APRIL BLOOMING FLOWERS

Corn Ethanol: Who Pays? Who Benefits? (HOOVER INST PRESS PUBLICATION)

In this in-depth, fact-based evaluation, Ken G. Glozer provides a detailed political history of how the United States ended up with current federal corn ethanol policy. Part I relates the significant external events that have driven the politics that in turn has driven the policy since 1977. He answers important questions about when the policy started, how it evolved, what were the major political and market forces that drove it, and, most important, who were the key officials that formed and shaped the policy.
Part II of the book contains an in-depth objective evaluation of the major claims made by those who have advocated the ethanol policies during the past thirty years. Glozer uses his analytic, policy evaluation skills, honed during his twenty-six years with the White House Office of Management and Budget, to probe how well the ethanol policy has worked compared to the claims made by two presidents, three federal agencies, ethanol producers, and the corn and soybean growers.
The author presents the results of an evaluation of the Renewal Fuels Standard, which was first enacted in 1975 then doubled, to a mandatory 15 billion gallons of corn ethanol blended into the nation's gasoline supplies. His surprising finding—that federal ethanol policy has little to do with energy and everything to do with wealth transfer—is particularly compelling because, after three decades of federal subsidies, trade protection, and, most recently, mandated ethanol blending, ethanol remains uneconomical. Also, according to the Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration, ethanol never has and never will have a significant impact on petroleum imports compared to what could be achieved under a competitive market policy. Glozer's sobering conclusion is that the taxpayers and consumers are the victims of the current policy in that they have no choice but to pay and pay.

I think this is the very first picture of the traditional dress of Tharaka tribe on Flickr!
Very few Tharaka still use them. Same for the wig she wears.

The Tharaka live on the eastern side of Mount Kenya. About 10% of them live in towns, the rest in the villages of the area.Meaning "starving", the Tharaka belong to the Ameru ethnic group. They speak a Bantu-language, the Meru. They are farmers and shepherds: they grow cereal crops, cotton, and sun flowers and rear cows, goats and sheeps. The decrease in livestock holdings, attributed to droughts and declining cultivable lands, is a concern for the Tharaka. Goat meat in particular is central both for their diet and custom. The Tharaka are also merchants, since they trade with people all over the country. They live in small huts with a corrigated iron roof.Village life is better considered (compared to the life in towns) since it preserves their culture. They have a strong sense of belonging. The "mukuru" (elder) is the most important person of the community, who gives advice and settle conflicts. In this tribe, like in others, there are age-sets: men have to go through several stages before reaching the highest one. There are various important celebrations: the birth of a child, circumcision, marriage and the harvests of June and January. Before marriage, a high brideprice is paid by the prospective groom to the wife's father. They have also an important rite of passage called "Kirimo", name of the mythical animal that swallows human beings and spits it out thereafter. They use arrows and have very efficient fighting techniques. So they still have kept their traditions, even if they are now also christians. There is an estimated 20% active Christians, and 70% have now adopted the christian faith. Tharaka people have an elaborate set of myths, that they share with the other Meru groups and keep in through their oral tradition. One of them involves an exodus from an original homeland (called Mbwa) near a large body of water, another the origins of the Tharaka art of healing (called ugao). According to the legend, the clan of Nyaga was born with the ugao art, which comes from the Mbwa land. But since they were poor, they had to teach other clans this art, in order to get some goats and food. Consequently, as per the myth, the art of healing is a single clan’s attribute. Furthermore, in the myth, there is a reference to clans classified by colours (black, white and red), the red clans being associated with the ugao art. As a consequence, Kenya is a country of a great diversity, as much for its environment and climate (which changes from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior) as for its peoples. And even if they tend to homogenize because of the modern life in cities, some clans still preserve their traditional customs and lifestyle.


