Jason M

I am of Latino descent and grew up in what is generally considered "da hood" (using street lexicon). The difference is that I was one of those Latino kids whose dad actually raised him and taught him to be a man. So, yeah, I hung out in the streets and had my share of "run-ins", if you will. But, I also excelled in school and filled every honor roll and graduated at the top of my class all the way to graduate school. I grew up in NYC and I find it to be one of the most racially polarized places on earth (and I've traveled abroad extensively). I realized early on that while a case can be made to spread the share of blame across society for the deeds of its children, it is ultimately the job of the family to raise a person of good moral standing; a person of good character. The people selling the drugs in my neighborhoods were not "white" (to use the common term). The men impregnating young teenage Latinas and then leaving them to raise the child on their own where also not "white". The idiots painting graffiti on our walls, urinating in the hallways of public housing buildings and stealing cars were also not "white". Heck, a "white" kid would not have spent any significant amount of time in my neighborhood anyway; it was inadvisable. The biggest deterrent to the forward movement of progress for most minorities is the lack of self-discipline and the inability to collectively take responsibility for our actions. I learned, when I was just a teenager, that there was no such thing as a hyphenated nationality. I am an American, period. The fact that I speak, read and write the language of my ancestors has little to do with where my loyalties lie. I grew up, was educated, and succeeded in this country, not where my parents' parents were born. Those who consider themselves "white" in America are finding themselves in the middle of the collision of cultures in a country that developed a sense of multi-culturalism that became an identifying characteristic of what "America" was supposed to represent. I do not understand how in the world we got to a place that in the search of racial equality (as propelled by the movements of the 1960s), we have arrived to a moment in time when fellow Americans are slowly marginalized for being "white". This division and antagonistic approach will only work to tear this country apart.

After Yasser Arafat got awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1994 - after having had a hand in the death of so many, from fellow Arabs to westerners - I really lost all interest in this award and what it stands for. The fact that President Barak Obama was nominated just 12 days after entering office - having not accomplished any of his goals to date - really puts the award into question once again. I say the same to those whom would condemn President Obama so early on - let the man develop and execute some of his plans (as long as they do not guide us into a brick wall) before we judge his efforts. By the same token, we should not be celebrating his "accomplishments" before they are accomplished. Agrippa quote: More to the point, in my opinion, Menachem Begins's Irgun is considered the progenitor of modern terrorism. As far as I'm concerned there was far better cause to revile the awarding of the prize in -78 than in -94. I don't see how that's a far better cause to revile the award. I see them as the same cause to revile it. If you have a specific reason, I'd like to read it. As far as I'm concerned, they used the same tactics (terror) and killed innocents along with legitimate targets.

Your story and the subsequent analysis are intimately familiar to me. There are several things that intrigue me about rep collecting. One, I have found that this community of reps collectors is uniquely comprised of a demographic tremendously fascinated with attention to detail and with the nuances of horology. Conversely, I used to be part of a "gen" watch forum for a fashion watch line (Invicta - "Watchgeeks" forum) and I found that the vast majority of the participants exhibited a "cult-like" adherence to resist any type of honest analysis of the focus watch company. Most rep collectors I have found can and usually do own gens and, in many cases, high-end gens. This goes against the common belief that rep collectors are generally people of low moral character that live lies to satisfy appearances. Lastly, I also concur with you that reps are certainly more of a conversation piece than gens. I own several gens and the amazing thing is that someone might compliment me with "That's a nice Rolex. Which model is that?" And, the answer is usually clean, clear and final: "It's an Explorer II; it has a GMT function." That's it. Conversation ends. However, when this happens with a rep, there is just so much more room to discuss the case design, the movement and how it may relate to the gen, etc. People are usually amazed by the quality of the rep and are just so curious about how it's possible that they approximate the gen so closely. To me, reps are just so much more fun and interesting. My gens are almost an end onto themselves. My reps are a prelude to further refinement and discovery (other models, modifications, etc.). It's funny, I have a rep - the Rolex Yachtmaster Rolessium - that I acquired from Josh about three years ago and it STILL runs beautifully. I polished it recently to bring it back to like-new condition and it has maintained a level of time-keeping accuracy up to par with my gen Rolex Explorer II and my Submariner; which it's crazy.

The IOC is replete with internal politics as it is an international organization. The fact that Chicago fell out almost immediately - in spite of the unprecedented efforts by a sitting US President and his wife - had a lot to do with "a message" being sent. What that message was is up for interpretation. But, I have worked within international government organizations and within embassies. In that environment, very few things are coincidence. I wish good luck to Brazil; they know how to throw a party and I'm sure it will be an awesome event.