News

Germany Plans Limits on Facebook Use in Hiring

By David Jolly for The New York Times

As part of the draft of a law governing workplace privacy, the German government on Wednesday proposed placing restrictions on employers who want to use Facebook profiles when recruiting.

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The Gaslight Anthem@ Kulturni Centrum Vltavska

By Katerina Petkovska

Prague’s Kulturni Centrum Vltavska is a venue that during the day attracts because it offers a program that contains anything from “latino” workshops for women to sewing and Celtic pottery courses. On the occasional night, as this 16th of August, it was because a band that Bruce Springsteen sometimes likes to join on stage was playing. New Brunswick’s The Gaslight Anthem swelled the space with Jersey inspired folksy punk-rock during a show that will be remembered as truly splendid.

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Let it Roll 2010@ Stare Zdanice
Study Shows: Human Life Can Prevail in Amphibian Environment, With Sufficient Bass
By Katerina Petkovska    

On 23rd and 24th of July, Stare Zdanice was the meeting point for some of the most world-renowned drum and bass DJs and a crowd that deserves exactly the same level of respect, if not more. Let it Roll 2010 was a glorious mudfest, designed for the fittest and most obstinate, which as it turns out includes many in the Czech Republic. For the visually oriented a concise summarization of the weekend would resemble something like this.

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By Rose Sidman for The Onion

Boy, is it a scorcher! Don't think I've seen one like this since the summer of '49. You know, at my age, I can feel pretty faint just sitting here, all alone in my stuffy, poorly ventilated apartment. Better brew a pot of coffee, take my blood pressure medication, and…hey, wait a minute.

Oh, shit. I'm going to be one of the poor fucks who dies in this heat wave, aren't I?

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Disturbing the British Conscience: Five Minutes with Brian

Brian Haw is a veteran protester. He has been camping outside the houses of Parliament in London in opposition to the British wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for 9 years now. I payed "Democracy Square" where he lives a visit when I was in London last weekend.

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By Kimberly Hiss from the Prague Post 

Desperate for action in the wake of municipal funding cuts, the city’s nonprofit arts groups are intensifying their fight for grant money. On April 28, the Prague organization Initiative for Culture met to identify upcoming strategies, including the continuation of a petition, and the planning of a May 29 demonstration to further raise awareness about the the dire status of the arts in Prague.

The meeting followed an April 24 rally in front of the City Hall building on Marianské náměstí, during which demonstrators first delivered their petition calling for the creation of a cultural advisory board and the resignation of Milan Richter, city councilor responsible for culture.

The rally coincided with City Hall’s monthly assembly meeting, and drew an estimated 400 demonstrators, who started arriving with signs and banners at 8:30 a.m.

“It was a very clear statement of our argument,” said Šárka Havlíčková, artistic director of the Alfred ve dvoře theater, and an Initiative for Culture board member. “We had to loudly say what was true because there is such a damaged picture of the situation in the media.”

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By Jon Clements And Chris Hughes for The Mirror

Tourists visiting the US face even tougher security checks now airport officials can search through mobile phones and laptops.

Guards can download any details contained in the items and keep them indefinitely, following a new court ruling.

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Prague’s flagship Fringe Festival is using an online petition to battle funding cuts which have affected cultural organizations city-wide.

The festival, which is based on the renowned Edinburgh Fringe, faces considerable down-sizing on last year’s festival as it goes into its 7th year. Due to run from May 25 to June 1 the Prague Fringe spans theatre, comedy, dance, music and film.

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by Regan McMahon for sfgate.com 

The archives of the Bay Area rock band the Grateful Dead - a treasure trove of more than 30 years of memorabilia that includes the band's first recording contract, life-size skeletons of band members and artwork hand-made by its fans - are headed to University of California Santa Cruz, where they will be displayed at McHenry Library.

The archive, which occupies 2,000 square feet of a Marin warehouse, contains thousands of pieces.

