The Best Poem (Ever)

Here is a poem written by a child from Africa and nominated bt the UN as one of the best. Enjoy:

When I born, I black
When I grow up, I black
When I go in Sun, I black
When I scare, I black
When I sick, I black
When I die, I still black

And you white fellow
When you born, you pink
When you grow up, you white
When you go in Sun, you red
When you cold, you blue
When you scared, you yellow
When you sick, you green
And when you die, you grey

And you calling me colored?

Short Course in Management

Okay, Guys:

I know I've been away a while.

Reason --- I haven't been quite myself, healthwise.

Besides, the last couple of months have been quite busy, busy, busy.

Anyway, the important thing is I am now back.

So to celebrate, here is a short course on management for your enjoyment:

Lesson 1:

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, 'I'll give you $800 to drop that towel.' After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob. After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, 'Who was that?'' 'It was Bob the next door neighbor,' she replies. 'Great,' the husband says, 'did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?'

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:

A priest offered a nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.The nun said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, 'Father, remember Psalm 129?' The priest apologized, 'Sorry sister but the flesh isweak.' Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way. On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, 'Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory.'

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity.

Lesson 3:

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, 'I'll give each of you just one wish. ''Me first! Me first!' says the admin clerk. 'I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world. Puff! She's gone. 'Me next! Me next!' says the sales rep. 'I want to be in Hawaii, relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life. Puff! He's gone. 'OK, you're up,' the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, 'I want those two back in the office after lunch.'

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4:

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, 'Can I also sit like you and do nothing?' The eagle answered: 'Sure, why not.' So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5:

A turkey was chatting with a bull. 'I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree' sighed the turkey, 'but I haven't got the energy.' ''Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?' replied the bull. 'They're packed with nutrients.' The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bull Shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson 6:

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story: (1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy. (2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend. (3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

THUS ENDS THE FIVE MINUTE MANAGEMENT COURSE

Joy of the Golden Years

Watch where y're heading, buddy!
I am one happy dude.

Who says smoking is not good for you?
Best time to be wild

Do it to me one more time

This is what I call "nice" legs!

Humanity

Here is an original song written and performed by my buddy, animal rights activist, Jack Strauss.
Enjoy . . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJGkh3Y-USI

Now...Some Comic Relief

Who says religions cannot be funny?

How do you tell when a Catholic is driving too fast?

The woodpeckers will definitely have to go

Jewish Olympics Swimmer

And finally, compliments of my buddy, George . . .
Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time, which produced an impressive set of callouses on his feet.
He also ate very little, which made him rather frail and with his odd diet, he suffered from bad breath.
This made him (Oh, man, this is so bad, it's good) .....
A super-calloused fragile mystic hexed by halitosis.

Israelis vs Palestinians 2

There were calls for Peter Kent to be removed from his post after the comments he made about the Israelis' invasion of Gaza. I am happy to know that there are other Canadians who are as outraged by, not to mention ashamed of, our Minister of Foreign Affairs as I am.

Anyway, in yesterday's Toronto Star, there was an editorial by Haroon Siddiqui, a highly respected (at least by me) journalist who offered not only an unbiased view but also a reflection of my personal sentiments on this issue.

For those of you who do not have access to the Toronto Star, or who have missed the issue yesterday, I have taken the liberty to cut-and-paste the article below. Enjoy . . .

