The highest-profile cases of excessive pay, unfortunately, are not isolated exceptions. Bosses' pay has moved inexorably upwards, especially in America. In 1980, the average pay for the CEOs of America's biggest companies was about 40 times that of the average production worker. In 1990, it was about 85 times. Now this ratio is thought to be about 400. Profits of big firms fell last year and shares are still well down on their record high, but the average remuneration of the heads of America's companies rose by over 6%.

Posted by GeeTee at October 11, 2003 02:05 PM | TrackBack 0

The church's claims are revealed in a BBC1 Panorama programme, Sex and the Holy City, to be broadcast on Sunday. The president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for the Family, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo, told the programme: "The Aids virus is roughly 450 times smaller than the spermatozoon. The spermatozoon can easily pass through the 'net' that is formed by the condom."

Posted by GeeTee at October 10, 2003 03:57 PM | TrackBack 0

Eisenberger said we may have evolved the tendency to feel rejection as pain as a defensive mechanism since infants need to stay close socially to survive.

Posted by GeeTee at October 09, 2003 03:30 PM | TrackBack 0

The Association for Marriage and the Family in Ontario and the Interfaith Coalition on Marriage and Family had hoped to appeal the ruling after the federal government refused to do so.

Posted by GeeTee at October 09, 2003 03:25 PM | TrackBack 0

Unlike the cute things you've been chasing, geek girls learned long ago that physical attributes aren't as important as the person underneath. On the Internet, they can participate in great, anonymous cybercommunities, they can IRC, they can MUD, they can email; they can interact with people intimately without ever meeting them face to face. They are more attracted to intelligence than testosterone; they don't need football players - in fact, most of them find them to be a turnoff. Most importantly, they like fellow geeks - prefer them, even. With a geek girl, a geek guy has a decided advantage. They understand them; they are understood by them. This could actually work.

Posted by GeeTee at October 09, 2003 03:23 PM | TrackBack 0

"The defendant's girlfriend was an American called Jessica. The defendant was deeply in love with her - in fact somewhat obsessed with her. He named his computer after her and he dedicated parts of the attack script to her rather like the way some adolescents draw graffiti on walls with 'I love so-and-so'. This defendant managed to weave into the script a sentence about his girlfriend Jessica."

Posted by GeeTee at October 08, 2003 06:58 AM | TrackBack 0

On a road trip it’s best to do road-trip things. If you want to be fancy or you have a low tolerance for inconvenience, then the road trip is not for you. Exploring small towns, interacting with strangers to learn about wherever you are, and eating at roadside stands that sell odd fare like fried pie (Independence, LA) and broken chicken (Pike County, KY) all require a sense of adventure and a suspension of disbelief that four-star cuisine doesn’t demand.

Posted by GeeTee at October 08, 2003 06:45 AM | TrackBack 0

In two visits to the bridge, I spent an hour and a half on the walkway and never saw a patrolman. Perhaps, on camera, I didn’t exhibit troubling behavior. The monitors look for people standing alone near the railing, and pay particular attention if they’ve left a backpack, a briefcase, or a wallet on the ground beside them. Kevin Briggs, a friendly, sandy-haired motorcycle patrolman, has a knack for spotting jumpers and talking them back from the edge; he has coaxed in more than two hundred potential jumpers without losing one over the side. He won the Highway Patrol’s Marin County Uniformed Employee of the Year Award last year. Briggs told me that he starts talking to a potential jumper by asking, “How are you feeling today?” Then, “What’s your plan for tomorrow?” If the person doesn’t have a plan, Briggs says, “Well, let’s make one. If it doesn’t work out, you can always come back here later.”

Posted by GeeTee at October 08, 2003 06:28 AM | TrackBack 0

Wolves do eat beavers, but the beavers seem to be quite willing to exchange a small chance at ending up in a wolf's belly for a good chance at their own tasty willow lunches. There are now four beaver colonies in and around the valley. There were none before wolves returned. One colony even lives right near a wolf den.

Posted by GeeTee at October 07, 2003 11:14 AM | TrackBack 0

Mowachaht Chief Mike Maquinna says he believes there is a spiritual connection to the whale because it appeared when his father and predecessor, the grand chief, died.

Posted by GeeTee at October 07, 2003 08:39 AM | TrackBack 0

...North has shown that playing German or French music can persuade diners to buy wine from those countries, the paper said.

Posted by GeeTee at October 06, 2003 08:49 PM | TrackBack 0

"Blood donors do it because they want to help people, maybe sperm donors want to help someone."

Posted by GeeTee at October 06, 2003 08:48 PM | TrackBack 0