Well, we're at the end of 2004. I've had my blog for almost four months now. I know I don't have too many regular followers, except my loyal faithful Sanguine and The Local Superhero. Thanks, you guys rock!
Anyway, for 2005, Edmond resolves to continue to comment on politics and world events to inform you and entertain you. Edmond would also like it if more people discovered and liked his blog.
Thanks to you all for your support, and Happy New Year!
Edmond the Hun
Friday, December 31, 2004
Current Events: Aid $ Keeps Rising
The death toll from the earthquake/tsunamis keeps growing at about 30 to 40 thousand per day. But the money pledged by other countries in aid keep growing, too. And some of it's just really cool!
You have Britian collecting $39 million in a day from their top 12 charities. You have Finns lining up to give money --- raising about $4 million, and they only have a population of 5 million. You hvae Microsoft and employees donating $5 million. You have Amazon.com shoppers donating $5 million. You have the American Red Cross collecting $18 million. You have Italians donating $17 million. You have at least four European countries donating over $50 million each. The World Bank, whatever that is, is offering $250 million. When you add it all up from all the various sources, it's over $500 million.
Isn't that just so cool how everyone's coming together to give money to aid the unfortunate survivors of the tsunamis?
And then you have the United States government, which has only pledged $35 million. Now I know there's only so much in certain funds, and you have to go through Congress and all that, but come on! We shelled out $80 billion for the war in Iraq! And we're only giving 35 million! Finland's individual giving amounts to about eighty cents a person. The US government's pledge is more like an average of fourteen cents a person. I agree with those who say our initial pledge was "stingy." Come on, government, join the rest of the world!
But aside from our poor government, I still think it's really awesome how people all over the world are giving money to help their fellow man. To slightly misquote a famous line, "There's (still) some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth giving for."
'Tis better to give than receive. Kudos to the world.
Edmond the Hun
You have Britian collecting $39 million in a day from their top 12 charities. You have Finns lining up to give money --- raising about $4 million, and they only have a population of 5 million. You hvae Microsoft and employees donating $5 million. You have Amazon.com shoppers donating $5 million. You have the American Red Cross collecting $18 million. You have Italians donating $17 million. You have at least four European countries donating over $50 million each. The World Bank, whatever that is, is offering $250 million. When you add it all up from all the various sources, it's over $500 million.
Isn't that just so cool how everyone's coming together to give money to aid the unfortunate survivors of the tsunamis?
And then you have the United States government, which has only pledged $35 million. Now I know there's only so much in certain funds, and you have to go through Congress and all that, but come on! We shelled out $80 billion for the war in Iraq! And we're only giving 35 million! Finland's individual giving amounts to about eighty cents a person. The US government's pledge is more like an average of fourteen cents a person. I agree with those who say our initial pledge was "stingy." Come on, government, join the rest of the world!
But aside from our poor government, I still think it's really awesome how people all over the world are giving money to help their fellow man. To slightly misquote a famous line, "There's (still) some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it's worth giving for."
'Tis better to give than receive. Kudos to the world.
Edmond the Hun
Monday, December 27, 2004
Current Events: Huge Quake, Tsunamis in Indian Ocean
Early Sunday morning (or late Saturday night, USA time) an incredibly devasting 9.0 earthquake went off in the Indian Ocean, a hundred miles or so off the coast of Indonesia. It caused enormous tidal waves to hit the coasts of several countries, including ones in southern Asia and all the way to the eastern coast of Africa. The death toll is 22,000 and constantly rising. Millions are homeless.
The United States and other countries are offering assistance and aid, although I haven't actually seen any of them do anything yet.
So, as you're enjoying your Christmas presents, be thankful that you didn't drown in the Indian Ocean or that your home wasn't destroyed by the huge tsunamis.
Edmond the Hun
Palestine Politics: Replacing Arafat
Elections for the replacement of Arafat are on January 9, and this could mean a lot for the future of Israel and Palestine as states. Recently, about 600 leaders of various positions signed a petition that called for an end to violence against Israel in order to boost the credibilitiy of their cause for statehood. In other words, stop attacking Israel, cuz it makes us look bad. Mahmoud Abbas is the champion of this peaceful policy, and he is supposedly in some sort of majority. On the other hand, there is a group named Hamas, who is overtly anti-Semetic and would never want to stop attacking the Jews. They don't have anyone going for prime minister, but the group did suprisingly well in local polls (I don't understand it entirely - I guess the polls were for a legislative body of sorts).
