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"Andy, did you hear about this one?"

Friday, September 14th, 2007

It’s 2007, out Space Odyssey is a good 6 years behind. But with further funding cuts to NASA and the Russian Space Program being a shell of its former self, we stand here looking for someone to stop both Stanley Kubrick and Hannah Barbara from becoming filthy liars. Who should be the one to step up to the plate?

Why who else but the good people at Google! That’s right, the people who brought you both Google Earth and Google Sky have team up with the X-Prize foundation to offer $30 million (U.S.) in prize money for private companies to land a robot on the moon and takes some video and pictures (Check out the full article on BBC with all of the details). Part of that money includes $5 million for taking pictures of old Apollo equipment to prove (or disprove?) that yes, the moon landing was real.

So if this is the first step, will the next prize be to a company that sends tourists to the moon? How about setting up a lunar base? How about landing on Mars? What’s next after that? While this is all very exciting, I can’t help but wonder about the long term consequences in removing governments from space travel. What rules would govern a company that has set up shop on the moon? And what if a corporation is able to set up a base on say Mars before NASA is able to? Does that mean that the company would own that section of the planet and able to set up their own government?

Maybe Chuck Pahalniuk was right in Fight Club in saying “…when deep-space exploitation ramps up, it will probably be the megatonic corporations that discover all the new planets and map them. The IBM Stellar Sphere. The Philip Morris Galaxy. Planet Denny’s. Every planet will take on the corporate identity of whoever rapes it first…“

Enough corporate terror talk, I’ll give you what you really wanted to see…

Should any of you be interested in attempting to land a robot on the moon here is the promotional poster/link for more information. I warn you though, I’ve already started finding ways to duct tape my camera to a remote control car. All I need is a rocket and I’ll be rolling in the dough.

I never knew that the original moon was outdated, I figured it had served us well for long enough, but what do I know? I guess we need a full lunar upgrade…

Until next time,

G

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Does This Make Me Look Fat?

Thursday, September 13th, 2007

Earlier this week we saw the tragic return of Britney Spears to performing as she “sang” and “danced” at the MTV Video Music Awards. The use of quotes was really quite intentional. But I’m not going to talk about how abysmal she performed, I’m sure that you’ve already heard enough about that over the past few weeks. I am going to talk about some of the reaction that has came to the former Mrs. Federline.

First off, I don’t care if anyone calls her talentless, out of shape, washed up or anything else directly related to her performing abilities, because, frankly, they were atrocious. What I do care about is how have dared to call Britney fat. First off, take a look at that picture invading the left side of your screen. Does this woman look fat? Sure she’s not quite as toned as she was a few years ago, but let’s remember that she has had two children, which would not be easy on a gals weight.

Now I’m not upset about those comments for Britney’s well being. I’ve never met the gal, and don’t imagine that I ever will. But this drives me crazy because of the impact people calling Britney fat would have on any women out there. I have known my share of family members/friends/ex-girlfriends/students who have their share of completely unjustified body issues, and it completely staggers my mind. But this completely blows my mind out of the water.

If people are talking about Britney’s weight, why is nobody mentioning Timbaland’s? He’s clearly much bigger than she is…ohh right, he has the wrong type of genitals to be compared to an impossible standard. I have never really got why so many women are compared (either in reality or through their own perception) to some sort of Barbie ideal, while men get off so easy. It’s pretty clear that there are many different “types” of ideal male bodies, so those of you who aren’t as buff as I am can be compared to say Justin Timberlake instead of a Greek Adonis. However, it is never ever noted that there are many different types of attractive female body types, not all of which are made of plastic.

I am amazed that nobody has really tried to take it to the media for this deathly serious issues – yes, I used the word deathly serious on purpose, check out this article on the growing anorexia rates. They are creating a generation of seriously unhealthy women, both physical and emotionally, and yet they are always in the clear, simply unreal.

I’m just going to close with an odd paradox that I don’t really know the answer to. Why do anorexia and bulimia rates keep raising, while the obesity rates are sky rocketing? Doesn’t make a lot of sense now does it?

