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What's in a Name?
And that's how embarrassing nicknames are born, boys and girls! (There's one for the scrapbook, eh, Beth S.?)
Well, Gabe Z., you have to admit that "Jason" is a really rare and hard-to-spell name - especially here in the U.S.
I suppose if the baby had been named Joey, or if this was a shower for a baby kangaroo, the inscription would have been fine. Unfortunately, neither of those was the case.
On an unrelated note: I totally want to reach into the picture and rip off those silly plastic balloons. And on an even more unrelated note: is that a chicken foot in the upper right-hand corner? What the heck, Leah T.?


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Via Lindsay Powell on Twitter, an informative and fascinating post about the Ramesseum papyri at the British Museum. Making more of this sort of stuff available online is really exiting, I think.
Opening up an ancient Egyptian library « British Museum blog:
The British Museum's Online research catalogue format offered a marvellous tool for this visual presentation, especially as it is linked to the collections database with its descriptions and bibliographies. Unlike a print catalogue it is continually updatable (and it needs to be: in May I am in Geneva to examine a new doctoral thesis by Pierre Meyrat on the previously untranslated magical texts in the library). Many of the fragments have not been fully published, some have never been published in photographs before, so this format will open up the library for study – as a whole and for the first time in its modern history.

subset: commoncrawl


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I wrote this song with Ben Lee who I absolutely worship. He helped me so much with the album and I can never thank him enough. He send me the instrumental when I was in Morocco last year, and recovering from a rather mild case of head lice. I didn't know what the song was yet, but then I thought, write what you know. I know about head lice. I love how the song came out, and Jack Rudy's harmonica is a perfect punchline. Thanks to Kevin Avery as the louse!!
The third video from Margaret's Cho Dependent Album, LICE, featuring Ben Lee and directed by Liam Sullivan!
Want the song? It's on iTunes here or buy the CD or Vinyl directly from Margaret and get an automatic download of the whole album!
For those in New York, Ben Lee is going to be a special guest on Margaret's NYC show at the Beacon Theater this Friday, as part of the New York Comedy Festival! Tickets and more info here.
Margaret's music video for "Intervention," featuring Tegan and Sara is coming soon! We are working on a few final touches and will be able to post it on Dec. 1st! Stay tuned!


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- Living
- Dining
- Bedroom
- Outdoor
- Office
- Storage
- Lighting
- Accessories & Complements
Magazine Rack is a 4-pocket magazine rack with a central handle for ease of lifting. The shape is essential and decidedly practical. It is a beautiful object which can be slotted into any setting. A classic of Italian design, the magazine rack is part of the history of Kartell and is offered in novel colours and original finishes.
|Product Type
|Magazine Rack
|Giotto Stoppino
|Year of Design
|Country of Origin
|Magazine Rack 18.5w x 40d x 34.5h cm
You can send us a message to request more information about this product. Just fill in the form below.
How long until you receive your Online Order?
Depending on your location, delivery will be within five (5) to ten (10) business days for items that are "In stock". Delivery to remote areas may take longer but our aim is to deliver your order as quickly as possible.
Space does not ship internationally.
Delivery Services - White Glove Service
White Glove Service is the term we use for our premium delivery service. You may contact us to book the Space White Glove Delivery Service for any deliveries within 100km from the Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane CBD.
From Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane this service will cost between,
The Space White Glove Service includes delivery by our experienced warehouse team who will deliver, unpack, assemble (if required) your purchase and dispose of the packaging materials.
Delivery Services - Courier or Post
Express 500g, Small, Medium, Large or Oversized Orders will be delivered via Post or Courier and costs will be calculated based on volume and distance in the checkout. Please note for delivery of bulky items to remote areas, we may be required to obtain a quote separately, please contact us directly to place your Order.
Please note that a signature will be required upon delivery at the nominated address. Delivery will occur between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm Monday - Friday and we are unable provide an exact time or call prior to delivery.
If an exact time or call is required prior to delivery, we recommend contacting us to organise White Glove Service.
Technical Sheet (Magazine_Rack.pdf, 41 Kb) [Download]
Opaline Smoke
Opaline Orange Red
Transparent Crystal


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UBS Trader Adoboli Guilty on Two Counts
Former UBS trader Kweku Adoboli was found guilty on two counts of fraud in connection with a $2.3 billion loss for the Swiss bank. WSJ's Dana Cimilluca reports.
This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.
