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Natascha's Friends
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Kenya on Monday confirmed the first case of Swine Flu
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 NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 29 - Kenya on Monday confirmed the first case of Swine Flu involving 20-year-old British student who is on a field trip in Kisumu. Public Health Minister Beth Mugo broke the news on Monday, saying that the patient may have had contact with the initial suspected case that turned negative on Saturday in Nairobi.
“The patient has been quarantined at a hotel in Kisumu,” she told a press conference at her Afya House office.
On Saturday a suspected case of Swine Flu in Kenya tested negative after momentarily spreading panic across Nairobi.
Ministry of Public Health officials said tests conducted at the Kenya Medical Research Institute – based Centre for Disease Control produced no traces of the H1N1 influenza virus.
Samples were taken from a 20-year old Kenyan female student who had arrived from London and reported that she may have come into contact with someone exhibiting symptoms of the flu.
She was rushed to the AAR Health Clinic at Sarit Centre, Westlands where doctors immediately alerted KEMRI officials who took over the case.
AAR Public Relations Officer Juliet Ratemo said: “We closed the AAR Health Centre and took all measures to ensure that our staff and other patients present did not come into further unprotected contact with the patient.” News about the patient had spread across Nairobi via SMS overnight on Friday, spreading panic as people sought to know the authenticity of the text messages.
In mid this month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) raised the Pandemic alert status from phase 5 to phase 6, which meant that the disease had reached the emergency level.
“It’s not killing more people, it’s not more aggressive than before so don’t think because we have elevated the phase to 6 the disease has become more severe, no! It is about geographical spread. We have been expecting the worst, we are lucky it’s not that bad,” Dr David Okello, WHO Kenya Director had said.
After the alert was raised, Public Health Minister Beth Mugo said the government had stepped up surveillance of the influenza H1N1 and over 50,000 doses of the drug Tamiflu was in the stock pile for use in case of an outbreak in the country.
She had also said there was a ready isolation facility at the Kenyatta National Hospital in case of an outbreak.
The first case of influenza H1N1 virus was reported in late April in Mexico.
According to the WHO website, by Friday, there were 59,814 confirmed cases of the swine flu around the world. 263 people have died of the disease.
The H1N1 strain is a new type of virus that has not circulated previously in humans. The virus is contagious, spreading easily from one person to another and from one country to another.
Young people under the age of 25 years are the main casualties in all the countries.
A similar outbreak occurred in 1918 but was more severe than the current epidemic but the WHO warned that this may change hence the need for more vigilance.
Kenyans can get more information on the disease through the following contacts: 0722- 331 548,020-204 0542, 271 8292.
HOW IT SPREADS AND SYMPTOMS
The virus typically spreads from coughs and sneezes or by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the nose or mouth. Symptoms are similar to those of the seasonal flu, and may include fever, sneezes, coughs, headache, muscles or joint pain, sore throat, chills, fatigue and runny nose. The CDC notes that most hospitalizations have been people with underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, or a weakened immune systems. In an attempt to slow the spread of the illness, a number of countries, especially in Asia, have enforced strict quarantines on travellers showing any symptoms, along with travellers seated nearby any infected persons.
