Evander Holyfield: its all about you too

Video: again, an ode to Renee, my wife, who made me realise what I am today

Mark Wahlberg: A Prize Idiot As Well As A Racist Thug

              Mark Wahlberg: A Prize Idiot As Well As A Racist Thug

It is better that Mark Wahlberg sticks to reading someone else’s lines in order to act because when it come to real life, when his lips move in that arena at least, is when we know that not only is he a racist thug but a prize idiot as well.

Mark has already told us recently that he would have sorted the 9/11 terrorists all by himself and that acting was like being in the military as it was so hard to do; I’m afraid that real life has proved much more problematic starting with him being able to separate fact from fiction. If life was only like the movies with the usual happy ending.

We all need a second chance, sometimes even a third or fourth one too, but it seems Mark in his quest for redemption has missed the core values of what that is. Mark is stuck somewhere in the crossroads of his mind. The redemption that he seeks can only come from his victims starting with a sincere apology if he is up for it, and a cheque to one victim that he permanently blinded in one eye with six zero’s after the first digit written all over it; with his celebrity signature that might make it worth one dollar more, and the same for the second victim. Success can encourage narcissism and that is where Mark misses the point and diverges greatly from the facts, even he was 16 years old when he committed his crime. One thing is for sure, it was not the actions or the mindset of the average16 year old male.

Now Mark wants it all, an elevated place on earth while seeking an leveated one in heaven as well, or at least what he thinks that his money can buy. It certainly can’t buy Mark a conscience as I would wager that he has never sought out his victims. How has one victim got through his life since that assault 26 years ago and who was a middle-aged man back then and slight of build? A Vietnamese in a foreign land that had nothing, being attacked by a vicious thug had had everything in comparison. How is his other eye doing, is he still impoverished as he was surely up against the two eyed competition thereafter? Was he teased as a one eyed Vietnamese or just another one eyed ‘Gook’ as described by Mark who now goes to Church everyday these days, which by itself can tell you a lot about his perspective on what real life is actually about.  

Hoa Trinh is that migrant 'Gook' that was attacked by Mark. That assault was just minutes after he had attacked another Vietnamese migrant called Thanh Lam. To even up the odds against the unarmed Thanh, Mark armed himself with a 5 foot weapon to ensure distance between them, and a blow driven so hard that it would remain that way for it rendered the poor and defenseless man unconscious. Mark cries crocodile tears today that what he had done still impacts ‘him’ yet never mentions how it might have impacted Thanh or Hoa for he surely does not know. He tells us that his record “could impact businesses, such as restaurants, that work with him from getting licenses” and yet was Thanh even able to find work as a dishwasher in one? Two eyed dishwashers get the same pay so it would have been an uphill struggle one way or the other.

These are the two men today, Hoa Trinh and Thanh Lam,  whose lives are blighted, and these are men that Walberg needs to seek redemption from first. The only justice that was given to them was that Mark spent 45 days in jail from a charge that was originally attempted murder.

Out of the $200 million fortune that he already has and the potential earnings from those restaurant endorsements, should his reputation be elevated and his past erased, his redemption should start with those two men. But a pardon is a double- edged sword in any case: It forgives the crime but does not erase it, and yet true forgiveness, if it is to mean anything, has to come from the victimized and no one else whether it can be bought or not.  

By Barry Clifford    

Photo Minute: Children and their pets (Click on photo for best results)

Transparency Ireland 2014 Is Not So Transparent

Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2014 is published today and shows an improvement in Ireland’s score for the second year in a row.

Despite a series of controversies involving the Gardaí, charities and appointments to public bodies, as well as allegations of corruption in planning; Ireland’s position on the index has moved up since 2012.

Ireland’s score has improved from 72 to 74 out of 100, leaving it in 17^th place out of 174 countries. In 2012 it was positioned in 25^th place on in the index, in the wake of the publication of the Moriarty and Mahon Tribunal reports.

TI Ireland’s Chief Executive John Devitt warned against complacency. ‘The improvement may be explained by few ‘big-ticket’ corruption stories over the past couple of years. The tribunals may also be fading from memory but there are still significant corruption risks to be addressed’, Mr Devitt said

‘Local authorities and public procurement across the public sector still appear vulnerable to corruption in large part because of the amounts of money to be gained through government contracts, as well as rising property values. When you factor in the probability that you will not be caught for bending or breaking the law, there is a clear incentive for some people to engage in graft.

‘Few people are also being held to account for white collar crime or corruption-related offences. One out of 10 investigations leads to a prosecution and there have only been a handful of convictions for corruption related offences in the last three years,’ Mr Devitt added.

TI Ireland has also called for tougher rules aimed at cleaning up the relationship between business and government. It has called for a two year ‘cooling off’ period for public servants moving into some positions in the private sector, as well as the introduction of a criminal offences for senior officials and public representatives who fail to truthfully declare their assets and liabilities.

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The above is sourced verbatim from Transparency International. Though Ireland is ranked 17, it is still behind Belgium, Hong Kong and Barbados and just two spots above Chile followed by Uruguay.

Barry Clifford

Video: This song and this singer would move stone (1/2 min to load)

Photo Minute: A Raging Beauty (press on photo for best results)

Cause Of Death: Severe Loneliness

I recently came accross a story about a woman, aged 57 years old, who locked herself in a freezer and froze to death as she intended. She left a note. She cited in it her illnesses, but above all, her severe loneliness. That became the official cause of her death: Severe Loneliness.

