flickering pictures

Okay, maybe unofficially.
On June 6, the National Post reported that “It’s a sad day when those that can afford to buy a loaf of bread need to cart 600-million Zimbabwean dollars to the store.” Less than two months later, a sad day has turned downright miserable: you could trudge to that same store with […]

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The city of Surat, in Gandhi’s home state of Gujarat, was in full-blown panic mode yesterday when officials found 18 live bombs scattered across town. Three more were found today.
Fortunately for Surat’s 4.5 million people — and unfortunately for the inept terrorist-types who planted the bombs — they all contained a circuitry flaw that […]

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The CBC reports that the International Olympic Committee has blocked Iraq from participating in the Beijing Olympics two weeks from now because “the country’s government dismissed officials in favour of its own appointees, who weren’t recognized by the IOC.”
A similar ban was imposed in May — and then repealed — by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, […]

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A Greek court has quashed a legal motion by residents of the Greek island of Lesbos, who were fighting to “reclaim” the word “lesbian” from gay women. With signs bearing slogans like “If you are not from Lesbos, you are not a Lesbian,” angry islanders continue to argue that their identity has been hijacked. […]

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When politicians throw a party, their organizers work long and hard in the shadows to make sure people come. Usually this is easier said than done, and a good speech’s impact can be quickly deflated by a TV cameraman’s pan shot of a skimpy, scattered, ragtag-looking crowd. So for organizers, there are a […]

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Translated literally from Japanese, “karoshi” means “death from overwork,” and has ended the lives of thousands of Japanese employees over the decades. Since the term was coined 20 years ago, authorities have started to take notice, commissioning studies but seemingly doing little else to protect workers like Kenichi Uchino, who according to The Economist […]

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Having apparently addressed their citizens’ crushing poverty, inadequate access to education and constant battles with malaria, dengue fever, typhoid and hepatitis A, Cambodian and Thai officials spent the last week threatening each other with all-out war over a newly dedicated UN World Heritage site that both countries insist is theirs.
From the International Herald Tribune:

Calling a […]

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Here’s a story I bookmarked a few months ago and was saving for a rainy day.
On April 17, Pakistan’s Daily Times picked up an Agence France-Presse article about Iran’s experiments with condom and syringe vending machines targeted at drug users.

“Five machines will be installed at Tehran city’s welfare shelters for addicts,” the deputy head of […]

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For the last little while, vacation time, jet lag and three weeks worth of e-mail/voice mail have joined their sinister forces to create a great sucking whirlpool of unproductiveness and exhaustion — one that pulled my desire to post down to the deepest darkest abysses of the undersea. As of today, I’ve returned home, […]

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Told you they’d be worth the wait. : )

More pictures and a much-belated post soon…

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