Monday Funnies

Fight the Power

Frugal Truck

Good Doggy

Husband or Wife

Llama Party

Lonely Moon

Monsters Inception

Must wash hands

Parenting Corrections

Typical Cat

Canada's Penny No More, Feb 4, 2013

That's it for Canada's penny: Today is the last day the coin will be distributed after minting stopped in May as a cost-saving measure. Still, there are 6 billion pennies in circulation, so they could be around for a long time: "We estimate three to four years" as they are pulled from circulation, says a Royal Canadian Mint rep. For cash shoppers, that means prices will be rounded up or down to the nearest nickel; for those paying by card, prices won't change, the Province reports.

Consumers can drop pennies off at their local banks, donate them to charities, or use them at stores' discretion, the Globe and Mail notes. Just 52.9% of Canada's Retail Council members are ready for the shift, the council found. Some 81.5% think it'll cost them no more than $5,000. As for consumers, "the net impact ... is that it balances out," says an analyst.
An Introspective World reflects on more than 150 years of Canadian pennies:

• The first was minted in 1858.

• Since 1908, 35 billion have been minted—enough to circle the Earth 16 times.

• A 1936 one-cent coin known as the Dot is worth a lot more than a cent: One recently sold for $402,500.

On a separate note, today's Canadian Google doodle features a penny, the Global News reports.

Now how long until the Nickel, Dime and every other physical currency go the way of the penny. We all know electronic transfers are the way of the future, well today has been a significant stepping stone in my opinion.

We can also look forward to the United States discontinuing the penny. Will the news of US penny discontinuation receive as much media attention as that of the Canadian penny? We expect the US to cancel the penny program before 2014 and move on parallel with Canada in eliminating the coinage currencies from circulation.

It is for the best to progressively eliminate the coin currency from circulation. As everyone over 18 is eligible for a debit/credit card the need for physical currency becomes redundant, aside from children and people with bad credit, nobody should be without some sort of electronic payment capability.

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Related Posts
Last Days of the Canadian Penny
March 30, 2012

Ottawa Keeping Penny Alive Till 2013 to Appease Retailers’ Concerns
July 31, 2012

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President Obama Inauguration - Family Moment

The Presidential Inauguration at 4:53 PM Live on CNN. The Obama family had a funny moment captured.

Mitt Romney: "If the President is Re-Elected"

Romney: IF THE PRESIDENT IS RE-ELECTED, 8 MILLION AMERICANS WILL BE UNEMPLOYED
Obama: 8 MILLION AND ONE.

US President Obama’s 2012 Election Victory Speech

President Barack Obama delivered a victory speech after winning re-election over Mitt Romney, Tuesday, from Obama campaign headquarters – McCormick Place, Lakeside Center in Chicago, IL. Read on:-

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Tonight more than 200 years after a former colony won the right to determine its own destiny, the task of perfecting our union moves forward.

It moves forward because of you. It moves forward because you reaffirmed the spirit that has triumphed over war and depression, the spirit that has lifted this country from the depths of despair to the heights of hope. The belief that while each of us will pursue our own individual dreams, we are an American family and we rise or fall together as one nation and as one people.

Tonight in this election, you, the American people, remind us while our road has been hard, while our journey has been long, we have picked ourselves up, we have fought our way back, and we know in our hearts that the united states of America – the best is yet to come.

[cheering]

I want to thank every American who participated in this election [CHEERING] Whether you voted for the very first time or waiting in line for a very long time.

By the way, we need to fix that. Whether you pounded the pavement or picked up the phone. Whether you held an Obama sign or a Romney sign, you made your voice heard.

And you made a difference. I just got off the phone with Governor Romney and I congratulated him and Paul Ryan on a hard-fought campaign. [CHEERING] We may have fought fiercely, but it’s only because we love this country deeply. And we care so strongly about its future.

From George to Lenore to their son Mitt, the Romney family has chosen to give back to Americans through public service. And that is a legacy that we honor and applaud tonight. [CHEERING] In the weeks ahead, I also look forward to sitting down with Governor Romney to talk about where we can work together to move this country forward. [CHEERING] I want to thank my friend and partner for the last four years, America’s happy warrior, the best vice president anybody could ever hope for: Joe Biden.

