Tuesday, January 31, 2006

For the Benelux crew...

Or anyone within a few hours train ride of Rotterdam....something cool on Thursday night in R'Dam for the lyrically bent....

Sounds familiar?

The Bush administration continues an escalating spiral toward conflict with Iran, using Iran's nuclear policy as its primary focus. At the same time, the administration is reducing restrictions on other emerging nuclear states that pose a far more serious and immediate threat to world peace. (San Francisco Chronicle)

and the nominees are

check out the Oscar 2006 nominees.

First e-book by Denise

An AIESEC alum (Australia and the UK) forever looking to ensure creative revenue sources just had her first e-book published ... and some of you could use it (ahem Devrim). Check it out and support an alumni in what will prove to be an entertaining read :

http://www.bookshaker.com/product_info.php?ref=102&products_id=142

What would your company do if it suddenly made the highest profits ever, by any company, anywhere? Exxon Mobil raked in $36.1 bilion in profits for 2005. (Seattle Times)

is this cool or what?

specially inscribed ipods with the 'india everywhere' logos for davos- the WEF.
oh and yes- 1500 'key' delegates (read decision makers) were gifted with one of these.
Looking to enter/develop/explore/market India? This is the place to go.

Holy Batman

Independent Online Edition > World Politics:

"The most potent threats to life on earth - global warming, health pandemics, poverty and armed conflict - could be ended by moves that would unlock $7 trillion - $7,000,000,000,000 (�3.9trn) - of previously untapped wealth, the United Nations claims today.

The price? An admission that the nation-state is an old-fashioned concept that has no role to play in a modern globalised world where financial markets have to be harnessed rather than simply condemned.

In a groundbreaking move, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has drawn up a visionary proposal that has been endorsed by a range of figures including Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Laureate."

Monday, January 30, 2006

aid or not to aid

As you know, Hamas won a landslide victory in Palestinian Parliament election a couple days ago. Right many, many countries, mainly Western countries, are adjusting to this reality and busily forming new angle of engagement with Palestinian people.

Now here's the question that will tax your international policy wisdom and intellect.

Should the Western countries, who contributed 900 million dollars to the Palestinan Authority (PA) in 2005, which employ around 132,000 Palestinians, continue the aid this year?

The fact is the PA now belongs to Hamas, which still calls for the destruction of Israel and have launched 60 suicide attacks inside Israel.

Assume Hamas will not change its charter.

How would you advise Europe and U.S.A on this matter?

Google and China

There's quite an elaborate discussion going on about Google's acceptance of censorship in China. Personally, it is quite disheartening to know that the internet is censored in China, but even more so when one realizes that pioneering companies, such as Google, kowtow to state governments' whims. If you want a recap of the whole thing then go here.

However, if you would like a disappointing overview of the situation, look no further than these two screenshots. The first is a search for Tiananmen on Google Images (google.com), the second is the same search performed on Google China.

Search on 'normal' Google.
Search on Chinese Google.

The thing is, does it not constitute bad CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) on Google's part to support such incredibly insane censorship?

For all the hoopla about China being the economic superpower, I honestly think its working more towards making the elite happy and content, thus their dissenting voices are automatically muted by pride, rather than concrete and full measured change.

I shudder to think that this is the state of the second pole in a future bipolar world. It makes me sad and disappointed. What can we do against such propoganda? I'd love to hear from any voices who have been to China, or are Chinese.

Sounds like Seinfeld's infamous "Bet"

Berlusconi, seriously, if he's not telling German officials they would be well cast in Holocaust movies, he's betting the Italian public that he can abstain from sex for 2.5 months. That's pretty good for a 69 year old:)

Davos' Big 5...

"Each of the 50-odd tables picked a discussion leader who reduced their own debate to two key questions facing the world, which were then submitted to the organizers, who in turn formulated the most common themes and submitted the batches of questions to an electronic vote." (MSNBC)

These 5 questions represent a the most crucial issues facing the global economy today, according to businessmen, social & political leaders at Davos.

What should China and India do to maintain sustainable development and preserve the environment?

What are the immediate steps needed to address climate change?

How can we create a global educational framework that fosters inclusivity?

How should educational systems be designed to respond to changing skill requirements?

What should be done to close income disparities?

Sunday, January 29, 2006

Go Egypt!

On a perfect night in Cairo
Egypt beats Cote D'ivoire 3/1
The steets are still roaring with the cheers even at those wee hours of the morning

Btw, this hat's goin to be with Egypt in IPM Expros and IC!

Saturday, January 28, 2006

The streets of Katowice were lined with rescue vehicles.

Roof Collapse Injures 40 in Poland Hall

What would Rocky do?

Those guys are both heavy weights. I don't know how good of a boxer or how insane you'd have to be to take that guy on. Bot eta da!

The next leaders of Palestine

Who's who in Hamas? - World - Times Online: "Since then, a handful of lower-profile leaders have emerged to add a pragmatic side to the party that has launched at least 60 suicide bomb attacks and still officially calls for the destruction of Israel."

Friday, January 27, 2006

UEFA EURO 2008 qualifying round

I have been hard-core football (soccer) fan for past at least 10 years and I have not seen such a draw in my life:

My favorite teams:

Turkey against Greece again

Germany against Czech Republic

Azerbaijan against Armenia. Two countries which are still in war for past 17 years. Two nations that hate each other. Let's see if the games will happen. Here are the groups and check UEFA for more info:

Group A
Portugal
Poland
Serbia and Montenegro
Belgium
Finland
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Kazakhstan

Group B
France
Italy
Ukraine
Scotland
Lithuania
Georgia
Faroe Islands

Group C
Greece
Turkey
Norway
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Hungary
Moldova
Malta

Group D
Czech Republic
Germany
Slovakia
Republic of Ireland
Wales
Cyprus
San Marino

Group E
England
Croatia
Russia
Israel
Estonia
F.Y.R. Macedonia
Andorra

Group F
Sweden
Spain
Denmark
Latvia
Iceland
Northern Ireland
Liechtenstein

Group G
Netherlands
Romania
Bulgaria
Slovenia
Albania
Belarus
Luxembourg

Comment on who you think will go to the Austria and Switzerland in 2008. My bets are in red...

A GOOD use for technology

Thanks to modern technology and the efforts of Michigan's Mount Clemens General Hospital, a member of the U.S. Marines Corps was able to watch the birth of his baby from Iraq, where he was on active duty. The birth was broadcast on a Web site set up by the hospital's IT department, and the soldier was able to speak to his wife directly with the use of a satellite telephone.

