Looking for the coziest place in the Grand Cayman...

Lovely Turtle Nest Inn, truly your home away from home.

I have found it, when I was planning a few days of snorkeling in the Caribbean.Many exotic places offered good deals, but what struck me about Turtle Nest Inn, after I have read encouraging views about it in Fodor,NYT and Trip Advisor was its size and location. There are only 11 self contained apartments, fully equipped kitchens,all conveniences, including free internet service. And, the deals that you should be able to get from Marlaine and Alain, the proprietors, include the use of a small car that you pick up at the airport on arrival. The Inn is only 10 miles from the airport and you drop off your car as you leave the island and fly home.
You do need a car to get into "town" and the famous 7 mile beach area, just to see how the huge and expensive hotels manage to look after hundreds of guests in each...The 7 mile beach is located on that part of the island, its public area is huge with the clearest water and sand in the Caribbean. There are shaded picnic areas with tables, sweet water showers and changing rooms, all free. Your car will be handy as you go to the supermarkets to pick up your provisions for the duration, and of course going out to dinners to the many restaurants in and out of town.
I have driven all over on the small island, looking for the best snorkeling, which I have found, as the good people of the hotel told me: right in front of my oceanview apartment!

The highlight of my trip was an afternoon catamaran trip to Stingray City at the outer reef. Our guide and stingray "trainer", Simon, a bag full of squid in hand showed us how to "embrace" the tame and playful stingrays in shallow waters, some of them weighing 50/60 pounds! What man and animal (and fish) will do for food! Their soft underbellies were a texture like giant portobello mushrooms, while the top part coarse and rough. So much fun playing with them. Before sailing back to port we had a chance to check out the reefs out in the open with our masks and pipes.

All in all, if you are looking for a wonderful, friendly inn, the Turtle Nest is it in historic Bodden Town on Grand Cayman. Bring your gear, books and laptop and have fun.

http://www.turtlenestinn.com/






This is John and Donna, forever smiling and happy to see you and help you with any questions or requests.




Your own private beach, you may not see another soul all day here, perhaps another guest from Turtle Nest Inn.

The care of your health in the US and other countries...

I have been blessed with relatively good health in my life journey through five countries and various forms of government...and health care.
In preparation for a visit with my neurologist I had been asked to get an MRI and a neck Xray. My experience of getting these two diagnostic tests today compel me to write, no, shout to the people of the USA: appreciate, dearly,and fight for retaining the highest quality of health care in the world today!Stop any effort to radically change the present aspects of US health care.

I am on Medicare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield, premiums of both I pay every month.
My experience today:
I have been able to ask for the day I wanted the tests, whether morning or afternoon appointments, almost to the hour that I wished. On arriving, within 10 minutes the paperwork was completed and within 40 minutes my MRI was done, of which 20 minutes were passed in the actual chamber itself.Remember, less than an hour!
Then, I was sent to the next office for the neck Xray, but the total procedure was 19minutes from the moment I have walked in the office. With the films of these tests in my hand, right after they were taken, now I will see the specialist I have requested at the time of my appointment, secured for almost to the day and time convenient for me!

I have met cheery, kind and professional workers in both places, who made me welcome and feeling cared for. Total time spent for both of these sophisticated test was less than an hour and a half.

You may not be surprised about all this, but my state of reference for similar procedures embraces living in a communist country, in so called social democracies and a neighbouring capitalist country with "universal care or single payer" system.

None of those countries can compete with the present day
health care in the United States.Yes, the tests would have been completed perhaps in all those other countries,in some with run down equipment,in others with long fights for getting timely appointments, with crowded waiting rooms, overworked and unfriendly staff, long waits for the results to be communicated to the preordained specialist.

Yes, there are aspects of health care that need improvement, in any country, but present day health care for the vast majority of people of the United States is superior to any in the world. That is my experience after having lived in one of the worse systems as well as in some of the more reasonable ones.

Climate debate, perspective and revealing video...

I have received an insightful blog and accompanying video on "climategate" on twitter and it is the best on the subject. Please read , but watch carefully all 28 minutes of the video, and then share it with all concerned people.

http://annis47news.blogspot.com/

Transformation of America....

I have received this text in an email, author is unknown, the facts , however , speak for themselves:


The CHANGE:

Transformation of America.......

The Fundamental Transformation of America

When Obama wrote a book and said he was
mentored as a youth by Frank,
(Frank Marshall Davis) an avowed Communist,
people said it didn't matter.

When it was discovered that his grandparents,
were strong socialist,
sent Obama's mother to a socialist school,
introduced Frank Marshall Davis to young Obama,
People said it didn't matter.

When people found out that he was
enrolled as a Muslim child in school and his
father and step father were both Muslims,
people said it didn't matter.

When he wrote in another book he
authored “I will stand with them (Muslims)
should the political winds shift
in an ugly direction.”
people said it didn't matter.

When he admittedly, in his book,
said he chose Marxist friends
and professors in college,
people said it didn't matter.

When he traveled to Pakistan,
after college on an unknown
national passport,
people said it didn't matter.

When he sought the endorsement of the
Marxist party in 1996 as he ran
for the Illinois Senate,
people said it doesn't matter.