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2 lost icons: For Generation X, a really bad day
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 A record-shattering vinyl album and its moonwalking maestro. A paper poster of a golden-haired beauty in a one-piece swimsuit that was gossamer and clingy in all the right places. It all seems so quaint now, the fragmented dream memories of a fleeting micro-era that began with words like "bicentennial" and "pet rock" and ended with MTV, Atari and absurdly thin cans of super-hold mousse. The man-child named Michael Jackson and the luminous girl known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors jumped into our consciousness at a plastic moment in American culture — a time when the celebrity juggernaut we know today was still in diapers. When they departed Thursday, just a few hours and a few miles apart, they left an entire generation — a very strange generation indeed — without two of its defining figures. "These people were on our lunchboxes," said Gary Giovannetti, 38, a manager at HBO who grew up on Long Island awash in Farrah and MJ iconography. "This," he said, "is the moment when Generation X realizes they're grown up." It was a long time coming. Cynical, disaffected, rife with ADD, lost between Boomers and millennials and sandwiched between Vietnam and the war on terror, Gen X has always been an oddity. It was the product of a transitional age when we were still putting people on celebrity pedestals but only starting to make an industry out of dragging them down. Its memorable moments were diffuse and confusing — the Ronald Reagan assassination attempt, the dawn of AIDS, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger. It had no protest movement, no opponent to unite it, none of the things that typically shape the ill-defined beast we call an American generation. These were the people who sent to the top of the charts a song called "We Don't Need Another Hero," then figured out how to churn them out wholesale, launching the celebrity obsession that is now an accepted part of American cultural fabric. And that was personified nowhere better than in the two people who died Thursday. She was, perhaps, the last in a line that began with Betty Grable in World War II — the bathing beauty who seemed kissed by the sun and exuded a potent combination of innocence and sexuality. But her "Charlie's Angels" jiggle-show image presaged another world entirely. It was the one that would come to be dominated first by Brooke and her Calvins and ultimately, as the hunger grew tawdrier, by American Apparel ads and the celebrity sex videos of Pamela Anderson and Paris Hilton. She struggled for credibility after the poster and the Angels. She got it in 1984 with a dramatic turn as an abused wife in "The Burning Bed." But her last stand — a documentary about the cancer that killed her — was tainted by her run-ins with insatiable paparazzi and tabloids. He was another thing entirely — perhaps the most recognizable face in the world, even more so than the pope or Barack Obama. His musical genius and energy seemed boundless for a time. They were rivaled only by his quirks, which consumed him. He had a bumpy, extraordinarily public childhood. Then he spent an off-the-wall lifetime trying to get it back, erecting a ranch named after the fantasy land of Peter Pan and inviting children to share his life and his bed — with results that some said drifted into the criminal. He caught fire in a Pepsi commercial. He shrouded his children in full-body coverings and dangled one over a balcony to show his fans below. His fabled multiple plastic surgeries turned him into someone almost unrecognizable. Nose sunk into face, cheekbones became caricature, ebony drifted into ivory. Yet through it all, even when the years of his quirks outstripped the years of his glory, he remained one of the planet's most popular figures, selling out shows wherever he went. "Icon," the Rev. Al Sharpton said, was "only a fraction of what he was." But icon was, of course, what he always acted as if he wanted to be. Today, celebrities aren't merely created for our consumption. Audiences are passive no longer. We demand a part in creating our icons: Jon and Kate Gosselin and their ilk might as well be publicly held companies, and we all insist upon buying a few shares. Farrah and Michael Jackson were other — above us, maybe, or apart from us. Now, when we crown new icons, we want them to BE us. "We want everything right now, and there's a blurring of reality. When does the celebrity world stop and our world begin?" said Penni Pier, an associate professor of communications at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. When Farrah gazed at us in her swimsuit and, a single moment in history later, MJ dared us to moonwalk, they commanded giant audiences. The world had not yet become fragmented into the microcommunities that exist today. We liked them or we hated them, but we shared the experience just as Walter Cronkite told us each night that "that's the way it is." Today, when Lindsay Lohan Twitters pictures of herself to her legions of followers, the notion that a paper poster bought in a shopping-mall Spencer Gifts could change the celebrity game seems rustic. And the vinyl version of "Thriller," redolent of raw materials and production lines, is a ghost in the virtual world of iTunes — a world that the generation after X negotiates with the fluidity of natives. In the 1990s, members of Generation X would often laugh in bars about how the time of the Boomers was passing — about how the quaintness and naivete that made up the 1960s was, finally, a grave being danced on by Kurt Cobain. Today, members of that same generation sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of kings of pop. A sexy poster upon a boy's wall in which a young woman grins wholesomely. A record album called "Thriller" and its attendant music videos, built upon the notion that sexiness came in the frisson of hints and suggestions rather than in cutting directly to the big reveal. In the end, finally, they stand as the relics of a generation — one that struggled to find its place and now, suddenly, while still young, one that must wonder if it is as passe as the paper and vinyl that its icons' most memorable moments were etched upon. We don't need another hero? After this week, are we sure?
