Owner: Subvert the Dominant Paradigm URL:http://www.africanchameleon.com Join Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 11:08:17 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: This is an eclectic collection of my experiences and thoughts about
my adoption, travel, family and other people. Site statistics:Click here
Six months of formal education 2008-03-16 04:03:44 After six months of formal
education, my son can now read simple text. When I adopted him, he was illiterate. I enrolled him in a pre-school in Swaziland for about six months but he did not learn much during that time. He had never been to school before. Now, after six months at his new school in Slovakia, he can read. Here is an example of what words he knows:most of the top 100 high-frequency words for examplea day all did am do and down are firstas for at from get be go big goingbut got by had has can have come hecould himetc etc.More specifically, here is an example of what he can read - with some help occasionally.He and his friends went on a trip. 'What are we going to see?' asked Rocky. 'Mustard,' said Mr. Belter. 'We are going to see how they make mustard.' The manager met Mr Belte
We are becoming a police state. It is no joke. 2008-03-16 03:59:32 Put young children on DNA list, urge policeIt is true that power corrupts and the growth in draconian powers that our government has granted itself following the terrorism hysteria of the last few years has had predictable consequences. Yes, there are bad people out there who want to do evil things. For example the Israelis murdering children in the Occupied Territories with US financial backing. Israelis are of course murdered too but the other side rarely gets reported. The reporting in the media is very one-sided. You would think it was just evil Islamisists lobbing missiles at poor defenseless Israeli folk trying to get on with their lives. Marginalised and desperate people seek desperate measures. Nelson Mandela was called a terrorist too. He was fighting for his people and their righ
Estimated tax and expenditure on a gross income of GBP 50 000 living in the UK 2008-03-19 04:07:18 It astonished me to estimate that I would have to earn in excess of GBP 50 000 in the UK to take home the same salary (converted at today's exchange rates) as I do in Slovakia. To have the same standard of living, I may have to earn more like GBP 100 000 but such a calculation is much more complicated. Tax is at least 50% of all income. Read more:Estimated
Tax in the UK - the great rip-off 2008-03-18 05:04:51 Income Tax (22%)- tax on your declared earnings. 40% on earnings above GBP 34 600 (a pittance)VAT - (17.5%) tax on "luxury" purchases - like electricity and clothes - pretty much everything you buyCouncil Tax - tax on living in a house. Rising well above inflation for years and years. Usually well over GPB 1000 p.a.Road Tax - tax on driving a car. GBP 120 to 185Fuel Tax - tax on buying fuel for car. 47.1 pence per litre. VAT 13.4 pence - you pay VAT on the Fuel Tax - yes you are taxed on your tax!!! The product costs 23.2 pence per litre!TV license (tax) GBP 135.50National insurance contributions. About 11% of your gross salary.Capital gains taxDeath dutyStamp duty on selling a house. 1% on houses valued up to GPB 250 000. Rises to 4% (over GBP 500 000).A quick calculation shows that if yo
No title 2008-03-18 02:33:32 Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer!
The New Fascism 2008-03-25 13:54:56 Is it right that because some lunatic US president decided to murder thousands of his own citizens in a politically expedient 'terrorist attack', we should be subject to absurd searches by overzealous security personnel at virtually every turn? Ridiculous restrictions on liquids in hand luggage on flights and having to take your shoes off because some mentally ill dropout decided to try to burn his shoes on an aircraft once. Searching looks by immigration officials at anyone who doesn't fit the 'norm'. For a single white man with a black adopted child, that is pretty much on every trip I make to the UK.This whole 911 bollocks was a green light to bureaucrats and petty-minded job-worths the world over. Has anyone read the standard Foreign Office bollocks on terrorism that is repeated in the Read more:Fascism
My son skiing 2008-03-27 01:19:46 We just came back from Austria where we enjoyed three days' skiing over the Easter weekend. My impressions of Austria are very good. Everyone was very friendly and helpful. We hired a car in Bratislava and drove the 450 km to Bad Gastein, about 100 km from Salzberg. My son had never skied before but caught on really fast. He had two hours of private lessons plus about 5 hours of group tuition and here he shows me what he can do. The only black boy on the slopes!
