Dialling Under the Influence

I have on several occasions dialled people have not intended to talk to for one reason or another after a drunken party or a drinking session with friends.

When I'm tipsy, usually, I get highly sentimental. The downside to this is that I tend to say all sorts of nice things to people I don't really like. Exes feature highly on the drunken dial mode.

I have always wonderd why I keep doing it.

Virgin Mobile is aiming to prevent drunken dialing in Australia by providing a way to blacklist numbers so that they can't be called until 6AM, Help available for 'drunken diallers'.

Sounds like a great step to add into the break up routine. Slam door, blacklist SO's phone number while highlighting the numbers of their cute friends, get pissed.

Etiquette in Mind When Mixing Work, Holidays

"So you think you're all set to impress at the office this holiday season? You've purchased a $300 cashmere Burberry scarf as a gift for the boss, you've sent cards to clients and co-workers featuring a quaint manger scene and you've found the perfect, slinky little black dress to wear to the office party.
Hold it. You're about to give Miss Manners a heart attack. When it comes to holiday etiquette, the business world plays by a completely different set of rules. "

Here are the rules of the game:

The 'blog' revolution sweeps across China

Guestblogger Xiao Qiang published an in-depth article in New Scientist on blogging (bo ke) in China. Beyond the sheer growth, the failed attempts of the central authority to censor the most decentralized and adaptive of media holds promise for change.

I'd rather not be Rather

I manage a news website Mpelembe Network. I have come to learn that no one has a monopoly on news. We all want to get the latest freshiest and relevant dose of gossip.

The Economist.com | Lexingtonhas a brilliant article reminding the old guard to step aside before they are tossed on the scrap heap or Rather the following puts it more politely;

"Given America's fractious politics, it is easy to look at Mr Rather's retirement merely in terms of a left v right scorecard. But, more fundamentally, it is about choice.
Mr Rather's announcement of his (partial) retirement comes just a few days before Tom Brokaw resigns from his job anchoring NBC's evening news. That leaves ABC's Peter Jennings as the only survivor of the long-established triumvirate. But nobody imagines that the arrival of new blood at CBS and NBC will revive the fortunes of the network news. Most Americans now get their news from an ever-proliferating range of sources: not just Fox or CNN, but also foreign newspapers and even the innumerable original documents that are now available at the touch of a button. And fewer people regard any single news source�be it CBS News or the New York Times�as the embodiment of truth. "

Raising (Rising) New Media

the old media are losing power to the new: "Mr Rather's retirement epitomises two broader shifts of power. First, the old media are losing power to the new. And, second, the liberal media establishment is losing power to a more diverse cacophony of new voices.

For most of the post-war era the American media were dominated by a comfortable liberal consensus. The New York Times was the undisputed king of the print news, while the network anchors lorded it over TV news. That consensus is now under siege. The attacks are partly coming from the cable networks�particularly from conservative Fox News. (Charles Krauthammer once quipped that Rupert Murdoch had spotted a niche market�half the country. Sure enough, Fox is now America's top-rated cable news network.) But old media also face a newer and more unpredictable source of competition�the blogosphere. Bloggers have discovered that all you need to set yourself up as a pundit is a website and an attitude."

My Crappy Life

My Crappy Life: "Just to let everyone know, my mother was murdered

I'm a quite confused by this comment. I have gone through Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman's LiveJournal, even her website, http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/ art/s/m/smchyrocky/smchyrocky.html, and yet there is so much talk about her getting her mother murdered.

In case you are wondering the story is that this teenager enlisted a couple of men to kill her mother. The story has been running since mid november. People who know this young women claim that the story is true, others like me think it is another internet rumour gone wild, like "I'll find my frog story".

The mainstream media have not picked up on this, yet.

I'm watching the latest commentaries to see what pans out. If true, this is really sick!

Le French Logic

Court Rules French Film Not French Enough : "Court Rules French Film Not French Enough

Never mind that Jean-Pierre Jeunet's new film is a French story filmed in the French language featuring one of France's biggest actresses. A Paris court has ruled that 'Un Long Dimanche de Fiancailles' (A Very Long Engagement), which opened Friday in the United States, is too American to compete in French film festivals - because of its Warner Bros. backing.

The movie, which opened at the end of October in France to much acclaim, stars Audrey Tautou, the winsome young actress who went from virtual unknown to international star with Jeunet's 2001 romance 'Amelie.'