Until next time,

G

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Doubting Teresa

Wednesday, September 5th, 2007

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.” — Mother Teresa

Today a decade ago, we lost someone very special, at the age of 87 Mother Teresa passed away. This was of course over shadowed by the death of Princess Diana which had occurred just a week earlier, but it is still important none the less. Of course Mother Teresa’s death was due to the passage of time and not due to some tragic accident, but Mother Teresa is one of very few people to have lived in our lifetime who will achieve sainthood, pretty cool I dare say.

In a recent issue of Time, there is a fantastic article about a crisis of faith that Mother Teresa faced for the better part of 5 decades. It references a series of letters she shared with a priest and friend of hers. Here is an excerpt of a letter she wrote to Jesus at the suggestion of a confessor.

“When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven — there is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts return like sharp knives & hurt my very soul. — I am told God loves me — and yet the reality of darkness & coldness & emptiness is so great that nothing touches my soul. Did I make a mistake in surrendering blindly to the Call of the Sacred Heart?” — Click Here to see the article I took this from

Pretty interesting that someone as dedicated as Mother Teresa could doubt herself so much. I find it fascinating that she could continue doing what she considered to be the work of God, all the while feeling nothing but darkness, coldness and emptiness. But after decades of searching and confronting her own doubt she eventually comes back into the fold and finds the light.

I think that there are some pretty powerful lessons to be drawn from Mother Teresa’s doubt, even for the non-religious/spiritual. At one time she believed that God loved her and had given her a task, but then for a period doubted that, yet she perceveered. I think that any of us who ever experience any sort of doubt can easily look to Moth Teresa for some inspiration. You can very easily apply her lessons and struggles to any other relationships. At one point or another we have all been filled with doubt and veer off of our paths in some capacity.

I guess Mother Teresa shows us that even if you think that you are neglected, even if you think that you are unloved, you really just have to do some intense soul searching and find out that you are indeed loved and are someone special no matter how empty and alone you may feel. That’s a pretty important lesson for anyone regardless of your faith level.

I would like to end this blog entry with another quote from Mother Teresa that really blows me away.

“Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired. “ — Mother Teresa

Good advice, eh?

Until next time,

G

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Remembering a Princess

Monday, September 3rd, 2007

First off, I’d like to apologize for not posting this on Friday, I was a wee bit busy and went to my Dad’s place, which is still in the stone ages and free of internet access.

I remember August 31, 1997 really well. The whole week, hell summer, was a period of intense turmoil for me. My mother, sister and I were in the process of moving from Ontario to Nova Scotia, and I was quite torn on the whole thing. I was looking forward to making a fresh start but nervous to leave my friends and the remainder of my family behind. Anyway, to make an insanely long story short, I decided at the last minute to move in with my dad and stay in Trenton and my flight back to Ontario was scheduled for August 31, 1997.

The night before I was busy packing and was quite anxious about the day ahead of me so I stayed up late playing on the old 486 that I had in my bedroom at the time and listening to the local Truro Radio Station when a news bulletin came on. I don’t remember the exact wording, but it told me that Princess Diana, Dodi Al-Fayed, their bodyguard and the driver had been involved in a car accident which had killed the driver and left Diana and Dodi in critical condition. I was concerned for a moment, but ultimately indifferent, I was 14 years old and these were people I had never met after all. I eventually went to bed getting ready for the long emotional day I was about to face.

I wake up earlyish on my fateful day and as I just finish brushing my teeth and reach to turn the water on I hear a knock on the door. It was my mother, looking visibly shaken, told me that Princess Diana had died. To be honest, I thought that she was emotional since I was leaving, but in retrospect I think that it wasn’t only my impending departure that had left her shocked.

After an emotional day, I leave for Toronto to be greeted by my dad and grandparents. After unloaded my stuff and complaining about the airline food, we head out to the car. I was shocked to see my dad talk to a complete stranger about how sad the events surrounding Diana were. I mean, talking to a stranger about another strangers business. It appeared so very odd.

