December 3, 2012 at 1:51 P.M. A telephone call was received by me today at 11:28 A.M. from 305-368-8896. I wonder who may be calling me from Florida? The Cuban American National Foundation? Manohla Dargis? Marco Rubio?
December 1, 2012 at 2:25 P.M. Recent conversations and exchanges by way of press conferences in Washington, D.C. make it clear that we are facing a repetition of the gridlock that defined President Obama's first term in office.
The "angry white men" of all genders and races or ethnicities (Republicans) are opposed to attempts to require wealthy persons to pay their fair share of taxes. ("Republicans Unplugged" and "Presidential Debates.")
Mr. Obama cannot allow his middle class base to continue to get "shafted" (in Mr. Nixon's elegant phrase). Hence, we are at an impasse: 4 more years of paralysis will be disastrous for America.
Peter J. Sampson, "Oury Gets Probation in Corruption Case: Judge Labels Conduct 'Reprehensible'," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. A-1. (Former member of the county ethics committee and distinguished member of the bar, allegedly, is convicted of corruption. Mr. Oury gets a walk.)
Gary Lupon & Daphna Thier, "Testifying Against Israel's Apartheid," in Socialist Worker, November, 2012, at p. 19. http://www.socialistworker.org/2012/10/10testifying-against-israeli-apartheid ("America's Gridlock and the Crisis in Gaza." Lectures sponsored by "Socialist Worker" are coming to your city.)
Will America go over the so-called "fiscal cliff"?
Perhaps some politicians feel that such a crisis would be "beneficial." Besides, there are many other cliffs over which we are certainly going over or falling right now: Global warming's threat to humanity is, mostly, being ignored by the U.S. because American corporations do not wish to pay more taxes or to lose profits by taking action to deal with the threat; Afghanistan is heating up with American casualties now at 2,143 and wounded at about 15,000 in addition to the 10,000 killed and 100,000 wounded in Iraq and continuing "related conflicts"; robot bombs are still falling in Pakistan even as bombs have stopped falling, temporarily, in Gaza.
N.J. has yet to respond to requests from me for the truth about my "experiences" of torture as they are required to do under federal and state laws. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
More New Jersey lawyers, judges, and politicians are facing ethics and criminal charges (Gilberto Garcia?), several of whom were members of the ethics committee or involved in efforts to target me from "behind the back." A number of such people now seek my advice. Good luck, ladies and gentlemen.
I can neither confirm nor deny whether either Terry Tuchin and/or Diana Lisa Riccioli is still involved in interrogational hypnosis aimed mostly against African-American and Latino defendants. ("An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli" and "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
I also cannot supply information concerning Lourdes Santiago's current status nor as to John McGill, Nydia Hernandez, Mary Ann Kriko, or Sybil R. Moses. ("Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest" and "Jennifer Velez is a Dyke Magnet!" then "Sybil R. Moses and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey.")
Is there a "connection" between Bob Yudin and Sybil R. Moses and/or Terry Tuchin? Debbie Poritz? ("No More Cover-Ups and Lies, Chief Justice Rabner!")
I will continue to struggle against censorship and cybercrime from New Jersey aimed at silencing me and denying you access to these writings.
At any time, protected cybercriminals from New Jersey may prevent me from editing or posting writings on-line. No images can be posted by me. No e-mails can be sent or received by me. All of this interference with my Internet writings and research is, and has been, illegal or even criminal. ("How censorship works in America.")
I am told that I will never be able to sign-in in order to write at this blog again. We will see. I will continue to struggle.
November 30, 2012 at 1:50 P.M. Calls were received yesterday from "TELEFUND, INC." 617-292-7701. "MARITZ RESEARCH"? Perhaps this is the same source as the calls ostensibly from "Jazmin" at Time/Warner. Attempts to make revisions and edit texts today (2:59 P.M.) at "Philosopher's Quest" were obstructed by cybercriminals from New Jersey. I will continue to attempt to access my writings and revise or edit my work, freely. ("How censorship works in America" and "Censorship and Cybercrime.")
November 29, 2012 at 1:55 P.M. Due to bizarre experiences this afternoon at my NYPL computer, I am concerned about future censorship or denials of access to the Internet for my 45 minutes per day.
I will continue to struggle to write every day.
