But worry not, I am not going to try to sell you an insurance policy nor even recommend one.
Quite the reverse in fact.
Many people have some kind of life insurance for the financial protection of their families if they should be unfortunate to pass away unexpectedly.
It is usually for enough money to pay off the mortgage with a little left over to provide some kind of income for the wife and kids.
At least that’s how it should be.
But there is a growing trend for employers to insure their employees. A nice gesture you might think at first. Until you find out that the beneficiary of the insurance would not be the survivors or estate of the insured employee, but the corporate pension plan!
It is unofficially known as “dead peasant” insurance, and hundreds of corporations have already taken out policies worth hundreds of billions of dollars, on thousands of employees, providing companies with a steady stream of income as current and former employees die – even decades after they have retired or left the company.
And new “dead peasant”policies worth at least $1 billion are being put in place every year!
Unsurprisingly the greedy money-grabbing banksters are especially fond of the practice. Bank of America’s policies have a cash surrender value of at least $17.6 billion; Wells Fargo’s at least $12.7 billion; and JPMorgan Chase at least $5 billion, according to filings with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council.
Of course the tax-men are to blame too – aren’t they always? – because so-called company-owned life insurance offers employers generous tax breaks. For example, company-paid premiums are tax-free, as are any investment returns on the policies and the death benefits eventually received. Although having said that it has to be admitted (grudgingly) that the I.R.S. has taken companies including Winn-Dixie and Camelot Music to court for using such policies as tax avoidance schemes.
Many people faced with a request from an employer to consent to such a policy are too afraid not to comply in case it affects their job or promotion prospects. They shouldn’t be because that would probably be illegal as well as unethical. Class-action lawsuits against several companies with such policies are already underway or have been settled. Several companies, including Walmart, settled the suits, paying millions to low-ranking employees who had been covered.
So if you are uncomfortable with the thought that your company might profit from your death, don’t sign up.
And as for the corporations? I’m as fond of making a few bucks as the next man, but you have to draw a line somewhere and I think corporations should be content with the contribution their employees make to their company profits when they are alive, instead of conniving to profit from their deaths also.
If you know about history, geography, politics, technology, music, movies, cars and a lot of other stuff then you should do okay.
And as always, if you get stuck , you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: Who or what is a ‘FLOTUS’?
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Q. 2: Most of you will have heard of the company called ‘3M’ but what do the three ‘M’s stand for?
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Q. 3: Everyone has heard about the Titanic and probably seen at least one of the movies depicting its fateful inaugural voyage, but to which shipping line did the Titanic belong?
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Q. 4: What waterway did Britain buy a share of in 1875?
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Q. 5: In 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by which male member of his family?
a) son b) grandson c) nephew d) father
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Q. 6: What are the terms ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ abbreviations of? (A point for each correct answer.)
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Q. 7: In 1935, British engineer Robert Watson-Watt was working on a ‘death ray’ that would destroy enemy aircraft using radio waves. What did he invent instead?
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Q. 8: General Leopoldo Galtieri was president of which South American country in 1981 and 1982?
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Q. 9: When did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin and in what year was it demolished? (A point for each correct answer.)
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Q. 10: What makes of car were featured in the following movies? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you get them all correct.)
a) Herbie, The Love Bug b) Back To The Future
c) Smokey And The Bandit d) Bullitt
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Q. 11: In which year did South Africa have its first all-race elections?
a) 1990 b) 1992 c) 1994 d) 1996
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Q. 12: One of the best television mini-series ever made was the western ‘Lonesome Dove’, but what were the names of the two lead characters and who were the actors who played them? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get all four names correct.)
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Q. 13: Held by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor, what is the current Men’s High Jump World Record?
a) 2.37 m b) 2.39 m c) 2.41 m d) 2.45 m e) 2.47 m
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Q. 14: ‘Operation Barbarossa’ was the codename used by the Germans for their plans to invade which country in 1941?
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Q. 15: What is considered to be the hottest desert in North America? (A bonus point if you know in which State it is located.)
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Q. 16: Who was ‘Mork’ and who was ‘Mindy’ in the hit TV sitcom ‘Mork & Mindy’ originally broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name both correctly.)
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Q. 17: From which country did Norway secure its independence in 1905?
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Q. 18: Approximately how many rifles did American factories produce during World War II?
a) 1 million b) 3 million c) 5 million d) 7 million e) 9 million
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Q. 19: It is the name of a hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange and Winston Churchill’s wife, what is it?
