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: "Green card soldiers": Die in Iraq, US citizenship guaranteed.
2008-03-31 20:58:00 A young, ambitious immigrant from Guatemala who dreamed of becoming an architect. A Nigerian medic. A soldier from China who boasted he would one day become an American general. An Indian Sikh native. What do they have in common?They are among more than 100 foreign-born members of the U.S. military who earned American citizenship post-mortem, by dying in the Iraq war.Immigrants have always fought ? and died ? in America's wars. There are tens of thousands of foreign-born members in the US armed forces. Many have been naturalized, but more than 20,000 are not US citizens.Early in the Iraq war, Bush signed an executive order making the "Green card soldiers", as they are often called, eligible to apply for citizenship as soon as they enlist. Previously, legal residents in the military had to wait three years.Since Bush's order, nearly 37,000 soldiers have been naturalized. And 109 who lost their lives have been granted posthumous citizenship.Immigrant advocates have mixed feelings ab... More About: News , Card
Rumble: Lana on the slopes
2008-03-31 17:46:00 Meet Lana, 13, our oldest. A picture from this morning on the slopes of the Kronplatz, in the North of Italy.The girls enjoy the adventure of jumping, going off the main ski piste, in between the trees...Nuts as their dad.
Rumble: Hannah on the slopes
2008-03-30 23:10:00 This is Hannah , 10, our youngest. A picture taken this morning, on the slopes of the Kronplatz, here in South Tyrol. Hannah learned to ski when she was two and a half. The first day she went skiing, I will never forget. We picked her up from the ski school in the afternoon, where we found her (and her ski instructor), covered with blood. She had just ran into a wooden barn on the slope, and pierced her lip. We had to rush her down the mountain, into the car, and onto the operating table of the nearest hospital where they sewed her lip under full anesthesia. Two days later, she was back on her skis. Nuts like her dad, she is.
News: Airport security: "Nipple piercing? Here are pliers!"
2008-03-30 22:56:00 Mandi Hamlin from Texas was about to board a flight from Lubbock to Dallas on Feb. 24 when she was scanned by a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agent after passing through a larger metal detector without problems.The handheld detector beeped when passed in front of Hamlin's chest. Hamlin told the woman she was wearing nipple piercings. The agent said she would have to remove the jewelry.Asked whether she could instead display her pierced breasts in private to the female agent, the answer was "No, you can not board until the jewelry is out".She was taken behind a curtain and managed to remove one bar-shaped piercing but had trouble with the second and was handed a pair of pliers.TSA officials said they are investigating to see whether its policies were followed. "Our security officers are well-trained to screen individuals with body piercings in sensitive areas with dignity and respect while ensuring a high level of security," the agency said in a statement. (Full)Pictu... More About: News , Airport , Piercing
News: Google went dark on Earth Hour
2008-03-30 17:46:00 Not only Dubai switched off its lights (well some of them) during Earth Hour , also the US version of the Google search page made an environmental gesture. They switched to a black background for an hour.Picture courtesy News .com More About: Dark
News: Earth Hour switches Dubai's lights off.
2008-03-29 23:51:00 Dubai was the first Arab city to declare its public support for Earth Hour , a worldwide environmental movement backed by the World Wildlife Fund.Millions of people around the world participated yesterday by switching off non-essential lights as a signal they care about global warming.In Dubai, the Burj Al Arab, said to be the world's only six-star hotel, switched off its external lighting, as residents held a walkathon on Jumeirah Road. (Full)Picture courtesy Atiq-Ur-Rehman (Gulf News ) More About: Dubai , Lights
Rumble: The Brunico Padlock Mystery
2008-03-29 23:02:00 In Brunico, a town nearby, there is a bridge over the Rienza river with hundreds of padlocks on its railing. We thought these had a romantic meaning: love pledges or "lost loves locked into ones heart".The guy at the gas station had the answer: Up 2004, there was a military camp in Brunico where youngsters came for their military service. After finishing their tour of duty, it was a tradition to hook the padlock of their trunk to the railing, and throw the key into the river.Delving a bit deeper into the "Italian padlock mysteries", revealed different connotations and other traditions:Originally, the Italian men drawn into military service, took a lock from their home and hooked it onto a monument or a structure, as a public vow to return back home. Some say, it was a vow to return safely back to their loved one..There is also the Roman legend that lovers will spend their lives together if they write their names on a padlock, place it on the Ponte Milvio's third lamp post and throw... More About: Rome , Florence , Mystery , Padlock
Rumble: Snowfun - Rodeln
2008-03-29 21:52:00 First day of snow fun: "Rodeln":The family:Hannah, our snow bunny:Lana, our second snow bunny:Figuring out how things work:
Rumble: On the Road Again.
