Why not install and use Tweetdeck for Twitter group chats?

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Last Monday night from 8:30pm – 9:30pm one of our s<i>ocial media in education</i> activitists in South Africa, Arthur Preston, Head at Elkanah House Primary School in Cape Town, introduced a Twitter chat for South African teachers on the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">#edchatsa</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> hashtag. It was a wonderfully stimulating chat with many teachers from around the country participating. Teachers only got to know about it via Twitter and had a great chat about the topic, “If there was one piece of technology that could change South African education what would it be?”  You can log in to Arthur Prestons's blog </span><a href="http://headthoughts.co.za/edchatsa/" style="font-family: inherit;" title="http://headthoughts.co.za/edchatsa/">http://headthoughts.co.za/edchatsa/</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"> to vote for the topic for this coming Monday night. Here is the list of topics:</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpQVt1Fa57puZHWAheTairevdNhpeS_GXBa8MCBbK3oLATz3XLp2Lb886TRCVgC19yMa9CK-6ptgm8qhWoIwMPvmm2i29pjOS6CcglOP6MZmLXiZck8oZwHn69AeVb-oGfN1vGjB2m7h4/s1600-h/image%25255B11%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="459" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuRCE7gvnP86ZflxaG7Rcf7ew2_ZAZspDewp8gEfXIex9COdzL6UutN3JazDX3ixCuIRqkbN5GDXfNE1Ys8SjovoRgtriEmwFG4qz42VP4ON0yoKdRF5nQamqZleMSqrrU2kSizVVJ5Y/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="263" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">To be able to participate properly in this type of Twitter chat one needs to use an application like Tweetdeck where you can see a number of columns of Twitter at the same time. So this post is about Tweetdeck. It is a fantastic application to use. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here is a view of my Tweetdeck interface. This illustrates the columns.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2Xpp3Xk3_SRlqrOg8IpsWPfSpmm5sgTHkX0GCcqmJciVA88RjBvIVToE6fNS6mg5BND8kEnatC3F2oGJ0Sk9f2agmSOMfKtdG0DB-uDzJoSyg7nktk4iqnaRD3ffCJv0n0M-N6XtvDwg/s1600-h/image%25255B10%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oSJF9NvX5OXPn3ywCFylNrhez_OglFKHkpideMo-9v7BcfHX6NUvHpRr7YHDNSuuII8_YBAHhgbTJmpNjsY2H15VM9R0K-9MqAaOCRTZQXjn5woCRyGiwwsC0D2ujLewN6G14BJ4VzY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="320" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">Getting started</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Search for Tweetdeck on the Internet and download the free application to your desktop (<a href="http://www.tweetdeck.com/">http://www.tweetdeck.com/</a>). It will ask you to set up a Tweetdeck account. One can use the same username and password as one’s Twitter account to simplify matters. Once installed, Tweetdeck looks like you see above arranged in columns. You can now add as many columns as you like. </span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">The columns</span></b> <br /><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The columns work like this.<br />a) On the very left is your <b>Home</b> section where you receive the tweets of all the people you are following. This is the same as your timeline in Twitter. </span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG3k7f7cYnYOb99FQZKSs0OCgUk_HPm3DulvHIMOd28pJpncbnyksGbC2giT-7r6sBbmthMa8bJxmaI9mAYgAtD6TYMrWyeWfALPLBUnc6DO0i-_YSWcpZsdVh0xclhwAEj_bo-DfFm-s/s1600-h/image%25255B14%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="99" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3jqMD41Ee1PQcoMGuzU7xZaW-2KtUUQ0E_f31cdbUdQK1On03TMOdLYBHNbFw-DffWZSk21QJFOXvIkF4FiJhGWnJ8283PrdxzWmVeE-K80JxagdtDNM2ErSQ4wSxyLLv4ROH4Q-iLok/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"> b) Next to that you will get your<b> Mentions</b> column where you are notified if anyone retweets one of your tweets or sends you a message.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvTOruHuMroRBWUDVBU7_ONER9RSS74ms_1j3EfVuu28dMFAKJe_LUjdP29J_IzHWfhHBnNUCpazpTcoLGJmyvrGaHIFgqV4-ZIpohgOwbWGIL_6DwyLkSGscZ232tdZO2tymya0ZWhU/s1600-h/image%25255B17%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz2Y7vxWMpFD1GDUySYumCv6k26QPWPXWdivDPRaXDbFQQkJta7TIsowFQ2adclTfSuhYc6V5hE2bNzA9n1oRPvaIPOmALZ5XVmQDEsaUd5HxW2x03uODGhyf_M6epx2qSa2-sn0OYiVk/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">c)  Next is your </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">Inbox</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> which shows the tweets or direct messages you have just sent to others. In fact this default column (Inbox) could be called the </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">Direct Messages </b><span style="font-family: inherit;">column since it records the direct messages that you send or receive. These do not show up in your </span><b style="font-family: inherit;">All Friends/Home</b><span style="font-family: inherit;"> column because they are to or from you personally.</span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixxjw7EJBJigDW2Fuul7oKEOa-CNPZowVo1tvEoP16ITsUt3-brZSpRUAIHcQmWZlINze1WkWgAs6dwYDnIWNw4QuSqoe-6hJXw3Ksezbv5mKRbvogz-Vo9mtaFJIccJIy98wTWymM4PE/s1600-h/image%25255B20%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="95" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh2e5KlXYZBsMc6IZAPCp7Ki8LWYGKEfU6S-dtTVO4bSlafXlxkkhy3kIejfdbQPh-aPp7ru0p8njOUe4sHR5FXEnQEwO69pkwniY-p_3Xgf17Ed3FmbdYBO79AQen3UeAG0p-RQ1Zq6E/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">d) After that you can add your favourite # columns. I have <i>#edchatsa</i>, <i>#edtechconf,</i>  <i>#SAipaded</i>,  <i>#ict4champions</i> and <i>#sateachers</i>. That reminds me to mention that your Tweetdeck interface shows five columns but at the top is a little icon – it's a horizontal scrollbar - where you move across to the next lot of columns. I guess you can have as many columns as you like, with five displaying at a time.</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIXDQIUYb2RK3rVNtz09pP6DQqCiDvnLrIxVbFzUrkN8Bx8K_N5LgN6DmwEkKGYFwThvzfTJEV29a5wL7ko-mFEsDZOHbTex5Ib2wGHaaG0KBf0FsA_q7X8OGldTJLsMDw2qBjPy4fgM/s1600-h/image%25255B23%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="63" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb6y_tSYgorcyxaU0qxYR0Du8DEQz2i8ewfHvgb2wvF_SYv2VTW4hoEL60DJb7irgVCL3qMopMn8EV1QrPM-I_B8OOERPyMJJIQBqP6yEHU-a5a8oiXmzmylnDtR3QI0c4F9Kb0JNliS0/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">To add a column click on the <i>Add column</i> button and write in your choice of <i># hashtag</i>.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyNeZn7Drha7_JKHr1kTzNpN-SPXwvTuoP9yUv0QnGDqaGJpIKgv4mNNVbOYRtKwOuuuWShrQoWIn8_-VYgF4OFV-8An7wEaqu77OwAn_v48OCZFmzfiQMcfNUQXL8cy-GzL3_dImgr48/s1600-h/image%25255B26%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="44" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKx6SCHpqPgMaR-Uun3Osw4T96XG8vNIaa5VqUNjOI-g_n87kICgoetbOtk_nnM6GHzJlB8xAL27CK7cePMLa-imZ4QQqYI62CKTSgAtHTkLfdRwkqUpd76NQzuSREGRLfA9a2msCQfQY/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">You can move the columns around</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">To move a column just check on the little wheel on the top right of each column and a box comes up giving you the arrows to move the column left or right.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq7OUSKYDgERzFPJFgH__3SeAIYIyaH1RIIso65rAy05k21YZ9QHo4hnXWR30Pupj99UIiIwcF8hW1i4cKtKpBDhi1g0ZpoHBThJUr8sO-2COqURjlTj72LRP8GryhAN5sp7ygAjYNsNk/s1600-h/image%25255B29%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEZxvVw5qckKi368Bz12w4WfmQ858y4Yr7tKG4OKh-3Xc_beL2UfROBnUy3RzXgV5b42AfjoM8_Pa5FQnC-D-vX7SEJVcmyIZU6n-viOAv9hjRelzKvitxDSn_eNUZJ9oN7R0Yp0x6AVM/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">For the purposes of the <i>#edchatsa </i>on a Monday night I have moved my <i>#edchatsa</i> column right next to my <b>Mentions</b> columns so that I can write easily and receive any @fibeal messages.</span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">How to create and send a message</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">To create a message click on the little blue pen icon on the top of the interface.</span> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw1y4mZqSErWW6VcgAb_HSMpB-9WNrFZ6GRSly_bRctuWTdtuhf9ffNkYBS5Xjjd5E1mrQSrTwM3fdmNJvSpUcPAxajKN9Zitr7JAb8pNsWQweDz41YD_-0LcogTOD_f-ESPYwtTeviVQ/s1600-h/image%25255B32%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="42" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsk16JNRQ99KktHCfMVyU8S-GCWmn8rAQzFs8jqBaOGb3f-XOegvG7tM-lMdOSpRs2uUN7sVojx-fotKpj__Zw_Zk3TrzPA34qazELPTk8Mgqos8b8V955W6EZoR61AbCzUXigd-M0tg/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;">This will open the box to write and send your messages. When the writing box opens write your message making sure it doesn’t exceed 140 characters, and press </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Tweet.</i><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXLW7MM7sY9wOCcOC3E4wJR0_IoEmtgvfAp0qlz91DmGB0mOq7L0ZHKnJIyAYGF6haJIV4pe8as6Gu3Xu6Uq3V91kJpSuvttFReBt77UHXQQUomR13j0HZssjYzVmk9M3LrtVRhyFCUWg/s1600-h/image%25255B35%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-tHdWiOVH0hM7l8VeNQShMJid86fZbkWdjomp_23tCeoI5-Tb_UgNcmJfXJgS8I3bUVpNxKLyDpgS0_-987a6oDgUOsj9HNKfvew7vc9ngmkNJQ2V2mbJK_N-nHCK4iJNBbc68gFc8I/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">How to send a direct message to someone</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hover your mouse over the avatar of the person and the word <i>More</i> will appear on the top right.  click on More and it will take you to another icon with a little dropdown arrow. Click on that and a box will open that says “<i>Send a direct message</i>”.</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3NCbgPW_LbbRBb3Gjq0iSCT9Km4hP9eAuFNhio48WGbjS6rDiQoml0MCHiwD0eLbbRRFp2SHHpkaRPEnd93WrD3CQY9TBfZR_I2gzksnk6mFHYNeONOn9r6LEGqdAXWY0oY7q8V2Jzrw/s1600-h/image%25255B38%25255D.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="image" border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdtJv6JGvv0r-JUU9VnrJQzkPlXtgg7S3aMcvYTSila-91fywFmTDaRZjLSo_fjPRSH6gZK_l93_50eiF_4Loh8NasQ_Psm1DLGOAeDC4cQqejeBLSfWnY7C7MTv9uUs1C8RFIcdzrvgA/?imgmax=800" style="background-image: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-width: 0px; display: inline; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" title="image" width="244" /></a></div><br /><b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue',Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: large;">How to reply or retweet</span></b><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hover your mouse over the avatar of the person and a bar comes up containing an arrow, a group of arrows a star and the word <i>more</i>. The single arrow is for <i>Reply</i> and the group of arrows is for <i>Retweet</i>. </span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">So, why not give Tweetdeck a try?</span><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>

