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Jesse Helms Stirring Call for True Leadership at CPAC in 1976

Steve Farrell — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:41:21 +0000

In 1976, before the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), Senator Jesse Helms outlined four principles of true leadership, the principles upon which this nation were built, which had been by in large abandoned, and must be recovered if we are to survive a free people. He words were to the point, inspiring, as valid today as ever, even more so.

After detailing America's accomplishments, and the respect she had earned in the world, Senator Helms noted that times had changed, both in the perception others have of us, but more importantly, of how we view ourselves. By 1976, our leaders had developed "a sour view of America, a view that would not only downgrade our leadership role, but would also threaten our very survival as a free nation."

"The reason," he said, "is we have had a generation of leaders who have lost faith. They have forgotten that Western Civilization is a unique expression of man's culture that grew out of specific circumstances and was shaped by a code of moral principles. In the past, some have assumed that the West was destined by fate to occupy a role of leadership and supremacy in world affairs but such assumptions missed the heart of the matter. Whatever role we have, and whatever supremacy we exhibit comes not from the impersonal cast of fate, but from the inner strength of the nation.

"When Solzhenitsyn came to the United States last year, he spent several weeks on the West Coast, traveling around through rural communities and small towns. Then he crossed the United States and came to Washington by automobile after staying in the houses of friends and small motels along the route. And when he talked to me he said--recalling the hundreds of ordinary people he had met, and the communities he had visited without publicity--"America is full of strength, yet she is not using her strength. Why does she not use the strength that is lying there idle?""

"Needless to say, Solzhenitsyn was not talking of our economic strength, for that is growing more dubious every day. Nor was he talking about our strategic nuclear strength, because the ratio of the strength as against the Soviet Union is growing weaker every day. No, he was talking about that inner strength which consists precisely in the awareness of our traditions and our spiritual roots.

"And what is that tradition? In the confusion of today it will not hurt to sketch the outline briefly. First is the moral law--that is, The Ten Commandments, which God gave to the Jewish nation and which are the heritage of all of us today. Next is the rule of order and the rule of law, hammered out by the Greeks and Romans, and the fundamental base of civil order today. Thirdly, our history is intertwined with the history of the Christian religion, which teaches us that reality transcends the material world, and that man is a flawed creature requiring Divine assistance to attain man's ultimate purpose in another world. Finally--and this is especially important in the United States in our Bicentennial Year--we have the legacy of the Anglo-Saxon peoples, who developed the concept of limited government, in which democratic principles are deliberately counterbalanced with political principles based upon order, tradition, freedom, and justice.

"These four roots of our tradition are intermingled, and reinforce each other in the development of our freedom. They are the heritage of everyone in our country, whether a particular citizen is linked by natural relationship to that tradition or not. To say that we are basically a Christian Nation is not to exclude other men of religious and ethical cultivation. But these four traditions provide a framework of personal moral responsibility, of the rule of law, of a spiritual view of man, and of a distrust of man's perfectibility. This framework must be maintained if our nation is to remain free.

"For as a Christian people we are constantly aware that every man, be he high and mighty, or be he among the lowliest, is a flawed man who cannot be trusted to judge his own self-interest with impartiality. We have built that basic insight into our political framework. The tyrant king and tryannical democracy both destroy the property and freedom of the individual in society.

"Conversely, the only way to reform society is for each individual to develop within himself the habits of virtue and initiative. Human nature cannot be changed, either by force of arms or by a government grant. The Ten Commandments cannot be repealed, either by individual men seeking self-interest, or by reformers seeking shortcuts toward the restructuring of society. An economic system cannot be based upon redistribution by theft. Nor is any man so perfect that he can competently direct the affairs of each one of two hundred million persons.

"We cannot maintain freedom of action for our citizens, if each citizen does not voluntarily adhere to a code of virtue. The most that any free society can do is to take care of a few exceptions, because the coercion needed for perfect security and perfect equality is incompatible with freedom.

"But we all know that fewer and fewer Americans are prepared to defend the virtues that make freedom possible. Both the moral social relativists and the promoters of ethics based upon anarchic self-interest would deny that our traditions have any intrinsic value to which man must adjust himself. For at least two generations, many, but not all teachers, writers, even ministers of the Gospel, have been broadcasting the view that man has no obligations outside of himself, except those which social planners thrust upon him.

"The result is that today even our so-called leaders and politicians, in their constant bids for votes and popularity, feverisly advocate a platform in which restraints upon character are abolished. Duty, responsibility, hard work, prudence, foresight, sacrifice, frugality, and the postponement of immediate pleasures never appear in the political rhetoric of today. Self-gratification and self-aggrandizement are where the votes are, especially when both are accomplished at someone else's expense.

"But the truth is that character is created only through struggle and self-discipline, and that virtue is nourished only through practice. For their pains, the politicians realize today that they are among the groups most despised among the people--a reaction based upon their fear that politicians might just be mirror-images of themselves. Our pragmatic politicians may be lost, but there is still an inner reserve of strength to be tapped among the people.

"With all of our accomplishments, with all of our wealth, with all of our technology, we cannot fulfill our leadership role without a firm conviction that our cause is meritorious. We must believe that we deserve to win--or more specifically, that we, as individuals, have the moral strength and courage to do what is necessary to win.

"Thus leadership goes beyond mere competence. Leadership is something that calls forth the soul in man, that calls him to exert his abilities beyond the level of compromise and beyond the adjustment of competing values. If your values are based upon shifting relationships or upon mere self-interest, you instinctively feel that one cause is as good as another, or that someone else has as much right to win as you do. So you instinctively hedge. You pull back. You concede small points, because small points are negotiable. But soon you are conceding large points, and ultimately you are wildly dealing not for victory, but for time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, time is not on our side. The only sure thing that is on our side is inner strength, an inner strength that the majority of American leadership has failed to tap. For only if the spiritual strength can be mobilized will our material resources be deployed for victory.

"That is why the issue today is leadership. Competence is a compromise, and at this late hour in our history compromise is a confession of failure.

"It was just a year ago that I stood before this audience and argued that conservatives must take steps to insure that they have a choice in the 1976 Presidential Election. I am happy to say that I think that conservatives, as of this moment, will have such a choice. My personal choice, as is well known, is the choice of many of you here tonight. He is Governor Ronald Reagan. ...

"... Leadership is the issue of the hour, and I look to Ronald Reagan to lead us back to confidence in our traditions and our strength."

Excerpts from Senator Helms Speech given on February 14, 1976, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington D.C.

The new type of Jew in Israel

truthandsurvival — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 15:21:34 +0000

Honesty and brashness was a bad combination

By Ralph Dobrin

“So, how do you like it here in Israel”? I was asked by a friendly, middle-aged man waiting at the bus terminal. It was fifty years ago and I had been in Israel for about six months. The general atmosphere in Israel in those days was stoic, dynamic and full of hope. “It’s so exciting,” I answered. “So much is happening all the time. And there are people here from all over the world. It’s so very interesting and exciting.”

The man smiled and nodded approvingly.

But then I added, “The trouble is that there’s too much pushing. People have no consideration for others. They aren’t polite.”

The man’s smile disappeared and he frowned. “Well of course you’d say that. You’re an Anglo-Saxon (the term people in Israel use for anyone whose mother-tongue is English) !”

“But the lack of manners spoils everything,” I continued.

The man shook his head. “No my friend, what you call a lack of manners is actually a sign that people here are straightforward and honest. All those nice English manners that you want – all that ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m so sorry’ – it’s all a lie. It’s just useless, corrupt falseness.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I had gulped adolescently, eager to be agreeable and see only good in the country.

