Olympic Fever: Wear Your Country Flag On Your Browser

Olympic fever burning for your country team yet?

In line with the ongoing 2012 Olympics in London, Firefox pushed for its set of personas featuring National Flags, celebrating "the global spirit of community." It is certainly a nice reminder to cheer for your country team competing in the XXX Olympiad.

Just to clarify, we are talking about the Games of the "30th Olympiad" and not a reference to a raunchy adult video. Although if we base this on the statements of US Women's Soccer Team goalkeeper Hope Solo, one could be justified in saying that the Olympics may not be just strictly sports. [See Hope Solo and Sex in the Olympics]

Well, what can you do with all that testosterone in the air?

200 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Anyway, this particular collection of Firefox themes [See National Flags 2012] is not at all complete with only about 65 designs including the Global Spirit series. Here's one that features the Philippine Flag as seen in the screengrab above. That is decent enough for my taste. Not satisfied, here are other variations in case you are feeling somewhat patriotic especially now that the Philippines is facing formidable adversaries in the Western Philippine Sea. [See More Philippine Flag Firefox Personas]

Congrats in advance to all participants in the 2012 Olympics. Do your country proud. Here's to Global Community and brotherhood. And Go Team Philippines!

Related articles

• Hope Solo on sex at the Summer Olympics, 'There's a lot of sex going on'
• Guest Post: Olympics Preview
• Hope Solo: Why Soccer Star Is Most Exciting Athlete at 2012 London Olympics

Winners All

This week is all about winners.

Sandra Bullock, Mo'Nique and Kathryn Bigelow win big in the Oscars. Jeff Bridges also had a grand slam bagging both the Academy and Golden Globes for his role in "Crazy Heart". "The Hurt Locker" edges "Avatar" winning 6 out of 9 nominations including the Best Picture Oscar.

Meanwhile, Chile, still reeling from the effects of the previous weeks' magnitude 8.8 super earthquake, has a new President in Sebastian Pinera. On his inauguration day a 6.9 magnitude aftershock still rocked the country. The call for international aid intensifies from all fronts to address the destruction in both Haiti and Chile.

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On another note, Forbes' list of World's Billionaires for 2009 featured Mexico's Telecom magnate Carlos Slim on top besting long-time front-runners Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. 63% of the world's richest are based in Asia. The list also revealed that last year, China had the most billionaires outside of the USA beating India.

The Philippines is also on the list with the Sy Family and Tan Family taking spots 234 and 522 respectively. The mall mogul Henry Sy has a net worth of US$2.7 billion while Lucio Tan is pegged at US$1.4 billion.

Another winner is Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys since the new Cowboys Stadium will be hosting this weekend's biggest event - the Pacquiao vs. Clottey WBO welterweight championship match. This will be the first major boxing event for the billion-dollar state-of-the-art stadium with no less than the biggest name in boxing gracing the home of the biggest name in football.

But then who will be the winner; the champion or the challenger? Follow Daily Dotventures this weekend for the outcome of the Pacquiao-Clottey Event.

2007: Year At A Time (Part I)

The year 2007 does not stand out in history as much as say 1776 with the US Declaration of Independence, or 1945 with the atomic bomb destruction of Hiroshima, or for that matter the year 2000 celebrated as the turn of the millennium although some argue that 2001, said to be the first year of the 21st century, is the "actual beginning" of the new millennium.

For the most part, 2007 is as regular a year as the sun regularly rises in the morning and sets in the evening. The machinery of governments kept rolling, the expected world events kept in pace with tradition, and for certain humankind grew in numbers but also fell to disease, disaster and dreadful conflicts.

However, despite being a relatively lackluster year, 2007 had its own moments -- instances of note which, to some marks a good year, to others bode ill omen, while for the rest holds memories void of reward and relevance.

Peace Elusive

The world was in conflict in 2007 as in the years and decades previous. It's nothing new, that is to say its nothing particularly disturbing. But as in all human conflicts marked by violence, it is a matter of serious discourse.

The US campaign in Iraq continued even as hundreds died relentlessly by the works of suicide bombers all year-round. Britain, one of the pillars of the "coalition against terror" that gave the thumbs-up for the US to invade Iraq in 2003, began withdrawal of its troops off Basra. And while troop withdrawal from Iraq is the current sentiment of a vocal segment of the international community, the US (even as Bush had agreed on sending some US soldiers home during the holidays with certain limitations) is still reluctant to let go of Iraq, pointing at neighboring Iran this time as a growing threat in the region.

