nomadlife - an international nomads community

The Mexican California...

From LA Almanac: "Immigration has long been a hot issue in California, even as far back as the latter part of its Mexican period (1822 to 1846). Pio Pico, last governor of Mexican California during the 1840s, lamented, 'We find ourselves suddenly threatened by hordes of Yankee immigrants...whose progress we cannot arrest.'"

And now, the NAFTA Presidents are discussing Immigration issues in Chichen-Itza... how history turns around...

The Border Barrier

Semi-abandoned Chinese fishing vessels.

Check out this post from greenpeace about Chinese fishing vessels

Four young Chinese crewman meet us with smiles and welcomes. They tell us that some of them have been on board for 2 years, non-stop. The trawler itself has been out here for eight years, and would probably be kept going for another six or so, or as long it lasted.
Here's the thing - these ships seldom, or ever, visit a port. They're re-supplied, refuelled, re-crewed and transhipped (unloaded) at sea. The owners and crews don't seem to do any basic maintenance, apart from keeping the engine and winches running. There's no glass in the portholes, and the masts are a mess of useless wiring. These floating deathtraps don't carry any proper safety gear - on one boat, I saw the half-barrel case of an inflatable liferaft being used to store a net...
We move to the second ship, where again, a bunch of friendly young guys have been sitting at anchor for two months, waiting technical help and a new crew. Their engine doesn't work, and they no safety gear or radio. They can, however, run their watermaker, for desalinating seawater. Lines of drying fish hang over the deck, but they're running out of other food, and are often forced to signal other fishing boats for help. Like everyone else, their future is uncertain.

*emphasis added. Link picked up from BoingBoing

While the idea of ghost ships intrigues me in a "little boy exploring everything" kind of way... living on one for years at a time gives me the heebie jeebies. The economics of the situation are interesting in that it's "cheaper" to let these ships and crews rot at sea whlie doing illegal fishing. I offer no commentary on the Greenpeace agenda.

Secrets

Many of you probably know this already, but those who don't, go take a look.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/

And if you speak Spanish, take a look at this one

www.tusecreto.com.ar

If you are looking for a job...

"THE Queen is advertising for butlers and housekeepers from a seaside town."

"Ironing the newspapers may be no longer necessary but other butler duties would include serving wine and food, valeting and acting as a messenger."

Article

Troubles finding a job? How does the future look like?

The labour market looks everyday more and more difficult and more competitive. Some years ago back home (Mexico), pensions stopped existing and we got a new system in which you basically save a % of your monthly salary all your working life, and this money will be given to you when you are retired.

Since I lived in Europe I became a witness of an aging population, the EU enlargement, a global labour market, more weekly working hours and an always older retirement age. Many students are worried here in Germany for the future, finding a job is hard and me... I am affraid once I finish my university, AIESEC etc. I will start working in a company untill the very day of my dead.

People say if the social system doesn't reform it will colapse, and the changes are in plan, some of them we can see. Now we pay tuition fees to most universities in Germany, and in countries like France... you see it below...

How does it look in your country? How do students in your country feel about the future? Hope to hear from you!

Q&A: French labour law row

French students clash with police at a protest in Rennes

Demonstrations have been taking place across the country

French students have been demonstrating, sometimes violently, against a bew labour law for the under-26s which will make it easier for businesses to hire and fire young people.

Q. What does the controversial law say?

The law creating the First Employment Contract (Contrat Premiere Embauche or CPE) was passed by parliament as part of a broader bill on equal opportunities which will come into effect in April.

The CPE is a new work contract for under-26s with a two-year trial period. In that period, employers can terminate the contract without having to offer an explanation or give prior warning. For other employees, the trial period is usually 1-3 months.

After the two-year trial period, the contract reverts to a standard full-time contract.

Q. Why was it introduced?
Q. What are the arguments for and against?
Q. Are these street protests connected to last year's riots?
Q. What is at stake for Prime Minister de Villepin?

BBC News

One of India?s most ambitious poverty eradication programmes

The National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme ? is finally launched across the country.

Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh launched the country?s landmark National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme (NREGP) in the remote village of Bandlapalli in Andhra Pradesh?s Anantpur district, one of the country?s most backward districts, on February 2, 2006. NREGS job cards were handed out to five villagers, signifying the inauguration of the scheme whose goal is eradicating rural poverty and migration by enhancing the livelihood security of India?s rural poor.

The scheme, one of the country?s most ambitious anti-poverty programmes ever, envisages a legal guarantee of a minimum of 100 days? work in a year to one person in each of the India?s 60 million rurals household. It also aims to create durable assets and strengthen the livelihood base of the rural poor. More

Be a Beta Tester for the Next Evolution in Blogging

What willl the future of blogging look like? Here's a clue:

1. Your blog will be able to recognize who's looking at it and show only relevant posts. No more worries about your mom reading about your late night drinking sessions.

2. Your blog notifies friends and groups of interesting posts relevant to them. In New York for the weekend? Put up a message on your Blog and only your friends in New York get notified by mobile phone or email.

3. You can use your blog to send and receive email and text messages. Email itself becomes obsolete as a personal communications tool - communication with friends through blogs is so much easier.

4. Blog networks like Nomadlife can be created on the fly by people linking their blogs and posts together.

MindValley, a company founded and staffed by AIESEC alumni (5 of whom are on Nomadlife) is building the next evolution of blogging right now and it's called BlinkLife. We're seeking active bloggers as beta-testers who can help us improve and test a closed version of this cool new product. Since most of us are active on Nomadlife we'd like to invite other nomadlifers to be part of this test group. BlinkLife does not compete with Blogger or Nomadlife - it's an extension of it.

Interested? Send your resume and nomadlife blog URL to Vishen (vishen (at) mindvalley.com) and we'll get back in touch with you. Be a part of the next evolution of blogging.

Google Blog hacked, kinda

This is hilarious, but some dude caught the google blog site while it was deleted or something (leaving googleblog.blogspot.com available for registration) and made his own site. It shot to the top of Digg in 9 minutes. Five minutes after I discovered the weird version (from my bloglines account), it was already down. Surprisingly, nothing is on Reddit.

All you tech weenies can probably find more info on your favorite tech weenie website. I find this amusing. I have the html file of the hacked version saved, but I don't know the proper means to upload it for eyes to see.

"Then comes the Rahman case and it is not a solitary crazy prosecutor who brings the charge of apostasy but an entire society. It is not a single judge who would condemn the man but a culture. The Taliban are gone at gunpoint, their atrocities supposedly a thing of the past. In our boundless optimism, we consign them to the "too hard" file of horrors we cannot figure out: the Khmer Rouge, the Nazis, the communists of the Stalin period. Now, though, this awful thing returns and it is not just a single country that would kill a man for his beliefs but a huge swath of the world that would not protest. There can be only one conclusion: They were in agreement." (WashPost Columnist)

What are immigrants good for?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4850652.stm

This issue is touchy enough as it is, I dont agree with the Bill, I think all illegal citizens should be able to gain legal status (those who are in the state now), but do so with the right measures.

But an even more debatable issue is the Bush's administrations rhetoric in describing Immigrant workers...

..."He argued that a guest-worker programme would provide a legal way of matching immigrant workers with employers, giving them jobs that Americans did not want."...

whats with the hierarchy?

austin reception weekend

Austin is playing host to a reception weekend

Thursday, April 20th - Sunday, April 23rd

Austin weekend 2005 writeups

Some confirmed guests thus far include the luscious Ali G and Jenna of Madison, WI. And Adam.

