News for today's 2018

CRIME, CORRUPTION AND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM (Part 2)

5:59 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="xl"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><br /></b></div><div class="gray"><br /></div><div class="gray" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIES</b></span></span></div><div class="gray"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lgd7XtIHuHxWATPKwXO4hyphenhyphenirR1srlW6Rs6mzVjfnG8ZcjHBFaLyAYWQ9lrn-sJD1_5WZOm1kQdNAwwvj3Y7oSBk3G76UJgZ5h3Bw4RAKATqdow9qaWuP5m72kkxLSIPSJOIfBb73WYEe/s1600/corruption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_lgd7XtIHuHxWATPKwXO4hyphenhyphenirR1srlW6Rs6mzVjfnG8ZcjHBFaLyAYWQ9lrn-sJD1_5WZOm1kQdNAwwvj3Y7oSBk3G76UJgZ5h3Bw4RAKATqdow9qaWuP5m72kkxLSIPSJOIfBb73WYEe/s400/corruption.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="gray"><br /></div><div class="gray"><br /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>IN RECENT YEARS THESE CRIMINAL/POLITICAL COMPLEXES HAVE BECOME POTENT WEAPONS IN THE ARENA OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND THE CONDUCT OF FOREIGN POLICY</b>. </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">By Dr. Gary K. Busch</span><b> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This is not a new pattern - the <b>Thugees</b>of INDIA, the JAPANESE <b>Ninja</b> and the <b>Assassins</b> of SYRIA were masters of this trade. As early as the First World War, the Imperial GERMAN Army made common cause with the dacoits of INDIA, the <b>mujahideen</b> of SOUTH ASIA, and the MEXICAN bandits to harass the BRITISH and the U.S. war efforts. During the Second World War the Allies made a series of alliances with the ITALIAN <b>Mafia</b>to assist in the retaking of ITALY just as the Axis formed alliances with the <b>IRA</b> and the <b>Arab bandits</b> of the <b>Grand Mufti of Jerusalem</b> to harass the Allied War effort. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Post-war activities in pursuit of the <b>Marshall Plan</b> in EUROPE enfranchised the Mafia, the <b>Camorra</b>, the <b>'Ndrangheta</b> and the <b>Union Corse</b> in the MEDITERRANEAN and in FRENCH INDO-CHINA. When <b>Chiang Kai-Shek</b>entered <b>Shanghai</b> in 1927 his first act was to join forces with the <b>Green Gang</b> to destroy the communists. Other triads in CHINA also allied to the <b>Kuomintang</b> in exile in TAIWAN under Allied leadership to fight on against <b>Mao Tse Tung</b>. The bandits and <b>min tuan warlords</b> of the <b>Shan </b>states joined with the <b>Union Corse</b> to build the giant drugs industry of the <b>Golden Triangle</b>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The JAPANESE <b>yakuza</b>, powerful after their successful quasi-governmental assignment of the rape of <b>Manchuria</b>, acted as the acceptable surrogates for the anti-communist political parties in occupied JAPAN when many of the national political leaders were barred from holding office because of their Imperialist pasts. The urban vice and gambling barons of the <b>Gold Coast</b> allied themselves to <b>Kwame Nkrumah</b> to win the struggle for independence, only to fall out with the new GHANAIAN leadership and provide valuable anti-<b>Nkrumah</b> services on behalf of the U.S. and the BRITISH thereafter. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The black gangsters of GUYANA were actively recruited and trained by the BRITISH in their efforts to counteract <b>Cheddi Jagan's</b> more militant policies. The relations between <b>Abu Nidal</b> or <b>George Habbash</b> or the PLO with Arab political leaderships have shaped MIDDLE EAST politics for years. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Background Information</b>: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassins</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thuggee</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Nkrumah">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Nkrumah</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Habash">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Habash</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Nidal">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Nidal</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue;">ORGANISED CRIMINAL SOCIETIES BECAME LEGITIMATIZED</span><br /></b><br />In all these cases, and in many other examples, organised criminal societies became legitimatized and joint activities with them became part of the range of policy options open to foreign policy planners. The price for this was the acceptance of crime and corruption as part of the 'legitimate' political structure and the turning of a blind eye to the financial lubrication needed to make this system function smoothly. The salient feature of modern organised crime has always been that it is militantly anti-communist. Communists have their own, quite unique, type of mafia which is antithetical to the organised crime of the ITALIAN type. As powerful, unfettered criminal societies, these organizations were integrated into the arsenal of democracy. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">When Jack <b>Kennedy</b> hired <b>Momo Giancana</b> to assassinate <b>Fidel Castro</b> he was not breaking new ground; this type of transaction has been a part of the political system for at least a thousand years.</span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THERE ARE VERY FEW NATIONS IN THE WORLD WHICH ARE POLITICALLY UNDERDEVELOPED</b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">A third theme which is often missing from the analysis of crime and corruption is the universality of criminal structures. Whilst it is fashionable to speak of developed and underdeveloped nations this is an economic distinction, not a political one. There are very few nations in the world which are politically underdeveloped. They may not be modern or representative democracies, but they are not politically underdeveloped. Nations developed, over time, the political institutions which matched the power structures in their areas. These may have been based on the military might of a single clan, access to a river or a well, ownership of a particular piece of land, control of the priesthood of the local religion, etc. These were congruent with the realities of the political system in which they operated. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue;">CRIMINAL ORGANIZATIONS OFTEN THRIVED BECAUSE THEY PROVIDE UNAVAILABLE SERVICES OR FILLING THE NEEDS THAT TRADITIONAL POLITICAL STRUCTURES COULD NOT FILL</span><br /></b><br />Along with the growth of relevant political structures was the parallel growth of criminal structures. Each society has its own criminal element and organizations. Their level of sophistication matched the level or organization of the society within which they functioned. These criminal organizations often thrived by providing unavailable services or filling the needs that traditional political structures could not fill. Primary among these was the provision of credit - rural credit to farmers to buy seed and equipment; and urban credit to the peasants who left their farms to find work in the towns and cities and where they were unknown or had no extended families. For most of the world's population life is experienced as a high wire act worked without a net. </span><br /><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/AVvXsEh9KRD0RGvmXJraFahyphenhyphenPTx73I42pqIDDLBC23OVi5F4qSYnaTF1TPBGaezUVwUP-BbCh6A7avO9NsvVLUTEP_QyDWCX-uEMQnGBZDdV0v7_Hh3NXinzeanFPUo3o1EUmioUBUi-9vnHh7Kz/s1600/corruption_netherlands2011x.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="345" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9KRD0RGvmXJraFahyphenhyphenPTx73I42pqIDDLBC23OVi5F4qSYnaTF1TPBGaezUVwUP-BbCh6A7avO9NsvVLUTEP_QyDWCX-uEMQnGBZDdV0v7_Hh3NXinzeanFPUo3o1EUmioUBUi-9vnHh7Kz/s640/corruption_netherlands2011x.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Global Corruption index 2011</td></tr></tbody></table><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSLI2lCo-2wDbXqfNs6PLFpLm5SVlt9UyH-ts_Sj52Sf90CfJcYTWzykAzcwKfvR1it7d9PPxl0uUSaWwIE4odQmgoylnwZ_75SHC-7jXMf7jfxydrKepRgEqSldU9367t4BGSOYfFBvn/s1600/corruption_three2011.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikSLI2lCo-2wDbXqfNs6PLFpLm5SVlt9UyH-ts_Sj52Sf90CfJcYTWzykAzcwKfvR1it7d9PPxl0uUSaWwIE4odQmgoylnwZ_75SHC-7jXMf7jfxydrKepRgEqSldU9367t4BGSOYfFBvn/s640/corruption_three2011.png" width="640" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">The price of failure under these rules is a very high price indeed. For most, the existence of a criminal parallel society served as their net, their ultimate security when their own legitimate society failed them. Many who made this bargain were not giving up anything of value which their own society offered them; to a large extent this was the only deal open to them. Some took it with reluctance, but took it nonetheless.<br /><br />What has been most important for the survival and expansion of these criminal institutions was that they were better constituted to adapt to changes in their environment than the political organizations and structures within which they operated and for which they substituted. Criminal institutions, by definition, usually are composed of the outcasts of the society (even though they may be closely allied to the mightiest in the land). They are self-elected and self-sustaining. This has meant that they are much more able to adapt to the challenge of change than the 'regular' political organisations. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">When they have difficulty in adapting to contemporary challenges, as during the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Castellamarese</b> Wars in the U.S., between the <b>'Moustache Petes'</b> and the modernisers, the adaptation process is often more swift and final than the changes achieved through the ballot box. A key feature of this ability to adapt is that criminal organisations are flexible in establishing alliances with other similar organizations for mutual gain. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Background Information:</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellammarese_War">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castellammarese_War</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustache_Pete">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustache_Pete</a></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><b>THE FIRST MULTINATIONALS WERE CRIMINAL MULTINATIONALS</b></span> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Long before <b>General Motors</b> or <b>ITT </b>or the <b>Seven Sisters</b> spread their corporate nets across the globe, giant criminal multinationals and cartels were already in existence and in business with legitimate governments. The overseas CHINESE throughout SOUTHEAST ASIA spread with them their triad organizations. The ITALIANS spread across NORTH AMERICA with their variants of the “Black Hand”. The black African slave suppliers spread across the lower reaches of the SAHARA in a highly organized fashion to supply captives to the EUROPEAN traders and <b>Catholic religious orders</b> plying the coast of WEST - AFRICA, in search of cheap plantation labour. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Many of the freebooters of the SPANISH Main operated quite sophisticated alliances with each other depending on the changing favours of the SPANISH, PORTUGUESE, BRITISH and FRENCH monarchies. Several (Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, etc.) were government-licensed pirates. Many legitimate governments hired and contracted organised criminal societies, like the Barbary pirates, to break sieges and subvert embargos. The ARAB slave dealers of EAST AFRICA formed alliances with local criminals to enlist and transfer slaves to the MIDDLE EAST and INDIA. