The Oscar

Last Sunday was the annual Oscar ceremony. I don't think there is anybody who didn't hear about what happened. But that is another part of this story. The Oscar, in my opinion is nothing more than a self-congratulatory program where the showbusiness people congratulate themselves for the work they did in moviemaking. One of the things is that the life of some of these movies is shorter than the length of the show was. 

Another thing is that this award show covers the year since the last Oscar. With these short life people don't remember movies that came out six to twelve months ago. And a third thing that have no action are not interested by the public. Shorts, foreign movies, romantic movies are not widely accessible in movie houses. They will be on Netflix and YouTube. 

As I heard from critics TV viewing was very low at this time. Well, who didn't see it missed the famous slap. That was something not seen frequently on live television. I always thought good actors can keep their emotions in check. I guess I was wrong, or he is not a good actor.

After Will Smith slapped Chris Rock he was given the Oscar for best actor. He came up to the stage (again) and proceeded to give a rambling speech that did not make any sense. Thankfully, shortly after that the show was over.

The best thing would be for good old Oscar is to do it behind closed doors because the public interest is dwindling.

Neighbors

We live in a very nice apartment. It is spacious, large, plenty windows, easy access to the outside world. We like it. Each of us have our own little corner where we can withdraw to. My wife has four corners because her room is an office, Abigail has her own room where she conducts all her activities. Me, I get the rest of the apartment when the others are busy with their own stuff. My affairs are generally relegated to the dining table. That table has corners and I get one of them.

I really don't miss not having a house. Never looked forward working on my grass, fixing what needed to be fixed and similar house related issues. The way I see it, the only good thing about a house is the plentitude of space. In the apartment we have to think twice where to put certain things, while in the house that is not an issue. Oh yes, another thing. Here in these types of buildings there are coin operated laundry machines, washers and dryers. In houses people have their own machines and that I envy. Maybe when I grow up and become rich, I will live in a place where we have our own laundry machines!

The only cloud over our life is the people who live right above us. In a similar, large apartment live two women and a dog. These are women who live together!! They are noisy, to say the least. They walk around the bare floors with shoes on and every step can be heard. But the bigger issue that around 4:55am they start their day mainly by using a treadmill for exercise. That machine is over Abigail's room, and it is noisy. Many occasions my wife was banging on the wall or the ceiling to make them stop, until they complained to the landlord. The nerve these people have.

The landlord wrote to us because they complained, we wrote back then more back and forth letters and now waiting for some action. Short of killing these people I see no solution to this problem.    

Politics

First, I want to apologize for skipping last Saturday. The truth is I just forgot. I was busy (believe it or not) and this thing just skipped my mind. I promise I will be more careful next time.

Donald Trump said that Biden is one train wreck after another. How true this is! According to polls his popularity right now is down to 40% and they say this is catastrophic. The man shoots his mouth off without thinking. He said in a speech in Poland that it is time in Russia for a change in leadership. How can he say that? Even if he thinks it he can not say that.

Now his people in the White House are trying to backpedal on it and making corrections. It seems one embarrassing moment after another. In his speeches to the refugees and others in Poland he was making all kinds of promises. 

Words are cheap, to keep them is another thing. The US should not be trusted in statements they make just to show how big they are. They will find ways to back off their promises because they will realize that not everything is politically correct. Just to make promises before the public for the sake of talking and the applauses is totally wrong.

That is exactly what they did in 1956. They promised and promised and at the end it cost human life and the US did nothing. In Monday morning quarterbacking style, they had "logical" explanations for their inactivity. Tell that to the people who died in vain. America's credibility is very low in this world, and Biden can stand on his head he will not be believed. 

The consensus in Europe is that a man who does not remember his wife's name should not go around giving political advice.  

Sunday

Zero! 

Sorry

 Sorry because I think I forgot to write for today, No Particular reason, I just forgot.

Smoke and mirrors

In New York City gasoline prices average $4.39 per gallon. That is for regular gas that the majority of people use. One can find $4.29 and as high as $4.99 per gallon. So, people hunt for lower cost gasoline in their areas.

The other day we were diving through some areas we haven't visited before and saw a Lukoil station where the price of gas was $4.14 per gallon. The cheapest in New York by far. At first, I thought the station was closed and this was an older price that stayed on but then I saw cars being filled up.

