In working with young people, we often have these periods in time where the opportunity to present an important life lesson presents itself. We always have a choice in this moment, do we ignore it or take the time, and effort to try and pass an important lesson on to someone else.
This weekend was homecoming for the school that I work at. As a result, there were a ton of activities to build school spirit and foster some community development (and to get some more donations). There was a new event this year that I volunteered for/got suckered into, the Car Rally. A group of parents came to the school Saturday morning and then drove around some of the back roads, made a few stops, showed off their cars and had some good bonding time.
Working at a private school, most of the kids come from affluent backgrounds, so as you could imagine the cars were pretty spectacular. There were a few Ferrarris, a couple of Lambhorghinis, a Corvette or two, a hand full of BMWs, a few custom made kit cars, and even a Rolls Royce. While I sat in awe of cars that I could never afford, I was given the task of driving one of the school's vans with two students who were going to be photographers for the event.
So me in the mini-van go and join a convoy of muscle cars and we head up out of the city and into some great back country roads that I didn't even know existed. The weather was great to have the windows down, crank the music up, and blast along the country roads.
I find myself lagging behind the main group, so I step on the gas a little bit harder. Apparently they didn't design Caravans to keep pace with Ferraris, who knew? I approach this beautiful corner going down a gentle hill, it looks like it was designed for racing around.
Apparently, I'm not the only one who thinks this, as there is a police officer waiting for me at the bottom who flags me over. I curse under my breath, and my heart begins to race. As the officer walks towards me I have two conflicting thoughts run through my head.
Earlier in the year I was busted for speeding, and I was able to play the "poor student" card and I had my fine severely reduced. I wonder if I can play the "poor teacher" doing my job card, and get this fine knocked down as well.
The officer was getting closer and closer.
On the other hand though, there are two students in the van with me. I find that one of the biggest challenges when dealing with young people is getting them to take responsibility for their actions. So many people, of any age, are quick to blame others when they do something wrong. I realize that I am sitting on one of those Teachable Moments.
The officer was getting closer and closer.
Here I am faced with a crisis, do I take a more expensive fine and potential point deduction on my licence to do the right thing, and teach these two students a valuable life lesson.
I roll down my window and say "Hello officer".
I listen to everything that the Police Officer says about going too fast, and I state that I didn't know that it was a 50 km/h zone, which I honestly did not, and I take my ticket for $111....yuck.
As I sit and speak to the Police Officer, a number of other cars on the rally drive past me looking right at me. They sure were not going 50.
After we leave, the students make two observations 1) The guy was a complete ass and 2) Everyone else got by going about the same speed. Both points were pretty accurate to say the least.
I take this as a further teachable moment and say that it doesn't matter what kind of guy he was or what anyone else was doing, it doesn't change the fact that I was wrong and got caught. While I'm gritting my teeth and agreeing with them at the most superficial of levels, deep down inside I know that I was wrong and I got caught, so I had to do the responsible thing and accept the consequences of my actions.
I was also pretty worried that I would get in trouble for speeding with students. However, those fears were alleviated when I arrived at the first check point and one of the school's Headmasters comes up to me, puts his arm around me and starts to laugh at me....I even take the opportunity to tell him that I turned it into a teachable moment. I'm officially in the clear.
In looking back, I remember a time when I was maybe 12 or 13 and my mother got busted for speeding with my sister and I in the car right around Christmas. She could have easily played the "Single Mother at Christmas" card and got away with a stern talking to, but she later told me that she decided to accept it full on in order to teach us a lesson about responsibility...apparently it worked.
I got to spend the morning and volunteer my time and teach an important lesson to some young people and it only cost me $111...ahh well, it's cheaper than Teacher's College.
Until next time,
G
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Friday, September 28, 2007
This Month in Fantasy Hockey - September
Just this year, my camp friends and I, started our very own Fantasy Hockey Pool and we just completed our draft today. So to celebrate that I will be offering my thoughts on my pool and maybe some other suggestions for any would be fantasy hockey players out there.