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Michael Jackson, the King of Pop is dead at 50
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 For his legions of fans, he was the Peter Pan of pop music: the little boy who refused to grow up. But on the verge of another attempted comeback, he is suddenly gone, this time for good.
Michael Jackson, whose quintessentially American tale of celebrity and excess took him from musical boy wonder to global pop superstar to sad figure haunted by lawsuits, paparazzi and failed plastic surgery, was pronounced dead on Thursday afternoon at U.C.L.A. Medical Center after arriving in a coma, a city official said. Mr. Jackson was 50, having spent 40 of those years in the public eye he loved.
The singer was rushed to the hospital, a six-minute drive from the rented Bel-Air home in which he was living, shortly after noon by paramedics for the Los Angeles Fire Department. A hospital spokesman would not confirm reports of cardiac arrest. He was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm.
As with Elvis Presley or the Beatles, it is impossible to calculate the full effect Mr. Jackson had on the world of music. At the height of his career, he was indisputably the biggest star in the world; he has sold more than 750 million albums. Radio stations across the country reacted to his death with marathon sessions of his songs. MTV, which grew successful in part as a result of Mr. Jackson’s groundbreaking videos, reprised its early days as a music channel by showing his biggest hits.
From his days as the youngest brother in the Jackson 5 to his solo career in the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Jackson was responsible for a string of hits like “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There” “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” “Billie Jean” and “Black and White” that exploited his high voice, infectious energy and ear for irresistible hooks.
As a solo performer, Mr. Jackson ushered in the age of pop as a global product — not to mention an age of spectacle and pop culture celebrity. He became more character than singer: his sequined glove, his whitened face, his moonwalk dance move became embedded in the cultural firmament.
His entertainment career hit high-water marks with the release of “Thriller,” from 1982, which has been certified 28 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, and with the “Victory” world tour that reunited him with his brothers in 1984.
But soon afterward, his career started a bizarre disintegration. His darkest moment undoubtedly came in 2003, when he was indicted on child molesting charges. A young cancer patient claimed the singer had befriended him and then groped him at his Neverland estate near Santa Barbara, Calif., but Mr. Jackson was acquitted on all charges.
Reaction to his death started trickling in from the entertainment community late Thursday.
“I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news,” the music producer Quincy Jones said in a statement. “I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him.”
Berry Gordy, the Motown founder who helped develop the Jackson 5, told CNN that Mr. Jackson, as a boy, “always wanted to be the best, and he was willing to work as hard as it took to be that. And we could all see that he was a winner at that age.
Tommy Mottola, a former head of Sony Music, called Mr. Jackson “the cornerstone to the entire music business.”
“He bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and pop music and made it into a global culture,” said Mr. Mottola, who worked with Mr. Jackson until the singer cut his ties with Sony in 2001.
Impromptu vigils broke out around the world, from Portland, Ore., where fans organized a one-gloved bike ride (“glittery costumes strongly encouraged”) to Hong Kong, where fans gathered with candles and sang his songs.
In Los Angeles, hundreds of fans — some chanting Mr. Jackson’s name, some doing the “Thriller” dance — descended on the hospital and on the hillside house where he was staying.
Jeremy Vargas, 38, hoisted his wife, Erica Renaud, 38, on his shoulders and they danced and bopped to “Man in the Mirror” playing from an onlooker’s iPod connected to external speakers — the boom boxes of Mr. Jackson’s heyday long past their day.
“I am in shock and awe,” said Ms. Renaud, who was visiting from Red Hook, Brooklyn, with her family. “He was like a family member to me.”
Dreams of a Comeback
Mr. Jackson was an object of fascination for the news media since the Jackson 5’s first hit, “I Want You Back,” in 1969. His public image wavered between that of the musical naif, who wanted only to recapture his youth by riding on roller-coasters and having sleepovers with his friends, to the calculated mogul who carefully constructed his persona around his often-baffling public behavior.
