Halloween is a time when ghost and horror stories abound, and people walk the streets dressed as ghouls and ghosts and skeletons…
Listening to the news yesterday I was reminded that the “Halloween Party” is back… with a ghoulish spine tingling hellish plan..
Privatisation of rail, gas, electricity, water etc has made billions for fat cats and left the rest of us paying subsidies to companies who overcharge us to use resources that used to belong to us as a nation. Being overcharged for things that don’t work properly anymore is not actually a great deal of fun.
Privatised prisons have a dismal record, privatised healthcare has a litany of bad practice and cover-ups, selling off council housing has had the strange effect of leaving us with nowhere for the less wealthy to be housed…
And now they want our forests.
The government announced this week that it plans to sell off our forests.
Why call it a HELLISH plan? Because they take what is yours and sell it… you don’t get the money – you just get charged a HELL of a lot to use it in the future.
The nightmare continues…
—–
One of my favourite song lyrics is Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi” which unfortunately proves relevant over and over again…
BIG YELLOW TAXI
by Joni Mitchell
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put ’em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see ’em
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away the D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last night
I heard my screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
I said don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got
Till it’s gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
A woman was sitting at a bar enjoying an after work cocktail with her girlfriends when Steven, a tall, exceptionally handsome, extremely sexy, middle-aged man entered. He was so striking that the woman could not take her eyes off him.
This seasoned yet playful heartthrob noticed her overly attentive stare and walked directly toward her. (As any man would.) Before she could offer her apologies for staring so rudely, he leaned over and whispered to her, “I’ll do anything, absolutely anything, that you want me to do, no matter how kinky, for $20.00…
on one condition…”
Flabbergasted but intrigued, the woman asked what the condition was. The man replied, “You have to tell me what you want me to do in just three words.”
The woman considered his proposition for a moment, and then slowly removed $20 bill from her purse, which she pressed into the man’s hand along with her address. She looked deeply and passionately into his eyes, barely concealing her anticipation and excitement, and slowly and meaningfully said….
Today was the 70th Anniversary of John Lennon – it would have been his 70th birthday and a monument to John Lennon was unveiled in Liverpool by his first wife Cynthia (married to him from 1962 – 68) and his son Julian.
Designed as a monument to peace and a shrine for fans visiting Lennon’s home city of Liverpool where he was born in 1940. It consists of a globe to symbolise oneness and the earth, surrounded with various musical imagery in addition to a peace sign – guitar, keyboard, sax, musical notes flowing around the globe and a pair of hands releasing doves of peace into the air above it. It was commissioned by the California based Global Peace Initiative and created by 19 year-old American artist Lauren Voiers.
Julian said: “We come here with our hearts to honour dad and pray for peace and say thank you to each and every one of you and everybody involved in the celebrations today,”and Cynthia added: “I think the mourning is over for John. I think it’s time to celebrate, which is what we’re doing. Think about [anything in] his life that was positive and just enjoy that. Enjoy the joy that he had and that we all have from his music.”
New York fans gathered in Central Park in the area known as “Strawberry Fields” close to the spot where Lennon was shot dead in December 1980.
Above: Google’s logo included an animated tribute to John Lennon on their search pages today
Kulula is a low-cost South-African airline that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Kulula is an Airline with head office situated in Johannesburg .
Kulula airline attendants make an effort to make the in-flight “safety lecture” and announcements a bit more entertaining. Here are some real examples that have been heard or reported:
On a Kulula flight, (there is no assigned seating, you just sit where you want) passengers were apparently having a hard time choosing, when a flight attendant announced, “People, people we’re not picking out furniture here, find a seat and get in it!”
—o0o—
On another flight with a very “senior” flight attendant crew, the pilot said, “Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve reached cruising altitude and will be turning down the cabin lights. This is for your comfort and to enhance the appearance of your flight attendants.”
—-o0o—
On landing, the stewardess said, “Please be sure to take all of your belongings.. If you’re going to leave anything, please make sure it’s something we’d like to have.”
—-o0o—
“There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there are only 4 ways out of this airplane.”
—o0o—
“Thank you for flying Kulula. We hope you enjoyed giving us the business as much as we enjoyed taking you for a ride.”
—o0o—
As the plane landed and was coming to a stop at Durban Airport , a lone voice came over the loudspeaker: “Whoa, big fella. WHOA!”
—o0o—
After a particularly rough landing during thunderstorms in the Karoo , a flight attendant on a flight announced, “Please take care when opening the overhead compartments because, after a landing like that, sure as hell everything has shifted.”