To start with there are 11 people in our pool and everyone was given 3 each of Centres, Left Wingers, Right Wingers, and Goaltenders, with 4 Defensemen, 2 Forwards (of any positions) and 3 Bench players. It was an auto draft, so we had to rank all of the players and the league randomly decided the draft order and it just drafted the highest ranked player left.
Anyway, through the random selection I ended up with the last (11th) pick. Fortunately for me the rounds followed a reverse order, giving me the first pick of the 2nd round, then the last pick of the 3rd round and so on. Through the magic of the random draft here is who I ended up with. The first number is the round they were chosen in and the number in brackets is their overall rank in the draft...
The G-Unit
1. (11) Jaromir Jagr - RW
2. (12) Vincent Lecavalier - C
3. (33) Evgeni Nabokov - G
4. (34) Olli Jokinen - C
5. (55) Eric Staal - C
6. (56) Brian Rafalski - D
7. (77) Scott Gomez - C
8. (78) Mathieu Schneider - D
9. (99) Brian Campbell - D
10. (100) Wade Redden - D
11. (121) Peter Budaj - G
12. (122) Bill Guerin - RW
13. (143) Alexander Radulov - RW
14. (144) Mike Knuble - RW
15. (165) Tomas Holmstrom - LW
16. (166) Dustin Brown - LW
17. (187) Jason Chimera - LW
18. (188) Wade Dubielewicz - G
19. (209) Vaclav Prospal - C
20. (210) Nathan Horton - C
21. (231) Radim Vrbata - RW
Now I have never done an auto draft before, so I have some pretty mixed results on this one. First off, I am really happy with my top four picks. I don't know how Jagr was still available in the 11th spot, since I think he will have another monster year, with an even better forward cast, and Lecavalier is always a strong pick. I think that the Sharks are going to rack up the wins and Nabokov is probably the best goalie that is not named Luongo, Brodeur, or Kiprusoff to take (all where taken in the first round). Lastly Jokinen is a solid player to add points and penalty minutes, and hopefully he'll end up in the plus side of things.
After that, I'm really happy with my Defense, as I am certain that I have the best D-Men in my fantasy league. All of these guys should produce big points for me, especially Rafalski, who should be able to get a ton of points playing on Detroit this year.
Three of my picks stand out to me in particular, Scott Gomez, Peter Budaj and Vaclav Prospal. I am certain that all three of them should put up good numbers this year. Gomez will be among the league leaders in assists this year and should have a strong plus/minus playing for the offensive New York Rangers. Budaj really broke out last year and the Avalanche are going to be an even stronger team this year so he should have some pretty big numbers in the wins column. Lastly Prospal is one of those players who seems to alternate between good year and bad year, and well he had a bad year last year plus his contract is coming up so I think that he will be a solid point producer, especially playing for the offensive Lightning.
What I'm not happy with is how week my Left and Right Wingers are. I had a ton of players on those positions ranked high on my list but there were all taken first. Now if this had have been a live draft and I was so short on wingers I would have bumped one of them up even higher. Instead I'm stuck with some week Left Wingers, but I hope to be able to swing a trade to help that category out. So I guess that's my advice to any poolies out there, pay attention to your wingers. It's easy to keep drafting high scoring centres but you need wingers as well. If this had have been a live draft I never would have taken Staal at that spot, instead focusing on an available winger. Ahh well, live and learn I guess...
Anyway, my plan for this feature is to outline any changes I have made and pooling lessons I have learned to pass on to everyone. I hope you enjoy the ride, and until then, happy pooling.
Until next time,
G
To start with there are 11 people in our pool and everyone was given 3 each of Centres, Left Wingers, Right Wingers, and Goaltenders, with 4 Defensemen, 2 Forwards (of any positions) and 3 Bench players. It was an auto draft, so we had to rank all of the players and the league randomly decided the draft order and it just drafted the highest ranked player left.
