In awe of the strongman

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

We've seen plenty of ire directed at those who haven't completely condemned Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine or shown unconditional support for the under-siege locals.

Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping: Leaders with real conviction? (Photo from Wikipedia.)

Super Zelenskyy

Even some expert analysts on the region, that is to say, people who actually have a fair idea of what they're talking about, whilst speaking out against Putin's actions, have come in for criticism in some quarters for merely suggesting the reasons behind the attack.

The simplified narrative for most of the media, politicians and those who like to be told how to think right now is: Russia and everything Russian evil; Ukraine and everything Ukrainian, good.

As discussed previously here, one should tread carefully when there's such widespread agreement.

Of course, many of us have a tendency to plump for the underdog, hence the support for innocent Ukraine against bully-bear Russia. Indeed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being portrayed as some sort of superhero saint. For sure, from what we've seen he has been impressive, but we can assume he has a few flaws.

'We have two "excellent" examples of such types right now. One is currently running amok in Canada, the other in New Zealand.'

Nonetheless, he is the perfect strongman counterweight to Putin over which the West can idolise. For as much as some of us may think Western democracies have moved on from salivating over strongmen figures, there still seems to be an innate desire for a patriarchy of sorts.

Gentle tyrants

In fact, this could be why some actually view, or at least did view, Putin as a likeable rogue.

What's more, on the global level, the Russian president has been the underdog against Nato and the West in general, a West in which many of the agenda-setters appear to be nothing more than self-righteous, often hypocritical virtue signallers.

With a dearth of impressive leaders to look up to at home and tired of being constantly patronised, a no-nonsense Putin — we can also include Xi Jinping here — appeals. There's a feeling, à la Donald Trump, that these men rule with conviction rather than pussyfoot around, trying to please everybody but achieving very little.

In functioning democracies, such types do have their place. They can take on the technocrats. It could be said that the European Union is in dire need of one.

The problems arise when there are no checks on the strongmen, when there's no one to challenge them. This generally happens when they've been around for too long. They do usually self-destruct but not before causing a lot of collateral damage on their way out.

Yet, the strongman is usually easier to comprehend than, let's call them "gentler" leaders. The latter is often more pernicious. They claim to be forces of good. Indeed, they are so convinced that they are morally right that they don't see the harm they do.

We have two "excellent" examples of such types right now. One is currently running amok in Canada, the other in New Zealand. 

It could be said that Justin Trudeau and Jacinda Ardern are like terrible twins of one Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair, aka former UK prime minister Tony Blair. One can only hope that, like Putin's, their respective regimes are coming to an end.

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Lest we forget

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Sitting unhidden in one of my barrio tiendas sipping on a litre of Poker beer, it dawned on me that less than a year ago such behaviour was officially prohibited and had been for the guts of 12 months.

Saving face: Colombians seem particularly keen on facemasks.

I'm not sure about you, but as things gradually return, for the most part anyway, to how they were pre-pandemic, I've nearly forgotten how absurd those "lockdown"/restricted-movement days were (it's good to have my various blog posts during the period as a reference point. See, for example, https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-collateral-damage.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-auxiliary-killers.html. Here's hoping the internet's Ministry of Truth doesn't get at them).

Failed estate

This isn't to say that my tried-and-trusted Bogotá tiendas are devoid of signs of those crazy times. Clientele's wearing of facemasks under the chin is one rather inane reminder. There's also the odd sign to wash one's hands (a tad difficult in establishments without adequate facilities in this regard), to wear aforementioned masks and even notices to disinfect your footwear, a practice that was found early on to be rather ineffective in combatting contagion in most settings.

As for the facemasks, Colombians seem quite happy to wear them, anywhere and everywhere. Whatever about their efficacy in terms of reducing the spread of respiratory infections — the jury is still very much out — they may at least offer some protection from Bogotá's contaminated air. Although, when worn around the chin, it's unlikely they'll be of much help.

Nonetheless, it's good to have some reminders of what we've just gone through — as long as they're kept at a safe physical distance that is.

Of course, people still afflicted by coronavirus monomania will not only say that all draconian measures introduced were necessary but they are also likely to argue that they didn't go far enough nor last long enough.

Again, the evidence that strict lockdowns work in combatting a disease such as covid-19 is far from conclusive. And when viewed solely through the lens of Sars-CoV-2, one is guilty of inflicting other causes of pain and death on those who would otherwise be fine. It's a delicate balance, one that many countries appear to have got shockingly wrong.

