Reporter's Private Notebook

2012-01-30T01:08:00.001-06:00

"The world is a tragedy to those who feel, but a comedy to those who think."
~ Horace Walpole

Possible Definition of Lamestream Media?

2012-01-29T23:57:00.000-06:00

Rest Stop on I-35 near Council Bluffs, Iowa (March 2010).

The Foundation for Rational Economics and Education?

2012-01-28T15:02:00.014-06:00

If a passing visitor spends more than just a few seconds looking at the various images uploaded on this blog, it's evident that this blogger has flown around the world and back again. I've physically walked on the streets of Baghdad, Kabul, Sarajevo, and Mogadishu. I've lived and worked in Alaska, China, South Korea, Italy and Germany. I've vacationed in Berlin, Prague, Bangkok, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City.

It's difficult to summarize 50 years of a life of traveling in a single post. Every image has its own story. Every short video is just another piece added to this puzzle called life.

A beautiful sunrise. A busy street corner. A smile shared.

In 2012, the events of 9-11 are already starting to feel like a lifetime ago. However, like a lot of folks, this blogger sill vividly remembers the day itself.

I was listening to a local radio station while driving across Austria. Then, the announcer broke into the music and started talking about New York City. While I cannot speak German, I immediately knew something big had occurred back in the United States. When I finally reached a television in Germany, and the tragedy unfolded before the eyes of the world, my first thought was, "our country is going to war".

Which brings this blogger to the central theme of this post: Among other things, the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights did not create traffic lights or crosswalks. The U.S. Constitution did codify slavery into public law and rejected the voting rights of women, but this blogger will leave that particular political rant "for another day".

Ron Paul raises campaign cash to 'end the TSA'?
Read more...

To quote Benjamin Franklin, a man with more personal baggage than Newt Gingrich,"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." What if the TSA had existed prior to 9-11? How different would our shared world be today? The following NBC story aired on July, 20, 2004:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

The events of 9-11 illustrated how a lack of oversight in screening passengers had real economic consequences for the global economy. For those that actually remember the 1970s, believe it or not, there are reasons why governments around the world became involved in monitoring and enforcing aviation safety and security. The U.S. Constitution created a system of government guided by the principals of the "rule of law" and NOT a country void of any form of social or economic accountability.

While a man like Benjamin Franklin could imagine that man would one day fly, I'm positive he would've seen the wisdom in monitoring aviation safety and security after planes started falling out of the sky. And yes, "Liberty" comes with an actual price tag.

Congressman Ron Paul is a soap seller. In the view of this blogger, his 2012 candidacy is NOT about what's in the best interest of the country. Paul is running for President to pave the way for his son's continued political career. The taxpayers put food on his table. Politics is the family business. That's why he repackaged himself as a Republican. He's attempting to permanently interject his misguided, 18th Century inspired, Social-Darwinistic, fantasy island idiotology into the GOP brand name.

His latest run for the White House is no different than Mitt Romney's father running for President in 1968. Or better yet, the four generations of public service by the Kennedy Clan as well as the two previous Bush Administrations (with Jeb waiting in the wings).

As far as this candidate's latest money-bomb targeting the TSA, what Congressman Paul lacks in social empathy, he more than makes up for with his record of political futility.

According to a story researched and published by the Washington Post the day after Christmas, "of the 620 measures that Paul has sponsored, just four have made it to a vote on the House floor. Only one has been signed into law." Perhaps it's just me, but something is seriously wrong with this picture. Read More...

Instead of working to fix a problem, or advocating a more responsive, efficient and effective government, Ron Paul's solution to each and every issue is a verbal ax. This man is the perfect Presidential candidate for the Twitter Generation. 140 characters of text is about all the candidate can handle.

Suggested Reading:
Glass-Steagall Act

2012-01-28T00:02:00.002-06:00

2012-01-27T23:35:00.020-06:00

"Taking time to sit back and watch and think about what you've seen is important. Traveling did a great deal to me. I found that when I travel and just sit in the corner and watch, a million ideas come to me."
~ Lionel Richie

2012-01-27T00:03:00.008-06:00

etc. etc. etc.

2012-01-26T03:21:00.002-06:00

Tax Breaks for Job Creators?

Really? Who came up with this talking point? Some K Street lobbyist? According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, on July 2, 2008, Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year contract with Clear Channel Communications for $400 million. The conservative talk show host "broadcasts his show from a $26 million ocean front home in West Palm Beach, which has 7 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and an elevator".

Between January and May 2009, Clear Channel Communications eliminated 2,440 positions (roughly a 12% drop from its December 2008 workforce).
Read More...

Still confused?
Here's what Seattle billionaire Nick Hanauer wrote in Bloomberg's op-eds section in November, "When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s the other way around." Read More...

At what point will the GOP wake up and finally retire its silly "job creator" talking point?

Every person who spends money is a job creator. Every person with money deposited in a savings account is an investor. At the end of October 2011, one month after the start of #Occupy Wall Street Protests, the Congressional Budget Office published a detailed report on the distribution of household income between 1979 and 2007. The raw numbers are alarming. Read More...

Can you name the first time in American history that the government cut revenue as it marched off to war? Once again, President Obama needs to stop calling his proposal to raise revenue to address the budget deficit the Buffet Rule. It needs to be called the After 9-11 Tax. Speaking of which, how many millionaires and billionaires served in Iraq or Afghanistan? 1%?
Read More...

"I Pledge of Allegiance to Grover Norquist"?

In case you missed it, according to the latest Gallup, only 11% of Americans approve of the job U.S. Congress is doing. The 86% disapproval rating for the 112th Congress is the highest since Gallup started asking the question in 1974. Read More...

Public service is NOT about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's not about being a liberal or conservative. It's about doing the right things for the right reasons. It's about being a citizen. And believe it or not, the word Compromise is NOT one of George Carlin's original seven dirty words.

Understanding the latest political games being played out in Washington D.C. is not complicated. Power is crack. Money buys crack. Perhaps it's time for this country to take a serious look at enacting a 28th Amendment to the Constitution which overturns the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case (perhaps the worst decision in America's judicial history since Dred Scott).

"94% of elections in America are won by the candidate with the most money. Is this how we want to pick our leaders?"
~ Buddy Roemer

...life in contrast...

Dirty Blue Jeans in Broken Window, Changsha, PRC (December 2008)

Cyberbullying Denialist retweets Mankini pics?

2012-01-24T10:01:00.001-06:00

w00t!
In case you missed it, the latest edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary welcomed 400 new words to our digital lexicon.
Read More...

Not to be outdone, the latest edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, America's language authority with a capital 'A', added the definitions for boomerang child, helicopter parent, robocall and bromance.

