April 25, 2007

SINGAPORE

One Step Closer to Dalian and a Reason to Visit N. Korea

Today was a long day, made longer by my decision to watch the Champions league tie between AC Milan and Manchester United at 3:00am. The game lived up to the hype, largely because it featured three of football's best players - Kaka, Wayne Rooney, and Christiano Ronaldo - who each played a massive part in the 3-2 result. Kaka's second goal (shown below) was pure class - he made three defenders look silly, and then calmly slotted past the keeper.

Tonight, Chelsea and Liverpool battle it out at Stamford Bridge, but the pressure will be on Chelsea to get a result. While it is tough to bet against the likes of Petr Cech and Didier Drogba, an in-form Liverpool side are always tough to beat.

Unless, of course, you are the Arsenal, in which case putting six goals past them is a mere matter of course.

Enough about football.

I picked up my Chinese visa this morning, and thankfully the Chinese embassy did not hassle me over my posts regarding Tiananmen or Tibet. However, I was only granted a 30 day window for each entry (valid over a 6 month period with unlimited re-entries). Since my research lasts two months, I will have to leave the country and re-enter to avoid problems. It is a bit inconvenient, but it gives me an excuse to visit somewhere new. Looking at the map, the closest country to visit is... You guessed it, North Korea.

Now, if I can only figure out how to get the visa.

April 24, 2007

SINGAPORE

Arsenal are Shrewd in Business. Or Are They?

This morning, I read an interesting article about Arsenal Football Club. It stated the following (paraphrased for convenience):

In an attempt to raise money for Arsenal's designated charity of the year, Save the Children, the Board of Directors are hosting three American teams in a summer tournament at Ashburton Grove. The Colorado Rapids, the Los Angeles Galaxy, and the New England Revolution each paid the highly coveted $10,000 entrance fee, and have received the necessary approval from their parent organization, Major League Soccer (MLS).

However, Britain's government had other ideas. Last Wednesday, the Labour Party announced its plans for a farewell gathering in honor of outgoing Prime Minister Tony Blair. The gathering will be held at the Ashburton Convention Center, located directly opposite to Ashburton Grove Stadium.

Despite continued protests from Arsenal's influential board, police have forced the postponement of the tournament for fear of a coinciding terrorist strike.

In an attempt to make up for the logistical inconveniences created by the postponement, Arsenal refunded $5000 to the MLS, which is responsible for allocating the money to its member teams. But MLS Directors have taken this as an opportunity to add to their coffers by keeping $2000, and distributing $1000 to each of the three affiliated teams.

When I read this, I was a bit surprised such an insignificant event would make the news. Unless, of course, some one has an agenda against the growing MLS organization. So, I began following the cash flow when I came across the following problem:

                                              LA Galaxy: $10,000 Payment - $1,000 Refund = $9,000

                          New England Revolution: $10,000 Payment - $1,000 Refund = $9,000

                                      Colorado Rapids: $10,000 Payment - $1,000 Refund = $9,000

                                                                                                             MLS: $2,000

                                                                                                        Total: $29,000

I hope I am not embarrassing myself by typing this, but surely $29,000 cannot be all the money that changed hands? The initial payment was $30,000. Where did the remaining $1,000 disappear to?

I am afraid I may have miscalculated somewhere, so before I write to Arsenal Football Club (and the local newspaper), perhaps you can point out my error.

April 22, 2007

SINGAPORE

Preparing for my Chinese Exam

(周末学习华语因为明天我有华文考试）

Today will have to be a quick post because I have a Chinese examination tomorrow evening. This was a long weekend spent agonizing over Chinese characters, but I am now able to recognize roughly 450 characters (about 600 words.) While this may seem like a drop in the language bucket, after about 1000 characters one can read the newspaper, and after 2000 characters one can hold in-depth conversations.

Reaching such goals will require many more days locked up in jail cells like the one pictured to the right. Depressing, huh?

Welcome to Asian schooling.

