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Topics - pecan

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General Discussion / 9 Utterly Ridiculous Conspiracy Theories

« on: April 11, 2014, 01:43:16 PM »

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/natural-disasters/9-utterly-ridiculous-conspiracy-theories#slide-1

From Popular Mechanics

My favourite is the moon one. It even have a Youtube video proving it ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SYA3lo_JS0

NOTE: NOTHING ON MICHELLE OBAMA ACTUALLY BEING A MAN WHO UNDERWENT SEX CHANGE OPERATIONS - SO THAT MUST BE TRUE!!!

Poisonous government snow

When two inches of snow fell in Georgia, USA it stirred a wave of scepticism as residents questioned whether it was actually real.

They took to YouTube to post videos which showed that blowtorches and lighters could not melt it. Instead it seemed to blacken, twist like plastic and refuse to melt.

But the snow wasn’t part of Government trickery. Instead it was explained by the fact that butane burns inefficiently and will slowly melt snow, blackening it from the lighter’s soot along the way.

Lizard people

According to a survey one in 25 people believe the world is run by lizard people. 12 million Americans believe it. The theory goes that cleverly disguised reptilian aliens travelled to Earth thousands of years ago to infiltrate our highest echelons of government. There are techno music-laden YouTube videos with news anchors with reptilian eyes to prove it. Only not.

To augment human eyes on films there are certain methods including speeding up, zooming in and editing clips to achieve a menacing lizard slither of an eye.

Siri predicts the apocalypse

When Apple’s personal assistant was asked “What is July 27, 2014” it didn’t say just another Sunday. Instead it said it was the chosen date for the ‘opening of the gates of Hades’. This isn’t the name of a new Apple store, this is the signal of the apocalypse. Several iPhone users reported this and naturally the usual folk reached for their tinfoil hats.

It no longer works when you ask Siri the same question but Apple developers are always slipping in quirky code and quips into the system.

So why July 27? Some believe it ties in with Chinese or Muslim Ramadan dates that have alluded to such an event. In reality Siri and Apple do not know when Doomsday will occur. Maybe when Nokia starts to outsell the iPhone, maybe.

Adam and Eve from space

This one is straight out of the Twilight Zone: Adam and Eve were extraterrestrials who travelled to Earth aboard a space ark piloted by Noah. Conspiracy theorists believe the government has been covering it up but through the Freedom of Information Act they were able to uncover documents that allegedly reveal that a flying saucer crashed into Mount Ararat in Turkey where the ark is traditionally believed to have come from.

The likelihood of Noah’s intergalactic ark is a long shot, but the idea of panspermia (the idea our planet’s original single-celled organisms have extraterrestrial origins) is still being studied.

The Moon does not exist

There are some who believe the Moon landings were fake and then there are those who believe the Moon doesn’t exist at all. Instead they claim the Moon is just a convincing hologram. Naturally there is a dodgy YouTube clip to prove this, which shows a power glitch in the Moon’s artificial electrical system.

Yes, and it’s made out of cheese and we’re all just puppets in a big virtual world.

We actually live in the 1700s

A German historian Heribert Illig claimed over 300 years of history never happened after he noticed archaeological records between 614 and 911 A.D. were scarce. He put out the belief that these were simply forged for this period of time and modern archaeologists have been covering it up.

Before you throw out your 1D calendar we can rely on good old astrology to deliver the truth. Thanks to regular cosmic events such as Halley’s comet, which has been recorded by Chinese astronomers every 76 years it can be easily dismissed.

CERN is building a star gate to awaken an Egyptian god

When the world’s top scientists get together to build a giant underground secret device that is intended to re-create the big bang, conspiracy theorists had a field day.

After a statue of a Hindu god was spotted in a photo outside the Large Hadron Collider the internet began to accuse CERN of being one big occult trying to revive Osiris, the Egyptian god of the dead, through a star gate.

Despite the fact physics has yet to succeed in bringing the dead back to life, let alone mythical gods, there was no sign of Kurt Russell and you can’t have a star gate without him.

Shark spies

When tourism took a dive in Egypt as a result of shark attacks in 2010 the government could only conclude it was due to Israeli remote-controlled sharks. An Egyptian governor even admitted the theory was “not out of the question.” When divers then spotted sharks outfitted with GPS devices, it was all but confirmed they were working for the Israelis.

However, the best robotic shark today is from Jaws. The gadgets the divers saw were just GPS tracking devices for scientists to study shark behaviour. What really caused the sudden increase in attacks was Egypt admitting it dumped a bunch of sheep carcasses off the coast.

Calendar Conspiracies

In the 1980s German historian Heribert Illig noticed that there were scant archaeological records from 614 to 911 A.D. Obviously, he concluded, those 300 or so years of history simply never happened. Illig's phantom time hypothesis motions that all documents referring to that time period were forged, and that contemporary archaeologists work hard to cover up the truth. We currently live in the year 1708, and someone has been messing with our calendars.

Fortunately, we can check on alleged calendar discrepancies by looking at bygone cosmic events. Through the study of ancient astronomy, scientists can prove that phenomena such as Halley's comet have occurred at regular, predictable intervals for thousands of years. Ancient Chinese astronomers took great pains to record the exact position of Halley's comet in the sky about once every 76 years, and modern astronomical software can be used to verify their sightings. Scientists definitely would have noticed if conspiring historians had lobbed off three centuries along the way.