In other news: Typewritter ribbon salesmen are mourning the linguistic death of the Cassette Tape.
Read More...

googlicious [goo-guhl-lish-uhs] Adjective.
1. Something which is extremely sexy, useful and thought out. Generally used in place of the words sexy, beautiful, gorgeous or amazing.
2. Describes a website which ranks high on Google searches; also describes a website whose Google search listing description is attractive to users, leading to a higher click ratio.
Rosetta Stone English Level 1-5

The Year of the Dragon!

2012-01-23T00:01:00.006-06:00

No culture in the world does fireworks like the Chinese!

When we moved to Changsha, the first thing my wife and I noticed was the sounds of fireworks going off at all hours of the day and night. I asked one of my students, "why do people shoot off so many fireworks?" He answered, "This is Hunan Province." Until our first Chinese New Year's celebration, I really didn't know what he meant.

Unlike the United States, where the most you can buy is a maybe some bottle rockets or roman candles, in Changsha, on every street corner, it's possible to purchase a professional aerial display for less than 10 dollars. Indeed, a friend of mine and I bought a single 75 pound display. The gunpowder packed in this one box could blow off an arm or a leg...

The following 30 second video was taken from our apartment balcony:

This exploding celebration went on for more than an hour.
Over 1,000,000 exploding fireworks! Truly Unbelievable!

2012-01-22T00:34:00.000-06:00

"A country, like a car, is the sum total of all its parts. Remove the tires or the spark plugs and see how far a driver gets down the road." ~ Self

CBS News
The Big Three's dramatic U-turn?
In 2011, "Ford was up 11 percent. General Motors: up 13 percent. And Chrysler was up a whopping 26 percent."
Read More...

Why discover a new economic truth when it's politically more comfortable to continue to wrap oneself in the rhetorical status quo?
Can you say," Cost-benefit analysis"?
Read More...

Campaign Slogan of the Week:
"Bin Laden is dead
and General Motors
is alive."
~ Vice President Joe Biden

Can you say "Bumper Sticker"?

2012-01-22T00:04:00.022-06:00

American Soldier, Konduz, Afghanistan (July 2003).

H-e-e-e-r-e's Johnny...

2012-01-21T11:45:00.000-06:00

"Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn't grow up can be vice president."
~ Johnny Carson

Save the Twinkie?
Corporate insider rumors that Bain Capital is planning a hostile takeover of this American snack food icon are untrue? Mitt Romney plans to announce his economic strategy to save us from a Twinkie apocalypse? Rick Perry wants President Obama to call out the Texas National Guard? Donald Trump demands to see the Twinkie's Original Birth Certificate?
Read More...
The Encyclopedia of Junk Food and Fast Food

2012-01-21T00:04:00.006-06:00

Neighborhood Home Brewery, Changsha, P.R.C. (June 2009).

‎"It's my MONEY and I need it NOW"?

2012-01-19T00:06:00.031-06:00

“Computers have enabled people to make more mistakes faster than almost any invention in history, with the possible exception of tequila & hand guns”
~ Mitch Ratcliffe

Rick Sex-torum wins Iowa? Newt Gringrich releases his tax returns and then donates his little black book (holodex) to the Silvio Berlusconi Library? Rick Perry leaves South Carolina to re-invade Texas? The Koch Brothers offer Steven Colbert a job as a pizza delivery guy? Americans for a better tomorrow, tomorrow? Non-unionized workers at Nevada's Bunny Ranch pimping for Ron Paul? Rumors that Viagra privately endorsed the Keystone Pipeline are true? King Mitt Romney wants to ban the movie It's a Wonderful Life on Caribbean cruise ships?

Joke of the Day:
"Rick Perry? There's a guy who thought Arab Spring was a Saudi Deodorant." ~ John Fugelsang on MSNBC's the Ed Show

SOPA & PIPA?

2012-01-18T00:01:00.010-06:00

Did someone "set fire to the rain"?

Wikipedia joins blackout protest at US anti-piracy moves?
Read More...

(█ ) ███ ██████ ██ ██ click "Share" ██ ██ ████ ██████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ██.
This posted blog comment has been found in violation of H.R. 3261, S.O.P.A and has been removed.

SOPA/PIPA Update:
Before Google's and Wikipedia's Blackout on January 18th, only 31 Congressman were against these specific pieces of legislation. On January 19th, with a firestorm building around the halls of Capital Hill, 101 Congressman quickly issued statements against SOPA/PIPA.

Welcome to the new political world order?

Betty White for President in 2012?

2012-01-17T10:18:00.003-06:00

This blogger hopes and prays that I have as much ZEST for life and raw energy as this Hollywood icon when I'm 90!
Read More...

"Once I first heard about the campaign to host Saturday Night Live, I didn't know what Facebook was. And now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time."
~ Betty White on NBC's Saturday Night Live

2012-01-17T00:47:00.000-06:00

...reflections...

Chinese Couple, Beijing (June 2008)

"The longer I live the more beautiful life becomes."
~ Frank Lloyd Wright

Political Quote of the Week?

2012-01-16T02:36:00.001-06:00

"As far as Huntsman goes, he's in the wrong party. That's his problem. He's fundamentally a decent guy."
~ Howard Dean
Interviewed on MSNBC's
Weekends with Alex Witt

2012-01-16T00:07:00.000-06:00

...Chinese Love Locks...

Oracle Bones: A Journey Through Time in China (Paperback)

The idiotology of ideology?

2012-01-15T07:50:00.015-06:00

Despite being raised in an "atmosphere of privilege", humbled by Polio when he was 39 years old, F.D.R. had "it".

Dwight D. Eisenhower also had "it". While it's difficult to pinpoint the exact moment Ike learned about "it", a tour of a Nazi Concentration Camp certainly contributed to his own personal awakening of what "it" meant for the future of humanity.

Henry Dunant. Mohandas Gandhi. Martin Luther King. César Chávez.

Richard Nixon became aware of "it" after Watergate. Jimmy Carter was judged for having too much "it". George H.W. Bush was only a one term President because he forgot about the importance of "it".

Desmond Tutu. Tenzin Gyatso. Aung San Suu Kyi.

Part of the message of the New Testament of the Bible is dedicated to the spiritual idea of "it".

In 2008, it was clear that Senator John McCain (a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years) and then Senator Barack Obama (an educated black man born in America) both had "it".

So, what is "it"?
ἐμπάθεια. Einfühlung. Empathy.

It's an important human quality which separates a mere politician from a leader. In the view of this Blogger, Mitt Romney doesn't have "it". Indeed, Mitt will never have "it".

And for this reason alone, this Blogger believes the former Massachusetts' Governor will not, but more importantly should not, be elected President.

