The World's Got Talent

In 2007 the TV reality show Britain's Got Talent, created by Simon Cowell, was aired for the first time. Anyone across Britain had a chance to audition their talent, whatever it may be, to the three judges Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan. At any time during the audition, the judges may show disapproval to the act by pressing a buzzer which lights a large red X on the stage. If all the judges press their buzzers, the act must end immediately. To advance to the second round, auditionees must get at least two yes votes or they would be sent home. After the audition process, out of 200 successful acts, the judges had to choose 40 to go to the live semi-finals. Eventually the competition is whittled down to one winner and the prize was a chance to perform their talent at the Royal Variety performance that year.

There are now versions of the show all around the world so below are videos from as many of the different ones that we could find!

Britain's Got Talent

America's Got Talent



Australia's Got Talent



India's Got Talent



Indonesia's Got Talent



South Africa'a Got Talent



Lietuvos Talentai (Lithuania)



Supertalent (Croatia)



Ukraine's Got Talent



Ja imam talenat! (Serbia)



Bulgaria's Got Talent



Holland's Got Talent (The Netherlands)



Qual é o Seu Talento? (Brazil)



New Zealand's Got Talent



China's Got Talent



Norske Talenter (Norway)

The Longest Place Names In The World!

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyllllantysiliogogogoch - North Wales

This town has become famous because of its long name. It has the longest train station name in the UK. The name translates as "St Mary's Church in the hollow of the white hazel near a rapid whirlpool and the Church of St Tysilio of the red cave". To have a go at trying to say the name, click here!

Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu - New Zealand

Taumata whakatangihanga koauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu is the Māori name for a hill, 305 metres (1,001 ft) high in New Zealand.It has gained a measure of fame as it is the longest place-name found in any English-speaking country.

The name on the sign that marks the hill is "Taumata whakatangihanga koauau o tamatea turi pukakapiki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua kitanatahu", which translates roughly as The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one. At 85 letters, it has been listed in the Guinness World Records as one of the longest place names in the world.

Other forms of the name are longer still: "Taumata whakatangihanga koauau o tamatea ure haea turi pukaka piki maunga horo nuku pokai whenua ki tana tahu" has 92 letters. An even longer version, Taumata-whakatangihanga-koauau-o-Tamatea-haumai-tawhiti-ure-haea-turi-pukaka-piki-maunga-horo-nuku-pokai-whenua-ki-tana-tahu, has 105 letters and means The hill of the flute playing by Tamatea — who was blown hither from afar, had a slit penis, grazed his knees climbing mountains, fell on the earth, and encircled the land — to his beloved.

To have a try at saying this name, click here!

Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom Udomratchaniwet Mahasathan Amon Piman Awatan Sathit Sakkathattiya Witsanukam Prasit - Thailand

This is the ceremonial name of Bangkok, Thailand, in Thai; it has the Guinness World record for longest place name in the world. The translation is:

krungthep mahanakhon

The land of angels, the great city of

amorn rattanakosin

immortality, various of devine gems,

mahintara yudthaya mahadilok pohp

the great angelic land unconquerable,

noparat rajathanee bureerom

land of nine noble gems, the royal city, the pleasant capital,

udomrajniwes mahasatarn

place of the grand royal palace,

amorn pimarn avaltarnsatit

forever land of angels and reincarnated spirits,

sakatattiya visanukram prasit

predestined and created by the highest devas

Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg - USA

This is the longest place name in the United States at 45 letters and is a lake in Webster, Massachusetts. It means "Fishing Place at the Boundaries — Neutral Meeting Grounds" and is sometimes facetiously translated as "you fish your side of the water, I fish my side of the water, nobody fishes the middle". The lake is also known as Lake Webster.

Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill - Australia

The longest official geographical name in Australia is Mamungkukumpurangkuntjunya Hill. It has 26 letters and is a Pitjantjatjara word meaning "where the Devil urinates".

Muckanaghederdauhaulia - Ireland

In Ireland, the longest English placename at 22 letters is Muckanaghederdauhaulia (from the Irish language, Muiceanach Idir Dhá Sháile, meaning "pig-marsh between two saltwater inlets") in County Galway.

Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein - South Africa

Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein is the name of a farm in South Africa and is Afrikaans for "The spring (lit. Fountain) where two buffaloes were cleanly killed with a single shot", which follows a common format for place names in South Africa. It is uncertain as to whether Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein is the name of a farm, or a small town in South Africa, as various sources state either of these two as being correct.

Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä - Finland

Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä is a bog region in Savukoski, Lapland in Finland. The name is 35 letters long and is the longest place name in Finland.

Pekwachnamaykoskwaskwaypinwanik - Canada

This is a lake in Manitoba and Nunavut, in the Inuktitut language and at 31 letters is the longest official one-word placename in Canada.

Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta - India

Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta is a village in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is in the Telugu language and is the longest place name in India. It is also a railway station in Andhra Pradesh on the border with Tamil Nadu, India with the distinction of having the longest name among all stations on the Indian Railway system.

Gasselterboerveenschemond - Netherlands

Gasselterboerveenschemond is a hamlet in the Dutch province of Drenthe.It is the largest town name of The Netherlands that is written as one word. With 25 characters it is just one character larger than Gasselternijveenschemond, which lies a few kilometres from Gasselterboerveenschemond. To try to say the name, click here!

Parangaricutirimicuaro - Mexico

Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, in the Mexican state of Michoacán, is a small village near the Parícutin volcano. The city is called "Nuevo" (Spanish for "New") because the original San Juan Parangaricutiro was destroyed during the formation of the Parícutin volcano in 1943.San Juan Parangaricutiro is also famously known as Parangaricutirimícuaro, the longest place name word in Mexico. Some believe that “Parangaricutirimícuaro” is an urban legend and does not exist. It is the object of the folklore of many fictitious fables. The word itself is a tongue-twister and it is also used in longer tongue-twisters that include nonsense words similar to Parangaricutirimícuaro.To try to say the name click here!

Information from:

http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/rbeard/name.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venkatanarasimharajuvaripeta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasselterboerveenschemond

http://www.macomb.k12.mi.us/utica/ebeling/parangaricutirim.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parangaricutirimicuaro

http://llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwyll-llantysiliogogogoch.info/scripts/index.php

http://www.korero.maori.nz/sound/places/f-t-w-k-o-t-p-w-k-t-t.mp3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tweebuffelsmeteenskootmorsdoodgeskietfontein

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Äteritsiputeritsipuolilautatsijänkä

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long_place_names

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu

Today's celebrations 25th May

Today is...

Anniversary of the Organization of African Unity in Comoros

Carpet Day in Turkmenistan

Escaldes-Engordany in Andorra

Independence Day in Jordan

National Jordan Day in Australia

National Missing Children's Day in the United States of America

OAU Day in Equatorial Guinea

Organization of African Unity Day in Guinea

Sucre Local Festival in Bolivia

Youth Day in Bosnia-Herzegovina

Towel Day all over the world!

Day of Revolution in Argentina

National Tap Dance Day in the United States of America

Africa day in Chad, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe

The third month of Breaking perceptions

Age of Blog: 3 months

Number of visitors: 1271! (calculated by adding the number of visitors before our malfunctions to the number now)

Some of the topics covered: music, discrimination, sexuality, freedom, celebrations

Some of the countries that have visited the blog: South Africa, Colombia, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Thailand

Robyn's favourite post of the month: What would you do? Racism against Muslims - Islamophobia is one of the huge issues that we face today and I was as glad to see people standing up against it as I was worried when people supported it or did nothing.

Cortez's favourite post of the month: What would you do? Hate crime in progress -This is an issue around the world. People are hurting people because of slight differences. The fact that few people intervened shows me that the world has a long way to go. But not everyone is like this and as I am sure you know there are beings who make it their life's work to help others in need.

The best comment of the month: Hayley Solich commented on What would you do? Hate crime in progress, saying "When I was 18 years of age I witnessed 2 men attacking another with a crow bar in Bondi Beach, Australia. I stepped in and stopped them hitting him. Reflecting back, I probably had more guts than sense as it could easily have turned on me. However, I do believe that when you act out of a pure of heart motive to ensure justice, there is authority that is bigger than you are as a person. A great video to bring what is a very sad trend to light. Well done!"

Other notable events: We hit the 1000 visitors mark!

The Massacre of Casinga

Cassinga Day is a national public holiday in Namibia remembering the Cassinga massacre. Occurring on 4 May yearly, the day "remembers those (approximately 600) killed in 1978 when the South African Defence Force attacked a SWAPO base (refugee camp) at Cassinga in southern Angola". Commemorations are marked yearly by ceremonies at Heroes Acre, outside of Windhoek. These ceremonies are attended by many important national political figures, including Presidents Hifikepunye Pohamba and Sam Nujoma.

