Forecast Fun

The multitude of users of conference calling services makes it apparent that it is one of the favored means of communication in the business world to date. Companies consider it more cost-efficient, less taxing on the company’s time and personnel, and more effective in fostering business relations in the international scene.

Like all good things, however, conference calling has several limitations. While the numerous positive aspects of conference calling are highly publicized, the limitations are hardly visible.

The most obvious limitation of conference calling is the speed with which it is developed in some countries and the delay in others. Conference calling now largely involves video and data as well as audio conferencing and makes use of highly advanced equipment to deliver these new and improved services to subscribers. The problem with this lies in the availability of these equipments for the world’s majority. Attendance and participation in conferences may now be limited by the fact that potential delegates in areas where the necessary equipment and technological advancement has not yet arrived may not be able to participate at all.

Another limitation is the lack of any set standard for conference calling protocols. Certain measures for order and smooth progress have been set for face-to-face conferences and meetings. For conference calls, no such measures exist. The normal etiquette and standard of behavior necessary is necessary even in these types of conferences to make sure that it would not totally remove the aspect of interpersonal relations in business dealings.

Last, but definitely no less important, is the instances of low security and lack of proper billing standard provided to the clients availing of conference calling services. These conferences are recorded, and the clients should have control over the contents of their conferences. Likewise, they should be properly informed of the breakdown of the costs they have to pay for these services.

From this it is apparent that there is a negative side to conference calling. It is up to a potential user, therefore, to weigh the pros and cons of using conference calls before availing of a particular service.

Markus Wahlgren runs the popular site http://www.SaveOnConferenceCalling.com where conference calling services are reviewed and unbiased articles are published to make the decision about conference calling easier.

2005 is well underway. It is hard to believe where this country has come with advances in technology assisting business practices. In the good old days meeting with a branch office meant packing up the entire management staff and traveling to meet with other personnel in the remote city. During the nineties video and audio conferencing came on the scene. However, video conferencing required expensive equipment and line services to operate. Audio conferencing was also pricey as most companies offering the service were the carriers who could charge a lot for their elite service.

In the late nineties audio conferencing companies began to emerge, making it more affordable for the small to medium sized business to take advantage of audio conferencing. However, many business owners still felt hampered by this type of communication. While audio conferencing did eliminate the need for excessive travel expenses, improved the sound quality of a multiple person conference and created a way that remote workers could stay in touch, there was still a missing link. That missing link was the ability to share documents or better yet, perform a live presentation with multiple conference participants.

Thus a new trend was born called “web collaboration”. This is usually performed combining a minimum of audio conferencing and web conferencing. By using this tool conference participants not only have a means of hearing all members of the conference but sharing in data applications at the same time. The other item that can be incorporated by many services is video conferencing along with the other two media (audio and data). This new business tool has been driven by a market where businesses are increasing their global presence plus entering into more business partnering and sub-contracting relationships. The other factor making web collaboration a reality is that bandwidth requirements are not as excessive as they were several years ago. Many audio/web conference users simply need a minimum 56K connection and a phone line to effectively use the collaborative conferencing services. If a video conference is desired there is no longer a need to set up special dedicated lines or purchase expensive monitor equipment. The users need a simple, inexpensive PC camera.

There are many similarities to a worker’s day that cross vertical markets. Day to day business functions of most office workers combine inter-personal communication (research, creating and absorbing information obtained) and personal interaction with other professionals (communications, collaboration, decision making). With the use of multi-media conferencing services allows those two types of functions to merge together. Using the various tools a worker can perform research and absorb information presented via video or web placement of documents while at the same time communicate and collaborate on action items and ultimately resolutions to projects. This collaboration assists in quick decision making, many times affecting the outcome of a project.

In order to ensure that the technology is implemented properly, a manager must choose a service that best matches their current business needs but also provides flexibility to grow into the different types of services offered. Not to mention test the service for user-friendliness. If the service is not easy to use or flexible in its scheduling and media choices, then any hope for productivity gain is a mute point. A service should be chosen that combines audio, web and video services in one session, but also flexible enough that the business can elect to use only one of the media if desired and not be charged for the other options during that specific call. For instance, a business may not always need the web tool for a meeting where audio only would be sufficient. The log-in should provide quick access to all features, allowing a user to join via web or telephone interface. The service should also be flexible in its scheduling opportunities. Look for a service that allows users to call in and achieve space on an as needed basis. This will help with emergency meeting productivity allowing those crucial decisions to have the collaboration needed while at the same time maximizing the turn around of that needed action.