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Background Information:</b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_main">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_main</a></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE INTERNATIONAL DRUGS INDUSTRY IS A TESTAMENT TO THE POWERS OF MULTINATIONAL CRIMINAL CO-OPERATION</b>, </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">starting with the Mafia's FRENCH Connection, taking ASIAN opium, refining it into heroin in FRANCE, and distributing on the streets of New York through black and Hispanic street dealers, to the international association of the MEXICAN Cartels delivering from the Medellin and Cali cartels, shipping through Caribbean entry points and border crossings to the U.S. where ITALIAN, BLACK, HISPANIC, GREEK, CHINESE and IRANIAN criminal organizations take on the marketing and distribution of these products. The organisational sophistication rivals that of any of the largest Fortune 500 companies and its turnover figures make even the largest multinationals look puny in comparison.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>THE MECHANICS OF THE SYSTEM:</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><br />( <i>though below described mechanics reflect those of the US, they apply for almost all countries around the globe</i>) </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Crime and corruption are integral parts of our daily lives and are so common that they do not arouse our attention. In New York one needs only to look carefully around and several questions immediately arise. <b>A key question is, how do poor people survive</b>? Any observer can see that the poor people in the ghettos of <b>Harlem, Bedford Stuyvesant</b>, and in <b>Fort Apache</b> in the <b>South Bronx</b> cannot survive on the meager subsistence payments of welfare and food stamps. Yet, these citizens walk around quite well-dressed; shop at well-stocked food shops; buy at flashy furniture shops; and spend a great deal of the evening socializing at neighbourhood restaurants, bars and clubs. Where does the money for all this come from? It comes from an institutionalized system of corruption which starts at the <b>National Highways Trust Fund</b> and passes through layers of the state and city bureaucracy to end up as urban credit to the poor. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>US LIQUOR STORES ARE THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE SYSTEM AND THE POOR</b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">No one in any U.S. urban ghetto lives more than four and one-half blocks from a liquor store. Why? Why is it that whenever there is a riot, as in Watts, Los Angeles, Detroit, Cleveland or Washington the first shops destroyed by the rioters are these same liquor shops? The answer is that the liquor shops in the ghettos are the dispensers of credit to the poor. Liquor shops cash cheques; they advance funds against welfare cheques. <b> </b></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>They are open all hours. They are run in association with the political bosses and trade electoral loyalty for credit. They are the interface between the System and the poor. In exchange they deliver the votes to the uptown white parties</b>. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The political system co-exists with an economic, power base - black organised crime. This orientation is equally true for ghetto <b>Hispanics</b>, the last remaining ghetto ITALIANS, ghetto CHINESE, ghetto GREEKS and ghetto KOREANS and VIETNAMESE. </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE SLUMS AND GHETTOS OF THE WORLD ARE RUN IN PARALLEL TO THE NORMAL POLITICAL SYSTEM, WHERE CORRUPTION, CRIME, CREDIT AND CONTROL ARE THE BASICS. </span><br /></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbV22w3iU3CIorIpgQJrPHp-kvHGMsoVpeM_HIHUwBGc1z6Yg2XgVfx2Fgl5TKuqIEucLRkpwcKBgGT9fSpeS_QaaZhhYn15yIuPldhAvY7pzsTdWO7VTmgWxfseBGV_-wVYpsq8_v5dm/s1600/0804L_OPED_CORRUPTION-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbV22w3iU3CIorIpgQJrPHp-kvHGMsoVpeM_HIHUwBGc1z6Yg2XgVfx2Fgl5TKuqIEucLRkpwcKBgGT9fSpeS_QaaZhhYn15yIuPldhAvY7pzsTdWO7VTmgWxfseBGV_-wVYpsq8_v5dm/s320/0804L_OPED_CORRUPTION-.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b>This urban pattern in replicated across the world</b></span><span style="font-size: large;">. In the urban slums of MEXICO City local caciques hold weekly surgeries where supplicants come to make requests of the local party boss; in the Gulf petitioners attend an informal weekly majlis. In the favelas of BRAZIL and villas of BUENOS AIRES, the power arrangements are no different. In the urban sprawl of the Agege Motor Road in LAGOS or in the backstreets of Tsimshatsui in HONG KONG the faces and accents are different, but the System is the same. This subculture of corruption is universal. The differences are of degree, not of kind. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE NOT ONLY FOR THE POOR. WHOLE INDUSTRIES ARE CONSTRUCTED TO HANDLE CORRUPT PRACTICES</b>. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION IS INTERNATIONAL</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">:</span><br /><br />Crime and corruption are inseparable. The type of investigation of crime and corruption which focuses on the over-invoicing of goods and services to the Third World and the commissions or 'kick-backs' taken by high officials, while often running into many millions of dollars, is still petty-ante crime in the wider scale of international corruption. Modern banking corruption represents many multiples of those sums. Many international agencies and lending institutions are concerned with the impact of corruption on good governance and economic growth as a result of corrupt practices; especially in developing countries. This is important but represents a rounding error in the levels of worldwide corruption... The problem is one of scale. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CORRUPTION IN MODERN INDUSTRIAL STATES IS LARGELY INVISIBLE TO THE MIDDLE CLASSES</b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Any student of the <b>Banco Ambrosiano</b>Affair, for example, will attest to the fact that many billions of dollars disappeared through deep-rooted corruption in ITALY and the recurrent economic problems of ITALY attest to the scale of the diversion of funds. For years one of the biggest growth industries in the EUROPEAN COMMUNITY was the fraudulent documentation of agricultural products trying to qualify for EC subsidies. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">There is probably more corrupt and criminal money being washed through urban AMERICAN and EUROPEAN banks in one week than the total amount of AFRICAN corruption in a year.</span></b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span><br />The difference is that corruption in modern industrial states is largely invisible to the middle classes. <b><span style="color: red;">The structure of crime and corruption in modern industrial economies is such as to leave the middle classes out of its perpetration and its rewards</span></b>. The poorest of the Western societies know all too well what the effects of corruption are when they have to interact with public officials. At the top of societies, captains of industry and their advisors often have to deal with legislators, administrators, elected officials and 'lobbyists' whose hand on the "Pork Barrel" often determines their financial opportunities. There can surely be no one who has ever spent any time lobbying in Rome, Washington or Brussels who has any illusions about the uniqueness of the Third World experience with corruption.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>THIRD WORLD CORRUPTION IS DISORGANIZED</b></span></span> <br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br />When the AMERICAN colonial overlord of the PHILIPPINES, Taft, reported to the Congress that the literacy rate among Filipinos was low and social services rather limited, William <b>Jennings Bryan replied that it was probably a good idea to keep the Filipinos illiterate</b>, "Lest they read our Constitution and mock us for our inconsistencies." </span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitu1E-MBcgIpg8j14xUdToleYGtrpFI7Tsor4aLBiMW3nskwPmc3JTj0pnt9FRwRNkNG1SB2FX0ysyTiseUOH5ovjOScjNamX22gswY5WJrbZmM_XqgK-g-yrdjorU89RBC4cwlT3M3Udy/s1600/flow+of+transnational+organized+crime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitu1E-MBcgIpg8j14xUdToleYGtrpFI7Tsor4aLBiMW3nskwPmc3JTj0pnt9FRwRNkNG1SB2FX0ysyTiseUOH5ovjOScjNamX22gswY5WJrbZmM_XqgK-g-yrdjorU89RBC4cwlT3M3Udy/s400/flow+of+transnational+organized+crime.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The problem with corruption in the Third World is that it is disorganised corruption; the same small elite make up both the political and the business communities</b>. Crime is endemic, but it is disorganised. With the exception of Medellin, Cali, Hong Kong and Bangkok, crime is unsophisticated. <br /><br /><b>We in the West are far more advanced. We have organised crime which has established organic links with organised business, organised labour and organised government and an every-willing banking and financial centre happy to oblige in the transfer and storage of the funds.</b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span>  <br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL INDUSTRY AND ITS PARTNERSHIP WITH POLITICAL CORRUPTION ACCOUNTS FOR THE MISSING WORLD TRILLIONS</b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The hoi polloi need never concern itself with these ties as they are largely invisible. However, when we engage ourselves in the confrontation with corruption in the Third World we ought to at least reflect that we run the risk pointed out by Bryan, that the recipients of our moral and financial strictures might reasonably ask to delay their transition to godliness until we have dealt with the problems of <b>Chicago, Tokyo, Palermo, Madrid, Brussels, Milan, Vaduz and New York. </b>This international criminal industry and its partnership with political corruption accounts for the missing world trillions. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;">These 'wages of sin' have placed a heavy burden on legitimate businesses and tax-payers who are, effectively, making the interest payments on these missing funds through higher interest rates, tighter credit limits and higher prices on goods and services and policies of extreme austerity.</span></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: red;"> </span></b></span> <br /><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE WORLD BANK ESTIMATE THAT THE LOSSES DUE TO CORRUPTION ARE ALMOST TWENTY PER CENT OF ALL TRANSACTIONS</b></span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The world's banking system has been transmogrified by this influx of hot money as has its stock, bonds, commodity and property markets. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In some countries lending agencies like the <b>World Bank</b> estimate that the losses due to corruption are almost 20% of all transactions. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Crime accounts for at least an additional 20%. At least an eighth and perhaps as much as a quarter of the total world's GNP passes through the hands of the parallel society. </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">A concomitant development has been their use of these largely undocumented funds to create political action committees or similar vehicles to elect those who will continue this system.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>THE WORLD IS NOW FACED WITH A CHALLENGE IN DEALING WITH THIS DEEPLY INSTITUTIONALISED CRIMINALITY</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The death of the communist system has removed much of the raison d'etre for the alliance of democracies with crooks. Perhaps by bringing this interdependence of criminality, corruption and the nations of the world to the public's attention can there be an open debate on how or if this strange symbiosis should continue and, equally as important, if the criminal societies are to be interdicted and corruption decreased how can governments adapt their policies to address the problem of the parallel society. Then, perhaps we can deal with the banks and the financial communities.</span><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div>

CRIME, CORRUPTION AND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM (Part 2)

CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIES IN RECENT YEARS THESE CRIMINAL/POLITICAL COMPLEXES HAVE BE...

