tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-308976522024-03-17T19:03:04.729-08:00What Do I Know?........This and that as things come upStevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.comBlogger7428125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-87542880568080361242024-03-16T16:13:00.004-08:002024-03-16T20:27:23.905-08:00Mail-In Ballots And Moms For Liberty Candidates - Anchorage Elections <p>This was going to be a quick post just showing that we got our mail-in ballots for the Anchorage election coming up April 2, 2024. </p><p>But then it got more complicated when I started writing about the School Board candidates challenging the three incumbents. Two of them are Moms for Liberty candidates. I had indications and an allegation of this in yesterday's draft. But I got a bit more evidence today. So keep scrolling down and do check the<a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty" target="_blank"> Moms for Liberty link </a>which takes you to the Southern Poverty Law Offices listing of Moms for Liberty. </p><p>These candidates have won elections because they hide their real objectives until they get elected. Instead they spout generalities that we're all in favor of. That's why I decided to make this more than simply a post on the ways to get your mail-in ballot in to election central to be counted. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>The Municipality of Anchorage moved to mail-in elections several years ago. Basically that means that ballots are mailed to all registered voters about three weeks before the election and that on election day there aren't 100 or more polling places all over the Municipality where people can vote.</p><p>BUT, if you don't want to figure out and pay for postage, there are lots of drop boxes around town where you can take your ballot. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOAWrbi_Bd6p-O8amSwj5CsAtLfV8l7uEcY7z4tUKqfPpOLqkqKLSvegcvj2yr5zh1twAprir6u2g3XCxtH1lBRnaSgLnECyfqIuMRRM-sOw9z_c-OZuPDPAyIsQ2md1KQJkjiE5oen7HqaF09FW3X7V9XB0Qa82zNInj1DgHukVZfmWtVQ/s1634/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.10.41%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1182" data-original-width="1634" height="460" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggOAWrbi_Bd6p-O8amSwj5CsAtLfV8l7uEcY7z4tUKqfPpOLqkqKLSvegcvj2yr5zh1twAprir6u2g3XCxtH1lBRnaSgLnECyfqIuMRRM-sOw9z_c-OZuPDPAyIsQ2md1KQJkjiE5oen7HqaF09FW3X7V9XB0Qa82zNInj1DgHukVZfmWtVQ/w640-h460/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.10.41%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>And if you want to actually vote in a voting booth, there are places for that too - at City Hall, Loussac Library, or the Eagle River Town Center.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0jX90gfWD9sVgb-nHxgX___TTNH52LTXmTJ0DuaN_8d5u4QdxDFl2ttgxtDUxMijzTNUxXLAFGKSc8RrUK_DmoUhIf4El6ULJFQk9LY8YSrV4G5xE1TE3roqjd-tnf9a2Z2_JgKbie8n_x4O783xPo-1pVFwUiCqd9ZTxW6XwmTZvD3oxg/s1558/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.21.18%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1558" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY0jX90gfWD9sVgb-nHxgX___TTNH52LTXmTJ0DuaN_8d5u4QdxDFl2ttgxtDUxMijzTNUxXLAFGKSc8RrUK_DmoUhIf4El6ULJFQk9LY8YSrV4G5xE1TE3roqjd-tnf9a2Z2_JgKbie8n_x4O783xPo-1pVFwUiCqd9ZTxW6XwmTZvD3oxg/w640-h410/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.21.18%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>If you want more information, <a href="https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Pages/Default.aspx" target="_blank">go to the Municipal Election website</a>. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23mx8_sqCobJcUQs3WoObbt9NDKwr7rxMsl4Ne3x7_JaUJ7qKKusYZLH2A8gj0rZoRAGNwXtfYttdNznBqx-AXovFf2AgsjMAzmrmPKSlwoo099zWS4d-eWr2yfemh-m_DjUt-mw6VKFhuZvkMiLFXsY7KncGpXmwSvS-LK8ggTOdhjZQqg/s2058/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.09.04%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1278" data-original-width="2058" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh23mx8_sqCobJcUQs3WoObbt9NDKwr7rxMsl4Ne3x7_JaUJ7qKKusYZLH2A8gj0rZoRAGNwXtfYttdNznBqx-AXovFf2AgsjMAzmrmPKSlwoo099zWS4d-eWr2yfemh-m_DjUt-mw6VKFhuZvkMiLFXsY7KncGpXmwSvS-LK8ggTOdhjZQqg/w640-h396/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-15%20at%2011.09.04%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>School Board Alert</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I'm trying to think back to how often I've actually recommended candidates on this blog. My sense is that it's not normal, but that in times when I felt strongly, I probably have. Or maybe I just did blog posts about candidates which gave factual information that made clear my preferences. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We are in extremely perilous times in 2024. Nationally, the Republican candidate for president has done so many things to signal that he will use the office of president to further his personal interests and abandon the Constitution. He already tried, ineptly, the first time round, but he'll be better prepared the second time. If you haven't looked at<a href="https://www.project2025.org" target="_blank"> Project 2025</a> (you can start with the policy agenda, but every item is a blueprint for an authoritarian dictatorship), then you should, and share it with everyone you know.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But this is a Municipal election, so I won't dwell on national issues yet. Except to say that the Republicans not only had a 30 year plan to take over the Supreme Court - which they have now accomplished - but also to take over state and local legislative bodies, including school boards. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Are they doing that in Anchorage? It appears so.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/group/moms-liberty" target="_blank">Moms for Liberty</a> has officially had their <a href="https://thealaskacurrent.com/2024/02/20/moms-for-liberty-anchorage/" target="_blank">first meeting in Anchorage and has at least two school board members in Mat-Su.</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">These candidates are not making it easy for people to see what they stand for. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">While I can't verify [actually, while writing this I did get verification, see below] that the candidates opposing the three incumbents are from Moms for Liberty, there are indications that one or more are. But that's how they get elected - by speaking in generalities at forums and then when they get elected they push book banning and LGBTQ+ bashing, and erasing Blacks from history lessons.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">There are three incumbents running for school board. They all showed up for the Alaska Black Caucus candidate forum. Only one of the challengers - Angela Frank - was there. Frank answered a number of questions with "I don't know" and expressions of cluelessness on her face. But I admire her for showing up and putting herself through this. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The other two challengers - Chelsea Pohland and Kay Schuster - didn't show up before this audience at all. You can also see, in the video below, that the three incumbents didn't answer in platitudes and generalities. They answered in detailed specifics about programs, with numbers, and with programs they want to keep improving. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /><iframe allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" height="429" scrolling="no" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=314&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FTheAlaskaBlackCaucus%2Fvideos%2F1456639304922300%2F&show_text=true&width=560&t=0" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><br /></div><b>Are the three challengers MAGA and Moms for Liberty?</b> It does appear that Chelsea Pohland and Kay Schuster are, at least, in agreement with Moms for Liberty ideas.<div><br /></div><div>In terms of what they say about themselves, it's hard to tell. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Chelsea-Pohland-for-School-Board/61556648335500/" target="_blank">Chelsea Pohland has a Facebook page</a> for her campaign. It doesn't really tell us what she's for, but it does have </div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>pictures of her with Mayor Dave Bronson and fellow candidate challenger Kay Schuster</li><li>fundraiser announcements which include Jamie Allard and Dave Stieren among the sponsors</li></ul></div><div><br /></div><div>The<a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.chelseapohlandforschoolboard.com%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR27RcOcWEt64CQS9QmcLaJvZx5fnw_abwqd2zOVGRp3HhXTbzVTBHAiBbs&h=AT05u4og6yzeGwXQLqBtiXQ167j7KKnE0MTqPNAmAs0Hew_4vm6Xe3EpXmGKlLKUAP_qQNeOpUzS7j8GI4qngiQYwGwxDsY7tySSAm8lghQ8RIwzVENzgVeXPT54vDTYnMjgv8g&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT139m5_aQLKXQS-oVsPHstNIMbtH-CJUP62MAZ9UJHJsyKnLTAnVhgB9zFuc8dPD8n4NygRlzFrPcvxjvPN_wmgzkELA1RwRWKJ7_sO66L-DoyX8qCmtYK1yxR-wralJf35xmyHZAgn1noybgsQ5QnDHULrdi4rQf8GRo93JZFeeOur0PWKWiSrJEuPnsAGiluiwMURvQiMqG-W" target="_blank"> FB page also had a link to a campaign website</a> (which I couldn't find via Google) which offers general platitudes that tell us nothing about her actual values or the programs she'd push for:</div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>"My vision for the Anchorage School Board is built on a commitment to excellence, inclusivity, innovation, and transparency. I aim to bring my experience as a business owner and a community leader to bring together a collaborative approach to decision making, ensuring that our schools are equipped to offer every child a chance to thrive in an ever changing world. </div><div>As we look to the future, my message and drive is clear, to be a champion to the cause of education in Anchorage with passion, integrity, and a solid foundation built on transparency. I am here to serve as a voice for our children, our families, and our community, advocating for a brighter, more inclusive future for all."</div><div></div></blockquote><div>Inclusivity, transparency, and collaboration are NOT how Jamie Allard (a Pohland supporter) has operated as a State legislator. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And here it is </span>from an <a href="https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/education/2024/03/16/3-anchorage-school-board-members-face-challengers-in-upcoming-election/" target="_blank">Anchorage Daily News story </a>that was posted online a few hours ago:</div><div><blockquote>"Two of the challengers — Pohland and Schuster — are supported by some prominent local conservatives, and Pohland <b>said she is a member of Moms for Liberty,</b> a national nonprofit focused on “parental rights” that has vowed to get more candidates onto school boards nationwide."</blockquote><p>(I'd note that Governor Dunleavy has cited Parental Rights at least since 2015.<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2015/05/to-dunleavy-v-when-situation.html" target="_blank"> See this post I wrote about his attempt to sabotage Erin's Law</a> (a bill to require kids get taught how to avoid being victims of child abusers). Dunleavy constantly cited parental rights as his reasons and that's when I discovered there was a national organization with that name whose goal is to move public money to spend on private schools. Knowing that helps one understand his continued cuts to public schools and his strong support of charter schools.) </p><p> I did have other such indicators that I had already in this post:</p></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Anchorage needs well prepared school board members who will work for all students and not a MAGA / Moms for Liberty agenda. Chelsea Pohland has been endorsed by Jamie Allard, who has locked down the Ed Committee for the past 2 weeks and she received a donation from Judy Eledge <a href="https://t.co/NGqI1JVOoU">pic.twitter.com/NGqI1JVOoU</a></p>— Alaska998 (@seinerak) <a href="https://twitter.com/seinerak/status/1767039377505751479?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 11, 2024</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>And here's<a href="https://thebluealaskan.com/rep-jamie-allards-dangerous-game-amplifying-extremism-against-asd/" target="_blank"> Blue Alaskan's post about Pohland supporter Jamie Allard</a>.</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I'm posting this information while people are just getting their mail-in ballots so that they know that:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>one of the challengers (Chelsea Pohland) has said she was a member of Moms for Liberty</li><li>another's campaign (Kay Schuster) is closely aligned with Pohland's campaign </li><li>the third challenger (Angela Frank) really knows nothing about the school board based on her answers at the Black Caucus candidate forum (see video above), and <a href="https://swensonfamilymember.blogspot.com/2024/03/time-to-elect-common-sense-to-anchorage.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR2aMgix6WoZooUNHF6b8ASkHnKTLYQQgFSvvCfRKX6vy4aOfrlydKKqUXo" target="_blank">she's supported by someone who supports the other two challengers</a>. </li></ul><div><br /></div><div>I thought I could add the Mayor's race in here too, but this got much longer than I expected. (That happens often enough that probably I should start expecting it.)</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Other Links about Moms for Liberty</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moms_for_Liberty" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></li><li>New Republic: <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/179713/moms-liberty-sex-scandal-imploding-maga-2024" target="_blank">Moms for Liberty Is Slowly Imploding, and That’s Bad for MAGA in 2024</a></li><li>AP: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/moms-for-liberty-donors-revenue-gop-schools-70d733e024d81f7ad054b0f321e67647" target="_blank">Moms for Liberty reports over $2 million in revenue, with bulk of contributions from two donors</a></li><li>Wired: <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/moms-for-liberty-ziegler/" target="_blank"> Moms for Liberty Is Tearing Itself Apart</a></li></ul></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-184961561128240702024-03-09T13:43:00.000-09:002024-03-09T13:43:16.198-09:00Coming Home On Part 1: Leaving Bainbridge<p>Time had come to bid our daughter's family goodbye for now. I was taken aback by the price of Seattle-Anchorage tickets when I was booking our flight home. I don't remember the details, but I just remember the 10 am flight was higher than normal and the later flights were even worse. </p><p>Problem is we start off from Bainbridge Island. That means you have a 35 minute ferry ride to downtown Seattle. Then either a walk to the light rail and to the airport, or get a cab. Cabs are $40 plus tip. Light rail, for seniors, is $1 each. So if there's time and it's not raining hard, we go light rail. </p><p>This winter my daughter warned me about delays with the ferries and some ferries getting cancelled meaning you have to wait 50 minutes or more for the next one. There were some problems with the ferries themselves, but mostly it's a staffing issue. Lots of retirees recently and new people need special training and aren't as experienced. </p><p>I even signed up for notifications when there was a delay or cancellation on the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry. This was helpful to get a sense of how often there were delays and cancellations. I got fewer alerts as time went by and there were far fewer cancellations.</p><p>But that makes planning a trip to the airport a real pain. Especially when I think of the 10 minutes it takes to get to the Anchorage airport from our house. An 8am flight means getting up really early and hoping your ferry is close to on time.</p><p>On the <a href="https://www.wsdot.com/ferries/schedule/scheduledetail.aspx?departingterm=7&arrivingterm=3&roundtrip=true" target="_blank">Bainbridge Ferry page</a> there's a link to get text message alerts on the left. And a cool link is a real time map of where the ferries are - usually there are two ferries going between Bainbridge and Seattle. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gj8uVh9KZg2pDBGfaDxEt_x_CJUzthz_0jGngiFzli8M2VX-KMt9yq9-ESief_9vRKfyCmA5YZbkzIhXwC21DOXAyvDiFYULuwa_Ke9pE_NFbiZfhZxb41508jkzWjorVWUcz-Su1NZyOKKNUI_hIIQg3Oqf590UW9skgrAZKfoncWTftQ/s640/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-09%20at%202.34.09%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="429" data-original-width="640" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gj8uVh9KZg2pDBGfaDxEt_x_CJUzthz_0jGngiFzli8M2VX-KMt9yq9-ESief_9vRKfyCmA5YZbkzIhXwC21DOXAyvDiFYULuwa_Ke9pE_NFbiZfhZxb41508jkzWjorVWUcz-Su1NZyOKKNUI_hIIQg3Oqf590UW9skgrAZKfoncWTftQ/w640-h430/Screen%20Shot%202024-03-09%20at%202.34.09%20PM.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>You can see the Tacoma is coming from Bainbridge to Seattle and the Chimacum is in the opposite direction. There's also one coming toward Seattle from Bremerton. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ-5gZd8RMh_NNOjxdNKKHok0jTv4p0umJmZLo5QVs3NA634PW4sADWULO0iT9sJLzw6ohzkYxAK29jaqy_H_4_391M8MdMlOK0vmwnhoL8eoDAVsv11-TyHmbY7bSJrVgkZoBfbJkvy4FLLf1Eidj87PYqKBeWku2MlgPYrhlvX2F3XPug/s640/IMG_6419.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="466" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYQ-5gZd8RMh_NNOjxdNKKHok0jTv4p0umJmZLo5QVs3NA634PW4sADWULO0iT9sJLzw6ohzkYxAK29jaqy_H_4_391M8MdMlOK0vmwnhoL8eoDAVsv11-TyHmbY7bSJrVgkZoBfbJkvy4FLLf1Eidj87PYqKBeWku2MlgPYrhlvX2F3XPug/s320/IMG_6419.jpeg" width="233" /></a></div>So rather than mess with the ferry early in the morning, we got a hotel room at the airport. It was much cheaper than booking a later flight. An old high school friend who lives in Seattle, picked us up at the ferry Thursday afternoon and we had a great Ethiopian dinner (the special veggie combo at <a href="https://delishethiopianfood.com" target="_blank">Delish</a>) before he dropped us off at the hotel. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One other tip I'll mention for people catching a flight from SEATAC (the Seattle Tacoma airport) is <a href="https://www.portseattle.org/SEAspotsaver">SPOTSAVER</a>. You can go on line and reserve a spot in the TSA line. You tell them a time and you've got 15 minutes before and after and that gets you into a much shorter line. I didn't think it would be necessary for an 8am flight but I signed up anyway. Problem was they only offered appointments at 4:30am and 7am. We wanted to arrive around 6:30 am. So I booked 7am. Good thing I did. There was a long line. I explained my 7am reservation and he let us go through. SPOTSAVER was even shorter than the TSA precheck line. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When we got to the gate, I was a little tempted to go to Gate 18 instead of 17, but I resisted. </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPC6TTWmMJnHZya0BOOnVOdQljHo82Q_5RpY8p0LUuOQLU_45wwPQgbVkCZTcJ5mTp3utknAQzPta03EwFvXpjEqWBo2uhpsmzUYv8wNBb8LBhNASIh1LK4yA7r-LqDNFEpcI5q51vRYeyO1ocDeRpPghJQF-6Ow8fFB__dZMFbiEJEVN8A/s640/IMG_6422.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="640" height="272" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoPC6TTWmMJnHZya0BOOnVOdQljHo82Q_5RpY8p0LUuOQLU_45wwPQgbVkCZTcJ5mTp3utknAQzPta03EwFvXpjEqWBo2uhpsmzUYv8wNBb8LBhNASIh1LK4yA7r-LqDNFEpcI5q51vRYeyO1ocDeRpPghJQF-6Ow8fFB__dZMFbiEJEVN8A/w640-h272/IMG_6422.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sorry, it's out of focus, but you can read the destinations. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was originally going to be about how beautiful it was in Anchorage when we arrived, but it seemed like a better idea to make two posts. Part II will be soon. </div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-767757600605238182024-03-04T21:37:00.003-09:002024-03-05T18:24:43.282-09:00On The Colorado Ballot Supreme Court Decision [UPDATED]<p>After the Supreme Court agreed to hear the Colorado case and then the immunity case, I mused that the justices made an agreement to let Trump on the ballot in Colorado, but to not grant him immunity. </p><p>It just seemed to me they were getting enough heat about losing the public's trust - something Chief Justice Roberts has on occasion paid attention to - that maybe they decided to go in Trump's favor in one case and that they would decide against him in the other case. This would make them look more 'objective.'</p><p>Today, they decided for Trump. Not only did they decide for Trump, but they did so unanimously, sort of. I haven't read the decision carefully enough, but I've read a few articles on the decision. </p><p>Basically the five male justices not only decided the key point - whether Trump should stay on the ballot - but they went on to reach a few other conclusions. </p><p>The women, starting with Amy Comey Barrett who wrote:</p><p></p><blockquote>"I join Parts I and II–B of the Court’s opinion. I agree that States lack the power to enforce Section 3 against Presidential candidates. That principle is sufficient to resolve this case, and I would decide no more than that."</blockquote><p>Sotomayor wrote what some legal scholars characterized as a dissenting opinion disguised as a concurring opinion. </p><p>Some extra legal considerations:</p><p>I've checked the difference between a concurrent and dissenting opinion. Basically, a concurrent opinion agrees with the decision, but not the reasoning. A dissenting opinion disagrees with the decision and the reasoning. I haven't tracked down what happens if there are more than one 'decisions' and someone agrees with one, but not the others. Does that have to be a concurrent decision? Or a dissenting decision? Or could it be both?</p><p>A retired attorney friend told me to look up 'dicta.' From</p><p></p><blockquote>"Dicta in law refers to a comment, suggestion, or observation made by a judge in an opinion that is not necessary to resolve the case, and as such, it is not legally binding on other courts but may still be cited as persuasive authority in future litigation. Also referred to as dictum and judicial dicta. A dissenting opinion is also generally considered obiter dictum."</blockquote><p>Were the majority conclusions that Barrett criticized then dicta, because they weren't necessary to resolve the case? Or are they legally binding? </p><p></p><p><b>UNANIMOUS DECISION</b></p><p>SO, this was a unanimous decision. It's important, and increasingly rare, for the Supreme Court to rule unanimously on such politically charged cases. It's important to do so to show the court is in agreement to thwart backlash from the public. </p><p>Chief Justice Earl Warren worked hard to get all the justices to agree on the controversial Brown v Board of Education, the landmark ruling that racially segregated public schools were not Constitutional. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren" target="_blank">From Wikipedia:</a></p><p></p><blockquote>"By the early 1950s, Warren had become personally convinced that segregation was morally wrong and legally indefensible. Warren sought not only to overturn Plessy but also to have a unanimous verdict. Warren, Black, Douglas, Burton, and Minton supported overturning the precedent, but for different reasons, Robert H. Jackson, Felix Frankfurter, Tom C. Clark, and Stanley Forman Reed were reluctant to overturn Plessy.[112] Nonetheless, Warren won over Jackson, Frankfurter, and Clark, in part by allowing states and federal courts the flexibility to pursue desegregation of schools at different speeds. Warren extensively courted the last holdout, Reed, who finally agreed to join a unanimous verdict because he feared that a dissent would encourage resistance to the Court's holding. After the Supreme Court formally voted to hold that the segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, Warren drafted an eight-page outline from which his law clerks drafted an opinion, and the Court handed down its decision in May 1954.[113] In the Deep South at the time, people could view signs claiming "Impeach Earl Warren."[114]"</blockquote><p>Why was today's decision unanimous? Why didn't Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissent instead of concurring? The obvious answer is that they agreed with the basic decision that Colorado didn't have the power to keep Trump off the ballot. And that may well be true. </p><p>But my hope is, as I said at the beginning, that Roberts got the Court to vote unanimously on this one in exchange for a unanimous decision on the immunity case. Because Roberts sees two cases are so potentially explosive (though that didn't bother him with Dobbs), he wanted them to both be unanimous - one for Trump, one against him - to make the Court look less partisan at this time when the Court is under so much pressure because of precedent breaking cases like Dobbs and because of the corruption scandals surround Justice Thomas and others. </p><p>But I also have some reservations. </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>I'm not sure Roberts could get such a commitment from the more conservative judges</li><li>Even if he could, I'm not sure they will honor any such commitment, just as Mike Johnson didn't honor the commitment to pass the Ukrainian assistance if there was a border bill.</li></ul><div>However, to grant a past president, even a sitting president, immunity is ludicrous. "No man is above the law" is the "Treat your neighbor as you would have him treat you" of the US legal system. It doesn't always happen, but it's the standard. </div><div><br /></div><div>Even if Roberts can't get a unanimous decision, he should minimally be able to pull Kavanaugh into such a decision along with the liberal justices and himself. </div><div><br /></div><div>I think the arguments for keeping Trump off the ballot in Colorado were compelling. But Colorado has been<a href="https://www.270towin.com/states/Colorado" target="_blank"> voting Democratic presidential candidates since 2008</a>. So keeping him on the ballot is probably not going to change the election. But the implications of the majority decision do seem to have long term effects. But let's just hope we don't have any other presidential candidates who have plotted insurrection of the United States.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's my thinking. It's not a prediction, because in these perilous times, predictions are like throwing paper into the wind. Treat this as wishful speculation. </div><div><br /></div><div>You can read the 20 page decision yourself below. </div><div><br />
