Most Eligible World Leaders

What a list!
We're used to seeing eligible celebrities, but here's a list of powerful world leader types . . . just a traveler

Well, there's French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is now officially twice divorced. What are his interests? Anglo-Saxon economic reform, jogging, and the United States of America.
Wonder why he's so interested in the U.S.?

Who else made the list? Condi Rice, who is in her 50's, and never been married, but likes foreign affairs, enforcing message discipline, classical piano, NFL football, going to church and the gym.
"enforcing message discipline" - sounds kind of dominatrix to me Condi.

Then there's the young Dragon King of Bhutan, who is the world's youngest head of state - (pictured above) - and ruler of a very poor, land locked kingdom in the center of the Himalayas. He aims to raise living standards by promoting what he and his father call “Gross National Happiness.”
Oh, we could use some GNH over here in the U.S. !

And Hugo Chavez - President of Venezuela, has been divorced twice, and loves to sing. His ex mistress says, "“He’s the kind of man that showers you with flowers and chocolates, serenades you with romantic songs and never forgets your birthday.”
A real sweetie dictator!

Then there's Michelle Bachelet, President of Chile, who was ranked by Forbes as the 27th most powerful woman in the world. Her interests are playing the guitar, women’s rights, socialism (although she enjoys opening Chile’s markets to foreign investors), and languages—she speaks Spanish, English, German, Portuguese, and French. Divorced, and mother of three.
Now she sounds like an interesting woman.

Oh well, check out more on these four, and see who else made the list . . .

Saudi Women Activists Furious Over Rape Ruling

A recent Saudi court ruling sentencing a woman to six months in jail and 200 lashes despite being gang-raped highlights the injustice faced by women in the ultra-conservative kingdom, women rights activists said.

Despite being raped by seven men who kidnapped her with a male companion at knife-point, the 19-year-old woman was sentenced in November 2006 to 90 lashes.

The judge sentenced her for being in a car with a man who was not her relative, a taboo in the ultra-conservative desert kingdom.

But her story hit international headlines last week when her sentence was increased to six months in jail and 200 lashes after she spoke to the media.

Read full article at AFP

Egypt History Best Country Brand

Egypt has been chosen the country with the Best Country Brand for History.

Egypt joins the UAE as one of the only two countries in the region to be included in the CBI study. Egypt has been successful in marketing its past history, and ancient sites such as the pyramids, and continues to attract tourism in record numbers consistently.

Even though a number of other well known historical destinations such as Italy, Greece, France and China, Egypt also ranked in the top three, beating out India and the UK for Best Country Brand for Art and Culture.

CBI provides a comprehensive branding study that includes rankings, trends and travel motivations of tourists around the world, and over 2,600 international travellers participate in the study.

The UAE is currently among the world's top tourist destinations, and was listed as the Best Country Brand for the category Resort/Lodging Options. The UAE also joined the United States as the top two in the Best Country Brand for Shopping category, and figured within the top five in the category Best Country Brand for Conferences.

Australia once again topped the CBI list of the world's top country brands this year, with the United States at second and the United Kingdom moving up to third.

Other countries making the list included Japan, Canada, France and Greece.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Well, it's Thanksgiving - that time of the year where we get together with family and think about all the things we are thankful for.

This particular holiday offers a chance for families around the U.S. to come together, often by traveling great distances. It's a time to catch up on old times, eat at a great dinner, and just be thankful we have each other.

I'm generally thankful all year long for everything I have in my life. I'm very thankful for my family, friends and all of you who take time to stop and visit the "World is Wide" blog each day.

Have a happy, safe and blessed holiday - just a traveler

Human Statue of Liberty

These soldiers posed for one of the most awesome pictures ever staged in America - a human statue of liberty, and the picture was never used . . . just a traveler

On a hot July day in 1918, 18,000 officers and soldiers posed as Lady Liberty on the parade grounds at Camp Dodge.

According to a July 3, 1986, story in the Fort Dodge Messenger, many men fainted-they were dressed in wool uniforms, and the temperature was 105 that day. Click on photo for larger image.

