The shocking truth about the crackdown on Occupy
The violent police assaults across the US are no coincidence. Occupy has touched the third rail of our political class's venalit
Naomi Wolf
guardian.co.uk, Friday 25 November 2011 12.25 EST
Article history
Occupy Wall Street protester Brandon Watts lies injured on the ground after clashes with police over the eviction of OWS from Zuccotti Park. Photograph: Allison Joyce/Getty Images
US citizens of all political persuasions are still reeling from images of unparallelled police brutality in a coordinated crackdown against peaceful OWS protesters in cities across the nation this past week. An elderly woman was pepper-sprayed in the face; the scene of unresisting, supine students at UC Davis being pepper-sprayed by phalanxes of riot police went viral online; images proliferated of young women – targeted seemingly for their gender – screaming, dragged by the hair by police in riot gear; and the pictures of a young man, stunned and bleeding profusely from the head, emerged in the record of the middle-of-the-night clearing of Zuccotti Park.
But just when Americans thought we had the picture – was this crazy police and mayoral overkill, on a municipal level, in many different cities? – the picture darkened. The National Union of Journalists and the Committee to Protect Journalists issued a Freedom of Information Act request to investigate possible federal involvement with law enforcement practices that appeared to target journalists. The New York Times reported that "New York cops have arrested, punched, whacked, shoved to the ground and tossed a barrier at reporters and photographers" covering protests. Reporters were asked by NYPD to raise their hands to prove they had credentials: when many dutifully did so, they were taken, upon threat of arrest, away from the story they were covering, and penned far from the site in which the news was unfolding. Other reporters wearing press passes were arrested and roughed up by cops, after being – falsely – informed by police that "It is illegal to take pictures on the sidewalk."
In New York, a state supreme court justice and a New York City council member were beaten up; in Berkeley, California, one of our greatest national poets, Robert Hass, was beaten with batons. The picture darkened still further when Wonkette and Washingtonsblog.com reported that the Mayor of Oakland acknowledged that the Department of Homeland Security had participated in an 18-city mayor conference call advising mayors on "how to suppress" Occupy protests.
To Europeans, the enormity of this breach may not be obvious at first. Our system of government prohibits the creation of a federalised police force, and forbids federal or militarised involvement in municipal peacekeeping.
I noticed that rightwing pundits and politicians on the TV shows on which I was appearing were all on-message against OWS. Journalist Chris Hayes reported on a leaked memo that revealed lobbyists vying for an $850,000 contract to smear Occupy. Message coordination of this kind is impossible without a full-court press at the top. This was clearly not simply a case of a freaked-out mayors', city-by-city municipal overreaction against mess in the parks and cranky campers. As the puzzle pieces fit together, they began to show coordination against OWS at the highest national levels.
Why this massive mobilisation against these not-yet-fully-articulated, unarmed, inchoate people? After all, protesters against the war in Iraq, Tea Party rallies and others have all proceeded without this coordinated crackdown. Is it really the camping? As I write, two hundred young people, with sleeping bags, suitcases and even folding chairs, are still camping out all night and day outside of NBC on public sidewalks – under the benevolent eye of an NYPD cop – awaiting Saturday Night Live tickets, so surely the camping is not the issue. I was still deeply puzzled as to why OWS, this hapless, hopeful band, would call out a violent federal response.
That is, until I found out what it was that OWS actually wanted.
The mainstream media was declaring continually "OWS has no message". Frustrated, I simply asked them. I began soliciting online "What is it you want?" answers from Occupy. In the first 15 minutes, I received 100 answers. These were truly eye-opening.
The No 1 agenda item: get the money out of politics. Most often cited was legislation to blunt the effect of the Citizens United ruling, which lets boundless sums enter the campaign process. No 2: reform the banking system to prevent fraud and manipulation, with the most frequent item being to restore the Glass-Steagall Act – the Depression-era law, done away with by President Clinton, that separates investment banks from commercial banks. This law would correct the conditions for the recent crisis, as investment banks could not take risks for profit that create kale derivatives out of thin air, and wipe out the commercial and savings banks.
No 3 was the most clarifying: draft laws against the little-known loophole that currently allows members of Congress to pass legislation affecting Delaware-based corporations in which they themselves are investors.
When I saw this list – and especially the last agenda item – the scales fell from my eyes. Of course, these unarmed people would be having the shit kicked out of them.
