Apparently I have a problem with the formating of my posts. Bear with me while I try to understand what may have happened since yesterday ... and what changed my settings.
A quick excursion on internet shows I am not the only one having this problem. But I find lots of complaints, not lots of solutions ...
Schaamte
Mijn krant weet dat de algemeen secretaris van de socialistische mutualiteiten zich schaamt over de federale regering.
"Het is een teken aan de wand dat de minister van landsverdediging naar Lourdes is gegaan. Ze beseffen zelf dat alleen een goed gebed de regering nog kan redden. (...) We komen van een periode van palliatieve zorgen, en ik heb nu de indruk dat sommigen de wilsbeschikking voor euthanasie al in de plaats van de eerste minister hebben ondertekend. Het is echt zeer erg."
U zal opmerken dat ik alle eigennamen heb weggelaten of vervangen. Ik heb er geen behoefte aan voor die heren politiekers en aanverwanten reclame te voeren.
En meneer de secretaris is waarschijnlijk blij met zijn beeldspraak. Wel, ik schaam me voor hem, al zal hij waarschijnlijk nooit begrijpen waarom.
Political correctness is a must, but not when religion is involved. Quite the contrary : political correctness requires one to ridiculise religious convictions, as long as they are not islam.
"Het is een teken aan de wand dat de minister van landsverdediging naar Lourdes is gegaan. Ze beseffen zelf dat alleen een goed gebed de regering nog kan redden. (...) We komen van een periode van palliatieve zorgen, en ik heb nu de indruk dat sommigen de wilsbeschikking voor euthanasie al in de plaats van de eerste minister hebben ondertekend. Het is echt zeer erg."
U zal opmerken dat ik alle eigennamen heb weggelaten of vervangen. Ik heb er geen behoefte aan voor die heren politiekers en aanverwanten reclame te voeren.
En meneer de secretaris is waarschijnlijk blij met zijn beeldspraak. Wel, ik schaam me voor hem, al zal hij waarschijnlijk nooit begrijpen waarom.
Political correctness is a must, but not when religion is involved. Quite the contrary : political correctness requires one to ridiculise religious convictions, as long as they are not islam.
Hunger 2
The luncheon menus for the U.N. Food and Agriculture summit in Rome feature Italian specialties:
Tuesday:
• Vol-au-vent (pastry puffs) with corn and mozzarella
• Pasta with a sauce of pumpkin and shrimp in cream
• Veal rolls with cherry tomatoes and basil
• Spinach Roman-style
• Fruit salad with vanilla ice cream
• White wine from Orvieto
Wednesday:
• Cheese mousse
• Pasta with vegetables and cherry tomatoes
• Chopped beef
• Butter beans
• Pineapple with ice cream
• Cabernet
Thursday:
• Zucchini pie
• Parmesan Risotto
• Ragout of veal with legumes
• Sauteed potatoes
• Lemon mousse with raspberry sauce.
• Pinot Grigio
Tuesday:
• Vol-au-vent (pastry puffs) with corn and mozzarella
• Pasta with a sauce of pumpkin and shrimp in cream
• Veal rolls with cherry tomatoes and basil
• Spinach Roman-style
• Fruit salad with vanilla ice cream
• White wine from Orvieto
Wednesday:
• Cheese mousse
• Pasta with vegetables and cherry tomatoes
• Chopped beef
• Butter beans
• Pineapple with ice cream
• Cabernet
Thursday:
• Zucchini pie
• Parmesan Risotto
• Ragout of veal with legumes
• Sauteed potatoes
• Lemon mousse with raspberry sauce.
• Pinot Grigio
The excuse: "Leaders can eat what they want as long as they take decisive action to deliver the policies and the aid in agriculture that is needed to ensure that poor people who are suffering from high food prices are helped," said Alexander Woollcombe, a spokesman for the British aid group Oxfam.
The rationale: "It's pretty standard stuff," said FAO spokesman Nick Parsons, describing the meal as "pleasant, light and nutritious."
