Tuesday, March 31, 2015

kid poisons Mom with bleach in food...after Mom took cell phone away!


 UPDATE: I posted this some months ago.  Now we have perhaps the first example of how addictive cells are to people...especially kids!

click here ((new story)

http://www.rantlifestyle.com/2015/03/23/12-year-old-girl-poisoning-mom-over-iphone-raises-serious-societal-questions/


(former post)

Inquiring minds want to know:

...has anyone committed suicide because their cell phone is gone...shut off or whatever?
I get the distinct impression we are going to see a brand new disease... NOT from use of a cell too much...but for utter despondency in having it no more!  I mean...how can life go on?
-----------------------
Harper with the Nationals is a real creep!  We’ve had them in baseball before but he is outstanding how he can piss off anyone at any moment.
Here’s the amazing story (and I even felt sorry for the Braves and you know I hate the Braves and crybaby Fredi!)   click below:

-----------------------
Here’s the stupid bumper sticker award for today:
DRIVER HAS NO MONEY
MY KID PLAYS HOCKEY.

           seen on the back of a fancy new SUV.
-------------------------

my email:
stanmajor@aol.com

"Thanks for your good thoughts!" THE BABY

    ....THE  BABY!                                               repost

    On this post...number 1,001.....as promised...something special and a big “thanks” from the parents and the family for YOUR good thoughts all around this world for the health of this BABY  J.


    Pictured..in the rear...the happy Daddy and his Sister...
then...My son Chris...happily holding BABY J  with his girlfriend.


.....again...we thank you all.

    be happy...we all are.


let's close with a song with meaning......click below:

“This Is Our Life”.......Mary Beth Maziarz
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gziSnkICbk


    stanmajor@aol.com
stantalks@gmail.com

Monday, March 30, 2015

Flight attendants do have problems (not just with co-pilots!)

                                                                                                                                                             repost


        ...On the lighter side (we could all use that!)

I took a lot of plane rides in the 60’s and 70’s.  Around the world a few of times...three I guess.
     One time I sat next to a lady who...the minute she was seated...went into the chair pocket and dug out a couple of “barf bags”.
We looked at each other with amusement and I joked she could at least wait until take off.
She laughed and said “oh no...I don't get sick on airplanes...I’m a “barf bag” collector!  I fly alot and I collect them to prove it!...I’ve NEVER had to use one!”
Ok...well everyone’s gotta have their thing I guess.  
I’ve got my blog.
                                                      ------------------------

Had a fling for a few days with a  good looking stewie.  She had some great cockpit stories.
She said the pilots always zeroed in on a new stewardess...and on her first flight and said practice dictated that “first timers” had to sit in the cockpit for take off.  It was mandatory.
When the novice sat down the pilot said...ok...buckle up!
What they didn’t tell her was the seat had a strong middle belt that would force her skirt all the way to her waist!  Oh those pilots, huh.
She also admitted about the time a couple of pilots picked her up and lofted her into a large overhead bin!  
                                                    -------------------------

     And last but not least...I flew from Rome to India and on to get to either Bangkok or Hong Kong....on my way to Viet Nam.
We stopped to refuel in Addis Abba (I think) and they announced we had an hour and could go into the terminal to the gift shop.
I walked off the plane with a stewie of course...you know me...and the first thing we saw were armed military types on the tarmac with really big guns.  She got closer to me and said, “Oh my god they’re going to shoot us all! We’ve never landed here before.”  I think she was only half joking.
Well...it was the middle east and that’s what they have all over the place.

Then...much later in years...my wife and I landed in Zurich and as this time frame was after Munich and various Carlos the Jackal exploits...THEY had the same thing all over the terminal inside and out.
That’s just our world.  
Guess they’ll revert to all that...after Paris.
Sad.


stanmajor@aol.com

SNIPER....DC Sniper that is...the first movie. Scary as hell !


     ....D.C. Sniper...the first movie. (2003)

     I have it on VCR(remember those?)
    Just sat down to check the quality (good) and was transfixed as I was the first time I saw it...tv commercials and all.
    Here is it’s IMDB listing:

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381116/
   
    I can’t say enough about this film.  I was shaken and stirred by what I saw on the screen.
    I was prejudiced about the recent “remake” which I thought was a piece of crap.  It had little to do with the actual scene(s) of the killings which in the original mesmerized me and held me thru the commercial breaks.
    I’m not sure who you have to know to get your copy (DVD?) but try around.  Movies that didn’t make it to DVD are numerous and this may be one.
    The USA Network where it was shown once or twice has NOT repeated it for years.
    It’s not on any of the cable channels or on TCM and Sundance...places that would be likely to run it.
    Thankfully, they aren’t running the recent one much anymore...for obvious reasons.  I’m not even mentioning the title so you won’t be tempted to find that one.
    Check with Netflex...they might have it if there IS a DVD.  Then let me know by email and I’ll post an update.
                     _______________________

    One time in my radio “merry-go-round” I was filling in at KSDO San Diego....great station...great city!
    As is now, my favorite stop was McDonalds.
They were test marketing onion rings...and they were dynamite!
    So what happened?
    I believe it had something to do with the difficulty of keeping them fresh...Big Mac has high demands for the quality of their product you know.
    Anyhow...to get to the point here...click on the following link and you’ll see an interesting list of goodies that were tested but didn’t make the grade in many of the fast food spots. I’ve haven’t heard of lots of them but maybe you tried em and wondered what happened...just like my delicious Mac Onion Rings.
    Bring em back!  they were great:
 

http://mom.me/home/18337-fast-food-items-no-longer-exist/


stanmajor@aol.com

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Famke & Demi ...hot, hot and hotter !


