Segùn mi opiniòn no fue tan imprevisible come el Garosci ha dicho en su famosa frase.

En efecto, Espana, ha siempre sido un paìs tumultuoso desde Isabella II, la primera republica, Primo de Rivera y, antes, la guerra Carlista.

Tal vez en el catorce julio de 1931 se pensaba que por Espana empezaba un perioso de paz republicana y pudiera ser asì si los gobiernos y todos los partidos democraticos se habrìan compurtado con responsabilidad y respecto por la recien nacida democracia espanola.

Sin embargo non es fàcil establecer de quien fue la responsabilidad por el estallido de la guerra civil.

Para comprender las causas del el estallido de la guerra es necessario comprender que - aunque la guerra prendiò pronto dimensiòn internacional - ella es una cuestiòn espanola y aunque el intervenciòn de Italia, Alemania y Uniòn sovietica fue determinante por la duraciòn y el resultado de la guerra, no le fue por su estallida.

La repùblica se presentò como alternativa a la monarquìa y tambien a la Iglesia catolica, lo que derivò de eso fue un anticlericarismo que hizo alarmar la Iglesia misma, que se vìo borrar todos los privilegios y tambien la derecha, el ejercito y los monarquicos, ese fue un grave error en un pais tradicionalmente catolico y que hasta el "dia antes" era una monarquìa catolica.

Obviamente la culpa no es solamente de el gobierno, no bastante fuerte para sustentar politicas tan fuertes mas tambien de los grandes partidos que no han sabido responder en manera adecuada a los partidos pequenos de derecha, anarquicos e de izquierda.

Estos partidos fueron responsables de violencia y desordenes.

Cuando en julio fueron matados para la policìa republicana José Calvo Sotelo, lìder de Bloque Nacional y José Primo de Rivera lìder y fundador de Falange Espanola, fue claro por el ejercito que hacer, en efecto, en principio el intervenciòn tendrìa que ser por restablecer el orden, luego, las cosas cambiaron y se volviò en la guerra de Espana Republicana y todos sus valores, buenos y malos, contra la tradiciòn reaccionaria y la Iglesia catolica, la que apoyaba Franco.

Aunque la causa de el estallido estuviera en una politica desmasiado ingenua porque pretendìa de cambiar los statuses de iglesia y ejercito desmasiado ràpidamente en un pais adònde eran muy influentes, el intervenciòn, o no intervenciòn de la comunidad internaciònal influìo en el resultado, duraciòn y naturaleza misma de la guerra, desde guerra civil espanola en "guerra frìa" antes de la segunda guerra mundial, las razònes de Alemanìa, Italia y Union Sovietica eran notas, menos aquellas de Engletera.

Segun mi opiniòn lo que hizo fue no inimicarse nadie de los dos adversarios para proteger sus inversiònes en Espana y contemporaneamente armar el su ejercito por la sobresaliente guerra europea.

José Moreno Villa, poeta y pintor, describe muy bien un otro efecto de la guerra de Espana, la liquidaciòn de la clase intelectual republicana:

" No vinimos acà, nos trajeron las ondas "

Muchos hobres politicos y intelectuales como Azana, Ortega y Gasset, Francisco Garcìa Lorca y el mismo José Moreno Villa, pasaron sus vidas en exilio, distantes da sus familias y sus patria.

Mexico, Argentina, Francia fueron les sus nuevas casas, otros, como Largo Caballero, el jefe de la generalidada valenciana, Companys o el pobre Federico Garcìa Lorca fueron asesinados.

El fascismo Espanol no hubo nunca presa sobre los intelectuales como in otros paises.

No tenìa quellas caracteristicas de originalidad y actractivo.

La cultura espanola subiò treinta y cinco anos de vacìo.

El President de la Generalitat, Lluis Companys

Mitin de Alejandro Lerroux (Partido Radical) en Las Ventas (Madrid)

Dolores Ibarruri, "La Pasionaria", dirigente del PCE

Asesinato de Calvo Sotelo

El general Mola

Asalto al Cuartel de la Montaña (Madrid)

 Anuncio de periódico para el alistamiento en una columna de la CNT

Durruti, dirigente anarquista, en el frente de Aragón

Anticlericalismo (profanación de objetos litúrgicos)

Julio 1936

Noviembre 1936

Octubre 1937

Julio 1938

Febrero 1939

Franco y Mola

Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, fundador de Falange

Director: Mervyn LeRoy

Cast: Frank McHugh, Sam Levene, Joan Blondell, Alan Jenkins

Warner Brothers made series of gangster comedies in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Best known are A Slight Case of Murder and Larceny Inc. both starring Edward G. Robinson. Three Men on a Horse falls into this same sub-genre. Originally a play co-written by George Abbott that ran on Broadway for close to two years with Frank McHugh and Sam Levene originating the same roles they perform in the movie.

Erwin Trowbridge (Frank McHugh) is a loser. A henpecked husband who writes greeting cards sayings for a living, works for a company where he is grossly underpaid and treated like dirt. His home life is not much better, a ditz for a wife and brother in law who constantly berates him for not making money. You see Erwin bets on the ponies, and he always wins. Only he doesn’t bet for money. Never for money, that would be cheating. According to Patsy (Sam Levene) a Damon Runyon type gambler, Erwin is a poet. Patsy also sees Erwin as the goldmine he and his pals have been waiting for. Along with Levene, Allen Jenkins and Teddy Hart are the gamblers who kidnap Erwin with a plan to make them a fortune. Joan Blondell, using her Brooklyn accent to its best advantage, is Mabel, Patsy’s girlfriend. Eddie Rochester Anderson and Alan Hale are also on board as employees at the hotel where the gamblers are keeping Erwin while he comes up with the winning horses. The film was directed by Mervlyn LeRoy though there is no director’s credit given in the film. Three Men on a Horse is a pleasant humorous film filled enough laughs to satisfy even though it is somewhat dated at times. Nice performances by everyone in the cast.

It looks like Warner’s took their “B” team and gave them their own game to play and they came away a winner.

By John Greco

I'm certain that when most people think of a 'classic' paper on a topic like superstition or belief in the paranormal, they may think of B.F Skinner's Superstition in the Pigeon. But as you can see, it was published after World War II, whilst the requirement of the challenge is to write about a paper prior to this time period.

So considering my own academic interests, I went for something 'classic' although maybe not really something that was quite as significant as 'Superstition in the Pigeon'. Maybe another time. Yet it still says something about 'the ingenuity of researchers in an era when materials were not readily available' and 'the problems and concerns of scientists of that era'. To me, it indicates a great many things that should be considered when investigating belief in fortune telling by college students, particularly when it comes to improving such studies.

