The Bitch Beat Me

On my home turf!!!

First to Get Naked - Chris was sitting on chair in the Centre Hall when Tim and I returned last night. Then she went head and rifled through my drawers and he's the product.

Some stories that caught my eye today

Gay cowboys have real, lonely stories

Democrat Joins Schwarzenegger, and the Grumbling Is Bipartisan

Teaching jobs in doubt as pensioners set to outnumber pupils by 2009

Much of California under flood watch


Just finished reading the news... time to go get Chris from the airport. Her flight comes in earlier than the rest from Ireland.

Boxing Day - more details

It was pretty lazy post Xmas day. Gentry and Tim and I had spent a very wonderful day with John and Mary and Bobbi opening presents, drinking cocktails, reading our books by the fire, and enjoying an absolutely fabulous meal - turkey on the grill, Brussel sprouts with juniper berries, roast potatoes cooked in rosemary and goose fat, chestnut stuffing and warmed seasoned mixed nuts for appetizer.

After sitting around a wee bit chatting about types of whisky, our families and current events, Tim and Gentry and I went over to Paul and Kim's flat for some more Christmas cheer. His brother Steven and friend Allen were there as well. We shared our 'what did you get for xmas' stories and then decided to head to the pub for some drinks and holiday ambiance of a warm cheerful pub full of locals all dressed up!

We probably spent a little too much time here, as you do on special occasions, but we laughed and talked and played Paul's 'What was your favorite _____" o5 2005 game, which was nice because it makes you think about your year and reflect on all that you've seen or done or discussed. Too many pints to count later, we made our way back over to their flat for some pizza and snacks and then to play the 20th Edition Trivial Pursuit. My bright idea of separating into age teams placed Kim (from New Zealand) Gentry and I against Paul, Steven, Allen and Tim (all Brits and one very knowledgeable American on British culture) and we got our butts whooped in a very British-centric trivial pursuit game. But we had fun.

Anyway, we slept in as long as we could, but Chris and Amy


GUESTS
John and Mary
Bobbi (friend of John and Mary)
Gentry
Chris
Amy
Henry and Anne
Sandy and Victoria
Stuart
Cath (Sam's owner)
Sharon (Sam's manager)
JoAnn Archbold
Jim and Suze (caretaker and friend)

A fire, drinks, and a HUGE spread (courtesy Tim), games, dancing: Memories.

Some Highlights -
John shoving his face into Cath's bosom.
Chris being spun 'right round' by Sandy during the ceilidh
Scarying the shit out of Amy, and the realizing we were NOT supposed to do that - because she is a little anxious!!
Telling dirty jokes by the fire at 2am with just 'the guys'.

Boxing Day

Monday - Boxing Day. 26 December, 2005.

We woke up at exactly 7:38 this morning, just when our Amy's and Chris's plane landed at Edinburgh Airport (according to the Continental website). I got online to check some emails, and at around 8:30am, they showed up to in a taxi! How good it was to see them!

We poured a cup of coffee, had our first smoke break, and then we sat in the flat to catch up a wee bit. There flight was bumpy, but tolerable and on time with no lost luggage. A quick tour of the house (functional, not historic) and then the girls changed and showered for a trip to Dalkieth! Considering it is Boxing Day, we were fortunate to find a few places open so we grabbed a pub meal and a couple of pints at Sams! Amy was especially happy with orange juice in her drink, which was good, because they didn't have Absolut and she had to deal with Smirnoff.

They are napping now, after an episode or two of Little Britain ("Bitty, Bitty!!"). I'll wake them at 5pm for our Boxing Day party. Should be a good time! Tim's been cooking for the party most of the day - a fire, a mix of Scottish and American friends, food, drinks and games, Can't wait!

New Picture!

Thanks Annie! I loved your entry, and you are the first 'repeat' winner!

Send me more pictures from home or caption ideas!

Cheerio.

Back online again!

Okay - obviously it has been a tough month for me to get my thoughts, queries or observations on life down! I have finally finished my 3 essays that were due:

1. ‘The slow and limited development of CFSP demonstrates the validity of liberal intergovernmentalism.’ Do you agree? 2500 words
   
2. "Intervention by force might be the only means of enforcing the global humanitarian norms that have evolved in the wake of the Holocaust, but this fundamentally challenges the established principles of non-intervention and non-use of force" (N.J. Wheeler, 2000:1). Discuss. 2500 words.
   
3. Are Nations Constructed? A comparison ethnosymbolist and constructivist theories on the origins of nations. 4000 words.
   

Now - the first was okay. I decided that liberal intergovernmentalism was not entirely validated because it grossly underestimates the role and residual effect of institutions and institutional commitments, arrangements and treaties that countries are continuously signing up to, and second, that there has been an increasing amount of security measures agreed to in light of the new security environment that the EU is in. I think I'd be happy with a 68-72 out of 100.

The second essay - ugh, BIG subject. It is such a huge topic, but I essentially took an human rights slant and emphasized the norm of intervention, regardless of its forcible or non-forcible nature. States are be directed by many forces (public opinion, media and other states) to be moral over legal, if you will. I did allow that in the short term, sympathized with the solidarist position of the solidarists/pluralist debate, forcible intervention was necessary, but not a long term or ideal solution. The international society needs to stress the human in humanitarian intervention, and not the intervening. Because of its huge expanse, and even though I did a fair amount of reading, I am shooting for a 62-66 on this one.

Finally - the beast of them all, the one I had to create a question for and absolutely loathed working on for every minute of every hour of the 40 hours I spent on it, the nationalism course's essay was a rough one. Admittedly, by the end of it, I think at a general level, I can distinguish the greatest differences between the two theories and sets of theorists, but I'm not sure I really addressed the question that well, and if I get more than a 60 on this one, I'll seriously question the standards and professor's assessing ability!

The grading scale is taking some time to get used to, but it really is just relative after a while.
70-100 equates to a '1' [called a 'First'] or what Americans would call an 'A'
60-69 equates to a 2.1 (B)
50-59 equates to a 2.2 (C)
40-49 equates to a 3 (D)

Considering that I've earned a 70 and a 65 on my first 2 essays in November, graduating with 'distinction' (70 or above average -and none less than 50-on essays) like I'd hoped, it is not too likely, should I earn the marks I feel I deserve, that I will. But, hey, I'm still learning LOTS, having a good time, despite the bitching about essay writing; I am very content.

Scores are due the week of 9 January 2006; I guess we'll see!

Are Nations Constructed?

This is the question of the week - I hate nationalism.

From my Inbox today

U.S. Rep. Jim Kolbe plans to leave office Congressman
Jim Kolbe, of Tucson, Ariz., will not campaign for re-election next year. Kolbe, who came out in 1996, is the only openly gay Republican in Congress. Democrats Barney Frank of Massachusetts and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin are the only other openly gay members of Congress.

Editorial: NCLB needs a rewrite
A Los Angeles Times editorial says by allowing some states to use a student improvement model to measure schools' success, U.S. Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has injected some "sanity" into NCLB's unwieldy provisions. The newspaper applauds the law for revealing how poor and minority students were doing, but argues that instead of administrative tweaks, NCLB needs an overhaul.

Gays decry Vatican ban; priest quits
After many weeks of leaks and speculation, the Vatican has published its instruction on gays in the clergy.

Vote topples Canadian government
After months of political instability, the government of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin fell Monday evening when three opposition parties united to topple him with a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons.

Bush to Outline Broad Iraq Plan; Push on Training
American military officials in Iraq said they have requested $3.9 billion for next year to help train and equip Iraqi troops.

