England have progressed under Fabio Capello, if you consider a reversion from total incompetence to marginal incompetence progression.  They scraped two goals, but never looked coherent.

John Terry was the wrong captain choice.  He may be the best “rally the boys” type character, but making him captain requires playing him every match, which, based on recent performance, he has not earned.  

Terry is a fine defender, but the partnership with him and Ferdinand doesn’t work.  Ideal central defenders should compliment each other.  One defender should be tenacious, athletic and physically present.  The other should be crafty, intelligent and well positioned.  Both Terry and Rio are of the Hells Bells variety.  At club level these two have a Vidic or a Carvalho to ground them.  For England, they get exposed.  I think Ferdinand is the better player.  He should have been captain.

As far as their play, their problem extends from their lack of coaching at club level.  Players like Steven Gerrard are stars from their youth onward in England.  They get praised.  They don’t get coached.  When is the last time someone corrected Steven Gerrard, when he was 12?  The result, with Gerrard and others, is obvious, easily correctable flaws.  Gerrard got praised for his ability to make plays with the ball.  No one ever taught him any way to play except attack, attack, attack, therefore, he turns the ball over frequently when running into untenable positions.

The nonexistent coaching also makes the players inflexible.  Joe Cole knows how to do one thing, be Joe Cole.  Steven Gerrard knows how to be Steven Gerrard.  Frank Lampard knows how to be Frank Lampard.  They know their role and their clubs maximize it for them.  When they come to the national team and alter their position, they are clueless.  The result, as seen with England against Czech Republic, was eleven men, each playing his own individual game, a tactical nightmare.

Given this environment, I still believe that Beckham is the best option on the right for England.  With or without him, they are incapable of playing a flowing, aesthetically pleasing game.  Even crisp passing seems beyond them.  Beckham’s corners, crosses and free kicks provide scoring opportunities.  If they can close down the back, they can hold teams and then hope that Beckham gives them an opportunity to score.

A draw will placate Capello’s reputation, but a club with pretensions of contending really should perform better against second-tier international opposition at home.

The military Aviation Calendar 2009 published by TEAMultimedia is available exclusively at The PatriArt Gallery.

On August 20, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski signed in Warsaw the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Poland Concerning the Deployment of Ground-Based Ballistic Missile Defense Interceptors in the Territory of the Republic of Poland. This legally-binding agreement calls for the establishment and operation of a U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) interceptor facility in Poland.

This BMD interceptor site would provide a defensive capability to protect Europe and the United States against longer-range ballistic missiles launched from the Middle East, and will be linked to other U.S. missile defense facilities in Europe and the United States.

Upon ratification by the Polish Parliament and entry into force, the ballistic missile defense agreement will allow the United States to construct, maintain, and operate a facility encompassing ten ground-based BMD interceptors. The United States and Poland will negotiate a separate agreement to address the status of U.S. military forces to be deployed to the territory of Poland.

U.S. and Polish military forces will cooperate in providing physical security for the missile defense interceptor facility. The United States will provide the Polish Government with situational awareness into operations and training at the interceptor facility, which includes receiving real-time information of ballistic missiles tracked by the missile defense radar to be located in the Czech Republic, intercept information, and the status of the U.S. missile defense system in Europe.

(Compiled from a US State Department release)

BBC graphic

The US and Poland have signed a deal to locate part of the US's controversial missile defence system on Polish soil.

US, Poland, missile, deal, Russia, Moscow, Condoleezza Rice, rogue elements, Middle East, Iran, Radek Sikorski, Donald Tusk, Nato, Warsaw, defensive, Baltic Sea coast, Patriot missiles, Moscow infuriated, Georgia, Gen Anatoly Nogovitsyn, military balance, Lech Kaczynski, missile defence shield, automated warheads, Czech Republic

Conflict in Georgia changes Poland's mood
Nearly 18 months of negotiations have come to an end as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrives in Warsaw to sign an anti-missile defence deal. Poland has agreed to a U.S. proposal to host parts of a global anti-missile system despite strong protests from neighbouring Russia. Moscow is against the move and says it will further damage its already delicate relations with Washington.

