Yesterday, I wrote about the politics of paranoia, but really only restricted it to external views, particularly that of the United Nations, and the belief (which I find more than just a little paranoid) of some inevitable United nations takeover.
Today, I would like to focus on paranoia on the domestic front.
There are some people that I personally know (not about to mention names or anything, but they certainly exist) who truly believe certain things to be true, although they are far from indisputable - and in many cases, far from credible.
One, for example, is that President Obama is already taking over with dictatorial powers.
Now, I have admitted in the past, and will readily admit presently, to not being the biggest fan of President Barack Obama. When his 2008 campaign seemed full of energy and promise and, yes, hope, for so many millions of Americans (and many millions of people outside American borders), he was viewed almost as if he possessed divine status. People seemed to think that the man could do no wrong.
But I'll admit to not being swept up in the thing. The first time that I voted was in 1992, and I had felt extremely excited that a Democrat actually had a chance to win the White House. Clinton had not been my first choice back then (Senator Tom Harkin was). Initially, it seemed like he was destined to get his ass kicked. After all, George H.W. Bush had enjoyed over 90% approval ratings, supposedly, a little more than a year earlier. He looked pretty strong early in 1992, and it was not all that clear that he would prove vulnerable. Plus, even when he did seem vulnerable enough to potentially lose the race, there was Ross Perot who surprised many and came out of seemingly nowhere to be a viable candidate, even perhaps favored.
Yet in one unbelievable week, Ross Perot dropped out of the race, right around the time of the Democratic National Convention. And anyone who saw Clinton in this past Democratic Convention, or knows how effective a speaker he can be, Clinton was amazing during a very successful Convention for the Democrats. They jumped ahead in the polls, and never looked back.
Still, this is not a blog about my own faith, but rather, my own disillusionment with politics. Needless to say, Clinton disappointed me. he was not what I had hoped he would be, or even thought he would be. I still voted for him again in 1996, because it was between him and Dole, and I thought that was an easy choice. But my enthusiasm was not nearly so strong.
Now, when Obama came around in 2008, I had long lost my belief in politicians, and particularly, of the two major parties. I had come to believe that neither party was actually interested in anything more than getting sponsors and seeking for more and more funding in order to win elections, so that they could remain viable and get more sponsors and seek more funding. My skepticism had grown considerably, and although he sounded great and seemed different, I still viewed him within the prism of a self-serving politician with a false sense of entitlement. I hoped that my admittedly harsh judgment was wrong, but the fact of the matter is that the past four years have proven this judgment right, harsh or not.
Like any politician, Obama did not keep his promises. He did not do many of the things that he promised to. Yet, that does not bother me so much, because a President is not all-powerful (nor should he, or someday she, be). Through little, and possibly no fault of his own, he was not the man who was able to bring the two parties together. However, Obama said he would protect the environment, and he did not. He claimed he would close Gitmo, and he did not. He had criticized his predecessor for endorsing torture, yet he kept that option open for future Presidents, as well as himself. He claimed that he would end the war in Iraq, yet he simply reduced the American forces there to 50,000 and simply stated it was no longer a war, while increasing American presence in Afghanistan. Finally, this is the President that signed the NDAA into law, although he expressed regret even while doing so.
When he first got into office, I was tentatively happy. After eight long years of Bush & Co., most Americans (and almost the entire rest of the world) seemed ready for something different. I was just glad he was not Bush, and hoped he might prove to be better my admittedly low expectations. But, he was not. In many regards, in fact, he has at times been alarmingly and inexcusably similar to his predecessor.
In short, he has not been the President that many had hoped he would be.
But is he a dictator?
True, he has assumed alarming levels of power, and essentially suspended habeas corpus with the flick of his pen.
Still, that does not warrant comparisons to Hitler or Nazi Germany. He finally succeeded where his predecessors (note the plural there) failed in passing through a fairer healthcare system - no small feat in the United States of America. To show just how difficult and extreme the opposition, look at how many were outraged by this, and remain outraged still. CEO's threatened to fire employees if Obama won this past election. Some Denny's raised their prices, and the owner of Olive Garden and Red Lobster expressed strong opposition to Obamacare by threatening reducing full-time workers to part-time. After sales took a hit, he backed off this plan, which if anything, should prove as yet another example of the power of the consumer in this extremely capitalist country of ours.
People seem to believe that this guy is truly on the verge of grabbing all sorts of powers, and all sorts of crazy conspiracy theories abound. He is about to abolish the right to bear arms. Obama is a secret Muslim, and he is about to convert all Americans to Islam. He is not a "real citizen" of the United States, the nation that he has been fairly elected President of - twice, now. Despite winning the election, a few thousand people in numerous states are hoping to secede from the Union, and despite being a tiny, tiny minority of the population, just look at how much press they get.
Now, again, I am not thrilled with Obama, and am less than impressed with his track record. Obviously, people were wrong in believing him to be almost like a divinity, and that he would come into office and fix America's problems with a wave of some magic political wand. Like Clinton said, no President would have been able to fix the problems in such a short time, because the problems were so extensive.
Yet, it seems like many conservatives must have been asleep for the previous eight years, because all of the problems that Obama was not able to fix were suddenly huge problems, although they not only existed, but were in fact caused, by Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush. Those conservative critics of Obama, who so loudly criticize this man to the point of demonizing him, seemed somehow silent prior to the election in 2008,l although that was precisely when these problems sprouted to begin with.
So, yes, I have my difference with Obama and his supporters, to say the least. And yes, these include abuses of power that I personally find absolutely inexcusable. However, I will not question his nationality, or slap a moustache on him, or claim that all of these enormous problems that the nation faces are his responsibility because they exist on his watch, as if the previous history of how they mushroomed simply were erased, or conveniently did not exist.
I do believe that it is the responsibility of an informed citizenry to keep strong pressure on their elected officials, because they are the public servants, not rulers for private interests. These are people hungry for power, and it would be irresponsible to simply let them have their way.
But to come out with such outrageous nonsense? Fine, you disagree with Obama, but to make it appear as if he has ordered troops to come knocking on your door as we speak, to take the guns away, and rag you off to some concentration camp?
Ridiculous.
I know not what course others may take, but as for me, I choose rationalism over paranoia.
Below is a link to an article all about the Red Lobster/Olive Garden thing. I rarely ate at either place, but I can tell you this much: so long as this man remains in charge of these places, I will actively seek to stay away from them. the one truly indisputable huge thing that I think Obama did right (although he did not go nearly far enough with it) was to bring a fairer, more affordable healthcare to Americans, and I don't want to hear any more about super rich people lecturing me, and all the others who helped these rich elites become rich elites, all about the evils of such a system, and claiming that maintaining the status quo is far preferable. I will keep that in mind, next time I feel hungry, and still pass right by Olive Garden, and hold off so that I can go to some other place to spend my money instead.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/olive-garden-owner-hold-off-200230971.html;_ylt=A2KJ3CZ6ssFQFScAxMXQtDMD
Friday, December 7, 2012
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Losing American Leadership
There is a famous saying that goes: "The more things change, the more they stay the same."
When changes seemed t be everywhere in evidence back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, it seemed to many Americans that the only place where things were not changing was right here. Now that the world is changing again, we are, once again, the bulwark of conservatism and continuity, although not necessarily in the positive sense.
Yesterday, there was an important vote on Capitol Hill. This is not unique.
The final vote had a majority in favor of the proposed bill, yet this bill did not pass, because it did not have the necessary degree of a majority to secure it's passage. This, too, is not unique.
The inability of Congress to effectively pass this proposed bill served as a great disappointment to many Americans, who vowed to continue the fight. This, as well, is not unique.
The proposed bill was defeated by what is frequently, and increasingly, being referred to as the politics of paranoia. This, unfortunately, is also not unique.
The bill was a United Nations treaty on rights for the handicapped, and it was defeated by five votes in the Senate. The measure had already been passed by 126 nations, but the United States refuses to be one of them, to join ranks with the rest of the world.
For the most part, the measure was defeated because of fears of the world organization that was pushing for it. Resistance to this bill was not that different than those who claimed that the United Nations was "taking over", because they had a few people in Texas observing our nation's election last month.
There has been a backlash recently against the United Nations, with many Americans voicing skepticism towards it, and desiring a pull out from the United Nations, which they seem to feel is about to take over the world, and particularly here in the United States.
It seems to me such a strange belief, but it is held by many who do believe in what has come to be known as "American exceptionalism".
The fact of the matter is this: that what has come to be known as "American exceptionalism" is tantamount to American dominance over the world. It is a pseudonym for American supremacy, and an extension of the largely discredited (although unfortunately, not totally discredited by enough Americans to no longer be relevant) neocon philosophy that got us into the war in Iraq, and would (and perhaps will) get us into other illegal and unjustifiable wars in the future. American exceptionalists hardly make a secret of their stated belief that the United States is the greatest nation in the world, and that it not only should do as it sees fit around the world, but that, moreover, it has a moral obligation to do so. Such thinking, if it leads to policy making, will surely have tragic consequences for the nation.
That paranoia of some vague, half-baked, notions of a United Nations takeover of the world has taken hold over many Americans who favor notions of exceptionalism, which itself would have it that the United States can do whatever the hell it wants, wherever the hell it wants, whenever the hell it wants. It is such an obviously unfair, cynical, and deceitful way of thinking, and it seems that you have to be an American these days not to see it that way.
Most Americans believe that Ronald Reagan was right in greatly increasing the military budget, in order to keep an enemy, the Soviet Union, in check, and to entice them to keep up with us in an arms race that eventually bankrupted them. They, too, were involved in a war in Afghanistan, a war that they did not win. A war that, according to many, proved the main impetus for the decline and fall of the Soviet Empire. That Reagan's supporters credit him with having "won the Cold War" was, according to them proof of the success of increased military expenditures.
Yet, even if we assume this to be entirely correct and truthful, it does not justify the increased military expenditures in the post-Cold War era. Military spending increased on the watch of Reagan's successor, President George H. W. Bush. It also increased during the tenure of George W. Bush, and that even before the September 11th attacks. Terrorism simply became the latest rationale to justify the increased military budget under the second Bush administration.
Once the policy of engaging in seemingly endless wars without proper cause, and with no clear exit strategies, became discredited, then perhaps another reason was needed to justify this militaristic mindset.
Seeing as though the United States still essentially stands alone as the world's leading superpower, then the weight of potential enemies has to be greatly exaggerated in order to justify the fixation on the already bloated military budget, supposedly to keep all of these enemies in check.
