America High Low

The death yesterday of Neil Armstrong, the first human to walk on the moon, elicits bittersweet memories of great success. Many look back at NASA achievements and feel awe, recognizing amazing engineering accomplishments in the face of extreme risk. Space remains a daring frontier. Neil Armstrong and his compatriots are heroic pioneers who pushed humanity ahead and achieved an amazing milestone.

The same day, death was announced of the 2000th US military serviceperson in Afghanistan. This is the USA at its worst, a greedy interfering militaristic behemoth, occupying distant lands for decades, bringing ruthless tragedy to rural peoples, installing puppet dictators to fuel America's corporate coffers, keeping an obnoxious toadying wealthy minority in death-dealing secretive power over an underemployed, deliberately misled majority.

American yuppie, opening Cristal champagne in a Manhattan nightclub, or enjoying your boat off the Hamptons: please spare a thought for your American cousin, dead in the Afghan dust. Remember also to thank people who've worked together, as each struggles in our own small way for a better world.

Apple Courts Bible Change?

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), the Cuperti, California-based mobile media device manufacturer, has won a hard-fought court battle against Samsung Electronics of Seoul, Korea, over intellectual property rights.

The next step for Apple® is to assert their expanded rights over relatively unregulated global markets for fruit.  Apple Inc. is poised to demand a portion of ongoing business receipts, lump sum payment for past transgressions, and cease-and-desist rulings over fruitsellers & greengrocers who sell Apple® fruit, or that produce must henceforth be relabeled as red, yellow or green "roundies."

The market for roundies juice has evaporated, and the Motts Corp. is in turmoil. A spokesperson for Apple®, who declined to be named, explained "We won. We first. We kicked butt." He went on to loudly claim "America Numba Wan" multiple times, and that corporate strategy enlisting the courts to stifle their rival is "as American as roundies pie."

Eve took the forbidden fruit of the roundies tree, and gave some to Adam.
So angry God sent them out from the garden...

Mitt Don't Fit

Mitt Romney claims he knows business.

Mitt made $20 million last year, but didn't work. In fact he's never worked, or never much or very well. Money laundering  manipulation is not a real job, though making Mitt mucho moolah. He operated as a front man for the scandal-ridden Salt Lake City Olympics. He got elected Governor of Massachusetts, but his poor performance precluded any chance of reelection (when the 50 US states rated their governors (link), his term end rating was 48th of 50).

Mitt can be a smooth operator, but he's not a good person to recruit or to depend upon. If he knows business, then he knows some applicants just don't get the job.

Don't hire Romney in November.

Smash Dick in Door

Let's elect more women leaders. We need fewer former generals and more mothers in charge of nations.

The militaristic machine sacrifices someone's flesh-and-blood children for national strategy. Maybe they obey a dictator up the chain of command. Perhaps a strong foreign power surreptitiously offers wealth & issues orders. Cloak & dagger subverts open government.

At least ten cascading incidents of pity & pain overlap in the Julian Assange saga. It's tempting to believe the true saga is not Julian, but a struggle to defuse (or reimpose) the neo-colonial coercion of diplomats, secret agents & military.

Anyhow,
Ten dimensions of how this incident hurts:

1) It all didn't start with Julian, but consensual sex or not, his dick's been squashed (ouch)
2) The women who had sex with Assange still suffer
3) Swedes bungled the complaints process (link), subverted the separation of justice & elected politicians, and damaged Sweden's global reputation
4) The UK claims a compelling need to extradite, but couldn't extradite dictator General Augusto Pinochet
5) UK Foreign Office threats to breach the Ecuadorean Embassy in London threatens their own global network and the diplomatic webs of other nations. The Great Game goes on.
6) Wikileaks & mainstream media partners now twaddle their thumbs, seemingly outmaneuvered.
7) Opinion leaders who condemn government & corporate misconduct are silent; Sweden has still not filed charges (Assange is "wanted for questioning"), but the ugly label of rapist sabotages Assange support
8) Bradley Manning rots in the brig.
9) The public fantasizes over Julian instead of rooting out the global crimes and the Eichmann-like bureaucrats who've waged war on the world
10) The USA officially feigns disinterest in the Assange wrangle.

