The Richest City in the World

Welcome to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and the richest city in the world.

The emirate's 420,000 citizens, who sit on one-tenth of the planet's oil and have almost $1 trillion invested abroad, are worth about $17 million apiece.

(However a million foreign workers don't get to share in the wealth.)

Yet most people couldn't find Abu Dhabi on a map. Khaldoon's job is to change that. Tall, handsome, and politically savvy, he wants to make his hometown mentioned in the same breath as Singapore, Tokyo - and yes, Dubai.

Read all about the "Richest City in the World"

Saudi Cocaine Cover Up in Paris

A Saudi prince accused of using his diplomatic immunity to smuggle two tons of cocaine into France is due to go on trial in his absence in Paris yesterday, amid allegations that French authorities deliberately bungled the investigation to avoid offending the rulers of the wealthy and powerful Arab kingdom.

Ah yes, no one wants to offend the Saudi oil men - just a traveler

Prince Nayef Bin Fawaz al-Shaalan, 53, a grandson of Saudi Arabia's founding monarch, Abdulaziz, is one of ten people facing charges relating to a shipment that allegedly arrived on his Bermudas-registered private Boeing 727 at a Paris airport back in 1999.

Read the full story at The Scotsman

Palestine Sewage Flood

Hundreds of Palestinian houses were flooded by raw sewage that erupted from holding pools and swept through a village in the northern Gaza Strip.

The sewage runoff from collapsed reservoirs Tuesday submerged about 250 homes in a village of about 6,000 residents.

The death is currently at nine, with many injured. Rescue teams say the death toll may rise, since there are homes that are completely immersed with raw sewage, and they believe residents are still inside them.

The Palestinian environment ministry had already issued warnings to the local government near the village that dams around the holding pools would one day collapse because of the damage done by the shelling of the Israeli army.

Read more on this story

Scandal Brews over China Tea-for-Urine Samples

A group of Chinese reporters came up with a novel idea to test how greedy local hospitals were -- pass off tea as urine samples and submit the drink for tests.

The results: six out of 10 hospitals in Hangzhou, the capital of the rich coastal province of Zhejiang, visited by the reporters over a two-day period this month concluded that the patients' urinal tracts were infected.

Read full article:
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSPEK13805720070321

Turkey Hosting World Water Council

Back in August I blogged about the fact that more than ONE BILLION people lack access to safe drinking water, and how Hip Hop mogul Jay Z was joining forces with the United Nations to educate young people on this serious global issue.

Today I read an article at ENN about how leaders are preparing for the World Water Forum in 2009, and are pleading for rich nations to make universal access to clean water a top priority - calling it one of the world's most pressing challenges.

"The lack of water or its poor quality causes 10 times more deaths than all the wars waged on this planet together," said Loic Fauchon, president of the World Water Council, speaking at the forum's initial preparatory meeting in Istanbul.

Read the full article at: http://www.enn.com/net.html?id=1873

Sinbad Very Much Alive

So much for the "editing" on Wikipedia - just a traveler

Actor-comedian Sinbad had the last laugh after his Wikipedia entry announced he was dead, the performer said Thursday.

Rumors began circulating Saturday regarding the posting, said Sinbad, who first got a telephone call from his daughter.

The gossip quieted, but a few days later the 50-year-old entertainer said the phone calls, text messages and e-mails started pouring in by the hundreds.

"Saturday I rose from the dead and then died again," the Los Angeles-based entertainer told The Associated Press in a phone interview.

Source: Associated Press

Democrats Told to Stay Clear of Stephen Colbert

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), the Democratic Caucus chairman, has told new Democratic members of Congress to steer clear of Stephen Colbert, or at least his satirical Comedy Central program, “The Colbert Report.”



“He said don’t do it … it’s a risk and it’s probably safer not to do it,” said Rep. Steve Cohen.

But the freshman lawmaker from Tennessee taped a segment that last week was featured in the 32nd installment of the “Better Know a District” series. Colbert asked Cohen whether he was a black woman. He isn’t.

Read full article at The Hill

Chinese Government Blasts USA Human Rights Record

Well, our government has always blasted China on its human rights record, but the Chinese are thowing our own governments human rights record back at us.

Fellow blogger has the details - click here

Wounded British Soldiers Neglected Also

I really love to read newspapers from around the globe. While every country puts its own spin on the news, they hardly mine showing the "dirty laundry" of others - which brings news the media doesn't cover.