I chose C.M Diserens and T.W Wood's 1936 paper on 'The prevalence of belief in fortune telling among college students' - which is quite short. We're talking five pages. In comparison, the length of 'Malinowski goes to college: Factors influencing students' use of ritual and superstition' (Rudski & Edwards, 2007) is fifteen pages.

I chose a paper that reflects the people around me as I type. Because I'm sitting in the research office of a university, whilst dozens of undergraduates thunder past, whooping about it being a long weekend.

How does research on belief of college students in fortune-telling from 1936, compare to research today? Are the students that much different or does research now recognise a wider spectrum of influences that could have been included in the initial study? What were some of the socio-cultural influences that could have made a group of 101 students from the University of Cincinnati respond the way they did - and could a paper of that time recognised those elements?

George Bernard Shaw (1903) described English society in the decades prior to the First World War as:

...superstitious, and addicted to table-rapping, materialisation seances, clairvoyance, palmistry, crystal-gazing and the like to such an extent that it may be doubted whether ever before in the history of the world did soothsayers, astrologers and unregistered therapeutic specialists of all sorts flourish as they did during this half century of the drift to the abyss. (Man and Superman, Act IV).

Today, I watch Richard Dawkins (2007) introducing the documentary 'Enemies of Reason':

Science has sent orbiters to Neptune, eradicated smallpox, and created a supercomputer that can do sixty-trillion calculations per second. Science frees us from superstition, and dogma and enables us to base our knowledge on evidence... well, most of us... Yet today, reason has a battle on its hands. I want to confront the epidemic of irrational, superstitious thinking. It's a multi-million pound industry that impoverishes our culture and throws up new-age gurus that exhort us to run away from reality. As a scientist, I don't think our indulgence of irrational superstition is harmless. I think it profoundly undermines civilization... We live in dangerous times, when superstition is gaining ground and rational science is under attack.

Two Englishmen, decades apart - and yet pretty much the same message. No wonder it continues to be a subject of interest today.

What was it like for US College students during the mid-1930s? The paper comes after the US 'Scopes Monkey Trial' of 1925, over the issue of teaching evolution in schools rather than the biblical story of Creation in the Book of Genesis, yet even now it's an ongoing issue, much like what Dawkins reflects in 'Enemies of Reason'.

In my mind, I think of the most accessible portrayal of a group of college students in the USA during 1936 - the beginning of the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, as Dr Henry 'Indiana' Jones teaches archaeology to a group of mainly-swooning female students.

Perhaps a movie or popular film encouraged belief in fortune tellers, leading these students to check if it's just like psychic readings in the flicks? During 1936, the students would have viewed stereotypical 'mad scientist' fare (how dare he research the origins of the mind and soul!) and Charlie Chaplain's Modern Times was out. There were Frank Capra films, science fiction like the great Flash Gordon, and what has become a classic for entirely the opposite reasons intended by its film-makers: Reefer Madness. Popular novels included the just-released Gone with the Wind and pulp fiction fare. Mysteries, horror stories and even 1930s zombie flicks could have influenced views of the paranormal for the respondents to the survey, although this is not considered in Diserens and Wood's research.

For example, if we compare to modern college kids and what could influence their views on the matter, did you know that Steven Spielberg's got a planned ghost and UFO based social network? Going to be called 'The Rising'. Apparently it's going to be capitalising on the sort of footage and stories that are going around on forum boards and everyone's favourite 'guess what went past my window' YouTube shots. Yeesh.

We do have plenty of evidence for such popular social reinforcement and networking contributing to belief in superstition: rituals of test-taking, athletic lucky-touchstones and theatre and dance performances:

In Vyse's 1997 chapter 'The Superstitious Person', he reviewed several articles examining superstition and provided compelling student-related anecdotes. For example, he wrote about a student who could not commence an exam until he found a piece of loose change, occasionally resulting in his tardiness for a test. (Rudski & Edwards, 2007).

The Diserens and Wood paper chose items such as 'did you visit a fortune teller who used...' the following techniques or 'tools of the trade': spiritualists, palmists, phrenologists, tea and coffee grounds, cards and 'any other kind'. Did the students ever have their horoscope read? Was it mere curiosity that led them?

In addition, was there anything 'demonstrated to be true' - did it guide them, and in what phase of their life? Did they believe in fortune telling ('are you absolutely prejudiced or do you think there might be something to it')?. Yes, they could have used some Likert scales to help out at this point, admittedly.

The results demonstrated that within a group of 53 women and 48 men (N=101):

- of women, ten out of sixteen who had 'not visited fortune tellers' thought 'there might be something in it'. Thirty-seven who had visited, thought the same, with twenty-five confirming that 'something came true' for them.

- for men, twenty-eight had not visited, but thirteen thought 'there might be something in it'; twenty had gone, with twelve thinking 'there might be something in it' and fifteen reporting that 'something came true' from the visit.

Most popular for women were card readings, palmists and tea and coffee-ground readings; for men, it was palmists, card readings and spiritualists.

Also of interest - 'do your church principles determine your views on fortune telling'? Yes or no?'

Of non-visitors to fortune tellers (16), one said that there was 'prejudice against it due to their church'. Yet with those who visited (37), a total of nine reported condemnation. Yet:

It would not be an idle conjecture to state that we would expect the number of repetitive visits to fortune tellers to be closely allied with a belief in such, the individual being in a more suggestible state each visit. On this assumed basis, the men run true to forum, but peculiarly enough the women almost revers the expected outcome. However, it might be pointed out that women are more readily influenced by social compulsions and hence checked their beliefs on the questionnaire with an unconscious factor playing an important role.

Support for this statement might be gathered from the fact that among the men in both groups, but 8.33% of them were influenced against fortune telling by religious principles while 18.86% of the women in both groups were so influenced.

This runs rather akin to comments on this blog which said that 'women were more susceptible to social thinking'. It is true that research indicates that women women hold more paranormal beliefs than men, with a few exceptions such as belief in extraterrestrial life forms (Rice, 2003; Tobacyk & Pirttilä-Backman, 1992; Vyse, 1997). One reasoning is that it is due to men being more likely to think analytically and less intuitively than women (Lieberman, 2000; Pacini & Epstein, 1999).

One element that fascinated me was the second line of the paper about 'Indeed among the colored race, superstitions of varying degree play an important part of motivating their behaviour'. There is a lengthy account of the treatment of Black people at the University of Cincinnati on the webpage Eleven Cincinnati Legends, including stories of segregation, bias and efforts to challenge the status quo during that time:

Donald Spencer, an African American student who attended the University of Cincinnati in the early 1930s, formed an organization in 1934 along with four other students at the University called "Quadres". Its goals were four in number: to promote high ideals and scholarship; to foster cultural enterprise; to establish contacts to aid social life; and to encourage interracial harmony and participation on campus. It was part of a singular effort by the group to fight segregation on the U.C. campus and lasted until approximately 1948...