An alternate menu: their livers with fava beans and a nice Chianti. Decor? Heads on pikes by candlelight.
(Seen on : American Digest).
Blabla
"The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people. Because if we are willing to work for it, and fight for it, and believe in it, then I am absolutely certain that generations from now, we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment when we began to provide care for the sick and good jobs to the jobless; this was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal; this was the moment when we ended a war and secured our nation and restored our image as the last, best hope on earth. This was the moment — this was the time — when we came together to remake this great nation so that it may always reflect our very best selves and our highest ideals."
From a speech in St Paul by one of the presidential hopeful's in the US. Do people really fall for this kind of blather ? In 2008 that is ?
It makes me sick !
I intend this to have been my very last comments on the US elections. I hope I shall be able to keep my promise.
From a speech in St Paul by one of the presidential hopeful's in the US. Do people really fall for this kind of blather ? In 2008 that is ?
It makes me sick !
I intend this to have been my very last comments on the US elections. I hope I shall be able to keep my promise.
Clothing alert
From Random Thoughts of a Random Man :
"It seems a long time since we've had a "you couldn't make it up" story, but here's a good one. A man was prevented from boarding a plane at Heathrow because he was wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of a cartoon character holding a gun on it. He had to change into another top before he was allowed through security. BAA are "investigating what happened" - there seems to be some confusion as to whether the original T-shirt was perceived as a security threat, or whether it was a matter that it might cause upset or offense to other passengers. Can I suggest they also investigate the possibility that their security staff need their heads examined?"
"It seems a long time since we've had a "you couldn't make it up" story, but here's a good one. A man was prevented from boarding a plane at Heathrow because he was wearing a T-shirt with a drawing of a cartoon character holding a gun on it. He had to change into another top before he was allowed through security. BAA are "investigating what happened" - there seems to be some confusion as to whether the original T-shirt was perceived as a security threat, or whether it was a matter that it might cause upset or offense to other passengers. Can I suggest they also investigate the possibility that their security staff need their heads examined?"
Hunger
The worst continuing crime and the biggest sin in the history of mankind. Will that ever change ?
The biggest scam in recent years has been the successful sale to most of the world - including western unions and leftist political parties - of the idea that the promotion of free markets worldwide is the solution to all our problems of economic growth, of famine and of shortages. Baloney and horse manure!!
Free markets and megacorporations are most certainly not the way to solve the problem. Generosity and equitable justice have to replace egocentrism and greed.
Do you see it happen soon ? I do not, but I hope against hope !
And we are not totally powerless. Just one exemple : we could stop buying (exotic) fruits and vegetables which have to be transported across half the globe. For starters, they do not taste right (even today I had a nectarine which tasted like a turnip). They do not profit to local farmers and workers - who quite to the contrary are exploited to produce them - and their transport and conservation pollutes the air. All they really do is fill the pockets of the megacorporations.
Is that communist talk ? Then I am a communist !
By the way, what is a killer like Mugabe - who turned a potentially rich and self sufficient agricultural state into land where part of the population is starving - doing at that conference in Rome ? And he is not the only one.
Stark, raving hypocrites !!
The biggest scam in recent years has been the successful sale to most of the world - including western unions and leftist political parties - of the idea that the promotion of free markets worldwide is the solution to all our problems of economic growth, of famine and of shortages. Baloney and horse manure!!
Free markets and megacorporations are most certainly not the way to solve the problem. Generosity and equitable justice have to replace egocentrism and greed.
Do you see it happen soon ? I do not, but I hope against hope !
And we are not totally powerless. Just one exemple : we could stop buying (exotic) fruits and vegetables which have to be transported across half the globe. For starters, they do not taste right (even today I had a nectarine which tasted like a turnip). They do not profit to local farmers and workers - who quite to the contrary are exploited to produce them - and their transport and conservation pollutes the air. All they really do is fill the pockets of the megacorporations.
Is that communist talk ? Then I am a communist !
