text:
|editTobirama Senju [1][2][3][4]
|千手扉間 Senju Tobirama
|Volume #14, Naruto Chapter #118
|Naruto Episode #69
|Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise (Mentioned)
|The Last: Naruto the Movie
|Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2
|Naruto Shippūden: UNSG anime cutscenes
|Appears in
|Anime, Manga, Novel, Game, Movie
|Voice Actors
|February 19
|Blood type
|Ninja Rank
Tobirama Senju (千手扉間, Senju Tobirama) was the Second Hokage (二代目火影, Nidaime Hokage, Literally meaning: Second Fire Shadow) of Konohagakure. He hails from the Senju clan, who, along with the Uchiha clan, founded the first shinobi village. Tobirama would also become the leader of his own team. Prior to inheriting the position of Hokage, he served as his brother's advisor assisting him with political and social measures.
Tobirama was born into the Senju clan to its then-leader Butsuma. Tobirama along with his elder brother Hashirama and their younger brothers Kawarama, and Itama all grew up in the Warring States Period where they were surrounded by constant wars. One of these battles would lead to the early death of Kawarama, and several other of his clansmen, whose funeral he attended alongside his father and siblings. Hashirama later ended up in an altercation with his father over the senseless killing of innocent children. This led to his father almost striking him again, but Tobirama intervened advocating that Hashirama was grief-stricken. Later, as the three siblings met up, they spoke of peace for the future and Tobirama stated his opinion about ending the conflict by giving the shinobi a code of conduct to stop the endless killing.[5] He later admonished Itama for his way of thinking — which sounded a great deal like the way the adults thought. Some time later, Itama was killed on the battlefield.[6] Some time after this, Tobirama was tasked by his father to find out where Hashirama was disappearing to. When Hashirama returned from one of these extended leaves of absence, Tobirama confronted him, informing him that their father requested to speak with him. When Hashirama questioned how Butsuma knew that he was meeting with Madara, Tobirama pointed out that he had tracked him down using his sensory abilities, which were far superior to that of Hashirama. He would later accompany his father to where Hashirama met up with Madara; here they were confronted by Tajima and Izuna Uchiha, the latter of whom Tobirama acknowledged by name.[7]
As Tobirama and Izuna clashed, unbeknownst to Tobirama, Tajima prepared to land a would-be fatal attack on him, which was deflected by Hashirama who returned to the battlefield. Shocked by this, the two sides reached an impasse, and Tobirama listened on as Madara turned down Hashirama's offer to broker peace between the two sides. He later watched on shocked when Madara manifested his Sharingan. The two sides would part ways from this altercation without any bloodshed.
As time went by and the battles between the two clans continued, on one of these occasions, Tobirama was able to mortally wound Izuna, forcing Madara to retreat from the battlefield with his wounded brother. The next time the Senju brothers encountered Madara again, he informed them that Izuna had succumbed to his injuries and had left him his eyes to continue protecting the clan. Despite revealing that he had acquired the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Madara was still defeated. As Tobirama was about to deliver the final blow, he was stopped by his brother who still wanted to seek peace. However, the jaded Uchiha noted that the price Hashirama had to pay for the Uchiha to regain his trust was either that Hashirama had to kill himself, or his brother.[8]
Decrying Madara as a crazed person, Tobirama questioned whether or not his brother intended to kill him. However, Tobirama was shocked when Hashirama — fully intent on going through with this — prepared to kill himself, but not before telling everyone present to swear that the feud between Senju and Uchiha would end. Though the act was stopped by Madara, and Tobirama later watched on as, Hashirama struck a peace treaty with the Uchiha and its then-leader Madara Uchiha and with Konohagakure's creation following soon after.,[9] Tobirama never became any less wary of Madara for his actions, and the other Uchiha by extension. After retrieving his brother from what would become the Hokage Monument — notably sparing no word of greeting for, nor even acknowledging Madara — and hearing of the position of Hokage and his brother's intent to give it to the Uchiha, Tobirama noted that Hashirama could not arbitrarily make unilateral decisions like their father had, and that things had to be discussed and agreements reached through democracy. However, during their conversation where the topic of the impending threat of the Uchiha was broached by Tobirama, Hashirama noted that he felt as though they were being watched, but Tobirama noted that as he was not moulding chakra at the moment, he had not sensed anything.[10]
When Hashirama later convened the first ever meeting of the five Kage, Tobirama apprehended his brother for bowing to the other Kage so easily despite being overwhelmed by the gathering. Addressing the Kage on Konoha's plans to distribute the tailed beasts to balance the power of the nations, he reprimanded his brother once again when he questioned if they could not give the beasts away for free after Tobirama noted that they would essentially have to buy the beasts from them. When threats of war were thrown around, Tobirama looked on stern-faced as his brother tried to quell the arguing Kage, sharing his hopes for the future.[11]
When Hashirama, who was appointed the First Hokage, died, Tobirama was appointed as the Second Hokage.[12] During his reign he was primarily responsible for establishing Konoha's organisational system. He established various organisations such as the Academy, the Anbu, the Chūnin Exams and the Konoha Military Police Force,[3] the latter of which he created as a sign of trust towards the Uchiha who made up the majority of that organisation. However, a few members of the Uchiha clan would come to believe that this was just an elaborate way to ostracise them from the village, and its government. This led them to secretly follow the will of Madara Uchiha and decades later, be massacred after plotting to stage a coup d'etat.[13]
At some point during his era, he and the Second Raikage met to form a formal alliance between Kumogakure and Konohagakure; however, Kinkaku and Ginkaku, Kumo's Gold and Silver Brothers, attempted a coup d'etat against them. Tobirama was able to survive in that coup, but it left him near death during the fiasco.[14]
He also trained a three-man team of his own, which consisted of Hiruzen Sarutobi, Homura Mitokado, and Koharu Utatane.[15] In the anime, another one of his students was Kosuke Maruboshi. On one mission during the First Shinobi World War, Team Tobirama alongside three of his other hand-picked elite ninja: Danzō Shimura, Kagami Uchiha, and Torifu Akimichi, found themselves surrounded by twenty elite Kumo ninja known as the Kinkaku Force. Tobirama then realised that the only way any of them could escape alive was for one of them to be a decoy and sacrifice themselves; therefore having faith that he had trained his students well, he chose to sacrifice himself after he selected his prized student Hiruzen for the position of Third Hokage. Homura and Koharu would later become Hiruzen's advisers. After giving the title of Hokage to Hiruzen, Tobirama went off to fight the enemies where he died a noble death.[16]
Even as a child, Tobirama was a stoic and composed individual with a logical and pragmatic approach to life. He was very obedient to his father, as well as loyal towards his clan, but not to the extent where it clouded his judgement, as he was able to envision a rational way for the shinobi clans to achieve peace.[5] As a Hokage like his older brother, he felt a great deal of loyalty and devotion to the village, and placed its well-being above all else.[17] He was willing to fight for the sake of his village against both Orochimaru and Sasuke when the latter claimed he is going to destroy the village.[18] Tobirama was also described as being strong-spirited, and passionate.[3] During the First Shinobi World War, Tobirama was also willing to sacrifice himself by acting as a decoy to protect his own comrades.[19] He taught Hiruzen to love the village and protect all those who have faith in him as the next Hokage.[20]
More straight-laced than his exuberant and idealist elder brother, Tobirama was a realist by nature, traits displayed during the First Shinobi World War when he, and his small battalion were surrounded by the Kinkaku Squad, Tobirama realised the only way out for his subordinates, and acted accordingly.[16] This was also displayed in his attitude towards the Uchiha whom he believed were almost all intrinsically cursed, based on his knowledge of them, as well as his own personal interactions with them.[21] Such a logic-based personality led him to believe firmly in laws above anything else in terms of keeping peace and order, displayed in his youth where he came to the logical conclusion that if the adults wanted to stop the constant wars, all they had to do was create laws and abide by them no matter what.[5] Not afraid to deal with all aspects of village life, both the good and bad, Tobirama himself noted that his role as the Second revolved around mediating their new-found lifestyle, getting shinobi who had once before lived and fought only for themselves or their own clans to not only care for, but work with each other.[22]
Between him and his brother, Tobirama had the more assertive, directive and authoritative personality, and would often take time to talk to his eldest brother in this manner who would proceed to sulk and obey his commands.[23] Despite viewing him as an idiot and generally soft,[24][25][26] Tobirama nonetheless loved his brother dearly and followed his commands when he saw how serious he was about an equally dire situation.[27][28][29] He also openly admitted his inferiority to his brother during the battle with Obito when he stated Naruto might one day become an even greater Hokage than Hashirama. Tobirama also cares greatly for the village and, being pragmatic by nature, Tobirama valued peace and balance. Owing to his belief in the ability of laws and establishments to keep things in order, tried in his own way to help the Uchiha from falling prey to their curse by placing them in charge of the Konoha Military Police Force, giving them a duty to focus their emotions into, so that history would not repeat itself and create another person like Madara Uchiha.[30] Ultimately Tobirama noted that while he was wary of the Uchiha, he held neither hatred nor grudge towards them and noted that there were several Uchiha who transcended the mentality of their clan and also placed the well-being of the entire village and peace above all else.[31] Citing one of his own subordinates Kagami who had inherited the Will of Fire.[32] He would also later plead for Sasuke's life after a failed surprise attack.[33] Tobirama was willing to use kinjutsu in order to help Sasuke. He went on to note that he actually kept a wary eye on all clans with potential that threatened to upturn the establishment of the village — noting that this mediation was what predominantly filled his role as Hokage, and that he was especially wary of the Uchiha only because they were exceptionally powerful.[34] He was often misunderstood in this respect due to his serious nature, chiefly by Madara, who thought that Tobirama would eliminate the Uchiha to settle scores as soon as he was made Hokage.[35] Tobirama in a battle is also a quite fearsome and brutal opponent as he, witnessed by his battle tactics: taking advantage of any lapse in defence of his enemies, crudely and calculatingly attacking them at moments they were vulnerable. This was displayed in his intentions to deal the killing blow to Madara after he had been defeated.[36]
Though not knowing each other for long, the dynamics between Tobirama and the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze are very unique. Both men seem to have a great level of respect for one another especially since they seem to operate the same in battle in terms of thinking. The fact that they are both users of the Flying Thunder God Technique also seems to factor into this as each has lauded the other's speed and quick-thinking.[37][38] Tobirama also finds Minato's quirk of giving techniques odd names amusing and noted that if they were under different circumstances he might have laughed at a name like Spiralling Flash Super Round Dance Howl Participate Formula,[39] and later chided Minato when during battle he decided to reiterate the name of Naruto and Sasuke's technique.[40] Though initially noting he was not one to laugh during battle, Tobirama later became comically irritated at Naruto when the young man casually noted that Tobirama knew a lot about what he dubbed "his" Shadow Clone Technique, leading the Hokage to tell him that he was also the inventor of this technique.[41]
Tobirama was a tall, fair-skinned man with white, shaggy hair, dark-coloured eyes — depicted as red in the anime — and three red markings on his face — one under each of his eyes, and one on his chin. In most cases, he wore the wartime attire of kin during his lifetime: armour emblazoned with the Senju symbol worn over a simple black suit, with a distinctive white fur collar. This armour was constructed from numerous blue metal plates, formed into multiple protective guards along his body, in particular: chest, waist, shoulders and upper arms. This clothing was accompanied by sandals and a happuri engraved with the Konoha emblem, in the place of the more traditional forehead protector. Before Konoha was created, his forehead protector bore the Senju clan's emblem.[42] Beneath his shoulder armour he wore two bands on each arm.