I ran across this article in a New Zealand newspaper which tells of how British soldiers are being treated upon returning from Iraq and Afghanistan - sound familiar? It appears neither the U.S. or Britain is ready to deal with wounded soldiers - just a traveler

A shocking picture of neglect and the appalling treatment of wounded British troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan emerged yesterday in a remarkable series of letters from soldiers' families.

The sheaf of complaints, passed on by deeply alarmed senior military sources, claims soldiers have been deprived of adequate pain relief and emotional support, and in some cases are unable to sleep because of night-time noise in the tax-funded National Health Service (NHS) facilities caring for them.

The NHS said it had launched an inquiry into the complaints - Sounds more familiar - just a traveler

Read the rest of the story at the New Zealand Herald

What's Good for Halliburton (and Cheney) is Good for...Dubai

By Dave Lindorff

Remember the big brouhaha that arose when a Dubai-based company was in line to take over the operation of several major U.S. ports last year? Members of Congress were in high dudgeon over that and in the end the plan was abandoned.

So how do we feel knowing that virtually the entire supply line for our over-extended troops in Iraq and Afghanistan is now in the hands of a Dubai corporation, and that it has its hooks into the central policy arm of our government, Blair House and the Office of the Vice President?

Next time Halliburton’s KBR subsidiary serves our troops toxic, bacteria-ridden food, or puts untreated Euphrates River water into their canteens, maybe we should look harder to see if this was just another case of corporate corner and cost-cutting, or whether something more sinister was at work.

Read the rest of the article at : http://www.democrats.com/node/12256

DAVE LINDORFF is a Philadelphia-based investigative journalist and columnist. His work is available at www.thiscantbehappening.net.

Voice of America May Go Silent

Former VOA Directors Want Reversal for VOA Cuts

Eleven former directors of the Voice of America (VOA) have issued a joint statement calling on Congress to reverse a Bush administration plan to substantially reduce VOA’s English broadcasts and those in 15 other languages.

VOA, the largest publicly funded civilian overseas broadcasting network in the US, may go silent in many areas of the world on radio later this year unless the Congress reverses the action in hearings on the US federal budget for the next fiscal year starting 1 October.

Among the planned cuts is the shutdown on radio of VOA’s worldwide English service. The former Voice directors joining in the appeal to reverse the cuts have served at various times during the past half a century under both Republican and Democratic administrations.

Read the full story

Israel Recalls 'Naked Ambassador'

Israel's leadership has been shaken by a string of scandals

WOW!

Israel has recalled its ambassador to El Salvador after he was found drunk and naked apart from bondage gear. Reports say he was able to identify himself to police only after a rubber ball had been removed from his mouth.

A foreign ministry official described Ambassador Tzuriel Refael's behaviour as an unprecedented embarrassment.

The incident, which happened two weeks ago, has renewed calls for a radical overhaul of the way Israel appoints and promotes its diplomats.

San Salvador was Mr Refael's first post as ambassador. He was promoted in 2006 from a technical position in the ministry which had involved several foreign postings.

Israel has been rocked by a recent series of misconduct and corruption scandals, shaking public confidence in the political leadership.

Haaretz website reports that police found Mr Refael in the Israeli embassy compound where he had been found bound, gagged and naked apart from sado-masochistic sex accessories.

In 2006, Israel's diplomatic service was criticised by the public watchdog for its appointments system. The state comptroller's report singled out the foreign ministry appointments committee for its inadequate examination of candidates and lack of transparency.

Priests Cleanse Sacred Ruins After Bush Visit

A site close to the hearts of the indigenous Maya people of Guatemala is to be spiritually de-contaminated after a visit by US president George Bush.

Mayan Indian priests in Guatemala have vowed to hold a cleansing ceremony following a Monday visit by US president George W. Bush to sacred ancient ruins.

As part of his stopover in the tiny, Central American nation during a five-nation-tour of Latin America, Bush's itinerary has him visiting the Mayan ruins of Iximché, west of Guatemala City. Native dances and a welcoming ceremony were planned to greet the president upon arrives at the ruins of the former capital of the Kaqchikel Maya people.

But after he leaves, Mayan leaders say that a special cleansing ceremony to restore peace and harmony will be necessary to remove negative energy left by Bush's visit.

