Have you ever wondered why, in today’s modern times, people across the world still tend to think that South Africa is a primitive country where you have lions walking around in your back yard, or that we don’t have the internet!? I mean, really, come on people! That would be like me thinking that Australians ride to work on kangaroos! But just how far does it go?

We hereby present to you a list of snappy answers to really stupid questions about South Africa:

Q: Does it ever get windy in South Africa ? I have never seen it rain.
A: We import all plants fully grown and then just sit around watching them die.

Q: Will I be able to see elephants in the street? (USA)
A: Depends how much you’ve been drinking.

Q: I want to walk from Durban to Cape Town - can I follow the railroad tracks? (Sweden)
A: Sure, it’s only two thousand kilometres, take lots of water…

Q: Is it safe to run around in the bushes in South Africa ? (Sweden )
A: So it’s true what they say about Swedes..

Q: Are there any ATMs (cash machines) in South Africa? Can you send me a list of them in JHB, Cape Town ,Knysna and Jeffrey’s Bay? (UK)
A: What did your last slave die of?

Q: Can you give me some information about Koala Bear racing in South Africa? (USA)
A: Aus-tra-lia is that big island in the middle of the pacific. A-fri-ca is the big triangle shaped continent south of Europe which does not…oh forget it. Sure, the Koala Bear racing is every Tuesday night in Hillbrow. Come naked.

Q: Which direction is north in South Africa ? (USA)
A: Face south and then turn 90 degrees. Contact us when you get here and we’ll send the rest of the directions.

Q: Can I bring cutlery into South Africa ? (UK)
A: Why? Just use your fingers like we do.

Q: Can you send me the Vienna Boys’ Choir schedule? (USA)
A: Aus-tri-a is that quaint little country bordering Ger-man-y, which is…oh forget it. Sure, the Vienna Boys Choir plays every Tuesday night in Hillbrow, straight after the Koala Bear races. Come naked.

Q: Do you have perfume in South Africa ? (France)
A: No, WE don’t stink.

Q: I have developed a new product that is the fountain of youth. Can you tell me where I can sell it in South Africa ? (USA)
A: Anywhere where a significant number of Americans gather.

Q: Can you tell me the regions in South Africa where the female population is smaller than the male population? (Italy)
A: Yes, gay nightclubs.

Q: Do you celebrate Christmas in South Africa ? (France)
A: Only at Christmas.

Q: Are there killer bees in South Africa ? (Germany)
A: Not yet, but for you, we’ll import them.

Q: Are there supermarkets in Cape Town and is milk available all year round?
A: No, we are a peaceful civilisation of vegan hunter-gatherers. Milk is illegal.

Q: Please send a list of all doctors in South Africa who can dispense rattlesnake serum. (USA)
A: Rattlesnakes live in A-meri-ca, which is where YOU come from. All South African snakes are perfectly harmless, can be safely handled and make good pets.

Q: I was in South Africa in 1969, and I want to contact the girl I dated while I was staying in Hillbrow. Can you help? (USA)
A: Yes, but you will probably still have to pay her by the hour.

Q: Will I be able to speek English most places I go? (USA)
A: Yes, but you’ll have to learn it first.

Do you have some of your own snappy answers? Feel free to drop them in the comments.

(blog.travelcrossings.co.za)

Furniture shopping: Everyone’s done it… a sturdy new coffee table, a firm yet all encompassing easy chair for the TV room – or a full-size, extra cozy couch the whole family can enjoy.

Canadian couple Doris Moore and her husband Douglas decided to make such a purchase – and chose a lovely, brand-new, brown leather set: Couch, loveseat and chair…

What they did not purchase was the particular shade of brown they got.

The tags, boldly appearing on each piece, told the Moores in no uncertain terms that the color of their comfy new set was actually “Nigger-brown.” Enough to shock even the staunchest bigot where they stand…but that wasn’t the worst part – it was their 7 year old daughter who discovered the flagrantly fiendish flub.

Curiously poking around just after the delivery men left, little Olivia asked mommy what the word meant.

Ms. Moore then got on the phone and began a journey find who was responsible for the insulting label.

A Chinese software company called Kingsoft Corp. acknowledged that the issue was created by a translator program it had written – one that would make the English speaking world understand what they were printing on their furniture’s labels.

Kingsoft apologized and indicated the “N” word was simply misspelled. It was supposed to be “Niger” coined after the river of the same name – which is dark brown in color.

The Moore’s however, aren’t satisfied. They retained counsel and are looking for more than just a simple apology.

“Something more has to be done. We don’t just need a personal apology, but someone needs to own up to where these labels were made, and someone needs to apologize to all people of color,” Moore said. “I had friends over from St. Lucia yesterday and they wouldn’t sit on the couch.”

(link)

(weirdasianews.com)

Bananas provide food, wine and beer - and now maybe fuel as well

You’ve heard of “green” fuel. Now get ready for yellow as scientists have found a way to turn banana waste into a sustainable fuel source that could be relevant to many countries across Africa.

Rotting banana skins are mashed into a pulp, then mixed with saw dust

The simple, low-tech idea, was developed by researchers at Nottingham University.

They used banana skins to create briquettes that can be burned for cooking, lighting and heating.

It could alleviate the burden of gathering firewood, the dominant energy source in many parts of the continent.

This would help reduce deforestation, which makes a significant contribution to global climate change.

Go yellow

In some African countries, like Rwanda, bananas are an important and versatile crop, used for food, wine and beer.

But experts estimate that the edible fruit makes up just a small part of what the plant produces.

The banana skins bind other materials together really well, they act like glue Joel Chaney,Nottingham University

According to scientists, for every one tonne of bananas, there are an estimated ten tonnes of waste, made up of skins, leaves and stems.

It was on a visit to Rwanda that Joel Chaney, a PhD student from the University of Nottingham came up with the idea of developing a low-tech approach to turn this banana waste into an efficient fuel source.

Back in the laboratory at the University’s faculty of engineering, Joel showed me how to make bananas burn.

He first mashes a pile of rotting skins and leaves. This pulp is then mixed with saw dust, compressed and dried to create briquettes that ignite readily and throw out a steady heat, ideal for cooking.

“The banana skins bind other materials together really well, they act like glue,” says Mr Chaney.

The banana mixture dries into briquettes which can be burned on a stove

“We can then either form the material into a ball by hand, or use a press to squeeze the materials together and squeeze the liquid out.

“Once we’ve pressed them we can lay the briquettes outside in the sun, and within about two weeks we have some dried fuel.”

The emphasis of the project has been on developing a simple technology that can be used in developing countries without the need for a large financial outlay.

Over the years there have been many attempts to develop new stoves and fuel sources in Africa that have failed because they were too expensive or did not take on board local needs.

These briquettes are made by hand, we haven’t used any mechanical equipment at all Mike Clifford,Nottingham University

Mike Clifford is associate professor in the department of engineering at Nottingham. Standing around a stove in the laboratory that’s using banana briquettes to boil water, he says he is really pleased with the project.

“This is working really well. These briquettes we’ve made by hand, we haven’t used any mechanical equipment at all. No technology and we’ve had a really good result,” he says.

“We’re starting from very basic problems and we are making the solutions as simple and accessible as possible to the people that need them.

“It’s almost seen as a new colonialism, imposing solutions on people in developing countries, we are very keen not to do that.”

Saving firewood

The scientists believe that banana fuel might help reduce dependence on wood as an energy source across Africa.

The briquettes are easily made, no machinery is required

In some of the continent’s biggest banana-producing countries like Rwanda, Tanzania and Burundi, more than 80% of current energy needs are met from burning wood.

This has a very damaging impact on the environment leading to deforestation which contributes to climate change. Gathering wood for fuel is also a time consuming job, mainly done by women.

“In some areas wood fuel is getting depleted and you are getting deforestation. Women sometimes have to walk over six hours a day to get firewood,” says Joel Chaney.

“This is a way to use waste from crops like bananas, to make them burn in a better way because loose residue most often just burns too rapidly.