I the the ... all the ups straight ... the only be ... guilty Frohlich sentences and he's in prison ... in connection with two point three billion dollars Alps Hoebbel Swiss bank ... of the will to kill they get to that joins me now space cups ... of ... Sanette is this a victory ... speech because ... he was found guilty on two counts of roles ... but multiple counts of that ... bulls counter ... it's a little bit of a split decision but some it looks like it is ... largely a victory for the prosecution I mean for one thing ... the fraud counts are more weighty they carry larger maximum sentences ... and clearly if you listen to the rhetoric out prosecutors say they view this as the asthe ticket for themselves ... we don't know the key to why he was not just tell ... us ... we don't want to see yet you know the reporting that comes out of ... out of the core aam ... aam there must be some kind of effect the reason why for some reason they didn't want to pick among false accounting aam but again the fraud charges seem to be the more serious they will send them to jail for seven years you know which is up ... a bit longer than some do expect he might've got especially after the society's Adderall Road trains got a smaller sentence for a larger problem ... ok and easy to be sitting in the seventies in prison ... I know he's already served about nine months ALM so get credit for that ... aam he will be eligible for relief somewhere around halfway through the set so it's conceivable only spend another two a half years ... how how is this perfect joined UBS until the state of acute restructuring to call in the wake of that piece of the financial crisis when they call it called ... for will force the coal face told us that ... rival they'll probably be breathing a sigh of relief that this is over because obviously is ... reminiscent of very unpleasant events in their recent history note took place just fourteen months ago ... cause a tremendous amount of people the banking of Chief Executive laugh number of other officials were forced to leave ... this argument in a that the massive restructuring they announced last month was on catalyze in part by this big loss ... aam ... some of the things that came out on Dudley will be uncomfortable for them you know how they enabled to top ... quake doing some of his colleagues to run amok so to speak on a massive trading desk ... aam but they probably will be happy that more ... bad news didn't come out and again just the fact that so strongly that ... yes it does the buck still have questions songs that go into one of things that defense was pressing quite haunt was that of the people in the bond you want to ... yes ... you know again maybe that could explain why you know they they decide to let him off on the false accounting charge aam ... there certainly was a very strong differing opinions when they brought certain witnesses in from the court about whether or not other people knew what was going on ... and a big question is whether was his colleagues on roughly the same levels and more people higher up on ... that knew was going on it's hard to tell what the ultimate for it I'll slice when do we expect ... it ... will come out too well you know it should come out soon you know as that there's a massive scrum from the southern Crown Court right now C Dudley that a bunch of reporters are asking jurors those questions as it ... does this case now for sale ... in patients in ... London ... but absent because of the eight K into the regulation of debt came under ... scrutiny in the wake of this ... yet you know it's another episode again Monday will be very happy to forget it's one of a long line of bomb of dance that sort of ... you know call into question the culture of the City of London over the last several years you know it's hard to imagine this will be the last won on top ... you know clearly


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Mills had only been Western's top officer for a matter of days March 27 when he made his first appearance before a community group at the Ocean Beach Town Council's regular monthly meeting. Right away, Mills made it clear he wants to establish himself as someone who solves problems by being accessible in the community.
He said his first order of business is fact-finding. In quick order, Mills encouraged citizens to share their concerns via email (firstname.lastname@example.com), and join him in a walk throughout the Ocean Beach community on April 2.
"I want you to have direct access to me," Mills said. "The whole idea is to hear first-hand what you're seeing so we can craft solutions. I want you to share with me your vision and your priorities with this neighborhood and I'll share with you my vision and priorities for this command."
Mills said he appreciated the uniqueness of the beach communities and said he looks forward to learning more about its needs and sensitivities.
"We're going to take a look at the problems," he said. "We're going to find the best solutions we can, but at the same time, treat people justly. Justice not only includes putting people in jail, but caring for those in great need."
This is not Mills' first time around at Western Division, which is made up of Ocean Beach, Sunset Cliffs, Point Loma Heights, Roseville-Fleetridge, La Playa, Loma Portal, Wooded Area, Midway District, Midtown, Mission Hills, Linda Vista, Mission Valley West, Morena, Old Town, University Heights and Hillcrest. He served as a Western Division lieutenant before taking on assignments in gang investigations and criminal intelligence. In 2011, he was promoted to captain of SDPD's Eastern Division.
During his 18 months at Eastern Division, Mills oversaw Operation Constant Crook, an effort targeting crimes committed by parolees released to the counties under the state's prison realignment plan. In 2012, the number of parolees arrested increased to more than 400 from only 74 the previous year, Mills said.
"My history is a little bit aggressive," Mills said. "When I come into a command, I expect things to happen. I don't want to hear that we're working as hard as we can. I want something to take place. I want some action on the back of that. I can guarantee you that things are going to move."
Mills, a Bird Rock resident who has lived in the city for 30 years, fills an opening created by the departure of Walt Vasquez, Western Division's previous captain who has moved up to replaced Boyd Long as SDPD's assistant chief of Patrol Operations.
"We're very happy to have [Mills] back," said community services officer David Surwilo. "It's been a win-win situation. We lose a great captain, we gain another great captain."
In other Town Council news
• With the ever-increasing interest in urban agriculture, Ocean Beach resident and business owner Charles Cairns is on the lookout for a place to site a new community garden. Cairns said officials from the city's Park and Recreation Department have given him the green light to pursue a dirt lot in the extreme northwest corner of Robb Field. It's a patch of earth on the south side of the Ocean Beach Bike Path at the 1/4-mile marker used for overflow parking.
• District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer will give a State of the District address April 10 at 6 p.m. in the Sunset Ballroom of the Paradise Point Resort and Spa, 1404 Vacation Road.
• April 19 is the deadline for local high school students to enter the 2013 Congressional Art Competition. The winning entry will be displayed at the U.S. Capitol for one year, said Shea Benton, aide to 52nd District Congressman Scott Peters. Entry requirements are available on Peters' website.
• The devices that provide a digital display of the traffic speeds of cars on Sunset Cliffs Boulevard have been nonoperational for several months, and there's no set date for their repair. The city is waiting for replacement parts to arrive, said Faulconer aide Michael Patton.
• The transfer of assets from Union Bank to Chase is complete, said treasurer Melinda Therkalson. The balance is almost $25,000, she said.
• Cindy Martin, the new superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District, and board member Kevin Beiser will appear for a meet-and-greet at the Point Loma Democratic Club April 28 at 4 p.m. at Point Loma Assembly, 3035 Talbot St., said club president Susan Peinado.
• That buzzer you just heard means time has run out if you wanted to join the Town Council in time to vote for the design of the new sign at the Sunset Cliffs Boulevard entryway. The five final designs can be viewed at obtowncouncil.com. Dues-paying members of the Town Council should receive their ballots via email this week. Election buzz caused one of the largest-ever one-month spikes in membership to occur in March, said correspondence secretary Heather Richards.