Another benefit to using an off-site conferencing center is the ability to archive meetings. Many times key committee or project members cannot be present. Instead of those participants simply getting a type written synopsis of the meeting in the minutes, they can listen in real-time to the entire meeting and view the presented material on the web at the same time. In 2003 44% of survey respondents stated that they planned on increasing their participation in web conferencing by 100% in the first 6 months. Other companies that had already made this a standard business practice were experiencing one month ROI from reduced travel, increased productivity and quicker decision making ability.

Many business managers and owners do not see how the company they are serving can benefit from this type of service. Listed below are several examples of how companies have found success with this application:  Example 1: A Boston executive had a team of employees in New York. Before utilizing a conferencing service he was traveling to New York from Boston once a week. Now that the team is able to meet every week via the audio/web/video conference they have reduced that meeting to once a month. This eliminated approximately $2,000.00 per month.  A nationwide PR firm uses the technology to collaborate with their own in-house teams, but also to conduct client progress meetings during a marketing campaign. This allows them to have “face to face” contact with the client but eliminate the travel cost FOR THE CLIENT. The meetings are still productive because they can share files real-time. Each participant sees the product slick, new logo, or other applicable material and again decisions are made on the spot. They no longer have to wait for e-mail passes and yay’s or nay’s on an action item.  A business consulting firm uses this type of service to conduct mini seminars with prospective and current clients. These seminars are recorded for future viewing to allow those that miss out an opportunity to connect and learn at their own schedule.

In short, business managers and owners need to be thinking outside of the box to attract, maintain and better serve their customers. Today, web conferencing is emerging as a feature-rich, cost-effective tool for many business applications. Each business should assess its’ business practices to determine if multi-media conferencing can be used to increase productivity and make a positive impact on customer service and ultimately the bottom line in 2005. It may be just what is needed to soar into the next year.

Bill Cosby got it wrong. His many speeches regarding the plight of poor blacks in this country and their lack of personal responsibility were not only off the mark, but completely irresponsible.

Cosby failed to take into account many mitigating factors, in what became his regular rants on poor blacks in this country. For example, the last of the civil rights laws was passed in 1965, so it’s been forty years since the physical signs of government sanctioned racism have been in place. Please explain to me how in forty years we are to undo centuries of terror and government sponsored segregation, emasculation and murder?

While I don’t believe blaming the white man for your problems is the answer, preaching to a roomful of upwardly mobile blacks who are probably doing nothing to help those who are less fortunate then they are is pointless and doesn’t do anything to help the cause of those you’re complaining about. Poverty is a hard cycle to break; especially if you’re black and suffer a history where, in the not to distance past, if you dared to assert yourself as an entrepreneurial, educated black person you could find yourself hanging from a tree.

This is a country that used to burn blacks alive for fun. That not to long ago raped a man with a broom handle and two years ago sent a young black boy to prison for having sex with a white girl. This is a country where there are several states that have never sent a white man to death row for killing a black man but routinely send black ones to death row for crimes that they may not have committed, look at Illinois, and that is not even a southern state.

Now as a young black woman who was raised by a single mother, one who was welfare and who only has a GED, I could so easily be one of those non English speaking, uneducated loud dressing, black folk he was talking about. But I’m not. I’m well educated and I am quite familiar with the English language. But guess what, I’ve been denied jobs and treated horribly because I am black and for no other reason. And if Cosby or anyone else thinks that that doesn’t have an effect on those who are not blessed to have a parent who recognizes the value of an education and who adequately prepares you for the racist country in which we live, then he and everyone else who feels that way are sadly mistaken.

Cosby failed to mention the sorry state of secondary education in many of the poor neighborhoods in this country and how that impacts the lives of the poor and black in this country. Our tax based system for supporting public schools leave many in poor areas with inadequate buildings, teachers, textbooks, and curriculum. Can someone explain to me how kids get to high school without the ability to read or do simple math? That isn’t simply their fault, or their parents fault but the fault of a system that will simply pass kids along and believe them incapable of learning and not really caring whether they learn anything or not.

How about a high school system that offers classes that are useless for entrance into college? Or where kids graduate and haven’t taken a single algebra class? High school is supposed to prepare you for college, regardless of whether the teachers or administrators believe the students are capable of a college education. You can be a very responsible person but if you were never given the proper building blocks for success then that responsibility will get you nowhere.