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Q. 20: Who was ‘Talking To The Moon’ in 2011?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: Who or what is a ‘FLOTUS’?
A. 1: FLOTUS is the First Lady Of The United States, or currently Mrs Obama.
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Q. 2: Most of you will have heard of the company called ‘3M’ but what do the three ‘M’s stand for?
A. 2: ‘3M’ is an abbreviation of ‘Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing’.
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Q. 3: Everyone has heard about the Titanic and probably seen at least one of the movies depicting its fateful inaugural voyage, but to which shipping line did the Titanic belong?
A. 3: The name is mentioned in the movies, it is the White Star Line.
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Q. 4: What waterway did Britain buy a share of in 1875?
A. 4: The Suez Canal.
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Q. 5: In 1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated by which male member of his family?
a) son b) grandson c) nephew d) father
A. 5: Answer c) his nephew.
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Q. 6: What are the terms ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ abbreviations of? (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 6: ‘Hi-Fi’ and ‘Wi-Fi’ are abbreviations of ‘High Fidelity’ and ‘Wireless Fidelity’.
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Q. 7: In 1935, British engineer Robert Watson-Watt was working on a ‘death ray’ that would destroy enemy aircraft using radio waves. What did he invent instead?
A. 7: Robert Watson-Watt’s ‘death ray’ evolved into RADAR, otherwise known as ‘radio detection and ranging’.
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Q. 8: General Leopoldo Galtieri was president of which South American country in 1981 and 1982?
A. 8: Argentina.
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Q. 9: When did the construction of the Berlin Wall begin and in what year was it demolished? (A point for each correct answer.)
A. 9: Construction of the Berlin Wall began in 1961 (August 13th) and it was demolished in 1989.
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Q. 10: What makes of car were featured in the following movies? (A point for each correct answer, and a bonus point if you get them all correct.)
a) Herbie, The Love Bug b) Back To The Future
c) Smokey And The Bandit d) Bullitt
A. 10: a) Herbie, The Love Bug featured a Volkswagen Beetle
b) Back To The Future featured a DeLorean DMC-12
c) Smokey And The Bandit featured a Pontiac Trans Am
d) Bullitt featured a Ford Mustang GT fastback
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Q. 11: In which year did South Africa have its first all-race elections?
a) 1990 b) 1992 c) 1994 d) 1996
A. 11: The correct answer is c) 1994.
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Q. 12: One of the best television mini-series ever made was the western ‘Lonesome Dove’, but what were the names of the two lead characters and who were the actors who played them? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you get all four names correct.)
A. 12: The two lead characters in the Lonesome Dove TV miniseries were ‘Captain Augustus “Gus” McCrae’, played by Robert Duvall, and ‘Captain Woodrow F. Call’, played by Tommy Lee Jones.
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Q. 13: Held by Cuban athlete Javier Sotomayor, what is the current Men’s High Jump World Record?
a) 2.37 m b) 2.39 m c) 2.41 m d) 2.45 m e) 2.47 m
A. 13: The correct answer is d) 2.45 m (8 ft 1/2 in), achieved in Salamanca, Spain on July 27th 1993.
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Q. 14: ‘Operation Barbarossa’ was the codename used by the Germans for their plans to invade which country in 1941?
A. 14: It was the codename for their plans to invade Russia.
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Q. 15: What is considered to be the hottest desert in North America? (A bonus point if you know in which State it is located.)
A. 15: The Mojave Desert, located primarily in southeastern California is considered to be the hottest desert in North America.
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Q. 16: Who was ‘Mork’ and who was ‘Mindy’ in the hit TV sitcom ‘Mork & Mindy’ originally broadcast from 1978 until 1982 on ABC? (A point for each correct answer and a bonus point if you can name both correctly.)
A. 16: The series starred Robin Williams as Mork and Pam Dawber as Mindy McConnell.
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Q. 17: From which country did Norway secure its independence in 1905?
A. 17: Sweden.
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Q. 18: Approximately how many rifles did American factories produce during World War II?
a) 1 million b) 3 million c) 5 million d) 7 million e) 9 million
A. 18: The correct answer is d) approximately 7 million rifles were produced in American factories during WWII.
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Q. 19: It is the name of a hybrid between a mandarin and a sweet orange and Winston Churchill’s wife, what is it?