Collaboration Tutorials Twitter Website reviews Why not install and use Tweetdeck for Twitter group chats?

Last Monday night from 8:30pm – 9:30pm one of our s ocial media in education activitists in South Africa, Arthur Preston, Head at Elkanah H...

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The Feminine Mystique Of Mad Men

<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">by guest contributor Whistlingypsy</span></i><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipo4m0UtBQ_JIet69dWnHze_kb8GeDtaaIASqKw5JJFcHZtir1vo26yDpTbupG-3PkZROuwAqfmB4sJHppcZ51v6HVeKKtui5vp96b4_Mm8CLu_0M2gg4dEQEqTXbbntOlYwK2F84a9bI/s1600/1aAMM1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipo4m0UtBQ_JIet69dWnHze_kb8GeDtaaIASqKw5JJFcHZtir1vo26yDpTbupG-3PkZROuwAqfmB4sJHppcZ51v6HVeKKtui5vp96b4_Mm8CLu_0M2gg4dEQEqTXbbntOlYwK2F84a9bI/s550/1aAMM1.jpg" width="550" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">“<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting, and modern.”<br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> - Frank O'Hara, <i>Meditations in an Emergency</i></span></span></div></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Although the title might suggest the notion; this is not a discussion of feminism in <i>Mad Men</i>’s very male dominated industry. The inspiration is, in part, taken from the photograph above: a provocative portrayal of beautiful women and men perfectly accessorized and stylishly coiffed. The division of these individuals into feminine and masculine, light and dark, personal and professional, implies not only different natures and different worlds but a separate mystique.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2Di9TKdiT2X1eDkLfH_ekWfdlJMo6mMQ_a8djLhFmC2XS-v10f31McyXUWQhPfxue9oFW4UUA0q7yKGr2zSmcDVCjhqz6hldz1JbDxg9Caa0OGd6ynDCkUFJW95vFW7JayHW8Vmu7_0/s1600/1aAMM2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha2Di9TKdiT2X1eDkLfH_ekWfdlJMo6mMQ_a8djLhFmC2XS-v10f31McyXUWQhPfxue9oFW4UUA0q7yKGr2zSmcDVCjhqz6hldz1JbDxg9Caa0OGd6ynDCkUFJW95vFW7JayHW8Vmu7_0/s200/1aAMM2.jpg" width="143" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Mad Men</i> artfully dramatizes the many ways female identity can wiggle and re-shape in even the narrowest spaces, from captivating leading ladies to intriguing supporting characters. The show has explored some popularly held notions of femininity, some of which were already ossified by the 1960s, by placing these notions within the context of an advertising campaign. When Paul Kinsey proposed his "new concept" for the Playtex account in "Maidenform," (S2, E6), "All women want to be Jackie Kennedy or Marilyn Monroe", he wasn't referring to their conservative or liberal politics. He was putting a mid-century spin on the old Freudian concept of "the chaste versus the loose" woman. The return of the show for season five is a great opportunity to look back, and in the words of advertising man Leo Burnett, see “the inherent drama of everyday life” through the eyes of Peggy, Joan and Betty, <i>Mad Men</i>'s powerful feminine mystique.</div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ENn0oRXHcrLda8f4OfvynuK2fkYOMI7nIeDFJRsUOPb0NMFf2EAetb3i4tEMz66gHvF6kD8_kIs_BSuaPLkPcbkfc_pA6j8-vHy2MGobUluALHbYpSo9_xHDfOg7eudHN90oLJw_7ec/s1600/1aAMM3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ENn0oRXHcrLda8f4OfvynuK2fkYOMI7nIeDFJRsUOPb0NMFf2EAetb3i4tEMz66gHvF6kD8_kIs_BSuaPLkPcbkfc_pA6j8-vHy2MGobUluALHbYpSo9_xHDfOg7eudHN90oLJw_7ec/s200/1aAMM3.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be unforgettable,<br />disarming and sensational<br />in MYSTRECE by Hanes.</td></tr></tbody></table>T<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">he quote at the top of the page was introduced in the storyline of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"Flight"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> (S2, E1) and in this context seems to be a wholly masculine concern, but there is no reason why a woman wouldn't want her personality to seem "beautiful, interesting and modern". In 1963, Betty Friedan published her groundbreaking work on the nature of the female, titled </span><u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The Feminine Mystique</span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">, which I will attempt to highlight: her goal was to dispel the notion that women were not only best suited but exclusively suited to the role of wife and mother, an instinctive role portrayed in terms worthy of a mythical character: </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>the feminine mystique</i></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">. She frankly addressed the false notion that a woman's suppression of her natural role, sublimated by a desire for an education and/or a career, would lead to grave discontentment. Her premise would have taken issue with Ann Margaret singing "</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How Lovely To Be A Woman</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">" and Nancy Kwan singing </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"I</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Enjoy Being A Girl</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">." Why? Despite these songs celebrating the woman of the late Eisenhower era, with humor and irony, Friedan would have claimed each woman’s cause for celebration is too dependent on a phone call from a man, and implies all the trappings of femininity is meant to help catch a husband.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDmcjZCBuw49IUC5Fc96KhmaVdbyLB2KgdW41y-JyCLDisGif5nlFEAwgmS9shyF_LuUL97DEMmFyFUF3grElShy27gOOEdrFVbTWz3TtLDkIL-uksOn85j4RDNEpVafPGaQ2vsLgzuU/s1600/1aAMM4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmDmcjZCBuw49IUC5Fc96KhmaVdbyLB2KgdW41y-JyCLDisGif5nlFEAwgmS9shyF_LuUL97DEMmFyFUF3grElShy27gOOEdrFVbTWz3TtLDkIL-uksOn85j4RDNEpVafPGaQ2vsLgzuU/s200/1aAMM4.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">By Appointment to<br />Her Majesty,<br />Mrs. Homemaker.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Friedan also appraised the advertising industry from the perspective of inducing women to believe each new product was necessary to her role in <i>the feminine mystique</i>. The adage “a housewife's work is never done”, was behind the notion that so long as a woman is busy, she will never question her role as wife, mother and consumer of household goods. The development of a range of cleaning products and household items was intended to keep women busy (and presumably content) Monday through Sunday, sunrise to sunset. This could certainly be interpreted as a woman's guide to elementary Freud with a <i>proto-feminist </i>spin, in Friedan’s defense, we know this is partly true. However, the book has been criticized, after the passage of fifty years, for a limited view of women’s choices and for the research’s exclusion of women of color and a narrow focus of sexual orientation. It would be foolish to assume American women had <i>no</i> options fifty years ago, each life was as different as the woman who would tell the story.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMXKRENQp4XcZHGMNdqNuTYc9CxOxSGHZZtVMb6x4l5MPRrpdm19wuhgyggWzzR7MBXA202ozukNYGlLBgz69gF12x2il7_g3sv0e9qcmLjw7Z2ylRMprFYLfOiyRueJJzs5kaNzmCkk/s1600/1aAMM5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsMXKRENQp4XcZHGMNdqNuTYc9CxOxSGHZZtVMb6x4l5MPRrpdm19wuhgyggWzzR7MBXA202ozukNYGlLBgz69gF12x2il7_g3sv0e9qcmLjw7Z2ylRMprFYLfOiyRueJJzs5kaNzmCkk/s600/1aAMM5.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I’m Peggy Olson, and I want to smoke marijuana,” Sterling Cooper’s only female copywriter informs her male colleagues in "My Old Kentucky Home," (S3, E3). A young woman who knows her mind, she later tells her secretary, in response to a comment informing her actions have consequences, “Don’t worry about me. I am going to get to do everything you want for me”. The question is why Peggy doesn’t tell her, “I am going to get to do everything I want,” perhaps she isn’t so certain after all. Peggy has a steep learning curve her first day on the job at Sterling Cooper advertising agency.</div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1Gh9lMAFVE1yP5jrXeGKnGTnMbJZz823e-fB20T7G1-4d7uTTlsEibdWxt_F_ZODUBhin_2e2PAAU5oO_JnqKQewQxkfkM-D_V_VjE0V52HB1InXPZqnkJlSZsgC1vx625mq62PKq-k/s1600/1aAMM6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ1Gh9lMAFVE1yP5jrXeGKnGTnMbJZz823e-fB20T7G1-4d7uTTlsEibdWxt_F_ZODUBhin_2e2PAAU5oO_JnqKQewQxkfkM-D_V_VjE0V52HB1InXPZqnkJlSZsgC1vx625mq62PKq-k/s200/1aAMM6.jpg" width="146" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A promotional tie-in:<br />Underwood Red nail polish<br />& Underwood 150 typewriter.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Her secretarial school training would have prepared her to take and translate shorthand, type and make carbon copies, but unlikely to have equipped her for the intrigues and romantic values of a mid-century Manhattan advertising office. The agency's office manager, Joan Holloway, implies she is Peggy's senior in all the subjects that matter and happy to advise her as she begins her new life. Peggy goes decidedly "off lesson plan"and her innovations result in a heartbreaking scene in "The Wheel," (S1, E13) when she turns away from her newborn child. Peggy's entry into the world of copy writing is made possible not solely based on a clever turn of phrase when she hands Freddie Rumsen a "basket of kisses". He recognizes her ability to create "word images", a skill he is certain will be invaluable in persuading female consumers to buy an entire line of similar products. When her talent is not enough to persuade her male co-workers to take her seriously, and they fail to include her in an important meeting, she arrives at the bar where they have taken the client dressed to accentuate her advantage over her male colleagues. In response to her question regarding her bad luck with men in "The Jet Set," (S2, E11), Kurt, Sterling Cooper's freelance artist, tells her "you are old style" and offers to give her a new hairstyle.</div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgeb4uXRyDZeLVzHbaF703jFQt10WdfNWURcUo9VRGjrBdLHEtzVcxjBZpD4tcfqlIE9LrYx3ybcuQNPUnCJa1i810gh75ujby1VVcTGOwKJa4UL6RJaeGS4Ja_YPU5IPVv69SM_u4m8/s1600/1aAMM7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzgeb4uXRyDZeLVzHbaF703jFQt10WdfNWURcUo9VRGjrBdLHEtzVcxjBZpD4tcfqlIE9LrYx3ybcuQNPUnCJa1i810gh75ujby1VVcTGOwKJa4UL6RJaeGS4Ja_YPU5IPVv69SM_u4m8/s200/1aAMM7.jpg" width="156" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discover the Swinging<br />World of Yamaha</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Peggy struggles with the dichotomy of needing to be taken seriously as a woman in a male dominated industry, and she stumbles through attempts to be one of the boys while becoming one of the girls. Although her integrity will not allow her to trade on her sexuality to get ahead, she is not without contradiction and she breaks personal and professional taboos when she begins an affair with Herman "Duck" Phillips. The pressure of these conflicting desires finds an object in the person of Don Draper, a man Peggy has reason to respect and trust. She expresses her reserved anger and disappointment in "The Suitcase" (S4, E7), when she accuses him of stealing her idea for the Glo-Coat campaign. She also wonders, with the parade of women in Don's life, why not her? She doesn't harbor a secret wish to spend time in Don's bed, she has accepted the truth behind the image. Peggy does want reassurance that her desire for recognition and her need to be desirable aren't mutually exclusive, and she confides, "I know what I'm supposed to want," she says, "but it just never feels right, or as important as anything in that office."