Or How China became capitalist and America, communist...
Here's a crazy idea on how to solve the apparent economic crisis on Wall Street:
Instead of the US government diverting taxpayer's hard-earned dollars away from killing people overseas; they should look up all the C.E.O.'s who've received bonuses over $1,000,000 over the past two or three years, take their cash and pump it into the system. I'm sure they could easily make a start on $700 billion.
Here's where they could start:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Goldman Sachs Chairman and CEO Lloyd Blankfein will take home nearly $68 million in restricted stock, options and cash, making it the largest bonus ever given to a Wall Street CEO.
Blankfein was awarded $26.8 million in cash and $41.1 million in restricted stock and stock options, according to a company filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission issued Friday.
Lehman Brothers chairman and CEO Richard Fuld Jr. made $34 million in 2007.
Goldman Sachs paid Co-Chief Operating Officers Gary Cohn and Jon Winkereid made $72.5 million and $71 million.
American International Group’s chief executive Martin Sullivan, who was ousted in June, made $14 million.
Morgan Stanley Chief Financial Officer Colin Kelleher got $21 million.
Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain was paid $17 million in salary, bonuses and stock options.
JP Morgan Chase & Co. chairman and CEO James Dimon earned $28 million in 2007. Chase bought Bear Stearns in a fire sale earlier this year with Washington promising to take on up to $30 billion in assets to get the deal done.
Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd made $11.6 million in 2007.
Freddie Mac, CEO Richard Syron, brought in $18 million.
Wachovia Corp. chairman and CEO G. Kennedy Thompson received $21 million in 2007. He was succeeded by Robert Steel as CEO in July. Steel is slated to get a $1 million salary with an opportunity for a $12 million bonus, according to CEO Watch.
Seattle-based Washington Mutual will pay its new CEO Alan Fishman a salary and incentive package worth more than $20 million through 2009 for taking the helm of the battered bank, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
For the ladies: The decision is yours; make an informed one.
For men: If you don’t have internal genitals, this hasn't got much to do with you. All you can do is help your partner make an informed choice and support her. Women have choices, men have responsibilities. By chance of birth we were assigned either: responsibility or childbirth… we got off pretty light. Deal with it. Don’t want babies? Wear a condom. It’s not rocket science.
For the unborn child: You don’t have any rights until you can vote as far as I’m concerned.
Our good friend from Thailand Adam, who is now living in Japan, was scheduled to visit on Monday the 15th for a week. We were excited: the house was cleaned, friends informed, a room prepared. I cleared my schedule from other commitments and got ready for a mental vacation. It was to be our first visitor to Taiwan.
You can't imagine how gutted we were, when we got an email the morning he was due to arrive, saying that he had missed his flight.
Well, what can you do?
We decided to carry on with his planned itinerary without him, so what follows is a photo essay of his trip. Due to Adam's unfortunate absence, his part will be played by a stuffed toy bear* who kindly stepped in at short notice.
Beers at The Black Dog
Icy Filipino Beers for all
Adam gets help for his drinking problem
The next day: enjoying the view from our apartment and recovering
Easy rider
Visit to Monkey Mountain
Up close
Bus to Kenting
Fine local fare
Beers on the beach
A spot of snorkelling
Another big day comes to a close.
Well, that about wraps it up, for everything that's fit to print. You'll have to get in touch with us directly to hear about the other shenanigans....
*The Odyssey Incorporated is not affiliated with, maintained by, or in any way officially connected with the, Winnie the Pooh, Walt Disney Company or any of its affiliates. The Odyssey Incorporated does not work for the Disney Company and never has, but who knows....maybe someday..... when we are all made slaves to their evil dominion. Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Tokyo Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, Winnie the Pooh and Buena Vista Pictures (events, names and attractions) are trademarks of The Walt Disney Company. Please note that all information contained in The Odyssey Incorporated is subject to change without notice. The authors and editor of this document/website shall not be held liable for any information (valid or invalid) presented here regarding Winnie the Pooh and do not represent the Walt Disney Company in any manner. Any stated opinions are those of The Odyssey Incorporated alone and do not represent Disney, employers, clients, relatives, friends, pets, Winnie the Pooh or anyone else. Materials submitted and credited by persons other than The Odyssey Incorporated are here with their permission and any associated rights belong to them except for the image of Winnie the Pooh. The use of any original graphics, art, photos or other original content that was created for The Odyssey Incorporated is encouraged. Any and all emails or written messages, suggestions, ideas, or other information that you share with The Odyssey Incorporated in response to this site shall be deemed and shall remain the property of The Creative Commons. No bears or stuffed toys were injured in the making of this photo essay.