The interesting thing is that Lukoil is a Russian company, selling I assume Russian oil. So, what about Biden's edict that no Russian energy product may come here. What is gasoline if not energy product? Didn't hear that any Lukoil stations were forced to close because of the supposed boycott of Russian products.

Is this a smoke and mirrors thing? The government grandstands on certain items. Items that are newsworthy and does nothing on others. We went to a Russian food store that sells original products straight from Russia and there are no shortages of anything there. And they are not the only store in New York. There are several Russian neighborhoods, and they all have a multitude of their own stores. Did not hear any closings due to lack of merchandise.

There are more empty shelves in our American supermarkets than anywhere else. We went to our store yesterday and it was frightening to see how many shelves were lacking stuff. This the government is not talking about. I wonder how long they will hide behind the Covid-19 excuse. How long will offices use the Covid-19 to cover their inefficiencies.    

Assimilating

I am convinced that people can adapt, can get used to everything this world of ours has to offer. I am stating this based on personal experience. Having a teenage daughter in my household I hear more than once that gee, I could never do that, or I could never get used to that.

After living in my parental home in my young years and then suddenly found myself leaving the country, going through nine months of camp living then eventually start a new life in a strange, foreign country was something I was not trained for. I did not speak a word of English, I had no real work experience but I looked life straight in the face. And eventually I made it.

My friends cut from the same cloth had similar dubious beginnings. One worked in a hospital washing bloody floors and walls, another worked in a butcher shop while he was studying. These were the men. The girls did not have any easier. They worked in hair salons as helpers, in kitchens as helpers, or waitresses. I actually worked as a dishwasher for over a year.

All my older friends from my country grew up in the asphalt jungle of Budapest. The only grass we ever saw when we went out to the parks or the neighboring hills. Yet, every one of them with one exception (me) bought a house in the suburbs with grass and shrubs and bushes and trees. In time they all became masters of their properties. This is another example of getting used to one's environment.  

But none of us complained and none of us ever got stuck in those jobs. We all knew that there was light at the end of the tunnel. We got used to the climate. I know some friends who went to areas where there is no winter and others who went to Australia where the seasons are upside down from the ones we grew up with.

These and many other actualities just prove that men (and women) can get used to everything and anything life throws in their faces all they need is just a little willpower. 

So, when somebody tells me that I could never get used to that, my response is that you had it too good to say that. Assimilation is human trait. Life forces us to assimilate if we want to survive and live.

Our world

 Aside the world events, events that will shape our history and events that will be in history books, there are other main events that do not make the news. Events that are smaller in caliber, to others but to us they are just as important as the world events. They are important because they happen in our universe, in our world.

Here is what I am talking about. Two days ago, my wife calls me up in panic that the car's dashboard indicated that some lighting was out. She couldn't tell me what it said, just that it was out. Well, I was not there and me being in the living room and she on the road there was very little I could do except to tell her not to worry, we'll get it fixed.

She is a perfectionist, anything wrong with the car needs to be fixed, pronto. Well, the pronto waited two days until I looked at the dashboard and it indicated that the left headlight was out. No big deal, the car was now like a one-eyed man, but drivable. She didn't No danger of police stopping us because they only see the car from the back if they happen to follow us.

Yesterday morning she announced it that first thing today is getting the car fixed. She didn't want to give me a chance to see if we could fix it but went straight to the carwash we frequent because ther is a guy who know everything about cars, and we trust him. It took him all of eight minutes to replace the bulb. And it only cost us $20. Less than if we went to the dealer. Now, our world is at peace!

 

Tutorial

Last night we were watching an NCIS Hawai'i show on CBS. This is a crime solving show, happens in Hawaii, have beautiful backgrounds. Storylines and acting a little lame but when there is nothing better at the 10 o'clock hour we watch it.

My issue with this episode is, that it practically is a tutorial for hackers, saboteurs. The storyline was about  hackers that "hijacked" the power system (water and electricity) on the island of Oahu. The show gave a step by step description how they did it, where did they fail. To me it sounded like a manual for saboteurs.

I am surprised and also bothered that networks do not think to practice some kind of moral censorship. In today's world such a show is more than just disturbing, it is frightening. I guess networks only look at the mighty dollar and not the possible effect this type of show might have.

They already showed how to commit murder and not getting caught, now they showed how to hack anything they wish to. If I were such a bad person, all I would need to do is watch tv and learn. 

