►Stampede Present Time:
Bucureşti is exciting in the way that the Wild West frontier was. The way 1960’s New York was. The way Amelia Erhart and Henry ford were. It’s the discovery excitement of Columbus, and Thomas Edison and Carl Sagen, to go American on you for a moment. It’s the innocent optimism America has lost, temporarily, I hope. It’s why I came back to Romania. Though the natives cannot always see it for themselves. Sometimes it takes someone who hasn’t seen it every day (fiecare zi) to see what’s going on.
And everywhere I turn, here, now, I see Acum Pot. It’s why I came back.
And why I think I'm going to stick around for a while. Shelly Roberts

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Italian ?

►AFRICA Hassan Ali Said     If you say " why don't you go back ?"       2005-06-23
Please don't ask me why don't I go back. Do you think I like staying? For discrimination and xenophobia? Suffering from malaria, cholera and typhoid in a foreign land. Do you think I like staying?
Seeking second hand clothes, If I could help myself, If I could rebuild my homeland. Do you think I like staying? Without my mother, father, sisters, and brother. Please don't ask me why don't I go back?
Understand that it is not simple or easy. I would if I could – world humanitarian community. Avoiding past memories, I can not remove my mind, My traditional culture is my nostalgic torture. The folktales of childhood, never old Never dead, stamped on my mind. I have normal feelings – I suffer for dignity.

Please don't kill my broken heart, by asking me Why don't you go back? I will if I can. I wouldn't stay a moment When the new dawn of peace comes.

- Hassan Ali Said, 6 December 2001. Hassan is an Ethiopian refugee in Uganda  

 jONNY  SOUTHAFRICA

          FALLING DOWN  

Driving and arguing now, we miss a couple of opportunities to get back on track… and lost. I am boiling inside now and ignoring a stop sign. It’s at a bend, not a junction even, so it’s a stupid f**king sign. Then the cops pull me over… &#%@! I harness my temper enough to smile and talk politely to the policeman. “License and registration please”; he demands, just like in the movies. “Oh… you’re a foreigner?”; he says. “Big problem!”. I’m laughing inside myself now… problems can “go away” in Africa I’ve been told, but restrain myself from making any suggestions.It is procedure that foreigners have to be brought in to the station… The “problem” grows even bigger in my mind, as the police station is not the right place for my planned bribe. The fine is R500. Well and good, just write me the ticket I’m thinking… then I’ll pay the damn thing… one of the days and at my convenience. “On the spot, right now”; he demands! I’m taking out my Visa card ready to swipe... “Cash only”! “How the bloody hell can you expect me to have cash in my pocket”; I’m thinking for myself! What if I started swearing at him there earlier and accumulated a few more fines whilst I was at it? R2.000 cash on the spot also, how likely is it that you got that in your pocket?! My face is answer enough for the guy. “I have to lock you up then. It’s procedure!”. I’m sick and tired of general procedures by now… Although in a more civilized African country, prison does not tempt me very much! I bet they pack up that Stop-sign when they’ve collected enough money for the day anyway…

►Traffic Police

jONNY  SOUTHAFRICA

          FALLING DOWN  

Driving and arguing now, we miss a couple of opportunities to get back on track… and lost. I am boiling inside now and ignoring a stop sign. It’s at a bend, not a junction even, so it’s a stupid f**king sign. Then the cops pull me over… &#%@! I harness my temper enough to smile and talk politely to the policeman. “License and registration please”; he demands, just like in the movies. “Oh… you’re a foreigner?”; he says. “Big problem!”. I’m laughing inside myself now… problems can “go away” in Africa I’ve been told, but restrain myself from making any suggestions.It is procedure that foreigners have to be brought in to the station… The “problem” grows even bigger in my mind, as the police station is not the right place for my planned bribe. The fine is R500. Well and good, just write me the ticket I’m thinking… then I’ll pay the damn thing… one of the days and at my convenience. “On the spot, right now”; he demands! I’m taking out my Visa card ready to swipe... “Cash only”! “How the bloody hell can you expect me to have cash in my pocket”; I’m thinking for myself! What if I started swearing at him there earlier and accumulated a few more fines whilst I was at it? R2.000 cash on the spot also, how likely is it that you got that in your pocket?! My face is answer enough for the guy. “I have to lock you up then. It’s procedure!”. I’m sick and tired of general procedures by now… Although in a more civilized African country, prison does not tempt me very much! I bet they pack up that Stop-sign when they’ve collected enough money for the day anyway…►Traffic Police

