Abraham Lincoln

(Photo:dr-belair.com)
Several months ago,I read a book written for high school students. It was a Abraham Lincoln biography.

The book was in a prosaic and chronicle pattern,easy for readers to get a whole view of Lincoln's life,and also rich in content when you wanted to discover more. Through this book,I realized Lincoln's greatness and his contrbution to the U.S.

 Lincoln was great because he stopped the possible breakdown of the federation,and he contributed indirectly to the super power status the U.S. has enjoyed to date. Some historians argued why America didn't separate into pieces,as nations respectively,like continental Europe. The answer might be Lincoln. He saved America as a whole,and made people know a separate America was no longer available.

Lincoln fought the civil war because he had to. He was reluctant to open fire to his fellow citizens. And,by the book,throughout the war Lincoln was not always confident that he would finally win. That is the vital detail we should keep in mind. He was an ordinary person,just like you and me. He fought the war by his will,and finally perseverance paid off and led him to the victory.

Lincoln was vividly portrayed in the book. He saved the Union,he wanted his countrymen to be treated equally no matter what colors their skins were,and he has been regarded one of the greatest presidents Americans admired as a result.

Body of Lies

I've watched this movie over and over again for these days. It's worth of watching. I don't know if it is used as a teaching material for diplomats,but it's so genius that everyone gets to know how secret agents operate their tasks. And how dangerous they are!

The screenplay is great. Though one would doubt why would a pro agent (Ferris,starring Leonardo DiCaprio) fall in love with a local girl and get caught by people using her as the bait.

And,in the late of the movie,agent Ferris is taken into a car by several other cars producing a sandstorm to cover and make the satellite surveillance completely useless. How come Ferris doesn't carry a GPS gadget to identify himself ?

All in all,this is a good story told by a good director and acted by good actors. Director Ridley Scott,the director of the epic Gladiator,has talents to deliver a great amount of information to audience piece by piece. And Russel Crowe,one of Ridley Scott's favorite actors,plays his role vividly and hatefully as a CIA Near East division head.

While I enjoy this movie,I also wonder what if some other people,unlike diplomats,have watched and studied it? Maybe terrorists,maybe would-be terrorists?
But with so many talents in Tinseltown,people might not worry about this. Screenplay writers would come up with greater plots to outdo this one.

The Lisbon Treaty

Before going to Europe,I'm interested in the process of European integration. Not long ago,the Lisbon Treaty was ratified by the EU members. What is it?
What's the impact when it comes into force?

I didn't have too much time to study the treaty sentence by sentence,so I read over the "fast facts"of the treaty,and came up with my take of it.

Well,for the people who are doubtful about the idea "the world is flat" will be assured that they're not wrong. And for the Eurosceptics,the treaty proves again that "all the european states linking together as a country functions well" doesn't work.

The Lisbon Treaty,coming after the failed European Constitution,bears so much pressure to keep the EU members all together and better enough to rival its counterparts,like the United States and China.  So it allows the EU members to keep their rights and prevend the EU regulations and laws to intervene in their sovereignty.

Some member states have the final say on the issues like taxation,immigration and abortion policies. While keeping highly flexible,the functioning of the Union under the Lisbon Treaty might still stay where it is today. Without a single policy and consensus,one might expect more treaties and amendments to come.

European Union is an acclaimed and succesful regional integration example. Euro states have been working on staying as a whole from a single market to a single,well,federation. But after four decades of hard work,the EU and its people still need more time to get their plans come alive.