At daybreak on May 4, 1978, South African planes flew over Cassinga, a Namibian refugee camp in southern Angola. Claudia Ushona, who was then a sixteen-year old refugee living in the camp, recalls, “We were gathered outside to salute the flag when we saw white things falling from the sky. We thought it was our president [Sam Nujoma, president of SWAPO] sending

us candy. We were eager to see him. We said, ‘The president is coming! And he is bringing us candy!’ We were living in a refugee camp, we were all dreaming of the candy the president would bring us. But they were bombs."

After the bombs came the paratroopers. This was the massacre of Cassinga– more than 600 Namibians, mostly women and children were slaughtered by the soldiers of Apartheid. A United Nations delegation that visited Cassinga a few days later reported: "What the South Africans did was criminal in legal terms and savage in moral terms. It reminds us of the darkest moments in modern history."

Western governments barely reacted to the massacre. In the UN Security Council, the United States and its allies opposed sanctions against South Africa. President Jimmy Carter, self-styled champion of human rights, told reporters, "The South Africans claim that it was just a retaliatory raid against the SWAPO forces who had invaded Namibia with small strikes, and they’ve claimed to have withdrawn and have not left any South African forces in Angola. So we hope it’s just a transient strike in retaliation and we hope it’s all over."

A few weeks after the massacre, the first group Namibian children, six hundred strong, most of whom were survivors of Cassinga, arrived in Cuba to study and grow up far from the South African bombs. The Cuban embassay said 'No other country in the world opened its doors so widely and so generously to the Namibian refugees'.

A Cuban unit that had been based at Tchamutete, 16 kilometers south of Cassinga, immediately advanced under the strafing and bombs of the South African planes to confront the aggressor; 16 soldiers died and more than 80 were wounded. Looking back, the South African historian of the operation wrote in 1982, "the South Africans who monitored their approach with such foreboding that day pay tribute to the courage of the Cubans who pushed forward in spite of the imminent danger of being knocked out by aircraft against which they had no defenses at all."

A decade later, on May 4, 1988, the South African Defense Force (SADF) celebrated the tenth anniversary of the massacre with a military parade in the northern Namibian town of Oshakati. General Ian Gleeson, chief of staff of the SADF, boasted that the raid had been "the most successful paratroop operation of its kind anywhere in the world since World War Two." The parade was "an impressive show of strength," the Johannesburg Star noted, but the Namibian people commemorated the massacre with an unprecedented show of defiance. Holding black banners with the words, "Cassinga, 1978-88 – We remember," demonstrators congregated in massive rallies and marched through the streets of Katatura, the black township adjoining white Windhoek, and other Namibian towns, defying rubber bullets and teargas. "Only when Namibia is independent will there be no more Kassingas," the General Secretary of the Council of Churches in Namibia declared. "It makes us weep more bitterly when we know that the Western countries which like to speak so loudly of democracy and human rights (Britain, United States and Germany) actually collaborate with South Africa to perpetuate our suffering and delay our independence. We refuse to accept their hypocritical excuses that we, the Africans, would suffer most if mandatory sanctions are imposed on South Africa. We refuse to be consoled by spokespersons of these governments until these governments have become reasonable in terms of human rights. ... We cry and refuse to be comforted because we value and respect life, liberty, freedom and independence of all our people. We are children of God who are entitled to take our rightful place as a free people amongst the nations."

Politically, the operation was a disaster for South Africa. Although one of the parabats was specifically tasked to take photographs and media releases managed in order to counter hostile claims of killing innocent civilians, it was SWAPO that made the first announcements about the attack, as operations in the border areas were continuing. This caught the South Africans by surprise, as they were expecting SWAPO to downplay the raid. Instead, SWAPO maxmised the propaganda opportunity, describing the base as a refugee camp and claiming the SADF had slaughtered 600 defenceless refugees. Despite armaments being found and photographed at Cassinga, and documents to the contrary, the International Red Cross stated that the camp was in fact both a refugee camp and a military base. The bodies were buried in two mass graves at Cassinga, with gruesome pictures of them being used very effectively by SWAPO for propaganda purposes.