“I know I’m right,” the man said emphatically.

Well, today I know he was wrong. Dead wrong! But I can understand why it was the way it was. Firstly, the early pioneers at the end of the 19^th century had shed the rigid community-mindedness and piety of the ghetto and the shtetl for an earthy, robust practicality, that was probably necessary for survival in a barren, hostile land. They were very conscious of the historical moment – they were creating a new world for themselves and their children. They had forged a change from the craven Jew in Europe, from their fathers, uncles and brothers who had submitted meekly to the humiliations meted out to Jews in general. They even thanked their oppressors obsequiously and apologized for unjustified accusations.

They had resolved that there would be no more of that galut mentality in their ancestral land! The sabra (the term given to the local-born Jew) was brought up to be gruff, curt and focused only on absolute essentials. Also politeness was deemed quite irrelevant in such circumstances and furthermore – it was not entirely honest. For those early pioneers blunt honesty was another important characteristic they were trying to cultivate in the tough, self-reliant, straightforwad New Jew in his ancestral homeland.

But I think that it was a grave mistake to belittle the importance of politeness. True, one didn’t need the airs, invariably phony, of Elizabethan gentry. But basic good manners are imperative for any society, especially one that was emerging like Israeli society of that time.

During the nineteen thirties, in the wake of the rise of Nazism, waves of new immigrants arrived from Germany and other parts of Europe. Many were people with a high level of culture, education and etiquette, but their influence was restricted largely to their own children and immediate circles. In any case many of their children got into the curt sabra spirit themselves.

Subsequently, the partition of Palestine and Israel’s independence took place under turbulent circumstances. In the midst of a desperate war of physical survival, waves of immigrants poured into the land, coming from scores of different countries, bringing their own particular customs, values, and norms of behavior. The population doubled within the first three years and continued expanding rapidly for the next few decades. Under such conditions it was natural that a strident, abrasive, impatient, anxiety-ridden national mentality would take form, in addition to the existing abrasive lack of politeness.

But things never stay the same, especially in a nascent society like Israel. That lack of basic politeness deteriorated into a lack of inconsiderateness – especially with the arrival of millions of newcomers.

For a few generations, many, if not most, Israeli parents have not taught their children any manners whatsover because they themselves never learned proper conduct from their parents. Similarly a large percentage of Israeli children have received no guidelines regarding consideration for others.

A lack of consideration for others readily leads to an overly self-centered perspective on life which can be expressed as: “I don’t care about anyone but myself. No matter what it takes, I’m going to get what I want and I don’t care who I hurt in the process.” In other words, common decency and integrity become irrelevant.

A LOT OF VERY NICE FOLKS

Nevertheless, many people in Israel, including the descendants of those old-time pioneers, are decent folks who do live by a universal code of politeness, consideration and respect for others. This might be partially due to the frequent trips abroad by Israelis, who can see for themselves the preferability of common courtesy. Also, gratifyingly, despite a reported general increase in crime and violence, there is more niceness within Israeli public than there was a generation or two ago – when to be served politely in a shop or office was a rare occurrence, or to get on a bus one often needed to physically push one’s way to the door, only to have it abruptly slammed in your face.

But the general norms of politeness and consideration are still far from being satisfactory. Over the years this has led to greater self-centeredness and slacker moral standards. That’s why, today there is far less general willingness to actively take part in Israel’s struggle against her adversaries. More than ever before, many young people do their utmost to avoid the compulsory military service; that’s why there is so much underhand, unethical behavior at every level of Israel’s society. It might still involve only a small percentage of the general populace. But it is painfully noticeable.

The lack of courtesy during the early years of modern Zionism, sometimes once regarded as something wholesome, has resulted in the present boorish ego-centricism, which in turn has led to cynical, self-serving, defective governance. For all these reasons this nation has lost the confidence it once had in its people and in its leadership. That’s also a significant factor in Israel’s unimpressive showing against the Hizbollah during the Second Lebanon War.

COULD RELIGION HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE?

The beginning of modern Israel’s renaissance over a hundred years ago entailed the establishment of hundreds of farming settlements. Most of the new settlers of those days, discarded the religious upbringing of their former communities in Europe. In all likelihood, had the Return to the Land been accompanied by more significant religious activity, there would still have been a low standard of common courtesy, but it would probably have forestalled the ego-centricism and lowered ethical standards plaguing Israel today.

However, for over a generation, there has now been an enormous effort to promote Judaism in all sections of the public. Despite impressive results, the majority of Israelis still see themselves as non-religious. Judaism, which gave the world a very practical, commonly-used ethical code, is nowadays presented by too many rabbis as something dealing mainly with ritual, Sabbath observance, dietery laws and government funding, rather than a code that emphasizes common decency.

Meanwhile, Israel is in the midst of a crucial stage in its history, facing stern military challenges and continued deterioration in its society. Seldom has any nation been so desparately in need of good, honest, wise political and spiritual leadership. Never has any society faced such a need to be willing to give of itself for a common cause, and to believe in itself and in its leaders.

The key to Israel’s future is integrity at all levels of its society. Integrity is easier fostered in a society imbued with consideration for others. And consideration for others begins with a basic level of politeness. Without this common human trait – no matter how many yeshivot are opened, or how many fighter aircraft Israel acquires – the Return to Zion, created with so much hope as a haven for the Jewish people, will prove to have been nothing more than a brief historical irony.

However, judging by the many groups and organizations that have appeared in the last few years, more and more Israelis are realizing the importance of basic common decency and personal involvement. It’s not nearly enough. It must burgeon into an overwhelming national quest. And everyone living in Israel who realizes the situation must actively bring integrity and common courtesy into their lives. It will prove to be a significant factor in the future of Israel … and the Middle East.

For more on the subject click: www.israelandtruth.org

UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES: HAPPY CENTENNIAL!

erleargonza — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 08:30:27 +0000

Erle Frayne Argonza y Delago

Happy Centennial Anniversary to my Beloved Alma Mater, the University of the Philippines!

Being a development expert, I wish to highlight in this briefer the developmental side to the premier university of my beloved country. The University or the Philippines or U.P. is foremost of all an indication of the maturity of Filipino education and educators, in that after 100 years of existence, we as a people were able to show to the world the viability of a grand university run by ourselves (Filipinos).

Tertiary education was imported directly from the West, being transplanted here from Europe during the Spanish colonial era (1500s-1800s). Albeit the idea of tertiary institutes run by Filipinos themselves is a fairly recent development. To be exact, it was only after World War II, coherent with our own independence from the USA, that the striving for Filipino-run tertiary educational institutions became one of the greatest challenges in Philippine education.

The University of the Philippines was constituted by the Americans after the conclusion of the Philippine-American War. When that war ended in 1900, there was a period of intense reorganization of the entire society and state, as well as the reconstruction of the economy that was damaged by two (2) consecutive wars (the Philippine revolution against Spain was the first). In 1908 the University of the Philippines was born.

The idea of a premier state university was not, however, an imposition by the USA on the Philippines. During the brief period of Aguinaldo government (1898-2000), the new Philippine state already prioritized the constitution of such a university in consonance with its desire to establish a modern educational program. The pedagogy of that university, had it succeeded, could have been close to those of Spain’s tops, notably the University of Barcelona and University of Madrid.

