26 June 2016

If England Shall Gain Brexit and Lose Scotland

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

As an international relations scholar with a Wilsonian internationalist leaning, I watched the Brexit returns with a sinking heart as the gap widened in favor of Leave. I think it's a huge mistake for the UK, for Europe, and for the global order.

First of all, the UK did not vote to Leave; England and Wales did, but Scotland and Northern Ireland voted overwhelmingly to Remain. I view the specter of another Scottish referendum on independence with considerable alarm. While I think a border vote in Ireland is improbable due to too much history of sectarian strife, there's no reason why Ulster couldn't be independent of both the UK and the Irish Republic if it were an EU member. The UK might end up being only England and Wales, and they will have inflicted that on themselves.

At the same time, the Brexit vote was a very badly needed wakeup call to the eurocracy. Sweeping reform is needed and soon. Let's hear it for the reboot. Talk of preceding with even tighter integration now that the UK is leaving is unrealistic and would lead to other exits. It would be too much of a shock to the system. Adding all of the Eastern European members so rapidly has been enough of a shock, really too much if it has led to Brexit. Not that EU expansion into Eastern Europe was a bad move. It had to be done. It was the logical consequence of the fall of the Berlin Wall. But now is the time to take a step back, take a deep breath, and reassess the situation.

If Brexit has left the EU badly wounded, Frexit would be the coup de grace. The EU without the UK and France would leave Germany and a bunch of countries whose fear of German domination would motivate the dissolution of the EU. The genius of the European integration project, much of it motivated by Germany, is that Germany deliberately embedded itself in international institutions to make the inevitable postwar resurgence of its economy safe for other European states. Intertwining the German economy with the French and Italian economies was the best hope for peace. You don't hear too many mainstream German politicians whining about loss of sovereignty, et cetera, because they know the score: Germany occupies too large and too powerful a place in the heart of Europe for anyone to be comfortable about it having full sovereignty. Lord Acton's famous aphorism about NATO was that its purpose was to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. The EU also serves to constrain Germany. Removing the constraints would be disastrously destabilizing. The damage that Brexit has done is to remove some constraints. Germany depended on the UK as a counterweight to its soft power within the EU.

But, I wonder whether Brexit is a done deal. Someone needs to pull the Article 50 trigger, and it's not clear who will do it or when that person will do it. There is the question of whether Parliament must approve such an action by the prime minister. The overwhelming majority of MPs oppose Brexit. The question is whether they would vote the will of the people or vote their personal convictions. In the play "1776," Dr. Lyman Hall remarks to the Continental Congress that Georgia is split down the middle on the question of independence from Britain: "The people are against it and I'm for it." He ponders the question of whether he owes the people only his industry in representing their desires or also his own experience and judgment. It's a question with which every politician must struggle. Going against the will of the majority is always a brave thing to do, and sometimes it is the right thing to do. The wisdom of the people's representative is the only insurance against the people's foolishness. That's where Robespierre went wrong, to his ultimate regret. If Westminster voted against pulling the Article 50 trigger, what would be the political blowback? A shade less than 52 percent voted to Leave. Of those, many are already experiencing voter's remorse and would not be sad to see their vote reversed by their MP, a small minority would be angry enough to vote against their MP in the next election, and the rest would just grumble. This would especially be true if the next few months were to be spent cutting a new deal to make remaining in the EU palatable to most Leavers. The UKIP campaigned primarily on the immigration issue. Fix that problem and take the wind out of the Leavers' sails. The dumbest thing for EU leaders to be saying is, "Stand not upon the order of your going, but go at once!" And, speaking of the Scottish play, there is also the question of whether the Scottish Parliament can block Brexit.

Finally, the two-year period of exit negotiations specified by Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon, together with the four months' delay before David Cameron's successor at Number 10 pulls the trigger. suggests that there is ample time to organize a second Brexit vote in the hope of reversing the first vote before that first vote can take any legal effect.

Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics
  

23 June 2016

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1999-2

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Main Title / Arrival at Naboo John Williams 1999
1 Jupiter-6 Brent Haeseker 1999
2 Space Station Oddity Bob Rivers & Twisted Tunes 1999
3 Space Force Cyber Space 1999
4 Life on Mars Dexter Wansel 1999
5 Dark Side of the Force S.P.O.C.K 1999
6 Babylon 5 - Crusade - End Titles Christopher Franke 1999
7 Moon Child Ed Abolins, Eric Ebeling, & Ivan Pongracic 1999
8 STS-93 - Pad Abort Mission Audio 1999
9 The First Kurt Swinghammer 1999
10 Dr. McCoy S.P.O.C.K 1999
11 Fly Me to the Moon Fritz Feger 1999
12 The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Glen Campbell 1999
13 Aerospace-Age Inferno (live) Hawkwind 1999
14 Space Dreamer Iceman 1999
15 Saturn 5 Inspiral Carpets 1999
16 Mars Jay Bocook 1999

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

22 June 2016

Food Fighters

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

BBC News online has a series of articles, "India on a Plate," the first of which explores "Why India is a nation of foodies." 

In my view, the answer to that question is self evident. It's one of the best cuisines on the planet, rivaling even Italian, but probably more diverse because India is so much larger than Italy. I daresay that it would take decades to properly explore the nuances of every state and district.

In a restaurant in San Rafael, California, I once ordered a vindaloo dish. The waiter asked if I wanted it made hot. Well of course I did, why else would anyone order a vindaloo dish? Then he asked me whether I wanted it "Indian hot" or "English hot." Which is hotter? "English hot," he informed me. Bloody limeys, always trying to outdo the colonials!

But the reason behind the English fascination for Indian food is also self evident. Just set a traditional English dish on the table alongside an authentic Indian dish. Nolo contendere, court adjourned (BANG). Some historians are of the opinion that the British, having first replicated India's textiles technology, took control of the region to forcibly reverse its industrialization and to reduce it to a supplier of raw cotton to the nascent British factories; India's industrial revolution was thus strangled in its cradle. Sure, but the food factor should not be ignored. Much of the expansion of the British Empire can be explained as a quest for a decent meal. Picture a mid-19th century tommy standing in a Madras street holding up a sign, "Will fight for food." It should be noted that the UK lost its ability to feed itself solely on domestic produce in the mid-19th century. Imagine losing interest in the national cuisine to the point that starvation became a plausible alternative. Explains a lot.

Like why, living in Tonga, not all that far from Fiji and its large minority of Indian descent, I have to import curries, chutneys, and marinades literally from halfway around the world: Manchester, UK. The best Indian restaurants may well be in England.

Yes, Fiji does export a curry powder to Tonga, but it's awfully bland. Despite possessing no skill whatsoever, I am confident that I could mix together some cumin, turmeric, coriander, garlic
, and various peppers, and produce better results. On the evidence of Indo-Fijian curry. I would have to conclude that they have lost their culinary roots and have gone native Polynesian. No wonder the British granted Fiji its independence. Rather decent tea, however.
 

I have no wish to insult Polynesians, and I have considerable incentive not to, as I do live surrounded by a hundred thousand of them, and I would be quick to point out that Polynesians have many fine attributes, but worldwide outside of their native lands, Polynesian restaurants are as rare as English restaurants. There's a reason for that: no less than the UK, these are definitely NOT the Spice Islands. It is a point of some pride among Tongan that it is the only South Pacific kingdom which was never colonized. There's a reason for that, not one to be proud of: even British seamen didn't want to eat here, and turned with comparative enthusiasm to their hardtack. The most popular restaurant item in Tonga is Kentucky, their word for American southern fried chicken, but it's a pale imitation of Colonel Sanders. Dinner most fowl.

The English understood their culinary shortcomings early in their history. Historians propose unconvincing explanations as to why a small, impoverished, medieval, island kingdom chose to take on a larger, more populous, and more prosperous kingdom on the Continent in a Hundred Years' War that was as notable for its few victories as for its extreme duration. The government became so unpopular during this century-long foreign adventure that it led directly to the Wars of the Roses. Why did the House of Lancaster fight so desperately and for so long in so hopeless a cause, at the ultimate cost of being toppled by the Yorkists? Obviously, they were driven crazy by French food and they just had to grab for more of it. If you think reaching across the dinner table is bad manners, reaching across the Channel was un faux pas formidable. Nevertheless, several centuries later, the British got some satisfaction out of conquering Quebec; obviously for the cuisine, certainly not for the climate, eh?

In sum, the infamous English toffee-nose air of superiority over subhuman colonial peoples actually concealed a deep-seated inferiority complex, for which, quite predictably, they overcompensated; it was better to conquer for food than to beg for it.

God save the Commonwealth!