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="0.7729220222793488" data-auto-height="true" frameborder="0" height="600" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/710503562/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-JMe1umOMA6rlMOoJNdLF" tabindex="0" title="Read Supreme Court decision barring states from removing Trump from ballot" width="100%"></iframe><p style="-x-system-font: none; display: block; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 12px auto 6px;"><a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/710503562/Read-Supreme-Court-decision-barring-states-from-removing-Trump-from-ballot#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Read Supreme Court decision barring states from removing Trump from ballot on Scribd">Read Supreme Court decision...</a> by <a href="https://www.scribd.com/user/234607154/kballuck1#from_embed" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View kballuck1's profile on Scribd">kballuck1</a></p></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>[March 5, 2024 UPDATE: <a href="https://crooked.com/podcast-series/strict-scrutiny/" target="_blank">This podcast by three attorneys</a> - Leah Litman, Kate Shaw, and Melissa Murray - takes a pretty dim view of the decision and probably makes my hypothesis seem like desperate wishful thinking. It's worth listening to. Just click on the link.]</div><p></p><p></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-55531103414798133052024-02-26T09:44:00.001-09:002024-02-26T10:43:19.234-09:00Destroying Cities And Killing Civilians - Post-War Berlin Photos By Roman Vishniac<p>We met long time friends in Berkeley Wednesday at the<a href="https://magnes.berkeley.edu"> Magnes Collection</a>. While looking at the pictures in the current exhibit, I couldn't help but think about Gaza and Ukraine. </p><p>The photographer was: </p><p></p><blockquote>"Roman Vishniac (1897–1990), a Russian-Jewish modernist photographer, [who] lived and worked in Berlin from 1920 to 1939. On the eve of the Second World War, he extensively documented Jewish life in Central and Eastern Europe. After fleeing Nazi Germany, he found safety in New York City and became a US citizen in 1946. The Roman Vishniac Archive, which The Magnes acquired in 2018, also includes thousands of photographs taken after World War II in the United States, Europe, and the Middle East." [From the Exhibit and also the <a href="https://magnes.berkeley.edu/exhibitions/cities-wars-roman-vishniac-in-berlin-jerusalem-1947-1967/" target="_blank">Magnes Collection website</a>]</blockquote><p>Some of the pre-war pictures were up, but the main exhibit was of pictures Vishniac took in Berlin in 1947. That's two years after the war in Germany ended. Much of the debris has been swept up and carted away, though some still likes in piles. People walk, seemingly calmly, in front of bombed out buildings. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0t904oLMfZEyQ-04jRrbuGoEZ47R6fFFOno5glfGF0K3Dp1JKkDEORb7mPV0tjHmn-DJiyGpsstAc84ZCqjombynR9PrIBAF3FsQLcstFhrhudgemjXGp8U6sAbz7nANzgAiTAAuczvrC4QYN4dxxPC-lqrU4-jLMW5dS-m4MpcvczWuCg/s640/IMG_6272.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn0t904oLMfZEyQ-04jRrbuGoEZ47R6fFFOno5glfGF0K3Dp1JKkDEORb7mPV0tjHmn-DJiyGpsstAc84ZCqjombynR9PrIBAF3FsQLcstFhrhudgemjXGp8U6sAbz7nANzgAiTAAuczvrC4QYN4dxxPC-lqrU4-jLMW5dS-m4MpcvczWuCg/w480-h640/IMG_6272.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQeaWC_VL2NS4gGo4FnsFfjd-v47Gbxa8kR3gsy5L-24ESfE06NObCJ9g7qySMmRc7SMiV8kOiHERZ5QT_TZNk1COR60ApBmcpMb_P47vJm67TBdm_SKsP8CaOLynn5rKq8rhkKlQlX6UaZ9S1tH1kE1NKJn33X5EtTFZFXWkYE5wDHLyvA/s640/IMG_6273.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDQeaWC_VL2NS4gGo4FnsFfjd-v47Gbxa8kR3gsy5L-24ESfE06NObCJ9g7qySMmRc7SMiV8kOiHERZ5QT_TZNk1COR60ApBmcpMb_P47vJm67TBdm_SKsP8CaOLynn5rKq8rhkKlQlX6UaZ9S1tH1kE1NKJn33X5EtTFZFXWkYE5wDHLyvA/w480-h640/IMG_6273.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-v2acl7xVTeud1hUwVVNc9Npdsv6MPY7Nr57k62AbwY6oSubLVGKD9Vhhiaz6YX5UUNHczzsbhM83qtI1ZfXOWAtmAGjQI0pqkuIiv4z0LfInmyBKxm6ifsWoIAjz3tdTfoasg6mnAsO9OwqeIPR1-EhLcA2RU4bxwlKKz5d-AE9YxbFOQ/s640/IMG_6274.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-v2acl7xVTeud1hUwVVNc9Npdsv6MPY7Nr57k62AbwY6oSubLVGKD9Vhhiaz6YX5UUNHczzsbhM83qtI1ZfXOWAtmAGjQI0pqkuIiv4z0LfInmyBKxm6ifsWoIAjz3tdTfoasg6mnAsO9OwqeIPR1-EhLcA2RU4bxwlKKz5d-AE9YxbFOQ/w480-h640/IMG_6274.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /> Berlin and Dresden were both bombed heavily in WWII by the US and British air forces.<p></p><p></p><div><br /></div><div>On the 1943-44 Berlin bombing raids<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Berlin_in_World_War_II" target="_blank"> from Wikipedia</a>:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>"On February 15–16, important war industries were hit, including the large Siemensstadt area, with the centre and south-western districts sustaining most of the damage. This was the largest raid by the RAF on Berlin. Raids continued until March 1944.[25][26][27]</div><div>These raids caused immense devastation and loss of life in Berlin. The November 22, 1943 raid killed 2,000 Berliners and rendered 175,000 homeless. The following night, 1,000 were killed and 100,000 made homeless. During December and January regular raids killed hundreds of people each night and rendered between 20,000 and 80,000 homeless each time.[28] Overall nearly 4,000 were killed, 10,000 injured and 450,000 made homeless.[29]"</div></blockquote><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden" target="_blank">From Wikipedia</a>:</div><div><blockquote>"The bombing of Dresden was a joint British and American aerial bombing attack on the city of Dresden, the capital of the German state of Saxony, during World War II. In four raids between 13 and 15 February 1945, 772 heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force (RAF) and 527 of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped more than 3,900 tons of high-explosive bombs and incendiary devices on the city.[3] The bombing and the resulting firestorm destroyed more than 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) of the city centre.[4] Up to 25,000 people were killed.[1][2][a] Three more USAAF air raids followed, two occurring on 2 March aimed at the city's railway marshalling yard and one smaller raid on 17 April aimed at industrial areas."</blockquote><p><br /></p><p>We could add to this the atomic bomb in Japan, and stories about Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. There were/are battles and massacres in the former Yugoslavia, in various parts of Africa, in South America. </p><p>The United Nations was supposed to help end such wars, but it's structured so that the large powers have veto power over crucial decisions. Certainly the arms dealers play a huge role in all these wars, though there were wars before capitalist corporations took over the technology of killing. </p><p>We also have to figure out how and why psychopaths find their way to power and control of militaries and the budgets to arm them. Is there a way to overcome this? </p><p>Is all this simply embedded in our DNA? </p><p><br /></p><p>[This post fits into the series I'm doing on the Israeli-Gaza war, though it's not part of 'plan' I had for those posts. You can link to those posts at the Israel-Gaza war tab just below the orange header above. <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/p/why-making-sense-of-israel-gaza-is-so.html" target="_blank">Here's the same link</a>.]</p></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-46061907115894567642024-02-20T14:02:00.001-09:002024-02-28T17:35:34.428-09:00Subbing In San Francisco- USS Pampanito<p>The grandkids had contradictory ideas about where they wanted to go yesterday. She was more willing, but he adamantly didn't want to go to the Children's Creativity Museum. </p><p>I googled 'San Francisco for kids' and pointed out that we could go visit a submarine. Immediate mood change. </p><p>So we got the 28 bus and rode it to Fisherman's Wharf. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14OaECHzTRjT_RowJw9n5wVFuzaW_k9Wco2aTTGAPt1UM5hIElmLvP5MMmolcUrF0u9v5-J8SPMDM3NfbDOb4MA1YPEZ0IprfBzfRKRD7VRcS4rQcXU_3DqUJhaufiZUMnmx8qqtSSeSNipgs3ZghKZwO35NRajNxPeuPNWotH9JhB-QN6A/s640/IMG_6227.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh14OaECHzTRjT_RowJw9n5wVFuzaW_k9Wco2aTTGAPt1UM5hIElmLvP5MMmolcUrF0u9v5-J8SPMDM3NfbDOb4MA1YPEZ0IprfBzfRKRD7VRcS4rQcXU_3DqUJhaufiZUMnmx8qqtSSeSNipgs3ZghKZwO35NRajNxPeuPNWotH9JhB-QN6A/w300-h400/IMG_6227.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The USS Pampanito SS-383 is a WWII Balao Class Fleet Submarine.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPDmfGT_PeUmCofKzXjUQZx83AxKE9c9nPppMuq080aBeyWSQven_uxLIptdaFKgSmDLAMAJfjINVXcCAAwtaeXLmtItoMx7L9Bfe7GD1E4EcbBeOl7liSjBPPUeSaeHvLJKaCdlfipAAVo3MxRrcgtyhj3Tz9W6pFteaGMkDtvbLCxwi9A/s640/IMG_6228.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKPDmfGT_PeUmCofKzXjUQZx83AxKE9c9nPppMuq080aBeyWSQven_uxLIptdaFKgSmDLAMAJfjINVXcCAAwtaeXLmtItoMx7L9Bfe7GD1E4EcbBeOl7liSjBPPUeSaeHvLJKaCdlfipAAVo3MxRrcgtyhj3Tz9W6pFteaGMkDtvbLCxwi9A/w400-h400/IMG_6228.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieW4CT2BCbofIesIQXI-pW6qEvFJ6JEQHEALhctRvvu2YakhSaG0N5_mcGN1VOoMlVwbl7-Rl-W6Dnw1mU0LKrV-3NZ6TWqRcbpq1DAQFHGxUGMiZvslK_JLGOCSaS0ZDZimbXudkAK4lJctkKJAENerS1EHsslMbO44RzCEeufGTqHkYUVw/s640/IMG_6230.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieW4CT2BCbofIesIQXI-pW6qEvFJ6JEQHEALhctRvvu2YakhSaG0N5_mcGN1VOoMlVwbl7-Rl-W6Dnw1mU0LKrV-3NZ6TWqRcbpq1DAQFHGxUGMiZvslK_JLGOCSaS0ZDZimbXudkAK4lJctkKJAENerS1EHsslMbO44RzCEeufGTqHkYUVw/w300-h400/IMG_6230.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p>There were something like 80 men aboard, and a sign outside said they were gone for long periods of time without a shower. But on the tour we saw two showers. One for the crew and one for the officers. My granddaughter asked about that after the tour. The lady said that the men who worked in the engine room and got oily and the cooks got to take showers, as well as the officers. But water had to be rationed. </p><p>Q: Couldn't they use saltwater?</p><p>A: When they surfaced, and it was safe, the men could just jump into the water.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPVF2D8BDklReWr1viwkOmMYeCurBfQms-sD93BM3IPYDupeP3EsOLuYfBF7sr9IrSHECVgEVuU8NyaDML4M5ngg9pVucRZmT5K_ouhuwolM3oNhcBax1DjRZAM-31pZzW1_zcLH9GYr0zmQDgKwsof25GW_Cb1glPSGDSoJUXy_Cdi4GVQ/s640/IMG_6231.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDPVF2D8BDklReWr1viwkOmMYeCurBfQms-sD93BM3IPYDupeP3EsOLuYfBF7sr9IrSHECVgEVuU8NyaDML4M5ngg9pVucRZmT5K_ouhuwolM3oNhcBax1DjRZAM-31pZzW1_zcLH9GYr0zmQDgKwsof25GW_Cb1glPSGDSoJUXy_Cdi4GVQ/w400-h300/IMG_6231.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Sleeping quarters for the crew. There was one bed for three crew members since two were always on duty. <div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU11ZUoD_RvypAhubrH0-ZYPelSvLoLGfU_NDkmtjEpKjeIFzlD4T9IGR2lLwuRkjgLbUuXgl63eOSBhsAR9dWxERXWEg_QFbtihtPrW-RjHe9RydcuN4w58vILVhLWfQBzd5rcwqX1qChESU-Y5ntqvz2H9KmdlO3pYCqgOJ-_qkiuj5olg/s640/IMG_6232.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU11ZUoD_RvypAhubrH0-ZYPelSvLoLGfU_NDkmtjEpKjeIFzlD4T9IGR2lLwuRkjgLbUuXgl63eOSBhsAR9dWxERXWEg_QFbtihtPrW-RjHe9RydcuN4w58vILVhLWfQBzd5rcwqX1qChESU-Y5ntqvz2H9KmdlO3pYCqgOJ-_qkiuj5olg/w400-h300/IMG_6232.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>This was the kitchen for the crew!</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>I saved this image below at higher resolution, but I still don't think you can read it. So here's a link to <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/transport/engines-equipment/submarine1.htm" target="_blank">a site on How Submarines Work</a>. It has a better animated version of how it takes on water to dive.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbMNoudjKALZUBcb5J9BOU0ANZJ0zhtnEDDAa0TU_7cqQMDsNE13IxjFJLq41K7mfarvBWcplqI_g5ScLgS-w01suLlMBchsXtci6BT1TmaNWKYHyWV5xvwPOwln29obUR1XNt1a5pDh6mOSCKRu-BN36fH7RxO3cPAU8ny9ChWQ6w-EMMA/s1280/IMG_6235.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFbMNoudjKALZUBcb5J9BOU0ANZJ0zhtnEDDAa0TU_7cqQMDsNE13IxjFJLq41K7mfarvBWcplqI_g5ScLgS-w01suLlMBchsXtci6BT1TmaNWKYHyWV5xvwPOwln29obUR1XNt1a5pDh6mOSCKRu-BN36fH7RxO3cPAU8ny9ChWQ6w-EMMA/w640-h480/IMG_6235.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><p></p><p>From the lower part of the sign below: </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote>"The United States submarines and the men who served on them represented less than 1.6% of America's al naval force during WWII, yet was responsible for sinking 55% of Japanese naval and merchant marine flees. This extraordinary record was nt without cost. Almost 23% of the submarine force was lost, comprising more than 3.500 men and 52 submarines."</blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftU3c4UouYT1Pz93YSMtIC91J4he1VZ-GmXKYdf6zq9mOlje_n3FUaQdmyANlc32C5wxchvESJR3MUxttBUiVJgQiOcmeEwZK1uQQuwpdBcqH881YKJ7TnNXBQtBcNGsV0GjXDl35sTTFgh5VREOBXWTV2QB9C8FwNEO3BXbCZqNnSUV0bw/s1280/IMG_6239.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1021" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhftU3c4UouYT1Pz93YSMtIC91J4he1VZ-GmXKYdf6zq9mOlje_n3FUaQdmyANlc32C5wxchvESJR3MUxttBUiVJgQiOcmeEwZK1uQQuwpdBcqH881YKJ7TnNXBQtBcNGsV0GjXDl35sTTFgh5VREOBXWTV2QB9C8FwNEO3BXbCZqNnSUV0bw/w510-h640/IMG_6239.jpeg" width="510" /></a></div><br /><p>Two subs were lost on October 24, 1944 and another on October 25. The last one was lost on August 6, 1945 - the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, three days before the Japanese surrendered. </p><p></p><p><br /></p><p>The kids enjoyed the visit to the sub a lot. And we kept them occupied on and around Fisherman's Wharf for several hours before getting the bus back home. </p><p>A benefit of the 28 bus is that it stops, along the way, at the Golden Gate Bridge visitor center. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTWupYFHqNF9ygNKt3wodwEnCcnhkO9LZy2KkJqQv47BiChwPqcKRj2RyZ2e0KIFneHCt7fqEeap3RBMsYBIgDY2sP4_Ocqumgtz2RjmwMsG6LyLMaF-1I7L9jjLOKnw0_Qs3ogH6XaO1G8fpv9PvfovZU6R7uVGyzNDX5LEkvU1bg6U-0g/s640/IMG_6258.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="460" data-original-width="640" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTWupYFHqNF9ygNKt3wodwEnCcnhkO9LZy2KkJqQv47BiChwPqcKRj2RyZ2e0KIFneHCt7fqEeap3RBMsYBIgDY2sP4_Ocqumgtz2RjmwMsG6LyLMaF-1I7L9jjLOKnw0_Qs3ogH6XaO1G8fpv9PvfovZU6R7uVGyzNDX5LEkvU1bg6U-0g/w400-h288/IMG_6258.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-62745852760051964352024-02-16T15:58:00.004-09:002024-02-16T15:58:45.527-09:00Philanthropy, Benjamin Franklin, Daniel Defoe<p> I'm reading <i>Benjamin Franklin's Last Bet</i> by Michael Meyer. Since my bookclub discusses <i>Ike's Gamble</i> Monday, this title seemed like a possible follow-up. </p><p>Basically, in his will Franklin left 1000 £ to his two cities - Boston where he was born, and Philadelphia where he moved after leaving Boston. The money was to be used to make loans to men starting up in the trades. (Franklin himself had been helped by people when setting up his print shop.) They had ten years to pay the money back at 5% interest. He calculated that this money would grow over two hundred years to a much larger sum. I haven't gotten far enough into the book to know how successful this was. I do know that after 100 years, the Boston fund had a value closer to what Franklin had calculated than the Philadelphia fund. But the Boston fund had made fewer and fewer loans. The author also tells us that Franklin hadn't figured on mechanization and industrialization replacing small tradesman with factories.</p><p>But that's not what this post is directly about. Rather it's about Franklin's devotion to the idea of charity. </p><p><b>Inspirations: Mather and Defoe</b></p><p></p><blockquote><p>"There was also a Book of Defoe's," Franklin remembered in his memoir, "called <i>An Essay on Projects, </i> and another of Dr. Mather's, call'd <i>Essays to do Good</i> which perhaps gave me a Turn of Thnking that had an Influence on some of the principal future Events of m Life. . . .</p><p>"A bankrupt Daniel Defoe wrote <i>An Essay upon Projects</i> while hiding in Bristol from a London creditor empowered to imprison him. Published in 1697, two decades before <i>Robinosn Crusoe </i> brought him fame, <i>Projects </i>laid out Defoe's ideas for social improvement. These included the education of women, the creation of unemployment benefits, a lottery to benefit charity, fire insurance, proportional taxation based on income, mortgage interest capped at 4 percent, and a public assistance scheme called the Friendly Society for Widows." (pp. 124-125)</p><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><b>Franklin Fund Raising Tips</b></p><p></p><blockquote><p>"'I therefore put my self as much as I could out of sight,' he related in his autobiography, 'and stated it as a Scheme of a <i>number of Friends</i>, who had requested me to go about and propose it to such as they thought Lovers of Reading. [He was collecting money to build a library.] In this way my Affair went on more smoothly, and I ever after practis'd it on such Occasions and from frequent Successes can heartily recommend it. The present little Sacrifice of your Vanity will afterwards by amply repaid.'"</p><p>"As much as he downplayed his own philanthropy, Franklin came to realize that sometimes the best way to get people to donate to your cause was to publish the names of those who had already contributed."</p><p>"By convincing the state assembly to match any amount raised up to £2,000, Franklin secured 'an additional motive to give, since every man's donation would be doubled . . .'"</p><p></p></blockquote><p>I guess folks who study philanthropy know this, but I didn't realize such practices went back to Franklin. I suspect some aspects might be even older than Franklin. </p><p><br /></p><p>There are a lot of fascinating tidbits about Franklin, about the beginnings of the nation, and other random ideas. Here's one quote from the book that made me pause and think:</p><p></p><blockquote>"In 1800, ten years after Benjamin Franklin's death, only one American in twenty lived in a town of more than 2.500 people. Four out of five Americans farmed land." (p.107)</blockquote><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-55056456865493621512024-02-14T11:01:00.004-09:002024-02-14T11:01:52.556-09:00Rachel Epstein Book on John Haines - May the Owl Call Again <p> Someone left a link to this book in a comment on a totally unrelated post - at least I didn't see any connection. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpJWnLSsHAVH_wV1BZEJ7ORSEC436lWp2_OJjD7KcoiECPoyqoid4YnzYRRxWHj-baB2GcmyeKpz64Dd7q7uHhmpv_q7fBOpDaaHa929H6OzfMDivRORubtZlnZiIHo0Kztp3mfk8jJ0wr59ubRlZVSpV6L_rwC7yacp-vO7ImoWkVhvFvw/s584/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-14%20at%2011.59.00%20AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="584" data-original-width="394" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxpJWnLSsHAVH_wV1BZEJ7ORSEC436lWp2_OJjD7KcoiECPoyqoid4YnzYRRxWHj-baB2GcmyeKpz64Dd7q7uHhmpv_q7fBOpDaaHa929H6OzfMDivRORubtZlnZiIHo0Kztp3mfk8jJ0wr59ubRlZVSpV6L_rwC7yacp-vO7ImoWkVhvFvw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-14%20at%2011.59.00%20AM.png" width="216" /></a></div><br />But Rachel worked in the University of Alaska Anchorage bookstore for many years and put together many (100? 200?) forums in the bookstore. Usually there was an author (or two) speaking, but sometimes it was on a topic of current interest. <p></p><p>They were small intimate affairs where the audience had lots of opportunity to interact with the speakers. </p><p>These soirees were exactly what should be happening on a University campus. </p><p>I'm sure this is a noteworthy book so I'm delighted to let people know about it. </p><p><span face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); color: #37474f; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.25px;"><br /></span></p><p><span face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); color: #37474f; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.25px;">From<a href="https://www.amazon.com/May-Owl-Call-Again-1924-2011/dp/B0CLLT4J93/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?qid=1706715661&refinements=p_27%3ARachel+Epstein&s=books&sr=1-12" target="_blank"> the Amazon page</a>.</span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;"></span></span></p><blockquote><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">"Alaskan poet John Haines has been gone for more than a decade now, but his singular voice stays with me—the deep quiet of it and its enchantment, the spareness of his lines—Li Po transposed to the far north. Much else is here to muse on and admire—his charming letters to Rachel Epstein, photos of his homestead in Richardson, transcripts of talks given, memoirs of a vanished Alaska, selected essays, notes on the imagination’s relationship with the natural world, even recollections of his service on a destroyer in the Pacific toward the end of WW II. May the Owl Call Again is a moving and memorable collection, and at its heart is Haines’ haunting poetry.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">—Marc Hudson, poet, translator, and an emeritus professor at Wabash College.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">His most recent book of poems is East Of Sorrow.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">May the Owl Call Again bears witness to the last years of Haines' life—his thoughts, humor, melancholy, a profound awareness of Alaska’s rhythms, and his struggles with engagement in a broken world. But, above all, it is a meditation on friendship and the solace of intimacy that can be found in the handwritten page. It’s a testament to care, the aches of connection and solitude, and the consolation of finding kinship with another. I found myself reading it all at once and walking away with a profound sense of gratitude for Epstein sharing this Haines with all of us. </span></span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;"><span face="Roboto, RobotoDraft, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #37474f;"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">—Freya Rohn, poet and founder of Ariadne Archive"</span></span></p></blockquote><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;"></span></span></p><p><span style="color: #37474f;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); letter-spacing: 0.25px;">For Anchorage folks I'd recommend calling Writers' Block bookstore (</span></span><a data-dtype="d3ph" data-local-attribute="d3ph" data-ved="2ahUKEwjU-fPVzquEAxWJJzQIHcqzDrYQkAgoAHoECHMQAg" href="https://www.google.com/search?q=writer%27s+block+anchorage&sca_esv=725712b13be26739&ei=ARvNZdi9B7G70PEPg722wAE&gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TDMuy8rJyE43YLRSNagwNUu2sDRPNU5NNjU0T0oxtzKoME82M7Y0SrUwSjZJNjA3TvSSKC_KLEktUi9WSMrJT85WSMxLzsgvSkxPBQCt3him&oq=Writers+block%C2%A0&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiD1dyaXRlcnMgYmxvY2vCoCoCCAAyDRAuGIAEGMcBGK8BGAoyBRAAGIAEMgcQABiABBgKMgUQABiABDIFEAAYgAQyDRAuGIAEGMcBGK8BGAoyBxAAGIAEGAoyDRAuGIAEGMcBGK8BGAoyBxAAGIAEGAoyBxAAGIAEGAoyHBAuGIAEGMcBGK8BGAoYlwUY3AQY3gQY4ATYAQFIjyBQAFjMEXAAeAGQAQCYAawBoAGzA6oBAzAuM7gBAcgBAPgBAcICDRAAGIAEGLEDGIMBGArCAggQABgHGB4YCroGBggBEAEYFA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp#" jsaction="rcuQ6b:npT2md;F75qrd" jscontroller="LWZElb" jsdata="QKGTRc;_;CjtWcg" style="color: #c58af9; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;">(907) 929-2665</a>) <span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(55, 71, 79); color: #37474f; letter-spacing: 0.25px;">to order it if it's not in. Buy Alaskan authors writing about Alaskan people from local Alaskan bookstores. </span></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-82412000939049336982024-02-13T12:32:00.003-09:002024-03-02T15:17:25.716-09:00Why Making Real Time Sense Of Israeli-Gaza War Is So Difficult - Part IV Hamas<p>This is Part IV on this topic. Previously:</p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank">Preview:</a> GUERRILLA WARFARE - A brief discussion of guerrilla warfare, then you can watch the classic film on the Algerian war for independence from France: <i> The Battle Of Algiers.</i></p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html?sc=1705869525117#c5034283767019604200" target="_blank">Part I of this series is here</a>. It identifies and briefly discusses the following topics I think important to be aware of when confronting the Israeli-Gaza war.</p><p></p><blockquote><p>1. PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH</p><p>2. THE PROBLEM OF NETANYAHU </p><p>3A. HISTORIC ANTI-SEMITISM</p><p>3B. THE HOLOCAUST</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli_21.html" target="_blank">Part II is here.</a> It looks at:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>4. GENOCIDE</p><p>5. ZIONISM</p><p>6. ISRAELI MISTREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS </p><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;">7. </b><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"> TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL - PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI EDUCATION</span></p><p></p></blockquote><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html" target="_blank">Part III is here</a>. It covers</p><p></p><blockquote><p>8. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS AND ISRAEL'S RIGHT WING TILT </p><p>9. IGNORANCE</p><p>10. GUERRILLA WARFARE]</p><p>11. FACTORING IN WHAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES</p><p></p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Part IV</span></b>, in the end focuses on Hamas, mostly on the 1988 Hamas Charter and the 2017 update. It has been the most difficult one for me. I had never read the Hamas Charter of 1988 or the revised charter of 2017. </p><p>And to be clear, I'm just scratching the surface. My point in these posts is NOT to teach anyone about this subject, but rather to reinforce the idea that few people know the many issues, the complicated histories, the religious nuances, the political machinations to have a strong basis to form anything but the most tentative opinions on the Israel-Gaza war. Including me. </p><p>But what I've found preparing this post is that Hamas appears to be an extreme Islamic organization not that different from ISIS and the other organizations that want to set up states that adopt laws directly from their interpretation of Islam. </p><p>Doing this research in English is a handicap though. It's relatively easy to find information online about Hamas from Western sources, but finding English reports from Arab or Islamic sources takes a little more work. Then comparing translations to make sure that what you have is relatively authentic takes longer. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>11. HAMAS</b></p><p>I've been stuck on this one for several weeks. I looked up Hamas. I couldn't find a Hamas website. I found other sites that posted Hamas' 1988 Charter. Most are from Western institutions. Here are two:</p><p><a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp" target="_blank">Yale University Law Librar</a>y</p><p><a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas" target="_blank">Wilson Center</a> </p><p>But I did find one by what ostensibly is an Muslim/Palestinian site:</p><p><a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/attachments/jps-articles/2538093.pdf" target="_blank">The Journal of Islamic Studies</a> (I got access to this journal through <a href="https://about.jstor.org" target="_blank">JSTOR</a>, "<span face="arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 14px;">a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources founded in 1994" </span>that is not directly open to the public. I have access through the University of Alaska Anchorage library. If you don't have a university access, you might also try your local library to get access through them.)</p><p>The first 'Topic' in Part I of this series of posts is called <b>Propaganda, Misinformation, and Disinformation</b>. It's there to remind readers that there are nations out there trying to misinform the world, even to obliterate any sense of verifiable truth, to create opportunities to change the world to their advantage. </p><p>So, with that in mind, I wanted to make sure what I was reading was real, that it was not propaganda intended to make Hamas look bad. I've reviewed the various versions of the key document - The Hamas Charter. They basically say the same things, though different translations use different wording. For example, it's called a Covenant in one translation, a Charter in another, and a Manifesto in yet another.</p><p>I went to all that trouble because I found the Charter (the Islamic Studies version's word) to be alarming. It's in the same mold as ISIS documents - an Islamic extremist document that weaves Islamic justifications for everything it says. Its tone is: "We know the Truth and anyone who differs from us is wrong." [See, for example Article 11.] It calls for the Israeli government to be destroyed and for an Islamic state of Palestine to take over all the land that is now Israeli, Gaza, and the West Bank. </p><p>So I wanted an Arab, Muslim, or Palestinian version to compare to the Western translations. As I said, while the translators used different words and phrasing, the basic tone and content is the pretty close in the three I looked at. </p><p>It's the kind of document that gives Right Wing Israelis like Netanyahu easy justification for their need to wipe out Hamas. Because Hamas' goal is to wipe out Israel. That doesn't give Netanyahu justification to kill tens of thousands of Palestinians who are not Hamas supporters. But I suspect that Netanyahu feels Palestinians are all Hamas or Hamas sympathizers. And, again, the Charter gives ammunition for that sort of interpretation. It tells us that every Muslim is obligated to join the fight to throw out the Jews - including women and children. [Note: the 2017 revision distinguishes between Jews and Zionists.]