The Man Who Saved Britain from the trauma of Empire Withdrawal, didn't know up from down about martinis, according to the Huns:
According to some experts in Germany, Bond's eccentric drinking habits are proof that he enjoys breaking the rules of alcoholic beverage etiquette. It seems he orders his martini "the wrong way," contravening what every novice barkeeper is taught.
"A classic Martini is stirred. This is always done when two alcohols are mixed with one another," explains Bernd Ohlmeier, a Hamburg-based of the respected German Barkeeper Union (DBU).
Cocktails are generally shaken when two liquids of a different consistency are combined, such as a clear alcohol and a cloudy juice. From a taste point of view, there is scarcely any difference between a stirred or a shaken Martini, admit the top barkeepers.
"The shaking motion does make the ice cubes melt more quickly and this may diminish the flavour of the drink," said Ulf Neuhaus, another expert who heads the DBU's Dresden branch.
These nuances are too subtle for most people's taste buds to detect, said Neuhaus, who pointed out that the easiest way to spot the two types of martini drink is by looking at them - shaken martinis appear cloudier than those which are stirred.
There is also disagreement over what constitutes a genuine "James Bond-style martini." The classic martini drink consists of four centilitres of gin along with two centilitres of vermouth and an olive, said Ohlmeier. Mixing four parts of vodka with two of vermouth results in a rather un-Bond-like creation known as a "vodkatini."
Thursday, November 30, 2006
The Dutch are Shocked
Shocked!
To find money being exchanged in a brothel:
A large amount of the window prostitution in Amsterdam's red light district will be shut down as the city council gets tougher on criminal activities.
Amsterdam City Council said investigations had revealed about one-third of the prostitution sector is allegedly involved in money laundering.
About 100 of the 350 prostitution windows in the Dutch capital's red-light district will be forced to close by the end of the year.
....Amsterdam introduced a new law in 2003 which made it possible to investigate the operational management in the sex industry.
The new law was designed to prevent authorities unintentionally supporting criminal activities by issuing permits and subsidies.
To find money being exchanged in a brothel:
A large amount of the window prostitution in Amsterdam's red light district will be shut down as the city council gets tougher on criminal activities.
Amsterdam City Council said investigations had revealed about one-third of the prostitution sector is allegedly involved in money laundering.
About 100 of the 350 prostitution windows in the Dutch capital's red-light district will be forced to close by the end of the year.
....Amsterdam introduced a new law in 2003 which made it possible to investigate the operational management in the sex industry.
The new law was designed to prevent authorities unintentionally supporting criminal activities by issuing permits and subsidies.
Nobody does it better
Nobody does it quite the way the French do:
PARIS, Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) - The French government, facing a presidential election in April, got a double dose of bad news Thursday as official figures showed that consumer confidence contracted in November while a decline in joblessness ground to a halt in the previous month.
The results reflected France's stagnant economic momentum in the third quarter.
...."It's a serious warning," said Nicolas Bouzou of the economic research group Asteres.
"It is striking that the unemployment rate interrupts its decline at a time when economic growth is zero and when all economic indicators are pointing downward."
He said French companies managed to create fewer than 15,000 jobs in the third quarter and that economic layoffs were rising sharply.
France's stubbornly high jobless rate is frequently attributed by economists to an inflexible labor market, which saddles employers with high social charges and constraints to laying off staff and makes them reluctant to take on workers.
"In the last 20 years France on several occasions has found itself in the same situation," noted Alexander Law of the market research firm Xerfi.
"The unemployment rate can fall sharply for exceptional reasons but cannot go below the 8.5 percent threshold. At the moment, France is approaching its structural rate of unemployment but nothing suggests that it can break through this barrier."
Call it l'economie ennui?
PARIS, Nov 30, 2006 (AFP) - The French government, facing a presidential election in April, got a double dose of bad news Thursday as official figures showed that consumer confidence contracted in November while a decline in joblessness ground to a halt in the previous month.
The results reflected France's stagnant economic momentum in the third quarter.
...."It's a serious warning," said Nicolas Bouzou of the economic research group Asteres.
"It is striking that the unemployment rate interrupts its decline at a time when economic growth is zero and when all economic indicators are pointing downward."
He said French companies managed to create fewer than 15,000 jobs in the third quarter and that economic layoffs were rising sharply.
France's stubbornly high jobless rate is frequently attributed by economists to an inflexible labor market, which saddles employers with high social charges and constraints to laying off staff and makes them reluctant to take on workers.
"In the last 20 years France on several occasions has found itself in the same situation," noted Alexander Law of the market research firm Xerfi.
"The unemployment rate can fall sharply for exceptional reasons but cannot go below the 8.5 percent threshold. At the moment, France is approaching its structural rate of unemployment but nothing suggests that it can break through this barrier."