I want to thank my friend and partner of the last 4 years, America’s happy warrior, the best Vice President anyone could ever hope for: Joe Biden. And I wouldn’t be the man I am today without the woman who agreed to marry me twenty years ago. Let say this publicly, Michelle I have never loved you more. I have never been prouder to watch the rest of America fall in love with you too as our nation’s first lady.

Sasha and Malia before our very eyes you are growing up to become two strong smart beautiful young women, just like your mom. And I'm so proud of you guys. But I will say that for now one dog is probably enough. To the best campaign team and volunteers in the history of politics. The best. The best ever. Some of you were this time around.

Some of you were new this time around and some of you have been at my side since the very beginning but all of you are family.

No matter what you do or where you go from here, you will carry the memory of the history we made together and you will have the life long appreciation of a grateful president.

Thank you for believing all the way, through every hill, through every valley. [applause] You lifted me up the whole way and I will always be grateful for everything that you’ve done and all the incredible work that you’ve put in. [applause]

I know that political campaigns can sometime seem small, even silly, and that provides plenty of fodder for the cynics who tell us that politics is nothing more than a contest of egos or the domain of special interests.

But if you ever get the chance to talk to folks who turn out at rallies and crowded out along a rope line in a high school gym or saw folks working late at a campaign office in some tiny county far away from home, you’ll discover something else; you’ll hear the determination in the voice of a young field organizer who is working his way through college and wants to make sure every child has that same opportunity. [applause]

You’ll hear the pride in the voice of a volunteer who is going door to door because her brother was finally hired when the local auto plant added another shift. [applause]

You’ll hear the deep patriotism in the voice of a military spouse who is working the phones late at night to make sure that no one who fights for this country every has to fight for a job or a roof over their head when they come home. [applause]

That’s why we do this. That’s what politics can be. That’s why elections matter. It’s not small, it’s big. It’s important. Democracy in a nation of 300-million can be noisy and messy and complicated. We have our own opinions, each of us has deeply held beliefs.

And when we go through tough times, when we make big decisions as a country; it necessarily stirs passions, stirs up controversy. That won’t change after tonight and it shouldn’t . These arguments we have are a mark of our liberty.

We can never forget that as we speak, people in distant nations are risking their lives right now just for a chance to argue about the issues that matter [applause] The chance to cast their ballots like we did today.

But despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they have access to the best schools and the best teachers. [applause] A country that lives up to its legacy as the global leader in technology and discovery and innovation; with all the good jobs and new businesses that follow.

A country that lives up to its legacy as a global leader in technology, discovery and innovation. With all the good jobs and businesses that follow, to live in America that isn’t burdened by debt, that isn’t weakened by inequality. That isn’t threatened by the destructive power of a warming planet. We want to pass on a country that is saved and respected and admired around the world. A nation that is defended by the strongest military on earth and the best troops this world has ever known. But also a country that moves with confidence beyond this time of war to shape a peace. That is built on the promise of dignity of every human being.

We believe in a generous America, in a compassionate America, in a tolerant America, open to the dreams of an immigrants daughter that studies in our schools and pledges to our flag. To the young boy on the south side of Chicago, who sees a light beyond the nearest street corner. To the furniture workers child in North Carolina who wants to become a engineer or a scientist. And engineer or an entrepreneur. A diplomat or even a president, that’s the future we hope for. That’s the vision we share, that’s where we need to go. Forward. That’s where we need to go.

Now we will disagree sometimes fiercely on how to get there, as it has for more then two centuries, progress will come in fits and starts, it’s not always a straight line or a smooth path. By itself a recognition of our common hopes and dreams won’t end the gridlock. Or solve all our problems or substitute for the hard work of building consensus. And making the difficult compromises needed to move the country forward but that common bond is where we must begin. Our economy is recovering, our decade of war is ending. A long campaign is now over. [applause]

And whether I earned your vote or not, I have listened to you. I have learned from you and you have made me a better President. With your stories and your struggles, I returned to the White House more determined and more inspired than ever about the work there is to do and the future that lies ahead [applause] Tonight, you voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours.