</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmN0zq9hPsYLNBIPUHsYhjwpXbwoc0Vi0H_exuo-vIpBXDjuDeSKxq3WJbgk6LCZgNBO5lxVxjBCxhc8mZS9o9EWPNANuNIGiCE7gJzfGSjajp803d9vKrBvxBGmwMUgaOUs2WcXT1Csg/s1600/1aAMM8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmN0zq9hPsYLNBIPUHsYhjwpXbwoc0Vi0H_exuo-vIpBXDjuDeSKxq3WJbgk6LCZgNBO5lxVxjBCxhc8mZS9o9EWPNANuNIGiCE7gJzfGSjajp803d9vKrBvxBGmwMUgaOUs2WcXT1Csg/s600/1aAMM8.jpg" width="600" /></a></div>“<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If this were me I would say something like ‘fun loving girl, responsible sometimes, likes to laugh, lives to love, seeks size six for city living and general gallivanting. No dull moments or dull men tolerated.’ or something like that!” Joan (Holloway) Harris, Office Manager at Sterling Cooper advertising agency comments on Peggy Olson’s notice for a roommate in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">"The Arrangements"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> (S3, E4). Joan is a competent and confident woman; she can cook and she's a good hostess; she can play the accordion and sing in French, if necessary. She makes no secret of her taste for the finer things in life, and she is certain she'll get everything she wants. </span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpao9_2OKcP_ZcOATCXtaxUZShMQXOfV33v3CP0hC-8qq6g_KWyWj0-W0IEHmvPsArDq6npqh_uXxWlDQCAKROt2KJ_8JwiEk8xkoqVAWsPKFWH58LYvg6BPCZhi8fP2H8Yrr2_MJDx4/s1600/1aAMM11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkpao9_2OKcP_ZcOATCXtaxUZShMQXOfV33v3CP0hC-8qq6g_KWyWj0-W0IEHmvPsArDq6npqh_uXxWlDQCAKROt2KJ_8JwiEk8xkoqVAWsPKFWH58LYvg6BPCZhi8fP2H8Yrr2_MJDx4/s200/1aAMM11.jpg" width="157" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pardon Us While We Slip Into<br />Something Comfortable!<br />The 1963 Dodge gives women options.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The trouble is, she has been married to a young surgical resident for a year, and she seems as discontented with married life as she had become with her life as a single woman. Joan’s voluptuous feminine allure appears to mask something darker, sometimes merciless, which often shows through the cracks of her well-coiffed, couture-clad exterior. Joan is in the midst of a year-long affair with Sterling Cooper partner Roger Sterling in "Long Weekend" (S1, E10) when he tells her he is free to spend the weekend with her. Joan is far from the "fun loving girl" Roger expected when she refers to <i>The Apartment</i> and describes a female character as being “handed around to the office men like a tray of canapés”. Joan later reveals to Roger in "Six Month Leave" (S2, E9) a vulnerability he seems unable, or unwilling, to accept. He sees the death of Marilyn Monroe as inevitable, a movie star who had everything and threw it away. Joan sees herself in Marilyn, a beautiful, sensual and vulnerable woman who, after "this world destroyed her," was destined to die alone. Joan has begun to consider the truth of being a self-aware and sexually liberated woman, much like a courtesan of an earlier era it comes with built in limitations and an equally bleak future. </div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5SYQpfUVHqszCsD47Oq2IPCAXd7ApaiaB1D-bnQGP2y_tIf2SNgQhg_qZuDtn7IjjtWvWEVg8B34Iya5LJfgPg_bz_atb41eXWgZ-C9cuaYSoIDUEsJ1irVh5jd3bEcq1q97ZhyoACg/s1600/1aAMM12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc5SYQpfUVHqszCsD47Oq2IPCAXd7ApaiaB1D-bnQGP2y_tIf2SNgQhg_qZuDtn7IjjtWvWEVg8B34Iya5LJfgPg_bz_atb41eXWgZ-C9cuaYSoIDUEsJ1irVh5jd3bEcq1q97ZhyoACg/s200/1aAMM12.jpg" width="153" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's busy...<br />yet she's beautiful...<br />she uses Pond's.<br />Pond's makes a woman<br />alluring and competent.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Joan doesn’t tolerate others defining her life or her personality, and she has an even lower threshold for whiners. When Joan asks Lane Pryce for time off to spend with her husband in "The Good News" (S4, E3), Lane alludes to her willingness to use her sexuality to get whatever she wants, "I understand that all men are dizzy and powerless to refuse you", and he adds, "Don't go and cry about it". Joan later expresses a frustration that Peggy Olson knows only too well when she throws a bouquet at Lane and tells him, he consistently makes her "feel like a helpless, stupid little girl." When her husband returns defeated after doing poorly on an interview in "The Gypsy and the Hobo" (S3, E11), Joan is so enraged by his comment that she has never known what it is "to want something your whole life" and not get it, she picks up a vase and breaks it over his head. She might feel a crack on the head is the least he deserves, after he raped her at Sterling Cooper and she quit a job in which she had made herself indispensable. She might feel his failure to notice she wants so much more from her life is typical of him; he had told her earlier she should "be home eating bonbons and watching television, not reading scripts". However, her act of rage is made all the more inexplicable in "The Summer Man" (S4, E8) when she arrives home as her husband is about to leave for basic training. "Who am I going to talk to?" she asks him and breaks down in tears when he mentions her friends at work. Her overwhelming sense of isolation could lead her deeper into a cruel deception.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYhNlhyphenhyphenMXBmM9rfJWnAYHEdQlRHH-CwGeZBwREjWYerZv37r1lPc1vWKnGEgsG9mT0LR-56wZ2aLc4eZv4wPlpIu86cJApV9QL8Vk2vQDJgz8Sq7uiDknpPxMcSSaUUjOZ3UAVHqv3RyG/s1600/1aAMM13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="100" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoYhNlhyphenhyphenMXBmM9rfJWnAYHEdQlRHH-CwGeZBwREjWYerZv37r1lPc1vWKnGEgsG9mT0LR-56wZ2aLc4eZv4wPlpIu86cJApV9QL8Vk2vQDJgz8Sq7uiDknpPxMcSSaUUjOZ3UAVHqv3RyG/s600/1aAMM13.jpg" width="600" /></a></div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">“I hate this place, I hate our friends, I hate this town,” Betty Draper informs her husband in "Souvenir"<b> </b>(S3, E8) after an idyllic trip to Rome. Why is Betty Draper so miserable? She lives a charmed life as the wife of Sterling Cooper’s most promising advertising executive. She had an affluent childhood; attended Bryn Mawr; where she majored in anthropology; she had a brief career as a model; she is well-read and speaks fluent Italian. She lives comfortably in a beautiful upstate suburb, where she is a housewife raising three young children.<br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lQN8kjZZXLGsX11nXuS8zJJ6xxgLZaVcPQKKd0Dlcn7CuYl62JoXzAfgBpJ4SJIZ2OENIpqGmm1DHcxBb8GvGO6feUt0Zdw0YI-ysUImGe24sHBWx7E7xvn8Vi4OFYSUyk91CHB7BL8/s1600/1aAMM14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3lQN8kjZZXLGsX11nXuS8zJJ6xxgLZaVcPQKKd0Dlcn7CuYl62JoXzAfgBpJ4SJIZ2OENIpqGmm1DHcxBb8GvGO6feUt0Zdw0YI-ysUImGe24sHBWx7E7xvn8Vi4OFYSUyk91CHB7BL8/s200/1aAMM14.jpg" width="138" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Be Bright! Be Light! Have a Pepsi!<br />Modern girls neither <br />sacrifice pleasure nor<br />compromise their figures.</td></tr></tbody></table>Betty Draper is also, much like Joan Holloway, a good hostess: she knows how to dress well and set a good table. Her misery is abated with cigarettes and cocktails, horseback riding, European vacations, a glamorous wardrobe, and occasional target practice with a neighbor's pigeons. Why, then, is she fast becoming the inspiration for “Mother’s Little Helper” with her own fainting couch? Betty spends time in therapy, after exhibiting “unexplained emotional episodes,” which could be further compounded when her husband echoes her doctor’s assessment in "Red in the Face" (S1, E7), “Sometimes I feel like I'm living with a little girl." Betty could be living her life with unrealized aspirations, in a mistaken sense of loyalty to her mother, whose standards continue to haunt her. Her relationship with her husband perpetuates the parent/child dynamic. He scolds her for allowing a salesman into the home, he criticizes her bathing suit for looking desperate, and uses her as a test subject for a ad campaign. Perhaps Betty finds a few answers in her choice of reading material, <u>The Group</u> by Mary McCarthy. The novel explores many themes, including the notion of whether higher education makes women unsuitable as wives and mothers and the use of mental illness by husbands to control ambitious and intelligent wives.</div><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5yjeR3u7-ke7bOLAH0aymXusrdruCQjE8zgcfjrIsUtagAZHrty0L8rorMxpzw8OoXvnSVg-y7jkanMbLKlRaNwc-De8fixlhsC3GUKYH2LixMGMaZorJji8kDPDfODRbCgkgn_17Ko/s1600/1aAMM15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm5yjeR3u7-ke7bOLAH0aymXusrdruCQjE8zgcfjrIsUtagAZHrty0L8rorMxpzw8OoXvnSVg-y7jkanMbLKlRaNwc-De8fixlhsC3GUKYH2LixMGMaZorJji8kDPDfODRbCgkgn_17Ko/s200/1aAMM15.jpg" width="145" /></a></td></tr><tr style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This Spring, The blues<br />Are The News for Eyes!<br />and for Little Girl Blues.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Betty confides to her therapist in "The Wheel" (S1, E13) in her first truly honest moment "I can't help but think that I'd be happy if my husband was faithful to me”. A particularly messy exposure regarding her husband’s infidelity with the wife of a comic, finally forces Betty to face the harsh reality regarding her marriage. Betty tells Helen, her divorced neighbor, in "The Inheritance"<b> </b>(S2, E10) that Don has moved out of the house. She is undecided about the future of the marriage and responds, "Sometimes I think I'll float away if Don isn't holding me down." Her divorce from Don Draper, when she learns the truth of her husband’s past, and her remarriage to Henry Francis, does nothing to alleviate her feelings of insecurity. Although she made no secret of her contempt for all things Ossining, she lives in the same house with her new husband that she once shared with Don. She has never been a bad parent, perhaps a little disengaged, but she is becoming increasingly irrational with Sally and Bobby. Henry's mother observes the children during a particularly stressful Thanksgiving in "Public Relations" (S4, E1) and tells her son "They are terrified of her". Betty responds in "Tomorrowland" (S4, Ep13) when Henry asks her why she fired Carla "I want a fresh start". However, she appears overwhelmed by the prospect of leaving her old life behind and lies down on Sally's unmade bed. </div><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This post is dedicated to Sterling, Cooper Draper and Pryce's most senior member of staff, Ida Blankenship: she was conscientious and loyal to the bitter end.</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;">~ </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;">Guest contributor Whistlingypsy's blog is <a href="http://distant-voicesandflickering-shadows.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Distant Voices and Flickering Shadows</span></a>. </div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div>

