Writing
England's Dreaming
There's no future in England's dreaming, sang the Sex Pistols in 1977. Even so, in his most fevered imaginings John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon never conjured up something like the coming Prime Ministership of one Gordon Brown. Brown, the present British finance minister, is widely considered the most likely successor to Tony Blair as head of the UK Labour Party and the British government. Whereas Blair modelled himself after former U.S. president Bill Clinton, Brown publically praises Margaret Thatcher's fiscal policies. Unlike Thatcher, however, Brown's objective is not to curb government influence but to consolidate and expand it. Like Blair (and Clinton), Brown has mastered the art of policy larceny, stealing a position from the opposing party and claiming it as one's own - and thus framing one's self as a "new" type of candidate. Blair follows closely the example of his American mentor, taking purportedly tough stances on crime and instituting a more aggressive foreign policy; Brown, as Chancellor, has argued of late for a "competitiveness test" for future business regulation, leaving the Conservative Party to meekly point out that they, as well, wish to curb Britain's regulatory state.
magnificent desolation
July 20th, 1969 turned out to be an ending rather than a beginning. The Eagle had landed and millions watched around the globe via the magic of television. Armstrong and Aldrin, after narrowly averting a scrubbed landing, touched down at Tranquility Base, suited up, and walked on the Moon. Ten more men would follow, then nothing.
i see earth. it's so beautiful.
Yuri Gagarin, a twenty-seven year old Red Air Force test pilot, became the first man in space on 12 April 1961. His Vostok 1 computer-controlled flight lasted nearly two hours, ending with a surreal scene of the cosmonaut landing in the field of an old woman, her granddaughter, and their cow. Gagarin, who died seven years later, had become iconic of both manned space flight and of the socialist ideal of the New Soviet Man.
another day in samaria
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed by Israeli missiles a week ago. In a revolting tribute to their departed comrade, Fatah - the terrorist sect founded by Yassir Arafat - wired 16 year old Hussam Abdo, a boy with "the intelligence of a 12 year old", with 18 pounds of explosives and sent him to a military checkpoint outside of Nablus in order to kill as many Israeli soldiers as he could manage. For his part, Abdo was given 100 New Israeli Shekels and a promise of 72 virgins in heaven.
putin's folly
In a move that is as transparent in its motives as it is meaningless, Vladimir Putin is preparing to "annul" the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939. The Pact, agreed to by Hitler and Stalin, pledged mutual nonaggression between Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia. It further allocated control of the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to the USSR and agreed on how Germany and the Soviet Union would share conquered Polish territory. Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941 rendered the Pact void. Nevertheless, the Soviets kept the Baltics until 1991.
the man on the canvas
Forty years ago today, 25 February 1964, Cassius Clay beat Sonny Liston in six rounds to capture the heavyweight boxing title. Clay, later Ali, evolved beyond a mere champion into a political and cultural icon. Ali lit the Olympic torch at the 1996 Altanta Games, and as recently as last month appeared in Super Bowl commercials for both IBM and Adidas. Much has been written about Ali's influence on the sport of boxing and society generally.
the rogue founding father
While Aaron Burr is probably best known for his duel with Alexander Hamilton, that was hardly his most notorious act. 197 years ago this month, Burr - a former Senator and Vice President of the United States - was arrested for treason.
airborne
100 years ago today, Orville and Wilbur Wright successfully flew their Flyer for the first time. A twelve second flight over the Kitty Hawk sand dunes with Orville strapped to a fragile contraption of wood, fabric, and a four cylinder gas engine ignited revolutions in warfare, commercial travel, exploration, and communication. Under two decades later, commercial passenger flights were commonplace. In 1947, Chuck Yeager flew his X-1 faster than the speed of sound; and it 1969, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon.
nostalgic for what
The realities of East Germany were poverty, oppression, and what may have been the most invasive police state in history. The German Democratic Republic also housed the most tangible symbol of communist control - the Berlin Wall. When it, and the nation it represented, collapsed into history in 1989, a generation of East Germans became Ossies - Germans who weren't quite German, suddenly thrust into a modern, democratic Europe that bore little resemblance to the nation in which they grew up.
sputnik monroe
Rock Brumbaugh will not likely be remembered as a civil rights pioneer. When the histories of race relations in the 20th century American South are written, his name probably won't be included. Nevertheless, Brumbaugh's efforts resulted in the first integrated audiences at a sporting event in Memphis, Tennessee - years before the civil rights movement forced social change.