No Habla Espanol...

Mi Espanol is muy malo, no sprecken da Duetsche, no parlez vouis Franchaise...I've always found it amazing at just how well my fellow Americans are able to tell people that they cannot speak their language but little else...the exceptions being how to say beer & I love you in most languages... While on the other hand both here & all over the world I have met people who speak Spanish, German, Portuguese, Icelandic, Italian, Russian, etc...who have apologized to me that "they are sorry...my English is not too good" & then continued an entire conversation in English with me to varying degrees. For the record...I always tell them how good their English is & that it's me who cannot speak their language(with the exception of my broken high school level Spanish, which when I use it in places like Costa Rica, Mexico, Deli's/Restaurants in NY...no one ever makes fun of it...they always really appreciate that I'm trying!))

Recent studies have shown that more & more people worldwide are speaking English (eat it Panda-Huggers!) This is most likely due to the fact that even though our housing & derivatives markets almost caused a global depression English is the major business language & we continue to enlighten the world by exporting such cultural phenomenons as The Transformer Movies, Gossip Girl, & muzac from the likes of Brittney, Lady Gaga, Miley, etc... Regardless of the fact the most people that you interface with speak English I do believe that if you have kids...have them learn another language or two...try to learn some key phrases from a couple of languages yourself...if nothing else it will show you're trying & like I stated earlier people really do appreciate it. Plus with the technology we have at our fingertips it's not that tough...remember after all...there's an app for that...

Shape of things to come...?

Recently the US Preventative Services Task Force came out with a study that said woman should wait until they are 50 to start getting their mammograms instead of at 40 & that Doctors should stop teaching woman to check themselves. Yes...you read the last part right. Primary care physicians should stop teaching woman how to check themselves. Doctors were outraged as were most women. The first part about woman waiting until they are 50 sounds like a cost cutting effort...a shape of things to come so to speak. The second point I really don't get. What did the study find... that people are too stupid to check for lump themselves? If they do think they have one & are wrong I'm guessing a regular check up with a Doctor should take care of this. What ever happened to "better safe then sorry"?!? As of today they are now reversing their position & saying woman should discuss when, if, & how early & often with their primary care physicians. Thank you geniuses of the USPSTF. How much taxpayer money will you waste on your next genius study? What's next Doctors will wait till men are 50 before checking us for prostate or testicular cancer? I'll have to wait till I'm 50 for my Doctor to fondle my testes & digitally (not digital like computer...digits as in fingers) probe me...say it ain't so!

Please note that while I wanted to end this on a light note I am more then aware of the seriousness of this. Before we vote on a 2000+ page bill...we better know the real ramifications of the policies. The mentality that some of these organizations are preaching against educating us on how to look for early warning signs & looking to make policy that looks like it's favoring financial factors over life & death seems like a move in the wrong direction...regardless what side of the aisle you sit on...

In Criminal Court?!? In downtown NYC!?! Seriously?!?

Considering the fact that I watched 9/11 out the window of my apartment & consider myself a patriotic American I'm guessing you may have a good idea on my thoughts of trying 9/11 terrorists in a criminal court vs a military court. Instead of bloviating...I will lay out some questions & facts so you may come to your own decisions & conclusions...

• None of the accused 9/11 defendants that are going to be tried in criminal court in NY are American citizens
• None of the accused are illegal aliens that were arrested on American soil for breaking US laws
• Zacarias Moussaoui is not a U.S. citizen but was captured on US soil. He was tried in civilian court.
  
• What precedent is there for trying enemy combatants captured on foreign soil in a civilian court of law versus a military tribunal? When Eric Holder was asked today by a US Senate Committee if there has ever been a case in US history of an enemy combatant caught on a foreign battlefield tried in civilian court he did not know the answer. If he does not know this, then what legal precedent is he basing his decision?
• Has there ever been one? I could not find one. If any of you have please send it over.
• Do Miranda rights extend to foreign nationals?On foreign soil? (they were not read Miranda rights when captured).
• Do Miranda rights supersede the rules of the Geneva Convention for enemy combatants?
• Even if enemy combatant's are read Miranda rights on foreign soil would they even apply in a court of US law? Would they apply if captured on US soil?
• Can we truly find a jury comprised of 12 unbiased men & women that are peers of the accused?
• Will any involved with this case ever be safe again & be able to lead a normal life(Jurors, Lawyers, Judges, Court Officers etc)
  
• What are the security risks & costs of what could turn into a multi-year trial? (Chuck Shumer has asked for an additional $75,000 million to cover security costs, the human costs are incalculable)
  
• What benefit do we as a people get for trying the accused in a Criminal court vs a Military Tribunal?
• What are the future ramifications of doing this? What message are we sending to those who wish us harm? Do we want them secure in the knowledge that they will have the full protection of OUR laws?
• What if they are not found guilty due to any number of reasons? Even though they have all admitted to it...
  