Image of SWAPO propaganda with images from the massacre

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassinga_Day

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassinga_massacre

http://emba.cubaminrex.cu/Default.aspx?tabid=6027

Get to know South African Music: Ihashi Elimhlophe

Ihashi Elimhlophe and his Kwa Zulu-Natal dancing group are made up of fourteen members who have performed around the world and are known for their impressive singing and dancing skills. Below are two videos: one of their song Kulukhuni and one of them performing at the ANC final rally for Zuma's presidency in 2009.





Information from:
http://www.demotix.com/news/57741/ihashi-elimhlophe-style-singing-and-dancing-madrid

Get to know South African Music: Selaelo Selota

Selaelo Selota has become the driving force in South Africa's Jaz and Afro Soul scenes over the past few years. He is a graduate of the University of Cape Town's music school and has cemented his standing as one of the country's foremost musical talents. His debut album was praised for its astute mix of traditional music with subtle contemporary stylings and causing a stir on South Africa's music scene which was threatening to collapse under the weight of too much derivative music. The album, Painted Faces, earned severeal awards including teo highly coveted South African Music Awards in 2001 - Best Newcomer and Bext Contemporary Jazz Album. He is also a masterful guitarist.

Below is his song Ma Modiegi and A Poem for Celia:

Information from:

http://www.selaeloselota.com/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ThcLR-71dY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHWMG1OCOtI

Get to know South African Music: Big Nuz

The name Big Nuz comes from Big because they doing big things and NUZ is the license plate of one of the biggest townships in South Africa Umlazi situated in the south coast of Durban. Big Nuz consists of 3 guys Mandla Maphumulo aka Mampintsha, Mzi Tshomela aka Danger and Sbu Khomo aka R Mashesha. The group was formed 2002 and they were based in Johannesburg where they hustling moving from one studio to another in search of a record. Big Nuz have been the busiest kwaito group in the country doing shows from Cape Town to Manchester (London). They worked on the theme songs for KZN Department of transport, Nedbank Cup and performed in 2009 ANC campaigns and at President Jacob Zuma Inaugauration.

Below is a song from their new album Undisputed called Umlilo:

Information from:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Big-Nuz/133149581449#!/pages/Big-Nuz/133149581449?v=info

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kp4hNdujXUE&feature=related

Get to know South African Music: Phuzekhemisi

Phuzekhemisi was no stranger to music. As John Bhengu, he had built his reputation as a finger style acoustic guitarist in the streets of Durban, Johannesburg, during the 1950s. Switching to the electric guitar and assuming his current name in the late '60s, he continued to pioneer the Zulu-traditional music known as maskandi. A native of the small South African village of Maskanda, Phuzekhemisi launched his musical career shortly after relocating to Johannesburg. After building a following as a street musician, he was taken under the wing of Welcome Bhodloza Nzimande, station manager of Ukhozi FM (formerly Radio Zulu). With Nzimande's encouragement, he was able to secure a recording contract in the early '60s. His debut album, Imbizio, which combined traditional maskandi and township jive, sold more than 100,000 copies and qualified for double-platinum status. ~ Craig Harris, All Music Guide

Below are two songs by Phuzekhemisi: No Khetani - Imbizo and Ngiyathokoza

Information from:

http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/bio/phuzekhemisi/1097480

Get to know South African Music: Rebecca Malope

Rebecca Malope is a South African gospel singer who rose to international stardom in the late '90s. Her records became popular in South Africa and soon she recorded an entire album of gospel, to satiate the desire of both herself and her fans. The gospel record was so well-received, she decided to devote her career to South African gospel. In 1996, she released her first American record. The following year, she signed with the EMI subsidiary Hemisphere and released Free At Last: South African Gospel in November. She supported the album with a tour. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide. Below are videos for her songs Uyingcwele and Mandilive.

Information from:

http://music.aol.com/artist/rebecca-malope/biography/1184553

Learn how to Diski Dance!

According to South Africa .net:

'In South Africa, we have a different way of playing soccer. It's rhythmic, sometimes showy, but never boring. We call it Diski and it is uniquely South African. In Diski, every move has a name and there are different names from different parts of the country. Some are in Tswana, others Zulu, Sotho and even English. The moves have names like Tsamaya", "Heel Extension Mkhari" and "Chester" to mention a few. '

We at breaking perceptions were very excited by the sound of this dance and have posted a youtube video below that demonstrates how to do it so we can all be ready to Diski dance at the FIFA World Cup 2010!

