by Diane Wilson
Years ago, when we were in London, we ended up in a cheeky section of a really great department store. Amidst all the practical and lovey-dovey items were whips and cat of nine tails and other scary gizmos, giving the display the name of Agent Provocateur. All of which brings me to the recent flotilla of ships to Gaza, and whether they were bringing loving humanitarian stuff or were they really there just to whip Israel? Afterall, it has been pointed out that humanitarian aid ships do not come bringing people, but supplies. The Turkish ships were at the very least Agent Provacateurs.
Now, Iranian ships are making their way to Gaza. This is no longer Agent Provacateur. When you have Israel's darkest enemy approaching, it is dead serious.
Let's be clear. Back in 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated that Israel must be wiped off the map. On October 30, The New York Times published his speech in full, in which he says "that the occupying regime must be wiped off the map...."
Israel has difficult decisions to make in the days ahead, and so do we, for most of us must realize that this is not really about Palestine or Israel. This is a larger matter of East versus West. Some say it was EU's apparent rebuff of Turkey that led to its disenchantment with the West. I would not know. However, I am sure that many of the questions and answers still reside in Turkey, which until recently had been friends with Israel and America.
Thomas Friedman wrote recently in The New York Times about the importance of Turkey and Israel, noting that "both Israel and Turkey have gotten out of balance lately, and it is America’s job to help both get back to the center — urgently."
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is no doubt pleasing the street these days, but when I visited, I had thought that Turkey was preparing itself for a more splendid future. I was hopeful that Turkey was accomodating both its secular and religious populations, and seeking its place among developed nations.
Given that our future hinges on spanning differences among nations and cultures, it would be wonderful and logical if Turkey could serve as a nexus for economic and social development between the eastern and western worlds, as well as between Muslim, Christian and Jewish worlds. Unlike Iran, Turkey has everything and everybody at its disposal. Over the years, Turkey has created immense goodwill that must not be lost.
It would be more than unfortunate to see Turkey move into the Iranian fold because the EU wasn't kind, or because an opportunity exists to lead the East. Turkey could have a bigger and better role than all that. Turkey could be the focal point for negotiation and resolution. Turkey could be the example the West needs to understand the East. Then there's geography. Given the fact Turkey spans Asia and Europe, we need the leadership Turkey could offer.
Anybody who has listened to the call to prayer and looked out on the Bosphorus knows that Turkey harbours dreams. It is time for Turkey to create lasting and meaningful realities.
April 9, 2010
Virginia, the Vatican and Palin: Time to Give Back
by Diane Wilson
Virginia's proclamation that April is Confederate History Month -- remember the good ol' days -- is mind numbing. The New York Times has weighed in on this strange turn of affairs. There have been debates. And then Gov. Bob McDonnell made a hasty apology for neglecting to mention slavery when he declared April Confederate History Month.
McDonnell explained that the failure "to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed," The Richmond Times Dispatch reports. He even suggested that slavery was a really bad thing that divided the nation and "left a stain on the soul of the state." He makes no sense. You don't just plain forget to mention slavery. And you don't want to wax romantic about the glory days of the slave states and their hateful relations with the Union.
Enter the Vatican, which is a long way from putting its house in order. According to The Globe and Mail, the Priesthood was aware of the priest who molested altar boys in the Ottawa Valley a full decade before the crime became public, but they sought to keep the issue secret due to their worries about the church's image.
Many people have weighed in on the Church. Maureen Dowd does so in the New York Times, and she does it effectively as a Catholic believer, who laments that Vatican II left out the rule about celibacy when they went about liberalizing the religion. Dowd notes that the vow about celibacy had to do with potential heirs making claims on church money and land: "But it ended up shrinking the priest pool and producing the wrong kind of candidates — drawing men confused about their sexuality who put our children in harm’s way."
Tacit acceptance of slavery remains incomprehensible. A moral body that acts immorally is frightening. We were riding so high after the election of Barack Obama. Now, the passage of the watered down health care bill has made people divided and angry. Listen to de facto Republican Leader Sarah Palin as she espouses the beauty of the Tea Party wanting to take back America. Darkness descends, and we know that for these people, the concept of giving back is forgotten.
Which brings us to CNN's Heroes. After Virginia, the Vatican and Palin, along comes a group of truly remarkable individuals who are busy doing great stuff for others. Their work is real, and people are paying attention. Heroes has become one of the hottest tickets of the year.
Goodnight Virginia.