Outside of this outfit, Tobirama wore a simple, short-sleeved, blue shirt kimono with mesh armour underneath and held closed by a pale yellow sash, as well as blue pants and a bracelet of sorts on his left hand. In his youth, he wore a pair of pin-striped pants and shirt which left his arms exposed. He also did not have the markings on his face.[43]
Tobirama was hailed as one of the most powerful shinobi of his era.[44] In childhood as well as adulthood, Tobirama was noted to be a skilled shinobi even by the likes of Madara Uchiha.[45] Madara has openly acknowledged that in life their power was comparable to each other, further attesting to Tobirama's legendary prowess.[46] A testament to his prowess was such that he was able to defeat and ultimately kill Izuna Uchiha — a shinobi whose own might was said to equal his older brother Madara.[47] Danzō also stated that during his reign as Hokage, there was no shinobi who could match his prowess.[48]
His skills were held in such high regard that an Anbu captain found his power hard to believe, even having high doubts that the Third Hokage could defeat both him and his brother despite the Third being revered as the God of Shinobi.[49][50][51][52] The fact that Tobirama wasn't brought back with his full strength at that time furthermore emphasises his might.[53] Upon entering the Fourth Shinobi World War after being reincarnated, and still not quite back at his full strength, he was able to hold his own against Obito Uchiha despite him being the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki. He even managed to briefly overpower Obito multiple times in collaborative efforts with his team mates.[54][55]
Due to his Senju lineage, Tobirama inherited an extraordinary life force, as well as powerful physical energy and stamina. He has shown being capable of fighting for nearly an entire day against their rival clan, the Uchiha.[56] Likewise, his chakra was also shown to be remarkably strong as he was able to crack a wall by simply placing his hand on it and releasing his chakra through it.[53] He was also able to resist the control of Orochimaru's Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation with ease, until the latter used Hashirama's DNA to strengthen the control.[57] Likewise, due to the large amounts of chakra granted by his lineage, Tobirama was able to teleport both Naruto and Minato while in their respective Tailed Beast Modes on the battlefield without any noticeable exhaustion.[58] He likewise was still able to produce shadow clones despite his use of an extremely chakra taxing technique.[59] His reserves and stamina where further displayed when after having his chakra depleted by the Shinju he was still able to follow it up with a powerful Water Release technique.[60] Tobirama also displayed considerable chakra control, and was able to use both the Water Release: Water Formation Wall and Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique, with a single hand seal, while the latter of these techniques usually require a multitude of them.[61]
Sensory Perception
Aside from his battle prowess, Tobirama was also a very gifted sensor ninja since childhood. By simply touching the ground with his index finger, he could detect the presence and number of enemy shinobi.[62] He was even able to detect Madara Uchiha's chakra on a battlefield far away, despite being in a different country.[63] His sensory skills were so refined and accurate that he could distinguish between different chakra signatures by clan, as upon sensing Karin, he determined she was an Uzumaki.[64] He was also able to notice how Orochimaru's new body was made almost entirely of Hashirama's cells.[57] He could use his abilities, along with his tracking skills, in order to follow a target undetected.[65] He can likewise still sense the chakra of others, even when his ability to mould chakra is impaired.[66][67]
Physical Prowess
Tobirama boasts a high level of taijutsu prowess. Renown for his near instantaneous reflexes and natural speed, he was hailed as the fastest shinobi of his time.[68] His speed was also lauded by the likes of Minato Namikaze, who himself is renown as the fastest shinobi in history.[38] Tobirama was able to plaster Obito with numerous explosive tags for an attack of his own,[69] and place his Flying Thunder God Technique seal on Obito without him noticing.[70] When combined with his Flying Thunder God Technique he could land devastating attacks before even a Mangekyō Sharingan user like Izuna Uchiha could react. Combined with his proficiency in the Body Flicker Technique, his immense speed and reflexes were such that he could react fast enough to reach his allies in time to not only deflect, but return Obito Uchiha's trap with the Truth-Seeking Ball back to him mid-explosion.[71] In another instance he was able to outmanoeuvre Madara Uchiha for a short time, even with the latter's possession and mastery of the Rinnegan.[46] In the anime, he also showed capable hand-to-hand combat skill against Hiruzen, a taijutsu master.
A man of great intellect, during his lifetime Tobirama created techniques such as the Flying Thunder God Technique,[72] Shadow Clone Technique,[41] and the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique.[73] Tobirama's usage of the latter involved him using the reincarnated to wipe a map clean.[74] His control over the technique is less refined however and it was implied by Chiyo that he could not control a large quantity at a single given time.[75] Some time after its creation he labelled it as a kinjutsu.[76] He did however gain enough renown with this technique that those who were reincarnated with the technique from his generation immediately thought it was his doing.[77][78]
Along with this technique he created a fighting style to accompany it which could be described as Kamikaze in nature,[79] where due to the immortal body of the reincarnated person, techniques that generally could not be used either at close-range or at all become possible. One such technique is the Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, which creates a near-infinite chain of explosions on a target.[80] According to a member of the Anbu, his ninjutsu is so far advanced, it was on an entirely different level than what is normally seen.[50] He is also adept at using barrier ninjutsu, capable of erecting a Kage-calibre barrier powerful enough to trap the Ten-Tails.[81]
Nature Transformation
Tobirama was well-known for his legendary mastery of Water Release. He could use his water technique at any time, even in areas that lack a pre-existing water source. He would create considerable quantities of water without a readily available water source or else use the moisture left in the surrounding area from a previous attack, to follow up with other techniques.[82][83] He could further manipulate water by isolating areas within it and evaporating it at will.[52] His control was so refined, he could produce and maintain a protect shield on others while directly engaging his enemies.[52] These, among other reasons, are why he is revered as the greatest known Water Release manipulator in history.[84]
In areas with water, he could move and stay underwater for a considerable amount of time without detrimental effects. In addition, he could use tendrils of water to grab hold of his target or pull it underwater in order to drown it. With the Water Release: Water Formation Wall, he could produce a powerful barrier of water able to easily disperse very intense fire blasts. He could also launch large pressurised missiles of water which were capable of destroying a chakra-infused earthen wall.[52] He can also use the Water Release: Water Severing Wave technique which creates a high-pressure stream, capable of cutting through the branches of the God Tree with ease. In the anime, it is also shown that he could use the Water Release: Water Colliding Wave to attack and cover a large area with water.
Space–Time Ninjutsu
Tobirama was also very skilled in the use of Space–Time Ninjutsu. As its creator, he was able to use the Flying Thunder God Technique with such skill that Minato Namikaze was shocked when he realised that Tobi was more adept at the use of Space–Time Ninjutsu than both Tobirama and himself.[85][86] Tobirama's use of this technique involves a unique seal of his own which he uses to mark places or targets he wished to teleport to. Likewise he is capable of teleporting multiple people with or without accompanying them or being in direct contact with them.[64][87] Tobirama is also able to link himself to the seals created by another user of the technique.[88]
He was fast enough to deflect one of Obito Uchiha's orbs before it expanded despite it being a shadow clone, which were noted to be slower when using technique.[89][90] Tobirama skills were later displayed when he was able to teleport both Naruto and Minato while in their respective Tailed Beast Modes on the battlefield.[58] Tactics-wise, Tobirama is able to perform well-timed assaults and able to teleport himself to his own launched kunai to attack his opponent from all angles at once, leaving almost no time to counter.