Call it l'economie ennui?
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
No Growth Industry
Rental fees are up, delivery area limited; guilt isn't selling this year:The price to rent a Living Christmas Tree is 75$ (yup 75). Each order also requires a separate $15 deposit check which we don't cash- we give it back to you when we get the tree back. Make checks out to TOLCTC. ....
Delivery is 12/15 through 12/17. Pickup is Tuesday January 2nd.
We are doing trees this year (it's our fifteenth in a row)
We are sorry to our past customers who have been shut out of our delivery area. I'm sorry i don't do this live tree and replanting idea more credit by doing a better job, i apologize.
Compared to his jerk of a father?
Senator-elect from Virginia doesn't get the old joke, instead enlists in the Democrat Fight Club:
At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, [George W.] Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.
[Jim] Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.
“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.
Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief...
The Senator has now revised and extended his remarks to: 'That's between my son and me.'
At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, [George W.] Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.
[Jim] Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.
“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.
Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief...
The Senator has now revised and extended his remarks to: 'That's between my son and me.'
Boarish Behavior
The hunted turn the tables in Bavaria:
Shaken burghers in the quiet Bavarian country town of Veitshoechheim were left licking their wounds and counting the cost after a herd of wild boars went on the rampage.
Chaos erupted in the market town near the city of Wuerzburg when more than a dozen frightened and aggressive animals invaded the town centre after fleeing a boar hunt.
Shoppers were taken by surprise when one of the animals bulldozed its way into a fashion boutique, frightening staff and leaving a trail of destruction.
....Eyewitnesses said further mayhem ensued when one of the wild boars attacked a 44-year-old man in the street. He needed hospital treatment after being bitten on the leg.
Another boar knocked a 76-year-old woman off her bicycle and was then struck down and killed by a passing car. There was an estimated €5,000 worth of damage to the blood-spattered vehicle.
Police marksmen intervened after receiving dozens of phone calls from townsfolk. One of the boars was cornered in a back garden and shot dead. Another was shot and killed by police while trying to swim across the nearby river Main. "It took more than two hours before peace could be finally restored," Mr Schmidt said .
Shaken burghers in the quiet Bavarian country town of Veitshoechheim were left licking their wounds and counting the cost after a herd of wild boars went on the rampage.
Chaos erupted in the market town near the city of Wuerzburg when more than a dozen frightened and aggressive animals invaded the town centre after fleeing a boar hunt.
Shoppers were taken by surprise when one of the animals bulldozed its way into a fashion boutique, frightening staff and leaving a trail of destruction.
....Eyewitnesses said further mayhem ensued when one of the wild boars attacked a 44-year-old man in the street. He needed hospital treatment after being bitten on the leg.
Another boar knocked a 76-year-old woman off her bicycle and was then struck down and killed by a passing car. There was an estimated €5,000 worth of damage to the blood-spattered vehicle.
Police marksmen intervened after receiving dozens of phone calls from townsfolk. One of the boars was cornered in a back garden and shot dead. Another was shot and killed by police while trying to swim across the nearby river Main. "It took more than two hours before peace could be finally restored," Mr Schmidt said .
Threepeat! Threepeat!
Exclusive: The Fly Under the Bridge Academy has learned that Northwestern University has won--for the third year in a row--the national 'Fed Challenge' held Tuesday November 28th in Washington DC.
Josh Goldstein, Frederick Herrmann, Rosa Li, Joshua Plavner and Jeanne Ruan beat 12 teams from other universities at the Oct. 31 regional competition that tested their knowledge of how the Fed creates policy to foster a strong and stable economy.
And in the finals yesterday, Northwestern defeated three other teams. Second place went to
Boston College, Rutgers University was third, and Virginia Commonwealth University got honorable mention.
Northwestern's coach is Mark Witte, senior lecturer in economics and director of undergraduate studies. Dr. Witte is also Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the Fly Under the Bridge Academy. And, with whom, we are well pleased.
Josh Goldstein, Frederick Herrmann, Rosa Li, Joshua Plavner and Jeanne Ruan beat 12 teams from other universities at the Oct. 31 regional competition that tested their knowledge of how the Fed creates policy to foster a strong and stable economy.
And in the finals yesterday, Northwestern defeated three other teams. Second place went to
Boston College, Rutgers University was third, and Virginia Commonwealth University got honorable mention.
Northwestern's coach is Mark Witte, senior lecturer in economics and director of undergraduate studies. Dr. Witte is also Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers to the Fly Under the Bridge Academy. And, with whom, we are well pleased.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Queen of Pork...in Charge of the Sty
Heretofore only known for being the stupidest member of the Senate, now Patty Murray is in a position to bring home even more bacon to her state:
Murray has just been named secretary of the Democratic caucus, a nebulous title that makes her part of the Senate Democrats' leadership quartet.
