So Obama is proclaiming the recession over, and taking credit for it.
"Thanks to the bold and decisive action we have taken since January, I can stand here with confidence and say that we have pulled this economy back from the brink…. A full and vibrant recovery is still many months away." Obama said.
The United States has been in recession since December 2007. There is dispute between economists as to whether or not it is actually over.
And one has to wonder if it is really even in Obama’s best interests for the economy to go on the upswing?
One of Obama’s mentors while he was working as an “agitator” in the South Side of Chicago in 1985, was Mike Kruglik . He was a devout follower of Saul Alinsky, whose Rules for Radicals method of politics, teaches how to destroy political adversaries. In it, he refers to the Cloward/Piven Strategy as a method, which is used by the radical Left to create crisis.
The Cloward/Piven Strategy
So what exactly is this strategy? Well, the goal is to make an already weak economy even worse. This strategy explains why the Democrats’ plan to "stimulate" the economy involves massive deficit spending projects. It includes 100s of millions for ACORN and its subgroups such as SHOP and the Neighborhood Stabilization Program. Expanding the S-Chip Program through deficit spending in a supposed effort to "save the children" only makes a faltering economy worse. Rahm Emanuel has said, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste."
The agitator's job is to spark such crises. According to The American Thinker, Alinsky teaches that an agitator is first to bring folks to the "realization" that they are miserable, through no fault of their own, the unresponsive governments or greedy corporations, then band them together to demand what they deserve (to "rub raw the sores of discontent”), to cause such a pubic media uproar that governments and corporations will bow to their demands just to make them go away.
The strategy's ultimate goal is to bring about the fall of capitalism by overloading and undermining government bureaucracy to bring about a need for government intervention, eventually ushering in a new wave of socialism.
We must now view the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan's spending on items like food stamps, jobless benefits, and health care with the knowledge of this end goal in mind.
If Congress were to allow a robust economy, parents would be able to provide for their children themselves by earning and keeping more of their own money. And Democrats would consider that a lost opportunity.
The Cloward/Piven Strategy is named after Columbia University sociologists Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. Their goal was to overthrow capitalism by overwhelming the government bureaucracy with entitlement demands. The created crisis provides the impetus to bring about radical political change.
Obama the Agitator?
And Obama seems just the guy to get the job done. One of his early mentors in the Alinsky method was Mike Kruglik, who was quoted as saying to Ryan Lizza of The New Republic, about Obama:
"He was a natural, the undisputed master of agitation, who could engage a room full of recruiting targets in a rapid-fire Socratic dialogue, nudging them to admit that they were not living up to their own standards. As with the panhandler, he could be aggressive and confrontational. With probing, sometimes personal questions, he would pinpoint the source of pain in their lives, tearing down their egos just enough before dangling a carrot of hope that they could make things better."
Their main goal is to wipe out poverty by establishing a guaranteed annual income by redistributing existing income.
Since Conservative Republicans are always ready to proclaim the evils of public welfare, the authors figured they would get closer to their goal by creating disruption within the Democrats. They say, "Whites - both working class ethnic groups and many in the middle class - would be aroused against the ghetto poor, while liberal groups, which until recently have been comforted by the notion that the poor are few... would probably support the movement. Group conflict, spelling political crisis for the local party apparatus, would thus become acute as welfare rolls mounted and the strains on local budgets became more severe.”
Do any of the following tactics sound familiar? Flooding government with impossible demands until it slowly halts to a stop; overloading electoral systems with waves of new and bogus voters; shaking down banks, politicians in Congress, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development for affirmative-action borrowing; and, now, pulling down the national financial system by demanding subprime mortgages for low-income Americans who won’t be able to repay their loans. You don’t have to be a financial expert to know that it was these helpless mortgages that are responsible for the entire financial bailout.
But the prime example of the results of the Cloward-Piven strategy was demonstrated in 1975, when more and more people demanding welfare flooded New York City thus bankrupting the government. This caused a financial crisis that affected the whole state, and required a government bailout.
A key element of the recent crisis certainly represents many years of a "backward economic philosophy and culture of corruption" cited by the Obama camp. However, much of the backwardness and deception were promoted by the Institute for Policy Studies. Its war against the financial system used improvised non-ethical devices (INEDs) designed to destroy capitalism and support Mr. Obama. One of those roadside INEDs was the Cloward-Piven strategy.
Cloward and Piven were inspired and mobilized by the Watts race riot to develop a strategy for social change. In November 1965, they began privately distributing copies of an article they had written called Mobilizing the Poor: How it Could Be Done. It was published six months later on May 2, 1966, in The Nation, under the title, The Weight of the Poor: A Strategy to End Poverty.
The article served its intended purpose. The Left was sufficiently fired up. Activists were abuzz over the so-called "crisis strategy" or "Cloward-Piven strategy," as it came to be called. Many were eager to put it into effect.
Cloward and Piven noted that the 8 million Americans who are on welfare probably represented less than half the number that was technically eligible for full benefits. They proposed a "massive drive to recruit the poor onto the welfare rolls." They calculated that if even a fraction of potential welfare recipients were to demand their entitlements it would bankrupt the system. In the end, they predicted, would produce "a profound financial and political crisis" that would unleash "powerful forces… for major economic reform at the national level."
Their article called for "cadres of aggressive organizers" to use "demonstrations to create a climate of militancy." Politicians would be intimidated by black violence and would appeal to the federal government for help. Leftwing media campaigns would promote the idea of "a federal program of income redistribution," in the guise of a guaranteed living income for all. Local officials would apply pressure on politicians to implement it. Chaos would ensue, and Washington would respond out of necessity.
The Cloward-Piven strategy hasn’t gotten its intended results quite yet. But it can serve as a warning of the Left's scariest agenda. Especially since George Soros funds both the Living Wage and Voting Rights movements. He has refined the strategy into a modern and more efficient plan to gain control.
c. 2009
Monday, September 6, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
NAOMI CAMPBELL HOLDS THE KEY?
In a twist of irony, Naomi Campbell is making war crimes allegations against former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, yet doesn’t want to talk about it. In an interview with ABC News, she stormed out, knocking over a camera, just for good measure.
“Even prosecutors in the Hague for the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone say Campbell has refused their requests to be interviewed about the allegations that they say could help directly link Taylor, the former president of Liberia, to the possession of uncut diamonds used to fuel a campaign of terror in Sierra Leone between 1997 and 2001.”
Diamonds are big business in Sierra Leone. Blood diamonds are diamonds which serve wartime purposes. Specifically used to finance insurgencies or warlords’ activities.
In fact, former Liberian president Charles Taylor was accused by the UN in 2000 of supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) insurgency in neighboring Sierra Leone with weapons and training in exchange for diamonds. Now that he is facing trials charging him with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers and terrorism, he has stepped down as president.
So where do the supermodel and the actress fit into all of this? Taylor allegedly gave Campbell blood diamonds at a party in South Africa in 1997. Mia Farrow also attended the party, and claims that Campbell told her about the gift later. Prosecutors say the testimony would give “direct evidence of Taylor’s possession of rough diamonds from a witness unrelated to the Liberian or Sierra Leone conflicts.”
Taylor was once one of West Africa’s most powerful men. An estimated 500,000 people were the victims of killings, systematic mutilation or other atrocities in that war, with some of the worst crimes committed by child soldiers who were drugged to desensitize them.
