Title of today's post is kind of thinking that the whole dissolution of who governs the Russian near abroad (what used to be the Soviet Union) is kind of like the fall of the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe in 1989. After reasonably peaceful handovers in Georgia and Ukraine, a chaotic but bloodless changeover in Kyrgyzstan, things are going pear shaped in Uzbekistan. In 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell and the Czechs and Slovaks had their Velvet Revolution, it was only really Romania where there was pitched fighting.
Of course, the fall of Communism also affected Yugoslavia, but that was more a delayed reaction thing. As I write there are differing accounts of death tolls in Andijan in Uzbekistan, between nine as the official government count, to over two hundred by some eyewitnesses. Troops on the streets, journalists being barred going into the city, hmmph, worrying. Apparently started off with a prison riot, people considering themselves political prisoners being tarred with the phrase Islamic terrorists. Both Russia and the United States have military bases in the country, and Uzbek President Karimov has put himself squarely onside in the war on terror... watch this space, developing story...
Hmm, onto a less depressing story, some people just have too much money. Some British billionaire is paying Destiny's Child and perhaps Justin Timberlake to perform at his son's bar mitzvah. Three day event will cost four million quid. Worryingly, isn't the first time he has had celebrities around, for his fiftieth he had Tom Jones and Rod Stewart and the theme was a toga party - now THAT brings up a mental image doesn't it LOL.
Reading a big article - big in both of terms of length and mind 'bandwidth' required - LOL, is easier to think about the big topics earlier in the evening than now - about Guantanamo Bay and the Patriot Act in the Guardian, but my news finding fuses are just about blown for the day, so will head to even lighter topics than Destiny's Child and Timberlake LOL...
Personally speaking, today has been quiet. Watched the Top 32 on Rage this morning (it was number 32, Britney Spears, when I flicked the TV on), started putting together my secondary blog, my actual DIARY from the deep distant past (1994, it does continue on and off until 2003), did a bit of websurfing, had lunch...
After lunch I went with Dad to the local mall - first time I have been out of the house on a Saturday in I don't know how long - and couldn't resist buying two DVDs. Magnolia and Traffic, seeing as I am in an ensemble movie mood after seeing Crash last weekend, that must have been those particular two choices - plus Magnolia only being $15... also wanted to get Closer, but that is a new release currently at full price, maybe in a couple weeks time or something. Mmm, Natalie Portman in a g-string - now for all those who have only seen her in Star Wars, I am not fantasizing over 'we must have kids to make the next three movies make sense, screw it if there isn't any actual on screen chemistry' Queen Amidala LOL.
Also bought the latest TV Week, the first time in like about ten or fifteen years I have actually bought one of THOSE sort of magazines - yes, it says TV Week on the front, but basically it is the same as the ones where we open to ogle at which celebrity has the best clothes, what they are up to and who is getting seperated divorced kind of magazines. And yes, I admit I have gotten that celebrity gawking urge over me, it is the Logies issue. There were some damned fine girls in dresses that evening, and I just had to buy it LOL - sad, huh.
Tonight it was watching Harry Potter Three - better than the first two movies, piqued my interest in the series again, but still, if it comes up against serious competition in the cinemas the particular weeks the next installment is showing, it may be another date with the DVD or video version, instead of at the cinema...
Also saw a good doco on SBS about the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War Two. Is part of a series showing the 'liberation' of Germany from a German point of view, but Cassino drew my interest for a couple of reasons. Primarily because it was one of the two major battles in the war that the New Zealand troops were involved in (the other being El Alamein), and the other being that our commanding officer has the dubious distinction of being the person that ordered the bombing of a 1500 year old monastery. The Germans weren't using it as a base, but having such an excellent observation post , I can understand the Allied troops and leaders thinking, imagine having it loom over you on a daily basis when your fellow troops are getting butchered.
Of course, the monastery was bombed, but then the monks moved out to the Vatican and the Germans DID actually take ownership of the rubble. Some of the worst fighting on the Western Fronts then took place - surely nothing can compare to the Eastern Front, even thinking of Stalingrad and what I have read happened there makes me think. Twenty five million Soviets died, both soldiers and civilians, and 95% of all German battlefield casualties happened on the Eastern Front...
But New Zealand did order the bombing of the monastery where St Benedict started Western monastic civilisation, yay us LOL. Sarcasm sarcasm - kind of like how New Zealand had an effect on the Montreal Olympics, we sent a rugby team to apartheid South Africa and the rest of the African nations boycotted the Games.