</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"When an enemy occupies some of the Muslim lands, <b><i>Jihad</i> becomes obligatory for every Muslim</b>. In the struggle against the Jewish occupation of Palestine the banner of <i>jihad</i> must be raised. (Article 15) (emphasis added)</p><p>The Muslim woman has a role in the battle for the liberation which is no less than the role of the man, for she is the factory of men. (Article 17)"</p></blockquote><p>And, presumably, because the Charter seems to justify <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/netanyahu-gantz-agree-form-emergency-israel-government-statement-2023-10-11/" target="_blank">Netanyahu's stated goal to wipe out Hamas</a>, there's even an<a href="https://embassies.gov.il/holysee/AboutIsrael/the-middle-east/Pages/The%20Hamas-Covenant.aspx" target="_blank"> Israeli Missions Around the World website </a>which has a page of quotes from the Hamas charter. </p><p>These would appear to be parts of the Charter that Israel would like to share with the world to make their point that Hamas is a terrorist organization whose goal is to wipe out Israel and Israeli Jews and that Hamas will never give up that goal. And thus Israel feels justified in taking extreme action against Hamas. </p><p>Presumably, these are some of the worst things Israel thinks are in the Charter. But are they accurately portraying the charter? I'm going to offer you, in the charts below, on the left the Israeli wording and on the right the wording from the Institute of Palestinian Studies. In some cases I added a little more from the Palestinian translation in [brackets] to give the citation a bit more context. Again, you can read the whole Charter at the links above to the <a href="https://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp" target="_blank">Yale Library version</a>, <a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas" target="_blank">The Wilson Center version,</a> and the<i><a href="https://www.palestine-studies.org/sites/default/files/attachments/jps-articles/2538093.pdf" target="_blank"> Islamic Studies Journal</a></i>. (You'll probably need to get access through a library for the last one.)</p><p>I'd note that a revised Charter was publicized in 2017 which I'll address below. But first let me offer you what Israel says is most offensive along with the same sections as translated by the Institute of Palestinian Studies in the<i> Islamic Studies Journal</i>. </p><p><br /></p><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><b style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Goals of the HAMAS:</b><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"> "The Islamic Resistance<br /> Movement is a distinguished Palestinian <br />movement, whose allegiance is to Allah, and <br />whose way of life is Islam. It strives to raise the <br />banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine." <br /></span><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">(Article 6)</i></td><td><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Differentiation and Independence Article 6:</span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">The Islamic Resistance Movement is an <br />outstanding type of Palestinian movement. <br />It gives its loyalty to Allah, adopts Islam as a</span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">system of life, and works toward raising the <br />banner of Allah on every inch of Palestine. <br />[Therefore, in the shadow of Islam, it is <br />possible for all followers of different religions <br />to live in peace and with security over their <br />person, property, and rights. In the absence <br />of Islam, discord takes form, oppression and<br />destruction are rampant, and wars and battles <br />take place.]</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div>On the Palestinian side I've added a little more of what they wrote in [brackets] to give more context. </div><div><br /></div><p><!--CSS Code: Place this code in the document's head (between the 'head' tags)--><style>
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<br /><br /><br /></style><!--HTML Code: Place this code in the document's body (between the 'body' tags) where the table should appear--></p><div><br /><table id="simple_table"><tbody></tbody></table><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>On the destruction of Israel: <br />"Israel will exist and will continue <br />to exist until Islam will obliterate it,<br />just as it obliterated others before it." <br />(Preamble) </td><td>Israel will be established and will stay <br />established until Islam nullifies it as <br />it nullified what was before it. The <br />Martyred Imam Hasan al-Banna <br />(may Allah have mercy upon him) </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>"Ranks will close, fighters joining other <br />fighters, and masses everywhere in the<br />Islamic world will come forward in<br />response to the call of duty, loudly<br />proclaiming: 'Hail to Jihad!'. This <br />cry will reach the heavens and will <br />go on being resounded until liberation<br />is achieved, the invaders vanquished<br /> and Allah's victory comes about." <br />(Article 33) </td><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The ranks join the ranks and the<i> Mujahids </i>join</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Mujahids </i>and other groups which come forth </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">from everywhere in the Muslim world answering</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the call of obligation, repeating “come to<i> Jihad</i>” "</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">-a call bursting forth into the heights of the Heavens,</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">reverberating until the liberation is completed and </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the invaders are rolled back and the victory of Allah </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">descends.</p><div><br /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation</span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>The exclusive Moslem nature of the <br />area: "The land of Palestine is an<br />Islamic Waqf [Holy Possession]<br />consecrated for future Moslem<br />generations until Judgment Day. <br />No one can renounce it or any part, or<br />abandon it or any part of it." (Article 11)</td><td>The Islamic Resistance Movement [firmly] believes <br />that the land of Palestine is an Islamic Waqf [Trust] <br />upon all Muslim generations till the day of Resurrection. <br />It is not right to give it up nor any part of it. (Article 11) <br />[Neither a single Arab state nor all the Arab states, <br />neither a King nor a leader, nor all the kings<br />or leaders, nor any organization -Palestinian or Arab- <br />have such authority because the land of Palestine is an <br />Islamic Trust upon Muslim generations until the day<br />of Resurrection. And who has the true spokesmanship<br />for all the Muslim generations till the day of Resurrection?] </td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>The call to jihad: "The day the enemies<br /> usurp part of Moslem land, Jihad<br /> becomes the individual duty of every<br /> Moslem. In the face of the Jews' <br />usurpation, it is compulsory that the <br />banner of Jihad be raised." (Article 15) </td><td><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine is Obligatory </span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">When an enemy occupies some of the Muslim </span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">lands, Jihad becomes obligatory for every Muslim. </span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">In the struggle against the Jewish occupation of </span><br /><span style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial;">Palestine, the banner of Jihad must be raised.</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><b style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"><i>Rejection of a negotiated peace settlement:</i></b><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;"> <br /></i><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">"[Peace] initiatives, and so-called peaceful </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">solutions and international conferences are </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">in contradiction to the principles of the Islamic </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">Resistance Movement... Those conferences </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">are no more than a means to appoint the </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">infidels as arbitrators in the lands of Islam... </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">There is no solution for the Palestinian </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">problem except by Jihad. Initiatives, </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">proposals and international conferences </i><br /><i style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px;">are but a waste of time, an exercise in futility." (Article 13) </i></td><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><i>Initiatives, Peace Solutions and International Conferences</i></b></p>
<p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The initiatives conflict, what are called "Peaceful </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Solutions" and </i><i>"International Conferences" to solve </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>the Palestinian problem.</i><i>As far as the ideology </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>of the </i><i>Islamic Resistance Movement is </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>concerned, giving up any part of Palestine</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>is like giving up part </i><i>of its religion.</i><i>There is no </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>solution </i><i>to the Palestinian </i><i>Problem </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>except by Jihad. The initiatives, options, and </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>international </i><i>conferences are a waste of time </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>and a kind of child's play. </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>The Palestinian people are nobler than to be </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>fiddling </i><i>with </i><i>their future, rights, and destiny.</i></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div><br /></div><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><i>Condemnation of the Israel-Egypt </i></b></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><i>Peace Treaty:</i></b><i> <br />
"Egypt was, to a great extent, removed </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>from the circle </i><i>of struggle [against Zionism] </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>through the treacherous </i><i>Camp David </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Agreement. The Zionists are trying to </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>draw other Arab countries into similar </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>agreements in </i><i>order to bring them </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>outside the circle of struggle. ...</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Leaving the circle of struggle against</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i> Zionism is high </i><i>treason, and cursed be </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>he who perpetrates such an </i><i>act." </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>(Article 32) </i></p></td><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">[World Zionism and Imperialist powers try with </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">audacious maneuvers and well formulated plans </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">to extract the Arab nations one by one from the </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">struggle with Zionism, so in the end they can deal</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> singularly with the Palestinian people.] It already</p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"> has removed Egypt faraway from the circle of </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">struggle with the treason of “Camp David," </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">and it is trying to extract other countries by </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">using similar treaties in order to remove them from </p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">the circle of struggle.”<b><i><br /></i></b></p></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div></div><div>Again, above, for the IPS translation I've added with [brackets] the previous sentence that the Israeli translation left out. </div><div><br /></div><div>I did the same with the quote below. </div><p><br /></p><div><table class="GeneratedTable"><thead><tr><th><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Israeli Translation </span></th><th><span style="color: #6aa84f;">Institute for Palestinian Studies Translation</span></th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><b><i>Anti-Semitic incitement:</i></b><i> <br />
The Day of Judgment will not come about </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>until Moslems fight Jews and kill them. </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>Then, the Jews will hide behind rocks </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>and trees, and the rocks and trees will </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>cry out: 'O Moslem, there is a Jew </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>hiding behind me, come and kill him." </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>(Article 7) <br /></i></p></td><td><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>[Even though the Islamic Resistance Movement </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>looks forward to fulfill the </i><i>promise of Allah no matter </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>how long it takes </i><i>because the Prophet of Allah </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>(saas) says:] </i><i>The Last Hour would not come until the</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i> Muslims fight against the Jews and the Muslims </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>would kill them, and until the Jews would hide </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>or a tree would say. Muslim or Servant of Allah </i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i>there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him;</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i> but the tree of Gharqad would not say it, for it is</i></p><p style="color: #313131; font-family: Arial; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 14px; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><i> the tree of the Jews (Bukhari and Muslim).3</i></p><div><i><br /></i></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gharqad" target="_blank">For more on the tree of Gharqad.</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The Israeli site has a few more quotes and then a <a href="https://embassies.gov.il/holysee/AboutIsrael/the-middle-east/Pages/The%20Hamas-Covenant.aspx" target="_blank">summary of the Israeli issues with the charter. You can see that here.</a></div><div><br /></div><div>The language of the 1988 Hamas Charter basically calls for an Islamic state - ISIS like - to take control of all the area now occupied by Israel and the Palestinian territories. It calls for getting rid of all the Jews. It says attempts at Peace Treaties are useless. Little, perhaps none, of the Charter is reasonable for Israel to accept as written. It's essentially a declaration of war. No country in the world, that has the power to oppose it, would accept a close neighbor who says similar things about them. </div><p>A<b> revised Covenant</b> was published in 2017. Hamas says that it is merely the consolidation of various changes made by leaders over the years, but which hadn't been codified in a single statement. </p><p>I've read several versions and explanations of the differences between it and the original 1988 Charter. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/may/01/hamas-new-charter-palestine-israel-1967-borders" target="_blank">The Guardian's overview</a>, which came out in 2017, is perhaps the most succinct and direct (though not necessarily the most accurate.)</p><blockquote><p>"Hamas has unveiled a new political programme softening its stance on Israel by accepting the idea of a Palestinian state in territories occupied by Israel in the six-day war of 1967.</p><p>The new document states the Islamist movement is not seeking war with the Jewish people – only with Zionism that drives the occupation of Palestine.</p><p>The new document also insists that Hamas is a not a revolutionary force that seeks to intervene in other countries, a commitment that is likely to be welcomed by other states such as Egypt."</p><div></div></blockquote><div>Here are some other analyses of the changes: (let me warn you - these are not easy reading)</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://digitalprojects.palestine-studies.org/jps/fulltext/214551" target="_blank">Institute for Palestine Studies' overview of the change</a>s</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.rand.org/pubs/commentary/2017/05/hamas-strategic-rebranding.html" target="_blank">Rand - "Hamas' Strategic Rebranding"</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/doctrine-hamas" target="_blank">The Wilson Center</a> </div><p><br /></p><p>My main takeaway after reading the Hamas Charter is to sadly shake my head about those who have championed Hamas. You can only support Hamas if all you know about them is that they are fighting to stop Israeli atrocities. But if you read their Charter, even with the 2017 modifications, you know this is a radical Islamist extremist group that only recognizes their version of Islamic doctrine. </p><p>The idea that Hamas is fighting to give Palestinian culture its land and culture back seems to me to be terribly wrong. There never was a strict Islamic state ruled by Islamic law in Palestine. Not under the British and not under the 400 years of control by the Ottoman Empire. </p><p>There are so many trails to follow to understand this. For instance, how did Hamas come to power in Gaza? Here are two links to start your research on that question:</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamas" target="_blank">Wikipedia's History of Hamas </a></p><p><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/11/history-illustrated-the-story-of-hamas-and-its-fight-for-palestine" target="_blank">Al Jazeera - History Illustrated, The Story of Hamas And Its Fight For Palestine </a></p><p>Those two citations are not meant to be exhaustive or even adequate. They just give a sense of the history that led to Hamas' official formation until now. Just expanding one's awareness of their ignorance.</p><p><br /></p><p>Everyone knows about the Hamas attack on October 7 so I don't have to discuss that, except to put it into the context of Topic <b>#10 GUERRILLA</b> warfare and terrorism. The point is often for the militarily weaker side to commit acts of terror to provoke the more powerful enemy to make horrible counter attacks that will make them look bad in public opinion. Hamas was wildly successful in this objective. With help, undoubtedly, from Russian and Iranian misinformation campaigns. </p><p>The Israeli response has been a public relations nightmare. But my sense is that the far right in Israel simply assumes that an anti-Semitic world will disapprove of anything they do. That logic lets them do terrible things. </p><p>But I'd remind them that much of the world saw Israelis as heroes after the 1967 war and when they made the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entebbe_raid" target="_blank">Entebbe</a> rescue. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>12. <strike> WHY GETTING JEWS OUT OF ISRAEL SEEMS EASIER THAN NATIVE AMERICANS GETTING EUROPEANS OUT OF THE UNITED STATES?</strike></b></p><p>Topic#12 (it was #13) was at the end of the last post as a heading that I postponed to this post - it made more sense after discussing Hamas. But as I work on this, I don't think the title clearly expresses the issue I'm wrestling with. And as I try to flesh it out, it seems it really should be part of Part V. </p><p>It will deal, not so much with options from here, but with the question of how should those options be evaluated. What criteria should be used? What factors should be considered?</p><p>And to be clear, my ignorance of all of this, while perhaps slightly lower than the ignorance of most people, is still vast. I'll be raising questions more than supplying answers. </p><p>[It's Saturday March 2, 2024. I just want to let you know I'm still working on PART IV.]</p><p></p></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-23871417710382465462024-02-04T12:18:00.005-09:002024-03-02T14:43:11.475-09:00Why Making Real Time Sense Of Israeli-Gaza War Is So Difficult -Part III<p><br /></p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank">Preview:</a> GUERRILLA WARFARE - A brief discussion of guerrilla warfare, then you can watch the classic film on the Algerian war for independence from France: The Battle Of Algiers.</p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html?sc=1705869525117#c5034283767019604200" target="_blank">Part I of this series is here</a>. It identifies and briefly discusses the following topics I think important to be aware of when confronting the Israeli-Gaza war.</p><p></p><blockquote><p>1. PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH</p><p>2. THE PROBLEM OF NETANYAHU </p><p>3A. HISTORIC ANTI-SEMITISM</p><p>3B. THE HOLOCAUST</p></blockquote><p></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli_21.html" target="_blank">Part II is here.</a> It looks at:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>4. GENOCIDE</p><p>5. ZIONISM</p><p>6. ISRAELI MISTREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS </p><p><b style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;">7. </b><span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif;"> TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL - PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI EDUCATION</span></p><p></p></blockquote><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>[Part III</b> was going to include a section on Hamas. But that has turned out to be lengthier than I first imagined. The Hamas Charter is pretty explicitly an Islamic call to overthrow the State of Israel. But in the spirit of topic 1 in Part I - Propaganda, Misinformation, and the Obliteration of Truth, I needed to be sure I was not being misled and then I wanted to present it in a way that showed different translations to assure readers as well. So I'm going to make that Part IV. And I'll probably add a Part V to organize my thoughts after doing all this research and writing.] </p><p><br /></p><p><b>8. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS AND ISRAEL'S RIGHT WING TILT </b></p><p>I don't have a lot to say about this, other than to say it is an important factor that has helped empower Netanyahu and the Israeli political right wing. From a<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-other-tribe-israels-russian-speaking-community-and-how-it-is-changing-the-country/" target="_blank"> Brookings Institute report:</a></p><p></p><blockquote>"The over one million people who immigrated to Israel from the former Soviet Union in a wave from the beginning of the 1990s have changed Israel to its core — socially, politically, economically, and culturally. Within the first six years, they formed what became a large secular nationalist political camp that secures right-wing rule to this day."</blockquote><p><a href="https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/middle-east/palestinian-territories/1660243470-us-jews-moving-to-west-bank-settlements-at-record-rate" target="_blank">The immigration of Ultra Orthodox US Jews</a> also plays an important role - especially in the policies of taking Arab land in the West Bank and turning it into Jewish settlements. While their numbers are tiny compared to the Russian immigrants, their interest in settling in the West Bank exacerbates conflicts with Palestinian Arabs. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>9. IGNORANCE</b> </p><p>Ignorance by itself is not bad. We are all ignorant about many things. Just go in any library and peruse the book titles. Some topics you know well. Others not at all. The important things about ignorance are:</p><p></p><ol style="text-align: left;"><li>You are aware of your ignorance</li><li>You don't act as though you know what you're talking about on subjects you're ignorant on</li><li>You recognize that expertise in one area doesn't give you expertise in other areas</li><li>What we know, what science uncovers, is merely a model of reality. That model is often incomplete and new discoveries require changes in our models. So what you learned in the past may be out of date, or it may have been wrong in the first place.</li></ol><p></p><p>My basic point here is that lack of knowledge, and the lack of awareness of one's ignorance, combines with Topic 1: PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH, to make thinking out the Israeli-Gaza situation even harder than it already is. The rest is some background to own ignorance.</p><p>Ignorance doesn't mean stupidity. It means that someone hasn't been exposed to certain knowledge, information. Perhaps one has lived in one location forever and been around people who mostly look and think and behave like them. </p><p>First radio, then television, and then the internet have made it easier to escape such isolation and to learn more about the world and the people in it. [And I'm not saying that never having been more than 100 miles from your home is necessarily a bad thing either. Being grounded in a geographic location can give someone connections and insights that people without such permanence lack.]</p><p>Spending a year as a student in Germany made me see things I could never have seen had I stayed home. I don't mean so much that I saw Germany and Europe, but more that I saw my life growing up in California from a whole different perspective. Learning that I could exist reasonably well without using English also rearranged my brain.</p><p>When I first arrived to teach English in Thailand so many years ago, I was gaining ability in my Thai language skills, and rapidly learning about my community and Thailand. It took me six months before I realized:</p><p><i></i></p><blockquote><i>As much as I was learning, the volume of what I didn't know, grew ten times faster. My ignorance wasn't growing, just my awareness of my ignorance was growing.</i>. </blockquote><p></p><p>As a blogger, I'm reminded daily about how much I do not know. I'm constantly googling to learn more about the background of someone or something I know little or nothing about. It's a constant fight to resist unconsciously filling in, from my prejudices, what isn't said about something I learn about in the news or online. I write something and then realize I don't know if it is true or not and have to verify it. </p><p>The internet makes such fact-checking much easier than it ever was before, but I come to this having spent years painfully tracking references in bound volumes that then led me to track down the books and journals that might hold the answer. I've had to go through articles by people who make conflicting arguments, and then had to look for more evidence that would give one side more likelihood of being accurate than other positions. </p><p>A friend pointed out that he's not so sure the internet makes it easier because there's so much disinformation. Experience in critical thinking and sleuthing is important on the internet.