By the way, what is a killer like Mugabe - who turned a potentially rich and self sufficient agricultural state into land where part of the population is starving - doing at that conference in Rome ? And he is not the only one.
Stark, raving hypocrites !!
Honger
Hoeveel jaren is dat geleden ? En wat is er veranderd ? Bitter weinig of niets !!
-- “In onze moderne wereld is honger onaanvaardbaar. Er bestaan voldoende kennis en mogelijkheden om een eind te maken aan dit drama en de gevolgen daarvan.” Dat schrijft Benedictus XVI in een boodschap aan de deelnemers van de VN-conferentie over voedsel en veiligheid in Rome. De paus roept hen op het respect voor de rechten van de mens in het centrum te plaatsen van hun overleg en tot een versterking van de inspanningen en structurele hervormingen in de strijd tegen armoede en de klimaatverandering.
-- Vlaamse ngo’s, bij hen Vredeseilanden, dringen naar aanleiding van bovengenoemde top aan op een herziening van het landbouwbeleid. “Voortdoen met landbouw zoals wij bezig zijn is geen optie, verklaarden recent 400 wetenschappers in een rapport voor de Verenigde Naties. Dat is een niet mis te verstane boodschap aan de wereldleiders. Wij hebben de landbouw wereldwijd en miljoenen boeren twintig jaar lang verwaarloosd. Wij maakten de wereldvoedselmarkt vrij, maar daarmee kwam ze in handen van een handvol giganten”, zegt Nele Claeys van Vredeseilanden. De ngo houdt naar dan ook een pleidooi voor de familiebedrijven: “Waar zij de kans krijgen produceren ze doeltreffender en milieuvriendelijker. Ze zorgen voor werkgelegenheid en welvaart.”
-- En wat zal die FAO conferentie in Rome veranderen ? Weinig of niets, maar de hypocriete cinema kan verder lopen. Words, words, words ....
June 4 1849
On that day my great-grandmother Blondina Muylaert was born in Denderhoutem. She was a daughter of Franciscus Muylaert (Nieuwerkerken 1818 - Denderhoutem 1888) and Coleta Vlaemick (Denderhoutem 1813 - 1891). Coleta had five children with her first husband Josephus Baeyens (Denderhoutem 1805 - 1846) and three with Franciscus.
Blondina was the only one of my great-grandparents who, according to family lore, always refused to be photographed, but that cannot be entirely true : she must have had an identity card. Maybe, the photo on that card has been destroyed, maybe it has been kept in the family of my grandmother's sister Line. I shall never know.
In 1882 Blondina married Felix De Vidts (Pamel 1853 - 1940). They lived in the Piezelstraat in Pamel. Once or twice, as a very young child, I accompanied my grandmother when she visited her sister. Contacts were irregular because the relations between the sisters was not really optimal after the death of their parents. No need to say more, I think.
Felix and Blondina had five children (I listed them in another post). My grandmother Maria Antonia De Vidts (Pamel 1855 - Okegem 1949) was the oldest surviving one, but died relatively young. Her sister Adeline (Pamel 1890 - 1981) lived almost as long as their mother.
Maria Antonia De Vidts married Joannes Franciscus Neukermans (Okegem 1886 - 1961) and my mother was the second of their five children.
Blondina was the only one of my great-grandparents who, according to family lore, always refused to be photographed, but that cannot be entirely true : she must have had an identity card. Maybe, the photo on that card has been destroyed, maybe it has been kept in the family of my grandmother's sister Line. I shall never know.
In 1882 Blondina married Felix De Vidts (Pamel 1853 - 1940). They lived in the Piezelstraat in Pamel. Once or twice, as a very young child, I accompanied my grandmother when she visited her sister. Contacts were irregular because the relations between the sisters was not really optimal after the death of their parents. No need to say more, I think.
Felix and Blondina had five children (I listed them in another post). My grandmother Maria Antonia De Vidts (Pamel 1855 - Okegem 1949) was the oldest surviving one, but died relatively young. Her sister Adeline (Pamel 1890 - 1981) lived almost as long as their mother.