Full article: e-Delivery

Davos Spice

rconversation: "
All You Ever Wanted to Know about Relationships -- But Were Afraid to Ask
Date: Thursday, 26 Jan 2006
Time:15.00 - 18.00
Location:Rotary, Hotel Belv�d�re
Relationships and sexuality may be the only truly universal part of human life. Early childhood attachments and experiences can result in patterns that sometimes need to be relearned if we are to build lasting relationships in an increasingly stressful world. Join this session with a leading sexologist to discuss what makes relationships work.1) Why is emotional self-knowledge such a taboo in society?2) Why does the way we allocate our personal time often threaten our relationships and sex lives? 3) What are some of the tools to overcome old patterns and keep desire flowing?
Presented by:
Dagmar O'Connor Psychologist Dagmedia Corp.
"

A sex seminar in World Economic Forum Annual Meeting? I wonder if Bill Clinton was in attendance :)

Info you can use for your next party conversation

South Pole Neutrino Detector Could Yield Evidences of String Theory: "Researchers at Northeastern University and the University of California, Irvine say that scientists might soon have evidence for extra dimensions and other exotic predictions of string theory. Early results from a neutrino detector at the South Pole, called AMANDA, show that ghostlike particles from space could serve as probes to a world beyond our familiar three dimensions, the research team says. "

Read up on String Theory, the one theory believed by many (and scorned by equal number of scientists) to be a good candidate for a unified theory that can explain everything in the universe.

Education on the cheap

Too broke to pay for 600,000,000 a year education in Stanford University ? Listen to their lectures instead for free on your iTunes. And study MIT materials through their OpenCourseWare program.

Australian Open Tennis Championships - The Grand Slam of Asia/Pacific : "The No.12 seeded pair of Zi Yan and Jie Zheng have upset top seeds Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur to deliver China its first ever Grand Slam title with a 2-6 7-6 (9/7) 6-3 victory in the women's doubles final at Australian Open 2006 on Friday."

Thursday, January 26, 2006

BBC NEWS Middle East Hamas 'secures stunning victory': "There are strong indications that the Islamic militant group Hamas has won a stunning victory in Wednesday's Palestinian parliamentary elections. "

As the Chinese curse said "May you live in interesting times".

Cup of Nations

If you want to watch the African Cup of Nations online you can do so for a fee here. Thanks to him for the info.

disclaimer

In light of the recent discussions and consequential requests, a disclaimer has been added at the bottom of the main page. In summary nomadlife is privately owned and run, and in no way affiliated with any other organization. Individual user content do not reflect the views of the collective nor external organizations.

The no gatekeeper policy will still continue and members of the community are always encouraged to provide content on the main page.

Let's not take ourselves too seriously guys. Keep it fun.

Emilce gets older

This same day, but many years ago and very far away from here, Lelis (aka Leslie, Lalas, "The princess") was born. Happy birthday Emilce!

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Throwing a cat amongst the pigeons

After reading with interest all the comments attracted by that photo earlier, I thought I'd say to hell with it and try to stir up people even further, by sharing again one of the very few intelligent things the London Daily Mirror has ever done: their front page just after the 2004 U.S. presedential elections.

indeed...

My answer is because the other guy was John Kerry. What's yours?

What China can learn from India

Davos Newbies � Blog Archive � The India/China comparison: "MIT?s Yasheng Huang has an intriguing contrarian essay in today?s Financial Times on the development lessons China could learn from India."

Post mortem analysis from a founder of a "citizen journalism" start-up that just went belly up.

AIESEC - The international Platform for young people to discover and develop their potential...

Hey nomadz,

I am sure I am no different than most of you who read nomadlife.org pretty much right after they wake up. I actually read it after I am done some soccer news though (hehe), but I am sure nomadlife.org is in favorites bookmark of most of us. I read this blogs because they are really cool, I learn something from them and I am nomad like you. and I like to share...

Today, I woke up, opened nomadlife.org and I saw three naked guys. First I laughed, it is really cool and funny. Thanks for posting it Sheila. But then suddenly I remembered what I am doing here for AIESEC. I am sales and services person who tries to sign and serve large accounts for AIESEC in order to change hundreds of lives. And I remembered that, most of the companies I am talking to right now will definitely make a research about us and what if they see those pictures (they definitely google us)? Will they sign contract with AIESEC? (doesn't matter which AIESEC...) Will hundreds of lives change?

I am afraid...not... It is not really first time, it was some kind of concern that I had for a long time and I think we should be a bit cautious about what we are writing on here, on our blogs and what pictures we are posting. Would you really want a company not sign a contract with us for some stupid posts?

Please please please do not take it personal (especially Sheila, it is nothing to do with you or your post), it is just something that I was thinking quite a bit...

And please feel free to comment and let me know what you think...

Palestinians are voting today for their parliament. It is expected that Hamas will gain a large share of the votes, forcing the current ruling party, Fatah, to share power with them.

Drunk & Cold

Question: What happens when you gather 3 AIESEC alumni together in a city 1,000 kilometers south of Siberia, in -20 degrees Celsius weather, and give them 4 bottles of vodka?

Answer: Well, you can see for yourself. :) Guess which one belongs to this POS.

pull your weight

The Dode Marketing Campaign.

So what does a web suicide note look like?

"Guys this is not a plead for help. It is too late. I will leave this cafe soon and curl up somewhere. No more for me. It is over, as is my right. That is juts a matter of public record. You can debate it later or ignore it, it will make no difference to me. "

Chris McKinstry
Friday, January 20, 2006 (off topic)

Chris was found dead in his apartment in Santiago a couple of days ago. He was still in the online forum typing from an Internet cafe as the pills he took to end his life started taking effect.

"

I am leaving now. People are strating to notice I canot type and I am about to vomit. Take to go. Last post.

Chris McKinstry
Friday, January 20, 2006"

Nothng. Thanks. Good bye.

Chris McKinstry
Friday, January 20, 2006"

And you can read the other users in the (off topic) online forum trying frantically to contact people in Santiago.

The whole saga is documented by a Ryan Park of Virginia. It makes a gripping and sad reading. His pills didn't manage to kill him so he went home and commit suicide by gas one or two days after his last posting.

Internet search giant Google agrees to censor its services in China to comply with Beijing's restrictions. (more)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Egyptians never fail to surprize me!

http://freedomforegyptians.blogspot.com/2006/01/us-in-africa-cup-of-nations-hosted-by.html

Introducing Echizen Kurage.

The Times, Sunday Times: "THEY are called echizen kurage and they sound like monsters from the trashier reaches of Japanese science fiction.

They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless poisonous tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people of Japan. Vast armadas of the slimy horrors have cut off the country?s food supply. As soon as one is killed more appear to take its place."

Genocide in Slow Motion

The New York Review of Books: Genocide in Slow Motion: "Much the same has been true of the Western response to the Armenian genocide of 1915, the Cambodian genocide of the 1970s, and the Bosnian massacres of the 1990s. In each case, we have wrung our hands afterward and offered the lame excuse that it all happened too fast, or that we didn't fully comprehend the carnage when it was still under way.

And now the same tragedy is unfolding in Darfur, but this time we don't even have any sort of excuse. In Darfur genocide is taking place in slow motion, and there is vast documentary proof of the atrocities. Some of the evidence can be seen in the photo reproduced with this essay, which was leaked from an African Union archive containing thousands of other such photos. And now, the latest proof comes in the form of two new books that tell the sorry tale of Darfur: it's appalling that the publishing industry manages to respond more quickly to genocide than the UN and world leaders do."

Nicholas D. Kristof, the reviewer, won a Pulitzer prize for his reporting of Tiananmen massacre. The Pulitzer prize is the highest accolade to journalistic work in the US.

