2Slick's Forum: What's Next For Fallujah?
EXCERPT FROM AN UPCOMING BOOK BY ERIC T. HOLMES:
I think the winning idea for “The Blinding Flash of the Obvious” goes to the 101st Infantry Division. In the course of combat operations and searching for weapon caches the 101st came across large amounts of Ba’athist cash. They immediately turned right around and spent the money in the local economy for humanitarian efforts. During 2003 they seized and spent $178 million. Other units are now continuing the program.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
Telegraph | News | Tension rises as China scours the globe for energy
Telegraph | News | Tension rises as China scours the globe for energy: "China's insatiable demand for energy is prompting fears of financial and diplomatic collisions around the globe as it seeks reliable supplies of oil from as far away as Brazil and Sudan."
Friday, November 19, 2004
WHY DOES THE UN GET OFF?
OrlandoSentinel.com: Opinion: "f the United Nations were a democratic country under the rule of law, Secretary General Kofi Annan would have resigned in disgrace, and might well be under criminal investigation for, at the least, tolerating massive corruption.
If that idea surprises readers it is only because the mainstream U.S. news media have done an abysmal job reporting on what is undoubtedly the largest bribery and embezzlement scandal in world history.
So far, says a U.S. Senate investigation -- one of five under way across the globe -- Saddam Hussein is alleged to have skimmed $21.3 billion from a U.N. humanitarian-aid program.
The betting is that when the investigative work is done, that amount will grow even more. Even so, $21.3 billion is more than twice the $10 billion estimate from the top U.S. arms inspector a few months ago that made the scandal the largest in world history.
Whether Annan himself is culpable is unclear, but he is acting like the politician whose friends' hands have been caught in the cookie jar and is worried he will be implicated, too. And there are allegations his son was on the take also.
Annan has done everything possible to impede serious efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal, which has implicated Benon Sevan, who was in charge of the U.N. Oil for Food program, the humanitarian effort at the scandal's center.
After the U.S.-led campaign to evict Saddam's troops from Iraq in 1991, the United Nations slapped an embargo on its oil exports to weaken Saddam and encourage efforts to overthrow him. The only Iraqi oil that was to be sold was through the U.N. program, and the proceeds were then to buy humanitarian goods for the Iraqi people.
But, between 1991 and 2003, Saddam skimmed at least $21.3 billion from oil and food sales. Most of it, an estimated $13 billion, came from his regime smuggling out oil through neighboring countries. He allegedly bilked another $4 billion-plus in kickbacks on the goods intended for his people.
If U.N. officials did not know what was going on, they are even less on the ball than their well-established reputation for incompetence would indicate.
Under U.S. law many of those officials would have been indicted under the statutes that allow prosecution of those who knew about an illegal act, or should have known under any reasonable standard.
There are many reasons why Americans should be outraged, not the least of which is that U.S. taxpayers fund more than 20 percent of the U.N. budget. Remember, U.N. officials whose job was overseeing the Food for Oil program allegedly took payoffs from Saddam to look the other way. And, according to investigators, some of the money Saddam skimmed went to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
Think of the $21.3 billion as more than two-thirds of the budget for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or three times the annual spending by the Environmental Protection Agency -- serious folding money, even in Washington, D.C.
Common sense requires one to question whether U.N. efforts to stop the U.S. intervention in Iraq were tied to its under-the-table relationship with Saddam. Also, among those who allegedly got payoffs from Saddam in the scandal were prominent officials and businessmen from France and Russia, nations that also sought to stop the American effort to oust Saddam.
Even Americans who disagree with President Bush about the Iraq war should not give the United Nations a pass on corruption because of its political stand. And those American politicians who insist on defending the United Nations in this matter, such as Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, need to think again.
An American politician who presided over a minor bribery and embezzlement scandal, much less one of this mammoth dimension, would be long gone by now.
Why the American news media have given this story short shrift -- it hardly makes the network evening-news shows and is buried inside most newspapers, including this one, when mentioned at all -- is a worthwhile question.
The United Nations has long enjoyed a magical image in much of the United States. The idea of all nations getting together to solve problems is a warm and fuzzy one that makes many Americans tingle.
