TampaYankee

You have this just about right. In a job like this there is no off-time only up-time and down-time. These guys are secret service and military on a presidential security mission. They represent the country while in-country on this mission. This is different from being home on an off weekend or after hours in the hometown or on vacation. Also, for me prostitution, per se, is not an issue. It may well be legal in Colombia for all I know. This was a security breach and a public relations disaster. I suspect their careers are at an end too. While I ususally believe that off-work issues should rarely impact job status, that does not hold in this case for the reasons in the first paragraph. I would make the decisions on an individual basis but I suspect I'd fire all or many for sure. Simply put, they compromised the mission both in security and political impact by their ill-considered behavior. Those caught up in it without direct culpabilibty would be spared but willing 'participant's would go as well as an immeidate supervisor or two who permitted the environment for such a lapse to occurr. Maybe more.

Think about that next you might consider a public pool. That includes hotels.

Oh lord, if the Dems were competent the GOP would compare unfavorably with last weeks unsold fish. The best and maybe only attribute of the Dems is that they are not toxic to the middle class, the environment, and the social safety nets.

If Brad Pitt really wanted to support gay marriage then he would marry me.

Funny, except for the HP comment, pretty much my thoughts too, including the GOP. Just didn't think about HP but they are also deserving of consideration..

America’s Nine Most Damaged Brands 24/7 Wall St Highly recognizable brands can be invaluable, but they require constant attention. Their value can rise or fall because of management decisions, changes in the competitive environment, and the beliefs that a brand has aged beyond its useful lifetime. Often, though, the true causes of drops in brand value are folly and arrogance. 24/7 Wall St.’s review of nine brands that were badly damaged recently shows that even the most powerful brand cannot survive horrible decisions. A brand derives its value from several factors. the most obvious being how much it can earn. This is not the least evident with Marlboro — the best-selling brand for its two owners, tobacco companies Philip Morris and Altria. The companies have fostered the cigarette brand through hundreds of millions of dollars of advertising and marketing support. The brand has evolved, adding other versions. Today there are also Marlboro Lights, Marlboro Reds (which are larger than standard), and Marlboro Menthol. One version of the brand is not enough, in the wisdom of its owners. The evolution of the brand has kept its customer base over the years, and probably added to it. The brands on this damaged brand list often rose based on lofty claims, and fell when those claims were not realized. The Chevy Volt was meticulously engineered by GM to be its flagship car of the future. Then it had engine fire problems. The Nokia Lumia 900 was built to compete with the Apple iPhone. Just as it was introduced in the U.S. market, it was discovered to have a software flaw that could prevent data downloads. The Airbus A380 “super jumbo” was made to be the most advanced passenger jet in the world, until its wings began to crack. For our purposes, a brand doesn’t have to be a product or service. People can be brands. Famous sports figures count on their images for large endorsements. Tiger Woods proved how swiftly a sports brand can be destroyed. A country can be a brand. Street violence in Jamaica in 2010 triggered a warning about travel to the island from the U.S. State Department. All of these brands are among the most widely recognized and consumed brands by America. 9. American Airlines “Is American the Worst-Managed Airline in America?”–Time Magazine (2/6/12) American Airlines has been destroying its brand — and not just with consumers. Probably the least important to customers but most important to investors is the fact that parent AMR filed for bankruptcy protection on November 29 of last year. While airlines have effectively been using Chapter 11 for years to shed debt, American Air had been the exception. As the flag carrier for the U.S. and the largest domestic based airline until 2007, American was the industry leader. After destroying its brand with investors, American moved on to consumers. It had only been in Chapter 11 for five months when the 22-year-old U.S. airline customer satisfaction, “Airline Quality Rating,” rated American next to last among the large national carriers, after United. It also ranked its regional carrier, American Eagle, dead last among all of the carriers rated. American fared poorly in several of the areas that customers find most important. On-time arrivals fell from 79.8% in 2010 to 77.8% in 2011. Denied boardings worsened from 0.86 in 2010 to 0.92 in 2011. American may be about to destroy its brand with yet another group. It will try to get the bankruptcy court handling its case to void its labor contracts. 