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PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:33 am
by John R
Well i wouldn't say he is massive here in the UK but then again everyone i've spoken to knows about his death, and it came as a big shock. There's been loads of jokes going around as well, already, which is a bit bad

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:10 am
by Casedata
He was very big in the states.....that is if you watched a variety of stuff. He dominated the Discovery channel and Animal channel. He also was a regular on late night talk shows Jay Leno and David Letterman, as well as early morning shows on all the major networks. I grieve for his family. His little boy Bob will have a lot of film footage to get to know his dad, but it doesn't replace the real thing. :cry:

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 4:47 pm
by Phils_jd
i was annoyed with the papers in sydney (internet version) when they released the news they also advised his wife was away bush walking and wasnt aware yet. that i found discusting - not waiting till his family was told. anyway thats the shit we put up with reporters - trash people

PostPosted: Wed Sep 06, 2006 7:36 pm
by i_heart_nefie
i hope he gets a state funeral, i don't know if anyone outside qld and australia knows about Australia Zoo, I live about 20 mins away from it and there has just been massive amounts of people laying flowers there and the support from Australia and the whole world is just so great

Death of an era?

PostPosted: Tue Oct 31, 2006 4:28 pm
by Nefer
I saw this & really wanted to share it... wasn't quite sure where to post it, but hopefully everyone gets to read it here :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6104332.stm

Feel free to post comments!

Re: Death of an era?

PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 3:27 am
by audacter
Nefer wrote:I saw this & really wanted to share it... wasn't quite sure where to post it, but hopefully everyone gets to read it here :)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6104332.stm

Feel free to post comments!


I really don't know enough about the history to comment, although I'm learning.

I think if one thing it highlights is that Wilbur has it right, the SA politics are very complicated and not always as easy to pick out the good and bad guys as some would lead the masses to believe.

PostPosted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 1:09 pm
by John R
Thanks for the link! Was surprised and interested to read that. Botha appears in a few WS books

PostPosted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 5:32 pm
by John R
African diamond industry girds for Hollywood film Sunday November 5, 04:47 PM

LUANDA (Reuters) - African nations must work together to minimise negative publicity over the launch of a Hollywood movie on so-called "blood diamonds" used to finance rebel groups and civil wars, a senior Angolan official said.

The industry is nervous about the impact of "Blood Diamond" starring Leonardo DiCaprio, especially after recent criticism of the Kimberley Process, an organisation set

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up by the diamond industry expressly to police trade in the gems.
"It's a film and its authors have their intentions but we don't need to be afraid," said Manuel Arnaldo de Sousa Calado, president of Angolan state diamond company Endiama.

"We need to work in Angola and in Africa to minimise the negative effect it will have," he told Reuters at the launch on Saturday of a pan-African diamond association in Luanda.

The Warner Brothers movie, due for release in December, is set in Sierra Leone where civil conflict, spurred by the sale of diamonds, raged for more than a decade and killed tens of thousands.

Calado said it did not represent current realities in the industry.

"The film talks about a period from 1979 to 1999. These were Africa's 20 worst years. It's true, they did happen but they are over now," he said.

"The Christmas season is the time when diamond prices traditionally go up. So launching the film at this time of the year shows bad faith," he added.

The World Diamond Council, a global trade organisation, in September launched a print and online campaign to emphasise to consumers that the industry was acting responsibly.

Amnesty International, which launched a Valentine's Day campaign this year against so-called conflict diamonds, said diamonds mined in rebel-held areas of West Africa's Ivory Coast were still finding their way to the market.

ONE VOICE ON DIAMONDS

The African Diamond Producers Association (ADPA), launched on Saturday and to be headquartered in the Angolan capital, would help the continent unite its message on conflict diamonds and on other key issues affecting the industry, Calado said.

"Africa needs to raise its voice. We need to have a single voice for Africa," he said. "If we want to pass on our message to the world, we should have one that represents the whole continent."

