Friday, December 22, 2006

FROM THE EWI INDEPENDENT

Scanning the Horizon
By Robert Folsom

I never would have predicted that the British government has a department of Foresight. One section of it, the “Horizon Scanning Center,” coordinates efforts to envision the future by providing, “a core of skills in science-based futures projects and unequalled access to leaders in government, business and science.”

The nearest equivalent to a U.S. government foresight effort is the Critical Technologies study by the non-profit Rand Corporation. Congress mandates the study and then, according to a British book, Future in Focus, virtually ignores it. The U.S. government does seem more focused on hindsight, publishing bios and seminar photos from the D.O.E.’s “Corporate Lessons Learned Collection”, the “Society for Effective Lessons Learned,” and numerous other government “Lessons Learned” sites.

Sigma Scan, a division of the U.K.’s Horizon Scan, features a search engine of sociological studies, one of which is, “No Such Thing as Society?: The Rise of Individualism and Weakening of Social Cohesion.”

Many of the report’s expectations are interesting from a socionomic perspective:

A “weakening of the bonds of collective participation and interdependence within affluent western societies”
Decline of social engagements, such as sporting activities
The decline of trade union association and in membership of political parties
More isolated gated communities among a wide variety of social groups
Declining birth rates, as parents spend less time with children due to the need for two incomes
Moves toward libertarian economic models reduce the state’s role as the primary provider of social services
Decline in the government's ability to collect revenue from the working population, and a reduction of certain social services
Greater personal freedom -- reducing state regulation of personal behavior (sexuality, drinking, or drug taking)
Class divides widening as state support for social mobility is reduced, and services provided only for those who can pay for them
With fewer social supports, society may see growing endemic problems with mental health, drug and alcohol abuse and anti-social behavior
The wealthy may choose to ‘opt out’ of mainstream society and active citizenship, by purchasing private healthcare, education, privacy and security
Reduced levels of participation in public life as people reject socially inclusive activities
The early indicators of a move toward more individualism are described as:

A decline in social support for the idea of taxation and redistribution
Increasing support for limited government
Market domination of more areas of society
Refuting the right of government to regulate life and lifestyles
Decline in child birth rate and the use of day care centers
Increased focus on the idea of celebrity: the individual as an icon
Decline in popular participation in campaigns of social and moral concern
There are parallels and differences with expectations derived from the socionomic perspective, but two themes are consistent… the desire to belong to smaller groups, and distrust of government.

These researchers anticipate this outcome by analyzing trends they currently see. This speaks to the size and duration of the societal shifts already underway. It is commendable that some governments are attempting to be pro-active.
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Friday, December 15, 2006

In their own words

Taken from http://www.lifetoday.com.au/

“If you let your head get too big, it’ll break your neck!” Elvis Presley.

“Yes, madam, I am drunk. But in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly.” Winston Churchill.

“I spent a lot of my money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I just squandered.” George Best.

“Deep down, I’m pretty superficial.” Ava Gardner.

“God is in my head, but the devil is in my pants.” Jonathan Winters

“On my gravestone I want to say… “I told you I was sick!” Tom Waits.

“Beer is living proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” Benjamin Franklin.

“Filipinos want beauty. I have to look beautiful so that the poor Filipinos will have a star to look at from their slums.” Imelda Marcos.

“It’s just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.” Muhammad Ali.

“The police got all the best stuff. They’re crookeder than us!” New Orleans looter, post Hurricane Katrina.

“Everyone snorts it (cocaine), and everyone knows what happens. Then they make a fuss only when famous people are caught” Donatella Versace.

“I’m not an egomaniac like a lot of people say…but I am the world’s best dancer, that’s for sure.” Michael Flatley.

“I’ve played homicidal maniacs… I can certainly play a Republican” Alan Alda (in The West Wing).

“I dress for women, and undress for men.” Angie Dickinson.

“I should think that being my old lady would be all the satisfaction or career any woman needs.” Mick Jagger.

“I mean, the word ‘great’ stands for something. When you talk about a great actor, you’re not talking about Tom Cruise.” Lauren Bacall.