</p><p>That's why Topic 9 - IGNORANCE is closely related to Topic 1 (in Part I) PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH. And why Propaganda is the very first topic.</p><p>Without a substantial foundational web of of knowledge, it's hard to figure out </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>where to store in your world view every new bit of data</li><li>how to evaluate its accuracy</li><li>when and how to shift your own understanding of a particular subject</li></ul><p></p><p><br /></p><div><p><b>10. GUERRILLA WARFARE - </b>I covered this as much as I think I will in a previous post that invites to you see the movie <i>The Battle of Algiers</i>. <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank"> Here's the link to that post</a>, which was like a sneak preview to this series of posts. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>11. FACTORING IN WHAT'S HAPPENING BEHIND THE SCENES</b></p><p>I've just finished reading<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq14PQLnE1c" target="_blank"> Michael Nolan's </a><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq14PQLnE1c" target="_blank">Ike's Gamble</a>. </i>It's 258 pages focused on President Eisenhower's policy toward Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser from 1954-1959. Nolan uses a vast volume of State Department files that only have been recently made public, reviewing the memos sent by different State Department officials as well as other correspondents and notes taken by people then and there. </p><p>I understand the people protesting Israeli killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians. I understand and share the frustration of US citizens who object to the US supplying weapons to Israel to carry out the attacks. I get that people want President Biden to pressure Netanyahu to call a cease fire. I think that is a legitimate request. But the people who then condemn the Biden administration and say they won't vote for him because of Israel, well those folks I don't get at all. </p><p>There is so much going on behind the scenes that we know nothing about, that we really have no idea of exactly what the Biden administration is doing to try to stop the attacks in Gaza. The Nolan book makes that point very clear. It also makes it clear that they may or may not be doing things that will help the situation improve. </p><p>[Sorry, a bit of editorial here: But for sane US citizens to argue that Israeli policy is a good enough reason to not vote for Biden, when the alternative is Trump, suggests to me incredible shortsightedness. There is nothing that Trump will do to improve the situation of Palestinians. Nothing. He's cozied up to Netanyahu. He helped to move the Israeli capital to Jerusalem, something Palestinians vigorously opposed. In fact, it's clear he would do his best to end the US experiment in democracy.]</p><p>Here's a Tweet that makes the same point on a different subject that also reminds us that much goes on behind the scenes that we will only learn about much later on if ever.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The takeaway: Much of DOJ’s investigative work takes place out of the public eye. DOJ speaks through its filings. And just because the public doesn’t see action/movement on a matter, that doesn’t mean nothing is happening. End</p>— Anthony Coley (@AnthonyColey) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnthonyColey/status/1737244068432773628?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<p></p><blockquote><p><br /></p></blockquote><p><b>13. WHY GETTING JEWS OUT OF ISRAEL SEEMS EASIER THAN NATIVE AMERICANS GETTING EUROPEANS OUT OF THE UNITED STATES</b></p><p>This was originally going to follow the section on Hamas. Since I'm moving Hamas to the next post, it makes sense to move this one as well. But if you're curious - be my guest and think out, even write down what you would write on this question and see how similar your ideas are to what I'll write. That's always a good way to move from a passive to an active reader. </p><p> </p><p>Hope to see you soon with<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli_13.html" target="_blank"> Part IV.</a> I'll make this link live when it's ready. </p></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-4291585510162832382024-02-01T09:30:00.027-09:002024-02-01T09:30:00.237-09:00Does The 14th Amendment Section 3 Apply To Trump?<p> In <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/23/23-719/295994/20240118094034746_Trump%20v%20Anderson.pdf" target="_blank">one of the amicus briefs before the Supreme Court</a>, attorneys <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_Amar" target="_blank">Vikram Amar </a>and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akhil_Reed_Amar" target="_blank">Akhil Amar</a> makes a very compelling case that Section 3 does in fact apply to Donald J. Trump. But he adds to the debate the historical background to the language in the Section. I encourage you to read the Brief. It's written in very clear and plain English and tells a remarkable story of why it was written to disqualify people like Donald J. Trump from the Presidency.</p><p>He tells us that many aspects of the Constitution and its Amendments are not merely theoretical , rather they are there in response to specific"the event, the evil, the mischief" and that Justices did best when they </p><p></p><blockquote>"Over the centuries, America’s best constitutional interpreters, both on and off the bench, have generally excelled when they first spotted and then heeded the key historical episode—the event, the evil, the mischief—that prompted a given patch of constitutional text.</blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p>For example, the Constitution forbids those under age thirty-five from the presidency. Why? Because of a concern about dynasties—young favorite sons of famous fathers, such as William Pitt the Younger, the British prime minister in 1787, who took office at age 24. The Constitution’s requirement that a president be “natural born” had nothing to do with C-section babies or Shakespeare’s Macbeth, and everything to do with the Founders’ anxieties about European noblemen who might seek political power in America. Article I’s rules for congressional membership were crafted with Englishman John Wilkes in mind, as were the later rules of the Fourth Amendment. The first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment repudiated specific language in Dred Scott. The equality commands of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment aimed especially at ending Black Codes in the Deep South. In affirming fundamental rights from state and local abridgment, Section One had centrally in mind—among other things—the urgent need to protect freedom of speech, freedom of worship, and the right to keep guns for personal protection."</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Much of the brief discusses the historical events that cause Section 3 to be written the way it was: John Floyd's actions, as President Buchanan's Secretary of War to move soldiers from and ammunition to Southern and his attempts to prevent the newly elected President Abraham Lincoln from being sworn in as President by Congress.</p><blockquote><p>In the end, this momentous case is easier than it may at first seem, once one understands the historical events that triggered Section Three.</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p>The insurrectionary betrayals perpetrated by Floyd and other top officials in the lame-duck Buchanan Administration went far beyond the abandonment of southern forts. They also involved, through both actions and inactions of Floyd and his allies, efforts to prevent President-elect Lincoln from lawfully assuming power at his inauguration.</p><p>Even before the inauguration, alarms rang out in Congress about the First Insurrection already underway. On February 1, 1861, Pennsylvania’s Representative John W. Killinger declared on the House floor that “preparations are actually threatened to take possession of this Capitol, and prevent the inauguration of the President elect. So far has the conspiracy progressed, that it . . . holds within its grasp the sworn officers of the Government. . . . <b>Before Mr. Lincoln is inaugurated, this District will be the theater of commotion, and it may be, of violence.”</b>11 Later that month, Killinger’s fellow Pennsylvanian James Hepburn Campbell echoed this point about oath-breaking insurrectionists: “[T]his treasonable conspiracy, to resist the inauguration by force of arms, . . . has drawn within its fatal vortex chiefs of the Cabinet.”12 And on February 18, 1861, Floyd’s successor in the War Department—Joseph Holt, himself true to his oath—confirmed that oath-breaking insurrectionists such as Floyd had indeed aimed to prevent the inauguration: (emphasis added)</p></blockquote><p></p><blockquote>But in one obvious and high-profile respect, Section Three as enacted went far beyond the early draft.<b> It referred to all insurrections, past and future, and not merely to “the late insurrection” of the 1860s.</b> It laid down a rule for the benefit of generations yet unborn—for us today, if only we are wise enough and faithful enough to follow its words as written and intended. (emphasis added)</blockquote><p>Why is this important? I imagine most readers have already figured it out. Amar is showing the Justices that the language in Section 3 are based on actions that are almost identical to Trump's. They leave no ethical way for the Justices to sidestep the fact that this Section was written to prevent people like Trump who had sworn and oath to protect the Constitution and then violated that oath by, Floyd's case and Trump's, trying to prevent the certification and inauguration of a duly elected President. Not only in the 1860s, but<b> "</b>to all insurrections, past and future."</p><p>In addition to providing the story of Floyd, Amar also highlights the fact that Colorado, like every state, has the power to create its own election rules. And Amar goes through, in Part Two, a list of twenty questions that have been raised by this case. </p><p></p><blockquote><p>In Part Two, we shall canvass a wide range of issues raised by this case and explain why many of them are easy. Of course the president is an “officer” covered by Section Three. Of course a detailed congressional statute is not necessary to implement Section Three. Of course an ineligible person is ineligible unless and until amnestied. Of course a person can engage in an insurrection with words as well as deeds. Of course an insurrection can begin locally. And so on.</p><p></p></blockquote><p>Will five justices find this and other arguments persuasive? We already know that Justice Thomas' wife strongly supported the insurrection and he has not recused himself from this case so far. But what about the others? </p><p>Leaving Trump off the ballot in Colorado well might make any difference. Colorado has been more blue than red lately and Biden is likely to win there. So those Justices who generally don't let the constitution get in their way to support the far right, could go along in this case. But if Colorado doesn't have to put Trump on the ballot, how many other states - particularly purple states - copy them? That will be the rub members of the Court's staunch right wingers.</p><blockquote><p> </p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-69449613094038245542024-01-29T20:08:00.002-09:002024-01-29T20:08:54.200-09:00Their Music Survives<p>A friend sent me a link to an audio program about the music of the Holocaust - music written and performed by concentration camp musicians. The program is very sad and very inspiring at the same time. Worth listening to. </p><p>I don't see a way to embed the audio here, so here's a link to the website that has it:</p><p><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/0/blog/post/edit/30897652/6944961309403824554">https://www.blogger.com/u/0/blog/post/edit/30897652/6944961309403824554</a></p><p>Well worth a listen when you are doing something you can do while listening. </p><p>The transcript begins:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Mat Edelson (HOST): To be a Jewish composer or musician under the Third Reich’s reign of terror meant your next note could be your last. At first their works were banned as being degenerate, their contributions to the musical canon erased from public display. Later, as the murderous frenzy exploded in the ghettos and concentration camps, composers and musicians imprisoned there refused to be stilled. On scraps of paper they penciled their inspirations, praying that even if they died, their music would survive. Miraculously, it has. In this documentary, we’ll meet conductors, musicians and others rediscovering this lost generation of music and performing it for new audiences worldwide. They’re using this music to educate, to remember, and to correct an historical injustice. Join us now for Their Music Survives.?</blockquote><p> </p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-58569294968811491152024-01-26T09:53:00.003-09:002024-01-26T09:53:56.343-09:00Seattle Outing - Food And Art<p>Our grand parenting duties shrink back as our granddaughter gets older and has more autonomy and more activities to fill up her time. That's not a bad thing. We still get to spend lots of time with our daughter and granddaughter, but I also have plenty of time to read, think, write, and delete emails that never seem to slow down. Even as I unsubscribe to emailers I never subscribed to, new ones seem to find me. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2CCuFGzMspuLfxn6Eb7DCBLDj3YWYblYm6QVtDRnYQKyoVqK0nSm9H2FmRv0hNDADumMCrvXZ4mCm-ppRpcUvIncHZWQI39BbkZ9nMikTqXxG8sf6rBQi-KdU6QbwBdpspLMZOB0T9xHsrmGLh5c6_w3NgPH8_LsFWtTPjAuzfxv8yaZlA/s640/Seattle%20Rainbow.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi2CCuFGzMspuLfxn6Eb7DCBLDj3YWYblYm6QVtDRnYQKyoVqK0nSm9H2FmRv0hNDADumMCrvXZ4mCm-ppRpcUvIncHZWQI39BbkZ9nMikTqXxG8sf6rBQi-KdU6QbwBdpspLMZOB0T9xHsrmGLh5c6_w3NgPH8_LsFWtTPjAuzfxv8yaZlA/s320/Seattle%20Rainbow.jpeg" width="320" /></a></p>But we had an anniversary yesterday and we decided to take the ferry and wander around downtown Seattle. <p></p><p>It's been pretty rainy, but the sun made itself known as we approached the ferry terminal. </p><p>We tried the post office on 1st Street, but it was closed for lunch. </p><p>So we made our way to Pike Place Market for some clam chowder. The seats weren't that comfy, but the chowder was hot and the guy with the red sleeves kept up a constant entertaining chatter. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOcB01o7lBIQfbY2aNUClCf4pd0mLdYpSSQICW2hJJkxndU0CCiWXAW9tvjeT5NOOsrMBtQOwxIVFzW3pHNA04puKX_6L46u2C37BlA_42Kag9wvsER06wnQ0PSZfddD7k-XAu73bPLJWb0JB0j1NF0LcdpZxTqbqNsiQCDtVWaOLmfYJNw/s640/Chowder.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihOcB01o7lBIQfbY2aNUClCf4pd0mLdYpSSQICW2hJJkxndU0CCiWXAW9tvjeT5NOOsrMBtQOwxIVFzW3pHNA04puKX_6L46u2C37BlA_42Kag9wvsER06wnQ0PSZfddD7k-XAu73bPLJWb0JB0j1NF0LcdpZxTqbqNsiQCDtVWaOLmfYJNw/w300-h400/Chowder.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKg8oMDC3NmH5vHLyeI6eWVIxtWapv9DMMD4emgyUagMgYdpzf1F7UwA7Rm1cbbkY_Y-wvUqsxSDxB3QOoR74aEwiiLcKLB0Pj7F3ni8R1ComKGaluZ9rES72fZSoxxGQCoiqzrKdmbj-ihK1mZoBKYTCOz9V9p_m4sHcOABl3brdL3u3ikw/s640/Monk%20Fish.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKg8oMDC3NmH5vHLyeI6eWVIxtWapv9DMMD4emgyUagMgYdpzf1F7UwA7Rm1cbbkY_Y-wvUqsxSDxB3QOoR74aEwiiLcKLB0Pj7F3ni8R1ComKGaluZ9rES72fZSoxxGQCoiqzrKdmbj-ihK1mZoBKYTCOz9V9p_m4sHcOABl3brdL3u3ikw/s320/Monk%20Fish.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>We wandered a bit through the market. Then across the street to a kitchen ware shop where we found a gift for our granddaughter and her dad. We stopped in at<a href="https://www.hmartus.com" target="_blank"> H-Market</a> for a look around. Then made it to another post office where I was able to send my package. I had the book in an envelope I'd received a different book in, but the clerk immediately told me I should buy a new envelope which would be cheaper than buying a roll of tape for the envelope. While we waited, another customer asked another clerk if he could tape the address label on and was told to buy a roll of tape ($3.99). This is new. Post office personnel used to be helpful. I guess Trump's postmaster who's apparently still in charge, thinks saving pennies is better than making customers feel like coming back. <div><br /></div><div>Then to the <a href="https://www.seattleartmuseum.org" target="_blank">Seattle Art Museum.</a> I'm always taken aback by how much it costs to enter major museums these days. I know it costs money to run things, but art is a major expression of a culture and museums are a serious part of public education. If we can pay to be the most armed country in the world, we ought to pay even a percent of that for public art museums. But I quickly got over that as we interacted with what was on the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling in places. </div><div><br /></div><div>There's clearly a change in how museums display items. There's a lot of obviously intentional diversity. There's mixing up of pieces of different eras and cultures to find (or at least claim to find) commonalities. </div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8jRHieCRYXCwinPZjONCklQq9HY_nxNGhzYSRfrkfUot9gdi30cTpovDpxgLJ8WBVl99u_0CdNV23XprP9D2Riwq0jXfWFd1ClXidqvUlGZputN2MBDbsuIn5s2F2dt-mlR0kYDkkwZ_wnzmRROTCBPtf-iir9jTVR59ilEVm90527oPgA/s640/Bernardno%20de'Cente%20%20Portrait%20of%20Charles%20d'Amboise%20ca1505.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN8jRHieCRYXCwinPZjONCklQq9HY_nxNGhzYSRfrkfUot9gdi30cTpovDpxgLJ8WBVl99u_0CdNV23XprP9D2Riwq0jXfWFd1ClXidqvUlGZputN2MBDbsuIn5s2F2dt-mlR0kYDkkwZ_wnzmRROTCBPtf-iir9jTVR59ilEVm90527oPgA/s320/Bernardno%20de'Cente%20%20Portrait%20of%20Charles%20d'Amboise%20ca1505.jpeg" width="240" /></a><div><br /></div>And I was particularly struck by the universality of human art - both geographically and in terms of time. We tend to think that we are smarter and more skilled than people who lived hundreds or thousands of years ago. Certainly a fair chunk of today's US population (like those who believe their cult leader is going to improve their lives) aren't nearly as wise as the brightest people in past generations. </div><div><br /></div><div>On the left is Charles d'Amboise. The painting was done about 1505 (just over 500 years ago) by Bernardine de'Conti who lived in Milan about 1470 -1522. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The description says:</div><div><blockquote>"The French nobleman Charles d'Amboise became the governor of the Duchy of Milan after it was conquered by France. The collar of scallop shells and knots denotes the Order of SaintMichael, granted to him about 1505, perhaps the occasion for commissioning this portrait. </blockquote></div><blockquote><div style="text-align: left;">D'Amboise was a friend and patron of Leonardo da Vinci, but he hired a more conservative artist for his portrait and chose to be portrayed in a classic profile view, which records his features but provides no psychological insight. He most likely wanted to link his image with the great rulers of the ancient past, depicted in side views on coins and medals like those shown in the case nearby D'Ambroise himself was an avid coin collector as he proudly demonstrates here."</div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div><br /></div><div>I'm going to assume the curator knows a lot more than I do about art and this painting. But I'm not sure why a side view can't provide psychological insight, or that a full face portrait can. But what little we learn tells us a great deal. With a different haircut, or maybe just a baseball cap, he could fit in walking down the street today. There was a hierarchy of which he was in an upper level, and he collected coins. And the painter could easily get work in today's world. Both could probably fit into 2024 fairly easily with a little bit of coaching on the advances of science. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyUiURJRKXQfhG3GvUYTbCT2OBt8wCJNyGXpDedzxMHwPdT2rNcJNRC5844TPHow2PJqMLfdQ_EkyHDqPFXv5p3SyDOdJa9tQzQWLyCYguvLUaZzrO8bP80bTDddJ5pYHWmKV3FH5ZpLSzOQXv8A-cF7H3p9h57UzN8jjloxwwXVn4RWY-A/s640/Nicolas%20Colombel%20Psyche%20Abandoned%20by%20Cupic%20ca1699.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDyUiURJRKXQfhG3GvUYTbCT2OBt8wCJNyGXpDedzxMHwPdT2rNcJNRC5844TPHow2PJqMLfdQ_EkyHDqPFXv5p3SyDOdJa9tQzQWLyCYguvLUaZzrO8bP80bTDddJ5pYHWmKV3FH5ZpLSzOQXv8A-cF7H3p9h57UzN8jjloxwwXVn4RWY-A/s320/Nicolas%20Colombel%20Psyche%20Abandoned%20by%20Cupic%20ca1699.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>The one on the right is not as old (about 1699), painted by French artist Nicolas Colombel who lived from 1644-1717. He died fifteen years before George Washington was born. He was a year younger than Isaac Newton, but died ten years before Newton. Nevertheless, the story of Cupid (Eros) and Psyche is much older. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cupid_and_Psyche" target="_blank">Wikipedia tells us:</a></div><div><blockquote>"Eros and Psyche appear in Greek art as early as the 4th century BC"</blockquote><p>The curator wrote the following to accompany this painting:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The jealous goddess Venus sent her son Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a horrible monster. Instead, Cupid became enamored himself and installed Psyche in a palace where he visited her at night so that she couldn't learn his identity. One night she stole a peek at his beautiful face. Startled awake, Cupid left immediately, and his palace vanished. Psyche wandered the earth search for her lover, performing impossible tasks set by Venus in hopes of winning him back. Finally, Jupiter intervened: he made Psyche a goddess and reunited her with Cupid, giving their story a happy ending. Here Cupid has just abandoned Psyche, who chases him as he hovers out of reach. This moment allows Colombel, a French artist who was trained in Rome, to show the Roman countryside - the appropriate setting for this classical myth." </blockquote><p></p><p>So this story goes back 2500 years, yet we have the same human emotions and conflicts: a woman possibly falling in love with a monster (how many battered wives are there today?); a forbidden young love; a jealous and vengeful mother-in-law (no they aren't married, but Venus was Cupid's mother). I'm not sure why the curator thinks the Roman woods to be the appropriate background, perhaps because the Romans appropriated much of Greek culture including their myths. </p><p>I knew from the beginning this post was going to be much too long, so let me jump to another exhibit - this of Ausralian aboriginal artists. </p><p><br /></p><p>These large detailed paintings speak to me in a language I can't identify. They tell stories of people and worlds I do not know. Yet they move me a great deal. This is a beauty and a visual language that still exists, outside of Western culture. </p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxdsWcL94pQJBaNKRx1jR995oDAmQV-nH5v7EddVonNyUlX2fS-eXIdWDJv7sZPtdMh1r5KizDuCtXgOeDgolYbQQHwYuum-xLMoComm_50parrXpXv9pfiOl4KN33Dzp-cthDWkY_uEewm4838W6QQBhH43DlIAz_sNajm6f083yu-ZOuA/s640/3%20Aust%20aboriginal%20paintings.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvxdsWcL94pQJBaNKRx1jR995oDAmQV-nH5v7EddVonNyUlX2fS-eXIdWDJv7sZPtdMh1r5KizDuCtXgOeDgolYbQQHwYuum-xLMoComm_50parrXpXv9pfiOl4KN33Dzp-cthDWkY_uEewm4838W6QQBhH43DlIAz_sNajm6f083yu-ZOuA/w640-h480/3%20Aust%20aboriginal%20paintings.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Here's detail of a painting called Kalipinypa Rockhole (2003) painted by Elizabeth Marks Nakamara. The curator writes:<div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUtKfA0F2KOVqoa7Lc52UJX9VJuO7jeo2InHxM5YgMOrkmwuLwRbFjd2CqMfeCpoyVVU_yavDLt3Bj3G8vkrIrOI1xHHPpUN9eCsKbbGU5b2pCyrT1lGcMpSOBperyNeX_5TOAcwLUcwi1SOaFP1KM11O0LImqcyf6nxNFnjaC4Ni0C3OqA/s640/Aboriginal%20painting%20Kalipinypa%20Rockhole.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUtKfA0F2KOVqoa7Lc52UJX9VJuO7jeo2InHxM5YgMOrkmwuLwRbFjd2CqMfeCpoyVVU_yavDLt3Bj3G8vkrIrOI1xHHPpUN9eCsKbbGU5b2pCyrT1lGcMpSOBperyNeX_5TOAcwLUcwi1SOaFP1KM11O0LImqcyf6nxNFnjaC4Ni0C3OqA/w300-h400/Aboriginal%20painting%20Kalipinypa%20Rockhole.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><blockquote>"Lightning bolts that ignite the sky are the source for this striking white maze. Kalipinypa is an important site where ancestral forces swept in with a huge storm that caused lightning to flash and water to rush across the country. They left behind a rock hole surrounded with sandhills that are seen here as vibrant patterns created by dotting that fuses into lines that wiggle ever so slightly. Elizabeth Marks Nakamara was married to the renowned artist Mick Namarari. She watched his painting for years but did not begin to paint herself until after his death in 1998."</blockquote><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">One more from that collection. There's no story with the description - just the facts: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">" Marapinti, 2016</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Acrylic on canvas</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Nanyuma Napangati</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Australian Aboriginal, Pintupi people,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Papunya, Western Desert, Northern Territory,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">born 1940"</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiy0bRXIsQ9Msm3buF80CUaqw6os8O0tqq61RTxjyhIx_9_tsoGKA3-KrcdNQ7KknddQdZ5z8Navt9BkfzMqaevpsVQUxmXYBC_YRpTiegXyXe4VxRLRf6TKkqqViyYAOtfOzjKiEY30-NDvhNlFpQZQP3tdADwBvzxnbM0Nf_QP87wArnQ/s640/Marrapinti,%20Nanyuma%20Napangati.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihiy0bRXIsQ9Msm3buF80CUaqw6os8O0tqq61RTxjyhIx_9_tsoGKA3-KrcdNQ7KknddQdZ5z8Navt9BkfzMqaevpsVQUxmXYBC_YRpTiegXyXe4VxRLRf6TKkqqViyYAOtfOzjKiEY30-NDvhNlFpQZQP3tdADwBvzxnbM0Nf_QP87wArnQ/w480-h640/Marrapinti,%20Nanyuma%20Napangati.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Most of what I know about Australian Aboriginal culture comes from Bruce Chatwin's book<i> Songlines</i>, which I wrote about here. And <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songline" target="_blank">songlines</a> (check the link, really!) are clearly part of this art. Truly a book worth reading. </div><div><br /></div><div>Another descriptor at this exhibit read:</div><div></div><blockquote><div>"'Dreaming is an all-embracing concept that provides rules for living, a moral code, as well as rules for interacting withthenatural environment' - Jeannie Herbert Nungwarrayi(Walpiri speaker) 2000</div><div><br /></div><div>Dreaming is known by Pintupi speakers as Tjukurrpa. Tjukurrpa is called a template for a dynamic duty or way of observing laws passed down by ancestors - the powerful shape-shifting creators who formulated the earth's features, people, and culture. Dreamings stimulate intellectual and emotional life, as people recall extensive genealogies and ceremonial song cycles that describe the ancestors' adventures. No country - the lands, waters, flora, and fauna of an area - is without a trail of their presence, which offers a living continuum of wisdom for all to learn from.</div><div><br /></div><div>Dotting was a biodegradable at for for centuries - on ceremonial objects, in sand paintings, and on painted and adorned bodies. Dots of ochres, down, feathers, and leaves could at times totally overcome a human form, enabling dancers to enter a mythic envelope as they enacted ceremonies. Dots began appearing in painting as a echo of this sacred significance. Some contend they help conceal sacred knowledge, and others suggest they express the flash of ancestral power.'