"Hola Senor Castro!" "Buenos Diaz Senor Chavez!"

Chavez: [In English] Our friends Fidel, listen.
Castro: Well, you say that I know English. I did at one time.
Chavez: Did you forget it?
Castro: The trauma afterwards has made me forget it. This is why I no longer have that excellent memory you have, the capacity to summarise or your musical ear, your talent to remember songs. I cannot believe that you have partied so much as to remember all those songs.
Chavez: I never partied as much as you.
Castro: I envy you that.
Chavez: Not as much as you. Not as much as you

The rest of their entertaining conversation is here (BBC)

Pakistan makes a deal with the Taliban

Pakistan is going to help the Taliban recapture Afghanistan; despite American attempts to force Pakistan to be harder on the Taliban, according to reports

Jesus' tomb found?!

This is what James Cameron trying to claim in a new documentary about the tombs found in Jerusalem in the eighties for Jesus, Maria Magdalene and Judah. The film contradicts the belief that Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven and did not had a family.

BUT, if this would be proven to be true, does this mean that ascension day won't be a national holiday anymore!! dammit.

Formula One's first 'green' car..

Although Formula One cars will still consume 75 liters every 100 kilometers (3 miles to a gallon), Honda says that the new "Earth Car" will be the sports first environmental ambassador...

Interesting fact off BBC World this morning... Formula One teams pay to plant approximately 30,000 trees a year to offset their carbon every racing season.

AI Vice Presidents 2007-08 are...

VP Communication - Michelle Gallant (AI / Canada)
VP Finance - Laura Johnson (UK)
VP External Relations - Rishabh Chopra (India)
VP Information Systems- Abhishek Singh Jadon (AI / India)
VP Talent Management - Betty Abayo (Africa GN / Kenya)
VP Exchange Management - Position to be re-opened...

Congratulations everyone!

Victory!

Former US vice president Al Gore picked up an Oscar for his climate change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth, at the 79th Academy Award ceremony in LA. - BBC

AIESEC History

Tonight during what will go down as one of the LONGest global legislations in history will also go down in the record books. You remember that 1492 powerpoint we all saw when we first joined? with the dark music, ww2 aftermath...

Well it can now be officially updated because in 2007...


AIESEC IS PREVALENT IN OVER 100 COUNTRIES/TERRITORIES

and the countries that made this happen, and are now official expansions, are....

Uzbekistan
Alegeria
JORDAN! (100!)
Vietnam
Rwanda
Gabon...

Legislation is STILL ON!

And it is being reported LIVE on the Pakistan MC Blog,
Cheers goto Emad and Nida for keeping us all in the loop!

Longest Legislations in AIESEC Global Plenary...?

Its 6:30 AM in Cairo and the global plenary of AIESEC just passed the last motion of closing the legislation :)

10 hrs of legislation (Legislation started at 20:30 Cairo time)! What a night...Some big steps taken for moving AIESEC forward!

Next: AI VP announcements at the beach with the sun rising...Cannot wait!

ORBO - brand name of the free energy technology

In August 2006, there has been the first mention of Steorn and its free energy technology. Now finally some more changes appeared on their website. The new energy has a brand name Orbo. The validation process is underway right now done by independent scientists and results are expected around October 2007. It looks cool! :o)

.

Listen to STEORNIAN RHAPSODY

the wonders of stumble..

Tony Blair was part of a rock group back in university... we know that. But did you know he's just come out with a cover version of an old hit... Really good stuff!

AI Directors 2007-08

AI Directors for 2007-08 are:

Rob (UK/Thailand)
Shirley (US/Canada)
JC (Norway)
Juan (Costa Rica/China)
Ivan (Colombia)
Tamer (Egypt)

Congrats to some seriously good people.

Warning to Fellow Caireans

An Egyptian court has sentenced an internet blogger to four years' prison for insulting Islam and the president.

Abdel Kareem Nabil's trial was the first time that a blogger had been prosecuted in Egypt. He had used his weblog to criticise the country's top Islamic institution, the al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

If this wasn't so serious...

I'd be laughing my ass off. Actually, I did laugh my ass off when I first read it. Who the hell talks like this any more, except for crazed dictators and megalomaniacs? Umm.. maybe a General of the Russian Air Force..!

