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Expat wanderer

AdventureMan Gets a Great Idea

“Hey! I’ve got a great idea!”

AdventureMan scared the hell out of me; I was coming out of the bathroom, it is the middle of the night, and I intend to go right back to sleep, but what the H___? It’s four in the morning and AM wants to tell me his great idea?

AdventureMan has been sick, really really sick, two antibiotics, a steroid, ear drops, a and a probiotic sick. For a week, mostly he slept and groaned with pain, either it was the worst cold in the world or the flu, coupled with a terrible ear infection. Now that the antibiotics have done their job, the combination of all the meds leaves him wide awake much of the night.

I wake up almost every morning feeling great; I am a morning person. We have a family rule; I don’t discuss any financial matters after nine at night. So while AdventureMan’s mind is racing, and good ideas are tumbling around, it is my down time and I am not prepared to discuss anything. Technically, it is still after nine o’clock. although an argument could be made that it is the next morning . . . but it is too early in the morning, and AdventureMan lets me go back to sleep.

Actually, when I woke up the next morning (and AdventureMan slept another couple hours) and I thought about it, it really was one of those great ideas that sometimes comes out of the blue in the middle of the night.

Now that we are no longer getting the expat exemption on our taxes, we were gritting our teeth about what we might yet owe in taxes, but our brilliant new tax preparer found something we would never have thought of in a million years, and . . . we will get money back. God is good. 🙂 It’s a miracle.

March 6, 2012 Posted by | Aging, Communication, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Financial Issues, Health Issues, Living Conditions, Relationships, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

A Problem with Tension and a Problem with Timing

You probably think I am talking about my personal life when I talk about problems with tension and problems with timing. You might think so, but you would be wrong. I am talking about my sewing machine.

I have an old Pfaff, a real workhorse. I bought it when I started having a problem with tension and timing with my older Pfaff, and didn’t know where to take it in Kuwait to have it serviced. (I found a place to get it serviced, but then that place disappeared!) Now, when I am trying to finish up two quilts for the upcoming quilt show, is not a good time for it to act up, but I am also not surprised. Doesn’t the worst thing always happen at the worst possible time?

I have an even older sewing machine, a Singer Featherweight, that I can use while trying to figure out where to take my Pfaff in Pensacola for a service. The Featherweight is electric, one of the earliest portable sewing machines made, and when I would take it to be serviced in Qatar and Kuwait, the eyes at the shops would just gleam.

“They really knew what they were doing when they made this machine,” they would tell me. “You don’t see machines made like this anymore.”

The Singer Featherweight has no bells and whistles. It sews forward and in reverse. It will do free motions quilting because I have a special attachment for it. It has saved the day many a time before, and tomorrow, when the light is good, I will haul it out once again and set it up to get me through this crisis.

February 24, 2012 Posted by | Arts & Handicrafts, Cross Cultural, Cultural, Customer Service, ExPat Life, Kuwait, Living Conditions, Pensacola, Qatar, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

Three Lies About the American Economy

Here is what makes me sad. Even though this information is available to everyone, these three misconceptions will continue to be put forth as “truth.” People believe what they want to believe, and they don’t do the research. I found this on the AOL Daily Finance page.


By Morgan Housel

At a conference in Philadelphia last October, a Wharton professor noted that one of the country’s biggest economic problems is a tsunami of misinformation. You can’t have a rational debate when facts are so easily supplanted by overreaching statements, broad generalizations, and misconceptions. And if you can’t have a rational debate, how does anything important get done? As author William Feather once advised, “Beware of the person who can’t be bothered by details.” There seems to be no shortage of those people lately.

Here are three misconceptions that need to be put to rest.

Misconception No. 1: Most of what Americans spend their money on is made in China.

Fact: Just 2.7% of personal consumption expenditures go to Chinese-made goods and services. 88.5% of U.S. consumer spending is on American-made goods and services.

I used that statistic in a recent article, and the response from readers was overwhelming: Hogwash. People just didn’t believe it.
The figure comes from a Federal Reserve report. You can read it here.

