when I have a travel book...

there will be maps at the front

there will be a "rip out" page at the back which is lamenated and can be folded - it will have the

english = pro - nun - see - ashon = language spelling

what you need to memorize before every trip abroad on one side, and helpfull things on the other.

hello, goodbye, please, thank you, pardon/excuse me, do you speak english? I don't speak _____, sir, ma'am. do you have/where is the... bathroom, ATM, map, internet, exchange. Could I have... the check, water, this, that. How do I get to ___? how much for___ a room. what time does... the train, bus metro... come/leave? 1-12 Day, night. Monday - Sunday. RIght, left, straight, back, up, down. Can I borrow/have ____? ticket entrance exit. red/white wine, beer. one way, round trip. window isle.luggage. taxi, car, plane, walk.

foods.

that, hand signals, and listening with more than your ears can get you just about anything. remember to always use in combination by adding please and thank you and hello and goodbye. I think I will make these before every trip now... anyone want to buy one?

----

as far as museums - I LOVE it when it is one famous person's work charted through his (or her... unfortunately there aren't many "hers" here in france) life. today was chagall and matisse.

Matisse and the mona lisa have been the only things they haven't let us take pictures of here - another thing I love (I still snuck some at the matisse, though)

Niiice.

I found palm trees.

and an english keyboard.

Things on which I view a community - public transportation, cemetaries and urinals. I know you women don't get the joy of a new (or even better) urinal or may not understand why it's important... splash-back. No one ever talks about it, it happens to everyone. So, how a community chooses to deal with urine on pants (or better yet - how to avoid it) is a true test. I am sure some of you have visited toilets that are litterally holes in the ground. France is doing well against all of my tests - Paris subway is fah - nom - i - nal. cemetary isn't as cool as russia - but still cool... and as far as the urinal test goes - it depends on the establishment... however there are bah - days everywhere.

back to my pictures - blur series






gotta find my hostel - it is on a beach and has a bike rental shop in the building.

I have these journal entries that are really blog entries on paper. I would copy them but the keyboard is still different and makes my eyes and arms hurt. and the fire alarm keeps going off in the internet cafe... loudly. maybe nice will be nicer.

I am trying to find a way to slow the shutter on the train and only focus on one thing by following it, it:s hard.

being kicked out:

I knoz you zere zondering:::

ok, that is zhqt:::: damn it!!!

there are different keyboards here in Bordeaux.

you have to use the shift to hit the period = really anoying, as well as the new placement of the A W M Q Z ... and you have to use the :Alt Gr: key to find the @ symbol. The new M place is good = right pinky... other than that = I/m pissed.

It is beautiful here. I get to see spring all around... Iùm not going to type much because it tqkes too long and the café is closing but hopefully some new photos.

City of lights

weee...





now, it's voting time... where should I go for 4 days? (I am going to Switzerland to visit a friend the last 2 days before flying back out of Paris)

Prague (is that too far away?)

Barcelona?

Southern France?

I don't know... it's hard to be me.

language barrier

this will be a growing list...

American - "Is it an american in there?" - visiting the unknown soldier's grave under the arc de triomphe.

Parisian - "it is good for 24 hours."
American - "so, is it good for a day?"

American - "that's the first black person I've seen in a painting."


Parisian -"do you spell 'booth' B - double ooo - T - H ?"
American - "No, it's B - O - O -T - H"

American - "So, Antwan - that's french for Anthony, right?" ... "What is French for 'Stacey'"
Parisian - "Stacey."

American - "a lot of people here still speak french even though it's a hotel."

gay pair-ee

I realized I was on the computer more in africa than I am here... odd... it may have to do with traveling with a family of 5 adults - it is a whole new world, this traveling. We are all used to being in charge and free to do as we please. luckily we have very similar interests, it is a growing experience for all of us. I am blessed with a great family.

Here is the "Luke and the Nicholsons" band picture.



weather - good

sights - beautiful ... awe inspiring, even

hotel - fancy shmancy

Euro - worth way more than the dollar

me - poor

smoking - it's everywhere

Mona Lisa - wish I could stop and look at it, they just keep you moving

Paris - old and big

I don't miss New York yet, but Paris is not letting me forget.