And in the coming weeks and months, I am looking forward to reaching out and working with leaders of both parties to meet the challenges we can only solve together: reducing our deficit, reforming our tax code, fixing our immigration system, freeing ourselves from foreign oil, we’ve got more work to do.

But that doesn’t mean your work is done. The role of citizen in our democracy does not end with your vote. America’s never been about what could be done for us, it’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government. That’s the principle we were founded on.

This country has more wealth than any nation, but that’s not what makes us rich. We have the most powerful military in history but that’s not what makes us strong. Our university, our culture, are all the envy of the world but that’s not what keeps the world coming to our shores. What makes America exceptional are the bonds that hold together the most diverse nation on Earth, the belief that our destiny is shared, that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and the future generations so that the freedom so many Americans have fought for and died for comes with responsibilities as well as rights, and among those are love, and charity, and duty and patriotism. That’s what makes America great.

I am hopeful tonight because I have seen that spirit at work in America. I’ve seen it in the family business whose owners would rather cut their own pay than lay off their neighbors, and in the workers who would rather cut back their hours than see a friend lose a job.

I’ve seen it in the soldiers who re-enlist after losing a limb, and in those SEALS who charged up the stairs into darkness and danger because they knew their was a buddy behind them watching their back.

I’ve seen it on the shores of New Jersey and New York where leaders from every party and level of government have swept aside their differences to help a community rebuild from the wreckage of a terrible storm.

And I saw it just the other day, in Mentor, Ohio where a father told the story of his eight-year-old daughter who’s long battle with leukemia nearly cost their family everything had it not been for health care reform passing just a few months before. The insurance company was about to stop paying for her care

I had an opportunity to not just talk to the father but meet this incredible daughter of his, and when he spoke to the crowd listening to that father’ story, every parent in that room had tears in their eyes because we knew that little girl could be our own. And I know that every American wants her future to be just as bright. That’s who we are. That’s the country I’m so proud to lead as your president.

And tonight, despite all the hardship we’ve been through, despite all the frustrations of Washington, I’ve never been more hopeful about our future

I’ve never been more hopeful about America. And I ask you to sustain that hope. I’m not talking about blind optimism. The kind of hope that just ignores the enormity of the tasks ahead or the road blocks that stand in our path. I’m not talking about the wishful idealism that allows us to just sit on the sidelines or shirk from a fight.

I have always believed that hope is that stubborn thing inside of us that insists, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that something better awaits us so long as we have the courage to keep reaching to keep working, to keep fighting.

America, I believe we can build on the progress we made and continue to fight for new jobs and new opportunity and new security for the middle class

I believe we can keep the promise of our founder. The idea that if you’re willing to work hard, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from or what you look like or where you love, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white or Hispanic or Asian, or native American, or young or old, or rich or poor, able, disabled, gay or straight, you can make it.

I believe we can seize this future together. Because we are not as divided as our politics suggest. We’re not as cynical as the pundents believe. We are greater than the sum of our individual ambitions.

And we remain more than a collection of red states and blue states. We are and forever will be the United States of America. With your help and God’s grace, we will continue our journey forward. And remind the world just why it is that we live in the greatest nation on Earth.Thank you, America. God bless you. God bless these United States.”

Canadian's thoughts on US elections

As a Canadian for all my life, I'm not completely knowledgeable about the United States' political system.

I know it's a two party system and facts like that. But what I think. I think it would be in the United States best interest to elect Mitt Romney, because what I know about him is he's a capitalist, I would expect him to run the county like a business, cut costs, make logical decisions and ultimately turn a profit. Which is something America desperately needs these days. Obama has had 4 years and the US is still on the brink of a depression and as one of the greatest economies in the world, if the US goes into a depression that would have a terrible impact on the rest of the world, including my beloved nation of Canada.

Watching C-Span at the moment, it seems like Obama is going to win the election despite the Republican's early lead.

I deeply hope for the United States' economy to recover and return to a thriving economy as it once was. And have learned from it's mistakes. In addition to the US being Canada's closest economic partner, I have a personal investment in the United States well-being.