Maria Antonia De Vidts married Joannes Franciscus Neukermans (Okegem 1886 - 1961) and my mother was the second of their five children.
Isn't it surprising ...
-- that fiscal hanky-panky in the Congolese consulate in Antwerp is made public some days after the biggest diplomatic crisis in years bewteen the Congolese and the Belgian governments ? And isn't it more surprising still that it is a small opposition party which discloses the problems ?
-- that the influence of some business people never wanes, whatever their age and/or their - probably substantial - personal fortune ? Rumor has it that the kingmaker, who put Brussels Airlines in the air, has been playing the kingbreaker for the second time in a short period. The man has got quite a reputation ! Whenever something happens in the rarified spheres of the Belgian business world, he is rumored to have a hand in it. And I am quite sure he knows that airplanes and airlines can crash. Especially when the pilots do not agree on the flight plan.
-- that roman catholic cardinals lose their title when they are eighty years old ? Not canon law, but media talk. I'm sure that, less than twenty years ago, the journalist who wrote that or had let that pass would have spent a disagreeable moment with his chief. Fortunately, times have changed, although ... see the previous point.
-- there is a small media war between British and German papers concerning the problem reported on my recent post "Justice at last". Now, to be fully honest, I hate being submerged in a sea of Germans during my holidays, but the British come in a close second, just before the Dutch.
-- that the influence of some business people never wanes, whatever their age and/or their - probably substantial - personal fortune ? Rumor has it that the kingmaker, who put Brussels Airlines in the air, has been playing the kingbreaker for the second time in a short period. The man has got quite a reputation ! Whenever something happens in the rarified spheres of the Belgian business world, he is rumored to have a hand in it. And I am quite sure he knows that airplanes and airlines can crash. Especially when the pilots do not agree on the flight plan.
-- that roman catholic cardinals lose their title when they are eighty years old ? Not canon law, but media talk. I'm sure that, less than twenty years ago, the journalist who wrote that or had let that pass would have spent a disagreeable moment with his chief. Fortunately, times have changed, although ... see the previous point.
-- there is a small media war between British and German papers concerning the problem reported on my recent post "Justice at last". Now, to be fully honest, I hate being submerged in a sea of Germans during my holidays, but the British come in a close second, just before the Dutch.
Dough !
The standoff between "The Simpsons" voice cast and series producer 20th Century Fox TV is over. After months of negotiations, the cast of Fox's long - running animated series reached a new four-year deal with the studio during the weekend.
Under the pact, the top actors will be paid nearly $ 400.000 per episode. While this is lower than the reported $ 500.000 the cast originally sought, it remains a significant increase from their current paychecks of about $ 300.000 an episode.
See : http://au.news.yahoo.com/080603/11/174ds.html.
Doh ! or rather Dough ! 400.000 smackers ! How much is that per word pronounced in your average episode ?
So my all time favorite TV program, now in its 20th season, is saved for another couple of years. But I have a confession to make : I'm getting terribly tired of it : the same episodes are shown over and over and over again on our TV stations over here, so I stopped watching. Too much of a good thing leads to indigestion as well.
But it is nice to know that maybe, sometime, in a not to distant future, one or another of our TV stations may possibly decide to buy some new episodes.
Under the pact, the top actors will be paid nearly $ 400.000 per episode. While this is lower than the reported $ 500.000 the cast originally sought, it remains a significant increase from their current paychecks of about $ 300.000 an episode.
See : http://au.news.yahoo.com/080603/11/174ds.html.
Doh ! or rather Dough ! 400.000 smackers ! How much is that per word pronounced in your average episode ?
So my all time favorite TV program, now in its 20th season, is saved for another couple of years. But I have a confession to make : I'm getting terribly tired of it : the same episodes are shown over and over and over again on our TV stations over here, so I stopped watching. Too much of a good thing leads to indigestion as well.
But it is nice to know that maybe, sometime, in a not to distant future, one or another of our TV stations may possibly decide to buy some new episodes.