Our Myopic view of Gaza Conflict
Haroon Siddiqui

I was holidaying in India when the Israeli onslaught on Gaza began Dec. 27.
There were banner headlines coupled with editorial outrage in the Urdu media, the language of Muslims, and dispassionate but balanced coverage in the English media and the regional language newspapers.
Across the Arab Middle East, Al-Jazeera and others were providing one-sided, wall-to-wall coverage of death and destruction in Gaza.
Travelling through Europe, one could appreciate the powerful reporting and commentary, which conveyed the scale of the tragedy, without crossing the line into propaganda for either side.
It didn't take long upon landing here to be reminded how much the political and media establishment – in the U.S. and, lately, Canada as well – are divorced from reality.
The Stephen Harper Conservatives, as well as many editorialists and pundits, seem to inhabit a make-believe world into which no inconvenient facts are allowed to intrude.
Their mantra is that Israel has a right to defend itself, has to protect its citizens from Hamas rockets, and had to retaliate for the breaking of the ceasefire by Hamas Dec. 19.
True. But deprived of other truths, this performs the desired magic of absolving Israel of any culpability.
According to this view, hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including women and children and seniors, being bombed and shelled to death in schools – even clearly marked United Nations schools – mosques, refugee camps, streets and homes are acceptable collateral damage.
Few tears need be shed, especially since Hamas is to blame, anyway.
There's amnesia about the brutal 40-year-old occupation.
There's nary a mention that in Israeli military operations in 2008, 420 Palestinians had been killed prior to Dec. 28 vs. five Israelis, according to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights body,
And Israel's crippling economic blockade had prompted the UN special rapporteur Richard Falk to say on Dec. 9 that Israel's collective punishments amounted to "a crime against humanity," and that the International Criminal Court ought to investigate whether Israeli leaders and military commanders should be indicted.
He noted that the last time there had been "such a flurry of denunciations by normally cautious UN officials" was during the reign of the apartheid government in South Africa.
On Nov. 21, the chief of UN Relief and Works Agency, Karen Abu Zayd, said supplies had run out. She reported "a chronic anemia problem" and "the stunting of children."
All this was long before the latest carnage, which foreign journalists have been prevented from witnessing. Dead, as of yesterday, were 650 Gazans, a fifth of them civilians.
What our political and media establishment are telling us is this:
Israel must not be provoked but the Palestinians can be.
The trauma suffered by Israelis in the border area along Gaza is not acceptable. But 60 per cent of 1.5 million Gazans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is.
Israeli politicians, facing an election Feb. 10, have to be sensitive to electoral concerns, but Palestinians elected in a fair election Jan. 2006 must be isolated and jailed.
There's an equivalency between Hamas's handmade, ill-targeted rockets and the lethal hi-tech Israeli arsenal, some of it of American origin.
Palestinians must pay heed to Israeli/American/Canadian demands but Israel may ignore calls for a ceasefire by the UN, the European Union and even allies France, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc.
Israeli lives matter, Arab ones don't. In fact, it is worth prolonging the bloodshed in Gaza, as in Lebanon in 2006, to allow Israel time to achieve one or two more of its objectives. Arab blood is cheap.
"Unfortunately, all this plays into the hands of those Palestinians and Arabs, and more generally, Muslims, who say, `the West is against us because of who we are and is engaged in a civilizational war against us,'" says Jim Reilly, professor of Near Eastern Studies at the University of Toronto.
"If we include Iraq and Afghanistan, it reinforces the message of Al Qaeda and co-thinkers that they are waging war against a predatory and rapacious enemy.
"All this makes it that much harder for us to argue back against the militants and the zealots.”

Toronto Star

January 08, 2009

Israelis vs. Palestinians 1

In today's Toronto Star, there is a headline on the frontpage:

Israelis hit school, Ottawa blames Hamas

Personally, I feel that Ottawa and the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Peter Kent, should not be so ready to shoot their mouth off and so quick to assign blames.
The Israelis-Palestinian conflict is a very complicated and complex one, and I suspect that the culprits responsible for this mess is neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians; rather, it is the Allies of WWII --- U.S., Britain (Canada is also not absolved, being part of the British Empire then), France, etc.
But I reserve my opinions.
I really want to hear what you guys out there have to say!
So, feel free to post your comments.
Every view is welcome!!!

Where Has Compassion Gone To ?

Not too long ago, an article was published in a local newspaper in China (the mainland). It contained the story of an old man in his 70s accidentally tearing, with his bicycle, a small rip in the jeans of the teenage daughter of an apparently "noveau riche" woman. This rich woman (she must be; all you need to do is to look at her carefully coiffed hair, her fur-lined coat and, especially, the lap-dog in her arms) started swearing at this poor (both spiritually and economically) man and demanded that he forked over 50 yuan (the equivalence of less than C$10) to compensate for the rip in her daughter's jeans.
The old man opened his wallet and offered the wealthy woman all he had --- a measely 11 odd yuans (less than C$2). The rich woman was not satisfied and continued swearing and cussing at the old man and demanded her 50 yuans.

The old man went down on his knees and pleaded for pity and forgiveness, but this woman would not be appeased.

By this time, a crowd had gathered, among which was a local news reporter. The crowd joined in the plea for compassion, but to no avail. Taking pity on the old man who was still on his knees and had been "kow-towing" for at least a dozen times to the rich woman who continued to swear and cuss the old man, the crowd took up a collection and collected the 50 yuans that was demanded, and handed it over to the rich woman.

With a smirk and a smug look on their faces, the woman snatched the money and with her daughter strutted off.

The question here is --- What has happened to compassion and forgiveness?