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Other regional conflicts and unrest included the ongoing Taleban insurgency in Afghanistan, ethnic wars at Darfur in Sudan allegedly fueled by support coming from China, the age-old Palestinian-Israeli conflict even as the Annapolis Conference took place last November, the 2007 Lebanon conflict, the continuing insurgency in Southern Philppines, the violent crackdown on anti-government protests in Burma (Myanmar), and the war in Somalia among others.

Tension also marked the issue of North Korea's nuclear program which started with Pyongyang's alleged nuclear tests in the last quarter of 2006. By January 2007, Japan and South Korea along with other concerned nations decried a nuclear North Korea and sought sanctions against Kim Jong-Il's regime. A month later, NoKor have committed to nuclear disarmament in exchange for aid and have since been under the watchful eye of the US and the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all throughout 2007. Also, in August, North and South Korea signed a peace declaration which sought to establish a permanent treaty to replace the truce which led to the cessation of the Korean War back in 1953. By the end of December 2007 however, tension resurfaced as North Korea missed its deadline to bare-all as promised its nuclear plans.

Next on 2007: Year At A Time (Part II) - World Finance and the Environment in 2007.

Here Comes The Holidays!

For several weeks now I've been griping about my snail-paced Internet connection. I couldn't get any work done online. Needless to say the Daily Dotventures suffered as a result.

I missed quite a few events which I wanted to write about. Like Chinese beauty Zhang Zilin winning at home for the Ms. World 2007 pageant last December 1, same day as the commemoration of World Aids Day.

Or the Hatton-Mayweather fight which saw the returning WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather retain victory over the challenger with powerful head shots that knocked Ricky Hatton down twice in succession in the 10th round, urging referee Joe Cortez to stop the fight in favor of Mayweather.

Then there was that ill-conceived siege at the Manila Peninsula Hotel by frustrated-mutineer-turned-Senator Antonio Trillanes IV that miserably failed (again) to overthrow incumbent Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Don't forget the Spice Girls' ongoing reunion world tour. Love them or not, they're back in a big, gingery, scary, sporty, baby and posh way.

Well, like I said, I missed quite a bit because my ISP is, in a word, c-r-a-p! The significant slow down may also be attributable to the oncoming holiday season. More people are sending emails to their loved ones, surfing for bargains, doing online purchases, booking flights, making VOIP calls, uploading video greetings, and so on and so forth.

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Not only that, apart from the slow down in Internet connectivity due to increased demand in bandwidth, the holidays are also a time for the hundred-fold proliferation of spam. Every online marketer and their brother are making their mailing lists and checking them twice. It doesn't even matter if you've been naughty or nice. You'll get the spam and chances are there's a "free" gift along with it - READ: malware.

So do protect yourself online this hoiday season. Deck your Internet halls with a safer browser, an anti-spyware, an anti-virus and a firewall. And while we patiently bear the holiday lag online, perhaps its a good opportunity for all of us to ponder the true meaning of the season.

Here's wishing everyone a less-stressful and a happy online holiday.

2007 World Pool Championships: England vs. Philippines - Daryl Peach Wins

With $100K, who the heck needs hair?
Image from worldpoolchampionships.com

At that moment, it was the most dramatic piece of furniture to watch on the planet. A table covered in soft felt cloth, 4 holes at each corner plus 2 at the sides, traversed to and fro by 9 colored balls of cast resin, set to motion by chalk-tipped wooden sticks, held by the hands of two determined men with one goal in mind - become the 2007 World Pool Champion.

After toppling the Hungarian newcomer Vilmos Foeldes yesterday at his semis match, England's Daryl Peach earned his spot at the finals. So too did Philippine contender Roberto Gomez, after he won over Karl Boyes. It was England versus the Philippines in a classic duel that will go down in pool history as one of the best ever played.

"Superman" (Roberto Gomez' monicker) against the bald-headed "Lex Luthor" (referring to Peach although he sports the alias "Dazzler"). The former had the homecourt advantage. The latter, only his experience in international pool tourneys backed him up.

It was a race to 17. Each cue artist matched the other's stroke. They both made costly errors. They also made incredible shots. I've lost track how many times the object ball hung by the edge of the pocket - frustration wrung Gomez's and Peach's faces. Still, both men demonstrated mastery of the game.