</div></blockquote><div></div><div>Surely, there's nothing here more supernatural than believers of Western religions embrace. </div><div><br /></div><div>There was so much more reshaping edges of my brain and heart. The ways of human beings haven't really changed all that much since homo sapiens appeared. When politicians call for STEM education that leaves out art and music and humanities, we leave students with a huge hole. Science has given us a way to tinker with nature, but without a study of the human spirit and behavior and morality, we leave out the part that helps us make decisions about what technology is worth pursuing and what is likely to give us more pain than joy. </div><div><br /></div><div>We are reminded about this daily - from the movie <i>Oppenheimer</i>, to politicians' inability to pass gun reform that would significantly reduce the loss of life, to the onset of AI as a profit making venture that has the possibility of eliminating people's ability to discern truth. <br /><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div></div></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-86849027048937786752024-01-21T11:43:00.011-09:002024-03-04T21:26:32.511-09:00Why Making Real Time Sense Of Israeli-Gaza War Is So Difficult -Part II<p>This is a truly touchy topic all around. I'm listing here some of the aspects that I feel are critical to <strike>understand</strike> (no, be aware of is a more realistic goal). Assume that I am torn in different directions and not pushing an answer one way or the other. </p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html" target="_blank">Part I of these posts</a> gives an intro to these posts and covers:</p><p> <span style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">1. PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><span>2. THE PROBLEM OF NETANYAHU </span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><span>3A. HISTORIC ANTI-SEMITISM</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><span>3B. THE HOLOCAUST</span></p><p style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;"><br /></p><p><u>PART II</u></p><p><b>4. GENOCIDE</b></p><p><a href="https://www.facinghistory.org/ideas-week/where-did-word-genocide-come" target="_blank">The word "genocide" was coined to give a name to what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust. </a> </p><p></p><blockquote><p>"Seventy years ago this fall [2014], the word "genocide" made its debut into the English language, on page 79 of the 674-page Axis Rule in Occupied Europe [which you can find here in Reading 3], in a chapter called "Genocide—A New Term and New Conception for Destruction of Nations."</p><p>The writer was Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-born lawyer who had fled the persecution of the Holocaust and moved to the United States in 1941. A few months after his arrival, he heard a radio address in which British Prime Minister Winston Churchill told listeners about the horrors of World War II. . .</p><p>[Lemkin] decided to create a name for the crime without a name. He came up with genocide, which he defined as the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group. He said he created the word by combining the ancient Greek word genos (race, tribe) and the Latin cide (killing). In 1948, nearly three years after the concentration camps of World War II had been closed forever, the newly-formed United Nations (UN) used this new word in the "Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide," a treaty that was intended to prevent any future genocides."</p></blockquote><p><a href="https://www.ushmm.org/genocide-prevention/learn-about-genocide-and-other-mass-atrocities/definitions" target="_blank">The US Holocaust Museum defines the term</a> in more detail </p><p></p><blockquote><p>"Genocide is an internationally recognized crime where acts are committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. These acts fall into five categories:</p><p></p><ul><li>Killing members of the group</li><li>Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group</li><li>Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part</li><li>Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group</li><li>Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group</li></ul><p></p><p>There are a number of other serious, violent crimes that do not fall under the specific definition of genocide. They include crimes against humanity, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and mass killing."</p></blockquote><p>Netanyahu would argue that his intent is to secure Israel from terrorist attack, not to kill Palestinians. </p><p>Whether what's happening in Gaza is genocide or one of the other crimes listed probably doesn't matter too much, but I'm sure those fighting against Israeli bombing in Gaza are relishing the irony of charging Israelis with genocide. </p><p>Since I wrote these words on genocide, <a href="https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/192/192-20231228-app-01-00-en.pdf" target="_blank">the South African complaints about Israeli genocide to the International Court of Justice </a>has become available. In it, starting from page 60, they quote a number of Israeli officials, in different ways saying things that suggest Israeli intent to obliterate Gaza. Here's just one example from Prime Minister Netanyahu:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"The Israeli Prime Minister also returned to the theme in his ‘Christmas message’, stating: “we’re facing monsters, monsters who murdered children in front of their parents . . . This is a battle not only of Israel against these barbarians, it’s a battle of civilization against barbarism”.445 On 28 October 2023, as Israeli forces prepared their land invasion of Gaza, the Prime Minister invoked the Biblical story of the total destruction of Amalek by the Israelites, stating: “you must remember what Amalek has done to you, says our Holy Bible. And we do remember."</p><p>"The Prime Minister referred again to Amalek in the letter sent on 3 November 2023 to Israeli soldiers and officers.447 The relevant biblical passage reads as follows: “ The Prime Minister referred again to Amalek in the letter sent on 3 November 2023 to Israeli soldiers and officers.447 The relevant biblical passage reads as follows: “ Now go, attack Amalek, and proscribe all that belongs to him. Spare no one, but kill alike men and women, infants and and sucklings, oxen and sheep, camels and asses."</p><p></p></blockquote><p>This is the tenor of the evidence of intent that the South African complaint offers to International Court of Justice. And as I write this, I always keep in mind the possibility that this whole document is a fake, that the quotes are fabricated. But I don't think so. Some of the Prime Minister's remarks are almost identical to the "Civilization versus Savages" theme I posted above in Section 2 on Netanyahu that appeared in his 1995 book. </p><p>But remember, these are like the prosecutor's opening argument. It's their side of the story. The defense hasn't yet had a chance to put things in context or to refute the arguments. </p><p>Because I'm taking forever to write this, I can add the Israeli response. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Haaretz" target="_blank">Ha'aretz, the oldest Israeli newspaper,</a> has <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-01-13/ty-article/.premium/two-days-of-genocide-hearings-at-the-hague-conclude-as-israel-enters-worlds-microscope/0000018c-ffef-d517-af9d-ffff79140000?utm_source=mailchimp&utm_medium=Content&utm_campaign=weekend&utm_content=c68bf4cb45" target="_blank">this report on the Israeli response to the South African allegations.</a></p><p>[Being mindful of Issue #1 - Propaganda, Misinformation - the first link in the previous sentence is to the Encyclopedia Brittanica article on Ha'aretz. The second links to their report.]</p><p></p><p><b>5. ZIONISM</b></p><p>This is another term that gets bandied about. I'm not going to try to define it here, but you can see a couple of differing definitions/commentaries at the links below.</p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism" target="_blank">Wikipedia's treatment</a></p><p><a href="https://www.fpri.org/article/2015/01/origins-and-evolution-of-zionism/" target="_blank">The Foreign Policy Institute's take</a></p><p><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/failure-of-zionism" target="_blank">The Promise and Failure of Zionism</a></p><p>Many people seem to have trouble distinguishing between Zionists, Jews, and Israelis and use two or all of those terms interchangeably to mean the same thing. As though all Christians believe the same thing or act the same way. People who identify (or are labeled) Jews come in many flavors, beliefs, ideologies, lifestyles. The same is true of Israelis. </p><p><br /></p><p></p><p><b>6. ISRAELI MISTREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS </b></p><p>After World War II much of the world was shocked to learn of the mass extermination of Jews by the Nazis. (If you don't believe the Holocaust happened, don't comment here. I'll delete it as soon as I see it. Rather educate yourself and get past your ignorance.) Among Jews, the campaign to create a Jewish state in historic Israel was not universally supported. But after the war, with many displaced Jewish refugees, many of them survivors of the Holocaust, sentiment supported establishing the state of Israel. The newly formed United Nations approved. </p><p>For the first years, the world heard heartwarming stories of the "Land of Milk and Honey," of the miracle in Israel making the desert bloom When Israel was attacked in 1967 by surrounding Arab countries, Israel fought back and quickly defeated their enemies and kept the territory they took. Moshe Dayan was an international hero, easily recognized with his black eye patch. </p><p>But from the beginning the story wasn't so rosy. Jews forced Arabs to abandon their homes and land. Many fled to other Arab countries. Over the years attempts to establish peace were thwarted by Palestinian rejection of the idea of Israel even existing. Israeli supporters in the West used this rejection to show the Arabs were intransigent. But it's clear that from the Arab perspective, the creation of Israel was similar to other colonial conquests where the indigenous people were simply removed for the colonists. Even if the colonists were themselves a displaced people.</p><p>In the last 20 years or more, Israel has increasingly been a very oppressive ruler over the occupied territories. Israel's annexation of West Bank Arab lands to build settlements for Israelis has exacerbated things. People began talking about an Israeli apartheid. One can easily see similarities between the occupation and the way Black Americans are frequently treated by the police in the US. </p><p>It's clear that many Israeli soldiers treat Palestinians with disdain. There are many places you can read about this, but I would offer<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2022/07/apeirogon-part-2-fighting-for-peace-in.html" target="_blank"> Colum McCann's </a><i><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2022/07/apeirogon-part-2-fighting-for-peace-in.html" target="_blank">Apeirogon</a> </i>as a good place to start. [I highly recommend reading Apeirogon] It's the story of one Palestinian and one Jewish father who have both lost teenage daughters to the violence in Israel. They are brought together and work with a group that advocates for peace and understanding. There are very detailed descriptions of the indignities that Palestinians suffer daily. </p><p>I believe that this treatment comes from </p><p></p><ul><li>Israelis always feeling threatened (and Hamas does its best to stir up those fears) and </li><li>the ethnocentrism evidenced in Netanyahu's belief they are fighting a noble war between civilization and savagery. [See<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html" target="_blank"> Part I</a> on Netanyahu]</li></ul><div>As I mentioned in<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank"> the post on </a><i><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank">The Battle of Algier</a>s</i>, people with little or no power, dominated by another people with lots of power, have few options other than guerrilla warfare. </div><p></p><p>I'd also mention that other Arab countries tended to not take Palestinians as refugees into their countries. One explanation was that by making Israel the collective enemy of Arabs, they could distract the Arab world from intra-Arab conflicts, and they could distract their own citizens from protesting their own authoritarianism. Another explanation has been they simply didn't think they could handle the influx of so many Arabs with a somewhat different history in their own countries. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>7. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL - PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI EDUCATION</b></p><p>There are lots of articles about how Palestinian schools teach hate, such as <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/unrwa-textbooks-still-include-hate-antisemitism-despite-pledge-to-remove-watchdog/" target="_blank">this 2022 <i>Times of Israel </i>headline:</a></p><p></p><blockquote><p>"UNRWA textbooks still include hate, antisemitism despite pledge to remove — watchdog</p><p>Israeli organization says that rather than taking the material out of the 2022 curriculum, the UN Palestinian refugee agency has merely taken it off its public education portal"</p></blockquote><p>It takes a little more digging to find counter arguments such as this one from <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/yes-palestinians-teach-children-hate-jewish-state/" target="_blank">The Palestine Chronicle</a> <a href="https://www.palestinechronicle.com/yes-palestinians-teach-children-hate-jewish-state/" target="_blank">by Rima Najjar:</a></p><blockquote><p>Zionism is an insidious ideology. Its ideologues often gain traction by well-placed and oft repeated constructs – in films and TV series, in posts and comments on social media, and even in academia. So, it is no wonder that people end up having ideas about certain things, like the nature of Israel, the Zionist Jewish state, or the nature of Palestinian Arab culture and identity, or the nature of Jewish culture and identity, as if by osmosis.</p><p>One of these “memes” in the air, if you will, is the oft repeated comment by hasbara agents on social media that says Palestinians teach their children to hate Jews. This notion can also be found in numerous attacks on the Palestinian Authority curriculum with the same accusation of “teaching children to hate Jews”, when in fact, the opposite is true, as is often the case with Zionist propaganda (see Nurit Peled-Elhanan’s Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education – Library of Modern Middle East Studies).</p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p>My understanding is that </p><p></p><blockquote>"'teaching children to hate Jews', when in fact, the opposite is true, as is often the case with Zionist propaganda" </blockquote><p></p><p>doesn't mean the Palestinians teach their kids to love Jews, but rather means that Israelis teach their kids to hate Palestinians. </p><p>Michael Kaplan gave this example, in 2014, of Jews teaching their kids to hate Palestinians. <a href="https://forward.com/opinion/197866/when-israelis-teach-their-kids-to-hate/" target="_blank"> When Israelis Teach Their Kids To Hate</a>. </p><p>Two, more thorough, academic studies of Israeli text books suggest it's more subtle, but just as invidious. </p><p>Here's the abstract of 2012 book by <a class="nova-legacy-e-link nova-legacy-e-link--color-inherit nova-legacy-e-link--theme-bare" href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nurit-Elhanan?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIiwicGFnZSI6InB1YmxpY2F0aW9uIn19" style="background: repeat; border: 0px; caret-color: rgb(17, 17, 17); cursor: pointer; display: inline; font-family: Roboto, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: currentcolor; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">Nurit Elhanan</a>-Peled</p><p></p><blockquote>"The present book presents a critical multimodal study of one aspect of the Israeli-Zionist narrative as it is reproduced in school books of three disciplines: history, geography and civic studies. It consists of an analysis of the visual and verbal texts that represent the 'others' of Zionist Jews, namely Palestinians – both the citizens of Israel and the non-citizens who have been living under a military regime in the occupied Palestinian territories since 1967.The book shows that Israeli textbooks use racist discourse, both visually and verbally to represent Palestinians."</blockquote><p>I only could find a few passages at the link to the publisher, but here's one to give you a sense of the book:</p><p></p><blockquote>"... Texts present Palestine before 1948 as barren land and empty territory, abandoned since biblical times, waiting for Jews to redeem it while expunging Palestinian history and culture transforming 'Palestinian Arab students into "present absentees" as they learn about "the land of Israel"' (Abu-Saad, 2008: 24) without them. These texts are 'designed to "de-educate", or dispossess, Indigenous Palestinian pupils of the knowledge of their own people and history' (Abu-Saad, 2008: 17;Al-Haj, 2015;Mazawi, 2011;Peled-Elhanen, 2012;Raz-Karkotzkin, 2001). Textbooks construct Palestinians as 'backward, unproductive and untrustworthy; or even more negatively as murderers or rioters' while Jews engage 'in a justified, even humanitarian, war against an Arab enemy that refused to accept or acknowledge the existence and rights of Jews in Israel' (Abu-Saad, 2019: 101; Bar-Tal, 2001;Meehan, 1999). ..."</blockquote><p></p><p></p><p><a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2020-06-21/ty-article/.premium/in-israeli-textbooks-the-palestinians-are-all-but-invisible/0000017f-f53a-d318-afff-f77b47ba0000" target="_blank">A 2020 Ha'aretz article</a> - eight years later than the Elhanen book - describes a Tel Aviv University study:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Ben-Amos set out to explore how Israeli textbooks and pre-college matriculation exams address the occupation. He calls the situation 'interpretive denial.'”</blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p>Ben-Amos set out to explore how Israeli textbooks and pre-college matriculation exams address the occupation. He calls the situation “interpretive denial.” . . .</p><p>In most textbooks, “the Jewish control and the Palestinians’ inferior status appear as a natural, self-evident situation that one doesn’t have to think about,” he writes in an article to be published in a book on teaching history edited by Eyal Naveh and Nimrod Tal. . . .</p><p>Ben-Amos says the textbooks’ ignoring of the occupation or attempts to normalize it stem from self-censorship. In the absence of clear guidelines, nobody wants to be blacklisted and denounced, which was the fate of teachers and publishers who tried to convey a more nuanced message than the one permitted by the Education Ministry. . . .</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Elhanen has continued writing articles on the subject of how 'the other' is treated in Israeli schools and textbooks. You can see a<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nurit-Elhanan" target="_blank"> list of books and articles here</a>, some with links to full text.</p><p>I did find one more book- <a href="https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/images/palbooks.pdf" target="_blank">Palestinians in Israeli Textbooks (2016)</a> - which seems to say that it was bad in the past, but things are much better now. </p><p>It's hard to find ways to peace when Palestinian children are regularly taught in schools and in the streets to hate Jews and when Jewish children are given texts that either omit Palestinians or reinforce the idea that Jewish superiority over Palestinians is the natural order of things. </p><p>Though as one Palestinian responded (paraphrasing), "Palestinian kids don't need to be taught in schools to hate Jews. They pick that up by living under Israeli occupation."</p><p>Part III is<strike> still bein</strike>g written. <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html" target="_blank"> Here's the link. </a></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-85445164969861693312024-01-18T17:52:00.007-09:002024-02-04T18:30:37.481-09:00Why Making Real Time Sense Of Israeli-Gaza War Is So Difficult -Part I [Updated]<p><br /></p><p>I've avoided posting about the Israeli-Gaza war for a number of reasons. (The one exception is<a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank"> this post recommending folks watch the Battle of Algiers</a>.) </p><p>The<a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/0/blog/post/edit/30897652/8544516496986169331#" target="_blank"> LA Times screenshot below</a> articulates the thoughts behind my hesitation. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNOtz-VyHGA5X9ugYFIQP3CYWr5TmPqZVmuvErEsx_vMFy5YhmV9tu93DK-CanufYs1Agx-8Dz-QxIg6ACEep7r7YSpmn2RNIGu0Bfsw8LY4jZTMAb26BgG-ePOYeB-xy7FMG954RikjuDu0d-PDd2KEdZU_ORiAvEnFD42UedBtuOP8rDw/s1740/Half%20Pal%20Half%20Isr%20screenshot.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="1740" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaNOtz-VyHGA5X9ugYFIQP3CYWr5TmPqZVmuvErEsx_vMFy5YhmV9tu93DK-CanufYs1Agx-8Dz-QxIg6ACEep7r7YSpmn2RNIGu0Bfsw8LY4jZTMAb26BgG-ePOYeB-xy7FMG954RikjuDu0d-PDd2KEdZU_ORiAvEnFD42UedBtuOP8rDw/w400-h120/Half%20Pal%20Half%20Isr%20screenshot.png" width="400" /></a></div><p>Not that I'm either, but it does feel like people are being forced to pick a side and then attacked for it. For many nuance is a copout. </p><p>I've been thinking about this post since Hamas attacked Israel. I've been writing it for about six weeks. Writing, at least the way I write, forces me to learn, to confront those statements I'm not certain about (most) with internet searches and trying my thoughts out on friends. </p><p>The post has been growing organically. As I write some things, later news events cause me to look up other assertions relevant to all of this. </p><p>This post isn't supposed to be answers, but rather an annotated list of things (yes, I'd like a better word than that, suggestions?) people should know about before taking a firm position on the situation. Each item is worthy of its own book length discussion. Most of these issues are intertwined. Separating them into discrete items makes it easier to talk about them, but can be misleading, so read with caution. Here's the list as it stands today (January 18, 2024)</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe;">1. PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe;">2. THE PROBLEM OF NETANYAHU </span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe;">3A. HISTORIC ANTI-SEMITISM</span></p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe;">3B. THE HOLOCAUST</span></p><p>4. GENOCIDE</p><p>5. ZIONISM</p><p>6. ISRAELI MISTREATMENT OF PALESTINIANS </p><p>7. TEACH YOUR CHILDREN WELL - PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI EDUCATION</p><p>8. RUSSIAN IMMIGRANTS AND ISRAEL'S RIGHT WING TILT </p><p>9. IGNORANCE </p><p>10. HAMAS</p><p><a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank">11. GUERRILLA WARFARE</a></p><p>12. WHY GETTING JEWS OUT OF ISRAEL SEEMS EASIER THAN NATIVE AMERICANS GETTING EUROPEANS OUT OF THE UNITED STATES</p><p><br /></p><p>I've 'finished' 1-8. I've decided that this is too long for most readers, so I'm going to break it down into several posts, starting with<span style="color: #2b00fe;"> 1 through 3B.</span> <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2023/12/the-battle-of-algiers-offers-insights.html" target="_blank">A version of 11 - Guerrilla Warfare - is already up </a>offering you the movie Battle of Algiers. </p><p><br /></p><blockquote><div></div></blockquote><div><br /></div><p><b>1. PROPAGANDA, MISINFORMATION, OBLITERATION OF TRUTH</b></p><p>Democracy requires citizens have access to information - how organizations work, who has power and how they use it - that enables us to make intelligent choices in how we lead our lives and who we vote for to represent us in government. </p><p>Politicians and citizens have always bent the truth in their favor, but today the truth is almost unrecognizable. Trump's Republican Party realizes their ideas are outmoded and they can only win major elections by lying and subterfuge. Right wing billionaires scheme to protect their wealth and ability to do as they please without regard to others. Foreign authoritarian governments (ie Russia, Iran, China) have an interest in 'proving' to their citizens that democracy cannot work and destroying democracy in the US would be their greatest victory. </p><p>Here's an <i>Anchorage Daily News</i> headline Dec. 19 2023 on a Washington Post story:</p><blockquote><p>"<a href="https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/the-rise-of-ai-fake-news-is-creating-a-misinformation-superspreader/ar-AA1lCSqA" target="_blank">The rise of AI fake news is creating a ‘misinformation superspreader</a>’"</p></blockquote><p>The story it makes my argument:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Historically, propaganda operations have relied on armies of lowpaid workers or highly coordinated intelligence organizations to build sites that appear to be legitimate. But AI is making it easy for nearly anyone — whether they are part of a spy agency or just a teenager in their basement — to create these outlets, producing content that is at times hard to differentiate from real news."</blockquote><p></p><p></p><blockquote></blockquote><p>So, starting off this discussion, I'd note that from even before the Hamas attack on Israel, false information was being spread to support and attack anyone who ventured to comment on this topic. Russia sees it as a way to peel off voters from Biden to improve Trump's election to a second term knowing Trump would much more vigorously support Russia's plans in Ukraine and the world. </p><p>It's also a way to divert world attention away from Ukraine and onto Israel. (This may be just a brief sentence, but I suspect it's an important factor.)</p><p>While I think today (in January) the outline of the war is clearer than it was when I started, there is constant misinformation spread in mainstream media as well as social media.</p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>2. THE PROBLEM OF NETANYAHU </b></p><p>Before Netanyahu was ever prime minister I found a book he authored on the bargain table at Borders Books in Anchorage. So this was before 1996 when he first became prime minister. I read the book and was appalled. What I remember most vividly was a sentence where he said something to the effect of "I never met an Arab I could trust." I didn't keep the book, but I've looked on line to see what books he wrote before 1996. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Netanyahu" target="_blank"> Wikipedia lists Netanyahu's books</a>. Here are the ones published before 1996:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>International Terrorism: Challenge and Response. Transaction Publishers. 1981. </li><li>Terrorism: How the West Can Win. Avon. 1987.</li><li>Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorism. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. 1995.</li></ul><p></p><p>All these are edited books, with Netanyahu providing the introduction. What I recall was more of an autobiographical work. But I can't find any reference to such a book by Netanyahu before the 2022 autobiography. </p><p>But I did look at an online<a href="https://www.routledge.com/International-Terrorism-Challenge-and-Response/Netanyahu/p/book/9780878558940" target="_blank"> preview of</a><a href="https://www.routledge.com/International-Terrorism-Challenge-and-Response/Netanyahu/p/book/9780878558940"> </a><i><a href="https://www.routledge.com/International-Terrorism-Challenge-and-Response/Netanyahu/p/book/9780878558940">Terrorism: How The West Can Win</a>. </i>[click on Preview at the link]. This is an edited volume and Netanyahu introduces other speakers at a conference, so these excerpt probably cannot be directly attributed to Netanyahu. But he has organized this conference and invited the presenters. Netanyahu edited the book and presumably decided what went in and what didn't. [And we'll see later that this sentiments reappear in the current crisis.] </p><p>The book ignores the idea of terrorism being the last resort of an oppressed people who have no legal way to protest their condition or change it. Rather it is Civilization versus the Savages. He quotes Gibbons of the fall of the Roman Empire </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPTNPkSY9CvI9blHBWhJTHYjfkUiCSAuEahtG5T2bz73xVVOX5EUmXXbK2NqPQ_yFTKNZ6SGWwhq4u-7DzdoI_OT1GEpPv3v_8tsLXDxn9eVCcytrPXHJlfaZZ-MgXPttxCAhafsVn-g0ruQ9C6JgQte6aIPxGYUnaD1F27qybIxSdpPRVw/s992/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-18%20at%206.25.