The Panda Bear obtains a New Job, Russia and Globalism

As readers of The Panda Bear Blog know, the Panda Bear Blog was looking for work after attending a training program.    The Panda Bear is pleased to inform her readers that she has found a new humble office position,   This piece of information makes the Panda Bear feel that the official statistics were correct and unemployment is improving in Massachusetts.    Since the Great Recession the Panda Bear mistrusts the official statistic; she is convinced all what the financial interests who control this country would be quite happy with high unemployment as long as the stock market was doing alright and inflation was low.

Like many Americans, the Panda Bear feels burnt out by this election...    She is frustrated by major role the social issues play in the elections when major issues of US' security is at stake.   Furthermore, she is tired of the US major parties having the same arguments about the social issues year after year.

However, The Panda Bear feels very depressed that some US politicians seem to be so anxious to have a confrontation with Russia when the welfare is of the US is not directly involved.    How many wars can the US fight at once?

The Panda Bear is no lover of Russia or the former Soviet Union.   She has met when the Soviet Union was still strong Russian communists and she hated them.    She also felt they were totally dishonest and highly manipulative.   However, after 9/11, the Panda Bear felt somewhat nostalgic for the old Cold War,    The USSR did not seem to be bent on self-destruction to further their goals. .   Furthermore, despite all its shortcomings, the USSR did seem to want on some level to be a "modern”, "civilized" country. In some parts of the world, much of the population seems not to pay even lip service to what Americans think of as being modern society.

It also ironic that the US party that now favors confrontation with Russia is the Democratic Party which used to be the more pro conciliation with the former USSR is now more hawk like than the Republicans in this respect. .   Furthermore, Hillary Clinton herself is old enough to remember when the Democratic Party was the party of moderation concerning the former Soviet Union.

What stressful times we live in now.

The Panda Bear on Pain Killers, War and High Unemployement

The Panda Bear apologizes to her readers for not posting for a month.   Right now the Panda Bear aims to post twice a month.   Mr. Panda had a kidney stone and was in a lot of a pain for about two weeks.  Hopefully, he has passed the stone out.  

For a while Mr. Panda was on different kinds of narcotic pain killers.    He was not himself on the pain killers.   The Panda Bear noticed that his judgment was effected but he was not aware that his thinking was effected so he got quite irritable when things did not get done.   The Panda Bear thinks her judgment has been effected when she was on pain killers.   She got extremely talkative on them which is not her usual self.   She has heard from other people that when they are on pain killers they have become have also become more talkative.   The Panda Bear wishes to advise her readers that people can act a little tipsy on pain killers and the people on them may not realize their thinking has been effected by the medication.

This week President Obama gave a speech on foreign policies.   As readers of the Panda Bear Blog know, the Panda Bear wants the US to immediately get out of Afghanistan and for the US to end all military involvements that aren’t directly related to its self-defense.   She was very disappointed to hear that US troops will remain there 2016.     While the Panda Bear truly feels sorry for the kidnapped girls in Nigeria, she thinks some of the interest of the US in Nigeria comes from it being a big oil producing country.   

To those critics who say it makes the US weak not to get militarily involved in other countries the Panda Bear wishes to say:

1. She does not care.   She would rather have Americans be safe, healthy and cowardly than dead and brave for wars that are none of the US’s business.
2. The US would not be in the position of being seen as backing down from foreign conflict if it minded its own business in the first place and did not threaten other countries with wars over concerns that don’t involve the US.

The Panda Bear remembers the Vietnam War.   She remembers hearing that terrible things would happen if we pulled out of Vietnam (also wasn’t it supposedly a security threat for us to leave Iraq?).  The Communists would think US was weak and take over the world is what the supporters of that war said.    When the US left Vietnam the Communists did not take over the world.    Instead in the long run the cold war ended and the influence of communism declined.

Of course what made the former Soviet Union collapse was serious economic problems.   However, the US has serious economic problems.   Do those who want the US to fight abroad consider the security threat to the US coming from its own economic collapse?
\Though the US is not an empire in the traditional sense of the word, look at all the great empires that have risen and fallen.    One theory about the collapse of world powers is that these world powers overextended themselves.   The Panda Bear thinks that over commitment is a potential security threat to the US.

Of course, the present high unemployment in the US aids the US war effort in that it gets and keeps people in the military.   While the US has no formal draft, high unemployment creates a greater financial incentive for people to join the military.   The Panda Bear is sure that the military would have more recruitment problems if the job market was booming (in contrast, wars can provide a distraction for problems at home).

The Panda Bear thinks Americans are being too passive in demanding that US government and business do something about high unemployment rates.   In future posts, the Panda Bear will discuss other segments of society that can be “benefiting” from a high unemployment rate.

 

  

The Panda Bear on her Blogging, Cleanathon Failure, and Ukraine

Ever so often the Panda Bear gets asked by her fans about how she finds time to blog when she works full-time in her humble but stressful office job.  The short answer is that she has no life.   More specifically, she does not watch much television or see many movies.  Instead she reads and blogs.   Occasionally, people ask how they can help the Panda Bear.  The Panda Bear suggests sharing the blog with friends and posting comments on her site.

The Panda Bear Blog is in part about the overly stressed nature of modern life.  The past few weeks have been an example of the draining nature of the modern workplace.   Problems and prospects in the workplace have sapped all of the Panda Bear's time and commitment leaving her room for hardly any other interests.

This winter the Panda Bear had scheduled some time off to relax and clean her apartment which she has called the cleanathon.   However, her day job issues meant that her "vacation" time was spent on employment issues.   Furthermore, the Panda Bear has had bad colds and did not feel well.   In addition, since February she has been feeling very blue; the Panda Bear does not find cleaning an uplifting activity.     Thus, the cleanathon has been a total failure.   However, like all failed projects the Panda Bear needs to adjust her priorities and move on to the future.

The Panda Bear needs to get back to her exercise and diet routines which both the bad weather and the Panda Bear's colds and terrible winter in New England have interrupted.   Especially, exercise the Panda Bear has been told will improve her mood.    The warmer weather should enable the Panda Bear to take more walks which she likes to do.   While the Panda Bear likes time to relax, she feels too much free time can make her feel down.    Perhaps being busier will help improve the Panda Bear's moodl

During this difficult period of the Panda Bear's life Russia invaded the Crimea.    The Panda Bear has never liked or trusted Putin; she thinks there is no such thing as a good KGB agent.   The Panda Bear feels some sympathy for Ukraine and believes that many Ukrainians probably have believes and values more closely aligned to the West than many other countries that the US is now presently(and foolishly) is helping.