He wrote this books review article in full fury of an activist frustated about the lack of action from the world that has vowed "never again" to a genocide.

Who do you think will give the best and eloquent apology 10 years from now about Darfur? Bill Clinton did a great apology speech for Rwanda. I would nominate Kofi Annan. He oversaw UN peacekeeping operations when Rwanda happened. Two genocides during his watchful eye; not too shabby of a record, eh.

But this probably reveals a rule of how the current world works; we will tolerate one genocide or two a decade. Application for 2010-2019 is open now.

Requirement
1. Well armed marauding militias. Minimum 5000 men.
2. Choose your geographic area of operation. Preferably the ones under your control.
3. Pick your strategy (Pol Pot, Rwanda, Bosnia/Kosovo, Nazi, etc)
4. Choose whether your goal is Lite (100,000 - 500,000), Genocide (500, 000 - 1,000,000) or the Holocaust edition, 1,000,000.
5. Pick your excuse : race, religion, land, culture, class.

If you cant handle the heat, get out of Australia

Big ups to all my peeps back home in Australia, going through a full scale heatwave right now. And I'm not talking about some Frenchy Euro-heatwave where the temperature soars to 28 degrees or anything, this is a road melting, country burning heatwave, proper Aussie style.

We are sitting around the 0 degrees mark here in Rotterdam. I'd rather be in Australia.

But for perspective, how about nodding your heards in strange appreciation/bewilderment at those crazy kids from AIESEC RuBeK (Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan) who are about to head off to their national conference in Novosibirsk, Siberia. Expected temperature there on Saturday night? A slightly chilly -51 degrees. Thats some crazy business right there.....

Access Nomadlife on your mobile

Opera just launched its mobile browser Opera Mini. It runs on java and should run in most phones out there.

The big news is that it works like any other web browser and you can visit the same pages as you do on your desktop. Now you can read the latest posts on Nomadlife, check your Gmail etc... when you are on the bus, beach or without a pc:)

Check it out: mini.opera.com

So its clear, the product is free, you pay only for the data traffic you use.

PS: this is a shameless promotion sponsored by the numerous AIESEC Alumni and trainees that work at Opera;)

And the Conservatives take Power in Canada!

13 years of Liberal rule ends tonight, 13 years of scandals, poor money control, and a lazy government

Steven Harper and the Conservatives have claimed a Minority Government!

But not necessarily the greatest victory, as many are still very skeptical of the conservatives.
Regardless, this is a chance for the liberals to fix their currupt lazy policies and strengthen their party.

A few good people lost their ridings though.. like Anne McLellan (Deputy PM) and Alan Cutler (Liberal Whistle Blower)

Also, Paul Martin has announced he is leaving the Liberal Party! so he wont even stick around to keep the Conservatives in Check...

Canada wanted change, they got it...

Mike Horn strikes again!

This man is amazing...I attended one of his public speeches in Geneva (he doesn't live far from Geneva) about five years ago, on his "Latitude Zero - Solo around the world along the equator" expedition (http://www.mikehorn.com/pages/latitude0/lat0.html) . And now this:

http://www.mikehornnorthpole.com/

http://mikehornproject.blueblog.ch/en/

Check it out...

Monday, January 23, 2006

Another quarter-centarian

Rumour has it that Oriana hit the big two-five today. Feliz Cumplea�os!

Polls open across Canada

Canada Votes!

Polls are open across the country for voters to cast ballots in the federal election. Polling stations across Canada will be open for 12 hours on Monday.

----

There are a total of 1,634 people running in 308 ridings in the general election, which is the country's 39th.

They represent 15 political parties, plus Independent candidates.

For a cheet sheet on Canada's political parties click here

Looking for Laughs in This World

New York Times: "Two men meet on the street and one of them asks the other, Is it true that you formed a musical group? 'Yes, a quartet.' How many? 'Three.' Who? 'Me and my brother.' You have a brother? 'No.' "

Who's been to a real Halloween party?

Adam recounts the trials and tribulations of obtaining what will likely soon be a living legend, the AIESEC house in Madison, Wisconsin.
I sense a nomadfest: madison sometime in the next 18 months.

Sunday, January 22, 2006

Birthday in Cairo ? not bad for a 28th birthday.

dC and india at the wef

a muti-million dollar campaign, promotional space in 3 cities of switzerland and multiple india promotion ventures from physical to virtual spaces have taken over the essence of davos...
its all happening...here.
more as the days progress......

Who's in for St Paddy's day?

I'm curious who's signed on for St. Patrick's day nomadfest in Ireland in March.

He was in need of your help...... and how to get a free Ipod

"Fabulous Fabian" as us who are running in his honor call him, passed away at the young age of 5 from Leukemia. His family is asking us to help raise funds so this doesn?t happen to other young children. I'm trying to raise $3,100 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I also be running 26.2 miles/ 42k in honor of this young boy and the Leukemia Society.

Leukemia is the leading cause of death among children under age 15, and it strikes 10 times as many adults. Thanks to generous donations from people like yourself, the Society has helped researchers make medical advances helped the relative five-year survival rate for people with leukemia triple in the past 40 years. Feel free to go to www.lls.org and see Press Releases for other advances the Society has contributed to.

If you would like to help out, you can check out this link: http://www.active.dom/donate/tntil/kmcooper. Since I'm challenging myself to run 42k and also raise this money, I have a little challenge for you. For every donation you make, you receive one entry. For every donation you get from somebody, you get one entry. Just email me and let me know they are donating because you asked them to. For example, if you donate, and get 2 friends to donate, you get 3 entries.

Near the beginning of April, I will then raffle off a 4 GB IPod Nano. If the total from this fundraising goes about $2000, I'll throw in a 2nd winner of the Nano. Also, if you already have an IPod, or just can't use one, there will be a gift of approximate value as an alternative. I'll be providing updates on my blog at turnthepage.nomadlife.org

If you have any questions, email me at kevin4leukemiasocietyNOSPAM@hotmail.com (remove the NOSPAM first, of course)

Thanks to all and best of luck.

Kevin

Saturday, January 21, 2006

World Tracker offers to turn anyone into a cellphone spy

Anyone interested in keeping track of fellow nomads? This might be an interesting tool!

The next frontier in warrant-free surveillance is upon us, and it's open to everyone. A UK service called World Tracker apparently uses cell tower data (or GPS, when available) to track the location of just about any GSM cellphone. Just enter the number you want to track into the service's handy Google Maps-based interface, and you'll be able to zoom in on the device's location, with accuracy somewhere between 50 and 500 meters.

The first time you try to track a phone, a text message is sent to the owner, who must reply in order to enable tracking. The service is currently compatible with O2, Vodafone, Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, and has plans to expand to other markets including Germany, Spain, Norway and the US. If, that is, privacy advocates don't shut it down first.

Finally

nomadfest fotos, raw. There are no comments, but you'll get the idea. I'll get to the Tales of nomadfest soon, whenever I stop drinking.

What Cricket doesn't have

Maria Sharapova

Versus

Daniela Hantuchova

Quarter Round Australian Open 2006. It's a battle of the babes (upcoming match).

