Sunday, July 22, 2007
WHAT MAKES A PERSON SUPPORT A CANDIDATE?
An interesting chart in the New York Times. A candidate is more likely to be supported if he or she has been in the military, had a business career, is a long-time Washington politician, and is a Christian. It sounds a lot like ????.
WHY DO THEY HATE US?
The title of an interesting column in the Washington Post by a Pakistani American. Most Americans fail to consider the impact of even the "little" foreign policy decisions and how it effects people in other countries.
But that was about to change. Soviet troops had recently rolled into Afghanistan, and the U.S. government, concerned about Afghanistan's proximity to the oil-rich Persian Gulf and eager to avenge the humiliating debacle of the Vietnam War, decided to respond. Building on President Jimmy Carter's tough line, President Ronald Reagan offered billions of dollars in economic aid and sophisticated weapons to Pakistan's dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. In exchange, Zia supported the mujaheddin, the Afghan guerrillas waging a modern-day holy war against the Soviet occupation. With the help of the CIA, jihadist training camps sprung up in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Soon Kalashnikov assault rifles from those camps began to flood the streets of Lahore, setting in motion a crime wave that put an end to my days of pedaling unsupervised through the streets.
Meanwhile, Zia began an ongoing attempt to Islamize Pakistan and thus make it a more fertile breeding ground for the anti-Soviet jihad. Public female dance performances were banned, female newscasters were told to cover their heads and laws undermining women's rights were passed. Secular politicians, academics and journalists were intimidated, imprisoned and worse.
But that was about to change. Soviet troops had recently rolled into Afghanistan, and the U.S. government, concerned about Afghanistan's proximity to the oil-rich Persian Gulf and eager to avenge the humiliating debacle of the Vietnam War, decided to respond. Building on President Jimmy Carter's tough line, President Ronald Reagan offered billions of dollars in economic aid and sophisticated weapons to Pakistan's dictator, Gen. Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. In exchange, Zia supported the mujaheddin, the Afghan guerrillas waging a modern-day holy war against the Soviet occupation. With the help of the CIA, jihadist training camps sprung up in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Soon Kalashnikov assault rifles from those camps began to flood the streets of Lahore, setting in motion a crime wave that put an end to my days of pedaling unsupervised through the streets.
Meanwhile, Zia began an ongoing attempt to Islamize Pakistan and thus make it a more fertile breeding ground for the anti-Soviet jihad. Public female dance performances were banned, female newscasters were told to cover their heads and laws undermining women's rights were passed. Secular politicians, academics and journalists were intimidated, imprisoned and worse.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Saturday, July 14, 2007
FINALLY, PROOF!
I knew that some day "research" would support my view that British chocolate is far superior to American chocolate. About the only thing affordable that is better than British chocolate is good German Ritter dark chocolate with almonds.
Cadbury Dairy Milk is the iconic British candy bar, the one most likely to be tucked into the suitcase of a Yankee tourist looking for an inexpensive souvenir. Versions are filled with caramel, whipped fondant, whole nuts or pellets of shortbread cookie.
It’s a different bar from the Cadbury bar available in the United States. According to the label, a British Cadbury Dairy Milk bar contains milk, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vegetable fat and emulsifiers. The version made by the Hershey Company, which holds the license from Cadbury-Schweppes to produce the candy in the United States under the British company’s direction, starts its ingredient list with sugar. It lists lactose and the emulsifier soy lecithin, which keeps the cocoa butter from separating from the cocoa. The American product also lists “natural and artificial flavorings."
“Hershey’s tastes like ear wax,” said Kevin Ellis, an Alaskan-born designer with Adobe Systems in San Francisco.
Cadbury Dairy Milk is the iconic British candy bar, the one most likely to be tucked into the suitcase of a Yankee tourist looking for an inexpensive souvenir. Versions are filled with caramel, whipped fondant, whole nuts or pellets of shortbread cookie.
It’s a different bar from the Cadbury bar available in the United States. According to the label, a British Cadbury Dairy Milk bar contains milk, sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vegetable fat and emulsifiers. The version made by the Hershey Company, which holds the license from Cadbury-Schweppes to produce the candy in the United States under the British company’s direction, starts its ingredient list with sugar. It lists lactose and the emulsifier soy lecithin, which keeps the cocoa butter from separating from the cocoa. The American product also lists “natural and artificial flavorings."
“Hershey’s tastes like ear wax,” said Kevin Ellis, an Alaskan-born designer with Adobe Systems in San Francisco.
Friday, July 13, 2007
THE NEW MORAL MAJORITY
According to Time, the Democrats are the new Moral Majority! The Democrats are so fired up, you could call them the new Moral Majority.