However, Russia and Ukraine of historic ties.  From the Russians and the Ukrainians the Panda Bear sees in the US, people seem to move between the two countries very easily and the people seem very interconnected with each other.   The Russians and the Ukrainians probably have disputes with each other that go back for centuries.

Conflicts in the Balkan area started the First World War.   The Panda Bear hopes that economic sanctions against Russia are enough.   She does not want a major war to start because of problems between Russian and Ukraine.    The Panda Bear also finds it amazing while there is no money to help Americans the US can come up with a billion dollars out of no where to help Ukraine.

The Panda Bear on Ending the US War in Afghanistan, Career Advancement(Lack of) and The Panda Bear Blog Movie

The Panda Bear Blog is a blog about a overly busy but kindly Panda Bear who is a humble office worker.   It is about her struggles with life.

The Panda Bear had been tired over the weekend and was looking forward to a quiet night at home doing her dreaded home chores.   Longstanding readers of the Panda Bear blog knows the thing in life the Panda Bear hates most is home chores.   She was going to try an experiment to see if by doing more of these dreaded chores after work she could free up more of  her weekends.

However, then she received some e-mails from groups in the United States who oppose the war in Afghanistan.   The Panda Bear has come to believe that the most important political issue in the US is ending the war in Afghanistan.   People are being killed and lives are being ruined.   Furthermore, it is a drain on our resources which are already in short supply.  

The first e-mail came from United for Jobs and Justice asking the people to call or write President Obama asking him to end the war in Afghanistan.   The Panda Bear went to the White House website where it said President Obama was committed to the most transparent administration in the history or the US.   The Panda Bear then e-mailed the President:

I am writing to request that you end the war in Afghanistan.   Too many Americans and Afghans have died in this war.  President Karzai is not a trusted partner and has been highly critical of the U.S.    We have many problems at home and need to put our efforts here.   Our greatest recent security threats have been internal not external.

The US should not make the same mistakes as the British and the Russian have made in Afghanistan and get bogged down into an never ending war in Afghanistan.   Our country is in crisis now.   We need to put our own money and resources here.

Sincerely,

Panda Bear, USA.

She requested a response from the White House.

The second e-mail was from Emergency USA asking supporters to contact their US representatives to cosponsor HR200 a  bill that aims at withdrawing all US troops from Afghanistan.   The Panda Bear e-mailed her representative  asking him to cosponsor this bill stating that the ending the war was the most important issue facing the US because it is a burden, people are getting killed and it serves no purpose.   She also requested a response from her representative.

Readers of this blog will see how the supposedly democratic government of the US responds to the Panda Bear's exercising her rights and responsibilities of a US citizen.

In some of her volunteer projects she has advanced but not in her paid work.   The Panda Bear has read to move ahead in one's career one needs to visualize success and rehearse it in one's mind.   The Panda Bear prides herself on being a realist and finds it hard to dream about the future.

However recently the Panda Bear was at the movies(she only goes to the movies once a year).   She saw the movie The Butler(which was good).   Suddenly, the Panda Bear had a flash of inspiration.    Wouldn't her life make a good movie?   It would be the story of a humble office worker who by blogging at night changes the world.   Is this not a popular theme for the movies about how an average person hits the big time?

She can see the movie now.   The Panda Bear would be played by either Julia Roberts or Juliana Moore.   They would show the Panda Bear in very average office job being criticized by Ms. Patronizing -and -Nit- Picky.    Then the splashy theme song and the Panda Bear would be shown blogging night.  The Panda Bear's messy apartment would be shown as a luxury townhouse with a few things out of place.    The climax of the movie would be  Ms. Patronizing -and -Nit- Picky finds out that the Panda Bear's harsh indictment of the corrupt oligarchs have made the Panda Bear loved and respected all over the world. Suddenly,  Ms. Patronizing -and -Nit- Picky changes and becomes Ms. I-Know-How-To-Kiss-Up to the Panda Bear.  The Panda Bear is not fooled but is happy enough her  new success to be forgiving to all.

Sigh....Time to awake from her dream.   The Panda Bear needs to get ready for work tomorrow and face her average and humble job. 

 

 

The Panda Bear on Windows 8, the Afghani War, and Vietnam

The Panda Bear will have to do another short post this week.   Her main computer that she takes with her and works on her blog posts is still in repair.   She got a new computer at home which uses Windows 8.

While the Panda Bear is sure Windows 8 has some good features, she finds many features very frustrating.   She does not like the fact that you have to log into Microsoft to use the computer.   She does not like cloud computing for personal use and would rather keep all her information on her own computer.    The Panda Bear wonders if Microsoft will have some privacy groups sue them because it seems like for more functions the user is forced to go online to use them making for less computer security.   She liked the old Windows menu and seeing all her open windows are the bottom of the screen.   For this post she wanted to share several links but is having a hard time of keeping track of all her open windows so she can link to them.

However, she found this interesting petition online started by a US physician born in Kabul which the Panda Bear wanted to share with her readers.    Here is some of what the petition is about:

The Responsible End to the War in Afghanistan Act (H.R. 200), introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA13), could help save the lives of millions and allow us to improve the health of many more. This bill would accelerate the timetable for ending the war in Afghanistan by requiring funds allocated to the armed forces in Afghanistan to be used only for the safe and orderly withdrawal of all U.S. military personnel and Department of Defense contractor personnel in Afghanistan.

While the bill has already gained 40 cosponsors, it has stalled in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, which Rep. Ed Royce chairs. Rep. Royce could help bring the bill to the House floor, but so far he has refused, putting the lives of more Afghan children at risk and preventing others from receiving care. 

Thousands of children have been treated at the hospital in Kabul since it opened in March of 2001. For the cost of ONE day of war in Afghanistan, EMERGENCY can build TEN high-standard, free-of-charge hospitals and cover all expenses for THREE years!

The ongoing bloodshed in Afghanistan is evidence that a political solution is not feasible as long as American troops remain as an occupation force. If we accelerate the timetable to end the war in Afghanistan, we can improve the lives of millions who finally have the opportunity to live without war.