During the first part, Daryl Peach led the game but Roberto Gomez played it close. The game tied 2-2, then 3-3. But when Peach tried to pull away at 3-8 Gomez ran a 5-rack streak to even things up again at 8-8. Again they tied at 12 a-piece. Then Gomez threatened to bury Peach at 15-12 with a barrage of safeties and counter-safeties. The Englishman however stood his ground and went on to tie the match 15 all. Daryl Peach didn't look back since. At rack 32, the final score - Gomez 15, Peach 17.

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Daryl Peach is the 2007 World Pool Champion!

This time, the Filipino crowd gave the home-bet upsetter a hearty round of applause, unlike the controversy earlier during Peach's match in the quarterfinals against Filipino pool master Francisco Bustamante. The local fans at ringside even shook his hands approvingly and offered up high-fives. That was perhaps a more satisfying catharsis for Peach - a plus after his winner's reward of the 2007 WPC title and $100,000.

Personally, I wanted Gomez to win. I thought we should have another Pinoy champion. But I've since resigned myself to the thought that the tournament indeed belonged to Peach. Pool is one of the few sports that relied largely, almost solely on skill and circumstance. This time around, Daryl Peach had a few notches more skill and circumstance than Roberto Gomez. The younger Gomez will have his own day to win. Congratulations to Daryl Peach and kudos for a game well played to both Peach and Gomez.

Catch the rack-by-rack report from "The AnitoKid on Billiards | Philippine Sports: Daryl Peach Wins the 2007 World Pool Championship!"

2007 World Pool Update: Peach's Hairline Win Over Bustamante's Heartbreak Loss

Francisco Butamante - So Unbelievably Close.
Archive Image by snookerclub.com

Daryl Peach felt the pressure of the unbelieving local crowd as he stared down at the last 9-ball and finally sinking it to edge Francisco Bustamante in their race-to-11 quarterfinals at the 2007 World Pool Championships. Only a few hands were heard clumsily applauding the Englishman's win.

Bustamante shook his hand, his head turned away.

The unnerving atmosphere in what should be a jovial occasion at the 9-ball tourney, was rooted at the previous rack which held up the match for the good part of 10-minutes. The issue - an alleged foul ball against Bustamante on what was a miraculous combination shot on the 3rd and 9th ball that would have given the Filipino cue player the shot at the semis.

Earlier in the match, Peach commanded over Bustamante as the latter committed costly errors at the pool table. Bustamante however regained his composure and with a valiant uphill climb, later takes the lead 9 to 10 over the obviously worried Peach. With just a score away from the quarterfinals win, a good soft break allowed Bustamante to proceed. A slight miscalculation after sinking the 2-ball stopped the white main ball at an angle short of a clear shot at the target 3-ball behind the striped 9.

This forced Bustamante to bank the cue ball on the rail which hit both the 3 and the 9-ball. With a good amount of velocity the 9 made its way to the corner at the far end and dropped in. The audience burst in jubilance. Peach however unconvinced called for a review. The television replay seemed to show the white ball hitting the 3 and the 9 with the 9-ball apparently moving prior to and faster than the object ball. Thus the foul was called by the officiating referee Nigel Rees and was upheld even after a second review called by Bustamante.

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Peach proceeded to win that controversial rack for a tie at 10-10. At the next rack, Bustamante didn't even have to stand up. Peach won it 11-10.

But not without a homecourt crowd in eerie disbelief sharing in the heartbreak loss of their local hero.

Parallel Quarterfinals Results
Hungary's Vilmos Foeldes upsets former champion Mika Immonen of Finland in a convincing 7-11 victory. Foeldes and Peach will battle it out in the semis for the chance at the championship later today.

Best Eight To Shoot For 2007 World Pool Championships

They came to conquer. Out of the 128 of the world's best cue masters from 46 countries around the world, the final 8 will match nerves of steel at the pool table for the illustrious 2007 World Pool Championship title and a winner's prize of $100,000.

The quarterfinals are being held as of writing, which will be followed by two semis matches later in the afternoon. The final showdown between the semis winners will rack up tomorrow, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum in Manila, Philippines 2:30pm Manila time (GMT+8).

Since it opened November 3, 2007 many of the masters already fell. The entire 4-man Australian team and the 12-man USA contingent have been eliminated. Crowd favorites and pool masters like, Efren Reyes (Philippines), Johnny Archer (USA), Earl Strickland (USA) and Ralph Soquet (Germany) were also brought down. From 128, the numbers fell to 64, then 32 then 16. Only the 8 best 9-ball pool players for 2007 remain for the coveted championship.