What does exactly national security mean?

Gasoline

In Hungary the current gasoline price is 5.64 per gallon, or 480 Forint/liter. This is a government controlled price. There is no price war between different gas stations, the government establishes the max price and that is it. People like one gas station versus another because of the neighborhood, the ambiance, cleanliness and whatever else make a driver choose one station against another.

Now here is the interesting part. It seems that people who live close to the other side of the Hungarian border have the tendency to drive over because of the cheaper gas and that can strain the supply. Because it happened that gas stations were selling gas for less than it cost them to buy it, the government came up with a peculiar plan.

Foreign cars and trucks can buy gas in Hungary but they have to pay a different rate which is about twice of the current regulated domestic rate. This is very interesting.

According to our information, no more credit card payments, all payments must be made inside and for Hungarians the presentation of a valid identification is necessary to get the "reduced" price.

Can we picture this two tier system in this country? One price for the democrats and one price for the republicans. One will get the lower cost gas while the other will pay more. And depending which party will be in majority in congress that is how the pricing system will work. Half the country will get cheap gas the other will pay through the nose.

Sunday

I am so busy today that I have to take the day off!

Happy Spring 2022!

Real news

There is fake news everywhere. We don't know who to believe. I am convinced that the news here is totally politically motivated and sanitized to suit the purpose. Just like in the old days back in Europe. The regime controlled what news from the "bad West" should be conveyed to the people. If it was bad, we could hear it, it was good, no. 

In my time there was no reporting of crime or anything negative. Only good things were told. We lived in a paradise. That was what we had to believe. Now, we are told what they, the powers to be, want us to hear. So, why is this any different than what it used to be?

But there is a problem with this freedom of reporting. The US is reporting one thing, and other parts of the world reports other. I am not questioning what goes on in Ukraine. I know the Russians can be pretty brutal but when one watches a lot of news it can be noticed that they show the same bombed out buildings and neighborhoods over and over again.

We spoke to our families in Hungary, and they told us that there is no natural gas and gasoline shortage at all. The store shelves are full, Russian products are readily available, even vodka. They also told us that in Europe they see the situation differently. They do not like Zelensky. They blame him for stretching out this conflict. They also do not like the US and mainly Biden. He commands no respect at all. 

Whatever respect he may have had he lost after Afghanistan. How can the world listen to a leader who withdraws from a country with his tail between his legs? Saudi Arabia, one of the staunchest ally America had do not even want to take his telephone call but invited the Chinese leader for a visit.

This is a kick in the balls! And he wants to solve the Ukraine crisis?

Grammar

There is this anti-Russian sentiment going around. Years ago there was a strong an ti-French sentiment in the air . At that time they decided to rename the French fry to freedom fry. That was so stupid that I can not find words for it. I'm sure many Frenchmen were staying awake because of that movement.

Now it's the Russian's turn. They are taking off the shelves the good Russian vodkas, leaving only the domestic ones or the ones made in other countries. I'm convinced this will keep Putin awake at nights.

Well, here are my suggestions to go for even further: vodka is a Russian word, the diminutive version of voda=water. Why not to rename that particular alcohol to something like burning water?

The English language has several Russian originated words in its possession. Why not to change all? Samovar is the large water tank used to make tea, and it is called the same in English. Why not to call it just the large water tank used to make tea?

Intelligentsia is a Russian word and it means the same in English. Why not to change it to...wait we don't have any here!

Mammoth is that huge furry extinct elephantlike animal that is a Russian word. We sould change that word to hairy elephant!

Molotov cocktail is a Russian word. It should be changed to exploding alcohol!

I am sure there are many more in our vocabulary and some Intelligentsia should go over them and make the English language English. This would make the zealots very happy.

Sorry to see that one of my favorite drink, the Moscow Mule has been declared non grata at some restaurants and bars. This is stupid going the distance. 

I don't know the fate of the Black Russian and the White Russian drinks, and I'm worried.

Celebration

Today is St. Patrick's Day which is the Irish excuse to get drunk. New York on this day as it their habit goes overboard in celebrating. I am convinced that they try to out Irish the Irish. I don't think in Belfast they make such a big event out of this day.

They shut down 5th Avenue for the marchers most of whom head to the neighboring bars after they finish marching. Years ago, Second Avenue was filled with off duty firemen and policemen crawling from bar to bar and drinking themselves to oblivion. It was a disgusting site. I think they changed the rules but this being the first parade after the pandemic they probably went back to their old habits.

