Sorry, the No Index, No Follow tags are (you'll need to add the opening and closing html operators): META NAME="ROBOTS" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ META NAME="GOOGLEBOT" CONTENT="NOINDEX, FOLLOW"/ Salut! […]
OK Damian, I have it working now. I also use Go Daddy, and Justin's "all in one" code also caused my server to crash, so it looks like a Go Daddy thing. I love Go Daddy though, the service is great, and this is no reason to switch (believe it or not, I also host over at Network Solutions) As for the fix: First, I did not put the rewrite code i […]
Man, thanks for the great review and info. I love that it could be argued that this movie is targeted at social workers and teachers who practice LaME. On a side-note: I hope to have that indexing turned around in 36 hours at the latest. Lots going on tomorrow. Moving furniture for wood floor dude Grandma hired for us (Christmas gift). […]
Thanks..I always wanted that comment follow-up plugin but always forget about it when I'm online. You'd think WordPress would have put that in their default code by now...How are you checking to see if it really redirects? Check Justin again and try to follow his steps. I think you may have got in too deep with the move and created a unique situati […]
Dream Seeker: The Velvet Mask and Dream Seeker: The Return of Joshua are two fictional novels that reference dream interpretation and Enneagram personalities. Tony Vahl and Damian Hospital created the Dream Seeker Universe to express their views on the human condition and psychology.
For example, the protagonist, Dace Senoit, is a young Enneagream Type 9: shy yet charismatic. The antagonist is The Realtor, an unhealthy Enneagram Type 3, who will stop at nothing from controlling reality.
From the dream interpretation standpoint, Dace Senoit inspires people by helping them remember a long-lost dream.
Although this probably should be posted in the DailySkew baseball news blog, I decided to post here because the book is mainly about addictions and society.
For those of you who don’t know, Doc Gooden was the toast of the town in New York in the 1980’s, as their ace pitcher, and broke all sorts of records for the New York Mets. He was a teenage sensation as a prospect, and won a world championship in 1986 and later in 1996 after battling drug and alcohol addiction.
This is his story.
Dwight was the youngest child, and was raised in a Tampa, Florida community where crime and mischief reigned. His mother was strict but loving, as was his dad who encouraged him to pursue baseball.
Dwight was born as an Enneagram Type 9 (Peacemaker)- he showed these traits at the very beginning (avoiding chores, laid back, watching TV, playing video games, shy around women, liked to get into mischief with his buddies, but hid secrets from his strict parents, gets along with everyone, impressionable, content with being a follower- not a leader, unconcerned about school, authority figures like coaches and parents needed to get tough with him to motivate him).
And guess what? This same kid is all of a sudden on the best team in baseball in the biggest city in the world. The MEDIA built an image of Doc- an innocent and polite skinny black kid from the ghetto who had the most awesome fastball and curveball in the world, with the potential to be the best pitcher who ever lived.
And Doc resented that. He hated the perfect do-gooder image because he was just a normal guy, not a role model, and not a saint. But the MEDIA liked to build him up as one. And the Mets organization wanted him to be an ambassador, something that added pressure to him.
He never grew up. Never had a chance to. He wasn’t properly educated or motivated. He “quit” many times in high school, and at his (very brief) minor league level, but his dad and a pitching coach talked him back into it. Doc was not an intimidating pitcher when he was first starting out. He had to learn how to put on the game face and pitch inside to intimidate hitters. He had no killer instinct. At the lower levels, he felt weird and an outcast because of racism and being only one of a handful of black players in the Mets farm system.
Fast forward to the big leagues. He met Daryl Strawberry, the black superstar hitter. Straw Man the opposite of Doc: he was cocky, streetwise, and outgoing, always looking to fight. (Think Denzel Washington in Training Day when it comes to ’street smarts’). Straw would give Doc advice on how to carry himself, and to get out of his hotel room. Of course, the advice was bad, but it sounded good at the time. Also, the rest of the Mets were jocks: strip clubs, affairs, bars, late nights, alcohol, and cocaine: all the vital ingredients for a 1980’s NY team. The Mets manager Davey Johnson let Keith Hernandez and Gary Carter police the clubhouse and was a permissive authority figure. The team was comprised of a bunch of animals, and they would have rebelled against any authority figure. Johnson was the perfect manager for the team when it came to focusing their energies on beating their opponents, but not for imposing a clean lifestyle.
Mel Stottlemyre, the old pitching coach (also a Type 9) treated Doc like his own son, and truly loved him. It broke his heart when Doc got into trouble in later years, since Doc kept his secrets.
Doc started with alcohol to escape from the pressure and to be more outgoing with girls, and to fit in with the guys. Yes, it’s called peer pressure, something people don’t like to admit. In 1987, due to injuries, Doc wasn’t feeling well, and his cousin hit him hard with the peer pressure to try a line of coke. And that was it.
The book is short- only 200 pages of easy reading. The scenes are intense: we are taken to dark and scary places on the streets, and in the dark tainted soul of a drug and alcohol addict. We feel when he blows 2nd and 3rd chances, when Commissioner Bud Selig Fed Ex-ed a letter saying that he was suspended for a year. We are sorry when Doc relapses, and doesn’t listen to the lectures at the rehab clinics, and let down his parents, wife, and kids. The cycle continued, the lies continued, the double life continued, and the addiction was too much.
There are other scenes in the book..true crime scenes. White police beat Doc up, and after he was released he and a bunch of his friends and cousins (and his nephew Gary Sheffield) had semi-automatic weapons. They were speeding in Tampa and were going to kill any white cop that pulled them over. Doc thanks God now that no police office pulled them over that night.