I don’t blame her. I don’t think I’d want to testify either.
c. 2010
“Even prosecutors in the Hague for the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone say Campbell has refused their requests to be interviewed about the allegations that they say could help directly link Taylor, the former president of Liberia, to the possession of uncut diamonds used to fuel a campaign of terror in Sierra Leone between 1997 and 2001.”
Diamonds are big business in Sierra Leone. Blood diamonds are diamonds which serve wartime purposes. Specifically used to finance insurgencies or warlords’ activities.
In fact, former Liberian president Charles Taylor was accused by the UN in 2000 of supporting the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) insurgency in neighboring Sierra Leone with weapons and training in exchange for diamonds. Now that he is facing trials charging him with 11 counts of murder, torture, rape, sexual slavery and the use of child soldiers and terrorism, he has stepped down as president.
So where do the supermodel and the actress fit into all of this? Taylor allegedly gave Campbell blood diamonds at a party in South Africa in 1997. Mia Farrow also attended the party, and claims that Campbell told her about the gift later. Prosecutors say the testimony would give “direct evidence of Taylor’s possession of rough diamonds from a witness unrelated to the Liberian or Sierra Leone conflicts.”
Taylor was once one of West Africa’s most powerful men. An estimated 500,000 people were the victims of killings, systematic mutilation or other atrocities in that war, with some of the worst crimes committed by child soldiers who were drugged to desensitize them.
I don’t blame her. I don’t think I’d want to testify either.
c. 2010
FERGIE’S WHITE TRASH MOMENT
How white-trash is Sarah Ferguson?
Something I never thought I would say about the red-haired Duchess, who in years prior had been described as a “breath of fresh air” at the palace.
I remember when she married Prince Andrew. It took a while for her to break in to her new royal shoes. At first, the tabloids made fun of her “ginger” hair and freckles. News of her latest exploits were littered across the checkout line at the grocery store. She soon calmed down, as grown folks tend to do.
Her amiable divorce was uneventful. She and the prince still lived together until 2004. Her post-royal career has been nothing less than admirable. She has been an inspiration to many as the spokesperson for Weight Watchers. She also has a splendid relationship with Prince Andrew. They are still very close.
More recently, she is caught on tape asking an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy businessman for a $40,000 cash down payment in return for an introduction to the Prince, as well as a $724,000 fee wired directly into her bank account.
Oh, but there’s more. She also insists on one percent commission from any of the profits the businessman/reporter makes as a result of meeting the Prince.
She does maintain his innocence in all of this, claiming he knows nothing about the situation, and would never ask for money, because he is “Whiter than white.”
So, what’s the deal here? Why is former royal hurting for money? She has a known shopping problem.
Fergie once told an interviewer that the late Princess Diana walked away from her divorce with $28 million, while she received nothing. She claims to have been dirt poor even while living in the palace. The queen was quite stingy with her money, that she often had to rely on her daughters for spare cash. The girls both have trust funds, from which they pay their mom a weekly allowance.
The word on the street is that Andrew has forgiven this latest exploit. I have a feeling that he will make sure she is in the money, so to speak, if only to keep her quiet and unseen.
c. 2010
Something I never thought I would say about the red-haired Duchess, who in years prior had been described as a “breath of fresh air” at the palace.
I remember when she married Prince Andrew. It took a while for her to break in to her new royal shoes. At first, the tabloids made fun of her “ginger” hair and freckles. News of her latest exploits were littered across the checkout line at the grocery store. She soon calmed down, as grown folks tend to do.
Her amiable divorce was uneventful. She and the prince still lived together until 2004. Her post-royal career has been nothing less than admirable. She has been an inspiration to many as the spokesperson for Weight Watchers. She also has a splendid relationship with Prince Andrew. They are still very close.
More recently, she is caught on tape asking an undercover reporter posing as a wealthy businessman for a $40,000 cash down payment in return for an introduction to the Prince, as well as a $724,000 fee wired directly into her bank account.
Oh, but there’s more. She also insists on one percent commission from any of the profits the businessman/reporter makes as a result of meeting the Prince.
She does maintain his innocence in all of this, claiming he knows nothing about the situation, and would never ask for money, because he is “Whiter than white.”
So, what’s the deal here? Why is former royal hurting for money? She has a known shopping problem.
Fergie once told an interviewer that the late Princess Diana walked away from her divorce with $28 million, while she received nothing. She claims to have been dirt poor even while living in the palace. The queen was quite stingy with her money, that she often had to rely on her daughters for spare cash. The girls both have trust funds, from which they pay their mom a weekly allowance.
The word on the street is that Andrew has forgiven this latest exploit. I have a feeling that he will make sure she is in the money, so to speak, if only to keep her quiet and unseen.
c. 2010
NON PROFIT RESTAURANT?
This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard.
The St. Louis-based Panera Bread Co. opened the first (of what they hope to be many) “pay what you want” restaurants, where customers are told to donate what they want for a meal, whether it’s a penny or $100.
This in a world where people think nothing about paying for their coffee from the tip/give-a-penny jar. I can guarantee that it wasn’t anyone who actually worked in the restaurants who came up with this idea.
Ronald Shaich, Panera’s CEO explains:
“The pilot restaurant is run by a nonprofit foundation. If it can sustain itself financially, Panera will expand the model around the country within months. It all depends on whether customers will abide by the motto that hangs above the deli counter: “Take what you need, leave your fair share.”
OK, for one thing, this is in Clayton, MO., a high-end suburb of St. Louis, where the people aren’t really watching their pennies as much as, say, East St. Louis, where the actual need might be more prominent.
While I agree that there are some people who would want to pay, the majority are going to want to take full advantage of the free food. Perhaps placing these non-profit stores in richer suburbs is part of a marketing strategy that will “guilt” patrons into paying a lot, but then the people who really need the food will miss out.
My economist boyfriend explains that this system is more in line with classic economics, where the buyer sets the price. However, my experience working in the food industry tells me they ain’t going to last.
It seems to me that if Panera is concerned about charity, they would do better just to donate food to a shelter or open a soup kitchen of their own.
c. 2010
The St. Louis-based Panera Bread Co. opened the first (of what they hope to be many) “pay what you want” restaurants, where customers are told to donate what they want for a meal, whether it’s a penny or $100.
This in a world where people think nothing about paying for their coffee from the tip/give-a-penny jar. I can guarantee that it wasn’t anyone who actually worked in the restaurants who came up with this idea.
Ronald Shaich, Panera’s CEO explains:
“The pilot restaurant is run by a nonprofit foundation. If it can sustain itself financially, Panera will expand the model around the country within months. It all depends on whether customers will abide by the motto that hangs above the deli counter: “Take what you need, leave your fair share.”
OK, for one thing, this is in Clayton, MO., a high-end suburb of St. Louis, where the people aren’t really watching their pennies as much as, say, East St. Louis, where the actual need might be more prominent.
While I agree that there are some people who would want to pay, the majority are going to want to take full advantage of the free food. Perhaps placing these non-profit stores in richer suburbs is part of a marketing strategy that will “guilt” patrons into paying a lot, but then the people who really need the food will miss out.
My economist boyfriend explains that this system is more in line with classic economics, where the buyer sets the price. However, my experience working in the food industry tells me they ain’t going to last.
