That was then, this is now?

When my wife and I first moved to Beijing, I made the mistake of renting an apartment too close to Tiananmen Square. One evening after dinner, we sat down and to watch the nightly news on CCTV 9. A story came on asking various "random" people, "what are the 10 things you LOVE about China?"

My wife then said, "I can tell you 10 things I hate about China." About 3 or 4 seconds later, the electricty to our apartment was completely cut off. Looking out the window, EVERY other apartment in the 200 unit complex still had power.

Sitting together in the dark, I looked at my wife and said,
"Welcome to China!"

Thankfully, our spying hosts turned the power back on after about five minutes. From that moment on, every time something strange or unusual happened in our lives, this blogger just repeated the phrase,
"Welcome to China!"

Click on image to open in a new window.

The above photograph shows the last paragraphs of a five page business report written by Thomas A. Worrall (Peter's Step-Great Grandfather) from the MacAndrews & Forbes Company office in Shanghai, China on October 23rd, 1926. This original report was mailed from Shanghai to the company's treasurer (Mr. F.J. Maginniss) in New York City.
"Gate of Heavenly Peace"
Original photograph taken by Thomas A. Worrall
(Peter's Step- Great Grandfather)
Circa October 1926
Tiananmen, Beijing (Peking), China

Blind Chinese activist makes Hollywood escape?
Read More...

Cowboys and Aliens?

It's OFFICIAL. Hollywood has now made every possible type of Western movie. Perhaps ALL that's left is "Cowboys vs. the Tea Party".

True Grit DVD

Donald Trump does not believe Osama Bin Laden is DEAD? Does he really need to see the death certificate?

Some of the theories still being echoed by Pakistani politicians, mullahs and journalists: Bin Laden died of natural causes years ago in Afghanistan. He had his hands and feet bound by plastic straps, carried into the house on a helicopter and executed in a US operation to embarrass Pakistan. His bodyguard shot him in the heart, but he survived with "supernatural strength", until he requested his loyal follower shoot him in the head.


In case you missed it, the following story is still the best written account of the special operations' mission to get Bin Laden published to date:

The New Yorker
Getting Bin Laden
What happened that night in Abbottabad.
by Nicholas Schmidle
READ MORE...

Honestly, even almost one year later, this blogger still has no secret, morbid desire to see the photos of Bin Laden's dead corpse. I agreed with President Obama's original decision not to add visual fuel to the geopolitical fire.

Given the nature of our open and progressive society, at some point in the future, perhaps as a result of the Freedom of Information Act, the images of Bin Laden will be released. IF it's 50 years from today, so be it.

This was the most expensive manhunt in U.S. history. The original mission in Afghanistan was to find, kill and/or capture Osama Bin Laden. Perhaps his death will open the political door so our troops can return home.

If the Navy Seal mission in Pakistan had failed, would the GOP have made it a campaign issue? 

Our Digital Age?

Remember when a hard drive was used to describe a long trip, having a virus meant coming down with the flu and a keyboard was connected to a musical instrument?

"Music can change the world because it can change people." ~ Bono

Economics 101?

How did Mitt Romney get Rich?


Is Romney the Wrong Kind of Rich?
Read More...

The 19th Amendment?

IF this blogger hears another political pundit or radio talk show host mention the US Constitution without adding the line "AND the Bill of Rights", I'm going to start singing the theme song from the film Network.


The Bill of Rights were established as a checks and balances to protect an individual against government abuse and corruption.

In its original form, it was NOT a perfect document (see Article 1, Section 2, Paragraph 3 of the United States Constitution). Read More...

It's rather aggravating hearing political pundits ranting about the Founding Fathers Fantasy Island era in U.S. History. In 1789, Senators were appointed, blacks were only considered 3/5 human and a woman's place was barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. The original BILL of RIGHTS gave our Constitution meaning and purpose. The roots of ALL real Democratic change and progress begins and ends with this document:

‎"A Bill of Rights is what the people are entitled to against every government, and what no just government should refuse, or rest on inference." ~ Thomas Jefferson

Suggested Reading:
Griswold v. Connecticut
Eisenstadt v. Baird

...something, something & something more...