Got our ISO audit at work today - I'm hoping it all goes well, and I get to leave a little early so I can have a bath before getting the train...

Look out for us - we'll be in the SW corner holding an England flag with 'honic' on it (in memory of Lee).

My third trip to Wembley...and the feeling when you step into the stadium is such a rush :D

I can't wait - something tells me this is going to be a l o n g day...

In the Czech Republic among the major search engines is seznam.cz, which is to be sold. Cena o której się mówi to miliard dolarów. Price of which it says is one billion dollars. Do walki staje m.in. The battle becomes, among others Google. Google.

On the Czech internet market, Google is only 29 percent.Powerful is seznam.cz from more than 62-percent share.

Seznam.cz is, however, will soon be sold for ...niebagatela one billion U.S. dollars! This struggle for power of the Czech market becomes obviously the Google search engine, which will have to deal with Warburg Pincus fund, which holds in the Czech Republic's second-largest portal seznam.cz generated in 2008, more than 90 million dollars of income, and benefited from it 4.4 million members.

While in China, I believe I found out more about myself, my way of life, and what I want in life more than I have in a long time. Not to mention, I met some amazing friends along the way. It's hard to compare two different trips that were so different, but I experienced more personal growth this time. Teaching kids english was a very rewarding experience and I can't stress that enough to anyone leaning towards teaching. Only after I returned home, have I learned of the vast number of opportunities with teaching domestically and internationally. I never knew teaching had so many opportunities. However, with these opportunities comes restrictions in the ease of getting certifications and qualifications required for the teaching.

Some of the things I won't forget about China were the people. They all treated me with the most respect, dignity, and graciousness I've ever had in my life. I felt like I was on another level to these kids, teachers, and other people. All of us teachers were somehow on a higher level than most commoners. Not only this, but they showed us it all the time. I couldn't feel more honored. Secondly, the teaching assistants were amazing. All of them were some of the coolest people I will ever probably meet. In only 3 weeks, our bonds will probably last a life time. I will always be quite deeply moved for their help, their appreciation, and their loving friendship. Third, the kids and the learning. I absolutely loved teaching kids and watching them grow as individuals. Sure, teaching has its struggles, but behind those there can be silver lining.

So, as my life move forwards to my next venture in Costa Rica to learn Spanish, I change my header. Along with this, I will post more often. I should "hopefully" (fingers crossed) have faster internet down there. I really hope so, China's was pretty slow. I should have my own laptop too, as well, which should help me being able to find other internet sources. Thank you for all family members, extended family members, friends, and listeners for your extended support in the absence. I hope you enjoy my blog, and I hope it brings joy, entertainment, and personal growth as this traveling has for me.

I'm currently trying to figure out the avenue of teaching I will pursue. I will try and keep you up to date as I progress along. I have a lot still to do, and I will be working starting Wed. here doing Resnet for about 4 days at the college. It will provide me some cash, and will help out my brother. A big win, win for both of us.

Talk to you hopefully sooner than later. Thanks for all your support once again.

Back on July 8th I wrote about how the Cold War had surfaced again. This was before the invasion of Georgia.

The Georgia invasion should have come as no surprise to the Bush administration since Condi Rice got a frigid reception and an excitable Putin spouting "American aggression" rants over defensive missiles planned for the Czech Republic and Poland when she last set foot in Moscow. Why would Putin and company be so upset about this?

Maybe it was because they had a plan to retake these countries and having American missiles there would be an unwelcome complication.

Am I crazy you think?

Russia wouldn't dare have had plans to invade Poland or the Czech Republic now? Not in the 21st century. After all, we are civilized, and have moved far beyond those days of a big country dominating a small one...especially one in its former sphere of influence. Aren't we? And yet they threatened them with military action. They are members of NATO.  An attack on one is an attack on all.

Would they dare?

I am now of the opinion that Russia has been contemplating how to do just that.

Georgia was their test run. Do not be fooled. This invasion was planned. It was the follow through of "Caucasus Frontier 2008" The military training exercise they conducted in July.

