It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

taken 22 Dec, 2005 @ office--all alone in the office, bar two

So I was checking the blog yesterday, and noticed that good blogger friend Daniel is off to New York. In fact, he must be there by now. If you are reading this, Daniel, best of luck, and safe journey back to the U.K.!

I'm not quite sure where this post is going, except that I want to leave something meaningful to my fellow bloggers...

At this time of year, anger rears its head up very easily, so it's something I think we all have to watch out for. I am very saddened by the fact that I told my ex that a. she has an unreasonable attitude; b. she was proud; c. I don't love her anymore--especially at this time of year.

But it was important--for me to move on, and find other pastures, as it were. I do not intend to be anyone's doormat--just because they know I love them.

I am reminded also that it is this period that many people of my generation--my contemporaries--are feeling disillusioned by Christmas. It's not about the religious connotation, but more about what to do during this time. Many are telling me they will be sleeping, or staying in bed, and I am like "what?!". They look at me starngely when I say I will be having dinner with my parents...

I'd like to know what is wrong with having dinner with your parents at Christmas time? or trying to be child-like and enjoying the season?

After all, if you cannot do it in this season, when can you do it?

I think this will definitely be my last post of 2005, and I'd like to also send a shout-out to Steph, of Less is a possibility.com fame--thanks for stopping by!!

Once again, have yourself a seriously Merry Christmas and a stupendous New Year!!

And So It's Christmas Time Again

Xmas party at the office with my lonely xmas tree in the corner of the kitchen

I have loved.

I have hated.

I have grieved.

I have slept.

I have dreamt.

I have told my ex she was proud, and unreasonable.

I have fancied women.

I have fantasised about women.

I have known hurt, and pain, and a broken heart

I have known distrust, and caused distrust.

I have lost weight, anad put it on again.

I have chartered unknown waters.

I have tried to work hard

I have dreamt, and not made dreams my master; I have thought and not made thoughts my aim.

I think I can safely say, it's been a tumultuous, yet interesting year.

Today is officially the last day of work, but I'll try and post my last post tomorrow.

Thankyou fellow bloggers for coming into my life and enriching it: (Mel; sissoula; daniel; new age harlot; laura tooth; JeN; saurkraut; and many other who passed through)

I am sorry I have not been visiting your blog--not for wanting but because of work constraints. In the New Year, the trend will be reversed!

I wish you ALL a very merry christmas and prosperous new year in advance!!

plenty of hugs!,
e

Sorry Folks, But Almost Through (as are the WTO Talks in Hong Kong)

At this time of year, given the flurry of the excitement--whether artifical or not is a moot point-- most people are going to pretend to be working very hard to finish things they postponed for aeons.

I am no exception:-)

So it will probably not come as any surprise to you that I am rather inundated by the intellectual cacophony over the almost-abortive trade talks in Hong Kong.

This is both at work, and otherwise.

For no idea what I am talking about, you might want to check the website of the much-hated World Trade Organisation here.

I do love it really.

Not.

Another Example of How the Bush administration Continues to Browbeat the World (Internet Governance)

From: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/12/02/rice_eu_letter/

Read the letter that won the internet governance battle

Condoleezza Rice's missive to the EU

By Kieren McCarthy

Published Friday 2nd December 2005 09:07 GMT

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The World Summit in Tunis last month was overshadowed by the global argument over internet governance.

Its biggest controversy came with the proposition put forward by the EU a month earlier that there be a new inter-governmental body that oversee ICANN. The US government - which currently enjoys unilateral control over the internet infrastructure - was furious and launched an enormous lobbying campaign, both public and private, across the board to retain its position.

Most significant among all those lobbying efforts was a letter sent from the US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice to the UK foreign minister Jack Straw acting in the role of presidency of the EU.

In the letter, Rice used strong language for a diplomatic missive, to stress how seriously the US administration was taking the issue and how determined it was to retain ICANN in overall charge of the internet. European diplomats privately confessed that the letter had a significant impact on their position.

The result was that the EU never raised its inter-governmental forum again in World Summit meetings, and the end agreement stuck with the US position.

This is the first time time the full text of that letter has been published:

---

7 November 2005

To:

The Right Honourable Jack Straw MP, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, London

Dear Foreign Secretary,

The governance structure and continued stability and sustainability of the Internet are of paramount importance to the United States. The Internet has become an essential infrastructure for global communications, including for global trade and commerce, and therefore we firmly believe that support for the present structures for Internet governance is vital. These structures have proven to be a reliable foundation for the robust growth of the Internet we have seen over the course of the last decade.

As we approach the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), we should underscore the vast potential of the Internet for global economic expansion, poverty alleviation, and for improving health, education and other public services, particularly in the developing world where Internet access remain unacceptably low.

