9.12.2003
Oh, yeah?
As some readers may already know, Worldwide Pablo toils his days in obedience to Oregon's legal profession as editor and scribe of the humble monthly journal. As you can imagine, he gets – and reads -- innumerable magazines, legal and not. Into the latter category is the occasional client magazine of his automobile insurance company, Farmers Insurance's "Friendly Hands." Imagine WWP's shock to find in its current issue [PDF, page 5] a screed about … lawyers!
Now before you get started on lawyers and everything that's rotten in the world, allow WWP to simply observe that the legal profession is comprised of approximately the same proportion of saints and sinners as every other profession he's worked in. [And that's saying a lot: One of his previous jobs was with a major American Protestant denomination.] We've all heard the axiom "guns don't kill people, people do." WWP suggests that it can be roughly transferred to the current situation: "Lawyers don't sue people, people do." Next time you grumble about lawyers, remember who's really calling the shots. Very probably, it's someone you know, if not the person looking back at you in the mirror.
But WWP digresses. Back to the insurance magazine screed. The author, Farmers CEO Martin Feinstein, bemoans "kickbacks" to lawyers, "unfair" and "excessive" legal fees, and "class-action abuses" -- all are bandied about, out of context and without attribution, in an attempt to whip some sentiment for Farmers' current crusade to limit insureds' legal rights to bring a lawsuit when an insurer fails (or more often, refuses) to do the job it is paid to do: pay valid claims and vigorously represent an insured's interests to the full extent of the law.
But the facts are these:
How maddening it is to know that our own premiums, extracted (some would say, extorted) from us under laws enacted at the behest of extreme insurance industry lobbying, make this propaganda possible, and then to be used against us. Worldwide Pablo would suggest that if said insurance company really wants to make some financial savings that it start with the CEO's generous salary [PDF, page 2], reported in 2001 to be a whopping $1,188,333. That's a lot of torts, Martin.
WWP figured another way around this dilemma. He switched insurers. Oh, and by the way, Marty: WWP saved $300 a year doing so. Thanks for the nudge.
[Disclaimer: The views expressed here at solely those of Worldwide Pablo and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else, including WWP's employer. No public funds were employed to create or post this message.]
Now before you get started on lawyers and everything that's rotten in the world, allow WWP to simply observe that the legal profession is comprised of approximately the same proportion of saints and sinners as every other profession he's worked in. [And that's saying a lot: One of his previous jobs was with a major American Protestant denomination.] We've all heard the axiom "guns don't kill people, people do." WWP suggests that it can be roughly transferred to the current situation: "Lawyers don't sue people, people do." Next time you grumble about lawyers, remember who's really calling the shots. Very probably, it's someone you know, if not the person looking back at you in the mirror.
But WWP digresses. Back to the insurance magazine screed. The author, Farmers CEO Martin Feinstein, bemoans "kickbacks" to lawyers, "unfair" and "excessive" legal fees, and "class-action abuses" -- all are bandied about, out of context and without attribution, in an attempt to whip some sentiment for Farmers' current crusade to limit insureds' legal rights to bring a lawsuit when an insurer fails (or more often, refuses) to do the job it is paid to do: pay valid claims and vigorously represent an insured's interests to the full extent of the law.
But the facts are these:
General civil filings decreased 24 percent over the decade between 1986-87 and 1995-96. The trend continues.Or how about this:
During this time period, motor vehicle filings decreased from 90,840 to 47,800 (a decrease of 48 percent).
Injury, death, and property damage filings declined from 137,458 to 77,402 (a decrease of 44 percent.)
Only about 2 percent of injury cases go to trial, with about 80 percent of all civil filings being resolved before trial.
[Source: Judicial Council, 1997 court statistics (1997 Judicial Council Report on Court Statistics.)]