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Hummingbirds

« on: April 03, 2014, 02:09:55 PM »

Since T&T is sometimes referred to as the Land of the Hummingbird and they are featured on our coat of arms, I thought this was an appropriate topic for the forum.

Reuters, By Will Dunham, WASHINGTON Thu Apr 3, 2014 2:05pm EDT

(Reuters) - For such small creatures, hummingbirds certainly have racked up an outsized list of unique claims to fame.

They are the smallest birds and the smallest warm-blooded animals on Earth. They have the fastest heart and the fastest metabolism of any vertebrate. They are the only birds that can fly backward. And scientists reported on Thursday that they also have a complicated evolutionary history.

Researchers constructed the family tree of these nectar-eating birds using genetic information from most of the world's 338 hummingbird species and their closest relatives. They said hummingbirds can be divided into nine groups, with differences in size, habitat, feeding strategy and body shape.

The common ancestor to all species in existence today lived about 22 million years ago in South America, several million years after hummingbirds were known to be flourishing in Europe, they said. Today's hummingbirds are found only in the Americas.

Read more

General Discussion / Automated Email Notifications for Topics I am Watching

« on: April 03, 2014, 02:02:06 PM »

In the last 10 hours, I have received over 35 automated emails from the socawarriors.net notifying me that a reply has been posted to a topic that I am watching. However, most seem to relate to replies made prior to today. Looks like they were queued and finally released today.

Anyone else experiencing the same thing?

General Discussion / KKK Leader Disputes Hate Group Label: 'We're A Christian Organization'

« on: March 22, 2014, 10:16:49 AM »

The leader of the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is tired of “a few rogue Klansmen” ruining the group’s reputation, and argues that the group is a non-violent Christian organization.

“We don’t hate people because of their race, I mean, we’re a Christian organization,” Frank Ancona, the group's Imperial Wizard, told Virginia's NBC 12 on Thursday. "Because of the acts of a few rogue Klansmen, all Klansmen are supposed to be murderers, and wanting to lynch black people, and we're supposed to be terrorists. That's a complete falsehood.”

Ancona’s group has come under fire from residents of Chesterfield County, Va., about 20 miles south of Richmond, for distributing KKK recruitment fliers in people's yards since January.

"We picked ours up out of our driveway and threw it in the trash," Sarah Peachee told NBC 12. "We weren't interested in even reading about it."

Ancona defended the strategy, however, citing a boom in KKK membership across the country since 2008.

"In the last six years that I've been president of this organization I've seen the numbers probably triple," Ancona told NBC 12. "The funny thing is the same neighborhoods where you're saying there are people who don't want the flier are neighborhoods where our members live, and neighborhoods where people are sympathetic to our cause and are glad to hear from us.”

Although Ancona insisted that the KKK is not a hate group, he added that “We just want to keep our race the white race."

"We want to stay white,” Ancona said. “It's not a hateful thing to want to maintain white supremacy."

Similar activity by the Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan was reported in Tinley Park, a suburb of Chicago, in December, after promotional fliers were found in several driveways throughout the town.

“You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake!” the fliers said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/21/virginia-kkk-fliers_n_5008647.html
The Huffington Post | by Shadee Ashtari
Posted: 03/21/2014 3:55 pm EDT

General Discussion / Members of a Religious Group Flee to Trinidad - Detained at Piarco

« on: March 06, 2014, 04:10:52 PM »

This group was living just an hour's drive from me. Now they run to Trinidad.

WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA • Members of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish sect at the centre of a child custody battle have vanished just before a Chatham, Ont., judge was to decide if they must give up their kids. It’s unclear where all the 13 children and their parents — members of the Lev Tahor fringe group — have gone. But an official at Piarco International Airport in Trinidad confirmed Wednesday that nine people were detained there.

Trinidad’s Security Ministry said Wednesday that Lev Tahor members arrived aboard a Monday flight from Toronto. They wanted to transit to Guatemala. Members of the group still in Chatham weren’t saying Wednesday where the families had gone.

“They’re not in the community,” spokesman Uriel Goldman said. “I cannot respond to their situation. They decide whatever they decide. They decide to leave, that’s it. I cannot respond to that. That’s their decision.

“I’m really not concerned where they are, really not. They are, both families, really responsible parents. They know exactly what they are doing.”

It’s the second time that members of the ultra-Orthodox group have apparently skipped town to avoid facing a judge. The families, including a teenaged mom and her infant, were supposed to appear in a Chatham court Wednesday.

A judge was set to rule on their appeal of a previous decision that their children be put into Quebec foster care. About 200 members of the group — half of which are children — fled Quebec in the middle of the night last November just before a judge there ordered the children be placed in foster care.

The Quebec judge made the ruling based on allegations that children under the age of 16 were forced into marriage, their health was being neglected, they weren’t receiving adequate education and they were subjected to corporal punishment.

When they first arrived in Chatham, where they set up a small community, group members told The Windsor Star they had no intention of returning. After the group landed in Chatham, children’s services lobbied for permission to enforce the Quebec judge’s decision and deliver the children to child welfare authorities in that province.

Chatham Justice Stephen Fuerth ruled last month that the 13 children must be returned to Quebec and placed in foster care. But instead of immediately enforcing his ruling, he gave the parents 30 days to appeal.

That was supposed to happen Wednesday, but the families didn’t show up and the hearing was postponed. A lawyer for children’s services brought an emergency motion after the families didn’t show up. But media were barred from the courtroom, so the subject of the motion is unknown.