Yes, Montreal, you can send Wellington the debt mountain incurred by those Olympics LOL - Canada and Quebec may be able to pay it off finally in the next couple of years hmm, let's do a Google search... and yes, it will be sometime in the 2005/06 financial year that the games as old as I am will be able to pay themselves off LOL.
Later peeps
Pauly
Of course, the fall of Communism also affected Yugoslavia, but that was more a delayed reaction thing. As I write there are differing accounts of death tolls in Andijan in Uzbekistan, between nine as the official government count, to over two hundred by some eyewitnesses. Troops on the streets, journalists being barred going into the city, hmmph, worrying. Apparently started off with a prison riot, people considering themselves political prisoners being tarred with the phrase Islamic terrorists. Both Russia and the United States have military bases in the country, and Uzbek President Karimov has put himself squarely onside in the war on terror... watch this space, developing story...
Hmm, onto a less depressing story, some people just have too much money. Some British billionaire is paying Destiny's Child and perhaps Justin Timberlake to perform at his son's bar mitzvah. Three day event will cost four million quid. Worryingly, isn't the first time he has had celebrities around, for his fiftieth he had Tom Jones and Rod Stewart and the theme was a toga party - now THAT brings up a mental image doesn't it LOL.
Reading a big article - big in both of terms of length and mind 'bandwidth' required - LOL, is easier to think about the big topics earlier in the evening than now - about Guantanamo Bay and the Patriot Act in the Guardian, but my news finding fuses are just about blown for the day, so will head to even lighter topics than Destiny's Child and Timberlake LOL...
Personally speaking, today has been quiet. Watched the Top 32 on Rage this morning (it was number 32, Britney Spears, when I flicked the TV on), started putting together my secondary blog, my actual DIARY from the deep distant past (1994, it does continue on and off until 2003), did a bit of websurfing, had lunch...
After lunch I went with Dad to the local mall - first time I have been out of the house on a Saturday in I don't know how long - and couldn't resist buying two DVDs. Magnolia and Traffic, seeing as I am in an ensemble movie mood after seeing Crash last weekend, that must have been those particular two choices - plus Magnolia only being $15... also wanted to get Closer, but that is a new release currently at full price, maybe in a couple weeks time or something. Mmm, Natalie Portman in a g-string - now for all those who have only seen her in Star Wars, I am not fantasizing over 'we must have kids to make the next three movies make sense, screw it if there isn't any actual on screen chemistry' Queen Amidala LOL.
Also bought the latest TV Week, the first time in like about ten or fifteen years I have actually bought one of THOSE sort of magazines - yes, it says TV Week on the front, but basically it is the same as the ones where we open to ogle at which celebrity has the best clothes, what they are up to and who is getting seperated divorced kind of magazines. And yes, I admit I have gotten that celebrity gawking urge over me, it is the Logies issue. There were some damned fine girls in dresses that evening, and I just had to buy it LOL - sad, huh.
Tonight it was watching Harry Potter Three - better than the first two movies, piqued my interest in the series again, but still, if it comes up against serious competition in the cinemas the particular weeks the next installment is showing, it may be another date with the DVD or video version, instead of at the cinema...
Also saw a good doco on SBS about the Battle of Monte Cassino during World War Two. Is part of a series showing the 'liberation' of Germany from a German point of view, but Cassino drew my interest for a couple of reasons. Primarily because it was one of the two major battles in the war that the New Zealand troops were involved in (the other being El Alamein), and the other being that our commanding officer has the dubious distinction of being the person that ordered the bombing of a 1500 year old monastery. The Germans weren't using it as a base, but having such an excellent observation post , I can understand the Allied troops and leaders thinking, imagine having it loom over you on a daily basis when your fellow troops are getting butchered.
Of course, the monastery was bombed, but then the monks moved out to the Vatican and the Germans DID actually take ownership of the rubble. Some of the worst fighting on the Western Fronts then took place - surely nothing can compare to the Eastern Front, even thinking of Stalingrad and what I have read happened there makes me think. Twenty five million Soviets died, both soldiers and civilians, and 95% of all German battlefield casualties happened on the Eastern Front...
But New Zealand did order the bombing of the monastery where St Benedict started Western monastic civilisation, yay us LOL. Sarcasm sarcasm - kind of like how New Zealand had an effect on the Montreal Olympics, we sent a rugby team to apartheid South Africa and the rest of the African nations boycotted the Games.
Yes, Montreal, you can send Wellington the debt mountain incurred by those Olympics LOL - Canada and Quebec may be able to pay it off finally in the next couple of years hmm, let's do a Google search... and yes, it will be sometime in the 2005/06 financial year that the games as old as I am will be able to pay themselves off LOL.
Later peeps
Pauly
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