So we have two major groups: One that wants to abandon violence, and one that never will. Has a desire of most Palestinains for statehood finally replaced their desire of the to kick the Jews out of the Middle East? The elections may give us an answer.
But there is also a subtle revelation of motives in this petition from the leaders. Perhaps I am reading too much into this. But listen: The leaders did not say they want to stop violence because they no longer hate the Jews and want to kill them all. They said they want to stop violence because it makes them look bad internationally. Does this mean that they still hate the Jews? That if they finally achieve statehood, they will then return to their original plans of attacking and killing Jews, which they have been doing ever since Jews starting fleeing from Europe to join the small pockets of Jews that were already in Palestine? Only time will tell.
Edmond the Hun
Ukraine Politics: Yush Wins (Maybe?)
Millions of Ukrainians came out to vote yesterday. With 99% of the votes counted, Yushchenko was up 52%-44%. Apparently the Ukrainians really want to head in a deomcratic direction and break off their ties with Russia. The only question is whether the corrupted government will allow it or not. The opposition vows to challenge the results, filing complaints to the Central Election Commission. Ukraine's voting issues makes Florida and Ohio look like nothing! If the government tries too hard to retain power, I smell the beginnings of a revolution.
Edmond the Hun
Sports: Manning (Humbly) Breaks Record
Indianapolis Colts star quarterback Peyton Manning has finally broken the record for single-season touchdown passes. Dan Marino threw 48 in 1984, and Manning threw two yesterday to bring his total to 49 in an overtime win over San Diego.
The funny thing is, Manning doesn't really care. At least that's what he says. In the weeks leading up to this record-breaking moment, Manning kept saying things like "I just can't get into it" and "I just want to win and get our team in the playoffs." In an age where you have players dancing around the endzone, players mocking other players dancing around the endzone... this guy is incredibly humble!
Even when he threw the passes that tied and broke the records, he wasn't celebrating because of the record --- you could tell he was only celebrating the fact that the team had scored. They were both important scores too, because the Colts were losing, and they needed both touchdowns to tie the game to go into overtime, where they got a field goal. The game was an important one to win, too, because the Colts and the Chargers were both 11-3 and fighting for the third seed in the playoffs.
Maybe it's all a facade, and he really is excited about breaking one of the oldest and biggest records of the NFL. But unless he's a really good faker, he's sure not proud or haughty about it. He just wants his team to win!
And that makes him a likable, cool guy.
Edmond the Hun
The funny thing is, Manning doesn't really care. At least that's what he says. In the weeks leading up to this record-breaking moment, Manning kept saying things like "I just can't get into it" and "I just want to win and get our team in the playoffs." In an age where you have players dancing around the endzone, players mocking other players dancing around the endzone... this guy is incredibly humble!
Even when he threw the passes that tied and broke the records, he wasn't celebrating because of the record --- you could tell he was only celebrating the fact that the team had scored. They were both important scores too, because the Colts were losing, and they needed both touchdowns to tie the game to go into overtime, where they got a field goal. The game was an important one to win, too, because the Colts and the Chargers were both 11-3 and fighting for the third seed in the playoffs.
Maybe it's all a facade, and he really is excited about breaking one of the oldest and biggest records of the NFL. But unless he's a really good faker, he's sure not proud or haughty about it. He just wants his team to win!
And that makes him a likable, cool guy.
Edmond the Hun
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Politics: Donald's Signatures
Donald Rumsfeld sends out letters of condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones in Iraq. He also signs them personally.
Or so we thought.
Recently, it was revealed that the signatures were made by a machine. Rumsfeld did not take the time to personally sign all the letters. Democrats are quick to pounce on this as saying that this shows he doesn't really care about the dead soldiers. They tell stories of families (with names and ages!) who are appalled by the news and don't think Rumsfeld cares about them.
Republicans, on the other hand, produce stories of families (with names and ages too!) who say the letter didn't matter at all to them, it was his personal visit to them that showed them he really does care.
So, do I condemn or defend this guy?
I think it's apparent that Rumsfeld (and Bush) really are very concerned about the war and about the loss of life involved. Rumsfeld and Bush make personal visits to the families of loved ones, which takes more time than it does to write a name. And what does it really matter whether Rumsfeld actually signs his signature or not? Shouldn't we worry about more important things, like the war itself?
