After watching the latest U.S. presidential debate, I still think that few minds were changed and that the race is too close to call. The 5% or so of the electorate that hasn’t made up its mind is less important than the Electoral College and whose partisans turn out to vote. I’ve made no secret of my political preferences here and on various social media. However, I keep hoping that both parties will do better.
Presidential candidates point fingers
Following the lead of Vice President Joe Biden in his debate with Rep. Paul Ryan, President Barack Obama was much more forceful in his arguments in the second debate. I still think that he could have defended the liberal and Democrat points of view even more strongly.
I would have liked Obama to clearly and unapologetically state the need for government leadership in protecting health care, the environment, and civil rights. Sure, both candidates paid lip service to the importance of education, veterans, and care for the elderly, but neither proposed significant reforms beyond alternative payment schemes. Neither candidate called for sacrifice, patience, or experimentation in dealing with a recession that’s beyond the president’s direct control.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also missed opportunities to lay out a compelling set of Republican alternatives. Fiscal conservatives want to cut taxes, government regulations, and federal and trade deficits — all worthy goals — but they haven’t really explained how they’d make up the revenue or continue to properly safeguard the public good. If liberals shouldn’t pick winners and losers in industry, neither should conservatives.
Social conservatives want to restrict abortion, promote individual initiative and responsibility, and eliminate programs they don’t like, but many Americans are more concerned with jobs and the social safety net. I’m in favor of renewing the assault weapons ban, continuing to reform health care, and allowing anyone to be married, regardless of race, creed, or sexual preference. The so-called culture wars have wasted as much energy as the well-intentioned but misguided and costly wars on poverty and drugs.
On foreign policy, where I can claim more expertise than in economics, the U.S. should devise a better strategy for the current and evolving state of global affairs. Both Democrats and Republicans have coddled dictators, misjudged security threats, and needlessly rattled sabers.
Why is it that the U.S., which spends more on its militarythan the rest of the world combined and is the No. 1 arms seller, has lost its credibility as a peacemaker? How can we help break the nuclear standoff between Israel and Iran without escalation? How can we encourage democracy without getting embroiled in civil wars in Libya and Syria, continue to engage European and Asian allies amid their own economic turmoil, and contain the threat posed by states such as North Korea?
There are no easy answers, but bad-mouthing our creditor, commercial supplier, and geopolitical rival China doesn’t strike me as particularly productive. We missed opportunities to encourage reform and stability in Eastern Europe after the Cold War, and I believe we’re missing our window of influence on the emerging Asian century.
Both Obama and Romney agree on the need to eventually withdraw from Afghanistan, despite the deplorable acts of the Taliban there and in Pakistan. I hope they’ll do more than mention human rights (if at all) in their final debate. Both men say they want the U.S. to become self-reliant for its energy needs, even if they differ on the means and on the need for global standards and environmental protection.
I hope my fellow citizens will try to be informed and get out and vote. Our neighbors, allies, and foes will all be watching. We may have stumbled, but the U.S. still has considerable natural and human resources, traditions of idealism and innovation, and the ability to serve as a positive example of representative democracy. I hope we choose wisely!
On Sunday, 30 September 2012, I met Beruk A., Thomas K.Y. & Kai-Yin H. for Looper at the AMC Burlington 10 cineplex. We enjoyed the time-travel drama, which was one of the better genre movies I’ve seen in the theaters so far this year.
Looper
We liked one of director Rian Johnson‘s previous films, Brick, which was a noirish thriller set in a high school. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt, who was also in Brick, plays Joe, an assassin hired by criminals from the future who is confronted with closing his own loop.
Gordon-Leavitt endured makeup and altered his mannerisms to match Bruce Willis (12 Monkeys) as the older version of Joe, who goes on the lam to try to fix history. Of course, with gun-toting thugs, telekinesis, and a dystopian world, nothing goes as planned for any of Looper‘s characters.
The rest of the supporting cast is strong, including Piper Perabo as a dancer, Jeff Daniels as a crimelord, Paul Dano and Garrett Dillahunt (Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles) as fellow “loopers,” Emily Blunt as a secretive farmer, and young Kamden Beauchamp as a creepy child.