Mad Men Whistlingypsy (author) The Feminine Mystique Of Mad Men

by guest contributor Whistlingypsy “ Now I am quietly waiting for the catastrophe of my personality to seem beautiful again, and interesting...

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GOLDMAN SACHS

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBV8bRE1hyphenhyphenN3tk2Ir1Ei7W62smFtf6p7EVWWFhF5SQH0by2_KL5iU-tnYLlKauJEVW5_ovbxntf4ZWHAiY3kuHyv-j-gHhHPdA-YQthRGneOuyqVbiZSvd3QeeKx9lUknqYb94aH62UANO/s1600/goldman-sachs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBV8bRE1hyphenhyphenN3tk2Ir1Ei7W62smFtf6p7EVWWFhF5SQH0by2_KL5iU-tnYLlKauJEVW5_ovbxntf4ZWHAiY3kuHyv-j-gHhHPdA-YQthRGneOuyqVbiZSvd3QeeKx9lUknqYb94aH62UANO/s640/goldman-sachs.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;">Griechenland: Geheimer Deal mit Goldman Sachs löste Euro-Krise aus </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><b><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt;"></span></b><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Via Deutsche-Mittelstands-Nachrichten</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-AT">Für die Investmentbanken sind die Politiker die besten Kunden: Sie brauchen immer Geld und verstehen nichts vom Geschäft. So werden am Vorabend des griechischen Schuldenschnitts neue Details bekannt, wie Goldman Sachs den Griechen half, die EU zu betrügen. Für Goldman war es ein extrem profitables Geschäft. Für die Euro-Zone war es das Initialereignis für die größte Krise ihrer Geschichte.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Im Jahr 2001 befand sich Griechenland in der misslichen Lage, ein für den Euro-Beitritt zu hohes Defizit aufzuweisen. Daher beauftragte die griechischen Regierung die Investmentbank Goldman Sachs, das Problem zu lösen. Goldman bot den Griechen eine 2,8 Milliarden Euro-Finanzierung an. Diese würde es der griechischen Regierung ermöglichen, die Maastricht-Kriterien der Europäischen Union zu erfüllen: Weil die Schulden aus dem Haushalt herausgerechnet werden konnten, würde Griechenland als hoffnungsvolles neues Euro-Mitglied begrüßt werden.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">So kam es denn auch. Doch während der EU-Beitritt Griechenlands aufgrund der Verschleierungs-Aktion reibungslos verlief, geriet das griechische Defizit weiter außer Kontrolle. Dass Europa via Griechenland an den Rand des Abgrund geriet, ist im Grund auf die Kreativität der Investmentbank Goldman Sachs zurückzuführen, die in der kriminellen Energie der griechischen Regierung die Chance zu einem guten Geschäft erkannte. Goldman strukturierte den Deal mit den Griechen nämlich nicht einfach als normalen Kredit mit normalen Zinsen, sondern in Form eines komplizierten Derivate-Swaps – einem jener hochspekulativen Geschäfte, dessen Charme unter anderem die beschauliche Stadt Pforzheim unterlegen war (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2012/03/39261/" title="Wie die Stadt Pforzheim von JP Morgan für dumm verkauft wurde"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Heute sagen die griechischen Politiker, sie hätten nicht verstanden, worum es ging.<br />Sie beklagen, dass Goldman auf einer Geheimhaltungsklausel bestanden habe. Daher sei es ihnen nicht möglich gewesen, sich am Markt zu erkundigen, um welche Art von Geschäft es sich gehandelt habe. Der Chef der staatlichen griechischen Schuldenagentur, Spyros Papanicolaou, sagte dem Nachrichtendienst Bloomberg, dass Goldman den Griechen gedroht hätte: „Wenn ihr irgendjemand von den Konditionen erzählt, ist der Deal abgeblasen.“</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Goldman gelang es tatsächlich, mithilfe komplizierter Währungsgeschäfte die Staatsschulden Griechenlands um zwei Prozent senken: Die Banker tauschten griechische Staatsanleihen erst in Dollar, dann in Yen um. Dies geschah zu veralteten und teilweise fiktiven Wechselkursen. Es geschah außerhalb des normalen griechischen Haushalts, weshalb es keinerlei Transparenz nach Brüssel gab.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Wie ein griechischer Beamter Bloomberg bestätigte, waren nicht nur die Zinsen fiktiv. Goldman verwendete für diese Transaktionen die fiktive Summe von 15 Milliarden Euro – ein Vielfaches mehr, als der eigentliche Kredit ausmachte. Dadurch stiegen die Chancen, aber auch das Risiko der Transaktion. Vor allem aber stiegen die Gebühren, die Griechenland an Goldman zu zahlen hatte.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Als der Auftrag vier Jahre später umgeschuldet wurde, war der Deal vollständig aus dem Ruder gelaufen. Um die ursprünglich 2,8 Milliarden Euro zurückzahlen zu können, hatte Griechenland nämliche eine Wette abgeschlossen – und zwar auf steigende Zinsen. Doch nach den Terroranschlägen am 11.September 2001 fielen die Zinsen, und die Schulden Griechenlands stiegen mit dem Refinanzierungsmodell gewaltig an. Um das Problem in den Griff zu bekommen, folgte Griechenland dem Rat von Goldman und startete eine neue Wette: Diese war nun an die Inflation in der Eurozone gekoppelt war. Doch auch diese Lösung entwickelte sich zum Rohrkrepierer. Denn leider verliefen die wichtigsten Kennzahlen für diesen Swap genau andersrum wie von Goldman vorhergesagt. Goldman wettet selbst gerne gegen Unternehmen (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/12/12033/" title="Goldman wettet gegen europäische Unternehmen"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">) und empfiehlt auch Wetten gegen Europa (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/11/12021/" title="Goldman Sachs empfiehlt Wetten gegen Europa"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Die Folge für Griechenland: Aus einem Kredit von 2,8 Milliarden Euro war – dank der fachkundigen Beratung durch Goldman (Goldman erteilt auch Politikern gerne Ratschläge – </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/11/32840/" title="Goldman Sachs rät Angela Merkel zum Gelddrucken"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">) – ein doppelt so hoher Schuldenberg geworden: Nun standen die Griechen durch die Derivate mit 5,1 Milliarden Euro in der Kreide. Goldman machte bei dem Deal einen Profit von 600 Millionen Euro – wobei schwer zu sagen ist, wie viel Profit die Bank wirklich erzielt hat, weil sie ja auch Kosten für den Kredite und die Transaktion verbuchen musste. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Immerhin: Die 600 Millionen Profit stellten im Jahr 2001 etwa 12% des Umsatzes der Abteilung dar, die für Goldman das Geschäft machte. Der Chef der Abteilung: Lloyd Blankfein, heute oberster Chef von Goldman. Der Chef für europäisches Risiko-Management bei Goldman in London war zur damaligen Zeit auch einer, der später noch eine große Karriere in der europäischen Schuldenkrise machen sollte: Bis zum heutigen Tag bestreitet EZB-Chef Mario Draghi, auch nur irgendetwas von dem Griechen-Deal gewusst zu haben.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Anfangs waren die Griechen von dem Deal ganz begeistert: Sie hätten von Goldman drei Jahre Befreiung von der Schuldentilgung bekommen. Der gesamte Kredit wäre in den folgenden 15 Jahren abzubezahlen gewesen. Das schien ihnen, wie allen Schuldnern, eine attraktive Lösung – weil Schulden immer auf Zeitgewinn setzen, auch wenn es keinen rationalen Grund dafür gibt, dass es einmal besser werden würde.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Auch Goldman wurde die Sache am Ende zu hieß. So reiste die zuständige Mitarbeiterin, Addy Loudiadis, im August 2005 nach Athen und sorgte dafür, dass der gesamte Kredit an die griechische Notenbank abgewälzt wurde. Damit hatte Goldman ein gutes Geschäft gemacht – und der Schuldenberg war dezent in die öffentliche Hand transferiert.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dasselbe geschieht im Übrigen beim aktuellen Schuldenschnitt: Das gesamte Risiko übernehmen die Steuerzahler Europas, weil die EZB, der IWF und die nationalen Notenbanken an die Stelle der privaten Gläubiger treten. So schließt sich ein Kreis: Das Bestreben der kriminellen griechischen Politik, die Zahlen zu fälschen, traf auf die skrupellose Geschäftstüchtigkeit von Goldman und wurde, weil das Geschehen in der Folge völlig außer Kontrolle geriet, zum Initialereignis der Eskalation der europäischen Schuldenkrise. Die Investmentbanken verdienen bei den Maßnahmen gegen die Krise wieder mit (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/11/11780/" title="Wie Goldman Sachs am EFSF mitverdient"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr heir</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Der italienische Ökonomie-Professor und Autor des Standardwerks „Derivate und öffentliches Schulden-Management“, Gustavo Piga, sagte in einem Interview dieser Tage: „Bei Deals mit Geheimhaltung haben die Makler immer die Oberhand und verwenden sie, um die Steuerzahler auszuquetschen. Die Verhandlungsmacht liegt vollständig in den Händen der Investment-Banken.