Has Chinese morality and that "communist" ideology and all that make us "human" become so capitalistic that the noveau-riche are now deprived off the ordinary ethics of fellowship and respect for the ageds?

What kind of people have they [we] become?

My Year in Review

2009 is now 2 days old, and all over tv land in the last couple of weeks are reviews of the old year - 2008, so I guess I too should review my 2008.

Well, sad to say, I didn't win the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2008, even though I have been doing loads of charity work (for examples, I have been a child-sponsor with World Vision for more years than the number of fingers and toes on my limbs, and just recently, as a matter of fact in December 2008, I joined KIVA [http://www.kiva.org] as a microfinance lender), among a host of other charitable donations, some of which are, unbashfully, for tax-shelter purposes.

So why didn't I win the Nobel Prize? I guess it must be that my "widow's mite" (note: I am not a widow) doesn't count as much as the millions that multi-billionaires like Warren Buffet and Bill Gates drop into the collection boxes.

Luckily, though, I did get to do a fair share of what I like to do best --- travelling.

March --- visited Cuba for the third time. Met a fellow traveller, Yariv, an Israeli flight attendant with Al El (or is it El Al, I am not sure). An interesting fellow on whom I based a short story titled "Yariv".

July --- went to London, England to attend Jeff's graduation. Got to see Adam, Jeff's best buddy from Toronto, now living and working in London.

Also met Karin, Jeff''s long time (4 years) girlfriend from Vienna, as well as her family (her brother is not in the picture on right).

In August, plans to Chile and Argentina for the second time had to be cancelled at the last minute because Yariv, the real guy,  (picture below)

            

was in town for a visit.

Another regrettable of 2008 is that I was not honoured with the Governor-General Award for Literature, even though I had "Yariv" (the short story) published, but that was no big deal as it was just a piece of raw spontaneous writing, totally unedited.

Also completed editing Toronto ALPHA's Resource Guide on the Japanese occupation of China between the two Great Wars. http://www.torontoalpha.org/ Hopefully, I will win some sort of prize or award; in truth, I would be satisfied to at least get some, any, sort of recognition, after I finished editing the second and expanded edition of the same guide this year (2009).

Finally, have I made any resolutions for 2009???

Well, I am not one to make promises that I can't keep, even if they were promises to myself, but you can bet your tush that I did.

What I have reolved for 2009 are:

• not to quit smoking until I am in a respirator
• not to take up drinking unless I outgrow my allergy to alcohol
• not to join a gym or to workout just because everybody tells me it is the best way to feel good and to look even better than I already am
• not to do or say anything just because people say it is the right thing to do or say
• not to acknowledge the existence of anybody who think that they know me better than I know myself

As my old (long time) friend, Martin, used to say --- So there!

2009 --- Give me your best shot!

Are People Crazy ?

Okay.... for those of you who do not know Canada, it is winter here now. bbrrrrrrrrrr!!!
Well, technically winter is still a week or two away, but you would never have guessed just by looking at the amount of snow on the ground.
So here I am... taking extra care... being extra cautious... as I drive up the DVP amidst all this slushy snow.

This is what the DVP looked like this morning.

btw., the speed limit for the DVP is 90 kmh... and that is for IDEAL weather conditions.

  This is what the DVP looks like on a good day with ideal weather condition.

Well... wouldn't you know it... here came this silly looking Honda, the driver clutching a lipstick in one hand when BOTH her hands should be clutching the steering wheel, zooming and zipping along... cutting everybody off (especially careful me... which is what upset me so much in the first place), as though she is on a race track on a bright sunny summer afternoon.

Really... it has nothing to do with the fact that my car is an antiquated jalopy; nor does it have anything to do with the fact that, in truth, I AM naturally a slow driver and proud of it, as I'd rather think of myself as a careful driver, or at least a defensive one. Good Grief !!! I have, believe it or not, been issued a traffic ticket for driving too slowly in a 40 km zone.
Anyway, here is my grief ...
Are people, (a.k.a. the woman in that Honda on the DVP) really that stupid ???
How the @&$%# did people like that get the license to operate a motor vehicle which may be metamorphorsed into a lethal weapon of death and destruction!!!
And what's with those driving instructors and testers???
What were thinking when these nut cases come to take their tests ???

Is there anybody out there who can enlighten me ?

Sex Slaves

In the summer of 2006, I had the opportunity of joining a study tour to China to learn more about what happened in China during the Japanese occupation between the Great Wars.

We travelled to 4 different cities --- Shanghai, Nanjing, Beijing, Harbin --- the main sites where the events that we were studying took place.

