Folks, This email was sent to me by a very dear friend to cheer me up.
Enjoy.
If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100
people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would
look something like the following:
There would be:
57 Asians
21 Europeans
14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
8 Africans
52 would be female
48 would be male
70 would be non-white
30 would be white
30 would be Christian
89 would be heterosexual
11 would be homosexual
6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth and all 6 would be
from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing
70 would be unable to read
50 would suffer from malnutrition
1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
1 would own a computer
When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need
for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.
The following is also something to ponder...
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness...you are more
blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ...you are
ahead of 500 million people in the world.
If you can attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest,
torture, or death...you are more blessed than three billion people in the
world.
If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof
overhead and a place to sleep...you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish
someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare.
If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.
His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while
trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming
from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to
his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to
free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow
and terrifying death. The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the
Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out
and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved.
"I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I
can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving
off the offer. At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the
family hovel. "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked.
"Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me provide
him with the level of education my son will enjoy. If the lad is anything
like his father, he'll no doubt grow to be a man we both will be proud of."
And that he did. Farmer Fleming's son attended the very best schools and in
time, he graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and
went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander
Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.
>Years afterward, the same nobleman's son who was saved from the bog was
>stricken with pneumonia. What saved his life this time? Penicillin. The
>name of the obleman? Lord Randolph Churchill. His son's name? Sir Winston
>Churchill.
Someone once said:
What goes around comes around.
Work like you don't need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like it's Heaven on Earth.
Pass this on, and brighten someone's day.
Nothing will happen if you do not decide to pass it along. The only thing
that will happen, if you DO pass it on, is that someone might smile because
of you.
Happy friendship week!?????.......
AND MORE (IT'S A BORING WEEKEND)
Dear all
Nike now lets you personalize your shoes by submitting a word or
phrase which they will stitch onto your shoes, under the swoosh. So Jonah
Peretti filled out the form and sent them $50 to stitch "SWEATSHOP"
onto his shoes.
Here's the responses he got... let the fun and games with Nike
begin...
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled for one or more of the following
reasons:
1) Your Personal iD contains another party's trademark or other
intellectual property
2) Your Personal iD contains the name of an athlete or team we do not
have the legal right to use
3) Your Personal iD was left blank. Did you not want any
personalization?
4) Your Personal iD contains profanity or inappropriate slang, and
besides, your mother would slap us.
If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new personalization
please visit us again at www.nike <http://www.nike>. <
<http://www.nike.com/>> com
< <http://www.nike.com/>> Thank you, NIKE iD
From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Greetings,
My order was canceled but my personal NIKE iD does not violate any of
the criteria outlined in your message. The Personal iD on my custom ZOOM XC
USA running shoes was the word "sweatshop."
Sweatshop is not:
1) another's party's trademark,
2) the name of an athlete,
3) blank, or
4) profanity.
I choose the iD because I wanted to remember the toil and labor of thE
children that made my shoes. Could you please ship them to me immediately.
Thanks and Happy New Year, Jonah Peretti
From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Your NIKE iD order was cancelled because the iD you have chosen
contains, as stated in the previous e-mail correspondence, "inappropriate
slang". If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at nike.com
Thank you, NIKE iD
From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD,
Thank you for your quick response to my inquiry about my custom ZOOM XC
USA running shoes. Although I commend you for your prompt customer
service, I disagree with the claim that my personal iD was
inappropriate slang. After consulting Webster's Dictionary, I discovered
that "sweatshop" is in fact part of standard English, and not slang.
The word means: "a shop or factory in which workers are employed for
long hours at low wages and under unhealthy conditions" and its origin
dates from 1892. So my personal iD does meet the criteria detailed in
your first email.
Your web site advertises that the NIKE iD program is "about freedom to
choose and freedom to express who you are." I share Nike's love of
freedom and personal expression. The site also says that "If you want
it done right...build it yourself." I was thrilled to be able to
build my own shoes, and my personal iD was offered as a small token of
appreciation for the sweatshop workers poised to help me realize my
vision. I hope that you will value my freedom of expression and
reconsider your decision to reject my order.
Thank you, Jonah Peretti
From: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
To: "'Jonah H. Peretti'"
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD Customer,
Regarding the rules for personalization it also states on the NIKE iD
web site that "Nike reserves the right to cancel any personal iD up to
24 hours after it has been submitted". In addition, it further explains:
"While we honor most personal iDs, we cannot honor every one.
Some may be (or contain) other's trademarks, or the names of certain
professional sports teams, athletes or celebrities that Nike does not
have the right to use. Others may contain material that we consider
inappropriate or simply do not want to place on our products.
Unfortunately, at times this obliges us to decline personal iDs that may
otherwise seem unobjectionable. In any event, we will let you know if we
decline your personal iD, and we will offer you the chance to
submit another." With these rules in mind, we cannot accept your order as
submitted. If you wish to reorder your NIKE iD product with a new
personalization please visit us again at www.nike
<http://www.nike>.
< <http://www.nike.com/>> com
< <http://www.nike.com/>> Thank you, NIKE iD
From: "Jonah H. Peretti"
To: "Personalize, NIKE iD" < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Subject: RE: Your NIKE iD order o16468000
Dear NIKE iD,
Thank you for the time and energy you have spent on my request. I have
decided to order the shoes with a different iD, but I would like to
make one small request. Could you please send me a color snapshot of the
ten-year-old Vietnamese girl who makes my shoes?
Thanks,
Jonah Peretti
<no response>
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