Les Tharakas vivent dans la partie est du Mont Kenya. Environ 10% d’entre eux vivent dans des villes, le reste dans les villages de la zone.Signifiant « affame », les Tharaka appartiennent au groupe ethnique Ameru. Ils parlent une langue bantoue, le merou. Ils sont agriculteurs et eleveurs : ils ont des cultures cerealieres, du coton, et des tournesols et elevent des vaches, chevres et brebis. La diminution dans l’exploitation de betail, attribuee aux secheresses et aux terres cultivables en declin, est un sujet de preoccupation pour les Tharaka. La viande de chevre en particulier est centrale a la fois pour leur alimentation et coutumes. Les Tharaka sont aussi des marchants, puisqu’ils commercent avec des individus de tout le pays. Ils vivent dans des petites huttes au toit de toles ondulees.La vie au village est davantage consideree (comparee a la vie en ville) puisque preservant leur culture. Ils ont un sens pousse de l’appartenance communautaire. Le « mukuru » (aine) est la personne la plus importante de la communaute, qui prodigue des conseils et regle les conflits. Dans cette tribu, comme dans d’autres, il y a des classes d’age : les hommes doivent passer par plusieurs etapes avant d’atteindre la plus elevee. Il y a diverses celebrations importantes : la naissance d’un enfant, la circoncision, le mariage et les moissons de Juin et Janvier. Avant le mariage, un paiement de la mariee eleve est fait par le futur epoux au pere de la fiancee. Ils ont aussi un rite de passage important appele « Kirimo », du nom de l’animal mythique qui avale les etres humains et les recrache ensuite. Ils utilisent des fleches et ont des techniques de combat tres efficaces. Ils ont donc garde leurs traditions, meme s’ils sont maintenant aussi chretiens. Il y a environ 20% de chretiens actifs, et 70% ont desormais adopte la foi chretienne. Les Tharaka ont un ensemble de mythes elabores, qu’ils partagent avec les autres groupes Merou et conservent grace a leur tradition orale. L’un d’entre eux parle du depart d’une terre originelle (appelee Mbwa) situee pres d’un large plan d’eau, un autre des origines de l’

From The Break-up, there are many excellent dialogues, or say fightings in this movie, candidly showing the real barrior between male and female in real life. Here is one of my fav parts:

Brooke: Well, i'm gonna go do the dishes.

Gary: Cool.

Brooke: It'd be nice if you help me.

Gary: No problem. I'll get them a little bit later. I'm just gonna hit the streets here for a little bit.(Playing video game)

Brooke: Gary, come on, i don't want to do them later. Let's just do them now. It'll take 15 minutes.

Gary: Honey, I am so exhausted. I just honestly want to relax for a little bit. If i could just sit here, let my food digest, and just try to enjoy the quiet for a little bit. And we will... you know, we can clean the dishes tomorrow.

Brooke: Gary, you know i don't like waking up to a dirty kitchen.(Getting tense)

Gary: Who cares?

Brooke: I care! Alright? I care! I busted my ass all day cleaning this house and then cooking that meal. And i worked today. And it would be nice if you said thank you and help me with the dishes.

Gary: Fine, i'll help you do the damn dishes.(Tossing his controller and feeling annoyed)

Brooke: Oh, come on. You know what? No. See? That's not what i want.

Gary: You just said that you want me to help you do the dishes.

Brooke: I want you to want to do the dishes.(Still tense)

Gary: Why would i want to do dishes? Why?

Brooke: See, that's my whole point.(Walks away into the kitchen)

Gary: Let me see if i'm following this, ok? Are you telling me that you're upset because i don't have a strong desire to clean dishes?

Brooke: No. I'm upset because you don't have a strong desire to OFFER to do the dishes.

Gary: I just did.(Yells)

Brooke: After i asked you!(Yells back and tapes the table)

Gary: Jesus, Brooke, you're acting crazy again.

Brooke: Don't you call me crazy. I'm not crazy.

Gary: I didn't call you crazy.

Brooke: You just did.

Gary: I didn't call you... No, i didn't. I said you're acting crazy.

Brooke: You know what, Gary? I asked you to do one thing today, one very simple thing, to bring me 12 lemons and you brought me three.