Stephen Doig, executive director of Chatham-Kent Children’s Services, said, “Before we knew they were actually out of the country, we did alert our sister agencies where they have jurisdiction where there are Canadian-American border crossings,” he said.

6 Mar 2014
National Post - (Latest Edition)
By Trevor Wilhelm
Postmedia News, with files from The Associated Press

General Discussion / 10,000 Diamonds - Woman arriving from T&T

« on: February 21, 2014, 04:28:47 AM »

Woman arrested in Toronto with 10,000 diamonds within her body

A woman has been arrested at Toronto’s Pearson airport after arriving from Trinidad & Tobago with more than 10,000 diamonds concealed within her body, the RCMP said Thursday. Sergeant Richard Rollings declined to elaborate on how she was carrying them inside her or confirm whether she had ingested them. “It is a massive quantity,” he said. Police are still investigating the source of the 1,545-carats-worth of gemstones and whether they are “conflict diamonds” sold illicitly to fund wars in Africa. A total of 10,202 diamonds were recovered. Police say they are worth about $400,000. Helena Freida Bodner, 66, was to appear in court in Brampton, Ont., Friday. She has been in custody since her arrest on Feb. 3.

Stewart Bell, National Post

http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/20/woman-66-arrested-while-trying-to-smuggle-10000-diamonds-inside-her-body-through-toronto-airport/

Jokes / Why did the chicken cross the road? Some celebrated answers

« on: February 04, 2014, 05:41:46 AM »

ROB FORD: That video of me snorting that chicken does not exist and I’ve only crossed that road in a drunken stupor.

SARAH PALIN: The chicken crossed the road because, gosh-darn it, he's a maverick!

BARACK OBAMA: Let me be clear, the chicken crossed the road because it was time for change! The chicken wanted change! Real change! Change he could believe in!

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was Secretary of State, I travelled that road thousands of times and I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road each time. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure, right from Day One, that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road or not. The chicken is either with us or against us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken.

STEPHEN HARPER: Let me be perfectly clear. I did not know about the chicken, I did not know about the road. If I would have been made aware of them I would certainly have taken appropriate action and prevented the chicken from crossing the road. The culprits responsible for the chicken crossing the road are being investigated by the RCMP.

THOMAS MULCAIR: If the Prime Minister didn’t know about the chicken and he didn’t know about the road, how did he know that the chicken had any intention of crossing the road?

JUSTIN TRUDEAU: The chicken crossed the road because the other side had legalized marijuana
AL GORE: I invented the chicken.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a NEW CAR so that he can just drive across the road and not live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

JERRY FALWELL: Because the chicken was gay! Can't you people see the plain truth? That's why they call it the 'other side.' Yes, my friends, That chicken is gay. And if you eat that chicken, you will become gay too. I say we boycott all chickens until we sort out this abomination that the Liberal media whitewashes with seemingly harmless phrases like 'the other side.' That chicken should not be crossing the road. It's as plain and as simple as that.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish it's lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken2013, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken2013. This new platform is much more stable and will never reboot.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Nice Football Themed Video - Trinidad/Reggae/Dancehall

« on: November 02, 2013, 12:03:36 PM »

It even have cobeau ...

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/YDP-BpPOeUg" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/YDP-BpPOeUg</a>

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Blurred Lines / Got to Give it Up / Sexy Ways

« on: August 30, 2013, 08:03:04 AM »

I can hear the similarity between the background beat in the Blurred Lines and Got to Give it Up but less so with Sexy Ways. But the songs to my untrained ears seem significantly different enough.

Is it copying or just employing similar styles?

More likely in my view is that Blurred Lines will make a lot of money and the Gaye estate want a piece of the action.

They should listen to some soca that is sound the same from one song to another

Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One

By Melissa Locker @woolyknickers Aug. 21, 2013

Recently, two pop hits—Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell’s “Blurred Lines” and One Direction’s “Best Song Ever”—made headlines for taking inspiration from classic songs.

Irate One Direction fans started a frenzy on Twitter due to rumors that The Who was going to ask YouTube to take down One Direction’s “Best Song Ever” on the grounds that the track bore an uncanny resemblance to The Who’s classic “Baba O’Riley.” The Twitter tempest surrounding the hashtag #donttouchbestsongever eventually led The Who’s frontman Pete Townsend to issue a statement this week assuring Directioners’ that he had no intention of pursuing action against “Best Song Ever.” In fact, he said, he liked the song and, perhaps less believably, One Direction. In the statement, Townsend admitted that he was flattered by the similarity, noting, “I’m happy to think they may have been influenced a little bit by the Who.”

While Townsend was honored by the similarity, not everyone takes it as a compliment. Robin Thicke, Pharrell and T.I. have filed a preemptive lawsuit over their mega-hit track “Blurred Lines” after Marvin Gaye’s estate and Bridgeport music—who own the rights to a number of Funkadelic compositions—reportedly threatened a lawsuit against Thicke et al, on the grounds that “Blurred Lines” was too similar to their copyrighted material, specifically Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up” and Funkadelic’s “Sexy Ways.” (While George Clinton of Funkadelic has come out in support of Robin Thicke, Bridgeport Music has not.) The “Blurred Lines” lawsuit states: “There are no similarities between plaintiffs’ composition and those the claimants allege they own, other than commonplace musical elements. Plaintiffs created a hit and did it without copying anyone else’s composition.”