Guitarist and singer Bob Weir, drummer Mickey Hart and UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal will announce the donation at 11 a.m. today on the Dead's Web site ( www.dead.net) live from San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium, the historic venue where the band emerged as part of the psychedelic ballroom scene in the 1960s.

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The Czech Athletes’ Association are appealing to their fellow sports men and women to join them in protest against human rights violations today.

Local athletes are meeting to discuss treatment of citizens in Burma in the wake of the recent worldwide protests against China’s human rights record that followed the Olympic torch’s journey around the globe.

The protest runs from 14.00-21.00 on Opletalova Street (close to the main train station, Hlavni Nadrazi), Praha 1 today (April 24).

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by Sezin Rajandran

There are three types of dreams experienced by human beings. The first are otherwise known as the desires or great goals that will complete our lives if we follow them through. The second and third type of dreams happen while we sleep: the “junk” dreams that are the vestiges of our daily lives and experiences being processed and discarded, and the “healing” dreams that are messages from a (sometimes) mysterious place that are guides to lead you forward on your spiritual path. Certainly, the latter two could use some further explaining.

One of the more controversial figures of dream theory is the psychiatrist Karl Jung, the first Western man in history to actually encourage his patients to take note of their dreams. He knew very well that, and was inspired by, indigenous and tribal peoples from around the world used dreams as tools for a number of different means to ends. However, he (and they) have made it clear that not all dreams have the same function in our lives and our dreams are very personal experiences that need to be explored on a case by case basis.

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By Rebecca Ruiz, forbes.com

Forget Paris or Rome. If you're desperately seeking sex, head to San Antonio or Cincinnati instead.

Residents of these metros enjoy vigorous sex lives--at least their condom and contraceptive purchases at grocery and drug stores indicate as much. These purchases placed them in the top 10 of our survey of America's Most Lustful Cities.

In the absence of government or academic research on the sexual practices of Americans in the country's 50 largest cities, we turned to the market for answers. Research firm ACNielsen provided us with a per-capita index of over-the-counter contraceptive purchases in major U.S. markets for the past 52 weeks. The average index was 100.

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* American, White Male seeking marriage (may have already slept with you, now ready and willing to marry you!).

*Separatist faction seeking established nation to succeed from (MUST be oppressive, intolerant ...)

*Baltic nation seeking Southern region. Must be good for storage of industrial waste and ethnic minorities.

*Soul patch seeking jazz musician.

*Sensations of inferiority and longing in search of emaciated youth. Must have tight black jeans and studded white belt.

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Design studio tai2 is celebrating 1 year since opening and in cooperation with other shops they decided to make the day more special by offering a little something to people showing up with the flyer... The day will be followed by a party at Tai2 studio from 8pm. 

Support your local businesses, discover innovative designers' products and shops! Participate in your city's character and color: come all day to the following locations: Harddecore , Flamingo Park , Tai2 studio , PourPour, Faaze.

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By Matthew Moore (Telegraph.co.uk)

The hunt for Wally kept a generation of children entertained on rainy days.

The striking young man - never without his red-and-white-striped top, bobble hat, walking stick and glasses - had a habit of turning up in the most unlikely and crowded of places, from ancient Aztec kingdoms to medieval battlefields.

But now a Canadian artist has brought the game into the 21st Century, by painting an enormous Wally that can be seen by Google Earth satellites.

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by Jessica Bloor

Rather than partaking in pleasurable activities, many people choose to abstain from such activities in an effort to enhance life. Abstinence has long been favored by major religions as a way to gain spiritual enlightenment.

Bahá'ís, Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, and Muslims all abstain from various activities like eating, drinking alcohol, and sex during certain periods. These days, even people professing anti-religiosity often give something up for Lent. In seemingly-secular Europe, religious tradition still seems to be an intrinsic element in shaping our cultural psyche. In the U.S, however, religion and cultural practice is more blatantly linked.

