and so this is christmas...
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A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
"To put the world in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must cultivate our personal life; and to cultivate our personal life, we must first set our hearts right." - Confucius
I hope 2005 has treated you well. Just wanted to pass on best wishes for the new year: I hope it brings you much success, laughter, and love. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
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A very merry Christmas
And a happy New Year
Let's hope it's a good one
Without any fear
And so this is Christmas
For weak and for strong
For rich and the poor ones
The world is so wrong
A single father of three fired for taking chocolate bars from a garbage bin at a Zellers store will get some Christmas cheer from a charitable organization. Guy Masse, 47, had planned to give the discarded chocolate to his children, aged 6, 9 and 15, for Christmas. Masse, who was on welfare and had been working at the store only for a couple of months, was first suspended and then fired. "I think it's inhuman," Masse told CJAD radio station in Montreal of his dismissal.
Zellers, which is part of Toronto-based retailer Hudson's Bay Co., has said Masse should have notified his supervisor he was taking the chocolate out of the garbage. "It's a very unfortunate situation. We would never have willingly let an associate go at this time of year without just cause," said HBC spokeswoman Hillary Stauth. "Unfortunately, this associate breached the trust of his supervisors by removing merchandise from the store, and as a result, he was let go from his position."
Zellers, which is part of Toronto-based retailer Hudson's Bay Co., has said Masse should have notified his supervisor he was taking the chocolate out of the garbage. "It's a very unfortunate situation. We would never have willingly let an associate go at this time of year without just cause," said HBC spokeswoman Hillary Stauth. "Unfortunately, this associate breached the trust of his supervisors by removing merchandise from the store, and as a result, he was let go from his position."
-- Associated Press (2005/12/21)
--------------------There is inflation. And then, there is what happened this year.
In June, the nation's average price of a house rose to a record $268,000. In September, after the Gulf Coast hurricanes, the price of a gallon of gas soared past $3. And earlier this month, a survey reported the top hourly rate for a lawyer had edged into the four digits for the first time, reaching $1,000. Last week, the National Law Journal identified Benjamin R. Civiletti, a U.S. attorney general under President Jimmy Carter and chairman of the District-based Venable law firm, as the priciest lawyer in America. Civiletti, who specializes in litigation, antitrust law and white-collar defense, topped the National Law Journal's 16th annual survey of hourly rates at more than 100 of the country's top law firms.
Though other lawyers may have reached $1,000 without reporting it, Civiletti's rate is "far higher than any rate I've ever heard," said John C. Coffee Jr., a former corporate lawyer in New York who is now a law professor at Columbia University. More typical for partners in Washington firms is about $500 an hour, said Steve Nelson, managing principal for law and government for the McCormick Group, an executive search firm based in Arlington. The average for partners in large New York firms ranges from about $700 to $800. But Nelson and other compensation experts point out that what a lawyer charges per hour isn't the same as what the lawyer takes home. After the firm pays its bills, the partners split what's left. They may also collect bonuses and contingency fees. Civiletti's rate doesn't come close to making him one of the nation's highest-paid lawyers. Trial attorneys can win multibillion-dollar verdicts and earn fees that break down into more than $1,000 an hour, said Coffee. And a firm working on a merger may charge its client a percentage of a deal instead of billing by the hour.
In June, the nation's average price of a house rose to a record $268,000. In September, after the Gulf Coast hurricanes, the price of a gallon of gas soared past $3. And earlier this month, a survey reported the top hourly rate for a lawyer had edged into the four digits for the first time, reaching $1,000. Last week, the National Law Journal identified Benjamin R. Civiletti, a U.S. attorney general under President Jimmy Carter and chairman of the District-based Venable law firm, as the priciest lawyer in America. Civiletti, who specializes in litigation, antitrust law and white-collar defense, topped the National Law Journal's 16th annual survey of hourly rates at more than 100 of the country's top law firms.
Though other lawyers may have reached $1,000 without reporting it, Civiletti's rate is "far higher than any rate I've ever heard," said John C. Coffee Jr., a former corporate lawyer in New York who is now a law professor at Columbia University. More typical for partners in Washington firms is about $500 an hour, said Steve Nelson, managing principal for law and government for the McCormick Group, an executive search firm based in Arlington. The average for partners in large New York firms ranges from about $700 to $800. But Nelson and other compensation experts point out that what a lawyer charges per hour isn't the same as what the lawyer takes home. After the firm pays its bills, the partners split what's left. They may also collect bonuses and contingency fees. Civiletti's rate doesn't come close to making him one of the nation's highest-paid lawyers. Trial attorneys can win multibillion-dollar verdicts and earn fees that break down into more than $1,000 an hour, said Coffee. And a firm working on a merger may charge its client a percentage of a deal instead of billing by the hour.
-- Annys Shin, Washington Post (2005/12/21)
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posted by þΛųL jØŋαŦhΛŋ @ 23:45
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