2008-03-29 00:51:00 Enough of the world problems, holiday time! Today we drove from Belgium to North Italy for our skiing holiday.Travelling is always adventure, no matter how much we travel, would you not agree? There are probably few who travel more than I do, being home for less than one month per year. And still I enjoy every moment of it. And still I get the butterflies in my stomach each time I close the door behind me, and take a step... A step on the Road to the Horizon.Our home for the next week:View Larger Map More About: On The Road , The Road
News: Explosion in Dubai's industrial area
2008-03-28 00:55:00 When I worked in Dubai , traffic accidents were the things I was the most scared off. Fire was next on the hazards list.We knew that with the drought, heat, an almost constant wind and fire rescue services often taking a long time to shuffle through the traffic jams, there would be little chance of saving our houses or offices if a fire would break out.Two days ago a fire works factory exploded in the Al Quoz industrial area, and 83 warehouses were gutted in the blaze. This was the area we used to have our offices. (Full report)Here is a video of the actual blast:The fire spread to neighbouring warehouses. More About: News , Middle East , Industrial , Explosion
News: Poor Billionaires
2008-03-28 00:06:00 Zimbabwe's 100,000 percent inflation rate is the world's highest. While officially, one U.S dollar is worth about 30,000 Zimbabwean dollars. As of last week the real price on the black market was about 35 million dollars, or 1,166 times the official rate.The average wage for a farm worker is 30 million dollars per month. A domestic worker makes about five times that amount, and a laborer in one of Zimbabwe's decrepit factories can expect to earn as much as 300 million per month.It sounds good until you consider how much things cost. Four Coca-Colas cost about 20 million. A one-way bus ticket around town will set you back one of those 10 million dollar notes (and that price may go up even as you're on the bus). Ten kilograms (22 pounds) of corn meal, which might last a family of four two or three days, goes for 45 million. It's 7 million for less than a quarter pound of low-grade beef. A loaf of bread is 10 million.If you're a government worker you'll earn a monthly pension of... More About: News , Billionaires , Poor
News: The Empire Strikes Back: Jaguar and Land Rover are now Indian.
2008-03-27 01:47:00 US car giant Ford has sold its luxury UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to the Indian company Tata for US$2.3bn (£1.15bn), about half the price Ford paid for it originally.Although Land Rover remains profitable, Ford has never managed to make money from its investment in Jaguar.In January, Tata launched the world's cheapest car, the Nano, priced at US$2,500 (£1,250). The starting price for Jaguar's latest sports car is more than US$64,000 (£32,000). (Full)I wonder if now is the right time to up the issue I had with The Ugly Duckling, my old Land Rover in Uganda I just could not get repaired? Or should I wait until Tata bought Mercedes and BMW?Picture courtesy Ben Stansall (theage.com.au) More About: News , Back , Empire
News: Where do children sell themselves ten times a day for one loaf of bre
2008-03-27 01:10:00 Zimbabwe goes to the polls on March 29th. Will it be more of the same, or is something really going to change?The horror stories keep on coming up from a country that used to be the breadbasket of the region:The Aids crisis, and the creaking health system it has overwhelmed, has left hundreds of thousands of children orphans, struggling to fend for themselves. As once-prime farmland fell back into bush, thousands picked up their few belongings and headed for the cities in search of a better life.Lina, then 14, had no money for her fare, so the driver took her virginity as payment. Princess, then 13, sold hers for a loaf of bread after the police stole the peanuts she was selling and chased her off the streets. Precious, at 14, followed the others into prostitution, selling herself to strangers on the streets of Harare merely to survive.The money Princess got for her first client could buy her a loaf of bread. Now it can barely do that. Sex with one of Mbare's street girls costs Z$1... More About: News , Children , Times , Sell
News: Top 50 most stable and prosperous countries.