8. Nokia “Software Glitch Mars Nokia’s U.S. Re-Entry”–Wall Street Journal (4/12/12) Nokia had 40% of the global hand set market in 2007. Its three challengers — Motorola, Samsung, and Sony Ericsson — had less market share combined. Research in Motion sold its BlackBerry at the time, but almost all of its customers were large companies. Apple did not release the first iPhone until June 29, 2007. Google’s Android OS, now so popular, was not commercially available. In less than four years, Nokia went from being the top mobile phone company in the world to a company whose future is questioned by Wall Street. Nokia’s share price is down 80% from its price five years ago. It was time to act. In an attempt to correct the company’s slide, CEO Stephen Elop, a former Microsoft executive, decided to form a partnership with his old employer. The world’s largest software company had no success getting its Windows Mobile OS widely adopted. The two companies decided to attack the market together by combining their hardware and software to make smartphones. Leveraging Microsoft’s massive marketing and R&D budget, together the companies had a chance to challenge Apple and Google. When announcing the partnership, the Swedish company said, “Nokia plans to form a strategic partnership with Microsoft to build a global mobile ecosystem based on highly complementary assets. The Nokia-Microsoft ecosystem targets to deliver differentiated and innovative products and have unrivalled scale, product breadth, geographical reach, and brand identity.” The flagship of the new venture is the Lumia smartphone, which was built to challenge the Apple iPhone and high-end products from Samsung. Nokia set an alliance with AT&T in the U.S., and the earliest sales figures were impressive. Nokia said it sold more than 2 million units of all its Lumia smartphone models in the quarter that ended March, up from over 1 million in the overlapping November-to-January period. But analysts had expected an even faster uptick in sales. Mikael Rautanen from research firm Inderes said he was expecting twice the sales volume. Following the muted success of early versions of Lumia devices overseas, the Lumia 900 was launched in America. Nokia announced the most recent model had a software bug that could cause the smartphone to disconnect from data networks. The news was a public relations nightmare and it was widely assumed that U.S. sales would plummet. In response, Nokia said it would issue $100 rebates to owners of the handsets, which is a penny more than what they paid for them. The phone may be broken, but it’s free. 7. Netflix “Netflix continues downward spiral amid backlash”–AP (9/20/11) Netflix made it look so easy — growing for so many years. The company started to deliver DVDs by mail in 1999. It effectively competed with industry behemoth Blockbuster, which had more than 4,000 stores until its business started to fall apart in 2009. That same year, Netflix reached 10 million subscribers and offered almost 100,000 titles. Netflix’s management decided that people would rather get their DVDs by mail instead of driving to a store, and, as was often the case at Blockbuster, paying late fees. The inventiveness of Netflix did not end there. Broadband Internet made it possible to stream movies and TV shows. Netflix set up a streaming service and essentially knocked the DVD players off the tops of many TV sets across America. The product was such a huge success that by early 2011 it had well over 21 million subscribers. Just as it seemed impossible for Netflix to lose its edge it did what competition could not — it alienated its own customers and caused hundreds of thousands of them to cancel their service. The company had made a simple and awful misstep. It sharply raised prices, probably on the theory that its service was well loved and irreplaceable. The size of the increase was remarkably large — 60%. The negative reaction was so overwhelming that Netflix divided itself into two services: one for online DVD rentals and the other for streaming customers. Those who subscribed to only one service would not face the price hike. The new service — Qwikster — lasted only a few weeks. As tech site AllThingsD wrote at the time, “Qwikster Is Gonester: Netflix Kills Its DVD-Only Business Before Launch.“ The damage to the company’s customer reputation was so bad that it may never entirely recover. Just after the debacle, a prominent research firm reported a breathtaking drop in Netflix customer satisfaction. When research firm ForeSee released its annual Holiday E-Retail Satisfaction Index on December 28, 2011, it wrote that “Today’s report provides the first scientific quantification of customers’ experience with Netflix since its missteps earlier this year. With its satisfaction decline, Netflix has gone from satisfaction superstar to merely average.” 