“With all due respect to the world’s great drummers… it ain’t brain surgery.” Mickey Dolenz (drummer The Monkees.)

“How many husbands have I had? You mean apart from my own?” Zsa Zsa Gabor.

“It’s funny the way most people love the dead. Once you’re dead, you are made for life.” Jimi Hendrix. (He is now one of the most successful of dead artists with well over 300 albums released since his death).

“You don’t need any brains to listen to music.”. Luciano Pavarotti.

“Charity is taking an ugly girl out to lunch.” Warren Beatty.

“If you said… ‘Tattoo your eyeball or go shopping with your wife’ … I’d f---ing stick the needle in my eye.” Ozzy Osbourne.

“I get to go to lots of overseas places, like Canada.” “Where the hell is Australia anyway?” Britney Spears.

“For Rent: Condom… ONLY $650.” Advertisement Jakarta Post.

“Do you mind if I sit back a little? .because your breath is very bad.” Donald Trump to T.V. presenter Larry King.

“It’s very hard to build in New York City, in this very powerful, very political and frankly…not to be snooty and for lack of a better word, a city run by Philistines.” Peter Wheelwright, Dept. of Architecture, Parsons School of Design.

“I wanted to perform, I wanted to write songs, and I wanted to get lots of chicks.” James Taylor.

“I’m a marvellous housekeeper. Every time I leave a man I keep his house.” Zsa Zsa Gabor.

“If I only had a little humility, I’d be perfect.” Ted Turner.

“It was God who made me so beautiful. If I weren’t, then I’d be a teacher.” Linda Evangelista.

“I’d rather be dead than singing ‘Satisfaction’ when I’m forty-five.” Mick Jagger.

“The British are so incestuous. They pass around partners as if it were popcorn in a movie…. ‘Do you want some?’ It’s just bizarre.” Cameron Diaz.

“We apologize for the error in last week’s paper in which we stated that Mr. Arnold Dogbody was a defective in the police force. We meant, of course, that Mr. Dogbody is a detective in the police farce.” The Ely Standard.

“I’m 21 years old, I run two multimillionaire companies. I work my ass off. Like, what were you doing that was so f—king important at that age?” Nicky Hilton.

“You know, if I were a single man, I might ask that mummy out. That’s one good looking mummy!” President Bill Clinton (when shown a newly uncovered Inca mummy).

“I’m very motivated by money. The only thing that would make me happier is more money.” Simon Cowell.

“If you take out the killings, Washington actually has a very low crime rate.” Marion Barry, mayor of Washington D.C.

“I am a great mayor; I am an upstanding Christian man; I am an intelligent man; I am a deeply educated man; I am a humble man.” Marion Barry.

“As long as I sit in this chair, all future catastrophes will be planned by me.” President George W. Bush, on national T.V. post Hurricane Katrina.

“I haven’t read a book in my life. I haven’t got enough time. I prefer to listen to music, although I do love fashion magazines.” Victoria “Posh” Beckham, ex Spice Girl.

“Do you want us to come over and shoot her?” Emergency-services dispatcher in Texas to a woman complaining her 12 year old daughter had kicked a hole in a wall…. the (male) dispatcher was reprimanded.

“You call yourself a Christian, I call you a hypocrite…You call yourself a patriot, well I think you’re full of s**t.” Mick Jagger, “Sweet Neo Con”, A Bigger Bang album about President George W. Bush.

“If you talk to God, that’s a prayer. If God talks back to you, that’s schizophrenia.” Philippine bishop Oscar Cruz (about President Arroyo’s claims to have had conversations with God about political issues).

“Reports that say something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns; the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” Donald Rumsfeld.

“CAUTION: Knife is very sharp. Keep out of children.” Warning on label.

“If we don’t succeed we run the risk of failure.” Dan Quayle.

“If you wanted to reduce crime you could – if that were your sole purpose – you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.” William Bennett, former U.S. Education Secretary, and now a talk-show host.

“I’m not smart enough to debate you point to point, but I have the feeling about 60 per cent of what you say is crap!” David Letterman on THE LATE SHOW to Fox Newscommentator Bill O’Reilly.