Send confirmations to "austinreception [at] yahoo [dot] com" and comment here to let the world know you are coming.

?

was randomly curious. dody maybe you can help, how many nomadlife bloggers do we have now? can we take over the world yet?
also, which countries do we not represent as yet? lets get a survey going or something.

Fly and Pray

"In announcing the ban on virtually all aircraft overseen by civil aviation authorities in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland and Congo from landing at European airports, EU Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot labeled many of the planes ?flying coffins.?" (MSNBC)

"IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad, ranked 4th richest man in the world, drives a 15-year-old car and always flies economy class, in part to inspire his 90,000 employees worldwide to see the virtue of frugality" (msnbc)

US activists rally for immigrants

The protest is one of the largest in the city for many years

About half a million activists have rallied in Los Angeles in the US state of California to protest against plans to criminalise undocumented workers.

Organiser Javier Rodriguez said demonstrators wanted an immigration system that was humane and not racist.

The House of Representatives has passed a bill that would make it a felony for immigrants to be in the US illegally.

The Senate is set to discuss the bill on Tuesday. President George Bush has proposed a guest-worker plan.

BBC News

Budget day

Once a year the UK Chancellor creates the budget for the following year (no-one gets to 'accept' or 'reject' it as in the US). I invite everyone not to read it since its full of cr*p as usual, but instead for a good understanding of where the UK's economic future lies to read this alternative speech from the Adam Smith Institute (a free market think-tank):

I am happy to be able to tell the House that our pension funds, which in 1997 were larger than those of all of our EU partners added together, are now in crisis. I have done this by taking 5m - 7.2m each year from the pockets of future pensioners, by making equities unattractive through my taxation an regulation, and by making funds sell equities for more stable but lower yielding assets ? my bonds.

This has forced companies to top up pension funds, diverting resources away from investment, which I am pleased to tell you stands at 9.4 percent of GDP, its lowest since World War II. This is only one reason why productivity is falling; I have achieved most of that fall, however, by my record expansion of public sector employment and public sector expenditure. I can assure the House that there will be little chance of us competing effectively against China and India in the future.

Rather than sustain our economy on the false pillars of enterprise and output, I have chosen to support it by debt. Consumer debt has encouragingly risen to �1.2 trillion, and government debt has exceeded all my expectations. Indeed, government spending has risen steadily as a share of the economy, and I am confident will exceed 45 percent next year.

It is gratifying to be able to report that taxation has risen to such an extent that the average citizen now works until June 3rd for the government, showing what I am sure my fellow members will agree is a touching patriotism and faith in government. This year will we pay a higher proportion of taxation than the Germans will ? a feat not many thought possible.

Our trade deficit stands at a record �65bn. Again, given our economy in 1997, no-one thought we could do that. One reason is our skilful use of regulation to curb competitiveness. I am proud to announce today that the UK has an unparalleled level of regulation, whose impact is acknowledged by every business in the land.

The mockers derided our efforts, but where do UK citizens stand today? There are record bankruptcies and repossessions, more school truancies, and more closures of science and research facilities than ever before. I assure the House that the UK faces not an unknown future, but an entirely predictable one, thanks to the work of this government. I lay my budget before you with the assurance that there will be more of the same." An even more hilarious account can be found here.

I'm in China, where things are quite different!

hilarious

call center movie

Nomad by sea...

Everyone should check out Bumfuzzle: Its a blog written by a pair of northern US people traveling by sailboat around the world.

Especially check out the last post (towards the bottom) which is of their time in the Yemeni port city of Aden. Sounds awesome!

More on Nomadfest Irish Style

It's a few days still the madness ceased and I'm still recovering. At least I have my voice back and I wasn't alone with my inability to function in my office on Monday morning. This was easily the best Paddy's weekend I've ever had, 3 day total bender. How not to get hungover? Don't stop drinking for more than 4 hours at any time and you're on to a winner, and surround yourself with a very cool international eclectic bunch of drunk people. Paddys day was a haze of Irish dancing in the streets, shamrock face painting, roudy Brazilians in Orange hats, pub crawling and taking over a chunk of Break for the Border for the night. The posse kept on growin as Irish AIESEC alumni showed up in 2's and 3's with tag along friends (yeah John Boy, you know I mean you!) to join the 40 who'd flown in.

Ceili Mor

Raaaaaaaar!!

Dani, Iva and Dan

Simon & Eric

Michiganders are definitely crazy and it class craic having them in my house all weekend along with my Slovene and Macedonian friends and Candanian Randy who is about to become a nomad. I think the amount of Slivovica he was plied with over the weekend serves as a good induction ritual. Classic Irish fry up was had on Saturday morning, lined the Stomach for the 18 hour solid stint we started from noon pre rugby to 8am on Sunday morning. The rugby made th weekend perfect. Ireland beat England to win the Triple Crown with a classic try in the last two minutes, this game is going to be remembered for a very long time!

Me and Simon led the non sightseeing orientened posse to the watch the rugby all afternoon in the Down Under bar. France beat Wales and took the 6 Nations, but for us it was all about beating England and getting that Triple Crown, there was yelling, jumpin, singing and pints flowing ... all over the shop ... getting drenched in beer was totally worth it! The streets were nearly crazier after the rugby that on Paddys day. Onwards to another solid night out in the Turks Head, AIESEC Irelands haunt with birthdays, dancing and temple bar pub hopping.

Mighigan Nomads - Colleen, Arnaub & Vishen

Maria

Russell & Mazzy

Saki

Karola & Vishen

Call me!

Great chats, great people ... It was good, all so so good ... bring on the next nomadfest!!!

** A combo of my photos and a few of Arnaubs Photos can be seen here and Dominique's Photos are here

Inspirational Fat Man Walk Across America

I read this inspirational story this morning. No I'm not fat but I think its pretty cool how this guy is doing something just because he wanted to do it.

It began as an unheralded coast-to-coast walk designed to help morbidly obese Steve Vaught lose weight.
But some 2,300 miles (3,700km) into his journey, the former US marine now has a book deal and a 700,000-hits-a-month website, and has been interviewed by Oprah.

I liked this part of the article the most:

His new-found profile has seen him inundated with commercial offers - including a reported $5m to advertise a weight-loss pill, and offers to endorse shampoo, vitamins and smoking patches.
But he says he is unwilling to compromise his integrity by endorsing products he doesn't use.
"I'm not trying to be a hero or an icon to anyone," he says. "I am just an ordinary guy, trying to take control of my life and figure out where it went awry."

BBC News Article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4818036.stm
Fat Man Walking Website: http://www.thefatmanwalking.com

ETA ceasefire

In a message sent to the Basque newspaper GARA and published in full on the paper's website (see full text of the ETA ceasefire announcement), the Basque terrorist group claims that its leaders have taken this step "to give impulse to a democratic process in Euskal Herria (the Basque Country) to build a new framework within which the rights corresponding to the Basque people are recognised and to ensure a capacity to develop all political options in the future " (the political wing of the Basque terrorist group is currently banned from participating in the political system). "At the end of this process, Basque citizens must have the final word and the right to decide their future".

Full article
Video of ETA announcing ceasefire

randy...

This farmer has about 200 hens, but no rooster, and he wants chicks. So he goes down the road to the next farmer and asks if he has a rooster for sale.

