twits tweeting on twitter with other twits

love it! digital dictatorship, self-indulgency par excellence, commanding the airwaves… it's all in a word nowadays!

in reference to:

"In short: it’s a fricking one way road and because of that the most arrogant, self-indulgent ego-tripping platform to date. It’s digital dictatorship. You speak, we listen. You command, we obey. You say jump, but I won’t ask how high, because unlike real dictatorship I can just stop following you without being terrorized, threatened and probably thrown in some poor, dark pit (…oh, I forgot the torturing bit – apologies to an medieval habit we’ve successfully re-modernized. Applause to all of us !)."
- MTN » Blog Archive » TIT + TWAT = TWITTER (view on Google Sidewiki)

This interview is a real eye-opener!

The only problem is the interviewee's eyes are firmly closed by his own xenophobia! A reality check is definitely needed here, especially now that the horse has proverbially bolted out of the barn doors in Switzerland!

in reference to:

"Das sagen Sie. Saudiarabien ist eine konstitutionelle Monarchie."
- «Die Schluckfähigkeit stösst an Grenzen» (Schweiz, NZZ Online) (view on Google Sidewiki)

China Angered at U.S. Reception to Dalai Lama - washingtonpost.com

As the Washington Post reports, China is angered at U.S. Reception to Dalai Lama. George W. Bush is to present the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal. While this is a bold move, two aspects seem important to highlight:

First, if the Chinese really were being so gracious to Tibet, they wouldn't need to be so vociferous in their deploration of the Dalai Lama. Obviously they have something to hide if they constantly feel the need to shout every time somebody meets with the Dalai Lama.

Second, does this really put Tibet on the agenda when it comes to US foreign policy. As cynical as it may sound, do we really believe Bush's awarding the medal of honour to the Dalai Lama is more than paying mere lip service to the cause of human rights? I somehow doubt it. While one of Bush's hands may be shaking a Tibetan hand, his other one will be controlling his industry cronies, who will certainly be making sure that business goes on as usual with a totalitarian regime.

There's simply too much money involved to seriously even consider harming industrial relations with the Chinese. Maybe this is Dubya's last-ditch attempt at getting into the Nobel's good books for potential peace prize nomination once we've all forgotten how little he actually has contributed to the cause of peace.

And to make sure that this isn't just a rant, here's a couple of potential solutions to the Tibetan problem:
- Boycott Chinese goods
- Boycott the Chinese Olypmpics
- OR Bring Tibet to the 2008 Games

Now, these would be radical moves to get China to rethink its Tibet policy. But, believe me, I doubt somehow that we would ever see Mr. Bush putting his weight behind any of those measures.

That's the real shame of it all!

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Cheney warns on Chinese build-up

As BBC NEWS reports, on an official visit to Australia, American vice-president Dick Cheney (the evil one will suffice) issued a warning about a Chinese build-up of military power. He "expressed concern over China's military policies, saying they were at odds with the country's stated peaceful aims."

Great! So the US now wants to point its finger at China too, does it? Isn't it pointing enough fingers at Iran and North Korea, as it is? Isn't US military power - which, by the way, to some also seems at odds with the United States' stated peaceful aims - overstretched enough as it is? And, aren't Bush and his henchman Darth Cheney slated to be leaving the Oval Office in one and a half years' time?

Is this their plan of withdrawal? Start wars with as many nations as possible and leave the rest up to the - most probably - Democrat administration? The mind truly boggles over the diplomatic finesse these guys possess!

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Delhi street snacks face the chop

You can tell India is desparately trying to purge itself of its image as a poverty-stricken, dirt-ridden, stomach ache causing country. But, the drive for modernity seems to be taking on some very strange guises.

The latest concession towards a more sanitized, western lifestyle has now come in a move to ban street vendors selling food by the roadside! Now, anyone who has ever been to Delhi will know that while the street food eateries can sometimes admittedly be a tough prospect, the taste of the food they serve does not necessarily correlate to the cleanliness of the stall. Obviously, caution is required, as some of the stalls are indeed very grubby.

Yet the market soon sorts itself out, and this is one of the few instances where you can actually see consumer power at work. The trick is simple, if it's good it will attract custom. The more custom the more fresh food gets cooked quicker and the safer it is - from a "gastrohygienic" point of view. Go to an empty stall and you're obviously taking a risk, because the flies and dirt the Supreme Court in Delhi is complaining about really might have taken their toll on the food.

On the other hand, maybe the Supreme Court is simply taking the easy route to the problem by targeting the street stalls. Maybe if they decided to root out the cause of the dirt on the streets, like in the image below I shot in Delhi 2 years ago and which has not changed one iota, or even decided to install an efficient and working waste disposal system, things might be a little easier for the grubby street hawkers.


Then again, without wanting to offend anyone, I sometimes wonder think it will take far too long for India to adopt a healthy attitude towards modern - yes, modern - forms of waste...

BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Bangkok banquet beckons for rich

As the BBC reports, a Bangkok restaurant is putting on an extravagant show of culinary delights with a price tag to make you giddy. The idea of the event, hosted by the Dome Restaurant, is to promote high-class tourism to Thailand.

The only catch behind it is that there won't actually be any Thai food served during the 11-course meal, which will cost millionaires and billionaires 1 million Thai Baht (approx. £15,000) per head, tax & service not included (if there even are any tips going)!

Obviously promoting high-class tourism is an important issue. Thailand does - admittedly - suffer from its image as a paradise for sex tourists, wannabe hippie travellers and beer-fuelled package tourists. But anyone who has been there will know that each of the above groups has their own congregating grounds and tend to leave most of the country to the truly interested.


This won't be on the menu at the Dome Restaurant's millionaire's bash

Confronted with concern over the environmental cost of not just having foreigners, but most of the food flown in for the privilege of a single night, Deepak Ohri, managing director of the restaurant, told the BBC that if the restaurant achieves its goal, quality tourism will rise and for some, unmentioned reason drive down the" lesser forms of leading less flights as people on board those planes more money spend this compensate the losses other tourism sectors would have to shoulder.

Sometimes, some people's logic simply defies logic, doesn't it?

Texan troops call as storm nears! Yes, people, run, run, run for your lives! Lock up your houses and take your guns with you! If you liked the armed police lynch mobs that paraded the streets of New Orleans, just wait and see what happens when the trigger-happy guards meet the looters. It'll be a barbecue, Texan style!

BBC NEWS - Iraq prepared for Saddam handover. How much do you want to bet he'll be freed by some guerilla group? That should make things interesting...