The arrogance of those in power - South Africa's Energy Crisis 2008-04-07 08:12:21 You may be familiar with the mind-boggling idiocy that unfolded in SouthAfrica
earlier this year. It suddenly dawned on the Government that it had under-invested in power
generation for the past 5 - 10 years. This has resulted in a number of laughable situations.As an example, here is one. Peak time television between 6pm and 9pm on weekdays will simply not happen. Here is what an SABC executive said:"We suggest that viewers could instead read books, or talk to other family members," the South Africa
n Broadcasting Corporation said."If they do not like their relatives, and have forgotten how to read, they can just look at the wall."South Africa's gold mines have closed down - yes closed down. A whole industry that South Africa is renowned for. Absolutely staggering. I lack words to describ Read more:arrogance
, Energy
, Crisis
Defaulting on credit cards 2008-04-09 12:10:01 I have an admission to make. I had been using two credit
cards with different banks - one since 1998 and another from about the same time. When I went to work in Swaziland my earnings dropped dramatically but my desire to fly light aircraft did not. So before I knew it, I had over GBP 10 000 on these two credit cards and I was unable to pay off the amount each month, something that I had always done before. So what happens when you stop paying your credit cards. Well pretty much nothing in my experience. One of the credit card companies did not even bother reporting this to the UK credit reference agencies. I had a letter from one of the banks that was a mild demand for some payment and a threat that matters would be taken further. They weren't.In my case, I was not on the electoral roll i
Doublespeak - a guide 2008-04-11 03:49:34 for the full list.abuse: tortureaerial ordnance (military): bombs and missiles.agenda: as in the Liberal Agenda or the Homosexual Agenda; used to discredit laws or programs sought after by the left by adding the feel of conspiracy and ill will to the venture.alleged: actually perpetratedally: vassal state; colony.American interests: 1. Corporate interests; keeping share prices up. 2. For the benefit of the rich.asset (CIA term): foreign spyassociate: a low-level employee. Being "associated" sounds more dignified than being "employed" (or "used"), but also connotes being more loosely affiliated, i.e. having less job security.asymmetric warfare: suicide bombing attacks, local violent unrest, almost anything that one does not wish to call war or terrorism. Military scientists define asymmetr
Why is Windows / Microsoft so crap 2008-04-12 10:03:09 You are familiar with the experience. You buy a new PC or laptop that works with a Microsoft
operating system such as Windows
XP. After three months the bullshit starts. It gets slower and slower to boot up. It develops more quirks than a quirky thing. You have lost track of the number of Windows updates you have downloaded. You think to yourself - why couldn't they get it to work properly in the first place. And surely such a jigsaw approach to an operating system cannot work. Oh here's a problem - let's download another fix.
Zanu PF disregarding the will of the people 2008-04-11 17:55:19 10th April 2008 - MDC PressroomThe MDC National Executive Council met in Harare today and made several resolutions in light of Zanu PF’s attempts in disregarding the Constitution of Zimbabwe following its defeat by the MDC at the polls on March 29. The council reiterated the need to put the people
of Zimbabwe first and called for the expeditious resolution to the political, economic and social crisis in Zimbabwe. The party is concerned by the failure by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in releasing the presidential election results and is equally disturbed by the frivolous and malicious calls by Zanu PF to have a re-run before the announcement of the result. There is clear evidence which shows that the MDC won a clear majority of 50, 3 percent against Zanu PF’s 43, 8 percent the
Racism in Poland, Slovakia etc. 2008-04-13 13:14:19 The following is from a 'White Power' forum. Each paragraph is a new post. Caution - objectionable material.As I have noticed, there are no negroids in Slavonic countries. In Poland
negroes are afraid to walk the streets. They fear Polish skinheads. And the same is in Russia. Russians sometimes kill negroes, while in Poland negroes are only beaten. In Slovakia there is a lot of gypsies, but completely no negroes.When a Polish woman marries a negro, she looses many friends, nobody want to be connected with her. A girl who had a negro boyfriend can't find any Polish boy. Nobody here wants a girl who was with negro.In Slavonic countries racism is probably the strongest in Europe.Blacks are not common thing in Poland. It's still quite exotic there. Personally I dont know any girl who is in rel Read more:Racism
Racists attack US basketball player in Slovakia 2008-04-13 12:53:38 From Slovak Spectator April 14th 2008Denise Wilson, an African-American basketball player
from the US who currently plays in Kosice was the victim of a racially motivated attack