The photo was taken from the top of a specially constructed tower by a Chicago photography studio, Mole & Thomas, and was intended to help promote the sale of war bonds, but was never used. (Grover 1987)

Visit the website for more info

Buy Nothing Day Is Coming

BUY NOTHING DAY IS COMING – NO PURCHASE NECESSARY
(November 23 in the USA and Canada, November 24 internationally)

STOP SHOPPING TO GO GREEN: Environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in as many as 65 countries will hit the streets for a 24-hour consumer fast in celebration of the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day.

This day isn't just about changing your routine for one day. It’s about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment.

With over six billion people on the planet, it is the responsibility of the most affluent – the upper 20% that consumes 80% of the world’s resources – to set out on a new path.”

Most participants used to see the day simply as an escape from the marketing mind games and frantic consumerism that have come to characterize modern life, the focus has since shifted in light of the new political mood surrounding climate change.

In Australia a "Living Room" in the streets will be set up outside the biggest shopping center. Couches‚ people‚ food and drink will be available so people can rest and chat instead of shopping till they drop. The shoppers will be encouraged to "Give your wallet a rest" and 'Stop Shopping and Start living'.

Will American's Participate?

4000 Year Old City Found In Peru!!!

Ancient peru temple, mural excavated

Sun Nov 11, 3:21 PM ET

LIMA, Peru - Carbon dating tests and excavation of a colorful pre-Incan temple indicate that it was built thousands of years ago by an advanced civilization, a prominent archaeologist said in comments published Sunday by a Peruvian newspaper.



Unearthed in Peru's archeologically rich northern coastal desert, the temple has a staircase leading to an altar that was used for worshipping fire and making offerings to deities, Walter Alva, who headed the three-month excavation, told El Comercio.



Some of the walls of the 27,000-square-foot site — almost half the size of a football field — were painted, and a white and red mural depicts a deer being hunted with a net.



Alva said the temple was apparently constructed by an "advanced civilization" because it was built with mud bricks made from sediment found in local rivers, instead of rocks.



"This discovery shows an architectural and iconographic tradition different from what has been known until now," said Alva, who discovered and is the museum director for another important pre-Incan find, the nearby Lords of Sipan Moche Tombs.



The carbon dating tests, conducted in the United States, indicate that the site is 4,000 years old, he claimed.

The oldest known city in the Americas is Caral, also near the Peruvian coast, which researchers dated to 2627 B.C.


Source: Yahoo News

Kanye Breaks Down at Paris Concert

Kanye West Breaks Down at Paris Concert

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2007 09:30 AM EST

By Peter Mikelbank

Kanye West performing in September Photo by: Kevin Parry / WireImage

Only a week after his mother's death, Kanye West returned to the concert stage Saturday night in Paris, only to dramatically break down in tears, audience members tell PEOPLE.

Nearing the end of the more than 60-minute performance, with the riff of "Hey Mama" beginning, West attempted to introduce the tribute to a sold-out crowd at Le Zénith in Paris, saying "this song is for my mother...." and could get no further.

"He just cracked," one attendee tells PEOPLE, "He was at the end of his concert and had just started to dedicate the song and then he just lost it completely."

"He said the word, 'Mother' and just couldn't go any further," Le Parisien journalist Meddy Magloire said. "A back-up singer, the DJ and a guitar player came over to console him. It looked like he might collapse. He just couldn't continue. He just stood there in a spotlight, crying while the band continued playing."

After a few moments of stunned silence, Magloire says, the audience of 5,000 reacted by offering calls of encouragement, which grew into applause.

The band restarted the song, but West left the stage, returning after 10-15 minutes to conclude the concert with a rousing performance of "Stronger."

"He was very nervous, seemed to have gathered himself up, and had a lot of energy," Magloire says. "He kept shouting out to the audience, 'I need you... I need you right now.' and the public was screaming back. It was magic."

New Space, Science, Technology Blog

The web's first space, science, and technology focused gadget blog is here!

The Galactic Emporium is the Web's first science/space/tech focused blog. The new site is being launched by the Daily Galaxy, and will cover reviews of science and astronomy products, software, online video games, DVDs, and science-focused consumer electronics.