6. Airbus 380 “Airbus A380 Fleet Needs Full Inspection of Wings Amid Cracks”–Bloomberg (2/8/12) U.S. airlines now own nearly as many Airbus planes as they do Boeing aircrats. The Airbus 380 was the European company’s response to the tremendously successful Boeing 747 jumbo jet, which was at the top of the large plane market after its launch in 1970. The A380 is bigger than the 747; it has two full decks and seats up to 535 people. After several delays, the jet was finally delivered at the end of 20 07 and became a critical part of the long-haul fleets of Singapore Air, Qantas, Lufthansa and Emirates — all of which have routes between large cities around the world. But with the many problems in the A380 program, European conglomerate EADS — Airbus parent — was merciless with management changes. Once the A380 was launched, it sold successfully. Eighty-five planes have been built already, and the model sells for nearly $400 million. But the aircraft’s strong run was short lived. Qantas found cracks in the wings of one of its A380 — a total of 36 on a single plan. The European Air Safety Agency decided that all of the planes had to be checked immediately and issued a directive: “This condition, if not detected and corrected, may lead to a reduction of the structural integrity of the aeroplane.” Aside from the safety concerns, there are financial consequences as well. Emirates said it will lose $90 million due primarily to the cost of maintenance and repairs. The carrier’s CEO Tim Clark told the Financial Times, “From a commercial point of view, it’s adreadful experience. It has caused a lot of commercial hardship and we are not very happy with the way this has gone.” 5. Rush Limbaugh “Rush Limbaugh’s ‘slut’ comment draws rebukes from all sides” —LA Times (3/2/12) The radio industry’s bible, “Talkers,” crowned Limbaugh king of all radio hosts for 2011. The publication used Arbitron data to set Rush’s weekly audience at over 15 million. Fellow right-winger Glenn Beck’s audience is only 8.5 million. The Drudge Report said that Limbaugh’s compensation package totaled $400 million for the period from 2008 to 2016. Limbaugh also lead a Zogby poll about the most trusted names in news. Limbaugh’s stretch at the top of the radio food chain was severely undermined on February 29 when he made scathing comments about a Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke. Fluke, testifying before Congress, supported mandating health insurers to cover contraceptive costs. Limbaugh reacted to her testimony by saying “[Fluke] essentially says that she must be paid to have sex — what does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? It makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex.” He kept up the barrage for two days. Rush only backed down after his comments were repudiated by several senior Republicans and a number of national advertisers deserted his show. David Friend, the CEO of one of Limbaugh’s largest advertisers, Carbonite, said “No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke, and I have two, could possibly abide the insult and abuse heaped upon this courageous and well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh, with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency.” The New York Times also reported about the boycott: “It is, analysts say, the most serious rebellion against ‘The Rush Limbaugh Show’ in the more than 20 years that the show has been broadcast.” 4. Greece “The Acropolis is not in flames”–SmartMoney (2/15/12) Greece has been one of America’s most important tourist destinations for years. No longer. Tourism revenue is 15% of Greece’s GDP, which is one of the reason the nation is in so much trouble now. Businesses in the country have watched the number of people who travel to the southern European nation fall. Contributing factors to the drop are the fact that Greek air traffic controllers occasionally shutter airports and drivers sometimes quit their public transportation posts. They do so as a means to protest austerity measures that have cut their pensions and pay in the name of bringing down the national deficit. Businesses in Greece have watched the situation deteriorate so much that they expect the trend will continue, or even worsen. The Greek news agency ANSAmed reports: “Business expectations in the Greece’s tourism sector fell significantly in the fourth quarter of 2011, a recent survey showed. The business expectations index fell to 71 points for hotel enterprises and to 48 points for tourism enterprises, down 35 and 22 points, respectively, from the previous three-month period.” “It took years for Athens to get a good reputation with the 2004 Olympic Games,” the president of the Hellenic Hotel Federation, Giannis Retsos, told BusinessWeek. “Last year showed how this reputation can be destroyed in one day through one incident.” The Greek islands, the beaches, Athens, the Acropolis — Greece markets itself with the tagline “You In Greece.” Right next to the protestors with the stones and Molotov cocktails. 