Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Animal Farm (George Orwell)
We are All Created Equal but Some are "more Equal" than Others!
New UMNO vs Old UMNO. New PIGS vs Old PIGS.
Government, people, constitution, justice, equality, national vision, elites, Peasant, dogs (who are they?) ...
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Friday, May 15, 2009
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Your Personal Stimulus Package
.
Need help in managing your finance? Have trouble making car payments?...
No problem! Here's how many Americans revive their financial situation. All you need is a plan and a match.
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Signs of Stress, Fraud on Roadside
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More Vehicles Burned, Ditched in Apparent Schemes by Owners to Get Insurance Payout
Police detective Mark Menzie drove 55 miles into the desert Sunday to inspect the charred remains of a formerly silver Ford Expedition.
Later, he sat in a kitchen on the city's south side where a 19-year-old man confessed to torching his girlfriend's Chrysler PT Cruiser
At noon Monday, Mr. Menzie was picking through the smashed windshield of a 2008 Land Rover in a desert canyon. His police radio crackled as he worked; another car was spotted burning southwest of the city.
Years of no-money-down car loans followed by sinking home values and rising unemployment has made many people desperate over car payments they can no longer afford. For some, the answer is to ditch the car, report it stolen and collect the insurance money to pay it off without hurting their credit.
Authorities report a growing number of cars dumped in the Great Lakes, burned along remote New Jersey roadsides and driven into canals in California. The phenomenon is acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed and broke.
Mr. Menzie, a burly 38-year-old detective wearing jeans, dusty work boots and a two-day stubble, toted up a day's work. Four cars burned or wrecked in 24 hours: "Insurance fraud," he concluded. "Lots of desperate people out there."
As a member of the Las Vegas department's auto-theft unit, Mr. Menzie is on the front lines of a phenomenon that police departments and insurance companies worry could be burning out of control.
"The economy is stretching people to the breaking point and some of them are willing to risk criminal conviction," said James Quiggle, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an industry-backed group. "They look at this as their own personal stimulus package."... (continue reading here)
Need help in managing your finance? Have trouble making car payments?...
No problem! Here's how many Americans revive their financial situation. All you need is a plan and a match.
--------------------------------------
Signs of Stress, Fraud on Roadside
Thursday, March 26, 2009
More Vehicles Burned, Ditched in Apparent Schemes by Owners to Get Insurance Payout
Police detective Mark Menzie drove 55 miles into the desert Sunday to inspect the charred remains of a formerly silver Ford Expedition.
Later, he sat in a kitchen on the city's south side where a 19-year-old man confessed to torching his girlfriend's Chrysler PT Cruiser
At noon Monday, Mr. Menzie was picking through the smashed windshield of a 2008 Land Rover in a desert canyon. His police radio crackled as he worked; another car was spotted burning southwest of the city.
Years of no-money-down car loans followed by sinking home values and rising unemployment has made many people desperate over car payments they can no longer afford. For some, the answer is to ditch the car, report it stolen and collect the insurance money to pay it off without hurting their credit.
Authorities report a growing number of cars dumped in the Great Lakes, burned along remote New Jersey roadsides and driven into canals in California. The phenomenon is acute in Las Vegas, where sharp declines in tourism and construction have left thousands of workers unemployed and broke.
Mr. Menzie, a burly 38-year-old detective wearing jeans, dusty work boots and a two-day stubble, toted up a day's work. Four cars burned or wrecked in 24 hours: "Insurance fraud," he concluded. "Lots of desperate people out there."
As a member of the Las Vegas department's auto-theft unit, Mr. Menzie is on the front lines of a phenomenon that police departments and insurance companies worry could be burning out of control.
"The economy is stretching people to the breaking point and some of them are willing to risk criminal conviction," said James Quiggle, a spokesman for the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, an industry-backed group. "They look at this as their own personal stimulus package."... (continue reading here)
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Thursday, March 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Viva La France!
.
How to make USD100k/year without working... a la Francaise!
Here's how...
--------------------------------------------------
Fallen high-flyers exploit French loophole...
THEY were denounced as traitors when they left France for lucrative jobs in London, and as irresponsible fools when crisis overtook the global economy.
Now French traders dismissed by banks in London are at the centre of a new furore after it emerged that many of them were exploiting France's generous welfare system to claim unemployment benefit of more than E75,000 (USD96,000) a year.