But the grand vision of the new republic wasn’t fulfilled as the Americans grabbed that opportunity for self-governance by the new state. However, the Americans themselves realized the soundness of the concept, and so they took on the cudgels for constituting a premier state university. The flagship campus was then the Padre Faura campus in Manila, while the branch outside Manila was the UP College Los Banos. The Philippine General Hospital served as the service arm of the new university. Anglo-Saxon pedagogy and philosophy served as the core foundation, following those of the Ivy League universities.

Americans served as the first professors and administrators of the noble institution. Then, gradually their Filipino apprentices joined the faculty, until the time was ripe for Filipinos to serve as top management officials. Note that it took two (2) decades for such a process to take. When the grand statesman Manuel Luis Quezon became President of the commonwealth, Filipinos were already showing their prowess in administering the university, designing and managing academic programs, launching pioneering research programs, and running classrooms as professors.

The commonwealth government was a testing period for self-governance which incidentally found solid support inside the United States congress and executive. By the early 19040s the self-governance prowess of Filipinos in the state university was already established. So when the USA departed from the Philippines in 1946, Filipinos already had the upper hand in running this institution and there was no great need to import experts (professors and consultants) to run the university.

It was a rough ride all along for the state university. No matter how rough it may have seem, when asked for an opinion, I would prefer to stress the victory of Filipinos first of all in showing the capability to run the university ourselves.

Since that time on, the state university had become the bastion of nationalism and critical thinking in the country. During the dark years of Martial Law, the U.P. became the most powerful lamp that lighted the surrounds for the whole nation, and people outside were dying to read the Philippine Collegian and dying to hear U.P. professors and youth leaders speak about the true state of the nation. This libertarian and Enlightenment facets of the U.P. are very much intact till these days.

Furthermore, the Filipinos were already able to veer away from their Anglo-Saxon heritage in U.P. Gradual Filipinization across the decades led to a rediscovery of the Pacific and Asian roots of Philippine culture, and the result was a blending of Western (Anglo-Saxon, Continental) and Eastern (Malayan, Asiatic) philosophy cum pedagogy. The U.P has led efforts at re-engineering the Filipino language from a conversational to an intellectualizing language sufficient for articulating higher level concepts, a re-engineering that continues till these days.

Finally, the U.P. also evolved into the top producer of knowledge and art works for the archipelago. It is the nation’s top think-tank, the bastion of national collective reflection, where we can find the highest concentration of brilliant minds among professors, research scientists, artists and students. All other institutions in the country seek counsel from the U.P. about their core state of affairs, a proof of the maturity and esteem that the U.P had gained across the decades.

Long and arduous will be the route that the state university will traverse yet, but having proved its resiliency and capacity across one century, I am confident that this University will grow and prosper over the next one hundred (100) years of its sojourn. Let us all wish the best of luck for this very noble institution, which may turn out to be the last bastion of freedom for Asia at a time of growing global fascism.

Glory, genius, grandeur!

[20 June 2008, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, MetroManila]

Anglo-Saxon WebQuest

kwinterkorn — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:45:03 +0000

Follow the links below to complete your WebQuest.

1. http://www.britainexpress.com/History/anglo-saxon_life.htm

2. http://libra.englang.arts.gla.ac.uk/oeteach/Units/2_Life_in.html

3. http://www.pastexplorers.org.uk/village/

4. http://csis.pace.edu/grendel/women.htm

5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdiYWi3h3h8&feature=related

Guillemots - La Maroquinerie Paris - 06/06/08

acidcitrik — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 23:03:12 +0000

C'est au doux son de leur premier EP que je me propose de livrer mes quelques impressions au lendemain du concert tant attendu d'un groupe que je suis avec beaucoup d'attention depuis 2 ans (et avec d'autant plus d'intérêt que j'ai adoré leur second album "Red").

La Maroquinerie s'annonçait comme le cadre idéal pour cette première rencontre live : j'aime décidément cette salle et sa minuscule scène à peine surélevée qui laisse l'artiste à portée du public. Et effectivement Fyfe Dangerfield, le leader pianiste et principal interprète devait être à 50cm du premier rang. Pour cette proximité, on pardonnera même les quelques couacs techniques d'une salle à priori difficile à bien sonoriser. La batterie submerge les nappes instrumentales et couvre souvent plus que de raison la voix haut perchée du chanteur. Dommage pour quelques morceaux dont l'ampleur symphonique mériterait certainement un plus grand dispositif. Tant pis, ce sera pour un prochain Olympia...

En attendant, on aura pu apprécier l'énergie d'un Fyfe virevoltant, la pudeur surprenante de son acolyte féminine troublante de timidité, la technique impressionnante du batteur. Rien que pour ça, rien ne vaudra jamais une petite salle.

Au sortir de ce concert, conclu par un Sao Paulo dantesque (plus de 10 minutes, entre ambiance piano intimiste, comédie musicale et samba ), je garde aussi la surprise de voir les membres du groupe au stand goodies, à ramasser les commandes et rendre la monnaie. L'occasion aussi de serrer la main au batteur et de lui glisser tout le bien que je pense du combo international et hétéroclite qu'est Guillemots.

" See you soon, guys !!"

How Beowulf Should Have Ended

emmaline1138 — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:31:24 +0000

I'm sorry, I can't not post this! I kill myself laughing every time.

I'll write a random post about this movie later, but right now I'm super tired. Needless to say...it was terrible.

Songs of Wild Swans

atomlattice — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 05:21:38 +0000