Stinky cleats and stinky attitudes: both should be tossed

4:14 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5oblyN45FHUWguQ3PFKZf8dYZKtvX5_GK_2NvbV4u0uIhIPUDNe9VxApkYY0QYmcvxk8E1rd5yUDy4q3htrJ8d_-c3VmqHl7ltON1xHGqxSQcOOyO-k2lyb9nQztOsoy0zC467XTGQ-10/s1600/bigstock-Old-Soccer-Boot-Cleats--413925.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5oblyN45FHUWguQ3PFKZf8dYZKtvX5_GK_2NvbV4u0uIhIPUDNe9VxApkYY0QYmcvxk8E1rd5yUDy4q3htrJ8d_-c3VmqHl7ltON1xHGqxSQcOOyO-k2lyb9nQztOsoy0zC467XTGQ-10/s320/bigstock-Old-Soccer-Boot-Cleats--413925.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />It is like cutting onions. One whiff of my son's football cleats and you're crying. It was so bad this week, my youngest son and I drove with the windows down and our heads out the window in a rainstorm because they were tossed in the backseat before we left school.<br />Yesterday I was at my desk and I was like "oh my goodness, what is that?" Looking around for the dead rat, I looked behind my door and he had stored... you guessed it, the stinky cleats. Good glory, what's the story?<br />So unsavory, why is this worth discussing?<br /><h2><br />Because some people have stinky cleats for an attitude. </h2><br />Their attitudes are so bad that others go running when they are nearby. If you get stuck with them in the backseat, you wish you could politely hang your head out the window... even in a rainstorm... to escape the whiny, crabby, fussing.<br />It makes you want to cry. It makes you want to die. It makes you want to quit teaching. Anything to get away from the smell.<br />Sour, stinky attitudes are so bad, <b>you lose the ability to savor the sweet aroma of blessings in your life. </b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq55KtfzuxoLfpkhewyDzxlwogg4vAlRxV5E1jWgq2OldqIUJC-vIVIZSvJFj3mBLqf0wPdlKSmZF_GEJ3LvOK7zAMif0IVcPyvPpf1oNWoDOUS8yboHauYDo1XntHQCx5Kzk4SegllHRL/s1600/bigstock-Cheetah-with-prey-30421388.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq55KtfzuxoLfpkhewyDzxlwogg4vAlRxV5E1jWgq2OldqIUJC-vIVIZSvJFj3mBLqf0wPdlKSmZF_GEJ3LvOK7zAMif0IVcPyvPpf1oNWoDOUS8yboHauYDo1XntHQCx5Kzk4SegllHRL/s320/bigstock-Cheetah-with-prey-30421388.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Run. Like a gazelle from the hungry cheetah. Run for your life. As far away from the stinky cleat attitude that you can. Your life, your professionalism, and your joy depend on it.<br />One day these cleats will go in the trash - I'd get bad will from Goodwill if I dared... and I wouldn't dare. <br /><h2><br />Maybe you're the stinky cleat. </h2><br />We've all made a mess of our own attitudes. I have too. Last week I wrote about <a href="http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2012/08/3-ways-to-give-yourself-lift.html" target="_blank">3 ways to give yourself a lift</a>. After you accept responsibility for your attitude - take the proven steps to give your attitude a boost.<br />Your attitude belongs to you. Whether stinky or sweet as jasmine ----it is yours. Like jasmine, it spreads to other places quietly underground in ways you don't understand.<br />If I had to choose between a good attitude or having a MENSA level IQ, I'd choose the good attitude with a good work ethic any time. <br />There are reasons. You don't have a bad attitude for no reason. If you think, you can load up on reasons. Good reasons can throw us into bad seasons of life, no doubt. Sadly, <b>most people would rather have a pity party than a victory party</b>. But there are those that transcend. I want it to be me and you!! Let's do it.<br />Get up, throw out the cleats and start living, my friends.<br />Teaching is a gift ... to your students and to yourself. Take steps to throw that old stinky attitude away... it just repels all the blessings and good things awaiting you and your students.<br />Out with stinky cleats!<br />Photo Credit: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/download/bid-1285141/" target="_blank">BigStock</a>, you may not reuse this photo

Stinky cleats and stinky attitudes: both should be tossed

It is like cutting onions. One whiff of my son's football cleats and you're crying. It was so bad this week, my youngest son and I d...

