TRADITIONAL CAPITALISM -- You have two cows. You sell one and buy a bull. Your herd multiplies, and the economy grows. You sell them and retire on the income.
AN AMERICAN CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You sell one, and force the other to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when the cow drops dead.
FRENCH CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows.
A JAPANESE CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. You then create clever cow cartoon images called Cowkimon(tm) and market them world-wide.
A GERMAN CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You re-engineer them so they live for 100 years, eat once a month, and milk themselves.
A BRITISH CORPORATION -- You have two cows. Both are mad.
AN ITALIAN CORPORATION -- You have two cows, but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch.
A RUSSIAN CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You count them and learn you have five cows. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. You count them again and learn you have 12 cows. You stop counting cows and open another bottle of vodka.
A SWISS CORPORATION -- You have 5000 cows, none of which belong to you. You charge others for storing them.
A HINDU CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You worship them.
A CHINESE CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You have 300 people milking them. You claim full employment, high bovine productivity, and arrest the newsman who reported the numbers.
AN ARKANSAS CORPORATION -- You have two cows. That one on the left is kinda cute.
ENRON CORPORATION -- You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt/equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred via an intermediary to a Cayman Island company secretly owned by the majority shareholder who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more. Sell one cow to buy a new president of the United States, leaving you with nine cows. No balance sheet provided with the release. The public buys your bull.
ARTHUR ANDERSON, LLC -- You have 2 cows. You shred all documents that Enron has any cows, take 2 cows from Enron for payment for consulting the cows, and attest that Enron has 9 cows.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Celebrating Howard Zinn
Howard Zinn, one of my personal heroes, died yesterday at the age of 87. I would like to focus on celebrating his life as opposed to mourning his passing. This pioneer was one of the trail blazers in peaceful civil disobedience, he organized students in the south during the civil rights movement and students in Boston during the Vietnam war. He is probably best known for authoring the book "A Peoples History of The United States" which I consider a must read! Once again, thank you Howard for everything you did to make this world a better place for all.
Here is an amazing series of six videos with Howard Zinn and Woody Harrelson.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Atlanta Activists In Action!
I pulled this story from an email sent to me by Atlanta Progressive News, which is a constant source of news that can't be found on major news networks.
(APN) Peace Activists Turn Backs on Gen. Petraeus at GA Tech
By Gloria Tatum, Special to The Atlanta Progressive News (January 24, 2010)
(APN) ATLANTA -- On January 19, 2010, thirteen Atlanta activists from Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC), and Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace stood in silence and turned their backs on US General David Petraeus before being removed from the 1,100-person Ferst Theater on the Georgia Tech campus.
The activists wore t-shirts with messages like War is Not the Answer, Money for Jobs Not War, No to Endless War and Occupation, Veterans for Peace, and End the War - Yes We Can!
The activists included Randy Aronov, Bernice Bass; Doris Benit; Mike Burke; Pamela Chubbuck; David Epstein; Reid Jenkins; Ann Mauney; Betsy Miklethun; Dot Shaw; George Sossenko; and the present writer--Gloria Tatum.
Mauney, of GPJC, contradicted Petraeus's public relations message that the US is winning in the occupations of Iraq or Afghanistan.
"There is no military solution to the Afghanistan conflict, and... Gen. Petraeus, as a chief strategist for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations, carries responsibilities for bankrupt US war policies," Mauney said during the protest.
"General Petraeus, the man from CENTCOM at MacDill AFB in St. Petersburg, definitely had the glint of a fifth star in his eyes and he reinforced that by telling a giant whopper about how the invasion of Afghanistan was launched after 9/11 because that's where the terrorists were from," Burke, a veteran of the US Invasion of Vietnam, wrote in an email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.
In fact, the US government's own investigation into 9/11 contradicts Petraeus's assertion by concluding that the majority of terrorists who attacked the US were from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan.
Petraeus then began his question and answer session with the rows of clean-cut Tech students and academics who were far more interested in the economics of occupation than a pull-out date.
Outside the Ferst Center, other opponents of endless war and occupation held a press conference and anti-war rally.
"Ever since the escalation in Afghanistan was announced, there has been a sharp upsurge in terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US," Dianne Mathiowetz, International Action Center Atlanta, said in a statement.