Sign this petition to show your support to end the war in Afghanistan, the longest running war in United States history, and your belief in healthcare as a human right.

The physician is a board member of  EmergencyUSA an NGO that seems to be doing much good in the world.  Please click on the link to see about all the wonderful things this group does with all the terrible things going on the world.   It is interesting to note that this group wants a diplomatic solution to the problems in Syria not war.

The Panda Bear would like the US to withdraw from Afghanistan.    The Panda Bear remembers how much the US was upset about the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan when it wanted to keep up a regime it supported in that country.   Yet now the US is doing the same thing in Afghanistan as the former Soviet Union.  Let the Afghans solve their own problems.

The Panda Bear was a young child during the Vietnam war.   She remembers all the war protests and the songs for peace.   Where are all the peace protesters now?

Father Panda, may he rest in peace, was one of few people that the Panda Bear knew who supported the Vietnam war at the time.   The theory at the time was that if we showed weakness in Vietnam the former Soviet Union would become more aggressive  in other countries.   Father Panda was a good person and he had the rather simplistic belief that the US army was always on the side of truth and justice.   A few years before Father Panda died in 2012, he admitted he was wrong about the Vietnam war and that the US should not have gotten involved in that country.

The Panda Bear on Mr, Panda's Leg, Afghanistan and Her New Computer

The Panda Bear's return to blogging has been fraught with obstactles, First computers were broken(but are in the process of being repaired now).  Then Mr, Panda came down with a cold and his leg had a mild infection.   He spent the week at home,  Fotunately, Mr, Panda is feeling much better.

What does this have to do with The Panda Bear Blog?    The Panda Bear writes her blog when she finishes her humble full time office position and Mr. Panda still at work,   Since Mr   Panda is at home is need for attention is depriving the Panda Bear of her moments contempletion and solitude needed to complete the blog,

The Panda Bear does not think time management experts leave enough slack for all the unexpected things that can go wrong,   Recently, the Panda Bear took a stress management test and found out she was overcommitted,   However, the problem is the Panda Bear finds that the part of her life that miht be seen as "overcommitted" is the part off her life that gives the Panda Bear her most satisfaction,
The Panda Bear finds her job routine and does not like home chores,   Shopping gives her no joy.

She will set up her computer which should give her more time to blog,   How much of our lives is just wasted on doing the same things over an over again!!   It seems like it was just yesterday the Panda Bear bought and set-up her last computer,   Then she has to figure out Windows 8,

Another time management problem the Panda Bear has with blogging is that how can she write about all the injustices in the United States in about two to four hours a week?   The Panda Bear has come to believe that power corrupts and there needs to be some activism such as was seen in the US during the 1960s,

Therefore, she has decided to push the political focus of her blog to ending the US involvement in foreign wars.   She does not think the US should be aiding Syrian rebels,  Recently, she came accross a petition asking Congress to immediately end the war Afghanistan.   The Panda Bear thinks the US should leave Afghanistan.   The US is falling apart and we are in no position to tell others what to do.

The Panda Bear on Her Return,, Red Lines, Syria and the War on Office Plants

The Panda Bear Blog is a blog about a stressed out, overly busy, lowly office worker and her thoughts on life. She has returned from her summer break of sitting outside and reading after work. (The Panda Bear knows that she has serious problems if this is her idea of summer fun). She needed to connect with friends.

With her much needed break from blogging the Panda Bear returns. Readers have been asking the Panda Bear about her different home projects. They went well. However, are two crises that will be the focus of this blog posts. There the international crisis of Syria crossing Obama's red line in using chemical weapons and the Panda Bear's workplace crossed the Panda Bear's red line in banning office plants.

The Panda Bear has spent much of the Labor Day weekend e-mailing officials and signing petitions against the US using military force in Syria. The civil war is Syria does not directly affect US security. The US is already having problems paying for the wars it is in right now. The US would be responsible for civilian deaths if it took military action in Syria. The US has to learn to mind its own business.

Some experts have asserted that the US will lose all credibility if it does not go to war when it threatens to go to war. The Panda Bear has two responses to this line of reasoning. One is to be credible but incorrectly start a war is still not a smart thing to do. It is better to admit that one has changed one's mind. Secondly, to behave in an unpredictable and erratic way to threats probably would cause more anxiety in the "enemy" then consistency.

Senator McCain has said that the honor of the US is at stake. The Panda Bear could not care less about hono of the United States. . She agrees with Shakespeare’s Falstaff on the nature of honor and courage. In one place Falstaff says “The better part [quality] of valour is discretion, in the which better part I have saved my life”. Below is Falstaff's speech on honor in both the original and modernized version from Spark notes-

http://nfs.sparknotes.com/henry4pt1/page_223.htm

Regarding a visit from death.

FALSTAFF 'Tis not due yet. I would be loath to pay Him before His day. What need I be so forward with Him that calls not on me? Well, ’tis no matter. Honour pricks me on. Yea, but how if honor prick me off when I come on? How then? Can honor set to a leg? no. Or an arm? no. Or take away the grief of a wound? No. Honor hath no skill in surgery, then? No. What is honor? A word. What is in that word “honor”? What is that “honor”? Air. A trim reckoning. Who hath it? He that died o' Wednesday. Doth he feel it? No. Doth he hear it? No. 'Tis insensible, then? Yea, to the dead. But will it not live with the living? No. Why? Detraction will not suffer it. Therefore, I’ll none of it. Honor is a mere scutcheon. And so ends my catechism.

FALSTAFF It’s not due yet. I’d hate to pay him before the due date. Why should I be so eager to pay him before he even asks for it? Well, it doesn’t matter: honor spurs me on. Yeah, but what if honor spurs me off once I’m on, and picks me out to die? What happens then? Can honor set a broken leg? No. Or an arm? No. Can it make a wound stop hurting? No. Honor can’t perform surgery, then? No. What is honor? A word. What is in that word, “honor?” What is that “honor?” Air. Quite a bargain! Who has it? A guy who died last Wednesday. Does he feel it? No. Does he hear it? No. It can’t be detected, then? Right—not by the dead, anyway. But won’t it live with the living? No. Why? Slander won’t allow it. That’s why I don’t want any part of it. Honor is nothing more than a gravestone, and that concludes my catechism

The Panda Bear agrees with Falstaff that a sense of honor and respect is not always enjoyed by those who win wars. Often the "winners" in war (i.e. the Europeans over the Native Americans) are described as blood thirsty, overly aggressive, imperialistic, deceitful  treacherous and ruthless Thus, the Panda Bear thinks honor is one of the worst reasons to go to war.