On a brighter note, Barack has been the President of the United States for the past four years which would be a positive in the case of his victory because his administration has ongoing projects and objectives that may continue, uninterrupted, and potentially aid the US economy.

In my opinion the American people see Republican's as cold, corporate machines that put the rich first, and the Democrats as a more warm and friendly candidate, so the average voter will be more likely to vote Democrat because they want to protect themselves as the middle class.

Experts say the middle class is dying, not only in North America but all around the world. The world economy would be better off to start preparing for a world without a middle class.

This United States Presidency Election is a nail biting event that I can't wait to see who is declared the winner, and follow the progress of the 2012-2016 United States President and his progress and the impact it has on the rest of the world.

America's Undecided Voters Need Answers On 'Saturday Night Live' (VIDEO)

With election season upon us, most people are buckling down and trying to choose between voting for Barack Obama or Mitt Romney. But some people march to the beat of a different drummer -- some people are still undecided.

And those people don't want to be left out of the campaign ad circuit just because they're not committed to a candidate yet. They have concerns too, man!

So "Saturday Night Live" took the initiative to give America's undecided voters a commercial of their own this week, and it came out pretty well.

Ultimate Self-Reliance Mega-Manual

Let's talk about the Ultimate Self Reliance Mega-Manual: 151 Practical Strategies for Thriving in a Shattered Economy by Lee Bellinger - Independent Living. If you don't know what it is about, you haven't missed out on anything of importance, in fact if you never heard of it until now, you are probably better off than the people who have been subjected to the infomercial, countless ads and endless supply of empty promises that only possible impact on it's participants would be to become victims of a fear monger's desperate hoax during a time of recession.

That's right, this so called Mega-Manual is absolutely nothing but the aid of a fear-monger. Roughly 47 minutes of demonizing the American government, economy and citizens. Making wild claims about the end of the world as we know it, how western civilization is on the brink of collapse and the only hope of salvation rests in the pages of this "151 practical strategies" tip book.

At one point the video pauses and at this time the narrator asks you to check to make sure theres no one in ear shot, listening in on this confidential presentation. It's ridiculous, it's available to everyone in the world and largely advertised by GoogleAds.

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An infomercial is all this presentation offers. Prompting viewers to buy a subscription to Independent Living, and as an added bonus they are eligible to receive;
The Ultimate Self-Reliance Mega-Manual,
BONUS GIFT #1: Establishing Your Personal Prescription Drug Back-Up Supply,
BONUS GIFT #2: Smart Hoarding 101:
BONUS GIFT #3: 21 Cutting-Edge Strategies for Reclaiming Your Privacy from Snoops, Corporations,
BONUS GIFT #4: Life Saving Basics,
BONUS GIFT #5: The Emergency Dollar Collapse Barter Kit: 14 Essential Items You Should Have Now.,
BONUS GIFT #6: Cut Your Grocery Bills in Half!,

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Bonus gift one is about how to stock up on prescription drugs. If there's a shortage of drugs, then it would only hurt the economy if 1% of people bought up 5 years worth of medication. Thus creating the very problem the publishers claimed was coming.

Bonus gift two, Smart Hoarding 101: Do it right and save big money by stocking up on Food, Water and Yes Fuel. Again this self claimed 'solution' is nothing but a cause of problems, if even a fraction of the population starts stock piling resources for themselves the prices will inevitably go up. And what about in the eventuality that these social chaos scenarios come to pass and citizens begin to fight for resources, when the stores run out of stock where are the bandits going to strike? The greedy fools who have been hoarding supplies since the beginning the very people that are part of the problem.

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Advocates buying bulk bullets for the future.

Wild accusations about government designating citizens trained on childbirth or edible plants to be classified as terrorists, claims to posses top secret government reports and shows a cartoon envelop.

Makes promises such as; make your own drugs and anti-biotic, how to get out of traffic tickets, info public wont know about for years.