Yeah, I know I'm shallow; but these two tennis player kick ass.

Friday, January 20, 2006

Trent ??

who won the best posting of 2005?

Africa is in the House!

It's official - Egypt has color!

The African Cup of Nations is Oficcially beginning right now.
With awesome shows and fireoworks, Egypt welcomes all it's Africano's to start the games!

If you walk down the streets now, you can see so much color on the streets - it a spectacular view!

Team South Africa was in a shopping mall the other day, and the mood was festive - with everyone wishing them good luck in the Finals - we all know they will make it.
Though Egypt's chances are slim, and it is going against its long time rival - Morocco - to qualify to the final rounds, the atmosphere is great.

In short - Egypt is the place to BE right now.

TGIF : Frog

I got this brilliant forward a while back, which I found super funny just thought it'd be nice to start of the weekend with a good laugh :

A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.

"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a $30,000 loan to take a holiday."

Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.

Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.

The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.

She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow $30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."

She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"

(you're gonna love this)

(its a real treat masterpiece)

The bank manager looks back at her and says...

"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a
Rolling Stone..."

(You're singing it, aren't you? Yeah, I know you are........)

Never take life too seriously! Come on now, you grinned, I know you did!!!

Visionary Leadership with Limited Resources

I may have posted this article before, but it's an amazing article anyhow.

"At the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, 82-year-old Dr. Govindappa Venkataswamy has solved the mystery of leadership: He brings eyesight to the blind and light to the soul."

Definitely worth the time to read!

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/43/drv.html

Loose Change: The other account of 911

Everytime I go to WTC via the Jersey PATH train, I am deeply reminded of the events of 911. The panoramic view from the WTC PATH station is unreal, like being on a Hollywood post-apocalypic ride.

On a sleepless night I was reading my favorite news website, Fark.com, when I came across this thread about wacky conspiracy theories. One of which was that the attacks of 911 were perpetrated by the US government...

The thread was soon overtaken by the 911 debate, pushing hilarious conspiracies like that Lizard people control the British crown out of the limelight.

From there, I was brought to Loose Change 911 (Video via Google), a conspiratorial account of the events of 911.

911 has never sat well with me for the obvious reasons, as well as for some not so obvious ones. Like: Why did both towers and WTC 7 collapse, in a relatively short time for modern skyscrapers? Where was the airplane wreckage in Pennslyvania and the Pentagon? How were cell phone calls made at 400+ mph and at altitudes above 30000 feet? Interesting questions indeed...

Has anyone seen this video before? How about any independent research lending credance to the official account of vaporized aircraft titanium and steel structures collapsing? Lots of questions are unanswered even 5 years after these events and so many subsequent events unfolded...

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Murderers in bright pink!

Can't believe this...there is a Scandinavian company selling T-shirts sporting the logo of FARC, one of the oldest guerrilla movements in Colombia. Part of the proceeds will go to the group to fund a radio station project ran by this guerrilla group. This is their extensive FARC knowledge:

Increasing it's power and number of troops day by day, FARC has liberated large chunks of Colombia from the terror of the regime's death squads. Closely allied to Indigenous people and the Black minority, FARC's tens of thousands of guerrilla fighters have wooed to bring down the corrupt rule of the drug lords led by President Alvaro Uribe.

Tell me something, do Europeans (or any other internationals outside of Latin America) actually believe this Robin Hood-style guerrillas in my country? Probable the French don't believe this as one of their citizens is kidnapped by the group. I am really mad about this I gotta be honest...but maybe Colombian press sucks...I don't know...

Joke of the day

Sp!r!t World: The story of Two Cows- joke: "
BRITISH SYSTEM:
You have two cows. Both are mad.

AUSTRALIAN SYSTEM:
You have two cows. You give one to the Americans and one to the British and you go back to shagging sheep!

LEBANON SYSTEM:You have two cows. One is owned by Syria and the other is controlled by Hizbollah.

EGYPTIAN SYSTEM:You have two cows. Both are voting for Mobarak!
"

Playboy: Indonesian Edition

"America's long-running popular pornographic magazine, Playboy, is reportedly planning to begin publishing an Indonesian edition in March, despite strong objections from conservative Muslim clerics." (Laksamana.net)

I'd say, it's about time. This will be the second Playboy edition in a majority Muslim country (after Turkey: although Turkey edition closed in 1995).

Top 6 Major Arms Exporters in the world

1. United States
2. Russia
3. France
4. UK
5. Germany
6. China.
(source: CRS Report for Congress)

Five of these countries are the permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Legal or illegal, weapon business is very lucrative. Illegal trafficking of arms only represents a small slice of arms transfer transactions every year but the few people that are involved in it become rich and notorious. You can meet several of these gunrunners on this 2002 Frontline feature.

The Federation of American Scientist (FAS) has a nice briefing about the nature of Illicit Arms Trade.

My inspiration for this post is the movie Lord of War by Nicholas Cage, an interesting movie about one gunrunner's career story (which is just out on DVD in the US). At the closing credit the movie asserts the figure I wrote at the beginning at the post except that they switch the position of Germany and China so they can make the clean claim of "Top 5 Arms exporters are also the permanent member of the UN Security Council".

If you are offered a 100,000 US dollars a year job working in the arm industry, will you take it? Let's say it's in the dream job of International Sales; it involves lots of travelling, visiting exotic locations, dealing with multiple cultures, dealing easily sellable items with steady and growing market; it's definitely legal and essential. I'll throw in a 20,000 dollars signing bonus, 8 weeks vacation a year and 5 times use of company private jet plane for personal purposes.

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

are we all doomed?

Independent Online Edition > Environment: "Thirty years ago, the scientist James Lovelock worked out that the Earth possessed a planetary-scale control system which kept the environment fit for life. He called it Gaia, and the theory has become widely accepted. Now, he believes mankind's abuse of the environment is making that mechanism work against us. His astonishing conclusion - that climate change is already insoluble, and life on Earth will never be the same again. "

In a profoundly pessimistic new assessment, published in today's Independent, Professor Lovelock suggests that efforts to counter global warming cannot succeed, and that, in effect, it is already too late. "

(kudos to wonderwoman for the link)

This is a good explanation on the Gaia hypothesis. The word Gaia itself is a Greek word for "The goddess of the earth, who bore and married Uranus and became the mother of the Titans and the Cyclopes."

As you are reading an environmental scientist report, it's useful to have a pair of skeptic eyeglasses.

Sublime

The Australian : "'If America isn't watching these films, why are they winning the awards?' "

nomad in the news

Cat get's quoted in the local newspaper. Another Badger pushing the envelope.

Wine Tasting Basics

jvolcheff's dad is writing on everything wine at his wine website, http://www.mywinetutor.com. Well recommended.

Wine tasting basics: "Tasting wine is more than simply taking a big swig and gulping it down. You can read all the books you want and look at hundreds of web site tasting notes to get a better idea of the subject, but at some point you are going to have to pop a cork and start tasting wine to get a better understanding of its complexities."