It seems to me that if Panera is concerned about charity, they would do better just to donate food to a shelter or open a soup kitchen of their own.
c. 2010
COUGARS DIE YOUNG
The recent cougar trend may be dying early on. Literally.
I’ve always admired cougars. Kind of like, “hell with the world, I’m going to marry my boy toy.” Hollywood cougars like Madonna, Courtney Cox and Demi Moore have made it fashionable to marry young. I, myself, have known plenty of successful cougar marriages.
However despite all the positive emotional research, recent findings have shown that society’s response to cougars is more stressful than not, and
that stress can apparently cause them to die early. The younger the boy, the earlier the death, German researchers say.
The trends were identified by an analysis of marriage and death records of almost two million Dutch men and women, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported. Ironically enough, men don’t experience this phenomenon, as it is apparently reversed. The younger the wife, the longer his lifespan.
But lest you think that marrying an older man would be better, research shows that to be no good as well. The best choice for a woman who wants to live a long life is to marry someone within three years of her age.
c. 2010
I’ve always admired cougars. Kind of like, “hell with the world, I’m going to marry my boy toy.” Hollywood cougars like Madonna, Courtney Cox and Demi Moore have made it fashionable to marry young. I, myself, have known plenty of successful cougar marriages.
However despite all the positive emotional research, recent findings have shown that society’s response to cougars is more stressful than not, and
that stress can apparently cause them to die early. The younger the boy, the earlier the death, German researchers say.
The trends were identified by an analysis of marriage and death records of almost two million Dutch men and women, Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper reported. Ironically enough, men don’t experience this phenomenon, as it is apparently reversed. The younger the wife, the longer his lifespan.
But lest you think that marrying an older man would be better, research shows that to be no good as well. The best choice for a woman who wants to live a long life is to marry someone within three years of her age.
c. 2010
SLAVES IN AMERICA
I was telling a co-worker about this article I was writing on sex trafficking, sharing some of the disturbing statistics and stories, to which her reply was,
“Yeah, but I don’t think that happens here in North Carolina.”
She, like probably the majority of Americans, doubt that it even happens in this country, when they don’t realize it could be happening in their neighborhood.
I have to admit, I was a little shocked when I found out that Charlotte is a major sex trade hub for the East Coast.
Sure, there have been a few stories here and there. I remembered the Shaniaya Davis story a few years ago. I remember seeing the beautiful 5-year-old girl from a nearby town in the newspaper, shocked and appalled that her conscienceless mother could do such a thing.
Shaniaya was a 5-year-old girl, who’s life ended way before her premature death. She lived life as a normal child until she moved in with her “recovered” mother, who sold her into sex slavery for drug money. Gotta love the American court systems.
Even though that one made the papers, there are countless other stories that go unheard because people simply don’t know. The people who do know, certainly don’t want to talk about it, so these girls slip under the radar and live a tortured life without a face or a voice, often right under our noses.
The sex trade is a lucrative industry here in America as well as internationally. To say the world is full of heartless people without a conscience is a huge understatement. These girls can testify firsthand to that.
Jaycee Duggard
Jaycee Duggard is one of the lucky ones. She got out. Her story was featured on Good Morning America recently. She had been waiting for a school bus when she was kidnapped in 1991, outside her home in California by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. She was 11. For 18 years, she lived in a tent outside of their house in Berkeley California. She gave birth to two girls of Phillip Garrido’s, who she claimed were her sisters.
The neighbors of the Garrido’s, were mildly suspicious, but probably gave it little thought. Jaycee was allowed to live an outwardly “normal’ life. She even worked in her “father’s” print shop as a graphic designer.
Tina Frundt shared her story to the Women’s Funding Network. She was 14 when she ran off with an older man who had been brainwashing her for months. He was a ready ear when she had complaints about her parents, and soon became ‘the only one who got her.” Soon she fell in love and was more than willing to run off with him to Ohio.
He introduced her to a world of prostitution [“How else would they build their dream home?” he asked], abuse and self-blame.
When she didn’t make her quota of $500 a night, he would beat her in front of the other girls.
She says, “This is the same man that took me out to eat, listened to me when I wanted to complain about my parents, gave me words of advice. I was now seeing a side of him that I never saw before — a brutal side where he repeatedly hit me in front of the other girls to teach us all a lesson.”
He would lock her in the closet for hours, break her fingers, deprive her of food and water as tools of submission.
These girls are brainwashed, deprived of dignity and basic love for so long that often they have no idea that there is a better way of living.
It’s easy to want to judge these girls for what we imagine is their choice, but in reality, it is their doom. They don’t want this life, but for some, it is the only life they know. Many have been sold into this lifestyle at a young age by their parents or someone else close to them.
Imagine being sold into slavery at a child; you simply don’t know any other way. So, you adapt.
It’s amazing, I was reading the subsequent blogs to some of these articles, the hateful sentiment was amazing. People clearly blame the victims. I only hope that these people never have to undergo the hell that these girls have had.
Linda Smith of Shared Hope International, says,
“The biggest problem we have is perception. That they’re just bad girls. They don’t see the beatings, the rapes, the violations, the threats. “We’ll distribute these pictures at your school, at your middle school, we’ll go to your family’s house, we’ll get your mother.”
Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, says, “These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st century slavery.”
A girl from Seattle, named Briana narrowly escaped a horrible fate. Some nice looking guys lured her to their home, and talked her in to spending the night.
Thanks to a massive effort by friends and family, Briana was saved from her horror. Though she has some inklings as to what would have happened to her, had they not acted. To say she is fortunate is an understatement.
These guys are pros. They know just how to entrance these vulnerable women they prey upon.
“It shocked me how somebody in three days could take 18 years & just turn that upside down,” said Briana’s father.
c. 2010
“Yeah, but I don’t think that happens here in North Carolina.”
She, like probably the majority of Americans, doubt that it even happens in this country, when they don’t realize it could be happening in their neighborhood.
I have to admit, I was a little shocked when I found out that Charlotte is a major sex trade hub for the East Coast.
Sure, there have been a few stories here and there. I remembered the Shaniaya Davis story a few years ago. I remember seeing the beautiful 5-year-old girl from a nearby town in the newspaper, shocked and appalled that her conscienceless mother could do such a thing.
Shaniaya was a 5-year-old girl, who’s life ended way before her premature death. She lived life as a normal child until she moved in with her “recovered” mother, who sold her into sex slavery for drug money. Gotta love the American court systems.
Even though that one made the papers, there are countless other stories that go unheard because people simply don’t know. The people who do know, certainly don’t want to talk about it, so these girls slip under the radar and live a tortured life without a face or a voice, often right under our noses.
The sex trade is a lucrative industry here in America as well as internationally. To say the world is full of heartless people without a conscience is a huge understatement. These girls can testify firsthand to that.
Jaycee Duggard
Jaycee Duggard is one of the lucky ones. She got out. Her story was featured on Good Morning America recently. She had been waiting for a school bus when she was kidnapped in 1991, outside her home in California by Phillip and Nancy Garrido. She was 11. For 18 years, she lived in a tent outside of their house in Berkeley California. She gave birth to two girls of Phillip Garrido’s, who she claimed were her sisters.
The neighbors of the Garrido’s, were mildly suspicious, but probably gave it little thought. Jaycee was allowed to live an outwardly “normal’ life. She even worked in her “father’s” print shop as a graphic designer.