It remains to be seen whether or not the country is prepared for Mitt to be IT.

Romney Update:
$374,327.62 for 9 Political Speeches = "Not Very Much"?
Read More...

Empathy? Envy? Even Newt Gingrich didn't try to play hide the tax banana with his K-Street money in the Caymen Islands.

Possible definition of idiotology?

2012-01-14T15:23:00.022-06:00

[id·i·ot all o gee]

"I have a scheme for stopping war. It's this - no nation is allowed to enter a war till they have paid for the last one." ~ Will Rogers

The Iowa·nom·ics of the Bush 3.0 Campaign?

After bashing Turkey (the country not the bird), a faithful NATO ally and pivotal political player in the region (see Syria), this Blogger is thankful the Governor saddled up his Koch Brothers funded 527 campaign and decided to re-invade Texas.

2012-01-14T00:04:00.007-06:00

Ministry of Education, Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005).

...somebody, anybody & nobody...

2012-01-13T02:02:00.000-06:00

‎This blogger just watched an hour of CNN with no mention of Casey Anthony, Lindsay Lohan, Charlie Sheen, Paris Hilton or Donald Trump. Perhaps the whole Mayan Calendar end-of-days prediction is wrong...

Solving the Greatest Mystery of Our time : The Mayan Calendar (Paperback)

Mitt is it?

2012-01-11T10:16:00.000-06:00

After two strong showings in Iowa and New Hampshire, Ron Paul continues to be the Rodney Dangerfield of the Republican establishment. The Texas Congressman continues to get "No Respect" from the political pundits within his own adopted party. Un·e·lect·a·ble? Perhaps. One thing remains clear after Iowa and the New Hampshire Primary: Narcissistic Newt has made it his K Street mission to be a Bain in Mitt's vulture capitalist butt.

2012-01-11T02:11:00.000-06:00

...contrasting imagery...

JFK selling watches in Hong Kong, S.A.R. (July 2009)?

Related Link:
China reveals its space plans up to 2016?
Read More...

Embracing the current political SUCK with a BIG SMILE and HOPE?

2012-01-10T19:20:00.008-06:00

IF you're running for President and your NET FINANCIAL WORTH is OVER $250,000,000s, it's an X-tremely BAD IDEA to joke about being UNEMPLOYED with an audience of out-of-work voters struggling to keep a roof over their heads & food on the table. It's like joking about your sore GOLF knees to a room full of amputee combat veterans.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney decides NOT to release his tax returns?
Read More...

Campaign Update:
Romney paid 14.5% rate on $42.6M over the last 2 yrs?
(January 24, 2011)
Read More...

Social Networking = The BORG? IF you're reading this message, you've been Assimilation!

2012-01-09T18:39:00.000-06:00

Make your Aluminum Foil Deflector Beanie
before it's too late!

"I don't make jokes. I just watch the government and report the facts."
~ Will Rogers
Chairman Mao Watch

Remember when sports fans wrapped rabbit ears in aluminum foil so they could watch the Superbowl on a 14" B&W TV?

2012-01-08T08:33:00.000-06:00

‎"If winning isn't everything, why do they keep score?"
~ Vince Lombardi
What it Takes to be Number One (Hardcover)

2012-01-08T02:06:00.000-06:00

Prairie Homestead, Milepost 213 on I-29, South Dakota (May 2010).

Maybe I had the wrong high school English teacher. I always thought that the words FAIR meant FAIR and BALANCED meant BALANCED?

2012-01-07T11:09:00.001-06:00

My curfew was the street lights. My mom called my name NOT my cell phone. I played outside with friends NOT online. If I didn't eat what mom cooked then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet, getting dirty was OK & neighbors cared as much as your parents. Re-post if you drank water from a garden hose & survived.

2012-01-06T13:16:00.000-06:00

"Every man dies. Not every man really lives." ~ William Wallace

Predictions for 2012?

2012-01-05T10:15:00.000-06:00

Television, radio, and newspaper journalists (from all shades of the political spectrum) engage in Ambulance Chasing. Basically, when deciding which major news stories to cover, "if it bleeds, it leads".

Inevitably, WARS and natural disasters top the list of major world events actively covered by the media. Raw human suffering naturally creates powerful images which help to remain us of our own inevitable mortally.

Beyond the so-called end-of-days predictions about the Mayan Calender or Radio evangelist Harold Camping's continued incoherent ramblings about The Rapture, a laundry list of news worthy possibilities makes forecasting world events for 2012 (pause) predictable.

This year, this 3rd Rock from the Sun will experience one or more of the following natural events: avalanches, earthquakes, famines, floods, heat waves, hurricanes, lightning strike, tornadoes, Tsunamis, volcanic eruptions and wildfires. It's not complicated. While it's possible some future government funded, technological advancements may take the mystery out of forecasting recurring biblical events, in 2012, this blogger can confidently predict natural disasters around the world will change the lives of millions of people.

So, what about the future prophecies of Nostradamus' quatrains?

This French Apothecary recognized one important thing about human nature: Man is a politically motivated sexual animal.

There will be at least one SEX scandal in 2012?

Speaking of politics, 59 countries will hold national elections, referendums or plebiscites. Democratic elections will take place in the United States, Russia, Mexico, India and France. The People's Republic of China will hold it's 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people will experience an already predicted change in it's top leadership. Additionally, Egypt and Venezuela are slated to hold elections.

Next month, the United Kingdom will observe Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years on the throne. This summer, London will host the Games of the XXX Olympiad.

There will be monthly stories about Internet Privacy, Facebook and Google. And finally, somebody, somewhere in the world will upload a cute baby video to YouTube.

If you enjoyed 2011, fasten your seat belts. Using my politically neutral Magic 8-Ball, this blogger can write with confidence that the events of 2011 were just a prelude to what's in store for our wonderful world in 2012.

Ten 100-year predictions that came true?
Read More...

This special message is for the inventor of HEATED leather car seats:

2012-01-04T11:09:00.000-06:00

"Thank you!"

Photo of Blogger's Dashboard in North Dakota (January 2010).

Fun Fact: The heated car seat was invented in 1951 by Robert Ballard while working at General Motors. Although Ballard invented the warmer in 1951, he was not granted a patent for his invention until 1955 (patent #2,698,893).

2012-01-04T00:05:00.014-06:00

Possible definition of the word COLD [kohld]?

Wintry weather view from Peter's living room window in Mayville, North Dakota (January 2010).

‎...yesterday, today & tomorrow...

2012-01-03T03:03:00.000-06:00

"We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people."~ John F. Kennedy

Photo by Peter Rimar. Las Vegas, Nevada (December 2003).