"We will burn incense, place flowers and water in the area where Bush has walked to clean out the bad energy," said Jorge Morales Toj, a Guatamalan youth leader. He added that Bush's visit to Iximiche treats the Mayan people as little more than a tourist attraction.

Why don't they like Bush, and the U.S.?

Resentment in Guatemala against the United States remains high due to the CIA's help in overthrowing a democratically elected socialist goverment in Guatemala in 1954 and U.S.-backed troops destroyed entire Mayan villages in a counter-insurgency campaign at the peak of Guatemala's 1960-96 civil war.

U.S. involvement in the war, which left nearly a quarter of a million people dead or missing, makes Bush's presence in Guatemala offensive to the nation's ethnic Mayan people.

Patagonia In A New Light

"THE end of the world is wet and cold and covered in mud. Not the kind of mud in which children like to play or the kind that signals a renewal of the earth after a rainfall.

This is mud that sucks you into a mire, drags you into the ground, threatening to devour your body while forcing you to slog onward, foot over foot, simply to escape."

Boy, those two sentences were enough to get me interested in reading this article - and isn't this just the most amazing picture you've ever seen? - just a traveler

Read the full article
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/03/04/travel/04patagonia.html?ref=travel

7 Wonders Tour Reaches New York

I've posted about this several times, and the New 7 Wonders Tour has finally arrived in New York City.

The Statue of Liberty is on the list as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World. Residents around the world are able to vote for their favorite wonders.

Only 122 days lef to vote!
All Americans should vote for Lady Liberty!

Photography in Montserrat: Soaring to New Heights

Photography in Montserrat is Soaring to New Heights


Montserrat, where the people are friendly, the climate is temperate and the island is beautiful.

Sounds like a photographers dream come true!

And this week it was a dream come true for several aspiring photographers. Igor Kravtchenko, the award winning Canadian photographer and author of "Montserrat and Montserratians", and Carolyne Coleby, landscape photographer, joined forces to host a digital photography workshop on the island from February 25 through March 3.

According to Bill Saunders, a Michigan participant in the workshop, "This was an opportunity to improve my photographic skills and learn new techniques in such a gloriously beautiful environment."

Where else could one walk in a rainforest, view an active volcano, scuba dive with tropical fish that looked as though they had just jumped off a painters pallet and swim among majestic coral while learning the fine points of digital photography.

Image above was taken from Turtle Bay Apartments on the island of Montserrat.

READ MORE About the Digital Photo Workshop on the island of Montserrat

Exodus from Caribbean

Federal, state and local authorities are preparing to dispatch boats, planes and hundreds of emergency personnel in a two-day drill aimed at preventing a mass migration to Florida.

The full-scale exercise, planned for Wednesday and Thursday, follows a December tabletop drill. But Coast Guard officials were quick Friday to stress that the recent power change in Cuba did not prompt the dry run, which will involve dozens of agencies in Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

"The timing of this year's exercise in no way reflects concern over recent events in Cuba," Coast Guard officials said in a press release. "In fact the mass migration plan does not focus on any single country; rather it addresses mass migration from any Caribbean nation."

A Coast Guard spokesman said Cuba was not the only country in the region from which the United States could expect a flow of people. Haiti, with its rampant kidnapping and unsteady path to democracy is also a country on officials' radar, along with the Dominican Republic.

The Coast Guard has picked up 823 Dominicans so far in the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, compared with 621 Cubans and 267 Haitians.

Read the full article

8 Places Every Woman Should Go

Ah, the title of this posting caught my eye . . . just a traveler

1. For inspiration and enlightenment: Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
Goddesses reign supreme in Hawaii, and the most venerated is Pele, who presides over the volcanoes. Legend has it she secretly envies Poliahu, goddess of the snow, and the two quarrel often — especially over menfolk.

Poliahu usually wins, causing Pele to erupt in fury, and Poliahu gets stuck cleaning the mess with her ice afterward. (Indeed, traces of lava have been found seeping through glacial ice caps at various epochs in Hawaiian geological history.) Even when Pele triumphs, she soon tires of her lovers and sends them racing down the mountain, trailed by her hot, molten lava. To see her in action, head to the Big Island.

