Alameda and Elsewhere

Many are complaining that we must send more aid to Africa. Send money, teach them to farm, help clean up environment and give them inexpensive medicines. Well perhaps we are looking at this incorrectly. Perhaps we need to limit the human population there? For instance why not tell the Human Africans to stop breeding like rats? Stop killing off their primate cousins, etc.

Of course as long as the humans keep having wars with Machetes and Machine Guns there, perhaps the problem will take care of itself? Seems kind of silly to solve all the problems there, when the people are busy killing each other, running out of water, spreading AIDS, etc.

Recently I was in a coffee shop discussing business with another gentleman and when he left, I was accosted by a “Save the Whale” liberal about the problems in Africa. So I said since you brought this issue up, permit me to rant for a second and launch into a tirade of what is really wrong here I said.

When liberals get too far out of wack from obvious reality I always think I like to show them the mirror. For instance you are from Oregon area right? Well then, didn’t they recently catch a bunch of eco-terrorists there, who claim to be pro-environment yet are arsonists and burn down resorts, fine homes and car dealerships? Causing air pollution?

I always like to tell liberals who think that they can fix the world to look in the mirror as many have kids strung out on dope causing increased taxpayer funds to be diverted from education to police, prisons and rehabilitation because they failed as parents.

It seems to me that everyone wishes to jump on the “Save Africa Bandwagon” yet refuses to understand reality, then they go and link every problem they can find to large corporations. Like you have here with your pretenda interests in Africa and then put up a link to an anti-globalist website with complaints about Corporate Chemical Companies who sell pesticides or such. For you information if we would allow a fraction of DDT into the water the mosquito population would be decreased significantly and malaria which is a huge killer and yellow fever and many blood related diseases which are killing humans in Africa could be eliminated. Please consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Have you ever thought?

What is the best way out of this situation or which job do I take which decision do I make and offcourse which path is best! Choices, choices, choices, life is all about choices.

This is where Tarot readings can be and are an important tool!

Some sceptics may say this is baloney, but I am sure they have not experienced the power of the Tarot, closed minds never benefit and so these people limit themselves.

I know the power of the Tarot first hand and how this exciting medium can help and indeed has helped many, many people.

Tarot lays out the different choices a person has in regards to a given situation!

The reader if the he or she is a good one will never say you must take this choice or that choice. Instead a good reader will advise, giving options for the person to make informed decisions.

Good Tarot readers, genuinely want to help people!

To better their lives by making good decisions. Readers will give warnings where an outcome of a decision could be negative and will reinforce all positive aspects.

I know that there are a lot of pretenders out there!

There are also some very gifted readers also. I believe that the power of the Tarot is something that can be learned by anyone, however this does not make someone a good or credible reader. One must look further, the power, I believe is a gifting. A lot of gifted Tarot readers are also visionaries; they use Tarot to channel this energy for the benefit of the querant. This channelling is used in conjunction with the card interpretation to give a powerful reading for the person asking.

Experience counts!

Good Tarot readers, generally want to share there gifting. They tend to travel lot, giving readings and helping people all over the world. I believe that an experience level of at least 6 years is the minium requirement, liken this to an apprenticeship period. This is the time a reader learns, and further develops inherited giftings.

This is what determines the level of the tarot reader. There is always the exception to the rule but this is very remote. Like all things experience and practice perfects!

Have you ever heard of anyone born to play the violin and could play at a world class level with no learning or practice, offcourse not the same applies for Tarot.

Check out readers!

When shopping for a new refrigerator do you simply got to the nearest store and purchase the first one you see? No, that would be just plain stupid. The same applies for Tarot card readers. Always check out your perspective reader, as I have said there are a lot of pretenders out there! A genuine reader will have nothing to hide in fact credible readers will only be too happy to provide any information needed to satisfy any reservations a client has.

A good Tarot reader will always be interested, caring and want to help the client.

Genuine Tarot readers are just that, genuine.

Readers do not provide our services just for the money; readers really want to help people.

A client should always feel good about a reading and that it has been helpful. One should never hesitate to ask questions about a reading or seek clarification if it is needed.

Customer satisfaction should be an important part of a tarot card reader’s job.