"Those who have been most faithful to the creed, if they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really?"

As we begin to accept that we must learn to live with covid rather than stop living and as we move our focus onto the next global cause for concern, any proper, unbiased analysis of the last two years must critically examine the role of much of the media in unquestioningly following the official line.

A majority in the Fourth Estate, not for the first time and it certainly won't be for the last, decided to take refuge elsewhere.

A dubious narrative was established and followed with fervour. "The Science" — the one that promoted heavy-handed containment measures and has coerced people into taking covid vaccines even when it is clear that some have robust natural defences against the infection — became the true faith.

Signs of the time. Careful now ...

Those of us who dared ask fair and reasonable questions were blasted as heretics. We were selfish, content to needlessly let people die, so the attacks went. Very early on in this collective, dangerous insanity I called out what was for the most part nauseating, hypocritical virtue signalling (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-fallout-virtue-signalling.html).

We now have some of those who were most faithful to the creed backtracking. If they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really? They seemed utterly convinced of their righteousness at the time, trying to rubbish those of us who went against them.

Centre fight

In any case, it's quite easy for them to shrug all this off now. Vaccine certs proudly in hand, life is pretty much back to normal. (More power to the countries that are doing away with jab passes — little by little, society appears to be taking a more reasonable, rounded approach to this. Let's not mention atrocious Australia, crazy Canada or nefarious New Zealand, though.)

Thus, some people tell me I should get over all this, 'hum a different tune'. For the most part, I am doing that.

However, the agents of coercion and control who were given a new lease of life with the arrival of the novel coronavirus continue to try to make life difficult for us "infidels". 'Just conform, goddamn it!'

Many appear quite happy to have the state overseeing more aspects of their lives, often falsely believing that it's for the greater good of society. It generally means a little less personal responsibility, too, so they'll acquiesce.

Yet, an all-powerful state with much of the media in tow, doing its best to silence — or cancel, if you will — dissenting voices, painting any opposition as conspiracy theorists and so refusing to engage with it, is not something to be endorsed.

It's why I won't simply let this go, not while we still have what is effectively nothing more than official opinion or debatable science being peddled as unquestionable fact.

As we've seen over the last couple of years and as history has repeatedly shown us, giving free rein to such forces rarely leads to positive outcomes.

The centre can hold for a little while longer. We have to be prepared, though, to battle hard to keep it together.
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Rediscovering the joie de vivre

Back in late 2007, during my first full-time radio job, the general manager of the station in question, a recently-appointed Portuguese man, took to me one side and said, "Brendan, you've lost your joie de vivre."

While he mightn't have been totally correct that at 22 years of age I wasn't happy with life in general, I was certainly dissatisfied with some, largely work-related aspects, and this obviously showed in my behaviour. Like many, I wear my heart on my sleeve.

Contemplating the future. The answers lie within ...

In many ways, that period marked the beginning of a new departure. In a few months I had left that radio station to take up an ill-fated editor position at another one. Before 2008 was out, I'd my backpack in tow, embarking on a 10-month adventure that took me around South America, New Zealand, Australia and parts of South-East Asia.

A return to broadcasting and Ireland followed, before, once again, wanderlust took over. South America was calling. After an initial three-month stint in Santiago de Chile, it was Colombia that became the base in late 2011. That's pretty much how it has been since.

Of course, starting off in a new country from scratch, that is to say moving without a job already secured or any clear plan, makes things a little more difficult. It takes time to get established. 

What's more, in many developing countries such as Colombia, working freelance in an unstable sector and earning the local currency means it's not easy to get into a comfortable situation financially speaking.

Personally, the first two to three years here had enough adventure and excitement, as well as a trickle of cash flowing in, to keep me relatively content. Heck, there was even (and still is, minus the same excitement) the odd TV 'super extra' gigs. The joie de vivre was there.

However, in the last couple of years, this has been on the wane. Again, the root cause seems more job related than anything else. The accidental teacher has become tired with his lot. 

The mediocrity has gone on a few years too many truth be told. On that score, the ante has been upped of late to find something more fulfilling, whatever that may be and wherever that may take me.

