Paris Apartments

There is an ad on this page which advertises Paris apartments as an alternative to Paris hotels - if you plan to stay for a while  - longer than a few days, but not for too long. Paris is, of course, one of the most beautiful cities in the world; however. it can be expensive. Those high prices sort of keep it exclusive.

Yemen and Germany

The recent bombing plots have prompted Germany to immediately halt all flights from Yemen to Germany. It seems that twice weekly flights from Yemen to Franfurt are too risky for comfort. Germany - and all of Europe - will soon be forced to take extraordinary measures to protect itself. Does anyone blame them?

Europe to the Right

I told you so. It is being reported that Chancellor Merkel has stated that a multicultural society within Germany is simply not working. Read between the lines. Sarkozy had previously started to evict gypsies - Roma - who had entered France illegally. He was criticized by Liberals but he didn't care. His country comes first. This topless woman is 100% European I think. No problem.

Chile is proud

All of the trapped miners in Chile are about to be rescued. The engineers have gotten 29 out already. Chile should rightly be proud of this terrific accomplishment. Even the President of the country is present at the rescue site. Of course, they had technical assistance from many different countries but we should keep this in mind: they were not too proud to ask for help. The rest of the world should learn from this. Chile, as I have said before, pulled itself out of a cycle of poverty in less than twenty years. We need to ask them how they did it.

Economics vs Poverty

So, the Nobel Prize committee is at it again. This time, they awarded the Economics Prize to three men who teach somewhere - it really doesn't matter. Economics has never actually been a science but there you have it. I submit to my six readers that one of the most pressing needs of our time is to solve the riddle of poverty. Yet, among the dozens of economics gurus who have received the famous Nobel Prize, none has had a fix on the problem, much less a solution. Is that not ironic? They know as much about poverty as this topless woman.

Nobel

So, a Chinese man has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This sort of thing makes news for about two weeks then goes completely away, but it has made the leaders of China very mad. They claim that this man, who is currently in jail, does not deserve this award. The man, according to the Chinese leaders, is a criminal. The Nobel committee is just trying to start trouble in China - that's what the Chinese leaders have said. If you will recall, China executed a man for possession of drugs not too long ago, even in the face of protests from all corners of the globe, especially England. They do not tolerate lawbreakers. Think about that.

Giovanni Boldini

A story on Yahoo! has it that a recently discovered (and untitled) painting by Giovanni Boldini was auctioned for nearly 3 million dollars. Nobody seemed to know much about the artist until the discovery. Now, he is quite popular - at least for a while. It seems that the best part of the story concerns the apartment where the painting was found. It had not been used in seventy years - since about 1940. The tenant was simply paying the rent while the apartment remained unoccupied. The absent tenant was the granddaughter of the woman who probably posed for the artist - Marthe De Florian. Stories like this are still unfolding and they seem - to most people - very romantic.

Graphene

The 2010 Nobel Prize for Physics has gone to two scientists who did lots of research on a substance that's so thin it is almost invisible. It is called graphene and is nothing more than a single layer of graphite, the gray stuff that's in the center of a pencil. It is being called a two-dimensional substance though I disagree. I don't think there is such a thing as a two-dimensional substance. It is the thickness of a single atom so it has thickness. It also has height and depth. There you have it. Someone once said that they could make pancakes so thin they had only one side. Really? Everything, as far as I know, is three dimensional. If it's not, then it comes from a realm I know nothing about - a spiritual realm. Thank God this topless woman is three dimensional. Really.

Terror Alert

Have you heard about the terror alert issued by the U.S. and other countries? The alert simply asks that anyone traveling or living in Europe be more cautious than usual - be watchful. Some people have criticized the alert as being too vague. They will go about their business as usual. Others have said they don't know what it means. Let me tell them then that what they need to do is be alert. That's all. Why would the authorities be more specific than that??? On the other hand, I would caution any terrorist to be especially careful in targeting Europe - you are likely to wake a sleeping giant and you will regret it - especially if you target Germany. This topless woman has nothing to do with it. Really.