Tina Frundt shared her story to the Women’s Funding Network. She was 14 when she ran off with an older man who had been brainwashing her for months. He was a ready ear when she had complaints about her parents, and soon became ‘the only one who got her.” Soon she fell in love and was more than willing to run off with him to Ohio.
He introduced her to a world of prostitution [“How else would they build their dream home?” he asked], abuse and self-blame.
When she didn’t make her quota of $500 a night, he would beat her in front of the other girls.
She says, “This is the same man that took me out to eat, listened to me when I wanted to complain about my parents, gave me words of advice. I was now seeing a side of him that I never saw before — a brutal side where he repeatedly hit me in front of the other girls to teach us all a lesson.”
He would lock her in the closet for hours, break her fingers, deprive her of food and water as tools of submission.
These girls are brainwashed, deprived of dignity and basic love for so long that often they have no idea that there is a better way of living.
It’s easy to want to judge these girls for what we imagine is their choice, but in reality, it is their doom. They don’t want this life, but for some, it is the only life they know. Many have been sold into this lifestyle at a young age by their parents or someone else close to them.
Imagine being sold into slavery at a child; you simply don’t know any other way. So, you adapt.
It’s amazing, I was reading the subsequent blogs to some of these articles, the hateful sentiment was amazing. People clearly blame the victims. I only hope that these people never have to undergo the hell that these girls have had.
Linda Smith of Shared Hope International, says,
“The biggest problem we have is perception. That they’re just bad girls. They don’t see the beatings, the rapes, the violations, the threats. “We’ll distribute these pictures at your school, at your middle school, we’ll go to your family’s house, we’ll get your mother.”
Ernie Allen, President and CEO of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, says, “These kids are victims. They lack the ability to walk away. This is 21st century slavery.”
A girl from Seattle, named Briana narrowly escaped a horrible fate. Some nice looking guys lured her to their home, and talked her in to spending the night.
Thanks to a massive effort by friends and family, Briana was saved from her horror. Though she has some inklings as to what would have happened to her, had they not acted. To say she is fortunate is an understatement.
These guys are pros. They know just how to entrance these vulnerable women they prey upon.
“It shocked me how somebody in three days could take 18 years & just turn that upside down,” said Briana’s father.
c. 2010
BREW WITH A BEAT
There is a new brew from the tea party movement. According to FOX News, conservative singer-songwriter, Lloyd Marcus, is putting together a charity album featuring some of the more musical tea-partiers. Take Back America is the theme song that a group which could include, Ted Nugent and Victoria Jackson to name a few.
The group has a “USA for Africa” feel to it, but will not feature many big names, focusing on more unknown acts instead.
“I love the fact that we’re going to have a bunch of unknown singers and bands,” Marcus said. “It’s not about getting celebrities to do it. This is about pulling musicians from all walks of life….”
“What will be wonderful is to have a rock guy with his hair down to his butt and a ring in his nose singing a duet with a guy in a business suit. There is just something fantastic about that. This album is about all the different kinds of voices in the Tea Party.”
It would seem that the tea party is the perfect place to bring such personalities together for a common purpose. Where else can you find someone like Ted Nugent partying alongside Mike Huckabee?
c. 2010
The group has a “USA for Africa” feel to it, but will not feature many big names, focusing on more unknown acts instead.
“I love the fact that we’re going to have a bunch of unknown singers and bands,” Marcus said. “It’s not about getting celebrities to do it. This is about pulling musicians from all walks of life….”
“What will be wonderful is to have a rock guy with his hair down to his butt and a ring in his nose singing a duet with a guy in a business suit. There is just something fantastic about that. This album is about all the different kinds of voices in the Tea Party.”
It would seem that the tea party is the perfect place to bring such personalities together for a common purpose. Where else can you find someone like Ted Nugent partying alongside Mike Huckabee?
c. 2010
A PUZZLING DIRECTION IN MEXICO
Mexican females have never allowed government or church to impose laws on their bodies. Not sure why the doctors are now allowing it.
In Mexico, abortion was just legalized in 2007, yet it has been available, and presumably safe, for years. I think it is safe to say that senoritas are aware of this option.
On April 22, the third anniversary of the legalization of abortion, a proposal was introduced, in which Mexican doctors will be under the gun, literally, to inform pregnant ladies about this “new,” now legal option.
Mexico is currently debating this proposed law. Devout Catholics are shocked and dismayed.
I was curious why the government would feel the need to enact such extreme measures. I originally thought it was because of said heavy Catholic influence; that as a result of the influential church opposition to the practice, maybe they were ignorant of the availability of it, or were too ashamed to even think about such a procedure.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. A study shows that during the 16 years before it was legalized, the number of abortions that occurred in Mexico was more than 40% higher than that in the United States, where it is legal.
Though the legislator who introduced the bill, Beatriz Rojas, says the law is needed because “moral or religious concepts intend to influence the decision of the woman, misinforming her or deceiving her, regarding the decision to interrupt the pregnancy.”
The director of the Center for Women’s Studies and Comprehensive Formation in Cancun, Patricia Lopez Mancera says, “This is absurd and stupid. They say doctors should tell the pregnant women about it and recommend abortion — can you imagine?”
So, it seems that Mexico has a pretty even split between pro- and anti- abortion, that does what they want regardless of law.
I’m not entirely sure what this bill will accomplish.
c. 2010
In Mexico, abortion was just legalized in 2007, yet it has been available, and presumably safe, for years. I think it is safe to say that senoritas are aware of this option.
On April 22, the third anniversary of the legalization of abortion, a proposal was introduced, in which Mexican doctors will be under the gun, literally, to inform pregnant ladies about this “new,” now legal option.
Mexico is currently debating this proposed law. Devout Catholics are shocked and dismayed.
I was curious why the government would feel the need to enact such extreme measures. I originally thought it was because of said heavy Catholic influence; that as a result of the influential church opposition to the practice, maybe they were ignorant of the availability of it, or were too ashamed to even think about such a procedure.
I couldn’t have been more wrong. A study shows that during the 16 years before it was legalized, the number of abortions that occurred in Mexico was more than 40% higher than that in the United States, where it is legal.
Though the legislator who introduced the bill, Beatriz Rojas, says the law is needed because “moral or religious concepts intend to influence the decision of the woman, misinforming her or deceiving her, regarding the decision to interrupt the pregnancy.”
The director of the Center for Women’s Studies and Comprehensive Formation in Cancun, Patricia Lopez Mancera says, “This is absurd and stupid. They say doctors should tell the pregnant women about it and recommend abortion — can you imagine?”
So, it seems that Mexico has a pretty even split between pro- and anti- abortion, that does what they want regardless of law.
I’m not entirely sure what this bill will accomplish.
c. 2010
EXTREMISTS SLAY SACRED COW SLAYERS
Nothing and no one is sacred enough to be exempt from Southpark Creators’ mocking. They describe themselves as “equal-opportunity offenders.” Everyone knows that. Everyone, that is except for militant Muslims, who not only don’t find them funny but don’t realize that the more upset they get, the more they egg Stone and Parker on.
Mohammed actually appeared in the Super Best Friends episode, which had Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Buddha, Krishna, Sea Man, and the founder of Daoism come together as friends.
Stan says, “So you mean to tell me that even though people fight and argue over different religions you guys are all actually…friends?”
