* In the News This Week

Those gasoline price signs you see everywhere are like count down clocks to the end of the world as we know it!

In some sense it would be quite like the end of the world if no one puts a brake on these gasoline prices! If it reaches a point where it literally immobilizes people from going about their lives, panic can easily set it, then riot, soon after anarchy!

Let’s face it we are that dependent on gas period!

That is why when you here this crap from Department of Energy’s Steven Chu, about how his department is working on lowering gas prices for the long term by developing alternative energy sources, and that this steady increase in gas price is a good motivator in that direction, I simply want to kick his ass!

When people are hurting already in this tough economic times and here you are calling the increase in gasoline prices as a motivator, as if we the people are not hurting enough?

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for alternative fuel, but we have to engage the issue we have right now or else we wouldn’t even get to that future when all these so called alternative technology can actually be useful and affordable!

We know that technology for these alternative fuel is already available, it’s just not affordable.  In fact, GM recently announced that it is to suspend production of it’s latest hybrid car called the Volt due to it’s low demand.  It’s a nice car, and a hybrid is good, in concept, but with a price tag of around  $40,000, it would take years to just break even with your gas consumption.

For whatever reason the technology of alternative fuel is held up, may it be the greed of the oil companies, afraid to have a competitive market with alternative energy or may it be simply that the technology is actually not developed enough to produce affordable alternatives.  The fact is, right here, right now, we are addicted to oil and with it’s current prices it has us on a choke hold!

It does not help either that the pricing of oil does not even make sense at a basic level.  That even though oil companies, refineries or whatever you call them, already bought those oil barrels for the cheap, way before this Iran issue and that turning it into gasoline will not cost them anymore than they usually do, these so called speculators, the same speculators that gave us the real estate fiasco, which to me are nothing more than a bunch of bullies playing with the lives people, some how deem that gas price should increase 10 cents everyday!

They would say that it is basic supply and demand. well we surely have the supply! Don’t we have Afghanistan and Iraq!  Isn’t that what the wars were all about, not to mention the laying out of pipelines for the 76 gas!

We have already stuck our heads in so many world conflicts for the sake of a group of people’s profit, that we have paid for with millions of dollars and thousands of lives and yet, their greed still prevails.

Well, you can all go to hell!

Incidentally an add actually tells a high ranking politician to actually go to hell!

When i say high ranking, i mean the president to of the united states of america!

go to hell Barrack!

Was what an ad at the Clarendon metro station used as a tag line, according to the washington examiner.  This of course sparked a lot of contraverscie, well what do you expect!  now a days it seems like we can’t speak our minds anymore!

Fortunately due to previous first amendment law suits, the metro has learned that the ad is well within the first amendment, and so it stays.

It may not be tasteful, it may be offensive, but common!  it is not all that bad or is it?

* Ponder upon this

"Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me"

Is a rhyme we use to teach our kids, but does it actually apply?  maybe in kindergarten?

Bring it a grade up and an emotionally taunted and unstable kid finds a way to bring a fire arm in school and causes a tragedy.

Public personalities who have stated their opinions which are not in accordance with the social norm ruins their careers.

Words used in the report about the phantom weapons of mass destruction killed thousands of soldiers and civilians.

Politicians use their words and basically lie to get into office upon which they ruin their constituents lives by being whores to special interest groups.

Wars have been inspired by words, in both religious and political context.

There is also the saying that "the pen is mightier than the sword."

Words can hurt, but where do we draw the line between freedom and censorship.

One time we were swimming at the pool of our apartment compound when some teenagers were cursing in their horse play.  Smaller kids where around so an elderly asked them to tone down their language.  This was witnessed by the teenagers older brother who took it the other way and retaliated to the elderly by , he himself cursing  at the top of his voice and encouraging the youngster to speak foul language as much as they want for it’s their right!

As much as I would like to wash those kids' mouths and their older brother's with soap, water, acid and steal brush to clean up their foulness, I can’t, because who am I to tell them what they can or cannot say!

Everyone has an opinion as much as everyone has a button that can be pushed with some specific words.

Words can easily be taken out of context and next thing you know someone gets killed over it.

With all the word man kind has learned and used, it is still the most ineffective way to communicate.

But one thing I know that everyone needs to speak of, and that is to

* Speak Blessings

Not everyone can afford to adapt a child from a third world country and support the child by sending money to some organization.  Not everyone can donate their time to volunteer, for they need it as much as anyone else to trade for a paycheck, but everyone can utter a word of encouragement and give out a smile.

Tell children how good they are, they will carry that picture of themselves in whatever they do and where ever they go.

Tell employees how good they are, and they will out perform themselves and be more productive.

One study even showed that the top reason workers leave a company, is not the pay but lack of appreciation.

Simple words of encouragement with sincerity goes a long way.

A smile with an intent to connect to another person and not a forced grin, may lift up another person’s bad day.

So next time we cross paths with another human being, let us give it shot to be a blessing.