wordsmithlind

 So have you ye, I write, right, for www.chicagosporting.com covering the Blackhawks, mostly doing post game stories.  Hopefully in the future I will be doing features and interviews, but for now it is just game stories.  Also, how about those riots in Greece?  Lots of stuff burning, looks like the focus has been lost.  A point was made and then taken too far.  Senseless violence it is now.  I saw a picture of a girl rioting holding up her fingers in the peace sign, I thought that was ironic.  Now solidarity riots in other parts of Europe, seems like the ultra-left just looking for a reason to break stuff.

Good job there, Blago, you make it two Illinois governors to be arrested on corruption charge.  Did you not get to office as the well needed purity and reform Illinois needed to get back on track after all the corrupt years under Republican George Ryan?  Now you are caught on tape trying to sell Obama’s Senate seat?  Come on…  

What’s funny about Blago is that corruption was in the air long before any of this came about.  You would think that he would have been aware of this, as I was and anyone that catches the televised advertisements for the Chicago news on any channel, and steered clear of scandal, especially around something on the Federal level.  Did he not think the government would pay attention to this?  Now the Republicans have the upper hand in 2010, the next Illinois governor election.  I am getting flashbacks of ’94…   

On top of this, the right, and cable news channels, now have an opening to criticize Obama before he has even sworn in.  Though he is not directly involved, his name is attached, and thus he, according to some, can be guilty of association.  McCain tried that in the campaign, remember Bill Ayers…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_go_pr_wh/illinois_governor_analysis

Pakistani militants are stepping up their attacks by destroying over 160 US and NATO vehicles at two transport terminals.  The vehicles eventually would have made their way to Afghanistan to fight “the war on terror.”  The US and NATO ship supplies through Pakistan as Afghanistan is a landlocked country, now they will have to think twice.  If more of these attacks are to happen, retaliation will be eminent.  The question goes back to an earlier blog, will Bush do it alone or with Obama’s blessing?  And if he fails to do so, will Obama do it as he stated about Iran in his speech in Berlin, Europe will join the US in any more action in the war on terror?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_re_as/as_pakistan;_ylt=AmNvEyaoagb1KdrvSzHFCT1vaA8F

Yes, a shameless self-promotion for none other than myself, hence the “self” part in self-promotion, and since no one reads the news on Friday, what better time than now?  Recently I began writing post game stories for the Chicago Blackhawks on www.chicagosporting.com.   The stories are short and sweet and they recap the main highlights of the game.  For those who do not know, the Chicago Blackhawks are a professional hockey team from the National Hockey League (NHL).   It is a great time to be writing for Chicago Sporting about the Hawks as they are at the beginning of a renaissance and becoming a household name in the Chicago area again.  Just a few years ago they were named the worst franchise in sports, now they are in second place in the Central Division, go figure.  So, hesitate not, read away.

All of this below is a repost from a  friend of mine, but I feel that it is important and all must see it.   It is pretty scary that this is what the world will be thinking of Americans in the near future if McCain/Palin are elected.  As if the world view of Bush’s America isn’t bad enough…….

 ”It’s interesting how quickly ignorant “values voters” and “heartlanders” will expose themselves (if they’ve ever even tired to hide it). If these people would take a few seconds and listen to something other than right-wing radio, maybe they wouldn’t be so embarrasingly stupid.
“Remember that these are the people that support McCain, and how dangerous this kind of fanaticism is.
Future is lookin’ bright! This is being shown internationally on Al Jazeera!!

“Well, some of you…”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRqcfqiXCX0

Now that the Republican National Convention is over, and the teargas has settled, it is time to draw attention to the Minneapolis/St. Paul police state of the past few days.  Friends of mine experienced it first hand while the major media outlets ignored it completely.  Hundreds of arrests, broken glass, marching in the streets and undercover cops dressed as 15 year-old skaters barking at police in an effort to incite riot, these have all been overlooked.  Protest leaders have been arrested on accusations of terrorism amongst other erroneous charges.  As McCain spoke of shrinking government, the big hand of the law crushed public outrage and first amendment rights.  As McCain spoke of protecting individuals from harm, the US and Minnesota governments fired teargas into crowds and beat American citizens.  As McCain spoke of change, more of the same was happening outside.  If the tactics of the police are any indication of the would be presidency of John McCain, nothing will change and the Bush legacy will live on. 

In a speech the people of Berlin wanted to hear last month, Barack Obama made it clear last night in Denver that the reign and failed policies of George W. Bush are over.  A new style of politics will be born and the American Dream will become a possibility once again.              

I was in Berlin last month when Obama gave a speech that many Europeans saw as just another in the long line of continued intrusive foreign policy.  My reaction was the same, I felt Obama was doing nothing more than towing the Washington line.  I felt that Obama’s speech implied an eventual invasion of Iran; he made it clear that the US would not go at it alone, but Europe would join them.  To me this was the most disappointing aspect of his speech.  I had become disenchanted with Obama just as the many Germans and Europeans that I talked with following that speech.             