Thomas Gangale's Tales of Tonga
Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics
 

16 June 2016

Orlando

Copyright © 2016 by Thomas Gangale

They end by finding something to die for because they found nothing to live for.
They throw away their lives because they could not give their lives to anyone.
Lonely in life, they take us with them into death, companions in eternity.
How few will recall that they ever smiled, yet how many still share our laughter.

Terminan por encontrar algo por lo que morir porque no encontraron nada por el cual vivir.
Tiran sus vidas porque no podían dar la vida a cualquiera.
Solo en la vida, nos llevan con ellos en la muerte, compañeros en la eternidad.
Qué pocos recordarán que alguna vez sonrieron, sin embargo,
que cuántos más comparten nuestra risa.

Gangale's Dogs and Cats: Stories, Songs, and Images
Thomas Gangale's Lies and Politics
 

08 June 2016

The Films of Dylan Gangale: The Eye of the Tiger

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale


Dylan Gangale
The Eye of the Tiger

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1999-1

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Main Title / Arrival at Naboo John Williams 1999
2 Dream Within a Dream S.P.O.C.K 1999
3 Of A Dream Kurt Swinghammer 1999
4 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Duel of the Fates John Williams 1999
5 Ночами долго курят астрономы Long Nights Astronomers Smoking Алексей Брунов Aleksej Brunov 1999
6 Fly Me to the Moon Amanda Wood 1999
7 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Anakin's Theme John Williams 1999
8 Space Antony DeGennaro 1999
9 STS-96 - Launch Mission Audio 1999
10 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - The Arrival at Tatooine / The Flag Parade John Williams 1999
11 Orbit Berklee College of Music 1999
12 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - The High Council Meeting and Qui-Gon's Funeral John Williams 1999
13 Jupiter-6 Brent Haeseker 1999
14 Star Wars I The Phantom Menace - Augie's Great Municipal Band - End Credits John Williams 1999
15 The Saga Begins Al Yankovic 1999

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

07 June 2016

Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Jadzia Tongilava

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale


Jadzia Tongilava

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1998-5

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Stargate SG-1 - Suite From Tin Man Joel Goldsmith 1998
2 Another Time, Another Space Ayreon 1998
3 Stargate SG-1 - Suite From Within the Serpent's Grasp Joel Goldsmith 1998
4 STS-88 - Zarya Capture Mission Audio 1998
5 Babylon 5 - The River Of Souls - Another Day, Another Holo Christopher Franke 1998
6 Babylon 5 - The River Of Souls - Part 1 Christopher Franke 1998
7 Kelly Watch the Stars! (Moog Cookbook Remix) Air 1998
8 Babylon 5 - The River Of Souls - Part 2 Christopher Franke 1998
9 Babylon 5 - The River Of Souls - End Titles Christopher Franke 1998

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

05 June 2016

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1998-4

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Star Trek Voyager 808's in Space Bass Tube 1998
2 Free Enterprise - Satellite Lauren Christy 1998
3 Theme From Star Trek Hal Leonard 1998
4 From the Earth to the Moon - Extended Main Theme Michael Kamen 1998
5 Satellite Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark 1998
6 From the Earth to the Moon - End Titles Michael Kamen 1998
7 STS-95 - Launch Mission Audio 1998
8 Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Eve of the War (extended instrumental) Jeff Wayne 1998
9 Galactic String Cheese Incident 1998
10 Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Earth Under the Martians (extended instrumental) Jeff Wayne 1998
11 Astronaut Sum 41 1998
12 Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - The Spirit of Man (extended instrumental) Jeff Wayne 1998
13 Satellite Workbench 1998
14 Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds - Brave New World (extended instrumental) Jeff Wayne 1998

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

04 June 2016

The Films of Dylan Gangale: Sixpack

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale


Bette Davis Tongilava et al.*
Sometimes the sixpack drinks you.

*The "sixpack" was Bette's first litter born under the Sione P. Tongilava house in Fanga, Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Bette was still feral and found food where she could while her babies sucked her down to skin and bones. When she regurgitated some bad food, her puppies ate it and sickened. Denzel and Jadzia survived, but greatly missed are Grilka, Peter, Rex, and 'Ono.

