He defeated the French and humiliated the Americans.

The modern day David who brought down Goliath. He is Vietnamese general Vo Nguyen Giap, whom I personally admire and one whom I would definitely say is one of the greatest, most brilliant commanders who ever lived. His grasp for strategy and tactics would definitely make the great Master Sun proud. An avid reader of Master Sun’s great work he is an advocate of manoeuvre warfare and a living symbol of Master Sun’s axiom of “defeating the enemy without ever fighting.”

Worked as a school teacher with a passion for military history and philosophy, some of his contemporaries within the communist party doubted his capability as a military commander but he proved them wrong time and again. First by helping defeat the Japanese invaders during WWII and then the French during the battle of Dien Bien Phu and finally the Americans, most notably during the Tet Offensive. Doubt turned to awe and awe turned to respect.  A genius of guerrilla and psychological warfare he showed the world that in war firepower is not everything and that victory is not always achieved by sheer might alone, but by a combination of cunning strategy, ruthless efficiency and a good grasp of psychology. He epitomized Master Sun’s saying: “Know your enemy, know yourself and your victory will never be in doubt even in a hundred battles; know heaven, know earth and your victory will be complete.” 

Gen. Giap wholeheartedly deserves to be in the pantheon of the greatest military commanders who ever lived.

Happy 100^th birthday General Giap. You are truly a great inspiration.

Tu Risa (Your Laughter)

One of my most favorite poem by the great Pablo Neruda. It is so passionate, so romantic.

Tu Risa (Your Laughter)

By Pablo Neruda

Take the bread from me, if you want

take the air from me, but

do not take from me your laughter

Do not take away the rose,

the lanceflower that you pluck,

the water that suddenly

bursts forth in your joy,

the sudden wave

of silver born in you.

My struggle is harsh and I come back

with eyes tired

at times from having seen

the unchanging earth,

but when your laughter enters

it rises to the sky seeking me

and it opens for me all

the doors of life.

My love, in the darkest

hour your laughter

opens, and if suddenly

you see my blood staining

the stones of the street,

laugh, because your laughter

will be for my hands

like a fresh sword.

Next to the sea in the autumn,

your laughter must raise

its foamy cascade,

and in the spring, love,

I want your laughter like

the flower I was waiting for,

the blue flower, the rose

of my echoing country.

Laugh at the night,

at the day, at the moon,

laugh at the twisted

streets of the island,

laugh at this clumsy

boy who loves you,

but when I open

my eyes and close them,

when my steps go,

when my steps return,

deny me bread, air,

light, spring,

but never your laughter

for I would die.

 Here is a really simple maxim I personally believe in and something that I always practice. It is something I live by.

A truly great leader prioritizes his men first and foremost. He likes to see them succeed, because he knows that their success is his own.

Clinical anecdotes

The Patient:

There was this guy in the hospital that was scheduled for surgery. On the morning of his operation he starts yelling that he wants coffee. The nurse comes in and asks him to be quiet, as he is disturbing the other patients. "But I've had coffee every morning for forty years and I want a cup of coffee NOW!" he screamed. The nurse quickly and silently counts to ten and replies, "Now sir, you realize thatyou are due to go into surgery in an hour and you can't have anything on your stomach. Couldn't you do without coffee just this once?" The guy starts to rant even more and the doctor comes in to see what is the matter with the patient. The nurse explains the situation to him and the doctor turns to the belligerent man in bed before him, "You understand that you can't have anything in your stomach before surgery, don't you?" "I don't care. I.Want. Some. Coffee!!!!" The doctor thinks for a minute and says,"Very well. I'll tell you what; the only way we can give you any coffee is through an enema. Would that make you happy?" The guy pauses and replies,"Well, if that's the only way I can get any coffee around here..." So the doctor tells the nurse to give the guy a coffee enema to keep him quiet.The nurse returns with an enema bag and a fresh pot of hot coffee. She pours itinto the bag, greases up the applicator and sticks it up the guy's ass."Ah, hot coffee!" the guy says with a satisfied tone. All of a sudden he starts into bitching and complaining again. "What's the matter this time?!" the exasperated nurse yells out. "It's too sweet!" the guy replies.

****************************************************************************************************************

The Dentist:

Then there's the woman who goes to the dentist. As he leans over to begin working on her, she grabs his balls. The dentist says, "Madam, I believe you've got a hold of my privates."The woman replies, "Yes. We're going to be careful not to hurt each other,aren't we?"

****************************************************************************************************************

The Doctor and the Nurse:

A doctor and a nurse just got married. As they were lying in bed one night, the doctor said to the nurse, "Honey, to avoid any problems, let's try the following system. When we go to bed at night, if you would like to have sex, pull at my penis one time....and if you don't want to have sex, pull at my penis 100 times!!"

Mind Your Manners

There are things in life that are not correct. Correct being that they are not as perfect as you want them to be. Mediocrity is everywhere, and one shouldn't just sit and not do anything. You will need to speak up and say the current condition must stop. This usually means you will upset a few people and change things they don't want to be changed. That's fine. You will not please everyone.

Saying the above, however, does not mean a person should present himself or herself as uncultured. Upset as you may be, you should never lose your temper. You should never attack another individual personally, but instead attack the issue. You will, after all, need to work with these people. Cooperation is the goal. Be strong in character...but have a kind voice and be professional in demeanor.

Sad to say but many so-called adults do not observe proper etiquette. Practice good manners; it is the mark of a refined person. Many people think if they are to be "true" to themselves with others, they don't need to act accordingly. Nothing can be so wrong. Everyone wants to be shown respect in some degree or another, and that's what etiquette and manners are all about. Some of you will often see your superiors using vulgar language, or dressed inappropriately, or conduct business unethically. Do not copy them. They got to where they are not because of these bad habits but in spite of them.

Here are some simple but important items everyone should consider:

1. Say "thank you" whenever someone shows kindness.

2. When you are invited to a special occasion, dress cleanly and a notch above normal.

3. Simply say "you're welcome" when someone says thank you. Never say "oh, it's nothing."

4. When a person went through a lot of trouble to get you a gift, kindly receive it.

5. Never sit at the head of the table unless invited to do so by the host.

6. Say "excuse me" after doing something inappropriate.

7. If arriving in line at the same time as another person, let that person go first.

8. Always clean after yourself.

9. When shaking hands, make sure your grip is strong and the part between your index finger and thumb is squarely against the other person's.

10. Never outright negatively judge someone by their looks. With everyone you meet, you should think to yourself "I like this person."

11. Treating a person poorly because of his or her social status is vulgar.

12. When borrowing something, make sure you give it back promptly and in the same working order.
For example, if you borrow your friend's car, make sure you fill it up with gas before returning it.

13. When handling other people's property, be gentle with it.

14. Be judicious when criticizing others. In fact, be indirect as possible.

15. Let the speaker finish his or her sentence before talking.

16. When in doubt, use the Golden Rule.

With the suggestions above, you should have good cooperation from most people. Truly, it's the small things that make a big difference. You'll be able to achieve your objectives as a result.

Romantic Idea no.10

If your partner is going away for a few days, tell her that you are worried about her so you have organized a bodyguard to look after her. Then give her a small teddy bear.

Glückliches Neues Jahr