For the terrible insight to take away from news that the Department of Homeland Security coordinated a violent crackdown is that the DHS does not freelance. The DHS cannot say, on its own initiative, "we are going after these scruffy hippies". Rather, DHS is answerable up a chain of command: first, to New York Representative Peter King, head of the House homeland security subcommittee, who naturally is influenced by his fellow congressmen and women's wishes and interests. And the DHS answers directly, above King, to the president (who was conveniently in Australia at the time).
In other words, for the DHS to be on a call with mayors, the logic of its chain of command and accountability implies that congressional overseers, with the blessing of the White House, told the DHS to authorise mayors to order their police forces – pumped up with millions of dollars of hardware and training from the DHS – to make war on peaceful citizens.
But wait: why on earth would Congress advise violent militarised reactions against its own peaceful constituents? The answer is straightforward: in recent years, members of Congress have started entering the system as members of the middle class (or upper middle class) – but they are leaving DC privy to vast personal wealth, as we see from the "scandal" of presidential contender Newt Gingrich's having been paid $1.8m for a few hours' "consulting" to special interests. The inflated fees to lawmakers who turn lobbyists are common knowledge, but the notion that congressmen and women are legislating their own companies' profitsis less widely known – and if the books were to be opened, they would surely reveal corruption on a Wall Street spectrum. Indeed, we do already know that congresspeople are massively profiting from trading on non-public information they have on companies about which they are legislating – a form of insider trading that sent Martha Stewart to jail.
Since Occupy is heavily surveilled and infiltrated, it is likely that the DHS and police informers are aware, before Occupy itself is, what its emerging agenda is going to look like. If legislating away lobbyists' privileges to earn boundless fees once they are close to the legislative process, reforming the banks so they can't suck money out of fake derivatives products, and, most critically, opening the books on a system that allowed members of Congress to profit personally – and immensely – from their own legislation, are two beats away from the grasp of an electorally organised Occupy movement … well, you will call out the troops on stopping that advance.
So, when you connect the dots, properly understood, what happened this week is the first battle in a civil war; a civil war in which, for now, only one side is choosing violence. It is a battle in which members of Congress, with the collusion of the American president, sent violent, organised suppression against the people they are supposed to represent. Occupy has touched the third rail: personal congressional profits streams. Even though they are, as yet, unaware of what the implications of their movement are, those threatened by the stirrings of their dreams of reform are not.
Sadly, Americans this week have come one step closer to being true brothers and sisters of the protesters in Tahrir Square. Like them, our own national leaders, who likely see their own personal wealth under threat from transparency and reform, are now making war upon us.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Solution
Warren Buffett, in a recent interview with CNBC, offers one of the best quotes about the debt ceiling:
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote, for 18 year olds, took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!
"I could end the deficit in 5 minutes," he told CNBC. "You just pass a law that says that anytime there is a deficit of more than 3% of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election
The 26th amendment (granting the right to vote, for 18 year olds, took only 3 months & 8 days to be ratified! Why? Simple! The people demanded it. That was in 1971...before computers, e-mail, cell phones, etc.
Of the 27 amendments to the Constitution, seven (7) took 1 year or less to become the law of the land...all because of public pressure.
Warren Buffet is asking each addressee to forward this email to a minimum of twenty people on their address list; in turn ask each of those to do likewise.
In three days, most people in The United States of America will have the message. This is one idea that really should be passed around.
Congressional Reform Act of 2011
1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.
2. Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.
3. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.
4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.
5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.
6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people.
7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/12. The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen.
Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves. Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work.
If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people then it will only take three days for most people (in the U.S.) to receive the message. Maybe it is time.
THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS!!!!!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Saturday, July 02, 2011
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
www.palmspringscruisinassociation.com
www.palmspringscruisinassociation.com
CHECK US OUT!
FUN, FUN, FUN!
PEACE!
:-)
CHECK US OUT!
FUN, FUN, FUN!
PEACE!
