blog.marcwiesner.com

What can I say? I was wrong. On Sept. 17, 2005, I anticipated a swelling of fraudulent charities to use Hurricane Katrina as a banner for ‘donations’ into personal bank accounts. What I was wrong about was expecting the donations made to legitimate charities would go to the people who need it (or, at the very least, to the massive overhead that these organizations feel they need to function).

Nope, wrong.

More than $200,000 of intended aid money was diverted by 19 Red Cross workers to friends and family. 49 people have had charges brought against them by California Prosecutors and the FBI’s even gotten involved. The temp agency who supplied the Red Cross with these workers, Spherion, said that they didn’t have time to perform background checks on these members of their job pool.

Firstly, if this company can’t perform the background checks on workers going through, who needs them? Isn’t the whole point of a temp agency to provide temporary work that doesn’t have a history that would make the client uneasy? Sounds like those weaselly freaks at Spherion only did half the job. I say they should be charged with defrauding a charitable organization. They billed Red Cross from A and B, yet only did half the job.

Second, what does this say about the management style and coordination within a Red Cross call center? If these 19 workers didn’t have background checks done, it seems safe to assume that they hadn’t worked with Red Cross before. Yet, in the midst of this tragedy, they were able to figure out the Red Cross’s check dispersal process well enough to almost get away with $200,00? And the only reason someone noticed was because the number was so high. They just got greedy, is all. If they stole only $150,000 they might have gotten away scott free. Isn’t one of the first rules of a business that moves money around (like a casino or bank) to “watch the money”??

How many others have gotten away with a few grand here or there? If 19 temp workers got caught for a couple hundred grand, doesn’t’ it stand to reason that there are other leaks in the boat?

Finally got around to watching Troy, that epic movie starring Brad Pitt based on Homer’s Iliad. The way I see it there are two ways to look at this movie: one being as a historical piece, relating the events of the past as described in The Iliad; and second as a fictional movie inspired by past events.

As a telling of The Lilian I would say this movie falls far short. Is only built around perhaps six key plot anchors from The Iliad.

1. There was a war between Greece and Troy.
2. Achilles fought in the war.
3. Patroclus died.
4. The Trojan Horse was constructed as a rouse.
5. Achilles died.
6. Troy fell, with some fleeing with Aeneas.

The action and development between these points (and there is a lot between six points for a movie that’s more than two hours long) is more a creative interpretation of events.

Entertaining? Sure. Historical? Only in the loosest sense. And any points that the movie may gain for this can be quickly deducted for the points where it seems to be purposeful oversight. How can someone make a two+ hour movie about the Trojan War and so completely leave out the homosexuality. I mean, I’m not asking for blatant displays, but how about a little-more-than-cousinly kiss between Achilles and Patroclus, huh?

I love the logic in this matter.

Problem: The USA isn’t secure.

International Solution: We all know what a cluster fuck that is.

Domestic Solution: Pass the Patriot Act so the government won’t have to worry about pesky things like privacy interfering with investigation or arrest of persons suspected of being a threat to the nation.

Domestic Result: 9/11 Commission reports that we are not any safer today than we were at the time of the attacks.

Reaction: Extend the Patriot Act.

Look, if it isn’t working, why support it? Clearly other steps need to be taken. Maybe if the USA and Britain weren’t such asses about dividing up the Middle East in such an exploitive manner we wouldn’t be such easy targets for hate. And it’s too bad we didn’t throw a fraction of what this war is costing into research or alternative fuels to resolve that reliance on oil.

I’m sure this will solve everything though. Fifty years from now, smooth sailing….I wonder how much a bunker three miles under the equator would cost? hmm…

Hear the rain outside,
Clean, fresh, love strumming the world.
The drip drops, its life spent.

Frank went all out for his lil’ sis this holiday. A new jeep from the CJ line; seats two, FM radio, power brakes, electric, top speed of 5 mph and pretty purple and pink.

While Fisher Price’s Jeep is a frustrating thing to assemble, we got it together in less time than it would take to replace a head-gasket on a standard engine (though more time than an oil change and brake change).

The most frustrating was the misshapen screw we ran into. That’ll have to be replaced. Also, it would be a lot easier to get together if the screws didn’t look so much alike, but at least they didn’t have any strange torques.

Pictures!
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In case anyone missed the news, new numbers from China raise their economy’s rank to #4 in the world, surpassing Britain. Germany, the current #3 economy shouldn’t get complacent; China is attempting to make more of a presence in the global auto industry. Already an attractive site for foreign manufactures, China is poised to use its position within the WTO as a springboard for Chinese cars to be sold outside of China. Just as people scoffed at the idea of a Korean company successfully selling cars in the US, so too are people naturally sceptical of Chinese imports even showing up in American show rooms.

Remember, Japanese, German, and American car companies are already manufacturing cars and components in China. It’s a lot easier to replicate a product one’s you’ve already been part of the team assembling them.

All opportunities for pardon being exhausted, Tookie Williams, notorious for the creation of the Crips gang, was executed this morning (time of death, 12:35 AM).

Given, the Crips gang, and ensuing gang tensions, have claimed countless lives either as murders or just being turned to garbage through drug use, to kill Tookie for the murder of four people almost three decades ago just seems like an emotional reaction to his role in founding the Crips. Yeah, bad shit to establish what is now a major gang, but if he’s in jail though most of their career (where he was rehabilitated, wrote children’s books, and became and advocate AGAINST gang violence) how much can he be blamed for the organization and leadership to turn a few thugs into such a major gang?

By denying clemency for Tookie, the only thing we express is how quickly our burn-him-at-the-stake, eye-for-an-eye, Christian vengeance emotions can take over our minds. Of course, I’m using ‘our’ in the general sense. Does not religion teach mercy and forgiveness as the highest ideal? First, if Tookie is reformed and actually advocating for a positive change in society, doesn’t that make him better than those with hate and contempt in their hearts for him? Second, do we punish the crime or the person who committed it? If the person has changed and his past action is what being punished at what point do we forgive?

Perhaps that level of benevolence is beyond most of us. Should that be true, the State of California may have executed a man who attained a superior spiritual posture through his incarceration.

It’s not enough that I butcher the Chinese language when I mix elements of mandarin and English (either as slang or because I just don’t know enough Chinese words), but now I extend this shameful pattern to Chinese cooking.

Who’s familiar with Chinese green-onion pancakes? They’re like a tortilla, cooked crispy in a pan. Pretty good, but not too filling. I sure fixed that though. Start with one green-onion pancake (cooked), add sauerkraut liberally, top with a few spoonfuls of salsa verde, and enjoy.

Not just good, 太好了 good!

Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect. Often used as business jargon to describe companies cooperating with companies under the same corporate umbrella; think of it like dating in the south, might as well do it with someone close to the family, right?

That’s what I thought…
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Can you imagine what a “holy shit” moment it was for the first guy who found out that parrots could talk. Just think there’s this guy with a hut and wife, out climbing some tree to pick bananas like he always does. He yells down to his son, like he always does, that he’s about to throw down a bunch and all of a sudden this bright-ass green bird yells right back at him.

Whoa boy, what a trip.