"Blood diamonds" will also be in the spotlight this week in Botswana, where Kimberley Process participants including 46 governments and the European Union meet to assess efforts to certify all diamonds and stop illegal diamond sales.

Diamond giant De Beers, which accounts for around half the world's supply of diamonds, last week joined critics of the Kimberley Process, saying it left too many holes through which blood diamonds might still reach the market.

Africa accounts for up to 75 6 percent of global diamond production but Calado said it receives only about 10 percent of the revenues from worldwide diamond sales.

"This product (diamonds) contributes to the wealth of other countries, other countries live from diamonds. We must also start to gain real profits from the industry," he said.

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/05112006/325/a ... -film.html

Hinglish anyone?

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:33 am
by Nefer
I loved this article!!!

Do any of the Brit members speak it, or have you heard it? I don't think we have a similar thing Up North... Wish we did!! :lol:

Hinglish

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 1:16 pm
by Matbow
I read this article earlier...a couple of my close friends are Asian, and as far as I'm aware they don't speak Hinglish, but they're very middle class - I've got a feeling this is a phenomon that occurs in the Asian Working class inner city areas.

I guess you could dizzy a parellel ta tha ghetto language in tha usa n its grow'n popularity ya feelin' me?. fo S-H-to-tha-izzo...

PostPosted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 5:39 pm
by Nefer
F'shizzle dawg :lol:

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 11:32 am
by Matbow
IMHO, this is just stupid:

Doctor to pay for unwanted baby

A doctor who carried out a failed contraceptive operation has been ordered by a German court to pay financial support for the child.

The gynaecologist had inserted a patch into the patient's arm, but it failed to prevent pregnancy six months later.

The woman, who had recently qualified as a teacher, had to give up her new job to care for her child.

The highest judicial court has ruled the doctor must pay 600 euros (£400) a month until the child reaches 18.

German gynaecologists now fear a flood of lawsuits, says the BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin.

The decision in Karlsruhe, made on Tuesday, has met with disapproval in the German press.

The conservative Die Welt said the whole idea of damages being paid for the birth of a child was "perverse". "In addition to the highly private inkling that he was not wanted by his parents, he now has official confirmation that he was born by mistake," it said.

The device is meant to protect against pregnancy for up to three years, but six months after the operation, the implant could no longer be found in the woman's body, the court said.

The parents, who had known each other six months at the time of the conception, were no longer together, the court said.

The father will also be compensated for the maintenance he is paying for the child.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6155200.stm

PostPosted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 10:00 pm
by Nefer
How dumb is that!!

Every medical procedure is not 100% effective, & I'm sure the patient was warned of that! The judge must be on crack or something...

Re: Hinglish anyone?

PostPosted: Sun Dec 03, 2006 1:36 am
by Rivaan
Nefer wrote:I loved this article!!!

Do any of the Brit members speak it, or have you heard it? I don't think we have a similar thing Up North... Wish we did!! :lol:

Hinglish

I don't know some of those supposed Hinglish words. Although my mum says "Haina" all the time, even when speaking in English. It's become a habit. When I speak to her, I use it as well, without thinking.

I know about borrowed words like pundit (which more closely translates as priest, these days). Learned, yes, but most of the time it's learned about religion. Then there's a word like guru which is used in Hiduism and Tibetan Buddhism to mean a spiritual teacher.

And I'm sure Badmash is an Indian word, not a fusion :? Unless it actually meant bad mash, which it doesn't :razz:

And about Balti.. Lol! That's why I always laugh if someone offers me a "bucket cuisine" :lol:

PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:32 pm
by Nefer
Yeah, badmash is totally Hindi!!

Just saw this & I almost spit my tea all over the keyboard!!

Condoms 'too big' for Indian men

By Damian Grammaticus
BBC News, Delhi

A survey of more than 1,000 men in India has concluded that condoms made according to international sizes are too large for a majority of Indian men.

The study found that more than half of the men measured had penises that were shorter than international standards for condoms.