In another case, one of his childhood friends was getting sentenced and he asked Doc to assist in a courtroom breakout.
In other scene, Doc’s wife Monica walks in his room with a pistol in his mouth.
While on the Mets, teammate Kevin Mitchell decapitated his girlfriend’s cat in front of her and Doc thinking there was a conspiracy against him.
It’s a great mainstream book, but it’s loaded with tidbits about how badly the Mets were run in the 80’s and 90’s, in addition to how Joe Torre treated him like the invisible man during his 1996-1997 Yankees run.
So yes, this is a sad book. Actually a very depressing book. But I never got frustrated with Doc, though. He’s just too humble and human to judge him. He never fully appreciated or remembered his success in baseball. The only moment that had any true emotional significance occurred in 1996 when he was with the Yankees, when he threw the famous no-hitter against the best hitting team in baseball, the Mariners. That happened while his father was on his deathbed, and he wanted to do it for his dad. Although Doc was way past him prime in 1996, for one night a miracle happened and he had all the abilities and talent when he was Doctor K.
Plan of Attack (2004) is a direct continuation (in content and style) from Bob Woodward’s Bush at War. It is the inside scoop of how President George W. Bush and his inner circle planned Saddam Hussein’s overthrow, using exclusive interviews, leaks, meeting transcripts, declassified phone conversations, and official records. Woodward reports the facts, paints the scenes, and let’s you draw conclusions.
The first half of the book is about Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, NSA Condi Rice, Secretary of State Colin Powell, and CIA Director George Tenet planning strategy with General Tommy Franks. This was a a bit repetitive as military strategy is is not one of my favorite pastimes to read, but it did outline Bush’s plan for Iraq.
Basically, Bush wanted to hold Hussein accountable for Iraq’s violations of the U.N. resolutions, and justified a preemptive attack based on Saddam being a threat to Israel and the U.S. because of his weapons of mass destruction and biological weapons, the sponsoring of terrorists, and, oh yeah, overthrowing a ruthless dictator who ran a police state is the moral thing to do (that was always a throw-in and last reason for the administration, yet it may become the only reason that historians may give them as justification.)
One thing that is clear on the onset: everyone at these meetings (including Powell) was in agreement that Saddam was a future threat, and there was evidence he of course had WMD during the first Gulf War, had attacked Israel, and was pretty much Satan on earth. The fact that there was no smoking gun that WMD existed now, was just an issue to convince the U.N., Democrats, and foreign powers that Saddam’s new attack was close.
The book is loaded with great info:, how the Republicans kneel before Saudi Arabia because of oil, how Prime Minister Tony Blair willing sacrificed his political capital in England to join the U.S. coalition and believed in Bush, Karl Rove’s wheeling and dealing behind-the-scenes, Cheney’s conspiracy theories about Saddam’s capabilities, and how the inner circle kept months of top secret planning from Congress and the media (Freedom of Information Act be damned).
General Franks, the CIA, and Rumsfeld planned the attack (like Afghanistan, the pre-war CIA field-work was awesome), and were actually very successful in the execution of ousting Saddam. The big surprise for the inner circle was that Saddam had no WMD and his army surrendered pretty quickly. The problem was that there was no real post-war plan. Everyone (except Powell) underestimated how difficult it would be to create a safe democracy in Iraq, and no one guessed how long it would take or how much money it would cost. (The oil fields were always a major concern for everyone, and were immediately secured of course.)
Bush comes off as decisive, commanding, strong, idealistic, and a man of faith, but also comes off as contradicting, misleading, and hypocritical- all positives and negatives are common for Enneagram Type One personalities.
Cheney, most of the time, is sinister, a war hawk, cowardly, and manipulative. He also turns specualtions and rumors into facts at meetings. Very frustrating since these cabinet meetings effect all of our lives!
Rumsfeld speaks in riddles and does his best never to answer questions. He’s nuts. But high intelligent.
The loyalist Rice actually got angry at Powell for speaking to the media about the possibility there were no WMD. And believe it or not, she was initially responsible for Iraq’s transition to a new government.
Only a few members of Senate and Congress were truly 100% outspoken against the war proposal. Granted Bush, Rumsfeld, and Cheney used fear to motivate them, but Democrats voted for it. Senator Byrd was 100% against it, while John Kerry flip-flopped.
One thing that should be clear about Tenet and the CIA: the actual intelligence wasn’t 100% wrong; it’s just that it wasn’t 100%. Saddam ran a closed police state and was a very elusive person; he tortured spies and killed families. The U.S. had previously blown spy operations, and the paranoid Saddam was a master of misinformation and making himself more powerful than he really was.
The CIA could not get a smoking gun, but Saddam had refused to let U.N. weapon inspectors in, and when he did, the inspections by Hans Blix were farces, and the CIA found evidence of Iraq getting materials to build future WMD. Tenet made the mistake of boasting that it was a “slam dunk case”. Indeed, Cheney, Tenet, Bush, and Rumsfield are all guilty of being overconfident and arrogant.
Powell does not get a complete free pass; before his now-famous U.N. presentation; he was responsible for picking and choosing which intelligence to present. Powell was extremely frustrated with France and the U.N., and France really comes off horrible in this book, and the U.N. is shown to be totally worthless.
A misconception some people have about the U.S. going in by itself without authorization: The U.N. had voted 14-0 in favor of holding Saddam accountable, and Bush was went through proper channels with the U.N. because that’s what Blair and the rest of the world wanted. But the U.N. forced another meeting where Powell had to present proof, and the whole thing was ruining Bush’s war plan dates with delays. Congress okay’ed everything.
