Earlier today I went to a favorite place of mine on the Bowery in lower Manhattan to buy a coin counter. The place sells cash registers, scales, bill counters, coin counters, and other business items. The owner asked me, “How’s business?” I told him the truth, I have been working in one business or another since I was 7 years old and this is the worst year for business I have seen in 60 years.

He nodded in agreement, noting that he’s been in business since the end of WWII and he’s never seen business so bad. He added an interesting insight: years ago many people when they lost their would go and start a business. But thanks to all the uncertainty generated by our inept current President, when entrepreneurs do open a business it’s likely they do it with the fewest employees possible ¹, further retarding economic recovery.

Later in the day, I went to buy gold scrap from a gold-buying store in Staten Island and the owner asked me, “Hey, is it me or is business horrible?”

A week ago, a limousine company owner told me that normally this time of year he’d have at least 40 to 60 reservations booked for the coming weeks. He had only 4.

A construction company owner that has done work for me on a dozen occasions called and asked if I was hiring. I had to say no. Here is a guy who normally hires dozens of guys, putting up storefronts or renovating apartments looking for work for himself.

I do business with hundreds and hundreds of people and I can tell you that all of them share the same sentiment: this is indeed the worst economy in their memory.

How’s business for you, dear reader?

Notes

(1):

MarketWatch, 19 Mar 2012, New Business Startups Declined in 2011, Annual Kauffman Study Shows

“The Great Recession has pushed many individuals into business ownership due to high unemployment rates,” said Robert Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “However, economic uncertainty likely has made them more cautious, and they prefer to start sole proprietorships rather than more costly employer firms. This ‘jobless entrepreneurship’ trend negatively effects job creation and the larger economic recovery.”

Planck’s Constant

1. The poor, unsuccessful, unhappy types who blame the rich for their miserable lives,

and

2. The rich successful, unhappy types who blame the right-wing rich for the miserable lives of the first type.

The latter are called Limousine Socialists.

Obama showed us how much he and his supporters are Limousine Socialists last week when the President made headlines at George Clooney’s house for a fundraiser ¹ that sucked in a staggering million for his reelection efforts. The star-studded backyard party brought in a campaign haul believed to be the largest ever in one night.

The relationship between Hollywood’s left and Obama is perfectly illustrated by this parody of last week’s Time Magazine cover:

Photo Credit: iOwnTheWorld

A tip of the turban to Dan Mitchell at International Liberty and reader Dick Stanley.

Notes

(1):

NewsFeed | TIME.com, Barack Obama, George Clooney and the Million Fundraiser

Rightfully so, it’s been deemed “Starmageddon.”

On the heels of the President’s historic backing of gay marriage, Thursday night was very good to his reelection coffers: a George Clooney-hosted fundraiser managed to rake in a cool million for Barack Obama’s campaign fund — reportedly a record for a single presidential election event. But that was just the business side of things.

Planck’s Constant

Citizen Warrior

Photo Credit: Bo aHMaD

There is a Jewish answer to the question: “My toddler gets hysterical when he has his hair cut. What can I do?” The answer is another question: “If your child gets hysterical when he has his haircut, why are you persisting in trying to get his hair cut?”

Unless it is an absolute emergency, why traumatize a child? The only situation when it is appropriate to restrain a child while he or she is terrified, is for vaccines or other medical reason.

Before we continue, let me say that the question “What can I do?” is wrong. Here is the right question: “When is the right age for my baby’s first haircut?”

The quick answer: When your child is no longer afraid to get one.

My sons didn’t have their first haircut until they were three or four. No fuss, no crying, no trauma, no drama, no restraint, no child abuse.

The long answer: Unless your child is stepping and then tripping on his hair, why bother cutting it at all? Many mothers cut their son’s hair because they are annoyed that people mistake their boy for a girl. But so what? Other moms do it for no reason at all. There are mothers who even cut their child’s hair every single month, no matter how much the child is tortured or traumatized.

But, you may ask, what about hair that gets in the way of your child’s vision? Well, just snip off the offending strands while your child is asleep. It’s not brain surgery.

Some mothers only cut their child’s hair so that they can style it in a manner that impresses their female friends (Oh isn’t he cute with that mohawk haircut?).

For these mothers, the child is merely fodder to bolster their own distorted notion of self-esteem or to satisfy the sick urges prompted by their Münchausen syndrome by proxy disease. It is not the child’s needs that are important, it’s whatever makes the mother look good to those around her. Mothers who cannot wow their friends with a fancy car or expensive jewelry use their children as just another plaything to make her look successful or happy or a good mother.

A mother’s job is difficult enough without making it unbearable. Why make your child wail in terror? This is why some mothers have postpartum depression, they lack sleep and they worry about their ability as a mother. They lack sleep because their child wakes up in the middle of the night from terror-dreams. The child wakes in the middle of the night because the mother has unknowingly abused her child.