America and apparently Bill Cosby has a short memory. And while blaming the white man is pointless, and waiting for racism to end is pointless, personal responsibility alone isn’t the answer. You can take all the personal responsibility you want but if you’re born black and poor in this country, then you have a lot of odds stacked against you and more then likely will succumb to that environment. Poverty alone is a hard cycle to break, add being black and the weight of a history that has routinely stripped you of your identity and self worth and you’ve got what can seem like, and for many people are, insurmountable odds. Forty years and a ranting, wealthy black man isn’t going to change that.

About the Author

Tamika Johnson is a freelance writer and owner of PrologueReviews.com. To read more articles by Tamika Johnson or to have your book, music or film reviewed visit http://www.prologuereviews.com

If you’re one of the millions of cell phone users who count on their wireless phone for emergency 911 calling……..

You might want to think again.

Unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that your 911 call will be routed to an emergency call center. Much less, the emergency dispatcher will have the ability to pinpoint the call’s location.

Why?

Part of the problem is lack of service. Often, in more rural areas, your cell phone has fewer towers available to receive reception. And, many of those towers are designed for analog calls - not digital.

But, since the FCC does not require it, fewer carriers offer analog service — or the ability to connect to it.

Not surprising, since much of the carriers’ revenue is dependant on features available only on digital networks.

Another problem?

There is no uniform Ehanced 911 system (E911) for wireless carriers. The FCC neglected to force the carriers to conform their E911 systems to a single technology.

Because of this, there are now two incompatable E911 systems in the works.

Nextel, Sprint and Verizon each have cell phones available that use the Global Positioning System (GPS) to find a caller’s location. While Cingul ar and T-Mobi le rely on a triangulation system.

Unfortunately, both E911 systems have their flaws. The GPS system needs a minimum of three satalites to be able to “read” the handset’s location. Accuracy can be hampered by heavy vegetation, mountains or tall buildings.

The triangulation system also has its shortcomings, because it relies on the strength and timing of cell towers to determine a location. It, too, requires multiple towers for accuracy. This becomes more difficult in rural areas where towers are scarce.

To compound the problem, Emergency Call Centers are not equipt with the technology needed to field E911 calls. Most smaller centers lack the funding for the sophisticated equiptment, while others lack the knowledge on how to integrate it to their existing system.

According to a 2004 article in the San Diego Union Tribune, only about 12% of the country’s 911 centers had the ability to pinpoint the location of wireless phone users emergency calls.

Which cell phone is best?

Dual band, or tri-band phones, allow both analog and digital frequencies. If a 911 call does not connect in a digital mode, the alternate analog network is available.

The FCC also requires that any carrier offering multi-frequency phones must allow the 911 call to roam to another service, if the call can not be completed on their own network.

Currently, only Cingular and Verizon offer dual or tri-bands for both their service and handsets. Sprint PCS and T-Mobile wireless phones operate on a digital band, but allow analog roaming.

Nextel uses its own iDEN network, which has limited roaming ability.

CCTV is an acronym that stands for Closed Circuit Television. It is defined as the use of one or more cameras used for surveillance purposes. It was initially developed to increase bank security and has since spread to every corner of the security industry. Home security systems, businesses, corporations, organizations, and schools are several examples of locations that implement CCTV Security Systems. When CCTV cameras first appeared in the public sphere, they were crude, low-definition cameras that only recorded in black and white. They were completely simple and lacked even the ability to pan or zoom. CCTV cameras today are smaller, sleeker, and far more technologically advanced than the cameras of yesterday. They produce high quality, exceptionally sharp color images, and have motion sensors that track movement across an area. They can pick a person out of a crowd and lock on them, tracing their movements; they can run at night because of infrared technology. The possibilities are endless for CCTV, especially as the technology continues to develop. Closed-circuit cameras are often used to discourage and deter crime. While they don’t necessarily eliminate crime, closed-circuit cameras do make it possible to identify events and suspects, making is easier to detect and prosecute those involved in a crime. Another function that closed-circuit cameras serve is that of traffic monitors. Speed cameras are installed in various locations, taking a picture of your license plate and with the help of radar technology, recording your speed. In many cities in the US, you may receive a speeding ticket with a picture of your car and its clocked speed, or a picture of the exact moment you ran a red light. They come in all shapes and sizes and can be installed anywhere, from your car and your handbag to police surveillance vans and taxis. They are ideal for purposes of security as they have the ability to recall events in real time at an accurate date and provide information that may lead to the detection and persecution of criminal activities. Emerging technologies will make faster, quicker cameras that will be able to pick a face out of the crowd on command. They could be programmed to identify ‘criminal’ behavior by body movement that might signify a troublemaker, and zoom up on your face in an instant. Banks, hospitals, institutions that deal in large sums of money, government buildings, and schools are several areas of the public sector where closed-circuit television cameras work well. The CCTV System is moving towards a completely computerized monitoring system that will eventually replace the current need for a CCTV operator and become a fully automated system.