Meanwhile, the Panda Bear's employer has crossed the Panda Bear's red line in banning all plants from work. The plants gave the workers much pleasure and joy and the office has few windows. These and a few similar rules have made the Panda Bear actively seek employment elsewhere. The Panda Bear is convinced a nicer work environment is out there but the Panda Bear believing that discretion is the better part of valor has to be careful not to burn her bridges.

The Panda Bear was talking to one of her physicians about the ban on plants and she told the Panda Bear that several of her patients were complaining about employers putting in some petty rules. For whatever, reason modern managers don't seem to feel that the happy worker is the productive worker.

 

The Panda Bear on the Boston Marathon Tragedy and Written Verbal Warnings

The past few weeks have been more busy than usual for the Panda Bear.   There has been some illnesses and a death in the Panda Bear's family.    Some of the time the Panda Bear has been run down with the cold.   The Panda Bear makes no claim that during this time that she was exercising properly or that her apartment was clean.   She was so busy her resolve to keep in kitchen sink shiny has gone down the drain.  Her life is in total disorder.   Therefore, this blog post will be very short.

The Panda Bear was lived in the area that was in lockdown(told not to go out of  their house) when the Boston area police was chasing suspect number two in the Boston Marathon shooting.   The Panda Bear was not close enough to either the bombing or the chasing of the suspect to be scared for herself.   However, she was frightened during the attacks of September 11, 2001 when she was working in the city of Boston.

Though she had no personal connection to either of the suspects, the Panda Bear feels sad that the younger brother turned against the United States.   The Panda Bear believes that the younger brother experienced the United States at its most tolerant, welcoming and generous self.   She was hearing several Americans citizens by birth complain that either they had or they knew other needy US citizens who applied for the kinds assistance that the suspect and his family received but they could not get it.

In addition, during the beginning of April the Panda Bear received a verbal warning from her supervisor at work which was then written up to be put in the Panda Bear's personnel file.   The Panda Bear went to see Human Resources about the warning.

The Panda Bear asked Human Resources if the warning was verbal why was something written put into her personnel file.  The Human Resources representative explained that what the supervisor was doing was writing down that she gave the Panda Bear a verbal warning.

This was not the first time that the Panda Bear received a verbal warning that was in writing in her work life.  In her twenty-five year work history, on two separate occasions the Panda Bear received a verbal warning which was then put in writing.   On both these occasions, the Panda Bear thought the supervisor was lying to her by saying the warning was verbal since the supervisors had put something down in writing which was to be put in the Panda Bear's personnel file.

Is it asking too much of US industry to make verbal warnings purely verbal so it does not hit the employee's personnel file?   Or if the management feels like it needs to document everything to come up with different levels of written warnings?   Is the Panda Bear the only employee to feel that her supervisor has lied to her by telling her the warning was verbal and the putting something in writing?

Anyway, one thing the Panda Bear was reprimanded for was being too creative in the decor of her desk.   The Panda Bear took down some colorful cloth hangings from her cubicle.   However, before the reader becomes too judgemental about the way the Panda Bear keeps her desk, please note that many people have signs on their desk about the importance of keeping calm including her supervisor.   Apparently a lot of people at the Panda Bear's job feel under high amounts of stress and indicate it bywhat they have around their work space.

Another time the Panda Bear received a written verbal warning was when she called the managers of ganization communists in an e-mail.   Apparently, in the opinion or her manager at the time that was the worst thing the Panda Bear could have called her superiors(what the Panda Bear meant is that the managers treated good workers and bad workers alike with no incentives for the employees to put in extra effort).  

Dear readers-learn from the Panda Bear's mistakes.   Never call your managers communists unless your managers think being a communist is a good thing(remember the Panda Bear Blog is an international blog and it has a Russian readership).

The Panda Bear on HIV/AIDs, Superpower and Overwork

The Panda Bear is pleased that some of the topics she blogged about a year ago, such as goods from China, and the outsourcing of US jobs is now being discussed by major news outlets.   It is about time!!   Even in the 1990's, the Panda Bear found it hard that she as a US citizen had to compete against the entire global economy for jobs and services that were local to the Panda Bear.    She felt as a US citizen she was a low person on the totem people of American consideration for jobs.  It creates a culture of overwork in the US in that the average Americans constantly has to compete against the entire world for US jobs and services.

The Panda Bear has also complained that the US can spend considerable amount on foreign aid while denying help to its own citizens who suffer from the same problems. The Panda Bear recently came across an example of this double standard.   The Panda Bear heard on NPR that there is a major AIDs epidemic in the African American community.   Under President Bush, the US spent much more combating AIDSs in African than in the US.

To the Panda Bear this seems wrong.   First, the US government should want to help its own citizens, some of whom have paid taxes, before it helps the rest of the world.   Secondly, in these times of high US unemployment, if the US spent more money on programs to help US citizens, it would stimulate the US economy by creating more jobs for Americans which would lead to a higher demand for US services.

Has the US government asked the US citizens on whether they want US to be a superpower?   Many Americans feel they would rather lead calmer lives and live in an ordinary country than living in a superpower where everyone is running as though they had their head cut off.   The Panda Bear personally believes the US and the world would be happier if the US was less involved in world affairs.   

The Panda Bear thinks let some other country feel the heat that comes from being number one.

The Panda Bear on the Hunger Games, Wars and Emotional Decision Making

The Panda Bear has not read nor seen the movie the Hunger Games.   However, the Panda Bear believes the reason the story is so popular now among both teens and adults is because it touches a nerve for people today.    One does not read about a fictional dystopia to seen teenagers kill each other on television; it can be seen on television all the time both in reports of wars and shootings in the school.

The Panda Bear knows many people who think people have gotten more callous towards each other in recent years.   If this is true, the Panda Bear believes it is the result of people being exposed to the "virtual" and false brutality on television and on video games.    These technological images of brutality are real enough for people on some level to believe that they have experienced it so when these people actually encounter it their lives the violence does not seem unusual.