Stemming from his use of this technique, Tobirama could also use the Flying Thunder God Slash, which incorporated the use of bukijutsu and a bladed weapon to teleport to a target instantly and inflict a devastating wound to the enemy in a single blow.[8] Another one of these derived techniques is the Mutually Instantaneous Revolving Technique which allows him to switch places at any point in time with another Flying Thunder God Technique user that he has marked. This technique's use was demonstrated with his fellow practitioner, Minato Namikaze, and together, they were able to land a surprise attack on the jinchūriki.[91]
Tobirama was a practitioner of kenjutsu since childhood; at one point, he was seen wielding a sword against Madara's younger brother, Izuna Uchiha.[8] Tobirama was also able to use the Flying Thunder God Slash technique to mortally wound Izuna on the battlefield, taking the Mangekyō Sharingan-wielding Uchiha by surprise.[8] In the anime, it was said that he wielded the Sword of the Thunder God, a blade with electrical abilities, and he was said to have mastered its use despite the blade's lethal nature.[92]
Tobirama has displayed a great deal of intellect, being praised by allies and foes alike, notably Shikamaru Nara, whom himself is reknown as a genius.[93] Even as a child, he took a rational and practical approach to situations such as when he noted that if adults wanted to end the senseless bloodshed, all they needed to do was enter into a treaty and adhere to it.[5] His intelligence allowed him to contribute greatly to the creation of a lot of the village's infrastructure and organisations from the base Hashirama had left him: creating the Chūnin Exams, Anbu, and the Academy for example. He developed various advanced and innovative techniques into his own personal arsenal.[72]
In battle, Tobirama is highly perceptive and analytical and will employ these skills to create strategies and counter-measures while aiding his team mates as well. When he had been reincarnated by Orochimaru during the Fourth Shinobi World War, he deduced Orochimaru's plans of using Hashirama's cells to control himself, Hiruzen, and Minato. When faced in battle he would often capitalise on the moment his opponent thinks they have won the battle to strike with a counter-attack. Tobirama is also highly knowledgeable of forms of shinobi combat and the shinobi world at large. He was able to recognise a toad from Mount Myōboku and during the battle with Obito Uchiha he realised he was using Yin-Yang Release with his new weapons: thus it'd be impossible for even an reincarnated shinobi to regenerate after being hit. He is also highly knowledgeable of senjutsu as he correctly deduced that it was the only way to truly injure Obito Uchiha as the Ten-Tails' jinchūriki, after witnessing the effects of Gamakichi's attack.
Other Skills
Tobirama has shown very capable skill for working in unison with others. When teamed up with his brother, Tobirama and Hashirama could fight in tandem using quick, precise strikes while displaying a high amount of team-work. During their fight against Hiruzen, this team-work forced the Third Hokage to summon Enma for assistance. Similarly, he proved able to utilise his Space–Time Ninjutsu in unison with Minato's to land devastating attacks. He also demonstrated the ability to fire needle-shaped projectiles from his mouth.[94]
In the anime, it was shown that he was also a powerful genjutsu user, able to shroud the area in darkness that even the Third Hokage couldn't dispel.[95]
Part I
Invasion of Konoha Arc
Both he and Hashirama were reincarnated by Orochimaru, using Impure World Reincarnation, to fight Hiruzen during the invasion of Konoha, although it is later revealed that due to Orochimaru's lack of mastery of this technique Hashirama and Tobirama were not reincarnated with their full powers. While fully aware of what was going on, and saddened that he would have to fight his former student, Orochimaru employed a special seal into the back of their heads to rob Tobirama and his brother of their free will. Hiruzen quickly resolved to kill his masters and used a very powerful fire technique that was easily countered by one of Tobirama's walls of water that was then turned into an attack that was stopped by Hiruzen's own earth wall.
During the battle, he demonstrated great team-work and combination attacks with his brother, forcing Hiruzen to summon Enma for assistance. However, in his old age, Hiruzen was unable to defeat the two Hokage, as any damage that was done was simply regenerated and was further inhibited by his desire to not hurt either. His soul, along with his brother's, was eventually sealed by Hiruzen when he combined the Dead Demon Consuming Seal and the Shadow Clone Technique to strike both of them at the same time. Before his soul was completely removed, he and his brother apologised to their former student for the trouble they had caused.[96]
Part II
Ten-Tails Revival Arc
In Sasuke Uchiha's quest to learn the truth, Tobirama's soul was later freed from inside the Shinigami, and subsequently reincarnated by Orochimaru along with his brother, and his two successors: Hiruzen and Minato using Zetsu's spore clones as sacrifices.
Cursing Orochimaru initially, Tobirama and his brother listened on as Hiruzen and Minato explained what had happened. With his arms still crossed, Tobirama looked down the line with his brother at the Yellow Flash questioning who he was, before promptly being shown the haori emblazoned with the title of Fourth Hokage. Not one to be side-swept, Tobirama questioned the ease of use Orochimaru displayed with the technique he had invented only to be told the technique was not a hard one to learn but one which should have never been created. Orochimaru's response led Tobirama to accuse the Sannin of planning to attack the village once again sending Hiruzen into outrage. Later admonishing his brother to be quiet as he spoke, Tobirama later chided the Uchiha clan openly to which Orochimaru contracted that it was Tobirama's fault that it happened in the first place as he gave the Uchiha the Konoha Military Police Force to run and essentially ostracised the Uchiha. Rebuffing this, Tobirama explained the Uchiha clan's greatest curse: the fact that they had a greater love than any other person which if lost would turn into bottomless feelings of despair awakening the Sharingan as a result. He then explained that it was for this reason that he gave them that post so they would have something to focus their emotions on so that the world would not end up with a second Madara, who had suffered the loss of his brother whom he loved more than anything, on their hands.
Upon hearing the question posed to his brother and the reason behind it, an enraged Tobirama tells Sasuke that he would not allow him to harm the village and begins raising one of his fingers. Sasuke, Jūgo and Suigetsu all tense up in fear before he and Hashirama have an intense stand-off, as his elder brother told him to lower his finger. Tobirama finally obliged as the Naka Shrine almost collapsed around them. Later told that Madara was on the battlefield, Tobirama sensed and confirmed this which lead him to declare that he was heading to the battlefield. Ignoring Orochimaru's threat to bind him further, Tobirama told the Sannin that his refining of the Impure World Reincarnation was to his own detriment as they had been reincarnated at nearly their full power in life. Tobirama placed his palm on the wall, causing it to break, intending to leave. However, Orochimaru was able to stop Tobirama's movements thanks to having Hashirama's cells. Finally succumbing to his brother's wish to save Sasuke from the impending darkness. Tobirama listened on as Hashirama retold the history he had lived through.
With Hashirama's story finished, Tobirama confirmed that indeed many Uchiha had transcended the limitations of their clan such as his subordinate Kagami. Clearing up the misconception that he hated the Uchiha, Tobirama explained his role as the Second Hokage had been to mediate between the various clans and the well-being of the village, and that he kept a close eye on all clans that posed a threat to the latter's stability. Later, with Sasuke's decision made to protect his brother's sacrifice, Tobirama informed Hashirama, who had instructed him to prepare to transport them, that with Orochimaru binding them, he would not be able to do so. They later made their way out of the Naka Shrine, where a new addition to their group appeared. Answering Hashirama's question he noted that from Karin's chakra, she seemed to be an Uzumaki. Later he was sighing deeply as his exuberant brother directed them to their respective faces on the Hokage Monument; there atop his likeness, Tobirama vowed to stop Madara once and for all.
Arriving with the cavalry, Tobirama commended Minato who had arrived before them for his superior speed. When Minato accesses the Yin portion of Kurama's chakra, and promptly calls Tobirama and Hiruzen to him to teleport them, Tobirama was once again impressed by Minato's initiative of marking the battlefield. When Minato transports Tobirama to the marked location to his designated location, Tobirama and the other Hokage use the Four Red Yang Formation barrier to trap the Ten-Tails. After his brother added an extra measure of restraint, Tobirama and the others prepared their counter-attack on the beast. When the beast attempted to launch another Tailed Beast Ball, Tobirama and the other Hokage kept the barrier intact, completely nullifying the attack, leaving the Ten-Tails as the only injured party. Tobirama then marvelled at the level of Sasuke's Blaze Release: Kagutsuchi noting that he had never seen one so powerful, and later commended Naruto and Sasuke's team-work, noting that a feat like that was not easy to pull off even for the most synchronised teams.
Tobirama's attention was later called to Obito's cries atop the Ten-Tails. Realising that Madara was using the young man as a medium to revive himself, Tobirama and his brother sprung into action to stop the Uchiha's plot. Creating two shadow clone which led Tobirama to lament that while maintaining the barrier, this was his limit in terms of clones. Rushing towards where Madara was, the original Tobirama was shocked to see Minato arrive atop the beast, and cut Obito down. As he looked on, he realised that Minato had actually created a shadow clone himself, and teleported to the enemy, leading Tobirama to wonder if Minato had marked the target already. Despite his injury, Obito still became the jinchūriki of the Ten-Tails, and was quickly confronted by Tobirama, Hashirama, and Hiruzen. As the three Hokage discussed the situation, noting that Obito was now more powerful than them in any case, the young Uchiha quickly dispatched Hashirama and Tobirama with ease, destroying large portions of their bodies.
Instructing Hiruzen and Minato to get out of range, it was revealed that Tobirama was able to react to Obito's attack, and subsequently plastered him with explosive tags — impressing Minato with his speed. Calling out to his brother who also prepared to act, Tobirama detonated the explosive tags giving Hashirama the opportunity to bind Obito. Noting that as the creator of the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique, he had also created the unique fighting style which accompanied it. After piercing his chest with his own hand, he threw out a myriad of paper which turned into explosive tags and attached themselves to Obito. These tags would keep summoning more and more tags, thus drowning Obito in explosions and destroying his own body in the process. However, the mysterious substance which the young Uchiha had formed, protected him from the explosions.