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Ha..ha..ha
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A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her poodle along for company.
One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a hungry-looking leopard heading rapidly in his direction.
The poodle thinks, "Oh, oh!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the poodle exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?"
Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!", says the leopard, "That was close! That poodle nearly had me!"
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back so you can watch me chew that poodle to bits!"
Now, the poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and waits until they get just close enough to hear.
"Where's that damn monkey?" the poodle says, "I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"
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Did you know this....
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Personally I wouldn't marry someone I don't know. You need to know what
you are committing yourself to. After all we are talking about a
life-long commitment. Like the author, I also don't believe that one
should be in a relationship for five years before committing without a
sound reason, whatever that means. The point is: five years is too long a
time for two people to be involved without any progress.
They stay in relationships with hope. My advice to all the women is:
Start from now and ask your long relationship partner what he thinks about
you!
I am a man myself but I am sure that it will not take me years to marry a
woman Once I get a right woman with all the qualities or I need, I will
get married immediately. It will not take years, a year will be too long,
and a delay will be caused by arrangements. I also blame you women why
don't you ask your partners?
There are plenty guys who are interested in you but you always tell them
about your boyfriend that you have been involved for 4yrs and you are
happy, my question is if you are happy why are you in relationship for so
long
(4yrs) without marriage Women are not clever enough when it comes to do a
feasibility study about men.
WAKE UP AND ASK HIM (boyfriend): What will be my future with you? Do not
take excuses? Tell him your future plans Enough is enough ask him what
he is waiting for? If possible give him your parents' address and he must
tell them what he wants from you. If he came to play around with you he
will never come back. You must rather stay without a man rather than
wasting your time with someone who will hurt you and leave you, for how
long will you live like that? Once you are able to do that you will see
the future you were dreaming of.
A RIGHT MAN WHO LOVES YOU WILL COME AND DO THAT. You ladies with
long-term relationships ask your boyfriends today, if he is mumbling,
leave him because you will be depressed one day if you find out that he is
getting married to someone whom he met within 4 months. Imagine (4years =
4months) I am just picturing how your feeling will be? Ladies stay away
from those relationships, they are 3% useful and 97% wasting your time.
There could be someone out there who was going to marry you during this
4yrs maybe it was going to take him a year to marry you but you refused
you wanted to stay in a relationship with no due date. We are all working
according to time
(Projects, Deliveries, Purchasing, Contracts, etc.) Why Not Love Affairs?
I have sisters I always tell them because I want the best for them. Some
of you might not agree but I am sure this can help some of you.
PLEASE REMEMBER THIS: "IF A MAN IS STABLE IN LIFE, IN A RELATIONSHIP, BUT
NOT MARRIED, THEN IT IS BECAUSE HE IS NOT SURE ABOUT THE WOMAN THAT HE IS
WITH."
He is not willing to commit to her and constantly has his eye open for
something better or is waiting for her to become something better. Point
blank. When he finds a woman that he is satisfied with, he will make her
his wife. And ladies, sorry to tell some of you, but it doesn't take 4 or
5 years for that man to figure it out. It doesn't take 2 or 3 years
either.
The only reason that a man will get married after that long of a time is
because he's tired of looking for something better. And trust me, that's
definitely what he was doing all of those years. So if you should happen
to find yourself in one of those "long term" relationships then maybe you
should step back, take a look at yourself and wonder what it is that
you're missing by doing favors for this man who is not willing to fully
commit.
Don't make excuses to yourself and your girlfriends saying things like "Oh
he's waiting 'til he gets a better job" or "he's waiting to finish school"
or "he's waiting until he moves from his apartment to a house".
DON'T FOOL YOURSELF, IT'S NOT THAT COMPLICATED!!
Which one of those things can't be done with a wife or fiancé' by your side?