One last thing: An anonymous reader kindly (ha!) informed me that my "writing has regressed over the past year," so I will do my best in the coming weeks to improve. However, I suspect the problem is not so much my writing - it was crap to begin with - but  how my life has become a little too mundane recently. Not to worry, though, for exams will soon be over and a fresh month of travel will begin in May. My plane ticket has already been booked, but I will keep the place(s) secret for a little while longer.

April 21, 2007

SINGAPORE

"Why are the Shootings in America World News?"

I was reading the newspaper over breakfast this morning when my Indonesian roommate sat down to join me. After several minutes of chatting about various happenings in Singapore, he asked out of the blue, "Why is the school shooting in America getting so much attention?" I was taken aback that he would ask such a thing, but I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because he has always seemed like a non-malicious person. After all, he has Buddhist teachings posted on our walls, and I often walk into the room to find him meditating.

So, I calmly responded that such a flagrant attack on innocent people is always going to be big news - especially since it occurred on a college campus in one of the world's most highly developed countries. Additionally, the repercussions are being felt around the world as the dead and wounded came from places like Israel, India, Puerto Rico, Lebanon, Indonesia, China and South Korea.

Then, as I began thinking about his question some more, I realized my roommate was implying that the school shooting is only worldwide news because it happened in the United States.

Excuse me, but what an outright disgraceful question to ask.

I don't remember a single person in America saying, "Why is the tsunami that killed people in Sumatra (Indonesia) getting so much attention?" or "Why is the bombing in Bali (Indonesia) getting so much attention?" or most importantly, "Why are we giving so much of our money to aid Indonesia's tsunami victims?"

In case my roommate isn't the only person who has been living under a rock, the United States was estimated to provide nearly $50 billion in overseas aid during 2006. This figure obviously hasn't taken into account the recent philanthropic efforts from world's two wealthiest men - Bill Gates (Microsoft) and Warren Buffet (Berkshire Hathaway) - both of whom earned their money "the old fashioned way," and still see fit to donate billions of dollars to overseas efforts.

But people such as my roommate don't give a damn about these facts. They still see America as an entity that forces itself on the rest of the world. All such people care to talk about is Iraq, and the arrogant American powers who are at the heart of many worldwide conflicts.

Well, here is a long overdue newsflash: the American people do not deserve such unfair harassment for they are easily among the world's most generous and hard working. I'm not asking you take my word for it because perhaps I am biased, so just seriously consider the following:

       - The world's largest economy, which is four times larger than its closest competitor, could not possibly have been built by a nation of "incompetents."

       - The army that drove off the Japanese and German forces, freeing half the world in the process, could not possibly have been manned by "lazy slobs."

       - The nation that put a man on the moon - likely signifying the greatest achievement in mankind's history - could not possibly have been performed by the "technically inferior."

       - And lastly, the nation that gives endless aid and support to those who are less fortunate in the world is not the "arrogant and selfish demon" it is made out to be.

Of course, I did not say any of these things to my roommate, just as Americans do not go about glorifying their contributions.

Why?

Because Americans are raised to believe that actions speak louder than words, and actions should be performed because they are the right thing to do - not because we want a recognition for them.

I would at least hope that when our country is struck down by a horrific attack people would have the decency to show a little respect and not ask why we receive undue attention. For those friends of mine who have taken the time to offer your condolences, I promise it means more than you could imagine because I am a long way from home.

April 20, 2007

SINGAPORE

Visiting the Chinese Consulate and My Afterthoughts

This morning I went to the Chinese consulate in Singapore to apply for my Chinese visa. It would have been a walk in the park if the waiting line didn't snake through the main lobby, the foyer, and all the way back to the women's bathroom at the far end of the building.

Even I tend to forget just how many Chinese there are in the world.

At roughly 20% of the global population, the Han Chinese are the world's largest ethnic group, but it takes such tangible experiences to realize the logistical problems this creates for the Chinese government. Let us not forget: China has less land mass than the United States and over four times as many people. It is a monumental task to take such a country from a third world designation to first world living standards while coping with explosive growth and tense political situations. I do not mean this as support for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) because frankly I do not know enough, but what I have come to learn is that the situation is entirely different from what is understood by the West.

