In the last half century, more U.S. Ambassadors than generals and admirals have died in the line of duty.

“Contrary to popular perceptions, diplomats, aid workers and civilian contractors on the battlefield arguably expose themselves to more danger on a daily basis than most members of the military serving in combat support assignments. But they receive none of the credit and few of the benefits that the latter do.”

Abu Muqawama: U.S. Needs Perspective, not Pedestal, for Military

FULL TEXT

A new television show in the United States called “Stars Earn Stripes” puts various B-grade “celebrities” through military training in order to illustrate what it’s like to serve in the most elite units in the U.S. military.

This show might not have been a bad idea immediately after the attacks of Sept. 11, when it seemed as if most Americans were largely ignorant of the roles and responsibilities of their military and its elite units. Such a show might have prompted more Americans to enlist in the military rather than follow the advice of their president and shop at the mall.

Now, though, in an era in which Navy SEALs star in their own feature films and the White House collaborates with movie producers to re-enact the raid that killed Osama bin Laden, the whole exercise seems unhealthy — just another way for American society to put its military on a praetorian pedestal.

Earlier this summer, I penned two columns on wartime civil-military relations in the United States and came to the conclusion that, despite some handwringing to the contrary, elected decision-makers and their military counterparts in Washington have actually been working effectively and appropriately. On the whole, I argued, civil-military relations were quite healthy.

That is the good news. The bad news is that American society as a whole has developed a dysfunctional relationship with its men and women in uniform. The relationship has grown into a bizarre form of hero-worship, where servicemen and women are considered to be some kind of über-citizen more deserving of rights than the average, nonserving citizen. Andrew Bacevich’s “The New American Militarism,” which might have seemed alarmist when it was published in 2005, looks prescient in 2012.

On the one hand, it is good and right that a society lifts up those who put themselves in harm’s way to serve a greater good. But when it comes to the U.S. and its military, things have truly gotten out of hand. Able-bodied U.S. soldiers in prime physical condition now board airplanes in the United States before mothers with small children. Perhaps even worse, it seems that only veterans notice how ridiculous this is. The new G.I. Bill, passed by the Congress in 2009, makes the U.S. taxpayer responsible for the education of the sons and daughters of highly paid general officers, yet most citizens living in a new age of austerity do not ask why. And a member of the U.S. House of Representatives has even gone so far as to argue that military servicemen might deserve the right to vote more than the average citizen.

This is obscene. And the absurdity of it all is thrown into stark relief when we compare things with the way we treat other public servants. Consider, for a moment, Ragaei Abdelfattah, an Egyptian emigrant to the United States who was killed last week in Afghanistan while working for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Abdelfattah will not be remembered in the way we remember fallen uniformed servicemen, and his family will likely struggle to receive even a fraction of the benefits that would be given to the family of a fallen soldier.

All too often, in fact, USAID workers in Afghanistan are left to buy their own life insurance and worry about whether or not they are killed on “duty hours” so that their family receives it. The families of these fallen civilians will not have veterans service organizations fighting on their behalf on Capitol Hill to secure their benefits.

Contrary to popular perceptions, diplomats, aid workers and civilian contractors on the battlefield arguably expose themselves to more danger on a daily basis than most members of the military serving in combat support assignments. But they receive none of the credit and few of the benefits that the latter do.

For the sake of argument, perhaps the way we treat these public workers is how it should be. After all, diplomats, aid workers and civilian contractors in Afghanistan all serve voluntarily. They all provide a service and are compensated financially in exchange for their service. This is, above all, a labor transaction.

But if that’s the case, how are soldiers or Marines serving in a professional military any different?

The unhealthy relationship between American society and its military derives from our decades-long inability to decide whether those who serve in the military are performing a public service or whether they are instead embarking on a profession. This ambiguity has endured since the beginning of the all-volunteer military after the Vietnam War.

