At a new theme park in El Alberto,
Mexico (near Mexico City), wannabe migrants to the United States can
test their survival skills at an obstacle course that replicates the
rigors migrants must endure while sneaking across the border. Admission
price: about $13.50.
–Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 20

Yamaha Corp. introduced the MyRoom, a customizable, soundproof,
shed-like structure with 27 square feet of floor space, to install
inside notoriously crowded Japanese homes, for privacy (or to be exiled
to). The company expects a sales surge in 2006, when Japan’s first wave
of baby-boom salarymen retire and begin annoying their spouses at home.
–Times (London), May 27

Thirty-five Greenpeace activists rushed onto the floor of the
International Petroleum Exchange in London intending to paralyze oil
trading on the day the Kyoto environmental initiative took effect, but
several traders turned on them, punching and kicking the protesters
until they ran for their lives. (One activist was hospitalized with a
suspected broken jaw, another with a concussion.) Said one understated
Greenpeacer, “I’ve never seen anyone less amenable to listening to our
point of view.”
–Associated Press, Feb. 16; Times (London), Feb. 17

BATON ROUGE, LA. – The White House announced today that President Bush
has successfully sold the state of Louisiana back to the French at more
than double its original selling price of $11,250,000. “This is a bold
step forward for America,” said Bush. “And America will be stronger and
better as a result. I stand here today in unity with French Prime
Minister Jack Sharaq, who was so kind to accept my offer of Louisiana
in exchange for 25 million dollars cash.”The state, ravaged by
Hurricane Katrina, will cost hundreds of billions of dollars to
rebuild.

“Jack understands full well that this one’s a ‘fixer upper,’” said
Bush. “He and the French people are quite prepared to pump out all that
water, and make Louisiana a decent place to live again. And they’ve got
a lot of work to do. But Jack’s assured me, if it’s not right, they’re
going to fix it.”The move has been met with incredulity from the
beleaguered residents of Louisiana.However, President Bush’s decision
has been widely lauded by Republicans. “This is an unexpected but
brilliant move by the President,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill
Frist. “Instead of spending billions and billions, and billions of
dollars rebuilding the state of Louisiana, we’ve just made 25 million
dollars in pure profit.”

“This is indeed a smart move,” commented Fox News analyst Brit Hume.
“Not only have we stopped the flooding in our own budget, we’ve made
money on the deal. Plus, when the god-awful French are done fixing it
up, we can easily invade and take it back again.”The money gained from
‘T’he Louisiana Refund’ is expected to be immediately pumped into the
rebuilding of Iraq.

(from the table of contents of the March Newsletter of the Kenan Institute)

• Tiffany & Co. To Continue Moratorium on Purchase of Gemstones Mined in Burma
• Tiffany’s Says No to Burma’s Blood Gems
• Tiffany Resumes Buying Gems Mined in Myanmar

I should hope so. They have to make up for losing those blood gems from Burma.

Massachusetts Avenue Development Seminar (MADS)

With Edward Miguel, Dept. of Economics, University of California at Berkeley
And Discussant Frederick Brown, Southeast Asia Studies Program, Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies

1776 Massachusetts Ave. NW , Third Floor, Washington , D.C.
Thursday, April 7, 2005, 12:00 noon–1:30 p.m. (Lunch will be served)

… In 2001, President Vladimir V. Putin signed into law a bill making it
illegal to employ “electromagnetic, infrasound … radiators” and other
weapons of “psychotronic influence” with intent to cause harm. An
official note attached to the bill said Russian scientists were trying
to create “effective methods of influence of humans at a distance.”

Evidently,  they’ve perfected their close-range methods, and they use them in spite of their illegality.
Remember what President Bush said about his meeting with Putin. “I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy … I was able to get a sense of his soul.”