When he sat in a Chicago Church
for twenty years and listened to a preacher
spew hatred for America and
preach black liberation theology,
people said it didn't matter.

When an independent Washington organization,
that tracks senate voting records, gave him
the distinctive title as the "most liberal senator",
people said it didn't matter.

When the Palestinians in Gaza,
set up a fund raising telethon
to raise money for his election campaign,
people said it didn't matter.

When his voting record
supported gun control,
people said it didn't matter.

When he refused to disclose who
donated money to his election campaign,
as other candidates had done,
people said it didn't matter.

When he received endorsements from
people like Louis Farrakhan and
Mummar Kadaffi and Hugo Chavez,
people said it didn't matter.

When it was pointed out that he was
a total, newcomer and had absolutely
no experience at anything except
community organizing,
people said it didn't matter.

When he chose friends and acquaintances
such as Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn
who were revolutionary radicals,
people said it didn't matter.

When his voting record in the Illinois
senate and in the U.S. Senate
came into question,
people said it didn't matter.

When he refused to wear a flag,
lapel pin and did so only
after a public outcry,
people said it didn't matter.

When people started treating him as
a Messiah and children in schools
were taught to sing his praises,
people said it didn't matter.

When he stood with his hands over
his groin area for the playing of the
National Anthem and Pledge of Allegiance,
people said it didn't matter.

When he surrounded himself in the White house
with advisors who were pro gun control, pro
abortion, pro homosexual marriage and wanting to
curtail freedom of speech to silence the opposition
people said it didn't matter.

When he aired his views on abortion,
homosexuality and a
host of other issues,
people said it didn't matter.

When he said he favors
sex education in Kindergarten,
including homosexual indoctrination,
people said it didn't matter.

When his background was either
scrubbed or hidden and nothing
could be found about him,
people said it didn't matter.

When the place of his birth
was called into question,
and he refused to produce a birth certificate,
people said it didn't matter.

When he had an association in Chicago
with Tony Rezco, a man of questionable character,
who is now in prison and had helped Obama
to a sweet deal on the purchase of his home,
people said it didn't matter.

When it became known that George Soros,
a multi-billionaire Marxist,
spent a ton of money to get him elected,
people said it didn't matter.

When he started appointing czars
that were radicals, revolutionaries,
and even avowed Marxist/Communist,
people said it didn't matter.

When he stood before the nation
and told us that his intentions were to
"fundamentally transform this nation"
into something else,
people said it didn't matter.

When it became known that he had
trained ACORN workers in Chicago
and served as an attorney for ACORN,
people said it didn't matter.

When he appointed a cabinet members
and several advisors who were
tax cheats and socialist,
people said it didn't matter.

When he appointed a science czar, John Holdren,
who believes in forced abortions, mass
sterilizations and seizing babies from teen mothers,
people said it didn't matter..

When he appointed Cass Sunstein as regulatory
czar and he believes in "Explicit Consent",
harvesting human organs with out family consent,
and to allow animals to be represented in court,
while banning all hunting,
people said it didn't matter.

When he appointed Kevin Jennings, a homosexual,
and organizer of a group called gay, lesbian, straight,
Education network, as safe school czar and it became known
that he had a history of bad advice to teenagers,
people said it didn't matter.

When he appointed Mark Lloyd as diversity czar
and he believed in curtailing free speech,
taking from one and giving to another to spread
the wealth and admires Hugo Chavez,
people said it didn't matter.

When Valerie Jarrett was selected as Obama's
senior White House advisor and she is an
avowed Socialist,
people said it didn't matter.

When Anita Dunn, White House Communications director
said Mao Tse Tung was her favorite philosopher
and the person she turned to most for inspiration,
people said it didn't matter.

When he appointed Carol Browner as global warming
czar, and she is a well known socialist working
on Cap and trade as the nations largest tax,
people said it doesn't matter.

When he appointed Van Jones, an ex-con and
avowed Communist as green energy czar,
who since had to resign when this was made known,
people said it didn't matter.

When Tom Daschle, Obama's pick for health
and human services secretary could not be
confirmed, because he was a tax cheat,
people said it didn't matter.

When as president of the United States,
he bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia,
people said it didn't matter.

When he traveled around the world
criticizing America and never once
talking of her greatness,
people said it didn't matter.

When his actions concerning the middle-east
seemed to support the Palestinians
over Israel, our long time friend,
People said it doesn't matter.

When he took American tax dollars to
resettle thousands of Palestinians
from Gaza to the United States,
people said it doesn't matter.

When he upset the Europeans by
removing plans for a missile defense system
against the Russians,
People said it doesn't matter.

When he played politics in Afghanistan by
not sending troops the Field Commanders
said we had to have to win,
people said it didn't matter.

When he started spending us into a debt
that was so big
we could not pay it off,
people said it didn't matter.

When he took a huge spending bill
under the guise of stimulus
and used it to pay off organizations,
unions and individuals
that got him elected,
people said it didn't matter.

When he took over insurance companies,
car companies, banks, etc.
people said it didn't matter.

When he took away student loans
from the banks and put it
through the government,
people said it didn't matter.

When he designed plans to take over
the health care system
and put it under government control,
people said it didn't matter.

When he set into motion a plan
to take over the control of all
energy in the United States
through Cap and Trade,
people said it didn't matter.