Nomad seeking Nomads

Hey everyone,

I've just moved to Nazareth, Israel and am looking for fellow nomads in the region. Anyone living in Israel? Do you know anyone living in Israel? Want to leave a comment or e-mail me (Mdetrie@gmail.com) hello?

If you're in Nazareth or Haifa, want to be my new best friend? Basically, I know no one and am looking for anyone. I'm making friends, damnit. Who's first?

Sincerely,
Megan E. Detrie

And the new PAI is...

................. GABIZA!!!!!!!!


Congratulations from all my heart!!!!!

President AIESEC International 2007-2008

Hi,

Just a friendly update - the votes have been cast, the selection panel just went away for counting. :)

In less than an hr we have a President of AIESEC International 2007-08

The final speeches are done.

Mind blowing speeches!

Voting is just starting....

Classified

If you are living in Brussels and looking for a flatmate, or you know anyone who is looking for a flatmate, or you know anyone who knows anyone who is looking for a flatmate, then please ask that person to write to me at shashaankb@gmail.com as i am looking for an accomodation for 1 year starting ASAP.

Thanks.

“Hopefully it will work,” he said

OTTAWA — A University of Western Ontario virus researcher has a potential vaccine against HIV and AIDS that could be tested in humans next year if he can win approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Yong Kang is being supported by a Korean biotech company, Curocom Co. Ltd., which announced on Tuesday it will manufacture the potential vaccine according to pharmaceutical standards.

Read more

How Romantic

"A top South Korean bank is sending a group of its single female employees on a blind date trip to North Korea, hoping that romance will make them happy at the office, an official said Tuesday." -Reuters

Is there anything more romantic than a trip to a communist dictatorship?

Director Speeches LIVE from Egypt

MC Pakistan is blogging live during the Director speeches in Egypt: Go here to check it out!

The moment is here...

Reporting from Egypt...

For the very first time in the plenary, we have the 4 Candidates for President of AIESEC International. The nerves are felt as I write this. The plenary has given the biggest applause I have ever seen in an AIESEC plenary!

The candidates:

Jarda Dokoupil (Czech Republic)- AIESEC International Director of Central & East Europe Growth Network
Ryan Sheppard (New Zealand) - AIESEC International Director of Asia Pacific Growth Network
Gabriela Albescu (Romania) - AIESEC International Vice President People Development
Edyson Dos Santos (Venezuela) - Current President of AIESEC International

http://live.myaiesec.net - All IPM action captured here...

Just a little over 24 hrs from now, we will have the results...

Is there a middle ground on Islam and West?

A new BBC poll shines light on one of the most pressing and contentious issues of our time.

"It is worth noting that most victims of Islamic terrorism are Muslims themselves"

I have written about some facts, and an incident that happened to me personally that proves to the previous statement, if interested, you can check it out there.

Happy Year of the Pig!

From Beijing, a very happy Chinese New Year to everyone out there who celebrates! May the year of the pig bring you happiness, good fortune and prosperity!!

Gong xi fa cai!!!

World Hapinness...

Comments?

Edit: Whole study is at: http://www.le.ac.uk/pc/aw57/world/sample.html (thanks Surya for the link)

ISPs in Egypt

Trying to figure out which ISP to choose while in Egypt? This post might help eliminate one of your options.

"I will get directly into the point. BE WARE FROM DEALING WITH LinkDotNet !! Here's a story that shows all factors of corruption, mismanagement, unstructured and a lying organization that will rob you off your money, patience and even sanity.

To cut a long story short…I subscribed with this company for a DSL service [512 MB] for only a 1 year contract to be used in my own company. After 6 months, I decided to transfer the line to my home address to be used from there and they kindly shifted it successfully.

1 year passed by and my signed contract expired . I called the customer service 2 weeks before the contract ends and requested to end the service as soon as the contract due date ends. The 2 weeks passed by [my contract came to an end] and the DSL service was still active !!!! I called again and requested to end the service 2 days later…I waited a couple of days and the DSL service was still active..!!!! To cut it short for you kind readers… I called LinkDotNet customer service up to 15 times requesting the same thing and no response !! You know how long they kept the service running after the contract ended and after me requesting to end it……..1 FULL YEAR.