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="992" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghPTNPkSY9CvI9blHBWhJTHYjfkUiCSAuEahtG5T2bz73xVVOX5EUmXXbK2NqPQ_yFTKNZ6SGWwhq4u-7DzdoI_OT1GEpPv3v_8tsLXDxn9eVCcytrPXHJlfaZZ-MgXPttxCAhafsVn-g0ruQ9C6JgQte6aIPxGYUnaD1F27qybIxSdpPRVw/w640-h256/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-18%20at%206.25.28%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Then he goes on to say that the same dynamic is happening today - civilization vs. the savages. </div><p>This is the language that Europeans used to justify conquering non-Christian lands in the 16 and 1700s. It's how the US government justified removing Native Americans from their land and killing those who resisted. And one might argue, how the current Israeli government seems to treat Palestinians in the West Bank as they confiscate their property to make room for Jewish settlers in the West Bank.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JMWTjBIcJcht1Wpxu0G3fN5lHGVo7OLADwHdEERB3360_LOEuAZDxwIHhbKZhh0IOhe7Kd5KAPx434qHeQtabD4WeN_R0R73P_-45CrhsGETORlMDkc7Ntm9EiPMGm0jt2vI2ec8ocUPPtDjpRJx17mEYgUKLlkOJifRCI3nhr-UIbeN7g/s694/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-31%20at%204.16.11%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="302" data-original-width="694" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4JMWTjBIcJcht1Wpxu0G3fN5lHGVo7OLADwHdEERB3360_LOEuAZDxwIHhbKZhh0IOhe7Kd5KAPx434qHeQtabD4WeN_R0R73P_-45CrhsGETORlMDkc7Ntm9EiPMGm0jt2vI2ec8ocUPPtDjpRJx17mEYgUKLlkOJifRCI3nhr-UIbeN7g/w640-h275/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-31%20at%204.16.11%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><p>I don't know what Netanyahu says about the Jewish terrorists who fought against the British occupiers of Palestine in the first half of the 20th Century. <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2021-07-22/ty-article/this-day-in-jewish-history-irgun-blows-up-british-hq-at-jerusalems-king-david-hotel/0000017f-f5f9-ddde-abff-fdfd85990000" target="_blank">The deadly bombing of the King David Hotel in 1946 was organized by future Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin</a>. The book preview does include the index which does list "King David Hotel Incident on page 45", but the preview on line doesn't go to page 45. In fact it has no page numbers. He specifically rejects the idea that "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." But what about the Colonists who threw tea into Boston Harbor, or Ho Chi Minh who fought the French and then the Americans to free Vietnam from colonial rule? </p><p><a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2023-04-27/what-is-the-latest-on-netanyahus-corruption-trial" target="_blank">Netanyahu has also been the subject of criminal prosecutions</a> and huge public demonstrations against his weakening of the judicial branch of government. Some have argued that pursuing this <a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/haaretz-today/2023-12-28/ty-article/.highlight/with-israel-at-war-netanyahus-judicial-coup-is-back-with-a-vengeance/0000018c-b146-d45c-a98e-bb4e59d20000" target="_blank">war is a way for Netanyahu to distract the nation from his legal problems.</a></p><p>It would be interesting to know the relationship between Netanyahu and Henry Kissinger about whom Netanyahu Netanyahu said we "have known one another for 'many years,'” They seem to be kindred spirits. </p><p></p><blockquote>"Kissinger believed in power and disdained abstract ideas about progress, fraternity, democracy and freedom, ideas that America disseminates around the world. In his 1994 book “Diplomacy,” he justified national interests as the desired basis of foreign policy, calling on American leaders not to abandon this even after winning the Cold War.</blockquote><p></p><blockquote>His approach was congruent with Israel’s foreign policy, which since the days of Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion believes in force while harboring deep reservations about international institutions and norms such as human rights and weapons control. That is why the harsh criticism of Kissinger by the left as the person directly responsible for mass murder, atrocities in Cambodia, Laos and Chile, Bangladesh and Timor, and for the bloody and needless prolongation of the Vietnam War, is heard in Israel only among a small circle of anti-American leftists." (<a href="https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-12-01/ty-article/.premium/kissingers-power-over-progress-paradigm-found-attentive-ears-in-israel/0000018c-21c0-d21c-abae-77fca3810000" target="_blank">from <i>Haaretz</i></a>)</blockquote><p></p><p></p><p>My sense of Netanyahu is that he is an absolutist on Arabs and terrorists and sees the civilian deaths resulting from the bombing of Gaza are, in his mind, completely justifiable as he attempts to rid Israel of terrorists. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>3A. HISTORIC ANTI-SEMITISM</b></p><p>I don't want to go through the<a href="https://www.ushmm.org/antisemitism/what-is-antisemitism/explained?utm_campaign=antisemitism&utm_medium=homepage&utm_source=website" target="_blank"> history of anti-semitism</a> here. Go to the link if you need a briefing. I mention it here only to say that the reactions to the Israeli-Gaza war are aggravated by the latent pool of historic anti-semitism that persists in the world today. </p><p>Further we have the conflation of Israeli, Jew, and Zionist. And the assumption many have of Israelis, of non-Israeli Jews, and Zionists being a unified organism that all support Netanyahu's policy of bombing Gaza. Each of the groups has divisions and groups who support and oppose, to varying degrees, the bombing. </p><p>It's easy for people who know little or nothing of other countries to group all the people as being united. But just as the United States has many divisions, so do all other countries. </p><p>I mention this because there are people with strong opinions about the war who really have little or no experience with or understanding of the many different types of Jews or Israelis, who know nothing about the history of the geography and politics of the Middle East, particularly the land where Israel is located. </p><p>Many Jews feel - and the current tolerance on the right of Neo-Nazis verify those feelings - that anti-semitism is alive and well today in the world and that no matter what Israel does they will be vilified. An Orthodox Jew told me once, he didn't care what the world thought, because it didn't matter what Israel did, they would always get blamed. </p><p><br /></p><p><b>3B</b>. <b>THE HOLOCAUST</b></p><p>The details in this section are a little rough, but I think the general point is valid.</p><p>The loss of 6 million Jews during WW II, seems to have stirred the world to allow the establishment of a Jewish state in what had been the British held territory in Palestine. There was a moral high ground that Jews had. And they managed to tell a story of a people who escaped hell on earth to create the Land of Milk and Honey and the miracle of Making the Desert Bloom. In 1967, these survivors repelled the attack from various Arab neighbors. Moshe Dayan was an international hero. </p><p>But things went downhill from there. I suspect part of the problem was that Israelis wrapped themselves in the story of surviving the Holocaust and slogan "Never Again." They used these to justify taking Arab property and forcing many Palestinians to flee as protecting themselves from another Holocaust. And Arabs who refused to acknowledge the right of a State of Israel to exist, gave some legitimacy to this idea. </p><p>But in refusing to become the victims ever again, they slipped into the role of the oppressors in the West Bank and Gaza. There's enough fault on both sides, but using the Holocaust to justify their treatment of Arabs to the world and to themselves, meant that they began losing the PR war among the rest of the world.</p><p>[Update - January 19, 2024, I found this comment today in<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/360603740_Teaching_Hostility_The_Representation_of_Palestinians_in_Israeli_Schoolbooks" target="_blank"> an article by Nurit Elhanan</a> of Hebrew University:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The only thing that unites the antagonistic Jewish ethnic groups in Israel is fear of the enemy and the quest for a Jewish national 'purity' along with the belief only a Jewish majority and a strong Jewish army <b>can prevent another Holocaust,</b> this time perpetrated by the Palestinians or other Muslim powers, such as Iran." [emphasis added]</blockquote><p></p><p>So, this is the end of Part I. <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/01/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli_21.html" target="_blank">Part II is now (1/21/24) up.</a> <a href="https://whatdoino-steve.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-making-real-time-sense-of-israeli.html" target="_blank">Part III is now done</a>. Still more parts will appear soon. </p><p><br /></p><blockquote><p></p></blockquote><p></p><p></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-77253612497348285702024-01-16T17:39:00.001-09:002024-01-16T17:49:45.475-09:00About 92% Of IOWA GOP Didn't Vote For Trump<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlj-xLu-9yxRdl5vL-CldIZtChIcJ9CA9rBsv4JXdPgjJO-5eWbOVQL1s7ZZa07mcRwp5EvMu0F7CjdG3WlC8OnJFab6pbfPEJwlW5bUeWIh2FpVB6ZmKrjNA56wcsFSHu9h4llt3PG41p28OYFT_EOmICJEzrW1v5mYF1wf1JXrzBPyMM3w/s396/Iowa%20headlines%203.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="396" data-original-width="158" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlj-xLu-9yxRdl5vL-CldIZtChIcJ9CA9rBsv4JXdPgjJO-5eWbOVQL1s7ZZa07mcRwp5EvMu0F7CjdG3WlC8OnJFab6pbfPEJwlW5bUeWIh2FpVB6ZmKrjNA56wcsFSHu9h4llt3PG41p28OYFT_EOmICJEzrW1v5mYF1wf1JXrzBPyMM3w/s320/Iowa%20headlines%203.png" width="128" /></a></div> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">You might think from headlines like these that Trump scored a great victory in the Iowa caucuses yesterday. Even headlines that just said he won are telling the wrong story.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">They focused on the horse race. Just on the candidates and their votes.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">The real story for me is about the GOP who simply didn't vote. </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVZr9bw0D20aENeEqIOhNzT_H-_cWVGpERPXyqFdBtO8Sy1UkCklD9doomprTsZHq1MIFAilG7y8jvxyKOXxsFNmkMC4UTeznFelpAB1YThUTYiN7hye_HlVZIiVub3JVTN555jO6FUB-4sdKQi7hjjkf7qX8csrwgTq85rjDe1FbQwRimQ/s1522/Iowa%20headlines%202.png" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="514" data-original-width="1522" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNVZr9bw0D20aENeEqIOhNzT_H-_cWVGpERPXyqFdBtO8Sy1UkCklD9doomprTsZHq1MIFAilG7y8jvxyKOXxsFNmkMC4UTeznFelpAB1YThUTYiN7hye_HlVZIiVub3JVTN555jO6FUB-4sdKQi7hjjkf7qX8csrwgTq85rjDe1FbQwRimQ/s320/Iowa%20headlines%202.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjo5hXaGnqGbYLbehxVGpk0Nno7RHXqiMH3iEGdPVqvd3yQ5b1lxj6yJsuBluM4_cht0Gwmvujhq7FxRhQvizaomldg57wYJVrd5vWZ9jR1lhN5P5-Et21oIyw5bOQVwnDlwVlFSZspNmUvXN0sc15DRxFEM_o-AZ_L2EWU1WOI5R-qIt_mQ/s1380/Iowa%20Headlines%201.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="490" data-original-width="1380" height="114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjo5hXaGnqGbYLbehxVGpk0Nno7RHXqiMH3iEGdPVqvd3yQ5b1lxj6yJsuBluM4_cht0Gwmvujhq7FxRhQvizaomldg57wYJVrd5vWZ9jR1lhN5P5-Et21oIyw5bOQVwnDlwVlFSZspNmUvXN0sc15DRxFEM_o-AZ_L2EWU1WOI5R-qIt_mQ/s320/Iowa%20Headlines%201.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;">Let's look at this chart from <a href="https://spoutible.com/thread/25943521" target="_blank">@analogmeat on Spoutible</a>:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><link href="https://static.spoutible.com/spout/embed.css" rel="stylesheet"></link>
<script async="" src="https://static.spoutible.com/spout/embed.js"></script>
</span><div class="sptbl_embed-spout" data-spout-id="25943521"></div><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 20px;">I've checked the numbers and they're good on the results percentages, but the Iowa Capitol Dispatch says that as of last week </span><a href="https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2022/11/01/more-republicans-registered-in-iowa-ahead-of-election-new-data-shows/" style="font-size: 20px;" target="_blank">there were 687,000 registered Republicans voters in Iowa</a>,<span style="font-size: medium;"> fewer than in the chart.</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">The real story, it seems to me is this:</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Barely 8% of Iowa registered GOP voters voted for Trump.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Just under 8% of Iowa registered GOP voters voted for candidates other than Trump. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">About 84% of Iowa registered GOP voters DID NOT VOTE.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Put another way, 92% of Iowa registered GOP voters DID NOT VOTE FOR TRUMP. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">That seems to me to be the big story. Most GOP stayed home. Sure the weather was bad, but even so, that sounds like a huge vote of no confidence for the GOP front runner. Or for the other GOP candidates for that matter. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;">Maybe I'm missing something here. Maybe only a small percentage of Iowa voters have participated in the </span>caucuses historically. But if that's the case, it's the media horserace coverage of elections - who's winning and by how much - that have made this farce into something of national significance. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: medium;">I'm sure Mike in Iowa will fill me in if I'm wrong. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-19639222697500615672024-01-10T13:14:00.000-09:002024-01-10T13:14:01.264-09:00A Long And Amazing Life Ended Today<p>I just learned that Gerda Bernstein passed away peacefully today. If I've got my dates right, she was just shy of her 101st birthday. </p><p>She was my mother's first cousin and was able to get out of Germany before World War II started. She was always a presence in my life, though I'd say she knew me longer than I knew her. My family moved to LA from Chicago when I was still under three. While I see pictures in the photo albums of her in Los Angeles, I don't really remember her from then much. </p><p>My first vivid memory was when I traveled back home from my junior year studying in Germany and stopped for a day in Chicago. She was a bigger than life person - warm, beautiful, welcoming. Here's a picture of her wedding I found during this stay in LA . </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdcR4P1ASkeQzYheKaryigLEFNwHMJv1iK8CyENwNPGX7gz0g-Azo4vu1nB4AB7RrW3lJ8srS9HehmywOJNWODH_uur0buZc_PRFy2EpTym450bOeQJZexs3RgoRNc_GPehfp5ryPYIffGfmF73prpKIvIdFTL0oMK4ZVgaqzDwRW5Z3Nrw/s640/IMG_5811.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="640" height="323" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPdcR4P1ASkeQzYheKaryigLEFNwHMJv1iK8CyENwNPGX7gz0g-Azo4vu1nB4AB7RrW3lJ8srS9HehmywOJNWODH_uur0buZc_PRFy2EpTym450bOeQJZexs3RgoRNc_GPehfp5ryPYIffGfmF73prpKIvIdFTL0oMK4ZVgaqzDwRW5Z3Nrw/w400-h323/IMG_5811.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Below is from a post I wrote in 2016 when we visited her huge art studio in a warehouse in Chicago. She was a significant artist. Much of her work was large installations. <a href="http://gerdameyerbernstein.com" target="_blank">Her website</a> says:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Gerda Meyer Bernstein is an internationally known Chicago-based artist who addresses thorny global issues. Her previous exhibitions include "Witness & Legacy," a traveling museum exhibition; The Alternative Museum in New York City, The Spertus Museum and Cultural Center in Chicago; "Passages" at the Ellis Island Immigration Museum; and at the New Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany."</blockquote><p></p><p> I have some video from that trip which I thought I'd put up. I'll try to add it later. </p><p><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIJLI1q0I6XADZEGv5o5gcynj2ssJje8JqbWp3SUd6ce9Kukezqp33EZ7CZdNhUhPTBkR_jUKzcQ4mF28G2LUC2p4PXjPk-eFU9LvBZxY4VVD36SgMuJS5hVDA7TtjrUcBq4/s1600/At+Gerda+Bernstein%2527s+Studio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #674ea7; float: left; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzIJLI1q0I6XADZEGv5o5gcynj2ssJje8JqbWp3SUd6ce9Kukezqp33EZ7CZdNhUhPTBkR_jUKzcQ4mF28G2LUC2p4PXjPk-eFU9LvBZxY4VVD36SgMuJS5hVDA7TtjrUcBq4/s320/At+Gerda+Bernstein%2527s+Studio.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="240" /></a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Then we went to visit a first cousin of my mom's, who is also an artist of some stature - </span><a href="http://gerdameyerbernstein.com/" style="color: #674ea7; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px; text-decoration: none;">Gerda Bernstein.</a><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;"> We, fortunately, met her at her studio. My mom's had a lithograph of hers hanging in her house forever and I've seen catalogues of her work. But since most of her works are large installation pieces, there's nothing like seeing things as they were meant to be seen. The studio is a small gallery. Some of the installations are up, but most are represented by photographs. I want to do more on Gerda, but were busy every day visiting folks so this is just a brief post. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">On the left is view from near the entrance to the studio. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /></p><div class="separator" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); clear: both; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTF3XE1y7lQWhj95L1P6TksveltNUT1vCAsdh_B2f9tcxHN3dVWaSgcEO6QfryPee4sXCjMRjYZlY0FM9LmKBLDl05FaptjhU2VUpmJNknyf4VWnFc_27hE9Ly9k7OjvaUwMI/s1600/Gaza+Tunnel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #674ea7; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTF3XE1y7lQWhj95L1P6TksveltNUT1vCAsdh_B2f9tcxHN3dVWaSgcEO6QfryPee4sXCjMRjYZlY0FM9LmKBLDl05FaptjhU2VUpmJNknyf4VWnFc_27hE9Ly9k7OjvaUwMI/s320/Gaza+Tunnel.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; background: rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 5px; position: relative;" width="240" /></a></div><p><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">This piece is called <b>Gaza Tunnel</b>. It's a reconstruction of the tunnels used to smuggle things into Gaza. But this tunnel is reimagined to be lined with books and the idea of the transformational power of books. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">Most of her works raise issues of people's suffering in the world. As I understand it - though I'm not positive - many early works were holocaust related and the focus has taken in other oppressed peoples. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;">I'm afraid I was overpowered by the art in the studio. My initial interest in Gerda is that she's the only person I know of who is still alive who knew my mother when she was a young girl in Germany. We talked about that a little bit, but the art was too strong to resist. </span><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-family: Georgia, Utopia, "Palatino Linotype", Palatino, serif; font-size: 14.3px;" /></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-75655549177266459612024-01-08T20:23:00.001-09:002024-01-08T20:23:25.341-09:00Sunsets - Human And Solar<p>The sun went down as we were driving back from visiting an old friend of my mother's. And when I say old, I'm not exaggerating. E is 99. She lives alone in her home, though her daughter lives not far away. She walks well. She looked good - certainly not anything like 99. She talks like she always has. Hearing's a problem, but her daughter was there and used voice transcription on her phone to help out. She gave up driving a few months ago when there was a problem with the steering wheel that she decided not to get fixed. I've known her at least 65 years. It was a delightful get-to-gether. She's one of the last of my mother's generation still kicking.</p><p>Even driving in LA traffic, nature puts on amazing shows. </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6j28ynu5qeF0wnkBmajUskGo0MPMPh2lczgTsxuBUyY3eyrMfbR0SfzckBT-oBMFjL6j4-hckEkiWQ32ixKmBzfHSftwnOhBCl5PbILSez3AAzk4oBNya35q9n1XRxjHPW4v9gZ6w83n1s4kQqjbjhx5DMat3iIeRk2ZjMCllu97b0NJdg/s640/IMG_5899.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6j28ynu5qeF0wnkBmajUskGo0MPMPh2lczgTsxuBUyY3eyrMfbR0SfzckBT-oBMFjL6j4-hckEkiWQ32ixKmBzfHSftwnOhBCl5PbILSez3AAzk4oBNya35q9n1XRxjHPW4v9gZ6w83n1s4kQqjbjhx5DMat3iIeRk2ZjMCllu97b0NJdg/w300-h400/IMG_5899.jpeg" width="300" /></a></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">While it's been sunny and the air has been clear (you can see the snow capped mountains to the east and Catalina Island to the west), it's been a bit nippy for LA (I'm using Santa Monica weather on my phone) - in the 50s (F) today. I did various odds and ends around the house as we get ready to return home and by 3pm I'd put off my bike ride to the beach. Chilly. But a call to a friend in Anchorage embarrassed me and I put on a windbreaker over my sweatshirt and got on the bike a little after 4pm and rode down to Venice Beach. The sun was directly in my eyes when there weren't trees blocking it. I had a right taillight blinking in hopes that blinded cars could see me in the bike line. Most people biking, skateboarding, scootering, and walking had on sweatshirts and warm coats. But there were a few bare chested runners as well. </div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><div class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYQZ4wJ0tFT0XGc4sHxp-rW1rSSyk5NHg0fBElHDa0hLc61Bgh3nfB08rtS5k3BZLLL_T5fbFmw3JzjU1JcV7O4WhA1kvx2LB1vrgsDalOFchsWDPBpHgvMdV6pEYO79jN41rleDJiW0JHqzyjzEWQzCxd9Nd5NukJJUiqn2cQpugNgIwrg/s640/IMG_5906.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="483" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBYQZ4wJ0tFT0XGc4sHxp-rW1rSSyk5NHg0fBElHDa0hLc61Bgh3nfB08rtS5k3BZLLL_T5fbFmw3JzjU1JcV7O4WhA1kvx2LB1vrgsDalOFchsWDPBpHgvMdV6pEYO79jN41rleDJiW0JHqzyjzEWQzCxd9Nd5NukJJUiqn2cQpugNgIwrg/w303-h400/IMG_5906.jpeg" width="303" /></a></div>The sun was getting very close to the horizon - which means there's about 30-40 more minutes of daylight. The surf was low. This is just north of Venice in Santa Monica. </div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><div class="separator"><br /></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And this is turning around with my back to the sun and the bike and my shadows stretched way out.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHEgXoSyJ9HaUw50WHdkaD4FhXN7WiSKsGw671EpmNQofODd1ZIOR4Wmxa310oPY8PkH5UtfPzX2ShKR50tLr7Wup_T5I7V_d01E1dAlRSgKtYM0K3p5Ms_EedEb1I0cg8EnWeDECL6rFIWxQ_-oxByy06VVBbkANnyA7x-X7_Qnc_PamQ/s640/IMG_5907.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWvHEgXoSyJ9HaUw50WHdkaD4FhXN7WiSKsGw671EpmNQofODd1ZIOR4Wmxa310oPY8PkH5UtfPzX2ShKR50tLr7Wup_T5I7V_d01E1dAlRSgKtYM0K3p5Ms_EedEb1I0cg8EnWeDECL6rFIWxQ_-oxByy06VVBbkANnyA7x-X7_Qnc_PamQ/w300-h400/IMG_5907.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And finally, as I went up Rose Avenue from the Venice Boardwalk, I turned around to get one last picture. This time I was able to get the building to block the main part of the sun. </div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRQ2pmKzNQhfglSxYl_AlGeYL8ONNInphV1sPi-P_IlhSjiYC4bGR8mBP2NMxObyKmxYHkhXBN2oebqLCM1bzyACC5qBcpZl_U_qyNhD_tyfgMI3sInBPV4d5cYDcrdNSYG7UjjhcQffsN60HOKuEUeq_8HtA1U98QUSHy1d5oRYD-tho-A/s640/IMG_5908.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtRQ2pmKzNQhfglSxYl_AlGeYL8ONNInphV1sPi-P_IlhSjiYC4bGR8mBP2NMxObyKmxYHkhXBN2oebqLCM1bzyACC5qBcpZl_U_qyNhD_tyfgMI3sInBPV4d5cYDcrdNSYG7UjjhcQffsN60HOKuEUeq_8HtA1U98QUSHy1d5oRYD-tho-A/w480-h640/IMG_5908.jpeg" width="480" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>And I was home a little after 5. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-6967531068839247882024-01-02T19:42:00.004-09:002024-01-02T19:43:56.340-09:00New Year's Day Birds <p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We dropped the family off at the airport Monday. It was a beautiful sunny day with blue skies and t-shirt temperatures. The sky was clear and you could see snow up on Mt. Baldy. We like walking along Ballona Creek, but thought since we were coming from the airport we could start at the ocean end. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dOy1QOr73zH6nKZYn2hH2loKR_YFS_HH0QeRXeoE7wYYjNjY7a2Is1r61OYXsgx2aIYvEYyeEaIzEtcst9B1OGoRiXPAtTZ9EfbWHiatHhp3XbMraAwVPPQaCYtzs7ob9ioMWNeyVfnTAgtW26AvQpzMb4xL7UOCpzlRxKhM3xOuCPphsw/s1424/Ballona%20Creek%20Map.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1088" data-original-width="1424" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0dOy1QOr73zH6nKZYn2hH2loKR_YFS_HH0QeRXeoE7wYYjNjY7a2Is1r61OYXsgx2aIYvEYyeEaIzEtcst9B1OGoRiXPAtTZ9EfbWHiatHhp3XbMraAwVPPQaCYtzs7ob9ioMWNeyVfnTAgtW26AvQpzMb4xL7UOCpzlRxKhM3xOuCPphsw/w400-h304/Ballona%20Creek%20Map.png" width="400" /></a></div>There's a bike trail along the creek that goes at least to Culver City and connects with the beach trail south to nearly Palos Verdes. North, it goes through Marina Del Rey and then connects with Venice and Santa Monica trails. I've marked in red our walk from the beach to Lincoln and back. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We saw the hummingbird hovering first. It's iridescent ruby throat flashing brilliantly. It flew off and then quickly returned an lighted on this high bush. I'm still fighting my auto-focus on my Canon Rebel. I've read instructions, but the auto-focus has trouble figuring out exactly where I want to focus. For most things it's not an issue, but for birds far away or tiny birds relatively close, it's frustrating. I'm open to links that could help. I left the image small because you can see how out-of-focus the bird is when I cropped it bigger. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">And I couldn't get the iridescent flash, though you can see the emerald wing suggesting it. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8snA7_Ko01DJ0LxRJPaBe1y1wIJByfyWS6Gp86foCiJeUaBE4FdSN4QzLYDaUhZlcbyByIDLYSTALyaphnEKsEIHT3bYeQqN4vVSAJgWv-qanN-hLaMAHE0O9kdFSN8iXp2sSmrwqPm3vbwCfUtzS-2CH5GPYgJNT4m6il7CthKWf6uoISQ/s640/IMG_4516.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="414" data-original-width="640" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8snA7_Ko01DJ0LxRJPaBe1y1wIJByfyWS6Gp86foCiJeUaBE4FdSN4QzLYDaUhZlcbyByIDLYSTALyaphnEKsEIHT3bYeQqN4vVSAJgWv-qanN-hLaMAHE0O9kdFSN8iXp2sSmrwqPm3vbwCfUtzS-2CH5GPYgJNT4m6il7CthKWf6uoISQ/w400-h259/IMG_4516.jpeg" width="400" /></a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYu_TbURZt7asFfZDAW3kCLQ3LDxhAc3EPoqy_uADI07jMQMSP4kXzbL8SX-vfi-iSWBky82v2FaMxHDFhrw6K26B_69Elcqikc4vFVcln2wpMh2-EbXw0ihI2fmxBWvum8u_LCbdqqz1YuekmRHNwneleS45mLQhOT72ELWBGvKZ5ZFCjA/s640/IMG_4542.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="640" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheYu_TbURZt7asFfZDAW3kCLQ3LDxhAc3EPoqy_uADI07jMQMSP4kXzbL8SX-vfi-iSWBky82v2FaMxHDFhrw6K26B_69Elcqikc4vFVcln2wpMh2-EbXw0ihI2fmxBWvum8u_LCbdqqz1YuekmRHNwneleS45mLQhOT72ELWBGvKZ5ZFCjA/w400-h296/IMG_4542.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div>The egret is much bigger and easier to get in focus.