"I find it very shocking," Alain Vidalies, an opposition Socialist MP who raised the issue in parliament last week, said. "These people went to London to earn lots of money when the economy was booming there, and as soon as the wind turned they have come back to France and they are using a trick to ensure a very high revenue.
"It's not acceptable."
The controversy has further dented the reputation of a profession accused by President Nicolas Sarkozy of plunging the world into "catastrophe" through ill-judged speculation.
But it has also served to highlight flaws in a French social security system seen by its supporters as a safety net in times of turbulence and by its detractors as an unsustainable burden for the national economy.
Under French rules, the jobless are entitled to unemployment benefit equivalent to 57.4 per cent of their salary if they earned more than E1845.88 a month in their last job and up to 75 per cent if they earned less than that. Payments are made for 23 months and there is a ceiling of E6366.80 a month.
In most circumstances, it is impossible for workers to receive French unemployment benefit if they have been employed in another country, but they need to do only one day of work in France to be able to make a claim there. And if they have worked fewer than 28 days, that claim will be based upon their previous salary.
In other words, traders earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in London need to do a few days' work in a fast-food restaurant or a shop in Paris to ensure a revenue of E76,401.60 a year for almost two years.
Some do a shift in McDonald's. Mathieu, a trader sacked by a London bank, told the weekly magazine Le Point that he would do a day's babysitting to obtain French unemployment benefit on the basis of his British salary. "It'll be enough to cover my airplane tickets and my telephone bills," he said, adding that he was planning to look for a new job in Hong Kong.
Officials at the Pole Emploi, the French unemployment office, said that 24 claimants were receiving the maximum of E6366.80 a month after a job overseas. That figure dates from the northern autumn and Mr Vidalies said that the number had climbed steeply since then. "I think there must be several hundred, and they're getting the sort of revenue from unemployment benefit that most people cannot dream about even when they have a full-time job," he said.
About 300,000 French people moved to Britain before the crisis.
(The Australian)
Here's how...
--------------------------------------------------
Fallen high-flyers exploit French loophole...
THEY were denounced as traitors when they left France for lucrative jobs in London, and as irresponsible fools when crisis overtook the global economy.
Now French traders dismissed by banks in London are at the centre of a new furore after it emerged that many of them were exploiting France's generous welfare system to claim unemployment benefit of more than E75,000 (USD96,000) a year.
"I find it very shocking," Alain Vidalies, an opposition Socialist MP who raised the issue in parliament last week, said. "These people went to London to earn lots of money when the economy was booming there, and as soon as the wind turned they have come back to France and they are using a trick to ensure a very high revenue.
"It's not acceptable."
The controversy has further dented the reputation of a profession accused by President Nicolas Sarkozy of plunging the world into "catastrophe" through ill-judged speculation.
But it has also served to highlight flaws in a French social security system seen by its supporters as a safety net in times of turbulence and by its detractors as an unsustainable burden for the national economy.
Under French rules, the jobless are entitled to unemployment benefit equivalent to 57.4 per cent of their salary if they earned more than E1845.88 a month in their last job and up to 75 per cent if they earned less than that. Payments are made for 23 months and there is a ceiling of E6366.80 a month.
In most circumstances, it is impossible for workers to receive French unemployment benefit if they have been employed in another country, but they need to do only one day of work in France to be able to make a claim there. And if they have worked fewer than 28 days, that claim will be based upon their previous salary.
In other words, traders earning hundreds of thousands of pounds a year in London need to do a few days' work in a fast-food restaurant or a shop in Paris to ensure a revenue of E76,401.60 a year for almost two years.
Some do a shift in McDonald's. Mathieu, a trader sacked by a London bank, told the weekly magazine Le Point that he would do a day's babysitting to obtain French unemployment benefit on the basis of his British salary. "It'll be enough to cover my airplane tickets and my telephone bills," he said, adding that he was planning to look for a new job in Hong Kong.
Officials at the Pole Emploi, the French unemployment office, said that 24 claimants were receiving the maximum of E6366.80 a month after a job overseas. That figure dates from the northern autumn and Mr Vidalies said that the number had climbed steeply since then. "I think there must be several hundred, and they're getting the sort of revenue from unemployment benefit that most people cannot dream about even when they have a full-time job," he said.
About 300,000 French people moved to Britain before the crisis.
(The Australian)
===========================================
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Thank You America
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Thank y'all for lettin us rape you! Y'all were great! We really appreciate it.