Four matches are currently playing at the quarterfinals. The Philippines' veteran pool artist Francisco "Django" Bustamante , seeded at number 9, plays opposite 17th seed Daryl Peach of England.

Bustamante is itching for his first world championship win following his exceptional complete sweep of the US Pro-tour Championship and besting USA's Johnny Archer at the finals earlier in June of this year. Among the most popular Filipino pool athletes such as the legendary 1999 World Pool Champion Efren "The Magician" Reyes and 2004 World Pool Champion Alex "The Lion" Pagulayan, only Bustamante survived the gruelling qualifying rounds.

Daryl "Dazzler" Peach comes into the competition fresh from winning the 2007 Euro Tour German Open Championships. On the way to the quarterfinals, he defeated Filipinos Rodolfo Luat and 2006 World Pool Champion Ronato "The Volcano" Alcano.

England's Karl "The Bomb" Boyes competes versus another Filipino Joven Bustamante (not related to Francisco Bustamante). They both debut this year at the World Pool Championships, with the younger Boyes carrying more tournament wins over the up and coming Bustamante.

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Number 12 seed and the only former World Pool Champion to enter the last stages, Finland's Mika "Iceman" Immonen (2001 WPC title holder) battles unseeded Vilmos "The Magic Magyar" Foeldes of Hungary. Can Foeldes, the 3-time European Youth Champion come up with an upset and cut Immonen's bid for another WPC crown?

Also at the quarterfinals tables, the final hope of the 11-man Chinese Tai-pei contingent, "Little Monster" Kuo Po-Cheng takes on the third Philippine bet Roberto "Superman" Gomez.

Who is your bet for the 2007 World Pool Championships?

The 2007 Nobel Laureates: Another Year of Advancements and Controversy

"How about a Literature award
for bloggers? Hmm...."

Image from nobelprize.org

With the earlier announcement of the Nobel Prize awardees for Economics, all presentations of the Nobel Prize recipients for 2007 is now complete. The line up of Nobel Prize winners, laudable as they all are, do not come without their share of controversy as advancements in stem cell research and the highly politicized climate change agenda had been accorded a spotlight by the award-giving body.

The Nobel Foundation began prize announcements last October 8 starting with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. On October 9, the winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics was announced. This was followed by the announcements for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry on October 10, Nobel Prize in Literature on October 11, and the Nobel Peace Prize on October 12. The Prize for Economic Sciences was awarded October 15.

The yearly Nobel Prize identifies distinct achievements in the aforementioned categories. Run by the Sweden-based Nobel Foundation the awards are the fulfillment of Alfred Nobel's last will and testament. The famed inventor of the dynamite, Alfred Nobel was a highly regarded industrialist, scientist, and poet. Upon his death in 1896, a sizeable portion of his estate was bequeathed to a fund which "shall be annually distributed in the form of prizes to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind" (see "Excerpt from the Will of Alfred Nobel", nobelprize.org).

Five categories were identified by Nobel himself - Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and the Peace Prize. The Nobel Prize in Economics, officially titled "The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel", is not originally part of the awards but rather was instituted in conjunction with the Sweden Central Bank in 1969.

The Nobel Prize consists of the Nobel Diplomas, the Nobel Prize Medals and an amount which for this year totals to 10 Million Swedish Kronor (over 1 Million US Dollars).

This year's Nobel Laureates are as follows:

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2007
Mario Cappechi (USA), Sir Martin Evans (UK), and Oliver Smithies (USA), "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells";

The Nobel Prize in Physics 2007
Albert Fert (France), and Peter Grunberg (Germany), "for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance";

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2007
Gerhard Erti (Germany), "for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces";

The Nobel Prize in Literature 2007
Doris Lessing (UK), "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny";

The Nobel Peace Prize 2007
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (Geneva, Switzerland), and Albert Arnold Gore, Jr. (USA);

The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2007
Leonid Hurwicz (USA), Eric Maskin (USA), and Roger Myerson (USA), "for having laid the foundations of mechanism design theory".

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There were those who raised wary eyebrows with the inclusion of Al Gore for the Nobel Peace award as some view his advocacy of the climate change agenda to be "too propagandist". In a similar fashion, advancements in stem cell research still strikes sensitive chords among conservative sectors.

Nonetheless, Alfred Nobel's legacy continues - a legacy of unperturbed trailblazing in the face of criticism and difficulties, and eventually contributing toward the betterment of mankind.

Find out more from TheNobelPrize channel on YouTube and at the nobelprize.org website.