This latest popular argument, which seems to be gaining ground, that the United Nations poses such a huge and imminent threat, is really nothing new. It is the politics of fear, and it has existed before. But it is the level of power that these voices of paranoia have that is proving so costly.
The rest of the world is watching, whether we like it or not. It is watching us, as it watched a decade ago, when the United States aggressively pursued a war that it would eventually launch, against the world's wishes, and also against the United Nations, which was vehemently opposed to the war. The world watches us now, as it watched when we refused to attend the environmental conference in Rio in 1992, or refused to take part in the Kyoto accord. The world watched when internal opposition to a healthcare program- a program that would have at least begun to address the issue that far too many Americans have chosen to ignore or find excuses for, that being the tens of millions of people that are uninsured because they cannot afford it (to say nothing of those who actually have plans that still leave them uninsured in a very real sense, because medical care is far too costly, even for millions who have some health insurance that proves inadequate) - had those opponents slap the Hitler moustache on pictures of Obama.
We can claim that there are things about us that the rest of the world simply does not understand, and use this as an excuse for our collective political behavior. But sometimes the truth is simpler than we make it out to be. We muddy the waters unnecessarily, but these actions of ours are unjustifiable, and yes the world is watching. And judging us as harshly as we judge them.
Yes, the world is watching, and the world continues to watch. Increasingly, the world is taking initiative to move forward with, or increasingly without, the United States. Europe increasingly is it's own sphere of influence. China is a growing power as well. In Latin America, Several nations, most notably Brazil, have sought to join alliances with one another, as well as other nations throughout the world, to counter what they increasingly see as counterproductive American influence.
More and more, our political stance sees us on the outside of the world community, looking in, and perhaps scratching our heads. This happened with the vote for Palestine last week, when we were on the wrong side of a decisive vote in the United Nations. It has happened again yesterday, when we essentially voted to give that global community, and in effect, the rest of the world, the shaft, and once again, to go our own way.
Our paternalistic approach to the rest of the world tends to rub people the wrong way, and really, how could it not? The global community accepted American leadership for decades and decades, particularly following World War II. There was always a political divide that existed, but as time goes by, these difference are not only growing increasingly glaring, but increasingly polarizing, as well. Why? Because the rest of the world understands what most Americans do not. They know only too well what American exceptionalism truly means: that America will always seek to be the exception to every rule, so that it alone may seek to benefit from exemption to the rules that the rest of the world has to abide by. the price that we have already paid is quite high, yet it will likely only get higher. This is because the global community is no longer waiting for us to provide leadership, or even to comer around to see their side of things, anymore. If we are to be an obstacle towards progress, as we seem intent on being too often, than the rest of the world will do what they must to overcome that obstacle. We see them at work doing it already. That is why it so often seems that the rest of the world is changing rapidly, while here in the United States, nothing ever seems to change. This is an illusion, of course. But it provides the delusion for millions of Americans who believe that we can continue to do what we have always done.
With our every move, the rest of the world watches, and judges. More and more, the rest of the world sees how we pat ourselves in the back as the "world's superpower", and our proclamations of being the leading power "in the free world", and our claims of being "the shining city on the hill", and they are rejecting these self-serving and overly righteous boasts. To many in the rest of the world, America is a politically irresponsible place where leadership is lacking, even if we want to believe that we are, in fact, what the rest of the world should be.
"We Americans have no commission from God to police the world."
~ President Benjamin Harrison
"We are citizens of the world; and the tragedy of our times is that we do not know this."
~ President Woodrow Wilson
Here is a link to an article that I used in the writing of this piece:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/05/2527066/disabling-vote-on-rights-of-disabled.html
When changes seemed t be everywhere in evidence back in the late 1980's and early 1990's, it seemed to many Americans that the only place where things were not changing was right here. Now that the world is changing again, we are, once again, the bulwark of conservatism and continuity, although not necessarily in the positive sense.
Yesterday, there was an important vote on Capitol Hill. This is not unique.
The final vote had a majority in favor of the proposed bill, yet this bill did not pass, because it did not have the necessary degree of a majority to secure it's passage. This, too, is not unique.
The inability of Congress to effectively pass this proposed bill served as a great disappointment to many Americans, who vowed to continue the fight. This, as well, is not unique.
The proposed bill was defeated by what is frequently, and increasingly, being referred to as the politics of paranoia. This, unfortunately, is also not unique.
The bill was a United Nations treaty on rights for the handicapped, and it was defeated by five votes in the Senate. The measure had already been passed by 126 nations, but the United States refuses to be one of them, to join ranks with the rest of the world.
For the most part, the measure was defeated because of fears of the world organization that was pushing for it. Resistance to this bill was not that different than those who claimed that the United Nations was "taking over", because they had a few people in Texas observing our nation's election last month.
There has been a backlash recently against the United Nations, with many Americans voicing skepticism towards it, and desiring a pull out from the United Nations, which they seem to feel is about to take over the world, and particularly here in the United States.
It seems to me such a strange belief, but it is held by many who do believe in what has come to be known as "American exceptionalism".
The fact of the matter is this: that what has come to be known as "American exceptionalism" is tantamount to American dominance over the world. It is a pseudonym for American supremacy, and an extension of the largely discredited (although unfortunately, not totally discredited by enough Americans to no longer be relevant) neocon philosophy that got us into the war in Iraq, and would (and perhaps will) get us into other illegal and unjustifiable wars in the future. American exceptionalists hardly make a secret of their stated belief that the United States is the greatest nation in the world, and that it not only should do as it sees fit around the world, but that, moreover, it has a moral obligation to do so. Such thinking, if it leads to policy making, will surely have tragic consequences for the nation.
That paranoia of some vague, half-baked, notions of a United Nations takeover of the world has taken hold over many Americans who favor notions of exceptionalism, which itself would have it that the United States can do whatever the hell it wants, wherever the hell it wants, whenever the hell it wants. It is such an obviously unfair, cynical, and deceitful way of thinking, and it seems that you have to be an American these days not to see it that way.
Most Americans believe that Ronald Reagan was right in greatly increasing the military budget, in order to keep an enemy, the Soviet Union, in check, and to entice them to keep up with us in an arms race that eventually bankrupted them. They, too, were involved in a war in Afghanistan, a war that they did not win. A war that, according to many, proved the main impetus for the decline and fall of the Soviet Empire. That Reagan's supporters credit him with having "won the Cold War" was, according to them proof of the success of increased military expenditures.
Yet, even if we assume this to be entirely correct and truthful, it does not justify the increased military expenditures in the post-Cold War era. Military spending increased on the watch of Reagan's successor, President George H. W. Bush. It also increased during the tenure of George W. Bush, and that even before the September 11th attacks. Terrorism simply became the latest rationale to justify the increased military budget under the second Bush administration.
Once the policy of engaging in seemingly endless wars without proper cause, and with no clear exit strategies, became discredited, then perhaps another reason was needed to justify this militaristic mindset.
Seeing as though the United States still essentially stands alone as the world's leading superpower, then the weight of potential enemies has to be greatly exaggerated in order to justify the fixation on the already bloated military budget, supposedly to keep all of these enemies in check.
This latest popular argument, which seems to be gaining ground, that the United Nations poses such a huge and imminent threat, is really nothing new. It is the politics of fear, and it has existed before. But it is the level of power that these voices of paranoia have that is proving so costly.
The rest of the world is watching, whether we like it or not. It is watching us, as it watched a decade ago, when the United States aggressively pursued a war that it would eventually launch, against the world's wishes, and also against the United Nations, which was vehemently opposed to the war. The world watches us now, as it watched when we refused to attend the environmental conference in Rio in 1992, or refused to take part in the Kyoto accord. The world watched when internal opposition to a healthcare program- a program that would have at least begun to address the issue that far too many Americans have chosen to ignore or find excuses for, that being the tens of millions of people that are uninsured because they cannot afford it (to say nothing of those who actually have plans that still leave them uninsured in a very real sense, because medical care is far too costly, even for millions who have some health insurance that proves inadequate) - had those opponents slap the Hitler moustache on pictures of Obama.
We can claim that there are things about us that the rest of the world simply does not understand, and use this as an excuse for our collective political behavior. But sometimes the truth is simpler than we make it out to be. We muddy the waters unnecessarily, but these actions of ours are unjustifiable, and yes the world is watching. And judging us as harshly as we judge them.
Yes, the world is watching, and the world continues to watch. Increasingly, the world is taking initiative to move forward with, or increasingly without, the United States. Europe increasingly is it's own sphere of influence. China is a growing power as well. In Latin America, Several nations, most notably Brazil, have sought to join alliances with one another, as well as other nations throughout the world, to counter what they increasingly see as counterproductive American influence.
More and more, our political stance sees us on the outside of the world community, looking in, and perhaps scratching our heads. This happened with the vote for Palestine last week, when we were on the wrong side of a decisive vote in the United Nations. It has happened again yesterday, when we essentially voted to give that global community, and in effect, the rest of the world, the shaft, and once again, to go our own way.
Our paternalistic approach to the rest of the world tends to rub people the wrong way, and really, how could it not? The global community accepted American leadership for decades and decades, particularly following World War II. There was always a political divide that existed, but as time goes by, these difference are not only growing increasingly glaring, but increasingly polarizing, as well. Why? Because the rest of the world understands what most Americans do not. They know only too well what American exceptionalism truly means: that America will always seek to be the exception to every rule, so that it alone may seek to benefit from exemption to the rules that the rest of the world has to abide by. the price that we have already paid is quite high, yet it will likely only get higher. This is because the global community is no longer waiting for us to provide leadership, or even to comer around to see their side of things, anymore. If we are to be an obstacle towards progress, as we seem intent on being too often, than the rest of the world will do what they must to overcome that obstacle. We see them at work doing it already. That is why it so often seems that the rest of the world is changing rapidly, while here in the United States, nothing ever seems to change. This is an illusion, of course. But it provides the delusion for millions of Americans who believe that we can continue to do what we have always done.
With our every move, the rest of the world watches, and judges. More and more, the rest of the world sees how we pat ourselves in the back as the "world's superpower", and our proclamations of being the leading power "in the free world", and our claims of being "the shining city on the hill", and they are rejecting these self-serving and overly righteous boasts. To many in the rest of the world, America is a politically irresponsible place where leadership is lacking, even if we want to believe that we are, in fact, what the rest of the world should be.
"We Americans have no commission from God to police the world."
~ President Benjamin Harrison
"We are citizens of the world; and the tragedy of our times is that we do not know this."
~ President Woodrow Wilson
Here is a link to an article that I used in the writing of this piece:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/12/05/2527066/disabling-vote-on-rights-of-disabled.html
Wednesday, December 5, 2012
The Ongoing Saga of NHL Hockey
There will be a resumption of talks between the parties in the ongoing NHL lockout today.