Then I receive the 1st phone call from LinkDotNet and to my surprise…they are bluntly requesting payment for the period that followed the end of my contract !!!! I explained that I had a legal contract that ended and I personally requested to end the service following the expiration of that contract…but again they requested the money and I rejected paying !!! You know what they did……they kept the service running again for more than 2 months…

After receiving more than 10 calls requesting the payment of what they called "late service period" I received the final call from a gentlemen their and check out the conversation:

LinkDotNet Representative: Sir…we need you to pay the money for the period you used after the expiration of your contract
Me:Excuse me; I had a legal paid-up-front contract for a period of 1 year only. LinkDotNet did not end the service neither when the contract expired nor after I called requesting to end it…..therefore, logically I will not pay and legally you are not authorized to ask for the money…as a service company you should have ended the service after the contract expires.
LinkDotNet Representative: [with a threatening voice] You know…I can make you pay that money in different ways…so you better do it yourself nicely !
Me:and how can you do that ?
LinkDotNet Representative: I will upload the amount pending on you to your phone bill
Me:You can not do that... LinkDotNet have no authority to carry out such thing
LinkDotNet Representative: Wait and see…thank you and good bye

Before i go further...here' s a pure example of the people LinkDotNet hire to serve their customer...you and me !!! Here's a worthless pig threatening a customer under the name of LinkDotNet Customer Service

2 days later…I find out that the phone line itself went out of service. I called "El Masria Lel E2tesalat " to report a normal phone line down. Although it takes a maximum of 2 days for "El Masria Lel E2tesalat" to fix the problem…it lasted for 2 weeks !!!!! Later on…an old man from "El Masria Lel E2tesalat"came to check out what's going wrong and fix the problem [although the old man knows nothing about the DSL problem] and surprises me by the fact that the DSL line that I have is the reason why the phone line itself can't function [ i.e. The respected LinkDotNet Co. jammed my line..

BE WARE OF THIS COMPANY….THEY ARE NOT WHAT THEY CLAM THEY ARE
THEY ARE UNPROFESSIONAL
THEY ARE THIEVES
THEY KNOW NOTHING CALLED CUSTOMER SERVICE
THEY HAVE NO MANAGEMENT SKILLS
THEY ARE AFTER YOUR MONEY ONLY

P.S: Please send me your stories if you have/had similar situations with this company. I will sew them in court and I will not step down till I get a formal apology from one of their top management.

Here below are my contacts:
Peter Magdy
Mobile: 012 3520 674
Email: marteny@gmail. com"

Sorry for the length. The link is here.

Why are Dutch children so happy?

"Dutch children have been rated the most fortunate children in Europe. Their parents go out of their way to please them, and teachers expect less of them than some of their European counterparts." (BBC)

Global Interns' Portal released!!!!!

Hi guys,

For all of you out there that are currently in a internship, or looking for one or just finished one, this portal is the best place to found out information about the country were you want to go, the preparation you have to make etc...The answer to all of your questions is only one click away!!!

Find below the promotion email in order to have a better image of what to expect!

I really like it!!!

Intern's Portal - You saw it coming!

XQB (eXchange Quality Board) has been working in the last months to redesign one of the most useful tools for our people that took the challenge to experience the Exchange program and now IT’S READY!

Global intern’s portal is the place where you can enter in the world of:

1. Exchange Program that has all the information structured in 3 pages: Exchange process, How to use AIESEC online systems and Measurement

2. Preparation while discovering the roles, links and connections that exist in the 5 pages that cover all the basic information that you need to know: Country information, Professional preparation, Cultural preparation, AIESEC preparation, Logistics preparation.

3. Powerful stories the place where people share with you through blogs and case studies what the exchange program meant for their life, all in 2 pages: AIESC Intern's blogs and Leading my future

4. Integration helps you maximize your experience by giving you information of how you can get involved in the organization that helped you fulfill your dream through the page Interns' Involvement

5. After internship will lead you in the world that will expect you after your international experience will be over. All that you need to know is there defined in 3 pages: Re-integration, Leadership role, heading for the future

6. Quality will help you realize that you are not alone in this important step you decided to make in your life, the Exchange experience, therefore you can find structured in 3 pages: International XP&QS, Case solving process, XQB info.

We made the first step, now it's YOUR turn! Help us in making the portal known among your interns and be one of the people that strive to deliver every day the best Exchange experience!
Make quality your everyday business!

