FRANCE: Charles de Gaulle

Randy Black answers Christopher Jones' eulogy of de Gaulle as a superstatesman: "I can understand Mr. Jones’ adoration of Charles de Gaulle. He was an amazing man. But the most successful super statesman of the 20th century might be an overstatement. Let’s look at what he did as a French statesman. Following WWII, he entered politics. After achieving no success in transforming the French political scene in 1947, he quit. Following the French failures in Indochina and the constitutional crisis in Algeria, he was made premier and given emergency powers in 1958. Thus, he rewrote the French constitution and was elected President with 78% of the vote in 1958. Thus, as one of the founding members of the EEC, he was able to deny British entry into the EEC. (The mark of a great statesman?)

During this period he was forced to suppress riots by French national groups in Algeria when he argued that Algeria should be abandoned. He granted Algeria independence in 1962. Later in 1962, he again rewrote the French constitution so that he might be directly elected by the people. When the National Assembly censured him, de Gaulle dissolved the body and held new elections. His prime minister resigned in protest of de Gaulle’s position on Algeria. De Gaulle was, nevertheless, reelected. By 1965 de Gaulle was again elected premier, but only after a run off. Under his leadership and that administration, France suffered a severe economic recession. He continued to deny Britain entry into the EEC, he condemned the US over Vietnam (after the French were forced to surrender), condemned Israel over the Six Day War and withdrew France from NATO. Is this the mark of a great statesman?

On an official visit to Canada in 1967 to help the country celebrate 100 yeas of nationhood, de Gaulle insulted the entire Anglophone world when, in Montreal, before 100,000 Quebecers, he said, “Vive le Quebec Libre!” This blunder was a monumental one, and clearly interference in to another country’s private affairs. The Prime Minister of Canada cancelled the rest of de Gaulle’s visit and ordered him to leave Canada. Another example of a great, successful statesman?

By 1968, France suffered nationwide demonstrations and labor strikes. De Gaulle was forced to accept many reforms demanded by the proletariat. But he again dissolved parliament and held new elections instead. He was reelected in 1968 after offered the specter of a Communist revolution within France. Sound familiar? De Gaulle was finally forced to quit in 1969 after trying once again to transform the Senate into nothing more than an advisory body. Is this the mark of, as Mr. Jones claims, the most amazing and successful statesman of the 20th century? I will leave it to our fellow WAISers to decide. Personally, I believe that de Gaulle was a great, inspirational leader in exile during WWII. He managed France from the devastation of WWII into a modern age via his charisma, style and manner. That’s about it, though. Along the way, he managed to divorce France from NATO, Canada, the British, Israel. Whom have I forgotten?"

More on Moore

John Heelan comments on the article from The Austin Review (7/ 02/04), sent by Mike Sullivan, "Moore's Moronic Monstrosity" by Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City. "The louder the squeals of protest from the conservative Right and pro-Zionist lobbies, the more they confirm that Moore (like him or loathe him) has hit a raw nerve. [Similar to Charlton Heston's reaction to criticism of the NRA in "Bowling for Columbine"]. Has any independent scholar (not politician) analysed and disputed Moore's "facts"?

ISRAEL. THE WALL:

Bob Gard answers Bert Westbrook: "It's amazing to me to read the legal analysis of the World Court's opinion on the "wall," and not see any reference to the fact that the wall protrudes well into the west bank, territory conquered and colonized by Israel contrary to UN resolutions. Nobody would fault Israel for building a wall around its boundaries as defined by the UN in establishing the state of Israel -- it's the blatant grab of territory that is the issue".

ISRAEL. THE WALL:

Jon Kofas writes: "Christopher Jones is correct that the World Court's decision cannot be dismissed as anti-Semitism, but there are people who use that decision and UN decisions condemning specific policies of the government in Tel Aviv for anti-Semitic propaganda. Well-intentioned analysts view the Wall as having both positive and negative consequences for Israel, to say nothing of its detrimental impact on the Palestinians. 1. There is no doubt that the Wall will make it more difficult, but not impossible for Palestinians interested in carrying out attacks against Israel. 2. There is no doubt that the Wall as something tangible offers psychological protection to Israel and it plays to the conservatives who want Sharon to adopt a hard line without making any concessions on statehood and settlement evacuations to the Palestinians. 3. The Wall also becomes a political-military line of demarcation that can be negotiated in the future and used as leverage for U.S. and EU aid. These are positive elements from Israel's perspective.

On the down side, the wall simply confirms to the entire world that Israel and its U.S. patron have no intention of compromising. Second, it demonstrates that Israel intends to be a Zionist garrison state that unapologetically punishes Palestinians collectively, an issue (collective punishment) that the UN has condemned. Third, the wall places the U.S. in an even more defensive position than it has been regarding its lack of balance in the region, especially given Iran's protestations to the UN about Israel's nuclear weapons. Finally, the wall will not stop attacks on Israelis, the Arab states will be compelled to provide more aid for Palestinians, and Islamists will find creative ways to increase their activities against Israel and U.S. interests around the world. In short, there is no military solution for this problem, any more than for Iraq, or Afghanistan. Only collective (U.S. must be included) pressure on both sides to compromise will result in a constructive solution. The U.S. must demonstrate leadership on this significant issue, and I am sure that after exhausting all other options, it will do the right thing, to quote Winston Churchill. Just as Greek-Cypriots and Turkish-Cypriots have learned to co-exist and make progress together, regardless of what Mr. Jones thinks about progress on the island, similarly, Israel and the Palestinians can and I am certain they will in our lifetime find a way to coexist".

RH: Inshala, or in Spanish Ojalá. --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.672 / Virus Database: 434 - Release Date: 4/28/2004 -=x=- Skontrolované antivírovým programom NOD32

The collapse of the soviet Union

Christopher Jones writes: "I agree that the Soviet Union collapsed of its own weight. I noticed that when Ronald Reagan died, he suddenly "won the cold war" and "defeated the Soviet Union." This of course is as ridiculous as the Americans winning the Battle of Britain. Communism was overthrown because it lost touch with its power base: the workers. Reagan had nothing at all to do with it. Probably the two men who could be most credited with the downfall of the Communist empire in eastern Europe was Pope John Paul II and Lech Walesa".

Was Franklin D. Roosevelt of Jewish origin?.

Was Franklin D. Roosebelt of Jewish origin? Randy Black comments: "Nicholas' religion is unknown, but he WAS baptized.  Here, from genealogy.com, is what I found about Nicholas:
 101. Nicholas⁷ Roosevelt (Claes Martenszen⁸ Van Rosenvelt) was born Sep 1658. Nicholas died 30 Jul 1742 in New York, New York, New York, at 83 years of age. He married Heyltje Jans Kunst in New York, New York, New York, 26 Dec 1682. Heyltje was born in Albany, New York 24 Feb 1664. Heyltje was the daughter of Jan Barentsen Kunst and Jannetje Adriaens. Heyltje died aft 1730. He was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 2 Oct 1658. Religion: religion unknown. Nicholas Roosevelt and Heyltje Jans Kunst had the following children:
102 i. Jannetie⁶ Roosevelt was born bef 11 Nov 1683. She was baptized in Esopus, New York, 11 Nov 1683. Religion: religion unknown.
103 ii. Margaretta Roosevelt was born bef 11 Oct 1685. She was baptized in Esopus, New York, 11 Oct 1685. Religion: religion unknown.
104 iii. Nicholaes Roosevelt was born bef 28 Aug 1687. He was baptized in Esopus, New York, 28 Aug 1687. Religion: religion unknown. + 61 iv. Johannes Roosevelt was born bef 3 Mar 1689.
105 v. Elsie Roosevelt was born bef 1 Jan 1691. She was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 1 Jan 1691. Religion: religion unknown.
106 vi. Jacobus Roosevelt was born bef Feb 1692. He was baptized in New York, New York, New York, Feb 1692. Religion: religion unknown.
107 vii. Rachel Roosevelt was born bef 21 Mar 1693. Rachel died bef 1699. She was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 21 mar 1693. Religion: religion unknown.
108 viii. Sarah Roosevelt was born ca 1696. She was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 1696. Religion: religion unknown.
109 ix. Rachel Roosevelt was born bef 23 Apr 1699. She was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 23 Apr 1699. Religion: religion unknown.
110 x. Isaac Roosevelt was born bef 28 Feb 1701. He was baptized in New York, New York, New York, 28 Feb 1701. Religion: religion unknown.
Source: http://www.genealogy.com/famousfolks/theodore-roosevelt/d0/i0000072.htm?Welcome=1088177259

RH: Notice all those "religion unknown", Baptism meant very little. It was the correct thing to do socially.  This discussion is similar to that about the John Kerry family, which in Spanish terminology would be called vonversos.

ISRAEL:THE WALL

Bert Westbrook replies to Christopher Jones' posting on the condemnation by the International Court of Justice of Israel´'s building the notorious wall in Palestine territory: "First, this is not a "resolution condemning the action," but an ICJ legal decision. This is a legal, not political, statement. (This is a philosophically difficult, but institutionally presumed, distinction.) Immediately translating it into an explicitly political idiom misses much of the significance of the case, which is that it is a case, not just another GA resolution.

Second, Zionism is NOT the right way to read this. First, the U.S. traditionally has a judge on the court. Currently, it is Thomas Buergenthal, who has long been a very widely respected and tireless judge, advocate, and human rights scholar. He's also a very good lawyer. (I doubt he knows who I am, but I've met him a number of times over the years. Indeed, he first began teaching at my school, Buffalo). As a child, Buergenthal survived Auschwitz, but his dissenting opinion does not therefore represent Zionist domination of American politics. Even a cursory reading of his declaration [http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imwp/imwpframe.htm] indicates that he thinks much, perhaps all, of the wall is illegal.