The National Center for Cinematography, or CNC, made state funds available for Jeunet's movie in October 2003. A producer's association immediately questioned the film's nationality and filed a complaint. "

World of Drugs

World of Drugs The Astonishing Facts That Show How This Costly 130-Year War on Narcotics Has Achieved so Little

BILLIONS have been spent by governments in Western Europe and North America fighting the drug dealers. But the war is being lost.
Heroin, cocaine, metamphetamine and other illegal drugs are cheaper, purer and easier to get hold of than ever.
And in the United States alone half a million people are behind bars on drug charges - more than the entire prison population of Western Europe.
These shocking statistics show how drugs are ruling the world."

DVD killed the video star : Part 3

I don't see any conflict at all and both postings do have valid points to make. My contention with the original posting
was that it cited picture and sound quality as one of - if not THE reason why the VCR had lost to the DVD. It
was with this that I disagree and state that a high quality VCR will give you picture and Hi Fi sound that will rival
DVD. Of course with VCRs, the actual tape matters - a lot! If you want hi quality picture and sound, you need to be
looking at high end tapes, not the regular run-of-the mill "for daily use" types. One needs to be looking at the likes
of the JVC EHG and higher series of video cassettes.

It should come as no surprise that the DVD outsells the VCR on the high street by what must be an order of
magnitude, for various reasons, not least that the DVD players are now dirt cheap and the technology certainly
en vogue. The DVD has several 'features' that outclass the VCR by leaps and bounds - like the option to enable
or disable subtitles in more than one language (there are VCRs that do menus, indexing and subtitles - but I
haven't seen one that lets you pick the subtitle language).

The DVD's ability to playback CDs and MP3 files means it is fast replacing CD players as well and what is going
largely un-announced by the big high street retailers is that sales of CD players have fallen as well. You find people
are opting to have the one DVD player that doubles as both 'VCR' and CD-player. They will often connect this to an
AV type amplifier - usually with the 5:1 audio processing capability and Dolby-this-and-DTS-that. This often means
that the sound setup is changing from regular 2-channel stereo to surround sound to make the most of the
audio technology (1 x Sub woofer, 2 x front surround, 2 x rear surround).

What most do not realise is that there is a silent world out there known only to the purists. These are the sort that
will shell out GBP 2000 on a turntable (that was not an extra zero!) and will be looking for little-known names such
as Sugden, Naim, Linn, Audio Note and Rothwell to mention but a few, and will shell out 5 times that much for a
pair of speakers. They frown on AV amplifiers, DVD audio and surround sound - and maintain that these should be
used only for reproducing video recordings (DVD) not Hi Fi audio. The latter - as far as the audiophiles are concerned -
remains the preserve of high quality Hi Fi amplifiers, stereo speakers and analog sources. These unfortunately, are in
the minority and are largely ignored by the big companies because let's face it - there is more to be made by selling a
million things that cost $10 each than 1 item which costs $1M.

It is in Dixon's interest to announce that it will no longer stock VCRs because let's face it - it is all overhead to
them. I can't see that anyone would want to buy a VCR in Japan and the occident today with the DVD recorder prices
falling as they are, and yes, people will start transferring their video recordings to DVD - but if one's VCR was not high
quality to start with, one will end up with a DVD that is the same quality as their original VHS recording! The
only benefit of this transfer then becomes convenience - not quality.

It is for this reason that I am loathe to transfer my vinyl to CD. I'd rather transfer it to SACD, but alas! Majority rules.
Like Beta max lost out to VHS, again the world of commerce dictates that the accepted universal standard for audio will
be the lower quality system - but that is another debate!

Thanks for the info...

Email Service

Lessons From The Demise of The VCR

was greatly saddened to hear of beginning of the end of the video recorder. Dixons (LSE: DXNS) has sounded the death knell for the VCR with its announcement that it will stop selling them after Christmas this year.

Dixons justified its decision to stop selling VCRs by confessing to a drop in demand for video recorders. It also revealed that DVD players currently outsell VCRs by a hefty ratio of forty to one. For some of us, the impending demise of the VCR brings to the fore the problem of what to do with our library of video tapes.

Most solutions involve throwing money at the problem. For example, it is possible to buy a substantial stock of cheap video recorders and tapes that would hopefully see you through your playing days. Of course, video tapes have a limited shelf, with degradation over time an insurmountable problem. It is also possible to transfer your video tapes onto DVDs. You can do this either through your personal computer or via your existing television set-up. There are even specialist companies that will convert the tapes for you.

WE WERE VERY HAPPY CHILDREN

"More items to remind one of the good old days.

1.- We never wore seatbelts in the car, cars didn't have airbags.You still
had British cars on the roads and Peugeot 504s and Fiat 131 (Mirafori) and Fiat 132s were the in things.

2.- Riding on the back of a vanette was an adventure that we still remember!

3.- When we rode our bikes we never wore a helmet.

4.- We would drink water from the tap or from a hose in the backyard (not
bottled water).