Belgian prices
According to provisional data, inflation in Belgium in May is the highest in the EU.
European authorities are said to be unpleasantly surprised, but let them be reassured : our world famous and absolutely unique minister of Finances has declared that inflation will be the top priority of the Belgian federal government in the coming months.
Another top priority? I suppose a committee will be created to analyse how a think thank might be set up to prepare for another committee selecting the members of a working group which will suggest the experts to be named in a project group ?
Doesn't make any sense to you ? You got the point.
And don't be surprised if inflation stands at 10 % by the end of the year. I've seen it happen before.
European authorities are said to be unpleasantly surprised, but let them be reassured : our world famous and absolutely unique minister of Finances has declared that inflation will be the top priority of the Belgian federal government in the coming months.
Another top priority? I suppose a committee will be created to analyse how a think thank might be set up to prepare for another committee selecting the members of a working group which will suggest the experts to be named in a project group ?
Doesn't make any sense to you ? You got the point.
And don't be surprised if inflation stands at 10 % by the end of the year. I've seen it happen before.
Sweet
De krant weet dat bepaalde ontbijtgranen dubbel zoveel suiker bevatten als een boterham met choco. Alles behalve gezond dus.
En dadinakas.
En dadinakas.
Sex met robots
Wetenschappers gaan zich buigen over seks met robots.Op 12 en 13 juni zakken wetenschappers uit Oostenrijk, Canada, Nederland, Ierland, Singapore en Groot-Brittannië naar het Nederlandse Maastricht af voor een conferentie over persoonlijke en zelfs romantische relaties van de mens met robots.
De conferentie is een organisatie van de Universiteit Maastricht en knoopt aan bij een verhandeling van de Schotse schaker David Levy over 'intieme relaties met artificiële partners'. Daarin legt hij uit dat de mensen in de toekomst in toenemende mate persoonlijke relaties zullen ontwikkelen met robots.
Geef toe dat dit een van de meest prangende vraagstukken is die de mensheid in de toekomst zal moeten oplossen !
Daarenboven lijkt sex met robots een onderdeel van een bloedzekere weg om het mens-dom uit te roeien : hongersnood, natuurrampen ingevolge de opwarming van het klimaat en ... sex met robots ... "Resistance is futile : you will be assimilated !" En laat de laatste overlevende het licht uitdoen.
Gelukkig hebben we voldoende publiciteits-geile wetenschappers en potentiële beroepsidioten om ons tijdig op die gevaren te wijzen !
Fool proof formula for terminating the human race : famine + climate change à la Gore + sex with robots.
Een man naar mijn hart
De negen en negentigjarige Achillus huwt zijn 65-jarige vriendin om terug naar huis te kunnen.
'Als ik een vrouw heb die thuis voor me kan zorgen, kunnen mijn kleinkinderen me hier niet langer houden', redeneerde de 99-jarige Achillus De Mey, die zopas met tegenzin in het rusthuis belandde. En zie: hij kwam zopas de liefde van zijn leven tegen en vroeg haar ten huwelijk. Volgende week trouwen ze.
Zie : http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleID=HO1SL43I.
A 99-year old widower, who has been parked in a retirement home against his wishes, is going to marry a 65-year old neigbour in order to be able to return to his house. I like the man! He's a real contrarian ! And I like the way he is going to shove aside his loving family.
'Als ik een vrouw heb die thuis voor me kan zorgen, kunnen mijn kleinkinderen me hier niet langer houden', redeneerde de 99-jarige Achillus De Mey, die zopas met tegenzin in het rusthuis belandde. En zie: hij kwam zopas de liefde van zijn leven tegen en vroeg haar ten huwelijk. Volgende week trouwen ze.
Zie : http://www.nieuwsblad.be/Article/Detail.aspx?articleID=HO1SL43I.
A 99-year old widower, who has been parked in a retirement home against his wishes, is going to marry a 65-year old neigbour in order to be able to return to his house. I like the man! He's a real contrarian ! And I like the way he is going to shove aside his loving family.