:-)
Sunday, May 15, 2011
The Way I Remember It
my family had pepper before they had me, i think. i don't know for sure, because i wasn't born yet. we had pepper 'til i was about nine, i think. pepper was a black and white cocker spaniel. i don't remember much about her, because i was too busy growing up. i don't ever remember walking pepper. i remember her being let out the back door. one day she never came back. it was explained to me that it was simply her time to go. being about nine, i accepted this, and probably went off to watch get smart, or the wild wild west.
a miniature white poodle named pete was our next dog. i remember more about pete. i don't ever remember walking pete. i remember snuggling with pete. i remember pete on a long leash in the driveway. i remember one day my mom was in a hurry, and that was the end of pete. it was an accident. it's never good, i think, to be in a hurry.
not long after that i remember we got a kerry blue terrier named claude. he was the one that nobody wanted, because kerry blue terriers are supposed to be entirely kerry blue. claude had white feet, and a bit of white, i think, on his adorable face. claude quickly became a member of the family. i remember for the first few months we had claude, he was caged at night. i remember him crying horribly through this. i remember i used to sneak out of bed when everybody else was asleep, and let claude out of his prison. he quickly made my bed, his. i became a guest in his bed. i don't remember walking claude. i remember claude sleeping with me 'til i left home at 18. i had a life to acquire.
i didn't see claude much after that. i remember my mother telling me that he always slept on my bed. he was the best friend i ever had from about age 12 to 18. i remember the phone call from my mother telling me claude had passed away. on my bed of course. i must have been about 25. i don't remember.
after that, i didn't have another dog 'til now, age 57.
they say, people who have dogs, live longer.
i don't have a dog. i have a very furry person. at least that's how i see him. a remarkable hairy midget named buddy.
i have many photos and videos of him, but will only put this one on here, for now.
i walk buddy most days at 6am and 6pm. we're not always on the same schedule, but it all works out, most of the time.
i love to walk buddy. or is he walking me? a little of both, i think.
we also play ball. i never remember playing ball with any of my other dogs.
buddy is a fabulous ball player. he often catches the ball BEFORE the first bounce. and he brings it back. he has no choice. if he doesn't bring it back, i can't throw it again. i'm not sure if he's training me, or the other way around. a little of both, i suppose.
as i write this, buddy is in the other room. if he were in here, he'd be "helping me" in ways that weren't helpful.
i can't imagine my life without buddy, although some separate vacations would do us both good, i think.
and some joint vacations too.
i think people my age, 57, should consider having a dog, or cat. they add so much to our lives.
from time to time i'll post more photos and videos of buddy online.
you can also follow him, and me, on facebook, under frankie landfield.
until next time, enjoy.
peace and love.
frank landfield
palm desert, california
may, 2011
:-)
a miniature white poodle named pete was our next dog. i remember more about pete. i don't ever remember walking pete. i remember snuggling with pete. i remember pete on a long leash in the driveway. i remember one day my mom was in a hurry, and that was the end of pete. it was an accident. it's never good, i think, to be in a hurry.
not long after that i remember we got a kerry blue terrier named claude. he was the one that nobody wanted, because kerry blue terriers are supposed to be entirely kerry blue. claude had white feet, and a bit of white, i think, on his adorable face. claude quickly became a member of the family. i remember for the first few months we had claude, he was caged at night. i remember him crying horribly through this. i remember i used to sneak out of bed when everybody else was asleep, and let claude out of his prison. he quickly made my bed, his. i became a guest in his bed. i don't remember walking claude. i remember claude sleeping with me 'til i left home at 18. i had a life to acquire.
i didn't see claude much after that. i remember my mother telling me that he always slept on my bed. he was the best friend i ever had from about age 12 to 18. i remember the phone call from my mother telling me claude had passed away. on my bed of course. i must have been about 25. i don't remember.
after that, i didn't have another dog 'til now, age 57.
they say, people who have dogs, live longer.
i don't have a dog. i have a very furry person. at least that's how i see him. a remarkable hairy midget named buddy.
i have many photos and videos of him, but will only put this one on here, for now.
i walk buddy most days at 6am and 6pm. we're not always on the same schedule, but it all works out, most of the time.
i love to walk buddy. or is he walking me? a little of both, i think.
we also play ball. i never remember playing ball with any of my other dogs.
buddy is a fabulous ball player. he often catches the ball BEFORE the first bounce. and he brings it back. he has no choice. if he doesn't bring it back, i can't throw it again. i'm not sure if he's training me, or the other way around. a little of both, i suppose.
as i write this, buddy is in the other room. if he were in here, he'd be "helping me" in ways that weren't helpful.
i can't imagine my life without buddy, although some separate vacations would do us both good, i think.
and some joint vacations too.
i think people my age, 57, should consider having a dog, or cat. they add so much to our lives.
from time to time i'll post more photos and videos of buddy online.
you can also follow him, and me, on facebook, under frankie landfield.
until next time, enjoy.
peace and love.
frank landfield
palm desert, california
may, 2011
:-)
Sunday, April 24, 2011
TV or no TV?
a few friends of mine have no TV and claim their lives are much better for it.
i cannot relate. i've always had a TV. i may be at a disadvantage here.
