If anyone would ever ask me to become a Justice on the Supreme Court, I would re-read the Constitution until I had it memorized and then I would try to read as many previous decisions by the court as I possibly could before the confirmation hearing.
Neil Gorsuch needn’t have bothered. For the questions were rather silly.
Seriously, US Senators, you are in a conformation hearing for a Supreme Court Justice, which happens once in a blue moon and is a rather consequential affair, and you ask your teenage children and your (I assume non-lawyer) brothers what questions to ask??
That’s an easy question to answer: Not dangerous at all.
But apparently the question gets asked a lot because the Wikitravel page on the Israel National Trail specifically states:
Carrying a weapon is completely unnecessary.
So, this hiker whom I saw in Jerusalem was a bit over-equipped with his stick and pistol.
I once hiked the Jesus Trail in the north of Israel, four days from Nazareth to Capernaum by the Sea of Galilee, and there was nothing dangerous at all. Actually, come to think of it, I should finally write and publish the complete account of this 4-day hike.
I assume that on the desert part of the Israel National Trail, lack of water and the sun can be dangerous, but oddly enough, that’s not what people have in mind when they ask “But isn’t Israel dangerous?” I would generally advise not to visit Israel in July and August because it’s too hot. And before setting off on a walk, get a few bottles of water and a cool hat.
Now, this got me dreaming of walking the Israel National Trail. It’s only 1,000 km, which isn’t really much by long-distance walking standards.
Football is important in South America. Whenever traffic is a little bit less chaotic, I know that a football match is being broadcast and keeps people off the streets. But after the match, they will make up for it by cruising around town in honking cars, waving flags and setting off fireworks.
In Bolivia, people build the football pitch before they build the town.
And not only for the World Cup, but also for Copa América, the American championship of national teams, and for Copa Libertadores, CONCACAF Champions League, Copa Sudamerican, Recopa Sudamericana, Copa Aldao, Campeonato Sudamericana de Campeones, Supercopa and Copa Master Supercopa Libertadores (championships for clubs, something like the Champions League, but a multiple of it). Due to the number of competitions, there is at least one match every day. If a club loses, it’s really not a big deal, as it will qualify for a different championship the week after.
In addition to international ones there are of course regional, national, binational and multinational championships like the cup of the teams from the South Andes or the relegation of the third-placed teams in the north-eastern quadrant of the Amazon. Then there are school, university, union, police, army, navy, air force, customs, church, kindergarten, miners’ and bus drivers’ championships, each of them at the local, regional, national, binational, multinational and international level, of course. In different age groups. And don’t forget to double the whole thing for men and women.
View: awesome. Quality of the pitch: Well…
This is complicated even more by the fact that many universities and companies, but also some municipalities, have different clubs that are distinguished by their political orientation. Let’s look at the team of third-semester sociology students at the University of Buenos Aires who are supportive of the current government, for example. They face tournaments against (a) the anti-government, (b) liberal, (c) socialist and (d) anarchist teams of the same semester of the same faculty of the same university, (e) the teams of other semesters of the same faculty of the same university, (f) the teams of the same semester, but of different faculties of the same university, (g) the teams of other sociological faculties of other universities in Buenos Aires, with different championships for (h) state (i) and private universities, (j) the winners of which will of course meet for a super cup, after which the whole process is repeated at the (k) regional, (l) national, (m) binational, (n) multinational (o) and international level.
For students in the fourth semester, there is a completely independent calendar of tournaments, so the whole process has to be completed within half a year. Because it already takes you more than a week to travel from Buenos Aires to Bogotá by bus, there is hardly any time left for studying or for work. The political rivalry makes winning even more important than it usually is, so the teams exercise in the park or on the roof of a skyscraper every morning and every night. When I point out the negative effects on economic and academic productivity, people reply: “But look at Germany! You are football and export champions at the same time.”
After hiking in Tunari National Park for three hours: a football pitch.
