We bring these out every December—zingers, or tidbits, to get you through those holiday parties. And while the economy may put a damper on how many holiday fetes there are this year, and you may be drinking Franzia out of the box, you’ll still be ready to rock around the mistletoe, the menorah, the water cooler, and show 'em what you know...
Kashmir and Mumbai
Indian intelligence is pointing fingers at a radical Muslim group for orchestrating last week’s Mumbai attacks. Ten people are blamed—only one survived—and are said to be part of Lashkar-e-Taiba, now a proxy group for the Pakistani government in its interests for gaining control of the Kashmir region.
Kashmir is to the north of India and east of Pakistan. India took control of the area in 1947 when Britain relinquished control of both India and Pakistan. They’ve been fighting over the area since then. Part of the U.S. agreement with Pakistan after 2001 ($10 billion in exchange for terrorist fighting efforts) was that they would quell the activity of radical groups.
Zinger! One
The attacks come just months after Pakistan’s former leader, General Pervez Musharraf, who the U.S. struck the deal with, left his post.
Venice afloat, acqua alta
On Monday, Venice, Italy flooded. Waters inside the famous canal city were five-feet above normal tide and flooded across 95 percent of the city. The acqua alta, or high tide, was the worst in 22 years and the fourth highest tide since the city began keeping tide records in the 1870s.
One of our readers in Venice, Jill, waded through the waters herself (see photos) and told us: "The high water peaked at 10:45 a.m. and was already well on its way to receding by about 3:30 p.m., leaving behind a big mess. Venetian floods are fairly routine, several occurring every year, and residents usually take it all in stride, using hip waders and knee-high rubber boots to maneuver around the city. Acqua alta occurs when certain events coincide: A very high tide, low atmospheric pressure and a warm southern wind that forces water into the Venetian Lagoon."
Zinger! Two
While Venice is working on a fix to the flooding--Project Moses (in reference to the Biblical Moses who parted the Red Sea), which will install retractable flood gates, its target completion date is 2014. Let's hope all the art and beautiful buildings are spared between now and then!
The bad economy's silver lining, or not
There may be some bright spots to the ailing economy: Discounts abound! Even luxury goods at Saks Fifth Avenue were 70% off after Thanksgiving. Gasoline prices are falling! Prices at the pump averaged $1.80 a gallon this week, down from the high $4 high in July. Mortgage rates are coming down! Rates on a 30-year loan dropped to 5.5% this week, the lowest point since January.
Zinger! Three
While all of these points are good because they'll get folks back in the economy, they're also food for thought: Do we really need another purse? Shouldn't we be walking more or driving hybrids? Do we want mortgage rates to fall when helping people get loans who couldn't afford them in the first place is what got us into this economic mess in the first place?
