Some of the theories being echoed by Pakistani politicians, mullahs and journalists: Bin Laden died of natural causes years ago in Afghanistan? He had his hands & feet bound by plastic straps, carried into the house on a helicopter & executed in a US operation to embarrass Pakistan? His bodyguard shot him in the heart, but he survived with "supernatural strength", until he requested his loyal follower shoot him in the head?
In case you missed it, the following story is the best written account of the special operations' mission to get Bin Laden published to date:
The New Yorker Getting Bin Laden What happened that night in Abbottabad. by Nicholas Schmidle READ MORE...
Honestly, I have no secret, morbid desire to see the photos of Bin Laden's dead corpse. I agreed with President Obama's decision. Given the nature of our open & progressive society, at some point in the future, perhaps as a result of the Freedom of Information Act, the images of Bin Laden will be released. IF it's 50 years from today, so be it.
This was the most expensive manhunt in U.S. history. The original mission in Afghanistan was to find, kill and/or capture Osama Bin Laden. Perhaps his death will open the political door so our troops can return home.
Is it just me or does the world seem a bit CRAZY these days? After watching the scenes from the recent riots across the United Kingdom, this blogger wonders what would have happened if the thousands of frustrated English youth had channeled their anger into something positive.
In Chile, a country which now protects Freedom of Expression, Chilean college students took to the streets to pressure the government to spend more money on education. However, instead of burning cars and buildings, the student protest on June 24th took a more peaceful, creative and just plain FUN approach to voicing their demands:
The NCAA makes BILLIONS upon BILLIONS of dollars off student athletes. What's the "CRIME" if a couple students trade a few football jerseys for some silly body art? IF an NCAA student gets hurt ON the playing field, a university is under no financial or MORAL obligation to continue awarding that student an athletic scholarship. NCAA Florida Gators Infant Bib
Do I BELIEVE that "she believes" she'll actually be elected President? No. Based on this answer, what's her agenda?
IF Congresswoman Bachmann wants to be elected to this country's highest office, she deserves the same level of professional & public scrutiny as President Obama (and ALL the Presidents before him).
The following stories take a hard look at this candidate's personal and political background: The New Yorker Leap of Faith ~ The making of a Republican front-runner. by Ryan Lizza READ MORE...
Rolling Stone Michele Bachmann's Holy War By Matt Taibbi READ MORE...
The Los Angeles Times Bachmann's had her share of government aid By Melanie Mason and Matea Gold (Washington Bureau) READ MORE...
Army Times Bachmann plan would cut veterans benefits By Rick Maze READ MORE...
There must be a reason why 67% of "polled" Republicans DO NOT like the current field of TEN candidates. It's a bit curious that Texas Governor Rick Perry waited until AFTER the debt ceiling crisis to announce his run for the White House. Can you say Karl Rove?
Bachmann Update: (01/04/12) Game Over!
The Iowa Straw Poll's main goal is to help the local Republican Party raise money during each new Presidential election cycle. With Bachmann's rather poor Iowa Caucus showing, in four years, her inflated candidacy will give the 24/7 political pundits something to banter about on all the talking head news channels (CCN, MSNBC & Faux News). Oddball Iowa: A Guide to Some Really Strange Places (Paperback)
Mirror in a tattoo shop, San Antonio, Texas (October 2009)
IF you buy a home, a new car & max out your credit card on clothes & food, at some point, you have to pay your bills. How you pay those bills directly impacts your credit rating. It's not complicated. Debt is debt. As a person, you have several choices. You can attempt get a second job to meet your financial obligations (i.e. raise revenue), cut back on spending (i.e. reduce the size of the government), do a mix of the two methods or just give up & file for bankruptcy (DEFAULT). Your individual credit rating depends on HOW you, as an individual, respond to paying off your bills. Ignoring phone calls from the bank & the credit card companies WILL NOT solve the long term DEBT problem.
When a Presidential candidate (i.e. Michele Bachmann) gets on Face the Nation & tells the reporter that the Treasury Department can just move around money to avoid a crisis, well, that way of thinking is just plain wrong (as well as stupid).
It's NOT 1773, 1776 or 1789.
It's 2011 and ALL of us live in a Global economy. The sooner folks recognize that reality, the sooner this country will start doing what it needs to do to COMPETE in a GLOBAL MARKETPLACE. And oh by the way, the whole Boston Tea Party thing was NOT about paying taxes. It was about "TAXATION Without Representation". Walking away from the table (on EVERY ISSUE) is NOT Representation.
All financial markets (Bond, Stock, Currency & Commodity) are built on the foundation of "confidence". Don't fool yourself. The GOP's goal is the WHITE HOUSE & NOT fixing the budget mess or the overall economy. Guys like Karl Rove & the Koch Brothers know egg-xactly what they're doing.
Once a factory closes, it's closed. Those jobs may or may not ever return. What folks don't understand is that once a manufacturing job leaves our shores, it's only a matter of time before a corporation starts to trim its white collar staff (i.e. folks who were originally hired to support a larger blue collar workforce). This delayed process of corporate contraction causes a negative, slow moving, ripple effect on the entire economy. Simply put, like it or not, in the short term, there is NO quick fix (or voodoo magic) for turning around this economy.
Anyhow, driving the global economy off a cliff to pander to the narrow whims of the Liberatarian Wing of the Republican Party is just plain NUTS! Unless of course, that's the REAL economic & political END GAME. IF that's the case, then maybe it's indeed a good time for all of us to start praying.