Despite their many difficulties on campus, African Americans for the most part successfully completed their degrees at the University of Cincinnati and went on to make great contributions to the Greater Cincinnati community in the areas of education, athletics, law, city politics, and civil rights.

So whilst Diserens and Wood mention in passing the racial stereotyping of the time, it doesn't go any further on what other elements could have made one particular group of men and women more likely to believe in an aspect of fortune telling than others. Why these weird beliefs, in particular?

These days more of an effort is made to encapsulate cultural and regional factor influences on paranormal beliefs. Although Diserens and Wood clearly had a prejudicial opinion about the supposed 'motivating' influence superstitions had on Black people, they could have additionally benefited from an approach shown by Alvarez-Gonzalez and Diaz-Vilela (2004), with their study on 'Differences in paranormal beliefs across fields of study from a Spanish adaptation of Tobacyk's RPBS':

The study included 355 students from six university departments, both scientific and nonscientific...we believe some items could be skewed because they belong to a very different cultural background. For instance, our population knows too little about monsters like Yeti or Bigfoot in order to have a clear opinion about their existence. Nevertheless, these items showed a clear, distinct behavior in the factor analyses, which gives us an idea of the cross-cultural conceptual strength of the dimensions within the scale. This finding clearly expands the possibilities of the questionnaire in order to carry out cross-cultural research that can shed some light on the similarities and differences in paranormal beliefs across different human groups and their correlates.

One particularly enjoyable 2008 study - which looked at 595 Chinese fortune cookie sayings as 'cultural texts':

The study indicates that fortune cookie sayings fulfill four primary functions: prophecy, compliment, advice, and wisdom. This textual analysis further uncovers that fortune cookie sayings (a) delimit "fortune" in terms of money, prosperity, and romance; (b) make compliments about sociability and talents; (c) provide advice on life and relationships with others; and (d) offer wisdom regarding integrity, spirituality, and the past.

Despite their apparent triviality and ordinariness,fortune cookie sayings represent a form of hybridized cultural discourse... However, the analysis reveals that fortune cookie sayings subscribe to dominant ideologies in both U.S. American and Chinese cultures. As detailed in the present study, they are a fusion of the American Dream and the Chinese upward mobility. (Yin & Miike, 2008)

Could these 1936 Cinncinatti students, living the 'American Dream', included some young men and women who drew upon European, Asian, South American or even Native American backgrounds or influences when they chose whether to visit a psychic or not?

Another aspect that wasn't really touched upon was the social source of such beliefs. Were the college students acting on just peer pressure, a trend going around campus? Did they go in groups, or visit alone? Were there traditional, family-based incentives for checking out their fortunes? Was the friendly palm-reader actually Grandmother? Or even their room-mate? Or girlfriend?

Whilst more recent studies demonstrate that seeing unlikely events as planned rather than due to probability, will tend towards having a belief in the paranormal (Musch and Ehrenberg, 2002), there is still an ongoing debate as to whether intelligence levels contribute, tending towards it being less of a factor. In addition, 'reasoning ability...[has] a significant effect on paranormal belief scores, but not on paranormal experiences... results suggest that those who have better reasoning abilities scrutinise to a greater extent whether their experiences are sufficient justification for belief in the reality of these phenomena' (Hergovich and Arendasay, 2004).

So, information in Diserens and Wood's study is missing in regards to cultural background and level of education (since 'psychology classes at the University of Cincinnati' could include postgrads). Whilst 'strenuous efforts were made by diverse means to see that the individuals lost his identity in this investigation', such elements do influence the final results and could have allowed for a more in-depth study as to cultural influences and level of education upon beliefs.

Finally one recent publications that directly addresses the issue of paranormal beliefs in college students studying Psychology - ('Students' beliefs about paranormal claims: Implications for teaching introductory psychology by Benassi and Goldstein, 2006; from 'Best Practices for Teaching Introduction to Psychology', ed. Dunn and Chew):

Many standard introductory psychology textbooks include at least some coverage of parapsychology topics... most of the coverage was brief and negative... be that as it may, our assessment of current introductory psychology texts is that the material contained in them will have little impact on students' beliefs about paranormal topics or, more important, on the way they think about these topics. Instead, the pedagogy used by course instructors will play the key role in determining whether these dimensions (belief and critical thinking) are impacted.

This is why I think that if future research in this vein wishes to challenge potentially dangerous beliefs, as demonstrated by the Australian Government's publication 'Little Black Book of Scams', the quality of education in regards to not only materials and resources, but distinctly human resources - teachers, professors, lecturers, tutors, friends, family and peers - need to be considered.

After all, upon reflection of this rather flawed study from 1936, we can see how belief in fortune tellers hasn't disappeared over time...

Selected References:

Diserens, C.M., & Wood, T.W. (1936) The prevalence of belief in fortune telling among college students. Journal of Applied Psychology, 20(4), 488-492.

Vitulli, W.F., & Luper, S.L. (1998). Sex differences in paranormal beliefs among undergraduate college students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 87, 475-483.

Çok kolay kullanım imkanı sunan bu program ile resimlerinizi açabilir, düzenleyebilir, boyutlarını değiştirebilir, yönlerini değiştirebilir hatta formatlarını bile değiştirebilirsiniz. Sekmeli kullanım özelliği sayesinde de çok kolay bir programdır. Ayrıca Türkçe olması da yine sağladığı kolaylıklardan bir tanesidir.

Ücretli resim gösterme programlarına alternatif olarak kullanılabilecek oldukça güzel ve basit bir resim gösterme ve düzenleme programıdır.

PROGRAMI İNDİRMEK İÇİN TIKLAYINIZ

David Davis

Sorry.

This was supposed to be about a new Libertarian Novel. There have also been others, and the one linked is now a best-seller. But as I thought this sort of thing is so very much more relevant to the Human condition than the terribly-damaging-Nazi smugfest-of-sport coming up in Peking, I therefore decided that I'd get my pocket-knife out, to enjoy a good little twist-dig into the upper-chest of the " wireless  tele  vision  olymp  ics "  while I am about it, as they are so so important. The 1936 ones come to mind too.

(Er, don't worry 'coz-  it's only a short blade now, about 70 years old, they didn't take it off me in the passport (and identity) office as it was still "legal", they only confiscated it temporarily ... Two functioning inches left of the Steel, if that. I do try to sharpen it on my oilstone from time to time, but it's been neglected for a few weeks and has been used for medium gardening in the meantime, so it is a bit blunt.)

