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Showing posts from March, 2024

was listening to the whispers of the Lusaka wind

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was listening to the whispers of the Lusaka wind and the gentle pounding of the rain against the window. My mind was  tormented by the ongoing global social-economic and emotional turmoil caused by the COVID19 pandemic that has entered a second wave, leaving a trail of viral destruction in its wake. It feels as if a giant python has gotten hold of greedy mother earth and is slowly crushing and suffocating it before swallowing it whole. The CNN analysts on TV were having a heated debate about Donald Trump and his handling of the electoral loss. It was a shrill monotonous cacophony that sounded like the yodeling yelp of the African fish eagle. I have never quite understood the outgoing US President, whenever he is on TV I get distracted by his well-coiffed mop of hair, strange hand gestures and my imagination of a giant wall across the Mexican border. The ghosts of Africa's past are always close by, gnawing my soul. Africa has bled throughout its rich history. The fertile and mineral

Photograph of Sarah "Hottentot" Baartman from the 1800's

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Photograph of Sarah "Hottentot" Baartman from the 1800's Some accounts indicate that she had a relationship with a poor Dutch soldier, Hendrik van Jong, who lived in Hout Bay near Cape Town, but the relationship ended when his regiment departed. I wonder if her destiny might have been different had he stayed on or taken her with him. Africa is replete with stories, both past and present, of foreign men who come to seek adventure, fortune or take part in war and then, like predators, have fleeting empty relationships with African women. They leave behind a trail of emotional destruction and in some cases neglected children when they pack their bags and move on, abandoning the women. In 1810, Baartman went to England under dodgy and exploitative circumstances with her 'owner' Cezar and an Englishman, William Dunlop. Their mission was to exploit and display her body for monetary gain, which they did at the Piccadilly building where she was duly nicknamed the "Ho

Naked woman hanging out of car killed

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Naked woman hanging out of car killed after smashing head on polePUNTA CANA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC – A mother of one  was killed after she was hit by a pole while hanging out of the window of a moving car. Video recorded by the driver shows a topless Natalia Borodina, 35, outside the window and playing for the camera while the two drive through the Dominican Republic.

Following the massive terror and on-ground assault on Israel

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Following the massive terror and on-ground assault on Israel, the streets of Sderot and several border towns of the Jewish-majority nation witnessed blood-curdling scenes on  7th October. Among one such disturbing visual was the naked and battered dead body of an unidentified woman who was being paraded by the Hamas terrorists in a pickup truck.  The terrorists could be heard shouting the Islamic slogan ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ in these gruesome videos of the incident. In some videos that surfaced on social media, a murderous crowd of Hamas terrorists could be seen surrounding the vehicle, chanting slogans and spitting on the woman’s body. As per the Australian media, Hamas initially claimed that the lifeless body was of a female Israeli soldier. However, it has now been ascertained that the woman being paraded in that video was a German tourist named Shani Louk. Apparently, the tattoo on one of the legs of the woman in that video helped in her identification.   Adi Louk confirmed on X (former

Woman was raped,

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Woman was raped, whipped and decapitated in front of a cheering crowd before rebels drank her blood because she served fighters  'forbidden' fishVideo footage shows an execution in Luebo in the Democratic Republic of Congo The woman was brought on stage naked in front of a cheering crowd of people She was then forced to have sex with the son of her husband's second wife Both the woman and the man were then executed by Kamuina Nsapu rebels  Witnesses said the rebels then drank their blood and left the bodies on display The Kasai conflict erupted last September after the death in clashes of a tribal chieftain, known as the Kamwina Nsapu, who rebelled against the government  A woman in the Democratic Republic of Congo was publicly raped, whipped and decapitated in front of a cheering crowd after serving 'forbidden fish' to a group of anti-government rebels, who later drank her blood. Video footage of the execution in Luebo, in the province of Kasaï-Occidental, shows th

OK...take a long draw on this here stogie, little fella!"

