Balkans Natural Resources Revealed!

USA Today

[mark502inf]

PANAMA CITY, Panama (AP) — There were no tears of joy, just the confident smile of a winner when 18-year-old Miss Dominican Republic, Amelia Vega, was crowned Miss Universe 2003.

"God has been my strength all along," the brunette told a news conference immediately after her triumph at a U.S. military base-turned-convention center.

Cindy Nell, a South African tourism promoter, was the second runner up, followed by Miss Serbia and Montenegro Sanja Papic and Miss Japan Miyako Miyazaki.

The event gave Panama a chance to promote its new image as a tourist destination after decades of living under the shadow of the U.S. military, which protected the Panama Canal until Dec. 31, 1999.

An estimated 600 million television viewers and nearly 7,000 Panamanians watched the event at the new Figali Convention Center, built on the former U.S. base known as Fort Amador.

[mark502inf]

PiP PiP & Kosta, how come you guys haven't been bragging about Miss Serbia--top 5 in the Miss Universe contest! In the interests of multi-culturalism, however, I could not just put her photo without including the rest of the Balkans group. Not sure Greece is in the Balkans, but since we have a Hoplite in our group, I figured Miss Greece should make the cut, too.

[My2Cents]

"God has been my strength all along," the brunette told a news conference

Sure. Like God cares who wins the Miss Universe title.

[m1911]

Mysterious ways...

[mark502inf]

Notice they used Fort Amador in Panama for this contest--maybe someday the Miss Universe contest will be held on the former site of Camp Bondsteel!

[Hoplite]

If I had to pick the prettiest one, I'd say the one in the red bikini.

Definitely.

[neb52]

Is it just me or did they get together and decide to share the same outfits to save money. :P

[Diocletian of Spalato]

Quite disappointed by the Croatian entry.

We promise to do better next year.

[PiP PiP Cherrio]

Why is the Albanian first in the picture???
I swear, injustice!!! Equal Opportunity??? :)) Actually, Slovenia is the best one of them all, plus I like the one with the two string bikini....:)

[mark502inf]

Pip PiP, they all look like they're in pretty good condition--maybe you could recruit one (or better, two) to be your biking buddy when you take that trip this summer! Hey, they're in alphabetical order, Albania is first for the same reason Alabama is first at the Miss USA pageant, I think. For some reason I always had trouble being able to concentrate on what was written on those little banners.

[PiP PiP Cherrio]

Ms Greece has the best legs for hill climbing...:)

Aren't these what wars are fought over? women, yeeesh! :)

[PiP PiP Cherrio]

Actually, I might need them all for assistance in August. I crashed tonight during a race and dinged up my right leg with a wicked abrasion that had a slow bleed the entire drive home (one hour. My right arm (sore and palm has ripped skin) is healable in two to three days.
Hey, the bike is ok...:) I couldnt bunny hop over the rider who went down in front of me as he rubbed wheels with the rider in front of him. I think we went down at 20-25 mph.

I knew I should have been a Marine motorcycle scout..)

[kosta50]

Mark, for somone who doesn't know how to do italics, you sure have a way with posting pictures...just wanted you to know that I noticed. In fact, I notice everything.

Bluester, I didn't realize you are a blonde!

Mark, actually, Miss S&M (hmmm!) lacks some of those calf muscles for shaplier, fuller lower legs. Personally, I always found Croatian women more outwardly appealing. Serbian women have a more robust appearance. But, as the Latin saying goes --- one does not argue over taste.

I admit, I like them a little more "raw." How's this for an S&M "runner-up?" Not bad, ha?

[kosta50]

Why is the Albanian first in the picture???

It's all alphabetical, don't you get it?

PS what do you think of the riba above?

[bluester]

Actually I WAS blonde only till I was a few years old then I got brownish hair :) The ladies all look very nice, but I can always find many other even better looking while cruising through Ljbubljana so I couldn't really say that such representatives are the "top of the cream". Somehow the "best" ones dont even sign up for such beauty contests maybe because of the bimbo etiquette they might get, god knows). But then I shouldn't really complain. Anyhows enough for now, greetz Bluester