So ladies, when you read this think about your situation and that man that
you are living with, or the one that you spend many nights over his house
or him over yours. Think about your baby's father that you are still in a
sexual relationship with. Think about your "ex" that you are in a sexual
relationship with. Think about your "boyfriend". And definitely think
twice before you brag on a relationship that's a couple of years long and
you still have no commitment.
Like I've said before, I'm a man and I know the situation. I've been
there and I know that we can come up with some extremely reasonable
excuses, but.... DON'T FOOL YOURSELF, IT'S NOT THAT COMPLICATED!
"Ladies, can i hear you say Amen!!"
And
"Guys, let's be honest"
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Safari Sevens Countdown: Big guns coming to Nairobi
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Breaking News: Argentina, Fiji, France, Samoa and Japan set for Safari
Sevens 2009.Reliable sources within the Kenya 7's team have confirmed that 5 high
profile IRB Series teams named above will participate in this years
tournament. Confirmations are being awaited from world champions Wales and
Scotland while England have declined citing fatigue. New Zealand All
Blacks and Australia have indicated they will consider participating
in the near future while South Africa have continued with their policy
of sending the Junior Boks. How long they can avoid sending the main
Boks 7's team remains to be seen. The IRB Sevens Series champions
would be a welcome addition to the event. With Uganda, Zimbabwe, Tunisia, Namibia, Tanzania and Zambia filling
the African quarter this promises to be a very competitive competition
with defending champions Kenya the star attraction this time.
Scorpions will be the other Kenyan side. With so many IRB teams coming
this must be the best tournament ever. Kopo's injury sustained against KCB is a worry as he was stretchered
off in the second half. We hope he will recover and be part of the
Kenya 7's squad. With Ayimba as the Mean Machine coach, he will surely
be monitoring his fitness closely.
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Kilroy's Film Fest -- Newest Arrivals
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G'Day All --
Kilroy's On-Line Classic Film Festival continues to grow, with several entertaining additions.
Included among the nine Newest Arrivals is (IMHO) one of the most hilarious productions of all time, "The Horse's Mouth," about an eccentric old artist named Gully Jimson, who lives on a decrepit houseboat on the Thames River in London, starring Alec Guinness.
http://www.angelfire.com/ca5/yourturf3/KilroysFilmFest.htm
I've received a few admonitions from folks who insist that anyone "seriously interested" in watching any of these films would buy the DVDs and view them on their big-screen televisions. My reply is, "By all means, do so."
On the other hand, the Film Festival web page has received several thousand hits, so it seems to interest some folks -- even if only for purposes of sampling the "merchandise" before acquiring the DVDs.
Enjoy the on-line material whenever it suits your convenience, and forward the site to any of your friends who might like to do the same.
Remember -- whether you watch on-line, or on a TV screen in your house, you are still most welcome to post comments about your favorite films on Kilroy's Movie Buffs' and Film Critics' Forum, that you can access from the link near the bottom of the above web page, or directly at:
http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/KilroysMovieBuffsForum/
I hope the above material will be of interest. If you have questions or comments, please let me know.
>>> If you want to forward this item to others, the correct URL is:
http://civact6.tigblog.org/post/690889
Best wishes to all,
Dave Matthews, Facilitator
The Civic Action Free University
http://www.tcafu.net
"Nation-Building: Are You Serious ??"
E-Mail Address: civact6@yahoo.com
***********************************************
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Earth Charter Youth "Dialogue with the Elders Forum" on Intergenerational Partnership for Sustainability in Nigeria
Related to country: Nigeria
About this category: Environment
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Sustainable development cannot be achieved in Africa without the establishment of an effective intergeneration partnership for sustainability among the young people and the other generation. If Africa has challenges today, these are mere preludes to the looming threats of tomorrow. The youth have deep stakes in the future and we are eager to contribute our quota. The future belongs to us. The youths are full of ideas and we are waiting to share them
Why do we not involve the young people from Africa? An environment where elders believed that they have the monopoly of knowledge cannot lead into a sustainable future!. “Provide all, especially children and youth, with educational opportunities that empower them to contribute actively to Sustainable development.” (Earth Charter 2000).