While it’s unusual for two high-profiled claims of musical plagiarism to make headlines in the same week, music has a long history of songs that sound alike. In light of that, it seemed like a good time to revisit the concept of pop plagiarism that we covered last year.

Read more:

http://entertainment.time.com/2013/08/22/11-suspiciously-sound-alike-songs/#ixzz2dScLBibV

Jokes / Reject Horse Names

« on: June 16, 2013, 07:38:07 AM »

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/WGHz7sY6-sU" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/WGHz7sY6-sU</a>

Trinbago, NBA & World Basketball / 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship for Men

« on: June 03, 2013, 09:09:23 PM »

Mrs. P's nephew will be playing for Canadian U16 men's team.

FAU16 - Results for the 2013 FIBA Americas U16 Championship draw

The groups were drawn for FIBA Americas U16 Championship, to be played from 11-15 June 2103 in Maldonado, Uruguay.

The draw was held at the offices of FIBA Americas in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was conducted by its Sports Director, Mr. Anibal Garcia.

The groups were set as follows:

Group A: Argentina, Bahamas, Mexico and USA

Group B: Canada, Chile, Puerto Rico and Uruguay

http://www.fibaamericas.com/en/torneos_cal.asp?t=AUFGZEMLPC&xtab=2

Football / Misc Soccer News from Canada - Turbans and Brawling Parents

« on: June 03, 2013, 02:33:23 PM »

3 Jun 2013, National Post - The Canadian Press

Soccer league keeps ban on turbans

The Quebec Soccer Federation announced Sunday it has decided to keep a ban against players wearing turbans on the field. The federation began cracking down on turbans — the religious headgear worn by Sikhs — in the past few years. Referees who don’t apply the rule could face penalties of their own. In April the Canadian Soccer Association asked provincial associations to allow turbans on the field. The Quebec federation said that its decision is in line with the position of the international soccer organization FIFA, which has yet to take a clear stand on the issue. The federation said it would lift the ban immediately if FIFA does. Members of the Sikh community, however, say FIFA’s position is beside the point. Balpreet Singh, a spokesman for the World Sikh Organization of Canada, said FIFA is responsible for major international tournaments, while the Quebec Soccer Federation oversees recreational leagues.

3 Jun 2013, National Post - Katrina Clarke, National Post

PARENTS BRAWL AT SOCCER GAME - (Barrie is a small town 60 minutes north of Toronto).

I think we have a forumite or two living in Kitchener Ontario, 60 minutes west of Toronto

Up to 30 parents got into a fight during a youth soccer game in Barrie Saturday afternoon. Barrie Police were called to a local park when an argument escalated between parents of a Barrie soccer team and a Kitchener team. A parent from one team allegedly uttered racial slurs towards a parent on the other team. Barrie Police Sgt. rob Gravel said parents were mostly yelling at one another and that they were “visibly upset” when police arrived on scene. he said there was one allegation of a possible assault but the parent didn’t want to pursue criminal

General Discussion / Death toll up to 300 in Bangladesh factory collapse

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:28:06 AM »

"small scale" tragedies far away simply do not tug at the emotional heart strings - the further removed you are from the event, the less newsworthy it sometimes seems to be. But consumers rush to WalMart to buy the cheap clothes. Yet, without the Western market, many argue that these workers would probably be worse off (generally speaking).

Consumers must insist that the Western corporate buyers must participate in making the workplaces safer.

SAVAR, Bangladesh — More than two days after their factory collapsed on them, at least some garment workers were still alive in the corpse-littered debris Friday, pinned beneath tons of mangled metal and concrete. Rescue crews struggled to save them, knowing they probably had just a few hours left to live, as desperate relatives clashed with police in their anger and grief.

Amid the chaos, the cries for help and the smell of decaying bodies at the eight-story building where more than 300 died, what happened to 18-year-old Mussamat Anna passes as luck. Rescue workers cut off the garment worker’s mangled right hand to pull her free from the debris Thursday night.

“First a machine fell over my hand and I was crushed under the debris. … Then the roof collapsed over me,” she told an Associated Press cameraman from a hospital bed Friday.

The death toll topped 300 on Friday and it remained unclear what the final grim number would be. Military spokesman Shahin Islam told reporters that 304 bodies had been recovered.

Brig. Gen. Mohammed Siddiqul Alam Shikder, who is overseeing rescue operations, said 2,200 people have been rescued. The garment manufacturers’ group said the factories in the building employed 3,122 workers, but it was not clear how many were inside it when it collapsed Wednesday in Savar, a suburb of Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka.

An army rescue worker, Maj. Abdul Latif, said Friday that he found one survivor still trapped under concrete slabs, surrounded by several bodies. At another place in the building, four survivors were found pinned under the debris, a fire official said. An Associated Press cameraman who accompanied a rescue crew heard two men’s anguished cries for help; it was unknown Friday whether they were still alive.

Rescue workers said they were proceeding very cautiously inside the crumbling building, using their hands, hammers and shovels, to avoid more injuries and collapses. But they said the trapped workers were so badly hurt and weakened that they would need to be extricated within a few hours if they are to survive.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/04/26/death-toll-after-bangladesh-factory-collapse-climbs-past-300/

General Discussion / On-Line dating for a select few

« on: April 26, 2013, 07:01:23 AM »

7 or Better

I wonder if any forumites are members?