Anyway, through the random selection I ended up with the last (11th) pick. Fortunately for me the rounds followed a reverse order, giving me the first pick of the 2nd round, then the last pick of the 3rd round and so on. Through the magic of the random draft here is who I ended up with. The first number is the round they were chosen in and the number in brackets is their overall rank in the draft...
The G-Unit
1. (11) Jaromir Jagr - RW
2. (12) Vincent Lecavalier - C
3. (33) Evgeni Nabokov - G
4. (34) Olli Jokinen - C
5. (55) Eric Staal - C
6. (56) Brian Rafalski - D
7. (77) Scott Gomez - C
8. (78) Mathieu Schneider - D
9. (99) Brian Campbell - D
10. (100) Wade Redden - D
11. (121) Peter Budaj - G
12. (122) Bill Guerin - RW
13. (143) Alexander Radulov - RW
14. (144) Mike Knuble - RW
15. (165) Tomas Holmstrom - LW
16. (166) Dustin Brown - LW
17. (187) Jason Chimera - LW
18. (188) Wade Dubielewicz - G
19. (209) Vaclav Prospal - C
20. (210) Nathan Horton - C
21. (231) Radim Vrbata - RW
Now I have never done an auto draft before, so I have some pretty mixed results on this one. First off, I am really happy with my top four picks. I don't know how Jagr was still available in the 11th spot, since I think he will have another monster year, with an even better forward cast, and Lecavalier is always a strong pick. I think that the Sharks are going to rack up the wins and Nabokov is probably the best goalie that is not named Luongo, Brodeur, or Kiprusoff to take (all where taken in the first round). Lastly Jokinen is a solid player to add points and penalty minutes, and hopefully he'll end up in the plus side of things.
After that, I'm really happy with my Defense, as I am certain that I have the best D-Men in my fantasy league. All of these guys should produce big points for me, especially Rafalski, who should be able to get a ton of points playing on Detroit this year.
Three of my picks stand out to me in particular, Scott Gomez, Peter Budaj and Vaclav Prospal. I am certain that all three of them should put up good numbers this year. Gomez will be among the league leaders in assists this year and should have a strong plus/minus playing for the offensive New York Rangers. Budaj really broke out last year and the Avalanche are going to be an even stronger team this year so he should have some pretty big numbers in the wins column. Lastly Prospal is one of those players who seems to alternate between good year and bad year, and well he had a bad year last year plus his contract is coming up so I think that he will be a solid point producer, especially playing for the offensive Lightning.
What I'm not happy with is how week my Left and Right Wingers are. I had a ton of players on those positions ranked high on my list but there were all taken first. Now if this had have been a live draft and I was so short on wingers I would have bumped one of them up even higher. Instead I'm stuck with some week Left Wingers, but I hope to be able to swing a trade to help that category out. So I guess that's my advice to any poolies out there, pay attention to your wingers. It's easy to keep drafting high scoring centres but you need wingers as well. If this had have been a live draft I never would have taken Staal at that spot, instead focusing on an available winger. Ahh well, live and learn I guess...
Anyway, my plan for this feature is to outline any changes I have made and pooling lessons I have learned to pass on to everyone. I hope you enjoy the ride, and until then, happy pooling.
Until next time,
G
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
It Ain't Easy Being Green - Take 2 - The Environment
How many of you intentionally throw your recyclables into the garbage?
How many of you leave your lights on all day and night?
How many of you drive an SUV?
Hopefully you all said no to those above questions. We are clearly in a difficult time when it comes to the environment. With rapidly rising temperatures and rapidly shrinking icecaps, there is simply no denying anymore that the world is getting warmer, and it would take a fool to think that it does not have something to do with the pollution we are producing.
This is why I hope that all of you have some concern for the environment and are making an effort to recycle, turn off your lights and choose fuel efficient methods of transportation. But what if I told you that what the vast majority of you are eating was doing worse things for our planet than any SUV or discarded pop can?