The only problem is if people were given the impression that he really did sign them. Then it's like lying. But I don't know if they had that impression in the first place. And overall, I don't think it's really a big deal. If he signs them or not -- it's just a letter. He really does care.
Edmond the Hun
Or so we thought.
Recently, it was revealed that the signatures were made by a machine. Rumsfeld did not take the time to personally sign all the letters. Democrats are quick to pounce on this as saying that this shows he doesn't really care about the dead soldiers. They tell stories of families (with names and ages!) who are appalled by the news and don't think Rumsfeld cares about them.
Republicans, on the other hand, produce stories of families (with names and ages too!) who say the letter didn't matter at all to them, it was his personal visit to them that showed them he really does care.
So, do I condemn or defend this guy?
I think it's apparent that Rumsfeld (and Bush) really are very concerned about the war and about the loss of life involved. Rumsfeld and Bush make personal visits to the families of loved ones, which takes more time than it does to write a name. And what does it really matter whether Rumsfeld actually signs his signature or not? Shouldn't we worry about more important things, like the war itself?
The only problem is if people were given the impression that he really did sign them. Then it's like lying. But I don't know if they had that impression in the first place. And overall, I don't think it's really a big deal. If he signs them or not -- it's just a letter. He really does care.
Edmond the Hun
Current Events: Ukraine Votes Again
Alrighty, the elections are under way in Ukraine for the third time in eight weeks. The first election had no candidate with enough votes to meet the requirements, so they had a runoff with the top two. Western-supporting Yushchenko won the exit polls, but the corrupted government said Russian-backed Yanukovych won (Yush was also poisioned). After much protest and debate, they're having a re-election today, December 26.
Once again, exit polls have Yushchenko winning. We'll have to wait til the polls close to see if the bad guys try to mix things up again. I'm rooting for Yush.
Edmond the Hun
Once again, exit polls have Yushchenko winning. We'll have to wait til the polls close to see if the bad guys try to mix things up again. I'm rooting for Yush.
Edmond the Hun
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Politics: ReDefeat Bush?
Or, Defeating Democracy In Deomocracy's Name
With www.redefeatbush.com, some liberals are trying to stage a riot/protest during Bush's inaugaration next month. It's OK if they don't like the fact that more people voted for Bush than Kerry. What's not OK is that they're planning a protest for it. And what really gets me is that they're doing it in the name of democracy!
Hello?! The people have spoken! We want Bush! If Kerry had won, I would be upset, yes. I would be disappointed, yes. But I would not be staging a riot to protest his inaugaration! There's something wrong with you if you can't accept the fact that other people don't believe the same things you believe. And that's exactly what we have here.
What someone needs to do is stage an assembly at the same time and place for the purpose of supporting Bush. This would counteract and defeat the purpose of this liberal's anti-Bush parade. Unfortunately, I don't have enough of a voice or the means to do that.
Edmond the Hun
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Defending Christmas
Once again, this Christmas we are confronted with the dissenting atheistic absolute-less minority that wants to banish Christmas and any mention or implication of the word from our country. For example, one parent got upset because they didn't want their child exposed to the word "Christmas" in school. We're not even talking Jesus and the manger---just the word "Christmas." So if a couple people get offended, we have to cater to them? Frankly, I don't get it. They're being hypocritical, close-minded, and selfish. Let me elaborate.
First, they are in the minority. The elections drove this point home, but the majority of the nation are either religious conservatives or at least people who think they are or don't have a problem with them. The people that have a problem with anything Christian are the ones in the minority. So, we have a couple people getting offended, and the rest of us have to change for them. What about all the religious conservatives getting offended by the minority? Shouldn't we change for them. No, of course not. And where's the logic in this?
Second, as a radio talk show guy brought out, the Constitution does not give you the right to not be offended! To be offended is not a crime! And if it is, the religious conservative minority is being a lot more offended than the atheistic minority.