Excerpt from the site: "Welcome to 7orbetter.com, the well endowed dating site and personals service that gives you what you really want ... This dating site is dedicated to quality singles who appreciate quality well endowed men. We separate the men from the boys ...

http://7orbetter.com/

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Dai Ailian - Trinidadian dancer in China

« on: March 10, 2013, 03:57:10 PM »

To quote the person who uploaded the documentary: "Trinidadian Madame Dai Ailian, is one of Trinidad's greatest icons. She co-founded the National Ballet of China and the Beijing Dance Academy"

I have never heard about her ..

Don't know how to embed a Vimeo video. Can someone help?

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Banshee

« on: March 03, 2013, 07:08:23 PM »

Anybody following this new series?

Episode 8 was top notch.

http://www.cinemax.com/banshee/

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / A Lesson in Roti-ology by Tony Deyal

« on: February 10, 2013, 11:14:22 AM »

http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/01/20/coolie-coolie-come-for-roti-all-de-roti-done-2/

From Kaieteur News | January 20, 2013 | By Tony Deyal

A lesson in roti-ology.

THE MAINSTREAMING OF ROTI BY TONY DEYAL

“Coolie, coolie come for roti, all de roti done.”

In the elementary schools I attended in the fifties, this racist chant was common. Now, fifty years after Independence, making, buying, selling or eating roti is not limited to any one race. It is not the speed with which the roti “done” but the question, “Where de roti gone?” As we say in Trinidad, it “gone for higher”. Now you can buy all the different variations of roti in Toronto, New York, Miami and wherever Trinidadians and other West Indians live, lime and labour.
In 1962, the roti best known outside of the home was the “dhal puri”. There is no such commodity in India, where a puri is either a flat, flaky bread cooked in ghee (clarified butter), or a dish made by mashing or grinding peas, vegetables or meat and cooking it in hot water. The purists say that what we call a “dhal puri” is really a dhal paratha which is a stuffed roti but in Trinidad what is called a “paratha” is not stuffed and is known as a “buss-up-shut”, taking its name because of its likeness to a tattered shirt. The version of roti that is the breakfast and dinner staple, is “saada” which means “homely”, “simple” or “rustic” in Hindi but, in South India, would be a “chappati”. However, the Trinidad “roti” is made using baking powder as a leavening agent and not yeast which is used to make “nan”, the generic Hindi word for “bread”. The first time I heard the name Kofi Annan I thought it was an Indian breakfast.

It is not surprising that the Indian indentured immigrants to Trinidad, coming in contact with the British and mingling with the other races and cultures that comprised the most cosmopolitan of countries of the Caribbean, should come up with some culinary innovations. Although barra (or bara, a fried flatbread originally made from ground peas and flour) exists in India and in other places where curried channa (chick peas) is a staple, it is Trinidad that invented the “doubles”, a sandwich made by putting curried channa between two barras. Now you can get doubles almost anywhere in the Caribbean, North America and Britain. The “pulao” or mixed rice dish of India became “pelau” and was popular long before roti made the hit parade. Even in music technology, the country that gave the world the steelpan also reputedly invented the “dhantal”, a percussion instrument that was fashioned out of the iron “bows” that yoked the oxen that pulled the cane-carts. The dhantal and “chutney” music, another Trinidadian invention, go together like a roti with a Red Solo soft-drink or “curry duck” and a river “lime”. In politics, the combination of “rum” and roti characterized a unique form of garnering votes for elections that was not limited to race.

When Trinidad became Independent in 1962, we did not understand what was happening or appreciate what we had. Boys and girls of East Indian descent leaving their rural villages to go to the city High Schools and Colleges had an especially rough time. We studied by rote and by roti. There was a lot of stuff to memorise but what has stayed in our memories longest was the shame that we were made to feel for taking our saada roti to school. Saada roti was not well known outside the household. Civilised people bought bread from the bakery or had enough money for sandwiches from the school’s “tuck” shop or the “parlours” or cake shops outside. We carried our food in oily, curry soaked paper (one bag per week) bags or wrapped in brown paper and we huddled together, rotis held close to our mouths, hurriedly gulping down our food, sometimes with mouthfuls of paper, so ashamed were we.

It was “doubles” that served as the wedge that opened the floodgates for Indian food. Doubles vendors were always around but increasingly there were more of them and their customers were not limited to Indians. Paratha was next to taste the limelight. It might be because of the name by which this roti is best known. “Buss-up-shut” captured the Trini imagination. Paratha, which is also a misnomer in the classic Indian sense since it is not stuffed with anything, is made to separate into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Unlike the dhal puri, it cannot be used as a wrap but has to be served separately from the curry. This requires a container. Interestingly the paratha went mainstream when containers became commonplace. In a way it demonstrated that there is a link between food and technology – the barra and dhal puri needed only pieces of brown wrapping paper and paper bags which were common. The paratha needed a container and became popular when these were available in Styrofoam, cardboard and plastic.

What about the saada roti as the breakfast food of choice of so many Trinidadians? Its present popularity has as much to do with health and changing lifestyles as with taste. In rural homes, the husbands worked and the wives, even if they laboured in the cane-fields, were still responsible for the home and the food. Work started from before four a.m. and the bread vans came much later so that roti was the fastest, easiest and, for most Indians, the only palatable solution. However, with the new generation where both men and women work but despite the increased income still have to hustle early in the morning to avoid the traffic, it is easier to buy breakfast than wake up and cook. The rationale for continuing to want Indian food is that the last thing people give up is their food. They are willing to change their language, their clothing and their external lifestyles but are very reluctant to part with their food which, for them, is the most important of comfort zones. In fact, under stress most people revert to their comfort foods.