Today, what I want to focus on is the issue of sexual slavery, or the system of "comfort stations" established by the Japanese military in East Asia, stretching all the way from Korea, across China, into the Phillippines and down south to Indonesia.

Women and girls, some as young as 13, were kidnapped and imprisoned in comfort stations where each woman, according to records and eye-witness accounts, might be forced to service as many as 29 Japanese military-men a day.

One of these women that I met in Shanghai was Madam Lui. She was kidnapped by Japanese soldiers when she was no more than 15 and forced to become a comfort woman. Our team was among some of the last people from the West to meet her and listen to her testimony.

Unfortunately, Madam Lui died in 2007, without seeing the injustice that had been inflicted upon her addressed.

Below is a poem that I wrote after meeting Madam Lui. It is my dedication to her and all the other women, most of whom were Koreans, who were forced to suffer the same fate as her.

A Dedication to Madam Lui

Lament of a Comfort Woman

I was fifteen, gentle and innocent,
When you came and ripped me
From the warmth of my father's home,
The tenderness of a mother’s arms,
To be fed, like two hundred thousands others,
To your countless lusty wolves,
Which defiled and devoured me
And tossed me, broken and scarred,
Into the cold scornful sea.

O, my beloved country!
Why am I to blame?
Why do you turn your face away from my pain?

O, my father! O, my brothers!
Who will help me bear my shame?

O, Hirohito! O, You mighty Meijis!
I comforted your soldiers in their struggle;
Now who comforts me in my pain?

O, Koizumi and all your faceless Yagushini men!
How do you sleep at night,
While I shiver and cry in an endless nightmare,
Alone in my hovel, broken in body and spirit,
Frightened and ashamed?

Shanghai

July 15, 2006

(first published in November 2006)

Beauty

Here is some food for thoughts ---

What is beauty?

What criteria do we use to judge beauty?

Consider Tim Robard ...

Would you consider him a beautiful man?

What about Ashwarya Rai?

Why does everyone consider her as one of the most beautiful women in the world?

Clearly the majority of people simply do not fit into these 2 models of physical perfection!

So what about the ordinary Joe and Jane?

And where do you and I fit into this scheme of things?

Share your thoughts.

A Response to Andrew on Children

This is a response to Andrew's question on why people have children.

(http://capturedperspective.com/author/andrewdkurtz)

I know... nobody asked me, but I am going to tell you anyway.

But before I do, here is a warning ---

The following will sound like the totally incomprehensible rantings of a raving lunatic... but I hope you (Andrew), and perhaps some other bemused readers, would enlighten me and prove my cynicism unfounded.

Like you said, Andrew, no child has ever asked to be born. I would add that nor has any adult ever consulted the egg if it wants to be fertilized by the sperm.

So then, why do people have children?

My theory is that children are adults' toys; more partucularly they are women's toys, as most "normal" men are usually too engrossed in fancy cars, computers, and all their other technological gizmos.

Really, if you consider it... culturally, socially, politically, economically, or otherwise... there is no just cause, especially in this age of technology, to have children. My instinctive suspicion is that people have children so that they can have toys to play with. And like everything else, when people get tired of their toys, they get rid of them.

However, because we are "civilized", we don't throw children into the dump (although we do sometimes leave them for other adults to play with). Instead, we raise, nurture and educate them, hopefully to be just like us so that when they become adults, they can keep the wheel turning and so will have toys of their own to play with.

But let the truth be told --- this nurturing business is not for the children's sake; it is but a display of how one adult's toy may be better than another's. (And to think so many of these little children running around challenging: "my Dad is better than your dad." Ha! how naive and innocent [and stupid?] can they get!) The adults' ultimate goal still remains to "nudge" (and in some instances, shovel) the children out of their house and life.

The human race calls this process "cutting the umbilical cord".

What a load of horse#%&@, if you ask me. It's just too bad that nobody did.

The human race is basically a selfish race; I might also add that we are possibly the most intolerant and destructive species that has ever roamed the surface of this earth.

All ET really needs to do is look at the way adults all over the world, regardless of their cultural , social, economical, political, or any other status, behave and at the things they do!

What a sorry world to bring a child into.

So, why don't the human race just simply stop making children and, perhaps, eventually self-destruct?

Good question --- why not?

After all, we do destroy everything else.

In my (unasked for) opinion, if the world is to be salvaged, the "Y" generation, or perhaps the next generation (because for some of us it may already be too late, and don't even bother with the ME generation), has to do something.

What is that something, you may ask.

Frankly, Huxley's Brave New World makes a lot of sense ... I think.