If the military is a service, then we can and should expect those who serve to do so humbly and for little reward, in exchange for the grateful thanks of their nation. We might provide compensatory benefits on the back end for the families of those killed and for those wounded or injured while serving. If the military is a profession, by contrast, then we should expect those who choose this profession to provide a contractually obligated service in exchange for pay and benefits.

Either way, the policy implications are the same. If veterans of a professional all-volunteer force have simply provided services to the public in exchange for compensation, then we veterans deserve the same benefits provided to other public servants — no more, no less. If the military, by contrast, is a truly selfless service, than veterans should be among the first in these times of austerity to lead by example and accept fewer public benefits. At the very least, we should be helping that mother with kids onto the airplane ahead of us.

Rather than choose between these two visions of military service, however, we Americans have opted for a middle option whereby we have a professional military in which men and women provide a public service — like police officers or emergency medical technicians — but are elevated to the highest echelons of publicly bestowed honor. This ambiguity hinders our ability to make even basic reforms to the military pay and benefits that will soon cripple the defense budget. And it contributes to the creation of a praetorian guard that threatens rather than protects the fabric of our society.

Andrew Exum is a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security and teaches a course in low-intensity conflict at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He blogs at Abu Muqawama. His WPR column, Abu Muqawama, appears every Wednesday.

OH FFFFFFFFFFFFF

1.  The Death Race Board met with the Governing Body last night.  You are screwed.   You have been betrayed and you will pay for the mistakes of a few. There are a few people who have failed to turn in their article.  If they do not complete this task everyone will be swimming.  Athletes who fail to do article will still do 12 mile swim.  We will be sending you the list of the individuals that did this to you.

2.  New mandatory gear list – pink bathing cap,  certified life jacket, a black compression shirt, needles, thread, and a clipping from a Bonzai Tree.

3.  The race will start Friday morning at Killington Peak.  If you start late it’s your problem but please understand you will miss the first cut off.

4.  Plan on staying until Tuesday.  Adjust your travel plans.

5.  Please submit the forms you received from the State of Vermont.  These forms must be turned in by Friday at the end of the business day.  Please fax them to the State office as you won’t be able to race unless they have the forms from each athlete with the signed waiver.

Spartan Race Elite Champ Hobie Call Weighs In

“Honestly, this close to the race all I would suggest is make sure you stay healthy, and show up to the race as well rested as you possibly can (meaning the 2-3 days before the race, be as lazy as possible). Aside from that, don’t let the “epicness” stress you out. Just go have fun.

Wish I could be there. Even with almost freezing to death for 5 hours, and losing my chances of making $100,000, it was still the most memorable and rewarding race that I did last year.” -Hobie Call

As a side note, anyone who finishes the race in under 24 hours wins a 100k and anyone who finishes in under 36 hours wins 50k. That pretty much guarantees that the race will be longer than 36 hours. Picture the scene: the HD makes it to the finish line in 23 hours. The race directors say, “Before you can cross the finish line, you have to do 14 hours of jumping jacks…” FFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!

Last year’s theme was “religion”. This year? BETRAYAL

The HD emailed Joe Decker, the 2010 and 2011 champion, who offered this advice: “The main thing is never quit and don’t let them get inside your head. Be sure to drink enough, eat enough, take plenty of electrolytes, take care of your feet and most importantly your crotch!haha…Serious use plenty of bodyglide. That’s about it! Have fun!”

Some extra advice from the champ here: “Don’t think. In this thing, thought is a killer. If you think about consequences, if you think about retribution, if you think about what’s going to happen, you’re going to fuck yourself. JUST DO; don’t fucking think. Become robotic and don’t fucking even think, no thoughts in your head whatsoever outside of fucking ‘just do the task, do the task.’ If he say cut your own nuts off and eat them, do the task.”

World Championship Spartan Death Race 2010 Montage

GAME TIME

Spartan Death Race

Greetings Death Racers.

Please visit Peak Races facebook page often for training advice and hints about the 2012 Death Race.

