I spy... with my U-2!

Bridge of Spies (2015)
Director: Steven Spielberg

The Second World War had ended. The Sun had finally set on the mighty British Empire. The post of world supremo was up for grabs. Over at the blue corner, secluded far away from powerful neighbours, the capitalist USA was the poster boy to prove the case that 'greed is good'. Meanwhile, at the red corner, the Soviet Union spread the idea of equity and condemned the Western way of life as decadent. 

Riddled with secrecy and the zest to supersede the other regarding military supremacy and space explorations, the Soviet-US animosity reached mammoth proportions in the post-WW2 era. Each was spying on the other and trying to outdo the other. After witnessing the devastation that the mushroom clouds did to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Americans had the pressing need to keep nuclear bomb technology within American shores. On top of that, an even more devastating bomb in the form of hydrogen bombs was in the limelight. The Americans did not want the Russians to acquire that knowledge. They wanted to bring the whole world under their hegemony.

German scientists who absconded Nazi's harassment were rounded up for the Manhattan Project and other scientific explorations around WW2. They contributed much to American scientific prowess.

U2 planes could fly at an altitude of 70,000 ft. Flying at a specific speed, the Americans thought they could avoid detection. On May 1, 1960, equipped with a quality camera, a U2 plane left Peshawar on a reconnaissance mission to take high-quality photographs deep into the Soviet Union. Unbeknownst to the Americans, the Russians detected the plane and shot a missile at it. The plane went down. 

Back in the USA, the American public was informed by NASA that their weather plane had crashed, killing its pilot, off the Turkey border. A fake NASA plane was shown as the ill-fated plane. The Soviets kept a tight lip about the whole incident. 

Francis Gary Powers

Soon, Krushscoff made a statement that a US spy plane had crashed in their territory, and its pilot, Francis Gary Powers, was in their custody. This was a massive embarrassment to Eisenhower and his administration. Powers, it seems, was given the appropriate treatment as should be offered to a captured enemy, tried and sentenced to three years of imprisonment and seven years of hard labour. 

That is where events related to this movie come in. 

In 1960, Rudolf Abel (posthumously found to be a fake name) was caught as a Russian spy. The courts, wanting to appear to give a fair representation, appointed James Donovan, an insurance lawyer, to defend him. With the 1950 Rosenberg espionage trial and subsequent execution still in the American psyche, the public wanted blood. The Rosenbergs were accused of passing sensitive documents related to the Manhattan Project to the Russians. Amidst public admonishment and displeasure, Donovan gave Abel a fighting chance. Much to everyone's chagrin, Abel probably escaped the electric chair due to Donovan's pleas. He got 30 years imprisonment. 

James Donovan's name came to the limelight again when the idea of prisoners swapping in 1962 popped up. The exchange was planned in West Berlin over Gleiniche Bridge, christened the 'Bridge of Spies' because many high-level deals were made here. As another side deal, an American student doing his PhD in Berlin was also released by the East German Stasi. For the record, the Berlin Wall was erected overnight in August 1961.

Rudolf Abel became one of Russia's most successful spies. After his release, he held important administrative and teaching positions in the Soviet Union. 

(NB If you think the LTTE is cruel as their fighters carry cyanide-filled pendants to avoid capture and later interrogations, U2 pilots carry a deadly neurotoxin-impregnated needle hidden in a coin for them to inject themselves during instances when they cannot stand the torture of enemy. And the pilots barely passed twenty!)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Toxic miscarriage of justice?

Roe v Wade (2021)

This movie is often described as the worst film made in 2021 so far. It must surely be a showcase for lousy storytelling, novice acting, and horrible script all put together. Sometimes, we wonder which direction the movie is going, pro-life or pro-choice? 

This offering is made by the people who feel the country was hoodwinked by Planned Parenthood in believing that the decision to give women the right over the reproductive function was what the government wanted. The Planned Parenthood's link to Margaret Singer and her work in eugenics and the 'Negro project' (and even Klu Klax Klan as the film suggest) meant that the foundation's intentions are subversive. It is said to have enticed medical practitioners and social workers with fake statistics and media to influence public sentiments. The prime advocate of abortion on demand was a gynaecologist Bernard Nathanson, who allegedly changed the whole pro-abortion issue into a money-making endeavour, later apparently repented and started championing an anti-abortion stance.

