BLAME IT ON THE BRITISH?

The oil spill has nothing to do with the people of Great Britain and everything to do with the larcenous cupidity of the tycoons that run worldwide megabucks corporations like BP, Goldman Sachs & the other big banks and Nestle, Monsanto etc.

It is no conspiracy - all of these corporations are systemically focussed on maximum profit - whatever the cost to customers, citizens and the taxpayers of whatever country or counries they do business in. BP will drill for oil wherever and whenever they can, providing it offers substantial rewards- irregardless of the risk to the environment and society. The current debacle is proof that the markets do not regulate themselves and unless governments take an active role in control of the larcenous bastards that run the BP's of the world, we are screwed.

20% Unemployed- Forever!

Cynthia Norton, Jacksonville Florida, laid off two years ago from an insurance company.

“Sometimes I think I’d be better off in jail” says the 53 year- old unemployed administrative assistant only half joking. “I’d have three meals a day and structure in my life*. I’d be able to go to school. I’d have more opportunities if I were an inmate than I do here trying to be a contributing member of society.”

1.7 million Americans who were employed in clerical and administrative jobs when the recession began are no longer working in that occupation now. Those jobs have been permanently eliminated and even when the economy recovers they will never be filled again. This country and virtually all of western civilization must accept the fact that one-fifth of it’s work force, will eventually be permanently unemployed. 

What is the Obama administration or for that matter, the Merkel, Sarkozy, Cameron etc.,  administrations, doing about this? For that matter, are any of them even acknowledging the existence of this 100 ton gorilla?

The King Kong of modern social issues is being completely ignored simply because no one has even the slightest idea of how to deal with him. Except perhaps, “Just ignore him and maybe he’ll go away”

Since the dawn of the Industrial revolution and maybe even before, people have defined themselves by their occupations. If you ask someone to describe themselves they’ll usually start with their jobs; “I’m a lawyer and a father, a husband” etc. Their social positions, their connection to the community, their lives, revolve around their jobs. With no job - who are they? If one out of five members of the work force have no jobs and no employment prospects what are they? How can they relate to society? 

An examination of countries that have experienced long-term, massive unemployment reveals a consistent pattern of social unrest and a frequent tendency towards an autoritarian regime (e.g. Nazi Germany, fascist Spain & Portugal, Peron’s Argentina, etc.) or incipient fascist movements as in the 1930’s U.S. or the current Tea-Bag Movement and aberrations like the Arizona immigration law.

FDR introduced Social Security and the WPA among other governmental initiatives to offset (but not cure) the unemployment crisis. They were fairly successful palliatives but it took WWII to put a temporary stop to it. Then, the post-war “reconctruction” with its GI Bill and other related instruments contributed to the temporary postponement of the resurgence of massive unemployment but as the Eagles sang “You can run but you can’t hide” and now almost 80 years since the onset of the Great Depression it’s “deja vu all over again”

This time, we must face the awful reality of permanent unemployment for a significant segment of the world’s population and focus our best minds and facilities on the problem before the Gorilla starts to tear the place apart.

Watching Pigeons

 Do Americans look and act  more like pigeons or are pigeons imitating people?

You Want Limited Government?

How about HONG KONG?: 

".  We may well ask whether there exist any contemporary examples of societies that rely primarily on voluntary exchange through the market and in which government is limited.

Perhaps the best example is Hong Kong.  It is less than 400 square miles in size with a population of roughly 4.5 million people.  The density of population is almost unbelievable — 14 times as many people per square mile as Japan, 185 times as many as in the United States.  Yet they enjoy one of the highest standards of living in all of Asia — second only to Japan and perhaps Singapore.

Hong Kong has no tariffs or other restraints on international trade.  It has no government direction of economic activity, no minimum wage laws, no fixing of prices.  The residents are free to buy from whom they want, sell to whom they want, to invest however they want, to hire whom they want, to work for whom they want.

The role of government is limited.  It enforces law and order, provides a means for formulating the rules of conduct, adjudicates disputes, facilitates transportation and communication, and supervises the issuance of currency.

Government spending remains the lowest in the world as a fraction of the income of the people.  As a result, low taxes preserve incentives.  Businessmen reap the benefits of their success but also bear the costs of their mistakes.

– Free to Choose by  Milton Friedman

Isn't Hong Kong part of the People's Republic of China (PRC)? How could anyone call that a "contemporary example ....in which government is limited". The truth is that the limited government, so prized by the Tea Partiers is a fantasy in today's world. Even the Tea Partiers want their Social Security and Medicare and all of us who benefitted from the GI Bill of Rights don't regret that either.
Totally Free Market Economy? So Goldman Sachs and the rest of Wall St. Gang can get away with murder? 
These guys can't be serious. 


I would like to know exactly how their vision of limited government would work and how do we re-invent our political system to fit it?
Maybe start with "limited free elections" ? Land owners and millionaires only? Maybe we should just abolish the federal government completely so that here in Texas we'd be totally under the thumb of wing-nut secessionists like Rick Perry

The Glory that Was...America?

If only the politicians in Washington, London, Paris, Baghdad or wherever weren't politicians and if scorpions weren't always scorpions, then the leopard would change his spots and we could have universal health care that makes sense and other legislation that benefits the people. Alas it's not going to happen- ever. Politicians will always be- politicians, and the people will always follows the kings of misrule with the loudest voices. After 60 years of political activism (from Adlai Stevenson to Barack Obama) I'm laying down my clipboard and retiring. I have wasted so much time and energy tilting at windmills only to realize that it has all been "An impossible dream" . 85% of what we call "the people" are really only sheep and they will follow anyone who looks like a shepherd. Tebaggers of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your strings!


And I will sit back and watch as this country sinks to the second tier position it has earned. Where indeed is the courage, integrity and goodwill that used to be the identifying keywords of American foreign and domestic public policy?
Maybe it was all "an impossible dream"

Have I Got Egg on my Face?

Not quite but almost. True, Obama and his staff have managed to get the somewhat tattered Health Care Reform Bill through the house the House. It a quilt work of compromises and some rather shifty deals. The restrictions on abortion are unfair and unfortunate but it is some reform and maybe it will lead to more cost savings somewhere down the road.
So hip, hip fore President Obama (he has now earned the title) and please remember sir, "there are miles to go before [we] sleep"

The Lives of "The Stars"

Susan Sarandon is dating a 31 year old ping pong player?
How sad. I respected and admired ms. Sarandon for her masterful performances in ," Thelma & Louise" (1991)," Lorenzo's Oil" (1992), and "The Client" (1994).She definitely earned the award for her performance in " Dead Man Walking". But it seems as if the corruption and decadence is spreading fast from Wall St., to Washington and Main St. to Hollywood. Evidently, you can take the [Woman] out of Hollywood but you can't take Hollywood out of the woman. Good luck to you Susan, it seems "I hardly knew ya"

Be Careful About What You Wish [Vote] For

I laughed when I first heard somebody refer to Barrack Obama as "The Manchurian Candidate of the 21st century" but I don't think it's all that funny anymore. Certainly he's not a tool of the Russians or even the Chinese but, what if, he has been recruited and formed by the robber barons of Wall St. and other free market gangsters, to completely subvert the government of the United States in preparation for a takeover by the forces of the night/right and the installation of an oligarchic dictatorship? "Oh no, it can't happen here you say"? How about Timothy Franz Geithner and his mentor Larry Summers? Whose side do you think they're on? Yours and mine? Yeah right. And the latest Supreme Court rulings? I won't use the word "conspiracy" but it does somewhat fit a pattern doesn't it. The question is "How low can he (Obama) go" before people wake up. Obstructionist Republican naysayers to the right of us- dubious Democrats to the left of us. Simpson & Co. "retrofitting" our Social Security system. Isn't there anybody out there that's on our side?