“Imagine just putting some straw onto your fire at home. It just goes up in flames, you can’t cook food over it, while the briquettes provide a way to cook food in a much better way.”

The Nottingham researchers say their low-tech approach is a small step along the way of meeting the millennium goals and helping people out of poverty.

They say that they are happy to give the idea away for free and are encouraging people who want to use the idea to get in touch.

Paulo Serodio says he is.

Born and raised in Mozambique and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, Serodio, 45, has filed a lawsuit against a New Jersey medical school, claiming he was harassed and ultimately suspended for identifying himself during a class cultural exercise as a “white African-American.”

“I wouldn’t wish this to my worst enemy,” he said. “I’m not exaggerating. This has destroyed my life, my career.”

The lawsuit, which asks for Serodio’s reinstatement at the school and monetary damages, named the Newark-based University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and several doctors and university employees as defendants.

Filed Monday in U.S. District Court in New Jersey, the lawsuit traces a series of events that Serodio maintains led to his 2007 suspension, starting with a March 2006 cultural exercise in a clinical skills course taught by Dr. Kathy Ann Duncan, where each student was asked to define themselves for a discussion on culture and medicine.

After Serodio labeled himself as a white African-American, another student said she was offended by his comments and that, because of his white skin, was not an African-American.

According to the lawsuit, Serodio was summoned to Duncan’s office where he was instructed “never to define himself as an African-American … because it was offensive to others and to people of color for him to do so.”

“It’s crazy,” Serodio’s attorney Gregg Zeff told ABCNews.com. “Because that’s what he is.”

Serodio, who lives in Newark, said he never meant to offend anyone and calling himself African-American doesn’t detract from another person’s heritage.

Neither the American Civil Liberties Union nor the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People responded to messages seeking comment on the meaning of African-American.

The Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines African-American as “an American of African and especially of black African descent.”

“There are people of all races who are African,” Serodio said, adding that he’s never had a problem identifying himself as an African-American until that day in Duncan’s class.

Zeff pointed out that Serodio only labeled himself after his instructors asked him to do so and was then penalized for it.

Defending an Identity or Unprofessional Behavior?

Serodio said he is a third-generation African of Portuguese ethnicity whose great-grandfather emigrated to Mozambique. He came to the U.S. in 1984 after being accepted at New York University.

He met his future wife and started a family and, after deciding to settle in the U.S. permanently, got his citizenship in the early 1990s. After doing research work on and off, including for UMDNJ, with pauses in between to be a stay-at-home dad, Serodio said he decided to become a doctor to follow in his parents footsteps.

His plan, he said, was to become a doctor and join Doctors Without Borders where he could travel back to Africa to do charity work like his parents, either as an internist or possibly a neurologist. He started medical school, he said, when his eldest child was in first grade.

The family, he said, had hoped to hold a joint graduation party this spring– for his son’s passing out of fourth grade and for Serodio’s graduation from medical school. But they will only be celebrating his son’s achievements this year.

The lawsuit claims Serodio began to be harassed by other students who sought disciplinary action against him for his statement in Duncan’s class, but was never given a chance to defend his views against the complaints.

UMDNJ spokesman Jeffrey Tolvin told ABCNews.com that university officials had not yet seen the lawsuit.

“We have no comment on this matter,” he said.

In September 2006, Serodio said he again asked to define himself culturally as part of another course exercise. Again, according to the lawsuit he said he was a “white African-American.” And again, he was called to the course instructor’s office and told never to define himself that way again.

According to the lawsuit, Serodio then wrote an article for the student newspaper, titled “A More Colorful View Than Black and White,” in an attempt to explain his self-identification and to call for tolerance at the school.

But when complaints started pouring into Dr. I. Thomas Cohen, then the dean of student affairs, the lawsuit alleges that Serodio was called in again and told by Cohen that if he “lay low for awhile” Cohen would see that a record of the incident would not be placed in Serodio’s transcript.

Serodio told ABCNews.com that he believes that America has outgrown the labels of black and white, something he wrote about in the article.

His own children, he said, are of mixed ethnicity – European and Chinese. In his own case, he said, “There’s a distinction to be made here between ethnicity and being from Africa.”

Spiraling Out of Control

The lawsuit claims Serodio tried to stop publication on the newspaper article, but was too late. In response, the professor of the latter cultural class posted a reply on the bulletin boards at the medical school stating that Serodio “had failed to learn professionalism and humanism.”

That’s when, according to the lawsuit, the harassment, some physical, began in earnest. According to the lawsuit, Serodio’s tires were vandalized in December of 2006, other students put up posters slamming him and he was denied protection by the school.

In January 2007, Serodio was made to promise he would never again write in any public forum at the school at the risk of facing disciplinary action, according to the lawsuit.

But Zeff said that the same month, his client was designated as the person who would take notes from a particular class for posting online, as was customary. The notes, Zeff said, contained a few jokes and comments as was typical for students who posted notes online and had been approved by the class professor.

But after a fellow student complained, the same professor that approved the notes filed a complaint about their content, according to the lawsuit, and school officials demanded that Serodio submit to a psychiatric evaluation.

The evaluation was given in April 2007 and Serodio was declared “fit for medical student functions,” according to the lawsuit. But after a disciplinary hearing on April 1, which consisted of testimony from anyone claiming to be offended by Serodio’s comments, he was notified of his suspension.

The lawsuit claims Serodio was suspended on May 15, 2007 for a period “of not less than one year.”

Messages and e-mails left with Duncan and Cohen as well as UMDNJ Dean Dr. Robert Johnson were not returned.

His suspension, which Serodio said was for “unprofessional behavior,” meant he was unable to take the board exams reserved for students preparing to enter third year and therefore could not transfer elsewhere to continue his education even though he completed all the second-year coursework.

Resolving the Issue

Serodio told ABCNews.com that he was technically reinstated last spring, but it was too late to start his third year because he still had not been allowed to take his second-year exams.

“I feel unprepared now,” he said. “That was very penalizing to me.”

So Serodio said he decided to take a year’s leave of absence to spend time with his children and get things sorted out with the school, while trying to stay current on his studies for the exam.

The lawsuit is asking for reinstatement to UMDNJ and to the National Board of Medical Examiners so Serodio be allowed to take his board exams. The suit is also asking for recognition that UMDNJ’s actions were discriminatory and retaliatory and for unspecified monetary damages.

“I felt this issue had to be resolved,” he said.

For now, Serodio is hoping to be able to get his medical degree and put what he considers to be the humiliation of the incident behind him.

“He’s lost a part of his career,” Zeff said. “He’s lost two years of his life.”

(abcnews.go.com)

I have a growing suspicion that the way many Chinese people understand the word “racism” (or “racist”) is quite different from the way I use it. This causes communication problems because I use the term “racism” like most North Americans do, but my Chinese acquaintances react in ways that don’t seem to make sense. Obviously there’s a disconnect. I want to know why my Chinese friends and acquaintances react the way they do to the term “racism”. How are they understanding this word?

When “racism” comes up in conversations with Chinese people, especially if it’s suggested that there is some racism in China, they seem strongly offended and shocked at the suggestion. Sometimes they flat out deny the possibility. This has happened a couple times now, and I’m hoping the Fool’s Mountain community can help me out. This isn’t (to me) the kind of thing someone would deny: every society has racism somewhere, somehow. Is the popular Chinese understanding of racism different from what’s commonly used in standard English discussions? If so, how is it different?

Here’s just one recent example, from someone who is usually a pretty good conversation partner (emphasis mine):

“Racism” is never in Chinese minds. It is hard for Chinese to understand racism or racial sensitivity in the West. We think Chinese is one race, non-Chinese are of other races, that’s all - no discrimination or racial superiority implied when we distinguish “Chinese” and “foreigners”. As a matter of fact, we are of different races! We don’t have racism issues, so we are not sensitive to racial differences or racial talks at all. (That talking about racial differences is sensitive can only prove that racial problems exist.)