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Do you use Facebook? If you "Like" the C-MaxChat page in Facebook, you will get postings in your Facebook news feed for most of the blogs I post. This is an easy way to see what I'm posting each day, without the need to come back to the C-MaxChat blog. If you want to discontinue the postings to your Facebook news, just "unlike" the site.
Do you use Twitter? Just choose to follow me on Twitter. If you follow me, you will get Tweets with the latest blog articles as they become available, plus a few more tweets on other C-Max related tweets that you may find interesting. If you want to discontinue the tweets, just stop following me.


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Hi guys, I wanna know if there are any nice host towns near Austin, Waco, or San Antonio…
This is my first post here on this site, I have however been visiting since about 2006 and am a huge fan…I really wish the old intro song came back though, it used to show up in my dreams sometimes hahaha
Last edited by metalmenshevik; 03-20-2014 at 04:38 PM.
Ok, and how do I become a more active member of this forum, it seems kind of confusing to navigate...
Well mms, you've posed 2 fine questions. I reckon the first part depends on your interests. You can explore ghost towns, taking photos along the way & making notes so you don't forget which photo goes to which town (or site). When you get home, you can then sort thru and post all the ones you like in the form of a report on your excursion. Some gt'ers are using gps tech to find more difficult locations, and send coordinates by PM to those who ask. With the scourge of vandals these days, it's better not to post exact locations or directions for public use. Or you can just be more active by posting more in here, without going anywhere.
For the 2nd part, you'd have to explain what navigation issues are confusing to you. Also, there's a FAQ link at the top of this page which may be of some help.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


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Halloween's only a few weeks away and one of its most time-honored traditions is the carving of the pumpkin. We'd love to see what wonderful designs you'll be carving into your own pumpkin, which is why we're hosting a Best Pumpkin Carving Photo Contest. To enter the contest, post your best pumpkin carving photo, whether it's the actual act of carving or your final ghoulish product, on our Facebook page and the picture with the most "Likes" at the end of the week wins the contest. The winner of the contest receives a free orange Brita Grand Water Pitcher Filter. And, remember, there is NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER.
To enter the contest, follow these easy steps:
1. "Like" our� Facebook page.
2. Post your best pumpkin carving photo on our� wall or e-mail your photo directly to [email protected] and we will post it on the wall ourselves.
3. Tell your friends to "Like" our� Facebook page so that they can "Like" your photo.
4. After your photo is posted, people will vote on the best photo by "liking" the image.
Voting begins today, Monday October 17, and ends at 4pm on Friday October 21.� The photo with the most "Likes" at the end of the week wins the contest.
The winner of this contest receives a Brita Grand Water Pitcher that arrives in a Limited Edition orange lid design. The Brita Grand Orange filter pitcher allows you to have fresh and cold filtered water on hand in your refrigerator at all times. This Brita pitcher features a flip-top lid, soft grip handle, electronic filter change indicator, and will hold about ten 8 ounce glasses of filtered water. This pitcher is both convenient and economical, making it a perfect addition to your home or office.
(Please submit only one photo per contestant and also make sure you only post your own photos.)


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It was an average-looking letter that landed in Paul Weaver's mailbox. But bearing news that his veteran's disability benefits had been stopped, it felt more like a ton of crashing bricks.
He felt shock, then resignation.
He thought "I can't do this anymore. I have to move on."
Mr. Weaver had sought treatment at US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facilities a few years earlier for what had been diagnosed as a serious illness as well as for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his Marine Corps deployment to Iraq in 2003, where he was a machine-gunner with the original invasion force.
Now it was July 2007, and he wanted to leave the battle behind him – even if it meant giving up thousands of dollars a month in disability benefits. But his father, a retired senior chief petty officer with the Navy, wouldn't hear of it.
"You can't just have a civilian tell you 'no,' " Paul Weaver Sr. told his son. "They owe you a day in court."
He decided to fight – and unwittingly started a chain of events that would lead to improvements in the local San Diego VA system, benefiting thousands of others. They are the kinds of improvements called for by Congress, veterans groups, and the public as the VA system comes under increased scrutiny with the arrival of a new generation of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Rep. Bob Filner (D) of California, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says years of underfunding and poor leadership are to blame for the system's shortcomings, particularly a shortage of mental-health services for the new veterans.
"It's a long history of not being funded properly," says Representative Filner. "Morale goes down in a place when you get asked to do more and more with less and less."
Even with a 40 percent increase in VA funding over the past two fiscal years, says Filner, spread throughout the VA's vast bureaucracy, the money "takes a while to filter down." Some 250,000 VA employees are spread among about 1,500 facilities from medical centers to community clinics to nursing homes. In the last year, the VA started a suicide hot line, made plans to hire suicide prevention coordinators for each medical center, and convened panels of mental-health experts to advise the department on improving suicide prevention.
Veterans' mental health and suicides have become critical issues. One reason: More survive war thanks to better armor and battlefield treatment, but are also more likely to be left with serious mental injuries, according to experts who have studied US casualty causes and rates in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA came under particularly harsh criticism earlier this year when an e-mail surfaced showing that VA officials discussed keeping secret the figure of about 1,000 attempted suicides per month among veterans in VA facilities. The secretary of the VA later said the figure was unreliable, but he got a thorough tongue-lashing from Congress and veterans groups nevertheless.
"To me, we've committed murder," says Filner of reports of veterans who commit suicide while waiting for an appointment to see a VA mental-health specialist.
In such cases and in Weaver's, the problem usually isn't the quality of care, but gaining access to it, Filner says.
Weaver finally did get access to his benefits, but only after five months of intense campaigning.
