TresSugar

Europeans Going on American Company Shopping Spree

LibertySugar — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:00:31 -0700

The Europeans are coming to the United States in huge waves, but not just for the Levis, electronics, hamburgers, or Pamela Anderson. They are coming to purchase another quintessential American product: business.

European investors want to take advantage of the weak dollar, which has put lucrative companies on sale. But Europeans aren't the only ones using their purchasing power. The United Arab Emirates invested $7.1 billion in Citigroup; China put $3 billion into the financial company Blackstone Group.

Foreign Policy makes it sound like Europeans considered America some sort of third-world country. To see why, read more.

The article explaining:

The average hourly manufacturing wage in Europe is 16 percent higher than in the United States. Social insurance and payroll taxes are far steeper in Europe. As are energy costs: the average price of a kilo3watt-hour for industrial usage in Europe is roughly 60 percent more than in the United States. Transportation costs are higher, too. And the cost advantages of operating in the United States don’t stop there. Land is still far cheaper in the United States.

Of course this reality puts a heavy burden on already existing European manufacturers who have not come to the US, but are still trying not to pass on higher costs to the consumer.

Many American will most likely call on their politicians to stop a Euro invasion. Which companies do you think they'll try to save first?

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Drug Traffickers Blow by the US, Head for Euros

LibertySugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 12:15:47 -0700

Drug traffickers now join rappers and models who have been ditching the dollar for the more exquisite euro.

White House drug officials announced this week that cocaine is being rerouted from the US and heading through Venezuela to West Africa eventually reaching its final destination - Europe.

With such a weak dollar, drug dealers have more to make by hustling in the Old World. Meanwhile, reports of cocaine use are up in Europe, and down in the US. Sounds like there will be some major blowouts in the discothèques this summer.

Of course drug enforcement officials credit the US war on drugs. Bush's drug policy director says successful control of US-bound routes in Mexico and Columbia are squeezing suppliers into Venezuela. The US alleges that Venezuela, a political adversary, acts as a cocaine safe haven, and is doing nothing to stop the drug trade.

Can Europe be more successful in convincing Venezuela to come down hard on the drug trade? Is a drop in cocaine use a benefit of a weak dollar and economy in general?

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Dollar Store Domain Names

GiggleSugar — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:00:00 -0700

Ever have a great idea for a website and then discover the name had already been taken? Well, let go of the idea that you need a conventional name and head on over to the Dollar Domain Names store! There, for just one measly dollar, you can buy awesome domain names such as plornk.com, slorpy.com, and kffphrhrrr.com. Think of it this way: If your content is so awesome, they will have to remember kffphrhrrr.com. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Found! A Dirty Dollar Bill

GiggleSugar — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 11:00:00 -0700

As the saying goes, "When you can't say something nice, write it on a dollar bill and pay it forward."

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Million Dollar Sweet Sixteen Partay

GiggleSugar — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 02:00:00 -0700

What is the world coming to these days? This kid turns sixteen and his dad drops over a million bucks to throw the blingest bash in town: red carpet, Diddy, Kanye West, a new set of wheels, a personal chauffeur--the works. Wait until the end of the clip when the kid opens his mouth to say ~~thank you~~ how great he is. Sheesh!

Front Page: Carrie Prejean Is Offered Millions For Sex Tapes

TresSugar — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:00:50 -0800

Porn distributor Vivid Entertainment is offering Carrie Prejean millions of dollars to distribute her sex tapes. - Gawker
Speaking to students in Shanghai, President Obama said it's better for society when everyone can use Twitter freely. - CNN
The UK version of the marketing poster for Couples Retreat doesn't include the movie's black couple. - Huffington Post
Courteney Cox has signed on for Scream 4. - AP
2012 came in number one at the box office this weekend. - BuzzSugar

The Dark Side of Cute

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 15:00:00 -0800

Kittens in casts. Babies nudged to laugh every five seconds. Stuffed teddy bears left at killing-spree sites. We are so surrounded by the tyranny of cute that even multibillion-dollar corporations have cute names like "Google" and "Twitter," and the uncute business of insurance is represented in ads by a cute lizard with an English accent. (And yes, I too am guilty of spreading cuteness.)

What's up with the cute? Writer Jim Windolf has had enough and decided to try to get to the bottom of what he calls the "self-infantalization" of Americans. His conclusion? There's a dark, manipulative side to cute. If you want to know what it is, read more.

In Daniel Harris's book Cute, Quaint, Hungry, and Romantic, he says that there's a hidden sadism to our love of cute, citing the barrage of images of cats falling, puppies slamming into mirrors, and even babies trapped in high chairs being prodded to laugh.

"The process of conveying cuteness to the viewer disempowers its objects," he writes, "forcing them into ridiculous situations and making them appear more ignorant and vulnerable than they really are. Adorable things are often most adorable in the middle of a pratfall or a blunder." In other words, they are cute insofar as they are helpless, and we, conferrers of cute, are all-powerful.

Becoming cute, conversely, is one way of disarming opponents or critics. It's not incidental, argues Windolf, that the cult of cute in the US emerged during the Bush years, when "the American image went from that of protector to invader, from defender of human rights to aggressor on the lookout for loopholes in the Geneva Conventions." Cuteness then, according to this theory, "came about as some sort of correction, as a way for us to convince ourselves and our friends that we're not as bad as our recent national actions have made us seem." (It reminds me of smiley emoticons at the end of passive-aggressive email messages and instant messages. In this case, American cute is like a ginormous cultural smiley face emoticon tacked on the end of dubious actions telling our allies we're not all that bad.)

Windolf traces American cute back to Japan's kawaii culture, which got huge 10 years ago but actually emerged at the end of WWII after it was "humiliated and emasculated." If you're interested in political and cultural psychoanalysis, I suggest reading this long essay. But whatever you do, remember - ~~sometimes a cigar is just a cigar~~ sometimes a cute kitten isn't just a cute kitten.

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Say What? Recession or No, Women Love Their Sex Toys!

TresSugar — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:00:00 -0800

"[Y]eah, money's tight. If people are going to spend their dollars, they want to know it's a good product. People are staying home more, so we've directed more marketing efforts toward cheap date nights - for the price of a movie and dinner, buy a vibrator, stay home and have fun."

- Good Vibrations rep Jackie Strano, responding to a question about what the sex business is like during the recession. Good Vibrations is a popular woman-friendly adult sex toy store in San Francisco, CA.

Photo by Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera

Front Page: CEOs at Bailed-Out Banks Increase Their Perks

TresSugar — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 08:00:59 -0700

The good times are still rolling for CEOs at bailed-out banks: they received huge perks last year while taxpayers footed the multibillion-dollar bill. - Washington Post
Afghanistan will hold a runoff presidential election on Nov. 7 following allegations of fraud that tainted the previous results. - AP
An Iranian-American academic has been sentenced to 12 years in Iranian prison for contributing to unrest after the last election. - AP
It appears less likely that international leaders will sign a comprehensive treaty against climate change when they meet in Copenhagen this December. - New York Times
States cannot afford the death penalty, according to a new study. - CNN
Check out the original balloon boy! - SFGate

Inflation at the Dollar Store!

GiggleSugar — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 08:24:58 -0700

Gas prices aren't the only thing to go up, people! Even the beloved dollar store has had to hike its prices. When will the madness end?!

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