After Union Carbide's Bhopal disaster killed & poisoned thousands (some 4000 dead, 100,000+ permanent injuries), the USA shielded Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson when he jumped bail and fled from India. Thousands of wholly innocent people died, yet for nearly 30 years Anderson has been allowed to evade answering charges in court.
No Justice.

Who benefits from that?

No charges are filed against Julian Assange. He's "wanted for questioning" in the Kingdom of Sweden. Yet he's now been smeared worldwide as a sly serial sexual criminal. Who benefits from that?

Attention focuses on the messenger, and his flaws, while ugly messages are overlooked. Who benefits from that?

Wikileaks openly helped publish embarrassing US Government internal cables. If Assange had been violently eliminated soon after, he'd be a cause célèbre -- he'd be a martyr evoking widespread sympathy. But now quite conveniently his reputation is blackened. Those supporting his organization argue among themselves. They're indecisive, they're unable to raise funding. Who benefits from that?

The cables show treachery & deception operating at the highest levels of the US Government.

Imagine the worst. It's even worse than that...

Death Squad (poem)

Death Squad
    by Genki, 2012

They come with no warning
Weasels in the darkness
Killing truth in its front alcove
Or bustling to nothingness
Teacher
Reporter
Stubborn priest
Now missing forever

Of course the greedy wealthy
Fund such cleanup
Keeping great privilege
Above reproach.
Wielding shadows, corporate baffles
Slimy informers

Master might witness
Murder or mayhem
But probably not.
Dirty work's assigned to others

His Majesty in white cashmere
Calm at his polo club
As hundreds in the barrio
Curse his dark heart

Horror -- miscalculated
like a snake strike
Injudicious questioner
Union helper
Unruly teen
Opposition's sister
All fall.
Sudden, Startled, Scowling, Screaming
In a moment's fury.
As unthreatened power
Parades demure.

An orphan sniffles
A granny weeps
Good God what a nightmare
Wraiths & wind

Livin' the Loophole

Romney doesn't work - He's a parasite, who'll consume your dreams. His $20 million annual income is taxed proportionately little. Most Americans pay a bigger share, of far smaller salaries. Those Americans work.

Mitt's spends life "livin' the loophole"

Smartly he's been paid-off well in advance. His crafty backers now position him for power. Expect big trouble.

Mitt's a petulant weasel, unwilling to help anyone but himself.  Send the bum back to Aruba to live with his wealth -- he ain't wanted in America.

Justice Doggie-style

Sweden, the UK, and Ecuador actively wrestle over Julian Assange of Wikileaks, while in the undergrowth Australia and America lurk & leer.

Five nations plus world media deflect attention from dozens (millions?) of crimes, including murder, mayhem and genocide -- detailed by Wikileaks reports. 

Those crimes against humanity: waging wars, manipulating mass millions, theft, forgery, assassinations, destabilization, remain unanswered. No charges are filed. The public continues doing business with the same political hacks & banksters who cheated them, destroyed & stole their savings, and enabled decades of Madoff frauds. Banks & finance firms isolate Wikileaks and cut-off public donation routes. The butchers and profiteers roam free.

The BBC created a timeline of the allegations against Mr. Assange (link). Here we see both women say "what started as consensual sex became non-consensual." We read Assange spent weeks in Sweden subsequent to these affairs, that he met with police, and of official blundering concerning filing charges.

The allegations against Assange are serious. We should be hostile to sexual criminals. Yet while Mr. Assange is not yet convicted, neither have the butchers Bush & Blair been indicted. Illegally invading Iraq is not forgiven, but attention is deflected by stupidity. Thousands of war-mongers continue their dirty manipulations. Proven criminals continue to breed more crimes.