Western countries have the luxury of focusing on long-term sustainability because they already have a strong infrastructure and reliable growth to overcome short-term fears. This is not the case in countries like China where short term challenges are of more immediate concern. Indeed, the only way a country like China can tackle long-term problems is by first over-coming the everyday ones.

Call me short-sighted, but for now, I'll be content if they can just tackle the problem of approving my visa by next Wednesday, as promised.

Lastly, for any who don't understand why football is called "the beautiful game", take a look at this goal from a few days ago.

April 19, 2007

SINGAPORE

Done With Fluid Mechanics and Cho Seung-Hui's Birthplace

I finished my first exam this morning, Fluid Mechanics, and it went quite well. The bell-curve system makes it difficult to predict actual grades, but I am not too worried.

During the exam, two Canadian students sitting in front of me (international students were grouped together in the testing hall) walked out just under the hour mark. It was somewhat strange because the proctor collected their papers, and then he looked at me as if he was expecting to see yet another westerner throw in the towel. I don't like the stigma that western students are lazy and not as technically gifted as Asians, so hopefully my marks will help dispel such a myth. If not, at least those two students will bump the rest of us up on the bell-curve.

When the exam ended, we had to wait for our exam papers to be collected. I began chatting with a South Korean exchange student sitting across from me, and he asked how I felt about the fact that Virginia Tech's shooter was from South Korea. I realized I hadn't given much thought to this because it seemed like a moot point. What difference does it make where he was born? Why does it matter if he looks Asian? Cho Seung-Hui committed a horrible atrocity and was obviously mentally disturbed - such things have nothing to do with him being born in South Korea.

While I don't exactly have an ear to the ground in the United States - distance creating serious logistical problems for such an endeavor - I wouldn't imagine the Asian community is being singled out after the shootings. If anything, people will go to greater lengths to help non-natives better integrate so such alienation doesn't reoccur. But again, I don't think the alienation stemmed from the fact that he was Asian, nor does the mentality of the populace treat it as such.

April 18, 2007

SINGAPORE

Bad Taste by the Strait Times, and Crime Strikes a Friend

While reading Singapore's primary newspaper, The Strait Times, I came across the foldout show to the right. There are several articles highlighting the grim nature of the Virginia Tech shooting, along with an ill-thought out advertisement pronouncing "Life is great!" Such a proclamation, along with a cheerful thumbs up, is horribly positioned and should have been caught by the editors. It is not rocket science to notice such a potentially offensive error, and the newspaper should exercise more common sense with delicate topics like mass murder.

I wrote the Strait Times a letter pointing out their lack of taste, and I hope they will bear this in mind for the future.

Please forgive the following moment of reminiscence, but I include it for a reason...

Most of my childhood memories came from experiences with sports (street hockey with the Brannons, manhunt with the Kiedis', and seeing a leg broken twice), holiday celebrations (falling in the pool on Christmas, Luke and fire, recycling bins on New Years), and of course the pranks we got away with (not listed for obvious reasons.) Undoubtedly, every child with a similar upbringing had a partner in crime, and mine was Tim Ford, an athletic neighbor from across the street. Although I have not seen him in quite some time, memories never fade and childhood friendships always last.

So, it was with some shock when I received the following email from him. Hopefully he does not mind my sharing it with the rest of the world, but if he does, well, I am far enough way to stay safe.

Tim wrote...

I thought it was funny to read your thoughts on how civil the U.S. usually is and I definitely agree but I recently had an incident that would contradict this thought.  I was visiting some friends in Asheville, NC and we were out at a club and my friend got in an argument with some thug who was touching his girlfriend.  Well this guy ended up pushing my friend and when I stood between them in an effort to quell any potential fight, the other guy's friend smashed a beer bottle over my head.  I was showered in blood and had to get 6 staples to close the 4 inch gash. 

Tim was released from the hospital, and although he is still as ugly as before, he should be OK. I wanted to include this because it blows my last post about how "I have never known some one who was physically harmed" all to hell. Also, it is great to hear from you, Tim.