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I was fascinated by the egret's toes as it started walking. It didn't respond to my request that it get a less difficult background. You have to look carefully. I counted four toes. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUigz_0qSYLEl8Z5-CDkLH2PmRJ2z8Jl7L_MGCtNS5uGyzHjat5UpEoB3Bz9irOH_JDKTVrumpXx0T_GqbzFzCYHkzQE2MbAVNQSoIxkxEhyphenhyphenoE6Nkc3H43mEo9pGK0AMkfi49yrk-Xy9hpGBzqf7MmyOEsXPDiJgvyfgpSy-cU5e6QoC_Zg/s640/IMG_4544.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="640" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUigz_0qSYLEl8Z5-CDkLH2PmRJ2z8Jl7L_MGCtNS5uGyzHjat5UpEoB3Bz9irOH_JDKTVrumpXx0T_GqbzFzCYHkzQE2MbAVNQSoIxkxEhyphenhyphenoE6Nkc3H43mEo9pGK0AMkfi49yrk-Xy9hpGBzqf7MmyOEsXPDiJgvyfgpSy-cU5e6QoC_Zg/w400-h288/IMG_4544.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItR0BXnYtQPoKqas2OFOvWN9lBTgO6VtwpVFXvhdMyPVU2u5X0DX_VbR-GJz6Am6WqYF2MiVUAVSFiil1u6V63U_6KgItoAedWdBTkoKiyjFEd1qAgvn5pydUpKFCgGqWVVqkTUImiHzb61934yriogVXpwtuJV1vhuiZfz0BE25Ln3sSVQ/s640/IMG_4551.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="467" data-original-width="640" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgItR0BXnYtQPoKqas2OFOvWN9lBTgO6VtwpVFXvhdMyPVU2u5X0DX_VbR-GJz6Am6WqYF2MiVUAVSFiil1u6V63U_6KgItoAedWdBTkoKiyjFEd1qAgvn5pydUpKFCgGqWVVqkTUImiHzb61934yriogVXpwtuJV1vhuiZfz0BE25Ln3sSVQ/w400-h293/IMG_4551.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>I originally thought these might be sanderlings, but the legs seemed the wrong color. Maybe a type of sandpiper. I couldn't tell for sure. <div><br /></div><div>The water here is where the marina opens to the Pacific, not the Ballona Creek side of the trail. <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/guides/1827?taxon=67561" target="_blank">You can check here.<br /></a><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcbGKtXy31SfLWQeLZT9tdTuup6e5b17WPLzSEljKSXDK4ok45OF6V6xt3JPlQX5-B9I-FzQXawWyKzROWohSnYjh7DUVwEsu_sOcIUASpLIIEVCHhB_UQ36Rd9tO_e4QdV8sbXKLuX22HbapuiMaKx2dZJNmOQdfq6FQj4n2yPyIYjUpHA/s640/IMG_4558.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="229" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcbGKtXy31SfLWQeLZT9tdTuup6e5b17WPLzSEljKSXDK4ok45OF6V6xt3JPlQX5-B9I-FzQXawWyKzROWohSnYjh7DUVwEsu_sOcIUASpLIIEVCHhB_UQ36Rd9tO_e4QdV8sbXKLuX22HbapuiMaKx2dZJNmOQdfq6FQj4n2yPyIYjUpHA/w230-h640/IMG_4558.jpeg" width="230" /></a></div>I'm guessing this is a white pelican, but<a href="https://www.birdadvisors.com/pelicans-california/" target="_blank"> you can check yourself. </a></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyxBTu-jExn1Ndtx2JuFdwD-JZ3CgVQRPPRtaT_tO9tA0Vfe6Yx-JbnHm8aFlQNgTUzf1RkyF_HW1NPni755kJnBpoEV5HGKTf9ckDP-a2zXyZ2FJy0QZdemNuJhEIdusWEYxPFCG3wbRNRoWcom0N2IEicb12vXw6jLCzgJCtWnK10jnRQ/s640/IMG_4559.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="444" data-original-width="640" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyxBTu-jExn1Ndtx2JuFdwD-JZ3CgVQRPPRtaT_tO9tA0Vfe6Yx-JbnHm8aFlQNgTUzf1RkyF_HW1NPni755kJnBpoEV5HGKTf9ckDP-a2zXyZ2FJy0QZdemNuJhEIdusWEYxPFCG3wbRNRoWcom0N2IEicb12vXw6jLCzgJCtWnK10jnRQ/w400-h278/IMG_4559.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You may have read about large waves this weekend in Southern California. The waves didn't seem huge, but they crashed pretty much straight down. The bike trail on he beach was covered with sand and the high tide lines were way, way up on the beach. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCuCRzSwekf0IUcVnRXQ0Tey7Ded8vSrxTHdfOEhv1GaXXVhepw5L-4aTGirxCTNFwC8FF-dz36maM-g-eprkZ-MBOqsVociqP57RpzfANvoQwoD7RqZqhUZFxPHTFeXDtwBWVlEzqppBi5PYkTR5xCZMBt5g4prPzw7qsRyoXubxox4myw/s640/IMG_4560.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="640" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnCuCRzSwekf0IUcVnRXQ0Tey7Ded8vSrxTHdfOEhv1GaXXVhepw5L-4aTGirxCTNFwC8FF-dz36maM-g-eprkZ-MBOqsVociqP57RpzfANvoQwoD7RqZqhUZFxPHTFeXDtwBWVlEzqppBi5PYkTR5xCZMBt5g4prPzw7qsRyoXubxox4myw/w640-h196/IMG_4560.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br /> <p></p></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-12201725485931946712023-12-27T10:00:00.003-09:002023-12-28T10:52:40.998-09:00"politically fraught with peril"<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Sen. Lisa Murkowski said that it may be legal for state courts to disqualify former President Donald Trump from running in the 2024 election, but that doing so would be “politically fraught with peril.” <a href="https://t.co/1eLC8XvjAX">https://t.co/1eLC8XvjAX</a></p>— Anchorage Daily News (@adndotcom) <a href="https://twitter.com/adndotcom/status/1738397280997412887?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 23, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script><div><br /></div><div>So imagine, Arnold Schwarzenegger decides to run for President and he's getting good polling results. But someone sues to keep him off the ballot because he wasn't a natural born United States citizen. </div><div><br /></div><div>The Constitution says clearly:</div><div><br /></div><div><div></div><blockquote><div>"<a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S1-C5-1/ALDE_00013692/" target="_blank">Article II, Section 1, Clause 5:</a></div><div><br /></div><div>No Person<b> except a natural born Citizen</b>, <b>or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution</b>, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."</div></blockquote><p>Would Sen. Murkowski or any of the others talking about "fraught with political peril" say we shouldn't enforce the Constitution because it would be "fraught with political peril" to do so? </p><p>Well that's exactly what is happening with Murkowski and others who want to keep Trump's name on the Colorado ballot. As President, he, at the very least, gave aid and comforted those trying to overthrow the election of Joe Biden by storming Congress and stopping the ratification of the election. (And we don't even know who all he showed or sold secret documents to yet.)</p><p></p><blockquote><a href="https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/amendment-14/section-3/" target="_blank">Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection and Other Rights</a></blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p>Section 3 Disqualification from Holding Office</p><p><b>No person shall </b>be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President,<b> or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States</b>, or under any State,<b> who, having previously taken an oath,</b> as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State,<b> to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.</b> But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.</p></blockquote><p></p><p>Trump's denials are no different from the denials of any accused criminal who tries to twist words and find legal loopholes to avoid the legal consequences of their actions. </p><p>Does he really have to be tried for insurrection? We all watched it live. We watched the Jan 6 committee reviews of video tape and listened to witnesses, many who were Trump appointees who were with him in the White House on January 6. </p><p>We've heard the tape of Trump demanding of the Georgia officials: </p><p></p><blockquote>"All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have," Trump says, according to audio of the call. "There's nothing wrong with saying, you know, that you've recalculated."</blockquote><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AbFc9T7KXA0?si=CMhg8WiISDp-I8AA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><p>He's a known liar and he knew he lost Georgia and was demanding the Georgia officials overturn the election by finding him the votes he needed. </p><p><b>So what is this "political peril" everyone is so worried about?</b></p><p><b>First,</b> I'd ask, when did we start inserting political consequences into court proceedings? Yes, it's happened, but it isn't supposed to. It's the rule of law, not the rule of the mob that courts are supposed to uphold. </p><p><b>Second</b>, what crystal ball does Murkowski have that tells her there will be political peril? No one knows what will happen in the future. So this is just conjecture of what might happen. Sure, there are lots of Trump supporters who likely would be very angry. </p><p>Propagandists on the Right will tell Trump's supporters that this was an illegal prevention of Trump's right to run for office. Is that a reason to ignore the Constitution? Absolutely not. This is a phantom peril. Of his most rabid supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6, </p><p></p><blockquote>"Approximately 723 federal defendants have had their cases adjudicated and received sentences for their criminal activity on Jan. 6. Approximately 454 have been sentenced to periods of incarceration. Approximately 151 defendants have been sentenced to a period of home detention, including approximately 28 who also were sentenced to a period of incarceration." </blockquote><p></p><blockquote>"Approximately 714 individuals have pleaded guilty to a variety of federal charges, many of whom faced or will face incarceration at sentencing."</blockquote><p></p><blockquote>(<a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/33-months-jan-6-attack-capitol-0" target="_blank">DOJ, December 2023</a>)</blockquote><p></p><div><br /></div><p>I'm not saying Trump supporters won't make lots of noise, maybe do damage, and generally try to reenact another January 6. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/21/trump-colorado-supreme-court-justices-death-threats#:~:text=Justices%20on%20the%20Colorado%20supreme,his%20attempts%20to%20cause%20insurrection." target="_blank">They have already made death threats against the judges on the Colorado Supreme Court</a>. Trump isn't calling on his backers to stand down. But we have police. We have the National Guard. We have the military if we have to put down another insurrection.</p><p><b>Third,</b> if Trump is on the ballot and loses again, we are just as likely to face political peril then as now, maybe more so. If they successfully bully the courts into ignoring the Constitution now, Trump supporters will be even more emboldened to try to prevent a peaceful transition again. </p><p>Surely it's a better option to uphold the Constitution now and remove Trump from the ballot now and let his various court cases play out. Let's face this speculated political peril now rather than later. </p><p><b>Fourth</b>, if the court ignores the plain language of the US Constitution and allows Trump to be placed on the Colorado ballot (and in other states if Colorado is successful in this), then we are already in political peril, we've already stumbled out of democracy and the rule of law. <b>The fact that we are even debating this says we are already one or more steps into the fascist dictatorship Trump has already said he would head. </b></p><p><b>Fifth,</b> Gerald Ford, after he became president when Richard Nixon resigned in disgrace, also feared political peril if Nixon were prosecuted. So he pardoned Nixon. While I think that decision was wrong - and set up a precedent for Trump to grasp at - it didn't violate the law or the Constitution. The president has the power to pardon. But when pardoning Nixon </p><p></p><blockquote>"Ford announced that he had pardoned Richard Nixon for all crimes he committed or "may have committed" while president" (<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/2006/12/29/the-pardon-in-historys-hindsight/e2eed82f-becb-43f3-92e2-e2cee8e0723d/" target="_blank">Washington Post 2006</a>)</blockquote><p>which tells us he fully believed that an ex-president can be tried for acts committed while president - something Trump has said couldn't be done. </p><p><b>Sixth</b>, Murkowski and others have said that the people should have the final say by voting. But no matter how much people would want to vote for Schwartzeneger or Trump, the two are constitutionally ineligible to be president. <b>We don't vote on whether to ignore the Constitution</b>. </p><p></p><p>"Political Peril" here is the bogey man the Right (and some on the Left) are using to justify ignoring the clear language of the Constitution. Remember, this fight is for the man who spent years spreading the lies about Obama being born in Kenya and not being a natural born US citizen. </p><p>Trump's whole strategy is to cause distrust of every US institution and then to say that<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/07/trump-rnc-speech-alone-fix-it/492557/" target="_blank"> "I alone can fix it."</a> The idea of "political peril" is part and parcel of his game plan. Democracies don't make exceptions for bullies who threaten violence if they don't get their way. </p><p>That is exactly what is happening here. Arnold Schwarzenegger is NOT a natural born US citizen and is not qualified to run for president. </p><p>Donald Trump supported an insurrection to overthrow the vote of the people and maintain his position as president even though he lost the popular and electoral college votes. And he isn't qualified to run for president. </p><p>Let's face whatever peril lies ahead now instead of next November when that peril might reappear if US voters vote for Biden over Trump once again. Let's stop that peril now rather than let the Trump machine work to more effectively falsify the election results than they did in 2020. </p><p></p><div></div></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-71769748846954737012023-12-25T11:36:00.002-09:002023-12-25T11:37:20.949-09:00A Special Christmas Present: Steve Silberman Essay on Bill Evans Trio Playing Nardis<p><a href="https://spoutible.com/thread/24477255" target="_blank">A Spout today</a> linked me to an amazing essay by Steve Silberman: "<a href="https://www.thebeliever.net/broken-time/" target="_blank">Broken Time “NARDIS” AND THE CURIOUS HISTORY OF A JAZZ OBSESSION</a>" on Bill Evans and Miles Davis' <i>Nardis</i> in <i>The Believer.</i></p><p><br /></p><p>I'm a casual jazz fan. Sort of like I'm a casual birder. I go out of my way to observe birds, but I don't obsess. I don't keep a life list. And I'm more an unquestioning appreciator of jazz, but not someone who could tell you why I like it or the technical things the musicians are doing that captures my attention. Nancy Wilson probably is the person to blame. </p><p>Of course, I've heard the name Bill Evans. Usually a when a KJAZZ announcer says something like, "and Bill Evans on the piano." That usually happens after the piece was played. </p><p>Anyhoo, this essay kept me in bed reading this morning. (Yes, I know. It's not a good idea to look at my phone in bed, but so what?) </p><p>So just listen to the Bill Evans Trio as you read the article. This is the first recording in 1961 with Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian.</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AF4jzt4p_ug?si=t1M_Ya9rHwMZpFCU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
</p><p>Or if you don't think you have time for a long article, here are some excerpts while you listen:</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"But things started going wrong even before Mitchell arrived at Reeves Sound Studios on East Forty-Fourth Street. First, his luggage went astray en route from Florida. Then there was a surprise waiting for him in the control room: Miles Davis, one of his musical heroes, who had taken the extraordinary step of composing a new melody as a gift to Cannonball. Mitchell was supposed to play Miles’s part.</p><p>That wasn’t going to be easy, because the tune, called “<b>Nardis</b>,” was anything but a standard workout on blues-based changes. The melody had a haunting, angular, exotic quality, like the “Gypsy jazz” that guitarist Django Reinhardt played with the Hot Club de France in the 1930s. And it didn’t exactly swing, but unfurled at its own pace, like liturgical music for some arcane ritual. For three takes, the band diligently tried to make it work, but Mitchell couldn’t wrap his head around it, particularly under Miles’s intimidating gaze. The producer of the session, legendary Riverside Records founder Orrin Keepnews, ended up scrapping the night’s performances entirely.</p><p>The next night was more productive. After capturing tight renditions of “Blue Funk” and “Minority,” the quintet took two more passes through “Nardis,” yielding a master take for release, plus a credible alternate. But the arrangement still sounded stiff, and the horns had a pinched, sour tone.</p><p>Only one man on the session, Miles would say later, played the tune “the way it was meant to be played.” It was the shy, unassuming piano player, who was just shy of twenty-eight years old. His name was<b> Bill Evans.</b>"</p><p></p></blockquote><p>. . . </p><p></p><blockquote>"By now I’ve heard so many different interpretations, in such a far-flung variety of settings, that a Platonic ideal of the melody resides in my mind untethered to any actual performance. It’s as if “Nardis” were always going on somewhere, with players dropping in and out of a musical conversation beyond space and time."</blockquote><p>, , , </p><p><br /></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p></p><p>"When Russell first mentioned Evans’s name, Miles asked, “Is he white?”</p><p></p><p>“Yeah,” Russell replied.</p><p>“Does he wear glasses?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“I know that motherfucker,” Miles said. “I heard him at Birdland—he can play his ass off.” Indeed, the first time Evans played a beginner’s intermission set at the Village Vanguard—Max Gordon’s basement club, the Parnassus of jazz—the pianist was astonished to look up and see the legendary trumpeter standing there, listening intently."</p></blockquote><p>. . .</p><p></p><blockquote><p>"By the time he recorded the tracks on Kind of Blue, however, Evans had already decided to leave Miles’s band. After his baptism of fire on the road, he was physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted, but he also felt more confident about pursuing his own vision. He had a specific goal in mind: achieving a level of communication in a piano trio that would enable all three players to make creative statements and respond to one another conversationally, without any of them being obliged to explicitly state the beat. This approach came to be known as “broken time,” because no player was locked into a traditional time-keeping role; instead the one was left to float, in an implied pulse shared by all the players. Evans compared broken time to the kind of typography in which the raised letters are visible only in the shadows they cast.</p><p>That kind of collective sympathy, akin to three-way telepathy, demanded major commitment from the trio, and required high levels of personal chemistry. Evans met the perfect fellow travelers in two young musicians named Scott LaFaro and Paul Motian."</p></blockquote><p></p><p> . . .</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><blockquote><p></p><p> "Evans was a polite junkie. For decades, he kept tabs on how much money he owed various friends, and he always endeavored to pay them back, even if his benefactor had long forgotten the debt. But among the people disturbed by his accelerating decline was the fearlessly outspoken LaFaro, who had no problem confronting the pianist in the bluntest terms. “You’re fucking up the music,” he would say. “Look in the mirror!”</p><p></p><p>It was in this combative atmosphere that Evans made his second attempt to commit “Nardis” to vinyl, at Bell Sound Studios, on February 2, 1961, under Keepnews’s watchful eye. Though Keepnews gamely tried to keep everyone’s spirits up, the whole session seemed jinxed, with Evans and LaFaro openly arguing about the pianist’s drug use and Evans suffering a splitting headache. By the time the ordeal was over, both the players and the producer assumed that the tapes would be quietly filed away and never released. “We had a very, very bad feeling,” Evans recalled. “We felt there was nothing happening.”</p><p>Listening back, however, everyone was shocked to discover how well the trio had played. Upon the album’s release, Explorations was hailed by critics for its bold, unsentimental reinvention of well-worn standards like “Sweet and Lovely” and “How Deep Is the Ocean,” the dynamism of the group’s interactions, and the sublime sensitivity of Evans’s phrasing and voicings. Humbled by the inadequacy of his own ability to judge how well the session had gone, Evans began to think of “the mind that thinks jazz” as something larger than the consciousness of any individual musician, as if the music organized itself at a higher order of awareness that wasn’t always discernible to the players. The rendition of “Nardis” that appears on the album, a refinement of the arrangement that the trio had been playing on the road, became the default canonical version in the absence of a Miles original—the basis for twenty years of Evans’s performances, and for hundreds of interpretations by others."</p></blockquote><p><br /></p><p>And here's Bill Evans live in Paris in 1979 playing a very different <i>Nardis</i> with his second trio members. </p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tQ3O-phxoc0?si=XF1n_QXW6Raj97qu" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p><br /></p><p></p><blockquote>"In 1979, the pianist formed a new trio with bassist Marc Johnson and drummer Joe LaBarbera. The presence of Johnson in particular—who was, in the words of former trio drummer Eliot Zigmund, “very young and open, and very, very respectful of Bill”—seemed to revitalize the pianist, and for the first time in years, he sounded like he was searching again. After buying a cassette recorder, he began taping and listening to his own performances, going all the way back to unreleased music he’d made with LaFaro and Motian. He was also paying close attention to the work of the young pianists he had generously mentored over the years. After listening to a solo recording by Warren Bernhardt called Floating, he told his girlfriend, Laurie Verchomin, that he had entered a state of bliss, hearing 'the music between the notes.'”</blockquote><p></p><p>Note: Someone in the household heard me listing to whole the 1979 album, responded, "It sounds like 'hold' music." While parts are soft, slow, and soothing, this is definitely not hold music, but it would be nice if it were used that way.</p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-40804315472068948272023-12-24T10:59:00.000-09:002023-12-24T10:59:16.515-09:00Spices Keep You Healthy<p>At some point, after three years in Thailand, I was convinced that science had ignored the health benefits of capsaicin - the part that makes hot peppers so spicy. Surely, I thought, this heat helped to preserve foods, in a different way than salt does. </p><p>Today <a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/49/6/453/229475?login=false" target="_blank">this 24 year old paper</a> popped up on Twitter that confirms my assumption. What I didn't recognize was that garlic and onions are even better at the killing and/or inhibiting the growth of microbes. Though I did assume the high use of garlic in hot climates had some health benefits too. </p><p>The authors write in the overview:</p><p></p><blockquote>"We wondered if there are any predictable patterns of spice use and, if so, what factors might underlie them. In this article, we summarize the results of our inquiries. We found that spice use is decidedly nonrandom and that spices have several beneficial effects, the most important of which may be reducing foodborne illnesses and food poisoning."</blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p><b>Prediction 1. Spices should exhibit antibacterial and antifungal activity.</b></p></blockquote><p>And this chart shows that </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPJ45zE16dVBCBThSv9Zm37QEw2ydZpmFNVSNwjwoe0pTxzOXDtxSGGRB1N3AGHOAuB1hpCFflI31i86w3GsRxxUk6LplB_sS6ejqQyY8dAL66yhRB__UgJu3QCu8Lc9Q_SrTprGNjIGH5U9IlsZWTioxOmXMix4QmpHtbOqLvTjwIV7_5g/s1376/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-24%20at%2011.20.37%20AM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="1376" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtPJ45zE16dVBCBThSv9Zm37QEw2ydZpmFNVSNwjwoe0pTxzOXDtxSGGRB1N3AGHOAuB1hpCFflI31i86w3GsRxxUk6LplB_sS6ejqQyY8dAL66yhRB__UgJu3QCu8Lc9Q_SrTprGNjIGH5U9IlsZWTioxOmXMix4QmpHtbOqLvTjwIV7_5g/w640-h480/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-24%20at%2011.20.37%20AM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">Prediction 2. Use of spices should be greatest in hot climates, where unrefrigerated foods spoil especially quickly.</blockquote><p>They looked at cookbooks from 36 countries to see what spices were used, how many recipes included spices, how many spices per recipe, and which spices. The used a climate atlas to rate the climate in each of the 36 countries.<b> </b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p></p><blockquote style="font-weight: bold;">Prediction 3. A greater proportion of bacteria should be inhibited by recipes from hot climates than from cool climates. </blockquote><blockquote><p>". . . the mean fraction of recipes that called for each one of the highly inhibitory spices used in those countries increased significantly (Figure 8a). However, this correlation did not hold for less inhibitory spices (Figure 8b). There was also a positive relationship between the fraction of bacterial species inhibited by each spice and the fraction of countries that used that spice, indicating widespread use of the spices that are most effective against bacteria."</p></blockquote><p>There are a number of other things they looked into (ie. cost of spices, lemon/lime juice increases anti-microbial power of spices). </p><p>So one question I have relates to the fact that <a href="https://www.genome.gov/news/news-release/Microbes-in-us-and-their-role-in-human-health-and-disease" target="_blank">our bodies rely on microbes to keep us healthy</a>. My awareness of this came well after 1999 (when the spice article was published) and I'm not sure how well it was known in 1999 or by the authors. Do spices harm the gut biome? </p><p>The article is written in clear language that should be easy for most people to understand most parts. It also has pictures of spices as well as straightforward charts. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/49/6/453/229475?login=false" target="_blank">Darwinian Gastronomy: Why We Use Spices: Spices taste good because they are good for us </a></p><p></p><p>Paul W. Sherman, Jennifer Billing Author Notes BioScience, Volume 49, Issue 6, June 1999, Pages 453–463, https://doi.org/10.2307/1313553 Published: 01 June 1999</p><p><br /></p><p>They use' microbe' in some places and 'bacteria' in other places. Since I wasn't completely sure about what each term meant, I found this American Society for Microbiology page <a href="https://asm.org/articles/2021/april/what-counts-as-a-microbe" target="_blank">"What Counts As A Microbe?"</a></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-83279174992892020032023-12-22T19:40:00.001-09:002023-12-22T19:40:43.996-09:00Clouds! (It's Been Rainy In LA)<p> I was out in the car yesterday when it started raining so hard I had the windshield wipers to the fastest speed and I still had trouble seeing through the wet on the windshield. </p><p>Sun did make cameo appearances throughout the day. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKLOFc0TGwSlrBQjQiH0SJnHExMMusCPs_07708sa1Q11dLMYrzsecEPklrXhAK5CTqDuOyd6V-9T9qXgOm7yI1Uh-1mG58MzNxVrECwTLmk7RLTAV9FIQxa5YhATYVeEekwYRF81WWkAAKB09r2zuWTwYX_JMDBY4pL5H_gtyQPFv6irsQ/s640/IMG_5693.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="625" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGKLOFc0TGwSlrBQjQiH0SJnHExMMusCPs_07708sa1Q11dLMYrzsecEPklrXhAK5CTqDuOyd6V-9T9qXgOm7yI1Uh-1mG58MzNxVrECwTLmk7RLTAV9FIQxa5YhATYVeEekwYRF81WWkAAKB09r2zuWTwYX_JMDBY4pL5H_gtyQPFv6irsQ/s320/IMG_5693.jpeg" width="313" /></a></div>Today it was sunny when I got up - though there were lots of exciting clouds, ranging from white to almost black. <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>This iris opened since yesterday and the sun seemed like a good opportunity to get on my bike for a ride along the beach. </p><p><br /></p><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf8WIzoWgG8U8VCXUjFb_oHjJqlQqDxYz3jz6r31PAdT_PiEeshVSBDoPjZB01LVX85Cb9uRAxWcq9vtjDZkrY7wPHElhWJ_bF4JuCnftFCfrD_6QhXT1PUrbprkVtpYEvezW_NpIKzt0vUqSpHmNfEcCXFdjXr-5PU_hXZMFvFl2ycqhPQ/s640/IMG_5694.