                                                                                                          repost


If you haven’t seen the flick “City Of Industry”...you should.  buy it...rent it...borrow it or steal it and see Harvey Keitel, Tim Hutton, Stephen Dorff and the absolutely fabulously hot Famke Janssen at their peak!  Famke is the only actress, I think, who can out do Julia Roberts....not only in performance but also looks.  This is her best part ever. You just want to grab this bird and take her home forever...immediatly!
I don’t like violent flicks...but I enjoy the stuff here because it isn’t just car crashes and gunshots to build sales...each piece of violence by director John Irvin is incorporated to further the excitement of the plot and it all comes together at the end in a rather unusual way even for  Hollywood.
Harvey wins...Famke really wins...and we all win watching this one.
Enjoy.



Changing the pace....another flick I really get a kick out of about once a year is “Blame It On Rio”.  I bring this up since we are now getting multiple views from Brazil. 
Michael Caine looked like he enjoyed making this one and why not.  The scenes on the beach are some of the best you’ll ever see if you are a “bird” watcher like me.  
It’s fun to see Demi a bit embarrassed by her costar Michelle Johnson when they both had to go topless...and one wonders now seeing her topless in the past few years in “Striptease” just how the “boost” came about.  
Oh well...don’t worry about it...just enjoy it.  Right Demi?  She is something else. 
The whole flick is a gas! Everyone is great!


stanmajor@aol.com

the PILOT's strange behavior ......& George Will on Hill & Bill !

Pilot of your next flight(?)
    ....The real tragedy of that plane crash.
Over the past few days as the media stormed onto the path leading to the co-pilot’s demise (along with everyone else) the obvious and awful facts are becoming known.
       One asks...how could someone not blow the whistle on this guy’s deadly plan.
       For instance...the girlfriend who basically should have been alerted by his braggadocio outbursts.
      Or those in charge at the airline who obviously ignored the signs of stress.  Even his Pilot who MUST have had some inkling of the guys mindset.
     Well...too late now isn’t it!
What a shame the others on board had to pay for that ineptness.
The pilot crew and passengers did pay..
......but who else will?
                               __________________


      ....George Will...in the midst of spring training....writes in the Post about the   “accomplishments” of the Clintons.
    Good stuff to remember right now. 
Thanks, George.
 

Go Marlins!

click below

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/remembrance-of-clintons-past/2015/03/27/839f5d3a-d3db-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?wpisrc=nl_wemost&wpmm=1

stanmajor@aol.com

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Margie von Nurenburg!

                                                                          repost
    ....German girls are GREAT!
    Funny though...all the time I was at AFN Frankfurt I never got involved.
    When they switched me to AFN Nurenberg though...things happened quickly.
    I was all alone in the station most evenings...handling just station breaks as most of the programs came from AFN Frankfurt.
    The station was located on a high floor of a very nice hotel in downtown Nurenberg.
    As I strolled into the lobby for my shift one evening...a young lady...attractive brunette of course, approached me and asked if I was going to the AFN studios.
    I said yes and she told me she listened to us all the time and wondered if she could see the studios.
    I invited her to accompany me and off we went into the elevator.  The guy running things was impressed...but his shift ended and he disappeared.
I showed her around..her name was Margie and she sat in the control room to watch me work.
    It wasn’t long before we were getting very friendly...and you can imagine what developed.  In fact at one point I totally missed a station break...and could have gotten into big trouble over that.
    Margie and I got together nearly every day for the proceeding months until I was switched back to AFN Frankfurt.
    She and her younger sister Heidi enjoyed educating me in the way of Germans...including one Christmas when as usual for them...they had real candles on the tree. That made me nervous.  I’m glad we didn’t adopt that in the states.
    Heidi decided she wanted to lose her virginity...and chose me as the “teacher”.  Her older sister agreed and things were set for one evening but Heidi chickened out. 
    I’ve noticed one or two regular viewers of this blog are from Germany and it wouldn’t surprise me if one was Margie.
    So if that's you Marge...
Wei gehts!

stan major@aol.com

copy and paste into your email

CIA SHAKE UP...The "Wolf" is out!

Instant re-post!
     ...Big changes at CIA. “The Wolf” is OUT.

    The man who was responsible for “Maya” getting bin Laden is out.
    But this article doesn’t mention “Maya” (name used in Zero Dark Thirty) and inquiring minds would like to know more about HER!
    i.e.
 is she still there chasing ISIS?

"Maya"
we quote the story...

“After becoming CTC chief, (“The Wolf”) installed a foldaway bed in his office and often went days without leaving the CIA campus. Although a chain-smoker, he was known for spending hours on a treadmill going over terrorism reports. He was the basis for a character known as “The Wolf” in the movie “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Here’s the Post story (long but interesting if you are a spy buff)
and First names only in most cases.
click below

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/architect-of-cias-drone-campaign-to-leave-post-in-watershed-moment-for-agency/2015/03/25/261289ec-d2f7-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

stanmajor@aol.com

Friday, March 27, 2015

Cheerleaders have legs in BB. Way to go CBS!