There were talks yesterday as well, and these lasted over ten hours, evidently.
I have continually heard that the issues are more complex than the one issue that most people truly feel is at the heart of the matter: greed.
True, there may be specifics, but it seems more than likely that, when you scrape away the details, the heart of the matter will indeed be greed.
As I understand it, one of the major issues that has yet to be ironed out is the long term security for profitable hockey in markets that are not traditional hockey markets. That would be particularly true in regions that have relatively recently acquired hockey teams - namely, the South.
Anyone who knows me, or has kept up with this blog over the months and years, knows that I have been very critical of this Southern expansion program for the NHL. Many hockey officials, particularly Gary Bettman, have stuck doggedly to it, and hail those successes, which are tantamount to proving the exception as the rule.
In truth, it has failed, and if indeed one of the major underlying issues in this lockout are the concerns that these "markets" are, in fact, not that marketable, than it further illustrates the folly of the NHL as a whole over the past two decades and change.
Now, let me be clear here: I don't blame the NHL for trying to expand to new markets. After all, why remain restricted to traditional markets? Why not try to expand the interest in hockey to areas that, at least in theory, could prove to be accepting of this traditionally cold weather sport? Why not venture forth and give it a shot? I am not opposed to that.
No, it makes sense - at least in theory. That is not where the NHL went wrong.
Where it went wrong was in showing such an easy and unthinking willingness to sacrifice the loyalty in traditional markets, in order to make this experimental expansion policy work. Where it continues to go wrong is in it's dogged refusal to accept defeat, and to give up this plan, in favor of restoring faith among loyal followers of their beloved NHL franchises. Where it has remained wrong, and continues to remain wrong, is in the willingness of NHL officials, and owners of NHL franchises, to make the fans pay for the mistakes of NHL owners and NHL officials, and the seemingly growing limits to cap the popularity of the sport and the league that are in evidence all over the place, if one is honest enough to look and admit it.
Yes, the fans are paying for their loyalty. At least, that is what it has appeared as to many fans, myself included (whether or not NHL officials will outright agree to that or not is irrelevant). Ask fans of the Minnesota Northstars (although they now have the Wild to root for). Ask fans of the Winnipeg Jets (although Winnipeg has the Jets back). Ask fans of the Hartford Whalers and the Quebec Nordiques. Ask fans of teams that are continually threatened and have seemed on the verge of a move elsewhere (almost always much further south) in Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Buffalo.
The fact of the matter is that this strategy of expansion backfired precisely because the league seemed so intent on it's success that it at least appeared willing to sacrifice it's own popularity in traditional markets. This current lockout is proof of that failure, and anyone who would try to minimize, or perhaps even deny, that the current situation obviously illustrates a failure by the league is only fooling themselves.
I have been speaking to a huge fan of the sport (admittedly, probably a bigger fan than me) for several months regarding this situation. He is, or was, a fan of the Rangers, and his second team would be none other than the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. I remember in October, he was saying that he half expected, and very much hoped, that a deal could be reached around Thanksgiving, so that hockey could resume by the holiday season. That, of course, did not happen.
But he also expressed rather extreme skepticism that this situation would resolve itself this season, and even warned me to prepare for this situation to continue on to next season. He gives voice to his belief that this season, according to him, "is over", before it ever even began. He believes that there is virtually no chance that a season will be salvaged, however shortened. Now, hopefully, he is not proven right. There should be limits to this, after all. But then again, the NHL has not shown a strong adherence to limits in the recent past, and one even wonders if they know the meaning of limits. Three significant stoppages of play that eliminated at least huge chinks of three different seasons (including one season entire in 2004-2005) show that the NHL really knows no bounds, and that this is what is hurting them.
I would like to believe he is wrong, and he would like to believe he is wrong on this, as well.
But the NHL seems to be intent in proving him, and other skeptical fans such as myself, that they are right in their skepticism. That the NHL was a bad place to invest their faith in, and appreciation of a sport. I have given voice to this belief of mine before, and I will say it again: fans of the NHL (and most likely, any sport) watch the games and take interest not because it is a business, but because it helps them to forget the world of business. The NHL's stance of "business as usual" has hurt it's popularity, and compromised what once seemed a promising future for it, and mostly, that is because it has not allowed fans to simply enjoy watching games, and rooting for their teams.
Instead of providing an escape for fans of NHL hockey, it has served as a reminder of the stress that the business world often provides people.
And without going too far in specific examples of the failure of the Southern expansion program, and particularly in the league's seeming willingness to sacrifice it's own popularity in traditional markets in order to make this experiment work, the possibility that this lockout continues largely because of concerns over the long term feasibility of non-traditional hockey markets is only the latest of a long line of proofs that this policy has failed, and should be scrapped.
If the NHL wants to expand, then fine. But not at the expense of the very fans that helped make the NHL what it is. This has proven to be the greatest failure of the NHL, officials and owners alike. The NHL will continue to compromise itself until it reverses this trend, or until it manages to take itself out of existence. That seemed an impossible scenario not every long ago (and it might seem all that realistic presently, either), but the league appears intent on keeping that as a distinct (if unlikely) possibility, which will seem more realistic if they, indeed, cancel yet another season entire.
The choice is theirs. Apparently, we fans have nothing to do with it, and the league continually reminds us of that every chance that they get.
The league boasted that attendance and popularity went up after the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season. That may be true on some level, but what the league is not saying is that it had to go to considerable lengths to assure this possibility, such as huge discounts on tickets, in order to promote attendance that was expected to sag.
If the league cancels this entire season, or even if they do not, there will be a lot of fans who will choose not to attend, or perhaps even watch, NHL games anymore.
I used to go to a lot of games back in the nineties and early 2000's. It took years after that cancelled season of 04-05 for me to go back to a game (it was 2008). When play is resumed (always assuming that it, in fact, is resumed), it might take me a bit longer to get back into NHL hockey, if at all. I am sure I will take interest as a fan, eventually. But the NHL apparently is willing to test the loyalty of it's fans (and not just in the markets that either lost their teams, or where the threat to lose it's teams loomed large), and I expect it will pay a very steep price for it's trademark indifference to these once loyal fans this time. If it does, there will be no one left to blame or point fingers at but themselves.
Earlier in this blog, I mentioned that the major issue for the failure of the current lockout would be greed. But I can think of another that is related, and which both the NHL and it's commissioner have a prety long and proven track record of: arrogance. It has made a mockery out of a serious sport, and the league has not shown a willingness to learn from the past. This will cost them, and perhaps this time, it cost them dearly indeed.
There were talks yesterday as well, and these lasted over ten hours, evidently.
I have continually heard that the issues are more complex than the one issue that most people truly feel is at the heart of the matter: greed.
True, there may be specifics, but it seems more than likely that, when you scrape away the details, the heart of the matter will indeed be greed.
As I understand it, one of the major issues that has yet to be ironed out is the long term security for profitable hockey in markets that are not traditional hockey markets. That would be particularly true in regions that have relatively recently acquired hockey teams - namely, the South.
Anyone who knows me, or has kept up with this blog over the months and years, knows that I have been very critical of this Southern expansion program for the NHL. Many hockey officials, particularly Gary Bettman, have stuck doggedly to it, and hail those successes, which are tantamount to proving the exception as the rule.
In truth, it has failed, and if indeed one of the major underlying issues in this lockout are the concerns that these "markets" are, in fact, not that marketable, than it further illustrates the folly of the NHL as a whole over the past two decades and change.
Now, let me be clear here: I don't blame the NHL for trying to expand to new markets. After all, why remain restricted to traditional markets? Why not try to expand the interest in hockey to areas that, at least in theory, could prove to be accepting of this traditionally cold weather sport? Why not venture forth and give it a shot? I am not opposed to that.
No, it makes sense - at least in theory. That is not where the NHL went wrong.
Where it went wrong was in showing such an easy and unthinking willingness to sacrifice the loyalty in traditional markets, in order to make this experimental expansion policy work. Where it continues to go wrong is in it's dogged refusal to accept defeat, and to give up this plan, in favor of restoring faith among loyal followers of their beloved NHL franchises. Where it has remained wrong, and continues to remain wrong, is in the willingness of NHL officials, and owners of NHL franchises, to make the fans pay for the mistakes of NHL owners and NHL officials, and the seemingly growing limits to cap the popularity of the sport and the league that are in evidence all over the place, if one is honest enough to look and admit it.
Yes, the fans are paying for their loyalty. At least, that is what it has appeared as to many fans, myself included (whether or not NHL officials will outright agree to that or not is irrelevant). Ask fans of the Minnesota Northstars (although they now have the Wild to root for). Ask fans of the Winnipeg Jets (although Winnipeg has the Jets back). Ask fans of the Hartford Whalers and the Quebec Nordiques. Ask fans of teams that are continually threatened and have seemed on the verge of a move elsewhere (almost always much further south) in Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa, and Buffalo.
The fact of the matter is that this strategy of expansion backfired precisely because the league seemed so intent on it's success that it at least appeared willing to sacrifice it's own popularity in traditional markets. This current lockout is proof of that failure, and anyone who would try to minimize, or perhaps even deny, that the current situation obviously illustrates a failure by the league is only fooling themselves.
I have been speaking to a huge fan of the sport (admittedly, probably a bigger fan than me) for several months regarding this situation. He is, or was, a fan of the Rangers, and his second team would be none other than the reigning Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. I remember in October, he was saying that he half expected, and very much hoped, that a deal could be reached around Thanksgiving, so that hockey could resume by the holiday season. That, of course, did not happen.
But he also expressed rather extreme skepticism that this situation would resolve itself this season, and even warned me to prepare for this situation to continue on to next season. He gives voice to his belief that this season, according to him, "is over", before it ever even began. He believes that there is virtually no chance that a season will be salvaged, however shortened. Now, hopefully, he is not proven right. There should be limits to this, after all. But then again, the NHL has not shown a strong adherence to limits in the recent past, and one even wonders if they know the meaning of limits. Three significant stoppages of play that eliminated at least huge chinks of three different seasons (including one season entire in 2004-2005) show that the NHL really knows no bounds, and that this is what is hurting them.
I would like to believe he is wrong, and he would like to believe he is wrong on this, as well.
But the NHL seems to be intent in proving him, and other skeptical fans such as myself, that they are right in their skepticism. That the NHL was a bad place to invest their faith in, and appreciation of a sport. I have given voice to this belief of mine before, and I will say it again: fans of the NHL (and most likely, any sport) watch the games and take interest not because it is a business, but because it helps them to forget the world of business. The NHL's stance of "business as usual" has hurt it's popularity, and compromised what once seemed a promising future for it, and mostly, that is because it has not allowed fans to simply enjoy watching games, and rooting for their teams.
