Show me yours, I'll show you mine. LIKE-A-TITION?? what is that?

(No offense to anyone..  just some observations on this cultural phenomenon).  


Facebook page promotions are run under the guise of "Competition" where the most likes determine the winner. Competitors solicit their family and friends for votes or Likes and post a plea on the "Competition" page repeatedly, so as to maximize visibility to new page dwellers and get their vote.  Such persistence seems to pay off as well.  Some invitations sound like this:  your vote gets mine, Like mine and I'll Like yours, Support me please, Help me win


There is absolutely nothing wrong with this except for one word:  competition.


To put this into perspective imagine a race where a slow runner that comes in last in the race would actually win the race because the runner had the most audience or spectators' cheers.  Finish last and get the recognition and the awards, ok maybe not necessarily last and maybe not even finish the race,  but you get the idea.  Ok, another example  would be a dancing competition but the audience, who decides the winner, supports a mediocre performer.  This is how these so called competitions are run on Facebook and the real winner is the page itself as it builds, if it builds, a large audience and recognition to itself or its agenda.


One cannot blame entrants for directing the traffic to their thing to vote on.  Sometimes the sheer number of entries discourages people from browsing the entries and "liking", but that is what they're supposed to do.  Many would just satisfy the urge to be done with the task of helping one or more in need by linking to them directly.  So, the system is not perfect!


Again, there is nothing wrong with that activity except the name, competition.  That, it is not.  Call it what it is, "Like-a-tition".. how is that for a new word?  Win prizes based on your ability to get "Likes".


Here are some screen grabs from a very successful page promotion for an event:  
AUB Outdoors 2011 Samsung Photo Competition.

It's Dandelawns when dandelions prevail.

I'm thinking of dandelions.  Why do people spend so much time and energy trying to kill them and get them out of their lawns.  Who said lawns have to be 100% green, and the cost to keep that perfect green could amount to quite a bit of money.  So, why not let the dandelions take over.  They seem happy to take over your lawn and for free at that.  And what is the difference to you and your neighbors anyway?.  Besides, if you get hungry you can grab few dandelions and have them for lunch :p
Well, the other difference is color.  Your lawn would reflect a very bright yellow with some dark green which would actually bring out the yellow.  A yellow and green lawn.  I love it.  Let them dandelions prosper and multiply.  Dandelions, they're not a weed anymore, they are dandelawns.

The Girls got milk, but watch out for skunks!

From a distance one's reaction to the view might be "oh what the heck".  These skunks must have hit a huge patch of steroids except that they are cows and not skunks.  These cows adorned skunk colors, all black and a wide white strip running from head to tail.   I had never seen cows trying to pass for skunks before.  There were normal cows too, but if you don't believe me when I say these cows have skunk features, well, take a look at the evidence.

I tried to talk to the owner about this phenomenon, so I walked towards the barn and when I finally got there I announced myself but no one came out.  I got closer to the door and stuck my head in and to my shock and surprise there was this big mean skunk..  Oh my God, what's this skunk doing? Oh, the horror!  I had to get away in a hurry; besides, the stink of  pungent ammonia smell suddenly filled the place. But is it possible that the skunk, uh! no can't be!!  

They say cows never forget a face.

Many just stared at me..

..and stared, maybe it's the camera. 

Well girls, you sure are pretty..  and who's that in the distance?

doesn't she look like "Pink" the singer?

and moo to yoo too!

ok, now look straight head, pretend you're thinking.  aaaaaaaand perfect. thanks.

I think the girls got milk, whatchu think?


Location:  somewhere in Virginia, the "Bonanza" state

an attempt to get one more face for the 1001 Faces project :D

1001 Faces Lebanon - free to join

Sometimes just one photograph doesn't fully capture the moment.

• Sometimes a single frame photograph is all you have room for to tell a story and one photograph would leave you with a certain impression about a story, a happening ... or an emotion.  Sometimes and when time and space allow, a sequence of frames allow your impression to be sharper and fuller.  Here is one of those moments as captured in about 2 seconds by a Nikon D300:

More faces can be seen on facebook  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=123035491050126 "1001 Faces Lebanon".  Feel free to join.