God only knows what we will do after we have to pay for the London smugfest in , is it, 2012? Where the f*** will the money come from for all the dictocrats and their Mercs transporting Jerks? I do hope that Mayor Boris cancels this pan-galactic-disaster in time, but as Brian Micklethwait said a while ago, that is too much to hope for.

Anyway ...

Hay-on-Wye is a marvellously fun town in the Anglo-Welsh borderlands, or what Tolkien would call "The Debatable Lands". Go there soon, please do, it's nice! But not on Sunday mornings, for Wales is then "closed" - as I find rather a lot. Hay has a world-famous book festival, and is said to have more bookshops per head of population than any other place in the world. About two per person, I would guess. Richard Booth is the King of Hay.

OK OK OK, then, here's the stuff about the novel!

NEW LIBERTARIAN NOVEL TO BE LAUNCHED AT THIS YEAR'S HAY FESTIVAL

INVITATION TO ALL UK LIBERTARIANS AND OBJECTIVISTS

Nicholas Dykes's new (and first) novel ~Old Nick's Guide to Happiness~ is
due for publication on July 15.  However, Nicholas is taking advantage of
the nearby Hay Festival to hold a trial launch at Richard Booth's famous
bookshop in Lion Street on Saturday May 24, 2008.

If any Libertarians or Objectivists happen to be attending the Festival, or
are located anywhere nearby, Nicholas would be delighted to see them.  He
will be there to sign copies, and there will also be drinks and nibbles on
offer between 12.30 and 6.30pm.  There will also be a special price for the
day of £10.00 (RRP £12.95).

If you are able to attend, please do introduce yourself to Nicholas.

~Old Nick's Guide to Happiness~ presents an Objectivism-based, radical
libertarianism set in a mystery-cum-adventure novel.  It tells the story of
Jacques, an eighteen-year-old Anglo-French student, who goes on a hiking
holiday to the Highlands of Scotland while waiting to take up an English
Literature scholarship at Oxford University.  He becomes lost in fog in the
most remote part of the north-west coast and nearly kills himself climbing
down a cliff.  He is rescued by a mysterious couple, Nikolai and Catriona,
who live hidden away in an old mine, secretly, but very comfortably.
Learning that Jacques aspires to be a writer, Nikolai persuades him to take
a year off to write down Nikolai's philosophy, a literary task Nikolai has
found himself unable to accomplish.  The philosophy - covering the axioms,
ethics and political principles required to achieve a completely free market
in a completely free society - is presented clearly and non-technically in a
series of conversations between Nikolai and Jacques, during which Jacques
often puts up a spirited defense of opposing points of view.  The story,
involving mystery, occasional high adventure, and Jacques falling in love
with the couple's niece, Eila, unfolds alongside the philosophy.  The
narrative concludes with a dramatic escape to America when Nikolai and
Catriona's secret life comes suddenly under threat.

Nicholas has been encouraged by some very good reactions from reviewers in
the United States, which country he believes could be a major market for the
book.  One reviewer, a Professor of Economics from Texas named Larry
Sechrest, wrote:  "This is a very good book indeed.  A major accomplishment
... The plot and characters are engrossing.  These are real people, not
cardboard cutouts, not flawless robots, but people.  There is adventure and
danger as well as warm affection and gentle eroticism.. The
manuscript abounds with lively descriptions that transport the reader to the
locales....
"The philosophical dialogues are a most entertaining way to present such
radical ideas. very persuasive.  Positively splendid commentary on both Marx
and Popper, absolutely on target!"

Another reviewer, Peter Saint-Andre, a literary editor from Colorado, wrote:
"Bravo!  Quite delightful.  ~Old Nick's Guide to Happiness~ is an engaging
adventure on many levels:  it captures the mind most of all, but weaves in
suspense, diverse characters and humor as well.  I enjoyed it immensely."

"No business which depends for existence by paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country," he said; "big business and big money are unanimous in their hate for me, and I welcome their hatred.

"I should like to have it said of my first administration that in it the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match; I would like to have it said of my second administration that in it these forces met their master."

It is sadly difficult to think of a politician who would make that speech today. Politicians today seem much more timid, very frightened of angering anyone who has any power. Having the commitment to our founding principles to acknowledge and to welcome the hatred of those who want to alter--or simply ignore--our Constitution for their own profit is rare today.

Today, on the contrary, we are often told that big money/big business is critically important to the growth and maintenance of democracy, and must be allowed to do whatever it wants. FDR had an answer to that, too:

"The liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic State itself. That, in its essence, is Fascism -- ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or any controlling private power."

FDR's words are a reminder of how rarely you ever hear a major politician today 1) stating that the defense of our Constitution is her main priority; and 2) that s/he will cling to our founding principles no matter what opposition s/he faces; because 3) anyone who opposes our founding principles is no American, and therefore 4) those who oppose her/him can stuff it.

Actually, you will hear fringe nuts make these statements, but I'm talking about mainstream politicians.

Let's remember FDR as our current presidential election campaigning goes on, and cast a vote for the person who comes closest to his courage and guts.

Yaad Bwoy Intergalactica:

Globalization of Race: Marxism, Garveyism, & Rasta

Dave Parran was a simple man who lived in a house known to locals as the "Wedding Cake House" in Bolivar, TN. He was an undertaker who would often sit on his rocker all day, talking to anyone who would pass by. Parran died in 1936, at the age of 86. He had lived in his house for 75 years, and absolutely loved his home. After his death, most of the locals said the thing they'd miss most was passing by his house and seeing him rock.

Dave Parran's old rocker still sits on the porch of the Wedding Cake House. Sometimes, it will gently rock back and forth, even when there is no breeze. Some people have also seen Dave Parran's apparition, rocking peacefully in his favorite chair. Others have said they heard Mr. Parran rummaging through his house in the middle of the night.

No one has ever been frightened by the ghost, and everyone agrees that this is a benevolent spirit. So if you pass by the Wedding Cake House, be sure and look at the rocker. You might get a ghostly welcome.

This house is located in the Historical District in downtown Bolivar near the McNeal House.

1936 Fackellauf

und die Geschichte dazu

"Brockville is the Eastern Gateway to the Thousand Islands, the Venice of America, and every day, at convenient hours, commodious sight-seeing boats make trips through the scenic beauties of the St. Lawrence, leaving from a readily accessible dock in the centre of the city, just one block from the hotel district. At Brockville is located one of the finest Tourist Parks in the Province of Ontario. Every comfort is provided, including dressing-rooms, bathhouse, lavatories, stoves, fuel, hot water, etc. This is a free park. It is magnificently situated on the river bank with a view of the islands and channels."