When he finally completed his
transformation of America
into a Socialist State,
people finally woke up..........
but it was too late.

Any one of these things, in and of themselves does not really matter.. But.... when you add them up one by one you get a phenomenal score that points to the fact that our Obama is determined to make America over into a Marxist/Socialist society. All of the items in the preceding paragraphs have been put into place. All can be documented very easily. Before you disavow this, do an internet search. The last paragraph alone is not yet cast in stone. You and I will write that paragraph. Will it read as above or will it be a more happy ending for most of America? Personally, I like happy endings.

If you are an Obama Supporter, please do not be angry with me because I think your president is a socialist but there are too many facts supporting this.. If you seek the truth you will be richer for it. Don't just belittle the opposition. Search for the truth. I did. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Constitutionalist, Libertarians and what have you, we all need to pull together. We all must pull together or watch the demise of a society that we all love and cherish. If you are a religious person, pray for our nation.

Never before in the history of America have we been confronted with problems so huge that the very existence of our country is in jeopardy. Don't rely on most television news and what you read in the newspapers for the truth. Search the internet. Yes, there is a lot of bad information, lies and distortions there too but you are smart enough to spot the fallacies. Newspapers are a dying breed. They are currently seeking a bailout from the government. Do you really think they are about to print the truth? Obama praises all the television news networks except Fox who he has waged war against. There must be a reason. He does not call them down on any specifics, just a general battle against them. If they lie, he should call them out on it but he doesn't. Please, find the truth, it will set you free.

Our biggest enemy is not China, Russia, Iran; no, our biggest enemy is a contingent of politicians in Washington DC.

"The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits." --Greek historian Plutarch (c. 46-120 A.D.)

Political correctness in the armed forces...and the Ft.Hood massacre

I have received this email on Nov.25 from friends. It is a shocking letter from someone in the armed forces,who wishes to remain anonymous, for obvious reason, fearful of his career.


"Political correctness was responsible for the death of thirteen people at Ft. Hood. Of this I am certain. I have watched political correctness at work in the military for more than three decades while serving in two different military branches. I may not have seen it all but, I have seen quite a bit of it.
Aside from academia and the civilian government workforce, there is no place else in America where political correctness is as rampant as military. The rules of political correctness are not listed in military regulations. It is like knowing where to find the chow hall. Everyone just knows.
Press reports indicate Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan grossly misbehaved for years. Not only wasn’t he seriously reprimanded, but he was actually promoted in spite of engaging in behavior that would have quickly ended the careers of others. Many of us who have witnessed similar behavior know what occurred. Hasan’s activities were virtually ignored because he is Muslim.
Politically correctness is a major cancer in today’s military. There are favored minority groups that are given special rights, privileges and treatment not available to non-minorities. Military awards are one example. Sister services -- the Navy and Marine Corps -- have between them at least 15 awards reserved only for women or minorities including Black Engineer of the Year, National Organization for Mexican American Rights Meritorious Service, and the Society of American-Indian Government Employees awards.The Army’s hands-off approach toward the Muslim Hasan contrasts significantly with how Defense officials have handled those practicing mainstream religions. Hasan was a medical professional serving in a sacred role administering to the most vulnerable; yet, he was proselytizing to his patients about Islam. In spite of this, he was twice promoted.
About the same time Hasan was preaching Islam to the wounded, complaints arose of alleged proselytizing by Evangelical Christians at the U.S. Air Force Academy. A major Pentagon task force was dispatched, investigated and found a "perception of religious bias." Nonetheless, nearly six years after complaints first arose at USAFA, Christian activity at the school is still closely scrutinized.
Military political correctness is rampant much closer to the nation’s capital. The U.S. Naval Academy is to train young adults to serve in the combat arms of the Navy and Marine Corps. However, Superintendent and Vice Admiral Jeffrey Fowler -- apparently unaware that the U.S. is engaged in two wars -- states his number one priority is to increase diversity. Fowler is not alone in pumping up multiculturalism. Joint Chiefs Chairman Admiral Mike Mullen claims diversity is a “strategic imperative.” Following the Ft. Hood massacre, Army Chief of Staff General George Casey was seemingly more concerned about preserving religious diversity in the Army’s ranks than in weeding out soldiers who kill other soldiers.
Naval Academy officials promote the fact that 35% of this year’s freshman class is comprised of favored minority groups: Hispanic, black, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Native American. Twenty percent are female. Admissions officials privately acknowledge they are directed to dramatically increase these percentages each year. This should be easy to achieve since about one-half of the admissions department is devoted exclusively to minority recruiting.
This overemphasis on minority recruiting is both misguided and completely unnecessary considering the USNA admissions process. All 100 Senators and each member of the U.S. House representing 435 diverse Congressional districts nominate youngsters. It may be the single-most diversity-focused college acceptance program in the nation.
Still, it does not appear to be enough for USNA officials. Only about one-half of each incoming freshman class is admitted through the Congressional nominating process, giving the school unfettered discretion in picking the other half.
Naval Academy Professor Bruce Fleming, who served on the admissions board, has reported it has an unofficial two-track admissions process in which nonwhite candidates are graded against easier admissions requirements than white candidates. Fleming claims USNA admits some minority students who are incapable of performing college-level work.
Gender-based political correctness has fostered a poisonous atmosphere, according to numerous midshipmen. The previous Superintendent, Vice Admiral Rodney Rempt, implemented a policy unprecedented anywhere else in the entire military.
Female midshipmen who allege they were victims of sexual misconduct would be given blanket immunity for all rules violations in return for identifying alleged perpetrators. The consequence is that females caught violating regulations would immediately allege they were sex victims sometime previously. It became a Get Out of Jail Free card that was abused repeatedly. According to multiple sources, the blanket immunity program is still in effect.
Scores of females who abide by the rules are understandably angered by this discriminatory policy. The unintended consequence is that many male midshipmen will not associate with any females in order to avoid one-day becoming the target of a baseless allegation. This is a classic example of the breakdown of unit cohesion.Recently, USNA launched a sexual assault response team staffed almost exclusively with female officers. According to a source, the presumption of the team is that males are always the guilty perpetrators and females are always the innocent victims.
Earlier this year, thousands of pages of Navy documents detailing sexual and other misconduct cases were reviewed by The (Annapolis) Capital. The school practiced a double-standard when punishing men and women guilty of identical offenses. Males were frequently dismissed from the academy and sometimes required to reimburse the Navy upwards of $100,000 in school costs while females generally received only light punishment. In one five-year period, every male midshipman accused of sexual assault but acquitted in a military court martial was still kicked out of the academy, a form of double-jeopardy.
Political correctness has led to officially-sanctioned discrimination against non-minorities. Consider the case of the USNA color guard, the six midshipmen who carry the U.S., Navy, Marine Corps and Naval Academy flags during ceremonial events and home football games.
This year, the color guard was invited to perform at game 2 of the World Series in front of a national television audience. However, two of the six midshipmen who had been longtime members of the color guard were fired the day before the game and replaced with two newcomers. The offense, they were told, was being white males. The new members were a female and a first-generation Pakistani-American. One can only wonder if a similar fate will befall the Navy football team before it plays in a nationally-televised New Year’s Eve bowl game.
The Naval Academy makes no effort to hide its bias toward promoting only female and minority faces. The school’s 60-second “Fulfill Your Destiny” recruiting video, which has played prominently on television the past two years, has not one discernible white face in it except in the distant background. The commercial features two Hispanics, two blacks and an Asian. The video is not representative of the actual student body.
The question arises as to what the Naval Academy will do when President Barack Obama follows through on his promise to end the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” prohibition against homosexuals openly serving in the military. Will USNA pursue minimum quotas of male homosexuals, lesbians and transgender students?"

