Feb 15

NASCAR and the United Nations Road Safety Program

By Jordi Scrubbings Ideas, International, Politics, Racing 1 Comment »

As the 2010 NASCAR season kicked off the weekend, I figured it was time to put to words an idea that has been in my head since November, coincidentally when last NASCAR season ended.

safetyIn Novemeber 2009, the United Nations hosted the first ever Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. Because road safety and traffic accidents are a growing concern throughout the world, “as many as 1500 participants including ministers; representatives of UN agencies, civil society organizations and private companies” met in Russia for the conference. This group sought to stem the worldwide problem of road safety.

(According to some of the UN’s published numbers,

  • More than a million people are killed in road accidents in the developing world each year
  • Every day a thousand under 25 year-olds are killed in road accidents
  • Road accidents are the world’s number one killer of 15 -19 year olds.)

As a result of the Conference’s “Moscow Declaration“, the years 2011 to 2020 have been declared the “Decade of Action for Road Safety”. As a follow-up to the November meeting, the UN General Assembly is scheduled to discuss their initiatives during the road safety decade this March. The initiatives will include a focus on the following danger areas:

  • the non-use of seat-belts and child restraints
  • drinking and driving
  • the non-use of helmets
  • excessive speed
  • the lack of appropriate road infrastructure

Since the UN started looking at road safety nearly five years ago, they have teamed up with several racing organizations and personalities. In 2007, Formula 1 supported the first UN Global Road Safety Week by pushing their racers to contribute to the effort through speeches and photo ops. Drivers Michael Schumaker and Lewis Hamilton also spoke out and individually supported the UN Global Road Safety week initiative.

Also in 2007, the UN named Formula Three driver Basil Shaaban “UN World Youth Ambassador for Road Safety”. With this appointment, Shaaban, a Lebanese driver, took up “an effective social role in spreading awareness about the causes of fatal traffic accidents in the Arab world, most of which is result to over-speeding and recklessness on public roads.” Being that many Middle East nations are on the top of the list of accidents, Shaaban’s role, which he still holds, is especially relevant.

Despite worldwide participation and cooperation, one racing organization is conspicuously absent. A quick Google search reveals no evidence of cooperation between NASCAR and the UN in road safety initiatives. This even though NASCAR broadcasts races in over 150 countries.

Rather than attempting to figure why this hasn’t happened yet, here are two big reasons why working together on road safety would be beneficial for both NASCAR and the UN.

1) Global Reach for NASCAR -Although it’s American expansion is somewhat new compared to other sports, NASCAR has just about permeated the entire US market. Now that theyhave effectively courted the female American market with the arrival of Danica Patrick, the next step, of course, is looking to market and spread internationally. NASCAR would be wise to use the United Nations to promote NASCAR’s legitimacy to international fans. And it would also introduce NASCAR’s best personalities to people unfamiliar with the sport.

2) Exposure to Americans for the UN – A partnering with NASCAR would help improve the UN’s image in America. Although they do a lot of work throughout the world in various fields, the bottom line is that many Americans have a negative opinion of the UN and quite a few even support American withdrawal from the organization. Being seen with Jimmie Johnson, Dale Earnhart, Jr, and other racers could show the NASCAR demographic another side of the UN, possibly swaying opinion from”poor” to “good” or even “meh” – especially if the UN can effectively convey its message of road safety to the American audience.

Pairing NASCAR with the UN during the Decade of Action for Road Safety would not only be good business, it could also help reduce auto fatalities and accidents across the globe. And that would be worth a victory lap.

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Jan 29

President Obama’s Motorcade Through South Tampa, January 28, 2010

By Jordi Scrubbings Politics, Tampa, Videos No Comments »

I was lucky enough to be caught at a Subway in South Tampa when the President’s motorcade drove by. One viewer said there were 38 motorcycles.

If the sound was better, you could hear the lady at the end say something to the effect of “Why do they need such a big escort for one man?”

I thought that was pretty funny.

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Nov 30

Which leader should the invaders meet?

By Jordi Scrubbings International, Musings, Politics, Robots No Comments »

Monsters and RobotsTwo different but somewhat related bits of media passed my purview in the last week that when taken together got me thinkin’. The first was Federico Alverez’s awesome short film “Panic Attack!” about giant robots that destroy Montevideo, Uruguay. If you haven’t seen it, check it out. To quote semi-famed actor/writer/director person Brian Spaeth, it is “sweet”.

(By the way, Brian sent me a link via the ol’ Twitter that reported Sam Raimi enlisted Mr. Alverez to make a full-length movie. We’ll see how that goes.)

