Source: Engadget

This new concept knitted laptop privacy/warmth item guarantees you will be beaten and robbed while surfing the web in foreign countries.

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Source: BBC

BBC when compared to major American news outlets is usually considered a reputable news source.

That’s why their article defending their recently acquired corporate property represents a huge conflict of interest.

While the recent blow up about Mr Kohnstamm’s comments concerning his new book feels overdone, BBC should have behaved more ethically by not reporting on the issue in such a biased fashion or by at least making their disclosure prominent at the beginning of their report.

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Source: News.com.au

Everyone’s favourite guidebook giant, Lonely Planet, is in hot water after one of its loyal writers, Thomas Kohnstamm, admitted to plagiarism and making up a bulk of material. He has contributed to Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, South America, Venezuela and Chile guidebooks.

Kohnstamm claimed he has not even visited Colombia and that he wrote the material for Colombia in San Fransisco with the help of his Colombian consulate intern girlfriend.

Kohnstamm says Lonley Planet wouldn’t pay him enough to go to Colombia and that writers don’t get paid enough for what’s expected from them. He has even admitted to dealing drugs to make up for the poor pay.

Mr Kohnstamm’s books are now under urgent review.

Go to your bookcase and dust off that old guidebook you never used and do a little reviewing for yourself. Maybe Brazil does speak Spanish after all.

What have we learned from all this? It’s not that plagiarism will shake the credibility of a company, No.
We’ve learned that there’s a direct and apparent link between Lonely Planet writers and drug dealers.

So if you care about the children, go out and buy a Road Junky guide and hold it close to your heart.

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Source: Dharmsala Express

Possibly the most intelligent travel writer in the history of the Universe, with the exception possibly of Salman Rushdie, Pico Iyer succumbed today to an extreme from of hyperprecocitentiousness while performing a fusion of vajrayana tantra and sushi rolling in his California home in Santa Barbara.

The condition was fatal as the extreme combination of bodily contortion and fish ingestion led to a blocked glottis. Mr. Iyer was 51 years of age.

In an interview shortly after his death, Pico Iyer issued the following musing on his position in the afterlife possibly related to his recently published book about the Dalai Lama:

“Clearly, the big challenge for me was that so much was known and so much has been done and brought into the world very powerfully about the Dalai Lama. What new is there to say?”

He will be sorely missed by those also confused about where they actually are at any given moment.

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Source: Al Jazeera - YouTube

Road Junky has predicted mass protests in front of the Beijing Olympics – and now there are reports of up to a hundred dead in Tibet. Typically, The Chinese government has blamed the uprising on the Dalai Lama.

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Source: The Guardian

For all the laissez faire goings on at Goa the scene may have devolved to a point where better judgment should be demanded of the community there – especially when it comes to bringing to teenagers to the notorious freak hangout. A 28 year old Samson D’Souza was remanded in custody for raping a 15 year old foreigner who’s family left her at Goa while they went travelling in a nearby state.

According to the Times of India, 126 foreigners have died in Goa over the past two years, and in January this year a 30-year-old British woman was raped.

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Source: Presscue.com

The winner of the 2005 print Epica d’Or was Foote Cone & Belding, Lisbon, for the Grande Reportagem “Flags” campaign.

Portuguese ad company rocks the world with these flags.

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Source: Reuters

China’s chain of non-smoking restaurants is on the verge of closing as people there insist on the right to pollute others with their second hand emissions.

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Source: Yahoo

Is it a crime to travel to a foreign country, and eat only the foods you could get back home, such as McDonald’s, Subway,
and various other global chains?

When we go to foreign countries and dine on its national cuisine, it’s not our open mindedness or adventurous side asking for more, but it’s the guilt that keeps our faces unchanged as we stomach what the locals classify as ‘food’.

A new survey shows that Britain is the number one fast-food loving country ahead of the United States.
Which means that Fast-food could soon be considered a national dish, and as visitors to the motherland, we’d be obliged to dine on the many meals considered taboo in the rest of Europe.

