[economy] deep in debt but still saving

Debt consultants One Advice report that almost two million people in the UK owe more than £10,000 on credit cards, overdrafts or other unsecured loans. About 500,000 owe more than £20,000. About half of those owing £10,000 had taken out loans, about 350,000 had used credit cards, and 83,000 overdrafts. Others owed family and friends money.

Most personal borrowing in the UK is in the form of mortgages, where the loan is secured on the property. But this survey found many people are running up big unsecured debts too. People aged between 35 and 44 were most likely to have run up significant debts, with around 650,000 people in this age group owing more than £10,000.

Chris Holmes, chief executive of One Advice. But more than 200,000 18 to 24-year-olds also owed at least £10,000 - about one out of 20 people in that age group. "With many unsecured borrowing products having high interest rates, many people are entrapped in debt, often only paying off the interest accrued every month as opposed to the capital they have borrowed," said Chris Holmes, chief executive of One Advice. "Those caught in this situation need to take action otherwise it is likely that they will fall further into debt."

Last year, about 70,000 people in England and Wales became insolvent - for most, this means being declared bankrupt which can make it difficult to borrow money in future. However, an increasing number of people are reaching deals with their creditors called individual voluntary arrangements, which involves a partial repayment.

Earlier this month, the government announced it was providing £45m to employ 500 independent debt advisers over the next two years. The money will be used to help people in England and Wales gain personal advice on how to cope with their debts. Through the government's Financial Inclusion Fund, it is being channelled to a number of organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureaux.

The good news is that regular savings are on the increase. Average monthly savings were 87.85 pounds in the three months to end-July, up 8 percent on the year. This savings rate -- equal to 6.8 percent of average income -- is second only to a high of 89.11 pounds recorded in autumn last year. Around 54 percent of the population put money away each month. They are saving 174.50 pounds a month -- a 10.3 percent increase on this time last year.

[health] canadian breakthrough on birth defects

New research shows that ensuring an adequate intake of vitamins and minerals by taking a single, cheap pill on a daily basis sharply cuts the likelihood of a wide range of severe birth defects, including neural-tube defects such as spina bifida, brain-damaging hydrocephalus, heart malformations, truncated or missing limbs, urinary-tract abnormalities and cleft palate.

"The data are really very striking. It seems almost too good to be true that a prenatal multivitamin can have such an impact. But it is true," Gideon Koren, director of the Motherisk Program at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, said in an interview.

Based on the study, he said all women of childbearing age should be taking a prenatal vitamin daily. Dr. Koren said the recommendation should apply to all women but he stressed that they should take a specific prenatal multivitamin. These differ from standard multivitamins in three important respects: More folic acid, more iron and less vitamin A -- high levels of which can harm the fetus.

This results in a:

# 48 per cent reduction in neural-tube defects;

# 39 per cent drop in cardiovascular defects;

# 47 per cent lower rate of limb deformities;

# 58 per cent reduction in cases of cleft palate;

# 52 per cent decrease in urinary-tract defects;

# 63 per cent drop in hydrocephalus (a dangerous accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid on the brain).

The research did not show any decrease in the number of cases of Down syndrome, pyloric stenosis (which causes chronic vomiting), undescended testis or hypospadias (a malformation of the penis).

summary of the article by Andre Picard, Globe and Mail

[muslim anger] howard refuses to apologize

John Howard has done it again by refusing to back down on his call for some sections of Australia's Muslim community to conform to Australian values by learning English and by treating women with respect.

The chairman of the Government's Islamic advisory committee has warned of more Cronulla-style riots unless the Prime Minister tones down his rhetoric on Muslim migrants. Dr Ameer Ali warned of trouble unless the Prime Minister backed down.

'When you antagonise the younger [Muslim] generation, the younger group, they are bound to react,' Dr Ali told Macquarie Radio. 'They're bound not to like these comments. Then you're going to have trouble.'

But Mr Howard today stood by his comments.

'I don't apologise,' he told reporters. 'I think they are missing the point and the point is that there's a small section of the Islamic population which is unwilling to integrate and I have said generally all migrants ... they have to integrate.

They must integrate and that means speaking English as quickly as possible, it means embracing Australian values and it also means making sure that no matter what the culture of the country from which they come might have been, Australia requires women to be treated fairly and equally and in the same fashion as men.

And if any migrants that come into this country have a different view, they better get rid of that view very quickly. I don't retreat in any way from that. It doesn't involve singling out a group.'

[interview] samantha brett and the city

Did you catch the e-interview with Samantha Brett?

Economist, journalist, television presenter, blogger, agony aunt, heart-throb?

You decide.

[proche-orient] l’ue veut éviter des sanctions contre l’iran

Iranians hold capsules of uranium aloft to demonstrate their peaceful purposes

Regrettant le rejet iranien de l'ultimatum des Nations unies, les Européens souhaitent tout de même poursuivre les discussions avec Téhéran. Mais Washington prône la fermeté.

L'Union européenne (UE) veut encore croire à la solution diplomatique dans le dossier nucléaire iranien. Bien que Téhéran ait de nouveau refusé jeudi de suspendre ses activités d'enrichissement d'uranium, le chef de la diplomatie européenne, Javier Solana, a estimé qu'il n'était « pas raisonnable d'avancer » vers des sanctions alors que les discussions se poursuivent.

