Georgia and the Sudetenland

I heard an interesting opinion on NPR this evening on the way home from work. The topic was the Georgian-Russian conflict that is going on as I speak. The expert, a history professor, was comparing the similarities between modern Russia and Germany between the world wars. Both nations, he argued, were feeling that they had fallen and needed to reassert their national greatness. Both nations want/ed to reestablish their "natural" territorial boundaries. The analogy was chilling. The expert went on to suggest that the unified West should stop Russian integration into the EU, punish the Russians by dissolving their special committees in the UN, and so forth.

And let us not forget the recent tendency of the Russian government to assassinate annoying ex-patriots in other sovereign countries.

If Russia is in the same position as Germany circa 1938, I don't know why this expert thinks any of the things he suggested will make a damn bit of difference. Does anyone think that canceling the Olympics in 1936 would have stopped Hitler's Germany from its aggressive course of action? This is a Neville Chamberlain tactic and it is doomed to the same results, again, assuming the analogy between Germany and Russia holds water. The ONLY thing that would have checked Germany would have been a military response by England, France, etc. When the "Allied" world did not respond militarily, then Hitler saw it as a lack of resolve and was encouraged to go further. Plugged back into Russia's invasion of Georgia, whatever pretense they are using be it a need for "living room" or because they are "obligated a peacekeepers" the implications of the 1938 example are staggering.

Of course this isn't 1938. While we are in a recession as we were in '38, many other things are different. For example, the U.S. military is currently deployed meaning it is busy and not able to respond if it wanted to (and don't think the Russians don't know it.) Also, The Russians have nuclear weapons and that is the most chilling aspect of all. Take a moment to think what would have happened during WWII if Hitler had had nuclear capability in 1938.

One thing is the same though. The thought of getting a unified anything from the West is just as absurd now as it was then. If 1938 is the truest analogy in history, then as in 1938, I am sure that, human nature being what it is, we will delay too long before acting.

4x100 Men's Relay

Congrats to the U.S. Men's 4x100 relay team. Last night was super exciting! Congrats also the the qualifying team that broke a record to get us to the finals; your work, although less glamorous than the photo finish of the final, was no less crucial. That footage is among the all time great Olympic moments.

Congrats also to Katie Hoff who took silver. We were cheering for you so hard. Your every bit as great as anyone on the U. S Swim Team. You rock!

Olympic mercenaries

Maybe I’m over-sensitive, but something I’ve seen in the Olympics really bothers me. I’m used to modern baseball, football, etc teams trading players. The NBA has players from all over the world. Yet, it really bothers me when Olympians, including coaches to some extent, immigrate to other countries for the sole purpose of having an easier road to the Olympics. I guess I think the Olympics are supposed to be different; that it is about representing your country instead of finding an international sponsor so you can get in. I think the Olympics are about each country sending its own, native grown, very best to the games instead of hiring mercenaries to do its athletics for it. There are exceptions, of course, like the now-German gymnast who moved to Germany to find leukemia treatments for her child, but they seem to be the exception, not the rule. Instead this seems like the Olympics are taking yet another step to make them indistinguishable from professional athletics with a four year championship.

SUVs vs Crossovers

Has anyone seen the Chevy advertisement where it starts out taking about how not all SUV’s have bad gas mileage and then goes on to talk about the new Chevy CROSSOVER? Maybe someone should tell GM that an SUV is is not the same thing as a Crossover. A Crossover is a car designed for the late 20’s person whose life style is crossing over (get it?) from single and fancy free to family. Its not as sporty as a sports car, but not as, well, family as a minivan or an SUV. Hence the name.

This is like talking about how not all oranges are equally hard to peel and then doing an ad for your new apple.