And so far no one has been able to stop them.

We can't even get them to leave the country even after they signed a treaty and said they would.

They are learning from this exercise.

The Ukraine is next, then Latvia and Lithuania and any other caucus upstart that had the audacity to pull itself free from the yolk of Russian tyranny.

Putin has one goal, to reconstitute the former Soviet Union, whose breakup he referred to as "the greatest geopolitical catastrophe" of the 20th century, and he is gambling that like in the past, we won't stop him.

He has already resumed fighter and bomber jet flybys near our airspace, as was the routine during the Cold War. He is audacious.

He will soon begin to establish defense treaties with Venezuela and other close-by enemies of the United States. It is his goal to infiltrate our sphere of influence like he perceives we have done to them.

I suspect he will attempt to gain agreements to place "defensive" missiles or some other WMD in easy striking range of the U.S. as a response to the planned missiles in Poland and the Czech Republic.

He will claim these as self defensive measures.

Attempting to isolate Russia will further infuriate Putin and will only make him bolder and more determined.

Flushed with oil wealth, the ability to dominate and intimidate its neighbors, and the opportunity to flex its military might, the Russians know no fear.

That makes them extremely dangerous.

The next 12 months will be telling ones indeed.

UPDATE: 8-20-2008 - Yesterday, NATO suspended formal contacts with Russia over the Georgia incident. Today, as I suspected they would, Russia took retaliatory action, freezing all military relations with NATO. The bear will not allow itself to appear weakened in anyway. The more actions taken against it, the more stubborn and angrier they will become.

Related articles:

• Georgia conflict Moscow has blown away soft power
• U.S. worries Russia returning to past
• Analysis Russia is a foe to be reckoned with

• Russia threatens 'military' response to missile shield
• Russia begins military exercises in volatile N. Caucasus region

NOT to be confused with the Polish Żubr, this Zubr Premium is Czech. And it appears just when I thought I had tried all the Czech beers. I wander how it will compare to the under-whelming Ostravar, Praga and Budvar or the above-average Staropramen? There's only one way to find out...

First impressions? The shiny silver labels look great. But stuck onto a muddy brown bottle? After yesterday's marvellously colour-coordinated Harbin Lager, this looks a little on the cheap side.

The small roundel logo on the neck foil is good.

It informs us that this brewery dates back to 1872. Not very far back, but enough to give it some heritage. Then there's the logo inside the roundel. It looks like a bull in front of a castle. Am I seeing things? What is it supposed to be?

As for the three words around the border of the roundel, two of them are close enough to English to understand. And those words must be "Traditional Czech". But what of the third word? If you know what "Kvalita" means, do please leave a comment at the end of this post.

The front label is sharp, shiny and good looking.

Simply a big version of the roundel, everything is nearly in its place. The words around the border say "Czech Beer" and "Premium Quality". Whilst in the bottom corners are the vital statistics. This bottle is 0.5L (or 500 millilitres if you prefer). And it weighs in at a somewhat unusual 5.1% volume. I like that. 0.1% more than the continental average. Brilliant.

Lastly, around the bottom of the roundel are what look like medals. Or are they crests? Either way, the shininess of the label and the tiny size of whatever it is they are make it difficult to know.

Over on the back label, and everything is straightforward, easy to read and English. This must be an export version.

They open by describing it as a "Classic Czech Beer" that has a "Golden Honey Colour Traditionally Brewed Using the Finest Ingredients". A statement that you could copy and paste onto nearly any beer bottle and get away with it.

Next up is the address. This beer comes courtesy of the Zubr Company, Přerov in the Czech Republic. The web address it gives, www.zubr.cz, even ends in the CZ country code. Again, I'm so pleased to see another genuine imported beer in an off-licence refrigerator cabinet. Incidentally, the English language section is at http://www.zubr.cz/en.

There's not much else to report. There's no ingredients list. No UK units of alcohol symbol. But they do say that this has 2.6 units of alcohol per 500 millilitres. Does anyone know what system of units this is from? How do these units compare to UK units of alcohol? Leave your knowledge in the comments at the end of the post, please.

