'Viagra lure' for Afghan warlords
Story from BBC NEWS:
2008/12/26
Drugstores Online
America's CIA has found a novel way to gain information from fickle Afghan warlords - supplying sex-enhancing drug Viagra, a US media report says.
The Washington Post said it was one of a number of enticements being used.
In one case, a 60-year-old warlord with four wives was given four pills and four days later detailed Taleban movements in return for more.
"Whatever it takes to make friends and influence people," the Post quoted one agent as saying.
"Whether it's building a school or handing out Viagra."
'Silver bullet'
The newspaper said the use of Viagra had to be handled sensitively as the drug was not always known about in rural areas.
It quoted one retired agent as saying: "You didn't hand it out to younger guys, but it could be a silver bullet to make connections to the older ones."
In the case of the 60-year-old warlord - the head of a clan in southern Afghanistan who had not co-operated - operatives saw he had four younger wives.
The pills were explained and offered. Four days later the agents returned.
"He came up to us beaming," the Post quoted an agent as saying. "He said, 'You are a great man.'
"And after that we could do whatever we wanted in his area."
The pills could put chieftains "back in an authoritative position", another official said.
The paper said the CIA had a long line of inducements for the notoriously fickle warlords, including dental work, visas, toys and medicine.
It quoted one private security official as saying that simply handing over large sums of money would raise suspicions about newfound wealth.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
A scramble for deals, sales
A scramble for deals, sales
Stores try to make up for tough holiday with post-Christmas binges
By Sheila G. Miller / The Bulletin
December 27. 2008
Macy's Discount Coupon
Need help shoveling? A Bend locale has your back
Brenda Rantala and her mother, Shirley Chilton, had a shopping plan Friday morning.
They started out at Macy’s at 7 a.m., then headed to The Old Mill District to check out deals at Gap, J. Jill and REI.
Their plan paid off. They loaded up on shoes, boots, sweaters and shirts for themselves and their family.
The best find? Long sweaters for $14.99, 70 percent off, at Macy’s.
“We actually spent less for Christmas because we knew we’d spend more today,” said Rantala, 46.
As retailers across the country tried to lure more customers in with good deals, local stores featured after-Christmas sales and posted signs detailing their discounts.
Nationally, retail sales are down between 5.5 and 8 percent for November and December, but some stores are hoping for a late surge.
According to SpendingPulse, a MasterCard Advisors division that tracks nationwide spending, there were big drops in clothing and footwear sales during the last two months, when most people typically do their holiday shopping. Sales of women’s clothing dropped more than 22 percent while men’s clothing sales dropped about 14 percent from last year’s holiday season. Footwear sales fell about 13 percent from last year.
That hasn’t stopped some local retailers from trying to get shoppers into their stores.
At REI in The Old Mill District, Manager Anne Powell said things were hectic.
“It’s just the day after Christmas,” she said. “We’re getting lots of exchanges.”
While REI hadn’t made many big discounts to try to entice shoppers, there were still some good deals, Powell said. The store’s holiday clearance sale featured up to 50 percent off on selected items.
Powell wasn’t alone.
At Local Joe’s in downtown Bend, Manager Laura Moore said the store had cut prices and was seeing big crowds.
“We’re having an after-Christmas sale,” she said Friday. “It’s our first time ever.”
Some of the tactics worked. The parking lot for the Bend River Promenade was packed with shoppers headed to Macy’s, which opened at 6 a.m. with early-bird specials and sales all day.
That’s what brought Bend resident Nancy Vietinghoff, 49, to Macy’s on Friday. She had a return to make but decided to brave the crowds because she knew about good savings at the department store.
“There were all sorts of good finds,” Vietinghoff said.
After making her return, then buying a black dress coat and a knife set, she was headed to the car. But she wasn’t finished.
“I’m just going to put this stuff in the car and go back in for more stuff,” she said, laughing.
While shoppers futilely circled the parking lot around Macy’s, other places, like The Old Mill District, were quiet around noon Friday.
Hannah Jenny, 13, bought a sweatshirt and three pairs of jeans on discount at Pac Sun. She and her family, visiting from the Bay Area, said the store was busy.