Bung-hole justice. The rich treat the rest of us, the 99%, with contempt.
Justice Doggie-style...

Slow Boat to ...Where?

Bustling Korea is becoming known (link) for "Pali Pali" (빨리빨리) - a culture of hurrying, keeping moving, go go go don't know where but go go ...

Japan has some of the same pressures: workaholic lifestyles, and feeling slow equals lazy. The Japanese phrase karōshi - 過労死 or "death from overtime work" is now adopted into English (great!).

But some people are deliberately changing. Here's a great article (slow to load) by Steve Trautlein about how some people in Japan are working to live a slower life...

Of course, all is relative: a deliberately slower Korean lifestyle may be still faster than that of most Americans, while most of us in Northern Europe enjoy even slower lives - five to nine weeks of holiday time per year, with strong emphasis on nature & enjoying simple pleasures, preferably free pleasures.

Koreans work an average of 500 hours more each year than Swedes. It's likely in fact the gap is bigger than official statistics show. I deliberately seek balance and to savor life! It often ain't easy... but living otherwise is worse.

Fuckyushima too

We live in a capitalist world.

What's happening to the vegetables and produce (such as mushrooms) growing in Japan's poisoned nuclear zone? How much tainted meat & fish enters the market - in Japan or abroad?

Irradiated items are basically indistinguishable from untainted food after leaving the danger area. Few of us can test our meals or supermarket items for radiation. Desperate or profit-hungry people can hide the source of bad & dangerous foods.

Perhaps you believe such things couldn't happen ... Unknowingly, you bet your life.

Here's an article about food scandals in Japan (link). And here (link) is another.

Here's a great article about the nuclear disaster zone in Fukushima and what's growing there now (link)

Fuckushima

The nuclear disaster at Fukushima is ongoing, but industry and their political puppets still try to spin the story in a positive light.

The bottom line is that earth, air & sea are horribly poisoned, towns & homes tragically abandoned, industries & neighborhoods destroyed, over 300,000 people evacuated, and 9400 hectares (over 23,000 acres) of crowded Japan remains off-limits.

What do we do with such news?

Is it simply "Fuck You" to local people? Or will a deadly, poorly-engineered industry be forced to redesign and pay for its mistakes?

US Death Squads

Is it proper that without legal due process the USA is assassinating assorted individuals and those who happen to be around them?

I believe this killing is wrong. It's bad if done by knife or gun, it's worse when done by drone -- striking a home or shop or vehicle, killing unidentified family members and acquaintances as well as (or instead of) the persons targeted.

The USA Death Squads operate from military bases around the world. Other nations and law-abiding peoples should strongly pressure the US government to stop extrajudicial summary killings.

Such murders are cowardly & despicable. Official US Government Death Squads dishonor our nation, our laws, our predecessors, and the legacy of this whole generation. When fighting seemingly evil villains, even Harry Potter characters discuss "we face the choice between what is right, and what is easy." Our use of Death Squads is just plain wrong.

Photos of South American "Disappeared" (supplied by mothers of the dead)

Olympian Death Threat

Athletes can be seen on TV in London's Olympic Stadium walking across infield areas strewn with electric cables (for cameras, clocks, lights, etc.). Athlete spiked footwear could penetrate wiring insulation, bringing sudden shock or death.

The grass is greener & more dangerous at London 2012...

Are these competitors warned of electrocution threat? How sad if an Olympian focused on sport is zapped dead before all the world ...

We Can Do Better...

US Medicine: We Can Do Better Than This   Please read this (link) heartfelt appeal by Dr. Dave Dvorak for more humane American health care. Sadly, we need more victims: domestic poster boys & girls -- wholesome people oozing suffering through the media -- to impress America's rulers and the AMA (American Medical Association). The American people have been misinformed that their nation can thrive on a low tax, poor public services regime. Cooperation these days is British English. Wake up America - only 1% have the American dream -- the rest live a daily nightmare.

Sikh, Sikh, Sikh

Yesterday seven people were murdered in a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, USA.