Instead of providing an escape for fans of NHL hockey, it has served as a reminder of the stress that the business world often provides people.
And without going too far in specific examples of the failure of the Southern expansion program, and particularly in the league's seeming willingness to sacrifice it's own popularity in traditional markets in order to make this experiment work, the possibility that this lockout continues largely because of concerns over the long term feasibility of non-traditional hockey markets is only the latest of a long line of proofs that this policy has failed, and should be scrapped.
If the NHL wants to expand, then fine. But not at the expense of the very fans that helped make the NHL what it is. This has proven to be the greatest failure of the NHL, officials and owners alike. The NHL will continue to compromise itself until it reverses this trend, or until it manages to take itself out of existence. That seemed an impossible scenario not every long ago (and it might seem all that realistic presently, either), but the league appears intent on keeping that as a distinct (if unlikely) possibility, which will seem more realistic if they, indeed, cancel yet another season entire.
The choice is theirs. Apparently, we fans have nothing to do with it, and the league continually reminds us of that every chance that they get.
The league boasted that attendance and popularity went up after the cancellation of the entire 2004-05 season. That may be true on some level, but what the league is not saying is that it had to go to considerable lengths to assure this possibility, such as huge discounts on tickets, in order to promote attendance that was expected to sag.
If the league cancels this entire season, or even if they do not, there will be a lot of fans who will choose not to attend, or perhaps even watch, NHL games anymore.
I used to go to a lot of games back in the nineties and early 2000's. It took years after that cancelled season of 04-05 for me to go back to a game (it was 2008). When play is resumed (always assuming that it, in fact, is resumed), it might take me a bit longer to get back into NHL hockey, if at all. I am sure I will take interest as a fan, eventually. But the NHL apparently is willing to test the loyalty of it's fans (and not just in the markets that either lost their teams, or where the threat to lose it's teams loomed large), and I expect it will pay a very steep price for it's trademark indifference to these once loyal fans this time. If it does, there will be no one left to blame or point fingers at but themselves.
Earlier in this blog, I mentioned that the major issue for the failure of the current lockout would be greed. But I can think of another that is related, and which both the NHL and it's commissioner have a prety long and proven track record of: arrogance. It has made a mockery out of a serious sport, and the league has not shown a willingness to learn from the past. This will cost them, and perhaps this time, it cost them dearly indeed.
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
"RG3!"
The chants seem to be getting louder as the season goes on.
The fans of the burgundy and gold by our nation's capital have grown louder and louder over time, as the list of accomplishments have grown more and more impressive.
"RG3! RG3!"
And indeed, Robert Griffin the third, popularly known as "RG3", has produced. Over and over and over again, he has produced, and the excited buzz in Washington among football fans has grown as well.
Now, it has reached fever pitch, as the Redskins have won three in a row, including two games straight against their closest competitors within the division: the Cowboys and the Giants.
He had that unbelievable day in Dallas, where his passing was crisp, and he showed tremendous patience and poise, and a maturity that some doubted that he possessed under pressure situations. He had a phenomenal game there in front of a national television audience, putting up jaw dropping numbers and unbelievable plays for the highlight reels, en route to engineering an important, exclamation point kind of a victory in the hostile environment that is Dallas.
Last night, the Redskins, who have played well in winning their previous two games, hosted the Giants, fresh off their 38-10 dismantling of traditional NFL powerhouse Green Bay. If the Giants were to win, they would maintain a two game lead over the Cowboys, with four games remaining, and they would have ensured not only a very comfortable three game lead over the Redskins, but have pulled off the sweep. Instead, with the loss, the Giants have a very thin lead over both the Cowboys and Washington. New York sports a record of 7-5, while both the Cowboys and Redskins are 6-6. All of those teams have some tough games remaining on their schedules, and nobody can boast a gimme. The Giants have played all but one of their divisional games, and they only host the Eagles in their remaining schedule. The Redskins and Cowboys will play each other in Washington on the final weekend of the season, in a game that could potentially have a lot riding on it.
Talk about high stakes!
Washington went to considerable lengths to obtain RG3 in the offseason, trading a lot to the Rams to ensure a high draft pick. It was a risky move, and reminded me a bit of the Cowboys trading off star running back Herschel Walker in the 1980's in exchange for tons of draft picks that proved essential towards the Cowboys picking up a lot of talent that helped them build what was to become the team of the decade in the 1990's. So, they really did stick their necks out for the guy. Coach Mike Shanahan has stuck his neck out for RG3 this season, as well, uncharacteristically placing all of his trust to empower his star rookie quarterback to make his own decisions and even take some risks to help his team win games. But RG3 is rewarding both the franchise and his coach in their faith in him. Washington has now long been an also ran, just another team. They last won the Super Bowl in 1991, with a mighty team that ranked among the best in football history, but have not seen remarkable success since. But RG3 has given the local faithful something to cheer about. Loudly.
Against the Giants, Griffin did not throw the ball all that much. But still, the running game was effective, and RG3 himself poses such a threat with his mobility, that the Giants constantly struggle trying to keep him contained. Although they mostly did manage through the course of the evening, he proved versatile enough to orchestrate a touchdown drive late in the game for a come from behind, Redskins win. It is a measure of revenge for the loss earlier this season at New York.
I will admit that it seemed like a bad move for Washington to give away so much to obtain one man on their roster. Especially given the history of other mobile quarterbacks, given that they tend to be prone to injuries, and often open themselves up to a lot of vicious hits. Dating back all the way to the days of the spectacular athletic abilities of Randall Cunningham in the 1980's and 90's, and going through numerous quarterbacks right up to the present (where another Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick, also impresses with his athletic abilities, but disappoints because of his vulnerability and tendency to be benched due to injuries sustained from some of those savage hits.
My guess was that RG3 was going to be on the receiving end of just such hits, and that he would be sidelined. It still might happen, but the guy has proven to be tough! Still, let's see what happens over the course of years.
Yet, I will have to admit that he keeps proving me wrong. He finds different ways to beat different teams in different circumstances, and it is impressive.
I have to give credit where credit is due.
Let me also say that I never before saw two rookie quarterbacks have such an immediate impact on their respective football teams, as RG3 has had with Washington, and Andrew Luck has enjoyed with the Colts. These look to be quarterbacks of the long term future for these franchises, and they are getting started early with winning traditions!
The fans of the burgundy and gold by our nation's capital have grown louder and louder over time, as the list of accomplishments have grown more and more impressive.
"RG3! RG3!"
And indeed, Robert Griffin the third, popularly known as "RG3", has produced. Over and over and over again, he has produced, and the excited buzz in Washington among football fans has grown as well.
Now, it has reached fever pitch, as the Redskins have won three in a row, including two games straight against their closest competitors within the division: the Cowboys and the Giants.
He had that unbelievable day in Dallas, where his passing was crisp, and he showed tremendous patience and poise, and a maturity that some doubted that he possessed under pressure situations. He had a phenomenal game there in front of a national television audience, putting up jaw dropping numbers and unbelievable plays for the highlight reels, en route to engineering an important, exclamation point kind of a victory in the hostile environment that is Dallas.
Last night, the Redskins, who have played well in winning their previous two games, hosted the Giants, fresh off their 38-10 dismantling of traditional NFL powerhouse Green Bay. If the Giants were to win, they would maintain a two game lead over the Cowboys, with four games remaining, and they would have ensured not only a very comfortable three game lead over the Redskins, but have pulled off the sweep. Instead, with the loss, the Giants have a very thin lead over both the Cowboys and Washington. New York sports a record of 7-5, while both the Cowboys and Redskins are 6-6. All of those teams have some tough games remaining on their schedules, and nobody can boast a gimme. The Giants have played all but one of their divisional games, and they only host the Eagles in their remaining schedule. The Redskins and Cowboys will play each other in Washington on the final weekend of the season, in a game that could potentially have a lot riding on it.
Talk about high stakes!
Washington went to considerable lengths to obtain RG3 in the offseason, trading a lot to the Rams to ensure a high draft pick. It was a risky move, and reminded me a bit of the Cowboys trading off star running back Herschel Walker in the 1980's in exchange for tons of draft picks that proved essential towards the Cowboys picking up a lot of talent that helped them build what was to become the team of the decade in the 1990's. So, they really did stick their necks out for the guy. Coach Mike Shanahan has stuck his neck out for RG3 this season, as well, uncharacteristically placing all of his trust to empower his star rookie quarterback to make his own decisions and even take some risks to help his team win games. But RG3 is rewarding both the franchise and his coach in their faith in him. Washington has now long been an also ran, just another team. They last won the Super Bowl in 1991, with a mighty team that ranked among the best in football history, but have not seen remarkable success since. But RG3 has given the local faithful something to cheer about. Loudly.
Against the Giants, Griffin did not throw the ball all that much. But still, the running game was effective, and RG3 himself poses such a threat with his mobility, that the Giants constantly struggle trying to keep him contained. Although they mostly did manage through the course of the evening, he proved versatile enough to orchestrate a touchdown drive late in the game for a come from behind, Redskins win. It is a measure of revenge for the loss earlier this season at New York.
I will admit that it seemed like a bad move for Washington to give away so much to obtain one man on their roster. Especially given the history of other mobile quarterbacks, given that they tend to be prone to injuries, and often open themselves up to a lot of vicious hits. Dating back all the way to the days of the spectacular athletic abilities of Randall Cunningham in the 1980's and 90's, and going through numerous quarterbacks right up to the present (where another Eagles quarterback, Michael Vick, also impresses with his athletic abilities, but disappoints because of his vulnerability and tendency to be benched due to injuries sustained from some of those savage hits.
My guess was that RG3 was going to be on the receiving end of just such hits, and that he would be sidelined. It still might happen, but the guy has proven to be tough! Still, let's see what happens over the course of years.
Yet, I will have to admit that he keeps proving me wrong. He finds different ways to beat different teams in different circumstances, and it is impressive.
I have to give credit where credit is due.
Let me also say that I never before saw two rookie quarterbacks have such an immediate impact on their respective football teams, as RG3 has had with Washington, and Andrew Luck has enjoyed with the Colts. These look to be quarterbacks of the long term future for these franchises, and they are getting started early with winning traditions!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Around The Bend December 3, 2012
Apartheid in South Africa in the News Again?
There is a bit here from South Africa, regarding white identity and roles in present day, post-apartheid South Africa. It is an excellent article, and you can scroll down to the "Africa" section of the news, and go to the South Africa to find the link. It's an excellent article, and I definitely recommend it!
