Prize @ MindSay

How people can so easily be taken by so-called honors has always puzzled me. The press regularly touts Pulitzers, for instance, but why? Joseph Pulitzer was not interested in truthful journalism. After purchasing the New York World, he changed it to focus on human-interest stories, scandal, and sensationalism. Excellent journalism was never a priority of his, and the prizes reflect it. So does the mainstream press which is yellower than ever in both the conventional journalistic sense and the colloquial sense of cowardly.

Even worse, however, are the Nobels. Alfred Nobel established the prizes in his will after having been called a "merchant of death" by a French newspaper. Although mostly remembered today as the inventor of dynamite, Nobel was mainly an arms manufacturer. Apparently he established the prizes to assuage his guilt, which is reminiscent of the Emperor Constantine's conversion to Christianity on his deathbed in hopes of escaping eternal punishment for his many horrid deeds.

And the prizes have not been distinguished. Nobels are political prizes. They are almost always given to those committed to Western civilization and Capitalism. When given to non-westerners, the recipients are always those who are critical of the non-western civilizations they live or lived in. From the Nobel Committee's point of view, nothing is prize worthy that isn't Western.

Most of the economics prizes have gone to conventional American economists, and look at the mess they have gotten the world-wide economy in. And the Peace Prize recipients are a study in themselves. Arafat, Peres, Rabin, Wiesel, Sadat, Begin, Kissinger, Chamberlain all received it. If you survey the complete list of ninety recipients, you will not even recognize most of the names. If anything distinguishes these people, it is their failure to produce peace. In fact Alfred Nobel didn't even call it a peace prize: "the fifth prize is to be given to the person or society that renders the greatest service to the cause of international fraternity, in the suppression or reduction of standing armies, or in the establishment or furtherance of peace congresses [emphasis mine]." The attainment of peace is not one of the criteria. Mother Teresa received the prize; she had nothing whatsoever to do with war and peace.

So now Obama has gotten the prize. Big deal! Why was it awarded to him? Because he, like all Western diplomats, talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. He talks change but implements none. He appointed people with deep ties to the banking industry to the treasury who then bailed out the bankers and protected their bonuses. When the treasury bailed out the auto industry, it reduced the wages and benefits of workers. He reappointed a Bush holdover to Secretary of Defense (read perpetual war) and is in the process of expanding the war in Afghanistan and extending it into Pakistan. He continues America's unqualified support for Israel which is the main destabilizing circumstance in the Middle East. His healthcare reform has turned into an insurance industry, medical provider, and pharmaceutical company income enhancement bill. He is a protector of the economic status quo and a hegemonist—a true child of a decadent civilization, exactly what the Nobel Committee looks for. The deadly arms manufacturer would be highly pleased.

©2009 John Kozy

Law enforcement, fire, military and other emergency services personnel are our American Heroes. Did one of your parents, a sibling, a friend or even an anonymous American Hero touch your life? Who is your American Hero and what is their story? American Heroes Press is looking for the best stories about our heroes. You don't have to be a member of the law enforcement, fire, military or emergency services community to enter. You simply need to share your story concerning these unique individuals – whether funny, compelling or truly life-altering

 

The contest launches Nov. 3, 2008. We will accept submissions through Jan. 31, 2009. Winners will be announced April 1, 2009.

 

Grand Prize

One Grand-Prize-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:

 

Choice of $200 cash, or $250 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package

Featured spot for his/her Grand-Prize winning story in the contest anthology

Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology

 

Runner-Up

One Runner-Up-winning story will be selected. The author of the story will receive the following prizes:

 

Choice of $100 cash, or $150 credit toward an American Heroes Publishing package

Featured spot for his/her Runner-Up winning story in the contest anthology

Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology

 

Finalists

Fifteen Finalist stories will be selected. Each finalist author will receive the following prizes:

 

Inclusion of his/her winning story in the contest anthology

Printed and bound copy of the finished anthology

 

All participants will be eligible to receive an electronic copy of the finished anthology.

