Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 41

In a few days, we will leave Las Vegas to drive into the great wide open of the Wild West of America. We are going to discover Utah's famous Monument Valley.

Where is the Wild West? One thing is certain: When the natives and the immigrants came together, many deaths took place during the war of the moving frontier.
Even Hollywood's most popular Western backdrop, Monument Valley, had been the scene of bloody conflicts. Many western movies had been directed in the Valley: "Stagecoach" (1939) and "The Searchers" (1956) are just two famous examples.

But the Monument Valley is not just a cliche petrified, almost filmed to death by Western directors and the PR people of Marlboro. It is also one of the places in the U.S., where the story long before the arrival of the bleaching faces is documented. At some rocks in Monument Valley you still can detect traces of the natives: their pictures. Artists from the root of the "Anasazis" cut pictures on antelopes, deers and birds in the stone - thousands of years ago.
Whether it is a kind of menu or a religoius worship of their saints, is unknown. In the 13th Century the Anasazis left the valley.

Later - nobody knows exactly when - the Indian tribe of the Navajos settled in Monument Valley - and stayed. They bred sheep and goats and grow cereals, even if the ground was very, very dry. The large rocks in the valley were of religious significance for the Navajos; medicine men prayed at the holy places for rain. But even if they prayed: It had been years of a hard life for the Navajos.

The big disaster for the Navajos - and many other Indian tribes - came later.
The misery began on 12 October 1492, when Christopher Columbus reached the coast of the Bahamas and put his foot on the American continent. Columbus was on its journey to west India, but now he believed that he had found Paradise.
That someone already lived in this Garden of Eden, was no obstacle from Columbus' vision.
That these Indians from the tribe of the Tainos welcomed him and the others on the beach friendly and because Columbus believed that the Whites were like gods for the Natives, increased his contempt even more.

The residents could be made slaves, Columbus noted. They have "no weapons, are peaceful, harmless, naked. They are ready to obey, to work and everything necessary to perform. They have to get used to cities and towns and how to build them and to wear our clothes and behave to our manners."

In America "frontier" is a word loaded with myths. No wonder: Along this border, many bloody battles were fought, and with the immigrants come from all over through the centuries and moved towards the west, the unknown continent turned into a state with world standards. In North and South America millions of Indians, however, which were involved in the clash of cultures were killed, enslaved and robbed of their culture and identity.

But unlikely to the stereotype of the Wild West, the Indians suffered from their biggest losses not in the fights man-against-man, but through biological warfare. An infectious disease, probably introduced by the newcomers, killed in the beginning of the 17th century, tens of thousands of Indians in New England. This enabled the English immigrants to conqued much ground without own losses. Later the English handed presents to the Indians: blankets from their hospitals, contaminated with deadly smallpox pathogens.

In Monument Valley, many deaths took place. Once there was the murder of two White men. Ernest Mitchell and James Merrick, searching for silver in the valley, were slained by Indians. Unlikely to the countless Native American victims, they got beautiful memorial stones: Two of the most impressive rocks in the valley, are still named after the two men Mitchell and Merrick.

Since 20th Century, murders in Monument Valleyhappens only for the cameras for Hollywood. The idea came from Harry Goulding, a merchant whose shop in Monument Valley was just before to be closed, because ha was broke. In 1938 Goulding traveled, therefore as a PR man in his own case, with a few photos from the valley to Los Angeles. Somehow he managed it on the studio grounds of United Artists and into the office of director John Ford. He was impressed by the pictures. "Can you make a film crew over several weeks and bring a cook?", asked the director. Yes, Goulding claimed and a little later the next Ford western, named "Stagecoach" was shot in Monument Valley.

The film brought modest prosperity to the valley's bitterly poor, not only for Goulding. Ford hired Navajos to play in the movie. "My happy obligation", he claimed.
Altogether, Ford directed seven wetsern movies in Monument Valley, and the Navajos - drawn from malnutrition, diseases, alcoholism and unemployment - had at one time a comparatively well-paid job: They played Apaches, Cheyenne and Komantschen. Ford got a self-Indian name from them: "Natani Nez" - Great leader.

"I had been all over the world," said Ford on the Monument Valley, "But I think this place is the most perfect, most beautiful and most peaceful place on earth."

We will see, if this is true. But however, Monument Valley in Utah is full of history and impressive viewpoints. I am sure we will enjoy the beauty of this place.

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 40

Today I am going to write about an issue which has been in the German media very much.

Against two Neo-Nazis, who had planned the future assassination of U.S. President Barack Obama and other African-Americans an accused was brought in.

As the U.S. broadcaster CNN on Wednesday (local time) the two men - 18 and 20 years old - have to appear at a federal court in Tennessee, because of threatening an presidential candidate, illegal possession of a cut shotgun and conspiracy to assault on an arms dealer.