In addition to selling magazine subscriptions one of the key arguments the presentation makes is how they think the American dollar will become worthless. So their solution is for people to stock up and spend all their hard earned money on gold and silver and great news, the same people who bring us the presentation also offers to sell us gold and silver coins and other scraps. They grantee once the economy tanks, the value of gold and silver will sky rocket and make you super rich. But only a stupid person would fall for something like that, if the end of the world was upon us, would the public really be clamoring over shiny coins? No, the value of gold and silver would plummet, you wont even be able to get a sandwich for all of King Tuts gold.

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The economy went bad because of poor structure and even worse decisions. It will continue to go down because people stop spending, the program gives the idea the world is about to end, and tells viewers they need to hoard food, supplies and run away. If everyone has at least one job and spends within their means, the United States economy would be in pristine condition, but everyone wants something for nothing and that's what they'll get. Looking for easy solution or get rich quick schemes is only going to be poorly disappointed. And that's what you'll get with the Ultimate Self-Reliance Mega-Manual, plain and simple.

Romney's Token Black

That deflating moment when you realize you're the token black guy.

No wonder they gave me such a good seat.

Small Business Without Government

Great visual commentary to a portrait of another self-absorbed egomaniac... "I built this business without the government's help." Yea, right!

Made Possible by Government:

• Trademarked Name
• Ports for import of Goods such as signs made in China
• Reliable Electricity
• Standard currency for the transaction of goods
• Fair electric rates determined by the Public Utilities Commission 
• Fair access to electricity
• Tax Payer funded fire service - Wood is not flammable so doesn't matter to you anyways
• Fair access to telephone networks
• Spelling and grammar (teachers)
• Trade Agreements for the import of Goods like the clothing on your back
• Standard Date and Time
• Internet Access (Government Research)
• Fair access to Radio Waves
• Proper Drainage
• No marauding thieves anywhere, probably because of police
• Driving standards
• Tax payer founded road
• Tax payer founded postal service

Weed's Social Political Implications

Poor misguided hippies. Spewing their misinformed political views on marijuana and it's social impacts. "It's not hurting anyone" they say, whether the cognitive association part of a stoner's brain is being severely retarded or they just don't care about anything other than themselves.

Drugs indeed hurt people, let's take marijuana for example, it is owned and operated by organized crime. Hippies advocate distrust in the greedy government and big businesses and do drugs because it's a natural none conformist way of living that doesn't hurt anyone. From my point of view, doing drugs is effectively funding the organized crime world, who in turn use the profits from drug sales to fund even worse crimes. Buying guns and weapons.

But could any other outcome have come from the governments war on marijuana? They've been funding the anti-weed war since the beginning of the 1900's, pouring billions into the propaganda with little to no victory to show for it. Of course organized crime found and exploited the market of marijuana, just look at the history of the alcohol prohibition, the crime syndicates bootlegged booze and made a fortune from the illegal activities. While citizens are being prosecuted for drug use and unable to acquire the substance from anywhere other than the criminals, the criminal community will continue to profit from drug operations. The war on drugs has not worked and perhaps needs a new method of operation.

Sure, the government could simply legalize the weed, certified corporations would  take over the market and run the crime syndicates out of the industry in a matter of months. And under the government regulations of the new drug industry, the government will be able to collect a fortune in taxes, special fees and all the other benefits of capitalism. Adopting the legal practices of some countries around the world that legalize marijuana, treating it similar to alcohol, with age limits, volume regulations, location usage, public decency, etc. It might work, it might be worth review by government officials and law makers. Perhaps in a way the medicinal practices are already a step in this direction, however I've heard a lot about doctors giving prescriptions to just about anyone without a legitimate medical reason, but that might just be a bunch of nonsense.

 
I do not like this Uncle Sam,

I do not like this health care scam.

I do not like these dirty crooks,

or how they lie and cook the books.

I do not like when Congress steals,

I do not like their secret deals.

I do not like ex-speaker Nan,

I do not like this "YES, WE CAN!"

I do not like this spending spree ---

I'm smart; I know that nothing's free.

I do not like your smug replies,

when we complain about your lies.

I do not like this kind of hope.

I do not like it --- nope, nope, nope!