The Seafarer, the Exeter Book, 10th century

I sing my own true story, tell my travels,
How I have often suffered times of hardship
In days of toil, and have experienced
Bitter anxiety, my troubled home
On many a ship has been the heaving waves,
Where grim night-watch has often been my lot
At the ship's prow as it beat past the cliffs.
Oppressed by cold my feet were bound by frost
In icy bonds, while worries simmered hot
About my heart, and hunger from within
Tore the sea-weary spirit. He knows not,
Who lives most easily on land, how I
Have spent my winter on the ice-cold sea,
Wretched and anxious, in the paths of exile,
Lacking dear friends, hung around by icicles,
Where hail flew past in showers. There heard I nothing
But the resounding sea, the ice-cold waves.
Sometimes I made the song of the wild swan
My pleasure, or the gannet's call, the cries
Of curlews for the missing mirth of men,
The singing gull instead of mead in hall.
Storms beat the rocky cliffs, and icy-winged
The tern replied, the horn-beaked eagle shrieked.
No patron had I there who might have soothed
My desolate spirit. He can little know
Who, proud and flushed with wine, has spent his time
With all the joys of life among the cities,
Safe from such fearful venturings, how I
Have often suffered weary on the seas.
Night shadows darkened, snow came from the north,
Frost bound the earth and hail fell on the ground,
Coldest of corns. And yet the heart's desires
Incite me now that I myself should go
On towering seas, among the salt waves' play;
And constantly the heartfelt wishes urge
The spirit to venture, that I should o forth
To the see the lands of strangers far away.
Yet no man in the world's so proud of heart,
So generous of gifts, so hold in youth,
In deeds so brave, or with so loyal lord,
That he can ever venture on the sea
Without great fears of what the Lord may bring.
His mind dwells not on the harmonious harp,
On ring-receiving, or the joy of woman,
Or worldly hopes, or anything at all
But the relentless rolling of the waves;
But he who goes to sea must ever yearn.
The grove bear blossom, cities grow more bright,
The fields adorn themselves, the world speeds up;
Yet all this urges forth the eager spirit
Of him who then desires to travel far
On the sea-paths. Likewise the cuckoo calls
With boding voice, the harbinger of summer
Offers but bitter sorrow in the breast.
The man who's blessed with comfort does not know
What some then suffer who most widely travel
The paths of exile. Even now my heart
Journeys beyond its confines, and my thoughts
Over the sea, across the whale's domain,
Travel afar the regions of the earth,
And then come back to me with greed and longing.
The cuckoo cries, incites the eager breast
On to the whale's roads irresistably,
Over the wide expanses of the sea,
Because the joys of God mean more to me
Than this dead transitory life on land.
That earthly wealth lasts into eternity
I don't believe. Always one of three things
Keeps all in doubt until one's destined hour.
Sickness, old age, the sword, each one of these
May end the lives of doomed and transient men.
Therefore for every warrior the best
Memorial is the praise of living men
After his death, that ere he must depart
He shall have done good deeds on earth against
The malice of his foes, and noble works
Against the devil, and the sons of men
May after praise him, and glory live
For ever with the angels in the splendor
Of lasting life, in bliss amongst these hosts.
The great old days have gone, and all the grandeur
Of earth; there are not Caesars now or kings
Or patrons such as once there used to be,
Amongst whom were performed most glorious deeds,
Who lived in lordliest renown. Gone now
Is all that host, the splendors have departed.
Weaker men live and occupy the world,
Enjoy it but with care. Fame is brought low,
Earthly nobility grows old, decays,
As now throughout the world does every man.
Age comes on him, his countenance grows pale,
Gray-haired he mourns, and knows his former lords,
The sons of princes, given to the earth.
Nor when his life slips from him may his body
Taste sweetness or feel pain or stir his hand
Or use his mind to think. And though a brother
May strew with gold his brother's grave, and bury
His corpse among the dead with heaps of treasure,
Wishing them to go with him, yet can gold
Bring no help to the soul that's full of sins,
Against God's wrath, although he hide it here
Ready before his death while yet he lives.
Great is the mighty of God, by which earth moves;
For He established its foundations firm,
The land's expanses, and the sky above.
Foolish is he that does not fear his Lord,
For death will come upon him unprepared.
Blessed is he who humble lives; for grace
Shall come to him from heaven. The Creator
Shall make his spirit steadfast, for his faith
Is in God's might. Man must control himself
With strength of mind, and firmly hold to that,
True to his pledges, pure in all his ways.
With moderation should each man behave
In all his dealings with both friend and foe.
No man will wish the friend he's made to burn
In fires of hell, or on an earthly pyre,
Yet fate is mightier, the Lord's ordaining
More powerful than any man can know.
Let us think where we have our real home,
And then consider how we may have come thither;
And let us labor also, so that we
May pass into eternal blessedness,
Where life belongs amid the love of God,
Hope in the heavens. The Holy One be thanked
That He has raised us up, the Prince of Glory,
Lord without end, to all eternity.
Amen.

Dead Can Dance -- Ocean

Echo and the Bunnymen -- Ocean Rain

Pelican -- March into the Sea

A Place to Bury Strangers -- Ocean

Model 500 -- Ocean to Ocean

Jane's Addiction -- Ocean Size

Leaf Hound -- Sad Road to the Sea

Lady Godiva by John Collier

Giselle — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 10:22:31 +0000

This is a painting that I fell in love with as soon as I laid eyes on it.. I dont know why or for what reason.. But it just kept beckoning to me... There are other paintings too.. but this one had soemthing special in it.. It maybe Lady Godiva' courage or her faith.. But the painting is beautiful!

Godiva (or Godgifu) (fl. 1040-1080) was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend rode naked through the streets of Coventry in England in order to gain a remission of the oppressive toll imposed by her husband on his tenants. The name "Peeping Tom" for a voyeur comes from later versions of this legend in which a man named Tom watched her ride and was struck blind or dead.

You can read more about Godiva from http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/LadyGodiva.htm

.. John Collier’s “Lady Godiva,” with its meticulously descriptive style, rich color and fine, nearly invisible brushstrokes is just a beauty!!! And, it eloquently expresses the dignity and humility of the 11th century noblewoman’s fabled ride to protest the excessive taxation by her husband.

Collier (1850- 1934) was a British Pre-Raphaelite painter who was educated in London by Lawrence Alma-Tadema and Edward Poynter, later moving to Paris to study with Jean-Paul Laurens. Insisting upon extreme, sometimes workmanlike accuracy in his paintings of historical and mythological scenarios, Collier also painted numerous portraits of kings, noblemen, actors and socialites, and was a founding member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

Dari A - Z; Kamus Istilah Kearsipan (bagian 1)

adeshendra — Sun, 25 May 2008 23:24:24 +0000

Istilah arsip dalam kosakata bahasa Indonesia merupakan serapan dari kata archief , dari bahasa Belanda. Dalam pengertian Belanda, archief terbagi dua: dynamisch archief (arsip dinamis) dan statisch archief (arsip statis) atau kadang-kadang disingkat archief (arsip) saja. Di Indonesia, umumnya digunakan istilah arsip (saja) untuk menyebut suatu surat/dokumen sebagai arsip dinamis atau statis, yang apabila ditelusuri lebih jauh dapat menimbulkan kerancuan. Misalnya penerapan istilah Jadwal Retensi Arsip; akan memunculkan pertanyaan, apakah retensi berlaku untuk arsip dinamis sekaligus arsip statis? Atau hanya berlaku untuk arsip dinamis?

Globalisasi yang mendera dunia, juga mengimbas ke Indonesia. Dalam bidang bahasa, bahasa Inggris semakin merasuk ke dalam kehidupan masyarakat Indonesia. Tak terkecuali dalam bidang kearsipan. Banyak penyesuaian pengertian arsip dengan konteks bahasa Inggris, yang sering disebut konteks Anglo-Saxon. Dalam konteks Anglo-Saxon, dibedakan antara pengertian record(s) dengan konsep archives. Berikut tabel perbedaan istilah-istilah mendasar ini:

Belanda | Anglo-Saxon | Indonesia

Dynamisch archief | Record | Arsip dinamis

Statisch archief | Archives | Arsip statis

Pengertian arsip statis ini sering disingkat arsip saja, sesuai dengan penggunaan internasional. Sebagai contoh International Council on Archives (ICA), yang bergerak dalam bidang arsip statis atau arsip saja.

Pembahasan mengenai pengertian-pengertian kearsipan dalam tulisan berikutnya, konteks istilah yang digunakan adalah menggunakan konteks Anglo-Saxon. Ini ditentukan agar didapat kesepahaman awal untuk pembahasan lebih lanjut.

Silahkan ditunggu pembahasan istilah berikutnya.

Bagaimana pendapat Anda mengenai pengantar di atas?

Referensi: Kamus Istilah Kearsipan, Sulistyo - Basuki

The Venerable Bede

gentledove — Sat, 24 May 2008 00:24:21 +0000

BEDE (a.d. 672-735)

Bede was born in the year 672 at present day Wearmouth and Jarrow Northumbria. He was educated by the most reverend Abbot Benedict and Coelfrid. At age 19 he was admitted to the diaconate and was consecrated a priest at the age of 30.

His whole life was spent at the monastry in Jarrow, Northumbria. He became known as the venerable Bede within a 100 years of his death in 735 aged 62.

Bede is most famous for his Ecclesiastical history of the English people a work acknowledged by scholars of every age as the basis for all that is known of earliest British history, he was indeed the first to write such a history. Although as the title would suggest it is a work concerned with church affairs rather than secular it still furnishes us with valuable insight and knowledge pertaining to Anglo Saxon and British history which is vital and unique.

http://orthodoxwiki.org/Bede

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede

http://www.postroman.info/bede.htm

O.K. peoples so now my bloggy blog has gotten all mixed up and disorganised. I had posted Bede as a separate page but WP decided it should be here with my poems and froggy rhymes so here it is, check out the links and stuff and be sure to check out my other history pages [you know how you love history] complete with resource links. page index on the right, right? stay bright.