Entry fee has recently gone up to $900 as we want to fill the remaining spots with people who are truly dedicated to the event.  We have decided that we will allow you to recruit one person and they will get a discount.  They will pay the early registration fee.  You must email me (andy@peak.com) and cc your friend.  Only recruit someone who is dedicated to train and participate in the event.

All entrants must submit a essay.  Please turn those in to me in the next few days.  Essays should be 1-3 paragraphs and you should explain why you want to participate in the Death Race.

Hope all is well and hope to see you sometime this winter.  Your Death Race entry gets you into the snowshoe race, the winter death race, or any of our camps.

Please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions.

—

DEATH RACERS -

The time has come.  We need all Death Race athletes to get a article published in a newspaper or magazine.  We will not accept blogs or internet reports.  The article needs to have a real distribution and not just your local running club.  The idea is simple – you have committed to do the race and now you will commit to your local world.  Please let them know that you will be doing the race.  You can discuss why you are doing it, how you are training, and what you are hoping to gain from the experience, etc.

We take this article serious and are considering this your first challenge.  You will not be able to go to the second challenge without turning your article in.  We have one other option for people who choose not to do the article.  You can participate in a 12 mile swim on June 14th in lieu of the article.  You will meet Joe and Andy at Camp Keewaydin on Lake Dunmore at 6 a.m.  Frank Fumich and Joe DeSena suggested the 12 mile swim as you can’t fake that distance in the water.  You have to be serious or you’ll drown.  You have to train hard to finish 12 miles.  Note:  Once you finish you will head to Pittsfield and get ready for your second challenge.

Please send articles to our media Sheriff, Doug Drotman –  doug@drotmanpr.com   All media personnel should contact Doug to make arrangments.  Once your article has been approved by Doug, Andy, Joe then it will be posted on the internet and you’ll be ready to race.

We are still waiting on a few essays.

Best of Luck.

—

Greetings from Vermont!

I hope planning is going well for the Death Race.  We’re looking forward to a great event as usual.  The Death Race is an incredible event that will push you mentally, physically, and emotionally.  The theme this year is Betrayal and we’re as excited about this theme as you are.  We are expecting close to 300 athletes to start the race and few, if any, will finish. This means most, if not all, will go home with your tail between your legs.  Many of you will fail but leave in good spirits and many of you will fail and you’ll blame someone else.  This happens to be one of the most challenging aspects to this race.  If you finish it’s all about you and what you accomplished but it’s funny those who don’t finish point the finger and blame someone else.  Please save it.

NOTE:  Race staff reserves the right to remove you from the race at anytime.  It’s rare but on occasion we disqualify athletes who are cheating, physically unable to continue at a reasonable pace, or athletes who are injured.  We’ve actually pulled people from the race just for stupid antics.  This email will be the first of many emails regarding this years Death Race.  Please read carefully and pay attention to all details.  We may or may not respond to your questions.

First Challenge:

Article or 12 mile swim.  The majority of you chose the article but some have chosen the swim for various reasons.  Swimmer who are staying with me will meet me THURSDAY NIGHT at 7 p.m. at the General Store in Pittsfield.   If you aren’t staying with me then you will meet at Lake Dunmore in Salisbury, VT for the start of the swim at 4:30 a.m.  You have 12 hours to finish the swim.  You will not be allowed to use fins or motors.  You will be free to leave once you finish the 12 miles.  If you are done by 4:30 p.m. you will have 45 minutes to drive to Pittsfield and be ready to start the race.  Anyone interested in crashing at my house should show up Thursday night.  Email andy@peak.com and let me know if you are coming to my house or if you are meeting at the lake. If you are meeting at the lake then I’ll give you directions.  I will set a one mile course which you will repeat 12 times.  The course will most likely be 1.1 or 1.2 miles so plan on swimming 13 ish.  I’ll do the best I can and I will participate with you.  You must bring what you’ll need to support yourself (food, drink, kayaker, etc.)

