The Karate Kid

Brian Clown is not the only prime minister under pressure in Europe. Here in Bulgaria, the prime minister, Boyko Borisov is mired in controversy.  He currently leads a minority government which came to power in 2009.  Known for his somewhat authoritarian, abrupt style he is a former policemen and held senior positions in the Interior Ministry. Just like his authoritarian friend Mr Putin, Boyko has a penchant for oriental sports and is somewhat of a karate expert. Only a few years ago he was linked to many Bulgarian mobsters by the US Government. But then again, who wasn't?

Following the release of tapes of telephone calls with the Head of Customs, it is alleged that he instructed  that a tax investigation into a leading businessman be halted.  There is a lot of huffing and puffing about the authenticity of the tapes but it is likely that they are genuine. Boyko is having problems "recollecting" the exact nature of the conversation (sounds familiar?). There are suggestions that the government might fall.

That would probably be a pity, as the prospect of the opposition socialists coming back to power is not inviting (think Fianna Failures and you get the idea).  The current government had done well on economic reform and the economy will grow this year. Fiscal orthodoxy rules and the budget will be balanced by year end.  The national debt is a miserly 16% of GDP. There are high hopes about joining the Euro (although why anyone would want to join the Euro is beyond me). Most Bulgarians are gloomy about the future but, as we know, Bulgarians wouldn't be happy unless they were unhappy!

Telephone tapping is "de rigeur" here at the moment. Apparently over 10,000 telephones were tapped last year. In Britain the number is about 400. Corruption still remains a problem and despite some improvements no leading "bad boys" have gone to jail.  Bulgaria won't be allowed into Schengen or the Euro until it cleans up its act. Ultimately this will be the acid test for Boyko.

For America's greatest allies

Isn't it amazing how the action of one, simple street trader, Muhammad Bouazizi in Tunisia,  can challenge and topple an entire system? How fragile they are. Where are Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton now?

Ronald Reagan had Alzheimer's while President? Surely Not?

An early picture of Reagan
feeding George W. Bush

I see that Ronald Reagan's son says that the former president of the US had Alzheimer's Disease while he was president. That come's as a bit of a surprise to us all.  We never would have guessed.......

"How are you, Mr. Mayor? I'm glad to meet you. How are things in your city?" - Ronald Reagan greeting Samual Pierce, his secretary of Housing and Urban Development, during a White House reception for Mayors"

"My name is Ronald Reagan. What's yours?" -introducing himself after delivering a prep school commencement address. The individual responded, "I'm your son, Mike," to which Reagan replied, "Oh, I didn't recognize you."

"Reagan's only contribution throughout the entire hour and a half was to interrupt somewhere at midpoint to tell us he'd watched a movie the night before, and he gave us the plot from War Games, the movie. That was his only contribution."   Lee Hamilton (Representative from Indiana)

"Poor dear, there's nothing between his ears." British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher

"This President is treated by both the press and foreign leaders as if he were a child.... It is major news when he honors a political or economic discussion with a germane remark and not an anecdote about his Hollywood days." Columnist Richard Cohen

"They told stories about how inattentive and inept the President was.... They said he wouldn't come to work--all he wanted to do was to watch movies and television at the residence." Jim Cannon (an aide to Howard Baker) reporting what Reagan's underlings told him, Landslide: The Unmaking of the President.

"What planet is he living on?" President Mitterand of France poses this question about Reagan to Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau. 

"During Mr. Reagan's trip to Europe...members of the traveling press corps watched him doze off so many times--during speeches by French President Francois Mitterrand and Italian President Alessandro Pertini, as well as during a one-on-one audience with the Pope--that they privately christened the trip 'The Big Sleep.'" Mark Hertsgaard, On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency 

"...like reinventing the wheel." --Larry Speakes (Reagan's former press secretary) describing what it was like preparing the President for a press conference, Speaking Out: The Reagan Presidency from Inside the White House 

"His errors glide past unchallenged. At one point...he alleged that almost half the population gets a free meal from the government each day. No one told him he was crazy. The general message of the American press is that, yes, while it is perfectly true that the emperor has no clothes, nudity is actually very acceptable this year." Simon Hoggart, in The Observer (London), 1986

"Your sisters' blood wasn't wasted"

From this morning's Observer. While we all enjoy this Sunday with our families and friends, please take 15 minutes to read this article and view the YouTube video.  It will move you to tears.


Two years ago, Israeli shells fell on Dr Abuelaish's family home in Gaza, killing three of his young daughters and their cousin. The horror was caught live on Israeli TV when the doctor phoned his broadcaster friend. Amazingly, the loss did not embitter Izzeldin Abuelaish. Instead he decided his girls' deaths must not be in vain – and slowly he has turned his family tragedy into a force for peace.  Read the article here.

The Love Between a Father and Son Moves Me to Tears........