VivoCity

My bowling buddy, Diane, called to tell me about a ship being docked at VivoCity, the new mega-mall in Singapore. We went to check it out, but didn't stay long because I think that 1.5 million of Singapore's 4 million residents were there! It was just too crowded. She took a picture of the ship, Doulos:
Afterward, we went to see our "adopted" son, Nabil (24-years old). I wish I'd taken his picture. He's got a new job at a place called Rogue's in the Central Business District. We lucked out in that they weren't busy, (the place only opened a week ago) so we could catch up with all the latest with him. He also told us that his younger sister, Fatima (20-years old), will wed a Norwegian named Fredrick next year. As their father is deceased, Nabil feels it is his responsibility to see that she marries a man who can care for her properly.

The Election, Rumsfeld, and Germany

I haven't posted in a while. I've been busy reading about the elections and the "thumping" the Prez got. Needless to say, I'm quite happy and even quite hopeful that starting in January Dems can begin to lay the groundwork to get our country back.

I just saw this in Time:

Exclusive: Charges Sought Against Rumsfeld Over Prison Abuse

A lawsuit in Germany will seek a criminal prosecution of the outgoing Defense Secretary and other U.S. officials for their alleged role in abuses at Abu Ghraib and Gitmo

By ADAM ZAGORIN

Just days after his resignation, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is about to face more repercussions for his involvement in the troubled wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. New legal documents, to be filed next week with Germany's top prosecutor, will seek a criminal investigation and prosecution of Rumsfeld, along with Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, former CIA director George Tenet and other senior U.S. civilian and military officers, for their alleged roles in abuses committed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison and at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

You can read the rest of the article here.

Do you think the Germans have special interrogation plans too?

Bush to push counter-terrorism, trade on S-E Asian trip

The Prez will be here for an 8-day visit to Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam November 14 where he will attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum summit.

I hope he doesn't stay in the Orchard Road area!

From The Straits-Times:

"South-east Asia is a region with an active Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist presence that we are working with partners to defeat,' Mr Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters on Thursday.

He said the trip would enable Mr Bush to forge partnerships with the region to tackle the serious challenges of terrorism and transnational health issues, including avian influenza - or 'bird flu', a major problem in South-east Asia.

Some of the suspected terrorist kingpins arrested after the Sept 11, 2001 attacks on the United States were based in or had links in South-east Asia, which Washington regards as the second front in the 'war on terror'.

Mr Hadley said the rapidly growing region was of 'great importance' to the United States.

But he noted that the region, where the United States is the biggest investor and top export market, was experiencing 'change and uncertainty, in some sense as a result of the changing power dynamics within Asia'.

Mr Bush would also seek to 'reaffirm the centrality of the freedom agenda' and 'continue to encourage efforts in the war on terror', said Mr Hadley.

To underscore religious freedom concerns, Mr Bush will join Vietnamese Christians for prayers in a church in Hanoi when he attends the Apec summit on November 18-19."

Freedom!

DAMN! This is a great video -- not perfect, only because the last minute should've been cut. Whoever "mgarthoff" is, his/her feelings about our country are the same as mine!

Just So You Know............

Yes............the world IS watching. The entire WORLD wants a REGIME CHANGE in the U.S. I am on the edge of my seat awaiting the results of this election. I'm just hoping that our votes actually count this time. I know that Patrick's wasn't counted in 2004 in GA, although he'd registered months before. OK, I won't dwell on that, I'll do my best to let it go.

I'm here by myself this evening. Michael will be home tomorrow morning. Just in time for me to watch the election returns!!! I rarely watch TV here because there's not much to watch, and I'm certainly not going to let some talking head tell me what I should figure out for myself. However, I'm so "itchy", I just turned the TV on to CNN (no, I absolutely will not pay for FAUX News). Anyway, I wonder how it is that CNN is just now highlighting all of the "trouble" that the GOP has gotten themselves into the night before the election? I really find that quite curious.

Don't bother even watching the crap they televise. Read, and think for yourself! I sure hope that all of you voted today (or early/absentee)! Of course, as the saying goes, I hope that "you voted early, and often".

I'll be watching, and so will the rest of the world.