Directions to DEATH RACE

Pittsfield, Vermont, USA – Figure it out.

 

HINTS: 

For hints that will increase your chances of finishing the race, meet at the General Store at 9 AM Friday morning.

 

Registration:  Three Parts

1.  Friday, June 15^th 1-3 p.m. at Riverside Pool House.

Riverside Farm – 57 Tweed River Drive, Pittsfield, VT 05762

Directions – Turn east onto Tweed River.  Go to second driveway and make a left.  Parking attendants will be there to tell you where to park.  All athletes who are solo must park at Riverside Farm and leave their car for the entire race.  During the third registration you will turn in your keys at the General Store and you get them back when you quit or finish.  The first registration process will be checking in, receiving sweatshirt, hat, shirt, maps, directions.  It’s very important that you follow the directions.

2.  Friday, June 15^th at Amee Farm Barn.  Amme Farm Barn address is 4268 Route 100, Pittsfield, VT 05762.  Athletes will drop all gear (table, chair, cooler, food, drinks, etc) at the Amee Farm.   Do not leave your pack.  Pack must go with you the entire race.  Anyone who isn’t carrying a pack will still be responsible for their life jacket, knitting needles, and bandages.  You can wear the jacket and carry the rest in your pockets.    Athletes must turn in a list of everything that is in their backpack.  The inventory should be on a 4 x 6 index card and neatly written.  Anyone who does not turn in an index card will not be able to start the race.  There will be a large tent (40 x 20) for athletes to leave gear and another tent for support crew and spectators.  Support crew will park at the Amee Farm.  We have designated parking spots at the Amee Farm Lodge and at the Amee Farm.  Please be respectful to the parking attendant and park where you are asked. You and/or your support crew may leave extra gear at the Amee Farm under the tent.

3.  Friday, June 15^th at the General Store.  General Store address is 3963 Route 100, Pittsfield, VT 05762.  All athletes will report to the General Store last and you will turn in your ID and car keys if you drove.  This is mandatory.  Once you do so you’ll receive your bib number and you’ll officially be in the race.  You’ll officially be in the race and for safety reasons you’ll head to the briefing together.  All athletes must make it to the race briefing with their gear.  Race briefing is a few miles from the store and you must walk.

Mandatory Pre Race weigh-in will be at the Yoga studio between 11-12:30 p.m.  You must have your gear for that weigh in.

NOTE:  You can arrive on site at 11 a.m. and parking attendants will be there to show you where to park.

Town of Pittsfield – Those of you that haven’t been to Pittsfield.  It’s a pretty simple town logistically.  The Riverside Farm is off of Route 100 on the South end of town and the Amee Farm is off of Route 100 on the North end of town and they are less then two miles apart.  The General Store is in downtown Pittsfield on Route 100.  The two farms are impossible to miss as there are signs at each location.  Amee Farm is easier to see as it’s on both sides of the road with a lodge on one side and a barn on the other and huge tents for the race.  Riverside Farm has a covered bridge leading to the residence. Please use Tweed River Drive and not the covered bridge.

Parking:

Parking has been an ongoing battle for us and last year at the Death Race we broke so many violations that the state fined us $9,200.  Because of our fines we’ve come up with an elaborate parking plan, which has been approved by the State and the VT Department of Transportation.  We have three parking areas in and around Amee Farm.  We will use a field at the Amee Farm (east side of the road) and we’ll park behind the barn.  We’ll also use the Lodge (west side of the road) for parking.  Overflow parking is a few miles away but we don’t think that will be necessary.  Athletes who are solo will park at Riverside Farm on the South End of town.  Your vehicle must be parked legally or you will be towed.  We will have two tow trucks on site and if your car is left on Route 100 for more than 4.7 seconds it will be towed, no questions asked.  In fact, it will be towed even if you are sitting in it.  This is part of our permit and although we all think this is an incredible event there are a handful of people that would love to see it end so we have to be on top of the parking and ask for your cooperation.  People who are showing up pre race should park at Riverside Farm and travel around on foot or park legally in town and travel around on foot.  There is parking at the gas station, general store, post office, Yoga studio, etc.  Please do not park at Amee Farm until Thursday and that’s only for Spectators and Support crew vehicles.