In a 2006 report, the UN concluded that livestock is doing more to accelerate global warming then all forms of transportation combined.
I'll give you a minute to chew on that...It doesn't matter if you decide to walk or drive a hybrid car to work, if you are eating a steak or drinking a glass of milk when you get home then you are completely undoing any of your environmental good will.
The report states:
When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure.
And it accounts for respectively 37 percent of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain.
-- "Livestock a Major Threat to Environment", November, 29, 2006
In addition to being a huge contributor to Global Warming, there are many other important environmental hazards associated with the livestock industry, and the vast majority of them are directly related to the waste produced by the livestock themselves.
There is little to no regulation in the United States for the treatment and disposal of animal feces and urine, large amounts of it end up in our rivers and streams. This has been wrecking havoc on the fish population of the world. In the Gulf of Mexico, there is a "Dead Zone", an area in which the vast majority of sea animals and plants have died. A 2006 study by Princeton concluded that run off from manure was a major contributor to this area, which is currently half the size of Maryland. Ohh and remember, if fish drink the contaminated water and you eat the contaminated fish (or eat something that has eaten that contaminated fish) then it will end up in your body, one way or another.
In places where there are regulations against polluting the water with animal manure, there is still a threat to people's air. Many farmers spray liquid manure into the air, which in turn gets inhaled...charming thought, I know. The California State Senate recently did a study on the issue and stated: “Studies have shown that [animal waste] lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause inflammatory, immune, irritation and neurochemical problems in humans.” If it is doing that to us, imagine what it is doing to the wildlife in the area or the environment all around us?
Additional polluters from the livestock industry come from the additional transportation and harvesting that needs to be done for the food of the livestock, but that will be the topic for the next edition of "It Ain't Easy Being Green", when I discuss wasted resources.
While I realize that you may not be directly harming the environment by eating meat, but every time you use your money to purchase some animal products you are financially supporting those who are damaging our environment. This makes you just as responsible.
So if you can't afford a hybrid car anytime soon, I am sure that you can all afford to buy a salad instead of a steak. Mother nature will thank you.
Until next time,
G
Take 1 - Pacifism
Take 2 - The Environment
Take 3 - Pesticides, and Poo, and Pus, Oh My!
Take 4 - Distribution of Resources
How many of you leave your lights on all day and night?
How many of you drive an SUV?
Hopefully you all said no to those above questions. We are clearly in a difficult time when it comes to the environment. With rapidly rising temperatures and rapidly shrinking icecaps, there is simply no denying anymore that the world is getting warmer, and it would take a fool to think that it does not have something to do with the pollution we are producing.
This is why I hope that all of you have some concern for the environment and are making an effort to recycle, turn off your lights and choose fuel efficient methods of transportation. But what if I told you that what the vast majority of you are eating was doing worse things for our planet than any SUV or discarded pop can?
In a 2006 report, the UN concluded that livestock is doing more to accelerate global warming then all forms of transportation combined.
I'll give you a minute to chew on that...It doesn't matter if you decide to walk or drive a hybrid car to work, if you are eating a steak or drinking a glass of milk when you get home then you are completely undoing any of your environmental good will.
The report states:
When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of this comes from manure.
And it accounts for respectively 37 percent of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain.
-- "Livestock a Major Threat to Environment", November, 29, 2006
In addition to being a huge contributor to Global Warming, there are many other important environmental hazards associated with the livestock industry, and the vast majority of them are directly related to the waste produced by the livestock themselves.
There is little to no regulation in the United States for the treatment and disposal of animal feces and urine, large amounts of it end up in our rivers and streams. This has been wrecking havoc on the fish population of the world. In the Gulf of Mexico, there is a "Dead Zone", an area in which the vast majority of sea animals and plants have died. A 2006 study by Princeton concluded that run off from manure was a major contributor to this area, which is currently half the size of Maryland. Ohh and remember, if fish drink the contaminated water and you eat the contaminated fish (or eat something that has eaten that contaminated fish) then it will end up in your body, one way or another.