Help me understand what’s going on here. I agree that in the West aspects of our attempts to be racially sensitive don’t make sense. But she seems to be saying “racism isn’t a Chinese problem.” But when my Tianjin friends are afraid to be near black people in public for no reason, or when my Taiwan boss explains that a lot of buxibans don’t want to hire black English teachers because it will hurt their business (parents don’t want to send their kids to a black English teacher), it’s textbook examples of racism — those feelings and behaviour are racist and racially prejudiced by definition. Any of us could quickly come up with a list of examples of common Chinese racial prejudice; it’s well known, and not just against blacks. So how can an intelligent, bilingual person actually believe what I’ve quoted above? Is she operating with a different definition of racism? I’m her response is somehow related to popular Chinese notions about racism, and that popular Chinese thinking about racism must be significantly different from popular ideas about racism in North America.

I’m not arguing about whether or not there’s racism in China (I assume there is some racism in every society) or which societies are the most racist. I want to know why my Chinese friends and acquaintances react the way they do to the idea of racism in China. Can someone describe for me popular Chinese understandings of “racism”?

Much thanks!
- Joel (http://ChinaHopeLive.net)

(blog.foolsmountain.com)

By Guest Writer | Tuesday, April 7, 2009 |

By Rob

There seems to be a lot of discussion within the Asian American community about acts of racism against Asians, but very little about Asians acting racist themselves. It occurs frequently and seems to me to be a real problem. For example: the other day I was at a dinner party with a group of Asians, most of whom were in their 40s and 50s. At some point my friend’s parents began discussing her boyfriend with me (who wasn’t present). They weren’t enamored with him, and began listing out the reasons why. When they were done, one of the other guests asked, “So what is worse in your eyes? If your daughter continues dating her current boyfriend, or if she begins dating a black man?” They then had a long, serious conversation about this, and while not reaching a firm conclusion, also made it clear that the black man wasn’t winning any brownie points in their book.

The next day I was getting coffee with a friend of mine from Taiwan, and I mentioned this story to her. Her response: “Yeah! My parents do the same thing!” I got the same response from the next four Asian people I mentioned this to, so I don’t think this is uncommon. Also, all the people who were discussing this at the dinner party were intelligent, caring people, yet none of them seemed to think that there was anything wrong or even strange about disliking someone on the basis of race.

So, what’s the extent to which these problems exist? I’m reasonably convinced that amongst first generation Asian immigrants, racial stereotypes abound (especially against other non-Asian, non-white minorities), in large part because the homogeneity of most Asian countries doesn’t really prepare immigrants for the racial and cultural diversity that is America. Also, based on everything I’ve ever heard, non Asian non-white races are treated in Asian countries with at best, amused curiosity and at worst, outright disdain (as hard as it is for a Chinese person to deal with racial issues in America, imagine how much harder it is for a black man to deal with racial issues in China). But I’m curious what happens to immigrant children, people of my generation. Do they tend to adopt the attitudes of the society they grew up in, or does racism pass on through the family?

And what’s the impact of this to the Asian community? The most immediate impact is that it makes the Asian community a bit hypocritical - the same dinner guests who didn’t want their daughter dating a black man also complained about racial glass ceilings in the workplace, and while that point might still be valid, it’s harder to make persuasively when you are essentially guilty of the same behavior. It also has the effect of isolating the Asian American community. I don’t think my parents have any non Asian non white friends, and I don’t think any of their Asian friends do either. When others complain about Asians being insular, this strikes me as being one of the root causes.

What are your thoughts?

(8asians.com)

MOSCOW – If you’re inclined to believe Igor Panarin, and the Kremlin wouldn’t mind if you did, then President Barack Obama will order martial law this year, the U.S. will split into six rump-states before 2011, and Russia and China will become the backbones of a new world order.

Panarin might be easy to ignore but for the fact that he is a dean at the Foreign Ministry’s school for future diplomats and a regular on Russia’s state-guided TV channels. And his predictions fit into the anti-American story line of the Kremlin leadership.

“There is a high probability that the collapse of the United States will occur by 2010,” Panarin told dozens of students, professors and diplomats Tuesday at the Diplomatic Academy — a lecture the ministry pointedly invited The Associated Press and other foreign media to attend.

The prediction from Panarin, a former spokesman for Russia’s Federal Space Agency and reportedly an ex-KGB analyst, meshes with the negative view of the U.S. that has been flowing from the Kremlin in recent years, in particular from Vladimir Putin.

Putin, the former president who is now prime minister, has likened the United States to Nazi Germany’s Third Reich and blames Washington for the global financial crisis that has pounded the Russian economy.

Panarin didn’t give many specifics on what underlies his analysis, mostly citing newspapers, magazines and other open sources.

He also noted he had been predicting the demise of the world’s wealthiest country for more than a decade now.

But he said the recent economic turmoil in the U.S. and other “social and cultural phenomena” led him to nail down a specific timeframe for “The End” — when the United States will break up into six autonomous regions and Alaska will revert to Russian control.

Panarin argued that Americans are in moral decline, saying their great psychological stress is evident from school shootings, the size of the prison population and the number of gay men.

Turning to economic woes, he cited the slide in major stock indexes, the decline in U.S. gross domestic product and Washington’s bailout of banking giant Citigroup as evidence that American dominance of global markets has collapsed.

“I was there recently and things are far from good,” he said. “What’s happened is the collapse of the American dream.”

Panarin insisted he didn’t wish for a U.S. collapse, but he predicted Russia and China would emerge from the economic turmoil stronger and said the two nations should work together, even to create a new currency to replace the U.S. dollar.

Asked for comment on how the Foreign Ministry views Panarin’s theories, a spokesman said all questions had to be submitted in writing and no answers were likely before Wednesday.

It wasn’t clear how persuasive the 20-minute lecture was. One instructor asked Panarin whether his predictions more accurately describe Russia, which is undergoing its worst economic crisis in a decade as well as a demographic collapse that has led some scholars to predict the country’s demise.

Panarin dismissed that idea: “The collapse of Russia will not occur.”

But Alexei Malashenko, a scholar-in-residence at the Carnegie Moscow Center who did not attend the lecture, sided with the skeptical instructor, saying Russia is the country that is on the verge of disintegration.

“I can’t imagine at all how the United States could ever fall apart,” Malashenko told the AP.

(AP)

Email Picture

Besides, Dyson added in a humorous aside, a post-racial society would lose black icons. “You want to give up Stevie Wonder? That would make Stevie Wonder Frank Sinatra!”

Jackson urged the audience to pay close attention to whether federal anti-recession stimulus funds help community banks and small businesses in black neighborhoods, not just mega-sized financial conglomerates. “Will the money get down to the bottom?” he asked, from a platform that was decorated with symbols of the convention’s corporate sponsors, including Wells Fargo and ExxonMobil.

Most of the audience members were Democrats enthusiastic about Obama, who sent a videotaped greeting to the convention. Yet Steele, the first African American elected as GOP national chairman, said he did not think twice about presenting Republican concerns about deficits and jobs. “This is not a hostile engagement for me at all. This is a chance for me to share a different perspective that exists in the black community,” said Steele, a former lieutenant governor of Maryland.

Among the attendees was Daudi Blackwood, an actor from Hollywood, who wanted to focus on issues “that concern the black culture and how that relates to society.” He too said Obama’s election was a happy but also challenging moment. “It means now that there are no more excuses. If an African American man can become president, that kind of lets other people know that they don’t have limits now” in pursuing career and other goals, he said.

Miriam Quates-Jackson of West Los Angeles, who works in accounting, brought her 5-year-old son, Jonathan, to the convention. She wanted him “to experience the positiveness in the black community. That’s very important to me,” she said.

larry.gordon@latimes.com
(latimes.com)

No matter how many times I see pictures like the one above hit the Japanese media, it seems like “some” people here still don’t get it! Previously there was uproar over the Tokyo Metropolitan Government discriminatory depictions of blacks in their Earthquake Pamphlet, corporations using racist language and imagery in advertising and of course a few music groups using blackface during their performances. I guess with the current Obama boom in Japan, some of these soccer players need a  swift kick in the balls to reach the goal of having a clue! Oops! I meant no offense, it was done in jest. By the way Nissan, next time be sure to check the oil!

