David Ben-Gurion

After the establishment of Israel, David Ben-Gurion was pessimistic about the possibility of peace.
"Why should the Arabs make peace?" he said.
"If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country. Sure, God promised it to us, but what does that matter to them? Our God is not theirs. We came from Israel, it's true, but two thousand years ago, and what is that to them? There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country."

Roger Cohen, "How Bad Are Things, Really?", International Herald Tribune Magazine, December 2, 2011, p. 18.

15% of the USAmericans don't pay taxes, because ...

... they live below the poverty line. They don't have money to make ends meet, let alone to be able to pay taxes. No money. Deadly poor. Not enough food. No good house. Dispair and disaster.

info according to http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/america-middle-class-shrinks-p-g-adopts-hourglass-145429009.html and http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/us/14census.html?_r=1

It's high time that the worldwide media start to show the reality of the impoverished US of A ...

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fashion !

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every sex months", said Oscar Wilde (according to Homme+, winter/spring 2009, p. 54 :-)
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US dollar versus the Euro

Adam Lerrick, professor of economics at Carnegie Mellon University, has led Argentina's $100 billion debt restructuring. He's an expert on the matter.

He, says it's only a matter of time before the world shifts away from the U.S. dollar.

"The world is trying to find an alternative to the dollar. The only alternative right now would be the euro, and as we've seen, the Europeans have their own fiscal crisis," he tells The Daily Ticker's Henry Blodget in the accompanying clip. "The day that stops, then we have a full-blown crisis, because we will literally not be able to pay our bills."

So the fate of the US dollar is in the hands now of Europe. As soon as Europe manages it's way out of the fiscal crisis, the dollar will be hit. There's no doubt that Europe is aiming to get out of the fiscal crisis. Question is how long it will take Europe to achieve it's goal. Anyway, in my opinion, the dollar is doomed. It's only a matter of time.
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am I afraid of work?

not at all, I can sit down beside it all day without fear at all.

:-)
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the big eat the small

Reading the FT on Monday July 25th, 2011:

"some experts accuse European governments of talking tough on credit ratings but actually trying to minimise the pain of their big debt burdens by transferring some of it to savers. Government bonds yields in the UK are already negative when adjusted for inflation, and those of the US and Germany are barely positive.
It is absolutely disgraceful. It is a way of impoverishing insurance companies and pension funds, says Geoffrey Wood of London's Cass Business School bluntly. It is premeditated theft by governments from their citizens. "

Well, I have no sympathy for the big money institutions, because they now receive the same treatment as what they were given their savers: over here, the banks are giving an intrest rate on deposits that is lower then the inflation too. Which means that the savers are loosing money yearly, by giving their money to the banks. We, the savers, were already punished by the financial crash of 2008, and year after year we get punished again, while the bank bonusses for the bank staff start swinging again. Disgraceful is the word.

Invasians in Prague

Prague, July 2011. Never seen so many Asian tourists outside of Asia as here in Prague. They even come here to marry (obviously those who can afford the trip + 2 photographers + make-up stylist for the pictures). Some come just as a couple, others come in group (yes yes, you do understand me correctly: a whole flock of brides, in full white outfit, jumping on the Prague marketsquare while being photographed. What was Bob Dylan singing again, in former millenium .... ah, right, "the times they are a-chaaaaaaangggggiiiiiiiing". So true.

The Perfect Moment

Hanoi, the noisy city. Traffic everywhere, loud and clear, deafening my ears.

We hide in a small sidestreet, one of the many.

We spot an old chinese temple, one of the many. Hundreds of years old, no doubt, one of the lucky that escaped destruction by the French.

Inside the temple, peace and quiet. Some dogs look at us with suspicious eyes, but the owner tells them that it's ok for us to enter, and they obey the voice of the master.

In the temple: nobody but a beautiful boy. He makes tea for us, while we stroll around and make pictures.

Then he offers us tea. No words. Only smiles and tea.

He's today's angel, showing us a piece of heaven. The perfect moment.
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closed door (except one)

strolling in the old town of HaNoi, discovering one of the many old temples and pagoda's. Looking behind the bars at the closed doors. No wait, one door is open. Guys are playing cards.

This ordinary picture depicts pretty much my idea of the country. We, the tourists, see things not as they are, we see them behind the bars of tourism. Even behind those bars, most of the doors are closed. If we see one door open, we see only a glimpse.

When talking to a guy in a park, he told me: nothing in this country is what you see. Nothing in this country is what you hear. Everything is different from what you see and hear.

I need to go to a gay bar or sauna, to meet real life, the life of the underbelly, the life of the uninhibited desire and lust, where guys can be themselves, and feel no restraints. Meanwhile, I enjoy my stroll in the virtual reality of daily life :-) .

Diamonds on the soles of your shoes

Today's surprise never-seen-before: 3 boys, working on old shoes. One boy removes the soles from the old shoes, another one keeps only those parts that are still useable and adds a new sole to the shoes. The third one, using those parts, makes "new" shoes from it. Incredible. And their workshop is the street. Not exactly a job that produces diamonds, but for them those old shoes are their living. And the speed in which they transform the old shoes into new footwear is astonishing. What would Jimmy Choo think of it? .

The Young Photographer

While we are in the BACC, there was a young boy who was fascinated by my camera. He probably never used a DSLR camera before, so I handed the camera over to him and invited him to start shooting. This is one of the pictures he made. Isn't it great?

Life is like that: see the window of opportunities and use every little opening. You have no idea what wonderful things happen if you do!
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BACC

Every time we visit BKK, we love to pop in at the BACC (Bangkok Arts and Culture Center), there's always something interesting going on.