Jerry Falwell didn't know what he had started thirty years ago in creating such a powerful rhetorical phrase. Obviously the Democrats have a slightly different vision of morality if you read the article.
Jerry Falwell didn't know what he had started thirty years ago in creating such a powerful rhetorical phrase. Obviously the Democrats have a slightly different vision of morality if you read the article.
POOR CINDY SHEEHAN
I can't believe it! The ultra-liberal Daily Kos has banned Cindy Sheehan from posting. Now that she is challenging Nancy Pelosi's seat in Congress she has suddenly become anathema to some on the left. Surely the ultra-left is big enough to allow her the freedom to express her voice.
ARAFAT DIED OF AIDS
I have been following this issue for many years aftering reading a book by the director of Romanian intelligence under Ceausescu. The proof seems to be building that Arafat was a homosexual. Also see the WorldNetDaily article on this. The issue that still lingers is how foreign intelligence agencies used this information.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
REID RESPONDS TO IRAQ QUESTION
Reid seems to have troubling responding to the question posed by an ABC news reporter: "Will Iraqis be safer if the US leaves?"
BUSH DESERTED BY HIS SUPPORTERS
The Washington Post has an article on a disillusioned Bush supporter, Vic Gold.
"For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."
Gold is even more withering in his observations of Cheney. "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."
For Gold, Cheney brings to mind the adage of Swiss writer Madame de Stael, who wrote, "Men do not change, they unmask themselves." Cheney has a deep streak of paranoia and megalomania, Gold suggests -- but he says he did not see it at first.
"He was hiding who he really was," Gold says. "He was waiting for an opportunity."
In many ways, Gold's tale of disillusionment is a familiar one.
There are plenty of veterans of Reagan and Bush 41 around town who believe Bush and Cheney trashed the institutions and party they helped build from the wreckage of the Goldwater campaign.
"For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."
Gold is even more withering in his observations of Cheney. "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."
For Gold, Cheney brings to mind the adage of Swiss writer Madame de Stael, who wrote, "Men do not change, they unmask themselves." Cheney has a deep streak of paranoia and megalomania, Gold suggests -- but he says he did not see it at first.
"He was hiding who he really was," Gold says. "He was waiting for an opportunity."
In many ways, Gold's tale of disillusionment is a familiar one.
There are plenty of veterans of Reagan and Bush 41 around town who believe Bush and Cheney trashed the institutions and party they helped build from the wreckage of the Goldwater campaign.
However, I really liked the Madame de Stael quote--I had not heard it before: "Men do not change, they unmask themselves."
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
HILLARY
I have been thinking of doing an analysis of all of the presidential candidates for 2008, but summer reading keeps getting in the way. However, I did come across a very interesting web site about Hillary Clinton. I haven't looked at in depth, but it has so much information if you need a daily Hillary fix.
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
WEDDINGS
June is over. It has been that time of year again. Weddings. I hesitate to comment—everyone has their own tastes, but I have seen some firsts (at least for me). I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the mother of one bride carrying a box of facial tissues down the aisle with her—surely a flower would have been better. If you need facial tissue, why do you need a whole box? Or why can’t you tuck some away in a more inconspicuous place? Is it a sign of happiness? Or a sign of despair? I was inclined toward the latter as I watched the ceremony. But maybe a ceremony doesn’t really make a marriage.
Maybe it is just East Texas, but the wedding dress code for men has disappeared. I saw polo shirts, jeans, athletic shoes, sandals, etc. It was just like going to a picnic. Dress cowboy clothes are fine—I can accept other cultures, but “gym wear?” The number of ties and sport coats was negligible. But the odd thing was that the women and girls were all dressed very fashionably. For me it was strange to see a young lady attired in a beautiful dress with high heels and coiffed hair standing next to a “slob” in athletic shoes. Shouldn’t you dress up for a wedding?
Also what makes a Christian wedding ceremony? I sense a loss of the sacred in supposedly “Christian” ceremonies. There is a superficial veneer of spirituality with some “God” words thrown in by ministers who seem to use the same story of the “ring as a circle and how this represents marriage. . .” And this is sandwiched between “popular” secular love songs. Do some ministers really know the couple they are marrying? Does the couple really care?
Maybe it is just East Texas, but the wedding dress code for men has disappeared. I saw polo shirts, jeans, athletic shoes, sandals, etc. It was just like going to a picnic. Dress cowboy clothes are fine—I can accept other cultures, but “gym wear?” The number of ties and sport coats was negligible. But the odd thing was that the women and girls were all dressed very fashionably. For me it was strange to see a young lady attired in a beautiful dress with high heels and coiffed hair standing next to a “slob” in athletic shoes. Shouldn’t you dress up for a wedding?