The two defendants Daniel Cowart from Tennessee and Paul Schlesselman from Arkansas - see themselves as advocates of a "white power" - had been arrested two weeks ago. They should have planned to shoot 88 African-Americans and blacks and to behead another 14 people. At the end of their massacre they wanted to try to murder Barack Obama. As shown in court papers it became clear that their plans were not yet very far advanced.

According to the U.S. Justice they also wanted to wear white tuxedos and cylinders while shooting from the moving car on to Obama. They never came close to the president-elect Obama. The discovery of their arrest but sparked concern about the safety of Obama. The black politician had been protected by more Secret Service than usual after they found out about the plans.

Maybe it is because of the German history, but the two accused and their plans has been condemned very harsh.

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 39

Election Coverage in Europe - "Obama-mania" all over

The newspapers in America had great headlines after the Election Day and published many articles about the Presidential Elections.

Of course, American newspapers are really close to the issue, they did daily, detailled coverage about the candidates and the election during the last months. But what about the European Newspapers? The German newspapers had many articles about Obama's rally in Berlin in June and wrote about the Presidential Election regulary.
The biggest newspaper in Germany stand behind the Democratic candidate and their Wednesday headlines were the following:

- "Back To The American Dream: Obama New President" (Die Zeit)
- "Barack Obama Receives Historical Victory" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
- "Hope Is Here: Obama Is The New President of the USA" (WELT)
- "Yes He Can!" (taz)
- "Historical Election: Obama Is The New American Dream"

The popular newspapers from London, Great Britain titled like this:

- "Obama Makes History" (London Guardian)

Clearly noticeable is the Democratic tendence of the British support for Barack Obama. The coverage on British TV spend 70 percent of the broadcasting time with reports about the Democratic candidates.

The last polls in Europe showed, that 90 percent of the Europeans would vote for Obama - no wonder that the newspapers are full of "Obama-mania" articles, celebrating the new President of the United States.

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 38

"Yes" on Proposition 8 - No same-sex marriages in California, anymore.

Not only the new President of the United States Of America had been elected yesterday.
In California Proposition 8 caused many troubles.
Additionally to the Presidential Election the people in California and some other states had to decide about same-sex marriages.

The Proposition 8 (“Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”) got 52.1 "Yes"-Votes and 47.9 "No"-Votes, which means, that only marriages between a man and a woman are legal before the Californian law.
Thousands of gay marriage are now questioned legally. After the top court in California legalized same-sex marriage in june, 18,000 of gay couples married (source: Los Angeles Times). What about their union now?

The opponents of the gay marriage collect enough signatures to cause a new ballot about the issue. The same happened in Arizona and Florida, where the voters, also, voted against same-sex marriages in their states.
In Arkansas a new ballot decided, that gay couples are no longer allowed to adopt children. The same ballot prohibits unmarried straight couples to adopt children, too.

There are no statements yet, for example from Ellen De Generes, the lesbian comedy star and talkshow host, who married her love Portia de Rossi in August.
Hopefully the supporter of the same-sex marriage will not give up and go on fight for the right of same treatment for everyone.

The website of the supporter (www.protectmarriage.com) says: "It's time to for out opponents to respect the people's decision!"

www.noonprop8.com comments like this: "As of this point, the election is too close to call."

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 37

When we've been to Watts to visit the polling place, I met Craig.
The Afro-American was born and raised in California, but went to New York with his family when he was 16 years old. In 1990 he came back to California - now he is 49 years old and works and lives in his homestate again. He married an American woman and has two children (3 and 15 years old).

He was one of a few people who voted at this late afternoon. "I had to work until three o'clock.", he explained. Craig told us, that he will now organize an election party with his neighbors and friends.
The sticker ("Hope") on his suit had already told us the secret of his vote, when he said: "I voted for Barack Obama today."

How did it feel to go to this historical election? Craig: "I really was overwhelmed by my feelings. I could do my part to elect an Afro-American man President of the USA."

But does he only trust in Barack Obama being a good President, because he is Black? The surprising answer: "I am a Democrat since I can think of it. This year I really did not study the program of the Democratic candidate - when I saw that there is a black candidate besides Hilary Clinton it was clear for me. This guy must become the next President!"

You could not avoid to hear Obama speak about his programs, right? Craig laughed "No, of course, I know about his health care plans and his tax plans, but I have to confess, that his program does not really matter to me. He black, he is one of us. He will lead our country much better than any White man could do. He has the right point of view and he has the experiences many other Blacks have - it feels like I am voting for someone I personally know."

When he left the polling place to go to his election party we saw, that his car has dozens of bumper stickers on it.
Another lesson we learned: Not every Obama supporter is into his political programs. Not every bumper sticker represents a political person.