Cambodia was steered into “free-market economy” after the radical agreement, done in Paris on October 23, 1991. And this “humanitarian trend” is, of course, prevalently accepted by Cambodians. Resulting from this, Cambodia’s integration into regional and international communities has boosted her economy.

Education is now of one of the most or probably the most pressing agenda of Cambodian people and government. I, myself and most of the Cambodian people, poor and rich, educated, low-educated and illiterate, are showing negative point of views toward Cambodia’s mushrooming universities.

I have seen that nearly all of the universities are not playing as the “human resource developers”; it seems like commercial competition; “profit-oriented.” Can university play the role of “profit-oriented legal entity?” It would be too dangerous for the university to turn itself into the profit-oriented entity, since the whole nation would suffer in the future. In this short article, I don’t want to enlarge my content by depicting and analyzing those existing or impending drawbacks that those universities with the profit-oriented vision will bring.

Many apparent problems have been seen and complaints by the students have been ubiquitously heard; unemployment rates, non-quality education, no clear-cut academic curriculums. So who or what are creating these problems. Universities that are playing profit-oriented role are dramatically contributing to the aforesaid problems. Apparently, we see that nearly all sectors; economic, political, social have been analyzed by the international individuals or institutions. And why is that? Universities are not producing confident human resources to replace those of the foreigners.

I see that there are two ways that unemployment is increasing in Cambodia; 1. Genuinely educated peoples are not provided with opportunities to express their abilities and 2. Though the vacancy is available, we don’t have the qualified persons to fill.

I don’t have analytical resolution to such the havoc, since I want to keep this article short and simple. But I just want to command one point: improving the quality of the universities is the very first and foremost step of all other betterments and we will see how it will continuously be proceeding. According to Article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), everyone is entitled to a right to work and earn a living, not only the ICESCR, Cambodian constitution and other international instruments that Cambodia have entered, do guarantee the equally and self-fulfillment of employment, but quality and opportunity is the problem in Cambodian, such the aspiration of the this international instrument is extremely hard to achieve.

“Quality is everything, but that everything is instigated from the willingness, and government, is of course, that willingness trigger” (Coined by Lay Vicheka, 2005).

According to a recent poll conducted by ComputerWorld, about forty percent of the population believes that people can increase their political power by going online. Hence, many academics believe that people in western societies are becoming more technologically educated in order to gain more influence in the political sector. For example, Mr. Jeffrey Cole, a director at the University of Southern California states, “This year, 6% of regular Internet users said they have their own blogs, 16% said they post pictures on the Web, and more than 10% maintain their own web sites. In 2003, 3% of Internet users said they blogged, 11% posted photos, and less than 9% maintained web sites.”(ComputerWorld, 2005: 1) Thus, the question raised by many is, “Is the Internet providing a more democratic and participatory human society for the future?”

Mr. Cole agrees that the Internet plays a pivotal role in providing a more equitable society that encourages participatory development. He argues that due to the younger generation having the ability to effectively communicate through Internet forums, they are more willing to express their political opinions online. The younger generation also has the opportunity to engage in academic discussions with people who are older and have more experience, such as university lecturers, or people who specialize in the area of discussion. Hence, the Internet has clearly demonstrated its use in terms of educating the younger generation for the future. However, the positive benefits that can be gained through the use of the Internet not only extends to young citizens, but has also created an impact for those who are in the workforce and are keen to learn more about their nation’s political system.

Research has shown that many Americans are ’surfing’ on the Internet before a Federal Election to increase their knowledge about political parties and their policies. Mr. Cole states, “The Internet is no longer a marginal force in American politics - it is quickly becoming the central force in empowering voters.”(ComputerWorld, 2005:1). For example, the success of the election of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean was mainly due to the Internet, where online fundraising and lobbying was used to ensure that people were adequately informed of the parties’ policies.