The mother rightly worries about her ability as a mother because her child is always crying. Want to have a peaceful and restful motherhood? Stop abusing your child. The first step in solving the problem is admitting that you, not the child, is the problem.

Planck’s Constant

Whichever language you want the kids to learn, first get attractive, colorful books

Summer vacations have just begun and it’s a wonderful opportunity for you to teach your kids an extra language.

If the children learn an additional language its a big advantage for them.

That’s not just an additional skill but it opens mind, and gives exposure to an entirely new culture.

Frankly, it’s not too tough, because kids have great ability to pick up things, quite fast, at that age.

For example, if you are Tamil, Telugu, Kannada or Malayalam speaker living in North India, there are chances that your kids can’t read books in their native language. Similar is true for Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, Oriya or Gujarati speakers in metros or living in Southern cities.

Your kids, perhaps, understand a bit when you speak your mother tongue. But if you make them read the script, it will be a great achievement. If, however, you are a Hindi speaker in a North Indian state, and none of you [parents] know a third language, you can always find an elderly neighbour who would be too willing to teach his language to your kid.

In fact, kids enjoy a lot when they start learning a new language. You would be surprised to see their enthusiasm, trying newly learnt words with friends and amid family members. But what is necessary is to instill the drive in them.

Urdu story books for children

Firstly, you must get good story books. Coloured books with lots of photographs, caricatures and cartoons attract kids.

Don’t say that your child doesn’t want to read, and rather remains hooked to television, watching the cartoon channels. The kid surely doesn’t watch TV all day.

You can promise him or her a big gift, once they learn the basic and finishes a few books. Kids love a bit of challenge & if you give them books that have stories or even comics, they’d learn fast.

Even I was astonished with my little daughter’s sudden interest in learning, when she suddenly started recognising words, and began reading all by herself. And all this without going through the primers. She is now reading headlines in Urdu newspapers also.
 
Though in Urdu-speaking [mostly Muslim households], Muslim kids are taught Arabic and hence most of the Urdu alphabets are recognised by them, but still, in India, Urdu is not as much in schools and street. And it takes an effort to make your kid read Urdu, because the nastaliq font is different from Arabic.

And, of course, Urdu is an entirely different language. The sounds ‘bh’, ‘gh’,'jh’, ‘th’, ‘ph’, ‘chh’, ‘Dh’, ‘Drh’ and even French ‘zh’ [as in vision] are totally unique in it and so is the manner in which they are joined. Then there are four ‘T’ and three ‘S’ in the alphabet.

While a section of parents feel that children will someday learn it and hence don’t take it seriously, the reality is that once the child reaches teenage, it becomes difficult for him or her to sit and seriously learn the language due to the load of studies.

Another section feels that there is no use in learning it. Similar is thinking among speakers of other languages also. I have umpteen friends who hail from Maharashtra but can’t read Marathi, despite the closeness of script.

Even kids born in Keralite families who live in North India, can’t differentiate between Manorama and Vanitha. Each language opens an altogether new dimension and the door to a new beautiful world. Just give it a try. First focus on reading, as writing can come later.

But yes, the toughest task is that you will have to find attractive books for them. Earlier posts related to this subject:

1. Don’t look at governments, do it yourself: First Urdu cartoon website launched

2. No cartoons, comics in Urdu papers

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An Indian Muslim’s Blog: News, Views & Urdu Poetry Website

Cocaine

In today’s society, cocaine use has become more and more common. We see it on television and in the movies all the time. This has led to many young kids experimenting with the drug. What is so unsettling about this is that this can lead to long term addiction. If an individual abuses cocaine for long enough they can end up doing irreversible damage to their health. If you know someone with a cocaine addiction, try and convince them to check into a drug rehabilitation facility.

Effects

The effects of cocaine are extremely detrimental; they can eventually lead to addiction or death. Cardiac arrest, seizures, and respiratory failure are common causes of death for those who abuse cocaine. Other side effects include increased blood pressure, constricted blood vessels, dilated pupils, mental alertness, increased energy and heart rate along with an increased temperature, and a decrease in appetite. Insufflation of cocaine can also cause holes in the nose. However recently a more startling side effect was revealed, research has shown that gray matter within the brain shrinks at a much fast rate in those dependent on cocaine as opposed to those who aren’t.

Research

A new study that relies on using brain imaging equipment, researchers were able to compare the gray matter volume of 120 individuals. The people’s ages ranged from 18-50. Half of these individuals were dependent on cocaine. Both groups should the anticipated decline in gray matter that was caused by age, however in those who were dependent on cocaine, their brains atrophied at twice the normal rate. These results are staggering; due to the low volume of the test population more studies will need to be conducted.