Facebook is a great way to keep in touch with people. At the same time, everyone knows that it’s all about collecting data, which they then use to target marketing at your “demographic” or sell to third parties.
Agreed it’s a free service, but then again, I don’t feel that my personal information should be for sale.
Wow, I really need to say something about the Philippines. It was a great time but so long has passed since our holiday; I will have to try and construct something from my feeble notes:
Saturday June 28, 2008
Hang-over – pack – haircut – taxi – KMRT – storms – delayed flights – Manila – try to organise an earlier flight to Cebu – they want money – no way – overnight at the airport – Shakey’s Diner for pizza and beer – sleep in the airport
Sunday June 29
Check-in staff put us on an earlier flight for free – taxi to ferry – 8.00 am ferry to Tagbilaran – tricycle to Alona Beach – breakfast – touts – Oops Bar Cottages – game of pool on the beach – beers – beach
Notes on Tricycles:
I’ve ridden in some pretty unlikely vehicles in my time but this one has to be right up there. It’s a motorbike with a sort of covered side-car attached. You have to see it to appreciate it:
Monday June 30
Beach – rum - snorkelling
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Scuba – table football
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Beach – rum – great snorkelling, teeming with clown fish, hiding in their anemones, defending their turf
Trudy’s Place – sitting on the beach with the water lapping at my feet: endless marine and turquoise sea stretched out under a gray blanket of cloudy sky with flecks of blue peeking through.
Slightly hung-over
Last night we were in “Oops Bar” and met a German with bad English visiting the Philippines for the first time to meet his soon-to-be wife’s family.
“Philippine is paradise” were his last words to us.
Half an hour before he was chasing the girls around the bar as R refused to dance with him again.
It had been a busy day, our third on this tourist beach. We got up at nine to go diving at ten. American breakfast at the cheap ghetto restaurant with no toilet – at 85 pesos it was the cheapest we found. We checked our dive gear – the crappiest equipment I’ve ever seen and the cheapest diving on the beach.
We still had 15 minutes until we were due to head off, so I dashed back to the room for a shit. The facilities at the dive centre left a lot to be desired. I made it back with five minutes to spare but they were all on the boat. Apparently they boarded just after I left. There’s got to be one, I just don’t like being it.
It is a half hour ride out to Balicasag Island. Luckily the boat had shade, but little else. Just enough room for the crew of three plus two dive masters, four divers and two snorkelers.
The boats here, I’m looking at one now, have a single hull – maybe 10-12 meters with an in-board motor and two bamboo outrigger hulls on long bent struts. They have two masts with a tarp stretched between.
The diving was pretty awesome. Although my depth gauge didn’t work and my BCD air-out button was stuck for a while.
First dive – Diver’s Paradise, aptly named – beautiful coral, luminous fish and a turtle. It’s the first one I’ve seen while diving. When we came up, our crew had been replaced by island-folk selling souvenirs.
My first dive is always a bit panicky, trying to get neutral buoyancy and dealing the weird sensation of breathing under water.
By the second dive, I’m into it. Not doing anything, just drifting along with the current and watch it all float past: clown fish, angel fish, another turtle, a little shark; awesome.
Notes on the Philippines
750 ml Bottle of Rum - 100 pesos
375 ml can of Coke - 50 pesos
Largest number of foreigners in relationships with locals I’ve seen anywhere
All classes at school are taught in English except for Filipino class
Houses and boats all look Polynesian
Thursday July 3, 2008
Diary Extract:
Woke late and breakfasted large before deciding to get out and see the rest of the island:
Car?
Bike?
Bad weather - car’s expensive – rent a bike
Yellow four-speed click-shift with no wing mirrors and a floaty front-end
Helmet?
Sort of
Better than nothing but pretty close to nothing
*** the water is lapping at the tables outside the restaurant where I’m sitting***
So we headed off to Tagbilaran very slowly, 30 km/hr
We headed through the crazy traffic. I pulled over for a Coke and directions:
Corella?
Straight on
Thanks.
Corella has a Tarsier Sanctuary.
Tarsiers are the smallest primates with the biggest eye of any animal.
A few kilometres down the road, a fork. Neither sign said Corella. We ask:
That way?
