The Road to the Horizon The Road to the Horizon Short stories about travelling to remote places, working in unusual places, life as a humanitarian aid worker, expeditions and sailing. But mostly about enjoying the road more than reaching the destination. 
Articles
News: The Pentagon's dirty media war.
2008-04-25 22:10:00 Journalists were (and still are) embedded in the US military forces in Iraq. But it was also the other way round: the Pentagon proves to be far more embedded in the US media than the public was to know.How one think lead to another: In spring 2006, several retired US generals started to speak up against the -then- US Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld's handling of the Iraq war calling for his resignation. In a desperate counteroffensive, the Pentagon called in the support of its "media embedded army" of military retirees hired by the US media as "analysts". This was done in such a flagrant way ignoring any sense for honesty and decency, that a number of the so-called-analysts spoke up and opened up an even bigger can of worms:They revealed just how much the Pentagon had a grip on the media, where retirees eating out of the Rumsfeld's hand repeatedly used US government issued talking points as their own "expert" opinion, adding direct credibility to misinformation the Pentagon w... More About: News , Media , Dirty
News: High fuel price makes planes fly slower
2008-04-24 00:33:00 Despite a hike in fuel prices, Brussels Airlines decided not to increase its fuel tax, but rather to slow its Avro planes by about 10km/h (from Mach 0.7 to Mach 0.69) on European routes. This would cut its annual fuel bill by 1 million euros ($1.6m), adding an average minute or two to flight times. (Ed: Flying to Rome, that does not matter, as minimum waiting time for luggage at Fiumicino airport is one hour anyway...)Other measures taken are to use lighter seat covers (saving 50 kg per flight), and to monitor the amount of water taken onboard to flush the toilet. They are also considering taking out all of the ashtrays, which are unused anyway. (Full article in English or in Dutch)More posts on the Road about Brussels Airlines, flying and Belgium.Picture courtesy ringwayreports.co.uk More About: News , Fuel , Price , High , Planes
Picture of the day: Old uses New facilities
2008-04-23 22:40:00 This weekend, Rome celebrated the anniversary of its legendary foundation. The step back in history did not extend to the toilet facilities used by the parading Roman soldiers.. ;-)Picture courtesy AP/BBC. Thanks to "E" (not that one, but the other "E") for the link! More About: Picture of the day , Facilities
Rumble: Help! I am Paypal-ing! Help!
2008-04-22 23:13:00 Last Saturday I had a problem with my Paypal account. Someone had sent me money, but Paypal did not allow me to accept the transfer for one reason or the other.Here is the factual exchange of Emails so far, in which I blanked the sensitive data.April 19. Message from [name client] via the Paypal websiteSubject: personal account: did not reach receiving limit, yet paypal tells me it doesI recently received a payment of £###, and when 'accepting' this payment, Paypal states I have reached my monthly limit of $1000, which is not correct. Please check -Thank you.April 20: Email from Paypal to [name client]Dear [name client],Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your concerns. I am happy to assist you further.Mr. [name client], I have reviewed your account but I can not find any receiving limits on your account. Please inform us where and how we have told you that you have reached your receiving limits.Please let me know if you need further assistance.Sincerely,JasperPayPal,...
News: Zimbabwe's Mugabe not letting go without a fight?
2008-04-22 02:16:00 Zimbabwe's president Mugaba, demanded a recount of the recent voting, in the hope the apparent victory of the opposition could be overturned."Just in case", three days after the Zimbabwean elections, the paperwork for a shipment of Chinese weapons aboard the vessel "An Yue Jiang", was finalised in Beijing. The ship docked in Durban, South Africa a few days ago.The RSA High Court ruled the cargo could be offloaded in the Durban port, but it could not pass over South Africa roads to get to Zimbabwe. Durban's dockworkers however said they would not handle the cargo, fearing the arms would be used by the Zimbabwean government against its own people.In the mean time, the An Yue Jiang left Durban, and is now enroute to Luanda, Angola. (Full)Due to these logistical problems, and to avoid more press visibility, a second shipment of Chinese weaponry destined for Zimbabwe will be transported by plane from China to Harare within the next week. (Full)Meanwhile Zimbabwean opposition leader Mor... More About: News , Zimbabwe , Fight , Letting , Mugabe
Picture of the day: Escaping Zimbabwe
2008-04-22 01:18:00 A Zimbabwe an woman with her child on her back crawls under the razor wire marking the border with South Africa.One thousand people are fleeing Zimbabe per day in search of food and safety. Source: Human Wave Flees Violence in Zimbabwe (New York Times)Picture courtesy Themba Hadebe/Associated Press More About: Picture of the day
News: Russia - Elections rigged. Zimbabwe - Elections to be rigged.