5.- We didn't have cell phones , so our parents were never able to reach us
(awesome)

6.- We would eat cake, bread and butter, drink sugary drinks, and we weren't
overweight nor worry about cholesterol or diets because we were always
outside playing

7.- Four of us would share a drink, we would all drink from the same bottle
and that wasn't disgusting nor would anyone get sick.

8.- We didn't have Playstations, Nintendo 64, X boxes, video games, DSTV,
VCR's, surround sound, cellular phones, computers, online chatrooms, instead
we would have tons of FRIENDS

9.- Remember DPB's milk chocolate biscuits.

10.- We listened to music with titles like Lazy Bones or Introduction or
45,000 volts sang by musicians who spoke broken English with funny accents
with bands called The Witch, Liqourice All Sorts, Ngozi Family, Crossbones
and not endless computer generated love songs or rap music with lyrics so
foul you probably needed a condom just to listen to it.

11. We wore pink shirts with big collars, platform shoes(Heliganza), crimplene trousers and shirts, bell bottom jeans with massive cowboy belts with brass bu"

Economic `Armageddon' predicted

BostonHerald.com - Business: Economic `Armageddon' predicted: "Stephen Roach, the chief economist at investment banking giant Morgan Stanley, has a public reputation for being bearish.

But you should hear what he's saying in private.

Roach met select groups of fund managers downtown last week, including a group at Fidelity.

His prediction: America has no better than a 10 percent chance of avoiding economic ``armageddon.'' "

soca, what's the goal?

Spy Blog: New British "Organised Crime Agency", trust, turf wars and privacy issues: "So what exactly will the 'Organised Crime Agency' tackle, and will the existing agencies still duplicate their work ?
Will it be truely National. i.e. will it include Scotland and Northern Ireland ?
Will there be extra funding for this new Agency ?
What are the limits on its power, and who audits those powers ?
What will the complaints procedure be ?
Or is this just going to be yet another Government soundbite policy ? "

How Safe Are the 5 Drugs?

Five Drugs Panned by FDA Drug Reviewer : "Five drugs cited by a government drug reviewer as the worst examples of those that remain on the market despite safety concerns, along with alternate products:
- Accutane, a treatment for severe acne linked to birth defects and fetal death when used by pregnant women. Alternatives, according to March of Dimes: topical preparations of the antibiotics erythromycin or clindamycin and the antibacterial agent benzoyl peroxide.
- Bextra, a painkiller found in a recent study to more than double the risk of heart attacks and strokes among patients with heart disease. Alternatives, according to Public Citizen: Enteric-coated aspirin or ibuprofen.
- Crestor, an anti-cholesterol drug linked to a muscle-destroying side effect and acute renal failure. Alternative statins: Lipitor, Lescol, Pravachol, Mevacor and Zocor.
- Meridia, an obesity treatment linked to heart problems and, among pregnant women, stillbirths, miscarriages and birth defects. Alternatives: There's no other diet drug that works like Meridia.
- Serevent, an asthma medication that a study in England linked to increased deaths due to asthma. Alternate FDA-approved asthma drugs: Leukotriene blockers, inhaled corticosteroids and theophylline"

Low-Carb Diets

And to All a Good Bite Before You Sit Down to That Holiday Feast, Take a Discerning Look at Low- Carb Diets : "And to All a Good Bite Before You Sit Down to That Holiday Feast, Take a Discerning Look at Low- Carb Diets
Daily News; Los Angeles, Calif. (Nov 24, 12:05 AM) Sticking to a diet plan is hard to do, period. But it becomes especially difficult during the holiday season when tables are laden with tempting treats that violate even the most generous of diet plans.
To lose weight, say nutrition experts, you must find a nutritionally sound diet that works for you. And knowing the pros and cons of the popular plans, such as Atkins and The Zone, can help you find the right weight-loss plan. "

DVD killed the video star Update.

This is a response from one of my more knowledgeable buddy. I would disagree if he wasn't an electronics expert. I get a feeling the marketing men are selling us one and the the same thing twice over.

>> Besides, the VHS sound and picture quality were always rubbish.

And I beg to differ. I have heard this remark over and over and I think it really needs to be qualified. If you get a cheap VHS
recorder, then indeed your sound and picture will be less than superb. Shell out a decent amount and you would be amazed.

I purchased a top-of-the-range JVC HR-J935 Hi-Fi video recorder (next one up is S-VHS ) for about GBP 450 in '96 and remain
impressed with its capabilities. The picture and sound quality are excellent thanx to the so called Dynamic drum system. I played
back a TV recording for one of my friends only a few months ago and they asked me how much I had paid for my DVD-recorder.
I told them it wasn't the DVD (I don't have a recorder) but the video playing back and their comment was "No way you get sound
like that from a VCR!". I had to stop and eject the tape to convince them I was on the level.