A common rebuttal I got was, “How can it only be 2.7% when almost everything in Walmart (WMT) is made in China?” Because Walmart’s $260 billion in U.S. revenue isn’t exactly reflective of America’s $14.5 trillion economy. Walmart might sell a broad range of knickknacks, many of which are made in China, but the vast majority of what Americans spend their money on is not knickknacks.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics closely tracks how an average American spends their money in an annual report called the Consumer Expenditure Survey. In 2010, the average American spent 34% of their income on housing, 13% on food, 11% on insurance and pensions, 7% on health care, and 2% on education. Those categories alone make up nearly 70% of total spending, and are comprised almost entirely of American-made goods and services (only 7% of food is imported, according to the USDA).

Even when looking at physical goods alone, Chinese imports still account for just a small fraction of U.S. spending. Just 6.4% of nondurable goods — things like food, clothing and toys — purchased in the U.S. are made in China; 76.2% are made in America. For durable goods — things like cars and furniture — 12% are made in China; 66.6% are made in America.

Another way to grasp the value of Chinese-made goods is to look at imports. The U.S. imported $399 billion worth of goods from China last year, which is 2.7% of our $14.5 trillion economy. Is that a lot? Yes. Is it most of what we spend our money on? Not by a long shot.

Part of the misconception is likely driven by the notion that America’s manufacturing base has been in steep decline. The truth, surprising to many, is that real manufacturing output today is near an all-time high. What’s dropped precipitously in recent decades is manufacturing employment. Technology and automation has allowed American manufacturers to build more stuff with far fewer workers than in the past. One good example: In 1950, a U.S. Steel (X) plant in Gary, Ind., produced 6 million tons of steel with 30,000 workers. Today, it produces 7.5 million tons with 5,000 workers. Output has gone up; employment has dropped like a rock.

Misconception No. 2: We owe most of our debt to China.

Fact: China owns 7.6% of U.S. government debt outstanding.

As of November, China owned $1.13 trillion of Treasuries. Government debt stood at $14.9 trillion that month. That’s 7.6%.
Who owns the rest? The largest holder of U.S. debt is the federal government itself. Various government trust funds like the Social Security trust fund own about $4.4 trillion worth of Treasury securities. The Federal Reserve owns another $1.6 trillion.

Both are unique owners: Interest paid on debt held by federal trust funds is used to cover a portion of federal spending, and the vast majority of interest earned by the Federal Reserve is remitted back to the U.S. Treasury.
The rest of our debt is owned by state and local governments ($700 billion), private domestic investors ($3.1 trillion), and other non-Chinese foreign investors ($3.5 trillion).

Does China own a lot of our debt? Yes, but it’s a qualified yes. Of all Treasury debt held by foreigners, China is indeed the largest owner ($1.13 trillion), followed by Japan ($1 trillion) and the U.K. ($429 billion).

Right there, you can see that Japan and the U.K. combined own more U.S. debt than China. Now, how many times have you heard someone say that we borrow an inordinate amount of money from Japan and the U.K.? I never have. But how often do you hear some version of the “China is our banker” line? Too often, I’d say.

Misconception No. 3: We get most of our oil from the Middle East.

Fact: Just 9.8% of oil consumed in the U.S. comes from the Middle East.

According the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. consumes 19.2 million barrels of petroleum products per day. Of that amount, a net 49% is produced domestically. The rest is imported.

Where is it imported from? Only a small fraction comes from the Middle East, and that fraction has been declining in recent years. Last year, imports from the Persian Gulf region — which includes Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — made up 9.8% of total petroleum supplied to the U.S. In 2001, that number was 14.1%.

The U.S. imports more than twice as much petroleum from Canada and Mexico than it does from the Middle East. Add in the share produced domestically, and the majority of petroleum consumed in the U.S. comes from North America.

This isn’t to belittle our energy situation. The nation still relies on imports for about half of its oil. That’s bad. But should the Middle East get the attention it does when we talk about oil reliance? In terms of security and geopolitical stability, perhaps. In terms of volume, probably not.
A Roomful of Skeptics

“People will generally accept facts as truth only if the facts agree with what they already believe,” said Andy Rooney. Do these numbers fit with what you already believed? No hard feelings if they don’t. Just let me know why in the comment section below.

Motley Fool contributor Morgan Housel owns shares of Wal-Mart. Follow him on Twitter @TMFHousel. The Motley Fool owns shares of Wal-Mart Stores. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of and creating a diagonal call position in Wal-Mart.

