Frustration

Who ever coined the term " smart phone " needs to be shot.

 NB. Not posted from my Blackberry

Putin and the Femen

The Femen came to my attention a few years ago with there unconventional take on protesting for womens rights


" FEMEN (Ukrainian: Фемен) is a Ukrainian protest group based in Kiev, founded in 2008. The organisation became internationally known for organizing topless protests against sex tourists,international marriage agencies, sexism and other social, national and international ills.^{[1][4][5][6][7][8][9]}Some of the goals of the organisation are: "To develop leadership, intellectual and moral qualities of the young women in Ukraine" and "To build up the image of Ukraine, the country with great opportunities for women"


Hard to argue with ? Well no, lets face it sex tourism is prostitution if it is between consenting adults and is transactional, international marriage agencies offer a similar service on a longer term basis. I might add that if my spam mail is anything to judge by there are no shortage of Ukrainian woman who seem to want to get out too the west via marriage.

I am not convinced that attractive young women getting naked is going to convince the world that heading east  for a bit of R&R or marriage is a bad idea. That leaves us with social, national and international ills.

I have no doubt that Vladimir Putin fits the bill on those criteria so I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to read this

"The women, who were not identified, told reporters they are members of Ukraine's FEMEN protest movement, which regularly carries out topless protests.

The three women initially pulled off their tops and shouted "Putin is a thief!" to reveal slogans painted on their chests and backs which read "I steal for Putin" and "Kremlin rats".

I guess this is part of the " developing leadership, intellectual and moral qualities of the young women in the Ukraine ", despite the venue being Moscow.

" The FEMEN protesters also tried to steal the ballot box with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's vote before being detained by police,their group said in a statement on its blog.

The protest occurred just minutes after Mr. Putin and his wife Lyudmila had left the scene.

"Three Ukrainian nationals were found guilty ... of petty hooliganism," the court spokeswoman told RIA Novosti."

I can't help getting the feeling that the Femen stuffed this one up. Putin is a former KGB career officer and is unlikely to be moved in any way by beautiful young women making the point that  he is a corrupt bastard tackle out as it was.

Now had the Femen  attempted this tactic with Berlusconi when he was PM of Italy, who knows ?

"THREE women who were arrested after protesting topless at a Moscow polling booth have been handed short jail sentences.

A Moscow magistrate's court sentenced the trio to five, 10 and 12-day sentences respectively."

Seems a bit over the top to me, three good looking women get a bit naked  and go to gaol, Putin corrupts the political process and becomes president.

Not again ? MV Rena take II

MSC MV Carole suffers same fate as MSC MV Rena ? 

The 294 meter long, 60639 dwt container vessel MSC Carole went aground on a reef near Jakarta, Indonesia (-6° 1′ 35.904″, 106° 53′ 12.4794″).  The MSC Carole was en route to Jakarta fromFremantle when it struck the reef near the entrance to the harbor.  The vessel was proceeding at 7.5 knots and is firmly stuck on the reef.  Initial attempts to refloat the vessel failed.   Reports state there is no sign of any fuel or pollution being released.  The reason why the MSC Carole struck the reef has not yet been reported.  The MSC Carole is the second largest container vessel currently operating in the world.

This is starting to look like  a company culture is developing.