Now it's time to open this bottle and see how it compares to the other Czech beers. Will it be better than Staropramen? My money is on ‘no'.

In the glass, it really is "golden honey" coloured. Which makes a change from pale yellow lagers. There's not much head though. Moment after that photo was taken, it became an odd patchwork of bubbles on the surface. Not so good, as I like a decent layer of froth.

The smell is... not particularly strong. But what it does have is not bad. It smells vaguely of malted barley, but not in the same way as lagers do.

A couple of gulps in, and I'm fairly impressed. Nowhere to be seen is the half-absent blend of lagery flavours. Instead, Zubr Premium tastes, quite vividly, of malted barley and hops. All of which give a pleasant, strong-ish, and reasondly lingering bitter after taste.

There is much that I like about Zubr Premium. And that surprises me. Because I didn't expect there to be anything. I like that it has flavour. I like that the flavour tastes good. I like that the strength of the flavours means that it is drinkable. I like that it's different enough from the others to be distinctive and having some of the elusive characteristic that is... well... character.

There must be something I don't much like about it. Half-way through, and there are one or two problems. I'm burping more than usual, so it must be gassy. Even though it has flavour, it's not truly full-bodied. All of which means that it will soon feel like you're drinking foamy water. The flavour, even though I'm finding it somewhat tasty, would wear thin after a few bottles or pints. Not as badly as the lagers, but there's not enough depth too keep you as interested as, say, an ale would.

What Zubr Premium is, then, is a tasty beer. No lagery awfulness, but no serious complexity either. Just a good, decent, well flavoured beer. I didn't expect it to fair well against its Czech competitors. But this is up there with Staropramen. Maybe even slightly ahead. I've got to recommend this for anyone curious about Czech or European beers.

Rating: 3.2

Have you tried Zubr Premium? Can you translate anything on the label?

Leave your corrections, translations, opinions and recommendations in the little boxes below please. And remember; bookmark this blog! You can't risk missing anything.

Part of the explanation that is gaining some traction is that the action was Vladimir Putin's way of demonstrating unequivocally that Russia was back and was no longer to be taken lightly. The Russians have made the "near abroad" (their designation of the former Soviet republics) a little closer to the breast of the Russian bear; their pointed ignoring of entreaties to leave and apparent violation of their agreements to cease their invasion sends a clear message that old-fashioned spheres of influence have not disappeared from world politics. They laugh, appropriately, at the pious, hypocritical plea of George Bush that countries don't invade other countries in the Twenty-first century.

Admitting that all of this is part of the calculus, there is another explanation--the burr under Mr. Putin's saddle. That is the missile defense system the United States just finished negotiating with Poland. The Russians have been objecting to missile defense schemes for 40 years and to this one since Bush proposed it. When Russian General Anatoly Nogovitsyn of the Russian General Staff said the final decision to deploy the system in Poland (with supportive radars in the Czech Republic) and to defend the complex with Patriot missiles was a provocation that "cannot go unpunished," hie words were dismissed as Cold War-era bombast. But what if they had more meaning?

I must make a confession on this subject. I have thought missile defenses were a bad idea for over a quarter-century. My first objections--basically that they are hyper-expensive boondoggles--was made in 1983 in a book, The Nuclear Future (University of Alabama Press), and in reviewing what I said then, not much has changed. The current scheme, which has been a Bush hobby horse since he was elected, proposes a "thin" screen against an attack by a "rogue state" (read Iran). Like all such schemes, it probably won't work, but fortunately, the threat against which it is proposed is so unlikely that that doesn't matter much. It does, however, exercise the Russians in ways reminiscent of their opposition to Ronald Reagan's Rube Goldberg scheme, the Strategic Defense Intitiative, in the 1980s.

New York Times writer Steven Lee Myers captures the Russian objection well in an August 15, 2008 article ("No Cold War But Big Chill over Georgia"): "No matter how much the Americans argue that NATO is now focused on other threats, for Russia, it remains an enemy force. And no matter how often the Americans say missile defense is aimed at Iran and other so-called rogue nations, it remains an existential threat to Russia's aging and shrinking nuclear capability."

