Countdown to the London Oympics

"Most other competitions are individual achievements, but the Olympic Games is something that belongs to everybody." ~ Scott Hamilton

Official Olympic Games Countdown Clock, Tiananmen Square, Beijing (June 2008).

Official Olympic Games Countdown Clock, Trafalgar Square, London (March 2012).

Photos by Peter Rimar.

Three Generations

Since the end of the Korean War, South Korean society has undergone a complete political, economic and social transformation. In 1953, after a brutal Japanese occupation and civil war, the country was on life support. Most Koreans lived in the countryside and worked the land. After just 50 years, South Korea has transformed itself into an industrial powerhouse in Asia. The country's largest automaker even built a $1.1 billion dollar auto assembly plant in Alabama.

This photograph of my wife's grandmother was taken in a farmhouse in 1983. The story of her rough life mirrors the transformation undergone by the country. When she was sixteen years old, she was forced into an arranged marriage.

My wife's great-grandparents traded a small plot of land & a cow for their son's new bride. Basically, she was treated as a piece of property.


During the Japanese occupation, the laws regarding marriage changed. While a woman could no longer be bought or sold, families still arranged marriages for their children. In the case of my wife's mother, she actually meet her new husband (my wife's father) on their wedding night. My mother-in-law had ZERO control over her future. Love was not a requirement for marriage.


In 1983, for the first time in my wife's family, a woman controlled who she married. In just three generations, a woman's status in Korean society changed forever.

One of my wife's favorite movies is "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Why? Well, when we announced our engagement, her older brother attempted to stop the marriage. However, unlike two-generations before, he had no legal authority over his sister. Just like the movie, my brother-in-law invited dozens of Korean men home for dinner. When the movie came out, even my brother-in-law recognized his character as the Greek father.

OBSERVATION: Globalization has contributed to the rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. The dramatic changes for the status of women in Asia mirror the modern pressures currently underway in the Islamic World.


Century of Struggle:
The Woman's Rights Movement in the United States, Enlarged Edition (Paperback)

"The finest clothing made is a person's skin, but, of course, society demands something more than this." ~ Mark Twain

The beauty of simplicity?

Stimulated Numbers?

Compare: This FY (fiscal year), DoD will receive approximately $126 billion for sustaining military operations in Iraq & Afghanistan. How does this dollar amount compare to added domestic spending under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009?

Contrast: It included $53.6 billion in direct financial aid for local school districts to prevent massive layoffs & cutbacks, with the flexibility to use Stimulus Funds for school modernization and repairs (State Fiscal Stabilization Fund). Basically, it was the Federal Government's 50 State BAIL OUT in order to keep PUBLIC SCHOOLS across this country OPEN for business.
READ MORE...

In 2009, while GOP candidates hammered the Obama administration on the auto industry bail out, ZIP was said regarding the school district BAIL OUT. IF you're a school teacher or auto worker, ask yourself, "does the GOP really care about protecting my job?"
READ MORE...

Economics 101
Until Americans start voting with their wallets, it'll be almost impossible to create new manufacturing jobs in a tight global marketplace.

Toyota BUILT a billion dollar Tundra assembly plant in San Antonio, Texas because market research shows a large segment of the American truck buying public actually values where a product is manufactured.

Corporations like IBM, Microsoft, GE, Apple, GM, BP & Exxon-Mobil ONLY salute one flag: PROFITS!

It's time for Americans to start making informed decisions about the products they buy. IF consumers value products "Made in the USA", corporations like Target & Wal-Mart will respond to the economic benefits of stocking more home grown products. Small changes in individual buying habits will eventually send a loud dollars & cents message to the world's multi-national corporations.

Once again, IF American consumers don't value the country of origin of a product or service, why should a corporation? Free Market? What Free Market? Read More...

Photo of Portable Toilet by Peter Rimar, Baghdad, Iraq (March 2004).
A Year Without "Made in China":
One Family's True Life Adventure in the Global Economy (Paperback)

When your house is on FIRE, it's absurd to argue with your wife about how to rearrange the furniture?

IF the American consumer doesn't value the country of origin of a product or service, why should international corporations?
Until Americans start voting with their wallets, it'll be almost impossible to create new jobs in a tight global marketplace.

"We need conservative ideas to modernize the U.S. economy and reform American government. But what we have instead are policies that don't reform but just cut and starve government — a strategy that pays little attention to history or best practices from around the world and is based instead on a theory. It turns out that conservatives are the woolly-headed professors after all." ~ Fareed Zakaria 
Read More...

Definition of Political Hypocrisy [hi-pok-ruh-see]?

Tea Party Bus

Fargo, North Dakota

(August 20th, 2010)

A "Made in Canada" bus rolling down the highway on "Spanish Tires" so American Voters could sign it with "Made In China" markers, then departing Fargo to drink even more IMPORTED OIL definitely sent a powerful political message. A Hollywood script writer couldn't even make this stuff up.

Zippo "Made In USA" Pocket Lighter

Possible Definitions of Globalization?

A Collage of Posters for Sale on a Fence

July 2009

Jakarta, Indonesia

                                           Traffic Music 

                                              July 2009

                                      Jakarta, Indonesia

Photo & Video by Peter Rimar
A History of Modern Indonesia (Paperback) 
(See all 20th Century World History Books)

Possible Definition of the Term 'Politically Incorrect'?