CPR for Our Country

The economic system is under a death watch and there's almost no hope for survival without radical surgery.
Our political system needs multiple organ transplants,
including brain and heart.
Here's what responsible citizens can do to insure the survival of our country.

1. Stop contributing to all political organizations and politicians immediately!
2. Create and circulate a petition to impeach the Supreme Court.
3. Plan and execute a responsible citizens March on Washington on the first of May.
4. Politicians and organizations supporting the petition and march will be eligible for funding
5. Draft the "best and the brightest" to conceptualize a "Citizen's Bill of Rights for the 21st Century" for endorsement and incorporation in the U.S. Constitution.

Perhaps then we can start to re-create "a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men [and women] are created equal."

God Help America!

The Best Hotels in the World

Totally subjective based  exclusively on my own personal experience

• The old Plaza Hotel ( New York)
• The George V (Paris, before it became a Four Seasons Hotel)
• The New Otani (Tokyo)
• The Villa D'este (Lake Como)
• Due Torri (Verona)
• Gritti Palace (Venice)
• Claridge's (London)
• The Hilton (Hong Kong)
• The Beverly Wilshire (Beverly Hills)
• The Four Seasons Costa Rica

Three of the best are in Italy. The Italians do a few things right- hotel keeping, cooking, making and wearing clothes and manufacturing fine cars. If, "living well is the best revenge", living in Italy is the supreme vendetta.

Mimicing

Mimicking or "mirroring" is not exclusive to humans, our cousins the chimps do it and so do many other animals. 
It may be one of the most ancient forms of social intercourse. It's a way of establishing a connection with another and, although not absolutely necessary it may be a quick way of establishing a preliminary relationship. I don't usually mimic someone I don't like unless it's to ridicule them. It's a way of demonstrating our "sympathie" (in the French sense) for another. You smile and I smile back, you laugh and so do I. (Many people need a laugh track to know what's funny) 
When someone makes a friendly gesture; offering their hand or a hug and I don't reciprocate, I am showing that I have no wish to engage with that person in a friendly way.


We don't usually mimic anyone that we don't feel any empathy for unless it's to show scorn or contempt. So, what about those who can't empathize with others? Normally they don't mimic and if they do it's usually forced and unnatural. 

Just War?

"My God, is this the end of the world? No. it's 'just war' ".
I don't believe in "Just Wars" or more specifically. I can't think of any except perhaps WW II (and I'm not absolutely sure about even that). The President presented an almost valid argument for his position relative to our occupation of Afghanistan but it was not totally convincing. He demonstrated his pragmatic  tendencies and actually showed his casuist side as well. It's beginning to look like Barrack Obama is not really committed to the changes he promised in his campaign but instead is totally wed to the idea of business as usual even more than the lobbyists he promised to get rid of.
Can we blame him for these survivalist tactics? Not if we go along with the idea that politicians main/only function or purpose is to get elected. Obama has achieved his goal now we just have to wait to see how his "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" strategy will play out.
This is not the way it was supposed to be.

We Thought We Were Making a Difference

It's almost a year since I climbed aboard a bus in Austin and rode for almost 24 hours up to Cleveland to spend a week going house-to-house, head-to-head, asking people to vote as early as possible and for the only candidate worthy of their vote, Barack Obama and then, on Nov. 7, 2008, to sit in the Cadillac Cafe, surrounded by hundreds of other "fired-up" volunteers and some local political figures, to watch our candidate move steadily toward victory. It was a wonderful experience and for the first time since the assassination of JFK, I knew that our political system could work and that all of us had a stake in the political process.

After the long ride back to Austin and a return to "business as usual" the glow of victory and the sense of real accomplishment burned on and we waited for our victorious leader to call us back to arms, to fight the good fight and expand our sphere of influence. We would not accept eight more years of the same old stuff in Washington- the lobbyists and the crooked politicians were going to have to make career change- or so we thought. Now we know. It was all just a dream a "smoke and mirrors" pony show put on by the real leaders who are now ensconced in the White House calling the shots.

The naive, idealistic volunteers have no place in the Obama machine now. We've served our purpose and are now relegated to the landfills with all the rest of society's "disposables". We never sought power or individual recognition, just a chance to "make a difference" and messieurs Axelrod, Emmanuel and the others knew that from the very beginning. We were just "warm bodies", "cannon fodder", in the political struggle and now the real generals are left to plot and execute strategies to expand and strengthen their own political power.

Where does President Obama stand in all of this? Will history see him as another "Bushie", dangling from Cheyney's strings (read Obama dangling and Axelrod/Emmanuel the string pullers)? Or is Barack Obama actually the Ringmaster?

Obama & the Lama (or now we know who our real friends are)

PHAYUL: Dalai Lama meeting with Obama was not planned, says White House | Daily Babel

When I was a boy in New York, we knew that the real men, the kind you could trust, they were "Standup Guys" and all the others were "losers".

Barack Obama is sliding down the slippery slope to loser land at an ever-quickening pace. He bailed out the GM fat cats, threw a big wad of dough at the Wall St. Gang and equivocates like a true-blue Republican on Health Care. Now he decides no to stand-up for the Dalai Lama so the Chinese will "like" him but he'll get no respect from the Beijing crowd. In fact, chances are they'll push him around like a puff-ball the next time there's a meet.
It looks like our President will soon learn that his predecessor, honest Abe, was right.
"You can fool some of the people, some of the time...but you can't fool all of the people all of the time"
And I can't help saying "Barack, you already fooled me once"


C'mon Barack, show us what you've got- before it's too late

From the "Nouvel Obs", June 6, 2009

"Suicide des personnes âgées : les professionnels dénoncent l'indifférence"

(Translation "Mental Health Professionals Denounce Public Indifference to Suicide by Seniors"

Le diagnostic de dépression est difficile à faire chez des sujets âgés (Reuters) Clinical diagnosis of depression is particularly difficult to do with the elderly.