Abyss of Slavery

You say you're free.You point to your Constitution, your bill of rights.
What rights?
You were born into crushing debt, to parents without hope,and your only right is to work for the corporation until you pay it off. Except that can never happen because everything you need, they provide - Your shelter, your food,your water, and it all sends you deeper into the abyss of slavery.

Stem Cell Research Pro Agrument

There are a few opposing arguments to whether or not stem cells research should be legal. Some say that it is not moral, that the embryos needed to extract stem cells are as important as an adult human life. Stem cells are amazing in the fact that they have the potential to cure many life threatening diseases including Leukemia, Diabetes, and Parkinson’s. There are other negative impacts as well, such as environmental and political aspects, but the good outweighs the bad in how many lives could be saved.

Stem cells are cells that can become any of the two hundred and twenty different cell types present in the human body. They are and have been called “miracle cells” by many researchers just for this reason. They have no specific job to do in the human body, so stem cells are able to be manipulated into any type of cell. These cells can then be injected into a diseased person’s body for treatment, and possibly a cure. Scientist Don Wolf of Oregon National Primate Center is working to treat Diabetes with stem cells, “You can rescue the Diabetic by injecting them with (new pancreatic) cells periodically as needed - similar to a flu shot”.

Most who are oppositional to stem cell research oppose it for moral reasons. The controversy surrounding stem cell research is similar to the controversy of abortion, as in whether or not the process of extracting stem cells, which requires destroying the embryo, is taking a human life or not. In 2001 Bush successively passed a bill banning federal funding for embryonic stem cell research.

In the research’s defense, stem cells can be used to cure, or at least treat, diseases including Leukemia and Parkinson’s disease. Researchers have developed other ways to extract stem cells without having to harm the embryo. One such way is similar to cloning an embryo. The only difference would be that the nucleus from the donor cell, that has its chromosomal DNA and is genetically altered, would be placed into a recipient egg without a nucleus. The genetic alteration would prevent the resulting egg from growing into an embryo, but it would live long enough so that stem cells could be collected. This technique is called altered nuclear transfer, or ANT.

There is also another technique which entails harvesting still living stem cells from embryos declared clinically dead. This technique would use embryos that are frozen and produced in vitro fertilization. Both of these techniques work theoretically, but are still at the experimental stage.

Perhaps the most important potential application of human stem cells is the generation of cells and tissues that could be used for cell-based therapies. Today, donated organs and tissues are often used to replace ailing or destroyed tissue, but the need for transplantable tissues and organs far outweighs the available supply. Stem cells, directed to differentiate into specific cell types, offer the possibility of a renewable source of replacement cells and tissues to treat diseases including Alzheimer's diseases, spinal cord injury, stroke, burns, heart disease, Diabetes, Osteoarthritis, and Rheumatoid Arthritis. For example, it may become possible to generate healthy heart muscle cells in the laboratory and then transplant those cells into patients with chronic heart disease. Preliminary research in mice and other animals indicates that bone marrow stromal cells, transplanted into a damaged heart, can have beneficial effects. Whether these cells can generate heart muscle cells or stimulate the growth of new blood vessels that repopulate the heart tissue, or help via some other mechanism is actively under investigation.

Most of the opposition towards stem cells comes from ethicists of the Christian and Catholic faith. Most religious people appear to think that the American public is callous and are wishing for a “miracle cure”. They also believe that embryos qualify as human life. In vitro fertilization is also considered extremely immoral, and a colossal waste. One may even be able to hear of cases where someone with a crippling and life threatening disease will refuse stem cell treatment even if it is their only option. It is incredible to find that even when one looks at the extreme benefits of stem cell research they conclude that an embryo, a simple ball of cells, is more valuable than a person who has lived and felt what life has to offer.

Many also believe that insufficient attention has been given to explore the potential of adult stem cells, which have already been used to successfully cure many diseases. They also argue that too little attention has been paid to the potential of umbilical cord blood for stem cell research. They also point out that no cures have yet been produced by embryonic stem cell therapy. At every step of the embryonic stem cell therapy process, decisions are made by scientists, researchers, medical professionals and the women who donate their eggs. They are decisions that are fraught with serious ethical and moral implications. Those against embryonic stem cell research argue that funding should be used to greatly expand adult stem research, to circumvent the many moral issues involving the use of human embryos.

