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Stamp Collecting: A Symbol of a Peaceful Unified World
By Michael Boyajian
When I was a kid I collected stamps from around the world. It was so remarkable seeing these small colorful works of art from around the globe. I recently started collecting them again because it is a relatively inexpensive hobby and a good substitute for actually seeing the world an endeavor these tough economic times make hard to justify.
The World’s New Economic Powerhouse
By Michael Boyajian
The United States has done quite well during these Winter Olympics leading the medal count of all nations. However, if the nations of Europe competed together as one their medal count would surpass our count many times over.
Food Poisoning America
By Michael Boyajian
My digestive track is shot, my feet swell after eating in restaurants and I feel like I am going to collapse at times. Then I visit Europe for a few days and my health is magically restored. Mind you I am not staying at spas just doing the normal tourist thing in London, Paris, Florence and Spain for instance.
What if the President were a Buddhist: A Direction Towards World Unity and Peace
By Michael Boyajian
With the Dalai Lama’s visit to the White House there is speculation that may lead us to wonder what the world would be like if the President were a Buddhist. He would surely realize that for the world to survive it must become unified so that world peace could therefore exist. This realization would be an awakening. When the Buddha was first asked what he was he replied I am awake.
Weight Bias Discrimination
By Michael Boyajian
Discrimination is a varied problem crossing all demographics of the population and most of its forms are protected against by a host of federal and state laws. However, the Obesity Society reports that 66% of Americans are overweight or obese and Yale University’s Rudd Center goes on in its study to state that 43% of these people have been discriminated against because of their weight.
Saving the Endangered City Worker
By Michael Boyajian
There is an old saying that goes what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. If you’re the billionaire mayor of New York though, this axiom does not apply.
You see it was alright for the mayor to bend the rules and abolish term limits so he could run for a third term yet if you are a city worker who has left the city bounds you automatically lose your job because of Mayor Bloomberg’s strict residency rules for city jobs. You must live in the city to work for the city with few exceptions.
Religious Unity
By Michael Boyajian
To perpetuate my world unity and concurrent peace beliefs I had been searching for common denominators that would unify all the world’s religions. The nearest I came was to identify that all seemed to espouse doing right. In some cases I discovered a denominator between a few different religions but no pattern of unity throughout.
The Long Arm of New York Politics
By Michael Boyajian
Most voters would be surprised to learn that the government of the State of New York is being run out of a small liquor store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The owner of the store is the head of the New York State Conservative Party, Mike Long, and when he is not hawking Thunderbird and Night Train he is pulling the levers of power in Albany.
Historic Housing Discrimination on Long Island
By Michael Boyajian
Thomas J. Sugrue has written a groundbreaking book, Sweet Land of Liberty, which addresses historic housing discrimination in the nation’s suburbs in the 1960s.
At one point Sugrue states that William Levitt, the founder of Levittown, would not sell his homes to black families for fear that whites would not buy his homes knowing that blacks would also be living there. A high ranking official at the New York State Division of Human Rights states that to this day she often wonders how different her life would be if her father had been allowed to buy a home in Levittown.
On the Ground in Haiti
By Michael Boyajian
I recently interviewed two Haitian relief workers who were on the ground witnessing the utter destruction of one of the poorest countries on the planet. They were noted New York photographer Kevin C. Downs and photojournalist James Helmer.