See full article from DailyFinance: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/13/3-economic-misconceptions-that-need-to-die/?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl6%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D135454&icid=sphere_copyright

February 14, 2012 Posted by | Cultural, Financial Issues, Lies, Living Conditions, Political Issues, Social Issues, Statistics, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

Boat 1, Bridge 0

This is both very sad, and funny. What made this guy think he could make it under the bridge? Two spans of the bridge are draped over the bow:

You can read about it here.

January 27, 2012 Posted by | Humor, Living Conditions, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

The Power of Introverts (!)

For my friends who – like me – are introverted. 🙂 We’re OK! From AOL/Huffpost Healthy Living, an article you will love!

 

Gareth Cook
(Click here for the original article  

Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “Quiet : The Power of Introverts” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. We live in a nation that values its extroverts – the outgoing, the lovers of crowds – but not the quiet types who change the world. She recently answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook.

Cook: This may be a stupid question, but how do you define an introvert? How can somebody tell whether they are truly introverted or extroverted? 

Cain: Not a stupid question at all! Introverts prefer quiet, minimally stimulating environments, while extroverts need higher levels of stimulation to feel their best. Stimulation comes in all forms – social stimulation, but also lights, noise, and so on. Introverts even salivate more than extroverts do if you place a drop of lemon juice on their tongues! So an introvert is more likely to enjoy a quiet glass of wine with a close friend than a loud, raucous party full of strangers.

It’s also important to understand that introversion is different from shyness. Shyness is the fear of negative judgment, while introversion is simply the preference for less stimulation. Shyness is inherently uncomfortable; introversion is not. The traits do overlap, though psychologists debate to what degree.

Cook: You argue that our culture has an extroversion bias. Can you explain what you mean?

Cain: In our society, the ideal self is bold, gregarious, and comfortable in the spotlight. We like to think that we value individuality, but mostly we admire the type of individual who’s comfortable “putting himself out there.” Our schools, workplaces, and religious institutions are designed for extroverts. Introverts are to extroverts what American women were to men in the 1950s — second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent.

In my book, I travel the country – from a Tony Robbins seminar to Harvard Business School to Rick Warren’s powerful Saddleback Church – shining a light on the bias against introversion. One of the most poignant moments was when an evangelical pastor I met at Saddleback confided his shame that “God is not pleased” with him because he likes spending time alone.

Cook: How does this cultural inclination affect introverts?

Cain: Many introverts feel there’s something wrong with them, and try to pass as extroverts. But whenever you try to pass as something you’re not, you lose a part of yourself along the way. You especially lose a sense of how to spend your time. Introverts are constantly going to parties and such when they’d really prefer to be home reading, studying, inventing, meditating, designing, thinking, cooking…or any number of other quiet and worthwhile activities.

According to the latest research, one third to one half of us are introverts – that’s one out of every two or three people you know. But you’d never guess that, right? That’s because introverts learn from an early age to act like pretend-extroverts.

Cook: Is this just a problem for introverts, or do you feel it hurts the country as a whole?

Cain: It’s never a good idea to organize society in a way that depletes the energy of half the population. We discovered this with women decades ago, and now it’s time to realize it with introverts.

This also leads to a lot of wrongheaded notions that affect introverts and extroverts alike. Here’s just one example: Most schools and workplaces now organize workers and students into groups, believing that creativity and productivity comes from a gregarious place. This is nonsense, of course. From Darwin to Picasso to Dr. Seuss, our greatest thinkers have often worked in solitude, and in my book I examine lots of research on the pitfalls of groupwork. 

Cook: Tell me more about these “pitfalls of groupwork.”

Cain: When you’re working in a group, it’s hard to know what you truly think. We’re such social animals  that we instinctively mimic others’ opinions, often without realizing we’re doing it. And when we do disagree consciously, we pay a psychic price. The Emory University neuroscientist Gregory Berns found that people who dissent from group wisdom show heightened activation in the amygdala, a small organ in the brain associated with the sting of social rejection. Berns calls this the “pain of independence.”