About The Author

Hi, My name is Alan woods. I am a Professional Tarot Card Consultant for: Maria Angelica Ortiz Enterprises. I have ten years experience and really enjoy helping people. I offer Tarot Card readings both online and via email please feel free to check out our site: www.Mariaortizenterprises.com. I look forward to seeing you there! You can contact me at: tarot@mariaortizenterprises.com

To play Texas Holdem actually requires little gambling knowledge. Texas Holdem while a gambling game is also a game that is more about knowing what to do when than relying on luck. This does not mean that luck is not helpful in Texas holdem, and also it is not saying that not knowing the difference between a full house and two pair is not necessary, but all in all Texas holdem is one of the easier games to learn.

The first step in the game of Texas holdem poker is for the two players left to throw in the small and big blinds. Once the blinds are thrown in, each player is dealt two cards face down. These two cards are often referred to as hole cards. In Texas holdem, the player on the left of the big blind gets the game started (called the action) by calling or raising the bet, or folding. Once the betting is started the first round everyone must either call, raise or fold , there is no checking at this time.

The next step in Texas holdem after the betting has been done is for the dealer to deal out three cards face up from the draw pile this is called the board and the first three cards are referred to as the flop. In Texas holdem the flop is community cards usable by every player still actively betting. Once the flop has been set out betting once again begins to the dealers left with checking allowed.

Once the second round of betting is complete the dealer deals out a fourth card face up. This card is called the turn and once again another round of betting starts with the player on the dealers left. After this round of betting the final card is flipped onto the board. This card is called the river and at this time betting continues until everyone has called and then everyone reveals their hand to determine who wins. That’s poker!

6 hours ago a Europe based online company started a dutch online sweepstakes. Anyone can win great cars every 16 weeks. Sweepstakes are also legally different from contests in the United States. You can win terrific Porches every 15 months. 7 days ago a Dutch dutch online company begun with a dutch online contests. Although some sweepstakes ask for a proof of purchase or UPC code, the sponsors must provide an alternate method of entry if they do so.

Translated in Dutch: Leef je in Heemstede of Groningen en wilt u graag vaker prijzen winnen’ Met Win de prijsvraag.nl winnen is nog nooit zo eenvoudig geweest. Een prijs winnen met de site van windeprijsvraag‘ Over het algemeen minstens 351 prijzen per maand. Van Wijchen tot Montfoort, met Win de Prijsvraag winnen is hier geen enkel probleem. Een mevrouw van 53 heeft deze week nog een Fiat 500 gewonnen.

Many state lotteries also run a second chance sweepstakes in conjunction with the retail sale of state lottery scratch cards. Before home computers were popular a common method of entry was a mailed one. Its really great or fantastic to win 4181 dollars. 8 months ago a Belgium company took of a contest websites. In an effort to increase consumer demand for scratch cards and to help control the litter small problems associated with the disposal of non-winning lottery tickets. Entering sweepstakes by mail is declining in popularity. Absolutely fantastic laptops to be won at sweepstakes websites. 6 days ago a European webcompany has started with a online sweepstakes. Everybody can win realy terrific TVs every 23 hours. Sweepstakes are generally easier and quicker to enter than contests. There are also other online services, which automatically enter members into sweepstakes. 5 weeks ago a Dutch dutch company has started with a dutch online contests. Members sign up once and are entered to various sweepstakes each month. The reason why contests are treated differently is that the winners are not chosen by chance but by an element of skill. Sweepstakes promotions are prohibited from requiring a purchase to enter. Many more sweepers are choosing to enter online sweepstakes. Sweepstakes are frequently used by fast-food restaurants to boost business. Consumer promotions advertised as contests, however, can require an entry fee or proof of purchase. Marvelous Ipods to be won at online sweepstakes. Thats marvelous or absolutely fantastic to win 2121 euro. It should be really great or realy terrific to win 9960 euros. Terrific plasmas to win at dutch online sweepstakes.

The Fool

My first direct experience of the fool in masking was watching Morris Dancing here at home in Yorkshire, England. The Morris dancers were dressed up in their usual dancing shoes with bells and baggy pants. To be absolutely honest I have always found Morris men a bit funny! Perhaps I should explain about Cecil Sharp, no I’ll leave that to a footnote.