Virginia's proclamation that April is Confederate History Month -- remember the good ol' days -- is mind numbing. The New York Times has weighed in on this strange turn of affairs. There have been debates. And then Gov. Bob McDonnell made a hasty apology for neglecting to mention slavery when he declared April Confederate History Month.
McDonnell explained that the failure "to include any reference to slavery was a mistake, and for that I apologize to any fellow Virginian who has been offended or disappointed," The Richmond Times Dispatch reports. He even suggested that slavery was a really bad thing that divided the nation and "left a stain on the soul of the state." He makes no sense. You don't just plain forget to mention slavery. And you don't want to wax romantic about the glory days of the slave states and their hateful relations with the Union.
Enter the Vatican, which is a long way from putting its house in order. According to The Globe and Mail, the Priesthood was aware of the priest who molested altar boys in the Ottawa Valley a full decade before the crime became public, but they sought to keep the issue secret due to their worries about the church's image.
Many people have weighed in on the Church. Maureen Dowd does so in the New York Times, and she does it effectively as a Catholic believer, who laments that Vatican II left out the rule about celibacy when they went about liberalizing the religion. Dowd notes that the vow about celibacy had to do with potential heirs making claims on church money and land: "But it ended up shrinking the priest pool and producing the wrong kind of candidates — drawing men confused about their sexuality who put our children in harm’s way."
Tacit acceptance of slavery remains incomprehensible. A moral body that acts immorally is frightening. We were riding so high after the election of Barack Obama. Now, the passage of the watered down health care bill has made people divided and angry. Listen to de facto Republican Leader Sarah Palin as she espouses the beauty of the Tea Party wanting to take back America. Darkness descends, and we know that for these people, the concept of giving back is forgotten.
Which brings us to CNN's Heroes. After Virginia, the Vatican and Palin, along comes a group of truly remarkable individuals who are busy doing great stuff for others. Their work is real, and people are paying attention. Heroes has become one of the hottest tickets of the year.
Goodnight Virginia.
January 6, 2010
Income Taxes and You Can't Take it With You
January 2, 2010
Stand By Your Man
The Importance of Supporting President Obama
by Diane Wilson
President Obama arrived at his office at a most unpleasant hour, when the economy was a shambles with credit frozen, banks failing, companies faltering, and people losing homes and jobs. President Obama assumed his high office with two wars well underway, and terrorists on the doorstep. Moreover, he took office with a middle class under seige and a political divide threatening the country's greatness.
Today's Globe and Mail characterizes the current state of American politics: liberalism versus libertarianism or put simply, Glenn Beck versus Rachel Maddow. Obama vs. Palin or Cheney, take your pick. The Globe carefully articulates the history of the current culture of paranoid speak, indicating it has a long history south of the 49th parallel.
Given this current state of meanness and paranoia, one could almost forget that Obama was airborne upon his arrival. He brought fresh thinking to a government yearning for ideas and clarity and morality. He assembled a fine group of people around him, and they have not let the country fail. Far from it! They have injected money into the system and they have boosted the economy. The stock market has come back. The President and his team have thought long and hard about wars and committed more troops to Afghanistan. They are taking homeland security seriously. And, they are about to create some sort of national health care system, which is the most important new legislation in decades.
This is the work of a progressive western democratic nation of which all Americans should and could be proud. It is not perfection. The current level of American debt is scary. However, we rarely hear any positive ideas from those who seek to diminish the current Presidency. How would the critics win the wars at home and abroad? President Bush didn't find it so easy. Why do Rush and Glenn pretend otherwise?
Clearly, there is very legitimate pain among those without work and those without homes. More work must be done. However, it is inconceivable that Americans would seek to diminish the stature or the work of the current presidency out of animosity alone, thus undermining America.
America proudly elected Barack Obama and change one year ago. President Obama saw the opportunity for greatness in the darkness of America's night. Today, America must stand by its collective decision and support President Obama in a constructive forward thinking manner. That kind of rededication is sorely needed because without it, America risks losing its star status as the strongest nation on earth.
by Diane Wilson
President Obama arrived at his office at a most unpleasant hour, when the economy was a shambles with credit frozen, banks failing, companies faltering, and people losing homes and jobs. President Obama assumed his high office with two wars well underway, and terrorists on the doorstep. Moreover, he took office with a middle class under seige and a political divide threatening the country's greatness.