“The sales are ridiculous,” Lena Jenny, 15, said of Pac Sun.
But she said the sales weren’t universal.
The Jennys had just come from American Eagle Outfitters, which Lena said had a lot of nice clothes but not enough discounts.
“They were like, ‘Oh we’ve got great discounts,’ but it was like, $5,” Lena said. “(At Pac Sun) it’s like 50 percent off.”
Kailin and Nancy Koch had also noticed the sale signs at Pac Sun. Kailin, 15, said she was grabbing a last-minute (and slightly late) Christmas gift for a family friend.
Her mom, Nancy, said the deals were impressive.
“They’re taking big discounts,” she said.
Stores try to make up for tough holiday with post-Christmas binges
By Sheila G. Miller / The Bulletin
December 27. 2008
Macy's Discount Coupon
Need help shoveling? A Bend locale has your back
Brenda Rantala and her mother, Shirley Chilton, had a shopping plan Friday morning.
They started out at Macy’s at 7 a.m., then headed to The Old Mill District to check out deals at Gap, J. Jill and REI.
Their plan paid off. They loaded up on shoes, boots, sweaters and shirts for themselves and their family.
The best find? Long sweaters for $14.99, 70 percent off, at Macy’s.
“We actually spent less for Christmas because we knew we’d spend more today,” said Rantala, 46.
As retailers across the country tried to lure more customers in with good deals, local stores featured after-Christmas sales and posted signs detailing their discounts.
Nationally, retail sales are down between 5.5 and 8 percent for November and December, but some stores are hoping for a late surge.
According to SpendingPulse, a MasterCard Advisors division that tracks nationwide spending, there were big drops in clothing and footwear sales during the last two months, when most people typically do their holiday shopping. Sales of women’s clothing dropped more than 22 percent while men’s clothing sales dropped about 14 percent from last year’s holiday season. Footwear sales fell about 13 percent from last year.
That hasn’t stopped some local retailers from trying to get shoppers into their stores.
At REI in The Old Mill District, Manager Anne Powell said things were hectic.
“It’s just the day after Christmas,” she said. “We’re getting lots of exchanges.”
While REI hadn’t made many big discounts to try to entice shoppers, there were still some good deals, Powell said. The store’s holiday clearance sale featured up to 50 percent off on selected items.
Powell wasn’t alone.
At Local Joe’s in downtown Bend, Manager Laura Moore said the store had cut prices and was seeing big crowds.
“We’re having an after-Christmas sale,” she said Friday. “It’s our first time ever.”
Some of the tactics worked. The parking lot for the Bend River Promenade was packed with shoppers headed to Macy’s, which opened at 6 a.m. with early-bird specials and sales all day.
That’s what brought Bend resident Nancy Vietinghoff, 49, to Macy’s on Friday. She had a return to make but decided to brave the crowds because she knew about good savings at the department store.
“There were all sorts of good finds,” Vietinghoff said.
After making her return, then buying a black dress coat and a knife set, she was headed to the car. But she wasn’t finished.
“I’m just going to put this stuff in the car and go back in for more stuff,” she said, laughing.
While shoppers futilely circled the parking lot around Macy’s, other places, like The Old Mill District, were quiet around noon Friday.
Hannah Jenny, 13, bought a sweatshirt and three pairs of jeans on discount at Pac Sun. She and her family, visiting from the Bay Area, said the store was busy.
“The sales are ridiculous,” Lena Jenny, 15, said of Pac Sun.
But she said the sales weren’t universal.
The Jennys had just come from American Eagle Outfitters, which Lena said had a lot of nice clothes but not enough discounts.
“They were like, ‘Oh we’ve got great discounts,’ but it was like, $5,” Lena said. “(At Pac Sun) it’s like 50 percent off.”
Kailin and Nancy Koch had also noticed the sale signs at Pac Sun. Kailin, 15, said she was grabbing a last-minute (and slightly late) Christmas gift for a family friend.
Her mom, Nancy, said the deals were impressive.
“They’re taking big discounts,” she said.