The second media I saw was a blog post by International Relations Professor/Blogger Daniel Drezner entitled “The Global Governances of Apocalypses“. In his post, Dr. Drezner answers a challenge by another blogger who asks the same thing I have often wondered “What is the proper forum for secret doomsday planning? The G-20? The U.N. Security Council? The P5+1 or the EU3 +3? Every country for itself?”

Drezner answers by saying Hollywood is of course historically inaccurate and in reality the following would occur:

  • There would be initial and profound disagreement among experts over what precisely to do;
  • After a scientific consensus began to emerge, dissenters would go back to their home governments to lobby for political support
  • There would be rampant suspicion of any multilateral effort by those asked to make an outsized contribution;
  • The cost overruns… oh, the cost overruns;
  • Conspiracy theories would pop up all over the friggin’ place
  • The plan wouldn’t work.

However, combining the two scenarios, what if the robots from Panic Attack! invaded and made the traditional movie invader demand, “Take Me To Your Leader.” What would we do? Who would we bring the invaders to? Who did the 1950s-era screenwriters think was in charge?

(On second thought, maybe “Take me to your leader” pre-dates the ’50s. Maybe it goes back to H.G. Wells and War of the Worlds and the original sci-fi classics. If you know the origin, let me know. It’s important, but not really.)

I guess the answer would depend on who the invaders first encounter. And then the beliefs and politics of the encountered. Even here in the U.S. there could be some confusion. How many people would bring the visitors to their mayor, governor, or even church leader? Or, shudder the thought, how many folks would bring our otherworldly guests to Glenn Beck?

Then of course, there are other leaders of similar or perceived equal power worldwide. What about the Pope? The Dalai Lama? What about the Ayotallah in Iran? What about other presidents, kings, prime ministers, or even little league baseball coaches?

If aliens landed in your backyard and said “Take me to your leader” (assuming they spoke English), who would you bring them to?

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Dec 04

Together We Can Fight the Power

By Jordi Scrubbings Basketball, Politics No Comments »

TianasquareYesterday on my site I wrote about my life as a Knicks Nation refugee. I’ve have not been a citizen of Knicks Nation for nearly 1,000 days thanks to the incompetent leadership of Isiah Thomas and James Dolan. For the sake of my own sanity, I packed my belongings and left.

Since I admitted my own refugee status, other Knicks fans from around the world have admitted they too are in exile. Although I knew I was not the only one, I never knew the sheer numbers of the Knicks diaspora. With the love of our team in mind, we have initiated communications with all Knicks Nation refugee camps in hopes of stimulating change in our beloved homeland. Taking a page from Che Guevara, we have devised five strategies fans can use to express themselves and hopefully liberate their organizations from tyrannical incompetent regimes. These techniques are not to be used irresponsibly, as they are a last line of expression and could result in serious consequences.

1) Boycott - This is the most simple revolutionary fan tactic and in single numbers, possibly the least effective. While easy to do, a boycotter must live with the knowledge that the Nation goes on without him or her. Fans who boycott their team are unfortunately only hurting themselves and denying themselves of the pleasure of fandom.

2) Sanctions - Sanctions is relatively new untested technique that draws on the social networking ability of fans. In order for a sanction to be effective, fans must convince fans of other cities not to attend games in which the targeted team is the visitor. This would cause the visiting team to have the worst road attendance in the league. Combined with a mass boycott, sanctions would mean no one would watch the product of an incompetent regime.

3) Blockade - Another rare, but hopefully effective technique, blockading requires numerous fans joining hands, arms, legs, etc, and forming a human wall in front of the parking areas of the organization’s culpable front office personnel. Unfortunately, although those responsible for mismanagement are temporary prohibited from causing more damage, blockades often result in conflicts with regime-siding police-like authorities.

4) Silence - Another frequently discussed yet never implemented strategy, silence is perhaps the most awe-inspiring technique in the revolutionary repertoire. If a packed house in Madison Square Garden, for example, were to be completely silent for an entire game, it would send shockwaves through both the Knicks franchise and the NBA as a whole. No booing, no cheering, just silence.

5) Buyout - When all else fails, the buyout is the ultimate solution. Like the name implies, a buyout is an offer the organization cannot refuse. Although many fans cannot afford to contribute to the purchase their team, every fan plays an essential role in recruiting enough dollars and cents from those who can give to the cause. In the case of the nearly-billion dollar Knicks franchise, for example, perhaps help can come from the charitable hand of local billionaires.

Once again, I must preach caution in exercising these techniques. These techniques are powerful methods of fan revolt and are not for the untrained revolutionary. But for those willing to take the risk: Viva La Revolucion!

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