Memorial Day

http://politicalwire.com/images/5-30-11.jpg

Couldn't agree more. Happy Memorial Day to those that have served and to those that continue to serve. Here's to hoping that those who choose to serve are taken care of and not sent to their deaths for questionable causes. Remember that Memorial Day is for more than just barbecues and days off of work.

Boulder

Hanna and I spent the weekend in Denver and Boulder, visiting some friends and enjoying a lot of great food and drink. We had some delicious pho with our friend Lisa, who just returned to Denver from Cambodia. If you are ever in Denver, Pho 95 off of Federal is a great place to get some good Vietnamese food. It sucks that we have nothing like that in the Springs.

After spending a few hours in Denver and me getting an MRI (left knee, as always) at the VA hospital, we headed up to Boulder with our friends Ridge and Anna, who were both Peace Corps volunteers in Mongolia as well. No need to go into the details of a hard partying weekend in Boulder but here's a few pictures I took while we were walking around.

Colorado Springs Graffiti

Every day since I started working at my new job, on the way home I see graffiti on a large warehouse looking building near Bijou and I-25. I always thought it looked pretty interesting and wanted to stop and get a closer look, maybe take some pictures. A couple of days ago I had some free time so I decided to stop by and take a look. I looked around, snapped a few pictures, and it seemed like the building used to be some sort of art gallery or studio. It looked a bit abandoned and run down but there were signs that it was maybe still in use. Anyways, here's some of my favorite pics of the graffiti artwork on the building.







I really enjoy graffiti style artwork, especially when it's very detailed and intricate, not just 'tagging'. This is some of the best I've seen in Colorado Springs.

A few photos

Here's a few shots I took over the last couple of days. They come up pretty small by default on the blog but if you click on each photo, you can see a slightly bigger version. Nothing spectacular but I thought they came out pretty good.

Birfdaiye fun and excitement, the emergence of a new hobby?

For the readers who don't know, yesterday was my birthday. I don't find birthdays to be typically exciting because I'm just another year older (and wiser, I hope) but it's nice to have an excuse to spend time with friends and family and to celebrate. Though I'm not overly materialistic, it's nice to receive gifts, especially if its something that I probably wouldn't be able to afford on my own and that I really want.

While last year's birthday in Thailand was pretty amazing, this weekend was awesome. I played nine holes of golf with my dad and my good friends Tino and Andy, drank some beers and enjoyed myself. I'm not good at golf but I had a great time. To make it even better, the previous night I finished and submitted all of my work for school. It was well timed but I didn't realize just how well timed it was until I arrived at home on Saturday after golf.

On the way back home from Gleneagle golf course, I fell asleep pretty quickly, due to staying up late to finish school work, waking up early for golf and drinking a few beers during and after the golf action. I woke up as we pulled into the driveway, groggily made my way to the front door and walked in to the house, behind Tino. As soon as I walked in, I saw my cousin, who I wasn't expecting to see, then I looked around the room and saw my dad, a large group of my good friends, and my best friend Ben, who was supposed to be in Iraq as far as I knew. Needless to say, I was really surprised seeing so many of my good friends and family waiting for me at the house, decorations, food, drinks, etc. Hanna had somehow coordinated this surprise barbecue party without me having a clue. I spent the rest of the day catching up with friends, eating good food and drinking margaritas. The evening consisted of Mortal Kombat, partying with friends, beer pong and flip cup, then a brief excursion to the bar down the street. We also managed to witness a minivan slam into and knock over a street lamp, run over a utility box and drive into an empty dirt/grass lot, but that's a story for another day.