The concluding paragraph of a letter from Hillary
I know when America leads with its values and fearlessly faces the facts, we make the best decisions. That is what is missing at the highest levels of our government, and what we desperately need now – answers to the questions about Iraq that only the President can provide. I hope he will level with the American people and provide us those answers in his Annapolis speech and give us the plan that has been sorely lacking.
Sincerely yours,

Hillary Rodham Clinton



"People who enjoy what they are doing invariably do it well."
--Joe Gibbs,football coach, NASCAR team owner

Thought for the Day

Don't live with regrets; reflect and live for today and tomorrow. Live for people far and near. Live to be on 'top of the world' and sing, sing, sing.

From 2002 - a great but underplayed song by some wonderful writers and performers.

DIXIE CHICKS - Top Of The World

I wished I was smarter
I wished I was stronger
I wished I loved Jesus
The way my wife does
I wish it had been easier
Instead of any longer
I wished I could have stood where you would have been proud
But that won't happen now
That won't happen now

There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world

I don't have to answer any of these questions
Don't have no God to teach me no lessons
I come home in the eveing
Sit in my chair

One night they called me for supper
But I never got up
I stayed right there in my chair
There's a whole lot of singing that's never gonna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Think I broke the wings off that little song bird
She's never gonna fly to the top of the world right now
Top of the world


I wished I'd a known you
Wished I'd a shown you
All of the things I was on the inside
I'd pretend to be sleeping
When you come in in the morning
To whisper good-bye
Go to work in the rain
I don't know why
Don't know why

'Cause everone's singing
We just wanna be heard
Disappearing everyday without so much as a word somehow
Wanna grab a hold of that little song bird
Take her for a ride to the top of the world right now

To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world
To the top of the world

Almost homesick

I have three essays to write and don't even know HOW to start one of them... as there is no question to actually answer. Ugh. 'Picking your own topic' is hard, and not in the 'it's a nice challenge' hard, but, as a non-expert, it would be nice to have some guidance on what to investigate further. Okay, I am whining.

It's post-Thanksgiving, in a country that doesn't celebrate it, so we are left with the longing for home but faced with the 'business as usual' and no reconciliation between the two.

Tim is heading to Alnwick today to hang out with Kris and Jodi who stayed with us last weekend, toured the Highlands, and are now visiting Wade in England. Dinner and probably drinks tonight and tomorrow they visit Val and Stan and some other old friends for meals and such. I'm gonna stay here and attempt to get some work done on these essays - ugh, I am just so damn stressed out over them!!! At least the one, the other two will write themselves I think.

Went to Mrs. Henderson Presents last night. Good movie - second half was better than the first, but it made me think of home, and missing it, but also of how much this time abroad will be good for my perspective and how I approach life. One part 'life is short, live it' and the another part thinks 'appreciate what you have or it will be gone' and yet, another part, 'careful what you ask for, you may just get it'. Touching movie, uplifting soundtrack, and great acting - who doesn't just love Dame Judy Dench?

I haven't started a 'countdown' to when I return to the US and I doubt that I really will - but conversation with John and Mary and Tim at drinks before the film made me think of and realize how quickly it is coming! Assuming the dissertation work gets down, I'll be moving back to the US about 8 months! Crazy!

I wonder if our friends remember what we sold them versus what we lent them? I wonder if I do? I miss my plants. Is that weird? I am not disliking life here, but it's like Tim and I (and perhaps John and Mary as well) are experiencing a kind of collective homesickness; we've had several conversations about going 'home' recently. Well, it certainly isn't a reflection of our unhappiness here, but perhaps a reflection of the strength in the ties to and or love of our friends and families back home.

Home soon.

New Member to the Family!

I am an UNCLE again!!! Let's see, this is the 9th time, I think?

My sister Lori and brother-in-law Cory had their first child together. Big sister and brother Alexis (almost 10 now!) and Jordon (6) will be there to help out!

Welcome Alayna Renee Eskelson

IEP First Term Trip

Pictures of 'the Burn' from the first weekend in November.

My IEP group spent the weekend there for academic and social reasons. The home is an 18th century manor home, beautiful place! The rest of the pictures... a community building activity.

















































Tali, me, Iason, Mahalia, Finnoula, Jessica and Lyon.

Finally some photos!

One of my favourites... Tim, Pete, Al and Ian

Kelly, Katie, Krista and Britany

Al and Brittany
(photos are courtesy Brittany!!)

Halloween Madness at the Dalkeith House - 2005

Most of the 49 students attended, and 'most of the most' dressed up for a pre-Halloween party. As our 10 day break landed on top of October 31, everyone was away on the actual day!


Halloween in a haunted palace makes it so much more...

Elections and I have nothing to say!! Wow!

It is the day after US elections, albeit not a very big year, and I have nothing to say! I have been too busy to stay caught up on the latest crack - but you KNOW I voted by absentee...

So, what's new here?

Classes are going well - I am just starting my 'Sociology of Nationalism' essay. I am going to meet with the professor tomorrow, but I am leaning towards the topic of nationalism and identity - perhaps a critical theorist perspective; is nationalism, as it exhibits itself gendered? unfavourably racially or ethnically biased? or perhaps always driven by the hegemon?

Today's seminar on 'class' and how the middle class influences the establishment of nation-states helped a little in making the choice finally. I was looking at the topic of justice, but I think that might be a bit broad for a 4,000 word essay.

This weeks lectures in IR and IPEU courses actually pretty good - not that they are normally bad, but they were more engaging and got away from the reading a bit more, which is a nice challenge. IR focused on social constructivist theories - which, are bit hard to wrap your brain around, but once you get it, it makes sense. And, suprisingly, the lecture in IPEU on the European Monetary Unit (union) was interesting, mostly because Howarth had to go off the cuff a bit since his powerpoint didn't work; more professors should teach on the fly I think.

We are in week 10 of the semester for WIS program. The students are all back from their 10 day break and most of them are glad to be 'home'. We have such a nice bunch this semester!!

At the end of the month we get to greet our friend Kris Mumm (and her friend) to Scotland!! She's obviously been before, and will spend most of her time in Alnwick with Wade, but we did get tickets to go see PamAnn in Glasgow, so we will hop on the train and have a fun night out!! PamAnn is HYSTERICAL! I saw her and blogged about it in August - good bitchy funny!

Other good news - I JUST found out today that Tim booked us for Gran Canaria for December 17!!! So, a nice reward for the end of the program and me getting all my essays and first term done, an equatorial holiday will be an amazing hot and fun beach get away!

Finally - I am looking forward to lots of friends coming over in December! Kim, Amy, Chris, Tammy, Boy Corey, Dan and Gentry are all arriving after Christmas! We'll have a full house and the holidays are best spent with good friends. I am excited.

Okay - I must work now!

Pub Quiz

Saturday night at The Burn 2005 - Pub Quiz.

The best round for all teams was on The Simpsons. What does that say about our knowledge and values???? It was all good fun. I'll let visitors test their knowledge - it was the entire group's best category overall.

CATEGORY: The Simpsons

Where do the Simpsons reside?
742 Evergreen Ter.
8000 Springfield Dr.
1313 Mockingbird Ln.
77 Sunset Strip

In the thrilling two-part cliffhanger "Who Shot Mr. Burns?" what was the motive for gunning down Springfield's evil billionaire nuclear-plant owner?

• He siphoned all the oil from underneath the elementary school
• He set up a giant sun-blocking device so residents would have to use his nuclear energy
• He took candy from a baby
• He couldn't remember Homer's name

What is Homer's job at the nuclear plant?

• Pyrotechnical engineerS
• afety inspector
• Drone #305
• Assistant to the assistant's assistant

What is Krusty the Clown's real name?

• Lou Krustoleum
• Engelbert Krumperdinck
• Herschel Krustofsky
• Krusty D. Clown

Which of these celebrities didn't appear on Krusty's comeback special?

