THIS GUY IS A MILLIONAIRE JANITOR

This millionaire keep his day job as a janitor and still works hard every day. Hey it couldn't be me.

-AL

THIS GUY IS CHILLIN WITH THE LIONS

Jim Jablon will spend all of January inside an enclosure with two African lions as part of an effort to raise funds for a Florida wildlife rehabilitation center struggling to meet operating costs.

The cats -- a 2-year-old named Lea and a 1-year-old named Ed -- are young and playful, but they're also powerful and their caretaker sometimes feels over-matched.

"I'm still a toy to them," said Jablon, the longtime owner of Wildlife Rehabilitation of Hernando in Spring Hill, Fla. "They can be out cold and I'll sneak up between them and lay down, but as soon as they realize I'm there it's the battle of the bands.
Jablon, who does have a "lockout area" in which he can find refuge if things get too rough, countered that he doesn't feel threatened by the lions and pointed out that if the facility were to shut down, animals that were not accepted by other facilities probably would be put to death.

It costs about $75,000 annually to care for the 100 animals at the 14-acre center and Jablon says car washes and other small-scale fund-raisers are no longer sufficient. He hopes people visiting his website and watching the streaming video will feel motivated to make a donation. He expects to raise between $100,000 and $200,000.
I know he means well but I think he is still an idiont.

-AL

ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION

University of Arizonza students take part in their third annual underwear run to benefit charity. Hey sign me up at that school.


-AL

BILL GATES LOSING POLIO WAR

Bill Gates walked into the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva—for a meeting in an underground chamber where global pandemics are managed—and was greeted by bad news. Polio was spreading across Africa, even after he gave $700 million to try to wipe out the disease. What a noble effort but maybe he can help in other ways, like give me a loan.


-AL

IF YOU RAN A CHARTIY IS IT FAIR TO BE DRIVING THESE CARS?

Two German charities, Treberhilfe and Hatun & Can, being dipped in some boiling water not because of money their executives made, but money they spent. On a Maserati and a Land Rover, to be precise.

When it was discovered that Treberhilfe's director drives a Maserati company car, Harald Ehlert said that it's "a car for a gentleman" and that he had to make a good impression on donors. On that latter point, well, he might have a point; as they say in LA, you can't sell million-dollar homes in a Pontiac. And even the director of the Salvation Army makes nearly $200,000 per year.
The leadership at Hatun & Can, a women's aid group, has not only been called out by donors but is being investigated by the German police for fraud and embezzlement. In this case it is unclear what the financial shenanigans entail, but a Land Rover has been confiscated from the charity's fleet and the non-profit's bank accounts have been frozen.
Kinda makes you wonder where all that Haiti money went.

-AL