Ultimately, one has to put themselves in the position of a patient or a relative of a patient who is in an amazing amount of pain and could die unless stem cells are used.

Freedoms

Government steals your money.

Okay

Government increasing taxes.

Okay

Government not giving you good life opportunities.

Okay

Government wants to reign over Internet.

Not Okay

Down with Evil Corporations!

A group of protesters protesting the evil corporate machines, organized against corporations, using social networking (by corporations), smart phones (by corporations) serviced by wireless carriers (that are corporations) wearing clothes (made by corporations), capturing it all with cameras (made by corporations) and getting there via cars, buses, bicycles, and shoes (made by corporations). Don't they deserve more from these greedy corporations? PS. Meeting afterwards at Starbucks.

So I can choose between two messages to take away from this illustration:
The first being that through all of the anti-corporation and big business protesting, what is really done by the activists? Businesses draw there power from the consumers and the protesters consume just as much as anyone else. So anything short of building a socialist-capitalist corporation that isn't "evil" nothing the protesters do will make any difference in the end, because at the end of the day the comportations are still making money from hats and camera's and everything else that is bought and sold these days.

The second message is less serious and it is that all of the corporate products displayed in the above image (and the ones not labeled) are themselves or also the company they came from are all not evil and therefore good corporations because the people protesting the evil corporations approve of everything shown in the image.

Separation

The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state.

The concept of separation has been adopted in a number of countries, to varying degrees depending on the applicable legal structures and prevalent views toward the proper role of religion in society. A similar but typically stricter principle of laïcité has been applied in France and Turkey, while some socially secularized countries such as Norway, Denmark and the UK have maintained constitutional recognition of an official state religion. The concept parallels various other international social and political ideas, including secularism, disestablishment, religious liberty, and religious pluralism. Whitman (2009) observes that in many European countries, the state has, over the centuries, taken over the social roles of the church, leading to a generally secularized public sphere.

The degree of separation varies from total separation mandated by a constitution, to an official religion with total prohibition of the practice of any other religion, as in the Maldives.

The model of separating church and state works, and applying that structural logic to practices within state needs to be done. For example, separating males and females will better everyone's lives, in the short and even more in the long term quality of life. Both factions of course will be given equal rights and resources, it's a matter of improving the environment of all human beings.

For starters schools will need to be remodeled, by either having schools split into the respective genders, with each having it's own facilities and fulling furnished institutions. Or having separate schools entirely. Moving outside of school, the media will be reformatted, each faction will have it's own specially programmed content. No longer will confrontation over which program should be on or dissatisfying subject matter viewed be of concern.

Well organized media content shall be managed by all authorities associated; government sector, educational, developmental and parental. For example sites will be analyzed mercilessly by both human involvement and sophisticated web-crawlers. Sites most relevant and suitable for an individual will be available and those deemed unethical or restricted will never even be known to the individual.

Youth of this future will be privileged to grow up in a world were the dangers of corrupting influences are unimaginable. A child will be free to expand it's time and energy on further expanding it's intelligence, understanding and world.

Talk is all fun and good but it wont chance the world. The question at hand is how are we to build this magnificent world for future generations? If these advanced children would be here now they would be able to devise arrangements in bettering the world, but in order for them to begin we must start the evolution. The paradox is similar to that of the chicken and the egg, an egg needs a chicken to lay it, but a chicken needs to be an egg, so which came first. I think for the obstacle of the new world, we must be patient and fearless because maybe years of work and waiting are required to create the new breed with the resources we have available at hand, but it will create a new future were they can do the same and  thus create a future greater than their own. Ultimately forming the foundations of evolution and a future superior to any that we can conceive in our present day.

Jim Yong Kim Secures World Bank Job

The World Bank said in a statement: 'We all look forward to working with Dr Kim when he assumes his responsibilities.' Photograph: Andrew Harrer/EPA

Following up on a previous post, here.

The World Bank named Jim Yong Kim as its next president, maintaining a seven-decade U.S. lock on the post after the first challenge by candidates from other countries.

