The sore losers of the month award goes to Asociacion uruguaya de futbol. For a tiny country, Uruguay produces some pretty good soccer players, but class seems to be in short supply.
Following their penalty shootout loss in the Copa America semifinals, players from Uruguay's senior team tried to start a brawl with the Brazilians, who were naturally celebrating an important win.
One night later, Uruguay lost a second round match in extra time to the United States in the Under-20 World Cup. Again, the Uruguay players tried to start a brawl with the celebrating Americans... who play Austria in the quarterfinal.
I'm starting to see a trend.
Additionally, time wasting may not have been invented in the South American country, but Uruguayans seem to have perfected this form of cheating. After Uruguay took the lead with about 15 minutes left, any time a fan in the upper deck sneezed, a Uruguayan player collapsed to the ground in agony. Apparently no one sneezed when Uruguay fell behind in extra time.
Amazingly enough, Mexico did NOT try to start a brawl after being spanked by Argentina in the other Copa America semifinal. When Mexico loses to the USA (which is pretty much any match not in Mexico City), Mexican players pout off the field without the traditional handshake and jersey exchange. Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez praised Argentina as 'the superior team.' Though when the US has won 9 and drawn once in their last 12 vs El Tri (Spanish for 'whinea**'), it's been down to 'luck' every single time, according to the Mexicans. So kudos to Mexico for losing a match with a microgram of grace for the first time in recent memory.
Friday, July 13, 2007
'So help me God' doesn't mean what it used to
Soft-on-crime apologists for convicted felon Scooter Libby and for the president's amnesty for him have argued that Libby's lying under oath should've been excused. According to them, it was okay for Libby to lie under oath because the investigation into who leaked Valerie Plame's name was bogus and should never have taken place at all. This is a different position than what most of them held 10 years ago regarding a certain Democratic president.
I always thought that when you put your hand on the Bible and promised to 'tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help [you] God,' it was serious. But I guess the God-fearing types believe that telling the truth when you swear to God should be optional, depending on what party you belong to.
The thing I'm wondering though, how come I didn't hear any of them demanding clemency for New York Times' reporter Judith Miller? Libby lies under oath and he doesn't spend a day behind bars. Miller refuses to say a word and she's thrown in jail for months.
I guess for some folks, 'so help me God' doesn't mean what it used to.
I always thought that when you put your hand on the Bible and promised to 'tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help [you] God,' it was serious. But I guess the God-fearing types believe that telling the truth when you swear to God should be optional, depending on what party you belong to.
The thing I'm wondering though, how come I didn't hear any of them demanding clemency for New York Times' reporter Judith Miller? Libby lies under oath and he doesn't spend a day behind bars. Miller refuses to say a word and she's thrown in jail for months.
I guess for some folks, 'so help me God' doesn't mean what it used to.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Favorite quotes
"It is always easier to fight for one’s principles than to live up to them." -Alfred Adler
"Anyone can handle adversity. If you really want to test someone's character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln
"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living." - Gen. Omar Bradley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and a cross." -Sinclair Lewis
"You know what's worse than a soldier dying in vain? More soldiers dying in vain. -Former Sen. Mike Gravel
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." -Malcolm X
"At times it feels as if American politics consists largely of candidates without ideas hiring consultants without convictions to stage campaigns without content. Increasingly the result is elections without voters." –Gerald Ford
"What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor. For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not." -Martin Luther
"Nothing good ever comes of violence." -Martin Luther
"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." - George Washington
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official..." -Theodore Roosevelt
"The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all." -Tacitus
"Peace is constructed, not fought for." -Brent Davis
"Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded." -James Madison
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." -George Orwell (the American equivalent of a nationalist is called a patriot).
"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" -Gandhi
“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” -Hermann Goering, Hitler's second-in-command.
"Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery. " -Albert Camus
"Sports may build character, but more often, it reveals it." -Ken Dryden
"Power tends to confuse itself with virtue and a great nation is peculiarly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God's favor, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations -- to make them richer and happier and wiser, to remake them, that is, in its own shining image. Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence." -Sen. J. William Fulbright, from The Arrogance of Power.
"There are a lot of people out there who'd rather fight fire with fire than fight fire with water. Doesn't make sense to me." --Simon St. Laurent
"The only people I fear are those who never have doubts." --Billy Joel
"A spirit of moderation in a state of overbearing power is a phenomenon which has not yet appeared, and which no wise man will expect ever to see." --Alexander Hamilton.
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist." --Brazilian Archbishop Helder Camara.