In other news, my exams begin tomorrow, and I am hoping the following advice will see me through to greener pastures:

"If you try and don't succeed, cheat. Repeat until caught. Then lie."

And if this fails to work, I will take solace in the following:

"If you try and don't succeed, then you are about normal" (Jeff Foxworthy)

**For the record, the last two quotes are meant to be tongue in cheek. I suppose some ill-humored individual (no names mentioned, MOM) could misinterpret such quotes and think I am serious, but hopefully common sense prevails and you find them as humorous as I first did.

April 17, 2007

SINGAPORE

Clearing Up Some of Negative Misconceptions Toward America

There are few things about America that I have a hard time explaining or justifying. However, the recent school shooting has left me in a very difficult position when I try to respond to people's inquiries. I have created a quick run-down of questions I have been asked in relation to crime and shootings in the United States.

1) I heard it isn't safe to walk outside in America. -Iranian friend, March 2007

At 300 million people, America is quite large. Like all countries, there are bound to be those who are either mentally unstable or severely disgruntled. America separates itself from many other countries by giving a great deal of media attention to such instances because, let's face it, people don't expect it to happen in America. So, it makes for "gripping" news to report about the criminal acts that do occur.

The truth of the matter, though, is I have never seen a serious crime committed, and I have never known some one who was physically harmed. This isn't to say it doesn't happen, but as long as you exercise the same common sense that applies everywhere else, you will find America to be one of the safest places on earth.

2) I heard it's not safe to study in schools because of student shootings. -Singaporean friend, January 2007

Of late, student shootings are one of the uglier developments in America. They are inexcusable and grip the entire nation every time they occur because they seem to happen randomly. However, please remember that America has 100 times more people than Singapore. Percentage-wise, for every 100 shootings in America there should be 1 shooting in Singapore.

I don't mean this as justification because there is no excusing the heinous acts. Schools have tried installing metal detectors along with a host of other safeguards, but at the end of the day it is up to parents, friends, and family to prevent such events. As a country, we have tried to improve upon this.

3) I heard America has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. -Nigerian friend, March 2007

There was actually a movie created about this very topic because it is unsettling how many homicides occur every year, especially using guns. Part of the problem lies in the availability of lethal weapons. The American Constitution, the world's oldest constitution still in use, protects a citizen's right to "bear arms" (own a gun.) While this right has been curtailed to prohibit things like hand guns and automatic weapons, the average person can still own a rifle if they fill out the necessary paperwork.

4) I heard Americans don't like Chinese. -Hong Kong friend, December 2006

While it is difficult to speak for everyone, I have never experienced a time when a Chinese person was degraded or looked down upon in America. In fact, most Americans think very highly of the Chinese because they work hard and tend not to break the law.

America has reached such a high level of development because it welcomes people of all shapes, colors, and sizes, and judges each person on an individual basis. Racism is one of America's biggest no-no's - you simply cannot get away with it. Historically, the country is guilty of committing ethnic and racial mistakes in the past, so the citizens and students are continuously taught about such events to prevent a recurrence.

5) I heard about 9/11, and while I feel sorry for the US, I am afraid of terrorism while visiting. -Indian friend, April 2007

We are all afraid terrorists will strike again, but I can assure you the brightest minds are working their hardest to prevent such an occurrence. Indeed, it has been six years since 9/11, and despite an ongoing war with terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda, there have not been any other attacks on American soil. The US government has tried to "take the fight to the enemy."

One of the more defining aspects of the United States is its refusal to allow fear to get in the way of people's live and people's dreams.

**Note** If anyone else has a question about America please feel free to ask. You can only be ignorant if you are afraid to ask.

April 16, 2007

SINGAPORE

Coping With Another School Shooting in America

God, why must we go through this again?

On the eight year anniversary of Columbine there was a shooting at the university of Virginia Tech. As of now, there are 32 dead in one of the engineering halls, including the shooter. Additionally, there are six dead in one of the residence halls with dozens of students being treated in hospitals - many of them in critical condition.