From WTF department

Guardian Unlimited World dispatch Seminal questions: "A curious religious debate is raging in Egypt. The question is: should you keep your clothes on when having sex?
It began when Dr Rashad Khalil, an expert on Islamic law from al-Azhar university in Cairo warned that being completely naked during intercourse invalidates a marriage. His ruling was promptly dismissed by other scholars, including one who argued that 'anything that can bring spouses closer to each other' should be permitted."

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

global

next time there's a film awards ceremony in france, or a music awards ceremony in singapore, i'd like large colour photos of each winner on the front page of nomadlife please. we need some balance to this US dominated media...... : ).

Best Motion Picture - Drama

That's it folks. Goodnight.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, winner of Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama

Felicity Huffman, winner of Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

Big Winner

Winner of :
Best Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy (Reese Witherspoon)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical Or Comedy (Joaquin Phoenix )

Ang Lee, the director of Brokeback Mountain, just won Golden Globe the Best Director award.

This Palestinian movie just won a Golden Globe award for the best foreign movie.

Kim Visit Is China's Worst-Kept Secret

Excerpts from the news article:

"China's government won't confirm he is in the country. But if it is Kim, he picked an awkward way to avoid publicity, taking over an entire luxury hotel and traveling by 30-car motorcade. Guests at the luxury White Swan Hotel in the provincial capital of Guangzhou were evicted without warning, and employees of nearby hotels and restaurants said they had heard Kim stayed there.

South Korean officials hoped the trip would unleash big changes in the North, a nation so poor that it relies on foreign aid to feed its 23 million people."

Such irony.

Quality Journalism

Here is another reason why TV is bad for the brain.

Monday, January 16, 2006

The Meatrix

Not just for animal activists or vegetarians - for all ya'll to just be aware of what you're eating.
The Meatrix

"I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today. " (Martin Luther King, Jr)

Madam President

Michelle Bachelet, the new elected President of Chile.

More about here on this NY Times report.

Sunday, January 15, 2006

Happy birthday Surya!

Saturday, January 14, 2006

Taking care of Mother Nature

SocietalScan is writing a long list of things you can do to be green and be friendlier to the environment.

"Ok, so us internationals have to travel, we are inherently un-environmentally friendly by having so many friends and family in other countries that we have to fly to. Flying is the most environmentally destructive form of transport."

So the demand for nomads to be more environmentally concious is higher than an average population because well, we do travel a lot by air and we need to compensate that factor in our day to day living.

WonderWoman adds to the list a few of her own tips.

These two nomads deal with environmental concern daily in the jobs.

Friday, January 13, 2006

Friday the 13th

And tonight is a full moon also (according to etravels). The US Navy data confirms it.

If you are reading this, that means you have survived today, Friday the 13th, the most cursed day. Avoid black cats, ladders, poles, ...

(pedroadrian)

India in Pakistan

The most watched cricket series in the world kicks off today in Lahore, Pakistan. India takes on Pakistan in a 3 match test series followed by 5 one day games. Incidentally, Team India recently became the richest team in world sport with a sponsorship deal close to $70 Million USD for a 4 year period.

Although the Ashes have gained credibility thanks to a resurgent English team & some spectacular play last summer, India Vs Pakistan still remains the most passionately followed cricketing encounter today.

Thursday, January 12, 2006

Smoke or not to Smoke

Next Monday Chicago will start banning cigarette smoking in places without liqour licenses. The rest of the eating/drinking establishments will follow suit in 2008. We are following the steps of California and New York City.

Will you support banning indoor smoke in public places in your city?

Hajj Stampede

killed around 345 people (cnn)

dammit; They got to do something about this. This type of stampede has become a tragic regular occurence nowadays.

It doesn't taste like Chicken

"One of these days Armin Meiwes - a (seemingly) average German "computer expert" - meets the 43-year old Bernd J�rgen B. (hereinafter BJB) online. They chat and conclude a deal. BJB visits Armin Meiwes. Together they cut off Armin Meiwe's "well you know what", fry it in a pan and savour it. After this appetizer and once BJB has lost conscience, Armin Meiwes passes on to the main course. He carves up BJB, cuts him into pieces, neatly packs the pieces into Tupperware"
(dondomingo)

Nomadfest in Dublin!!!

St Patrick's Festival 2006 in Dublin, Ireland!

Taking place from Wednesday 15th March to Sunday 19th March
(St. Patrick's Day - 17th March)

AIESEC Ireland are hosting a reception event during the festival:

AIESEC Ireland would like to invite you to our biggest reception event for 2006: St Patrick's Day! During March 15th-March 19th Dublin will be transformed into a city of fun and festivity as people from around the world come and celebrate Ireland's most important national holiday.

So, what's the plan?

There will be many events planned throughout the 5 day festival. Aiesec Ireland will be choosing which events we will go to as the official festival schedule becomes finalised. Once we set our agenda it will be posted to the Aiesec Ireland Trainee Community. You have the freedom hang out with us or go to other events of your interest. We will make sure that the Aiesec Ireland events on our agenda will be free or at a very low cost. We will let you know where and what time will be meeting and for how long. Sound good?

You will be in charge of booking your flight/train/bus transportation and arranging accommodation. I will be announcing available spaces in Aiesec member's apartments soon. These spaces will be given on a first come first serve basis. I will post who will be staying where on the Aiesec Ireland Trainee Community page. Once all these spaces are filled, you will have to look for hostel accommodation. We also cannot guarantee reception for everyone as we don't know how many Aiesec people will be coming to Dublin to celebrate St. Patrick's Day.

If you need any more information please send an email to calgary@aiesec.ie.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Dublin this March!

Calgary Brown
National Reception Coordinator
AIESEC Ireland
05-06

So why not make it a bit of a nomadfest aswell?!

A bunch of trainees from Amsterdam are already coming and it's the best weekend of the year to be in Dublin.

You can check out some of the events at www.stpatricksfestival.ie though not all events are listed yet.

If you're in Europe check out www.ryanair.ie and www.aerlingus.com for flights.

And these are some of the bigger hostels:

http://www.hosteldublin.com
http://www.avalon-house.ie
http://www.isaacs.ie
http://www.fourcourtshostel.com
http://www.hostels.com/en/ie.le.du.html
http://www.abbey-court.com
http://www.kinlayhouse.ie

There'll be some accomodation going with AIESEC members, so if you want to come the sooner you get flights booked the better ... and hostels tend to book out for the festival by the end of January! Calgary is trying to organise accomodation with members but these places will be limited. I'm planning on hosting a few nomads at Chez Karola, first come first serve ... or cleverest bribery on a postcard please ... so email me at karola.lenehan@gmail.com and calgary@aiesec.ie if you want to come!

Oh My

"...Our talks with Iran have reached a dead end," German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters after meeting with his British and French counterparts...

The decision by the EU3 marks the end of more than two years of diplomatic efforts to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear program..."

(CNN)

Let the travelling begin

1/16-1/17 Svitavy, Czech Republic
1/22-1/24 Bydcoszcz, Poland
1-26/-1/27 Sales retreat
1/28-1/30 London

Slick Willie

"Former President Bill Clinton plans to announce today that his foundation has negotiated lower prices on AIDS tests and on two important AIDS drugs.

