Archive for July, 2008

Jul 19 2008

Do Americans really feel like this?

Published by Ian under Society & Culture

I just received this as an email from a good German friend of mine from their US host Dad in Wyoming with whom they were staying with when as a high school student some years ago.

As an Australian I would like to say I wish we were on the list 2. If this is how some US citizens feel I would suggest they read Confessions of an Economic Hitman

The below is unedited and as I received it…

Subject: A Great Presidential Speech

WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT TO TURN ON THE TV AND HEAR ANY U.S. PRESIDENT, DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN GIVE THE FOLLOWING SPEECH?

‘My Fellow Americans: As you all know, the defeat of the Iraq regime has been completed.

Since congress does not want to spend any more money on this war, our mission in Iraq is complete.

This morning I gave the order for a complete removal of all America n forces from Iraq. This action will be complete within 30 days. It is now time to begin the reckoning.

Before me, I have two lists. One list contains the names of countries which have stood by our side during the Iraq conflict. This list is short . The United Kingdom , Spain , Bulgaria , Australia , and Poland are some of the countries listed there.

The other list contains every one not on the first list. Most of the world’s nations are on that list. My press secretary will be distributing copies of both lists later this evening.

Let me s tart by saying that effective immediately, foreign aid to those nations on List 2 ceases immediately and indefinitely. The money saved during the first year
alone will pretty much pay for the costs of the Iraqi war. THEN EVERY YEAR THERE AFTER IT’ll GO TO OUR SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM SO IT WONT GO BROKE IN 20 YEARS.

The American people are no longer going to pour money into third world Hell holes and watch those government leaders grow fat on corruption.

Need help with a famine? Wrestling with an epidemic? Call France .

In the future, together with Congress, I will work to redirect this money toward solving the vexing social problems we still have at home. On that note, a word to terrorist organizat ions. Screw with us and we will hunt you down
and eliminate you and all your friends from the face of the earth.

Thirsting for a gutsy country to terrorize? Try France or maybe China

I am ordering the immediate severing of diplomatic relations with France , Germany , and Russia . Thanks for all your help, comrades. We are retiring from NATO as well. Bonne
chance, mezamies.

I have instructed the Mayor of New York City to begin towing the many UN diplomatic vehicles located in Manhattan with more than two unpaid parkin g tickets to sites where those vehicles will be stripped, shredded and crushed. I don’t care about whatever treaty
pertains t o this. You creeps have tens of thousands of unpaid tickets. Pay those tickets tomorrow or watch your precious Benzes, Beamers and limos be turned over to some of the finest chop shops in the world. I love New York

A special note to our neighbors. Canada is on List 2. Since we are likely to be seeing a lot more of each other, you folks might want to try not pissing us off for a change.

Mexico is also on List 2 its president and his entire corrupt government really need an attitude adjustment. I will have a couple extra
thousand tanks and infantry divisions sitting around. Guess where I am going to put’em? Yep, border security.

Oh, by the way, the United States is abrogating the NAFTA treaty - starting now.

We are tired of the one-way highway. Immediately, we’ll be drilling for oil in Alaska- which will take care of this country’s oil needs for decade s to come. If you’re an environmentalist who opposes this decision, I refer you to List 2 above: pick a country and move there.

It is time for America to focus on its own welfare and its own citizens. Some will accuse us of isolationism. I answer them by saying, ‘darn tootin’.

Nearly a century of trying to help folks live a decent life around the world has only earned us the undying enmity of just about everyone on the planet. It is time to eliminate hunger in America . It is time to eliminate homelessness in America . To the nations on List 1, a final thought. Thank you guys. We owe you and we won’t forget.

To the nations on List 2, a final thought: You might want to learn to speak
Arabic.

God bless America .. Thank you and good night.’

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, t hank a soldier.

(Please forward this to at least ten friends and see what happens! Let’s get this to every USA computer!)

Sad really, we all live on one Planet.

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Jul 18 2008

Your Story Ep 22 : Romy. Social Circus, Berlin, The Wall.

 
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Welcome To Episode 22 of Your Story Addendum.

Today we chat with Romy who while studying Social Services has continued to work and develop her childhood passion for Social Circus as a mechanism to enable children to develop and grow their communication skills, self worth and community interactions.Romy Juggling She now has a huge opportunity to help develop the concept of Social Circus in the United States which will develop the concept even further.

