OBSERVATIONS ************************* Loyalty or subservience to the leadership is not a definition of patriotism but of fascism. * The only good thing about life is that it is above ground. * Sometimes we forget that Assad sits on a “throne of blood,” like Macbeth, and reality is catching up with him as it tends todo sooner or later with all of us. * If someone whose judgment I don't trust were to agree with me, I would disagree with myself. * Andrea De Carlo: "He tells me to follow my instinct. But what if I have two of them?" # PROVERBS *************************** If you like proverbs you will love THE DICTIONARY OF MODERN PROVERBS Compiled by C, Doyle, W. Mieder & F.R. Shapiro (London: Yale University Press, 2012). Some samples follow: * “The best man for the job may be a woman.” * “If you aren’t the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” * “Life is a **** sandwich: the more bread you have, the less **** you eat.” # SPEAKING OF OBAMA ********************************** Next time you speak of Obama, ask yourself: Would Romney have been a better choice? * To brainwash children means to train them to say “Yes, sir!” instead of “Hell, no!” * Cherish your enemies, you may learn more from them than from your friends. * Our most dangerous enemy is not the Turk but the Turk within us. * I find it very difficult to love my fellow men after reading my morning paper. # NOBODY’S PERFECT ******************************** Whenever I am told “Nobody’s perfect” (meaning “Shut the f*ck up!”) I say: “Dzour nesdink, shidag khossink.” In other words: our own imperfections should not prevent us from discussing our own motherf*ckers. * My contempt for loud-mouth Armenians from the Levant is not mine but that of a Levantine elder statesmen who once told me: “They walk past an elementary school and brag about their university degrees.” * Neither is my antipathy for Islam mine but that of Sunnis and Shias for one another. * You cannot deceive God, not even a non-existent God because God is another word for Reality. * The right word at the right time can be as effective as a hammer-blow to the head. #