Take the example of brainstorming sessions, which have been wildly popular in corporate America since the 1950s, when they were pioneered by a charismatic ad executive named Alex Osborn. Forty years of research shows that brainstorming in groups is a terrible way to produce creative ideas. The organizational psychologist Adrian Furnham puts it pretty bluntly: The “evidence from science suggests that business people must be insane to use brainstorming groups. If you have talented and motivated people, they should be encouraged to work alone when creativity or efficiency is the highest priority.”

This is not to say that we should abolish groupwork. But we should use it a lot more judiciously than we do today.

Cook: What are some of the other misconceptions about introverts and extroverts?

Cain: One big one is the notion that introverts can’t be good leaders. According to groundbreaking new research by Adam Grant, a management professor at Wharton, introverted leaders sometimes deliver better outcomes than extroverts do. Introverts are more likely to let talented employees run with their ideas, rather than trying to put their own stamp on things. And they tend to be motivated not by ego or a desire for the spotlight, but by dedication to their larger goal. The ranks of transformative leaders in history illustrate this: Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rosa Parks were all introverts, and so are many of today’s business leaders, from Douglas Conant of Campbell Soup to Larry Page at Google.

Cook: Is there any relationship between introversion and creativity?

Cain: Yes. An interesting line of research by the psychologists Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and Gregory Feist suggests that the most creative people in many fields are usually introverts. This is probably because introverts are comfortable spending time alone, and solitude is a crucial (and underrated) ingredient for creativity.

Cook: Can you give some other examples of surprising introversion research?

Cain: The most surprising and fascinating thing I learned is that there are “introverts” and “extroverts” throughout the animal kingdom – all the way down to the level of fruit flies! Evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson speculates that the two types evolved to use very different survival strategies. Animal “introverts” stick to the sidelines and survive when predators come calling. Animal “extroverts” roam and explore, so they do better when food is scarce. The same is true (analogously speaking) of humans.

Cook: Are you an introvert?

Cain: Yes. People sometimes seem surprised when I say this, because I’m a pretty friendly person. This is one of the greatest misconceptions about introversion. We are not anti-social; we’redifferently social. I can’t live without my family and close friends, but I also crave solitude. I feel incredibly lucky that my work as a writer affords me hours a day alone with my laptop. I also have a lot of other introvert characteristics, like thinking before I speak, disliking conflict, and concentrating easily.

Introversion has its annoying qualities, too, of course. For example, I’ve never given a speech without being terrified first, even though I’ve given many. (Some introverts are perfectly comfortable with public speaking, but stage fright afflicts us in disproportionate numbers.)

But I also believe that introversion is my greatest strength. I have such a strong inner life that I’m never bored and only occasionally lonely. No matter what mayhem is happening around me, I know I can always turn inward.

In our culture, snails are not considered valiant animals – we are constantly exhorting people to “come out of their shells” – but there’s a lot to be said for taking your home with you wherever you go.

January 27, 2012 Posted by | Character, Community, Cultural, Friends & Friendship, Relationships, Work Related Issues | 9 Comments

Sexual Assault Still a Problem at US Military Academies

It’s one of my hot buttons, so I will share this with you. Once again – sexual assault isn’t about sex, it’s about power. It takes time to teach people they can’t force themselves on others, no matter what their rank, how rich or powerful they are, etc. It takes time to teach these yahoos that there are consequences for breaking these laws. And 🙂 it IS the law.

From today’s AOL News/Huffington Post, where you can also see a video report of this item:

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The number of reported sexual assaults at the nation’s three major military academies rose overall in the latest academic year from one year earlier, according to a report released Tuesday by the Pentagon.

The Defense Department’s “Annual Report on Sexual Harassment and Violence at the Military Service Academies” for academic year 2010-2011 found there were 65 reports of sexual assault involving cadets and midshipmen at the U.S. Naval Academy, the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Air Force Academy. That was up from 41 reports of sexual assaults in the prior academic year.

“This is a leadership issue, first and foremost, so I also expect us to lead with integrity and with energy to eliminate sexual assault and harassment from our culture,” Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in a statement. “I’m confident the steps we are taking are the right ones, but we must continue to improve.”

The Pentagon said it could not conclusively identify the reasons for the increases. However, the department has worked to encourage more victims to report sexual assault and the Pentagon says that could explain the higher number of reports.

The annual report was mandated in the 2007 John Warner National Defense Authorization Act. It directed the Pentagon to evaluate the effectiveness of the sexual harassment and sexual violence related policies on an annual basis.