How can the USA be regularly rocked by insult & attack fueled by ignorance? We live in the 21st century, with great tools & resources for public education. What contributes to vicious intolerance and race-baiting in America?

In my opinion, here are top American weaknesses:

1) Deliberate neglect
America's underclass grows together with poor communities, lack of jobs, and limited civic opportunities. Shit neighborhoods and stupid neighbors shape too many dud citizens. It's acceptable to grow-up an idiot.

2) Fox News
Hearing aggressive commentary from assholes such as Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity & Ann Coulter make savagery and foolishness OK. Ghosts of the slaughtered innocent should haunt Rupert Murdoch, Roger Ailes, and other shortsighted programmers. TV people made me do it!

3) Political gridlock
US Republican strategy has been to minimize regulatory oversight and privatize all social services, though with each big scandal the goal slips backward. Because of poor checks & balances, Jack Abramoff, international banksters, Enron & Arthur Andersen, Blackwater & Halliburton, Bernie Madoff, etc., grew hugely powerful via corruption and greed. But poor public funding has nonetheless emasculated public services. Too many Americans stopped investing in their communities; bare-bones taxation has hurt everyone.

4) Overseas adventurism
It's long past time to demilitarize. Few in America truly expect public help - you must survive on your own. Iraqis, Afghans & Israelis should fend for themselves.

Civil War & The UN

How much should the community of nations interfere in regional political affairs? The present strife in Syria has been condemned by a UN General Assembly resolution (document A/66/L.57; passed 133 to 12, with 31 abstentions). But the resolutions has no binding legal sanctions. Past resolutions seeking peace elsewhere in the Middle East have too often done nothing. What might the UN General Assembly have done in the case of the American Civil War? The Confederate States of America ultimately was re-amalgamated into the Union, but after horrible losses of perhaps a million dead overall. Efforts to trigger European intervention & mediation had little impact.

The United Nations Charter prohibits member nations from aggressive attacks against others. The idea is good, but many such attacks have taken place since WWII. Chapter VII of the UN Charter gives the Security Council the possibility of imposing military power "to maintain or restore international peace and security." But any of the UN Security Council's five unelected members (China, France, Russia, UK, USA) can veto intervention. In the case of Syria, both Russia & China have strongly resisted intervention. But judging from past unlawful interference elsewhere by big military powers, (which remains largely unpunished), surely surreptitious destabilization is underway now.

Bad Admin Olympic Shame

Badminton is major news, as eight players were disqualified from the London 2012 Olympic Games for "not using one's best efforts to win" and also "conducting oneself in a manner that is clearly abusive or detrimental to the sport".

Competitors in preliminary group play tried to position themselves better for the important knockout round.

The newly-constructed competition system at this Olympics failed miserably. The Badminton World Federation (BWF) was mainly responsible for the failure, not the players.

First, there should have been an immediate response to any lackluster play. Warnings, fines or penalties could be threatened or imposed during the first poor match, not after a whole day of buffoonery.

Of course, if other athletes see one team seem successfully "conserving energy" or avoiding injury they might do similarly.

In athletics (track & field) it's common to see competitors run more slowly in preliminary rounds - doing just enough to qualify. In field events there's often a qualifying distance or height, where a first good throw or jump allows an athlete to advance without further efforts. Too bad for the spectators.

It's perhaps more disturbing when a winning athlete in the finals fails to perform a final throw or jump when they've already won, or when a runner slows before the finish line. But it's not really a situation where we want to see dozens of sports bureaucrats arguing & interfering. Make reasonable rules!

Send home bad bureaucrats & unwise coaches, not Olympians.

Olympic Sabotage USA

Olympic Gold medalist & world record holder, Chinese swimmer Ye Shiwen was reportedly smeared with doping allegations by John Leonard of the USA, Executive Director of the World Swimming Coaches Association (he's also Executive Director of the American Swimming Coaches Association).