This is the largest mass shooting in United States history.

I have two friends who study at Virginia Tech, and I have heard back from one of them. Fortunately, he was in a different building. His email was understandably short, but he said that the school he loves can never be the same. I cannot imagine the mayhem that must be the Virginia Tech campus. How do you go on after an event like this?

I am still waiting to hear back from my other friend at Virginia Tech.

For all of the stress and pressure that exists in the world, I cannot understand how anyone can raise a gun toward the innocent. It has put a real sense of perspective to my problems. I don't even want to think about the "fixes" yet because I am still angry about what happened.

I hope all families hear from their loved ones soon because the police are not releasing the names of the dead.

April 15, 2007

SINGAPORE

"Jumping Through Hoops" in Life

Many people emphasize that exams, like many other responsibilities, are "hoops that we all must jump through."

However, consider the following: the dolphin who best jumps through hoops will only end up at Sea World. Conversely, the dolphin who refuses to play some one else's games and dares to swim out into the ocean has the world within its grasp.

Some dolphins may enjoy swimming in circles and spending their lives jumping through hoops at Sea World, but if I was a dolphin I certainly wouldn't choose this path.

As a human, why should things be any different?

April 14, 2007

SINGAPORE

Old Promises, Fisherman's Village, and Bapok

I hate month old promises. Somehow they are always the ones you want to get out of, but never can.

So, even though I have final exams within spitting distance, I upheld my promise to meet several friends for a birthday dinner. I rode the Singapore MRT across the country for a dinner of tofu skins, pork stuffed peppers, fish balls, quail eggs, and of course, white rice. Joining me were several Singaporeans and a German friend, Dirk, who is working for Allianz Insurance in Singapore.

After dinner we decided to keep the night going. Rather than heading back to drench myself in more monotonous studying, I figured "what the hell I'm out here anyway" and came along.

At first it was a bad decision because we listened to some of the most god-awful music in the car. The radio stations in Singapore either play the kind of elevator music that makes people take the stairs, or the wearisome one-hit-wonders that are solely reserved for commercials.

My friends realized I was stressed over exams, so they took me to a place called Fisherman's Village in Northeastern Singapore. There were no ang moh (westerners) to be found anywhere, which I always love because it means no tourists.

Buried deep within Pasir Ris park are a string of small cafes lining the ocean embankment. With candles, pool tables, an ocean view, "Tequila Sunrise" type music, and of course alcohol, Fisherman's Village now tops the list of my favorite places in Singapore.

After relaxing for a while, I realized it was getting late and the Arsenal were about to begin an important football match. We decided to watch the match at another popular district, Changi Village, which is known for its transvestites as much as its good food.

Maybe it was the ice cold Tiger beer, but by this point in the night I was feeling decidedly better. In fact, I was jumping out of my seat as Arsenal rallied to overcome an early deficit. I even won money after betting that my favorite player, Cesc Fabregas, would score his first goal of the season, and sure enough he followed through on my promise!

When we hopped back in the car for the night we drove around the parking lot looking for bapok (Malay term for transvestite.) After we spotted our first one I became mentally disoriented. On the one hand, she looked quite good, but on the other (infinitely more important) hand, she wasn't really a she.

April 11, 2007

SINGAPORE

Talent Recruitment

I was one of two students to actually show up for my fluid mechanics tutorial this morning, so I took the opportunity to question my tutor about several academic idiosyncrasies.

There is a disconnect between the testing technique of many academic subjects and the actual application (i.e. the real world). For example, exams are designed to rack-and-stack students so that employers can develop an idea of who has the most potential. This sounds good in theory, but let's have a closer look.

Here is the standard procedure:

1) Administer an exam that is not meant to be solvable

2) Grade students on their attempts at solving each problem

3) Apply a bell-curve so that grades become normalized

Here are the inherent flaws:

1) One must be 100% sure of an answer in the work force; a bridge will not stand if even 1% of the calculations are off. Why teach students that the process is what counts when, at the end of the day, it doesn't count? Money is what counts, and let there be no confusion about the following: businesses are after money, and money follows from results.