The Final Frontier

China launched a moon probe today. It will explore stuff which the U.S. and Russia have already explored. What is the point? This topless woman wants to know! If space is to be explored, why mimic the same competitive spirit and adversarial nature that people on Earth have experienced for thousands of years already? What's the use of exploring space and setting up colonies and all the rest if at the end, nothing but strife and poverty will result? Anyone know? We are simply exporting misery out to space. Really.

Violence in Ecuador

Well, have you heard? The police in Ecuador went on strike and even jostled the President of the country because they were angry at some benefits they were about to lose. They were angered by a law passed by Congress on Wednesday that would end the practice of giving members of Ecuador's military and police medals and bonuses with each promotion. It would also extend from five to seven years the usual period required for a subsequent promotion. The funny thing was that  - unlike the French and Grecians - it was the guys in authority who rioted, not the common people. Really.

Teachers

Here we go again, blaming teachers for the poor performance of students. Education is not about teaching, it's about learning. The learning comes from the student, not the teacher. That's logical. If you fill a classroom with bad, lousy students, you will get bad results. It's like making a pizza with bad ingredients. It's that simple. Really. Does anyone know where bad students come from?

Balls

Have you ever wondered: There are some people who are so gifted that they find doing difficult things rather easy. Musical child prodigies for instance. There are also people who are not so talented or smart or well-educated who nevertheless, achieve grand schemes, whether good or bad. Those we call politicians. We also call them warlords. What makes a person so ambitious that he would want to lead an entire country or an army of criminals?

Cuban freedom

NPR ran a story about Cuban economic reforms. Although it provides many basic services for its citizens free of charge, Cuba actually has trouble feeding itself. A Cuban farmer made a statement that went something like this, he said: "If we all become intellectuals, we will soon have nothing to eat." True enough. I have long believed that the economic future of most nations lies in agriculture. It is such a simple solution to so many problems. If only Mexico would try it. Of course, there are people who would like to keep production low so as to keep prices high. What a shame!!!!

China again

From a story on Reuters: "BEIJING – China told the United States not to interfere in a regional dispute over claims to the South China Sea, saying it would only complicate the matter.  China has been increasingly strident in asserting its territorial claims, especially maritime ones. "We express great concern about any possible South China Sea announcement made by the United States and the ASEAN countries," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu told a regular news briefing. ASEAN is the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. "We resolutely oppose any country which has no connection to the South China Sea getting involved in the dispute, and we oppose the internationalization, multilateralization or expansion of the issue. It cannot solve the problem, but make it more complicated," she said.

Leningrad Siege

On this day began the famous German siege of Leningrad (1941) during World War Two. Read about it in Russia Today. The Russians never surrendered. In fact, when Hitler insisted on taking Moscow that same year, the final defeat of the German Army began after it was repudiated by several Russian Army Divisions secretly held in reserve by Stalin, just as they (the Germans) were on the outskirts of Moscow - December 6, 1941. The German war machine never recovered from that defeat.

The Main Problem

On June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy said: "No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings." A few months later he was dead. I truly think one of the most fundamental problems with humanity is believing that it can really solve its problems apart from God. Please. Let's not kid ourselves. Things can only get worse. Really.

Even within a single nation, the problems confronting the general population are, at best, addressed by stop-gap measures which politicians dream up. Most people, as long as their daily lives remain relatively normal go on about their business until the day they die, seeking not so much permanent solutions to their dozens of problems as mere distractions from them - alcohol, drugs, entertainment, you-name-it. Were this not the case, we would be living in a man-made Utopia, no?

Dilemma

It appears Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist, has said in his latest book that God is really not necessary in order to explain Creation. He brashly states that it is theoretically possible for something to spontaneously come from nothing. This statement is, of course, absurd. The very first words in the Bible state: "In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth." I can either believe God or I can believe Hawking. I think I'll stick with God. Hawking is hallucinating again. Please. By the way, the painting posted here was created by me. It did not come from nothing.