As a follow up to my participation at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development 17th session and in line with my Earth Charter Special Project, I am organizing a “Dialogue with the Elders Forum” on Intergeneration Partnership for Sustainability with grant from Earth Charter International on June 6th in Abuja.
The "Dialogue with the Elders" Forum is in partnership with Youth Aid Organization for Africa (YAOFA) and will focus more on the Earth Charter as a tool for achieving environmental sustainability and Intergenerational Partnership for Sustainability among youths and older generations. "Based on the conviction that intergenerational partnerships are essential for achieving a just, sustainable, and peaceful world".
The meeting is aimed at bringing all youths in the Earth Charter Family to meet with Earth Charter Nigeria "Elders" as well as bring more youths into the Earth Charter Youth Initiative family and also inspire the formation of new Earth Charter youth Groups across the country. It will also afford us the opportunity to meet with invited guests who have a role to play in sustainability issues in Nigeria like the media, government and CSOs and people living in a community.
Date : June 6th 2009
Venue: Conference Room, Youth Aid Organization for Africa (YAOFA), 983,
Ahmadu Bello way, Opposite Legislative
Quarters, Apo, Abuja
Be there!!
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Can you tell I'm single?
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One of the most insanely frustrating things about women is their constant need for
reassurance. No, you're not fat. If you were fat you wouldn't be able to fit
into that size 2 dress. And yes, you look good. Guys wouldn't be giving you free
shit if you were ugly.
So here it is for the last time...You're not fat! You're not ugly!
You know it and I know it so stop asking.
What makes you think I care about the kind of day that your sister's
co-worker's dog had? Your sister is nice enough, but I don't know her co-worker
and I certainly don't know her dog. So why the fuck are you telling me this
story? I don't care! If you have something worth talking about, then I'll enjoy
engaging you in meaningful conversation. But before you start talking to me
about some of the insane frivolous shit that you talk to your girlfriends about,
first ask yourself "Does this have a point?". Because if it doesn't I'm just
going to smile, and nod, and zone out and you'll get mad because I'm not
listening to your retarded shit!
So men are pigs because they stare at your boobs. I'm sure it has
nothing to do with the fact that you're wearing a skin tight low cut shirt that
has 'Bebe' printed across your boobs... one 'Be' per boob. It's totally unfair
that you have to put up with guys staring at you all the time just because you
like to look sexy. And boo hoo, it's so hard for you to meet a nice guy. Well
actually it isn't, because the shoulder you are crying on belongs to a nice guy.
He's the one that puts up with all your stupid shit. And yet you somehow end up
with all the assholes... Could it be because you're holding out for a six foot tall alpha-male with a trust fund?
Yeah, so you finally sold a freezer to an eskimo.Congratulations on
being a hot sales rep. We're all very proud of you for having a nice ass while the rest of us actually have to work for a living. And we're all so excited to see your new diamond jewelry. Your ability to date another rich fucktard that will shower you with expensive bobbles is commendable. And I'll be so surprised and sorry for you when he dumps you for the next hot girl because I really thought that materialistic trophy bagger was in love with you. But I'm happy to hear that you wrecked your fifth car while multi-tasking between your cell phone and doing your make up in the mirror. Your dedication to enforcing
the stereotype of women drivers is nothing short of awe inspiring.
Disclaimer: the contents of the note do not in any way mirror events in my life, past or present.
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Christians are going to Hell (with the rest of us)
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Think you'll make it to the Pearly Gates? Better read up on the Bible, sinner.
For example : in Deuteronomy 13:6-10, it states :
'If your brother, or your son or daughter, or your beloved wife tries to secretly entice you, telling you to go and worship other gods, gods of people living near you, or far from you, or anywhere on earth, do not listen to him. You must kill them. Show them no pity. And your hand must strike the first blow.Then the hands of all the people. You shall stone them to death."
So unless you think the Bible is just a big load of horse-crap, you really should be stoning your family members to death if they do anything that might lead you to other gods.