“More than friends, young boy, “ Mohammed answers, “we are super best friends with a desire to fight for justice.”
“We all believe in the power of good over evil…” Joseph Smith adds.
Stone and Parker are known for pushing the envelope, so to speak. They thrive on shock value. The holier the cow, the funnier the laughs, it seems. Tom Cruise, and Kanye West have been previous targets. Jesus is even a regular character. You don’t see Christians demanding censorship.
However they may be treading on dangerous ground this time. An earlier episode in 2001 that starred the prophet Mohammed dressed up as a bear has sparked death threats from Muslims. It was to reappear again in 2006, but Comedy Central censored the episode.
The Islamic group, Revolution Muslim, says on their site, RevolutionMuslim.com [which is now offline],
“We have to warn Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker] that what they are doing is stupid,” a posting on the Web site stated on Tuesday, according to reports.
“They will probably end up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show,” it said.
Van Gogh, was a Dutch filmmaker who made a documentary addressing violence against Muslim women. He was stabbed to death by Muslims in 2004.
“This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them,” the threat concluded.
Despite repeated, nonsensical claims that they did not wish any harm to Stone and Parker, the site allegedly revealed where the “South Park” creators work, and included a sermon calling for punishments for blasphemy against the Muslim religion.
Parker and Stone responded, “We would be so hypocritical against our own message thoughts if we said well let’s not make fun of them because they might hurt us. That’s messed up.”
“It’s our whole world so it matters to us.”
In the end, it seems that it was Comedy Central who bowed to the threats. They edited and took out a majority of the show, including the ending. This angers me greatly. Freedom of the Press, not to mention freedom of religion is a fundamental right of America. We are fighting Islamic terrorists overseas in their land. Now it seems they are fighting us in our land… and winning.
c. 2010
Mohammed actually appeared in the Super Best Friends episode, which had Jesus, Mohammed, Joseph Smith, Buddha, Krishna, Sea Man, and the founder of Daoism come together as friends.
Stan says, “So you mean to tell me that even though people fight and argue over different religions you guys are all actually…friends?”
“More than friends, young boy, “ Mohammed answers, “we are super best friends with a desire to fight for justice.”
“We all believe in the power of good over evil…” Joseph Smith adds.
Stone and Parker are known for pushing the envelope, so to speak. They thrive on shock value. The holier the cow, the funnier the laughs, it seems. Tom Cruise, and Kanye West have been previous targets. Jesus is even a regular character. You don’t see Christians demanding censorship.
However they may be treading on dangerous ground this time. An earlier episode in 2001 that starred the prophet Mohammed dressed up as a bear has sparked death threats from Muslims. It was to reappear again in 2006, but Comedy Central censored the episode.
The Islamic group, Revolution Muslim, says on their site, RevolutionMuslim.com [which is now offline],
“We have to warn Matt [Stone] and Trey [Parker] that what they are doing is stupid,” a posting on the Web site stated on Tuesday, according to reports.
“They will probably end up like Theo Van Gogh for airing this show,” it said.
Van Gogh, was a Dutch filmmaker who made a documentary addressing violence against Muslim women. He was stabbed to death by Muslims in 2004.
“This is not a threat, but a warning of the reality of what will likely happen to them,” the threat concluded.
Despite repeated, nonsensical claims that they did not wish any harm to Stone and Parker, the site allegedly revealed where the “South Park” creators work, and included a sermon calling for punishments for blasphemy against the Muslim religion.
Parker and Stone responded, “We would be so hypocritical against our own message thoughts if we said well let’s not make fun of them because they might hurt us. That’s messed up.”
“It’s our whole world so it matters to us.”
In the end, it seems that it was Comedy Central who bowed to the threats. They edited and took out a majority of the show, including the ending. This angers me greatly. Freedom of the Press, not to mention freedom of religion is a fundamental right of America. We are fighting Islamic terrorists overseas in their land. Now it seems they are fighting us in our land… and winning.
c. 2010
MICROSOFT SKINPUT
If there was ever any question that we were in the future, I think we can put that doubt to rest. Computers run everything. We’ve got such an array of computer hardware, there’s always a shape and size to fit your unique lifestyle.
But this is truly unprecedented. My Inspector Gadget dreams can finally be realized.
Chris Harrison, former Microsoft Research intern, has put a new spin on the idea of a “touch-screen.” He has created a working prototype of a system called Skinput, which actually turns a person’s hand and forearm into a keyboard and screen.
If you happened to be listening to NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me quiz show,
where they initially started the buzz this weekend, you may have heard it as the answer to one of the questions.
I thought it was a joke. Seriously, though, this one-upping between computer companies is a bit out of control. How will Apple top this?
Harrison said in a interview at the recent Computer-Human Interaction conference, “People don’t love the iPhone keyboard. They use them. But they don’t love them, if you could make the iPhone keyboard as big as an arm — that would be huge.”
A series of customizable sign-language-like movements, controls a gadget in a person’s pocket through a Bluetooth connection.
A person could tap their thumb and middle finger together to answer a call; touch their forearm to go to the next track on a music player; or flick the center of their palm to select a menu item.
Fitted with a pico-projector, the Skinput system displays an image of a digital keyboard on a person’s forearm. So, using Skinput, someone could send text messages by tapping his or her arm in certain places — without pulling the phone out of a pocket or purse. So it will be important to watch your gestures, lest you unwittingly call someone you don’t want to.
Never one to pass up an opportunity for an obvious joke,
Wait, Wait host Peter Sagal joked, “At long last the Internet will be used primarily by people who are touching themselves.”
c. 2010
But this is truly unprecedented. My Inspector Gadget dreams can finally be realized.
Chris Harrison, former Microsoft Research intern, has put a new spin on the idea of a “touch-screen.” He has created a working prototype of a system called Skinput, which actually turns a person’s hand and forearm into a keyboard and screen.
If you happened to be listening to NPR’s Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me quiz show,
where they initially started the buzz this weekend, you may have heard it as the answer to one of the questions.
I thought it was a joke. Seriously, though, this one-upping between computer companies is a bit out of control. How will Apple top this?
Harrison said in a interview at the recent Computer-Human Interaction conference, “People don’t love the iPhone keyboard. They use them. But they don’t love them, if you could make the iPhone keyboard as big as an arm — that would be huge.”
A series of customizable sign-language-like movements, controls a gadget in a person’s pocket through a Bluetooth connection.
A person could tap their thumb and middle finger together to answer a call; touch their forearm to go to the next track on a music player; or flick the center of their palm to select a menu item.
Fitted with a pico-projector, the Skinput system displays an image of a digital keyboard on a person’s forearm. So, using Skinput, someone could send text messages by tapping his or her arm in certain places — without pulling the phone out of a pocket or purse. So it will be important to watch your gestures, lest you unwittingly call someone you don’t want to.
Never one to pass up an opportunity for an obvious joke,
Wait, Wait host Peter Sagal joked, “At long last the Internet will be used primarily by people who are touching themselves.”
c. 2010
SARAH RETURNS TO SNL
I’ve always wondered how SNL cast members felt about retiring their best caricatures. I, for one, am really stoked that former cast member, Tina Fey is bringing back her Emmy winning Sarah Palin character, if only for one episode.
Fey, who has gone on to starring in Thirty Rock, [which apparently you can’t pay anyone to watch], will be hosting this week and bringing back an old favorite. She no doubt wants to go back to doing something successful.