It's unclear if Leonard was properly quoted. If he's credentialed as an Olympic official maybe he should be censored. His opinions are damaging when directed at a specific athlete, and without evidence.

 It seems to me that Olympic Champion Ye should have a good case for slander -- if she's clean of cheating, she should sue the bastard.

It's been widely reported Ye's split time in the 400m individual medley for her final 50m (28.93) was faster than men's winner Ryan Lochte's split (at 29.10). "However (according to the BBC) her world-record time was still 23 seconds slower than Lochte's winning time, and several of Lochte's competitors were faster than her over the final 50m. Chinese officials also pointed out that Lochte was easing to the finish, comfortably in the lead, whereas Ye had to battle to the end to take first place."  

The Greek Olympic team expelled triple jumper Voula Papachristou a few days before the London Opening Ceremony for joking online about West Nile mosquitoes favoring Greece's many Africans. (She rudely tweeted: "Με τόσους Αφρικανούς στην Ελλάδα..Τουλάχιστον τα κουνούπια του δυτικού Νείλου..θα τρώνε σπιτικό φαγητό!!!")

As her comments were considered "contrary to the values and ideals of the Olympic movement," then John Leonard begging us to doubt the performance of a Chinese swimmer is worse. Leonard embarrasses his great nation and the Olympic sense of fairness & justice.

Stalin & Tip O'Neill ?

There's an unseemly hurry to rename the Cape Cod National Seashore's year round Salt Pond Visitor's Center after former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, Jr.

The problem is that in comparison to a few others, O'Neill's contribution to the creation of the Cape Cod National Seashore was minor. U.S. Rep. Hastings Keith & U.S. Senators Leverett Saltonstall & John F. Kennedy sponsored and pioneered the legislation that created the national park. Further important influences were authors Henry David Thoreau (Cape Cod, 1865) and Henry Beston (The Outermost House, 1928). Although 2012 is the centennial of O'Neill's birth, he's already well-remembered and officially memorialized in assorted other projects, including the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Library at Boston College, the Thomas P. O'Neill, Jr. Tunnel of  Routes 93, 1 & 3 (Central Artery) through Boston, and the Thomas P. O'Neill Jr. Federal Building.

It seems unwise to force local people to adopt such name changes. Projects meant to weather the ages should stand above short-term political expediency and partisan brown-nosing. In my opinion, the USA saw far too many things named after actor-President Ronald Reagan. The USSR named many things after Stalin. People hesitate to say "No."

The passage of time, a different sense of reason, or more forthright opposition may lead to another future change of name. Simmering conflict becomes rather insulting...

Best family members of Tip O'Neill decline the honor, or request others be memorialized.

Stalingrad, formerly Tsaritsyn, is now named Volgograd.

Leningrad has been Petrograd and is now Saint Petersburg.

Rich Rancor: Romney a Retard

Mitt Romney has failed to properly handle questions about his wealth & income, his work with Bain & Co., his IRA (individual retirement account) worth $100 million, etc. 

But Willard Mitt Romney bit the hand that fed him. His blustering explanations have fueled wider interest in offshore tax havens, investment banking loopholes, private banker links to unsavory foreigners, and how to hide details of who's the beneficial owner of wealth. A recent study (link) estimates the super-rich are hiding between $21-32 trillion ($21,000,000,000,000+) in secret tax havens, assisted by a "bevy of professional enablers in private banking, legal, accounting and investment industries" -- Seem exactly Mitt's kind of people !

Surely many mega rich now fear their furtive world might unravel... they prefer darkness, outside public awareness. Mitt became their enemy, because basically, he's stupid.

Capitalist Treachery

Keep people indebted, keep them dumb, keep 'em hungry...

Republicans and Mitt Romney are preparing the groundwork for a new America. Jobs will become available after the minimum wage is scrapped. The American people will work longer hours, in worse conditions, for less.

The richest among us too readily exploit weakness & suffering in the other 99%

Entrepreneurs & businessmen deserve to enjoy successes stemming from their efforts. The key argument rather is such businesspeople have no right to monopolize all of America's riches. We all deserve decency, a chance to learn, stable community life, leisure time, etc...