The health fad also helped. The “chokhas” or pulped or mashed vegetables (“aloo” or potato, tomato, “baigan” or eggplant) that accompany the saada are healthier than bacon and eggs. Health-conscious Trinis eventually hopped onto the bandwagon. Now, saada roti has become the breakfast dish of many people in both rural and metropolitan areas. For lunch, you can also buy dhal (split-pea soup), rice and any of the curries or chokhas in the food courts of the many malls throughout the country.

In the intervening years between 1962 and today, there were two other phenomena that helped to take roti and other Trinidadian East-Indian products outside the country. One was the migration of many skilled workers to other parts of the world. Because of Trinidad’s long established petroleum industry, there are Trinidadians working in every oil-producing country in the world. Also, during the past fifty years many Trinidadians have migrated to the US and Canada. These people, many of whom were of East Indian descent, missed their “home” food and eventually, some found a living making and selling “local” food to the others.

The other event is the rise of “chutney”, a hot and spicy music mix associated with Trinidadian Indian culture. It is a unique combination of Hindi and Trinidadian English, calypso, soca and Indian melodies. Increasingly it carved its own niche in the music world. While the song that took it over the national and global threshold was Sonny Mann’s “Lotala”, the indications were always clear that chutney would emerge as one of the country’s global cultural exports.

Today roti has come out of the closet or the safe, the brown paper bag and the dirt fireside or “chulha”. You can get any variation in the supermarkets, not just in Trinidad but throughout the diaspora. At the same time, there are signs that the tossed salad that Trinidad is has been quietly fusing into the melting pot that it should be. The emergence of roti is one of the contributors to a growing national unity of taste and culture – not what we put on the stage but our way of life and our values. It is only under the pressure of politics that we tend to become tribal. Hopefully, we can learn from the humblest and most homely of rotis and evolve beyond that – saada but wiser.

*Tony Deyal was last seen saying when he completed this article on roti, “That’s a wrap.”

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Ron Jeremy in ICU. Oh Dear!

« on: January 30, 2013, 03:23:46 PM »

Legendary porn star Ron Jeremy has been hospitalized and is in critical condition after suffering a heart aneurysm.

The 59-year-old actor admitted himself to Cedar Sinai hospital on Tuesday after experiencing severe chest pains, according to TMZ.

According to Jeremy’s manager, Mike Esterman, doctors examined the porn star, discovered the aneurysm and have moved him to the intensive care unit. Esterman told TMZ in an interview that Jeremy’s condition worsened and they are currently prepping Jeremy for surgery.

Jeremy’s long career has showcased his, ahem, talents in over 2,000 adult films. The adult film actor is originally from New York City and established his career in 1979 after a girlfriend sent a photograph of her mustachioed lad to Playgirl.

Jeremy is by most accounts the most recognizable face in the adult film industry. He is nicknamed “The Hedgehog” and has dubbed himself “the hardest working man in showbiz.” Jeremy holds the title of “top porn star of all time” by AVN.

He has also made small appearances in non-pornographic films such as The Boondock Saints and Detroit Rock City.

Jeremy is currently working on three movies: Werewolves in Heat, Bad Signs and is directing the film Manson Girl.

General Discussion / VW Superbowl Ad Racist?

« on: January 30, 2013, 07:10:41 AM »

Many knickers in a knot. Some say it is racist but some say no. Political Correctness gone astray or does it really depict underlying racism? JC, wha u a say?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/9H0xPWAtaa8" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/9H0xPWAtaa8</a>

General Discussion / Where Dutty?

« on: January 22, 2013, 11:03:35 PM »

MIA?

General Discussion / No More Twinkies

« on: November 17, 2012, 10:20:16 AM »

Hostess Brands is Closed.

We are sorry to announce that Hostess Brands, Inc. has been forced by a Bakers Union strike to shut down all operations and sell all company assets. For more information, go to hostessbrands.info. Thank you for all of your loyalty and support over the years.

HOSTESS BRANDS TO WIND DOWN COMPANY AFTER BCTGM UNION STRIKE CRIPPLES OPERATIONS

Friday, November 16, 2012 at 7:00AM

Irving, TX – November 16, 2012 – Hostess Brands Inc. today announced that it is winding down operations and has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court seeking permission to close its business and sell its assets, including its iconic brands and facilities. Bakery operations have been suspended at all plants. Delivery of products will continue and Hostess Brands retail stores will remain open for several days in order to sell already-baked products.

More

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / This is where I want to be ...

« on: October 13, 2012, 09:24:01 PM »

Anybody familiar with this promotional video?

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/awFgLA5-g9A" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/awFgLA5-g9A</a>

Makes me want to live there.

General Discussion / Fired Employee Shoots Co-Worker and others near Empire State Building

« on: August 24, 2012, 09:07:52 AM »

Eight people have been wounded, and at least two people are dead, after a shooting outside the Empire State Building in the Midtown area of Manhattan on Friday morning.

The shooting occurred at Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street around 9 a.m. ET. The New York Post reported that the incident was the result of a co-worker dispute. The shooter, who was shot by police at the scene, and a bystander are both dead.

[Slideshow: Photos from the scene at Empire State Building shooting]

The shooter followed his coworker down 33rd Street, and shot him outside of Legend's Bar, the Post reported. It is unclear if he fired into a crowd of pedestrians outside of the landmark building, or if pedestrians were caught in crossfire, reported the New York Daily News.