This also gives SNL a chance to revisit success. It is Sweeps month, so they’re pulling out all the stops. Fey’s Palin character was definitely a favorite, for fans and haters alike; with what Chatterbox Media calls her “twangy Palin voice and over-the top folksy and “mavericky” mannerisms.”
I wasn’t a fan of her as a snarky Weekend Update correspondent. I felt like she constantly had to get her partisan digs in. [Something that hits too close to home for me, perhaps?] No, the Sarah Palin caricature was the gem of her SNL career.
With Palin’s new book and TV show, there will be plenty of material for Fey to work with; plenty of Palin-isms for Fey to mock. There is even talk of having her be a weekly presence. People will continue to laugh at things like her claim that she could see Russia from Alaska.
She will continue to provide them with comic gold, because it is easier to laugh at her than to admit that she might be relevant, with her counter-culture, un-PC ideals.
Things like not aborting your baby with Downs Syndrome and being a Christian who walks the talk.
Fey will have to beef up on her Palin-ese. She admits,
I haven’t been watching her on television lately because I’ve been working on 30 Rock,” Tina Fey said.
But she’s back doing something she’s really good at. You know you’re successful when the object of your jokes thinks they’re funny. Sarah admitted that it was “hilarious.”
In a poll asking if they should bring back a Palin character on SNL, played by cast member Kristen Wiig, people polled responded with a resounding:
“You betcha!”
c. 2010
Fey, who has gone on to starring in Thirty Rock, [which apparently you can’t pay anyone to watch], will be hosting this week and bringing back an old favorite. She no doubt wants to go back to doing something successful.
This also gives SNL a chance to revisit success. It is Sweeps month, so they’re pulling out all the stops. Fey’s Palin character was definitely a favorite, for fans and haters alike; with what Chatterbox Media calls her “twangy Palin voice and over-the top folksy and “mavericky” mannerisms.”
I wasn’t a fan of her as a snarky Weekend Update correspondent. I felt like she constantly had to get her partisan digs in. [Something that hits too close to home for me, perhaps?] No, the Sarah Palin caricature was the gem of her SNL career.
With Palin’s new book and TV show, there will be plenty of material for Fey to work with; plenty of Palin-isms for Fey to mock. There is even talk of having her be a weekly presence. People will continue to laugh at things like her claim that she could see Russia from Alaska.
She will continue to provide them with comic gold, because it is easier to laugh at her than to admit that she might be relevant, with her counter-culture, un-PC ideals.
Things like not aborting your baby with Downs Syndrome and being a Christian who walks the talk.
Fey will have to beef up on her Palin-ese. She admits,
I haven’t been watching her on television lately because I’ve been working on 30 Rock,” Tina Fey said.
But she’s back doing something she’s really good at. You know you’re successful when the object of your jokes thinks they’re funny. Sarah admitted that it was “hilarious.”
In a poll asking if they should bring back a Palin character on SNL, played by cast member Kristen Wiig, people polled responded with a resounding:
“You betcha!”
c. 2010
ANGELINA JOLIE : BACK FROM BOSNIA
While I was celebrating Easter in a safe place with my basket and chocolate eggs, Angelina Jolie (though probably not giving much thought to the true meaning) was actually living out Easter. She and husband Brad Pitt went to Bosnia to help refugees. [I just hate it when I feel shamed by the Hollywood elite].
Jolie, the most notable Hollywood “do-gooder,” who seems to collect children from far off lands, has been a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ambassador since 2001. She has made prior humanitarian trips to Haiti, Syria and Kenya, and helped with some of the projects of the agency that deals with the 117,000 refugees in Bosnia whose homes were destroyed or lack adequate infrastructure in their villages due to the war 15 years ago.
The war, which lasted from 1991 until America stepped in, as President Clinton said, “make the United States the catalyst for a collective stand against aggression,” calling an end to the mass rapes and genocide.
Jolie says,”[I am] so inspired by these families. Despite the grim realities of their unsettled existence, they have an incredible determination to make a better future for their children. I hope we can find solutions for the remaining tens of thousands of displaced people… only then can we really close one of the most tragic chapters in modern history.”
“[I hope] to return to this beautiful country soon and meet with political representatives to further discuss the solutions that are so badly required.”
I have to applaud Jolie for using her stardom for good. So many don’t. I don’t know if I would. I think she is a great example. There are those who protest, this is merely a publicity stunt. So what? It doesn’t matter what the reasons behind her actions are, it just matters that she is doing something.
c. 2010
Jolie, the most notable Hollywood “do-gooder,” who seems to collect children from far off lands, has been a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ambassador since 2001. She has made prior humanitarian trips to Haiti, Syria and Kenya, and helped with some of the projects of the agency that deals with the 117,000 refugees in Bosnia whose homes were destroyed or lack adequate infrastructure in their villages due to the war 15 years ago.
The war, which lasted from 1991 until America stepped in, as President Clinton said, “make the United States the catalyst for a collective stand against aggression,” calling an end to the mass rapes and genocide.
Jolie says,”[I am] so inspired by these families. Despite the grim realities of their unsettled existence, they have an incredible determination to make a better future for their children. I hope we can find solutions for the remaining tens of thousands of displaced people… only then can we really close one of the most tragic chapters in modern history.”
“[I hope] to return to this beautiful country soon and meet with political representatives to further discuss the solutions that are so badly required.”
I have to applaud Jolie for using her stardom for good. So many don’t. I don’t know if I would. I think she is a great example. There are those who protest, this is merely a publicity stunt. So what? It doesn’t matter what the reasons behind her actions are, it just matters that she is doing something.
c. 2010
SAY IT AIN’T SO! LUKE WILSON, A DIVA?
Rumor has it that nice-guy, Luke Wilson is a [gasp] diva. The rumors are with regard to the AT&T commercials. Luke wants to make movies. Apparently, according to the entertainment blog on FoxNews.com, Wilson is annoyed that he is stuck with the commercials as his source of income, and he’s ended up making others unhappy as well.
This is a classic stress response, straight from the reptilian brain. Who hasn’t behaved this way on some level? I would imagine that anyone who has ever been unhappy with their job, has behaved in a “diva-like” manner to some extent. I know I have.
He’s talking back to the director, insisting that his lines be rewritten and refusing to shoot scenes with other actors, according to FoxNews.com.
“There were some lines meant to direct the commercial in a certain way, but Luke downright refused to say the lines at all. Luke kept saying, ‘I would never say that and I will not say that!’” the source tells FoxNews.com. “It’s unprofessional and unpleasant.”
AT&T and Verizon who have spent a combined $4 billion on the ads, vehemently deny this rumor.
“We’re very pleased with our relationship,” a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based AT&T Mobility told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While Luke’s behavior is perhaps understandable, it will get old after a while. People will tire of catering to him and eventually stop hiring him for roles.
So Luke, if you’re listening, please heed my warning. You are too good an actor to become a has-been, but if you are miserable to work with on the small stuff, people will think twice about hiring you for the big stuff.
c. 2010
This is a classic stress response, straight from the reptilian brain. Who hasn’t behaved this way on some level? I would imagine that anyone who has ever been unhappy with their job, has behaved in a “diva-like” manner to some extent. I know I have.
He’s talking back to the director, insisting that his lines be rewritten and refusing to shoot scenes with other actors, according to FoxNews.com.