Like everyone else, I was shocked at the events that followed, Buckingham Palace littered with flowers, intense US media coverage, the Queen staying in Scotland, the public backlash, the State Funeral, the Queen’s eventual tribute, the traditionally stoic Brits bursting into tears, and of course a hit Elton John single. And like everyone else, I proceeded to allow these events to slip from my conscious and get replaced with my more immediate, tangible concerns.

Fast forward to April 2007. I was teaching in China, and the first lesson that I had to do was on British Politics and Culture. I had to watch the second half of the movie The Queen (which by the way is HIGHLY recommended) and then lead a discussion on it. Now I had never seen this movie before, and for those of you that haven’t, it chronicles the Queen’s tumultuous few days between Diana’s death and funeral. It focuses mainly on the public backlash that she receives and how she responds to the situation. I found it especially powerful because it mixes in a variety of news clips from the time to add an intense sense of realism to the movie.

Due to my schedule, I had to repeat the lesson 6 times, each time I watched the movie I got more and more involved. I shook my head in disbelief every time I saw all of the flowers at Buckingham Palace and I was touched by the powerful words of Earl Spencer as he eulogized his sister. As I discussed the video with my classes I was amazed at how my perception of the events had transformed over a decade.

For some reason I missed Princess Diana, I wanted her to still be around, I wanted her to make a difference. I wondered what cause she would be fighting for right now. I imagined what would have happened if she had spoken out against the War in Iraq – would the Brits have even gone if she said no? How much awareness could she raise for Global Warming? What about AIDS? She did a ton of work for AIDS victims in her lifetime, how much more work could she have done in a decade?

Fast forward a little bit more to last Friday, the 10 year mark. I sit alone at my dad’s place watching the news, and CBC does a special retrospective on Diana which I watch in amazement. I am amazed by all of Diana’s achievements but ultimately I become amazed at myself. I was in awe of what I was doing, something that I hadn’t done a decade before or 4 months previous when I was discussing it. I sat there and I cried.

Now I don’t know if I was crying for a life lost, or for two motherless children, or for a better world, or maybe I was crying because I was reminded of my own personal situation.

It doesn’t really matter why I cried, but the point is that I did cry, and after a decade of holding those thoughts in let me tell you, it felt good.

Until next time,

G

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Shock and Horror

Wednesday, June 27th, 2007

Tuesday morning there I was, sitting at the Rec. Hall at Camp Kodiak, when my friend Jeff gets a text message. He checks it out, says “Holy shit” and reads it out to me.

I felt like I was going to throw up. This was the first time that I heard about the Chris Benoit story.

I thought about what to put here. Do I decry a man I once adored? Do I try and defend a brutal murderer? Do I reflect on my own personal Benoit memories? Do I say nothing, since this story has already gotten enough attention?

Still as I sit here and type, I don’t know is going to come out.

When people ask me why I’m a wrestling fan, I usually tell them about March 2004, a large group of my friends and I gathered at Kory’s brother’s place to watch Wrestlemania XX. Triple H, the wrestler I hated the most at the time was stepping into the ring with his long-time rival, Shawn Michaels and our working class Canadian hero, Chris Benoit. I was convinced that Shawn Michaels had no right to be in the match and he was going to steal the win and the title from Benoit, something which the Canadian deserved. At the close of the match, Benoit had Triple H in his signature move, the Crippler Crossface. I stood up with some of my closest friends, and cheered. I yelled “Tap, you son of a bitch!”, expressing the feelings of not only everyone in the room, but many at Madison Square Garden and around the world at that exact moment. Finally, after intense drama, it happened.

I remember watching Joe Carter hit “The Home Run”. I remember watching Jarome Iginla add that assurance goal in the third period against the Americans. But this topped it. This was the one moment where I felt like a true fan. I had my shared expression, I had my triumph, I got to see the good guy win, and damnit, I couldn’t have been happier.