Gary: God damn it. If i knew that it was gonna be this much trouble, I would have brought home 24 lemons. Even 100 lemons. You know what i wish? I wish everyone that was at that god damn table had their own private bag of lemons. Honest to god!(Yells)

Brooke: Gary, it's not about the lemons.(Yells back)

Gary: Well, that's all you're talking about.

Brooke: I'm just saying it'd be nice if you did thing that i asked. It would be even nicer if you did things without me having to ask you!(Every tense)

Gary: Well, i do seem to remember doing something for you this morning without you asking.(Mocking... Well, it's about sex. If you ask)

Brooke: Gary, come on.

Gary: What? I'm serious. Come here.(Walking close to Brooke)

Brooke: You know what? I'm serious. I really am.(walks away)

Gary: I am, too.

Brooke: Come on. You knew, i was working today and i made that meal. And you could have thought yourself, you know, you could have said, "Yeah, I think i'm gonna get Brooke some flowers."

Gary: You said on our very first date that you don't like flowers, that they're a waste of money.

Brooke: Every girl likes flowers, Gary.

Gary: You said that you don't like flowers. I'm supposed to take that to mean that you do like flowers?

Brooke: No. This is not about... You're not... God, you're not getting it. You're not getting this, Gary, Ok? It's not about the lemons. It's not about the flowers. It's not about the dishes. It's just about... How many times do i have to drop hints about the ballet?(Walks away from the kitchen)

Gary: You know i can't stand... Brooke, come here. We've talked about the damn ballet. I hate the god damn ballet!(Yells) You got a bunch of dudes in tights flopping around for three hours. It's like a medieval techno show. It's a nightmare. I sit there in a sweat. The whole thing, i do, wondering how the hell's the god damn nightmare gonna end. Go to damn ballet.(Mocks)

Brooke: It's not about you loving the ballet, Gary. It's about the person that you love loves the ballet and you want to spend time with that person.

Gary: Not when they're at the ballet.

Brooke: Ok, forget the ballet!

Gary: I will...

Brooke: Forget the ballet! We don't go anywhere together. (Pressing)

Gary: We just went to Ann Arbor together.

Brooke: To Ann Arbor. To the Michigan-Notre dame game. You think.. You think screaming, drunk kids and leprechauns, doing backflips, that's fun. That's fun for me. Come on, man. I did that for you. What do you... How do you show up for me?

Gary: I'M UP ON THE BUS EVERY GOD DAMN DAY FOR YOU!(Yells very loud)

Brooke: Come on, you...

Gary: I'M BUSTING MY ASS TO BE THE BEST TOUR GUIDE IN THE GOD DAMN CITY, SO I CAN MAKE ENOUGH MONEY TO SUPPORT BOTH OF US AND HOPEFULLY YOU WON'T HAVE TO WORK ONE DAY.

Brooke: I WANT TO WORK.

Gary: All i ask,

No issue in higher education is as salient, or as controversial, as finance. As demand for higher education around the world grows, so do the costs associated with it, especially as governments shoulder less of the burden. Tuition fees rise and student loan debt grows. Who pays for these surging costs? Who should pay?
D. Bruce Johnstone and Pamela N. Marcucci examine the universal phenomenon of cost-sharing in higher education—where financial responsibility shifts from governments and taxpayers to students and families. They find that growing costs for education far outpace public revenue streams that once supported it. Even with financial aid and scholarships defraying some of these costs, students are responsible for a greater share of the cost of higher education.
Featuring comprehensive economic and policy data, the authors' international comparative approach shows how economically diverse countries all face similar cost-sharing challenges.
So, who should pay for higher education? While cost-sharing is both politically and ideologically debated, Johnstone and Marcucci contend that, for almost all countries, it is imperative for the financial health of colleges and universities, bringing better efficiency, equity, and responsiveness.
Financing Higher Education Worldwide combines sophisticated economic explanations with sensitive political and cultural analyses of the financial pressures facing higher education throughout the world.
(2010)