I was sounding off a bit in last week’s Sunday Sermon about the state of things in Iraq, a mess created by blundering American and British intervention in a situation they did not, and still do not understand.
Last week I concentrated on the fact that ISIS, the al Qaeda splinter group – big name, ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ – has now seized large parts of northern Iraq, with consequent freeing of prisoners, fleeing of frightened former residents of that area and even unconfirmed reports of ‘mass beheadings’. Other reports of mass executions of official Iraqi army personnel seem to have been confirmed.
Presumably there will be worse to come.
All in the name of an Islamic State?
Well, hold on, maybe not just that.
It turns out that as Iraq descends into what will probably be a bloody civil war, the ISIS-al Qaeda forces have taken time to raid Mosul’s central bank and relieve it of some 500 billion Iraqi dinars, worth approximately $425 million.
Mosul is not only the largest city in northern Iraq, it is an oil hub at the vital intersection of Syria, Iraq and Turkey, thus providing rich pickings for the terrorists.
They also reportedly stole additional $ millions from a number of other banks across Mosul and what has only been quantified as a “large quantity of gold bullion.”
Others towns and cities, like Saddam Hussein’s old home town Tikrit, have suffered a similar fate.
As a result of all this George Bush / Tony Bliar created disaster, the ISIS/al Qaeda chief, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a previously relatively unknown figure, is now the leader of perhaps the ‘world’s richest terror force’.
(Quick side note to President Obama – I’m sure he reads this blog 🙂
– Hi Barrack, you can stop using American taxpayers’ money
to fund these ISIS terrorists in Syria, they have enough money now.)
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In fact, to put the latest cash haul in perspective, at the time of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the US, Al-Qaeda had been working with an operating budget of around $30 million (source ‘Council on Foreign Relations’), so even allowing for inflation they are substantially richer today, and by definition have it in their power to do much more damage not just in the Middle East region, but worldwide.
As regional analyst Brown Moses succinctly put it on Twitter, this recent haul of ill gotten gains will “buy a whole lot of Jihad……For example, with $425 million, ISIS could pay 60,000 fighters around $600 a month for a year.”
It might even do a lot more. ISIS has already attracted 12,000 militants from abroad, 3,000 of whom are from the West. With bought mercenaries on board things can only get worse.
When Bush and Blair used Words of Mass Deception about Saddam Hussein having Weapons of Mass destruction as a bogus excuse to attack Iraq there were no terrorists and no terrorist threat from that country. Thanks to their lies, deceit and incompetence, there are now.
If this is an ‘improvement’ I can’t see it – can you?
We all know that one of Steve Jobs favorite things was selling people well designed goods at vastly over inflated prices. People who were obsessed by having the latest gimmicks, bought his stuff in droves at whatever price Jobs put on them and in the process made Apple one of the richest companies in the world.
That’s what you call business, not quite ethical perhaps, but if you can get away with it and you can find people who are silly enough to pay far too much for your goods then why not?
What the creation of this ‘new’ market also did was spawn clones or look-a-likes from companies wanting to cash in on the windfall initially created by Apple.
Many of these are quite legitimate, like the Samsung Galaxy models which have become just as popular as the iPhones and are just as good, if not better, IMHO.
But what has also happened is that the same success has spawned a series of non-legitimate clones – from China – which look the same and provide many of the same functions, although the build quality as with much of the junk emanating from China is very poor.
Apple Iphone, Samsung Galaxy S5, Star N9500
So, getting back to the question posed in the title of this post, if you are thinking of buying yourself a smart phone – and you are also thinking of saving a bit of money and buying one of those iPhone or Samsung Galaxy look-a-likes from China – think again.
This week a German firm called ‘G Data’ (which has a US subsidiary) released information that a popular brand of Chinese-made smart phone, the ‘Star N9500’, which is sold internationally by several major retailers, including Amazon.com, has been found to contain pre-installed monitoring software – that’s spy software to you and me.
G Data said it discovered the spy software hidden deep inside the proprietary software found on the Star N9500, which is a cheap smart phone based on the popular Samsung Galaxy S4.
The hidden software contained within the phone’s operating system includes applications that could allow a third party to access and steal the telephone user’s personal information.
There are also secret applications that could permit a hacker to place calls from the telephone, or utilize the device’s microphone and camera without the consent of its owner.
And malware like this can not only allow hackers to access the telephone, but also any computers connected to it.
It was also discovered that the stolen data was being sent to a server based in, where else, China.