3. New Orleans Saints “Saints coach suspended for season over bounties”–WSJ (3/21/12) New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson had a team that was worth $965 million, according to Forbes. That was before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced its head coach Sean Payton was suspended for a year and general manager Mickey Loomis for eight games for their role in the so-called bounty system. The suspension left the team, which had won the Super Bowl in 2010 and contended in several other recent seasons, without leadership. What’s worse is that a few of the team’s players could also be suspended for participating in the bounty system that paid players to hurt opponents. The Saints had come from nowhere seven years ago. They rose to become the symbol of a city nearly destroyed by one of the deadliest hurricanes to ever make landfall in the U.S. The team’s stadium, The Superdome, was used to shelter thousands of people and was nearly ruined by wind. The Saints surged from a 3-13 season the year Katrina hit to a 10-6 performance the year after, making the playoffs in the process. All along fans cheered on “Who Dat?” — the team’s battle cry — from the cheap seats. It was the city’s phoenix. Now, Benson has to wait to see if the fans will come out in the numbers they have since 2006, and whether all the sponsors will hold their places. He has to wonder whether his team can make the playoffs again without its gifted coach and probably some of its key players and earn him some extra money again. 2. Chevy Volt “8,000 Volt Hybrids Recalled For Possible Battery Fire Issues”–CBS (1/6/12) The Chevy Volt was supposed to be the start of a revolution in car technology. The car was launched on September 16, 2008, by GM CEO Rick Wagoner, who soon after lost his job because of GM’s poor financial performance. “Revealing the production version of the Chevy Volt is a great way to open our second century. The Volt is symbolic of GM’s strong commitment to the future … just the kind of technology innovation that our industry needs to respond to today’s and tomorrow’s energy and environmental challenges,” Wagoner said. When the EPA issued new methods of measuring mileage efficiency later in 2009, the Volt was rated at 230 miles per gallon, effectively making the price of gas nearly irrelevant. The Volt was not just another car. It was the beleaguered car manufacturer’s signal that it could compete with major competitors like Toyota and VW. GM particularly needed the Volt to show the bankruptcy Chapter 11 process had not robbed it of its ability to innovate. Despite the high public relations value of the Volt, GM set only modest goals for first year sales. It said it would sell 10,000 Volts in 2011. It ended up selling only 7,671. Even if the Volt was the perfect car, not many people wanted one. Demand dropped even further when the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that two out of three Volts had battery fires after side impact tests. GM recalled about 8,000 Volts. The carmaker then offered loaners to owners who wanted repairs. Finally, the No.1 U.S. car company said it would buy back any and all Volts with the troubled batteries. Corrections made to the Volt’s engine structure satisfied the NHTSA, and the Volt was proclaimed safe to drive again. The damage, however, was already done as the Volt’s already modest sales plummeted further. In March of this year, GM said it would suspend production of the Volt at its Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant from March 19 until April 23 because of lack of demand. GM’s 21st Century flagship had become a bust. 1. Keith Olbermann “Current went through eight different [limo] companies with Keith. Each and every time . . . he didn’t like them”—NY Post (4/2/12) Keith Olbermann quit, or got fired, from tiny, struggling cable network Current TV on March 30. He joined the organization in February 2011 after a successful but rocky stint at MSNBC. Olbermann claimed that the Current TV did not have professional production facilities and misused his time. The network claimed he did not fulfill his contractual obligations. Each side has sued the other, and the cases may go on for months. Before he departed MSNBC to go to Current TV, Olbermann was that network’s star with an average audience of about three quarters of a million viewers. He battled NBC management as well and was suspended for two days in early November 2011 for making political donations which he did not disclose to the network. The suspension only made Olbermann more popular. The first night back from the suspension, his audience number reached 1.5 million. Now, one of the most popular TV personalities will not be on the small screen for a very long time, if ever at all. His $50 million contract with Current TV could also be voided in court. Perhaps the greatest insult to Olbermann is that he was replaced on Current TV by Eliot Spitzer, a former governor who cannot seem to find permanent work. Olbermann’s obnoxious behavior, which alienated management at MSNBC and Current TV, may cost him tens of millions of dollars. Beyond that, his career in television may well be over completely. -Douglas A. McIntyre See original article at: http://247wallst.com...damaged-brands/