• Elizabeth Taylor
• Johnny Carson
• Bette Midler
• Luke Perry

Bart and Homer both sold their souls in different episodes. Bart got $5. What did Homer get?

• Absolute power
• $425.37
• A new bowling ball
• A donut

Hank Azaria has voiced approximately 40 Simpsons characters? Which voice does not belong to him?

• Moe
• Superintendent Chalmers
• Principal Skinner
• Chief Wiggum

When Marge and Homer first met in high school, where were they?

• A football game
• Detention
• The Slurp 'N Gulp
• A Pink Floyd concert

What is Kwik-E-Mart proprietor Apu's last name?

• Managatageepylog
• Nahasapeemapetilon
• Inagadadavidaman

Marge starred in which Broadway-style musical?

• Hamletmania
• Oh, Streetcar!
• Cat on a Sizzlin' Tin Roof
• High Hair Follies
  

Answers
742 Evergreen Ter.
He took candy from a baby
Safety inspector
Herschel Krustofsky
Elizabeth Taylor
A donut
Principal Skinner
Detention
Nahasapeemapetilon
Oh, Streetcar!

The Burn Long Weekend

Twenty-three students were led by three professors to The Burn, a country house at Edzell near Brechin, which is few miles north of Dundee. Lyon, Jacqueline (Taiwan), Afka (Netherlands), Tali, Andi, Alex, Walt, Greg, Neetha, Kevin, Sureni, (U.S.) Chad (Canada), James W., James Brown (Scotland), Naoise, Finnoula (Ireland), Jessica (Switzerland), Jennifer, Isabel (England), Magalia (German), Iason (Greece), Christian (Norway), and myself joined University of Edinburgh lecturers Dr. Chad Damro, Dr. Mark Aspinwal (U.S.) and Dr. Annicka Bergman (Sweeden) for a 2 day 2 night academic and social weekend. Our gracious hosts opened up the 18th century manor home - one dedicated to educational groups from all over the world.
We arrived about 5pm - explored the old home, checking out all the interesting nooks and crannies, the sitting rooms and the marvellous art, regal stairwells, entry ways and architecture. The bar - open very limited hours - opened and we indulged in a pre-dinner drink. Dinner was served at 7pm - Mince and Tatties, and then we all moved into the large sitting room, started a fire, and Chad hosted 2 rounds of mock ‘Question Time’, a popular British show that brings experts and the public together to discuss topical political or social issues. It was a great laugh and our panel did great!

We drank far more than we needed to I am sure, but at the end of the day, we stared at the beautiful star-filled sky, listened to the roar of the river and had great conversations about sex, politics and humanity. We are SOOO smart when we are drinking, I’m sure we solved the world’s problems before we went to bed, unfortunately, no one remembered the next day.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at 9:00am - most made - and then we had a 3 hour International Relations Simulation. I know I am a nerd, but I LOVE stuff like this! We had to role play - Diplomats, Peacekeepers, Refugee Relief Workers, Human Rights Workers, Provision of Aid workers, and try to problem-solved an implement a plan to help ‘Zadora’, a country divided into the power-holding Balboans, the most populous Achoa, and the resource rich but ethnically unlike the other two Kikuyas. The two main issues that seem to arise - the immediate and short term plan tended to need to be more aggressive, perhaps more interventionist but the long term plan and ideals discussed tended to promote non-intervention and self-determination. Nevertheless, we enjoyed ourselves and had a great learning experience.

A run for me, a walk and or soccer for others and others yet took a nap for their free time, but we returned as a large group when the bar opened. Dinner was fish and chips and then it was a massive and fun Pub Quiz! Mahalia, Jennifer and Iason did most of the work making it, but since I typed it and therefore knew all the answers, I was the reader for the evening. Four teams of 6 including the lecturers made for good size teams. The lowest score each sub-round had to act sing a song (Dancing Queen) or act out ‘light bondage’ which made for some laughs and surely some great pictures (which are coming). Fast forward to midnight - The final results…

1. Gigalos 82 points
2. The Others 81 points
3. The ‘Burn’ Outs 79 points
4. Norfolk & Chance 77 points

It was hysterical to hear the conversations and different nationalities asserting themselves as experts on this or that, be it history or the Simpsons.

From there it was downhill. The wine flowed and the cigarettes were doled out, and even more (incoherent) conversations about sex, politics and humanity - popular themes of the weekend! Unfortunately for me, I can rarely turn down a conversation on any of these topics, and I was up until 4:00am - but, on the early end of those who went to bed believe it or not. I won’t even describe how tired we were at the 9:00am breakfast and 10:00am departure.

2 papers done

I happily concluded my second paper. I had to discuss the extent of the conflict between the cosmopolitan and communitarian conceptions of global duty. I found this paper to be a little easier to write and it involved more ‘me’ in the work. I really enjoyed thinking about the different philosophy’s - Kant or Hegel - peaceful society and universal morals or community values and self-determination. I discovered, beyond the fundamental struggle between these two normative International Relations theories, that Individual vs. Community ‘First’ debate may be much bigger than this paper. I am thinking of how it may apply to my third essay in my Nationalism course and ultimately my dissertation. The trick will be, however, to find a new angle on an old debate.

just checking in

First Essay is done, argh, that was hard. I am starting to read and prepare for the second, I have 7 days, a trip out of town with Tim, a Halloween party for like 60 people at our flat in the palace, and regular course readings to do as well, double argh.


Coming up in November as something to look forward to!!!
The Burn Schedule
MSc IEP
4-6 November 2005
Friday 4 November
2:00 pm Meet behind George Square Theatre on Buccleuch Place— please be on time!!!
2:15 pm prompt Coach leaves— hand in Question Time forms on bus and nominate ' volunteers' for Question Time panels
5:00 pm Arrive at The Burn
5– 7:00 pm Welcome from Burn staff, afternoon coffee, room allocation,
relaxation, etc.
7:00 pm Dinner
8:30 pm First Question Time panel
9:30– 10 pm Bar break
10:00 pm Second Question Time panel
Saturday 5 November
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am IR simulation
1:00 pm Lunch
2-7:00 pm Afternoon free time—relax and enjoy the grounds at The Burn!
7:00 pm Dinner
8:00 pm Pub quiz —organised and run by MSc Student Representatives
Sunday 6 November
9:00 am Breakfast
10:00 am Leave The Burn
1:00 am Return to Edinburgh University
I think will be fun time!!

More educated, but not much more certain

After weeks of reading theory about why states act the way they do and what makes states want to integrate economically but not politically, I am not certain I can address either question better now than when I started.

There does seem to be a progression, in the topics covered that is moving us to the ‘current debates’ of International Relations (IR) theory. Realism is too pessimistic and leaves little room for progress. Normative theory seems to be in vogue, despite realists emphasis on the ‘reality of anarchy’. Liberalism, particularly the neo-liberals recognize that anarchy, but are simply more optimistic than realists and would like to think the free trade policies and institutions, non-governmental and/or business, could ‘prevent cheating’ in a cooperative (albeit, still anarchical system). The English School, perhaps just slightly more optimistic, and with the same Liberal foundations, as the neo-liberalists seek order and justice, not necessarily in that order, depending on which English School theorists you ask, to maintain the existing--and relatively peaceful--‘international society’ that exists. Finally, the latest, Marxism or the structuralist approach would actually turn the politically-driven and state-centric theories of all of the above theories on their heads and emphasize that nation-states are simply a political corollary or result of a capitalism; a system of core states exploiting a ’semi-periphery’ exploiting a poorer ’periphery’ and unless anything shy of a revolution and massive redistribution of wealth occurs - which is contradictory to the capitalist system working and inevitably, in the long term at least, its own demise, a polarized rich-poor world will implode on itself.