“</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Inzwischen sind ehemalige hohe Mitarbeiter der Investmentbank auch an politischen Schlüsselstellen in Europa untergekommen. Der Chef der Europäischen Zentralbank, Mario Draghi, kommt aus der Chefetage von Goldman Sachs (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/06/18811/" title="EZB: Kein Kompromiss sondern Draghi"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">). Und auch der italienische Premierminister Mario Monti hat berufliche Verbindungen zu Goldman (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.deutsche-mittelstands-nachrichten.de/2011/11/11670/" title="Italien: Monti ist im Nebenjob Berater bei Goldman Sachs"><span lang="DE-AT" style="color: blue;">mehr hier</span></a></span><span lang="DE-AT" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-AT"> <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/10/deutsche-bank-vegas-exposure-equals.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/10/deutsche-bank-vegas-exposure-equals.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span lang="DE-AT"> <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/goldman-sachs-and-europes-inside-job.html">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/11/goldman-sachs-and-europes-inside-job.html</a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0Z8qGylGLXPs1ldJAzJjaUT7GwkIlZEjY5i_Emv2QQ-Yr2r7RmTh1DfVjpyjL5uKW8q_1SdLD_o2WVjiDZHB5Ecq9HIUDT5e8aQPGeqia8_rvxsprFOXQipiUTzrgdaEeolCQLI8w3gO/s1600/goldman-sachs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl0Z8qGylGLXPs1ldJAzJjaUT7GwkIlZEjY5i_Emv2QQ-Yr2r7RmTh1DfVjpyjL5uKW8q_1SdLD_o2WVjiDZHB5Ecq9HIUDT5e8aQPGeqia8_rvxsprFOXQipiUTzrgdaEeolCQLI8w3gO/s320/goldman-sachs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="mso-cellspacing: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 0in 0in; mso-yfti-tbllook: 1184; width: 100.0%;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"><td style="color: red; padding: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #666666; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="font-size: small;">Below article was posted on this blog October 2011!</span></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Dateline Greece: Goldman, Just Pay Up</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="color: red; padding: 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 7.5pt;"><br />By <b>SREERAM CHAULIA </b> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/%20http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/10/banking-institutions-are-more-dangerous.html"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"> <span style="color: white; font-size: small;">http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2011/10/banking-institutions-are-more-dangerous.html</span></span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt;"><span style="color: blue;">As Greece teeters on the edge of sovereign default of around $300 billion and sends shudders of premonition throughout the global economy, the fingerprints of </span><span style="color: red;">Goldman Sachs </span> <span style="color: blue;">are once again to be found, as in so many crises beforehand. Sreeram Chaulia argues that Goldman should accept moral responsibility and contribute funds to bailing out Greece.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">A<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">s more skeletons fall out of the closet, it is coming to light that Greece's profligacy was abetted and managed for several years by the top Wall Street financial firms via complex instruments. </span></div><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Economies of developing countries have endured decades of bitter experiences of falling into debt traps that sap productive resources.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In 2001, before spendthrift Greece could enter the eurozone by satisfying the deficit limit rules of the currency union, Goldman Sachs entered the picture with a tricky currency trade deal that would hide billions of dollars of additional public borrowing and not make it look like debt. For this piece of consultancy, which helped Greece join the euro by hook or by crook, Goldman received fees of $300 million. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In 2005, Goldman sold to the National Bank of Greece an “interest rate swap,” one of the notorious derivatives that have come under scrutiny since the Wall Street implosion of 2008. Greek critics of such dubious debt-hiding transactions had warned their government of the mounting long-term liabilities to the likes of Goldman, but to no avail. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">According to news reports, Greece mortgaged revenue-generating assets like the national lottery, airports and highways as part of the agreements with Goldman in what amounted to "a garage sale on a national scale." </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Goldman Sachs is reported to have attempted a redux of 2001 when its president, Gary Cohn, landed in Athens in November 2009 with a similar debt deferral proposal that would continue to fool investors and the EU. This time around, Greece did not oblige. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But the damage had already been done over a decade of spiraling foreign debt that was repackaged and postponed with Wall Street's wizardry. We now know that similar borrowing binges were occurring in the rest of the PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) economies courtesy of the financial dodging expertise of Goldman, JPMorgan and the entire cadre of hedge funds. </span></div><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">It may not be unfair if the EU demands that Goldman accept moral responsibility and contribute to bailing out Greece.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Economies of developing countries, especially in Africa and Latin America, have endured decades of bitter experiences of falling into debt traps that sap productive resources, benefit speculative financiers and weaken state capacities to govern. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In their cases, the Bretton Woods institutions acted as economic restructuring consultants and funding taps that only opened if the recipients met crushing conditionalities. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">John Perkins's book, "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man," reveals how highly paid professionals with knowledge of macroeconomics and world affairs were deployed to convince political and financial leaders of poor countries to accept massive "development loans" from the World Bank and USAID. Once ensnared, the supplicants would be subjected to pressure on different issues from Washington. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In the PIGS economies, it was not so much strategically motivated hit men working for the U.S. government but rather some freewheeling U.S. financial corporations that could make a killing out of clients who were addicted to reckless state spending. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">In late February 2010, as the EU began investigating the Wall Street shenanigans in Athens, Goldman defended its Greek misadventures by arguing, predictably enough, that they were legal actions consistent with the regulations of their time. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Of course, much of the fault lay with the Greek politicians who were seduced by the Wall Street financial advisers who, for their part, were simply pursuing the bread-and-butter business of circulating wealth for profit. </span></div><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 151px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 0in 0in 0in 0in;"><table align="left" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="MsoNormalTable" style="width: 130px;"><tbody><tr style="mso-yfti-firstrow: yes; mso-yfti-irow: 0;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 1;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Of course, much of the fault lay with the Greek politicians who were seduced by Wall Street financial advisers.</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr><tr style="mso-yfti-irow: 2; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;"> <td style="padding: 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt 3.0pt;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div></td> </tr></tbody></table></td> </tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Had Athens been more disciplined in organizing its finances, there would not have been a window of opportunity for Goldman and company to exploit its vulnerability. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">But southern Europe's debt-proneness has systemic consequences from which Wall Street cannot easily extricate itself. While there is no evidence to suggest that U.S. investment banks deliberately dug the graves of PIGS to weaken the euro, the disastrous social costs of their financial chicanery call for reparations. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It may not be unfair if the EU demands that Goldman, which now leads the earnings chart on Wall Street, accept moral responsibility and contribute to bailing out Greece. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Who knows — now that even the U.S. Federal Reserve is making noises about investigating Goldman’s practices, the firm may be in a hurry to pay up. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Editor's Note: This feature is adapted from a longer version published in The Financial Express on February 25, 2010</span></i>

