beinghad.com is now on the web...

The logo for the new BEING HAD website

Yes, I have finally got the beinghad.com website up on the web. It was a long time in coming and still is probably not absolutely complete, but it says what it is supposed to say and does what it is supposed to do, so I have my hopes that all will be ok.

But because the website has as its heart not only this STORY blog, but also the BHTimes and the Polish Corruption page, I have started to do some hashing about over the news items I am finding. I guess this is a bit more of the traditional bloggers style. I'll probably continue to rant on here about living in Belarus though, that is if I can ever get away from this desk. I know I will have to very soon as planting season is just around the corner. But with the snow and ice of the last two weeks, growing potatoes, onions, beans and carrots seems to be merely a theoretical proposition. Well, Tatyana is already moaning about how much work it is all going to be and how she doesn't want to do it this year, so as far as this goes, the season's approach is real enough.

But the biggest issue this week has got to be the shark-like treatment Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenka has gotten from the foreign media. He made an interview with Reuters, a group that had up until recently treated the country with fair respect. But they turned out to be wolves in sheep's clothing because this interview turned out to a butcher job when they only printed two items form the whole interview and made the president look like a jerk in doing so. I covered the whole interview, or as much as BelTa thought to give us of the other side, but obviously the Europeans had every intention of attacking the man regardless.

To me, the behavior of the European media is exactly an example of the sort of voraciously selfish and single minded approach to life that has had Belarus rejecting Europe's presence here in Belarus since either their independence from the CCCP in 1991 or from the Nazis in 1944.

Anyway, in checking out the news for the next BHTIMes, I came a cross a bunch of slice and dice journalism. I guess with the release of that Reuters interview, all of the pro-European news agencies in the world have taken this as a sign that it is time to start carving up Belarus. Probably the worst of all came from RFE/RL, who has constructed an absolute butcher shop special on the Belarusian leader. But this one was not all:

The Polish, as all well know, have been known to sling some scandalous words around but David Wallachinsky has found a new way to slander the Belarusian president: He determines the man's charachter because he dressed in sports clothes at a hockey game.

And speaking of the pot calling the kettle black, I am of the belief that those who live in glass houses should not throw stones but apparently famous Anti-Belarusian John McCain wants to get into the internet censorship and control business. Didn't he just get through scolding Lukashenka over issues of "freedom"?

Speaking of Belarus Bashers, the Christian
"Vital Signs" blog chose to jump on the anti-Lukashenka bandwagon with a post which referenced the Reuters interview. I wrote them a letter offering that they had been perhaps slightly remiss in allowing that Reuters one-side reporting was all there was to say. The letter was basically what I have written here, but really, aren't Christians supposed to be a bit more… forgiving?

But speaking of babbling Christian rhetoric, if you are a fan of the DaVinci Code, you might like this one. I ran across something pretty interesting called the Internet Anagram Server The program creates anagrams based upon whatever word or words you offer. The letdown for you movie fans though is that in order to get a good one such as Bang, Hide! from the words "being Had", unlike Tom Hanks, you must go through 94 other combinations which don't make such sense. However, Mother-in-law = Woman Hitler, Evangelist = Evil's Agent and Listen = Silent are also in there so check it out.

In closing today, I want to say that the reason I am a week between articles, and I promise that this will surly not be the way, was both because of last minute detailing of the website and that I was off the web for a few days at the beginning of the week due to the death of my grandmother, Gertrude. Waxman. She was New Years baby from 1908 and had just turned 99. I had been thinking of eulogizing her here today, but I don't think I will except to say that she was a fine lady and a real friend to me. I spoke to her by phone every Sunday for 17 years, up until I was back in New York. Since then it had been less, but I still made a habit of checking in. She had three children, five grandchildren and five great grandchildren and every one of us was devoted to her. I wanted to post a picture, but I can't seem to find one. I'll backload it if I do.

Rest in peace, Grandma.

And hang in there Alexander Gregorivich. The people of Belarus are with you.

More soon…