But not only the players, the fans, too, sacrifice their whole life. In Cochabamba in Bolivia, I shared the house with a guy who is a fan of CA River Plate from Argentina. He is constantly criss-crossing the continent to watch the matches of his adored team. If that doesn’t work, he is glued to the television. A few weeks ago, I met him again in La Paz and he told me about a friend from Uruguay, whose team qualified for one of these international competitions for the first time. To be able to afford the trips and the tickets, that man sold his house. The wife and the children had to move in with the grandparents.
There are even organ donation circles among the fans of the same club. When a fan of LDU Quito needs a kidney, chances are that he’ll receive one from a fellow fan. But that donor would never allow himself to be cut open for a fan of CD Clan Juvenil, even if that person was his brother.
A football pitch on reed in Lake Titicaca. The players arrive by boat.
All of this would be funny, but my loyal readers already expect me to give it a serious turn. Rightfully so. It makes me sad to watch millions of children kicking a ball on the street or in a park all afternoon, each of them dreaming of making it onto the national team or being bought by Bayern München or Inter Milano. That won’t work out in most cases. The likelihood to succeed in that way is far lower than that of being academically successful, if only the youngsters would spend their useless football afternoons at the library instead. By focusing on education, they would have much more influence on their own success than by hoping that an agent will pass through the favela one day. But the celebrity cult surrounding the players, the constant media presence of football, the overestimation of sports and the undervaluation of lawyers and historians provide wrong incentives.
In Salvador de Bahia, Brazil.
Lastly, I suggest that one of the next World Cups will be played in Bolivia. The stadium in La Paz is at an altitude of 3637 m, that will show the teams from the lowlands who’s boss. Here, Bolivia already won against Brazil (2:0) and Argentina (6:1). European teams are too scared to even show up.
On Chacaltaya (5200 m), I saw the highest football pitch ever.
And the highest goal in the world was at the end of my hike on Chacaltaya. Well, actually, it wasn’t the end quite yet, because I still had to walk back.
Or, at the very least, watch my TEDx video about it:
Alternatively or additionally, you can watch the movie “Samuel in the Clouds” when it comes to a screening near you. The film is named for Samuel Mendoza, whose father operated the ski lift on Chacaltaya and who would love to continue this work – were it not for the disappearance of the glacier.
Mount Etna (on the left) and the setting sun (on the right). What I couldn’t get on the photo: to my right behind me, Stromboli was emitting smoke as well and to my left behind me there was a rainbow over the long stretch of Capo Milazzo. I didn’t know which way to look first.
Walking up and down the stairs to and from the 10th floor every day helps a lot. (The lift boy already thinks I am scared of this modern technology.) I also walk to any place where I can get in less than an hour, more when I have time. In many cities, walking or cycling is faster than the bus anyway.
I know people who go to the gym, and then take the car to go home and the elevator to their apartment. When they are hungry, they call for food. I never call for anything. If I want something, I have to go out and get it. The farther, the better, because it means I won’t eat that fat hamburger at midnight. (Unfortunately, it’s very easy to store chocolate at home.)
When I want to go running, I go to the park, the forest or the beach.
And honestly, almost always when I went hiking with a gym person, they were slow and gave up after 500 meters. Now, I don’t even accept walking partners anymore who say “I am so fit because I go to the gym every day.” I ask them to walk around the block once, and they usually collapse in the process.
On my hike to Chacaltaya, I came across a remote and deserted village in the mountains.
The doors of the partially decaying houses are open, but none of them contains anything of use for me. One door is adorned with writing: PROHIBIDO ROBAR (“Burglary not permitted”).
The notice is absurd because
this is already governed by the criminal code,
even non-lawyers are aware of the ban on breaking into houses and stealing,
potential law-breakers will hardly be dissuaded by such a note.
But we are in Bolivia, the land of politeness and respect. This house is really the only one which has not been broken into.
People around the world who are worried about burglars, maybe you want to try this method.
Having said that, I should also mention that when people in Bolivia catch a burglar or suspect someone of being a burglar, they may lynch the suspect.
The Happy Hermit 