What attracts me to a person is their sense of humour, particularly their ability to laugh at their own foibles. Self-deprecation is one of the most endearing and charming qualities a man/woman can have, especially those in positions of authority or celebrity. It makes one feel they are somehow a tad more human, more accessible, a little more like you and me.
Love him or hate him, George W Bush has that quality. Over the past 8 years, he has never balked at the plethora of disparaging comments, cartoons and lampoons thrown his way, and there have been many. He’s even poked fun at himself, on occasion.

As we all know, celebrity invites scrutiny, and if you live in a democracy (as we do, at this point in time) you have to expect that along with the glory and praise there will be criticism, and if you can’t take the heat then you need to get the heck out and find some other means of employment. Everyone in the public eye is potential fodder for comedians and late night talk show host banter, particularly those in the political arena, and the presumptive presidential candidates of our 2 major parties, McCain and Obama, are no exception. Barry Obama is proving to us, and the rest of the world, that the man has no sense of humour, whatsoever. The above cartoon in The New Yorker categorically proves that he can’t take a joke. And the irony of it all- it was directed at the far right, not Obama himself. And, have we heard squat from McCain regarding the Rolling Stone cartoon above? Nope.

Do we really want a President who is so thin-skinned he can’t handle a joke, or discern whether it’s even directed at him to begin with? Are we going to be censored because our Commander In Chief is so insecure he can’t tolerate criticism in any form?

Lighten up Barack! If you happen to get elected, you’re either going to have to suffer the indignities of being made fun of, as most presidents have in the past, or go down in history as the man who forced censorship on a free country. Hopefully it won’t come to that.

Cross posted at Confessions of A Closet Republican

I just watched a compelling HBO documentary entitled “China’s Stolen Children”, which sheds light on the dark side of their one-child policy. After 3 decades of enforcing the planned birth policy, things have turned ugly, particularly for the poor in China. Instituted in 1979 by Deng Xiaoping to control the threat of a projected population explosion which would have taxed the economic resources of the communist country, the Chinese government implemented a birth control policy that effectively paved the way for forced abortions and sterilizations, and human trafficking. The latter is what the documentary focuses on.

What happens when you force couples to give birth to just one child, or face a huge fine that most can ill afford? They resort to either aborting or selling their children. According to the British Society For The Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC)

It has been calculated that between 1971 and 1985 alone there were some 100 million coercive birth-control “operations” in China, including forced sterilisations and forced abortions (Dr John Aird, Slaughter of the Innocents, AEI Press, 1991). In 1983 a massive campaign of compulsory birth control surgeries was carried out, which reportedly produced 14 million abortions, 21 million sterilisations and 18 million IUD insertions. This campaign was directed by the then minister-in-charge of the State Family Planning Commission (SFPC), Qian Xinzhong.

And what happens when the cultural preference is for male children? Although female infanticide occurred prior to the creation of the People’s Republic of China, and prior to establishing the one-child policy, after almost 3 decades of selective birthing (i.e. let’s abort this baby girl, because we want a boy) there is a dearth of marriageable women. And what happens when there aren’t enough women to marry? You create a need, and human traffickers have now taken to kidnapping young women to be sold as brides.

“China’s Stolen Children”, which was filmed undercover, shares the heart-breaking stories of various people who have come face to face with what happens when a government chooses to enforce a policy that goes against nature. One young couple had their 5 year-old son Chen Jie kidnapped while in the care of his grandmother. Hiring a detective, who dedicates his time to tracking down stolen children, they have yet to find the boy, and the likelihood is very slim. We witness a daring rescue of a young kidnapped teen, by Detective Zhu, but success is rare, and Zhu talks about giving it all up. They also follow the exploits of a trafficker, who sold his own son, who brokers deals between mothers and potential buyers. One couple, who are not old enough to marry (women must be 20 and men 22), decide to sell their newborn baby girl because they do not have the money to pay the requisite fine, and children born out of wedlock have no identity or rights. And although buyers prefer male babies, there are those who will settle for a female. In some cases, they will opt for a girl to raise as a wife for their son.

Although it was only intended as a short term remedy, the Chinese government plans to continue with the one-child policy until at least 2012, and seems more intent on keeping the problem of human trafficking quiet, according to Detective Zhu, than helping to stop the illegal practice. And so more children will be stolen or aborted.

It is estimated that by the end of this decade, 40 to 60 million girls will have been abandoned or aborted.

Cigua-what? I had never heard of the word until I was reading about an outbreak of Ciguatera in Palm Beach County, Florida recently. At least 10 people have been sickened by Ciguatera which turns out to be a specific type of food poisoning caused by ciguatoxin (a natural marine toxin) tied to certain tropical reef fish.