"Les personnes âgées se suicident en moyenne beaucoup plus que le reste de la population, surtout après 85 ans..

10 fois plus que le reste de la population"

The incidence of suicide among Seniors, (especially those over 85) is ten times greater than that of the general poulation. In fact, whereas 17 out of 100,000 persons in the general population commit suicide, 44 out 100,000 people in the 85-94 age bracket successfully terminate their own lives.

Isn't that awful? Or is it? What if suicide wasn't illegal - what would the figures look like then? How many older citizens would prefer a quiet, painless death to the daily routine of chronic pain, suffering, loneliness, ignominy and boredom that is the way it is for so many in their "golden years"? Perhaps it's time we reviewed our legal stautes and attitudes concerning the right to choose our time and method of death. Shouldn't we have the right to decide when life is no longer worth living? When "the game is not worth the candle" (This phrase relates to occupations, games etc. that were thought so lacking in merit that it wasn't worth the expense of a candle to create enough light to partake in them.) The Eskimos used to take grandma or grandpa for a walk in the arctic wilderness when old age had robbed him or her of the "joie de vivre" - we shoot horses don't we?

Not withstanding the recent brouhaha over the "death tribunals" , we must take this matter seriously and there should be public discussion and polite/civil debate on the issue. Oregon has led the way with the first bit of civilised legislation and perhaps soon other states will follow suit so that I can live out my last days in the company of my family. We also will need to develop the technology that quiet, painless transitions and the social services to assist in the process but obviously bearing in mind that a permissive public attitude towards assisted suicide be restricted to older (post 75) citizens who are still capable of rational thought and/or anyone suffering from uncurable, debilitating disease.
"It's time now, folks"

Health Care Reform Myths and Reality

Since the dawn of civilization, men and women have created myths to explain things they couldn't understand. "The rise and setting oof the sun"," What causes the rain?" "How are babies made?", "What happens when we die? etc.
Even now, we create myth when faced with inexplicable events like the assassination of JFK, the death of Elvis, droughts and hurricanes.
Many of us find change, difficult to handle. We don't always welcome it and often do what we can to postpone or prevent it. So it's no surprise that the prospect of fundamental modifications in our health care delivery system has created a climate of stress and discomfort for many.

One of the many myths about the health system that are currently making the rounds of Town Halls, bar rooms and barber shops is the one about "Living Wills" or advance health care directives.

Several years ago, my stepmother was critically injured in a head-on collision. She suffered significant brain damage and remained in a coma, without regaining consciousness, until her death, three months after the accident. After three months in a coma, her attending physician asked me as head of the family, to decide whether my step-mother's life should continue to be sustained via life-prolonging procedures. She had shown no signs of consciousness during the three months in the hospital and the EKG showed no brain activity. I consented to the termination of all life-prolonging procedures and she stopped breathing almost immediately. I arranged for cremation- there was no funeral. I had been close to my stepmother for more than thirty years and I was certain that she would have wanted for things to be handled the way I had decided and when I told my siblings and my stepmother's mother what I had decided and how I had come to the decision they all agreed that it was the right thing to do.

Now we hear many misguided and perhaps ignorant people in Town Halls across America talking about "Death Directives" and "Pulling the plug on Grandma", their words for the Living Will procedures offered in the proposed Health Care Reform Bill.
Living Wills are instruments that every one of us can and should execute to insure that when and if it becomes necessary to decide on matters concerning how we wish to die and how our bodies should be treated after death, it will be our decision and the responsibility not left to a hospital employee, a grief stricken relative or the courts. Only the truly ignorant or liars would call a Living Will a death directive

The Evolutionary Trail to Oblivion

WARNING:
This article is absolutely Politically incorrect.
Creationists and those with over-developed political sensitivity and the squeamish should go somewhere else.

Over the last two centuries or so, Americans have behaved according to the established rules of natural selection.
The captains of high school football teams have pursued and been pursued by Homecoming Queens and they have produced prodigious numbers of fullbacks and pom-pom girls. The end result can be currently observed in Town Halls across the country where the descendants of the first football heroes and cheerleaders are demanding that the "Government keep their hands of my Medicare" and other similarly absurd political nonsense.
Under ordinary conditions, significant changes in evolutionary development would take hundreds of years -usually thousands but thanks to the intensive effort of the footbal heroes and their partners we have evidently created a new sub-species in a few generations. We can now see a dramatic lowering of the IQ's of a growing proportion of the population, whose role models or icons, are creatures like Rush Limbaugh, Sarah Palin and most of the minority party representatives in Congress. Within a few generations, unless a way is found to reverse the current trend, the United States population will be intellectually challenged and most of the unemployed will be permanently unemployable.

Who or what can we identify as the basic causes of this disturbing or rather disastrous situation?
First, our business leaders, the makers and marketers of a wide range of consumer goods, from autos to water pics, Asprin to Xanax have benefitted greatly from the "dumbing down" of consumers who have been trained to accept advertising messages with complete credulity and never question anything said in the mass media and the educational establishment has eagerly cooperated by recruiting and training teachers who, for the most part, are completely innocent of any intellectual curiosity or critical thinking capacity. The need for an expanding volunteer army has also created a need for thousands of young soldiers who will follow the orders of their superiors with zeal and spirit without question and integrate government propaganda into their belief systems-permanently

If Obama Doesn't "Make it Happen"

We're Screwed
Brooks of the NYT wrote today:
"The great paradox of the age is that Barack Obama, the most riveting of recent presidents, is leading us into an era of Congressional dominance. And Congressional governance is a haven for special interest pleading and venal logrolling."

Like a bridge designed by a committee

You can trust the U.S. Congress to make a dog's breakfast out of anything it touches

Born in '34-Donald Duck, The Dalai Lama and I

We were born in the same year. We're all, or soon will be, 75. Which one of us will be remembered 15 or 125 years from now? Totally rhetorical. It's gotta be "Uncle Donald". Among the hundreds of characters turned out by the Disney machine, Donald Duck was one of the very few that I could relate to. His irascibility, even in my childhood was easy to identify with. He understood how terribly daffy, people (like ducks) could be.
Shouldn't the Dalai Lama get top billing over the duckster? Yes, he should but he won't even though the His Holiness is one of the most human beings I know and his compassion and empathy plus his incredible intelligence should put him on top but it's his perfection that eliminates him from the starring role. He's just "too good".

Republican Party's Moral Bankruptcy- Chapter/Section 8

Long ago, when I was a young Marine, some guys were separated from the service because they were unfit for service due to mental disability. It was referred to as a "Section 8 Discharge" Now we have an entire political party showing symptoms of moral and ethical disability. Under the circumstances I think they should file for bankruptcy and total reorganization. Would that be Chapter 8?
The severe strain of dealing with the misrule of one of their own, a 6th generation Republican stalwart, followed by an embarassing defeat in the last elections due in least in part to the nomination of a candidate in advanced state of early senile dementia paired with a VP to be,who though not senile, was and still is, severely demented, and currently, the party's worst "nut cases" leading their caucus.