Regenerating in time, Tobirama sent a clone of himself to deflect Obito's expanding orb. Grabbing onto the orb, Tobirama teleported himself to Obito where he noted that he would be returning this to him. As the technique expanded some distance away from his allies, the real Tobirama appeared informing them that it was a clone that he had just sent to the location revealing that during their previous confrontation he had also managed to mark the jinchūriki with his own technique formula. As an impressed Naruto exclaimed that Tobirama could copy his father's technique, Tobirama corrected him, noting that the Fourth was the one who was emulating him and reprimanded Naruto for addressing him in such a disrespectful manner. As the two young men rushed forward to attack Obito, Tobirama called Minato to action noting that if they used clones it would slow the Flying Thunder God Technique to which Minato noted that with their immortal bodies it didn't matter. As both men mark each other with their respective seals, they sprung into action; Tobirama teleported himself behind Obito while Minato teleported himself in front of Naruto and Sasuke's attack. Using the moment Obito was distracted, Tobirama and Minato activate the Mutually Instantaneous Revolving Technique to switch places, causing Obito's body to be engulfed in the flames of the attack.
Initially believing the attack to have damaged Obito since the orbs were not able to react in time to defend the Uchiha, Tobirama — who had teleported to Minato's side — was shocked to see Obito emerge from the flames unscathed. As he observed Minato, he noted that it was odd that the Fourth's arm had not yet regenerated from such a minor injury leading him to deduce that Obito was also using Yin–Yang to nullify their ninjutsu. Sharing this with Minato, he urged the Fourth to be more careful from that point forward. After chiding both Minato and Naruto for acting without thinking, Tobirama later looked on in shock as Gamakichi attacked Obito with the Starch Syrup Gun technique before disappearing. Watching as Obito deflected the attack, and Naruto later prepared one, with realisation dawning on him, Tobirama teleported Naruto to Obito's location where the young man sent the Rasengan crashing into Obito, Tobirama noted that it appeared that senjutsu was effective against Obito's new form as Gamakichi's attack had demonstrated.
Retreating to their comrade's side after the attack landed, Tobirama noted that since the attack had connected physically with Obito, that he had no way of negating the attack. While the others conversed Tobirama mused to himself, that Naruto's ability to cooperate instantly with his Flying Thunder God Technique and use of senjutsu reminded him greatly of his own time fighting alongside his own brother. When Obito erected an enormous tree which in turn produced four Tailed Beast Balls, Tobirama noted that best case scenario, he and Minato could only teleport two of the balls leaving the Alliance still in danger. Calling out to his brother who was still locked in battle with Madara, they find themselves trapped within a barrier. Asking Minato if he would be able to manage teleporting two of the balls outside the limit of the barrier, the Fourth responds that in his current condition, he would not be able to achieve this, but noted there was another way, with this, Tobirama watched on as the father-son duo bumped fists and prepared to launch a counter-attack.
Watching on as the father-son duo prepared their counter-measure, and the Alliance is teleported outside the barrier erected by Obito before the Tailed Beast Balls could explode, Tobirama lauded Minato for saving them yet again. He later explained the concept behind what Naruto and Minato had done, likening it to the link a Shadow Clone Technique user has to its clones and Naruto's chakra acting as a proxy for Minato to teleport everyone. Tobirama was later exasperated at the fact that Naruto who had come up with this strategy was stumped by the Second's explanation and later exclaimed when Naruto commented that he knew a lot about shadow clones, noting that he had created the technique after all.
As Naruto entered the Tailed Beast Mode and prepared to attack Obito with renewed vigour, Tobirama reminded him that only senjutsu-based attacks were effective against Obito, leading the Second to confirm that Naruto was an even bigger idiot than his own brother. When Naruto later reassessed his strategy and the father-son duo both do Tailed Beast Mode mantles and form a giant senjutsu-enhanced Rasengan, Tobirama teleported them to where Obito was, but the jinchūriki anticipated the attack and was able to deflect it. Noting that their Flying Thunder God Technique might have become anticipated, Tobirama later commended Naruto when he formed a senjutsu-infused Tailed Beast Ball as a counter-measure, commeting that Naruto may become a better Hokage than even his brother. Tobirama and the others soon found themselves face-to-face with the Ten-Tails once again as Obito prepared to continue the Eye of the Moon Plan.
As the beast warps into a giant tree, the roots of which begin grabbing the shinobi and absorbing their chakra, Tobirama uses the Water Release: Water Severing Wave to tear through the branches to save Naruto from its clutches, but Tobirama noted that despite being able to sense Naruto's location, it was futile as he was not able to stop the branches from regenerating. Asking Minato if he was able to teleport to Naruto's aid, the Fourth noted that his chakra levels were too depleted to do so, Tobirama looks on as Hiruzen appeared and is able to locate Naruto and extract him. Grabbing onto his student and his successor, Tobirama teleported them some distance away where they watched on as the giant tree began to open. As Naruto and Sasuke leaped into battle once again, Tobirama noted not only how Sasuke's potential was comparable to that of Madara but how similar Naruto was to his brother were as well. As Hashirama broadcast his own memories via the Mind Body Transmission Technique, Tobirama looked on solemnly as his brother rallied the Alliance to fight. He later quietly watched the proceedings as the Kage arrived on the battlefield and smiled as Shikamaru said he would fulfil a role with Naruto similar to the one Tobirama had with his brother. As the forces mobilised once again to get on the offensive, Tobirama requested that Minato lend him the connection he had with Naruto's chakra to aid the shinobi on the battlefield. While he noted he would not be able to transport the whole shinobi Alliance at once, Tobirama was able to teleport the shinobi on the battlefield out of harm's way. As he alerted them all about what he would do, he charged them to fight without reservation.
Infinite Tsukuyomi Arc
After Madara succeeded in resurrecting himself, and resealing the nine tailed beasts within the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Tobirama assaulted Madara while his guard was down from gloating. Though he initially outmanoeuvred the Uchiha, the latter ultimately was able to impale Tobirama with multiple chakra receivers, immobilising him.
As the two voiced their contempt for one another, Tobirama noted that he was nothing more than a walking corpse so the retribution Madara sought for him killing Izuna was pointless. Tobirama managed to create an opening for Sasuke to attack him from above. Madara, however, immobilised Sasuke and stabbed him through the chest with his own sword, despite Tobirama's pleas. As he cursed Madara, Tobirama desperately tried to move to aid Sasuke. Realising, however, that it was futile he attempted to forgo his body and tried to move his soul with his kinjutsu instead. As he soon realised that this was a fruitless effort, the Second laid in fear that he might already be too late as he could no longer sense Sasuke's chakra. With the situation looking dire, Sasuke was approached by a barefooted individual whom the still-immobile Tobirama did not recognise. The man turned out to be Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's former right-hand man. Having recently had a change of heart in this war, Kabuto desired to make up for his mistakes. Following Tobirama's instructions, Kabuto was able to begin treating Sasuke.
When the young Uchiha was revived and able to freely remove the chakra blades from his body, Tobirama noted that something more must have happened to him while he laid there on the brink of death. Informing him that he could indeed use his Flying Thunder God Technique and had even linked his own seal to Minato's, Tobirama advised him that in his current state he could only transport one person. As Sasuke opted to go alone, the Second teleports him to the kunai Naruto had taken with him to face Madara.
Noticing the change in those around him, Tobirama realised that Madara had cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. As he looked on, Tobirama wondered why it had no effect on the reincarnated shinobi. Sensing the powerful chakra that was now consuming the battlefield, Tobirama mobilised to where it was originating, noting that he would be able to decipher the situation once he got there.
As the Second person to hold the title of Hokage, Tobirama noted that his role was to sustain society during the period of time where persons who initially belonged only to clans and thought of only the well-being of their own kinsmen, had to start thinking collectively of the village as a whole instead of just their own interests. Because of this, he had to keep an eye on clans that posed a threat to the village, such as the Uchiha amongst others.[22] He was known for building Konoha's infrastructure and revolutionising the ninja system on a whole by establishing organisations such as the Academy, and Anbu: institutions and organisations adopted by most if not all of the Five Great Shinobi Countries as well as smaller ones. He also believed greatly in the Will of Fire and putting the good of the village above all else as well as gaining stability within the village, beliefs which he passed on to the next generation.
Tobirama also set up the Konoha Military Police Force and assigned the Uchiha to it as a sign of trust. He in fact knew how unwieldy the Uchiha's emotions were and sought to have them focus their efforts of a single, constant goal all the while protecting the village as well. This, however, actually contributed to the Uchiha's demise as some came to see it as a means to ostracise them from the rest of the village and its governance and eventually led to the Uchiha Clan Massacre. Tobirama was also responsible for the creation of several powerful techniques such as the Shadow Clone Technique, the Flying Thunder God Technique, the Summoning: Impure World Reincarnation technique, which was used in initially by Orochimaru in his quest to destroy Konoha and Kabuto Yakushi's attempt to fuel the Fourth Shinobi World War. Inadvertently, however, this had the reciprocal effect of having the dead make amends for the wrong they did during their life, the Fourth Kazekage and his son Gaara being prime examples. Orochimaru was also able to reincarnate the three other previous Hokage to participate in the Fourth Shinobi World War, providing invaluable support and also helping Sasuke Uchiha escape the Curse of Hatred. On a whole, Tobirama is still revered as an extraordinary shinobi, and trail-blazing Hokage who made invaluable contributions to the shinobi world.
