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Reality Check... news from all over, good and bad
November 22, 2009
Credibility and integrity??
Recently I received renewal notices for my Foreign Affairs periodical. Some of the articles I found worthwhile, others... well... not so valuable. The credibility of a magazine of this sort should be quite high, but now I question it. Below are two scans of my various renewal and subscription offers. Please note my basic renewal price seemed to be $22.95. The cover price for 6 issues is $59.70. A new subscriber can get it for $32 a year. I received an offer saying not just once, but TWICE that if I renewed I could give a second gift subscription for $39.95!! What a deal!!! (MUCH sarcasm here) Read both the 2-FOR-1 HOLIDAY offer and the yellow enclosure with it. BOTH claim NO hidden charges and the gift subscription is absolutely free! Needless to say I am NOT renewing.
August 30, 2009
From my friend in Portugal, Susanne...
something
to think about...
Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six
Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went
through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle
aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped
for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till
and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch
and started to walk again..
10 minutes:
A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid
stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child
continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by
several other children.. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move
on.
45 minutes:
The musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20
gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.
He collected $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded,
nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians
in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a
violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a
theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was
organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about
perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common
place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to
appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in
the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most
beautiful instruments .... How many other things are we missing?
Here is a link to the story-
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html
August 2009-
Journalist Prepared for 40,000 Lashes
AOL News
(Aug. 3) -- A Sudanese woman facing 40 lashes for wearing pants declared she was ready for thousands as she battles the country's laws.
Lubna-Ahmed al-Hussein, a journalist with the United Nations Mission in Sudan, is on trial after being arrested July 3 along with 12 other women for wearing trousers at a restaurant in Khartoum, Agence France-Presse reported.
Ashraf Shazly, AFP / Getty Images
Sudanese journalist Lubna Ahmed al-Hussein faces 40 lashes for wearing trousers in a restaurant. Hussein said she is ready to be whipped "40,000 times" as she fights to bring international attention to the treatment of Sudanese women.
More coverage: Politics Daily's Alex Wagner on the Lubna Hussein Case
Sudanese law calls for 40 lashes for anyone "who commits an indecent act which violates public morality or wears indecent clothing." For women, indecent clothing includes the outfit Hussein wore when she was arrested and again during her first hearing on July 29: a loose-fitting top, headscarf and green slacks.
Ten of the women arrested have already accepted punishment of 10 lashes each, but Hussein and two other women still face charges.
Hussein has appealed her case in the hope of bringing international attention to the plight of Sudanese women. She waived her immunity as a U.N. worker in the case and told AFP her goal is to have the law regulating clothing repealed.
"If I'm sentenced to be whipped, or to anything else, I will appeal. I will see it through to the end, to the constitutional court if necessary," Hussein said. "And if the constitutional court says the law is constitutional, I'm ready to be whipped not 40 but 40,000 times."
Hussein told AFP thousands of women have been flogged for their clothing over the last two decades, but it is not publicized because those prosecuted fear no one would believe them. By becoming a voice for these women, Hussein said, "I've already won half the battle."
Hussein is scheduled to be judged Tuesday and she said she plans to wear the same "indecent" outfit to court.
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Samaritan has 120 dinner guests every night
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