Obamaville April 6 - Holy Week in the Nation's Capitol

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WHAT IS HOLY WEEK?

Holy Week is the final week of Lent. It commemorates the events of our Lord's last week before His death. The chief festivals of Holy Week are Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and the Great Vigil (Holy Saturday). Holy Week, together with Easter, is the most sacred part of the Christian calendar -- the celebration of the death and resurrection Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

Palm Sunday

With the nonsense over a Romney campaign staffer mention of Etch A Sketch last week finally subsiding, Holy Week began with an international focus.

Today our favorite new leader of the feminine movement to save the world from men, Aung San Suu Kyi, was elected to parliament in Myanmar.

Monday

President Obama, along with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon hold a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House April 2, 2012 in Washington, DC.

During questioning about Obamacare the President testily warned the Supreme Court not to strike down his health care law, a move that stunned political veterans.

Of course no mention was made of the controversial Keystone Pipeline from Canada to the US or the 45,000 Mexicans murdered by the drug cartel supplying illegal drugs to the US. But they must have talked about something.

Sarah Palin beats Katie Couric in ratings in the battle for network morning show Nielsen ratings even though Jack Rafferty of CNN, yet another GOP hater, guaranteed that Katie would easily beat Palin.

Kentucky wins 8th NCAA National Championship over Kansas.

Tuesday

Obama meets with news editors and openly attacks GOP nominee Mitt Romney for the first time, signaling an early start to the fall presidential election.  The president delivers blistering partisan attack on modern Republican Party.

Not even waiting until a GOP candidate is nominated to oppose him, Obama could no longer resist getting into the political fray attacking Republicans Romney and Paul Ryan, the only person in Washington to have a federal budget get approved by just one house of congress.  Obama should try it.

Romney wins three more primary elections in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, DC.

Baylor beats Notre dame in Women's NCAA National Championship.

Wednesday

Hollywood movie studio chieftain Jeffrey Katzenberg says he just wants President Obama to have a fair shot at a second term.  Katzenberg, the chief executive of DreamWorks Animation gave $2 million last year to the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action, which was almost a third of the $6.5 million raised by the political action committee through February.

Thursday - Maundy Thursday

Maundy Thursday is observed during Holy Week on the Thursday before Easter. Also referred to as "Holy Thursday" or "Great Thursday" in some Christian denominations, Maundy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his disciples on the night before he was crucified.

President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act at the White House.

President Obama celebrates the feast of the Last Supper attending major fund raisers for his presidential campaign.

Good Friday

The President uses the feast of the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross to host a White House conference on women Friday to highlight steps his administration has taken to improve opportunities and access for women in areas such as education, business and health care.

This political forum enabled the president to take advantage of his attacks on the GOP contraceptive issue while avoiding a discussion of the abortion issue.

And that is Holy Week in Obamaville.

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Profiles of Heroes and Heroines - Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma

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Standing five feet four inches and weighing 100 pounds probably soaking wet, our heroine this week is Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma or the Republic of Myanmar.

This heroine was elected to parliament in Burma in a historic election April 1, a first step toward democracy that could lead to her election as president in the next couple of years.

Since few people know her story here is a profile from the BBC News published April 1, 2012.

Profile: Aung San Suu Kyi

Like the South African leader Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi has become an international symbol of peaceful resistance in the face of oppression.

The 66-year-old spent most of the last two decades in some form of detention because of her efforts to bring democracy to military-ruled Burma.

In 1991, a year after her National League for Democracy won an overwhelming victory in an election the junta later nullified, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The committee chairman, Francis Sejested, called her "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless".

She was sidelined for Burma's first elections in two decades on 7 November 2010 but released from house arrest six days later.

On 1 April 2012, she stood for parliament for the first time, arguing it was what her supporters wanted even if the country's reforms were "not irreversible".

Political pedigree

Aung San Suu Kyi is the daughter of the country's independence hero, General Aung San.

He was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947, just six months before independence.

