Bulgaria

[Enki]

This video grab broadcast by Bulgarian television channel BTV shows a man (R) pointing a pistol at leader of the Turkish minority Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party Ahmed Dogan during his speech at a national party conference in Sofia on January 19, 2013.(AFP Photo /BTV)

http://rt.com/news/bulgaria-dogan-gun-turkish-330/

Dogan was announcing that he was stepping down.

[monster_gardener]

This video grab broadcast by Bulgarian television channel BTV shows a man (R) pointing a pistol at leader of the Turkish minority Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party Ahmed Dogan during his speech at a national party conference in Sofia on January 19, 2013.(AFP Photo /BTV)

http://rt.com/news/bulgaria-dogan-gun-turkish-330/

Dogan was announcing that he was stepping down.

Thank You Very Much for your post, Tinker.

A man boarded the stage and pointed a gas pistol at the head of a leading Bulgarian politician in front of a stunned party conference.

Sounds a bit strange...... "gas pistol"? ........ A CO2 powered BB gun?

Better Google or Wiki.......

A gas pistol is a non-lethal weapon used for self-defense and other purposes. It is typically a close-to-exact replica or conversion of a real handgun made to be able to fire tear gas cartridges only. Effective range is up to 4,5 metres depending on caliber. For legal purposes various techniques are used during manufacture/conversion to prevent the use of live ammunition, such as using calibers exclusive to gas cartridges, welding obstacles into a non-removable barrel and using malleable metal alloys. Gas pistols are prevalent in European countries with strict gun control laws. Gas pistols are also used in weapons training, and as starting pistols, flare guns, and movie props.
Calibers

Most popular calibers are the 9 mm Knall (9x17 mm R K, 9 mm R K, .380 Knall) for revolvers and the 9 mm PAK (9x22 mm) for semi-automatic. Other types include the .315 Knall, 8 mm Knall (8x20 mm), .22 Lang Knall, .45 Short Knall (.45 Knall) and the 6 mm percussion cap, loaded with 20–120 mg of CN gas, CS gas, CR gas (available only in Russia), OC (pepper) agents, or blanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_pistol

Angry parliamentarians then pounced on the would-be assassin, beating him to a bloody pulp.

Sounds like he got appropriate punishment for stupidity like this......

[Hoosiernorm]

p0E0a_xr1pk

[YMix]

jYGRIGwR7Uo

From 0.44.

[monster_gardener]

jYGRIGwR7Uo

From 0.44.

Thank You VERY Much for your post, YMix.

The Good, The Bad & the Ugly.......

Great Movie........

But I also liked the Mad Magazine version of the Bathtub Scene in the movie The Missouri Breaks where Marlon Brando in the Bathtub tells Jack Nicholson that he can't shoot him because it is illegal to hunt Whales...

Especially Great White Whales

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moby-Dick

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Missouri_Breaks

[Doc]

This video grab broadcast by Bulgarian television channel BTV shows a man (R) pointing a pistol at leader of the Turkish minority Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF) party Ahmed Dogan during his speech at a national party conference in Sofia on January 19, 2013.(AFP Photo /BTV)

http://rt.com/news/bulgaria-dogan-gun-turkish-330/

Dogan was announcing that he was stepping down.

Then his supporters "stepped" all over the would be assassin.

Note the gun the guy was carrying is a small caliber pistol. The kind hit men like to use. Easy to conceal and not so loud when fired. Perhaps Obama should go for a ban on "hit guns" and shoes.

[YMix]

Bulgarian protests for cheaper energy intensify

SOFIA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people marched in cities across Bulgaria on Sunday, demanding an end to high utility bills and new voting rules after the government was toppled last week.

Public anger with power monopolies in the European Union's poorest member forced right-of-center Prime Minister Boiko Borisov's cabinet to resign and has put the country on track for an early election by May.

