Zombie Apocalypse or ‘Bath Salts’? New Drug In America Worries The Public

Bath Salt Lines (Bath Salt Drug, 2011)

About a month ago, reports out of Miami in America came out of a man who tore off another man’s face with his teeth in a drug-induced daze (Luscombe, 2012) and since then, a few more reports have surfaced. The news horrified the masses as the man is reported to have been so deep in his daze that he did not respond to taser shots or pepper spray administered by police in a bid to stop the gruesome attack. Police officials had to shoot the attacker to get him to stop (Luscombe, 2012).In another report, a man in Louisiana was attacked by his neighbor following a dispute and had chucks of skin torn off from his face (Ferguson, 2012).

Click Here For News Clip (Bath Salts Takeover, 2012)

In the news clip above, two more reports have come out of attacks that are allegedly influenced by the use of ‘bath salts’. Because of the frequency of these attacks, the public is now starting to wonder if maybe there is a zombie attack brewing (Gilbert, 2012). The question though is, what exactly is ‘bath salts’?

“If you take the very worst of some of the other drugs — LSD and Ecstasy with their hallucinogenic-delusional type properties, PCP with extreme agitation, superhuman strength and combativeness, as well as the stimulant properties of cocaine and meth — and put them all together, this is what you get”, says Mark Ryan of the Louisiana Poison control center (Taylor, 2012). The main components of ‘bath salts’ are mephedrone, and methylene. In essence, ‘bath salts’ are not a single drug but a component of different drugs. In 2011 alone, there were 6000 calls to poison control centers in the USA related to bath salt abuse. These numbers were reported by the American Society of Physics (Metroland News Service, 2012).

Bath Salt Attack Victim (Staff, 2012)

Side effects of the highly addictive drug include but are not limited to, agitation, insomnia, irritability, depression, paranoia, delusion, suicidal thoughts, seizures, nose bleeds, rapid hearth rate, and impaired perception of reality (CBS06, 2012). The end result is almost always death on the part of the user as the public is placed in danger stemming from it.

It is imperative that any of the readers of this site who are thinking of trying bath salts or know anyone who uses,to  remember, it is not worth it, you will die.

 

 

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Luscombe, R., 2012. World News. [Online]
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Staff, 2012. Home. [Online]
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Taylor, L. C., 2012. News. [Online]
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[Accessed 20 June 2012].

 

A Few Good Men: Zimbabwe Police Turn Down Huge Bribe

In a country that is rife with corruption, with the national police being touted as being the worst (Violet Gonda, 2011), it is comforting to know that there are a few good police officers who still believe in doing the right thing.

Map Of Zimbabwe (Is This Africa?, 2012)

Three police officers in the capital city of Harare, where recently hailed as model employees after turning down a bribe offer of US$93 000 from five men who intended to smuggle 15 kgs of gold across the border to South Africa (Mbanje, 2012). The officers, working on a tip, started investigating the five smugglers who smelted the gold down and hid it in compartments in their vehicle. The vehicle was then to be driven by two of the accused, into South Africa and the gold sold on the black market.

Zimbabwe Police (Karimakwenda, 2012)

After police apprehended the would-be drivers, their counterparts came to the police station intending on bribing the officers to let their colleagues go. The bribe money was kept as evidence. Because of the high levels of corruption, there are watchdogs that have come up with an innovative way to dial down the corruption and this is through online reporting (Heritage Foundation, 2010).

I Paid A Bribe website (OAfrica, 2012)

A website called I Paid A Bribe was hatched and this is to allow members of the public to report any incidents where they were asked to pay a bribe for services. With the help of the public and government awareness, corruption will definitely be on the way down.

 

 

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Mbanje, P., 2012. News. [Online]
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[Accessed 20 June 2012].

 

Olympics Musical Tracklist Is Out!! And It Rocks!!

For those that follow the Olympics every four years, it is a well known fact that the music that is always played is always up to par and extremely well put together. A few weeks ahead of the Olympics, the tracklist for the 2012 games has supposedly leaked and contains an awesome choice of artists.