After the match was over, Benoit’s long-time friend Eddie Guerrero (who had successfully defended his Title earlier in the night) came down to the ring to give Chris a hug. The two embraced as streamers flew from the ceiling. As the broadcast went off the air, Benoit was joined in the ring by his wife and son.

After Eddie Guerrero tragically passed away from heart failure in 2005 that moment seemed surreal. Now it seems disturbing.

I am really torn about how I feel now when I think about that moment. We all have a tendency to revise our memory to fit with our current schema. Right now I am horrified by the actions of Chris Benoit, but a little over 48 hours ago, I considered him to be a hero of mine, someone I genuinely looked up to and respected.

We all have such a strange relationship with our media stars. We are usually able to forgive people if they are still able to entertain us. Don’t believe me? Well how many football fans cheered for Ray Lewis after he was charged with murder? How many of you out there still dance to “Ignition” or “Billy Jean” after their respective artists sexual endeavors? Maybe why this is so incredibly hard. There is no way for Benoit to redeem himself now, he is gone forever. Or maybe it’s just that murder is so incredibly reprehensible that it can’t be redeemed. But shouldn’t we say the same about pissing on an 11 year old?

I guess I have some deep thinking to do for the next little while. In the mean time though I will not throw away my Chris Benoit DVD, which I was so excited to receive as a gift one Christmas. But I’m not making any special plans to watch it.

Should any of you be interested in following this story, be sure to check out one of my most favourite sites on the internet, 411mania for all of the info, including this excellent retrospective on Chris Benoit’s wrestling career.

Until next time,

G

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The Death of a President

Thursday, June 21st, 2007

Last night, I sat down and finally watched The Death of a President. I had heard about this controversial film for months and was initially outraged at the thought of this film, but then gradually my disgust turned to curiosity, as it always does.

The trailer is intriguing, but does not give away a heck of a lot, but definitely peaked my interest. Take a look yourself…

After watching The Queen, I became a huge fan of the inter-mingling of drama with news archives to create a strong sense of realism. However, I was very curious as to how it would be done with a fictitious story as opposed to the retelling of true events, as was the case with The Queen. More than anything though, I was curious as to how the man would be portrayed. I am far from a Bush supporter in any way shape or form, but the last thing I would want to see would be for the man to get shot.

I don’t want to give away the film (although one spoiler: Bush gets shot), but it is filmed as a documentary of October 19, 2007 (don’t worry, you haven’t taken a long nap…the day hasn’t happened yet) and the assassination of President Bush in Chicago. It then deals with the aftermath of the investigation, including the introduction of “Patriot 3″ and the search for the assassin.

I fully expected this movie to take a strong anti-Bush stance, but two of the main characters interviewed were the Head of the Secret Service and President Bush’s speech writer. These two characters display a closeness and reverence for George W. Bush as both a man and a President. It is hard not to get caught up in their sadness, I found myself holding back a tear when Dick Cheney delivered a eulogy for George Bush.

Yeah you read that right, an uber-hippie liberal was sad at the though of one of the worst and most damaging Presidents ever getting removed from office early. Why you ask? Well the movie did a wonderful job at showing the repercussions of such an action. I realized that the Republican Government did an eerily wonderful job at removing civil liberties after 9/11 and spinning the national tragedy for it’s own good.

I couldn’t help but think just how far they would take the assassination of a President. I couldn’t help but think just how terrible the world would be if George Bush were to be made into a martyr. It was Jim Morrison who first said that death was a great career move, and what better move for the uber-right than to have one of their own cast into the pantheon of assassinated Presidents? You ask almost anyone out there who they think that the best President of all time is and I guarantee you that most of them would say Lincoln and/or Kennedy. The thought of having Bush mentioned in those same ranks is enough to bring anyone to tears.

