It's a bird! it's a plane! it's GORE!

September 15th 2007 – In Shoreham U.K. this week, an experienced pilot and airfield manager (Brian Brown) was killed during a WW2 reenactment at an air show; his plane crashed into a hill in front of 20,000 onlookers. Earlier this month, in Radom Poland, two pilots in light aircrafts ran into each other at another air show; both were killed as a result of aerial acrobatics gone bad. Finally, in Late July, at the end of a Wisconsin air show, two pilots ``clipped wings`` upon landing at the closing of the show; once more, the aircrafts were WW2 relics that fell apart killing one of the pilots and severely injuring the other one. I could easily draft a dissertation of these occurrences; needless to say they are frequent and international.

These are surely very tragic events and the victims are people with grieving families yet I simply must advance my hypothesis that these talented people died in an unnecessary and futile way. Some people can paint or play music, some can master foreign languages or calculate logarithms in their minds….and then there are those who can juggle chainsaws, wrangle lions or fly a small and old plane really fast and really close to another oncoming tin can. These last ``talents`` aim to entertain us by performing death-defying stunts which we could never dream of living through. The problem is, we don’t WANT to attempt such a thing because of the words DEATH-DEFYING. The term also applies to activities such as: throwing rocks at a bear in the forest, drinking a tall glass of detergent, going down Niagara Falls in a wooden barrel, telling Vladimir Putin of Russia he looks like Dobby the house-elf or pretending to hide nuclear weapons in the Middle-East. Everyone will be very surprised and entertained to know how you lived through it but it would take some truly morbid fans to watch the activity in action…with their children, a beer and some popcorn. They are at the edge of their seat, waiting for some really cool stuff.

We rarely hear about chainsaw jugglers cut to pieces in front of amused children but a fatal plane crash at an air show no longer seems possible, it seems probable. I accuse the pilots of risking their lives simply for the adrenaline rush of entertaining the working classes. Furthermore, I heavily criticize and judge the attending spectators that gawk at an accident waiting to happen. The deceased pilots could have been valued and talented members of a military organization and when they would have died in action, a general would have given their national flag to their widows saying ‘he was a great man, he made a difference, he died defending what he believed in’’. It is with such a tragic subject that historic distance can provide some welcomed comic relief.

Morbid curiosity such as the fans attending an air show is not a product of the XXth century. We must travel back through the ages of tightrope walking over waterfalls, Medieval jousting or throwing some slaves to the lions in the Roman coliseum to see some truly disturbing events. It is by trekking backwards through history that we encounter highly fluctuating levels of morbidity AND curiosity. British history, for example, is drenched in very questionable entertainment.

In Tudor England (1485-1603), perhaps the bloody conflicts with Holland, France and Spain as well as horrid living standards, overwhelming taxation and constant epidemics created this morbid curiosity that the English revelled in at the time (contemporary analysts would probably blame violent movies or video games). This period was the birthplace of ``bear baiting``, a ``sport`` where a bear was sedated, tied to a sturdy post at the center of an arena and left to fight off rabid wolves that were unleashed upon it. No no, I know what you are thinking, ``surely this was an obscure activity that was performed secretly by the poor masses``, but unfortunately, this was as popular and attended as NFL football, NBA basketball or FIFA Soccer. Actually, Shakespeare’s famous Globe Theatre was only half of a larger entertainment complex; the other half was a bear-baiting arena. Queen Elizabeth I herself was quite fond of the macabre spectacle. This being Elizabethan England, they got bored quite fast, so they made the show more interesting by blinding the bear with acid beforehand or pitting the bear against more exotic monsters such as elephants or hippopotamuses (or is it hippopotami); now that’s some good comic relief.

All in all, I personally like being entertained by the taboo and the morbid but that’s what cartoons and movies are for, use your imagination people! If you can’t, TV and books can do that for you. A person, especially one with potential, should never have to walk to an early grave for such a stupid reason and at this point, the other people that come to watch, make me wish we never tore down the bear-baiting arenas of England.

(Pictured: A grizzly bear who has the awesome Latin name ursus arktos horribilis - F16s over New York)

End.

Summer 2007 poll results

After an overw- helming response.. ......the survey revealed that a majority of readers have chosen Russia/ USSR as having the bloodiest history. There was no right or wrong answer since Russia and China have never been straightforward with their official records. With the violent formation of Russian states during the middle ages, the Crimean war, the Russo-Japanese war, WW1, the Russian revolutions of 1917, WW2, the cold war, the Afghan conquest, the repression of Hungarian and Czech revolutions and the Yugoslav secession wars, it has hosted a panoply of violent, unfortunate and sometimes unprovoked attacks. One way or another, Russia/USSR is a main contender for the unfortunate epithet that my readers have given it.

RUSSIA/USSR
BLOODIEST HISTORY
2007

End.

Downfall by lack of commitment

September 12^th 2007 – One day after the sixth unfortunate anniversary, two primary world powers announced major changes. Firstly, after less than a year in power, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has resigned from office without explanation or warning. Secondly, my favourite butcher of Grozny, Vladimir Putin of Russia, declared that “it was necessary to shake things up for the upcoming elections”. This statement came as an explanation for his dissolution of parliament and expulsion of the current Prime Minister. Furthermore, Putin named his own Prime Minister, Viktor Zubkov, and is publicly backing him as the heir to the Russian presidency. These affronts to democracy (by abandonment or deliberate violation) could be devastating to the burgeoning democracies and more importantly, will probably inspire doubt in the democratic process for the affected nations.

