Five days without a snigarette.

And was asked why I was quiet.

So I slept.

As much as possible.

Besides which my account got overdrawn to the max and was happy to have some rice and noodles in the house to cover for four days. Not that I usually get hungry....

I didn't miss much.

The 'elites' of the Washington journalists drove me so crazy, I wanted to chain smoke and yell at the pc screen. They EXUDE this 'know-it-all' attitude that makes me so angry, I want to bitch slap them.

They were all about what 'Murka wants, and what oh gawwd, could happen if 'da PEOPLE' decide what government they have, after they put BIllIONS, sixty per-cent military aid, 40 for the poor, but you count in corruption, propped up by the gov't.... not much gets left, does it?

And all these 'mouthpieces'.... and am talking Tweety who loves hearing himself talk more than listen.... And the VEDDY 'elite' Mika Brzezinski and the incredible Arsehole Joe Scarborough...

Those people provide news 'infotainment'. They aren't journalists, to my mind. But they help form public opinion. Hell, Oprah does even that.... With bribes....

I was in a hotel in the beautiful city of Trieste.... once. for a week. And there seems to be a super-duper, absolute friggin' INSTITUTE somewhere there up on a hill, and I had the dubious distinction of being in the ho-tel restaurant for breakfast, Peter had gone for a WC run, and I had to LISTEN to their uninformed, disgusgting drivel.

And all these people were running on, trying to out-do one another for 'what they knew' about history and culture in Trieste, and Italy in general. These people had graduated.... but they knew nothing. Nothing whatsoever.

I was incensed with them. Mediocrity can be not so good if the mediocre have power....

The 'Elitist' crap came back with a vengeance once Bush II was in.

There are so many ex-pat Amis-..... probably many who dabble in some sort of intrigue around the world but I don't want to know about it. I can think of a few examples, however.

Like the arsehole who dropped his suitcase on my head... and looked at me as if I were to blame.

If you want some arrogance... try to get in touch with that breed.

And that breed is driving the current crisis.

They don't CARE about people. They care about power and I will BET you that they won't get what they want, and I hope the Egyptians get what THEY want.

Just sayin'