Video Games
Tobirama Senju is a playable character in the following video games:
|Game name
|Japanese release
|English release
|Naruto Shippūden: Ninja Destiny 2
|24 April 2008
|15 September 2009
|Naruto Shippūden: Ninja Destiny 3
|28 April 2009
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 4
|5 April 2007
|24 March 2009
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja 5
|20 December 2007
|27 November 2009
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing
|14 July 2016
|24 August 2016
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3
|18 April 2013
|5 March 2013
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4
|4 February 2016
|9 February 2016
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations
|23 February 2012
|13 March 2012
|Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution
|11 September 2014
|16 September 2014
|Naruto x Boruto: Ninja Voltage
|22 November 2017
|22 November 2017
|Naruto: Shinobi Collection
|Naruto: Shinobi Collection Shippū Ranbu
|27 July 2015
|Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 3
|22 December 2005
|25 March 2008
|Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Online
|14 April 2013
|20 July 2015
- 'Tobirama' (扉間) means 'the space between two doors'. 'Doors' (扉, tobira) are seen as the access to progress and improvement which alludes to his role as the Hokage that built up Konoha's infrastructure. '扉' is also used to refer to title pages, tying in with the Hokage title, as a Hokage is as representative for the village as the title page is for a book.
- Tobirama, along with Hashirama, Minato, and the Konoha symbol, had his face appear in the ending omake of Shippūden episode 129 within the fireworks.
- According to the databook(s):
- His favourite words were "Mind – technique – body" (心・技・体, Shin – gi – tai).
- In many of the games they are present in, Hashirama Senju and Tobirama Senju bear each others respective English voice actors, with Hashirama being voiced by Peter Lurie, and Tobirama being voiced by Jamieson Price.
- In the English version of Naruto Part I Hashirama is voice by Jamieson Price and Tobirama is voice by Peter Lurie, but in the English version of Naruto: Shippūden Hashirama is voice by Peter Lurie and Tobirama by Jamieson Price.
- Tobirama had the habit of folding his arms — a trait he's had since his youth.[97][98][99]
- (To Hashirama and Itama) "Grown-ups are idiots. If they really want to bring an end to this endless fighting, they need to sit down with one another and reach a truce…"[5]
- (To Hiruzen) "Listen Saru. Guide the people, and believe in them, for it's from among them that one will come who will carry on when your time is done."[100]
- (To Danzō and Hiruzen) "I will be the decoy… you are the bright young flames who must protect the village. Danzō, you and Saru have always been rivals in everything… But what we need now is unity. Don't bring your personal squabbles into this. It's true I was slow with my decision. First you must look within and know yourself without losing your calm. Right now you will just bring danger upon your friends. At any rate… Danzō… Saru… there's no need to be hasty at your age. One day the time will come. Just stay alive… until then."[48]
- (To Hiruzen) "Saru, you must protect those who have faith in you and who love the village, and train up to those to whom you can entrust the next generation… from tomorrow, you will be the Hokage…!"[101]
- (To Sasuke) "My brother believed that the village was something that demolish the boundaries between clans. Well in the end it wasn't that simple… My brother was too soft… and Madara too dangerous… My role as Second Hokage was to mediate between them while protecting and reinforcing the village."[22]
- ↑ First Databook, page 116
- ↑ Second Databook, page 142
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Third Databook, page 162
- ↑ Fourth Databook, pages 168-169
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Naruto chapter 622, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 622
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, pages 11, 16-17
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Naruto chapter 624
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, page 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, pages 1-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 648, pages 6-11
- ↑ First Databook, page 116
- ↑ Naruto chapter 399, pages 12-13
- ↑ Naruto chapter 527, pages 4-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 122, page 16
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Naruto chapter 481, pages 4-10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, page 20
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, page 5
- ↑ naruto chapter 481, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 481, pages 9-10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 7, 10
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Naruto chapter 627, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 5-6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, pages 6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 648, pages 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, pages 4-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, pages 15-16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625 page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 10-17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, pages 6-7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, page 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, pages 3-4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 625, page 19
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 16
- ↑ Naruto chapter 631, pages 4-5, 8
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 Naruto chapter 639, page 3
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, pages 7-8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, pages 14-15
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Naruto chapter 644, page 14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, pages 16-17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 622, pages 8-9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 118, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 7
- ↑ 46.0 46.1 Naruto chapter 661, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 12
- ↑ 48.0 48.1 Naruto chapter 481, page 8
- ↑ Naruto chapter 118, page 3
- ↑ 50.0 50.1 Naruto chapter 120, page 10
- ↑ Naruto episode 69
- ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 52.3 Naruto episode 71
- ↑ 53.0 53.1 Naruto chapter 620, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 642, page 14-15
- ↑ Naruto chapter 624, page 15
- ↑ 57.0 57.1 Naruto chapter 620, page 11
- ↑ 58.0 58.1 Naruto chapter 645, pages 8-11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 637, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 646, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, page 2-4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 481, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, page 8
- ↑ 64.0 64.1 Naruto chapter 627, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 623, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 663, page 7
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, page 9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 639, pages 3-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, pages 1-3
- ↑ 72.0 72.1 Naruto chapter 641, page 3
- ↑ Naruto chapter 521, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 561, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 521, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 118, page 5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 525, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 526, page 17
- ↑ Naruto chapter 561, page 2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 639, pages 3-4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 631, pages 8-9
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, pages 2-5
- ↑ Naruto chapter 646, page 14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 120, page 4
- ↑ Naruto chapter 627, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 502, page 12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 650, pages 5-6
- ↑ Naruto chapter 673, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, pages 1-2
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, page 11
- ↑ Naruto chapter 641, page 14-15
- ↑ Naruto episode 105
- ↑ Naruto chapter 649, page 10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 661, pages 15-16
- ↑ Naruto episode 72
- ↑ Naruto chapter 123, pages 11-12
- ↑ Naruto chapter 619, pages 5-20
- ↑ Naruto chapter 620, pages 1-10
- ↑ Naruto chapter 622, page 14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 123, page 14
- ↑ Naruto chapter 481, page 9


text:
Despite the bluster, aggressive regional stance and shiny new armaments, China isn't necessarily a potential foe to fear.
In fact, if all hell breaks loose, it's more likely to happen within the PLA ranks itself than, say, the South China Sea, according to an excellent investigative report by John Garnaut in Foreign Policy, which describes how corruption is rotting the PLA from within. Selected excerpts:
"No country can defeat China," but "our own corruption can destroy us and cause our armed forces to be defeated without fighting," said Gen. Liu Yuan. [Liu is a full three-star general, the son of a former president of China and one of the PLA's rising stars. He is also the political commissar and the most powerful official of the PLA's General Logistics Department.]
[Liu] described the army as beset by a disease of "malignant individualism" where officers follow only orders that suit them, advance on the strength of their connections, and openly sell their services at "clearly marked prices."
In some ways, [graft is] hiding in plain sight. Outsiders can glimpse the enormous flow of military bribes and favors in luxury cars with military license plates on Changan Avenue, Beijing's main east-west thoroughfare, and parked around upmarket night clubs near the Workers' Stadium.
Retired officers have told me that promotions have become so valuable that it has become routine to pay the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes to even be considered for many senior positions.
Foreign government strategists are starting to worry that corruption and byzantine internal politics may amplify the known difficulties in communicating with the PLA and adroitly managing crisis situations.
Despite the risks inherent in China's growing arsenal, expanding ambitions and spasmodically aggressive rhetoric and actions, military cooperation between the United States and China is almost nonexistent.
Military corruption is a more "imminent" threat to the PLA than the U.S. armed forces, said Zhu Feng, a professor of international relations at Peking University.
Garnaut notes that all Chinese observers interviewed for his article "agreed that the PLA's corruption and discipline problems are growing worse."
The PLA's problem is so prevalent that President Hu Jintao, its commander-in-chief, publicly urged the military to rid itself of graft.
Respected China watcher Bill Bishop remarked that "PLA corruption is probably a good thing for the US and its allies on several levels, from lower force readiness to procurement of defective weapons systems (think high speed rail problems) to exploitable, corrupt officers."
Read John Garnaut's report in full here.
This post originally appeared at Forbes. Follow me on Twitter.
Related posts:
Ray Kwong is senior advisor to the USC US-China Institute, a charter member of the Asian International Business Advisory Group, a Forbes contributing writer and columnist for the Hong Kong Economic Journal. He is currently facilitating talks between China and U.S. interests on such matters as clean energy economics, nanotechnology and commercial aerospace. While it sounds way cooler than it really is, he is also a member of the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Market Advisory Board and the McKinsey Quarterly Executive Panel. You can follow him on Twitter @raykwong. Eyeball Ray's posts from Forbes ChinaTalk.
Ray Kwong has 17 post(s) on Asia Security Watch

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Picturesque on its perch above the Teifi Gorge, Cilgerran Castle is so dramatic that it was sought out by the celebrated artists Wilson and Turner to preserve its image for posterity.
Although its origins are somewhat obscure, it is believed to have been built by the Normans in the 12th century and has had a chequered history. Some historians say it was built by Roger de Montgomery, others that Gilbert, Earl of Clare, was the builder and others that it was the work of Gerald of Windsor.
Together with Cardigan Castle it was captured in 1165 by the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth, lost to William Marshall, the First Earl of Pembroke, in 1204, recaptured by Prince Llywellyn the Great in 1215, and finally, with Cardigan, was repossessed by William Marshall 11 in 1223. Its history is a chronical of siege, destruction and repair. It was attacked on numerous occasions and repulsed two sieges, one in 1166 when the Lord Rhys resisted a combined force of Normans and Flemings.
Its strategic position and strong defensive properties evidently made it a very desirable fortress. Pevsner states that the present castle is mainly of 13th century construction, its renovation the work of three successive Marshal brothers, William, Gilbert and Walter, and was regarded both architecturally and politically as an adjunct of their mighty castle at Pembroke.
