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TRANSATLANTIC TIMES: World News Report
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Washington, DC, USA
Rate Top Monthly TV Episodes & Stories >>
A. How You Go Broke in Las Vegas
B. Leaders of Nigeria's Oil Rich Region Meet in USA
C. Detoxify Your Body By Regularly Washing Your Feet
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D. Chinese University Students May Have Orchestrated Google Cyber Attack
How You Go Broke in Las Vegas
By Jay Rankin
Los Angeles, CA (February 2010)—According to the Wall Street Journal, Terrance Watanabe, who built a fortune running an import business, lost $127 million in Las Vegas. Why didn't he stop himself? The answer, says Jay Rankin, is more complex than you might guess, and it reveals as much about Vegas as it does about Watanabe. "We're tempted to blame Watanabe's loss on bad judgment," explains Rankin, author of the new non-fiction book Under the Neon Sky: A Las Vegas Doorman's Story (Jay Rankin Publishing, 2009, ISBN: 978-0-9842109-1-6, $14.99). "And it's true: He chose to stay in an environment that was destroying him. But Las Vegas is constructed to lure in people susceptible to impulsive behavior and to prey on them. Especially if those people are high rollers."
Rankin's the expert. A former probation officer, family and addiction counselor, and television host with an advanced degree in psychology, he worked the graveyard shift as a doorman at the 5,000-room MGM Grand hotel for six years. His book tells the true story of this turbulent period in his life. Rankin has an insider's view of two worlds: the flashy, electric exterior of the Las Vegas strip, and its gritty, secret infrastructure. Surrounded by hordes of ferocious revelers whose singular goal was to push the line, Rankin battled nightly for his sanity and his safety.
"Watanabe's case seems sensational because of the money lost," says Rankin. "But it happens all the time. Step back. Look at the marketing. It's brilliant: the lights, the shows, the food, the entertainment, the rooms, and the views...the temptation of winning big, getting laid, and doing drugs. "The whole atmosphere is carefully constructed to address all groups and ages and cultures," he adds. "You don't have to be as rich as Mr. Watanabe to get in over your head."
Read on as Rankin explains the strategy behind Sin City's allure.
The sheer excitement draws you in. If you've been to Vegas, you know its intensity. The colors are vivid. Sounds bombard you. You're surrounded by crowds of diverse people. You might be sitting near a group of beautiful women having a "ladies' night" out on the town, or you might be mingling with a celebrity at a bar. It's impossible to be bored in the midst of all of the spectacle and pageantry. The Best is at your fingertips: the best restaurants, the best shows, the best parties. "Las Vegas throbs with action and anticipation," Rankin says. "The atmosphere makes visitors long to be part of the 'in crowd.' They'll do whatever they believe will land them in the VIP room or the winner's circle." Forget about boundaries. Think about it: In your hometown, you act in a certain way, and you abide by specific rules. Your place in society is defined by obligations—to your family, your employer, and your friends. Not so in Las Vegas. It's a city where the impossible is within reach.
"The allure of Vegas is that there are no boundaries," Rankin says. "No clock, no last call, no line in the sand. You can do what you want, when you want, with anyone you want. You're free to stay out all night and bet your last dollar. You can indulge in your fantasies without repercussions, and it's almost impossible to resist. Vegas is designed that way for a reason, and it's true—what happens in Vegas really does stay there. Unfortunately, the consequences of indulging in your wildest desires haunt you long after the thrill is gone. Mr. Watanabe is a prime example."
The city is alive, 24/7. Las Vegas doesn't sleep. You'll find as much to do and see at 4 a.m. as at 10 p.m. The neon night shines on. Casinos and clubs jack up the glitz. Beautiful people and big betters make dazzling appearances and place outrageous bets.
"The spectacle alone makes you want to stay up and take it all in," Rankin says. "If you're enjoying yourself, if you're flirting with a beautiful woman, if you're convinced that the next hand is yours, then why stop? No one makes you leave. No bartender puts out a last call. You can party until you drop from exhaustion or blow every last cent you have."
Vegas builds the hype that anyone can win. It's true; anyone can win at roulette, poker, slots, and any number of games. The possibility is the impetus to keep you betting, no matter how badly the game is going. Vegas hypes the "almost" factor. "You almost won that time! So close! Play just one more hand." Often this prodding comes from fellow guests, not the casino employees. Everyone is eager for the next big win.