    Wow...way to go CBS! 
    The cheerleaders have legs in basketball!
OK I’m gonna hammer away at one of my favorite topics...wives being pissed because the tv guys like to show the cheerleaders.
    Ya see...outside in a big stadium...the tv directors can easily instruct the cameramen NOT to show the cheerleaders shots below the waist.  But inside it’s a little difficult...so waking up from one of my many naps (I’m a big napper now) what do I see on my new wide screen tv...great (but quick) shots of the Duke cheerleaders in bright blue...tops and bottoms included!
    Since I am not into basketball (with a bow to my Bradley classmate Ralph Lawler of the LA Clippers & Chet Walker of course)
I now know I’m remiss about basketball (love football though) and remiss in not dvr’ing the game tonight so I can ogle the Duke girls! 
    So...enjoy the sights while you can guys...the nets will be back outside for football soon...can you believe they actually showed the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders above the waist only!
    Unbelievable! 
                        ____________________

    ....Well...here comes the Washington Post...not the most reliable when so called “unbiased” favorites take place (can you say Nixon or the  Bush(s) or EVEN Reagan?)
    This is their first attempt at tracing the GOP Presidential hopefuls so if this isn’t too early (another year left) click below and see what the Posts thinks:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-gop-racing-form-first-edition/2015/03/26/2c050b4c-d3cc-11e4-a62f-ee745911a4ff_story.html?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

stanmajor@aol.com
(copy & paste)

We salute you.....wearing THE PIN & some of my NATIONAL all night talk show...heard on 100 stations!



         ....the Gold Star Pin...
I never realized this existed until I saw the tv spot that just “knocks me out” every time.
I am an emotional human being and I wait for the Army officer in full uniform to stop and salute the young man wearing the Gold Pin.
I have tears as I write this.
We have no one in my family who was lost in any war or conflict...my Father served in both world War I and World War II.
My brother-in-law Frank was in the Navy in WW2 and I myself served during the Korean War. 
We all came back home safe and sound.

Here is the official page for you to find out what this is all about:

http://goldstarpins.org/SymbolsofHonor/tabid/93/Default.aspx

_____________________________


  ....For our all news station In Chicago (WNWS) I covered the baseball owners meeting in the loop.  
      I got there a bit early for the press conference and sat next to an older, distinguished gentlemen, and entered into casual conversation until the meeting began.  
       I pulled out a package of Juicy Fruit gum and offered him a stick which he took...thanking me.
      He said “you like this?”  I said yes.
      Later a remark from the floor was made about the Cubs...and someone said  "I think we should ask Mr. Wrigley about that".
      Wouldn't you know it...the man next to me got up and answered the question.
      Yep...P.K. Wrigley himself. Inventor of gum...owner of Wrigley field and the Cubs!
      Glad I didn't have my usual Dentyne! (not his brand)
   --------------------------
And this cute story about my son Chris when he was in his early school years.
He was in an after school class where the kids do stuff while waiting to be picked up by their parents.
Another boy there was one of  Dan Marino’s sons (Dolphins quarterback)
Dan showed up and a few of the boys were asking for his autograph.  He knew Chris by name and said “Chris...don’t you want my autograph?”
Chris replied...”why would I want your autograph...I already know who you are!”
                                                   _________________________

For your listening pleasure....here's a bit of my NATIONAL all night talk show...heard on more than 100 stations across the country.
click and enjoy

https://soundcloud.com/stan-major-radio/independent-network-aircheck

my email:
stanmajor@aol.com

      
    

Hey CIA.....where's "MAYA"? Is she after ISIS?

Instant re-post!
     ...Big changes at CIA. “The Wolf” is OUT.

    The man who was responsible for “Maya” getting bin Laden is out.
    But this article doesn’t mention “Maya” (name used in Zero Dark Thirty) and inquiring minds would like to know more about HER!
    i.e.
 is she still there chasing ISIS?

"Maya"
we quote the story...

“After becoming CTC chief, (“The Wolf”) installed a foldaway bed in his office and often went days without leaving the CIA campus. Although a chain-smoker, he was known for spending hours on a treadmill going over terrorism reports. He was the basis for a character known as “The Wolf” in the movie “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Here’s the Post story (long but interesting if you are a spy buff)
and First names only in most cases.
click below

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/architect-of-cias-drone-campaign-to-leave-post-in-watershed-moment-for-agency/2015/03/25/261289ec-d2f7-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html?wpisrc=nl_most&wpmm=1

stanmajor@aol.com

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Randy sings(?) with the Carters...and I sing on radio in Effingham!