Hence, due to the power of the Internet, although many would argue that a person needs a certain level of knowledge and expertise before they are able to master the Internet and its search engines effectively, these people also agree that new software and computer technicians are slowly changing technological discourse in order to accommodate for people who may not be as technically inclined. Although it is generally agreed that the environment of cyberspace and the purpose of using the Internet is constantly changing to suit the needs of contemporary society, gaining information about political parties and their policies still remains a top priority for Internet users, especially those living in Western society.

Bibliography:

Gross Grant, 2005 ‘Survey: Internet can help people gain political power.’ (ComputerWorld) [Online] http://www.computerworld.com/developmenttopics/websitemgmt/story/ 0,10801,106909,00.html

Frith Holden, 2005 ‘Letter reveals US role in web power struggle.’ (Times Online - Technology) [Online] http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,9075-1915821,00.html

A lot of bettors will surely have come across the caption “offshore sports betting” by now, but some aren’t totally savvy what that stands for in detail. An overseas gambling internet site essentially operates extraneous to the laws of any single state alternatively it can also mean an world wide web based betting website which bases their servers in a nation in which machine-accessible sports gambling isn’t at the moment forbidden. Briefly then, it’s best described as a gambling facility running extraneous of the supervison of the nation of the gamer. World wide web based gaming web sites are currently modulated through three administrations. These guilds are the OSGA (the Offshore Gaming Association), IGC (Interactive Gaming Council) and the Fidelity Trust Gaming Association FTGA.

The OSGA are a self ruling “watch-dog” authority that presently keeps tabs on the offshore betting trade, they are trying to offer bettors access to quickly pick out dependable enterprises to play games on, without unease. It labors to guard the concerns of consumers, additionally they do not levy any association charges.

The agency are a competent and unprejudiced third party agency who reveal impartial judgments, built around your observations, nonpartisan examination, phone calls, insider advice and in addition imparts inside communication.

The Interactive Gaming Council is a not-for-profit council. The organisation has been founded to provide a platform for interested participants to discuss issues also to move forward applicable worries in the world-wide online sports betting profession, to ensure civil and also duty-bound industry guidelines and practices that heighten consumer trust in world wide web based gaming products and benefits, and in addition to assist as the overseas betting trade’s general procedure advocate moreover the IGC acts as a data base.

The IGC have built a name for trustworthiness, candor also solidity because of the scrupulous ethical code it demonstrates, also its allure for ethical business enterprises. The IGC regularises offshore gaming via recommending a particular ten step general policy rules and in addition charges sports gambling web sites a license fee to show their logo. Vexed gamblers can, should they demand to, disclose their challenges to the Interactive Gaming Council.

The FTGA was set up in order to create a standard to improve the standards of web based sports gambling sites. The agency believe that by doing business with partners of honorable reputation, they are able to mold a federation of the fairest and professional offshore betting companies internationally.

So, there are establishments that keep an eye on the behavior of machine-accessible gaming and which should with luck serve to ease some of the insecurities held by doubters. Machine-accessible sports gambling web sites are absolutely safe, in as much as private data aren’t necessary and in addition the remuneration and the odds should be equivalent to a traditional Vegas-type wager. They get rid of travel, but nevertheless maintain of a Nevada casino, only now you are able to play in the comfort of home.

Online Sports Betting by Officialsportsbetting.com

AC : “Dysfunctional partnerships should be dissolved. The President should have divorced prior to indulging his sexual appetite. Sexual exclusivity is an integral - possibly the most important - section of the marriage contract. The President ignored his vows, dishonoured his word, breached his contract with the First Lady.”

DC : “People stay together only if they feel that the foundation upon which they based their relationship is still sound. Mr. Clinton and Mrs. Clinton redefined their marriage to exclude sexual exclusivity, an impossibility under the circumstances. But they did not exclude companionship and friendship. It is here that the President may have sinned, in lying to his best friend, his wife. Adultery is committed only when a party strays out of the confines of the marital contract. I postulate that the President was well within his agreement with Mrs. Clinton when he sought sexual gratification elsewhere.”

