Or, what I don't understand about the world and its inhabitants...
[1] Data may have changed, and discussions about war may have subsided... but that don't mean my puzzlement with wars has cleared up at all. Wars waste billions of money and human lives; this, while people continue to talk/complain/crave for basic human exigencies (health care, housing, jobs). Consider these numbers (not updated): (a) Number of U.S. dollars invested in "standing up" (training) the Iraqi military and police: $19.2 billion, according to a bipartisan U.S. Congressional investigation; (b) Cost of the latest UAV, the "hunter-killer" MQ-9 Reaper, now being deployed to Afghanistan and soon to be deployed to Iraq: $7 million: (c) Estimated cost of training Iraqi (and Afghan) security forces over the next decade, if present course continues: At least 50 billion dollars, according to the Congressional Budget Office. (Number of US lives lost so far, exceeded 5,000—overtaking Vietnam’s body bag count.)
[2] What is the right word for whatever man-woman relationship there is? Talking with, seeing someone, going out with, dating, hooking up… engaged, moving in, partners and lovers, married, divorced, “friends.” Many times I get lost in this “relationship maze”—I don’t really know if I have broken up, taken it easy, relaxed, or just hangin’ out right now, nothing serious. Figure this out, overheard two young women talking at a West Hollywood restaurant: Girl 1: “Nah, come on, I am not like thaaattt?!” / Girl 2: “What do you mean, hun… you didn’t do it?” / Girl 1: “Oh, my God?!? NO! I’d like to give him the purest me when we get married, ya know… I just gave him a BJ, that’s all we do each time, okaaaayyy? It’s not, like, we’re having sex, you know what I mean?” / Girl 2: “Ah, thank God, that’s awesome—you are still a virgin! I am so proud of you!”
[3] No condoms for sale in a number of North Carolina towns after 5pm. I am not kidding. I asked a countergirl at Wal-Mart in a WNC town: “No condom after 5?” The middle-aged blondie gazed at me, and looked down at my crotch, “No, I am sorry…”
[4] (NOTE: This “news” may be outdated, but you get the picture…) Recession, unemployment? Almost 99 percent of café banters and social services queue chats say, we are in neck-deep dire straits… Well, let’s wait for Black Friday’s “super discounts”—expect the beeline to surpass “Blue Moon’s” vampire madness. An indication of the contradicting signals: Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011. People are still buying cars… so how come General Motors Corp. and Chrysler got federal bailout? Mixed-up world.
[5] Why do citizens of this country pay recycling fees? Voluntary recycling stuff and things is already a commendable, individual initiative… but why do we still pay the government for doing these good deeds?
[6] My ex-roomie placing a delivery order of a $15 Burger King 3 miles off I-605 – to a dude thousands of miles or two huge bodies of waters away, in New Delhi, India. Why can’t the capitalist just give that simple job to workers here, since the factories are already overseas, anyways? Greed. Outsourcing or “offshoring” (relocation by a company of a business process from one country to another -- typically an operational process, such as manufacturing, or supporting processes, such as accounting) was fine if workers of the world are actually getting paid the way they should. China and India have emerged as a prominent destination for production offshoring—but figure out the miserable parallelism of everyday people (or workers) lives there and here…
[7] “Buffalo wings”? Wings of a buffalo, when it’s actually chicken, and do buffalos have wings at all? “Chicken fingers”? So we are eating the fingers of fowls? Do they have fingers? So a “Weedeater” is a job? A Cheech and Chong gig? Hotdog? Why is it called hotdog—when it should be hogdog?
[8] Banks “stealing” $2.50 or $2.79 from your account each time you check your balance… Five of America's largest banks—Citibank, Bank of America, HSBC Bank USA, Wells Fargo Bank and J.P. Morgan Chase—most of which have received $145 billion in taxpayer bailout dollars, “still face potentially catastrophic losses from exotic investments if economic conditions substantially worsen.” Another related case: We have pored onto hundreds of smartass analyses about/why there’s recession, yet we don’t see/read a lot about the Chinese “outsourcing” etc angle. In the 90s, when the Asian Tigers (excluding China)—led by Malaysia—took a daring initiative to independently/economically co-exist in the region (beyond Western dictates), the Asian currency crashed. We knew it was the doing of Western bankers and investment gurus (led by George Soros)… Why are we talking with China and Japan and not “smaller” Southeast Asian nations? Isn’t it obvious?
[9] Basketball (or NBA) players who are either suspended or meted astronomical amounts of money for “flagrant” fouls or “careless” media statements, but watch an ordinary ice hockey game… childish brawls and bloodied faces are ordinary staples. All these hoods get are slap-on-the wrist "punishments" or a few minutes stay in the penalty box, or whatever they call it.
[10] Why is it called Facebook? And why am I still at it—instead of…
