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fallen-archie · ‎31-10-2014

The only Buddhist nation on earth, Bhutan famously measures its success not with gross domestic product, like most countries, but rather with gross national happiness. Perhaps not surprisingly, a past Business Week poll found it the happiest country in Asia. From a visitor’s perspective, its highlights are natural, scenic and cultural, as Bhutan occupies the highest mountain range on earth, the Himalayas, is known for its iconic high altitude monasteries, clinging to cliffs in architectural splendor, and its welcoming people. It was the world’s first country to write environmental protection into its constitution, and mandates that at least 60% of the terrain remain covered in forest. About the size of Switzerland, and similarly landlocked and mountainous, it does not have one single traffic light. In another unique twist, Bhutan had an exceptionally peaceful transition of power when the King gave up much of his power and transferred the nation to a constitutional monarchy in 2008.

I'm loving the freshness of these priorities.

fallen-archie · ‎31-10-2014

Finally, the Belize Defense Force will have its own helicopter. Since the pullout of the British Military Training unit in 2012, government has been going around cap in hand begging their partners in the US, the UK and Taiwan for assistance in getting a helicopter. But at eight to 12 million US dollars for one helicopter, there have been no takers, so now the Barrow Administration has found a multi-million dollar deal, for not one, but two helicopters - and they announced today that they are taking it. National Security Minister John Saldivar was the first to speak at a press conference this afternoon where it was called a glorious day for Belize:..
Hon. John Saldivar, Minister of National Security
"Our desire for a helicopter is about to become a reality. We were in discussions with the British, the US, the Canadians and the Taiwanese, however, none of these have borne fruit."

Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister
"Now, what we are looking at is a cost of 4.1 million dollars for two refurbished helicopters; a smaller one and a bigger one."

Brig. Gen. David Jones, Commander, Belize Defence Force
"This is welcome news for the Belize Defence Force when it comes to fruition. It has been a vision for us for a few years now and the decision by Cabinet to make this a reality is going to be most welcome to the men and women of the Belize Defence Force. These two helicopters are Bell 206; a small one is the Jet Ranger; a bit larger one is the Long Ranger. These two platforms will assist and aid us in regards to troop transport to the various observations posts along the border, insertion and extraction of our troops because as you are aware our soldiers have to walk for days into the Chiquibul and other parts of our jungle to reach the conservation posts and having the helicopter will be able to insert them in a matter of two hours instead of 3-4 days. We will be able to do search and rescue missions. We will be able to do reconnaissance missions after a hurricane. When in times of natural disasters we will be able to assist NEMO and any other organization which includes the Coast Guard out at sea to do further reconnaissance and troop extraction."

fallen-archie · ‎31-10-2014

Meanwhile in the tiny Indian Ocean State of the Comoros Islands

The government of the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros was in hot water Monday after giving Libya and Iran the go-ahead to build their embassies on the same plot of land.

"It's more than an unpleasant situation or a misunderstanding," a foreign ministry official told AFP, requesting anonymity. "It's a huge gaffe."

Neither country was represented at a meeting Monday aimed at resolving the row, sparked when Libya went about registering its claim to the property in the capital Moroni, only to be told that it had already been awarded to Iran by a presidential decree in the early 1990s.

Both countries last week erected signs on the property in Moroni's Hamramba district claiming ownership.

"This property belongs to the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran," says one sign, while the other says "Property of the embassy of Libya. Awarded by the Comoran State to the Libyan State".

The government is hoping to settle the dispute by allocating each country a different plot of land in the Bahani area on the outskirts of the capital.
Maybe they can have the plot saved for the Scots 🙂

electric*mayhem*band · ‎02-11-2014

Breaking news just in...

Faced with overwhelming numbers of cat pictures and unchallenged pseudo-political rants in the form of blogs/forums, the brains behind some of the biggest websites in the world (i.e.) Google, Yahoo, eBay, etc, have decided that enough is enough. They will delete everything from the Internet at the turn of the new year, and require users to start again from scratch.