Buergenthal's immediate point is that the factual record is unbalanced -- security concerns are legitimate under the Charter, and the Court was not in a position (due to the posture of the case, see below) to evaluate the security concerns and hence the legality of certain actions. Buergenthal thus raises classic problems of institutional competence. Could a court ever be in a position to evaluate defensive measures? The ICJ, the U.S. Supreme Court, and any indeed any court that would involve itself in such questions must ask itself: at what point in a political, especially military, situation can judicial process occur? The ICJ has some rather bitter experience with this, notably by being ignored in the Western Sahara Case, in which the Court declared Morocco's actions illegal. On the other hand, sometimes it makes more sense to speak -- even at the cost of being ignored -- than to remain silent. As Buergenthal also knows, and has done.

The Court ducks the immediate issue -- failure to consider self defense as a justification -- by simply declaring that Article 51 of the U.N. Charter (providing that a State has the right to defend itself) doesn't apply (para 139 of the Opinion). This is convenient for the Court -- the jurisprudence of Article 51 is so capacious that responsible scholars (sometimes including me) are arguing it means almost anything, and so nothing -- but unconvincing both textually and in light of the fact that Israel does suffer terrorist attacks, and is defending itself (bracketing, for the moment, questions of proportionality, means, and the like). Rephrased structurally, here again we see the tension between the UN system, built on certain assumptions about states and the nature of international politics, and modern warfare, which is conducted along different lines.

However, had the Court heard the case and done what Buergenthal appears to be urging, it would find itself in the position of making security policy in Palestine, something which it is simply not capable, intellectually or practically, of doing. Thus, in an effort to keep the issue "legal," and hence be able to render its advisory opinion, the Court made some rather sweeping and easily criticized generalizations about the situation. Most notably, the Court decides this as an issue of human rights law and certain universally applicable ("erge omnes") obligations which, the Court maintains by 14-1, Israel has violated. Ironically, Buergenthal's scholarship and renown and ultimately judgeship are based on his years of arguing for such universal human rights.

An alternative, which Buergenthal would have preferred, would be for the Court to recognize its limitations and refuse to give the General Assembly its opinion. There were available grounds for doing this, involving the relationship among the Court, the Security Council, and the General Assembly -- but denying the GA's request would raise constitutional/institutional issues quite apart from the merits of the case, probably by conceding more power to the Security Council, which would be problematic. More importantly for the merits and as already suggested, it is inappropriate for Courts to be too silent, even if they cannot always provide a practical remedy.

There is an old adage that hard cases make bad law. This may be one of those situations. And it bears remembering that the U.S. Constitution requires a "case or controversy," that is, judicial opinions be rendered in response to a legal dispute between parties (what the ICJ calls "contentious cases"). The statute of the ICJ, however, does not require a case or controversy, but allows for "advisory opinions." So, in the present case, there are no parties as such. The General Assembly has simply asked the ICJ "what is the law" -- and that is an invitation to speculation, overreaching . . . and loss of authority. Which makes Buergenthal justifiably anxious.

A separate opinion by Judge Rosalyn Higgings considers these questions of judicial discretion in some detail.

Both the Court and the General Assembly used the term "wall." From the press release: Before addressing the legal consequences of the construction of the wall (the term which the General Assembly has chosen to use and which is also used in the Opinion, since the other expressions sometimes employed are no more accurate if understood in the physical sense), the Court considers whether or not the construction of the wall is contrary to international law. WAISers interested in such things may sign up to receive ICJ press releases -- and directions to full documentation -- at the Court's site, www.icj-cij.org".

RH: The International Court of Justice has 15 members, all distinguished jurists. The fact that apart from Buergenthal the decision was unanimous is proof that he was very much in the minority, and he is viewed as an ex parte witness who should have recused himself. For better or far worse, what Christopher Jones wrote represents world opinion. As for the Western Sahara, why should the decision of the Court be described as a bitter experience? Most observers think it was right.

Columbus and DNA

DNA is being used to clarify historical problems. DNA tests are being performed on Columbus's bones at this time in Granada. The Discovery Channel should have this on TV around Columbus day 2004. There is an argument as to whether thr remains of Columbus are in Granada or Santo Domingo See www.unmaskingcolumbus.com DNA tests were performed to prove that Jefferson sired a number of children with black slaves. We have just celebrated the 200th anniversary of the duel in which Burr killed Hamilton. Blacks claim that Hamilton. who was born in the Caribbean out of wedlock, had Black blood, so that Blacks could boast of having one Founding Father. Since no documents support this claim, they are now demanding DNA tests,

ISRAEL:THE WALL! NO MORE BARBECUE SMOKE!!

ChristopherJones writes: "Thank God for lone Judge Buergenthal. His lone voice on the ICJ in favor of building walls on other people's property means that I will finally be able to put an end to summer after summer of intolerable barbecue odours and smoke emanating from my neighbor's garden. It is my right, (particularly as a born American, that land of the free and home of the brave) to protect my family against health hazards even if that means invading my neighbor's property. This is exactly what I will do: I shall muster a party of faithful workmen and climb over the garden wall. Once we have secured the site we will construct a "protective barrier" to deflect that barbecue smoke back into his garden. Smoke inhalation is dangerous and the cause of cancer -- it is legitimate self-defence for my family. I shall arm my workers and myself with pepper spray against counter-attack. Should the Gendarmerie arrive on the scene I will refer them to Judge Buergenthal's eminent decision and if legal help is needed, I shall ask Bert Westbrook to represent this case. If he refuses, I could ask Hillary Rodham Clinton to take the case".

Tattoos, bodypiercings, etc.

Christopher Jones a defender of European culture, ridiculed the US culture of tattoos and other manifestations of the punk lifestyle. From Spain, Hank Levin writes: "Just for the record, I have seen more pierced bodies and tattoos among the young in my extensive travels in France, Spain, Holland, and Germany (cities and smaller towns) than I have seen in New York City, San Francisco, or Palo Alto. I spent last week in Porto and these were less visible there. These are natives, not tourists. From what I have seen, the EU is ahead of the states in the numbers of piercings and tattoos". RH: In general, Europe as a great citadel of culture is a thing of the past. I keep meaning to write to Deutsche Welle expressing my dismay at the loss of Germany's cultural tradition evident in its programs. One obvious victim is the German language.

Another nail in the coffin of the free press?

John Heelan says: "El País reports that Serge Dassault, who own the aircraft manufacturer of the same name, has bought 82% of Le Figaro and some 70 other titles. Further he is negotiating a potential merger with TF1, the television group linked to Bouygues, a powerful business specialising in public works. Alarmed at this move, the French socialist parliamentary group pointed out that almost the written press and a good part of the radio and television could be in the hands of industrial groups specialising in armaments or public works, both of which living on State concessions". RH: The Pentagon's role in the movie industry, discussed in Operation Hollywood, is influencing American public opinion in ways it does not understand. Has there been a study of the influence of Berlusconi's media empire on Italian public opinion and policy?

http://www.unco.edu/petition.html

From Paria David Pike sent me a petition asking the US government not to cut funding for public broadcasting. Now I receive this: "In 1995 two well-meaning but misguided students at the University of North Carolina started an email petition regarding pending legislation that would affect the funding for PBS and NPR. They didn't mean to open a can of worms, but they did. The petition is still circulating on the Internet". RH: I don't know what all this involves. I give up,

ASSOCIATIONS USA

Omnigraphics of Detroit, Michigan does a remarkable job of publishing directories, of which the best known is Headquarters: USA. a two volume directory giving essential information about the headquarters of the major businesses and organizations in the United States and Canada. Now Omnigraphics has launched the first edition of Associations USA Its 589 pages give details about nearly 14,200 associations and nonprofit organizations in the United States. This compilation represents and enormous and well-organized effort, and the work will be useful to people in any profession. The World Association of International Studies is there, but in the acronyms index WAIS is missing. Ah well: only Allah is perfect. Acronyms are a bane of readers. Often I have been left guessing as to what they stood for. Now this volume will answer my questions. But not all, since sometimes organizations have the same acronym. WAI can stand for either Wire Association International or Women in Aviation International. Fortunately I have no dealings with either. However, WAG, Wine Appreciation Guild sounds more interesting.

An overdue answer to Mr Black

Alberto Gutiérrez answers Randy Black's commentary about "Cubana" and the cruise ships visiting Cuba on regular basis: "Aeroflot resumed flights to Havana, just as Mr Black said. Some "Cubana" services, however, are provided by other airlines such as the Brazilian "TAM". As for the 11 cruise lines going to Cuba according to Mr Black, using his internet information sources I did my best trying to get a reservation "on any boat going there". I phoned "Cunard"(1-800-2214770),"Norwegian Cruise Line" (1-800-327030), "Carnival Cruise Lines" (1-800-3279501), "Royal Caribbean Cruise Line"( 1-800 3276700) ,"Holland America Line" (1-800-42603270) and a few others just to confirm what I already knew: THEY DON'T GO TO CUBA . After seven negative inquires I gave up. The sources Mr Black cited are not adjusted to the facts, but it doesn't surprise me. Propaganda always has been one of Castro's greatest assets. In other words, no Cuban seaport is a regular playground of foreign cruise ships . As matter of fact not even the port of Miami, which according to many people is the world's capital of cruises, is the base and much less is visited by 11 cruise lines".

Andrei Sakharov

John Gehl sends this bio of the brilliant physicist Andrei Sakharov (1921-1989), who was the father of the Soviet hydrogen bomb, but later became an outspoken critic of the USSR's communist regime and a courageous defender of human rights and democratic freedom. Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975, the first Russian to be so honored. He spent the first twenty years of his professional life designing nuclear weapons, contributing thereby to the military might of the USSR. Gradually he turned against the regime's abuses of human freedom and dignity, becoming a symbol of the unrest that ultimately brought down the Soviet dictatorship.