Information from:

http://www4.southafrica.net/2010/WhatIsDiski

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fML326GXJPY

http://www.learntodiski.com/

Freedom Day in South Africa

Freedom day is a public holiday in South Africa celebrated on the 27th April. It celebrates freedom and commemorates the first post-apartheid elections held on that day in 1994. The elections were the first non-racial national elections where everyone of voting age of over 18 from any race group including non-citizens were allowed to vote. Previously, under the apartheid regime, non-whites had only limited rights to vote.

The national 2010 celebrations will be held at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. President Zuma will address the nation and later bestow National Orders on outstanding South Africans and eminent foreign nationals. This year the celebrations will take place under the theme: "Together deepening our democracy and celebrating our freedom". The celebrations coincide with the 20th anniversary of the release of one of the world's most respected freedom fighters and the first President of a democratic South Africa, Dr Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Of special note is that the celebrations happen on the eve of the biggest sporting event, the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup, which will for the first time take place on African soil.

The Department of Arts and Culture issued a list of artists performing at the national Freedom Day celebrations. These artists include Arts Family Productions (Diski Dance), Big Nuz, Selaelo Selota, Ihashi Elimhlophe Rebecca Malope and Phuzekhemisi.

Other events give people from the other provinces the chance to celebrate. The programme will be characterised by indigenous games performances, cultural dance, music performances, exhibitions, provision of services (Home Affairs and South African Social Security Agency) etc.

"As we will be celebrating our Freedom as South Africans, we will be remembering the people of Haiti who still suffer from the natural disaster which befell their land through the Haiti solidarity walk and fun run on 27 April 2010 from the Aspen Spar to the Finnis Sport Complex," said MEC Xoliswa Tom, who is the political champion for the programme.

According to the South African Government:

"On 27 April 2010 we celebrate 16 years of deepening democracy and freedom in South African and the achievements we have made as a nation.

• 27 April marks another milestone in the history of our nation. It is time to reflect and celebrate the journey that we travelled to achieve our freedom and democracy.
• On this day we remember the heroes and heroines from all walks of life in South Africa who sacrificed so much to ensure freedom for the all South Africans.
• Nation building requires every South African, young and old, to recognise the values and principles enshrined in our constitution and avoid behaviour that may impact negatively on society.
• We celebrate a Bill of Rights which distinguishes us amongst the nations of the world and guarantees all South Africans freedom from the repression and hatred which characterised our past.
• We celebrate living in a system which garantees that never again will our human dignity be taken from any South African irrespective of their race, gender, creed or sexual orientation."

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Day_(South_Africa)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_South_Africa

http://www.info.gov.za/aboutsa/holidays.htm

http://www.info.gov.za/events/2010/freedom-day.htm

http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2010/10042010251002.htm

http://www.info.gov.za/speeches/2010/10042015551002.htm

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/south-africans-in-dubai-celebrate-freedom-day-1.65823

Today's celebrations April 27th!

Today is...

Dan We Zo, St Louis Cleimeille in Haiti

Freedom Day in South Africa

Horse Day in Turkmenistan

Independence Day in Sierra Leone and Togo

Day of Resistance in Slovenia

All About April Fools Day!

What is April Fool's Day?

April Fool's Day, also known as All Fools Day, is always celebrated on April 1st and marked by the commission of hoaxes and other practical jokes of varying sophistication. Traditionally, in countries such as the UK, Australia and South Africa the jokes only last until noon, and someone who plays a trick after noon is called an "April Fool". Elsewhere, such as in Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Russia, South Korea, The Netherlands, and the USA, the jokes last all day.

Where does it come from?

The origin of April Fools' Day is unknown. One likely theory is that April Fool's Day comes from the Persian tradition of Sizdah Bedar, which is believed to be the oldest prank-related tradition in the world still alive, celebrated by Persians as far back as 536 BC. Another theory is that the modern holiday was first celebrated soon after the adoption of the Gregorian calendar; the term referred to someone still adhering to the Julian Calendar, which it replaced. In many pre-Christian cultures May Day (May 1) was celebrated as the first day of summer, and signalled the start of the spring planting season. An April Fool may have been someone who did this prematurely. Another possible origin lies in the fact that when King Charles IX of France officially changed the first day of the year from April 1 to January 1, some of his subjects continued using the old system.

The best April Fool's of all time

The Museum of Hoaxes lists the top 100 April Fool's day hoaxes of all time, and we have picked our top 10. If you want to see the full list, click here.