Sweet
A few kms after that we lost the paving and were making 10-20 km/hr over rocks and gravel
The air was sweet and people friendly. Lush jungle on all sides- we stopped by a river for pictures – no rush
We continued and made it to a paved cross road, which led to Corella. We wandered around the quiet town till an old man gave us directions. It was about 2 kms up the road. We headed off and finally came to the giant sign advertising the sanctuary.
There was a boom gate across the road saying:
WE’RE CLOSED 9.00-4.00
It was 3.55 by my watch.
FUCK!
Well I’m going to have a look. R stayed with the bike. It was about a kilometre down a dirt road. At the end was a visitor’s centre, which let to a caged section of bush. No one was around.
We headed back to Corella and asked for directions to Tagbilaran:
This road goes all the way there
It might have been paved once, but not anymore. We averaged 15-20 km/hr. The road was lined with grinning school kids:
Hey man, Hey Joe
The old man was right; we reached the main road in under an hour. We headed into town and had a walk around.
Busy
Poor children begging
We stopped for a beer in a restaurant and had something to eat.
We headed back. Once on Panglao Island we turned the wrong way, despite the directions we were given and it took at least twice as long to get back.
Friday July 4
Beach – rum – Cebu – live band
The sun is out; the tide is high for our last day on Alona Beach.
More Notes on the Philippines
Language sounds like Spanish
Security guards everywhere with handguns
Bank guards with pump action shotguns
Never once saw a police officer
The Mexicans of Asia
Saturday July 5
Back to K-town
Cebu Domestic Airport 1030
Spent yesterday afternoon on the beach drinking rum then got a tricycle to the port:
ferry to Cebu - taxi to hotel - all full - forth time lucky – shower – walk – beggars - knock off DVDs - live music bar “Brews Point” - great bands - great food – cheap – hotel – TV – sleep
"I would be more apathetic if I wasn't so lethargic." New Yorker Cartoon
"The only thing that is constant, is change"
"Boredom is always counter-revolutionary. Always. " Guy Debord
"People don't do what's important, they what's urgent" Dr. Karl
"We live our lives forwards, but understand them backwards"
"If you're not on the edge, you're taking up too much room." Fran
"None are so blind as those who will not see." Unkown
"You don't learn anything by speaking."
"Can't lives on Won't Street" From the film Flawless
"I'm not white, I'm Irish" Protester, Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra
"Relationships are like icebergs - you only see the top third sticking out of the water."
"In order to be old and wise, you must first be young and stupid." Gary
"It's not wrong because it's forbidden, It's forbidden because it's wrong"
"Ask no questions and be told no lies."
"I have never regretted what I did. I regret things I didn't do." Ingrid Bergman
"A pessimist is what an optimist calls a realist."
"Have no expectations and you won't be disappointed"
"Think quickly and speak slowly"
"Speak truth to power"
"He who asks a question, is a fool for five minutes. He who doesn't ask a question is a fool for life" - Chinese Proverb
"Give a man a fish, he eats for a day, teach a man to fish and he eats for life" - Chinese Proverb
"The more haste the less speed"
"Trust is slowly earned and quickly lost" Mike W
Famous Quotes
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison
"The play was a great success but the audience was a disaster." Oscar Wilde
"I don`t regret a thing I`ve done. I only regret the things I didn`t do." Ingrid Birgman
“We are what we repeatedly do.” - Aristotle
"If an ass goes travelling, he will not come back a horse" Thomas Fuller
"Reasonable men adapt to the world around them; unreasonable men make the world adapt to them. The world is changed by unreasonable men." Edwin Louis Cole
"Good name in man or woman, dear my Lord is the immediate jewel of their souls: who steals my purse steals trash; 'tis something, nothings, 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands. But he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed." William Shakespeare
"Fish and houseguests smell after three days." Benjamin Franklin
"I can resist anything but temptation" Oscar Wilde
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." Edmund Burke
"Madam, I may be drunk, but you are ugly. At least in the morning I will be sober." Churchill
"I think it would be a good idea." Gandhi (when asked what he thought of western civilization)
"grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." Reinhold Niebuhr
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." John Lennon
"Don't hate the media, become the media." Jello Biafra
"These are my opinions, if you don't like them, I have others" Groucho Marx
"It is absurd to divide people into good and bad. People are either charming or tedious." Oscar Wilde
"I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me." Hunter S Thomson
Really?
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