EVENT # 268: CHANGING ROOM

This is a photo of Victoria Park in Hamilton, Bermuda. Like all the Bermuda photos in this leg of the trip, it was taken by Rod Amis, our publisher. You can read his three part "Bermuda Diary" in our RDR section.

The G21 World Tour continues as we lift off from sunny Bermuda for our next stop: LONDON, capital of Tony Blair's "Cool Britannia." Stick with us as we bring you more of the feast from the UK and Europe. We promise a great ride.

NEXT UPDATE SCHEDULED: MONDAY, 11 JUNE

Today's Pick . Another page will be displayed tomorrow.

A Non-election Election

To a politics addict an election is the best possible fix. The increased time devoted to the subject all points towards an event whose outcome is uncertain which adds spice. Never mind that in this United Kingdom General Election the coverage is unimaginatively dire and that the outcome is as certain as any such outcome can be, an election is an election.

There has never been one yet which has not been condemned for its crudity and superficiality. As far back as Mr. Pickwick (Eatanswill) and Will Ladislaw (Middlemarch) there are fine, journalistic accounts of venality, skullduggery, puerility and excess which make our contemporary contests seem sedate by comparison. The other change which has to be noted is that we have far less respect for our journalists than mid-Victorians had for Dickens and Eliot. ... More


AMERICAN DREAMS:

Desperation Nation

I want to open with some points for you to ponder and a quote. Then we'll get to "the beef." Consider these facts:

• A baby born in Washington, D.C. today is much more likely to die than a baby born in North Korea. Each day in this country, America, an average of 81 newborns perish. In all, in 1995, there were 29,583 infant deaths according to according the US Department of Health and Human Services. Half of those deaths could have been avoided, as they were the direct result of little or no prenatal care for the indigent mothers -- they had no health coverage as a result of our national policy regarding health insurance.
• The United States consumes five times more methylphenidate -- commonly known by the popular brand name Ritalin -- than any nation on earth. The United Nations International Narcotics Control Board has twice written warnings about American kids' dependence on this drug. Retired US Drug Enforcement Administration deputy assistant administrator Gene Harslip says, "We have become the only country in the world where children are prescribed such a vast quantity of stimulants that share virtually the same properties as cocaine..."

Refuge of the Road

WARWICK, BERMUDA - 31 May, 2001 - I have been riding Time¼s arrow incredibly fast lately and that causes anomalies to pop up all around me. I'm frankly dizzied by the speed of it all. As my time here in Bermuda comes to an end, I'm already trying to make sense of the "history lesson," those quick bursts of my past and my family's past that have overtaken me. But I have my sense of this place to assimilate, too, and the knowledge of flying (literally) toward my next destination, London. I've decided, against all trepidations, to embark on the Europe leg of the hejira and determine if I can leave America behind... More



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Dubya on the Run

I think there's a danged good reason our American President looks like a deer caught in the headlights. After less than six months in office, the Shrub is learning that runnin' a whole danged country ain't as easy as he thought it might be. Vermont Senator Jeffords done cut a leg out from under him by givin' the Democrats control of the Senate before we even have the midterm elections of 2002, and just about every other danged country on the planet is sayin' that the Bush agenda proves that America sucks. There are times when it just ain't no fun being the American President and this is one of them... More

COMING 11 June

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THE NOW EVENT

HOT LINKS (Not from Louisiana): We welcome a new site to our family of great recommendations - Moondance Film Festival! WHAT? You've never visited this page? Don't you use our navigational tools, Kid?


RECOMMENDED DAILY REQUIREMENT: : At the Web site Long-term Residents, some of the people who've lived and worked in Bermuda take exception with a speech given by government Home Affairs Minister Paula Cox. These people want respect and say that Bermudians are expressing unfounded fears about their motives. Even in this small and paradisical place, the contentiousness rachets high... "A Piece of the Rock" ROD AMIS More

RDR 05.31.01: KEVIN CAREY comments on international conferences and the ecological role of the USA. "Talking in Code"

RDR 05.28.01: Part Two of our publisher's Bermuda Diary: "Island Concerns"

RDR 05.24.01: Part One of our publisher's Bermuda Diary: "Your Average POSH"




VOX POPULI: From Darhl S., Tampa Bay, FL, USA:

SUBJECT: Bon Journey!

Rod,

Wow! I think this move/travel is going to be good for you. The past two Glass Houses have been the most upbeat writing by you in a long - too long - while.

I had to chuckle and shake my head at one throw away line about an almost 50 year old running home to momma... It put things in perspective. I now have the 27 year old back in the house (for a short time only damnit!) again. ...More



G21 ASIA: I was walking the other day to the subway station when I noticed a black bus with two large, Japanese imperial flags flapping at the sides. The speakers on the front were booming out rightist propaganda to the crowds of early morning commuters.

A group of men, wearing dark suits -- reminding me of the yakuza -- were talking with serious faces as I passed by, eyeing me with suspicion. Not wanting to make any contact, I quickened my step.

To get their message across, the public address speakers were cranked up to ear-splitting levels. You may not notice them as you hurry to work, but you have no choice but to hear their outdated ideology..."Rise of Nationalism in Asia" HAUQUAN CHAU More