Contract-dispute cases filed in state courts by businesses in 2000 was 50 percent higher than the number of injury cases by individuals.The views expressed by WWP's insurer are, to be sure, widely held views in the insurance industry and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which has picked up on this misleading crusade). But the rest of us know better, or should, that the self-serving picture painted by the insurance industry is inflammatory, fact-selective, incomplete and misleading to the point of irresponsibility.
Moreover, the number of product liability lawsuits by consumers against businesses declined about 20 percent between 1996 and 2000, a trend that has been under way for some time.
[Source: The American Bar Association.]
How maddening it is to know that our own premiums, extracted (some would say, extorted) from us under laws enacted at the behest of extreme insurance industry lobbying, make this propaganda possible, and then to be used against us. Worldwide Pablo would suggest that if said insurance company really wants to make some financial savings that it start with the CEO's generous salary [PDF, page 2], reported in 2001 to be a whopping $1,188,333. That's a lot of torts, Martin.
WWP figured another way around this dilemma. He switched insurers. Oh, and by the way, Marty: WWP saved $300 a year doing so. Thanks for the nudge.
[Disclaimer: The views expressed here at solely those of Worldwide Pablo and do not necessarily reflect the views of anyone else, including WWP's employer. No public funds were employed to create or post this message.]
9.11.2003
No joy in Puddleville
Turns out today that the Expos might not be playing next spring, after all. The Business Journal of Portland reports that the city of Portland and the Oregon Stadium Campaign have decided not to submit a proposal to lure the Montreal Expos to Portland for the entire 2004 season, according to a statement released Thursday by Mayor Vera Katz.
By passing a stadium finance bill just a few weeks ago, the Legislature created a buzz over the prospect of Major League Baseball finally coming to Puddletown as soon as next spring by moving the Montreal Expos to Portland. But, according to the Business Journal, after evaluating its options and discussing them with Major League Baseball officials, the city and the Oregon Stadium Campaign concluded that their efforts should focus on the long-term goal of completing a viable baseball stadium development proposal and bringing baseball to Portland on a permanent basis.
So, metaphorically speaking, is that a ball, a strike, a bunt, or an error?
[Or is it a save?]
By passing a stadium finance bill just a few weeks ago, the Legislature created a buzz over the prospect of Major League Baseball finally coming to Puddletown as soon as next spring by moving the Montreal Expos to Portland. But, according to the Business Journal, after evaluating its options and discussing them with Major League Baseball officials, the city and the Oregon Stadium Campaign concluded that their efforts should focus on the long-term goal of completing a viable baseball stadium development proposal and bringing baseball to Portland on a permanent basis.
"Developing a proposal to host the Expos on an interim basis until the team finds a permanent home would divert critical time and resources away from our ultimate goal," [Mayor Katz] said.KGW reports that city has not ruled out any options for the Expos in the next season, and that it remains open to the possibility of "hosting a series of big-league games" in the meantime.
So, metaphorically speaking, is that a ball, a strike, a bunt, or an error?
[Or is it a save?]
Gone, but not forgotten
9.10.2003
Think inside the box
Phil B., a friend of Worldwide Pablo, reports this recent encounter at a local post office:
Yesterday I was looking around the house for a small box in which a paperback book could be sent off to a friend. Nothing was the right size except for a "Priority Mail" USPS box that had already been used. Not wanting to send the book as priority mail, I just turned the box inside out so the exterior was completely void of any markings.Hey, just be glad she didn’t go “postal” on you, Phil. Now that’s ugly.
Everything went well at the post office right up to the point that the clerk was ready to put the box on an outgoing trolley. Suddenly she tensed and drawing herself up to full height said, “This is a priority mail carton isn't it?”
“Yes.”
“You can't use a priority mail carton for any other purpose,” says the clerk.
I pointed to a poster which simply said that symbols, writing, etc. on a box must be completely crossed out. That did not satisfy. Things got worse rapidly.
As I left the counter, said clerk got in her parting shot. “We're going to fix people like you. We're going to start printing USPS on the inside of all our boxes so they can't be re-used.”