For feedback or resources don't hesitate to contact us at xqb@ai.aiesec.org

All the best,
Your XQB team

Music Poll on Nomadlife

Hey all....

We are currently working on our concert roster for 2007/2008 and would like to take your opinion on something...

Take a look at the following acts and put them in order with the one you would most like to see on top!

Thanks

Coldplay
James Blunt
Nelly Furtado
Aerosmith

Google's new headache

La Libre Belgique is one newspaper you won't see any more on Google News. Big deal! Well, actually it just might be... Here's why.. (NYT)

What I find absolutely wonderful is how Google algorithms are so fantastically democratic. I can't imagine any other company having over 350 articles about losing a court case on it's home page.

Google Earth to survive sectarian violence

Google is playing an unlikely role in the Iraq war.

"If they arrest you, you will be killed or tortured."
"If they tell you we just have a few questions and you will be back in an hour, don't believe them. You will be dead in an hour or disappear for months."

Anti-missile system in Central Europe

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin criticized Washington's plans for an anti-missile system in Central Europe and said on Thursday Russia would come up with a "highly effective" response.

The U.S. has proposed stationing a radar station in the Czech Republic and a battery of rockets in Poland to detect and shoot down hostile missiles, which the Pentagon says could be fired from Iran in the future.

Putin dismissed Washington's arguments about defending Europe from Iran and said the anti-missile system would "directly affect" Russia.

"Our specialists don't think that anti-missile systems in Eastern Europe are aimed against terrorists or Iran. Can you really fight terrorists with ballistic missiles?" he told a news conference in Moscow.

Iran, he said, did not possess long-range ballistic missiles, only medium-range devices.
"We are also thinking about how to ensure our external security," Putin added. "All our responses will be asymmetric but they will be highly effective".

Putin said Russia already had systems capable of overcoming missile defenses but promised a future generation of weapon on which missile defense systems "will have absolutely no effect". He did not give details.

"People are always teaching us democracy but the people who teach us democracy don't want to learn it themselves."

A great way to start cold war all over again.

They're back...at least for a while

The Police, after getting together at the Grammy's a couple days back to mark their 30th anniversary, are almost certainly reuniting for something like a world tour. They are to kick off with an opening performance in Vancouver soon. Oh you lucky nomads in Canada & the States...and most likely Western Europe too.

You can watch the performance here. The audio/video quality isn't great but that doesn't really matter with these guys.

North Korea to disarm?

BEIJING, Tuesday, Feb. 13 — North Korea agreed today to close its main nuclear reactor in exchange for a package of food, fuel and other aid from the United States, China, South Korea and Russia. The breakthrough, announced by the Chinese government after intense negotiations, came four months after North Korea tested a nuclear bomb.

The partner nations agreed to provide roughly $400 million in various kinds of aid in return for the North starting a permanent disabling of its nuclear facilities and allowing inspectors into the country.

Perhaps equally important, the United States and Japan agreed to discuss normalizing relations with Pyongyang. The United States will begin the process of removing North Korea from its designation as a terror-sponsoring state and also on ending U.S. trade and financial sanctions.

...

But North Korea has sidestepped previous agreements, and is thought to have many mountainside tunnels where it can hide projects.

(from NYTimes)

So what do you all think about this? Has the Bush administration scored the unthinkable...a successful use of diplomacy? Is this a clever ruse by everyone's favorite insane and insanely-coiffed dictator? Will the agreement last? Perhaps most importantly...if there is lasting peace...who will the guys from South Park make fun of in the next "Team America" movie?

Singapore Hangout

I am arriving on the 14th in Singapore instead of the 11th. Let's have some yummy seafood on the 15th of February and share your fluffy Valentine's dinners' stories.

Israeli Apartheid week in Canada

Israeli Apartheid Week is a week-long series of events held for the third year concurrently across various North American and European campuses.

Event organizers describe Israel as a "settler-colonial state" in the mold of pre-reformed South Africa, arguing "that Israel is in fact an apartheid state, not just a belligerent occupying power."

What do you think??!!

Monday morning message..

Some time ago, I've received from my friend Mo an email saying " Read this!"..It was a very interesting article about life which I enjoyed it very much, therefore I've subscribed to the newsletter...

Yesterday I received one of this messages, and I really feel like sharing it with you as it describes the best what i am feeling these days..So, enjoy!!!

Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance toward the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vantage point. Climb slowly, steadily, enjoying each passing moment; and the view from the summit will serve as a fitting climax for the journey. - Harold V. Melchert

Standing close to the walls of the Taj Mahal in India, one is fascinated with the incredible detail of the workmanship. Set into the white marble walls are intricate floral, geometric and calligraphy stone inlays. The magnificence of the pietra dura, whereby thin sections of precisely carved hard and semi-hard gemstones are laid in sockets specially prepared in the surface of the marble, is one of the reasons why the structure is identified as a man-made wonder of the world. The impressive decorative details that can only be appreciated by standing very close to the structure make it easier to understand why centuries ago it took 22 years to complete it.

But as spectacular as the detailed carvings are on the Taj Mahal, to capture the real beauty of it, you have to stand 100 meters or more away from the structure. When looking at the Taj from across the impressive garden that leads to it from the Main Gateway, the building has an almost surreal appearance. The effect of the daylight upon the Taj’s white marble and the symmetry of the structure produce an awe-inspiring visual effect like no other in the world.

Much like appreciating the Taj Mahal, we also must stand back from the details of our frenetic daily schedules in order to see the true beauty of life. Although the challenge of climbing to the top and reaching our goals can be exciting and requires our concentration on the details, we must never forget to “stand back” from time to time and enjoy the view on the way up.

Are you so busy giving attention to the details of chasing your goals and dreams that you are not stopping from time to time to enjoy the beauty of the climb? Do you “stand back” occasionally to focus on the overall good in your life or do you focus too narrowly upon the relatively few things that do not go right? Are you taking time to enjoy and embrace the many simple, but too often unnoticed, beautiful scenes that play out in your life each day?

Take some time this week to “stand back” from the details of your life. Keep in mind that each new day brings a new opportunity to see yourself and the world around you in a new way. As you go throughout your daily routine, never lose sight of the big picture and pause occasionally to enjoy the many beautiful scenes along the way.

Love as EcoTerrorism

or, How Hallmark Ruined the Environment

Valentine bouquets 'are bad for the planet'

By Nicole Martin - Last Updated: 1:53am GMT 10/02/2007

Latest Government figures show that the flowers that make up the average bunch have flown 33,800 miles to reach Britain.
In the past three years, the amount of flowers imported from the Netherlands has fallen by 47 per cent to 94,000 tons, while those from Africa have risen 39 per cent to 17,000 tons.
Environmentalists warned that "flower miles" could have serious implications on climate change in terms of carbon dioxide emissions from aeroplanes.

AIESEC will have a new leader in 1 week! Action begins soon in Cairo!

Finally, finally, finally...Exciting times!

Bags are packed in Rotterdam! I cant believe that its almost time to elect a new leader for AIESEC globally! Its been the fastest year of my life...

The action begins soon in Palmera Beach Resort, a beautiful resort on the Red Sea in Ain El Sokhna, about 2 hrs from Cairo.

Will write more about the Live webpage which will be updated every day from IPM! So stay tuned about the crazy action at International Presidents Meeting 2007!

A Neighbor Moves in With Ropes and Shackles, and Some Are Not So Pleased

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 11 — It is hard to imagine a city prouder of its sexuality than San Francisco, a place with an active strip club district, a union for erotic dancers and an annual parade on Folsom Street where those not wearing leather and chaps are the odd ones out.

Jim Wilson/The New York Times

People gathered on Thursday to protest the building's new occupant.

So it came as something of a surprise when a kerfuffle arose because of the newest addition to the city’s sexual landscape: the State Armory and Arsenal building, a 200,000-square-foot landmark in the Mission District that was just purchased by Kink.com, an online pornography company devoted to bondage and sadomasochism.

Peter Acworth, the company’s founder and chief executive, said he planned to turn the armory into a full-fledged film studio, with dirty movies shot in the basement and less-dirty ones shot upstairs.

“I want to make films like ‘Secretary,’ ” Mr. Acworth said, referring to the 2002 mainstream hit about a woman who has a kinky love affair with her lawyer boss. “But with more sex.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/12/us/12armory.html?th&emc=th

How to say 'fast' in geek-speak

You thought dual-core and quad-core were the fastest processors around.