Russia, France, and Germany didn’t want war, and wanted more red tape with the U.N and were apologizing for Saddam. One couldn’t help but root for Bush when he finally gave the order. England, Australia, Poland, and other countries gave aid in the war effort. The U.S. really owes Tony Blair a lot.
Look, as a reader you either support a preemptive strike against a dictator or you don’t. No amount of evidence can sway you either way.
The major thing one must remember: the White House made a judgment based on all available information, and were unwilling to give Saddam Hussein the benefit of the doubt. It’s real easy to criticize the White House, but just try to be in Bush’s shoes for one day. Could you ignore all the circumstantial evidence and be like…France? The CIA did not intentionally mislead Bush, and Bush did not have some evil motivation to rid the world of Saddam.
Of course, Cheney went too far trying to connect 9/11 to Saddam, but the war could be seen as just if one believes the U.S. has a responsibility to stop dictators from crushing their people.
Anyway, I could go on and on and still not cover all the great tidbits in this book. It’s a great history book with an inside account of the planning, actual war, and initial aftermath. You are bound to learn something new.
Released in 2001 after the success of Mick Foley’s pro wrestling industry shaking “Have a Nice Day“, “The Rock Says” falls short in many ways, but it is a good biographical and personality sketch of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
The Good
Childhood upbringing and family. His father is Rocky Johnson and his grandfather was Peter Maiva, so he comes from a weird and traveling wrestling family.
He was bad in school, and a jock in college. He was recruited, and tried to make it with the Miami Hurricanes.
Described the lowest point in his life (getting cut from the CFL), and how he crawled out of it.
Generally entertaining book.
Johnson admits wrestling is pre-determined, and writes a little about inside stuff.
The Bad
Ghost writer Joe Layden.
Sponsored by Vince McMahon.
Details are non-existent with his 6-month pre-WWF career in Memphis, when he was called Flex Kavana in Jerry Lawler’s wrestling league.
Whereas the ghost writer was able to make things interesting with the Rock’s pre-WWF life, it went downhill once he joined the WWF.
He praises Steve Austin, Bret Hart, the late Owen Hart, Undertaker, Pat Patterson, Jim Ross, and Vince McMahon, and only hints that he had some problem with Shawn Michaels, but otherwise there is NO trash-talking or inside accounts about his behind-the-scenes relationships. In fact, if you take his words literally, there is hardly any mention that politics play a major part in the locker room.
Too politically correct, and edited. I hope one day we can find out his real thoughts on Vince McMahon and The Clique.
The Ugly
Pretty bad when you resort into going back into character in an autobiography: The ghost writer actually has random chapters where he writes like The Rock in the 3rd person describing the matches and pay per views as they were real. It reads like an old Pro Wrestling Illustrated magazine where wrestling was pitched as real.
Dwayne’s jock sex life: not a role model.
When this was released in 2001, I passed on it because The Rock was still in his prime and was only in the business around 3-4 years. I don’t believe you should write an autobiography being so new to the wrestling business. I was right.
Final Conclusion:
There’s a reason why I waited 7 years to read this. Pass.
Dwayne Johnson’s Personality:
Dwayne is an Enneagram Personality Type 3w2.
He is very confident, has a big ego, but also knows his role and has respect for people. He has the utmost love for his family and friends whom he feels comfortable with. Single child. He enjoys the male bonding of wrestlers who are professional and know it’s a business. He doesn’t have the best technical skills, but is the smoothest talker and has the looks to rise to the top of any entertainment profession.
He was always bigger than other kids, and wasn’t a good student. He had a violent streak, and like most Samoan families, his parents had to discipline him hard. He gives respect and demands respect. Like Ric Flair (3w2), he didn’t mind losing to other wrestlers, whereas Hulk Hogan (3) took it personally and wanted something in return.
Unlike many straight Type 3’s that tend to manipulate, lie, and plan crazy scenarios, he doesn’t do any of that. He’s actually down to earth, although a little selfish at times (this is the Type 2 aspect of him). He really is a fan of wrestling and football. Frankly, he doesn’t have the intelligence to be a mastermind anyway- he’s more of a fun-loving cool jock you would envy in school.
It is easy to blur Dwayne Johnson and “The Rock” character, and I hope he is able to keep those two personas separated, something Ric Flair was unable to do with “The Nature Boy”.
A lot of things have happened with Dwayne since 2001. First of all, he’s a movie star and out of the wrestling business. Secondly, he and his Cuban wife divorced. Many fans and wrestlers think he “sold out”, but when reading the book, I saw the signs:
1) He only got into wrestling because he failed as a pro football player in the Canadian Football League. 2) He had 0 dollars in the bank (his dad lost a lot of his own money after the business ate him alive after 20+ years). 3) Like many Two’s he likes new and interesting things. Like many Two’s, I imagine he prefers making 1-2 movies a year than to travel and work 300+ days in the WWE. 4) Regarding the divorce: he met his future wife in Miami when he was 18 and she was 21. Dwayne liked and got girls since he was 10. I don’t think we need to guess what happened in their marriage.
Bob Woodward’s Bush at Warwas the first inside account of the Bush administration, starting with 9/11, detailing the Taliban War in Afghanistan, and ending with Congress approving action against Iraq.
Therefore on sheer historical context, this 2002 book should be required reading in high school or universities, and definitely for anyone who has an opinion about Bush’s War on Terror.
Bob Woodward, the journalist who investigated Richard Nixon in All the President’s Men (1974) needs no introduction. He had full access, interviews, and documentation to what happened behind closed doors at the National Security Council cabinet meetings with President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and their appointed advisers: Powell, Rumsfeld, Tenet, Rice, General Frank, Ashcroft, and others. In other words, the source is authoritative. Subsequent books by different writers also add to this, but in terms of time and context, this is a great snapshot and record of the 9/11 and Taliban War account.