More important, Murray is poised to become chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee for transportation and other areas.
....U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, a Bremerton Democrat, noted that Murray's ascension to the chairmanship of a powerful subcommittee will mean that "everybody has to talk to you. ... Every chairman has to come to you, and ask: 'Can you help me on my project?' "
"This chairmanship will give her a lot of leverage in the Senate. Patty is an activist. She will use that leverage."
....Murray is dismissive of criticism of her and other lawmakers' attitude about spending.
Particularly under fire is the use of so-called earmarks, narrowly tailored appropriations that allow senators to skip the normal budget process for some of their favorite projects.
The Appropriations Committee is where most of the budget pork is doled out, and the transportation subcommittee is one of the biggest smokehouses. That panel approved 2,820 earmarks, worth nearly $5 billion for fiscal year 2006 alone.
Earmarks are often quietly slipped into legislation as favors among politicians. Murray has been a player in the earmark process and was dubbed "the Queen of Pork" last year by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group sharply critical of congressional spending.
Asked if she favors reforming the earmark system, as some fellow senators have proposed, Murray paused before answering.
"I think all of us believe that earmarks have to be transparent," she said of the need to identify which senator is behind each funding request.
But she is unabashed about her willingness to use earmarks for her home state.
"Earmarks are how those of us who lives 2,500 miles from the nation's Capitol ensure projects critical to our state are funded," she said. Otherwise, she said, bureaucrats in D.C. would be making all the decisions "with their own friends."
"We would get lost in the process, and I'm not going to lose," she added. "Washington state will be feet first at the table."
Murray has just been named secretary of the Democratic caucus, a nebulous title that makes her part of the Senate Democrats' leadership quartet.
More important, Murray is poised to become chairwoman of the Appropriations subcommittee for transportation and other areas.
....U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks, a Bremerton Democrat, noted that Murray's ascension to the chairmanship of a powerful subcommittee will mean that "everybody has to talk to you. ... Every chairman has to come to you, and ask: 'Can you help me on my project?' "
"This chairmanship will give her a lot of leverage in the Senate. Patty is an activist. She will use that leverage."
....Murray is dismissive of criticism of her and other lawmakers' attitude about spending.
Particularly under fire is the use of so-called earmarks, narrowly tailored appropriations that allow senators to skip the normal budget process for some of their favorite projects.
The Appropriations Committee is where most of the budget pork is doled out, and the transportation subcommittee is one of the biggest smokehouses. That panel approved 2,820 earmarks, worth nearly $5 billion for fiscal year 2006 alone.
Earmarks are often quietly slipped into legislation as favors among politicians. Murray has been a player in the earmark process and was dubbed "the Queen of Pork" last year by Taxpayers for Common Sense, a group sharply critical of congressional spending.
Asked if she favors reforming the earmark system, as some fellow senators have proposed, Murray paused before answering.
"I think all of us believe that earmarks have to be transparent," she said of the need to identify which senator is behind each funding request.
But she is unabashed about her willingness to use earmarks for her home state.
"Earmarks are how those of us who lives 2,500 miles from the nation's Capitol ensure projects critical to our state are funded," she said. Otherwise, she said, bureaucrats in D.C. would be making all the decisions "with their own friends."
"We would get lost in the process, and I'm not going to lose," she added. "Washington state will be feet first at the table."
Doing what comes naturellement
The manuevering to control Airbus continues:
The French government is seeking to take control of European aerospace giant EADS by pushing for a capital increase to finance development of the new A350 long-haul jet, German newspapers reported on Monday.
Paris surprised the industrial shareholders of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company — namely DaimlerChrysler which holds a stake of 22.5 percent and French group Lagardere which holds 7.5 percent — by proposing a capital hike to finance the A350, the business daily Handelsblatt reported.
The newspaper said that DaimlerChrysler and Lagardère both rejected the idea. But if the capital increase went ahead and they refused to participate, then France, which holds 15 percent of EADS via Sogeade, would effectively gain a dominant position in the company's share capital.
....Handelsblatt said that the aim of the French government was to prevent a far-reaching and painful restructuring of EADS's troubled aircraft maker Airbus.
The French government is seeking to take control of European aerospace giant EADS by pushing for a capital increase to finance development of the new A350 long-haul jet, German newspapers reported on Monday.
Paris surprised the industrial shareholders of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company — namely DaimlerChrysler which holds a stake of 22.5 percent and French group Lagardere which holds 7.5 percent — by proposing a capital hike to finance the A350, the business daily Handelsblatt reported.