Blog viewer Randy was spurred on to this interesting bit of fluff...after reading my tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens:

"When I was a wee lad, I actually attended June Carter's first wedding to Carl Smith. It was held right across the street from the Sam Houston Elementary School on Melrose Ave in Maryville, TN.    I had grown up,in that neighborhood and my Dad was friends with several friends of hers when she appeared at an Opry like show called The Midday Merry-go-round broadcast daily 
live from the studios of WNOX (AM 990) in Knoxville. That's also how and where my dad (and I) got to know Chet Atkins and Homer & Jethro (Henry Haynes and Kenneth Burns). 
Getting back to June Carter Cash, it was through her that I got to meet and spend about day and a half with her and Johnny Cash  They were filming a PBS show about the “Trail of Tears”. Johnny played Chief Ross and June played a farmer's wife. 
The scenes were shot in the Cade's Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
I was home on leave and the Sheriff asked if I'd help with keeping  people out of the scenes etc.
Shortly...I went up to June,introduced myself, told her 
about being the kid who years ago...had thrown snow balls made out of ice cream at other party crashing kids. 
With a few seconds recollection, she remembered the incident and laughed heartily.

     Got to spend a lot of time with them then, but never crossed paths 
with either of them again."

fun story...thanks Randy!
                                                     -----------------------
Stan sings a country hit...live with a c & w group in the studios of WCRA...during their show.
can’t remember the name of the song...Faron Young I think...but I sang it on  WCRA radio Effingham my first radio job....my only singing appearance!
sorry...not recorded!  You didn't miss much.

 stanmajor@aol.com

Nutty pilots...what's one to do? & send the old folks here!




        Now...the sad news.
    ....There’s not much one can do to stop a pilot from doing what he did over the French Alps.
You’re going to hear a bunch of “experts” on tv with what they think are the answers.  They exhausted all the theories for days on something going wrong with the plane...but now they can all return again along with a bunch of “shrinks” who will satisfy the tv audience.
    Here in the US rules state TWO pilots in the cockpit at all times.  There’s no such rule in Europe.
Rest assurd there will be!
    So just relax and if you are flying anytime soon....good luck. I hope their won’t be any copy cats on this...won’t be an unhappy pilot or even flight attendant who would crash plane with you in it.
    Don’t they have those Federal Marshals on the planes over in Europe? 
    They will soon!
                                  ____________________



      ...What to do with the old folks? 
    I’ve got it...send em to Orlando!
    No not Disney World... but to the Villages...the fastest growing city in the US the past two years.
    It beats Myrtle Beach...two places in Texas and one of my favorite towns..beautiful St. George, Utah!  The village is growing fast than any of em.
Here’s the story

click below:

ht.://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-26/the-fastest-growing-u-s-city-is-a-senior-community?Cupid=BBD 032615

stanmajor@aol.com

The "Noog" man from Miami Vice is my radio guest! click & listen to the crazy interview!



MIAMI VICE...Noogie & Izzy          repost
    Back in the late 80’s when the red hot tv show “Miami Vice” was filming here...I had Charlie Barnett in the studio with me for an hour. Charlie played a wild character “Noogie” or the “Noog Man” and he played him to the hilt!  He almost stole the show from Don Johnson and the others when he was on camera.  He was a fine comedic talent and would later suffer the consequences of his short lived fame but that’s a story for another time.
I found a cassette tape of that show....stored away in old cigar boxes along with other tapes...and John & Michael of Neil Rogers.org worked hard getting it set up on u-tube for us.  So...for the first time since it aired with me....enjoy the unforgettable “Noogie.”
click below:


stanmajor@aol.com

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Was the guy legit? or did he scam us?

    Were we robbed or what?

    AT WIRL in Peoria we were sponsoring one of those famous rock shows on a Saturday night..Chuck Berry was the lead.
    We always tied in a large charity with the shows and the box office proceeds were divided up with them.
    Just as the show began (I was told as I was backstage helping to get the show started)
a big black limo pulled up in front of the auditorium.
    Out steps a distinguished looking gentlemen in a nice suit who walked in to the cashier’s room and told the young girl selling the tickets he was with the charity.
    He said he was there to collect the receipts.
    She was a bit flustered and had been given no instructions on this.
    He moved in front of her and picked up the money box and said “thank you” and back to the limo he went.
    She told someone to go back stage and find me or another official there that night.
    I came to the office and she explained what happened.
    I called the station owner at home and he seemed flustered also.
    Was this simply a prearranged move and we weren’t told or was it real bad news.
     I never really found out.
    The whole incident just died away fast..so thru the years I’ve asked my friends what they thought and there was no consensus.
    Guess I’ll never know for sure.
                                   ___________________

    ...I always knew Don Draper drank too much!
full story...click below:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/24/jon-hamm-rehab_n_6935936.html?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003


stanmajor@aol.com

After that lightning smashed my computer...son Chris posted this for me

Chris Major here. Below is a repost from one of my Dad's favorite blog entries. I feel it is appropriate since I just recently moved to LA a few weeks ago. My father's travels and stories were big inspiration for this move, so this one goes out to him. He'll be back posting in a few days while we get his new computer taken care of. Thanks for reading! - Chris Major



     My love for “Hollywood”  began when my Father took us on an extensive western trip....and I mean we saw everything from Illinois to Southern California and on up to Washington State. The only thing that really impressed me was Hollywood..the..movie studios..NBC and CBS...fancy theaters (can you say Grauman's Chinese Theatre?)...Alan Ladd and John Wayne hand prints among many.
      
