The Lost Generation

During WW1 nearly 10 million soldiers lost their lives. Of these about 1 million were killed at Flanders Field in Belgium. As a young teen exchange student in 1952 I became aware of the immensity of these deaths as the driver there to the chaplain to the princes, P. B. ("Tubby") Clayton. We returned to the graveyards -- many hundreds of thousands of crosses passed by -- and looked in at a preserved trench where deaths had occurred by a kind of madness in which one side would prepare an attack with a military bombardment which had to be halted when the attacking troops entered the no man's land of blood and gore at which point the opponents would begin the slaughter with machine guns. None would make it across and those wounded in the upper arms would be sent to walk back to the hospitals behind the lines, those with leg wounds would be carried back, and those with body injuries would be left with a canteen of water to die. Junior officers led the charges and were the first targets to die. There were no anti-biotics then and only scorching might halt the infections.

This war was only a quarter century away from my experience, but it made me -- and Europeans generally -- aware of the horrors of war. No such consciousness seems to have occurred to our draft dodgers, Bush and Cheney.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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World's Most Deadly Organizations

[The most death and suffering dealing organizations today are not militaries, but rather religious and others that sabotage international programs to assist women in poor nations from conceiving children -- both at terrible risk to themselves and to the children born that cannot be fed or provided adequate medical care even for easily treatable conditions.

Periodically one will hear of the Catholic Church's efforts to block contraception and abortion programs. In one country, Nicaragua, abortion is even outlawed to save a woman's life!

Those dying and suffering number in the many millions each year. The Times article here cites the 536,000 women so dying each year, but not the millions upon millions of children doomed to early and painful deaths through starvation, diseases, and injuries not treated.

Comments?

Ed Kent]

..................

DEATH IN BIRTH
Where Life's Start Is a Deadly Risk
By DENISE GRADY
More than half of the 536,000 women who die each year in pregnancy and childbirth are in Africa, according to the World Health Organization.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/health/24birth.html?th&emc=th

..................
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]

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William A. Donohue -- the Pope's U.S. Hitman

I happened to see Bill Donahue sounding off on Obama's graduation ceremony award by Notre Dame yesterday which reminded me that he is the only character I have been tempted to punch out following upon a vicious personal attack on my wife in a small public meeting.

Donahue is president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights in the U.S. and an adjunct to the right wing Heritage Foundation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Donohue

The encounter with my wife was over a relatively small matter. She is a preservationist and was defending a handsome Catholic Church that was being scheduled for destruction. What was distinctive about Donahue was his characteristic nastiness and personal attack on a perceived enemy which he seems to see any non Catholic potentially to be. Neither Lyn nor I had ever encountered such ugliness projected face to face by a fellow human. I noted thereafter that this is his characteristic mode designed to unsettle opponents. Bill Buckley used to employ a similar game tactic to win arguments.

One can imagine how it must have been in the days of the Inquisition before the torch was lit.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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B. K. S. Iyengar

[It is hard to believe that B.K.S. Iyengar is alive and well and still practicing yoga as one of its world preeminent authorities. Iyengar and I met when we shared a 3rd floor porch with a superb view of the Atlantic. We were each assisting a wealthy family -- he as their Yoga instructor and me as tutor to two young daughters. We all ate together -- vegetarian.

He was eminently qualified for his contribution. I was a rank amateur and recent college grad needing a recovery summer rather than one of my strenuous ones doing construction or working in a factory -- we happily did such things in my college days, as they paid well for those going through college on scholarships and such.

Iyengar was one of the nicest persons that I have known. Each morning he went through his extraordinary routines which included body flexibility that would even let him sit on his own head. He told of his sickly childhood and being shipped off to a relative to be raised -- if he survived. He was taught yoga which he told me he did not take seriously at first, but which had become for him a way of life which he wanted to share with others (he taught me a 'grad student' version which would get one through a paper writing night without smokes and cokes). It did work. I did two lengthy ones one night (typed up by my wife) which made it with my then teacher, Reinhold Niebuhr, and another at Union Theological Seminary whose identity I do not now connect with the other paper. Our memories at my age have recall problems -- which I learned about one summer when I taught a geriatric psychology course (from a text book) on a dare. Two of us had traded courses from our own fields.