I wander if they do the same in Ireland? Or they don't need an excuse to drink. Anyway, this year Saint Patrick's Day and Purim fell on the same day. I was not able to tell the celebrants apart. Both are happy events, and the question is who drink more. 

Today I went to get a haircut to my usual place and four young Hasidic men came in celebrating Purim. They sang and danced and then collected money. Well, we all gave, they in return gave little gift packages to the women and shots of whiskey or something like that to the men. 

Even though it was only about 12:30 pm I figured it was after 5 somewhere in the world.

Being spoiled

Spring is around the corner. Right now, the temperature is a balmy 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If I think back that about three weeks ago we had snow up to our knees I just don't want to believe it. It is a very crazy world we live in. One day we have heat, the next day we are yearning for the air conditioner.

Actually, we have three window air conditioners. One each for the main rooms. End of Summer, early Fall we have them taken out and we store them. Then when the weather starts to get warm have them installed. Our super is a good guy and he takes care of that job ($). 

No matter when we install them, we wind up with unseasonably hot days when the air conditioner are not yet available. So we suffer. And I think back that until I came to this country I had no clue what air conditioners were. 

We are spoiled beyond understanding. And the thing is that we easily got used to it, and if any of the luxuries are missing from our life we tend to get very upset.

For nine months I slept on straw bags and never complained. Now we have mattresses with code numbers and self raising mechanisms to assure our uninterrupted and comfortable sleep. For nine months I slept in a common room with about 50-100 people, men, women alike. Snoring was common and there was no room for complaining. Now, if I snore too much my wife bangs on me until I wake up and stop my snoring. I will not even attempt to describe our various toilet facilities we had for nine months because I don't want to be accused of being disgusting. But believe me they were curiously simple. Now, we complain if the toilet lid does not close automatically, and the toilet does not have electrically controlled warm water fountain.

Do we really know how good we have it?

  

Cost of a fill up

It is unbelievable how the price of gasoline went up. In our area one gallon of regular gas is around $4.39 but there are stations where the price is as high as $4.99. I don't know if it exists in this country but in some European countries the price of gasoline is regulated, and all stations charge the same price. 

That is not a bad deal because the difference between gas stations is the brand and the station's general atmosphere. But here there might be four gas stations at an intersection, one at each side, different brands and they will all have different prices.  Actually, because of the competition each will try to be below the other guy.

It is very interesting that whatever negative happens in the world the price of gasoline will immediately increase, but when the price on the world market goes down it will take a while until it reaches the local gas stations. I don't understand how this works. 

One time I had my car filled up at a particular gas station for a reasonably good price. After filling up we went shopping. On our return we drove by this same gas station, and I noticed that the per gallon price was lower than what I paid. Naturally, I went in and complained.

I was told that since I left, they had a delivery, and that gas was at a lower price. That was why the price change.  I never knew that each tanker truck carries its own price tag.

Anyway, besides Ukraine the center news is the price of the gasoline. It is terrible and people are veery upset about it. But Americans are funny. They complain about the high fuel price, but traffic is just as bad as before. Nobody is willing to give up the use of their car. It is better to complain than to sacrifice one's personal comfort.

Drone

This is how a WWIII may start. Thursday morning an unmanned drone crashed down in a Croatian parking lot damaging about 40 cars. Investigation found out that it was an old Russian model that Ukraine possesses. It was shot from Ukraine and incorrectly directed (human error). This is a major problem. The inefficiency is inexcusable. 

According to news outlets it flew over Romania and Croatia for about 4-7 minutes, but it flew over Hungary for 40 minutes. And that is a major issue. Hungary is a NATO, as the other two, country. Where were the NATO air defenses that they did not identify an unexplained flying object for 40 minutes? Is this how reliable their system is?

Do they wait until it crashes down and explodes causing immeasurable damages? Then they will investigate? Nobody understands this, and it does not make the people of Hungary feel safe at all. It seems that the Ukrainians are nor very adept at controlling their equipment. Acts like these are dangerous and can cost Ukraine the support of important allies.