Until next time,

G

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Revisiting the Crystal Ball

Friday, June 15th, 2007

Way back in January I made some very bold predictions for 2007. Well here we are (approximately) half way through the year and I figure that this is no better time for me to look back and see if I have been right or not

1. A Liberal Minority – Well I’m far less confident of this one than I was back in January. I mean sure, I still love Stephane Dion (we’re even friends on Facebook!!!), but I have a feeling that Harper has more evil attack ads up his sleeve, and unfortunately those things seem to work. It’s a shame really. On the possibility happening chart I’ll put this one at an even 5 out ot 10.

2. The Arcade Fire’s New Album Will Kick All Sorts of Ass – This was as easy as saying that the sun will rise or the sky will remain blue. Since I already wrote about how awesome this album is once before, I can rank this is a Perfect 12 out of 10 on the possibility chart.

3. Canada Will Win More Hockey Gold – I felt pretty brave calling our World Hockey Championship win, since we really haven’t had the best overseas record in the past decade or so, but yeah I was right again. I’m so awesome. Another Perfect 12!!!!

4. I Will Go To At Least Three New Countries – Now this depends a lot on your definition of a country. I went to China and Vietnam, so there is two for sure, but I also went to Hong Kong and Macau, which are TECHNICALLY part of China, but have their own currency, customs, and visa regulations, so they are really more autonomous (and unique) than Scotland or Wales are, so I’m counting it. The Glen country count sits at 14 at the moment…man, I’ve got to travel some more.

5. “Here We Go Again” by OK Go Will Remain the Coolest Music Video I Have Ever Seen – Really, come on…

Although the use of moving walkways have snuck into other great videos, including this masterpiece by Leslie Feist…

Yeah I’m awesome, and so right again…

6. I Will Retire from Kodiak – I’m still convinced on this one, not sure how ready I am for it. But I still see it happening, I may come out of retirement in a few years, but this remains a must for now at least. I’ll give it a 9 our of 10 on the possibility chart, just in case…

7. The US will not leave Iraq, but Canada will leave Afghanistan – Well they have set times lines into the future, so I think that I am going to strike myself out on the second part of this prediction. Rightly or wrongly, we’re in Afghanistan for a while now…I’ll give this one a 2 out of 10 chance of happening, just in case…

8. This Blog Will Hit 200 Posts – Yeah, I have posted a hell of a lot less since school ended, but this is post #120, don’t’ doubt that it will happen by December…It will have a 7 out of 10 chance of happening, I’m leaving a 30% chance that I could get hit by a bus, suffer from small pox, and/or choke on a carrot.

9. Some New Indie Band Will Blow My Mind – Well I’m going to count LCD Soundsystem in this category, because, well it’s my blog damnit and I like to be right. Don’t believe me that they are right? Well then watch this awesome video!!!

Score, and being right again!!!!

10. I Will Not Eat Meat – Still on the vegan side of things. I hate to say it, but I ate a few eggs while in China, it was damn near impossible to avoid with the linguistic and cultural barriers, but I avoided the flesh while in the Orient, which is a lot easier said than done!!! I’ll give this one a 9.99999999999999999999999… out of 10 chance of happening, just in case some jerkish friend of mine shoves chicken down my throat in my sleep.

11. Samoa Joe Will Win the NWA World Title – My wrestling geekdom comes out again!! I will technically be wrong on this one since TNA changed their World title from NWA to TNA in name, but I still think that Joe will get the top prize soon enough. Possibly this Sunday, or if not then than in the fall. A solid 8.5 out of 10 chance of happening.

12. The Temperature Will Only Get Higher – Another easy right…don’t agree with this one? Then open your f’n window!!!!

13. I Will Have a Great Year – Man, I made a lot of easy predictions!!! Thus far this year has been great for me for a ton of personal and professional reasons. Don’t know why? Well click through the archive of the posts or just ask me and I’m sure I can tell you why…

Well there you have it, looks like I’m mostly right. I’ve been near perfect on my self-absorbed personal predictions, and done fairly well on the other ones I dare say. I’ll check these again in December to see how right I ended up being.