Back to Iyengar -- from that time on his fame grew. I would hear of his activities. My physical fitness pro daughter sometimes mentions our link when she teaches a class in yoga. It is hard to believe that Iyengar is still going strong at what must now be the age of 91. Yoga works wonders!! Ed Kent]

=================================================

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.K.S._Iyengar

B. K. S. Iyengar
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B.K.S. Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (Kannada: ಬೆಳ್ಳೂರ್ ಕೃಷ್ಣಮಾಚಾರ್ ಸುಂದರರಾಜ ಐಯಂಗಾರ್, Tamil: பெல்லூர் கிருஷ்ணமாச்சார் சௌந்தரராஜா ஐயங்கார்), (also known as Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar) (Born December 14, 1918 in Bellur, Kolar District,[1] Karnataka, India) is the founder of Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world [2] and has been practicing and teaching yoga for more than 75 years. He has written many books on yogic practice and philosophy, and is best known for his books Light on Yoga, Light on Pranayama, and Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. He has also written several definitive yoga texts. Iyengar yoga centers are located throughout the world, and it is believed that millions of students practice Iyengar Yoga.[3]

He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1991, and the Padma Bhushan in 2002.Iyengar has been named in 2004, as one of the Time 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine.[4][5]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Early years
* 2 International recognition
* 3 Publications
* 4 References
* 5 External links
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
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Obama on the Move

Life has been hectic in recent weeks with not much time for blogging. Also the news is generally grim with some notable exceptions. One of these is the release of our young Iranian American journalist which may spell a crack in the armor of Iranian intentions to develop nuclear weapons. It does not take much smarts to see that such a program could place Iran at the center of a nuclear Holocaust that would pretty well destroy the Middle East. Thank G-d that we have obama in place. He seems to be a number of steps ahead of others with the ability to achieve his aims for us. I don't know how he keeps it up. I do wish he would speak of 'our' of whatever persons in U.S. governmental authority rather than 'my'. Perhaps someone will bring this to his attention?

On other fronts it does not look as though he has achieved a rapprochement with the leaders now in office in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Once again only G-d can guess what the new Israeli government will be up to -- what a decline since the times of some really fine and decent leaders of that small refuge nation for the escapees from the Holocaust -- the climax in the two millennial history of Christian anti-Semitism.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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Funding Israel?

[Should the U.S. call for restrictions on some Israeli practices assisted by our financial aid? The current Israeli government looks to be a potential loose cannon, e.g. contemplating an attack on Iran? I have in mind here the well being of Israel's future, not curbs for anti Israeli reasons. Gaza was seen by most of the world as a horror. My Israeli friends such as Dorothy Naor here share their concerns which do not make it into our media. Ed]

From: Sydney Levy, Jewish Voice for Peace
To: dor_naor@netvision.net.il
Sent: Sunday, May 03, 2009 5:13 AM
Subject: From Gaza, Sameh Habeeb says: Now it's your turn



Are your tax dollars being used
to fund the terrible devastation
we experienced in Gaza?




Dear Dorothy,

For months now I have been trying to make sense of what happened in Gaza. And yet I never know where to start or how to find the one story that says everything that needs to be said about what happened-and still is happening-to us.

I have many accounts to choose from and pictures as well. I am a photojournalist, you see, and I have been documenting in words and pictures the shortages of food and electricity that preceded the attack and continue to this day, and the many civilians who were killed, maimed, or made homeless during those terrible 22 days in late December and early January.

I have collected many accounts of bravery and despair under extremely trying circumstances. My house was exposed to shrapnel from Israeli rockets. Without power, I had to walk around four kilometers (about two and a half miles) in the middle of this cruel attack, simply to charge my laptop in order to get the truth out. Now it's your turn. I am asking you now to carry my story forward.