It is a clever VCR and when you fast forward or rewind in playback mode, you don't get the white lines across the screen.
You get a clear picture - and at selected REW/FWD speeds, you even get the sound - not squiggly cartoon like-like noises,
but proper sound - at normal speed, sampled and played back normally so you can actually hear which portion of the tape you
are rewinding/forwarding. You can also record a HiFi track alongside the normal mono audio track and the two don't have to be
the same! The only drawback with the VCR is that it respects copyright - and the manual doesn't tell you about this! You can
record anything off TV, Hi-8 or a purchased video, you can't copy a video from Blockbusters! It has the so called microvision
technology which is a real pain for people prepared to disregard copyright law. I know you can buy gadgets off the internet
which strip the microvision macro and enable you to get round this problem, but these are only just now surfacing and I have
had my VCR since 96.

So, while it may be true to say that dollar for dollar you'd get better picture and sound from a DVD player - by miles -
it is not a universal fact that all VCRs are terrible

>> Another thing I always hated about VHS tapes is that they were so huge.

Now is this really true? The DVD itself might be very small compared with the tape, but the packaging does bring the
both of them on near level pegging so that's a moot point regarding storage unless one is talking disc without the case.
I think DVD covers should have been designed the same size as ordinary audio CDs to really make that point stick.

I think it is fair to put down the VCR on the basis of 'features' rather than trying to go the full mile and label them 'rubbish'
on quality grounds because the fact of the matter is that you get what you pay for.

Vinyl has in recent times put up an amazing come back as true audiophiles demand quality and the companies concede
that the sound quality on vinyl is better than CD - so much so that Sony has released a new format called SACD (super
Audio CD) to try and match (and presumably better) vinyl by emulating as closely as possible the data pattern in the vinyl
groove. Yet, when you look back to when CD first hit the scene, one of the selling points was that it was a higher quality than
vinyl!

I will not for a minute presume to state that VHS, or S-VHS even can match DVD. But I will move though, that you would be
hard pushed to tell - on the basis of picture and 2-channel stereo sound alone - the difference between DVD and a very good
quality VCR.

One person's opinion

Most Powerful Woman in the World

Condi: The Enigma

A word from her to the President could unleash American missiles, terrifying bombing missions or a full-scale invasion that could bring the whole world to the edge of war. But nobody seems to know what really drives her.

"'Condi is not a politician, she's a diplomat,' she said (her old friend Deborah Carson).
'Besides, she's far too private a person to want to have her life scrutinised in that way. Condi has tremendous drive, she sets herself goals then she meets those goals.
'I guess she could do pretty much whatever she wanted in life.
'But President? No, I don't think so.'"

What makes you - hic - feel drunk?

Today saw the launch of a new website, www.drinkaware.co.uk, which encourages awareness of alcohol consumption and also offers information on responsible drinking.

DVD killed the video star

DVD killed the video star: "As Dixons announces to phase out the VCR, Ashley Norris finds few reasons to mourn the end of an era "

So we're not shedding any tears over today's news that Dixons is to phase out selling any more VHS video recorders.

So will I miss our VCR when it finally gets the boot? Probably not. Like anyone of my generation, I am perfectly capable of getting wistful about the first time I saw a pirate movie (for some bizarre reason, for most of us it was almost always ET) on a friend's Betamax video.

Yet I also remember the hours I wasted trying to get my head round impenetrable timer programming systems, and the times I returned home to find the machine had recorded the EastEnders omnibus instead of the football are etched in my memory.

Besides, the VHS sound and picture quality were always rubbish. Once any sane person had seen a DVD, they weren't going to put up with crinkly images and snow-filled screens any more.

Another thing I always hated about VHS tapes is that they were so huge. Ikea bosses must be crying into their Swedish vodka today, knowing that the nation's living rooms will soon no longer require their enormous storage cupboards to house all those videos.

In all fairness, it is amazing that the VHS VCR has managed to cling on for as long as three decades.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Man arrested over French student's murder

Man arrested over French student's murder: "Police were today questioning a 36-year-old man over the murder of the French student Amelie Delagrange, who died after being attacked near Twickenham Green in August.
The man was arrested at a house in West Drayton, near Heathrow airport, at around 8.30am. He was also being questioned over the attempted murder and robbery of a woman near the same green, in south-west London, in November 2002."

A nation 'in grip of drink crisis'

Britain: a nation 'in grip of drink crisis': "The American 'super-cop' brought in by the Home Office to cut Britain's crime rate warned last night that the nation's binge drinking culture was spiralling out of control and fuelling an epidemic of violence outside pubs and clubs that threatened to overwhelm the police. "

I've seen the footage on TV and I do respect the men and women who risk their personal safety to control the situation.