Commentaire d' un anglais au sujet du Iran: prévisible, arrogant, fanatique, déplacé, avec un ordre évident

le figaro

[blogwatch] clive davis, melanie phillips, black quill

Clive Davis quotes Rod Liddle on Michael Vestey:

The BBC had very few right-wing journalists when I joined it in 1989. It has scarcely more now. I have no objection to left-wing points of view and still consider myself of the Left, sort of; but it is that suffocating, moronic, politically-correct, anti-liberal leftism at the BBC which both revolted Michael and, in the end, did for him.

The standpoint which insists not that alternative views may be mistaken, even though held in good faith, but are clearly, objectively wrong — no argument — and therefore cannot possibly be countenanced.

Melanie Phillips comments on the rebirth of truth:

While western ‘liberals’ become ever more morally degenerate in their approach to the Middle East and Islamic terror, signs of frankness and honesty are starting to emerge from even the most unlikely quarters within the Arab and Muslim world.

What has happened to Black Quill? I seriously think Abe has got to him.

[economy] for and against the free market [2]

If you read my rant about free marketeers, you’d be au fait with the arguments. Though I believed in what I wrote, still, it needed to be bounced off an economist or two and so I sent the link to two of the best going just now, mentally preparing to be torn into strips. One replied and as he says:

There are several things to quibble with. I'll pick three:

1 Do free markets really tend towards monopoly? I'm not sure. They do, if increasing returns to scale are widespread. But in practice, monopolies often get lazy and inefficient, or fail to attend to niche markets, thus providing opportunties for smaller firms. Or monopolies can disappear with technical change; Polaroid had a monopoly on instant photography, that got wiped out with the growth of digital cameras.
And how bad are monopolies anyway? If there's the threat of competition, a monopoly can be kept efficient. Everyone talks about Wal-Mart - but this is an exception.

2. You say "I still support a market society for the reason that I can’t see the obligation to help those who won’t help themselves." This is a different thing. You can have free markets with redistribution, as long as the redistribution doesn't affect prices. The economists' ideal here is lump-sum taxation. And you can have no redistribution but no free markets - think of feudalism.

3. "The market becomes a goal in itself, replacing spirituality as the summum bonum." I'll grant this has happened in many places. But it's an argument against the crass materialism of much of human nature (which politicians encourage). It's no argument against the market. The market is just a tool for allocating goods. How much we use that tool is up to us. In theory, markets can coincide with spirituality - imagine monasteries trading with each other.

Interestingly, Chris Dillow is also running a piece on the Beeb just now.

[women] just the cash please

This in Reuters today merely adds statistical weight to what we already knew anyway.

It’s perhaps a little unfair to the ladies - society raises them to find good partners and to be acquisitive and then when they do, we turn around and accuse them of gold-digging. No wonder many women today are going out and doing it for themselves.

Women regard healthy finances as more important than good looks in a man, according to a London survey published on Friday. Almost half (45 percent) said a healthy bank balance is more significant than physical attractiveness in a potential partner, according to National Savings & Investments' (NS&I) latest quarterly savings survey.

Just 22 percent of men, however, rate finances above looks in women. A salary of almost 50,000 pounds a year is required before women consider a man successful and wealthy. More than one in 10 women would only consider a partner to be successful if they were earning 100,000 pounds or more.

Women expect their men to have an average of 24,281 pounds in savings, while men are happy with savings of 15,143 pounds among women.

Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: "Maybe people do believe they can buy happiness after all."

Kate Maycock, from Relate, said: "Feeling financially insecure will put some strains on a relationship. These latest figures bear out that two people are unlikely to exactly agree on what is a healthy nest-egg and what is a financial crisis."

I’m interested in the 22% of men [above]. I don’t know about you but I’ve never ever looked at how much money a woman’s got. Surely we’re the main providers?

[colour schemes] the culture of blue

A natural color, from the blue of the sky, blue is a universal color. The cool, calming effect of blue makes time pass more quickly and it can help you sleep. Blue is a good color for bedrooms.

However, too much blue could dampen spirits. In many diverse cultures blue is significant in religious beliefs, brings peace, or is believed to keep the bad spirits away.

Blue conveys importance and confidence without being somber or sinister, hence the blue power suit of the corporate world and the blue uniforms of police officers. Long considered a corporate color, blue, especially darker blue, is associated with intelligence, stability, unity, and conservatism.

Just as seeing red alludes to the strong emotions invoked by the color red, feeling blue or getting the blues represents the extremes of the calm feelings associated with blue, i.e. sadness or depression, lack of strong (violent) emotion. Dark blue is sometimes seen as staid or stodgy — old-fashioned.

In Iran, blue is the color of mourning while in the West the something blue bridal tradition represents love.

A deep royal blue or azure conveys richness and perhaps even a touch of superiority. Navy blue is almost black and is a bit warmer than lighter blues. Combine a light and dark blue to convey trust and truthfulness — banker's colors.

Although blue is a year-round color, pastel blues, especially along with pinks and pale yellows suggest Springtime while deep blue is a colder weather color. Create a conservative but sophisticated look with subtle contrast by combining light and dark shades of blue.

Mix the color of blue with green for a natural, watery palette. Add gray for understated elegance. Sky blue and robin's egg blue, especially when combined with neutral light brown, tans, or beige are environmentally friendly color combinations. Throw in a dash of blue to cool down a hot red or orange scheme. Grab attention with the contrast of blue and yellow.

