PAWB SVU BLUE

No PAWB isn't the latest iteration of the popular "Cop Drama" it stands for Palestinian Authority West Bank. Who for the most part may be the only group that can really bring true peace between Israel & Palestine. Of course Abbas is going to have to show true leadership & come through with some reasonable expectations on what can be done & what cannot. Negotiations are a two way street, not you do everything I say & I'll stop killing pregnant woman & have parades for the Heroic Hero's of Hamas afterwards. Exactly how FUBAR do you have to be to gun down innocent men & women...especially a woman with a baby bump in her abdomen? furthermore how FUBAR do you have to be to go out into the street & cheer & celebrate that a gutless, weak coward with a machine gun gunned down in cold blood an unarmed pregnant woman? What can be so wrong with you that you work for a media outlet proclaiming that atrocity as a heroic act? While I did go off slightly on a tangent, truth be told Leaders can set examples & shake hands & sign papers...but it means nothing if the people don't adhere to the laws. History is rife with broken treaties & meetings set up for treaties that ended in a bloody ambush.

For true peace to be reached the PA will have to seriously crack down on the radicals & they will need the support of the peolpe as well. When people stop hiding them & start informing on them then that's when things will change. The PA recently did a major sweep of hundreds of suspected Hamas members. This has at this point led to the arrest of two men. The question is now how will the PA handle it? Investigate & if proven guilty will they try them by their laws? If so, the PA has the death penalty for 17 crimes. Murder is one of them. Will the PA execute these men? Give them to the Israeli's? Let them go over a technicality? The killings were done to undermine the peace process. Luckily members of Hamas are not bigots like 70% of New Yorkers when we want to stop something. We do horrific things like speak out, write blogs, carry signs, scream & push & we're the bad guys to the world. To make a point Hamas just guns down people. Perfectly acceptable to make a point right?

This could be the defining moment. The PA could launch a through investigation, indict, prosecute, convict & execute these pathetic excuses for subhuman creatures. This would send a clear message. We want peace & we will not tolerate the mindless killings any longer. I think it's the only way it can ever work. The IDF can keep hunting & killing Hamas killers after the fact (& before...which I'm all for), Presidents can keep getting leaders from both parties to the table...but it's going to take more then mere words & signatures. It's going to take real leadership & real action. President Bill Clinton came closer then anyone to finally getting a treaty signed. In his memoirs he states that after all the Israeli's agreed to that Arafat turned it down was beyond his comprehension. He could not believe anyone would turn down such a deal. The deal was turned down because Arafat never wanted peace. The war was to profitable for him personally. Does Abbas truly want peace? Can he get the PA to impose law on the lawless? Can he get it through his people's heads that their lives will improve dramatically if they find peace with Israel. Look at Israel's economy, education system, Healthcare, technology etc...Isn't that something you would want to be part of while enjoying the freedom to practice your own religion? Or are you that happy in the misery you live now?

Talk is Cheap...No More Words!!!

