Big Cars, Big Asses

It seems that Americans are getting fatter...if that's possible. So, what is the cause? I remember hearing when I was younger that the reason French women weren't as fat as American women, despite the richness of French food, was because of something in their wine or how they chew their food etc. Maybe it's simply because Europeans drive alot less than we do. I recall one of my first trips to Europe. As we were getting ready to go out for the evening, my host wheeled an old, ladies bike in my direction, and said, "...let's go". At the time, of course I was mortified, and thought we would be ridiculed for riding those things through the streets of Copenhagen from pub to pub. To my surprise very few people drove cars, and everywhere we went, we saw hundreds of bicycles (and later in the evening many drunken people tumbling over the handlebars). But that's not all, I saw business men riding bikes, walking and taking the U-Bahn in Berlin, people riding home with the evening groceries in Helsinki, and families riding along like ducks in a row in Amsterdam. What I didn't see so often were people riding bikes for exercise. So taking what we would call alternate transportation was seen as a necessity in places where gasoline prices are about 2-3 times what gas prices are today.

So is there a link between gas prices and obesity? Maybe not directly. But for years we've had some of the lowest gas prices in the world. Even now at $3.50 a gallon, we don't even come close to the almost $6.50/gallon in Amsterdam. Alot of Americans live in places where walking to the store or the pub is not feasible (but I HAVE seen people drive their SUV two blocks to the grocery store). Therefore, suggestions of "drive less" fall on deaf ears.

Flight from the city to the suburbs (and now exurbs) into cookie-cutter homes with carports for Hummer sized vehicles has fueled the problem, since few places have reliable public transportation from residential areas to the business districts. This is even demonstrated by the increase in the number of cupholders and other amenities in new cars, since more people are spending time taking meals in their cars while commuting. Many of these are of the supersize, high fat variety. So now we have people spending 8-12 hours per day sitting in front of a computer screen only to spend 2-3 hours each day sitting in their car eating 1200 calories worth of fat while commuting home . Who wants to exercise after that kind of mindnumbing day?

I don't know if higher gas prices will cause people to walk more and use public transportation and thereby cause a net increase in exercise. There are too many factors. Maybe there are advantages to higher gas prices. Maybe we could get some of those obnoxious fuel inefficient vehicles off the road. Maybe people will drive less (and pollute less), and maybe get more people to use alternate transportation, maybe even walking or riding bicycles.

Just thoughts...

Well, that was quick

It seems that Duane at Blackinformant has returned. He was quitting just as I was setting up this modest blog just over one month ago. I'm starting to realize that blogging can be addicting.

My 2 Favorite George's

"It's not a lie, if you believe it"- George Costanza from Seinfeld "The Beard".

Seems like our President is sounding more and more like George Costanza these days. It must suck to be a public figure, and have to keep track of everything that wanders out of your mouth in the age of the blogger. I don't envy the President. He's not very good at improvisation to say the least.

I know other bloggers have already picked up on this, but I don't know of any others who have made the George Costanza connection.

THE PRESIDENT: What did Iraq have to do with what?

Q The attack on the World Trade Center?

THE PRESIDENT: Nothing, except for it's part of -- and nobody has ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack. Iraq was a -- the lesson of September the 11th is, take threats before they fully materialize, Ken. Nobody has ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq. I have suggested, however, that resentment and the lack of hope create the breeding grounds for terrorists who are willing to use suiciders to kill to achieve an objective. I have made that case.

The entire transcript here

You can almost hear the little voice in his head, screaming, "...SHIT I'm cornered!!" But of course there were MANY in his administration including the President, that did just that, suggest there was a connection between Sept. 11 and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

This of course would all be a very funny Seinfeld episode if there weren't so much death and destruction that went along with those decisions, neatly wrapped in deceit.

It seems much of the US Military believe the lie, however. (A nod to ZNet). This reminds me of all the things I was told to believe when I was in the Corps. Oh, those heroic Kuwaiti's just minding their own business...the demon possessed Iraqi Army pulling babies from incubators. I mean you have to whip up the guys somehow to get them to want to risk their young lives and assault into an ambush. Nobody wants to die for nothing. I can't blame the guys there for believing what they believe. Very few people can shoot at someone without a plausible reason.

Oh, God(less)...