The Boars Head Morris Men were dancing in a pub car park. ( Pub short for Public House a place for drinking beer etc. in the UK.) They were doing the usual dances that are related to fertility, good crops and harvests etc. But of course they really don’t quite have the pagan beliefs off pat. Mind you when you see them drink ale in the quantities that they did then you would realise that they had perhaps fully understood the pagan ways of having a good time. ( Not to say all people who follow the pagan ways drink lots of ale, just a convenient concept )

What you are probably asking by this juncture is this to do with fools?

Well the Boars Head Morris Men had a masked fool. He was complete with boars mask pantaloons and boars headed stick. He also carried a bucket for collecting cash donations for charity, or maybe beer money. He followed the dancers mimicked them and cajoled the watchers for change to fill his bucket.

Interestingly I knew the fool quite well and in real life, with out the mask, he would never do what he did with the mask. Being English he was just far too polite!

The Boars Head stick became a threatened cudgel, never used, just pointed and waved. The mask was a place to hide behind, for a normal everyday person. As you will find by looking further on this site the mask allows people to change personalities. He bullied and pranced and enjoyed his dual mission to collect money and to protect the dancers from the crowd. Sometimes the children get too close. That is not allowed. Sometimes the dancers space is threatened by cars entering the parking space. Wow! That is not a good idea!

But suddenly the fool sets off in pursuit of three attractive women. He rattles his bucket and rounds them up as a sheep dog would. They are pressed into donating generously. He just leaves his dancers unprotected to fend for themselves. The next ten minutes is exchanged in good natured banter. ( The wife of the fool is present! )

The above is from memory, probably about 20 years ago. In terms of mask traditions that is very recent. For mask traditions can be traced back at least 25,000 years. I am certain they go back to the time of the first questioning peoples; 50,000……………..or more years?

What then is this reference to fools and masking traditions. Well as you dig through this site you will find that the fool crops up in several other traditions.

In Masquerade the fool is an essential figure. On the surface he, occasionally she, is the one who keeps order. He controls the children, he stops their prying eyes invading the dressing room. His stick maintains the performance area. He cracks jokes, entertains, juggles pulls faces and GETS VIOLENT. He chases the children with a whip and hits them mercilessly if he gets the chance. He tries to seduce women, and does if he can!

Suddenly he becomes bored and goes away to sit and talk philosophically with a group of friends from his unmasked time. As the conversation progresses he introduces new ideas. He begins to ridicule the accepted norm. He questions the accepted reality. He attempts to turns arguments on their heads

The Ubiquitous Fool

The fool is a ubiquitous. The fool occurs in the masking traditions of North and South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, China, …………………… if you know some more please fill in my blank.

Universally the fool treads the line between normality and the incongruities that the world. The fool is both sensible and totally none-sensible. Not that he does not use his senses he just uses then in a different way. He questions and cajoles. He jokes and makes fun of others. Yet when someone over steps the arbitrary boundary, (who decided ) he changes. Suddenly he becomes the quiet hearth cat, the sleeping feline, domesticated, sleek and silky. And as you stroke and pleasure the cat she begins to become claws and teeth and worse growls. He becomes the raging tiger, claws and teeth.

What is the role of the fool?

The fool traditionally questions. S/He challenges the norm. S/He goes beyond the routine and everyday. S/He crosses the boundary between the physical and the spiritual. The fool knows both sides but sadly does not understand either. The fool is beyond judgement but is incapable of judging. The fool is a go-between, a hinderer, a creator and destroyer. He sets things up only to break them down.

To be honest I love the fool, because I feel I am one, at times. The fool embodies the contradictions of the world. He accepts our human frailties and simultaneously challenges them. For those of you who know the symbols on the tarot cards consider the fool, for those of you who do not make some time to find out.

Some Examples of Fools in Masquerade Italy In Masks the Art of expression Cesare Poppi describes the Carnival at Moena in the Italian Dolomites. Two Arlechign, a local version of Harlequin, lead the masked group. They are dressed in chequered costumes, with a tall pointed cap below which is a loose veil giving them a featureless appearance. They carry horse whips. Around them the crowd of cheering young boys follows their moves. Suddenly the dash into the youths slashing fiercely with the horse whips, striking vicious blows to the confused youngsters. Panic ensues. A pleasing village scene has suddenly been turned upon its head.

China In China, or your local China Town, when the New Year is celebrated the Lion Dance is performed. This often acrobatic masked dance is performed by, usually two dancers accompanied by two Happy Face dancers wearing their papier mache masks complete with large grins painted on them. As the dance progresses through the streets the dragon collects lettuces and money to help bring luck in to the New Year. Around the dragon the two fools pester the crowd for money and simultaneously keep the crowd, especially the children, at a safe distance.