Japan Probe writes: “Dan writes to let us know about a shocking encounter at an event for Japanese soccer fans:

On January 31st, the J.League Division 1 team Yokohama F. Marinos held “Tricolore Festa”, a party for its supporters. Events included speeches, meet-and-greets, open practices, and skits performed by the
plays to the amusement of all.

http://www.f-marinos.com/tools/page_store/news_3187.html

I’ll, um, let you scroll down to the bottom and figure out what’s wrong with this picture.

A Gosperats impression, or some other form of African imitation?

Those who wish to complaint can do so by contacting the e-mail address on their site.”

(http://www.blacktokyo.com)

President Bush was given an Iraqi-journalist-style sendoff on his last full day in office Monday, as tourists and demonstrators lobbed shoes, pumps, boots, sandals and Crocs from Pennsylvania Avenue onto the White House lawn.

Before launching the operation live, the shoe-chuckers took target practice in Dupont Circle on a 20-foot-tall blow up doll of the outgoing president, decked out in the flight suit he wore aboard the “Mission Accomplished” aircraft carrier.

Unlike Muntazer al-Zaidi, the Iraqi reporter who inspired the protest, none of the shoe-throwers in the group were arrested. (Later that day, reports NBC, one man was arrested for chucking a shoe at the White House.)

Marching down Connecticut Avenue with handfuls of footwear, the group of about a hundred was on the receiving end of enthusiastic honks, thumbs-up and waves from people in the street.

The reception was almost as warm from the people guarding the White House.

“Don’t hit me!” one officer behind the White House fence joked as shoes rained around him.

Tracey Primavera, a shoe-lobber from Provincetown, Massachusetts, shouted at the guard that she had a pump that would look nice on him.

“I tried that. It didn’t look good on me,” yelled back the officer. Primavera tossed him the pump anyway.

Tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue picked up shoes and lobbed them at the White House as well. “A lot of random people joined in,” noted one organizer, David Swanson. “Everybody wanted to be photographed with an “Arrest Bush” sign.

The tourists also joined a spontaneous chorus that formed. On the night of the election, thousands of people swarmed the White House and sang the old sports classic, “Hey, Hey, Hey, Goodbye.” The song made a reappearance Monday, as did a number of tunes apparently written for the occasion, with lyrics such as “Hang down your head, George Bush/Hang down your head in shame,” and “Take him to the Hague” — the latter sung to the tune of “Working on the Railroad.”

The target practice on the giant Bush doll began around 11:00 in the morning and was still going five hours later, as thousands of people walking through the circle stopped to pick up a shoe and wing it at the outgoing president. Some threw fastballs like al-Zaidi. Others tied several together in an attempt to land them on Bush’s long Pinocchio-esque nose. Children took part. (”Okay. One more shoe, kids,” said one parent.) Some folks simply walked up to the doll and kicked it in the shins. It fell over at one point and people rushed it, beating it with shoes.

Still others, like al-Zaidi, missed.

“Ah! I missed!” yelled Sharon Kerr, in town from Austin, Texas, after chucking wide of her presidential mark. She said that she felt a little like the Iraqi reporter for missing. But she noted in his defense, “He had people blocking him.”

Kerr began to leave the circle but stopped. “I’m gonna go one more time. I’m gonna nail him this time,” she said before winding up and striking him cleanly in the belt.

Cheryl Upshaw, in from Atlanta and sporting a full-length fur coat, hit the Bush doll high on the shoulder. “I was really trying to aim for his heart,” said Upshaw, a registered nurse who owns a home healthcare agency. The throw was cathartic, she said, and it seemed to relieve some of her anger.

“It’s not that I hate him,” she clarified. “I don’t hate him personally. I hate what he has done to this country.”

Medea Benjamin, a cofounder of the antiwar group CODEPINK, said the protest was a way to “get the Bush era out of your intestines.”

“I was a little reluctant because I want to be in a positive mood,” she said. “I don’t want to be seen as doing something violent. The shoe-throwing is borderline, but the intent is to insult, not to hurt. There’s a fine line.”

Once all the shoes had been tossed onto the White House lawn, the officers collected them and piled them into the back of a small truck. “The next person who throws them gets arrested,” said one, though the entire pile had already been thrown.

As the protesters headed back toward Dupont Circle, a Secret Service agent left them with a parting observation.

“You all won,” he said.

(Photo credit: James Sappington)

(http://www.huffingtonpost.com)

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Despite a bleak economic environment featuring wide-ranging layoffs and rising unemployment, the nation’s premier law enforcement agency is touting “one of the largest hiring blitzes in our 100-year history.”

The FBI is about to embark on its biggest hiring spree since immediately after the September 11, 2001.

The FBI posted openings for 850 special agents and more than 2,100 professional support personnel. Officials say it’s the largest FBI job posting since immediately after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

The FBI’s unexpectedly large number of job openings results more from attrition and a wave of retirements than from growing government appropriations, Bureau officials told CNN.

The FBI routinely advertises openings for individuals with critical skills in computer science and language fluency. But John Raucci, assistant director of the FBI’s Human Resources Division, says current needs are much more wide-ranging.

“We’re also looking for professionals in a wide variety of fields who have a deep desire to help protect our nation from terrorists, spies and others who wish us harm,” Raucci said.

The lengthy list of openings includes positions in finance and accounting, security, intelligence analysis, training and education, nursing and counseling, physical surveillance, electrical engineering, physical and social sciences, and auto mechanics.

Procedures for applying and a full listing of available positions are posted on the Web site fbijobs.gov.

“This is a great time to apply for a great job in the FBI,” said the bureau’s chief spokesman, Richard Kolko.

Officials note at least a few jobs are currently available in every one of the FBI’s 56 field offices across the nation.

The FBI lists openings throughout the year, but seldom has anything close to the current number of available positions.

The present job postings expire on January 16, but a new, possibly smaller set of openings will be posted shortly thereafter, the agency said.

(http://www.cnn.com)

Two German children - aged five and six - have been stopped by police from eloping to Africa to tie the knot in the sun, reports say.

The three were trying to travel without passports or money

The budding lovebirds, identified as Mika and Anna-Lena, packed bathing costumes, sunglasses and a lilo and headed for the airport.

They even had the presence of mind to invite along an official witness - Anna-Lena’s seven-year-old sister.

The three got as far as Hanover railway station before police intervened.

The young couple were “very much in love” and had decided to get married in Africa “where it is warm”, police spokesman Holger Jureczko told the AFP news agency.

Sun-seekers

The idea for the getaway wedding was born as the children’s families celebrated New Year’s eve together and Mika regaled the two girls with stories of a recent holiday to Italy.

The following morning, as their parents slept, the intrepid trio walked 1km (0.6 miles) to the local tram station at Langenhagen, where they hopped aboard a tram for Hanover central station.

But the group aroused the suspicion of a guard as they waited for a train to the airport, and police were called in.

Officers persuaded the children they would not get far without tickets and money, but consoled them with a free tour of the police station, where they were shortly picked up by relieved parents.

Although any marriage plans have been put on hold for now, police did not altogether rule out the possibility of an African wedding.

“They can still put their plan into action at a later date,” AFP quoted the spokesman as saying.

Source:BBC Europe

Two thousand eight has been a year of global crises. All are interlinked and all are a severe threat to international stability.

The fuel crisis earlier this year caused prices for oil and petroleum to rocket. The food crisis, triggered by a combination of climatic shocks (mainly droughts) and local food inflation, has driven millions of people into poverty and famine.

And, most recently, the financial crisis hit global economies, prompting world leaders to pour more than €2,000 billion into their banks to stabilize the international financial system. Strangely enough, the very same countries are now having difficulties in sticking to their donor commitments and raising €100 billion a year for development aid.

Take a closer look at the figures involved: the US mobilised close to a trillion dollars in guarantees and bailout funds, and the UK rescue package is at least £400 billion. By comparison, it is estimated that we could eradicate world poverty for over two years with €700 billion of development aid.

