Book of the Month

For those interested in reading a great book about how one man can change the world, take a look at Greg Mortenson's book, Three Cup's of Tea. Random luck changed this man's life and through some silly determination he began to promote peace throughout a hostile region one school at a time. The book takes place in Pakistan and Afghanistan pre and post 9/11. For further material concerning Mortenson take a look at this.

dream ticket?

apparently, ak governor sarah palin has a couple other friends in the lower 48.

This Is Africa (T.I.A.)

The month of June brought three decent movies to the Ski household. Three gritty political dramas that reminded the ski's how good we have it here in the U.S. of A. All three centered around Africa and were all quite entertaining.

The first was Blood Diamond with Leo DiCaprio and Dijimon Hounsou. Despite Leo's fake accent, the movie was quite entertaining as it focused on two men chasing after a giant pink diamond while the countryside surrounding them fizziles out of control. I especially liked Colonel Coetzee and the way the movie depicted the diamond trade and children as soldiers. The movie sort of made me want to raise a mercenary army and take over countries. Sort of.

The second was The Last King of Scotland . The movie was based on the true events of the brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin's regime through the eyes of a Scot that randomly became not only his physician but also his closest advisor. Forest Whitaker stole the show despite the movie being centered on the physician. For an interesting article regarding the movie, take a look at this. My favorite parts were when Idi Amin dressed up as a cowboy and the Scot physician gave the British spies a hard time.

Finally, the last movie was Catch a Fire with Tim Robbins and Derek Luke. The movie focused on South Africa during Apartheid and how the government's actions towards one man made him into a "freedom fighter/terrorist." A great cat and mouse political thriller that focused on the past. Also based off a true story of which I didn't know until the very end. Damn commie's had a role in everything.

All in all, the three movies really showcased the dark side of Africa and I encourage all two people that read this blog to rent them if time allows.

Le Blackberry

"French government officials have been ordered not to use handheld Blackberry devices amid fears that foreigners (read Americans) could spy on them, reports say." - BBC

A little economic espionage after a game of "BrickBreaker" perhaps? Never thought about this one, but if it's true, I hope someone bought the person that thought of this espionage concept a nice American micro brew.

Of course though, somewhere in America there is a smoke filled dark room full of spooks wearing trenchcoats slapping their foreheads and saying "damn! we should have thought of that!"

It's about the price of corn....it's always about the corn....

Anyone paying attention to your cost of groceries? If not, you may want to take a looksie at this article. The combination of the cost of freedom, the price of gas and the dependence of midwestern votes is raising the price of that 1 percent milk that you mix with your cheerios everymorning (among other items you may consume during the course of the day). Of course, my thoughts are that the farmer rarely sees any of this price increase. Therefore, forget about whatever store or conglomerate that you shop at for your fruits, veggies and sundries and support the local farmer! Save a few bucks and get some fresh produce. By buying local, you're helping your neighbor and not the Netherlands or whomever owns Stop and Shop these days.....

Clash of Civilizations Part Vier

Al Qaeda will lose the war on terror becuase of the simple fact that they don't worship the Brat. Get on board people. This is how we will win the war on terror! Oh, and if anyone is interested in ordering some good wurst. Take a look at this site. Just let me know and I'll go in halfs.

The Rebuttal

So, Fred Thompson, a potential 2008 GOP presidential candidate was challenged by Michael Moore to debate him on the issue of Health Care. For those that don't know, Mr. Moore will be releasing a new film named "Sicko" that examines the U.S. Health Care System in a fairly "moving" way. To film the movie Moore went to Cuba and such actions caused various politicians on both sides of the aisle to criticize him for going over there. Thompson in particular was very vocal.

Noting Thompson's fondness for Cuban cigars, Moore stated in his explanation of why he traveled to Cuba to film his movie, that Thompson is in no position to criticize him as he Thompson enjoys the support of wealth health care lobbyists. Moore went further and challenged Thompson in a one on one debate about health care.

This is how Thompson responded to Moore:



You decide as to who wins this one......

All I have to say is, this is one heck of a way to respond! Very clever. Most politicians would simply have either ignored Moore or issued a press release.

VERY NICE!