Gear List:

Life Jacket, saw, axe, chopsticks, matches, dress shoes.

Note:  These are the only mandatory items you must carry.  Don’t email me and ask if that’s it and tell me that you’ve watched the videos and it seems like you should have more.  Athletes will bring everything from helmets, rope, shovels, knives, post hole diggers, bikes, etc.  Whatever you choose to bring or think you’ll need must go with you the entire race.  Athletes are responsible for their own index card and their own gear.  Race staff reserves the right to check your packs at anytime during the race and any athletes who aren’t carrying what they said they were carrying will be assigned a penalty.  Athletes who are caught a second time will be disqualified.  Be very careful and selective when choosing what to bring.  Study what this race is about, envision being trapped in the woods for a week and bring what you think would help

you to survive. 

 

IMPORTANT -   ONE THING YOU SHOULD NOT BRING IS AN EXCUSE AS TO WHY YOU QUIT!!!!  MOST OF YOU WILL QUIT……PLEASE DON’T GIVE US AN EXCUSE.  TELL YOUR FAMILY.

Race Staff:

We have a handful of people who work very hard on the race and are the key players on the race staff.  We’ll also have a dozen people that spend the entire weekend with us making the event successful.  Lastly, we’ll have up to 50 volunteers doing many small things to make the race successful.  Surprisingly, we are here to give you an adventure.  There will be many times when you want to strangle the volunteer at a certain checkpoint.  Please remember that we are doing this for you.

Safety:

This is actually important to us, kind of.  We don’t want you to die.  We’ll have a few Doctors on site (they may not be at a certain checkpoint but they are around).  They happen to be Vets but in most cases this will do.  We also have EMT’s on site and an ambulance on site.  We will use radios at each checkpoint so that we know where athletes are.  We’ll also use cell phones where we can.  You should be able to take care of minor injuries on your own (carry creams, iodine, bandages, needles, syringes, insulin, adrenaline needles, snake bite kits, bee sting kits, knives, scissors, rope, etc.)  If you do have an emergency please tell another racer and/or tell one of the volunteers and we can get an EMT to you.  We reserve the right to pull you from the race at any point due to your condition mentally or physically.  A close friend of ours went down in the woods last year and had a head injury.  Luckily another athlete stayed with her while a third athlete went for help.  This injury could have been very serious and we may not have known.  Because of the nature of the event we ask that you look out for each other and help us with safety.

The Course:

Three people on the planet know the entire race and a few others are familiar with the challenges you will face but they don’t know exactly how Betrayal will fit into the race.  The course has been determined and the challenges have been determined.  We’re not sure how long it will take so don’t ask.  For the first time ever we’ve decided to give you the challenges.  The only downside is we aren’t going to give them to you until the 15^th.  You will move through the course, one challenge at a time.  You must complete each challenge before moving onto the next.  It’s important that you check in with volunteers when you arrive and check in with volunteers once your challenge is completed.  There are challenges that don’t take long and there are others that take hours.  The Amee Farm will serve as our main venue.  We will have challenges at the Amee Farm but also challenges at other locations in and around the area.  You will always return to the Amee Farm.  Please note that you may be gone for hours depending on how long a particular challenge takes.  Carry lots of food and drinks when you leave Amee Farm.  You have no idea how long you are going to be gone.  Please be responsible.

Course Markings:

Limited.  We’re not going to hold your hand in this race.  You don’t have to come and tell us that you got lost.  We will just assume you will get lost.  With that being said there will be markings in a few key areas to be sure that you get where you are going.  The markings we will use are pink ribbons hanging from trees.  If you don’t see pink ribbons for awhile then you aren’t on the course.  There will be no night markings so please have a good light.  The ribbons will be 12-18 inches long hanging from branches.  I suggest you team with someone at night.  We’ll take care of that the first night.