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by Marika 

Imagine an organic substance that could help get your brother, your girlfriend or yourself off drugs. Imagine it had an incredible success rate. Imagine withdrawal consisted of a mere vomit-and-hallucination-filled 36 hours (nothing compared to the normal two weeks of sickness and 3 months of recovery- only to possibly relapse within a year). Imagine your cravings for your favorite drug were diminished significantly. Imagine you could be drug free for life. Now imagine this substance were kept secret and as far out of reach as possible.

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By Chris McMorrow 

According to reports, the American Medical Association (AMA) is about to acknowledge internet/video game addiction as a formal disorder. Sound like overkill? Not according to the people watching loved ones forsake food, showers, school and work to spend twelve or more hours at a stretch with an MMRPOG*. These games take place in a persistent fantasy world with players from all over the planet using their avatars to slay monsters, discover new landscapes and execute various quests. The newest version of the popular World of Warcraft is proving the most addictive of all.

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Covering issues from fat-camps to Ibogaine. This month we take a closer look at dependence from the most obvious to the most absurd. The process of becoming an addict, what we're addicted to and the mammoth industry that has been created to provide for and cure our addictions. Don't think you're above addiction, it comes in many different forms and flourishes within every echelon of society. We're all hooked on something in one way or another -- be it chocolate, heavy metal, VyVoleni or Facebook (!).

Delving into the murky depths of addiction, Provokator 26 features the following;

Getting Off on Mother Nature by Marika
Game Over? By Chris McMorrow
Anti-Social Networking by Wendy Wrangham
Exercise Addiction by Becka McFadden
Just Give me some Truth: Drug Facts by Tolula Dada
Metalism by Peter Utgaard
The Power of Abstaining by Jessica Bloor
Fat Camp: The Unbearable Heaviness of Being by Jessi Tabalba
The Chronicles of Yet Another Ex-Patriate Artist in Berlin by Taylor Williams
Crash Course in Addiction by Stephan Delbos
Classlessifieds
Back Facts

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“Gone,” she sighed to herself, “gone are the days of doing heaps of drugs and having as much sex in as many public places and positions as possible and maybe getting caught.”

Compiling the information for this issue’s theme of Addiction, I couldn't help but feel wistful.

xxx

Jsi nemocný a vždy budeš.

“Jsou pryč” vzdychla si, “všechny ty dny nezřízené intoxikace a divokého sexu, nejlépe na veřejnosti, kde vás mohou chytit, jsou pryč.

Hledání materiálu k tématu tohoto vydání – Závislosti – mě nutně vedlo k zamyšlení.

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By Becka McFadden

Wherever we turn, one fact seems indisputable: the world is getting bigger. In the face of an increasingly global obesity epidemic, the obvious culprit - fast food - has been joined by unhealthy school lunches, excessive car dependence and the shadowy force of evil that is trans fat. In such a fattening atmosphere, surely exercise is the way forward. But be careful – overeating is only one end of the spectrum. At the opposite end lurks obsessive exercise, and while its effects aren't as visible, it's not any better for you.

In many ways, Jenner is a normal teenage girl from Southern California. She worries about clothes, her weight and what boys think of her. She also spends up to six hours a day exercising. Her morning regime involves fifty abdominal crunches, a two mile run, and thirty minutes in the pool.

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 by Wendy Wrangham

An old cliché extols the physical and mental superiority of those born in the decades before the 1980s. In those heady days we didn’t care what we ate because we weren’t sitting in front of computers gaining weight; we met friends outside and played within the bounds of safety till dark. Today, overweight, allergic kids (and many adults) attract hundreds of online ‘friends’ using inappropriate images of themselves.