NATO has increasingly encircled Russia, and proposals to extend the alliance to Ukraine and Georgia (which John McCain supports) would only tighten the knot, part of Putin's burr. The Russians have always been paranoid about missile defenses, and completing the deal with Poland--which the Bush administration presumably sees as part of its permanent legacy--may have been the final burr under the saddle that caused Mr. Putin and his colleague Mr. Medvedev to say, enough is enough. And so they struck back and let us all know that we mess with Russia at our own risk.

I wonder how Mr. Bush missed that kind of determination when he looked in Mr. Putin's eyes seven years ago. And while Mr. Putin certainly does reflect his KGB past, did Mr. McCain see this concern when he lashed out and said he wants to kick the Russians out of G-8 and, in essence, potentially start a new Cold War? Not trying to justify what the Russians have done in Georgia, it may help to put the whole thing into perspective.

I know that in the not so distant future I will return here and continue the sampling, but the shame is that during my time in Prague I never even covered a fraction of the Beers available in Czech Republic, there are some cracking beers here and it is a crime that the majority of Czechs do not realize this and treat their beer as a national treasure, something to really have pride in. Many hundreds of people are, every year, discovering what the Czech Republic has to offer in the way of beer; forget the idiot boozers here on 'stag weekends', I mean people who go beyond the Euro-lagers to find the simply fabulous beers and discover the richness in quality, people who love their beer and who are finding a love for Czech beer.

Out of all the beers I have tried it would be impossible to suggest just one favorite, so I will list four that I really enjoyed, in no particular order:

• Bogan
• Primator Exclusiv 16%
• Sezon
  
• Stepan

For anyone who wants to discover more about Czech Beer and what is on offer then I would very much recommend The Good Beer Guide to Prague and Czech Republic

Overview: Having enjoyed the Opat Bitter a while back, the on-tap Lezak is certainly something I would not be passing up. I hear a lot of mixed things about Opat, and the availabilty does seem to fluctuate; one of the bigger super markets in CZ (I refuse to mention the name because I am boycotting them) does stock Opat and more often than not you can find the 8 packs - I have even seen mixed cases available. One of my 'gripes' about pubs in CZ is the fact that they 'sell out' to the bigger breweries so that they will only stcok the beers from that brewery group - I have heard stories that the general procedure is to hand over huge wadges of cash to stock only that beer for, say, five years, hence you get a lot of exclusive buy-ins. So finding Opat on-tap in Prague is a good thing and again goes to favourite PivoKlub (at time of writing it has left the menu again).

The Beer: 5%; Pale golden in colour; shallow head that goes quickly; light aroma; light, almost watery taste but at the same time refreshing, there are elements of bitterness in there but not so much as to take the insides of the mouth away, light in body; slightly bitter after taste.

After Words: Not so light as to be flavourless, but light on beer experience. If the lightr tasting beers are your thing then this is a pleasant enough beer (it isn't my thing). A good friend of mine describes this type of beer as lawn-mower beer - the kind of beer you would have on a hot day after (or during) a lawn mowing session. This type of beer is refreshing enough but not my thing. My guess is that I should add a new subtitle to the blog on the lines of full-bodied beers only :)

Website: Pivovar Broumov

Many, who have been spurred on by a false sense of invicibility and the promise of continued economic growth and prosperity follow his lead blindly and without consideration for the rights of the people of surrounding nations as well as their own people.

Any attempt by those who wish to force fair practices and accountibility upon the new ruling class are quickly beaten into submission and silenced. Elections are a spectacle of smoke and mirrors. Only  token fragments of true democracy are left on a plate for the masses to consume in order to draw their attention away from the lavish feast of power and enormous riches being enjoyed by Russian leaders.

Only political parties and figures which do not represent any threat to the ruling classes are allowed to remain, in order to give the appearance of the existance of democracy in Russia. Major threats within Russia and the 'Near Abroad' are often silenced or removed. Such is the dark hand of Russia.