Ukraine is making this fight similar to the Crusades of the Middle Ages. They are the good guys, the Russians are the bad guys and they want the world on their sides irrespective to what calamity it might cause. _________________________________________________________________________________

We found out that In Hungary some gas stations already closed due to lack of gasoline (petrol) and many stores have empty shelves because lack of merchandise. The media is not saying much about these occurrences, probably because they are no permitted to. People are not very happy about these and sympathy towards Ukraine is waning very fast.

Sunday

 Sunday

Hate

People are basically very stupid. Late 1930s and in the 1940s Germany made the Jews the scapegoats for everything, and the population believed it. They worked themselves into a frenzy with their Jew hatred. The infamous Kristallnacht was a perfect example of it.

Now, thanks to the politicians and the media a similar monster is lurking in the shadows as far as the Russians are concerned. Why do people have to hate the ordinary Russian who has absolutely no connection with the government is a mystery to me. Actually, it is not a mystery. People always needed somebody to hate. That is human nature.

Russian businesses, primarily small businesses are run by people who came to this country to escape their communist government have absolutely no connection with the current Moscow government. Their only "crime" is that they are Russians and as such they should be hated.

Why the Hutu hate the Tutsi? The same black people. Why the Sunnis hate the Shia? Just because some ideological differences. But they are the same Muslim religions. And I could go on and on. There is always a need to hate. And that is n=surfacing now with this Ukraine Russian affair.

Historically, Russia never liked Ukraine and when they were part of the large Soviet family they were tolerated, even given a role in world politics. But after the Soviet Union broke up all the old lovey-dovey relationships soured, and Ukraine became an eyesore for Russia. And people here in the need to hate somebody begun to hate whatever is Russian. 

Only time will tell how this sensitive situation will eventually get resolved. But we all pray that resolved it should!

 

Diary

When I was about 16 or 17 years old, I got a very nice diary book from my aunt. Since I did speak French, I started a daily diary written in French. I don't know why French, there was nothing written in it that I wanted to hide maybe just so I could keep practicing that language. It was a nice book with large pages, so when the year was up I continued the in the same book for a while.

This started me to keep a diary for every single year. But the others are now one book for each year. That totals now more than 65 books. I really don't know where they all are but they are here somewhere. You know, we get to a certain age when we don't remember what we had for breakfast. Doing this diary, if I miss a day I have to think very hard what did I do the previous day. Not that I do so much!  

I always tell myself that is ok to miss a day because I will remember my activities, but it is not that easy. I have to think very hard to recall stuff. Basically, I do very little. I go shopping with my wife, we go out together at night when we take Robin for his midnight pee walk. Now, that is easy to remember. The other outings are to doctor's offices or going to Manhattan to pick up Abigail at her school.

We would love to go to a temple on Friday nights but they are still holding to their Covid-19 restrictions, regardless that New York City lifted them and that is that they all still require the booster shot. Based on what is happening with the booster shots, I will skip the synagogues. God will understand me!

Tutoring

The college where Abigail is going has a pretty elaborate tutoring system. They recruit smarter students to tutor the ones who need assistance to understand their subjects. So, Abigail signed up to tutor chemistry 1, I think. I know it is chemistry. After checking her grades, her other information she was accepted into the program.

She told them she was available every afternoon except Tuesday, because she id having classes until 8:30 pm. The pay is about $16 per hour and the max hours per week is 15. She was very nervous at the beginning, before her first student, but that is now past history.  This thing started about two weeks ago. While some students are still waiting for their first pupil, Abigail has about 10 students per week. Some are returning, some are first timers.

She actually loves it. She likes teaching and also likes the smell of money. Did not get paid yet, but she is counting the days until her first paycheck. They pay every two weeks so her paychecks should be pretty good. Naturally, plans are already made about what to do with that money and parental advise do not count.

Yesterday, she was also asked by her organic chemistry professor if she would be interested interning in the Summer on a project the professor is working on. Naturally, her first question was for how much! Boy, how they grow up.

Today's opinions

Can't help it but just smile the way things are in this world. We live in very interesting and peculiar times. I am European, my family is European. We take a deep interest in how things proceed and how things will turn out. Listening to other than American news outlets I am convinced that the news we hear is sanitized to suit the American public. That is akin to censorship.

News coming to Europe paints a different picture on the Ukrainian events. At one point they said that Zelensky did not want to talk to Biden saying that after the Afghan fiasco he did not think Biden was the right person to give advice. In Europe they openly blame America for these current events. Unfortunately, we got to a point where it will not be safe for an American to walk the streets of Europe. It's a shame.