"I can train a monkey to wave an American flag. That does not make the monkey patriotic." --Scott Ritter.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -George Orwell
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." -Voltaire
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
"Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable." -John F. Kennedy
"The worst barbarity of war is that it forces men collectively to commit acts against which individually they would revolt with their whole being." -Ellen Key
"Anyone can handle adversity. If you really want to test someone's character, give him power." -Abraham Lincoln
"Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war than we know about peace, more about killing than we know about living." - Gen. Omar Bradley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in a flag and a cross." -Sinclair Lewis
"You know what's worse than a soldier dying in vain? More soldiers dying in vain. -Former Sen. Mike Gravel
"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything." -Malcolm X
"At times it feels as if American politics consists largely of candidates without ideas hiring consultants without convictions to stage campaigns without content. Increasingly the result is elections without voters." –Gerald Ford
"What is it to serve God and to do His will? Nothing else than to show mercy to our neighbor. For it is our neighbor who needs our service; God in heaven needs it not." -Martin Luther
"Nothing good ever comes of violence." -Martin Luther
"Guard against the impostures of pretended patriotism." - George Washington
"Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official..." -Theodore Roosevelt
"The worst crimes were dared by a few, willed by more and tolerated by all." -Tacitus
"Peace is constructed, not fought for." -Brent Davis
"Of all the enemies of true liberty, war is, perhaps, the most to be dreaded." -James Madison
"The nationalist not only does not disapprove of atrocities committed by his own side, he has a remarkable capacity for not even hearing about them." -George Orwell (the American equivalent of a nationalist is called a patriot).
"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?" -Gandhi
“Of course the people don’t want war. But after all, it’s the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it’s always a simple matter to drag the people along whether it’s a democracy, a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism, and exposing the country to greater danger.” -Hermann Goering, Hitler's second-in-command.
"Those who weep for the happy periods which they encounter in history acknowledge what they want; not the alleviation but the silencing of misery. " -Albert Camus
"Sports may build character, but more often, it reveals it." -Ken Dryden
"Power tends to confuse itself with virtue and a great nation is peculiarly susceptible to the idea that its power is a sign of God's favor, conferring upon it a special responsibility for other nations -- to make them richer and happier and wiser, to remake them, that is, in its own shining image. Power confuses itself with virtue and tends also to take itself for omnipotence." -Sen. J. William Fulbright, from The Arrogance of Power.
"There are a lot of people out there who'd rather fight fire with fire than fight fire with water. Doesn't make sense to me." --Simon St. Laurent
"The only people I fear are those who never have doubts." --Billy Joel
"A spirit of moderation in a state of overbearing power is a phenomenon which has not yet appeared, and which no wise man will expect ever to see." --Alexander Hamilton.
"When you give food to the poor, they call you a saint. When you ask why the poor have no food, they call you a communist." --Brazilian Archbishop Helder Camara.
"I can train a monkey to wave an American flag. That does not make the monkey patriotic." --Scott Ritter.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle
"During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes a revolutionary act." -George Orwell
"It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets." -Voltaire
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." -Voltaire
"Those who make peaceful change impossible make violent change inevitable." -John F. Kennedy
"The worst barbarity of war is that it forces men collectively to commit acts against which individually they would revolt with their whole being." -Ellen Key
On non-violence
Normally, I post in these blogs my own thoughts. But today, I felt like publishing some of my favorite quotes. After how long this intro ended up, I decided to post the quotes separately.
Given the wars which the my government has chosen to fight at this moment in my name, it's not surprising that most of these quotes have to do with the folly of violence. I do not object to our military being used for the purpose of national self-defense. I just recognize that this is almost never it is deployed.
I've written before about those who initiate violence almost inevitably do so because they let ego get in the way of good judgement.
I'm repeatedly told that my generalized belief in non-violence as the best way to solve problems is naive. I believe the opposite is true.
As I wrote then: Look at all the damage and destruction and trauma that violence has caused over the millenia. And remember, I'm not just talking about militaristic violence, but physical and verbal violence as well. Societies and families torn apart. Progress stopped in its tracks. Millions of lives lost. Many times more lives ruined.
For anyone to believe that violence is a long-term solution to any problem given its miserable failure of a history, that's about the most naive thing anyone can possibly believe in.
When I was younger, I was a bit more casual about war. This is not to say I thought it was great. But I was a bit casual about the whole thing. The generally accepted framework in this country is to be casual about advocating military force against another country.
My 'Eureka' moment was really a period: the two years I spent in Guinea, West Africa. Guinea bordered two countries that were at war at the time: Liberia and Sierra Leone. There were over half a million refugees from those two countries living in Guinea. I became acquainted with several of them.
The wars in those countries were originally started for the purpose of overthrowing the corrupt military dictatorship in Sierra Leone and the fanatical Samuel Doe dictatorship in Liberia. But every single refugee I knew would gladly have returned to the days of the order of the strong man rather than the continuing nightmare that plagued their countries. I knew that Samuel Doe was a lunatic so to hear people saying they preferred him to the present of 1996 was an eye opening experience. But I suppose that even the corrupt military dictatorship in Sierra Leone didn't chop people's arms and hands off like the 'liberation' movement did.