Looper alludes to previoustime-travelfilms such as those mentioned above, and it does a decent job of bringing up the questions of paradoxes, free will vs. predestination, and “If you could go back in time and kill Hitler as a child, would you?” Looperdoesn’t resolve all these, but the character development and action scenes keep the story moving.
Overall, I’d give Looper, which is rated R for strong violence, an 8.5 out of 10, four out of five stars, or a B+/A-. I’d put Looper close to the much-maligned John Carter, the blockbuster Avengers, and darkly whimsical ParaNorman and would recommend it to other science fiction fans.
I’ve missed other recent dystopian movies, including Total Recall and Dredd, and I don’t know if I’ll see animated Halloween flicks Hotel Transylvania or Frankenweenie. Before Looper, we sat through numerous previews, and only Argo and Lincoln looked promising. I’m looking forward more to James Bond in Skyfall, Rise of the Guardians, and of course, The Hobbit [1]: An Unexpected Journey!
In one future , humanity has begun to colonize the Sol system, but environmental degradation, population pressures, and internecine conflict persist. The rediscovery of mystical abilities and open and official First Contact with galactic societies, themselves at war, threaten Terra’s very survival. Can heroes rise to the challenges?
“Hector Chavez“ [Beruk A.]-male Latin American Terran human, former spy and communications expert/engineer of the Appomattox
“Jasmine“ [Sara F.]-female Martian Felinoid (Synth, “Uplifted” tiger), former professional pit fighter and onetime crewmember of the Appomattox, now apart from the grifters in “MarSoupAiL” with boyfriend Darcy
“Chris McKee/Agent Prometheus” [Josh C.]-male Terran human cyborg, former sniper for the North American Aerospace Marine Corps. and eugenicists at Black Box Security Co.; onetime crewmember of the scout ship Blackbird
“Jax“ [Robin H.]-male human from the Asteroid Belt, vain space pirate and pilot of the Slipstream and Gryphon
The pirates and explorers also got involved in conflict between the Synth Liberation Front (S.L.F.) and the United Ecumenical Movement (U.E.M.) and acquired ship parts. From there, the yacht headed to Jupiter….
Jupiter and one of its many moons
>>”24 to 31 March 2195 A.D./C.E. or 1 Terran Galactic Era:” Hector Chavez double-checks the enhancements taken from the SeaCloud, Maria Chan’s vessel at the Utopia Planitia shipyards in Mars orbit.
Hector also pieces together a manifest of the cargo from the Vatican Museums that the Appomattox had smuggled away from Earth and left in deep space rather than deliver to the arachnid Nolath at Epsilon Eridani. The former spy’s list includes items known to be missing from the archives, as well as relics rumored to be lost to history but that his earlier scans of the shipping containers had found.
In addition to numerous priceless works of art, Hector’s draft manifest includes the diadem of Theodora, the lost tablets of Babylon, and Musashi’s scabbard. The burned op’s information network queries also list a portion of Priam’s hoard and something called a “televalutor.”
Amateur archaeologist Dr. Srinu Pahul wonders about the cargo‘s intended destination, and sniper Chris McKee hopes that some items may be helpful against the approaching Zarkonian Armada.
Jasmine leaves sickbay and talks with Hector, who is also recuperating, about what she missed while under Dr. Pahul and Orion Starchaser’s care. The “Synth” is surprised to learn of Chris and Jax’s armed confrontation while they scrambled to determine who had fallen under the influence of the “Harbingers of the Righteous Order of Submission.”
Srinu and Orion confirm that the nanites (microsocopic robots) radiated psionic suggestions and were emitted by the Zurmiz Krott, biomechanical probes for the crustacean Zarkonians. The former members of the crews of the Blackbird and Appomattox who had encountered these probes — which had created cannibalistic mobs in Ghanki Station and OasisStation — are no longer infected, says Dr. Pahul.
At Hector’s recommendation, Orion cheerfully accompanies Srinu in one of two escape pods as they study the nanites that were disabled by an electromagnetic pulse and retrieved from their comrades. Wary Hector reminds Dr. Pahul to avoid active scans because the Harbingers apparently absorb energy.
The escape pod floats near the Gryphonin orbit around Jupiter, and Orion telepathically senses Srinu’s potentially dangerous curiosity. The blue-furred alien also raises a telekinetic shield to help contain the nanites, which are centuries ahead of Terran technology.