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 36

Election Day 2008

Today is Election Day and we spend some time in Watts, LA - 30 minutes from our motel on the Sunset Boulevard.

When we arrived there, we asked for the next polling places in the finally we found one place where the citizens from Watts could vote for the next President.

The Elementary School at the 111th Street opened the doors to the Gym where polling booth had been arranged. No waiting time for the voters, even if the number of voters increased this year. "We counted many more voters than during the last elections.", told me one of the many volounteers who worked at this polling place.

Did they had any problems during the day? Unregistered voters? Broken machines?

"No", Serena said. "Everyone who came here was registered. We had some data mistakes with the computer but they could be solved with polling templates, which had been given to us by the organization team."

Outside of the gym the people stood and talked about the election. "For who did you vote today?" was the most posed question and the answer was clear: Watts voted for Obama.

Murals on the walls of the houses, signs with "Yes We Can" and "Obama" on them were hanging in the windows of the shops.

The post office claimed: "Go Vote!" - templates to register to vote could be found there.

"I am so sure, that Obama will be the next President of the United States!", said the man at the post office with a big smile. "You know, finally we can help our coutry getting better!"

Back in Hollywood the man at the supermarket asked me, if I made my vote today and for who I voted. He proudly says, that he voted for Barack Obama. Next to his name tag he wore a little button with Obama's face on it.

When we finally returned to our motel room, we turned on the TV and saw, that CNN broadcasted John McCain's speech where he congratulated Barack Obama to the won presidency. And the people from Watts supported him, when they went out to vote for him today.

Travellers’ Blog Entry No. 35

The trauma of the chaos-election eight years ago in the U.S. is still far from being overcome - and a repeat of that can not be excluded. Also, this year's Presidential election could soon return to the courts. The risk factors: court processes because of 'phantom voters', a huge number of voters - and the error-prone election machinery.

A brief review of the last electoral chaos: Al Gore and George W. Bush struggled throught the counting of the presidential election in Florida for weeks. Bush finally gets the victory granted by court order - with just 537 votes ahead.

For the upcoming election tomorrow between Barack Obama and John McCain experts now expect new problems. The question is not IF there will be voting and counting problems. The questions is how big and how far they will be.

"I'm sure that there will be difficulties on Election Day," says the professor and election law expert Richard L. Hansen of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "One can only hope that the result does not just fail." For such a case, both parties already have a whole army of lawyers in position to challenge the results if necessary. Experts have identified three problem areas:

1. an unprecedented high turnout could overwhelm the polling stations
2. the election machinery could again have 'technical problems'
3. the dispute over the validity of some votes could employ the courts.

A few days ago, several civil rights groups presented a study entitled "Is America ready for the election?" Their clear answer: no. In ten out of 50 states the experts registered substantial shortcomings in the electoral preparations and thus the potential for chaos on election day, among the ten states are 'key states' such as Virginia, Texas and Colorado. Even the "Brennon Center for Justice", the Faculty of Law at the University is alarmed.
The conclusion from the study: That there will be problems on Election Day, is beyond question.

The greatest risks also include the expected rush to the polling stations. This year, approximately nine million new voters are registered, there are significantly more voters than expected in 2004 when about 120 million U.S. citizens made their votes.
Even at that time many voters had to spend hours waiting in front of the polling places to give their votes.
Normally, in the U.S. the participation is about 50 percent, in some districts 80 percent expected this year. "Many polling stations and election volunteers will limit the reach of their resilience," predicts the expert Doug Chapin of Washington's Pew Center. The website www.saveourvotes.org meanwhile expects hour-long waiting times for the state of Maryland.

One of the biggest uncertainties in this election is, once again, the election machinery.
According to a study of the University of Iowa, about 80 percent of U.S. voters will cast their votes on one of those computers. After the election debacle in Florida in 2000, when many ballots with old-fashioned punch devices were labeled unclear, many states had purchased modern voting machines - but these are already out of operation, now, because of their vulnerability and risk of fraud.

This year, large states like California and Florida have new machines, where each vote on a paper is printout to be documented. In case of disputes and problems that should make a later counting easier. Independent experts see in this as a big step forward.
Only in six states smaller touch-screen machines, which are used like an ATM, will operate. Critics warned repeatedly that computer hackers can penetrate these systems and could change the results.

There can arise further problems on election day: The voter's identifying. The current dispute revolves mainly around the activities of the leftist group 'Acorn', which has been struggling for decades that socially disadvantaged individuals and minorities can register as new voters. The Republicans claim, that the group used voter lists with fake data and signatures and gave them to the authorities. The judiciary determines and the Republicans talk about electoral fraud on a large scale, because of these 'phantom voters'.
If the election on 4 November will be, as expected, a close thing, the election will be decided weeks later - by courts.