Perhaps there’s something to the Constructivist’s arguments next week - because so far I am not seeing the answers to some of the big questions being addressed in class - honouring the premier principle of self-determination (non-intervention) and ending poverty or preventing genocide.

Fun night with my IEP peeps

Tali invited me over for dinner at her flat with some folks from our program. It was apparently the first meal she has ever cooked for a dinner party! She did fine - the vegetarian pasta and chicken casserole and garlic bread were a big hit! Of the 8 of us there, we had 9 bottles of red wine - and with the chatty folks in our program, no shortage of conversation. Afka (and her friend from back home, Avalina) told me about a dream she had that I was in it! This is MORE common that one might think - it involved a new ‘space program’ and one of her old friends from Holland adoring me and kissing my stomach. Hmmm, I need a dream book.

Kevin is from Boston and described his plans to take the GRE in Dublin next month so he can transition into a PhD program in the states when were done here. Very driven man and I think he’ll go far. He’s also already done with his first essay, so I hate him. Surini didn’t talk as much, probably because she was being polite, but I do remember her talking about dwarf porn…
Catherine was on fire, telling us about her 2 week holiday coming up - her and her boyfriend are flying to the states: NY, Chicago, Las Vegas, San Francisco, Cleaveland and back to Dublin (where she lives) for a wedding and holiday. All that for €600!!! Damn…have fun and take pictures. She’s got good crack to share always and swears like a trucker… gotta love her.

James- chatty and hilarious! He just kept being force fed all the remaining food. I think all the girls secretly have a crush on local boy (well, he’s from Aberdeen) because he is cute and funny. The boy next door…

Tali was a great host who kept our wine glasses FULL! She was determined to get the whole lot of us drunk, and she succeeded. She recounted the boring administrative meeting that she has to attend as one of the ‘class reps’ and thought she might have been hit on by one of the professors, ew. We’ll see.

Fun night! I needed to catch the bus home to Dalkeith, but I had enough energy to go to the Coach for a couple with Tim - not that I needed any more drinks! It was a late Saturday morning for me.

Little bit of RHS today

I recieved the most wonderful email the other day from my old co-worker Debbie! She sent some pictures of the some of the staff at RHS and said they missed me and thought I'd like to see the 'gang'. I was so elated and touched, I'm not gonna lie to you, I might've got a little teary. I pasted just one of the bunch she sent below, because, I do think about these people, the insitution I once (and still do) belonged to, and where I'll return soon. In another email, I heard from a co-worker who worried: "how are we going to get him back on the farm now that he's seen paris syndrome". I am envisage that I'll bring a little bit of 'paris' home to Minnesota and Rogers, that's how I'll get back home.

Thanks for thinking of me - I am blessed to have so many WONDERFUL people in my life.

Hill Walking

Sandy, of Sandy and Victoria, led us on a hill walking expedition of about 10 or 11 miles in the border country of Scotland.  We arrived in Yarrow, just outside of Peebles at about 11:00am.  The weather was great - warm and windy - perfect for walking up and down hills, not to warm, not to cold.  It was good to talk with the students and get to know a few more of them a wee bit better. 

 

We ended up breaking off into two groups: half went on at a slower pace and the other half, went a bit further and faster.  We visited the Cheesewell near the top of one of the hills, deliver our 'gift' (a coin offering) to the sprites to assure safe passage and protection.  We met up with the other group about 3 miles and an hour later, where, we divided up into a slightly different formation. The first group made their way back to the cars and the faster group decided to go take pictures of the Three Brethren and the 3 cairns, or marker, where 3 counties borders meet.  Well, on the way back, our alternate route led us to get a little off the direction we were headed, forced us to create our own path through the sheep pastures and rolling hills, and, after an extra 45 minutes or so, finally reach the road and the car park and the rest of our party.  It was an exhaustive day, all of us quite sore the next morning from the exercise.

TWO HATS

I have the luxury and challenge of wearing two hats this fall academic term. On one hand, I am thrilled and energized and boggled everyday trying to read about, understand and construct some meaning behind the European Union, International Relations Theory and nebulous and enigmatic concepts like Nationalism! I am furiously reading or taking notes or just plain thinking about the theories and their practical application and, making every effort to be social with 53 new people from all over the world!!


On the other hand, I get to work with an amazing group of students and fellow educators in the Wisconsin in Scotland program. This group of young people has been extraordinarily thoughtful and fun to hang out with - AND, they are quite diligent about getting their work done, conducting their self-led student meetings and participating in my Tuesday night seminars! I love it.












I KNOW I will look back on this time a year from now and say, how in the hell did I do it!

With change...comes changes!

With all that is going going on with teaching school and being in school full time, I completed August's photo album (http://mrjohnsoninscotland.bornbybits.com/August2005.html) and I think I will just have to let the web page portion of my diary/memory keeper sit for a bit. In lieu of that, however, I will try to post more stories and pictures of all that is happening in life, work and love here in Scotland.

It has been ONE YEAR since I've started this blog-hard to believe-and I'm thrilled that I have captured some many memories and thoughts and ideas that I may not have otherwise... And, due to popular demand-and just plain because I have so much fun with it...I've moved the "Fun with Captions" site over to the blog as well, so anyone can submit an entry!! Fun Fun.

I will apologise now, to my 3 -? (boy, that is generous Ryan) readers, for the very school-oriented topics over the next 11 months. :)

Mahalia invited me to Jason's surprise party last night...

I had to present in Sociology today on the cases of Britain and France in the late 18th century describe the agents of nationalism in the young, evolving countries.... ugg, didn't go that well.

 

I went to the library, read for a wee bit, got tired (from all the worry about that damn presentation!) and headed to Dalkeith.  On the way past Adam Ferguson Building, Mahalia stopped me and told me about the plans for her and her flat mates in the surprise birthday party for Jason (pronoucned Yaw-son -Greek).  I made it home, finsihed my homework, or some of it, and Tim and I headed out.  It was a great night!  There were probably 30 people or so, and I bet at least 20 nations represented!!! Very cool mixed with some of that awkward 'starter' conversation and stumbling through accents - it was an atypical night and we loved it.  Some VERY cute boys from Greece or Italy, I am not sure, and just some generally nice, kind and gracious International students from all over the world.  I'm elated to attend those events, because nerd that I am, I'd probably just head home, do homework and go to bed (okay, bar and then bed).

The Assembly

Had a wonderful day of studying... boy, I think I'm going to be saying that a lot for the next few months.

After a long day in the library, I met up with some folks from my IEP program. Neetha (from Texas) was nice enough to sort of plan or at least announce to all of us that we should meet up to get to know each other, so we did, and that was us at The Assembly at 7:30pm. In all, about 20 or so showed up. I got to know, a little bit better, Christian (Denmark), Mahalia (Germany), an absolute sweetheart who looks a lot like my friend Kate!, Mary (NY), Cera (Ireland) Tally, (San Fransisco) and Jason and Elena (Greece). We mostly talked about the program, the amount of work and our current living arrangements, but we did manage a little bit about politics as well...

Cera and Mary and I decided to have another pint (or two!) at the Scotsman, where there was live music and some of their friends. Megan (also NY) was good fun and we laughed and talked about crazy relatives using modern technology a little too well, or at least with a little bit too modern of lingo... "P.O.M.F."!!

Good Fun.

First week of class

So, one week of grad school is complete.  It is thrilling and invigorating and stressful all at the same time.

 

First things first, the summer reading I did prepared me very well.  The first day's lectures made sense and gave me a firm idea on what type of pace and rigor will be upheld.  What is the bigger piece, that I'll need to worry about, is the outside reading and maintaining some time management.  I figure that I'll have about 500 pages a week to read - at least if I want to achieve my unreachable standard that I set up for myself for. 