Biden, hat in hand is trying to revive soured relationships in order to compensate the loss of Russian oil. He is already in talks with Venezuela and attempted to talk to the king of Saudi Arabia. The shame was that the king apparently did not take Biden's call. Now, that is a slap in the face!

The US unfortunately has less and less prestige in this world. Our military is not much to brag about, our president and other political leaders have absolutely zero reputation. The only pull this country might have is on the money front.

This country is deeply involved in policing the world. Got involved in almost every affair since WWII, but won very little. Actually only the Kuwait war and the Grenada affair was won by American military. Not much to brag about. Kuwait was a fairly serious war. Grenada was occupied by Cuba and when the Americans landed to liberate the Grenadians they only found three drunk Cuban soldiers who were more than happy to give up. 

Chaos

 A couple of days ago I was twice stopped in a store in New York and inquired where are I was from?  I said I was Hungarian, and why did you ask? The answer was that they thought I was Russian or Ukrainian. Wow, I said. If I said I was from that area, would you beat me up? The response was I would have spit on you! 

It is mind boggling what kind of world we live in! Before, not long ago 17 republics for 69 years formed a union. It is very difficult to know now that from that union who is from where, because they all speak Russian. The ones who emigrated from those 17 republics live mostly in one neighborhood.                                                                                                                                                                  What will happen now?                                                                                                                               

Because the two people who won the representation of the people oftwo nations cannot come to an agreement, who will bear the burden of this entire fiasco?  The middle class and the working class!        They are taking off the shelves the Russian merchandises, they are closing the Broadway theater that shows Anastasia, the Metropolitan Opera fired its Russian soloist. These will increase unemployment. They are stopping oil delivery which will lead to more unemployment and very high gasoline prices. It is very sad and regrettable that families are being separated and they are losing their homes they worked for all their lives. It is terrible to see that children are crying for their fathers who stay behind to fight the invaders.  

But why are they fighting? Because the representatives of the people are not able to come to agreements! More sanctions are coming. Where is free thinking and free will? This is a very heavy weight for the world, because when this is all over then everybody must pitch in the rebuilding, and that will only be possible through foreign aid. 

In our part of the world where all large cities are full of Russian neighborhoods where restaurants, supermarkets, churches, medical centers, bagel shops, vegetable and fruit markets, candy stores, clothing stores are all Russian owned and international, what will happen to them?  Will they close and lay off all their workers? Or going into any of these stores I am at danger of being beaten up by a zealous person lurking outside just because I went in? I also live in such a neighborhood, and during the Covid-19 period while many of the other stores were empty these businesses had ample supply and helped the people from this area. Nobody ever asked what nationalities we were. These businesses are not connected to the Russian governments. They are owned by immigrants like most of us are. 

One blow after another. Two years ago, was the beginning of the worldwide epidemic circus. Then they established certain sanctions. Masks, store closing rules, curfews. They made rules when stores were allowed to be open and when certain people were allowed to go shopping. In addition, certain household items were only available in limited quantities. Then who were the ones these rules hurt the most? The working class!  

Workplaces stopped. The vaccine became mandatory even though it created a lot of problems.                Many people did not believe in it, and the fact that it did create problems and side effects only made people more hesitant. Store shelves got empty and there was no resupply. Many small businesses were forced to close because of the sanctions. More people with no jobs. 

This Monday an express train came and went around the world stopping at all cities. The virus got on it and went go away!  There is no need for mask, no further need for the vaccine and vaccine card either.  Simply thinking this is impossible! The virus and the bacteria don’t just come and go. Right now, everybody is watching the tv news about the arguments between the two countries.                            

We are all concerned what more can happen. Will everything stop again and we will be forced to deal with the lack of merchandise? It will not be possible to travel. Only the depression, the arguments between nationalities, air pollution, the dread of what else will come. This will have a negative effect on animals, plants and the earth, too.  

A new change a new lesson, new homework for everybody!                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Ungrateful

When we left Hungary in 1957, we went to through the south. We were refugees with no intention of returning and also with no demands. We were glad we were accepted and provided with safety with an unspoken guarantee that we would not be forced to return if we did not wish to.

We never complained but just waited what the future had in store for us. At our refugee camps they provided us with beds and food. Upon arrivals we were given an empty sack and they pointed us to the haystack saying here fill those sacks up with straw those are your mattrasses. And we never complained!