Hanna and my dad bought me an amazing gift, pretty much the only thing I've wanted for the past few months, a DSLR camera. It's a Nikon D3100, which is supposed to be good for beginning photographers. So far I've really enjoyed playing around with it and learning how to use it. The picture quality is vastly superior to any point and shoot I've ever owned and I'm really excited to learn more about photography, and to be able to take better quality pictures when I am in places like New York City and Kenya soon. I don't really know why but I always said that I didn't want to get into photography because I thought there was just too much to learn, too much competition, and that the equipment was too expensive. I love taking pictures and I always have, but up until the last couple of years, I was never too concerned with the quality. Now that I've seen just how big of a difference having a legit camera makes, I want to learn more. It really makes me wish I would have had such a camera while I was in Mongolia, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. No need for regrets though, I just need to move forward and take advantage of what appears to be an emerging new passion. I will definitely post up more pictures as I learn better how to use the camera and hopefully gain a better eye. I have some friends who are pretty impressive photographers so I will definitely be bugging them for advice and resources. Here's a pic of what my camera looks like:



I've got a little over a month before I move to New York City, a couple of months until my trip to Kenya and just under four months before I begin my first semester at NYU. I'm hoping to get a lot of reading done, continue working out regularly, continue learning French, and to learn a lot more about using my camera. Until next time, cheers!

Freedom....for now

Last night I submitted the rest of my materials for my last course and I'm officially done with my first semester of grad school. It feels good to be done but a little frightening to know that I have two more years of this.

Well, at least I'll be studying the things that I'm most interested in. :)

Off to play golf today with my dad and two of my good friends. I haven't played golf in four or five years so I'm sure it will be a disaster, but fun.

Almost finished O_o

Yesterday evening I turned in final papers and gave presentations for two of my classes, both of which I'm officially done with now. I have to complete and turn in assignments for one more class before Sunday, then I will officially be done with my first semester of graduate school. It's been pretty challenging and I've struggled with procrastination and staying focused but I think I did pretty well. I'm looking forward to relaxing, or trying to at least, for a month or so. Late June, early July is when we'll be moving to New York City so I'll have quite a bit to organize and take care of before then. We've got the move, then the oh so fun process of looking for jobs/internships, I'm going to Kenya for two weeks, then school starts in September.

Now I need to focus on finishing up the rest of my assignments in the next few days and do my best to avoid distractions via the NBA playoffs and the new Mortal Kombat, which is pretty awesome by the way.

Further Reading on bin Laden/the 'war on terror'

Here's a translated transcript of a video taped message from bin Laden back in 2004, courtesy of my friend Kelly: "Go ahead and give it a read, and try to be open minded about what he is saying. Contrary to what the US news/politicians say, america isnt always right."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16990-2004Nov1.html

Article I read today from Yahoo News on what it cost us to get to the recent killing of bin Laden. Roughly $3 trillion over the course of 15 years.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_exclusive/20110506/pl_yblog_exclusive/the-cost-of-bin-laden-3-trillion-over-15-years

Videos worth watching (in my opinion at least) :)

"Representative Steve Simon (DFL Hopkins/St. Louis Park) says a proposed Minnesota constitutional amendment is largely about religion. He says if sexual orientation is innate as science is showing us, and not a lifestyle choice, then God created gay people. He asks how many gay people must God create before we accept that he wants them around."

Couldn't agree more.


One of my favorite songs put in a well done amateur vid showing off some cool tricks with a unicycle (I think that's what it's called?).


One of my favorite videos of all time, worth watching over and over again.

Back to school work!

Anticipation of the 1st Semester...and more on bin Laden

Today I was able to enroll in my first semester of classes at NYU and get a better idea of what I'll be starting with in September. As a new student, I'm required to take three classes in my first semester so while keeping those in mind, as well as the backgrounds and credentials of the professors, and times/days of the courses, I put together a schedule that I feel will be challenging and interesting, give me access to professors with knowledge and experience in fields that I am very interested in, and hopefully allow me to work a part time job.

My courses will be Analytical Skills for Global Affairs, International Political Economy, Global Civil Society, and International Relations in the Post-Cold War Era. I'm excited to begin these classes in a few short months, once I'm (hopefully) settled in New York City.