     We took the movies stars homes tour. I really got the bug about the place. Mom and Sallee went to Catalina Island and I dragged my Dad to several radio shows. I was most impressed by Lux Radio Theater and The Railroad Hour with actor Gordon MacRae. That was basically a musical hour sponsored by the nation's railroads.  The announcer for the show was Marvin Miller who would become famous later as the star of “The Millionaire" tv show.  When we returned home I found Miller's address somehow and wrote him a letter and he actually responded a few weeks later with a hand written two page letter!.  Nice guy!

     So...I had the "Hollywood" bug. I would return to that area on at least three or four occasions...try the acting bit and search for radio work. The only acting bit I got would be in 1960 on the original Bob Newhart show at NBC. I donned a Dodgers uniform took a glove and rushed onto the set on cue to catch a baseball in a fireplace. That Newhart show never made it to dvd so no one will ever see that great catch!
     The casting directors out there had a great gimmick not to put you to work. 
They would say are you SAG...the Screen Actors Guild union?  And of course I wasn't. 
" Well, you can't get a part unless you are."  
"Wait a minute where do I get the card."
"Oh...you can't get a card unless your have a part!"
 What a scam!  

     Another one...I had an appointment to see a top casting director and when I walked into her office she screamed at me:  "You've been here before!!!"  I said no...I've never been here.  But to no avail.  That was her way of eyeing you and getting rid of you quick. Nice people.

     Even with that kind of crap to deal with I still loved the challenge....the possibility that something might break...the phone might ring.  But, of course for me and millions of others on the same path...it didn't happen.

stanmajor@aol.com


Paris smog...and make more $ from Social Security! (I mean it)



Smog in Paris!
 ....Now you know one of the reasons I stay on the Rivera!   

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/03/23/paris-tries-to-fight-smog-by-banning-half-its-cars-from-the-roads/?wpisrc=nl_wv&wpmm=1
                                  ____________________


          ATTENTION!
    If you are approaching retirement age with social security as your prospect....Read this carefully...it’s involved but don’t you just love new ideas to screw the government...about your OWN  money yet!
    Like I say...bookmark this page and then read it and concentrate:
        http://www.dailyfinance.com/2015/03/19/get-half-spouses-social-security-check/?icid=df|trend|get-your-spouses-social-security-check&ncid=edlinkusdail00000038

        ....and good luck with it!
stanmajor@aol.com   

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Talk to Barbie kids...tell her your secrets! & Cruz as Prez is probably more legal than Obama!




          ....Now THIS opens a lot of doors for possibilities,
Can you imagine a kid saying something to Barbie about Mom of Dad drinking alot or my brother trying to make me have sex?  Wow.      

How does Barbie answer that?

    Here’s the first response from one childern’s organization:

    “This latest take on the iconic doll has some advocacy organizations concerned. Among them is the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which has launched a petition calling on Mattel to ditch the talking doll. "Kids using Hello Barbie' won't only be talking to a doll, they'll be talking directly to a toy conglomerate whose only interest in them is financial. It's creepy -- and creates a host of dangers for children and families. Children naturally reveal a lot about themselves when they play. In Mattel's demo, Barbie asks many questions that encourage kids to share information about their interests, their families, and more -- information advertisers can use to market unfairly to children."

    Like I say...Barbie may not have the answers for the kids but Mattel will sure have the info!
    

Here’s the whole story and Mattel’s denial denial:
     

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2015/03/24/cool-creepy-barbie-can-converse-kids/?ncid=emlblstusdail00000005&mobile=false
                                                     ___________________

now...the Ted Cruz birthright flap.
    Actually he WAS born in Canada...like Donald Trump charges...but he CAN run for Prez

    “Cruz was born a citizen of the United States.
Even though Cruz was born in Canada, he was American from the moment of his birth.
    Cruz's mother, Eleanor Darragh, was a US citizen from Delaware. His father, Rafael Cruz, was a Cuban national who had received a green card while living in the US (he eventually became a US citizen in 2005). Under American law, Cruz would be born an American despite having only one US citizen parent as long as that parent — his mother — had physically lived in the United States for at least 10 years and five of those years had been after her 14th birthday. Cruz's mother easily cleared that bar, so Cruz's citizenship is not debatable.”
    Boy I’m glad they cleared that up. 
 

Now... how about Obama?
    Ha!

stanmajor@aol.com

Read all about it! On the NET!

repost

     ...The double standards in our recent memory may soon be disappearing...along with the press functions that established them. 
One observer states if Obama was a Republican he would be facing impeachment now over this immigration fiasco.
The only President run out of office in my lifetime was Richard Nixon...Republican.  That was over a stupid thing called Watergate which two primary newspapers (neither of which are very “primary” anymore thanks to the internet) the Washington Post and the New York Times...basically successfully performed a media coup d’etat
that forced him to quit.
That’s one side of the double standard.
Here’s the other side:
A woman dies in car whose driver happens to be Teddy Kennedy but does Teddy pay for that.  Hell no...he goes on to the US Senate for years.  He’s also Catholic and gets a divorce to remarry..with money for the effort for the church which may be a third standard.
Jack Kennedy...his brother...is the biggest womanizer in the oval office in history...until Bill Clinton came along.  But Jack’s not hit for that (despite the fact that JFK was screwing a Mafia boss’s girl friend!..and neither is his brother Bobby...despite the fact that he had at least two Mafia Godfathers who wanted him hit. Nope...Just couple of "crazies" who did it for the fame....while the guy with the kill shot on the grassy knoll got away for good!
Speaking of Clinton...yes he was impeached but the Senate let him go to roam for female pleasure again. More of that double standard.  If Billy had been a Republican they would have hung him out to dry fast.
The bottom line in this little essay is that powerful forces like major newspapers and at times television (Ed Murrow vs Senator Joe McCarthy) which have foisted the double standard on us “Democrat's great...Republicans suck”... attitude don’t have that power anymore.
This is the effect of the internet and it may be the most positive change in this country since the death of prohibition!
The only question now is what or who moves into the internet power positions to have the same effect good or bad that the papers and tv once had. 
Matt Drudge?

my email:
stanmajor@aol.com

Oh God....here we go again!