Firstly, the Japanese situation is quite shocking considering that elections are nowhere near on the calendar and thus, the nation must replace the gouvernemnt by interim. Abe’s succession will be very difficult; seeing as Japan's constitutional monarchy is infinitely complex, it contains subtle pitfalls and traps that are, I think, inherent to the Japanese people. Speculation is running wild about his reasons and/or motivations. I think it might be safe to say that it has to do with the massive financial scandal in the agricultural/national production sector of his administration and the subsequent suicide of his minister of agriculture. Furthermore, with the following two agriculture ministers who were forced to resign after “financial irregularities” were noticed. Finally, with Abe’s defence minister was forced to resign after he announced that the 1945 Nagasaki and Hiroshima Bombing were “inevitable”. Today, Sept. 13^th, he has apparently checked into a hospital citing “extreme exhaustion”. I don’t buy it but at least he didn’t commit suicide out of shame, which has become a very serious problem in Japan. Exhausted or not, Japan cannot afford this unnannounced abandonment of the democratic process. Abe did not die, he simply left everyone high and dry without any worry for succession or legacy. The japanese resolve for democracy is thus weakened from an already frail state.

Secondly, if you’ve followed my blog, you have seen the many ways in which Putin makes frequent controversial decisions and also, the ways in which he disregards international opinion about these. This latest measure taken by the Kremlin reeks of unconstitutionality; Putin has effectively deposed rival parties and installed his successor. I say he doesn’t care what we (westerners) think; I believe this is quite obvious when the best explanation he can come up with is “shaking things up”. He sure did. He takes us (international public) seriously enough not to lie to us, but that makes him even scarier on the geopolitical map… and even more evil looking as a person (in a bond villain kind of way).

These unforeseen shifts in national strength, especially within Russia, can have incredible and revolutionary effects. I say especially in Russia because it would not be the first time that the reigning man has dissolved or disregarded the authority of their senate/parliament called the Duma. In 1917, the last Tsar, Nicholas II Romanov, dissolved the Duma to avoid confrontation or debate on his rulings, an unwise choice. When the people protested in the streets in front of the St. Petersburg Winter Palace, Nicolas orderd the army to kill them all, a stupid choice. The army choose NOT to shoot their brothers and friends and turned against the gouvernment. I bet he didn’t know that it would lead to the February/march revolution, the Bolshevik takeover, Russia’s withdrawal from WW1, Stalin’s despotism, the Cold War, the Cuban missile crisis, the erection of the Berlin wall, JFK’s assassination, Roswell 1947, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart, the breakup of Ross and Rachel and the removal of Terry Schiavo’s feeding tube…. or maybe only the first few. Sorry, US history has taught me that it can be quite easy and patriotic to blame everything on the commies.

To make my point simple, repressing the fragile democratic process, as in Russia, or abandoning it in the face of adversity, as in Japan, can lead to confusion and lack of faith in the ideology. Russia’s democracy, or the facade they frequently present, is precarious enough without this exercise of red muscle. Authoritarianism will only lead to restrictions in democracy and increasing violent measures…by its nation and its administration. In parallel, Japan’s very young democracy was built on nuclear ruins and military dictatorship. Lack of constant vigilance will do nothing to maintain a tentative liberal democracy.

If you can't take the heat, get out of the way for someone else to take place, if you are a violent psychopath..........please don't send the KGB after me.

(Pictured: The Kremlin, overtaken by the bolshevik militia in 1917 - A very tired Shinzo Abe)

End.

The cult of the leader

August 22^nd 2007 – French magazine Paris Match has airbrushed a picture of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. He was canoeing shirtless and a subtle love handle was digitally removed to polish the iconic image of the French leader. Recently, European media raved about the good shape and physical health of President Vladimir Putin as he was seen strolling through rural Russia…shirtless once again. The media have never been far from these seemingly nonchalant, yet extremely photogenic, vacationing figureheads.

We seem to be back to the absolutist age all of a sudden. Does a love handle imply that our leader will lead the country to financial ruin? Does a flabby chest mean degrading international relations? Does a sturdy and solid build guarantee a strong military organisation for a Nation? OF COURSE NOT! Therefore, the only other alternative implies that governments take us for idiots. They are trying to add a metaphysical aspect to their administration by controlling the physical/metaphorical image of its leader. This process has been called the “cult of the leader” by French historian Michel Winock. I should clarify that this last author actually qualified this concept as one of the six characteristics of totalitarian fascism.

In the 1920s, when Benito Mussolini took power in Italy, his fascist dictatorship greatly incorporated this notion. Mussolini’s office in Rome would always be lit, not to pretend as if he was always working, but to assert that he actually WAS always working. It is a process of semi-deification; the leader was superhuman and thus, was untouchable. Furthermore, “Il Duce”, as he was called, would tour the country to visit the rural and distant estates of his domain. He would then take off his shirt, pick up a scythe and harvest wheat with the farmers for a full day without stopping. Such feats of strength provided an idyllic and undefeatable figure (even icon), and therefore, these characteristics would apply to Italy. Also, it made the superman apparently immune to mistakes, demagogy and assassination attempts.

The Cult of the leader was greatly important in the fascist ideology because the “guide” was not a representative of the nation or its people; he WAS the nation and WAS the people. It rendered democracy redundant and unnecessary.

Sarkozy, Putin and maybe even George W. Bush being photographed on a Texas ranch have adopted this subtle attempt and superhuman status, a cleaver boost to the solidity of their respective administrations. There is nothing wrong with this and you could argue that it is absolutely harmless. I just don’t LIKE being taken for an idiot, do you?

(Pictured: Mussolini posing for a statue-like keepsake - the incredible Sarkozy and his incredible, disappearing flab.)

End.