“They’ve gone and killed John Wayne with this movie (Brokeback Mountain)…I’ve been doing this job all my life and I ain’t never met no gay cowboy. It wouldn’t be right. There ain’t no queer in cowboy…” Cowboy Jim-Bob Zimmerschied.

“If it weren’t for electricity we’d all be watching television bycandlelight.” George Gobel.

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” George W. Bush.

“I say no to drugs, but they don’t listen.” Marilyn Manson.

“It’s like when I buy a horse. I don’t want a thick neck and short legs.” Mickey Rourke (on what he looks for in a woman).

“When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” Anon.

“I have nothing intelligent to say.” Meg Tilly (actress at 1997 Oscars).

“CAUTION: Cape does not enable user to fly.” Warning label on Batman costume.

“Reports are sketchy, but we have heard that in the first heart transplant operation in Belgium, both patient and donor are doing fine.” Radio news announcer.

“My tax return in the United States has to be kept on a special computer because their normal computers can’t deal with the numbers.” Bill Gates.

“I don’t think it’s a big mystery what the girls see in me.” Hugh Hefner.

“I went without sex for a year once, and by the end of it I was getting a bit… well, jumpy.” Jerry Hall.

“When I was a kid I was wild like an animal.” Cameron Diaz.

“I have amazing boobs. I do… I know it. They’re not too big, not too small. They’re just perfect.” Ashlee Simpson.

“I am so not a guy…I don’t know anything about cars. But my wife laughs because I can pick out a Kate Spade bag no problem. I have much more girlie hobbies.” Rob Thomas.

“Whenever I watch T.V. and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can’t help but cry. I mean… I would love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff.” Incorrectly attributed to Mariah Carey (actually appeared in a British tabloid in a satirical send up of the singer).

“I’ve got a talent to act. No matter what any newspaper says about me, I am one of the most sensitive human beings on earth, and I know it.” Jean Claude van Damme.

“Rarely is the question asked… ‘Is our children learning?’

George W. Bush.

“Listen, everyone is entitled to my opinion.” Madonna.

“Boys were always telling me that I had a nice ass.” Mariah Carey.

“Sex really does sell, so I’ll be doing loads of that.” Kelly Osbourne.

“Maybe it’s better I don’t travel to America. Maybe it’s better I don’t work in an area of the business that attracts so many flies.” Russell Crowe, actor.

“Genghis Khan wasn’t really a bad guy. He just had bad press.” Mongolian Prime Minister Elbegdorj Tsahkia.

“I’m not one of those people who says, ‘Oh no, I can’t wear that because I wore it yesterday’. If it doesn’t smell, it’s fine.” Keira Knightly.

“Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink, and make the combination worthless.” Milton Friedman

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” George W. Bush.

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“A verbal contract is not worth the paper it’s written.” Samuel Goldwyn

Women don’t make it to the top because they don’t deserve to. They’re crap.” Neil French (former creative director ad co. WPP Group).

“We will win because we are not coglione!” Ex Italian Prime Minister Silvio Belusconi.

*(Coglione…the Italian word for “testicle”.or “dickhead” in slang.)

“I have always hated that damn James Bond. I’d like to kill him.” Sean Connery.

“You smug, self-righteous swine, self-opinionated sod-minded suet-brained ham-faced mealy-mouthed streptococcus-ridden gang of natural gobdaws.” Deceased Irish author Flann O’Brien to his readers.

“I was the one who hung out with the boys. What I didn’t realise was that after I hit puberty, they all wanted to get into my pants. They couldn’t… so they just said they did.” Evangeline Lilly.

“I drank too much, did too many drugs. I have a great admiration for politicians. But I would make a horrible politician.” George Clooney.

“You have to be careful not to be upstaged by your breasts. Directors cast the men they want to be, and the women they want to have.” Susan Sarandon.

“There’s no hotter star around. Do you know anyone who is hotter than me? I’m an absolute brand. There’s no-one like me. Not even Madonna.” Paris Hilton.

“I know I look like an extra from the Planet of the Apes (with all her plastic surgery) but it’s better than the alternative.” Joan Rivers, comedian.