The newspaper said that DaimlerChrysler and Lagardère both rejected the idea. But if the capital increase went ahead and they refused to participate, then France, which holds 15 percent of EADS via Sogeade, would effectively gain a dominant position in the company's share capital.
....Handelsblatt said that the aim of the French government was to prevent a far-reaching and painful restructuring of EADS's troubled aircraft maker Airbus.
Karl Marx is Back
And the documentarians have got him!
"Black Gold," now being screened at festivals and art houses, is the latest in a growing genre of documentary films shaking up the business world. They are taking critiques of corporate power that would once have been the province of newspapers and magazines to movie theaters and DVD shops, where they're finding an increasingly receptive audience.
The trend, which started with "Roger and Me" in 1989 and more recently featured "Super Size Me" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," is forcing some corporate targets to counterattack — and, some say, even change business practices — to dodge claims of unfair wages, unhealthy products or environmental degradation.
"When you're talking about a documentary, it's something that's being presented as if it's fact, so that's a huge problem for companies," said Paul Argenti, a professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University.
....This year's "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" from director Robert Greenwald was bankrolled by thousands of individual donors who responded to a fundraising e-mail from the filmmakers.
Despite the relatively small budgets, many of the films have drawn big attention.
....Even less broadly distributed documentaries are finding wider interest than a liberal screed in The Nation or an expose in The New York Times Magazine with similar ideas might reach.
....Web sites for documentaries like "Black Gold" and "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" list dozens of screenings each month at repertory theaters, universities and churches where they're presented by advocacy groups and often followed by discussion sessions.
"They become events in themselves," Nick Francis said.
"Black Gold," now being screened at festivals and art houses, is the latest in a growing genre of documentary films shaking up the business world. They are taking critiques of corporate power that would once have been the province of newspapers and magazines to movie theaters and DVD shops, where they're finding an increasingly receptive audience.
The trend, which started with "Roger and Me" in 1989 and more recently featured "Super Size Me" and "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room," is forcing some corporate targets to counterattack — and, some say, even change business practices — to dodge claims of unfair wages, unhealthy products or environmental degradation.
"When you're talking about a documentary, it's something that's being presented as if it's fact, so that's a huge problem for companies," said Paul Argenti, a professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University.
....This year's "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers" from director Robert Greenwald was bankrolled by thousands of individual donors who responded to a fundraising e-mail from the filmmakers.
Despite the relatively small budgets, many of the films have drawn big attention.
....Even less broadly distributed documentaries are finding wider interest than a liberal screed in The Nation or an expose in The New York Times Magazine with similar ideas might reach.
....Web sites for documentaries like "Black Gold" and "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" list dozens of screenings each month at repertory theaters, universities and churches where they're presented by advocacy groups and often followed by discussion sessions.
"They become events in themselves," Nick Francis said.
We're all professionals here
And millionaires too, but our feelings are hurt when someone points out that we're shooting 15%:
Sunday it was Earl Watson, and Monday it was coach Bob Hill.
"Every time the team struggles, it's always the coach's fault," Hill said. "I understand that. Whoever the coach is, it's his fault. He's not doing this or he's not doing that. Then when you're winning, it's the players. I understand that. But it's [crap]. It's [crap].
"This is a player's league and they have to be held accountable for their play. I'm not going to leave a guy out there who's struggling, and we're trying to win games and we're losing, so he can maybe find his shot. That's his job. This is professional sports. It's not the role of the coach to threaten him to play. But blame it on me. That's fine. I have no trouble with it. Blame it all on me and protect them."
Hill's statements were tongue-in-cheek, meant to show just how out of whack the NBA's star system has become, and an indication just how out of sync Hill is with two of his top reserves, Damien Wilkins and Watson.
....When the subject switched to Wilkins, Hill admitted he's considered benching the disgruntled swingman in favor of rookie Mickael Gelabale, who the coach believes will mature into a solid NBA player.
Coincidently, before Hill could explain why he hasn't made the move to Gelabale, Wilkins, dressed in street clothes, walked out of the weight room and stepped on the practice floor. He had a meeting with the Sonics coach, and Hill asked him to wait in his office.
Wilkins complied, although he didn't look happy. "You see, he's pouting today," Hill said. "He's pouting. How can you do that? He's got a nice life."
Sunday it was Earl Watson, and Monday it was coach Bob Hill.
"Every time the team struggles, it's always the coach's fault," Hill said. "I understand that. Whoever the coach is, it's his fault. He's not doing this or he's not doing that. Then when you're winning, it's the players. I understand that. But it's [crap]. It's [crap].
"This is a player's league and they have to be held accountable for their play. I'm not going to leave a guy out there who's struggling, and we're trying to win games and we're losing, so he can maybe find his shot. That's his job. This is professional sports. It's not the role of the coach to threaten him to play. But blame it on me. That's fine. I have no trouble with it. Blame it all on me and protect them."
