The 2008 Darwin Awards are distributed with the idea, that well, natural selection should take care of the idiots in the world. Not the most humane approach, but humorous none-the-less!
Here is the glorious winner:
1.When his 38-calibre revolver failed to fire at his intended victimduring a hold-up in Long Beach , California , would-be robber JamesElliot did something that can only inspire wonder. He peered down thebarrel and tried the trigger again. This time it worked.
And now, the honourable mentions:
2.The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in a meat-cuttingmachine and, after a little shopping around, submitted a claim to hisinsurance company. The company expecting negligence sent out one of itsmen to have a look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost afinger. The chef's claim was approved.
3.A man who shovelled snow for an hour to clear a space for his car duringa blizzard in Chicago returned with his vehicle to find a woman hadtaken the space. Understandably, he shot her.
4.After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean bus driverfound that the 20 mental patients he was supposed to be transportingfrom Harare to Bulawayo had escaped. Not wanting to admit hisincompetence, the driver went to a nearby bus stop and offered everyonewaiting there a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to themental hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very excitableand prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception wasn't discovered for 3days.
5.An American teenager was in the hospital recovering from serious headwounds received from an oncoming train. When asked how he received theinjuries, the lad told police that he was simply trying to see how closehe could get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
6.A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill on the counter,and asked for change. When the clerk opened the cash drawer, the manpulled a gun and asked for all the cash in the register, which the clerkpromptly provided. The man took the cash from the clerk and fled,leaving the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash he gotfrom the drawer... $15. [If someone points a gun at you and gives youmoney, is a crime committed?]
7.Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He decided thathe'd just throw a cinder block through a liquor store window, grab somebooze, and run. So he lifted the cinder block and heaved it over hishead at the window. The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-bethief on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store window wasmade of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught on videotape.
8.As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store, a man grabbedher purse and ran. The clerk called 911 immediately, and the woman wasable to give them a detailed description of the snatcher. Withinminutes, the police apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the carand drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out of the car andtold to stand there for a positive ID. To which he replied, "Yes,officer, that's her. That's the lady I stole the purse from."
9.The Ann Arbour News crime column reported that a man walked into aBurger King in Ypsilanti , Michigan , at 5 A.M., flashed a gun, anddemanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn'topen the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onionrings, the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The man,frustrated, walked away.. [*A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD WINNER]
10.When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor home parked on aSeattle street, he got much more than he bargained for. Police arrivedat the scene to find a very sick man curled up next to a motor home nearspilled sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted to tryingto steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose into the motor home'ssewage tank by mistake. The owner of the vehicle declined to presscharges saying that it was the best laugh he'd ever had.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Early Decisions
One of the things that I've noticed about Peruvian people and their culture, is that they make big decisions early on in their life.
They do a lot of things earlier than we do, like:
They do a lot of things earlier than we do, like:
- Get married
- Graduate
- Enter the religious life
- Travel
- Learn languages
A lot of people here have also been shocked to know that I'm 25. They think that I look 20 and am still in school. I'll take that as a compliment, I guess, but I think they're also confussed as to why I've decided to uproot my career and come now. Shouldn't I have made this decision 5 or 6 years ago?
In response, I think I'm going to grow a beard...
Please vote on the right hand side to weigh in on the beard situation.
Drunk at work...
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Drunk-At-Work-Peru-Court-Rules-Intoxication-On-The-Job-Is-Not-A-Sackable-Offence/Article/200901315203814
I celebrated this ruling by drinking it up at lunch, stumbling in, but keeping my mouth shut and not "hurting anyone...."
What a dumb ruling. I can't believe the rationale for this ruling!
I don't know the Peruvian Court System well, but I hope there's recourse!
I celebrated this ruling by drinking it up at lunch, stumbling in, but keeping my mouth shut and not "hurting anyone...."
What a dumb ruling. I can't believe the rationale for this ruling!