Aiming to eliminate sexual assault and harassment from military culture, the Pentagon also announced two new policies to support abuse victims as it released the findings Tuesday.

Service members who have been the victim of sexual assault and have filed an unrestricted report now have the option to request an expedited transfer from their unit or installation, the Defense Department said. Under the new policy, the service member must receive a response to the transfer from the unit commander within 72 hours. A service member also will be able to request a review of any denied request and receive that response within 72 hours, the Pentagon added.

Another new policy will standardize retention periods for sexual assault records across the military services. Specified documents will be retained for 50 years in unrestricted cases and for five years in restricted cases to give victims longer access to documents related to sexual assault, the Defense Department said.

While the report found that the U.S. Military Academy at West Point is in partial compliance with the department’s policies regarding sexual harassment and assault, it concluded the academy was not in compliance with department policy for providing prevention and response training to all cadets.

The Service Women’s Action Network, a national human rights organization founded by women veterans, was critical of the increase in sexual abuse reports. Greg Jacob, policy director for the organization, also underscored the noncompliance with Pentagon policy in the report.

“Ending the widespread issue of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the military starts by ending it at the service academies,” Jacob said in a statement.

West Point did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Other academy officials said they believe the increase in reporting indicates a positive step in making cadets and midshipmen feel more comfortable about reporting incidents – a crucial part of addressing the problem.

“We believe that there’s much more trust in our system than maybe we’ve seen in years past,” said Col. Reni Renner, vice commandant culture and climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Deborah Goode, a spokeswoman at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., said the school includes training for midshipmen throughout all four years to prevent harassment and encourage reporting.

“We believe there is a better understanding by midshipmen of what constitutes sexual harassment and sexual assault, as well as an increased willingness to report incidents, which may account for increased reports of sexual assault cases,” Goode said.

The Air Force Academy had 33 reports in the latest academic year, an increase from 20 in the previous year. However, Renner noted that five of this year’s reporters were for incidents that occurred prior to military service. The Naval Academy had 22 reported incidents, compared to 11. West Point reported the same number in both years, 10 in each year.

December 28, 2011 Posted by | Crime, Cultural, Mating Behavior, Political Issues, Social Issues, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | 2 Comments

The Tourist; Olen Steinhauer

Haven’t I read this book before? Or didn’t I see a movie, The American, with George Clooney? You know, depressed assassin? Thinking about suicide? In some villa along the Mediterranean or is it the Adriatic? Some enigmatic handler, and who do you trust? And then The Tourist swerves off in another direction and while this particular thread of plot is new, it still seems vintage LeCarre, only maybe a little less solid information. Lots of jumping from place to place with little motivation, lots of shifts in trust, and betrayals.

While I like books where reality keeps shifting, this one had a few too many shifts for me. I have a feeling that spying is a lot less about fast cars and shooting someone so they won’t give away a secret, and lot more about the dull, painstaking work of stitching together swatches of information in ways that form a meaningful pattern, trying hard not to create patterns that don’t exist. I imagine that there is a big problem today with the huge volume of information, sifting through to figure out what matters, and what is mere distraction.

This book is a good airplane read, holds the interest, but give me LeCarre for the grim grey world of spies and their work any day.

December 16, 2011 Posted by | Adventure, Books, Bureaucracy, Character, Crime, ExPat Life, Fiction, Travel, Work Related Issues | 2 Comments

Qatar: The Richest Fattest Nation on Earth

Thank you, reader John, for passing along this fascinating article from The Atlantic:

Qatar is a tiny country with a big problem.

This Connecticut-sized nation, sticking out like a loose tooth in the Persian Gulf, is one of the most obese nations in the world, with residents fatter, on average, than even those of the United States, which often takes the cake in such competitions.

According to recent studies, roughly half of adults and a third of children in Qatar are obese, and almost 17 percent of the native population suffers from diabetes. By comparison, about a third of Americans are obese, and eight percent are diabetic. Qatar also has very high rates of birth defects and genetic disorders — problems that, along with the prevalence of obesity (PDF) and diabetes, have worsened in recent decades, according to local and international health experts.

So what’s going wrong in little Qatar?