It reminds me a bit of the brilliant book, "Disgrace" by JM Coetsee. There are a lot of themes tackled in that book, which is really an incredible read, particularly for anyone familiar with South African history. It examines white identity and entitlement in post-apartheid South Africa, among numerous other issues.
Much like here in the United States, life in a post-racial legislation nation has not always been easy and free from complications in South Africa. Inequalities still exist, as does unfairness. Controversies ensue over measures to try to promote greater fairness, such as affirmative action. There is still a great deal of fear, for that matter. One of the growing trends in South Africa, which is mentioned Coetsee mentioned in "Disgrace", and which continues to be on the rise in both South Africa and the United States, would be the popularity of gated communities. Here in the United States, we recently had a major controversy with significant emphasis on racial stereotypes and fears regarding the Trayvon Martin case.
So, although there were plenty of people who quickly proclaimed that racism really was no longer a major problem in South Africa after Mandela was elected and peacefully took office in April of 1994, or here in the United States when Obama was elected and then peacefully took office in January of 2009, the fact of the matter is that race remains a huge problem in both countries, and that the people who are trying to sweep the problems under the rug, and thus shut off further discussion on the issue, really should know better. It does not take much to stir up strong feelings on the subject, and that in itself is an indication that it remains on people's mind, however, much they may try to disguise it.
Congo
Speaking of Africa, since I have given a couple of "Movie Rental Reviews" of movies that focus on Africa recently, with "Blood Diamond" and "Tears of the Sun". To different degrees, both of those films address some of the things that seem to occur on the continent lately, and so, I figured that this developing and rather complicated and involved story should be mentioned. It does not get a great deal of press here in the West, and I'm remembering that scene in "Blood Diamond" when Maddy mentions that the best such a story can generally expect is a short blurb, or perhaps a few seconds of a time slot on the nightly news, with some people being moved enough to be willing to give money towards the cause, and that pretty much would be it.
Some of what happens is nothing short of criminal. Both movies aim for feel good endings, but the truth is that the violence often seems to have no end to it. It also seems to be contagious, as it spreads from country to country. Even relatively stable nations, traditionally, are not immune. Take the example of Kenya, which seemed a model for the rest of Africa for some time. Suddenly, it began to see much of the same type and level of violence as the rest of Africa. It just goes to show how quickly these things can spread, and how fragile the imaginary borders that supposedly separate can be.
What is happening in Congo is a tragedy, and it is in a region that is no stranger to such things. One nation that is involved is Rwanda, and most of us can remember well when there was a genocide on a massive scale there, back in 1994. It was among the worst incidents of ethnic cleansing that we have seen, with somewhere between 750,000 to 1,000,000 people killed in a very short time span. Rwanda is active in the eastern Congo, since it is one of the neighbors, and thus, has an interest in controlling some of the much bigger nation's valuable resources. These tragedies arise far too easily over very specific interests that tend to overlook, or perhaps not care enough about, the human toll that these interests take. Another line taken from "Blood Diamond" was that throughout the entire history of Africa, whenever a precious resource was discovered, blood quickly was shed. It seems to happen far too much in Africa. It happened during the colonial era, and continued through the liberation phase. It continued afterwards, in places like Nigeria, in Ethiopia, and Rwanda. It continues to happen, as recent headlines in Sudan/South Sudan, in Mali, in Congo, and so on prove. It is a vicious and relentless cycle if ever there was one.
Domestic Politics
Here in the United States, it did not take long following last month's elections for the usual Washington gridlock to take a firm hand. While there were some signs that Republicans might relent a bit on their traditional strong stand against raising taxes on the very wealthiest of Americans, with some Republicans showing signs of being willing to at least listen to President Obama's proposals, now it seems to be the same old same old. Republicans not only are in the minority right now in Washington, but they are going against the grain of what a clear majority of Americans feel on this particular issue. Most Americans approve of the notion on raising taxes on the very rich. Still, many Republicans, and particularly Congressional leaders such as Boehner, McConnell and Cantor are once again digging the trenches, as the so-called "Fiscal Cliff" looms ever nearer. Both sides are, once again, pointing the finger of blame at the other, claiming that they are not willing to work in a bipartisan manner. Business as usual in Washington, as politicians will be politicians. Republicans seem to be returning to their age old strategy of obstructionism, which I believe was part of the reason that they lost this past election. Not sure if this even qualifies as "news", but since it seems to be what's dominating the headlines (once again) as of late, I figured it was worth mentioning. Of course, I've been wrong before...
Around the World
Egypt - Protests that are reminiscent of last year's "Arab Spring" revolts continue in Egypt's capital city, Cairo, and elsewhere in the nation. President Morrissey, of course, maneuvered himself to gain considerable powers, so that he was beyond the reach of the courts. Whatever his intentions were, it seems to me odd that this man would seek to gain so much powers so soon after the mass revolts that saw the fall of the long-standing Mubarak regime. Is he now surprised that there are so many on the streets, protesting? How could he be? What was he thinking, anyway? Faced with the turmoil in his country that threatened to become so much more, Morrissey called for a vote. In the meantime, Egyptian courts have closed, and protesters are being blamed for it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/middleeast/egypt-morsi-constitution-vote.html?pagewanted=all
http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-top-court-shuts-down-blames-protesters-051812098.html
Lebanon - Signs that the war in Syria might be spreading, as Lebanese troops exchanged fire with Syrian rebel troops.
Europe
European Union - Bishop Desmond Tutu claimed that is not worthy of the Nobel peace Rpize, and that there is a contradiction from the values that the prize traditionally symbolizes, since Europe relies so heavily on military force.
http://news.yahoo.com/tutu-eu-not-worthy-win-nobel-peace-prize-133224912.html
Serbia - In this day and age of sparkly and sexy vampires and endless zombie shows and movies and books, perhaps we should have been expecting the inevitable report of a vampire on the loose. Indeed, one has been reported, and in Eastern Europe, to boot! Only, this is not Transylvania, this is the Balkans. The vampire resides in Serbia, in the little village of Zarozje, where reports of a legendary vampire that once allegedly haunted the area has now made it's return. Apparently, this is being taken seriously enough that a local council advised villagers to carry garlic in their pockets and put wooden crosses in their rooms.
The vampire has a name: Sava Savanovic, who happens to be Serbia's most famous vampire.
Some feel a bit more skeptical, and think this is a ploy for attention. A local municipal council member, Miodrag Vujetic, said, "If Romanians could profit on the Dracula legend with the tourists visiting Transylvania, why can't we do the same with Sava?"
Of course, Dracula is most famous because of the famed work of fictional horror by Bram Stoker that gave rise to the fame of Dracula. Apparently, the legendary vampire Dracula has some competition in a regional rival nation.
Sometimes, news stories are stranger than fiction.
http://news.yahoo.com/vampire-loose-serbia-140736133.html
Hungary - There was an anti-Nazi rally in Hungary's national capital city of Budapest on Sunday, after a prominent member of the far-right Jobbik party, Marton Gyongyosi, said in the legislature this past Monday that it was time to find out "how many people of Jewish origin there are here, and especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk." Gyongyosi later apologized for the remark, but qualified that by adding that the nation still needed to be wary of "Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/middleeast/egypt-morsi-constitution-vote.html?pagewanted=all
http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-top-court-shuts-down-blames-protesters-051812098.html
Lebanon - Signs that the war in Syria might be spreading, as Lebanese troops exchanged fire with Syrian rebel troops.
Europe
European Union - Bishop Desmond Tutu claimed that is not worthy of the Nobel peace Rpize, and that there is a contradiction from the values that the prize traditionally symbolizes, since Europe relies so heavily on military force.
http://news.yahoo.com/tutu-eu-not-worthy-win-nobel-peace-prize-133224912.html
Serbia - In this day and age of sparkly and sexy vampires and endless zombie shows and movies and books, perhaps we should have been expecting the inevitable report of a vampire on the loose. Indeed, one has been reported, and in Eastern Europe, to boot! Only, this is not Transylvania, this is the Balkans. The vampire resides in Serbia, in the little village of Zarozje, where reports of a legendary vampire that once allegedly haunted the area has now made it's return. Apparently, this is being taken seriously enough that a local council advised villagers to carry garlic in their pockets and put wooden crosses in their rooms.
The vampire has a name: Sava Savanovic, who happens to be Serbia's most famous vampire.
Some feel a bit more skeptical, and think this is a ploy for attention. A local municipal council member, Miodrag Vujetic, said, "If Romanians could profit on the Dracula legend with the tourists visiting Transylvania, why can't we do the same with Sava?"
Of course, Dracula is most famous because of the famed work of fictional horror by Bram Stoker that gave rise to the fame of Dracula. Apparently, the legendary vampire Dracula has some competition in a regional rival nation.
Sometimes, news stories are stranger than fiction.
http://news.yahoo.com/vampire-loose-serbia-140736133.html
Hungary - There was an anti-Nazi rally in Hungary's national capital city of Budapest on Sunday, after a prominent member of the far-right Jobbik party, Marton Gyongyosi, said in the legislature this past Monday that it was time to find out "how many people of Jewish origin there are here, and especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk." Gyongyosi later apologized for the remark, but qualified that by adding that the nation still needed to be wary of "Zionist Israel and those serving it also from here"
http://news.yahoo.com/thousands-attend-anti-nazi-rally-hungary-181111963.html
Latin America and Caribbean
Mexico - New president Pena Nieto finally took office, and vowed to end the violence that has long plagued his nation, as well as reverse the long-standing sluggish economy. There were some violent protests during his swearing in.
