Are You Taking a Piss?

Man peed way out of avalanche:

"A Slovak man trapped in his car under an avalanche freed himself by drinking 60 bottles of beer and urinating on the snow to melt it.

Rescue teams found Richard Kral drunk and staggering along a mountain path four days after his Audi car was buried in the Slovak Tatra mountains.

He told them that after the avalanche, he had opened his car window and tried to dig his way out.

But as he dug with his hands, he realised the snow would fill his car before he managed to break through.

He had 60 half-litre bottles of beer in his car as he was going on holiday, and after cracking one open to think about the problem he realised he could urinate on the snow to melt it, local media reported."

Hoaxes And Advertising

There is a proliferation of spoof or hoax adverts going around the Internet lately. One such is the recent VW Polo Ad:

"A suicide bomber blows himself up inside the car, but the car is so tough that it contains the explosion. Seems to push the envelope a bit too much to be an actual ad commissioned by Volkswagen, and sure enough it's not. It's a 'spec ad', created by leeanddan.com. Spec ads are 'speculative ads' created to show potential clients what kind of work you're capable of doing. In other words, Volkswagen never endorsed this material."

The company caught wind of the fake ad and reacted by trying to stop the spread of the spoof across the Internet. Right. That's like an ant trying to stop a bulldozer. There were threatening emails, denial press releases, and cease and desist letters. What did this accomplish? Not much. All it did was to force the spoof and the conversation about the spoof to race around the Internet even faster. It's everywhere. It's now a permanent fixture on thousands of websites.

I was reading an article in the Times of Zambia that shows how Chawama residents use hoax odd stories to highlight public interest issues.

Apparently, the residents of this township in Zambia have a long tradition of using all sorts of bizarre and humorous stories that spread like wild fire and, which rapidly bring people together to appreciate the seriousness of any public interest issue.

"In 2002 when perpetual roadblocks became a thorn in the flesh of Lusaka bus drivers, a strategy was mapped out in Chawama to end the problem.

The story was told of a driver who plunged his minibus in the infamous Blue Water dam with seven police officers dying inside with him?

It was all lies but, according to minibus driver, Given Kafwimbi, "It somehow helped us because police reduced on roadblocks along the Kafue road."

The Blue Water hoax tragedy spread so wildly that police spokesperson Brenda Muntemba had to issue up to five Press statements within the same month refuting the claims.

Still people did not believe her until some concerned stone crushers around the dam confirmed there had not been any minibus which plunged into the dam."

Report Links the Orphan Crisis in Africa and Terrorism

Albina du Boisrouvray, president of a leading NGO aiding and lobbying for the support of the hundreds of millions of AIDS orphans and all vulnerable children, today praised the report of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS (GBC)
just released in Davos pointing out the link between the AIDS orphan crisis in Africa and terrorism.

'I am grateful that such a powerful group has raised this issue again at meetings of the World Economic Forum,' said the president of the Association Francois-Xavier Bagnoud (FXB) 'There, in previous years, I lobbied presidents, former presidents, heads of corporations, mayors, and business leaders for the same cause.

She said that she 'urged them to take this on as a priority emergency to prevent AIDS orphans and other vulnerable and destitute children from becoming a global security risk. Already, in almost a dozen African countries 10-year-olds have been forced to fight. Others, just to survive, have resorted to becoming terrorists, criminals, drug dealers, prostitutes, child soldiers or turning themselves into human bombs,' she said.

Dry Sex

This blog post mentions Dry Sex as a possible factor, largely unacknowledged, in the spread of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.

Widely practised in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Zambia and South Africa, dry sex is hardly ever spoken about. It is penetrative sex between a man and a woman, where the woman has previously inserted a substance- methylated spirits, antiseptics, coarse salt, snuff, bicarbonate of soda, vinegar, talcum powder, ice, alum, Zam-Buk, traditional muti (usually prescribed by a traditional healer), soil with baboon urine, shredded newspaper, household detergents or bleach- into her cervix in order to make her vagina dry. Some women insert drying herbs in a cloth or stocking, which they keep inside during foreplay and remove just before penetration to 'make the thing behave, as one woman put it. They do this so when their lovers enter them, they are 'dry and clean,' because both men and women see their wetness as a sign of promiscuity and dirt.

The article cites an example;

Sipewe Mhakeni used herbs from the Mugugudhu tree. After grinding the stem and leaf, she would mix just a pinch of the sand-colored powder with water, wrap it in a bit of nylon stocking, and insert it into her vagina for 10 to 15 minutes. The herbs swell the soft tissues of the vagina, make it hot, and dry it out. That made sex 'very painful,' says Mhakeni. But, she adds, 'Our African husbands enjoy sex with a dry vagina.'

In my opinion, the use of condoms renders this practice irrelevant as condoms are lubricated. I do not know how prevalent this practice is amongst Zambians,it should be dicouraged. Women should not sacrifice sexual safety to men's pleasure.

2 Kwacha Banknote at Ebay

Now, this is a very interesting way to prop up the exchange rate of the Zambian currency. Someone is auctioning Kwacha banknotes at feeds.com.br which is an associate of Ebay.

The old 2 Kwacha note is currently valued at R$1.00. Watchout Bank of Zambia!

101 Dumbest Moments in Business

This year's Business 2.0's annual "101 Dumbest Moments in Business" package has plenty of ironic gems in it. The fifth annual review includes the most shameful, dishonest, and just plain stupid moments of the past year.

Where Have All the Children Gone?