 

 

Land and Permits:

We have changed the course this year.  Those of you who have been with us before have travelled on private trails and our checkpoints have been on private land.  You’ll recognize many of the same checkpoints but we’ve added a few very interesting challenges and one in particular will be in the National Forest.  Please be respectful to land owners, homeowners, and the Government.

Lodging:

I’m sure the majority of you have your lodging plans taken care of but if you don’t, it’s not too late.  Call now for affordable rooms (dorm style) or double occupancy rooms at our Trailside Inn Facility.  The Trailside is completely remodeled and has race discount for rooms.  Mention PEAK and ask for Sheila.  802-422-8800.  Trailside address is 115 Coffee House RD, Killington Town – just 4.5 miles from Amee Farm.

Camping:

Camping is available at the top of Tweed River Drive.  There is a fire pit, portable toilets, small cabin for storage.  Camping is also available on top of the mountain (best primitive camping in the state if you don’t mind ½ mile hike).  There is a fire pit, incredible views, small cabin, and you’ll be on the race course.  Camping is also available in the National Forest which has a campground on the race course and in many of the state parks which are a short drive from Pittsfield.  Please send me an email – andy@peak.com and let me know if you plan on camping on Tweed or top of the mountain so that I know how many tents we’ll have.

 

 

Fires:

We have a fire pit at Amee Farm.  Feel free to feed that fire.  We also have a fire pit at the end of Tweed River Drive and on top of the mountain.  Those three fire pits are on private property and those are the only places you are allowed to make a fire as far as private property and the race course is concerned.  If you are in the campgrounds you’ll have to follow their rules for fires.

Rules:

You must cover the entire course without cheating or cutting corners.    We’ve had numerous complaints year after year about how people have cheated the course.  We’ve had people quit and the reason they quit is because other people were cheating.  Makes no sense to me to train for an event and then quit because someone else is cheating.  Facts are that if you get caught cheating you will be disqualified from the race and depending on the nature of the cheating you may be asked never to return.  You aren’t the type of person we want in the race.  Don’t litter on the course.  New this year – Your support crew may not provide you with food, drinks, or clothing on the course.  You may be assisted at the main Venue (Amee Farm) when you check in or prior to checking out.  You must carry all your own gear.

Sleeping:

Only allowed when race staff says.  Disqualified otherwise.

Support Crew:

Please explain to your support crew the nature of the event.  Every single year we have to deal with support crew people who don’t understand the event.  92.7% of the support crews are incredible people like yourselves and they are very supportive, nice, and fun to be around.  The 7.3% that doesn’t understand is a huge pain in the ASS and to be honest we’d rather not deal with them.  We get hate emails after the race from many of them and it’s really annoying.  Anything you can do to help would be appreciated.  IMPORTANT:  IF YOU DON’T LIKE YOUR SUPPORT CREW THERE IS A GOOD CHANCE WE WON’T LIKE YOUR SUPPORT CREW.  MY SUGGESTION IS TO LEAVE THEM HOME.   PLEASE EXPLAIN THE EVENT TO YOUR SUPPORT CREW AND PLEASE TELL THEM EVERYTHING THAT YOU KNOW.  ALL SUPPORT CREWS ARE DIFFERENT AND YOUR STRATEGIES WITH YOUR SUPPORT CREWS ARE DIFFERENT.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THEY WON’T BE ABLE TO DRIVE FROM CHECKPOINT TO CHECKPOINT.  IF THEY WANT TO WATCH YOU THEY WILL HAVE TO HIKE OR BIKE TO EACH CHALLENGE.

Support Crew (Food & Supplies):

The General Store will have almost all the food and supplies that you would need to get through the weekend.  They will have extended hours for Death Race weekend and they have a great menu.  Anyone who needs more should visit Rochester (9 miles north) or Killington (10 miles south), both on Route 100.  Rutland is 25 miles away and they have Home Depot, Walmart, food chains, hotel chains, etc.