Dark blue with white is fresh, crisp, and nautical. Red, white, and blue is a patriotic color trio for many countries, including the United States. Use dark blue with metallic silver accents for an elegantly rich appearance.

From About

[modern living] are we becoming less patient

This situation happened to me some years back and then, some days later, I read this article in the newspaper. As it was before the time of this blog, I didn't keep the paper and can't attribute but it's too good not to run. Anyone know who wrote it?

At a pedestrian crossing near Victoria Station in London, a man and a woman, walking towards each other on the footpath, did that old urban dance of both dodging to the right, then to the left, in an effort to avoid one another.

I was crossing the road at the same time and heard them. Normally people laugh it off and say "sorry". Not this time.

The man, well-dressed and holding a briefcase, scowled. He tutted. And then he swore: "Oh for God's sake! Get out of the *%^&$* way!" It was not even as though he was hurrying for a train - he was walking away from the rail terminus.

Anger bubbles just below the surface in modern British life. We have become peevish, testy, edgy. You see it on the roads, at the supermarket, and, as I discovered, even on the street in the middle of a sunny morning.

People are fractious. Strangers simmer, motorists thump their steering wheels and Tube passengers groan as yet another goon steps into an already crowded carriage.

Research commissioned by the BBC suggests that tempers are fraying as never before. So what is happening?

Full text here.

[deutschland] reuters berichtet über günter grass

Nach dem Bekenntnis von Günter Grass, als Jugendlicher Mitglied der Waffen-SS gewesen zu sein, hatten polnische Politiker gefordert, dem Nobelpreisträger die Ehrenbürgerschaft von Danzig abzuerkennen. Wider Erwarten gibt der Stadtrat diese Anstrengungen nun auf.

Danzig - Völlig überraschend verzichteten die im Stadtrat von Grass' Geburtsstadt dominierenden Konservativen auf einen Antrag, Grass die Ehrenbürgerschaft abzuerkennen. Der Chef der konservativen Partei Recht und Gerechtigkeit (PiS) in der Region Danzig, Jacek Kurski, sagte, ein Antrag zur Aberkennung der Ehrenbürgerwürde hätte im Stadtrat wohl keine Mehrheit gefunden.

Es war die erste Sitzung des Gremiums nach dem Bekenntnis von Grass, mit dem der Literatur-Nobelpreisträger heftige internationale Diskussionen über seine Rolle als moralische Instanz ausgelöst hatte. In Polen hatten Kurski sowie der polnische Ex-Präsident und Anführer der Gewerkschaft Solidarität, Lech Walesa, die Front der Grass-Kritiker angeführt. Walesa hatte seine Kritik an dem 78-Jährigen jedoch zurück genommen, nachdem Grass in einem Brief an Danziger Ratsmitglieder erklärt hatte, warum er seine SS-Vergangenheit so spät enthüllt hatte.

Trotzdem lassen die die nationalkonservativen Politiker nicht locker: Sie wollen den Literatur-Nobelpreisträger zur nächsten Ratssitzung einladen, damit er dort persönlich zu seiner Vergangenheit Stellung nimmt. "Ein Wort der Entschuldigung würde die ganze Diskussion abschließen", sagte der PIS-Politiker Kazimierz Koralewski.

Allerdings fand der Antrag der Partei, Grass zu einer Diskussion einzuladen, im liberal dominierten Stadtrat keine Mehrheit. Auch die Forderung nach einer Entschuldigung von Grass lehnten die meisten der Danziger Ratsmitglieder ab. "Günter Grass muss sich für nichts entschuldigen", betonte Maciej Lisicki von der liberalen Bürgerplattform.

[economy] for and against free markets

Today I took a car from the side of the road, having agreed a price for the journey to the centre. How legal this is over here I’m not sure but it’s free enterprise, it’s a voluntary transaction between two parties and it was win/win for both today. There are many such transactions over here and it’s not going too far to state that without them, the economy would implode.

Everyone’s making his little on the side. The babushki lined up along the footpath selling jars of berries, jams and salads – that’s free enterprise, as are the million or so deals done by mobile telephone day and night. Today, in front of our house, a car pulled up, then another, two boots/trunks were opened and the deal was done.

I have always operated in a free economic zone. Years ago I got it into my head to follow the family business and get into screen printing sports t-shirts for clubs and so I hawked my wares around the city, made contacts and the big boys waited till simple economics snuffed me out.

Along the way I met a guy who produced trophies for clubs and we combined forces. I had two girls working for me, plus a day job. Big mistake. Suddenly, mindboggling orders came in and we had neither the infrastructure, the talent nor the time. That was the end of the business.

And yet I strongly believe in market forces and feel that in a free economy such as we have [on one level] over here - anything is possible. However, there are distinct negatives, which I never really saw until I got into ‘trade’. Arguments against a free economy do exist and include:

Full text here.

[far-east] the sun rises yet again

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe will succeed Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in September.

Veterans of World War 2 are a vanishing breed and yet memories will be rekindled by current events.

The agenda will be ultra-conservative, nationalistic and with a pro-US foreign-policy agenda. Abe's policy goals also include promulgating a new constitution, forging a thinly veiled alliance of Asia-Pacific democracies to counter China, advocating a stronger alliance with Australia and India, authorizing the use of force for defense against aggression directed at Japan and authorizing more active participation in international peace-cooperation activities and the establishment of a permanent law to enable overseas deployment of SDF troops.