This photo shows the block of Pine Street, east from Victoria Ave. On the left are the grounds of St. Vincent de Paul Hospital, followed by the brick house then owned by dentist, Geraldine and Dr. H.A. Clark. On the right are seen the house of Jean and Lewis C. Dargavel , and the manse for Wall St. United Church , then occupied by the Rev. Frederick E. Malott. At the corner of Garden St., just beyond, the house at 25 Pine was owned by Margaret and McLeod Gardner.

The above picture shows a King Street East that has changed very little over the years with the exception of the trees . This view from Bartholomew St., looking east, shows the houses on the north side beyond the grocery store formerly run by Mrs. Hannah Simpson . On the south side are the familiar large homes of Mabel and Frank Clayes , and Mrs. Mary Walsh (wid. of Maj. James M. Walsh) .

Some older residents of Brockville may remember the York Store run by Isadore Schneiderman. He established his “5 cent to a dollar” store in Brockville in 1927. It was located on the north side at 134-138 King St. W. just east of the Central Block, on the site of the present Tim Hortons. On the left was the china and glassware department, and on the right was the ladies ready-to-wear coats, dresses, hats and hosiery section. They also advertised a good selection of smallwares, toys, dolls, fancy goods, games, etc.

[These photographs can be viewed full size in a separate window by double clicking on the picture on this page until you reach the enlarged version further in the system]

Sources: The material for this post is mainly taken from an 18-page business publication entitled: “Magazine of Progress, Brockville, Ontario, Canada, Pen sketches of a number of enterprising merchants, manufacturers and financial interests, contributing to her wealth and prosperity". This 1937 magazine was subtitled “A illustrative review number descriptive of a live wire city in Leeds County.” I want to thank Beula Livingstone of Athens for the loan of this booklet. Other details on home owners were found in Vernon’s Directory of Brockville.

España en el ámbito humanitario siempre estuvo en primera línea. Así en la creación de la Cruz Roja en ningún momento dudó en su decisión, y en 1863 una representación española estuvo entre las catorce naciones que asistieron a la Primera Conferencia Internacional, y fue la séptima nación que en 1864 se adhiere al I Convenio de Ginebra.

En España la Cruz Roja se organiza bajo los auspicios de la Orden Hospitalaria de San Juan de Jerusalén, en 1864, y es declarada “Sociedad de Utilidad Pública”. Desde entonces, los distintos gobiernos de la nación, han estado representados de una forma u otra en el seno de Cruz Roja, aunque esto no ha impedido que actúe siempre bajo los Principios que inspiran a la Institución. Su evolución ha sido siempre una constante adaptación a los problemas y a las necesidades sociales que han ido produciéndose. Solo así se puede explicar la vigencia de una organización con más de 130 años de historia.

En una primera época fiel a sus orígenes, su actuación estuvo centrada en intervenciones humanitarias en caso de conflicto armado. Así, en 1870 prestó ayuda humanitaria en la guerra franco/prusiana siendo este el primer envío de ayuda humanitaria que realiza la Cruz Roja Española y en 1872 actuaba por primera directamente en la tercera guerra carlista. En su constante adaptación a las necesidades a raíz de los conflictos bélicos en África en 1918, se produce una fuerte expansión de sus centros sanitarios, llegando a sumar cerca de 36 hospitales. En un panorama de carencias generalizadas en materia sanitaria, la red de Cruz Roja tuvo un especial significado.

Durante la guerra civil de 1936 a 1939 realizó un a importante actividad y, finalizada ésta, lleva a cabo la repatriación de los españoles que se encontraban en la URSS.

La importante experiencia adquirida durante la guerra se empleó en la intervención ante los desastres ocurridos en todo el territorio nacional. Se asistió a las víctimas de los incendios, inundaciones, accidentes de todo tipo, etc. En la década de los setenta, la Institución completó la red de Puestos de Primeros Auxilios en las carreteras españolas, que había iniciado su primera expansión en el período republicano. Fue una nueva respuesta ante el avance en las comunicaciones por carretera que produce un aumento del parque automovilístico y, consiguientemente, un aumento de los accidentes de tráfico que requieren una respuesta rápida.

También se iniciaron las tareas de socorro en el mar y en aguas interiores y el salvamento de náufragos, que a través de la Cruz Roja del Mar se convertiría en uno de los servicios más conocidos y valorados por la opinión pública. En la década de los setenta y sobre todo en los ochenta, la Cruz Roja Española dará un importante salto, crece su actividad cuantitativamente y nuevas acciones y servicios dan un nuevo sentido a la misma. A partir de 1985 se inicia una profunda reorganización con la democratización de la Institución, la potenciación de la participación de los voluntarios, la apertura hacia nuevos campos de actuación, etc.

Pero es fundamentalmente en la década de los noventa cuando se produce la gran modernización de la institución y su adaptación a los nuevos retos que planteaba la sociedad Española, por una lado la consolidación de la intervención social con los colectivos vulnerables (personas mayores, refugiados e inmigrantes, afectados de SIDA, drogodependientes, infancia y juventud, población reclusa, discapacitados, mujer en dificultad social), por otro el espectacular incremento de los programas internacionales (cooperación al desarrollo, ayuda humanitaria, cooperación institucional) que ha supuesto un importante incremento de los recursos humanos y materiales dedicados a este ámbito. Todo ello acompañado por un proceso de modernización de las estructuras y democratización y mayor autonomía que culmina con la aprobación de unos nuevos estatutos (Junio de 1997) y Reglamento General Orgánico (29 de julio de 1988).

La Cruz Roja durante la Guerra civil española

Desde los primeros días de la Guerra Civil, concretamente el 29 de julio de 1936, el comité directivo de la Cruz Roja Española fue disuelto por el Gobierno republicano y remplazado por un grupo de siete personas (Clemente, 1999). Las primeras informaciones que llegaron a la Cruz Roja en Ginebra señalaban que casi todos los prisioneros de ambos bandos habían sido ejecutados y que los médicos de ambos bandos se estaban esforzando para evitar que los heridos fuesen rematados. Enviaron, pues, al doctor Junod como delegado del CICR en Madrid.

La necesidad de conocimiento del CICR respecto a la situación de las victimas del conflicto era compartida por numerosas sociedades nacionales de la Cruz Roja, como por ejemplo Bélgica, Gran Bretaña, Francia, Portugal y Suiza, para lo que se habían dirigido a Ginebra para ofrecer ayuda a los enfermos y heridos. Paralelamente el CICR había empezado a recibir de las autoridades de Madrid y Burgos quejas y protestas de ambas partes enfrentadas (Clemente, 2004).