  ....So Ted Cruz thinks it’s time to give his ilk equal time in the White House?
     Actually he’s got one great idea which he will find impossible to institute...getting rid of the IRS. 
     I’ve had any number of excellent anti IRS guests on my talk shows for years and where are they now?  They’re gone.....And the IRS is bigger and worse than ever.
     Cruz can’t change it...it’s embedded in Washington like half a dozen other departments that hire and have power over us to remain constant in a inconstant government.
     It’s like I’ve always said...makes NO difference who wins...everything changes but everything stays the same.  Did Reagan or Nixon really get anything done about that?  Nope.
     So...don’t waste time voting...it ain’t worth the gas.
                                _____________________


    Wanna go to Iceland for your vacation?

I like these kind of “oddball” discoveries of where to go.  You might not want to actually go there...but the pic and photos are always great!  (Maybe they are the real vacations...not the real trip)
    So check Iceland out...just for fun:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-03-19/into-the-fjords?cmpid=BBD032015


stanmajor@aol.com

Monday, March 23, 2015

Thanks from us...and on behalf of the little guy!

    ....THE  BABY!                                               repost

    On this post...number 1,001.....as promised...something special and a big “thanks” from the parents and the family for YOUR good thoughts all around this world for the health of this BABY  J.


    Pictured..in the rear...the happy Daddy and his Sister...
then...My son Chris...happily holding BABY J  with his girlfriend.


.....again...we thank you all.

    be happy...we all are.


let's close with a song with meaning......click below:

“This Is Our Life”.......Mary Beth Maziarz
 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gziSnkICbk


    stanmajor@aol.com
stantalks@gmail.com

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Cambodia....the killing fields to be!





        Ever been scared...I have, a few times.

        I mentioned earlier in this blog about Cambodia...being driven south out of the capital of Phnom Penh and wondering who the soldiers were walking along the highway with really big guns. I said to my driver "I didn't think Cambodia had an army."
     "Oh those not Cambodia soldiers....those NVA!"
 North Vietnamese walking to kill Americans.
     "I hope you don't have a flat tire".
     " Oh you just tell 'em you Canadian!".
Yeh....sure.  with an American passport in my pocket.
     It's strange...I wasn't at all scared as we passed another small group.  This continued for awhile...just small groups of five or six NVA soldiers and then we saw no more.
     Some 87 members of the worldwide press were killed in that southeast asian conflict...including NBC's famed correspondent Wells Hangen along with his cameraman German born Peter Bellendorf.
     Peter was quite a guy...he kept a boa constrictor in his Saigon apartment as he was on long assignments and needed some kind of surety against break-ins!
     I chatted with him over coffee one morning and ask him if he was ever afraid out in the field.
He whipped out his wallet and slipped a picture of Ho Chi Minh out and showed it to me.
"My insurance out there.  They won't kill a guy carrying this!"
     Sad to say...it didn't work.
     Regarding Wells Hangen...he came into the Saigon building that housed NBC, AP and several other news organizations on special assignment and made the mistake of taking the elevator which everyone knew didn't work well.  It took some time to get him out.  Moral to this...beware of French made elevators.
     As I said I wasn't really scared when passing the enemy solders on the road...in fact it is strange that years later as I think and write about this I am more tense about it now...knowing now that a lot of press folks did not come out of Cambodia alive.
      On that same trip we stopped in a small Cambodian village to get some snacks and as we approached the entrance I noticed a tall man with a pink and white dotted scarf around his neck.  He looked intently at me...ignored a hello from my driver and I got a shivers as we entered the small store..  He looked like he was ready and willing to "eat my intestines"....and that made me nervous.   Later I asked the driver about the guy with the strange scarf...
    "Oh that guy you don't mess with...bad guy.
      "He part of Khmer Rouge.  Bad people."
     And they were...I would use the term viciously bad...when emptying the capital of all it's inhabitants and killing millions ala Hitler.
     But wait...there's more on this weird trip south to Sihanoukville....
     A big story broke down on the south China sea near Sihanoukville. About a week earlier a ships crew mutinied and took over the vessel and I figured this might be a great scoop so that's where we were headed.  We got there late afternoon and I went into the lobby of this huge resort hotel in the small city named in honor of the current King Of Cambodia.  After talking to the desk clerk and the manager I determined the ship had not put in there so there was no great scoop.  The manager invited us to see Prince Sinanouk's zoo which bordered the hotel so we drove around thru elephants...some tigers (we kept the doors locked and windows up) and whatever else animals which the manager said were gifts to the Prince and he had to find a place to put them.  We returned to the hotel and eat a good dinner and then headed out for Phnom Penh but it was getting dark.
     They are called water buffalo and they are the hugest animal you'll ever see...but hopeful not on the highway at night.  My driver said this was the only thing we had to worry about...not the NVA soldiers...not the fledgling killers named Khmer Rouge...but the big water buffalo who  he said, loved to sleep on the warm highway at night!  Well, we were in luck...not one time did we have to screech to a halt and go around one of these things.  We made it back...the trip was unfruitful from a news standpoint but historic in my life.
                   http://www.arkive.org/asian-buffalo/bubalus-bubalis/
  
