If a participating city-state would engage in any conflict and violate the truce, they were given stiff fines and forbidden from competing in the games. Something which was considered a big disgrace.

There is a modern movement created to uphold the Olympic Truce. The United Nations have adopted the “Olympic Truce Resolution” for the Beijing 2008 games. Yet we see two of the countries competing in the games at this moment, Georgia and Russia, engaging in military conflicts over land disputes in South Ossetia.

A land dispute which has been ongoing for more than 15 years, since Ossetian separatists started a fight for independence from Georgia in 1991-1992.

And for some reason, it had to escalate to armed conflicts over innocent civilians now, during the Olympic Games. Of course, I am not saying that should problems arise a country should just be “non-violent” and not defend it’s sovereignty.The political agenda here seems to be far more complicated and sinister in this case. Both parts could have tried diplomacy before waging war on one another. That did not happen. It was a “fight first, and then make pleas for sympathy to our cause to the international community”.

There should be more education on what the Olympic Truce is about, and nations need to start respecting it again. If we cannot respect and uphold peace for a couple of weeks every four years, what kind of civilization is this we’re supposed to have produced for ourselves. How hostile and unstable modern society has become?

I can only hope these conflicts will soon seize, and that the two countries will follow the example of their athletes and reconcile.

Anyhow, back to talking about the movie now. I first read about King Leonidas and the 300 Spartans in history textbooks as a young student at a Greek elementary school. Such an exciting story, and to know it’s not fiction made me think everything is possible if you put enough will into it.

Of course the movie, similarly to Frank Miller’s graphic novel about the Battle of Thermopylae is mostly fiction – based nonetheless on a true and remarkable act of courage.

Honestly though, reading history accounts on the Battle of Thermopylae and King Leonidas’ 300 requires very little imagination for one to acquire a mental image of what it would have been like. And most of the battle images in the movie came very close to what I had thought it’d be like. The acting is good, the fighting sequences are impressive, as are the special effects. The entire movie was well worth the admission price and I would definitely recommend watching it if you like this kind of movies and haven’t visited a theater near you already. You can watch the trailer below.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This week the podcasts which caught my ear are completely unrelated. Thus, my recommendations are not on any particular theme. I think you’re going to enjoy them anyhow.

War News Radio

War News Radio from Swarthmore College, is a wonderful project which is described on site as:

“We at War News Radio are trying to rediscover the voices of real people. Our show fills the gaps in the media’s coverage by airing new perspectives, both personal and historical, in a balanced and in-depth manner. We hope our broadcasts will engage our listeners and inspire them to engage critically with the rest of the world.”

Swarthmore students are those often involved in the production of the show, which is an insider’s look at our planet’s war zones, with a focus on Iraq. As the world’s attention has sifted to the middle east, this is a reminder of a country which is still affected by the remnants of war as it struggles to stand back on it’s feet. A very well produced approach to the socio-political and cultural realities of the region from an international, journalistic point of view.

Website: http://warnewsradio.org/
Podcast Feed: http://warnewsradio.org/show/index.xml

808 Talk

Subtitled “Hawaii’s Premier Podcast”, it can very well be that and then some! I voted for them at the Podcast Awards, where they’re nominated as best travel podcast, and I’m sure they’d appreciate your vote as well.

Call me prejudiced – I LOVE Hawaii, and 808 Talk is a podcast show all about it – so it’s natural it would take a place among my favorites.

Issues discussed on 808 include traveling to the island, as well as raising concerns over environmental protection. Other issues such as society, culture and current events are not left untouched as well. This is a must get podcast, whether you live in Hawaii, plan to visit or just want a taste of what it is! Very nice!

Website: http://www.808talk.com/
Podcast Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/808Talk

Enjoy! And remember it’s a lot more fun when you use Juice to subscribe to your favorite Podcasts!

First Galileo signals received – BBC NEWS
Wonderful. $4 billion orbiting the Earth. At least Europe gets some great satellite navigation which is what this world was really missing thus far. At least again global positioning won’t be a monopoly much longer.

Web Site Attacks Critic of War – washingtonpost.com
Apparently, not only do people have to be so loud about the importance and brilliance of war, they also have to attack people who dare as much as question it. War is a terrible thing, and yes, unfortunately sometimes things come to a point where one cannot avoid it. This however does not take away people’s right to speak their minds against it. What is free speech about when there’s only one opinion out there on any given subject?

Iran “does not need nuclear arms” – BBC NEWS
Am I the only one who has been following up on what is going on in Iran over the past few months – who thinks this statement is a joke? Of course they don’t need nuclear arms – no one “needs” nuclear arms. Apparently though, there is plenty indication that they “want” them. It’s one thing to ban western music from a country, and a completely different thing to want to turn it into a nuclear hot spot in an already unstable region of the world. I only hope diplomacy and reason will settle in soon.