My Father was a man who believed, lived & taught me that "action speaks louder then words" & that a man is only as good as his word. I'm guessing it's safe to say that the guy currently sitting in the Oval Office's father did not do the same. He is clearly a man who believes in words over actions & deeds. For those of you who voted for him...have you Changed your minds as to who you thought he was vs. who he is? I'm not going to Hope so...because Hope is not a strategy in my book. Yet it's one meaningless speech after the next. I'll give credit where it's due...he is a great Orator...but as we have seen it's all hot air with no substance. "Wait a sec you say! What about ALL he has done in the short time he has been in charge!" Oh...such as...? "He won the Noble Peace Prize!" Yes he did. So did Yassir Arafat...& we are not exactly living in blissful peace are we? Or anywhere else in the world for that matter. "He passed the Healthcare Bill!" And that has affected you for the better how? (if you're a 24yr old slacker w/o a job or even looking then yes Mommy & Daddy will still cover you...till 26) "He passed the Stimulus" I hope for his wife's sake that his stimulus in bed does more for her then it's done for this country! No new jobs...unemployment still close to 10% (for those unemployed less then a year...otherwise you can almost double the number), housing down (yet Frannie & Freddie keep giving out bad loans while gobbling up billions more of our taxpayer dough). "We pulled our troops out of Iraq!" Aside from the fact that there are still 50,000 troops there & O voted against the Surge we were able to because of the actions of General Petraeus & W's Hail Mary against public opinion. "He closed Guantanamo!" Actually it's still open...as much as he & Eric want to relocate the "freedom fighters" to the Park51 Mosque. "He stood up to the ignorant prejudice bigots who don't want a 13 story "Community Center" 2 block from Ground Zero!" Yes...I too can't wait for it to open to bridge us all together. Plus with 13 floors just think of all the great stuff it will have. Co-Ed changing rooms to bring Men & Women together (had them at my College), A gay karaoke bar to bring Hetero, homo, & Bi-sexuals together, the Dog grooming/sitting facility to bring Man & his clean as a whistle best friend together, oh it's gonna be awesome. Anything else besides...HOPE...CHANGE...it's Bush's fault...cars in ditches...etc? I think we all heard enough. For the next two years O needs to concentrate on DOING things & pushing things in the right direction to give us a chance to get out of this damn mess. So in that spirit please enjoy the "slightly" modified 80's hit...NO MORE WORDS...





No More Words Obama
You're talking and it all sounds fair...gonna spread the wealth & leave our bank accounts bare
You promise your love, how much you care
I'm still listening to CBS & MSNBC yet I'm still unsure
Your actions are totally lacking, nothing is clear...are you even there?
No more words Obama
You're telling me you love our country while you're taxing all my money away
No more words Obama, no more words Obama
And no more promises of love
Remember when the words Hope & Change were new
They carried a meaning, a feeling some of you thought was oh so true
I'm looking for a long romance I've had enough of your song & dance
Not a picture of passion or one time chance
Don't fool your self you haven't fooled us all
Your empty passion & cold demeanor won't satisfy me
I know your voting record, so don't pretend that you want me for me
You don't want me...you want my hard earned dough
Everything you say is starting to sound all the same
Your eyes show nothing, no lover's flame
Don't promise we can spend our way out
You can leave right now...you don't need to finish the next two years...no one will mind of that I have no doubts!

Food for thought...or lack thereof in 2010...

The Fall is usually when NYC's best new restaurants open up & judging by the Fall Issues of New York & Time Out (it's amazing that Food gets a page or two, it wasn't that long ago they were over 5 pages with one page at the end to list the 50+) 2010 is likely to be one of, if not NYC's worst years for new restaurant openings. Not, too say that there haven't been any...but so few & far between. I'll list a few of good finds from this year (Fall 09 till now...check prior blogs for reviews) & the ones I read about that I'm looking forward to checking out...

The Few...The Proud...in no particular order...

Meatball Shoppe - make sure you save room for their awesome Ice Cream sandwiches
Torrisi Italian Specialties - Their Chicken Parm hero & especially their Homemade Turkey sandwich
Yuerba Buena Perry - Avocado & Watermelon fries
Peace Pops - not a restaurant but these fresh fruit & herb ice pops are one of my favorite finds of the year
Fette Sau - High end BBQ w/Asian sauces & spices... Get the Recession drink special...PBR/Whisky/Pickleback
Luke's Lobster - my favorite combo of the year... Lobster roll, Cape Cod Chips (Jalapeno) & a Maine Root Blueberry soda
Pulino - McNally's Italian cafe...better then reviewed...
Abe & Arthurs - Chairman's Pork Chop w/Cherry sauce

That's about all I can think I've been to... yes there are some high profile ones I didn't get around to going to...& I discovered plenty of new for me but been around a few years already...but know it kinda adds up as to why every time my bro & I would get together for dinner & he would ask what's new & good...instead of throwing 6 ideas at him...I would say...I know this great place for meatballs...