Danny Boyle, director of Olympics 2012 (Gayathari, 2010)

Danny Boyle, known for his work with Slumdog Millionaire, is the man behind the music selection. ‘The Eton Boating Song, Elgar and Handel — with the Sex Pistols’ infamous God Save The Queen and Prodigy’s anarchic Firestarter, London Calling by The Clash and Simon May’s EastEnders theme, Land Of Hope And Glory, Jerusalem and the Dambusters March, Iggy Pop, Primal Scream, Blur and Pulp were just a few of the selections that were leaked onto the streets of UK and this selection is a surefire way to promote patriotism during the games (Smart, 2012).

Grammy winner Adele (Alison Boshoff, 2012) and blues legend Amy Winehouse are also part of the list.

Amy Winehouse (Staff, 2012)

Music is an integral part in the Olympics, from the selections in the participants iPods while they train, all the way to the opening ceremonies and during the games as well. “Athletes can use music in two ways, one to use as a recovery piece, so they’re dialing down their brainwaves so they’re thinking less, and they can use music to pump them up and get them ready to compete, ” as the Canadian Press reports (Canadian Press, 2012). Research that has been done has shown a positive correlation between exercise and fast paced music (Waterhouse J, 2010) and it not a surprise why iPods and athletes are like key and chain. Good luck to all the athletes, I personally look forward to hearing the music selection.

 

 

Alison Boshoff, S. N., 2012. TV and Showbiz. [Online]
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Staff, B., 2012. Celeb Directory. [Online]
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Waterhouse J, H. P. E. B., 2010. Effects of music tempo upon submaximal cycling performance, Liverpool: National Institutes Of Health.

 

“I’m Rich Biyach!!” Forbes Wealthiest Rappers

The normal meme is that rappers spent their money on jewellery, big cars and mansions and are generally not in good command of their finances; the list below shows a different story altogether. Forbes put together a list of the wealthiest rappers of 2012 and the numbers are impressive.

When it comes to cash money, Sean “Diddy” Combs is king.

The rapper topped Forbes’ list of wealthiest hip hop artists, beating out Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Bryan “Birdman” Williams and 50 Cent.

According to the magazine, Diddy’s net worth was estimated at $550 million. He can attribute the high figure to his many ventures, including clothing lines Sean John and Enyce and his Bad Boy record label.

Jay-Z landed in second place on Forbes’ list with $460 million. He also has various ventures, as well as investments in the New Jersey Nets and 40/40 night clubs.

At No. 3 was Dr. Dre with $260 million, followed by Cash Money Records co-founder Birdman with $125 million and rapper 50 Cent with a net worth of $110 million.

The list is based on current holdings, past earnings, financial documents and interviews with analysts. (PACE, 2011)

Forbes (Forbes, 2005) is a financial magazine that reports biweekly on investments, marketing, finances and the lucrative, Forbes Richest list. African Americans started appearing on the Forbes’ list recently, with Robert J. Johnson (Miller, 2009) being the first one to make it to the list in 2001.

African Americans rappers are known for ludicrous displays of wealth such as jewellery, cars and large homes, and not necessarily for investments (Brendan, 2009). Rapper Lil Wayne reportedly paid $150 000 to have diamond veneers (Singer-Vine, 2010), Russell Simmons has toilets in his home made of solid gold (Littman, 2009)and rapper Big Boi spent $20 000 on diamond studded Nike shoes (Roc, 2007). However, Robert Johnson certainly paved the way for other African American celebrities to make it to the lucrative list and dispel the label attached to African American rappers of making bad financial decisions.

 

 

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Legend Frank Bruno Diagnosed With Bipolar

Nineties boxing legend (Hamlet Advertising, 2005), Frank Bruno, was interviewed by Piers Morgan Friday night for Piers’ ‘Life Stories’ (Amazon, 2012) segment and the interview was met with overwhelming responses. The 50 year old Frank Bruno, who was diagnosed with bipolar a few years back (Eames, 2012), expressed his gratitude to his fans as he left a hospital for a month long exhaustion treatment.

Tonight his interview for Piers Morgan’s Life Stories, which was recorded last month, was screened on ITV1.

And it prompted an immediate reaction from viewers on Twitter with Frank Bruno’s name the number one trending topic.