With the help of his parents, he fired off scores of letters and made many phone calls to VA officials and lawmakers. He spent hours calling the Mission Valley community clinic to meet with key decisionmakers there regarding his benefits and calling the VA San Diego Healthcare System, a hospital where he needed to see doctors for his illness diagnosed as cancer now in remission.
In a last, desperate measure, he wrote out the details of his situation, then stuck hundreds of copies of the paper across windshields in the parking lot of the community clinic. "We shotgunned it," says Weaver's father. "Everyone shy of the president of the United States got a letter. A lot of people responded."
One of those was Filner's office. The congressman's staff met with Weaver and forwarded his list of complaints to the VA Office of the Inspector General (IG), which included Weaver's frustrations with the San Diego VA's scheduling call center and the Mission Valley community clinic.
"They never call you back. They hung up on me several times and once is too many times," says Weaver. "I can show you the phone bill, [waiting] 54 minutes, 47 minutes, just to ask a simple question. I wanted to know why they were taking my benefits away."
Filner's office forwarded Weaver's complaint about the call center to the VA Inspector General's office in February. In March, IG investigators visited the VA hospital in San Diego and interviewed call center officials and doctors. VA officials were already aware of the problems at the call center and were working on them, says Marvin Bailey, the call center supervisor, assigned to the post just a few months earlier in part to address the problems.
Mr. Bailey says the call center usually had about a 20 percent "call abandonment rate," the rate callers on hold simply hang up, each month. But in January and February it had spiked to 30 percent.
In its report, the inspector general's office said between October 2007 and February 2008 the call abandonment rate, was over 30 percent, far above the industry standard of about 10 percent.
But over the next few months, thanks to Weaver's persistence and the official interest it generated, the call center changed radically.
A line dedicated to automatically canceling appointments was installed, nearly half the 13 call center staffers were replaced, quotas for the number of calls each employee is expected to answer daily were established, and much of the responsibility for calling back veterans was shifted to clinicians so the call center staff could focus on taking incoming calls.
The changes happened over about a year, Bailey says. But just two months after the investigators' visit, the call abandonment rate was averaging below 5 percent. In June, just 3.4 percent of the 13,443 calls into the center were abandoned, says Bailey. They also cut the time veterans were kept on hold from 3 minutes during fiscal year 2007 to 36 seconds since April, near the industry standard of 30 seconds.
The VA inspector general's office is still investigating Weaver's other complaints regarding his benefits. Broader problems with the VA remain to be resolved, but Weaver's squeaky wheel campaign shows individuals can prompt changes, too.
"It wasn't just a case of helping myself," says Weaver, who recently finished college with a business degree. "I think you have a sense of civic duty to address something like this."


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ICSE Schools in Bhopal
For ICSE School admission in Bhopal, parents should contact the school to know the admission schedule. They should get details about the date of application form issuance from the ICSE Board School in Bhopal. They should also get clarified about any entrance test for the ICSE School admission in Bhopal. Along with these details, parents are also recommended to collect details about the fee to be paid to these schools in Bhopal. Then, parents will have to submit the application along with other requested documents to school in Bhopal. This means that admission procedure in ICSE Board Schools in Bhopal is much similar to other boards. By enrolling their kid in an ICSE Board School in Bhopal, parents can be assured about his/her bright future.


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Time for Tobin!
*Robin Round* explains how a tax on financial speculation could help stabilize global markets and capture much-needed funds for global development.
On 23 March 1999 the Canadian Parliament voted to 'enact a Tobin Tax in concert with the international community'. For three intense months people from across the country had written letters, signed petitions, penned newspaper articles and spoken out at public meetings. And now we had won. Canada had become the first country in the world to declare that currency speculators must be stopped.
During that time campaigners ran into the same basic questions from ordinary people who were just beginning to hear about global currency speculation and to get some sense of its dangers. Here are some of the key concerns raised and our responses to them.
_So what is currency speculation and why is it a problem?_
The world of international finance has become a global casino where investors seeking quick profits bet huge sums around the clock. Unlike investments in goods or services, speculators make money from money alone. No jobs are created, no services provided, no factories built and no widgets produced.
Investors play the bond and currency markets profiting from the minute-to-minute, hourly or daily fluctuations in prices around the world. And the game is big – $1.5 trillion ($1,500,000,000,000) is traded every day, 95 per cent of which is bet on whether currency values and interest rates will rise or fall. Traders make money either way and they thrive when markets are highly unstable, as they were in Southeast Asia in 1997.
International investment banks are the big winners, but the game has far-reaching impacts on the losers. As the Mexican, Southeast Asian, Russian and Brazilian financial crises demonstrated, an enormous human toll is extracted from the citizens of these countries when investors panic and run for the exits.
As national economies become more liberalized and integrated, future financial crises are inevitable unless changes are made.
_What is the Tobin Tax?_
In 1978 Nobel Prize-winning economist James Tobin proposed that a small worldwide tariff (less than half of one per cent) be levied by all major countries on foreign-exchange transactions in order to 'throw some sand in the wheels' of speculative flows. For a currency transaction to be profitable, the change in value of the currency must be greater than the proposed tax. Since speculative currency trades occur on much smaller margins, the Tobin Tax would reduce or eliminate the profits and, logically, the incentive to speculate. The tax is designed to help stabilize exchange rates by reducing the volume of speculation. And it is set deliberately low so as not to have an adverse effect on trade in goods and services or long-term investments.