The Internet will reach its full potential as a medium and facilitator for global economic expansion and development in an environment free from burdensome intergovernmental oversight and control. The success of the Internet lies in its inherently decentralized nature, with the most significant growth taking place at the outer edges of the network through innovative new applications and services. Burdensome, bureaucratic oversight is out of place in an Internet structure that has worked so well for many around the globe. We regret the recent positions on Internet governance(i.e., the “new cooperation model”) offered by the European Union, the Presidency of which is currently held by the United Kingdom, seems to propose just that - a new structure of intergovernmental control over the Internet.

The four principles the United States issues on June 30, 2005, reinforce the continuing U.S. commitment to the Internet’s security and stability, including through the historical U.S. role in authorizing changes or modifications to the authoritative root zone file. At that time, we also expressed our support for ICANN as the appropriate private sector technical coordinator of the Internet’s domain name and addressing system. We believe that ICANN is dedicated to achieving broad representation of global Internet communities and to developing policy through consensus-based processes. We have also expressed our interest in working with the international community to address legitimate public policy and sovereignty concerns with respect to country code top-level domains (ccTLD). We wish to underscore that, in our statement of June 30, we supported ongoing dialogue on issues related to Internet governance across international forums.

The United States and the European Union have long worked together toward the goal of global access to the Internet. The WSIS offers us the opportunity to reaffirm our partnership to spread the benefits of the Internet globally. At the same time, the security and stability of the Internet are essential to the United States, the European Union, and to the world. We firmly believe that the existing Internet system balances the stability and security we need with the innovation and dynamism that private sector leadership provides.

The history of the Internet’s extraordinary growth and adaptation , based on private-sector innovation and investment, offers compelling arguments against burdening the network with a new intergovernmental structure for oversight. It also suggests that a new intergovernmental structure would most likely become an obstacle to global Internet access for all our citizens. It is in this spirit that we ask the European Union to reconsider its new position on Internet governance and work together with us to bring the benefits of the Information Society to all.

Sincerely,

Carlos M. Guiterrez Secretary of Commerce

Condoleezza Rice Secretary of State

 

Food for Thought: Are you a Good, or Bad, Girl?

Bad girls are fun in parties and sex, but boring in family life

2005/11/23

Millions of girls that live on planet Earth and make men's lives better, brighter and healthier, can generally be divided into two major categories: good girls and bad girls. Of course, if a man meets one of the girls from the second of the two categories, his life will get nerve-racking, dull and sick. An evaluation criterion is quite simple. It has to do with a stranger asking a girl for favors. A good girl will say a quick and categorical "no" while a bad one will ask the man "when". There is a set of virtues and shortcomings both types of the girls are bestowed with.

Let us talk about the bad girls first and make a list of their unquestionable virtues.

Their ability to be great fun is on top of the list. They can party all night and they can party the next day too. They laugh a lot, they are fond of flirting. Anybody can feel like a professional lady-killer when hanging out with them.

Bad girls have an optimistic attitude to life. They are full of energy. They do not indulge in self-analysis. They do not tend to fall into a period of depression. Life is a never-ending show for them.

This is definitely one of the bad, bad, bad girls - picture gallery 

Bad girls are hungry for sex. They enjoy sexual experimentation. They will do anything they want and maybe more than you want them to when having sex with you. Their screams of joy will make you think you are really hung like a stud.

Bad girls are pretty and sexy. They walk in elegant ways. They are used to be in the spotlight. They wear necklaces and beads, prefer low-cut necklines and mini skirts. Their lingerie is satin and lace. Well, if they wear it at all.

However, despite obvious advantages, bad girls are really bad when it comes to certain things.

First, they can not be trusted. Indeed, these vultures are serial flirters and were made to seduce anything that moves. How the hell can they be trusted?

Second, they can be dangerous if they happen to be behind the wheel. They can be as wild and reckless driving a car as they are when making love. These girls are always unpredictable, they often end up in a company of junkies or rummies.

You can not build a solid relationship with this kind of girl. Soon you will find out that she is very selfish and simply does not give a damn about her potential partner. Girls like that enjoy being extravagant. They love going on a shopping spree if money is at hand. They will make lousy wives and mothers, their life is a string of divorce.

So you had better court the good ones. The good ones can vary as well but this is the truth: you can experience the precious moments of inner peace and comfort only when a good girl looks after you. She will takes care of you when you fall ill, she will miss you when you are out somewhere. Sex is not the top priority for good girls so you do not have to be a super lover.

A girl like that is unlikely to cheat on you. Stop worrying even if she is exceptionally pretty. Remember how she told you to beat it on the first date when you tried to make out with her after having a few drinks. She can discourage any guy in a similar way. Good girls are mostly stick to monogamous relationships.

From: http://funreports.com/fun/23-11-2005/1298-bag_girl-0