guest post - my best friend craig

4:00 AM Anonymous 0

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hi Everyone!  I'm Charmaine from <a href="http://mybestfriendcraig.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">My Best Friend Craig</a> and I'm happy to be filling in for Elizabeth while she enjoys some time off with her family.  </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Today I want to show you some mother of pearl inlay furniture.</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/AVvXsEgR6MwRZsX6I7QmcpxuMKHaIrBzK_ql3Y_8T5JvF91dVpZWoRM0taOrpPbawJnmmNnfJPyl0fCYI0kpn7_HSU1ztQVsw5Rt1p6daY5AoJ6Hsy791IG97dvcogtcnCOuld_nKJWcmPJpKtc/s1600/bone+inlay2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6MwRZsX6I7QmcpxuMKHaIrBzK_ql3Y_8T5JvF91dVpZWoRM0taOrpPbawJnmmNnfJPyl0fCYI0kpn7_HSU1ztQVsw5Rt1p6daY5AoJ6Hsy791IG97dvcogtcnCOuld_nKJWcmPJpKtc/s640/bone+inlay2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Architectural Digest</span></i><br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i><br /><br />Don't you just love them!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuRrYJle-HgKrMjNk7_rLUtH8PT7wdDW98wRRGLYIf0JmTcN0yVOXTFK41QtjgB3ntm9IKh0McRKorLHCF-DkvcGrwOxFxZDf1qm6RiANUqrFGsj5lRTVYBbglJiLguLhXpqIaFen91Y/s1600/bone+inlay3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinuRrYJle-HgKrMjNk7_rLUtH8PT7wdDW98wRRGLYIf0JmTcN0yVOXTFK41QtjgB3ntm9IKh0McRKorLHCF-DkvcGrwOxFxZDf1qm6RiANUqrFGsj5lRTVYBbglJiLguLhXpqIaFen91Y/s640/bone+inlay3.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/pondicherry-mother-of-pearl-desk-in-grey" target="_blank">Graham and Green</a></span></i><br /><br /><i><br /></i>They are so exquisite and beautifully handcrafted!<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjvEl_UtawKYfefXVIYWRIC7GTABp0xcqaFjx8OXoL3DjHyw8g_l8NSDmBr4ELpSREFI-PnfqhiDICm8TmpuEDDUXNYnNZvH0NX1-I1GBrfPOYS8ENtOYGH8LzHLKejFOyaX8K4UT80k/s1600/bone+inlay5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMjvEl_UtawKYfefXVIYWRIC7GTABp0xcqaFjx8OXoL3DjHyw8g_l8NSDmBr4ELpSREFI-PnfqhiDICm8TmpuEDDUXNYnNZvH0NX1-I1GBrfPOYS8ENtOYGH8LzHLKejFOyaX8K4UT80k/s640/bone+inlay5.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.grahamandgreen.co.uk/maxi-mother-of-pearl-side-table-in-grey" target="_blank">Graham and Green</a></span></i><br /><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBOpCsIJBFA8prE_lgPjyq9EsgVzLkp0_TAVgJzdFoHSndpkpRofEPNJtnNdjSNE4FmbgMBALV_LTf7hpSDZGE5Z0iBOWLVxB76mWdZWMWamuBIWwY80fw5SCBhqnt30stUADgiK0k0E/s1600/bone+inlay7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJBOpCsIJBFA8prE_lgPjyq9EsgVzLkp0_TAVgJzdFoHSndpkpRofEPNJtnNdjSNE4FmbgMBALV_LTf7hpSDZGE5Z0iBOWLVxB76mWdZWMWamuBIWwY80fw5SCBhqnt30stUADgiK0k0E/s400/bone+inlay7.jpg" width="387" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.decorpad.com/photo.htm?photoId=5279" target="_blank">via decorpad</a></span></i><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />They also come in fun colors.<br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQoRL7Wh6X0mUnuRYQFhCDJ6bk7C7-ozCPgONRDp8lQvL60bNvuI9ym_xe2cqpEa4fl_l-OwFXfnksJDuhXtsGGEeo1SKQqJMnEz3ALbWAcp0M9QAN0se8cMKPFP4CgpzrmSMxE7y-1E/s1600/blueinlay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPQoRL7Wh6X0mUnuRYQFhCDJ6bk7C7-ozCPgONRDp8lQvL60bNvuI9ym_xe2cqpEa4fl_l-OwFXfnksJDuhXtsGGEeo1SKQqJMnEz3ALbWAcp0M9QAN0se8cMKPFP4CgpzrmSMxE7y-1E/s640/blueinlay.jpg" width="514" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.irisfurnishing.co.uk/Bespoke_Indian_Furniture/Mother_of_pearl/Indian_bone_inlay_bedside_table60cm_high_x_45cm_wide_x_30cm_deep/55/462" target="_blank">via</a></span></i></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jM1y8Ov6OjbsfEgBWSvuWMAof7ZBKfqM101sfO3LRhj3jD0jOvvpzornA4yuO4vr1xEfSNnDHawUuS32edZ85APxj0lRSV9O7z9MYJpy09bjL4uJZKIkM-24huu8cgqaujQRsCzDfJE/s1600/ping-mother-of-pearl-inlay-console-table-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jM1y8Ov6OjbsfEgBWSvuWMAof7ZBKfqM101sfO3LRhj3jD0jOvvpzornA4yuO4vr1xEfSNnDHawUuS32edZ85APxj0lRSV9O7z9MYJpy09bjL4uJZKIkM-24huu8cgqaujQRsCzDfJE/s640/ping-mother-of-pearl-inlay-console-table-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Graham and Green</i></span></div><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPv0U7yP103auQBBG3BF49CiAiK3O2szD9Oxbi53NH-iA2qS-mPFGmtYuaC6EQBmZHu7nCYAuItI5uq7AHb1Mvxcemox2HMh_jVZvbIUAw-aDddbRPEykP7ukVmvZHkz5onos5bhQii8/s1600/Anthropologie+Beech+Fern+Bone-Inlay+Mirror.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtPv0U7yP103auQBBG3BF49CiAiK3O2szD9Oxbi53NH-iA2qS-mPFGmtYuaC6EQBmZHu7nCYAuItI5uq7AHb1Mvxcemox2HMh_jVZvbIUAw-aDddbRPEykP7ukVmvZHkz5onos5bhQii8/s640/Anthropologie+Beech+Fern+Bone-Inlay+Mirror.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Anthropologie</i></span></div><i><br /></i><br /><br />Big<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkGOHa_T1HIH79k4DeoD496YFgSopqQR-0xFqJdRf-eIcSWEV6L86Y-pdR7HFWvxeI-LEviHBQnkSgwrTTmRcGdZnK751IVAZpRdcspwe7JWMEnzJ-C6zOcaWFjm6X9IAI9VeiWX5aOI/s1600/bone+inlay+6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRkGOHa_T1HIH79k4DeoD496YFgSopqQR-0xFqJdRf-eIcSWEV6L86Y-pdR7HFWvxeI-LEviHBQnkSgwrTTmRcGdZnK751IVAZpRdcspwe7JWMEnzJ-C6zOcaWFjm6X9IAI9VeiWX5aOI/s640/bone+inlay+6.JPG" width="392" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.abchome.com/store/store/pc/mother-of-pearl-cabinet-with-3-drawers-blue-160p22057.htm" target="_blank">ABC Home</a></i></div><i><br /></i>and small<br /><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pUX9QiXq_Vhy_cHxqafYDsJxcP9P6K7sbvIDKV1O0lXRvFD5tFBBKSFm89DGgmiBD9uHyes1MYZgIcSs6v0RgTEyhhhzESNJdE90hVb8KldiM3jf-vnN0dx2DogUeCbXxm-1H_yrCoE/s1600/tray.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1pUX9QiXq_Vhy_cHxqafYDsJxcP9P6K7sbvIDKV1O0lXRvFD5tFBBKSFm89DGgmiBD9uHyes1MYZgIcSs6v0RgTEyhhhzESNJdE90hVb8KldiM3jf-vnN0dx2DogUeCbXxm-1H_yrCoE/s640/tray.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en&sa=N&biw=1366&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=CzfXlOA9bvZTaM:&imgrefurl=http://www.stacksandstacks.com/taj-mother-of-pearl-inlay-tray-by-zodax&docid=4wD6xH9P2Ri-kM&imgurl=http://www.stacksandstacks-static.com/images/product/reg-1312566682-182149.jpg&w=250&h=250&ei=TEAyUNfkDKPaywG984D4Ag&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=696&vpy=208&dur=566&hovh=200&hovw=200&tx=109&ty=95&sig=117412270038281596681&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=138&start=0&ndsp=12&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:0,i:110" target="_blank">via</a></span></i><br /><br /><i><br /></i><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><br />But they can also cost you an arm and a leg!<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Jenny from LGN did an amazing DIY...<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV4ChL_DIFiELG372UEBpTtKjau0nKazOPlbz31icEvT2sp2VWSxmtZvf645TwZD9Z4ClzEJJGXO5ueRc30Qctf_rUAfbxIYjwyQXQ8l60PoiJ7ohyG-95IElFFP0wYKn8d06itWiGfA/s1600/jennybi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV4ChL_DIFiELG372UEBpTtKjau0nKazOPlbz31icEvT2sp2VWSxmtZvf645TwZD9Z4ClzEJJGXO5ueRc30Qctf_rUAfbxIYjwyQXQ8l60PoiJ7ohyG-95IElFFP0wYKn8d06itWiGfA/s640/jennybi.jpg" width="424" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://littlegreennotebook.blogspot.com/2012/04/diy-inlay-dresser.html" target="_blank"><i>Jenny's DIY Inlay dresser</i></a></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I also recently discovered <a href="http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/indian-inlay-stencil-furniture.html" target="_blank"> this </a>stencil from <a href="http://www.cuttingedgestencils.com/" target="_blank">Cutting Edge Stencils</a>...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></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/AVvXsEjecw_3EeMRdlRsUsEZnN5oaX0SL16AzcT1uzlK1AA4rAbneSzQck0ctyt8NkcSGjgb78V7Q8yc2etZ06uR3g1st3F7fbENK8MqpZISwt6nWxCysPiUGSaCviwCNKFBtAn4tf806ZEF498/s1600/Indian-inlay-stencil-kit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjecw_3EeMRdlRsUsEZnN5oaX0SL16AzcT1uzlK1AA4rAbneSzQck0ctyt8NkcSGjgb78V7Q8yc2etZ06uR3g1st3F7fbENK8MqpZISwt6nWxCysPiUGSaCviwCNKFBtAn4tf806ZEF498/s400/Indian-inlay-stencil-kit.jpg" width="400" /></a></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/AVvXsEjTKRHRK8C6nM6V6N7huSy8E7KXXg2V-Xcn0_y4fiwuA3mbsg2qGGFcZhCq18_DAJ6AivXabihioaWoP4kk69DwbSmAueACEr2n_4KC_uCx2XYrTnvxYWGiTZp-vmb4qtIqNt5yVEJHTrk/s1600/Kuba-stencil-inlay-table_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTKRHRK8C6nM6V6N7huSy8E7KXXg2V-Xcn0_y4fiwuA3mbsg2qGGFcZhCq18_DAJ6AivXabihioaWoP4kk69DwbSmAueACEr2n_4KC_uCx2XYrTnvxYWGiTZp-vmb4qtIqNt5yVEJHTrk/s640/Kuba-stencil-inlay-table_1.jpg" width="640" /></a></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/AVvXsEgbrg0sYTROFcZH_-8c7Ld7BpvQPbxsUn8bRTqhuBRcOq5ahq0eK02CjUSU_l8bB32-kHDWU7-fWIknBYOvxkOwdePKRuUsrMx_oStzKQqU6YzbojrsfgVswiCKj7Z5NPPFVhUR8RgXhVc/s1600/Indian-Inlay-furniture-stencil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbrg0sYTROFcZH_-8c7Ld7BpvQPbxsUn8bRTqhuBRcOq5ahq0eK02CjUSU_l8bB32-kHDWU7-fWIknBYOvxkOwdePKRuUsrMx_oStzKQqU6YzbojrsfgVswiCKj7Z5NPPFVhUR8RgXhVc/s640/Indian-Inlay-furniture-stencil.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><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/AVvXsEhXHvzInnms5l3e2Zmw-fVzqhBNd6jw7sdjfHpbmbkK9l9qqIKCIbgnazCMQYNkIiCJ-XsLdKDsC0ozPLpc5rr0163rofLRfXPHGn_gt2cD0CtzSpHixlbuBduaYAFpNfgQWK56phd-1c0/s1600/Inlay-furniture-stencils1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="554" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXHvzInnms5l3e2Zmw-fVzqhBNd6jw7sdjfHpbmbkK9l9qqIKCIbgnazCMQYNkIiCJ-XsLdKDsC0ozPLpc5rr0163rofLRfXPHGn_gt2cD0CtzSpHixlbuBduaYAFpNfgQWK56phd-1c0/s640/Inlay-furniture-stencils1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><a href="http://blog.cuttingedgestencils.com/stencil-some-furniture-with-indian-inlay-stencil-kit.html" target="_blank">Cutting Edge Stencil blog</a></i></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Don't they look like the real deal?!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Have you done any DIY's lately?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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guest post - my best friend craig

Hi Everyone! I'm Charmaine from My Best Friend Craig and I'm happy to be filling in for Elizabeth while she enjoys some time off w...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/07/2012

2:30 AM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-3126_7-57507546/amazons-new-kindles-everything-you-need-to-know-faq/">Amazon's new Kindles: Everything you need to know (FAQ) | Tablets - CNET Reviews</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Lots of Kindle options now including the new Kindle paperwhite are shared in this rundown post from cnet - the best I found today on the topic. eBooks are here to stay. Textbook companies can wake up or be left in the wake of an epaper revolution that is shredding the traditional book publishing industry. We've yet to see a great interactive textbook but that is coming.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/ebook">ebook</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.cyberseniorsdocumentary.com/grandparents-day.html">Grandparents Day! | Cyber Seniors Documentary</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">This organization has created a YouTube channel called "Cyber Seniors corner" - film your grandparents and their wisdom and share it with this site to have it posted on YouTube. What a great idea to help grandparent's share their legacy. You're preserving this for your children and children's children and beyond. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/youtube">youtube</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparents">grandparents</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/07/2012

Amazon's new Kindles: Everything you need to know (FAQ) | Tablets - CNET Reviews Lots of Kindle ...

