It's funny how you see some flooring on the lower floors, yet they're still having lunch on the beam.
well, MJ looks a bit better than her because his face was wrecked by professionals She was just a DIY'er
Double Harmony Magical voices Koreans Sumi Jo and Lee Ah-Kyung performing The Flower Duet (from the opera Lakmé by Léo Delibes)... truly amazing! And I thought no one did it better than Joan Sutherland and Marilyn Horne
That's some right pretty singing. But their facial expressions could scare a boatful of Somali pirates!
this explains alot US officials flunk test of Amerian history, economics, civics Thu Nov 20, 2:24 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – US elected officials scored abysmally on a test measuring their civic knowledge, with an average grade of just 44 percent, the group that organized the exam said Thursday. Ordinary citizens did not fare much better, scoring just 49 percent correct on the 33 exam questions compiled by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI). "It is disturbing enough that the general public failed ISI's civic literacy test, but when you consider the even more dismal scores of elected officials, you have to be concerned," said Josiah Bunting, chairman of the National Civic Literacy Board at ISI. "How can political leaders make informed decisions if they don't understand the American experience?" he added. The exam questions covered American history, the workings of the US government and economics. Among the questions asked of some 2,500 people who were randomly selected to take the test, including "self-identified elected officials," was one which asked respondents to "name two countries that were our enemies during World War II." Sixty-nine percent of respondents correctly identified Germany and Japan. Among the incorrect answers were Britain, China, Russia, Canada, Mexico and Spain. Forty percent of respondents, meanwhile, incorrectly believed that the US president has the power to declare war, while 54 percent correctly answered that that power rests with Congress. Asked about the electoral college, 20 percent of elected officials incorrectly said it was established to "supervise the first televised presidential debates." In fact, the system of choosing the US president via an indirect electoral college vote dates back some 220 years, to the US Constitution. The question that received the fewest correct responses, just 16 percent, tested respondents' basic understanding of economic principles, asking why "free markets typically secure more economic prosperity than government's centralized planning?" Activities that dull Americans' civic knowledge include talking on the phone and watching movies or television -- even news shows and documentaries, ISI said. Meanwhile, civic knowledge is enhanced by discussing public affairs, taking part in civic activities and reading about current events and history, the group said.
Hmm.. ..hmm, sounds like the latter is what the U.S.' government is headed towards in the next 4 yrs??..
Here's one..aboard the space station.. a snippet from this article:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081124/ap_on_sc/space_shuttle "...Managers wanted to give the astronauts more time to fix a machine that's supposed to turn urine into drinking water and more repair work was on tap Monday for the fifth day in a row. ..." EEEEEEUUUUUUGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
Kevin Rudd said to George W. Bush, "Sir, will you attend the G20 meeting?" George W. Bush said, "what is the G20?"
Actually this was Bush's second big gaffe. The first big one was when he proposed a G7 or G8 to solve the financial crisis but was told that G7 was actually the ones in trouble and they had to get a G20 to help save the sinking G7. Hence we now never hear about the G7 when it comes to the financial crisis. Rudd was just giving Bush a second rubbing.
Surf's Up!!.. (some of you guys have probably seen pics of this place, maybe even been there; jhirata, have you been here before??).. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtUAuPKnUOc http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj2heWCf4eE Unbelievable- Made in Japan - Here's another nice piece of engineering and construction. This time the locale is JAPAN. Here's the exterior shot of the building. Note the surrounding area . . mountains, sea shore, golf course, residential area. What do you think is inside this building? AH SO! It's an 'OCEAN DOME' It is the world’s largest indoor water park: Seagaia Ocean Dome, Miyazaki Imagine a beach where the sky is always blue, it's never too hot or cold, the water isn't filled with salt and pollution, and the surf is always perfect - welcome to Ocean Dome, the world's only indoor beach. Ocean Dome has its own flame-spitting volcano, crushed white marble 'sand', and it also boasts the world's largest retractable roof, providing a permanently blue sky. Temperature, wind and humidity are closely controlled to provide an ultra-safe 'sea-side' experience. Every hour, the volcano erupts and the hi-tech wave machines start up, starting a few minutes of sanitized surfing. Entrance cost is US $50 per person, which seems especially expensive given that there is a free, natural beach only 300 meters away (5 min. away!). The roof is retractable . . so the SURF'S UP . . .rain or shine! When the roof is closed, you still get blue sky and puffy white clouds . too bad it's now closed (as of 2007)..