_How would a Tobin Tax benefit the global economy?_
It could boost world trade by helping to stabilize exchange rates. Wildly fluctuating rates play havoc with businesses dependent on foreign exchange as prices and profits move up and down, depending on the relative value of the currencies being used. When importers and exporters can't be certain from one day to the next what their money is worth, economic planning – including job creation – goes out the window. Reduced exchange-rate volatility means that businesses would need to spend less money 'hedging' (buying currencies in anticipation of future price changes), thus freeing up capital for investment in new production.
Tobin's proposed tax would not have stopped the crisis in Southeast Asia, but it could help prevent future crises by reducing overall speculative volume and the volatility that feeds speculative attack.
John Maier / Still Pictures
_How would the Tobin Tax benefit national governments?_
It is designed to reduce the power financial markets have to determine the economic policies of national governments. Traditionally, a country's central bank buys and sells its own currency on international markets to keep its value relatively stable. The bank buys back its currency when a 'glut' caused by an investor selloff threatens to reduce the currency's value. In the past, most central banks had enough cash in reserve to offset any selloff or 'attack'. Not any longer. Speculators now have more cash than all the world's central banks put together. Official global reserves are less than half the value of one day of global foreign-exchange turnover. Many countries are simply unable to protect their currencies from speculative attack.
By cutting down on the overall volume of foreign-exchange transactions, a Tobin Tax would mean that central banks would not need as much reserve money to defend their currency. The tax would allow governments the freedom to act in the best interests of their own economic development, rather than being forced to shape fiscal and monetary policies according to demands of fickle financial markets.
_How would the Tobin Tax benefit people?_
By making crises less likely, the tax would help avoid the social devastation that occurs in the wake of a financial crisis. It could also be a significant source of global revenue at a time when foreign aid is decreasing and strong domestic anti-tax sentiments are reducing the ability of governments to raise revenue. In the face of increasing income disparity and social inequity, the Tobin Tax represents a rare opportunity to capture the enormous wealth of an untaxed sector and redirect it towards the public good.
Conservative estimates show the tax could yield from $150-300 billion annually. The UN estimates that the cost of wiping out the worst forms of poverty and environmental destruction globally would be around $225 billion per year.
_Who will be taxed?_
The majority of foreign-exchange dealing is by 100 of the world's largest banks. The top 10 control 52 per cent of the market and are mostly American, German and British. Citigroup tops the list with a 7.75-per-cent market share and a 1998 volume of foreign exchange transactions which, at $8.5 trillion, exceeded the GDP of the US. These banks operate in their own interest and on behalf of large corporate and private investors, insurance companies, hedge funds, mutual funds and pension funds.
_What will be taxed?_
Only specialized financial transactions known as 'spots', 'swaps', 'futures' and 'forwards' will be taxed. With the exception of spot transactions, these instruments are known as 'derivatives' because their value is derived from the value of an underlying asset which is not bought or sold in the transaction.
Tourists exchanging dollars to pay for their holidays abroad would not be subject to a Tobin Tax. Debate continues as to whether the tax should apply to any transaction less than a million dollars.
_How does the Tobin Tax work?_
The tax would target only speculative currency transactions. Because it is not easy to determine which types of transactions are speculative and which are associated with legitimate trade in goods and services, the tax hinges on the speed of a transaction. Speed is the primary difference between speculative and legitimate trade. Productive investment works on the medium to long term while speculators flip investments like pancakes, profiting by the daily, hourly and minute-to-minute fluctuations in interest rates and currency values. Eighty per cent of all speculative transactions occur within seven days or less – 40 per cent occur in two days or less.
A Tobin Tax would automatically penalize short-term exchanges, while barely affecting the incentives for commodity trading and long-term capital investments.
_Won't speculators find ways to evade the tax?_
Inevitably. However, this has never dissuaded governments from collecting taxes, particularly 'sin taxes' designed to stem unacceptable behavior. The real question is, how do you minimize evasion?
A Tobin Tax could be difficult to evade. Because currency transactions are tracked electronically, in theory the tax would be easy to collect through the computer systems that record each trade. While the amount of money is enormous, the number of centres where trading occurs and the number of traders is not. Eighty per cent of foreign-exchange trading takes place in just seven cities. Agreement by London, New York and Tokyo alone would capture 58 per cent of speculative trading.
_Won't speculators shift operations to offshore tax havens?_
Agreement between nations could help avoid the relocation threat, particularly if the tax were charged at the site where dealers or banks are physically located or at the sites where payments are settled or 'netted'. The relocation of Chase Manhattan Bank to an offshore site would be expensive, risky and highly unlikely – particularly to avoid a small tax. Globally, the move towards a centralized trading system means transactions are being tracked by fewer and fewer institutions. Hiding trades is becoming increasingly difficult. Transfers to tax havens like the Cayman Islands could be penalized at double the agreed rate or more. Citizens of participating countries would also be taxed regardless of where the transaction was carried out.
_What is the biggest barrier to the Tobin Tax?_
It's not technical or administrative. It's political. The tax is seen as a threat by the financial community and has met with stiff resistance by a sector with massive political clout. The very idea of putting people ahead of markets challenges the foundations of the current global economic model and those who control it.
_Can the opposition be overcome?_
In the wake of recent global financial crises governments everywhere are examining their faith in free markets. Even the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund recently praised Malaysia's use of capital controls to jump-start its battered economy. This is a fundamental shift in attitude, unimaginable only a year ago.
The political appeal of this tax to cash-strapped governments and multilateral agencies worldwide can't be underestimated. And voters will likely respond well to a campaign to tax big banks, which are widely viewed as under-taxed.
_Who supports the Tobin Tax?_
The international trade union movement, the Canadian Parliament, the Finnish Government and a growing number of academics and elected representatives. In Brazil politicians recently launched the 'Parliamentary Front for the Tobin Tax'. And citizens' movements for a Tobin Tax are active around the world, including CIDSE in Europe, Attac in France, the Halifax Initiative in Canada, KEPA in Finland and War on Want in Britain. These and other groups have established the International Tobin Tax Network to share information and co-ordinate actions as they work to build public and political support for the tax.