Adding to the intrigue, G Data’s team of experts and several journalists tried for “over a week” to track down the manufacturer of the Star N9500 by contacting several companies located in China’s southern province of Shenzhen, known as the center of the country’s telecommunications industry, but were unable to do so.
This isn’t the first time hidden spyware has been discovered in the operating software of telecommunications hardware made in China, and it probably won’t be the last.
But don’t get completely paranoid just because you read this post or other articles like it.
Just realize that the convenience that this latest technology provides, also provides criminals (which includes spying governments, you listening ennn esss ey?) easier access to your personal information.
As usual if you get stuck you can find the answers waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay down below, but please, NO cheating!
Enjoy and good luck.
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Q. 1: Who played Cameron Poe in the action movie Con Air?
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Q. 2: What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
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Q. 3: We’ve all seen the iconic ‘Jeep’, but approximately how many were built during WWII?
a) 250,000 b) 450,000 c) 650,000 d) 850,000 or e) 1,050,000
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Q. 4: Think about a map of the bottom of South America for this one, what strait separates Chile from Tierra Del Fuego?
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Q. 5: One of the most famous up-market automobile brands is BMW, but what do the letters ‘B-M-W’ stand for?
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Q. 6: Who is former government agent ‘Raymond “Red” Reddington’ in the excellent television series ‘The Blacklist’?
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Q. 7: Founded in 1592, what is the oldest university in the Republic of Ireland called?
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Q. 8: Founded in 1908 what is the oldest university in Northern Ireland called?
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Q. 9: How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
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Q. 10: What is the capital city of each of the following European countries? (A point for each correct answer, plus a bonus point if you name them all correctly.)
a) Greece b) Britain c) France d) Spain e) Portugal f) Switzerland
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Q. 11: Fifty cardinals, two flamingos and six penguins attended the 1963 London premiere of what movie?
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Q. 12: Mahatma Gandhi qualified in England for which profession before practicing in South Africa and then moving back to India?
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Q. 13: Name North America’s ‘Great Lakes’? (A point for each correct answer, plus a bonus point if you name them all correctly.)
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Q. 14: The stirring voices of Anthony Quinn, Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens were all used, albeit in different versions, to narrate what?
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Q. 15: How many states in the United States of America begin with the letter ‘C’? (Bonus points for each one you name correctly.)
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Q. 16: What American born actor of the 1930s to the 1950s shares his name with a county in Northern Ireland?
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Q. 17: Who was allegedly the first Christian Emperor of Rome and founder of Constantinople?
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Q. 18: Which fruit plays a role in the downfall of Captain Queeg in the movie ‘The Caine Mutiny’?
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Q. 19: In which year did William Shakespeare die?
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Q. 20: What member of this musical family was a ‘Long Haired Lover From Liverpool’?
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ANSWERS
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Q. 1: Who played Cameron Poe in the action movie Con Air?
A. 1: Nicolas Cage.
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Q. 2: What is the lowest number on the FM dial?
A. 2: 88.
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Q. 3: We’ve all seen the iconic ‘Jeep’, but approximately how many were built during WWII?
a) 250,000 b) 450,000 c) 650,000 d) 850,000 or e) 1,050,000
A. 3: The correct answer is c) approximately 650,000 Jeeps were built during WWII.
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Q. 4: Think about a map of the bottom of South America for this one, what strait separates Chile from Tierra Del Fuego?
A. 4: The Strait of Magellan. (Sometimes also called The Straits of Magellan.)
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Q. 5: One of the most famous up-market automobile brands is BMW, but what do the letters ‘B-M-W’ stand for?
A. 5: ‘BMW’ is an acronym for ‘Bavarian Motor Works’.
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Q. 6: Who is former government agent ‘Raymond “Red” Reddington’ in the excellent television series ‘The Blacklist’?
A. 6: James Spader.
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Q. 7: Founded in 1592, what is the oldest university in the Republic of Ireland called?
A. 7: Trinity College, aka the University of Dublin.
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Q. 8: Founded in 1908 what is the oldest university in Northern Ireland called?
A. 8: Queens University.
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Q. 9: How many hot dog buns are in a standard package?
A. 9: 8.
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Q. 10: What is the capital city of each of the following European countries? (A point for each correct answer, plus a bonus point if you name them all correctly.)
a) Greece b) Britain c) France d) Spain e) Portugal f) Switzerland
A. 10: a) Athens b) London c) Paris d) Madrid e) Lisbon f) Berne
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Q. 11: Fifty cardinals, two flamingos and six penguins attended the 1963 London premiere of what movie?