Intel unveils a processor with 80 cores - capable of doing a mindbending 1,000,000,000,000 (1 trillion) calculations a second. (NYT)

72 virgins

"

Virgin No. 1: Yuck.

Virgin No. 2: Ick.

Virgin No. 3: Ew.

Virgin No. 4: Ow.

Virgin No. 5: Do you like cats? I have fourteen!

Virgin No. 6: I’m Becky. I’ll be legal in two years.

Virgin No. 7: Here, I’ll just pull down your zipper. Oh, sorry!

Virgin No. 8: Can we cuddle first?

Virgin No. 9: It was a garlic-and-onion pizza. Why?

Virgin No. 10: . . . so I see Heath, and he goes, “Like, what are you doing here?,” and I go, “I’m hangin’ out,” so he goes, “Like, what?” . . .

Virgin No. 11: First you’re going to have to show me an up-to-date health certificate.

Virgin No. 12: Hurry! My parents are due home!

Virgin No. 13: Do you want the regular or the special?" (Steve Martin)

Women prefer 'mr average'

"
Lead researcher Simon Chu said the high-earning career men were deemed to be "too good to be true".

"Under particular circumstances, high socio-economic status in males can be subtly counter-productive in terms of attractiveness as a long-term partner.

"We suggest that females see physically attractive, high status males as being more likely to pursue a mating strategy rather than a parenting strategy." " (BBC)

Is this true ?

"Entropy porn at its finest"

The best piece of writing among the piles of pieces covering Anna Nicole Smith's death comes, as usual, from Salon:

What needs saying -- what it seems nobody has yet said -- is that when she was able to suppress her demons enough to pull herself together and look her best, she was fabulously gorgeous. Numerous red-carpet moments, the footage of which we now run over and over again like a televised rosary in order to understand her death, reveal this. Anna Nicole was a star because she possessed an unusually large amount of beauty. At her best, she didn't evoke Marilyn Monroe so much as Anita Ekberg in "La Dolce Vita" -- the strapless black dress, mounds of white flesh, piles of blond hair. She was indelicate, but an unstable element nonetheless -- not so much a candle in the wind as a bonfire in a hailstorm. But the real similarity between Anna Nicole and Marilyn was their shimmering tension -- an unsettlingly powerful physical beauty, collapsing irresistibly in real time beneath the frailties of its hostess. She was entropy porn at its finest.

Read the whole thing.

New Template

1. This blog is now running on new blogger.
2. I need an alternative image for the header. Please suggest me a new image that I can use for this template header. Ideally it comes from the 10,143 photos tagged under nomadlife in flickr.

Well, if OJ can get away with murder in the OC...

"An Irvine cop ejaculates on a motorist but escapes criminal liability."


Read this at the OC Weekly

World Press Photo of the Year 2006

Young Lebanese drive through devastated neighborhood of South Beirut, 15 August (by Spencer Platt)

Anna Nicole Smith is dead

Died in a hotel room in Florida a few hours ago.

Look Ma! I'm walking faster than light!

"That's the sort of stuff we find really sexy in this business," says Eric A. Cornell, a senior scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. (NYT)

British to Show Al Gore Movie in Schools

by: Associated Press 2 February 2007

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's global warming documentary will be sent to every secondary school in England as part of a campaign to tackle climate change, the government said Friday.

Environment Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced plans to distribute Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth," on the day the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was published in Paris. The report by leading scientists, said global warming has started and is "very likely" caused by humans.

"The debate over the science of climate change is well and truly over, as demonstrated by the publication of today's report by the IPCC," Miliband said. "Our energies should now be channeled into how we respond in an innovative and positive way in moving to a low-carbon future."

In the film, Gore warns that unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions soon, global warming will have disastrous implications for the environment.

"Children are the key to changing society's long-term attitudes to the environment," Johnson said. "Not only are they passionate about saving the planet, but children also have a big influence over their own families' lifestyles and behavior."

The DVD will go to 3,385 secondary schools in England as part of a year-long environmental education campaign.


Now, I wonder if I can convince my sister to hold a high school wide screening event. This is a top-down approach which would probably not happen in the US for another 15 years, but bottom-up is much more do-able.

Countries Indonesians can go without visa

"Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, the Philippines, Hongkong Special Administrative Region, Macao Special Administrative Region, Chile, Morocco, Peru and Vietnam"

 

The only grief I have with my Indonesian passport is that we have to get visa to every single fucking country except those 11 countries listed above. 