Four companies, from the United States, India and China, will offer rapid H.I.V. tests for 49 cents to 65 cents, which will reduce the typical cost of a test in poor countries by half, Mr. Clinton said in a written statement. Another four companies - three from India and one from South Africa - will make the antiretroviral drug efavirenz for as little as $240 per patient per year. One of the Indian companies, Cipla, will also make the antiretroviral abacavir for $447." (NYTimes)

Turkey takes fright as bird flu heads towards Europe

The deaths of three children from bird flu in eastern Turkey?the first outside East Asia?and official confirmation that some 15 Turks are infected with the deadly H5N1 strain of the virus have spread anxiety in Europe and the Middle East. Though there is still no sign of human-to-human transmission, governments in the region are taking precautions. (economist)

Suzanne will be undergoing a pretty significant surgery in two weeks. Wish her good luck.

Iran and the world

Iran has removed the seals on its uranium-enrichment plant at Natanz and says it will resume research on nuclear fuel, ending a two-year voluntary suspension, despite warnings from western Europe, Russia and America. The prospect of some form of sanctions against Iran, either agreed at the United Nations or imposed unilaterally by western countries, is growing. But Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, seems set on a showdown. (economist)

Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Cairo to Cape Town - On a Bike

Check out http://www.tourdafrique.com/; 100 days of bicycle race from the North to the Southern tip of Africa.

"On Saturday, the fourth annual "Tour d'Afrique" is set to get underway, an 11,900-kilometer (7,438-mile) bike race from the pyramids in Egypt all the way down to the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of the African continent. Of course, if you don't want to race, you can just ride along for the fun (and excruciating pain) of it -- for the small fee of $8,800 per person. Lion repellent not included. A bit more detail on the race's 99 stages can be found here." (Spiegel)

(Kudos to Rajiv for the link)

Check in, Aussie: "Six Aussies feared dead in crash"

* Six Australians feared dead, including a child.
* 24 injured, including two Victorian police officers.
* Victorian police commander Ashley Dickinson among injured.
* Northern Territory police officer injured helping victims.
* Passengers were police and emergency service workers and their families on cultural exchange.
* Crash occurred 8.45pm (Cairo time) yesterday in thick fog and rain on desert road from Cairo to Alexandria.

More here.

Evil

(10K calories)

This is a cupcake. I don't know if it exists outside the USA. But this tiny cake is probably the most devilishly bad mainstream cake ever baked anywhere in the world.

Tuesday, January 10, 2006

MacBook: Intel Inside

Fresh from MacWorld 2006.

This is the new laptop from Apple that runs on Intel chip; that means there's a possibility you can run other Intel based operating system on it (like XP, etc).

p0rn: 4.3 billion dollars industry

"The actress known as Tyla Wynn took to the stage late Saturday night to accept an X-rated-film award, the pornography version of an Oscar. The category was excellence in a multiperson sex scene.

...

According to AVN Publications, which organizes the awards, it generated $4.3 billion in sales and rentals last year. That amounted to about half the size of Hollywood's box-office receipts of nearly $9 billion last year.
" (NYTimes)

And considering the costs of producing Hollywood movies is about 100000000 times more than an average porn film, I think it is safe to assume that this industry is a lot more profitable than Hollywood. Now, that's just brilliant.

It is also an industry with a lower barrier of entry. Porn to Hollywood movies is like a blog to a newspaper; everybody that wants to 'publish', can do so without much hassle; except blogs don't make as much money as mainstream press.

Now, off course porn and Hollywood movies are dwarfed by the gigantic 100 billion dollars a year drug industry in the US and an estimated 320 billion dollars globally (according to a UN report)

man bites dog

According to a report in the Shanghai Daily on December 27th, thieves in the city have been stealing pet dogs and selling them to restaurants. Not all Chinese people eat dog, but it is widely believed that doing so during the winter months will keep you warm. No local slaughterhouses sell dog, so interested restaurants have to order the meat from out-of-town licensed dealers. However, officials from Shanghai?s Food and Drug Administration are worried that the lack of a ready supply is causing some eateries to turn to the black market.

The majority of thefts have been reported in the suburbs, where guard dogs and pets are found in greatest numbers. The newspaper claimed to have received a dozen calls in the last two weeks of December from residents in Qingpu, Jiading and Baoshan districts, saying their dogs had been taken by thieves. (economist)

Monday, January 09, 2006

Makes you think!

As i was surfing aroung the blogsphere, i found a very touching story, that made me think for a long while. It is related to Superluli's post Patience has its limits... The story goes like this:

"The first time I saw him he was standing in line waiting for the medical checkup. While I managed to get there in my Speedos, he was only wearing cheap, worn-out cotton jockeys. Utterly disgusting, I thought. But didn't give it more thought. I was more occupied with pondering the 1 to 3 years I'd have to spend in this shit hole, my well-paying job I'll have to forgo, and how I?d manage to live with similar white-jockeys-wearing guys.
When the inevitable happened and I knew that I'll be spending my year there ...."

Story continues here

Top 10 lies by entreprenuers and Venture Capitalists

The great Guy Kawasaki is blogging and he writes these two great posts about dechipering the words of Venture Capitalists told entrepreneurs and vice versa :)

Pranks: A competition

"The best colleges strive to out-prank one another. Students at Yale scored a big victory during last year's football match against Harvard when they passed out pieces of paper to thousands of fans on the Harvard side of the stadium. The fans were told that, when held up, the bits would spell ?Go Harvard?. In fact they spelled something else (see photo that opened this article)." (The Economist)

High costs of interruption

(or what happen when you barely paying attention to anything);

"The researchers found that the employees devoted an average of just 11 minutes to a project before the ping of an e-mail, the ring of the phone or a knock on the cubicle pulled them in another direction. Once they were interrupted, it took, on average, a stunning 25 minutes to return to the original task--if they managed to do so at all that day. The workers in the study were juggling an average of 12 projects apiece--a situation one subject described as "constant, multitasking craziness." The five biggest causes of interruption in descending order, according to Mark: a colleague stopping by, the worker being called away from the desk (or leaving voluntarily), the arrival of new e-mail, the worker switching to another task on the computer and a phone call."

What Starbucks doesn't want you to know

The best deal coffee in Starbucks is "short cappucino". This Slate article explains why.

"Here's a little secret that Starbucks doesn't want you to know: They will serve you a better, stronger cappuccino if you want one, and they will charge you less for it. Ask for it in any Starbucks and the barista will comply without batting an eye. The puzzle is to work out why. "

"The short cappuccino has the same amount of espresso as the 12-ounce tall, meaning a bolder coffee taste, and also a better one. "

"Salome Simon has slept with almost 50,000 men since Canadian-led researchers discovered she's one of those amazing Nairobi prostitutes whose immunity to HIV could be the key to beating AIDS. Two decades later, with no cure in sight, she's still a medical guinea pig but also a grandmother who is tired of plying her trade. Canada, she tells Stephanie Nolen, should help her find a decent job " (The Globe and Mail)

This is a bizzare story where medical researchers see a person more like an object than a real human being.