Lounge upon the white-sand beaches at Kona Coast and the black-sand beaches at Puna district, then soak in thermal pools set in lava rock at Ahalanui Beach Park. Pele dwells in the Halema'uma'u Crater Overlook of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Devotees leave her offerings of flowers, gin, and ohelo berries.

Then pay homage to Poliahu atop Mauna Kea, the world's tallest mountain (when measured base to peak). Linger til sunset to see why Hawaiians consider their homeland to be Earth's connecting point to the universe.

Read about ALL the places every woman should go

Asia Air Pass

Planning on heading to Asia - now's the time! - just a traveler

Asia is so far away it seems a shame, once there, not to visit at least a few destinations.

Now through May 31, through a Singapore Airlines promotion called the Southeast Asia Air Pass, travelers can fly round trip (Economy Class) from New York, San Francisco or Los Angeles to Singapore and then add on another three round-trip excursions to any one of the airline's 26 destinations (including Bali, Manila, Bangkok and Da Nang) for a total price of $1,699.

For an additional $199, even more side trips can be added. More details can be found at www.asiaairpasscom.

Source: Chicago Tribune

Joe Lieberman is Kiley Supporter

Friday morning on his radio show, Don Imus questioned Sen. Joseph Lieberman about his reaction to the conditions at Walter Reed, saying, “If you’re somebody who thought the war was such a wonderful idea, as you did, and continues to support this idiotic exercise, you have a special responsibility to know what the hell has happened to these kids.”

Lieberman responded, “We all ought to be doing mea culpas."

Lieberman also claimed the replacement of Maj. Gen. George Weightman with Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley at Walter Reed was “a good first step.”

The people of Connecticut get just what they deserve! - just a traveler

Listen to the video - http://thinkprogress.org/2007/03/02/imus-lieberman/

A Game As Old As Empire

In 2004, John Perkins' Confessions of an Economic Hitman created waves, spoke the unspeakable and became a New York Times bestseller.

In it Perkins came clean about how he'd helped US intelligence agencies and multinationals exploit the economies of Third World nations.

A Game As Old As Empire - for which he wrote the introduction - is the follow-up, and this time a wide variety of in-the-know authors corroborate and expand upon Perkins' story. And it's frightening stuff.

In plain language - and providing sufficient historical background - we are shown how First World countries have used "economic hit men," institutions like the World Bank and IMF, coercion and even outright strong-arm tactics to steal from the developing countries - often in collusion with the elites of those countries who are happy to hide their ill-gotten gain in offshore accounts.

With chapters such as "The Human Cost of Cheap Cell Phones" and "Hijacking Iraq's Oil Reserves," Game has a conscience-pricking currency.

This is an important book that should be read by anyone who wants to know how the world is run to the advantage of the wealthy few and the malicious disadvantage of the many poor.

A Game as Old as Empire: The Secret World of Economic Hit Men and the Web of Global Corruption (BK Currents)

Residents of The Cruise World

We have created a world that suits us.

The World is a ship that carries our luxury vacation residences to the four corners of the earth.

Our ocean residences are as comfortable as we can make it with an excellent crew, caring staff and extremely comforting security. The ship cruises on, stopping for a night or two at ports around the world.

We enjoy our life-style. We enjoy each other’s company and we also enjoy our own private apartments - our luxury residences at sea.

Many people have tried to describe our life aboard The World but the reality – the sheer quality of life – can only be understood by being here, by seeing it yourself.

If you would like to join us – or come and stay with us for a while – you will be very welcome.

The Residents of The World

You can join them and be welcomed if you have $2.7 million to purchase a 1300 sq ft residence aboard the cruise ship - or you can rent a 6 day cruise ship residence from an owner for $1,000 to $4,000 per night per couple.

http://www.aboardtheworld.com/

African American Rap Culture In Japan

Here's an interesting example how two cultures who appear to have absolutely nothing in common have merged into the same musical style - HIP HOP. This is the one of the best examples of how a media product goes global - true cultural globalization.

For over a decade there has been an underground Hip Hop movement in Japan with emcees rapping about teen drug abuse, being homeless, and the need for the youth to find a new direction.

Unlike much of the rap scene here in the U.S., the rappers in Japan have a lot of diversity - and the art form keeps expanding.

The original rap movement in Japan obviously started from following rappers here in the U.S., but it appears the current movement is taking a distinctly Japanese culture direction.