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The Netherlands is bracing for a new round of violence at home and against its embassies in the Middle East. The storm would be caused by "Fitna," a short film that is scheduled to be released this week. The film, which reportedly includes images of a Quran being burned, was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament and leader of the Freedom Party. Mr. Wilders has called for banning the Quran -- which he has compared to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" -- from the Netherlands. By Peter Hoekstra

The Netherlands is bracing for a new round of violence at home and against its embassies in the Middle East. The storm would be caused by "Fitna," a short film that is scheduled to be released this week. The film, which reportedly includes images of a Quran being burned, was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch parliament and leader of the Freedom Party. Mr. Wilders has called for banning the Quran -- which he has compared to Hitler's "Mein Kampf" -- from the Netherlands.

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SKOPJE, March 13 (by Reuters)

A Macedonian court convicted a bear of theft and damage for stealing honey from a beekeeper who fought off the attacks with thumping "turbo-folk" music.

"I tried to distract the bear with lights and music because I heard bears are afraid of that," Zoran Kiseloski told top-selling daily Dnevnik after the year-long case of the bear vs. the beekeeper ended in the beekeeper's favour.

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Most human beings can intuitively tell the difference between a genuine or "Duchenne" smile, and a fake or "Pan American" smile (named after stewardesses of the now defunct airline); apparently, it's in the eyes, since a real smile uses your orbicularis oculi muscle as well as your zygomaticus major muscle. They can also tell when you fake an orgasm; apparently, it’s in your lack of enthusiasm.

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March 17, 2008 10:24am

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Vladmir Putin has expressed his displeasure with the United States with including Poland and the Czech Republic in their milssile defence program.

I was going to make up things that Putin supposedly said that would make him seem ominous and more like a Bond villian but it appears I don't have to. 

He is quoted as saying "It is already clear that a new phase in the arms race is unfolding in the world," and to keep the record clean, "It is not our fault, because we did not start it,".

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by Jim Hudson 

Karl-Marx-Allee. This two-kilometer-long triumphal route of overbearing, neo-classical buildings owes more to Moscow than Mitte. The street has all the architectural subtlety of a wedding cake. At one end, two nine-storey high-rises, each topped with a tower, form an imposing gateway completely at odds with Berlin's low-rise feel.

Hansaviertel. Contemporary houses and blocks of flats sit among trees and landscaping at the beautiful Tiergarten's northern edge. Built for the 1957 Interbau, this street is a virtual who’s-who list of modernist architectural design, including Oscar Niemeyer. In fact, Hansaviertel features this world-famous Brazilian architect's only building in Germany. Architecture students flock there daily to photograph each other in its huge V-shaped support columns.

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by Karl Körner

Who can believe it’s been eighty years since the first screening of Danish director Carl Theodore Dreyer's cinematic masterpiece, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc? Or that ninety-three years have passed since Danish baker L.C. Klitteng, inventor of the Danish pastry, baked his first doughy sweets in New York City?

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CHARLESTON, SC—"My fellow Americans, I am sick and tired of not being president," Clinton announced while introducing his wife at a "Hillary '08" rally.

After spending two months accompanying his wife, Hillary, on the campaign trail, former president Bill Clinton announced Monday that he is joining the 2008 presidential race, saying he "could no longer resist the urge."

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Honour for the Spitfire’s unsung flying heroines
by
Michael Evans, Defence Editor from The Times Online

The survivors of a group of women who flew Spitfires in non-combat roles during the Second World War are expected to be honoured with a special badge.

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Cafe 203 in Lyon has reacted to the newly imposed smoking ban with a different kind of defiance.

The owner of the cafe is going to let his patrons smoke for a few hours every day despite the potential of fines for both parties which he hopes to offset in artistic fashion.  He has begun creating decorative ashtrays and is selling them to his customer's to offset the fines.

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As you might have heard (or maybe you live in a cave, though there’s nothing wrong with that—we here at Provokator respect people of all dwelling choices, though the CIA is probably still after you. Look behind you. Now!) February 5th, 2008 will be a decisive day for America’s future.

