Eastwood in Eastern Europe

TBILISI -- How do you create a historic movie about an event to which there are two stories? Clint Eastwood's solution of creating two movies (such as his Flags of our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima) makes a strong case. At least so it seems in Eastern Europe, where plans are taking place for the filming of two movies about the war in Georgia in the summer of 2008.

Hollywood is shooting for its version of the film, starring Andy Garcia as President Saakashvili (see left), potrayed from the Georgian perspective while Serbian director Emir Kusturica plans to create his own film, from the South Ossetian perspective. Thus, the filmmakers are in essence putting the two sides of the story into the mainstream as their version of history.

The World Trade Foundation (WTF) recognizes the lucrativeness of this opportunity. Firstly, the duality of the movies represents a larger amount of spending and production in the film industry worldwide. But the real growth opportunities stemming from this move are in fact the opportunities devised from adding duality to history.

If history was always written in duality, news media, textbook publishers and historians would bask in the amount of new content needed to be produced. The WTF encourages the public not to protest or halt this trend, as the loss in the slightly obscured public knowledge of history and the world today would be greatly overshadowed by the large and sustainable gains available by adding each new version of history.

Related reading: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8316018.stm

Image source: BBC News

Safety Second

NEW YORK, NY -- Among the most prominent modern threats to both our economy and society as a whole is the recent political faction known as the ‘green’ movement. These opponents of development and economy call for a return to pre-Industrial Revolution society and promote various often severe restrictions on the affluent quality of life that is so demonstrative of the success of North America’s capitalism.

However, the World Trade Foundation (WTF) believes that they have taken their actions too far. One of their more recent developments is an outright challenge to driving safety and threatens harm to citizens. Labelling larger, safer cars are “gas guzzlers,” the activists are now promoting the use of smaller cars such as the line of Smart cars.

Originally unavailable in North America due to the imminent danger they posed to drivers and passengers, the recent up-taking of the green movement by the public has led to their introduction onto North American streets.

Nonetheless, the WTF deplores the bypassing and fundamental neglect of the very safety regulations that keep us alive while driving. The safety regulatory body known as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) acknowledged that the Smart Fortwo is classified in a group of its own, known as ‘micro-cars’. This class is one smaller even than the Mini Cooper’s. While this Smart model has received top safety ratings in its class, the IIHS explains that these ratings cannot be compared between classes, which “means a small car that earns a good rating isn’t safer than a large car that’s rated less good”. Thus, the Fortwo’s—and any other micro-car’s—top ratings really only mean that, as a passenger on the road, they are a safer choice than ATVs and perhaps shopping carts.

Furthermore, the WTF expresses strong concern and worry for the impact that the green revolution may have on the American economy. As people trade in their classical American SUVs and vans to imported smaller cars, American car companies are losing market share and profitability. This jeopardizes many of the domestic jobs here in the automotive industry. Moreover, taking larger cars off the streets also reduces oil demand, which further damages the American economy.

But the ultimate sacrifice rests with the endangered motorists. Disillusioned by the sway of the green movement, they risk not only their jobs but also their lives by putting safety second.

Related reading: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080514/smart_car_080514/20080514?s_name=Autos

Image source: CTV News