It must be pointed out that it's not exactly the location that I've grown tired of; Colombia and even Bogotá itself still excite. However, once you become mired in one important element, even if it is not exactly place specific, it can be difficult to focus on the many other positives. The grey cloud darkens all.

That notwithstanding, another, not-insignificant aspect that isn't exactly a roaring success is in the dating game (yes, here we go yet again).

The Colombia, nay Bogotá, I feel compatible with, at home in, is the tienda, what you might call more campesino/country style of life. Now, this isn't just from a price perspective, as has been explained before.

Unfortunately, in terms of most of the Colombianas I've been attracted to and tried to have something with, going out in such places is anathema to them. The ridiculously overpriced, fancier but fake locations are anathema to me. Plus, as someone who likes to try to be honest from the get-go, it tends to work against you here.

Yes, I've wasted time and money with too many interesadas, but it's generally the nature of the fauna in these parts.

Unlike the work situation, the above is more a problem of place, an incompatibility of sorts (but not in all cases, it's just 'compatibility' has been harder to find of late; you could say I've become more stubborn, not less!).

Looking at it all together, it's not that things aren't working or the joie de vivre is gone, it's just that it's not going exactly how I'd like. Of course, many people live their whole lives that way, a reluctant acceptance of their lot.

As long as you're still breathing, though, there's always time to change and explore other options. For a singleton without children to care for, this is even more so the case.
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The future is All Black

So another Rugby World Cup is put to bed and with it the team that has always been described as the globe's greatest has officially cemented its number one status — for now at least.

The New Zealand All Blacks' triumph takes their World Cup winners' tally to an unmatched three, they are the first to claim back-to-back successes and this time, unlike the previous ones, they did it on foreign soil.

The All Blacks: champions once more. Photos from Facebook.

There can be no denying their superiority in the game right now. The final did give us the two best teams in the world at this moment in time, but New Zealand were just that bit better than Australia in practically every facet.

The stream of rugby talent flowing into the All Blacks shows no sign of abating. For sure, big guns are leaving the scene in the shape of Dan Carter, Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith (with captain fantastic Richie McCaw still to make his mind up about his future). 

Yet the rugby-playing culture in New Zealand, where it is true to say the game is a religion, has ensured very abled successors are ready to fill the huge voids left.

The man who crossed the line in clinical fashion for the All Blacks' final try in the decider, Beauden Barrett, is sure to be one of those. 

Others who should maintain the side's frighteningly (frightening for the other nations that is) high standards include Sam Whitelock, Ben Smith, Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane and Aaron Smith. Already people are pencilling them in to make it three-in-a-row in Japan 2019. We'll give it a little time yet.

The question that is regularly asked, though, is, 'Why New Zealand?' In terms of overall numbers playing the game, it's well behind the leading nation in this regard, England. This is obviously understandable considering the small population of New Zealand compared to England — 4.47 million versus 53.01 million.

What much of the All Blacks success comes down to, as alluded to earlier, is culture. The outgoing Irish captain Paul O'Connell touched on this in an interview earlier this week. 

Looking at the rugby-playing differences between Ireland and New Zealand, two countries with similar numbers of registered players, O'Connell noted how in the latter country the sight of children getting together to play with the oval ball at school breaks or whenever is commonplace. Rugby is bred into them.

The perfect 10: Dan Carter drops for New Zealand.

By contrast, in Ireland, you're more likely to see young lads mimicking the moves of their heroes who play our national games of Gaelic football and hurling, or soccer, during their downtime. In many areas of Ireland — as happens in other top rugby-playing nations — rugby isn't the first, or even the second, sport on the list.

Of course, that's just one element to it. The support structures and player management in New Zealand are second to none. Plus, while we see the likes of Richie McCaw and Dan Carter as superstars, the modesty instilled in each All Black player is to be admired. It's a cliché in most team sports these days, but the idea that no one player is bigger than the team truly holds for the All Blacks.

Whatever they may have just won, or on the rare occasion lost, on the field, these guys are still expected to sweep up their dressing room after each game. Becoming an All Black may be the pinnacle for many New Zealanders, but it comes with responsibilities and high standards that must be maintained.

The All Blacks are certainly standard-bearers, not just for Rugby Union or sport in general but for many other walks of life, too. They set an example that you could do worse to follow.