As I scramble to get everything done for my current courses at UCCS, the semester is quickly coming to a close (less than two weeks left, holy crap). I have been thinking a lot about what I've learned over the course of the semester and what I've gained from my one semester as a public administration student. I feel it's been very beneficial and that I've learned a lot about myself, areas that I need to work on, management, time management, stress reduction, and the importance of planning effectively. I also learned that graduate school requires a lot more reading, a lot more writing, a lot more time spent in the library, and a lot less bullshitting. Even though I will not be continuing in the MPA program at UCCS, I am really glad I started and am completing this semester. I feel like it has prepared me a lot more for what it's going to be like as a full time graduate student at NYU. Keep this post in mind for future reference when I'm trying not to lose my mind while working on my thesis.

Apologies before I go on in this blog. I will undoubtedly write more about the bin Laden circus over the next few days or weeks, but it's only because I feel it's necessary, given the media coverage of American jubilation, flag waving, and excitement over the news of bin Laden's death. A friend and former Marine buddy recently commented on my cynical Facebook status update about bin Laden's death and the costs. Basically the gist of it was that I could have waited a few days before questioning our valiant efforts in killing bin Laden.

Above picture courtesy of Rob Shore, Mongolian RPCV. http://www.thedandybird.com/

My immediate response was that I think it's incredibly important that we question these things as soon as possible. I'm no conspiracy theorist but I'm always wary of what I hear, especially if it comes from any mainstream media 'news' source. I feel that questioning what we see, hear and read is pivotal in the learning process. Part of me understands the excitement of Americans over bin Laden finally being brought to justice but part of me also finds it disturbing and worrisome. It's hard not to think that this accomplishment and the media circus that follows is not just another shiny distraction to excite Americans and turn their attention from the fact that we are still borrowing money to fight wars in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan, as we continue to build upon our already massive debt.

Call me a terrorist or communist but the idea of American exceptionalism, in my humble opinion, reeks of hypocrisy, arrogance and dillusion. I believe that America as a nation has many great qualities and that there have been and still are great Americans who've accomplished amazing things. I will always be greatful that I was able to grow up in a nation where I didn't have to live in fear of being killed because of my skin color, ethnic background, or spiritual beliefs, where I was able to receive a good upbringing, a reasonable education, access to countless resources, good food, countless sources of fun and recreation, good medical care, and I was able to complain endlessly when I didn't get my way.

All that being said, Americans need to recognize that the world is becoming smaller as improved technology creates new, advanced methods of transportation and communication and as the global population continues to expand. If Americans expect to continue to be a leader and a major player in the global community, we had better realize this quickly. We may have been the 'leader of the free world', the world's melting pot, one of the world's first and most successful democracies (or constitutional republic) and been able to live lives of excess and privilige (well a lot of us, not all) for decades, but if we don't adapt, it will not continue. Our increasing disregard for the lives of anyone other than our own citizens (and Western Europeans occasionally), makes us increasingly polarizing. When we see Arabs or Muslims celebrating the death of an American, we react with disdain and disgust, yet there are flag waving, red, white and blue rallies being held in D.C. and NYC (and other places in the U.S. I'm sure) to celebrate the death of bin Laden. You'd think we just won the World Cup. When American or European civilians are killed, it's terrorism. When Arab or Afghan civilians are killed, it's collateral damage. When Americans are killed in retaliation to the killing of innocent Arabs and Afghans, it's STILL terrorism. When WE retaliate against the deaths of innocent Americans, it's just us fighting terrorism and preserving freedom and democracy, keeping the world safe, and avenging the loss of our innocent civilians. Americans are apparently the only ones allowed to defend ourselves and avenge the loss of innocent lives.

Much of the rest of the world doesn't suffer from the same memory loss that Americans do. At the risk of being pessimistic and paranoid, what happens if we default on our massive debt? What happens when the dollar is no longer relevant? You think that if the U.S. ever becomes a third world country that the rest of the world will suddenly forget everything that we did under the guise of spreading freedom and democracy and fighting terrorism? The rest of the world hasn't forgotten what we did during the Cold War, what we did under the guise of fighting communism, so I doubt they'll forget what we have been doing over the past couple of decades.