Those who wake up to new found finacial security or even fortune continue to sing songs of praise for him and all he has done for the Russian People. They have developed a ravenous hunger for any form of propoganda, misinformation or even blatant lies that will allow them to justify their support for such criminal behavior and to insure their new found comfort. Even if it is at the expence of their 'unappreciative' neighbors. Many are willing to send their sons off to war in support of their ill founded 'advancements'.

Others remain fearful and silent, as have their grandfathers and fathers and uncles during the time of Stalin. They prefer to live their lives in submissive fear rather than to risk their lives in an attempt to bring honor to those who were torn from their families, never again to be heard from.

it is only a matter of time before they will once again spend sleepless nights in anticipation of that 'knock at the door' in the middle of the night. Then only will they realize that their silence or compliance has brought horrible misfortune as they are torn away from their wives and children in the same manner as Stalin's victims. Who will guide your children in after you have been removed and silenced? The 'State' of course!

Others who bathe themselves in thoughts of glory and wealth will also come to realize that the wealth they enjoy is dependant upon the prosperity of the very nations they desire to dominate and intimidate. Most of Russia's new found wealth comes from sales of Oil and other less important commodities to such nations.

As Russians continue to press forward with illusions of a return to the days the 'Glory of the Empire' they will allienate the very nations that fuel their success.

Drink now from the 'well of fortune' and satisfy your inquenchable thirsts.

The well is soon to become dry.

Perhaps you will learn to turn your thoughts away from Putin the Pied Piper before he leads you to a return to misfortune and your inevitable demise.

We can choose to recognize it as we would any disease and initiate actions to halt it's advance now or we can remain in denial and hope that it will place itself in a state of miraculous remission.

In view of their historical track record and blatant arrogance such an event is not very likely to take place.

 I prefer risking  the possible harmful 'side affects' of radical remediation or removal to the only other alternative which is is certain to be far more painful.

During my lifetime I have been engaged in conversations about Russia and Russians with many people from countries that have been included in it's self-proclaimed sphere of influence. When asked for their opinions about Russians as individuals and based on their personal experiences, attitudes are mostly favorable yet frequently tempered by limitations on trust. When asked for their opinions about Russia as a Nation reactions are most often harsh and filled with condemnation.

For some, the mention of the word Russia opens up a myriad of negative emotions and descriptive words that would shock even the senses of a large arena filled with hardened criminals and drunken derelicts. I would often ask myself  How can these people seperate the nature of the Russian people from the actions of the Nation they represent?" and "If there are so many good people to be found in Russia... Why is their history  as a nation and as a steward of the former so called Soviet 'Union' one of such disproportionate  dishonorable mention?" Ignorance, fear and denial are have obviously left their indelible print on Russian Society.

By reading some of my recent posts one might form the opinion that I am hell bent on ushering in the complete destruction of all things Russian...including the Russian People.

The opposite is true. I have also spent much of my life searching for evidence of good things associated with the Russian people and have made great efforts to establish relationships with many of them. Most of my experiences have also been very positve. This only adds to my confusion about them when I consider them as a nation of people. I am haunted by the understanding that Stalin and his Merry Men have succeeded in eliminating the very best of Russian Society.

How many millions of good people were put to death by the hands of their brothers while their fellow Russians assisted and often approved of such horrific atrocities.

Still countless others were kept by fear from rising in protest or making any attempt to halt the slaughter of the innocents.

Good people died.  Good people who would have raised their children in a manner that would have left today's Russia better prepared and more willing to guide Russia on an honorable path.

Russia today is guided by the hands of children born into a state of denial. Morality in respect to relations with people of other nationalities is sadly missing. Decades of propoganda which elevated the virtues of the glory of military achievements have taken it's place. Arrogance and over inflated egos have overtaken much of the ranks of the people within the borders of present day Russia.

I do not wish to witness the destruction of the Russian Nation and it's people.

Yet I am convinced that their confidence in their military capabilities and willingness to deploy armed forces will eventually be met by a shocking and decisively crushing defeat in the not so distant future. The simple fact is that they are vastly out numbered by those nations who would respond as neccessary when tensions reach a final breaking point.