Newfoundland

chvnx — Mon, 19 May 2008 19:45:35 +0000

I have roots in the Canada's east coast. My father is from the glorious island of Newfoundland, and my mother's family is also from Newfoundland although she was born on the mainland. I have a shit load of family there.

Newfoundland is a unique offspring of Anglo-Celtic culture, consisting of heavily Irish and British heritage. Just walking around Newfoundland one can get the impression that they are in a small village in Ireland. The scenery is fucking amazing in Newfoundland, with the ocean so blue and the grassy hills so vibrant green. Mountain ranges and fjords are abundant in Newfoundland, too. It's totally awesome every time I see the island with my own eyes.

Along with this great scenery comes greater people to inhabit it. I'm convinced that Newfoundlanders are the friendliest people on Earth. There is just no denying the fact that they are a very open and caring people who are always very respectful. Go there and you'll eat like a king, the beer never stops flowing and the party never ends.

Newfoundland has it's own brand of traditional music - a cross between Celtic folk, British pub tunes and Country music. With this original and distinct sound to call their own, many Newfie musical acts have broke into the mainstream, such as Great Big Sea. I love traditional Newfoundland music. Every time I cross over to the island from the mainland there is a band on the ferry. Sometimes the bands suck and play music that doesn't fit in with the theme of Newfoundland, like Gypsy music or Greek music or maybe some Salsa Music. There is always a band that plays something stupid on the ferry. Oh well. This always ruins the ferry for me if they do play that shit, but when they don't I can easily say that it's probably one of the most entertaining environments you can be in.

Newfoundland was first discovered by Europeans when the Vikings said to her shores over 1000 years ago. It's said that Leaf Erickson, son of the famous Viking Erik The Red, was the man who found this wonderful isle. After battling with the Natives that were also on the island and nearly starving to death, the Vikings left and Europeans were to never step onto Newfoundland's shores until John Cabot.

I love the place and it will always hold a spacial spot in my mind. I'll probably be going there this summer for a few weeks, as I do each summer.

Musique franco pendant le hockey : très mauvaise cible mon cher Brûlé...

renartleveille — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:36:35 +0000

Tiens, Michel Brûlé, notre troubadour opportuniste préféré... a lancé une belle pétition pour tenter de forcer la main du Centre Bell à diffuser plus de musiques francophones. Et cette main, et surtout cette tête, c'est Vincent Aubry, DJ, un bon ami à moi. Je lui ai parlé justement hier matin en lien avec cette histoire, car je suis tombé sur un billet de Lusciousloba qui la relatait.

Donc, au-delà de l'avis de Vincent reprit assez minimalement à la fin de l'article de La Presse paru mercredi, il y a une réalité musicale qui transcende ses seuls choix et ceux du Centre Bell, une réalité que je constate chaque fin de semaine dans mon travail de DJ : la musique francophone n'a pas trop la cote auprès du public et s'il y a quelque part vers où pointer, ce n'est certainement pas du côté du hockey!

Une pétition de 200 noms, bien que ramassés en seulement 2 heures (mais à l'ère du web, tout le monde est possiblement capable de le faire...), ne viendra pas changer le fait que les gros succès francophones (avec en plus un rythme entraînant) arrivent au compte-gouttes tandis que du côté anglo-saxon c'est la manne! Et puis je crois que Vincent doit varier sa musique, passer du vieux, du neuf, et beaucoup de tounes instrumentales, et en plus c'est un contexte familial... Encore plus, il y a les chansons imposées (commanditée) qui viennent gruger beaucoup de temps de glace!

Alors, je suis bien content de savoir que le gouvernement n'entend pas légiférer là-dessus parce que le problème se trouve du côté des radios commerciales et de l'industrie musicale québécoise qui mise majoritairement sur de la musique francophone qui ne se prête pas au dynamisme que demande l'ambiance d'une partie de hockey, entre autres. (Pour moi qui travaille dans un bar, la tâche est encore plus énorme... à mon grand malheur, je dois passer à peu près un gros maximum de 5 chansons francophones dans une soirée où j'en passe en moyenne environ 75 en tout...)

Je ne dis pas qu'il n'y a pas de chansons francophones qui font l'affaire, mais question de vouloir varier, la discographie utilisable est trop mince pour que ça ne tombe pas vite dans la redondance. Et nous sommes assujettis bien plus au goût du public qu'à nos propres goûts, voilà une des premières règles du DJ. Et qui influence les goûts du public généralement?

Il est clair que maintenant les artistes d'ici sont en compétition avec le monde entier. Est-ce que c'est une bonne chose? Je le crois, parce que cela fait en sorte de promouvoir l'originalité. Qui s'intéresserait à un artiste québécois qui ne serait qu'une pâle copie d'un artiste reconnu internationalement? Nous ne sommes plus à l'époque où Johnny Farrago, l'émule canadien-français d'Elvis Presley, faisait tomber les jeunesses comme des mouches...

Et comme je disais à Lusciousloba :

Qu’est-ce qu’Isabelle Boulay, par exemple, et tout le corpus musical de Rythme FM, pour ne nommer que cette station-là, viendrait faire dans l’antre du hockey? Et lui comme moi trouvons que les sorties de disques francophones sont « so so » depuis trois ans, mis à part quelques exceptions...

Je crois que c'est seulement la pointe de l'iceberg qui est insuffisante à faire paraître le tout reluisant. Il y a un travail énorme à faire du côté des artistes connus, moins connus et inconnus, ceux qui ne font pas de la musique générique, pour les vendre auprès du public, pour que par ricochet ça paraisse dans les bars, les restos, etc., et bien sûr pendant les parties de hockey! Ça prendrait malheureusement du courage...

(Photo : kevincrumbs)

Episode 3: Translating “The Battle of Maldon”

jonsterling — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:41:51 +0000

An episode regarding the first 16 lines of “The Battle of Maldon” and their translation.

Episode 3: Translating “The Battle of Maldon”

[audio http://www.filefreak.com/pfiles/57326/Episode%203_%20Translating%20_The%20Battle%20o.mp3]

Episode 2: Translating Beowulf

jonsterling — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:28:04 +0000

Translating Beowulf, ll. 1-25

Episode 2: Translating Beowulf

[audio http://www.filefreak.com/ppublic/23120/Episode%202_%20Translating%20Beowulf.mp3]

Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #24

christopherwilliamsdance — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:04:50 +0000

(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)

24.) Wergeld
-noun singular, also wergild or weregild

a.) In Anglo-Saxon and Germanic law, a price set upon a person's life on the basis of rank and paid as compensation by the family of a slayer to the kindred or lord of a slain person to free the culprit of further punishment or obligation and to prevent a blood feud.*

b.) A reparational payment usually demanded of a person guilty of homicide or other wrongful death, although it could also be demanded in other cases of serious crime.

[Origin: From Middle English wargeld and Old English wergeld, from wer or "man" and geld or "payment."]

*Literally translated as "man-payment" the weregeld in cases of murder, was calculated conditionally based upon the social rank of the victim. An aetheling, or prince, was worth 1500 shillings. A yeoman farmer was worth 100 shillings. A laet, or agricultural serf, was worth between 40 and 80 shillings. Thralls and slaves technically commanded no weregeld, but it was commonplace to make a nominal payment in the case of a thrall and the value of the slave in such a case. How much would you and I be worth now?