CIA head George Tenet knew Usama bin Laden (called UBL by insiders) was the #1 enemy of the United States. The CIA’s file on UBL was incredibly large. He had told President Clinton about it, and Clinton authorized some airstrikes and spying, but the mentality and atmosphere at the time was never to stage an invasion to get take him out.
Even during the first 8 months of the George W. Bush administration, the official cabinet meeting to discuss the UBL problem never happened. There were memos, but it simply wasn’t high on the “To do…” list. Tenet had warned about the urgency- it was his obessions, and in this book he said he regretted not to force the issue to the president personally about the attack which the CIA determined to be “imminent”. The sad irony is that the official cabinet meeting was ready to be scheduled around the time of Sept. 11.
Again, to frame the historical context: the American public and White House administration had been conditioned that taking full initiative and investing millions into bringing one terrorist to justice with Special Forces and CIA teams was not something that they comfortable doing, especially since they would be stepping on the toes of the host country they would be attacking, not to mention our allies in the Middle-East.
Every member of Bush’s National Security Council cabinet meetings were shocked and hurt at the brutality of horror of the WTC and Pentagon attack. With a plane headed to Washington, D.C., they knew that terrorists wanted to totally take out the government and cripple the nation. It was war.
Reasons why Bush “waited a month” to start bombing Afghanistan:
1) Our U.S. military had NO off-the-shelf plan to attack that nation. None. The entire plan had to be created from scratch, and the sad part is that there was no plan after we eliminated the Taliban and al-Queda. That was done on the fly, just like in every small business or major corporation. And that was decided by Bush and his cabinet.
2) Afghanistan is deep in Islamic territory and negotiating rights for refueling bases, and staging areas to launch search-and-rescue teams (to avoid what happened in Blackhawk Down) took weeks to negotiate and handle logistically.
3) The political stability in Afghanistan was a mess; it was ruled by Taliban by force, with rebel warlords who could be bought off by the highest bidder. The terrain was not ideal. It was far away. It took weeks to get ready. It was truly hell, and the fact that these “freedom fighters” defeated the Soviet Union decades ago was fresh in everyone’s mind could explain why there was no “off-the-shelf” plan for an invasion or government overthrow.
4) This would require a brand new war strategy and foreign policy (the Bush Doctrine- simply defined as taking initiative against any country that harbors or supports terrorism in the Middle East). Bush forced the CIA and military to work together, and the entire strategy was created during intense meetings, just like any business. Bush did not micromanage, he left it up to each cabinet chief to work out the details and report back.
In terms of the personality interactions, motives, and goals of the team that ran this country during these meetings:
President George W. Bush: Idealistic. Strong. Tough. Respected. Perfectionist. Unrelenting. He had the will and desire to crush all terrorists to avenge 9/11 and to prevent it from ever happening again. He was extremely frustrated that the military was unable to strike quickly. He had to listen to delay after delay, and kept pushing to act immediately even though the logistics were simply impossible. In many ways, he was like a boss who wanted a project done NOW without knowing the details of the production operation. Bush bashers and Bush haters would be sorely disappointed. There is no evidence of any conspiracy theory that he knew specifically about 9/11 or even funded it. Nothing on the record or behind closed door meetings that financial gain was the motive. Nothing that said Bush wanted to prove to his Daddy that he can take out Saddam.
In fact, Bush comes off as heroic: he refused to hide in the bunker under the White House every time a threat was reported. He said something to the effect of “It is what it is, if it’s my time to die, so be it”. Publicly, there is a reason why he had a 90% approval rating: he was steadfast in his resolve to be strong and to fight terrorism straight on. He freely used his political capital to make things happen since other countries and Congress were sympathetic about 9/11.
Ironically enough, Bush did not want the U.S. to be involved in nation building. The problem is he had no endgame. Like most Republican U.S. foreign policies, he wanted us in, out, quickly assign a leader, leave some troops there at a base, but the U.S. would not govern Afghanistan at all.
If there is any objective criticism of Bush from the reader (Woodward just reports the facts, and doesn’t lean either way), it is that Bush’s plans called for the U.S. to be the world leader and do everything with very little support, except from the British.
The other major issue was that he simply didn’t utilize Colin Powell, the most capable of all of his cabinet, due to philosophical differences, and seeing Powell as a rival and internationalist, someone not ready or willing to act quickly.
Bush comes off as wanting to make the world a safer place, and to leave a lasting legacy of taking initiative, whereas previous administrations refused to.
National Security Condoleezza Rice: Bush loyalist. Mediator. Juggler. Straight-laced. Organizer. Bush is like a father to her (she lost her father, and her mother died, too), and she has the utmost respect and regard for the Oval Office and Bush personally. She would organize “pre-meetings” with the other cabinet members to make sure the president doesn’t see them argue and get bogged down in micromanaging. She wanted everyone on the same page. Sometimes she still failed anyway.
She respected Colin Powell and secretly didn’t think he should have been on the outside of their crew. She mediated sit-downs with Bush and Powell, and although they walked away on the same page, as soon as Cheney and Rumsfeld (and Republican campaign guru Karl Rove) got into the president’s ear, the administration would “set up” Powell for public failures.
Rice is depicted as a dutiful worker and trooper who works overtime, and goes above and beyond to have everyone on the same page and to follow the president’s orders, no matter what they are. If she had any ulterior motives, they were not mentioned in this book.
She is Bush’s most trusted cabinet member, and he would actually blow off steam to her when things weren’t going well. But she absorbed it, and never manipulated Bush into going to war.