The Tech Central Station reports on why the birth rate in Europe is falling:

"In the so-called 'New Europe', the situation is even gloomier. According to UN projections, Latvia will lose 44 percent of its population by 2050 as a result of demographic trends. In Estonia, the population is expected to shrink by 52 percent, in Bulgaria 36 percent, in Ukraine 35 percent, and in Russia 30 percent. In comparison with these figures, the projected population decline in Italy (22 percent), the Czech Republic (17 percent), Poland (15 percent) or Slovakia (8 percent) looks like a small decrease. France and Germany will lose relatively little population, and the population of the United Kingdom will even see a slight growth -- thanks to immigrants."

AlterNet: The 10 Worst Corporations of 2004

The AlterNet reports on The 10 Worst Corporations of 2004:

"The year's most egregious price gougers, polluters, union-busters, dictator-coddlers, fraudsters, poisoners, deceivers and general miscreants. "

Email Is Dead

The changing world of online communication and collaboration, fueled by real-time tools such as instant messaging, blogs and wikis, could drive the evolution of online collaboration in any number of directions.

For today's kids, e-mail is dead. They use IM. It is their e-mail. They only get e-mail from people they don’t want to talk to.

Watch the younger generation. What we see these kids doing today is what’s going to happen in our business tomorrow.
Kids’ actions show that users will assemble tools in terms of what works for them and what does not. When kids want to talk long distance they download Skype (a VoIP client). They experiment with blogs and wikis.

Junior High

Someone by the name of Ricardo Cortes has written A new pot-friendly book—for kids. The "It’s Just a Plant" is available on the Barnes & Noble Website this month.

“The book is not pro-drugs by any means,” says Cortes, 31, a T-shirt and skateboard designer who lives in Prospect Heights. “It’s about reconsidering the drug laws.”

David R. Anderson of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America responds, “On the one hand, it’s almost laughable, but beyond that, it’s just irresponsible. No one would write a book called It’s Just a Drink.”

And one final question for Cortes: Are you high? “No,” he says. “It’s a little too early in the day for me.”

Beautiful Blackbird

The Lincoln Tribune reports on The Coretta Scott King (CSK) Award Celebration, held last week at the Gaston College's Myers Center Cafeteria in Dallas.

"The Award is given to African-American authors and illustrators who produce creative, inspirational and educational books for children and young people. Ashley Bryan, author, illustrator and a 2004 Award winner, created 'Beautiful Blackbird' as an ode to black, the most inclusive color of all. The story is adapted from a folk tale written by the Ila-speaking people of Zambia and carries a message of self-acceptance, tolerance and beauty from within."

About Zambian (African) Dancing and Wining...

I read this and couldn't fight that nostalgic ache.

"I was brought up in Zambia at the time the disco revolution was just beginning. Many of you posters on here were just pikininis when us guys would spend weekend after weekend clubbing,posing in cars we pushed out of our Father's driveway while he lay snoring. Disco music was just becoming very popular with the likes of the BG's, UB 40, Maddona's Holiday, and loads of funk from Afro Americans was sweeping the dance scene. 'You can ring my bell' was the beat we boogied to, and boogie was the lang on the streets among the kids who belonged to this generation. "

When Bloggers Make News

The WSJ.com covers a story about how "Bloggers are finally moving from the alleys and side streets of the Internet into the mainstream. And as their visibility and clout increases, some are asking: what are the rules of the road? There is no exam to pass or society to join to become a blogger -- anybody can set up a 'Web log' to publish his or her ideas -- ".

Gmail Tips - The Complete Collection

I received an invitation to test Google's email service, Gmail. I have used the service mainly for personal emails. There are number of facilities that are impressive. The storage capacity, searchbox and conversations are very handy. Conversations links group related emails letting you easily track what was sent and to whom it was sent.

You can view the complete collection of
Gmail Tips Here.

Fair And Balanced

See this video aired on Fox News Channel.

And have a good look at The madness of King George on (inauguration) coronation day.

Dear White Fella

This is really sick as in funny. Coupla tings yo orto no

Times Online - Best of 2005

After a long while, I eventually made my way to my drinking well. Well, the locals call it a champagne bar. I have been conscious of how superficial the place can be at times.

What struck me last night was the humility and how people were ready to help. The tsunami, with all the misery it wrought has struck a chord across cultures. People everywhere want to help, and are prepared to do so.

I was literally challenged to sort out the HIV/AIDS issue in Africa, particularly Zambia. I do not pretend to be a saviour, but I'd like to think I can do something about our predicament. For a start let's welcome the assistance that is being showered and one day, perhaps, we can return the favour. In the meantime, let's all ponder on this The Best of 2005:

"It's your holiday - so why should you spend it saving the planet? Because it's fun. Yes, responsible travel can open up a whole world of new adventures. Brian Schofield and Matt Rudd report on how and why it's worth being worthy"

Streamload - Share Videos and Photos - Online MP3 Access

A company called Streamload is offering consumers a free 10 gigabyte online storage locker for multimedia files, potentially raising the stakes for larger companies such as Yahoo and America Online.

Streamloadtypically provides online storage space for a price, making it one of the few companies to survive in that business through the dot-com shakeout. However, it is increasingly competing with larger companies that offer online homes for digital photographs, and even the huge archive space provided by Google's Gmail service.

Company executives say the offer of big online storage lockers, once used only by advanced computer users, is now more relevant to a broader public that has large collections of digital photographs and MP3 files.

EPIC 2014

What is Epic? The Future of News is EPIC

National Peace through Tourism Week

Travel Video Television News reports: " Republic of Zambia, has declared the week of February 6 to 12, 2005, "National Peace through Tourism Week." The week was selected to correspond with the 3rd IIPT African Conference being held in Lusaka, February 6-11, 2005, and to jump start the "Visit Zambia 2005" Campaign.

The week begins with a parade on Sunday in Lusaka – and the issuing of a “Peace through Tourism Week” Proclamation to be carried by the media throughout Zambia.