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I have been reading Paul Theroux’s book Ghost Train To The Eastern Star in which he follows in the path he had taken earlier in his books The Great Railway Bazaar. I found the book interesting making me proud to be an American and a person who finds joy in the international community. Until that is he arrives in Southeast Asia and we learn of America’s role in the Cambodian genocide and then the Vietnam War where we had killed two million civ
The latest flare up between North and South Korea has led the New York Times to say that the reason China props up the North is that it does not want an American ally, the South, on its border. In light of this and South Korea’s poor treatment of President Obama during his recent visit there indicating that South Korea is feeling its oats perhaps it is time to evaluate a new strategy for the peninsula.
Looking to get away, do some international travel to escape the realities of modern life? Want to see some exotic places, places of historical or cultural value. Great, we have a list of 79 countries you can visit. The only problem is that if you are gay you just may be put to death in some of these countries just for being gay. Kind of makes what the film Midnight Express did for Turkish tourism a walk in the park compared to many of these places.<
In the United States we have a way of making injured people whole again. It is called the personal injury lawsuit and a value is placed on your injury and awarded to you if you win your case or settle. Meanwhile in Japan an apology is how people are made whole again. Two methods to the same end. You decide which one you favor.
It is imperative now in this dismal and shattered global economy that Turkey be admitted to the European Union. Turkey is the linchpin to the entire region that surrounds it. Its entry into the EU will bring prosperity to the Caucuses, Eastern Europe, Greece and the Middle East.
As winter approaches many are seeking to avert its discontent thinking instead of spring the season of rebirth. And with spring comes St. Patrick’s Day and with that the New York parade honoring this saint. Yet the marchers still prohibit Irish gays from marching as their own in the grand procession.
The New York Times reports that former New York governor George Pataki is considering a run for the Republican nomination for president. Mr. Pataki would be a formidable candidate in the GOP primary carrying with him moderate appeal and conservative credentials.
It is hard to say that after the horrible suicide of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi there either followed a rash of more LGBTQ suicides or that those high numbers have always been there and we are only now paying attention to the fact.
The Republican Party with its extremist calls for limited government is nothing more than an incarnation of the Anarchist movement of a century ago which resulted in the assassination of U.S.
Gus Wagner is an 82 year old World War II veteran who served in Japan where he got jungle rot on his feet as a souvenir of his time there. His fondest memory of his military experience was returning to America on a ship that crossed the Pacific. At night he would lay on the deck looking up at the clearest night sky this New York City boy had ever seen with an infinite number of stars shining so brightly.