Let's face it guys it's time for you Republican "leaders" to give up, say uncle and walk away. Let's have a brand new second party, one led by mentally competent individuals who can provide a conservative opposition without the kind o "Lonney Tunes" behavior that we've seen lately.
It worked in Lincoln's time (though he may be spinning in his tomb when he sees the way the "Party of Lincoln" has turned out) Maybe somebody can do it again.

Religion- Opium or Salvation?

Since 2004 I have made four trips from my home in Texas to Southeast Asia. Each had a "spritual" aspect and each one was interesting and rewarding but not the life-changing experience I had envisioned. I studied meditation techniques at a Monastery in northern Thailand and learned to focus my mind quicker and easier. I spent a month in Nepal and learned a great deal about Tibetan Buddhist practice and the Dharma and discovered that not withstanding Gautama Buddha's instructions to the contrary, many apparently intelligent practitioners that I met tended to ascribe divine powers to the Buddha and their teachers and worship them accordingly.

Now, I find myself in India at an international community known as Auroville where the founder insisted in her teachings that anyone, from anywhere in the world, could find the path to wisdom and enlightenment, providing they were willing to leave their religion behind. An idea that I found personally appealing and eminently sensible but discovered that the Aurovillians I have encountered have merely traded their "Old time religion" Christian, Buddhist, Bahai whatever, for the worship of "The Mother" and Sri Aurobindo. Today, I found a four page printout of songs, poems and writings extolling the divine virtues of the founder and her Guru.

The almost completed heart of Auroville is a six story golden spere with the world's largest crystal ball illuminated by a giant "sun tunnel" that is a ostensibly a meditation center (and would serve that purpose very well) is treated by the staff and the Aurovillians as the inner sanctum, the holy of holies.

Recent research on the evolutionary development of the brain would seem to suggest that man could be genetically prewired for religion and a belief in some divine being. Students of religious history wlll also confirm that there is a strong tendency for those associated with any new spiritual movement to try to create a hierarchy and complex dogma around the initially simple and universally admired messages of Great Teachers like Lao tse,Gautama Buddha, Jesus Christ and Mohammed.
Apparently "Great Ideas, like the Sermon on the Mount, the Sutras etc" are not enough unless they are packaged with "mystery", divine inspiration, miracles and other evidence of supernatural, "divine power"

Twitter Your Life Away

Has anyone stopped to wonder why Twitter, Myface, Youtube and similar sites have grown exponentially over the past five years? Obviously, they were created to fill an existing need, the need of the current generation (particularly), and most of those born in the post WWII era,for 'real" connections with other humans via electronic devices for want of any other method.

Mental health practitioners in the first half of the last century were known as "Alienists" and were primarily concerned with helping patients connect to the world around them. So the apparent need has been with us for a very long time and probably has its' roots in the industrial revolution and the ensuing rapid growth of cities.

Since then entrepreneurs in the U.S. and elsewhere have sought to exploit the apparent demand with "quick buck" commercial applications. The end result, however has been to exacerbate the situation. Twittering is no substitute for real,face-to-face contact. Even when I can see your face on "My Face" it still gives me very little information about what you're actually thinking or feeling.

When I was a boy, I would walk miles to avoid using the phone and when someone insisted that I call before visiting, I didn't visit.
Call me a curmudgeon but just like Popeye, ("I y'am what I y'am) and offer no apologies

Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.com

Sub-prime on Wall St. and "sub-ethical" in the valley. Texas leads the wrong way again.
Annals of Medicine: The Cost Conundrum: newyorker.com

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Naomi Klein: Vote Out Larry Summers

Naomi Klein: Vote Out Larry Summers

The Beginning of the End and it too Will Pass

The governor of "The Great State of Texas" told his audience of dedicated "Teabaggers" that if the federal government didn't get straightened out and stop trying to get the super-rich to pay their fair share of income taxes, Texas just might secede from the Union. Deja vue all over again. Last time it was about slavery and now it's proportional income tax. Better get out your Confederate money boys- the South's about to rise again. Or is Perry just whistling Dixie? Just for his sake I hope he is because sedition is a federal offense.

A Comment on the Crisis

Ali A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam

Ali A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam: "I learned about the 'Anti-Christ' from priests who could have been the current Pope's uncles.
They taught us to look carefully under the bed for the devil every night before going to bed and that just thinking about sex was a mortal sin. Now, the new Anti-Christ, aka 'Benedictus PP. XVI' has taken the Catholic Church and its doctrines to a new low- relegating the Holocaust- denying Cardinal to the shadows.
Bennedino's current insanity shows just how absolutely ruthless 'Holy Mother Church' can be when it comes to 'propagating the faith'
It reminds me of something the judge said when she pronounced verdict on O.J. Simpson in his trial for armed robbery. She told Simpson and everyone in the courtroom that, when she began the trial, she wondered whether Simpson was arrogant or stupid when he committed his crimes but after hearing all the testimony and evidence, she realized that he was both: 'arrogant and stupid'. I think we could say the same about 'Benedictus PP. XVI'"

TODAY IN THE HUNTINGTON POSTAli A. Rizvi: Religious Fundamentalism Spreads... Beyond Islam

In the same week that Hindu fundamentalists obliterated plans to build a Charlie Chaplin statue, on the grounds that Chaplin was a Christian who made no contribution to India, video clips of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Varun Gandhi surfaced online, showing him glorifyingly speaking of "cutting the throats" of Muslims, and mocking their "scary" names.

Meanwhile, the Hindu nationalist group Sri Ram Sena vowed to continue its attacks on women drinking in bars and couples courting in public -- expanding their target population to include female British tourists in the city of Goa.

In the Varun Gandhi videos, Hindu extremist groups like the Taliban-inspired anti-statue, anti-woman Sri Ram Sena may feel as if they've found a high-profile voice: Varun is the grandson of late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and the great-grandson of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, a declared secularist and atheist who couldn't have been more removed from his descendant's crazed religion-fueled nationalist diatribes.

It isn't just the Hindus. Mere days after ending the controversy over his lifting of the excommunication of Holocaust denier and 9/11 conspiracy theorist Bishop Richard Williamson, Pope Benedict XVI decided to elaborate further on his view that abstinence works 100% of the time as a birth control method (right, ask The Virgin Mary how well that worked for her) by declaring that the use of condoms aggravates the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Now, the Pope has publicly pulled several other Ahmedinejads in the past. He has written that homosexuality is an "intrinsic moral evil" and an "objective disorder." He has also claimed that non-Catholics are in a "gravely deficient situation," without the "fullness of the means of salvation." Most recently, the Vatican declared its support for the Brazilian Church's decision to excommunicate of a group of doctors who performed an abortion on a 9-year old girl -- pregnant with twins -- as a result of being raped by her stepfather.