Many of the most vulnerable countries are strongly dependent on official development assistance (ODA), but predictions foresee a slowdown of up to 30 percent in development assistance due to the economic crisis. In 2007, ODA amounted to $117.5 billion, with half coming from the European Union and its 27 member-states, making it the largest ODA provider by some measure. But despite being a donor leader, in the same year the EU found it increasingly hard to respect its commitment, experiencing a slight downward trend in development aid.

The financial crisis came at a moment when developing countries were already desperately battling to contain food shortages and high fuel prices. Hunger riots in Haiti, the Ivory Coast and Cameroon in early 2008 are testament to the fact that extreme poverty and famine catalyze distress and violence. The worldwide distribution of financial resources has never before been as unequal, with 10 percent of the global population currently holding more than 80 percent of the wealth, while the poorest half has just 1 percent or 2 percent.

Though the economic crisis began in the world’s richest country, its spillover effects will be most tangible in the developing world. Besides cuts in foreign-aid investment, the credit crunch will have major effects on remittances. In countries such as Zimbabwe and Somalia, money sent by relatives working abroad is a lifeline for millions of people, and often their only source of livelihood.

The economic recession has highlighted once again that our current financial architecture is fragile and no longer meets today’s demands. International calls for restructuring the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are certainly overdue. However, such reforms must be implemented with particular care and caution so that sustainable economic growth and shared prosperity are guaranteed.

The voting shares within the IMF basically reflect the socioeconomic imbalances in the world. Emerging countries do not have much influence within the IMF and, consequently, can hardly steer the decision-making process.

As an illustration of this, more votes are accorded to Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands than to Brazil, China and India. Given the major role the IMF plays in the developing world, a redistribution of voting shares is inevitable. At the recent G-20 summit, the only African country offered a seat at the table was South Africa. This must change. I strongly believe the African Union must be adequately represented, so that they are able to speak on behalf of millions of people.

Trade liberation is another vital factor in increasing economic growth and sustainability in developing countries, which, at the same time, can have a positive impact on regional integration, as well as governance. In this respect, it is of paramount importance to conclude the ongoing Doha Development Agenda of the World Trade Organization, taking into consideration the different interests and needs of developing countries.

Against this backdrop, one should also think of new sources for financing development aid. Just one example is the long-discussed Tobin tax, a tax levied at each exchange of a currency. This should be the starting point of a debate to find solutions to find the “ways and means” for additional funding for urgent international needs which are independent from donations.

The financial crisis has been a shock for world economies, but it can also be the spark to illuminate new ideas and thinking for development policy. As much damage as this crisis may have caused the world, it gives us a unique historical opportunity to create a system that reflects much better the needs of developing countries. Once put in place, globalization and capitalism can again function as instruments of freedom and emancipation for sustainable and shared prosperity.

Louis Michel is the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid.

(http://businessmirror.com.ph)

WE are resolved as an administration, not resort to quick methods and short-cuts in approaching fundamental problems which require methodical and sustainable solutions.—President Yar’Adua on independence anniversary

When things go well, people call me Gordon. When they’re bad, they call me Mr Brown. At the moment, they are calling me Gordon. — British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

It’s hard to tell where the floor will be. — Peter Spencer, economics professor at University of York, as sterling slumps to record low against euro.

While we’re still the US sales leader, we acknowledge we have disappointed you. — General Motors, in full-page ad in ‘Automotive News’.

Mr president-elect, I’m proud to join you in what will be a difficult and exciting adventure. — Hillary Clinton agrees to serve as Barack Obama’s secretary of state.

To ensure prosperity here at home and peace abroad, we all share the belief we have to maintain the strongest military on the planet. — Barack Obama.

Money can be a burden. That’s why I got stressed last year. I had a massive house that I couldn’t control or clean. — Carly Zucker, 24, girlfriend of Chelsea soccer player Joe Cole, on ‘I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!’

He is like some sherry-crazed old dowager who has lost the family silver at roulette, and who now decides to double up by betting the house as well. — London Mayor Boris Johnson on UK PM Gordon Brown.

I can’t go to my old barber shop now. I’ve gotta have my barber come to some undisclosed location to cut my hair. — US President-elect on adjusting to his and his family’s new reality and the “certain lonliness to the job” of president.

Will I be able to have children? — Hitler’s first question to the doctor who saved his life after a groin injury in the WWI Battle of the Somme. A recently discovered manuscript of a conversation between the doctor and Hitler’s priest confirmed the rumor that Hitler lost a testicle in the fight.

I have said repeatedly that America doesn’t torture and I’m going to make sure that we don’t torture. Those are part and parcel an effort to regain America’s moral stature in the world. — Barack Obama.

I haven’t been doing enough exercise. I have let things slide— Camilla, Dutchess of Cornwall, reveals she has let herself go since getting married to Princes Charles.

It will never work with all those Huns, wops and dagos.— Britain’s Queen Mother on the EU, quoted by BBC man Edward Stourton in his book ‘It’s a PC World’.

I’ve been sleeping like a baby: sleep two hours, wake up and cry, sleep two hours, wake up and cry. — John McCain, asked how he was doing by Jay Leno on ‘The Tonight Show’, in first interview after his defeat in US presidential election.

I’m like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I’m like, don’t let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is. — Sarah Palin, hoping God will show her the door to the White House in 2012.

If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. — Barack Obama, in victory speech in US presidential election in home state of Chicago, November 4, 2008.

Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place. — Nelson Mandela, former South African president, in letter to Barack Obama on being elected the 44th President of the United States.

Unbelievable! Obama’s coming - make way!” — Mwai Kibaki, Kenyan president, on Barack Obama’s election win, which led Kibaki to declare a national holiday on the Thursday in honor of the President-elect.

I don’t know if I will die of happiness.— Sarah Obama, celebrating her grandson’s victory in the US presidential election, from her home in the village of Kogelo, Kenya.

If some people don’t have a sense of humor, then it’s their problem. — Silvio Berlusconi, Italian prime minister, after being criticized for commenting that president-elect Barack Obama would work well with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev because Obama is “young, handsome and sun-tanned”.

We are in the midst of a once-in-a-century credit tsumani. Central banks and governments are being required to take unprecedented measures. Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders’ equity are in a state of shocked disbelief. — Former US Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, on global financial meltdown.

Not since the first world war has our banking system been so close to collapse. The long march to boredom and stability starts tonight. — Mervyn King, governor of Bank of England, saying people face a long journey through recession.

I ain’t got time to die. — Ann Nixon Cooper, 106, of Atlanta, Georgia, on living through the years when African-Americans and women couldn’t vote to now, a time where Barack Obama is running for president.

Your company is now bankrupt, our economy is now in a state of crisis, but you get to keep $480 million. I have a very basic question for you: Is this fair? — Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, questioning Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld over the bank’s collapse.

Nations once rich in faith and vocations are losing their own identity under the harmful and destructive influence of a certain modern culture. — Pope Benedict XVI, criticizing modern life and greed at a meeting of bishops in Rome on Oct. 5.

The reality is we’re in an urgent situation and the consequences will get bigger each day we do not act. — US President George Bush, on efforts to resurrect the $700 billion financial rescue package.

He’ll be up there with Churchill. — Cherie Blair on how history will judge her husband and former British prime minister Tony Blair.

Don’t blow it up. — US treasury secretary Henry Paulson on bended knee, to Democratic Party House speaker Nancy Pelosi, pleading for her to back $700bn Wall Street bailout.

I have signed this agreement because my belief in Zimbabwe and its peoples runs deeper than the scars I bear from the struggle … and because my hope for the future is greater than the grief for the needless suffering of the past years. We deserve a better life; a life without fear, hunger, poverty and oppression. — Morgan Tsvangirai, the incoming prime minister of Zimbabwe.

You can put lipstick on a pig. It’s still a pig. — US presidential candidate Barack Obama in what sounded like an attack on Republican vice-president nominee Sarah Palin.

No way. No how. No McCain. Barack Obama is my candidate. And he must be president.— Hillary Clinton backs Obama at convention.

