The Charles Shultz Philosophy for the Holiday Season

This holiday season I thought I would use the Charles Shultz Philosophy, creator of the Peanuts comic strip, to thank some people who have touched my life.

For those who do not know his philosophy, here it is:

You don't have to actually answer the questions. Just ponder on them.

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America pageant.
4 Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series Winners.

How did you do?
The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are no
second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields. But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten. Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special!!
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier?

The lesson:
The people who make a difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They simply are the ones who care the most.

Newport Beach, California

To Aryon who I went to high school with in Tucson and ran into at a hair salon in
Newport Beach. Strange that we should run into each other after many years of no contact. Because of you Aryon and your engagement to Wayne, I took over your room in that cool apartment. And because of you, I met Paul at your engagement party. Thank you for being in my life. Running into you altered the course my life would take.

To Paul who took me to London and New Zealand with him. Although our relationship did not workout, and we both know it would not have. And had I stayed in New Zealand, I would more than likely weigh 300 pounds, or be a hopeless alcoholic or pill popper. But if you had not taken me to London with you, I know for a fact I would have never had the nerve to go teach in Colombia on my own. Yes I had been an "explorer" so to speak in my own country, living in countless cities, encountering many adventures along the way, but never to a foreign land. So thank you for being in my life. You also altered the course my life would take.
London, England

To glamorous Janice and Agostina...also crazy Carmen, Isabella, and Sylvia who I have lost touch with unfortunatley. You are by far the most interesting women I have met. Although we live oceans away and I have only seen you a couple of times in 20 years, I consider you my sisters in this life. Agostina, I will never
forget your kindness when I was having a tough time in London town. You made it so much more enjoyable. And glam Jan, you always just cracked me up. And you are so smart. Both of you are. I thank you for being in my life. You inspired me to go back to university. You made me curious again about many things. I had become a little shallow while living in Newport Beach surrounded by wealth.

Upon my return state side and back to college, I met Leslie. Leslie you were there through some difficult times and stood up for me during one terrible moment in my life. I will never forget that. and your cooking when we lived a few floors apart in that old hisotric landmark in downtown Long Beach, the Cooper Arms, was fabulous. Most nights I was eating bean burritos at Super Mex or Top Ramen. So
thank you for being in my life.

To all the people I met while I was in Colombia, and that includes the international teachers as well as my Colombian friends, thank you for being in my life. I am so glad we keep in touch Peter. And Octavio, love your emails. You were the one who told me to take a trip to Rio Claro when the city walls of Bogota and all that war stuff was about to cause a nervous breakdown. That trip was just what the doctor ordered.

And to Marcela who took me on that trip. Thank you for that. I will never forget how when we encountered a road block and I asked if it was the rebels, paramilitaries or colombian army, you shrugged your shoulders, said you didn't know, passed me a joint of some killer Colombian weed, and turned up the salsa music on the car radio. Yes I smoked weed. It kept me sane.

Bogota, Colombia

To my colleague Luisa. You were so kind. Without you I do not think I could have handled Queen Annie.

To Catalina, man little sister, you and your boyfriend Maurizio were so kind
and took me out even though there was a huge age difference. I do act immature
and never looked my age. Anyway, taking me to the film fests and on trips out
of town saved me from utter lonliness.

To Che, thanks for your kindness as well. You have a heart of gold.

To Karen, Heather, and Connie who let me crash on there couches/extra rooms when I came home for the summer from Colombia. Connie, you let me stay with you upon my return while I looked for a place. Thank you. I am glad you all are in my life. And Heather thanks for making my movie postcard. So kind of you. And thanks for being there when my mother was dying of cancer.

To Bella, I have told you many times how much it meant to me to be able to hang out at your place after my mom died. Just could not bear to be alone at that time. Thanks for being in my life.