Hill's statements were tongue-in-cheek, meant to show just how out of whack the NBA's star system has become, and an indication just how out of sync Hill is with two of his top reserves, Damien Wilkins and Watson.
....When the subject switched to Wilkins, Hill admitted he's considered benching the disgruntled swingman in favor of rookie Mickael Gelabale, who the coach believes will mature into a solid NBA player.
Coincidently, before Hill could explain why he hasn't made the move to Gelabale, Wilkins, dressed in street clothes, walked out of the weight room and stepped on the practice floor. He had a meeting with the Sonics coach, and Hill asked him to wait in his office.
Wilkins complied, although he didn't look happy. "You see, he's pouting today," Hill said. "He's pouting. How can you do that? He's got a nice life."
Monday, November 27, 2006
No word for 'diplomacy' in French?
'This is a fine mess you've gotten us into', says the Ambassador to the Foreign Ministry:
KIGALI, Nov 27, 2006 (AFP) - Thousands of Rwandans staged anti-French protests here Monday while the last French diplomats flew out of Rwanda amid a growing diplomatic row centered on the central African nation's 1994 genocide.
In remarks that could further erode bilateral relations, Rwandan President Paul Kagame suggested Monday evening that Paris was deliberately trying to hinder the country's recovery from the horrific massacres.
Indeed, in an interview on Rwanda's national television, Kagame asserted Rwanda was in better shape than it had ever been in its history.
"Some enemies of Rwanda are not happy with that," he added. "The French, I believe, didn't want to see us develop. Their whole objective is to push us back. We have done what we humanly could."
Meanwhile, the last French diplomats and civil servants posted in Kigali took an evening flight to Uganda where they were to later transfer to another flight for Brussels. France's ambassador to Rwanda, Dominique Decherf, left Saturday.
....Relations between Rwanda and France soured in the recent months over recriminations in the 1994 mass slaughter that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives within a space of 100 days.
Rwanda accuses French troops deployed at the height of the genocide of training and arming Hutu Interahamwe militia blamed for the mass murder, and has established an inquiry panel to probe those claims.
...."We had warned Paris several times that this (Bruguiere) report would be negatively received here and that the Rwanda government would break diplomatic relations," a French diplomat said earlier, as he finalized his departure from Rwanda.
KIGALI, Nov 27, 2006 (AFP) - Thousands of Rwandans staged anti-French protests here Monday while the last French diplomats flew out of Rwanda amid a growing diplomatic row centered on the central African nation's 1994 genocide.
In remarks that could further erode bilateral relations, Rwandan President Paul Kagame suggested Monday evening that Paris was deliberately trying to hinder the country's recovery from the horrific massacres.
Indeed, in an interview on Rwanda's national television, Kagame asserted Rwanda was in better shape than it had ever been in its history.
"Some enemies of Rwanda are not happy with that," he added. "The French, I believe, didn't want to see us develop. Their whole objective is to push us back. We have done what we humanly could."
Meanwhile, the last French diplomats and civil servants posted in Kigali took an evening flight to Uganda where they were to later transfer to another flight for Brussels. France's ambassador to Rwanda, Dominique Decherf, left Saturday.
....Relations between Rwanda and France soured in the recent months over recriminations in the 1994 mass slaughter that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives within a space of 100 days.
Rwanda accuses French troops deployed at the height of the genocide of training and arming Hutu Interahamwe militia blamed for the mass murder, and has established an inquiry panel to probe those claims.
...."We had warned Paris several times that this (Bruguiere) report would be negatively received here and that the Rwanda government would break diplomatic relations," a French diplomat said earlier, as he finalized his departure from Rwanda.
You're gonna have to answer to the Coca-Cola company.
And your excuse won't be that you were trying to to avert nuclear war:
Vienna - Santa Claus is being banned from Christmas markets in the European countries of Germany and Austria.
Anti-Santa campaigners say that Father Christmas was invented by Coca-Cola and detracts from the true spirit of the festive season.
Austria's biggest Christmas market is in front of the Vienna city hall where thousands of visitors stroll past stalls offering everything related to Christmas - everything, that is, except Santa.
....A Vienna city hall spokesperson said: "There are rules governing what stallholders can do and one of them is to agree not to use the image of Santa as a condition of being able to trade there.
"Santa is an English language creation, people who want to see him should go to America where I am sure Coca Cola will be happy to oblige."
The move in Vienna has been copied by Christmas markets across Austria and Germany where St Nicholas is the traditional bearer of Christmas gifts.