Today's Globe and Mail characterizes the current state of American politics: liberalism versus libertarianism or put simply, Glenn Beck versus Rachel Maddow. Obama vs. Palin or Cheney, take your pick. The Globe carefully articulates the history of the current culture of paranoid speak, indicating it has a long history south of the 49th parallel.
Given this current state of meanness and paranoia, one could almost forget that Obama was airborne upon his arrival. He brought fresh thinking to a government yearning for ideas and clarity and morality. He assembled a fine group of people around him, and they have not let the country fail. Far from it! They have injected money into the system and they have boosted the economy. The stock market has come back. The President and his team have thought long and hard about wars and committed more troops to Afghanistan. They are taking homeland security seriously. And, they are about to create some sort of national health care system, which is the most important new legislation in decades.
This is the work of a progressive western democratic nation of which all Americans should and could be proud. It is not perfection. The current level of American debt is scary. However, we rarely hear any positive ideas from those who seek to diminish the current Presidency. How would the critics win the wars at home and abroad? President Bush didn't find it so easy. Why do Rush and Glenn pretend otherwise?
Clearly, there is very legitimate pain among those without work and those without homes. More work must be done. However, it is inconceivable that Americans would seek to diminish the stature or the work of the current presidency out of animosity alone, thus undermining America.
America proudly elected Barack Obama and change one year ago. President Obama saw the opportunity for greatness in the darkness of America's night. Today, America must stand by its collective decision and support President Obama in a constructive forward thinking manner. That kind of rededication is sorely needed because without it, America risks losing its star status as the strongest nation on earth.
December 31, 2009
It's a Wonderful Life and You
The Huffington Post brings us a wonderful montage of film and news about banking. Simplistic, but thought provoking. And of course, it makes us question those bank bonuses again!
December 13, 2009
Sarah Palin's Magic
by Diane Wilson
Sarah Palin isn't going away.
Never far from the public spotlight, Palin was in the news this past week over Copenhagan and climate change. The Huffington News reports on an exchange between talk radio's Laura Ingraham and Palin, in which Palin says she is not sure whether she wishes to debate Al Gore on the issue of climate change. Nothing to do with competence. According to Palin, "it depends on what the venue would be, what the forum....if it would be some kind of conventional, traditional debate with his friends setting it up or being the commentators I'll get clobbered because, you know, they don't want to listen to the facts."
Okay, that's clear -- she's right, he's wrong. Very reassuring to know that Sarah Palin alone has the correct information and that the rest of the world is making an issue out of climate change when it is not.
Ingraham kept asking Palin about debating Al Gore, perhaps in a proper debate format. Palin's response: "I don't know, I don't know. Oh, he wouldn't want to lower himself, I think, to, you know, my level to debate little old Sarah Palin from Wasilla."
To my mind, this interview is quintessential Palin -- never mind, she doesn't know what she is talking about, just knock the other guy out. Ever the point guard, Palin still runs offense to deliver the message. And, it's always about her and how right she is and how victimized she is. This is personality politics at its best.
My politics and Palin's have nothing in common, and yet I enjoy her, which really disturbs me. Why? Sarah Palin is moderately bright. Not well educated. Good looking. Conservative. Every bone in my body thinks she is incapable of holding any reasonable office in the United States.
However, Palin is not going anywhere soon, because she is open, bright eyed, engaging and fun. Palin is very friendly. And while she talks about and does weird stuff (moose chili, snow machines, the infamous turkey slaughter), she is enthusiastic. Palin takes us to a place we would like to be, where few problems exist, and perhaps she even believes her simplistic narrative. I also think she's got a bit of Teflon in her because she rebounds nicely from skirmishes, unfazed.
Sarah Palin makes the Republican Right Wing more reasonable in a crazy way, and certainly more palatable, which is very spooky. This is clearly the secret to Sarah Palin's success, and the reason she has a good crack at being the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2012. And that means people -- all people -- better start paying attention to Palin, like her or not.
Sarah Palin isn't going away.
Never far from the public spotlight, Palin was in the news this past week over Copenhagan and climate change. The Huffington News reports on an exchange between talk radio's Laura Ingraham and Palin, in which Palin says she is not sure whether she wishes to debate Al Gore on the issue of climate change. Nothing to do with competence. According to Palin, "it depends on what the venue would be, what the forum....if it would be some kind of conventional, traditional debate with his friends setting it up or being the commentators I'll get clobbered because, you know, they don't want to listen to the facts."
Okay, that's clear -- she's right, he's wrong. Very reassuring to know that Sarah Palin alone has the correct information and that the rest of the world is making an issue out of climate change when it is not.