“There were some lines meant to direct the commercial in a certain way, but Luke downright refused to say the lines at all. Luke kept saying, ‘I would never say that and I will not say that!’” the source tells FoxNews.com. “It’s unprofessional and unpleasant.”
AT&T and Verizon who have spent a combined $4 billion on the ads, vehemently deny this rumor.
“We’re very pleased with our relationship,” a spokeswoman for Atlanta-based AT&T Mobility told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
While Luke’s behavior is perhaps understandable, it will get old after a while. People will tire of catering to him and eventually stop hiring him for roles.
So Luke, if you’re listening, please heed my warning. You are too good an actor to become a has-been, but if you are miserable to work with on the small stuff, people will think twice about hiring you for the big stuff.
c. 2010
ALL WE HEAR IS RADIO GAGA
So Lady Gaga has apparently “outed’ herself. Is anyone surprised? Is this really news? Does anyone really care?
I don’t know of anyone who really gave it a second thought when she said she was bisexual. I don’t understand why she feels the need to air her sex life on the tabloids.
It would make more sense, perhaps, if she were making up for a lack of talent by constantly doing over the top things to keep newsworthy. But she’s not a bad musician, [I must admit I do like Paparazzi].
The most recent picture of the gay activist floating about the internet is disgusting and a total PR stunt. Why she feels she must stoop to these levels is beyond me, but it says more about our culture. She does it because it works. I should say, it works with gay men. Gay women, seem not as impressed.
She is a total publicity whore. She’s made sure that even if we are not smitten with her, we are smitten with what she’ll do next. Either way, she’s guaranteed to be in the news.
Ironically her name, “Lady GaGa” is an inadvertent reference to the Queen song Radio Gaga. I find that to be very telling. Do we really have nothing better to talk about than whether or not she is gay or a hermaphrodite?
She actually attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. How is anyone supposed to recognize her talent when it is her shameless PR stunts that are making headlines? And even if they do recognize that she is talented, how can they not be alienated by the antics?
As annoying as she is, the more confounding thing is that people are eating it up. I suppose these are the same audiences as reality shows have. Kind of like a bad wreck; you can’t NOT look.
“Stephanie Germotta, We see you!” quoth fellow Parcbench writer, Don Smith, with empathetic pity.
Despite my disgust for her antics, throughout the course of writing this article, I really got in to her music. Because it’s good, catchy, fun music. Well done, Lady Gaga!
c. 2010
I don’t know of anyone who really gave it a second thought when she said she was bisexual. I don’t understand why she feels the need to air her sex life on the tabloids.
It would make more sense, perhaps, if she were making up for a lack of talent by constantly doing over the top things to keep newsworthy. But she’s not a bad musician, [I must admit I do like Paparazzi].
The most recent picture of the gay activist floating about the internet is disgusting and a total PR stunt. Why she feels she must stoop to these levels is beyond me, but it says more about our culture. She does it because it works. I should say, it works with gay men. Gay women, seem not as impressed.
She is a total publicity whore. She’s made sure that even if we are not smitten with her, we are smitten with what she’ll do next. Either way, she’s guaranteed to be in the news.
Ironically her name, “Lady GaGa” is an inadvertent reference to the Queen song Radio Gaga. I find that to be very telling. Do we really have nothing better to talk about than whether or not she is gay or a hermaphrodite?
She actually attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. How is anyone supposed to recognize her talent when it is her shameless PR stunts that are making headlines? And even if they do recognize that she is talented, how can they not be alienated by the antics?
As annoying as she is, the more confounding thing is that people are eating it up. I suppose these are the same audiences as reality shows have. Kind of like a bad wreck; you can’t NOT look.
“Stephanie Germotta, We see you!” quoth fellow Parcbench writer, Don Smith, with empathetic pity.
Despite my disgust for her antics, throughout the course of writing this article, I really got in to her music. Because it’s good, catchy, fun music. Well done, Lady Gaga!
c. 2010
HOME EC FOR THE MODERN TIMES
Japan’s Home Ec classes are a tad more modern than ours. Instead of egg babies, they have robot babies.
These are especially popular now, as Japan is trying to encourage it’s females to have babies. You see, the once booming Japan is suffering dire economic consequences because their population is at an all time low, with a birthrate at 1.37%. Compare that to 2.12% in the U.S. Put simply, people are not having babies. This is causing severe economic problems for the country, which doesn’t allow immigrants.
They are especially feeling the pinch in the 15-65 age group. These are the producers, the earners. They are losing the money-makers, while the more dependent elders seem to be on the rise.
According to a ministry of labor and welfare report, Japan expects over a quarter of its citizens to be aged over 65 by 2015.
In an effort to encourage procreation, and ultimately, industry, the students of the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences at The University of Tsukuba, created a robo-baby last year, called Yotara.
Yotara is very lifelike. He actually has facial features which are projected onto his little warm silicon balloon face.
He has very lifelike baby reactions. He actually giggles and “wakes up” when a rattle is shaken. He sulks and dozes off like a real baby and smiles when his stomach is rubbed. He can also sneeze and have a runny nose, thanks to a heated water pump system.
Project leader Hiroki Kunimura, says,
“Through this experience, it would be great if some people started feeling that they wanted to have their own baby, if they started feeling that working is not everything.”
Japan’s population is expected to shrink by a third within 50 years if the birth rate does not increase. I guess if worse came to worse, they could always repopulate with the baby robots.
c. 2010
These are especially popular now, as Japan is trying to encourage it’s females to have babies. You see, the once booming Japan is suffering dire economic consequences because their population is at an all time low, with a birthrate at 1.37%. Compare that to 2.12% in the U.S. Put simply, people are not having babies. This is causing severe economic problems for the country, which doesn’t allow immigrants.
They are especially feeling the pinch in the 15-65 age group. These are the producers, the earners. They are losing the money-makers, while the more dependent elders seem to be on the rise.
According to a ministry of labor and welfare report, Japan expects over a quarter of its citizens to be aged over 65 by 2015.
In an effort to encourage procreation, and ultimately, industry, the students of the Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Sciences at The University of Tsukuba, created a robo-baby last year, called Yotara.
Yotara is very lifelike. He actually has facial features which are projected onto his little warm silicon balloon face.
He has very lifelike baby reactions. He actually giggles and “wakes up” when a rattle is shaken. He sulks and dozes off like a real baby and smiles when his stomach is rubbed. He can also sneeze and have a runny nose, thanks to a heated water pump system.
Project leader Hiroki Kunimura, says,
“Through this experience, it would be great if some people started feeling that they wanted to have their own baby, if they started feeling that working is not everything.”
Japan’s population is expected to shrink by a third within 50 years if the birth rate does not increase. I guess if worse came to worse, they could always repopulate with the baby robots.
c. 2010
PALIN TV
The girl everyone loves to hate is getting her own TV show. The former Vice Presidential candidate, best-selling author, and Fox News Commentator now has another opportunity to annoy her enemies.
TLC has picked up her eight-episode TV series with the working title, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, after the other networks turned it down. She will reportedly earn over a million dollars per episode. It will be a documentary-style travel show which explores the picturesque state of Alaska. The show will fit both Discovery Communications and Palin like Alaskan beaver mittens.