I don't know the Peruvian Court System well, but I hope there's recourse!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Late Night Work...and a Breaking Story
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14782
Today I continued to work away on fundraising for CNA. I'm making a lot of progress and learning a lot about how foundations operate, who they give money to, and what patterns they demonstrate. It's a bit time intensive, but considering the economic situation we're in, vital to the ongoing viable of CNA.
During lunch I was finally feeling 100% healed from my bout of illness. Because I was so focused on my work today, time kind of slipped away and I didn't get out of the office for lunch until after 1pm. It had been a good 48 hours since my last full meal and I was famished! Jose, my roommate, and I took off to my favorite restaurant and filled up on a 3 course meal (for only $3.30! yes, I'm still amazed at the prices for food here!).
After the fundraising internet database decided to prematurely shut down for the day, I decided to shift my focus to catching up on my news for the day.
At around 6pm my boss yelled, "Holy cooowwww!" and excitedly started typing away at his desk next to mine. I've become used to his animated ways, so I just continued to work away at my desk until he shot me an instant message about a big bust in Columbus, OH. Eric McFadden, the former Director of Faith Based Initiatives for the Democratic Gov. of Ohio, Chief Catholic honcho for Hillary Clinton's campaign, and big time Obama supporter, was busted for running an underground prostitution ring.
My boss needed a picture of this guy for the story we were running on him. So I jumped into action and started searching the net for a picture, a bio, and anything I could find on him. Through the course of 2 hours, we unraveled what was a tangled web of online coded prostitution. We uncovered what looked like jibberish. A combination of some computer language, an asian language, english, and a system of numbers.
After analyzing this for about 10 minutes, it was clear to me that a code was embeded, it wasn't just jibberish or computer code. There were real names, addresses, and descriptions about what type of sexual favors these women would perform. He used this code to solicit sex on Craigslist.
Reflecting on this guy's background, interviews, and experience, it was clear that he was a very militaristic liberal who seemed to be using his faith as a springboard to political success. It's sad to think that anybody can call themself a Catholic, a Luthern, a Muslim, a Jew and leverage that associate for their own good. The result is that it underminds the true faith of the religion they claim to be a part of and gives another excuse for those who do not believe to say, "see, that's why I'm not religious."
Very sad. I'm not sure how somebody can spend so much time working in the public sphere, preaching about the Common Good and then go home and lead people into sexual slavery.
Let's pray for Mr. McFadden and all those out there who have fallen into such terrible straights. Let's also work to make sure that the McFadden's of the world get the help they need and take them away from any opportunity to do others, and themselves, any harm.
Today I continued to work away on fundraising for CNA. I'm making a lot of progress and learning a lot about how foundations operate, who they give money to, and what patterns they demonstrate. It's a bit time intensive, but considering the economic situation we're in, vital to the ongoing viable of CNA.
During lunch I was finally feeling 100% healed from my bout of illness. Because I was so focused on my work today, time kind of slipped away and I didn't get out of the office for lunch until after 1pm. It had been a good 48 hours since my last full meal and I was famished! Jose, my roommate, and I took off to my favorite restaurant and filled up on a 3 course meal (for only $3.30! yes, I'm still amazed at the prices for food here!).
After the fundraising internet database decided to prematurely shut down for the day, I decided to shift my focus to catching up on my news for the day.
At around 6pm my boss yelled, "Holy cooowwww!" and excitedly started typing away at his desk next to mine. I've become used to his animated ways, so I just continued to work away at my desk until he shot me an instant message about a big bust in Columbus, OH. Eric McFadden, the former Director of Faith Based Initiatives for the Democratic Gov. of Ohio, Chief Catholic honcho for Hillary Clinton's campaign, and big time Obama supporter, was busted for running an underground prostitution ring.
My boss needed a picture of this guy for the story we were running on him. So I jumped into action and started searching the net for a picture, a bio, and anything I could find on him. Through the course of 2 hours, we unraveled what was a tangled web of online coded prostitution. We uncovered what looked like jibberish. A combination of some computer language, an asian language, english, and a system of numbers.