To Gilbert, thank you for believing in me and giving me the confidence
to pursue making a documentary film on Colombia. That also altered the course my
life would take. Had I not pursued that dream, I would have never met
the most amazing man i have ever had the privilege of being in the presence of,
Marino Cordoba. Seldom do people get the chance of being in the presence of
greatness and I did. Never would have happened if Gil did not encourage me to
pursue the dream. Marino, I am glad to have met you and am so glad you were
reunited with your family. I am glad to have you in my life...although only
via email.

Which brings me to Gimena. Although I have never met you Gimena, I feel that
I know you. You worked tirelessly to get Marino's family over from Colombia.
Even though doors kept closing, you kept knocking until someone FINALLY listened.
I am glad you are in my life though only in cyberspace. I hope to meet you one day.
Tucson, Arizona

To my boyfriend, Billy. I love you and thank you for being in my life. You have
a wicked sense of humor and a heart of gold. It is funny how I had to come home
to find my true love. I left Tucson in 1978 and 31 years later I met you. Our lives
took very different paths, but wound up on the same road and collided at Eric's art
opening. So glad for that collision.

I know I am missing lots of people to thank, but if you are on this list it means I am glad to have you in my life. Without you, who knows how my life would have turned out.

Love you all. I am wishing you all a most wonderful holiday season.

And yes Noelle....almost forgot to thank you for being there when I got back from
my time in S. Korea. Love you sister.

Sophie's Choice at Arizona Border: A Humanitarian Crisis

Crossing the border can be deadly. Body of migrant found outside Tucson

I drove down to Nogales on Wednesday and crossed over to the Mexican side. No More Deaths has an aid station set up there where they ask migrants being sent back to Mexico if they need medical assistance and if they were abused by Border Patrol.

No More Deaths aid station in Nogales

While I was standing there taking photos, an older woman with two younger girls walked up. The older woman told us with terror in her eyes that she was held for 30 days for a false passport and that her money was taken from her. The tears were welling up in her eyes. The volunteer nurse who was standing next to me got the number on her documents and immediately made a call to the Mexican Consulate. The nurse was unable to make contact, but left a message.

No More Deaths aid station and Red Cross combine efforts to assist migrants

Later while we were at the food bank they have set up about a block away, this nurse got the call from the Mexican Consulate to say they were going to get every cent that woman had back. The point of my story is that the exploitation of the migrants who are in desperate situations is appalling.

Food Bank in Nogales

At the food bank, the migrants are provided with donated food, clothes, shoes, and socks. The lines are long and often the donated items run out long before everyone has a chance to get what they need. The volunteer nurse who came down that day provides medical attention.


No More Deaths volunteers hand out donated clothes at Food Bank



I was so overwhelmed with what I saw that the tears were welling up behind my sunglasses. One young girl came up for medical assistance. I sat next to her while she was being treated for a knee injury and talked to her in my broken Spanish.

Maria Guadalupe gets medical treatment by No More Deaths volunteer nurse

Twenty-two year old Maria Guadalupe was from Michoacan. Maria got picked up in a car headed for Phoenix after having walked for four days through the desert. She was about an hour away from her journey's end where her husband was waiting. To join her husband in Phoenix, Maria had to make a Sophie's Choice-like decision. So desperately poor and wanting a better life for her child, she was forced to leave her 7 month old baby with family to make minimum wage thousands of miles away from her home.

Maria Gudalupe

I could not sleep that night and I still see Maria Guadalupe's face.


Post looking for family member who more than likely perished in the desert trying to cross

The number of people who have passed through the No More Deaths aid station in Nogales is more than 300,000 since 2006. The NMD volunteers have documented 345 cases of abuse at the hands of the Border Patrol. 183 people have died in the desert so far this year trying to cross. The numbers are likely 9 or 10 times higher since many migrants are never found. The body decomposes quickly in the desert sun. Often times when a body is found in the desert, the migrant has taken off all his clothes and folded it neatly next to him/her. The intensity of the sun makes it unbearable for clothes to touch their burning skin. Or sometimes the body is buried under the sand or dirt in attempt to stay out of the heat. It is a horrible, painful, and terrifying death.
Border Patrol escorting migrants to detention center, please note the lack of water provided for them by Border Patrol, no one is carrying a water bottle

As mentioned in a previous post, until Mexico and the United States address the economic root of the problem, there will continue to be a massive migration. The unsightly wall that has been put up only delays a migrant's crossing by about 5 minutes. The wall must come down not only because it is useless, but the message it sends is not the message our government should support. Moreover, it is wreaking havoc on the desert animal migration and the ecosystem.

