News of the Week

Free Admission Planned for National Museums
This is one I am not going to complain about, but I can see the point of the private museums.

Import Price Rises to 9-Year High in Feb.
I find it interesting how here they monitor the price of rice. In SA we monitor the price of petrol and the exchange rate, thick in turn gives us reason to worry about the Bread and Milk prices.

Why are they hammering that he is Korean? Are Korean not allowed to be abuse but other are? Montion ONCE that he is

Swiss Cops 'Humiliated Korean Student'
So? He was Korean. Does that make what happened worse? Mention where he is from and then get on with your story. Don't hammer on the fact that he is Korean. This happens to everyone. I don't see you complain when it happens to non-Koreans in Korea.

Language Issues, ‘Human Rights’ Hinder Police Efforts Against Foreign Crime
You have to wonder about this one. Are they complaining because is is not easy to victimise foreigners, or are they indicating that they want to treat foreigners are badly as they treat Koreans?

I was unable to copy the link, so I copied this from rawsocket.org...

QUESTION: Dr. Retail, now that the Democratic presidential race has entered its long, bloody slog phase, I figured it was time to get a fresh perspective. Can you explain to me what it’s all about?

DR. RETAIL: Why do you bother me with simple problems? Listen, the essential competition in many consumer sectors is between commodity providers and experience providers, the companies that just deliver product and the companies that deliver a sensation, too. There’s Safeway, and then there is Whole Foods. There’s the PC, and then there’s the Mac. There are Holiday Inns, and there are W Hotels. There’s Walgreens, and there’s The Body Shop.

Hillary Clinton is a classic commodity provider. She caters to the less-educated, less-pretentious consumer. As Ron Brownstein of The National Journal pointed out on Wednesday, she won the non-college-educated voters by 22 points in California, 32 points in Massachusetts and 54 points in Arkansas. She offers voters no frills, just commodities: tax credits, federal subsidies and scholarships. She’s got good programs at good prices.

Barack Obama is an experience provider. He attracts the educated consumer. In the last Pew Research national survey, he led among people with college degrees by 22 points. Educated people get all emotional when they shop and vote. They want an uplifting experience so they can persuade themselves that they’re not engaging in a grubby self-interested transaction. They fall for all that zero-carbon footprint, locally grown, community-enhancing Third Place hype. They want cultural signifiers that enrich their lives with meaning.

Obama offers to defeat cynicism with hope. Apparently he’s going to turn politics into a form of sharing. Have you noticed that he’s actually carried into his rallies by a flock of cherubs while the heavens open up with the Hallelujah Chorus? I wonder how he does that.