Thought For Today And President Obama.

War: a massacre of people who don't know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don't massacre each other.

Paul Valery .

So President Obama who , whilst campaigning , pledged peace and withdrawal of troops from overseas ,now believes war is necessary and conveniently presents the Hitler scenario as a parallel case for Afghanistan . SPARE US .
Hitler marched into Poland and ,didn't stop there . (By the way in 1939 the USA were not in the least bit interested in this. Only years later with Pearl Harbour. did they actually join in.) China still occupies Tibet but Mr Obama is keen to do more business with this regime . How soon his principles have changed .
Afghanistan has not invaded any country . Quite the contrary they have had the British , the Russians invade them , big time , then a civil war . I'm no lover of their life style but believe they should be left to develop their own society . Chaos and corruption rule after years of war . I don't see the advocates of further fighting taking up arms .The swaggering Mr Kasai doesn't exactly dirty his hands , save via deals with his brother . The above quote from Paul Valery sums it up. President Obama ,may be eloquent ,but this war talk is becoming oh so akin to that of his predecessor. Just who exactly is governing America ?
The Generals and Goldman Sachs or him .
You see they were not elected ! He was . Time to recall those pledges .

Panasonic

There are some who know me well enough to know that I am a Panasonic fan plus. Just see that brand name and I want to buy. Panasonic never comes cheap but in my experience has always guaranteed fabulous quality .. My Dimension 4 cooker , video , DVD and amazing Fridge -Freezer. All are wonderful . So why am I not so in love with this name right now ?Answer :-

The Panasonic Lumix TZ7

This is the second time I have purchased such a camera, The Lumix 5 had to go back as it was faulty .Purchased from a specialised camera shop I had a hard job getting a refund .Then last weekend I bought the latest version . After so many rave reviews I felt sure all would be fine. This time at a shop where most items are discounted and the returns policy excellent . Once more my Lumix is a lemon . Why ?

The settings are many and varied so I was advised to begin with 'intelligent auto focus ' There's a laugh - little intelligence . It simply can't deal with indoor ,artificial light . One is either jaundiced or cancerous . Nothing is sharp . Not desirable. The video mode is good and the microphone excellent . This is all . However, sad to say ,Panasonic insist you have Quick time format [not wonderful on a windows PC ] It is proving impossible to upload a video from Picasa to YouTube and to my blog . I can view but can't upload from windows. One of the main YouTube reviewers of Panasonic suggested I put examples of the shots on Flickr . Not wishing to open yet another system I've gone half way and made a collage on Picasa. It shows you really poor images . Thumbs down , money back go elswhere. Still I do have my fridge freezer .

Note) The previous post as indeed most others carry photos taken with a very old 65 € digital camera. It may lack the video sound quality but in stills is better.

Christmas In Berlin

Although Christmas has never been my favourite festival I can report there is improvement ! Last year in Scotland was fun and this year seems set to be fine . Friday night found me at The Scotch and Sofa with a very cosmopolitan group .Then today after buying a new camera it was down to one of nicest Christmas Markets in Berlin. Held at the Gendarmenmarkt ,it really is beautiful . The choice of food was fantastic. Excellent entertainment too . Inspite of extremely cold weather these ballet dancers never even shivered . The flamenco was stunning . Perched on a table top it was impossible to avoid heads , heads and more heads . I've also found just what I want in place of a Christmas tree , but more of that later . Do note that the pictures are with my old camera . Next week will find me trying the new one .[fingers crossed ]

EU No Smoking Ban in Berlin

Today I was at Die Eins for a jazz brunch . One of the greatest spots to put on your 'places to go in Berlin' list-
Now when it comes to the EU smoking ban , Germany is not running true to world image . ie ) viewed as a law abiding people to a fault , this regulation has shown their weak spot . Many areas have revolted in a manner befitting the reputation of their French neighbours .
Quite a lot of places still permit smoking and actually advertise such - Others have upstairs rooms , outside tables . the variations are amazing . Die Eins has opted for hi tech sophistication.with this smoking chamber . Resembling an Internet booth it takes two people at a time . On entering, the smoker presses a switch , lights up and the offending fumes are extracted in a heavenly direction via a star trek type porthole . Here you see the brilliant drummer and vocalist Meinolf “Cookie” Saggel . Unaware of this gadget he had chosen to stand outside in the rain . Once informed he was in like a shot to try it . Reckon his smile says a lot for marks out of ten .
My own rating . Well as a none smoker I have to say it's a superb device and all are happy since it does work 100% . Upstairs rooms or partitioned places don't .

Lies --- The New Truth .?

The press is full of the story of the pair who gate crashed President Obama's state dinner. Reality TV is involved , claiming how the couple told them they had an official invitation . OK ..Why didn't TV do some checking ? It seems all the blame is being placed on security .
Reality TV is anything but reality .Cheap to produce ,it consists of wannabees doing anything to get their small trashy , fabricated moment of 'fame'.
One fictitious mess spawns another as the those who suffer from 'copycat syndrome' sadly sit glued to the box seeking what, for them passes as inspiration. The liars go unpunished .Indeed they are glamorized ..and so the great big wheel keeps turning .
Is this what society has sunk to ? My post will carry no image of these two creepy social criminals . If you think I'm being hard , think about how much security we already have in our lives . Stunts such as this only serve to increase it.

Good News For The World .

At times it seems the news is all bad . Then,as if to show there's hope , all be it seldom ,we get a great item . On coming home late last night and logging on ,there it was ...... No Tony Bliar [Blair as EU President ] , no Milliband as EU Foreign Affairs Minister . Cause indeed to celebrate .So called a friend, had a glass of port and lemon ,played Dr Feelgood's Hog For You Baby . Truly I was happy as can be .

One had to note how very widespead contempt for Bliar is.

Tony you may well perceive yourself as a presidential god , most see you for what you really are .

First beaten by a rare species of protected bat and the now the EU .

ps) it dawned on me today why G W Bush liked you . As the world knows ,this guy has THE LAZY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR as his number one read ..

Well hunger for power knows no limits with you and just let's think of how a caterpillar moves !

From Barcelona to Berlin.

What a fabulous Sunday this has been .Colourful too in a strange sort of way . The Yorkschlösschen in Kreuzberg was a 'must', as Acki Hoffman and Friends were playing there . These guys have your feet tapping with each number .Plus I was the recipient of a yet another snowdome from Acki .Here you see us with the little treasure from Barcelona . If anyone wonders as to why I am muffled in my coat , read on ... A waitress carrying a full tray of drinks tripped and one very large glass of red went all over yours truly .This resulted in my having to take my top off , rinse it well and hang on the radiators . Now OK, lovely as my lingerie may be I decided to cover up . It was hilarious and much later with a special rendition of Ain't She Sweet I was able to don a dry piece of clothing . Some talk of red letter days. Mine was 'red wine and snowdome. ' Lovely . Hence after this final piece I rocked and rolled all the way home ...... Apologies for my duff cam and mic