The other farmer says, "yeah, I've got this great rooster, named Randy: He'll service every chicken you've got, no problem."

Well, Randy the Rooster costs a lot of money, but the farmer decides he'd be worth it. So, he buys Randy. The farmer takes Randy home and sets him down in the barn yard, giving the rooster a pep talk.

"Randy, I want you to pace yourself now. You've got a lot of chickens to service here, and you cost me a lot of money and, I'll need you to do a good job. So, take your time and have some fun," the farmer says with a chuckle.

Randy seems to understand; so the farmer points toward the henhouse and Randy takes off like a shot. Wham--- He nails every hen in there three or four times and the farmer is just shocked. Randy runs out of the hen house and sees a flock of geese down by the lake. Wham---He gets all the geese. Randy's up in the barn with the pigeons; he's in with the ducks. Randy is jumping on every fowl the farmer owns. The farmer is distraught, worried that his expensive rooster won't even last the day.
Sure enough, the farmer goes to bed and upon awakening the next day finds Randy dead as a doorknob, still as a rock, in the middle of the yard. Buzzards are circling overhead.
The farmer, saddened by the loss of such a colorful animal, shakes his head and says, "Oh Randy, I told you to pace yourself. I tried to get you to slow down, now look what you've done to yourself."

Randy opens one eye, nods toward the sky and says, "Shhh, they're getting closer."

This land Is Your Land, This Land Is My Land...

Bush Administration wants to sell off 300,000 acres of US National Forest

and you thought he was only out to get YOUR country!:)

March 22: World Water Day 2006

Today is World Water Day 2006.

"The facts are mind boggling. More than 1 billion people world wide ? 20% of the planet?s entire human population ? lack access to clean, safe drinking water. According to the United Nations, this world water crisis leads to the death of more than 4,500 children every day and is a leading cause of poverty, disease, and social instability world wide"

(Source:

World Water Day 2006 Homepage)

Some more stories from Dublin...

Now that a few days have passed and everyone has gone home, it is time to reveal the mystery that is St. Patrick's Day in Dublin. Some people think that parades only feature marching bands and large floats, but the St. Patrick's Day Parade featured much more than that...

Contrary to popular belief, March 17 is not all parades and drinking...

...There were many noteworthy and dare say eccentric events including the art exhibit, "Donkeys at the Docklands" featuring 50 life-sized portraits of donkeys.

...The Magical Mystery Tour began with what some might call an ecclectic assortment of items: a bottle of champagne, a flipchart maker, white satin ribbon, a plush lion toy, a bottle of vanilla vodka, and a potato. But why you ask? Oh such mysteries do not always have a clear answer, but I will say that along the way the secrets of the items revealed themselves. As I write this the lion is in Spain, no doubt enhanced by the dreadlocks a jamaican man we met on the street put into its mane, and the potato now bears Mazzy's email address and is reportedly floating around West Dublin.

...There were also an unusually high number of brazilians in bright orange hats...

...And after all the pints, potatoes, and irish breakfasts were had...

...it was truly a fantastic weekend. Thank you all for coming, you are welcome in the MC flat anytime. We hope to see everyone next St. Patrick's Day!

SHOCKED...

2 days ago i was going shopping for a mothers day gift for my mother-in-law (future) & grandmother-in-law (future) and after running from shop to shop i went back to the 1st shop i went into (in a VERY RITZY AREA OF CAIRO!!) and it was then that i saw a sign on the glass window. This sign (sadly i took the photo by phone camera so i cant upload it) read:

Citizens of Denmark
Are not welcomed
in this shop.

yes i was offended by the cartoons of the Prophet (PBUH) but that doesnt mean that it has anything to do with the people from Denmark!!! it's something that is done by a few people. why are people generalizing???
and we say look at how the world hates us after September 11th? it was just a few people who did it... a taste of our own medecine perhaps???? but even so i dont think that anywhere in the world it was WRITTEN we dont allow Muslims/Arabs to shop here...

I can't even begin to describe how shocked i am to see this...

any thoughts anyone????

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

YOU KNOW YOU ARE LIVING IN 2006 when...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

2. You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

3. You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of 3.

4. You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

5. Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that
They don't have e-mail addresses.

6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if
Anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

7. Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the
screen.

8. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the
first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic and
you turn around to go and get it.

10. You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

11. You start tilting your head sideways to smile. : )

12. Y ou're reading this and nodding and laughing.

13. Even worse, you know exactly to whom you are going to forward this
message.

14. You are too busy to notice there was no #9 on this list.

15. You actually scrolled back up to check that there wasn't a #9 on this
list.

AND NOW U R LAUGHING at yourself.

Go on, forward this to your friends ...you know you want to!

75 bands

Monday morning: Exercise your music muscle

I'll start with five:
Smashing Pumpkins
50 cent
Matchbox Twenty
Led Zepplin
Guns and Roses

Dreaming of taking the top job?

Many of us dream of taking top leadership positions in international or global organizations someday. This interview offers some great insights. Do you see yourself being the CEO or rather a Global VP? Who is your favorite CEO?

A CEO?s Responsibilities in the Age of Globalization

General Electric is widely considered one of the world's most successful companies. It operates in sectors ranging from financial services and jet engines to light bulbs and medical imaging devices. GE's Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt discusses how he steers the company ahead of the global competition.

"I'm selling every day. I get up and sell turbines, jet engines, MR scanners from the time I wake up to the time I go to bed. That's what CEOs do."

"We really try to help our employees through this generation of increasing competitive pressures. The best compliment to me is if I can look GE employees in the eye and they're unafraid about the future."

"Look, I'm an American CEO. Yes, I run a global company, and I love globalization, but I am what I am. I care about the home team."

This is a Globalist interview. Read it complete here.

The Trusty Daypack...

I have had this backpack for over 5 years now: Its taken me to 4 different continents and on several short stints across various parts of the US. Its been there when there was no one else and its held its own against all the punishment I could throw its way.

But alas, its wear and tear and age is showing: The zippers don't work as well as they should, there are tears in the bottom and sides that sometimes leak when wet, and although I like the fact that its compact, I could use another liter or two of space for when the big back pack is too big and the daypack is a tad too small.

Right now I'm looking at other Deuter packs: I thought this one was great and had a really unique set of features that I couldn't find from other makers.

I'm looking at the AC lite, the Race EXP Air, and the Speed Lite 15: Anyone have any suggestions on good daypacks? How about any good online venders in the US?

Serbs show divided feelings as Milosevic is buried

POZAREVAC, Serbia and Montenegro (Reuters) - Slobodan Milosevic was buried beside his provincial family home on Saturday after thousands of diehard loyalists rallied to hail the man who presided over years of bloodshed and was ousted by his own people.

The pro-Western politicians who now run Serbia refused him a state funeral, but Socialists and ultranationalists did their utmost to show their hero could still draw big crowds. More

CHRONOLOGY - Bird flu developments

(Reuters) - Israel detected its first cases of H5N1 bird flu on Friday, saying it had found the virus in thousands of turkeys and chickens found dead on two farms.

Bird flu re-emerged in December 2003 when South Korea confirmed a highly contagious strain of the virus at a chicken farm near Seoul.

Here is a chronology of bird flu developments in 2006.
Jan 18 - International donors pledge $1.9 billion to combat the spread of bird flu at the end of a conference in Beijing.

Jan 29 - H5N1 is confirmed in poultry in northern Cyprus.