Literary Credentials

crotchetyoldfan — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:34:10 +0000

Let me trot mine out so we all know where I'm coming from. I've got a bachelors degree in English Literature, from a fine New England based liberal arts college. I stymied the English Department there because half-way through my sophomore year, I'd already run through all of the English elective course they offered and in order to graduate with that particular degree, I needed more points in my core curricula. The solution was to allow me to take graduate-level courses and even to make up some of my own independent study classes. One such was learning Anglo-Saxon, which allowed me the treat of reading some of the earliest "English" literature in the original; I even managed to puzzle my way through some of the Icelandic sagas.

I also spent time abroad, studying at an associated school nestled in the Cotswolds region of the UK, where I was drowned in Shakespeare, Chaucer and Kipling. (The school maintains the C.S. Lewis library, so I had a bit of exposure to him as well.)

I was fortunate enough to have a very liberal faculty adviser. I was lucky when they drew lots and ended up with the head of the English department, a man who was also a member of the World Future Society, which helped me greatly. He understood that genre science fiction was literature too, even if the school didn't offer a class in it, and despite the fact that it was looked down on at the time. (We were still in the 'oh, that Buck Rogers stuff' era.)

I ran a small literary magazine while at school, wrote feature exposes for the school newspaper, received a grant for publishing a science fiction semi-prozine and was generally regarded as an L'Enfant terrible' of the campus. I was one of some 30 students selected to attend that overseas school, helped my adviser organize and run a WFS conference that featured Frederick Pohl as the guest speaker, wrote fiction and ('gasp') poetry at night and even smoked a pipe for a while. I had a 4.0 in my core (until a disastrous run-in with a professor who didn't agree with my views on H.L. Menken. At least that was her excuse. In reality she resented the presence of an undergraduate in her class and was apoplectic over my term paper. I'd proposed to interview several of Menken's surviving colleagues from the American Mercury Magazine and she never thought I could get the interviews. Of course I did, but its never a good thing to put one over on your professor.)

I never went on for my Masters or Doctorate for a variety of reasons, but the above should illustrate that I was educated in at least the basics of literary criticism, had plenty of opportunity to be 'exposed' to the seminal works and applied what I had been taught in a variety of different ways.

The main thing I learned is that literary criticism is a crock.

Calling it a crock doesn't mean that its entirely without justification or value. Before you can begin to discuss the merits of one piece of art versus another, you've got to agree on the symbols you're going to use.

The symbols that have been settled on over the years are psychological, mythological, philosophical and historical. All of those symbol sets have at least one thing in common - they're all 'squishy' sciences. They all rely on their own internal sets of relatively defined symbols. None of them are hard in the sense that you can't convert those symbols into solid, measurable numbers.

This makes internal sense because the way we react to art is subjective. The phrase "arts & sciences" itself reflects a clearly recognized divide between the subjective and objective.

All of this is prefatory to my main point which is this: ultimately, the definition of what is good and what is bad, or what is merely mediocre, comes down to the weight of personal opinion. Perhaps I should say 'influential personal opinion'.

If one could somehow brainwash all of the highly respected critics and all of the academics who supposedly inform our own opinions about what is art and what is trash, what would the result be? Suppose we were to make them all believe that Peanuts and Buck Rogers were the epitome of literary evolution. What would they do?

First, they'd go back and find the literary antecedents, analyzing the historical record. They'd find themes and examples of precursors. They'd write tomes dedicated to justifications of this, that or the other literary theory. And all of it would be scholarly, seemingly logical and, to those studying literature, it would all make sense. High Schools would start offering elective classes in Peanuts and Space Opera, Oprah would pick the ball up and run with it.

There'd be nothing inherently wrong with doing so either because all that would have really changed would have been the nature and value of the various meaningless symbols that were used to analyse everything.

What would happen on the street? Not much. The intelligentsia would happily go along with the new symbology, adopt it as their own and they'd feel smart and justified in turning up their noses at whatever low-brow crap the popular market was serving up.

Low-brow crap would still dominate, both in popular acceptance and economically and the vast majority of people who occasionally read a book, watch a movie or follow a TV show would hardly notice the change.

Which is why I take issue with the concept of trying to turn science fiction into a "literary genre". Those serving the market are barking up the wrong tree. What needs to be addressed is not what the authors are turning out. We need to change the symbology that the hoity-toity are using. If you want to turn Dune into the SF equivalent of Moby Dick, all you have to do is convince a bunch of high school English teachers that it IS Moby Dick and, poof, one generation later it will be.

Forget changing the genre into what you think the academics will accept and start trying to change the academics. We all know the genre has already produced some fine literary classics. This is proof positive that science fiction is already capable of being 'literary'. The problem does not lie with the literature itself. It lies with an outmoded perception of what the genre is.

Besides, its impossible to successfully change the literature. The academic bar itself keeps changing and shifting; the target being aimed at will no longer be there when the missile arrives. The best you can hope to achieve is a game of catch-up.

6 Unimportant Things About Me

topsytechie — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:47:54 +0000

Ok, so Firefly Mom tagged her blog readers with the difficult task of finding 6 unimportant things about themselves and blogging about them. I tried to explain to her that EVERYTHING about me is important, but for the sake of argument, I will try and comply with the rules of the game......

(1) I rotate everything. When I'm putting away clean clothes, towels, etc., they have to go underneath, behind, or below the clothes and towels already in the closet. The clean dishes are put away behind the other dishes in the cabinets, and the neglected ones pulled to the front so they can be used first. Even my silverware is rotated so that it all gets used an equal amount. Some might call this a sign of OCD, and they would probably be right on the money. See, I told you this stuff was important.

(2) My boobs are different sizes. And keep in mind that neither one is a full B cup. But one is pitifully even more microscopic than the other, and feels jealous most of the time. I've tried to make it feel better by padding that side of my bra, but it backfired on me and now I think I may have given it a complex. I'm checking into boob therapists, but the only ones I've found so far are 50 year old men who look like they might not be sincerely in it for the healing.

(3) I have eclectic tastes in music. Tony Bennett is my all time fave. Hands down. Anything that man sings makes my heart go to goo. But I've also bought or downloaded some seriously diverse tracks in my time. My ipod, if I had one, would probably have some Rascal Flatts, U2, The Corrs, Alison Krauss, Nickel Creek before they broke up, Alicia Keys, a little John Mayer and a lotta 80's pop rock. I have a whole CD collection of Big Band music, too, and my favorite XM channel is Frank's Place, which highlights the American Songbook. No one will ever figure me out by looking at my Itunes playlist. I dare you to try.

(4) I love containers. Tupperware gives me goosebumps. Carry-all bags get my heart racing. You know those wonderfully useful plastic tubs that baby wipes come in? I've got em by the hundreds, and you'd be surprised at how well they hold up after 10 years. (Scary thought, huh, considering there are probably 8.5 trillion of them currently sitting in various landfills around the earth)

(5) I can't tan. I can trace my ancestry back to the Mayflower, and I am an official DAR, so what does that mean for me? Yep. A pasty complexion. Those imperial genes of mine prove that I am Anglo-Saxon to the core, and therefore will never, ever look good in a bikini. Ok, so actually my B-minus cup size already secured that status, but even when I was nursing my 2 kiddos and sported a solid C, I would have never been caught dead in a thong at the beach for fear that the reflection of the sun and sand off my skin might have speeded up our current global warming crisis. (and yes, before you ask me, those are my ACTUAL legs. It might be wise to now make an appointment with your opthamologist, just to make sure there is no lasting damage)

(6) I type my blog using my toes. Of course that's a lie, but wouldn't that be cool??? And it is so much more interesting than any of this other "unimportant" crud I've just shared with you.