Of course where modern reality gets very close to the Hunger Games is in modern war.    In wars, adults are sending teens and young  adults into battles for conflicts which these young people did not start.   Also while there are affluent families with a proud military tradition, it is mostly people from the lower economic parts of society that enroll in the military.   While there is no draft in the US, many young people may feel "forced" financially to enroll in the military.

The Panda Bear recently read this very moving piece by David Freed in the Los Angles Times about how sad he felt about his son going to Afghanistan to serve in the Army.   While Mr. Freed's son was from the middle-class, David Freed stated that he felt most people were in the military were there because they needed a job and were not from affluent families.  

Another compliant that Mr. Freed has that while both Obama and Romney were talking tough about defense neither one of them served in the military.   He noted that very few children of Congress people served in the military.  Mr. Freed stated that because so many people in power were removed from the war they did not understand the emotional costs of the war. (The Panda Bear notes that it is not just Congress and presidential candidates that behave this way.   The Panda Bear knows of many people who favor the US's involvement in foreign wars for humanitarian reason but these people aren't experiencing any suffering for their beliefs.)

The Panda Bear has seen it happen other times that well-meaning upper class people get moralistic about something  but they are not suffering nor making the sacrifices for the cause ;it is people with less money are power that are doing the dirty work.   The well meaning upper class people will be totally oblivious to their hypocrisy and their pushing a morality that they don't practice on people who are less affluent.   It is an unspoken class divide in US politics that the Panda Bear will explore in a later post.

However, Mr. Freed's piece about his son going to war highlights another aspect human behavior.   As much as people want to think of themselves as rational and not influenced by emotions they are.    Things seem very different when it personally effects you.   It is impossible for humans to be totally rational; human decisions always have some emotional basis even if the people aren't aware of them.

The Panda Bear on her Foreign Readers, US Economy and WOMAC Update

The Panda Bear has done some recent posts about her wish the US companies would hire more Americans.   The economy is very bad in the US and many Americans are unemployed.  US job growth is very slow.   The Panda Bear thinks it would help create jobs for Americans if some US overseas operations could be returned to the US.       Americans are among the hardest working people in the world.   Perhaps, some foreign countries should consider moving operations to the US; Americans are good workers.

However, the Panda Bear does not want her foreign readers to think she is an American Chauvinist.   However, she does think the US needs to look after its own interest (all nations need to do this).  The United States can't help anyone if its economy collapses. She thinks US power is in decline and that the US may end up like Great Britain-no longer the dominant world power but still having some influence.  

However, the most of the Panda Bear's attention this past week has been on WOMAC (The War on Mice and Clutter).    She thought the effort to get rid of the mice in her apartment had been a success.  She did not see a mouse for about a month.   However, last week she saw a mouse.   She set out mouse traps and caught six mice over the weekend.  

The Panda Bear lives in an urban area so one really has to kill the mouse-they will just go into someone else's house if it is not killed.  Mice have germs and cause damage to property.   In addition, they very quickly multiply.

The Panda Bear has found the web sites below helpful in dealing with mice:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/h/homeowner_resources/mice/index.html

http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef617.asp

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/pchousemouse.htm

Sometimes in novels there is a point where several plot lines come together to make one story.  In WOMAC, several themes of the Panda Bear Blog come together.   The Panda Bear has learned through different relaxation techniques that there is no point in going into the panic about the situation.   The feeling of panic will just make things worse.    The Panda Bear needs to be calm, rational and relaxed to implement WOMAC.

The Panda Bear has tried to positively reframe her hatred of housework and home projects.   The Panda Bear has gotten to like the feeling of warm water and soap.   She tells herself these projects are connected to health as they get rid of germs.  WOMAC has been helpful in getting Mr. Panda to get rid of his clutter and extra papers (these give the mice places to hide). The Panda Bear has told Mr. Panda that there is no neutral position in WOMAC.  If he does not actively support her efforts to declutter she will assume the Mr. Panda is pro mouse and the Panda Bear has no toleration for that position.

WOMAC involves time management on the part of the Panda Bear.   The Panda Bear works full-time and finds it hard to find the time to do home projects.   However, the Panda Bear has postponed going to the gym twice a week and tries to exercise at home so she can find time for home projects.   She has learned one can't do everything at once-one has to prioritize.   Alas-even if it means giving up something good and fun for you like exercise.

The Panda Bear on September 11

The Panda Bear wishes to express her deep sympathy to the families of the victims of September 11.   In respect to the families of the September 11 victims the Panda Bear will keep her post about it very short and serious.   The Panda Bear did not loose anyone on September 11 but she did know people in New York City at the time and knows from them how upsetting the experience was for them.
During September 11, the Panda Bear was working near downtown Boston where the were concerns that Boston might be attacked and she saw the enhanced security around the city and she herself felt nervous that Boston might be attacked.

Before September 11, most Americans did not know what it was like to experience a direct attack.   As readers of the Panda Bear Blog may know that the Panda Bear's mother(Mother Panda) lived through the Japanese invasion of the Philippines,    Where the Panda Bear grew up, many of the parents of the children she knew had experienced WWII in countries such as England, Germany, France, Greece, Italy, China and Japan where the parents had experienced their countries being at war and the country had been directly .   Before September 11, the Panda Bear had not realized how difficult, frighting and infuriating war can be.

The Panda Bear would like to express her thanks and appreciation to the English who withstood major bombings during WWII which she thinks some of her fellow Americans don't fully appreciate.

The Panda Bear on the Abuse of the Word Nazi

The political rhetoric in the United States has gotten emotional, nasty and cruel.   The Panda Bear thought this extreme rhetoric started from the right but currently the Panda Bear thinks its coming from all sides of the political spectrum.   What she finds most disagreeable is how both the right and left are just throw the term "Nazi" around to describe a political opponent.   The Panda Bear would like to start a movement to keep the term Nazi to refer to the Nazi party of Germany.  

As readers of the Panda Bear Blog may know, that the Panda Bear's mother(Mother Panda) grew up in Germany in a city called Breslau now called Wrocław which became part of Poland after WWII.    Mother Panda lived under the Nazis from 1932-1938.  When the Panda Bear was growing up, Mother Panda always complained about jokes about the Nazis.   To her the Nazis weren't funny-they were people that wanted to kill her and did kill members of her family who stayed in Germany.  Mother Panda knew of both Jews and non Jews who opposed Nazism who were killed just after Hitler after Hitler took power by the Nazis.  Though, it is a flawed source, the Panda Bear was reading in Wikipedia, that Breslau was a section of Germany that supported Hitler from the beginning.     Panda Mother says she remembers many people seemed to embrace Nazism without any outside pressure to do so.   Growing up, in this kind environment my mother's family had to pay close attention to the political term "Nazi" and what this means in terms for her and her family's safety.