Last night changed this.  I won’t go as far as to say that I am an Obama believer (I have been hesitant of the hype, but see him as the only answer compared to McCain).  Obama’s Convention Speech took American politics to a level that has been ignored for way too long—back to the people—while at the same time discrediting the notion that he is in way over his head in his own celebrity when he claimed that his campaign was not about himself but the American people.  His personal stories humanized him, further discrediting the idea of celebrity.  In a brilliant moment, he brought attention to an aspect of politics that is never addressed, the fact that he and his wife are only standing there because of their own education.  Education is spoken about, but the privilege of education is not, and this he made a point to end.             Obama is on course to victory; he is the change that this country needs.  I just hope he isn’t sat down like Bill Clinton was by Greenspan and told that his radical ideas don’t go over well in Washington and forced to swim in the middle.

I recently set myself upon a quest.  At first I foresaw no difficulty in this journey into consumerism.  I had grown tired of sub-standard merchandise produced overseas and sold for outrageous profit here in the “Western” world after a pair of Vans I owned had fallen apart after a mere six months of wear.  In the past I have owned the same pair of Vans that have lasted upwards of three years, and this pair with this pair dying after such a short period of time, I’d had enough, thus began my quest for ethical shoes…

            My quest took me to every shoe store in Ansbach, Berlin, and other random cities throughout Germany that did not look like a Footlocker.  For weeks I searched and I searched, and nothing could I find.  I found “ethical” shoes in the fight against poverty made in Vietnam.  I found “earthy” shoes from Thailand.  And as always, I found sneakers of all varieties from every alternative brand with the “Made in China” tag below the tongue.  Only one brand, El Naturalista, was made in a non-traditional sweatshop country, Spain, thus theoretically having to follow EU guidelines.  They offer a decent selection of shoes, but after trying on a few pairs, these shoes just did not work for me.  All the while, I searched online, from which I learned that I am not alone in this quest.  The few shoes made in the USA fall mostly into the category of dress or boots, and then there is the German made Birkenstock, none of which help me in my search for casual gym shoes.  I did find smaller brands made in the USA that did offer gym shoes, but most of these looked like bad imitations of Chuck Taylor’s (I guess this would be the shoe equivalent of a soy steak).

            Frustrated and fed-up, I decided to look up Simple Shoes.  I remember reading that they were working on shoes that were 100% recycled—maybe a company concerned about the earth is also concerned about people.  To my sad discovery, Simples are made in China, but the company does display on the website their “Ethical Supply Chain Guidelines.”  These guidelines give the consumer the reassurance that the company is not using child/forced labor, unpaid overtime, poor working conditions, etc.  Unfortunately, Nike offers a similar, though less detailed statement on their website, so take I had to take it for what it was worth. 

            After more debate and sole (sic) searching, I opted for Simple’s Toemorrow shoe.  It is 100% recycled and falls into the ecologically “Best” category.  If I can’t prevent the use of sweatshops, at least I can do my part for the environment.  I am having these shoes shipped to my house in the US courtesy of UPS, thus a large part of my effort to save the environment is negated by the use of a door-to-door delivery service.  No matter the effort to be ethical and eco-friendly, it is almost never enough.  I am yet to try on the shoes.  It is going to be interesting to see if my quest will end a success upon my return to the US.

http://www.simpleshoes.com/info/escGuidelines.aspx?g=info

http://www.nikebiz.com/responsibility/cr_governance.html

photo by wordsmithlind

The next day we walked around and did the typical tourist activities.  The protesters were mostly gone, but the Republicans were all there.  They all dressed the same.  A long black coat, a bad scarf, and some sort of W memorabilia.  We talked to some protesters and told them about what we had done the previous day and what rally we had gone to.  “I don’t like them,” said one of them with a fork and spoon as earrings, “they are communists.”  Then he went on a spiel about how he was an Anarchist and how the Communists were centralized and that the socialists were blah blah blah.  The whole time I sat there thinking.  “Why are you trying to in-fight?  That is exactly how Franco won the Spanish Civil-War.  There is a larger enemy to defeat, don’t waste time bickering with your allies.”   

After we left the hate filled church group, we went to the Mall to see W get sworn in.  I could not believe the sheer quantity of supporters.  Who are these people?  Where did they come from?  What the fuck is wrong with them?  It was impossible to get anywhere near the capital, so they had these huge 1984 jumbo-tron screens with speakers all around so that you could see Him and hear Him without a problem.  Listening to W speak in person is just as funny as on TV, and just as unbearable.  After he called September 11th ”The Day of Fire”  we had had enough.   Not much happened in between the inauguration and the parade.  It was filled with mostly just lame protest chants and cold feet.  I wish the chants would have a little more heart than “Hey hey, ho ho, George Bush has to go” and “What do we want? Freedom!  When do we want it? Now!”  I kept suggesting “Bush is a dick, Cheney is too!”   As all great leaders have learned to do, along with great bands, not so great bands, and so so speakers, Mr. Bush was late.  Much to his dismay, the protesters waited out the cold.  And just when you thought he wasn’t going to show, our fearless leader did, in a cavalcade of limousines and SS troops, err, sorry, that’s Secret Service.  And, as all fearless leaders do, he went speeding by at forty miles an hour.  It’s good to know that a man who can talk so tough when he is armed with history’s strongest military is too afraid to even stick his hand out of his fortified limousine.