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Computers aren't the only office snitches. Slightly more than half of employers surveyed monitor how much time their employees spend on the phone, and even track calls--up from 9% in 2001. Companies are required to inform every nonemployee that they're listening in, which is why you hear, "This call is being monitored for quality assurance." But there's no such protection for staff members. Bosses monitor calls with programs like Nice Systems', which sends an alert if your voice reaches a certain decibel level or you blurt out profane language or a competitor's name...
...books, working every morning, never deviating from a disciplined routine. "A writer must sit down to write every day, pick up his pen and try to write something - anything - on a piece of paper," he once said. (According to legend, when the Swedish ambassador paid him a call to inform him that he'd been awarded the Nobel, Mahfouz's wife refused to disturb him: he was taking his regular...
...trying to make. At heart, it is a form of etiquette intended to harmonize social encounters, and involves displays of flattery and deference. Taarof does not seek to mask the truth, it simply rests on the belief that life is more pleasant when you do not needlessly inform every jerk you meet that he is indeed a jerk. What does this mean in practice? Say you go to meet the deputy foreign minister. You may not be certain if he likes you, for either way taarof will demand that he greet you warmly, pour you tea, and suggest you meet...
...suggested that media and public authorities inform people of the consequences of not evacuating and of the efforts made to ensure that shelters are safe. He also said that government officials and residents must work more carefully on evacuation plans...
...judges at least, it is possible that daughters don't know best. But perhaps even lawmakers should think twice about letting personal circumstances inform their making of public policy. California's three-strikes law, for instance, didn't emerge from a reasoned debate over the wisdom of condemning three-time offenders to life in prison but from the impassioned pleas of a father whose daughter, Kimber Reynolds, was murdered by career criminals. Megan's Law (requiring released sex-offenders to publicly disclose their offense), Katie's Law (providing money to track sex offenders) and a host of similar measures share...