Giving the United Nations a free ride in the news media may well be a function of the red America/blue America divide. The elites along the coasts and in the major news media may see this as a minor issue. My guess, however, is that the resulting public outrage when this story gets its day in the sunshine will be as much a revelation to many of those same folks as Bush's re-election."
If that idea surprises readers it is only because the mainstream U.S. news media have done an abysmal job reporting on what is undoubtedly the largest bribery and embezzlement scandal in world history.
So far, says a U.S. Senate investigation -- one of five under way across the globe -- Saddam Hussein is alleged to have skimmed $21.3 billion from a U.N. humanitarian-aid program.
The betting is that when the investigative work is done, that amount will grow even more. Even so, $21.3 billion is more than twice the $10 billion estimate from the top U.S. arms inspector a few months ago that made the scandal the largest in world history.
Whether Annan himself is culpable is unclear, but he is acting like the politician whose friends' hands have been caught in the cookie jar and is worried he will be implicated, too. And there are allegations his son was on the take also.
Annan has done everything possible to impede serious efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal, which has implicated Benon Sevan, who was in charge of the U.N. Oil for Food program, the humanitarian effort at the scandal's center.
After the U.S.-led campaign to evict Saddam's troops from Iraq in 1991, the United Nations slapped an embargo on its oil exports to weaken Saddam and encourage efforts to overthrow him. The only Iraqi oil that was to be sold was through the U.N. program, and the proceeds were then to buy humanitarian goods for the Iraqi people.
But, between 1991 and 2003, Saddam skimmed at least $21.3 billion from oil and food sales. Most of it, an estimated $13 billion, came from his regime smuggling out oil through neighboring countries. He allegedly bilked another $4 billion-plus in kickbacks on the goods intended for his people.
If U.N. officials did not know what was going on, they are even less on the ball than their well-established reputation for incompetence would indicate.
Under U.S. law many of those officials would have been indicted under the statutes that allow prosecution of those who knew about an illegal act, or should have known under any reasonable standard.
There are many reasons why Americans should be outraged, not the least of which is that U.S. taxpayers fund more than 20 percent of the U.N. budget. Remember, U.N. officials whose job was overseeing the Food for Oil program allegedly took payoffs from Saddam to look the other way. And, according to investigators, some of the money Saddam skimmed went to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers.
Think of the $21.3 billion as more than two-thirds of the budget for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or three times the annual spending by the Environmental Protection Agency -- serious folding money, even in Washington, D.C.
Common sense requires one to question whether U.N. efforts to stop the U.S. intervention in Iraq were tied to its under-the-table relationship with Saddam. Also, among those who allegedly got payoffs from Saddam in the scandal were prominent officials and businessmen from France and Russia, nations that also sought to stop the American effort to oust Saddam.
Even Americans who disagree with President Bush about the Iraq war should not give the United Nations a pass on corruption because of its political stand. And those American politicians who insist on defending the United Nations in this matter, such as Sen. Carl Levin of Michigan, need to think again.
An American politician who presided over a minor bribery and embezzlement scandal, much less one of this mammoth dimension, would be long gone by now.
Why the American news media have given this story short shrift -- it hardly makes the network evening-news shows and is buried inside most newspapers, including this one, when mentioned at all -- is a worthwhile question.
The United Nations has long enjoyed a magical image in much of the United States. The idea of all nations getting together to solve problems is a warm and fuzzy one that makes many Americans tingle.
Giving the United Nations a free ride in the news media may well be a function of the red America/blue America divide. The elites along the coasts and in the major news media may see this as a minor issue. My guess, however, is that the resulting public outrage when this story gets its day in the sunshine will be as much a revelation to many of those same folks as Bush's re-election."
Yahoo! News - SEX V. WAR IN '04
Yahoo! News - SEX V. WAR IN '04: "I got curious, like maybe you are, about the reasons behind this new cultural divide.
I don't have a staff of statisticians to crunch numbers for me, but I do have my trusty copy of the 2002 Statistical Abstract of the United States. So just for fun, I decided to compare the candidates' own two home states: Red Texas and Blue Massachusetts.