I have heard it plenty of times before and I'm sure people will continue to claim that my criticisms indicate a hatred for the U.S.A. I will continue to argue that I only criticize because I want to see improvement, I want things to be better. There are a lot of things I love about the United States of America and there are a lot of things I want to see improved upon here.

More on this soon, homework calls. In the meanwhile, here are a couple of interesting articles on the death of Osama bin Laden:

http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/05/02/dont_get_cocky_america

http://www.desertlamp.com/?p=10108

The Death of Bin Laden: Worth the Costs?

On my way back from the library tonight, I received a text message from Hanna, letting me know that Osama bin Laden was killed. I was a little surprised, since bin Laden has been a non issue recently, despite the fact that the actions of his organization almost ten years ago were the catalyst for our never ending 'war on terror'. I turned on NPR and caught the end of President Obama's address to the nation. As I drove home, listening to the president, part of me felt relief and a bit of excitement, but a bigger part of me started to reflect back on what it took us to get to this moment. It's very difficult to not be cynical about this bittersweet 'victory', if that's what we can call it. Mad props, no doubt, go out to the American servicemen and women who worked towards his demise and those who finally carried it out. What keeps running through my head though, is whether or not it was worth the cost.

It's been almost ten years since the attacks of 9/11 and needless to say, a lot has happened since then. Even though our actions in Afghanistan in the 1980's and the resulting blowback, as well as our other actions in parts of the Middle East and Africa, were directly related to the September 11th attacks, I am one of many Americans who believe that invading Afghanistan was the right thing to do. We needed to hit Al Qaeda and the Taliban hard. We seemed to start out on the right track, ousting the Taliban from power and hunting for Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda homeboys.

It didn't take long before things went awry. I don't think it's necessary to go into too much detail about the buildup to the Iraq war and the justifications, as that's been battled back and forth countless times over the past eight years. That being said, it's hard not to look back and wonder how much more quickly we could have killed bin Laden if we hadn't been engaged in our grand Iraq adventure. The 9/11 attacks resulted in the deaths of roughly 3,000 people, maybe more depending on your source. It's terrible that those people died, not taking anything away from that. Also depending on your source, somewhere between hundreds of thousands and millions of people have been killed in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa, as a result of the war on terror, not to mention the number of people turned into refugees. Five years ago, the number of servicemen and women killed, involved in the war on terror, passed the number of people killed on 9/11.

The deaths of thousands of American servicemen and women, the deaths of hundreds of thousands to millions of Iraqis and Afghans, a few trillion dollars (that we had to borrow from China), and increased hatred and vitriol towards the United States and its citizens, all over the world.

I posted the above (or pretty close to it) as my most recent Facebook status update and a friend just asked 'how many more would be lost without the effort?'. I can't say for sure, nobody can, whether or not more Americans would have died if we hadn't launched the war on terror but if you compare the numbers of casualties on 9/11 (combine it with any other terrorist attack against Americans if need be) to the number of casualties as a result of the decade long war on terror, I think you can come to a pretty reasonable conclusion. How about if we had never invaded Iraq? Hindsight is 20/20 but perhaps Saddam Hussein, were he still alive today, would be in the midst of being ousted in another Arab revolution. Just a thought.

Sure there's no doubt that Osama bin Laden was a nasty man who did some terrible, terrible things. He needed to be captured or killed, I agree with that. Was it worth the costs though? Why did it take so long? How many more terrorists and extremists were spawned as a result of our decade long 'war on terror'? Everyone will have an opinion on this, and of course the major media outlets are going to be thrilled to have a big story to spin and exploit and rave about for a couple of weeks until Lindsay Lohan gets arrested again. I just wanted to put some thoughts down while they were fresh.