Friday, September 10, 2004


Day/Night  Posted by Hello

Bush by numbers

BUSH BY NUMBERS
By Graydon Carter / Independent

1005: Current US casualties in IRAQ

1: Number of Bush administration public statements on National security
issued between 20 January 2001 and 10 September 2001 that mentioned
al-Qa'ida.

104: Number of Bush administration public statements on National security and defence in the same period that mentioned Iraq or Saddam Hussein.

0: Number of times Bush mentioned Osama bin Laden in his three State of the Union addresses.

83: Number of times Bush mentioned Saddam, Iraq, or regime (as in change) in his three State of the Union addresses.

$1m Estimated value of a painting the Bush Presidential Library in College Station, Texas, received from Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States and Bush family friend.

0: Number of times Bush mentioned Saudi Arabia in his three State of the Union addresses.

79: Percentage of the 11 September hijackers who came from Saudi Arabia.

140: Number of Saudis, including members of the Bin Laden family, evacuated from United States almost immediately after 11 September.

$3,500: Reward a group of veterans offered in 2000 for anyone who could
confirm Bush's Alabama guard service.

600-700: Number of guardsmen who were in Bush's unit during that period.

0: Number of guardsmen from that period who came forward with information about Bush's guard service.

0: Number of minutes that President Bush, Vice-President Dick Cheney, the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, the assistant Defence Secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, the former chairman of the Defence Policy Board, Richard Perle, and the White House Chief of Staff, Karl Rove the main proponents of the war in Iraq served in combat (combined).

43: Percentage of the entire world's military spending that the US spends on defence. (That was in 2002, the year before the invasion of Iraq.)

1983: The year in which Donald Rumsfeld, Ronald Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East, gave Saddam Hussein a pair of golden spurs as a gift.

2.5: Number of hours after Rumsfeld learnt that Osama bin Laden was a
suspect in the 11 September attacks that he brought up reasons to "hit"
Iraq.

10m: Estimated number of people worldwide who took to the streets on 21
February 2003, in opposition to the invasion of Iraq, the largest
simultaneous protest in world history.

$15m: Amount of a contract awarded to an American firm to build a cement factory in Iraq.

$80,000: Amount an Iraqi firm spent to build the same factory.

2000: Year that Cheney said his policy as CEO of Halliburton oil services company was "we wouldn't do anything in Iraq".

$4.7bn: Total value of contracts awarded to Halliburton in Iraq and
Afghanistan.

92: Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2002.

60: Percentage of Iraq's urban areas with access to potable water in late 2003.

0: Number of memorial services for the returned dead soldiers that Bush has attended since the beginning of the war.

$10.9m: Average wealth of the members of Bush's original 16-person cabinet.

$42,000: Average savings members of Bush's cabinet received in 2003 as a result of cuts in capital gains and dividends taxes.

79: Number of Bush's initial 189 appointees who also served in his father's administration.

4.7m: Number of bankruptcies that were declared during Bush's first three years in office.

$489bn: The US trade deficit in 2003, the worst in history for a single
year.

$5.6tr: Projected national surplus forecast by the end of the decade when Bush took office in 2001.

87: Percentage of American families in April 2004 who say they have felt no benefit from Bush's tax cuts.

39: Percentage of tax cuts that will go to the top 1 per cent of American families when fully phased in.

$30,858: Amount Bush himself saved in taxes in 2003.

2.3m: Number of Americans who lost their jobs during first three Years of the Bush administration.

22m: Number of jobs gained during Clinton's eight years in office.

40: Percentage of wealth in the United States held by the richest 1 per cent of the population.

43.6m: Number of Americans without health insurance by the end of 2002 (more than 15 per cent of the population).

0: Number of times Bush mentioned global warming, clean air, clean water, pollution or environment in his 2004 State of the Union speech.

1: The rank of the United States worldwide in terms of greenhouse gas
emissions.

25: Percentage of overall worldwide carbon dioxide emissions the United
States is responsible for.

2: Percentage of the world's population that is British.

2: Percentage of the world's oil used by Britain.

5: Percentage of the world's population that is American.

25: Percentage of the world's oil used by America.

750,000: Tons of toxic waste the US military, the world's biggest polluter, generates around the world each Year.

4: Rank of the United States among countries considered to be the greatest
threats to world peace according to a 2003 Pew Global Attitudes study
(Israel, Iran, and North Korea were considered more dangerous; Iraq was
considered less dangerous).

13: Number of vacation days the average American receives each year.

28: Number of vacation days Bush took in August 2001, the month he received a 6 August Presidential Daily Briefing headed "Osama bin Laden Determined to Strike US Targets."

22: Percentage of Americans who believed in May 2003 that Saddam had used his WMDs on US forces.

85: Percentage of American young adults who cannot find Afghanistan, Iraq, or Israel on a map.

30: Percentage of American young adults who cannot find the Pacific Ocean on a map.

11: Percentage of American young adults who cannot find the United States on a map.

50m: Number of voters in total who voted for Bush in 2000.

23m: Number of Evangelicals who voted for Bush in 2000.

5: Number of states that do not use the word "evolution" in public school science courses.