In Merriam Webster's Dictionary , one definition of Nazi is an overbearing person.   The Nazis were more than domineering people-they were cold blooded killers who murdered many people in Europe.
Here is a link to Wikipedia's explanation of the term Nazism and what it means.  Neither George Bush or Barack Obama are Nazis under this definition even though their opponents call them by that name.  In fact Obama would not even be eligible to be a member of the Nazi party since he is part Black and the Nazis believed in white supremacy.

The Panda Bear in future blog posts will describe what she believes the improper use of the word "Nazi" and how she feels it is diluting and misrepresentating what the GermanNazis truly believed and did.

The Panda Bear on Coffee, Fruit, Foreign Aid and Spies

The Panda Bear has resolved not eat crackers or sweets(realistically this means eating very few sweets) in favor of snacking on fruits, nuts and cheese.   She has read several places that unprocessed food even if it has the same calorie content as processed foods are still much better for you and are less fattening.  The Panda Bear has noticed that cold fruit is very refreshing in the summer and for the most part she does not miss her diet ice cream.

The Panda Bear loves coffee.   She feels she should reduced the amount of caffeinated coffee because the caffeine makes her tense.   Usually, she is not consciously aware that the coffee is making her more tense but she believes on an intellectual level that it makes her tense.   However, today she declined an additional cup of caffeinated coffee because she felt it was making her too tense.   This is the first time the Panda Bear has turned down caffeinated coffee because of the way it made her feel rather than an intellectual resolve to drink less coffee.

The Panda Bear stated in a previous post how huge amounts of foreign aid gets stolen.   This morning the Panda Bear read on http://www.boston.com/ how billions of dollars given to Afghanistan has been diverted to the Taliban whom there is some disagreement among US officials on whether they are the enemy.

In her July 14 posting, the Panda Bear examined the word communism and what it actually meant.  She found this information very useful when reading Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest which she was reading this weekend(in a later post she will review the Larsson series).  The book also used the term "agent of influence".   According to Rodney Carlisle in his book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Spying and Espionage, an "agent of influence" is someone who has friendly dealings with the USSR and its officials and tries influence his/her home country's foreign policy to be friendly to the USSR.   According to Carlisle, some officials in Franklin Roosevelt's administration were agents of influence for the Soviet Union,.   Also, Carlisle states there was suspicion that British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, was working for the KGB.   There is discussions in Stieg Larsson's book The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest whether the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme worked for the Soviets.

The Panda Bear had a great, great Uncle who was killed in Nazi Germany for being a Communist.   The Panda Bear hears conflicting stories from her relatives whether her father's father who lived in the US was a communist(pro-Soviet) or just a leftist.   According to the Panda Bear's father, his father was a communist, other relatives say he was just extremely pro-labor left wing.  The Panda Bear's father's father died before the Panda Bear was born.

As stated, in her July 14 posting, the Panda Bear was once written up on her place of work for calling the managers of her work "communists".   What the Panda Bear meant when she used the term "communist" was that the motivation to work was the "common good" or good of the organization/humanity rather than the advancement of  individuals.   Also she meant, that the organization treated good workers and bad workers alike.   The Panda Bear remembers in a economics class that in the Soviet Union the most productive farms where being run to profit individuals farmers rather than the collective farms which were growing food for the common good.

In later posts, the Panda Bear will be discussing work place "collectivism" which does not treat people like individuals.

The Panda Bear on Vacation, eReaders, Congress, Milatary Speding, Bullying

The Panda Bear has just returned from her vacation.    At her daytime job, she is doing what many office workers do after returning from vacation which is catch up on her e-mail.  She will probably spend the next couple of days mostly reviewing her e-mail.   However, the Panda Bear is fortunate in that she does not have to check her e-mail while she is on vacation.

Yesterday, she spent the day discussing with other US citizens the larger amounts of vacation time most Europeans have over Americans.   Someone said how in Europe, mostt workers take the entire month of August off.  The Panda Bear does not think in her entireworking life that she will get to take a month of from work.  However, the Panda Bear pointed out that Americans pay more for defense and military than Europe does-perhaps that is a major reason US citizens work harder and have less social services than their European counterparts.   The Panda Bear believes that with the end of the cold war the US should reexamine its defense commitments to Europe since the US and Western Europe no longer have the common enemy of the USSR.   She thinks Western Europe should take more responsibility for its own defense.

During her vacation, the Panda Bear watched the US congress discuss, debate and vote on US military actions on C-SPAN which is a cable television station that covers government hearings. (The Panda Bear and her husband do not have cable at home so cable television is a treat when they go on vacation).   The Panda Bear was surprised that votes regarding US military policy did not follow party lines as much as she would have expected.   She was impressed that the voting was not as partisan as she would have thought it was from the news.

The Panda Bear is in eReader heaven. As readers may know the Panda Bear bought an Kobo eReader during her vacation.  (Economists and Retailers-please note, that vacations are when the Panda Bear spends the most money-the Panda Bear believes vacations should be seen as a highly economically productive and valueable activity).   She finds her eReader is very easy on her eyes and she can adjust the font size to make it easier to read.   She can download books from the library and no longer has to worry about returning them(on eReaders, you can't read the book on the eReader after 14 days-no more library fines for nonreturned books).   The Panda Bear no longer has to strain herself by carrying lots of books around.   She can carry around 1000 books in her eReader.   Through Google eBooks there are lots of books Panda Bear can get for free.  Alot of books whose copyright has expired become free eBooks and the Panda Bear LOVES old books.   Through http://www.kobobooks.com/ she also found a lot of eBooks for ninety-nine cents.  No more going to the bookstore or library for the Panda Bear!!!

The Panda Bear plans in the future to return to her discussions of childhood bullying.  She has reviewed some information on the web regarding childhood bullying.   She finds it interesting that many sites states that girls aren't violent when they bully.  The Panda Bear and her bullied friends know this is not true-girls can be physically brutal when they bully.