And I am certain that the vast majority of the Russian population will gladly follow 'Putin the Pied Piper to their demise.'

I tried so very hard," she managed to choke out. "But I didn't achieve it."

Du was China's first official gold medal loser.

After months of hype in which commentators said she was "expected," "likely" and "the favorite" to bring glory to her country, Du crashed and burned -- at least by Chinese standards -- finishing fifth in the 10m air rifle competition last Saturday, the first day of full competition. At that point, Chinese spectators let her have it.

"The state spent so much money on you, provided you with such good facilities, gave you four years to train," one former fan wrote on Tiexue, one of China's biggest online bulletin boards. " . . . You disappoint your countrymen."
 
Du Li, crushed by her failure to medal…..

In China's obsessive quest to capture more medals than any other country at the Summer Games, the performance of every athlete has been deemed critically important. So those who have fallen short of expectations -- securing a silver instead of a gold, or worse, winning no medal at all -- have been vilified.

For all Olympic athletes, the Games are an opportunity to win for themselves and for their home countries. But for the Chinese, the balance often seems to tilt toward the state. Winning and losing matter deeply to the Chinese government, which through a system of rigorous sports schools, invests in elite athletes from a very young age. Authorities have developed an extensive training program to up the medal count for Chinese athletes in sports in which they have traditionally lagged behind their Western counterparts.

As of Friday, China had won 41 medals, 26 of them gold, and the United States 46, with 14 gold.

China has imposed "the hopes of a whole society upon athletes," said Wang Jin, an associate professor at Zhejiang University who studies "choking" -- low-level mistakes made at critical moments -- by elite athletes. As a result of this pressure, he said, "our athletes are often more psychologically fragile than foreign athletes."

For Chinese viewers, one of the most iconic images of the Games so far has been that of Du running from the shooting range in shame after her competition. Five days later, she would win gold in the 50m three-position shooting event, but last Saturday, the scene of her embarrassment was on a seemingly endless replay loop on state-run CCTV. Sports fans -- a fickle bunch the world over -- piled on by registering their disappointment online.

Alarmed by the scorn being heaped on athletes, the state-run media this week suggested fans should be better losers.

"Today, we have too many things to show to the world. China no longer needs the number of gold medals to prove itself," said the Jiefang Daily. "In the last few days of competition, the greatest harvest for China is not the position on top of the gold list, but the growing psychological maturity of the people."

By Ariana Eunjung Cha
The Washington Post
May 16, 2008

Read the rest:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/w
p-dyn/content/article/2008/08/15
/AR2008081503336.html?hpid=topnews

The Joke takes place in the 1950's when the Communist Party ruled behind the Iron Curtain.  The extent of Totalitarianism was that writing a bad joke about Trotsky on a postcard could land one in serious trouble with the dour authorities.  This is what happens to Ludvik Jahn, who as a result of this joke loses his Party membership, is forced out of the university, and ends up serving in a military division for subversives and working in mines.

Talk about an unsympathetic protagonist!  Ludvik meets and falls in love with the innocent young Lucie while he's in the military camp.  When she wont sleep with him he treats her in a beastly manner, but continues to claim his love for her is deep and to not understand why she leaves him.  Later, Ludvik tries to exact revenge on the Party member who humiliated him by having an affair with this man's wife in the most vulgar manner.  Towards the end of the novel Ludvik has some small realizations of the errors of his ways, but for the most part this is a story of a downward spiral of selfishness.

A subplot tells of Ludvik's childhood friend Jaroslav whose goal in life is to preserve the traditional folk ways and music of his Moravian village.  The culminating pages of the novel take place during the Ride of the King festival which tragically has lost it's original meaning and is now an orchestrated affair for the purposes of the Party.  I liked the parts with Jaroslav and the folk music the most interesting parts of this book.