The first clue is to look at the marriage rates: In 2001, Massachusetts had a lower-than-average divorce rate (2.4 per 1,000 residents, compared to a national average of 4 per 1,000 residents). But it also had a lower-than-average marriage rate: 6.4 per 1,000 residents vs. 8.4 in the national average. Texas was the exact opposite: a higher-than-average crude divorce rate and a higher-than-average marriage rate.
Hmm. I smell a demographic rat. People in the United States, on average, marry in their mid to late 20s, and half of all divorces take place in the first seven years of marriage. Marriage and divorce are thus both disproportionately a young person's game. The more young people in a state, the more marriages and divorces.
Could this explain part of the divorce divide? Yup, at least a little bit. According to Census data, about 22 percent of Massachusetts residents are 55-plus, compared to 17 percent of Texans. Red states tend to be younger than blue states overall.
Notice something else about the great red-blue divorce divide: Red states, especially the Bible Belt South, have lots of minorities (and minorities have higher divorce rates, in part due to lower socioeconomic status). Yup. That's a big part: Massachusetts may be blue, but it isn't very black. It has only half as many African Americans as Texas (5 percent vs. 11 percent). Add in the Latinos, and it's no contest: In 2000 just 12 percent of Massachusetts' citizens were black or Hispanic, compared to 44 percent of Texans.
Enough of these parlor games. Can we agree? Some of my best friends are from blue states. Most blue-staters are perfectly nice people with good personal values. And divorce rates are not just a red-state problem.
And oh, by the way, as an election issue, sex sometimes does trump war. Ask President Bush (news - web sites)."
I don't have a staff of statisticians to crunch numbers for me, but I do have my trusty copy of the 2002 Statistical Abstract of the United States. So just for fun, I decided to compare the candidates' own two home states: Red Texas and Blue Massachusetts.
The first clue is to look at the marriage rates: In 2001, Massachusetts had a lower-than-average divorce rate (2.4 per 1,000 residents, compared to a national average of 4 per 1,000 residents). But it also had a lower-than-average marriage rate: 6.4 per 1,000 residents vs. 8.4 in the national average. Texas was the exact opposite: a higher-than-average crude divorce rate and a higher-than-average marriage rate.
Hmm. I smell a demographic rat. People in the United States, on average, marry in their mid to late 20s, and half of all divorces take place in the first seven years of marriage. Marriage and divorce are thus both disproportionately a young person's game. The more young people in a state, the more marriages and divorces.
Could this explain part of the divorce divide? Yup, at least a little bit. According to Census data, about 22 percent of Massachusetts residents are 55-plus, compared to 17 percent of Texans. Red states tend to be younger than blue states overall.
Notice something else about the great red-blue divorce divide: Red states, especially the Bible Belt South, have lots of minorities (and minorities have higher divorce rates, in part due to lower socioeconomic status). Yup. That's a big part: Massachusetts may be blue, but it isn't very black. It has only half as many African Americans as Texas (5 percent vs. 11 percent). Add in the Latinos, and it's no contest: In 2000 just 12 percent of Massachusetts' citizens were black or Hispanic, compared to 44 percent of Texans.
Enough of these parlor games. Can we agree? Some of my best friends are from blue states. Most blue-staters are perfectly nice people with good personal values. And divorce rates are not just a red-state problem.
And oh, by the way, as an election issue, sex sometimes does trump war. Ask President Bush (news - web sites)."
Belmont Club
Belmont Club: "Friday, November 19, 2004
War In the Darkness
Al Bawaba offers a glimpse into lowest level of urban warfare -- tunneling. 'According to The AP, Israeli military sources said the tunnel collapsed while an unknown number of Palestinians were digging toward an Israeli outpost near Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials conveyed the tunnel collapsed following the heavy rains in the area overnight. They said five people, all from the same family, were trapped in the rubble. Israel's Army Radio said three Palestinians were wounded.'"