It's not always about winning, either; the All Blacks have just found the right formula to ensure they invariably do. Contenders for Japan 2019, the work starts now.
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'Wrong Way' begins

We’re taking a bit of a step back in time this week. Below is a reproduction of an article we put together after returning from our first bout of travelling in 2009, when we were a little less cynical compared to now.

And while much has happened since it was penned, both personally and universally, you should find that the majority of what is expressed still holds true today. You could, in a sense, call it 'The Making of Wrong Way'.

“Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we often might win, by fearing to attempt.”

While I can't take credit for the above quotation, the plaudits there must go to the late American Nobel Peace Prize winner and activist Jane Addams, they are words, however, that have a deep resonance with me.

It was just over a year ago when I plucked up the courage and finally decided to 'take flight', leaving what was my comfort zone of this island.

It wasn't a decision that I took lightly, indeed I was procrastination personified before I eventually called Trailfinders and got the ball rolling so to speak. But once that was done, I purposely gave myself as little time as possible before R-Day (that’s 'Rio de Janeiro' day, in case you're wondering, my first port of call), so there could be little room for u-turns. Three weeks in fact was the time between booking my flights and hitting off.

Rio from a high - not a bad town.

It was enough time, nonetheless, to read a very apt article in The Sunday Times Magazine which opined that the hardest part about heading off on one's long-term travels — to clarify 'long term', what I mean here is an unspecified/indefinite period of travelling, as mine was — is closing the front door of your own house and hitting for that first airport.

Never truer words written, although I must admit it was my mother who closed the front door because it's not really my house, though it is home. Anyway, looking back at it now, I was a very nervous individual the morning I was escorted to Dublin airport. The fear of the unknown I suppose.

It was a deliberate choice, though, to go to a continent where I don't speak the language — well, not when I first arrived anyway. The destination of choice for most Irish people around my age is Australia, or at least it has been, but despite my fears about leaving Ireland on my own I was looking for somewhere slightly different for the first stage of my global adventure. 

(Although I must qualify this and say that if you're looking for a place free of fellow Irish people, from my experience, your best bet is the Moon or Mars because we certainly get around. Plans for 'Murphy's authentic Irish lunar pub experience' have hit a stumbling block for now, thankfully. Where's developer Sean Dunne when you need him? What? Bankrupt!)

Anyway, where were we? Ah yes, the trepidation of the unknown. Another part of the fear of leaving is, paradoxically, the fear of coming back — this oddity being, it appears, a particularly male phenomenon.

It's that bravado thing, when you tell your mates in the pub that 'I'm sick of this feckin' country of ours and I'm off, possibly never to return and ye're all stupid for staying around', while in the back of your mind you're wondering what are you doing leaving and how stupid you'll look when you return home after three weeks, if you last that long.

I did temper the possibility of that happening to me by telling friends and family that I could be back in three weeks, three months or three years. I didn't put any minimum count on how long I'd be gone for. Doing so could have come back to haunt me on my return to "the local". Anyway, I'm above such trivial stuff, am I not? That's why I only devoted a few lines to it, see.

Picture perfect - Machu Picchu.

That leaving fear, to move on, did just that, leaving me almost the minute I said goodbye to my sister and was left in Dublin airport to fend for myself.

However, I must admit I do have a fetish for the whole airport rough and tumble. I've just always liked the buzz of the place for some reason. Even by the time I reached Heathrow to get my flight to Rio, I was already walking with a swagger, enjoying my new-found freedom.

And while I say now, after the event, that had Baghdad been the first stop I would have loved it because anywhere was going to seem better than Ireland in November in a recession, the setting and the amazing people — both locals and not-so locals — that I met in Rio where I spent my first ten days set the tone for what was — with no exaggeration — a life-changing experience.

We won't go into details here, but suffice to say that what was initially meant to be a ten-week sojourn in South America before departing for New Zealand and Australia turned into over four months and would have been more if it hadn't kept on costing me to put back my flights.

From the scantily-clad ladies on the Copacabana in Rio, the amazing Iguazú Falls and magnificent Machu Picchu to the warmth and beauty of both the people and land of Colombia and the breathtaking sights of Chile, South America has a lot going for it. I suppose the mark of a place is your willingness to return to it and, in that respect, since I left 'América del Sur', I've been planning my return (it only took about 18 months to get back).

The Iguazú Falls - simply stunning.

That's not to say that the remainder of my travels in New Zealand, Australia and South East Asia were not as noteworthy.