Romy explains a little of the support that the German government gives to single parents to enable them to support both their studies and raising their children and how she has been able to develop with the aid of the support of the government.

We briefly discuss the new post Berlin Wall interactions between East and West Germans and a little of the inequity that is still present between East and West.

Her website is ro-und-ro.blogspot.com

Her Email is romy.backofen@googlemail.com

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.
If you use another Podcast software Get the feed here.

Music is from iodaPROMONET
The Remix GameBitter:Sweet
“Salty Air” (mp3)
from “The Remix Game”
(Quango)

Buy at eMusic
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Jul 16 2008

Your Story Addendum Ep 5 : Germany. Long flights, Tübingen, Potsdam and Berlin

Published by Ian under Addendum, Podcasts, Society & Culture, Travel

 
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Welcome To Episode Five of Your Story Addendum.

tubingenHere is a quick update on how it’s been travelling settling and having a bit of a look around Germany. Particually Tübingen, Potsdam and arriving in Berlin. brandenburgeI flush out a bit more of my observations in follow up Addendum eposides. So this is just to make the quick connection with you out there.

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, clickPotsdamer on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

To automatically receive this podcast freely to you, click on one of the links to the left or search in iTunes for “Your Story.”

Beautiful Potsdam

Subscribe freely in iTunes by Clicking here.
If you use another Podcast software Get the feed here.

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Jul 08 2008

Adu Dhabi Free but Censored WiFi.

Published by Ian under Personal, Travel

Twelve hours travelling now with a quick stop and reboard the same aircraft at Singapore. While I was in Adu Dhabi international Airport TerminalSingapore I didn’t bother with the free WiFi but decided to get on some here in Abu Dhabi. It’s the middle of the night but people are everywhere. People travel at all times when it comes to an international transport hub like Adu Dhabi international airport.

12 midnight here and the airconditioning is working hard as it’s still 32 degrees outside which explains why the construction workers were still on the job. Tomorrow it’s expected to be 40.

As I write this I have another hour before we board and there are people leaning on walls and lying on floors attempting to get a little sleep with hubbub all around as others arrive and leave all the while little kids and the announcements scream in multiple languages.

I’ve still got eight hours traveling from here to get to London then the wait for my connection to Germany. So as I’ll do in Heathrow I attempted to do here, in that

I'm not allowed to play

as soon as I was on the web I went to my social network pages of Twitter & Plurk to find them blocked. WTF.

That was a shock but I suppose as I start to move away from my comfy home environment I get to see this little thing called censorship.

Makes me wonder why it would be blocked would.

*Unfortunatly I wasn’t able to post the above as my connection dropped out so now I’m sitting in an internet cafe at Heathrow waiting for  my next flight. I’ll add a couple of photos when I get access from my mac to the web.

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Jul 07 2008

Off to Europe.

Published by Ian under Personal, Travel

Well I’m on my way. What started 18 months ago as a whim of an idea to produce a podcast evolved into the idea of travelling and gathering stories.

I decided to go to Europe 12 months ago after meeting some people from there and they are helping me to get around and show me the sights especially in Berlin and London. But deciding was only the start of idea.

I’ve had to get the gear to make myself mobile which means that I’m a travelling media production company. However considering what I’m hoping to achieve it’s amazing how little I need and how much I should be Media production cicra 2008able to achieve all carried in a backpack. The development of the technology is quite staggering even compared to only a couple of years ago.

I then went to Melbourne for a week to test my methodology for on the road production of this podcast which went better than expected.

Then I’ve had to jump the usual hurdles that we all have to do like money and getting a new passport, which took 3 months of messing about.

So here I am making the dream come true. It’s amazing what we can do when we have a passion and a desire to make it happen isn’t it?

Today as I write this I’m sitting at Brisbane International waiting to board. We change planes in Abu Dhabi then onto London where I get to wait for 8 hours at the new Terminal 5 of Heathrow airport. Late afternoon I travel to Stuttgart where I travel with a friend to Tübingen. In all that is about 36 hours.

If all goes well I hope to post again London.

I’ll be speaking to you from Europia

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