In terms of fast food, 45 percent of Britons agreed with the statement
“I like the taste of fast food too much to give it up” ahead of 44 percent for Americans and Canadians at 37 percent.

Yes we’ve all heard about our junk food loving countries before, but what’s new is that Americans are enjoying being out of the spotlight almost as much as our average briton Enjoys his quarter-pounder.

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Source: ABC

Whatever happened to the days where you would go to a restaurant and order a coffee?

Thanks to Starbucks and other chain ‘coffee’ shops, gourmet coffees’ like lattes or cappuccinos can be enjoyed minus the wait or the posh café

With drip-coffee on the way out in North America and espresso machines on the way in, what are the upper-class going to drink whilst their noses’ in the air? Certainly not that lower class Macchiato.

Kopi Luwack. A coffee coming from the dung of an Indonesian Luwack. An animal so rare many believe it does not exist.
The coffee has made its way to New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong. It goes for around $50 (US) a cup.

Think $50 is a bit much?
Wait until they brew it in Italy or age it in Mahogany for 40 years.

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Source: Yahoo

We’ve all had thoughts of stealing a tank and riding it through the city, demolishing mobile phone towers and everything on the way, but few of us ever act on it.

After 90 minutes, the police arrested John Robert Patterson whom drove the APC through 6 Sydney suburbs. The police apprehended the man only after the APC stalled.

With access to a tank, one must question his motives. Why destroy mobile phone towers? Why not the sorry excuse for a monument

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Source: Email

Apparently ANYTHING can happen in India.

Which is true, according to Road Junky.

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Source: News.com.au

In an ongoing duel with the Philippines, Hungary was retaken the world record for couples simultaneously kissing at one time – by recruiting 6400 couples to do so.

Apart from the impressive coordinating it takes to set up such an event, the question we’re asking ourselves is: who cares?

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Source: Time

Time pictorial shows extracts from the book “Hungary Planet” – pictures of families’ foods spending anywhere from $1 (refugees in Chad) to $500 (hedonistic Germans) weekly.

One thing in common is coca-cola. The sugary, teeth-rotting soft drink is almost everywhere.

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Source: Toronto Star

A man warned not to travel because he was infected with drug-resistant Tuberculosis apparently has a taped conversation where he was told it was not restricted to do so.

How many patients go around their taping conversations with doctors?

Well apparently personal injury lawyers, like this dipshit, do. Is this guy really trying to spark a lawsuit and win money at the risk of shutting down air routes a la the SARS scare?

Let’s start national kick a lawyer in the balls day!

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Source: AP

Just when you thought it was safe to walk the streets of Taiwan… Orangutan!

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Source: Live Leak

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Source: Economist

According to the Economist, Greeks, Russians and Macedonians are the top three cigarette smoking countries per person – high also in the list are Spain, Japan and many Eastern Europe countries.

Meanwhile, depictions of people smoking in movies now garner mature ratings in the United States. Will people two hundred years from now react in shock that people regularly smoked nicotine-enhanced tobacco cigarettes?

Or will we all be more like the Greeks?

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Source: France 24

On May 15th, new security technology was introduced at Amsterdam’s Schiphol International Airport (Europe’s 4th busiest)

The X-ray scans the body contours revealing what may be drugs, money, diamonds, small animals or maybe even a 250ml liquor container hidden in the crevasses in a way the lord did not intend.

Because this new airport technology is first being introduced in Amsterdam and not in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, we can safely assume it’s in response to drug abuse and not ‘The war against terror’

Of course passengers don’t have to be scanned. If they see the traditional ‘poke here, feel there’ more fit, than they can choose so.

Remember though, if you ever insist on not getting scanned, a man with cream and rubber gloves may be waiting for you on the other side.

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Source: Chicago Tribune

There’s always one. The lady, ahead of you in the queue, who complains to an apathetic check-in clerk about the additional cost of her overweight luggage. The fat guy beside you on the plane, who whines about the measly food portions. The blonde girl at the reception desk who claims her room does not have a sea view.

Whatever it is, wherever you are, there are people who love a good moan. And, who could blame them. In today’s climate of cut-throat travel services, generally the level of service is atrocious.