Qatar also has very high rates of birth defects and genetic disorders — problems that have worsened in recent decades.
To misappropriate a well-worn phrase: It’s the economy, stupid. In September, Qatar officially became the richest nation in the world, as measured by per capita gross domestic product. It also recently became the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas, and earned the title of fastest growing economy in the world. By international development standards, all this growth has happened virtually overnight, making Qataris’ lifestyles much more unhealthy, and at the same time leading many to hang on resolutely to what’s left of their fleeting tribal traditions — practices that include inter-marriage between close family members and cousins.

“They’re concentrating the gene pool, and at the same time, they’re facing rapid affluence,” said Sharoud Al-Jundi Matthis, the program manager at the Qatar Diabetes Association, a government funded health center in Doha, the capital. As a result of these factors, Qataris are becoming obese, passing on genetic disorders at an alarming rate, and getting diabetes much more often than others around the world. They’re also getting diabetes a decade younger than the average age of onset, which is pushing up rates of related illnesses and complications, like hypertension, blindness, partial paralysis, heart disease, and loss of productivity. “It’s a very, very serious problem facing the future of Qatar,” Matthis said.

It’s a fascinating read, not too long, little more than double what you have already read. You can read the entire article by clicking HERE: The Atlantic

Thank you, John, for the recomendation.

November 20, 2011 Posted by | Community, ExPat Life, Financial Issues, Health Issues, Living Conditions, Qatar, Social Issues, Statistics, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | Leave a comment

“Please Keep This Very Secret . . . “

One of the things that makes me wonder is that very good people get taken in by messages like this. I wonder what part of – to paraphrase – you never knew him, but let’s pretend like you were his business partner and collect this fortune – seems like a good idea? Let’s lie to the bank administration and walk off with these funds? Let’s collect money that does not belong to us?

I urge you to call “Dr. David Morris” and tell him what you think. He gives his number at the end of the letter.

Please read I Do Not Come to You By Chance by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani to better understand how the ‘419’ scams work. It is also a hilarious book.

Hello My Dear friend,

How are you doing together with your entire family, I hope all is well? Please carefully read and understand my reason of contacting you through this email. I am DR DAVID MORRIS, working in the department of adducting & accounting section ISLAMIC BANK OF AFRICA (ISBOA) Burkina Faso West Africa.

I am contacting you because of an abandoned sum of $15 Million US Dollars that was deposited by a late customer of this bank called MR SALIFF KATTAN. A very prominent man who was doing business transaction with our bank.

He was a citizen of JORDANES. He died in the year 2006 on a motor accident on his way travelling to a nearby city called Bobo Dioulasso together with the wife and their two children . The bank has no knowledge about his death, Upon this discovery that I decided to make this business proposal to you since the banking laws and guidelines here stipulate that if such funds remain unclaimed here after 5 years, the money will be transferred into the Central Bank Treasury as unclaimed fund.

My stand to contact you now is that, a foreigner has the legal right to put claim to such deposit followed by your will, proof your claim with the bank. Therefore, I want you to apply as his business partner to assist me so that I will be directing you on every steps we are going to be taken to make sure that the bank management believe really that you are his business partner.

This transaction is going to be a successful transaction because, a foreigner Is compulsorily needed to present himself or herself as the business partner to this deceased bank customer since the fund depositor was a foreigner, I therefore, desperately need your assistance to claim and receive this huge sum of money into your account after applying to our bank with my directive and the application I will send to you as his business partner for the smooth processing of the fund to you.

For the assistance in this transaction as my partner, you will be entitled to 40% of the total fund in respect of the provision of your bank account and the assistance you are to render on the process. 55% would be for me as the originator and initiator of the transaction, and the rest 5% will be used to off-set any minor expenses which may arise during the process of transferring the fund into your account by our bank I and my entire family will leave here immediately to your country in order to share the profits and we also invest part of my own share over there, as soon as the fund is transferred into your account.

Please Endeavour to keep this transaction very secret and highly confidential because I will lose my work here as bank staff, where the bank authority here finds out that you and I are collaborating in this “Special Deal”.. Please also be rest-assured that this business is 100% risk-free, and all the information and data’s you will need to make successful claim of this fund in the bank here are fully ready with me here.

Note Well: Please urgently confirm your willingness and interest to assist me by calling my private number immedaitely you have receive this mail for little discussion on how we are going to move ahead.