AC : “Adultery is a sin not only against the partner. The marriage contract is signed by three parties : the man, the woman and God between them. The President sinned against God. This cannot be ameliorated by any human approval or permission. Whether his wife accepted him as he is and disregarded his actions - is irrelevant. And if you are agnostic or an atheist, still you can replace the word ‘God’ by the words ‘Social Order’. President Clinton’s behaviour undermines the foundations of our social order. The family is the basic functional unit and its proper functioning is guaranteed by the security of sexual and emotional exclusivity. To be adulterous is to rebel against civilization. It is an act of high social and moral treason.”

DC : “While I may share your nostalgia - I am compelled to inform you that even nostalgia is not what it used to be. There is no such thing as ‘The Family’. There are a few competing models, some of them involving only a single person and his or her offspring. There is nothing to undermine. The social order is in such a flux that it is impossible to follow, let alone define or capture. Adultery is common. This could be a sign of the times - or the victory of honesty and openness over pretension and hypocrisy. No one can cast a stone at President Clinton in this day and age.”

AC : “But that’s precisely it ! The President is not a mirror, a reflection of the popular will. Our President is a leader with awesome powers. These powers were given to him to enable him to set example, to bear a standard - to be a standard. I do demand of my President to be morally superior to me - and this is no hypocrisy. This is a job description. To lead, a leader needs to inspire shame and guilt through his model. People must look up to him, wish they were like him, hope, dream, aspire and conspire to be like him. A true leader provokes inner tumult, psychological conflicts, strong emotions - because he demands the impossible through the instance of his personality. A true leader moves people to sacrifice because he is worthy of their sacrifice, because he deserves it. He definitely does not set an example of moral disintegration, recklessness, short-sightedness and immaturity. The President is given unique power, status and privileges - only because he has been recognized as a unique and powerful and privileged individual. Whether such recognition has been warranted or not is what determines the quality of the presidency.”

DC : “Not being a leader, or having been misjudged by the voters to be one - do not constitute impeachable offences. I reject your view of the presidency. It is too fascist for me, it echoes with the despicable Fuhrerprinzip. A leader is no different from the people that elected him. A leader has strong convictions shared by the majority of his compatriots. A leader also has the energy to implement the solutions that he proposes and the willingness to sacrifice certain aspects of his life (like his privacy) to do so. If a leader is a symbol of his people - then he must, in many ways, be like them. He cannot be as alien as you make him out to be. But then, if he is alien by virtue of being superior or by virtue of being possessed of superhuman qualities - how can we, mere mortals, judge him ? This is the logical fallacy in your argument : if the President is a symbol, then he must be very much similar to us and we should not subject him to a judgement more severe than the one meted to ourselves. If the President is omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, or otherwise, superhuman - then he is above our ability to judge. And if the President is a standard against whom we should calibrate our lives and actions - then he must reflect the mores of his times, the kaleidoscopic nature of the society that bred him, the flux of norms, conventions, paradigms and doctrines which formed the society which chose him. A standard too remote, too alien, too detached - will not do. People will ignore it and revert to other behavioural benchmarks and normative yardsticks. The President should, therefore, be allowed to be “normal”, he should be forgiven. After all forgiveness is as prominent a value as being truthful.

AC : “This allowance, alas, cannot be made. Even if I were to accept your thesis about ‘The President as a regular Human Being’ - still his circumstances are not regular. The decisions that he faces - and very frequently - affect the lives of billions. The conflicting pressures that he is under, the gigantic amounts of information that he must digest, the enormity of the tasks facing him and the strains and stresses that are surely the results of these - all call for a special human alloy. If cracks are found in this alloy in room temperature - it raises doubts regarding its ability to withstand harsher conditions. If the President lies concerning a personal matter, no matter how significant - who will guarantee veracity rather than prevarication in matters more significant to us ? If he is afraid of a court of law - how is he likely to command our armies in a time of war ? If he is evasive in his answers to the Grand Jury - how can we rely on his resolve and determination when confronting world leaders and when faced with extreme situations ? If he loses his temper over petty matters - who will guarantee his coolheadedness when it is really required ? If criminal in small, household matters - why not in the international arena ?”