GOLDMAN SACHS

Griechenland: Geheimer Deal mit Goldman Sachs löste Euro-Krise aus  Via Deutsche-Mittelstands-Nachrichten Für die Investmentbanken sind die ...

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AUSTRIAN AIRLINES KRISE

<div align="center" style="color: blue; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ImtEcLmX71Mpxe0F9SI1j3KcJ0S-vxCVERqP9xkQqmpqdglg-OF_SwYjTgGFpkcgVGMsafQjUVRL4KQ1M6NFson4O8E3JTZWADJZIV_SOQ9mCQADPlsackpiY_y8RIB8YQqfEG4h4V1U/s1600/Photos-+Airline+Pilots+Protest+On+Wall+Street+Tuesday+September+27+2011+13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7ImtEcLmX71Mpxe0F9SI1j3KcJ0S-vxCVERqP9xkQqmpqdglg-OF_SwYjTgGFpkcgVGMsafQjUVRL4KQ1M6NFson4O8E3JTZWADJZIV_SOQ9mCQADPlsackpiY_y8RIB8YQqfEG4h4V1U/s320/Photos-+Airline+Pilots+Protest+On+Wall+Street+Tuesday+September+27+2011+13.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" style="color: blue; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" style="color: blue; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span lang="DE-AT">BÖSE PILOTEN GUTER VORSTAND? DAS SIND DIE FACTS</span></b></span></div><div align="center" style="color: blue; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="color: red; text-align: center;"><b><span lang="DE-AT">Worum es im Streit AUA-Piloten und Vorstand geht – LH-Piloten bereits auf der Hut</span></b></div><div style="font-style: italic; text-align: center;"><span lang="DE-AT">Via Tourismuswirtschaft Austria International </span></div><div style="font-style: italic;"><br /></div><span lang="DE-AT">Die Öffentlichkeitsarbeit des Bord-Betriebsrats von Austrian Airlines ist miserabel. So ist es kein Wunder, dass in der Öffentlichkeit keinerlei Verständnis für die Haltung der Piloten rund um den Kollektivvertrags-Konflikt der AUA besteht. Die seit mehr als einer Woche laufenden zähen Verhandlungen zwischen Management und Belegschaftsvertretern wurden in der Nacht von Dienstag auf Mittwoch abgebrochen. </span><br /><span lang="DE-AT">Bekanntlich hatte zuvor das AUA-Management die Kollektivverträge für das fliegende Personal aufgekündigt und droht mit einem Zwangsumstieg auf den bis zu 25 Prozent billigeren Tyrolean-KV. Gewerkschafter und Pilot Wolfgang Hable ließ die Kollegen in einem Rundschreiben wissen: „Geht in der momentanen Situation nicht davon aus, dass euch der Vorstand oder sein Management nur annähernd die Wahrheit sagen“, er verfolge ausschließlich eine „hidden agenda” (versteckte Absicht). Seit Abbruch der Gespräche Dienstag-Nacht drohen die Piloten mit Streik und haben für heute Freitag eine Betriebsversammlung angesetzt. </span><br /><br /><span lang="DE-AT">Doch worum geht es den Cockpit-Crews überhaupt? T.A.I. hat sich diesbezüglich schlau gemacht. Zunächst einmal ist festzuhalten, dass bei der AUA nicht Pilot mit Pilot verglichen werden kann. Rund 450 sind bei der Tochter Tyrolean Airways angestellt. Für sie gilt ein eigener KV, der auf die Anforderungen des Regionalverkehrs Rücksicht nimmt. Er ist zwar auf den ersten Blick hin aus Sicht der Piloten ungünstiger gestaltet, als der bei der AUA aufgekündigte, doch gibt es auch diverse Goodies. So wird man bei Tyrolean schneller vom Co- zum Piloten, klettert also gehaltsmäßig schneller nach oben. Stellt man die Lebensverdienstsummen gegenüber, gibt es nur noch geringe Unterschiede.<br /><br />Bei der Muttergesellschaft AUA fliegen knapp 300 Piloten nach dem „alten“ Kollektivvertrag. Dort gibt es u.a. noch die bekannten, bis zu 39 Monatsgehälter hohen Abfertigungen. Diese hatten ihren guten Grund: sie sollten jene Zeit überbrücken helfen, die zwischen dem gesetzlichen Pensionsantrittsalter von 65 Jahren und dem Ende des Piloten-Daseins bei der AUA (früher um die 58 Jahre) liegt. Die kleinste Piloten-Gruppe im Konzern bilden die AUA-Piloten, die dem seit 2004 geltenden KV „neu“ unterstellt waren (der ebenfalls aufgekündigt wurde). Sie haben geringere Abfertigungen. Doch die sind nur ein Knackpunkt von vielen, bei denen es sich spießt.<br /><br />Ein weiterer sind die Zusatzpensionen. Diese wurden vor rund zwölf Jahren Boden- und Bordmitarbeitern gegen einen Gehaltsverzicht von rund 15 Prozent (Piloten) gewährt. Der Haken liegt in der Garantieverzinsung. Diese sorgte aufgrund der Entwicklungen der Börsen in den zurückliegenden Jahren bei der AUA für hohe Nachzahlungen, im Vorjahr etwa im Ausmaß von mehr als 50 Mio. Euro.<br /><br />Von derartigen Nachzahlungsverpflichtungen will sich nun der Vorstand aus verständlichen Gründen befreien. Das künftige Modell sieht vor, dass 3,5 Prozent vom Gehalt in eine Pensionsversicherung gezahlt werden soll, wobei der bisher nach dem alten KV angesammelte Betrag natürlich bestehen bleibt. Die Piloten könnten sich eine Zustimmung zur neuen Regelung durch eine Abschlagszahlung vorstellen.<br /><br />Die Abfertigungen will das AUA-Management künftig auf das gesetzliche Maß zurückschrauben. Das aktuelle Modell (sowohl KV alt als auch neu) erfordert hohe Rückstellungen, welche die Bilanz belasten. Wie die Jahre zwischen tatsächlichem Pensions-Antritt und gesetzlichem Pensionsalter überbrückt werden können, darüber schweigt sich das Management aus.<br /><br />Dasselbe betrifft die bestehende Ausfallsversicherung. Diese kommt zum Tragen, wenn ein Pilot seine Lizenz aus gesundheitlichen Gründen verliert. Derzeit erhält er je nach Dauer der Firmenzugehörigkeit bis zu 39 Gehälter. Der Vorstand will diese Angelegenheit an eine Versicherung auslagern.<br /><br />Ein heikler Punkt betrifft die Mehrleistungsgrenze. Diese kommt derzeit ab 70 Flugstunden pro Monat zum Tragen, ab der es Zuschläge beim Gehalt gibt. Der Sinn dieser Regelung aus Sicht der Piloten: Die Dienste sollen möglichst gleichmäßig auf das Personal aufgeteilt werden. Der Vorstand will diese Regelung streichen. Wobei ein Pilot eine erheblich höhere monatliche Arbeitszeit hat, als diese bis zu 70 Flugstunden: Im Bereich Mittelstrecke summiert sich die Arbeitszeit von Check-In bis Check-Out inkl. Simulatorstunden auf 160 bis 170 Stunden im Monat, und zwar nicht „nine to five“, sondern zu jeder Tages- und Nachtzeit sowie auch an Sonn- und Feiertagen (wofür es in anderen Branchen bekanntlich saftige Zuschläge gibt, nicht aber beim fliegenden Personal).<br /><br />Gänzlich rot sehen die „Fliegenden“ bei der AUA bezüglich der geplanten Dienstplanregelung im neuen KV: derzeit muss der Monats-Dienstplan ab dem 20. des Vormonats fest stehen. Künftig soll er für maximal 10 Tage fixiert werden. Private Freizeitplanung sei dadurch nicht mehr möglich, so die Piloten, die als Grund dieser Maßnahme den Mitarbeitermangel (Aufnahmestopp, natürlicher Abgang) und zu knappe Planungen bezüglich Ruhenszeiten sehen, wodurch im aktuellen Betrieb der AUA derzeit laufend Löcher aufgerissen werden.<br /><br />Ebenfalls gestrichen werden sollen – das ist hinlänglich bekannt – die jährlichen bzw. biennalen Gehalts-Vorrückungen und der Index-Ausgleich. Nicht diese, so argumentieren die Piloten, sondern die schlechte Personalplanung hätte im Vorjahr aufgrund der dann notwendig gewordenen Überstunden die Gehaltskosten so stark steigen lassen.<br /><br />Auch die in der Öffentlichkeit kolportierten übermäßigen Urlaubstage der Piloten treffen so nicht zu: Üblicher Weise wird eine Woche in den KVs mit 5 Urlaubstagen gerechnet. Da für Piloten auch Samstag und Sonntag normale Arbeitstage sind, wird eine Woche mit 7 Urlaubstagen gleichgestellt. Bei fünf Wochen Urlaub stehen somit beim „Normal-Angestellten“ 25 Urlaubstage, bei den Piloten 35, auch wenn sie um keinen Tag länger frei haben.<br /><br />Alles in allem ist die Situation derzeit verfahren. Sollte der Aufsichtsrat den Weg wählen, mit einer Gewaltaktion den Übergang zum Tyrolean-KV für alle AUA-Piloten herbeizuführen, wird es Warnstreiks geben. Im Hintergrund beobachtet die Deutsche Pilotenvereinigung Cockpit die Vorgänge mit Argusaugen: Sollte die Lufthansa-Tochter AUA diesen Schritt setzen, überlegt sie Solidarmaßnahmen. Denn bei Lufthansa selbst könnte es dann zu einer ähnlichen Vorgehensweise kommen, mit Überfuhr des KVs zur Lufthansa Cityline. Damit könnte es zu einem Konzern-Streik kommen. Den will wohl keiner, sicher auch nicht LH-CEO Christoph Franz.</span>