Aung San Suu Kyi was only two years old at the time.

In 1960 she went to India with her mother Daw Khin Kyi, who had been appointed Burma's ambassador to Delhi.

Four years later she went to Oxford University in the UK, where she studied philosophy, politics and economics. There she met her future husband, academic Michael Aris.

After stints of living and working in Japan and Bhutan, she settled in the UK to raise their two children, Alexander and Kim.

But Burma was never far from her thoughts.

When she arrived back in Rangoon in 1988 - to look after her critically ill mother - Burma was in the midst of major political upheaval.

Thousands of students, office workers and monks took to the streets demanding democratic reform.

"I could not, as my father's daughter remain indifferent to all that was going on," she said in a speech in Rangoon on 26 August 1988.

Ms Suu Kyi was soon propelled into leading the revolt against the then-dictator, General Ne Win.

Inspired by the non-violent campaigns of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King and India's Mahatma Gandhi, she organised rallies and travelled around the country, calling for peaceful democratic reform and free elections.

But the demonstrations were brutally suppressed by the army, who seized power in a coup on 18 September 1988.

The military government called national elections in May 1990.

Aung San Suu Kyi's NLD convincingly won the polls, despite the fact that she herself was under house arrest and disqualified from standing.

But the junta refused to hand over control, and has remained in power ever since.

House arrest

Ms Suu Kyi remained under house arrest in Rangoon for six years, until she was released in July 1995.

Aung San Suu Kyi

• 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
• 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
• 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
• 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
• 2000-02: Second period of house arrest
• May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces
• Sep 2003: Allowed home after medical treatment, but under effective house arrest
• May 2007: House arrest is extended for another year
• Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
• May 2008: House arrest extended for another year
• May 2009: Charged with breaking detention rules after an American swims to her compound
• August 2009: Sentenced to 18 months further house arrest
• November 2010: Released from house arrest
• April 2012: Stands for parliament for first time

She was again put under house arrest in September 2000, when she tried to travel to the city of Mandalay in defiance of travel restrictions.

She was released unconditionally in May 2002, but just over a year later she was put in prison following a clash between her supporters and a government-backed mob.

She was later allowed to return home - but again under effective house arrest.

During periods of confinement, Ms Suu Kyi busied herself studying and exercising.

She meditated, worked on her French and Japanese language skills, and relaxed by playing Bach on the piano.

At times she was able to meet other NLD officials and selected diplomats.

But during her early years of detention, she was often in solitary confinement. She was not allowed to see her two sons or her husband, who died of cancer in March 1999.

The military authorities offered to allow her to travel to the UK to see him when he was gravely ill, but she felt compelled to refuse for fear she would not be allowed back into the country.

Her last period of house arrest ended in November 2010 and her son Kim Aris was allowed to visit her for the first time in a decade.

When by-elections were held in April 2012, to fill seats vacated by politicians who had taken government posts, she and her party contested seats, despite reservations.

"Some are a little bit too optimistic about the situation," she said in an interview before the vote. "We are cautiously optimistic. We are at the beginning of a road."

However she added: "Many people are beginning to say that the democratisation process here is irreversible. It's not so."

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Letter from the Editor: Cyber Security - Of course you're not alone!

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Got an autonomous email, probably from the W____ H____.  It was just one line.  "Are you out of your mind?  It was a good question so I thought about it for a while.

Then answered, "maybe just a little bit."

I'm sure that private communication between two people about rather personal matters will be sold, resold, hacked and manipulated by the dark side of the Internet world before it is even read.

The virtual world of Internet predators is alive, well and in total control of your life if you let them be.  Most times you don't even know you did.

In fact the world wide dependence on the Internet suggest it is the lifeblood of today's generation.  So we have a new generation for the first time absolutely dependent on external technology and the information embedded in that technology for the survival and evolution of our culture.

Oh my gosh, I'm starting to sound like one of those ethereal theoretical brains in the Obama academia playground called the White House.

