THIS WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS #1

REBATES
GROW/2005/ BUSINESSWEEK/ 12/5/34-37


Corporations like rebates. Let’s say that you buy a product for one thousand dollars. The advertisement says that it cost $750.00 with rebate. That rebate term is an asterisk at the bottom of the page. So you buy it at one thousand dollars. You were going to send in the rebate but lost it. Or you forgot about it, because the 750 dollars is still in your mind. Or, you send in the rebate, but they want more information. So, you are going to send in the information, but you delay it. Industry wide, the rebates returns are 60%. That means that 40% never get their money. Further, the rebate can be disguised as junk mail so you throw it out. By the way, did you keep the receipt? Well, if you didn’t that may mean that you don’t get your money. Additionally, the rebate price may be a phony discount. So the real cost in other stores is $650.00 And so it goes.


COMPUTERS HEAL THY SELF
HAMM/ 2005BUSINESSWEEK/12/5/74-75

Computers are learning how to fix themselves. The article discusses the complexities of doing such a thing, but it can be done. The computer can think for itself, notices the discrepancies and makes the necessary adjustments. The program that I am using has some of these characteristics now. If I misspell a word, in some instances it will automatically change to the correct spelling. This is not new, but it sure helps. It may also help that it may be able to destroy viruses. In the end, it will be able to self-manage, self-diagnose, and self-repair.

BUILDING IN A BAG
CAPLAN/2005/TIME/12/5/86

A 500 pound bag is filled with water and inflated. 40 minutes later the project is complete.
Twenty four hours later, there is a round hut made of cement. The hut has room for a number of adults and can be used in war or in peace. The canvas of the hut is impregnated with cement. The water moistens the cement for it to spread and hardened. The hut is built by inflating it with air.

FAKE BOOKS
SUMMERS/2005 NEWSWEEK/ 12/5/14

You are decorating your house and you want to look like your smart. That you read a lot of books. So what do you do? You go out and buy as many books that LOOK intellectual at remainder tables. Buy some at the Goodwill and second hand stores. Then you can buy panels of books that look like books, but they are clever wall paper. In other words, the book end with the title sticks out. The titles are scholarly and you can even put a WHO’S WHO in the rack. You pay for the number of books by the inch. They cover your book shelf and now you have a scholarly number of books. Hopefully, no one will open one. Or, ask you questions about the book.

COLLEGE NEWSPAPERS ARE GROWING IN PRESTIGE
SUMMERS/2005/ NEWSWEEK/12/5/ 48

Large universities now have hundreds on their staffs to publish a daily newspaper. The number of articles as well as advertisements rival small city papers. The ads and the graphics are considerable. Advertisers want the lucrative market of college students. The rich ones have lots of discretionary income and see the ads in the college paper.

ANOREXIA
TYRE/2005/ NEWSWEEK/ 12/5/ 51-59

This article is not what you expect. There are anorexic girls who since the 60’s Twiggy are starving to be liked. However, the full picture now seems that predominant anorexics are Black or Asian, male and middle age. If this finding holds up, it would appear to be more genetic than environmental. However, the therapies are environmental and the drugs affect the genetic. Finding the therapy is still controversial...

WELFARE REFORM?
_________/2005/ THE ECONOMIST/ 11/26/ 37-38

Welfare children are now put in foster homes and at the moment, it is about half a million. Nearly, 120,000 kids are up for adoption, but probably will not find homes. They are Black of Hispanic. Pew Research discovered abuse and neglect, but this appears on the whole to work better than the traditional single mother of the past. Relatives are first called upon to adopt the unplanned children.

THE WORLD IS NO PLACE FOR YOUR DAUGHTER
__________/2005/ THE ECONOMIST/11/26/ 58

Although women are half the population of the world, they are more likely to be raped and killed, killed for the honor of the family, killed for dowry, killed as babies, or aborted. The death counts run something like 3 million a year.

EXECUTIVE PAY
_________/2005/ THE ECONOMIST/11/26/75-76

The pay of USA executives continue to skyrocket. (The Economist is an English periodical.) Even if a company does not climb in the stock market or making whopping profits, the executives get more and more. Congress as controlled by the dominant party looks the other way. This is the most pronounced among all democracies.

JUNK MAIL
_______/2005/ THE ECONOMIST/11/26/78

Folks don’t want junk mail. So it is declining. Financial services are the biggest promoter of junk mail. Like spam folks want to get it out of their houses. In UK, telephone soliciting is now running a scam of one or two phone calls and hanging up, hoping the consumer will call them as they may feel that they did not get an important call.

A PRO-LIFER BACKS PLAN B
CHAPMAN/ 2005/ THE WEEK/ 12/2/ 16.

Plan B is a morning after sex pill. The pill can not kill a new unborn child. What it does is block the egg from uniting with a sperm. Thus, it is birth control. It is not an abortion.

IOWA’S MISSISSIPPI
______/2005/ THE WEEK/ 12/2/38

If you take a big boat down the Mississippi river from St. Louis to New Orleans you are missing some really special places in Iowa. Davenport, and Dubuque and surrounding environs are mentioned.

MAKING POOR NATIONS INTO LESS THAN POOR

________/2005/THE ECONOMIST/ 11/5/ 1-14

Money should not be sent to third world governments. Rather, loans should be sent by American banks to tiny banks in the Third world. These banks are like pawn shops and will take almost anything to finance micro farming done by women. Further, the women meet every week at the bank to talk about farming strategies. Those who do not pay for their loans (low interest) do not receive any further money.

TERRORIST GROUPS ARE NOW UNITING WITH ORGANIZED CRIME.
KAPLAN/2005/U.S NEWS & WORLD REPORT/12/5/41-48.

There is money in terrorism. Organized crime can sell drugs as part of a strategy to undermine a country and prepare it for terrorists. Or, established countries can be hampered by terrorist so that crime can grow the drugs.

BIG PHARMA IS LOOKING FOR CHEERLEADERS
__________/2005/ THE WEEK/12/9/ 40

Increasingly, Big Pharma is looking for cheerleaders and other attractive young women to pitch drugs to male doctors who prescribe the medicine. It seems to work.


 

 

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