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/07/2012

2:23 AM Tukiyooo 0

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 09/07/2012

Amazon's new Kindles: Everything you need to know (FAQ) | Tablets - CNET Reviews Lots of Kindle ...

CRIME, CORRUPTION AND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM (Part 1)

6:32 PM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="xl"><br /></div><div class="gray" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIES</b></span></span></div><div class="gray"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXx7kZ3R5uAoU_Oa9FXCGNEK8HtZkEyOgTfyK7ihJAK9e3CpYPPgKv5XeqcE8yI8R5qQ5ANvlpGVOPL-XiubQ-0SeZeNgMAdHfEaxiXwKd9TXZ4I4rh9wxam3QL0HAw2xvgvqpk34_Nl2/s1600/image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcXx7kZ3R5uAoU_Oa9FXCGNEK8HtZkEyOgTfyK7ihJAK9e3CpYPPgKv5XeqcE8yI8R5qQ5ANvlpGVOPL-XiubQ-0SeZeNgMAdHfEaxiXwKd9TXZ4I4rh9wxam3QL0HAw2xvgvqpk34_Nl2/s400/image.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="gray" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="gray"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CORRUPTION AND THE FLOUTING OF RULES IS HARDLY A NOVEL OR UNIQUE EVENT</b></span></span></div><div class="gray"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> </b><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">By Dr. Gary K. Busch</span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><b> </b></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">The world press is full of the terrible problems which a rogue banking system has caused. The actions of the banks in the fall of <b>Lehman Brothers</b> and the corrupt fixing of the <b>LIBOR</b> rate in London by <b>Barclays</b>and other banks has been presented by journalists and analysts as a breakdown of the system. This may well be true but corruption and the flouting of rules is hardly a novel or unique event. Much of all international economic life, under capitalist, socialist, communist or despotic systems which utilises the abstraction of currency to express value and as a means of exchange has always been full of variations on the same theme.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT ASPECTS OF THE INTERACTION BETWEEN BUSINESS AND SOCIETY HAS BEEN THE GROWTH AND SPREAD OF CRIME AND CORRUPTION AS A MAJOR INDUSTRY</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><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/AVvXsEggzMMeteDxPIp3ctNmOrp8Qbv1Q6LDf2bz_sGHv5pPLT-aYNQ91UzxGQM5WJoYlsVh3p4oaFaENBUNzBCWpFLvkkMjYZhhrmLK0tFYYwY_uPi38y7FkIi-h3gw-28EwiKUqsAYh3YBqTWa/s1600/analyticalmodeloc.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzMMeteDxPIp3ctNmOrp8Qbv1Q6LDf2bz_sGHv5pPLT-aYNQ91UzxGQM5WJoYlsVh3p4oaFaENBUNzBCWpFLvkkMjYZhhrmLK0tFYYwY_uPi38y7FkIi-h3gw-28EwiKUqsAYh3YBqTWa/s400/analyticalmodeloc.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organized Crime Analytical Model</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Corruption is often conducted on such a massive scale that it involves sums greater than the <b>Gross National Product</b>of major industrial nations. <br /><br />Theoretically, when one country has a balance of payments debt another country or countries have an equivalent credit. The system is constructed as a zero-sum game where each debit is balanced by an equivalent credit. By 1970, this system had developed what the </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>International Monetary Fund</b> called an "asymmetry"; the sums did not cancel each other out. By 1980 the world was missing over $100 billion. By 1990 this "asymmetry" was over $320 billion. Current figures are in the trillions. These are the official figures relating to national debts and the official exchange of goods and services among nations. The true sums, reflecting both official and unofficial transactions, are certainly many multiples of these.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>LAUNDERING EFFECT </b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKzXCsE2T8jAl9IfKGAg1H3XF2NFh8x02vjFGw0PiMvG4FSdGJKBCAlp6RUXO7iTXKwrdT__owsmMWpmKDqqkd9PiH3mnTK4N5gKT6Ya8LOIb_dwUNs5WH5Q7CyQ5ge3bcHK8AJri_Nm0/s1600/cresseymodel.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWKzXCsE2T8jAl9IfKGAg1H3XF2NFh8x02vjFGw0PiMvG4FSdGJKBCAlp6RUXO7iTXKwrdT__owsmMWpmKDqqkd9PiH3mnTK4N5gKT6Ya8LOIb_dwUNs5WH5Q7CyQ5ge3bcHK8AJri_Nm0/s400/cresseymodel.gif" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some of these missing funds disappeared as "flight capital", fleeing fiscal authorities in the Third World. Some left home as "black money" to be laundered and returned clean. Some of these funds "leaked" from foreign aid schemes in a web of corruption involving suppliers, shippers and government officials. Some left as overpayments of invoices for goods and services with the excess reimbursed to the payer overseas; some disappeared as insurance payments on phantom goods loaded aboard sunken ships or supposedly destroyed in "friendly fires" in empty factories and warehouses; some vanished as unjustified depreciation of assets claimed by giant corporations or in their accountants' creative use of transfer pricing; some vanished as export subsidies on goods that never left the domestic economy. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Some left as <b>unvouchered cash donations to ethnic, religious and cultural organizations</b>. Some were transferred by invoice; some by documentary credits; some by matching bank deposits; some by cash; and a great deal by the exchange of illicit goods (<b>arms, drugs, high technology intellectual property</b>) whose import and export never are accounted for in official trade statistics. Some were just made up by national treasuries in what was euphemistically called “quantitative easing” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>THE EUROPEAN UNION’S EURO SYSTEM, A FANTASY-LAND OF VIRTUAL MONEY?</b></span><br /><br />These international transfers financed the growth of banks, legal practices, accounting firms, inspection agencies and financial institutions dedicated to institutionalizing, enhancing and preserving national or regional accounts, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>establishing liquidity for illiquid currencies and some</b> <b>to preserve corruption. </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A substantial portion of these funds were handled directly by the internationally-integrated world of organized crime operating in symbiotic alliance with politicians and military figures in governments across the world</b>. The bulk of the money, from all these sources, however it entered circulation, ended up in the respectable banks and trading houses which control the stock, bond and commodity markets of the world. These funds have financed 'institutional trading', fiscal anomalies like the junk bond industry, legitimate corporate lending and, most importantly, further criminal activities.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIES</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Most people are generally aware that crime and corruption are part of their national or local scenes to one degree or another. They know that 'criminals' or 'corrupt politicians' run or tolerate illegal gambling clubs; brew illegal whisky; 'arrange' planning permission for commercial property; sell or auction votes in local and national assemblies; maintain illegal cartels or 'rings' which distort prices in the construction, transport and art businesses; and generally conduct those extra-legal activities which fill the tabloid newspapers with juicy stories every morning</b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">They sometimes catch a glimpse of more sophisticated crimes when men like Boesky are brought before the courts or when cases like the “Maxwell Affair” and the BCCI scandal are reported in the press or banks are caught faking documentation of junk mortgage paper to assist their foreclosures. They are forced to be aware of the existence of a web of organized crime which is behind the trade in illicit substances and in the <b>'protection rackets' of the urban slums</b> because these are all shown and discussed in television's endless police series or brought to the big screen in blockbusters like the 'Godfather' or the 'French Connection'.<br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>A PROPER DEFINITION OF CORRUPTION IS ESSENTIALLY 'INSTITUTIONALISED UNPROSECUTED CRIME'</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: large;">, </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">comprising activities engaged in by one or more persons in contravention of the laws governing their legal environment which go unpunished or unprosecuted. These unpunished acts may be petty in nature or may be major delicts with international implications. In either case they represent unpunished and unpursued violations of the law. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What is vital to the understanding of what constitutes corruption is not the criminal act itself, but why this act is unpunished</b>. <span style="color: red;"><b>In most cases these criminal acts go unpunished because they derive from a strong element of abuse of power, privilege or status</b></span>. Someone or some organization or group wielding political, economic, social or religious power has used this power to deflect the ordinary course of justice. This aspect is crucial to understanding what makes 'crime' turns into 'corruption'. There is a lot of unpunished crime which is not corruption (often depending on lack of prosecutable evidence or triviality) but <b>there is no corruption without criminality</b>. It is the abuse of power which is exercised in the avoidance of prosecution which distinguishes corruption from mere criminality.