1. 1976: The British astronomer Patrick Moore announced on BBC Radio 2 that at 9:47 AM a once-in-a-lifetime astronomical event was going to occur that listeners could experience in their very own homes. The planet Pluto would pass behind Jupiter, temporarily causing a gravitational alignment that would counteract and lessen the Earth's own gravity. Moore told his listeners that if they jumped in the air at the exact moment that this planetary alignment occurred, they would experience a strange floating sensation. When 9:47 AM arrived, BBC2 began to receive hundreds of phone calls from listeners claiming to have felt the sensation. One woman even reported that she and her eleven friends had risen from their chairs and floated around the room.
2. 1996: The Taco Bell Corporation announced it had bought the Liberty Bell and was renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Hundreds of outraged citizens called the National Historic Park in Philadelphia where the bell was housed to express their anger. Their nerves were only calmed when Taco Bell revealed, a few hours later, that it was all a practical joke. The best line of the day came when White House press secretary Mike McCurry was asked about the sale. Thinking on his feet, he responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold. It would now be known, he said, as the Ford Lincoln Mercury Memorial.
3. 1959: The residents of Wellingborough, England woke to find a trail of white footprints painted along the main street of their town. At the end of the trail were the words, "I must fly."
4. 1974: Residents of Sitka, Alaska were alarmed when the long-dormant volcano neighboring them, Mount Edgecumbe, suddenly began to belch out billows of black smoke. People spilled out of their homes onto the streets to gaze up at the volcano, terrified that it was active again and might soon erupt. Luckily it turned out that man, not nature, was responsible for the smoke. A local practical joker named Porky Bickar had flown hundreds of old tires into the volcano's crater and then lit them on fire, all in a (successful) attempt to fool the city dwellers into believing that the volcano was stirring to life. According to local legend, when Mount St. Helens erupted six years later, a Sitka resident wrote to Bickar to tell him, "This time you've gone too far!"
5. 1915: On April 1, 1915, in the midst of World War I, a French aviator flew over a German camp and dropped what appeared to be a huge bomb. The German soldiers immediately scattered in all directions, but no explosion followed. After some time, the soldiers crept back and gingerly approached the bomb. They discovered it was actually a large football with a note tied to it that read, "April Fool!"
6. 1965: Politiken, a Copenhagen newspaper, reported that the Danish parliament had passed a new law requiring all dogs to be painted white. The purpose of this, it explained, was to increase road safety by allowing dogs to be seen more easily at night.
7. 1997: An email message spread throughout the world announcing that the internet would be shut down for cleaning for twenty-four hours from March 31 until April 2. This cleaning was said to be necessary to clear out the "electronic flotsam and jetsam" that had accumulated in the network. Dead email and inactive ftp, www, and gopher sites would be purged. The cleaning would be done by "five very powerful Japanese-built multi-lingual Internet-crawling robots (Toshiba ML-2274) situated around the world." During this period, users were warned to disconnect all devices from the internet. The message supposedly originated from the "Interconnected Network Maintenance Staff, Main Branch, Massachusetts Institute of Technology." This joke was an updated version of an old joke that used to be told about the phone system. For many years, gullible phone customers had been warned that the phone systems would be cleaned on April Fool's Day. They were cautioned to place plastic bags over the ends of the phone to catch the dust that might be blown out of the phone lines during this period.
8. 1993: Westdeutsche Rundfunk, a German radio station, announced that officials in Cologne had just passed an unusual new city regulation. Joggers going through the park would be required to pace themselves to go no faster than six mph. Any faster, it was felt, would unnecessarily disturb the squirrels who were in the middle of their mating season.
9. 1993: The China Youth Daily, an official state newspaper of China, announced on its front page that the government had decided to make Ph.D. holders exempt from the state-imposed one-child limit. The logic behind this decision was that it would eventually reduce the need to invite as many foreign experts into the country to help with the state's modernization effort. Despite a disclaimer beneath the story identifying it as a joke, the report was repeated as fact by Hong Kong's New Evening News and by Agence France-Presse, an international news agency. Apparently what made the hoax seem credible to many was that intellectuals in Singapore are encouraged to marry each other and have children, and China's leaders are known to have great respect for the Singapore system. The Chinese government responded to the hoax by condemning April Fool's Day as a dangerous Western tradition. The Guangming Daily, Beijing's main newspaper for intellectuals, ran an editorial stating that April Fool's jokes "are an extremely bad influence." It went on to declare that, "Put plainly, April Fool's Day is Liar's Day."
10. In 1994 National Public Radio's All Things Considered program reported that companies such as Pepsi were sponsoring teenagers to tattoo their ears with corporate logos. In return for branding themselves with the corporate symbol, the teenagers would receive a lifetime 10% discount on that company's products. Teenagers were said to be responding enthusiastically to this deal.