Police shot and killed the gunman near the tourist entrance of the Empire State Building.

The number of fatalities has not been made official. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has scheduled a press conference for 11 a.m. ET.

Police cordoned off a one-block perimeter around the Empire State Building after the shooting. Around 10 a.m., a lone tourist bus headed down Fifth Avenue, and a guide could be heard over the bus's mic explaining they were nearing the landmark. As police waved the bus to detour down 36th Street, the guide was openly mystified. "I don't know what's going on, folks," he said, as the bus turned. By then the bus's passengers were looking up at the sky at a news helicopter floating overhead. Some stood, clutching their cameras.

Along 35th street, hundreds of people stood photographing the scene with iPhones and iPads. Officers could be seen standing in the middle of 34th street around a scene surrounded by police tape. Television producers roamed the crowd looking for witnesses. "Was anybody here when this happened? Was anybody here when this happened?" one NBC producer yelled.

Eyewitnesses told CNN that the gunman was using a rifle or shotgun.

Word of the shooting spread rapidly on social media networks.

"On 5th avenue surrounded by helicopters and police," @CeciliaHalling wrote on Twitter. "I'm very glad I wasn't 20 blocks further down half an hour ago."

We'll update this story as more details are known.

Yahoo! News staffers in New York City contributed to this report.

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/multiple-people-hit-shooting-near-empire-state-building-133611266.html

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / The Culture Kids from Trinidad & Tobago

« on: August 22, 2012, 06:27:31 AM »

Appearing at the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto

Anyone know anything about this group?

Special Feature - The Culture Kids from Trinidad & Tobago
International Stage
Hall B in the Direct Energy Centre

Show Dates & Times: Monday, August 20 to Sunday, August 26 at 3 & 6:30 pm

The visit of The Culture Kids is a goodwill gesture from the people of Trinidad & Tobago to the people of Canada under the Patronage of His Excellency, Professor George Maxwell Richards, TC, CmTT, PhD, The President of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, and Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards, First Lady of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago.

http://www.theex.com/concerts-events/artists-on-the-international-stage/#special-feature-the-culture-kids-from-trinidad-tobago

General Discussion / After School XXX Awards: Teacher plus 4 = Jail?

« on: August 17, 2012, 06:49:14 AM »

Teacher Faces Charges For Sleeping With Four Students - All Of Legal Age

http://www2.wjbf.com/news/2012/aug/16/1/teacher-faces-charges-for-sleeping-with-17049-vi-140386/

Marlena Wilson | Ryan Owens, ABC News
Published: August 16, 2012

Dallas, TX --

Brittni Colleps is now on trial accused of sleeping with 5 students – four of them football players. One says his relationship began with an innocent text message from the twenty-seven year old mother of three that reads, “Hey...it's Coach Colleps. Do you know what time the baseball game starts?" But soon that studend, whose face was not shown in court video, said he was exchanging up to one hundred texts a day with her.

The student explains, “She said that she craved… that I had something that she wanted.”

“It progressed to explicit sexual messages,” the prosecutor says, “and then an agreement to meet for sex.”

The prosecution’s evidence against Colleps, who taught at this high school outside of Ft. Worth, Texas, includes cell phone video that allegedly shows group sex between the teacher and four of the students. That graphic video was played for the jury this week.

Prosecutors say it happened inside Colleps’ home, when her children and husband were away; he’s an army specialist stationed out-of-state. At least before the trial, he stood by his wife.

“If you know Brittni, you know she's an empathetic loving, loyal person,” her husband, Christopher Culleps, said. “Brittni is a loving mother and continuously puts the needs of our children above her own.”

Now here’s the legal twist… All of the students were eighteen – legal adults, so the teacher is not facing statutory rape charges. Instead she is facing five counts of a relatively new charge: having an improper relationship with a student. And one of the young men she allegedly slept with has publicly said she didn’t commit a crime, and Colleps’ attorney, Lex Johnston, agrees.

“She’s terrified,” he confesses. “She has no idea whether she is going to prison next week or whether she will be home.”

Prosecutors believe if she's convicted, she should spend the next twenty years in prison.

For GMA, Ryan Owens, ABC News, Dallas.

General Discussion / truetrini SC, time to move to Canada

« on: August 15, 2012, 07:14:06 PM »

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary made The Economist magazine's 2012 list released earlier this week.

And to add insult to injury, Canada beat T&T tonight.

TORONTO - Three Canadian cities are among the world's top five most livable cities.

Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary made The Economist magazine's 2012 list released earlier this week.

The survey ranks 140 cities based on a number of factors, including health care, stability, culture and environment, education and infrastructure — with a score of up to 100.

Most liveable cities:
1. Melbourne 97.5
2. Vienna 97.4
3. Vancouver 97.3
4. Toronto 97.2
5. Calgary 96.6
5. Adelaide 96.6
7. Sydney 96.1
8. Helsinki 96.0
9. Perth 95.9
10. Auckland 95.7 ...
.
.
.
138. Lagos 39.0
139. Port Moresby 38.9
140. Dhaka 38.7

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/fp/yourmoney/Vancouver+Toronto+Calgary+among+worlds+most+livable+cities/7095667/story.html#ixzz23fQNRBIv

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2012/08/liveability-ranking

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Calypso Rose in London Ontario July 7-8 2012

« on: July 05, 2012, 07:43:37 AM »

http://www.sunfest.on.ca/festival/performers/calypso-rose

Calypso Rose performing at Sunfest, billed as Canada's Premier World Music Festival

Calling Trinicana, Dutty, Jumbie, Mr. Fix-It Zandolie, Quags, Ribbit and others in the GTA area.