2) A university is supposed to teach students what they need to know in order to work in their respective field of study. Universities are paid tremendous sums of money to achieve this because talent recruitment is the key to any business' future. Unfortunately, universities have unjustly usurped the right to apply their own ineffective scale in determining which students are most promising.

How so, you ask? After all, the smartest students will figure out the system and do well under any circumstances, right?

Wrong.

There is an historical disconnect between examination results and real-world success. Albert Einstein, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sim Wong Hoo (the founder of the Singapore-based company, Creative), never even earned good grades, much less graduated from a top university. I chose these four people because they are proven leaders in fields where surely an education matters: technology and the sciences. If we delve into the business end of the issue, then finding talent is really a crapshoot. It is common knowledge that successful businessmen come from the most unexpected places, and it is impossible to predict who will "make it."

So why on earth are universities continuing with this facade when the input does not equal the output?

Because it has always been this way, and it takes a visionary to see the opportunity in such a system.

Let us not forget: success comes from breaking the norm and producing results, and you just can't teach people how to do that.

I only ask that we stop kidding ourselves about this.

April 10, 2007

SINGAPORE

Non-Native English Speakers vs. Non-Native Chinese Speakers

While I was studying for my Chinese exam, the following thought came to mind: I know hundreds of Chinese who were born in China and speak fluent English, while I do not know a single American who can speak fluent Chinese. Surely such people exist, but the ratio must be 1:1000 in favor of the Chinese.

There are two possible reasons for this:

1) Historically, it has been more important to learn English. Even now this is true, but with well over two billion Chinese in the world and the standardization of Mandarin (the Chinese race has the world's highest population and a significant number don't live in China), the rewards from fluency are significant.

2) The Chinese work harder. Granted, English is easier to learn than Chinese (agreed on by neutral parties who have taken on both languages), but the Chinese willingness to "suck it up and study" may be higher.

In truth, the explanation is probably a combination of both hard work and necessity. However, simple supply and demand dictates that a native English speaker who knows Chinese is far more valuable than a native Chinese speaker who knows English.

This thought keeps me in the library that extra hour, but it doesn't make learning any easier or faster.

加油 (add oil), as Chinese are keen to say.

One last thing: I'd like to give a shout-out to my beloved pops who made Sports Illustrated for the following letter:

Note: I post such "shout-outs" at the discount price of 2.50USD. If you are interested I'd love your money.

April 7, 2007

SINGAPORE

Buddha's Birthday and the Singapore Bird Park

My teachers always used to emphasize the importance of opening with a grabber, so I will give today's post a good one:

I am studying in Singapore illegally.

The problem is that I arrived in Singapore and received a "social visit" stamp in my passport, which is valid for 90 days. I was supposed to go back and correct this once I received all my credentials from NTU, but life got in the way. Besides, I left Singapore before 90 days were over (Indonesia trip) and upon my return I was given a fresh 90 day stamp. In my mind, everything worked out perfectly... Until I began wondering what happens when I leave Singapore for good.

After speaking with a shocked customs officer at Singapore's Immigration Center, she made it clear that I was in violation of one of Singapore's infinite laws. She made it clear that I must come back the following day to resolve the issue.

So early on Friday morning I rode the MRT across the country of Singapore.

When I arrived at the ICA office it was immediately clear everything was closed for the day.

Good Friday. Dammit.

The one positive aspect is that my classes were also cancelled for the day, so I decided to tour Singapore. I walked to a popular district called Bugis (as in, "With enough alcohol in him, he really boogeys") where there were throngs of people gathered. I asked a few locals what the occasion was, and it turns out Good Friday and Buddha's birthday fell on the same day this year.

As a bit of a side note, the birthday issue had me wondering about the difficulties that must come up when using different calendars, namely the Gregorian (Western), Lunar, and Solar calendars. While the widely accepted Gregorian calendar is "fixed," the other two calendars change each year (relatively speaking.) So, if my birthday is kept using a Lunar calendar, then it will fall on a different day every year according to the Western calendar.