Yesterday I saw a short video about Ukrainian refugees in Hungary who rejected the canned food donations they received. They threw those away, stomped on them and complained saying it was not canned food they wanted but restaurant food.

This entire scene filled me with disgust. What kind of behavior is this? They escape to another country to save their own lives, the host country shows kindness, and they complain that this is not enough. Who do they think they are? 

Their government is acting in a similar fashion. Not thinking of the consequences, they are insisting on military help that may create more problems for other European countries. They are playing the sympathy game, and that is wrong. The way I see it they certainly do not have the upper hand.

This is a chance for several world leaders to aspire for the Nobel Peace Prize. Israel, China, France and others are all trying to broker a peace. The winner will get the Prize.

 

Sunday

 Melina Mercouri used to sing never on Sunday

That is my theme song now.

Ukraine, again

It boggles one's mind how idiotic the American people are capable of being. I know that there are problems now in Ukraine. I also said that I have no real feeling towards them. I don't know what caused the problem nor am I interested knowing it.  The refugees I am sorry for. I know exactly when one's life is turned upside down and a comfortable existence suddenly becomes an uncertain future.

But the reaction against Russia is taking ridiculous measures. In New York, at least people are boycotting Russian stores, restaurants. Why? Those businesses are not owned by the Russian government, they are owned by immigrants like most of us. Those people came here hoping to make a life for themselves. I really question that boycotting the Russian Tea Room in Manhattan will really upset Putin. Maybe not buying Russian vodka might hurt some businesses, since they are exported from Russia. But not all of them either. I think they are also produced in other countries.

The flip side is that some of the more popular restaurants are now more readily available since they are not full. I live in a predominantly Russian neighborhood where most of the businesses are Russian, and Jewish owned. I certainly hope this wrong thinking will not reach this area because I really like their stuff. I am just curious to see if these businesses will be able to get inventory in the future.

Something else.

The United States used to be energy independent. Now gasoline prices are going sky high, and they blame Ukraine. As I hear on the news, we are getting a considerable amount of oil from Russia. Now the interesting thing is that even though there are sanctions in place we are still getting the Russian oil with no disruption. Well, if we do then why the price is going up and up?

This entire thing is politics. And not just any politics but dirty politics where people lose their lives. Maybe the powers to be decided that the Covid-19 didn't take enough lives and a war is needed!            Something to think about!

Clowns

Schumer and Pelosi acted like two clowns at the recent State of the Union this last Tuesday. Chucky Schumer made a total joke of himself by jumping up at every sentence Biden made and clapping whenever it was not even called for. His loyalty to his great leader could only be matched to Kim Jong-un's disciples. Whenever he did something stupid, he kept grinning like an idiot and turning around showing how funny he is.

From a majority leader one expects a little more restrain and more civilized behavior. Ass kissing has its time and place, and it is certainly not in the halls of congress at the State of the Union.

That old woman pelosi is another story. The way she behaved indicates that she is not totally there. Her idiotic grin and her constant jumping up and down and clapping showed that it didn't matter what her leader said as long as it was said by him. At one point she jumped up and started rubbing her knuckles together like an imbecil.

Every talk show, regardless of their political leanings made fun of these behaviors. And I am sure the world saw it, too. It really made us look ridiculous. 

This kind of behavior and the one when in public she tore up Trump's speech shows the woman's imbalance. How can a person like that be the speaker of the house, the representative of the majority? Is it maybe because the democrats think this is a perfectly normal behavior? If so, it doesn't say much about the democrats!

And these are the people who represent us and believe they know what is good for us. Scary!

Race

I came to the conclusion that this country is very, very racist. They preach equality of the races but at every corner they designate people by their color or origin. I heard a million time here and in my country the designation about an individual that he is Jewish but nice. If that is not a racist remark, then I don't know what is.

Our glorious president promised during his presidential campaign that he would nominate a black woman to the Supreme Court. Why was it necessary to say black and why was it necessary to say woman? What about qualification regardless of race and gender? If a white male would be more qualified for the post, then he would not be in the running? If this is not racism, then I don't know what is.  

My daughter, Abigail and I'm sure most of her friends are colorblind. Colorblind as far as racial discrimination is concerned. She sees nothing wrong with being friends with whomever she wants to regardless race or creed or sexual orientation. In her high school and lower schools, she had many friends from different parts of the world. This is very commendable even if we the older generation see it differently.