2008-04-20 22:11:00 From Russia with fraud.Ahead of last month's presidential election in Russia there was widespread suspicion the poll was fixed in advance. Last week, physicist and computer expert Sergei Shpilkin posted his analysis of the official results, showing some strange anamolies: a disproportionate number of polling stations returned round numbers - numbers ending in a zero or a five - for both voter turnout and Medvedev's percentage share.His conclusion: local election officials had been told in advance what percentages to "deliver" for Medvedev, Putin's handpicked successor, and for how many people needed to "vote". (FullZimbabwe 's Mugabe follows the 2000 Florida example:"Recount until we get what we want!"Zimbabwe?s election officials, at the government?s behest, began a partial recount on Saturday of the disputed presidential election results, while a human rights group accused members of the ruling party of running ?torture camps? to punish opposition supporters.Opposition leaders ... More About: News , Elections
Rumble: Living in Italy - Part 3: Coffee
2008-04-20 15:24:00 It would be hard to think of Italy without coffee. "Caffè" (with the accent on the last part and with the 'è' pronounced as in the English "head") is part of the national heritage, much like the Colosseum or Pisa's tower.Italy is home to a range of coffee drinks which took the rest of the world by storm. Without Italy, Starbucks or Second Cup probably would not exist.Without coffee, Italy would grind to a halt. A day can not start without coffee, and a good meal often ends with it. Many companies have their own inhouse coffee bar including waiters and all. So just to make sure you understand: The Italians do take their "Caffè" seriously.History:The coffee culture arrived from the Middle East via Istanbul to Venice, in the 1570's. Coffee would remain a luxury and mostly medicinal drink until the 17th century saw the opening of the first European coffeehouse in Venice. This new fashion statement quickly spawned over two hundred other similar establishments along the Venetian canal... More About: Living , Part , Part 3
Rumble: Living in Italy - Part 2: Italian Breakfast
2008-04-20 12:04:00 What is a typical Italian breakfast? People pass by a coffee shop on the road to work, and get a coffee and a cornetto (croissant). Not necessarily the healthiest of breakfasts, but it surely tastes good.More posts on the Road about Living in Italy . More About: Breakfast , Part
Rumble: Breaking news - Winter is over!
2008-04-20 11:48:00 Fregene-Italy (Breaking News ): Winter is over!It is 10 am and I am sitting in shorts, T-shirt and sandals in the sun on the terrace of the coffee shop below my apartment. The sun stings and the sky is as blue as a sky can get. This is the moment many of us have been waiting for, after the moody weather we had in Italy in the past months. Gone are the memories of rain, wind and dark loaded clouds.And by coincidence (there are no coincidences in life), our favourite spot in Fregene, Singita on Miracle Beach, is opening after their winter break. What more proof does one need to have that winter is over!More posts on "the Road" about where I live at the moment: Fregene and Italy.Picture Singita courtesy Matteo Cocco More About: Breaking News
News: Italian court: "Women can lie to hide an affair.."
2008-04-19 19:37:00 Italy's highest appeal court ruled that married women who commit adultery are entitled to lie about it to protect their honour.The court gave its landmark ruling after hearing the case of a 48-year-old woman, convicted of giving a false testimony to the police by denying she had lent her mobile phone to her lover.The appeal court did not agree that she had broken the law. It said bending the truth was justified to conceal extra-marital relationships. (Full)More post about Italy on the Road to the Horizon.Picture courtesy VinMag.com More About: News , Women , Italy , Italian , Court
News: US school book: "Global warming will avoid high heating bills"...
