Fancy a Blood Mary?

I’ll tell you something interesting that I’ve just read. Do you know the origin of the Bloody Mary, the drink?
As you know the Bloody Mary is nowadays one of the drunkest cocktail all over the world. It is prepared by mixing vodka, tomato juice, pepper, lemon and Tabasco sauce. It is said to have its origins in Harry’s bar, in Paris, originally prepared just with tomato and vodka. The name of the cocktail was taken from Mary I, daughter of Henry VIII, broadly known as Mary the Tudor. She condemned all the religious reforms introduced by her father and re-submitted England to the Catholic Roman Church. She persecuted all the protestants and condemned 300 of them to death, that is why she was called “Bloody Mary.”

Nelson Mandela, an admirable example

I have to admit that I love this book. I’ve learnt so many useful things from this “singular” person that it will be probably very difficult to put into practice these 15 lessons in my own reality. However, I’m sure that some of them are going to be very useful to me.

I already knew that Mandela was special when I saw the performance of his character in the film Invictus, already at that time I admired that courageous man who never threw in the towel and always fought to get his core objectives.
One of the lesson that I admire the most is the second one called Be measured, in fact I remember the quotation “control is the measure of a leader”. IT is pretty unimaginable to me but at the same time riveting how a human being’s mind can perfectly control feelings under extreme pressure, as for example the moment when a plane is about to crash. Probably because I’m a person who usually shows her feelings spontaneously that I admire that quality in Mandela. Other lessons as learning to say no or see good things in others and not to judge them just at first glance are absolutely are also very worthy.

Despite all his great lessons on life, I would criticize something that I dislike about him, and it is the coldly manner with which he treats his family. It seems that Mandela is warm and affectionate with everyone but his wife and sons. I understand than in his youth he wanted to protect them and it was necessary to separate from them. However, after leaving prison it seems that the relationship between them weren’t much better, we could say that he loved more Richard’s child than his own. Maybe I haven’t understood his reasons or I haven’t been able to see them.

In my view this book is fairly acceptable and even enjoyable; and I would recommend it to everyone who wants to learn about real examples of admirable qualities in a human being.

Summary on Chomsky's speech

The uprising of democracy in the Arab world has burst in the Global design of US and its allies and has unleashed democracy revolts in other countries, as in Wisconsin. Popular forces around the world fight established power nowadays to strengthen elementary rights for the population.
However, the position of US is clear -all those countries implied in the oil world trade must accept its unquestioned power given to it by reward during the IIWW. The Grand Area has no option but to accomplish its enforced directions. This dominance is reinforced thanks to the US Army, which is entitled to act at will in the Grand Area to protect US security and livelihood at any time.
In recent years, this control is being questioned and even put in others’ hands. The capacity of US and its allies to implement their doctrine is declining as economy and industry take the economic power. Fund managers concentrate and manipulate political power and whereas they enrich themselves, most of the population suffers the market crisis.
As long as the population be in the hands of the powerful and lack democracy without any active reaction to global design, we could just contemplate the outcome.