 

The program I am in, International and European Politics, is set up on a lecture/seminar model.  We meet for lecture once a week and for seminar once a week - seminars being the interactive piece where presentations and dialogue take place.

 

Tuesdays -                     

Sociology of Nationalism - Lecture 11:00am-12:00pm

Institutions and Policies of the European Union - Lecture 2:00-3:00pm

International Relations Theory - Lecture 3:00-4:00pm

 

Wednesdays -               

Sociology of Nationalism - Seminar 9:00-11:00am

 

Thursdays -                   

International Relations Theory - Seminar 9:00-10:00am

Institutions and Policies of the European Union - Seminar 4:00-5:00pm

 

The first days went something like this:

 

Tuesdays -                     

Sociology of Nationalism - Lecture 11:00am-12:00pm

Didn't attend, as I didn't find out until Wednesday that this 'honours undergraduate sociology' lecture mirrors our graduate program topic wise, but is not required.  I'm sure I'll be attending every week - it's only going to help.

 

 

Institutions and Policies of the European Union - Lecture 2:00-3:00pm

Chad Damro is the professor and one of the co-directors of the IEP program.  He's a very nice guy and started us off promptly with the syllabus and a brief lecture on the treaties leading up to today for the European Union (Treaty of Rome-1951 to Treat of Nice-2004).  It will be a class focused on the complexities of political and economic integration of a diverse set of 'unified' states and it's enlargement, of even more diverse set of states. Reading in this course will probably be the most technical.  I'll really have to focus to find the distinctions and understand the nuances of theories like neo-functionalism and liberal internationalism.

 

International Relations Theory - Lecture 3:00-4:00pm

I hate to say that I'll have 'favourites' in this program, but I really think I am going to enjoy this class the most this semester, at least regarding the topic.  Professor Aspinwall is setting up this course to study the prevailing theories of IR - classic realism and liberalism and then bringing in of course, the much younger and alternative theories on IR - Social Constructivism, Critical Theory, Post-modernist, Feminist Theory, etc.  The concepts of power, authority, sovereignty and rule of law will be at the forefront of this course, and I find all of it very fascinating.

 

Wednesdays -               

Sociology of Nationalism - Seminar 9:00-11:00am

This is my elective course of this semester.  Ideally, I think I want to do my dissertation on the concepts of power, political movements and human rights.  I felt that a course on nationalism and the development (and reasons for) how society is how it is would be a good choice. I had the good fortune of receiving the seminar 'sign up sheet' last in class on this day and am presenting first next Wednesday.  Topic: Nationalism and Modernity.  Nothing like getting it over with right away I guess!

 

Thursdays -                   

International Relations Theory - Seminar 9:00-10:00am

My bus breaking down 6 miles SHORT of Edinburgh didn't help the start to my day.  Despite the fact that I walked into class RIGHT at 9:00am - I HATE being late, and right on the start time might as well be late - the discussion went well.  It's the first day, so our discussion of the 'significance of the state' began only after introductions.  It was a slow start, because we are all a little new at this, but great discussion with people from Japan, Spain, the U.S., Australia, England, Scotland, Estonia and China!  I love it. We each will be reading the same books essentially, but our experiences, cultures and relationships with the media are all different, and they will create a dynamic that will not be captured in a textbook. A cup of coffee afterwards with Kristian, Sam, Jennifer, Anna and Jeff was the perfect social celebration to intellect's triumph.

 

Institutions and Policies of the European Union - Seminar 4:00-5:00pm

After reading in the library for four hours, I was more that ready for this seminar, but, as it is just the first day, we talked about the syllabus and what we were going to talk about in the course.  The course reading requirements are extensive, and if we are only going to be getting one 50 minute lecture and discussing the material in one 50 minute seminar, we are definitely going to have to be diligent on getting as much of the readings done as possible. It is now in my hands to stay focused and dig in.

 

Unexpected Gifts

 

 

I really do have great people in my life.  I was going to make my way into Edinburgh on Friday to look at the computing facilities and run some other errands before the term starts, and I stopped off at Mary and Tim's office to let them I was leaving.  Before I departed, Mary says, 'Here, this is for you from John and I to help you start your school year off right.'  Then she handed me a little baggy of coins titled, "Bus Money for School".  It must have been close to £50!!! I haven't counted it yet, but I thought it was the sweetest gesture - how generous!  I do have to take the bus and will be going into the city a lot more over the next year, so it will be put to good use, but I certainly didn't expect it!

 

Then, my darling Tim followed me back to the flat and said he had something for me too.  He handed me a mobile phone, sim card and £20 of credit so we could stay in touch - once again because I'll be in Edinburgh for at least 4 days a week for long hours.  How sweet!  And THEN, he handed my a gift certificate to our favourite store and told me to go 'school shopping'.  I wanted to cry!  So many thoughtful gestures to help celebrate this big step.  I love it!

Grad School Induction

Induction for the IEP program was today. We met as a large group in William Robertson lecture hall - in all, 160 of us are enrolled in a 'taught' programme while 75 are in a 'research' program.

The logistics of email and facilities and other practical pieces were the main talking points before we were set off to our specific programs. Chad, our director, took the 53 or so of our program down the hall to discuss the program specifics. Before he started, he, as well as welcomed us to the university and the city of Edinburgh, congratulated us. "The IEP program is the most competitive, and the most popular programme, which is why it is also the largest. You should all feel very proud to be here, to have made the cut, from the 250 people that applied," he said. It was sort of special to hear that; Chad is very informal, very relaxed, and sort of 'gushes' a bit about all he talks about, which is very endearing.

The first task is to determine what my third course will be this fall. All of us in the cohort will take the required International Relations Theory course and Institutions and Policies of the European Union course, but we all have to choose one more to fill out our schedules. There is a variety to choose from, and obviously it will shape and determine the dissertation, so I will have to make some thoughtful decisions. I am inclined to take the International Political Economy course, because I think it would be important to shore up my relative weakness in that arena of thought, but I'm not sure if it would be my favourite. I've been given advice to go with what really interests me, but I think I have to be practical in what and where this degree may lead me too. The other choices are in Soviet politics, Social and Political Theory, Nationalism and International Security. One thing that Chad shared, that is a little different than I was expecting, is that we can take one of several law or management courses as well - which is interesting. Basically, that just provides for about 8 more choices and I was already struggle with too many options, so it's a mixed blessing. I will say, that it will be based on topics and interest and not on the work load, necessarily. After reviewing the abstracts, there is a 20 page paper or the equivalent of that as the assessment for every single course. Wow - 3 20 page papers in 12 weeks? Yikes - I'm getting tummy spins right now just thinking about it.

I'm off to campus tomorrow to sign up for the supplemental and required IPEU seminar, find the computing facilities and common rooms for my program. I'm in school again - hee hee. Feels weird. I think I like it.

A little something of world headlines

The price of petrol is sky rocketing everywhere. This article details a increase in petrol purchasing for fear of protesters blocking refineries. Petrol is up to £1 per litre. (1 gallon = 4.564 litres... combine with exchange rate, petrol is approximately $8.40 a gallon now).

It looks like Bush has chosen at least his first if not more of his scapegoats for Katrina. With an approval rating of 39%... he'll probably need a couple more.

Probably due to the program I am entering, but I've been following elections and regional news of many European countries. It appears that the left leaning coalition has ousted, just barely, the current centre-right government and Prime Minister of Norway. As a large oil producing nation - one of the top in the world - we'll see what an anti-Iraq war government has to say to Mr. Bush and the US.

