Supreme Owner Made a Billionaire Feeding U.S. War Machine

Supreme Owner Made a Billionaire Feeding U.S. War Machine

Chemical warfare and car bombings are just a few of the hazards working in war-torn countries such as Iraq and Syria. For Supreme Group BV, it’s the cost of doing business. Dubai-based Supreme delivers fuel and food — 100,000 meals a day — to troops stationed in some of the most inhospitable parts of the world, including Liberia, Mali and Sudan. The perilous business, where contractors dodge bullets fired by the Taliban and explosives set by insurgents, has made the company’s majority owner, Stephen Orenstein, a billionaire. “Our mantra is to provide the same quality of service in Rwanda or Somalia as we do for restaurant chains in Germany,” Orenstein, 49, said in a phone interview from his office in Dubai. “We took a developed world standard and brought it to the developing world.” Read more of this post

Just what is in that chicken nugget? Stand-up comedians have long joked that some things, like the actual components of chicken nuggets, are better left mysterious

Just what is in that chicken nugget?

Fri, Oct 4 2013

By Kathryn Doyle

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Stand-up comedians have long joked that some things, like the actual components of chicken nuggets, are better left mysterious. Recently, Mississippi researchers found out why: two nuggets they examined consisted of 50 percent or less chicken muscle tissue, the breast or thigh meat that comes to mind when a customer thinks of “chicken.” The nuggets came from two national fast food chains in Jackson. The three researchers selected one nugget from each box, preserved, dissected and stained the nuggets, then looked at them under a microscope. Read more of this post

How enlightened are you? — it doesn’t have to be religion

How enlightened are you? — it doesn’t have to be religion

BY AMY CHAVEZ

OCT 4, 2013

We’ve all heard of enlightenment: awakening to the ultimate truth of life, usually achieved by relief from suffering. With the stresses of modern life — careers, love, family, Facebook — all that mental and physical pain, who wouldn’t want to suffer a little less? Who wouldn’t want enlightenment? According to the Japanese Buddhist saint Kobo Daishi (774-835), enlightenment is obtainable within our own lifetimes. And you may even be able to prevent suffering in all lifetimes to come as well. Hot dog — sign me up! What are we waiting for? On the other hand, most of us have heard the prerequisites for achieving enlightenment: intensive meditation (no way, José!), detachment from physical and material things (that’s everything I’ve worked so hard for!), non-violence (get real!) and good will to all living beings (I don’t wanna go vegan!). No wonder more people don’t go for enlightenment. So Kobo Daishi, what do we do now? I think if Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon-shu Esoteric Buddhism in Japan, were here now, he would tell us all to calm down and take a good look at ourselves. After all, life has changed a lot since his time. Yes, enlightenment takes patience and a great deal of maturity to achieve, but it is not out of our realm. And I don’t think he’d tell us to give up the material things we’ve worked so hard for. I doubt he’d even recommend becoming a spiritual hermit these days. Instead, I think he’d politely tell us that what we really need to do to achieve enlightenment is to cultivate a better mindset. While the idea of enlightenment is a Buddhist concept, it is not unique to Buddhism and you do not have to be Buddhist to reach personal enlightenment. Think of Mother Theresa, and Mahatma Gandhi (religious pluralism) — both role models of enlightenment. Rather than attempt the path to enlightenment a Buddhist monk or a spiritual leader takes, we can take our own individual path. It doesn’t even have to be religious. It does, however, have to adhere to certain accepted principles of enlightenment, many you’re already familiar with such as mindfulness and compassion for others, for example. Here are some basic things that all enlightened individuals share. Read more of this post

Passion for swords led Briton to forge career as expert

Passion for swords led Briton to forge career as expert

Paul Martin seeks to broaden the appeal of Japanese swords for the younger generations

BY LOUISE GEORGE KITTAKA

SPECIAL TO THE JAPAN TIMES

OCT 4, 2013

Paul Martin cares for swords kept at the British Museum. Right: Martin is crowned the 1993 English karate champion in the lightweight division, a title he held three times. | COURTESY OF PAUL MARTIN