Japan has an army of about 240,000 troops and sustains one of the world's biggest defense expenditures, explaining that the SDF is not military. Nationalism is on the rise but the only way to officially run a military is through ‘collective defence’. As long as there is at least one other party and deployment is labelled ‘manoeuvres’, then it is deemed constitutional.

The presidential election is supposedly set for September 20.

based on the article by Hisane Masaki [yiu45535@nifty.com.]

[pour la france et l’angleterre] n’oublier pas diana

Des fleurs ont été déposées et un office religieux a été célébré jeudi à Londres en mémoire de la princesse Diana pour le 9e anniversaire de sa mort à Paris, le 31 août 1997, à l'âge de 36 ans.

L'hommage à Diana s'est tenu, comme chaque année, devant les grilles du palais de Kensington, qui fut sa résidence après son divorce en 1996 avec le prince Charles, l'héritier de la couronne d'Angleterre.

Les deux fils de la princesse, William et Harry, "se recueillent en privé et à leur façon", a indiqué le service de presse de leur père. William, 24 ans, et Harry, 21 ans, sont tous deux élèves de l'école d'officiers de Sandhurst.

William, plus avancé dans sa formation, est actuellement en congé, tandis que Harry suit une période d'entraînement dans le Dorset (sud de l'Angleterre). Charles et sa seconde épouse Camilla étaient pour leur part au château écossais de Balmoral, résidence d'été de la famille royale britannique.

Devant le palais de Kensington, l'association Diana Circle a appelé à faire du 10e anniversaire, en 2007, "une journée très particulière" au Royaume-Uni, et suggéré qu'une messe pour Diana soit dite à la cathédrale Saint-Paul. Une centaine d'anonymes ont assisté à la messe dite en plein air.

"Le souvenir de Diana ne s'est pas évanoui", a assuré dans son sermon le père Frank Gelli, curé d'une paroisse voisine.

Les anniversaires de la mort de Diana ne font plus la Une des journaux, à l'exception du Daily Express (835.000 exemplaires) qui, tous les lundis ou presque depuis 468 semaines, affirme à la Une que la mort de la princesse est suspecte.

Diana est morte en même temps que son compagnon Dodi Al-Fayed et que le chauffeur Henri Paul, quand leur limousine a percuté un poteau sous le tunnel du pont de l'Alma. Le garde du corps, Trevor Rees-Jones, fut gravement blessé.

le Monde

[cruising cat] for the middle-aged husband and wife without a great deal of money

I was surprised, I can tell you, by the response to the earlier catamaran article. I just included it out of sheer bloodymindedness, 'cause I like it.

1 No, it’s not yet in production. Basically, where I live in the East, there’s lots of wood but no foam core. Traditional materials and skills abound.

2 It began as a reaction against sailing being taken out of the ordinary man’s reach – to hell with that, I thought. OK, the plastic fantastic sits higher in the water and has flatter profile and less rocker, so I just designed more draught into it and allowed for the 100 extra pounds.

3 I’m not getting any younger and yet I still want a turn of speed. Yet I must take into account my slower reaction time and lessening strength. Result – two masts, a spread load, wishbone boom taking all the pressure, underslung rudders, shoal keel, wide beam, strictly two double berths for a couple and their friends or a couple and children, helmed by the husband alone.

4 The longer mast is 19’ and there’s nothing the hubby can’t carry by himself. The beams are demountable with ease and so the hulls are the only consideration, using a winch on a trailer.

5 Sails I envisage as tanbark Dacron, the hulls painted below, topsides in natural golden wood.

6 I strongly defend the gaff. Even the C class has been trying to compensate upwind for what comes naturally to the short gaff. We just became too ‘upwind obsessed’ and had to create kites to take us downwind. No need on this boat.

7 The stability you can just imagine. With a 12.5 to 1 WL ratio, it will move. The only entry to the hulls is amidships, from the inside gunwhales and it’s wide and roomy in the hulls.

8 It’s woody. You remember Garwood and Chriscraft? This is a throwback to the 40s and 50s but with more speed and stability. 250 sq ft on 23ft is fine, as long as you don’t run an engine.

9 Yes, there is a 29ft , a 34ft and a 43ft version for the sea. The 34 and 43 have slightly more rocker. Your questions are fine, Steve. More detailed view on the weekend when there's more time.

[middle-east] meanwhile, in iraq

If the Iraq troubles stopped now, it's greater woes would continue. This is an abridged version of a Reuters article:

"The prices of everything have gone up but the salaries have stayed the same," said Nada, a 33-year old laboratory assistant who works for a branch of the health ministry on a monthly salary of 200,000 dinar (71 pounds). Dire security conditions are a root cause of the problem, according to the country's central bank chief.

"Inflation is a function of the real sector, not the monetary sector ... wages, insurance cover, the smooth delivery of goods. Security is the important factor," Sinan al-Shabibi said in a recent Reuters interview.

U.S. officers say rising sectarian bloodshed has pushed Iraq to the brink of civil war. However, Jeremiah Pam, U.S. Treasury Attaché to Iraq, points to the debt forgiveness from Western creditors that Iraq won last year to ease its re-entry to the world financial community.

It also has the backing of the International Monetary Fund, which agreed a $685 million (361 million pounds) standby credit in December 2005 and said earlier this month that Iraq remained on the right track. But the IMF also had some stern words about prices, spiraling by over 50 percent year-on-year, and warned that conditions risked getting worse.