Interestingly enough, just like in the U.S., rap in Japan started as an underground movement before moving more into the mainstream society. I can just imagine the reaction that Japanese parents had finding out that their kids love rap.

Two of the most popular rapper on the Japanese scene are Miss Monday (pictured here), and DJ Umedy. Both are scheduled to be in the U.S. this weekend for a conference at MIT for Cool Japan. The conference was sponsored by Ian Condry, the author of Hip-Hop Japan: Rap and the Paths of Cultural Globalization.

For more info - Visit "Cool Japan"

Rumsfeld's Wife Knew

I did not plan on blogging about Walter Reed twice in a roll, but I support our troops and desperately want something done - don't you? just a traveler

In October, 2005 Joyce Rumsfeld, the wife of then-Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, was taken to Walter Reed by a friend concerned about outpatient treatment. She attended a weekly meeting, called Girls Time Out, at which wives, girlfriends and mothers of soldiers exchange stories and offer support.

According to three people who attended the gathering, Rumsfeld listened quietly. Some of the women did not know who she was. At the end of the meeting, Rumsfeld asked one of the staff members whether she thought that the soldiers her husband was meeting on his visits had been hand-picked to paint a rosy picture of their time there. The answer was yes.

When Walter Reed officials found out that Rumsfeld's wife had visited, they told the friend who brought her - a woman who had volunteered there many times - that she was no longer welcome on the grounds.

Read the full article at the Charleston Daily Mall.

The Lt General is A Liar

On Feb 23, here's what Lt Gen Kevin C Kiley told the Washington Post:

The Army's surgeon general criticized stories in The Washington Post disclosing problems at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, saying the series unfairly characterized the living conditions and care for soldiers recuperating from wounds at the hospital's facilities.

"I'm not sure it was an accurate representation," Lt. Gen. Kevin C. Kiley, chief of the Army Medical Command, told reporters during a news conference. "It was a one-sided representation."


Get a good look at this face - you will be hearing a lot more about Kiley. I knew he was a liar when I heard him say on TV that the soldiers were to blame for the rats and roaches at Walter Reed. Yeah, he said that the soldiers leave candy and candy wrappers lying around - so that's the cause of roach and rat infestation.

What he didn't say was that he lives right across the street in a big mansion that overlooks the rat and roach motel - where the wounded soldiers live. Oh, he should go down big time! Or better yet, send HIM to Iraq with no body armor - and extend his tour for the remainder of war - and then bring him back to a rat and roach infested hotel, and let him look across the street at the mansion.

And now these neglected soldiers are being threatened by the Army! That's right - read what The Army Times News has to say.

This country is so concerned about Anna Nicole, Britany and American Idol, but here's the real story, and THIS is what every American should be talking about!. . .

Head on over to today's Washington Post, and you will be just as outraged as I am.

Hospital Officials Knew of Neglect - Complaints About Walter Reed Were Voiced for Years from the Washington Post

Spring Breakers Booking the U.S.

I knew the new passport law would make a lot of college students change their "spring break" plans to the Caribbean and Mexico - just a traveler

According to destination searches at Kayak.com, more college students - by a margin of two to one - are looking at U.S. cities instead of Caribbean islands.

The meta-search website reviewed about 35 million searches by college students for spring break travel. Nine of the Top 10 most popular destinations were in the U.S.

London was the only international city on the list. Miami was number one, followed by L.A. and Las Vegas.

When the site looked at spring breakers who were going to the Caribbean, San Juan was the number one destination, followed by Nassau, the Bahamas and St. Thomas.

No passports are required for San Juan and St Thomas - both are American territories.

Don't Get Lost In the Numbers

When a major British music label turned down the chance to sign four mop-haired singers from Liverpool in 1962, the executive in charge said his research found that guitar music was on its way out.

When a young mom in California decided to open a cookie store in 1977, the experts laughed. They pointed to the latest research showing America likes crispy cookies, not the soft and chewy cookies this woman planned to sell.

And when a Seattle entrepreneur opened a small software company in 1975, he predicted six years later (based on the best market research) that 640K RAM should be enough memory for any computer user.

How different would the world be today if the Beatles, Mrs. Fields (Debbi Fields) and Bill Gates had gotten lost in the numbers as they built their careers?

Think about this the next time someone tells you that your idea or dream isn't in the numbers! just a traveler