Galactic Emporium

World's Fastest Trains

They are getting bigger, better and faster than ever. Around the world, high-speed train systems are on the move.

High-speed rail is generally defined as public transport by train that exceeds 124 mph.

In China, you can ride between Shanghai Airport and downtown on a futuristic magnetic levitation train that jets along at 267 mph. The ride takes less than eight minutes.

Taiwan has a high-speed rail line that can carry passengers from one end of the country to the other in just 90 minutes.

Japan (shown above) continues to refine its 186-mph high-speed shinkansen trains, even as it works on an experimental system that holds the world-record rail speed of 361 mph.

In England, newly upgraded tracks for the continent's Eurostar has shortened travel time between Brussels and London to just an hour and 43 minutes, while the trip from London to Paris now takes barely more than two .

The United States also has high-speed rail services, but just barely.

Amtrak runs along the Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington D.C. at speeds of up to 150 mph. That's better than sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on Interstate 95, but it's nothing compared to the trains now testing in France, which go more than twice as fast.

View World's Fastest Train Sideshow

Read USA Today Article - World's Fastest Trains

Help Katrina Survivor Come Back Home

Help Katrina Survivor Come Back Home

Received this message from Electronic Village today . . . please respond - just a traveler

There were a number of public housing residents impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

They have been blocked from returning home for over two years. New Orleans leaders are concerned that The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007 (HR 1227 / S. 1668) is being stalled in the US Senate.

This bill would help Katrina-impacted public housing residents come home by repairing and opening thousands of minimally damaged public housing units.

The bill passed in the House of Representatives, but some senators are standing in the way of the bill, supporting the interests of those who would like to see a richer, Whiter New Orleans and Gulf Coast.

Is Katrina still on our minds and hearts entering into this thanksgiving season?

Please sign the online petition to help these brothers and sisters out.

Restaurant Serving "Rat" Chicken

See, I always wondered about that strange looking chicken in the Chinese restaurant buffets. I know chicken parts, and these parts never looked like any chicken I have ever seen. As it turns out, it's not chicken - ugh! . . . just a traveler

This New Jersey restaurant got closed down yesterday - and for good reason!

It was told by a reliable source that the gas company needed to use Amin's entrance in the basement to assist another shop that was having a gas leak, the service worker went into the basement of Amins and discover a butcher chopping meat, that's fine, but he was putting the meat in a crate on the floor (not good) but wait there's more, there were 20 dead rats on the floor.

The service worker left the site told his boss and the city inspectors moved in. They noticed that the so called 'rats' which were reported were no longer there. The inspectors then came across a padlocked door and instructed one of the cooks to unlock it.

The above pictures show the finished product that is served to customers, cooks chopping up the rat meat to look like chicken parts, and an employee burning the hair off the rats.

And the killer is, they never thought they were doing anything wrong!

Online Dance Social Media Site

After Dancing with the Stars became successful on TV, so now the net will have its own cyber dance scene . . . just a traveler

DanceJam.com is kind of Digg meets Youtube meets danceoffs. Basically people record themselves dancing and can challenge eachother. Also you can vote up or down peoples dances. Its pretty cool.

MC Hammer, the dean of urban dance, has teamed with Geoffrey Arone and Anthony Young, creators of social network browser Flock, to introduce DanceJam.

DanceJam is an interactive community where fans of dance can learn, share, network and show off the different flavors of dance. Members can compete to become dance stars, be part of the star-making process or just watch some great dancing.

DanceJam comes as a response to the exponential demand for online video dance content. More than 75% of the Billboard Top 20 hits are dance music.

Read more

Nanosolar

Nanosolar coatings are as thin as a layer of paint and can tranfer sunlight into power quite efficiently.

Take a close look - a solar panel without the panel. Just a coating, thin as a layer of paint, that takes light and converts it to electricity.

You can just imagine the possibilities, from solar coated shingles, to solar lined windows, and even solar powered cell phones and ipods - the possibilities are endless.

Nanosolar has won the 2007 Innovation of the Year - Head on over the PopSci's site to see how it works.

And while you're there, check out the other new innovations.

World Diabetes Day

Every ten seconds someone dies from diabetes related causes and over 246 million people now have diabetes worldwide.