Intelius

There is an Intelius banner on this page. I have no clue what it's doing there but I believe it's like a phone book - an electronic phone book. The picture on the left is a painting of an Aquarium - rather abstract. You can see it at Came Art.

So, then what???

People are born, they grow up, they have children, they endure hardships of all sorts - harsh weather, crop failures, financial failures, wars, epidemics, illnesses, crime - get old, then die. They also experience some joy along the way. Some have more hardships than joy. Others have more joy than hardships. Their children then repeat the process. There are great inequities in the world. The majority have less of the resources and wealth than the minority. It has been going on for six thousand years. So, what's the point? What is the punch line? Does anyone know?

Thomas Sowell

Thomas Sowell, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution (at Stanford) since 1980 has written a new book - Dismantling America and Other Controversial Essays. I have not read the book but it sounds quite interesting. Sowell is a very fair-minded and smart man. He is also wise. How do I know? He does not take himself too seriously. He also has a Doctorate in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Khalil Museum

A famous Van Gogh painting has been stolen - again - from the Khalil Museum in Egypt. The previous theft happened in 1972. The thing was recovered ten years later. They say it is worth about 50 million dollars. The owner of the painting should really take better care of it, no?  The papers are saying the alarms in the museum were not working and only seven cameras were operating on Saturday when the thing was cut from its frame. Imagine that. It might be recovered again and let us hope in less than ten years this time.

Lori Berenson

The name Lori Berenson rings a bell. She was accused of aiding a rebel group in Peru long ago. She has been in prison for 15 years and now wants to come back to the U.S. for medical treatment - like the Lockerbie bomber, remember? She was initially sentenced to life but that sentence was reduced to 20 years when she was re-tried in a civilian court. She has been out on parole since May, 2010. She was 25 years old when first apprehended and is now 40. She says she is sorry for whatever it was she did. Most people don't believe her. I seem to remember someone asking me (a long, long time ago) if I could get her out of the country. Of course I said no. How could I???

Exaggeration for money

Stories are beginning to come out about how the Gulf of Mexico is already healing. According to many experts, the oil spill was supposed to ruin the gulf waters for years to come. It seems they underestimated the power of Nature. I am not surprised. Were the original claims of devastation greatly exaggerated to get more money from British Petroleum? Or were the scientists and environmentalists just being inept?

Daniel Leo Simpson

Daniel Leo Simpson is a very rare composer indeed. He is an anachronism in this age of atonal, super-complicated, minimalist, violent, irrelevant, un-natural, unintelligible, and irreverent music. He writes simply and melodically. Everything makes perfect sense, as in Mozart's day. I have posted one of his YouTube videos down below. Enjoy.

Flute Quartet in C Major - 1st Movement - Daniel Léo Simpson

Potential disaster

Well, now that the oil leak in the gulf has been capped, the big worry is whether there are other leaks underground, out of sight. If the cap is kept on, the leaks could get larger and unstoppable. British Petroleum appears not to care. They want the cap left on for public image reasons. The government wants the cap off so as to avoid a (potentially) much bigger disaster. Who will prevail?
Ahora que el derrame de aceite en el golfo esta tapado, la preocupacion es que tal vez haya mas derrames invisibles bajo el subsuelo. Si la tapa se queda puesta, los derrames podrian hacerse mas grandes y sin solucion. British Petroleum quiere dejar la tapa por razones de imagen publica. El gobierno quiere quitarla para evitar una catastrofe mayor. Quien dominara?

Quack Doctors

Now, it has come out that the guy who got convicted for the Lockerbie bombing - contrary to popular belief - isn't going to die any time soon after all, as so many doctor experts had predicted. He had gotten released from prison in Scotland and had gone home to supposedly die in Libya. He had been given six months to live. Now, the news reports have it that he will probably live another ten years. That's why I think all doctors are quacks - they really have no clue. Really.

Atenojenes

It has now come out that the whole spy swap was something the government had been considering some weeks before the arrest of the 10 (or 11) spies recently arrested. It will later come out - I predict - that some guy named Atenojenes coordinated the swap from the Netherlands. Don't ask me how I know these things.