Feb 8 - The first African cases of the deadly H5N1 strain are detected in poultry in the northern Nigerian states of Kano, Kaduna and Plateau.

Feb 11/12 - Italy says six wild swans found in Sicily and on the southern mainland have tested positive for H5N1. In Greece, three swans found south of Thessaloniki test positive for H5N1. These are the first known cases of the deadly strain in the EU.

Feb 14 - Iran and Austria report cases of H5N1.

Feb 15 - Germany confirms two dead swans found on the Baltic island of Ruegen were infected with H5N1. More than 100 wild birds have since tested positive for H5N1.

Feb 16 - Slovenia confirms first H5N1 case in a wild swan.

Feb 17 - Egypt finds its first cases of H5N1 in chickens.

Feb 18 - India announces its first cases of H5N1, finding the virus in poultry in a western state.

Feb 21 - Laboratory tests confirm H5N1 in three dead swans found near the villages of Nagybaracska and Csatalja in Hungary.

Feb 22 - The EU approves plans by France and the Netherlands to vaccinate millions of hens, ducks and geese against bird flu.

Feb 24 - Cambodia says H5N1 has returned. It has been found in dead ducks near the border with Vietnam.

Feb 25 - France confirms H5N1 at a farm in the east where thousands of turkeys have died. It is the first case of the virus in domestic farm birds in the EU.

Feb 27 - Domestic ducks from Niger test positive for H5N1.
-- Georgia finds H5N1 in wild swans on its Black Sea coast.

March 1 - Switzerland confirms its first case of H5N1 in a bird found in Geneva.

March 2 - Serbia says it has detected its first case of bird flu in a dead swan.
-- A cat found dead in northern Germany is found to have had the highly pathogenic Asian strain that can be trasmitted to humans.

March 6 - Poland confirms two dead swans had H5N1.

March 7 - Nigeria says it has found cases of highly pathogenic bird flu in three new states.
-- Albania becomes the latest European country to report H5N1, detected in a chicken in the southern Sarande coastal region, close to the border with Greece.

March 9 - Serbia confirms its first case of H5N1 in a swan found in the northern Sombor region.
-- German authorities say they have identified a marten, a weasel-like creature, infected with H5N1, the second species of mammal to be found with the virus in the country.

March 12 - Cameroon becomes fourth African state to report an outbreak of H5N1. Nigeria, Niger and Egypt have already reported cases.

March 13 - WHO confirms another human death in Indonesia. The global toll stands at 98, with four victims in Turkey, 22 in Indonesia, four in Cambodia, 10 in China, 14 in Thailand, 42 in Vietnam and two in Iraq.

March 16 - Afghanistan, Myanmar and Denmark confirm their first cases of H5N1 in birds.

March 17 - Israel says it has found cases of H5N1 bird flu in thousands of turkeys and chickens found dead on two farms.

Egyptian woman dies of bird flu, Israel culls fowl

A 30-year-old Egyptian woman has died of bird flu, becoming the country's first human victim of the virus, the Health Ministry said on Saturday.

It said the woman from Qaloubiyah province, about 40 km (25 miles) north of Cairo, where the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain has been detected in poultry, was taken ill on Wednesday. Full article

So, Dody, you better be carefull... and you other Nomads in that area...

Dublin Nomadlife

Got home to find a note taped to my door from Colleen that she was with the Gardai Siochana, we thought we'd lost her to a Brazilian but this was far more entertaining.... quality! RESPECT COLLEEN!! So the police have dropped her back to us a wee bit soberer than earlier... but the Jameson's out so that won't last!

Has been a good start to the Paddysfest weekend ...

Absinthe kickin it off

Irish dancing at the Ceili Mor

Eoin & Simon go all Irish

Amelia & Hetal

Eoin & Russell

Iva, Karola & Dani

This just in

Karola: "um, do you have a random American girl in your station?"
Police station in Dundrum, Ireland: "um, Colleen McNulty?"
Karola: "yeah, that would be her. Can you tell her that we are at home now and that you can drop her off? Cheers."
Police: "Okay we'll have her to you soon"

Colleen's first time outside of North America and she ends up in an Irish police station. Solid night.

- Karola and Arnaub, 4:10 am

EuroXpro 2006 in Prague has started...

Today in the afternoon Prague witnessed yet another Global village that took place in the city center due to the upcoming EuroXpro2006 conference. The atmosphere was really great and we had a lot of fun... but you can all imagine...

... country presentations...

... aiesec dances...

... roll-calls...

(just czech the passionate and devoted performance!! They were huge success!)

Team USA is out from the World Baseball Classic after beaten by Mexico. Japan advances.

"Clemens pitched well Thursday night, but a lineup loaded with All-Stars couldn?t get the job done for the United States.

Oliver Perez and seven relievers combined to pitch a three-hitter to lead Mexico past the Rocket and Team USA 2-1 on Thursday night, eliminating the Americans from the inaugural World Baseball Classic and putting Japan in the semifinals.
"
(MSNBC)

The US brings glamour to basketball and baseball and has everybody else beat them on these games.

Take your nomadlife stories to the world.

Wikitravel is a project to create a free, complete, up-to-date and reliable world-wide travel guide. So far we have 7,761 destination guides and other articles written and edited by Wikitravellers from around the globe.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Main_Page

Be wary of course that the poster could infact be the owner of the recommended hotel or attraction.

T.G.I.F.

Thank Goodness It's Friday!

Happy St. Pats day, and happy spring break to the lucky few like me.

Toss out the links that make you smile or laugh.

Here's a video of some infectious laughter to get you started.

Badass Natalie Portman

Who would have thought :-)

http://danwho.net/mp/index.php?id=snl_natalieportman

Countin Down!

All's geared up for Patricks Weekend Nomadfest in Dublin. Shamrock streamers run across my kitchen and the MC's living room. The aptly green Absinthe awaits the morning rounds of starter shots. Jure, Iva, Dan and Declan are already here and the morning invasion of 36 more people is imminent!

The rough weekend plan is falling into place centreing around a 3 day pub crawl interspersed with dancing in the streets at the Ceili Mor, "cultural stuff" ie Guinness' or Jameson's, some good ol rugby rivalry, funfairs and parades, and plenty of revelry and shananigans Irish style!!

We'll try to keep you posted through the haze...

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY NOMADS!!!

Gates scorns $100 laptop

Gates said: "If you are going to go have people share the computer, get a broadband connection and have somebody there who can help support the user, geez, get a decent computer where you can actually read the text and you're not sitting there cranking the thing while you're trying to type."

Gates refers to the One Laptop per Child (OLPC) project of the faculty members of the MIT Media Lab.

There is a saying in Spanish: "Habla poco de lo que sabes mucho, y nada de lo que sabes poco" which means, "Speak little of what you know much, and nothing of what you know little".

It is disappointing to hear the "Person of the year" say this in the presentation of the new "ultramobile computer" ($599-$999).

Of course, the fact that Google supports the OLPC project has absolutely nothing to do with all this.

Best New US TV Show

"The Loop" about a young guy that gets hired to be an executive of an airline in Chicago because they liked his college thesis statement. This show is great! Check it out please!

This week it was 8:30pm Mountain Time on Fox after American Idol.

I am pretty sure all of the actors/actresses are unknowns.

No Smoking on the Street!

Calif City imposes 2nd hand smoking law

progressive? draconian?

Words from The Dom

Hello Everyone!