Mexico - New president Pena Nieto finally took office, and vowed to end the violence that has long plagued his nation, as well as reverse the long-standing sluggish economy. There were some violent protests during his swearing in.
http://news.yahoo.com/mexicos-pena-nieto-takes-power-begins-era-old-143340170.html
http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-swears-president-amid-violent-protests-174340779.html
Paraguay - One of the surviving leaders of the peasant movement in Paraguay, Vidal Vega, was gunned down on Saturday by two unidentified men, who managed to get away. According to a friend, Vega was gunned down when he stepped outside to go feed his farm animals.
http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-assassinate-peasant-leader-paraguay-152213118.html
http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-swears-president-amid-violent-protests-174340779.html
Paraguay - One of the surviving leaders of the peasant movement in Paraguay, Vidal Vega, was gunned down on Saturday by two unidentified men, who managed to get away. According to a friend, Vega was gunned down when he stepped outside to go feed his farm animals.
http://news.yahoo.com/gunmen-assassinate-peasant-leader-paraguay-152213118.html
North Korea - North Korea is once again vowing to test long range rocket sometime later this month, in the back and forth tug of war that seems to define this nation. One step forward, two steps backwards. This marks the second such attempt to launch missile since Kim Jung Un took power last year.
http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-vows-test-long-range-rocket-soon-082344582.html
North Korea - Also in North Korea, and in keeping with the bizarre nature of the report of a vampire on the loose in Serbia (see above), there is a report coming out of the Korean Central news Agency that scientists of the Communist nation are claiming proof that unicorns did in fact exist, once upon a time. A burial site of unicorns was found by a temple near the capital city of Pyongyang, with an engraving of "Unicorn Lair" at the front. it is being claimed that this is the burial site of the remains of the unicorn ridden by King Dongmyeong, who was the founding father of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which existed from 37BCE -668AD.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/30/unicorns-existence-proven-says-north-korea/?hpt=hp_t3
North Korea - Also in North Korea, and in keeping with the bizarre nature of the report of a vampire on the loose in Serbia (see above), there is a report coming out of the Korean Central news Agency that scientists of the Communist nation are claiming proof that unicorns did in fact exist, once upon a time. A burial site of unicorns was found by a temple near the capital city of Pyongyang, with an engraving of "Unicorn Lair" at the front. it is being claimed that this is the burial site of the remains of the unicorn ridden by King Dongmyeong, who was the founding father of the ancient Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, which existed from 37BCE -668AD.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/30/unicorns-existence-proven-says-north-korea/?hpt=hp_t3
Congo - Rwanda continues it's involvement in the confict in eastern Congo, trying to exert some influence over this region that has some considerable wealth in natural resources. Rebels have gained control over one major city here, and the civil war continues. The United Kingdom just blocked payments that were about to be made to Rwanda, citing "credible" reports of Rwandan involvement in war-torn eastern Congo. Rebels in the Congo have made demands for negotiations.
http://news.yahoo.com/uk-blocks-aid-rwanda-over-congo-rebel-claims-155615232.html
http://news.yahoo.com/rebels-congo-demand-negotiations-160835103.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/16/benefited-apartheid-tshirt-south-africa
Nigeria - At least 10 people were killed yesterday in northeastern Nigeria in attacks by a radical Islamist sect. The slayings took place in the village of Chibok, in Borno state.
http://news.yahoo.com/least-10-killed-northeast-nigeria-violence-172039423.html
Nigeria - At least 10 people were killed yesterday in northeastern Nigeria in attacks by a radical Islamist sect. The slayings took place in the village of Chibok, in Borno state.
http://news.yahoo.com/least-10-killed-northeast-nigeria-violence-172039423.html
Sports
NFL
Very strange and tragic news from Kansas City, where Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher killed his 22 year old wife, Kasandra Perkins, and apparently not even one hour later, took his own life in the parking lot of the practice facility outside of Arrowhead Stadium. He thanked General Manager Scott Pioli and head coach Romeo Crennel before taking his own life. Pioli and Crennel actually witnessed Belcher kill himself. Pioli described it: "It's unfathomable. It's something that you would love to wash away from your mind, but you can't do it. There's nothing like it. There's nothing like it. Think about your worst nightmare and multiply it by five."
The Kansas City Chiefs decided to go ahead and play their scheduled game against the Carolina Panthers at 1pm on Sunday, despite the tragedy. Belcher left a 3 year old daughter without either of her parents.
The Chiefs won on a very emotional day, holding off the Panthers for a 27-21 win, only their second win on the season.
The Chiefs entered this week with the longest active losing streak, as well as the very worst record in the league. But now, two other teams are tied with the longest active losing streaks, which were extended this weekend.
The Eagles lost in a shootout to the Cowboys, 38-33, marking their eighth straight loss after starting off 3-1.
But even more incredible of a negative turnaround, the Cardinals dropped their eighth straight game as well, losing narrowly to the Jets, 7-6 (Sanchez was benched in this game). I have never before seen a team start the season off so hot, only to get so ice cold as this! Remember, this was one of the three teams to remain undefeated through the first quarter of the season, at least. The Falcons also did it, and remained undefeated at 8-0, before dropping one to new Orleans. They just beat the Saints in the rematch, and clinched their division this weekend, and are now enjoying an 11-1 record. The Texans also started off with an impressive undefeated start at 5-0, and like Atlanta, also can boast an 11-1 record. They did not clinch the division (at least not yet(, but they did clinch a playoff berth. Both of those teams are doing just fine. But the Cardinals, by way of comparison? After that 4-0 start, their best since 1974 (the year that I was born), they now are 4-8. Terrible! That hot start was obviously a fluke.
Atlanta was not the only team to clinch their division this weekend. In fact, I don't remember so many teams ever before having clinched their division so early in the season. Both the Patriots and the Broncos clinched their divisions, as well, each with 9-3 records.
Two other teams had a strong chance to get closer to division titles as well, and both are coached by a Harbaugh. But the Ravens were shocked by the Steelers, who won on a field goal on the last play of the game, while the 49ers and Rams almost went the distance in overtime towards another tie, before the Rams finally got a field goal through the upright with very little time left, to clinch a win.
Chicago could have stayed alone atop the NFC North, but the Seahawks proved just too much, and they beat the Bears in OT. In the meantime, the Packers came from behind to knock off the Vikings at Lambeau Field.
Cleveland has now enjoyed three consecutive impressive games, narrowly losing at Dallas, then pulling off an upset last weekend against Pittsburgh, and finally following that up with a big win at Oakland. After an abysmal start, the Browns are finally showing signs of life this season, and that could bode well for next year.
The Buffalo Bills rolled over Jacksonville, while the Colts, with that awesome comeback against Detroit, control their own destiny with favorable playoff positioning at the moment.
Tonight, the defending champs, the New York Giants, visit RG3 and the Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football.
MLS
David Beckham went out with bang in the league that he breathed new life to, as the Los Angeles Galaxy managed to win back to back MLS Cup titles, trouncing the Houston Dynamo, 3-1. This was a rematch of last year's championship. Omar Gonzalez was named the game's MVP.
David Beckham went out with bang in the league that he breathed new life to, as the Los Angeles Galaxy managed to win back to back MLS Cup titles, trouncing the Houston Dynamo, 3-1. This was a rematch of last year's championship. Omar Gonzalez was named the game's MVP.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Book Review: Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi
Yes, another Indiana Jones book.
This one focuses on when he is younger, although he is also supposed to be a bit older than during the "Young Indiana Jones" series of book and the television series.
Here, he is a student in college, and hardly seems as entirely focused or confident - or even mature. In fact, he seems a bit of a mess, and much more of a dreamer than the way he is portrayed in the movies. Also, he falls for a woman that he never should have, and has to fight his own instincts in wanting to be with her. All in all, we see a different Indiana Jones in this novel - one that is more green, if you will. He has some growing up to do, and in this novel, he does quite a bit of growing up in a very short time span, with his first truly risky adventure.
This book also focuses a little bit on the strained relationship between Indy and his father, Henry Jones (and yes, it's hard not to picture either Harrison Ford or Sean Connery playing the roles) in the beginning of the book. On some level, Indy's teacher challenges him in a way that reminds him of his father, and we can feel the tension. Along with the other areas that Indy has to grow up a bit in, we glimpse some unresolved issues in the young man, and possibly the need to come to terms with all of that.
***Spoiler Alert***
Yet, his teacher, Professor Dorian Belacamus, is very different than Indy's father in many other respects. For starters, she is a woman, and she is very attractive. Quite naturally, that did not escape the attention of young Indiana Jones. Yet, she has largely ignored him, we find, early in the book. That is why he is so taken aback when she begins to not only notice him, but seem downright friendly. Even....flirtatious? He can't be too sure.
Still, she has called him her star student in the classroom, and after announcing to the class that she has to take a leave of absence for the rest of the semester to go on an expedition to Delphi, which is her particular field of expertise.
Indiana Jones wants to go, but mostly, it is his little head doing the thinking for him. He is really very attracted to the professor, and wants her. He is, after all, a young man in his prime, and she an attractive, sophisticated woman far different than the girls he tends to spend time with. The only thing is that he is uncertain about her intentions, or what exactly his own role is (remember, he is not yet convinced by this point that he even wants to be an archaeologist. Plus, his friends all give voice to their suspicions about the professor, and these begin to weigh on him more and more as the novel goes along, and his own doubts begin to grow to the point that he can no longer avoid them.
Still, he likes the idea of going to an exotic place like Greece, to look at ancient ruins, and he has high hopes that he will get with a very attractive woman that he seems to have fallen head over heels for. So, he goes.
He gets to visit Athens, and sees the ruins of an ancient civilization. We also see his reaction when he gets to see Delphi for the first time, and again, he seems almost awed by it - another sign of his still obvious youth. There has even an earthquake of late, and the legendary mists have started to rise from Delphi once again. Other things seem to be falling into place to fulfill a certain prophecy that included the return of a "Dorian" (the professor's name is Dorian), the return of the Pythea, the woman of ancient lore that would seem to ramble incomprehensibly, but when translated, would give prophecies that many believed in. So many came to believe in her prophecies in ancient days, that they began to actively pursue her, and she became legendary. As it turns out, those who believe in the newest prophecy of Pythia's return also believe that Professor Dorian Belacamus is, in fact, the new Pythea.
There is one more key element to the newest prophecy, and that is that the king of Greece will return to Delphi. Before long, it is revealed that the king is planning a visit to the site, to see the release of the legendary mists for himself. What he does not know is that there is a plot against him by Dr. Belacamus and her boyfriend, Colonel Mandraki.
Indiana's stated task at the site is to go down the crevice and retrieve a tablet embedded within the walls. Yet, he finds something else of even greater interest: the cone-shaped Omphalos. But the descent down the crevice does not go as smoothly as he wanted it to, and when he is pulled up back to the surface, he has taken a fall and injured himself. It will take some time to recover.
Indy's suspicions really begin to grow after he almost dies during this excavation, and he now begins to open his eyes much more. It takes him a while to recover, and during that time, he finds some things, and will no longer be able to dismiss the possibility that he is a pawn in a much larger game.
Slowly but surely, Indiana begins to gather enough evidence that his suspicions become cemented with evidence, and he understands what is going to happen. Still, it is not easy to break up the plot, and he finds himself encountering numerous difficulties, not least of which is that he is a stranger in a foreign land, and the natives do not trust him. In fact, there is only one native who really seems to like or trust him, and he is a boy, Nikolos.
Still, he already shows his ability to figure things out along the way, and this is how he manages to squeak by in very tight, dangerous situations. Jones is beginning to show the improvisational abilities that will serve him very well in future adventures.