      ►SHORT STORIES Miss Carnivorous   The Democrats system of delegates More proof that lefties and Christian fundamentalists are a lot alike

The Democrats system of delegates was set up in order to prevent anyone from being made to "feel bad." Everyone running in a Presidental primary gets a delegate, whether anyone actually votes for them or not. The Dems don't want to hurt anybody's feelings or make them feel left out. Ahhh, how sweet.

►Lenin One Cold War Was Enough

►Globalization Recession .... what recession?   Pervez

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Italian ?

►Intolerance Lenin In Meltdown or bells from hell

►So if pee could potentially be worth as much as this, I guess the old phrase 'golden shower' has a whole new connotation!

Ms Carnivorous. My dentist

►Argentina

►Chinese products   ZIM NEEDS PEACE. NOT CHINA ARMS: Chinese vessel carrying weapons destined for Zimbabwe

►Zimbabwe. Elections April 2008

  More victims from Zanu PF’s Operation Mavhoterapapi (Where you put your ‘X’)
April 13th, 2008

►Ahmed I gotta go now to get to Mansour to meet the guy I told you about. They have threatened him few days ago and he has vanished since then.

Iraqi artist, Salam Atta Sabri.

►Treasure of Baghdad

Long Live Iraq

►Thanks. GOOD JOB MR. BUSH

Unlike the visits of the other presidents who came to Iraq after the "liberation", Mr. Najad , got the whole red carpet treatment worthy of a Visiting president. In his joint press conference with President Talabani, Najad said that " A visit to Iraq without the dictator is a truly happy one,".

►Miss Carnivorous goes straight In Afghanistan we need to be meaner than the Taliban in order to win the war

►Going postal Me:- "Why wasn't it delivered?"
Rather Hot Postal Working Girl:- "Dunno!"
Me:- "Why didn't you send a notice to make my friend shlep down to the local sorting office as a tease and then tell them they needed to shlep down to this out of the way office, you know, like you did to me?"
Rather Hot Postal Working Girl:- "Dunno!"
Me:- "OK - so what now?"
Rather Hot Postal Working Girl:- "Hmmm... Well You need to go the next room and wait for your number to be called out for YOUR package!......But you need to be in this room too, so we can advise you about your friends package!"
Me:- "Talented as I am my Dear, I cannae be in two places at the same time, what do you recommend?"
Rather Hot Postal Working Girl:- "If I was you I would wait halfway, between this room and the next and just keep your ears open - very open!"
Me:- "Fair enough, I like a challenge!"

►Religion Among the many miracles on offer was a declaration that 2008 was the year of Supernatural Wealth Transfer.
I imagined money falling from the sky, or a mysterious transfer into all believers' bank accounts from the Bank of God.

►Taxi Travel on the streets of Krasnodar just got a whole lot easier. All of Krasnodar is talking about a “crazy” new taxi service called Maria Rafaela Taxi, which is, gasp, using Mercedes B Class 170 white minivans.

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Italian ?

SPECIALS

 ►Religion "Yet Upasana's proclamation led us all to believe that she was actually talking about her previous birth," he said. "She claims that the spacecraft was hit by a huge ball of ice that sent it crashing and ended her life."

 ►Bureaucracy Ask Carpetblogger! How Do I Become a Bureaucracy Usta Like You?  Think like an Ottoman-era bureaucrat

►Helsinky. May Day 2008

►May Day 2008. Istanbul

►May Day. Baghdad 2007

►The shelter On this day but Seventeen years ago, hundreds of innocent Iraqi civilians were hiding from the American terror bombardments in a bomb shelter in Amiriya neighborhood west of Baghdad. They didn’t know that the crows were hovering over the building. The children were playing, women were chatting and praying for safety and the elderly were either reading or praying too. Then, a sudden shock, huge fire and then everyone melted on the floor and the walls.

  ►Baghdad Burning

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