These figures are expected to escalate to 380 million in the next generation if action is not taken now. Over 3.5 million people die of diabetes-related causes every year. The disease is a leading cause of blindness, kidney failure, heart attack, stroke and amputation.

November 14th will be the first time the United Nations will observe World Diabetes ay.

Landmarks from around the globe at lighting up in blue lights to observe World Diabetes Day, and the following landmarks in the U.S. will be participating:

Honolulu Hale, Honolulu, HI, United States
Fountain Square, Cincinnati, OH, United States
Madison County Courthouse, Richmond, KY, United States
The Alamo, San Antonio, TX, United States
Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs, United States
Qwest Field, Seattle, WA, United States
Coit Tower, San Francisco, United States
Naismith Memorial Hall, Springfield, MA, United States
Four Freedoms Monument, Evansville, IN, United States
City Hall, San Francisco, United States
Prudential Building, Boston, United States
Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument, Indianapolis, United States
LAX Airport, Los Angeles, United States
Sears Tower, Chicago, United States
Empire State Building, New York, United States

Visit the World Diabetes Day site to view all the landmarks and monuments around the globe that will light up in blue on November 14.

For Veteran's Day, Protect Health Care for Those Who Served!

For millions of military patients and their families, finding medical care is a battle.

Honor your service members’ on Veteran's Day by helping to protect their access to doctors.

Since TRICARE, the military insurance plan for active and retired military members is tied to Medicare, future doctor payment cuts jeopardizes the quality of their health care.

Unless we demand that Congress acts, changes to veteran’s medical benefits will deprive them of the health care they need and deserve.

Stand up for America's veterans, and for yourself, and say no to Medicare cuts!

Supermodel Dumping U.S. Dollar

Hey, I wanna get paid in euro's too! How about you? just a traveler

Gisele Bundchen wants to remain the world's richest model and is insisting that she be paid in almost any currency but the U.S. dollar.

Like billionaire investors Warren Buffett and Bill Gross, the Brazilian supermodel, who Forbes magazine says earns more than anyone in her industry, is at the top of a growing list of rich people who have concluded that the currency can only depreciate because Americans led by President George W. Bush are living beyond their means. are living beyond their means.

When Gisele signed a contract in August to represent Pantene hair products for Procter & Gamble Co., she demanded payment in euros.

Bundchen earned $33 million in the year through June, Forbes reported in July.

Warren Buffett, ranked by Forbes as the world's third-richest person behind Bill Gates and Carlos Slim, told reporters in South Korea last month that he is negative on the dollar, and is buying stocks in companies that earn their money in other currencies.

Source: Bloomberg
Read full article - Supermodel Bundchen Joins Hedge Funds Dumping Dollars

Words of Wisdom from Rev Run

A double dose of Rev Run today . . . just a traveler

Be Happy -
When life's problems seem overwhelming, look around and see what other people are coping with. You may consider yourself fortunate. Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.
God is Love
Rev Run

On Being Happy
The best way for a person to have happy thoughts is to count his blessings and not his cash. -Anon
God is Love
Rev Run

Global Warming Biggest Security Threat

We constantly hear that terriorists are the biggest threat to our society, and way of life - BUT what consideration is being given to the threat of the mass migration of multi-millions of people around the world due to global warming? . . . just a traveler


The impact of drought and glacial melt in some parts of the world will is likely to spur large population movements.

Global climate change, if left unaddressed, is likely to pose "as a great or a greater foreign policy and national security challenge than any problem" the United States currently faces, according to a major new report released last week by two influential Washington think tanks.

The rising temperatures and sea levels that are caused by climate change will probably set off "large-scale migrations of people, both inside nations and across existing national borders" even under more benign scenarios.

If the severe scenario takes hold, the Americas will witness mass migration as the residents of low-lying areas in the Caribbean, Central America, Mexico, and the northern rim of South America seek higher ground within countries and across countries, including into the United States.

"The more severe scenarios suggest the prospect of perhaps billions of people over the medium or longer term being forced to relocate," according to the report, which stressed that any mass migrations will almost certainly trigger sharp increases in regional tensions and increasingly draconian efforts by wealthier countries to prevent migrants from crossing their borders.