On the same note, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, left PM who campaigned against the US led war is still probably going to lose, at least some power if not all control to Merkel - the East German 'regular joe' candidate due to a tragic German economy. A change in the largest European nation's leadership is sure to have an effect on US and EU relations.

This is why I teach

A letter from a student.  I had to post this, it is amazing. None of us can take all or even most of the credit for powerful learning events that influence people, but it is great to be a part of this.

 

 

 

Hey guys!!!!  Thank you so much for the email, although it has taken me entirely way toooooo long to reply.  I was really excited to get an email from both of you, as the girls from 107 (the "haunted" nursery) have kept in very close contact with each other.  We we able to get together a few times now since then, and it has been wonderful.  What a bond that has been created.  What a magical place we were all at.... we always start to get teary eyed.  I moved in with Jenice this past summer after graduating, and we had our room decked out with photos and and memories of the three amazing months abroad.  Thank you both for being so vital in those times. 

 

Congratulations to the both of you to continuing on your journey in the directions you both have been dreaming of.  International Politics at the University of Edinburgh!!!!!  Ryan, all I have to say is wow!  And Tim, of course, we all knew how much you enjoyed your job and we're living your dream, so I was glad to hear that you still are enjoying it just as much.  You both are so wonderful.  Great role models to have around at the house, and awesome to talk to you about anything. 

 

Well, my life has changed a lot since I left the Dalkeith house last November.  I finished my degree at UW-Superior and graduated this past may with a double major in Broad Field Science (emphasis in Chemistry and Biology) and a B.S. in Sociology.  I was excepted to the University of Health Sciences in Bloomington MN to obtain a masters in Oriental Medicine.  So, I was planning to start there just a few days ago (the 6th of September) however something happened.... something amazing. 

 

I kept putting off officially saying yes to the program because I had some questions lingering in the back of mind.... questions about the subject of health care as a whole and how poor of a system the U.S. has.  So, without much thinking, I applied for the peace corp, feeling as though some volunteering would be something for me to do.  In the process of looking for a spot to fulfill my goals, as well as helping others, I found the Americorps. 

 

Well, long story even longer.... I found out the Americorp had a separate health corp with stations in Chicago, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville.  After one week of getting accepted, I moved myself across the U.S. down to Jacksonville Florida to be part of the North Florida Health Corps.  IT HAS BEEN THE MOST AMAZING THING NEXT TO SCOTLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

I have only been down here for two weeks now, so I am still getting to know the area.  But after being in Scotland for three months, I found that my period for adjusting was reduced to about 4 hours.  Not kidding.  I would have to think Scotland had A LOT to do with that.  Being thrown into a palace with 80 new faces was something, so that helped me a lot. 

 

Anyway, we just had our first full week of pre-service training.  It was amazing!!!!  Lots of speakers and people from the community welcoming us.  I'm the only white girl, so I am in the minority, and I love it that way.  I learn a lot in this past week alone.  Wow.

 

So.... that is my life right now in a nutshell.  I will let you know what I am doing as I get more into things.  As of right now, my site is the I.M. Salzbacher Center for the Homeless.  We shelter over 300 people on a given night.  I will be working with the women and children with AIDS/HIV to provide education and support.  I will also be presenting once a week to doctors and those staying at the shelter on life skills to take with them once they leave.  It is going to be one heck of year. 

 

Anyway, enough about me.  I just wanted to let you both know that you played a role in the stepping stone from who I was when I got to the palace and who I am today.  Thank you both for everything, the students there today are really lucky to have you guys.  I'll be hearing from you both soon hopefully!

 

Always,

Natasha

 

By the Numbers

 

Our students arrived on one coach today - atypical sunshine in the September Scottish sky. 

 

Forty-nine students, tired, jet-lagged and excited for the new adventure.

 

Tommorrow is the Day One of the Orientation - I'll be playing a little game with them before I lay on the course work I've set up for them.

 

I'm sure they'll want to 86 me for being the 'tough' class again - like I was last semester, but I think we will have fun under my new designs.

 

I'll start with the name game - in groups of 17.

 

Sunday, their clans of 8 will take on Edinburgh - a self guided tour/scavenger hunt.

 

Classes for the 15 week adventure start Monday.

 

The 4 faculty members seem quite nice - Jenks, Tjornehoj, Berkowski and Allen.

 

Another semester of seventh heaven.

 

 

Top of the Pops

The top songs in the UK for the first week of September 2005 HERE:

The new song by the Gorilla's is excellent. Click on the music icon and check it out.

The new Oasis is also quite good, and I am smitten with the latest Daniel Powter song as well.

Gas Prices

I get annoyed easily, I know. I had to do some research and reading on this one. After a bit of research, this site seemed to say it most succintly.

Just in case anyone wanted to see for themselves, despite the fact that gas ('petrol' here in the UK) prices are high and rising, they are just about to approach (and may surpass, but not by much if they do) the rate they were in 1981. Gas is and has been relatively cheap for a long time... We need to get it in our heads that we can not expect a finite resource with limited production sites and imperfect transport routes to stay the same price forever!


check out the short article.

What is the Real Price of Gas?

Hurricane's aftermath - what will we learn?

Niall Fergusson had a great article in the LA Times this week about the Hurricane. Essentially, people are going to "blaming" other people for the response, understandably, however, there are those that see the Hurricane as a response to some moral flaw of the 'Big Easy' or a wake up call to the effects of global warming to a nation who is driving that pollution vehicle, but, to quote the article:

"As Voltaire understood, hurricanes, like earthquakes, should serve to remind us of our common vulnerability as human beings in the face of a pitiless nature.

Too bad that today, just as in 1755, we prefer to interpret them in spurious ways that divide rather than unite us."

When will we learn?

Soundtrack of my Life

I sometimes wonder, if at the end of my life, what the soundtrack would be. What 12 or 14 songs would be the backtrack of my life? Would it have an overabundance of Bette Midler, Tina Turner and Cher? Or would I balance it out with some country, Celtic and classics?

This summer I've heard Green Day's latest, and being the month it is, I thought I'd highlight it. I'm not sure if it would make the Soundtrack cut, but it will always remind me of living in Scotland and the passing of time.



GREEN DAY - "Wake Me Up When September Ends"

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends

here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are

as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends

Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends

like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september end

[ www.azlyrics.com ]

Things done and things to do

September 1st

I finished the course syllabus and projects and such for my course for the WIS program. I am pretty confident in the 'what' and the 'how' it is going to run.

I finished European Union: How it Really Works. Now, being the nerd that I am, I need to type out all my notes for the four books I've read. It will allow me to process and make some sense out of them.

Went to the Edinburgh Central Library today to return a book I'd found - it apparently hasn't been returned for 5 years. My good deed of the week. I checked out World on Fire, Amy Chua and Open Society, George Soros. I still want to read Hillary's book-which has been on my book shelf for 2 years, the Rushdie book Jamie bought me and about 4 books that Tim has recommended.

It's the first day of school for Minnesota kids - and my school! I sent a poem to my educator friends to remind them that they make a difference. The poem was from a site my friend Tina sent me www.taylormali.com.

My lap top arrived! Despite the horrific exchange rate, after I paid the £9125 ($16,600) tuition, my loans left me with enough to buy books and a laptop - I really felt like I needed one, since Dalkeith is not as close to Edinburgh as it could be for someone with out a car. My courses and studies will probably keep me in the city quite a bit.

Falling off the wagon

John and Mary returned from the Hebrides. They told of us a typically rainy and windy but beautiful western coastal Scotland.