It is surprising that she sees the world through her rose colored glasses, when our governments (federal down through local) are making sure that most of their choices are based on race. They are playing the race card because everything is politics and everything is about being reelected. By alienating a particular minority could cost an election and they all know it.

New York City elected a black mayor. The second in its history. This man is playing the black card with both hands. His ineffectiveness is showing in the terrible increase in crime in the city. He goes around saying that he is not being understood, nobody understands where he came from.

The first black mayor was not much effective and after one term he was kicked out. This man is not looking forward to a better future either if he continues his business this way.   

Show of shows

Yesterday was the day for the State of the Union message the president presents annually to congress. Last year there was none so this time it was the first for Mr. Biden. I watched it and found it very entertaining. Biden was dancing around issues, stayed away from reality and made promises knowing that they wiould not be kept. A 100% politician.

The inflation, high price of gasoline and prescription drugs, unemployment were mentioned but just vaguely without offering any remedies.

The vice president, Kamala and the speaker of the house Nancy were sitting on the dais behind Biden. Nancy Pelosi is a joke! All throughout the speech she had a stupid grin on her face showing absolute happiness of the subjects mentioned. She behaved like a proud parent watching her child perform. When she was not grinning, she was busy pushing her dentures back and keeping them from falling out.

A few times she tried to talk to the vp but even she ignored her. She was very busy tracking the speech from her copy that at times she even forgot to get up or to sit down. I think pelosi had a spring iserted into her anus because she kept jumping up and applaud with such a vigor that it is not possible without any mechanical aid.

Schumer who is the majority leader (for now) did the same thing. Applauded and kept grinning like an idiot. I am an equal opportunity criticizer. The minority leader (for now) sat in his place expressionless and with no movement. I wasn't sure that he was alive until he blinked.

At his entrance and departure, the democrats fall all over each other in order to get near him and suck up to him while the republicans couldn't care less about him.

This whole event is a circus. Even better than Barnum & Baily used to be.

Medications

I know I wrote about this before, and it is not old age where one gets to repeat himself. This is something that I keep seeing and it bugs me.

I have total faith in doctors. I never second guessed my doctors and I never questioned any procedure or medication they ever prescribed me. With that in mind what we, the common people are supposed to do with the myriads of prescription medications that are being advertised on television?

Do they think that I will go to my doctor, my specialist and present him or her with the name of that particular medicine and question why that is not what was prescribed? A doctor will prescribe a medication that in his opinion is best suited for that particular ailment or condition, taking all preexisting conditions into account.

Doctors really hate when a patient is diagnosing himself and requests a particular medicine. That shows absolutely no confidence in the doctor. These medical advertisements should be in the medical journals and not on tv. 

Businesswise they are big advertisers and tv stations must love them. Hell with the ethics of it all.

Something else

More and more doctors agree that the booster shot is causing problems. It affects the immune system and causing dormant ailments to come to life. We asked several doctors, and each said that they heard complaints related to the booster shot.

Award

Yesterday they were broadcasting the first in a series of show business award programs. This one was the awards by the Screen Actors Guild. I think the reason for this big presentation was that it was being held just like in normal times. The guests were sitting together at tables, no separation, no masks.

This entire show is about self-adulation, gratulating to themselves for the exceptional work they were doing. As I mentioned earlier, last year there was supposed to be a pandemic that stopped a lot of businesses, and supposedly also Hollywood. Yet, there were a long list of productions that were done during 2021.

The star performers and presenters show up in gowns that are given to them (free, mind you) by the particular designers while the jewelry on the women come with the necessary security guards making sure they are returned at the end of the show. With all the decolletage I saw more pancakes than at any IHOP. I can not understand why some female performers (like Lady Gaga) can't see that a low cut gown is not to their advantage.

Anyway, the show was long, drawn out and boring, and I only watched a short portion of it. Unfortunately, this particular presentation is the beginning of the award season. Good shows will be preempted because of the upcoming awards. Also, even though I do watch a lot of TV, none of the nominated shows meant anything to me. I never saw them, never heard of them.

Years ago, the three major networks ruled the awards. Then slowly the cable channels started to be recognized. Now the majority of the awards go to these cable networks for which we have to pay extra if we want to see them. I will not pay for the privilege.

Maybe just as well.