The Panda Bear also believes that some of the information on the web does not deal with how mean children can be to each other.   The Panda Bear believes that children are meaner than adults.  Adults when they are mean try to justify and rationalize their behavior while when children are cruel it can be just for the sake of being cruel.

The Panda Bear on the Lure of Helping Foreign Countries

The Panda Bear wants to apologize to her readers.   She finds it hard to stick to her schedule of blog topics.   The Panda Bear believes that  blog entries should be short and that when people are reading blogs they generally want limited pieces of information.   Therefore, she needs to break up her longer topics.   However, during the course of the week new events come up that the Panda Bear wishes to discuss on her blog.   Therefore, she has been obliged to postpone further examination of some topics.   However, the Panda Bear does plan to continue to post about school bullying and the pleasures(ahem!!) of home chores.   She also plans to start doing short pieces of creative writing.

However, today the Panda Bear wishes to discuss her hypothesis that it is very easy for US presidents to get seduced into the helping foreign countries and/or conducting foreign wars that are not in the best interests for the US.   Political theorists from the Ancient Greeks to the moderns often has stated that heads of government like to go to war because it can distract the population from problems at home.   The Panda Bear is not accusing Obama deliberately increasing the US war effort to distract Americans from domestic issues but he may on some unconscious level feel that is easier to deal with the Middle East than the bad US economy(Also, the Panda Bear remembers the economic  theory that was popular in the nineteen seventies and nineteen eighties that war was good for the economy).

Actually, the Panda Bear thinks when historians examine the motivations of Presidents Kennedy and Johnson for the Vietnam War, George Bush for the nation building in Iraq and Obama for expanding military assistance to  Libya, they might find them to be benevolent even if they were misguided and of questionable value to US interests.   The Panda Bear believes that US presidents find something appealing  and alluring in helping foreign countries.

This behavior is most notable in foreign aid much of which gets stolen.   Herbert Hoover was known as being an outstanding humanitarian abroad but indifferent to Americans suffering during the depression.   What made Herbert Hoover famous was that before he was president, he helped Russians who were starving after the Russian revolution.   However, he appears to have been indifferent to helping Americans who were hungry because of the Great Depression.   The Panda Bear remembers a similar double under George H. Bush.  George H. Bush was all for helping starving Somalis but he also believed it hurt the US fiscally to help Americans hurt by the 1992 recession.

The Panda Bear believes that recent presidents of both political parties have recently been guilty of this double standard-it is good to help foreign countries but too difficult to help Americans in need.   Why is there the discrepancy?   One reason is that helping foreigners does not threaten the American  internal power structure.   When  US leaders help foreign countries in need, the Panda Bear believes that leaders feel like benevolent monarchs helping  the highly appreciative populace, while helping people in their own country means stepping on the toes of some its citizenry.

Therefore, the Panda Bear thinks that common people need to be wary when their leaders want to help foreign countries.   She thinks leaders can easily can get a certain high from help foreign countries that they don't from helping their own people.

The Panda Bear on the War and Poor Leadership

The Panda Bear apologizes to her readers. She said she would deal with bullying on today's post. However, her heart is not into writing about bullying this week.

The Panda Bear is very distressed at the level of US involvement in Libya, Iraq, and Afghanistan. She is tired of hearing of US soldiers getting hurt and killed and of US families suffering because of these wars. She read this interesting post on www.thenation.com by John Nichols where he states:
"Indeed, even by the most optimistic timeline proposed by Obama, the US occupation force will at the end of Obama’s first term be much larger than the US force that was there when Bush and Cheney left the White House in 2009."

Some Change!!!! The Panda Bear used joke when Obama ran and he promised change, that change could be for the worse. In terms of the quest for peace the Panda Bear turned out to be correct.  . The US just seems to be getting involved in more and more wars. Whatever happened to the idea that using war to solve the world's problems should only be done as the very last resort?

Also the Panda Bear does not like that Obama does not seem to be making any personal sacrifices as he pushes more conflict She is tired of hearing about Obama playing golf while he increases the US war effort.

However, Obama is not the only leader in the US who seems not to believe in leading by example. The Panda Bear hears of "experts" who tell others to take extreme measures to stop climate change while living in big houses and take private planes (in other words they waste lots of energy).   The Panda Bear is tired of hearing of CEOs who make large salaries and big bonuses regardless of whether the company succeeds or fails.  The Panda Bear is tired of hearing of heads of nonprofits that are supposed to be helping poor people who get millions of dollars in bonuses while the organization needs money to help its clients (an example of this would be Elaine Ullian of Boston Medical Center-the Panda Bear thinks she should have set an example by donating some of her bonus money to people who needed health care).  

The Panda Bear is anxious for leaders who practice what they preach and are willing to make sacrifices for their ideas.

The Panda Bear on Goods from China

The Panda Bear just wanted to add this link from NPR reporting that some high Chinese officials wrote that cyber warfare should be a priority for China.   The Panda Bear wanted to substantiate some people's worries that China was a military threat. 
Originally Posted 5/23/2011
The Panda Bear was looking personal schedule.  She admits she finds it hard to do everything she has to do/wants to do and work full-time.  Now she has to find time to blog including writing her blogs posts, learning about blogging, and reading other blogs.     However, she likes blogging.  Now when people as her what is new in her life instead of saying nothing the Panda Bear can talk about the Panda Bear Blog.

Right now the Panda Bear plans on posting both Mondays and Thursdays with the Monday Post being very short.   Also, the Panda Bear has overcome her fears of spam/negative remarks and has opened all her posts to comments.

Today’s post will be about trade with China.  While at work the Panda Bear heard on the radio about some US officials being concerned about the Chinese providing military help to Pakistan  and this possibly being harmful to the US interests in the area.   The Panda Bear is hearing more and more China possibly being a threat to the US.    

However, this concern about China being a threat to the US has made the Panda Bear wonder why the US buys some so many goods from China.  Obviously, the main reason is that the US buys them is because they are cheap.  The Panda Bear knows some people who wanted to boycott Chinese goods because of they way they treat the workers but they found it impossible to do without Chinese goods.  To buy some goods in the US now, one simply has to get them made in China.

However, the Panda Bear is beginning to think this is a problem that the US relays so much on goods produced by what can be seen as a hostile country to the US.    The Panda Bear therefore proposes that the US government start imposing restrictions on goods from China.   This move would hopefully make the US less dependent on Chinese goods and perhaps help develop US industry.  