Also what makes a Christian wedding ceremony? I sense a loss of the sacred in supposedly “Christian” ceremonies. There is a superficial veneer of spirituality with some “God” words thrown in by ministers who seem to use the same story of the “ring as a circle and how this represents marriage. . .” And this is sandwiched between “popular” secular love songs. Do some ministers really know the couple they are marrying? Does the couple really care?
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
FATWAS
There is a problem in Islam with fatwas. First came the breast-feeding fatwa. It declared that the Islamic restriction on unmarried men and women being together could be lifted at work if the woman breast-fed her male colleagues five times, to establish family ties. Then came the urine fatwa. It said that drinking the urine of the Prophet Muhammad was deemed a blessing.
Technically, the fatwa is nonbinding and recipients are free to look elsewhere for a better ruling. In a faith with no central doctrinal authority, there has been an explosion of places offering fatwas, from Web sites that respond to written queries, to satellite television shows that take phone calls, to radical and terrorist organizations that set up their own fatwa committees.
Evidently some Muslims (as well as Muslim governments) are upset at some of the fatwas that have been issued and since there is no Pope to control what is issued, there is no centralized control.
However, while I thought that some of these things seem extremely unusual, what would someone in another culture think as they watched or listened to some of the preachers on American religious media?
Technically, the fatwa is nonbinding and recipients are free to look elsewhere for a better ruling. In a faith with no central doctrinal authority, there has been an explosion of places offering fatwas, from Web sites that respond to written queries, to satellite television shows that take phone calls, to radical and terrorist organizations that set up their own fatwa committees.
Evidently some Muslims (as well as Muslim governments) are upset at some of the fatwas that have been issued and since there is no Pope to control what is issued, there is no centralized control.
However, while I thought that some of these things seem extremely unusual, what would someone in another culture think as they watched or listened to some of the preachers on American religious media?
CHINA'S GROWTH HARMS HISTORICAL HERITAGE
The New York Times reports that urbanization is destroying China's architectural heritage. Everything is being replaced by look-alike monstrosities of western architecture. One Chinese official says this is as devasting to China's past as Mao's Cultural Revolution!
“It is like 1,000 cities having the same appearance.”
“It is like 1,000 cities having the same appearance.”
Saturday, June 09, 2007
CHAVEZ DESTROYS FREEDOM IN VENEZUELA
Chavez appears to be doing to Venezuela what Castro did to Cuba. Here is the latest report I received on conditions in Venezuela.
Many of you have been following the events taking place in Venezuela these past weeks in regard to the shutting down of Radio Caracas and the threats against the last remaining anti-Chavez TV station Globovisión. The people are very angry about the loss of free speech which is taking place here.
Tension between the Opposition and the Chavistas is rising rapidly. The people have become more hateful and aggressive. They feel sickened and hopeless about the state of their country and abandoned by the international community. The Chavistas have become more aggressive and Chavez is telling them not to let anyone stop his socialist agenda. They have taken to the streets to fight the protesters; they get braver and stronger every day.
Many people are trying to sell their investment property, such as vacation homes or apartments, because Chavez announced that if you have more than one house “we will take one and give it to a poor family without a home.” Rental property for the foreign workers is very hard to find since everyone is selling to avoid loosing property to the government. The people are buying cars to invest in instead since they appreciate in value here and no mention of confiscating cars has been made. One Chevrolet dealer in Maracaibo says he is selling 3,000 vehicles a month and still has waiting lists. There are so many cars on the road now the streets are congested with angry, aggressive drivers and traffic is very chaotic and dangerous.
There are price controls on about 35% of the food supply so those items have almost totally disappeared from the shelves and are now being sold on the black market for 2 or 3 times the price, usually by government officials who have confiscated the goods on the grounds that they are damaged. Beef, Chicken, eggs, sugar, milk, cooking oil, etc are very hard to find and go fast when they do appear. Chavez has created a crisis with the food supply and has warned that he will take over the grocery stores because of the crisis. He is also threatening to take over the banks. He has control of the phone system now since he took over CANTV and in Caracas he took the electric company. He has taken over several private hospitals and clinics and run the doctors out. He is advocating that any workers, who think the company they work for is not being run correctly, demand to see the financial records of the company; and, if they see fit, to physically take over the company and throw out the owners/managers. He has created a class of people who think the rest of the country has been stealing from them, and thugs who just want to steal instead of work for a living, that are terrorizing the country. Those are his followers. Hundreds of them are buying property in Miami with the money Chavez gives them. Look out Miami!