Vice-President Dick Cheney: Cowardly. Manipulative. Always had Iraq on his mind. Argumentative. Influential. Cheney had always read the daily intelligence reports and always feared that a terrorist attack would occur, especially with biological weapons or a suitcase nuke. The record in this book shows that he is a right-wing hawk who wanted terrorism stopped in every country, and that Iraq was the logical next country to invade because of Saddam’s threats.
However, his motives were simply to protect American citizens, not some ulterior shadow conspiracy to win no-bid military contracts. He had no intention to have prolonged wars, either. But he did want total wars, not weak Clinton airstrikes.
Cheney was quick to volunteer to be transported to an undisclosed location after 9/11. There was nothing macho about it; he didn’t even ask, he just did it. He also saw Powell as not part of the team. Cheney and Rumsfeld were generally together, although they had some disagreements, and were too dominant at the meetings, and had Bush’s ear after the meetings.
Cheney and Rumseld were against capturing or killing Usama Bin Laden“too early” in the war, as they feared the general public and other countries would say “let’s end this War on Terror now, you got your guy”. Bush agreed that the War on Terror is bigger than one man, and all terror must be stamped out. Therefore, although he gave authorization for anyone to take out Usama, it wasn’t the goal of the mission at the start.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: Powerful. Intelligent. Truth-stretcher. Spin-doctor. Manipulative. Withholding. Political. Ambitious. Egotistical. Combative. Don didn’t want to work with the CIA or have them call the shots. He later took over operations, but didn’t want to with the CIA agents. He saw Afghanistan as a military operation which he wanted to be in full control off. Don was the 1st to even mention Iraq after 9/11, as possibly being involved, and definitely had an agenda, although the book doesn’t mention what the motives were.
Don doesn’t hesitate to lie to the MEDIA, and even withholds “small details” to his fellow cabinet members and president. Facts changed daily with him, as did time-lines and promises. Behind the scenes, he was a control freak and had temper problems. He is a master talker and has full command over double-speak and revisionism. George Bush didn’t see any of this, and relied heavily on his opinions on the war effort and public spin. Don would pick and choose what data and information to bring to the meetings and to the general public.
He and Powell had “heated discussions” in front of Rice, and Don and Dick did their best to cut Powell out of the inner circle.
Don saw himself as an architect of a new form of warfare: send the CIA to buy off warlords, cause internal discord to strengthen to rebel alliance, bomb the crap out of the country, send special forces to hunt and kill terrorists, appoint a puppet leader (in Afghanistan’s case Hamid Karzai), leave American troops there to protect the puppet, and have the U.N. worry about clean up.
Don would even fight with the generals.
Secretary of State Colin Powell: Military man who obeyed every order. Would not step outside of his jurisdiction and get involved in tactics and strategy (that was General Tommy Franks and Don Rumsfeld’s role). Peacemaker. Mediator. Tough yet rational. Able to contain his emotions at the meetings. Professional.
Obviously he was the odd-man out at these meetings, although Rice tried her best to tap into his genius. “Bush’s brains” Karl Rove (who was not allowed to be at the meetings), saw Powell as a political threat (even though Powell’s wife forced Colin to not run for presidency) since he was so popular and intelligent, and was able to cut through partisan squabbles.
Powell handled negotiations with other countries for basing rights and to get their okay with the War on Terror. He wanted to build the international coalition in a fair yet firm way. But while he was away, the other cabinet members would change the rules and plan. The book details how Powell was “set up” by the cabinet as they kept changing the his orders while he was in negotiations.
After the Taliban were defeated in Afghanistan, and Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld wanted Saddam ousted because of a future attack against Israel and the U.S., Powell wanted Bush to appeal to the U.N. to say that we would be enforcing the U.N. resolutions as opposed to going at it solo.
Bush did respect Powell, and they did have closed door meetings together (with Rice sitting in), where Powell professionally laid everything out on the table, but it was clear that Powell was alone in his questioning that the U.S. impose the Bush Doctrine on countries without a true coalition of European and Arab nations.
Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet: Explosive. Patriotic. Overloaded with bureaucracy. How does one actually plan a global attack on terror in 90 countries especially since after the Cold War the CIA had been losing importance and funding? He had complied data on al-Queda and UBL for years, and regretted not forcing full action pre-9/11. Post 9/11, he was scrambling to head undercover special team operations to set up rebel alliances in Afghanistan, and to gather more intelligence.
Tenet is a straight-shooter and tried his best given the resources. His agents put their lives on the line. Walking around with suitcases of millions of dollars in Afghanistan to buy off warlords is risky business. He only lost one agent, who was murdered by the Taliban.
The CIA operations were much more smooth than Rumsfeld and the generals’ air and ground ops.
Tenet obviously regrets not acting on his intelligence pre-9/11, and has to live with that. There was no conspiracy between he and Bush.
Tenet wanted a global black ops special teams to work with other countries and unofficially take out terrorist organizations.
John Ashcroft and the FBI are not the focus in this book, but they did appear at some meetings. Ashscroft wanted the FBI to have full power to uncover any terrorist activity within our borders. Bush gave him the okay, and thanks to Congress passing the Patriot Act, the FBI had that authority. They uncovered over 300 people with links to al-Queda with info within our own borders, but data that was not released to the public at the time because Bush knew it was cause a panic.
In conclusion, this book is worth reading because it put things in perspective and context. There are some facts that are depressing: our administration had no plan for Afghanistan before 9/11. With Iraq, they rushed into it without the details of a post-Saddam world, and ignored Colin Powell’s reservations. It’s sad that everything is done on the fly.