 

CLICK HERE FOR CONTEST DETAILS

 

About American Heroes Press

American Heroes Press is more than just a means of publishing your book. It's a growing, active and innovative community of writers. Retired police Lt. Raymond E. Foster of the Los Angeles Police Department started this community in 2003. Today it offers a brand of publishing designed specifically for true American Heroes: police, military, firefighters and emergency workers. As an American Hero, great things are accomplished through teamwork. This community – this team – is here to help you achieve success with your literary work.

 

More information about American Heroes Press can be found at: www.americanheroespress.com

It's spring break. Spring break is always a hard time, cause I'm at home all day staring at the food. I just won't think about it. It doesn't deserve to be thought of. I'll just go make some tea..to fill myself up. And some water.

So my day started off like this; I woke up at 9, and then my friend called( I have a feeling she's anorexic, but I'm not going to say anything about it) to say that we weren't going to be able to meet bc one of my other friends has to do something family related.
OH SHOOT! I just remembered..my g-mas coming over for dinner, with easter candy, and I don't know how I'm going to manage to not eat. Anyway, I'll figure it out.
So then I woke up and had a 1)capoccino. about 100 calories.
2) about 2 bowls of shredded wheat. dammit. 550 calories.
soooo..about 650 calories. But then I have soccer practice this afternoon..always an intense workout,
Although I am afraid that if I lost weight too fast, I'll be too weak to play. Plus if I get mal-nurished. hmmm..
can't be helped.
I'm hoping to get my calorie intake down to 500 calories a day, with fasting in between. I can do it, because I have done it before. I know it.
So today I'm hoping to read this book "Cry the beloved country", and do homework, then go to soccer, then start on this huge history project. I'd also like to get in some core violin practincing, and piano practicing, and clean my room, and start writing a hymn for a contest( prize: 250 dollars; think about all the clothes I could buy with that! Of course, after I get down to 100 lbs.)

11:50 pm
Dammit. Shit. Stupid fucking grandmas and their stupid fucking Easter candy.

    So there's this big prize give-a-way at my school to people who sell tickets. There were a bunch of prizes. There was a Game Boy Advance SP, a small set of golf clubs, a $100 coupon to Jimmy Johns , and an assortment of big-ass watches.

I got one of the big-ass watches. It's made by Triumph   Here's what it looks like:


    It's fucking huge in real life. My wrists are way too small for this thing. I gotta sell it.

    Now a few of you might be angry saying:"Acez, why didn't you get the coupon to Jimmy Johns? I mean, it Jimmy Fucking Johns!"  Well,  I  didn't  want the  SP cuz  I have a DS,  I don't golf a lot, and I don't know how good Jimmy John subs are. So get off my case!

Also, I'm going to use that  money for a good purpose: buying a Zune.

Muhammad Yunus, A banker in Bangladesh won the Nobel Peace Prize for giving out loans to the poor.  A loan he dubbed as a Micro Loan has been given out in poverty stricken areas to people with ideas on starting some type of business. The businesses usually simple but range from a few laying chickens to a cell phone.
Up to date he has given out over a 100 million loans.  That's a lot of paper work.
The usual loan consists of what most working Americans have in their pockets or approximately 200 dollars.  Whats really strange is that he has a 99% pay back ratio.  Imagine that.  Another odd fact is that 97% percent of the loans are to women.

The banker is still being criticized because of his loan rates which is at least 10 % higher to the poor.  Maybe they should look over here a moment,  That's just happens in America as well. Poor people pay twice as much as the rich.  40 bucks for 200 dollars works for me if it would move my life in any way, unfortunately that's a months toilette paper in my home.

Whats does disturb me however is that as the story goes on, some of these villages are so poor that they deal in pennies or the equivalent.  A woman had stated that she borrows 9 cents for bamboo to make furniture to sell at the market but by the time she is done with all she gets 2 cents as profit.  The Banker conducted a study on the village and discovered that 47 citizens were in debt up to a grand total of $27.00   yes 27 bucks.
He being the noted humanitarian forked out 27 bucks and said here liberate yourselves.  You can pay me back later.  
A millionaire asking for 27 bucks back from some of the poorest humans on the planet.  Most of us flick more than that into the hands of bums on the streets. 
I am going to start asking those filthy bastards to start paying me back.

I do have a question though,  is this the quality of a nobel peace prize winner or a clever banker.
Over a 100 millions petty loans with 20-40 dollar profits on it.
Do the math