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcG5a9XXfUMPaemV6Ugtt20Ek2QV_FMs0KC-jw33Ovcf0fuG4FeVBkYBOa2M4kJpVYURYs8zNSZCqwMJhSoYFrRBQwaa6eP7mLvPbNAOKRJFUXxOqCJJ7bWLt1nav4vMWRha-95Mrs8ew/s1600/169219266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKcG5a9XXfUMPaemV6Ugtt20Ek2QV_FMs0KC-jw33Ovcf0fuG4FeVBkYBOa2M4kJpVYURYs8zNSZCqwMJhSoYFrRBQwaa6eP7mLvPbNAOKRJFUXxOqCJJ7bWLt1nav4vMWRha-95Mrs8ew/s640/169219266.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE BOTH MASSIVE, PERVASIVE AND MULTINATIONAL</b></span><br /><br />What is difficult for many to understand is that crime and corruption are both massive, pervasive and multinational; conducted on a scale which defies one's ability to manipulate numbers; and which </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>plays such an important role in one's own political and economic life even though one may be oblivious to its influence</b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">However, the fundamental reason why crime and corruption thrive and prosper is the most difficult for anyone to accept; it goes against everything one has been taught or led to believe. The reason is both simple and obvious. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE NOT ANOMALIES OR SIGNS OF A BREAKDOWN IN OUR ECONOMIC OR POLITICAL SYSTEMS; THEY ARE VITAL AND INTEGRAL PARTS OF THOSE SYSTEMS</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Quite simply, our national and international political and economic systems have developed so that they do not work without them. Crime and corruption is so massive and sophisticated an industry that most analysts cannot comprehend its sheer scale and the level of its integration into the international system or its symbiotic relationship with power and influence.<br /><br />People and corporations with power abuse their power to influence, buy and pursue political aims with an impunity which derives from the learned helplessness of those set up to control them, or as a result of their complicity in the abuse.</span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><span style="color: blue;"><b>THE SOCIOLOGY OF CORRUPTION</b></span></span><span style="color: blue;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;">:</span><br /><br />One missing ingredient in the learned studies of crime, </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>criminality and corruption is the controlling variable of time or '<span style="color: red;">time horizons</span>'. The poorer the person the shorter his time horizon</b>. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>A GOVERNMENT</b></span> can plan and function on a relatively long time horizon. It has a five-year plan; a series of three-year pilot projects, regional development schemes, etc. Its time horizon stretches out into the distant future. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>MOST MAJOR INTERNATIONAL CORPORATIONS</b></span>operate on a similar time scale. They can make 'long-term' investments; position themselves to take advantage of a market which is emerging over the medium term; build in 'loss leaders' for the short-term to buy long-term market share. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>MIDDLE CLASS PROFESSIONALS, CIVIL SERVANTS AND WHITE-COLLAR WORKERS</b></span> can plan their lives and career prospects in years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>BLUE COLLAR EMPLOYEES</b></span> can plan in units of years, quarters or months. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;"><b>POORER PEOPLE</b></span> on the dole or receiving supplementary assistance can plan in weeks. <br /><br />The truly poor can only plan on days or even shorter intervals. The shorter the time horizon, the more immediate the need for satisfaction of basic needs - food, shelter and protection. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><b>It is this time horizon disparity which has been the seed bed of corruption in societies across the globe.</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Governments, political parties, aid and social welfare agencies cannot minister effectively to the needs of the poor because they do not and cannot operate in the same time zone as the poor. <span style="color: red;"><b><span>Those who can deliver in the short term - deliver money, extend credit, provide food or craved illicit substances, protect households or shops from attack, arrange employment opportunities, and punish enemies - are almost exclusively criminal organizations and often receive in exchange for their assistance the control of the political, religious and economic powers of those whom they assist.</span></b></span> Those who take these political powers in exchange for material goods trade them for more valuable considerations with governments, corporations or international agencies. This exchange is the beginning of the trail from criminality to corruption.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>THE MAJORITY OF THE WORLD'S POPULATION HAS BEEN AND REMAINS UNDER WHAT IT CONSIDERS FOREIGN OR AT LEAST EXOGENOUS DOMINATION</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b>A second dimension often missed out in the academic analysis of corruption is that for the large majority of the world's population most governments, including their own, are foreign governments or run by strangers. The majority of the world's population has been and remains under what it considers foreign or at least exogenous domination. Throughout history, the nations of EUROPE, LATIN AMERICA, the MIDDLE EAST, AFRICA and ASIA have been ruled by foreign powers - potent military occupiers stretching in a long line from the PERSIANS, the MOGHULS, the HAN CHINESE, ALEXANDER'S MACEDONIANS, the ROMANS, BYZANTIUM, the HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, the FULANI, the ZULUS, the OTTOMANS, NAPOLEONIC FRANCE, the AUSTRO-HUNGARIAN EMPIRE, the BRITISH EMPIRE, the THIRD REICH, the GREAT EAST ASIAN Co-Prosperity Scheme, the USSR to name but a few. Even today, many of the peoples of the world, in developed as well as less-developed nations, although freed from the shackles of colonialism or occupation, still feel alienated from their governments which are led by a single tribe, ethnic group or powerful social or caste or religious elite not their own.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>CRIMINAL ORGANISATIONS INSTITUTIONALISED CRIMINALITY ON THE BASIS OF A POLITICAL AND ETHNIC MESSAGES</b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><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/AVvXsEirOhHBqQ-Vd30qG_vUnGDcIPc-H3OMsYlZ7hS27yJB7CJzJ7dQvqQjaKQVJ00dV_URSiZ_KwA9m2ejkps-qhoRNm_qMVlddVrLd3kosMG3tBYjDh-J12O2FsKHCBygt2LW0SZu6o-j1Otu/s1600/tumblr_laawi0amAE1qz7tiao1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirOhHBqQ-Vd30qG_vUnGDcIPc-H3OMsYlZ7hS27yJB7CJzJ7dQvqQjaKQVJ00dV_URSiZ_KwA9m2ejkps-qhoRNm_qMVlddVrLd3kosMG3tBYjDh-J12O2FsKHCBygt2LW0SZu6o-j1Otu/s320/tumblr_laawi0amAE1qz7tiao1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">see  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">There is a social, ethnic, political and economic distance between the leaders and the led. What this has meant in terms of crime and corruption is that there is a certain legitimacy which attaches to acts against a foreign occupying or dominant power and against those in power that represent a different ethnic group, religion, caste or class. Under these circumstances, criminal acts are not considered criminal; they are a tolerated subversion of an inequitable system. Many of the most durable of the <b>world's criminal societies</b>, the <b>Mafia</b>, the <b>Camorra</b>, <b>14-K</b> ,the <b>house of Hung</b>, the <b>Sun Yee On</b>, the <b>Wo Hop To</b>, the <b>Yamaguchi-Gumi</b>, the <b>Union Corse</b>, the <b>IRA,</b> the <b>Sendero Luminosa</b>,, the <b>Sons of Liberty</b> and <b>Black September</b> arose directly out of this maelstrom of criminality cum nationalism and the struggle against foreign domination. Some end up as the new governments with their own enemies. Other preferred to continue their preference for more profitable criminal activities. What is important is that these criminal organisations institutionalised criminality on the basis of a political and ethnic message and spawned political parties, created political alliances, generated giant legitimate and semi-legitimate corporations as part of their service to the disenfranchised and, by so doing, created a symbiotic relationship with governments.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Background Information:</b> World Criminal Societies<br /><br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camorra">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camorra</a></span> </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14K">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/14K</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yee_On">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun_Yee_On</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wo_Hop_To">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wo_Hop_To</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaguchi-gumi</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Corse">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Corse</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendero_Luminosa">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sendero_Luminosa</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Liberty">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sons_of_Liberty</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_September</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html">http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/organized-crime/index.html</a></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>

CRIME, CORRUPTION AND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM (Part 1)

CRIME AND CORRUPTION ARE TWO OF THE WORLD'S LARGEST MULTINATIONAL INDUSTRIES CORRUPTION AND THE FLOUTING OF RULES IS HARDLY A NOVEL OR ...

Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha

6:08 PM Tukiyooo 0

Alright buds, I did the research today on the Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha (SCM), and here's what I came up with....<br /><br />First off, it's always important to give credit where credit is due.  WE ALL have <a href="http://www.nothankstocake.com/" target="_blank">Kelly @ No Thanks to Cake</a> to thank for this concoction.  Let me make that clear! Sometimes you have these moments in life where you're like, "Why didn't I think of that?"... and Kelly does that a lot for me.  She tends to make the obvious even more obvious for myself :).  Case in point - if you're trying to enjoy some 'bucks, but you don't want to splurge on the full drink recipe/calories, why not modify it?  We do it with food, so why not beverages?  There's clearly no better place to do this than at a Starbucks, where customizing your drink is the norm.  Still, I would have never thought to ask my barista to go easy on the pumps.  Duh!  Thank God someone is a genius out there!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE06UAtZYcZwZUWSSSkbPaOUglZ_kmW35WTSrKVGqeyT3i6o5P6KJBXIuRg6mKo8vv18HLr_Li8Jr2MBGOQBENT0JDNa3_fih-r28x-IeADmFDjicHUG-qd1aM6Dt7xWkHeVyNGVRtRsk/s1600/starbucks+syrups+nutrition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE06UAtZYcZwZUWSSSkbPaOUglZ_kmW35WTSrKVGqeyT3i6o5P6KJBXIuRg6mKo8vv18HLr_Li8Jr2MBGOQBENT0JDNa3_fih-r28x-IeADmFDjicHUG-qd1aM6Dt7xWkHeVyNGVRtRsk/s400/starbucks+syrups+nutrition.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />So, with that being said, I took the research that <a href="http://www.nothankstocake.com/2011/09/16/two-airport-finds-and-the-truth-about-the-salted-caramel-mocha/" target="_blank">Kelly has already generously done</a>, and added on to it.  She learned that your baseline tall, nonfat SCM contains 3 pumps each of the mocha and toffee nut syrups.  Based on the nutri-stats, that is 25 calories per pump of the mocha syrup, and 20 calories per pump of the toffee nut (reference chart above).  That means, in a tall SCM, you're swallowing 135 extra calories just in syrups. However, when you only do <b>1 pump mocha + 2 pumps toffee nut in a tall (no whip!)</b>... NOW we're talkin'!<br /><br />What the NTTC queen discovered is that the SCM is simply a prettied up version of a caffe mocha.  That's great!  Why?  Because not all that long ago, Starbucks debuted a SKINNY version of the caffe mocha, which is good news for us!<br /><br />Still, here is where things get a <i>little </i>hairy, and we learn why this is only an estimate.  At this time, I'm not 100% certain that the mocha syrup they use in the skinny version is totally sugar-free and totally calorie free.  So, for now, I am accepting that<i> the baseline tall skinny mocha's nutri-stats already has 3 pumps of the skinny syrup included in their calculations</i> <i>below</i>.  In order to get our estimated PointsPlus, just add on 2 pumps-worth of nutri-stats of the toffee nut and you can achieve a close estimate of your PointsPlus value.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkg9KPwknYScn3kvQ2WP7o8-YVN9shUDf5M8anhUYC7TUOxH2VZdacV8aOgbZG8J26feeyW4ycGZJjwrB2miWQMAtuuS9AoiGWjxUdQXwijAwyaQRDwM-v7gmyzZvbq614bLZWyMyy3o/s1600/SCM+tall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYkg9KPwknYScn3kvQ2WP7o8-YVN9shUDf5M8anhUYC7TUOxH2VZdacV8aOgbZG8J26feeyW4ycGZJjwrB2miWQMAtuuS9AoiGWjxUdQXwijAwyaQRDwM-v7gmyzZvbq614bLZWyMyy3o/s400/SCM+tall.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Calories - 165</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(110 cals from skinny mocha + 40 cals of 2 pumps toffee nut + 15 cals caramel drizzle)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Fat - 1.5g</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(no fat in syrup + 0.5g fat in caramel drizzle)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Total Carbs - 26g</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(14g from skinny mocha + 10g from toffee nut + 2g caramel drizzle)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Dietary Fiber - 3g</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(no fiber in syrup)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Protein - 11g</div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(no protein in syrup)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Total PointsPlus = 4</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">(I calculated a grande at 5 PointsPlus - </span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="color: #999999;">2 pumps skinny mocha + 3 pumps toffee nut)</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">In conclusion, if the mocha syrup is sugar free, then the PointsPlus total would stand as is because it would not affect the nutrition stats based on the other sugar free syrups (refer to chart above).  However, if the mocha syrup is "light", and we're only doing 1 pump of it versus the 3 pumps for the baseline drink, then we've most likely over-estimated our PointsPlus value, but I'm sure not by much, even if at all.  I'd rather estimate more than less in this case!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div>And by the way, I tried the SCM today and fell immediately in love.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6k8uMFzMuQd8jiBKsSBJ0MpYXTRCmxzunIWwMlydZtBK8sVsz4xURRGGm_BOzdLV7lKC4R73cyEsfFWnMR3KnVMaOq8a2b1PH392FhtPwXw9y8khvdR_xvobSW6r5hSnu550PwrAVCyk/s1600/skinny+scm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6k8uMFzMuQd8jiBKsSBJ0MpYXTRCmxzunIWwMlydZtBK8sVsz4xURRGGm_BOzdLV7lKC4R73cyEsfFWnMR3KnVMaOq8a2b1PH392FhtPwXw9y8khvdR_xvobSW6r5hSnu550PwrAVCyk/s400/skinny+scm.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />And I won't lie to you when I say this: I enjoy it <i>more </i>than my beloved pumpkin spice!  The SCM has a lot of nice flavors melding together.<br /><br />The PSL.... well, let's just say we've "separated" for now!<br /><br />

starbucks Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha

Alright buds, I did the research today on the Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha (SCM), and here's what I came up with.... First off, it'...

Prix vs. Chipperfield

12:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

In case you haven't seen Wolf D. Prix's criticism of the David Chipperfield-directed <a href="http://www.labiennale.org/en/architecture/">13th International Architecture Exhibition</a> in Venice and Sir Chipperfield's response, here they are, without comment.<br /><br /><b>Wolf D. Prix press release (<a href="http://www.archnewsnow.com/features/Feature401.htm">source</a>):</b><br /><blockquote><i>Praise be to Nero’s Neptune.</i><br /><i>The Titanic sails at dawn.</i><br /><i>And everybody’s shouting</i><br /><i>“Which Side Are You On?”</i><br />(Bob Dylan: “Desolation Row,” 1966)<br /><br />If one did not know that the media constantly exaggerates, one could almost conclude – as the <i>Süddeutsche Zeitung</i> has – that the Venice Biennale of Architecture really is the world’s most important architecture exhibition.<br /><br />However, I believe that the word “exhibition” is not intended to describe an exhibition in this case, but rather that the notion only designates the event per se. In other words, an industry meeting, like a product fair. Other critics fail to even question the purpose of the exhibition; instead they immediately conclude that the coming together, the meeting, the networking is the key aspect. That’s that!<br /><br />I would like to maintain at this juncture that the meaning of the Venice Biennale of Architecture, for theoretical arguments, has been increasingly losing significance since its beginnings with the “Strada Novissima” by Paolo Portoghesi in 1980. Even the personal significance for the participants is very low when compared to the Art Biennale. So let us not deny the truth. This event is an expensive <i>danse macabre</i>. In a city of plunder (an exhibition of plunder) hordes of tourists (architects) roll along broken infrastructure in order to satisfy their <i>petit bourgeois</i> desire for education (in the case of the architects: vanity, envy, <i>schadenfreude</i>, suspicions). Even the glamour that the visitors are supposed to feel is staid and faked by the media for whom a star architect is like a film star.<br /><br />In truth it is all hollow, arduous, exhausting, bleak, and boring. It is no longer about lively discussion and criticism of topics in contemporary architecture, but rather about empty, conservative, and perhaps populist shells that are charged with feigned meaning. What a great Architecture Biennale it would have been had they established forums and put out themes which would have provided a chance to look behind the scenes at the decision-making, instead of boring exhibitions. Take, for example, the dispute about the train station in Stuttgart. Or the reasons for the cost explosion for prominent buildings such as the Elbe Philharmonic Hall. Or the political arguments about mosques and minarets – in other words, the disputes about the localization of an idea. Why the market for single-family homes in the U.S. has collapsed and how power politics is conducted through settlement architecture. These topics would be worthy of discussion – not who is and who is not a star architect.<br /><br />However, instead of that we face: “People Meet in Architecture,” and now “Common Ground.” In other words: compromise. It cannot get any worse!<br /><br />This situation conjures an image of the Venetian carnival – one can imagine all the architects in Pierrot costumes surrounded by masked critics and dancing the <i>Dance Banale</i>. Or, even better, the architects are playing on a sinking gondola like the erstwhile orchestra on the Titanic playing their last song, while outside in the real world our leaky trade is sinking into powerlessness and irrelevance. This is because politicians and project managers, investors and bureaucrats have been deciding our built environment for a long time now. Not the architects.<br /><br />While in Russia artists are stubbornly resisting the authoritarian regime, the current director of the Architecture Biennale considers these characteristics to be obstacles for our profession, and he explains in an interview that space must be taken from the genius. One would have to show him Pussy Riots in order for him to finally understand our society.<br /><br />Furthermore, I consider that the Venice Biennale of Architecture needs to be reorganized.<br /><br />Wolf D. Prix / COOP HIMMELB(L)AU  24.08.2012</blockquote><b>David Chipperfield's response (<a href="http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/daily-news/aj-exclusive-chipperfield-counters-prixs-venice-biennale-criticism/8635216.article">source</a>):</b><br /><blockquote>I am disappointed that our British architectural press should give so much coverage to the destructive opinions of a Viennese architect about the Biennale, even though he hadn’t even visited Venice.<br /><br />My concerns are not about the criticism, which I didn’t understand, but that this statement and the ensuing "controversy" stimulated by its publication reinforce the negative attitudes of our architectural culture. Wolf Prix demonstrates no interest in the position of others and only imagines that architecture can conform to his own priorities and preconceptions.<br /><br />This year’s Biennale, with all its weaknesses and mistakes, was above all conceived and realised in a spirit of generosity, optimistically proposing that there is an architectural culture bound together by shared intentions, influences and disappointments and that even the most celebrated protagonists of our profession are capable of engaging in such a dialogue.<br /><br />When I began to formulate the theme of this Biennale, paradoxically I had Wolf Prix in mind, as only a few months before he had publicly pronounced (again through a press release) that my building in Vienna for Peek & Cloppenburg was a "piece of shit".<br /><br />Beyond the fact of the criticism itself was the fact that an architect should be so drawn to criticise a "colleague" through the medium of the press. How can our profession be regarded as anything more than a soap opera if the personalities of architects dominate all reporting and serious critique is abandoned not only by the media but also by architects themselves?<br /><br />It is a shame that Mr Prix seems incapable of defining his own position except in opposition to others, and that our press doesn’t deem us capable of being interested in any discussion about architecture unless it is laced with controversy.<br /><br />David Chipperfield, 03.09.12</blockquote>

Prix vs. Chipperfield

In case you haven't seen Wolf D. Prix's criticism of the David Chipperfield-directed 13th International Architecture Exhibition in ...