• If there is an attack in NY during the trial will Eric Holder take responsibility? Will he agree that he should be prosecuted for reckless endangerment & Manslaughter? If there is no attack should he still face criminal charges of reckless endangerment &/or civil charges for any economic damages done to the city of New York & public & private businesses?

Again...to me the answers are pretty crystal clear. You need to ask these questions of yourself. I live in New York & I interact in the real world with real live people & real consequences. I do not live in a tower in cyberspace where theoretical & hypothetical concepts debate each other on a virtual chessboard...

The "new white meat"...

It looks like the pig & his yummy healthy meat is being replaced by the new white meat...yours(by the way...little science fact for you...human DNA & pig DNA pretty similar...like 99%)! Well, if you live in Russia that is. In another great news story from around the globe 3 homeless men in Russia killed a man, ate some of him & then sold his remains to a Kebab cart. It is unknown if any of the human meat sold. Now...who buys meat from homeless guys?!? How much does this happen around the world...I'm guessing this is far from a first. So, next time you are enjoying a yummy kebab...no worries...even if the "pork" turns out to be the "new white" meat...you'll probably never notice the difference anyhow (of course this could lead to a new strain of mad-cow called mad-human disease...which leads to... ZOMBIES!!!. So, if you play Resident Evil you know what to do...if not you may want to buy

The Zombie Survival Guide : Recorded Attacks

(also check out World War Z by the author Max Brooks(Mel's son) great book that Brad Pitt picked up the rights to the movie)

None from colum A or B...

It seems that while our good friends the Government of China love to keep buying up American greenbacks...we still have a very long way to go in regards to working together with them for a better world. President Obama recently did a Q&A with a bunch of students in Shanghai. Many questions were asked of him including his feelings on freedom, in particular on the Internet. He stated that he believed in "non-censorship", Universal Rights including freedom of speech, religion, participation in the political process & that immutable basic rights make a people stronger. Well, it turns out aside from handpicking the audience & scripting the questions (hmmm I guess they are learning from us) the Chinese Government also censored the whole thing! It barely got any broadcast time & when some of it hit the Internet in China...it disappeared shortly thereafter. This is sad & hopefully will change. A lesson needs to be learned here. You can & should try your best to engage in conversation...but it only works when the other party is willing &/or able to listen in the first place...

Goggle Choice-Nail

I recently requested an invitation to Google Voice-mail to check it out. The concept of transcribing voicemails makes total sense & I've been wondering for a while why no one came out with it. The fact that Google has, while the major players in the mobile phone space have not speaks volumes on the state of their businesses. For the most part it does work fairly well. Google captures the actual voicemail, sends you a text of it & an e-mail (so it will be difficult to say..oh I never got the message...)

However the voice transcription technology has some kinks that need to be worked out. I notice that it particularly screws up names. I recently received a google text/mail from David Letterman...I figured he's been reading the blog & wanted me on the show (I have a great Top 10 list of how he is helping Sarah Palin sell her book by all the free PR he is giving her with his rants...seems he' upset that her daughter didn't accept his invitation to become an intern) turned out it was from someone business related. It wasn't the first wrong name or confusing message. So my advice is to listen to your messages (you access them via a google provided number) & they are fine. Now this may eat minutes...I'm guessing it does. However with texting I get a lot more of them then voicemail so I don't think it will be an issue...but if you do gets loads of voicemail...& long winded ones...unless you have a load a minutes plan this is not for you. For the time being it is FREE & so I would recommend trying it & if you are interested go to www.google.com/voice just keep in mind the text that says Halle Berry called...might be from Hal Jerr & the one from Meagan Fox may be Hagan Boxx...