Happy 2553rd Birthday, Buddha

Harry Reid
Gail Collins

"To lead not knowing how to follow is to dive not knowing how to swim."

I like Buddhism, and spent some time in Thailand looking at Theravada Buddhism and how it integrates into society. I feel that its biggest contribution is the insistence of meditation being the basis of spiritual discipline. This has been lost upon a lot of the Christian and Muslim world, which is why their politics is a reflection of their stagnation...So, Happy 2553...

The Angry Arab reports on the current situation in Ghaza, which the world seems to have forgotten:"Israel is still enforcing the sanctions it imposed on Gaza after the Palestinian Islamist movement, Hamas, took over the strip in June 2007, violently ousting its secular rival, Fatah. The Israelis still refuse to let in most imports except food and vital medicine. They still bar building material such as concrete, steel and pipes, as well as industrial equipment. They say they fear that Hamas and other militant groups would use them to build bunkers or weapons, such as the home-made rockets they still sometimes fire at nearby Israeli towns. Supplies for repairing the water and sewage system and the electricity networks damaged during the war are also stuck at the border terminals. A good 90% of the people suffer from power cuts; the rest have no electricity at all. While 32,000 people in a population of 1.5m have no running water, 100,000 or so get water once in every two or three days. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which looks after Palestinian refugees across the Middle East, says that the rate of infectious diseases, including diarrhoea and viral hepatitis, which result from bad water and sanitation, has risen. Commercial petrol and diesel fuel have not been let into Gaza since November, but the tunnels under the Egyptian border, which were a main target of Israel’s bombs, were rapidly repaired; smuggling is flourishing again. The Palestinian association for petrol-station owners says that 100,000 litres of diesel and 70,000 of petrol enter Gaza every day via the tunnels."

Some slightly better news, tomorrow the Iranian court will hear the appeal of imprisoned journalist Roxana Saberi. Let's hope that it will be an honest look, and not the kind of kangaroo court that has made a mockery of the Iranian courts so far. The NY Times reports that: "An appeals court hearing for Roxana Saberi, the Iranian-American journalist who was sentenced to eight years in prison on spying charges, is scheduled for Sunday, two days earlier than expected, one of her lawyers said Saturday.

The lawyer, Abdolsamad Khoramshahi, said he had initially been told that the case would be heard Tuesday but was later informed that a mistake had been made.

Although Mr. Khoramshahi said he was optimistic that Ms. Saberi would win either an acquittal or a reduced sentence, the earlier date could complicate Ms. Saberi’s defense by giving her second lawyer less time to review the case." The reason there is another lawyer on her case was her father saw that the government was prejudicial against some of the previous lawyer's team, not letting them meet with her in prison. Because he wants his daughter back, he chose another lawyer and is trying to not offend anyone, which is too easy to do in Tehran. It's interesting to note that the Iranian justice system seems to work seven days per week, while our system likes to takes 3 days off... In an interesting sidenote, both Iran and the US execute more child offenders than the rest of the world combined, according to Amnesty International...

Late night jokes:

"Ooh, the big story, earlier today -- I can't wait to see the ratings on this -- Elizabeth Edwards was discussing her marriage on 'Oprah.' And this weekend, John Edwards will discuss his marriage on 'Cheaters.'" --Jay Leno

"There were signs that John Edwards was not the most faithful guy in the world, you know. Like, Elizabeth told Oprah that she asked John for one gift before their wedding, to be faithful. But after Elizabeth made this request, John stopped looking in the mirror and said, 'Huh? I'm sorry. Did you say something?'" --Jay Leno

"Actually, The New York Daily News is reporting that John Edwards' mistress is mad about all this publicity, and she is now demanding a paternity test. Well, good luck getting John Edwards to give up a strand of hair. Never happen." --Jay Leno

"President Obama announced today plans to either trim or eliminate 121 programs. The programs he wants to eliminate -- Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly." --Jay Leno

"Here is something that's causing a huge controversy here in California. Our governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, says it's time to start the debate on legalizing marijuana. Yeah. He says he 'wants some pot in every pot.'" --Jay Leno

"Of course, people in Los Angeles are split on this. Half want it legalized, the other half think it's already legal." --Jay Leno

"Actually, the University of California says they may start a marijuana research center. Really? I thought the University of California was a marijuana research center." --Jay Leno

"And government bureaucrats in China have been ordered to smoke more locally produced cigarettes in order to set an example for citizens and stimulate the Chinese cigarette industry. And health officials are worried that smoking could become the number one cause of death now because of this government mandate. But do you know what the number one cause of death is in China now? Disobeying a government mandate. So, you're kind of stuck." --Jay Leno

"And a Georgia man is recovering in Pittsburgh after becoming the first U.S. recipient of a double hand transplant. Got two hands transplanted from another guy. He used them for the first time today to grab his heart when he saw the bill." --Jay Leno

"As you may have heard, there was a little controversy when some semi-nude photos of Miss California leaked out. The really bad news is that they were taken by John Edwards." --Jay Leno

"General Motors has reported a $6 billion loss. But once they get through bankruptcy they hope to go back making cars that nobody wants. So that will be nice." --David Letterman

"Six billion dollar loss. You know what that means? Somebody is in line for a pretty good looking bonus." --David Letterman

"Everybody is excited about the economy getting better and you kind of feel it everywhere you go. People have a smile on their face and a spring in their step. Here's how you know the economy is actually starting to turn around a little bit. I saw Donald trump earlier today, and that thing on his head was wagging." --David Letterman

"In Tennessee, lawmakers are planning to build a statue of Al Gore on the grounds of the state capitol. They say that the new statue will look just like Al Gore, except a little more lifelike." --Jimmy Fallon

"The gay agenda put another notch in its thick leather crotch harness yesterday. Maine has legalized gay marriage." --Jon Stewart

"Another state legalized same-sex marriage this week. Yesterday the governor of Maine signed a bill legalizing it, and you know what that means? Gay lobsters." --Jimmy Kimmel