Topprioriteiten
Uit Het Laatste Nieuws :
De strijd tegen de opwarming van de aarde mag voor de wereldleiders geen prioriteit zijn. Dat zeggen acht vooraanstaande economen van de denkgroep Copenhagen Consensus.
Volgens de acht is het voedseltekort in ontwikkelingslanden het allergrootste probleem. De klimaatverandering komt pas op de laatste plaats in hun top 30.
"Wij geven prioriteit aan de dingen die echt belangrijk zijn en niet toevallig in de mode", zeggen de acht economen, onder wie vijf Nobelprijswinnaars. De ondervoeding is dan ook de grootste uitdaging voor de toekomst. Investeringen in maatregelen tegen de hongersnood hebben veel meer resultaat dan die tegen de opwarming van de aarde.
Van de opwarming van de aarde liggen de experts niet wakker. De inspanningen om de temperaturen niet meer te doen stijgen, staan niet in verhouding tot de economische opbrengst. Critici vinden dat de topwetenschappers te zeer in economische termen denken.
Het artikeltje : http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1236/Opwarming-Klimaat/article/detail/297223/2008/06/02/-Klimaat-redden-geen-topprioriteit-.dhtml.
Voor Copenhagen Concensus zelf, zie : http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/Default.aspx?ID=788.
***
Een korte uitstap op internet wijst erop dat de journalisten mogelijks nog maar eens kort door de bocht gegaan zijn met hun interpretatie en inkleuring van de feiten. Maar die economen ook.
Ik weet ook niet of de klimaatverandering onze eerste prioriteit is ; ik durf er zelfs sterk aan twijfelen wanneer ik zie dat die religie gedragen wordt door profeten zoals Al Gore, en wanneer ik duizenden tegenstrijdige berichten kan lezen op internet.
Ik ben er met de economen van overtuigd dat ondervoeding het grootste schandaal is, maar die zou met redelijk beperkte middelen en veel goede wil - waarschijnlijk meer dan er op de ganse wereld beschikbaar is - en inzet op korte termijn rechtgetrokken kunnen worden, het klimaat niet.
Finaal komt het standpunt van de economen - zoals het door de journalisten werd ingekleurd - er op neer dat we beter kunnen sterven in natuurrampen veroorzaakt door de opwarming dan door de honger. Mooie keuze.
De strijd tegen de opwarming van de aarde mag voor de wereldleiders geen prioriteit zijn. Dat zeggen acht vooraanstaande economen van de denkgroep Copenhagen Consensus.
Volgens de acht is het voedseltekort in ontwikkelingslanden het allergrootste probleem. De klimaatverandering komt pas op de laatste plaats in hun top 30.
"Wij geven prioriteit aan de dingen die echt belangrijk zijn en niet toevallig in de mode", zeggen de acht economen, onder wie vijf Nobelprijswinnaars. De ondervoeding is dan ook de grootste uitdaging voor de toekomst. Investeringen in maatregelen tegen de hongersnood hebben veel meer resultaat dan die tegen de opwarming van de aarde.
Van de opwarming van de aarde liggen de experts niet wakker. De inspanningen om de temperaturen niet meer te doen stijgen, staan niet in verhouding tot de economische opbrengst. Critici vinden dat de topwetenschappers te zeer in economische termen denken.
Het artikeltje : http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/1236/Opwarming-Klimaat/article/detail/297223/2008/06/02/-Klimaat-redden-geen-topprioriteit-.dhtml.
Voor Copenhagen Concensus zelf, zie : http://www.copenhagenconsensus.com/Default.aspx?ID=788.
***
Een korte uitstap op internet wijst erop dat de journalisten mogelijks nog maar eens kort door de bocht gegaan zijn met hun interpretatie en inkleuring van de feiten. Maar die economen ook.
Ik weet ook niet of de klimaatverandering onze eerste prioriteit is ; ik durf er zelfs sterk aan twijfelen wanneer ik zie dat die religie gedragen wordt door profeten zoals Al Gore, en wanneer ik duizenden tegenstrijdige berichten kan lezen op internet.