Dr. Pahul eagerly presses on with his experiments, but Orion senses the probes reawakening. They note that heat hinders the nanites’ attempts to form a crystalline structure, escape, and reproduce. Signals from the robots are too weak to analyze.
The daring duo maneuvers the containment unit to the Gryphon‘s maneuvering thrusters, where engineer Hector annihilates it with plasma from the ship’s microfusion generators. Hector and Srinu also hope to devise methods of detection and countermeasures.
Chris agrees to let Orion conduct a more invasive telepathic scan. The alien mystic finds a fractured psyche — his human friend has fragmentary memories of his childhood and military service in the Martian outback, his retraining as an assassin by Black Box Security Co., and later cybernetic modifications.
Fortunately, there are no signs of the Harbingers other than memories of close encounters, and Orion offers to try to help repair the damage to Chris’ memories when they have more time and solitude.
Meanwhile, Jax takes the Slipstream to the “Floating Cove.” The pilot is welcomed by fellow space pirates, and Jax is soon regaling bar patrons with tales of his exploits in the inner Sol system, including a recent encounter with the Satan’s Strumpet and U.S.N. frigates the Repulse and Cheetah. Capt. Will Kleparn of the Silver Sail expresses interest in helping to seize control of a certain pleasure yacht.
Jasmine and her boyfriend Darcy go to Elysium, the orbital habitat capital of the Jovian Commonwealth, to meet old friend Tabitha Hanahi. Tabitha, a lynx-like “Synth” (genetically modified humanoid), takes Jasmine, Darcy, Chris, and Orion to the “Barbed Ring,” where Jasmine once wrestled. They then go rimward to a cafe to talk.
Tabitha says that despite her misadventures in the Mars Confederacy, Jasmine shouldn’t give up on the S.L.F. Since the Union of Solar Nations (U.S.N.) has recognized more civil rights for artificial beings, their political struggles have abated, says Tabitha, even though indentured servitude remains a problem in the outer colonies.
Tabitha refers the tiger-woman to two Delphines (“Uplifted” cetaceans) on the moon of Europa named Shortwave and Quickfin, but Jasmine isn’t happy when she notices Tabitha flirting with Darcy.
Chris watches the Jovian human settlers and a few Ru’ulok (heavy-gravity reptilian alien) visitors in the cafe. Orion chats briefly with Sister Sudra Owens, a United Ecumenical Movement chaplain who asks many questions about extraterrestrials.
Back at the Gryphon, Hector monitors communications while Srinu prepares a report about the Zurmiz Krott. Dr. Pahul plans to personally deliver his results to Lt.Cmdr. Hiroshi Mbenge of the U.S.N. Navy and to Trinoid (trilateral amphibious alien) xenobiologist “Sarbonne,” who are in the Jovian system. He also arranges to deliver the same warning to Dr. Jen Mai at Black Box Security.
At the “Floating Cove,” Jax meets Bonnie Kawagura, a friend of his fan Cassandra. After several rounds of drinks, the hotshot pilot takes Bonnie back to the Gryphon aboard the Slipstream.
Jealous Jasmine makes sure to leave her scent on Darcy and broaches the topic of marriage. Orion pops his head into Jasmine and Jax’s cabins and asks what they are doing with their respective companions. His species apparently has three genders, as do the Trinoids.
Chris receives a message from Lt. Brock Ellis, a fellow soldier who worked for Black Box. Brock invites Agent Prometheus to meet him for drinks to catch up, and cautious Chris agrees on the condition that Orion come along.
Hector contacts his onetime handler Max(ine) to see if there’s any trace of his former crewmates from “MarSoupAiL” (shell company Mars Soup Aid Lenders Ltd.). Max refers him to Annamaria Balzana, a former rival near Jupiter who might know more.
Srinu asks Hector for help arranging meetings with Lt.Cmdr. Mbenge and Sarbonne, and Jasmine and Darcy plan to visit the Delphines on Europa. Hector reminds his crewmates as they leave the Gryphon to be careful and not to take on too many potential missions without consulting one another first….
Note that this teleconferencing game won’t be meeting again until Sunday, Oct. 14, because I’ll be at the Higgins Armory Museum for a dinner this coming weekend. Please try to stay in touch between our virtual “Vortex” sessions!
Gene's Worlds 