—o0o—
From a Kulula employee: ” Welcome aboard Kulula 271 to Port Elizabeth . To operate your seat belt, insert the metal tab into the buckle, and pull tight. It works just like every other seat belt; and, if you don’t know how to operate one, you probably shouldn’t be out in public unsupervised.”
—o0o—
“In the event of a sudden loss of cabin pressure, masks will descend from the ceiling. Stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it over your face. If you have a small child travelling with you, secure your mask before assisting with theirs. If you are travelling with more than one small child, pick your favourite.”
—o0o—
Weather at our destination is 50 degrees with some broken clouds, but we’ll try to have them fixed before we arrive. Thank you, and remember, nobody loves you, or your money, more than Kulula Airlines.”
—-o0o—
“Your seats cushions can be used for flotation; and in the event of an emergency water landing, please paddle to shore and take them with our compliments.”
—o0o—
“As you exit the plane, make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses..”
—o0o—
And from the pilot during his welcome message: “Kulula Airlines is pleased to announce that we have some of the best flight attendants in the industry. Unfortunately, none of them are on this flight!”
—o0o—
Heard on Kulula 255 just after a very hard landing in Cape Town : The flight attendant came on the intercom and said, “That was quite a bump and I know what y’all are thinking. I’m here to tell you it wasn’t the airline’s fault, it wasn’t the pilot’s fault, it wasn’t the flight attendant’s fault, it was the asphalt.”
—o0o—
Overheard on a Kulula flight into Cape Town , on a particularly windy and bumpy day: During the final approach, the Captain really had to fight it. After an extremely hard landing, the Flight Attendant said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Mother City. Please remain in your seats with your seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of our airplane to the gate!”
—o0o—
Another flight attendant’s comment on a less than perfect landing: “We ask you to please remain seated as Captain Kangaroo bounces us to the terminal.”
—o0o—
An airline pilot wrote that on this particular flight he had hammered his ship into the runway really hard. The airline had a policy which required the first officer to stand at the door while the passengers exited, smile, and give them a “Thanks for flying our airline. He said that, in light of his bad landing, he had a hard time looking the passengers in the eye, thinking that someone would have a smart comment. Finally everyone had gotten off except for a little old lady walking with a cane. She said, “Sir, do you mind if I ask you a question?” “Why, no Ma’am,” said the pilot. “What is it?” The little old lady said, “Did we land, or were we shot down?”
—o0o—
After a real crusher of a landing in Johannesburg , the attendant came on with, “Ladies and Gentlemen, please remain in your seats until Captain Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we will open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal..”
—o0o—
Part of a flight attendant’s arrival announcement: “We’d like to thank you folks for flying with us today.. And, the next time you get the insane urge to go blasting through the skies in a pressurized metal tube, we hope you’ll think of Kulula Airways.”
—o0o—
Heard on a Kulula flight. “Ladies and gentlemen, if you wish to smoke, the smoking section on this airplane is on the wing.. If you can light ’em, you can smoke ’em”
You never quite know what’s going to land in your inbox.
Sometimes it seems like mostly spam and the enamel on the delete button wears thin. Sometimes it’s full of busy and takes longer than expected to chew your way through.
Sometimes you can’t even manage a nibble – you’ve had enough and avoid even looking at your inbox for as long as you dare. And sometimes there’s something there that involuntarily exposes all your front teeth in an unexpected grin and exercises your smile muscles at the same time.
Sometimes this is just what you needed. Today’s unexpected smile came under the guise of “Zen Teachings”.
1. Do not walk behind me, for I may not lead. Do not walk ahead of me, for I may not follow. Do not walk beside me for the path is narrow. In fact, just piss off and leave me alone.
2. Sex is like air. It’s not that important unless you aren’t getting any.
3. No one is listening until you fart.
4. Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else.
5. Never test the depth of the water with both feet.
6. If you think nobody cares whether you’re alive or dead, try missing a couple of mortgage payments.
7. Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you’re a mile away and you have their shoes.
8. If at first you don’t succeed, skydiving is not for you.
9. Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
10. If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably well worth it.
11. If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.
12. Some days you are the dog, some days you are the tree.
13. Don’t worry; it only seems kinky the first time.
14. Good judgment comes from bad experience … and most of that comes from bad judgment.
15. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
16. There are two excellent theories for arguing with women. Neither one works.
17. Generally speaking, you aren’t learning much when your lips are moving.
18. Experience is something you don’t get until just after you need it.
19. We are born naked, wet and hungry, and get slapped on our arse …. then things just keep getting worse.
20. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
This is what makes environmental campaigning all worthwhile – the planned mining on the sacred Indian Mountain the tribal land of the Dongria Kondh has been stopped, afte four years of protests by locals and environmental organisations.
