General

It’s NOT Just A Case of Land Grabbing

“It’s just a case of land grabbing.” These words from my classmate grossly oversimplified the Middle East issue. The following is not as simplified and will surely muddle up the issue. But the world is never a simple place.

Jews, along with other people, have been in the Middle East area since the dawn of civilization. After all, the area is the cradle of civilization. And where there is civilization, there have always been war (so much for being civil). During these times, kingdoms (including Jewish kingdoms) rose and fell, people migrated and immigrated. So much so that you scarcely can tell which is which and who is who.

But it was the conquest by Roman Empire that really ended the Jewish kingdoms and led to the Jewish diaspora, the scattering of the Jewish people all over the world. There they became merchants, bankers, doctors, etc. and became well-off. For this people resented them and they were oppressed: forced to live in ghettos and suffering through organized massacres. They even had a word for it: pogrom. The funny thing here is that, though they were still oppressed, the Jews were actually generally treated better in Muslim areas than in Christian areas.

At some point in time, some Jewish thinkers decided that the only way the oppression will stop is through the [re]creation of a Jewish homeland. This is the basic tenet of the movement which became known as Zionism. The Zionists worked towards this end culminating in migrations by Jews [back] to the Middle East, the pressuring on the British for the allocation of land, and the formation of Israel.

This formation came about in the midst of an attack by Arab countries (which included Lebanon) opposed to it. Israel fought off the attack and several other attacks through the years. In this forge of war, Israel became a strong country. You can’t easily oppress a strong country but the hate goes on. People do not hate Israel for what it does. People have always hated Israel. Israel does what it does because people hate them.

The Motorcycle Diaries

A few months back, my sister offered to lend me her copy of The Motorcycle Diaries. I was a bit busy at that time and I forgot about it. I only remembered when my friend Cez and I were talking about traveling the width of the USA and she mentioned in passing the movie, that it was about traveling (and also that it is about Che Guevara). I decided I should watch it (for the travel part) so I borrowed it from my sister and watched.

It turned out to be quite a good watch. It’s about the adventures of two friends as they made a decision to leave what they have to do and people they love behind to travel across South America. Most of us probably had the same conflicts and stayed pretending that we can do it later. But do we really NEED to do these things? Can’t the ones we love wait or at least go with us? Can we really do it later? But these two, travel they did with just a few bucks, some bags, an old motorcyle, and their wits. The epitome of the spirit of adventure.

It is also in a way a view on the plight of the rural South Americans and a glimpse of the influences behind Che Guevara’s ideology later in life. One scene of this aspect that I particularly liked is when they asked a couple they met along the way on why they are travelling. The couple responded “To work.” then threw back the question. There was silence as the friends took the answer in and finally answered “We travel just to travel.” It captured the essence of the issue.

The movie is probably not for everyone but do at least give it a try to see if it is for you. If it is, you won’t be disappointed.

Rating: 4/5

Superman Returns

I’ve been holding off watching Superman Returns for the longest time because I wanted to watch it on the IMAX cinema at the SM Mall of Asia. But tonight, I finally watched it with some MBA friends.

Never being been into Superman, preferring Batman and his brooding nature,
I wasn’t expecting much. But the movie was so lame. It’s practically a glam movie with a dragging love story between Lois Lane, Superman, and Cyclops :P with Lex Luthor and his not-so-nefarious scheme thrown in as a side act. Needless to say, Superman wins against both Cyclops and Lex. So typical.

Good thing the 20 minutes of 3D footage sort of saved the day (or should I say the night?). I’ve said this about IMAX before but I’ll say it again: It’s great! The technology needs further tweaking but in time it will be the standard of cinema.

Rating: 3/5

The Constant Gardener

The Constant Gardener based on the book The Constant Gardener by John Le Carre is a story of love and revenge that pits Justin (Ralph Fiennes), a minor diplomat (and hobby gardener) against the evil pharmaceutical industry. The movie’s cynical view of the pharmaceutical industry reflects our own. Okay my own :P But seeing prices of medicine in Thailand to be way less expensive than in the Philippines, could you really blame me?

The movie is set mainly in Africa and begins with the death of Justin’s wife. His wife was an activist who had been involved in activities aimed at the pharmaceutical industry and he suspects that this was the reason for her death. Flashbacks abound as he slowly unravels the conspiracy that led to her death. He ultimately tracks down who was responsible. This he accomplished with great difficulty due to the power of these people. But in the end, he finally gains a measure of bittersweet revenge and deliverance.

A good movie with superb acting from Rachel Weisz as the activist wife and, to a lesser extent, Fiennes as the soft-spoken and reserved guy who is raging underneath. The director is the one who directed City of God and you can also see his realism style (think news footage) here.

Rating: 4/5

2006 June 7 to 10 Bangkok, Thailand

Just came back from Bangkok for meetings with a client and some partners (and partners-to-be). Actually, I was just there to accompany Migs and provide technical consultation.

We arrived wednesday and spent the time walking around a mall called MBK. It’s main attraction seems to be a HUGE mobile communications shopping area. While walking around, I noticed that there are MANY pretty Thai women (heck there are even some pretty Thai men!). Bangkok was nice already! Later in the evening, Migs interviewed a Thai who is interested in working with the company.

Thursday was all meetings. We met with the client, met with a partner, had lunch, met with another partner, then another. I mostly listened since technical issues didn’t come up. But it was still hectic and quite tiring. We ended late in the evening and simply crashed when we got back to the hotel.

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