The Pope's homophobia and bigoted statements about non-Catholics who don't necessarily think Jesus is their savior aren't all that different from Varun Gandhi's Muslim-bashing -- which, in turn, isn't all that different from the sentiments that fuel the ideology of the Taliban. There are millions of people in the world who think that way.

However, these two examples are unique: one of these men is the most significant spiritual and religious leader in the world, and the other belongs to a family that gave the world's largest democracy three of its most legendary prime ministers, including its first.

So, is Talibanization going mainstream? To religions beyond Islam?

Well, we know that the Catholic authorities aren't throwing acid on teenage girls' faces like the Taliban do. That, actually, is something that Jerusalem's Jewish Haredi Modesty Patrol did to a 14 year old girl last year. Her crime? Wearing pants. In the same week as the Pope's condom controversy and Varun's inflammatory videos made news, a member of the Modesty Patrol was sentenced to four years in prison in a separate incident -- a sexual gang assault on a divorced woman.

Although it's tempting to dismiss these incidents as aberrations, religious extremism and bigotry do seem to be going mainstream in Israel. On the same day that the Modesty Patrol mercenary was sentenced, news broke that Avigdor Lieberman, the right-wing hardliner whose Israel Beiteinu party had a strong showing in Israel's recent elections, is in consideration as Israel's next foreign minister.

Lieberman is a man who has, among other things, openly advocated the expulsion of Israeli Arabs from the Promised Land, and offered to provide buses to transport Palestinian prisoners to the Dead Sea, where he has recommended drowning them.

More disturbingly, Lieberman suggested in 2006 that Israel should conduct itself in Gaza like Russia did in Chechnya, that is, without any concern for civilian deaths. This moves the issue beyond the realm of aberrant extremist ideology, not only because Lieberman is now a prominent leader in the Knesset possibly destined to become Israel's foreign minister, but because his suggestion was put into practice in a significant way during Israel's recent offensive in Gaza.

In last week's investigation into the Israel-Gaza conflict, IDF soldiers talked about how they were encouraged to kill Palestinian civilians. They also described how the assault was framed as a religious war by military rabbis, who distributed literature to the troops saying among other things that this was a holy war, that "we came to this land by a miracle, God brought us back to this land" and that they needed to "fight to expel the Gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land." Somehow, Israeli authorities appear to be drawing inspiration -- like Hamas -- from the likes of Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Taliban.

Meantime, the Adiv fabric-printing shop in south Tel Aviv sold hundreds of T-shirts, caps, and other items of clothing custom-made for Israel soldiers, featuring pictures of dead children and bombed mosques. Included was one of a dead baby clutching his teddy bear, his mother weeping at his side, bearing the inscription, "Better Use Durex."

In Canada, a different aspect of religious fundamentalism surfaced last week, when Federal Science and Technology Minister Gary Goodyear, a central figure in the controversy over the science funding crunch in the country, was asked whether he believed in evolution. He refused to answer. "I'm not going to answer that question," he said. "I am a Christian, and I don't think anybody asking a question about my religion is appropriate." The Pope, I'm guessing, would have been a little more unequivocal in his response.

These events, most of which occurred in the span of one week, are reflective of a dangerous resurgence of religious fundamentalism in non-Islamic countries. The most perplexing part of it is that it isn't just limited to a few seemingly random incidents fueled by fringe extremist groups. The characters in these stories -- the Pope, a member of India's Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, a powerful Knesset leader, and a Canadian federal minister -- are influential, mainstream figures whose ideas and decisions impact the lives of billions of people every day...

• Palestinian Territories
• The Pope
• Religion
• Christianity
• Israel

In the same week that Hindu fundamentalists obliterated plans to build a Charlie Chaplin statue, on the grounds that Chaplin was a Christian who made no contribution to India, video clips of Bharatiya...

In the same week that Hindu fundamentalists obliterated plans to build a Charlie Chaplin statue, on the grounds that Chaplin was a Christian who made no contribution to India, video clips of Bharatiya...

Investor's Business Daily: Indexes Sink Deeper In Late Trading

Investor's Business Daily: Indexes Sink Deeper In Late Trading

It looks like Obama's statement about punishment for the people responsible for the current economic crisis will be punished for their greed and irresponsibility has been answered by a 5% drop at the NYSE.
It looks like the Traders are going to go down fighting.

Op-Ed Columnist - Continuity We Can Believe In - NYTimes.com

Op-Ed Columnist - Continuity We Can Believe In - NYTimes.com

The terribly sad realities of politics; Krugman on economics and

William Kristol on foreign policy to remind us that

"La plus ca change, plus c'est la meme choses"
especially in politics

New Products : What will Apple pull out of its hat next? - Nachrichten English-News - WELT ONLINE

New Products : What will Apple pull out of its hat next? - \ WELT ONLINE

It's not about the iPhone, even though it is the hottest piece of technology in the world (at this moment on January 9, 2009) but it is about Steve Jobs, a facsinating archetype of his era his industry and his culture. Currently known as "Baby Boomers" people born in the post war era are still under the impression that everything is all about them. Their's was originally known as the "Me Generation" until they reached positions of power in the media and related industries and were able to soft-pedal their extraordinary egotism and arrogance by substituting "baby boomers" for the original "me generation" title. We must wonder if the accomplishments of Jobs, Gates and some of their prominent contemporaries like Stepen Spielberg and Bill Clinton can ever justify the way each of them has completely flaunted what could be considered our common standards of ethics and (in some cases) morals.
Looking back at the youthful behavior of the "boomers" -(1965-1975) and their later "mature" years. The pattern appears clear and we must breathe a sigh of relief that the era of power for the boomers is drawing to a close. Bill Clinton will probably never again air his bombastic rhetoric before national audiences. Gates and Microsoft have ridden the giant wave almost as far as it's going to go . Time for a changing of the guard with Larry Page and Sergy Brin of Google ready to move in and take up the slack left by their aging predecessors. Can we expect more humility and compassion from the new guard? Time we'll tell but I doubt it.

Alternative Arrangements for Ancients (AAA)

Monday, December 1, 2008

I’ve been living alone- with my wife of 35 years, for about a year. In many ways it is
“The best of all possible worlds” as far as I’m concerned but if you asked my wife she might disagree.

I first started sleeping in one of the spare rooms because of my wife’s snoring and her tendency to scream “mama” when woken from a sound sleep. Also we have very different ideas about optimum sleeping arrangements; my “better half” insists on hermetically sealed sleeping quarters (windows shut tight, closed, heavy blinds on the windows, doors closed) I prefer open windows, no blinds and the door wide open.
In addition, my wife retires very soon after dinner and I usually go to be at 11:00 PM and read until midnight.