AUSTRIAN AIRLINES KRISE

BÖSE PILOTEN GUTER VORSTAND? DAS SIND DIE FACTS Worum es im Streit AUA-Piloten und Vorstand geht – LH-Piloten bereits auf der Hut Via Touris...

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Getting back on track is harder than I remember

My weight this morning was 192.6. It's continues to be a struggle to eat healthy, but I haven't purchased any junk food for over a week. I'm good if the food isn't in the house, and the way to keep it out of the house is don't buy it in the first place. I might overeat fruit or have a bigger piece of chicken than I know I should have (if I'm not weighing it you can bet I'm eating too much), but that's not as horrible as trying to eat an entire cake in one sitting. <br /><br />Somehow, and I'm not sure how it started, I'd be at the store buying healthy food and decide I needed a "little" treat. I deserved it. Life was hard, I wanted, no...I NEEDED a treat. The treat went from one candy bar to an entire cake, then to a shopping cart full of junk food. Wow. How did that happen? I honestly don't know, I let my guard down a few times and boom! I'm back to old eating habits of four years ago.<br /><br />I feel more in control. I'm eating better and I feel a lot better. Eating crap made me feel like crap. I'm back at the gym, although not every day. I was really consistent for a good 3 1/2 years, going almost every single day to the gym. Then my sister's stroke happen, I became her guardian and my life changed. Now I'm only averaging three times a week. It's not enough. I need to do more. I don't want to do more, but I'm working on it.<br /><br />Today was an intense day. It started off with a three-hour meeting at work, which turned into four hours (9am-1pm). It was a meeting where I had to really paying attention and participate the entire time. Exhausting and mentally draining.<br /><br />Then I left work to take my sister to the dentist. This was her first dentist appointment since before her stroke (a two-hour appointment). She has gorgeous teeth, and has always taken really good care of them. I curled her hair, put a little makeup on her and she looked gorgeous. <br /><br />I almost got myself a $450 parking ticket at the dentist's office. Actually, I did get the ticket, but the "parking official" canceled it after hearing my sob story.<br /><br />I did the terrible thing of parking in the handicapped spot at the dentist's office to get my sister out of the car and into her wheelchair (I don't have a permit yet). I have never, in my entire life parked in a handicap spot for even half a second. Once my husband pulled into a handicap space at the store to drop me off (many years ago). I was horrified and made him move before I'd get out of the car.<br /><br />Anyway, it's a small dental office with about ten parking spaces in front and one handicapped parking spot. It was the only spot available when I pulled into the parking lot. I got my sister out of the car, into her wheelchair, then into the dentist's office, and into the dental chair. This isn't exactly an easy feat. The receptionist told me to leave my car parked where it was, even though I told her I didn't have a handicap permit. She said it was fine and they let people park there all the time if they can't walk far.<br /><br />I went back out to my car to get a book, and the "parking official" as he called himself, had just issued me a ticket for $450 on his little handheld device. As I walked up to my car, I said "you're not giving me a ticket, are you?".  He said yes because I didn't have a handicapped permit. I told him my sister was in a wheelchair and I'd just taken her inside for her appointment. He told me it didn't matter if my sister couldn't walk, but without a handicapped permit, I was breaking the law. I couldn't park there for one second. Then he tried to hand me the ticket. I cried even more (and these were real tears because it just broke me). I tried to explain to him that he had no idea what my sister and I had gone through in the last six months. I was shaking because I was so upset.. He said it didn't matter and he was just doing his job. I cried some more. Finally, I said okay, but I'll go to court on this and take my sister with me in her wheelchair to show the judge she can't walk. Finally, with the ticket still in his hand, he said okay, okay, I won't give you a ticket. But get the permit and don't do this again. I promised him I wouldn't ever do this again. Whew! <br /><br />The changes in my sister since I moved here down here to Washington are nothing short of amazing. In spite of going through hell these last six months since her stroke, and being 73 years old, I think she's absolutely beautiful. Since I talk about her all the time, I thought I should post a picture of her here. This is from today, right before we left for the dentist (I can do the wheelchair transfers with her all by myself!).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">My sister, Joyce</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaSHRr75gUiVLqJlcqnQLtp1NWVG_3RCk_6jpf8JyZoHMMgv7c27FUjSbaLckQ8RSNXIUIUY1f7E7ecPiyZaGGY_oybdx7xhK7cDy3bTND9RJb8_sY5_xsQypVCKxesTs16iznQ7wNctd/s1600/Mar+8_2012_Dentist2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYaSHRr75gUiVLqJlcqnQLtp1NWVG_3RCk_6jpf8JyZoHMMgv7c27FUjSbaLckQ8RSNXIUIUY1f7E7ecPiyZaGGY_oybdx7xhK7cDy3bTND9RJb8_sY5_xsQypVCKxesTs16iznQ7wNctd/s640/Mar+8_2012_Dentist2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />

Getting back on track is harder than I remember

My weight this morning was 192.6. It's continues to be a struggle to eat healthy, but I haven't purchased any junk food for over a w...