I do not think it is armageddon, rather than exuberance.

I met a friend and his girlfriend yesterday at a pub to watch the England against South Africa rugby match. Funny that I had to go to a pub instead of the stadium which is only 15mins walk from where I live.

Anyway, it took me 30 minutes to order a drink. After that It was impossible to see the TV monitor because there were so many people taller people in front of me.

My friend and I and his squeeze consoled ourselves with with a few drinks. The people were all so civilised even though they were inebrieted not only from the England win over the Sringboks,but lot's ale as well.

I did not notice any fights, it was a good evening of family fun and all the English gentlemen ferried their happy families away peacefully.

I just wish England was like this everywhere.

Footage: French Soldiers Shooting Unarmed African Civilians

This link takes you to the main site. on the left column are links to various videos. it's in french, but you'll get there...
Footage: "French Soldiers shooting unarmed African civilians, killing some, and injuring many more."

What Was Old Is New Again

What is it about the 1980s, they just don't seem to go away. I have been hearing about goingBack To The '80s for a while now. "People are nostalgic about the 1980s. Every post-World War II decade has gone through a romantic revival, so why not the '80s? "

The icons, fashions and attitudes of the '80s are back .

In a recent edition of her CNBC talk show, Tina Brown complained: 'I feel like I've been living in some kind of 1980s time warp.' The 1980s were not a bad decade for Ms. Brown, who sat atop New York society from her perch at Vanity Fair. So it was unexpected to hear her continue, lamenting the flashback, 'Is this getting old already?' If you didn't enjoy the cultural tropes of 20 years ago, you may share Ms. Brown's frustration.
Donald Trump, the embodiment of '80s excess and absurdity, is a reality megastar. CBS launched its November sweeps lineup with a 'Dallas' reunion. A telemovie about life behind the scenes at rival 'Dynasty' has been shot by ABC. A full-blown 'Dallas' feature is also in the works, along with a remake of 'The A-Team,' currently being scripted by James Bond maestro Bruce Feirstein. And Jamie Foxx may pair with Colin Farrell to revive the 'Miami Vice' franchise on the big screen."

For me the 80s where about music, It was New York, it was the 1980s, and hip-hop was being born: "back then, cool was all about having the right flavour and savoir faire . Such a style blended a certain brand of rebelliousness with a casual nonchalance. It was a cocky confidence that was meticulously updated by a perpetual pursuit of an alternative, yet distinctive, sensibility. Cool permeated the scene. Kool Herc, LL Cool J, Kool Rock Ski and Kool Moe Dee were but a few of the countless numbers who added the word cool to their street, graffiti, DJ, MC, and break-dancer names. But cool back then went beyond the Kangols, Adidas, gold chains, monikers. It went much deeper. It wasn't about being in a fashion show, going double platinum, or selling the next urban brand. Cool was about survival. It was about strength, pride, courage, and a fierce love for self. "

Now that I'm older Funk and rare grooves is more of my taste. My compilation of rare grooves includes popular sounds during the '80s that had of its emphasis on danceable, funky grooves, jazz-funk. This type of music became highly popular in the British underground music scene (where it was known as 'rare groove') when it was rediscovered during the mid- to late '80s. The especially hardcore funk fanatics spend much of their waking hours searching for something called "rare groove". The rare grooves include heavy and obscure tracks that are being used by Hip Hop producers & also highlights tunes yet to be unearthed. This is a sophisticated and rare experience of Funk and rare grooves. It is a must for 80s classy clubbers.

Feel Better

"Whenever you are feeling down. This should cheer you up"

The classless society in modern British society

I have been following the latest row about Britain's Prince Charles' opinion on modern education. Details of the prince's memo were disclosed yesterday at an industrial tribunal hearing, where Elaine Day, a member of his household, is claiming she was dismissed unfairly on the grounds of sex discrimination and victimisation.

In his Memo He wrote: 'What is wrong with everyone nowadays? Why do they all seem to think they are qualified to do things far beyond their capabilities. This is all to do with the learning culture in the schools. It is a consequence of the child-centred education.' Charles added: 'It tells people they can become pop stars, High Court judges, or brilliant TV presenters, or more competent heads of state without putting in the necessary works or having natural ability.
'It is the result of social utopianism, a belief that humanity can be genetically engineered to contradict the lessons of history. What am I to tell Elaine? She's so PC it frightens me rigid.' "

This remark in my understanding implied that the future king is living in ancient times. Aristocracy: "In the Medieval period, everyone had their place. And nowhere was this more rigidly applied than in the nobility. This group, comprising only few percent of the population (depending on region) was at the top of everything, socially, economically, politically, and militarily. Within the nobility there were numerous ranks . The names varied from region to region, but by more or less common agreement, there was a definite pecking order for each rank. "

Despite all the politcal, economical, technological and cultural advancements that have been achieved over the centuries, the snobbery factor is alive and well in modern Britain. Politicians of all shades have attempted to transform britain into a classless, multicural society and have failed miserably.