Ingraham kept asking Palin about debating Al Gore, perhaps in a proper debate format. Palin's response: "I don't know, I don't know. Oh, he wouldn't want to lower himself, I think, to, you know, my level to debate little old Sarah Palin from Wasilla."
To my mind, this interview is quintessential Palin -- never mind, she doesn't know what she is talking about, just knock the other guy out. Ever the point guard, Palin still runs offense to deliver the message. And, it's always about her and how right she is and how victimized she is. This is personality politics at its best.
My politics and Palin's have nothing in common, and yet I enjoy her, which really disturbs me. Why? Sarah Palin is moderately bright. Not well educated. Good looking. Conservative. Every bone in my body thinks she is incapable of holding any reasonable office in the United States.
However, Palin is not going anywhere soon, because she is open, bright eyed, engaging and fun. Palin is very friendly. And while she talks about and does weird stuff (moose chili, snow machines, the infamous turkey slaughter), she is enthusiastic. Palin takes us to a place we would like to be, where few problems exist, and perhaps she even believes her simplistic narrative. I also think she's got a bit of Teflon in her because she rebounds nicely from skirmishes, unfazed.
Sarah Palin makes the Republican Right Wing more reasonable in a crazy way, and certainly more palatable, which is very spooky. This is clearly the secret to Sarah Palin's success, and the reason she has a good crack at being the Republican Presidential Nominee in 2012. And that means people -- all people -- better start paying attention to Palin, like her or not.
December 9, 2009
Trouble at the Bank
Dear Mumsie,
Rather unfortunate news today. Apparently, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has seen seen fit to rob Muffin and Todd of their very special Christmas this year ( according to The Telegraph). Last year had been such a tough slog, had it not, and now that the bank was just getting back on track, I was expecting a rather sizeable down payment on life, shall we say. The lake season had finished and I had such a fine holiday planned!
There is a little wrinkle in my plans, due to Mr. Darling's insistence on taxing my bonus before it leaves the bank. This will affect all bonses of more than £25,000 and it will be applied to all banks operating in the UK, including foreign banks. And, as you well know, I was to get considerably more than that 25,000!
I calm myself with the knowledge that I am far from alone. In fact, this new one time tax will affect about 20,000 people, poor sods. All this in a shabby effort to play to the voters who insist bankers are paid too much. (The public has never been quite right since the British government provided more than £1 trillion pounds to prop up the banks during last year's credit crisis, has it?)
Well, the chit chat around the water cooler was really fine today. One American fellow, who thought he had died and gone to heaven when he was hired in London two years ago, was on the telephone today making arrangements for a transfer to Wisconsin.
As for me, I know I must be chin up and know that bonuses can be deferred and so forth, but still I dread the moment when I must confront our toddlers and try to explain that they will not be going on the private jet to the private villa this year. Perhaps worst of all, they will not have the opportunity to see all of their friends! And that is why Mr. Darling has me so ticked off. It is simply unfair to little children!
Your loving son,
Roger
Rather unfortunate news today. Apparently, the Chancellor of the Exchequer has seen seen fit to rob Muffin and Todd of their very special Christmas this year ( according to The Telegraph). Last year had been such a tough slog, had it not, and now that the bank was just getting back on track, I was expecting a rather sizeable down payment on life, shall we say. The lake season had finished and I had such a fine holiday planned!
There is a little wrinkle in my plans, due to Mr. Darling's insistence on taxing my bonus before it leaves the bank. This will affect all bonses of more than £25,000 and it will be applied to all banks operating in the UK, including foreign banks. And, as you well know, I was to get considerably more than that 25,000!
I calm myself with the knowledge that I am far from alone. In fact, this new one time tax will affect about 20,000 people, poor sods. All this in a shabby effort to play to the voters who insist bankers are paid too much. (The public has never been quite right since the British government provided more than £1 trillion pounds to prop up the banks during last year's credit crisis, has it?)
Well, the chit chat around the water cooler was really fine today. One American fellow, who thought he had died and gone to heaven when he was hired in London two years ago, was on the telephone today making arrangements for a transfer to Wisconsin.
As for me, I know I must be chin up and know that bonuses can be deferred and so forth, but still I dread the moment when I must confront our toddlers and try to explain that they will not be going on the private jet to the private villa this year. Perhaps worst of all, they will not have the opportunity to see all of their friends! And that is why Mr. Darling has me so ticked off. It is simply unfair to little children!
Your loving son,
Roger
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