Con la llegada del doctor Junod, el CICR comenzó su labor. Junod pretendía obtener el cese de los fusilamientos de rehenes en uno y otro bando. Para ello se trasladó a Madrid para reunirse con el presidente de la República, José Giral y con los nuevos miembros del Comité Central de la Cruz Roja Española. De la reunión mantenida con el Comité quedaron establecidos tales objetivos (Clemente, 2004)

1. La Cruz Roja Española se comprometía a dar su apoyo a los delegados del CICR ante las autoridad de la República.

1. Se aceptaba la ayuda de otras sociedades nacionales de la Cruz Roja.
2. La Cruz Roja Española se hacía responsable de respetar el emblema de la Cruz Roja.

Tras aquella firma, Junod se dirige a la zona franquista para proponerles la ayuda del CICR. Cuando llega a Burgos es recibido por el general Miguel Cabanellas, presidente de la Junta de Defensa Nacional y por el vocal de la misma, Emilio Mola. Éstos firmaron un documento en el que se daban por enterados de los acuerdos firmados entre el gobierno de Madrid y el CICR mediante la Cruz Roja Española.

Tras aquella firma, Junod se dirige a la zona franquista para proponerles la ayuda del CICR. Cuando llega a Burgos es recibido por el general Miguel Cabanellas, presidente de la Junta de Defensa Nacional y por el vocal de la misma, Emilio Mola. Éstos firmaron un documento en el que se daban por enterados de los acuerdos firmados entre el gobierno de Madrid y el CICR mediante la Cruz Roja Española.

Una vez obtenidos ambos acuerdos, Junod se puso en contacto con la sede del CICR en Ginebra para poner en marcha la ayuda. Desde el CICR se gestionó la compra, expedición y el reparto del material sanitario, productos farmacéuticos, además de la correspondencia... La Cruz Roja norteamericana y la holandesa fueron las primeras en enviar donativos en metálico.

Más de diez gobiernos y más de cuarenta sociedades nacionales de la Cruz Roja enviaron, además, donativos (Clemente, 2004).

Uno de los puntos del acuerdo firmado tanto en Madrid como en Burgos era el respeto al emblema de la Cruz Roja. En ambas zonas se utilizó el emblema para proteger a instalaciones sanitarias y grupos de la Sanidad Militar. No obstante hubo momentos en los que a pesar de la utilización de este signo, se hizo caso omiso por ambas partes y se bombardearon zonas que se suponía inviolables según el acuerdo firmado por ambas partes. Es por ello que tanto una parte como otra se acusaban mutuamente de violar el convenio firmado y el emblema. La liga de Sociedades de la Cruz Roja, por su parte, hoy Federación Internacional, ofreció igualmente la adquisición de medicamentos e instrumentos quirúrgicos y aseguró su transporte, así como recogió y transmitió a Ginebra las demandas de noticias de personas residentes en España.

La Cruz Roja estableció zonas neutrales o de seguridad para dar protección a los civiles no combatientes que sufrían los continuos bombardeos (Clemente, 1999).

Ante esta situación, el CICR siempre actuó con suma cautela, aunque finalmente, en la Conferencia de Londres de 1938 lograría que se aprobase la IX Resolución a favor de la protección de la población civil contra los bombardeos aéreos.

El Comité trató desde los inicios de la guerra civil de dar respuesta a las necesidades materiales y humanitarias de la población afectada de los dos bandos. Una de las mayores obsesiones del CICR era que brillara la equidad entre ambas zonas respecto a la distribución de los suministros, no obstante, el CICR envió a la zona rebelde más ayudas sanitarias para los centros benéficos o caritativos por su mejor situación de salud alimenticia, mientras que a la zona republicana envió más alimentos pro sus necesidades al respeto.

El CIRC fijó en España 4 delegaciones: Madrid y Barcelona en la zona gubernamental y Burgos y Sevilla en la rebelde. Estas delegaciones eran las encargadas de hacer respetar el signo de la Cruz Roja, crear los servicios de búsqueda e información para los familiares de los prisioneros, enfermos o fallecidos y de distribuir, en nombre de las Sociedades Nacionales donantes, los socorros que ellas estaban dispuestas a enviar a España. El número de delegaciones fue aumentando hasta diez pero en junio de 1938 quedaran sólo dos (Clemente, 2004).

Según la revista oficial de la Cruz Roja de 1936 a 1938 se habían atendido en el bando republicano 1.329.579 heridos y enfermos, las ambulancias realizaron 2.645 salidas y se recogieron, solo en Madrid, 6.459 heridos de metralla. En mayo de 1939 el CICR tuvo la intención de cerrar sus delegaciones. Pero la Cruz Roja Española insistió en mantener dichas delegaciones en Madrid y Barcelona para que pudieran continuar ocupándose de las numerosas demandas de noticias y de las repatriaciones de los refugiados españoles. Atendiendo a estas razones, el CICR decidió mantener la delegación de Madrid hasta mediados de julio y la de Barcelona hasta septiembre del mismo año (Clemente, 2004)

La acción de la Cruz Roja Española en la actualidad

Hoy en día Cruz Roja Española es una de las organizaciones más activas del Movimiento Internacional de la Cruz Rojay de la Media Luna Roja. Según los datos de 1993 cuenta con cerca de 835 Asambleas diseminadas por todo el país, cerca de 600.000 socios,

30.000 donantes de sangre y 130.000 voluntarios. Las acciones de Cruz Roja Española son muy diversas y han ido 44 adecuándose a las necesidades que requiere una sociedad en constante evolución, así como a los cambios históricos que se han producido a nivel internacional; sin perder las señas de identidad que le dieron origen. Esto se traduce en una institución dinámica y actual, con mayor presencia social y una más alta eficiencia en actividades de solidaridad.

• Hacia los Grupos Más Vulnerables.

Personas mayores. Refugiados y extranjeros. Toxicómanos. Enfermos y afectados de SIDA. Población reclusa Infancia y juventud marginada Programa de lucha contra la pobreza

• Hacia la Población en General.

La Acción socio-sanitaria. Socorros y emergencias. Protección ambiental. Búsquedas de personas desaparecidas.

• Sensibilización de la Población.

La Paz y el Derecho Internacional Humanitario. Derechos Humanos.

Tercer Mundo.
La protección del medio ambiente.

• La Cooperación con el Tercer Mundo.

Ayuda de emergencia.
Rehabilitación y prevención.
Cooperación al desarrollo.

• Los Recursos Humanos de la Cruz Roja Española.

Voluntarios.
Socios.
Cruz Roja Juventud.