2012-01-03T02:01:00.000-06:00

"I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon." ~ Ronald Reagan

The Coffee Companion: A Connoisseur's Guide (Paperback)

Political Quote of the Week?

2012-01-03T01:07:00.000-06:00

"I've suggested that the Democratic slogan this year should be we're not perfect but they're nuts."
~ Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass)
on MSNBC's The Last Word w/ Lawrence O'Donnell

2012-01-03T00:07:00.003-06:00

"One person's craziness is another person's reality."
~ Tim Burton

Edvard Munch in Chinese Still Life

Beijing, P.R.C. (May 2008)

Going, Going, Gone...

2012-01-01T01:59:00.000-06:00

[ih-lip-sis]

"An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves." ~ Bill Vaughn

Polls? Polls. Polls!

2011-12-30T00:10:00.000-06:00

A day without a new public opinion poll is like the month of January in North Dakota without snow. It is what it is. All the media giants (to include Faux News) love analyzing the latest poll numbers. One political poll feeds into yet another poll.

Between December 7-11, 2011, the Pew Research Center asked voters the question, "is there too much power in the hands of a few rich people and large corporations?" 77% of those surveyed said YES, while 19% stated NO.

While the #Occupy Wall Street Movement has lost its original momentum, it's clear the widespread demonstrations in September and October changed the language of the political landscape in 2012.

How do you say Honorificabilitudinitatibus?

2011-12-29T23:43:00.001-06:00

[on-a-rif-ick-a-bill-ee-too-dee-tart-ee-bis]

If your town has an equal number of bars and churches...
You might live
in North Dakota.

If someone in a store offers you assistance and they don't work there...
You might live in North Dakota.

If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time...
You must live in North Dakota.

If parking your car for the night involves an extension cord...
You might live in North Dakota...
North Dakota Fighting Sioux Hard Hat

2011-12-29T14:55:00.014-06:00

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter. Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show." ~ Andrew Wyeth

40 miles north of Norfolk, Nebraska on U.S. Route 81 (January 2010).

Paris Hilton. (Pause) Why?

2011-12-28T19:15:00.000-06:00

But then again, how does a Hollywood Socialite, who's only claim to fame is her family name, a reality television show and an explicit home video, has a higher approval rating than the 112th U.S. Congress?

Confessions of an Heiress:
A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose (Paperback)

Top "Non-Political" Quote of 2011?

2011-12-27T02:07:00.000-06:00

"I am on a drug. It's called Charlie Sheen. It's not available because if you try it once you will die."
~ Charlie Sheen

Carrizozo, New Mexico (December 2009).

...inspiration...

2011-12-27T01:28:00.000-06:00

"Ultimately, America's answer to the intolerant man is diversity, the very diversity which our heritage of religious freedom has inspired."
~ Robert F. Kennedy

2011-12-27T01:08:00.000-06:00

"The purpose of life is a life of purpose."
~ Robert Byrne

Venezia, Italy (Spring 2002)

Is it WRONG to play dress up with your dog?

2011-12-26T01:59:00.000-06:00

While taking our dog JoJo out for his morning constitution, I was reminded of one of life's simple lessons...
sometimes...
it's important to stop & smell each & every blade of grass...

So this is Christmas??

2011-12-25T13:57:00.000-06:00

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive." ~ Dalai Lama

Tiananmen Square veteran jailed for 'inciting subversion'?
Read More...

A Chinese New Year's Story

2011-12-24T12:59:00.000-06:00

For those that remember the movie A Christmas Story, Ralphie's father takes everyone out to a Chinese restaurant for Chinese Turkey. Part of the joke being that Chinese restaurants are usually the only businesses open on Christmas Day. Anyhow, back in 2009, my wife and I decided to go out for lunch. The streets were completely empty. Changsha is a city of over seven million people!

I felt like Tom Cruise standing in Times Square in Vanilla Sky.

Did the apocalypse happen while we were sleeping? ALL the Chinese restaurants were locked up. Everything was closed. Then it hit us. Logically, the ONLY restaurants open on Chinese New Year's Day must be American. Sure enough, Subway, KFC, McDonald's & Pizza Hut were ALL OPEN for business.

So where did we eat?

In China, believe it or not, Pizza Hut is considered a high class, gourmet restaurant. Why? Because Pizza Huts in China look and taste NOTHING like the States. The service, atmosphere and food are a complete 180 degrees from the Lower 48. Koh and I had Salmon Pasta, Shrimp, Garlic Bread, Salad & a Pepsi.

It was our American-Style Peking Duck Chinese New Year Dinner.
TABASCO Brand Pepper Sauce ~ Original Red Gallon

2011-12-24T02:01:00.000-06:00

Classroom in Baghdad

2011-12-23T12:13:00.000-06:00

Admittedly, NOBODY visits this blog to mentally digest the author's various rhetorical rants and raves. Politically, this small corner of cyberspace will never challenge the likes of a The Huffington Post or Politico. It is what it is. A majority of this blog's daily traffic comes from folks searching for a specific image on Google or Bing.

Yesterday, someone in Spain did a Google search looking for an image of a classroom in Baghdad. Unfortunately, in terms of what I've already posted on this blog, this anonymous person's search only yielded classroom photos from China.

That's is until today...

In April 2004, this blogger tagged along for a week with a U.S. Army Civil Affairs team working in downtown Baghdad. The above images were captured on a mission which delivered supplies to a special school for the deaf and blind.

Virtual Refreshment?

2011-12-23T03:10:00.000-06:00

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh."
~ George Bernard Shaw

2011-12-23T00:45:00.005-06:00

The Koch Brothers spotted on a street in Beijing?

Top "YouTube" Political Video of 2011?

2011-12-21T12:12:00.000-06:00

Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places

Ron Paul Wins Iowa?

2011-12-20T14:01:00.000-06:00

Even though the GOP's establishment is carpet bombing Iowa with millions of dollars in anti-Newt campaign ads, once again, the candidate's worst political enemy appears to be the candidate himself. Seriously, Newt's mouth is like a "human hand grenade".

Believe it or not, during 2011, at one point or another, SIX different Republicans (to include Sarah Palin) have lead in the polls in Iowa. Since "7" is a lucky number, it just stands to reason that Congressman Ron Paul will narrowly win the Iowa Caucus.

Ron Paul Campaign Update: (12/23/2011)
Despite the latest media frenzy over the candidate's questionable affiliation with a series of racially charged comments printed in newsletters bearing his name, it's still possible for Paul to win the upcoming Iowa Caucus. Ironically, the newsletter controversy itself only reinforces a conspiracy theory held by many of his most ardent supporters. Basically, the so-called mainstream media (which includes Faux News) wants to derail his candidacy and silence his Revolutionary ideas.

