This is a very critical period for the World Wild Fund [WWF] and it was in my search for their website that I stumbled on “The Wild Life” [TWL] website. Here is a random selection of some of the crazy stuff.
From North Korea Central TV / The Mail / Free North Korea Radio and CNN
Headline: DENNIS RODMAN “got drunk, vomited and defecated all over a North Korean Hotel”
• The former NBA star checked into rehab after returning from North Korea to the US in January
• Unidentified hotel employees told an anti-North Korean publication that Rodman acted like ‘an animal’ and made a mess in the Pyongyang hotel
• The source said it reflected badly on Kim Jong Un that he didn’t do a thorough screening of Rodman before inviting him to the country.
“Hotel staffers in North Korea have revealed that Dennis Rodman was drunk, uncontrollable and destructive during one of his recent trips to North Korea.
The first public sign that his known substance abuse problems had appeared again came during his caustic interview on CNN but new reports from South Korean papers reveal that people who dealt with him during his trip in December had been keeping earlier problems quiet.
Rodman was drunk the whole week of his stay. And the night before he left for the US, he was drunk unconscious and vomited everywhere he turned. He even urinated and emptied his bowels in the hallway, a source told Free North Korea Radio.
The former NBA star has visited the country four times now and these latest claims – which were published in South Korea – refer to his time at the Koryo Hotel.
He was pictured at that hotel during his December trip where he helped train the basketball team, but it was reportedly his drinking during the January visit that prompted him to enter a rehabilitation facility after returning to the US.
It comes as little surprise that the unnamed sources told the South Korean paper that Rodman’s supposed antics not only reflected poorly on him but also on the country’s feared leader.
The stench was just horrible and people are criticizing not only Rodman, but also Kim Jong-un saying that “No one in a right mind would be a friend of Rodman. An animal that he is,” the source said.
He supposedly was given a warning when he left- though it is unclear who issued the warning- saying that he would not be welcomed back until he cleaned up his act.
‘Never will you be welcome here without the completion of your alcohol abuse treatment program,’ the source told the paper.
Earlier reports from Rodman’s friends said that the athlete was ‘plied with alcohol’ as soon as he landed in the rogue state on a subsequent visit, which was timed to coincide with Kim Jong Un’s birthday on January 8.
Upon his arrival that time, he was greeted with personalized bottles of vodka that had pictures of Rodman and Kim Jong Un drawn on them.
Rodman checked into a rehabilitation programme after returning to the United States.
This is not the first time that Rodman, 52, has received treatment for his addiction to alcohol, having gone through the process in 2008, in 2009 as part of his time on Celebrity Apprentice and a second time later that year as part of the show Celebrity Rehab With Dr Drew.
Since entering the New Jersey facility, Rodman gave an interview to CNN’s Chris Cuomo where he apologized for his comments during the North Korean trip where he faulted American missionary Kenneth Bae for his imprisonment.
‘I have sympathy – I don’t want anyone in any country or anywhere in the world to be hostage for something maybe they did or did not do,’ Rodman said in Friday’s interview.
‘I would do anything… if they said, “We’ll take Dennis Rodman and we’ll let Kenneth Bae go,’ you know what? I’d do that, straight ahead. Take me. I would do that.’
(ii) Free North Korea Radio / “The Nation” newspaper
Headline: “WOMAN EXCRETES WRAPS OF HARD DRUGS’
“A 32-year-old woman, Chizoba Anya Vivian, is being quizzed by anti-narcotic officers for allegedly excreting wraps of a substance which tested positive for methamphetamine on-board a Qatar Airline flight from Malaysia.
The suspect was said to have aroused suspicion following her frequent visits to the toilet. On arrival at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, three wraps of methamphetamine were found in her possession.
The NDLEA commander at the Lagos Airport, Mr Hamza Umar, said the suspect excreted two additional wraps, while under observation.
His words: “The suspect was found with three wraps which she excreted in the aircraft. While she was under observation at the Lagos Airport, she excreted two additional warps of drugs. The five wraps which tested positive for methamphetamine weighed 80 grammes.”
Preliminary investigation also revealed that the suspect left Ghana where she ingested the drugs to go to Malaysia.
In Malaysia, she was denied entry and made to board another flight back to Nigeria. She started excreting the drugs at the airport in Malaysia.
The suspect said she was offered M500,000 to smuggle the drugs to Malaysia.
“I was promised the sum of half a million naira but my problem started when I had immigration problem in Malaysia. I was denied entry and made to return to Nigeria after two days. While in the aircraft, I excreted three wraps and two other wraps in the NDLEA office.” Vivian said.
Vivian, who hails from Onitsha, Anambra State said she just completed her Higher National Diploma (HND) in Business Administration at the Federal Polytechnic Oko, Anambra State.
“I just completed my HND programme and I am from a very poor family. I wanted to use the money they promised me to assist my siblings by smuggling the drug to Malaysia,” she said.
The Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade warned against what he called the get-rich—quick syndrome.
“Drug traffickers must avoid get-rich-quick syndrome and understand that a good name is better than ill-gotten wealth that comes without peace of mind,’ Giade said.
The NDLEA boss also urged passengers to be vigilant and report suspicious passengers to the authorities.
The suspect will soon be charged to court.”
(iii) RADIO Kabul / J Moorhead
Headline: “EXIT STRATEGY [I KNEW MY PARENTS
WERE GOING TO KILL THEMSELVES]”
“For more than two decades, Tai Altman knew exactly how his parents’ lives would end. When the moment came to say goodbye, knowing they were about to kill themselves, he felt surprisingly calm. They had prepared him in every possible way, he says: he knew only that he respected their decision and didn’t want their last memory of him to be tears streaming down his face. “They were in their bedroom,” he says. “Dad was in his chair, Mum was sitting on the end of the bed: ‘I love you. Goodbye.’ Then I went out of the room, down the stairs and left.”
J.K Randle