In international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule for others. — Russian president Dmitri Medvedev on recognizing independence of Georgia’s breakaway regions, saying the West set a precedent by treating Kosovo the same way.

I hope the nation and the people will forgive my mistakes. — Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf in his resignation speech.

If they knew the plane was faulty, why did they let it fly? — A relative of one of the 153 passengers killed in the Spanair crash at Madrid airport.

Eat, sleep and swim. That’s all I can do. — Olympic champion Michael Phelps explains the secret of his success, a lot of eggs in a 12,000 calories a day diet.

This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia, where Russia can invade its neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it. Things have changed. — Condoleezza Rice on military clashes between Russia and Georgia.

That wrinkly white-haired guy used me in his campaign ad, which means I’m running for President. So thanks for the endorsement white-haired dude, and I want America to know I’m, like, totally ready to lead. — Paris Hilton lampoons a John McCain US presidential campaign video using her image.

I respected him, and he respected me. — Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Hamdan, tells a military court he never suspected bin Laden was involved in terrorism until after the 9/11 attacks.

It is now unimaginable to many people that this court could acquit me. I believe that this fact seriously jeopardises the trial itself. — On trial at UN war crimes tribunal, former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic says he is victim of media witchhunt.

Sugar is responsible for a lot of deaths. Arguably more than crack cocaine. — Guy Ritchie, who is married to Madonna.

Wall Street got drunk and now it’s got a hangover. And the question is how long will it sober up and not try to do those fancy financial instruments? — US president George Bush ponders America’s financial services meltdown.

Thank God my brother is alive and healthy. He has lost weight but he is normal and reasonable. He knows whether or not he is guilty. — Luka Karadzic, brother of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, arrested for war crimes.

Too often (the Church) is weighted down and burdened with the sins and failings of her children; too often she appears disfigured and discouraged. — Pope Benedict XVI.

Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises.— Pope Benedict XVI on the perils of materialism.

Many things that happened in the jungle we have to leave in the jungle.— Former hostage Ingrid Betancourt, refuses to discuss certain details about her six years of captivity in jungles of Colombia.

If I see something sagging, bagging and dragging, I’m going to nip it, tuck it and suck it.— Dolly Parton reveals her anti-aging procedure.

What is so special is that you spend 27 years in prison, you come out and you do the thing that everyone thought was impossible to do, become president of the nation and change the way people feel agbhout Africa. — Oprah Winfrey to Nelson Mandela on his 90th birthday.

We have seen the outbreak of violence against fellow Africans in our own country and the tragic failure of leadership in our neighboring Zimbabwe. — Nelson Mandela speaks out against Robert Mugabe.

We are not going to give up our country because of a mere X. How can a ballpoint fight with a gun? — Zimbabwe’s president Robert Mugabe hints he will cling to power, whatever the outcome of the election for president.:
I think that, in retrospect, I could have used a different rhetoric. Phrases such as ‘bring them on’ or ‘dead or alive’ indicated to people that I was, you know, not a man of peace. — US President George W Bush regrets being so hawkish over Iraq.

He didn’t like the nose.— Courtroom sketch artist Janet Hamlin on the response of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks, after he saw a sketch of himself.

This may be the last day I’m ever involved in a campaign of this kind. — Bill Clinton, husband of US presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, on the eve of what political pundits anticipate to be her withdrawal from the Democratic campaign.

The so-called international misers theory is totally unfounded. — China’s commerce minister Chen Deming, refuting Chinese netizens’ claim that multinational corporations such as Nokia and McDonald’s donated little to help Sichuan earthquake victims. According to Chinese Internet portal Sina.com, corporations have donated or pledged more than $1 billion.

Those 20 envelopes won’t shake up German democracy. — Spokesman for Deutsche Post after stamps depicting Nazi leader Rudolf Hess are accidentally issued.

I wish for the recovery of my daughter Kerstin, the love of my children, the protection of my family and for people with heart and compassion. — Elisabeth Fritzl, the Austrian woman kept as a sex slave by her father for 24 years thanks people for their support in a handwritten message on a notice board in the square of her home town.

We have lit the torch on top of the world.— Climber on Chinese mountaineering team that took Olympic flame to top Mount Everest.

I am not a monster. I could have killed them all, and no one would have known. — Josef Fritzl, 73, the Austrian man who fathered seven children with daughter he imprisoned in a cellar for 24 years.

Every US President has to have a war.— Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet president, claiming the US military buildup risks leading to a new cold war with Russia.

Some of the comments that Rev Wright has made offend me, and I understand why they offend the American people. He does not speak for me. He does not speak for the American people. — Barack Obama on his old pastor.

My own years as a teenager were marred by a sinister regime that thought it had all the answers. Its influence grew, infiltrating schools and civil bodies as well as politics and even religion, before it was recognized for the monster it was.— Pope Benedict XVI on Nazism, speaking to seminarians and young people at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, New York, during his first papal visit to the US.

In the US and Europe over the last year we’ve been focused on the prices of gasoline at the pump. While many worry about filling their gas tanks, many others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs. And it’s getting more and more difficult every day. — IMF chief Robert Zoellick.

Sometimes I think that when people become famous, there’s a public perception that they are not human beings any more. — Writer Salmon Rushdie.

The evidence provided no basis whatsoever in suggesting that (Prince Philip) was involved in killing his daughter-in-law. One of the regrettable features of this case is the number of people who have told lies in the witness box or elsewhere. — Lord Justice Scott Baker, presiding at the Princess Diana Inquest.

I do not think that is any of your business. — Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton, asked if her mother’s credibility was damaged during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Within me, there is a charitable disposition.— President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe denies he is a tyrant.

They can examine my pulse, my urine, my stool, everything. — The Dalai Lama invites Chinese authorities to investigate whether he was behind the rioting in Tibet.

They say fags and booze are bad for you - but I’m still here.— Britain’s oldest employee Buster Martin, aged 101, after running a half marathon.

(http://www.vanguardngr.com)

(sockandawe.com)

China increased its holdings of US treasury securities by $65.9 billion in October, consolidating its place as the No 1 holder of American debt, according to the Treasury’s latest report on international capital flows.

It was China’s largest monthly increase this year, pushing the country’s total holdings to $652.9 billion, compared with $587 billion at the end of September, when it replaced Japan to become the top holder of US debt.

The continual increases in US debt holdings in recent months have triggered fierce domestic debate, as the country has channeled almost a third of its $2 trillion of foreign exchange reserves into US treasury securities.

Wei Weixian, economist with the University of International Business and Economics, believes it “is a fairly acceptable option”.

With US treasuries recently gaining investor favor, their yields have been on the decline; but in the long term, they are still a relatively safe investment for China, Wei said.

“Despite the financial crisis, the US economy remains the strongest, providing back-up for the treasury securities,” he added.

He also pointed out that China does not have many options to deploy its massive amounts of foreign exchange reserves.

For example, China pulled $200 billion out of its foreign exchange reserves to set up China Investment Corporation (CIC) to diversify investment, but CIC has incurred heavy losses in its investment in the US private equity firm Blackstone due to the tumbling international financial markets. CIC has since said it would be more cautious in investment abroad.

Guo Tianyong, economist with the Central University of Finance and Economics, also believes the US treasury debt has relatively low risks and good liquidity.

Moreover, it is not out of the realm of belief that Beijing and Washington may have reached a tacit consensus that China helps stabilize the American markets by increasing the purchases of US securities, Guo said.

Opponents of the rising purchases of US securities cite the possibility that Washington may be financially unable to pay back the money in the future, as it has to issue a lot more debt to finance its ailing financial markets.

As China piles up more US debt, it would also be a problem to sell it later as sales would affect returns on its existing dollar assets, analysts said.

Japan remained the second largest holder with a total of $585.5 billion, up by $12.3 billion in October. The UK is third with $360 billion.

US Treasury data show that net foreign purchases of long-term US securities in October decreased by $34.8 billion while foreign holdings of dollar-denominated US securities, including treasury bills and other custody liabilities, increased $92.4 billion.

International investors have opted to cut holdings of long-term debt while increasing short-term holdings, the data shows, which analysts ascribe to long-term economic uncertainties in the US.