“Death is the best thing that can ever happen to a rapper. Almost dying isn’t bad, either.” Kanye West.

“All the hot ones (men) are gay.” Paris Hilton.

“For the record I like my toes just fine. Not as much as my nipples, but they’re still suck-worthy.” Teri Hatcher.

“She’s (ex-wife Jane Fonda) one of the most beautiful women I’ve met. She must have been…I gave up three mistresses for her.” Ted Turner (billionaire).

“People think I am an artist because my films lose money.” Woody Allen.

“Old age is terrible… but the alternative is worse.” Maurice Chevalier.

“Be nice to nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.” Bill Gates (Microsoft).

“Coke (cocaine) is God’s way of saying you’re making too much money.” Robin Williams (comedian & former addict).

“I just brushed her off, I didn’t want to speak to her…breath, yuck, ugly dog, just go talk to someone else. Ring the RSPCA….She smelt, she was black, and she was ugly.” Letterio Silvestri,( one of a group of eight men questioned by police re the death of a woman the first night on board a cruise ship. She died from a toxic level of alcohol and a date-rape-drug. The cruise was marketed as a good-time party holiday in an ad showing sexy young bikini-clad women on deck chairs and the caption (“Seamen Wanted”). “She started playing with me…Apparently she helped herself to me…Well I’ve been told that she …started giving me oral sex (he told police). If it was, I was groggy, like, I don’t know if you’ve ever woken up from a sleeping pill, but…it’s pretty groggy and lethargic and you just can’t be bothered. All you want to do is go back to sleep…(The next morning ) There was this fat thing laying in my bed…yeh, it’s like, can you get off?.When I pushed her off the bed, no it was still dark…I am, yeah, pissed (off). How dare this thing f—k my holiday up.” (Newspapers reported that obscene photographs were seized of two of the men engaging in sex with the deceased woman, and that there had been talk of throwing her body overboard before it was discovered).

“I’m not like that. I don’t do that sort of thing.” (The words a female passenger in an adjoining cabin heard a woman speak that same night, thought to have been the deceased).

*P.S. The above quote is so disgusting and disturbing that I thought twice about including it. However, it was splashed over the front pages of our newspapers, and unfortunately, is a reflection of one of the seedier elements in today’s world that needs to be exposed.

“To all the bastards who don’t like my music…you’re all adults, you can switch your radio off. I’m the one who sings it, and it’s continued to get me laid.” James Blunt (British pop star).

“Being a celebrity in Hollywood is like being a poor fish. They tell you you are pretty and then they eat you up.” Teri Hatcher (actress).

“I was being interviewed by four journalists when I did the loudest fart…it almost blew me off my chair. I didn’t admit it was me, though.” Jordan (British celebrity).

“All their players (French World Cup football team…finalists 2006) have tested positive for being assholes.” Cyclist Lance Armstrong…6 times Tour de France winner

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“Welcome in France, Trouduc.” (Trouduc …short for trou du cul…asshole).

Front page headline of newspaper France Soir welcoming Lance Armstrong back to France after his comment.

“I had an old-man moment the other day. I went into Abercrombie & Fitch (a U.S. clothing shop for mature men) to get some jeans and the music was so loud I couldn’t stay.” Harry Connick Jr….singer.

“We should all do something for 30 minutes every day to get the heart pumping. I make love to stay in shape.” Jamie Foxx…actor.

“I would rather run around naked than wear a Speedo.” Bruce Willis…actor.

“I could see why Muslims would hate the West, and the U.S. in particular.” Lev Grossman…best selling author

“A donkey is like a housewife. In fact, the donkey is a shade better, for while the housewife may sometimes complain and walk off to her parents’ home, you’ll never catch the donkey being disloyal to his master.” Hindi language textbook Education Board of Rajasthan (India).

“There’s nobody in the world like me. I think every decade has an iconic blonde…like Marilyn Monroe or Princess Diana…and right now, I’m that icon!” Paris Hilton.

“Dolphins get excited, even when you are a human being. I didn’t know this until I was being poked by a few of them, which was very rude. I sort of requested female dolphins after that.” Actor Jessica Alba.