A. 11: The clue was in the question, it was the movie premier of ‘The Birds’.
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Q. 12: Mahatma Gandhi qualified in England for which profession before practicing in South Africa and then moving back to India?
A. 12: Law.
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Q. 13: Name North America’s ‘Great Lakes’? (A point for each correct answer, plus a bonus point if you name them all correctly.)
A. 13: North America’s ‘Great Lakes’ consist of Lakes ‘Superior’, ‘Michigan’, ‘Huron’, ‘Erie’, and ‘Ontario’.
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Q. 14: The stirring voices of Anthony Quinn, Richard Burton and Curd Jürgens were all used, albeit in different versions, to narrate what?
A. 14: Jeff Wayne’s musical version of ‘The War Of The Worlds’. Burton’s was used in the English version, Quinn’s in the Spanish, and Jürgens’ in the German.
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Q. 15: How many states in the United States of America begin with the letter ‘C’? (Bonus points for each one you name correctly.)
A. 15: Three states in the US begin with the letter’C’, California, Colorado and Connecticut.
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Q. 16: What American born actor of the 1930s to the 1950s shares his name with a county in Northern Ireland?
A. 16: Tyrone Power. County Tyrone is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland.
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Q. 17: Who was allegedly the first Christian Emperor of Rome and founder of Constantinople?
A. 17: Constantine The Great.
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Q. 18: Which fruit plays a role in the downfall of Captain Queeg in the movie ‘The Caine Mutiny’?
A. 18: Strawberries.
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Q. 19: In which year did William Shakespeare die?
A. 19: It should be an easy one to remember, the year was 1616.
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Q. 20: What member of this musical family was a Long Haired Lover From Liverpool?
I say hypocrisy for one simple reason, Obama – remember him, the man who was getting all the troops OUT of Iraq – wants to send them back in again because of the almighty mess that America, Britain and other western nations made blundering about in a country they didn’t understand.
It’s worse than that, of course, because Obama wants to send the troops back into Iraq to help stave off attacks by radical Islamists who have been making inroads in various parts of Iraq and are now threatening to close in on Baghdad itself.
This what he said, “I don’t rule out anything, because we do have a stake in making sure that these jihadists are not getting a permanent foothold in either Iraq or Syria.”
But hang on a minute.
There’s that stench of hypocrisy again.
Are these not the very same terrorists who Obama is supporting financially and with arms shipments in Syria?
They may have different names in different countries but these terrorists collectively want to establish an Islamic state in the region that surpasses national boundaries and governments. And from there, who knows?
It really is that simple. But it seems American foreign policy is in its usual state – completely confused, completely devoid of logic and good sense.
The mess that has been left behind in Iraq is catastrophic.
The country has more or less disintegrated politically and militarily, with Islamic militants capturing the country’s second-largest city this week after soldiers scattered, leaving their uniforms and weapons behind. So much for the $15 billion Washington (i.e., the American taxpayer) has already provided in training, weapons and equipment to the Iraqi government!
The result of this capitulation is that at least half a million ordinary citizens are understandably fleeing as the terrorists gain ground.
America’s ‘re-intervention’ will start with air strikes, possible using drones. But the chances of that doing anything more than temporarily halting the terrorists are slight. Next will come increased supplies of arms and equipment for the ‘official’ Iraqi forces. And then ‘advisors’ will be sent in – they’re probably already there, their presence will just be officially acknowledged.
There was a strong indication of what will come after that, when White House spokesman Jay Carney said. “We are not contemplating ground troops, I want to be clear about that.”
I have seldom seen a clearer admission that the White House is actively considering sending ground troops back into Iraq!
SoS Kerry has been wheeled out again to tell the world that the situation presently is not just a threat to Iraq, but to the United States and the rest of the world. We all know that John. What we also know – and what you don’t – is that more blundering about in a situation you do not understand, more young American live sacrificed for nothing, and more brave souls maimed for life to satisfy political whims won’t make things any better.
Will common sense ever prevail? Sadly I very much doubt it. The lack of understanding exhibited by the politicians seems to span all parties.
The lunatics are in charge of the asylum.
So there’s more stupidity on the way!
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Ethno-religious map of Iraq, courtesy of the Washington Post
fasab 