South Asia would be threatened by human migration as low-lying regions of Bangladesh will become progressively more uninhabitable, and India will have to cope with a surge of displaced people from its eastern neighbour.

Nigeria, which is Africa's most populous nation and biggest oil-producer, and East Africa are also likely to become severely stressed under the mildest scenario, as a result of changes to the climate, coupled with population growth. State failure (which is already in evidence in East Africa), is a distinct possibility.

The expected decline in food production and fresh drinking water, combined with greater possibilities for intra-state and inter-state conflict, will drive more Africans and South Asians to migrate further abroad, possibly resulting in a major surge in the number of Muslim immigrants to Europe, according to the report, which notes that such processes could set in motion both a backlash among Europeans and radicalization of the continent's Muslim population.

The impact of the catastrophic scenario would be even more dire, according to the report, which quoted one participant as comparing the situation to the apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster, 'Mad Max' ...only hotter, with no beaches, and perhaps with even more chaos."

"Climate change has the potential to be one of the greatest national security challenges that this or any other generation of policy makers is likely to confront," according to the report.

Copied from the full article by Jim Lobe, and is posted at IPS News

Cell Phone Jammer Demand Rising

Tired of listening to other peoples cell phone conversations? Well you if plan on jamming, you need to be aware it is illegal, and comes with heavy fines. So ask yourself, is it another person annoying cell phone call worth it - just a traveler

As cellphone use has skyrocketed, making it hard to avoid hearing half a conversation in many public places, a small but growing band of rebels is turning to a blunt countermeasure: the cellphone jammer - a device about the size of a cigarette pack - that will immediately end a cell phone call when the jammer button is pushed.

The technology is not new, but overseas exporters of jammers say demand is rising and they are sending hundreds of them a month into the United States - prompting scrutiny from federal regulators and new concern this week from the cellphone industry.

The buyers include owners of cafés and hair salons, hoteliers, public speakers, theater operators, bus drivers and, increasingly, commuters on public transportation.

The jamming technology works by sending out a radio signal so powerful that phones are overwhelmed and cannot communicate with cell towers. The range varies from several feet to several yards, and the devices cost from $50 to several hundred dollars. Larger models can be left on to create a no-call zone.

Using the jammers is illegal in the United States. The radio frequencies used by cellphone carriers are protected, just like those used by television and radio broadcasters.

The Federal Communication Commission says people who use cellphone jammers could be fined up to $11,000 for a first offense. Its enforcement bureau has prosecuted a handful of American companies for distributing the gadgets - and it also pursues their users.

U.S. cellphone carriers pay tens of billions of dollars to lease frequencies from the government with an understanding that others will not interfere with their signals. And there are other costs on top of that. Verizon Wireless, for example, spends $6.5 billion a year to build and maintain its network.

Source: International Herald Tribune

Tale of a Toxic Florida Town

The quiet village of Tallevast in Florida's Manatee County traces its roots back to the 1890s, when a community of shacks was built there for African-American labourers who worked tapping sap from the local pine forests to make turpentine and grew sugarcane, celery and strawberries in the fields.

Today, Tallevast is home to about 250 people, many of them descendants of the former slaves who founded the town. But those families now face a bitter choice.

For 25 years, from 1961 to 1996, the American Beryllium Company ran a plant in Tallevast that made parts for nuclear reactors and weapons.

Because beryllium has a low density and is stronger than steel, the metallic chemical compound is often used by aerospace industry companies. With the end of the Cold War, the need to produce such materials subsided and the plant was closed in 1996.

Unknown to the residents, an underground leak had released beryllium into water wells in the village. And when the defence company Lockheed Martin Corp. bought the plant and discovered the problem in 2000, it failed to inform the people of Tallevast for another three years.

This past summer, a state agency reported that people who had drunk water from Tallevast's contaminated wells have an elevated risk of developing kidney cancer, leukemia, liver cancer or lymphoma. The contaminated wells have been capped and many of the villagers now use municipal water.