So now that we are less than 2 (!) days away from the absolute best, most amazing, and exciting holiday of the year, we wanted all of you to know just how wonderful it is to experience St. Patrick?s Day in the emerald isle.

Why you should be so excited?.

1) Walking in to the office this morning I spotted no less than 20 groups of bewildered tourists sporting bright green leprechaun hats with shamrocks plastered all over their faces, arms, and other not-so-mentionable places?.the festive spirit is already enveloping the city!

2) The festivities have already started, with the big kick-off to St. Patrick?s day happening tonight at the GE Money Oiche

3) The parade route stops at the MC flat, what can be more exciting than that? We have first rate viewing http://www.stpatricksday.ie/cms/events_parade_map.html

4) How many other times in your life will you have the chance to wear an enormous, bright green hat and party it up in Dublin with people from Brazil, the US, Canada, Mexico, Portugal, India, Poland, Ireland, UK, Australia, Hong Kong, Lithuania, Slovenia, Macedonia and France?

Are you wondering if our beer here is really green on St. Patrick?s Day? Are you giddy at the thought of thousands of people irish dancing in the streets? Have you prepared yourself for 3 days of drinking, dancing, ?craic?, and general revelry?....

Now for some interesting facts about Ireland and St. Patrick's Day....

..... 1,883,200,000 (that's 1.9 billion) pints of Guinness are consumed around the world every year.

....St. Patrick was actually born in Britain, not Ireland

.....Many myths surround St. Patrick. One of the best known?and most inaccurate?is that Patrick drove all the snakes from Ireland into the Irish Sea, where the serpents drowned. (Some still say that is why the sea is so rough.)

....While it is customary to wear lots of green on St.Patrick's day in the United States, people do not customarily wear green in Ireland on the holiday (Dom, I dispute that! ... K)

.....Dublin's St. Patrick's Day parade is little more than 75 years old. This year festival organizers will launch 15,000 pounds (7 metric tons) of fireworks to cap their celebration, which is expected to draw 400,000 spectators

....Irish brigands kidnapped St. Patrick at 16 and brought him to Ireland. He was sold as a slave in the county of Antrim and served in bondage for six years until he escaped to Gaul, in present-day France. He later returned to his parents' home in Britain, where he had a vision that he would preach to the Irish. After 14 years of study, Patrick returned to Ireland, where he built churches and spread the Christian faith for some 30 years.

If you happen to be sitting at your desk during the next day or so and are pondering how to pass the time until you board the plane to Dublin, why not try playing the catch the leprechaun game:

http://www.billybear4kids.com/holidays/stpatty/catchme/mlink.htm

See you in a few days!

Dominique Frega
MCP AIESEC Ireland

DPW to sell off all its US ports

Dubai Ports World (DPW) has confirmed it intends to sell all its US port operations to an American buyer within four to six months.

The United Arab Emirates-based firm is being forced into the sale due to strong opposition from US politicians over security firms.

DPW took over operations at six major US ports including New York when it bought UK firm P&O earlier this month.

US politicians are opposed to the key ports being in Middle Eastern hands.

BBC has had some good coverage of the debacle: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4810242.stm

I'm disappointed in my adopted country.

2006 Nomadlife Awards - Cancelled

Due to poor response from the members, the 2006 Nomadlife Awards have been cancelled.

What Time Is It?

Human Clock

Who's got this much time? Honestly:)?

google and user data privacy

is an internet search a private act? before thinking about the obvious answer, consider that when this is discussed in courtrooms the context changes.

BBC online: A US judge says he is inclined to order internet giant Google to turn over some data sought by the US government.

Read more here

Introducing Kamil.

This is Kamil, AIESEC International VP Information Systems

Kamil doesnt use computers. Kamil connects on a deeper level with their underlying form and function.

For Kamil to use only one computer would be like giving a full grown man a jar of baby food for dinner....

got a yahoo account?

yahoo seem to now allow users to get a second yahoo account name: something.something@yahoo.com, in addition to whatever you already have. You can use it from the same inbox and just choose which one to send messages from.

this is the first time they have allowed . in the names so if you are quick you can get a good name :) see http://edit.yahoo.com/config/list_alias?.src=ym

Bloody Hell!

The latest advertising campaign being aired by Tourism Australia has run into trouble from Britain's censor board. All the ads typically follow this pattern:

"We've shampooed the camels, laid on a nice sunset & the beer is waiting at the other end...so where the bloody hell are you?!"

Personally I think its one great piece of creative work and Tourism Australia is right now trying to ensure British censors allow the ad to be aired in the UK.
You can view the entire ad here

"I do" vs. "They do"

A friend's sister recently wrote an interesting article about her personal experience with arranged marriage...

1001 inventions

"A unique UK based educational project that reveals the rich heritage that the Muslim community share with other communities in the UK and Europe.
"
1001inventions.com

"Did you know that cheese was first made in the Middle East? The earliest type was a form of sour milk which was created when it was discovered that domesticated animals could be milked. One legend has it that cheese... "

My stroy is about My father and my mother

(a)My father! my father is a farmer, He usually plant cocoa in the bush and he plant in August and harvest in December. We usually go to achen at september and broke it at about two to three days we we dry it for about six to seven days because it is many bags, We are not many to dry it quickly. When we are finish drying We carry it to the market and sell it, and my father will use the money to pay our school feels, and also my father will become the richest farmer in the quater. and he will eat what he Like and drink tea every morning and my father will look health and healthful.

(b)My Mother! my mother is a trader. She usually sells crayfish in the house and in the market. She sells 3 for 200frs and 4 for 500frs. and many people usually come and buy in teh house and when they buy my mother will put them one for cado. and then they hear that my mother give cado they will come and buy.
My mother usaully carry it to various markets and sell in the place. take to Alou market, saturday market and Lewoh maket and etc. market. when She is not in the house I will sell it and went she's come back I will give her the money that I have sell for after school. For selling crayfish my mother become rich. And buy food [:] the chicken [Maggi], onion, salt, peper, and all dressing for us.

Where my mother and my father come from. my mother come from Dchang and my father come from Bameda. my grandmother of my mother is death and also my father mother is death. my grandmother was they before my mother get marriage my [mom] is a second wife and my father has two wifes my mother is a christrian and she attend cathic church my mother's name is Veronica Agedia and my fathers names is Fonkengim paul. my families is a pologamy families.

And this is the end of my stroy

Wo bist du, mein Sonnenlicht?

http://www.freakydog.de/blog/artikel/wo-bist-du-mein-sonnenlicht/

LOL

Stressed?

Find 15 ways to tell your boss how you feel.

http://www.doodie.com/whackboss.swf

Fifa agree to lift World Cup photo ban

Sepp Blatter: "I am satisfied that we have been able to amend the earlier position taken and thus recognise WAN's justified requirements."

alert: nomad stuck at computer: staring out the window

it's 2pm in london today. i have things (aka work tasks) to do.
but i'm staring out the window and searching the net for interesting distractions.

so, nomads, what's interesting out there in the world wide web to read/do/learn about.*

*i've already read the bbc, silly celeb gossip pages, and a huge chunk of wiki. and checked out flight/train/boat prices for places i'd rather be. i also don't have sound on this computer.

Martian mapquest

What the heck... I can find my way around the next planet, but still can't find driving directions from Graz to Szeged yet...

finally, someone cares about Cameroon

Bird flu spreads to Cameroon, possibly Myanmar
By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE, Cameroon (Reuters) - Cameroon became the fourth African country to report an outbreak of H5N1 bird flu on Sunday, and authorities in Myanmar tested scores of dead birds for the virus.