Some of the major culprits are:
Amberjack
Barracuda
Grouper
Hogfish
Snapper

Of course, if you’re a vegetarian you don’t have to worry, but for those fish-eaters out there, if you avoid reef-feeding fish, you should be okay. And, although they say that certain species of Grouper and Snapper are not potentially harmful, I’d rather stay safe than sorry.

As unfamiliar I was with Ciguatera, it seems more than 50,000 people worldwide, per year, are sickened by ciguatoxin-contaminated fish.

The major problem with Ciguatera is that you can’t tell a fish is contaminated until it’s too late, and unfortunately cooking the fish does not help. The toxin is so potent it takes less than one-hundredth of a gram to get you sick, and the symptoms seem hideous, often appearing within hours of eating the fish.

INITIAL GASTROINTESTINAL SYMPTOMS:

Nausea
Vomiting
Diarrhea
Cramping and stomach pain

FOLLOWED BY NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS:

Headaches
Muscle aches and weakness
Tingling sensations in the mouth, lips and tongue
Dizziness
Hot/Cold reversal, i.e. hot feels cold and vice versa

If you get any of the above symptoms you should immediately consult a doctor, and report it to the Marine and Fresh Water Toxins Hotline (888) 232-8635.

However, the above symptoms are similar to other food poisonings, so it might not always be Ciguatera, so fear not. I remember a reaction I once had to MSG, at least I’m convinced it was, with every single above-mentioned symptom, except for the Hot/Cold sensations, plus severe heart palpitations. I thought I was not long for this world. It was not fun; but whereas I felt fine the next morning, the neurological troubles caused by Ciguatera can last for months and sometimes years, in severe cases.

The irony, in the case of 5 of those sickened in Palm Beach County, was that the contaminated fish was purchased at Whole Foods Markets, one of the leading Health Food Stores in the U.S.

Photo Credit

In 1979, Samir Kuntar, a Lebanese teen and member of Abu Abbas’s Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF), stormed an apartment building with fellow terrorists in search of Israelis to kill, and made off with Danny Haran and his 4 year old daughter Einat. Shooting and then drowning Danny in the ocean, in front of his little one so it would be the last thing she remembered, Kuntar then proceeded to beat and smash Einat’s head against a rock with the butt of his rifle until she was dead. The mother Smadar, her 2 year old daughter Yael and a neighbour were able to hide, but in an effort to keep the terrorists from discovering their hiding place, Smadar inadvertently smothered her child to death. In prison for life, for the murders of Einat, Danny and several others, unrepentant Kuntar now has his freedom, and has even vowed to return to jihad upon his release, which no doubt he will. In a letter to Hezbollah head, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, Kuntar wrote

And while Israel mourns their 2 fallen heroes, the Palestinians, Hezbollah (which brokered the deal) and others celebrate and salute the 5 living and some 200 dead terrorists as heroes and martyrs. Palestinian Fatah leader, Mahmoud Abbas, sent congratulations and blessings to Kuntar and his family. The Palestinian Authority media has also been awash with praise and congratulatory messages for Kuntar et al and their families.

Excuse me while I wretch.

Regev and Goldwasser were alive when captured in 2006; one would expect, in a civilized world, that they would still be alive, but what should we expect from a people who glorify death more than life and who would love nothing more than to have that region devoid of all Israelis. So while Hezbollah murdered the 2 captured soldiers (so much for the rules of engagement and the Geneva Convention), Kuntar was allowed to marry, although he eventually divorced the woman, and received a degree in social and political science.

Excuse me while I wretch.

And, although I mourn with the families of Goldwasser and Regev, what has this exchange accomplished other than the ability to bury their sons with dignity and respect, if the bodies are even theirs? Sadly, nothing! It simply proves to the Arab world that all they have to do is capture some Israeli soldiers (and civilians next?), and they will have the leverage to broker the release of even more terrorists from Israeli prisons. And it seems to matter not whether the soldiers are alive or dead, so they have nothing to lose if they kill them.

So, now we have 5 more terrorists back on the streets, ready, willing and able to carry on their jihad. This has set a dangerous precedent, that Israel might never recover from.

Rest in peace Eldad and Ehud.

So, with Clinton safely out of the picture, the putative Democratic candidate is Barack “Hussein” Obama, the most leftist-leaning senator in our government. A man with major radical-left ties, and virtually no experience outside of his 4 year term as State Senator Illinois (1997-2004), and his current tenure as Junior Senator from Illinois (2005-present). And how much of that time has been occupied with campaigning for his presidential candidacy?

Regardless, of what you might think of John McCain, and many in the Republican Party find fault with him including yours truly, BUT, there is NO way I would trust Obama to lead this country during these extremely trying times.

So, I am officially endorsing John McCain for President because the alternative is simply unthinkable.