And to think the IRS picks my pocket to support such a system…
Would you like that in XL or XML?
In the beginning, there was the Internet, and Google was its God. Upon the creation of the blogosphere, Google pronounced it good and took dominion over the fledgling but efficient Blogger web log service. And … well, at this point WWP thinks you can just skip right ahead to the part about Armegeddon.
Those of us who rely on Blogger to create, maintain and post our web logs have been experiencing one of the outer rings of hell this summer. Features seemed to disappear, the server occasionally goes down, and after Google stepped into the picture customer service vanished. In fact, shortly after this very web log was launched in June, the Blogger Pro service (essential for creating the XML version for syndication) was yanked off the website with no warning, and months later there is still no indication when or if it will return.
Bloggers near and far (including such local blogs as Jack Bog's Blog) were among the exodus from Blogger and its accompanying Blogspot hosting service. Well guess what? Today Blogger announced that all those features Blogger Pro folks were once charged for, are now free (or soon will be). But as a consolation to those of you who prepaid, your parting gift will be … yes, a Blogger sweatshirt! C'mon down! But hurry! Offer expires October 1!!
On the Internet, no one can hear you scream.
[Movable Type, even if it does make one's "hair hurt," is looking better every day. Someone will have to show WWP how it works.]
Those of us who rely on Blogger to create, maintain and post our web logs have been experiencing one of the outer rings of hell this summer. Features seemed to disappear, the server occasionally goes down, and after Google stepped into the picture customer service vanished. In fact, shortly after this very web log was launched in June, the Blogger Pro service (essential for creating the XML version for syndication) was yanked off the website with no warning, and months later there is still no indication when or if it will return.
Bloggers near and far (including such local blogs as Jack Bog's Blog) were among the exodus from Blogger and its accompanying Blogspot hosting service. Well guess what? Today Blogger announced that all those features Blogger Pro folks were once charged for, are now free (or soon will be). But as a consolation to those of you who prepaid, your parting gift will be … yes, a Blogger sweatshirt! C'mon down! But hurry! Offer expires October 1!!
On the Internet, no one can hear you scream.
[Movable Type, even if it does make one's "hair hurt," is looking better every day. Someone will have to show WWP how it works.]
9.9.2003
Worldwide wealth
It's official: Worldwide Pablo is in the top 1 percent of the world's wealthiest people!
Not to brag, mind you: This clever little web tool, created by some marketing folks (apparently with idle time on their hands), actually serves as a reminder about the vast disparities in worldwide wealth distribution. Appropriately, the site also serves as a benefit for Care International -- yes, the "care package" people.
Here's some food for thought: Did you know that three decades ago, the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world's people live? By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times. Or this: Three billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women.
It certainly puts the ol' WWP paycheck into a new perspective.
[Thanks to Alexander B. Craghead for pointing out this clever little web toy on his blog, "an artist's life." To check your place among the world's wealthy, click on the graphic above.]
I'm the 51,444,565 richest person on earth! Discover how rich you are! >> |
Not to brag, mind you: This clever little web tool, created by some marketing folks (apparently with idle time on their hands), actually serves as a reminder about the vast disparities in worldwide wealth distribution. Appropriately, the site also serves as a benefit for Care International -- yes, the "care package" people.
Here's some food for thought: Did you know that three decades ago, the people in well-to-do countries were 30 times better off than those in countries where the poorest 20 percent of the world's people live? By 1998, this gap had widened to 82 times. Or this: Three billion people live on less than $2 per day while 1.3 billion get by on less than $1 per day. Seventy percent of those living on less than $1 per day are women.
It certainly puts the ol' WWP paycheck into a new perspective.
[Thanks to Alexander B. Craghead for pointing out this clever little web toy on his blog, "an artist's life." To check your place among the world's wealthy, click on the graphic above.]