After analyzing this for about 10 minutes, it was clear to me that a code was embeded, it wasn't just jibberish or computer code. There were real names, addresses, and descriptions about what type of sexual favors these women would perform. He used this code to solicit sex on Craigslist.
Reflecting on this guy's background, interviews, and experience, it was clear that he was a very militaristic liberal who seemed to be using his faith as a springboard to political success. It's sad to think that anybody can call themself a Catholic, a Luthern, a Muslim, a Jew and leverage that associate for their own good. The result is that it underminds the true faith of the religion they claim to be a part of and gives another excuse for those who do not believe to say, "see, that's why I'm not religious."
Very sad. I'm not sure how somebody can spend so much time working in the public sphere, preaching about the Common Good and then go home and lead people into sexual slavery.
Let's pray for Mr. McFadden and all those out there who have fallen into such terrible straights. Let's also work to make sure that the McFadden's of the world get the help they need and take them away from any opportunity to do others, and themselves, any harm.
Bank of America
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/15/business/15bank.php
Yikes! Looks like the writing is on the wall...
Yikes! Looks like the writing is on the wall...
It would be the second bank after Citigroup to receive an additional
lifeline from the government.
U.S. regulators and executives at Bank of America, which has already
received $25 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, have grown
increasingly concerned at greater-than-expected losses in the fourth quarter at
Merrill, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not
authorized to disclose the information. The move to help shore up Bank of
America comes on the heels of greater U.S. government intervention in Citigroup.
After pumping more than $45 billion in Treasury money onto its balance sheet,
the government has put pressure on the bank to dismantle the troubled empire in
an effort to stem losses and curb capital injections.
While Bank of America was viewed not that long ago as a pillar of
strength in the banking sector, it has seen its stock plummet as investors worry
that it has acquired companies with their own set of
financial baggage.
Too big to fail or too bloated to survive?
Check out this video when you have a chance: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e03c20ba-e197-11dd-afa0-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
This is the exact opposite of what Citi was trying to do 3 months ago. Previously, they were attempting to acquire other banks to become "too big to fail." Now, however, I think their "political capital" has run dry and they're trying to do anything to survive.
This is a big deal because in my mind, it means the bailout has failed. Not just the bailout for Citi, but for all involved.
Financial stocks are down big today because traders fear that "breaking up" Citi is a last ditch effort, and an effort that may be attempted by other floundering banks.
Who could be next? Bank of America?
How does this affect Peru?
The Peruvian economy has been growing like crazy over the last 5-6 years. In fact, they were the fastest growing economy in S. America in 2008 (more than 4x as fast as the US)! On top of that, inflation was held to more than half of what the US experienced.
The issue, however, is that Peru has benefited from a lot of foreign investment (ie. see financial institutions issues above), which will shrink dramatically in 2009. Luckily, unlike the Marxist countries of Venezula, or undisciplined countries like Argentina, the Peruvian government has learned from the mistakes of the past. They have not bloated their budget with transfer payments, or over-extended themselves on expensive programs. Instead, they have tucked away a nice sum of money in their treasury. Peru will be one of the few Latin American countries able to provide a stimulous without pumping inflation up or running a large deficit.
There's little doubt in my mind that the country will get hit by this economic crisis, maybe as soon as 6 months from now, but it seems as though they will be a model for other developing countries to follow.
This is the exact opposite of what Citi was trying to do 3 months ago. Previously, they were attempting to acquire other banks to become "too big to fail." Now, however, I think their "political capital" has run dry and they're trying to do anything to survive.
This is a big deal because in my mind, it means the bailout has failed. Not just the bailout for Citi, but for all involved.
Financial stocks are down big today because traders fear that "breaking up" Citi is a last ditch effort, and an effort that may be attempted by other floundering banks.
Who could be next? Bank of America?
How does this affect Peru?
The Peruvian economy has been growing like crazy over the last 5-6 years. In fact, they were the fastest growing economy in S. America in 2008 (more than 4x as fast as the US)! On top of that, inflation was held to more than half of what the US experienced.