And, for those of you who think that voting for Bob Barr, or not voting at all is the best course of action, remember those votes, or lack thereof, are votes for Obama. And if he happens to win, and this great country is led to ruin, you will have only yourselves to blame, along with all those other lemmings duped by his messianic message of change. No complaints allowed, but at least I won’t have that burden on my conscience, and I will complain loud and hard.

Vote McCain!

Ah yes, the typical “my best friend’s a ....... “, you fill in the blank. Umm, Barack I beg to differ. Though you mightn’t have made any direct statements, the fact that you have consistently surrounded yourself with anti-Semitic, anti-Israel advisers and colleagues, speaks volumes.

General Merrill “Tony” McPeak, an Obama policy advisor and potential candidate for secretary of defense, no less, in an Obama White House, blamed the failure of the Middle East process on Miami and New York Jews. He has been

“a long-time critic of Israel’s presence in Judea, Samaria, Gaza and the Golan Heights. In a 1976 article in Foreign Affairs magazine, he criticized Israel for refusing to withdraw from areas liberated in the 1967 Six Day War, even as he wrote poignantly about the vital security advantages Israel obtained by conquering those areas.”

Obama was a board member of the charitable Woods Foundation (the same one William ‘the terrorist’ Ayers was a member of) which has funded the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel organization Arab American Action Network (AAAN).

In an interview in French Magazine Match, he claimed that once president, he would call for a summit of Muslim Nations (including Iran and Syria):

Concerns? Hello, Barack, their concerns are the very existence of Israel and the Jews. Do you really think you’re going to change that decades-old mindset? How supremely naive.

Then we have Obama’s ex-spiritual advisor-cum-preacher the Reverend Jeremiah Wright who is most definitely anti-American and anti-Israel. A 20 year affiliation folks.

But most telling, in my mind, are affiliations one hears nothing about in the mainstream media. His strong affiliation with Arab-American and anti-Israel activists, like Professor Edward Said, seated next to Barack and Michelle (in photo) at a 1998 Arab community function where Said was keynote speaker. Then we have Ali Abunimah, the co-founder of The Electronic Intifada who wrote a fascinating article about his relationship with Obama. Abunimah, claims

Echoing the Reverend Wright’s accusation that Obama was simply being politically expedient with respect to Obama’s criticism of his sermons, Abunimah says of Barack:

I’m not convinced, at all, that he will continue, once he is firmly in power.
And back at the Boca Synagogue

Things got heated once, when Michael Ackerman of Boca Raton asked Obama to name Jewish friends who were not elected officials and who had influenced his thinking on foreign policy. Several South Florida Jewish politicians, including U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, D-Delray Beach, introduced Obama. Ackerman, who later said he was a lifelong Democrat who planned to vote for McCain, also asked whether Obama was a friend of Rashid Khalidi, a controversial Palestinian scholar at the University of Chicago. Ackerman took several minutes setting up the question and was eventually booed and hissed by the crowd when he asked Obama to provide names of people who could prove he was “anti-terrorist.” Obama quieted the crowd and said his and Khalidi’s children went to the same school. He said he had spoken with Khalidi but the professor was not on his team of advisers.

However, there are those who disagree with that pronouncement

Khalidi’s wife, Mona, just so happens to run the AAAN, that same organization the Woods Foundation funded with 2 separate grants.
The Boca congregation listened as Obama spent much of his 20-minute speech pledging his support to Israel, denouncing terrorism and distancing himself from the meetings former President Jimmy Carter held with Hamas.

How can he live with himself, blatantly lying to the American people? Then again, he’s just a politician, and that’s what they do

In the never ending quest for beauty and eternal youth, people have subjected themselves to being sliced and diced, plucked and sucked, stretched and plumped out, lasered and injected with toxins in a futile attempt to regain youth or change the bodies they were born with. The older (and not so old) will do anything to hang on to the last vestiges of youth. The results often make them look freakish, or worse yet, older than they actually are, like Melanie Griffith. Melanie is 50 this year and she looks identical to Mary Tyler Moore, who is 71, but with better hair.

Melanie Griffith ..................Mary Tyler Moore

Then you have unrecognizable Meg Ryan (46) who looks like she has also had not only a face lift, but cheek implants and lip collagen, to boot.

The 2 faces of Meg Ryan

And Cher and Jessica Simpson look like they glued garden slugs to their lips. They were fine, pre-collagen.