Honestly, this blogger has never believed that Ron Paul could, would or should be elected President. Also, despite Ron Paul being upset that his integrity is being questioned, in 2011, it's fair game for reporters to ask questions regarding the comments contained within these newsletters.
Read More...

Political Quote of the Week:
"Trying to negotiate with Speaker Boehner is like trying to nail Jell-O to the wall."
~ Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)

Election 2012 Update:
Mitt Romney wins Iowa with exactly six less votes than in 2008:

Source: AP

2011-12-19T23:04:00.000-06:00

"We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried. Most people were silent." ~ Robert Oppenheimer on Trinity

Photo of the first atomic explosion posted on a fence
at the site of the original Ground Zero, Trinity, New Mexico (October 2009).

Breaking News: North Korean Kim Jong-il Dead

2011-12-19T02:29:00.000-06:00

This may be the first real foreign policy test of the Obama Administration.

As I've already stated in a previous post, since the collapse of the former Soviet Union, the DPRK has been a proxy state of the People's Republic of China.

With the announced death of Kim Jong-il, it remains to be seen how Beijing will respond to any unforeseen internal power struggle within North Korea itself.

Despite the best efforts of Beijing's leaders, it's still possible the death of Kim Jong-il could eventually lead to a crisis similar to what the Chinese themselves experienced following the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 (see Gang of Four). Historically, the transition of power within a Communist country, after the death of a cult of personality type leader, is not uncharted territory. The question remains whether a Stalin or a Gorbachev is waiting in the wings to eventually seize the reigns of power in Pyongyang.

With or without Kim Jong-il, the CCP's economic and military approach to the DPRK will remain the same. For both China and North Korea, the shared political goal for both regimes can best be described with three simple words: Stability. Stability. Stability.

Let me be clear about this next point. Despite its policy to maintain political stability on the Korean Peninsula, if the DPRK ever attacks South Korea, blood will be on the hands of the CCP and the PLA. Being an economic superpower and acting like a world leader is not the same thing.

"As soon as man began considering himself the source of the highest meaning in the world and the measure of everything, the world began to lose its human dimension and man began to lose control of it."
~ Václav Havel

For this blogger, it's interesting how the weekend passing of a man like Václav Havel contrasts with the death of the DPRK's "Dear Leader".
The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe [Paperback]

DPRK Update: (01/04/12)
The Washington Post
Amid N. Korea succession, China makes push for stability
Read More...

...perspective...

North Korean Performers
Wangjing, Chaoyang District, Beijing
June 2008

2011-12-19T00:22:00.007-06:00

That was then...

Downtown Seoul, R.O.K. (Circa 1983)

This is now...

Downtown Seoul, R.O.K. (Circa 2009)

Photos by Peter Rimar.

#Occupy Wukan?

2011-12-18T02:05:00.000-06:00

Violent political clashes in Egypt? London burning? A nuclear crisis in Japan? Military tanks crushing government protesters in Syria while American troops leave Iraq? The Libyan people rising up against Muammar Gaddafi? #Occupy Wall Street protests in every major American city? Russians marching again on the streets of Moscow?

And the year 2011 is not quite finished...

Analysis: Democracy is like a rice cooker. When too much pressure builds up inside, excess steam is released so the cooker (i.e. society) doesn't EXPLODE. How strong or mature is a government which is afraid of the peaceful words and ideas of one man?
Read More...

Update:
Wukan protesters end action after Chinese government offers concessions
December 21, 2011
Read More...

2011-12-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Freedom? What's does it really mean?

2011-12-17T02:01:00.002-06:00

It sometimes depends on where a person is standing. IF you peel away the rhetorical onion, freedom is the RIGHT to peacefully live ones own life FREE from religious or political fear. Not the fear of the unknown, which will always be a part of our own humanity, but the RIGHT to search for and perhaps discover for ourselves our own individual truth. Read More...
Life without fear.

This may be the reason why the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which protects freedom of expression, was 1st. From the seeds of this one simple idea, all the other freedoms enjoyed by Americans followed...

While the United States cannot solve all the world's problems, at the very least, as a country & as a people, Americans must never compromise their values & ideals for liberty and freedom.
It's from this light...
all hope shines.

...perspective...

"As we debate how the United States can best influence the course of the Arab Spring, can’t we all agree that the most obvious thing we can do is stand as an example of a nation that holds an individual’s human rights as superior to the will of the majority or the wishes of government?"
~ Senator John McCain
May 11, 2011
The Washington Post

Photo of Senator John McCain taken by Peter Rimar in San Antonio, Texas (January 2007).
The Fall of the Berlin Wall: The Revolutionary Legacy of 1989 (Paperback)

Three Generations

2011-12-15T03:43:00.000-06:00

Since the end of the Korean War, South Korean society has undergone a complete political, economic and social transformation. In 1953, after a brutal Japanese occupation and civil war, the country was on life support. Most Koreans lived in the countryside and worked the land. After just 50 years, South Korea has transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse in Asia. The country's largest automaker even built a $1.1 billion dollar auto assembly plant in Alabama.

This photograph of my wife's grandmother was taken in a farmhouse in 1983. The story of her rough life mirrors the transformation undergone by the country. When she was sixteen years old, she was forced into an arranged marriage.

My wife's great-grandparents traded a small plot of land & a cow for their son's new bride. Basically, she was treated as a piece of property.

During the Japanese occupation, the laws regarding marriage changed. While a woman could no longer be bought or sold, families still arranged marriages for their children. In the case of my wife's mother, she actually meet her new husband (my wife's father) on their wedding night. My mother-in-law had ZERO control over her future. Love was not a requirement for marriage.

In 1983, for the first time in my wife's family, a woman controlled who she married. In just three generations, a woman's status in Korean society changed forever.

One of my wife's favorite movies is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Why? Well, when we announced our engagement, her older brother attempted to stop the marriage. However, unlike two-generations before, he had no legal authority over his sister. Just like the movie, my brother-in-law invited dozens of Korean men home for dinner. When the movie came out, even my brother-in-law recognized his character as the Greek father.

OBSERVATION: Globalization has contributed to the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. The dramatic changes for the status of women in Asia mirror the modern pressures currently underway in the Islamic World.

Century of Struggle:
The Woman's Rights Movement in the United States, Enlarged Edition (Paperback)

On this day in history?

2011-12-14T12:17:00.000-06:00

Sometimes, lost in all the polarized political debates going on in Washington D.C. and across this country, Americans seem to forget that the United States has been a country at war for over ten years. It remains to be seen how future scholars will judge this particular decade in World History.

"Unlike the old empires, we don't make these sacrifices for territory or for resources. We do it because it's right. There can be no fuller expression of America's support for self-determination then our leaving Iraq to its people. That's says something about who we are."
~ President Barack Obama
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
December 14, 2011
Read More...