I think I have heard more people speak english (american) than French... this may be because we have only been going to the museums and tourist places. I realized the reason everyone takes the same picture - it is because it is a darn cool picture, and there is something to be said about taking it yourself. You will soon get all of the postcards ala france, once we get my brother's computer up and running.

french fries

french fries are just fried potatoes here.

the first train I rode upon entering france had a man playing an acordian... he was playing "yesterday".

Someone at my table complained, "he is a bad waiter because he doesn't know english." I said, "No, we don't know French."

I've taken an absurd number of photograps - being that I am at the hotel computer, and tired - you get none.

I miss my computer and the blogsphere - is that sad?

tomorrow I go to ver-sigh.

cool.

Paris

I'm leaving my apartment in 3 minutes to go to the airport.

Paris, Baby, Paris.

Notes from the field to come.

Dork stuff.

a conversation I had this evening progressed a little like this after a commercial:
-I wonder what the next big thing in music will be.
-It will be so small you won't even notice it and you will have any media you wish at a moments notice.
-Bill Gates house has a computer that can track you and give you what you want in every room in the house.
-We are all going to die early with all of these things we do to our body - so many frequencies, electricity, wireless stuff that we know nothing about the long term effects to humans.
-We have seen so much progression, technologically, in the past 25 years.
-There is so much we can't even imagine, and so much is probably wrong.
-Can you imagine "oh, you are sick? a cough? here - bleed yourself... or maybe use some leaches."
-That was fact to them, the same way that the world was flat - it was fact.
-There is so much we believe as fact, that could very possibly be absolutely incorrect.

case in point - here are 13 things that do not make sense. we (humans, science) cannot explain... it is really fun stuff if you are a big dork like me.

and st. pat's pics. Green building and McGuinness Beer.

long

long day, me tired. tomorrow laundry, pack, drink, plan, read. weee...

and now for annoying news -

Sad: Not only for the obvious ecological impact - but because we should be moving towards NEW fuels and power - Senate votes to open oil drilling in the alaska wildlife preserve.

Pathetic: A new Gallup Poll released today shows that while Americans have very negative opinions of Syria, North Korea, and Iran by very wide margins they do not want to go to war with them... As usual these days, sharp partisan splits are apparent. Some 46% of Republicans would support military action against North Korea, compared with just 26% of independents and 23% of Democrats. For Iran it breaks down similarly (43%-23%-17%) and Syria (39%-23%-13%).

Frustrating: Iraq needed fuel. Halliburton Co. was ordered to get it there — quick. So the Houston-based contractor charged the Pentagon $27.5 million to ship $82,100 worth of cooking and heating fuel.
In the latest revelation about the company's oft-criticized performance in Iraq, a Pentagon audit report disclosed Monday showed Halliburton subsidiary KBR spent $82,100 to buy liquefied petroleum gas, better-known as LPG, in Kuwait and then 335 times that number to transport the fuel into violence-ridden Iraq.

On a whole 'nuther note - I have begun to like graffiti more.

I appreciate it more now, I don't know why - maybe because I look at it more as an art than vandalism. The best stuff is done to improve the building, not vandalize it.

happy st. patricks day. (green beer, yay)

Rant and Rave

Rant:

I am a PA on movies and TV. Do you like movies and TV? Do you watch movies and TV? Have you ever seen something and said, "I know that place" or "I've been there"? Ever wonder how that happens?

Well - film crews need to film outside, and it would really save thousands of dollars if you could wait 30 seconds...

What, you don't have 30 seconds... I am sorry for your life. I understand - someone in an ambulance - they don't have 30 seconds, that's why we have a special lane for them, and you get out of the way... are YOU dieing?

DEAL WITH IT. walk across the street. it won't hurt... 20 feet, and you know what? it will be faster than actually trying to fight your way through 80 people. I am trying to help. really. I am trying to do my job as well as I can. I want to make a good product, and you can help - just by walking across the street.

Fuck me? oh, yeah. thank you, sir. I am a very polite person. Sir. Ma'am. Miss, Excuse Me, Pardon Me, Thank You, very much.

I'm a fuckin' pompous shit? thank you for your input, sir... I will take that into consideration as I have been standing on this street corner for 6 hours in 21 degree weather.

DEAL.
WITH.
IT.

Be happy with your life, smile, find making things exciting - creation! it is amazing. see how we are transforming your normal world, and tomorrow it will be the same - but Today - A Splash of Color to your Lexington Avenue.