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 09/06/2012

12:30 PM Tukiyooo 0

<ul class="diigo-linkroll">      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://blog.walls360.com/periodic-table-wall-graphics-from-yiying-lu-plus-free-periodic-table-design-downloads/">WALLS 360 BLOG » Periodic Table Wall Graphics from Yiying Lu. Plus FREE Periodic Table Design Downloads!</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Free periodic table downloads with QR codes to use in your classroom. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/qrcode">qrcode</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://grandparentsday.org">Grandparents Day</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">For Grandparent's Day, this organization is asking people to committe to do something grand. Here are some ideas.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparents">grandparents</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/lessonplans">lessonplans</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparentsday">grandparentsday</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.youtube.com/cyberseniorscorner">Cyber-Seniors Corner - YouTube</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Here's the Cyber Seniors corner where Grandparents teach others how to do things. Consider filming your grandparents and sending it to them. This is a neat idea.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparentsday">grandparentsday</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.cyberseniorsdocumentary.com/grandparents-day.html">Grandparents Day! | Cyber Seniors Documentary</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">This organization has created a YouTube channel called "Cyber Seniors corner" - film your grandparents and their wisdom and share it with this site to have it posted on YouTube. What a great idea to help grandparent's share their legacy. You're preserving this for your children and children's children and beyond. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/news">news</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/youtube">youtube</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparents">grandparents</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://pinterest.com/Artsy_momma/make-for-moms-or-grandmas/">Make for Moms or Grandmas</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Also from @artsy_momma - things you can make for Mom's or Grandmas. Over 100 ideas on this pinterest board to get you started.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/pinterest">pinterest</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparents">grandparents</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparentsday">grandparentsday</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://pinterest.com/Artsy_momma/make-for-dads-or-grandpas/">Make for Dads or Grandpas</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Grandparent's Day is Sunday. Here's a lovely Pinterest board from @artsy_momma about things you can make for grandpas or Dad's. </p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/grandparents">grandparents</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=1439&itemID=34426&URL=Safety%20Information/Fire%20Prevention%20Week/About%20Fire%20Prevention%20Week&cookie%5Ftest=1">NFPA :: Safety Information :: Fire Prevention Week :: About Fire Prevention Week</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Here is the official Fire Prevention week website. Remember to plan now to help children learn about fire safety. The odds are you ARE saving a life. Plan ahead.</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/education">education</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/fire">fire</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a></p>                                        </li>      <li>      <p class="diigo-link">                <a href="http://www.nfpa.org/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=2495&itemID=58071&cookie_test=1">NFPA :: Safety Information :: Fire Prevention Week :: Sparky's Wish List</a>      </p>      <p class="diigo-description">Fire prevention month is in October. This wish list will help fire departments get information and materials to local schools for October 9 (commemoration of the great Chicago fire.)</p>              <p class="diigo-tags">          <span>tags:</span>                      <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/october">october</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/teaching">teaching</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/fireprevention">fireprevention</a>            <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher/safety">safety</a></p>                                        </li>  </ul><p class="diigo-ps">Posted from <a href='http://www.diigo.com'>Diigo</a>. The rest of my favorite links are <a href='http://www.diigo.com/user/coolcatteacher'>here</a>.</p>

Teach This! Teaching with lesson plans and ideas that rock 09/06/2012

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Assistant Director, Administrative Services - Fairfield Public Library

10:48 AM Anonymous 0

<strong>Assistant Director, Administrative Services - </strong><span style="color: #48286d;"><strong>Fairfield Public Library</strong></span> is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Director-  Administrative Services.  As a member of the Fairfield Public Library  Team you will assist in the execution of the Long Range Plan. You will  be an active listener, a team player who thinks quickly on their feet  and engages well with others. Your responsibilities include:   supervision of the custodians and Senior Circulation Coordinator,  enhancement of administrative systems including some budgetary and  payroll responsibilities, collection and program development. You are  responsible for the daily oversight of the physical plant of the Main  Library, the technology plan, management and promotion of some library  collections, program execution and any other related duties. You must  have 5 or more years of supervisory experience including a proven record  working cooperatively with staff, patrons and other community  stakeholders.  Your familiarity with all aspects of library service will  allow you to be proficient at initiating more efficient library  processes and procedures. You are a problem solver who is an effective  communicator and active listener. You must have experience working with  budgets and payroll. Your knowledge and experience working with  integrated library management systems and library information technology  applications is thorough. You are a great reader who enjoys developing  ways to promote library collections. This is a 35 hour per week  position, one evening on a public service desk until 9:00 pm and one  Saturday a month. Attending meetings, programs or workshops for  professional development and community outreach is expected. An MLS from  an ALA accredited university and five years of supervisory experience  and progressively responsible administration experience. Salary range:  $65,700 - $92,441. Good benefits package. 401K deferred compensation  plan. Please send cover letter and resume to: Karen Ronald, Town  Librarian, Fairfield Public Library: <a href="mailto:kronald@fplct.org">kronald@fplct.org</a>.  Review of applications will begin September 18th.

Assistant Director, Administrative Services - Fairfield Public Library

Assistant Director, Administrative Services - Fairfield Public Library is seeking qualified candidates for the position of Assistant Direct...

If a country neglects to improve its infrastrucuture

5:06 AM Tukiyooo 0

<h2 class="ff_g fs30 mb10"><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">America facing infrastructural collapse </span></span></h2><div class="publishinfo"><br /></div><div class="galleryes"></div><div class="articlevideo mb10"><div class="mainimagevideo"><div id="MainImageVideo"><img alt="A view under the Julia Tuttle causeway bridge in Miami, Florida (Reuters/Carlos Barria)" height="277" src="http://rt.com/files/usa/news/america-infrastructure-us-billion-459/florida-miami-julia-tuttle.n.jpg" width="370" />     </div></div><br class="clr_all" /></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">The US has been neglecting its infrastructure, putting lives at  risk and weakening the economy as pipelines, bridges, roads, dams, and  water mains fall apart.  </span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Natural disasters like this month’s Hurricane Isaac shed the  spotlight on America’s poor infrastructure as 100,000 people were left  without power for a week and 2,800 checked into shelters to escape the  flooding in their homes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The American Society of Civil Engineers  recently gave the US a grade of “D” for its infrastructure on an A-F  scale. The group recommended that America spend $2.2 trillion on repairs  and maintenance to bring the crumbling country back up to standard.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">After  Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, the US government was  forced to spend $14.5 billion to build flood defenses, levees and pumps  to prevent another catastrophe. While no levees fell apart after  Hurricane Isaac this year, the US is still suffering the deterioration  of many of its other infrastructure elements.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“America has  scrimped on taking care of the public furniture, endangering people and  weakening the economy as bridges rust, roads crumble, dams weaken and  water mains leak,”</i> writes David Cay Johnston, author of<i>The Fine Point</i>, in an article for the Daily Beast.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">The  worst infrastructure is corporate-owned, writes Johnston. High-pressure  oil and natural-gas pipelines can easily explode without warning,  electric power poles need to be replaced, and the telecommunications  system is gradually getting worse. Of 2.5 million miles of pipeline in  the US, one third are older than 40 years – which played no small role  in the 10,483 reported pipeline accidents or explosions in the past  decade. Many high-pressure pipelines have almost 70 percent of their  walls corroded, but have still been granted safety-inspection waivers by  the Department of Transportation – even though the National Academy of  Engineering warned about these dangers in 2004.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">In 2010, a natural-gas pipeline explosion caused the deaths of 8 people and the destruction of 38 homes near San Francisco.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Crumbling  infrastructure can also be found in the US transportation system. Each  year, traffic jams caused by insufficient infrastructure waste a total  of 4 billion hours of commuters’ time and 3 billion gallons of gasoline. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">Overall, a decaying transportation system costs $78 billion annually in  lost time and fuel. Additionally, one in four US bridges are unstable or carrying more traffic than designed for.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">This  summer’s record-breaking drought that plagued most US states has also  left its mark on the country’s infrastructure. A US Airways jet become  stuck in melted asphalt. A subway train derailed after the heat  stretched its tracks. From highways to homes, infrastructure has been  shrinking and cracking, causing billions of dollars in damages. Nuclear  power plants have been forced to shut down because the heat raised the  temperature of their cooling water.</span><br /><span style="font-size: large;">And in a struggling economy,  each additional natural disaster will take its toll on the already-weak  US infrastructure, putting American lives and finances further at risk.</span>

If a country neglects to improve its infrastrucuture

America facing infrastructural collapse The US has been neglecting its infrastructure, putting lives at risk and weakening the economy...

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Assistant Director, Administrative Services - Fairfield Public Library

If a country neglects to improve its infrastrucuture

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