I was hit with a dose of reality that the choice of cabinet heads was paramount. These unelected officials that the president appoints create history and mold our nation. The president’s greatest choice is who he appoints and how he juggles their advice. It was fun to read dialog during the meetings. Since Bush already leaned to the right, it’s natural that he would side with Cheney and Rumsfeld’s opinions for unilateral preemptive strikes. Rice and Powell followed orders, as their job description calls for.
Ultimately, the actual Afghan operation was a relatively quick success and accomplished the goals of destroying Taliban’s stranglehold on the people, although UBL escaped. The U.S. liberated the women who were slaves there, and gave tons of food and money to the people.
For those left-wing conspiracy theory types, and for those of you who think Bush is a war criminal and Satan himself, sorry if the facts get in the way of your perception of him…
…at least in this book; Woodward has three other books written after this, which I will read and review for you.
DailySkew poster R.A.W. may be displeased to know that in addition to a pseudo-scientist writing a book about how mosquitos wiped out the dinosaurs, a Los Angeles shop co-owner named Mark “Dr. Tea” Ukra is being covered by ABC and other major MEDIA outlets to promote his book. (I will not mention the book title, as I refuse to help promote this guy as much as I am already.)
Anyway, in addition to dozens of bloggers launching a campaign promoting “Dr. Tea’s” diet book (in most cases, bust COPYING and pasting the same article over and over again), it’s being reported as news all across the world. Many automated webcrawling robots are indexing Dr. Tea’s book as we speak to spread the word about how YOU can lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and increase metabolism, in addition to making unique recipes with tea!
It’s a crying shame that millions of Americans CAN’T SEE THROUGH THIS marketing campaign. After all, if someone’s on QVC and is on your local news, HE MUST BE LEGITIMATE, right? I mean your body DOES need Candy Bar Tea for $12.50 for two ounces of tea PLUS $6.50 shipping and handling, right?
Look, when is everyone going to accept that authors (including myself) just want to make a living for themselves, and to generate profits? There’s nothing WRONG with that. If they didn’t, they’d be working for a not-for-profit organization writing free brochures, or living in a Buddhist temple in Tibet or Catholic Church in Europe.
But let’s come clean, Dr. Tea. Stop hiding behind this altruistic and ideal image of spreading the Truth about your tea secrets. And shame on the MEDIA for giving him all of the free publicity. As for chat rooms, radio spots, and blogs talking about how this book is great, well…it must be true then, right?
I told DailySkew readers how to live a healthy lifestyle, and I did it for free with no profit. There is no SECRET WAY. It’s all public domain, folks.
The child in me is happy that Transformers has officially surpassed He-Man in popularity. I loved both, but my preference was Transformers. And, not only did it surpass it, but it did so in a manner that was respectful of the show’s history. What more can I ask for?- VanZee, DailySkew poster
I’m not going to agree or disagree with you, VanZee. But your comment did inspire me to run a comparison between the two properties (Masters of the Universe vs Transformers):
Toy Line:
Transformers were originally designed and produced by Takara and Hasbro, initially reusing previously-released toys from the Japanese toylines Diaclone and Microman. Jim Shooter and Denny O’Neil helped with storylines in the U.S. The original toyline was one of the highest quality action figures of all-time. Perhaps notable is that the U.S. let this Japanese “weird” toyline invade without a fight. (It should be noted that the first Japanese U.S. robot invasion was Shogun Warriors in the 1970’s.)
Masters of the Universe was originally supposed to be a Conan the Barbarian line, but according to currently outcast creator Roger Sweet, things changed. The Masters of the Universe toyline itself made Mattel billions of dollars, and is still regarded as the highest peak for any boy’s toyline to this day.
Edge:TRANSFORMERS. Transformer figures were more original, more sturdy, and awe-inspiring. As a child, I used my imagination more with Masters of the Universe figures, and enjoyed them much more and were more fun for me, but objectively speaking, the Transformers were a better toy for most other kids. That’s why I give the edge to the robots, but in my book, human figures lead to more storylines and emotions as I created storylines for them as a kid.
Later Toy-Lines:
Transformers had so many later toy-lines it is a JOKE, although the current stuff you see in Target or Toys R Us looks alright.
After He-Man’s peak, they were failed attempts to reboot the franchise. Only the last revival was any good, but it was aimed to the collector’s market only. The current toys are pretty much high quality statues, and you won’t see them at major distributors.
EDGE: Because Transformers can still be found ANYWHERE, it goes to TRANSFORMERS.
Original Cartoon Run:
Transformers was strong from 1984 to 1986, peaking at the Death of Optimus movie (although it was a box-office bomb). There can be no doubt that Transformers was just as talked about in school as the other major cartoons of that era. Some say the Transformers “jumped the shark” after the movie, as storylines got very hard to follow for the average kid, separating the die hard obsessed fans from the casual fans. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was the first cartoon to be massed-produced straight to syndication, therefore had hundreds of episodes made during its 2-year run, which did not falter from its peak. Mattel made the mistake of canceling He-Man and going with She-Ra for Filmation’s third season.
In comparing cartoons, one must consider that He-Man was a magnet for censorship. I find this extremely humorous. When viewing the episodes, the messages from the writers are 100% clear- that violence and evil is WRONG. He-Man never hit a living thing with his sword. Unfortunately, the censorship kept He-Man as a kiddie cartoon, like the Carebears or Smurfs. The Transformers- being machines- did not have to worry about that as much. G.I. Joe had to worry about it, too, as no one ever got shot.
Ultimately, watching the episodes today, the Filmation team hired some of the top sci-fi writers, and as long as one keeps in mind that the show was geared towards kids, and wanted to give positive moral messages, (these are handcuffs) the edge is HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.
Cartoon Spin-Offs:
The sheer amount of crap that was produced after Transformers Generation 1 is not worth the space to write about.