Cher............................Jessica Simpson
So what possesses people to nip and tuck? And who sets the standards for what’s considered the personification of beauty? Unfortunately, in this country, Hollywood (and the media) have exalted those ultra-youthful, stick-thin, big-boobed, puffy-lipped model types, so everyone struggles to acquire those stats by starving themselves, pumping iron for hours each day, and ultimately submitting to the knife.
It’s even tougher for those in the entertainment industry because actors have always been expected to maintain those standards. Ageism in the industry has forced film actors to try and remain youthful for as long as humanly (or inhumanly) possible, so they start having the botox and face lifts when still young and the end result has been disastrous. They have, in essence, created a monster because, according to an article in The Wall Street Journal, there’s a dearth of actors who look their age, even the younger ones. They are now having to go to Canada and Britain (where Botox is less popular), to do their casting:

The article goes on to say that even though there has been a backlash, and actors have not been hired because of overly botoxed faces, there are studios who, apparently, will still hire them, stretched faces and all. Like Melanie Griffith, who recently won a much coveted role in a new CBS pilot called “Viva Laughlin”, a musical drama that’s co-produced by Hugh Jackman. On the other hand, she had also been considered by “two major casting directors.... for TV projects” but they “deemed her “uncastable” due to her extra-plump lips and rigid-looking upper face.”
But, people will continue to mess with their bodies in search of beauty, youth and perfection. Regardless of the consequences. Let them do what they will. I’m keeping mine intact.

AND both of the current Presidential candidates for the Democratic Party:

9. Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY): In addition to her long and sordid ethics record, Senator Hillary Clinton took a lot of heat in 2007 – and rightly so – for blocking the release her official White House records. Many suspect these records contain a treasure trove of information related to her role in a number of serious Clinton-era scandals. Moreover, in March 2007, Judicial Watch filed an ethics complaint against Senator Clinton for filing false financial disclosure forms with the U.S. Senate (again). And Hillary’s top campaign contributor, Norman Hsu, was exposed as a felon and a fugitive from justice in 2007. Hsu pleaded guilt to one count of grand theft for defrauding investors as part of a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.

10. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL): A “Dishonorable Mention” last year, Senator Obama moves onto the “ten most wanted” list in 2007. In 2006, it was discovered that Obama was involved in a suspicious real estate deal with an indicted political fundraiser, Antoin “Tony” Rezko. In 2007, more reports surfaced of deeper and suspicious business and political connections It was reported that just two months after he joined the Senate, Obama purchased $50,000 worth of stock in speculative companies whose major investors were his biggest campaign contributors. One of the companies was a biotech concern that benefited from legislation Obama pushed just two weeks after the senator purchased $5,000 of the company’s shares. Obama was also nabbed conducting campaign business in his Senate office, a violation of federal law.

And there is a 50/50 chance (once the Democrats finally choose their nominee) that either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton will be the next President of the U.S.A.

How embarrassing is that?

You have the politicians and religious personalities who think their sexual dalliances will conveniently remain in the shadows forever; take Bill Clinton, Sen. Larry Craig, Pastor Ted Haggard, and a host of other public figures, who have been caught, figuratively and literally, with their pants down. Then you have people like Barack Obama who thinks a 20 year affiliation with an anti-American, racist Church will somehow remain unexposed along with his questionable affiliations with Antoin Rezko and William Ayers. Add corrupt politicians like Rep. William Jennings Jefferson (who was indicted on 16 charges of corruption), who obviously thought he could get away with taking bribes without any political or personal repercussions. And then you have people like Todd Davis, CEO of Lifelock, an ID prevention company, and idiot extraordinaire, who challenged criminals to steal his identity for 2 years, as proof that the service was worth the $10.00 per month fee. He even made it easy for them by publishing his social security number in a number of commercial TV ads, and guess what? They took him up on his offer. At least 87 times, and one happened to succeed:

So now people are suing him, and rightfully so.

So you have a group of smart individuals, from politicians to CEOs, doing truly stupid things in varying degrees of significance, and you have to wonder why? What possessed them to do what they did? Perhaps they aren’t as bright as one would imagine, after all, or they are arrogant enough to believe that because they happen to be in positions of power they are somehow more blessed and therefore infallible or, worse yet, entitled to their questionable acts of idiocy? Or do they believe the American people are so stupid or morally vacuous (and, sadly, too many are) to think that immoral or downright stupid behaviour is forgivable or matters not?

If so, they deserve what they get.

Like China, Raul is trying to liberalize the economy, but the oppressive political system remains the same. The political prisoners remain incarcerated, the internet still remains out of the purview of the common man, people still are not allowed to travel freely outside the country.

People still earn wages ranging from $6.00 per month for unskilled workers to $20.00 for university-trained professionals, including lawyers and doctors. So, in spite of the fact Cuba has lifted a ban on cell phones, the new leniency is totally bogus, when the cost of a cell phone ($280 for a basic phone) is more than someone makes in a year.

Cuba has no intentions of embracing democracy, and economic reform rings hollow when a citizen’s basic human rights continue to be violated.

If you’d like an inside glimpse of Cuba, I posted a while back about a trip I made there in the Early 80s. I’m sure not much has changed since then.