Pacific West Coast

Noohlmahl

During Kwakwaka’wakw Potlatch ceremonies in the West Coast Areas of Canada another fool prowled around. He is Noohlmahl. A filthy creature with a long nose from which snot streams he is up for a laugh but should the watchers mention his state, especially his nose, a violent reaction can be expected.

Iriquois False Face Society

The Iriquois False Face Society also have a fool mask to support the processes of healing that they undertake. These corn husk mask are relatively simple and disposable. As with other traditions the fool plays his amusing and organising role.

Playfulness has a major place in many masquerades.

In our lives we all play the fool, despise the fool in others and love the fool who entertains. Sadly the fool who entertains can also be torn apart by internal mental divisions.

The masked fool is the one who maintains order and at the same time questions it and sometimes on a whim destroys it. Traditionally the fool treads a fine line between the known and the unknown, the acceptable and the unacceptable. Even without the mask I am sure you recognise the fool in your life.

The fool is a universal being. Today (15/12/04) I lost my fool, she was our cat. If you wish to know she died of old age. She had the soft luxury of a purring fur to stroke and in a moment she transformed into a fanged biter. She had the gourmet taste of a French chef yet licked her own arse. She refused to go outside when the wind blew, because it was cold, yet sat happily on the wet grass when it was raining and blowing a gale. Tango, the cat, was my fool, just as I was hers when playing hide and seek. I loved her affection and was saddened by her rejection of the food I gave her. All in all Tango, our family cat, was all contradiction and beautifully herself. She is a very missed little being.

Footnote

Cecil Sharp collected folk sings in the British Isles. Amongst folk enthusiasts he is something of a hero as he preserved may folk songs and traditions. He was instumental in helping preserve the hundreds of different Morris dances. Yet as with the song lyrics he collected they were purged for naughty bits. Anything that went against his strict Victorian morality was censored. The whole of British folk tradition was made “nice”.

Inspired by Masks the Art of Expression ed. John Mack ISBN 0-7141-2530-X and other sources that I have read and internalised long ago.

© Ian Bracegirdle 2004 1 Elderberry Close East Morton BD20 5WA UK 01535 692207

http://mask-and-more-masks.com You may use this article freely on condition that you include this copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this article follow the same conditions. Thank you for accepting these conditions.

Ian Bracegirdle is a teacher, course leader and therapist. He is the creator of the site http://www.mask-and-more-masks.com a site for all interested in masks. Ian is fascinated by the art form of masks as well as the cultural connotations. He has researched many areas of masks and recognise common links in many ancient traditions. He believes our current masking traditions are linked back to the time of shaman and other forms of magic predating monotheist religions. The earliest masking records are at least 25,000 years old.

Background

India plays an increasingly critical role on the world economic stage. Western companies have been hiring Indian professionals in large numbers for work in their own country or abroad; many people from other parts of the world now work regularly with Indian counterparts. At the same time, a growing cadre of expatriate managers and project leaders is being assigned to India in order to assist in building up operations there.

Understanding the term and its Origin

An expatriate (in abbreviated form expat) is someone temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of their upbringing and/or legal residence. The word comes from the Latin ex (out of) and patria (country), and is sometimes misspelled as ex-patriot or short x-pat, due to its pronunciation.

You can read the complete article at http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/

The term is often used in the context of Westerners living in non-Western countries, although there are many instances of Westerners living in other Western countries, such as Australians living in the United Kingdom, or Britons living in Spain.

The difference between an expatriate and an immigrant is that immigrants (for the most part) commit themselves to becoming a part of their country of residence, whereas expatriates are usually only temporarily placed in the host country and most of the time plan on returning to their home country, so they never adopt the culture in the host country. While Europeans or North Americans living in the Middle East and Asia may marry local people and have children, most see no advantage in adopting citizenship of their host countries, usually because they consider their stay only temporary. In countries like Saudi Arabia, expatriates are required to live in segregated compounds, meaning that integration into their host country’s society is not an option.

Challenges…and Concerns

When you hire an expatriate the challenges are multi-fold. Assigning employees to posts outside their home countries raises both strategic and tactical issues for global firms.

