A Long Time Coming
I have not written a substantial blog in quite some time and have accumulated a few things to rant about. So let's get right into it.
The World Cup:
The Adidas commercial is true. After years of civil war, the Ivory Coast set it's disputes aside in order to rally behind its team, which had qualified for the Cup for the first time. Oh, this seems silly, does it? Well, that is because we are in America and anything that we do not take interest in is either trivial or strange. As a matter of fact, it is the World Cup, not the Super Bowl or World Series that is the most popular sporting event. It happens once every 4 years and draws more viewers than the Super Bowl, World Series, Stanley Cup Finals, and Nascar do for the entire period of time between the World Cups. That is live and on TV. This is the only truly Global competiton and I bet only 1 out 20 people can tell you 3 people on the American squad. 1 out of 100 can tell you the other 3 teams in our group. If you ever wonder why the world hates us, the World Cup is a snap shot. We are so out of touch with the rest of the globe it is laughable yet we are too conceded to admit it. Hell, we are the only place the call it Soccer, everywhere else it is football. In most cases, regardless of language barriers it is football. But we renamed it... why? Because our football is better so instead of giving our sport a different name, we gave it football in direct competiton with the real football. And gave Soccer, the world's most popular sport a pet name as if it were beneath us to follow suit with everyone else.
Conceit or Bravado?:
While I am on the World Cup, which I might add we (the U.S.) has never won, I watched the match against the U.S. and Italy. Before the game starts they play each teams national anthem. The Italians were arm in arm and singing and swaying to the music. At the end, all the Italians on the field and in the crowd just and cheered and clapped for the anthem of thier nation and what it represents. When our National Anthem was played, not a single US player or coach, at least not that the TV showed, sang along. Or clapped or even seemed excited to hear thier countries hymn played before, literally, a billion people. The largest stage the U.S. has to show that we are true patriots and sportsman and that what happens in the world is not a true relfection of the American spirit, and our team stood their like it was the flag raising at a Little League game in Des Moines. There is no more patriotic time for an athlete that during an anthem playing at a World Cup, and they sat thier like lumps. I hope the lose to Ghana so the embarassment can come to an end. Why weren't the singing at the top of thier lungs? Shoulder to shoulder, arms locked? A passionate patriotic squad?
Other North American countries manage to do it. The Mexican teams almost broke into a jig during thier anthem playing prior to thier match with Portugal. During the Stanley Cup finals game in Edmonton the other night, the guest singer sang the first verse than held the microphone in the air and the crowd, in perfect unison, finished the National Anthem, after which it erupted in a 5 minute self ovation. That is how it should be done.
Think it's just me? 32 teams in the World Cup at this time. Every nation in the world can enter a team and through a series of qualifying and eliminations it is narrowed down to 32 teams that enter the world stage of the World Cup proper. Of those teams all 32 have a team bus that is carrying them from game to game in Germany (you did know it was in Germany, right?). Out of the 32 teams buses, guess which is the only unidentied bus. The only bus the security force was afraid to put the nations name on? Not Iran. Not Saudi Arabia. Nope, the good ole USA. The world hates us more than they do Iran. Ain't that a kick in the teeth.
That F****ER Bush:
Yes, I am aware that i have just been put in the database... again. Have you heard for the North American Union? It may be letter to your Congressman time. The European Union took several countries and tied thier economies together, essentially making them very distinct provences of a newly formed country. Within this newly formed country you have one currency and free movement across borders. In effect, Bush is trying to make a North American Union much like the European Union, but with several Tragic and fatally ignorant flaws.
1. The European Union (EU) forces countries to meet certain membership requirements. If they do not meet them, they can not join. So all of Europe in not in the EU. The UK is not in the EU by choice, mainly to keep the British Pound. But they do not just take every country in Europe and make them one economic entity, they only take ones that will benefit the rest.
2. There are 25 countries in the EU. That means 25 countries resources to be pooled together to meet the common good. Last time I counted there was only 3 countries in North America. Not much of a base to spread across there. I looked it up. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the EU; 13,427,403 billions, or 13,427,403,000,000,000. GDP for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico combined; 15,171 billions, or 15,171,000,000,000. The EU is roughly 9 times as big as what ours would be.
3. The EU was offically formed in 1992, however the real ground work was laid in the aftermath of WWII. Many treaties of commerce were signed between countries that had been ravaged by the war as an attempt to band together to rebuild. These treaties proved to be successful so there were ammended and lengthened and tweeked until they finally reached the crossroads of the EU, 40 years later. They arrived at the EU out of 40 years of success, they didn't design to get there, they just evolved into it. The Bush administration expects the NAU to be complete by 2010, in 4 years time. I guess it will be for the next guy to see that out, unless he finds some loop hole for a 3rd term.
4. The EU was public and, like I said, evolved. Bush has done all this under the radar. Until this weekend I had never heard about any of this and when people get wind of it there will be a backlash like has never been seen before.
5. Bush is an idiot. Shame on you for voting for him.
My blasted Garage:
At some point in time I talked about my mouse infestation in my garage. I erradicated them, but it left the distinct scent of rodent. This weekend I started a wood working project that required that I planed some Cedar boards, so now instead of smalling just like a mouse grave yard, it smells like a hampster cage. Its wonderful. Speaking of garage, I hope to break ground on the new one after the 4th, which I will be posting pictures of here.
Until next time...
posted by jake at 8:48 PM
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