"Go to a table that's hot and look into people's eyes," Rankin suggests. "Most of the players won't be coolly calculating whether they should stay or walk away. They'll rush into the next hand, mesmerized by what they could win. After all, when will they feel this tantalized again? Study the people playing slot machines. They'll sit for hours. If they win a jackpot, many will give it all back. The hotels know all this and are continually updating their casinos to make them more exciting and consumer-captivating—a place where you can see yourself making it big."
The comps are spectacular. Vegas, says Rankin, invented the comp. Harrah's offered Terrance Watanabe V.I.P. perks, such as a three-bedroom suite at Caesars, seven-course meals while he gambled, and tickets to see the Rolling Stones. "If a player of this caliber is not happy, he will walk across the street and play at another casino," Rankin points out. "So it's well worth a hotel's investment to make him feel like a king. Hotels answer to shareholders, and they actively compete for high rollers. It's well worth the comp of a $1,000 bottle of champagne to keep someone who's betting thousands more in his chair."
Everyone could be a V.I.P. Everyone in Vegas is wooed by the possibility of V.I.P. treatment. Sure, all guests are treated well, but if they bet enough or win enough, they'll be waited on hand and foot. Think about it: You see an average joe win the jackpot. Suddenly, he's treated like royalty. And you think to yourself, That could be me. Your compulsion to win grows, and you'll keep playing. "It's all about putting the forbidden within the customer's grasp," explains Rankin. "Hotels go to great lengths to make visitors call their casinos home, and they'll do anything so players will return and bring their money with them. If that means offering a free drink or a personal handler, so be it. Everyone wants to feel important. "As a hotel employee, I saw how pervasive this please-the-guest culture is," he adds. "When I was a doorman working the 2 a.m. cab line, I was ordered to keep my mouth shut, even when threatened with verbal abuse and physical violence. In Vegas, both of those behaviors are commonplace. No matter what, though, my position was always on the line—the guests would not be thrown out for anything but the very worst behavior." Note: See attached tipsheet for more details on how casinos attract and keep guests.
The booze is always flowing. Alcohol is available just about everywhere in Vegas. No matter where you go, a cocktail waitress might be at your elbow, offering or refilling a drink. And it's not just booze. Drugs are for the taking. Scoring them might not be legal, but in most cases, all you need to do is ask the right people. "The effects of drugs and alcohol on decision making are devastating," Rankin points out, "but casinos will keep serving you as long as you're coherent, as long as you seem to know what you're doing. It's up to you to know when to stop, and most people have difficulty tapping into self-discipline in the midst of the strip's addictive environment. Unless you're out of control, hotels and casinos are not responsible for your bad decisions." "Las Vegas is not about being smart," says Rankin. "It's not about making good decisions or knowing when to stop. And it's not meant to be. Most of Vegas's attractions—gambling, having sex, drinking, getting high—are slippery slopes. One step over the line leads to another and then another. Pretty soon the only thing that can offset the guilt and panic is seeking out those thrills again. It happened to Mr. Watanabe, and to a lesser but no less devastating extent, it happens to hundreds of everyday people all the time."
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Leaders of Nigeria's Oil Rich Region Meet in USA
To Consider Options On The Nation's Current Leadership Crisis
Washington DC ,February 28th, 2010 - Leaders of the Niger Delta region residing outside Nigeria, are holding an emergency meeting in the USA to consider their options in the current stalemate leadership crisis in Nigeria. Reports from sources close to the group says the pressure to support current bid to break from the Nigeria Union is quite strong, however many see the current disregard of Acting President Goodluck Jonathan by the ailing President Yar'Adua Cohorts as the tipping point that has called for such serious option in the consideration of the South South leaders. Enough is Enough is the theme of our meeting says the SSNDC spokesman who opted to remain undisclosed because he has not been officially voted as the spokesman until the emergency meeting is concluded this weekend.
The group hopes to release a statement on their weekend meeting and enumerate demands for their continued support of the present administration, which is expected to include an unequivocal clarity and statement from the Nigerian government on the current Acting President Goodluck Jonathan or the ability of Yar'Adua to resume his office so the country can have a specified leader. Many in the South South leadership group believes the Acting President have simply been side tracked by the Cohorts of the ailing President and the security of the Vice President is even in question. To this effect, we are ready to break away from Nigeria and start our republic of the Niger Delta, enough is enough.
Detoxify Your Body By Regularly Washing Your Feet
An Ancient Middle Eastern Culture That Still Works Today
The washing of one another's feet may be an ancient middle eastern culture but it is an act of loving dedication to others of our willingness to do for that one whatever may be necessary, to uplift their faith. When we take the feet of our brother or sister in our hands and wash them, we are saying to him or her, "I love you as a brother or sister in Christ, and you can count on me to be of service to you, however humble it may be" Unless one enters into it in this spirit, prepared to make this commitment, it cannot be said that one has truly taken part in the service and has "washed one another's feet." What really is the significance of the practice of foot washing? Is it merely a lingering trace of a past culture? We usually hear this act referred to as "the ordinance of humility." But is that all it is? No. There is the possibility of a deeper and more meaningful lesson and benefits than simply one of humility, important as that may be.