At the strategic level, global firms need to ask:

Are overseas assignments right for our business?

How can we contain or reduce the related costs?

Would an expatriate be a better choice than a local hire?

If assignments are critical to meeting global business demands, how can we facilitate mobility and ensure equitable treatment among similarly situated employees?

Currency and mode of payment for these people.

How to charge income-tax?

How to protect their interests in case of exploitations?

At the tactical level, firms must consider how to select the right people for the assignment, manage performance and communication issues, and ensure that expatriates are successfully repatriated or reassigned when their assignments are done.

More then that, when you hire someone, you are not only hiring his knowledge and expertise but also his culture, social beliefs and values.

Just an example: In my previous two companies we had two and five expatriates respectively. They never use to mingle with others and generally tries to be on their own. Some were also of the opinion as if this is a “punishment” for them.

Learning from Others…Global Trend…with Reference to Western Countries

It is all about Global Experience

As per one of the survey done in 2005 it is found that the number of expatriates is increasing. This is despite the move towards using local hires, particularly in key markets such as Asia. The growth of expatriate numbers can be explained by the need for global leadership development within multinationals, which encourages key talent to gain international experience. In addition, there is an increase in the use of globally nomadic employees (i.e. employees with no home country)

Expatriate benefit trends

Companies tend to keep expatriates in the home country retirement plan throughout the assignment. However, global nomad employees who move from country to country on varying assignments will more commonly be in an international retirement plans.

The majority of multinationals now provide attractive international medical plans for their expatriates. US employers expect employees to pay towards the cost, whereas other multinationals will typically pay the full cost. Overall, US employers tend to provide lower levels of benefits than European (and other) employers, however US employers provide a wider range.
Most companies, (US, European and other), do not provide special treatment for loss of benefits when they localize an employee from one country to another.

Benefits Policy for Expatriates

In another survey, 1 in 10 companies surveyed reported that their expatriates have explicitly expressed dissatisfaction with their benefits. Not surprisingly then, almost all companies agreed that addressing benefit arrangements for expatriates is a medium to top priority. Arriving at a globally consistent approach for expatriate benefits has proved challenging, and almost of companies still do not have a specific benefit policy for their expatriates. A further 30% do not have formal expatriate governance procedures in place and 60% have no process to measure the success of an assignment. 10% of respondents admitted that they have never reviewed their policies on benefits for expatriate employees.

“One-size fits all” approach is no longer realistic

Companies who have relied on expatriate policies in the past are finding that a “one-size fits all” approach is no longer realistic. The demographic and nature of international assignments has changed, and companies have to adapt policy to reflect this new diversity among expats. For companies who have expatriate benefit programs, there is increased pressure to differentiate by region ( e.g. Asia Pacific, Europe, etc) or by category of employee (junior, senior exec, business need for transfer etc)

Conclusion

Handling expatriates is still a challenge both at strategical and cultural front. “Cross Cultural” adaption is the key and there should be some legal protection for expatriates both from host as well as parent company.

These are my views and thoughts, you can have different opinion. However, it would be nice to receive your feedback and comments.

With inputs from Team of Virgin Management Consultants and Mercer Consulting.

Composed by: Sanjeev Himachali
(Chandigarh - India)
(Mobile: +91-9876328841)
E-mail: sanjeev.himachali@gmail.com; ss_himachali@yahoo.com
Blog: http://sanjeevhimachali.blogspot.com/

Would you like going on a holiday through the sale proceeds or your home? Or, how about repairs in a home that has been effected at the cost of home itself? Ones home is too prized an asset to be frittered away thus. Loans against home, may if not paid on time, result into repossession of the home or any other asset serving as collateral. The fear of losing assets, particularly home, has forced many people to opt for unsecured personal loans.

Unsecured personal loans do not guarantee use of home for recovery of unpaid loan proceeds. However, the swiftness with which a secured loan provider liquidates collateral is not possible in unsecured personal loans. The provider of unsecured personal loans will have to move the courts for recovery. This will often be a protracted process, but the defaulter borrower will have to cough up the loan proceeds.

However, a majority of borrowers take loans to successfully repay them after a certain time with interest. Therefore, their interest in opting for unsecured personal loans is only to save their homes from the loan sharks and the hard moneylenders.