In places where there are regulations against polluting the water with animal manure, there is still a threat to people's air. Many farmers spray liquid manure into the air, which in turn gets inhaled...charming thought, I know. The California State Senate recently did a study on the issue and stated: “Studies have shown that [animal waste] lagoons emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause inflammatory, immune, irritation and neurochemical problems in humans.” If it is doing that to us, imagine what it is doing to the wildlife in the area or the environment all around us?
Additional polluters from the livestock industry come from the additional transportation and harvesting that needs to be done for the food of the livestock, but that will be the topic for the next edition of "It Ain't Easy Being Green", when I discuss wasted resources.
While I realize that you may not be directly harming the environment by eating meat, but every time you use your money to purchase some animal products you are financially supporting those who are damaging our environment. This makes you just as responsible.
So if you can't afford a hybrid car anytime soon, I am sure that you can all afford to buy a salad instead of a steak. Mother nature will thank you.
Until next time,
G
Take 1 - Pacifism
Take 2 - The Environment
Take 3 - Pesticides, and Poo, and Pus, Oh My!
Take 4 - Distribution of Resources
Iranian Follow Up...
The other day I posted about Iran. I don't have a ton more to say here, I just wanted to post some videos of Ahmadinejad's speach in Columbia.
First off, we have the introductory speach made by the President of Columbia, certainly not the most welcoming remark....
Secondly, here is a brief excerpt of Ahmadienjad's speach, where he makes some pretty valid point about the US's record in the Middle East supporting both Hussein and the previous leader in Iran. Certainly some interesting food for thought...
Until next time,
G
First off, we have the introductory speach made by the President of Columbia, certainly not the most welcoming remark....
Secondly, here is a brief excerpt of Ahmadienjad's speach, where he makes some pretty valid point about the US's record in the Middle East supporting both Hussein and the previous leader in Iran. Certainly some interesting food for thought...
Until next time,
G
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Save_Us.222
Wrestling fans who turned into RAW last night saw this very interesting video...
Pretty cool eh? There has been a ton of speculation of late that this could have something to do with a possible return of my personal favourite wrestler, Mr. Chris Jericho. First off, these are oddly reminiscent of the old "Countdown to the Millennium" videos that aired before Jericho debuted in the WWF back in 1999.
Also, there are apparently some odd bits of code that are hidden in that video, including "7Oct" which is the date for No Mercy, the next PPV and "cd_volume4_1.act" which could be a reference to the fact that his old theme song was the first song on the 4th WWF: The Music CD.
There are a ton more potential clues available right here at 411mania.
Anyway, maybe it has nothing to do with Jericho and my hopes are up, I guess we shall see...
Until next time,
G
Pretty cool eh? There has been a ton of speculation of late that this could have something to do with a possible return of my personal favourite wrestler, Mr. Chris Jericho. First off, these are oddly reminiscent of the old "Countdown to the Millennium" videos that aired before Jericho debuted in the WWF back in 1999.
Also, there are apparently some odd bits of code that are hidden in that video, including "7Oct" which is the date for No Mercy, the next PPV and "cd_volume4_1.act" which could be a reference to the fact that his old theme song was the first song on the 4th WWF: The Music CD.
There are a ton more potential clues available right here at 411mania.
Anyway, maybe it has nothing to do with Jericho and my hopes are up, I guess we shall see...
Until next time,
G
European Bound
While the majority of NHL regular season games will be starting on October 3, it begins a few days early for two teams in an odd place. The first two games of the regular season will be played between the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in London, England.
This bold move on the NHL's part has led many to ask if this is the first step to expanding the league's reach and putting teams in Europe. Of course there are many logistical questions that arise, especially the prospect of a team playing in say, London travelling all the way to Vancouver for a regular season game.