Now trying to be optimistic in these awesome times are a list of places I'm looking forward to checking out...

Eataly - a market...food court..restaurants...rooftop beer garden from Batali & Co
Zengo - Asian-Latin Fusion... they have a pretty good happy hour in their tequila lounge...
Artichoke Pizza is opening a restaurant by the Chelsea Market
Hurricane Club - Tiki Bar's are in...now the Tiki restaurant!
Lani Kai- More lounge bar...more Tiki...Pupu platters!
Porsena - Pasta joint from the chef behind Porchetta Sara Jenkins
Stellina - An upscale Italian ice-cream spot
B&B - Burgers & Bourbon...in Soho
Hill Country Chicken...Fried Chicken & pies in...nope not Williamsburgh...but NYC!
Donatella - Ms Arpaia does pizza
John Dory Oyster Bar - April Bloomsfield of Spotted Pig & Breslin's seafood spot in the Ace Hotel
Millesime - Seafood on 29th & Mad
Riverpark...high end seafood on 29th & 1st...not exactly destination dining...
Osteria Morini - an Italian "diner" a la Emilia-Romagna ...from the owners of Marea going downtown & downscale...

Stay tuned for reviews & new finds. In the meantime I will leave you with this...the Meatball was the craze of 2010...I'm predicting Fried Chicken is this seasons black ladies...

We're #11...We're #11...We're #11...Finland's #1...Finland?!?

Raise you hand if your favorite vacation destination is Finland...your favorite cuisine...place you most wished you could live...favorite anything...! How the hell did Newsweek in it's infinite lack of wisdom come up with Finland as the world's...the world's BEST place to live.!?! What were the ground rules...longest winter, best Reindeer on Rye Cheese Steaks, & highest suicide rates?!? I have nothing against Finland, it's people, culture, etc...but for Newsweek to rate it as #1 is INSANE. Why they may have some good things going for them...they have plenty of less then awesome...such as...

• Some of the longest & coldest. Especially in northern parts of Finland you can find snow on the ground for 90 - 120 days each year
   
• One of the world's highest divorce rate 51.2 %
   
• High taxes - median 60%
   
• High VAT tax of 22% on top of taxes  
   
• Alcoholism is a major problem & possibly the highest % in the world. So bad that they keep raising taxes on it year after year to curb it...& it has yet to work (you taking notes here Big O? If you want to model us on Europe stop thinking France or Germany...think FINLAND!)
   
• In 2008, the OECD reported that "the gap between rich and poor has widened more in Finland than in any other wealthy industrialized country over the past decade" and that "Finland is also one of the few countries where inequality of incomes has grown between the rich and the middle-class, and not only between rich and poor."  

Wow sign me up! I'm betting they don't have Barbaric immigration rules like Arizona either! Plus all the best music (name one band) literature (name a book), cuisine (ummm...ummmm) is coming out this Utopian wonderland! Well what are you guys waiting for?!? Finland is the American dream! The only two things Finland is really missing are ( & for all I'm concerned they may have...)

A super awesome well written hip to what's happening weekly magazine with well researched thought proving articles like NEWSWEEK...& a new God to rule over them...I mean how can the world's greatest ruler of ALL time in ALL of history waste his time ruling a second rate bunch of states when he can rule the greatest place to live in the world... the Atlantis of our time...FINLAND! 

Immigration Issue Solved...Annex Mexico!

Immigration reform, border security, "birth tourism http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/08/11/reporters-notebook-how-common-is-birth-tourism/" have been HOT topics that relate directly with our HealthCare, Social Security, Jobs, & even the Sub-prime Mortgage mess(started out in Calf giving NINJA loans to people who simply did not have the finances & many were "new" immigrants). These are very difficult & challenging problems. I believe I have a solution. ANNEX MEXICO!