Shoppers search for bargain prices
Shoppers search for bargain prices
Post-Christmas sales attract consumers
By LAITH AGHA and LARRY PARSONS
Herald Staff Writers
12/27/2008
Macy's Discount Coupon
A boy stands inside the Old Navy store in Northridge Mall in Salinas... (ORVILLE MYERS/The Herald)
Laurie and Sandy Silveira were not particularly interested in heading up the Macy's escalator to look at clothing.
The stepmother and stepdaughter from Pacific Grove had a specific mission the day after Christmas.
"We're looking for kitchen things, bedding, stuff for the house," said Laurie, the daughter, in the store's bottom-floor kitchen section.
The two had just arrived at Del Monte Shopping Center in Monterey after a trip to Kohl's in Marina, where they spent four hours sifting through sale items.
Sandy Silveira pulled out a scrolling receipt that reflected their lengthy stay at the Marina big-box store.
The bottom of the tag showed they spent a little more than $300, about a third of what they would have paid at full retail prices, Sandy said.
Those were the kinds of deals that thousands of shoppers were seeking at Del Monte Center on Friday, trying to take advantage of inventory-clearing sales. Many of the mall's stores are offering items at 50 to 70 percent off regular prices.
Some people said they are taking advantage of the sales as they normally do the day after Christmas, while others are trying to stretch their dollars during a tough economic time.
John Galatea, who stopped at the mall with his wife before heading to Carmel for a weekend getaway, sat in a wooden lounge chair outside White House Black Market. His wife was in the store, celebrating her birthday with a solo shopping spree.
"She doesn't need me," Galatea said.
"I'm happy out here, enjoying the weather."
He said they "went pretty light" on Christmas presents for each other this year, instead focusing their gift-giving on their three children, a 7-year-old boy and 4-year-old twin girls.
A couple from Marina, Rian Obispo, 26, and Sabrina San Nicolas, 24, said they found some good deals at American Eagle Outfitters and Victoria's Secret. Then they drove to another store about a half-mile from the mall so that Obispo could pick out a late Christmas present — a box of baseball cards at Sharp Corners Cards and Collectibles.
"We're regulars," San Nicolas said, rolling her eyes.
Early Friday at Harden Ranch Plaza in North Salinas, assistant property manager Teresa Whitesmith took heart in seeing the parking lot in front of Target filling by 7:30 a.m.
"The traffic seems to be going nicely," she said. "That's a good thing to see, consumers out and shopping. ... It has been a difficult year."
At nearby Northridge Mall, the parking lot was "pretty close to full" by midafternoon, at least equaling the numbers for the day after Christmas in years past, said mall marketing manager Bryce Root.
"For a lot of people it's a traditional day to come out and shop," he said.
The mall's J.C. Penney store opened at 5:30 a.m. to lure early-bird bargain hunters, and it was among the stores reporting "a pickup in traffic," he said.
Penney store manager O.J. Perez said a surprisingly heavy turnout forced him to call in more employees to work about 10 a.m.
"It's just jam-packed," he said by late afternoon. "We've already exceeded last year's day-after sale."
Across the country, many retailers employed traditional day-after Christmas techniques to lure shoppers in — opening early, extending hours and trumpeting sales. But many shoppers were on the hunt for big bargains on specific items or hoping to return unwanted gifts — not looking to splurge.
Just as the post-Christmas period began — on a Friday, which retailers saw as another hopeful incentive — reports came in on a very lackluster sales before the holiday.
SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard Advisors that tracks total sales, said overall sales were down 2 to 4 percent between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, with gasoline and auto sales excluded.
Some said 2008 would go down as one of the worst holiday sales seasons ever. Hardest-hit by the incredibly shrinking consumer wallet were luxury goods, once considered immune from economic troubles.
Sales of luxury items fell by 21.2 percent, after posting a 2.7 increase last year.
Tepid holiday sales came on the heels of several retailers liquidating or going into bankruptcy proceedings — including Circuit City Stores, Mervyn's LLC and Linens 'N Things Inc. They could be followed by more retailers reeling from weak holiday business.
Laith Agha can be reached at lagha@montereyherald.com or 646-4358.
Larry Parsons can be reached at 646-4379 or lparsons@montereyherald.com.
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