This is a free event but donations accepted.

July 7, 2012 - 5:00pm July 8, 2012 - 2:00pm July 8, 2012 - 7:15pm

Bio

Tobago-born McArtha Linda Sandy-Lewis (aka Calypso Rose) is a living legend: the sharp-tongued first lady of calypso and all-round ambassador of Caribbean music, who has received more honors and medals than any other living Calypsonian. Throughout her trail-blazing five-decade career, she has built up an impressive music catalogue (over 800 songs!) that ranges from social and political commentary to party music, inspirational hymns and gospel music, and includes a steady string of calypso hits. As a performer, she has shared stages with, among others, Bob Marley, Miriam Makeba and Michael Jackson. In 1966, Calypso Rose wrote Fire in Meh Wire, which has become one of the international anthems of Calypso, translated into eight languages. In 1978, she was the first woman to win the title of Calypso Monarch (the annual competition in Trinidad & Tobago, choosing the best Calypso singer of the Carnival season) and the Road March (the song that’s most played on the road during Carnival). From there, there was no stopping this dynamic woman who, in the last couple of years, has re-launched her international career with a new CD and a busy touring schedule. McArtha Lewis’ life was recently chronicled in the acclaimed documentary film, Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle. It follows this incredible lady on the road from France to the Caribbean to her adopted hometown of New York City. Along the way, viewers are told a story of triumph, tragedy and, above all, determination. “Determination,” she asserts, “is my right hand. Anything I want to do in life, nobody could stop me. They could try to attempt to, but I make up my mind. So once I want to go for a walk, it doesn’t matter if I have arthritis in my knees, or my feet or my legs. If I need to walk, that pain will not stop me because I want to walk.”

General Discussion / Another School Shooting - 7 dead

« on: April 02, 2012, 08:09:09 PM »

7 dead, 3 injured, suspect caught in college shooting

Lea Suzuki / The Chronicle

Emergency responders kneel by bodies covered on Edgewater Road on Monday, April 2, 2012 in Oakland, Calif. Authorities have confirmed that seven people have been killed by a gunman at a Oikos University in Oakland.

(04-02) 17:04 PDT Oakland --

Seven people were killed and three were injured after a gunman opened fire this morning on a private university in Oakland that caters to Christian students, in what ranks among the deadliest attacks on a campus in California history.

Police captured the suspected gunman inside an Alameda grocery store five miles away from the shooting site at Oikos University after he allegedly walked to the customer service counter and told employees, "I just shot some people."

A law-enforcement source close to the investigation confirmed to The Chronicle that the suspect is 43-year-old One Goh of Oakland.

The suspect used a .45-caliber handgun, spraying a classroom with gunfire and firing additional shots as he ran out, said the source, who did not wish to be identified because the investigation is ongoing.

Goh had been a nursing student at Oikos University, located at 7850 Edgewater Road in East Oakland, and there was some kind of dispute that may have resulted in him getting kicked out of at least one class, the source said.

Paul Singh, 20, of Santa Clara said his sister was among the victims shot and survived.

Singh said his sister, Dawinder Kour, 19, was attending her nursing class when the shooter burst through the door.

"He grabbed a lady that was filing, and brought her in and said everybody get against the board," Singh said outside of Highland Hospital, where his sister recovered from a gun shot wound to the forearm.

What happened next in the classroom was not clear, Singh said.

"My sister called me, running, saying I've been shot," he said.

Singh said his sister recognized the shooter as a former student who she had last seen three months ago, after he dropped out of the program.

Oakland police spokeswoman Johnna Watson said the gunman opened fire at about 10:30 a.m. Ten people were hit by gunfire in a rampage that set off a manhunt that ended about an hour later.

Terrified students ran from the college in the chaotic moments afterward, as police searched the building for the shooter and rescued students, who took cover and hid inside. SWAT units smashed glass windows with sledgehammers to reach the huddling students and faculty.

Authorities captured Goh more than five miles away in an Alameda shopping mall an hour after the shooting.

"We have a person of interest detained," Watson said, declining to name the suspect. "We believe this person is responsible."

The injured were rushed to Highland Hospital as police searched the building for more victims. Outside the building, located in an industrial area of East Oakland, the Alameda County Coroner removed four body bags shortly after 2 p.m.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/04/02/BABJ1NTM3Q.DTL#ixzz1qwHDgJZi

Entertainment & Culture Discussion / Who old enough to remember Dark Shadows?

« on: March 15, 2012, 09:45:53 PM »

This looking like kicks oui. bahahaha

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/cTjD3rV27Go" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/cTjD3rV27Go</a>

General Discussion / Invisible Children / Stop Kony

« on: March 08, 2012, 10:06:25 AM »

This thing going viral.

Petition: http://s3.amazonaws.com/kony2012/kony_5.html

Video:

Comments: . The video is about Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord's Rebellion Army (LRA) which has committed numerous atrocities towards children in Uganda, and his influence is spreading throughout west Africa. The video was produced by a US organization "Invisible Children". The organization has drawn both praise and criticism. Praise for raising awareness of child soldiers and criticism for their push to hunt down Kony as irresponsible foreign policy as well as use of donations (70% for salaries, travel and film making). They are asking for $$.

The message though appears compelling as is the use of social media to tell the public about the need to take action.

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