Now if the league were to do this, first of all they would need to establish at least 6-8 teams in Europe to start with so that they could at least play a substantial amount of games against one another. Realistically this could only be done by moving at least 4 of those teams from North America so as to not drastically dilute the talent pool. While I would have no problem cheering for the Prague Predators, Cologne Coyotes, Paris Panthers, or London Lightning, I have a feeling that Bettman would have trouble admitting defeat and moving teams out of unsuccessful markets, since these floundering markets are all recent additions to the NHL and a point of pride for the Bettman legacy.
So there seems to be a bit of a point of tension between the desire to expand globally while not contracting locally, which in all reality are things that need to go hand and hand. Now is there a compromise out there? As a matter of fact, I have an idea which may work for everyone...
Have EVERY team play a handful of regular season games in Europe at one point or another every season. Have each division go to a designated country every year for 2 weeks or so and play a game or two against each other team in the division, you can even have some sort of trophy or prize for the team with the best record at the end of the little round robin to make the overseas fans feel like they are watching more than just some regular season games.
For example, you could have the Northeast division go to the UK every year and hell you could even attach each team to a city or two so you could have the Tottenham Maple Leafs, Arsenal Senators, Chelsea Canadiens, Manchester Sabers, and Liverpool Bruins. They play one or two games against one another (so each team is playing either 4 or 8 games in total) and if say the Arsenal Senators have the best record they get some little trophy or cash prize. Not only does this allow the NHL to showcase its game around the world, but it keeps it in a style similar to the man different Cup series that they have in European Football and it allows the different regions to start to develop bonds with their "local" teams, furthering their interest in the game. Lastly, it gives every team in the NHL a similar travel schedule, because it is hardly fair to ask the Anaheim Duck and Los Angeles Kings to fly all the way from London back to the West Coast of North America and start the rest of the regular season jet lagged. This way everyone is on the same page.
Of course the different divisions wouldn't all be going over at the same time, then there would be no games taking place in North America. They could stagger it over the course of the beginning of the regular season, say October to December, so then teams aren't severly jet lagged when it comes to the playoff push at the end of the regular season. Also they could try and keep sending teams to play in countries where their bigger stars are from (for example have the Southeast play in Russia so the Russian fans can watch Ovechkin), but I realize that would be difficult with player movement what it is these days.
Sure they would need to work out some logistics to it all, but I am confident that this idea could work if given enough time to develop, and it would really be a great compromise. Sure teams would loose four home games each, but I am certain that they could make up for it in the long run with the increased global awareness that playing so many games in Europe could bring them.
I'm sure it won't happen anytime soon, but if it does, remember, you heard it here first!!
Until next time,
G
This bold move on the NHL's part has led many to ask if this is the first step to expanding the league's reach and putting teams in Europe. Of course there are many logistical questions that arise, especially the prospect of a team playing in say, London travelling all the way to Vancouver for a regular season game.
Now if the league were to do this, first of all they would need to establish at least 6-8 teams in Europe to start with so that they could at least play a substantial amount of games against one another. Realistically this could only be done by moving at least 4 of those teams from North America so as to not drastically dilute the talent pool. While I would have no problem cheering for the Prague Predators, Cologne Coyotes, Paris Panthers, or London Lightning, I have a feeling that Bettman would have trouble admitting defeat and moving teams out of unsuccessful markets, since these floundering markets are all recent additions to the NHL and a point of pride for the Bettman legacy.
So there seems to be a bit of a point of tension between the desire to expand globally while not contracting locally, which in all reality are things that need to go hand and hand. Now is there a compromise out there? As a matter of fact, I have an idea which may work for everyone...
Have EVERY team play a handful of regular season games in Europe at one point or another every season. Have each division go to a designated country every year for 2 weeks or so and play a game or two against each other team in the division, you can even have some sort of trophy or prize for the team with the best record at the end of the little round robin to make the overseas fans feel like they are watching more than just some regular season games.