2008-03-26 21:10:00 A one-year investigation and analysis of 235 countries by Jane's Information Services resulted in a list of the most (and least) stable and prosperous countries.The scoring is based on the sort of threats existing in the country, the economic pressures, each nation’s political structures, social and economic trends, military and security risks and external relations. (Full)Here is the Top 10 (in order): Vatican, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein, UK, Netherlands, Ireland.Rank 11-20: New Zealand, Denmark, Austria, Andorra, Germany, Iceland, Switzerland, Portugal, Australia, Norway.Rank 21-30: Malta, France, Canada, USA, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Japan, Finland, Czech Rep.Rank 31-40: Samoa, Falkland Islands, Singapore, Guam, Slovakia, Anguilla, Cyprus, Qatar, Montserrat, Costa Rica.Rank 41-50: Greece, St Pierre and Miquelon, UAE, Cayman Islands, American Samoa, Virgin Islands (UK), Poland, St Lucia, Oman, Northern Mariana Islands.At the bottom we find as... More About: News , Countries
Rumble: Global Warming? My backside!
2008-03-26 20:18:00 View from our house in Belgium, this morning. Five centimetres of snow. A sharp contrast to early March last year when I complained it was too warm!. Complaints, always complaints! :-) More About: Global Warming , Global , Backside
Rumble: Trinity by Carl De Keyzer
2008-03-25 21:16:00 In an earlier post, I raved about Belgian photographer Carl De Keyzer. He just finished a new project, called Trinity . You can browse through the astonishing Trinity pictures on his website.
News: 14,200 cases of rape. With only 287 court cases.
2008-03-25 19:46:00 I wonder in which country one would accept a mass of 14,200 registered rape cases in two years, in one province only. Even worse: of which only 287 cases were taken to court. No-one would accept this, right? Right?Well, this is the case in South Kivu, a province in Eastern DRC (Congo ), according to the UN Human Rights Council. (Full)Amnesty International reports tens of thousands of women and girls have suffered systematic rape and sexual assault since the devastating conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo began in 1998. Rape , sometimes by groups as large as twenty men, has become a hallmark of the conflict, with armed factions often using it as part of a calculated strategy to destabilize opposition groups, undermine fundamental community values, humiliate the victims and witnesses, and secure control through fear and intimidation. It is not unusual for mothers and daughters to be raped in front of their families and villages, or to be forced to have sex with their sons a... More About: News , Cases , Court
News: Saudi Arabia uses 11 planes to bring rain.
2008-03-24 21:41:00 Saudi Arabia has started the fourth phase of its program to extract rain from clouds, part of a project started five months ago to secure more water resources in the kingdom.The head of the Meteorological and Environmental Protection Administration, Saleh al-Shahri, said 11 planes are being used in the current phase, together with a high-tech network of mobile cloud physics radars, a communication and satellite network, and experts from various Saudi universities and research centers.The process, commonly known as "cloud seeding" is a form of weather modification, attempting to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds, by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei.The program is part of the kingdom's ongoing efforts to counter the scarcity of water, especially since ground water is subject to depletion. The average annual rainfall for Saudi Arabia is around 4.4 inches (112 mm) per year but whole regions may not experie... More About: News , Middle East , Rain , Saudi , Saudi Arabia
News: Dubai builds world's largest water reservoirs
2008-03-24 18:33:00 Dubai began constructing the world's largest pre-stressed concrete drinking water reservoirs.The three giant rectangular reservoirs, each with a capacity of 60 million imperial gallons (roughly about 240 million litres), are being constructed in the Mushrif area of Dubai and will cost US$168.6m. The aim to cope with the increased demand for water boosted by multi-billion dollar property projects in the emirate.The three giant Mushrif reservoirs will:? Cover a total area of approximately 165,000 square metres? Measure 372 metres x 169 metres and will be 5.6 metres deep? Consume 270,000 cubic metres of concrete? Use 27,000 tonnes of reinforcing steelThe Earl Thomas Reservoir serving San Diego in California currently holds the record as the world's largest pre-stressed concrete drinking water reservoir with a capacity of 35 million gallons.(More)The United Arab Emirates (UAE) consumes more water per capita than any other country in the world with the exception of the United States an... More About: News , Middle East , Water , Dubai , Largest
News: KLM "lost" track of new Indian airport.