Pembroke-born Henry Tudor, after his victory at Bosworth, rewarded the Merioneth nobleman William Vaughan for his support in defeating Richard 111 in 1485, by making him custodian of Cilgerran. His grandson, Rhys Vaughan, built a mansion a mile south of the castle, called Glandyfan.
Between its massive round towers, the curtain wall survives almost to its original height, but slate quarrying in the 1860s caused the collapse into the gorge of part of the outer ward curtain wall. The base of an old limekiln survives just inside the inner gatehouse. Was the lime used as a weapon to be dropped into the eyes of invading enemies?
The gorge beneath the castle walls has become quite a tourist attraction in recent years with coracle annual races, the contestants manouevering their rudimentary boats, hand-made with willow laths covered with canvas and waterproofed with pitch. There is great rivalry between the Towy coraclemen of Carmarthen, and the Teifi coraclemen of Cardigan and Cenarth . Just over a mile to the north-west of Cilgerran is a modern visitor attraction, the Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales's Welsh Wildlife Centre with its iconic curved, glass-roofed education and wildlife information building overlooking the Teifi Marshes. Nature trails take visitors on guided tours of the reserve, seeing the marsh birds and water buffalo, introduced to help maintain the marshes by grazing, and possibly catching a glimpse of the otters that thrive there. There is a large wicker sculpture, a willow maze and adventure playground for the children and, attached to the Centre building an elevated wooden tower, The Osprey Platform, commanding a birds-eye view of the marshes.


text:
New Zealand
Originally Posted by SJS
I dont see a single person here (correct me if wrong) who is not of Indian origin. So thats not just soothsaying
GeraintIsMyHero is he of indian origin ????
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
RIP Craigos
Originally Posted by biased indian
GeraintIsMyHero is he of indian origin ????
no he isn't
CRICKET is amazing!
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text:
SEARCHERS (photomorph) & LONG STRANGE TRIP (dreamku w/tanka) by Roswila
the aliens' eyes
shine a gelid pale gold
their limbs, pseudopods
why did my family
trick me onto this spaceship
with cavernous halls
and why this email from Mother
that there's nothing wrong at all
[re-posting of a dreamku and tanka on a dream of 7-11-11. Comment excerpted from the previous posting: ... "A line from a song -- 'Lately it occurs to me: What a long, strange trip it's been' came up on recalling this little dream. (The song is "Truckin'" by the Grateful Dead.) So that's embedded in the title and may actually be a big part of the point of the dream." What can I say? That title still pretty much says it all, these almost 4 years later. Especially after the dream I had last night. Don't feel like writing about it, but I will at least say my woman friend and I stood up to the situation, rescuing another woman who was being attacked by a man. Photomorph "Searchers" (3-2-15 10998v2) by Roswila]
But first, a request: please let me know of any typos or other sorts of blunders in my posts. As my eyes age I'm finding more mistakes are creeping into what I put up here no matter how many times I proof it all. Thanks for any help!
The dream-based poems posted on this blog -- dreamku, tanka, two-liners, monoku, free verse, dream narratives -- are offered in the spirit of collaboration. I have done my part. Now it's your turn to jump in and see what comes up for you. I.e., there is no right or wrong way to relate to any of these dream offerings. Even my own understandings of them change over time. And it gives me joy when a reader sees something in any of them that I have not. (This all applies to any of the non-dream poems posted here, too.)
Also please note that a dream poem or narrative is not intended as an interpretation of a dream, or even a complete and accurate rendering of one. It is my attempt to get down dream imagery/action that grabs me and, as I write about it, elicits my conscious written association and response. Nor do I believe that one has to remember dreams in order for them to do their work. In my understanding, we are much more than our conscious selves.
You may also note in any further reading on dreamku (the specific forms of dreamku, tanka, two-liners and monoku) you may do here, that in the beginning I stressed "showing, not telling." However, this has been changing for some time. I now tend to "show" (the dream story) and cap if off with a "tell" (some reaction and/or insight I've had to the dream as I was writing about it). This also pretty much applies to my free verse dream poems as well. As to what I have begun calling dream narratives, they are a different animal, probably most akin to prose poems.
For more in-depth exploration of the dreamku forms specifically and one post in which I also address my photo choices:
-- very brief comparison of dreamku and haiku: DREAMKU ARE NOT HAIKU
-- a brief post about both dreamku and my photos THE AREN'TS OF DREAMKU & ACCOMPANYING DIGITAL PHOTOS.
-- detailed three-part post about dreamku: "A DREAMKU PRIMER: Writing Haiku-Like Poems About Your Night Dreams": PART ONE: Introduction & Writing Dreamku as Dream Work; PART TWO: Elements of the Haiku Form Used in Dreamku; and PART THREE: How to Write Dreamku (the second and third parts have some overlap).
-- a short up-dating post about the three-part "A DREAMKU PRIMER" -- Important Up-date to A DREAMKU PRIMER....".
If you wish to copy or use any of my writing or poems, please email me for permission (under "View my complete profile"). Roswila's connections & other blogs: Charter Member of the United Haiku and Tanka Society (UHTS); ROSWILA'S TAROT GALLERY & JOURNAL; ROSWILA'S TAIGA TAROT; and TRYING TO HOLD A BOX OF LIGHT.


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Search News
IDB Partners with Bahamas to Launch New Oil Hedging Solution For BPL
July 15, 2020
The Inter-American Development Bank has partnered with The Bahamas for a new oil hedging instrument to protect government budget and better manage financial risks in uncertain times. The agreement will secure an affordable crude oil coverage solution during times of low prices for the government's Bahamas Power and Light electricity company. This is the first time the IDB and Bahamas are using such an instrument. It will better position the country against abrupt oil price movements and offers protection against increases in electricity costs over the next 18 months.
The IDB & The GovLab launch Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus
July 07, 2020
The Smarter Crowdsourcing initiative brings together a network of public leaders and global experts to address the challenges of managing a pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brooklyn, NY – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) together with The Governance Lab (The GovLab) at New York University Tandon School of Engineering, today launched "Smarter Crowdsourcing in the Age of Coronavirus." This rapid policy advising initiative convenes pu
IDB study explores tech opportunities for the Central American economy
June 12, 2020
Areas of study are greater efficiency in spending and public services, the tax-raising potential of the digital economy, and maximizing the benefits of remittances Using technology can help in major economic sectors hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as remittances and public finances. As remittances decline, technology applied to international money transfers can generate efficiencies that help maximize the amount of money reaching recipients.
Latin America and Caribbean: Tax revenue under threat amid deteriorating regional outlook
May 07, 2020
Tax revenues in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) increased to 23.1% of GDP on average in 2018, according to the new edition of Revenue Statistics in Latin America in the Caribbean published today. However, these gains are now under threat as a result of the region's deteriorating fiscal outlook, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic crisis.
IDB Group announces priority support areas for countries affected by COVID-19
March 26, 2020
The Group will finance a response to the public health emergency; safety nets for vulnerable populations; economic productivity and employment; and fiscal policies to ameliorate economic impacts. The Inter-American Development Bank and IDB Invest have outlined their focus for deploying the financial and technical resources made available to borrowing member countries and companies to address the crisis created by COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
IDB-OECD study calls for better governance, integrity in Latin America and Caribbean
March 18, 2020
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) need to strengthen governance and integrity mechanisms to improve the quality and implementation of public policies, reduce corruption and increase public trust in government, according to the third edition of Government at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020.
IDB seeks to renew Central America development agenda for the next decade
February 20, 2020
The 34th meeting of governors of Central American and the Dominican Republic, to be held in El Salvador, will debate the region's new development challenges and how to address them Governors of Inter-American Development Bank member countries from Central America and the Dominican Republic will gather February 21-22 in San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, for their 34th annual meeting to address the challenges that the region faces in this new decade.
Brazil will contribute to the fiscal sustainability of the State of Bahia
January 30, 2020
IDB loan for $40 million will modernize fiscal management, tax administration and public expenditure management The State of Bahia in Brazil will contribute to fiscal sustainability with the management of public and tax expenditures with a loan of $40 million approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
State of Rio Grande do Sul will strengthen the scope of fiscal balance with IDB support
December 19, 2019
A $60 million loan will contribute to the control of expenditure and the modernization of the State tax administration Brazil will strengthen the recovery of the fiscal balance of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, through the control of public spending and the modernization of the tax administration with a loan of $60 million approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Brazil will modernize fiscal management in the State of Paraná with IDB support
December 17, 2019
A $50 million loan will contribute to greater fiscal sustainability with better service provision, lower costs for tax compliance and data for public management and transparency of public accounts Brazil will contribute to the fiscal management of the State of Paraná through its modernization, the improvement of the tax administration and the control of public spending with a $50 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).


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The April 2010 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Esther of The Lilac Kitchen. She challenged everyone to make a traditional British pudding using, if possible, a very traditional British ingredient: suet. The alternative was a proper steamed sponge pudding which I was excited about trying – it brought back memories of my mum's steamed puddings when I was little…
"Circumstances beyond my control" have prevented me from completing this month's Daring Bakers' challenge according to the recipes provided. I did want to participate though and had the brilliant idea to introduce Les Petits Chefs to the Daring Bakers by way of this challenge and Jamie Oliver's recipe for quick steamed microwave pudding cakes. Steaming a pudding in a microwave with 9 year old boys – that's a Daring Baker wouldn't you agree??? 😉
The boys have been asking for a "sweet treat" so I figured this would be perfect and a great recipe for them to learn, if it works out, as it appears so easy yet looks much more involved than it really is!