French Scandal

There is talk about a French scandal involving President Sarkozy of France. It has to do with alleged illegal campaign contributions made by a rich Frenchwoman. It is stirring a lot of trouble over there. It has nothing to do with sex. If it had to do with sex, it would be no big deal I'm sure. This woman in Paris has gone shopping without her blouse but that is, of course, not a scandal either.

Wall Street Bankers

Let me tell you. Wall Street bankers have done a number on the USA. It's really a pity that legally, nobody can tell these men how much is too much. I heard a story the other day about one hedge fund manager who makes $900,000.00 per hour. Might that be true??? If this were 1789 and we were all French,....

The Queen and the U.N.

I'm sure you know that Queen Elizabeth was at the U.N. today promoting peace. It is so annoying to hear the same old tired speeches by all world leaders. They all essentially say the same things over and over again. They all love peace and justice and democracy and prosperity and a good economy and rights for every imaginable organized group of citizens. All of them say things the people want to hear. I seriously think all they are really trying to do is keep the lid on potential catastrophe. For this they get paid? It is simply too amusing.

FLEXIMUSIC

OK. Listen carefully ladies and gentlemen. I found this new site which produces music editing and writing software. Its name is FLEXIMUSIC. You'll know how to find it on the WEB I'm sure. (Fleximusic.com) I am about to try its software because I like writing music. I will then compare it to the other programs I have. You know what those are - Sibelius, Cakewalk, Finale, etc..

Loyalty

The big to-do in Washington today was about a General and his staff and the President, his Administration, and the chain of command. It appears that the top General in Afghanistan (one of the poorest countries on the face of the earth) publicly criticized the Administration. Of course, he should have been fired immediately. When you work for someone, loyalty is uppermost. If you bite the hand that feeds you, that is not only unwise, it is unjust and disloyal. Leave your post first, then criticize all you want.

Health care anyone???

I just ran into an old TIME Magazine cover story on health care - it was from July, 1998. They were making a big deal out of some problem with health care back then. Things just never change. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

An unusual month

May 2010 has been an unusual month. We have had the usual disasters and political upheavals but things tend to take on a different hue when summer approaches. The British Petroleum oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has become the world's worst - to date, anyway. Greece is still struggling but the earthquakes in Chile and Haiti have become a distant memory. As a famous politician once said: People have very short memories. His future is secure.

Greece and money management

When you stop to think about it, countries are just like people - after all, countries are made up of people, no? Take Greece, for instance. It has been living off of loans, just like the U.S. It is like a person who lives on credit cards. Now comes the time to reap what they sowed. The E.U. has to rescue it, just like a mother and father would rescue an irresponsible child. Let us hope the lesson has been learned.

5113 Warheads

Someone announced today that the U.S. had 5113 nuclear warheads in its ready-to-launch stockpile. The number was considered top secret for many years though I think the number is still secret. Thinking that the 5113 number is real is pretty silly.

Merger

It seems likely that within a few months, the Catholic Church and the Church of England will merge. Many will say this is impossible, but the ground work has already been laid. All it needs is a trigger event. Then, the Church will merge with the Government. Back to Square One.

Lech Kaczynski

The President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski, and his wife perished in a plane crash early this morning. The accident didn't need to happen. It seems the pilot disregarded instructions from the control tower at Smolensk (Russia) which advised him to land at the Minsk or Moscow airports, which are not all that far from Smolensk. The military airstrip where he was to land was shrouded in fog and visibility was near zero. Why did he take such a big risk? Was he trying to show off? On January 10, 2010, a similar fate befell Moises Saba Masri because his helicopter pilot was flying in dense fog near Mexico City. Of course we don't want to always be scared of what might happen but taking unnecessary risks is not a good thing, especially if your passengers include the President of a country.

Construction business

As you know - I'm sure you do - many businesses sometimes benefit from the urgent needs of others. Doctors do, nurses, paramedics, ambulance services, funeral homes - you get the picture. A business that is sure to be in demand is construction and all construction suppliers. Why? It seems to me that destructive earthquakes and floods are becoming more and more numerous. The more they destroy, the more rebuilding needs to be done. Food suppliers also make extra money after disasters, especially when crops are destroyed. A word to the wise as they say.