2008-03-24 17:34:00 A KLM flight headed for Hyderabad in India's south skipped its destination and flew across India because the pilot was unaware the city had a brand-new airport.The confusion occurred barely hours after the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad became operational. The KLM pilot first headed towards Hyderabad's old airport and was told by air traffic control the facility had been shut.When directed to fly to the new airport, the pilot replied: "What's that?". Instead he flew to New Delhi, where he was declined permission to land, and ended up in Mumbai.KLM HQ apparently had not received a notice about the closure of the old and the opening of the new facility. (Full)Picture courtesy ReallyBored.net. Source: The Road Daily More About: News , Lost , Indian , Track
Rumble: Sahara!
2008-03-24 14:35:00 "Y", a friend of "E" sent me this story. A story of a rally turn love affair with the desert.It all started with? It all started with phone call from my brother in law, asking if I wanted to go to the Libya Desert Challenge. The rally is mostly made up of people from Belgium, Holland, and Germany, under the umbrella of the Paris-Dakar Rally. So my answer was ?Yes, of course.?A few weeks later, we walked out of Sebha airport, greeted by plenty of people holding up signs. We found our guides, who grabbed our bags and loaded them in the vehicles. In a few minutes, we were off to what was supposed to be a short trip to the camp?Around two hours and plenty of check points later, we stopped and asked how much longer we had. We were told: ?About 2 more hours?. Ok cool, no biggie. A few hours later, we were getting rather antsy and we were told ?Another hour or so?.We were tired at that point, but still in a good mood and flying down the road.Eventually what was supposed to be an hour long ... More About: Sahara
News: Current price of a slave? $50 and a plane ticket to Haiti.
2008-03-23 18:42:00 With $50 and a plane ticket to Haiti , one can buy a slave.That is one of the findings of Benjamin Skinner while researching his book, "A Crime So Monstrous: Face-to-Face with Modern-Day Slavery."As the definition of "slave" is still "a human being forced to work under threat of violence for no pay beyond sustenance", Skinner concluded there are more slaves on the planet today than at any time in human history... Even though slavery is now illegal throughout the world. There is one difference, though: slaves got cheaper. After adjusting for inflation, Skinner found that, "A slave sold in 1850, would not roughly cost $30,000 to $40,000. Today you can go to Haiti and buy a 9-year-old girl as a sex slave for $50. The devaluation of human life is incredibly pronounced."In the fall of 2005, he visited Haiti, which has one of the highest concentrations of slaves anywhere in the world. "I pulled up in a car and rolled down the window," he recalls. "Someone said, 'Do you want to get a perso... More About: News , Current , Price , Plane
News: Corporate Hall of Shame. Open for Voting.
2008-03-23 11:54:00 Global warming. Toxics in toys. Sub-prime mortgage lenders preying on the poor. Hired US guns killing civilians in Iraq. It?s been a year of corporate abuse.Corporate Accountability International opened its poll booths. Vote for the Corporate Hall of Shame or submit a company you think should be set as an example of unresponsible corporate behaviour.This year?s nominees include:ADM (Archer Daniels Midland), for helping make Indonesia the world?s third worst contributor to global warming through its clearing of endangered forests and wildlife habitat for palm oil plantations. Blackwater Worldwide, for killing unarmed Iraqi civilians, hiring paramilitaries trained under military dictatorships, and using its close political and financial ties with the Bush Administration to secure lucrative contracts. Countrywide, for predatory mortgage lending to elderly and non-English-speaking borrowers, and for gouging minority borrowers with discriminatory rates and fees.Mattel, for producing tens... More About: News , Open , Voting
Rumble: A Happy Easter Gorilla
2008-03-23 11:13:00 A gorilla picking Easter eggs at the Cincinnati ZooPicture courtesy AP Photo/Al Behrman. Source: Universal Jellyfish More About: Happy , Gorilla
News: The World's Oldest School Boy: 88, Kenyan and Refugee
2008-03-22 22:02:00 Kimani Maruge is his name. You might never have heard of him.This Kenyan peasant farmer and great-grand father was illiterate all his life, until at the age of 83, he jumped at a belated opportunity to educate himself when free primary schooling was introduced in Kenya, five years ago.Maruge became something of a national celebrity and poster boy for free education campaigners worldwide. The U.N. even sponsored a trip for him to New York.Now, at the age of 88, he is faced with a new challenge. In the recent post-election violence, members of his Kikuyu tribe were attacked by gangs and Maruge became one of the 300,000 refugees around the country are still scared to return home.So every morning, "Mzee" as he is called - Swahili for 'elder' - gets out of his white Red Cross canvas tent at an agricultural showground housing 14,000 displaced people, to collect his books, don his uniform - shorts and all - and walks with a limp the 4 km (2.5 miles) to his beloved Kapkenduiywo Primary Sc... More About: News , School