Final Update?
December 18, 2011
The last convoy of American troops leave Iraq.
Read More...

Photos by Peter Rimar. Baghdad, Iraq (April 2005).

2011-12-14T12:14:00.021-06:00

"A picture is a poem without words." ~ Horace

Bicycle and Beauty Shop, Changsha, P.R.C. (January 2009).

Favorite Movie Quote of 2011?

2011-12-14T10:27:00.000-06:00

"Blogging is not writing.
It's graffiti with punctuation."
~ Elliott Gould as Dr. Ian Sussman
Contagion

Photo of H1N1 alert taken in Changsha, PRC (June 2009).
ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income
(See all Computer & Internet Books)

Top "YouTube" Music Video Quote of 2011?

2011-12-13T12:59:00.000-06:00

“It’s sort of like my past is an unfinished painting and as the artist of that painting I must fill in all the ugly holes and make it beautiful again.”
~ Lady GaGa
Marry the Night

...reflections...

2011-12-13T03:44:00.001-06:00

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”
~ Jonathan Swift

9:01 ~ One Minute before the World Changed, Oklahoma City National Memorial (June 2010).
Others Unknown: Timothy McVeigh and the Oklahoma City Bombing Conspiracy
(Paperback)

2011-12-13T02:40:00.004-06:00

...life in contrast...

For most Americans, it's hard to imagine living in today's modern world without a cell phone and the internet.

Before the invention of the pay phone, corner grocery stores once provided small neighborhoods and rural towns with the only telephonic link to the outside world.

Small Chinese grocery shop with neighborhood telephone

Changsha, P.R.C. (June 2009)

Is it just me...

2011-12-13T00:57:00.000-06:00

or do the morning TV talk shows sound like a mind numbing chorus celebrating the Freudian joys of human dysfunction?

Why, if you type the word "numbing" in Google's search box, it suggests "numbing condoms"? I'm almost afraid to click on the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button.

‎Life's all about product placement?

Marketing For Dummies (Paperback)

2011-12-13T00:06:00.010-06:00

"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."
~ Albert Einstein

From Russia With Love?

2011-12-12T18:59:00.000-06:00

This post is NOT about the 1963 James Bond film which starred a young Sean Connery. Indeed, while this blogger has previously babbled about the 2012 Presidential Election, #Occupy Wall Street, the People's Republic of China and Facebook Privacy, until today, I've refrained from writing about the former Soviet Union.

That's why it's a bit curious that this completely irrelevant corner of the blogosphere has an active Russian readership.

...speaking of Russia...
Why do Russians hang rugs on the walls?

In my quest to find the answer, I discovered two outstanding web-sources, which married together, provided this blogger with the best possible answer.

According to the website English Russia, Russians started the custom of hanging rugs on the wall in the 1950s. Why? Evidently, the walls of Soviet-era apartment buildings were extremely thin. Hanging rugs on the wall had a real world, practical application. The custom itself helped mask private conversations from noisy neighbors as well providing some added interior insulation against the COLD Russian winters.
Read More...

A first-person narrative written by an American living in Russia provided this blogger with another possible answer to the original question. Lindsay Kosarev's detailed observations about the country's society and culture are a must read for every American who plans on living and working in Russia:

"Russians love putting carpets on their walls. At first, I thought it was for extra insulation, but they put them on inside walls as well. No matter how stylish or traditional Russians believe this custom is, they always pick a rug that does not match the rest of the room. They either look like the furniture covers, which are brown and tan floral patterns or the rugs are red and black. There are other styles of rugs, but these are the most common and memorable."
Read More...

Thus, based on these specific web-sources, this blogger reached a simple conclusion. What started off as a practical solution to address real world concerns (noisy neighbors and cold apartments), over the course of fifty-plus years, the custom itself simply became a part of the cultural fabric of Russian society.

Hanging rugs on the wall is just one more thing
which helps define Russia as Russian.

Lonely Planet ~ Russia [Paperback]

Kabul Marketplace

2011-12-12T18:24:00.000-06:00

If you look closely at the above photograph of a marketplace in Kabul, Afghanistan (July 2003), you may notice something missing (not WHAT but WHO is missing from the image). Before reading any further, please take a quick moment to look at the photograph itself. If it helps, you can enlarge the picture into a new window (i.e. just click on the image). When I first developed the negative, I viewed it as just another photograph of a typical 3rd world marketplace. People just going about the daily business of business. Then it dawned on me...

Go to any shopping district in Seoul, Tokyo, New York or Paris...
Visit a marketplace in Bangkok, Mexico City or Sarajevo...
Walk through a Shopping Mall in Beijing, Dallas or London and a you can't help but notice the sounds and faces of women & small children.
Sometimes, what is missing from a photograph actually reveals more than what it seems to contain.

Newt Gringrich for President?

2011-12-11T13:08:00.000-06:00

Seriously? Really? Could General Ripper's conspiracy theory linking "fluoridated water" with a Communist plot to weaken American society be true? Every time this blogger reads about the candidate's recent surge in the polls, a single rhetorical cliché best describes my thoughts regarding Newt's book selling run for the White House:

Can you say "Lipstick on a Pig"?

Despite Newt's well-documented, extremely checkered political record, a growing number of Republicans actually believe he's the best candidate to beat President Obama in 2012.

Good luck with that one!

Perhaps Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who's NOT known for her intellectual prowess or problem solving skills, put it best. On CBS' Face the Nation, Bachmann stated, "He's the 'King of K Street. For a person who's been influence peddling for over 30 years in Washington, D.C. - to think that Newt Gingrich is somehow an outsider, when he is the consummate establishment insider?"

Hopefully, between now and the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire Primary, GOP voters will WAKE UP and take another look at Jon Huntsman and Buddy Roemer. Otherwise, Republican voters should be prepared for the GOP to suffer its biggest Presidential defeat in its long, proud history. In terms of Jon Huntsman, he has an extremely strong foreign policy background (which during the Cold War actually meant something with Republican voters). As far as supporting a candidate like Buddy Roemer, well, GOP voters could walk away from a 2012 defeat with dignity and some glimmer of hope for the Party's political future.

Political Quote of the Week:
"If a corporation is a person, I can't wait until they get drafted in the next war."
~ Buddy Roemer on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show
December 8, 2011

Photo Credit: Peter Rimar's wife in an art gallery located in Beijing's 798 District (May 2008).
Reference Links:
Lipstick on a Pig
Dr. Strangelove

Real men wear PINK!

2011-12-10T06:24:00.000-06:00

Could the NCAA please STOP pretending that college BASKETBALL & FOOTBALL are altruistic amateur sports which promote team spirit & academic excellence?