The issue, however, is that Peru has benefited from a lot of foreign investment (ie. see financial institutions issues above), which will shrink dramatically in 2009. Luckily, unlike the Marxist countries of Venezula, or undisciplined countries like Argentina, the Peruvian government has learned from the mistakes of the past. They have not bloated their budget with transfer payments, or over-extended themselves on expensive programs. Instead, they have tucked away a nice sum of money in their treasury. Peru will be one of the few Latin American countries able to provide a stimulous without pumping inflation up or running a large deficit.
There's little doubt in my mind that the country will get hit by this economic crisis, maybe as soon as 6 months from now, but it seems as though they will be a model for other developing countries to follow.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Spanish Lessons...
Why do spanish programs teach worthless spanish?
I have yet to see a horse here, yet I know "caballo" better than any other word.
Also, I don't talk about people playing the guitar that much, so why do I need to "toca la guitarra" so much?!?
Ahhh, I will never learn!
Maybe I'll meet a guitar playing cowboy soon...?
I have yet to see a horse here, yet I know "caballo" better than any other word.
Also, I don't talk about people playing the guitar that much, so why do I need to "toca la guitarra" so much?!?
Ahhh, I will never learn!
Maybe I'll meet a guitar playing cowboy soon...?
Loneliness
Last night I ended up getting sick. I ate at a questionable restaurant for lunch yesterday and paid the price. Luckily, I didn't get as sick as some "gringos" that have passed through here, but none-the-less I was fairly miserable all last night and most of the day today.
Even though I was feeling ill, I woke up and headed back to the shanty towns to meet another Peruvian American who was considering working with the CLM. He had just come back from 2 1/2 years in Africa with the Peace Corps. He had a lot of interesting experiences with a tribal village there. His focus surrounded providing basic health care, and as a graduate from Brown in Economic Development, he was fascinated with the operation that is currently underway in his home country.
The guy that picked me up to take me to the shanty towns spoke english, but spanish and portuguese were his main languages, and the Peruvian American we met up with brought his Brazilian girlfriend. So I spent most of the day listening to conversations in portuguese. While the language is similar to spanish, I still had little to no idea what they were talking about 95% of the day.
Today was the first day I really felt lonely. I think part of it was how ill I felt, another part was how lonely it can be when you can't communicate with anyone. For someone who is used to developing a few deep relationships, it's very difficult to have many shallow relationships held back by a language barrier. Knowing so little spanish, I can't really make a connection about who these people are and what they're about until I learn more spanish. It's certainly giving me more motivation, but it's also very discouraging. There are some points during the day when I get frustrated and think I will never learn this language and I end up speaking english to the few english speakers around here.
Even though I was feeling ill, I woke up and headed back to the shanty towns to meet another Peruvian American who was considering working with the CLM. He had just come back from 2 1/2 years in Africa with the Peace Corps. He had a lot of interesting experiences with a tribal village there. His focus surrounded providing basic health care, and as a graduate from Brown in Economic Development, he was fascinated with the operation that is currently underway in his home country.
The guy that picked me up to take me to the shanty towns spoke english, but spanish and portuguese were his main languages, and the Peruvian American we met up with brought his Brazilian girlfriend. So I spent most of the day listening to conversations in portuguese. While the language is similar to spanish, I still had little to no idea what they were talking about 95% of the day.
Today was the first day I really felt lonely. I think part of it was how ill I felt, another part was how lonely it can be when you can't communicate with anyone. For someone who is used to developing a few deep relationships, it's very difficult to have many shallow relationships held back by a language barrier. Knowing so little spanish, I can't really make a connection about who these people are and what they're about until I learn more spanish. It's certainly giving me more motivation, but it's also very discouraging. There are some points during the day when I get frustrated and think I will never learn this language and I end up speaking english to the few english speakers around here.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Political Mudslinging Must End
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=14732
Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman, caused quite a stir both in California and throughout the world. People in Peru have even asked me about this issue!