Bettina Schade, from the Frankfurter Nicholas Initiative in Germany, commented: "We object to the material things, the hectic rush to buy gifts, and the ubiquity of the bearded man in the red suit that are taking away from the core meaning of Christmas.
Vienna - Santa Claus is being banned from Christmas markets in the European countries of Germany and Austria.
Anti-Santa campaigners say that Father Christmas was invented by Coca-Cola and detracts from the true spirit of the festive season.
Austria's biggest Christmas market is in front of the Vienna city hall where thousands of visitors stroll past stalls offering everything related to Christmas - everything, that is, except Santa.
....A Vienna city hall spokesperson said: "There are rules governing what stallholders can do and one of them is to agree not to use the image of Santa as a condition of being able to trade there.
"Santa is an English language creation, people who want to see him should go to America where I am sure Coca Cola will be happy to oblige."
The move in Vienna has been copied by Christmas markets across Austria and Germany where St Nicholas is the traditional bearer of Christmas gifts.
Bettina Schade, from the Frankfurter Nicholas Initiative in Germany, commented: "We object to the material things, the hectic rush to buy gifts, and the ubiquity of the bearded man in the red suit that are taking away from the core meaning of Christmas.
Sunday, November 26, 2006
We're...like...Number 1, Dude
Czech happens, you know:
The Czech Republic has the highest consumption of hemp products (marijuana) and meta-amphetamine (pervitine) among European countries, according to the annual report of the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) for 2006, which was released in the EU member states´ capitals today.
Marijuana consumption in the Czech Republic is comparable to the US, the largest marijuana consumer in the world.
The Czech Republic has the highest consumption of hemp products (marijuana) and meta-amphetamine (pervitine) among European countries, according to the annual report of the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) for 2006, which was released in the EU member states´ capitals today.
Marijuana consumption in the Czech Republic is comparable to the US, the largest marijuana consumer in the world.
This Just In
They couldn't find it when it happened, but the NY Times gets around to recognizing the deaths of 10 million Ukrainians:
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Holding candles and standing silent, thousands massed on a fog-shrouded square Saturday to mourn 10 million Ukrainians killed by a famine orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin -- an ordeal many insisted must be recognized as genocide.
Some 33,000 people died every day during the 1932-33 famine, wiping out a third of Ukraine's population in a calamity known here as Holodomor -- Death by Hunger. Cases of cannibalism were widespread as desperation deepened. Those who resisted were shot or sent to Siberia.
The Times couldn't bring themselves to write about it themselves, instead running an AP story. Maybe because they aren't totally beyond being embarrassed:
Pulitzer Prizes board decides not to revoke 1932 prize awarded to New York Times reporter Walter Duranty for 1931 series of articles about Soviet Union that were later discredited as too credulous of Soviet propaganda; cites lack of evidence of deliberate deception by Duranty; award has been subject of protests by Ukrainian and other groups angry over his failure to report vast famine of 1932-33; board calls famine 'horrific' and notes it deserved more international attention; Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr lauds board; admits defects in Duranty's journalism
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Holding candles and standing silent, thousands massed on a fog-shrouded square Saturday to mourn 10 million Ukrainians killed by a famine orchestrated by Soviet leader Josef Stalin -- an ordeal many insisted must be recognized as genocide.
Some 33,000 people died every day during the 1932-33 famine, wiping out a third of Ukraine's population in a calamity known here as Holodomor -- Death by Hunger. Cases of cannibalism were widespread as desperation deepened. Those who resisted were shot or sent to Siberia.
The Times couldn't bring themselves to write about it themselves, instead running an AP story. Maybe because they aren't totally beyond being embarrassed:
Pulitzer Prizes board decides not to revoke 1932 prize awarded to New York Times reporter Walter Duranty for 1931 series of articles about Soviet Union that were later discredited as too credulous of Soviet propaganda; cites lack of evidence of deliberate deception by Duranty; award has been subject of protests by Ukrainian and other groups angry over his failure to report vast famine of 1932-33; board calls famine 'horrific' and notes it deserved more international attention; Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr lauds board; admits defects in Duranty's journalism
Saturday, November 25, 2006
A Day Without Ukrainians...
...coming soon to Moscow. And it doesn't sound as though they'll like the results:
Russian farmers are flocking to Preobrazhensky Market in northeast Moscow, filling stalls where foreign vendors used to hawk their produce.
The farmers are coming in response to the government's ongoing effort to rid the country's markets and kiosks of foreign workers by April 1.
And Preobrazhensky Market is having trouble keeping up with demand, said Nikolai, the market's director of sales, who declined to give his last name.
....Some Moscow markets are filled to just between 20 percent and 40 percent of capacity as they wait for Russian vendors to move in, said Vladimir Malyshkov, head of the City Hall department for retail markets and services.