DC : “Because this continuum is false. There is little correlation between reactive patterns in the personal realms - and their far relatives in the public domain. Implication by generalization is a logical fallacy. The most adulterous, querulous, and otherwise despicable people have been superb, far sighted statesmen. The most generous, benevolent, easygoing ones have become veritable political catastrophes. The public realm is not the personal realm writ large. It is true that the leader’s personality interacts with his circumstances to yield policy choices. But the relevance of his sexual predilections in this context is dubious indeed. It is true that his morals and general conformity to a certain value system will influence his actions and inactions - influence, but not determine them. It is true that his beliefs, experience, personality, character and temperament will colour the way he does things - but rarely what he does and rarely more than colour. Paradoxically, in times of crisis, there is a tendency to overlook the moral vices of a leader (or, for that matter, his moral virtues). If a proof was needed that moral and personal conduct are less relevant to proper leadership - this is it. When it really matters, we ignore these luxuries of righteousness and get on with the business of selecting a leader. Not a symbol, not a standard bearer, not a superman. Simply a human being - with all the flaws and weaknesses of one - who can chart the water and navigate to safety flying in the face of adverse circumstances.”

AC : “Like everything else in life, electing a leader is a process of compromise, a negotiation between the ideal and the real. I just happen to believe that a good leader is the one who is closer to the ideal. You believe that one has to be realistic, not to dream, not to expect. To me, this is mental death. My criticism is a cry of the pain of disillusionment. But if I have to choose between deluding myself again and standing firmly on a corrupt and degenerate ground - I prefer, and always will, the levity of dreams.”

About the Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East. He is a columnist for Central Europe Review, United Press International (UPI) and eBookWeb and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com.

Visit Sam’s Web site at http://samvak.tripod.com

We often hear from the “other side” of the isle how it is Republicans and Conservatives that are grinches and that they are mean and insensitive lying bastards without a care for civility. Ok, I admit I am blunt at times, but at least that bluntness is truthful! Well, here is what the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) has put up to mock Christmas (source WND) with my translation and comments added in bold italics after each verse:

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the House, The Republicans were stirring, especially The Louse.

President Bush is a liar about Iraq even though our leadership said the SAME things years before President Bush was elected

There were gifts to be taken and given to Special Interest Friends No worry about your future, on their Cronies They Spend.

We LOVE socialism! And elect us and we’ll make sure you have lots of it! Don’t tell anyone that when WE were in power we never once succeeded in reigning in government spending or balancing the budget

Americans were all nestled all snug in their beds, While visions of brighter days danced in their heads.

The economy SUCKS! Why wont you believe us - WHA WHAAAAA!

A girl dreamt of college, a boy a good meal With Democrats in charge it would be a better deal!

We want to spend on OUR cronies! Vote for us and we’ll increase socialist and unconstitutional federal spending even FASTER than the Republicans! TAX THE RICH! TAX THE RICH!

But back in the House there arose such a clatter, The Rubber Stamp Gang was busy with blather.

Don’t you know that Republicans are all stupid sheep that fall in line lock step behind the President! Which doesn’t explain why President Bush has such a hard time getting legislation passed despite Republican control of both houses but hey, what’s a little inconsistency right?

Stealing the gift of a bright, better day DeLay and his pals make middle-America pay.

TAX THE RICH! TAX THE EVIL “RICH”

“Tax Cuts for Millionaires! But no Social Security for you! Humungous Subsidies for Big Oil And higher gas prices too!”

TAX THE EVIL PRICE GOUGING RICH! INSTITUTE SOCIALIST PRICE CONTROLS! CONTROL THE PEOPLE’S RETIREMENT! RAAAAAHHHHRRRRRR!

But before they left they wrapped gifts JUST FOR YOU They personally signed them “With Love — from Tom, George, and Crew.”

Don’t tell anyone that we get just as much money (if not more) from the “rich” as they do! The American People are too stupid to figure that out!

They gave to the rich and took from the poor Until finally they grew weary when there was nothing more.

TAX THE EVIL VILE RICH WHICH CREATE JOBS! INSTITUTE GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF THE LAND NOW! VIVA LA SOCIALISM! GIVE MORE MONEY TO THOSE THAT DON’T EARN IT!

So they gassed up their limos and drove off to town And filled up their bellies and really chowed down.

Not a single Democrat in Congress is Rich or rides in a limo (not even Teddy Kennedy or Nancy Pelosi or John Kerry) It is all a lie by the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy! WE ARE JUST LIKE YOU! WE HATE … err WE LOVE AMERICA!

And, I heard them exclaim as they drove out of sight … . NOOOOO!!!

Oh wait that was us as we realized we are going to lose in 2006 and 2008 on a platform this STUPID! Nooooooooooooooooooo!

Merry Christmas all!