Until next time,

G

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Thoughts, Prayers and Condolences

Thursday, April 19th, 2007

Even on the far side of the world, the news still came. Even on the far side of the world, it still shocked me.

I am of course talking about the Virginia Tech. Shootings of earlier this week. I honestly don’t know what to say about this but I feel that I should say something.

First off, I need to say I’m sorry. If any of you out there in Cyber Space know anyone who was at all affected by these tragedy my heart goes out to you. I am sorry that there is not more that I can do right now other than give these hollow condolences.

The news filled me with a mixture of shock, anger, sadness, frustration, terror, and most of all confusion. How can things like this keep happening? Especially in the richest country in the world.

I was in Grade 11 back in 1998 when the Columbine Shootings happened and I was scared. Here there was violence in a High School just like mine. Now here I am at the tail end of my University career and here we have a shooting at a Post Secondary Institution. It scares me to think that this type of thing seems to be following me wherever I go. But what scares me the most is that it could have just as easily happened to me.

Sure you may say that I live in Canada and not America so these things don’t happen to us. Well the people of Taber, Alberta or Montreal, Quebec would beg to differ.

I just don’t get it. We North Americans have some of the highest quality of life in the world and we are so quick to throw it all away. Sure this guy was from South Korea, but the vast majority of earlier school shootings were done by people born and bred in our very own backyard.

Why does this always seem to happen?

Why are always so quick to provide grief but so quick to move on and forget?

Why can we never accept some of the blame ourselves?

What’s that last part? Well all of these school shootings from the Montreal Massacres to Columbine to the tragedy at the Amish School back in October to this week all of something in common. They all happened in North America. These things do not happen to often elsewhere in the world, sure there is the occasional Dunblane Tragedy but those are few and far between. The one commonality here is North American culture, which we are all a part of. There is something about us, which I really don’t know, that makes this happen. Some blame the parents, some blame the media, some blame video games, it doesn’t matter what the cause is, we all buy and sell it all the time.

So you say that the killer may be from South Korea, but I say that every one of us somehow has blood on our hands. How can we wash it off? I really don’t know, but there has to be some way. If you find out please let me know.

Until next time,

G

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Four Years Without Answers

Monday, March 19th, 2007

Today marks a truly amazing anniversary.

I really don’t believe it has been that long.

I can’t believe that nothing has changed.

I can’t believe that today is the day that they invaded Iraq.

Forget September 11, 2001 for a moment, today is the day that our world changed. Today is the day that history will look back as the most important date in the beginning of the 21st Century. Today is the day that America ruined the chance to do something truly wonderful.

In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down, and the Soviet Union began it’s collapse and we were faced with a New World Order. For the first time in a long time (and perhaps ever) the world had only one true power, the United States.

Surely with the most violent conflict in the history of time only a few generations old a new era of peace would be ushered in with the United States at its helm right?

Well the opportunity was there, and it worked for a little while I suppose. The first president Bush was able to get a strong military coalition together for a justified war in Iraq. He had the allies, he had the means, he had an objective, and most importantly, he had justice and truth.

Then came Bill. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bill Clinton, I think that he was a really good president, however, he wasn’t what he needed to be. He wasn’t great. Instead of leading his allies against the Qaddafis and Bin Ladens of the world he focused on the economy. Now he did that well, as the US economy at this time was among the strongest economies the world has ever seen, but the American people became more and more decadent. There was a chance for foreign aid, there was a chance to help people and make the world a better place, but everyone just cared about themselves in the end.

Then the worst thing happened, hanging chads didn’t fall and the Supreme Court voted a new president in. That’s right we got G-Dub. Can you hear the ominous music play?

But even he had his opportunities to do the right thing. After September 11 he set out to get those responsible and he actually did it. For a while. A strong international coalition was formed and Afghanistan was invaded, they were out to get Bin Laden and anyone standing in his way. But then something funny happened.

In the 2002 State of the Union Address, President Bush labelled Iraq, Iran and North Korea ads”The Axis of Evil” and said that something needed to be done about them before it was too late. The worst part about all of this? People bought it.