Few Americans have experienced war and even fewer have experienced it as a civilian. But the simple human reality is this. The tyranny of chaos is worse that tyranny of authoritarianism. This is the law of unintended consequences that always applies to war, as the planners of the Iraq debacle are finding out.
My visit to a refugee camp was one of the most profound experiences of my life. The misery found at camps like that, not a shining democratic city on a hill or two bits of paper with a meaningless constitution on it, is the true face of war. The true face of war is hunger, suffering and despair. And the worst victims are not men with guns but unarmed women and children.
And this is where I truly learned that violence should only ever be used as an absolute last resort. Many people say this but few mean it. Violence should never be used because we get a little impatient or because someone said our president's mama wears combat boots or because we get our national nose out of joint or because the military-industrial complex needs a new enemy of the week or because the UN secretary-general won't carry our water or because weapons inspectors tell the truth instead of what we want to hear.
And most importantly, we should never, EVER impose the tyranny of chaos on innocent people who don't ask for it. We DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT!
Violence doesn't end problems. It just creates new ones.
How to help:
If people want to support the troops, they can do so by getting them out of unnecessary harm's way. I think we should focus our efforts on helping those who we put in harm's way without the benefit of guns, flack jackets, tanks and backup. The casualties of war who don't have the American military-industrial complex behind them. The victims of war who never chose to be a part of it.
-The UN refugee agency
-The International Rescue Committee
-The American Refugee Committee
-The Red Cross
-Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Given the wars which the my government has chosen to fight at this moment in my name, it's not surprising that most of these quotes have to do with the folly of violence. I do not object to our military being used for the purpose of national self-defense. I just recognize that this is almost never it is deployed.
I've written before about those who initiate violence almost inevitably do so because they let ego get in the way of good judgement.
I'm repeatedly told that my generalized belief in non-violence as the best way to solve problems is naive. I believe the opposite is true.
As I wrote then: Look at all the damage and destruction and trauma that violence has caused over the millenia. And remember, I'm not just talking about militaristic violence, but physical and verbal violence as well. Societies and families torn apart. Progress stopped in its tracks. Millions of lives lost. Many times more lives ruined.
For anyone to believe that violence is a long-term solution to any problem given its miserable failure of a history, that's about the most naive thing anyone can possibly believe in.
When I was younger, I was a bit more casual about war. This is not to say I thought it was great. But I was a bit casual about the whole thing. The generally accepted framework in this country is to be casual about advocating military force against another country.
My 'Eureka' moment was really a period: the two years I spent in Guinea, West Africa. Guinea bordered two countries that were at war at the time: Liberia and Sierra Leone. There were over half a million refugees from those two countries living in Guinea. I became acquainted with several of them.
The wars in those countries were originally started for the purpose of overthrowing the corrupt military dictatorship in Sierra Leone and the fanatical Samuel Doe dictatorship in Liberia. But every single refugee I knew would gladly have returned to the days of the order of the strong man rather than the continuing nightmare that plagued their countries. I knew that Samuel Doe was a lunatic so to hear people saying they preferred him to the present of 1996 was an eye opening experience. But I suppose that even the corrupt military dictatorship in Sierra Leone didn't chop people's arms and hands off like the 'liberation' movement did.
Few Americans have experienced war and even fewer have experienced it as a civilian. But the simple human reality is this. The tyranny of chaos is worse that tyranny of authoritarianism. This is the law of unintended consequences that always applies to war, as the planners of the Iraq debacle are finding out.
My visit to a refugee camp was one of the most profound experiences of my life. The misery found at camps like that, not a shining democratic city on a hill or two bits of paper with a meaningless constitution on it, is the true face of war. The true face of war is hunger, suffering and despair. And the worst victims are not men with guns but unarmed women and children.
And this is where I truly learned that violence should only ever be used as an absolute last resort. Many people say this but few mean it. Violence should never be used because we get a little impatient or because someone said our president's mama wears combat boots or because we get our national nose out of joint or because the military-industrial complex needs a new enemy of the week or because the UN secretary-general won't carry our water or because weapons inspectors tell the truth instead of what we want to hear.
And most importantly, we should never, EVER impose the tyranny of chaos on innocent people who don't ask for it. We DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT!
Violence doesn't end problems. It just creates new ones.
How to help:
If people want to support the troops, they can do so by getting them out of unnecessary harm's way. I think we should focus our efforts on helping those who we put in harm's way without the benefit of guns, flack jackets, tanks and backup. The casualties of war who don't have the American military-industrial complex behind them. The victims of war who never chose to be a part of it.
-The UN refugee agency
-The International Rescue Committee
-The American Refugee Committee
-The Red Cross
-Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Do YOU feel safer with this guy in charge?