Corruption is another major problem. An audit sponsored by the United Nations last week found hundreds of millions of dollars of Iraq's oil revenue had been wrongly tallied last year or had gone missing altogether. Business is being done, but it isn't often very productive in nature.

Despite the world's third largest oil reserves, a well- educated work force, an abundance of water and other valuable resources, Iraq's economy was in a mess even before the first bomb was dropped in the 2003 war. A decade of sanctions after the first Gulf War compounded the shortcomings of Saddam Hussein's Baath Party economic model of heavily centralised state control.

At border crossings, officials from half a dozen ministries are involved and if an Iraqi Army unit wants fuel from the oil ministry, rather than rely on the Americans, it requires 14 signatures. A new cabinet proposal to ease chronic fuel shortages by opening the energy sector to private imports has gone nowhere and black market petrol prices have surged.

Logic dictates that it must come down to one of these things - either the [Iraqi] horse won't run, the US is flogging a dead horse, it's powerless in making any inroads against the Arab backdrop, it's not serious about wanting peace or else it does not, itself, control the main agenda in the region. The main agenda may have been set by an entirely other body.

[far-east] 2020 vision needed for chinese hegemony

I’m reprinting this Melbourne Age August 21, 2006 article on China, by Professor Victor Bulmer-Thomas, as another take and an authoritative one, on the rising hegemony of that country:

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago, there has been only one megapower — the United States. For the first 10 years, the dominance of the US was seen as a great opportunity to rebuild the global institutional architecture in favour of a more democratic, rational and equitable system.

The United Nations, partially crippled during the Cold War by superpower rivalry, acquired a new lease of life and UN peacekeeping operations multiplied.

In the past five years, however, US hegemony has been viewed much less favourably with opinion polls across the world recording unprecedented levels of distrust of the US Governments throughout the world.

Full text here.

[film festival] venice launches attack on rome

In an interview on Italian television, 63rd Venice festival director Marco Mueller explained, in reference to the Rome festival which will follow it next month:

"It [Rome] has taken nothing from us. Some films, which neither Cannes nor ourselves wanted and which we were finished viewing at the end of March, have finally found an Italian destination. That's really pleased us because in that way we have avoided acrimony from people we turned down. Rome can have them."

Mueller's comments were immediately blasted by Rome festival organisers Giorgio Gosetti and Mario Sesti as "an incredible offence to cinema and to the extraordinary authors who have decided to bring their work to Rome. Over the last few months we have always referred to the Venice Mostra with respect. And we will continue to do so. We reiterate that Venice mustn't fear Rome but only its own mistakes through arrogance and isolation."

Rome’s festival includes Martin Scorsese, whose latest film is set to open the Rome festival of film on October 13, according to Italian media reports. Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni also pointed out that the Eternal City was able to host next month's event without calling for "one lira from the state".

"In Italy we always live with a terror of things new. There's an instinct for conservatism which is one of the reasons why our country finds it so difficult to compete abroad," said Veltroni, who has repeatedly praised Venice, the world's oldest film festival.

The dispute, coming just before Brian De Palma's adaptation of James Elroy's novel The Black Dahlia opens the festival tomorrow night, has put Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli in an awkward position and has called for an end to the rivalry between the two festivals, saying they "complemented each other."

Personally, it seems to me that the fault is all on Venice’s side, which knows its festival has lost some of the limelight over recent years. Mueller’s comments perhaps reflect his Sud-Tyrol origin.

AFP and the Age

[colour schemes] the culture of brown

You will have noticed that I've gone over to browns and sea-green aqua and part of the reason comes from this article by 'About'.

Brown is a natural, down-to-earth neutral color. It is found in earth, wood, and stone. Brown is a warm neutral color that can stimulate the appetite. It is found extensively in nature in both living and non-living materials.

Brown represents wholesomeness and earthiness. While it might be considered a little on the dull side, it also represents steadfastness, simplicity, friendliness, dependability, and health. Although blue is the typical corporate color, UPS (United Parcel Service) has built their business around the dependability associated with brown.

The color brown and its lighter cousins in tan, taupe, beige, or cream make excellent backgrounds helping accompanying colors appear richer, brighter. Use brown to convey a feeling of warmth, honesty, and wholesomeness. Although found in nature year-round, brown is often considered a fall and winter color. It is more casual than black.

Shades of brown coupled with green are an especially earthy pair, often used to convey the concept of recycling or earth-friendly products. Very dark brown can replace black, adding a slightly warmer tone to some palettes. Brighten brown with a mellow yellow or rusty orange. Go smart but conservative with a mix of brown and deep purple, green, gray, or orange-red.

Although blue is the typical corporate color, UPS (United Parcel Service) has built their business around the dependability associated with brown.

Culture of Beige: Beige has traditionally been seen as a conservative, background color. In some cultures, beige garments might symbolize piety or simplicity.

Traditional Saudi Arabia dress include a flowing floor-length outer cloak (bisht) made of wool or camel hair in black, beige, brown or cream tones.

[sailing] double-hulled small cruiser concept

For such a 'tubby' looking craft, there were years of thinking and abandoned designs before this one was finalized. If sailing's not your thing - kindly pass to the next post.

Trimarans, wing sails with twist, H105 foils, Eppler codes - I abandoned them all for low-tech but not as low tech as Wharram.