La cruz roja en cifras

DATOS GENERALES

Bibliografía

Enfermería fundamental - Masson Master de Enfermería Fundamentos de enfermería - Potter Perry Curso de nivelación de ATS - UNED Área 2 Cruz Roja y Media Luna Roja - Michel Pollard

Carrying a Torch for China
Skip the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics, Mr. President.
by Ethan Gutmann
04/21/2008, Volume 013, Issue 30

"London
It was my four-year-old son's first demonstration. But he was getting cold, the police were manhandling the Tibetans to the point that there might be a stampede, and I wasn't sure if the bus that had just rushed by at such an unseemly speed actually carried the stupid torch, so we headed for the tube and home. My son wanted to know why people kept saying "China, stop the kitty."

"It's 'stop the killing,' " I corrected.

I tried to explain for the nth time: "Suppose you have a neighbor who has a dog. And he beats the dog. You can hear the dog crying all day. Then the neighbor comes by and invites you to bring your dog .  .  ."

"Daddy, we don't have a dog."

"I know. We will sometime soon. I promise. But pretend. The neighbor wants to invite your dog--and every other dog in the neighborhood--to a dog party. A big dog party. Black dogs, white dogs, yellow dogs, red dogs .  .  ."

"Or a mouse, it could be a mouse party, Daddy. Or a cat party .  .  ."

Okay, I thought, he gets it.

It wasn't until I got home and saw the paramilitary blue and white tracksuits flanking each torchbearer, and the wolfish Chinese army profiles so familiar to anyone who has lived in Beijing that I got it. I regretted not dropping off my son with some kindly Tibetan woman and trying to stand in front of the bus myself.

I have been agnostic on the utility of boycotting the Beijing Olympics. I prefer to consider the Olympics nothing more than a sporting event. Host cities should do their job: spend their $30 billion and get out of the way. But the Chinese government, in its insecure and bullying fashion, keeps pushing its luck with acts like the army-saturated torch welcoming ceremony in Beijing and the endless torch relay with its unprecedented scale of 85,000 miles and 20,000 torchbearers, scheduled to hit not just every Chinese province, but major capitals on every inhabited continent, as if we were all part of a new Chinese world order. Most of all, by adding their goon squad of "flame attendants" with no apparent diplomatic status into the scene--hovering retentively, manhandling Londoners, and barking orders at the torchbearers--Beijing has made it abundantly clear that this is not about the Olympic spirit, but about power, Chinese power.

The torch relay is an unforced error by the Chinese government, and it deserves every bit of mayhem and farce that London, Paris, San Francisco, and all the cities to come can provide. At a minimum, a boycott of the political opening ceremony looks like the inevitable, if imperfect, compromise. But we should do it eyes open, aware not only of Chinese culpability for the current mess, but also of our own.

Back in 2001, pretty much every U.S. newspaper editor tacked the headline "Who's Hu?" on the obligatory backgrounder introducing the incoming Chinese president, Hu Jintao. The pun was usually more interesting than the article; the singular accomplishment in Hu's otherwise colorless party career was his suppression of the Tibetan revolt of 1989--100 people were massacred. With Hu now firmly in control, it's not surprising that the current Tibet crackdown appears cleaner than the first: well rehearsed, coldly efficient, with most of the blood splendidly isolated from the prying Western media. Hu could have provided window-dressing for the West: an agreement to sit down with the Dalai Lama (at some unspecified point in the future, once the shape of the table has been determined and so on). In fact, under pressure from the International Olympics Committee (IOC), he still might provide some similar bunkum, but it will not change the nature of the Chinese Communist party. Much like the true church of the Middle Ages, the party has the prime directive of bringing errant provinces into the fold and destroying any opposing systems of thought. The problem is that, as a world leader, Hu has the prime directive of bringing off a successful Beijing Olympics--an event, by the way, that the Chinese people have put a lot of sweat into. And that's a problem for us too.

As the Tibetan and Falun Gong protests surrounding the global trail of the Olympic torch pick up intensity, Europe has already begun to pick sides. Haunted by the Berlin Olympics of 1936, universally regarded as Europe's dress rehearsal for the disastrous policy of appeasement, it is no coincidence that the two populations that bore the immediate brunt of the Nazi war machine, Poland and the Czech Republic, were the first to pull out of Beijing's political opening ceremony. Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, recently announced that she will not attend either. Nicolas Sarkozy has publicly threatened to do the same and possibly to carry the European Union along with him. You'd have thought that Britain might be inhibited by London's role as Olympics host city in 2012, but Prime Minister Gordon Brown went back late last week on his previously stated intention to attend the opening ceremony (while still clinging to a fig-leaf appearance at the closer).

The answer to the question of how comprehensive a boycott we are looking at probably lies in the United States, the global superpower. Given China's status as America's second largest trading partner, Washington cannot easily embrace the unbearable lightness of boycotting, but it is hard to imagine that President Bush, who has accepted a Chinese invitation to attend the Olympics, can easily stomach the Chinese rationalizations for the Tibet crackdown either.

Once you get past the usual Chinese admonitions about interference in internal affairs, the first Chinese argument is that Tibetan monks and activists are essentially terrorists, with the Dalai Lama standing in for bin Laden. Thus Chinese suppression of Tibetan Buddhism and the strategic resettlement of Han Chinese in Tibet are downplayed in favor of a serial loop of badly shot "atrocities of the Tibetan independence forces." (The Chinese government recently warned of "Tibetan suicide squads," indicating that they may consider staging an event with better lighting in the near future.) This argument doesn't really fly. Too many Washington leaders, Bush among them, have met the Dalai Lama, and it won't work with U.S. journalists either--the Chinese have shut down press access to Tibet all too frequently.

The second defense, favored by angry young Chinese males in reader comment sections throughout the Internet, parrots the Chinese government's depiction of Tibetans as picturesque but feckless (like our caricature of American Indians back when we still called them that), who desperately need Chinese modernization for their own good. The problem with the "Han Chinese burden" rationale is that we stopped slaughtering our natives some time ago.

The third Chinese argument is rarely stated openly. To do so would negate not only the two previous arguments, but also China's commitment to improve the human rights situation in advance of the Olympics. It goes like this: You are hypocrites. You knew the human rights situation in China when we made our bid. Your journalists only give human rights sporadic, selective coverage anyway. So why are you complaining at this late date? And here, as the context of the original bid and the tragic history of Falun Gong fully demonstrate, the Chinese are dead right.

Beijing's was always a blackmail bid. The IOC likes to profess a studied disinterest in politics, but that pose was only possible because of the equally studied neutrality by the United States and other Western countries towards Beijing's ambitions. I was a business consultant in Beijing during the bidding process, and it was common knowledge that the West would receive some much-needed political restraint from the Chinese in return for our support. It was whispered that the Beijing Olympics would buy peace in the Taiwan Strait for eight years, ensure continued economic liberalization, mollify runaway Chinese nationalism (by bolstering Chinese self-esteem), permit journalists to operate in a slightly more plausible working environment, and inhibit the Chinese leadership from overtly slaughtering its citizens.