Although Borisov's government managed to maintain fiscal stability since taking power in 2009, belt-tightening has held back growth and driven up unemployment.

His departure has failed to calm voters fed up with low living standards and rampant graft, and his GERB party is now running neck-and-neck with the opposition Socialists ahead of the new election.

The last straw for many was a jump in winter electricity bills that at times exceeded incomes in a country where average salaries are just 400 euros ($530) a month and pensions are less than half that amount.

Much of the anger has been directed at power companies including Czech CEZ and Energo-Pro and Austria's EVN, which bought exclusive rights to distribute energy in specific regions from Bulgaria in 2004.

Waving Bulgarian flags and slogans reading "Fighting for decent life" and "Down with monopolies" over 10,000 Bulgarians marched through downtown Sofia.

"For years and years the politicians failed to impose strict controls over monopolies. This should stop," said 54-year-old Irena Mitova, a shop owner in Sofia.

POWER BILLS

Demonstrations also took place in around 40 other cities, with some 15,000 people marching in Bulgaria's second and third largest cities Plovdiv and Varna.

Separate, smaller protests were held against an inefficient education system that critics say does not prepare students for the labor market and against high interest charges from retail banks criticized for hurting small businesses.

President Rosen Plevneliev, who will probably appoint a caretaker government and dissolve parliament next week to pave the way for the early election, met protesters and ensured them their voices would be heard.

Protesters' demands ranged from imposing a moratorium on paying electricity bills for December and January until audits are carried out to sweeping changes in the constitution to allow the direct vote for deputies, rather than using party lists.

Some of the protesters demanded parliament continue with its work to adopt laws to ensure strict controls over the energy monopolies. Many want them to be renationalized and say politicians sold firms since the fall of communism in 1989 in a way that hurt public interest and kept living standards low.

Borisov had promised an 8 percent cut in electricity bills as of March - reversing much of a 13 percent rise his government approved last year - and has said the energy regulator would begin the process to revoke CEZ's license.

The regulator said a possible price decrease could be introduced as of April at the earliest and suggested there was room for compromise with CEZ.

Protesting about power prices
Feb 15th 2013, 14:46 by G.K. | SOFIA

[...]

Although there are three companies operating on the market, Bulgarians have limited choice since each power distributor has been assigned a specific region of the country. CEZ is supplying the west, Energo-Pro is in the north-east and EVN is in the south-west. These are virtual regional monopolies.

What the articles fail to mention is that the Bulgarians use electricity for pretty much everything, including heating and cooking. Why is why they are so screwed.

[Azrael]

What would it take to get the Bulgarians to use natural gas for heating and cooking?

The price is so low . . . do they just not have the pipelines, infrastructure, etc. for it?

There's a lot of natural gas in North Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

According to Mark Adomanis at Forbes Turkey is getting gas a lot more cheaply than Bulgaria is. Why don't they just build a pipeline between Turkey and its neighbor Bulgaria?

[YMix]

What would it take to get the Bulgarians to use natural gas for heating and cooking?

The price is so low . . . do they just not have the pipelines, infrastructure, etc. for it?

Frankly, I don't know why. I would have expected them to at least use wood on a large scale. But...

The use of natural gas accounts for about 14% of the primary energy consumption in Bulgaria. Generally, the natural gas consumption in the country is on the rise, as it is being used more and more in the residential sector, but also in the industry. Nevertheless, currently less than 2% of the households in Bulgaria are gasified, which is far bellow the average rates for the European Union, which stand between 27%-50%. Furthermore, only about 16% of the municipalities in the country have access to natural gas, compared to 27% to 80% for the rest of EU.

According to Mark Adomanis at Forbes Turkey is getting gas a lot more cheaply than Bulgaria is. Why don't they just build a pipeline between Turkey and its neighbor Bulgaria?

While Turkey may be getting its gas more cheaply, there's no guarantee that it would sell it cheaply enough for the Bulgarians.

[Parodite]

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