I don't own this street? no, no I don't, but the reason I asked you not to walk where you are walking with hand gestures, cones, and verbal cues - is because we are permitted (by law) to be her and do this, and more importantly there will be a taxi coming through the stop light where you are furiously walking - you will be hit, you will be hurt, I really tried to warn you.

30 seconds.

oh, and you want to be in it? can you be an extra? ha. ha. ha. ha. i. have. never. heard. that. before. But I laugh and say something even funnier in return - because you have never heard it before, and I much prefer you to that guy that just got hit by the cab.

----
Rave:

I worked on Rent today. It was a cold morning but became much nicer as the day went on. I have realized that no matter what the script or setting or hours the only thing that matters is the people you are working with.

They are good people. really nice. I saw Wicked and loved Idina Menzel - today she was extremely gracious and kind - I even bought her a cookie. Chris Columbus... all smiles.

I like nice people.

This movie may be good.

PIRATES!

yes, there are still pirates in today's world. Now they have rocket launchers.

"The narrow Malacca Strait between Indonesia and Malaysia is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes and has long been a haunt of pirates. Some 37 acts of piracy were recorded there last year"

I was getting all excited because it was just plain piracy... but no, someone had to bring up the "T" word.

"If this is a terrorist attack it will have severe consequences on the security of the ports in the region,"

ARRRRRRGH!

good role model

Britney Spears (that is enough to raise my hits all week) is giving advice to Michael Jackson.

"Spears believes Jackson ... needs to adopt a more masculine persona... She tells American magazine Allure, "If he did those things, I feel sorry for him. I feel like he probably feels alone, and he needs some help."

"He needs someone to be like, 'ok, let's buck you up, let's give you a moustache, let's rough you up, let's go to a bar, let's get drunk and be a man.'

"And if he didn't do those things, I feel sorry for him. Either way, he needs to get in a fight.""

Awesome. A moustache - of course!

I love fights... mostly with michael jackson...

I weep for our future.

verb: GHOST - to leave without saying goodbye

Last night the greenestreet boys did it again. good music, nice place, good people. Roland had an hour set and then it was piano time for the rest of the evening.

Subletter is leaving today. First one we didn't get along with. We asked her to leave. I don't usually speak bad of real people (I count a person real if I know them, the unreal are the people who are in the newspapers - they don't count). I wouldn't blog about it either. It's been a long month.

I have also been receiving chain emails again. I don't know how - it stopped for about a year and now my friends must have more time on the computer and they start sending the mass emails again. Break the Chain . org - it is a great site if you think you just have to send out that email that will send you $243.41 from Bill Gates or a free iPod or alcohol or tells the future by answering 5 questions or ... maybe I have just lost all hope and have become cynical and old.

on that note...

here is a picture from last night.

oh, yeah - the night before was a New Londoner's birthday - fun was had... I ghosted... I rarely ghost, so this was a good night. We won a lot of pool games... the time just came to leave - and I had to leave - you know how it is...

and finally - I like this one. he seems so alone... looking for someone... maybe they're in the pool.

Lost

I saw something on my walk home today that reminded me of one of the worst things I have ever seen.

It was winter and I was driving to school in Connecticut, it was a saturday and there was fresh snow on the ground. Connecticut College has a beautiful campus - on a hill, old buildings, nice green, and the school itself is within an arboretum. I believe it was early in the morning, no one was on the roads.

Driving up the hill I see someone in the snow, she is ten feet from the main, plowed, road. As I was making the right turn I can see her out of my driver's side window. She is blind. She has her stick and a backpack. Her face was a mixture of fear, terror, loss, and frustration. Tears were running down her cheeks. She was wildly moving her stick from side to side, stomping in the snow. It takes me a moment longer as I was driving to realize what had happened. She was lost - absolutely entirely lost - 10 feet from the street. The snow was so thick that there was no path for her to follow, there were no telling curbs or sidewalk or grass. She had gotten turned around and there was nothing left but painful struggling.

By the time I had I had turned around she had gotten help from another passerby.

I usually travel with a map, a cell phone, or in a populace area. There have been times where I have gotten turned around in a rural area with no map, phone, or person near by. I speed up, heart beats a little faster - it is a terrible feeling even though I know I will be fine. I can't imagine or grasp the idea of being completely alone and without help.... where nothing is familiar.

Back when I people watched online in personal adds there was a question about a person's most humbling moment. Most people used humbling and humiliating and embarrassing as synonyms - "I went swimming and my shorts fell off... "

Seeing the look in her face and body was one of the most humbling experiences I have ever had.