The issue that should concern all Americans, regardless of where they stand on the issue, is how we as Americans have responded since the Proposition was passed:
Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution to define marriage between one man and one woman, caused quite a stir both in California and throughout the world. People in Peru have even asked me about this issue!
The issue that should concern all Americans, regardless of where they stand on the issue, is how we as Americans have responded since the Proposition was passed:
- Mormans have been targeted and malicious lies spread about their faith
- Individual donors have been targeted, sent death threats, and have been intimidated over the phone
- Extreme political activists are trying to take away the tax-exempt status of the Church
First, let me say that the GLBT group has faced unprecedented discrimination in the past. There is no excuse for physically, emotionally, or verbally targeting a group with hate. Absolutely unacceptable. Yet, that is exactly what vote "No" supporters are now doing to supporters of traditional marriage.
As a nation, we seem not to be making "progress" here, but rather just shifting power. Instead of learning from the mistakes of actions from the past, an old form of hate is re-engineering itself.
Clearly, this is a contentious issue, with people feeling passionate on both sides, but this win at all costs, even with the destruction of friendships, respect, and faith in this country has to stop.
Most Americans agree that the health of the family is in jeopardy, we typically agree that values and respect are being lost, and even though we may disagree on certain values, we must agree that there is a natural law of principles that we must all adhere to in order to sustain our culture, engage in political debate, and form public policy.
Forget about losing our place as the Global Superpower, if we lose these principles, we lose our civilization.
My first projects...
The last few days I've been working on fundraising for the Catholic News Agency (CNA). I've given myself a quick crash course on this database and jumped right into trying to identify charitable trusts that may fall in line with our mission. It's been interesting to learn how non-profit groups like CNA raise funds and try to grow their ministry. Conversely, it's facsinating to learn how charitable trusts change over time. They typically start out with a well defined purpose and set of principles, but as time goes on, and new generations inherit the decision making, they drift away from what their founder believed in.
After our daily Angelous Prayer, I met with my boss and we discussed a host of strategic items that we need to accomplish over the next year. I can't go into details, but it may include a couple of trips to the US for some "International Catholic News" panels at various universities. Needless-to-say, I have a lot of planning and research to do in order to get these things in line.
I was also asked to use my American accent for a podcast tomorrow. For what? I don't know because I couldn't understand all of the Spanish!
More to come on that...
Also, I found out today that Kobe Bryant is a recent convert to Catholicism. Apparently after his rape trial, instead of his wife leaving him, she forgave him and promised to stay with him as long as he changed his life and re-focused it on God. Consequently, he started going to church and became a Catholic. It could explain his maturity in the last few years...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik1EqpUOe9Y
I ate lunch today down the street at "El Patio," and while I was eating, I wondered, "Hmmm...this juice doesn't seem freshly squeezed...I wonder if they made it with tap water..."
What does this mean? It means I'm starting to feel sick...hopefully my next entry won't be describing my sickness...
After our daily Angelous Prayer, I met with my boss and we discussed a host of strategic items that we need to accomplish over the next year. I can't go into details, but it may include a couple of trips to the US for some "International Catholic News" panels at various universities. Needless-to-say, I have a lot of planning and research to do in order to get these things in line.
I was also asked to use my American accent for a podcast tomorrow. For what? I don't know because I couldn't understand all of the Spanish!
More to come on that...
Also, I found out today that Kobe Bryant is a recent convert to Catholicism. Apparently after his rape trial, instead of his wife leaving him, she forgave him and promised to stay with him as long as he changed his life and re-focused it on God. Consequently, he started going to church and became a Catholic. It could explain his maturity in the last few years...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik1EqpUOe9Y
I ate lunch today down the street at "El Patio," and while I was eating, I wondered, "Hmmm...this juice doesn't seem freshly squeezed...I wonder if they made it with tap water..."
What does this mean? It means I'm starting to feel sick...hopefully my next entry won't be describing my sickness...
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