I take your points about changing demographics and economic uncertainty. Certainly these are key factors affecting our society at this time. These certainly contribute to an air of unease among the people and it may help create a tendency to scapegoat by some. But I liken this to kindling in a dry forest. Without the creation of inflammatory sparks, or the unwillingness to put out early fires you don't get a raging forest fire. Rather than tamp down hatred and dispect some have fanned the flames or simply stood by and said "well, I don't know".

I recognize legitimate policy differences and that you have them. That is why we have parties and elections. But elections are suppose to decide those policies, at least for the next two or four years. The Senate GOPers did not recognized that. I agree that Kennedy has been much more popular as a posthumous Preident than he was as a living President. I wish you would elaborate for my edification about your Kennedy/Cuban Missle comments. I've always considered that the high watermark of his Presidency. (Many times I have pondered that outcome had it happened during Bush II and not happily.) Also, I would like your views on how he decoupled wages/productivity. I do not recall that episode. I would also appreciate your views on how LBJ's policies also led directly to the wide spread dissolution of black families. I have no fixed opinion on this subject.

I'm going to add a final thought to the content expressed in my previous post about the virulent hatred of Obama and it follows from observation and the opening paragraph quoted above. It's time to call a spade a spade. I lay this 'hatred' directly at the foot of the GOP establishment, especially the GOP Senate Conference and to McCain to a lesser extent. First, McCain. He made it clear by his actions and demeanor that he did not respect Obama's win over him. This was a continuation of his demonstrated disrespect for Obama as a worthy candidate for President that he radiated during the debates. By disrespecting Obama's victory he showed disrespect for the man and legitimacy of him holding office. Let me be clear, I am not stating that McCain is a racist. I concede that his disrepect emanated from his view of life and political experience differences between the the two. However, not everyone reads a display of disrespect in a nuanced manner but tend to apply their own views. This was amplified by the Senate Republicans by altering the customary pracitices of addressing legislation and other Senatorial duties for Obama's administration. They took the fillibuster rule from a rarely used tactic and occasionally used tactic to the busuiness-as-usual standard. This was a direct shot at Obama, the man, and changed the legislative game in Washington. The Constitution gives the President the power and the resposnibility to appoint members of the Executive Brtanch and the Judiciary. The Senate must Advise and Consent as it has done for 200 + years. Yet, Obama's senate refused to hold votes on his appointees for months and months and months on end, many lapsing over from one year to another and one congress to another. Make no mistake, the Constitution requires the Senate to Advise and Consent, not OBSTRUCT. The Senate has a duty to hold a timely vote, up or down, on the President's appointments. In U.S. history no Congress has so broadly denied a President to choose his own admin officials and held up so many judicial appointments. So many appointments in fact, that the Chief Justice of SOTUS has pleaded repeatedly for Congress to move ahead on judicial appointments because of so many vacancies in the Federal Courts. This complete change in Senate action for Presidential appointments is unprecedented and since the Constitution calls for the Senate to perform its function this can only be attributed as a refusal for the Senate to recognize the legitimacy of the man who is the President making the appointments. Whether this is done out of politics or racism matters not because this exhibited disrespect for the man holding office is telegraphed to those who would hate for whatever reason. Rather than supporting the institution of the Presidency, the GOP Senators chose to undermine the office in order to undermine the man. It doesnn't matter on Sunday morning whether a man is lynched on Saturday night for racism or politics. The GOP Senate is no better than the rankest racists because they fanned the flames of disprect that lead to hatred. The same hold for Fox News, the progpaganda horn of the GOP.