The dangers of profit maximization regularly threaten safety and health. This is clear when flimsy minimum standards collapse (link). As long as America's borders are open to trade, jobs will continue to be exported to sweatshops abroad.

In Sweden, the whole society enjoys five or more weeks of paid leisure holiday. The roads are good, education is free, excellent medical care is available to everyone regardless of income.

Tweedledee & Tweedledum

Paul Krugman on Romney's hidden finances:
"I’ve been awe-struck by the way questions about Mr. Romney’s career at Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he founded, and his refusal to release tax returns have so obviously caught the Romney campaign off guard. Shouldn’t a very wealthy man running for president — and running specifically on the premise that his business success makes him qualified for office — have expected the nature of that success to become an issue?"

To me it is more of a question: why are our choices of leadership so poor?...  Romney's a fool; Obama is a tool of the oligarchs. 

Examine the charter of incorporation granted by states and foreign nations to companies infiltrating our communities. "Limited liability" allows companies to cut-and-run on debts & mistakes, often leaving their huge problems with local people. Should the funds of distant investors be allowed to buy the support of our elected officials? America's people are being shanghai'd -- "induced to do something by means of fraud" --
we're pushed to Elect the fool, or Re-elect the tool.

Fallen Heroes, Wounded Warriors

Why is America at war?

Or to rephrase - why is America still at war in Afghanistan?

Too many people have suffered & died for whatever's the lame answer. All over the world, families grieve for their injured and crippled. Thousands of people suffer psychological trauma from horrendous experiences in the war zones.

It is time the spotlight celebrating Fallen Heroes & Wounded Warriors is turned on our civilian leadership and their financiers.

Lakefront jet-skiing by Mitt Romney might be interrupted by a few sad moments -- sure, politicians & bankers can put on dark clothes and look grim for a few hours, but America's po' families grieve forever, along with the families of enemies abroad.

Vietnam, Laos, Iraq, Afghanistan - the soldiers are expended not for freedom, but so 1% enjoy a fancy lifestyle.

Shared sacrifice?

US Military Muscle Cramp

The 31,000 ton USNS Rappahannock recently fired on a small fishing boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, killing an Indian fisherman and seriously wounding others of the crew. As the two ships neared each other in the shipping lanes, the US vessel, a 677 ft (206 m) Naval support ship, came to believe the much smaller craft was a potential threat. The 25-foot skiff (which proved ultimately to have no radio and no weaponry), "ignored defensive, non-lethal warnings" by the US Naval vessel before being raked with machine gun fire and partially disabled.

(photos not to scale)

Such incidents are likely to occur.

American troops are deployed in assorted sensitive areas around the world, and must be sensitive to the threat of attack.

How can accident and bloodshed be avoided? Best redeploy in the mainland USA, and slowly shrink the size of the US military -- it is too large, too widely deployed, too expensive. Posting US military forces all around the world generates trouble.

Too often US military presence relies on cozy relationships with despotic and non-democratic unpopular regimes. When we prop-up the hated government, no doubt local people despise our presence. Bring the US troops home.

Shapely Olympic Females

The 1912 Olympics in Stockholm had 2407 athletes, including 48 women. Team USA did not send any female members - surprisingly, for similar reasons as Saudi Arabia until this year, due largely to modesty. - (link) "because U.S. team rules required women to wear long skirts in all their events, no American women competed."

Field Marshal Mitt Romney

Mitt Romney's claims of loyalty to der Fatherland USA might be doubted. He himself ably avoided service during the Vietnam War, and among his five sons, none achieved the lowest rank of Private. That's because none volunteered for military service (one is training in medicine, others are fast-track finance or real estate executives).

US-based Romney's offshore financial manipulations make him a suspect citizen, otherwise he's cleancut and seems nice (fellow Republican Ted Bundy also seemed honorable, except for his serial killer weaknesses).