Some folks don't think so good.

Idiot alert - these are so ridiculous that they don't even need comment.------
"A ninth-grader is protesting his school’s decision to broadcast the Pledge of Allegiance in foreign languages as part of National Foreign Language Week.

“This is America, and we got soldiers at war,” the 15-year-old said. “When you’re saying the Pledge in a different language which nobody understands, that’s not OK.”

Charles Linton, Patrick’s father, said the use of other languages is disrespectful to the country. “It’s like wearing a cross upside down in a church,” he said."
------
A school has banned children from taking pencil cases into class in case they are used to hide sharp weapons.
------
A judge has tossed out a Wisconsin high school student's lawsuit asking for summers free of homework and may order him to pay the state's costs...

Larson and his father said the problem arose when he was given three assignments just before the start of summer vacation to prepare for an advanced precalculus class that began last fall.

The younger Larson said he failed to get all the work done because he had a summer job as a camp counselor.
------
the staff at McDonald's, 3600 N. University St., called police after he [Scott Stanard] handed over a $10 bill that they said was a fake.

...it was old - a 1950s series $10 bill - and the markers they use don't work on old money...

Pingolt recalled a Baltimore man being cuffed and arrested recently for passing counterfeit $2 bills that later turned out to be genuine.
-----
A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.

Girbaud

I am still up in the air as to what I think about fashion. I don't really think about it day to day, nor do I read the magazines... fashion photography , however - can be very cool, such as a friend sam bassett. I like his stuff. I also like the photo that is causing a french ban on all of the posters.

"The display was ruled "a gratuitous and aggressive act of intrusion on people's innermost beliefs", a judge said...

The work is a photograph based on a painting, not on the Bible," said lawyer Bernard Cahen.

"There is nothing in it that is offensive to the Catholic religion. It is a way of showing the place of women in society today, which is a reflection of our changing values.""

What it comes down to - it is a darn good shot.

by the makers of purple jeans back in the early 90s ... I never had a pair... too expensive.

18

My Roommate just got a new computer, we are apple dorks.

silly, silly news.

"A George Rogers Clark High School junior arrested Tuesday for making terrorist threats told LEX 18 News Thursday that the "writings" that got him arrested are being taken out of context...He claims that what his grandparents found in his journal and turned into police was a short story he wrote for English class...."It didn't mention nobody who lives in Clark County, didn't mention (George Rogers Clark High School), didn't mention no principal or cops, nothing,"
said Poole."
I wonder if he got a good grade... grammer and all.

It has always seemed obvious, -- "Milk and dairy products do not promote healthy bones in kids and young adults, a Washington-based research group found after analyzing 58 studies. The review was prompted by a "calcium paradox," the researchers said. Though Americans are some of the world's highest consumers of dairy products, U.S. rates of osteoporosis and bone fracture also are among the world's highest."
But, it by products are so tasty!

Usually a fan of Minnesota and its laws... not this time -- "A new bill introduced in the Minnesota House last week would prohibit 21-year-olds from drinking at midnight on their birthdays. Individuals would have to wait until 8 a.m. instead." bummer.

Good work mom, (article in full) --

"A six-year-old boy has been suspended from a Christian school in Illinois after his mother refused to spank him.
That's according to the mother. Michelle Fallaw-Gabrielson says her son had been piling up disciplinary notes for such offenses as talking out of turn, chewing gum, and bringing toys to school.She says she knew he was a disciplinary problem, but she never anticipated what occurred on Wednesday. She says when she arrived at Schaumburg Christian School to pick the boy up, an assistant administrator ordered her to spank him. When she refused, the official said her son was suspended.

The next day, the mother withdrew the first-grader from the school."

and, of-course... "A former U.S. Marine who participated in capturing ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said the public version of his capture was fabricated."

I really suggest you read that last one for fun visuals like, "Saddam himself fired at them with a gun from the window of a room on the second floor."

and finally, it is my brother's birthday. he is an adult. 18. weird.

What makes a good tired...