I settled on 23 feet as the optimal length for one-up and continued the low-aspect, low-tech throughout. Ease of sailing for a middle-aged duffer was the idea - hence two self-tacking mains, rather than the western fractional rig.

Equally, proas and crew-number intensive balancing acts were right out. Reefability, repairability, ease of sailing, speed, open deck lightness vs overnight accommodation - these were the considerations.

If this is remotely interesting for you, have a look at the sketch and notes.

[love and all that] sam hits the streets

For some time I've been keeping up an occasional correspondence with this girl and now she's on TV. Check her out here.

[love and all that] aussie women require more adventurous lovers

30 per cent of Australian women are disappointed by their men's performance in the sack and would prefer them to be more "adventurous" and 20 per cent wish their men would sweep the floors or do the cooking rather than sweep them off their feet.

Harlequin Australian managing director Michelle Laforest said the report proved material gifts were not always the way to win a woman's (or man's for that matter) heart. She said sometimes putting in a bit of extra effort around the house, or in the bedroom, showed more love than a material gift and required a lot more thought.

Some Aussie men, however, wanted to change more than their partner's behaviour around the house or in the bedroom. Twenty per cent said they were unhappy with the way their partner's looked and wished they would get a breast enlargement. Fortunately these blokes were vastly outnumbered by a whopping 70 per cent of Aussie men who said they loved their women just the way they are.

Meanwhile, 30 per cent of men wished their partners would remember to do something special for them on Valentine's Day. This percentage was higher than those men who wished their partners would let them watch more sport on television.

The survey, which covered men and women from 15 countries, also found Dutch men were the world's lustiest with 60 per cent craving more sex. "Women in Spain were just behind them, with 40 per cent of Spanish women wanting more loving from their partners," Ms Laforest said.

- AAP

[europe] americans selling their french chateaux

Interesting piece in the Washington Post about French chateaux [sorry – lost the direct link and this is an abridged version]:

When the village of Boucard's fairy-tale chateau is viewed from afar, it’s easy to imagine the pampered existence of the aristocrats inside. You’d be surprised.

"It is a very heavy load for people who inherit a castle," lamented Marie-Henriette de Montabert, 74, whose family has owned Chateau de Boucard since 1720. "All of the castle owners have the same problem - how to save your castle."

"Nowadays, a castle is no longer an exterior sign of wealth, but rather an exterior sign of poverty," said Bertrand Le Nail, a French real estate agent and property expert.

About 90 percent of the country's chateaux -- a term that loosely applies to everything from castles to large manor houses -- are not maintained properly because their owners cannot afford it, Le Nail said. Some sell their properties or turn them into small hotels, some open them to the public and charge entrance fees, and others simply go on living in edifices that are collapsing around them.

Chantal de Bonneval thought she had found the solution when she and her husband inherited his family's 45-room chateau in Thaumiers, about 175 miles south of Paris, in 1977. The new owners added 13 bathrooms to the existing four, repaired 40 leaks in the roof and turned the chateau into a bed-and-breakfast.

By John Ward Anderson and Corinne Gavard

[far-east] china getting serious about balanced economic growth

From the Chinese People’s Daily comes an interesting piece about Chinese reprioritization:

The Chinese government is giving priority to job creation, as it has for the first time listed "newly created jobs" as second on its list of leading macro-economic control targets.

One of China's projected targets for this year's macro-economic control is to "create over 8 million new jobs, and confine the registered urban unemployment rate to 4.5 percent", said Zeng Peiyan, minister in charge of the State Development Planning Commission.

Mo Rong, a senior research fellow in the Research Institute of Labor Sciences, said that this indicates a major shift of the Chinese government's focus, from principally pursuing high economic growth in the past to seeking a balanced growth of economy and employment in the future.

Words like unemployment and layoffs used to be strange to the Chinese as the Chinese government, for many years after 1949, had adopted a "cradle-to-grave" employment and welfare policy that covered the entire population. Meanwhile, Chinese enterprises also suffered from overstaffing and low efficiency, and lacked vitality and market competitiveness.

Unemployment and unemployability are both issues today and a stated target of 8 million new jobs, though a tall order and virtually unrealizable, nevertheless marks a departure in the necessity the government sees in even mentioning it. Stay tuned.

[in brief] thought for the day

Volatility is in the nature of financial markets, but excess liquidity has made it worse. [Jack Crooks, Asia Times Forex report]

[world] 12 aspects of globalization

The major geo-socio-politico-economic movements in this era we find ourselves in:

1. the softening of the west in education and free market economics since the late 60s;

2. the demise of the Christian ethic, Calvinistic work ethic and world view;

3. the rise of tolerance and normalization – of homosexuality, teenage sex, drugs – things which wouldn’t have been countenanced thirty years ago;

4. the rise of China and the beginnings of their hegemony, never forgetting Deng Xiao Ping’s maxim – “hiding brightness, nourishing obscurity and biding our time”;

5. the entry of Russia, China and India into free, world market economics;

6. the increased dependence on oil as political power;

7. the lack of major world crises now being compensated for by the Finance, as it was in the Crimean, the two World, the Korean and the Vietnamese conflicts;

8. the rise and spread, in the west, of Islam;

9. the militarization and restructuring of society according to global principles – military presence on the streets, the coordination of data processing on individuals through credit and ID cards.;

10. the rise of the ‘terrorist’ through a system of provocation in world troublespots – stirring the pot, in other words;

11. the building of huge dams and the damming up of the world’s water supplies for rationing out [this one’s still a sleeper but will come to fruition about 2015] ;

12. the ‘village-ization’ of people, restrictions on mobility, gradual ordering of the internet, and the turning in of people onto important issues such as Big Brother, American Idol and so on. In Soviet times it was ‘old cinema’ with that feel-good factor.