“Football players, like prostitutes, are in the business of ruining their bodies for the pleasure of strangers”
~ Merle Kessler

NCAA Montana Grizzlies Team Backpack
Photograph of the 1903 Mayville High School Football Team taken at the Goose River Heritage Center Museum, Mayville, North Dakota.
Click on image to open in a new window.

2011-12-10T00:02:00.001-06:00

Xepon, Laos (July 2004).

24/7 e-World

2011-12-09T03:09:00.000-06:00

"It does no harm just once in a while to acknowledge that the whole country isn't in flames, that there are people in the country besides politicians, entertainers, and criminals."
~ Charles Kuralt
A Life on the Road (Paperback)

2011-12-09T00:03:00.000-06:00

"The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others." ~ Vincent Van Gogh

798 Art District, Beijing (June 2009)

Donald Trump? Kingmaker?

2011-12-08T02:38:00.000-06:00

Hollywood insider rumors that CBS is negotiating with Mr. Karl "527" Rove to appear with the host of Celebrity Apprentice on an upcoming season of Survivor: #Occupy Wall Street are untrue?

Question of the Week:
When did the GOP become
the Grand Obstructionists Party?

...perspective...

"Life does not cease to be funny when people die any more than it ceases to be serious when people laugh." ~ George Bernard Shaw

Five Seconds or LESS?

2011-12-07T11:37:00.000-06:00

The amount of time folks spend visiting a BLOG.

With the dramatic rise of Facebook, blogging itself has become an endangered art. While I've devoted countless hours posting various items on this small corner of cyberspace, realistically, it's rather doubtful this site will ever attract an active, worldwide following. So, why do I continue to BLOG? Well, it's FUN. That's it. No more, no less. I enjoy sharing my political ramblings and images of our world.

While my wife and I were still living in Beijing, I received an e-mail from a musician in California. Basically, he wanted permission to use one of my Wiki photos for his next album cover. I said sure go ahead...no charge.

His name is Sharif.

Here's the final version of the album cover itself, followed by a short poem this blogger wrote about memories along with a music video from Sharif's album Kisses and Lies.

There was a time, not long ago,
when record covers were considered works of art...

There was a time, not long ago,
when friends would sit around and listen to music together...

There was a time, not long ago,
when people played stupid board games...

There was a time, not long ago,
when families still shared the joys of laughter around the dinner table...

Some memories can never be downloaded...
Perhaps some ideas should never change.

No matter where the next road takes me,
I'll always remember that along the way,
It's not the place, but the people
who make us who we are.

The Facebook Effect [Kindle Edition]

2011-12-07T02:01:00.000-06:00

‎"It is a well know fact that reality has a liberal bias" ~ Stephen Colbert

2011-12-06T03:15:00.001-06:00

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann's call to ABOLISH the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & allow corporates to police themselves is like firing every correction officer & placing the inmates in charge of guarding the prisons. READ MORE...

For a majority of Americans, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (along with the follow up extended military occupations) were viewed through the abstract lens of our digitally connected, 24/7, talking head e-world. Some people learn about American foreign policy from reading a book or from watching CNN. I was lucky enough to get my first taste of our wonderful geopolitical world sitting inside a sandbagged CONEX (shipping storage container) at the Port of Mogadishu, Somalia. After 9-11, I took several taxpayer funded vacations to Kabul and Baghdad.

After more than 26 years in uniform, I retired and moved to the People's Republic of China. For six weeks (July & August 2008), I taught summer school in the city of Huadu. After just a few days, my wife and I started developing serious, painful skin rashes from the local water supply. After looking at the arms and legs of my students, it was visually evident that EVERYONE in the city had some degree of skin problems. Indeed, EVERY DAY, one or two students would cry from the rashes. Why?

Well, the Communist Party's version of the EPA has no real authority. Second, and perhaps more importantly, the world continues to ship its e-waste (along with its dirty industries) to China. Unknowingly, my wife and I had moved downstream from an e-waste generated ecological disaster.

Can you say "Love Canal"?

Thankfully, once we relocated to the city of Shenzhen, our skin problems quickly cleared up. So, when a candidate talks about "abolishing" the EPA, I question that individual's political motives. Are guys like the Koch Brothers pulling the candidate's strings? Anyhow, this blogger asks this simple question, "what kind of world do we want to leave our children's children?"
Biologic Pollution Mask

"A hypocrite is the kind of politician who would cut down a redwood tree, then mount the stump and make a speech for conservation."
~ Adlai Stevenson

...another perspective...

If you're a Ron Paul for President supporter, please stop reading this post. For this blogger, this Libertarian's continued misguided belief that corporations will somehow police themselves in a pure free market economy is Utopian lunacy.

If you're a Newt Gingrich for President supporter, PLEASE see a doctor. Poor students cleaning up rich kids urine and shit is a jobs plan? Having children competing with their parents for the handful of jobs in poor neighborhoods will somehow "morally" fix the country? WTF?

Here's an idea:
Army Private Paris Hilton.

YES, there are real reasons why this country was a world leader in creating and then enforcing Child Labor Laws. The current GOP Flavor of the Month REALLY needs another HISTORY lesson.
Read More...

Anyhow, please forgive this blogger for temporarily straying away from the original topic of this specific post.

In the People's Republic of China, while the Chinese government claims goose stepping adherence to its version of Communist ideology (socialism with Chinese characteristics), when it comes to actually enforcing the country's weak environmental laws, the free market reigns supreme. Beyond the token measures taken by the Central Government prior to the Beijing Olympics in 2008, when it comes to protecting the manufacturing engine which drives the country's economic growth, both Chinese and foreign-based corporations enjoy a free market with ZERO environmental accountability. Can you say limited government in its purest form? Can you say profits before people?

With that said, it appears the Chinese people themselves are beginning to question the government's laissez faire response to the country's rapidity developing environmental crisis.
Read More...

Blue Beijing Skies?

March 2008

Photo by Peter Rimar

Update: (1/21/12)
Beijing releases pollution data after public pressure?
Read More...

...something, something & something more...

2011-12-05T03:35:00.000-06:00

IF it's important, people find the time, energy & money to do IT (i.e. whatever IT is). It's human nature. It's an idea which defines our own humanity.

2011-12-05T00:27:00.006-06:00

"Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still."
~ Dorothea Lange

2011-12-05T00:04:00.006-06:00

Does freedom of religion also mean freedom from religion?

What would you do for $10 Dollars?

2011-12-04T03:22:00.000-06:00

One day back in June 2008, while looking out the window of our Beijing apartment, I spotted this guy cleaning windows on the 19th floor. If you look closely, you can see the owner of the apartment talking to the barefooted man. She actually pointed out the spots he had missed.

