"Socially Inclined": January 2012

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Girl Talk

Women get together often enough to talk any and everything. From a guy's prospective we sometimes wonder.... I think. Well here are some of the topics that are often talked about when men are not around:

SEX
MARRIAGE
KIDS
JOB/CAREER
FAMILY
BOYFRIENDS/EX-BOYFRIENDS
CURRENT EVENTS/CELEBRITIES
FASHION
TRAVEL
CRUSHES
TURN ON/OFFS
LOVE
STRESS
HOPES & DREAMS

Dual Citizenship

MANHATTAN

LONDON

Multiple citizenship is a status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a citizen under the laws of more than one state. Multiple citizenships exist because different countries use different, and not necessarily mutually exclusive, citizenship requirements. Colloquial speech refers to people "holding" multiple citizenship but technically each nation makes a claim that this person be considered its national. For this reason, it is possible for a person to be a citizen of one or more countries, or even no country.

Individual countries follow their own rationales in establishing their criteria for citizenship. Each country has different requirements for citizenship, as well as different policies regarding dual citizenship. These laws sometimes leave gaps where the acquisition of other citizenships does not render the original citizenship invalid, creating a possible situation for an individual to hold two or more nationalities. Here are common reasons to bestow citizenship:

At least one parent is a citizen (jus sanguinis).
The person was born on the country's territory (jus soli)
The person marries a person holding the citizenship (jure matrimonii).
The person becomes naturalized.
The person was adopted from another country as a minor and at least one adoptive parent is a citizen.
The person, a few countries, makes a substantial monetary investment: Austria,Cyprus, Dominica and St. Kitts & Nevis.
Once citizenship is bestowed, the bestowing country may or may not consider a voluntary renunciation of that citizenship to be valid. In the case of naturalization, some countries require applicants for naturalization to renounce their former citizenship. However, this renunciation may not be recognized by the bestowing country. Technically, the person in question may still possess both citizenships.

For example, the US requires applicants for naturalization to renounce all prior allegiance to any other nation or sovereignty as part of the naturalization ceremony.In the case of a British citizen, however, the UK honors renunciation of citizenship only if done with competent UK authorities.Consequently, British citizens naturalized in the US remain British citizens in the eyes of the British government even after they renounce British allegiance to the satisfaction of U.S. authorities.

The Republic of Ireland frames its citizenship laws as relating to "the island of Ireland", thereby extending them to Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. Therefore, anyone born in Northern Ireland who meets the requirements for being an Irish citizen through birth on the island of Ireland (or a child born outside of Ireland but with a qualifying parent) may exercise an entitlement to Irish citizenship by acting in such a way that only an Irish citizen is entitled to do (such as applying for an Irish passport). Conversely, that such a person has not acted in this way does not necessarily mean that they are not an Irish citizen. See Irish nationality law and British nationality law. People born in Northern Ireland are British citizens on the same basis as people born elsewhere in the United Kingdom. People born in Northern Ireland may choose to hold a British Passport, an Irish Passport, or both.

OCCUPY WALLSTREET

Occupy Wall Street (OWS) is a protest movement which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district, initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters. The protests are against social and economic inequality, high unemployment, greed, as well as corruption, and the undue influence of corporations—particularly from the financial services sector—on government. The protesters' slogan We are the 99% refers to the growing income and wealth inequality in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. The protests in New York City have sparked similar Occupy protests and movements around the world.

The Return of Bottle Service

People spend stupid amounts of money at nightclubs all the time. Some hedge funders managed to spend £71,000 ($111,000 USD) at London's The Rose Club between just nine of them. That's over $12,000 per person. Hey, it was their company Christmas party, okay? How does one even go about doing that? Well, you buy £7,200 worth of Dom Perignon (that's six magnums), and seven bottles of something called Mahiki Coconut that cost £160 each. There was a £7,956 service charge, and they tipped an extra £10,000 on top of that. Also, they ordered 24 bottles of what the Daily Mail calls "Prince Harry's favourite drink," Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka. What is Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka? Glad you asked.

Ciroc Ultra Premium vodka comes in six liter bottles that, at the Rose Club, cost £1,850. It is also served from a device called Le Halo, which is described as "a futuristic pouring unit." Here's hoping they shared; 24 six liter bottles of vodka goes a long way between nine people.

Anyway, the £71,000 bill is in addition to the money the hedge-funder just threw on the ground: "At one point he threw £50 notes in the air like confetti and watched as 'pretty girls' scrambled on the floor to pick up as many as they could." Real charmers, these guys.