The writer is a Colonel (or Navy Captain) stationed in the Washington, D.C. area who desires to keep his identity withheld in order to protect his career

Healthcare in Hungary, today, con'td.....

20 years after the demise of communism, there is still "universal" hc. Over budget and under in terms of results, every year.
So, how does one go about, say, having elective surgery? Free on paper but the choice of the specialist will be influenced by the money you will have to come up with.Virtually every preoperative visit involves some out of pocket payment. There are no published rates, of course, so people ask around, find on the grape wine the "tariff".Exchanged into USD the "going"rate for a consultation is between 25 and 50 dollars. For the operation between 50 and 200 USD. Remember, the average pension is between 200 and 500 dollar per month. And well paid workers take home $1000 per month.
Do you need an MRI or Xray in a hurry, you will pay out of pocket. The wait for a "free" test may be long.
If you don't know the "rates", you ask around. Somehow the "right" rate is always found from others.
The reason for out of pocket fees is the low pay doctors, nurses get from the government. The squeeze on costs by any government is on-going. Hospitals lack decent budgets, labs need new equipment, new drugs come to the market.
HC budget almost never takes into consideration the progress of times, innovation in a centralized, state controlled system.
Private physicians, clinics, labs are available, if you have the money up front. Needless to say the best trained personnel and the most modern equipment is in the private sector.

In honor of the fall of the Berlin Wall.November 9,1989-2009

On the healthcare insurance debate...

I would like to add a few notes.All of the Eastern European countries under communist rule till 1989, when the wall and system collapsed had socialised medicine.One would expect that, like many other inefficient, corrupt social programs "universal" healthcare would have been changed to an efficient,patient centered program. In fact, remember that Americans, none of these countries have been able to get rid of socialized medicare to date. Many reasons for this. First it has been free for all pensioners. Those who are employed pay a small amount, employers pay a big chunk. None of the contributions, and they have been steadily rising, cover the need, so all healthcare budgets spend over budget. There has never been enough money to cover expenditure, and hc is the biggest contributor to the overall deficits of all these countries.
The biggest political fights in every election and in every budget debate is over the cost of national hc. There are center left and right parties. Which party would you guess is for privatizing (improving) socialized hc? Here is the paradox: socialists and liberals want to get rid of socialized medicine and centre right parties agitate for retaining socialized medicine!
Just a word about socalized hc. Almost from thee beginning, if you wanted the best medical and medicinal help you'd better have the money for it. Whether it was a choice of doctor or medicine,a treatment, a hospital stay, an operation those with cash always had the best available service and product. To this day corruption, paying under the table is the EXPECTED way to get the best treatment. Budgets have been so overspent that in Hungary today,when you go in the hospital you better take your towel,spoon, soap, and medicine as you may not get any of those things. Choice of surgeon will depend on the money you come up with. Of course you will always get some treatment. But you will be at the end of the line. And you better reward the nurses who look after you, as their pay is so low they need money from the patients to live. Most medicines are available, but for the best ones you will pay a high co-pay. It is not unusual for a pensioner to make choices from the various drugs that he is prescribed and get only one or two as the monthly total maybe more than his pension.
Dental care is "free" on paper, in fact most dental treatments are performed by private practitioners or those employed by the state, but you still pay them.
Since the iron curtain came down, socialized medicine is still around, even if it had improved from before 1989.
Changing that system for private insurers is a politically daunting exercise.