Sound confusing? It is.

After burning several sticks of incense while bowing repeatedly, I walked back to the MRT station.

While waiting for the train, I saw a group of five girls who were clearly tourists, and I offered to take a photo of them together. We began talking afterward, and they turned out to be Philippine woman visiting Singapore for the Easter weekend.

Figuring this was a chance to do something new, I decided to join them for the day.

We went to Singapore's impressive bird park where we watched a variety of demonstrations: parrots flying through hoops, vultures swooping overhead, pelicans parading in circles, and a parrot singing "Happy Birthday" to Buddha.

It was pleasant strolling through the rest of the park while I talked with the girls. They all work at a car dealership in the Philippines, and besides offering to sell me a motorbike, they each seemed more than happy to show me around when I arrive.

The last part of the park worth mentioning was the waterfall. Singapore boasts the world's tallest man-made waterfall.

We are all impressed.

April 5, 2007

SINGAPORE

The Calm Before the Storm: University and the Middle East

Having made it through the final round of assignments and tests, I have a two week lull before end-of-term examinations rear their ugly head. Maybe "lull" is the wrong word to use because examination scores are determined by how little I lull around, but that is beside the point.

On to more important matters, and they focus on the Middle East.

Last time I published, the Iranian seizure of 15 British sailors was beginning to make its way into world news. As of today, those sailors are being released and flown home to England. The British should be commended for doing an excellent job in defusing the situation. Rightly or wrongly, if it had been American sailors, Bush would have declared their seizure an act of war (remember: Iran is the strongest member of his infamous "Axis of Evil"), and God only knows where we would be right now. Well done in keeping your cool, Mr. Blair.

In other Middle Eastern news, the United States is moving its second aircraft carrier into the Gulf. Without any possibility of an air strike in Iraq, I have a hard time imagining what constructive purpose a second aircraft carrier is serving. Such war preparations are more of an infringement on Iranian security than the 15 sailors doing peacekeeping chores because a pre-emptive strike can be launched with one aircraft carrier, much less two - not to mention the accompanying cruisers, destroyers, battleships, and submarines that comprise a fleet.

In parallel to my earlier analogy with Cuba, positioning two aircraft carriers and their accompanying entourage in the Gulf is sending the same message to Iran as the Soviet Union's positioning of nuclear missiles in Cuba sent to the United States. And that message is not a good one.

It only recently dawned on me that all the wars fought in my life time have taken place in the Middle East. Now that I am 21, this reality takes on a whole new significance.

Fearing a breakout of hostilities, I wrote an email to the Iranian friends I made this semester, and several days ago we sat down to talk about the strained relationship between the United States and Iran. I will try to recount the conversation when I have the time, but it was revealing to hear their candid thoughts.

The following is a quick rundown of the maneuvering going on behind recent developments...

Iran has showed no signs of slowing down its nuclear program while both the Russians and Chinese (who have extensive energy ties with Iran) are refusing to allow the United Nations Security Council to impose forceful sanctions.

If the United Nations cannot act in an effective manner, then other nations will not jeopardize their security by remaining dormant - Israel in particular.

Everyone knows that Israel and Palestine went to war last summer. What many people aren’t aware of is that Iran supplied the terrorist organization Hamas (who led the war against Israel) with advanced weaponry that was used to attack the Israeli navy. Such brazen interference landed Iran high on the list of countries supporting of terrorism.

This interference on the part of Iran, and subsequent threats by Iran, has Israel afraid that Iran will supply Hamas with more than just heavy artillery and advanced weaponry in the future, but with nuclear weapons. Read this last post if you think Iran is not serious about resorting to nuclear force to "wipe Israel off the map."

It is entirely plausible that the United States and Israel are preparing to launch a pre-emptive strike on the nuclear facilities in Shiraz should Iran continue with its nuclear development. The repercussions will be severe as Iran has established itself as the vanguard of the Islamic world.