The Wall, near Sasabe, AZ

I met two men at the aid station. One from Honduras and one from Guatemala. They told me that they were going to attempt to cross again the next day. The man from Guatemala had lived in Phoenix for fourteen years. He was stopped on a traffic violation and did not have a chance to say good bye to his family comprised of a wife and four children.



Honduran man on left, Guatemalan man on right




There are three organizations helping migrants in Tucson. No More Deaths is the most hands on organization. Since this work is controversial, No More Deaths has difficulty finding funding. However, the work they do has saved countless lives. They set up camps in the desert and go out on daily patrols looking for migrants in distress. They drive the back roads and also get out and hike.


No More Deaths truck parked at the camp site waiting for the morning patrol


They recently set up a tent like what we saw on the show M.A.S.H. The tent is equipped with cots and medical supplies to treat migrants. Most suffer from heat-related illness and blisters on the feet from wearing improper shoes.

No More Deaths Medical Tent at camp site


The Samaritans are similar in their efforts, but they do not have camps set up out in the desert. They patrol the back roads and also hike.

A Samaritan volunteer ready for a desert patrol on the migrant trail


Humane Borders is the least controversial and thus gets the most funding. Pima County government gives them a $25,000 grant every year. They have 99 water stations set up across the desert outside Tucson and as far as Organ Pipe.


Humane Borders truck


If this post and photos have moved you in any way to action, please write a check and make it out to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson (memo line: No More Deaths-Mary Cuevas) and mail it to the address below. Financial donations are tax-deductible and April 15th is just around the corner.

Please mention that you heard about NMD through my blog. Thanks in advance. Your donation will surely save countless lives this summer where temperatures soar above 100 degrees for days on end.

No More Deaths
Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson
PO Box 40782
Tucson, AZ 85717

Migrants at Food Bank in Nogales

For more information please visit the website: www.nomoredeaths.org
A No More Deaths volunteer nurse helps remove a cactus spine from a migrant's foot at the Nogales Food Bank

Humane Borders

Bob and Joe of Humane Borders standing next to truck at Mexican border; the wall in the background

I went out with Humane Borders yesterday. Left Tucson at seven in the morning and returned around one in the afternoon. We went down through Three Points out on the Tohono O'odham Nation and then on down Highway 286 towards Sasabe and the Mexican border. We hit 7 water stations. Meaning we checked on 7 water stations.

The stations are set up off the highway down dirt roads. Humane Borders has placed blue flags so we can find them...and more importantly, so the migrants crossing the deadly heat and cold of the desert out here can find them.

I forgot to take a photo of a water station, but if you look at the photo of the truck, the two blue barrels are exactly what we have set up out at the water stations. Migrants can either fill up bottles they are carrying, or sip from the faucets.

Humane Borders truck


The trucks, filled with water, have a hose similar to what you might see on a fire truck, only smaller. If the barrels are empty, we take the hose and fill it up. Pretty simple.

Humane Borders has an excellent set up out there. Pima County government gives $25,000 to keep the barrels full. Some rich benefactor in Tucson gives $20,000 a year. And then various other orgs and places help fund the $100,000 per year operation.

Humane borders has 5 trucks. I think that is what Bob and Joe told me yesterday. Bob has been volunteering for 2 years or so. And Joe has gone out on 7 or 8 runs. I asked Bob how many water stations were set up out in the desert. He said 99. They even have a few out Organ Pipe way.

