From an email:
This is pretty funny – I’m not making a political statement either.
An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations assembly which made the world community smile.
A representative from Israel began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Moses. When he struck the rock and it brought forth water, he thought,'What a good opportunity to have a bath!' He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished. A Palestinian had stolen them.'
The Palestinian representative jumped up furiously and shouted, 'What are you talking about? The Palestinians weren't there then.' The Israeli representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech.
Monday, February 23, 2009
A Disturbing Trend.
The last couple of weeks have given me pause. There has been a lot of talk about moral hazards and unintended consequences.
On the two extremes of humanity, the criminals and the saints. The saints and the selfless will help their fellowman without any further incentives. The criminals will take advantage of the weakness of others. The rest of us life in-between. Some may give to charity more than others, some may not return extra change. As the society is set to change once again, the question is whether the government is making a bad situation worse.
Do you feel like a chump because you worked hard, maybe scrimped, so you can afford your mortgage, and then you see the government bailing out your neighbor? Do you feel cheated because you rent. Those that own a home get a mortgage interest deduction and they get a possible increase in value later. The renter gets a receipt. Should you pay because your neighbor bought too much house? Does not keeping the price of housing artificially high make it more difficult for the renter and the poor to own their own house? Should we help them because the made a bad investment, that their house is worth less than what they paid. Do not most cars lose value the minute you drive it out of the dealership? Why shouldn't a house's value gradually decrease over time, like most everything else?
Does bailing out your neighbors mistakes make it more likely that these mistakes will be repeated by others?
On the two extremes of humanity, the criminals and the saints. The saints and the selfless will help their fellowman without any further incentives. The criminals will take advantage of the weakness of others. The rest of us life in-between. Some may give to charity more than others, some may not return extra change. As the society is set to change once again, the question is whether the government is making a bad situation worse.
Do you feel like a chump because you worked hard, maybe scrimped, so you can afford your mortgage, and then you see the government bailing out your neighbor? Do you feel cheated because you rent. Those that own a home get a mortgage interest deduction and they get a possible increase in value later. The renter gets a receipt. Should you pay because your neighbor bought too much house? Does not keeping the price of housing artificially high make it more difficult for the renter and the poor to own their own house? Should we help them because the made a bad investment, that their house is worth less than what they paid. Do not most cars lose value the minute you drive it out of the dealership? Why shouldn't a house's value gradually decrease over time, like most everything else?
Does bailing out your neighbors mistakes make it more likely that these mistakes will be repeated by others?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Think Defensive
From someone else:
Just a little more defensive behavior is a good idea.
Something to think about with all the new technology we have today. It's a cruel world out there....so BE CAREFUL
GPS
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football match. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean up the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
MOBILE
PHONE
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet...etc... was stolen.
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had
happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our pin number an I've replied a little while ago.'
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the
contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank a ccount.
Moral of the lesson:
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
* I never thought about THAT! As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell
phone
---
Just a little more defensive behavior is a good idea.
Something to think about with all the new technology we have today. It's a cruel world out there....so BE CAREFUL
GPS
A couple of weeks ago a friend told me that someone she knew had their car broken into while they were at a football match. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard.
When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen.
The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean up the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
MOBILE
PHONE
I never thought of this.......
This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her mobile phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet...etc... was stolen.
20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had
happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our pin number an I've replied a little while ago.'
When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the
contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank a ccount.
Moral of the lesson:
Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.... And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
Also, when you're being text by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
*PLEASE PASS THIS ON
* I never thought about THAT! As of now, I no longer have 'home' listed on my cell
phone
---
Friday, February 13, 2009
Hamas murder campaign in Gaza exposed
"Amnesty International said Hamas forces and militias were involved in a "campaign of abductions, deliberate and unlawful killings, torture and death threats against those they accuse of 'collaborating' with Israel, as well as opponents and critics". It said at least two dozen men had been shot by Hamas since the end of December and "scores of others" shot in the legs, kneecapped or beaten.Amnesty gave detailed accounts of some of the cases and said there was "incontrovertible evidence" that Hamas security forces and militia were "responsible for grave human rights abuses"."
link
"People are afraid to live normal lives, to express their opinions freely," Alami said. "There is no freedom of speech, of movement, of travelling or having real healthcare. Hamas is raising George Bush's policy: those not with us are against us."
link
"People are afraid to live normal lives, to express their opinions freely," Alami said. "There is no freedom of speech, of movement, of travelling or having real healthcare. Hamas is raising George Bush's policy: those not with us are against us."
Obama: Broken Promises: Transparency
Obama: Broken Promises: Transparency
Obama promised the people would get 5 days to review and comment before he signed any bill. Yet he has already signed two laws without the review. Plus the House and Senate are voting are the stimulus bill without even giving the members a chance to read the bill.
"Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
Obama promised the people would get 5 days to review and comment before he signed any bill. Yet he has already signed two laws without the review. Plus the House and Senate are voting are the stimulus bill without even giving the members a chance to read the bill.
"Sunlight Before Signing: Too often bills are rushed through Congress and to the president before the public has the opportunity to review them. As president, Obama will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/ethics/
Monday, February 9, 2009
Media Bias: Census
Can you imagine what the news media would say if Karl Rove tried to control the census?
White House Nabs Political Control over Census
"The Obama administration is ending the Census Bureau's traditional autonomy – a move that has Republicans outraged over the White House's politicization of counting Americans."
"Last week, an administration official revealed that the yet-to-be-named director of the Census Bureau will report to the White House rather than Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg, a Republican."
White House Nabs Political Control over Census
"The Obama administration is ending the Census Bureau's traditional autonomy – a move that has Republicans outraged over the White House's politicization of counting Americans."
"Last week, an administration official revealed that the yet-to-be-named director of the Census Bureau will report to the White House rather than Commerce Secretary nominee Judd Gregg, a Republican."
Sunday, February 8, 2009
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