We had a blast with this recipe, even washing the pudding cups was fun:
The boys also enjoyed buttering the cups:
And a particular highlight was squeezing the oranges (and eating the pulp):
We had a LOT of fun with the golden syrup:
And a highlight was definitely tapping bashing the pudding mixture down:
Then there was MUCH excitement when we checked on the puds in the microwave and saw this:
(even I was excited – I was totally expecting this to be the "not everything always works out" lesson for the boys)
And we created some very strange creatures indeed:
We ran out of time to warm extra golden syrup and pour it over and to tell you the truth, the boys were very happy with their creations as they were.. That's the only time we veered from the recipe below.
Jamie Oliver's Quick Steamed Microwave Pudding Cakes
Butter for greasing ramekins
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour sifted
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter (melted)
1 level teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 large eggs, preferably free-range or organic
2/3 cup milk
11 tablespoons Golden Syrup
Crème fraîche or custard, to serve
To prepare your dishes
Grease the insides of 6 little microwaveable dishes, or 6-ounce ramekins with butter until well coated.
Tip all the ingredients (except the golden syrup and the crème fraîche or custard)into a bowl
Add 1 tablespoon of the golden syrup and mix together with a wooden spoon until well combined.
Spoon 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup into the bottom of each ramekin and divide the cake batter between them.
To make your puddings
Tear or cut out 6 circles of parchment a little larger in size than the diameter of each ramekin, pressing down gently on the pudding mix.
Place all the dishes in the microwave and cook on medium (50% power) for 7 1/2 minutes, if using a 750W microwave (important – the microwave time will change if you decide to cook more or fewer puddings in one go, or is you have one with different wattage.
To serve your puddings
Warn 1/4 cup of golden syrup in a microwaveable jug for a few seconds. Turn the cakes out onto serving plates (simply put a plate upside down on top of each cake and turn it carefully).
Serve immediately, drizzling over some of the warmed syrup and eat with a dollop of crème fraîche or some custard.
Some tips:
1. Use a whisk (which I conveniently forgot at home) to make sure there are no flour lumps in the mixture – this was today's lesson. Some of the puds had a few floury pockets (however this did not stop anyone from eating them!)
2. Trust Jamie's timing for baking. I didn't think they were done at the end of 7.5 minutes so added an extra minute. Not necessary – they were just heading off in the "too dry" direction (again, not a deterrent for the boys in any way!)
3. These would be awesome with jam instead of golden syrup as well.
4. Don't "pooh pooh" this recipe because it's made in a microwave – they are pretty impressive and I love that they are individual sized – perfect for a spectacular dinner party dessert with hardly any prep!
SO impressed with the boys this week – think there could be a Daring Baker amongst them in the future!


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The Trimble Mobile GIS Developer Community is a program for business partners and software developers offering a rich and growing selection of developer tools and services, hosted within the Trimble Connected Community (TCC) portal.
The online Mobile GIS Developer Community site provides members with access to the software tools included in the Community, as well as documentation, a developer forum, knowledge base, and support resources.
Members of the Mobile GIS Developer Community pay an annual fee covering use of the toolkits and developer support and also pay variable runtime license fees depending on which Trimble software components they deploy to their customers.
Members of the Mobile GIS Developer Community have access to:
The Trimble® GPS Pathfinder® Field Toolkit—A software development kit (SDK) designed for the rapid development of standalone GPS-enabled applications for Win32 and Windows Mobile® platforms. Process and export data collected with developed applications to a range of GIS platforms using Trimble GPS Pathfinder Office software or Trimble GPS Analyst™ extension for Esri ArcGIS for Desktop software.
The Trimble® Positions™ toolkit—A software development kit (SDK) that lets developers harness the high performance of Trimble GeoExplorer® series handhelds within an enterprise GIS workflow. The toolkit is accompanied by Trimble Positions Desktop add-in, an add-in to Esri ArcGIS for Desktop software for postprocessing and validation of high-accuracy data collected using a Trimble Positions toolkit/ArcGIS for Windows Mobile SDK-based field application.
Join the Mobile GIS Developer Community
To become a member of the Mobile GIS Developer Community, interested parties should download and submit an application form:
Download Application Form: Trimble Mobile GIS Developer Community Application Form
Submit Completed Form: firstname.lastname@example.com
Membership of the community is subject to review by Trimble staff, and approval will depend on business, market, and strategic fit of the desired use of the development tools.
License Agreement: Trimble Mobile GIS Developer Community License Agreement - USA
License Agreement: Trimble Mobile GIS Developer Community License Agreement - International


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Barack Obama and The Party That Can't Lose
October 10, 2008
In the final stages of the presidential election, there is certainly no disputing that the national spotlight has shifted to Barack Obama rather than John McCain, whether rightfully so or not.
While listening to a Fox Radio broadcast, a republican strategist put out a bold analogy in a similarly bold topic, quoting:
The party that can't lose [Dem.] has nominated a candidate that can't win, and the party that can't win [Rep.] has nominated a candidate that can't lose.
Although the quote isn't exactly historically accurate (its very debatable), nor do I necessarily agree with what the man said, he certainly raises a very good point.
Although I am a (obviously non-racist) liberal Obama supporter who frankly doesn't care about his previous political involvements, I know for a fact that many other people don't share my views — whether they support Obama or McCain.
Several polls have shown that a great number of people are in fact concerned with Ayers and other people's involvement with Obama, mostly the people that the McCain campaign have hit on in their recent campaigning.
It is of course also debatable if those campaign tactics have in fact succeeded (maybe another post), but my main point here is to raise an even more subtle question: "Has Obama's background and not necessarily clear past kept the political race as close as it is?"
In my opinion the answer is yes.
The McCain campaign, in my view, is taking extremely long and (I'll quote Obama on this) "erratic" bounds as far as attacks, but it has worked to some extent with the general audience. As pointed out in a great post, McCain's attacks may have not convinced any talking head to intellectual blogger. But I disagree with the post it its claim that they has altogether failed.
But in the same sense, Obama is still a clear shot away from the White House, and this issue most likely would be far from relevant in that were to happen.
So instead I'll open up another (certainly way off track) concept to the commenters, which is further prompted by my original question: Has Obama's background and not necessarily clear past kept the political race as close as it is?
What if a non-scandalous John Edwards were in Obama's political place at the moment? Would the election be more of a landslide?
—- In my opinion, this would be completely irrelevant and false, mostly because I support Obama because of his policies rather than his past involvements. —
In a race unlike any other, politics have mixed with mainstream media, PR stunts and campaign tactics cannot be deciphered, and candidates are currently in a full-fledged ad war. First ladies have turned into public enemies, and lines have been drawn inside of political parties.
But the single, most plain asset in this political chaos that we call the 2008 presidential race is most certainly the element of surprise.
Partisan or non-partisan, liberal or conservative, we can all agree on one thing – Sarah Palin was a surprise. The little-known one term Alaskan governor has set political media to a standstill, hitting nerves on everyone, liberal, conservative, or independent. She has changed politics as we know it, stirring so many feelings that can't all be represented by just one writing.
So how can we take all of this in? The truth is, we can't. Which ever party you support, which every race and creed you are, you simply can't take in Palin without emotion.
And this is exactly what John McCain wanted.
He wanted this news frenzy. He wanted the blogging world, liberal and conservative to explode into opinion. He wanted chaos to erupt in the media world, (i.e. the OK! Magazine bias). He wanted people like me and you to think long and hard about this media bonanza — he wanted a diversion.
Understanding the importance of his vice presidential pick, McCain couldn't simply choose anyone. He needed to go out of the ordinary, not into the realm of his contenders, middle-aged white males who would be perceived just like they have for two-hundred years.
And no matter how unreliable, local or politically ripe Sarah Palin was, he knew she would create the second big bang. He knew that she would occupy every political blog, think tank, magazine, and newspaper. And finally, he knew that she would provide a wall between both parties, blacking out media solely focused on the Democrats.
Palin's experience is an issue, but McCain knew he could exploit this to the fullest, initiating a media strategy that could literately absorb any attack from the left.
And in a sense, this has succeeded, with help from Sarah Palin herself.
Her choosing for running mate has acted as a literal smoke bomb, creating only a small explosion, but then spreading over the entire mainstream media, sparking a spreading cloud of mist. Palin, acting as bait, has done all she has needed to do, unleashing attack speeches when needed and sparking controversy with her "troopergate" scandal as well as he pregnant daughter. The media then proceeded to take the bait, igniting a fire within itself and not running a story without the world "Palin" in it.
Meanwhile, Palin actually has stayed away from the media, ignoring any invitations for interviews on sit-down shows and political debate television as well.
Why? She doesn't need too.
Palin's one weakness is the one trait that you would assume a running mate would use to his/her advantage – politics. McCain knows that if Palin explodes back into the media, accepting interviews and arguing head-on with the liberal press, she will be beaten to her knees, and a coupe-de-grace will be imminent during her mandatory debate with opposing running mate Joe Biden.
And because of this, the future is more of an enemy to the conservatives than Barack Obama, and if the Democrats plan to exploit this, they must understand that for now, they have lost the battle of the present.
Palin's Speech — Politics (Not) As Usual
September 3, 2008
Sarah Palin came out of the dark in her breakout speech at tonight's Republican convention, removing any doubt that she was shy and unprepared — delivering (in my opinion) a speech more of attack than proposals, strike rather than progress. But then again, her speech, attack-dog or not, was something the Republican's desperately needed in an already-short handed convention.
So I give you two views, the first of a center left kid from Los Angeles, aged 13, and the second from a man high in the ranks at the moment, Senator John McCain.
