Some gave all.

Shoes...

It was reported that Vincent bought these workman’s boots at a flea market, intending to use them in a still life. Finding them still a little too smart, however, he wore them on a long and rainy walk. Only then were they fit to be painted.

To him, as to several of his contemporaries, they may have been symbolic of the hard yet picturesque life of the laborer and reference to Van Gogh’s difficult passage through life.

In the desert, the shoes cost a lot, wear off badly and quickly. Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign of extreme disrespect. Throwing your shoe is even worse." 

In Egypt, a Syrian throwing his shoe at Ahmadinejad, after an affectionate welcome from Egypt's new Islamist president. Earlier, an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at George Bush.

What a painting. Just an {expressionist's} thought.

Prices...*!

Medicine prices in the United States are the highest in the world. This is why the pharmaceutical industry is the most profitable of all businesses in the U.S.  Pharmaceutical companies argue that the prices are necessary to continue to fund research.

Critics {Me included} point out that only a small portion of the drug companies' expenditures are used for R & D, with the majority spent in the areas of marketing and administration.

Pfizer (as patent expires) is planning to buy Astra Zeneca for $119 Billion for a reason. The Brand name medications and R&D is worth that much in US high prices.

U.S. Customs estimates 10 million U.S. citizens bring in medications at land borders each year or online pharmacies. Yet this is not Legal.

The Law must be changed to allow persons or organization to import medicine (Approved in USA) freely from Canada, Britain, etc. So US citizen pay what the Canadian or British pay for the same medicines.  That is Free Market Prices and Competition.  

Just a [Free Market] thought.

History...

The art of ancient Egypt and the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art come together in this comprehensive resource for educators, which includes summaries of ancient Egyptian history and art, maps, lesson plans and classroom activities, a bibliography, and a glossary. The descriptions of the works and other information are aimed at increasing knowledge and pleasure in viewing Egyptian art at the Metropolitan. The materials can be adapted for students of all ages, interests, and abilities, and can be used to enrich any curriculum.  

So visit Ancient Egypt, just around the corner.

Structure...

Workers at a Volkswagen factory in Tennessee have voted against union representation, a devastating loss that derails the United Auto Workers union's effort to organize Southern factories and in reality to the workers themselves.

VW understands how having a union can boost productivity and allow it greater flexibility in adjusting to downturns. It should know: The rest of its plants are unionized.

The idea is to create a "works council," which are widespread across Europe and enjoy tremendous influence over how plants are run. 

German works councils helped the company reduce hours across the board rather than laying people off, containing unemployment until the economy recovered.

So while the vote was no, the structure is Yes, a lesson to learn from Europe. Just a thought.

Espionage...?!

Anna Chapman

Anna was often suspected at parties of being a prostitute. "She was very sexually aggressive and wore revealing clothing". Although her background remains a mystery, she was perfectly open about having had Russian connections. Anna got caught with others accused of spying for Russia.

The United States indicted five members of China's PLA accusing them of hacking into American companies and pilfering closely-guarded trade secrets. China has long been among the most aggressive collectors of economic secrets, both online and off.  It is an important for China to limit its economic espionage.

US. asked China not to lower the value of their currency. 

Earlier were the Japanese. US and Europe were concerned about japan economic espionage. Now Japan is in economical difficulties for 20 years.

Be careful what you [ask] spy for, you may get it.  China may find a new way of life they can't afford it at this time. It may create China's social unrest.    Just a thought.

To close...???.

Long Island College Hospital will officially close next week, part of the SUNY system.

Hospitals represent one of the largest employers and economic drivers in the area.

The average American worker costs their employer $6,000 annually for health care benefits. U.S. businesses at a disadvantage globally at this level of spending on healthcare. Other countries' healthcare cost is one third and with far better services. 

Many hospitals closed recently, St Vincent's [7 hospitals], North General, Rockaway Hospital.  Sandy Storm caused NYU, Coney Island, and Bellevue hospital to be evacuated and closed for months as a result.

The healthcare system adjusting its excess number of beds.  Efficiency and quality of care to increase, while the cost to decrease.   This is not a bad thing.

Just a [calming ] thought.

Got it allright.

Many years ago I moved to the States with my eye on the progress of my family back home. Here is the young child, now a young man living in Germany working as a computer programmer for the past few years. Ready to take the next big step with our love and blessing.

Here is a song "I choose you".

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooiLP_zqnFs

AT&T-The DEA.

Every Google search performed is stored on the search giant's servers. Data is cross-linked to your search data from YouTube, Google Maps and any other Google services you use.  Google can tell where you live, your hobbies, age, health problems, religion and more.

AT&T maintains an enormous database of phone metadata records [New York Times] stretches back for the past 27 years.  This includes call time and length, who calls who and location data of cell phone users.

The phone company has been helping the DEA’s “Hemisphere Project” by providing easy access to its massive database. Many drug dealers got caught though changing the cell phone frequently.

Personal information is collected, stored and available by many mega companies. The questions is what is the proper usage of it. Advertisement, drug enforcement, fighting terrorists or what?
This must be cleared.

Just a thought

Carrie Mae Weems...

Carrie Mae Weems is an American artist who works with text, fabric, audio, digital images, and installation video but is best known for her work in the field of photography. More recently however, she expressed that “Black experience is not really the main point; rather, complex, dimensional, human experience and social inclusion . . . is the real point.”