AND it's NBA and NHL playoff season!
recently, my TV has been making clicking sounds. today it has decided to stop working all together. i can relate. i know i'll get there too one day. the TV is 15 years old, i think, perhaps older. it's not HDTV, but it is color!
and so the research begins to determine what to do.
TV?
no TV?
HDTV? is there any other kind?
brand? already i'm getting a headache.
asking friends, family, and neighbors will surely be helpful.
for the moment, a nap, and meditation.
to be continued...
stay tuned...
:-)
i cannot relate. i've always had a TV. i may be at a disadvantage here.
AND it's NBA and NHL playoff season!
recently, my TV has been making clicking sounds. today it has decided to stop working all together. i can relate. i know i'll get there too one day. the TV is 15 years old, i think, perhaps older. it's not HDTV, but it is color!
and so the research begins to determine what to do.
TV?
no TV?
HDTV? is there any other kind?
brand? already i'm getting a headache.
asking friends, family, and neighbors will surely be helpful.
for the moment, a nap, and meditation.
to be continued...
stay tuned...
:-)
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Mr. Peabody
a.k.a. Buddy
i've been volunteering at the animal shelter for about two months now. i cannot begin to express how marvelous and rewarding an experience this is. i believe i get more from the animals there than i give. that's a whole other story.
since my birth, to age 18, our family always included a dog or cat and once both at the same time. at age 18 i set off. i didn't have a pet again until ten years later when i became a cat person. i had cats for 25 years.
i haven't had a pet for a while now. until Mr. Peabody. Buddy for short.
it was a day like every other. i was walking dogs, doing laundry, and socializing cats. then it happened. i walked by kennel 52. there he was. it was, as they say, love at first sight. we just knew. we were meant for each other. i took him for a walk to learn a bit more about him and his behavior. he was awesome. he is awesome.
he is essentially a mini-me, laid-back, calm, low-key, loving, sweet, blah, blah, blah.
not to mention our eyelashes.
this is a new beginning for us both. he was a stray. i was ready for a dog/son.
it's only been three days. he's been fixed so no beauty parlor for him yet. that's planned for november 24th. he'll get the works. already he has more toys than i think he knows what to do with. and yet, can a dog ever have too many toys?
stay tuned.
peace and love.
:-)
if you can, please adopt a pet from an animal shelter.
i've been volunteering at the animal shelter for about two months now. i cannot begin to express how marvelous and rewarding an experience this is. i believe i get more from the animals there than i give. that's a whole other story.
since my birth, to age 18, our family always included a dog or cat and once both at the same time. at age 18 i set off. i didn't have a pet again until ten years later when i became a cat person. i had cats for 25 years.
i haven't had a pet for a while now. until Mr. Peabody. Buddy for short.
it was a day like every other. i was walking dogs, doing laundry, and socializing cats. then it happened. i walked by kennel 52. there he was. it was, as they say, love at first sight. we just knew. we were meant for each other. i took him for a walk to learn a bit more about him and his behavior. he was awesome. he is awesome.
he is essentially a mini-me, laid-back, calm, low-key, loving, sweet, blah, blah, blah.
not to mention our eyelashes.
this is a new beginning for us both. he was a stray. i was ready for a dog/son.
it's only been three days. he's been fixed so no beauty parlor for him yet. that's planned for november 24th. he'll get the works. already he has more toys than i think he knows what to do with. and yet, can a dog ever have too many toys?
stay tuned.
peace and love.
:-)
if you can, please adopt a pet from an animal shelter.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
the good ol' days
i remember, amazingly so, when rinsing the soap off my body in the shower was as easy as 1-2-3. a few simple twists and turns and BOOM, squeeky clean.
things have changed, and so have i.
i can't understand why now, at my age, it has become increasingly challenging to rinse the soap off myself. i do have a few theories.
1 - either i'm bigger or the shower shrunk. i have an easier time of it in my outdoor shower where i can move, stretch, and reach unspeakable places with ease.