     I paid the driver and as I approached the hotel and saw one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life!   She was not a hooker...I guess the NVA didn't allow that.  She seemed be just walking by on her way home or someplace.  I said hello and she responded in English...and as exhausted as I was with all the day's activities I ask if she would like a drink.  That's a pretty unusual approach for me...I'm a shy guy but I was just too tired to waste time on the preliminares.
     Surprisingly...she smiled and said yes.  We went to the hotel bar and she seemed a bit uncomfortably there and I gleaned that she was not used to this kind of an offer.  I felt my time was wasted but halfway thru the drinks she asked if I had a room and, of course, I did...so I went full force here..her beauty seemed to recharge my battery and I said would you like to go there and she nodded and off we went.  I will add here that she was as good in bed as she looked.   You don't find that too often in life.
     The next thing I know is there was a knock on the door.  It was morning and I wondered what this was about.  Maybe she was a hooker and this was her pimp to collect.  You never know in this part of the world.
     I opened the door keeping my foot and leg ready to block anyone I considered as trouble.
didn't need to worry though...it was a guy from Newsweek magazine I'd met outside the hotel while arranging my drive south.
     "There's been a coup" he said.  "The Prince (in China at the time) is out and an Army General is in".
     I ask him in and he took one look at the girl in the bed and said "wow".  I agreed.
     He and I were the only American press people left here.  An ABC crew had been here yesterday but they went out early this morning (really bad timing don't you agree) They had snuck in through  Laos.   Press could not get into Cambodia.  We had all gotten the word...don't even try it...they'll put you right back on the plane.
     Let me digress and tell you how I conned my way into Cambodia
     I had almost completed my initial six month tour covering the war for NBC News.  I had some R & R coming so I made arrangements for visas to Hong Kong, the Philippines and even as a standby Australia.
     I had an early morning flight to Hong Kong which (surprise!) stopped in Phnom Penh!
    When some passengers began to disembark I joined them...trying to think of what I could do all alone here...even if I made it past customs.  The hell with it...they won't let me in anyway so I'll just make a meager effort.  I tried to think back on office discussions about Cambodia and what possible way there might be (ala ABC) to get into the country.  I did remember that the customs officer here would have a list of the Saigon press corp and check the names on it if he became suspicious.  Oh well...he can see my name and order me back on the plane...what the hell..I tried.
     Suddenly I remembered that the inside flap on my passport identified me as with NBC news.  Shit!
I dug out a pen and looked at the writing and began changing the letters...(I still have that passport if the newsmusem is ever interested).  I got the NBC News garbled enough so that nobody could work it out...especially a guy not raised in the English language.
     The guy took my passport and saw I was an American based in Saigon.  I hadn't messed with trying to change the address...didn't have time.  He checked to see if my name was on the Saigon press list.  He checked again...apparently it was not there!  I had arrived about six months earlier and his list was NOT up to date.
"You press from Saigon!"
"No sir...I'm a farmer from the United States."
"You press...I know it!  Yes?"
"No...I'm a tourist.....I want to see your fine country!"
He continued to eye me suspicious.  "Where you want to go here?
"Angor Wat" I answered...remembering the Jackie Kennedy venture there.  "I want to see Angor Wat."
He caved.....stamped me a three day visitors visa and waved me on.  I didn't believe it until I had gone back and bribed a airline clerk to get my bag off the plane.  I needed it not for clothes but my handy, always with me, NBC cassette recorder was in the bag.
     I still didn't believe it until I was in a cab about half way into the city.  Wow. 
     I told the cabbie to take me where most of the press corp were staying and he did.  The first guys I saw were the correspondent and crew from ABC.  They told me how they got in through Laos.  I showed them my passport and explained how the guy's Saigon list was not up to date.

     So...back to the coup d'état...the lovely girl and the Newsweek guy.  He said he was on the way to the American Embassy to meet someone for more information.  He ask me to join him and since we were not in direct competition I figured why not.  But my mind was racing...he said the phone lines out of the country were down...he tired to call Newsweek but nada.  I believed him and didn't bother trying to reach NBC News in Saigon or Bangkok or even at 30 Rock.  He said he'd wait for me downstairs and took another approving look at the brown eyed, brown haired Cambodian goddess sitting on my bed and flew out the door.
     And here I made what might be called a strategic mistake in life. I told her I had to go but for some strange reason I didn't ask how I could find her again.  I didn't ask for a phone number or address or even say "why don't you come back and check early this evening we can have dinner".  I did none of these...and even until now...I can envisage her great looks....and wonder what might have happened or wonder with the nasty future in Cambodia what would happen to her.  You remember the great line in that Paul Newman flick..."what we have here is a failure to communicate."
     Well...this was mine.  I could have gotten very serious over this girl/woman from Phnom Penh.
Sadly...duty called and I got so wrapped up in the coup happenings I didn't even check if she had left a message.  I don't even think I got her name..which is weird too as I can remember girls names in Saigon and Hong Kong and Germany to this day...but not hers.  Oh well...what might have been..everything happened so fast. Damn CIA...curse General Lon Nol.  What could I do?