Y'all keep 'em commin, we'll keep dishin out crap. Tengkiu! Tengkiu! Tengkiu!
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Thank y'all for lettin us rape you! Y'all were great! We really appreciate it.
Y'all keep 'em commin, we'll keep dishin out crap. Tengkiu! Tengkiu! Tengkiu!
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Replies from Chrysler's Victims
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Here are some.
(Source Chrysler Blog)
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Comments
Hey Crysler! You're not welcome. You took my hard earned tax dollars without congressional approval. This is not the time for a "thank you." This would be a good time for a refund...and an apology. http://rightklik.net
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:19 PM by RightKlik.net
---------------
Mr. Nardelli,It takes a man with a whole lotta chutzpah to thank a person for investing in a company when they had zero voice in the matter.My elected representatives decided 'no'. The executive branch decided 'yes' through means that might be legal but frankly smell like rotten fish.You may certainly get my money this way, but you will never see a dime of my money voluntarily spent on any of your products.Brian DunbarNeenah, Wisconsin
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by bdunbar
-------------------------------
Mr Nardelli, Fire your PR and advertising teams and execs immediately. We the People did not want to see any more ads and money wasted on ads, be it from Chrysler, et al, or from your own pocket. You should have put up a website thanking the people and just submitted it to various online news aggregators for free. Once again, I am pained to see you are demonstrating a lack of common sense and fiscal responsibility. We supported the bailout of the car companies, even in the face of the horrendously mismanaged and secretive bailout of banks, and you stlil throw money away in the name of your company. Time to wake up. Sincerely, Matt and the rest of the Internet.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by dezmd
-------------------------
I have to say this ad disappointed me. First of all, do you need to spend your precious dollars on expenisve newspaper space? Second of all, it's hard to say "America" is really responsible for granting the bridge loans. One survey said that 61% of Americans were against it. Congress was working against the will of the voters. Let me go through each of the three points: "Providing cars and trucks you want to buy, enjoy driving, and will want to buy again." Well, I wanted to buy a Stratus in 2004. I bought it and enjoy driving it. However, I would not buy a Chrysler again beacuse the new products are lower quality and less visually appealing than their predecessors. "Delivering products with the best quality and value in our Company's history." Based on what I've seen and heard, Chrysler vehicle quality is lower than it was a few years ago. "Improving fuel economy to support Americas energy security and environmental sustainability." Chrysler's current full-size and compact vehicles are LESS fuel efficient than they were in 2003. Chrysler built the cars of my dreams in the 1990s but the latest models are a real let down. Chrysler does not deserve aid until it can present compelling new-generation vehicles. Putting battery packs in the current models dosen't count.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by Mwhite
--------------------------
Your resignation and the resignations of senior executives who have mismanaged the business would have been much more appropriate.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by California Initiative
----------------------------
Dear Mr. Nardelli and the "over one million people who depend on Chrysler" - You've got some nerve to thank us for our forced "investment" when we didn't want it to happen in the first place. Isn't forced or coerced investment akin to robbery? Taking one's money against one's will? Hmmm . . . . The very thought that MY money is going to go to some union lackey's pockets just makes me queasy. You should've filed for bankruptcy just like any other business in your position would have to. And that would've given you the opportunity to unshackle yourselves from the ridiculous union contracts that you signed on to. You've got two major issues to fix: Unions and quality products. If you'd listen to your customers and NOT the media and marketing types, you'd fix your product issues. And the unions . . . sheesh, get out of that racket! Notice the plants in the South where unions aren't that prominent don't have the same issues as the ones up North? Let's see what happens when MY business tanks. Will YOU throw cash at me? I don't think so. So, in conclusion - to hell with you and your company. Any business that would go begging to the government for a handout has no shame, and deserves to fail. File for Bankruptcy, or crumble!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by Richard S.