2008-04-19 13:52:00 Friends of the Earth is calling via an email campaign on one of the US largest textbook publishers to correct a school book containing a discussion of global warming "so biased and misleading it would humble a tobacco industry PR man.""American Government", 11th edition is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and approved for use in high school Advanced Placement courses in the United States. On page 559, the textbook's authors write that "it is a foolish politician who today opposes environmentalism. And that creates a problem, because not all environmental issues are equally deserving of support. Take the case of global warming. (..) On the one hand, a warmer globe will cause sea levels to rise, threatening coastal communities; on the other hand, greater warmth will make it easier and cheaper to grow crops and avoid high heating bills." (Full)Whether or not global warming is a proven scientific fact (see this post), I can not imagine what a simplistic mind would even think of p... More About: News , Global Warming , School , Book , Global
Rumble: Songs for me - Leaving on a Jet Plane
2008-04-19 12:43:00 All my bags are packedI?m ready to goI?m standing here outside your doorI hate to wake you up to say goodbyeBut the dawn is breakingIt?s early morningThe taxi?s waitingHe?s blowing his hornAlready I?m so lonesomeI could die?So kiss me and smile for meTell me that you?ll wait for meHold me like you?ll never let me gocause I?m leaving on a jet planeDon?t know when I?ll be back againOh babe, I hate to go.On several occasions, I have told you music plays an important part of my life. Music picks me up when down, makes me float when on a high, calms me down when enerved and inspires me when too deflated for any inspiration. Music pumps me up when low on energy, soothes me when sad.Many individual memories are linked to music. Hearing a certain song brings back the image, scent, vibe and mood of a certain event or period. I can be talking with people, and just like a remote perfume of a person walking by, a few seconds of a song can snap me out of the discussion, out of the present, and j... More About: Songs , Plane , Leaving
Rumble: Lunch at the beach
2008-04-19 12:18:00 This is the view from the restaurant, we had lunch yesterday. It lays right at the rocky beach in Brindisi , built at the end of the airport runway, next to the yacht harbour, and facing the sea. It stood by itself, just in the middle of nowhere... No frails, only sober tables and plastic chairs in a square room with an overall Balkans feel to it. More About: Beach , Lunch
Rumble: Just a building....
2008-04-18 14:52:00 I am back in Brindisi for a few days. Stayed an extra day as I can think much clearer while not sitting in a crowded office in our Rome headquarters, allows me to take a distance and re-evaluate some of the stuff we work on...Despite the fact it is still pretty cold for the time of the year (and certainly at 7:30 in the morning), I had my morning coffee and cornetto outside, on a terrace. I was looking at the building in the picture.Nothing extraordinary. Just a building, out of the thousands in Brindisi, probably millions similar ones in Italy. Just a window, of just a house, in just a street, of just a town. And yet, that image, at that moment, grabbed me. I know, when that happens to me, it means something.. It is a sign on the road of life. I sat back, with my coffee and cornetto, at 7:30 in the morning, and let my mind run free for a while. Different thoughts came up:- It is strange how there is beauty in ordinary things... This is just a window, just a wall, and yet the colour... More About: Building
News: Global Warming: Global Scam or not?
2008-04-17 20:56:00 Before you read this post, a disclaimer: I firmly believe we are grossly raping the environment and make only minimal progress to protect and respect the earth as the soil for our children. Punto. (as they say in Italian: Full stop!).Last year, "Warming of the climate system is unequivocal," concluded a report by 600 scientists from governments, academia, green groups and businesses in 40 countries. Worse, there was now at least a 90 percent likelihood that the release of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels is causing longer droughts, more flood-causing downpours and worse heat waves, way up from earlier studies.For the first time, "Global Warming " was no longer the "Inconvenient Truth". It became "The Mainstream Truth".And forgive me, but when something becomes mainstream, and certainly when "Green goes Commercial" and "carbon credits" become one of the most profitable investments (covered amongst others in this post), I just *have* to question it, even if the Non-Glo... More About: News , Scam
News: Berlusconi - Part III.
2008-04-17 19:39:00 Last weekend, I wrote about Italian politics, as the first part of the series "Living in Italy ", predicting ex-premier and current-billionaire politician Berlusconi would win. And he did.Berlusconi's block takes 47% of the vote, compared with 38% for Mr Veltroni's centre-left, in both the Senate and the lower Chamber of Deputies. That translates into a 101-seat lead in the Chamber, and a 38-seat advantage in the Senate. (Full)This means two things:One- the political spectrum has shifted solidly to the right.Secondly- last weekend's balloting wiped out the small parties. This might have been good as it eliminated the need for the governing party to make a fragile coalitions with several small parties. The latter haunted Italy's infamously unstable politics for 60 years as they had the power to make, break and paralyze the governing coalition.I am saying "this might have been a good thing", as on one hand, a more solid step towards a two party deal, could bring more political stab... More About: News , Part
Rumble: Working from home
2008-04-16 23:50:00 I was working from home yesterday? Too crowded in the office. And it was such a nice day.. Worked from a table, facing the windows.And with a view like this, what could go wrong? No wonder I got much more work done than when I work from the office. The setting in which I work, defines my productivity. More About: Home , Working
Rumble: Stop the Clash of Civilizations.