But that's just that wacky Old Testament, you say. Nobody pays any attention to that any more!
OK then, you're off the hook for your holy reluctance to kill your horrible, unclean family members with thrown stones. But the New Testament says, in 1 Corinthians 11:4-5,
" For any man to pray or to prophesy with his head covered shows disrespect for his head. And for a woman to pray or prophecy with her head uncovered shows disrespect for her head."
So men, if you've ever worn a hat in Church (or any other time you are praying), you're a sinner. And ladies, if you've ever NOT worn a hat in Church (or any other time you are praying), you too are a sinner, even if you thought showing off your great new hairdo in Church was to the greater glory of God.
Indeed, in 1 Corinthians 11:6 it clearly says " Indeed, if a woman does go without a veil, she should have her hair cut off too.". The lineup for shaving forms on the left, you brazen hussies!
Of course, not wearing a hat in Church is not the worst thing a woman can do... not compared to the infamous and flagrant sin of talking.
For is it not written in 1 Corinthians 14:34,
" As in all the churches of God's holy people, women are to remain quiet in the assemblies, since they have no permission to speak: theirs is a subordinate part. If there is anything they want to know, they should ask their husbands at home: it is shameful for a woman to speak in the assembly. During instruction, a woman should be quiet and respectful. I give no permission for a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. A woman ought to be quiet."
So hush up those chatterbox mouths of yours, ladies. Yours is the subordinate role, it says it right there in the Bible. And seeing as you can't ever have authority over men, any of you who have men working for you, or God forbid, seek public office, are Jezebels of the foulest degree.
But that's just the Epistles, right? Those aren't the literal words of Jesus.
Right you are! So let's see what Jesus has to say about things.
Well, for starters, there's Matthew 5:41-42
"Give to the one who asks you, and do not reject the one who wants to borrow from you. If you lend to those from whom you hope to be repaid, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners. "
And in Luke 6:30-31"
"Give to everyone who asks you. And do not ask for your possessions back from the person who takes them away.. "
So if you've ever lent something to someone with the hope of being repaid, you're a sinner, a demon, and a wretch. I mean, Jesus must have been quite adamant about this, two Apostles say this is His opinion. So you must give to anyone who asks you and never expect repayment, or it's Hell for you. Obviously, there are a lot of bankers and owners of finance companies who are sin-soaked horrors, worse than any homosexual, and who are going to find Hell especially toasty.
Or how about Mark 11:10, wherein it is written : "Whoever divorces someone and marries another commits adultery. Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. "
Now I seem to recall that there's quite a number of prominent Republicans and others of the Religious Right who have been divorced and remarried at least once. How dare you Christians let yourself be lead by such obvious abominations of sin? You might as well just join Michael Moore in hating America.
And of course, for all you rich Republicans, there's Matthew 6:19, Luke 12:15 :
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth. A man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."
And further in Matthew 6:24, " No one can serve two masters. He will hate the one and love the other. You cannot serve both God and money.'"
And moreso in Mark 6:21-22, "Sell everything you have. And give to the poor.".
Clearly, if you have many possessions and much wealth, you must sell them all and give it to the poor, lest you roast in the fires of Hell. Christ Himself, the one who is so central to your religion that you named it after Him, says to do so, and unless you think the Bible is anythign less than the literal Word of God, you have to do it.
Even if you plead ignorance of the Word of God until this moment, you have now received Testament and from this point on, you must sell all your possessions, kill those who try to entice you away from the Lord, forsake all love of money (unless you hate God), ban all forms of divorce, and follow many, many other rules, too numerous to list here. But unless you wipe your ass with the Bible and the Word of God, you have a lot of reading to do.
On the other hand, you could just admit that you pick and choose the parts of the Bible that you like, and ignore what you don't like, and thus it is a meaningless book to reference in any argument.
But hey.... you're going to Hell anyway.
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Twitter: Efficiency engine or workplace distraction?