Attempts to relaunch He-Man were commercial failures, but at least were watchable. The caveat remains the same- whereas Transformers had the luxury of tackling grim storylines, Mattel refused He-Man to engage in any seriously threatening or dark storylines.
Edge: HE-MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE
Comics:
Transformers by Marvel was- at one time- the most anticipated title on the comic book stands (for me, and my classmates). They had a great gimmick- they promoted it as “4-Issue Limited Series”, with Issue 4 resulting in the death of all of the Autobots. Issue 5, with Shockwave featured on the cover, was THE MOST TALKED ABOUT COMIC AT THAT TIME in my age group. The writing was much more mature and top-notch compared to the cartoon, which is probably why I never formed an attachment to the cartoon. Most current fans just collected the toys and watched the cartoon, so I am different, as I was obsessed with the comics more than the actual toys and cartoon. I won’t discuss the U.K. or spin-offs comics, simply because it’s too detailed. Suffice to say, the Marvel series did take some liberties pretty early which frustrated me as a reader- Megatron was ousted by Shockwave right away, and never made the triumphant return that I wanted. Megatron was phased out. And so was Optimus. Optimus was in his prime in the limited series, and that was it most of the time in Marvel. (I had stopped collecting when the toyline got ridiculous, and the focus was on Cybertron and the future). So, although the series was enjoyable, and I looked forward to every new issue, I was anticipating for Megatron and Optimus to be their respective leaders, and it just never happened…something that should have been there all the time. Finally, to me, the original Marvel series is the cannon for Transformers, not the cartoons.
He-Man’s best comic run actually occurred as mini-comics which were packed with each action figure. Some of the best comic book writers wrote them, and they were not censored, or originally influenced by the cartoons (at first). These old comics are the true original history as conceived by the action figure creators. The storylines are dark and mature. There is no Prince Adam, Orko, or Cringer- all Filmation cartoon creations. Most of these are online to read now. The Marvel Series has the Star label, once again assuring that the writing and fanbase were for ALF, and Strawberry Shortcake readers. DC’s original Masters of the Universe 3-issue limited series predated the cartoon, and mixes Conan with magic- and Skeletor acknowledges the pre-Crisis multi-verse!! Also, this is the first appearance of He-Man having a dual identity, but as Adam he was a womanizer, not a…anti-love guy who wore a pink vest and purple tights.
Edge: TRANSFORMERS. With G.I.Joe, Marvel’s original Transformers comic book was HOT, exceeded expectations, and was able to be much more mature. After all, it was 1980’s comic books, were storylines were supposed to have angst and gritty.
Modern-Day Comic Books:
Transformers was rebooted so many times, it’s hard to follow. All I do know is that the artwork and computer generated ink is HIGH QUALITY stuff.
Master of the Universe’s reboot was based on the new cartoon, and the writers and artists were huge fans. The storylines were able to be more dark and mature, even sensationalizing the villains. EDGE: DRAW. Both comics were published by small-time independent presses, not Marvel or DC, which shows you that DC and Marvel didn’t think it would be worth buying the licenses again in this current market. Both comic runs are for the die-hard fans, now in their 30’s.
Cartoon Movie:
The Transformers’ cartoon movie left kid’s with their mouths open. I know I cried when Optimus Prime died. Anyone who says they didn’t is a liar. They changed so much in this movie (Megatron becomes Galvatron, Unicron, new Autobot leadership, Starscream getting what was coming to him, etc.) that the series truly peaked for me, and should have ended there. The marketing campaign or distribution method must have SUCKED for this movie to have bombed.
He-Man’s cartoon movie was interesting and enjoyable, but was no where near the quality or darkness of the Transformers’ movie.
EDGE: TRANSFORMERS Live-Action Movie:
Transformers Rotten Tomatoes: 57% critics; 80% Users $319,014,499 gross DVD rentals so far: $45,560,000
Masters of the Universe Rotten Tomatoes: 22% Critics; 35% Users $17,336,370 gross, plus a combined $1.5 million in Germany and Australia This movie came out AFTER the cartoon was cancelled, and He-Man was no longer the top selling toy. I rewatched it again recently, and liked Frank Langella’s Skeletor performance, and it was not as bad as when I saw it as a kid.
EDGE: TRANSFORMERS
Some final conclusions: Count up the Edges.
He-Man has always been handcuffed by Mattel and Filmation, and even when other companies bought rights, it was always been targeted towards kids, no different than Rainbow Brite, Barbie, or Cabbage Patch Kids. Until the day comes where He-Man can be put back to its Conan-like roots, like a 300 movie-treatment, it can never have the “relevance” or respect of people like VanZee, who likes robots.
Transformers has always benefited from being robots, which are timeless and universal. He-Man just seems dated in 2008.
First Amazon’s book description, and then my 0wn Skew Review:
“Bret Hart is the best there is, the best there was, the best there ever will be.” —Ric Flair
“Bret Hart still makes me believe that wrestling is good.” —Hulk Hogan
“A legend!” —The Rock
Book Description In his own words, Bret Hart’s honest, perceptive, startling account of his life in and out of the pro wrestling ring.
The sixth-born son of the pro wrestling dynasty founded by Stu Hart and his elegant wife, Helen, Bret Hart is a Canadian icon. As a teenager, he could have been an amateur wrestling Olympic contender, but instead he turned to the family business, climbing into the ring for his dad’s western circuit, Stampede Wrestling. From his early twenties until he retired at 43, Hart kept an audio diary, recording stories of the wrestling life, the relentless travel, the practical jokes, the sex and drugs, and the real rivalries (as opposed to the staged ones). The result is an intimate, no-holds-barred account that will keep readers, not just wrestling fans, riveted.