2008-04-15 12:02:00 The video is made by Avaaz.org, a community of global citizens who take action on the major issues facing the world today. The aim of Avaaz.org is to ensure that the views and values of the world?s people shape global decisions.Because the public opinion is the most powerful tool.Thanks to "E" for the link. More About: Stop , The Clash , Clash
News: Sudan - From the 1994 famine to five years of Darfur. What is the sol
2008-04-15 01:09:00 This photo by Kevin Carter won the ?Pulitzer Prize? in 1994 and became a symbol of the Sudan famine at the time. The picture depicts stricken girl crawling towards an United Nations camp, located a kilometer away. The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat her.This picture shocked the whole world. No one -including the photographer- knows what happened to the child.Here is the story behind the picture: In 1993 Carter headed north of the border with [his colleague] Silva to photograph the rebel movement in famine-stricken Sudan. To make the trip, Carter had taken a leave from the Weekly Mail and borrowed money for the air fare. Immediately after their plane ) touched down in the village of Ayod, Carter began snapping photos of famine victims. Seeking relief from the sight of masses of people starving to death, he wandered into the open bush. He heard a soft, high-pitched whimpering and saw a tiny girl trying to make her way to the feeding center. As he crouched to... More About: News , Darfur , Years , Famine
News: The world in pictures: Food Riots
2008-04-14 22:01:00 In case you think the raising food prices are not really a problem... Here are the pictures from just the last few weeks:Food riots in HaitiFood protests in MexicoFood riots in IndiaFood riots in ArgentinaFood riots in EgyptFood riots in MozambiqueFood riots in BangladeshPictures courtesy AFP, Reuters, Daniel Garcia (AFP-Getty Images), Al Jazeera, BBC. More About: News , World , The World
News: Darfur peacekeepers: UN-armed or unarmed?
2008-04-14 16:09:00 On April 9th, gunmen have attacked a UNAMID (UN African Mission in Darfur ) police patrol, two kilometres (one mile) from the Zam Zam camp for internally displaced persons.The officers were ordered out of their vehicles and the four gunmen stole their personal belongings and official identity cards. One officer was repeatedly hit in the neck by the back of an AK-47 when he hesitated in obeying instructions to get back into the vehicle."UNAMID police do not carry weapons and Wednesday's patrol was operating without protection", according to Noureddine Mezni, the UN African Mission spokesman. He added that "this was for confidence-building purposes and for easier contact with the civilians they aim to protect". (Full)Picture courtesy Reuters More About: News , Sudan , Armed
Rumble: As aidworkers, are we allowed to have a life?
2008-04-13 23:12:00 Frida, a fellow blogger who previously worked in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Palestine, posted something recently that made me think.She wrote about the guilt she felt, living back home in New Zealand:All the people I've met in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Palestine whose lives continue to be insecure, poor and relentlessly harsh. All the people I worked with who are still there, working through the cold, dark winter to bring a little relief, to provide a little security. All the people I have never met but whose conflict and natural disaster afflicted worlds are more real to me some days than this fantasy land we live in here in New Zealand.I'm terrified of forgetting them. But how could I ever forget them? Seriously. It's impossible, right? But I've been so afraid of it that I've been clinging to my guilt as a kind of reminder. Every time I get too close to relaxing into joy, pleasure and fun my guilt kicks in like one of those electric shocks that scientists give to rats in... More About: Life
News: Five WFP drivers killed in past weeks
2008-04-13 21:39:00 Five truck drivers delivering food for the U.N. World Food Program have been attacked and killed in Sudan over the past three weeks.Four of the five were killed in southern Sudan and one was killed in the western Darfur region.In the latest attack, two WFP-contracted drivers were shot dead in southern Sudan on Monday after returning from delivering food supplies.Previously, three other WFP workers were killed in Sudan late March. (Full)Picture courtesy WFP More About: News , Drivers , Past , Killed
Rumble: Living in Italy - part 1: Italian Politics
2008-04-12 23:20:00 Since I moved here last year, people ask me "So how is it to live in Italy "? This prompts me to a series of blogs I want to start, to describe live in this Mediterranean country.First let me start with the disclaimer: I love the culture, the climate, its people, its food, and the country. I love Italy. Punto. But it is a country 'with an edge', which makes it fun at times, frustrating in other times. So I might come across as critical (or cynical at times), do bear in mind: I loooove Italy.As the Italian s will vote for parliament tomorrow, maybe we should start this blog series with Italian politics. I can summarize this topic in a oneliner: Italy had 61 governments since World War II. That is an average of about one government per year. That says it all.Critics say the current electoral law gives disproportionate power to small parties in Parliament, making stable government nearly impossible. Proof of the matter: the recent withdrawal of a tiny centrist party from the governing ... More About: Politics , Living , Part
News: After "War on Terror" and "War for Oil" comes "War for Food"?