"The first case of bird flu has been detected in the Far North province," Cameroon's government said in a statement after the virus was found on a duck farm.

Nigeria, Egypt and Niger have already reported cases of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian flu strain in poultry flocks. Cameroon's Far North province borders Nigeria, where Africa's first H5N1 bird flu outbreak was confirmed on February 8.

So far there has been no human bird flu case in Africa, but health officials are concerned that its spread in birds across the continent, where millions live in close contact with poultry, will increase the possibility the virus will mutate to become transmissible between humans.

"Cricket is basically baseball on valium..."

~ Robin Williams

Herschelle Gibbs - The Man of the Match

Although I realise that to the vast majority of nomadlife denizens, cricket is probably some kind of an insect... nevertheless having just witnessed the greatest game EVER in the anals of one day international cricket, the adrenalin is really pumping... and am not even from either of the contesting nations!!!

Can't even begin to imagine how it would be to be a South African or an Australian supporter... the agony and the extasy! Was a roller coaster right till the end... Hats off to both the teams, and to the truly lucky spectators at the stadium who got to witness such brilliance up front...

Hooked on that Hass

Hooked on a Feeling, via the hoff.

Oh yea, and there was an oil spill in Alaska.

Milosevic found dead in his cell, while Chile inagurates a first female president

Former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic is found dead in his cell in The Hague, where he had been on trial on war crimes charges. His lawyer wants an autopsy elsewhere as Mr Milosevic feared he was being poisoned.
BBC News

Former torture victim Michelle Bachelet has been sworn in as Chile's first female president. Ms Bachelet, 54, who claimed a convincing poll win in January, smiled broadly and waved after taking her oath in the coastal city of Valparaiso.

BBC News

Paddys Weekend in Dublin

Whoever has access to the template of nomadlife, can you please change the link at the top of the nomadlife page to this post about Paddys Weekend in Dublin:

http://nomadlife.org/2006/03/st.aspx#comments

We're all outta space and past the point of squeezing people in, so please please if you want to come, can you find somewhere to stay BEFORE booking your flights ;-)

Nomadlife Blog-Awards 2006

Dear Nomads,

As award season wraps up (Bafta, Golden Globes, Grammys, Oscars, Etc....) . It is my pleasure to announce :

THE 2006 NOMADLIFE BLOG-AWARDS

Here's how it works....

- Below are the categories for the awards. Copy and paste them into a blank email. Fill in the fields and send your email to (sabaza@yahoo.com) - or just post them in the comments if you don't want to be anonymous!

And the categories are:

Blog of the Year:
Most entertaining blog:
Most informative blog:
Funniest Blog:
Most Emotional blog:
Best Newcomer (a blog that started in November 2005 at the earliest):
Most controversial blog:
Best Designed Blog:
Best Foreign Blog: (Blog from outside Nomadlife)
Most Delinquent Blogger:
Most Active Blogger:
Most Reactive Blogger: (spends alot of time commenting on other people's blogs)
Blog most likely to last longest:

Please have your results in by Wednesdat the 15th of March by midnight GMT. All votes arriving after that date will count too, this is not the end of the world. However, once the votes have been all counted and the results announced, no more votes will count.

Rules and Regulations:

- Only one ballot per email address
- Only complete ballots will be counted
- Voting for self is allowed under one of the categories only (I trust we will all be objective)
- No slandering of blogs
- Notice all blogs are cast in positive light - I don't think we should have a "worst blog" or "least significant blog"
- The design of the award is currently being worked on and will be revealed as a surprise on the 24th of March.
- Will be announcing the results on Saturday the 25th of March - Stay Tuned

Thanks and Enjoy...

Absolute Party...

The name of the game is day drinking...

Tomorrow, this Saturday, be in Jersey City (20min from Midtown, I swear!) an all day chillapolooza of epic proportions. We start at 11am and will be going until the sun is down and its time to go somewhere else....

The Hobo-Hookah will be there, you should be too.

Directions: If you are in NYC and arent on the NYC List-serve, leave a comment and Ill shoot you directions.

Its strongly recommended to bring something to share. See you there.

If I have a billion dollars ..

...

Their combined wealth now is counted at 2.8 trillion.

Formula 1 Season for 2006 kicks off in Bahrain...

Yes, after Renault swiping away the constructor and driver's championship for 2005, the 2006 Formula 1 kicks off this weekend with the Bahrain Grand Prix!

Now here's the interesting part to make it fun!

For all Formula 1 lovers, follow these simple steps:

1. Click - to register on this gamezone
2. Create your team (you can create as many teams as possible)

3. I have created a league called nomadlife.
After you register and create teams, you can click 'My league' and then join the league by entering your teams into this.
Enter this:
League Name: Nomadlife
Password: nomadlife

(This might be case sensitive)

And then there are points for every wins, races etc. So lets see who wins this. The season has just started, so it should be fun following this!

Lets see whether Renault has another successful year, is Ferrari back in action (woohoo! My bet is always on them) or is Mclaren gonna give a big surprise!

Israels borders to be finalised within 4 years

"Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says he plans to set permanent borders for Israel within four years, to separate it completely from most Palestinians." (BBC News)

My initial feeling is that this is the kind of timeline/ultimatum that is needed to get things moving on both sides. In typical Israeli fashion, the positive move forward is coupled with a less positive development - this time a pretty major land grab, basically saying the any future Palestinian state will not be connected to East Jerusalem.

Peace in our lifetimes, people.

Everyone pray that the Stansted Express isn't a bitch

Because we all know already that RyanAir is. Sarah made the same mistake I did; she left her place one hour too late, even after properly calculating the travel times. Thank goodness she had her passport even though she didn't properly check. I think she has a better chance that I did. She caught the 10:25 express line, I got the 10:45 last time.

Otherwise, I'll be making another trip to Linz.

commit the crime, skip the time

This is one way to do it in Germany.

Do you drink tap water or bottled water?

When I go to a friend's house (here in Germany) they ask me if I want to drink anything. As my answer is usually "water", my german friend will go to the fridge for a bottle of water.

As one of my friends (also here in Germany) opened the trunk of her car, I saw a lot of empty bottles of water. She said she had no time so far to take them back to the supermarket.

I found out later on, that in Germany, a very long time ago, water with bubbles was the only way people knew, the water was safe to drink. This was carried from back then (really a long time ago) till now, when tap water in Germany is safe to drink. People now simply are used to it. The incresing consumption of bottled water is a concern for people on both developing and developed countries.

But all these bottles have a consequence. Do you drink bottled water or tap water? If you drink bottled water, is it really necessary?

Bottled Water: Pouring Resources Down the Drain
Is bottled water really healthier than tap water? Not necessarily, and as Emily Arnold explains, it also requires the use of fossil fuels in its transport and packaging producing tremendous waste. As consumption in the developing world increases rapidly, the need to confront this problem is becoming even more acute.

Although bottled water in the industrial world is often no healthier than tap water, it can cost up to 10,000 times more. At as much as $2.50 per liter ($10 per gallon), bottled water costs more than gasoline.

Making bottles to meet Americans' demand for bottled water requires more than 1.5 million barrels of oil annually ? enough to fuel 100,000 U.S. cars for a year.