Still, in the mysterious cyber world, we are not being told the truth.

Identity theft, hacking into personal files, stolen cell phone, credit card and social security numbers have spawned an entire new industry, cyber theft.  Billions and billions and even more billions of dollars are lost to cyber theft every year.

But don't worry.  If someone steals from one of your accounts the phone company or credit card company will not charge you if you bring it to their attention.  Of course if you don't notice it on your bill, you may be liable.

Just count on being a cyber victim.  And you might as well count on an increase in cell phone, banking or other fees to cover the cost of losses paid out.  They are not going to lose money just because they lost money when they can count on the government, federal government that is, to give them a tax credit to cover any extra cost.

The public never comes out ahead.

Right now so many government agencies have hacked into computers owned by other governments, corporations or persons of interest that they need to protect their assets by making certain the status quo remains.

In other words, cyber security systems that really do protect data have long been known to the government, both intelligence and defense agencies.

The abilities of these new and largely unknown security measures in terms of the detection of unwanted hack attacks, and the ability to make the protected information simply disappear into cyber oblivion, are among the powerful features that could protect you and your private records from preying eyes, cyber thieves and Big Brother.

But if these breakthrough technologies were allowed to be sold to the world then they would expose the secret cyber activities of all the intelligence agencies along with the financial theft, marketing and predatory activities currently underway.

As long as no one but the consumer loses through higher service fees, inflation and other techniques then the economy can continue uninterrupted.  So much is "off the balance sheet" anymore no one really understands the full implications of the validity of our financial system and it's underlying foundation.

Common sense alone should alert you to warning signs about the ability of our federal government to be benevolent, efficient, fair or even competent.  There are some things they do right, even better than the private sector.  But if there is current corruption in the cyber world those involved must be punished commensurate to the broadest impact of their crime.

If someone steals your purse they could be charged with a criminal misdemeanor because your victim is one person.  They would probably get probation.

In the cyber world one attack or hack could steal millions of people's records and generate tens of millions of dollars in consumer fraud.  It could take over a nuclear reactor or shut down the electric supply to a city.

You are not protected.  The master cyber thieves leave no trace of their raid on your life and identity.  Their goal, like the goal of intelligence agencies as well, is to plant enough undetected monitors in your system to allow them to see all email, texts, transactions, cell phone calls, current and historical Internet searches, GPS uses, and well you get the idea.

In America in the digital world you will never be alone.  In fact there may be a rather large crowd already monitoring your every transaction, movement, interests and forms of entertainment.

If you want cyber security go live with the Hopi Indians in Arizona.  But first give up all your so called "modern" conveniences.

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The Battle of Redemption for the Bluegrass Bluebloods

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Kentucky versus Louisville - Calipari versus Pitino

As if the significance of the basketball game was not enough when Bluegrass Bluebloods Kentucky and Louisville take the court in the NCAA national semi-finals in New Orleans Saturday there are a host of sidebar stories worthy of merit as well.

Start with the fact both are coached by fiery Italians from the Eastern US, Rick Pitino of New York City and John Calipari of Moon Township just outside of Pittsburgh, PA.

Both played out east in college.

Pitino played for U. Mass while Calipari played for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington before transferring to Clarion University in Pennsylvania.

Both were assistant coaches for coaching legends, Pitino at Syracuse under Jim Boeheim and Calipari at Kansas under Larry Brown.

Both got first head coaching jobs in Massachusetts, Pitino at Boston University and Calipari at U. Mass.

Pitino, former star player at U. Mass, was on selection committee to hire Calapari.

Both revived their schools making them national powerhouses.

Both coached Kentucky.

Both coached in college and the pros.  

They are the only coaches in history to take three different schools to the NCAA final 4.  (Yes I know 2 Calipari trips no longer count.)

Both are among the top winning coaches in college.

Pitino is one of a select group of eight coaches who have taken teams from four different schools to the NCAA Tournament.

Pitino is one of 10 coaches all-time who have reached the Final Four on at least five occasions.