“I’m much calmer since I’ve quite (smoking). I haven’t hit anyone or had a public argument in ages!” Singer Charlotte Church.

“And however you vote, it’s tough to deny that by gambling their careers, three Texas women (The Dixie Chicks) have the biggest balls in American music.” Article Time magazine by Josh Tyrangiel.

“I don’t have a cell phone. Not because I’m cool…I’m terrified of new technology.” Actor Vince Vaughn.

“You’ve got to hate men. You’ve got to man-bash. Then you come back around. Now I love men!” Actor Halle Berry.

“Of course I’ll get married again! Maybe a couple of times.” Pamela Anderson.

“Any idiot can get laid when they’re famous.” Actor Kevin Bacon.

“Life is not fair…get used to it.” “The world won’t care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.” Bill Gates.
Believe it or not

Taken from www.lifetoday.com.au

Eating sausages was banned back in the 4th century (even though it was considered O.K. to work out in the nude). The ban was imposed by the Catholic Church because it considered eating sausages might make people lustful and trigger immoral behaviour due to their phallic shape.

The Chinese government is so desperate for water in some parched regions it has employed 37,000 peasants, some of whom are blasting clouds with rockets & 37mm anti-aircraft guns with shells containing silver iodide. The Chinese are also hopeful of ensuring the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games is rain free.

When communicating, the words we speak are believed to account for only 7% of the impression we make, whereas our voice tone accounts for around 38%, and our body language for the major part of 55%.

Albert Einstein never learnt how to drive a car.

It takes one gallon of burnt diesel fuel to move the Queen Elizabeth II six inches.

The Wright Brother’s first plane flight was less than the wingspan of a Boeing 747.

More people are killed each year by donkeys than in air crashes.

The brain of an ostrich is smaller than its eye.

Women blink almost twice as much as men.

Married men change their underwear around twice as often as single men do. Almost 4 per cent of women say they never wear underwear.

The world’s youngest parents lived in China and were aged 8 and 9 when their child was born around 1910.

The youngest Roman Catholic pope was only 11 years old.

3000 years ago the life expectancy was 30 years. Alexander the Great had conquered most of the known world by age 25.

A kiss can cause a massive transfer of over 500 types of bacteria.

1 in 25 fathers may be unknowingly raising a child that is not biologically theirs (Journal Epidemiology & Community Health).

In 2004 China carried out almost 90% of the world’s executions putting more than 5,000 people to death for crimes ranging from murder and rape to tax fraud and theft.

The Mona Lisa has no eyebrows. The fashion at the time of the Renaissance was to shave them away.

The human body creates and destroys 15 million red blood cells every second.

It takes 58,000 gallons of fuel to fill a Boeing 747.

The United States accounts for 25 per cent of the world’s prison population while having only 5 per cent of the world’s overall population.

There are 40,000 cab drivers in New York.

1 in 5 people on this planet (1.2 billion) survive on less than $1 dollar per day.

There are 200 million insects for every person on Earth.

A “jiffy” is an actual unit of time and denotes 1/100th of a second.

A dentist invented the first electric chair.

The hottest temperature ever recorded…58 degrees C (136 degrees F) in Libya, North Africa.

The last telegram was sent on January 27, 2006 ending an era lasting 161 years. The official announcement was made over the Internet.

The coldest temperature ever recorded was -89 degrees C (-129 degrees F) at Antarctica.

A recent report stated that 9 out of 10 bars and cafes in Sicily, Italy, pay protection money to the Mafia…it would appear that the price for not paying may be too high.

A British institute of neurological studies has found that “thrill-seekers” have more friends than cautious, conservative types. People are more attracted to those who like to “live dangerously” and give life a shake. It also found that optimistic Aids sufferers lived 9 months longer on average than who meekly accepted their fate.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Voir Paris et puis mourir - Présentation PowerPoint par Jean Paul BARRUYER
Aleyda de Vlado

http://lacarambola.googlepages.com/aleida.ppt
La campaña de Juan Mann - FREE HUGS - ABRAZOS GRATIS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4&mode=related&search