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Tavia Grant
Globe and Mail Update, Friday, Apr. 10, 2009 12:26AM EDT
taviag: Am tweeting while at work. Which, coincidentally, is what I'm writing about: time waster or career builder? 11:57 AM from web.
nejsnave@taviag: i think the correct answer is ‘both'. ;) about 24 hours ago from web
It used to be whistle while you work. Now, it's tweet.
That, for the uninitiated, is how you post on Twitter, the coolest kid on the social networking block.
Twitter is a microblogging tool that lets users send and read updates – or tweets – of up to 140 characters. People post random thoughts, a new Web link or business updates. In just a sentence or two.
In the past year, Twitter has caught on like wildfire. There are now about 4.5 million users over all, 70 per cent of whom joined in 2008, estimates market tracking firm HubSpot Inc. It calculates that 5,000 to 10,000 new accounts are being opened every day.
No wonder Twitter has become one of the fastest-growing social networking sites, according to Nielsen Online.
Canadians are in on the act: Toronto has become the world's sixth-most twittery city, HubSpot says.
And Twitter is infiltrating workplaces.
As growing numbers sit at their desk reading updates about a plane crash in Amsterdam, checking whether Barack Obama has posted his first tweet since becoming U.S. President – he has attracted more than 300,000 followers – or finding cool people to follow (hello, Stephen Colbert), it's a wonder any work gets done these days.
The debate over Twitter, as with all social networking sites, is whether it's a productivity enhancer or a workplace distraction.
Twitter 101 Here's how it works.
Sign in and fill out a profile. A box appears at the top of the page, asking “What are you doing?” Fill in the answer.
People who have signed up to track your postings (“followers”) receive your updates; conversely, you can receive musings from people you have chosen to follow – ranging from your company chief executive officer (Sun Microsystems CEI Jonathan Schwartz tweets) to basketball great Shaquille O'Neal.
Companies are learning how to put Twitter to work. Employees at Sony BMG Music Canada Inc. have been posting concert and album release dates, and WestJet Airlines Ltd. employees have given updates on seat sales and flight delays.
The proponents
Jen Evans, president of Toronto-based Sequentia Communications, has 1,649 followers and tracks the musings of 1,283 others. She is a huge Twitter fan – for herself and her staff of 16.
Her business involves connecting businesses with clients, and she's found Twitter invaluable for recruiting, drumming up business and building her brand.
Having staff on Twitter can be a “visibility enhancer,” she says.
Larger companies, too, are jumping on board.
Telus Corp. allows Twitter time at work. “You have to trust employees,” says spokesman Shawn Hall, who personally uses it “all the time” to stay connected to journalists, public relations groups and the telecommunications community.
The opponents
Employers are still wrestling with policies on Facebook and other more established social networking sites, never mind Twitter. But some, including several government departments, such as those for the City of Toronto, ban personal use at work.
Murray Key, operations manager of a steel warehousing company in Edmonton, can't stand to see staff whittle away their work hours on any kind of social networking.
“There is a time and place to be a social butterfly, to play inane games and to waste personal time, but for the vast majority of us, that place is not at work,” he says.
Experiment with it
Experts who have studied social media are landing on the side of permissiveness.
“The impression I have is that Canadian companies still don't get the value of these tools,” says Don Tapscott, chairman of business strategy think tank nGenera Insight and author of Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing your World.
Twitter has emerged as a “powerful tool that can speed up the metabolism of an organization, keep everyone better informed and enable greater agility and responsiveness to changing conditions.”
He encourages people to experiment with it. Managers should try it out – at least to understand how it works – and give employees a chance “to self-organize and collaborate using these tools,” he says.
Twitter can be a key marketing and networking tool, says productivity expert Steve Prentice, president of consulting firm Bristall Morgan in Toronto. He suggests companies start trying it out on an internal basis – starting from the top, with CEOs, to boost communication with staff. And companies should have a policy in place so workers understand perimeters.
Given the growing desire to share information, in real time on the Web, employers take note: The tweeting will only get louder.
Have ideas on any innovative trends in the workplace? Send a tweet to @TaviaG.
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