Host Piers tweeted: “Amazing Twitter reaction to #FrankBruno tonight – never seen anything like it for any #LifeStories show. Says it all about the Big Man.”

Meanwhile TV host Philip Schofield wrote: “Life Stories with Frank Bruno Very hard to watch the hard times of such a wonderful guy. His kids eyes tell you everything.”

Big Man: The Morgan and Bruno interview provoked an amazing reaction online  (Eagle Eye Report, 2012)

Manchester City star Vincent Kompany added: “Watching Frank Bruno’s interview on ITV1 what a great character he is. ‘I wasn’t the most talented but I was the most determined.'”

Over on the Daily Mirror’s Facebook page, dozens of readers posted messages of support for the ex-boxing champ.

Mandy Walker wrote: “We think he’s just as lovely as he ever was …just a down to earth bloke, with problems like us all.

“He has a great sense of humour, can laugh at life and has come through all his trials and tribulations and i wish him and his family all the very best.”

Meanwhile Debbie Dumelow said she was in tears watching it. She added: “We need to change how we treat the issues that have affected him – sorry i hate the term mental health.

“He got sick, no different to a heart problem or any other illness why should you feel ashamed.

“Bless him, such issues can affect anyone and I wish him the very best of luck in getting well.

“If we treated these illness’s better people would recover quicker and cost the NHS less money.”

His family – including his children Nicola, 29, Rachel, 25 and 16-year-old Franklyn – are ­supporting the much-loved former sportsman.

And yesterday Frank’s family said the interview was “positive” and were pleased it was being shown.

Host Piers, 47, added: “The family say he is doing well and that this has nothing to do with the show.

“He has been up and down for years like this, but they say he is now in a good place and the show will benefit him.”

Frank put in a lot of preparation to look good for the show which friends fear led to his relapse.

Frank’s previous battle with mental illness began when he was sectioned following the break-up of his marriage to ­Laura, 47, in 2001. (Cockerton, 2012)

It is wonderful to see Frank in good spirits  as it is well known that bipolar is a difficult condition to deal with. Also known as manic-depressive illness (National Institute Of Mental Health, 2008), it is a brain disorder that causes unusual but extreme shifts in mood, energy and activity levels. Symptoms start around the age of 25 (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2009) and get progressively severe as one ages. Medication and therapy can be assigned to help deal with the illness.

In this case, it interfered with Frank’s livelihood to the point where he could not work, however, he is taking advantage of help. Piers Morgan did an awesome job in the interview by giving Frank a chance to be remembered, as well as shed light on the serious issue of bipolar disease.

 

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Why Is KONY 2012 Still Relevant? New KONY “Cover The Night” Campaign Fails

Joseph Kony’s story of inhumane activities in his home of Uganda (RT News, 2012) were the rage a few weeks ago with a campaign that quickly spread, thanks to a viral video that was even touted by celebrities. Big names such as Justin Bieber, Diddy and Emma Stone sent out tweets (Oldenburg, 2012) encouraging their Twitter followers to spread the word. Video can be found here. (Kony 2012, 2012)  Later, everyone who jumped on that bandwagon quickly moon-walked away from it when it was revealed that Kony’s activities were years old. Now somewhere in California, USA, someone feels the need to uphold this KONY 2012 nonsense with a ‘Cover The  Night’ campaign that is flopping fast.

Cover The Night Campaign Poster (Harris, 2012)

The Kony 2012 Cover the Night campaign woke up to awkward questions on Saturday after activists failed to blanket cities with posters of the wanted Ugandan warlord, Joseph Kony.

The movement’s phenomenal success in mobilising young people online, following last month’s launch of a 29-minute documentary which went viral, flopped in trying to turn that into real world actions.

The campaign aimed to plaster “every city, on every block” around the world with posters, stickers and murals of Kony to pressure governments into hunting down the guerrilla leader, who has waged a brutal, decades-long insurgency in central Africa.

But paltry turnouts on Friday at locations across north America, Europe and Australia left cities largely unplastered and the movement’s credibility damaged. “What happened to all the fuss about Kony?” said one typical tweet. “Kony is so last month,” said another.