Hart achieved superstardom in pink tights, and won multiple wrestling belts in multiple territories, for both the WWF (now the WWE) and WCW. But he also paid the price in betrayals (most famously by Vince McMahon, a man he had served loyally); in tragic deaths, including the loss of his brother Owen, who died when a stunt went terribly wrong; and in his own massive stroke, most likely resulting from a concussion he received in the ring, and from which, with the spirit of a true champion, he has battled back.
Widely considered by his peers as one of the business’s best technicians and workers, Hart describes pro wrestling as part dancing, part acting, and part dangerous physical pursuit. He is proud that in all his years in the ring he never seriously hurt a single wrestler, yet did his utmost to deliver to his fans an experience as credible as it was exciting. He also records the incredible toll the business takes on its workhorses: he estimates that twenty or more of the wrestlers he was regularly matched with have died young, weakened by their own coping mechanisms, namely drugs, alcohol, and steroids. That toll included his own brother-in-law, Davey Boy Smith. No one has ever written about wrestling like Bret Hart. No one has ever lived a life like Bret Hart’s.
SKEW REVIEW:
If you are a wrestling fan, you have to pick this one up. Bret has some serious, serious inside info about Vince McMahon, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Ric Flair, HHH, British Bulldogs, Ultimate Warrior, Hart Foundation, Mr. Perfect, Ric Rude, and everyone he has ever worked with.
Bret has nothing to lose now- he’s had a horrible stroke, his parents are dead, he’s been divorced twice, he’s lost two brothers, his sisters and brothers hate him, and he is no longer mentioned on WWE anymore. WWE did NOT publish this book, and right now it’s Canada and Internet only. I managed to get my hands on this for my mother’s Christmas gift, and read all 550+ pages.
Bret is truly a student of the game, and has extremely high standards for what needs to be done inside the ring and how a champion should carry himself.
This book is NOT funny, and is not positive, so this is not a feel good story or a politically correct one. He pulls no punches, and writes from the “hart”.
Like Bret’s in-ring match psychology, he sets the reader up and is very detailed and methodical at the start, and devotes many chapters about his family life, training, and wrestling in the minor leagues before getting his big break with WWF in 1984. He continues his commentaries on his rise to superstardom, the behind the scenes {nasty} politics, the different countries he toured, to the infamous Montreal Screwjob, his career jumping the shark in WCW, Owen’s tragic death, lawyers, and his career ending match with Goldberg.
Whenever Bret talks about wrestling, there is always his large family’s subplot, which makes sense considering all of them are involved in wrestling.
The amount of small tidbits is worth every penny. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the book (most of it comes from audio tapes he made) occurs when he sometimes starts a paragraph with a date, and paints a scene or news of a death. It reminded me of Alan Moore’s Watchmen with Dr. Manhattan.
Most of the Canadian press likes to focus on Bret’s sinful confessions (his addiction to women, and occasional steroids and drugs use), but nothing was shocking to me. He’s just being honest about the life of a celebrity on the road, and had the decency to admit it, without being proud or bragging about that lifestyle. He also gives the best 1st hand account about why a wrestler chooses to do steroids and how it feels to be alone on the road.
Does Bret have his own biases? Yeah, I’m sure there’s a reason why that his ex-wife, brothers, sisters, Shawn Michaels, Vince McMahon, Kevin Nash, Hulk Hogan, and others had problems with him. He’s very egocentric and confident, and I can imagine that his strive for excellence can be very threatening to people who did not respect his version of the truth. Sure, Bret is a tad skewed, but at least he’s aware of it and stands up for what he believes in, which is generally RESPECT. Many of his 1990’s pro-wrestling interviews borderlined between reality and fantasy (he was one of the first to do a “worked shoot interview”) that pushed the envelope during the Monday Night WWF vs WCW TV ratings wars.
Bret is more honest than most people you know, and he does not go about ripping into people or burying people, although the true stories he witnessed can’t help but force a negative opinion about the person- he simply reports the facts from his audio tapes that he had made at the time. Towards the end, you can see him reaching conclusions, but it is very refreshing to see him be friends with Hogan, Shawn, Vince, Nash, et al when he first meets them.
Bret tells you all about his character’s psychology and in-ring match buildup.
I recommend this book for any wrestling fan. Take your time with it, and you will be rewarded.
Here’s a look at one of Bret’s in-ring promos, which mix reality and fantasy (it’s all a “work”). I apologize for the poor quality, but the audio is fantastic:
Let’s give a round of applause to ALFREDO ACEVES, who is now leading the pack (as of Monday @ 1:47PM) for the 2010 New York Yankees 5th starting pitching slot (ERA of 0.90 in 10 innings). Based on ERA and innings pitching, Aceves is 1st, Sergio Mitre is 2nd, Phil Hughes is 3rd, Chad Gaudin [...] […]
NPR: - Blockbuster is about to go bust OPINION ALERT – we’ll be covering the end of Blockbuster here, with lots of apocalyptic-style photos; Blockbuster has been behind the curve for years — what. They couldn’t negotiate to get rights for streaming movies like Netflix did? They didn’t see the idea of a DVD rental machine like [...] […]
This time around I realized that the raccoon was free from suffering now. It's a shame its life had to end like that- it was blameless; humans built roads in the middle of his ancestor's forest. Progress and technology broke that raccoon's legs and took his life tonight. But now the suffering has ended for it. I mourned the raccoon and the way […]
ust a quick observation before I run: I jumped from watching 1980's pro wrestling to the 1991 Survivor Series because WWE put up the whole PPV online for a limited time. It never fails to amaze me how much things change. It was like I was in a time machine from 1987 to 1991... […]