Ik ben er met de economen van overtuigd dat ondervoeding het grootste schandaal is, maar die zou met redelijk beperkte middelen en veel goede wil - waarschijnlijk meer dan er op de ganse wereld beschikbaar is - en inzet op korte termijn rechtgetrokken kunnen worden, het klimaat niet.
Finaal komt het standpunt van de economen - zoals het door de journalisten werd ingekleurd - er op neer dat we beter kunnen sterven in natuurrampen veroorzaakt door de opwarming dan door de honger. Mooie keuze.
Blueberry Hill 1940
One of my all time favorites and a world hit by Fats Domino in 1956. Frankly, I prefer the Glenn Miller version, but I didn't find a video (yet).
Listen : http://vininst03.tripod.com/GMiller.htm.
***
From Wikipedia :
"Blueberry Hill" is a popular song published in 1940. The music was written by Vincent Rose, the lyrics by Al Lewis and Larry Stock. It was recorded several times in 1940. Victor released the May recording by the Sammy Kaye Orchestra with vocals by Tommy Ryan on May 31, 1940. Gene Krupa's version was issued on the Okeh label on June 3. Other 1940 recordings were by: Glenn Miller on Bluebird, Kay Kyser, Russ Morgan, Gene Autry, Connee Boswell, and Jimmy Dorsey.
It was an international hit in 1956 for Fats Domino, and has become a rock and roll standard
Redemption
Delivering the final commencement address of his tenure, president Bush told supporters and protesters at Furman University that he was far from "a model citizen" when he left college but that "it is never too late to recover and get back on track."
If you have a strong stomach, read : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102422.html.
Self centered he is. No doubt about that. But one may wonder what would have happened if he hadn't recovered from his drinking problem ? The world just might have been a better place ...
If you have a strong stomach, read : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/31/AR2008053102422.html.
Self centered he is. No doubt about that. But one may wonder what would have happened if he hadn't recovered from his drinking problem ? The world just might have been a better place ...
Justice at last
A British holiday maker has won compensation from a court because his hotel in Kos, Greece, was "too full of Germans".
See : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2054986/Holiday-maker-awarded-compensation-for-hotel-%27too-full-of-Germans%27.html.
This is the kind of news I enjoy ; poetic justice at last.
And the news makes me think of an (un ?) related experience. I still vividly remember waking up very early - around five - in my hotel room on the Ossiacher lake in Austria in the late 1970s. I heard loud gurgling noise and heavy splashing.
I went to the window to see what happened. Two oldish pot bellied and bald German "gentlemen" - who thought they were unobserved - were exchanging their morning greetings. One came out of the lake (splashing and gurgling), the other went toward it. They stopped in their tracks, clicked their naked heels - I swear this is true - and gave each other the Hitler salute.
I kid you not !!! This was thirty years after their "reich" had been solidly crushed. The "reich" yes, but not all its components ... There still was a lot of deep "Heimweh" in Germany and Austria at that time. I could tell other stories ...
See : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2054986/Holiday-maker-awarded-compensation-for-hotel-%27too-full-of-Germans%27.html.
This is the kind of news I enjoy ; poetic justice at last.
And the news makes me think of an (un ?) related experience. I still vividly remember waking up very early - around five - in my hotel room on the Ossiacher lake in Austria in the late 1970s. I heard loud gurgling noise and heavy splashing.
I went to the window to see what happened. Two oldish pot bellied and bald German "gentlemen" - who thought they were unobserved - were exchanging their morning greetings. One came out of the lake (splashing and gurgling), the other went toward it. They stopped in their tracks, clicked their naked heels - I swear this is true - and gave each other the Hitler salute.
I kid you not !!! This was thirty years after their "reich" had been solidly crushed. The "reich" yes, but not all its components ... There still was a lot of deep "Heimweh" in Germany and Austria at that time. I could tell other stories ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