   This coup smelled to high heaven 





   Later it would be obvious that this was instigated by the American CIA.  The military needed to be able to openly bomb and invade Cambodia...the key sanctuary for all those NVA soldiers I passed on the highway the day before.  So much for turning the war over to the South Vietnamese military!
   I found the freelance cameraman who shot film for NBC News and we went to work.  He didn't have audio capability so I just recorded stuff on my handy cassette recorder...and even tried to do a standup report that way as I knew the folks back in New York could match the audio to the video.
   We shot a bunch of film and recorded a lot of stuff but we had a couple of problems.  The first was my very presence with a cameraman and tape recorder.  I was not supposed to be there...so that killed the possibility of doing interviews, etc.  I was nervous about approaching any of the Cambodian officers.  We did film General Lon Nol as he marched into what appeared to be the legislative building near the palace but I didn't know who he was at the time and didn't approach him.
   All communication in and out of Cambodia was down because of the coup. The only way we could get the film and tapes out was to drive to the Thai border and hopefully hand it over to a Bangkok staffer.  NBC news Bangkok could satellite to New York.  
   I found out that once you left you couldn't get back in.  And...border officers were not letting anyone new come in either...so I had a hell of a scoop.
   I contacted my driver...told him of our project and advised him that we might have to sit at the bridge on the Thai border until someone from NBC News managed to show up.  He said he could probably bribe someone to let him go across and find a telephone to call NBC in Bangkok.
   We headed out for what could have been a long, long drive....not in miles...the border was only an hour away...but in wait time for the pickup. 
   When we arrived at the bridge that crossed into Thailand...my driver confirmed that the border guards were not letting anyone back in...so we couldn't leave.  
   About a half-hour later some British journalists from the BBC pulled up...telling us they were headed for Bangkok.  I had met one of them back in Saigon so I ask him to hand carry our stuff to the NBC News office in Bangkok and he agreed.  
   The BBC had an ongoing deal with NBC news anyway so this was perfect and I knew he wouldn't abscond with my material. 
   So that was all settled nicely...and I turned to get back in the car to return to Phnom Penh when I heard someone yelling at me from Thailand...at the other end of the bridge.  
   It was a CBS news crew and the correspondent was begging me to help them get into the country.
   For probably the first and only time I can remember not being a nice guy...I just shrugged and turned back and got in the car.     Well,...what would you have done.
   About a month later I would be touring the CBS news offices in New York inquiring about a position.  The radio exec was interested in hiring me...when the fellow in charge of foreign desk found out I was there he went into a screaming fit about not helping their crew at the border... so my possible career at CBS with Cronkite and Rather was not to be!
   Everyone did make into Cambodia in a few days after things cleared up.  I got to get back on the plane headed for vacation before returning to the states. 
   Before I left Phnom Penh the correspondent for Newsweek ask me to read over his story before he got it out to wherever. I did and it was good.
   A week or so later I picked up a copy of Newsweek and read an entirely different version with no byline for him.  Someone back in New York decided they knew better than the guy on the scene as to what actually went on in Cambodia.  
   Since that time...I've not had much faith in what I read in either Time or Newsweek. 

   And...finally...this quirk of happenstance.
   My flight back from Vietnam to New York was the fastest and most direct but also the most tiresome I could take.  I flew to Bangkok and changed to a SAS 707 which flew directly to Copenhagen.  Well...more or less.  
   We flew OVER the Himalayan Mountains...the highest in the world and were told we would make only one stop to refuel in Russia...either Moscow or Tashkent depending on the weather. 
   But here's the kicker.
   Remember why I got off the plane at Phnom Penh?  I wanted to cover that story about the ship that had been hijacked in the South China Sea.
   Well,...the some crew members of that ship were on board this plane...headed back home.
   I chatted with a couple of them but they didn't say much.  Apparently they were wary of anyone asking too many questions at that point.
   Our refueling stop was sadly...not Moscow but Tashkent in the Soviet Union.  Russian customs officials looking very mean and more like police than anything else came on board and the flight attendant announced that we could deplane for the terminal for refreshments and shopping but only if we handed our passports over to the Russkies first.
  I did so as I wanted to stretch my legs after the first long portion of the flight.  Inside the terminal things were sparse...except for several very pretty girls sitting around...smiling and inviting possible interest.  I took this as a blatant attempt by the KGB for some reason or another and didn't pay much attention to them.
  After a short period..we went back to the plane...and I gratefully  retrieved my passport from the official as I came on board.
  The only other interesting note was that when we left southeast Asia it was the heat of summer and in the 90’s and when we landed in Denmark...it was winter and cold as hell.  I had to buy a coat before I left the terminal!
  I had been to Copenhagen once before...in the summer.  Tivoli Gardens is just not the same in the snow.

stanmajor@aol.com