War In the Darkness
Al Bawaba offers a glimpse into lowest level of urban warfare -- tunneling. 'According to The AP, Israeli military sources said the tunnel collapsed while an unknown number of Palestinians were digging toward an Israeli outpost near Rafah in southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian officials conveyed the tunnel collapsed following the heavy rains in the area overnight. They said five people, all from the same family, were trapped in the rubble. Israel's Army Radio said three Palestinians were wounded.'"
PALO ALTO / Rice's success no surprise at Stanford / Bush's choice to lead State Dept. called decisive, charming
PALO ALTO / Rice's success no surprise at Stanford / Bush's choice to lead State Dept. called decisive, charming: "Rice's success no surprise at Stanford
Bush's choice to lead State Dept. called decisive, charming"
Bush's choice to lead State Dept. called decisive, charming"
Thursday, November 18, 2004
News from Baghdad: 18 November 2004
News from Baghdad: 18 November 2004: "18 November 2004
Good evening, or should I say, good morning to everyone. It has been a very rough time since I have returned, as you all know. My wife has kept you posted as much as she could, and did a rather good job of it too.
As you all know, I lost a very good friend of mine last week. I will not go into the particulars of it at this time, however, suffice it to say, that yesterday was a really hard day for me. The memorial for him was held along with another soldier we lost in the battalion a few days following my friend. The hardest part for me, was as we filed out of the chapel, we came to attention, saluted the empty boots, lone rifle, dog-tags and helmet there on the stage. As I stood there, I began to cry like a little child, knowing that my friend and fellow soldier was gone. As I stood there, I thought of the times that we spent together, on the same tank crew, in the field, training, or when he would be at my house for dinner or asking advice. He was a great soldier and just wouldn't give in. To know that he was mortally wounded, get up, begin to fire his weapon to protect his fellow soldiers and friends is the true mark of a soldier. He gave his all, so others could live and continue the fight. He will always be remembered as a good friend, a great soldier and a comrade in arms. He was a true Cavalryman in every sense of the word. God bless his family and take him in Your arms for now into eternity. Goodbye my friend.
posted by Jay | 1:10 AM
7 Comments:
Shar said...
They say as long as you have the memories, they will always be a part of you. I think that is true.
My familes thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. Take care.
3:20 AM
Ramrod said...
I can't really comment, not having been through a hot war, but if those events didn't affect you, you would need help. God Bless you for not having been changed by your Iraq experiences.
Ramrod
4:59 AM
iKnit said...
I am sorry for your loss. I haven't read your blog in a few days. I guess I thought you were home for good and that there would be no more news from Baghdad.
I just want you to know that I'm praying for you, your family and your troops. I know it doesn't seem like much, but the title of your blog tugs at my heart when I see it on the list of my daily reads. It reminds me that others are sacrificing so much and that I need to keep you all in my heart and in my prayers.
Please post if you or any of your fellow soldiers has a need. So many here would love to help. God bless!
5:05 AM
Jen said...
This post just breaks my heart. I'm so sorry.
6:52 AM
Anonymous said...
Just wanted to say I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Sounds like he was a real hero; a lot of those coming out of the USA lately. I'll say an extra prayer to help you get through the loss.
Take care, and remember we are ever grateful for your service.
Anthony
6:04 PM
song_and_dance_mam said...
When a good man die, we weep as their souls finds peace, who leave good for others to complete.
We can only pray to finish the good fight they began and died striving for.
My father fought in WWII and survived, but not old age.
I am standing and appluading in my heart for all you do, and am glad I found your blog.
10:16 PM
Liberty said...
My husband and I cannot express to you how sorry we are for the loss of your good friend, our HERO!
We pray for all of you everyday. God keep our heros safe.
We love you for what you are doing for the US and the world! God Bless You All!
3:40 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home
"
Good evening, or should I say, good morning to everyone. It has been a very rough time since I have returned, as you all know. My wife has kept you posted as much as she could, and did a rather good job of it too.
