Chinese Antiques, Confucian Respect - Best With Athenian Free Speech

Our recent talk about the amazing vote in a classroom in China dealt with the inevitable fact that as a national economy improves, so does the free will of the people who realize their cooperative industry is helping this happen. Our British documentary team that I am watching did that usual approach, when we want to document the day in the life of a lion, or stranger, is just hang around so much, often with your sly side camera catching the action while your main camera and your face stare off... Read more »

Healthy Lifestyles, Power - How It’s Abuse Has Hurt America, The Only Way Out

These words about the use of power by Lincoln had me think of the legacy of power that America had enjoyed during the presidencies of the first President Bush, and also with Bill Clinton. In a touch of brilliance to push all signatories to sign the Akron Accord for some short peace in the area, Clinton held the meeting at the location of largest fleet of air bombers in the world at Akron. Clinton of course had all enjoy a military review of the entire length of this vast airfield filled to overflow... Read more »

Healthy Lifestyes in Tibet - Unlikely, So Bravo, Nancy Pelosi

The television shows American Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi sitting in harmony with the spiritual leader of Tibet at his safe haven in north India. And we say bravo. Like Steven Spielberg recently, who we also applauded, a brave voice who speaks as a leader has said shame, China. We all know that the policy of China has been to undermine the historical honest Buddhist faith in Tibet, even forwarding their Beijing blessed holy man, who is of course little respect in Tibet. The new train is doing... Read more »

Healthy Lifestyles, Peace On Earth - How To Avoid Ralph Nader This Time

A student of life, and well into the final third of my mortal life, one can hear one’s own folly and reckless statements, long since internally dismissed and distanced from, come at us from the mouths of others. Whether it is listening, as long as I could, to a modern Ralph Nader who I and millions had revered for his vital expose of the fail safe failures of most American and other national automobiles. Ralph Nader was a virtuous noble figure who had been investigated by the auto industry,... Read more »

Healthy Lifestyles For Darfur more Likely after Steven Spielberg Shames China

Healthy lifestyles are not even on the horizon for millions around the earth, and nowhere is this situation worse than in Darur, Sudan, Africa. And now the world has witnessed a rare shaming of a nation as Steven Spielberg has just inflicted on China. This nation that has begun to lecture other nations has found that a very effective way to deflect criticism of some of the inhumane behavior of official China. The silencing of Tibet and flooding it with coastal Han, the suppression of any meaningful... Read more »

Politics and the Burmese Ruby Boycott

A few years ago, my wife and I purchased from our Thai suppliers some rubies that were probably from Burma. We wondered what the conditions were under which they were mined and cut, and if owning rubies from Burma was out of alignment with our values. This past October, after the brutal squelching of the Burmese pro-democratic movement resulting in scores of deaths, Burmese rubies have made the headlines. In October, the press, such as Reuters, CNN and Fortune Magazine picked up the term, “blood... Read more »

President Gul of Turkey - An Islamist in Disguise ?

The election of Abdullah Gul as President of Turkey on 28 August 2007 is controversial because of his Islamic background. Now that both the Prime Minister and President have religious backgrounds, his election is widely viewed as a threat to the secular ethos of the Turkish State. Although Mr Gul, in his accession speech, pledged allegiance to the secular constitution and the legacy of Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, there are many who view such commitments as cosmetic. Mr Gull entered... Read more »

Aquarium Care Advice

Aquarium care is a necessity but very gratifying. Aquariums are a great addition to the interior of any office, or even restaurant. Aquariums are fast becoming one of the most popular hobbies around, and many people use aquariums for interior decorating purposes. Aquariums are available in a number of shapes, the most common being rectangular. However, aquariums are not an item that can be set up and then left unattended. Aquariums are easy to keep up with as long as tank maintenance is performed... Read more »

Rice Tries to Block Israeli Attack on Syria

Israeli warplanes attacked a Syrian target on 6 September 2007. The secrecy and lack of comment has perplexed international commentators. The target was at Dayr az-Zawr, in north east Syria. Syria was first to report the incident, and said their air defences fired at an Israeli warplane that had penetrated Syrian airspace and dropped explosives. The plane/s then left Syrian airspace, travelling towards the Mediterranean via Turkey. Turkey subsequently announced that two Israeli fuel tanks had been... Read more »

Populist Deception Fooling Latin America’s Poor and USA’s Gullible ‘Intellectuals’

Some years back my pal Bill and I used to stop for a glass of wine at Pearl Alley after work. One night seated next to me was the editor of a local cartoon magazine specializing in anything anti-American or pop-revolutionary. The editor mentioned jokingly that things were getting so bad in the USA now that he was thinking of moving to Cuba. I replied that was fine but he better find another line of work because if he prints one issue there he could get life in prison. The editor was stunned.... Read more »