Hacker Cinema
Bridge of Spies
2015 · Film · 141 min
Directed by Steven Spielberg
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.
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6 comments on Hacker News
This reminds me of the case discussed in the movie Bridge of Spies. There were multiple impacts. One side sees one accident, starting and the first impact and ending at the second. The other sees two distinct accidents, one impact and a second separate impact rather disconnected from the first. Crashes are messy. They are always up for interpretation. That is the reality of driving. Only in hindsight can we apply the arbitrary legal rules to allocate blame. The reality is almost always that everyone is at least partially at fault.
Agree. NK is classic proxy country, not independent. To be more strict, their behavior is shown in good film. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Spies_(film)
> According to one study, the U.S. performed at least 81 overt and covert known interventions in foreign elections during the period 1946–2000.
Read and count, in how many coups involved Russia (unfortunately you may need to use google translate from country of Democracy and free market): ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Советская_республика
And yes, I don't think "Soviet republic" as Democracy, because I've seen USSR and it's pseudo-elections without choice. What they are, you could see in good film Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks - literally, gangs occupy country and supported by some Communists country - caught on such things Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China.
Ukrainian elections after 2004, ALL considered democratic, if you don't hear from your sources.
I am heartily glad Tom Hanks has so far declined to appear in Star Wars.
I think "Bridge of Spies" which co-stars Mark Rylance as Colonel Abel is a very interesting little drama. They both occupy quite quirky corners of the problem space. Hanks has to be respectful of his client to perform his legal role but also is somewhat appalled by the systems disregard for the minor US student character caught up in the east-west barriers as he negotiates the release of Gary Powers.
Rylance is fantastic in that movie. his "would it help" comment about panic under duress is just awesome deadpan.
Hanks being robbed for his thick winter coat in East Berlin is also a good little vignette. I think this is what Hanks excels at: small vignettes of the human experience, which make a story believable.
100%. James B Donovan[1] was (in)famously admonished for defending a Soviet spy (as dramatized in the Spielberg film Bridge of Spies), but that's what set us apart from the rest of the world.
If the relative amorality of upholding The Law is unpalatable for some, then maybe they aren't cut out to practice law. Perhaps being made of sterner stuff is a key prerequisite, not too different from practicing medicine, where the hippocratic oath obliges one to medically serve even the most repugnant criminals.
[1] https://news.fordham.edu/fordham-magazine/metadiplomat-the-real-life-story-of-bridge-of-spies-hero-james-b-donovan/
For Russians, this is geopolitical question. What I mean, they feel themselves imperfect, if size of their country does not correspond with their weight in world.
Very similar to what WW1 and WW2 causes.
- In approx 1900, Germany becomes one country (before, there where many small principalities, and no central power lasts long).
So appear new country, powerful country, and they look on world and see colonial system, where nearly ALL powerful countries has colonies. I mean whole world where divided between top countries.
First, Germany tried to reach an agreement with top countries, to cut some colonies from other countries and assign to Germany, but without fast success, because pre WW1 agreements system where extremely sophisticated, and they just cannot rebuild this system fast.
Than German powers conclude, that they could faster got wanted if make war, that's all.
To be more precise, Russia is large, but economically, it's position is worst in world, except Mongolia. - Russia have longest in world size of land borders, near no borders on mountains, very little number of possible sea ports; extremely large territory is just ice, nothing could grow there.
- Russia really have reliable access to sea only in few places - Baltic, Black sea/Azov, and on Pacific, this is extremely little, for so large number of citizens (approx half of US).
BTW, current Russia situation is much better, than for example 200 years ago, because that time they had neighbors, who demand very high fees for access to sea. To solve this, Russians occupied their neighbors - 300-200 years ago, Russians near constantly invade neighbors and assimilate them into their empire, so now they have another problem, google Belfast.
Now, Russians trying to work less crude, they trying to place puppet governments in all neighbors countries.
Ukraine have borders with three EU countries, and is one of the largest counties on Black sea, so Ukraine is extremely interest for logistics.
And unfortunately, current Ukraine don't have effective government system, as I said on another comment, current Ukraine officials are extremely corrupted and extremely illiterate.
So Russians concluded, that Ukraine could be easy target for occupation and/or to place puppet government, and prepared for invasion and invade.
I don's think, Russians really plan to assimilate Ukraine, most probably, planned scheme where similar to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Pact
BTW exists excellent movie, very good show atmosphere in Warsaw Pact countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bridge_of_Spies_(film)