Andrei Sakharov was born in Moscow to a family whose ancestry included military nobility and Orthodox priests. He studied physics at Moscow State University, graduating in 1942, and then took up routine laboratory work at a munitions factory, where he met and later married Klavdia Vikhireva. In 1945 he returned to Moscow to take up graduate studies in theoretical physics, earning his Ph.D. in 1947. He was invited to join the Soviet group of scientists working on atomic weaponry. In 1953 Sakharov's design for a thermonuclear device culminated in the successful test of the first Soviet H-bomb. He was inducted into the Soviet Academy of Sciences, and was awarded the first of his three Hero of Socialist Labor Medals, as well as the Stalin Prize and a dacha in a privileged Moscow suburb.

Simultaneously with his work on nuclear weapons, Sakharov worked on the peaceful use of nuclear power. He also began to wrestle with the problems of the controlled use of nuclear weaponry -- convinced as he was that the harmful effects of testing nuclear weapons was an indisputable scientific fact, with inescapable moral consequences. He pushed Soviet politicians to stop atmospheric nuclear tests and strongly endorsed the 1963 Test-Ban Treaty. In 1960s he abandoned weaponry work to concentrate on cosmological problems in theoretical physics and also began to use his political connections on behalf of victims of political persecution, making numerous declarations denouncing violations of human rights. He also spoke out for rapprochement of the socialist and capitalist systems in order to eliminate or contain the grave dangers threatening the human race -- thermonuclear extinction, ecological catastrophe, famine, an uncontrolled populationexplosion, and alienation.

Soviet authorities did not sit idly by while Sakharov gained prominence as a dissident. They waged campaigns in the press to discredit him as a traitor, stripped him of his honorary awards and expelled him from the Science Academy. He was not allowed to travel to Oslo to receive his Nobel Prize. Finally in 1980, he was exiled to closed city of Gorki. Sakharov's banishment only ended with Gorbachev's policy of Perestroika. Back in Moscow he resumed his public life, and was busy participating in the drafting of the new Russian constitution when he died from a sudden heart attack in 1989.

See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1584652071/newsscancom/ref=nosim for Richard Lourie's biography of Sakharov,

RH: All this suggests that the Soviet Union collapsed of its own weight.

SUICIDE

Today's U. S. Senate session was extraordinarily moving. Legislation has been introduced to deal with the suicide problem, especially among youths. The son of Senator Gordon Smith (R., Oregon) had just committed suicide, a tragedy which he reported in a restrained way. He was followed by Senator Harry Reid (D. Nevada), who for the first time in public told how his father committed suicide. He was almost crying. He said that there are over 30,000 known suicides each year in the US, and many accidents are also presumably suicides. Some 3,000 youths each year commit suicide. Nevada leads the nation in suicide. He did not mention the obvious causes: gambling and divorce. The Don Nickles (R., Oklahoma) reported that his father committed suicide. The aim of the proposed legislation is to fund counseling, especially for youths, but this does not deal with the main causes: The raucousness of campus life disguises the fact that many students are profoundly lonely, and the nauseating spectacle of binge drinking barely hides it. The problem is especially acute in the case of students from broken families. In the old days, universities were supposed to act in loco parentis, but that concept was foolishly dropped. It may be difficult to practice in state universities with monster enrollments, but at Stanford, where there are many small classes, it should be feasible. I regularly invited students to our campus home, and they were grateful. That practice seems to have declined, party due to the fact that many faculty wives now work. Enlightenment may be misplaced. When Swedish-born Sissela Bok married Stanford alumnus, Harvard President Derek Bok, she is said to have insisted that she would not do the normally expected things, including presumably acting in loco parentis.. Was this the Swede in her? Sweden has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. There should be a worldwide study of suicide, especially among youths.

Not only must faculty advisers pay more attention to students as individuals, the students must look to their advisers for counsel. Years ago the Stanford administration urged faculty to keep their office hours and thus be available to students. We did, but few students showed up- I used to ask students how often they saw their advisers. The common answer was "About once a quarter, to have him sign my course list". The situation is likely to get worse. A sign of the sickness of our times is that the states are using gambling to raise money, and many Indian tribes are being given gambling licences. This will encourage gambling addiction, which, together with binge drinking, is a deadly combination. I assume that Stanford and other universities are following this situation closely and that they are in touch with our legislators about the proposed legislation, which however I fear will have limited effect.

Senator Reid pointed out that until recently the Church regarded suicide as a sin, and those who committed it were often refused Christian burial. That has changed. The Methodist minister from Tonga, Saia Faasisiila. who takes care of us reports that his church here has just started a program of youth counselling. Stanford has a whole legion of some thirty religious leaders led by Scotty McLennan. Last on the list of faiths alphabetically but probably first chronologically is Zoroastianism.. There are indeed some Zoroastrians at Stanford, and they do well academically. How much student counseling does this host of leaders of the faithful do? They may differ theologically, but all must be concerned with the spiritual and mental health of students.

John Dinges, THE CONDOR YEARS. How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents

Pinochet is a very divisive figure. Some WAISers think he saved Chile, others despise him. The latter will be pleased by the very title of John Dinges, The Condor Years.How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents (New York: The New Press, 2004, pp.- 322). The black dust jacket, with a photo of a defiant Pinochet and a screeching condor, the black covers and the black end pages convey the message of death, Prize winning journalist Dinges was a special correspondent for the Washington Post in Chile and Central America during the Condor years, 1973-80. i-e- the time of Operation Condor, the joint operation of South American dictatorships to eradicate leftist activists. The account is colored by Dinges' experience (he himself was interrogated in a concentration camp), but it it is not simply a lurid account of atrocities. It is heavily documented, with 50 pages of notes. If you are looking for an easy read, like the books of John Gunther, you will be forced to concentrate. Gunther was accused of inaccuracies by Latin Americans who resented his criticisms. Dinges' documentation protects him against that charge. In sum, his book us more academic; Dinges now teaches journalism ay Colombia University- In scholarship as in theology, there are sins of commission and omission. Defenders of Pinochet will accuse Dinges of the latter for failing to point out that Operation Condor was a response to a real Soviet threat in South America, However, even that does not justify the mass murders which marked Operation Condor. The American villain in this story is Henry Kissinger. A 1978 cable said "Kissinger explained his opinion that the Government of Argentina had done an outstanding job in wiping out terrorist forces". In 1976 as Secretary of State Kissinger addressed an OAS meeting in Santiago. His theme was the need to defend human rights, but in private he told Pinochet not to worry. For decades the story of US cooperation with Operation Condor was a carefully kept secret. The truth was revealed in a 1980 book Dinges wrote with my former student Saul Landau, Assassination on Embassy Row. The story opens with a notorious episode which brought Chilean terrorism to Washington, DC: the car bomb which killed Chilean exile Orlando Letelier, who had served as Allende's Ambassador to Washingtton, Foreign Minister and then Defense Minister, which made him Pinochet's boss. This shocked America, and provided the Democrats with ammunition. New York Congressman Ed Koch, soon to be mayor of that city, was especially and typically loud in his attack on the Latin American dictatorships and was then himself the target of a failed assassination plot. Although the book focuses on Pinochet and Chile, Argentina receives ample attention, chapters 5, 9 and 12 being devoted to it. Especially vicious was the assassination there by Chilean agents of General Carlos Prats, who had been close to Allende. While the Chilean dictatorship received special publicity because of the complex international attempts to bring Pinochet to justice and because Chile had been respected as a democracy, the Argentine military loomed larger on the international scene. Chapter 6 is devoted to Paraguay, the fief of General Afredo Stroessner. Some space is devoted to Uruguay, which had been viewed as a model of democracy for Latin America. Under a military dictatorship, democratic leaders took refug in Argentina, where they were targets for assassination. Brazil, the most important country in Latin America, was also taken over by a military dictatorship, but, Brazil being Brazil, it was less brutal than those of Chile and Argentina. The final chapter /14) is titled "The Pursuit pf Justice and U.S. Accountability. While Dinges does not think that the US deliberately connived in the killings, Kissinger personally comes in for a final criticism (p. 252): ""You are our leader" Pinochet said to Kissinger in the same month in which he, Pinochet, gave the go-ahead to commit an assassination in Washington, D.C." The book's final sentence reads:"The history of the Condor Years is not one we are condemned to repeat", i.e. "never again", On the one hand, this book is a serious well documented account which cannot simply be dismissed by partisans of Pinochet and co. On the other hand , its account of Fidel Castro and Che Guevara is restrained, while that of Allende is very benevolent. I knew Allende, and he impressed me as being humane and compassionate but who failed to realize that politics is the art of the possible. How do Chileans view him today? As a martyr?

THE WALL: the Zionist domination of America

This comes from Christopher Jones. It cannot simply be dismissed as antisemitism. It represents world opinion. Again the US representative was alone and isolated in voting against the resolution condemning Israel's action, and in Washington government spokesmen abruptly dismissed the matter. saying it should never have been brought before the court. Christopher says: "If there were ever any doubts that the US has lost its independence to Israel, last night's newscasts put them to rest. In response to the decision by the international tribunal in the Hague that Israel's "security barrier" (note the absence of the word "wall" -- bad public relations) was illegal and should be torn down because it constituted a land grab, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, the darling of such luminaries like Graydon Carter, editor of Condé Nast's publication Vanity Fair, stated that the Jewish state should ignore the measure. She hoped that it would not go the the UN general Assembly and in the end she repeated that now rather frayed sound bite: every nation (I believe she added liberal democracy) has the right to defend its people.

I wonder how Senator Clinton would react if Mexico or Canada built a wall inside US territory to protect their peoples from the pernicious gabachos? Doesn't this member of the upper house realize that Israel invaded and conquered the West Bank in 1967 and that the wall is located inside Palestinian territory and recognized as such by the UN? This episode is the sad confirmation of what I have contended all along: that Jews dominate America's politics from both the left and the right. On the left we have the Democratic party with its Jews grouped around Mrs Clinton and on the right the Republicans have been gobbled up by the Neo-Cons like Messrs. Pearl and Wolfowitz. Whoever wins the election, Bush or Kerry, the US tilt (or should I say slippery slope) in favor of Israel will continue against the interests of the whole of America and the western world. With the press conveniently squelched by its moguls, the domination of the US by Israel is perfect.