LOL... Ain't that a bitch. Every software package has some unsuccessful 'feature'. As bugs go, there could be worse.

Frankly, I don't get it -- the visceral hate of Obama by the Right and the GOP establishment and many on the street. I can understand policy differences but this 'hate' goes way beyond that. I can understand the oppostion disliking being on the loosing end of an election or a policy struggle. But virulent hate!! I do not get it. The GOP and their candidate acted like they 'owned' the White House and it was unfairly usurped from them. Seriously? Where do they get that from? There was little 'hate' for Eisenhower except from the Birch Society. There was some hate for Kennedy for his Civil Rights stand. More for Lyndon Johnson for his Civil Rights reforms and then the Viet Nam War. No signficant virulent 'hate' for Carter or even Reagan or Bush I. I'm talking virulent hate not simply strong dislike for policy. A little broader tide of virulent 'hate' from the opposition seems to have started against Clinton for just being the opposition, and maybe for his personal character it seems. That coincided with the takeover of Congress by the GOP and the full entrenchment of Religion in politics establishment. Bush II got some 'hate' from the 'professional left' and some Congressional members but IMO little of that spilled over to the man on the street. But this Obama thing has been just crazy. The unvarnished record, for those who can see cleary enough to recognize it show that Obama has been just about the most GOP policy-friendly Dem that Repubicans could have hoped for. Yes, he is dedicated to making progressive reforms as any Dem would be. However, time and time again, he has opted for GOP prescriptions for moving these reforms ahead. The health care mandate and insurance exchanges are a market-based approach straight out GOP Think Tanks and supported earlier by GOP leaders. The Carbon Credits approach to reduce atmospheric emissions is also a free-market approach to reigning in those emission also developed by and embraced by GOP institutions and leaders. It's all there in the history. Bush II did TARP, not Obama. Bush II initiated the Auto Bailout, not Obama. Bush said he also would have followed through on it if it were still on his watch. It's true that Obama pushed to clean up Wall St with new laws, regs and rules. That pissed the Big Money off but few in the street will offer support for carrying Wall St water, even today. So that shouldn't breed virulent hate in the street. Where is all the virulent 'hate' coming from? Yet Obama is a hated Socialist rushing the country head-on into socialism. Something is off it's wheels around here. The fact is that most virulent opposition in the past 60 years has centered around race and war issues. It seems that the left is the most energized segment opposing war issues today. I'll leave it for you to figure what else can be at work fueling this hate. I say it again, Obama has been just about the most GOP policy-friendly Dem that Repubicans could have hoped for. Look where it has gotten him. To be clear RA, I am not referring to you when I discuss haters. There is plenty of room for legitimate opposition to encumbent power. But I am curious what you find so very bad about Obama, other than he is a Dem seeking usual Dem policy objectives? Policy differences aside, it is his style?

In my years following the escort scene I've never heard much about the Paris escort scene other than Stefan when he returned to Paris from Vegas. Always thought it odd for the City of Lights but Bibottomboy always gave the impression there was so much for free in the bars.

Yes, but not for several decades. That was my first math course in the University and boy did I need it. And boy did I almost have a nervous meltdown over it. That is until one day when a light went on and I understood what y=f(x) meant really meant! As my story progressed, my whole professional career was based on quadtratic equations -- literally the foundation. And that was the entry point. So, I can offer one story where a kid with spotty high school math skills took a college remedial math course and went on to have a nice career in one of the most practical math fields imaginable. While that probably isn't your goal, the message is that one can remediate his math skills and live to tell the tale.

I find it a little shocking.