The film, however, gives a good background of the events surrounding the Supreme Court and the thinking of the 1973 landmark case. A Texan lady, Norma McCorvey, referred to as Jane Roe in her trials to maintain anonymity, was advised to put up an injunction, through her lawyers, to terminate her pregnancy. Norma had a troubled childhood and had had frequent run-ins with the law, even at the age of ten. Married at 16, only to discover that her partner was left with a baby and a drinking problem, her mother adopted her baby. A second partner came around, and a second baby ensued but was given up for adoption. She had her third unplanned pregnancy when she was 21 in 1969. She allegedly made a false claim that she was raped by a black man to demand a termination as it seems it was permissible by Texan law. She lost on paperwork, but the lawyers decided to get the case heard in the US Supreme Court with the backing of Planned Parenthood.

The times were changing. The social fabric and the place of women were evolving. From a position of playing second fiddle to men, the two world wars had shown that the women's role in society was equally as important as that of men. Hence, it became logical to demand equal rights, and they viewed reproduction as something that held them back from exploring their full potentials. The thinking was that 'one who controls reproduction controls her future. 

With this background and the change of the Supreme Court judges (after Nixon's appointment), the law was passed. 

Interestingly, both Dr Nathanson and Norma McCovey later became devout Catholics and fought for anti-abortion lobbyists.

Week 3: Embryonic stage

By no means, the question of abortion on demand has been resolved by the Roe v Wade case. (Wade is the name of the Public Prosecutor assigned to McCorvey's case). Legal minds still argue about Roe v Wade. It brings on the question of patient privacy and the place of the unborn child as a living entity demanding rights itself.

Scholars have been debating when life actually starts for centuries and still not come to a definite conclusion. For example, is it at Day 14 of conception when differentiation to trigeminal layers occurs? Or is it at the commencement of heartbeat or fetal movements?

All these academic stuff are well and fine to determine the path for the human race to follow, but in reality, in the ground, the public Joe has to handle the day-to-day dealing with more mouths to feed than they actually can. The funny thing about nature is that the people who can ill afford to have children are bestowed (or cursed) with generous gifts from the Stork. So poverty and multiparity are directly linked. How about rape as a justification to terminate a pregnancy? Are we going to lose the next Steve Jobs or Albert Einstein here?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Evasion under guise of self interest?

The Trials of Muhammad Ali (Documentary; 2013)

This documentary offering is not an offering to highlight the achievements of the most famous pugilist of all time, the three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world, Muhammad Ali but it concentrates on a particular time in his life when he had a brush with the American legal system.

It focuses a point in the late 60s and early 70s when Ali was at the height of his youth. It starts with him narrating of his experience back home in 1960 after winning the gold medal in Rome Olympics. A restauranteur refused to serve him even though he had made his country proud.

He goes on to tell about the hypocritical attitude of the members of his church. The calling to embrace Islam came in 1964, but his conversion came under the scrutiny of the radar when he decided to follow the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and his association with Nation of Islam, Malcolm X and Dr ML King. The Nation of Islam was classified as a radical group which fought for a black separatist America.

When Ali was draughted for the Vietnam War, he refused on the defence that it was against his religion. He had famously said that he had no bone to pick with the Vietnamese, his beef was with the American system and the whites. In the trials which miraculously turned into his favour after a unanimous decision when a judge admitted erring in the first seating!

In this documentary, one can see that Ali is only quick with his legwork and punches, he is quick with his wit as well as sharp with his words. He is poetic in his sentences and has the charisma to lure the public. This, with his humble background to entice the impoverished black population in the volatile era of the 60s, must have given the US government machinery many jitters.

Believe it or not, Muhammad Ali, at a time when his boxing licence was revoked, actually took part in a musical. He appeared as a black slave in chains being transported to America. He seems to be in the lead role.

Sometimes, I cannot help but wonder. Are all these talks about not fighting a war because it is, as Ali alleges is not ordained by Allah, is just an excuse of convenience? Of course, it not for mortals to judge the religiosity of a believer, sometimes actions may appear otherwise. Ali is infamous for his weakness for the fairer sex. Who can forget the fiasco that happened in Manila when his girlfriend was wrongly referred to his wife at the Presidential dinner with Marcos and was televised on the US TV. Then there are the two daughters that Ali had outside the sanctity of marriage.

Whatever said and done, Ali did make Boxing a real world event. After his retirement, the interest in boxing has waned.