Thanks
DR DAVID MORRIS
Call me for more clarifications +226 78 05 73 10

November 16, 2011 Posted by | Africa, Crime, Cultural, Lies, Scams, Values, Work Related Issues | | Leave a comment

Saudi Women to be Lashed for Driving

On the downside of today’s news, the brave Saudi women who exercised their right to drive (there is no law against a woman driving in Saudi Arabia, only religious police who say it violates customs) have been sentenced to 10 lashes for conviction in the Saudi court. How do you convict a woman of a crime for which there is no law???

You can read this for yourself on the Huffpost:

CAIRO — A Saudi woman was sentenced Tuesday to be lashed 10 times with a whip for defying the kingdom’s prohibition on female drivers, the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultraconservative Muslim nation.

Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again. But dozens of women have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.

Making Tuesday’s sentence all the more upsetting to activists is that it came just two days after King Abdullah promised to protect women’s rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015. Abdullah also promised to appoint women to a currently all-male advisory body known as the Shura Council.

The mixed signals highlight the challenge for Abdullah, known as a reformer, in pushing gently for change without antagonizing the powerful clergy and a conservative segment of the population.

Abdullah said he had the backing of the official clerical council. But activists saw Tuesday’s sentencing as a retaliation of sorts from the hard-line Saudi religious establishment that controls the courts and oversees the intrusive religious police.

“Our king doesn’t deserve that,” said Sohila Zein el-Abydeen, a prominent female member of the governmental National Society for Human Rights. She burst into tears in a phone interview and said, “The verdict is shocking to me, but we were expecting this kind of reaction.”

The driver, Shaima Jastaina, in her 30s, was found guilty of driving without permission, activist Samar Badawi said. The punishment is usually carried out within a month. It was not possible to reach Jastaina, but Badawi, in touch with Jastaina’s family, said she appealed the verdict.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world that bans women – both Saudi and foreign – from driving. The prohibition forces families to hire live-in drivers, and those who cannot afford the $300 to $400 a month for a driver must rely on male relatives to drive them to work, school, shopping or the doctor.

There are no written laws that restrict women from driving. Rather, the ban is rooted in conservative traditions and religious views that hold giving freedom of movement to women would make them vulnerable to sins.

Activists say the religious justification is irrelevant.

“How come women get flogged for driving while the maximum penalty for a traffic violation is a fine, not lashes?” Zein el-Abydeen said. “Even the Prophet (Muhammad’s) wives were riding camels and horses because these were the only means of transportation.”

Since June, dozens of women have led a campaign to try to break the taboo and impose a new status quo. The campaign’s founder, Manal al-Sherif, who posted a video of herself driving on Facebook, was detained for more than 10 days. She was released after signing a pledge not to drive or speak to media.

Since then, women have been appearing in the streets driving their cars once or twice a week.

Until Tuesday, none had been sentenced by the courts. But recently, several women have been summoned for questioning by the prosecutor general and referred to trial.

One of them, housewife Najalaa al-Harriri, drove only two times, not out of defiance, but out of need, she says.

“I don’t have a driver. I needed to drop my son off at school and pick up my daughter from work,” she said over the phone from the western port city of Jeddah.

“The day the king gave his speech, I was sitting at the prosecutor’s office and was asked why I needed to drive, how many times I drove and where,” she said. She is to stand trial in a month.

After the king’s announcement about voting rights for women, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdel Aziz Al Sheik blessed the move and said, “It’s for women’s good.”

Al-Harriri, who is one of the founders of a women’s rights campaign called “My Right My Dignity,” said, “It is strange that I was questioned at a time the mufti himself blessed the king’s move.”

Asked if the sentencing will stop women from driving, Maha al-Qahtani, another female activist, said, “This is our right, whether they like it or not.”

UPDATE:

RIYADH, Saudi Arab — Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom’s ban on female drivers, a government official said Wednesday.

The official declined to elaborate on the monarch’s decision, and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media.

Woooo HOOOOO on YOU, King Abdullah!

September 27, 2011 Posted by | Cultural, ExPat Life, Family Issues, Law and Order, Living Conditions, News, Road Trips, Saudi Arabia, Social Issues, Women's Issues, Work Related Issues | 2 Comments

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