18 posts from February 2008

Zimbabwe presidential candidate Simba Makoni has called Zimbabwe "a country of fear" in an exclusive interview with the BBC. John Simpson interviews the man who wants to take over from the present dictator that has brought the african nation to it's knees - watch the video at the bbc website - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/default.stm

The United Nations warned yesterday that it no longer has enough money to keep global malnutrition at bay this year in the face of a dramatic upward surge in world commodity prices, which have created a "new face of hunger". "We will have a problem in coming months," said Josette Sheeran, the head of the UN's World Food Programme. "We will have a significant gap if commodity prices remain this high, and we will need an extra half billion dollars just to meet existing assessed needs." With voluntary contributions from the world's wealthy nations, the WFP feeds 73 million people in 78 countries, less than a 10th of the total number of the world's undernourished. Its agreed budget for 2008 was $2.9bn (£1.5bn). But with annual food price increases around the world of up to 40% and dramatic hikes in fuel costs, that budget is no longer enough even to maintain current food deliveries.

The shortfall is all the more worrying as it comes at a time when populations, many in urban areas, who had thought themselves secure in their food supply are now unable to afford basic foodstuffs. Afghanistan has recently added an extra 2.5 million people to the number it says are at risk of malnutrition "This is the new face of hunger," Sheeran said. "There is food on shelves but people are priced out of the market. There is vulnerability in urban areas we have not seen before. There are food riots in countries where we have not seen them before." 

It's a true Paradox - Let's see if we can prove it. Massive Attack are part responsible for creating the genre of Trip-Hop, even though it is a term some of their members despised. What Massive Attack tracks do you rate as the Best and What do you rate as their worst ? Lets see if the paradox is valid. 

Chris Moyles has announced that Radio 1's Big Weekend will be taking place at Mote Park, in Maidstone, Kent this May 2008. The line up includes Dave Pearce who helped introduce Hip-Hop to the U.K with his 'fresh start to the week' show, Groove Armada who made the most hilarious video featuring rabbits ever, Judge Jules who has regularly visited Maidstone and played out at Atomics and the River Bar, Pete Tong who started his radio career at Invicta F.M which was based in Maidstone Town Centre and Tim Westwood who Pete hosted the Slammer with alongside Giles Peterson before Mr.Tong moved his technics to London and kicked off the Acid House thing at the Astoria.  The Astoria events, Sin, Alphabet City and the Trip have since become legendary in a similar way to the Hacienda and the Warehouse.

All this action is taking place in my backyard relatively speaking and since I grew up in the clubs where all these dj's played, I am really looking forward to their visit, especially Pete Tong since it was him and Giles Peterson that inspired me to buy decks and dj. If anyone lives in Kent, then Mote Park is the place to be in May.

"Pentagon officials have announced plans to shoot down a failing spy satellite orbiting over Ireland with a missile from a US navy warship to prevent debris from showering the Earth. The dramatic operation will target the secret satellite identified as USA 193, which is expected to fall from orbit in the first week of March. Amateur satellite trackers say that the craft, about the size of a small bus, travels an orbit of 58.5 degrees that takes it over most the Earth from Ireland and the tip of Scotland to Patagonia at the southern end of Latin America. It could crash almost anywhere."

"John Locker, a British astronomer, photographed the satellite with sunlight glinting off it at an altitude of about 200 miles from his home in the Wirral, Cheshire, and posted the picture on the website Galaxypix.com.
Astronomy enthusiasts in Ireland say that debris could land anywhere from Co Cork to Co Donegal. The Australian Government has prepared contingency plans in case the craft falls on its territory. US officials made the decision to shoot it down after predicting that about half the 5,000lb spacecraft would survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere." [source: the Times London On-line]

I would like to raise this issue - How many times has a total stranger added you to to their neighbourhood. For me, everyday almost. Most of the time it is because they want to keep tabs on me for some reason or another and not because they know me. It is certainly not because they appreciate the music I make. So, I often ask them to remove me from their neighbourhood and generally that request is ignored or refused. I feel VOX should give us an option so that we can control who adds us.

How many other VOX members think that is a good idea? How many members would like that feature installed ?