If you come from some third world country, which countries allow you to visit without visa?

20 mph

Wonderwoman  hit a bus 20mph and survived to tell the story.

SBS

If you think sleepwalking is weird, SBS (sex behaviour in sleep) syndrome is even weirder.

Wrong Medicine

"UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, today warned against the ?medicalization? of female genital mutilation/cutting. This tendency, according to UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, arises from increased awareness of the health risks associated with the practice. Ms. Obaid also warned of a trend of subjecting younger and younger girls to the practice in order to avoid their complaints or refusal to participate.

Ms. Obaid combined her warning with a renewed call for intensified global efforts to save the 3 million girls who still face the risk of female genital mutilation/cutting every year. In her appeal for the International Day Against Female Genital Mutilation, to be observed tomorrow, Ms. Obaid pledged ?to increase support for efforts to prevent female genital mutilation or cutting, and advance gender equality and human rights, including the right to sexual and reproductive health?.  (UNFPA)

Sigh....this is one of those stupid old tradition that needs to be completely abolished.

Oscars 2007 - The Awards

I've posted my predictions HERE

What are yours?

Check out the competition too...some good movies this year!

Love is blind

"An astronaut drove 900 miles and donned a disguise to confront a woman she believed was her rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot, police said. She was arrested Monday and charged with attempted kidnapping and other counts.

U.S. Navy Capt. Lisa Nowak, 43, who flew last July on a shuttle mission to the international space station, was also charged with attempted vehicle burglary with battery, destruction of evidence and battery. She was denied bail." (msnbc)

Global Warming

I am sorry for bringing this topic back, but it is just a proof for a theory I am believing in about trustability of media in general, which proven lately to be highly untrustworthy, meaning that of course it has a lot of information, but it do not mean that all of them are TRUE!!

last week, IPCC's (the biggest gathering for scientist to research Climate Change) report was issued, and its summary was as follow: "We are not saying that Climate Change phenomenon is not related to human activities, but it is likely to be related", so for those who were leading their argument based on "facts" driven out of "movies"......relax, and know that even scientists until this moment can not prove the link.

Despite all that, I am not saying that we should not research cleaner alternatives as source of energy, as it is so stupid to know that the biggest source of energy on Earth is the solar energy and it is the least source currently used, though it is so easy to convert almost everything we are using in our houses to. It just requires very small knowledge of electric connections, average to low intelligence and even a handbook to show you the steps with pictures :)

and hold on a second......Global Warming!! this term is even scientifically INCORRECT!! it is not getting warm globally, it is getting warm in the northern and southern part of earth, but getting colder between them........it was even snowing in Cairo last Friday!!

forever loving jah

One of the most influential musicians and indeed people of our times would have turned 62 today. I remember a friend of mine telling me about someone who wanted to learn the guitar. He wanted to learn how to play only Bob Marley numbers because, according to him, girls and people in bars all over the world instantly recognized his music. There is some truth in that :-) Lets hope generations to come will continue to pay heed to his music.

Ouch - Killjoy

"

A Saudi Arabian judge sentenced 20 foreigners to receive lashes and spend several months in prison after convicting them of attending a party where alcohol was served and men and women danced, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The defendants were among 433 foreigners, including some 240 women, arrested by the kingdom's religious police for attending the party in Jiddah, the state-guided newspaper Okaz said. It did not identify the foreigners, give their nationalities or say when the party took place." (Saudi Arabia)

The Great Leader gets a lucky break...

With Europe's ability to respond to the U.N. sanctions on Nortk Korea literally on 'The Rock'(s), Kim Jong-il gets to enjoy his fine cognacs and expensive wristwatches for a little while longer. (Story at MSNBC)

The Amazon Swim World Record Attempt

Martin Strel, a legendary Guinness record marathon swimmer, has always been looking for the challenges of impossible, and the Amazon is going to be the next one. On Feb 1st 2007, Strel started swimming all the way from Atalaya (Peru) to the Atlantic Ocean at Belem (Brazil). He is planning to complete the 3,375 mile (5,430 km) ultimate challenge in 70 days.

Martin Strel has already conquered the rivers Mississippi (in 68days and nearly 4000km), Danube (over 3000km in 58days) and Yellow river.