-----------------------------------
Mr. Home Depot has now shown that he can take extravagance to another extreme high. Why in the world are you thanking people that didn't want this. You need to spend the money you spent on this ad to bailout one of your line workers whose house is about to go into default. Pay it forward Nardelli we don't need to your hypocrisy!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by loco4obx
----------------------------
I'm speechless. And I'm saddened that a corporate management team is so inept at understanding public opinion. Some advice: issue a press release stating that you regret that you made a mistake using taxpayers' money in this manner.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by beachwriter
------------------------------
Bob Nardelli - thanking Americans for stealing their money is NOT something to boast about on your website. The American public DID speak when we choose to NOT buy your cars. Why not spend the money by showing us something compelling that people would "want" to buy. I have NEVER hear anyone excited about "buying a chrysler." You have no brand strength and this current "Thank You" ad will further your branding problems.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Alvin P. Sams
-------------------------------
My response to being forced to bail Chrysler out was to immediately purchase a FORD Focus and I will NEVER buy any car that Chrysler has anything to do with. This ad you ran "thanking" us was an example of you wasting OUR money.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by redwood tree
-------------------------------
Dear Chrysler, I'd like to thank you. You have now completely converted me to a 100% foreign car owner from this point forward. I was, emphasis on was, a proud owner of a 2006 Dodge Ram Quad-Cab 4X4 with a Hemi. As you are well aware it is among the more expensive models of vehicles you sell. After seeing the parent comapny of Dodge falter and beg for money from the US Tax payers, I am no longer proud to own this vehicle. In fact, I will finish paying off my loan and proceed to my nearest Mini Dealership or Nissan Dealership and buy my next car there when it comes time. Why? Not because I don't like the truck. I do not approve of the money that was given to you by our President. I do not approve of the slap in the face I felt when I read your ad. Why did you need to take a bail out? Poor management. This ad just goes to show that you and your company has not learned anything, and like the rest of the US I am upset. This opportunity was squandered, by you and your incompetance. For the sake of my tax dollars I hope you succeed with a restructure like the late 70s early 80s when you received your first bail-out. However, with the poor decisions of this ad I forsee a bad investment on the horizon by the US Government.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Jasen Hicks
-----------------------
Obviously nothing has changed. Chrysler is still making stupid decisions by wasting its stolen taxpayer money on useless ads. I will never, ever even consider buying a Chrysler. Chrysler makes nothing but JUNK, and has rightfully earned its poor reputation. Mr. Nardelli, do yourself and Chrysler a favor and resign.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by BuyJapanese
------------------------------
Thank You? Kiss mine you looters. I had ZERO choice in the matter. The money was taken from me by FORCE of GOVERNMENT and given to you. Ads like this reaffirm my decesion to buy a Honda last year. Bottom line Chrysler- I WILL NEVER BUY FROM A COMPANY THAT POINTS A GUN TO MY HEAD AND THEN SAYS THANKS. This ad infuraties me. Rot in hell scumbags.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 8:03 PM by Lede Agenda
(Read more comments from Chrysler Blog)
Here are some.
(Source Chrysler Blog)
-
Comments
Hey Crysler! You're not welcome. You took my hard earned tax dollars without congressional approval. This is not the time for a "thank you." This would be a good time for a refund...and an apology. http://rightklik.net
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:19 PM by RightKlik.net
---------------
Mr. Nardelli,It takes a man with a whole lotta chutzpah to thank a person for investing in a company when they had zero voice in the matter.My elected representatives decided 'no'. The executive branch decided 'yes' through means that might be legal but frankly smell like rotten fish.You may certainly get my money this way, but you will never see a dime of my money voluntarily spent on any of your products.Brian DunbarNeenah, Wisconsin
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by bdunbar
-------------------------------
Mr Nardelli, Fire your PR and advertising teams and execs immediately. We the People did not want to see any more ads and money wasted on ads, be it from Chrysler, et al, or from your own pocket. You should have put up a website thanking the people and just submitted it to various online news aggregators for free. Once again, I am pained to see you are demonstrating a lack of common sense and fiscal responsibility. We supported the bailout of the car companies, even in the face of the horrendously mismanaged and secretive bailout of banks, and you stlil throw money away in the name of your company. Time to wake up. Sincerely, Matt and the rest of the Internet.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by dezmd
-------------------------
I have to say this ad disappointed me. First of all, do you need to spend your precious dollars on expenisve newspaper space? Second of all, it's hard to say "America" is really responsible for granting the bridge loans. One survey said that 61% of Americans were against it. Congress was working against the will of the voters. Let me go through each of the three points: "Providing cars and trucks you want to buy, enjoy driving, and will want to buy again." Well, I wanted to buy a Stratus in 2004. I bought it and enjoy driving it. However, I would not buy a Chrysler again beacuse the new products are lower quality and less visually appealing than their predecessors. "Delivering products with the best quality and value in our Company's history." Based on what I've seen and heard, Chrysler vehicle quality is lower than it was a few years ago. "Improving fuel economy to support Americas energy security and environmental sustainability." Chrysler's current full-size and compact vehicles are LESS fuel efficient than they were in 2003. Chrysler built the cars of my dreams in the 1990s but the latest models are a real let down. Chrysler does not deserve aid until it can present compelling new-generation vehicles. Putting battery packs in the current models dosen't count.