In another development, central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan said yesterday that more interest rates cuts may be possible this month as economic indicators in November pointed to a weakening national economy. “From now until the beginning of next year, there is pressure on interest rate cuts,” he said in Hong Kong.
(Chinadairly)

It’s hard to find something not impacted by our current financial crisis. Here are 12 examples of what the recession means for specific things, from Spam to sex addiction.

1. Spam

It looks like meat, it tastes like meat, but it’s a far cheaper substitute for meat. It’s Spam! And it’s booming. Though Hormel’s share price has fallen with the overall market, Spam sales are soaring as the economic crisis leaves consumers strapped for cash. Interestingly enough, Spam, the “crazy tasty” mix of ham, pork, sugar, salt, potato starch and a sodium nitrite, was invented during the Great Depression and became a staple for Allied troops overseas in the 1940s.

2. Marriage and Divorce

Breaking up is hard to do, especially in this economy. While it may be too early to know the impact of the crisis on divorce rates, it appears divorces may have slowed down since the financial crisis began. That’s because despite most arguments being over financial issues, it may just be too expensive to pay the legal fees of a divorce and support two households. In fact, during the Great Depression, divorce rates dropped sharply, though they picked back up immediately thereafter.

3. Recycling

The plunge in commodity prices has taken a toll on recyclers. In fact, the whole movement may come to a halt as oil and metal prices fall. Used newspaper, used cardboard, and scrap metal prices have also seen a drop, partially due to dwindling home construction and slower automobile production. Some recyclers are closing their doors, and in the UK entire city councils are abandoning their recycling efforts, as they are no longer economically feasible.

4. Psychics

“There is no rhyme or reason to the way the market is trading,” says a personal trader. “When conditions are this volatile, consulting a psychic can be as good a strategy as any other.” Psychics, astrologers, palm readers and “professional advice-givers” say business is booming as clients come to them seeking financial guidance. Clients will typically pay $75 to $1000 for an hour’s worth of insight!

5. Holiday Parties

Just as you suspected, companies are cutting back on their holiday galas. ABC News announced the cancellation of its annual celebration. American Express did the same and then some – announcing the cancellation of 2009’s celebration as well.

But what about the caterers? 56% of party planners say that their corporate holiday party numbers will be off more than 10% this year compared to last. They’re scrambling to come up with innovative, more somber types of gatherings like luncheons, pot-lucks, and receptions rather than galas, caviar, and glam.

6. Used Car Sales

The used car business is flourishing! Specifically, used car companies that offer buy-here/pay-here financing for lower credit individuals who have been locked out of traditional lending.

But if used isn’t your thing, it may still be a decent time to buy new. That’s because even steady growth car makers like Honda and Toyota have seen 24% and 32% declines, respectively. Car dealers are desperate to get rid of inventory and are offering invoice and below invoice prices. Look for dealers that have a lot of inventory, because they’ll likely offer the best deals.

7. Iceland Tourism

Looking for a good holiday or spring trip? Look to Iceland!

Once an economic success story, this small country is now, well, bankrupt. If you were attune to Fannie and Freddie and the big Wall Street break-up, you may have missed Iceland’s fall. Its three largest banks were oversized and highly leveraged, and seemed ready for collapse in early October. Iceland’s currency, the krona, is essentially valueless, and foreign trade has come to a halt. Luckily, the IMF and its Nordic neighbors have stepped in, lending $2.1 billion and $2.5 billion respectively to help the country recover.

But tourism appears to be on the rise. Airfare search engines report a 400% increase in Iceland flight searches. A recent search of round-trip flights from New York found tickets at a record low of $471.

8. College Endowments

Ivy League schools aren’t immune to the financial crisis. Since many college endowments are invested in alternative asset classes, which have lost value, they’re seeing unprecedented losses. Many college and university endowments are projected to have decreased by 30% this fiscal year. For Harvard, that may mean an $11 billion drop.

That may mean a decrease in financial aid – especially because lenders can no longer sell their securitized loans in the secondary market to get new money to offer new student loans. Despite Congress’ Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which authorizes the Education Department to buy federal student loans from education lenders for the 2008-09 and 2009-10 school years, there’s a chance financial aid may fall short.

9. Lipstick & Hosiery Sales

The Lipstick Indicator is an economic theory proposed by Leonard Lauder, the chairman of Estée Lauder Companies. The theory states that a direct relation exists between rising sales in tubes of lipstick and a falling financial market – the worse the economy, the more women indulge in small purchases, like $10 tubes of lipstick. There are conflicting reports as to whether Lauder’s theory is holding up this downturn. Perhaps hosiery sales will supplant lipstick as the indicator of choice. Overall hosiery sales rose 2.3% this year, with Spanx seeing a 77% increase in sales compared to last year.

10. NASCAR

Very few sports have been hit harder by the economic crisis than NASCAR. From ticket sales to souvenir sales to team sponsorship from large companies, racing is reeling. That’s because an average NASCAR team relies on corporate sponsors for 80% of its budget. That’s four times the percentage of an NFL franchise’s budget. And many of those corporate sponsors, including the Big Three – GM spent $578M in sports advertising in 2007, including NASCAR – are facing high-profile hard times of their own. As a result, some NASCAR teams, including Chip Ganassi Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc., have merged in an attempt to attract corporate sponsors.

11. Personal Maintenance

According to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, gym memberships have been on the decline since 2007. There’s no sign that these former gymrats are instead opting for cosmetic surgery – 53% of plastic surgeons of the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery say business has slowed.

12. Sex & Sex Addiction

Will the financial crisis spark a baby boom? It just might. According to the Telegraph, sales of sex toys, pregnancy tests, maternity clothes, and baby equipment are soaring. But that’s not the only place sex may have increased. Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan psychotherapist, has seen a big jump in the number of Wall Street workers who seek help for the sex addictions. Apparently, the economic crisis has sparked “maladaptive coping mechanisms” among bankers, according to Jodi Conway, a sex addiction therapist in New Jersey.

(mentalfloss)

Ten years ago, out of curiosity he came to Beijing, the capital of China. During the past ten years, he witnessed the city’s tremendous changes. Meanwhile, he learnt fluent Chinese, fell in love with Chinese cross-talk and became one of China’s well-known foreign comic stars.
Today, as ten years has passed, as a doctoral graduate from Renmin University of China, he shared with us stories about his life in China. He is Maurice GOUNTIN from Benin, a country in Western Africa

When Maurice was a child,
the concept of China, in his mind, equalled Chinese Kongfu actor Li Xiaolong’s movies or those Chinese goods with “made in China” label. He still remembers that China’s cooling
ointment was a household medicine in Benin. He recalled, “When I had a fever or caught a cold, my mum just rubbed some cooling
ointment on our body,
symphony will be relieved.” At that time, it never occurred to him that he would
learn Chinese and come to China one day.

In 1996, Maurice became a college student in the National University of Benin where he specialized in English. It was when Maurice started his first year that his college offered a new second-foreign-language course, which was Chinese. Maurice applied for the course of German language, yet out of his curiosity, he was in the class of Chinese as well. Chinese is a remote and unfamiliar language to him since the official language of Benin is French and he chose English as his major. Therefore, Maurice made up a fake name when he registered in the Chinese class. He thought that using a fake name would help disappearing from the class when the complexity of be the language will start.

Maurice said, at the very beginning of his English study, his teacher told them it was quite easy to learn Chinese, since images of many characters resemble those objects from real world, like Chinese character “hill” and “bird”. The vivid pictographic Chinese characters gradually aroused Maurice’s passion in continuing his Chinese study. What’s more, he got the first place in a Chinese examination after learning Chinese for one month which hardened his resolution to
learn Chinese. Maurice finally gave up the German course and put his focus on Chinese course.

Maurice was hard-studying in Chinese language. He always ranked among the best. When his second school year ended, Maurice’s Chinese teacher recommended he come to China for further Chinese study to eventually teach Chinese after getting a degree. It would be a bright future for Maurice. Officials from People’s Republic of China Embassy in Benin and director in Benin’s Chinese Cultural Centre all contacted Maurice, willing to offer a four-year scholarship for him.