In India, water extraction by Coca-Cola for Dasani bottled water and other drinks has caused water shortages for over 50 villages.

In a number of places, including Europe and the United States, there are more regulations governing the quality of tap water than bottled water.

Meeting the United Nations goal for environmental sustainability would require doubling the $15 billion a year that the world currently spends on water supply and sanitation.

Source (full article): The Globalist

Got a Week to Spare?

I was doing a little exploring on the internet today, when I came across the American Hiking Society's webpage. They offer volunteer trips to work in different nature settings around the country, including locales in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico for $100 for members and $130 for non-members. Some trips provide food, shelter, airport pick-up. And you get to experience the park in a different way than any other visitor. If you have a week to spare and wouldn't mind helping to clean up trails, etc... you should check this out.

http://www.americanhiking.org/events/vv/index.html

And the 2006 Iraqi 'Oscar' Goes to...

The following is a blog entry by "Riverbend," a young Iraqi woman who writes about her daily life on "Baghdad Burning." Baghdad Burning was chosen as one of the Best Journalistic Webblogs in the 2005 Deutsche Welle International Weblog Awards

2006 Iraqi 'Oscar'

Farid, your answer...

International Women's Day (8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the world. This date is also commemorated at the United Nations and is designated in many countries as a national holiday. When women on all continents, often divided by national boundaries and by ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic and political differences, come together to celebrate their Day, they can look back to a tradition that represents at least nine decades of struggle for equality, justice, peace and development.

International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men. In ancient Greece, Lysistrata initiated a sexual strike against men in order to end war; during the French Revolution, Parisian women calling for "liberty, equality, fraternity" marched on Versailles to demand women's suffrage.

The idea of an International Women's Day first arose at the turn of the century, which in the industrialized world was a period of expansion and turbulence, booming population growth and radical ideologies. Following is a brief chronology of the most important events...

And the reason why it is so famous in exCommunistic countries is to decide up to you...
Btw, thank you... already second wish I got today (hehe, first came from Russian friend :P).

Calling all @US alums - @US 50th Anniversary

Via US-Voice:
Hi one and all!
You are receiving this e-mail because I need your help. We?re in the beginning stages of planning the 50^th anniversary of AIESEC in the United States. That means that I?ve begun compiling alumni contact information, but there isn?t much. I?ve attached a spreadsheet with some simple columns that you can fill out. I?d really appreciate any information you are willing to give me. Please feel free to fwd this e-mail to anyone in AIESEC generations that came before you, or to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns you might have!

Thanks so much for your help in making the 50^th anniversary of AIESEC in the United States a great success!

If you're an alum or know any alumni who may be interested, send Betsy (former Badger) an email at BetsyC AT aiesecus DOT org

8th of March!!! International Woman's day!

Back in a days, during USSR 8th of March was a huge deal for communist countries. I honestly do not know if the rest of the World celebrated the day or not. I will appriciate if somebody who lived in other side of the iron curtain enlightens me about it...

Anyways, I wanna congratulate all the nomad women with International Woman's Day and wish them best of luck!

We passed the magic 800 mark

Looked at the total number of blogs on nomadlife recently? We're sitting on 801 at this point in time. Sometime in the last day or so we crossed the magic 800 mark.

Here's cheers to nomadlife!

Let's have a competition: who can guess when nomadlife will pass the 900 mark? Given the current rate of expansion (and given initiatives like in Australia every member will have a blog), it shouldn't take too long. We can check back when we reach the magic 900 mark to see who was closest :)

It's not all fun and games

Jealous of the goodie bags the celebs got at the Oscars? Don't be, the IRS has issued a reminder that all of those gifts are taxable.

Lets see... $100,000 USD goodie bag... at 25% is... $25,000 USD... that's a pricey consolation prize.

Not going to Dublin?

If you don't know me, leave a comment:

BIG OL' PARTY UP IN THIS PEICE (Jersey City, USA).

Bring a Bevey...This Saturday...we'll be stress testing the roof. Early and Often.

We start at 11am.

Be there.

AIESEC Qatar Info Session

AIESEC Qatar is lifting off. Read more here.

St. Patricks Festival / Nomadfest Update

Hey hey, so things are hotting up for Paddys Weekend in Dublin, so much so we're outta space so please please don't book any flights without sorting out somewhere to stay first cos we already have 4 people that don't have a home at the moment and hostels are all booked out.

There's currently 39 AIESECers/Nomads coming to Dublin for St. Patrick's Weekend, not counting the Irish & other AIESEC alumni that are Dublin resident. So it's all set to be a pretty crazy weekend with loads of Guinness and shenanigans!

Calgary's designed some Paddy's day gear so check out her online shop for your "I've been Irished" T-Shirt if you're short of something green to wear for the day!

Read the original post for more info.

Update on who's staying where:

Eoin's House:

Maria Medrano (Mexico)
Emmanuel Sciara (France)
Amelia Tandy (Australia)

Irish MC Flat:

Luiz Felix (Brazil)
Sarah Bradley (UK)
Jefferson Souza (Brazil)
Tatiane Souza (Brazil)
Diogo Cobbo (Brazil)
Zoe Fitzgerald (Australia)
Fernanda Martins (Brazil)
Guilherme Macedo (Brazil)
Luiz Ramos (Brazil)
Henrique Verdana (Brazil)
Carol Floripa (Brazil)
Duarte Sa (Portugal)
Frederico Dupim (Brazil)
Sigitass Kuodas (Lithuania)
Georgina Guillen (Mexico)
Mazzy Cameron (Australia)
Dan Cunningham (Scotland) (Wed & Thurs night only)
Declan (Scotland) (Wed & Thurs night only)

Karola's House:

Randy Mistica (Canada)
Arnaub Chatterjee (USA)
Eric Hsu (USA)
Kee Won Hong (USA
Colleen McNulty (USA)
Jure Decman (Slovenia)
Iva Todorovska (Macedonia/UK)

Simon's House:

Hetal Damani (Canada)
Luciana Ciubotariu (Brazil)
Russell Cook (UK)

Calgary's Flat

Eddie Chow Cheuk-hang (Hong Kong)
Saki Takasu (Japan/USA)
Elizabeth Cairns (Canada)
Phydeline Duroseau (Canada)

Johan's Flat

Alice Ying Nie (USA)
Jennifer (USA)

We're not sure where:

Dan Cunningham (Scotland) (Friday night)
Declan McAleese (Scotland) (Friday night)
Vishen Lakhiani (Malaysia)
Kristina Lakhiani (Estonia)

He has to be the most celebrated Chinese person at the moment

Being the first chinese dude to bag a Best Director award at the Oscars. Apparently its big big celebration in Taiwan and China even before he won.

For his acceptance speech.

And the best picture goes to...

CRASH!!!

That's awesome. Great movie and one that everyone should watch.

March 5th

Birthdays of "mariposita" Carissa and of course the "international gangsta of love" P Drake. Take it easy dude, and I know you will.

ATM Problems?

BoingBoing is reporting that the ATM networks in USA, Russia, Canada and the UK may be compromised. American Citibank customers may be locked out of their account if they try to use them outside of the USA in these countries.

The article is here and based on this account.

I know we have nomadlifers traveling all the time, anybody from the USA having problems? If you might be one of the potentially affected, it might be worth your while to contact citibank pre-emptively.