Check out Sino-Kazakh military manouevres.

[poll] al jazeera on the lebanese war

Who has benefited from the war in Lebanon?

Hezbollah : 33%
Israel : 8%
Iran : 16%
Syria : 2%
United States : 9%
No one : 31%

Number of pollers : 30779

[la mode] l’histoire du trench

Intéressant pour un homme anglais, au sujet du trench:

A la fin du XIX e siècle, Burberry commence à tailler, dans sa matière déposée sous le nom de gabardine, des vestons et des manteaux pour aller à la chasse, des capotes pour les premières automobiles et aussi des tentes pour l’armée... Rien à dire, cette gabardine brave bel et bien tous les frimas. Pendant la seconde guerre des Boers, de 1899 à 1902 en Afrique du Sud, les officiers britanniques adoptent un grand manteau, enrichi pour l’occasion d’un bavolet dans le haut du dos afin d’empêcher l’eau de ruisseler le long du corps ; et de deux autres sur le devant pour amortir le recul de la crosse du fusil, calée au creux de l’épaule.

La version définitive du trench-coat a été finalisée pour la Première Guerre mondiale. Comme son nom le suggère, les soldats britanniques vont se battre dans les tranchées (trench en anglais). Afin qu’ils aient tout à portée de main, le vêtement se dote d’une ceinture à anneaux pour y suspendre des grenades sur le devant et un sabre dans le dos. Le bas des manches est resserré par une bride au poignet pour ne pas que le froid pénètre et, dans le même but, une mentonnière amovible est ajoutée sous le col pour calfeutrer le cou au niveau de l’échancrure...

au figaro

[environment] thought for the day

Agent Smith, in the Matrix, said:

I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals.

Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area.

There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, the cancer of this planet, you are the plague, and we are the cure.

The human race is living beyond its means. A report backed by 1360 scientists from 95 countries warns that almost two-thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by human pressure. In effect, one species is now a hazard to the other 10 million or so on the planet, and to itself.

Human activity is putting such a strain on the natural functions of Earth that the ability of the planet's ecosystems to sustain future generations can no longer be taken for granted:

o Because of human demand for food, fresh water, timber, fibre and fuel, more land has been claimed for agriculture in the past 60 years than in the 18th and 19th centuries combined.

o An estimated 24 per cent of the Earth's land surface is cultivated.

o Water withdrawals from lakes and rivers have doubled in 40 years, and a quarter of all fish stocks are overharvested.

o Since 1980, about 35 per cent of mangroves have been lost and 20 per cent of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed.

o Deforestation and other changes could increase the risks of malaria and cholera, and open the way for new diseases.

The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment cites "an unprecedented period of spending Earth's natural bounty. In many cases, it is literally a matter of living on borrowed time."

Anton Chekov, in Uncle Vanya [1897], said:

Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to now he hasn't been a creator, only a destroyer. Forests keep disappearing, rivers dry up, wildlife's become extinct, the climate's ruined and the land grows poorer and uglier every day.

[economy] walmart meets opposition in a canadian town

For more than a year, Wal-Mart has been trying to get into Port Elgin, a burgeoning Ontario town on the shores of Lake Huron, according to the Globe and Mail.

But for Wal-Mart, Loblaw is opposing the re-zoning application, joining a number of local groups to run its rival out of town. The company may not be able to keep Wal-Mart out of Port Elgin forever, but it seems to know that in the competitive retail market, a battle delayed is a battle not lost.

This time, instead of using price cuts and two-for-one coupons, they're attacking each other with phalanxes of lawyers, planners and consultants. In a handful of towns across Canada, Wal-Mart's latest ambitious expansion plans have met opposition from the entrenched players who say there isn't room.

For Loblaw, the stakes are especially high. It is racing to recover from its faltering expansion into non-food offerings in its bid to take on Wal-Mart.

Andrew Pelletier, a Wal-Mart Canada Corp. spokesman, says: “We find it very unfortunate that they would resort to these tactics to try to maintain what amounts to monopolies in these markets. They're ultimately trying to limit competition.”

I’ve been watching Walmart for about two years, ever since I read an article about their obsessive company get-togethers. These are seriously committed people..

According to Fast Company writer Jim Collins, Walmart continues to amaze skeptics and supporters alike with its relentless growth and success. Collins notes that if past growth rates continue Walmart will become the world's first trillion dollar in sales company within ten years.

The fact is for every Wal-Mart store that opens, jobs are lost to the community, the tax base shrinks, the number of workers with health benefits declines, and the number of workers eligible for welfare increases.

[tales from the east] inside the russian mind

Citizen taking Vladimir Putin presents for his birthday

Churchill’s aphorism about the riddle wrapped in an enigma has always been taken out of context.

Referring to the predictability, or lack thereof, of the Russian, Churchill went on to posit that the key, the guiding principle, might just be national self-interest. Well yes – and not just with the Russian either, one would think but nevertheless, the point does stand.

In little ways, this comes home in daily life over here. For example, yesterday I was late for work, after my car decided to spring two punctures on me simultaneously – not unusual and this involves ignoring it and catching a car from the side of the road.