A short visit to Moscow...

and here are my impressions. The last visit, also of short duration took place some 12 years ago. Then, as a representative of a rich multinational,(5 star hotel) and now just a simple tourist (3 star hotel).
In 2009, Moscow must be the biggest employer of police forces and security guards.They are everywhere. Just the whole city is in uniform. Every store, every office building, sometimes whole streets are blocked by gates and security guards. On the one hand, it is reassuring to feel so protected, but who are they protecting?The people on the streets, or the store owners, offices? From whom is the danger? Political or run of the mill criminals?

I was pleasantly surprised at my ability to recall a long ago acquired, but almost never used Russian. At first I have struggled, but by the second day I got into it and became bolder in my conversations with total strangers. Anybody I have stopped for direction or information became an instant friend and guide. People under 25 generally knew a few words of English, but with the rest I had to manage with my Russian. Even the younger ones knew less English than I knew Russian , so we generally continued in Russian. Like all natives when addressed in their own tongue, they were delighted.

On one occasion I needed help in the labyrinths of the Moscow Metro, a massive system of transportation with many opportunities to get lost or get off "track". The young Russian lady may have been 20 or so, very pleasant and helpful. After a few attempts at English we agreed that my Russian was better. It so happened that my destination, after several changes on the subway system, was the same as hers. So we have travelled together for some 30 minutes, and chatted.The metro was noisy and too crowded for any meaningful conversation. But when we have arrived at our final station there was a huge downpour so we had to stay inside the station. Then we really got into talking. She was a second year university student,studying something like urban planning. Obviously, all her conscious life began after the demise of the Soviet union. Yet, I was so sorry to find that she had almost no clue about the past before her.She didn't know who Solzhenitsyn or Pasternak were, their significance, the years of the thaw and what it must have meant at least for her parents. But she knew all about current pop culture, American Idol and the rest.

It was a beautiful, but sad episode for me meeting this lovely, modern Russian girl, yet finding that the very recent and fateful past had not affected her at all.

There are small annoyances....

in life that may not warrant a second thought,but I would not be truthful if I didn't confess to more than just occasional flashes of vexation when confronted with some of these. So, as suggested in some "How to..." book self-help chapter, one is to make a list of stuff, sort of taking out the sharp edge of, for example,"annoyances" and ,if so inclined, "deal" with them as they occur. Easier said than done. The list will be easy to prepare, dealing with individual items will present difficulties. Here it goes.

1./Having been preoccupied with being physically active all my life and particularly when I was at the height of my own "self-importance", career-wise,I have often complained about the lack of time and space for working up a good sweat. Whenever I have felt bad enough and lethargic enough, I could always find a half an hour, for at least a strenuous walk, or taking the stairs for several flights, until time and space was available for a workout. So, here is one of my earliest and most persistent annoyances:meeting and watching overweight, out of shape sport coaches, trainers in charge of young or not so young sport lovers,aspirants. I always felt embarrassed in their place and I'm sure in some cases there may have been legitimate reasons for being such a poor example to their pupils. For the rest there is just no excuse, none.

2./The ease and comfort of shopping in today's supermarkets compared to the weekly produce market in my hometown many years ago is such a pleasure. On entry you have a huge cart or a smaller basket, stroll through the isles and pick out your your products, go to the cashier pay and wheel out your cart, find your car, transfer the stuff and...what do many people do with their carts? Some leave them by the side of their cars, some wheel them up to the nearest curb and may manage to leave them securely behind, or not. Very few people take the time, probably less than a minute,to wheel the cart to its designated "parking pad". Some supermarkets employ cart collectors whose job is to find and arrange these wayward carts from huge parking lots. The carts left idly behind are a real menace to people, cars, children.
Still, many just seem oblivious to the potential damage and just leave them anywhere. So thoughtless,impolite,dangerous.

3./ You are walking on a busy sidewalk and all of sudden you come upon a small gathering of people, anywhere from 3 to several who are literally blocking the whole sidewalk. They may have just met, or stopped as a group for a short meeting, whatever.You try to go around them, maybe even step off curb and still, they don't move and are oblivious that others are blocked. So thoughtless, rude.

4./ Do you have small annoyances? Perhaps something that I may be guilty of...

A picture...

from the 50th Anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising, 1956-2006

I was honored by the University of Toronto...

the other day, by inducted into U of T Sports Hall of Fame.

This was quite a surprise, since the reason given for this honor were my fencing results in my rookie year, 1962/63. I was the intercollegiate champion in saber that school year.