This is only one aspect of the fundamental reform of the global financial system and is not a panacea for the world's financial ills and development woes. The democratization of economic decision-making and the equitable redistribution of wealth must become the central principles upon which governments act in the new millennium.
The victory in Canada is an important first step, but the real work has just begun. Citizens and politicians around the world must not let the powerful forces who oppose the Tobin Tax stifle, manipulate and ultimately undermine an essential public debate on controlling global financial markets.
The Tobin Tax deserves a fair hearing. Only widespread popular support and public pressure can ensure it.
This article is from
the January-February 2000 issue
of New Internationalist.
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Modified Mustangs & FordsFeatured Vehicles
1967 Ford Mustang Convertible - Isadora
Complicated Yet Creative, This Drop-Top Mustang Shares a Great Deal With its Namesake
It's almost certain that someone building a car coined the phrase, "Well, as long as we're here." That seems to be a steadfast theme for just about any car project, although the term "here" can mean any point in a restoration or restomod project. Bill and Deb Eisinger wanted to build a convertible that was dependable, easy to drive, and one that had modern conveniences, but it also had to stay true to the original form. Bill wasn't above getting his hands dirty and taking on a project of mild to medium depth in order to achieve their goals. If he only knew how dirty his hands would have to get.
Purchased eight years ago out of South Carolina, the car was said to have "significant rust" issues, but they got a good deal on it and had it shipped to Idaho. When Bill started taking the car apart, he found more holes and rust than healthy sheetmetal, and he began wondering if the car shouldn't just be scrapped in favor of one with more of its body intact. Plus, the car had been wrecked at some point and some very questionable sheetmetal repairs were made to make it look straight—it was not. At first, Bill had planned to do most of the work himself, but once he realized the enormity of just getting the car straight enough to begin the project, he elected to let a professional do the lion share of the work.
Though Scott Brideau of Car Concepts in Nampa, Idaho, has extensive experience and knowledge with large involved projects like this, little did he know how "large and involved" it would be. The car was hauled to Scotts shop, and the work began. Bill already had a concept for the end product, utilizing modern suspension and steering, a modular powerplant, and up-to-date styling appointments. A key point was that it must be able to be driven daily, with no hiccups, overheating, or tire rubbing that is sometimes common with show-type cars.
Bill and Scott had a wheel design in their heads, so they went to Boze Alloys to have a custom, one-off set built specifically for his car. Scott used these wheels as the foundation for his entire build, and the result is a perfect ride height, a great stance, and killer styling.
Rather than utilize the original sub-framerails, they opted to order a custom full-frame chassis from Art Morrison built to their specs and equipped with the venerable 9-inch rear axle, four-bar rear suspension, coilover front suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, and 12-inch Wilwood brakes at all four corners. The rails of the frame were actually laid flat rather than upright to gain not only ground clearance, but an actual floor that resembles the original dimensions.
When it was time to choose a drivetrain, Bill had already planned to use the three-valve 4.6, since it has plenty of power, gets decent fuel mileage, and is readily available. Scott came up with the idea to buy a wrecked '05-'09 Mustang. That way, they would have the harness, transmission, and any other part necessary to make the project come to life. They found a wrecked, low-mileage '06 with rear end damage for less than the price of the crate motor originally planned, and yanked the powertrain out and started cleaning it up. Soon after, they started brainstorming about using the interior, and the instrument panel (dash), and even the air conditioning from the '06 on the '67. This idea turned Isadora (more on the car's name later) from a huge project to an enormous undertaking.
Scott started by removing the entire firewall and transmission tunnel from the donor car so the brake booster/master cylinder as well as the whole heater/AC system and dashboard could just stay together as Ford had designed it. Scott then had to redesign how the entire front end of the car would reattach, since the firewall and inner fenders normally support the whole front sheetmetal. Even the wipers from the '06 were used and hidden in the cowl.
As it happens, the instrument panel (or dashboard to us of a certain age) is only slightly wider than the space it occupies in the '67, although extensive mods had to be performed to make it fit along with the late-model heater and A/C components. The '67 door panels were retained, but redesigned with a "nook" to clear the dash when the doors were closed. The unwavering attention to detail in the car can be seen everywhere, yet would be easily mistaken for factory stock without close inspection. Although the wing windows are still on the doors, they are now non-functional due to space constraints, but still retain the stock look, and their modification could be easily be overlooked. Other seemingly small, but technically difficult mods include lengthening the hood and headlight buckets three inches, and utilizing a '69 taillight panel and rear quarter extensions on the modified '67 fastback quarter panels to give a slightly more aggressive "lift" above the rear tires. Scott spent literally hundreds of man hours designing and fitting custom pieces all over the car with the same idea in mind.
"Make it totally one-off, but make it realistically drivable and dependable." Well, he succeeded in both respects. His attention to the little things is apparent in everything from the custom oil filter adapter to trimming and reshaping the bumpers to snug them up against the sheetmetal. Nothing was left untouched. The flawless body was then prepped and shot with this beautiful metallic turquoise blue basecoat/clearcoat PPG color. You can literally read a newspaper in this paint, it's that good.
This car exemplifies style, grace, and beauty, all while concealing a passionate and fiery heart capable of turning stone into clay. Deb decided that her '67 should be named Isadora after turn-of-the-century American dancer, Isadora Duncan, as Deb saw similarities between the two with regard to the convertible's characteristics and attitude. Duncan also met her untimely death in a convertible, thus employing a macabre sense of humor to the build (no scarf wearing in the Mustang for Deb, we hope). The name Isadora stuck, as evidenced by the lettering incorporated onto the trunk lid.