Getting Help

To overcome an addiction the best treatment is entering a drug detox facility. First the body must detox from its dependence on the substance, which in some cases can be dangerous. This is why it’s important to go to a medically supervised facility for detox. After the body has successfully gotten cocaine out of its system, rehabilitation can begin. This is when counseling, therapy, and group work gives the former addict to tools and mechanisms needed to overcome their addiction and live a life addiction and substance free. Most rehab centers have detox facilities associated with them or even on the property.

Cocaine is a highly addictive substance and can lead to death in many instances. If treatment is not sought immediately it can have dire consequences, including the newly found reduction in gray matter. Anyone trying to kick their cocaine abuse should look into a detox rehabilitation program to get their lives back on track.

While gringos are stuck with television weather presenters such as Al Roker (nothing personal, I’m sure he’s very talented), television weather shows in Mexico are smart enough to make the production more interesting with sexy female presenters.

Here for Noticieros Televisa is weather presenter Sugey Abrego. Click on any panel for larger view.

Mosaic made with Mosaic Maker

This is the second entry in my series of Hottest Weather Girls of the Western World.

Enjoy the following video, even if you don’t speak Spanish:

YouTube, Sugey Abrego Hot Mexican Weathergirl

Sugey will appear in a future article entitled 13 Hottest Weather Girls of the Western World.

Planck’s Constant

I may have been dead for over 1000 years but I am still very much alive.

I told my people I was a prophet — in fact, not just any prophet but the last one. Posing as a prophet is really very simple. First and foremost you have to believe in yourself. Then people will start to believe in you. The more people who believe in you, the more others can be persuaded to believe in you. It snowballs. Today I still live through my followers and the rules I gave them to live by.

What is my religion? My religion is my ambition.

My ambition was to dominate all the peoples of the world and to have them all living by my rules. I wanted total obedience. I wanted to be praised and revered by everyone on earth. I was careful to cover my ambition in the cloak of religion so that my authority had the backing of the Almighty. Who would dare disobey me then?

The cloak of religion has served me very well. It has inspired my credulous followers to kill and be killed in the service of my ambition; it has allowed them to cast their bloodshed in the light of holiness.

My religion only demands one thing: TOTAL OBEDIENCE. Obey my rules and serve my ambition and you will be rewarded, in this life and the next.

My followers are busy working to enforce my rules across the whole world today. They call this their religion. They do this in all manner of ways: by persuading, persecuting, cajoling, threatening, soothing, confusing, bullying, terrorising, silencing, migrating, breeding — whatever it takes to spread my religion and ensure it becomes dominant.

The main purpose of my religion is to destroy all other religions.

“So what are your rules?” I hear you ask. Very well, here are my life or death rules:

1) If you reject my religion, then you must be fought — to the death.

2) If you leave my religion, you must be killed.

3) If you mock, insult, or work against my religion you must be killed.

4) If you die fighting for my religion you will go straight to paradise.

Remember that total obedience is the only measure of devotion to me. If you follow my rules without question you will be rewarded. Even when my rules demand cruelty or ferocity, you must obey. In fact, your willingness to do what you would rather not do is the best sign that you are obedient and thus truly devoted to my religion.

Everything you do must proclaim the same message: “Accept my religion or else!” This is my message and this is the message of my followers. Watch them carefully; they always bear the same message.

Today my ambition is enjoying remarkable success. Everywhere my followers go they simply have to say they must be allowed to do this or that because it is their religion and the unbelievers fall over themselves to allow it — even when it secretly disgusts them.

For all the technical wizardry of these modern unbelievers, I must say they are the greatest fools I have ever seen. Their biggest weakness is that they want peace. This makes them easy people to conquer. My followers just have to threaten disorder and the unbelievers find a sneaky way to concede defeat. The violence of my followers terrifies the unbelievers into paralysis and submission. There are a few among the unbelievers who have become alarmed but they are ignored or vilified.

In fact, when my followers murder some unbelievers due to some trivial insult, these foolish cowards come to them with grovelling apologies and promises to punish anyone else who offends my religion: my religion, which hangs over them like a death sentence! They truly are the most ridiculous people. I think they will sell their own children into slavery for the sake of a little more “peace”.

My soldiers only have to use words like “justice”, “liberation”, “freedom” and the unbelievers will send their armies to help them. But my followers have no intention of creating “liberty”, it’s against my religion. Nor do the unbelievers understand what I mean by “justice”. They are too lazy to find out!

I have nothing but contempt for these people. They are weak and cowardly and stupid.

These fools think that by tolerating my religion they are accepting it. This will do for now because it allows my followers to gather strength, but in the long run it will not suffice. To accept my religion is to obey my rules and just tolerating my religion is not obeying my rules. If they refuse to obey my rules, they are rejecting my religion and must be fought — to the death. That is rule number one.

Citizen Warrior