Since this was my first trip out, Bob and Joe gave me the grand tour and took me on the scenic route. We saw a herd of deer. Not sure if herd is the right word. A pack of deer? Anyway, that was way cool. He also took me to meet the park ranger out at Buenos Aires Refuge/National Park. Cool old man with a cool old chocolate colored dog.

Sasabe Store

Bob asked if I had seen the wall yet. I had not. So we drove through Sasabe, passing the one and only store in the town. Just past Sasabe is the Mexican border. We passed the new detention center they have built to process the migrants. The border checkpoint was completely empty except for us.

Detention Center built to process migrants

The wall is definitely an unsightly sight for sore eyes. Bob told me that they brought in the metal from old airstrips in Vietnam. Think that is what he said. He also told me that about two weeks ago an endangered jaguar was found trying to get to the other side of the fence. It is a long unhappy story, but Bob said they tried to collar the jaguar to track it. They found the jaguar again in some serious distress a few weeks later and were forced to euthanize it.
The Wall

In my training last weekend, I discovered that the wall only causes a 5 minute delay to migrant crossing. They manage to get over quite easily. However, the animals who live out in the desert are not so lucky and it is causing their migration to be interrupted. I actually saw a video on all of this last week during our training presented by someone from the Sierra Club. You can watch it on their website if interested.

Sign just outside Sasabe

In my humble opinion the wall must come down. Moreover, we need to get to the economic root of the problem with migration. A European Union type system was proposed by Vicente Fox at the beginning of his term as president of Mexico. Can you imagine that? An open border between Canada and Mexico?

Border check point was empty outside Sasabe

Bet the disparity between rich and poor in Mexico would be on the top of the agenda of whomever became president of this European Union type system. Guess a good name would be North American Union.
The wall that killed the jaguar

Tucson, Arizona: Get Back To Where You Once Belonged

Saguaro National Monument (West)

I have moved to many places in my life, including four countries outside the USA, but this was indeed in record breaking time for me.

I found a place on Sunday, February 22nd. More on that later. I drove back on Monday, hired my friend Heather's teenage son to act as my "production assistant" on Tuesday. Packed everything that day and put it in storage. I cleaned the place Wednesday morning and drove back to Tucson in the afternoon.

Desert Bloom

In a weird way I guess I am lucky not to be in a career, or relationship, or a property owner. If I were, I would not have been able to pick up and leave like I just did.

I was thinking of the Beatles song Get Back on my drive back to Tucson. You know..."Jo Jo left her home in Tucson, Arizona for some California grass...Get back, get back, get back to where you once belonged."



Tucson Sunset




My dad has made a remarkable recovery. He is using a cane now rather than the walker. He had a doctor's appointment on March 4th. The doctor told my dad he no longer needs the catheter. Oh happy day.

My dad has been going to lunch at the country club with his buddies. My dad has also been hanging with his "lady friend" so much that he is never home when I call to check on him. Rumor has it they may be shacking up soon and living in sin. She is 75, my dad is 81.

San Xavier Mission

I found a place through my friends Tim and Mary. Tim is a fantastic journalist who writes for the Tucson Weekly. He writes a lot on border issues. His wife, Mary, is a playwright and teacher. They hooked me up to this woman I am sharing a condo. Her husband just left and so she wanted a roommate.



La Placita Village in Tucson






It is a gorgeous Spanish-style condo in central Tucson, Speedway and Alvernon area. This is five minutes from my dad's place. When I drove up to look at the place, I saw the name of the condos are Cuernavaca Villas . I knew it was a good sign.

That fab summer of 1990 I spent in Mexico while in college where I had the affair with the sexy lawyer... well I spent 3 weeks in Cuernavaca. Absolutely loved that city. Gorgeous.

My rent $350. Yes way.

City of Tucson

Anyway, my roomie is from Mexico and a department manager for Barnes and Noble. She has maid service twice a week. Man I feel like I am in Bogota, Colombia again. The maid asked if I wanted her to make my bed. I said, "no, gracias." The next time she came she made breakfast. She asked if I wanted some breakfast. I said, "si gracias." The maid does not speak English so I have been practicing my Spanish with her. I swear, I feel so lucky that everything fell into place so easily.