When I looked through my camera's telephoto lens, I discovered this guy was working without any form of safety harness or rope.

This brave daredevil spent the better part of an hour standing outside on an extremely narrow ledge.

Later, I asked my landlord how much it would cost to get our windows cleaned. She responded "70 rmb" (roughly 10 U.S. Dollars)!

Once again, what would you do to put food on the table?
Would you risk your life?
Click on images to view in a new window.

‎...note to self...

2011-12-03T03:43:00.000-06:00

‎"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it."
~ Thomas Jefferson
State of the Union Address (Paperback)

Bad Political Joke of the Week:
I am sure that Herman Cain will be in the White House in 2012.
Somebody has to deliver the pizza.

The Music of Nature?

2011-12-02T17:37:00.000-06:00

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything."
~ William Shakespeare

Photo & Video by Peter Rimar.
Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You (Paperback)

Furthermore...
"We thought cars would fly before women dunked."
~ Candice Wiggins
Minnesota Lynx
ESPN Magazine

World AIDS Day: "Getting to Zero"

2011-12-01T03:18:00.000-06:00

AIDS Awareness Sign, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (January 2005).

"AIDS can destroy a family if you let it, but luckily for my sister and me, Mom taught us to keep going. Don't give up, be proud of who you are, and never feel sorry for yourself."
~ Ryan White
My Own Story (Paperback)

AIDS Awareness Sign, Changsha, PRC (June 2009).

Funding Crunch Puts Progress on AIDS at Risk?
Read More...

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to visit Myanmar?

2011-11-29T03:48:00.000-06:00

FACT: 14 countries physically border the People Republic of China.

Most Americans are unaware of China's unresolved border dispute with India and how this specific issue continues to impact the balance of power in Asia. Read More...

Additionally, in the view of this blogger (shared by an army of journalists and diplomats who actively pay attention to the extremely diverse regional dynamics of Asia), two of those countries, the DPRK (North Korea) and Myanmar are PROXY states of the CCP and the PLA. Any serious discussion or analysis regarding the economic or political future of Burma begins and ends within the gates of power in Beijing.
Read More...

While Clinton's upcoming diplomatic mission to this isolated state is a positive regional development, folks need to remember that in 2000, then Secretary of State Madeleine Albright undertook a similar, unsuccessful journey to Pyongyang. With that said, unlike the DPRK, the people of Burma actually hold a wild card in the geopolitical game.

Her name is Aung San Suu Kyi.

‎"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."~ Aung San Suu Kyi
Letters from Burma

State Visit Update:
(December 3, 2011)
Clinton allowed to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi
Read More...

...perspective...

Image from interview on CCTV 9 (September 2008).

A real crisis is when you can't say "let's just forget the whole thing".

2011-11-28T03:38:00.000-06:00

A well-adjusted person is one who makes the same mistake twice without getting nervous.

Program or Be Programmed: Ten Commands for a Digital Age (Paperback)

2011-11-28T02:48:00.000-06:00

...reflections...

2011-11-27T15:44:00.000-06:00

"The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get."
~ Tim Russert

As I walked along a dirt road in a small Thai rice village, I spotted this farmer chasing his little girl around the front yard. Pointing to my camera, I asked him if I could take their picture.

Looking at the girls face, she was upset that her playtime with dad was interrupted. Later, after I developed the film, I gave him a copy of the photograph. Staring at the image, he paused for a moment and then started to cried. It was the first photograph he had ever taken with his daughter. For a man who works a small plot of land to support his family, a camera and film are well beyond his financial means.

The worst prediction in history?

2011-11-27T03:33:00.000-06:00

When asked by reporters about the newly invented telephone, President Rutherford B. Hayes said, "Who would want to use it anyways?"

The History of the Telephone (Droid Ebooks)

2011-11-27T00:02:00.002-06:00

Inspiration for the planet Pandora in the movie Avatar

(see mountains behind Chinese girls)

Zhangjiajie, P.R.C. (March 2009).

You know you're in DEEP trouble when CNN & Faux News quotes your Twitter?

2011-11-26T09:55:00.001-06:00

“You're excited?
You should feel my nipples!”
~ Leslie Nielsen
Airplane! DVD

How many ways can the vast army of television script writers, movie directors, radio announcers and network news reporters work the word Facebook into a program?

2011-11-26T03:05:00.001-06:00

A Simple Conversation?

2011-11-25T10:23:00.000-06:00

When I landed at Kabul International Airport in early July 2003, I witnessed a conversation between two NATO officers. Speaking to one another in English, a German officer & a French officer were discussing a security issue regarding the airfield. After this brief interaction was over, the French officer walked away.

The German officer (still speaking in English) then turned to a Dutch soldier and said quite clearly, "the French never listen."

OBSERVATION: There may be those who believe this blogger wrote this post because I harbor some negative feelings towards the French. Granted, political relations between our two nations have seen much better days. However, while I am an American, the story goes much deeper than it first appears.

You see, my father was born in France (now an American citizen).

Think about it...
How do fathers & sons talk to one another?
I've spent the last 40-plus years trying to figure out my dad.
Need I say more?

...perspective...

Photos taken by Peter Rimar in Kabul, Afghanistan (July 2003).

Vintage Photos from a Family Album

2011-11-24T16:24:00.000-06:00

Thomas A. Worrall (seated right) on a business trip to Shanghai, China (Circa October 1926)

Two important world events shaped the destiny of the Rimar Family. Shortly after the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Thomas Worrall helped smuggle Peter's grandfather and great-grandmother out of Russia. After leaving Russia, he married my great-grandmother. Later, sometime during the short period before the Nazis crossed the border into France (April 1940), he relocated the Rimar family out of Europe.

"The Hall of Supreme Harmony" 太和殿

Original photograph taken by Thomas A. Worrall

(Peter's Step- Great Grandfather)

Circa October 1926

The Forbidden City, Beijing (Peking), China

French Army

Medical Evacuation Exercise

Circa 1935

Original Vintage Photo by Eugene Rimar

(My Grandfather)

What if F.D.R. wasn't elected President? It's amazing how certain moments in history impact the destiny of the common man. In the summer of 1934, Peter's Grandfather (George Mullenix) traveled to Panther, West Virgina as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). It was during this period that he met and eventually married a young college student named Darcus Bailey (my grandmother).

...it IS what it IS...

2011-11-23T15:45:00.000-06:00

"Life is like an ice-cream cone, you have to lick it one day at a time."
~ Charles M. Schulz

2011-11-23T02:35:00.000-06:00

Operation Restore Hope
Egyptian Soldiers, Mogadishu, Somalia (January 1994).