The stubbornness of the US/Israel refusal to recognize that there is another world opinion out there that believes in the rule of law is a very, very dangerous signal".

RH: International TV showed protesters carrying banners proclaiming "TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!". Chickens coming home to roost.

Saddam Husseun and bin Laden.

Jon Kofas rejected the claims by President Bush that there were links between Saddam Hussein and bin Laden. Randy Black comments:"Jon. Kofas may have inadvertaetly misread the report, which I will post below. Factually, the commission found “no credible evidence” of a link between Iraq and al-Qaida in attacks against the United States. This is far different than Mr. Kofas' contention that there was no link between Hussein and bin Laden, which of course is not the case. A committee of the commission made the statement that Hussein was not connected to the 9/11 attacks. Nothing more.

We know with certainty that Iraq and bin Laden's representatives met on numerous occasions over the years. The commission report, in fact, says: The panel said that bin Laden made overtures to Saddam Hussein for assistance, as he did with leaders in Sudan, Iran, Afghanistan and elsewhere as he sought to build an Islamic army. The report said that bin Laden explored possible cooperation with Saddam at the urging of allies in Sudan eager to protect their own ties to Iraq, even though the al-Qaida leader had previously provided support for “anti-Saddam Islamists in Iraqi Kurdistan.”

Bin Laden ceased that support in the early 1990s, opening the way for a meeting between the al-Qaida leader and a senior Iraqi intelligence officer in 1994 in Sudan, the report said. At the meeting, bin Laden is said to have requested space to establish training camps in Iraq as well as Iraqi assistance in procuring weapons, but Iraq apparently never responded, the staff report said.

Numerous sources including: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5223932/

Carthage, its legends and modern versions

Edgar Knowlton writes: "!I recall George Alfred Henty's The Young Cathaginian, which I read as a child, and its exciting portrait of the army's scaling of the Swiss Alps with elephants Hanno, Hannibal, etc. Also among the Spanish and Portuguese I have met the names Anibal and Amilcar (a desk clerk at the Hotel Duas Nacoes in Lisbon), with stress on the "i." in both names. A late and able mayor of Maui was Hannibal Tavares. And of course the place name Cartagena. I myself have always felt considerable sympathy for Carthage, as representing Phoenicians, more for Dido than for Aeneas, Of course Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" with Dido's beautiful lament,. "When I am laid in earth," is an emotionally engaging piece of music. For me at least Hannibal remains a noble historical figure, ability plus underdog".

RH: . This takes us to our learning history project. We were brought up with the Roman version lo history; "Delenda est Cartago! "Carthage must be dsstroyed!" was a patriotic battle cry. In fact it ws the cry of a military regime bent on destroying a people of Phoenician traders. We were fed th4 version given in Book II of Virgil's Aeneid, in which Aeneas tells Dido the horrible story of tre destruction of Troy; "Infandum, regina, jubes renovare dolorem". Dido had an equally sad past. A daughter of the king of Tyre, she had fled to Africa when her husband was murdered and she founded Carthage. She found an Aeneas a kindred spirit and fell in love with him. When the call of duty forced Aeneas and his men to leave for the conquest of Italy, she committed suicide.

The novel Salambo by Gustave Flaubert, a student of the Marquis de Sade, is written in a much nastier mood. Here is a review: Flaubert's Salambo is an often stirring mixture and intertwining of the history of the Punic Wars and of the myths held by the people of ancient Carthage. The novel begins and ends with a banquet held in the gardens of Hamilcar, the Carthaginian leader. The mercenaries are feasting in these gardens at the beginning and a wedding feast is being held at the end, with an important leader of the Barbarians as "the special guest of honor." The book describes in great, often gory detail the horrors and the carnage of war. The gods must be appeased if there is no food or if the soldiers are dying of thirst. These rituals include children being sacrificed with, perhaps, Hamilcar's son being one of the victims. Cannibilism is an alternative to mass starvation. Torture is the sport of kings and the masses alike. In the middle of all these goings on is Hamilcar's daughter, the lovely and exotically beautiful Salambo. Her conniving to recapture the Zaimph from Matho, the Libyan leader of the Barbarians, includes some of the most erotic passage in 19th century literature. Her pet serpent. the Zaimph, figures very prominently in these scenes. A priest advises Salambo that without recovering the Zaimph, an important holy relic, Carthage is doomed to defeat.

RH: The novel has been translated into English and has enjoyed some popularity. How does history taught in Tunisia today tell or omit the stories told by Virgil and Flaubert? Two much esteemed WAISers, Dick and Pat Payne, spent much of their professional life in Tunisia. We would be grateful for any comments they have on this. Incidentally, in the US there are twelve towns named "Carthage", so it must have had some American admirers.

RUSSIA Pushkin

Proof that I am not Russian is that I do not share the almost religious reverence for Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin (1799-1837), generally considered Russia's greatest poet, of whom John Gehl forwards this bio: Pushkin wrote in a wide variety of poetic and prose styles, but is most admired for his masterpiece, the verse-novel Eugene Onegin, whichTchaikovsky made into an opera. In his early years he displayed a mastery of lyric poetry and produced a number of plays in verse. In the late 1820's, he began to write in prose, turning out short stories, novellas, and novels. He also showed his superior talent as a literary critic, letter writer, and Russian folklorist and historian.

Pushkin was born in Moscow into a family of impoverished aristocrats who nevertheless saw to his education. Raised in a cultured home environment, Pushkin graduated from the lyceum in 1817. He then found a post at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg, where as a well-born Russian youth he was able to enjoy the glittering social life available to the privileged classes in Russia's capital city. He would eventually satirize that life for its shallow pleasures and social insensitivities in his great verse novel, Eugene Onegin. Pushkin gradually became committed to social reform and stepped forth as a spokesman for literary radicals. This angered the government, and led to his transfer from the capital -- first to Kishinev in 1820 and then in 1823 to Odessa, where he again clashed with his superiors who sent him into exile at his mother's rural estate. Despite continuing strained relations with the government, in 1826 Pushkin was recalled to Moscow under the protection of the new czar, Nicholas I. In 1831 he married Natalia Goncharova, a beautiful socialite, whose social ambitions forced him into great indebtedness (and in 1837 caused his death in a duel fought in defense of her reputation).

Pushkin's early death was felt as a national tragedy by the entire Russian intellectual community, and a number of great Russian writers have made his death the subject of poems. Even as a student, he was viewed as the great poetic genius of the nation, and critics today generally agree that Pushkin has remained the single most important influence on Russian iterature since the 19th century. His work has been admired by such Russian masters as Dostoyevsky, Tolstoi, and Chekhov. His writing has, in addition, provided fertile ground for Russian composers, notably Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov.

See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0192838997/newsscancom/ref=nos im for Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin"

HMOs and punitive awards

Daryl DeBell said. "Perhaps someone can tell me why HMOs are not prosecuted for practicing medicine when they negate a medical doctor's decision and order, obviously to save money". Randy Black comments: "I have belonged to an HMO for more than a decade. I have never had a bad experience. Contrary of what I read in the media, my various physicians, and those of my wife, did anything and everything for our needs. When I needed surgery to repair an injury, there was no talk of cutting corners, no pun intended, and during my operation, when it was evident to the physician that I would benefit from a more extensive, and far more expensive procedure, he was free to change plans and go that route, which he did".

INDIA: Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit

John Gehl sends us this bio of the Indian diplomat Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900-90), who was one of India's most famous women, known worldwide for her work in government and for her interest in the women's movement. Pandit was the sister of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister after the nation gained its independence from the British. During the years 1921 to 1947 she worked alongside her brother in the Indian independence movement, both of them suffering several jail terms under the British. At the close of World War II she was made chief of the Indian delegations to the UN. She was appointed ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1947, and ambassador to the United States in 1949. In 1953 she became the first woman president of the UN General Assembly. After that she served a long term (1954-61) as the Indian high commissioner in the United Kingdom, simultaneously holding ambassadorships to Ireland and Spain. From 1962 to 1964 she was governor of the Indian state of Maharashtra, after which she served in India's Parliament from 1964 to 1967, retiring from public life in 1968.

Pandit was born in Allahabad, Western India, the daughter of Motilal Nehru, a wealthy and aristocratic nationalist leader. She was educated at private schools in India and abroad. In 1921 she married a fellow Congress party worker, Ranjit Sitaram Pandit. He died in 1944 and did not live to witness his wife's distinguished diplomatic career. After her retirement from the political scene, Pandit remained out of the public eye except for one occasion in 1977, when she felt compelled to come out in opposition to the Congress party which at the time was headed by her niece, Indira P. Gandhi, the daughter of her brother, Jawaharlal Nehru. In Pandit's view, her niece's political party had overly restricted freedom in India. In protest Pandit left the Congress Party and joined the opposition party, the Congress for Democracy. This led to her being appointed a year later as the Indian representative to the UN Human Rights Commission. In 1979 Pandit published her personal memoir, The Scope of Happiness. [See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/8172233981/newsscancom/ref=nosim for Pandit's memoir The Scope of Happiness

More on Moore

From The Austin Review (7/ 02/04), Mike Sullivan sends us "Moore's Moronic Monstrosity" by Ed Koch, former Mayor of New York City. Here is an excerpt: It is shocking to me that Americans in a time of war, and we literally are at war, with Americans being deliberately killed in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere by Islamic terrorists, will attack their own country, sapping its strength and making its enemies stronger. I am not a supporter of the xenophobic slogan "My country right or wrong." But I do believe, when seeking to make it right if it is wrong, that none of us should endanger the country, our military personnel or our fellow citizens.