The US government is planning to pour more money-billions of dollars-to continue this madness. Tell them what happened in Gaza and ask them to investigate. Ask them to find out for themselves what happened with the money they sent. Our streets are littered with "made-in-the-US" ammunitions; our schools with "made-in-the-US" phosphorus.

Ask them to make sure that the story of Louay does not repeat itself. I met him in a hospital. His grandmother was beside him trying to make him feel better. When I spoke with him, he did not know that that he had lost his eyesight and that his brother was killed in an attack on his father's car. He told me what had happened to him, then he concluded, "I need you to help me recover quickly so I can go to school again and play with some of my friends. I don't know if they are alive or not." These are the words and the courage of an eight-year old.

We can do better than this.


Sameh Akram Habeeb
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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The Menace of Indian Point

At the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, a Pipe Leak Raises Concerns
By MATTHEW L. WALD
Some experts worry that a threat to the safe operation of aging reactors across the country may lurk in underground pipes.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/02/nyregion/02nuke.html?th&emc=th

..................

Indian point has been a constant menace to the NYC region. When the bi-partisan report of an imminent attack on our mainland was published just after Bush assumed office in 2001, I assumed Indian Point might be a prime target. When I checked, I discovered that anyone could drive through its unguarded gates. I reported this to the NY Times which investigated for a time. A bit later the guards there themselves complained that they were inadequately staffed. Indian Point is owned by a Texas outfit -- Entergy

What next?
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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A Leading Legal Mind!!!

I hope that Obama will choose a leading legal mind for his Supreme court nomination. As a professional legal philosopher, I have cringed at the too often political or niche appointments that were replacing the host of leading legal minds of the 1930s and thereafter for a time -- Holmes, Frankfurter, Cardozo, Brandeis, Douglas, Black, Marshall, and others. Such men did justice within the framework of our Constitution and the rule of law. The public opposed school desegregation -- until Brown vs. the Board of Education in 1954. There have been a host of decisions that have done justice rather than pleasing biased majorities -- anti-Semitic, anti African American, anti privacy and women's rights (Roe), etc. The appointment of Bush II as president by the Court is an all too manifest example of the harm that can be done by politicized courts -- all those lives lost in Iraq among other horrors.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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No Pleasure Reading Anymore

I fear that our current generation is being raised with sound and sight bits that allow no penetrating knowledge or basis for criticism of said bits thrust at one with a too often "both sides" claim to truth. However, what really gets to me is the 'trade mark' identities of those so mis-educated.

My own learning experience was so different and has allowed me over a lifetime to choose what I wanted to be and do and also to understand a broad range of persons and cultures. By chance I grew up in the country with our nearest neighbor 1/4 of a mile away. My family had inherited a vast library from my academic grand parents for me to explore and my mother was also a great reader who kept our home full of the latest things. Reading was my pleasure. When I moved on as an exchange student to Britain as a teen, I was already steeped in British culture and curious to explore the other national cultures which I further encountered -- France, Germany, whatever.

I am horrified, thus, by today's mind destroying approach to kids with knowledge inflicted through stupid testing programs that both handicap teachers and make learning a threatening and boring horror. No wonder that experience -- both good and bad (e.g. those near porn pictures of themselves sent out into the world by sub teens imitating ads, etc.) -- now brings the main excitement to their lives.

David Riesman (The Lonely Crowd, 1950) drew a distinction between 3 types of persons being produced by our culture: tradition directed, inner directed and other directed. He saw our society in transition towards the last category -- a sterile imperative to imitate the popular ones -- a terrible loss of individuality and the freedom to be a unique person. I watched the deadening impact grow on my college students over the decades.

May we somehow manage to break the hold on us of our commercial cultural gangsters who dominate us with their trash. If not, we will be endangered by all the evils promoted by them -- from torture to our killing others for dubious reasons.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 212-665-8535 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
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