Controversial plans to develop a bauxite mine on sacred tribal land in India have been cancelled by India’s environment ministry. The Dongria Kondh’s – an indigenous tribe who have lived since time immemorial around the mountain Niyamgiri in the Indian state of Orissa – demands have been met, and the area will remain wild, lush and sacred. Multi-national company Vedanta’s existing aluminum refinery in the area had polluted local rivers, damaged crops and disrupted the lives of the local tribe; and will now not be able to expand six-fold. This is a Dongria Kondh victory first and foremost.
The project has been delayed by four years because of the Dongria Kondh’s intense opposition locally – including the brandishing of bows and arrows – as well as from environmental and tribal rights group. Globally, a loosely coordinated campaign sought to persuade multi-national Vedanta’s shareholders and financiers to distance themselves from the company. This is their magnificent victory as well – for Survival International and Amnesty International, various celebrity activists such as Bianca Jagger and Michael Palin, and numerous other loosely affiliated affinity campaigns, including most recently from Ecological Internet working with the Rainforest Information Centre.
“Yet again global people power has come to the aid of small, intact communities battling the ecosystem destroying economic growth machine. The Dongria Kondh’s amazing efforts should be placed in the context of a global people’s power movement to protect and restore ecosystems, and wrest control of land from industrial and speculative capitalism,” asserts Dr. Glen Barry, Ecological Internet’s President.
Lewis Gordon Pugh is probably best known for becoming the first person to undertake a long distance swim across the Geographic North Pole in 2007 and has come to be known as “the Human Polar Bear”.
He studied law at the University of Cape Town and Cambridge University and then worked as a maritime lawyer in London. He always wanted to be a pioneer swimmer and to swim where no-one else had swum before, inspired by explorers such as Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott, and Edmund Hillary
He has pioneered more swims around famous landmarks than any other swimmer and is the only person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean in the world.
He is a passionate environmental campaigner who has used his pioneering adventures to draw attention to issues such as climate change and pollution, and now spends his time public speaking and campagning to world leaders to protect the environment.
On May 22nd 2010 he swam 1 km across a glacial lake on Mt Everest, with a water temperature of 2 degrees, an altitude of 5,300m and the fact that fresh water is less buoyant than salt water made it one of the most difficult swims he has ever undetaken.
Lake Imja was first seen in 1958 and is now nealy 2km long due to the melting Imja Glacier.
“These glaciers are not just ice. They are a lifeline. They provide a constant water supply to some 2 billion people – nearly a third of the world’s population. The peoples of India, China, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Nepal, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Bhutan depend on the melt water from the Himalayan and Hindu Kush glaciers. But they are melting due to climate change. And without a regular supply of water, there is a real risk of instability in the region.
This is a plea to every nation, to do everything it can, to put a stop to climate change. We live in a global environment. What happens in one part of the world will impact every other part. And when it comes to cutting carbon emissions, we must stop arguing about whether China, the USA or the EU should act first. Given the urgency of the situation every country needs to put in place every solution at its disposal. There is no time for delay.”
– Lewis Pugh –
“We stand at a critical point in the history of the planet and the steps which we take over the next few years will determine the future of the natural world and the sustainability of mankind.”
– Lewis Pugh –
“Conservation of the environment is no longer their problem or my problem but our problem”
– Lewis Pugh –
“Bodies heal themselves. What matters most is the state of your spirit.”
– Lewis Pugh –
Vedanta Resources, a British mining company, is set to destroy the forests, wildlife and way of life of the Dongria Kondh people. The Dongria Kondh have been struggling with all their might to protect their mountain but are being overpowered by the financial and political might of this multi-billion dollar company.
They have been protesting locally for years, and have appealed for international support for their campaign to keep their sacred Niyamgiri Mountain ecologically and culturally intact.
Follow the link below for updated information and for a chance to make a difference.
It is time for all our voices to be heard.
Don’t let them steal Our Earth.
Gardenia (Cape Jasmine) – Better than Barbituates …
It’s official – if you take medication to calm you, relieve anxiety and tension or help you sleep, it would be just as effective (and a lot healthier) to throw away those tablets and buy some flowers.
Researchers from Ruhr University Bochum led by Prof. Dr.Hanns Hatt in collaboration with Dr. Olga Sergeeva and Prof. Helmut Hass from the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, have discovered that the scent from the Gardenia “Gardenia jasminoides” has the ability to soothe, relieve anxiety and to promote sleep, with the same effectiveness as commonly prescribed medication (barbituates or propofol)
Newspapers and online articles have been covering this story over the past few days but because of a translation problem from the German universities which ran the scientific investigation the qualities are being ascribed to Jasmine, but are correctly referring to the flower “Gardenia jasminoides” which is known also as Cape Jasmine but is actually Gardenia rather than Jasmine.