Several stalls at a small, covered market near the Belorusskaya metro station were standing empty Thursday as the result of the city's new quota system, under which half of all stalls in produce markets are reserved for Russian farmers.
A Tajik fruit seller in an adjacent stall said he knew Azeri vendors who wanted to fill the empty slots but who had been turned down.
"Russians don't like this kind of work. It's too hard," said the vendor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from the market's owners.
Despite such mixed success at the city level, the federal government is pushing ahead with tough new regulations on foreign workers.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov signed a decree that imposed a total ban on foreign vendors in all markets, kiosks and other small retail outlets as of April 1 next year.
While some food vendors will remain until next April, foreigners will be banned from the retail trade in pharmaceuticals and alcohol Jan. 1, 2007.
During a transition period from Jan. 15 to April 1, the share of foreigners in small retail outlets is set to fall to 40 percent, Fradkov told President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the president's Novo-Ogaryovo residence last week. ....
Putin told Fradkov that he saw no reason to amend the decree down the line.
"This is not a sector of the economy where we have a labor shortage," Putin said.
Malyshkov, of the city's department for retail markets and services, told a different story. He said Moscow would have trouble filling vacancies in the retail sector without migrant workers.
"I shudder to think what would happen if the Georgians, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Azeris leave this sector," Malyshkov said.
Russian farmers are flocking to Preobrazhensky Market in northeast Moscow, filling stalls where foreign vendors used to hawk their produce.
The farmers are coming in response to the government's ongoing effort to rid the country's markets and kiosks of foreign workers by April 1.
And Preobrazhensky Market is having trouble keeping up with demand, said Nikolai, the market's director of sales, who declined to give his last name.
....Some Moscow markets are filled to just between 20 percent and 40 percent of capacity as they wait for Russian vendors to move in, said Vladimir Malyshkov, head of the City Hall department for retail markets and services.
Several stalls at a small, covered market near the Belorusskaya metro station were standing empty Thursday as the result of the city's new quota system, under which half of all stalls in produce markets are reserved for Russian farmers.
A Tajik fruit seller in an adjacent stall said he knew Azeri vendors who wanted to fill the empty slots but who had been turned down.
"Russians don't like this kind of work. It's too hard," said the vendor, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution from the market's owners.
Despite such mixed success at the city level, the federal government is pushing ahead with tough new regulations on foreign workers.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov signed a decree that imposed a total ban on foreign vendors in all markets, kiosks and other small retail outlets as of April 1 next year.
While some food vendors will remain until next April, foreigners will be banned from the retail trade in pharmaceuticals and alcohol Jan. 1, 2007.
During a transition period from Jan. 15 to April 1, the share of foreigners in small retail outlets is set to fall to 40 percent, Fradkov told President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the president's Novo-Ogaryovo residence last week. ....
Putin told Fradkov that he saw no reason to amend the decree down the line.
"This is not a sector of the economy where we have a labor shortage," Putin said.
Malyshkov, of the city's department for retail markets and services, told a different story. He said Moscow would have trouble filling vacancies in the retail sector without migrant workers.
"I shudder to think what would happen if the Georgians, Tajiks, Uzbeks and Azeris leave this sector," Malyshkov said.
Friday, November 24, 2006
Tolls, and You Tolls Alone
In your Ford or other fine automobile, you will be led, as if by an invisible hand, to reduce congestion, even though that was no part of your intention. And in Washington state they've got the data to prove it:
For about eight months, drivers in 275 Seattle-area households agreed to pay for something the rest of us get for free: The right to drive on the region's freeways and streets.
They were guinea pigs in a pioneering study that explored how motorists' behavior might change if they had to pay tolls — not just on a few bridges or highways, but on almost every road with a yellow center line.
Researchers established virtual tolls ranging from a nickel to 50 cents a mile. They gave participants pre-paid accounts of between $600 and $3,000, and told them they could keep whatever the tolls didn't eat up.
The experiment ended in February. Preliminary results, released this month, suggest that if such so-called "road pricing" were widespread, it could make a significant dent in traffic.
....The promise of keeping some of that money proved to be a powerful incentive. Nearly 80 percent of the participants drove less than they did before, or they changed their routes or travel times to avoid the highest tolls, said Matthew Kitchen, the study's director.
When the study was finished, the average payout was nearly $700 per household.
When other variables are factored out, Kitchen said, participants took 5 percent fewer auto trips and drove 2.5 percent fewer miles each weekday because of the tolls.
The drop was even more dramatic during peak-traffic periods, when tolls were highest: 10 percent fewer trips and 4 percent fewer miles in the morning, 6 percent fewer trips and 11 percent fewer miles at night.