One last thing about my condo, I have an assigned covered parking space. Very good to have in this Arizona heat. Also, it is gated. So I feel safe. And we have a pool. Important to have one here in the desert.

One more last thing about my roomie. She gets advanced copies of books from Barnes and Nobles. This condo is full of new books. I am in heaven. I have about eleven books by my bed right now that I am trying to power through. I have not watched TV since I have been here, except once. The tennis match in Dubai.

My roomie gets the Tennis Channel. I am in heaven. Watched the men's final. David Ferrer lost to Novak Djokovic. I love David Ferrer. He was not playing his best tennis and consequently lost. Anyway, I can't believe I have the Tennis Channel now.

Monsoon Season in Tucson

Now I just need a job. Signed up with a temp agency, will start the process to sub teach, and have been applying to non-profits. There are four agencies who help refugees right here in Tucson. So have been applying.

Lastly, I hung out with Tim and Mary Saturday night. I met a guy named Ted. He is a filmmaker. And guess what? He volunteers with a couple of orgs that help the immigrants who are crossing over by leaving water and food. I told him I want to volunteer. Tucson summers are brutal and folks die out there.

I went to a meeting for Humane Borders Wednesday night. I signed up to go out to Three Points next Saturday. Three Points is out on the Tohono O'Odham Nation. I used to teach out there so know the area well. Unfortunately, the drug runners are going through there now making it a dangerous place.

I learned at the meeting on Tuesday Humane Borders is going down to Mexico via Sasabe. They said a big time director is shooting a documentary about border crossings and Humane Borders for HBO. Always thought this would make a great story. Wonder who it is.

A friend of Tim and Mary's bartends down at the swanky Marriot out at Starr Pass. She said she gabbed with Sam Mendes last week for about three hours. I asked her what he was doing in Tucson. she said, "shooting a film." Wonder if it is him. He is the director of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road .

The folks at Humane Borders asked if I wanted to come out on Tuesday. I sure would love to but my passport expired over the summer. It was on my list of "thing to do." Damn.

I stopped by the International Rescue Committee last Tuesday. I am going to a full day training today for volunteers. I will be a mentor to recently arrived refugee families. I will love this.

The volunteer coordinator told me that 45% of the refugees they are receiving are from Iraq now. Imagine that? We go and blow up their cities, and then accept them with open arms into our country when all they want to be is in their homes in their own country. Reminds me of the Vietnam era. We go in in slaughter and then invite them into our country.


Bisbee, AZ

Lastly, to my friends who read my blog, I am giving you all an open invitation to come out and visit. Best time of year would be spring or fall. I also love the monsoon season in the summer. But it is deadly hot and my English friends I think would melt.

I would love to show you my city and state. I took a drive out to Bisbee and Douglas last weekend. I will take you there. And depending on my work schedule, once I get a job, I will take you as far as the Grand Canyon. If work does not allow, then I'll give you a map. Just head north until you run into a giant hole in the ground.



Hotel Gadsden, Douglas, AZ


The first photo at the top of this post is Saguaro National Monument, West. It is not far from where I live. There is great hiking within minutes of my home.

The Hotel Gadsden Coffee Shop

And the Hotel Gadsden Coffee Shop and staircase are a sight to see. I had lunch in the coffee shop last weekend. A most excellent tuna melt with bacon. The two waitresses working in the empty coffee shop were very friendly... and bored. I learned that one lived on a ranch 15 miles outside Douglas. The other was 20 and married with a two year old daughter. Very sweet young women.


Hotel Gadsden Coffee Shop

The drive out there is full of wide open space and skies that go on for miles.

I have seen about a billion stars in the sky every night. One night last week Venus was shining so bright next to the moon. I have never seen her shine so bright.