During the induction ceremony I had the privilege of meeting former truly great champions, olympic medallists and the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Education, Bruce Kidd, a Canadian sport icon. He presented me with the certificate.

It was required of the inductees to say a few words at the time and there is a YouTube video here you might like to watch, it's only 3 minutes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9dFRBxS3k8

A personal note on the events in Iran...

During the spring of 2007 I have spent some time with young fencing coaches from various countries at the University of Budapest,Faculty of Physical Education. I was helping the instructor with the translation from Hungarian to English ( the common language of all participants). I got very close to the personable Iranian fencing coach, A. He and I have spent some meals together after the classes. Never having any intimate knowledge of Iran I have been given a comprehensive review of Iranian society of the day (2007), the aspiration of her very young people. It was an eye opener. I was assured that the vast majority of Iran's population hated the oppressive theocracy that they were forced to live under. That her people, especially the young, some 65 % of the population just wanted a secular, free society and friendship with the world , including the USA.
The recent popular uprising against this oppressive regime bore out this notion I was privileged to hear from my new Iranian friend.

The year 1959

Consider: It was the year when the microchip was introduced, the Food and Drug Administration held hearings on the birth-control pill, IBM marketed the first business computer, a passenger jetliner took the first nonstop trans-Atlantic flight, and America joined the Russians in the "space race." It saw the rise of free jazz, "sick comics," the New Journalism, and indie films; the birth of Motown, Happenings, and the Generation Gap; the Lady Chatterley trial that overthrew the nation's obscenity laws; the U.S. Civil Rights Commission's first report, which sparked the overhaul of segregation laws—all this bursting against fears of a "missile gap," the fallout-shelter craze, and the first U.S. casualties in the war in Vietnam.

From the book: 1959,The Year Everything Changed, by Fred Kaplan

Love all of these one liners:

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland ,Ohio
"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.. It is the most-requested column I've ever written." My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't s crew up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood.. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give it time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's,we'd grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

About my book...

Find it here:

http://eurobird.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-should-say-something-about-my-book.html

Amazing Grace....

Amazing Grace

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me....
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now, I see.



T'was Grace that taught...
my heart to fear.
And Grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that Grace appear...
the hour I first believed.



Through many dangers, toils and snares...
we have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far...
and Grace will lead us home.

On the first day of May

GOP hopefuls in 2010 in Congress must present SOUND alternatives to 3 major Obama objectives beginning this fall! Not negatives. That is probably the only way to interest a public enamored by the "we can" president. His 3 pillars of the future of the US are education reform,healthcare reform and energy regulation/reform. These three objectives must be countered with sound, viable alternatives.
People cannot fathom 1, 2 or 3 trillion dollars in terms of size, particularly if projected 10/12 years ahead.Lot of people will assume that the big 3 objectives, regardless of cost will be of benefit to the nation. Critiqing them will not suffice.The same objectives will have to be rationally developed and presented with expected results and cost/benefit analyses. Then stay on message. For the whole year until the November elections. Put him and his party on defensive.

What is marxism...

I have found this excellent piece on the web that I would like share will all: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/03/what_is_marxism.html by Steven Plaut

March 16, 2009

What is Marxism? By Steven Plaut

Marxists claim that Marxism is a science. It is not. It is a sort of pagan religious cult. It is a theology. It is a form of superstition.

Marxists claim that Karl Marx understood capitalism and economics. He did not. They also claim that the entire validity of Marx’s set of theories on all subjects rests ultimately on how valid Marxist economic thought is. Marxist economic thought was completely wrong.

Marx claimed that all products contain value that is directly proportional to the amount of labor embodied within them. He was wrong. All the rest of Marxism is based entirely on this mistaken and falsifiable premise.

Marxists claim that the operations of markets have a natural tendency to spawn monopolies. They call this “monopoly capitalism.” In reality, markets have a natural tendency to break up and undermine monopolies. Almost all monopolies under capitalism are those set up by governments stifling and interfering in the operations of markets.

The most harmful monopolies in modern economies are the labor unions.


Marxists claim that corporate monopolies are growing in importance and in power. In fact, monopolies have been losing power and strength under capitalism for well over a century.

Marxists think that large corporations collaborate and operate power-sharing arrangements among themselves. They do not and cannot. Large corporations compete, undercut, and threaten one another’s market shares every day. As one of many proofs, just look at the number of inter-corporate law suits.

Marxism is based on conflict between “social classes.” But social classes do not exist at all. This is not to say that there are not richer folk and poorer folk all about. It only means that all the richer folk share no collective common interests, and the same is true for all the poorer folk.

Marxists claim that people’s ideas and ideals are dictated by property relations. They are wrong.

Marxists and socialists in general care a lot about the distribution of material wealth. But they have no idea how to bring about the creation of the material wealth that they wish to redistribute. They just assume it all gets produced all by itself. That is why people in communist regimes starve.

Marxists claim that workers are oppressed in capitalist societies. Workers in communist societies always try to sneak out into capitalist societies. No one in South Korea is trying to sneak into North Korea. The Berlin Wall was not built to keep West Germans from sneaking into East Germany’s collective farms. Cubans in Florida do not steal boats to seek asylum in Cuban collective farms.

Marxists claim that lower-income people support the Left and that higher-income people support the Right. Generally the opposite is the case. Let’s not forget the Hollywood Left.

