The new age of discipline | Life and style | The Guardian

The new age of discipline | Life and style | The Guardian: "We have reached the end game of have-it-all culture. Because I'm Worth It has had its day, and discipline is the new decadence. The Nike Fuel Band, which tracks your calorie expenditure and praises you for an active lifestyle, has more smug-factor than a Rolex right now. The dominant meme of annoying Facebook behaviour has segued from the posting of party photos to "inspirational" quotes (American men – Henry Ford, Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson – are especially hot right now). Meanwhile, the narrative of reality TV has changed: bad behaviour in the hot tub, à la early Big Brother, has been replaced, from The Voice to The Apprentice, by Saturday-night preaching of the age-old Sunday-morning mantras that hard work will be rewarded, that mentors must be respected and listened to. Even family life has taken on a new set of values. With every issue of Goop, the cosy, cupcake-baking ideal of motherhood cedes territory to the Tiger Mothers (whose children will be more successful than yours) and the Gwyneth Paltrow-esque mothers (whose children will be slimmer and healthier, ergo more successful, than yours.)"

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Americans hate their jobs and even perks don't help - TODAY.com

Americans hate their jobs and even perks don't help - TODAY.com: "If you hate your job, you're not alone. And having in-office access to catered meals, a pingpong table or free massages may not make you any happier at work.

Just 30 percent of employees are engaged and inspired at work, according to Gallup's 2013 State of the American Workplace Report, which surveyed more than 150,000 full- and part-time workers during 2012. That's up from 28 percent in 2010. The rest … not so much. A little more than half of workers (52 percent) have a perpetual case of the Mondays—they're present, but not particularly excited about their job.

The remaining 18 percent are actively disengaged or, as Gallup CEO Jim Clifton put it in the report, "roam the halls spreading discontent." Worse, Gallup reports, those actively disengaged employees cost the U.S. up to $550 billion annually in lost productivity."

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Brazil can't kick this away

I supported Brazil's World Cup bid, but even I am against it now | Romario | Comment is free | The Guardian: "These protests will strengthen our democratic culture. It is the voice from the streets, for one, that will lead to the strengthening of our judiciary. And it couldn't come at a more timely moment: with the legislation currently weak, corruption is rife – and those who steal from the public are let off the hook. As a congressman for the Brazilian Socialist party (PSB), I am comfortable being so critical of the state of the law in my country, because for a long time I have not shied away from pointing out the abuses that take place around here.

When Brazil won the bid to host the World Cup, other politicians were in charge of the country, and our political reality was different. I supported the bid because it promised to generate employment and income, promote tourism and strengthen the country's image."

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Tough challenge in Brazil

Protests Sink Rousseff Bid to Buff Brazil Image With Soccer - Bloomberg: "“I have both the obligation to hear the voice of the streets and to dialog with all segments within the confines of law and order,” Rousseff, 65, said. “If we let violence take us off our path, we will not only be wasting a big historic opportunity, but also will be running the risk of losing a lot.”
Lower Approval
While 40 million Brazilians emerged from poverty in the past decade, faster inflation and inadequate public services have eroded Rousseff’s approval rating for the first time since taking office in January 2011.
Protesters this weekend fielded a range of grievances, from teachers marching for better pay to gay rights activists last night opposing a bill to let psychologists recommend medical treatment for homosexuality. Protesters in Rio de Janeiro today lined up hundreds of soccer balls on the beach to represent the country’s murder victims."

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