A big shout-out to Firefly Mom, who gave me the idea for this post. And for those of you who are children of the eighties, like myself, you've gotta head over to her blog each Thursday and check out her Thursday Thirteen, which will definitely take you back in a big way. And for those of you bloggers who haven't yet been tagged with this one, consider yourself marked, and let us know when you post. TTFN, y'all.

"Anglo-Saxon Art" and "Irish and Hiberno-Saxon Art"

Kirsten Ataoguz — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 11:20:57 +0000

In this way, I divided the material in my early medieval art survey. Under "Anglo-Saxon Art," I placed the Codex Amiatinus, the Ruthwell Cross, and the Franks Casket. Everything else insular went under "Irish and Hiberno-Saxon Art". "Everything else" began with the earliest decorated insular manuscripts, the material from Lindisfarne, the Durham Cassiodorus from Wearmouth-Jarrow, and the eighth-century manuscripts associated with Canterbury. Such a decision entails, of course, a certain degree of arbitrariness. Furthermore, this division of material violated two general principles of contextualization: works from the same place should appear together, and later works should come before earlier works.

As an alternative, I could have employed the broadest term, "Insular", and divide the material in two or, perhaps, even three parts according to chronology - first the earliest insular decorated manuscripts including the Book of Durrow and up to the Codex Amiatinus; then the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Ruthwell Cross, and the Franks Casket; finally an array of manuscripts from all of England, from Lindisfarne to Canterbury, including the Echternach Gospels, the Vespasian Psalter, and others. But even here, chronology proves tricky, because of the imprecise dating of many of the works.

So, although I would have preferred to introduce the earliest insular experiments in manuscript illumination before the Codex Amiatinus, until another solution presents itself, I will stick with the separation of material that I employed this semester - "Anglo-Saxon" and "Irish and Hiberno-Saxon".

Manifest Destiny - 21st Century Style

Abu Zaynab — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:23:20 +0000

Manifest Destiny - 21st Century Style

By Kristina M. Gronquist

04/25/05 "ICH" - - The concept of Manifest Destiny describes the 19th century conviction that God intended the continent of North America to be under the control of Christian, European Americans. The ideology of Manifest Destiny was the backbone of U.S. government efforts to colonize land inhabited by indigenous people in North America and expand the United States into Mexican territory.

Believers in Manifest Destiny asserted that U.S. rulers were predestined to spread their proclaimed superior values near and far. Propaganda, armed interventions, occupations, and terror were used in various insidious combinations. Indigenous people whose country we reside in can best attest to the results of Manifest Destiny policy, as they survived centuries of unspeakable injustices and lost millions, but courageously, have survived.

Ulysses S. Grant, that era’s most prominent military man, and himself a participant in the Mexican-American War, wrote in his memoirs, “I do not think there ever was a more wicked war than that waged by the United States in Mexico. I thought so at the time, when I was a youngster, only I had not moral courage enough to resign.”

Although the shameful concept of Manifest Destiny should be confined to history books, it has reared its ugly head, as reflected in our government’s 21st century mission to reshape the Middle East. Of course, the psychology of Manifest Destiny – the projection of Anglo-Saxon supremacy - never really went away, it has always been used to justify America’s expansionist adventures. Losing the Vietnam War drove it toward covert action, i.e., U.S. attempts in the 1980’s to undo the Nicaraguan revolution and support for death squads in El Salvador and Guatemala. But U.S. foreign policy has consistently been based on an arrogant and racist view that “America knows best.”

For most Americans, the myth of U.S. cultural, religious, political, and social superiority has been so strongly reinforced over the years that it is taken a given, it is assumed. In the language of political science, this is called “reification,” when myths become accepted as reality. Public debate is often vacuous, because we are unable to question 1) whether or not the U.S. system of governance is desired by non-Americans, or 2) whether or not the “one size fits all” U.S. model will offer people in other lands true solutions. Without such debate, the reification process becomes frightening: If it is a given that our system and values are superior, it follows that remaking others in our image will always be the worthy “end.” Any means can be used to reach the agreed-upon (but unquestioned) worthy end.

This is why the U.S. invaded and devastated Iraq, and why our leaders and a majority of Americans can ignore 100,000 Iraqi civilian casualties. If it is a given that a Western-style, capitalist Iraq is the proper end, then the means by which that is achieved can be illegal, ruthless, bloody, inhumane, or whatever. The means are open-ended. We see that glazed, slightly out-of-reality look constantly in this administration’s eyes as they talk about “democracy” in Iraq. Their fixed eyes look up towards the ends, but they are never cast seriously downward to look over and evaluate the terrible means by which they are trying to reach those ends.

Of course, this “remaking Iraq” project isn’t genuinely guided by the true lofty goal of implementing democracy. Instead, its focus is synchronizing Middle Eastern social and cultural values with Western capitalist values, because that will better facilitate a global world order that revolves around the U.S. economic interests of elites.

We all recall and recoil when we remember the days shortly after the invading troops reached Baghdad, when widespread looting destroyed Iraq’s museums and libraries. The U.S. troops stood idly by as Iraq’s cultural history was being erased. There are Iraqis who now say that this was deliberate, an attempt to erase the records of Iraq’s cultural and historical achievements, to wipe the slate clean, so that Western values could be more easily imposed.

Hundreds of Iraqi youth recently came out into the streets to protest a new government order that makes Saturday an official holiday in Iraq, officially aligning Iraq’s weekend with the Western weekend. The holy day for Muslims is Friday, and most Muslim countries take off Thursday and Friday or just Friday. At Baghdad’s University of Mustansariyah, a statement read, “We declare a general strike in the University of Mustansariyah to reject this decision and any decision aimed at depriving Iraqis of their identity.”

Since the invasion, there have been scores of such changes. The CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority) under L. Paul Bremer, and the interim government that followed, both gutted and reworked Iraqi legislation in many areas. The CPA’s meddling with Iraq law violates the Hague Regulations of 1907 and the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, governing the treatment of the inhabitants of militarily occupied territories. Occupiers are prohibited from making major alterations to the character of the occupied society.

The press hasn’t covered the extent of the many changes. We only hear about them occasionally, as in this (2/27/05) Associated Press article that pokes fun at the protesters, portraying the Iraq students as silly for not wanting Saturday off. This patronizing and condescending tone is prevalent throughout U.S. reporting on Iraq society. The Western press resurrects and reinforces the colonialist idea that dark-skinned people in foreign lands are unable to do anything right. Their customs, religion, and culture are not properly “modern” or advanced enough, like ours, and, by God, they have to get with the program!

But many Muslims in the Middle East don’t want to get with “the program” because they have been subject to this colonial program before. Like indigenous people, who also reject attempts to assimilate them and dismantle their identity, Muslims in the Middle East don’t want to be shoved on to reservations either, left to watch the rich cities of their countries gleam and hum with U.S. oil money. Fast food joints on every corner, hotel chains, and big box stores offering lousy wages and products may be the American dream, but they are many a Muslim’s nightmare.