The report appears in the online issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.
The researchers have been granted a patent for their discovery.
GABA Gardenia – Nature’s Own Healthy Barbituate
Sleeping pills, sedatives and relaxants are the most frequently prescribed psychotropic drugs with mild dosage having a calming effect and heavier dosage a hypnotic effect.
This class of substance includes alcohol, barbituates and opiates and are prescribed for anxiety and stress-related issues as well as being used as anaesthetics. They do have many side effects such as dizziness, hypertension, muscle weaknessand impaired coordination) and are potentially addictive.
These kinds of drugs (Benzodiazepines, barbituates and anaesthetics) work via adhesion on the site of receptors on the contact-points (synapses) of nerve cells by increasing the effect of GABA (gamma-amniobutyric acid)
The research included testing hundreds of fragrances to explore their effect on GABA receptors, and discovered that the two fragrances vertacetal-coeur (VC) from Gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides), and the chemical variation (PI24513) had the strongest effect – increasing the GABA effect more than five times, thus equaling the strength of known prescription drugs.
The usual United States response will be a potential availability in ten years and the DEA will make jasmine illegal and jail people for possessing it. The creation of another banned substance will increase court backlogs, burden the already overloaded penal system, and create a whole new “flower underworld.” That is how it is done in the United States.”
A few weeks ago many of us would have responded to the word “Vuvuzela” with “Vuvu WHO?” but with the 2010 World Cup Coverage all that has changed. The unmistakeable VuVu sound has been floating out of television screens across the world as people tune in to watch the first ever Football World Cup to be hosted on African soil.
TheOnion.com has good tongue-in-cheek coverage of the Vuvuzela, running the headline:
South African Vuvuzela Philharmonic Angered By Soccer Games Breaking Out During Concerts
JOHANNESBURG—Members of the South Africa Vuvuzela Philharmonic Orchestra, widely considered to be among the best large-scale monotonic wind instrument ensembles in the world, told reporters Friday they were furious over the recent outbreaks of international soccer matches during their traditional outdoor concerts.
“I cannot imagine what is getting into these football teams that they would suddenly begin full-scale international competition just when we are beginning our 2010 concert series … More…
Vu to You Too? What exactly is the Vuvuzela?
The vuvuzela (voo-vu-zay-la) is a plastic blowing horn usually about 2ft long that has become the instantly recognisable background noise of south african football matches. It produces a loud monotone sound that has whipped up health and safety concerns over whether the combined decibels at a game will cause permanent hearing damage. Opponents also complain that the sound makes it almost impossible for the players or referees to communicate in any verbal form. It also makes the job of the sports commentators a lot more complicated.
The name vuvuzela means to make a “vuvu” noise in Zulu – based on the “voo voo” sound the horn makes.
Similar plastic trumpets have been used in stadiums in Mexico since the 1970s and were used in Argentina as early as 1978 at the FIFA world cup that was held there that year.
Bicycle Horn – was this the invention of the Vuvuzela?
Earlier versions of the trumpets were made of tin and a well-known fan of the South African Kaiser Chiefs Football Club – Freddie “Saddam” Maake claims to have invented the vuvusela in 1965 by adapting an aluminium bicycle horn – removing the rubber sqeezer so he could blow it using his mouth. He has photographs of himself in the 1970s and 80s at local South African games as well as at international games in 1992 and 96 and at the 1996 World Cup in France, holding the aluminium vuvuzela.
He claims that becuse the aluminium version was banned by the authorities because it was apparently a “dangerous weapon”, he then went out and found someone to manufacture a plastic version.
2010 FIFA World Cup – Giant Vuvuzela
The largest working vuvuzela in the world was created as part of the Korean car manufacturer’s 2010 World Cup marketing campaign. The 114 footlong instrument was created on an unfinished flyover road in Cape Town and was supposed to have been blown at the beginning of each World Cup match – powered by several air horns attached to the mouthpiece.
An ongoing dispute with the city authorities regarding the noise levels it would make mean it has remained silent so far throughout the games.
The Florida Marlins baseball team handed out free horns to the first 15,000 fans through the gate for their game with the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday (June 20th 2010). More…
Vuvu Banned
The controversy over the Vuvuzela during the 2010 World Cup has led to the instruments being banned from numerous stadiums and events including baseball games at Yankee Stadium, tennis matches at Wimbledon, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Cardiff City, Millennium and SWALEC Stadiums.