"Isn't it obvious that these endless wars just create endless terrorism?" Mathiowetz asked. "Why is General Petraeus only taking questions from Tech students? Is he afraid of questions from spouses and other loved ones of those who are dying in these endless wars, or from taxpayers who are paying for the war?"
Bob Goodman of the GPJC--as well as an APN contributor--composed and passed out 500 flyers to people waiting in line at the Ferst Center, with the questions advocates would have asked General Petraeus if given the opportunity.
(APN) Peace Activists Turn Backs on Gen. Petraeus at GA Tech
By Gloria Tatum, Special to The Atlanta Progressive News (January 24, 2010)
(APN) ATLANTA -- On January 19, 2010, thirteen Atlanta activists from Veterans for Peace, Vietnam Veterans Against the War, Georgia Peace and Justice Coalition (GPJC), and Atlanta Grandmothers for Peace stood in silence and turned their backs on US General David Petraeus before being removed from the 1,100-person Ferst Theater on the Georgia Tech campus.
The activists wore t-shirts with messages like War is Not the Answer, Money for Jobs Not War, No to Endless War and Occupation, Veterans for Peace, and End the War - Yes We Can!
The activists included Randy Aronov, Bernice Bass; Doris Benit; Mike Burke; Pamela Chubbuck; David Epstein; Reid Jenkins; Ann Mauney; Betsy Miklethun; Dot Shaw; George Sossenko; and the present writer--Gloria Tatum.
Mauney, of GPJC, contradicted Petraeus's public relations message that the US is winning in the occupations of Iraq or Afghanistan.
"There is no military solution to the Afghanistan conflict, and... Gen. Petraeus, as a chief strategist for the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and occupations, carries responsibilities for bankrupt US war policies," Mauney said during the protest.
"General Petraeus, the man from CENTCOM at MacDill AFB in St. Petersburg, definitely had the glint of a fifth star in his eyes and he reinforced that by telling a giant whopper about how the invasion of Afghanistan was launched after 9/11 because that's where the terrorists were from," Burke, a veteran of the US Invasion of Vietnam, wrote in an email obtained by Atlanta Progressive News.
In fact, the US government's own investigation into 9/11 contradicts Petraeus's assertion by concluding that the majority of terrorists who attacked the US were from Saudi Arabia, not Afghanistan.
Petraeus then began his question and answer session with the rows of clean-cut Tech students and academics who were far more interested in the economics of occupation than a pull-out date.
Outside the Ferst Center, other opponents of endless war and occupation held a press conference and anti-war rally.
"Ever since the escalation in Afghanistan was announced, there has been a sharp upsurge in terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the US," Dianne Mathiowetz, International Action Center Atlanta, said in a statement.
"Isn't it obvious that these endless wars just create endless terrorism?" Mathiowetz asked. "Why is General Petraeus only taking questions from Tech students? Is he afraid of questions from spouses and other loved ones of those who are dying in these endless wars, or from taxpayers who are paying for the war?"
Bob Goodman of the GPJC--as well as an APN contributor--composed and passed out 500 flyers to people waiting in line at the Ferst Center, with the questions advocates would have asked General Petraeus if given the opportunity.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Wisdom from the Zen Calendar
"The best mind-altering drug is truth."
Lily Tomlin
"You're only as young as the last time you changed your mind."
Timothy Leary
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Sounds Like Sunday
This guy and Jamie Liddel seem to have their own genre going, I'm calling it electric oldies. Might have to do an entire post on this guy he has so many great songs.
This is the coolest Dick Dale cover I've ever seen, the burning trumpet adds to the show.
Icelandic blues with a hint of twang.
Dyno Jamz has a cool laid back sound and the horn section stands out.
Electro Funk set to video art.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Hero Of The Day
Three Cheers for the late Henry Liu, who developed an environmentally safe brick made from the waste produced from coal-fired power plants.
The following was taken from an article on the Mother Nature Network.
The importance of the technology he pioneered cannot be understated. Each year, nearly 45 million tons of leftover fly ash — toxic byproduct from burning coal — is recklessly disposed of in landfills and ash ponds, contaminating the environment and putting people's health at risk. The problem can be particularly bad in countries with developing industries. In India alone, fly ash landfill covers an area of 40,000 acres.