_______________________________________________________________________
This is an edited extract from "What We've Lost", by Graydon Carter,
published by Little Brown on 9 September

Citizen Relationship Management

This is what I am talking about. This real democracy, and this is true CRM. Maybe in the next 20 years, if we push hard. There always is a good use for technology.

http://intelligententerprise.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=30900018

September 4, 2004

Citizen Relationship Management

How political parties can invigorate an alienated electorate using digital tools.

By Don Tapscott

The most important IT issue in this election isn't digital voting machines or offshoring. The paramount issue is how government should seize on information and communication technologies to reengage a profoundly alienated electorate.

More than 100 million voters won't vote in this election. It's not as if they'll actively boycott the process, they just can't be bothered. Casting a ballot doesn't even register on their radar screens.

Cynicism is growing, and high apathy among young voters doesn't bode well for the future.

Changing Times
Political parties should use this campaign to map out how they would use new technologies to reconfigure and revitalize the ailing democratic process. Voting is only one piece of the puzzle. Just as astute businesses use digital technologies to build much deeper relationships with stakeholders such as customers and employees, governments could use similar techniques to involve citizens on an ongoing basis, help us learn from each other, take responsibility for our communities and country, and influence elected officials and vice versa.
What a refreshing change it would be. Since the country was founded, politicians and the bureaucracy have viewed citizens as being external to affairs of state. It's as if government mounts an elaborate multiyear theater production with us as the audience. At the end, all we can do is vote thumbs up or down. Too many thumbs down, and a new cast of characters troops on stage.

When the system was designed, this made sense. Our ancestors didn't have the education, time, resources, or communication tools to participate in the governing process. They elected politicians to go to Washington and state capitals on their behalf, learn the issues, have reasoned debates, and pass legislation. The system functioned because public policy issues were simple and evolved slowly.

But much has changed. First, many unforeseen events happen between elections, and governments can't credibly claim to have a clear mandate to deal with them. Second, elections are a blunt instrument. Each of us can only cast one ballot even though we might feel each party makes legitimate points on a range of issues.

But worst of all, the current one-way system — we vote, they rule — squanders the enormous wisdom and insight we citizens could contribute to tackling today's complex public policy issues. Governments can't possibly have all the answers in-house. As the government's theater production progresses, we might object to the way the plot is unfolding. We might have constructive criticism on the dialog, staging, lighting, or ticket prices. We might think some actors are unfairly trying to hog the limelight. Sometimes, we might even want to get onstage briefly ourselves and help build a prop or say a few words.

Digital Brainstorming
Consider the idea of digital brainstorming, which would bring together policy officials and citizens to have real-time, moderated online brainstorming sessions to identify new policy issues or needs. The President would say "We're going to have a national discussion on affordable healthcare. It starts on Monday and will last two weeks. Anyone can participate though the special Web site we've established. If you don't have Internet access, I've partnered with corporations, schools, libraries, community computing centers, and shopping malls to give you access. We'll post background papers. We'll organize the discussion by region and also by interest group. I've recruited 1,000 university students to monitor the conversations and provide me with the best ideas. I'll participate daily and give my views. At the end of the process, we'll explore our options for further action. Perhaps we'll have some straw votes on issues. It's my hope that we'll have a good discussion that will bring up some important insights. For sure, we'll all learn from each other."

Other digital tools could include:

* Online citizen panels. Randomly chosen citizens could serve as policy advisers on issues. They'd use the Web to hear evidence, ask questions, and deliberate to arrive at recommendations. Permanent advisory bodies could consist of a cross-section of citizens who use the Web to debate ideas and share information.

* Deliberative polling. This polling gives citizens the resources to learn about and reflect upon the issues in a collaborative and deliberative fashion. It would combine small group discussions on the Internet with scientific random sampling to contribute more informed public input in policy-making than instant polling can provide.

* Virtual question periods. Political representatives would be available online for regular question-and-answer periods with their constituents.

* Scenario planning. Scenarios with simulation and modeling software could project future policy needs and help understand long-term consequences of decisions. Politicians, bureaucrats, and citizens could assess the potential impacts on a range of factors ranging from health to the environment to the economy.


These tools have nothing in common with the goofy "direct democracy" schemes where we would all vote online after watching the evening news. People don't have the time, inclination, or expertise to become well informed on all issues. We want reasoned opinion, not just any opinion.
We'll pay a heavy price if voter apathy continues unchecked. Citizens must believe their involvement in the democratic process is meaningful and warrants their time and energy. That way, they're more likely to respect the decisions the government makes. We have new digital tools at our disposal, and we'd be foolhardy not to use them.


Don Tapscott is the author of 10 books about technology and society, most recently (with David Ticoll) The Naked Corporation: How the Age of Transparency Will Revolutionize Business (Free Press, 2003).

Friday, September 03, 2004

Health Questions?

Something ligth hearted ftom the internet

CLEARING UP HEALTH QUESTIONS:

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it. Don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass, a green leafy vegetable. And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable slop.

Q: Is beer or wine bad for me?
A: Look, it goes to the earlier point about fruits and vegetables. As we all know, scientists divide everything in the world into three categories: animal, mineral, and vegetable. We all know that beer and wine are not animal or mineral, so that only leaves one thing, right? My advice: Have a burger and a beer and enjoy your vegetables.

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body, and you have body fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.,

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good.

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: You're not listening. Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HEL - - LOoooo ....... Cocoa beans. another vegetable!!! It's the best "feel-good food" around!
Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. Have a cookie... One more thing... "When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt."
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