The finished product reflects exactly what Bill and Deb set out for, and to the uninformed spectator, seeing the '67 in passing gives the sense that it is indeed true to the Mustang form, but there's just something about it that's different. They just can't put their finger on it.
The Details
Bill and Deb Eisinger's '67 Mustang Convertible
'06 Ford 3-Valve 4.6L V-8
Ford Racing Performance Parts cold air intake
Custom tuning by Restoration Rods (Eagle, Idaho)
Custom 2½-inch stainless steel exhaust
MagnaFlow performance mufflers
Stock '06 Mustang 5R55S automatic and torque converter
Ford 9-inch
3.25 gears
Front: Art Morrison independent coilover suspension
Rear: Art Morrison four-link coilover suspension
Front: Wilwood disc, 12-inch rotors
Rear: Wilwood disc, 12-inch rotors
Front: Boze Forged Tach, 17x9
Rear: Boze Forged Tach, 18x10
Front: BFGoodrich g-Force Sport, P235/45ZR17
Rear: BFGoodrich g-Force Sport, P275/40ZR18
'06 Mustang instrument panel, A/C system, center console, and seats; modified '67 Mustang door panels and rear quarter-panels; interior work by Bears Workshop, Caldwell, Idaho
Extensively modified nose section; custom hoodscoop, valance, and grille opening; tightened bumper-to-body clearances; custom rear quarter scoops; modified fastback quarter-panels; '69 Mustang taillight panel; '06 Mustang firewall and floor pans; PPG metallic blue turquoise base/clear paint; all body modifications, sheetmetal prep, and paint by Scott Brideau of Car Concepts, Nampa, Idaho


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It could be a good time to head to the fields to help farmers pick corn. Or maybe find a small business in need of seasonal help.
Until recently it probably wasn't the best financial idea for anyone collecting federal unemployment extension benefits to seek temporary work. Doing so may have meant receiving a lower level of unemployment benefits in the future.
But President Obama eliminated that potential penalty with the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Fix (EUC Fix) when he signed the latest unemployment benefits extension bill on July 22.
Here are some questions relating to the new change and the issue of temp work:
Do employment specialists think it's a good idea to take a temp job?
Anyone who has been out of work for six months or more should consider a temp job, says John Challenger of Challenger Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement firm.
"It's not healthy just sitting around at the computer waiting for a job," he reasons. "Getting back to work is rejuvenating," he says, adding, "It's a good way to show you are filling in the gaps while unemployed."
Pamela Garber, a New York psychotherapist in private practice, often recommends that her clients do temp work in between jobs or making a career change. She says it can give an individual "a forward thought process" by having new challenges. And, she says in an email, they get to learn about different companies "via the front row."
In fact, according to Tina Chen, director of operations for Carlisle Staffing in Westmont, Ill., many companies view temps as trial employees.
"A lot of business owners are looking to be efficient, they are cognizant of hiring costs and want to be sure they made the right decisions," says Ms. Chen. "So, we can be considered an extension of their HR department if they want to do a test drive to make sure they have right employee."
What are the hottest areas for temps?
Temp hiring tends to go through a cycle, says William Grubbs, Chief Operating Officer at SFN Group (formerly Spherion), a staffing company based in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. For example, first companies hire light industrial workers, then clerical and then service professionals, such as finance and accounting, he says.
"Now we are seeing a momentum in all the skill sets," he says.
In fact, the higher the skill level, the hotter the demand from employers, says Janice Bryant Howroyd, the CEO of Torrance, California-based AppleOne, an international staffing company. She specifically says demand is good for individuals with experience in graphic design and engineering.
If I get a temp job will I receive vacations and medical benefits?
Low-skilled workers often don't get these benefits. But, high-skilled workers may earn time off and bonuses the longer they work for a company, says Bill Driscoll, a Boston-based regional president at Robert Half International, which he says also offers access to health care benefits to many of its professional workers.
What's the downside to working in a temp job?
First, the salary may be less since the staffing company will be getting a fee that will be factored into how much you will get paid. Secondly, if a company runs into a slow period, temps are usually the first to be let go. "We saw that in the last downturn when temporary help staffing started down in January 2007, well before the layoffs of permanent workers," says Mr. Grubbs.
In the past, the unemployment compensation issue was also a detriment. What has changed?
Federal law has always required state unemployment agencies to reexamine a claimant's unemployment benefits after 52 weeks. Before the EUC Fix was made, some claimants collecting federal extension benefits who worked part-time or took temp jobs could find themselves forced to start a new round of regular state benefits using their short-term jobs as their base. The end result: much lower benefits. But, now, individuals will no longer be penalized as long as certain thresholds are met.
What are those thresholds?
If wages earned on your temp job mean your new state unemployment benefit rate will be $100 or 25 percent less than your current (higher) weekly benefit amount, you would qualify for the higher federal rate. Otherwise, you will move to a new regular state benefits claim.
"Say someone had been getting $300 a week in federal unemployment insurance, and they would drop to $200 a week in state benefits after their temp work," says George Wentworth, a policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project (NELP) in New York. "They would now be able to stay on the $300 federal rate because $200 represents a 33 percent drop in their benefit."
Are all states required to adopt this change?
Yes, every state will have to honor the federal change. However, the impact of the change will vary by state because every state has different earnings qualifications.