The Panda Bear on Wars to Spread Democracy

 
The Panda Bear is a believer in the innate wisdom and dignity of most common people.   She will test her belief that the average person is capable about seeking profound truths by blogging about deep issues of war, peace and the human condition while other news organizations and bloggers deal with Schwarzenegger’s(the former Governor of the state of California) marriage break-up.    The Panda Bear heard on the radio someone stating that given the choice most people would chose celebrity gossip news over news about the war in Afghanistan.   This commentator was not speaking about the discerning and intelligent readers of the Panda Bear Blog!!!

The Panda Bear remembers learning in college two conflicting theories of why nations fight war.  One motivation was primarily to preserve the national interest(including economic security).  The other theory of wars is that they are religious in nature  and this includes the idea that wars are for spreading “civilization” to others.

Many people would argue that the cold war was religious in nature and communism was a form of religion. The Soviet Union invaded other countries(including Afghanistan) it imposedv its ideas of civilization its ideology on the countries it invaded.  

Many Westerners are quick to recognize religious natures of wars in the East.    However, Westerners are quick to forget the Western world has justified wars and invasions for the reason of  religion including the spreading of Christianity.   Also the West has justified invading other countries for the reason of spreading civilization.     There is the argument that Romans and the French. under Napoleon, brought to the countries they invaded a more “advanced” form of civilization.    The Spanish believed when they invaded parts of the Americas they bringing the the indigenous peoples are higher form of culture and religion.

The Panda Bear believes that wars to spread democracy is the West’s new version of justifying wars because they “spread civilization”.     The Panda Bear believes that countries should be choosing democracy on their own free will.  It a contradiction  to hold a gun to a country to “force”  them to choose freedom.
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There is also an inherent conflict of interest in wars to spread civilization and the other justification of war that it is it to protect the national interest.    No matter how benevoplent the intentions are of the dominant country, the country in power probably does set up the rules to its advantage.     The US has through covert operations(i.e Allende in Chile) undermined democracies that went against what the US perceived as its interest.

In short, the Panda Bear believes the only justification for war is self-defense.

The Panda Bear on Royal Wedding

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Like many women of the world, the Panda Bear saw Britain’s royal wedding and had dreams of becoming royalty.  Only the Panda Bear does not dream of one day becoming Queen of England but Queen of France.  You say there is no Queen of France.   How does the Panda Bear in fantasy become Queen of France?  See below on how the Panda Bear becomes Queen of France in her fantasy.

The Panda Bear wants it known that she does not support the concept of monarchy.  She thinks it reinforces the idea that some people are superior to others.   On her one visit to Great Brittan, she grew to better understand what the USA's founder father's were rebelling against in the British class system.   If she were British probably would be boycotting the wedding because she does not think public money should go to this event .

 However, being a woman in the United States(she has heard that people in the US are more excited about the wedding than they are in Great Britain probably be people in the US are not paying for it), she could not help but pick up some of the excitement of the wedding.   Here is the story of a commoner marrying a prince!!!  It was a hot topic at the Panda Bear's place of work.  

The Panda Bear did her politically correct duty of stating that being a member of the British royal family was probably like being a prisoner in palace.  Their life seems totally controlled and they have no real power.   She said probably the happiest person  would be William if the monarchy was abolished.  

However, the Panda Bear believes if she had played her cards right she could have been royalty.  The Panda Bear discussed her missed opportunity to marry the royalty with a coworker.    (One the coworker thought that it was still not too late for the Panda Bear to become a Queen.   Indeed, upon reflection the Panda Bear recalled two middle-aged and married women who became close to becoming Queen of England in the twentieth century.   Camilla was a married woman when she married Prince Charles.  More significantly, the was America's own Wallis Simpson, who nearly became Queen of England and caused Edward to abdicate as King.    However, the Panda Bear is a happily married woman who does not think it is nice to divorce Mr. Panda even in fantasy.)

The time the Panda Bear believes she lost her chance to marry royalty came when she was in college before she met Mr. Panda.   Like Kate Middleton, there was an actual Prince going to a nearby college when the Panda Bear was in college.   When the Panda Bear was going to Mount Holyoke college, Prince Albert of Monaco was going to Amherst College which was very near Mount Holyoke.  When the Panda Bear was in college it was every woman's dream to meet Prince Albert.  At that time he was very good looking and had very good manners.   Actually, the Panda Bear saw him in person several times.  Once she was in a museum alone in a room with him.  He was sort of looking at her.   Instead of coming up to him and making some conversation with him the Panda Bear got embarrassed and left the room.    It was at that moment that the Panda Bear  believes she blew her chance of marrying royalty.

However, in her fantasy, the Panda Bear speaks to Prince Albert and ends up marrying him.  Once she marries Prince Albert, she leads Monaco on its path to its rightful place as being the main power in Europe.  France is always threatening to take over Monaco.   The Panda Bear would tell the French that they should really become part of Monaco.  She would offer to help other deposed royalty get their kingdoms back.   Now that Europe has no capital punishment she would not have to worry about being executed as previous Queens of France have been.     Once the Panda Bear seizes power she would rule in some combination of the style of Catherine the Great and Elizabeth the First of England.   The Panda Bear would be satisfied in being the dominant power in contenental Europe.   Great Britain could still rule the waves.  As a former US, citizen the Panda Bear would respect the Monroe doctrine and not interfere with USA policy in the Americas.  However, if the French Canadians wished to become part of France she would not stop them.
 
The more the Panda Bear thinks about it the more appealing it seems to become the Queen of France rather become  the Queen of England.  The French have the superior reputation for elegance and good taste then the English.   All the women in the US feel sorry for the women in England and the funny hats they have to wear.   While Kate Middleton seems like a very nice person, she has had to make her personal and professional life ultra respectable to marry William.  Furthermore, the Panda Bear has read that Kate Middleton worries about William being unfaithful to her.

The Panda Bear has always heard that the French had a different sense of morality that the English.   While France has not had a queen for a long while, she assumes the current First Lady of France would look and act much like the French would expect their Queen to act.   Carla Bruni France’s first lady seems to be very much her own person and does not seem to be in any way a victim.

Thus while others dreams of Kate Middleton, royalty and England, the Panda Bears thinks of Carla Bruni and becoming Queen of France.