In an article titledThe classless society in modern British society the attempts to justify snobbery and goes as far as evoking philosophy: "Without the celebration of our class system, as the philosopher Roger Scruton has pointed out: 'The British, like the Americans, would begin to measure success purely in terms of wealth, influence and power. The precious distinctions between power and authority - vividly inscribed into the offices, titles and dignities of the British system - would cease to be acknowledged. The ideals of the lady and the gentleman would no longer be taught, and snobbery - that most disinterested and leisurely of human ailments - would be replaced by a kind of frenzied cronyism.' "

If there is any consolation for Elaine Day it is this, why on earth would you want to work or live with people who refuse to live with the times.
I think he's wrong on this one. I'm a meritocrat. I do believe that people get themselves out of disadvantage; that the biggest driving force for social change is people's own ambition.

With advanced technology available to everyone, we are all on the same level playing field. You can succeed without a nod and wink from old relics. Cabinet ministers " called Charles ' old-fashioned and out of time', his views were plain 'wrong'. 'The Prime Minister has said he fully supports the ministers."

Playing The Race Card

England's match against Spain in Madrid was being closely monitored by the Football Association, officials of the London bid for the 2012 Olympics and the BBC, who televised the match, to see how far the Spanish go in promoting Madrid's bid. The
Telegraph Sport reported: "The Daily Telegraph understands that London 2012 heard rumours some time ago that Madrid were planning to use tonight's match to promote their city's bid. London 2012 got in touch with the FA, who in turn approached the Spanish FA, saying that neither London nor Madrid should try to gain an Olympic advantage from the football friendly."

While any promotion is unlikely to influence the voting by the International Olympic Committee on July 6 next year, the monitoring thereof shows that pressure is building up rapidly in this extremely tight race to host the 2012 Games.

Surprise, surprise the headlines readRacist chanting puts Madrid bid at risk: "Racial abuse of black players during England's friendly against Spain has seriously jeopardised Madrid's chances of staging the Olympics in 2012, according to members of the International Olympic Committee."

France is rumoured to be the favourites, but the British press has joined the foray. One headline readsWhere's the va va voom?: "France's reputation as a multi-cultural society has taken a hit in the last year with the controversy over Muslim girls being banned from wearing headscarves in state schools.

This is an area that London 2012 are already exploiting. Every time Mayor Ken Livingstone talks about the bid, he mentions the hundreds of languages that are spoken here and how the 'world's communities are already in the capital'. "

The London Olympic bid is playing the race card!

Virtual Bartender

It is a cold day and will even get colder tonight. Times like this makes me feel like not stepping out. Now, it is a friday and a man needs a beer after a hard week's work. I have decided to stay in and have a few beers served by myVirtual Bartender.

Dare I say that she is gorgeous and I like the way she plays with the head, I mean the head on the beer. Forget it.

Dancing Car

There are a number of things I really like about living in the UK despite a other annoying things like the weather and racism. There comes a time when you simply feel that it is all worth it in the long run.

On tuesday I
downloaded a dancing car: "For a moment, I was in a 1987 time warp, standing in a toy aisle and picking out a new Transformer toy for my son.

But then I woke up, and realized the action was coming from a new U.K. television ad for the Citroen, in which a real car turns into a Transformer and does a dancin'-fool groove thang in the streets. Very cool. If you were/are a Transformer kid (they were introduced in '84), don't miss it.

Why England should have walked last night

Guardian Unlimited: "The England team had a ready-made answer to the Spanish racists who piled into the Bernabeu last night to grunt monkey noises at their black players: to walk off the pitch in protest.
By doing so, Sven-Goran Eriksson's side could have taken the lead in the fight against a malignancy that has infested stadiums all over Europe in recent years - a malignancy that Uefa has shown itself to be unable or unwilling to eradicate"

Racist Football

For some us living in England yesterday's game between England and Spain just went further to prove that Europeans are racist. Hooliganism and racism is rampant in European football, in nearly all the European countries black players are racially abused.

The shame is FIFA has done nothing about it apart from issuing pointless warnings and making official enquiries that amount to sweet FA, no pun intendedThe Kick racism out of football campaign has been running as long as I have lived in the UK and yet this disgusting behaviour continues unabated. In my opinion, this is a deep rooted problem in European society as whole. It is rotten to the core with racists!

