Humo: Freedom of speech!

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Freedom of speech is a big thing to me and therefor this post. This has nothing to do with Obama, but hereby I do congratulate personally my fellow-flickr! :-)

Yesterday the Court in Belgium ordered to take out all copies from the market of HUMO, a highly acclaimed magazine with a big satirical background. Now, bad taste or not, this is again a "flagrant infringement on press freedom and freedom of expression, and also to the right of humor and satire." To get the "joke" you really have to be in Belgian Politics, but let's just say in a nutshell this is a reaction on "How good-looking girls got high post "jobs".

Here's the full original text, translated with Google Translate that Humo placed on their website:

"On the orders of the Court, we must all take measures to ensure that Humo of November 4, 2008 is of the market, in all outlets, and this on pain of a penalty payment of 250 euros per copy offered for sale yet. The court held that a photomontage in 'The Hole in the World, "a clearly demarcated satirical column Humo, wrote about the presentation. However, the attentive reader inevitably find that it is an installation in a satirical context is. The proceeding unilaterally petition let us not able to speak at a progressively debate. We have the decision of the court of first instance even through the press should know. Meanwhile, the ruling means and we are obliged Humo at least provisionally to retrieve from the shelves. We consider the third opposition to appeal against the decision. We believe that the ruling and the procedure followed in total mismatch with the intended outcome and the damage Humo and Sanoma Magazines Belgium this encounter. Moreover, we consider this state of affairs as a flagrant infringement on press freedom and freedom of expression, and also to the right of humor and satire.
Nevertheless, we are now calling for the press sellers to immediately Humo all copies of this edition from the shelves to retrieve and no longer to sell."

And just when you thought Belgium was such an example of an "enlightened" state. Personally I wander how HUMO is going to react since it seemed to be a very interesting copy, this week.

Barack for President!

I admit it...I'm biased because he's a buddy! of mine on Flickr ;). But anything instead of a horrible repetition of a stage play we've seen before. Remember how Nixon came to power ? Just listen to that woman's voice! You feel the same anger, paranoia, pettiness as Dick had in his days. On top of this she has the intelligence of Reagan at his worst and that same stubbornness we all had to suffer from W!
Now look at this resemblance: already better no? Although Barack resembles more Bill Clinton astrologically (both are Leo) with Lyndon (Virgo) he shares an open inviting look with sharp traits, investigating eyes and a strong yet friendly chin.


I personally believe that Lyndon tried to be good president, but was really "rushed into it" and had to deal with issues he simply had to proceed. I hope that Barack will learn from this.
Hell, I just tell him myself!
(2B continued)

Greek Lover Invitation Code...a few more clicks...

Click here and select all (Ctrl A or 2/3 short clicks) then copy & paste it into the comment box of the picture(s) you want to join the pool.
Sorry about the fuzz but Flickr does not not seem to except all html.
In the mean time, thanks for visiting...

Bibi, Gigi & Yoko...

Three friends I 'lost' in Greece...Yoko wandered off to the park one night and never returned...Bibi went to help a blind man somewhere in the outskirts of Athens and the last thing I heard from GG that she was hanging out in the Pelion...But who is Yoko, Bibi or GG here...???

How to make a Pizza with Mushrooms, when...

You love'm but your table-partner simply hates them ???
For this recipe you need:
Pizza Dough: Make it yourself (lots of recipes on the net) here is an example. If you don't like the mess there are in the supermarket prepared ones refrigerated. Olive oil to spread around a baking form lightly, only if you want your pizza to stay somewhat soft. Extra tip: Spread also some sea salt at the bottom of that form.
Pizza Topping:
* Tomato sauce lightly seasoned with fried shallot, cardamom and cumin for a distinctive taste.
* Fresh Emmenthal cheese, shredded.
* Mushrooms, sliced, baked in olive oil, with some shallot, lots of garlic, black pepper and oregano. Season to your liking.
* Fresh basil leaves, artichoke hearts, good quality sliced ham & anchovies, fresh or canned.
* Black olives (try the best quality you can get, un-pit them if you must)

Let's start to work, the pictures should be self-explanatory...

Notice here that I use two basil leaves to mark the middle of the Pizza (that's it actually! ;)

Add the artichoke hearts and the olives, keeping the "markers" in mind.

Add the baked mushrooms ONLY at the bottom part of the pizza and "sprinkle" the sliced ham and anchovies as you wish.

And top it all generously with the cheese, notice that the two basil leaves still stick out.

Cook for 15-20 minutes (depending your oven) and on your dinner table simply slice it in the middle between your "hidden" little green markers. Your partner will not find one mushroom
while can crunch away the whole lot!
One last note: better put some garlic as well is the tomato sauce too so your partner wont notice your sharp garlic smell afterwards ! ;)

Great photo from Mr......Aster-oid!

From left to right: Indifference, Concentration & Professionalism, Envy, Admiration. I fell for the last one, althought I spotted also a lot of hesitation there. Couldn't help myself to add one more:
Anticipation (for the little chair in front) reminding the many accidents models have lately...and because little chairs just might have feelings too...

Hommage...by Cl☼s ... des dunes !

Hommage .....
Originally uploaded by Cl☼s ... des dunes !

à l'oeuvre de Soeur Emmanuelle ...

This picture and comment was posted by Cl☼s ... des dunes ! on Flickr and being Belgian I was at first* a bit ashamed I never heard of her...She died October 20, 2008 at the age of 99. I never understood what really drives these people so I here's a closer look...

Sœur Emmanuelle (November 16, 1908 – October 20, 2008), born Madeleine Cinquin, was a Belgian nun living in France. She was born in Brussels, Belgium, the daughter of a family of lingerie manufacturers. At the age of six she saw her father drown. She was educated at the Sorbonne, earning a degree in philosophy. In 1929, she took her religious vows and became a nun. She worked in Notre-Dame de Sion high school in Istanbul in the 1930s.In 1971, she witnessed the impoverished conditions of the trash collectors in Cairo, Egypt, and decided to live among them. She remained there until 1993, when she returned to France. It was upon her return that she gained the status of a media sensation in France, as she was well received by audiences and talk-show hosts. In addition to her charity work, she is known for her unorthodox religious views, including approval of the use of contraception and favouring the idea of allowing priests to marry. She was voted one of the most popular people in France, and has been compared to Mother Teresa. (She regarded the comparisons with Mother Theresa as "ridiculous"). In 2003, French television broadcast Soeur Emmanuelle: An exceptional woman. In 2005 she ended on the 5th place in the Walloon version of Le plus grand Belge (The Greatest Belgian). She died on October 20, 2008 in Callian, aged 99, in her sleep from natural causes.^[2] Les Amis de Soeur Emmanuelle (The Friends of Sister Emmanuelle) is a charitable organization based in Brussels.

*Correction: I did know her and even saw this on the news, I guess working on the computer and watching TV simultaneously does weird things with your memory...

Sources: Cl☼s ... des dunes ! & Wiki of course...

Links:

official site (she really deserves a better one, bad links and stuff)

youtube (her last interview, and other video's: Yalla! pas de stop!)

de morgen (newspaper in Dutch, about the funeral, good picture)

the guardian (review on her memoirs)

la provence (reportage on her funeral, in French)

Courageous, righteous woman, the kind the Church really needs I guess, and It should permit them to marry because : "L'Union fait la Force"! Also, now that I see again that drive it's truly amazing that these kind of persons also always tend to live this long (and in good shape!)

The Power of Belief is a strong medicine...