Former president Ronald Reagan is widely regarded as the man that won the cold war. His tactits included a high level of investment on the military. The former USSR tried to match the military expenditure and over years of attrition it failed. Its population was tired and hungry and the slightest chance of reform, coming from an insider caused the whole empire to crumble. Quite a lot of people died on proxy wars, but the mission was accomplished.

 

President Obama took the chance to extend his hand to the Muslim world, more specifically to Iran, a couple of weeks ago. His gesture is credited by some to have caused an Iranian insider, Mr. Mousavi, to grow on the polls with his softer stance with regard the west. Just for kicks, here an article on Fox News. If you don't know, the way Fox treats Obama is borderline treason in my book.

 

I have no idea what will happen in Iran, probably a crackdown and hardening of the regime. What I know is that a pacifist gesture created a crack on a pretty nasty regime. That gesture, widely criticized by the chicken-hawk, was way cheaper the Reagan tactics and did not cost a single American life.

 

I think that was a smart move.

 

I watched the latest Pixar movie, Up, this weekend with my 5 year old daughter. I think Pixar made a mistake with this one - I recommend against this movie.

 

What they were clearly after was a positive message about enjoying life, taking on new adventures and cherish, but not cling to your past. What they produced was scary for young children and plain and simple sad for older ones. The message that got to me is that, no matter how happy and fulfilling your life is, certain dreams will remain unfulfilled and in the end everyone dies. Some die lonely.

 

If anything will change in my life after watching this movie is that I will relax on my diet and make sure I die before my wife.

 

I think there is space for drama on animated movies and even space for completely adult, serious movies that are animated. Spirited Away, for instance, is a serious movie for older viewers. Akira is another great movie that I think is a classic any movie lover should watch, despite being animated.

 

Up is not a bad movie, but it is marketed as one thing while delivering something else entirely.

 

I cannot put my finger on it...

 

      

 

 

     

Last week I tried the angry whopper. The advertisement is awesome, but I got to say... this thing is at most a "mildly upset" whopper, maybe an "annoyed" whopper. I wonder if this was designed in Canada - the angry whopper should come with a strong worded message on a napkin.

 

There is more punch on the double Texas whopper, and less mayo. At least the jalapenos are not covered in sweet sauce to dull the spiceness.

 

Speaking of fast food, I just got my annual check-up. Following my high fiber, lots of nuts and fish, only whole grains diet and with little to no exercise I ended up with stellar results. I have never been so healthy in my life, despite eating junk food (minus bread and fries) almost every week.

 

If I could just figure out how to have six-pack abs without exercise then my hapiness would be complete.

 

 

How sad is it to check on your own blog and be disappointed there are no updates?

 

I guess for some that is called an honest day of work.

 

The last two weeks were very difficult, and being sick through part of it did not help at all.

 

 

Credit where credit is due. The Picture is from the Fail blog (http://failblog.org/)

 

This is very hard to believe, but the title is correct. AIG, the insurance company that brought down the market, received tens of billions of dollars in tax payer money, is suing charities that received donations before the company collapsed. They want their donations back to, can you guess? Pay executive bonuses.

 

Think about it for a bit. Now think some more.

 

Even the most selfish person on the planet has to realize that, sometimes, when you sue someone, the damage done to your image is more than than the money you get back. This has to be the perfect blend of idiocy and greed - the perfect recipe villains were looking for.

 

Here is another one that caught my attention. Proctor and Gamble sued the Canadian and British governments to recover taxes they found unfair. The tax? An additional tax on "potato crisps, potato sticks, potato puffs and similar products made from the potato, or from potato flour, or from potato starch." They claimed their product, Pringles, should not be subject to the tax. And they *won* because Pringles is only 42% potatoe. What the heck are the other 58%?

 

Terrible.