Disagreeing with America's foreign policy and seeking to change it, responsibly or irresponsibly, is a fundamental right protected by the First Amendment. Shaming those who do it irresponsibly is our only lawful recourse and rightly so.

Senator John Kerry in criticizing United States' foreign policy and the incumbent president is acting responsibly, albeit I disagree with many of his views. On the other hand, Michael Moore, writer and director of the film "Fahrenheit 9/11," crosses that line regularly. The line is not set forth in the criminal statutes, but it is determined by Americans who know instinctively what actions and statements taken and uttered violate the obligations of responsibility and citizenship they deem applicable in time of war. (note: Lincoln would have thrown him in prison)

David Brooks, in a brilliant New York Times column on June 26, collected some of the statements that Michael Moore has been making in other countries which denigrate the U.S. and, in my opinion, cross the line. Brooks writes:

Before a delighted Cambridge crowd, Moore reflected on the tragedy of human existence: "You're stuck with being connected to this country of mine, which is known for bringing sadness and misery to places around the globe." In Liverpool, he paused to contemplate the epicenters of evil in the modern world: "It's all part of the same ball of wax, right? The oil companies, Israel, Halliburton. We, the United States of America, are culpable in committing so many acts of terror and bloodshed that we had better get a clue about the culture of violence in which we have been active participants... Don't be like us," he told a crowd in Berlin. "You've got to stand up, right? You've got to be brave." In an open letter to the German people in Die Zeit, Moore asked, "Should such an ignorant people lead the world?"

RH: I have mixed feelings about this. The case against Michael Moore is well made, bui I am sorry Ed Koch made it. He is a crude. loudmouthed individual, When he was mayor of New York he loudly urged the UN to leave New York because it criticized Israel. His statement should be interpreted as a veiled defense of Israel, which of course can be defended in open discourse.. He is a Democrat and would otherwise be disposed to approve of the film.

FRANCE, VERSAILLES,etc and the US

Christopher Jones answers my criticism of Versailles and the palaces built in imitation of it: ªInteresting how this "normal" little country managed to infuriate the Bush administration over the Iraq war and now the deployment of NATO forces in Iraq. France is not just another country. It has played and continues to play a very important and necessary role in the world: as the political motor for the EU and a necessary but positive critic of the US. Considering the current lamentable state of fashions, arts and films, which thanks to US imperialism, have swiftly disintegrated into a semi-Morlock state, a little French influence would do us all some good. If you think pierced navels, dirty jeans, tattoos and t-shirts are "normal" US fashions, count me out. I will stick with Chanel and Dior. If you've forgotten, have a good look at the pictures of -- say for example, Audrey Hepburn. Remember her? Those were the days when the US had some interest in fashion too. In the end, Americans are jealous of the French because they cultivated beauty for itself. Is Paris, just an "ordinary" city like Milwaukee? Are France's treasures in art, architecture worthless? Is its natural magnificence comparable to the burnt hills of the San Fernando valley? More and more, I feel that the French have a good sense for life itself and the proof is that Germans are adopting their ways (they were always fascinated by them.) I sincerely hope that the French do NOT become a "normal" country and start eating GM junk food. As for its political leaders, could the US have produced a political leader with the imagination of General de Gaulle? Nope. BTW, I would probably put him as the most amazing and successful superstatesman of the 20th century -- light years in advance of all US presidents, British PMs and the rest of those who "manage" the state instead of building from nothing. Note: Versailles was splendid isolation but what is Washington DC? How many lament the "Out of touch syndrome" of those who live inside the Beltway?"

RH: Christopher misrepresents my `position. In political terms France is just another country, and it must get rid of its folies de grandeur, from which de Gaulle suffered. My comments had nothing to do with current American dislike of France. I understand those Frenchmen who think that the US suffers from folies de grandeur. As for pop culture and slobs, I have long been vocal in my denunciation of them. I deem the downtown of all modern large cities a fall from grace after the beauty of older cities like Paris or Oxford, but a city should be judged by the quality of the habitats of ordinary people, and there even the San Fernando Valley is preferable to sous les toits de Paris. Life in Palo Alto /Stanford is far better than life in Parts, where I spent many years.

Cyprus and Israel/Palestine-

To solve the Israel/Palestine problem, Hank Levin urged "the U.S. Government to pressure both sides for peaceful solutions. If it could be done in Cyprus, it can be done in the mid-East". Christopher Jones replies: "Noihing was "done" in Cyprus. There was no solution to the long standing division of the island -- the vast majority of the Greek Cypriot population (75%) voted against the proposed reunification agreement in a referendum, while 65% of Turkish Cypriots voted for the measure. The agreement was scuttled by the majority Greeks. At the same time, the Palestinian problem appears to me fairly straightforward: Israel must evacuate its forces behind the 1967 frontier against a non aggression pledge from a newly independent Palestinian state. The Israeli colonial settlements in the occupied territories must be dismantled. (Obviously those Jews who lose their investment will have to be compensated.) However, that will include Arab Jerusalem, which the Jewish state refuses to hand over. But that is not all. The displaced Palestinians must be given full compensation plus interest for the loss of their properties when they were thrown out of Israel proper (then Palestine) in 1948. Again Israel has refused. I disagree that the US government can "lean" on both the parties involved because it backs one in a so-called "special" relationship: Israel. The US is not impartial. Another solution which could solve the Jerusalem issue would be unify both countries and give everyone one vote. This too was rejected by the Israelis because their policies are clear and focused: the Palestinians must disappear because alone their numbers in a democratic election are a threat to Eretz Israel. That is the Zionist final solution that Stephen Sniegoski writes about, and if the United States continues to condone this crime, the more likely a "firestorm" will occur.

MANCHESTER UNIVERSITY, THE JOHN RYLANDS LIBRARY

Years ago I visited the University Manchester, when the city still showed the marks of World War II. I did not see the John Rylands University Library. so I am grateful to John Gehl for forwarding this account by William G. Simpson, the Library's Director: As befits the birthplace of the industrial revolution and the great "Cottonopolis" of the nineteenth century, Manchester's University Library is named after the city's greatest mill owner and cotton merchant, who at one time employed 24,000 people in the city. The original John Rylands Library was built and endowed in his memory by his wife, Enriqueta Augustina, whose partly Cuban origins give us our own connection with the Americas. The present Library was formed by the amalgamation, in 1972, of the Rylands which, despite its medieval Gothic appearance, which leads some visitors to mistake it for a cathedral, opened as recently as 1900, with the original Manchester University Library, which was founded with the University itself in 1851. The historic John Rylands building in the city centre houses the Special Collections Division of the JRULM.

And what Special Collections they are! Amongst our printed materials we have the earliest example of European printing, the St Christopher woodcut of 1423, and over 4,500 incunabula, including both versions of the Gutenberg Bible and sixty Caxtons (only the British Library has more, but our copies are generally agreed to be finer!). We also have an almost complete collection of the works published by Aldus Manutius and individual treasures include the Prayer Book of Mary Queen of Scots. Our manuscript holdings include the earliest surviving portion of the New Testament, the St John Fragment, dating from about 125AD, and range through superb western and oriental mediaeval manuscripts to modern literary and other archives, whose content ranges from manorial rolls to radio-astronomy.

I wouldn't, though, want to give readers the impression that we are only concerned with historic resources. Our modern printed collections are only exceeded in scale among UK university libraries by those of Oxford and Cambridge and they have had both a 500 year start on us and the advantage of legal deposit. Our electronic resources exceed even theirs! But it's also all-change. The foundation of a new University of Manchester from the existing Victoria University of Manchester and UMIST on 1 October this year means that we are currently merging two library services to create an even greater and, we intend, better Library.

WAISer John Brademas

John Brademas holds various WAIS records, among them the number of honorary degrees and awards. In May at the commencement ceremonies at Fairleigh Dickinson University he received the first Global Education Achievement Award, having received an honorary degree there in 1988 from the university's founder, Peter Sammartino. It has a campus in Wroxton, England and works closely with the UN. Then John Brademas flew to his ancestral home, Greece, where at the Academy of Athens, of which he is a corresponding member, he gave a talk on "Universal Values and World Peace". John said his father came from Kalamata, a port in southern Greece, Greece? I have over my desk a picture of the Monastery of the Holy Trinity at Meteora. It is a fantastic place, a monastery perched on top of a rock with a drop of hundreds of feet on all sides. It must have been an incredible job to build it. My guess is that the monks, like those on Mount Athos, wanted to get away from the world. Have John Brademas, Jon Kofas, or Harry Papasotiriou ever climbed up to the monastery? If not, I advise them to do so. In either case we would appreciate an account of that human crow's nest. From Greece John flew to Austin, Texas, and spoke at a conference on "Congress and American History". I wonder if any WAISers at the University of Texas attended the conference?

Was Franklin D. Roosevelt of Jewish origin?.

Regarding the ancestry of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Adriana Pena says: " If they were baptized, they were Christians. Which denomination might be open to debate, but there are so many Christian religions that it is a stretch of the imagination to suppose Jewish religion, which does not have the rite of baptism", RH: Of course not, but baptism was largely a social rather than a religious ritual. Moreover, in Spain many conversos were ostentatious in their practice of the Catholic faith but continued to practice the Jewish faith in private. Many travelers left testimony to this. Incidentally, there is only one Christian religion, although there are many churches or sects.

What's in a name? HANNIBAL

Several WAISers sent messages saying that no one knows why Hannibal, Missouri was so named. From Mexico, Alejo Orvañaos gives us hard information on Hannibal Hamlin's name: "...Hannibal Hamlin owed his classical name to his grandfather Eleazer Hamlin, a man well read in history, who named his first son after the Roman general Scipio Africanus (everyone called the boy Africa) and called his twin sons Cyrus, after the great Persian conqueror, and Hannibal, after the Carthaginian general who crossed the Alps on elephants in his campaign against Rome....See http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/hannibal_hamlin.pdf ". RH: Poor Africa! He must have been teased as a boy.