“Super Tuesday” is when a big chunk (24 out of 50) of American states cast votes in their primaries or caucuses, some Demobrat, some Republican’ts, some both. These primaries and caucuses send delegates who will then vote for the Republican’t and Demobrat presidential candidates.  While “Super Tuesdays” have been a tradition since the 80’s, this “Super Tuesday” is markedly more “Super” than any “Super Tuesday” before: in 2004, the “Super-ness” was split between two “Super Tuesdays,” one in February and one in March. Tomorrow is so “Super” that it’s creatively being called “Super-Duper Tuesday” or, cleverly using alliteration, “Tsunami Tuesday.”

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A site that originated as a spoof of friendster.com, Dogster.com and sister site catster.com now net their creators a pretty penny. Over two years ago the site boasted a profit of $1M via angel funding, and the popularity of living through your pets has no signs of stopping anytime soon.

Dogster.com is the place to post and share photos and facts about your favorite canine friends. For the love of dog, we hope you enjoy it.

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This past Friday Jan Kucera, an 18 year old anti-fascist skinhead was stabbed to death by an assumed Nazi skinhead.  The altercation occurred after a short fight then chase.  Parts of the chase and attack were captured on video. Jan was hospitalized yet died after fighting for his life for two days.

The accused attacker was arrested, yet at this point the death is being investigated as a bar fight. Witnesses said the attacker and his band of supposed nazis attacked the Jan and the other anti-fascist skinheads at a local Prague pub. The assailants were giving Nazi saluts and yelling insults at Jan and his friends.

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Well, the Ice Queen had her say and she said “to hell with U.S. bullsh*t…we’re freezing America over (a.k.a. the  epitome of political and governmental hell, although granted nothing compared to Darfur and Burma, and the list goes on…but they were never epitomized, nor were they the world’s police, nor did they set out to be the example of freedom of speech, religion, bear's arms...the list goes on).”

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So the FBI have their wire taps turned off for non-payment and the world realizes that Big Brother is a lot like their real life big brother in that he needs to borrow money off them to pay their phone bill.

He's also prone to getting drunk and starting fights with your uncle.

All I know is that if they get their reinstatement free waived I count that as a kickback.

Oh, and this is SO going to go on their credit rating.

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Courtesy of Kansas City.com

AHMADABAD, India | In India, death is a part of life — and, at one restaurant in western India, a part of lunch.
The bustling New Lucky Restaurant in Ahmadabad is famous for its milky tea, its buttery rolls, and the graves between the tables. It’s a spot where old men page through newspapers and argue politics in the morning while young couples share candlelit meals and hold hands at night. That the candles sit atop graves only adds to the ambiance.

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By Dana Wilson

Elena Gorolova was 21 when she went into the hospital for the birth of her second child. Labor was long, and the doctor ended up inducing. When on the table a decision was made for a cesarean section as the umbilical chord started to protrude. 

"At that moment, when all these things were happening around me, many doctors were around me, at that moment they brought a paper where I was supposed to write the name of a boy and a girl.

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Today is Thanksgiving. So be thankful and give thanks. At least according to Wiki that is what everyone does when we sit down at the table to eat our Thanksgiving feast. Two birds that are giving thanks this year are the ones that President Bush pardoned, saying, "You cannot take the heat and you are definitely going to stay out of the kitchen."

Additionally, we the people get to vote on the name of the turkeys, www.whitehouse.gov/holiday/thanksgiving/2007.

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By Catherine Park

Take a babysitter, a microwave oven and throw in some LSD. What do you get? A classic urban legend that first cropped up back in the 60s.

So here is the story. A couple leaves their child with a teenage babysitter while they go out to a cocktail party. The girl takes LSD and starts hallucinating, the baby starts crying; the girl freaks out. A couple of hours later parents call home to check up on things. “Don’t worry, everything’s cookin’,” answers the babysitter, “the turkey’s in the oven.” ”What turkey?!” They rush home and find out that the babysitter mistook the baby for the turkey and microwaved him.

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