Both are seeking redemption, Pitino from personal blackmail scandal and Calipari from coaching violations at U. Mass and Memphis.

Pitino is seeking his second national championship while Calipari is seeking his first national championship.

Pitino is the Dapper Dan of college coaches whose sterling courtside dress style changed forever the coaches bench in college basketball.

Not only are they two of the best college coaches of all time but they are also two of the most animated and entertaining coaches of all time.

Let the game begin.

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You are being killed and you don't even know it!

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Is that a jolt of reality you find difficult to comprehend?

Often the hardest thing to accept is the truth.  And the truth is you, me and everyone are being killed by the very institutions we created to protect us.

How can that be you may ask?  To understand you have to be aware of a few things.  First while there are benefits there may also be dangers when something looks too good to be true.  Take the development of antibodies in the middle of the 20th century.

Born out of a need to find a way to save soldiers from dying of their injuries from infection, this war initiative resulted in the discovery of penicillin which held out the promise of saving people from all kinds of health threats from war injury infections to the plague and flu.

Unfortunately we never realized the consequences.  The over prescription of antibodies for all kinds of illness, whether it helped or not, was widespread and led to the destruction of much of the human body immune system.  Fears over the consequence of over prescription and the evolution of new super diseases indicated all was not what we expected.

At the same time there was a new market for the drugs in animals, particularly those animals in our food supply.  With antibiotics animals could be brought together in feed lots or chicken barns and giving them antibiotics in their food would protect them from the spread of disease in the concentrated pens and barns.

Over time antibiotics combined with steroids proved to be a way to achieve much more weight gain and keeping the animals penned up kept them from exercise and losing the weight.  Just when the medical community started to realize that humans were being put in danger from the overuse of antibiotics and started to reduce the amount prescribed, they animal scientists were increasing the amount of antibiotics going into our food supply.

More cattle feed lots were built, bigger chicken barns housed over ten thousand hens in a confined space, pigs were limited to their own slop for a home and fish farms for restocking and then food supply became commonplace.  Today they all dominate their respective industry.

Fish Farm complex

Animals also now consume up to 60% of the world supply of antibiotics and the food we all eat is now saturated with human antibiotics fed to animals and then eaten by humans.  We got fatter cows but we also got new and far more dangerous strains of bacteria cycling the antibodies through our food supply.

The drug companies got a golden animal market for antibodies since they were starting to lose the human market because of side effects and long term damage done when human took the antibodies.  Every year more diseases become drug resistant and kill more humans.  In truth all cancer is a result of drug resistance to treatment.  Yet our government has not even banned the use of antibiotics in our food supply.

You can become informed and you can call or write your state and congressional representatives and demand they stop killing us.  Your choice.

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What is news?

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I've spent a lifetime devouring news from every source the world had to offer.  Newspapers, magazines, books, libraries, specialty magazines, radio, television network, television cable, wire services, Internet, world newspapers, cell phones, satellites and the pulpit.

Add to that the unlimited number of social, cultural and educational resources and the list becomes rather enormous.  Most of my life I was a freak with my obsession for news sources and compassion for reading.

One thing is quite clear, everyone has their own opinion of what is news.  That is rule number one in understanding what is news.  The second is people use news for a variety of reasons only one of which is to be informed of current events in the world.

Some people want to project an image of being intellectual.  Maybe they want to impress their parents, teachers, girl friends or whoever.  Maybe they were like me who had a grandfather who gave me Time or Life magazine, gave me an hour to read and absorb it, and then expected me to debate it with him.

Now had I been in high school when I was on the debate team I might have enjoyed it more but this started when I was six or seven and became a Sunday ritual whenever I saw him.  To me I had two choices in life at that early age. Listen to my grandfather tell me Irish stories or debate the world news with him.

As much as I loved and appreciated the Irish stories, my thirst for information was just as intense and at that young age not too many people were going to take a seven year old too seriously when it came to world affairs.  So I loved the intellectual challenges he gave me having no idea I was in danger of becoming a total nerd.