Tens of thousands of Muslims in Bahrain went to the street peacefully condemning the Golden Mosque bombing. This will off course never get in the news. What they should do is burn some tires on the streets or destroy something; that'll get them some coverage.

A monumental task

Today, March 5, 2006, our own co-founder of Nomadlife - Devrim - has declared that he will attempt the mammoth task of learning Mandarin, Chinese. His goal is that in one year, his Chinese will be at an "impressive" level.

Good luck, Digs!! I'll be looking forward to hear you hold a conversation in Chinese with a native! :-)

For cartoon lovers...

This is the site of Chappatte, a cartoonist who works on editorals of the International Herald Tribune, Les Temps and Neue Z�rcher Zeitung. He is a blend of Swiss and Lebanese origins, born in Pakistan, raised in Singapore and in Switzerland, he lives now in Geneva after three years spent in New York. I found several cartoons that made me laugh in his site, so enjoy The Globe Cartoon.

Follow the leader

We all tend to revert to very visible individuals and their personalities when being confronted with an enormously complex organisation like the United Nations. Therefore, the next months will bring much debate about the next U.N. Secretary General, due to be chosen by the end of this year.

UNSG.org monitors the selection process (fairly undemocratic, but, hey, it's the U.N.!) and introduces the candidates and wanna-bes. Some of them already have campaign websites.

from the house of miXXXology

it all started with...

and the rest is history...

FYI- US only

WalMart has agreed to sell Plan B on its pharmacies. I just thought this info might come handy.

Who's Got the Magic Stick...

Know how USB memory sticks are probably the most misplaceable / easy-to-lose pieces of IT-related gadgetry that you could own?

Maybe you will take better care of this one:
The uber-blinging White Lake $3,500 gold-plated, diamond-encrusted USB memory stick...

ecological footprint

take the ecological footprint quiz and see just how environmentally conscious you are

China to launch 'alternative' internet

The Chinese government has announced plans to introduce several Chinese-language internet domains. These should make the web more usable for Chinese speakers, who make up one-fifth of everyone on the planet. But, theoretically at least, the measures could create a separate part of the internet, under complete control of the Chinese government.

This is sure to stir up worries over censorship and repression as China has not shied away from controlling internet usage within its borders before. Several US internet companies have also come under fire recently for helping the Chinese government keep an eye on its citizen's online activity.

On the other hand, the move could make the US even less likely to relinquish control of the domains that it currently controls.

Source: New Scientist

Imagine explaining these to your doctor.

The end of chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks in schools

UK SCHOOLS will be banned from selling junk food and told to give pupils seeds and yoghurt drinks in moves to tackle child obesity. Nuts, seeds and yoghurt drinks will replace crisps, chocolate and fizzy drinks in tuck shops, after-school clubs and vending machines

The laws to wean children off sweets and chocolate will be among the toughest in the world and will take fizzy sugary drinks off the menu, as well as diet and sport drinks and flavoured waters.

Why? About a quarter of children were obese or overweight and 53 per cent of the 4-18 age group had dental decay.

The response: A spokesman for the Automatic Vending Association, whose machines are only in secondary schools, said: ?We think educated choice would have been better than outright prohibition.? Masterfoods, which supplies Mars and Snickers bars, said it was ?disappointed with the SFT?s simplistic approach. Banning certain foodstuffs will not work. Young people need to understand how to enjoy a balanced diet and active lifestyle.?

what crappy lobbyists they must have!

Salaam Imperative

It's not about trying to convince those who do not want to know that they should go. It's about showing those who do want to know that they can go. Empowerment is inspirational, empowerment is contagious, empowerment is the basis for progress. That's all you can promise but, really, that's all you need.

Brokeback writes on Salaam. Go check it out.

Final AI team at IPM (including VP's)

Liveblogging the announcement of VP's

PAI - Dey
Director Africa - Habib
Director Asia Pacific - Ryan
Director WENA - Mairi
Director CEE - Jarda
Director SSGN - Araz
Director Strategy - Pinar

VP Communications - Michelle (Canada)
VP Finance - Petroula - (Greece)
VP Exchange - Cornelia - (Romania)
VP People Development - Gabriele (Romania)
VP Information Systems - Enrique (Colombia)

Unintended Consequences

"
Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) first published in Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten last year, have been reprinted in 143 newspapers in 56 countries, a study showed on Wednesday.

One or several of the 12 controversial cartoons have appeared either in print editions or online, according to the study done by eJour, the online magazine of the Danish School of Journalism.

Most of the reproductions have appeared in Western countries, including 70 newspapers in Europe, 14 in the United States, three in Canada and New Zealand, two in Australia and one in Japan.

But the drawings have also been printed in eight Muslim countries: Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Malaysia, Morocco and Saudi Arabia." (Daily Times - Pakistan)

A group in Denmark raised ruckus about one newspaper publishing the cartoons. As a result, now 143 newspapers have published it around the world.

"Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Bush announced Thursday their nations have reached agreement on a landmark nuclear deal, the centerpiece of Bush?s first visit to India.

?We have reached an understanding on the implementation of our agreement on civil nuclear cooperation,? Singh said during a joint appearance by the two leaders. ?I have conveyed to the president that India has finalized the identification of civilian facilities to which we had committed.?" (AP)

I see this as a bad news rather than a good news. This deal really undermines the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty framework that was signed by 187 nations. You can read more analysis on this issue on Slate.

First it was Geneva Convention, now it's the NPT. What's next?

IX Paralympic Winter Games 10-19 March 2006

Picture taken by Alessandro - Torino

Three days ago, the incredible Winter Olympic Games finished, with an amazing closing ceremony. But the olympic spirit did not finished yet in Italy, because the Paralympic Winter Games are staring in 9 days.

Please spread the voice, since they are as important as the previous event, with brave people participating on it.

Here is the official site: here

See you there...

It Don't Get No Stranger...

Remember Ahmed Arshi, the cool AIESECer from Canada who started the DAMU project in Kenya, was LCP in Canada, worked briefly in expanding into @ UAE etc - and sadly left us some time last year?

Well, read his blog for an update.

Hope this dude is truly and actually alive & well....

And I surely hope this is not a prank from some hacker coz that's just morbidly wrong....

Beijing clamps down on spitting

Sheila, stop spitting!

Micro-Banking?

Prosper.com functions much like ebay: Barrower's post their financing needs including maximum interest rate and other credientials (capital, etc, to determine a credit rating) and then lender's bid, via percent on the loan, for the privilege of lending to them:

This is pretty rad. I'll have to look into this more. I could use about $25k in the next couple of months...

We're hiring

MeadWestvaco Consumer Solutions Group (CSG) offers the designs, substrates, construction, machinery and packaging know-how that has helped our customers become leaders in their industry - and has made us a world leader in ours. Whether the need is for beverages, DVDs, cosmetics, healthcare products, luxury goods or tobacco, MeadWestvaco has the complete packaging solution - every time.

Currently we are looking for 2 individuals to participate in our Graduate Associate Rotational Program in an operations capacity. This exciting opportunity at MeadWestvaco Consumer Solutions Group is designed to prepare future generations of business leaders by developing key managerial and leadership skills.

See full posting here.

AIESEC gets bigger and better

After Global Legislation tonight, 4 new countries have joined the AIESEC network as official extensions:

Kyrgystan
Azerbaijan
Moldova
Georgia

And to top it off, long-term nomad Jennifer Harwood was elected as AIESEC International internal auditor for the coming year....

Friday, March 31, 2006