Democracy is dying a painful death here and it is sad to witness. Someone predicted that within 18 months the whole country will either be in riots and street violence or the people will have given up and Communism will rule.
Some South Americans, Brazilians and Argentineans that work for Petroleum Service companies are expatriates here. They have children born in Venezuela and are having problems getting passports to get out of the country because all children born in Venezuela now belong to the state. All parents must get permission from the state to take their children out of the country.
Chevron and Shell have relocated the majority of their employees out of the Country and are keeping the least amount of people they can to oversee operations here. This is a good time to be getting out.
Many of you have been following the events taking place in Venezuela these past weeks in regard to the shutting down of Radio Caracas and the threats against the last remaining anti-Chavez TV station Globovisión. The people are very angry about the loss of free speech which is taking place here.
Tension between the Opposition and the Chavistas is rising rapidly. The people have become more hateful and aggressive. They feel sickened and hopeless about the state of their country and abandoned by the international community. The Chavistas have become more aggressive and Chavez is telling them not to let anyone stop his socialist agenda. They have taken to the streets to fight the protesters; they get braver and stronger every day.
Many people are trying to sell their investment property, such as vacation homes or apartments, because Chavez announced that if you have more than one house “we will take one and give it to a poor family without a home.” Rental property for the foreign workers is very hard to find since everyone is selling to avoid loosing property to the government. The people are buying cars to invest in instead since they appreciate in value here and no mention of confiscating cars has been made. One Chevrolet dealer in Maracaibo says he is selling 3,000 vehicles a month and still has waiting lists. There are so many cars on the road now the streets are congested with angry, aggressive drivers and traffic is very chaotic and dangerous.
There are price controls on about 35% of the food supply so those items have almost totally disappeared from the shelves and are now being sold on the black market for 2 or 3 times the price, usually by government officials who have confiscated the goods on the grounds that they are damaged. Beef, Chicken, eggs, sugar, milk, cooking oil, etc are very hard to find and go fast when they do appear. Chavez has created a crisis with the food supply and has warned that he will take over the grocery stores because of the crisis. He is also threatening to take over the banks. He has control of the phone system now since he took over CANTV and in Caracas he took the electric company. He has taken over several private hospitals and clinics and run the doctors out. He is advocating that any workers, who think the company they work for is not being run correctly, demand to see the financial records of the company; and, if they see fit, to physically take over the company and throw out the owners/managers. He has created a class of people who think the rest of the country has been stealing from them, and thugs who just want to steal instead of work for a living, that are terrorizing the country. Those are his followers. Hundreds of them are buying property in Miami with the money Chavez gives them. Look out Miami!
Democracy is dying a painful death here and it is sad to witness. Someone predicted that within 18 months the whole country will either be in riots and street violence or the people will have given up and Communism will rule.
Some South Americans, Brazilians and Argentineans that work for Petroleum Service companies are expatriates here. They have children born in Venezuela and are having problems getting passports to get out of the country because all children born in Venezuela now belong to the state. All parents must get permission from the state to take their children out of the country.
Chevron and Shell have relocated the majority of their employees out of the Country and are keeping the least amount of people they can to oversee operations here. This is a good time to be getting out.
Monday, June 04, 2007
SANDY BERGER
I have been suspicious, and will continue to be suspicious, of what Sandy Berger's intentions were when he "stole" secret documents regarding the Clinton administration's handling of al Qaeda as he was preparing to testify before the 9/11 Commission. I saw where some conspiracists are confronting Giuliani and accusing him of knowing about the 9/11 plot--I wish people had the same passion to find out what exactly is missing from the archival record. Berger (and maybe Clinton) know far more about pre-9/11 than Giuliani ever did.
PRO-ISRAEL PALESTINIAN
This is a very unusual interview. I don't know anything about this ex-PLO terrorist, but apparently is a Muslim who is critical of Islamism in American universities, in particular. According to him Muslims are trying to recruit youth just like the Nazis did in Germany before World War II. They don't allow criticism of Islam, but it is okay to criticize or attack Christianity or other religions in academia.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
LACK OF WOMEN
Der Spiegel has an interesting article on the lack of women in East Germany and how it is contributing to neo-nazism. Men seem to need women around to remain civilized. I remember in the old Kenneth Clark "Civilization" series a quote something to the effect that "civilization does not occur without women ore the femine present." Ladies, thank you for civilizing us.
It makes me wonder about LU????
It makes me wonder about LU????
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
THE BEST TOURISTS
I saaw a rating of the best and worst tourists--Americans are the second best! But oh, oh. . .those French have a problem.
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