2 - perhaps the soap has become denser and more clingy? i don't know.
3 - i have a few more places now where soap likes to hide and loiter.
4 - maybe i'm just using too much soap?
5 - well there could be a five. i'm thinking about that.
at any rate, i LOVE my outdoor shower. i have room to move and stretch about! there are no walls to confine me. i don't bang my elbows or toes or head on anything. and i can see the stars at night!
i suppose i could eliminate the soap all together, but i'm not quite there yet. a good soapy shower does us all good i think.
in the meantime, stay tuned. i'll keep you posted from time to time.
enjoy.
peace.
:-)
sunday, september 26, 2010
palm desert, california
109 degrees
things have changed, and so have i.
i can't understand why now, at my age, it has become increasingly challenging to rinse the soap off myself. i do have a few theories.
1 - either i'm bigger or the shower shrunk. i have an easier time of it in my outdoor shower where i can move, stretch, and reach unspeakable places with ease.
2 - perhaps the soap has become denser and more clingy? i don't know.
3 - i have a few more places now where soap likes to hide and loiter.
4 - maybe i'm just using too much soap?
5 - well there could be a five. i'm thinking about that.
at any rate, i LOVE my outdoor shower. i have room to move and stretch about! there are no walls to confine me. i don't bang my elbows or toes or head on anything. and i can see the stars at night!
i suppose i could eliminate the soap all together, but i'm not quite there yet. a good soapy shower does us all good i think.
in the meantime, stay tuned. i'll keep you posted from time to time.
enjoy.
peace.
:-)
sunday, september 26, 2010
palm desert, california
109 degrees
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday, September 03, 2010
I'm there!
Internet Petitions Stephen Colbert To Hold 'Restoring Truthiness' Rally At Lincoln Memorial
Huffington Post, September 3, 2010 | 3:17:53 PM (EST)
A grassroots campaign has begun to get Stephen Colbert to hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to counter Glenn Beck's recent "Restoring Honor" event. The would-be rally has been dubbed "Restoring Truthiness" and was inspired by a recent post on Reddit, where a young woman wondered if the only way to point out the absurdity of the Tea Party's rally would be if Colbert mirrored it with his own "Colbert Nation."
Now with its own website and Facebook group with over 8,000 members, the call for Colbert to hold a rally is spreading through the Internet like wildfire. Aside from being a satire of Beck's rally, the petition claims the rally is necessary because, "Recently our nation has suffered a truthiness drain.
The website gives a history of the newly founded movement, with links to news stories and a poster for the rally, which proposes the date "10/10/10." The website also states:
"Restoring Truthiness is a true grassroots movement propelled by YOU, the citizens of the internetz. Our goal is simple: Petition Stephen Colbert to hold a Restoring Truthiness Rally for the American people."
Given Colbert's love for his "Nation" and ability to satirize the Right so effectively, this almost seems like something Colbert would have thought of himself. While he is on vacation at the moment, it will be interesting to see if he addresses the petition when he returns to host "The Colbert Report" next week.
Those interested in furthering the movement have been asked to join the Facebook group, spread the word, or email support@colbertrally.com for more information.
Show Tweets about:
colbert rally
Huffington Post, September 3, 2010 | 3:17:53 PM (EST)
A grassroots campaign has begun to get Stephen Colbert to hold a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to counter Glenn Beck's recent "Restoring Honor" event. The would-be rally has been dubbed "Restoring Truthiness" and was inspired by a recent post on Reddit, where a young woman wondered if the only way to point out the absurdity of the Tea Party's rally would be if Colbert mirrored it with his own "Colbert Nation."
Now with its own website and Facebook group with over 8,000 members, the call for Colbert to hold a rally is spreading through the Internet like wildfire. Aside from being a satire of Beck's rally, the petition claims the rally is necessary because, "Recently our nation has suffered a truthiness drain.
The website gives a history of the newly founded movement, with links to news stories and a poster for the rally, which proposes the date "10/10/10." The website also states:
"Restoring Truthiness is a true grassroots movement propelled by YOU, the citizens of the internetz. Our goal is simple: Petition Stephen Colbert to hold a Restoring Truthiness Rally for the American people."
Given Colbert's love for his "Nation" and ability to satirize the Right so effectively, this almost seems like something Colbert would have thought of himself. While he is on vacation at the moment, it will be interesting to see if he addresses the petition when he returns to host "The Colbert Report" next week.