9.8.2003
The full monty
Is there any greater deceit at hand today than the canard that the war in Iraq can be won? Or that the U.S. has a coherent plan for doing so? The president’s speech Sunday, in which he seeks once again to pick the American wallet, this time of some nearly $90 billion dollars for the ongoing “operation” (a five-dollar Pentagon word that translates elsewhere as “quagmire”), proves only that the administration hasn’t a plan, and quite possibly hopes no one will notice until sometime after the completion of the next election cycle.
Worldwide Pablo missed GWB’s Sunday address (improbably, impossibly and oh-so-probably politically timed so that West Coast citizens would miss it on a late-summer Sunday afternoon), and so he was forced to read it online. All the better; he missed the doe-eyed (i.e., “deer caught in headlights look”) presidential appeal to Americans to pony up for an obligation none wanted and few anticipated, one that is nothing short than the unilateral rebuilding of a ruined Iraq. Point fingers if will you will. There is more than enough blame to go around, and no shortage of questions: Should the U.S. have invaded Iraq in the first place? [And WWP discloses, he was mum on this original point.] Having done so and now finding, or perhaps having created or exacerbated such chaos, is the U.S. on the hook for fixing the main woe? To what degree? For how long? Shall she walk alone?
WWP believes that no matter the source of the current morass – whether Saddam’s sin or the U.S.’s folly, or something in between – there is no cure other than for Western governments now to solve it. Anything less would be the very definition of immorality (or for you Christian readers, the very definition of sin). But where, oh where, is the PLAN? The GWP Doctrine, announced last night and vetted on the networks and other media today by Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, is long on rhetoric, and embarrassingly short on details. It wouldn’t even pass the “goals/drivers/outcome” model of planning that is fundamental in such ordinary workplaces as WWP’s. They don’t have as much at the White House?
There is a card game, played on the streets of New York City and elsewhere, usually involving street hustlers with a con to extract the greenbacks out of tourists’ wallets. Their game is called Three Card Monty, or sometimes, just Monty. Like the proverbial shell game, the visitor appears to win a round or two at first, then the losses mount; the stooge stays in the game, thinking losses can be recouped. They never are.
Let this be a lesson. We are in the second round or two of National Three Card Monty.
Postscript: Happy Birthday, Google. Well done, well done.
Worldwide Pablo missed GWB’s Sunday address (improbably, impossibly and oh-so-probably politically timed so that West Coast citizens would miss it on a late-summer Sunday afternoon), and so he was forced to read it online. All the better; he missed the doe-eyed (i.e., “deer caught in headlights look”) presidential appeal to Americans to pony up for an obligation none wanted and few anticipated, one that is nothing short than the unilateral rebuilding of a ruined Iraq. Point fingers if will you will. There is more than enough blame to go around, and no shortage of questions: Should the U.S. have invaded Iraq in the first place? [And WWP discloses, he was mum on this original point.] Having done so and now finding, or perhaps having created or exacerbated such chaos, is the U.S. on the hook for fixing the main woe? To what degree? For how long? Shall she walk alone?
WWP believes that no matter the source of the current morass – whether Saddam’s sin or the U.S.’s folly, or something in between – there is no cure other than for Western governments now to solve it. Anything less would be the very definition of immorality (or for you Christian readers, the very definition of sin). But where, oh where, is the PLAN? The GWP Doctrine, announced last night and vetted on the networks and other media today by Condoleeza Rice and Colin Powell, is long on rhetoric, and embarrassingly short on details. It wouldn’t even pass the “goals/drivers/outcome” model of planning that is fundamental in such ordinary workplaces as WWP’s. They don’t have as much at the White House?
There is a card game, played on the streets of New York City and elsewhere, usually involving street hustlers with a con to extract the greenbacks out of tourists’ wallets. Their game is called Three Card Monty, or sometimes, just Monty. Like the proverbial shell game, the visitor appears to win a round or two at first, then the losses mount; the stooge stays in the game, thinking losses can be recouped. They never are.
Let this be a lesson. We are in the second round or two of National Three Card Monty.
Postscript: Happy Birthday, Google. Well done, well done.