Now while you may think this sounds crazy...it's not like it's something we haven't done before. The following states were all originally part of Mexican territory: California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. I say we annex the rest! Just think of all the revenues that can come from the following industries

Energy - Mexico has 12 Billion + barrels of oil...6th largest producer in the world...suck it Saudi Arabia!


Tourism - Beautiful beaches & great food...(there is the little issue of hunting down & slaughtering the Cartels)


Tequila!!! Multi-billion dollar industry that has barely really hit China & India...just imagine with US marketing & transportation capabilities how much we can grow this business!

We get plenty of cheap...but legal labor...so now we can do away with the Unions! We also get all the Carlos Slim' of Mexico that Obama can tax the living hell out of!

I see this as a big win-win-win for Americans, Illegal Mexican Immigrants, & Mexicans! The question here is this...does the current administration want to lock in the Latin vote by doing this now or lose it when General David Petraeus does it in 2012 after he's elected?

Dear Mexican brothers & sisters here's the question you need to ask yourselves...do you want to be Ameri-CANS or Mexi-CANTS?!?

James Bond needs a Tony Soprano...

SMERSH, SPECTRE, etc have been trying to kill off James Bond for decades...but now it looks like MGM might just due to it's financial issues. That's right, after surviving lasers aimed at his "manhood", underwater/volcanic lairs, Femme Fatales, Russian Super-spy's, Metal clawed/jawed mad-men, etc... the recession has put Bond closer to his end then any other threat before...Fear not...Bond is not going away. It may take more time for the next installment to hit the theaters (which is killing me!!!) Craig may not get to slip back into his Brioni Tux(I hope he does) but Bond will be back & now is the time for some reflection.

Bond villains have generally been over the top...but fun. The last few Le Chiffee, Dominic Greene & Mr. White are more realistic then most...but again they are bad/evil men. What Bond really needs is someone more conflicted. Not necessarily just misunderstood...but not so blatantly evil...even though they should be bad & need to be taken "off planet". Keep in mind Bond is no Dark Knight...Bond is an Assassin. He is a Government Agent who is "Licensed to Kill". However instead of a Osama, Saddam, Holder, etc... I think we need someone closer to a Tony Soprano or maybe a darker version of one of our current hero's a la Don Draper or Tommy Gavin. Take Don for instance. He's not evil...but he is a liar, stole a man's life, a philanderer, manipulative, & cold. Or what about Tommy Gavin from Rescue Me? On the one hand he's a Firefighter & a great one...a true hero. On the other hand he's a out of control drunk who's a horrible influence on everyone around him especially  his oldest daughter. He cheats on his wife, screws up his kids, screws his cousin/best friends wife, gets into fights with everyone...he's a total disaster that poisons everyone around him. Could you imagine one of these men for your Father, a friend, brother, etc...?!? While surely not Bond villain's... they suck. Yet...we...love...them!

Now let's look at Tony Soprano. A father who loves his children & his wife. Revered his father, took care of his Momma & his crazy sister. Looks after his friends & watches their backs. Has a stable job & is moving up through management.  He takes his daughter to look at the best schools. Gets his son hooked up with the job of his dreams, looks out for his neighbors, etc... who wouldn't want Tony for a Dad, Bro, best friend? Of course there is the fact that he has not only ordered men to be killed, but has killed them with his bare hands. Not that it was ever (or at least not often) personal...just business. You know...like Bond...just not ordered by a elected Government...just by an organization. A Tony is what Bond needs...not an overly obvious evil bastard that needs to be killed...but someone you have to think...this guys no angel...but is he really evil? Does he really deserve to die ? Has he really given a government real reason to order his execution? Do we believe he really deserves to die? Make no mistake...I don't want the next Bond villain to be a Tommy or Don...I want in the end for he/she to deserve what they get...just not so blatant..closer to the sad reality...that many "Bad Men" have a good side...just like many good men...can have some very bad sides...