Argentina Welcomed Home

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Despite its loss on Sunday, the next day Argentina’s team was welcomed home the next day by thousands of fans celebrating their home country’s performance in the World Cup final.  The team arrived in Buenos Aires on a plane painted with images of the players and large sign reading: “Thank you Argentina”.  They were greeted by a horde of emotional fans wearing the white and sky-blue striped jerseys of their national team, who flooded the road leading from the airport to the football association complex.

The Argentine soccer team.

President Kirchner personally greeted the players, and praised them for “courage, passion and bringing everything you have and more to the field”.  While Lionel Messi seemed upset about the loss, he was appreciative of the positive feedback.  Messi, along with everybody else, still made some great strides in being able to bring their team to the finals.  It seems like every time Argentina plays in the finals, they’re up against the Germans.  The last time they made it to a final in 1990, they lost to West Germany.  Four years before that, they had beaten the Germans in the final.

After Sunday’s final, thousands of sad but proud Argentines gathered at the Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires to applaud their team’s exceptional World Cup performance.  While the gathering was originally peaceful, violence broke out later that night, forcing riot police to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse vandals that destroyed store fronts, tore down street lights, threw rocks and broke into buildings.  According to National Security secretary Sergio Berni, 120 people were arrested Sunday night.  The Buenos Aires emergency medical services reported on 70 people were treated for injuries on Monday, including 15 police officers.

Despite Argentina’s recent troubles, such as one of the highest inflation rates in the world, an encroaching debt crisis and a deep corruption scandal, the shot at the World Cup final was able to unite Argentines.  Kirchner, whose approval rating has been plummeting in recent months, kept a low profile during the tournament.  She declined an invitation to attend the final match, preferring instead to rest in anticipation of a Tuesday summit with leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Lionel Messi Disappointed

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As his final act in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Lionel Messi lifted a free kick over the bar, wasting his home country’s last chance to tie against Germany.  This was no good finish for the four-time world player of the year.  Much in the same way that the 1986 World Cup belonged to Argentina’s Diego Maradona, this was supposed to be Messi’s World Cup.  However, after carrying his team through the group stage with four goals, Messi seemed to have lost his touch.  In the final match on Sunday, he had some chances but lacked the finishing touch to turn the game for Argentina.  As he collected the trophy for the tournament’s best player in the aftermath of the 1-0 loss, his face screamed disappointment.

While Lionel Messi was strong at the beginning of the World Cup, his strength and power seemed to fade with time.

While Messi has won almost everything there is to win playing with club team Barcelona, many people think a World Cup title is what he needs to be considered one of soccer’s all-time greats.  Through the group stage, Messi stood out in a mostly mediocre Argentine team, garnering goals against Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria.  While his early playing was exceptional, his skill started to wane as the tournament went on.  His impact was minimal in the Swiss game until extra time.  Against Belgium, he helped Argentina maintain possession of the ball as the Belgians tried to level the score.  In semifinal against the Netherlands, however, he struggled to find any space, since Nigel de Jong kept him firmly in his sight.  Besides a few runs and skillful passes against Germany, he ultimately didn’t have a very big impact on the final.

Pope Francis Interview

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Pope Francis has done a lot on “rebranding” the public perception of the Catholic Church, speaking out against frivolous spending and breaking down security protocols to be closer to his followers.  Just a day after hosting a peace talk with Israeli and Palestinian leaders at the Vatican, he granted an interview to the newspaper “La Vanguardia”, the first ever to a Spanish daily.  In the interview, he reaffirmed his criticism of the current economic system that he says worships the “God of Money” and “discards” men and women.  He acknowledged the risks he takes by breaking Vatican security protocol, but stresses that he doesn’t want to be separated from his followers by a “sardine can”.

Pope Francis waving at at followers

According to the Pope, violence in the name of God is a contradiction that simply “doesn’t belong” in our era.  This is interesting to hear from the head of the Catholic Church, an institution that previously sponsored such horrible actions as the Crusades, the Inquisition and Thirty Years’ War.  But Pope Francis acknowledged this, stating that such actions are “unthinkable” in the modern age.  Religion has caused us, according to Francis, to reach some serious contradictions, such as fundamentalism.  Francis has turned down the “revolutionary” title that many have given him since he’s taken office, claiming that his process has just been to go back to the “roots” of Catholicism and see how it’s relevant in the modern age.