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:20 PM by Mwhite
--------------------------
Your resignation and the resignations of senior executives who have mismanaged the business would have been much more appropriate.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by California Initiative
----------------------------
Dear Mr. Nardelli and the "over one million people who depend on Chrysler" - You've got some nerve to thank us for our forced "investment" when we didn't want it to happen in the first place. Isn't forced or coerced investment akin to robbery? Taking one's money against one's will? Hmmm . . . . The very thought that MY money is going to go to some union lackey's pockets just makes me queasy. You should've filed for bankruptcy just like any other business in your position would have to. And that would've given you the opportunity to unshackle yourselves from the ridiculous union contracts that you signed on to. You've got two major issues to fix: Unions and quality products. If you'd listen to your customers and NOT the media and marketing types, you'd fix your product issues. And the unions . . . sheesh, get out of that racket! Notice the plants in the South where unions aren't that prominent don't have the same issues as the ones up North? Let's see what happens when MY business tanks. Will YOU throw cash at me? I don't think so. So, in conclusion - to hell with you and your company. Any business that would go begging to the government for a handout has no shame, and deserves to fail. File for Bankruptcy, or crumble!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by Richard S.
-----------------------------------
Mr. Home Depot has now shown that he can take extravagance to another extreme high. Why in the world are you thanking people that didn't want this. You need to spend the money you spent on this ad to bailout one of your line workers whose house is about to go into default. Pay it forward Nardelli we don't need to your hypocrisy!
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by loco4obx
----------------------------
I'm speechless. And I'm saddened that a corporate management team is so inept at understanding public opinion. Some advice: issue a press release stating that you regret that you made a mistake using taxpayers' money in this manner.
Posted Dec 29, 2008, 8:03 PM by beachwriter
------------------------------
Bob Nardelli - thanking Americans for stealing their money is NOT something to boast about on your website. The American public DID speak when we choose to NOT buy your cars. Why not spend the money by showing us something compelling that people would "want" to buy. I have NEVER hear anyone excited about "buying a chrysler." You have no brand strength and this current "Thank You" ad will further your branding problems.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Alvin P. Sams
-------------------------------
My response to being forced to bail Chrysler out was to immediately purchase a FORD Focus and I will NEVER buy any car that Chrysler has anything to do with. This ad you ran "thanking" us was an example of you wasting OUR money.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by redwood tree
-------------------------------
Dear Chrysler, I'd like to thank you. You have now completely converted me to a 100% foreign car owner from this point forward. I was, emphasis on was, a proud owner of a 2006 Dodge Ram Quad-Cab 4X4 with a Hemi. As you are well aware it is among the more expensive models of vehicles you sell. After seeing the parent comapny of Dodge falter and beg for money from the US Tax payers, I am no longer proud to own this vehicle. In fact, I will finish paying off my loan and proceed to my nearest Mini Dealership or Nissan Dealership and buy my next car there when it comes time. Why? Not because I don't like the truck. I do not approve of the money that was given to you by our President. I do not approve of the slap in the face I felt when I read your ad. Why did you need to take a bail out? Poor management. This ad just goes to show that you and your company has not learned anything, and like the rest of the US I am upset. This opportunity was squandered, by you and your incompetance. For the sake of my tax dollars I hope you succeed with a restructure like the late 70s early 80s when you received your first bail-out. However, with the poor decisions of this ad I forsee a bad investment on the horizon by the US Government.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by Jasen Hicks
-----------------------
Obviously nothing has changed. Chrysler is still making stupid decisions by wasting its stolen taxpayer money on useless ads. I will never, ever even consider buying a Chrysler. Chrysler makes nothing but JUNK, and has rightfully earned its poor reputation. Mr. Nardelli, do yourself and Chrysler a favor and resign.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 11:44 AM by BuyJapanese
------------------------------
Thank You? Kiss mine you looters. I had ZERO choice in the matter. The money was taken from me by FORCE of GOVERNMENT and given to you. Ads like this reaffirm my decesion to buy a Honda last year. Bottom line Chrysler- I WILL NEVER BUY FROM A COMPANY THAT POINTS A GUN TO MY HEAD AND THEN SAYS THANKS. This ad infuraties me. Rot in hell scumbags.