They plan to entice the king near the crevice while there was a thick coating of mist, push him in and kill him, then assume power on their own. Indiana Jones has been involuntarily recruited to be the fall guy. But he manages to outsmart everyone, and winds up actually saving the king from the fall, thus making a friendship that will last a long time, the first in a long series of signs that Indiana Jones will make some powerful friends along the way.
The adventure does not yet end there, and Dorian/Pythia manages to capture two of Indy's friends the next day after the botched coup attempt. She shoots Mandraki, and it appears that she has killed him, although he manages to escape, all the while not knowing who it was who had actually shot at him. In the meantime, Jones is sent down the crevice, once again, to retrieve the Omphalos. She is holding everyone at gunpoint.
Indiana Jones manages to find it and excavates it from the walls. But on his way up, as he holds the thing to his chest, he finally feels the power of the Omphalos, catching some glimpses of his future, which is filled with adventures and treasures. Before all of that, he sees himself sitting with the king in a library, among other things. Yet, he also sees an image of Mandraki repeatedly pointing a gun right at him and pulling the trigger. He feels sickened by the Omphalos, and does not even want to touch it ever again.
Dorian/Pythia takes the Omphalos from Jones, and then has some kind of horrific glimpse of her own future. So horrified is she, that she freezes, dropping the gun, and seemingly gets completely detached from reality. Jones and his friends easily take the gun, escaping yet another close call.
But Mandraki has survived, and now, intends to kill Jones. Jones and his friends actually manage to steal Mandraki's car, and head towards Athens, to the palace, where they hope to reveal the thwarted coup d'etat to none other than the king himself. But Mandraki still holds a lot of cards, and puts up road blocks. Every soldier knows to shoot to kill, and it takes a lot of ingenuity, and no small measure of luck, for Jones and Co. to survive, yet again.
They make it to the palace, and are going to be sent out of the country as a crime. Mandraki has played his cards well, and pretends to be at peace with himself, "forgiving" Indiana Jones for stealing and destroying his car, and gracefully sending him out of the country. his greater interest is taking power in the country. But the king, trusting Indy from having saved his life during the coup attempt, meets with Indiana in the middle of the night, in his library. The first vision of his future has come true. Indiana reveals everything, from the beginning, so that the king understands that the threat against his life and rule posed by Mandraki is real, and remains.
Jones and his friends are going to leave the country the next day. But on the way to the port, Indy spots Dorian, and goes after her. Mandraki is there, though he remains hidden. Mandraki takes his gun and points it at Indiana Jones, then pulls the trigger. But Dorian steps in front of the bullet, and saves Jones. Mandraki now wants revenge more than ever on Jones, and once again, points the gun at him. But he is stopped by Nikolos, who kills Mandraki from behind. Jones is now safe to pursue further adventures in his future - the future book line of his adventures.
This book is actually very well written. There is one part in particular (at the very beginning of Chapter 8 -"Journey to Delphi") when Professor Belacamus wakes up very early and takes a bicycle ride very early in the morning, trying hard not to wake up the sleeping Indiana Jones, as she rides her bike in the chilly early morning air, that was so well-written, that I could almost picture myself being in that position. That is when fictional books are at their best, when they become almost literally an escape from yourself, when you feel almost like it is a vacation from yourself, for however many hours it takes to read the book, in any case. I think that makes this book worth reading, just by itself. Also, this book, although fictional and focused on the adventures of Indiana Jones, still nonetheless has some educational aspects to it, and that should be an additional enticement. This was a solid book, and I applaud Rob MacGregor on it.
This one focuses on when he is younger, although he is also supposed to be a bit older than during the "Young Indiana Jones" series of book and the television series.
Here, he is a student in college, and hardly seems as entirely focused or confident - or even mature. In fact, he seems a bit of a mess, and much more of a dreamer than the way he is portrayed in the movies. Also, he falls for a woman that he never should have, and has to fight his own instincts in wanting to be with her. All in all, we see a different Indiana Jones in this novel - one that is more green, if you will. He has some growing up to do, and in this novel, he does quite a bit of growing up in a very short time span, with his first truly risky adventure.
This book also focuses a little bit on the strained relationship between Indy and his father, Henry Jones (and yes, it's hard not to picture either Harrison Ford or Sean Connery playing the roles) in the beginning of the book. On some level, Indy's teacher challenges him in a way that reminds him of his father, and we can feel the tension. Along with the other areas that Indy has to grow up a bit in, we glimpse some unresolved issues in the young man, and possibly the need to come to terms with all of that.
***Spoiler Alert***
Yet, his teacher, Professor Dorian Belacamus, is very different than Indy's father in many other respects. For starters, she is a woman, and she is very attractive. Quite naturally, that did not escape the attention of young Indiana Jones. Yet, she has largely ignored him, we find, early in the book. That is why he is so taken aback when she begins to not only notice him, but seem downright friendly. Even....flirtatious? He can't be too sure.
Still, she has called him her star student in the classroom, and after announcing to the class that she has to take a leave of absence for the rest of the semester to go on an expedition to Delphi, which is her particular field of expertise.
Indiana Jones wants to go, but mostly, it is his little head doing the thinking for him. He is really very attracted to the professor, and wants her. He is, after all, a young man in his prime, and she an attractive, sophisticated woman far different than the girls he tends to spend time with. The only thing is that he is uncertain about her intentions, or what exactly his own role is (remember, he is not yet convinced by this point that he even wants to be an archaeologist. Plus, his friends all give voice to their suspicions about the professor, and these begin to weigh on him more and more as the novel goes along, and his own doubts begin to grow to the point that he can no longer avoid them.
Still, he likes the idea of going to an exotic place like Greece, to look at ancient ruins, and he has high hopes that he will get with a very attractive woman that he seems to have fallen head over heels for. So, he goes.
He gets to visit Athens, and sees the ruins of an ancient civilization. We also see his reaction when he gets to see Delphi for the first time, and again, he seems almost awed by it - another sign of his still obvious youth. There has even an earthquake of late, and the legendary mists have started to rise from Delphi once again. Other things seem to be falling into place to fulfill a certain prophecy that included the return of a "Dorian" (the professor's name is Dorian), the return of the Pythea, the woman of ancient lore that would seem to ramble incomprehensibly, but when translated, would give prophecies that many believed in. So many came to believe in her prophecies in ancient days, that they began to actively pursue her, and she became legendary. As it turns out, those who believe in the newest prophecy of Pythia's return also believe that Professor Dorian Belacamus is, in fact, the new Pythea.
There is one more key element to the newest prophecy, and that is that the king of Greece will return to Delphi. Before long, it is revealed that the king is planning a visit to the site, to see the release of the legendary mists for himself. What he does not know is that there is a plot against him by Dr. Belacamus and her boyfriend, Colonel Mandraki.
Indiana's stated task at the site is to go down the crevice and retrieve a tablet embedded within the walls. Yet, he finds something else of even greater interest: the cone-shaped Omphalos. But the descent down the crevice does not go as smoothly as he wanted it to, and when he is pulled up back to the surface, he has taken a fall and injured himself. It will take some time to recover.
Indy's suspicions really begin to grow after he almost dies during this excavation, and he now begins to open his eyes much more. It takes him a while to recover, and during that time, he finds some things, and will no longer be able to dismiss the possibility that he is a pawn in a much larger game.
Slowly but surely, Indiana begins to gather enough evidence that his suspicions become cemented with evidence, and he understands what is going to happen. Still, it is not easy to break up the plot, and he finds himself encountering numerous difficulties, not least of which is that he is a stranger in a foreign land, and the natives do not trust him. In fact, there is only one native who really seems to like or trust him, and he is a boy, Nikolos.
Still, he already shows his ability to figure things out along the way, and this is how he manages to squeak by in very tight, dangerous situations. Jones is beginning to show the improvisational abilities that will serve him very well in future adventures.
They plan to entice the king near the crevice while there was a thick coating of mist, push him in and kill him, then assume power on their own. Indiana Jones has been involuntarily recruited to be the fall guy. But he manages to outsmart everyone, and winds up actually saving the king from the fall, thus making a friendship that will last a long time, the first in a long series of signs that Indiana Jones will make some powerful friends along the way.
The adventure does not yet end there, and Dorian/Pythia manages to capture two of Indy's friends the next day after the botched coup attempt. She shoots Mandraki, and it appears that she has killed him, although he manages to escape, all the while not knowing who it was who had actually shot at him. In the meantime, Jones is sent down the crevice, once again, to retrieve the Omphalos. She is holding everyone at gunpoint.
Indiana Jones manages to find it and excavates it from the walls. But on his way up, as he holds the thing to his chest, he finally feels the power of the Omphalos, catching some glimpses of his future, which is filled with adventures and treasures. Before all of that, he sees himself sitting with the king in a library, among other things. Yet, he also sees an image of Mandraki repeatedly pointing a gun right at him and pulling the trigger. He feels sickened by the Omphalos, and does not even want to touch it ever again.
Dorian/Pythia takes the Omphalos from Jones, and then has some kind of horrific glimpse of her own future. So horrified is she, that she freezes, dropping the gun, and seemingly gets completely detached from reality. Jones and his friends easily take the gun, escaping yet another close call.
But Mandraki has survived, and now, intends to kill Jones. Jones and his friends actually manage to steal Mandraki's car, and head towards Athens, to the palace, where they hope to reveal the thwarted coup d'etat to none other than the king himself. But Mandraki still holds a lot of cards, and puts up road blocks. Every soldier knows to shoot to kill, and it takes a lot of ingenuity, and no small measure of luck, for Jones and Co. to survive, yet again.
They make it to the palace, and are going to be sent out of the country as a crime. Mandraki has played his cards well, and pretends to be at peace with himself, "forgiving" Indiana Jones for stealing and destroying his car, and gracefully sending him out of the country. his greater interest is taking power in the country. But the king, trusting Indy from having saved his life during the coup attempt, meets with Indiana in the middle of the night, in his library. The first vision of his future has come true. Indiana reveals everything, from the beginning, so that the king understands that the threat against his life and rule posed by Mandraki is real, and remains.
Jones and his friends are going to leave the country the next day. But on the way to the port, Indy spots Dorian, and goes after her. Mandraki is there, though he remains hidden. Mandraki takes his gun and points it at Indiana Jones, then pulls the trigger. But Dorian steps in front of the bullet, and saves Jones. Mandraki now wants revenge more than ever on Jones, and once again, points the gun at him. But he is stopped by Nikolos, who kills Mandraki from behind. Jones is now safe to pursue further adventures in his future - the future book line of his adventures.