You are invited to leave a comment below.

The Mother of All Leaks

Wikileaks leaks and the Ellsburg leak.


Much talk about prosecuting Wikileaks and Assange for publishing information that came to them like the information that The New York Times came into back in 1971.   Referencing the "Pentagon Papers", top secret documents about the Vietnam war that Daniel Ellsburg felt necessary to release.  The Times started releasing and then stopped due to orders from the Nixon adminnistration and then resumed publishing the documents by ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT...


"Finally, Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the Times. On June 13, 1971, the paper began to publish the first installment of the 7,000 page document. For 15 days, the Times was prevented from publishing its articles on the orders of the Nixon administration. However, the Supreme Court ordered publication to resume freely. Although the Times did not reveal the source of the leak, Ellsberg knew that the FBI would soon determine that he was the source of the leak. Ellsberg went underground, living secretly among like-minded people. He was not caught by the FBI, even though they were under enormous pressure from the Nixon Administration to find him."    
[source:  http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1871.html]


All of a sudden the Swedes issue a warrant of arrest against Assange.  Why now?  Did Hillary have anything to do with it?  Is the next document to be released about Hillary ordering information about Bill's whereabouts?  probably not but it was a surprise to see for example that she had ordered collecting personal information and data collection on people that worked for the UN as well as world leaders.  Since we, the USA,  share much with the Israelis is it conceivable that Hillary aided the Israelis in the February 2010 assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhuh in Dubai? Was there any information and travel data collected and shared by the US with the Israelis on M. Al-Mabhuh? or is it possible that the americans eliminated the Hamas military commander on behalf of the Israelis?  How come no one was brought to justice?  Did the information collection ordered by Hillary Clinton help in any way in this man's death? And what would be the consequence of such a finding?.  Such personal information collection could not have but bad proviosional intentions, blackmail is the least of them.


The elaborate scheme to eliminate Al-Mahbub could only come from states that have the means and resources and access to credit card information for example and digital tracking of same to pull a job like that.  Many laws in several countries were broken in the process of this operation.  Where is the accountability for this.  Many seem to be accessories before and after the fact.   


The murder of a Hamas leader finds justification in the eyes of the Israelis and Americans but how about Folke Bernadotte, the UN special envoy?  His killers are well known:


"Bernadotte was assassinated on Friday 17 September 1948 by members of the Jewish terrorist Zionist group Lehi (commonly known as the Stern Gang or Stern Group).
A three man 'center' of this extreme Jewish group had approved the killing: Yitzhak Yezernitsky (the future Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Shamir), Nathan Friedmann (also called Natan Yellin-Mor) and Yisrael Eldad (also known as Scheib)....."   (1)


The US has a tendency to look the other way when it comes to israeli crimes even when such crimes are against the US itself.  Ask any surviving member from the USS Liberty  [ ussliberty.org ]  about the flagrant attack against an american ship and its crew and how our government's coverup.  34 Killed, 174 injured!


Now all efforts are made to hush and punish Assange.  Assange, like The New York Times, did not steal the information nor spy on the US or other countries and is not guilty of a crime.  Unlike The Times, he is not susceptible to administration  pressures to hault publication of embassy documents, but then again, The Times had the support of the Supreme Court to resume publication of the Pentagon Papers.  (google the Pentagon Papers or see link below for further information)  (2)




(1) Folke Bernadotte.  He was assassinated in Jerusalem in 1948 by the militant Zionist group Lehi, while pursuing his official duties.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folke_Bernadotte.


(2) [http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1871.html]






comments, corrections are welcome!

Trees, wind and ice. a wind instrument to wait for.

Ice storms too, like big snow storms bring a thing of beauty that's rarely seen... or heard!

Every tree branch, every twig, every tiny detail becomes engulfed in ice, like a custom fit glove.

I heard it once, yes only once and can still remember it. Upstate NY.. I stopped the car to listen. I took few steps and at the edge of that little forest, the wind played the ice engulfed branches like a gust of wind would passing throug a crystal chandelier or wind chime.

Naked tree branches and custom fit ice.. a wind musical instrument with heavenly unrehearsed tunes that no other could...