This story made me think about what it means to be a "believer" or person of "faith" as it's often referred to. There are people who claim to be believers, but their actions don't seem to confirm their stated beliefs. I tend to think that atheists and agnostics are just more honest than most people who claim to be Christians. Now, before I became a physician I spent time in the military, the U.S. Marine Corps specifically. Have you ever spent time with Marines? It's not like hanging out with Choir boys. I liken the beliefs of many military personnel to fire insurance. They say and do the things they think will keep them alive in a dangerous situation, and keep them from going to hell...if it turns out that such a place exists. I guarantee, that once the bullets stop coming from down range, and they are out at the strip club the last thing on their mind is God. There may be no atheists in a fighting hole, but there are plenty near the strippers pole. I guess I could have said all of this with one word: hypocrisy.

Is it too much to ask...

I really like traveling. I think visiting other countries broadens a persons worldview. There are those in this country who believe sitting in front of the TV watching some infotainment of a "news channel" about foreign cultures, makes one an expert. In a country such as the US, where the population isn't very fond of wanderlust, or going walkabout, as some of my friends like to call it, todays events at Heathrow may have a great impact on our collective cultural ignorance. High gas prices, a weak dollar, our support for aggressive nations, our own warmongering around the globe, and now these new hurdles we must surmount just to get into the airport will probably turn alot of people off to foreign travel....just when we NEED more people to expand their thinking about the rest of the world.

Of course this is the definition of terrorism: the intentional use of violence or the THREAT of violence against one or more members of a general population to generate fear, cause disruption, and ultimately to cause the authorities of a population to comply with certain political, religious, ideological, or personal demands. So these guys plan some op around iPods and Gatorade, and now my two favorite travel companions will likely be banished to the checked luggage, where of course my Gatorade will be spilled onto my clothes and iPod, if it hasn't been stolen. So, hundreds of millions of people are affected by the actions of a very few, kind of sounds to me like the terrorists are accomplishing their objectives according to the above Wikipedia definition. Or, maybe somewhere in some cave in Tora Bora someones laughing his ass off at the gymnastics the rest of the world is now forced to perform each time we want to board a plane, because after years of being really thirsty and sick of hearing the same 4 worn out tapes in their 15-year old Walkman, they are jealous of our tasty thirst quenching drinks and little music machines.

Now security "experts" want to go all out. Eventually we'll all be riding buck naked, strapped to our chairs with Foley catheters in our bladders, and rectal tubes securely in place since now all bathrooms will have to be locked inflight. Of course the only people getting on the plane will be those who have undergone a colonoscopy, EGD, and small bowel follow through by TSA personnel before they are allowed to go to the gate, just to make sure they haven't "hidden" any bombmaking material anywhere on their person. Ladies, the bad news is...pre-flight pelvic exams.

Maybe now fewer people will travel abroad, leading to more ignorance about what's going on in the world. Is this in anyones interest?

More people should travel

Now for something completely different. Sometimes I have to force myself to not think about the negative stories going on in the world for at least a short time. I saw this story about 4 MIT students on a race to Mongolia on CNN, and thought, "...how can I weasel some time off for this?!". For anyone who is interested, here is the Official Website of the race. I've always thought if more people traveled, we would have a friendlier world.

It's Murder, Not War

"What's happening is not right. It's murder, not war," said Dr. Joseph Khoury, a young pediatric, who had joined the protest.

Peace, Propaganda & The Promised Land

Interesting piece...I'd like to hear your comments. Here's what they have to say about the film: Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported. Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7828123714384920696

Since I've been gone...

Wow, I didn't think the world could sink any deeper into the proverbial handbasket speeding off to hell. More evidence that humans are the nastiest of species . I love all living creatures but I never thought I would agree with PETA, but then I never thought I'd agree with anything crazy old Pat Buchanan had to say either. There are days that I wake up and ask myself have we all lost our fucking minds? Indiscriminate, wanton violence is supposed to be in our distant past. Lately, I've been spending some time arguing with a "Neocon" blogger named Cobb. I don't like labels, but sometimes it's necessary. I do get a little angry in my posts to him, which is usually not my style...but oh, well, everyone has their trigger. Don't get me wrong, I like his blog alot, and try not to mix peoples ideology with their person. I think it's important to discuss issues with people with whom you absolutely do not agree, otherwise you are just patting yourself on the back. He reminds me of my right wing Uncle.

Well at least I had a nice vacation in California last week, and got to spend some quality time with my son and my nephews. Since I returned home a few days ago I've been poking around some Lebanon blogs.

http://dhimmi-world.blogspot.com/
http://siegeoflebanon.blogspot.com/
http://talesfromlebanon.blogspot.com/
http://www.sanayehreliefcenter.blogspot.com/
http://bloggingbeirut.com/

I wanted to include some anti-war Israeli blogs but haven't found too many. I know they are out there. If anyone comes across any, please send them to me.