Posted Dec 30, 2008, 8:03 PM by Lede Agenda
(Read more comments from Chrysler Blog)
Friday, January 2, 2009
God Fearing People?
January 2, 2009
For Afghans, a Price for Everything, and Anything for a Price
By DEXTER FILKINS
KABUL — When it comes to governing this violent, fractious land, everything, it seems, has its price.
Want to be a provincial police chief? It will cost you $100,000.
Want to drive a convoy of trucks loaded with fuel across the country? Be prepared to pay $6,000 per truck, so the police will not tip off the Taliban.
Need to settle a lawsuit over the ownership of your house? About $25,000, depending on the judge.
“It is very shameful, but probably I will pay the bribe,” Mohammed Naim, a young English teacher, said as he stood in front of the Secondary Courthouse in Kabul. His brother had been arrested a week before, and the police were demanding $4,000 for his release. “Everything is possible in this country now. Everything.”
Kept afloat by billions of dollars in American and other foreign aid, the government of Afghanistan is shot through with corruption and graft. From the lowliest traffic cop to the family of President Hamid Karzai himself, the state built on the ruins of the Taliban regime seven years ago now often seems to exist for little more than the enrichment of those who run it.
A raft of investigations has concluded that people at the highest levels of the Karzai administration, including President Karzai’s own brother, Ahmed Wali Karzai, are cooperating in the country’s opium trade, now the world’s largest. In the streets and government offices, hardly a public transaction seems to unfold here that does not carry with it the requirement of a bribe, a gift, or, in case you are a beggar, “harchee” — whatever you have in your pocket.
The corruption, publicly acknowledged by President Karzai, is contributing to the collapse of public confidence in his government and to the dramatic resurgence of the Taliban, whose fighters have moved to the outskirts of the capital.
“All the politicians in this country have acquired everything — money, lots of money,” President Karzai said in a speech at a rural development conference here last month. “God knows, it is beyond the limit. The banks of the world are full of the money of our statesmen.”
The decay of the Afghan government presents President-elect...
(Full story at nytimes.com)
===================================
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Right to Humour
Sarkozy voodoo doll wins 'right to humor' in courtFriday, November 28, 2008
PARIS: Amid deepening economic gloom, the tale of the voodoo doll of Nicolas Sarkozy has provided some needed light relief for the French.
Twice, the French president asked the courts to ban the sale of a figurine made in his image. On Friday, an appeals court dealt him the latest rebuff: not only can the doll remain on sale, but the judges ordered that it be sold with a bright-red banner on the packaging entitled "Judicial Injunction" and a warning that sticking needles into the doll affronts Sarkozy's dignity.So far, Sarkozy's actions in court have had the apparently unintended consequence of turning the voodoo doll into something of a cult item. The actions Friday may give another boost to its popularity.
The doll's light-blue body, which comes with a set of 12 needles and a manual explaining how to put a curse on the president, also features some of Sarkozy's best-known quotes and gaffes: "Work more to earn more" reads one quote, a slogan from Sarkozy's presidential campaign. "Get lost, you poor jerk," reads another, a swipe Sarkozy took at a bystander at a farm fair who refused to shake his hand.In keeping with the often meticulous nature of French officialdom, the ruling Friday was very specific. The distributor of the dolls, K&B Editions, was ordered to write the notice that will be distributed with the doll in black block-lettering and it must say exactly this: "It was ruled that the encouragement of the reader to poke the doll that comes with the needles in the kit, an activity whose subtext is physical harm, even if it is symbolic, constitutes an attack on the dignity of the person of Mr. Sarkozy."
The court also awarded the president a symbolic euro in damages and ordered K&B Editions to pay the equivalent of about $2,000 in legal costs.
But the court also stuck to the initial ruling by a lower court last month: "The demanded ban is disproportionate," the judges ruled, "in that it is a measure that would compromise freedom of expression." The earlier ruling had already argued that the case fell under what it dubbed "the right to humor."
Thierry Herzog, a lawyer for Sarkozy, appeared to indicate on Friday that the president was satisfied with the ruling and that he would not appeal a second time. "The important thing is that consistent principles and jurisprudence should be applied," Herzog said.In asking for a ban, Herzog had argued that the president owns the right to his image and that the doll could provoke violence against him. It was Sarkozy's sixth lawsuit this year, and the first time that a sitting French president has lost a court case dealing with the country's strict privacy laws.