Mittney is the most pathetic excuse for a GOP Presidential candidate that I have seen in my lifetime. Considering W, that is saying something. He has all the unbridled ambition and lack of integrity of Wm. Jefferson Clintion without any of the charisma, and cunning. I'm not saying he might not be a wonderful bean counter, but that is what Presidents hire... like body guards and grounds keepers. I've never seen a shallower candidate pander so obiviously and poorly, who is over his head every time he opens his mouth. If this guy gets elected then a ham sandwich could get elected in a bad economy. Is it the case that the minds of desperate people just shut down? I'm thinking of the GOP Primary electorate and hopefully not the electorate at large.

Great clip, thanks for sharing.

If Stonewall taught us anything it taught that this will continue to happen as long as the local gay community continues to put up with it.

Couldn't agree more. Cars were IT back then. The new models always created great anticipation every October and each maker had its spirited followers, almost like political parties today. I was a Ford boy because my father was a Ford Mechanic. My friend was a Chevy guy. We were always badmouthing the other maker but we enjoyed every bit as much all the new cars when they came out. It was, IMO, the great high-water mark of the street-auto industry. As for the homogeneity of today, fleet milage requirements and the laws of physics-- specifically air drag -- and materials science -- chromed steel vs plastics and fiber glass -- permit only so much variation in design.

Rich People Have Less Compassion, Psychology Research Suggests | By Daisy Grewal Posted: 04/11/2012 Who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal—the poor person or the rich one? It’s tempting to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly. After all, if you already have enough for yourself, it’s easier to think about what others may need. But research suggests the opposite is true: as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline. Berkeley psychologists Paul Piff and Dacher Keltner ran several studies looking at whether social class (as measured by wealth, occupational prestige, and education) influences how much we care about the feelings of others. In one study, Piff and his colleagues discreetly observed the behavior of drivers at a busy four-way intersection. They found that luxury car drivers were more likely to cut off other motorists instead of waiting for their turn at the intersection. This was true for both men and women upper-class drivers, regardless of the time of day or the amount of traffic at the intersection. In a different study they found that luxury car drivers were also more likely to speed past a pedestrian trying to use a crosswalk, even after making eye contact with the pedestrian. In order to figure out whether selfishness leads to wealth (rather than vice versa), Piff and his colleagues ran a study where they manipulated people’s class feelings. The researchers asked participants to spend a few minutes comparing themselves either to people better off or worse off than themselves financially. Afterwards, participants were shown a jar of candy and told that they could take home as much as they wanted. They were also told that the leftover candy would be given to children in a nearby laboratory. Those participants who had spent time thinking about how much better off they were compared to others ended up taking significantly more candy for themselves--leaving less behind for the children. A related set of studies published by Keltner and his colleagues last year looked at how social class influences feelings of compassion towards people who are suffering. In one study, they found that less affluent individuals are more likely to report feeling compassion towards others on a regular basis. For example, they are more likely to agree with statements such as, “I often notice people who need help,” and “It’s important to take care of people who are vulnerable.” This was true even after controlling for other factors that we know affect compassionate feelings, such as gender, ethnicity, and spiritual beliefs. In a second study, participants were asked to watch two videos while having their heart rate monitored. One video showed somebody explaining how to build a patio. The other showed children who were suffering from cancer. After watching the videos, participants indicated how much compassion they felt while watching either video. Social class was measured by asking participants questions about their family’s level of income and education. The results of the study showed that participants on the lower end of the spectrum, with less income and education, were more likely to report feeling compassion while watching the video of the cancer patients. In addition, their heart rates slowed down while watching the cancer video—a response that is associated with paying greater attention to the feelings and motivations of others. These findings build upon previous research showing how upper class individuals are worse at recognizing the emotions of others and less likely to pay attention to people they are interacting with (e.g. by checking their cell phones or doodling). See original article at: http://www.huffingto..._n_1416091.html But why would wealth and status decrease our feelings of compassion for others? After all, it seems more likely that having few resources would lead to selfishness. Piff and his colleagues suspect that the answer may have something to do with how wealth and abundance give us a sense of freedom and independence from others. The less we have to rely on others, the less we may care about their feelings. This leads us towards being more self-focused. Another reason has to do with our attitudes towards greed. Like Gordon Gekko, upper-class people may be more likely to endorse the idea that “greed is good.” Piff and his colleagues found that wealthier people are more likely to agree with statements that greed is justified, beneficial, and morally defensible. These attitudes ended up predicting participants’ likelihood of engaging in unethical behavior.