Dr. Kim said after his election on Monday that laying the groundwork for job creation would be his top priority, as the institution faces pressure to shift from making loans to supporting broader economic concerns.

"In every single country I've been to, they are really hoping private-sector growth can happen quickly so that jobs can be created," said Dr. Kim.
The World Bank named Korean-born doctor Jim Yong Kim as its new president today amid criticism that the role had once more gone to a US-nominated candidate.

The 52-year-old president of Ivy League college Dartmouth beat Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to the post, the first time in the World Bank's history that the US candidate has faced a serious challenge.

US president Barack Obama nominated Kim to replace current World Bank chief Robert Zoellick in March. Kim, who was born in Seoul, the South Korean capital, is a public health expert – a change from the bank's usual nomination of candidate from the financial world.

The US backed France's Christine Lagarde's nomination to the top role at the IMF last year after the shock resignation of Dominique Strauss-Kahn. In return, Kim received Europe's backing for the World Bank job.

But in recent years the organisations have faced growing criticism over their US/European duopoly. Ahead of the announcement, Okonjo-Iweala said: "You know this thing is not really being decided on merit."

"It is voting with political weight and shares, and therefore the United States will get it," she told reporters at a briefing on the country's 2012 budget.

In a statement, the World Bank said: "We, the executive directors, wish to express our deep appreciation to all the nominees, Jim Yong Kim, José Antonio Ocampo and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Their candidacies enriched the discussion of the role of the president and of the World Bank group's future direction. The final nominees received support from different member countries, which reflected the high calibre of the candidates. We all look forward to working with Dr Kim when he assumes his responsibilities."

Last Days of the Canadian Penny

Canada is scrapping the penny, ending production this year of a coin that weighs down consumers’ pockets while adding little to their purchasing power.

The government announced in Thursday’s federal budget that it will shortly jettison the one-cent coin – a casualty of Ottawa’s drive for efficiency and thrift.

“It costs taxpayers a penny-and-a-half every time we make one,” Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told the Commons, adding the move will save taxpayers $11-million annually.

Mr. Flaherty, whose department described the penny as a “nuisance” in budget documents, said the 2.35-gram coin is now more trouble than it’s worth. “Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home,” Mr. Flaherty added. “They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs.”

The last one-cent coin will be minted this April, ending what federal officials say is close to 150 years of Canadian penny production. The Royal Canadian Mint will stop distributing pennies to financial institutions in the fall of 2012 and the government will work to withdraw one-cent coins from circulation. The increasing scarcity of pennies means Canadians will have to get used to cash transactions being rounded off if they’ve got no pennies on hand.

A study by one Canadian financial institution, Desjardins Group, estimates the economic costs of the penny for the private sector total $150-million annually. This includes counting, storing and transporting the coins.

The government had no estimates Thursday on how many pennies remain in circulation, including those piling up in jars or cans. It noted that the study by Desjardins Group estimates Canadians could be hoarding several billion pennies.

Federal officials said more than 35 billion pennies have been minted in Canada in the past 104 years. This, they noted Thursday, would weigh 94 million kilograms – or as much as 1,500 Leopard 2 tanks.
The federal government says it will encourage charities to collect pennies from Canadians and redeem them through banks and the mint as a fundraising venture.

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Jim Yong Kim to Be Named to World Bank Post

President Barack Obama picked Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim as the U.S. nominee to lead the World Bank, choosing a global-health expert to head the development institution. Dr. Kim, an American physician who was born in South Korea, moved to and raised in Iowa at five.

"Jim has spent more than two decades working to improve conditions in developing countries around the world," Mr. Obama said Friday. "It's time for a development professional to lead the world's largest development agency." Dr. Kim, 52, became Dartmouth's president in July 2009. He is a former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organization, where he launched an initiative to treat 3 million patients living with HIV. He holds a medical degree and a doctorate in anthropology, both from Harvard University, and an undergraduate degree from Brown University.

The White House's pick is nearly certain to become the next World Bank president after its current leader, Robert Zoellick, steps down as planned in late June after a five-year term.

Direct From WSJ