Sarkozy is not the only public person whose voodoo doll is on sale. K&B Editions has sold similar figurines in the image of Ségolène Royal, Sarkozy's Socialist rival for the presidency last year. Other dolls represent President George W. Bush and Senator Hillary Clinton.
According to K&B Editions, the initial 20,000 Sarkozy dolls that went on sale on Oct. 9 sold out by Oct. 28. Another 20,000 will be delivered to newsagents from mid-December, this time with the court-ordered label.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Stop whining, make whoopee!
.
Pastor’s Advice for Better Marriage: More Sex
GRAPEVINE, Tex. — And on the seventh day, there was no rest for married couples. A week after the Rev. Ed Young challenged husbands and wives among his flock of 20,000 to strengthen their unions through Seven Days of Sex, his advice was — keep it going.
Mr. Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.
“Today we’re beginning this sexperiment, seven days of sex,” he said, with his characteristic mix of humor, showmanship and Scripture. “How to move from whining about the economy to whoopee!”
On Sunday parishioners at the Grapevine branch watched a prerecorded sermon from Mr. Young and his wife, Lisa, on jumbo screens over a candlelit stage. “I know there’s been a lot of love going around this week, among the married couples,” one of the church musicians said, strumming on a guitar before a crowd of about 3,000.
Mrs. Young, dressed in knee-high black boots and jeans, said that after a week of having sex every day, or close to it, “some of us are smiling.” For others grappling with infidelities, addictions to pornography or other bitter hurts, “there’s been some pain; hopefully there’s been some forgiveness, too.”
Mr. Young advised the couples to “keep on doing what you’ve been doing this week. We should try to double up the amount of intimacy we have in marriage. And when I say intimacy, I don’t mean holding hands in the park or a back rub.”...
(Full story at nytimes.com)
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GRAPEVINE, Tex. — And on the seventh day, there was no rest for married couples. A week after the Rev. Ed Young challenged husbands and wives among his flock of 20,000 to strengthen their unions through Seven Days of Sex, his advice was — keep it going.
Mr. Young, an author, a television host and the pastor of the evangelical Fellowship Church, issued his call for a week of “congregational copulation” among married couples on Nov. 16, while pacing in front of a large bed. Sometimes he reclined on the paisley coverlet while flipping through a Bible, emphasizing his point that it is time for the church to put God back in the bed.
“Today we’re beginning this sexperiment, seven days of sex,” he said, with his characteristic mix of humor, showmanship and Scripture. “How to move from whining about the economy to whoopee!”
On Sunday parishioners at the Grapevine branch watched a prerecorded sermon from Mr. Young and his wife, Lisa, on jumbo screens over a candlelit stage. “I know there’s been a lot of love going around this week, among the married couples,” one of the church musicians said, strumming on a guitar before a crowd of about 3,000.
Mrs. Young, dressed in knee-high black boots and jeans, said that after a week of having sex every day, or close to it, “some of us are smiling.” For others grappling with infidelities, addictions to pornography or other bitter hurts, “there’s been some pain; hopefully there’s been some forgiveness, too.”
Mr. Young advised the couples to “keep on doing what you’ve been doing this week. We should try to double up the amount of intimacy we have in marriage. And when I say intimacy, I don’t mean holding hands in the park or a back rub.”...
(Full story at nytimes.com)
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Thursday, November 20, 2008
Bad Old Days
In the bad old days, doctors, dentists, ... and even Santa endorse cigarette smoking.
What's "professional ethics" by-the-way?
These ads are from the 40's and 50's
What's "professional ethics" by-the-way?
These ads are from the 40's and 50's
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Power of Unity
Battle at Krugger - This video is one of YouTube's most popular videos, with more than 36 million views as of May 08.
Battle at Kruger is an amateur wildlife video that depicts an unfolding confrontation between a herd of Cape Buffalo and a pride of lions. The video was shot in September, 2004 at a watering hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
People, Tyrants and Opportunists
Battle at Kruger is an amateur wildlife video that depicts an unfolding confrontation between a herd of Cape Buffalo and a pride of lions. The video was shot in September, 2004 at a watering hole in Kruger National Park, South Africa.
People, Tyrants and Opportunists
Oops! Watch out for those crocodiles. Those 5%, 10% man.
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