Really good day on set. We were shooting a pilot. I haven't read the script, but I may actually read it this time, this one may be picked up. (I didn't think Jonny Zero would be picked up and it took a whole 6 episodes to get cancelled)

The director was good, really good. Smart, could talk to actors, knew what he wanted, laid back - but firm, and nice. The actors were nice... but the main actress - wow... she is what I want all of my friends to be like when they get famous(or nearly famous)... really sincere and kind hearted. I hope she gets famous - she deserves it. When I said "I don't know who #1 is" (meaning - I don't know who the lead actor is) the response was, "she looks like she should be the lead". 'Nuff said. Then there was the crew - good crew, hard working.

Now, I knew the weather was going to be bad today... but it was REALLY bad. It started out just raining. I saw someone walk by, and I knew her... but not from another film, Minnesota, my highschool, two or three years older... I looked at the call sheet, and yup, it was her. I absolutely freaked her out by slowly guessing who she was, where she grew up and where she went to school - then she knew who I was. Funny.

We shot in the rain - not too bad (only 4 layers). It started to snow. The building across the street started on fire, six firetrucks came. It got colder (6 layers). Then it got painfully cold where my body wasn't so much cold as much as it hurt whenever my skin was in the open.

I left my house at 7 am I got home at 12:03 am.

Not to shabby.

now for pictures of the firemen, 'cus I thought the fire was neat. (the building was abandoned, no one was hurt)

blogs are funny things... part 5

I keep learning more and more and more and more about blogs.

I started another blog. It probably won't be exciting to you at all, unless you are interested in the growth of a performance space / bar cafe / gallery / rehearsal space / class space / offices / shop / etc. It's what I will be putting my time into for the next... oh... forever.

This blog = fun and news

other blog = work (which is fun to me, but probably not you)

-

update on a fig (it's a favorite therory) - made contact with one after not talking for 8 years... she either didn't remember me, or didn't want to. huh. My bad... still doesn't mean I didn't drive an hour out of my way every time I went through MI to see if her school was in session.

as for news - there is a proposal on the table to raise the retirement age (like we didn't know this was coming) and my question is - why can't these really complex issues be split up and voted on separately... I mean, why the 500 lb. bill? have lil' short guys... "I'm a bill on capital hill"... I always felt bad for that bill.

"the good times are killing me"

Nice enough weekend - I have trouble posting on the weekend for all three of you who read blogs on the non-work days. I will try to work harder for you, magic 3. (you know, three is the magic number)

went to a birthday party in the basement of a club in TriBeCa. It was expensive, for me. As much as I could figure the decor was that of "your grandma's basement that you have set up for a 7th grade "boys and girls" party." Disco ball and christmas lights included.

I'm still playing with my new camera. I like it.

I thought I would take it easy but my PA Mentor invited me to a local bar to listen to that rock and roll music I have heard so much about.

I was crabby today but after a good meeting, watching lance armstrong, and some artsy-fartsy stuff, I feel much better.

I tried to find some interesting, real news for you. no luck.

Martha Stewart, Newsweek, and NBC

What do all of the above have in common?

1. Newsweek faked a flattering picture of Martha Stewart on the cover.
2. Newsweek is owned by MSNBC.
3. NBC is promoting "a daytime TV show, a prime time apprentice TV show spin-off -- both with NBC/Universal," staring Martha Stewart.

It may be a bit far fetched - but it makes me sick none the less.

You read it here first, the connection that is - gooooo journalism!

what is white and floats from the sky?

Ashes and Snow, That is the silly title for a pretentious art exhibit opening I went to last night. Besides the crowd, really bad wine, freezing conditions, and mediocre art, the architecture was amazing.

As NYC visit says,
"They will be displayed in the Nomadic Museum, a 45,000-square-foot temporary structure designed by renowned architect Shigeru Ban and hosted by the Hudson River Park’s Pier 54, between 12^th and 13^th Streets. The first of its kind in the world, the Nomadic Museum building will be composed largely of recyclable and reusable materials—used shipping containers for the walls and paper tubing for the roof and columns—demonstrating sustainable practices and an innovative architectural approach within a post-industrial environment."

blah blah blah - look, it's cool.

you can see the shipping container in the background - the photos were printed on... felt? I don't know yet. They look better online. The shot was taken from behind the art, so you can barely see the monk-kid with wings.

The lighting was good...

Journalistic integrity - shmegrity

The cover of Newsweek magazine.


Martha Stewart - looking good...

oh, wait "a credit on the table of contents noted the image was a fake."

why would a "News" Magazine put a good fake picture on the cover? the onion - that's funny. fark is funny too. Is this an advertisement? Are Newsweek and Martha Stewart Living - or whatever it is - owned by the same company?