Elissa O’Dell, 24, an activist in Los Angeles, put a brave face on the fact just her and two other volunteers attended the painting of a mural on an auto dealership off Santa Monica Boulevard.

“It’s just been us the entire day,” she said on Friday. Another campaigner took photographs while an artist painted the mural, which said “Our liberty is bound together”.

“The point of Cover the Night is for our community of supporters to give something back, pick up trash, paint schools, some direct, local action,” said O’Dell. So, where was everybody? “We didn’t expect people here,” said O’Dell. Supporters were to place posters in coffeeshops, fire and police stations and other locations. “The response has been terrific. Tomorrow people will wake up and see our posters everywhere.”

But on Saturday the boulevard, and according to reports the rest of LA and other cities, were largely free of Kony.

The campaign also tanked on twitter. “Find the silence around #Kony’12 interesting. It’s muted embarrassment from prior supporters, mixed with quiet smugness from detractors,” said one tweet. (Carroll, 2012)

Joseph Kony (History Guy, 2012)

I feel I am in a position where I can safely say, a lot of celebrities and their fans at large, need to educate themselves on any causes they need to attach their name to before spreading information. It will save them a lot of embarrassment. The president of Uganda himself issued a statement (Love, 2012) to deter the world from the Kony Campaign as the warlord is supposedly not in Uganda anymore.

Celebrities are just like us and sometimes they might not always be aware of accurate information so it is also our responsibility to make sure we are touting correct information before we drink the Kool-Aid. As far as this Kony campaign is concerned, I feel Ugandans are fully aware of what is going on and when and if Joseph Kony is causing them trouble, they will seek the help required, in the meantime, the first world should not intervene.

 

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Kony 2012. 2012. [Film] Directed by Jason Russell. USA: Invisible Children Inc.

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Out Of South Africa: Champion Bodyboarder Killed By Great White Shark

This is a sad story, at the same time, I do not understand why people are shocked when someone is killed by a shark or similar killer beasts, while venturing in the said beasts’ territory…

Bodysurfer Killed (Murray, 2012)

A great white shark killed a champion bodyboarder near the coast off Cape Town as horrified spectators watched from shore, powerless to help, South African police said.

David Lilienfeld, 20, was riding waves with his younger brother and a friend just outside Gordons Bay Thursday when a shark lunged at him.

Onlookers who witnessed the attack from the shore say they saw Lilienfeld try to fight the animal off with his board.

“I saw this big dorsal fin, and after that I saw him getting attacked,” surfer Matt Marais, who had gotten out of the water to make a phone call, told the Independent Online.

“Then, the shark turned around and attacked him again. Just before it attacked him, he tried to put his board between him and the shark. He was pushing the shark’s head with his board.

“But within two seconds, the water turned from turquoise to red.” (Murray, 2012)

Image of a similar great white shark (Denial, 2011)

Lilienfeld’s brother, Gustav, who was in the water near the attack but wasn’t hurt, managed to drag him onto nearby rocks, the Cape Times reported.

A helicopter arrived about 20 minutes later. Lilienfeld, whose right leg was severed below the hip, died at the scene.

“David was a Sprinbok bodyboarder. This was his life, and he died doing what he loved,” Lilienfeld’s father said in a statement issued through police.”

Rest in peace to the young chap. A lot of tourists venture into the waters in South Africa for extreme sports each year, with a combination of over 3000km (South Africa, 2011) of coastline on the shores of the Indian Ocean, it is a beehive of activity. South Africa is among one of the top countries for shark attacks, with 112 attacks and 23 deaths in the past 21 years alone (Justin Othersurfa, 2010), one would think tourists would venture away from this area but nope, the thrill is too much.

It is best to exercise caution when having fun in the South African waters. There are some handy tips to fend off a shark attack that I managed to gather on the web. Always get out of the water, pretty obvious. If it is not possible, try get to the bottom of the ocean so that the angles of attack are limited, if swimming with a partner, swim with your backs to each other so that there are two pairs of eyes from all directions, try hit the shark with whatever object you can find and try aim for his nose. Also try hit the shark gills as they are very sensitive (BBC News, 2006). Either way, have fun and try not to be a statistic, remember, you are in their home.

 

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