Now, I’m well established in my own room with a desk and my laptop at a large window and the freedom to got bed when I please without being screamed at. However, I still think about future arrangements and the idea of co-housing seems like a very sensible idea to me. I retired at 65, ten years ago, but my wife, who is my junior by 13 years still works at a job she enjoys. She plans to continue until she reaches the point she can qualify for full S.S. benefits. At that point, we could move to co-housing and I would relinquish my housekeeping, gardening and maintenance responsibilities that could prove somewhat “heavy” in another 7 years. (I’ll be 81 by then)

Master of Disguises: Poetry: The New Yorker

Master of Disguises: Poetry: The New Yorker

The "invisibility" of old people is a phenomenon all of us have to face, sooner or later.
The transition from vibrant, sometimes too visible youth to
faltering, opaque age come slowly but oh, so surely.
There's no remedy or recovery and no chance to re-appear.
We go gently but surely and no one seems to notice when we're gone.

Thing Will Get Better?

Posted on the 70 Something Blog:

"We have no choice, but to adapt. We will learn some lessons, and things will get better eventually.
We have to believe that."

I think that's one of the main reasons that we are in this horrible predicament. We accepted what the Paulson and the politicians told us. Then Paulson starts handing our money out to the banks and they stuff it into their mattresses to make up for all their gambling losses. The banks are not going to lend any of "our" money to the businesses that need it to cover payroll or inventory. It's "thier" money now and they're free to do with it anything they want.
So the credit-crunch gets worse and we've lost 700 billion dollars but it's OK because "it's only money" and money isn't worth the paper it's printed on.

The lesson? Never trust a banker or a politican.
"things will get better eventually" - Don't hold your breath

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Sarah's Sexy Hair: A Desperate Bid For Votes? (SLIDESHOW)

Maybe Palin's looking for an invitation from SNL. Tina, she could do you very easily
Sarah's Sexy Hair: A Desperate Bid For Votes? (SLIDESHOW)

I think Sarah Palin's run for VP is really her press agent's idea. She's had so much media exposure and time to practice her "shtick" that as soon as the McCain/Palin ticket is history - less than a month from now, her TV/Movie career will go into high gear. "Playboy, Desperate Housewives", her own sitcom, maybe a soap? Sky's the limit Sarah but you'll have to lose Todd and the glasses.

.DJI - DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX - Google Finance

40% down from a year ago at noon today and hovering around January '97 levels. The real crash could happen on Monday, Oct 14, only 10 days before the 80th anniversary of "Black Thursday".

DJI - DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE INDEX - Google Finance

I guess I was a little off in my timing but it is not over. What goes up can come down-with a BANG!

What's Happening to Letterman?

Somebody passed me a piece, purportedly penned by late-night host David Letterman that sent me to the web to try to unravel the mystery.

Letterman wrote this?

As most of you know I am not a President Bush fan, nor have I ever been, but this is not about Bush, it is about us, as Americans, and it seems to hit the mark. The other day I was reading Newsweek magazine and came across some poll dataI found rather hard to believe. It must be true given the source, right? The Newsweek poll alleges that 67 percent of Americans are unhappy with the direction the country is headed and 69 percent of the country is unhappywith the performance of the President. In essence 2/3 of the citizenry just ain't happy and want a change So being the knuckle dragger I am, I started thinking, 'What are we so unhappy about?' A.. Is it that we have electricity and running water 24 hours a day, 7 Days a week? B.. Is our unhappiness the result of having air conditioning in the summer and heating in the winter? C.. Could it be that 95.4 percent of these unhappy folks have a job? D.. Maybe it is the ability to walk into a grocery store at any time and see more food in moments than Darfur has seen in the last year? E.. Maybe it is the ability to drive our cars and trucks from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean without having to present identification papers as we move through each state? F.. Or possibly the hundreds of clean and safe motels we would find along the way that can provide temporary shelter? G.. I guess having thousands of restaurants with varying cuisine from around the world is just not good enough either. H. Or could it be that when we wreck our car, emergency workers show up and provide services to help all and even send a helicopter to take you to the hospital. I.. Perhaps you are one of the 70 percent of Americans who own a home. J.. You may be upset with knowing that in the unfortunate case of a fire, a group of trained firefighters will appear in moments and use top notch equipment to extinguish the flames, thus saving you, your family, and your belongings. K.. Or if, while at home watching one of your many flat screen TVs, a burglar or prowler intrudes, an officer equipped with a gun and a bullet-proof vest will come to defend you and your family against attack or loss. L.. This all in the backdrop of a neighborhood free of bombs or militias raping and pillaging the residents. Neighborhoods where 90% of teenagers own cell phones and computers. M.. How about the complete religious, social and political freedoms we enjoy that are the envy of everyone in the world? Maybe that is what has 67% of you folks unhappy. Fact is, we are the largest group of ungrateful, spoiled brats the world has ever seen. No wonder the world loves the U.S. , yet has a great disdain for its citizens. They see us for what we are. The most blessed people in the world who do nothing but complain about what we don't have, and what we hate about the country instead of thanking the good Lord we live here. I know, I know. What about the president who took us into war and has no plan to get us out? The president who has a measly 31 percent approval rating? Is this the same president who guided the nation in the dark days after 9/11? The president that cut taxes to bring an economy out of recession? Could this be the same guy who has been called every name in thebook for succeeding in keeping all the spoiled ungrateful brats safe from terrorist attacks? The commander in chief of an all-volunteer army that is out there defending you and me? Did you hear how bad the President is on the news or talk show? Did this news affect you so much, make you so unhappy you couldn't take a look around for yourself and see all the good things and be glad? Think about it......are you upset at the President because he actually caused you personal pain OR is it because the 'Media' told you he was failing to kiss your sorry ungrateful behind every day. Make no mistake about it. The troops in Iraq and Afghanistan have volunteered to serve, and in many cases may have died for your freedom. There is currently no draft in this country. They didn't have to go. They are able to refuse to go and end up with either a ''general'' discharge, an 'other than honorable'' discharge or, worst case scenario, a ''dishonorable' ' discharge after a few days in the brig. So why then the flat-out discontentment in the minds of 69 percent of Americans? Say what you want but I blame it on the media. If it bleeds it leads and they specialize in bad news. Everybody will watch a car crash with blood andguts How many will watch kids selling lemonade at the corner? The mediaknows this and media outlets are for-profit corporations. They offer whatsells, and when criticized, try to defend their actions by 'justifying' themin one way or another Just ask why they tried to allow a murderer like O.J.Simpson to write a book about how he didn't kill his wife, but if he did hewould have done it this way......Insane! Turn off the TV, burn Newsweek, and use the New York Times for the bottom of your bird cage. Then start being grateful for all we have as country. There is exponentially more good than bad. We are among the most blessed people on Earth and should thank God several times a day, or at least be thankful and appreciative.' 'With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides,flooding, severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end toanother, and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, 'Are we surethis is a good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?' David Letterman I can't find any trace of this anywhere on the internet. If Letterman did write it, where did it appear? If he wrote it, "why"? If he didn't, where is it coming from? Sarah Six-Pack or Mad-Dog McCain?