Having weighed all alternatives in his mind, Maurice made the final decision. It was without doubt a difficult one. He decided to come to China and had to give up a bachelor degree which he would obtain after his third year and a master degree at the end of the fourth year (based on French educational system). Beijing Language and Culture University became his first stop in China.

Before Maurice came to China, his understanding of this country was so restricted to Chinese ancient stories, the Revolution of 1911 and China’s influential figures like Sun Yat-sen, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek that he felt Chinese culture was distant and vague.
Maurice said when his
Chinese teacher taught in class that China’s Great Wall was more than 6000 thousand kilometers long, nobody believed.

“My classmates yelled “that’s just impossible. We couldn’t buy your story.” The very thought of my ignorance at that time almost makes me laugh.” Maurice said.
It was because of his lack of knowledge of China and fears of
Chinese language itself that Maurice thought before his set-out that his journey in China might be no more than three months. He said, “Chinese language is extremely subtle, like magic. I cannot believe people living in the other part of the world communicate in such a way.”

Maurice stepped on the soil of China in 1998. Unexpectedly it was a ten-year stay.

After his arrival in Beijing China, Maurice found what Beijing gifted him was more of a pleasant surprise. Maurice said, “Before I came to Beijing, I thought I would be very lonely there, hard to find people like me and just immersed in an ocean of Chinese people. Beyond my expectation, I saw so many people of all colors around me.”

Maurice put a lot of efforts into Chinese study in at school. He chose to register in a foundation class of Chinese and return to the starting point to solidify his foundations of Chinese. Through his hard work, Maurice still ranked first in Chinese examinations in his new class. His
Chinese teacher said to students who was from South Korea and Japan banteringly, “South Korea and Japan are a lot nearer to China and have many similarities in languages. Yet an African guy got the first place. Where have you been hanging out? ”

Since then, in order to keep on with his excellent results, Maurice redoubled his efforts. He made best use of every minute to practice Chinese. As time went on, his Chinese level was raised to a large degree.

On December 8th 2000, together with his schoolmate, an Irishman Richard Doran, Maurice performed a cross talk named “Eating Culture in Chinese” in the Beijing’s Overseas Student Theatrical Festival sponsored by the government. (Cross talk was a traditional Chinese show.)Their performance was highly praised and it also marked a starting point of Maurice’s ties with cross talk. During their rehearsal before their performance, their school teachers invited a famous Chinese cross talk actor Ding Guangquan to tutor them.

Afterwards, Mr. Ding asked whether Maurice and Richard whether will to be his apprentices to learn more cross talk.

At that time, Maurice even didn’t know what he would learn and what it was for. However, he thought to learn cross talk would benefit his Chinese study. Thus he took Mr. Ding’s suggestion and started his cross talk study.

He didn’t realize how hard the cross talk could be at the very beginning. Maurice said, “It is just because of our ignorance of cross talk that makes us get started. Otherwise, we won’t be engaged in it.”

Learning cross talk was a great opportunity for Maurice to improve his Chinese level. He learnt a lot of Chinese idioms and witticism from cross talk which made his expressions more natural, various and humorous.

Maurice often received performance invitations after he started learning cross talk, yet his studies at school weren’t disturbed. For him, studies at school were his mainline, but cross talk was no more than a hobby. Even if sometimes it was hard to refuse some performance invitations, Maurice would try to balance all alternatives to diminish their impact on studies.

During Maurice’s postgraduate studies, he was an all-subject-over-80 student. Before his postgraduate graduation, Maurice decided to give up his original plan to become a
Chinese teacher back Benin. And he went on with his further study in the realm of Sino-African relations. He hoped to become a bridge builder to link China and
Africa. Through his hard

work, Maurice got admission to Remin University of China to pursue a doctoral degree majoring China’s contemporary diplomacy. Moreover, he obtained one of 50 scholarships for outstanding overseas students in China granted by China’s government per year.

In this June, Maurice got his doctoral degree and he delivered a speech on behalf of all overseas students in Remin University of China at graduation ceremony. Maurice said, “The more I’ve learnt, the richer I felt Chinese culture is. Though a doctoral degree is in my hand, I still feel there’s a lot more to learn.”

When it comes to the reason why Maurice chose to study for a doctoral degree, he said that links between Africa and China had been tightened since 2000. And there was still room for improvement in regard to the way of communication between Africa and China. People from Africa and China should deepen the understandings of each other. He hoped to contribute to the development of the bilateral relationship and to become a person whose words carry weight.

Maurice said, at present, a great number of Africans still read translated versions to get knowledge of China. Such books could be distorted or even written by some experts who lacked understandings of China. Maurice thought we were in need of those experts who had deep understandings of both African and Chinese cultures and got experiences of living in two areas. A good grasp of current economic and social trends in Africa and China and a speciality in international relations would add more weight to one’s words.

Maurice said, “You cannot fool me in the field of African and Chinese cultures,I’ve experienced both and also have deep academic knowledge about them.” He was confident that with his academic knowledge and rich experience in Africa and China he would help push forward Sino-African relations.

Maurice added that the image of China became clearer and clearer in eyes of Beninese. There were only 56 students in Maurice’s Chinese class when he was studying in the National University of Benin. However, in these days more than two hundred students chose Chinese as their second language. Apart from the National University of Benin, other schools also set up Chinese courses and more and more people developed their interest in China.

“There’s no enough time for any astonishment since China develops so fast. As China’s international status rises, compared with the year of 1998, African people’s understanding of China is totally another story. Especially after Beijing winning the bid for Olympics and China’s entry into WTO in 2001, China’s success in launching Shenzhou No. 5 manned spaceship in 2003 and the opening of Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006, people from all around the world, especially African people have seen the distance between us shorted.”

Maurice said, “In recent years, China’s aid programs boomed like building stadiums, paving a road and other projects. And more Beninese are familiar with China nowadays.”

In recent years, more and more African art troupes come to China to put on their performance. China also invited art troupes from different countries in the world to perform in Beijing in order to increase each other’s understandings.

Maurice said that China set up a number of cultural centers in Africa which focused on the spread of Chinese traditional culture like traditional Chinese paintings, acrobatics, calligraphies and Beijing Opera.

In Maurice’s viewpoint, highlights of Chinese traditional culture were appreciable for its vitality and profundity. “But Chinese traditional culture is so profound and complex that you feel a liking for it but feel hard to get close,” Maurice said, “If we can start with superficial and common layer of culture and then gradually deepen it, the effect of spreading of culture might better.”

“Beijing Opera troupes once performed in Africa, but most African couldn’t identify themselves with such style of performance. Instead, they thought make-up of Chinese actors was strange. It might produce a reverse effect, widening gaps between Africa and China.”
Maurice added, if Chinese people could perform African’s favorite street dance with Chinese elements, starting from the commonness of two cultures, it could produce a sense of warmth among African people. They could felt we were similar which would break down the Africans’ fearfulness towards Chinese culture.

Maurice also mentioned, large-scale evening party between Africa and China was rare. He thought China could invite famous African and Chinese singers and actors to perform on the same stage to improve our friendship. He had a special liking for the song named “In the Distant Place” sung by Chinese singer Han Hong and African man Hao Ge in 07’ Spring Festival Evening.

On the part of Africa, they should put more efforts in bringing African cultural elements to China. “Africa has more than 50 nations. Most of them have embassies and cultural counselors in China, but we saw few symbol to represent African cultures on the soil of China, according to my knowledge, no symbol at all,” Maurice said, “If African people could run Cultural centers in China including African-flavor restaurants, African art works like woodcarvings to China for exhibition, it would produce good effects to better Chinese people’s understandings of African cultures.”

Maurice thought there was not too much work left for embassies, rather non-governmental communication between Africa and China should been strengthened. “There’s too much to be done.”

When it turned to the topic of “image crisis of China”, Maurice said, “The image of China is in a transitional period. We cannot expect everything to be perfect. As it goes, to make an omelet, you have to first break the egg.”