Existence is tedious, anyway; it is a senseless, dirty business, this life, and goes heavily. Every one about here is silly, and after living with them for two or three years one grows silly oneself. It is inevitable... As Anton Pavlovic once observed: How strange... why does God give sweetness of nature, sad, nice, kind eyes, to weak, unhappy useless people - and why are they so attractive?
Chekhov's bitter comedy about country life, drinking vodka, shooting, love, sadness and ennui. What would Gabbie say? There's little wonder it sold out months before opening Richard Roxburgh and Hugo Weaving are captivating in Uncle Vanya, and are still playing to sell-out audiences at Sydney Theatre
Post Script in Sydney: Sydney wife's Russian roulette ordeal: husband charged
Expect the worst - you will never be surprised How to be a popular blogger
By now you’ve probably heard about social media and how it’s making celebrities out of mild mannered public 。。。
Most importantly to be a successful blogger you have to have a sense of humour and not take your self too seriously
• How to be a popular blogger ; [ Grog's Gamut is actually Greg Jericho, ; Fairfax Radio’s Latika Bourke has been named the 2010 Walkley Young Australian Journalist of the Year for her outstanding coverage of the Liberal leadership crisis that saw Tony Abbott topple Malcolm Turnbull. Latika Bourke
• · You become aware that something is 'going on' in the Department, and you decide you must do something about it ... Blowing the whistle into an empty room; At least 72 aides on both sides of the aisle traded shares of companies that their bosses help oversee, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of more than 3,000 disclosure forms covering trading activity by Capitol Hill staffers for 2008 and 2009 Congressional Staffers Gain From Trading in Stocks
• · · The more accurate the forecast the better. Wrong. When it comes to making money all you have to do is look at a list of the 10 best and worst performing stocks in the ASX 200 stocks in the past 12 months and you will realise that all the money is being made in the stocks that everyone gets most wrong, not right Popular Stockmarket Delusions for Dummies; The complete moron's guide to the top 10 long-term stocks； Stocks
• · · · Rajaratnam and one of his co-defendants, Danielle Chiesi, an analyst at another hedge fund, who were the primary targets of the wiretaps, have argued that prosecutors failed to disclose crucial information required by the Wiretap Act to the judges authorizing the electronic surveillance. White Collar Watch: Using Drug War Methods to Look for Insider Trading; The novelist John le Carré, a former British intelligence operative, has given a rare interview to Democracy now, plugging his new book Our Kind of Traitor and ruminating on a wide range of things - including several issues close to TJN’s heart. One, of course, is money laundering:
"Now, this isn’t fiction. That part of it isn’t fiction. Money laundering is simply everywhere. On the grand scale, it’s endemic to banking . . . .money laundering is not some distant fantasy. It’s actually how you handle the profits of extortion, tax evasion, criminal conspiracy and huge quantities of drug money, how you get that into the white sector.
The thing is, it is very undemocratic, because if you or I go to one of these banks along here somewhere with a few thousand dollars in a briefcase, if I’m a Brit and do it, I have to give a really thorough explanation. Bank manager may call in the police. I have to produce my passport. If I want to open an account, I have to produce a utilities bill and all of that. But, if Mr. Orloff comes to a bank here and says, "I am from Russia. I have millions and millions of dollars, please. And here is a letter from a reputable lawyer in Moscow. And here is evidence that I run hotels, casinos, whatnot," bank manager says, "What are you doing for lunch?" And we’re away. So, the bigger the sum, the easier the crime.
John le Carre on all things secret – and unacceptable
• · · · · Morrow is offering a total of 30,000 shares in himself at £10 a piece (he's retaining 30%, "the vital organs and so forth"). Because he's not legally allowed to sell shares in himself, what investors are actually buying is a signed photo of the author, with the shares given for free. Author to float himself on the Stock Exchange ; Kind Kindle to Strangers and his organs ; Red diaper babies