When it comes to Taiwan and economic liberalization, China has technically lived up to its promises, pulling Taiwan into the Chinese orbit through business interests rather than by naval blockade or missile attack. In terms of nationalism, journalistic freedom, and human rights--well, best not to dwell on how that turned out--but in all fairness, the only one of these issues that the IOC appeared to be mildly serious about was human rights. Even there, it was always a same-bed-different-dreams deal. For Western business in China, "human rights" translates as: Please don't embarrass us publicly. For the Chinese government "human rights" was always translated within the prism of "social stability": How else can you ensure a smooth Olympics? And the way to ensure social stability was to neutralize the "five poisons"--Tibetan separatists, democracy activists, Taiwan independence supporters, Xinjiang freedom fighters, and Falun Gong practitioners. And here, again, the angry young Chinese men have a point concerning the hypocrisy of Western journalists.

It was all a charade. The blackmail bid took place in clear sight of the mindbending persecution of Falun Gong, an operation that had already mobilized China's state security forces on a scale that dwarfs the current Tibet crackdown. The West had three clear openings to bring the issue to a head: when the Beijing bid was nearing fruition in 2000, when an energized Falun Gong movement in the West emerged four years later with documentation that thousands had been murdered and over 100,000 had been thrown into labor camps, and finally in 2006 when credible reports of systematic organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners seeped out, pushing the potential death toll well into the tens of thousands.

I have interviewed some of the survivors. Roughly half of the Falun Gong practitioners who have emerged from the camps describe physical exams aimed at determining the health of their internal organs, along with close examination of corneas. Ears, genitals, and the other parts of the body usually scrutinized in medical exams--all of which have no value in the organ market--were routinely ignored. Yet it is a curious fact that American newspapers barely mentioned the targeted organ harvesting. Indeed, studies within the Falun Gong community demonstrate that the higher the Falun Gong death toll, the less the reporting. A former Beijing bureau chief of one of America's top networks accurately represented the average China journalist's view of Falun Gong in a candid conversation with me: The crackdown was indeed absurdly harsh, even by Chinese standards, but it was a drag to cover the story because "I hate both sides."

For American journalists, Falun Gong has three strikes against it. First, Falun Gong's emergence in 1999 took them by surprise, and journalists don't like feeling out of the loop. Second, reporters depend on the party's minimal cooperation for access and accreditation. Falun Gong is the party's enemy number one, as a Chinese spiritual movement from the heartland is more difficult to contain than a separatist movement like the Tibetans'. This meant the hot zone was not just in Lhasa, but everywhere, and that news stories had to be suppressed directly rather than just by limiting geographic access. Stories about persecution and torture could bring retaliation--blocked websites, detention, and, worst of all, loss of the journalist's ability to actually work. Stories that stuck the cult label on Falun Gong or, better still, avoided the issue altogether, ensured access.

The third strike against Falun Gong is that many Beijing-based journalists have gone slightly native. They see themselves as the arbiters of Chinese social progress. Falun Gong, with its insistence on traditional values--marriage and morality--looked like an enemy of the New China that journalists actually like: the hip, urban, ironic, way-cool place where cynical artists dish out scorn for crass Western commerciality. Falun Gong, simply put, is a Buddhist revival movement with all that entails: passion, talk of miracles, are-you-running-with-me-Master-Li individualism, and a reflexive mistrust of establishments and outside agendas. By contrast, the Tibetans had the far safer veneer of an ancient, well-established religion, and Hollywood's Richard Gere (and even some dimly remembered associations with tantric sex). Here, journalists intersected with their U.S.-based editors who not only tend to be suspicious of religion--particularly revivalist versions--but who also had no idea of how to incorporate the mass murder of Falun Gong's followers into the preferred storyline of China's amazing progress.

Thus, in public, foreign businessmen casually inserted anti-Falun Gong rhetoric into speeches to please their Chinese hosts. In private, when Chinese security needed targeted Internet surveillance technology to catch Falun Gong practitioners, Cisco provided it to their specifications. Oversight in Washington of this sort of activity lagged because politicians absorbed the distorted perception pumped out of China by many journalists and succumbed to the lobbying pressures of businessmen eager to cut deals with Chinese officials. And human rights groups appeared curiously unwilling to protest despite the scale of the Falun Gong persecution and the vehemence of the Chinese government's resolve to continue it. The record suggests an informal pact with the Chinese government to trade away mention of Falun Gong in exchange for minor concessions, such as scripted labor camp visits and legal exchanges.

Falun Gong is only one in a long historical line of atrocities the West has chosen to ignore while they were happening. But hating both sides is no longer a valid strategy for the Beijing Olympics. We are assisting in the construction of a simulacrum of an independent, modern society, while the reality is actually quite fascist in nature. Like its forerunners, it alternates between demonizing Western democracy and lusting for the tokens of Western legitimacy to help it maintain power over its citizens--the same citizens it so fears.

U.S. coverage of China has been weak and our policies inconsistent. Terribly so. But it doesn't render us incapable of doing the right thing. Falun Gong has been getting little press in the torch relay fracas. That's not surprising. As an indigenous Chinese movement, rather than a separatist one, Falun Gong has taken a neutral position on boycotting the Chinese Olympics, sensing correctly that it has become a matter of Chinese "face" that the Olympics continue. But we in the West have our own version of face, a genocide line that cannot be crossed without our identity beginning to crack. No matter how much we ignored the crying, the persecution of Falun Gong demonstrably crossed that line, and even if the Chinese leadership calls off the torch relay or makes an effort to resolve the Tibet situation, it is too late for this Olympics.

Boycotts don't work, but the political opening ceremony, for better or worse, is Beijing's big show--its dog party. Let's admit that we screwed up, quietly declare a no-fault boycott of any ceremonies, and move on. President Bush, please stay home."

Ethan Gutmann, an adjunct fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, is the author of Losing the New China. He is writing a book entitled The New Chinese Resistance.

© Copyright 2008, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.

Photography © Echo's Pond 2008 ARR.

AND ONE FROM THE PAST ....

Below: The Shipwrights Arms Hotel ca. 1936 (unattributed).

The hotel dates from 1846, and advertises "No Pokies • No TAB • No Tofu • No Keno • No Pool Table • No Live Music • No Bok Choy"

Visit their website.

The Shipwrights Arms ca. 1936
Source: Archives Office of Tasmania
Reference: PH30/1/7587
Title: Shipwrights Arms
Subject: hotels
Locality: Battery Point
Date: 1936