But where others saw pollution, Liu saw possibility. He invented a commercially viable, green manufacturing process by which the fly ash could be turned into bricks. Liu's bricks look, feel, and function exactly like standard clay bricks often used on houses, banks, or other buildings, with one exception — fly ash bricks actually conserve energy, cost less to manufacture, and don't contribute to air pollution or global warming like the manufacturing of clay bricks can.
In other words, not only did Liu find a use for what was otherwise hazardous waste, he transformed that waste into a building material that was beneficial to the environment.
The green bricks have already been licensed for production in 11 countries, including the world's biggest coal polluters: China, India and the United States. Furthermore, Liu predicted that in 10 years, half of the all bricks manufactured and used each year will be fly ash bricks.
For most people, patenting and developing one revolutionary technology to solve the world's environmental problems is more than exemplary, but fly ash bricks were only one of Liu's several big projects.
For instance, in 2001 he set up his own business called the Freight Pipeline Company. With the aim of lessening noise and air pollution, decongesting highways, and reducing accidents, the company has developed what it calls capsule pipeline technology. The visionary project seeks to reshape how freight is transported around the country. Instead of using trucks or trains or ocean freighters, Lui promoted moving it through large underground pipelines powered by an electromagnetic pump.
Lui's accomplishments after the age of 60 could fill the ambitions of people half his age, and his legacy, company and drive continue to be an inspiration to his family, colleagues and community. Tragically, shortly after being nominated for his Purpose Prize, Henry Lui passed away in 2009 just as his latest ideas were coming to fruition.
"Most other men of my age are enjoying their retirement lives," said Liu before his death. "I enjoy, on the other hand, continued work. Both kinds of life bring enjoyment, but I believe that my encore career life is more fulfilling."
"He's always wanted to change the world. Success to my dad isn't about making money. It's about leaving the world a better place," said Lui's son Jeffrey, who plans to honor his father's legacy by continuing his important work.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
May...
May you always make the right moves.
May your cup runneth over with love.
May you always find shelter from any storm.
May you remain good looking and looking good!
May you find the perfect diet for your soul.
May you find perfect balance in the company you keep.
May you have as much fun as you can before someone makes you stop.
May the worst thing that happens to you come in slobberry pink and furry tan.
May you manage to MAKE time for siesta.
May all the new folks you meet be interesting and kind.
May your accessories always harmonize with your natural beauty!
Should your mouth ever be bigger than your stomach, may you have a chewing good time!
May you always know when to walk away and know when to run.
And may your friends always bring you joy!
For more great pics check out lets be friends
May your cup runneth over with love.
May you always find shelter from any storm.
May you remain good looking and looking good!
May you find the perfect diet for your soul.
May you find perfect balance in the company you keep.
May you have as much fun as you can before someone makes you stop.
May the worst thing that happens to you come in slobberry pink and furry tan.
May you manage to MAKE time for siesta.
May all the new folks you meet be interesting and kind.
May your accessories always harmonize with your natural beauty!
Should your mouth ever be bigger than your stomach, may you have a chewing good time!
May you always know when to walk away and know when to run.
And may your friends always bring you joy!
For more great pics check out lets be friends
Seven Blunders of the World
1) Wealth without work
2) Pleasure without conscience
3) Knowledge without character
4) Commerce without morality
5) Science without humanity
6) Worship without sacrifice
7) Politics without principle
Mahatma Gandhi
Inspiration Move Me Lightly
Let's make life better for the youngsters. Production by Exile, who hits another track out of the park. If you heard the new album from Blu you already know.
2010 Year of the Tiger
Mantra for 2010:I am ready for something bigger, better and far more wonderful then anything I have ever experienced before.
Thanks Sunshine
Symptoms of Peace
1) A tendency to think and act deliberately, rather than from fears based on past experiences
2) An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment
3) A loss of interest in judging others
4) A loss of interest in judging self
5) A loss of interest in conflict
6) A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others
7) A loss of ability to worry
8) Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation
9) Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature
10) Frequent attacks of smiling through the heart
11) Increasing susceptibility to kindness offered, and the uncontrollable urge to reciprocate
12) An increasing tendency to allow things to unfold rather than resisting and manipulating
Author Unknown
(but still very much appreciated)
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