According to Paul ‘Moose’ Curtis, the world is a really really dirty place. The above video includes footage of his Reverse Graffiti project at San Francisco’s Broadway tunnel which has over 200,000 vehicles passing through it each day.

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Before we start let me say; Warriyaa to all my Somali friends who may come to read this. The recent highly publicised taking of the American ship Maersk Alabama by four Somali pirates has served to reignite the piracy debate once again. Particularly since the only surviving “pirate” is merely a highly remorseful eighteen-year-old boy and the others involved paid the highest price for their gamble. Let me add my voice to the deliberation by echoing the question; Are the Somali pirates swashbuckling Robin Hoods or simple commercial terrorists? In order to fully assess the situation one must pose the question of what drove former fishermen to take up arms in the first place. The documentary previewed below delves into the question. It gives a riveting first-person sympathetic story of fishermen driven to crime as a response to the depletion of their seas by foreign toxic waste dumping and fishing vessels.

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One of the fundamental principles of a democracy is the right to protest. In a modern liberal democratic society we have all sorts of rights and freedoms that are backed up by the rule of law, fundamental rights such as the freedoms of speech and movement. We, the people, can voice our displeasure at any particular government policy or  perceived injustice as long as we do so in a peaceful manner, within the framework of the law. Although we should recognise that the ability to protest is a luxury in a democracy and can be vastly different under other forms of governance.



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What do two Trinidadians, an Ivorian, a Texan, an Israeli and a Senegalese have in common?

More music is available on their myspace. The album Forward Music is also available on itunes and cdbaby. Go over the jump to see a performance by the band.

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Chess is a game that I know how to play and have flirted with at various stages of my life but always underrated. My impatience makes me more of a draughts/checkers man. If you listen to proponents like the Hip Hop Chess Federation, while playing chess is the equivalent to acrobatic psychological warfare, it is also a method of developing mental capacity by honing good habits.

“The game of chess is like a swordfight; you must think first before you move.”

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