Well I am in Geneva! Technically Ferney-Voltaire, a suburb of Switzerland's cultural center, and even more technically, I am in France. I am SO happy to be here! I went for a nice walk around the village this evening, which took only 10-15 minutes. Pretty foliage, ivy and roses mainly, spill over old stone walls; happy birds sang and sang until the sun set around 10 pm. I didn't realize how much I missed hearing birds!
Tomorrow is a busy day visiting the International Labor Office and the International Commission of the Red Cross. Perhaps I will make a visit to the HR department, maybe slip them my resume!
Also, before I sign off, I just want to mention how angry I am over the General McChrystal situation. American taxpayers have spent billions upon billions of dollars to help bring democratic freedoms to the Middle East region. Ironically, one of the most holy of holy rights in the US is Freedom of Speech. And even more of holy grail of protection is political speech; the founders never wanted the oppression they had under the British monarchy, and thought that freedom to dissent from the government is the epitome of America's foundation. I must admit I am not familiar with military law, and perhaps the General breached a military code by speaking disparagingly about the Commander in Chief. I understand the need for a united front amongst our military leaders. However, an actual reason for his "sacking" (as BBC called it) has not been given. I watched an interview of one democratic congressman and he said (loosely quoting): "there is often a tape recorder sitting right on the table during an interview, and for the General to show such poor judgment in the quotes he gave to the newspaper leads me to doubt any judgment he might have in other areas." To be fair, that same reasoning should be applied to all military leaders. Our President, the Commander in Chief, called Kanye West a crude and derogatory name after West's infamous actions against Taylor Swift. That was poor judgment on President Obama's part. But that doesn't mean we should doubt all his other judgments, regardless of your political party. I am sure there is a bigger picture I am not aware of, and I may not have taken the correct viewpoint on this issue. But from a legal, Constitutional perspective, I find the Freedom of Speech issue highly ironic. Whew, okay! I am sorry for venting here, but I suppose that is why I have a blog!
And finally, epic match at Wimbledon, England today! Over ten hours of playtime, and still not over! Tied 59-59 in the 5th set at this point! Some dissenters have said that this is not what tennis is supposed to be and that the winner who has to play again will not be able to play well because he will be utterly exhausted. Regardless, here is one for the Guinness Book of World Records!
Oh, one more sport thing: go USA! A goal against Algeria in the last minute and we stay in the Cup!
More interesting things, and less text heavy posts to come soon!
xox