Cyrus, as in Cyrus Vance, is a respected name since Cyrus is a hero in two traditions. In Iranian history he is the great hero, "Cyrus the Great, King of the Persians" (599-530 BC). He was born in Persis, modern Pars province, and he established his capital in Persepolis. not far from Shiraz, the present capital of the province. When I visited the ruins of Persepolis it was terribly hot. WAIS reported in 1971 on the lavish ceremonies the Shah staged there to mark the 2,500th anniversary of the founding of the monarchy. World leaders were housed in tents. I hope the weather was mild. Xenophon described Cyrus as an ideal leader, and Heredotus as also a great conqueror. He overthrew the ruling Medes. He conquered the Iranians who opposed him, so I cannot understand why the name Iran is preferred to Persia, which is dismissed as a Western name. Nushin Namazi could explain this. He conquered Lydia (Turkey) and then Babylonia. He invaded central Asia, where he was killed by nomads. He served as a model for Alexander the Great, who suffered a similar fate. He is the great hero in Iranian history textbooks, but what do Iraqi textbooks say bout him?

Cyrus is also a hero for the Jews. Nebuchadnezzar in 586 destroyed the temple and led the Judeans into Babylonian captivity. When Cyrus conquered Babylon in 538 he allowed them to return home, as related in the very last verses of Chronicles II. While we are on this business of names. let us not forget Eleazer, as in Hamlin. Eleazar fought against the Seleucids, whose army introduced elephants into fighting. Eleazar stabbed one in the abdomen and killed it, but ut fell on him and killed him. It was a crushing blow.

Note that the early Americans favored Old Testament names, following the practice Cromwell and co, no doubt influenced by their friends the Jews of Amsterdam. Jehovah was the Lord of Hosts, giving divine blessing to Cromwell's exploits.

How to run the US.

Last week there were two joyful mob scenes. One was in Athens, where the mob rejoiced at the victory of Greece in the European soccer championship.The other was in the US, where John Kerry presented his vice-presidential candidate. There was the usual wild applause as the two hopefuls grinned, waved their arms nd shook the mob's hands. The hand waving, hand-shaking and grinning must cause a syndrome peculiar to politicians. Since it does not seem to have a name, let us call it politicitis. The happy two and their wives were photographed romping happily around the Heinz estate. The sight of the Kerry's dumpy little wife, who through the lottery of marriage controls some $1 billion and may control the ear of the next president of the US, made me ponder. Former President Clinton is in Berlin flogging the German translation of his book. Standing before two large posters of a grinning Clinton, a grinning Clinton happily scribbled his name on the copies of it for 2,000 Germans lined up with copy in hand. They said they wanted to find out what he said about Monica Lewinsky. Such is the way the world sees the political leaders of the world's greatest country.

Meanwhile, virtually unnoticed, the Democratic Party has been drafting its policy statement, a long and thoughtful document. The discussions were on a high level, but I have not seen it, and most people have never heard of it. I often wonder why the politicians I most respect do not run for the presidency. Is it because they are discouraged by the danger of politicitis and other hazards? Or is it because the parties decide they do not have enough political sex appeal? Add one name to the list of should-be presidential candidates, that of Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon. I had not heard of him until last week, when he gave two speeches, one on a bill about a program to prevent suicides, of which his son was recently a victim, the other defending a constitutional amendment calling for a definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. He was reasonable, statesmanlike, and spoke an English which other politicians should emulate, Unfortunately in our system everything becomes political, and some Democrats countered by saying that the matter should be left to the states. Incidentally, freedom of speech is a problem,. We have an apartment which we rent. It has a double bed, so I sent to the university housing website an announcement saying it was suitable for a single person or a married couple. I was told that the expression "married couple" is taboo, so "married" was deleted.

Serious American politics is conducted behind a wall of mob scenes, hoopla and politicitis. Tear that wall down!

AIPAC.

Discussing the Jewish organization AIPAC, John Heelan quoted from http://www.inminds.co.uk/boycott-news-0010.html]. Randy Black protested "The site is anti-West, anti-UN, anti virtually anything not Islamic". John replies:  "I agree with Randy  on the negative jihadist nature of the website. However, that said, I would appreciate some reassurance that the comment it makes about AIPAC disguising PAC political donations is completely untrue before dismissing it as propaganda". Ed Jajko comments: " I don't recall seeing any references to AIPAC's own web site, www.aipac.org. For a contrary viewpoint, that the website is not jihadist or anti-West, one might look into the web site (and the journal) of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, at www.wrmea.com. Under the heading "Washington Report on Middle East Affairs," click on "search wrmea.com," type in "AIPAC," and click on the Google search button".

 

Saddam Husseun and bin Laden.

Randy Black referred to links between Saddam Hussein and al Qaida, thus expressing approval of President Bush. Hank Greely replies_ ""Links" is a tricky word, as is "connections." Randy Black points out that al Qaida and the Iraqi government made contact with each other from time to time over the years, but it seems to me that his statements further hurt the case for the Iraq war. In spite of several discussions over the space of a decade, al Qaida and Iraq did not reach any agreements or cooperate in any way.

Through the talks over nuclear proliferation, as well as the talks over the more than 50 year old armistice in Korea, the Bush Administration "has links" with Kim Jong Il. That scarcely means that they are allies. It seems to me that in every meaningful way, Jon Kofas is right on this".

What's in a name? HANNIBAL

In a scholarly note, John Allen told us that no one knows why Hannibal, Missouri was so named. But that leads us to another question: why did the parents of Hannibal Hamlin give him that first, un-Christian name? He was born in Paris Hill. Maine in 1809 (here we go again: presumably some hone-sick Frenchman named Paris Hill). With a short interruption as governor of Maine, he served in the US Senate and was a vocal abolitionist. He was Vice President in Lincoln's first term, but in the second was dropped in favor of Andrew Johnson. He was appointed minister to Spain /1881-2). Did he leave any interesting dispatches about that country? Did he visit Saguntum, which Hannibal conquered in 219 BC? Hannibal, the Carthaginian who swore eternal hatred of Rome, fought the Romans in the Second Punic War, made peace with it, became chief magistrate of Carthage, where he made important reforms and was hailed as a great reformer, but then fled and committed suicide to avoid being taken prisoner by the Romans. Why on earth would nice American parents name their son after him?

Let me fly this kite. The Virginian slave owners who dominated the American Revolution took Rome as their model. The Northern slavery-hating Masons (of whom Hannibal Hamlin was one) therefore chose Carthage as their model. The Masons had a whole mythology about ancient Egypt, to which Carthage was the successor. Is Hannibal a footnote to it?. Can any WAISer provide informed comment on this theory?

National Public Radio: can it be saved?

Our commercial television is largely one big billboard. Thank heavens for C-Span and public broadcasting- From Paris, David Pike writes: "On NPR's Morning Edition, Nina Tottenberg said that if the Supreme Court supports Congress, it is in effect the end of the >National Public Radio (NPR), National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) & the Public Broadcasting System (PBS). PBS, NPR and the arts are facing major cutbacks in funding. In spite of the efforts of each station to reduce spending costs and streamline their services, some government officials believe that the funding currently going to these programs is too large a portion of funding for something which is seen as not worthwhile.The only way that our representatives can be aware of the base of support for PBS and funding for these types of programs is by making our voices heard Please add your name to this list and forward it to friends who believe in what this stands for. This list will be forwarded to the President and the Vice President of the United States. Please add your name to the petition.". RH: This came without any petition, but it seems to me a worthy cause whose cost is relatively small.