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OK...take a long draw on this here stogie, little fella!" PFC Trattles of the US 5th Army introduces Gurkha Rifleman Limbu to the joys of cigar smoking, somewhere in Italy - March 1945 Jitbahadur Limbu hailed from Dhankutat village, East Nepal. Although a "Rifleman", he is armed with a Thompson SMG...a heavy weapon for a man with such a small frame.  Limbu displays a Royal Gurkha Rifles cap badge on his Service Cap. Between the crossed Khukris is a numeral designating his particluar regiment (2/3 Gurkha Regiment). Curtis Trattles is armed with an M1 carbine and, by this date, has been issued with an M1943 field jacket. Curtis A. Trattles was born in Beechwood Michigan, following high school he first worked as a logger and then served in the US Army during WW2 with the 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division. Post WW2 Curtis returned to Iron River and was employed as a miner. He later moved to Waukegan, Ill. where he worked as a welder, following his retirement in

Naturist expert reveals the real secrets of how and where to sunbathe naked

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Naturist expert reveals the real secrets of how and where to sunbathe naked From putting 'body issues' to bed and boosting your self esteem, Martin Warrillow explains the law about taking your clothes off - and says naturism will transform your mentality Martin Warrillow was on holiday with his wife in the Canary Islands when their lives changed forever. They spotted they were at a 'clothes optional beach' in Fuerteventura - and decided to take the plunge. So it was goodbye to their swim suits and hello to a new life of no clothes, no strife. "I give a lot of talks about naturism and taking your clothes off," says Martin looking back at how felt that day in 1991 when he was aged just 27

I’VE NEVER DYED MY HAIR!”

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I’VE NEVER DYED MY HAIR!” At around the age of 45, Yazemeenah moved to New York and became one of a handful of professional senior photo models. There  were two models with white hair in the 80s: Marie Seznec from Lacroix – and I worked for Lacroix as well – and me. There were not a lot of models who kept their hair natural!” Through the years, Rossi has stuck to her convictions: “I don’t do anything that doesn’t sound or feel right to me!” She missed out on making a lot of money as a result because she refused to have her hair dyed in spite of receiving numerous lucrative offers to do so. She was one of the first models to consciously decide early on to let her hair go gray long before this was in as she never dyed it. “I never understood those clients anyway: they see me and like me, and then they ask me whether I could dye my hair brown. Why did they ask for me in the first place? They’d have been better off with a model with brown hair!” HEALTH BEGINS IN THE MIND Something that is

Gloria Swanson as 'Norma Desmond' in "Sunset Blvd."

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Gloria Swanson as 'Norma Desmond' in "Sunset Blvd." Although considered a Film Noir, “Sunset Blvd” is also a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. One of the best films about Hollywood ever made. On first viewing, the film seems to be about a down and out screenwriter in Hollywood who lowers himself to be kept by a mentally ill former Silent Film actress who seeks to make a comeback. But it's actually a tragic story of a once world famous, still very talented, actress who lowers herself to keep a down and out screenwriter who has nothing but contempt for her. Gloria Swanson gives a magnificent performance as 'Norma Desmond,' once famous silent film star who has withdrawn from the world which didn't accept her when the talkies came in. Norma is delusional and has lost touch with reality, believing she is still a big star that the world is waiting for to make a comeback. Norma is an enigmatic figure both larger than life and pitiful. In the end, it’s not

Netflix has spent the last few years

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  Netflix has spent the last few years and several billions of dollars on a crusade to be taken more seriously. Ever since it began branding its logo on original films in 2015, Netflix’s primary goal has been to divorce  itself from the “digital dollar bin” reputation it established upon first pivoting from the snail-mail service, now an unsettlingly faint memory, to streaming. It was not so long ago that the service formerly known as “Netflix Instant” well, sucked; it was a repository for direct-to-DVD sequels, little-seen stand-up specials, and candy-colored kiddie cartoons seemingly plucked from Lisa Frank’s more vivid night terrors. And so Netflix exec Ted Sarandos made a dignified selection for his first narrative go on the silver screen: Beasts of No Nation, a movie about child militias in Africa, with a well-pedigreed creative team (Cary Fukunaga was comin’ in hot off his True Detective stint, Idris Elba was a brand-name star) and their according awards potential. It’s a real mo