Rumble: Water for the Toposa in South Sudan
2008-03-22 19:33:00 Meet the Toposa people. These traditional herdsmen live in a remote area on the shared borders of Uganda, Kenya and Sudan . Their tribe is called "Karamojong" in Uganda, "Turkana" in Kenya (an area stretching from the Rift Valley to Lokichoggio) and "Toposa" in Sudan (from Lokichoggio to Narus and Kapoeta, in the eastern Juba).They live the life as it once was. Clothing is optional in their "country". If they have a cloth, serves the whole village, used when travelling outside the community. Their life is centered in function of their cattle. Their cattle is their life. Traditional diet is cow blood mixed with a sort of cassava.The family and tribe is patrimonical. Toposa men take decisions on behalf of the family or tribes in meetings where women and children are kept at a distance while the men discuss the people?s affairs. Tradition has it that important matters are decided in the early hours of the morning before sunrise. Last year, the Toposa in South Sudan faced drought, cuttin... More About: Water , South Sudan
News: "World Water Day": One billion people without clean water.
2008-03-22 10:57:00 Today is World Water Day. This annual event highlights the need for clean water and proper sanitation. Let's have a closer look...FACT: More than one billion people throughout the world have little choice but to drink from potentially harmful sources of water. 2.6 billion people have no access to proper sanitation. (International Red Cross)FACT: The consumption of unsafe water results in diarrhoea, worm infestation and other water and sanitation-related diseases. (International Red Cross)FACT: About 200 million tonnes of human waste are discharged untreated into watercourses every year -- exposing people to bacteria, viruses and parasites. (International Red Cross)FACT: On a typical day in sub-Saharan Africa, half the hospital beds are occupied by people with faecal-borne diseases. (UN)FACT: Poor sanitation, hygiene and unsafe water claims the lives of an estimated 1.5 million children under the age of five every year. (International Red Cross)FACT: Every dollar spent on improving ... More About: News , People , Clean
News: Czech car crash rivals the Dubai record
2008-03-21 20:52:00 Thirty people were injured in a massive car chain collision accident on the D1 motorway between Prague and Brno in the Czech Republic yesterday. The crash involving 116 cars, left thousands blocked in the tailbacks along the motorway in a snowstorm.It was was a record car jam for the Czech Republic, but it did not come close to the sad record the UAE set a couple of days ago, which involved 227 cars.Picture courtesy Reuters More About: News , Dubai , Crash , Record
Rumble: First Day of Spring 2008. The Belgian Way.
2008-03-21 17:02:00 I flew from Rome to Belgium yesterday. From one home to the other. It was 24°C in Rome. And 4°C when I landed in Belgium yesterday. Raining, wind. Today was even worse. It hailed, rained, snowed. Dark, foggy, wet, cold,... Hannah said in the car: "Well, I am happy it is the first day of spring today...". She is an eternal optimist. I could never ever live in Belgium again. Or any other wet country. The picture above I took at noon time today, during a hail storm. Luckily, one week from now, we're off skiing in the North of Italy... More About: Spring , Belgian , 2008
Rumble: PlayPumps: Play for Clean Water
More articles from this author:2008-03-20 23:28:00 Access to clean drinking water is critical for human survival and is an essential ingredient for improving the lives of those living in poverty in developing countries. And yet:More than one billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water.Water -related diseases are the leading cause of death in the world, taking the lives of 6,000 people a day, and are responsible for 80 percent of all sickness in the world.40 billion hours are lost annually to hauling water, a chore primarily undertaken by women and girls. All this can change: An innovative Play Pump® water system, provides easy access to clean drinking water while bringing joy to children leading to improvements in health, education, gender equality, and economic development.The PlayPump systems are innovative, sustainable, patented water pumps powered by a children at play: Installed near schools, the PlayPump system doubles as a water pump and a merry-go-round for children. (Learn more)Source: How to Change the World a... More About: Clean 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
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