I remember watching CNN on September 11 and they were trying to report on who was responsible for the attacks. Bin Laden’s name kept coming up time and time again but whenever they said it was him they kept saying “Don’t rule out Saddam Hussein”. I was blown away, Hussein had no track record of attacking Americans outside of Iraq, why would he bother now? Where the seeds of Iraq being planted all the way back then?

Support for the War was high in America, really high. Poll after poll showed that the American public was in favour of taking out Hussein “before it was too late”, and the politicians followed suit. As much as I would love to blame the Republicans there is no way that one can just look at them. Many Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, supported the war.

Here’s where I would like to interject even more editorial comments. The United Nations has some very specific rules about attacking other countries. You are only legally allowed to invade if you have been attacked first or in defense of one of your allies who have been attacked. preemptive strikes are not listed anywhere now are they? Sure UN Rules and Regulations have served mostly as guidelines but if there is one nation that needs to follow them it is the United States. Why you ask? Well as the one and only superpower they need to set an example for the other nations.

I hate to compare the two, but when I was an RA or SRA back at Acadia I would often look the other way when people were breaking some tiny rules, because I felt that they were just guidelines and I needed to be flexible. But at no point would I ever break even the tinniest of infractions. I felt that as the enforcer of the rules and leader (in this respect) I needed to set the example. I knew that nobody was going to get me in trouble, but I knew full well that it would not be fair for me to enforce rules while ignoring them myself. At this time the US NEEDED to follow United Nations Protocol more than any other country. How could they stop India from unilaterally invading Pakistan, or China for reclaiming Taiwan?

But alas, they went in anyway and here we are. The US is stuck in far deeper that they thought. WMD’s still haven’t been found and have largely been forgotten about. The public has lost interest in the affairs of Iraqi people, and worst of all, the whole world is pissed at the US. They ignored many of the worlds other powers (Remember when Rumsfeld labelled France, Germany and others as “Old Europe”?) which alienates them even more.

In short, the US never should have crossed those fences four years ago. Economic sanctions and negotiations were the way to go. Sure they would have been tough, but a solid front from the United States, the EU, Japan and possibly China and Russia could have gone a long way. Instead the US has divided its allies and united its enemies. Iraq is a more dangerous place now than it was under Saddam, especially since many of the Shi’ite insurgents are under support from Iran. Al Qaeda was not in Iraq before but it is now. China is growing even faster as a super power with every US solider killed, and where there was once great promise there is now bleak possibilities.

Before I sign off, I found this little video on YouTube. It is a pretty moving video of pictures from Iraq, before the war. I fear that it will take a long time before it is ever that beautiful again.

Until next time,

G

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Examining Time’s Crystal Ball

Wednesday, March 14th, 2007

In the most recent issue of Time Magazine they have a very interesting special feature called “What’s Next?” in which they make several predictions for the coming year or so. Now, as no stranger to making bold predictions, I thought it would be worth to look at a couple of them here and now.

Hope on the Horizon? – They state that the 13th annual U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for this December in Indonesia, could provide more results than the first 12 combined. Why you ask? Well it’s not just hippie-esque optimism here. After the International Panel on Climate Change has FINALLY equated Climate Change with human actions, the deniers seem to be running out steam. Also, in February, the G-8 Nations, along with some of their developing counterparts, agreed that carbon emissions need to be significantly cut. Of course, it does take politicians longer than toddlers to reach obvious conclusions, but Time seems to hope that some change is looming and an international carbon market could be happening.

Well as a hippie optimist, I like to believe this one. But I can’t help but wonder, is it enough? I hate to say it, but a carbon market is probably not enough. A massive environmental and economic overhaul is needed. This kind of thing is far too important to be left to politicians I dare say. I hope some more daring, wealthy private citizens follow the lead of Al Gore and start to do something about this really important problem that we are faced with.