The Amozon Swim Project
Swimmer Martin Strel has dedicated this swim to the preservation of the rainforest, to raising awareness for Alzheimer´s disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, and to promoting telemedicine as a valuable tool in bringing modern medicine to remote areas.

The swim has started on the 1 February 2007.

C'est so Paris ! The humorous ad campaign

Paris aims to seduce (maybe not only) Londoners
The ad campaign developed for the Regional Tourism Committee of Paris Ile-de-France is comprised of three images. Each one presents a facet of Paris or an event being held in the French capital or in the region.

The objective is to show Londoners that Paris isn't a stuffy museum city, but that it is a vibrant destination brimming with exiting events that are worth visiting regularly. Not afraid to make fun of the city's stereotypes (view the best known Parisian gestures), the Regional Tourism Committee of Paris Ile-de-France uses humour to give Paris a new image.

Don't eat yellow snow...

(picture courtesy - http://www.newslab.ru/)

No, 5,000 "happy" Russians did not get together for one massive, collective wee. And, so far, they've also been really careful about pinning this one on climate change...

You just can't make this stuff up... (no pun intended!) (from the Guardian)

Mankind to blame for global warming say scientists

PARIS (Reuters) - Mankind is to blame for global warming, the world's top climate scientists said on Friday, sending governments a "crystal clear" warning they must take urgent action to avert severe and irreversible damage.

The United Nations panel, which groups 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more droughts, heatwaves and a slow gain in sea levels that could last for more than 1,000 years even if greenhouse gas emissions were capped.

The panel's report predicts a "best estimate" that temperatures would rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 Celsius (3.2 and 7.8 Fahrenheit) in the 21st century.

"Faced with this emergency, now is not the time for half measures. It is the time for a revolution, in the true sense of the term," French President Jacques Chirac said. "We are in truth on the historical doorstep of the irreversible."

The scientists said it was "very likely" -- or more than 90 percent probable -- that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years.

That is a toughening from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) last report in 2001, which judged a link as "likely", or 66 percent probable.

Possible signs include drought in Australia, record high winter temperatures in Europe and dwindling fish catches in lake Chad, which is shrinking after years of poor rainfall.
Continue

Info on the Pavel on Climate Change

Scientists offered cash to dispute climate study

"Scientists and economists have been offered $10,000 each by a lobby group funded by one of the world's largest oil companies to undermine a major climate change report due to be published today.
Letters sent by the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), an ExxonMobil-funded thinktank with close links to the Bush administration, offered the payments for articles that emphasise the shortcomings of a report from the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)."

More in the Guardian.

Why am I not surprised? Same tactics as with raising doubt about the validity of studies showing that smoking is bad for you...

Silk Road Nomadfest

(Devrim)

Sometime in May.

Dear Friends
I am working on putting together information about moods and foods for a great project and need some input from you! I am going to use this information as data for a new project I?m working on with another AIESEC Alumnus. Thanks for helping us in a new endevour

Below there is a list of Moods ? when you have the time ? please list the kind of food you crave or look for when you are in one of the below moods. For example when the Irish Rugby team wins their match I am

1. Excited - and I want - Nachos

You will find the list of Questions and Moods below please copy into an email and Send to moodsnfoods@gmail.com:

Please include -
Full Name:
Age Please select from, Kid, Teenager, Young Adult, Adult:
Country:


Please fill out a meal for all Moods listed below:
I feel?

1. Excited - and I want -
2. Extravagant - and I want -
3. Creative - and I want -
4. In love - and I want -
5. Happy - and I want -
6. Sexy - and I want -
7. Energetic - and I want -
8. Adventurous - and I want -
9. Flirtatious - and I want -
10. Studious - and I want -
11. Relaxed - and I want -
12. Angry - and I want -
13. Worried - and I want -
14. Out of love - and I want -
15. Lazy - and I want -
16. Cold - and I want -
17. Lonely - and I want -
18. Sleepy - and I want -
19. Stressed - and I want -
20. Vengeful - and I want -
21. Sad - and I want -


Thanks very much, more information about the project to follow. I would really appreciate it if you could forward this email on to more of your friends and family. Just have them reply to moodsnfoods@gmail.com

Thanks a million your friend and AIESEC Alumna Frances Donegan-Ryan

Anticipation