On the contrary, all those places are amazing in their own right and I have much good to say about all of them, some more so than others, naturally. However, it was South America that laid down the marker and gave me that first glimpse of the world "out there" for an extended period of time, and for that I am eternally grateful.

So as the Irish economy gets worse by the day, with the relatively young — well, those remaining — asking the question, 'Should I stay or should I go?', we can take comfort in the following: Even with just a few euros in the back pocket, there are numerous countries on this planet where we can make those last much longer than they would at home — that's the benefit of being, ahem (no sniggering down the back there), a First World country.

Also, there are flights leaving this country every day to far flung places and, what's more, there are always ones coming back.

So, if you're thinking of your next move, my advice, for what it is worth, is to go and discover the world and in the process yourself. As for everything in this life, don't let the doubts hold you to ransom. Don't fear to attempt.

Phantom freedom

It’s a free world. Nice concept, isn't it? Indeed, some people would have us believe it's true. And depending on where you are coming from, perhaps, in relative terms, you do live in a "free" world. But that’s just it – it is relative. For an individual, you would imagine, the ideal "free world" is one where you can do anything you want, at any time, anywhere. 

Of course, such a world does not — nor could not — exist, unless you happened to be the only living creature in this utopia land, in total control of all other elements. Coming from that viewpoint, there are so many areas we could explore as to why we don’t live in a free world. For now, though, you’ll be glad to know, we’re just going to look at some of the more obvious, daily limitations on our freedom.

'Tis my field.'

There is a general consensus that we live in a freer world now than ever before in human history. 

In many respects — putting on our relativity glasses once more (you’d be as well to leave them on throughout) – this is true. But for anyone engaging in even the slightest bit of travel, you soon realise just how restricted we are by outside forces. Anything from restrictions on personal belongings to — depending on your destination — visa requirements, the limits imposed on us are quite strict.

Now, cast your mind back to European explorers such as Columbus, Magellan et al. and imagine the sense of freedom they must have felt when they set off discovering those new worlds beyond the seas (of course, we emphasise discovering and new here in the European context. Apologies to all indigenous descendants of said new worlds, we’re just using these terms to underscore a point).

For those adventurers, there were no immigration checks on arrival, no stringent visa requirements and the like. Although, in hindsight, the native populations probably wished they had just given their visitors the standard 90-day tourist pass with a bar on re-entry. 

The irony here, of course, is that no sooner had our tourists to the new world arrived, than they started marking out and dividing these free lands up. And where boundaries exist, freedom is curtailed.

When you look at it from a broader context over an extended period of time, isn't it silly for us to say we, as individuals or groups, own parts of this planet? Every now and again Mother Nature gives us some very powerful reminders of who really is in control. 

The people of Japan, Christchurch in New Zealand and Haiti, to name but a few of recent vintage, can vouch for that. Now think of all the lives lost due to man’s desire to take ownership of land and resources — all usually to the detriment not just of his fellow man but nature in general. There are very few, if any, regions on this globe that have avoided such destruction. 

Yes, we all were born in specific areas of the planet, places we like to call home, places that have a special meaning for us. But whether we like it or not, we had very little control over that. 

Plus, considering the serious challenges we as a race face due to the rapid globalisation of the world in the last half-century or so — environmental issues, economic and suchlike — isn't it time we made a deliberate shift to think macro rather than micro? Aren't we all citizens of the globe first and foremost? 

Yet, reverting back to the travelling theme, the very instrument we require in these times to give us a modicum of freedom — our passports — can, in another light, offer us quite the opposite. 

They mark us out, categorise us into a certain group/nationality and depending on that labelling along with where in the world you want to go, they can be more of a hindrance than a help. 

For example, the freedom to travel you have on a Colombian passport is far more restricted than that of — if you are lucky enough to have one — an EU passport. 

An instrument of freedom or repression?

So is it not time — if we truly live in a globalised world — that we started looking at issuing ‘global’ passports? Of course, the argument could be made do we need passports at all, but the evidence would suggest that as a race we’re not quite ready for that move just yet. 

However, anything that promotes freer movement for the vast majority of people on this planet — within reason — should be enhanced. After all, they do say travel broadens the mind, right? Then again, they do say we live in a free world, too. 

So why not pack your bags, prepare to broaden your mind and put that theory to the test.