But if you are going to complain, be effective. Read this article and be heard.

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Source: Finns

Timo Kaattari wrote to inform Road Junky about the upcoming world sauna championship to be held on August 3-4, 2007….

As a promotion they sent along this mp3 file to show us how crazy they really are about their sauna. Click here to have your mind blown.

About this contest from somewhere on the web:

SAUNA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS SHORTLY

Shortly the rules for the Sauna World championships are:
1) both men and women have their own competition
2) the temperature in the competition sauna is 110 degrees Celsius (equals 230 degrees Fahrenheit)
3) moisture and heat gets up when every 30 seconds ½ litre of water is thrown on to the stove
4) competition scene is: preliminary heats – qualifying rounds – semifinals – finals and the world champion is the one who sits the longest in the final sauna.

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Source:

It is a well known fact that road junkies absolutely love mazes…

Here’s one in South Africa:

Original garden, behind the thatched cottage (build in 1798) dates back to 1910 when Marthinus Malherbe (1885-1978) started to exchange seeds of South African succulents with those from the Americas. Except for the prickly pear, virtually every cactus specie was introduced in South Africa by Malherbe. This old garden, including the oldest cactus (anno 1910) of South Africa, is now the garden of one of the staff members who is competing with the main cactus garden (anno 1965) which is maintained by one of the present owners of Soekershof. In the past seven years the main garden underwent some extensions and new gardens (including the Philosophers Garden) were created. A Japanese Garden is ‘under construction’ (i.e. plants are growing).

The idea for the maze (net surface: 13870 sqm) originates from the name Soekershof (= Seekers Garden). This name was given to the farm by Malherbe because his wife Molly was always looking for things she had seemingly lost or forgotten where she put them. Together with the rich story telling culture of South Africans the concept of a truly unusual maze was born. This ‘Klaas Voogds Maze’ is regarded as one of the largest hedge-mazes in the world.

Contact info:

Klaas Voogds West, P.O. Box 291, Robertson 6705, South Africa
Tel: +27 (0)23 626 4134
Skype: soekershof
E-mail: soekershof@lando.co.za
Website: http://www.soekershof.com

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Source: Chicago Tribune

I was standing at the check-in desk at Schonefeld Airport, Berlin on a cold February Monday morning. My weekend in Berlin was hectic. And cold. Did I mention the cold? I was looking forward to getting back to Dublin, where the weather was almost balmy by comparison.

‘That’ll be €8,’ the smiling Aer Lingus attendant said as she checked my bag.

‘€8. For what?’ I replied barely masking the sarcasm in my tone.

‘To bring your bag on the plane will be €8. We have a charge now for baggage.’

‘I realise that,’ I said fully aware that Aer Lingus had discovered a whole new way to fleece passengers. ‘But I paid the fee in Dublin Airport.’

The smiley girl went on to explain that the fee I paid in Dublin only covered the delivery of my bag from Dublin to Berlin but not the return journey. That was extra. She also explained that if I wanted to avoid paying the fee I could leave my bag behind. A logical option.

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Source: Washington Post

And how many of us go to some far-flung place and decide that in order to keep the memory of its beauty or quirkiness fresh in our minds, we must have some piece of ugly tat.

What makes foreign tat so desirable I will never know? But the lines of shops, stalls and back street markets overflowing with bodies eager to impart hard earned cash to vendors only to happy to take it, is a universal reality.

And it’s such fun picking up knick-knacks. Who cares if they’re ugly? The stories that come with them may be complete and utter lies, but again, who cares? Travelling and tat go hand in hand.

There’s a sucker born every minute and rat sold every second.

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Source: web

Feeling nostalgic for a bit of fun with an executed dictator? Well this is the site for you!

Saddam proves that an illegal invasion of his nation and a fixed trial are nowhere near enough to rob him of his sense of fun.

Here, instead of pleading his innocence in a court he did not recognize, Saddam breaks out a little fun for the armchair juror behind the camera.

Warning: This guy can get a bit competitive. And he does not like to lose.

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