On February 25, a Qatar-hosted conference called for disseminating the culture of peaceful resistance to aggressive policies adopted by world powers towards Muslim countries. It was attended by a cohort of senior Muslim scientists, intellectuals, and dignitaries. Dr. Abdael Rahman al-Nuaimi, the chairman of the Arab Center for Studies and Research, said that Muslims are facing fierce campaigns from world parties attempting to impose their hegemony over Muslim people and destroy their social systems. He told the opening session of the three-day conference that the goal of such campaigns is to tarnish the image of Islam and mock Islamic values. “In response to such aggressive campaigns, the conference calls for the adoption of all peaceful means as well as the economic, media, and legal tools, to stand up to these aggressions.”

There were scant, if any, reports of this conference in the Western press. Why? Because it calls into question the “end” of making other people adapt to the assumed perfect U.S. model of governance, and it speaks to the failed psychology of Manifest Destiny that still guides U.S. thinking - that the U.S. government has a right to spread its values by any means. We cannot hear news that Muslim people en masse reject and plan to resist Western values, which are part and parcel of a specific economic system. That reality (gosh, they don’t want to be like us?) uncomfortably clashes with the reified language of Manifest Destiny, which U.S. leaders again spit forth, to convince citizens that their self-serving violent Middle East policies are worthy.

Kristina Gronquist is a freelance writer based in Minneapolis. She specializes in foreign policy analysis and holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Minnesota. She can be reached at kgronquist@aol.com.

ANGST - Code Name for Angry Black Woman

blacktina — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 21:51:08 +0000

Code names are a peculiar kind of thing. There are codes in sports, government operatives and what I’ve come to recently discover special codes amongst white Corporate America. Yes, like you I was shocked. Honestly, I don’t why this has come to a surprise, when “we” too have codes of our own. The only difference is we don’t present our codes verbally. We’re more smooth and slick with ours. Peeps you know we have that glance and a few others I won’t mention; sorry White people can’t let our secret out. But your secret that’s a different story!

The code we’re going to talk about today is the new name for an Angry Black Woman which is nicely packaged as ANGST. BTW, I’m officially defining A-N-G-ST as Angry-Negro-Girl-STress. Now unlike the main character in the novel The DaVinci Code I am truly not a code cracker. Hell I can barely figure out Wheel of Fortune J But this code was not too hard to break. As a note, white people you need to step up your game! Let me tell you all how I came to decipher this code. A while back I was asked to attend one of those “The company is concerned about its employees” type of meeting. You know the one where they ask you how do you view the company? We love you! We are family (this all until budget time of course J), but you get the hint. Now mind you for the past 20 years whenever I attended one of these supposedly heartfelt HR meetings my response was always positive, you know the whole I love you back (wink, wink). But as maturity has now set in, (now I know why so many older people seem angry at work) I decided to be honest and express how I really feel. Take into consideration I’ll never forget I’m a woman of color, therefore the liberty of me acting like a fool compared to my Prozac white counterparts is something that is not afforded to me. However, I did in my corporate voice explained some discontent I had with the firm and the perception of my position. Basically, I wasn’t doing the job that I was hired to do. In the words of Malcolm X I was bamboozled and hoodwinked. I proceeded to show percentages based on their job description upon hire versus what I was actually doing. The numbers resulted in 67% of me completing tasks that I was not hired to do. Now remember my corporate voice was on. Hell I don’t know how but I even managed a smile. When all this was said and done, the Department Manager turned to me and said “I detect some ANGST”…..

First let me say the Academy for Best Actress goes to (drum roll please) ME, cause it took all of me to contain myself and not break out and display my inner Shenaynay. To try and describe this in a visual manner just think of the Nutty Professor and how Buddy tried to take over Sherman’s body, convulsions, confusion and chaos is probably what Sherman was feeling in order to keep Buddy contained. For me it was a battle in which I had to pause for what seemed like a lifetime but was only about 30 seconds and go through an internal Tourette syndrome episode of @!@#**@!@!. And with all this going on I don’t know how I kept my eyes from rolling, this is still something I’m trying to figure out. As soon as my composure returned and of course you know they were waiting for an answer, I proceeded to tell the Department Manager “Well, wouldn’t you?” It was a right back at you moment! I mean What the HELL kind of statement was “I detect some ANGST” Here you ask me for my honesty, I tell you in the most civil way as possible and I’m still perceived as the angry black woman aka ANGST! I left that meeting thinking Lord how can we ever win in these situations. The more I thought about it I couldn’t help but laugh, ANGST! Couldn’t he think of anything else? Couldn’t he do the political thing and tell me perhaps my duties need to be re-visited or something. Nope, boyfriend was too concerned with my complaining rather than the foundation of the complaint!

We know there are differences in Corporate America between persons of color vs. the typical Anglo Saxon, however, it still amazes me that they think we’re dumb. Do they think with our degrees, coupled with street sense we can’t translate the true meaning of what’s being implied. I mean look at us, we’re prone to work 20x harder (up from 10x, which was standard about 10 years ago), put on winning performances everyday and yet they don’t think we can understand what they’re really trying to say. Looking at this scenario all I can say is Corporate America is definitely a trip! Probably not much has changed since the time they allowed us to enter some of these so-called prestigious fields. But the one thing that will remain constant is these cute little code words. So my advice to our peeps is to be on your game and recognize when these Codes are being directed to you. As long as you’re in Corporate America your code cracking days will never come to an end!

First Memory.

Alix — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:47:05 +0000

His earliest memory was of cold and damp. It was not a pleasant memory, but only in a childish and simple way.

Later, as he ran from the sea, his brother's mockery ringing in his ears, his mind flew back to that first memory, and he thought he saw a violent ocean before the memory faded again.

His worst nightmares were always of water. He was too close to it - far too close - and the gray, roiling sea was reaching up with hungry hands, eager to extinguish him. Those waves would fall back as he struggled away, only to rise again, and again, and again...

Later, while he was imprisoned, with nothing to do but sleep and work, he dreamed it often. In those later nightmares, the sea had caught him, and was holding him fast, and no matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't get away, and it was going to drown him...

Then, after his brother and that lady helped him fly free of his prison, he fell. The sea rushed up to meet him, and he felt his old, childish fear seize his throat, and as his vision went gray something else seized him...

...And he woke to strong hands wrapped around him, and the sea too close, and as he struggled, the arms holding him tightened, and a warm voice whispered in his ear, and Weilend felt the last fragments of childhood memory pop into place, and he relaxed into his father's arms and slept.

In the Labyrinth.

Alix — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:40:23 +0000

Bothvild stood outside the door, listening to the sibilant mutterings and the eerie, whistling cries coming from the room within. The fiery red glow that marked the smith's presence wandered back and forth across the forge as Weilend paced. Steeling herself, Bothvild opened the door.

A fiery hand that somehow avoided burning her seized her arm. "What do you want, captor's daughter?" asked the mad smith.

Trembling, Bothvild extended a cracked ring. "M-my father sent me to give this to you, and request that you repair it." The princess flinched as Weilend snatched it from her fingers.

A strange light sparked in Weilend's eyes, almost a light of recognition. Then he blinked, and it was gone. Unsure, Bothvild backed up.

Weilend chuckled. "Are you afraid of me, captor's daughter?"

Bothvild swallowed, trying to force some cooperation from her dry tongue. "My name is Bothvild."

"I don't really care." Weilend walked away from her, turning the ring over in his hand. "Get me out of here, and you might deserve a name."

"I can't."

A glare from eyes that crackle with genuine flames is very unnerving. "Are you your father's daughter?" He snapped the broken ring in two.

Bothvild fled.

She collected herself halfway down the first bend. Am I my father's daughter?

In the back of her mind, an idea began to form.