We invited John and Mary over for dinner - Tim prepared a whole chicken on the grill! Very good. Afterwards, being SO close to the end of the month - we had some champagne, some wine, some beer and then went to the pub. August 29... close enough. The gang at Sam's was happy to see us - it has been a while! Jim, the caretaker, joined us. We listened to the jukebox and drank pints and had a genuinely good time!! Then, as we do, the four of us (wee Mary didn't pub it with us) went to the Coach. If nothing else, it is a chance to catch up on some local gossip, discuss the news, etc. We talked about the palace being broken into. John and Mary's lap top was stolen. We finished our drinks and then walked back to the palace. It was approaching 1:30am, but that didn't stop Tim and I from stopping over at Jim's flat for 'just one more'. We shot the breeze and played with his dog, Hector. This dog as thee most human-looking eyes we have ever seen on a dog! This dog was a very emotive human in a past life!

We've lived here one here, and a night like this made it really feel like a family, like home.

One day I hope to run for president.

Okay, that is a joke, but my friend Susan always says, 'well, if I were queen of the universe...'
It does seem easy to be an armchair president, but more and more, those that run for office shouldn't be elected and inversely, perhaps, those that wouldn't even consider a run for office would make some of the best leaders.

Take Iraq: The democratic coup d'état de jure

It could have been one article this morning or it could have been a series of articles, but the issue of Iraq is all over the place and I was inspired to blog political - something I haven't done for a while.

There are no easy answers to the very complex matter: whether we like it or not, we've engaged in a significant military and political engagement for certain (depending on who you talk to) purposes, and the question is, what do we do?

It seems to me that the US Congress, for sure our President and his people, and quite a few of the American people need one large collective history lesson. What is happening in Iraq is nothing new in our history. Hell, it is nothing new in any (arguably, but probably) empire's history. [See Britain's 40 year role in Iraq's history from the early 1900's up until about the Second World War.]

What the collective history lesson might provide is a sense of what we have done, WHY we've done it, (then a debate of whether or not it is right or wrong could ensue) and How we've done it (learn from failures--which there have been more of-- and successes.

We've been trying to lay down democratic principles and liberate and 'free' peoples (rarely, but sometimes it is Americans) for a long time...and in doing so, it just so happens that we usually benefit in some regard or another... hmm, go figure. Sometimes we are drawn into situations more that others... a quick glance.

(from:http://www.infoplease.com)

American Revolution (1775–1783)
Great Britain forced its 13 American colonies to pay taxes but did not give them representation in the British Parliament. This and other injustices led the colonies to declare independence on July 4, 1776. Independence was achieved in 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed with Britain.
War of 1812 (1812–1815) British interference with American trade, impressment of American seamen, and “war hawks” in Congress calling for western expansion into British territory led to war. At the war's conclusion, trade issues remained unresolved, but Britain gave up some of its territorial claims on the continent.

Mexican War (1846–1848) The U.S. annexation of Texas, and its stated desire to acquire California and other Mexican territory, precipitated this war. Mexico was forced to give up two-fifths of its territory. This land eventually became the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.

Civil War (1861–1865) Economic and political rivalry between an agrarian South and an industrial North grew into a civil war fought over slavery and states' rights. Eleven states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. The Union victory led to the reunification of the country and ended slavery.

Indian Wars (colonial era to 1890) U.S. expansionism led to numerous military conflicts with the indigenous inhabitants of North America, forcing them to give up their land. The massacre at Wounded Knee, S.D., in 1890 is generally considered the last of these conflicts.

Spanish American War (1898) The U.S. supported Cuba's desire for independence from Spanish rule, and seized the opportunity to expand U.S. powers in other parts of the world. At the end of the brief conflict, Cuba gained its independence, and the U.S. gained several former Spanish territories: Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines.

World War I (1914–1918) Rivalries over power, territory, and wealth led to the “Great War.” In 1917, the U.S. joined the Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan), who were at war with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey), after German submarines began sinking unarmed ships.

World War II (1939–1945) The Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—attempted to dominate the world. The Allies (U.S., Britain, France, USSR, and others) fought to stop them. The United States entered the war in 1941, after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor. Germany surrendered in 1945, and Japan surrendered later that same year, after the U.S. dropped the atomic bomb on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Korean War (1950–1953) Communist North Korea, supported by China, invaded non-communist South Korea. UN forces, principally made up of U.S. troops, fought successfully to protect South Korea. The Korean War was the first armed conflict in the global struggle between democracy and communism, called the cold war.

Bay of Pigs (1961) The U.S. orchestrated the invasion, an unsuccessful attempt by Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's communist regime in Cuba.

Vietnam War (1961–1973) In 1955, communist North Vietnam invaded non-communist South Vietnam in an attempt to unify the country and impose communist rule. The United States joined the war on the side of South Vietnam in 1961, but withdrew combat troops in 1973. In 1975 North Vietnam succeeded in taking control of South Vietnam.

Dominican Republic (1965) President Lyndon Johnson sent marines and troops to quash a leftist uprising in the Dominican Republic, fearing the island nation would follow in the footsteps of Cuba and turn communist.

Lebanon (1982–1984) U.S. troops formed part of a multinational peacekeeping force to help the fragile (and Israeli backed) Lebanese government maintain power.

Grenada (1983) President Reagan invaded the Caribbean nation of Grenada to overthrow its socialist government, which had close ties with Cuba.

Panama (1989) President George H.W. Bush invaded Panama and overthrew Panamanian dictator and drug-smuggler Manuel Noriega.

Gulf War (1991) Iraq invaded Kuwait, and a U.S.-led multinational force came to Kuwait's aid and expelled Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's forces.

Somalia (1993) A U.S.-led multinational force attempted to restore order to war-torn Somalia so that food could be delivered and distributed within the famine-stricken country.

Bosnia (1994–1995) During the Bosnian civil war, which began shortly after the country declared independence in 1992, the U.S. launched air strikes on Bosnia to prevent “ethnic cleansing,” primarily by Serbs against Bosnians. The U.S. became a part of NATO's peacekeeping force in the region.

Kosovo (1999) Yugoslavia's province of Kosovo erupted into violence in the spring of 1999. A U.S.-led NATO force intervened with air strikes after Slobodan Milosevic's Serbian forces uprooted the population and embarked on the ethnic cleansing of Kosovo's ethnic Albanian population.

Afghanistan (2001) The Taliban government harbored Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist group, responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. After Afghanistan refused to turn over Bin Laden, the U.S. and UN coalition forces invaded. The Taliban government was ousted and many terrorist camps in Afghanistan were destroyed. U.S. and NATO troops remain in Afghanistan to support its fragile new government.

Iraq War (2003– ) The U.S. and Great Britain invaded and toppled the government of dictator Saddam Hussein. Troops remain in Iraq to combat the insurgency that formed after Hussein's defeat.


And never mind what we've done in other Latin American countries like Honduras, Nicaragua or the SE Asian nation of the Philippines, then there is Iran in the Middle East - and Africa, if no other direct link, there is at least Liberia. Funny how these issues and others were not mentioned on the link above?

Regardless, there is enough information about the conflicts, the interests of nations (superpowers or otherwise) and the debates that were had in the Oval office or halls of Congress where I would think that there should be a better educated class of decision makers. The old adage about hindsight seems to be thrown out the window a bit here - and it is a shame, because a lot of people are suffering, dieing or worrying as a result (and that is not just the people in Iraq).

If I were Queen of the world... I would start with education.

A bomb?

It's not everyday that I get a phone call from Tim, who is in his office on the other side of the palace as our flat that he tells me about a bomb that has been discovered on the estate. Apparently the ranger, Cameron said that they have discovered a unexploded German bomb in the river behind the house. They are going to try to pull it out, and on the off chance that it should ignite, all the windows on the back of the palace would shatter. So, he said we should stay away from the walking trails and stick to the front of the house until morning.

Good to know - I'll do that.