If I asked any of my brothers what they thought of the Cold War they looked at me like I was a freak.  Girls, cars, sports and entertainment all were far more important to them than intellectual pursuits.  I could always count on my grandfather to appreciate what I went through to stay informed.

Of course there is a great deal of problems that arise when you have an endless quest for information, you may actually learn a lot.  I thought I did.  And I also thought it was my universal responsibility to correct my teachers, most often nuns and priests, when they tried to teach my classmates inaccurate information.

Let's just say I was a perpetual candidate for an exorcism to drive the demons out of me who made me challenge authority.  It was never my intent to challenge authority but to help it be better.  Somehow their humiliation was more important to them than the truth.

At any rate, after all I've seen I think "news" should be information that helps the readers understand life, find their purpose in life, discover the truth for themselves in life, and helps lead to a better life for all.  Why else would we be here?

The stories I write are intended to serve that purpose.  It is up to you to find the real meaning of what I offer.  I must say, truth is most often not obvious but buried within a code of sorts.  Real insights come from the degree of effort given by the reader to be open to what is not obvious.

Finding people that want to make a difference in the world, that want to do what is best for all people, animals, the environment and Mother Earth, is a difficult process.  Finding people open to new truth, new definitions, no boundaries and no prejudice is the most difficult of all.

They are out there, scattered and hidden amongst us, and they need to be inspired, encouraged and heard.  So many people listen, so few people hear.

My goal in reporting my version of the "news" is to write stories to stimulate you to consider the impossible, appreciate the fantastic, never limit the potential and to seek the good for all creatures and inhabitants, whether man, animal, fish, vegetable or mineral, of this magnificent planet and gift from God(s).

 

Mostly it is to awaken within you your potential and to find or reassure your faith in a higher purpose we all must learn to serve.

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Can the Big Tuna Save the New Orleans Saints?

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Will Bill Parcells help out former assistant and Saints?

When the NFL decided to punish head coach Sean Peyton for not stopping the "bounty" program of injuring opposing players by suspending the coach for the next year they probably did not consider one potential consequence.

Today it became clear Parcells is in talks to take over as head coach for the next year while Peyton is suspended.  What would that mean for the Saints?

They would be trading in an assistant for the master and mentor.

The New Jersey native Parcells is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history leading the New York Giants to two Super Bowl wins, taking the New England Patriots to the Super Bowl, and winning the AFC championship with the New York Jets.  

The Big Tuna as he was affectionately known in Jersey when I was there and got to meet him at Giants stadium was AP Coach of the Year twice and is the only coach to take four different teams into the playoffs.  It appears he may want to make that five.

In addition to being a future Hall of Fame Coach, he was a lock this year if he stays retired, his real legacy is how many of his assistants went on to become top coaches.  Three have won Super Bowls themselves for the Patriots, Jets and Saints.  Look at a partial list of the Parcell's disciples.

Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

Tom Coughlin, New York Giants

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints

Romeo Crennel, Cleveland Brown

Eric Mangini, New York Jets

Al Groh, University of Virginia

Charlie Weis, University of Notre Dame

Nick Saban, University of Alabama

In his most recent stint as an NFL head coach, Parcells helped rebuild the famed Dallas Cowboys franchise, leading the team to two playoffs appearances (2003 and 2006) and compiling a 34-32 record in four seasons, becoming the first head coach in NFL history to lead four different teams to the playoffs. He stepped down in January 2006 after leading Dallas to a Wild Card playoff berth – the team’s last postseason appearance.

What a legacy coaching some of the top franchises in NFL history, New York Giants, New England Patriots, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets.

If the Saints can recruit Parcells there could be yet another Super Bowl ring and NFL championship in his already impressive resume.  Now what about the Saints being punished by having to suspend their head coach for a year?  Leave it to the Saints to land a Big Tuna for a savior.
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