Third, let me show you an easy way where the logic falls apart: Guess what, guys? I don't believe in Santa Claus! And you know what, I can't stand the disgusting thought of my kids being exposed to Santa Claus! So, since I'm being offended by all the Santa Claus references and songs and posters out there, I'm going to cry out to get rid of them all to save my kids from being exposed to that. Because it offends me! I don't care what the majority of the people think about Santa Claus. I don't care that they're allowed to believe in him or not. I don't care! All I care is that since I don't believe in him, that means we have to get rid of everything that even implies the word Santa Claus. Kick him out of the malls! Get rid of the songs! The movies! The decorations! Why? Because I'm one little minority person who doesn't want to be offended!
Do you see how stupid that is? Of course, Santa Claus would never be deleted from the holiday season! So why is it any different than Jesus? Why do we have to cover him up and any little reference to him, all because of a few offended people? Why are we walking on eggshells so we're careful not to offend a few people? These kinds of people tell us to be tolerant and inclusive, but they don't want to be tolerant of the religious conservative majority. The fact of the matter is, they just don't like God. And they don't care what anyone else thinks about God. They just want to get rid of him. And they have no right to do so.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Edmond the Hun
Movie Review: Unfortunate Events (4 of 5)
(Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Based on the first three books of Lemony Snicket's series, this movie is not your typical happy kid's movie. A lot of bad things happen, and they don't try to feed you the happy Disney line that if you believe in yourself the world will be perfect. You can look at it in one of two ways: First, it's a dark and morbid tale that's too disturbing for kids to see. Or, second, it's a realistic tale that shows that the world's not really perfect and sometimes, you just have to deal with it.
While it is kinda dark and morbid, it's not that disturbing. The tone of the books it is based on is actually rather light-hearted, and the movie carries that feeling to some degree. There are many funny moments, eccentric characters, and off-the-wall circumstances. The baby Sunny's ga-ga comments (which are translated at the bottom of the screen) are often quite hilarious. The only parts that are kinda disturbing are when they imply the deaths of a couple of their relatives, which seems kinda, well, disturbing, given the general light-heartedness of the kid's film. But I prefer that over the typical the-world-is-perfect junk. And what offsets the dark circumstances is the cleverness and bravery of the intelligent children, who time after time find a way to save themselves from whatever Count Olaf is throwing at them.
Reviews for this movie conflict with each other, but one thing everyone agrees on: The sets are stupendous! Forget all the computer-generated hype of the 21st century---it's the real live sets that carry this movie. From Aunt Josephine's rickety house to Count Olaf's scary "abode," everything is just jaw-droppingly, well, cool-looking!
Inevitably, the books are better. But not incredibly better. The problem was that they tried to rush things a little too much, often not putting enough emphasis on things. They also mixed the plot around slightly, if only to offer a better climax at the end. Even so, they changed the clever way the conflict was resolved. Instead, they added a whole mystery thing with spyglasses and fires and whatnot. We can only guess and ponder if these additions have anything to do with the book mysteries, and will be revealed in the last two books, or if they just made it up.
For the most part, Lemony Snicket's movie is a clever, light-hearted realistic tale with a slight shade of dark and morbidness. May not be what your used to, but then you might like a change.
Edmond the Hun
Based on the first three books of Lemony Snicket's series, this movie is not your typical happy kid's movie. A lot of bad things happen, and they don't try to feed you the happy Disney line that if you believe in yourself the world will be perfect. You can look at it in one of two ways: First, it's a dark and morbid tale that's too disturbing for kids to see. Or, second, it's a realistic tale that shows that the world's not really perfect and sometimes, you just have to deal with it.
While it is kinda dark and morbid, it's not that disturbing. The tone of the books it is based on is actually rather light-hearted, and the movie carries that feeling to some degree. There are many funny moments, eccentric characters, and off-the-wall circumstances. The baby Sunny's ga-ga comments (which are translated at the bottom of the screen) are often quite hilarious. The only parts that are kinda disturbing are when they imply the deaths of a couple of their relatives, which seems kinda, well, disturbing, given the general light-heartedness of the kid's film. But I prefer that over the typical the-world-is-perfect junk. And what offsets the dark circumstances is the cleverness and bravery of the intelligent children, who time after time find a way to save themselves from whatever Count Olaf is throwing at them.
Reviews for this movie conflict with each other, but one thing everyone agrees on: The sets are stupendous! Forget all the computer-generated hype of the 21st century---it's the real live sets that carry this movie. From Aunt Josephine's rickety house to Count Olaf's scary "abode," everything is just jaw-droppingly, well, cool-looking!