If Romney is elected US president, we'll have a chickenhawk leader seeking to prove his toughness through slaughtering other people's sons (and daughters). At 65 years old, Romney hasn't completed any great service projects or exhibited very honorable traits. He's served himself (and perhaps his family). Romney is a whiner and chickenshit, who'll cause great damage to the wider world.

Banks = Bank Thieves?

Another huge financial scandal has been settled, where credit card companies & major banks have agreed to pay retailers up to US$7.25 billion for price fixing. It's likely the largest antitrust settlement in history. (WSJ link)

This just after we learn giant international banks manipulated the LIBOR rate at our expense.

Ultimately and systematically, big finance screws you.

The collusion of these corporations is terrible. Is it criminal? Will hundreds of bankers & finance industry insiders be imprisoned soon for corruption?

Of course not! The corruption is part of the system. Many of the regulators are former or future employees of key financial firms. Some are related by family ties. We can expect no accountability for their 'ignorance' - which all surely deeply regret. Typical format is fines paid by companies, which avoid admitting guilt.

Note the embarrassing family link between former NASDAQ Chairman Bernie Madoff & the Securities & Exchange Commission, where SEC compliance official Eric Swanson married Madoff's niece Shana (she was a compliance lawyer for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities firm, her dad was Chief Compliance Officer). Corruption, compliance shortcomings and poor regulation helped Madoff & Co. launder tens of billions of dollars. But wrongdoing by most of his cronies & family co-workers is unproved, no charges have been filed - we're told nobody but Bernie knew nothing...

Would Romney Steal Love?

Mitt Romney seems to me an amoral weasel. He appears the type of person who'd somehow manage to "miss" World War enlistment, when I imagine he'd stay on the home front, wheeling & dealing, fiddling with deployed soldier girlfriends & wives, selling the military poor quality equipment at inflated prices...

Romney has no leadership quality at all. I'd not willingly follow him anywhere, as he seems a conman who'd steal or weasel something if he got the chance.

He's too much like Captain Francesco Schettino of the destroyed Costa Concordia: abandoning responsibility with sleazy excuses. Romney's shown his commitment to Mitt Romney Ltd. His financial scheming indicates he'll quickly dump America for personal profit. I don't respect him at all.

Made with Pride in China

The U.S. Olympic Committee is under siege by politicians (link) for purchasing uniforms from China for the Olympic team USA.

US Senator Harry Reid advocates burning the uniforms, because "We have people in America working in the textile industry who are desperate for jobs."

What a load of balderdash!

Senator Reid no doubt uses foreign-made goods himself.

Prior to US Independence Day, I  was recently in a Massachusetts shop full of patriotic goods: US flags, bunting, pennants, etc. Most of the products were made in China. I saw a large red, white & blue pennant proclaiming "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave" made in Pakistan.

Hand-painted Christmas decorations can be odd: traditional winter scenes made in Bangladesh, where the artists have never seen snow...

Our global world can be strange.

Chop Chop

Infant circumcision is difficult to justify. Whether for boys or girls, the practice seems to me ghastly: irreversible genital mutilation upon individuals given no choice.

Religious groups may claim long traditions, but similar rituals of scarification or baby tattooing or sacrifice would not be tolerated.

Claims that some circumcised as children might eventually benefit medically must be counterbalanced by the reality that circumcision procedures sometimes lead to infection or sudden death. Even one such accident, or a single adult claiming the procedure was a violation, should be sufficient to ban the painful rite as child abuse.

In respect to culture & religion, youth should enjoy freedom to choose their own path and religion upon becoming adult. Adults can snip-off bits from their own bodies. But it seems to me very wrong that anyone be allowed to injure permanently the genitals of babies & children.

Children should not be medically disfigured with no informed choice. The procedure breaks a key rule of Hippocrates:  
Do No Harm.

This is a civil & human rights issue -- in my opinion, circumcising vulnerable young people is unsupportable & should be made a serious crime.