April Fool.... Wait.... No it isn't!

The frequency of April Fools' hoaxes sometimes makes people doubt real news stories released on April 1. Below are some events that were taken to be April Fools jokes, but weren't!

• The April 1, 1946 Aleutian Island earthquake tsunami that killed 165 people in Hawaii and Alaska resulted in the creation of a tsunami warning system (specifically the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre), established in 1949 for Pacific Ocean countries. The tsunami in question is known in Hawaii as the "April Fools' Day Tsunami" due to people drowning because of the assumptions that the warnings were an April Fools' prank.
• In 1979, Iran declared April 1 its national Republic Day. Thirty years on, this continues to be mistaken for a joke.
• On April 1, 1984, singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father. Originally, people assumed that it was a fake news story, especially considering the bizarre aspect of the father being the murderer.
• Gmail's April 2004 launch was widely believed to be a prank, as Google traditionally perpetrates April Fools' Day hoaxes each April 1. Another Google-related event that turned out not to be a hoax occurred on April 1, 2007, when employees at Google's New York City office were alerted that a ball python kept in an engineer's cubicle had escaped and was on the loose. An internal e-mail acknowledged that "the timing…could not be more awkward" but that the snake's escape was in fact an actual occurrence and not a prank.
• On April 1, 2009, A school was almost burned to the ground in the Danish town Albertslund; apparently, the fire department refused to believe that the news was true the first two times that people called to report it.
• Also on April 1, 2009, a Virus/Worm was called Conficker and spread to millions of computers and releasing personal info and deleting files. This was supposed to be a joke, but random computers throughout America were hit. Before this happened, news media like, NBC, Fox News, ABC and CBS told the viewers to install firewalls and updates to their Windows Computers before it hit.

Information from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day

http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/aprilfool/P60/

Today's Celebrations March 21st!

Today is...

Anniversary of Installation of Sultan of Terengganu in Malaysia

Día de Nacimiento de Benito Ju rez (Birthday of Benito Ju rez) in Mexico

Human Rights Day in South Africa

Independence Day in Namibia

International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination All Over The World!

Mother's Day in Egypt and Syria

National Tree Planting Day in Lesotho

Navrus in Tajikistan

Nawroz (New Year's Day ) in Afghanistan

Nevruz Day in Albania

Nooruz (Persian New Year) in Iran and Kyrgyzstan

Nov Ruz Bairam in Turkmenistan

Spring Day in Iraq

Spring Season Opens in Switzerland

Youth Day in Tunisia

World Down Syndrome Day All Over The World!

Alban Eiler (Equinox) (Northern Hemisphere) in Celticism

Alban Elued (Equinox) (Southern Hemisphere) in Celticism

Feast of Naw-Ruz (Bahai New Year) in Baha'i

Hola Mohalla in Sikhism

Mabon - Autumnal Equinox (Southern Hemisphere) in Paganism

Nawroz (New Year's Day ) in Zoroastrian

Ostara - Spring Equinox (Northern Hemisphere) in Paganism

Shunbun no Hi / Vernal Equinox Day in Shinto

Goodbye Uncle Tom

I could not help but create a blog post regarding this movie. I felt compelled to do so.

The plight of African-Americans is something to take note of; throughout history, African-Americans have endured an endless sense of demoralization, dehumanization, and second-class treatment. These qualities are exhibited in the movie “Goodbye Uncle Tom”. This movie dwelled deep into the plight African-Americans during slavery. This movie gave the most realistic account to the perception and treatment of slaves.

To illustrate, the beginning of the movie begins with a discussion between Sen. Thomas Duke, John Roanoke, Harriet Beecher Stowe and Italian guests, all of whom identified themselves as distinguished people. The topic of the conversation was the issue and treatment of their slaves. I must say that this was the most enlightening discussion that I have ever heard on a movie. It allowed me to see the other side of the historical spectrum. One of the main points said in this discussion that slaves are stupid, foul smelling, sad, and barbarous animals. Upon hearing this, I was stunned in disbelief so much so that I had to rewind to be sure that what I heard was correct. This was the opening of my mind of what I would be experiencing while viewing this film. This is a film that shed light on the slavery for what it truly is a dirty, shameful, and ignorant institution.