For example, you could have the Northeast division go to the UK every year and hell you could even attach each team to a city or two so you could have the Tottenham Maple Leafs, Arsenal Senators, Chelsea Canadiens, Manchester Sabers, and Liverpool Bruins. They play one or two games against one another (so each team is playing either 4 or 8 games in total) and if say the Arsenal Senators have the best record they get some little trophy or cash prize. Not only does this allow the NHL to showcase its game around the world, but it keeps it in a style similar to the man different Cup series that they have in European Football and it allows the different regions to start to develop bonds with their "local" teams, furthering their interest in the game. Lastly, it gives every team in the NHL a similar travel schedule, because it is hardly fair to ask the Anaheim Duck and Los Angeles Kings to fly all the way from London back to the West Coast of North America and start the rest of the regular season jet lagged. This way everyone is on the same page.
Of course the different divisions wouldn't all be going over at the same time, then there would be no games taking place in North America. They could stagger it over the course of the beginning of the regular season, say October to December, so then teams aren't severly jet lagged when it comes to the playoff push at the end of the regular season. Also they could try and keep sending teams to play in countries where their bigger stars are from (for example have the Southeast play in Russia so the Russian fans can watch Ovechkin), but I realize that would be difficult with player movement what it is these days.
Sure they would need to work out some logistics to it all, but I am confident that this idea could work if given enough time to develop, and it would really be a great compromise. Sure teams would loose four home games each, but I am certain that they could make up for it in the long run with the increased global awareness that playing so many games in Europe could bring them.
I'm sure it won't happen anytime soon, but if it does, remember, you heard it here first!!
Until next time,
G
Monday, September 24, 2007
War is Peace
Citing two unidentified sources, Newsweek said former Cheney Middle East adviser David Wurmser told a small group several months ago that Cheney was considering asking Israel to strike the Iranian nuclear site at Natanz.
A military response by Iran could give Washington an excuse to then
launch airstrikes of its own, Newsweek said.
-- Reuters, September 23, 2007Does that scare the crap out of anyone other then me? The same people who brought you a phony made up war in Iraq are looking to extend their forces even more and go right into another Middle Eastern country, only this time with potential nuclear consequences. Thankfully the Israeli government has yet to take up the Vice President on the offer.
I guess one should take solace in the fact that the leaders of the free world are able to learn from their mistakes, the last time that they tried a pre-emptive strike it did not work out according to plan so this time they need to retaliate. So congrats Cheney, you were able to live and learn. Hopefully you also learned how not to shoot someone in the face...hopefully....
The US and EU have been saying repeatedly that they want to try the diplomatic approach with Iran, although they have been doing a lot of sabre rattling recently. Including some tough talk from previous Dove-nation France, which shows that maybe Sarkozy-Royal may have been one of the most important elections of the 21st Century.
Now if diplomacy truly is the West's weapon of choice here, then I find it interesting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's upcoming visit to the United Nations is being met with such protest in the United States. He plans to speak at Columbia University, where the school's President plans to press him on issues such as Human Rights and Holocaust Denial, this opportunity for debate seems to be overshadowed by intense public backlash.
Also, he had planned to lay a wreath at Ground Zero in New York, but many politicians said that his visit would "violate sacred ground". I find it absolutely crazy that he would not be allowed to visit the site of the attacks, and politicians saying that he should not be allowed to go totally confuses the issue. Remember, just like Hussein, Ahmadinejad had nothing to do with the September 11th attacks. So wouldn't him laying a wreath at the site be a huge symbol for co-operation and understanding between two nations poised for war? Is that not what diplomacy is all about?
I am not trying to defend the man is very clearly a megalomaniac, has a horrible record on human rights and has spouted off some of the least informed opinions on the planet. For the record that sentence was about Ahmadinejad and not Bush, I'll forgive your confusion.
My point is that if people are going to preach diplomacy then please practice it. In searching for a compromise sometimes you have to be willing to give as well as take. That could mean giving someone an opportunity for open debate or a chance to try and heal some old wounds.
Either way it sure beats nuclear war, doesn't it?
Until next time,
G
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