ADS PULLED FOR RISQUÉ BUS-INESS

I was watching BBC breakfast news when the female newsreader, smirkingly narrated the story about how New York transport officials were impressed when the hip-hop clothing label Akademiks announced that it wanted to buy advertisements on the sides of buses in the city, promoting the benefits of literacy.

But it turned out that the benefits in question weren't the ones the authorities had in mind.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority vowed yesterday to start removing the adverts after being informed that the slogan plastered over 200 city buses - "Read books, get brain" - refers to a slang term for oral sex.

Reuters Financial News puts it bluntly asRead a book, get oral sex. The advertisements that ran on about 200 buses across the city in recent months carried posters displaying a suggestively posed woman in hot pants kneeling among a pile of books beside the snappy slogan 'Read Books, Get Brain.'

Akademiks expects to post revenue this year of $75 million.

Cool, smart advertising!

Thou shalt have sex, and enjoy it.

The controversial book, It's A Sin Not To Do It, written by two theologians, Roberto Beretta and Elisabetta Broli, who write regularly for the Italian Bishops' magazine, promises the reader answers to 'everything you wanted to know about sex but the Church (almost) never dared to tell you'.
Bullet points on the jacket cover underline the central message: 'Sex? God invented it. Original sin? Sex has nothing to do with it. Without sex there is no real marriage.'
Another chapter likely to raise eyebrows unearths theological justification for post-coital masturbation for women who fail to achieve orgasm during intercourse.
The authors are now awaiting reader reaction.
Forgive me for I have sinned. I shall, from now on, endeavour to satisfy my fleshly cravings more frequently and enjoy myself while at it.

GOD HELP AMERICA

This quote fromThe Mirror is funny but true: "There's only one headline in town today, folks: 'It Was Osama Wot Won It.'
And soon he'll expect pay-back. Well, he can't allow Bush to have his folks whoopin' and a-hollerin' without his own getting a share of the fun, can he?"

Government and NGOs

ZAMBIA: Proposed law regulating donor funds causes friction: "Zambia is considering a law that could compel NGOs to account for donor funds allegedly being used to criticise the government.
President Levy Mwanawasa announced at a public rally on Tuesday in the northwestern district of Kabompo that authorities were closely monitoring the activities of NGOs and some churches. "

The Post (Lusaka) reported that the VICE-President Lupando Mwape has directed police to arrest NGO officials who go into his area without his permission.

While I have reservations about such decrees from politicians, I think the issue about the good work being done by the NGOs, and the tremendous opportunities being opened up by them for public service in various fields should be discussed in depth. In various discussions , a sharp contrast is often made between the dull and confined routine of the bureaucrat working for the government and the freedom and initiative of the social activist serving the NGO.

The successful NGO tends to extend its operations, and, in doing so, it has to come to terms with the very problems of funding, management and accounting that bedevil the work of the government.

The acquisition and management of large funds requires both time and effort. The move from social activist to fund raiser and fund manager has been made with ease by many, but it has also brought about some change in their orientations. The prime movers of successful NGOs do not like to talk about the sources of their funding, preferring to dwell instead on the work their organisation is doing and the work that remains to be done.

The successful NGO needs to have administrators, accountants, project officers and field staff. Their terms and conditions of work have to be specified in a more or less formal way. Even the most dedicated promoters of social causes have to make some concessions to the demands of bureaucratic routine.

I think this what the Vice president is trying ensure although he seems to resort to draconian measures.

Modern organisations have certain common characteristics, whether in the public or the private domain, in the governmental or the non-governmental sector. Here, as important as the sector in which the organisation operates is the scale of its operation. It is at this point that the NGO seem to replicate, not just the ways of functioning but also the forms of organisation of agencies of the government. This cannot be an argument against the existence or even the expansion of voluntary activity in the social field outside the government's ambit. Such activity plays a vital part not only in the regeneration of society but also in the health and well-being of democracy. The public will no doubt appreciate the good work that is being done by the NGOs. But they, in their turn, must be ready to submit themselves to the same exacting scrutiny and assessment that they expect the public to exercise over the work of the government.

Four More Years

So it all finally boils down to this, Dubya is back four more! The

Silicon Valley - Dan Gillmor's eJournal provides a glimpse of the pending gloom. Is this sour grapes or reality?