End of August is approaching

Tim, Liam and SharonWe are approaching the end of our self imposed fast from Beer!! As August 31st approaches, I am reminded of the evening we last shared beers and smokes with our Scottish friends at Sam's - It was Cath's birthday!!

We'll be in there again soon - presumably Wednesday for Quiz night! I am down about 6 pounds or so(really, not my ideal, but my acceptable goal which was to lose a whole stone - 14 pounds)

Kim, Paul, Cath, Ryan & Tim

Barcelona

The flight to Spain was just over two hours. The hot sun of Barcelona was awaiting are arrival. We made it to our 'hostal' by 7:30pm and were struggling in broken espanol to order a meal at Pitel Lo 15 minutes later. I am very guarded when I travel and I felt especially cautious since I didn't have a grasp on the language and I couldn't expect as many English speakers in this country as I had in the UK or the Netherlands. However, I soon relaxed and realized that my broken Spanish was enough to get excellent service from all the friendly and beautiful Catalunya people.

Barcelona is the capital of Catalunya, Spain's largest and most northern state or region. They were their own sovereign nation for almost 500 years, so the ethnically different Catalunyans (French/Catalan/Spanish mix) definitely is separate from Spain, although a part of the Iberian nation.

We weren't sure where our first night would take us - but being in the gay friendly neighbor hood of Eixample, we decided to check out a few gay bars. Well - being in the vastly different Meditteranean culture - it was apparent that we were going to have to get used to the very late nights out or perhaps just miss out on some of the nightlife. The bars and discotecs didn't not typically open until 10 or 11:00pm and certainly weren't busy until after 12:00pm. But we were impressed when the bar filled up and we were able to enjoy with a loud group of handsome dark men a drag show. Despite the fact we did not understand most if any of the banter, I think we could sometimes take a guess about what they were talking about. It's amazing how tone of voice, body language and other non-lingual communication can communicate a message. The bar was called Crazy and that describe our first night - very fun.

During the week we really beached it a lot more that I think we had originally planned. It was just so alluring to us - the hot sun, the sounds of the ocean, the beautiful people and just the liveliness that a beach and the nearby bars conjured up kept our attention. The water was great - we split time between El Churiguitos and a spot in the sand during big chunks of 2 of the 3 days we were there. We probably walked between 12 and 15 miles over the 3 days - Park Guell (Guadi design) was very interesting and a wee bit of exercise to boot! One of the highlights of the trip had to be the bike tour - it took us to Placa de Reia, Sant Juame, the coronation place of Ferdinand and Isabel, Sagrada Familia (thee Guadi attraction to see and probably the biggest attraction of Barcelona) La Rambla - probably the best known and most historic neighborhood - down the beach and into Barceloneta.

Outside of the touristy things - the best part about our trip (as is usually the case) is finding and frequenting the cutest and best little coffee shops. The Outside Cafe and La Brocheta gave us many great memories, conversations and cups of java!!

Overall - we would back, and probably will be going back next spring. What a great city!!

Maybe it's a good year to be out of the classroom...

Because I'd want to laugh but have to tell students to turn there shirts inside out - From the LA Times Culture and Liesure section this week...

They wear cynicism proudly
T-shirts with rude slogans are hot, but schools and many parents aren't happy with their kids' smarmy attitude.
By Becky Yerak
Chicago Tribune
August 26, 2005
CHICAGO — Hi, loser.No, not you. That's the slogan on a popular T-shirt sold to teenagers as part of a booming trend in "attitude" clothes that is doing exactly what it was designed to do: amuse the kids wearing them while appalling their parents and teachers.With the back-to-school shopping season in full swing, teens are snatching up the T-shirts from companies such as It's Happy Bunny, which features a cute cartoon rabbit offering commentary such as "You're ugly and that's sad." Across the country, T-shirts with acerbic, flirty and downright raunchy messages are reproducing like rabbits.It's one financial bright spot in an otherwise lackluster back-to-school season in which the National Retail Federation forecasts that sales will drop 8% this year.At Wal-Mart Stores Inc., for instance, "attitude" tees are up 50% over last year, when the world's biggest retailer sold 20 million of them. And online, searches for the rude rabbit whose T-shirts spout such barbs as "I know how you feel. I just don't care" are up 558% in the last two months on Yahoo Shopping.


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Some of the Fringe Best I think!

Tim and I went to 2 fabulous Fringe Festival comedy shows this past week!!!

The first, Topping and Butch, were a couple of gay men doing some caberet mixed with political commentary -- it was awesome!! Despite the very cramped seating, they had as laughing out loud and singing along with outrageous songs -- poking fun at terrorists and people who live in council houses! "Never mind" (a song) was my favourite part!

The next night, because we had SO much fun, we decided to take the advice of some friends and see Pam Ann -- I think we laughed louder and harder, OH MY GOD. She was fucking hysterical. Her routine centered around airplane travel and she wasted no time ripping on flight attendants, Easy Jet and economy class passengers!! I'd see her again.

The Review will do them more justice than I.

Description
Two years of taking the Fringe by storm with their saucy satirical songs and outrageous outfits have done nothing to soften the biting wit of award-winning comedy duo Topping & Butch.

Review
Were there a prize for the best title on the Fringe, this show would surely take it. It's indicative of the depraved, filthy double entendres of which this duo are capable at their best, or worst
Despite the leather S&M get-up and the portentous doom-inspiring music that heralds their arrival, this is suggestive comedy at its most coy-innocent. Their genuinely warm banter and affectionate teasing ensures that everything is perfectly safe.

A little too safe for many tastes, though. What Topping & Butch serve up is the most traditional kind of intimate cabaret revue. It's as if the past 40 years of comedy never happened.
Their signature tune, Never Mind, is the most obvious manifestation of this. Bang up-to-date topical, new verses are added almost daily to stay abreast of breaking events, but the style is pure Ned Sherrin. Although they may be industrious, they are hardly cutting edge – but as the song goes, Never Mind.

They are unashamed of being populist, though, and revel in it. Only they could have an irony-free Sale Of The Century style fanfare and get away with it. They clearly love the stage, and that good feeling easily diffuses out to the audience.

Topping – whose eyebrows must be up for a double act award on their own – is the older, avuncular one. (Well, if you had an uncle with a penchant for kinky red kilts). It's he who best handles the double entendres, his supposed bass-voiced gravitas making them all the more naughty, in the same way Humphrey Lyttleton does on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.

Butch is more playful and more obviously cheeky, a slight counterpoint to Topping's nominally more grown-up persona – and it's their relationship, and boundless energy, that gets them over the wobblier moments.

It's unlikely their old-style act is ever going to appeal to the comedy purist; but the fact a couple in the front row came along to this – their seventh Topping and Butch show - wearing home-made in tribute to the duo suggest they're doing something right.


PAM ANN

Direct from a sell-out month-long season at London's Bloomsbury Theatre, ten sold out weeks at The Soho Theatre and an arena tour with Cher, the infamous trolley-dolley Pam Ann is now extending her routes across the UK.

This uniformed vixen is a cunning mixture of social satire and larger than life inter-continental lampoonery. She pokes fun at economy, dishes dirt on other airlines, and terrorises us with safety demos.

When tickets for her recent London season went on sale the queues outside the venue could be seen by jumbos heading for Heathrow. In the last year she has sold out venues from Sydney to New York and redefined the term "Jet Set" when Elton John booked her as the inflight entertainment on his private jet to Venice for David Furnish's 40th birthday party. She has also appeared with Anne Robinson on BBC1's The Weakest Link Celebrity Special.

Are you sure you ordered vegetarian when you booked your ticket?

PAM ANN AIRLINES - WORLD'S MOST EXPERIENCED AIRLINE - "The fact is we don't make the same mistake more than three times".