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take a seat part 1

I've been keeping a secret from you.<br /><br />I know, I know. Its a terrible thing to do to a friend.<br /><br />Its a dirty secret too. And pretty smelly...with lots of earwax gold. And I suspect some cat hair.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNIvvUus4ozQ8Q-W3TnXjypwi_RY5ZqNpp3sqjG2fGAleKDr06WtmXMb7LAmvNCu1iEsd8Pl92QL9ql9fO8LlQ4aPPnOdftbvGUyP08LADCJifaeCzOJAas-BKYVOQD1ihvKG9tr1dNSb/s1600/P2254629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfNIvvUus4ozQ8Q-W3TnXjypwi_RY5ZqNpp3sqjG2fGAleKDr06WtmXMb7LAmvNCu1iEsd8Pl92QL9ql9fO8LlQ4aPPnOdftbvGUyP08LADCJifaeCzOJAas-BKYVOQD1ihvKG9tr1dNSb/s640/P2254629.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I had long wanted a loveseat for our living room and a year (or so) ago I got this one for my birthday. Whoop whoop. Perfect in so many ways - nice lines, structurally in good shape and full of potential. <span style="text-align: left;">So like anything with potential, it sat in my basement for a good 10 months. </span>As you can see though, sister has seen better days. Judging from the fabric, those days were in the 60s. And not the cool mod Mad Men 60s. More like your grandma's doilies and tupperware 60s.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59ERMKT7QcVz_CAqQovD_cIBSQNLHvGRuXd5EIT3QaZNo24MjvvKBzVIzCDyWH3sSgZnytGMiySXZ7c9JyLpYjPZkTtdELLNxqI-6ck-FqwgvwavDwrPTEZ_9DQB1ymZFEnQwfDzoX_ql/s1600/P2254626.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh59ERMKT7QcVz_CAqQovD_cIBSQNLHvGRuXd5EIT3QaZNo24MjvvKBzVIzCDyWH3sSgZnytGMiySXZ7c9JyLpYjPZkTtdELLNxqI-6ck-FqwgvwavDwrPTEZ_9DQB1ymZFEnQwfDzoX_ql/s640/P2254626.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Finally, we brought it upstairs and put it in the living room for some shock therapy. If you stare at this thing long enough, you'll get your butt in gear to fix it! (the only one who would sit on it was me...and the dog.) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jfjCri8BAFyCVYWIgKKN3mkR26iWVJDH-kfDqA3jYYeW8trUUHAN0gzZQCa0JPS5Qyr8qrpX7TabT3WnGCzVLqBtkrCWnrl_VC716y0ZCj72X3NRRhaP59KN2nSXk6zkYigvRfXItjdS/s1600/P2254630.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-jfjCri8BAFyCVYWIgKKN3mkR26iWVJDH-kfDqA3jYYeW8trUUHAN0gzZQCa0JPS5Qyr8qrpX7TabT3WnGCzVLqBtkrCWnrl_VC716y0ZCj72X3NRRhaP59KN2nSXk6zkYigvRfXItjdS/s640/P2254630.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />When prepping the house for our recent <a href="http://news-these-days.blogspot.com/2012/02/very-first-birthday.html" target="_blank">first birthday party</a> we moved it out to the garage (we didn't want to scare our guests) and that was enough to push me over the edge. I officially have a bee in my bonnet.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5I0xuYUYSu26Zt8kxFfU7DzEkTZr31M6e30R3Al6MoCHnPS3zhvN-ZKDmIrbCGrme69zVNCKcCdA-56WP-7yVDQG0yG0LxLIdBkModLM0cAkrVBMGd_0I4fubR9Ad5ATF1IfFfBxRFZd/s1600/P2254632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj5I0xuYUYSu26Zt8kxFfU7DzEkTZr31M6e30R3Al6MoCHnPS3zhvN-ZKDmIrbCGrme69zVNCKcCdA-56WP-7yVDQG0yG0LxLIdBkModLM0cAkrVBMGd_0I4fubR9Ad5ATF1IfFfBxRFZd/s640/P2254632.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />I'm ready to tackle the old girl. So now, the big decisions.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YauMdiPTWvpAmpvH8FclzfeSxJXGlHWnleVBYqZOoQMk9fl44iEwZAivqYe-omsRqzqAYKZ0-IsXkABk2VRbB_WTyClG0oAQN5dKSd7R9W_zr8xkNfhiKsLED2MmPVZN7WnegLmPKVsD/s1600/6896205649113643.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_YauMdiPTWvpAmpvH8FclzfeSxJXGlHWnleVBYqZOoQMk9fl44iEwZAivqYe-omsRqzqAYKZ0-IsXkABk2VRbB_WTyClG0oAQN5dKSd7R9W_zr8xkNfhiKsLED2MmPVZN7WnegLmPKVsD/s320/6896205649113643.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://www.fromtherightbank.com/2011/11/my-new-very-old-settee/?utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%253A+fromtherightbank+%2528FROM+THE+RIGHT+BANK%2529&amp;utm_content=Google+Reader" target="_blank">From The Right Bank</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Do I want to paint it? What color? Do I want solid fabric, or a pattern? Nail head or piping? And the biggest question of all...do I attempt to reupholster this myself? Keep the tufting or loose it? So many decisions! (the only thing I know for sure is I want one cushion rather than two) What do you think? I'd love your feedback!!<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lOFR4IQj-aMvPeYC6W9BhQ7Ik60Z8brNoP_hxgckH32t6T4QcQltFamlGO31pVrrCIVdxq30qMNT3HkW6N_FmPDfEnlyOI1XZ_fb-Y-sT1gKP0WDTmgaO0emoeRt8IX6sciU_VcenqO-/s1600/6896205649415019.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9lOFR4IQj-aMvPeYC6W9BhQ7Ik60Z8brNoP_hxgckH32t6T4QcQltFamlGO31pVrrCIVdxq30qMNT3HkW6N_FmPDfEnlyOI1XZ_fb-Y-sT1gKP0WDTmgaO0emoeRt8IX6sciU_VcenqO-/s320/6896205649415019.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">via <a href="http://bijouandboheme.blogspot.com/2011/12/few-thingsincluding-charity-water.html" target="_blank">Bijou and Boheme</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">First step, no matter what, is to rip off this fabric and get the wood sanded and ready for paint...or stain. Decisions Decisions.</div>

take a seat part 1

I've been keeping a secret from you. I know, I know. Its a terrible thing to do to a friend. Its a dirty secret too. And pretty smelly.....

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GIVEN FACT: SYRIA DOES POSSESS CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MISSILE HEADS

<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZDj5jToup2I6qo-nnv-kxXgyge2QzKcPreuAl-ItcHNFuHI9dTDmj3vsOq-MGHQh0zyZVLl44mdjVsTkr-qfBT1J_9LabrJHlPeG0hjpP29Zr69qm08w9FreC9zLKYR590FPzzIX0ybU/s1600/1images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsZDj5jToup2I6qo-nnv-kxXgyge2QzKcPreuAl-ItcHNFuHI9dTDmj3vsOq-MGHQh0zyZVLl44mdjVsTkr-qfBT1J_9LabrJHlPeG0hjpP29Zr69qm08w9FreC9zLKYR590FPzzIX0ybU/s400/1images.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: red; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">THIS TIME AROUND THE CLAIM THAT SYRIA POSSESSES  CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MISSILES IS A FACT, UNLIKE THE US HOAX, CLAIMING IRAQ OF BEING IN POSSESSION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION </span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">During the recent meeting between the USA and ISRAEL the discussions not only revolved around their dispute over an attack on IRAN, but also about the SYRIAN crisis and the fact that SYRIA possesses hundreds of surface-to-surface missiles armed with chemical and biological warheads. The peril of the ASSAD regime launching them is AMERICA’S current top concern, especially since a launch would most probably have ISRAEL and TURKEY as the prime target. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">In view of such threats the USA urged ISRAEL to patch up relations with TURKEY, for it would take a combined US- TURKISH- ISRAELI military effort to ward off an attack by SYRIA’S poisoned missiles. Indeed, if the SYRIAN conflict is not solved, AMERICA might be forced to turn its missile shield against BASHAR ASSAD’S missiles before they are needed against an IRANIAN attack.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">According to insider sources the hazard could be accelerated by three elements:</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1. ASSAD might decide to respond with extreme violence to foreign military intervention in SYRIA, even an operation confined only to drawing the civilian population into security zones safe from the attacks of his security services. TURKEY reiterated its call for security zones and at the same time ISRAEL offered humanitarian aid to SYRIA’S beleaguered civilian population. Both such actions might well be taken by ASSAD as provocations deserving of reprisal by missiles – first those carrying chemical warheads, then biological ones.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">2. ASSAD might respond to an IRANIAN request to take part in a preemptive strike launched by TEHRAN or IRANIAN retaliation for attacks on its nuclear facilities by the US or ISRAEL.  </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">3. ASSAD might transfer the unconventional missions to IRAN’S LEBANESE surrogate, the HIZBALLAH - in which case, the US, TURKEY and ISRAEL would have no option but to attack them.<br />US military sources say that although ISRAEL possesses a strong air force and special forces able to sabotage ASSAD’S chemical and biological missiles, the UNITED STATES and TURKEY would have to pitch in with military resources to destroy them completely.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Allegedly that arsenal is being closely watched by SURVEILLANCE DRONES after the lessons from the Libyan war when at least 5,000 advanced anti-aircraft missiles were spirited out of Qaddafi’s weapons stores, some of them smuggled into GAZA for HAMAS and other PALESTINIAN terrorist organizations.</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Apparently the ASSAD regime has an approximately five times more sophisticated air defenses than LIBYA did, covering one-fifth of the terrain and about ten times more than Serbia had. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Article adopted in part from DEBKAfile.</span></i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyUZwj841Z3EU8GKsBm1Yn8fo9mqvbkYlznfnlMhEulltu1SkeKI-Ra2bebp-qi1VMxKYO5gsr3BzHeHgPSbO8yJNrFCtyxG2YUYX14I9jjMbI7x0V8nu0z63koH1vgx2i5D_LZUNFW4W/s1600/pg39.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikyUZwj841Z3EU8GKsBm1Yn8fo9mqvbkYlznfnlMhEulltu1SkeKI-Ra2bebp-qi1VMxKYO5gsr3BzHeHgPSbO8yJNrFCtyxG2YUYX14I9jjMbI7x0V8nu0z63koH1vgx2i5D_LZUNFW4W/s1600/pg39.gif" width="581" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: blue; line-height: normal; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">CONTRARY TO US “WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION” HOAX JUSTIFYING THE INVASION IN IRAQ, SYRIA REALLY POSSESSES A LETHAL ARSENAL OF CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WARHEADS.</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Contrary to the weapons of mass destruction hoax fabricated by the USA in order to justify the IRAQ invasion, Syria really posses such lethal arsenal and probably will most probably not hesitate to use them when pushed into a corner. Interesting though is that only now this long known fact starts to reach mainstream media. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Though DEBKAfile is pro Israel, the fact that Syria possesses Chemical and Biological missile heads cannot be denied. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

GIVEN FACT: SYRIA DOES POSSESS CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MISSILE HEADS

THIS TIME AROUND THE CLAIM THAT SYRIA POSSESSES  CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL MISSILES IS A FACT, UNLIKE THE US HOAX, CLAIMING IRAQ OF BEING IN P...

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