In regards to breaking security protocols, Francis recognizes that his actions put him at risk, but also accepts that something like that is in God’s hands.  In Brazil, they arranged for Francis to greet people in a closed Pope Mobile, but reaching people behind a glass building isn’t a good way to tell them that he loves them.  True, it’s possible that something could happen to him, but the 77 year-old religious leader doesn’t have too much to lose at this age.

Seeing starving children in this day and age is a shock to many people, who find it hard to understand.  Francis has taken every chance possible to criticize the modern economic system, saying that people worship the “money god”.  More and more younger people are unemployed.  Francis has expressed his displeasure that the current economic system is “discarding” the younger generation to keep up.

The entire interview with Francis was published today both online and in print.  When the reporter asked Francis how he wanted to be remembered, Francis said that the had “not thought” about it, although being remembered as a “good guy”, who did what he could and wasn’t that bad at what he did would be just fine with him.

Young Billionaires

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Amassing a multi-billion-dollar fortune is no easy task; it requires the perfect amount of skill, talent and sheer dumb luck to accomplish, and very few people have succeeded.  However, I recently came across an article discussing the 9 youngest billionaires.  One of the most well-known of these is Mark Zuckerberg, the 29 year-old founder and CEO of Facebook, whose net worth is approximately $28.5 billion.  That’s just a few billion shy of the net worths of Google’s founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, both of whom are only in their early forties.  The number of young billionaires is growing, and while some of them inherited their fortunes, many of them are hard at work amassing their fortunes.

Mark Zuckerberg, whose astounding fortune only continues to grow.

Eduardo Saverin, the co-founder of Facebook, sued Zuckerberg after not being given credit for it.  Thanks to a generous settlement, he is still a part owner of the company, and his wealth is estimated at around $4 billion.  Also tied in with the Facebook fortune is Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster who invested in Facebook, and Dustin Moskovitz, who worked on the site in its early stages with Zuckerberg before leaving to start the software company Asana.  Another tech billionaire is Robert Pera, who founded Ubiquiti Networks in 2011 after working at Apple.  Ubiquiti went public in October 2011 and made Pera a billionaire.  However, in the volatile stock market, Pera’s fortune rises and falls on a regular basis.

Fahd Hariri, with a net worth of $1.2 billion, is the son of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.  Taking a large inheritance left to him by his father, he expanded on it through construction, real estate and investments.  His brother, Ayman Hariri, also used his inheritance money to work in the construction division as a board member of a construction, telecom and real estate conglomerate known as Saudi Oger.  Another young billionaire who inherited his fortune is the German prince Albert von Thurn und Taxis, who used his sizable fortune to invest, and is worth around $3.8 billion.  Other inherited billionaires include Scott Duncan, the son of energy tycoon Dan Duncan, and Yang Huiyan, the daughter of real estate mogul Yeung Kwok Keung.

 

Ukraine Breakthrough?

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According to a recent article, Putin has called on pro-Moscow separatists in Ukraine to postpone a vote on secession just five days before it was supposed to be held.  This could potentially pull Ukraine back from being dismembered.  This was the first sign that Putin has given that he would refuse to endorse a referendum planned for Sunday by pro-Russian rebels seeking independence for two provinces with 6.5 million people and roughly a third of the country’s industrial output.  This appears to be a major breakthrough in what many are calling the worst case of Russian/Western tension since the Cold War; Putin also announced that he was pulling troops back from the Ukrainian border.  Since fighting in Ukraine began, Moscow has assembled thousands of troops along the frontier, proclaiming the right to invade Ukraine in an effort to “protect” Russian speakers.

Earlier in the year, hordes of unmarked soldiers entered Ukraine. Many people think that they were secretly operating under the Russian government.

According to Putin, postponing the secession vote would create a chance for dialogue between the Ukrainian authorities and separatists, whose demands range between greater autonomy and outright secession.  He understands where the presence of so many troops on the Ukrainian border are a “concern” for the Ukrainian government, and this is why, according to him, they were relocated to where they traditionally conduct their regular training.  Putin spoke in Moscow yesterday after talks with the head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, who said the security and rights body was planning to propose a “road map” to defuse the drama in Ukraine.  One pro-Russian separatist leader said that his faction was “considering” Putin’s call to postpone their vote at a meeting of their self-proclaimed People’s Assembly tomorrow.

If what Putin is saying is true, then it could mean a major breakthrough in Russian-western relations.  It could also be a call back to Cold War politics, where the Soviet Union and NATO would be on the brink of war until one faction backed down.  I have lived through the Cold War in the past, and that is in no way something that I want to relive.  However, it looks like that’s what’s happening right here.  I’m also interested to see if the Ukrainian separatists heed Putin’s words, and what will happen if they choose not to.