Loneliness is more than a state of mind but there is a cure if one can get past the paralysing effect of what it is to feel or be lonely. As a person closes their eyes in daylight hours to try to understand blindness, yet coming away knowing it takes a lot longer to know its true effects, this, I would imagine, is the same way that a person that would try to understand loneliness would come away with the same result.

To many, the lonely ones, it can be creeping and hard to admit, even after a loved one has died. Defence facades can pop up like jolly Rogers or busy Joe, or cantakrerious Mary, or eccentric Agatha. Pride is a heavy burden that can break a strong person, and yet there is an array of help out there starting with the person themselves who is most affected. It is always the first port of call, and the second is just being able to reach out. It can, all too often, be a matter of life and death.

As the story about that woman in the freezer from France who died, all other life still living is local and it is there that help can begin. By the very busyness of others live’s lonely people can seem invisible; the Elanor Rigsby’s of this world would not be noticed enough to ask, “where do they all come from”  as so poigently sung by the Beatles. But if we can all slow down a bit you can notice them everywhere.

Often the best help you can offer them is the subterfuge of not helping until they can do for themselves. At the very least they need to know where that get that help in their local area. Teaching them how to fish and all that can be done without them ever having to step in the water, and when it is done it can be little surprise on how well they can swim too while fishing at the same time. And one hour a week is not a lot to give to help them of the 168 that make it up.

In a few words, for those who are not lonley, yet, to help other lonely people can be the skills that can be learned should it ever, the scourge of  loneliness that is, happen to themselves.

Barry Clifford

Underground Caves Of Sochi In Russia-Specatular !!!! (Press on photos for best results)

The difference between a happy and unhappy life is how often and how long we stay there.

Here are the 7 qualities of chronically unhappy people.

1. Your default belief is that life is hard.

Happy people know life can be hard and tend to bounce through hard times with an attitude of curiosity versus victimhood. They take responsibility for how they got themselves into a mess, and focus on getting themselves out of it as soon as possible.

Perseverance towards problem-solving versus complaining over circumstances is a symptom of a happy person. Unhappy people see themselves as victims of life and stay stuck in the “look what happened to me” attitude versus finding a way through and out the other side.

2. You believe most people can’t be trusted.

I won’t argue that healthy discernment is important, but most happy people are trusting of their fellow man. They believe in the good in people, versus assuming everyone is out to get them. Generally open and friendly towards people they meet, happy people foster a sense of community around themselves and meet new people with an open heart.

Unhappy people are distrustful of most people they meet and assume that strangers can’t be trusted. Unfortunately this behavior slowly starts to close the door on any connection outside of an inner-circle and thwarts all chances of meeting new friends.

3. You concentrate on what’s wrong in this world versus what’s right.

There’s plenty wrong with this world, no arguments here, yet unhappy people turn a blind eye to what’s actually right in this world and instead focus on what’s wrong. You can spot them a mile away, they’ll be the ones complaining and responding to any positive attributes of our world with “yeah but”.

Happy people are aware of global issues, but balance their concern with also seeing what’s right. I like to call this keeping both eyes open. Unhappy people tend to close one eye towards anything good in this world in fear they might be distracted from what’s wrong. Happy people keep it in perspective. They know our world has problems and they also keep an eye on what’s right.

4. You compare yourself to others and harbor jealousy.

Unhappy people believe someone else’s good fortune steals from their own. They believe there’s not enough goodness to go around and constantly compare yours against theirs. This leads to jealousy and resentment.

Happy people know that your good luck and circumstance are merely signs of what they too can aspire to achieve. Happy people believe they carry a unique blueprint that can’t be duplicated or stolen from—by anyone on the planet. They believe in unlimited possibilities and don’t get bogged down by thinking one person’s good fortune limits their possible outcome in life.

5. You strive to control your life.

There’s a difference between control and striving to achieve our goals. Happy people take steps daily to achieve their goals, but realize in the end, there’s very little control over what life throws their way.

Unhappy people tend to micromanage in effort to control all outcomes and fall apart in dramatic display when life throws a wrench in their plan. Happy people can be just as focused, yet still have the ability to go with the flow and not melt down when life delivers a curve-ball.

The key here is to be goal-oriented and focused, but allow room for letting sh*t happen without falling apart when the best laid plans go awry- because they will. Going with the flow is what happy people have as plan B.

6  You consider your future with worry and fear.

There’s only so much rent space between your ears. Unhappy people fill their thoughts with what could go wrong versus what might go right.

Happy people take on a healthy dose of delusion and allow themselves to daydream about what they’d like to have life unfold for them. Unhappy people fill that head space with constant worry and fear.

Happy people experience fear and worry, but make an important distinction between feeling it and living it. When fear or worry crosses a happy person’s mind, they’ll ask themselves if there’s an action they can be taken to prevent their fear or worry from happening (there’s responsibility again) and they take it. If not, they realize they’re spinning in fear and they lay it down.

7. You fill your conversations with gossip and complaints.

Unhappy people like to live in the past. What’s happened to them and life’s hardships are their conversation of choice. When they run out of things to say, they’ll turn to other people’s lives and gossip.

Happy people live in the now and dream about the future. You can feel their positive vibe from across the room. They’re excited about something they’re working on, grateful for what they have and dreaming about the possibilities of life.

Obviously none of us are perfect. We’re all going to swim in negative waters once in a while, but what matters is how long we stay there and how quickly we work to get ourselves out. Practicing positive habits daily is what sets happy people apart from unhappy people, not doing everything perfectly.

Walk, fall down, get back up again, repeat. It’s in the getting back up again where all the difference resides.
By Tamara White