As you all know, I lost a very good friend of mine last week. I will not go into the particulars of it at this time, however, suffice it to say, that yesterday was a really hard day for me. The memorial for him was held along with another soldier we lost in the battalion a few days following my friend. The hardest part for me, was as we filed out of the chapel, we came to attention, saluted the empty boots, lone rifle, dog-tags and helmet there on the stage. As I stood there, I began to cry like a little child, knowing that my friend and fellow soldier was gone. As I stood there, I thought of the times that we spent together, on the same tank crew, in the field, training, or when he would be at my house for dinner or asking advice. He was a great soldier and just wouldn't give in. To know that he was mortally wounded, get up, begin to fire his weapon to protect his fellow soldiers and friends is the true mark of a soldier. He gave his all, so others could live and continue the fight. He will always be remembered as a good friend, a great soldier and a comrade in arms. He was a true Cavalryman in every sense of the word. God bless his family and take him in Your arms for now into eternity. Goodbye my friend.
posted by Jay | 1:10 AM
7 Comments:
Shar said...
They say as long as you have the memories, they will always be a part of you. I think that is true.
My familes thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. Take care.
3:20 AM
Ramrod said...
I can't really comment, not having been through a hot war, but if those events didn't affect you, you would need help. God Bless you for not having been changed by your Iraq experiences.
Ramrod
4:59 AM
iKnit said...
I am sorry for your loss. I haven't read your blog in a few days. I guess I thought you were home for good and that there would be no more news from Baghdad.
I just want you to know that I'm praying for you, your family and your troops. I know it doesn't seem like much, but the title of your blog tugs at my heart when I see it on the list of my daily reads. It reminds me that others are sacrificing so much and that I need to keep you all in my heart and in my prayers.
Please post if you or any of your fellow soldiers has a need. So many here would love to help. God bless!
5:05 AM
Jen said...
This post just breaks my heart. I'm so sorry.
6:52 AM
Anonymous said...
Just wanted to say I'm sorry for the loss of your friend. Sounds like he was a real hero; a lot of those coming out of the USA lately. I'll say an extra prayer to help you get through the loss.
Take care, and remember we are ever grateful for your service.
Anthony
6:04 PM
song_and_dance_mam said...
When a good man die, we weep as their souls finds peace, who leave good for others to complete.
We can only pray to finish the good fight they began and died striving for.
My father fought in WWII and survived, but not old age.
I am standing and appluading in my heart for all you do, and am glad I found your blog.
10:16 PM
Liberty said...
My husband and I cannot express to you how sorry we are for the loss of your good friend, our HERO!
We pray for all of you everyday. God keep our heros safe.
We love you for what you are doing for the US and the world! God Bless You All!
3:40 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home
"
Blogs for Bush: In The Media Archives
Blogs for Bush: In The Media Archives: "The comments to yesterday's post about the Marine who (gasp) killed an insurgent reveal a clear sense of outrage against the selective use of truth by the media to propagate the notion that our military is inhumane. By completely ignoring all context, teh Kevin Siteses of the world give aid and comfort to the enemy by providing propaganda material to the Jihad Network (aka Al-Jazeera) and likeminded outlets whose goal is to incite Muslim rage against America."
Belmont Club
Belmont Club
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, 22, of Gilroy was killed Monday in Al-Fallujah by small arms fire. "They had finished mopping up in Fallujah and they went back to double-check on some insurgents. From what we gathered, somebody playing possum jumped up and shot him,'' said his father, Joel Ailes, who learned of his death Monday evening. "It's extremely hard."
Marine Lance Cpl. Jeramy Ailes, 22, of Gilroy was killed Monday in Al-Fallujah by small arms fire. "They had finished mopping up in Fallujah and they went back to double-check on some insurgents. From what we gathered, somebody playing possum jumped up and shot him,'' said his father, Joel Ailes, who learned of his death Monday evening. "It's extremely hard."
Belmont Club
Belmont Club: "It was in Grozny that Islamic fighters first learned that they could defeat a multidivisional superpower force equipped with armor, artillery and aviation."
Shaking Spears: Iraq's Auschwitz; The CIA's Waterloo
Shaking Spears: Iraq's Auschwitz; The CIA's Waterloo: "Can we now retire the canard that Iraq is not central to the war on terror?"