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West Coast Premiere of TRIASSIC PARQ: THE MUSICAL to Open at Chance Theater, 1/30
Chance Theater will present the first show of its 2013 season with a touching west coast premiere musical about dinosaurs and love, TRIASSIC PARQ - The Musical, music by Marshall Pailet, book by Marshall Pailet, Bryce Norbitz and Steve Wargo, choreographed by Kelly Todd, musical direction by Taylor Stephenson and directed by Marshall Pailet, who will be the Chance Theater's 2013 Resident Playwright (and will have two of his other works workshopped in Chance's new play reading series). TRIASSIC PARQ -THE MUSICAL will preview on Friday, January 25 & Saturday, January 26 at 8pm; Sunday, January 27 at 7pm; Tuesday, January 29 at 8pm; with press openings on Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31 and will continue through Sunday, February 24 at Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim Hills.
TRIASSIC PARQ - THE MUSICAL, 2010's Best Musical winner at FringeNYC, comes to The Chance straight from an off-Broadway run The New York Times called "Flat-out ingenious". A fresh new musical with as much heart as raunchy wit, TRIASSIC PARQ is the story of Jurassic Park told from the perspective of the dinosaurs. It takes a minor premise from the movie - that a handful of the genetically engineered female dinosaurs have spontaneously turned male - and runs with it until the audience's legs get tired. An epic tale of love, loss and interspecies fornication, these resurrected reptiles will touch you in ways both moving and inappropriate. The ride is ridiculous to say the least, but beneath the absurdity and chaos is a sincere story of identity crisis and loss of faith.
Marshall Pailet (Director/Book/Music) is currently developing several projects with DreamWorks Theatricals/Animation, as well as a new commission for the New Musical Foundation. Off-Broadway: Triassic Parq (SoHo Playhouse). Other credits include Super Claudio Bros. (Best Musical DC Fringe '10); Who's Your Baghdaddy, or How I Started the Iraq War (Woolly Mammoth, Best Musical DC Fringe '11, Osborn Award Nominee); Jurassic Parq: The Broadway Musical (Best Musical NY Fringe '10); The Chocolate Tree (NAMT, Actors Cabaret of Eugene, Houston Stages); Where It's At (FringeNYC); Loch Ness. As director: Stuck (Clurman Theatre); The 49 Project (FringeNYC); Thursday (World Premiere); With Kings in the Back (World Premiere); The 70 Scenes of Halloween; The Darq Knight (World Premiere); Bat Boy; Escape Artists (World Premiere). Graduate of Yale University.
Kelly Todd (Choreography) a UCLA Theater graduate, has been a choreographer, director and dance teacher for twenty years and has directed and choreographed musicals in Los Angeles and New York. Recently she choreographed West Side Story at Chance Theater in Anaheim (LA Times Critic's Choice) and contributed to Absurd Person Singular at South Coast Repertory. In 2011, she choreographed Jerry Springer: The Opera at Chance Theater (Ovation Award for Best Musical; LADCC and Ovation Award nominations for Best Choreography), and The Who's Tommy at Segerstrom Center for the Arts to much critical acclaim. She has been a proud Resident Artist at Chance Theater for nearly eight years, where her favorite projects have included the professional world premiere of The Girl, The Grouch, and The Goat by the Tony Award-winning composer of Urinetown, Mark Hollmann, and HAIR (Ovation and LADCC nominations for Best Choreography). Over the years, other favorite choreography credits have included Cabaret, Chicago, A Chorus Line, Crazy For You, 42nd Street, Dreamgirls, and two original musicals, Keep Movin' On, featuring the music of Sam Cooke, and What's Going On, featuring the music of Marvin Gaye.
The cast of TRIASSIC PARQ -THE MUSICAL features (in alphabetical order): Alex Bueno (The Eight), Micaela Martinez, Kellie Spill (Jerry Springer: The Opera), Jackson Tobiska (Overlooked), Keaton Williams (West Side Story) and Camryn Zelinger (The Eight).
TRIASSIC PARQ -THE MUSICAL has assembled an award-winning design team. The Scenic Design is by Joe Holbrook (ROOMS: a rock romance, Ovation nomination). The Costume Design is by Anthony Tran (West Side Story). The Lighting Design is by Matt Schlecter (Reborning). The Prop Design is by Masako Tobaru (Reborning). The Production Stage Manager is ChristopheR Ramirez.
TRIASSIC PARQ -THE MUSICAL will open on Friday, February 1 at 8pm and continue through Sunday, February 24. Performances are Wednesdays, Thursdays & Fridays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm & 8pm and Sundays at 2pm.
Preview performances are: Friday, January 25 & Saturday, January 26 at 8pm; Sunday, January 27 at 7pm; Tuesday, January 29 at 8pm. Press Openings are Wednesday, January 30 and Thursday, January 31 at 8pm with press receptions to follow each performance.
Tickets for all general performances are $25 - $45. Preview ticket prices are $35. All tickets can be purchased by calling (714) 777-3033 or by visiting www.chancetheater.com. Student, Senior, military and group discounts are available. (Groups call 1-714-900-3284).
CHANCE THEATER is located at 5552 E. La Palma Ave. in Anaheim Hills, Calif., 92807. Parking is free.
Proud to be one of the leading ensemble-based Contemporary Theatre companies in Southern California, CHANCE THEATER recently received the Ovation Award for Best Musical (Intimate Theatre) and a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for its Southern California premiere of "Jerry Springer: The Opera." Twice named "Outstanding Arts Organization" by Arts Orange County, Chance Theater is also a recipient of the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle's Polly Warfield Award for Excellence. Founded in 1999, Chance Theater is focused on its goal of being Orange County's premiere mid-size contemporary ensemble theater. As a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Network of Ensemble Theaters, and the LA Stage Alliance, Chance Theater continues to bring national attention to the Southern California and Orange County theater scenes.