My liberal point of view is somewhat centered around a quote from one of CNN's analysts, reading: "As a democrat, I am overjoyed with Sarah Palin running for Vice President, and as an American, I am horrified." The quote refers to the very strong concern across the political board that John McCain is older than most and has hasn't exactly spent his whole life in a comfortable Washington swivel chair, and if anything happened to him while in office, Sarah Palin cannot and (hopefully) will not be president of the United States, and leader of the free world.
And although I am far from agreement with the senator, I know him. And although he will not succeed in brining up our nation as much as Barack Obama can, I know what and how John McCain will carry out his presidency. And on the other hand, not only do I not know who Sarah Palin is, other than a hockey mom and mayor of an Alaskan town smaller than many Los Angeles public schools, I do not have a clue what she will want to do as the president of the United States.
And because of this, it is why she chooses to attack the democrats with such sure-mindedness and aggression that I feel threatened as an American to listen to a person who has a chance to be our next leader. And regardless of how taken out of context and misleading her accusations are, I can't turn on the television and see her talking that my head keeps ringing and flashing me forward to Sarah Palin's United States of America.
Now switch parties, and climb up the rickety latter of politics to the top of the beanstalk. Here you have John McCain, a patriot and lover of his country. And how sweet it is. Although his running mate is soaking up all the news and media, she has corralled all his fans and expanded his campaign's horizon to new future voters. His dream is starting to click together, and he knows it is only a matter of time until the election kicks off, and he once again will become the spotlight, and battle it out the good old way — in a debate with his opponent.
He loves that the democratic press is comparing his running mate with the opposing presidential candidate, and knows that the way forward may sometimes be staying steady and soaking up the news attention. Although his convention has been reduced from a party to a business-only event, McCain has made up for loss press with his flashy running mate, Sarah Palin. But again, he knows that when the time comes, he will take charge.
So with this campaign and its news buzz, both my view and McCain's have been shared, kept, and used for both attack and defense, but only the rest of the nation will decide which will represent and lead the United States.
Biden Is Welcomed To The Jungle
August 23, 2008
After glamorously introduced in Barack Obama's home state of Illinois, Joe Biden excitedly strolled up to the podium, addressing the thousands of screaming voices directed to him. And at the same time, across the United States, hundreds of thousands of McCain's loyal supporters banned together, gathering for another swipe at the Democrat's final campaign.
Its just another day in the world of politics, where bitter rivalries are settled by a public media death-match, and separate campaigns take whatever they can find and throw it into the fire. And this is precisely what is happening now on the web in both sides of the center, both officially and through amateur sources. JohnMcCain.com recently ran a section with pre-primary debate footage of Biden confirming that Obama was too inexperienced to be the president of the United States. This ad, which is now on a youtube thrill ride, has been both pushed on proudly by conservative bloggers and ripped up by liberal sources. It has been been debated on both sides the by the professionals and used by Obama's extreme opposition (the ever so questionable McCain-Clinton group) in every possible angle that somehow attacks the senator.
And with campaign news like this, an explosion of opinions and analyzation all over the world was in a sense expected.
In my opinion, Biden on Obama's ticket strikes many nerves. Politically, he is the best pick to support the candidate, with his impressive foreign policy insight and credentials, but at the same time he is the perfect person for conservative attack. Even though he is now on team Obama, his long line of gaffes and politically un-correct (whether taken out of context or not) comments will come back to haunt him, whether delivered by the press or by the opposing party.
But then again, that's just a part of politics, and in the end, it will be America's decision whether he is the overall best running mate for Obama, not McCain's.
Is John Edwards Finished? Let's let the Press Decide
August 9, 2008
In politics, anything can happen, but it relies on the press to take it as far as they want it. John Edwards has certainly caused a national stir after admitting an affair to filmmaker Rielle Hunter, 42, but is it really in our hands to decide his political fate? The press was certainly responsible for other downfalls of presidential hopefuls, including presidents themselves, and this is no exception. So what is going to happen?
In my opinion a blow like this could send him either to Kansas or Washington DC. If Barack Obama has any brains in his head, he'll think long and hard about the possibility of giving Edwards a campaign spot. Not that he wouldn't make good decisions, but it could be political suicide — especially during the aftermath of the Reverent Wright bonanza. The press could eat both of them up, and unless Obama has some sort of master escape route, then this could be a decision that won't favor Edwards. So I say that his role in this presidential outing is looking pretty grim.
But then again, things could make turn for the better. The press seems not to remember that John McCain, after spending years in captivity during the Vietnam War, blew off his old wife (who by the way was waiting the entire time for him) so he could run off with Cindy McCain, his current one. At that time he wasn't campaigning, so it was the perfect time for him to do something like that. And now that "the first door on the right" media seems to adore McCain, they just regard it officially as old news. This was a dodged bullet for McCain and he hasn't been pestered by it ever since.
So could Edwards pull off a McCain and get by it? Sadly, I don't think so. Although the left wing did like him, he still has this chip on his shoulder that no one can ignore. So there are two things he could do. First, he could wait it out, staying away from the media but when forced to comment on his affair, apologizing for it as he has done. This way he can get off the grid, and look at his chances furthermore. And anything can happen during that time. The luckiest he could get would be if the conservatives got some huge dirt on Obama and leaked. That way he could try to hitch a ride on Hillary's back, where he has more chances.
The best thing to do for him, in my opinion would be to try to pull a Bill Clinton. No, I'm not calling for him to deny the whole thing but to hold periodic press conferences and apologize profusely, doing everything from bringing in his wife to publicly slapping the girl he cheated on. The press would love it, and if everyone falls for it, he could bounce back.
The one thing he shouldn't do would be pointing out what McCain did back in Vietnam. It would first give the press an outlet to shove this whole thing back in his face, saying he's desperate and doesn't want to apologize like a third grader after stealing someone's toys. Although what McCain did was worse, this would be like signing his will and walking the plank. So that's what I think about this whole thing, hope you guys have some other ideas as well as opinions of you own.
Obama's Overseas Trip — Why It's Overhyped
July 24, 2008
With the media attention now accelerating because of Barack's Obama's trip overseas, again — the common perception now is that the media is biased towards Obama. But I think that the media is so vast that it is hard to correctly identify that it is biased…
Now as the election narrows down, and with only two fighters left in this presidential melee, news today is merely two subjects — Obama's trip and the so called "fact" the the press lean towards him. What is the truth? Well, to clarify this to myself, I wouldn't call the press one. In fact, it is divided into five totally different sections: Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, TV, and Internet. Calling a one of these organizations liberal or conservative is hard to do, for example: although CNN may have 4 Obama articles to one McCain story, its staff's blogging section may be overwhelmingly conservative. After the New Yorker controversy, a magazine that was thought to be liberal is now questioned, while in my mind they were just poking fun. On TV, reporters may belong to the conservative party, and have pro-McCain views, but report on stories about Obama's trip to the middle east. On the web, (what I think is the most opinionated source) where the candidates control their own ground, nothing is held back. Both Obama and McCain have set up camp with they own websites, and grown outward, each trying to conquer Youtube, Myspace, and Facebook. Although some of this has lured in otherwise non-voters, this task is almost impossible — there are so many users on these web powerhouses, that having an Obama or McCain section of the site is not going to effect anything — people are still going to post whatever the heck they want. So although I do think there are some West Wing news sources and some conservative news sources, it is virtually impossible to enter that realm and come out with a credible point.
Now with that said, I will get into what I think. This election has been like no other in terms of its candidates — with the first woman and first black president. Barriers have been broken, and the press has no doubt soaked it up. Hillary Clinton put this point very well many months ago when the Democrat side consisted of Obama, Clinton, and John Edwards. She pointed out that there are new candidates for America to ponder, herself as the first woman, Obama as the first african-american, and then — there's John Edwards. Her point was that the dominant figures in America have been rich, white men and now that this is starting to change, the bold new political figure won't exactly be bold and new anymore if it is a while male. And now with Obama against a white male, the public would love to know all about this different breed of politician that Obama is and the press has had a field day telling them all about it. Do I think this is right? No, I believe the person who deserves to lead the polls should have the right beliefs about America and not have the public be biased or have hatred against them by their race, gender or appearance. So the press might claim that they only write more about Obama because more people would like to know about him, but that isn't exactly true. America is in a dead heat in this race, leading into the convention. The percentages have been almost been equal, currently CNN says (not that I fully believe them) that Obama is winning the national polls 47% to 41% for McCain. Looking at the US map, McCain has secured many states and has many states leaning on him compared to Obama, who (like the average Democratic powerhouse) secures less states, but has control of the more populated ones.
So, since this is a perspective blog in many sorts, I will put my point across. What I believe is that some of the press is overwhelmingly left wing and some of the press is overwhelmingly conservative, but with so many news sources and perspectives to take in, it's very hard to accuse anyone of being partisan and be correct. I do believe Obama can get more press than McCain because he has broken many boundaries, and that is part of the reason for this post to be written. But another part of that is the press being a little more left wing than conservative.


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A Brooklyn Paper story indicates New York Waterway, the company that runs the East River Ferry, is in talks with the MTA to add ferry rides to the MetroCard. The ferry, which had its maiden voyage in June of last year, shuttles passengers from North Brooklyn and DUMBO to midtown Manhattan and Wall Street, making it a welcome change in hundreds of commuters' mornings. Though it will surely be a while before all the details are worked out (one way on the ferry is $4.00, as opposed to the MetroCard's $2.25 ride), transit advocates think the streamlined system would be a boon for the the MTA. Transportation Alternatives spokesman Michael Murphy is quoted as saying "There should be one transit card that people can use on the MTA, the ferries, the PATH, bike share, and commuter rail. A seamless public transportation experience would be a welcome development for New Yorkers and regional commuters." (Photo: Lulun Kame/Flickr)
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