This is where we bring you the doctrine of detoxification with the main focus of using our Detox machine to alkalinizes the body ridding the body of unnecessary and harmful acids. PH testing can be done on the saliva before and after a treatment to confirm the results. Now, granted, one can detox in several ways. The oldest and best known method is to do a prolonged fast. Colon cleanses and liver flushes have also become popular to rid the body of waste build up, toxins, and acid. What is incredible about the Detox system is that you can do in 30 minutes what might take you days or weeks in another form of detoxification. It used to be known as the “rich man’s detox” in Europe.
In 1931, Dr. Otto Warburg, a noted research scientist, received the Nobel Prize for discovering that "Malignant Cancer must have a Low Oxygen, strong Acid Environment. Over 150 degenerative diseases are linked to acidity." We now know that creating an alkaline environment is crucial to the bodies well-being and aversion to cancer, bacterial growth, viruses, and disease. Acid wastes attack our joints, major organs, and lymph and circulatory system. Our fight for our health is also a fight over our PH.
Beginning Symptoms of Acidosis include: fatigue, headaches, bloating, acne, constipation, food allergies, panic attacks, slow circulation.
Intermediate symptoms of acidosis include: Asthma, bronchitis, insomnia, psoriasis, fungus, depression, body odor, cold sores. Advanced symptoms of acidosis include: cancer, fibromyalgia, weight gain, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, gout, diabetes, lupus, leukemia, chronic pain, migraine headaches.
How Does it Work?
Our bodies are electric. In each of our cells we have positive and negative charges called ions. When we have the same amount of positive and negative, the body is balanced and neutral. If we have not enough ions to balance the body, the body goes acidic. At this point the body is running on a deficiency and will try to pull from surrounding tissue, bones, etc. to try to balance. WATER has an almost perfect balance of positive and negative ions. Water will split its ions on impact (like a waterfall, the beach, the rain– and in our case the impact of electricity). Since the body is composed of over 70% water, its ability to interact with water is very high (Osmosis). Each foot has over 2000 pores and also the greatest number of sweat glands in the entire body.. The machine creates millions of positive and negatively charged ions that enter your body and begin to neutralize tissue acid wastes. Consequently, the Ion Cleanse is one of the best detox products. It is painless, drug free, and has no harmful side effects
How Often Should I Do A Cleanse?
One detox session is equivalent to a fast. If one were to purge through several days of fasting, the unit can accomplish the same benefit in 30 minutes. Therefore you are doing your body a huge favor with even just one session.For a full body purge, we recommend 20+ treatments. Every other day for 40 days or three times a week until the desired results.
If one has a health challenge of a bigger nature (cancer, fibromyalgia, obesity, arthritis, etc.) then it is recommended that the machine be used three times a week as a regular habit. If you choose this course then take a few weeks off after 25 treatments so that the body does not get lazy.
Chinese University Students May Have Orchestrated Google Cyber Attack
US Security Experts Traced Origins To Shanghai Jiatong University
US computer security experts have traced some of the attacks to computers at the Shanghai Jiaotong University, which boasts one of China’s most competitive computer science programmes, and the Lanxiang Vocational School in Shandong Province, following last month's Google attacks that resulted in a huge diplomatic tension between the US, China and Google Corporation.
Both institutions said they did not know the US investigation had implicated their systems, but one is believed to have ties to the Chinese military while the other has in the past been linked to the successful hacking and disabling of the White House website.
When Google accused China last month of trying to steal its software and hacking into human rights activists’ email accounts the company threatened to pull out of the country unless Beijing stopped censoring the web content that Chinese users can access. Tracing the attacks farther back to computer networks on the Chinese mainland represents a technical breakthrough but leaves Washington no nearer to knowing whether Beijing was ultimately responsible. “Students hacking into foreign websites is quite normal,” a professor at Jiaotong University told the newspaper, adding that the attacks could have been by “one or two geek students who are just keen on experimenting with their hacking skills”, or by an unknown third party who might have hijacked the university’s computers. In 2001 a hacker from Jiaotong identified by US experts as Peng Yinan took down the White House website for more than two hours in an attack that bore similarities to others on Yahoo and the CNN website the previous year.
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