Niagara Falls, Ontario, Wonderful Place for You to go!

I'm off for a couple of days of rest and recreation. I normally go away for a day or two of solitary time twice a year if possible. In the summer, it seems Sibbald Point Provincial Park is the place I usually end up. The winters are usually a toss up between Ottawa, New York city or Niagara Falls (Canadian side, of course!).

While in Niagara I will be staying and swimming at the the Sheraton on the Falls. I will visit the Butterfly Conservatory and the casino. And who can resist going across the border to shop and wonder at the awful conditions those Americans have to live under; and what better place to do this than at the Prime Outlet Mall. In between all this a lot of my time will be spent in the room and by the pool reading and napping.

Now Get Back to Work!

H2 Oh, Oh

Some poeple refuse to drink water unless its bottled by Coca-Cola. Why? Because it's healthier? No. Because it's only a little more expensive and worth the money? No. Because it's environmentally friendly? No. Because it's safer than tap water? No. Wanna know more? Click on the title of this post and read the article on EMagazine's web site

For ever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanities, where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women and children, mainly Jews from many countries of Europe.

Text on the monument which was erected in the Birkenau Extermination Camp in 1967 on the initiative of the International Auschwitz Committee

Are You a Racist? Take the Test

"How do you test internal bias? You can try asking people, but since most of us don't like to think of ourselves as biased, we won't necessarily admit to it on a questionnaire, even anonymously. But there's a test to detect the kind of bias people won't admit to and may not even be aware of themselves"

To take the test click on the title of this post.

To read the article at slate.com that led me to the test site copy and past the following address into your browser's address window: http://www.slate.com/id/2134921/?nav=tap3

Am I a Racist?

My result for a test which purports to test your preference or bias for black people over whites said: "Your data suggest a slight automatic preference for Black People compared to White People."

So there! Ya white, cracker, honky, MoFo!

See above post to take the test yourself. And by the way, some of my best friends are white.

From King of Pop to Queen of Arabia

You May Be a Redneck If...

You got stopped by a state trooper.
He asked you if you had an I.D.
And you said, 'Bout What?'

$2 Trillion or Not $2 Trillion?

War on Iraq Will Cost $2 Trillion!
Current moderate estimates for the cost of the war in Iraq: $2 Trillion!

Reuters reports this total, which is far above the US administration's prewar projections which rejected an early figure of $100-200 billion. A new study by Columbia University economist Joseph E. Stiglitz, who won the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001, and Harvard lecturer Linda Bilmes concludes that the total costs of the Iraq war could top the $2 trillion mark.

Even taking a conservative approach, we have been surprised at how large they are," the study said, referring to total war costs. "We can state, with some degree of confidence, that they exceed a trillion dollars."

Third World Debt
The foreign debts of developing nations are growing at an uncontrollable and unserviceable rate. For all Third World countries debts have risen from $610 billion in 1980 to $2.3 trillion in 1997.

This means an annual average increase of 8.2%. Now, over the same period of time the average annual economic growth of these same nations has risen by 5%. Statistics like these demonstrate a debt growth in excess of economic growth, reducing the ability of nations to pay back debt.

Amount US owes to the United Nations
The UN has always had problems with members refusing to pay the assessment levied upon them under the United Nations Charter. But the most significant refusal in recent times has been that of the U.S. For a number of years the U.S. Congress refused to authorize payment of the U.S. dues, in order to force UN compliance with U.S. wishes, as well as a reduction in the U.S. assessment.

U.S. arrears to the UN currently total over $1.3 billion. Of this, $612 million is payable under Helms-Biden. The remaining $700 million result from various legislative and policy withholdings; of course, there are no current plans to pay these amounts.


The Cato Institute Disagrees
Despite the fact that news articles routinely discuss the U.S. debt to the United Nations, no such debt exists. Assertions about this nonexistent debt ignore the billions of dollars of military and other assistance that has been provided to the world organization but neither properly credited nor reimbursed to the United States; they divert attention from the administration's policy of providing resources, personnel and equipment to the UN without the approval of Congress.

Currently Reading...

I am currently reading The Fate of Africa, by Martin Meredith. This is a hefty tome by a renowned authority of the African continent.
Publisher's Weekly says: "The value of Meredith's towering history of modern Africa rests not so much in its incisive analysis, or its original insights; it is the sheer readability of the project..." Hmm, doughnuts...


I have just finished reading:
"We Were Soldiers Once...and Young : The Battle That Changed the War in Vietnam," by Harold G. Moore, Joseph Galloway
This book was very readable but unless you have a great capacity for spatial stuff you will find it a bit tedious as I did. Nevertheless, you HAVE to read the book before seeing the movie which stars Mel Gibson and a fabulous performance by Sam Elliot playing crusty old Sergeant Major Basil Plumley: "Gentlemen, prepare to defend yourselves!"

Monkey Business IS the Governments Business

At least 10,000 monkeys are creating havoc in the Indian capital by barging into government offices, stealing food, threatening bureaucrats and even ripping apart valuable documents.

Delhi suffers from a serious monkey menace, with scores of animals seen across the city.

The monkeys are mostly seen around top government offices.


To read the whole sordid tale at the BBC website...click on the title of this post.

My Boys Need a Home!

Oh, the pain, the dull pain of it all.

I have finally crawled out of bed to surf the web. Like most sensitive, emotion laden procedures and occurences, a vasectomy seems to attract its own coterie of detractors. Highly politicized, polemically inclined, goof-balls (no pun intended).

An example of this type of goof-ballness is Kevin C. Hauber's website. Click on the title of this post if you really have to visit his site. The sky is falling perpetually as far is this guy is concerned. Reminds me of the La Leche League types. Yes, types.









Here's a picture of a woman breast feeding...is that her son or her husband? How old is that boy...he doesn't even fit in her lap.

And the reason its "good" to nurse your (no, not baby, but) toddler, according to the Canadian La Leche website is because, "Toddlers have a huge world to explore, and breastfeeding provides them (and their mothers!) with some quiet time in their busy, waking hours." Haven't these people heard of quiet time? How about a nap? Rum, maybe?

Okay, I hurt and maybe I'm lashing out. So, sue me!

Vasectomy!

Today is the day I have the old (yet large) dragons wings clipped. That's right folks, we're talking the big "V". The snipping of the vas deferens, vastly different from any other operation a man could ever have.

I must admit that I am having second thoughts as I near the hour of doom. Sure, I've tried to joke it off...(I said joke it off people...get your minds out of the gutter!)...still, as the hour draws nearer I feel butterflies in my stomach. A little squeamish and sheepish about the whole thing. I have a million one-liners for the doctor and that wonderful nurse I keep imagining will be there just to make me feel even more squeamish. In the end, if I don't show today, I'm afraid they'll come after me with a huge bill and that folks is the only reason, at this point, that I am going to the operating table/chair.

If you want to see a really cool site, by a fellow vasectomite, click on the title of this post. WARNING: This guy's website graphically illustrates the procedure. Be sure to go to the humour page...which will leave you in paroxysms (sp?).

"Good-bye old friend and good night"

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Tarah! Tarah! Tarah!

Go Ahead—Sleep With Your Kids!

Found an interesting article at Slate.com that crystalizes my thoughts exactly on the topic of co-sleeping with your (younger) children. To read this article click on the title of this post.

A more balanced approach to the debate on co-sleeping can be found at the kids health website.