I knew then that I have come home to where I belong. It has been a long journey. The journey still continues, but this time in the place where it all began.
Hotel Gadsden staircase, Douglas, AZ

My Dad

My Dad at Schooner or Later Restaurant on the waterfront, Long Beach, CA, May 2008

I have heard and used this phrase, "put it out in the universe and you never know what will happen." If you have stopped by to visit my blog, please send positive thoughts out for my Dad. If you pray, please say a little prayer for him. I am putting this out in the blogosphere universe in the hopes that my Dad makes a full recovery and gets to go home to his own place. Not some assisted living situation that I think will kill him.

My Dad at El Torito Restaurant in Long Beach, May 2008

My Dad is 81. He is the wisest man I know and also the most compassionate. He is funny as hell. He can be stubborn and has a lot of the old school in him. However, he rolls with the changes.

My Dad taught me how to drive, how to take chances, how to travel to foreign lands without fear.

My Dad served in Vietnam. He asked my mother to send care packages which he distributed to the orphanages in Vietnam.

He told me that many of the members of the armed forces were racist towards the Vietnamese. It sickened him and hit close to home since he suffered his own share of racism as a young man.

My favorite Vietnam story is when he had some young enlisted man come up to him to complain about a Vietnamese man who he was helping refuel a plane. The young kid called the Vietnamese man a "zipper head." So my Dad with clipboard in hand, taking notes to report the complaint, stopped, looked at the kid, and said, "how do you spell zipper head." Can you just see the look on the kid's face now?

My Dad in the garden of my home, Long Beach, CA May 2008

He had gall bladder surgery. We thought he would be home in a few days. It is seven weeks now. He developed a urinary tract infection that was so bad he has suffered kidney damage. He has arthritis and not walking has made walking again extremely painful. He is using a walker and getting physical therapy. He has excellent insurance so is in a good rehab, but man does he want to get home. Who wouldn't?

My Dad in the garden of my home, Long Beach, CA, May 2008

Anyway, I could go on and on about my Dad, but feeling a little emotional right now. So will ask again, if you pray, do yoga, meditate, please send positive thoughts my Dad's way. His name is Albert. He is in Tucson.

My sister is there and has been doing an excellent job acting as his advocate in terms of making sure his needs are being met. There are so many stories about elder abuse that having my sister there is a comfort. I am thinking of moving back home to assist in his transition home.

I am driving home this weekend. I will be spending Valentine's Day with my Dad and his lady friend in the rehab center. Can't think of a better man to spend my Valentine's Day. He's a good egg.

Che: Part One and Part Two

Movie Poster uploaded on Flickr by Cine Fanatico

If you are hoping to learn everything about Che Guevara from these two films, you will be disappointed. If you read about Che on Wikipedia or the most excellent book by Jon Lee Anderson, Che Guevara, A Revolutionary Life
before coming to these two films, you will love what you see.

Che Guevara, uploaded on Flickr by Ray Cunningham

I was hoping for more history other than how they took Cuba and what happened when Che went to Bolivia. I was hoping director Steven Soderbergh and producers Benico Del Toro and Laura Bickman, who produced Traffic, would have taken us on a journey beyond Cuba and Bolivia.

Che Guevara, photo uploaded on Flickr

I was hoping to see Che in Africa, his relationship with the existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and his relationship with his second wife, Aleida, who he met on the revolutionary trail in Cuba. I was hoping to see more of Che's complex relationship with Fidel.
Che Guevara in Africa with President Nasser of Egypt, Pan-African News Wire


Instead, the films takes place primarily in the mountains of Cuba and the jungles of Bolivia.

There is some footage of Che's trip to the United Nations in New York, the interview with a journalist played by Julia Ormand, and the party he attended at her apartment full of New York intellectuals later that evening.

Che Guevara on Meet the Press, 1964, Pan-African News Wire

I did stay long enough through the credits to see that they did indeed use Jon Lee Anderson as their chief consultant. Excellent choice. I wonder if Soderbergh read the 754 page book and then decided to make this film.