The Wrestler Who Cried "Rape!"
The Wrestler Who Cried "Rape!"
Amazing story of athletic egos gone wild.
Amazing story of athletic egos gone wild.
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
“Where is the man?”
Real Live PreacherWhere Is The Man?
Part Two
A Real Live Preacher Dramatized Bible Story
Click here to read part one
Jesus slowly lowered himself into a squatting position, eyes still on the woman. Then he looked at the ground before him and wrote with his finger in the dust as he thought and wondered. The crowd was quiet. They stared at him and wondered what he was going to do next.
And then he froze. His index finger stopped moving in the dirt. He understood. He knew what was missing. His eyes closed and he let the air out of his lungs with a groan. His shoulders sagged. He became intent on the ground before him, and he wrote in the dirt, “Where is the man?”
He stood quickly and stepped across what he had written and toward the Pharisee who seemed to be the ringleader. He spoke directly to him, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Part Two
A Real Live Preacher Dramatized Bible Story
Click here to read part one
Jesus slowly lowered himself into a squatting position, eyes still on the woman. Then he looked at the ground before him and wrote with his finger in the dust as he thought and wondered. The crowd was quiet. They stared at him and wondered what he was going to do next.
And then he froze. His index finger stopped moving in the dirt. He understood. He knew what was missing. His eyes closed and he let the air out of his lungs with a groan. His shoulders sagged. He became intent on the ground before him, and he wrote in the dirt, “Where is the man?”
He stood quickly and stepped across what he had written and toward the Pharisee who seemed to be the ringleader. He spoke directly to him, but loud enough for everyone to hear.
Real Live Preacher
Real Live Preacher: "South Beach & Astronomy
So how's the South Beach Diet going, you ask? Pretty good. Jeanene and I started the South Beach diet a little over a month ago. I wrote about it here, and then gave an update here.
The point of the 'diet' has not been to lose weight. My goal is to learn to eat in new ways. I'm 5' 8', and I was 193 or 194 when I began. I spent a couple of weeks with virtually no carbs or sugars. Proteins and vegetables only. I ate as much as I wanted, but only from a limited menu. In phase two, I began to reintroduce a few carbs and some fruits. But only good carbs like whole grain breads. No candy either. Just fruit.
I feel like an alcoholic speaking after receiving his 30-day chip. I don't want to act like I'm some fancy nutrition expert or anything. Nor am I under any illusion about how easy it would be for me to go back to my old way of eating. But yesterday I weighed 178 pounds, and I feel better than I have in the last six or seven years. That's all I know at this point, and I'm celebrating that for myself.
I have discovered a couple of things along the way. First, every meal does not have to be a pleasure trip for me. I can eat very simply day in and day out. I don't mind eating the same things over and over either. The new way of thinking about food tells me that I eat meals to give me strength and to nourish my body. Regular meals are not about pleasure. So who cares if I'm having a salad again today, and it isn't that exciting. No big deal. I'm hungry so I eat. That's all.
Second, carbs and sugars are trigger foods for me. The more I eat of them the more I want to snack and eat more of them. My apetite has dropped off. I can't eat as much as I used to. I don't even want to eat that much. It's truly amazing how a couple of pieces of lunch meat, a slice of cheese, a few olives, and some peanuts can fill me up. The body really doesn't need as much food as we have come to think in our culture. I'm stunned to find that a salad is a filling meal. Amazing to realize that a chicken breast and a helping of vegetables is enough for me.
Again, the more I eat, the more I seem to want to eat. I think I'm getting in touch with my body's natural desires and rhythms. Don't get me wrong. I'm scared as hell that I'm going to start eating like I used to again - as much of whatever I want whenever I want it. I'm frightened of becoming like that again. And I sense that fear is a good thing here.
I'm beginning to allow myself to have a celebration now and again. Slowly, and with caution. Last night I had a few pieces of pizza with a couple of close friends. That was a special night, and that was okay. So far so good. I'm learning some things about myself, and let me tell you this:
NOTHING tastes as good as being thinner feels!