Army Sgt. Osvaldo Ortiz sleeps next to the transfer case and gear of his fallen friend aboard a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft bound for Dover Air Force Base, Del. Ortiz is accompanying the remains to the base and eventually back to the fallen soldier's home in Puerto Rico (June 2003). Photo by Peter Rimar.
Normally, I attempt to refrain from voicing any serious political opinions in this specific forum. IMHO, politics is ONLY about two core ideas: Power & Money. It's not complicated. Indeed, Presidential elections are like watching dogs chasing their own tails.
This blogger enjoys having friends from ALL shades of the political spectrum. It keeps life interesting. With that said, when it comes to individual Freedom, NO ONE should ever LIVE IN FEAR of expressing a PEACEFUL IDEA which questions the existing status quo. Without Freedom of Expression, people would still believe the world is flat & the sun revolves around the earth.
After more than 20 years of conflict, at what point will the madness in Somalia END? According to the latest statistics from the Financial Tracking Service, which records humanitarian aid around the world, the People's Republic of China, which has the largest foreign cash reserve in the world, has only PLEDGED $14 million to famine relief.
And to think the CCP actually wants China to be a major player on the world stage?
What would happen if the United States gave up it permanent seat on the United Nation's Security Council for a few years? How would the People's Republic of China & Russia act, without the United States at the table, to a crisis like Somalia?
Believe it or not, it's possible for a person to LOVE China and question the authority of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Once again, in case someone missed the point, it's possible for an individual to believe in ONE CHINA, but completely rejects the political idea of continued ONE PARTY rule. Without a system of checks & balances between a government and its own people, corruption itself breeds nothing but more corruption. Also, Human Rights are NOT just a Western Value. The belief in basic Human Rights is a universal value.
Remember when the word Google wasn't a word? Remember when the acronym W-M-D meant Waste Management Disposal? Remember when "corduroy pants" were cool? This status update was brought to you by the makers of Hostess Twinkies.
"You can roll manure in powdered sugar but it still ain't a jelly doughnut."
~ Berta
In other news? Exxon-Mobil announced that it plans to lay off 25 U.S. Congressmen?
Shell and BP are considering similar cutbacks? Exxon Toy Tanker Truck
"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.
Radio evangelist Harold Camping says May 21st was "invisible judgment day". Updated "Rapture" now set for October 21st, 2011.
This blogger feels SOMEWHAT bad for the 60-year old, NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority RETIREE who spent $140,000s of his life savings on "Judgement Day" subway posters & "Rapture" bus shelter advertisements. Now, he can only imagine how he WOULD HAVE felt POST-Apocalypse if he had ACTUALLY spent the money rebuilding a school in Haiti.
A decent reporter knows how to ask questions to formulate a simple news story. A great REPORTER actually researches an issue and knows what questions to ask.
While it's refreshing that a GOP Presidential candidate actually has some REAL WORLD foreign policy experience, a somewhat moderate social philosophy and tested leadership as a former Governor, important QUESTIONS about his connections with various special interest groups married together with his extremely close business dealings w/ the CCP itself need to be asked.
2011 has FOUR unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11.
Additionally, take the last two digits of the year in which you were born and then ADD the age you will be this year. The results will be 111 for everyone in the world.
Can you say hypocrite? If Representative Joe Walsh (IL-R) was from Texas, he'd already be in JAIL for failing to provide child support payments to his ex-wife. READ MORE...
In Other News: While a person can BUY & SMOKE hashish & marijuana in downtown Copenhagen, English Ovaltine & Australian Vegemite are now BANNED in Denmark. Since when did it become a crime to enjoy a simple "food additive" for breakfast?READ MORE...
President Obama: In recognition of your great service, I'm appointing you honorary agents in the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Butt-head: Whoa. Alcohol and tobacco?
Beavis: Yeah. And firearms! Yeah.
President Obama: Cool, huh?
Butt-head: Cigarettes and beer kick ass.
Beavis: Yeah, yeah. We're in the bureau of beer and fire and cigarettes. And maybe some chicks, too. Radioactive Beavis Action Figure
I had a sudden urge to wear a polyester, wild print disco shirt with bell bottom pants. Thankfully, it passed rather quickly...
Mr. Lee singing "Man in the Mirror"
July 2009
Seoul, R.O.K.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
"To find joy in work is to discover the fountain of youth." ~ Pearl S. Buck
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Canada Grapples with Controversy Over Chinese Espionage?
Spy Boss Faces Fallout from Foreign Influence Remarks By Matthew Little
Epoch Times Staff
July 6, 2010
"OTTAWA, Canada—Canadians should be wondering why their elected officials are not asking the nation's spy boss about the dangers of foreign regimes controlling their politicians." Read More...
The following comment was posted by a businessman living in Beijing on a friend's Facebook. While these are not my words, during my time living and working in the People's Republic of China, I reached the same conclusion:
"All of the recent Chinese immigrants I know have been brainwashed by too many years listening to CCP propaganda. I suspect some might also be actively collecting intelligence for Beijing. The Chinese student organizations here are riddled with spies and most of our most sensitive technological and research projects include team members who are more than sympathetic to the CCP regime. If we applied the same rules about 'foreigners' that the Public Security Bureau does in China, tens of thousands of Chinese immigrants here would be out of work tomorrow. A sizable majority of the country is outraged over illegal immigration from Mexico. They're looking in the wrong direction."