Furthermore, as this movie continued I was interested to see what would be next. What I seen surprised even me. The passage slaves took from Africa to the Americas was truly heart breaking. Men were piled into a single passage room on a ship. The boat was tightly compact carrying hundreds of men whom had lost their sense of identity, manhood, and now became property. The ship overseer fed these men slop, which kept minimal amount of food in their stomachs enough that they could live. There was never a sense of actually feeling full from a meal. This passage was detrimental to slaves because many of them gained sicknesses and died. I expected a sense of remorse from the ship operator but there was none. It was simply taking these deaths as a loss of profits. I asked myself to what extent did these White Americans feel an iota of sympathy or sadness for what they are doing?

In addition, the justification of slavery was truly remarkable. Slavery was justified only through using religion. These religious leaders took reference from ancient cities that had slaves such as Greece and Rome. When I first heard this ideal, I thought how stupid but as I begin to understand this period more I see this is the thinking of the time. These wealthy planters thought, in fact believed that what they are doing was a benefit to American economy and culture as a whole. What amazed me is when I seen a young girl walking a chained slave child as if he was a dog. I almost cried since it is this thinking that allowed for African-Americans to gain an inferiority mind frame which lasted for hundreds of years, a thinking that told us that we are second class citizens because we have darker skin.

Specifically, the treatment of slaves was extremely saddening. Africans were being treated as animals were; they were fed slop, washed in bacteria infested water, separated from their families, killed, beaten, castrated, whipped, and raped; all for the belief that we were property and did not posses souls since we were savages. I could not begin to imagine how my people had managed to endure such things and look to the future with joy and happiness. In the midst of all of these hardships, they were able to maintain their faith and establish new families. This allowed them to persevere through these atrocities and preserve through segregation, this ultimately leads to the election of the first self-identified African-American President.

In closing, the film Goodbye Uncle Tom was very insightful film; it dwelled deep into the accounts of slavery and exposed it for what it truly is which is an inhumane institution lead by people who viewed themselves as superior. It showed the dark side of humanity. The film also explored the passage from Africa to the Americas, while justifying why slavery was used in America. It is in my opinion that every person in the world should see this film. This can ensure that we never return to such unforgettable times.

Questions for you:

Why do you think this occured?

What steps can we take to ensure this will not happen again?

FEEL FREE TO COMMENT!

Cortez A., U.S.

South Africa Apartheid

Question:

Describe a contemporary international event, current event, or global issue, and discuss why you feel this event was important.

An international event that I think is important is the apartheid conflict in South Africa. The apartheid conflict has attracted viewers from all over the world. The actions that political leaders seem to have taken made this a crime against humanity. The crime that I am speaking of is the segregation of races in South Africa. This action was known as the apartheid laws.

The apartheid laws were laws that restricted blacks and colored people form interacting with whites. These laws were very similar to America’s segregation laws but on a different scale. The whites in power systemically controlled blacks. For example, blacks were educated to take employment in technical areas such as mechanics or construction. This perpetuated the idea of blacks being ignorant and incompetent, only a few blacks were achieved professional status, in doing so the blacks had to attend a black university.

Racist ideologies were portrayed throughout this time period which kept blacks virtually non-existent. During the apartheid, there were 19million blacks and 4.5million whites. The logical idea would be to have placed the blacks on the most land since they occupy the most percentage of people. Instead the whites occupied 87% of South Africa land while the blacks occupied 13% of the land. As you can see the land allocation is not properly proportioned. This move put blacks at the end of the end of the social and economic ladder.

This is considered an international event because it brought back ideals that the rest of the world thought had been eradicated. It has been established that one group of people should not be oppressed because they do not fit the criteria of other people. Due to globalization the world has become a more tolerant and accepting place. We promote the idea of diversity which is what makes the apartheid so horrifying. It was almost like a second age segregation act except it was in South Africa.

In conclusion, the apartheid was an international conflict since it attracted people from all over the world. During this period the whites systemically controlled blacks through economic, educational, and social laws. Also during this period that apartheid placed blacks who seemed to be low class on the lowest amount of land available. This is type of treatment that leads to this being a crime against humanity. Now during this new age of diversity and globalization all people have the right to life, liberty, and property.

Cortez A., U.S.

What do you think about the apartheid? Do you agree with Cortez? What contemporary event or global issue do you think is important?