On the Other Hand… – They have some rather bleak thoughts on the two most cheery places in the world, Iraq and Darfur. Now that’s nothing all that special, not really hard for anyone to see either of those glasses to be half empty, but I still find their information and outlook to be very interesting.

In Iraq, they state the one thing that is obvious to anyone not in the US Government. Iraq is deeply divided and it is only getting worse. The Kurds are carving out their own territory in the North, which is where the majority of oil just so happens to be. On the other hand the Shi’ites and the Sunnis are busy battling all over the place, something that the writers at Time see turning into a brutal ethnic cleansing of the Sunnis in the near future.

While the thoughts of ethnic cleansing and the Shi’ites assuming control (the sect that is affiliated with Iran of course) is not scary enough, the Time writers failed to mention one point. If the Kurds gain more and more autonomy there is an interesting question about the Kurdish minorities in neighbouring Syria and Turkey. Would they be interested in joining a potentially independent Kurdistan? (Hmmm…the good people at Microsoft recognize Kurdistan as a word, how interesting.)

Good thing that the US came in to bring peace and stability to the region eh?

Speaking of ethnic cleansing, there is talk about Darfur. Not to be outdone by the corrupt nature of the United States, China plays a huge role in this crisis. How you ask? Well China has oil reserves in Sudan and so they have been providing the Sudanese government with weapons to help them carry out their current atrocities. They have also blocked sanctions at the U.N. due to their veto power in the Security Council. Our Global politics are so efficient are they not?

It is hard to see the mess that is Darfur getting better anytime soon. I fully expect it to turn into a buzz word like Somalia, Rwanda, Myanmar, East Timor, The Congo and many, many others have become.

The Pyramids Get Company – Of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World named a stunning 22 centuries ago, the only one still standing are the Pyramids at Giza, with the others (The Colossus of Rhodes, The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, The Statue of Zeus, The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, The Temple of Artemis and The Lighthouse of Alexandria) having long since collapsed. However a Swiss man has set up The New7Wonders Foundation to name a new set of wonders of the world this year.

My picks you ask? Well the Pyramids deserve to stay without question, but I think that the Great Wall, the Colosseum, Stonhenge, the Acropolis, Angkor Wat, and Machu Picchu should make the exclusive list.

Hmmm…I have been to the location of the Colossus of Rhodes, I have been to Stonehenge and I will be going to the Great Wall this year. I think that I have some more traveling to do.

Buying the Immunity Idol – It should come as no surprise that Fidel Castro is in tough shape right now. At 80 year old it is pretty obvious that he won’t be around much longer. Some powers have shifted over to his younger brother Raul. However, there are some concerns that Raul does not have the same charisma and flair as his older brother. But, a few years ago they found a ton of oil of the Cuban coast, so they say that can buy anyone some charisma.

The discovery of oil reserves for Cuba is an interesting matter. Especially as the situation in Iraq worsens, the US will need to look for some more of the black stuff. I would not be surprised if a soon to be dead-Castro, a soon to be relocated Bush, and a soon to be flowing oil supply could lead to a warming of relations between the US and Cuba that has not existed since the Batista days.

“Drugs, drugs, drugs, which are good, which are bad?” – Joining Iraq and Darfur in the category of bad to worse is Afghanistan. With all of the bodies flying into my hometown of Trenton, it is hard to know it but Afghanistan is going through a period or relative peace at the moment. Time fully expects it to change soon as the weather warms up and the Taliban begins to mount some further offensives.

But the real scary news from that front is the poppy crops. Since the NATO offensive began, the poppy harvests have gone way up. The Afghani government has plans to fight the drugs, but it probably will not be enough. I was startled when I found out that 92% of the world’s base for heroin comes from Afghanistan. Yeah you read that right, 92%!!! Crazy eh? Do not be surprised to see a strong correlation between the situation in Afghanistan and the strength of heroin in the developed world. Makes you wonder why they are there doesn’t it?

Anywho, that is probably enough out of me on this issue. I should probably sign out on this one before I really start to get carried away and really start to get depressing.

Until next time,

G

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