Sunday, January 08, 2006

More lives to be changed...

Ruthie is off to Ecuador,
Ali is off to Senegal,
Sara is off to Hong Kong,
Mads is off to China,
Michelle is off to France...

Saying goodbye is never easy, but I know you'll all have the time of your lives while you're abroad. A wise, old AIESECer (ahem...Digidy) once told me, "When you leave, make sure to take your heart with you." I'm sure you'll all do just that. You're opening yourselves up to new experiences, new friends, a new way of life, new perspectives. When you return home, you'll be seeing the world through new eyes. Cherish every moment of your journey! It will become a part of you, and you'll return home loving life all the more for it!

Best wishes, safe travels, and happy living...

Mix has left the building

After a series of celebrations Mike - also known as mixmaster on nomadlife - has left Egypt.
It's worth mentioning that Mike had his effect on boosting the party life of the Dokki neighborhood in the city of Giza.(part of greater cairo, FYI)

But when one Mike leaves, another comes.
Mike the Fourth, has safely arrived after a long 24 hours wait by Salaam responsible Nisrin Jaara and his hosting LC.

Reporting live from the coolest place in Africa

Happy Eid

A billion of Muslims is starting eid ul-adha celebration either today, tomorrow or the day after (depending on local decision); this is the second major holiday in Islamic calendar. A lot of goat, cows and sheep will be slaughtered and their meat will be distributed to the poor.

Doh!!

This is how they make each episode of The Simpsons.

Saturday, January 07, 2006

Traineeship Experience Sharing

In the zillions of blogs on nomadlife it's often hard to find out which are the people that are currently talking about their experiences abroad, which makes it hard for others to get to know a country they want to visit for travel or work.
If you take two minutes to register your blog at MyTraineeship, others will find it more easily... So far there aren't too many blogs on it, but that's what we want to change, right? The website has been created by an AIESECer from Germany, so most of the blogs are in German, but that can change, right? ;-)

and happy new year to everyone! (only a week late, come on :-D)

i've just moved ....

what's the traditions associated with moving house in your country? burning candles in the new place? saying goodbye to the old door??

Patience has its limits

The attack on the Egyptian Boarders from the Palestinians is outrageous!
but what is even more outrageous is no matter how many times we are stabbed in the back by our so called "brothers" - students still march the streets protesting and fighting for their rights.

Over the years palestinians have thrown shoes at our Minister for Foreign affairs, have organized a series of bombings in Sinai, have tried to flee illegaly to our country, and lateley killed 2 of our soldiers and injured over 30.
Those boys are 21 years old, and they lost their lives by a "brother"
And the palestinian authority , what do they say? that those boys will be considered martyrs of the Palestinian state.

As if the doors of heaven will open widely for all those suicide bombers and so called "martyrs".
Come judgement day, god will ask them: oh suicide bomber? palestinian? good on ya mate, come on over to paradise!

Apparently the enemies up north, are not exactly the enemies we had in mind.

Quoting from the strongest opposition Newspaper in Egypt
"Your appology is not accepted, and Patience has its limits"

What is meaningoflive.tv ?

30 inch wide monitor

and more gadget previews straight from Las Vegas.

Friday, January 06, 2006

They are releasing a movie about Flight 93 this April, the flight that fought back and went down in Pennsylvania.

Fittest city in USA

My current city of residence, Chicago, is not on the list. We are usually the first, second or third fattest city in America in any compiled list, keeping Detroit and Houston company.

"Noughty, noughty": NGO money error

From the BBC News website

A computer error has left about 10,000 UK supporters of Greenpeace out of pocket by hundreds of pounds.

Some members who make regular direct debit donations, ranging typically from �2 to �10 a month, have been charged a hundred times their usual amount.

Greenpeace said those affected would be reimbursed by 3 January, and that any resulting bank charges would be paid.

The environmental charity (! Ed.) said it seemed the glitch had led to two noughts being added to donations.

John Sauven, a Greenpeace director, said it had taken immediate action once the software error had been spotted.

"We are still trying to find out how this glitch happened but for some reason two noughts seem to have been added, or the computer has converted pence into pounds," he said.

"Our IT specialists are trying to work it out and rectify it to make sure it doesn't happen again.

"The only people who will be out of pocket are us."

According to Greenpeace's website, it receives donations from 221,000 supporters in the UK.

TGIF

and more cool Photoshopped pictures at worth1000.com.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

New Year-stitious

Reading Naaz's post on New Year's in Colombia and my own musings on Japanese New Year traditions, I wondered if there were other interesting superstitions or traditions out there related to the start of a new year.

Wearing yellow underwear and dreaming of eggplants for good luck sound like fun ways to celebrate the new year to me. ^_^

Chitgo will be attending the World Economic Forum at Davos later this month.

Water: the rare gem

*Click on images to zoom in

Clean, fresh water is not nearly as plentiful as most Americans seem to believe. We often take it for granted. But most of the world's residents do not...and for good reason. 97% of the world's water is non-potable salt water, which leaves only 3% that could be consumed by humans...and most of that "water" is trapped in glaciers and icecaps.

I knew fresh water was scarce, but this puts it in a whole new perspective.

Source: The Rude Awakening, Wall Street Daily E-Newsletter

Estonia, Finland in 20-Question Bid to Weed Out Bogus Koreans

Korean travelers to Finland have their easy-to-forge old passports to thank if they face questions on entry that would elicit a sneer from an elementary student. ?What is Korea's second largest city?" is one. "Write the name of the president of Korea," is another. One afternoon last week, the Chosun Ilbo observed the comings and goings at the Russo-Finnish border, where most visitors to the Nordic state are Russians but a few Koreans can also be found. But are they really Koreans?

Read more

Hook Em Horns

Rose Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) - Texas vs U.S.C. : 41-38

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

How to lose a friend and gain an enemy

"The chaos in Gaza continued today as some gunmen blocked access to the border crossing with Egypt, some used stolen bulldozers to smash through the border wall between Egypt and Gaza and still others fired a barrage of Qassam rockets toward the Israeli towns of Sederot and Ashkelon and the Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel.

Thousands of Palestinians swarmed through the broken wall and confronted Egyptian border troops. Two Egyptian soldiers died and 30 were wounded in the gunfire, the Egyptians said; there were no reliable figures of Palestinian casualties. The Egyptians pulled back and cut the electricity to the border." (NYTimes)

Isn't it ironic, Palestinian gunmen exchanging fires with Egyptian border troops. This thing is both sad and maddening at the same time.

On the other side of the wall, Sharon had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage. He is dying.

Story for Tom - Google PC

Thin client vendor Wyse Technology Inc. is the latest name to arise among the rumors of a low-cost Google-branded PC.

Google Inc. co-founder Larry Page is scheduled to deliver a keynote address Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Law Vegas, and the speculation is that he will unveil the Mountain View, Calif., company's plans for an inexpensive computer, priced at around $200.

The Internet giant reportedly is in talks with retailer Wal-Mart Inc. to sell the PCs, with the hardware being provided by Wyse and Google bringing in the software.