Why? Dumb-heads.

UPDATE - it seems martha's new show is going to be like the apprentice... and which network do you think it is going to be on... that's right NBC.

But chad, what does that have to do with Newsweek - well, the are both owned by MSN, who'd a thunk.

Cross-Advertising-Journalism... I think I'll get a masters in that.

Blog that.

I almost copy that

I got offered 4 jobs in the past 12 hours... that's how it goes in film - nothing then everything. I had to turn down driving "Wobin Rilliams" so that I could go to Europe. I may have to turn down the other ones so that I can stall on building my space... tough.

I need an office. I might get a dog if I have an office. I have to ask my wife/trapeze teacher (I'm exaggerating, it isn't quite common law, yet... can you have common law between same sex?).

Now, for something completely different... sad... funny... sad...

Having sex results in babies?

"As many as 30 per cent of couples in the Philippines are unaware that having sex can result in babies, Health Secretary Manuel Dayrit said on Tuesday.

"They do not know how pregnancy happens," even though some of them have had numerous children already, Dayrit remarked."

... and this must be really hard for the republican party - if your son is gay - do you abort?

"Bill would ban abortions of 'gay' fetuses, Maine legislator got idea listening to Rush Limbaugh"

new camera! almost...

I have spent countless hours asking, reading, playing, and doing all the learning I can about new digital cameras. I finally bought one.

I read the manuals, play with the settings, and take a picture. neat...

wait... oh... why... huh - look at that, a green spot... maybe if I take some more shots... maybe if I take a picture of my lenscap.

crap.

dead pixels. faulty camera, I have to return it tomorrow.

see...


now who wants to play - find the dead pixel? you get a prize...

Saddest bet ever.

Ok, here's the bet.

CNN.com - how many "main stories" (big picture on the left) in the next six months of Michael Jackson vs. everything else... so far from yesterday 2 | 0 Michael. I don't quite know the rules yet... let's say,

1) every time they change a headline or picture the score changes
2) if michael is still the top link on the right, it counts a half point for for Michael. (he is, hopefully, the underdog so we are giving him every chance here)

please, dear lord, let "everything else in the entire news world" beat (beat... hee hee, "beat it") Michael Jackson news - on a home page where the last two letters stand for "News Network" (however, the first stands for "Cable").

comment for adding new scores.

pre-frosh.

I feel like I'm a freshman in college again.
I have the freedom to stall from doing work all day. I had a presentation last night and a test tomorrow (it was a take-home essay and I haven't done it yet). Pathetic.
Girls - yeah, girls are silly (starting-a-whole-'nuther-blog worth of silly).
Eating - I forget to do it.
Messages - don't return them.
TV - found new stations, Comedy Central onDemand, Food Network onDemand, A&E onDemand... it's very exciting.

the joy of sloth. a new best seller.

till then - things that are odd...

oops, "U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Tom DeLay illegally used $600,000 in corporate money to help Republicans win control of the Texas Legislature in 2002" and then got caught.
----

ok, there are terrorists out there, but keeping them locked up without cause... I. Just. Don't. Get. It. "A U.S. federal judge ruled on Monday that President Bush has no authority to order an American citizen jailed indefinitely as an enemy combatant, and ordered terrorism suspect Jose Padilla be released within 45 days."
---

And my Favorite of the day is from the guardian -

"The Bush administration was accused yesterday of trying to roll back efforts to improve the status of the world's women by demanding that the UN publicly renounce abortion rights."

The Clinton administration was a strong supporter of the Beijing declaration in 1995, and until President Bush took power in 2001, Washington was viewed as a leader in international family planning efforts. The US government began providing aid to developing countries in 1965, and its organisations were seen as leaders in population control.

But President Bush has steadily reversed Washington's support for such initiatives, blocking US funds to the UN population fund, and diverting cash towards programmes promoting abstinence.

A spokesman for the US delegation described the controversy over Washington's stand on abortion as "motivated".

"We just wanted to make clear what the assumptions were about the Beijing document," said Rick Grenell, the US spokesman. "We don't believe that it recognises abortion as an international human right."

huh. what's so bad about family planning? huh... maybe education would cost too much, maybe smart people are harder to brainwash, I don't know.

maybe I'm just a pre-frosh and haven't even got to college yet.