Experts say data gleaned from the study will be useful not only in dispelling popular myths about sexual behaviour, but in shaping policies that will help improve sexual health across the world. Researchers looked at previously published studies on sexual behaviour in the last decade.

Professor Kaye Wellings, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicines, and her colleagues analysed data on sexual behaviour in the last decade from 59 countries.

The report also shows no support for the common notion that there is a culture of multiple sexual partners in countries with poor sexual health. Multiple sexual partners, it turns out, are more common in industrialised than in developing nations.

The study also found that contrary to popular belief, sexual activity is not starting earlier. Nearly everywhere, men and women have their first sexual experiences in their late teens; from 15 to 19 years old — with generally younger ages for women than for men, especially in developing countries.

“A single woman is more able to negotiate safe sex in certain circumstances than a married woman,” said Paul van Look, director of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organisation, who was unconnected to the study and points out that “married women in Africa and Asia are often threatened by unfaithful husbands who frequent prostitutes”.

There is much greater equality between women and men with regard to the number of sexual partners in rich countries than in poor countries, the study found. This imbalance has significant public health implications. Because of the diversity of sexual habits worldwide, Wellings warns that no single approach to sexual health will work everywhere. “There are very different economic, religious and social rules governing sexual conduct across the world,” Wellings said.

For example, men and women in Australia, Britain, France and the United States tend to have an almost equal number of sexual partners. In contrast, in Cameroon, Haiti, and Kenya, men tend to have multiple partners while women tend only to have one.

Along with other industrialised countries, Australia was one in which having two or more sexual partners in the past year was comparatively common.

Single men and women in Africa were fairly sexually inactive: only two-thirds of them reported recent sexual activity, compared with three-quarters of their counterparts in developed countries.

In what researchers said was proof the sexual double standard was still strong, more men than women reported having more than one partner.

“These findings beg the question of who the men are having sex with,” they wrote.

Italy had one of the lowest percentages of men who had sex before age 15 (4 per cent), compared to 18 per cent in the United States and 30 per cent in Brazil and the Dominican Republic. The researchers said early initiation was more likely to be non-consensual, unsafe and generally to be regretted later.

The study suggests that unequal treatment of girls and women as the major sexual-health issue.

The researchers call for providing sexual health services to unmarried young women, supplying condoms, decriminalizing commercial sex and homosexual sex, and prosecuting the perpetrators of sexual violence.

Experts say data gleaned from the study will be useful not only in dispelling popular myths about sexual behaviour, but in shaping policies that will help improve sexual health across the world.

“There’s a misperception that there’s a great deal of promiscuity in Africa, which is one of the potential reasons for HIV/AIDS spreading so rapidly,” said van Look

Fewer than half of unmarried non-virgins reported having sex in the past month.

Some of the major findings the survey found were:

• School-based sexual education delays and does not hasten onset of sexual activity.
• First sexual experience is often forced or sold.
• Marriage is no safeguard of sexual health. It is more difficult for married women to negotiate safe sex and condom use than it is for single women.
• Condom use is increasing, but condom-use rates remain low in many developing countries.
• Among girls who marry at a very young age, “very early sexual experience within marriage can be coercive and traumatic.”
• While there is no major trend toward earlier sexual experience, a trend toward later marriage has led to an increase in premarital sex.
• Public health measures to improve sexual health should focus not only on individual behaviours but also on broader issues such as gender, poverty, and mobility.
• Public-health messages intended to reduce sexual risk-taking “should respect diversity and preserve choice.”
• Monogamy is the dominant pattern in most parts of the world. Men report more multiple partnerships than do women. Such men are more likely to live in developed nations.