"This causes us to think that we are better then others at whatever we do for a living. 94 percent of Swedes believe that their driving skills put them in the top 50 percent of Swedish drivers; 84 percent of Frenchmen feel that their lovemaking abilities put them In the top half of French lovers.

The other effect of this asymmetry is that we feel a little unique, unlike others, for whom we do not perceive such an asymmetry. Consider how many people who have abruptly lost their job deemed it likely to occur, even a few days before. Or consider how many drug addicts entered the game willing to stay in it so long."

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Excerpt from "The Black Swan" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

"Our information is that the BCCI not only set up the deal but retains effective control of the Attock. The Attock Oil share supposedly held by 'Arab investors'  were placed under lock and key by Abedi's henchman Swaleh Naqvi -- together with undated transfer documents signed by all four principles of KIFCO. Thus Abedi, without appearing formally on the record, has Pakistan's nascent oil industry neatly under his thumb.
The BCCI's official spokesmen deny this account, and say that the Attock Oil shares has been registered 'perfectly normally' in the name of yet another company, Finance and Investment International Corporation (FIIC). It perhaps comes as no surprise that this registration took place in the Cayman Islands, where FIIC is domiciled, like too many interesting parts of the BCCI structure."

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Excerpt from "A banker for all seasons" by Tariq Ali.

"Yet it is also true that even in Auschwitz some Jews continued to study the Talmud and observe the traditional festivals, not because they hoped that God would rescue them but because it made sense. There is a story that one day in Auschwitz, a group of Jews put God on trial. They charged him with cruelty and betrayal. Like Job, they found no consolation in the usual answers to the problem of evil and suffering in the midst of this current obscenity. They could find no excuse for God, no extenuating circumstances, so they found him guilty and, presumably, worthy of death. The Rabbi pronounced the verdict. Then he looked up and said that the trial was over: it was time for the evening prayer."

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Excerpt from "A History of God" By Karen Armstrong