"There's no secret about what's coming. We don't have that excuse this time.
Here comes more fiscal recklessness -- as we widen the chasm between the ultra-wealthy and everyone else, cementing a plutocracy into our national fiber, we'll pay our national bills on the Treasury Bill credit card for the next few years. Many economists expect a Brazil-like financial crisis to hit the U.S. before the end of the decade. If we muddle our way though the near term, we'll still have left our kids with the bill.
Here comes an expansion of the American empire abroad, a fueling of fear and loathing elsewhere on the globe. This is also unsustainable in the end. Empire breeds disrespect.
Our civil liberties will shrink drastically. This president and his top allies in Congress fully support just one amendment in the Bill of Rights, the Second Amendment's right to bear arms. Say goodbye to abortion rights in most states. Roe v. Wade will fall after this president pushes three or four Scalia and Thomas legal clones onto the Supreme Court. Say hello, meanwhile, to a much more intrusive blending of church and state.
The environment? We'll be nostalgic for Ronald Reagan's time in office.
This is not sour grapes. This is reality."

Zambia Open Business Forum

The advent of Internet technologies provides a wide array of opportunities for everyone with the time and energy to persue their dream without the cost associated with conventional business.

I have began developing theZambia Open Business Forum inorder to encourage more Zambians to take on the challenge of entrepeurship. The
"The Business Forum is engaged in the development, marketing and delivery of services and publications for businesspersons and other professionals engaged in or investing in web-based businesses.
The service is designed to help businesspersons and other professionals learn about, build and conduct business on the Internet. The service is aimed at people with all levels of business and technical experience."

Starting a business takes guts and hard work: "A great idea for a business may be a jumping-off point, but it takes more than an idea to birth a business.
It takes money.
The challenge, whether it's to start a business from scratch or to expand an existing one, is to figure out where you want to go and how you want to get there.
But remember: Nothing is written in stone.
'There are no hard fast rules in starting a business,' said Nita Black, managing director of Financial Services Exchange. "

Beg, Borrow or Get a Grant

Entrepreneurial Resources Subject Tracer Information Blog:

Entrepreneurial Resources (EntrepreneurialResources.info) is a Subject Tracer Information Blog developed and created by the Virtual Private Library. It is designed to bring together the latest resources and sources on an ongoing basis from the Internet for entrepreneur resources "

Transcript of Google CEO's remarks at 35th Internet Anniversary

At the 35th Anniversary of the Internet event in Los Angeles, Google CEO Eric Schmidt is speaking with UCLA professor Leonard Kleinrock. Here is a partial, rough transcript of Mr. Schmidt's remarks.

We allocate about 70% of our resources to our core business and 30% to "other" because we never know what that other will become. We also ask our employees to spend 20% of their time on exploration, and those tend to be complementary to our core.
Our agenda tends to be driven by a bottoms-up process not so much traditional strategic planning. Google is trying to solve the next problem not the last problem.

[ Question: Was it serendipity that made google what it became? ] I think the word is luck. The principles from which Google was built do exist in other indstries. Ours is a reproducable model, and others may end up reproducing it and solving other problems. We're just seeing the beginning of this.

Good management is not that complicated, it's about leadership. Some managers need to micromanage everything, but that doesn't produce creativity. If you can figure out a way to tell a story, that's how people learn. they have a beginning middle and an end. if you have the right kind of people and the right kind of values, that can work. The great thing about high tech is that labor is very mobile, and if you want to deal with other people, you are forced to deal with them as peers and equals.

There are many uses of the net that are not touched by Google. Peer to peer, and the majority of email traffic. It's very important that people work on internet monitoring, internet scaling, all of the next generation projects -- I don't think any single one is of dominant importance.

We're in a real time world where people who need to collaborate can do so instantly. That has a downside because evil people can collaborate quickly, as well as the good guys, but the overwhelming effect is very positive.

Software businesses, intellectual property businesses have good cashflow if they're run right. A friend who went to business school once told me the only rule you need to know is DNROOC. Do not run out of cash. For us the decision to go public was viewed as a neccesary thing but not something we needed for our operations. People were surprised about the fact that the decision to go public was such a last minute thing, which it was -- we made the decision hours before we filed. We then went through the whole process which was of course widely covered and entertaining in lots of ways. At the end of it, we flew back to our offices and went back to work. Following Monday we had a one hour biefing about what we felt we did right or wrong. We had one of the executives announce the "end of the IPO," and we haven't talked about it since.

The company is about end users changing the world, the good and bad things they're doing out there. It's not about the IPO.

Information on the internet has a very long tail (Ed. Note: referring to Chris Anderson's recent article in Wired.)There are very few things that the entire world is interested in at the same time. The vast majority of people out there are very much engaged in their own daily lives, in a local context very different than yours or mine.

The other thing to remember is that the average person does not want to debug their computer. We prefer instead the idea of a person typing something in and Google -- or someone else -- figuring things out for you. But very few things are organized around that principle of simplicity; we love and appreciate the complexity in technology but people using the internet really don't want that. When you see an ease of use breakthrough, it's such a wonderful thing.