I can’t recall once in Britain doing such a thing but over here it’s the usual way. Thoughts of some homicidal maniac preying on the unsuspecting loiterer don’t enter into it. The hand needn’t even extend – it’s enough to be there on the bitumen and some car will stop for you and that’s that.

On the way to catch the car, there’s a wide, tree-lined nature strip and crossing this at an angle are two pathways, trapinki, meeting at an intersection. Approaching the intersection from the right, at a rate of knots, was a young guy, eyes firmly fixed ahead on the shop he was headed for.

Full text here.

[spoiler] answers to the two quizzes

Answers here........ Answers here.........

[notice] rare photo of me

Some [not a lot really] have asked what I look like. How can one answer that? I've posted a winter picture which might help under 'Gallery', low down in the sidebar.

[quiz] forgot question 10

Sorry to both the Brits and the Americans - I forgot question 10. Here it is:

10] Where did the name 'quiz' come from in the first place?

Answer is here.

[in brief] thought for the day

Love is the illusion that one woman differs from another. [I never said it - it was one of Menken's. Don't shoot the messenger.]

[spoiler] lit quiz answers

If you still haven't done the quiz on literature [below], you might as well do it forthwith and then the answers are here.

[britain] your turn for nine questions

1] Where did Sir Francis Drake land when he once claimed California for Queen Elizabeth I of England?

2] Which British sovereign first took up residence in Buckingham Palace and what was it then known as?

3] What happened in 1857 in Britain which eased the condition of women?

4] Which great city owes its existence to a little ford?

5] You know the Bank of England's nickname but what the actual name of the woman?

6] What do 1851 and public toilets have to do with each other?

7] What ship, designed for the Hungarian emigrant service, came to the rescue of another in 1912?

8] Who created the jingle for the Star Spangled Banner?

9] In the days of Peeping Tom, what was Godiva’s real name?

Answers tomorrow morning.

[usa] how much do you know about your nation

Anyone can ask you about 'Hoosiers' and 'Live Free or Die' but do you know these curly ones? Which places in the U.S. are either known [or should be] as the:

1] Red Flannel Capital of the World
Hint: lumberjack country

2] Cow Chip Throwing Capital of the World
Hint: tiny panhandle town

3] Troll Capital of the World
Hint: Wisconsin

4] Sock Capital of the World
Hint: DeKalb County

5] Cereal Capital of the World
Hint: snaps, crackles, and pops

6] Loon Capital of the World
Hint: more than 200 lakes

7] Mushroom Capital of the World
Hint: William W. Phillips

8] Decoy Capital of the World
Hint: Susquehanna River

9] Bratwurst Capital of the World
Hint: Cajun

Answers tomorrow morning.

[en france] promesses de miracles aujourd'hui

Chants gospel et promesses de miracles au programme de la campagne d'évangélisation du pasteur TL Osborn en région parisienne.

Le prédicateur américain TL Osborn achève aujourd'hui une tournée d'évangélisation en région parisienne, au cours de laquelle ses prêches ont attiré des milliers de fidèles. Au moins 10 000 personnes étaient attendues hier soir sur l'esplanade du château de Vincennes, dans l'Est parisien, pour une soirée de prières. Une deuxième est programmée ce soir. Les organisateurs ont promis des «guérisons» au cours de ces deux soirées.

Mon opinion - inquiet. Suivez ici.

[latest] winston says britain ready

If you didn't quite get the Sinospeak in the last post, try the Spiffyspeak here.

[Note for the American readers: don't call Spiffyspeak Squiffyspeak although I'm aware that the Squadron leader employs the term below. Squiffy has taken on an entirely different meaning in recent times.]

Here's a report from the front line:

Jones: Morning, Squadron Leader.

Idle: What-ho, Squiffy.

Jones: How was it?

Idle: Top-hole. Bally Jerry, pranged his kite right in the how's-your-father; hairy blighter, dicky-birded, feathered back on his sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harpers and caught his can in the Bertie.

Jones: Er, I'm afraid I don't quite follow you, Squadron Leader.

Idle: It's perfectly ordinary banter, Squiffy.

Full text here.

[far-east] fear not - it's only the chinese coming

Don't worry - it's only a military exercise, not the real thing.

Yet.

The Chinese authorities explain:

The exercise was aimed at implementing the consensus on enhancing security cooperation and improving coordination between their law enforcement departments and special services.

Not au fait with Chinaspeak? Read on and all is explained.

China wrapped up the second phase of its joint anti-terror drill with Kazakhstan Yining, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Yining game consists of five parts, simulating a battle in which Chinese guards gradually forced the terrorists into a narrow valley and cliff caves.

It lasted two hours and ten minutes, with groups of the mock terrorists being eliminated by the police forces consisting of artillery, police dogs, cavalry, special services and other troops.

Around 100 observers from member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) -- which includes China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- were in Yining to evaluate the drill. They were satisfied and applauded the participating troops, the police said.

China's police authority said the first ever joint anti-terrorism exercise between the two countries' law enforcement bodies and special forces within SCO framework exercise was held to demonstrate SCO's latest progress in combating terrorists in the region, namely the "three evil forces" of terrorists, separatists and extremists.

The police force will also explore new patterns of security cooperation through the exercise, noting that both traditional combating forces like cavalry and the modern ones are participating in the drill.

100 000 000 Chinese cavalry?