I can guarantee that despite it’s non-antagonizing nature theme, it will be the most polarizing show on the tube. Fans will eat it up, and haters will scornfully despise it. The “environmental extremists” that oppose her because she’s not a proponent of “man-made climate change” will scorn her further. You can bet it will generate a lot of buzz.
The Huffington Post is already baring its claws. In their coverage of the show, they said:
“It is a strange move for Discovery — the purveyor of such classics as “Planet Earth” and “Life” and the parent of Planet Green and Treehugger — to sign with Palin, whose anti-nature stances include denying climate change, supporting aerial wolf-hunting, and, most famously, “Drill baby, drill!”
Then, on a red hyper-link, you can be sure to…
READ ABOUT PALIN’S MOST EGREGIOUS ANTI-NATURE STANCES
But lest you think there will be any agendas, the show will be free of politics. Just an insider’s look into the state she loves so dearly.
“Discovery Communications is so excited to help Sarah Palin tell the story of Alaska,” said Discovery Communications Chief Operating Officer Peter Ligouri. It is interesting to note that Ligouri used to be the head of Fox Entertainment in the “Family Guy” dispute. He was just the guy that she was crusading against, besides McFarlane, of course.
“Family Guy,” is the Seth MacFarlane series which had Chris date a girl with Down Syndrome. She told him that she is the daughter of a former governor of Alaska. This, of course caused Palin to go on the war path against “Fox Hollywood,” saying the show had slammed her little son Trig, who also has Down Syndrome, and that it was just the latest “kick in the gut” against her, adding on her Facebook page that it “begs the question, ‘When is enough enough?’”
Apparently she’s decided to bury the hatchet. (I have to say, she’s a better woman than I).
While I am very excited about her new show, I hope it doesn’t interfere with her running in the 2012 election. But if anyone can juggle it, Sarah can.
c. 2010
TLC has picked up her eight-episode TV series with the working title, Sarah Palin’s Alaska, after the other networks turned it down. She will reportedly earn over a million dollars per episode. It will be a documentary-style travel show which explores the picturesque state of Alaska. The show will fit both Discovery Communications and Palin like Alaskan beaver mittens.
I can guarantee that despite it’s non-antagonizing nature theme, it will be the most polarizing show on the tube. Fans will eat it up, and haters will scornfully despise it. The “environmental extremists” that oppose her because she’s not a proponent of “man-made climate change” will scorn her further. You can bet it will generate a lot of buzz.
The Huffington Post is already baring its claws. In their coverage of the show, they said:
“It is a strange move for Discovery — the purveyor of such classics as “Planet Earth” and “Life” and the parent of Planet Green and Treehugger — to sign with Palin, whose anti-nature stances include denying climate change, supporting aerial wolf-hunting, and, most famously, “Drill baby, drill!”
Then, on a red hyper-link, you can be sure to…
READ ABOUT PALIN’S MOST EGREGIOUS ANTI-NATURE STANCES
But lest you think there will be any agendas, the show will be free of politics. Just an insider’s look into the state she loves so dearly.
“Discovery Communications is so excited to help Sarah Palin tell the story of Alaska,” said Discovery Communications Chief Operating Officer Peter Ligouri. It is interesting to note that Ligouri used to be the head of Fox Entertainment in the “Family Guy” dispute. He was just the guy that she was crusading against, besides McFarlane, of course.
“Family Guy,” is the Seth MacFarlane series which had Chris date a girl with Down Syndrome. She told him that she is the daughter of a former governor of Alaska. This, of course caused Palin to go on the war path against “Fox Hollywood,” saying the show had slammed her little son Trig, who also has Down Syndrome, and that it was just the latest “kick in the gut” against her, adding on her Facebook page that it “begs the question, ‘When is enough enough?’”
Apparently she’s decided to bury the hatchet. (I have to say, she’s a better woman than I).
While I am very excited about her new show, I hope it doesn’t interfere with her running in the 2012 election. But if anyone can juggle it, Sarah can.
c. 2010
JENNIFER’S REVENGE
Does Jennifer Aniston want to be a cougar?
If she does, she’ll be in good company. Cougars are exceedingly popular in Hollywood, it seems. A cougar is defined as an older woman who dates or marries a younger man. Historically, Tinsel Town has been an environment particularly amenable to cougars, and indeed even today they are stalking and ambushing their prey. (Hey, who isn’t?)
Courtney Cox Arquette, 46 is a cougar of note, both on TV and in real life. However, she married her prey, David Arquette, 39.
Her post-Friends project is Cougar Town, which she not only stars in, but executive produces. The show tells the story about a 40-ish divorcee [Cox], navigating the dating scene. It’s no Friends, but definitely holds its’ own.
She says, “I don’t take offense to the word. David’s much younger than me and he loves older women. I mean, why not date someone younger if you can?” The show definitely adds appeal to the cougars; men want to date them, and women want to be them.
Lisa Kudrow guest-starred on the show, now Cox-Arquette wants her former Friends co-star, Jennifer Aniston to join her ranks.
“She’s younger than me so she can’t play my contemporary even though she did on Friends,” Cox tells ncdailynews, “but I think we can find something great for her to play.”
Aniston has been flirting with cougar-hood at least since Friends, where she once played a cougar. Her most recent beau, John Mayer is several years her junior. While John Mayer’s maturity resembles someone far younger than he, I’m not sure he qualifies. Cougars are generally further apart in age.
She is slated to star in another cougar role, the upcoming Speilberg movie, Pumas.
“It’s sort of a female Wedding Crashers. It’s about these girls who aspire to become cougars. They just paaarty! Young party girls who just find hot young guys to play with and then dump them. Why can’t women do it?”
Indeed.
Sounds like she is well on her way to cougarhood.
c. 2010
If she does, she’ll be in good company. Cougars are exceedingly popular in Hollywood, it seems. A cougar is defined as an older woman who dates or marries a younger man. Historically, Tinsel Town has been an environment particularly amenable to cougars, and indeed even today they are stalking and ambushing their prey. (Hey, who isn’t?)
Courtney Cox Arquette, 46 is a cougar of note, both on TV and in real life. However, she married her prey, David Arquette, 39.
Her post-Friends project is Cougar Town, which she not only stars in, but executive produces. The show tells the story about a 40-ish divorcee [Cox], navigating the dating scene. It’s no Friends, but definitely holds its’ own.
She says, “I don’t take offense to the word. David’s much younger than me and he loves older women. I mean, why not date someone younger if you can?” The show definitely adds appeal to the cougars; men want to date them, and women want to be them.
Lisa Kudrow guest-starred on the show, now Cox-Arquette wants her former Friends co-star, Jennifer Aniston to join her ranks.
“She’s younger than me so she can’t play my contemporary even though she did on Friends,” Cox tells ncdailynews, “but I think we can find something great for her to play.”
Aniston has been flirting with cougar-hood at least since Friends, where she once played a cougar. Her most recent beau, John Mayer is several years her junior. While John Mayer’s maturity resembles someone far younger than he, I’m not sure he qualifies. Cougars are generally further apart in age.
She is slated to star in another cougar role, the upcoming Speilberg movie, Pumas.
“It’s sort of a female Wedding Crashers. It’s about these girls who aspire to become cougars. They just paaarty! Young party girls who just find hot young guys to play with and then dump them. Why can’t women do it?”
Indeed.
Sounds like she is well on her way to cougarhood.
c. 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
