A 'no, no' in public!

Looks like Senator George Allen is paying a heavy price for insulting an immigrant. He is under a lot of criticism for calling a young student of Indian descent, ‘macaca’ -- an uncommon ethnic slur. Senator Allen was expected to coast to an easy re-election in Virginia, and start his campaign for U.S. Presidency. Now people are questioning his suitability for any public service! This reaction does not mean that people in USA so love and respect the immigrants that they get angry with anyone who insults them. Only that it is considered very poor taste to call someone a racial epithet. One may do it in private, but not before others!

(I am happy about the prospect of an early burn out of Senator George Allen. He looks like a lightweight who hopes to win people with an 'Aw, shucks!' image (copying President Reagan). I do not think this country can afford another lightweight in the office of the President!)

You are only as good as what you did today!

I am not a fan of actor Tom Cruise. In fact, I would change the T.V. channel if I see him in any of the talk shows. He annoys me with his overexcitement and wide grin, as if there is something exciting behind all his foolishness. Still, I do not like the way he was ‘dumped’ yesterday by Paramount Pictures. It clearly shows the callousness and ‘you are only good as what you did today’ mentality of corporate America. I can understand Paramount deciding that it is not worth renewing his contract. But why insult him? How about a simple ‘Thank you’ when terminating a relationship which has netted you over a billion dollars in box office?

Me and brother Alligator caught an elephant yesterday!

The Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff was quick to come before T.V. and gravely announce the capture of terrorists who wanted to bomb planes in the sky. This was like the monkey, who used to ride on top of the alligator in the river, claiming credit for the alligator catching an elephant that stepped into the water. All the monkey did was to jump around screaming while the alligator struggled with the elephant! The ‘sky bomb’ terrorists were caught because of the skills and diligence of the British and Pakistani intelligence. The Homeland Security has nothing to do with it. In fact, it is a lame agency thoroughly unprepared for any national emergency (remember Katrina disaster?). It's only notable achievements so far are in capturing some stupid men in Miami who wanted to join Al-Queida for money, and a few well timed ‘orange’ alerts to distract public from unfavorable political developments.
Enjoy the limelight, Cherto! (You may come to hate it later).

Praying for the twins

I am praying for the recovery of the co-joined twins who were separated today after a grueling surgery, which lasted over 24 hours. I saw those twins on T.V. before their surgery. They looked so cute and cheerful like any normal four year olds. They stole my heart instantly! I feel for their parents who had to let go of them for the operation, knowing fully well the heavy odds against both of them surviving. Hope that a miracle happens, and both the children come out O.K.
I admire the advances of the medical science, which can separate into two a body with only one kidney, one liver, and so on. Many wonderful things happen thanks to the advancements of science. Alas, it also has a dark side, which has created WMD and nuclear bombs!

‘Try it, but please stay home!’

Heard Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s message of encouragement to Cuban people. Basically it says, ‘Try if you can topple Castro government. But if it fails and causes a civil war, please stay home!.. do NOT come over to USA for refuge. Our thoughts are prayers are with you!’ .
I bet the Cubans are thrilled to hear this.

Antiwar stampede ahead!

Looks like the Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, a Democrat who has held the office for nearly twenty years, is going to lose the primary race to a political unknown, Ned Lamont. The reason? He angered the voters by his unwavering support of President Bush’s Iraq policy. If Lieberman indeed loses, the message that the voters are very unhappy about the Iraq war, and will not hesitate to throw the supporters from the office, will ring loud and clear. There will be a stampede of politicians to climb in the anti-war wagon. (I suspect that Senator Hilary Clinton is already on her way!) Some Republicans may also join the bandwagon, as politicians will do anything to get elected.

The ‘win-win’ numbers game

The number of Hezbollah rocket launches to Israel does not make sense to me. It is reported as averaging over 100 rockets a day. Yet, the damages they cause in Israel are not that significant. Part of a building damaged, one or two injured, so on. So many rockets cause only that much damage? Are Hezbollah firing at empty desert or to sea? Come to think of it, the exaggerated numbers of rocket attacks is a ‘win-win’ proposition for both parties. For Hezbollah, it bolsters their image of invincibility (They are still standing and fighting Israel!). For Israel, a high number of rocket attacks by Hezbollah justify their ruthless attacks on Lebanon. The only losers are the innocent people who are caught in between without any immediate cease-fire in sight!