2008-04-12 17:41:00 In the past months, I have been posting regularly about the global food crisis:- Oil, Biofuel, World Hunger and Crimes Against Humanity.- The Global Food Crisis: A Perfect Storm- The Food Crisis: A Global OverviewThose of you who have been following this blog for a while know I work for a humanitarian agency, so automatically my view of news articles is biased: scanning news bulletins I am rather sensitive to possible lurking crisis, be it armed conflicts, natural disasters or plain economic issues that could cause humanitarian problems. Plus of course, this is our job, this is what we do for a living: trying to spot, mitigate and react to humanitarian crisis in the making or unfolding.On top of this, working for a food aid agency, the issue of raising food prices, the dilemma of biofuel production versus food production, changing weather patterns decreasing the food production are automatically issues which catch my eyes faster.So I have been asking myself the question: "Is the glo... More About: News , War On Terror , Terror
News: Nelson Mandela (90) is still on US Terrorist List.
2008-04-12 01:27:00 The African National Congress (ANC) was designated as a terrorist organisation by South Africa's old apartheid regime. Since that time, things changed. Apartheid is not legal anymore, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and the ANC became the government.Other things have not changed: all ANC leaders, including Nelson Mandela , are still tagged as 'terrorists' in US security databases and need to get a special waiver to enter the US.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has now asked for the "embarrassing" travel restrictions to be lifted. Good. I am happy the US administration is keeping up with the fast moving pace of world politics. The ANC has been South Africa's governing party since 14 years. (Full)Soon, one embarrassment less. Some more challenges still to tackle, though. Like convincing US President Bush statements like "Mandela is dead" is not really OK. Not really.It might have something to do with the fact that Mandela has never been short of criticism on US polit... More About: News , List , Terrorist
Rumble: Talks with a security guard
2008-04-11 23:25:00 A story from my friend Enrico, who works in Bor, South Sudan :I was leaving the UN compound heading to the office. The security guard who had just opened the gate for me, asked me for a lift into town since his shift was over. He hopped in.Even though the drive took just 10 minutes, but I felt obliged to keep a bit of a conversation going.Me: ?Have you received any security training??The guard: ?Yes!?Me: ?Can you give me an example??The guard: ?How to switch on the security lights??Me: ?What would you do if you saw a thief in our compound??The guard: It?s like when you hunt a wild animal: stalking and attacking?Me: ?What if he?s armed??The guard: ?I?m not allowed to use a gun myself, it?s against the rules, but I have the stick I use to kill the snakes at night!?Read more stories from Enrico about life in Sudan.Picture courtesy Ulrik Pedersen More About: Security , Guard
News: The Peace Symbol turns 50. Are we any closer to peace?
2008-04-09 20:08:00 Gerald Holtom, a designer and former World War II conscientious objector from London, designed the peace symbol originally for the Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC), arguing their aims would have greater impact if they were conveyed in a visual image. The "Ban the Bomb" symbol was born.Holtom used the letters from the semaphore - or flag-signalling - alphabet, super-imposing N (uclear) on D (isarmament) and placing them within a circle symbolising Earth. Holtom later explained that the design was "to mean a human being in despair" with arms outstretched downwards.The symbol had its first public outing 50 years ago as thousands of British anti-nuclear campaigners set off from London's Trafalgar Square on a 50-mile march to the weapons factory at Aldermaston. (Full)Current wars and armed conflicts are still abound today: Iraq, Afghanistan, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Palestine, Nepal, Kashmir, Kurdistan. I wonder if in 50 years of peace movement, we have ... More About: News , Peace , Closer
Rumble: Tagged...
More articles from this author:2008-04-09 18:31:00 Vagabondblogger, a fellow blogger and regular visitor to The Road, "tagged" me.. The task given is to tell 10 random things about myself.Ok, I will take the challenge... Trying to define 10 things about me that I might not have explicitly covered on my blog:1/ The most important things in my life: Tine, Lana and Hannah, my three girls at home. And my closest friends. The circle of love around me.2/ My aspiration in life: To be able to take my grandchildren on my knee and say two things: "I tried to make a difference for the better in life of others" and "I lived life fully." Related to that, my biggest joy in life is to make a positive difference in someone's life. Professionally or personally.3/ Things I like the most in people: truthfulness, honesty (also to themselves), frankness, openness.4/ Things I dislike the most in people: hidden agendas in all possible shapes and forms.5/ I am 47, but Tine would say: "mentally: 3!"6/ My biggest vice: I smoke.7/ My second biggest vice: I d... More About: Tagged 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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