La Charité Hospital in Berlin

I mentioned that La Charitè Hospital in Berlin, the largest in Europe, is thriving because wealthy patients, including many Arabs, were noo longer patronizing US hospitals because of visa problems. Jim Tent comments: "The famed Charité hospital epitomises much of what is happening in Berlin higher education since the fall of the Wall and German reunification. Some developments are positive; many are negative. As recently as 1988, one of my colleagues here at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a superb maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Peter D.Waite, traveled to the Free University of Berlin to work with the FU's fine maxillofacial surgeons there, such as Prof. Hans Robert Metelmann (I had arranged a faculty exchange between the FUB and UAB in the aftermath of my history of the Free University). Metelmann had profited greatly from his year at UAB and wanted to show his American partner something of Berlin. One day, the two surgeons crossed over Checkpoint Charlie and visited the famed Charité Hospital (host to such luminaries as Robert Koch, Rudolf Virchow, Ferdinand Sauerbruch and other medical luminaries in the 19th and 20th centuries). They expected to see a great hospital embedded in a great medical clinic. Bu what did the two visitors of 1988 find? Peter Waite told me candidly upon his return to Alabama: "That wasn't a hospital. It was a museum! Under forty years of GDR management, the Charite had been looted, neglected, and ground down into a virtual shell of its former self. Waite and Metelmann were appalled that patients were still being treated there. However, it is legitimate to ask: What has happened since? The answer is not reassuring. Under the Berlin City Government, heavily influenced by the successors to the old communist SED (now the PDS), Berlin City funding has funnelled ever larger sums into the "old" Humboldt University and into its medical clinic, the Charité. However, that explains only a modest part of the picture of Berlin higher education today. Following reunification, the same decision-making process took first one of the Free University's major clinics, its Benjamin Franklin Clinic (originally funded by the United States to the tune of $60 million dollars plus in early 1960s dollars), and then a second major clinic, the FU's ultra modern Rudlof Virchow Clinic located just westward of the old dividing line between East and West Berlin, and transferred both of them wholesale to the Humboldt University. This means that both clinics are now officially listed as the "Charite Campus Benjamin Franklin and the Charite Campus Virchow-Kinik." i.e. they are an integral part of Humboldt University (not the Free University to which they belonged only a few years ago). It is little wonder that Arab and other needy international patients might find their way to the "Charité of today. I don't wish to sound doctrinaire, as if I were some old-time Cold Warrior pterodactyl, beating his leathery wings into the 21st Century. Furthermore, I am not someone who has it in for the Humboldt University simply because of its name or because it emerged in the East during the Cold War. However, the politics of Berlin have evolved since 1989 in such a way that Germany's once and current capital have played cruel political games upon all three of its several universities. Yes, now there are three (in alphabetical sequence): Free University of Berlin; Humboldt University: Technical University. Many Germans who are conversant with higher education consider the presence of three universities within one German Land (Berlin) to be impossible, and their argument is augmented by the fact that the City of Berlin is basically bankrupt (for reasons that extend far beyond higher education). Therefore, those same Germans claim, Berlin should consolidate its higher education. Consequently, a contest among the FU in West Berlin Dahlem suburb, the Humboldt located in Berlin's Center, and the Technical University (also, basically in the Center), should see ultimately a winner whereby all three universities merge together under one name - if one accepts the understanding that one city or Land (state) should have one university. Given the highly distinctive histories of each of the three universities in question (my apologies to the TU for not offering more about its technical university accomplishments), it would seem logical to include all three "campuses" under one umbrella rather than folding all of them under one rubric. For forty years the "Humboldt" University was a Soviet-SED institution of no distinction or worth. For twenty years the "Free" University was a highly successful experimental university followed by twenty years of turbulence. The "Technical" University was an unheralded but nevertheless worthy institution of higher learning that expanded far beyond technology to encompass most areas of higher learning by almost any nation's standard. All three have earned their right to continue as major universities. If the Germans of today, and specifically if Germany's Berliners are wise, they will create a "Berlin State University System" with a board of regents and a broad state system not unlike that of California or New York (or Alabama?) in which each campus evolves and grows. Germany's central Government must also recognize Berlin's peculiar status. There are precedents and the United States is hardly alone in seeing the problems in a city like Washington, DC. Look at the system in France, and specifically in Paris. If German political and university officials will seriously consider such alternatives, then Berlin's problems will prove to be solvable. Then there will not be any need for boosters of one or the other university to rail against the "depredations" of the other. Furthermore, each can retain campuses or urban settings in its own name that reflect the origins and the accomplishments of each unique institution. After all, the goal in each instance is the same: providing quality higher education to receptive young minds". RH: Since World War II universities have proliferated. Into how many universities has the University of Paris been broken up? The French structure os odd in that the recteur o the University of Paris controls all education in his academic district, Here in the Bay Area there are eight or more universities controlled bu different bodies. WAIS chairman Maurice Harari was for years Secretary General of the International Association of University Presidents, so he is very familiar with the proliferation of universities around the globe.

Parsi success

MArtin Lewis of Stanford's International Relations Program writes: "Bombay's Parsi community is not doing well demographically, due to emigration and a low birthrate. Out-marriage, coupled with difficulties in conversion, compound the problem. But it continues to do very well economically. Parsi success is reflected here as well: in Stanford's Program in International Relations, two of our five award-winning senior theses this year were written by Zoroastrian students!"

Laws of History: Economic Determinism

Harry Papasotiriou says: "While many political and social phenomena can be explained in terms of economic determinants, I would like to point to two alternative lines of argument. First, culture and religion may be a determinant of economics, as Max Weber famously argued regarding capitalism and the Protestant ethic. A more recent example might be the fact that in the last few decades East Asia did much better economically than the Muslim world (Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea were among the poorest countries in the world in the 1950s). Second, warfare and international competition is also a major determinant of economic, social and political phenomena, according to the historian William McNeill, among others. The ancient Greek philosopher Heracletus stated that war is the midwife of everything. For example, the rise of the sovereign states system, which was the necessary political framework for industrialization in the past few centuries, resulted from European warfare during the period from the 15th to the 19th century, according to Tilly et al in The Formation of the National State in Europe, among others". RH: Is Islamic belief in fatalism a brake on progress? William H. McNeill, Professor of History Emeritus at the University of Chicago, is an extraordinarily prolific writer: His most recent book, with his son J. R. McNeill, is The Human Web. (April 2004) #End --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.672 / Virus Database: 434 - Release Date: 4/28/2004 -=x=- Skontrolované antivírovým programom NOD32

International theft of software

The Business Software Alliance, a trade group, says that 36% of all the software in the world has been pirated, costing the industry $29 billion in lost revenue. The five countries with the highest incidence of pirated software are: China (92%), Vietnam (92%) and Indonesia (88%), Ukraine (91%), and Russia (87%). (AP/San Jose Mercury News/ 7/7/04) http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/9097724.htm

Hitler's purges

Randy Black asked about a 1934 purge in Nazi Germany. Jim Tent explains: "It was almost assuredly referring to Hitler’s purge of his S.A. Storm Troopers, i.e. the Brownshirts who helped put him in power during the street fighting in the last years of the Weimar Republic. They were led by Ernst Roehm, Hitler’s old Army supporter and one of the few persons who referred to Hitler with the familiar “Du” form of address. He and the S.A. wanted to form a new kind of German Army, a kind of people’s militia with the “old comrades” forming the core of the new army. However, the traditionalist officers in the existing Reichswehr were appalled. They told Hitler that if Roehm got his way, then Germany would have a second-class army led by ruffians. If he wanted a first-class army, then he would have to back them, the traditional officer corps with its origins going back to Prussian and its ruling Junker class. Hitler accepted their advice and in the blood purge of June 30, 1934, he, Goering, Himmler, etc. rounded up hundreds, perhaps thousands of S.A. men, including Roehm, and had them shot. Hitler also used the occasion to settle some old scores with other political enemies such as retired General Schleicher, who was murdered along with his wife in their home by armed Nazis on that same night. However, this hardly amounted to a purge of the German officer corps. A few months later, in August 1934, President Hindenburg died, and Hitler took over his duties. He also required all German soldiers to take an oath of personal loyalty to him (not to Germany or to its now moribund constitution). In 1938, Hitler found ways to get rid of two of his top generals, Blomberg and Fritsch, and take over their posts as well. A few generals had talked about possible coups during the Rhineland remilitarization in March 1936, and again on the eve of the Austrian Anschluss in March 1938, but they did nothing overt, and Hitler never initiated any purge of officers. It was only after the failed July 20, 1944 assassination attempt that Hitler initiated a purge of German officers who had supported or were thought to support the attempted assassination. In all, circa 5,000 men and women are thought to have been murdered by the Nazis under Hitler’s orders, among them Erwin Rommel (even though Rommel was not a true conspirator). The above actions certainly demonstrate that Hitler was inclined to use his officer corps for his own purposes and to keep it on an increasingly tight leash. However, his actions pale in comparison to Stalin’s mass purges of the Soviet military in the late 1930s".

Nietzsche and Zoroaster

I said that Nietzsche misrepresented Zoroaster. Adriana Pena comments: "It would not surprise me that Nietzsche misrepresented Zoroaster. The fact is that in his rejection of Christianity, he had to make appeal to a different religion, and since there were few Zoroastrians who could set him right, or challenge his right to speak for them, he used Zoroaster to bolster his claims...

It was not the only attempt to try to claim an ancient legacy for a newly created non-Christian religion. Gerald Gardner did that with the old paganism for his Wicca religion. Earlier on, the neo-gnostics from which the Masonic lodges and neo-pagans sprang, first claimed ancient Egypt as a source (as in Isis unveiled by Madame Blavatsky). The ancient Egyptian religion had the advantage that there was no one to tell them that they had got it wrong, but except for a few people, it did not arouse antagonism, since its worshippers had disappeared. Then they tried Judaism, which had living worshippers who could share their wisdom with the rest of us. Unfortunately, Judaism was too much like Christianity, and for people bent on denying Christian morality, it was jumping from the frying pan into the fire. Finally they discovered Hinduism, and much nonsense was then written about the "wisdom of India", most of which existed only in the fevered imagination of its proponents..."

RH: On Gerald Gardner, see A Biography of Gerald Brosseau Gardner,  Gerald Gardner is the founder of modern Wicca; this page is my attempt to review the highlights of his life. Gerald Gardner, from ... www.bcholmes.org/wicca/gardner.html - 13k - Cached - Similar pages
On Helen Blavatsky, see Blavatsky Study Center: Website on HP Blavatsky & Theosophy ... This website contains extensive material on the life, writings and teachings of Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-91), founder of modern Theosophy. ... www.blavatskyarchives.com/ - 10k - Cached - Similar pages

Zimbabwe

From Australia, Martin Storey writes: "I took, a few weeks ago, my first holiday in 4 years. I went with a conservation group to visit Zimbabwe, a country totally devastated by its politicians, where torture and abuses of the worst kind has been completely institutionalized, and where poaching and other forms of stealing are just about the only ways left to survive. It's still a beautiful country, though, and some people are doing what they can to help. I've become involved with a small but quite remarkable NGO called the SAVE FOUNDATION, which supports very actively the anti-poaching effort and any other venture it deems worthy". RH:U was in Zimbabwe while it was still Southern Rhodesia. It was beautiful, peaceful and contented. No apartheid.