Read the full story

Protests Continue Against "Demeaning" Hip-Hop Videos

The battle over hip hop lyrics and videos continues. I believe that one day soon hip hop will get back to the "message" rather than just violence and sex. I stopped by Mother Jones today, and saw this article - just a traveler




We've covered protests over hip-hop lyrics from a couple perspectives here on the Riff (now that's fair and balanced!) and the controversy continues: today the New York Times is reporting protestors are targeting media companies like Viacom (owner of MTV and BET) for "degrading" music videos.

The protesters have been targeting the homes of company executives, but their goals seem a little vague: Read full article at Riff at Mother Jones Blog.

BTW - Also while visiting the Riff, scroll down and check out article on Clear Channel banning Bruce Springsteen, along with some other interesting articles.

Words of Wisdom from Rev Run

When you give thanks for what you have... it multiplies.

God is Love,
Rev Run

Comcast Violates Net Neutrality.

I received this e-mail today from Net Neutrality, and since you are obviously surfing the Net while reading this, you might want to take a look at the Save the Internet Campaign - just a traveler . . .

Comcast has given us a glimpse of a world without Net Neutrality, and it's a chilling sight.

An investigation by the Associated Press caught the cable giant secretly inspecting online communications and crippling users' ability to share information with one another.

This is a gross violation of Net Neutrality -- the longstanding principle that ensures a free and open Internet.

Tell the FCC: Save the Free and Open Internet

Today, Free Press filed a legal complaint demanding that the FCC take action to protect the free flow of information on the Internet. By joining our complaint, you can help stop Comcast and other gatekeepers.

The future of the Internet is far more than Web sites and e-mail. People are now using new peer-to-peer technologies to upload and share videos, photographs and music. They are innovating without permission from Internet gatekeepers.

Comcast is trying to shut down these innovations and treat the Internet like cable TV -- where they get to pick the channels you can watch. They're stifling the free exchange of ideas that makes the Internet so revolutionary.

You're the only person who should decide where you go, what you do, and whom you connect with on the Web. Net Neutrality protects your right to choose.

Phone and cable lobbyists have called Net Neutrality "a solution in search of a problem." Well, here's the problem. In the past three months, incidents of censorship and blocking by Verizon, AT&T and now Comcast have made headlines around the world. That's just the tip of the iceberg.

We stopped these gatekeepers in 2006. We can stop them for good by taking action right now. It's time to restore Net Neutrality once and for all.

1. Read more about Comcast's blocking BitTorrent and other peer-to peer networks at http://www.savetheinternet.com/

2. Read the Associated Press' breaking news story about our filing: http://www.thestate.com/technology-wire/story/217359.html

3. Read our complaint to the FCC: http://www.freepress.net/docs/fp_et_al_nn_declaratory_ruling.pdf.

World's Most Livable Cities

The World's Most Livable Cities

Well, U.S. cities did not make the top 25, and a few of the ones that made the list are surprising - as well as the ranking of certain U.S. cities over another - just a traveler

Mercer Human Resource Consulting has come up with a global ranking of the world's most liveable cities based on 39 criteria ranging from personal safety to public transportation. The ranking also includes factors such as schooling, quality housing, health care, recreational amenities, and the environment.

Switzerland's main commercial and cultural center, Zurich (pictured above) topped the 215 cities considered globally, followed by Geneva, Vancouver, and Vienna, which tied for third.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Auckland, New Zealand, (5) led the pack, while Sydney (9) cracked the top 10.

Meanwhile, in North America, Canadian cities such as Toronto and Ottawa fared better than U.S. ones, of which Honolulu (27) performed best.

Other U.S. Cities, and their ranking . . . some cities are surprising, and a few tied in the ranking score

San Francisco, CA - 29
Boston, MA - 36
Washington, DC & Chicago, IL - both tied for 44
Portland, OR - 46
New York City, NY - 48
Seattle, WA - 49
Lexington, KY - 51
Pittsburgh, PA, Winston Salem, N. C. - both tied for 52
Los Angeles, CA - 55
Cleveland, OH - 59
Minneapolis, MN - 60
Detoit, MI - 64 & St Louis, MO - 64
Atlanta, GA - 66
Houston, TX - 68

Brazzaville, the capital city of the Republic of the Congo, and Baghdad were listed at the bottom of the list.

