We are still a very young country – a mere 226 years old. We have packed an awful lot of living into those precious few years, and it is easy to forget we are brash youth. From Columbus’s discovery of the New Land in 1492 to the Declaration of Independence, 284 years elapsed. We have…
Americas
TORTURE FIRST, THEN KILL
Those great neighbors of ours to the north really know how to deal with seals. Butchering as they go, the Canucks spend $2,168,098 on the TOTAL MARKET VALUE of commercial seal hunts but the government spent $9,284,253 on such expenditures as breaking up ice for sealing vessels. $200,000 went for public relations to dissuade people…
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL
As the tired old chestnut goes, this is the first year of the rest of your life. And, if you can enjoy it, you are a certifiable lunatic, utterly concentrated on your own good fortune and completely indifferent to the rest of the world. If you wish, I will send you a certificate suitable for…
VIVA LA VIOLENCIA
Epoch Times Municipal and governor elections began in half of Mexico’s states on Sunday. Election campaigns have been marked by severe violence and intimidation by drug cartels. Rodolfo Torre Cantu, the favorite Mexican gubernatorial candidate, was assassinated seven days ago along with four others, in Mexico’s border state Tamaulipas. Torre Cantu’s motorcade was ambushed en…
WITH A GOOD HAVANA CIGAR, YOU GET…
1. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton renewed calls on Thursday for Cuba to release a U.S. government contractor it has held for more than six months without charge. Clinton made the appeal after speaking with family members at the State Department a day before U.S. and Cuban officials are to meet in Washington for…
MEXICO AT WAR WITH ARIZONA
Mexico leader fires up immigration row at start of US visit. By Jordi Zamora, Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON—President Felipe Calderon hit out Wednesday at “discrimination” against Mexican immigrants in Arizona, as the row over the state’s draconian new immigration law risked overshadowing his US visit. Calderon refused to hold his punches at the start of his…
THE MOST DANGEROUS CITY IN THE WORLD
Juarez, Mexico, a city bordering on Texas, is the murder capital of the world. Ironically, El Paso, Texas, practically a sister town, is the 2nd safest city in the USA. Still, the lure of exotica brings many Texans to Juarez on a daily basis. Presumably, although they risk life and limb, the attractions of the…
ISRAELI/HAITIAN CONNECTION
Israel is in the uncomfortable position of being criticized for giving aid to Haiti. It is a marvelous example of “Damned if we do and damned if we don’t.” Enemies of Israel are claiming Israel’s aid is only a public relations ploy and, cynically, they find it amusing that Israel doesn’t provide the same humanitarian…
SOCIALIST EQUALITY PARTY CONDEMNS U.S. ACTION IN HAITI
Excerpt from an article: “The US intervention in Haiti after the major earthquake that devastated that country on January 12 has become a subject of international controversy. Though there were no reports of attacks on aid workers, US forces seized Port-au-Prince airport and the main government buildings, flying in thousands of troops and blocking the…
HAITI AND DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS
The crisis is not over and money is still desperately needed. Donate! Even if you have done so, already. Doctors Without Borders is the best, PERIOD. Sure, UNICEF, Care, Oxfam, American Red Cross and Project Hope all do solid work but none of them has ever received the Nobel Prize and I don’t think any…
THE GUANTANAMO MESS
From Amnesty International Dear Sidney, Late last night – on the eve of the date President Obama promised to restore justice to a busted Guantanamo detention system – a Justice Department-led task force released its outrageous recommendation to continue holding nearly 50 Guantanamo detainees indefinitely.1 We’re stunned that the Department of Justice would act in…
NO PLACE TO WORK, NO PLACE TO VISIT
Jerusalem Post - Thirty-six UN personnel have been killed in the Haiti earthquake, nearly 200 are still missing and eight have been rescued from the rubble of collapsed buildings, UN officials said Thursday. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters a UN security guard was pulled out alive from the collapsed UN headquarters building in Haiti’s…
BACK TO HAITI