Technorati Tags:Nobel Prize 2007

The Will To Win - Pacquiao Overcomes Barrera

"Who wants to play next?"
They first met in 2003, a virtually unknown Filipino challenger against a great Mexican warrior. Marco Antonio Barrera was the heavy favorite over Manny Pacquiao, a then fledgling southpaw in the featherweight division - A "David" against a "Goliath".

During the first round Pacquiao suffered a well expected knockdown. He picked himself up and went on with the match. In the third round, both fighters have suffered tremendous blows, but one surprise hit stunned the entire arena - Barrera went down to the canvass with a stinging hit from Pacquiao.

As the fight continued the Filipino slugger sent punch after punch of pure power against the famed fighter. By the 11th round, the smoke had cleared - Barrera suffered another knockdown. Manny Pacquiao had won.

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For the past four years both fighters fought their separate battles. The younger fighter, Manny Pacquiao consistently ascended up the boxing ranks. In 2004 he managed a draw against Juan Miguel Marquez. He then suffered an unpopular unanimous decision loss versus Erik Morales in 2005 that began the celebrated rivalry between Pacquiao and Morales.

Later that year, the "Pacman" won by technical knockout over Hector Velasquez to capture the vacant WBC International Super Featherweight title. He then went on to defend the title 4 consecutive times, once against Oscar Larios and twice against Erik Morales which were all memorable rematch bouts. Pacquiao's latest title defense was against Jorge Solis in April of this year, which he decisively won by knockout in the 8th round.

As for Marco Antonio Barrera, also known as the "Baby Faced Assasin", he came back from his loss to Pacquiao in 2003 to win 6 successive fights against Paulie Ayala, Erik Morales, Mzonke Fana, Robbie Peden, and twice against Rocky Juarez. Earlier this year, he lost the WBC Super Featherweight Title to Juan Miguel Marquez.

October 6, 2007 (October 7 in Manila) - At 28 years old, Manny Pacquiao overcomes Marco Antonio Barrera with a unanimous decision win (109-118, 109-118, 112-115) to remain as the WBC International Super Featherweight Champion. Pacquiao recovered from an alleged illegal shot by Barrera to Pacquiao's head in the 11th round.

The 33-year veteran Barrera, a boxing Hall of Fame nominee, have indicated that this may be his "farewell fight". Pacquiao is obliged by WBC rules to face title-holder Juan Miguel Marquez next, but neither camps have confirmed plans for future fights.

It was a valiant last stand for a legendary fighter. Nevertheless, Manny Pacquiao is effortlessly at his top form and remains the best and most exciting fighter in boxing today.

Technorati Tags: Manny Pacquiao, Pacquiao Barrera fight

Oktoberfest Celebrated Worldwide

"Are we drunk yet?"
Photo by Andreas Steinhoff
What's cold, frothy and disappears during October?

That's right! The answer is beer during Oktoberfest. The 2-week long German beer festival already began and is contributing to a lot of people around the world becoming rosy cheeked and bladder-control impaired.

Munich mayor Christian Ude declared "O'zapft is!" (Bavarian for "It's been tapped") last September 22 thus opening the 2007 Oktoberfest at the Theresienwiese grounds in Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

"Theresienwiese" means "Field of Therese". Now you might ask, who the heck is Therese and what has she to do with a mob in drunken stupor? Before you start imagining sweaty bodies entwined under the stars moaning the name of Therese, here's the real story behind Oktoberfest.

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In 1810, the Bavarian Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) tied the knot with the Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. The wedding party started October 12 and ended five days later on October 17 with a grand horse race right at Theresienwise or "d' Wiesn", the site of the modern-day Oktoberfest.

Imagine thousands of beer intoxicated well-wishers trying to pronounce the Princess' name. No wonder the party lasted that long!

Oktoberfest therefore is actually the wedding anniversary celebration of Bavarian royalties - and it's been celebrated for the past 197 years (this despite the many mistresses of King Ludwig). Not only that, the party has expanded all over the world with Oktoberfest and similar beer festivals commemorated in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Hong Kong, Australia, Argentina, Norway, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

The Oktoberfest mania have also invaded cyberspace with the World of Warcraft (WoW) Brewfest. The Orc Horde and the Human Alliance will set down their battle axes and war hammers and raise a toast to the mighty brew starting October 3. Watch the Brewfest Trailer at the World of Warcraft site.

An estimated 6 million people come to Munich for the annual Oktoberfest. The festivities will last until October 7, 2007 so you still have time to chug down your Maß.