Check out the top 20 cities on the ranking, and the interactive table covering the top 100 cities.

Losing Hearts And Minds

Thanks Karen, you've done a great job winning the hearts and minds of people around the globe, and improving America's image. Yes, it's another sad, ugly remix of Brownie down in New Orleans during Katrina - nothing but lies and b.s. - just a traveler

But here's what the administration says about Karen "Texas soccer mom", and "dear old friend" of Bush . . .

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice praised Hughes's work, saying, "If I could put on one sheet all of the things that Karen has achieved, I would do so, but it would take me a quite long time to talk about her achievements." Then another Bush cronie White House Press Secretary Dana Perino added that "Karen Hughes has done amazing work."

Karen Hughes, one of the administration's longest-serving employees and part of President Bush's "inner-circle" from his days in Texas, resigned yesterday as Under Secretary of Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs for the State Department.

Hughes was tapped by Bush in 2005 to "improve America's image" and "foster a sense of common interests and common values between Americans and people of different countries."

In reality, Hughes leaves a State Department that is struggling to mend its reputation following the Blackwater USA scandal and that is, by the administration's own standards, failing at one of its most important tasks: winning the "hearts and minds" of people around the globe.

During Hughes's tenure at the State Department, one of her primary objectives was to "improve America's image abroad."

And let me add that good old Bush friend Karen got a budget of $900 million of American taxpayer $$'s for this job failure - just a traveler

Yet America's image has been in an almost continual decline globally since Hughes took the position.

A PIPA poll shows that since 2005, when Hughes took the position with the State Department, the percentage of people globally who believe that the United States represents a positive influence on the world dropped from 40 to 29%, while the percentage of people who feel the United States has a negative influence rose from 46 to 52%.

In the Middle East, opinion of the United States has dropped dramatically during the Bush presidency.

The United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Turkey, who have all historically been supportive of the United States, give approval ratings of 25, 11, and 7%, respectively.

And the majority of Iraqis favor immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Source: Center for America Progress Action Fund

More links about Karen . . .

Karen Hughes Leaves A Failure

The Hughes Effect: They Hate Us Even More

Technology Gives Marley's Tunes Global Voice

Ky-Mani Marley, one of Bob Marley's many musical sons is currently the opening act for David Lee Roth, and the reunited Van Halen group.

Ky-Mani is working with Voxonic, a company that has figured out how to translate a singer’s voice into Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Navajo or any other language.

“To be able to communicate with someone from, say, China is definitely a big deal,” Ky-Mani said from Van Halen’s Minneapolis stop. “I was very, very interested in the technology. So even though Voxonic didn’t have a track record in the music business, when I saw what they could do and the kind of attention I got from them, I was really excited to work with them.”

View full article at the Boston Herald

Corporate Racism in Ecuadorian Amazon

Just another example of the racist policies of foreign companies who promote lies about people they do not understand in order to destroy the environment, and make a buck . . . just a traveler


“People here in the bush should be grateful to industry instead of just complaining and making unreasonable demands,” he argues. “If it weren’t for the companies, they would still be living on bananas and not know anything other than the jungle – just like apes. In spite of everything, this is an undeveloped banana republic.”

Swedish construction company Skanska’s extensive and environmentally destructive operations in Latin America are little known in Europe.

Far from the environmentally friendly company it claims to be, the cosmetic discourse on development and progress that pervades the all-Swedish company is racist and colonialist in practice.

For slightly more than a year and a half, the Skanska base has been located outside the oil town of Coca in Ecuador’s ravaged rainforest.

The company’s activities conducted in cooperation with the oil companies in various oil fields in the region are controlled from here. One of Skanska’s regional managers in the Amazon basin is Milton Diaz, a man with many decades of experience in the oil industry. He used to work for Skanska in his native land of Argentina, where the company’s continental headquarters are located.

The opinions Diaz expresses represent a cultural racism, in which Ecuador’s population in general, and the indigenous peoples in particular, are described in sharply pejorative terms.

“Read Civilizing” the Ecuadorian Amazon: Colonial Corporatism by Agneta Enström