30-plus years ago, when folks still lived in caves and hunted for squirrels with sticks and stones, this blogger's favorite high school teacher summarized the study of history with this one simple idea: IF it's important, people find the time, energy and money to do IT (whatever IT is).

It's an idea which helps to explain basic human nature and gives some context to the continued intercourse and discourse of humanity itself.

Spell check?

Life Unplugged?

My curfew was the street lights. My mom called my name NOT my cell. I played outside with friends NOT online. If I didn't eat what mom cooked then I didn't eat. Sanitizer didn't exist but you COULD get your mouth washed out with soap. I rode a bike without a helmet. Getting dirty was OK and neighbors cared as much as your parents. Re-post if you drank water from a garden hose and survived.

Happy Birthday Queen Elizabeth II

Not to sound like I'm complaining, but it appears this blogger's special invitation to the last Royal Wedding is still lost in the mail.

Here Comes the Sun?

‎"If it weren't for the coffee, I'd have no identifiable personality whatsoever."
~ David Letterman
Late Show Fun Facts (Hardcover)

Twitter?

Battle for the Internet?

Google's Sergey Brin warns Web freedom faces greatest threat ever?
Read More...




Do you remember the first time you heard the phrase 'the internet'? For this blogger, it was in January 1994 while vacationing with the United Nations in Mogadishu, Somalia. A young American military officer, camping inside a bombed out building at the airport, had linked a computer via satellite to this digital highway called the World Wide Web.

Maybe it's just me, but on most days, it feels like this still adolescent, globally interconnected digital world is drowning in information but starved of knowledge. So, could someone please help me understand why Paris Hilton is famous?

Where is K Street?

According to the latest CNN/ORC International survey, 72% of Americans favor enactment of the so-called 'Buffet Rule'. Despite its popularity among a majority of voters, the Republicans in Congress continue to block all legislation dealing with tax fairness and corporate welfare.
Read More...

"Power is crack. Money buys crack." ~ Self


Congress approves wide-ranging
ethics rule?
Read More...

Only in America can a pizza get delivered to your house
faster than an ambulance?

Downtown Grand Forks, North Dakota (July 2011)

Under the terms of their collective bargaining agreement, 72 Virgins "locked out" Osama Bin Laden?

‎"People say Intelligent Design, we must teach Intelligent Design. Look at the human body, is that intelligent? You have a waste processing plant next to a recreation area." ~ Robin Williams



Weapons of Self Destruction (DVD)

Street Scene, Baghdad, Iraq (April 2004)
Photo by Peter Rimar

"Words can be deleted, but the facts won't be deleted with them."
~ Ai Weiei



On June 13th, 2009, my wife and I were still living in the Chinese city of Changsha. After lunch, I turned on CCTV to catch up on the latest news. There on my TV screen were the CCTV news anchors discussing Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election victory with a visiting Iranian Professor and a representative from the Iranian Embassy. A graphic crawl indicated that CCTV had scheduled ALL DAY extended coverage of the Iranian Election.

After about 20 minutes, the TV went black. Roughly two minutes later, a travel documentary started airing. No mention was made about why the station went dark or the sudden, unannounced change in programming. Curious, this blogger logged onto the internet and discovered that Iranians in Tehran were taking to the streets to protest the election results.

Economic sanctions against Iran? What sanctions? One member of the security council will continue doing business with the current Iranian Government (as well as the DPRK).

Searching for Answers?

Gingrich charges Fox News with pro-Romney bias? Really? Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly and Mike Huckabee are 'unfair and unbalanced'? Is there a vast right-wing media conspiracy against Gingrich?

"Life is like a ten speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use." 
~ Charles M. Schulz

The Power of Positive Thinking?

"I am a nobody. Nobody is perfect. Therefore, I am perfect."

Yet Another Subliminal Message?

How can a person on Food Stamps open a Swiss Bank Account?

In the event someone stumbled upon this particular post after searching Google, here's a CNN Money report from 1997 which still applies in 2012. Read More...

It should be noted that after 9-11, the U.S. Government can now request and receive information about a specific individual's bank account under the U.S.-Swiss Income Tax Convention (January 2003).

Obama Campaign Attacks Romney Over Swiss Bank Account?
Read More...

Still Lost in Translation?