The best feature of unsecured personal loans is the relative speed with which they are available for use. Since one of the most important tasks of valuation of asset has been made unnecessary, savings in time is obvious. Therefore, while a person has to wait for at least two weeks to get hold of loan proceeds, unsecured personal loan proceeds will be released much faster, sometimes within 5 days of application. Hence, unsecured personal loans find good use in situations that demand hasty supply of cash.

Borrowers with bad credit history will sense some limitations when using unsecured personal loans. Loan providers need to have something to fall back upon in case of defaults in loan. If it is not the collateral, it must be the personal credibility of borrower that must lead to trust. Therefore, it is preferred of borrowers to have good credit.

A person is said to have good credit history when he has paid all his dues on different debts on time. Credit reference agencies, namely, Experian and Equifax prepare the credit file of borrower. A borrower in need of a fast approval of unsecured personal loan must append a copy of his credit report, requested from both these agencies.

Bad credit borrowers may find getting good deals in unsecured personal loans difficult thence. Borrowers with bad credit surely can find deals appropriate to their condition if they associate with brokers. Brokers are helpful since they are associated with several banks and financial institutions in the UK. Such lending agencies provide unsecured personal loans to the applicants when a reputable broker forwards their application.

The principal drawback of unsecured personal loans is the high rate of interest charged from borrowers. There is little borrowers can do about this. The borrower gets freedom from clause of collateral; in exchange, he needs to pay a high rate of interest to compensate lender for high risk. The interest rates on unsecured personal loans go as high as 7 to 30%. The interest rate or APR is fixed based on applicants credit score. Apart from credit history, there are several factors, which are taken into consideration while preparing credit score. The APR determined on this basis will be offered to borrower. Because of the prevalence of a large number of loan providers in the UK, borrowers can exercise their power of choice. The lender whose product is constituted of the best features is the one that is chosen by the borrower.

If negotiated well, the borrower will be able to design the unsecured personal loan as fully befitting his situation. There are several decisions to be made on unsecured personal loans, such as repayment, lender, term of repayment, rate of interest etc. The key to a best deal unsecured personal loan is to be alert while making such decisions.

Andrew baker has done his masters in finance from CPIT.He is engaged in providing free, professional, and independent advice to the residents of the UK. He works for the Secured loan web site loans fiesta for any type of loans in UK, secured loans, unsecured Personal loans, debt consolidation loans please visit http://www.loansfiesta.co.uk

So you have decided to become a business owner now you have a couple options. You can purchase a franchise or build a company from the ground up. This ultimately depends on what you want to put in and what you expect out.

The world is rife with franchise opportunities.Franchises are everywhere.A key benefit in buying into a franchise is that you essentially get a readymade business. A franchise basically gives you everything you need with a well recognized name to draw in customers. There are many different franchises available. Some will give you the business name, equipment and everything you need for start up, others only give you the basics and you still have to buy or lease a location, purchase equipment and the inventory you will need.

The negatives of buying a franchise however are that There is little room for creativity on your part, and of course the initial outlay. Visit the Key Mergers website for more information or if you would like to f you would like to buy a business or even to sell one.

Building your very own company from the bottom up however means that you can grow the business organically over time, you can limit your initial outlay and you can be as creative with the direction of your business as you like. However, your model may not be tried and tested and you will likely have to develop your own support network from the ground up along with your business.

the reality is, the decision whether to buy a franchise or start a business from scratch are multi-dimensional There is no one size fits all advise.

I can pick them out as easily as red onions from a garden salad. I’m speaking about people who repeat talking points dished out to them by ideologue insurgents. All you have to do is listen to callers on C-SPAN for an hour and you will hear them regurgitate every chunk, every morsel, every scrap of garbage fed to them the day before by “news talk radio”.

Remember when we all joined hands to laugh at the “truth” provided by Baghdad Bob as he spoke from the rooftop of the Iraqi Communication Center, while hiding adjacent bombed-out buildings with curtains as he stood defiantly at the edge, arms flailing at some obscure smokeless area, proclaiming victory was near. He became a media phenom in those early patriotic days of the Iraq war. Yup, he kept us perpetually amused with his blind eye and forked tongue.

Yet while we chuckle at folks like Baghdad Bob and his faithful, we clamor into our own lines on a cliff, ready to jump when given the “truth” by Hannity or Franken, Limbaugh or Rhodes, Mehlman or Dean, Fox News or Air America, Frist or Kennedy, ad nausea or et cetera. I do not see the difference between Baghdad Bob and those mentioned, except to say that Baghdad Bob’s life probably depended on the “truths” he spoke. The others do it for money, celebrity, and power.