Rugby Players

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New Zealand’s rugby team is known for performing the “Haka”, a traditional Maori dance designed to intimidate foes, before games.

When I played rugby back in the day, one thing that struck me was the sense of debt that players had.  People who enjoy rugby usually feel that they need to pay back all that they’ve received throughout the game.  Rugby, beyond the technical and tactical teachings, is a sport of camaraderie and friendship.  It teaches players how to share, respect each other and work as a team.  This is one of the essential components to playing rugby.

In recent years, rugby has spiked in popularity, thanks to the former players who work tirelessly to teach younger generations the values of rugby.  There are many different roles and positions in rugby.  The best is, of course, a player.  Nothing beats the buzz that comes from playing, sharing a training session, game, tours or after-games.  The memories associated with such fleeting moments have lasted me a lifetime.  Even though I have since passed my rugby-playing prime, there are still ways to stay involved in what truly is a great sport.

A lot of former rugby players love to coach.  Their vision comes from many years of playing and learning tricks on and off of the field.  It’s the closest to playing that somebody like me can get.  But the game still evolves so quickly, and coaches need to work hard to stay up-to-date.  When this becomes too much of a challenge for a coach, the next logical step is to become a club official.  Clubs are units where the need to push together is clear, and where there is always a role to be played.  These clubs need to find representation at a higher level.  In such a case, they typically send their finest to either work at a provincial or national level.

Djokovic Beats Nadal

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Novak Djokovic, shown here, after a successful match.

Recently, I’ve been watching the Sony Open Tennis games, which have been wildly entertaining.  Just yesterday, Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal in the final with 6-3, 6-3.  His game plan was focused on attacking Nadal where he was most vulnerable: returning serve and extremely wide in the Ad court.  Since he first had to navigate saving a break point in the opening game of the match and deal with Nadal’s legendary form, it took him a while to execute his strategy.  However, Nadal was unable to handle the Serb’s onslaught as he attacked his forehand return with both first and second serves.

Nadal’s backhand return motion is compact and easier to block the serve back, while the forehand backswing is larger and more likely to be pressured for time, particularly on hard courts.  Djokovic’s attack was a disruptive, surprise tactic to attack the strength and keep Nadal guessing.  It was also extremely effective to catch Nadal running around his backhand return.

Djokovic seemed to always be ahead in the rallies, and Nadal seemed to be a step slower than normal.  He committed 18 forehand groundstroke errors to Djokovic’s seven, and where these errors were made help understand the inner workings of the Serb’s plan.

A staggering 16 of the 18 of Nadal’s forehand errors occurred standing in the Ad court, where Djokovic attacked with his backhand cross court and forehand.  Of these 16, 10 occurred very wide around the Ad court alley (and sometimes outside it) as Djokovic kept grabbing Nadal out of his comfort zone.  Djokovic is well-known for his backhand down the line, but every one of his backhand winners were cross court in the direction of Nadal’s forehand.  Although both players won 14 points each in baseline rallies during the opening set, it was clearly Djokovic who took the honors during the second set, winning 65% from the back of the court.

Djokovic broke for the first time in the 2-3 opening set as Nadal served.  Djokovic finished at the net with a forehand volley winner on the first point after he crushed a second serve return down the line to Nadal’s forehand.  Djokovic went after the forehand again at 0-15, hitting a short angle backhand cross court winner.  Nadal won the following point with a good first serve that was unreturned, and at 15-30 Djokovic hit a huge forehand down the line, attacking Nadal’s forehand, then backed it up with a cross-court winner.  At 15-40, Djokovic used the secondary pattern of attacking Nadal’s backhand.

Djokovic then won seven of eight points to take command of all areas of the court.  Leading 3-2, 30-0 in the second set, he was feeling it so much that he nailed an old-school slice backhand approach deep to Nadal’s forehand, which the Spaniard in turn missed down the line.  After Djokovic’s primary concerns were humming, he occasionally mixed it up to Nadal’s backhand in an effort to confuse him.  Nadal’s serving was disappointing, as he only won 59% of the first serves and 46% of second serves.  Djokovic constantly began the point returning down the middle with a deep missile which pushed back Nadal and put him in control of both court position and the directional flow of the point.  In the first set, Djokovic averaged landing his return 11.4 feet from the baseline against first serves, which improved to only 5.8 feet from the baseline against second serves, pushing Nadal back.  In his post-match interview, Djokovic said everything went “perfectly” for him.