Charity Navigator is my guru on all matters related to charity. Here is what it says about the Haiti situation. Do Not Send Supplies – Knowing that millions of people are desperately in need of food and water, it is hard not to want to pack up a box of supplies and send it to…
WHO’S HOT, WHO’S NOT CHARITYWISE
What are the people with money doing about Haiti? Here is a rundown of some contributors. Law firms Patton Boggs – $25,000 to the Red Cross and $25,000 to Doctors W/O Borders. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr – $25,000 Red Cross. Hogan & Hartson – Will match employee contribitions to a maximum of $100,000.…
COMPARING DISASTERS
The 2004 tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean region is the worst or 2nd worst earthquake in history in its registered 9.3 magnitude. It took at least 230,000 lives, mostly in Indonesia. In comparison, the recent Haiti disaster seems mild but we most consider that Haiti is small and the tens of thousands of dead…
CHAOS IN HAITI
The situation in Haiti is utterly chaotic and almost indescribable. IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT PEOPLE OF ELEMENTARY DECENCY DO WHAT THEY CAN TO ASSIST THESE WRETCHED OF THE EARTH. There are many worthwhile organizations you can give some dollars to and I cannot recommend one above the others. Check it all out on the internet,…
THE DISADVANTAGED
From PEW Hispanic Center and U.S. Census Bureau Living in poverty Children of Hispanic immigrants 26%. Black children 34%. White children 11%. Living in households with annual income above $75,000 Children of Hispanic immigrants 18%. Black children 19%. White children 48% Parents who don’t have a high school education Children of Hispanic immigrants 40%. Black…
THE DEAF LEADING THE BLIND
As if it isn’t bad enough that heterosexuals enjoy being married, homosexuals blindly want to follow their lead. The current campaign in Argentina is a fine example. 30 large organizations of gays, lesbians, and transgendered folks have bandied together to be an instrument for disseminating the actions that sexual minorities undertake to defend their rights.…
KILLING RELIGIOUS LEADERS IN MEXICO
Geopolitics.net reported by Emilio Godoy 15 Catholics have been murdered since 1993, including a cardinal, 11 priests, and three members of religious orders. In addition, at least seven bishops and 120 priests have received death threats from drug trafficking groups this year, the report says. For full story, please CLICK HERE.
HEY, ANYBODY CAN MAKE A MISTAKE
The Globe and Mail (Canada)……….Okay, so Donna Stratling, “a consultant”, charged people $1.65 per cup of tea (no free refills?) while raking in $2700 per day. This is Canada, right, home of capitalism and free enterprise. Nothing shameful about this disparity. But for whatever silly reason, Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty is apologizing for hiring Stratling’s…
PERU – NOT A NICE PLACE TO LIVE, NOT A NICE PLACE TO VISIT
According to Peruvian government figures, 185 women die for every 100,000 live births in Peru. The United Nations puts the number at 240. 27 per cent of deaths of women from pregnancy-related causes occurred during pregnancy; 26 per cent occurred during the birth itself; and 46 per cent during the first six weeks after giving…
FILTH IN ARGENTINA
Local residents and environmentalists are eyeing with cautious optimism a major loan from the World Bank to the Argentine government to clean up the Matanza-Riachuelo river that runs through Buenos Aires – the country’s most polluted waterway. The 64-km Matanza-Riachuelo River runs from western Buenos Aires into the Río de la Plata estuary, cutting across…
WHAT HAS CARLOS SLIM DONE FOR YOU LATELY?
The very name Carlos Slim conjures up images of those bumlike guys who sit around poker tables and play for $hundreds of thousands per hand on TV. It’s as phony as a $3 bill but what about Carlos? He is billed [like that word?] as either the richest, 2nd richest or 3rd richest man in…
HOW OBAMA CAN WIN THE HEARTS OF THE CASTRO BROTHERS
Barack Obama has approved measures that will allow Cuban Americans to travel more freely to Cuba, his spokesman has said. Cuban-Americans will also be allowed to send more money to relatives in Cuba. Mr Obama last month signed a spending bill easing some economic sanctions on Cuba. Restrictions would also be lifted on US telecommunications…
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