  

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1998-3

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Babylon 5 - In The Beginning - Prologue Christopher Franke 1998
2 Babylon 5 - In The Beginning - Part 1 Christopher Franke 1998
3 Forever of the Stars Ayreon 1998
4 Babylon 5 - In The Beginning - Part 2 Christopher Franke 1998
5 Man From Mars Joni Mitchell 1998
6 Babylon 5 - In The Beginning - Part 3 Christopher Franke 1998
7 Babylon 5 - In The Beginning - End Titles Christopher Franke 1998
8 STS-95 - Launch Mission Audio 1998
9 Cosmonaut Kremlin Grooving Boys 1998
10 Babylon 5 - Thirdspace - Part 1 Christopher Franke 1998
11 I Took a Trip (On the Space Shuttle) Legendary Stardust Cowboy 1998
12 Babylon 5 - Thirdspace - Part 2 Christopher Franke 1998
13 Звездочет Stargazer Алена Винницка Alyona Vinnitska 1998
14 Babylon 5 - Thirdspace - Part 3 Christopher Franke 1998
15 Babylon 5 - Thirdspace - End Titles Christopher Franke 1998

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

03 June 2016

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1998-2

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Star Trek IX: Insurrection - Ba'ku Village Jerry Goldsmith 1998
2 Hallucinating Pluto (Album Version) B-52s 1998
3 Alpha Centauri Waltz Bill Nelson Beard 1998
4 Star Trek IX: Insurrection - Childrens' Story Jerry Goldsmith 1998
5 Satellite of Love Color Filter 1998
6 Killer Klowns From Outer Space Dickies 1998
7 Ranch on Mars Pt. 2 (Set Me Free) Galactic Cowboys 1998
8 Soyuz TM-27 - Launch Mission Audio 1998
9 Star Trek IX: Insurrection - Not Functioning Jerry Goldsmith 1998
10 Space Invaders Hit'n Hide 1998
11 Fly Me to the Moon Jang Geun Suk & Park Shin Hye 1998
12 Star Trek IX: Insurrection - New Sight Jerry Goldsmith 1998
13 Into the Void Kiss 1998
14 Valentina Komputer 1998
15 Star Trek IX: Insurrection - End Credits Jerry Goldsmith 1998

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

02 June 2016

Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1998-1

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Babylon 5 - Main Title 5th Season Christopher Franke 1998
2 Babylon 5 - Objects At Rest - Part 1 Christopher Franke 1998
3 Космос Space 1,5 кг отличного пюре — Космос 1.5 Kg Otlichnogo Pyurye 1998
4 Babylon 5 - Objects At Rest - Part 2 Christopher Franke 1998
5 Yuri G Kremlin Grooving Boys 1998
6 Babylon 5 - Sleeping In Light - Part 1 Christopher Franke 1998
7 STS-89 - Docking to Mir Mission Audio 1998
8 Babylon 5 - Sleeping In Light - Part 2 Christopher Franke 1998
9 Kelly Watch the Stars! Air 1998
10 Babylon 5 - Sleeping In Light - End Titles Christopher Franke 1998
11 Cosmic Fusion Ayreon 1998
12 Babylon 5 - The Ragged Edge Christopher Franke 1998
13 Babylon 5 - Season 5 End Titles Christopher Franke 1998

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection

01 June 2016

Gangale Studios Publicity Photos: Rhade Fainga'a

Copyright © 2016 by Dylan Gangale

Rhade Fainga'a


Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection, CD1997-5

It's the "ultimate" because this trip through music, space, and time keeps growing. More than 2,700 music tracks organized chronologically, spanning more than a century, plus voice clips from space missions and other historical events. More than 200 hours of musical exploration... and counting.
SelectionTitlePerformerRelease
Year
1 Starship Troopers - Intro and Fed Net March Basil Poledouris 1997
2 Into the Void Kyuss 1994
3 Starship Troopers - Carmen's Test Flight Basil Poledouris 1997
4 Out in Space S.P.O.C.K 1997
5 Starship Troopers - Punishment and Asteroid Grazing Basil Poledouris 1997
6 Marching to Mars Sammy Hagar 1997
7 Progress M-34 Collision With Mir Documentary 1997
8 Starship Troopers - Klendathu Drop Basil Poledouris 1997
9 Starship Troopers - Tango Urilla Basil Poledouris 1997
10 To the Moon and Back (Hani's Num Radio Mix) Savage Garden 1997
11 Starship Troopers – Brainbug Basil Poledouris 1997
12 Junk Satellite Man or Astroman? 1997
13 Starship Troopers - They Will Win! Basil Poledouris 1997
14 To the Moon and Back (Radio Edit) Savage Garden 1997
15 Starship Troopers - End Credits Basil Poledouris 1997

Index to Countdown to Yuri's Night: The Ultimate Space Music Collection