Fairy tale

It has been a while - perhaps a month since I last came by here. I read a short article the other day about some anthropologist who has been doing research for a long, long time into how monkeys live. The purpose of all the studying is supposedly to figure out how the knowledge gained can be applied to human behavior. I think the real purpose is to earn a paycheck so that the anthropologist can buy groceries. This person - it is to be expected - is a believer in the fairy tale called evolution. The human race has been carrying this albatross around its neck long enough. I am not God's advocate - He does not need one - but if you just think about how every species - whether animal, plant, or human - procreates, the existence of a Supreme Being is entirely undeniable. If anyone has faith in the falsehood we call evolution, it is only because they want to - there is truly no evidence to support it. It is all conjecture. One cannot believe that the Jupiter Symphony exists and then say that Mozart didn't write it. Please.

Sarkozy

Nicolas Sarkozy recently announced that he would give French farmers strong financial support - they deserve it as much as the financiers he said. I agree with that 100%. The future of the EU rests with its farmers and its ties to Russia. The more I read about Sarkozy the more I believe he understands politics well. This topless woman might agree with that too.

Hospitals

There is a long article in the New York Times today about infections people get in hospitals. Imagine that. They get into people through careless health workers. Imagine that. They are also deadly because the bacteria are resistant to drugs. More than 99,000 die from such infections per year. Try to stay away from hospitals - and doctors too. This topless woman is healthy - let's hope she stays that way.

Iraqi Army Officers

At last, many Iraqi Army officers from the army that Paul Bremer dismantled are being allowed back. Bremer's stupid mistake cost at least three years of unnecessary fighting and countless lives lost. It has been said that at least 20,000 officers are being reinstated. By now, everyone knows that if the Iraqi Army had been left - for the most part - in place, the chances for mayhem after the American invasion would have been seriously diminished. Even this topless woman knows that.

Falklands

Argentina and the UK are about to negotiate ownership of the Falkland Islands. Of course, Argentina is sure to get them this time. There is no way they could get them militarily but they will diplomatically. It's just a matter of settling on a price. By the way, this nice topless woman will not be part of the negotiations, in case you were wondering.

Spies

The Dubai chief of police is accusing the Mossad of murdering a terrorist in their country about a month ago. They should know that the Mossad agents probably hid under four or five layers of disguises and false identities. The chief also probably had whatever evidence he is now disclosing very soon after the occurrence. This is all very fishy - even for people who do this for a living. This topless woman is probably not whom she claims to be either.

Global warming again

It seems that with all the snow and low temperatures we've been having lately people are beginning to doubt the battle cry of global warming that so many have been cackling about. Even I am beginning to doubt. The warm scientists are, OF COURSE, saying that the snow was caused by the global warming!!!! No wonder we are so confused. Did anyone feel warm snow? Did it feel warm anywhere? I certainly did not and neither did this topless woman.

Too Smart Toyota

I heard a news analyst saying this morning that Toyota had simply gotten too smart for its own good - they slashed costs so much they forgot to include quality control in its budget. Several warning memos written by its own employees way before the problems started to mount have been found. People never learn from history - they simply like to make their own bad history by repeating the mistakes of the past. This applies to politics, manufacturing, religion, sports, economics, education, you-name-it.

Russian Stealth Fighter

Well, it appears like Russia has finally developed a Steath fighter jet - something equivalent to the F-22 used by the U.S. Now that this has happened, U.S. policymakers and other assorted bureaucrats are worried that Russia may sell the plane to Venezuela, Iran, Syria, and other unfriendly countries. This topless woman may know the solution to that problem but so do I. Why not develop stealth missiles capable of knocking down stealth fighters?

State of the Union

The U.S. hasn't been doing too well lately - what with two wars, fear of terrorists, and the recession that feels more like a depression. California has been doing even worse. There seems to be no end to the bad economic news. However, life does go on. Maybe the middle class will completely disappear. Perhaps China can start a foreign aid program to help us out. Who really knows? This topless woman seems to have no worries. Let's all be optimistic, just like she is.