Participant Kathi Hardwick, an executive assistant at a downtown Bellevue bank, started riding the bus to work from her home in Bothell. It wasn't as convenient as driving, she said, but it saved her about $5 each way in tolls on Interstate 405.
She also began combining errands and driving less on weekends.
For about eight months, drivers in 275 Seattle-area households agreed to pay for something the rest of us get for free: The right to drive on the region's freeways and streets.
They were guinea pigs in a pioneering study that explored how motorists' behavior might change if they had to pay tolls — not just on a few bridges or highways, but on almost every road with a yellow center line.
Researchers established virtual tolls ranging from a nickel to 50 cents a mile. They gave participants pre-paid accounts of between $600 and $3,000, and told them they could keep whatever the tolls didn't eat up.
The experiment ended in February. Preliminary results, released this month, suggest that if such so-called "road pricing" were widespread, it could make a significant dent in traffic.
....The promise of keeping some of that money proved to be a powerful incentive. Nearly 80 percent of the participants drove less than they did before, or they changed their routes or travel times to avoid the highest tolls, said Matthew Kitchen, the study's director.
When the study was finished, the average payout was nearly $700 per household.
When other variables are factored out, Kitchen said, participants took 5 percent fewer auto trips and drove 2.5 percent fewer miles each weekday because of the tolls.
The drop was even more dramatic during peak-traffic periods, when tolls were highest: 10 percent fewer trips and 4 percent fewer miles in the morning, 6 percent fewer trips and 11 percent fewer miles at night.
Participant Kathi Hardwick, an executive assistant at a downtown Bellevue bank, started riding the bus to work from her home in Bothell. It wasn't as convenient as driving, she said, but it saved her about $5 each way in tolls on Interstate 405.
She also began combining errands and driving less on weekends.
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Bulldogs bite Men of Tar
And give thanks for the recognition:
Men's College Basketball 2006-2007
1 Gonzaga
2 Duke
3 Maryland
4 Marquette
5 Alabama
6 Butler
7 Pittsburgh
8 North Carolina
9 Ohio State
10 UCLA
Men's College Basketball 2006-2007
1 Gonzaga
2 Duke
3 Maryland
4 Marquette
5 Alabama
6 Butler
7 Pittsburgh
8 North Carolina
9 Ohio State
10 UCLA
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Professorial Pilfering
Big bucks in Ivy League royalty avoidance:
Book publishers say professors who post long excerpts of protected texts on the Internet without permission cost the industry at least $20 million a year.
Cornell University, the Ivy League college in Ithaca, N.Y., agreed in September to regulate work its faculty puts on the Web, in response to a threatened lawsuit from the Association of American Publishers.
Professors are making material available free rather than requiring students to buy $100 textbooks. While faculty members from Harvard University to the University of Pennsylvania complain of a restricted flow of ideas, publishers say they must protect $3.35 billion in annual U.S. college textbook sales.
"We can't compete with free," says Allan Adler, vice president for legal and governmental affairs with the Washington-based publishers group, whose members include McGraw-Hill Cos. and Pearson Plc.
....Cornell, like other large universities, offers hundreds of courses each semester, with professors using the Internet for making articles or excerpts from books available to students at no charge, Adler says. Each item would typically generate royalties of $10 to $30, he says.
"Professors were putting up multiple chapters from books on course Web sites, and it would be repeated from semester to semester with successive classes, with students purchasing nothing," Adler says, referring to Cornell and other schools.
In a Cornell course in late 2005, 25 separate works on the syllabus were freely available to students as reserved electronic postings on an internal Web site.
Book publishers say professors who post long excerpts of protected texts on the Internet without permission cost the industry at least $20 million a year.
Cornell University, the Ivy League college in Ithaca, N.Y., agreed in September to regulate work its faculty puts on the Web, in response to a threatened lawsuit from the Association of American Publishers.
Professors are making material available free rather than requiring students to buy $100 textbooks. While faculty members from Harvard University to the University of Pennsylvania complain of a restricted flow of ideas, publishers say they must protect $3.35 billion in annual U.S. college textbook sales.
"We can't compete with free," says Allan Adler, vice president for legal and governmental affairs with the Washington-based publishers group, whose members include McGraw-Hill Cos. and Pearson Plc.
....Cornell, like other large universities, offers hundreds of courses each semester, with professors using the Internet for making articles or excerpts from books available to students at no charge, Adler says. Each item would typically generate royalties of $10 to $30, he says.
"Professors were putting up multiple chapters from books on course Web sites, and it would be repeated from semester to semester with successive classes, with students purchasing nothing," Adler says, referring to Cornell and other schools.
In a Cornell course in late 2005, 25 separate works on the syllabus were freely available to students as reserved electronic postings on an internal Web site.
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