Regardless of who releases talking points or who pushes them out to the public domain, they are propaganda pure and simplepartial facts, misleading spin, clever word-smithing, out-of-context sound bitesall for the purpose of pandering to some agenda. And we are an eager audience, soaking up the lackey leakage like an extra absorbent Depends pad.

In this day of hundreds of cable channels, thousands of magazines, tens of thousands of blogs, millions of websites, we can search and find the “news” we want to hear and how we want to hear it. The media source cherry picks the information and we cherry pick the media source. It’s easy to do, takes no thought, and forever keeps us polarized as we isolate ourselves in information silos.

Frankly, the days of honest debate, serious discussion, hard problem solving, and above all, listening, thinking and negotiating are sadly numbered. Partisanship and ideology have taken over. It doesn’t matter whether there is a Republican majority or Democrat majority across all branches of the government. Nothing of substance can be moved when our heels are dug in up to our eyeballs.

Sadly, in this era of pundit propagandizing, evil labeling and rhetorical ranting, the disenfranchised numbers grow larger, their anger deeper, our security weaker, the ozone thinner and the tipping point closer, making these times tough for optimistsa party for pessimists. And we can only blame ourselves.

This article was written by humorist Robert Crane. For more the same and other surprises, visit his popular website at: http://www.cranelegs.com

Choosing the right diet type is the most important decision you’ll make, as you plan for weight loss success.

The best plan to follow is designed to produce 1-2 pounds of weight loss per week. At this rate, weight loss is safe, healthy, and lasting. Plan accordingly and designate the proper number of weeks for dieting following the 1-2 pounds per week rule.

For instance, if you want to lose 10 pounds before the big day, you’ll need at least 5 weeks of dieting to guarantee healthy weight loss (10 pound goal/2 pounds per week = 5 weeks of dieting).

Diet Types for Your Wedding

Forget about all the different diets available and stick with the only type proven to produce safe, healthy, and lasting weight loss. A gradual, moderate restriction of calories is the best diet type to follow and the only one proven to work.

Interestingly, all diet types work by restricting calories. For example, the Negative Calorie Diet works because the recommended food to eat is significantly lower in calories than your baseline diet.

It’s that simple. Supporters of the diet claim that negative calorie foods burn more calories during digestion and this leads to weight loss. In truth, negative calorie foods are essentially low in calories and you end up eating fewer calories than before you started dieting…and that’s why you lose weight.

The best diet type to follow in preparation for your wedding is a simple low calorie diet.

Restricting Calories

Restrict calories slowly and only moderately from your baseline caloric intake. Keeping within the range of 200-600 calories reduced, you’ll experience safe, healthy, and lasting weight loss.

The following table shows you the number of calories to reduce from your baseline, both at the start and at the maximum reduction. This is your guide to healthy weight loss.

Baseline Intake/Start Restriction/Maximum Restriction

2000/200/400
2300/250/450
2600/300/500
2900/350/550
3000/400/600

If you normally eat 2300 calories per day, then start by reducing your daily intake by 250 calories. Gradually work towards reducing your daily intake by 450 calories.

What to Eat

Eat a balanced diet. Each day eat 35-45% lean protein, 25-35% complex carbohydrates, and 15-25% fat. Healthy fats, like Omega-3 from fish, can substitute for a lean protein source.

Each meal eat 1 source of lean protein, 1 serving of complex carbohydrate, and 2-3 servings of vegetables and fruit. Limit simple carbohydrates (sugars) and unhealthy fats, like saturated fats and trans-fatty-acids, to just a few servings per week.

Wedding Exercises

Your diet type and weight loss plan are not complete without exercise. The most critical aspect of exercise is to tone muscle.

The good news? There’s a simple and effective way to tone muscle and lose weight. Not only that, with toned muscle, you’ll look tight and buff, surprising all of your guests.

You can find the instructions to toning muscle at Wedding Exercises.

To Healthy Weddings!

Michael A. Smith, MD
Chief Medical Consultant
Diet Basics Website

Dr. Smith is the Chief Medical Consultant for Diet Basics, a content based website dedicated to all dieters. Please visit his site at…

Diet Basics