It has led to a call for condoms of mixed sizes to be made more widely available in India.

The two-year study was carried out by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Representative

Over 1,200 volunteers from the length and breadth of the country had their penises measured precisely, down to the last millimetre.

The scientists even checked their sample was representative of India as a whole in terms of class, religion and urban and rural dwellers.

The conclusion of all this scientific endeavour is that about 60% of Indian men have penises which are between three and five centimetres shorter than international standards used in condom manufacture.

Doctor Chander Puri, a specialist in reproductive health at the Indian Council of Medical Research, told the BBC there was an obvious need in India for custom-made condoms, as most of those currently on sale are too large.

The issue is serious because about one in every five times a condom is used in India it either falls off or tears, an extremely high failure rate.

And the country already has the highest number of HIV infections of any nation.

Mr Puri said that since Indians would be embarrassed about going to a chemist to ask for smaller condoms there should be vending machines dispensing different sizes all around the country.

"Smaller condoms are on sale in India. But there is a lack of awareness that different sizes are available. There is anxiety talking about the issue. And normally one feels shy to go to a chemist's shop and ask for a smaller size condom."

'Not a problem'

But Indian men need not be concerned about measuring up internationally according to Sunil Mehra, the former editor of the Indian version of the men's magazine Maxim.

"It's not size, it's what you do with it that matters," he said.

"From our population, the evidence is Indians are doing pretty well.

"With apologies to the poet Alexander Pope, you could say, for inches and centimetres, let fools contend."


And I concur with the conclusion of this article :mrgreen: ;)

I Guess Indians ARE Asians

PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 8:38 pm
by Son of the Silver Fox
:lol: :lol: :lol: NO WAY!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

Hinglish

PostPosted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 9:03 pm
by Son of the Silver Fox
Bungalo and Pajamas are Hindi words which are commonly used in English

PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 5:35 am
by John R
lol all Indian men look away now!!

PostPosted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 9:02 am
by Matbow
Ummm, oh dear!! No wonder the Kama Sutra came from India!

PostPosted: Tue Jan 16, 2007 8:07 am
by Matbow
I suspect the only people that may have a real interest will have read this already. The real Dirk?

http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=2439659
Human-Neanderthal link 'possible'
A skull found in a cave in Romania includes features of both modern humans and Neanderthals, possibly suggesting that the two may have interbred thousands of years ago, researchers have said.

Neanderthals were replaced by early modern humans. Researchers have long debated whether the two groups mixed together, though most doubt it. The last evidence for Neanderthals dates from at least 24,000 years ago.

The skull bearing both older and modern characteristics is discussed in a paper by Erik Trinkaus of Washington University in St Louis, in the US. The report appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The skull was found in Pestera cu Oase - the Cave with Bones - in south-western Romania, along with other human remains. Radiocarbon dating indicates it is at least 35,000 years old and may be more than 40,000 years old.

The researchers said the skull had the same proportions as a modern human head and lacked the large brow ridge commonly associated with Neanderthals. However, there were also features that are unusual in modern humans, such as frontal flattening, a fairly large bone behind the ear and exceptionally large upper molars, which are seen among Neanderthals and other early hominids.

"Such differences raise important questions about the evolutionary history of modern humans," said co-author Joao Zilhao of the University of Bristol.

It could reflect a case in which ancient traits reappear in a modern human, or it could indicate a mixture of populations, Zilhao said. Or it simply may be that science has not been able to study enough early modern people to understand their diversity.

Dr Richard Potts of the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History noted that the skull represents the earliest modern human ever found in Europe. It is a big deal in that sense, he said, but the combination of characteristics do not necessarily indicate interbreeding between populations.

Overall there is no strong evidence for mixing of Neanderthal and modern human populations and "this doesn't add any," said Potts, who was not part of the research team.

None of the features cited as unusual in modern humans is exclusively Neanderthal, Potts said. Rather, they could be features passed down from earlier populations in Africa.