Wyse President and CEO John Kish mentioned during a presentation at the Red Herring Fall 2005 conference last month that his company was in discussions with Google focusing on a $200 PC that would be targeted at developing markets such as China and India, part of Wyse's greater push to bring technology to such countries.

Google's reported negotiations with Wal-Mart suggest a plan to sell such systems not only in emerging markets but also in such countries as the United States.

Kish also commented on the synergy between the two companies related to Google's development of a software stack to compete with Microsoft Corp. Wyse declined to elaborate.

Bob O'Donnell, an analyst with IDC, said such a pairing would make sense, given the trends within the technology industry.

"You put all the pieces together and using a thin-client type of device makes a lot of sense," said O'Donnell, who is attending CES.

"It's the perfect second or third PC for the home. It's not going to be your primary PC, but think of all the time you spend just surfing the Web or sending e-mail. Now you can do this with no Windows configurations, and it doesn't crash or give you the blue screen."

The company also has built up a huge server farm over the years, giving it a lot of processing power on hand.

"Yes, they need a lot of it for search, but they can use some of this for something else," O'Donnell said.

For its part, Wyse has been at the forefront of server-based computing for years, giving it an expertise in building smaller, low-cost devices.

Thin clients put the key components usually found on the PC?such as the processor, memory and hard drive?onto a centrally located back-end server, improving manageability and security. Wyse is supplying the terminals for the initiative, he said.

Skype, NETGEAR to announce wireless mobile telephone

Posted by Russell Shaw @ 1:20 pm

This afternoon, Skype and networking hardware manufacturer NETGEAR (not shouting, that's how they spell their name) are set to announce what's being billed as the world's first wireless mobile telephone, along with a NETGEAR router configured to optimize Skype.

Unlike other devices that must connect with a PC, NETGEAR?s Skype WiFi phone will work wherever a user is connected to a wireless Internet access point. Locations can be in a home, office, cafe, open public hotspot, or any open municipal wireless access point. With this device, headphones or USB phones plugged into a laptop or PC will not be required.

The NETGEAR phone will come pre-loaded with Skype?s software, already configured to use with a wireless network. When a user logs on to their Skype account, the Skype software will display the user?s full contact list as well as the connection status on the phone screen. The configuration will also be SkypeOut compatible.

No pricing and ship date info yet, but we should know more within weeks.

Pimp your XP

Above is my Windows XP desktop using the custom themes available for free from http://crystalxp.net. There you can download high quality icons and Windows XP themes to make your computer appearance a lot more interesting and pleasant. You can download the BricoPaks that does everything for you.

"The emir of Dubai, Sheik Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, one of the world's most prominent owners and breeders of thoroughbred horses, died Wednesday during a visit to Australia. He was 62.
Sheik Maktoum, who also was vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, died at the exclusive Palazzo Versace hotel on the Gold Coast, a resort in eastern Queensland state, Queensland police spokeswoman Chelsea Roffey said." (Seattle PI)

2 to the power of 30402457 minus 1 is prime!

A team at Central Missouri State University has found the largest known prime number, a nice number of 9.1 million digits.
"We're super excited," said Chemistry professor and associate Dean Steven Boone.

And who said mathematicians don't have any fun?

What is your dangerous idea?

This is the question being asked to scientists around the world and 117 of them answered and you can find them their answers here.

"The history of science is replete with discoveries that were considered socially, morally, or emotionally dangerous in their time; the Copernican and Darwinian revolutions are the most obvious. What is your dangerous idea? An idea you think about (not necessarily one you originated) that is dangerous not because it is assumed to be false, but because it might be true?"

"
..JARED DIAMOND
Biologist; Geographer, UCLA; Author, Collapse

The evidence that tribal peoples often damage their environments and make war."

Download movies for 9.99 a month.

Vongo is a new service (right now limited to US only) that allows you to download and view around 1000 or so movie titles for only 10 bucks a month.

If you have broadband, it is well recommended.

No New Caviar

"The global trade in caviar has been put on hold by the United Nations as a conservation measure to protect increasingly endangered populations of sturgeon, the fish species which produces it.

No new stocks of the world's most expensive luxury food item - selling for up to �4,000 a kilogram - can be exported until further notice from the 12 countries producing it, according to a ruling from the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
" (Independent)

This will result it four things.

1. The price of legal and illegal caviar will skyrocket.
2. Illegal trading of caviar will become more lucrative (but more limited).
3. Caviar exporting countries can expect increase in caviar tourism from people flooding (relatively) their restaurants.
4. Alternatives to caviar will be used more.

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

World Economic Forum will be blogged, podcast, broadcast and webcast

"The World Economic Forum announced ambitious plans today to share the proceedings of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2006 in Davos with as wide a public as possible. Held under the theme of The Creative Imperative, the Meeting will again be broadcast, webcast and, for the first time this year, many sessions will also be ?podcast?. Additionally, all participants will be asked to take part in the Forum?s blog. " (World Economic Forum)

Everybody in the future will have their own weblog and it will be their virtual identity. If you don't have one, you don't exist. Websystems will soon asks you to enter your weblog address instead of email address, so that it can call your weblog and identify you.

The science of Cute

"Cute cues are those that indicate extreme youth, vulnerability, harmlessness and need, scientists say, and attending to them closely makes good Darwinian sense. As a species whose youngest members are so pathetically helpless they can't lift their heads to suckle without adult supervision, human beings must be wired to respond quickly and gamely to any and all signs of infantile desire." (NYTimes)

Wall Street Journal now has a law blog.

Monday, January 02, 2006

Earth to Egypt

waiting for signals from the Egypt nomadfest.

Flag Game

Play this test to find out how many country flags you can recognize.

The science of keeping your New Year's Resolutions

Thomas C. Schelling, the winner of last year's Nobel prize in Economics, has a couple of useful tips backed by industrial strength game theory to support it.

"One is a mild precommitment: not keeping sweets or tobacco in the house, for instance. At the very least, this step forces you to delay indulgence until you can go to the store - and allows time to recover your resolve.

Another approach is to use bright-line rules, which make it harder to cheat through clever reinterpretation. That may explain why many people find it easier to eliminate whole categories of food, like carbohydrates, rather than simply to cut back on calories." (NY Times)

If you want to know more, download the 37 page lecture of his titled "Ethics, Law and the Exercise of Self-Command". May the Force be with you.

100 thing we didn't know last year

"6. WD-40 dissolves cocaine - it has been used by a pub landlord to prevent drug-taking in his pub's toilets.

7. Baboons can tell the difference between English and French. Zoo keepers at Port Lympne wild animal park in Kent are having to learn French to communicate with the baboons which had been transferred from Paris zoo.

...93. Koalas have fingerprints exactly like humans (although obviously smaller)." (BBC)

Sunday, January 01, 2006

Happy New Year 2006

Don't miss the 360 degrees panorama shots from around the world (London, Zurich, New York, etc).

(Singapore 2006)

(Sydney Harbour 2006)

(New Zealand 2006 - Thanks Nikita)

sabim posted a photo:

The Berne Cathedral (shot with analogue Canon AE-1)

Put your picture here

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:29:50 GMT