I always chuckle when people make size judgements based on a flacid penis.

We were blessed with another 'original' whose likes we may not see again soon. The loss is only outweighed by the contributions he gave us. He left a large footprint where he tread.

Sad testimony to a life of severe drug abuse. A very unpleasant way to check out. I hope this impresses the community that needs to be impressed. No better argument for being drug free.

Autopsy: Whitney Houston found scarred, high, scalded, missing teeth By David Martosko - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller The London tabloid The Sun reported Sunday that the final autopsy report of legendary singer Whitney Houston has revealed a cocktail of illicit drugs, 11 missing teeth, a weakened coronary artery and “skin slippage” where scalding water burned her body as she lay in the bathtub where she died. The bath water where Houston was found measured 91.4 degrees Fahrenheit six hours after her death, suggesting a temperature of as high as 150 degrees when she died. The medical examiner’s report, the newspaper claimed, also revealed a perforated nasal septum caused by habitual cocaine use. One coronary artery, according to the report, was found to have narrowed by 60 percent. And several scars indicated a series of plastic surgeries on her chest, stomach and left thigh. Cocaine traces were found in her body, along with marijuana, the anti-anxiety medication Xanax and the muscle relaxant Flexeril. The autopsy also identified Benadryl and Ibuprofen in her system. A cocaine-covered spoon was reportedly found in Houston’s Beverly Hills hotel suite after her death, along with rolled-up paper and powder cocaine on a mirror kept in a bathroom drawer. Medical examiners also noted an old puncture mark inside her left elbow. The Sun reported speaking with sources who reported that a scar on her inner left forearm may have been the result of a self-inflicted wound. On February 9, after Houston performed at a Hollywood club, gossip bloggers published photos showing her stumbling out into the night with a long scratch on her wrist and blood dripping down one leg. According to The Sun, friends of the pop diva “claim she tried to slash herself to death in the toilets after seeing her on-off lover Ray-J chatting to other women.” See original article at: http://news.yahoo.co...-030424082.html

Angry ex-girlfriend goes ballistic, rips off man’s scrotum By Taylor Bigler - The Daily Caller | The Daily Caller – Fri, Apr 6, 2012 Talk about a ball buster. An Indiana man was rushed to the hospital Wednesday after his scrotum was the victim of a vicious attack by an ex-girlfriend, The Smoking Gun reports. The victim told police that his former girlfriend, Christina Reber, stormed into his apartment as he was innocently sitting at his computer. Reber, who he had severed ties with a few days earlier, first struck him on the head and then grabbed his scrotum and began “squeezing as hard as she could.” Naturally, he told officers that he “was in incredible pain when [she] grabbed his scrotum and began digging in her fingers.” The police report indicates that the scrotum area was “completely torn loose from his body.” Reber reportedly “refused to let go of his scrotum,” but that the victim was finally able to remove his balls from her vice-like grip. As if the story isn’t already good enough, the victim, who has not been identified, was taken to BALL MEMORIAL HOSPITAL. As far as we know, the hospital is not only for scrotum-specific injuries. In an interview two days after the incident, the man told police that after his ex was done breaking his balls, his family jewels are so swollen that he is unable to work, and he isn’t sure if there will be permanent damage. Reber was charged with two felonies: aggravated battery and illegally entering the victim’s home. She was also charged with a misdemeanor domestic battery. See original article at: http://news.yahoo.co...-192805232.html

It is pretty fucking unbelievable. If this is not shopped then congrats to him for an unbelievable makeover. He was half way to Jaba-the-Hutt-ville. What a turnaround.