Favorite Passages

The young can't help acting; they're immature but they're placed in a mature world and have to act as if they were mature.  So they put on whatever masks and disguises appeal to them and can be made to fit -- and they act.  - p. 88

We listened to Ludvik, and our surprise was mingled with irritation -- irritation at his certainty.  He was behaving the way all Communists behaved at the time.  As if he'd made a secret pact with the future and had the right to act in its name. - p. 134

Drunkards are the most loyal supporters of revivalist folk ventures.  The last supporters.  After all, they provide a noble pretext for getting drunk.  - p. 247

Author Kundera, Milan.
Title The joke. Translated by David Hamblyn and Oliver Stallybrass.
Publication Info. New York, Coward-McCann [1969]
Edition [1st American ed.].
Description 288 p. 22 cm.

Den 21. august er det 40 år siden, russiske tropper marcherede ind i Prag og slukkede drømmen om kommunisme med et menneskeligt ansigt. I Vesten legede ungdommen med tanker om kommunisme med doktrinær renhed, skriver dagens kronikør.

Kort tid før sin død indrømmede den kendte tyske ungdomsoprører Rudi Dutschke i et interview med den franske politolog professor Jacques Rupnik, at set i bakspejlet, så var den store begivenhed i 1968 i Europa ikke Paris, men Prag.

»Men vi var dengang ikke i stand til at forstå det. Vi forstod ikke, hvad der virkelig var på spil i Østeuropa«, erkendte han.
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Warszawapagt-invasionen gav stødet til 20 års politisk mørke i Tjekkoslovakiet eller en ”normalisering”, for at bruge betonkommunisternes egen formulering. I Tjekkoslovakiet derimod blev reformkommunister og andre demokrater i årene efter 1968 i stort tal drevet i indre og ydre eksil. Nattefrosten sænkede sig tungt over Prag og varede helt til fløjlsrevolutionen i november 1989.
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Ikke desto mindre er Prag-foråret, Warszawapagt-invasionen den 21. august og de 20 år med nattefrost over Prag alle bidrag til den samling af tragiske historiske minder, som Tjekkiet og Slovakiet er så rig på.

They couldn't and can't do much more than say and write and bunch of words about Georgia's dire straits. But here is there recent riposte to Russia's aggressive actions in Georgia and harsh words about its neighbour states and their connection with NATO.

Amid rising tensions with Russia over the situation in Georgia, Rice also said Thursday she would travel to Poland soon, possibly next week, to sign a missile defense agreement that Moscow vehemently opposes.

U.S. and Polish negotiators reached a deal on Thursday to deploy American interceptors in Poland as part of a European missile shield the United States plans. Under another agreement, a radar tracking station will be located in the Czech Republic.

Russia fiercely objects to the system and the agreement with Poland is bound to infuriate the Kremlin.

Rice was all smiles as she talked about it on Thursday. "I look forward to going to Poland to sign that agreement soon," she said. "It's important for the peace and security of the region, it's important for peace and security internationally."

Per Time Magazine

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Overview: The last (at least for now) evening out at Pivo Klub; So many new beers to try and so little time. One of the great things about Pivo Klub is the fact that they rotate the draft beers and bring in the kind of beers that you wouldn’t normally find in Prague – the world of beers comes to you, all you need is to keep coming back. I’ve not been a fan of the Tmavy style, when it is good it is enjoyable but normally I have found it to be edging towards sweet or overly sweet, but sometimes there are some cracking versions. This example is from Pivovarsky Dvur Zvikov.

The Beer: 13°; Dark molasses in colour, somewhat opaque; good strong head; Rich treacle toffee aroma; Combination of a bitterness and but with a strong toffee taste, it isn’t overly sweet with that combination of a malty bitterness but it is certainly sweet; Malty aftertaste but not clinging.

After Words: This is a really good example of Tmavy style beer; as I say, I have not been a great fan of the style on the basis of there being too wide a swing from almost sugary beer to clawing bitterness that really doesn't go anywhere. I know that 'sweet' beers are not going to be everyone's thing, this is not a sweet beer as such, more like a bitter dark beer with essence of toffee. It does seem to show that the people at the brewery enjoy making their beers, don't ask me why I say this, it is just a feeling that the beer conveys.

Website: Pivovar Zvikov