Those interested in furthering the movement have been asked to join the Facebook group, spread the word, or email support@colbertrally.com for more information.
Show Tweets about:
colbert rally
Friday, August 27, 2010
Hmmm...
HAMBURG -- A BBQ dinner of wild boar and beer, held for President Bush four years ago, is at the center of a lawsuit to be decided in Germany next week.
In 2006, on his way to the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Bush toured Germany's Baltic Coast. Later in the evening, he was treated to a feast of wild boar with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the northern town of Trinwillershagen. At the time, the only protests regarding the BBQ came from a few hundred anti-war activists who greeted the president on his arrival.
But when it was reported that the BBQ's bill came to a reported 8.7 million euros, one taxpayer felt he'd been overcharged. Using Germany's freedom of information law, he filed a request to see the exact breakdown of expenditures.
Read the whole story: Washington Post
In 2006, on his way to the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg, Bush toured Germany's Baltic Coast. Later in the evening, he was treated to a feast of wild boar with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the northern town of Trinwillershagen. At the time, the only protests regarding the BBQ came from a few hundred anti-war activists who greeted the president on his arrival.
But when it was reported that the BBQ's bill came to a reported 8.7 million euros, one taxpayer felt he'd been overcharged. Using Germany's freedom of information law, he filed a request to see the exact breakdown of expenditures.
Read the whole story: Washington Post
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
WOW!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10347315.stm
and you say your life is difficult?!
and you say your life is difficult?!
options/choices
http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/109847/places-to-retire-on-social-security-alone?mod=fidelity-readytoretire
increasingly i hear from people who cannot afford to live in america. they can no longer afford the basics. and health care?! that is a whole other bloody mess.
more and more people are moving to another country. and why not? if your life is better there, then i understand why people are leaving here.
still, it seems more people come to america than any other country.
i have toyed with this idea myself and it is frightening. i was born and raised in america and the thought of living someplace else is, well, completely foreign to me.
as foreign as shooting a deer. i've never done either.
i have no idea what the stats are about americans living abroad. i am sure they are significant. i do know this stat. more people leave israel than move there. and by the way, israel is a country that offers tremendous benefits to those wishing to move there. so does mexico, china, panama, thailand, etc...
i haven't seen much of the world outside america. i've been to mexico for sure, and possibly canada. i can't remember. i cannot say if life elsewhere would be better. i would have to live someplace else for a year, at least, to even form an opinion. i've lived in america for 56 years and i love it here, but perhaps i love it because i haven't lived anyplace else? i don't know any better.
i hear italy's awesome! new zealand too!
like with all of life, there is good and bad with everything. i am positive this applies to living abroad even though i've never lived abroad.
but the main point here is, it is an option.
life is full of options and choices.
good luck with yours.
:-)
increasingly i hear from people who cannot afford to live in america. they can no longer afford the basics. and health care?! that is a whole other bloody mess.
more and more people are moving to another country. and why not? if your life is better there, then i understand why people are leaving here.
still, it seems more people come to america than any other country.
i have toyed with this idea myself and it is frightening. i was born and raised in america and the thought of living someplace else is, well, completely foreign to me.
as foreign as shooting a deer. i've never done either.
i have no idea what the stats are about americans living abroad. i am sure they are significant. i do know this stat. more people leave israel than move there. and by the way, israel is a country that offers tremendous benefits to those wishing to move there. so does mexico, china, panama, thailand, etc...
i haven't seen much of the world outside america. i've been to mexico for sure, and possibly canada. i can't remember. i cannot say if life elsewhere would be better. i would have to live someplace else for a year, at least, to even form an opinion. i've lived in america for 56 years and i love it here, but perhaps i love it because i haven't lived anyplace else? i don't know any better.
i hear italy's awesome! new zealand too!
like with all of life, there is good and bad with everything. i am positive this applies to living abroad even though i've never lived abroad.
but the main point here is, it is an option.
life is full of options and choices.
good luck with yours.
:-)
Sunday, June 06, 2010
Wednesday, June 02, 2010
500th POST!
you simply can't make up a better story than this!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/automobiles/collectibles/23BUGATTI.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&en=f4858c8bf631e842&ex=1290484800
WOW!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/automobiles/collectibles/23BUGATTI.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&en=f4858c8bf631e842&ex=1290484800
WOW!
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