We'll see...

Great...just great!

October 9, 2013 7:48 AM

Kabul (AFP) - Taliban militants fighting US troops in Afghanistan taunted Washington over the government shutdown on Wednesday, accusing US politicians of "sucking the blood of their own people".

The Islamist militants issued a statement describing how US institutions were "paralysed", the Statue of Liberty was closed and a fall in tourist numbers had hit shops, restaurants and hotels in the capital.

"The American people should realise that their politicians play with their destinies as well as the destinies of other oppressed nations for the sake of their personal vested interests," the Taliban said.

The insurgents accused "selfish and empty-minded American leaders" of taking US citizens' money "earned with great difficulty" and then "lavishly spending the same money in shedding the blood of the innocent and oppressed people".

"Instead of sucking the blood of their own people... this money should be utilised for the sake of peace," they added.

The US embassy in Kabul has said that it expects "to function normally in the short term" due to the shutdown, though its Twitter feed would not be regularly updated.

Embassy press staff were not immediately available to comment on the rebels' statement.

The Taliban, who were ousted from power in a US-backed offensive in 2001, often use their website to issue colourful verbal attacks on Washington and the Kabul government.

About 57,000 US troops are deployed in Afghanistan, with most of them set to pull out by the end of the next year.

The US shutdown has seen hundreds of thousands of workers sent home without pay after Congress failed to pass a budget for the 2014 fiscal year that began October 1.

November 26, 2007

"If a Cluttered Desk is a Sign of a Cluttered Mind, What's an Empty Desk a Sign Of?" -Albert Einstein

“Mess is complete, in that it embraces all sorts of random elements. 

Mess tells a story: you can learn a lot about people from their detritus, 

whereas neat—well, neat is a closed book. Neat has no narrative and no personality.”

It's a shame that authors Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman didn't use Al Gore's office (image credit: Time Inc) as examples in their book A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder. While Abrahamson and Freedman concede an office must have enough space for the occupant to actually work, they also contend that people who tend toward a cluttered desk also tend to get loads accomplished -the piles are a retraceable trail of work flow:

“When things are carefully arranged and kept in their ‘proper’ time and place and done in precisely the ‘right’ way every time, you lock out some highly useful qualities—such as improvisation, adaptability, and serendipity.”

Perspective...

 Amoeba

Untethered!

This 25-Year-Old Hasn't Owned a Cell Phone in 4 Years, and Loves It

By Megan Rose Dickey | Business Insider – 22 hours ago

Ben Brast-McKie on right (Ben Brast-McKie)

Could you imagine living without a smartphone?

What about living without a cell phone at all?

Ben Brast-McKie, a 25-year-old tutor in the midst of applying to graduate programs in philosophy, decided to ditch his cell phone altogether back in August 2009, right before his trip to India.

Brast-McKie also doesn't use Facebook, Twitter, or any other forms of social media. 

"The reason is just that they don't really appeal to me," McKie told Business Insider. "I felt averted to the idea of creating a digital identity to publish online. I am not some digital profile. I don't know why I would want to be receiving tweets or what have you. I don't like spending too much time transfixed by a screen; it feels like life is passing me by."

He uses a landline phone sometimes, but only once or twice a month. The only other technologies he relies on are his laptop for writing and reading papers, email, and Google Voice. 

Down the road, Brast-McKie isn't necessarily sure if he'll ever get a cell phone again. 

"I like not having one, though it is also constantly challenging," Brast-McKie says. "I am constantly facing challenges from my peers. But I think I'll keep on going so long as it makes sense. I'm not opposed to having a cell phone again one day; I am opposed to the abuse and overuse phones."

The best part about not having a cell phone, Brast-McKie says, is being present all the time, wherever he is. Living without a cell phone has also taught him to be self-sufficient, and to trust his own abilities to deal with new situations. 

Think, for example, how a lot of us blindly rely on Google Maps when navigating through cities. 

But living without a cell phone doesn't come without its qualms. 

These are the worst parts about not having a phone, in Brast-McKie's words:

• Other people assuming that I am judgmental of them or their lifestyle.
• Constant, subtle pressure from others to get a phone.
• Most of my close friends have at one point or another told me to get a phone.
• Attempting to make plans with others who do not otherwise make plans, or stick to them.
• Constantly having to explain to people that I don't have a phone.
• Others being critical, or put off.

Last December, a close friend of Brast-McKie's was putting a lot of pressure on him to get a cell phone.  So he wrote him a letter via email to explain his motivations. 

Here's an excerpt from the letter: 

"I got my phone when I was 17, around the same time I got a car. This is when my social life exploded. I was all over the Bay, driving and coordinating between people, places, events, etc. It was great, but it was also all I knew. I did not know what it was like to socialize the way that my parents grew up. I didn't know what it was like to have a car but no cell phone, or neither, and be at an age of relative independence. All I knew was what I had and I explored its powers, only later coming to find its limitations.

What changed? First I noticed that I had developed many compulsive tendencies. I would feel the 'itch' as Corey so vividly depicted. I would also feel the 'leash' if you know what I mean. The phone became a constant interruption. It doesn't matter that the people interrupting are people I knew and loved. It was still an interruption. I noticed myself being interrupted, breaking the natural cadence of my conversations. I noticed others doing the same to me. At first this was socially 'rude.' People would apologize but do it anyways. But this didn't last very long. Now it is accepted and expected. The idea of being wholly present to each other and the conversation was to be archived as something of the past.

These observations of mine ran in tandem with a broader project: to know myself. Part of what this meant to me then was expanding my own awareness of my states of consciousness. I was working on being mindful, present, and non-judgmental. These aims fell into direct tension with my engagement with the constantly evolving social landscape that I was struggling to understand. I found my cell phone and its interruptions a distraction, breaking my ability to remain present and mindful of where and what I was, and was doing then. The itch was just as bad. Instead of being at peace with what was, I often felt anxious about the ebb and flow of some social something I was working to pull together or participate in one way or another. I would find myself thinking, 'I should call this person; I should text so and so.' The timing was important. It was convenience in overdrive to the point of exhaustion. This is something we Americans specialize at."

BUSINESS INSIDER

Who knew?

10 Ways to Wear Fall's Hottest Hue

By Connie Wang, Refinery29

You know the color. A juicy red with a slight orange lean, the exact shade that's been your go-to lipstick hue all summer long. Why? It's pretty much perfect. Feminine yet never heavy-handed, quirky without looking clownish, and bold enough to make a statement without overpowering your look.

Guess what - the trick applies to your clothes, as well. You just need one item, be it a clutch, an earring, a shoe or a shirt to throw into the mix. With neutrals, graphics, or even other bold hues, this cherry-lipstick red is our pet color this season.