Marxists claim that capitalism creates “crises of surplus,” where materials build up that cannot be sold. They are wrong. Surpluses just cause prices to drop.

Marxists claim that capitalists do not work and that workers do not own capital. That is why they comprise “social classes.” But nearly all capitalists work, often in work days with very long hours. Meanwhile, a huge portion of capital is held by workers themselves through their pension funds and other institutional investment intermediaries.

Marxists claim that businesses are owned by a small closed clique of capitalists. Actually, most businesses are “public,” meaning they are owned by shareholders and anyone at all can be a shareholder in them.

Marxists claim that capitalism cannot be democratic. But every single democratic society on earth is predominantly capitalist. Not a single communist regime was ever democratic. Communists take power via military coups and military conquest, not via elections.

Marxists claim that capitalists use violence to protect their perquisites and privileges. In truth, Marxists in power use violence to protect their perquisites and privileges. They use violence to suppress opposition wherever they manage to seize power, including violence against opposition groups of workers. It is conservatively estimated that 100 million people were killed by Marxism and by Marxists in the twentieth century.

Marxists claim that people are prisoners of their material circumstances and of their classes of birth. Tell that to the limousine Marxists, the endowment-fund Trotskyists, and the tenured socialists.

Marxists claim that all workers share common interests and shared goals, making them into a “class.” In reality, they share nothing in common and have no common interests.

Marxists think that all capitalists share common interests and get together in large stadiums every few weeks to plan out a program to achieve those. In reality, if capitalists were ever to congregate in such a stadium, they could agree on absolutely nothing, not even on the price of the beer. There is no single issue in economic policy over which all capitalists have the same position or share the same interest.

Marxists claim that workers in capitalist societies feel “alienated.” In reality, pampered children in capitalist society feel alienated because capitalism produces wealth, makes material comfort possible, and so creates the opportunities for idleness and leisure that lead to recreational feelings of alienation.

Marxists think that if you earn more money than me, it means you are exploiting me. In reality, it means you are more talented, harder working, better skilled, and luckier than me.

Marxists think that if one person has more wealth than a second person, it can only be because the first one stole the wealth of the second. Ditto for richer and poorer countries.

Marxists think that only things matter in economics, meaning tangible products, and so services do not. They believe that big products are more important than small products, big industries being more important than small industries. They also believe that consumer goods are superfluous and should not be produced much. All those ideas are why the quality of life and the standard of living are so miserable under communist regimes. In wealthy countries, small- and medium-size enterprises are the main engines for producing wealth.

Marxists do not see why workers should need to be allowed to vote. The interest of workers is always defined as whatever those claiming to speak in the name of the working class happen to support and desire.

Marxists think that socialism works. It does not. The only form of “socialism” that has not produced mass impoverishment and starvation is Scandinavian capitalism merged with a bloated “socialist” welfare state.

Marxists claim that most Marxists come from the working class. In reality almost all Marxists are the pampered children of middle class and wealthy parents. There are more Marxists today on the campuses of some American universities than in all of eastern Europe.

Marxists claim that under Marxism everyone receives according to his needs and contributes according to his capabilities. In reality, under Marxism everyone receives according to whatever the entrenched party apparatchiks decide their needs are, usually sub-sustenance levels of consumption, and the same people decide what are your abilities, generally assumed to be your ability to work endlessly at whatever you are told to do without getting paid much. To put this differently, in the absence of positive incentives, no one is capable of doing anything and everyone’s needs are infinite.

Marxists think that “experts” can tell what needs to be produced. They cannot. That is why Marxist experts produce starvation. In some cases Marxist starvation has produced cannibalism. There is not a single Marxist scholar or expert on earth who could produce a pencil by himself.

Marxists think that efficiency in production can be achieved by terrorizing factory workers and communal farm members. While terrorizing them, it has never successfully achieved efficiency that way. People are always smarter than the terrorizing officials and manage to thwart them.

Marxists believe that economic incentives do not matter. That is why they think there is no need to pay people more for working hard or exerting effort. It is enough to appeal to their “class interests.” That is why people starve under communism.

When a Marxist speaks of “dictatorship of the proletariat,” he means he thinks he has the right to use violence to impose his own arbitrary dictatorship upon members of the working class and upon everyone else, without asking for their approval or votes.

Marxists claim that Marxism is fundamentally democratic. In reality it is always fundamentally anti-democratic.

Marxists pretend to be in favor of the working class collectively owning all property. In reality Marxists always steal the property of members of the working class and turn it over to well-paid party apparatchiks.

Marxists think that Marx understood economics. In fact, virtually all Marxist “theories” were completed debunked 160 years ago. Marx was wrong about virtually everything he wrote on economics. It is more difficult to say whether he was correct about anything in sociology, but that is more a commentary on the nebulous and muddled nature of sociological thinking.

Marxists see no need at all for “finance capital.” That is why they always steal everyone’s savings in communist societies. It is also why workers in communist societies hide their savings in banks in capitalist societies.

Marx did not have the slightest inkling about what determines wages of workers in markets. He had even less understanding of what determines prices.

Marxists use the term “concrete” whenever they do not know how to finish a sentence, or whenever they have no idea of what is being discussed.