WAIS. Second Appeal

WAIS charges no dues because we know that some members, especially in less developed countries, face real financial problems. However, we depend on other members to contribute to our expenses. I myself work without remuneration and contribute to WAIS expenses. We make our annual appeal in the fall, but we are now making a spring appeal only to whose who missed the fall appeal. If you can, please make out a check to WAIS and mail it to Ronald Hilton, 766 Santa Ynez, Stanford, CA 94305-8441. Since WAIS is a 503(C)(3) organization, your contribution is tax-deductible. Thanks, Ronald Hilton. [Tom Grey]

Nietzsche and Zoroaster

I posted a piece by Nushin Namazi on Zoroaster and commented: "Zoroaster is seldom mentioned in religious discussions, but it inspired Nietzsche's best known work, Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-5) in which he developed his ideas on the death of God, the superman and the will to power. It was his effort to set up an alternative to Christianity. My impression is that he totally misrepresented the ideas of Zoroaster=. Christopher Jones comments: "Nushin Namazi's comment on Zoroastrianism would have pleased Nietzsche. Of course, he took it one step further by proclaiming Christianity, Judaism and Islam "fakes" because they were all in a way plagiarisms of Zoroaster's religion. I believe that the Pahlevi monarchy discreetly supported the Zoroastrian religion, and I have often wondered why Reza Shah or his son never converted themselves -- after all they revived the name "Iran" over the westernized "Persia" and "Pahlevi" is also from pre-Islamic Iran. I have heard that the famous Bombay Parsi community is not doing well and that its "towers of silence" (the towers where corpses are deposited to be eaten by vultures) could become a thing of the past -- is there any truth to this?" RH: I repeat my comment that Nietzshe totally misrepresented the ideas of Zoroaster". [Tom Grey]

Fahrenheit 9/11

Robert Whealey says "As a liberal, I saw the film "Fahrenheit 9/11"and thought it was good. I would like to see some fan get a typescript of the film, for use by politicians. They could quote from its sources with dates. As a somewhat of a skeptic on historical grounds, my suspicion is that the picture of the Taliban members in Houston Texas might have been faked. My wife, with more faith, thinks Moore got them from contemporary news video. I wonder" RH:There are a number of Texan WAISers. They may have the answer.

Elihu Root

Since WAIS is devoted to world and international affairs, it has a special interest in this bio, sent by John Gehl, of the distinguished American lawyer, statesman and winner of the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize Elihu Root (1845-1937), who served the United States as Secretary of War in the William McKinley-Theodore Roosevelt cabinet and Secretary of State in the second Roosevelt administration. After his cabinet service, Root was elected Republican senator from New York, serving from 1909 to 1915. In 1910 Root became the first president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, continuing the work for world peace that had marked his entire public career and shortly earned him the 1912 Nobel Prize for Peace. In 1915 he declined to run again for the Senate, choosing instead the role of elder statesman. Woodrow Wilson appointed him ambassador extraordinary to head a special diplomatic mission to Russia in 1917, and later under President Harding Root became a delegate to the Washington Naval Conference of 1921-1922, where he helped draft the Five-Power Treaty limiting naval armament. Root was born in Clinton, New York, the son of a professor of mathematics at Hamilton College. He attended Hamilton and in 1864 was graduated first in his class, and then taught school for one year before earning a law degree from the New York University Law School. He next practiced law and by age thirty had established himself as a prominent lawyer specializing in corporate affairs. In a thirty-year legal career he became a wealthy man, acting as counsel to banks, railroads, and some of the leading financiers of the day. While he had dabbled in local Republican politics in New York, Root was relatively unknown as a political figure when he was invited into the McKinley cabinet as secretary of war. McKinley wanted a lawyer and not a military man because the war department was in serious need of administrative reorganization. In short order, Root established new procedures for promotion, founded the War College, enlarged West Point, opened schools for special branches of the service, created a general staff, strengthened control over the National Guard, and restored discipline within the department. Root's record as Secretary of State was equally impressive. He removed the consular service from the "spoils system," putting it under Civil Service. He also demonstrated a superior diplomatic touch in dealing with a series of important foreign policy matters requiring attention in the Far East, Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe. Historians generally define Root's most important legacy to be his conviction that American leadership in world affairs demands the existence of a strong military and a highly professional diplomatic service. [See http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0374179395/newsscancom/ref=nos im -- RH: In the Puritan tradition, Americans often gave their children Old Testament names. But Elihu? He appears briefly, makes a speech denouncing Job for describing God as a tyrant, and then he disappears. Perhaps the moral is. Job, stop complaining!

FARC & the Politics of Terrorism

Jon Kofas writes: "Professor Hilton's analysis and commentary on the "two faces of FARC" raises important questions about the definition and the politics of terrorism. Just as the Cold War produced its own rhetoric and oversimplification of "international Communism", a generic term that did not mean very much, similarly we have today an industry of people analyzing terrorism as a generic concept. Is FARC a "terrorist" organization because the Bush administration placed it on its Terrorism list, is it one because it uses tactics that may fit a dictionary definition, is it so because the Colombian government sees it in that light, or is it so because there is some international understanding, let us say an OAS consensus, that designates it so? The word terrorism evokes emotion and the concept is politically subjective. To the Zionists in the 1940s, Manachem Begin was a freedom fighter, but not to the British and the Palestinians. To the white South Africans, Nelson Mandela a terrorist when he was struggling to end white rule in the 1960s, but he was a freedom fighter to the majority of the population. Political violence assumes various forms, including random destruction of innocent civilians targeted largely for symbolic significance and publicity for a cause. Individual groups engaged in political violence for the sake of achieving a goal that may include social justice as in the case of FARC is unacceptable, it lacks legitimacy, it is "terrorism." Mass killings in the form of state-sanctioned warfare have always carried a sense of glory, virtue, and honor, though the end result is destruction just as in the case of guerrilla groups carrying out political violence. Is FARC a terrorist organization? Created in 1964 by the Colombian Communist Party, FARC was a response to endemic poverty in southern Colombia, to concentration of land-ownership, government repression, and La Violencia that devastated the country from 1948 to 1958. Organized society produces guerrilla organizations like FARC or the New Peoples' Army in the Philippines, Sendero Luminoso in Peru, etc. as a response to state-sponsored violence and oppression. This is not to say that the tactics of such organizations should not be strongly condemned, but modern societies, whether the U.S., Russia, the EU, Colombia, Saudi Arabia, etc. do not address the conditions that give rise to insurgent organizations. Instead, they opt for the military solution which actually exacerbates political violence. Only a political solution that takes into account social justice can end political violence". [Tom Grey]

Laws of History: Economic Determinism

Robert Crow writes: "High on the list of candidates for "laws of history" should be "Economic problems are blamed on the foreigner/outsider." Anti-Semitism, racism and nativism, and protectionism are obvious examples. This law also accounts for the pummeling meted out to globalization in the face of overwhelming evidence of its net beneficial effects to rich countries and poor countries alike. Reactions to globalization demonstrate the power and universality of this law inasmuch as globalization is condemned by significant portions of the population in rich countries and poor countries alike. In rich countries, "unfair" competition from low-cost foreign workers is said to take the jobs of honest, hard-working men and women. In poor countries, "unfair" competition from sophisticated, well-capitalized firms in rich countries is said to hold back domestic development, thereby taking the jobs of honest, hard-working men and women. The glass that in fact is three-quarters full is seen, as a result of the blame-it-on-the-outsider law, as three-quarters empty. The benefits of free trade are among the oldest and most firmly established propositions of economic theory. Moreover, these benefits are supported by massive economic evidence, not the least of which is the emergence of globalized East Asia over the past 60 years from relative poverty to significant prosperity. This contrasts sharply with the record of protectionist Latin America, which has gone from relative prosperity to relative poverty over the same period. John Kofas writes: "Ironically, the doctrine of "Economic Determinism" explains the fall of Communism. That should give hope to those who believe in Socialism as a viable system, and it should be a source of concern for those advocating globalization. The same forces that brought down Communism are at work in any political economy that fails to serve society and fails to keep pace with change". With respect to globalization, Kofas is half right: those advocating autarky and protectionism are the ones failing society. However, according to the blame-it-on-the-outsider historical law, failure to serve society by picking on foreigners will probably continue to be one of the easiest ways of getting and keeping political power". [Tom Grey]

Bactria and Zoroaster

Bactria and its capital Bactra may have been forgotten in the West, but not in Iran, as this message from Nushin Namazi tells: "In addition to this recent discovery of gold, Bactra (Paktra - Iranian name) is a sacred Iranian city. It was from Bactra that came Zoroaster (Zardosht). Bactra was also the spiritual home of the great temple of the ancient Iranian goddess, Anahit (in Pahlavi or Middle-Persian) and Anahita (Ânâhitâ) in the Avesta hymns. Zoroaster was the Persian philosopher who established Zoroasterianism which was the foundation for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Zoroaster appeared during the reign of Gushtaspa at "Bactra the beautiful, city of the high - streaming banner". Zoroaster's wife's family were very influential in the Royal court, and that helped Zoroaster spread his religion. Hence, Bactria became the heart of the new creed. According to Ferdowsi, the Persian poet, Zarathushtra was killed by an invading Scythian party in front of his fire-altar, in Balkh (Bactra).The good and ethical religion of Zoroaster was adopted by Cyrus the Great, who founded the first world empire, uniting the Iranians, known as the Achaemenian empire. It was based on the Zoroastrian doctrine of freedom, benevolence, tolerance, and progress; a universal religion which knows no sex, race, color, or national barriers. Upon conquering Babylon, Cyrus issued the first International Human Rights Charter 2500 years ago, and this charter hangs in the United Nations today. Below is a link to the history of Bactra (Paktra)". http://www.iranchamber.com/geography/articles/balkh.php RH: This has great importance in the contemporary world. Militant Islam crushed the vibrant Christianity of which North Africa was the center, and of which only the struggling Coptic Church remains. In the East, Islam crushed Zoroastrianism. Many Zoroastrians fled to Bombay. where they survived as the Parsis. Now some Egyptians are denying that they are Arabs, whom they view as destroyers of their ancient civilization. Is there a similar movement among the Iranians? A Zoroastrian regime would be much more humane that that of the mullahs, to whom however, Western-style democracy may be the most likely successor. Zoroaster is seldom mentioned in religious discussions, but it inspired Nietzsche's best known work, Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-5) in which he developed his ideas on the death of God, the superman and the will to power. It was his effort to set up an alternative to Christianity. My impression is that he totally misrepresented the ideas of Zoroaster. Do Christopher Jones, Jim Tent and people better informed than I have any comment?