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Bill Clinton : Big News Page

Bill Clinton : Big News Page

I can't believe the latest nasty trick from Slick (Willy)
He's saying: he likes Barack Obama and he likes McCain too
Now America, who to vote for? he leaves that up to you.
Clinton's a traitor and a renegade. He and Joe Lieberman make a great pair

Last night, Nouriel Roubini,consultant and NYU professor of economics told viewers of the Macniel Lehrer News Hour in describing the current economic situation and probable after-shocks that "the light at the end of the tunnel" just might be a "train wreck"

Can it get any worse? Have we hit bottom yet? I'm not just referring to the sub-prime debacle and it's increasingly dire results nor the political campaign that has become a show that would have been closed immediately if it ever opened on Broadway (or Philadelphia!). No, it's much more pervasive- the rot has spread from Washington to Wassalia contaminating our schools, churches and everything else it touches. It seems as if the American people have completely lost touch with reality (maybe it is all those "Reality" shows on TV.

The guys that wrote all those sub-prime mortgages knew that one-in-four would default and their buddies on Wall St. that packaged them for trade knew that at least 25% (probably more) were junk. The "wise guys" on the right end of the RNC knew that Sarah Palin was no more qualified to be VP than Barney (dinosaurs 4000 years ago??) but they set her up anyway because she shifted the voters' attention from the economy and the war in Afghanistan for a couple of weeks but soon the pig's lipstick will be completely forgotten (McCain now wishes it already was) and we'll all be facing the worst defecit in the history of this country and our grandchildren will have to pay.

The Bush doctrine - maybe Palin doesn't know anything about it (Alaska is a long way from Washington) but we're all going to be apying for it dearly for a long time to come.

WAKE UP AMERICA BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR SHIRTS! (and much more)

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. ... - Yahoo! News Photos

Cindy McCain, wife of Republican presidential candidate Sen. ... - Yahoo! News Photos

Lil miss Congeniality aka governess Palin is gonna be a perfect third (soon as she looses the specs)
How come she wears them. Kinda makes her look intelligent?

Judith Warner Hits the Spot

• Judith Warner told it like it is in the NYT "Opinion" today
• and here's the last comment to column that was posted.
• Maybe 302 mostly thoughtful, intelligent comments is some kind of a record for the NYT?
  
• 
  
• 302.
  
  September 5th,
  2008
  READER'S COMMENTS #302
• 10:41 am 09/05/08

  In reading the editorial and the comments posted I no longer feel that I “missed something”. I am from a really small town (pop. 255) in rural America. I am a hockey mom and have a mass comm degree. I have small town policital experience but in no way am I swayed by Gov. Palin. She and the Republican party scare me. I want to know how to fix our broken country.I want a really smart person in the top spot. I want Obama/Biden. Thank you for all the “hit the spot” comments. They are what I am thinking!! Vote Obama/Biden on Nov. 4-a smart change!!

  — Posted by Shannon M.

• Read the whole thing at
• Thanks Judith and the NYT
  

Comments are no longer being accepted.

It's Not About Palin or Even McCain Vs. Obama

It is about the new " Axial Age" that is upon us. A time when the two opposing sides in the American ideological conflict jockey for position, gird their loins and prepare for WAR!
Maybe you thought that all the radical fundamentalists were in Europe Asia and the Middle East with a few fifth columnists staked out in North and South America? Well, actually almost 20% of the American electorate subscribes to the tenets of radical fundamentalism - here they're known as "Evangelical Christians" and it looks like they've taken control of the Republican National Convention, nominated a real one of their own for the VP spot and are ready to move on Washington with more determination and power than Jerry Falwell et al ever even dreamed of.
They're determined to completely undermine the U.S. constitution, destroy the checks and balance sytem which is the foundation of our democracy and establish that would be the envy of Iran and Franco's Spain.

Is it possible? Can a few religious zealots bring down our country?
The "few" probably constitute about 20% of the electorate , they are strongly united and they are absolutely convinced that "God is on the sure ier side" just like Nazi Germany whose soldiers wore belt buckles inscribed with "Gott Mit Uns" (God with us)

The Bush administration was just a warm-up for the real thing. "You ain't seen nothing yet" but maybe Palin's speech was a teaser.

What can we do if we don't want to submit to a Theocracy led by born-again christians? If we hold our personal liberties dear enough to fight for?
First, unite under one leadership. Second, stand up and fight - don't give an inch and most important make sure that no-one who sides with the radical right- even the apostates like Joe Lieberman gets elected to any office in the land ever again

United States Senator - John Thune

United States Senator - John Thune
Is he any relation to the famous "Looney Thunes"?
McCain is senile but is he that demented?
Bring him on, Joe Biden will take him in the first round.

Veterans for Obama

This is one contribution that I can make on my own. If there are any other vets who would like to carry the colors of the "1st Obama Brigade" send me an e-mail and I'll send a FREE BUMPER STICKER to the first 100 vets.

McCain's a Joke

Are you old enough to remember the "bad ol days", before P.C., the days of radio shows like "Abie's Irish Rose","Jack Benny & Rochester" and the 1000 year old man etc. I think we laughed a lot more when we weren't worrying (too much} about saying the wrong thing. OK so it was wrong and I guess we should have known better but my point is that if we can't laugh at ourselves - we're in trouble. McCain and I are almost contemporaries. I was born two year before he was so I think it's OK to make jokes about his age since I frequently make jokes about my own. I think I might have been a decent president if I had been elected eight years ago but I don't think I'm really up to the job now and neither is McCain and it's for the same reasons. We're both grumpy old men who often forget where we left our glasses or the car keys and we have to pause a little to remember the names of our grandchildren or the first name of the French President and although I aced history and gography in school, I can't remember which countries border on Lebanon or Iraq without looking at a map but the main reason we shouldn't be in the White House is because we can't inspire the young people of the world to go out and make a difference but Barack Obama can, almost the way JFK could.
Considering the kind of campaign my contemporary is running now- he should be treated as a joke.
As my Jewish friends would say:
"I laugh so that I don't cry"

The Barbeque Media Wants Senator Obama To Win? That's Rich.

About Barack Obama
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

(Photo Courtesy of The New York Times)

If ever there was someone who can be the icon of the new age in American politics it is Michelle Obama.

My Real Age

When I was a student at U.C., there was a story going around about two graduate students from the Psychology department who found themselves unable to make ends meet and were forced to find part-time jobs. One, went to work as a teller in a bank and the other decided to be a bank robber. After a few weeks, Robber Student found himself at the counter of Teller Stuudent. He handed the teller a paper bag with a note : "Put all the cash in the bag and hand it over. Just act normal and nobody will get hurt- I've got a gun"
Teller read the note and wrote on it "First, let's define our terms, what do you understand by 'normal' ?"