Astronomy
I mentioned that I am beginning the process of writing a dramatized account of the Wise Men story from Matthew. This is part of a larger plan in which I'm creating a collection of dramatized Christmas stories. Anyway, I've been talking to an astronomer who reads Real Live Preacher sometimes. In fact, he sent me an email once when I wrote this. Turns out I was wrong in that piece. The mass of that galaxy is equal to 800 billion stars, but the actual star count is lower, if I remember his email correctly.
His name is Bill, and he's a professional astronomer. We talked today. He's going to help me be astronomically correct when I write about the heavenly phenomenon that lead the magi on their journey.
Thanks Bill!
Part two of 'Where is the Man' will be online tomorrow. I promise!
rlp
11:43:24 AM Leave a Comment [18]
Click here to visit the Radio UserLand website. � Copyright 2004 Preacher.
Last update: 11/17/2004; 7:11:46 AM.
"
So how's the South Beach Diet going, you ask? Pretty good. Jeanene and I started the South Beach diet a little over a month ago. I wrote about it here, and then gave an update here.
The point of the 'diet' has not been to lose weight. My goal is to learn to eat in new ways. I'm 5' 8', and I was 193 or 194 when I began. I spent a couple of weeks with virtually no carbs or sugars. Proteins and vegetables only. I ate as much as I wanted, but only from a limited menu. In phase two, I began to reintroduce a few carbs and some fruits. But only good carbs like whole grain breads. No candy either. Just fruit.
I feel like an alcoholic speaking after receiving his 30-day chip. I don't want to act like I'm some fancy nutrition expert or anything. Nor am I under any illusion about how easy it would be for me to go back to my old way of eating. But yesterday I weighed 178 pounds, and I feel better than I have in the last six or seven years. That's all I know at this point, and I'm celebrating that for myself.
I have discovered a couple of things along the way. First, every meal does not have to be a pleasure trip for me. I can eat very simply day in and day out. I don't mind eating the same things over and over either. The new way of thinking about food tells me that I eat meals to give me strength and to nourish my body. Regular meals are not about pleasure. So who cares if I'm having a salad again today, and it isn't that exciting. No big deal. I'm hungry so I eat. That's all.
Second, carbs and sugars are trigger foods for me. The more I eat of them the more I want to snack and eat more of them. My apetite has dropped off. I can't eat as much as I used to. I don't even want to eat that much. It's truly amazing how a couple of pieces of lunch meat, a slice of cheese, a few olives, and some peanuts can fill me up. The body really doesn't need as much food as we have come to think in our culture. I'm stunned to find that a salad is a filling meal. Amazing to realize that a chicken breast and a helping of vegetables is enough for me.
Again, the more I eat, the more I seem to want to eat. I think I'm getting in touch with my body's natural desires and rhythms. Don't get me wrong. I'm scared as hell that I'm going to start eating like I used to again - as much of whatever I want whenever I want it. I'm frightened of becoming like that again. And I sense that fear is a good thing here.
I'm beginning to allow myself to have a celebration now and again. Slowly, and with caution. Last night I had a few pieces of pizza with a couple of close friends. That was a special night, and that was okay. So far so good. I'm learning some things about myself, and let me tell you this:
NOTHING tastes as good as being thinner feels!
Astronomy
I mentioned that I am beginning the process of writing a dramatized account of the Wise Men story from Matthew. This is part of a larger plan in which I'm creating a collection of dramatized Christmas stories. Anyway, I've been talking to an astronomer who reads Real Live Preacher sometimes. In fact, he sent me an email once when I wrote this. Turns out I was wrong in that piece. The mass of that galaxy is equal to 800 billion stars, but the actual star count is lower, if I remember his email correctly.
His name is Bill, and he's a professional astronomer. We talked today. He's going to help me be astronomically correct when I write about the heavenly phenomenon that lead the magi on their journey.
Thanks Bill!
Part two of 'Where is the Man' will be online tomorrow. I promise!
rlp
11:43:24 AM Leave a Comment [18]
Click here to visit the Radio UserLand website. � Copyright 2004 Preacher.
Last update: 11/17/2004; 7:11:46 AM.
"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