Tomas Berdych Falls

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Tomas Berdych, pictured here with a triumphant grin, hasn’t been doing as well during the current BNP Paribas Open.

In the past couple of days, the BNP Paribas Open has been going on in Indian Wells, California.  I’ve been enjoying watching the great games going on.  Yesterday, Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut knocked out Tomas Berdych in the second round, beating the Czech 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.  This is especially amazing, considering that Berdych had won 11 matches in a row this past month and is 16-4.  According to Berdych, this is “the worst match” that he’s had so far this year.

Second-seeded Novak Djokovic was a 7-6 (1), 6-2 winner over Victor Hanescu of Romania during their second-round match.  While the Serbian wasn’t thrilled with his performance, it was nonetheless a victory, even though he still has a lot of practice ahead of him.  Due to ligament damage in his left wrist, the sixth-seeded Argentine Juan Martin del Potro had to withdraw.  Last week, he also pulled out of the Dubai tournament.  Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France dropped out as well after falling 6-4, 6-4 to countryman Julien Benneteau.

John Isner, the only remaining American from the original contingent advanced after a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over Russia’s Nikolai Davidenko.  Despite an ankle injury earlier in the season, the 6’10” American says he feels fine.  He claims that he wasn’t too hung up on upholding “American honor” either.  At this point in the tournament, he’s more concerned about his own advancement than he is about his American teammates.

Former Pope Speaks Out

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A photo of former Pope Benedict XVI, back when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

There has recently been much speculation that Benedict, formerly Pope Benedict XVI, was forced to resign.  The fact that he was the first pope to resign since 1415 looked suspicious to many.  However, in one of the few times that Benedict has broken his silence since stepping down last year, he spoke out against these accusations, referring to them as “absurd”.  According to Catholic church law, a pope’s resignation is only valid if he makes the decision voluntarily and without pressure from others.  Benedict, who now holds the title “pope emeritus”, wrote in a letter to the Italian website Vatican Insider that there was no doubt regarding the validity of his resignation.

Just over a year ago, Benedict announced his decision to resign, and formally stepped down from power on February 28th.  Two weeks later, Francis was elected pope, the first non-European pope since Gregory III, a Syrian, was elected in 741.  According to Benedict, he stepped down because he no longer had the physical or spiritual strength to run the Catholic Church, and the decision was 100% voluntary.

Earlier this month, the day after the first announcement of Benedict’s resignation, Italian newspaper Libera ran a long story which speculated that the former pope was forced to resign due to scandals in the Vatican.  Since Benedict continues to wear white and has kept his papal name (instead of reverting to his birth name, Joseph Ratzinger), Libero claimed this was because Benedict still viewed himself as pope.  According to Benedict, however, this is only for practical reasons.  Benedict lives in near-total isolation inside a former convent in the Vatican, and has only responded to a select few letters and appeared in public only a handful of times since his resignation.  The last time he was seen in public was last week, when he attended a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica where Pope Francis created new cardinals.

Worker Centers

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These Latino workers, members of a workers’ center, cheer.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, business organizations are now mounting an aggressive campaign to curb “worker centers”.  As America’s labor unions have lost members and power, these new types worker advocacy groups have sprouted, pressing businesses on things like wages and working conditions.  These “worker centers” have gotten on the nerves of many businesses, who claim that they are fronts for organized labor.  According to them, these groups wrongly and unfairly demonize companies.  The US Chamber of Commerce issued a report this past November criticizing these groups.

In recent years, worker centers have spiked in prevalence, popularity and power.  Richard L. Trumka, the President of the AFL-CIO, announced that unions would start cooperating closely with these various worker centers.  This has terrified many businesses, who accuse the worker centers of using such tactics as intimidation to get what they want.  They argue that worker centers should deal with the same scrictures that labor unions do, such as detailed financial disclosure, regular election of leaders and bans on certain types of picketing.  According to them, it’s unfair that these groups are enjoying the privileges of being a union without having to deal with the regulations that come with being a union, allowing them to get away with tactics and practices that unions couldn’t.

Many of the worker centers were formed to help out immigrant workers, who had been long overlooked by unions.  So far, millions of dollars have flowed to worker centers from 21 different foundations.  Worker centers have started using strategies to antagonize business leaders who treat their workers “unfairly”, which could prove to be a dangerous strategy.  Nonetheless, many of these new organizations feel empowered by the strong reaction from these businesses, since it shows that their tactics are making them feel threatened.