 

Dogs:

Please respect the land owners and don’t bring them.  Riverside is private property and home of pit bulls that don’t care for other dogs on your property.  If you break the rule and bring your dog there is a good chance you’ll be burying your dog that day.  Amee Farm has a bunch of farm dogs and lots of animals.  Out of respect we’ve been asked not to have dogs on that property.  On the trails you could have dogs as long as they were on a leash.  If you are camping in the National Forest and want your dog that is totally fine but since a large portion of our race is on private property I hope you’ll respect this rule.

Toilets:

We will have portable toilets at many of the checkpoints and at the main venue.  We will also have a toilet or two on upper Tweed River Drive.

Water/Gatorade:

We’ll have water and Gatorade for you at the Amee Farm.

 

Fuel:

We will give you nothing.  Bring what you’ll need.

Awards:

Anyone who finishes the entire course in 24 hours will win $100,000.  Anyone who finishes the entire course in 36 hours will win $50,000.  There will be no other cash prizes.  Skull Kettle bells will be awarded to the top three men and women in the race, if we have three.

Cut Off:

The race will be over Monday by Midnight.  We will have three cutoffs this year.  Anyone who does not make it to a certain checkpoint by Saturday at 8 p.m. will be moved to the shorter course.  You may continue the race but you’ll be doing an abbreviated course.  The second cut off will be in the middle of the day Sunday and the last cut off will be Monday at Noon.  My guess is you’ll quit or finish by Monday at noon but if not you’ll have to start your last challenge by noon.

 

TRAVEL:  

EVERY YEAR PEOPLE ASK US WHEN THEY SHOULD ARRIVE AND WHEN THEY SHOULD LEAVE.  THIS IS TOTALLY UP TO YOU.  WE DON’T WANT YOU TO BLAME US IF YOU QUIT ON SUNDAY BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO CATCH A FLIGHT OR GET TO WORK, ETC.  ON THE FLIP SIDE WE’VE HAD ATHLETES QUIT SATURDAY MORNING AND HANG AROUND UNTIL MONDAY.  REALLY SORRY BUT WE CAN’T HELP YOU WITH THIS.

Best of luck to you!  I hope you have a great experience.  Please don’t hesitate to email with questions.  I may or may not respond depending on whether or not it deserves an answer.  This is the Death Race.

Three Cups of Pee

File this one under Say it isn’t so! Investigative news program 1 Hour has accused humanitarian Greg Mortenson of fudging certain aspects of his memoir Three Cups of Tea as well as financially mismanaging his charity, the Central Asia Institute.

Both Three Cups of Tea and Mortenson’s second book, Stones into Schools, are amazing books. The HD says never let the truth interfere with a good story! Look, it is always difficult to recall events that happened over a decade ago in journalistic detail. One’s mind is always inclined to remember things differently than how they actually happened. What up, James Frey’s A Million Little Lies! But if you’re going to write a memoir from memory alone, it’s best to go the What Is the What route.

However, the financial mismanagement aspect to the 60 Minutes piece is far more serious. Very, very disappointing if true. The HD is not only fluent in Latin, but has also seen enough West Wing to know: “Corruptio optimi pessima”. Corruption of the best is the worst.

The HD is inclined though to let this one play out. It will be interesting to see if donations drop to CAI as a result of this story. Stay tuned.

PEN UN CLUB

In an ever increasing sign of tough economic times, please enjoy this video of Czech President Václav Klaus ransacking and pillaging the office supplies of the Republic of Chile. (H/T to the The Occidental Oriental)

No moral judgements from the HD on the cheeky thievery. Rather, a criticism on such a poor attempt! PROTIP: After nicking the luxurious pen, the Honorable Klaus should have at least reached into his other pocket and put in the box a *GASP* BIC pen!