Tucked away in a quiet residential street in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward, the Japanese Sword Museum offers a glimpse into an era where men staked their honor and their lives on the blade. The museum appears to be something of a hidden gem, since many residents do not seem aware that it exists. However, it is surprisingly popular with overseas tourists, who come to soak up the history. One frequent visitor to the museum is Briton Paul Martin, an expert on Japanese swords and their history, who now makes his home in Tokyo. Entering the museum on a recent weekday morning, he is warmly greeted by the staff. “I’ve done most of the English translation for the exhibits,” he notes. Read more of this post

To This Fan Club, Vanguard Founder John Bogle Is a Star; The Bogleheads gather online and in person to celebrate index investing and their idol

Updated October 6, 2013, 4:51 p.m. ET

To This Fan Club, Vanguard Founder John Bogle Is a Star

The Bogleheads gather online and in person to celebrate index investing and their idol

ANNA PRIOR

Fan clubs exist to enable enthusiasts to bond over everything from Porsches to poodles. But a fan club for mutual funds? “I remember being excited and telling my wife, ‘There is a group of people that hang out on the Internet that are low-cost investors just like we are,’ ” says Ed Rager, a retiree from Annandale, Va. Mr. Rager and his wife, Patti, are members of the Bogleheads, also known as the Vanguard Diehards—an online and increasingly offline community whose members tend to favor long-term, low-cost index investing inspired by Vanguard Group Inc. founder John Bogle. Read more of this post

Why So Many Trees in Fund Names? It’s a way to convey an image of security and the promise of growth

October 6, 2013, 4:50 p.m. ET

Why So Many Trees in Fund Names?

It’s a way to convey an image of security and the promise of growth

JONNELLE MARTE

In the mutual-fund business, it seems, every day is Arbor Day. Dozens of mutual funds and exchange-traded funds are named after trees. There are red oaks, black oaks and white oaks, along with sequoias, aspens, sandalwood and pine—even a whole forest of WisdomTree ETFs. Why are so many fund companies tying themselves to trees? The most obvious answer is that portfolios—like trees—don’t grow overnight, but can reach substantial heights. Companies are looking to evoke thoughts of “firmly rooted” funds capable of “long-term growth and the ability to withstand the elements,” says Catherine Weigel, senior vice president and editorial director for Carpenter Group, a marketing and creative agency specializing in the financial-services industry. The sense of long-term security that tree names convey may be particularly appealing to people saving for retirement, says Howard Breindel, co-chief executive of DeSantis Breindel, a branding and marketing firm that has experience with financial-services companies. Long-term-oriented portfolio managers will often use the tree theme to attract buy-and-hold investors instead of those who are looking “to ride a wave,” Mr. Breindel says. Read more of this post

Beyond cost cutting

2013-10-06 14:23

Beyond cost cutting

Choi In-hyuk

The list of challenges facing corporate leaders today is lengthy. It includes globalization, rapidly shifting market dynamics, fallout from the European debt crisis, and a potential slowdown in Asia. As global economic pressures intensify, corporate leaders must focus on creating a competitive and sustainable cost structure. It is not enough to slash costs through short-term measures such as shuttering facilities, and reducing head count. What is required is true cost excellence in an intelligent and sustainable way in order to protect against another upward creep in costs in the future. Read more of this post

Rich People Just Care Less: The poor are more attuned to social relations, because they have to be. Reducing the economic gap may be impossible without also addressing the gap in empathy

OCTOBER 5, 2013, 2:25 PM

Rich People Just Care Less

By DANIEL GOLEMAN

Turning a blind eye. Giving someone the cold shoulder. Looking down on people. Seeing right through them. These metaphors for condescending or dismissive behavior are more than just descriptive. They suggest, to a surprisingly accurate extent, the social distance between those with greater power and those with less — a distance that goes beyond the realm of interpersonal interactions and may exacerbate the soaring inequality in the United States. A growing body of recent research shows that people with the most social power pay scant attention to those with little such power. This tuning out has been observed, for instance, with strangers in a mere five-minute get-acquainted session, where the more powerful person shows fewer signals of paying attention, like nodding or laughing. Higher-status people are also more likely to express disregard, through facial expressions, and are more likely to take over the conversation and interrupt or look past the other speaker. Read more of this post