First, we have to define the meaning of "Real Age". Are we referring to the elapsed time between my birth and today? If so this is actually a rather arbitrary definition. If we were on a planet or star that had no solar system, how would we measure "time" and age? Would there be any time at all? Would we age? Further, why should we accept the idea that "time" is defined by the rise and fall of the sun rather than the rising of the moon or the movement of other planets?

Second, there are the question of "mental" age", "physical age" and "emotional age". There are millions of so-called "adults" who read at a fifth grade level or below and many 50 year-olds who can't climb a flight of stairs or swim 100 yards without assistance. How old are they? If we divided the entire population of this country by those who were of chronological voting age and those who were not, what percentage of the voters have the emotional and intellectual maturity to make the decisions proposed on the ballots?

Why, when we're computing ages, do we count from the moment of birth rather than conception? Or, why do we disregard previous incarnations?

Why do we count backwards with age? "You are 63 years old" (you have completed 63 years of living on this planet) Maybe we should count forward "You have 21 more years to live" (according to current actuarial tables)

The question of how old I am can only be answered in relative terms like:

How old are you right now at this minute?
How old were when you woke up this morning?
How old were you last night when you went to bed?
How old are you when you're playing a good game of golf? Catching a big mouth bass? Flirting with a young woman?
How old am I when come upon a new and interesting idea or concept?

What is my real age?
You tell me.

What is BlogThis! ?

What is BlogThis! ?

Vietnam Now

In the three weeks since I returned from Vietnam, practically every publication I read has published lead stories on the upcoming economic "explosion" in Vietnam, (including the New York Times, The Economist, Newsweek, Prospect, The New Republic and more)

It was one of the reasons I felt some urgency about making my trip: it's all going to be very different in a couple of years. When I was in Saigon, I was watching CNN and there was an interview with a major Chinese industrialist who told the CNN reporter that he was moving all of his operations to Vietnam by the end of 2009.
Here's why:

• Vietnam's literacy rate as of 2006 was 94%
• 98% of school age children are enrolled in school
• Vietnam has a labor pool estimated to be nearly 40 million workers, with an additional 1.5 million workers joining the work force each year
• Minimum Wage $35/month, higher in major cities.
• Mineral resources (including coal and oil deposits) plus rich and fertile farmland and an immense coast line makes the country almost paradisaical
  

The major cities Ho Chi Minh/Saigon and Hanoi are already bursting at the seams - traffic and pollution are incredible but there is still plenty of land available for development and exploitation.

However, there is a dark side to Vietnam and it made me hesitate about staying for more than a visit. The people are for the most courteous and apparently friendly but beneath the surface there is a strong feeling of resentment towards foreigners, particularly the Chinese, Americans and the French each of whom invaded Vietnam and occupied for significant periods of time. The Americans had a relatively brief and quite violent encounter with the Vietnamese in the 1970's but their predecessors, the French came early (1859) and stayed late ('til 1954).
The French fought hard to retain their Asian colony the war lasted nine years and left a lot of scars.

In his recently published The Boat, Nam le, the author describes how his father was conscripted into the South Vietnamese Army and fought alongside the American Army: asked how he could fight on the side of the Americans, after what he witnessed at My Lai, he replies: “I had nothing but hate in me, but I had enough for everyone.”

In the past six years I have traveled extensively through eastern Asia but Vietnam is the only country I have visited in the region where almost no signs (advertising or other) are written in English or any language other than Vietnamese. The children are now studying English in school but hardly any of the adults I met spoke English and only my Vietnamese contemporaries, spoke French.

The Hmong people who I encountered in mountains of the north, were congenial and pleasant but they have some "history" with the U.S. and are naturally more friendly than the Vietnamese.

I Found it When I stopped Looking

As I get older, I am more and more prone to misplacing things like keys, eyeglasses, books, files etc.
and when I search for them, I usually don't find them- until I stop looking.

Last week my grand daughter was here- she decided to spend Spring Break with us. It's the first time she's been with us since she was about 11 and she'll be celebrating her 20th birthday in a couple of weeks. About two weeks before she arrived I had misplaced my "good glasses" these are a pair that I bought originally about five years ago. They have titanium frames (really unbreakable) and a new pair of tri-focal no line lenses. Cost to replace today about $400 . I searched everywhere for them and eventually stopped looking. I knew they were somewhere in the house and someday they would turn up. Camille was idly perusing my "stacks" when her hand happen to fall on a copy of Shakespeare's Sonnets. Standing close to her, my eyes followed the movement of her hand, I was curious to see which book had attracted her attention. As she pulled the book from the shelf "I spied, with my little eye" - my "good glasses"!
I
I've looked, for a long time, for something that could explain the meaning of Buddhism to people like me who are "anti-theistic" but deeply involved in the practice and philosophy of Buddhism. Yesterday, totally by chance I found a short work that, I think is exactly what I was looking for - when I wasn't looking.

The title is Buddhist Meditation and Depth Psychology. The author is David Burns and it is published online by the Buddhist Publication Society.
You can view and download it (38 pages and it"s FREE!) at:http://www.dharmaweb.org/index.php/Buddhist_Meditation_and_Depth_Psychology

Even if you never read anything else about Buddhism or meditation

You must read this.

The Real Hillary Clinton

Previously Posted on the Huffington Post:

When it became absolutely clear at RNC headquarters and in the inner sanctae of the ultra-conservative churches of America that the Republican Party couldn't possibly win the 2008 presidential elections, a cry of anguish and terror was heard from the right side of the land.

The elders joined together with the young neo-con zealots and agreed that the only way to insure the continued mis-rule of America was to elect someone who appeared to be a Democrat but underneath was a true god-fearing conservative Republican stalwart, bathed in the blood of the free-market lamb, dedicated to the principles of "Capitalism Uber Alles"
Hillary was brought before the council of Elders and NeoCon Zealots and after swearing to uphold the principles of Baptist Christianity and Friedman Dogma she was promised the complete support of the council and its members.
AND MAY gOD HAVE MERCY ON OUR SOULS...

T-Mobile is Undercover

It's the "stealth" wireless service provider. A company that will not allow anyone to know where the corporate headquarters are or how to contact them except through the "Customer Service? Department".

Got a problem with your phone or didn't get the rebate you were entitled to and on which you based your decision to buy a particular phone?

Tell it to the Chaplain because there ain't nobody home at T-Mobile USA. Strangely enough, the parent company, Deutsch Telecom publishes the mailing address of their corporate headquarters prominently on the front page of their web site but the U.S. subsidiary keeps everything "very close to the chest"

Why are they hiding? What's going on?
Ask thousands of unhappy customers with two year contracts, lousy service and defective, unsupported phones. They'll tell you.
We can't expect total transparency for scam operations like T-Mobile but this is going a little too far.

toonlet: The Other Side

toonlet: The Other Side