Can't we just be nice?

http://www.beniceorelse.com/

In a recently posted AP news article, I read:

"Long before he boiled over, Virginia Tech gunman Cho Seung-Hui was picked on, pushed around and laughed at over his shyness and the strange way he talked when he was a schoolboy in the Washington suburbs, former classmates say."

It sounds so simple, but why can't people just be nice?? As a young child, my father would always refer to the golden rule - a sensibility shared by MANY around the globe.

http://www.religioustolerance.org/reciproc.htm

Sure, we all have bad moods, bad days... but I'm going to try to stay mindful of being a little more golden in my every day actions, deeds, words, and even thoughts.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me....

Muzzles on the current administration

This comes as NO surprise... I haven't believed a word I've heard since the stolen election of 2000.

The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression has honored the Bush Administration with a 2007 Muzzle Award.

http://www.tjcenter.org/

Too bad the muzzle can't get them to really shut up (and move out!)

Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

In Confessions of an Economic Hit Man, John Perkins tells a fascinating story of intrigue and deception about his previous job ripping off other countries on behalf of American corporations. He would sell inflated infrastructure projects (airports, electricity grids, etc.) to foreign countries that couldn't afford them. The countries would take out loans from American banks as long as the project contracts were given to American companies. The money never left America! The projects and loans were designed for default and the countries would become American puppets after being bailed out.

Some readers cannot believe this story, claiming it's fodder for conspiracy theorists. I have no problem believing this story. I have a problem accepting that he waited 20 years to tell it for fear (and greed). And I do think he needs to make way more restitution than this confession.