Marxists think that women live better lives under Marxism. That is because they never speak with any women who grew up under communism.

There is not a Marxist on earth who has actually read and understood Karl Marx’s tedious book “Das Kapital.” You can read a summary of the book on Wikipedia, written by people who did not read it either. In reality, Marx had no idea at all even what capital is.

Marxists often want to abolish the family, but that is because they became Marxists in the first place as a way to antagonize and irritate mommy and daddy.

Marxists believe that people living under Marxism lose interest in religion. They do not.

Marxists believe that in every voluntary transaction, one side wins and the other loses, and so it is impossible for two sides to profit from it. That is why they think you should be told what to buy and how much you should pay for it.

Marxists claim that capitalist countries engage in imperialism. But since World War II the largest empires of imperialist conquest were those headed by Marxist regimes.

Marxists believe that there are no real conflicts of interest between the workers living in different countries and speaking different languages or coming from different cultures. That is without a doubt the very stupidest idea of all coming from Marxism. In any case, that is why Marxism is generally spread only via military conquest.

Marxists think that capitalism makes people greedy. Actually people living under communism become much greedier because they are poor and desperate.

Marxists claim that Marxism is a science. It is not. It is today little more than a form of mental illness.

Steven Plaut is an economist and teaches business administration

The Star Spangled Banner...

The Star Spangled Banner Lyrics
By Francis Scott Key 1814



Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light
What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight,
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

On the shore, dimly seen through the mists of the deep,
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes,
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,
As it fitfully blows, half conceals, half discloses?
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,
In full glory reflected now shines in the stream:
'Tis the star-spangled banner! Oh long may it wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion,
A home and a country should leave us no more!
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight, or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Oh! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust."
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave

Guantanamera...

Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera,
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera.

Yo soy un hombre sincero,
de donde crece la palma,
y antes de morirme quiero,
echar mis versos de alma.

Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera,
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera.

Mi verso es de un verde claro,
y de un carmín encendido;
mi verso es un ciervo herido,
que en el monte busca amparo.

Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera,
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera.

Con los pobres de la tierra,
quiero yo mi suerte echar;
el arroyo de la sierra,
me complace más que el mar.

Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera,
Guantanamera, guajira guantanamera.
Guantanamera, guajira ...

The book and my picture...

I should say something about my book...

published in the spring of 2008. In fact, this blog came to life at the insistence of friends that I should continue with a"sequel". This blog is obviously not that. But it is writing and as so many have discovered, it is its own reward. And , foremost, it is learning about myself and the world around me.
About my book.
"Without Illusions" is written in two languages, Hungarian and English, which in a way aptly illustrates my life. Born in Hungary and leaving at the age of 18, my life early on separated into two halves. The early years in the relative safety and warmth of my family and then my life without it. I left the country on my own.
The generosity of the free West, following the tragic defeat of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight, in my case, provided for a few months in various refugee camps and a free passage to Canada in 1957. Some other refugees were less fortunate and some fared much better.
So my time after leaving my birthplace started a new, strange, exciting and at times frustrating phase. On the negative side obvious was the lack of English or French language, which in Canada mattered. But I was young and healthy and sure of myself in terms of the future, in spite of the fact that not only I could not speak or write in either language, I didn't have any skill or profession.
An honest assessment of my situation after disembarking from the boat in Quebec city is the only praise I will allow myself for that time. Although it may seem simplistic and self-evident now, it was then a sudden, but sober realization that in order to eke out an existence in the new world I will have to rely on my two hands and not much else for the foreseeable future. So,I have started out in the "second" phase of my life, as it were, "without illusions".
Why should an East European refugee have had any illusions on arrival in Canada, in 1957? Because he escaped from a brutal, communist dictatorship to one of the freest, richest and most promising of Western democracies on the planet!
And here is my message, dear reader in 2009, wherever you are: not for one minute I imagined that over and above the free boat ticket and the "Landed Immigrant" visa, for which I am ever so grateful, have I expected anything more from the Canadian government or society! I have never felt that I was a victim, that anyone owed me anything. Like millions of immigrants to the new world before me, we were grateful for the opportunity.Oh, please do not misunderstand, I would have been happy to receive a free furnished room or flat, a monthly stipend until I learn English or French and then a good job. But, as I said, I had none and not dreamt of any illusions about my future life in Canada then.
The miserable days in the fifties that led to our revolt had toughened and readied us for life.
This adventure, that started in the fifties and culminated in the immigrant's first years in Canada, is what my book is about. The reason I wrote it in two languages was letting the descendants of the thousands of Hungarian refugees to Canada and the USA know the struggle their parents and grandparents faced some fifty years ago. Many never learned to speak Hungarian.
Although published in Budapest, the book is available in a couple of Hungarian bookstores in Toronto.

For a new year we make resolutions...

which need not be grandiose to be meaningful. So, here are my very ordinary , but to me paramount points to keep in mind, every day of the year. These are not original thoughts, but they are just so meaningful I had to report them here:

Kiss your mate at least twice a day
Leave a quick note just to say “hi,” or “I love you”
Never do anything you wouldn’t want your partner to know
Be fully present when they need to talk or share something important
Make the effort to spend some time together each day
Give a compliment
Make your partner feel important
Smile