Joke of the month

A Chinese was bragging to a Bosnian saying that next year life in China will be twice as good as this year.
A Bosnian simply responded:
"That's nothing! Life in Bosnia is already twice as good as it will be next year."

Democracy

"Fuck society in which police creates the wall between those who voted and those they voted in"

- Sudo (my translation)
 

Teaching

"Proper teaching does not explain things. Proper teaching stokes curiosity."

 - Rabindranath Tagore

TPP

"The majority of Congress is being kept in the dark as to the substance of the TPP negotiations, while representatives of U.S. corporations—like Halliburton, Chevron, PHRMA, Comcast, and the Motion Picture Association of America—are being consulted and made privy to details of the agreement. More than two months after receiving the proper security credentials, my staff is still barred from viewing the details of the proposals that USTR is advancing. We hear that the process by which TPP is being negotiated has been a model of transparency. I disagree with that statement."

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) as quoted in Wikipedia

"Let’s be clear: the TPP is much more than a “free trade” agreement. It is part of a global race to the bottom to boost the profits of large corporations and Wall Street by outsourcing jobs; undercutting worker rights; dismantling labor, environmental, health, food safety and financial laws; and allowing corporations to challenge our laws in international tribunals rather than our own court system. If TPP was such a good deal for America, the administration should have the courage to show the American people exactly what is in this deal, instead of keeping the content of the TPP a secret."

Senator (I-VT) Bernie Sanders as quoted in Wikipedia

"In June 2015, Senator (R-KY) Rand Paul opposed fast-tracking the TPP bill on the basis of secrecy. Paul explained that fast-tracking the secret trade partnership would "give the permission to do something you haven’t seen", which he likened to "[putting] the cart before the horse."

Wikipedia

p.s.: or better yet "putting the corporations before the government."

2015 Vacation - Day 14

The bus was suppose to leave at 12:30am. It was midnight and we were getting anxious about Davor's whereabouts, so we decided to get on foot which, in case he did not show up, would take us maybe 15-20 minutes. As soon as we got close to the Boulevard, he showed up and took us to the station. Bus came on time, but it was weird: it was some kind of a small bus, full of people and, to our disappointment reservations did not matter, you sit wherever you can. We were lucky enough to get two seats at the very end of it, cramped next to a couple of 6'6" guys. It was very uncomfortable ride and, besides, I still do not understand why the driver did not take the highway right away instead of going through Obrovac and Gracac and then catching the highway after almost two hours. Arrived to Zagreb on time, took a taxi to the airport where check in was already in progress only to find out that our flight is being delayed due to bad weather in Dubrovnik (where our plane was arriving from). This was a bit scary because we did not have much layover time in Frankfurt but ultimately and with a lot of fast walking through Frankfurt airport we managed to get in just in time. Flight to Newark was very comfortable. Arrived on time, no problems with customs. Ras picked us up at the airport and as soon as we got back home I wanted to take a little nap. It was maybe 3pm. When Janet finally woke me up it was well past 10. What a vacation it was.