In an interview with The Chicago Tribune, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said that he felt the country was increasingly unsafe.
And what, pray tell, was behind this sentiment. Good intelligence? No way. That's soooo 20th century. Nowadays, cabinet secretaries make comments like this based on that most modern of techniques: gut feeling.
Specifically, Chertoff said: We've struck at them and degraded them, but they rebuild. All these things have given me kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of increased vulnerability.
Despite the probably illegal domestic spying program, shredding of habeas corpus, interrogation of kidnapees at Guantanamo Bay and an unprecedented consolidation of power in the hands of the administration, the man at the top of the so-called national security state can offer us no better than his 'gut feeling.'
But we live in a society where gut feelings and emotions now trump reason and fact. So why should Homeland Insecurity be any different?
Tip of the cap to Scoop over at The Observer blog for noting this.
And what, pray tell, was behind this sentiment. Good intelligence? No way. That's soooo 20th century. Nowadays, cabinet secretaries make comments like this based on that most modern of techniques: gut feeling.
Specifically, Chertoff said: We've struck at them and degraded them, but they rebuild. All these things have given me kind of a gut feeling that we are in a period of increased vulnerability.
Despite the probably illegal domestic spying program, shredding of habeas corpus, interrogation of kidnapees at Guantanamo Bay and an unprecedented consolidation of power in the hands of the administration, the man at the top of the so-called national security state can offer us no better than his 'gut feeling.'
But we live in a society where gut feelings and emotions now trump reason and fact. So why should Homeland Insecurity be any different?
Tip of the cap to Scoop over at The Observer blog for noting this.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Pardon me?
A few days ago, Post-Star managing editor Ken Tingley published a screed berating people for not being more upset about President Bush's commutation for his chum Scooter Libby. I don't know what things are like in Tingley's ivory tower, but most people I know were pretty well angered by Bush's amnesty for a convicted felon.
Granted, the outrage might not be as vocal as one might expect. I think it's muted because there is so much corruption in this administration, that Libby's clemency seems par for the course. But it doesn't mean that people don't care.
Tingley is right when he says: We shrug our shoulders -- yet again -- and say that's how the system works. Everyone is cheating and lying and that's the way it always will be. Republicans are no better than Democrats and Democrats are no better than Republicans.
It begs the question: when will the media elite decide to give fair coverage to Greens, Libertarians and other smaller parties who might offer an antidote to this business as usual?
If Republicans are no better than Democrats and vice versa, when will news outlets start giving serious coverage to other parties' candidates? When will Tingley's news outlet do so?
One of the reasons why the outrage is muted is because many people feel hopeless. They don't believe there are any other choices. In fact, there are alternatives. The media is just ignoring them. But I guess it's easier for Tingley to rant about everyone else rather than looking in the mirror.
Granted, the outrage might not be as vocal as one might expect. I think it's muted because there is so much corruption in this administration, that Libby's clemency seems par for the course. But it doesn't mean that people don't care.
Tingley is right when he says: We shrug our shoulders -- yet again -- and say that's how the system works. Everyone is cheating and lying and that's the way it always will be. Republicans are no better than Democrats and Democrats are no better than Republicans.
It begs the question: when will the media elite decide to give fair coverage to Greens, Libertarians and other smaller parties who might offer an antidote to this business as usual?
If Republicans are no better than Democrats and vice versa, when will news outlets start giving serious coverage to other parties' candidates? When will Tingley's news outlet do so?
One of the reasons why the outrage is muted is because many people feel hopeless. They don't believe there are any other choices. In fact, there are alternatives. The media is just ignoring them. But I guess it's easier for Tingley to rant about everyone else rather than looking in the mirror.
Monday, July 09, 2007
Public service announcement
I read in the paper earlier today that a guy I went to high school with was found dead in the woods.
I didn't know him well in high school, but he was friendly to me. My parents know his. It still feels weird. I'm too young (33) to be used to the sight of people I went to high school with making the obituaries.
If you feel depressed or suicidal, please get help!
I didn't know him well in high school, but he was friendly to me. My parents know his. It still feels weird. I'm too young (33) to be used to the sight of people I went to high school with making the obituaries.
If you feel depressed or suicidal, please get help!
Watch out ZZ Top!
Ok, so who put Tipper Gore in charge of British airport security?
James Hetfield, frontman of the heavy metal group Metallica, was detained at a London airport a few days ago.
Friends blame Hetfield's 'Taliban-like beard' for the incident.
Metallica has sucked for over a decade, so I suppose you can't blame British officials for putting their limited resources to protect their citizens from this menace.
James Hetfield, frontman of the heavy metal group Metallica, was detained at a London airport a few days ago.
Friends blame Hetfield's 'Taliban-like beard' for the incident.
Metallica has sucked for over a decade, so I suppose you can't blame British officials for putting their limited resources to protect their citizens from this menace.
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