I am getting tired of the constant commercials regarding new weight loss strategies. There are machines to trim every part of your body. Promises are made with quiet disclaimers that suggest anyone can lose a significant amount of weight with very little physical exertion. Smiling people are shown after losing weight with a measuring tape around their waist or a handsome partner by their side. The message is clear: those who are thin are happy and if you are not thin, then you only need to purchase a weight loss product to achieve happiness. These commercials symbolize the problem in a society where physical appearance is valued above personality.

Toronto Humane Society

How can people put their faith in any organization when institutions like the Toronto Humane Society are discovered to be corrupt? Watching the arrests of society officials and looking at the disgusting conditions they left behind is very discouraging. This is an organization that plays on people’s sympathy for animals to profit personally. When events like this occur, it makes people wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg. How many other organizations are cheating their donors by making phony claims and promises? Not only has the Toronto Humane Society soiled its own reputation, but it has called into question the integrity of many other groups, especially those who deal with animals. After all, the animals are helpless and can’t speak for themselves. Hopefully, these people will get what they deserve.

There has to be more important news than Oprah's impending retirement. I mean, let's face it, Oprah is a great talk show host, but that is precisely what she is, a talk show host. She really is not the new messiah, a fact that seems misunderstood by American newscasters and, more importantly, American people. In fact, recently I get the distinct impression that Oprah herself has an extremely exaggerated sense of her own powers. Yes, she is enormously wealthy, largely due to the fact that a disproportionate amount of money is showered upon American entertainers. With this wealth, apparently, comes insight into solutions for all the problems of the world. Well, that is what the Oprah megacorporation would like us to believe. The news of Oprah's retirement might have given me a slight feeling of regret a few years ago, but ,frankly, I think I'll be glad to see her and her self-righteous platitudes disappear.

So I saw a video the other day on the internet that completely threw me. It's a video of some die hard Michael Jackson fans in the United Kingdom doing a seance. During the seance Michael's spirit is believed to have taken over someones body, who will then communicate to these fans. These people are decked out in Michael gear and are all in tears. This is a little ridiculous and taking this whole Michael Jackson thing too far! Of course everyone has their own views on what happens after someone passes, but this? Believing that spirits are around you is one thing, but to truly think that someones spirit takes over someone else? In this video ZeitGeist later goes on to joke about that they will later try to channel the spirit of Latoya Jackson!

http://videocast.com/episode/46810171/124397/

Here is a big surprise!

Here is a big surprise! The Americans are beginning to think that the leaders in Afghanistan (new president included) are unreliable. This strikes me as incredibly naïve. When they went into Afghanistan, did the Americans really think anyone in government there had integrity. Why do Americans insist on believing that all countries should be like them and must share their values? Afghanistan has been less than civilized by western standards for hundreds of years. Why would they change because the United States feels they should? The American government should come to terms with reality and stop pushing this idealistic vision of what the world should be like.

Obama and Re-Engagement

It is encouraging to see the president of the United States travelling globally to try to mend fences and create stability in the world. His recent trips to Korea and China offer new hope that, eventually, countries might agree to disagree and live a little more peacefully with one another. Perhaps Obama did deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize after all. He may turn out to be the man who begins to make the world a global village where we all understand our differences and live peacefully together anyway. Unfortunately, he’ll probably have a harder time convincing the southern conservatives of the States than the president of Korea. Before global peace can occur, ignorance in the States among those who believe that the only way is the American way will have to be eliminated.

Enough is enough!

Americans seem obsessed with Sarah Palin right now. If she's not appearing on a talk show, she is being discussed on another talkshow or on the news. I think people enjoy watching someone with influence or money being criticized. As well as when they struggle or have personal problems. Maybe it's because she is so sure that she is right about everything, that people react in a negative way to her. It is hard to feel sorry for her, being the brunt of so many jokes, because she really only seems to be out for her own interests. You would think that after all the insults she experienced during the Presidential campaign, she would be trying to keep a low profile and concentrate on her family. I can't be the only person who is truly sick of hearing from her!