transexual in Iran london Did anyone watch the tv program last night about iran transexuals? The govt allows such operations, in fact, Iran is the country that do so many sex change operations only Thailand surpass it. Now I know why someof the hands that appear under the female coverings looks so male.haha. A lot of them are transexuals undergone the operation. But they cannot disguise their hands, a dead giveaway. At first I thought it was men pretending to be women, to avoid being noticed. Afterall, a terrorist would absolutely escaped detection under the chardar. But it seems these are transexuals, given a new birth certificate to certify they are females. One female reporter accused them of trying to have it both ways, having all the priviledges of being male, and be able also to dress up as females. That is why the govt insist they make up their minds, and get operated on. The doctor says the operation makes the guys more women than women, and I was wondering whether he fashions a vagina for them, usng the intestines, (it is very well lubricated he says, haha). So I was very interested in the operation results. Well, looking at the post op, they do not enhance or give new breasts, the op seems to concentrate on altering the genitals. But we never did get to see what exactly is done. Unlike the graphic filming of the operation in western tv, nothing is shown. So we have no idea what is done. ONly that it is very painful, the guy saying the operation isnot worth the pain. Rather late to find that out. Sigh, such a lot of loops people have to go through. All because islam say homosexuals are taboo. One sensible person says he saw so many complications after the operations, he decided not to do it. Sensible person or rather she is not willing to pay the price. Being harassed constantly by the police is preferable to the operation. But I think for the true transexual, it is lovely to become a woman. Iranian society accepts her, and so she can get gay sex without the disproval of society.

25.2.08 22:00 Permalink / comment

sex, science and profits london Reading 'Sex, Science and Profits', by Terrence Kealey and he says the trading instinct is present in all of us. And we learn by imitation. We copy people. There may be something in that theory. Certainly human interactions are a series of trades. I scratch your back if you scratch mine, metaphorically and literally. He is saying science has come about because we are so tuned to finding things to trade and making a profit out of it. I think he is saying the market came first, and then it began to harness the efforts of some unique individuals who invented things, and make it popular. I personally dont agree. It seems they are concurrant, and developed independant of each other, and then began to use each other to further their cause. The market started because we all have to eat and trading is in our blood. Science came about because we are inventive, and we are curious to know what is the reason. Why? is a question on every child's lips. So they developed independantly and then someone found he can make a profit out of some invention. It is inevitable of course that someone will want to make money out of it. He says we learn by imitation. That is very true. In fact, in a previous post, I said as much. About simon, that he should mimick me... !!! But the fact he does not suggests that this copying is selective. Maybe that is why we copy celebrities, even though their style of life is dismal. Copying others does not mean we copy the most sensible people. We might well copy the most destructive personalities. It seems to me, copying people's lifestyle is due to publicity. The most well known lifestyles gets copied. I suppose people assume that the most popular lifestyle must have some merit, or why should it be so popular? right? It is a form of circular reasoning. To most , it would seem logical for us to assume that. If everyone is following it, it must be good. right? So many people cannot be wrong. (I think it is wrong! but it is a logical conclusion to make). Does it mean we all follow the herd? No, of course not, 'all' is a word that is dangerous to use. haha. Well, we are gregarious creatures, and we do function in groups, so the herd mentality must be strong. And yet, we are not all subservient to it. There are a lot of us who strike out on our own, and then others see how successful it is , and follow. So there is always a bellwether and there are always some who rebel. Generally, human society seems to follow a herd mode. With a leader, followers, and scouts who move up ahead and a few outsiders. But there are enough rebels to make me have some hope for mankind. haha. His title is very attractive, because it brings in two aspects of human life which will attract practically all of mankind, Sex, and science and linked it to a third, which is profit. Now who would not like to make money out of sex and science? No mention of Art though haha. This is because a painting benefits mainly the owner. Whereas the science can benefit generations after. He also says as well as having a trading instinct, we also have a predator instinct.

19.2.08 08:31 Permalink / comment

The safest bank in the world for ur money london monday 18.2.08 I think it is inevitable that northern Rock bank is nationalised. It is the only way to go, because the bank will go bankrupt if the govt had not lent it all that money. In hindsight everyone will have to agree that the govt have to lend it the money, or else the run on the bank will spread to other banks. And once the money was lent, the only way was to nationalise it. And this the govt finally did today. It will be possible that the bank makes a profit for the taxpayer when it is sold. What is interesting is that instead of winding up the bank and selling everything, the govt is letting it trade, and so setting it up in competition with other banks. It will have an unfair advantage because the govt guarantees the full amount of saver's deposits. It is safer than other banks for money deposited there. Other banks do not have this guarantee. And it will have the highest borrowing grade, which gives it a distinctive advantage over other banks. What fun, it is like going back to the beginnings of banking, when the Bank of England was owned privately and then nationalised and the govt ran a bank. Wouldn't it be funny if everyone piles into Northern Rock because it is the most secure bank to put ur money into in the whole wide world. It is backed by the full resources of the United Kingdom. There is no safer place for ur money.