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEf8WIzoWgG8U8VCXUjFb_oHjJqlQqDxYz3jz6r31PAdT_PiEeshVSBDoPjZB01LVX85Cb9uRAxWcq9vtjDZkrY7wPHElhWJ_bF4JuCnftFCfrD_6QhXT1PUrbprkVtpYEvezW_NpIKzt0vUqSpHmNfEcCXFdjXr-5PU_hXZMFvFl2ycqhPQ/w480-h640/IMG_5694.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This is the last block on Rose Ave as you get to the beach in Venice. The border between Los Angeles (Venice is a neighborhood in LA) and Santa Monica is about a block to the north (to the right in the picture).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZbE0raU8wjHUpIb8izA_B1uz87VjJ5U0Fx3wF_y4LevtdzLjhq2K0PJfU6go3FvGSBLLFqPh2mKHeyl5fUWEidYG0LhcxgESWU8MkdAvWbuq_5SXTUyKkJqfJYXWJ1BzfSM-bH59EDEICA-R3Uy78O0PdNsPUIcnKLpDjmjjV0BV61ZwXg/s640/IMG_5695.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDZbE0raU8wjHUpIb8izA_B1uz87VjJ5U0Fx3wF_y4LevtdzLjhq2K0PJfU6go3FvGSBLLFqPh2mKHeyl5fUWEidYG0LhcxgESWU8MkdAvWbuq_5SXTUyKkJqfJYXWJ1BzfSM-bH59EDEICA-R3Uy78O0PdNsPUIcnKLpDjmjjV0BV61ZwXg/w300-h400/IMG_5695.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div>Parts - not many - of the bike trail had a couple of inches of water and some sand. <div><br /></div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIExAgs5ahFUdIuB1RiruO39aeuikw5oqUUcsRjl8Exz9HKMKcxvBmHFkf_1sRP-ze1A-nkOWCbwqxIOWr04OrIsuj6eP9oTEFjOj-YiJ0SPYmQ36N029uRdLLEw9dQm7hFhtW-Igw_I4QdvRB_DzJgPdchjKPFqrOOv14KyYSbmZyiIO4Q/s640/IMG_5696.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPIExAgs5ahFUdIuB1RiruO39aeuikw5oqUUcsRjl8Exz9HKMKcxvBmHFkf_1sRP-ze1A-nkOWCbwqxIOWr04OrIsuj6eP9oTEFjOj-YiJ0SPYmQ36N029uRdLLEw9dQm7hFhtW-Igw_I4QdvRB_DzJgPdchjKPFqrOOv14KyYSbmZyiIO4Q/w480-h640/IMG_5696.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div>Headed north, Santa Monica pier is up ahead. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQCJUkM315InYhYEz0mDoIY-Ho4GTReU2f0LwGZOJtLH7VTDiiBaSzgJJqSatuyvYUJQBMUVnqeVgi0GRKoqCWL2ClcuZRhPcP6u8MjMJIfXoKd10OFmE0biA94uVrUEqM-LiuMZPQYlfkn81CV_NU3NBwpwwgxnYlj1JdD06GUBd7X5rMA/s640/IMG_5697.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbQCJUkM315InYhYEz0mDoIY-Ho4GTReU2f0LwGZOJtLH7VTDiiBaSzgJJqSatuyvYUJQBMUVnqeVgi0GRKoqCWL2ClcuZRhPcP6u8MjMJIfXoKd10OFmE0biA94uVrUEqM-LiuMZPQYlfkn81CV_NU3NBwpwwgxnYlj1JdD06GUBd7X5rMA/w400-h300/IMG_5697.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>There are a few wooden walkways from the bike trail to near the water. I wanted some pictures from near the water. Above I'm looking north.</div><div><br /></div><div>Below I'm looking west. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkpB1McgXaVLE97sgoMWsJEq5nS1F9yTRvuMNfDgPw1qFfwyqE9tAZZ-HppJXLHnk0Mj8loko72smHn4RMnDoJB-_5RnM-6uUpZwxN4zq9XuH45suy4fZCoY_JDnv_AfthGF00XAx-lnEpV6Gv9jfTQcqB8qaebi-BcFJFmcPx3zlQaMsjQ/s640/IMG_5698.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkpB1McgXaVLE97sgoMWsJEq5nS1F9yTRvuMNfDgPw1qFfwyqE9tAZZ-HppJXLHnk0Mj8loko72smHn4RMnDoJB-_5RnM-6uUpZwxN4zq9XuH45suy4fZCoY_JDnv_AfthGF00XAx-lnEpV6Gv9jfTQcqB8qaebi-BcFJFmcPx3zlQaMsjQ/w400-h300/IMG_5698.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div>And below I'm looking south back toward the pier. This is NOT a black and white photo.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiCTK38tMTkflKsaV606_klRZeUgKolhkVbo0ZftsK1-CeD7J4l7KrhQSmsNcil6HEn0R9BK5Ug-dhThqIq4aqL7QHq9cvnpF_kRkbCcQ8q02dvtCPbA1F0izhLosDqiYe6lgouSDZQ_hU2Oog7lNx2PRG6TOzNd_YbmFCLmBEg_SO6gMuQ/s640/IMG_5699.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjiCTK38tMTkflKsaV606_klRZeUgKolhkVbo0ZftsK1-CeD7J4l7KrhQSmsNcil6HEn0R9BK5Ug-dhThqIq4aqL7QHq9cvnpF_kRkbCcQ8q02dvtCPbA1F0izhLosDqiYe6lgouSDZQ_hU2Oog7lNx2PRG6TOzNd_YbmFCLmBEg_SO6gMuQ/w640-h480/IMG_5699.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0T3H7-TZIjT0AUZjwbfRlXb6ycvCqsTN8zrgZmt8w_FqKNigM0XfDU59pYciWilFSCUvfkIZEuOnXLAuEyn1VWtBI9xL1FHVqIjspkyahquOndyFKxZC1CBhNwrKGVXwxoELel922Rrz_DzxxgZq9NZ66x3cYRGu0GWk1KE1D5S5HKfZmQ/s640/IMG_5703.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim0T3H7-TZIjT0AUZjwbfRlXb6ycvCqsTN8zrgZmt8w_FqKNigM0XfDU59pYciWilFSCUvfkIZEuOnXLAuEyn1VWtBI9xL1FHVqIjspkyahquOndyFKxZC1CBhNwrKGVXwxoELel922Rrz_DzxxgZq9NZ66x3cYRGu0GWk1KE1D5S5HKfZmQ/s320/IMG_5703.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>It was at this point, as I was picking my bike up out of the sand, that a life guard in a truck came over to me and said that NOAA reported there was a thunderstorm due in the next half hour and to clear the beach. (There weren't that many people out anyway, only a few down by the water.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>At this point I felt the first rain drops. The temperature was in the low to mid 60s F and felt warmer when the sun was on me. </div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlkuFt6czyxPuljmgy5U8VSa4UKzs9j7J5z8TcwRebdzzXApYqS3pdS89iz_BNHko6gE9TDz9u6h_rDXDILwExJRAIRaMv9zTVCqccVbIGa4xEnJLSmHKZcwwBGLTfGingzIy_R-_zR3S3Crap5tv_2Ob3LVdL9odYDlbO66N05vVtJLp5A/s640/IMG_5701.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwlkuFt6czyxPuljmgy5U8VSa4UKzs9j7J5z8TcwRebdzzXApYqS3pdS89iz_BNHko6gE9TDz9u6h_rDXDILwExJRAIRaMv9zTVCqccVbIGa4xEnJLSmHKZcwwBGLTfGingzIy_R-_zR3S3Crap5tv_2Ob3LVdL9odYDlbO66N05vVtJLp5A/w640-h480/IMG_5701.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><br />As I rode back, the palm trees along the palisade in downtown Santa Monica were nicely silhouetted. <div><br /></div><div>And below I'm approaching the Santa Monica pier from the north. I hadn't seen the ferris wheel turning when I passed by the first time and it certainly wasn't moving now. Nor did I see any action on the roller coaster. </div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZGUwFAeTgDVunQ1KrDci8DNRUaHr31vVLugj38uWb7rKUfQK5yWlaCvsRYVkJTnGdHCbhg6HX4WyazBcmAfMVB9O14CYb_Zc66Dsy21fceMpJEIXsArKyNqnxBnQjOoqF02WxbsbhF5yGToo63bP1y6Oq8YiAmkQ1I-w-1cGpzjrNED6_A/s640/IMG_5755.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoZGUwFAeTgDVunQ1KrDci8DNRUaHr31vVLugj38uWb7rKUfQK5yWlaCvsRYVkJTnGdHCbhg6HX4WyazBcmAfMVB9O14CYb_Zc66Dsy21fceMpJEIXsArKyNqnxBnQjOoqF02WxbsbhF5yGToo63bP1y6Oq8YiAmkQ1I-w-1cGpzjrNED6_A/w640-h480/IMG_5755.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div><br /></div>It never rained too hard, despite the ominous clouds. Some blue and some hint of sun if not actual sun were always visible. <div><br /></div><div>On the way home I stopped at the 99 Cents store. But most of the shelves were empty. The cashier said January 5 would be their last day. They did have produce. Two avocados, an artichoke, and some broccoli cost me $2. <br /><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjCLbudKsdCKqYSOivTbkbXop9C7Stg5OtH8QiHSpl6nmy_Iylt3GwbIJicjY-WWJVKSWAEIZZtE9D4VkILhpydnxk_i4WZpEiHG79oQnfQuFOMzjxdJjYCxJRbF3WNFSBsI53sNkfWqbXe7E1ReTk5RgrKT0sK5YMkK8Y9BnaFLm3f_png/s640/IMG_5757.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKjCLbudKsdCKqYSOivTbkbXop9C7Stg5OtH8QiHSpl6nmy_Iylt3GwbIJicjY-WWJVKSWAEIZZtE9D4VkILhpydnxk_i4WZpEiHG79oQnfQuFOMzjxdJjYCxJRbF3WNFSBsI53sNkfWqbXe7E1ReTk5RgrKT0sK5YMkK8Y9BnaFLm3f_png/s320/IMG_5757.jpeg" width="240" /></a></div><div><br /></div>When I got near home, it wasn't raining, but there was water gushing down the hill to the flat area. It had rained very hard while I was gone, but not where I was. Later my granddaughter took this picture when it rained heavily again and you can see some of the rain coming down, though the picture doesn't capture how hard it was raining. </div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcr9rjDiJULYt2WTZl81PVAQwX0bj82d-hGfgm5UB2NRhl1FSOJd43MPOJIe7rHP-IRylvNn4g_nnhCk5XqpQzFNnscx9gnztDE9eoioClmcqm3i7c6UARl2Uf_bapyS-2VBaClUZvTehFx7dAuAU9PItbLuOsGwj6BYQRX5av4M1N4BRRcA/s640/IMG_5759.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcr9rjDiJULYt2WTZl81PVAQwX0bj82d-hGfgm5UB2NRhl1FSOJd43MPOJIe7rHP-IRylvNn4g_nnhCk5XqpQzFNnscx9gnztDE9eoioClmcqm3i7c6UARl2Uf_bapyS-2VBaClUZvTehFx7dAuAU9PItbLuOsGwj6BYQRX5av4M1N4BRRcA/w480-h640/IMG_5759.jpeg" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div><p>The rain seems to have fallen here and there over short periods of time as clouds moved through. <a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/back-to-back-storms-drenched-socal-here-is-the-total-rainfall/3297043/" target="_blank">The following list </a>shows rainfall in inches as of 7am Thursday for the five days prior. There's a lot of variation and this doesn't count what fell yesterday and today. </p><p>Oxnard 6.13</p><p>Porter Ranch 4.82</p><p>Culver City 3.43</p><p>Westlake Village 3.31</p><p>Downtown LA 1.98</p><p>Bel Air 3.27</p><p>Long Beach 1.24</p><p>Van Nuys 4.30</p><p>Santa Monica 1.80</p><p>Northridge 4.54</p><p>Whittier 1.51</p><p>Pasadena 1.61</p><p>Castaic 2.53</p><p>I found different numbers when I googled Los Angeles annual rainfall. (Some variation is surely due to location.) But the range was between 12 and 14 inches!</p><p>This is all a reminder that the earth itself is doing fine. The changes brought on by climate change, the loss of species, are irrelevant to Nature. The landforms and oceans will survive and evolve without us. </p><p>The coming climate catastrophes are only catastrophes in the eyes of humans. I'm not sure what the animal and plant species that are being threatened know or feel. The earth has experienced many changes over its billions of years. Our hominid ancestors only appeared around seven million years ago. And individual human lives are like flashes of lightening (which I never did see today) in comparison. </p><p>So go out into nature and learn. </p></div></div></div>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-62513401118116467332023-12-18T18:23:00.000-09:002023-12-18T18:23:39.825-09:00More Waste In Packaging<p> Waste in packaging is another thing that has become normalized. Unless it's egregious, we just wade our way through it, without even thinking about it.</p><p>I felt this one qualified as egregious.</p><p>The pills came in these three plastic bottles inside the box behind.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETsbPG9ppbCC_wTn9YrfGfu1CV7nOLkP5pF5E1sKU2CqKJEYE0vcjtX5S4iYisQkF8lYWRvrfNViXiGCg6KXTYpGMHURuCpGA3o8Q1ZdsRjlWWhwoVbrJTnJDBCcYavqpiHEzkp-PTdVVl34UeZqq-84KZS_Vai5u5Fg1AWqBofGGUrkcAw/s640/IMG_5612.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="638" data-original-width="640" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjETsbPG9ppbCC_wTn9YrfGfu1CV7nOLkP5pF5E1sKU2CqKJEYE0vcjtX5S4iYisQkF8lYWRvrfNViXiGCg6KXTYpGMHURuCpGA3o8Q1ZdsRjlWWhwoVbrJTnJDBCcYavqpiHEzkp-PTdVVl34UeZqq-84KZS_Vai5u5Fg1AWqBofGGUrkcAw/s320/IMG_5612.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>Each plastic bottle had 14 - FOURTEEN - pills!</div><div><br /></div><div>When I put them all into one bottle they reached up to the blue line. (That was supposed to be an arrow pointing down to the blue line.)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI-Wv_LhNYRWZlaPIAulYFK1FZR5aP8zZ6UAfQIf_A6Z0sjlaTIlrc3iH8dz6eYl6nUEMTQ_KmDtAM75m2nuq8evtAOk8jcfs0LAVN4xbakk97eObfuhDYvWBZaUIrLEc-ENc2_ZJ-_M5VWnpFzQOsu57-qD467CgktT-SfKo6pI3U9i43Q/s640/IMG_5613.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="357" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilI-Wv_LhNYRWZlaPIAulYFK1FZR5aP8zZ6UAfQIf_A6Z0sjlaTIlrc3iH8dz6eYl6nUEMTQ_KmDtAM75m2nuq8evtAOk8jcfs0LAVN4xbakk97eObfuhDYvWBZaUIrLEc-ENc2_ZJ-_M5VWnpFzQOsu57-qD467CgktT-SfKo6pI3U9i43Q/s320/IMG_5613.jpeg" width="179" /></a></div><br /><p>That's about 1/5 of the bottle. There were three bottles, so only 1/15 of the bottles' volume was actually needed for the pills. That's not counting the box the three bottles were packaged in.</p><p>So the contents needed about 7% of the packaging (again, not counting the box this was all in.) So about 93% of the packaging was unnecessary. </p><p>OK, I get that stores don't want to sell things so small that it's easy for a shopper to put something into a pocket or purse without paying. There have to be more creative solutions to stopping shoplifting. If humans can figure out how to get to the moon, they can figure out how to not pollute the earth with excessive packaging. </p><p>I'd also note a story in <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-12-14/column-retail-lobby-confesses-it-lied-about-organized-shoplifting-rings" target="_blank">the LA Times Sunday. Mike Hiltzik wrote</a> a follow up to the big story earlier this year that stores were losing $45 billion to organized crime shoplifting. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YtzGjG_NIxIx4Ww2w1jasnMpKCODiSd_qwqTxLg4CtRjEysVpw4nzLxA324jdkIkXoFUpquLIGVZJcC6CAOn8OnPBHEXz4a8gJi1QfcXKL6QgpSH3hRDhKzUmXs1RY5_fGdv2E1Dj0Ta3ArClD-JTKHQbJU4hRRXFnS8qiBLAeN92w-LVw/s1744/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-17%20at%204.57.23%20PM.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="678" data-original-width="1744" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3YtzGjG_NIxIx4Ww2w1jasnMpKCODiSd_qwqTxLg4CtRjEysVpw4nzLxA324jdkIkXoFUpquLIGVZJcC6CAOn8OnPBHEXz4a8gJi1QfcXKL6QgpSH3hRDhKzUmXs1RY5_fGdv2E1Dj0Ta3ArClD-JTKHQbJU4hRRXFnS8qiBLAeN92w-LVw/w640-h246/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-17%20at%204.57.23%20PM.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>Politicians and the media both repeated the fabricated number without question. And law enforcement agencies love it because such stories help them get ever increasing budgets to fight crime. But for them crime means the guy who shoplifts $30 worth of groceries, not <a href="https://inthesetimes.com/article/wage-theft-union-labor-biden-iupat#:~:text=Employers%20steal%20billions%20of%20dollars,common%2C%20it%20is%20rarely%20reported." target="_blank">companies that steal billions from their employees and customers.</a></p><p><br /></p><p>Why do I add all these other issues to a simple story about badly packaged pills? Cause everything has a context. Telling stories without the larger context is just relating miscellaneous anecdotes. There's a lot more context for this pill story, but I'm just adding a little here so that readers at least think about the larger context and maybe even add more themselves. </p><p><br /></p><p>. </p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-84758367301708508092023-12-17T14:21:00.030-09:002023-12-17T14:21:00.134-09:00The Battle Of Algiers Offers Insights Into Israel-Gaza War<p> I haven't posted about the Israel-Gaza* war for a variety of reasons, the key ones being the unreliability of the many accusations flung back and forth, the very complication of the issues including all the action going on behind the scenes that we don't know anything about. </p><p><br /></p><p>I've come up with a list of about a dozen issues that I see as important for anyone trying to understand what is happening and why. Surely there are more. And they all have threads that wind into the other issues. </p><p><b>Guerilla Warfare </b></p><p>One of the issues is the nature of guerrilla warfare. Having been alive as the Vietnam War (or the American War as the Vietnamese call it), Afghanistan - first Russia and then US - I've learned a little bit about guerrilla warfare. We see it when a militarily weak group of people feel badly mistreated and take on their overwhelmingly powerful perceived oppressors. </p><p>Here's Wikipedia's summary:</p><p></p><blockquote>"The main strategy and tactics of guerrilla warfare tend to involve the use of a small attacking, mobile force against a large, unwieldy force. The guerrilla force is largely or entirely organized in small units that are dependent on the support of the local population. Tactically, the guerrilla army makes the repetitive attacks far from the opponent's center of gravity with a view to keeping its own casualties to a minimum and imposing a constant debilitating strain on the enemy. This may provoke the enemy into a brutal, excessively destructive response which will both anger their own supporters and increase support for the guerrillas, ultimately compelling the enemy to withdraw. One of the most famous examples of this was during the Irish War of Independence. Michael Collins, a leader of the Irish Republican Army, often used this tactic to take out squads of British soldiers, mainly in Munster, especially Cork."</blockquote><p>In this case, Hamas are clearly the guerrillas against the overwhelming military strength of Israel. </p><p></p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_guerrilla_warfare" target="_blank">Wikipedia in a separate article offers a history of guerrilla warfare </a>back to 6th Century BC China.</p><p>For me, the nature of guerrilla warfare got much clearer when I saw the movie <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Battle-of-Algiers" target="_blank">The Battle Of Algiers</a>, sometime in the 1970s. </p><p>I'd strongly recommend watching this film for anyone who wants to understand what is happening now in Israel and Gaza. </p><p>The <a href="https://archive.org/details/TheBattleOfAlgiers1966" target="_blank">Internet Archive has posted the film</a> and has links to embed it in blogs and other websites. I have never before posted a full movie like this and it feels a bit wrong. You can also watch it at the <a href="https://archive.org/details/TheBattleOfAlgiers1966" target="_blank">Internet Archive.</a> </p><p>Aside from showing guerrilla warfare from the point of view of the guerrillas, it's a classic example of cinéma vérité. It's just a really well made movie. </p><p><br /></p>
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" mozallowfullscreen="true" src="https://archive.org/embed/TheBattleOfAlgiers1966" webkitallowfullscreen="true" width="640"></iframe>
<p><br /></p><p>Without understanding the underlying reasons a group uses guerrilla warfare tactics, it's hard to understand a war in which guerrilla forces fight against a much more dominant culture. </p><p>History shows us many examples where overpowering military advantage eventually loses to an organized, but much, much weaker resistance movement. But there are also examples of that weaker unit being crushed. My sense here, though, is that the ruthlessness of Israel's response will create millions of more resisters among the Palestinians. </p><p>Astute readers will have figured out that I've once again avoided the topic of Israel and Gaza. Yes, and no. It's much to complex a topic to deal with in one post. I'll refine my list of key issues and then post the list. Then I'll cover as many of the issues as I have the stomach for in other posts - some on just one issue, others may combine a few. </p><p>In the meantime, I'd challenge readers to come up with their own lists of the key issues. Then you'll be able to compare your lists with mine and, I hope, improve my list in the comments. </p><p>Make some popcorn and enjoy the movie. </p><p>*I've labeled this Israeli-Gaza war, but one could also say Israeli-Palestinian war. </p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30897652.post-78739540676823875462023-12-15T11:34:00.005-09:002023-12-15T11:34:49.054-09:00Can Your Physician Use Telehealth To Treat You When You're Out Of State?<p> I was out-of-state when my doctor's office called to set up a telehealth appointment for me. The date they wanted was when I was going to be back in Alaska. I thought, wow, this is great. If I'm out-of-state, I can still have an appointment with my doctor if needed. </p><p>But they said, "No, you have to be in Alaska." </p><p>For me, that makes no sense. If I need a doctor when I'm not in Alaska, I'd rather see my doctor than a one I don't know. [Of course if there's a need for physical contact or tests, it's not going to work as well.] </p><p>So when I had my appointment, I asked, "Why can't we do this if I'm out-of-state?"</p><p>The nurse, the doctor, and the doctor's supervisor (this is through Providence) weren't exactly sure. They'd been advised that it had to be Alaska only. Licensing seemed to be a possible reason, but they weren't sure. And they couldn't cite any documents I could see for myself.</p><p>Whether this was a state law, regulation, Providence policy or something else, they didn't know. </p><p><br /></p><p>So I decided I would try to track this down. Here's what I've found out so far.</p><p></p><br /><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>During COVID emergency health declarations waived some interstate telehealth barriers, and much of what first pops up in searches are pandemic era webpages, some of which have dates on them. </li><li>A big issue IS the need to be licensed in the state where the patient is located</li><li>Another issue has to do with payment for patients on the state medicaid or other health programs</li><li>Some states allow out-of-state doctors to have telehealth appointments in their states, but the rules aren't easy to figure out for individual doctors. There are various conditions one has to meet, and one has to be sure the source of information reflects the current law, that no changes have been made</li></ul><p></p><p></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYaWNuNOasW93bIc42QUamD_4kPm-7f-pOuUYGOqcMaRJ45J3ClwmBXh4JePtHthomeGScQsiz2oBxaj13ZJR2hxr_-b8kNaDDO-SSp_LH3L145CXIZGvSUtuFtpFMQjrf_dko6pXLO2eLkd_diKgLkGMHe4XktictTFzpw69sNG_rXxGMw/s1474/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-13%20at%208.41.35%20PM.png" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1474" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYaWNuNOasW93bIc42QUamD_4kPm-7f-pOuUYGOqcMaRJ45J3ClwmBXh4JePtHthomeGScQsiz2oBxaj13ZJR2hxr_-b8kNaDDO-SSp_LH3L145CXIZGvSUtuFtpFMQjrf_dko6pXLO2eLkd_diKgLkGMHe4XktictTFzpw69sNG_rXxGMw/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-12-13%20at%208.41.35%20PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interactive <a href="https://www.cchpca.org/topic/out-of-state-providers/" target="_blank">at the site</a> which appears <br />to be updated frequently</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p></p><p><a href="https://www.cchpca.org" target="_blank">CCHP </a>(The Center for Connected Health Policy) has some of the best information I've found so far. Their <a href="https://www.cchpca.org/topic/out-of-state-providers/" target="_blank">Out Of State Providers page</a> has a map that links to the policies for every state. And they seem to keep it up to date. One was updated this month.</p><p>For instance, here's what it says for Arizona:</p><h2 class="card-title" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(29, 29, 29); color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Karla, sans-serif; font-size: 48px; letter-spacing: -0.07em; line-height: 48px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 0px; outline: currentcolor;"></h2><blockquote><h2 class="card-title" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(29, 29, 29); color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Karla, sans-serif; font-size: 48px; letter-spacing: -0.07em; line-height: 48px; margin-bottom: 30px; margin-top: 0px; outline: currentcolor;">"Arizona</h2><p class="last-updated" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #8691a5; font-family: Karla, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; letter-spacing: -0.405px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0px; outline: currentcolor;">Last updated 11/07/2023</p><div class="state-full-text" style="box-sizing: inherit; caret-color: rgb(29, 29, 29); color: #1d1d1d; font-family: Karla, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; letter-spacing: -0.405px; outline: currentcolor; padding-right: 165px; position: relative;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0px; outline: currentcolor;">A provider who is not licensed within the State of Arizona may provide Telehealth services to an AHCCCS member located in the state if the provider is an AHCCCS registered provider and complies with all requirements listed within A.R.S. § 36-3606.</p><p class="text-small text-gray" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #5d687c; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 13px; margin-top: 0px; outline: currentcolor;">SOURCE: <a data-wpel-link="external" href="https://www.azahcccs.gov/shared/Downloads/MedicalPolicyManual/300/320-I.pdf" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #3535c9; outline: currentcolor;" target="_blank">AZ Medical Policy for AHCCCS Covered Services. Telehealth and Telemedicine Ch 300, (320-I pg. 2), Approved 8/29/23. (Accessed Nov. 2023).</a>"</p></div><p><br /></p><p></p></blockquote><p>AHCCCS refers to Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System. The link isn't really that complicated, but if I were a physician, I'd want an attorney to read it. </p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://telehealth.hhs.gov/licensure/licensing-across-state-lines" target="_blank">From HHS</a>:</p><p></p><blockquote>"Some states have temporary practice laws to support existing provider-patient relationships and minimize gaps in care. These laws allow a provider to practice for a limited amount of time, usually less than 30 days, in another state <b>if their patient is temporarily visiting that state for business, a family visit, or other reasons</b>."</blockquote><p>This includes what I would be after - treating one of their regular patients who happens to be temporarily out of state. </p><p>What states clearly or not so clearlyseem to allow out of state doctors not licensed in the patient's state to provide telehealth services to patients located in their state? <a href="https://www.cchpca.org/topic/out-of-state-providers/" target="_blank">Go to the CCHP map page</a> to get details for each state.</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Alaska</li><li>Arizona</li><li>Connecticut</li><li>Georgia - "Physicians with licenses in other states may be licensed under the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact" You can<a href="https://www.imlcc.org/a-faster-pathway-to-physician-licensure/" target="_blank"> read more about this Compact here</a>. They also have a<a href="https://www.imlcc.org/participating-states/" target="_blank"> map that shows which states are in various steps in the process of joining the Compact</a>. </li><li>Indiana - "Out-of-state providers can perform telehealth services without fulfilling the out-of-state prior authorization requirement if they have the subtype “Telemedicine” attached to their enrollment. See Module for requirements."</li><li>Kentucky - this one seems particularly liberal.</li><li>Maryland</li><li>Minnesota</li><li>Oklahoma</li><li>Oregon - Looks like a liberal policy</li><li>South Dakota</li><li>Vermont</li><li>Washington</li><li>Wisconsin</li></ul><p></p><p>Most of the concern seems to be with the State reimbursing for services to Medicaid patients. There are various conditions placed on out of state providers. Note that I said 'appear to allow out of state" providers. And there were some states that might allow out of state providers who are not licensed in the patient's state, but I couldn't really tell for sure. </p><p><br /></p><p>So, the problem doesn't seem to lie with the State of Alaska. </p><p>The issue is </p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>with other states - some do and some don't allow it, and those that do have different requirements</li><li>with Providence for making a blanket policy rather than tailoring it to the states that allow for out of state doctors. Providence should know which</li><ul><li>which states do not allow out of state doctors to have telehealth appointments with people in their states, </li><li>which states do allow it, and </li><li>what the requirements are for those that do</li></ul><li>with doctors who have licenses to practice in other states letting Providence know that</li></ul><div>I would like to think this is simply policy that hasn't caught up with technology changes and not simply stodgy hospital administrators not wanting to change or lazily using the law as an excuse</div><div><br /></div><div>But I also understand that collecting all the necessary data and keeping it up to date is somewhat of a challenge. But I was able to do this in less that four hours, so someone in the Prov administration should also be able to do it. Especially since Providence serves Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.</div><p></p><p></p>Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10498066938213558757noreply@blogger.com7