The Anderson book is a thoroughly researched biography that reads like great fiction. I knew what happened to Che in the end, but cried all the same. The book gives such great little insights I never knew. Like how Che was banging the maid in the kitchen when he was very young in his upper class home.



Che's motorcyle





How the motorcycle trip he took through South America is what turned him away from his bourgeois existence and into a revolutionary. He could have easily finished his studies and lived a comfortable life as a doctor, married with children, and mistresses.

A side note, if you have not seen the film, Motorcyle Diaries, I highly recommend you rent it. The film is a perfect depiction of this defining time in Che's young life.

After his trip through South America, Che returned to Buenos Aires to finish his medical studies in record breaking time of three years. He took another trip up through South America into Central America and ended up in Mexico City. This is where he met Fidel. They spent many a late night discussing poetry, philosophy, and the revolution.

Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in Cuba after the revolution

As a matter of fact, they start the film in Mexico City at a dinner party.

And near the end of the film there is a flashback of the boat ride to Cuba. Fidel and Che managed to buy an old fishing boat and convince 80-100 recruits to join them on this revolutionary journey. Che looks at Fidel standing at the other end of the boat. A look to me that said he wasn't sure he trusted Fidel.

Fidel and Che in heated discussion

Many think Che was betrayed by Fidel and abandoned in Bolivia. We get some indication of this in Part Two when Che is in need of funding and asks a journalist to get a letter to Jean-Paul Sartre and Betrand Russell telling them he needs more financing for his revolution.
Benicio Del Toro, photo uploaded on Flickr

Benicio Del Toro does a great job in his film. Fidel is played by the actor who plays the mayor of Tijuana in the Showtime Series Weeds. It is shot in a docudrama style by Soderbergh. He often shoots his own films under the name Peter Andrews.

I am glad this film was made. I hope it sparks an interest in Che Guevara's life other than his image on t-shirts and posters that adorn many a college dorm room. It is an important part of history that sadly did not make my high school history books.
Movie Poster uploaded by Cine Fanatico on Flickr

Australian Open 2009 Men's Final: Rafael Nadal Defeats Roger Federer in Thrilling Five Set Match

Rafael Nadal wins Australian Open, photo uploaded on azzurri_nr1

Roger Federer was hoping to tie the Pete Sampras record of fourteen major titles. Rafael Nadal was hoping to win his first major title on a hard court. The rivalry between these two champions is legendary. This was destined to be an absolutely thrilling match. Tennis fans were not let down.


Roger Federer, photo uploaded by azzurrri_nr1





Federer showed an unusual vulnerability in this 4 hour and 23 minute five set slug fest. There were double faults normally not seen from this former number one in the world.






Rafael Nadal, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1 on Flickr







Rafa and Roger during trophy ceremony, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1 on Flickr

Rafa showed his usual class after defeating Roger. When Roger lost his composure during the trophy ceremony, it looked as though Rafa was going to cry as well. Roger had to be led from the podium. After Rafa was given his ,he backed up and let Roger come back up to the podium and try again.
Roger Federer at trophy ceremony, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1

Both players are class acts. Rafael Nadal is solid gold. As a musician friend of mine, Pete Fahey, says, "solid gold, with a lion's heart and a gentle soul."
Roger and Rafa, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1



Rafael Nadal celebrates his win, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1 on Flickr

One last thing, the commentators asked the drivers for the driving service that shuttled players back and forth to their hotels how the players behaved in the cars. The drivers said the nicest player all the time is Rafael Nadal. Of course he is.


Here are some more photos I found on flickr that tell the story of this amazing match.




Roger Federer after his loss to Nadal, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1 on Flickr








Rafa drops to ground after winning Australian Open, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1



Rod Laver, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, photo uploaded by azzurri_nr1

Jimmy Carter on Peace in the Holy Land, NPR Interview

Menachem Begin, Jimmy Carter, and Anwar Al Sadat, 1979, uploaded on Flickr by Jeff Kubina

NPR's Renee Montagne interviewed Jimmy Carter this morning on Morning Edition. Carter discusses his new book, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land. Carter suggests a return to the 1967 borders before the Six Day War as viable solution.