18.2.08 13:06 Permalink / comment

london German banks have borrowed heavily from the European Central Bank's liquidity window, taking up 46pc of the total €430bn in December, although they account for just 26pc of the eurozone's asset base http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/02/14/cnikb114.xml I dont quite understand this, where does this money E430billion comes from? I cannot believe the whole european union has this amount of money to lend. If it has it, where was it before it was lent? Is the whole EU put on mortgage as security for the loan to the banks, and if the banks fail, will the taxpayers of EU be asked to bear the costs? It looks like it. That means the govt will have to get the money from taxpayers by increasing income tax. Or chasing people who are in the black economy. Expect the taxman to come knocking on ur door. I wonder what are the penalties , or are there any, to send back letters of demands from the taxman with a 'return to sender' note. Or pretend that there is no such person when the tax man comes calling. hehe. If everyone does that the taxman will be in the shits. haha. And serves the taxman right too. They are acting like debt collectors for the debt incurred by the govt. TAxpayers will not want to pay for debt from this reckless propping of failing banks, instead of for just providing services  running the country.

14.2.08 07:09 Permalink / comment

Ordinary life in London london I got a notice from my tv license saying £135.50 will be deducted from my account on 3march. I have been paying this bbc tv license by direct debit for a long time now. It is compulsory whether u watch bbc or not, but fortunately I do. Is it a price worth paying to have no advertisements in the BBC? Not really, haha, because I videotape the programs and so I can fast forward and skip the advertisements. It is nice to watch BBC without interruptions. However, if you argue that without the BBC, programs will be even more stupid than they are now, u might be right. So on balance, I think it is worth it. This article suggests that paper books might be extinct in future. I hope not because like the article said a book is A device designed for reading words on the go, it is portable and lightweight, with unlimited operating time and no battery worries. It is wireless and cheap. However, much as I love the feel of books, the contents are the important reason for reading one, and if it is easy to read from an e-book, and there is vast choice of reading matter because it can store so much I think e-books will replace real books in future, and paper books will become rarity and collectors' item. Maybe the plastic book will come in, one that wont get destroyed by water or torn, or dirtied. But I think paper books will not survive. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article3359899.ece 'And what do u think of this one which says Japan will be the next subprime prey. Japan is like Switzerland. They both have high savings to invest. The Swiss banks have been found to have invested overly in subprime. It would be logical to extrapolate that japanese banks too will have invested on subprime investments. There is another $400billion of estimated subprime debt to be accounted for. Who is holding this debt? It is either Japan or China. We shall see which one. Japan has been the lender of cheap loans to speculators so indirectly it might be affected as many of its loans may go bad as the speculators go bankrupt. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2008/02/10/ccjapan110.xml&CMP=ILC-mostviewedbox

13.2.08 13:12 Permalink / comment

why gamble? london What would u do? If someone gives u £20 would u walk away or gamble it for the chance of winning £50? If someone gives u £50, then takes away £30 and ask whether u want to get it back by gambling, would you walk away or gamble? The loss frame will make u more willing to gamble. Perception of loss or gain drives all decision making. This is the prospect theory. Why are we like that? The emotional centre, Amygdyla, lit up and people get influenced by their emotions. There was also a part of the frontal lobe also lit up, but the frontal lobe was lit up differently with different people and this determines how rational their decisions become. The frontal lobe is responsible for rational decisions. If your frontal lobe is damaged you lose the ability to make spontaneous decisions. Every decision must be analysed and scrutinised. And a simple decision to buy two of something for the same price, or buy one half price becomes fraught with stress. haha. this Horizon tv program I am seeing says there is a maths equation to tell you what to decide. It's all rubbish of course, because all you have to do to make a decision is ask, 'howmuch do I like this in relation to the price (emotional or monetary) I have to pay for it? Answer that truthfully and u have the answer. If you cannot decide, sleep on it. What is more interesting is the later bit, where the scientist tries to prove precognition... the ability to predict the future. The conclusion? ... Intuition exists. We can sense the future and the advise is to follow ur intuition.

13.2.08 09:05 Permalink / comment

in praise of UK homogenous high streets london People always lament that the high street is so homogenous, and look alike everywhere in UK, and they call for individual shops. This article says it is not all that great to have independant shops. He used his part of south london as an example, saying service is poor and goods unavailable and that the area is run down, whereas having a starbucks shows that the area has arrived. He has a point there. When it comes to convenience, big chain stores serve the public extremely well. You can buy everything in one stop. It does not look nice, because of the homogenity, but in terms of ease of shopping, it is great. So even though our romantic notions might urge us to call for individual independant shop retailers, for day to day living we actually prefer the chain stores. And it is true what he said about posh places like kensington and chelsea asking for more independant retailers because they want to be differentiate themselves from the rest of britain to keep up their posh status. For ordinary places, having a starbucks, or boots, or tesco, or sainsbury set up shop in the high street is a sign that place has arrived. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/columnists/article3338723.ece   I quite agree with him that the service and quality of goods in small retailers, (I am thinking of the street market stall holders) can be very variable. And you are more likely to be fobbed off with rotten fruit. It has happened to me so often that I have stopped buying fruits from them. This was in those days when they were more numerous than now, and were quite arrogant about serving customers. They scold you if you dare to feel the fruit for freshness. I have a feeling that attitude has destroyed their future customer base so that now they are on the decline. Anyway, the author is selling his flat... that tells more than words how he feels about living in that area. haha.

9.2.08 08:19 Permalink / 2 Comments / comment

 [next page]