Inevitably, the books are better. But not incredibly better. The problem was that they tried to rush things a little too much, often not putting enough emphasis on things. They also mixed the plot around slightly, if only to offer a better climax at the end. Even so, they changed the clever way the conflict was resolved. Instead, they added a whole mystery thing with spyglasses and fires and whatnot. We can only guess and ponder if these additions have anything to do with the book mysteries, and will be revealed in the last two books, or if they just made it up.
For the most part, Lemony Snicket's movie is a clever, light-hearted realistic tale with a slight shade of dark and morbidness. May not be what your used to, but then you might like a change.
Edmond the Hun
Monday, December 20, 2004
Defending the War In Iraq
I get upset every time I read an editorial where someone calls the war in Iraq worthless, needless, or a waste of time and money (they also usually manage to throw in a bash at Bush too). I'm tired of explaining why we went to Iraq---it's simple logistics: We gave Saddam an ultimatum, and he refused to comply. If we don't provide consequences for that, then America has no power to defend itself. If they won't let us come in to look for weapons, and we don't care if they don't, then they have the implied authority to make weapons all they want to, because they know we won't do anything about it. We couldn't let that happen, and we didn't.
However, we are now getting stuck in a "quagmire" that reminds too many people of Vietnam. Insurgents are still daily attacking and killing, which doesn't bode well for the elections that are supposed to happen in a month and a half. Recently, I have found a reason for staying in Iraq---and it has nothing to do with politics.
There are innocent, oppressed civilians in Iraq, and it is our moral and humanitarian obligation to help them, since we have the ability to help them. Don't roll your eyes at me---hear me out. Why do we have policemen in America? To protect the innocent civilians from those who wish to oppress them. Now, why shouldn't this belief carry over to the war in Iraq? These people who say it's a needless war are implying American egocentricity---that Americans are better and worth more than other people.
The war-bashers say that this war doesn't involve us. I beg to differ. Surely these people believe in our police force. Aren't we all humans? If innocent Americans deserve to be protected from oppressors, why don't innocent Iraqis? We should endeavor to protect all innocent humans from oppression. I realize that is not plausible, but right now, it is plausible for Iraq.
To say that innocent Iraqis don't deserve to be protected when we have the power to protect them is to say that Americans are worth more than other humans. It doesn't look as bad as Hitler and the Jews, but it's the same underlying principle. If I'm wrong, post a comment and debate me. I rest my case.
Edmond the Hun
News Blurb 2
1) Now there are gay couples in Massachusetts who want to get divorced. I can't even think up a worthy response to this...
2) Miami heat center and former Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal wants to be a sheriff in Florida. Seriously---he's even going through the proper steps to get qualified and certified. Just another proof (i.e. Ricky Williams) that sports and fame and fortune don't fill the empty void inside. (Can anybody say...Jesus?)
3) From his prison cell, Saddam Hussein told Iraqis to remain united against Americans. He said "Kurds, Arabs, Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians are all Iraqis who all have to stand united against the American plot." Wait a minute... since when did Saddam care about Christians?
Edmond the Hun
Current Events: Ukraine, Continued
Ukraine's gonna have a re-election on December 26. Turns out the vote really was completely filled with fraud to ensure that Yushchenko (our more or less "good guy") didn't win. Yush was also poisioned -- He had some kind of dioxin in his body, and the count of it in his blood cells was the second-highest ever recorded!
Ukraine's trying to be a democracy, and it's obvious that the people want that to happen. It's obvious that Yush wants that to happen, too, which is why most of the people want him to win. It's also obvious, via the fraud and the poisioning, that the communists/dictators don't want to lose their power. The world already has their eye on them, so I suspect this election will be a cleaner one. I predict Yush will win by a landslide, followed by several more assassination attempts. Whether Ukraine can truly become democratic or not is something we'll have to wait on.
Edmond the Hun
Ukraine's trying to be a democracy, and it's obvious that the people want that to happen. It's obvious that Yush wants that to happen, too, which is why most of the people want him to win. It's also obvious, via the fraud and the poisioning, that the communists/dictators don't want to lose their power. The world already has their eye on them, so I suspect this election will be a cleaner one. I predict Yush will win by a landslide, followed by several more assassination attempts. Whether Ukraine can truly become democratic or not is something we'll have to wait on.
Edmond the Hun
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