Beijing, P.R.C. (April 2008)

Photo by Peter Rimar.

Facebook Blasts Password Snooping Employers?

"We don’t think employers should be asking prospective employees to provide their passwords because we don’t think it’s right the thing to do." 
~ Erin Egan
Facebook's Chief
Privacy Officer
Read More...


Conspiracy Theory: Up to this point, the U.S. Congress has been unable to craft legislation which actually protects the privacy of internet users and prevents government censorship. Who did Mark Zuckerberg meet with on Nov. 16, 2010? Why hasn't the Supreme Court judged a case dealing with the privacy of electronic correspondence? With all due respect to Senator Al Franken, he's addressing the issue of internet privacy with the wrong group of people. Read More...

Facebook's incorporates both facial recognize and global positioning software into its platform. In the view of this blogger, Facebook's public response to a growing trend of employers asking employees for their passwords is an attempt to legally protect the company from future liability. The bigger question is what internal security safeguards are in place to protect user data within the company itself? Read More...

Countdown to the London Oympics

"Most other competitions are individual achievements, but the Olympic Games is something that belongs to everybody." ~ Scott Hamilton

Official Olympic Games Countdown Clock, Tiananmen Square, Beijing (June 2008).

Official Olympic Games Countdown Clock, Trafalgar Square, London (March 2012).

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Economics 101?

"We must lay hold of the fact that economic laws are not made by nature. They are made by human beings." ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

Cook Inlet, Anchorage , Alaska (September 2005)
Photo by Peter Rimar.

etc. etc. etc.

Tax Breaks for Job Creators?

Can you say "Kool-Aid"? Really? Who came up with this talking point? Some K Street lobbyist?

According to CelebrityNetWorth.com, on July 2, 2008, Rush Limbaugh signed an eight-year contract with Clear Channel Communications for $400 million. The conservative talk show host "broadcasts his show from a $26 million ocean front home in West Palm Beach, which has 7 bedrooms, 12 bathrooms and an elevator".

Between January and May 2009, Clear Channel Communications eliminated 2,440 positions (roughly a 12% drop from its December 2008 workforce).
Read More...

Still confused?
Here's what Seattle billionaire Nick Hanauer wrote in Bloomberg's op-eds section in November, "When businesspeople take credit for creating jobs, it is like squirrels taking credit for creating evolution. In fact, it’s the other way around." Read More...

At what point will the GOP wake up and finally retire its silly "job creator" talking point?

Every person who spends money is a job creator. Every person with money deposited in a savings account is an investor.

At the end of October 2011, one month after the start of #Occupy Wall Street Protests, the Congressional Budget Office published a detailed report on the distribution of household income between 1979 and 2007. The raw numbers are alarming. 

Can you name the first time in American history that the government cut revenue as it marched off to war? Once again, President Obama needs to stop calling his proposal to raise revenue to address the budget deficit the Buffet Rule. It needs to be called the After 9-11 Tax.

4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Howard Hollem

for the Office of War Information

Corpus Christi, Texas (August 1942)

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Tea Party, when will this country do its collective Patriotic Duty and pay for these ongoing wars? Speaking of which, how many millionaires and billionaires served in Iraq or Afghanistan? 1%?
Read More...

"I Pledge of Allegiance to Grover Norquist"?

In case you missed it, according to the latest Gallup, only 12% of Americans approve of the job U.S. Congress is doing. The 86% disapproval rating for the 112th Congress is the highest since Gallup started asking the question in 1974. Read More...

Public service is NOT about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's not about being a liberal or conservative. It's about doing the right things for the right reasons. It's about being a citizen. And believe it or not, the word Compromise is NOT one of George Carlin's original seven dirty words.

Understanding the latest political games being played out in Washington D.C. is not complicated. Power is crack. Money buys crack. Perhaps it's time for this country to take a serious look at enacting a 28th Amendment to the Constitution which overturns the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case (perhaps the worst decision in America's judicial history since Dred Scott).

"94% of elections in America are won by the candidate with the most money. Is this how we want to pick our leaders?" ~ Buddy Roemer

...contrasting imagery...

Dirty Blue Jeans in Broken Window, Changsha, PRC (December 2008)
Photo by Peter Rimar