For more info on Oktoberfest visit The Wiesn Website.

XO Laptop - The Limited Introductory Offer

"Green with envy? Give 1 to get 1."
THE ONE LAPTOP PER CHILD (OLPC) group which aims to jumpstart the quality of education in developing nations by providing low-cost technology tools such as the XO laptop, has announced that they will be offering the XO laptop on a "Give One Get One" basis.

Dubbed G1G1, the program starts on November 12 and will run for a limited period only. Presumably, Give 1 Get 1 will be offered only within territories of developed nations particularly the USA.

OLPC Founder and Chairman Nicholas Negroponte emphasized in a keynote speech delivered at Harvard last August that the OLPC is an "education project, not a laptop project.

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The XO laptop has a kid-friendly design and leverages open source software. It is about the size of a textbook, has a wi-fi mesh network, a 7.5-inch TFT screen switchable to full-color mode and reflective "outdoor" mode. It is also probably the most energy efficient laptop in existence, so much so that you can hand-power the machine via cranks, pedal or pull-cord chargers. OLPC is backed by technology giants such as AMD, Red Hat, Google, Nortel and Intel.

Despite being touted as the "$100" laptop, whole donations for the XO are actually priced at $200 which includes shipping and handling (to the beneficiaries' country). OLPC of course accepts any contributions, large or small, which will go to grassroots learning initiatives in least developed nations. For the G1G1 program, which will run for 2 weeks starting November 12, the cost of participation is at $399.

Learn more about the One Laptop Per Child project and the G1G1 program at http://xogiving.org.

World's Most Polluted Places for 2007 Listed

The Blacksmith Institute recently released its 2007 list of the Top 10 World's Most Polluted Places. The unranked list referenced several localities in China, Russia and India as well as some former Soviet Republics, Peru and Zambia.

The severity of pollution indicated in these areas involve environmental contamination due to chemical, mining, energy and heavy-metal industries. Notable among those listed is Chernobyl in the Ukraine which is still suffering from the 1986 catastrophic meltdown of its nuclear power plant.

The Blacksmith Institute report also highlights the impact of environmental pollution to health. Some 12 million people in these identified communities are said to be at risk for cancers, birth defects, sterility and poisoning among others.

Here is the list dubbed as the "Killer Communities" for 2007:

• Sumgayit, AZERBAIJAN
• Linfen, CHINA
• Tianying, CHINA
• Sukinda, INDIA
• Vapi, INDIA
• La Oroya, PERU
• Dzerzhinsk, RUSSIA
• Norilsk, RUSSIA
• Chernobyl, UKRAINE
  
• Kabwe, ZAMBIA
  

Eight years in the running, the Blacksmith Institute have been supporting local champions that address pollution-related issues in developing nations. In 2003, the Blacksmith Institute came out with the Polluted Places Initiative which focuses on seeking solutions for severely polluted sites. The top 10 World's Most Polluted Places list began in 2006. The list is selected by a panel of environment and health experts comprising the Technical Advisory Board (TAB).

To date, 24 projects have been successfully completed in 9 countries through the US-based institute's various programs. More on The Blacksmith Institute at their official website at www.blacksmithinstitute.org.

Bosnia Overtakes Philippines / Hungary in Kissing Contest

Almost seven thousand Bosnians, Croatians, Serbians, Albanians, Macedonians and Slovenians (try saying that 3 times fast!) took to the streets of Tuzla Town north of Sarajevo last September 1, for 10-seconds of lip-locking placing them on the Guiness Book of World Records for the most number of people kissing simultaneously.

The official count - 6,980 people got their mojos running as they broke the running streaks of former kiss capitals Hungary and the Philippines.

The raunchy record previously went back and forth to the Philippines and Hungary as they bested each other for the ticklish title since 2004 when the Philippines captured the record with 5,327 kiss-crazy couples smooching for the "Lovapalooza" Valentines event. Hungary proved they could tie tongues as they got the official recognition in 2005 with 5,875 pairs pecking at each other.

Filipinos came back February this year with 6,124 smackers in what would be a short-lived distinction as Hungarians jotted 6,613 kissers last June. Another Budapest claim came late August with 7,451 couples but the number was not officially recognized.

Despite Bosnia's celebration over the record, Muslim conservatives derided the demonstration saying it was disrespectful of Islamic tradition. However, Tuzla Mayor Jasmin Imamovic declared in this report, that they would rather emphasize love, not hatred.