President Obama and special envoy George Mitchell have spoken to Carter twice to discuss peace in the region. Good news, since Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Jimmy Carter, has been working on peace in the region for over thirty years.

Probably been thinking about it since the 1972 Munich Olympics when Palestinians took Israeli athletes hostage. It did not end well when German commandos botched the rescue attempt and all athletes were killed.


1972 Munich Olympics, photo uploaded on Flickr by ciatjj5


The tragic events and trial are covered in a great documentary, One Day in September, narrated by Michael Douglas. During the trial, one of the surviving Palestinians looks directly at the camera and says, "Before this, no one knew about Palestine. Now they do." Absolutely chilling to say the least.

Here is an excerpt of the NPR interview:

Morning Edition, January 27, 2009 · Nearly 30 years ago, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty that holds to this day. Much of the credit for that treaty goes to former President Jimmy Carter.

In the decades since, Carter has pursued a much more elusive goal: a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians. And he says there have been three recent developments that could help achieve it.

The first development was the election of Barack Obama as president, he tells NPR's Renee Montagne. For the Middle East, Carter said, that should mean "a balanced and aggressive commitment to bring peace. That's quite a change."

The former president also cited progress in his meetings with members of the Palestinian parties, Hamas and Fatah, in April and December of 2008.

"For the first time, the Hamas leaders pledged that they would accept any peace agreement negotiated between the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israel," Carter said — as long as Palestinians approve the agreement in a referendum.

And the recent violence between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which Carter called an "evolving tragedy," adds what he said is "another element of urgency to bringing peace to Israel."

Carter has written a new book on that topic, titled We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land. It follows his 2006 analysis, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which sparked protests from supporters of Israel.

His latest book is subtitled, "A Plan That Will Work." And that plan, Carter said, is no secret: a two-state solution in which Israel's right to exist is recognized by its neighbors — within its pre-1967 borders.

Noting that those borders could be altered by negotiations, Carter said, "By the way, that's also what's been espoused most recently by the prime minister of Israel at this moment — that is, Ehud Olmert."

Carter said Olmert also realizes that Israel must withdraw from the West Bank, that Palestinians must be allowed to return to their land and that Israel must share Jerusalem.

I encourage readers to read or listen to the whole interview with Jimmy Carter on NPR.

Here is the link to the whole story on NPR:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99870908

Obama Grants Al Arabiya TV Excluxive Interview

Al Arabiya Interview, Part 1

Obama discusses peace and mutual respect in this interview aired last night on Al Arabiya Muslim TV. Yet another powerful move by Obama to show the Arab world we are serious about a solution to the conflict in Palestine and Israel.

Obama discusses a new era of mutual respect and how the region is interrelated. This sends a message to Pakistan, Afghanistan, Syria, and Iran to name a few, that he is indeed interested in listening.

As a mattter of fact, he says in his interview that he has advised his ME envoy, George Mithcell, to listen and come back with a report on what was said. Mitchell leaves today to talk with leaders in Egypt, Palestine, and Israel.

Al Arabiya Interview, Part 2

Obama Talks Fuel Efficiency With EPA

Photo uploaded by staticbob on Flickr

President Obama would like stricter emission standards in California for trucks and cars. Trucks leaving the Port of Long Beach, the second largest port in the nation, spew toxic fumes in the air every day. Consequently, this has caused a rise in respiratory problems for residents in the area.

The issue has become quite serious and receives very little press. A friend lost his mother a few years back from lung cancer. She lived in an ocean front condo about a mile or two from the port. Never smoked a cigarette in her life.


President Barack Obama, photo uploaded by jurvetson on Flickr

This president continues to do exactly what I was dreaming he would do once he took office. I hope to hear something about his plan for health insurance next.