This book is actually very well written. There is one part in particular (at the very beginning of Chapter 8 -"Journey to Delphi") when Professor Belacamus wakes up very early and takes a bicycle ride very early in the morning, trying hard not to wake up the sleeping Indiana Jones, as she rides her bike in the chilly early morning air, that was so well-written, that I could almost picture myself being in that position. That is when fictional books are at their best, when they become almost literally an escape from yourself, when you feel almost like it is a vacation from yourself, for however many hours it takes to read the book, in any case. I think that makes this book worth reading, just by itself. Also, this book, although fictional and focused on the adventures of Indiana Jones, still nonetheless has some educational aspects to it, and that should be an additional enticement. This was a solid book, and I applaud Rob MacGregor on it.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Movie Rental Review: Tears of the Sun
Another review of a movie that is about the tragedies that occur in Africa. Another movie that I can say deals with ugly subject matter, yet has a certain beauty to it - although I am not entirely certain that it is very realistic, with a handful of American specialists managing to evade, and then fight off, an army of 300 plus native soldiers.
This one is a fictional account of a revolution that quite suddenly erupts in Nigeria, and an American military unit's attempt to safeguard an American out of the country. There is a fictional rebel army that is guilty of many of those worst excesses that many of us on the outside have come to associate with violence in Africa: rape and mutilation of women (particularly cutting off their breasts, so that they can no longer breast feed any children in the future, recruiting and utilizing children to become child soldiers, indiscriminate killings and even mass murders of whole villages, and overall ruling through terror).
Bruce Willis is the most recognizable star in this movie, as he plays Special-Ops commander Lieutenant Waters, who has to lead his team into the war torn nation, into a mission just hours before a massacre is expected by the approaching rebel army, in order to save a doctor serving there, Dr. Kendricks, played by Monica Bellucci.
***Spoiler Alert***
The team reached the village smoothly, and have every intention of taking the doctor to safety. But it becomes more complicated when she absolutely refuses to leave and save herself, and insists that the team help those injured who can still travel to be taken to safety. Lt. Waters is opposed to it, at least initially, but when he realizes that her staunch position is putting his mission in jeopardy, he relents, and begins to make preparations to evacuate the dozens of people, and save them from certain slaughter from the approaching rebel forces.
Waters and his team manage to get the team to relative safety, after evading a very close call with the rebels in the middle of the night. They manage to get to a clearing the next day, but when the helicopters come, it is only Dr. Kendricks that is put in one, much to her shock and dismay. The injured band of natives feel rejected and abandoned, left to their own devices. When the helicopters lift off and head back towards safety on an aircraft carrier, they happen to pass by the mission, and Dr. Kendricks and the entire military special ops team get to see firsthand the massacre that has just taken place there.
Of his own accord, Lt. Waters decides to turn around and take as many of the native refugees as possible. His team stays behind, while a dozen natives are lifted off to safety by the Cameroon border. It does not take long for Lt. Waters and his team to find out that conditions in Nigeria have changed, and the American military will not be flying anything over Nigerian airspace anymore. The team is on their own, left to their own devices to try to make it to the presumable safety of the Cameroon border.
So, with the change of plans, the team has to make do. They are on foot, in the jungles of Africa, needing to make it to the border. That will be hard enough. But they soon discover that they are being followed by the pursuing rebel army. This comes as a bit of surprising news to them, and they find out that one among the refugees has been transmitting to the rebels, allowing them to know the whereabouts of the Americans and those they are protecting. To add even more complications to the mix, they also find out that among those that they are trying to get to the safety of the border is none other than the son of the recently slain President. it had been reported that the entire family of the president had been killed. But this young man has survived, and now serves as the symbolic hope for the nation. It is this man that the rebels truly are after.
Waters has to lead his team and the band of refugees towards greater safety, and still has to head for the border, but now, the team knows that they will also have to fight against a force far greater in number than they, and with the advantage of being at home and knowing the layout of the land far better. What remains on the American team is superior technology, as well as an indomitable will.
Along their trek, they run into a village that will prove symbolic of the tragedies that seem to regularly occur in Africa in recent decades. An army unit has come to essentially have their way, raping and mutilating the women, killing any men that are deemed to stand in the way, and possibly recruiting any willing and able-bodied men and/or children to their cause. The American team stumbles into this, and decide to intervene. Though numerically not superior, they engage carefully, and manage to put an end to the carnage. It slows them down, of course, but they have done a deed that they can feel good about.
They continue the attempted escape, but the enemy is closing in fast, and the American team has to prepare to engage. It is an enormous fight, and simply by sheer numbers of the native force, the American team at times seems overwhelmed, and they hang on desperately, just trying to stall for time, to give themselves a chance, not to mention the refugees and the good doctor.
Eventually, they do actually make it to the border, but even here, there are further complications when the Cameroon soldiers refuse to open the gates to let the refugees in.
The team has to call in the American forces to have them fly in for air support. They get their just as the rebel forces are closing in and about to massacre the American team (of which, already, a few have fallen) and the refugees - including the President's son (who is also a tribal leader). The air support manages to end the carnage and sure massacre to follow, but just in the nick of time.
The soldiers finally get the permission to open the gate and allow the refugees into their side of the border. The doctor thanks the team, and the movie essentially ends there.
"Tears of the Sun" is a very good movie that opens the eyes of Western audiences to some of what is happening on the African continent, much like "Blood Diamond". While it does not go into the specifics as much that movie, this has a different focus. Again, not the most realistic of movies (in real life, the team and the band of refugees surely would have been massacred, being so greatly outnumbered and with so many obstacles standing in their way), and this movie skirts around some of he less savory aspects of Special Ops (to say nothing of covert American intervention in foreign lands) but it is a movie, and has the obligatory happy ending. It gives the audience a glimpse of some of the tragedy still taking place on the African continent, and does so in an entertaining manner. Recommended!
This one is a fictional account of a revolution that quite suddenly erupts in Nigeria, and an American military unit's attempt to safeguard an American out of the country. There is a fictional rebel army that is guilty of many of those worst excesses that many of us on the outside have come to associate with violence in Africa: rape and mutilation of women (particularly cutting off their breasts, so that they can no longer breast feed any children in the future, recruiting and utilizing children to become child soldiers, indiscriminate killings and even mass murders of whole villages, and overall ruling through terror).
Bruce Willis is the most recognizable star in this movie, as he plays Special-Ops commander Lieutenant Waters, who has to lead his team into the war torn nation, into a mission just hours before a massacre is expected by the approaching rebel army, in order to save a doctor serving there, Dr. Kendricks, played by Monica Bellucci.
***Spoiler Alert***
The team reached the village smoothly, and have every intention of taking the doctor to safety. But it becomes more complicated when she absolutely refuses to leave and save herself, and insists that the team help those injured who can still travel to be taken to safety. Lt. Waters is opposed to it, at least initially, but when he realizes that her staunch position is putting his mission in jeopardy, he relents, and begins to make preparations to evacuate the dozens of people, and save them from certain slaughter from the approaching rebel forces.
Waters and his team manage to get the team to relative safety, after evading a very close call with the rebels in the middle of the night. They manage to get to a clearing the next day, but when the helicopters come, it is only Dr. Kendricks that is put in one, much to her shock and dismay. The injured band of natives feel rejected and abandoned, left to their own devices. When the helicopters lift off and head back towards safety on an aircraft carrier, they happen to pass by the mission, and Dr. Kendricks and the entire military special ops team get to see firsthand the massacre that has just taken place there.
Of his own accord, Lt. Waters decides to turn around and take as many of the native refugees as possible. His team stays behind, while a dozen natives are lifted off to safety by the Cameroon border. It does not take long for Lt. Waters and his team to find out that conditions in Nigeria have changed, and the American military will not be flying anything over Nigerian airspace anymore. The team is on their own, left to their own devices to try to make it to the presumable safety of the Cameroon border.
So, with the change of plans, the team has to make do. They are on foot, in the jungles of Africa, needing to make it to the border. That will be hard enough. But they soon discover that they are being followed by the pursuing rebel army. This comes as a bit of surprising news to them, and they find out that one among the refugees has been transmitting to the rebels, allowing them to know the whereabouts of the Americans and those they are protecting. To add even more complications to the mix, they also find out that among those that they are trying to get to the safety of the border is none other than the son of the recently slain President. it had been reported that the entire family of the president had been killed. But this young man has survived, and now serves as the symbolic hope for the nation. It is this man that the rebels truly are after.
Waters has to lead his team and the band of refugees towards greater safety, and still has to head for the border, but now, the team knows that they will also have to fight against a force far greater in number than they, and with the advantage of being at home and knowing the layout of the land far better. What remains on the American team is superior technology, as well as an indomitable will.
Along their trek, they run into a village that will prove symbolic of the tragedies that seem to regularly occur in Africa in recent decades. An army unit has come to essentially have their way, raping and mutilating the women, killing any men that are deemed to stand in the way, and possibly recruiting any willing and able-bodied men and/or children to their cause. The American team stumbles into this, and decide to intervene. Though numerically not superior, they engage carefully, and manage to put an end to the carnage. It slows them down, of course, but they have done a deed that they can feel good about.
They continue the attempted escape, but the enemy is closing in fast, and the American team has to prepare to engage. It is an enormous fight, and simply by sheer numbers of the native force, the American team at times seems overwhelmed, and they hang on desperately, just trying to stall for time, to give themselves a chance, not to mention the refugees and the good doctor.
Eventually, they do actually make it to the border, but even here, there are further complications when the Cameroon soldiers refuse to open the gates to let the refugees in.
The team has to call in the American forces to have them fly in for air support. They get their just as the rebel forces are closing in and about to massacre the American team (of which, already, a few have fallen) and the refugees - including the President's son (who is also a tribal leader). The air support manages to end the carnage and sure massacre to follow, but just in the nick of time.
The soldiers finally get the permission to open the gate and allow the refugees into their side of the border. The doctor thanks the team, and the movie essentially ends there.
"Tears of the Sun" is a very good movie that opens the eyes of Western audiences to some of what is happening on the African continent, much like "Blood Diamond". While it does not go into the specifics as much that movie, this has a different focus. Again, not the most realistic of movies (in real life, the team and the band of refugees surely would have been massacred, being so greatly outnumbered and with so many obstacles standing in their way), and this movie skirts around some of he less savory aspects of Special Ops (to say nothing of covert American intervention in foreign lands) but it is a movie, and has the obligatory happy ending. It gives the audience a glimpse of some of the tragedy still taking place on the African continent, and does so in an entertaining manner. Recommended!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)