Eating dogs and cats

I read in a news story that China is about to outlaw the eating of dog and cat meat. Why? Why are they doing this? Chinese people have been eating dog and cat meat for generations. Now, all of a sudden, it will be against the law and people who eat it will be fined. Animal lovers say it is cruelty against cats and dogs to eat their meat. What about steak and fish? This is terribly confusing. Will the cat and dog population in China suddenly explode? This topless woman probably doesn't care either way.

Lashing

A school girl somewhere in Saudi Arabia assaulted a teacher and was sentenced to 90 lashes plus two months in jail for her crime. Lots of people are coming to her defense. People from Amnesty International and other mealy-mouthed, wet-behind-the-ears groups are also clamoring for leniency. What do they want? In China, this girl would have probably been executed. This topless woman too.

Google and China

It has come out that Google intends to pull out of China because the government in China has a habit of eavesdropping on emails and other communications. It's their way of keeping the country safe. The Chinese market, as everyone over the age of 3 knows, is huge. Google will therefore not pull out. Hell might freeze over if that happens. This topless woman might cover up if that happens. The Pope might enter the Boston Marathon if that happens. Please.

Chile and Haiti

Here, we have a great opportunity to learn. We have Haiti on the one hand and we have Chile. Chile has worked its way out of poverty. Study everything it has done right. Haiti is still poor. Very, very poor. Study everything Haiti has done and DO NOT DO AS THEY HAVE DONE. It is that simple. Be honest. Use your imagination. Stay healthy. Get educated. Use your talent for something positive. Work very hard. Save money. Develop good relationships with your neighbors. Fight crime. Be constructive. Okay, you can go now. So can this topless woman. I think she was going to leave anyway.

Pot

A bill that would legalize marijuana in California cleared a committee vote Tuesday 4 to 3. They say the vote is symbolic because the bill cannot get to the assembly before the elections in November. Legislators think this is funny. Maybe that's why California is in the mess it's in? Lawmakers and judges entrusted to keep society safe and healthy do not take their duties seriously. Everyone just seems to work for a paycheck. Too bad. Even this topless woman knows better. Trust me on that.

Moises Saba Masri

One of the wealthiest (and therefore most influential) men in Mexico died in an accident last night. His wife and son and daughter-in-law also perished. It was an accident that didn't need to happen. They had flown from New York to a small city (Toluca) just outside Mexico City, in order to avoid the hustle and bustle of the city's big international airport no doubt. From there, they were flying home in a helicopter in the forested foothills around the city at night and with fog present. Of course, the helicopter pilot lost his way and they hit somebody's rooftop and fell 65 feet to the ground. The whole thing exploded and they died quickly, I'm sure. His name was Moises Saba Masri. Rich people think they can beat nature. Not even this topless woman can beat nature. She will soon get old. Just wait and see.

Dubai

Today, the tallest building in the world (Burj Kahlifa) will experience a grand opening. It is in Dubai, a country or business conglomerate among the arab emirates which is heavily in debt. They say the building is twice the height of the Empire State Building and 50 stories higher than the Sears Tower. I have been to the top of the Empire State Building and that seems pretty high to me. I can only imagine how high this new building is. The architects say that it is very likely that this building will remain the world's tallest for the next ten years. It just might remain so for the next fifty years. Bill Baker was the structural engineer for this baby. We'll know who to blame if it falls over in a high wind. This topless woman is afraid of heights so it is also unlikely she will travel to Dubai for the grand opening.

Cars burning up

Who cares about climate change??? Nobody. It looks like people who were celebrating the new year on new year's eve burned a total of 1137 cars in France. That created a lot of smoke, of course - polluting smoke. There were 45,000 police out on patrol but they could not stop the burning. The revelers caused an estimated $8,000,000 in damage. I'm assuming all the cars were insured, no??? This topless woman does not know anything - she wasn't even there.