In this visit, we met KAN, a beginning artist, very verbal and good in English, with lots of international contacts. His style is evolving but already very interesting. First he worked on the streets, since nowhere else to start. Now he's already working in the BACC. All on his own force.

He works thematic, which makes him commercially interesting, apart of the artistic aspect.

We talked about forming a partnership, where I would publish some of his work into a book with his resume. Sounds a great idea for him. He'll let me know if we can proceed this way.

Will this story have a further chapter? Come and see next week!

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possession

when taking pictures, I don't possess the persons I photograph. Normally, I ask their permission, even if it's only with a small gesture, I can feel if they agree that I picture them.

What surprises me is that guys often hang to each other when I want to take a photo of them; sometimes just casual, like the petrol boys, sometimes in a possessive way, like the clown and his boyfriend: the boyfriend clearly indicates that I can take the picture, but I cannot take the clown: the clown is his property :-)

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flower food

Bangkok has an open-air-food-fair, and the most remarquable offer there is this "royal food": flowers.

Look at the plate: I don't recognise any flower on it at all! The cook will fry the flowers for you and then you can enjoy their crispyness and flavour.

No wonder one will stay slim with such a delicious food :-)

Beware though ... some of the flowers are "midly laxative" !!!! Which will contribute on staying slim, of course!

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bisexual

While walking along Sukhumvit Road, I noticed this statue, impersonating both male and female. Anyone has any idea what this statue is and what it represents?

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circumstantial evidence

we were walking in the red light district, and I saw this guy working on the platform. His pants was almost totally below his buttocks, and the world could enjoy the view of his green monkey underpants!

Is his pants dropping a result of the location (red light district) or was it simply circumstantial evidence that his pants were too loose?

I never asked him :-)

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spying eyes

You think this is a lotus flower, turned into a seed?

Of course you are correct. At the same time, this picture is a mirror of Asian Society.

When you look closely to the seed, you see many eyes, looking in all directions. This is exactly what I feel when I'm in Asia. So many eyes looking at you, checking you, controlling you. Not in your face, but when you think that you're not observed. Very interesting.

Asians normally don't eyeball. Unless they feel that they are levelled, they won't look you into the eye. That's a major challenge for me as a (would-be-)photographer, to catch the persons when they think I'm not looking at them. Otherwise they would shy away.

This lotus seed represents all the spying eyes that are constantly on the watch here. Very funny picture :-)
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the incredible force of patience

These boys are hired to pick up stones, put them in a basket, and use them elsewhere. They have to clear a whole hilltop from little stones. They just started their work, and they patiently keep on going till the whole hilltop is stone-free. It will take them a long long long time. They don't care, they just keep going on.

I will burn this picture into my brain, to remind me of these boys, next time I start a work that seems endless. If the boys can do it, so can I.
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night over Samui

Do you have that too? That you have an almost perfect day, yet the end is less pleasant? It's an unwelcome feeling.

We came specially to Koh Samui to meet khun L., since she wasn't present at Hua Hin. We came specially early because today was her day off. We had a great time together today, during her day off. She wanted to have us around, and that we did. We planned together to have a chat lateron, at our room with her, and she agreed. We asked her what she wanted to drink during that chat, and she told us what she liked. We bought that. We prepared everthing for a pleasant evening.

And when the time came, she was probably too tired and she didn't show up. No reasons given.

It left me with an unpleasent feeling. Why am I doing this, spending time and money and energy in friendships, just to see that it's a waste? I think I have to rethink a lot, and that only the most valuable friends will remain ... hoping that indeed they will be valuable. Meanwhile, the unpleasant feeling prevails. Very sorry.

I hope next postings will be more pleasant! Sorry for this glitch.

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skinny dipping

one of the great things about waking up in the morning, is to jump out of the bed and into the pool ... no need to wear covers (swimwear), just be natural and enjoy the freedom!

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If It Doesn't Kill You, It Makes You Stronger

Thailand, Fisherman's Village. A huge pond with dirty water. It's a death trap, biologically speaking. The boys don't mind. If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. Very true, the boys must have an incredible high level of resistance against diseases. And they jump of joy!
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protection against harm

When I was a young boy, my parents made me wear an amulet (a flat silver image of the Virgin Mary, on a silver chain around my neck. To protect me from harm (1).
That suddenly popped into my mind when I saw this young man sitting on a bench, wearing not 1, not 2 but not less then 3 amulets, to protect him from harm. It is a widespread custom here in Thailand, although I have the impression that the city-people don't show it so openly as this young man.
It's a moving thought, that wearing an amulet can indeed protect you, that the spiritual world is stronger then the material world. And it's a self-fulfilling prophecy: if indeed no harm comes to you, then you're convinced that the amulet keeps you on the good side; if however you suffer from a bad happening, you'll be convinced: 4 is better then 3!

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(1) that was long before AIDS was known, and when most people hadn't heard of condoms, although those "modern" form of protection existed already centuries ago: Casanova used condoms already, made from animal intestins! And if you find that idea ridiculous, ask yourself where the violins get their strings from :-)
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Djok (Djuk)

In olden days, the little boys in thailand were their head shaven, except for one small dot of hair that could grow as long as possible: the Djok. When the boys reached puberty, the djok was shaven too, and then the boys could have normal hair.

What a nice way to indicate that, at that moment, they are getting hair on more then one part of their body :-)

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a boy and a piano

In the lounge, there's a white piano. A woman and 2 kids (the royal ones: a boy and a girl) come in the lounge, and the boy is magnetically drawn towards the white piano. No no, his mother says, come sit with us. No use. The boy cannot resist. He has no choice: he must open the piano and play.

I think that little boys should always listen to their mother, except when it comes to pianos :-)

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