in the eastern Slovak city on April 6th. She is now considering whether to leave the country.It was the second racist attack on a public figure on Slovakia within a short period.At a tram stop two men with shaved heads and wearing camoflage-style clothes started to harass her. As she tried to explain that she did not speak Slovak, they called her a "nigger" and told her to go home. She tried to escape the men but they chased her from Osloboditelov Square to a McDonalds in Protifasistickych Bojovnikov Street swearing at her and threatening her the whole way. "She was calling out for help, but people instead turned a
Stress hooding noise nudity dogs 2008-04-19 01:52:42 From The Guardian Newspaper 19/4/08It was the young officials at Guantánamo who dreamed up a list of new aggressive interrogation techniques, inspired by Jack Bauer from the TV series, 24. But it was the politicians and lawyers in Washington who set the ball rolling. Philippe Sands follows the torture trail right to the top.On Tuesday, December 2 2002, Donald Rumsfeld signed a piece of paper that changed the course of history. That same day, President Bush signed a bill to put the Pentagon in funds for the next year. The US faced unprecedented challenges, Bush told a large and enthusiastic audience, and terror was one of them. The US would respond to these challenges, and it would do so in the "finest traditions of valour". And then he signed a large increase in the defence budget. Elsewh
Latest news from the UK 2008-04-23 03:20:30 China arms ship left with no port of call as Britain and US apply pressureDPP chief: extending detention period to 42 days is unnecessaryBritons give more to donkey sanctuary than abuse charitiesSerious Fraud Office to appeal in Saudi arms case
Look of disgust 2008-04-22 15:51:16 It is not my imagination. The look that my (black) son gets in Bratislava from locals. He got it again today from the mother of a child from our school. We were walking back home from the shop and I heard a girl call my son's name. But the mother, on seeing my son, looked like this. No it is not my imagination. It is quite obvious to anyone with half a brain what these people are thinking. About two months ago my son was with me in a local supermarket when he told me that a woman had hit him for pushing past her trolley. When I asked him to show me who this bitch was, he would not. He said that she had left the shop. After some persuasion, he told me it was a lady in a big red jacket. I found this cow and gave her an earful. You could have heard a pin drop. There have been many many little
An Alice-in-Wonderland Country without the "Wonder" 2008-04-25 03:05:11 Winners and losers in land of starving billionairesEach day, Edwin Makotore's wife and children hit the streets to earn cash so he can pay for the privilege of working. The 38-year-old father-of-two is the only one in the family with a full-time job, but by the time he has met the soaring cost of travelling to work in a small Harare supermarket, paid out of wages wildly out of step with the 165,000% inflation rate, Makotore is out of pocket. But with only one-in-five adults in employment, a job is a far more precious commodity than money in Zimbabwe, and Makotore is not going to let it go."My wife gives me the money to go to work each day," he said. "We can't afford to send the children to school so they go with her to the streets. She sells some small things, fruit, things like that. "One Read more:Wonderland
, Country
Burma disaster 2008-05-07 14:25:52 "The US, which pledged $3m (£1.5m) to UN agencies to help with emergency food distribution, has navy ships in the area."From The Guardian 7/5/08Well how fucking generous. That is about 1 US cent per US citizen. Meanwhile, Bush has spent about $11 500 per person on Iraq so far. That is 1 150 000 times more than the former amount. Read more:Burma
Good and bad 2008-05-11 08:06:27 Do we ever really know what our motives are? To a court of law, motives are clear in the mind of the guilty but I don't think it is always so simple. The current trend is to view all human actions as either good or bad. This is reinforced by American culture. "Good guys" and "bad guys" is common parlance. How often have we heard George W. Bush pronounce that the "bad guys" this or the "bad guys" t
Tory homophobes - here we go again 2008-05-13 09:00:35 For anyone who remembers the eighties in the UK, the Thatcherite rhetoric and Section 28, the following will sound familiar.Bar lesbians from IVF treatment in absence of father figure, say Tories
American accents in foreign kids 2008-05-14 15:31:38 I have worked in four independent private schools in the UK, Swaziland, Kuwait and now Slovakia. In each school, American
students were in a minority but amongst children who spoke English (usually as a second language), strangled American vowel sounds and expressions like "Oh my Gaaaard" and "To-dally" and bizarre grammatical structures prevail.Most of the black kids I taught in Swaziland adopted
Double-posturing - the problem with the Slovak psyche 2008-05-19 16:41:21 The Foreign Ministry objects to the Slovak government’s double posturing, which is responsible for stirring conflicts in the bilateral relations - State Secretary Szentiványi summoned the Slovak Ambassador and held a press conference.This article is posted on the Hungarian Ministry for Foreign affairs website. State Secretary Gábor Szentiványi, the Foreign Ministry’s policy director, on Thu Read more:psyche
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