Below are outlines of two works that I wish to post on-line, somehow and somewhere -- if I can find a way to do so. I have already finished the essay "On Memory."
My writings have been plagiarized and censored, suppressed and destroyed, often enough, even as American officials call for tolerance of dissent on-line. This level of cybercrime and censorship that I have experienced could not take place without government cooperation.
Writers in Cuba, China, the Middle East and elsewhere will have to decide on the seriousness of America's national commitment to freedom of speech and Internet debate. (Again: "How censorship works in America.")
Do we wish to encourage dissent and protect dissenters/dissidents everywhere in the world? Regardless of the views expressed by dissidents? Or are we concerned to protect dissidents exclusively when they agree with Republicans in Congress or mainstream U.S. views?
I am grateful for the support and encouragement of many friends in America and throughout the world. I am particularly encouraged by reports that Cubans are accessing these blogs. I hope that this is true. ("Time to End the Embargo Against Cuba.")
"How Big Is Infinity?"
Tony Gilroy, The Big Questions: Mathematics (New York: Metro, 2012), pp. 55-65, pp. 104-113. (See also "Can you lie to yourself?" in this blog.)
I. SET THEORY AND THE INFINITY REVOLUTION.
A. Distinguishing Infinity From Eternity.
B. Formulas Versus Equations.
C. The Puzzle of Time/Space -- "'In Time': A Movie Review."
D. "Imagination is a Wonderful Thing."
II. HILBERT'S HOTEL AND BECKETT'S BROWNSTONE.
A. Open-Ended Versus Closed-Systems.
B. "Anybody got a loop?"
C. Aesthetic Objects and Hermeneutic Theory: Realism Versus Intuitionism in the Philosophy of Mathematics.
III. CANTOR'S "CONTINUUM HYPOTHESIS" IN AESTHETICS AND MATHEMATICS.
A. Hans-Georg Gadamer's Hermeneutics.
B. Mathematical Recipes and the Formula for Everything.
C. Prigogine and the Formula for the Universe.
CONCLUSION.
A. Godel's Incompleteness as a "Hermeneutics of Freedom": Is Math About Beauty?
"On Memory."
G.E.M. Anscombe, "Memory and the Past," in Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind (Minn.: U. Minn. Press, 1981), pp. 103-133.
INTRODUCTION: ISSUES AND DEFINITIONS.
A. Psychoanalytic Issues.
B. Philosophical Issues.
I. PERSONAL HISTORY AS MEMORY: IS THE PAST "REAL"?
A. Representational Theories of Memory.
B. Realist Theories of Memory.
C. Critical-Realist Theories of Memory.
D. Ricoeur's "Time and Narrative": Hermeneutic Theories of Memory.
II. COLLECTIVE HISTORY AS MEMORY AND MIRAGE.
A. Who defines what we remember as real? ("'Total Recall': A Movie Review.")
B. History, Culture, Politics and Other "Fictions of Memory."
CONCLUSION.
A. The Struggle For Memory.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The Betrayal of Law.
November 29, 2012 at 1:42 P.M. I was forced to sign-in at Yahoo (Spanish) when I logged on to computer number #4, Morningside Heights branch, NYPL. I can never know from one day to the next whether I will be able to write at these blogs. If more than two days pass without alteration of these writings it means that I am prevented from writing against my will. Hacking into NYPL computers is a violation of the law, Mr. Menendez. ("How censorship works in America.")
November 28, 2012 at 12:01 P.M. I received a call at my home from 1-347-502-2556. This is one of several calls from this cell phone number which, I am sure, is legitimate. Perhaps the call is from "Jazmin" at Time/Warner? Yahoo in Spanish?
Jimmy Carter, "A Cruel and Unusual Record," in The New York Times, June 25, 2012, at p. A19.
Lauren E. Bohn, "Carter Declares A 'Crisis Stage' For Israeli/Palestinian Relations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 8.
Mark Landler & Jeremy Peters, "Rice Concedes Error On Libya; G.O.P. Digs In," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A1.
I have yet to read the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding -- at least in part -- the Obama Health Care Law. Efforts by Republicans to make this law an issue in the presidential election backfired on them, fortunately.
On the basis of news accounts, this seems like a sound judicial decision reflecting Chief Justice Roberts' recognition, I believe, that the Court must not be perceived as politically partisan on issues (which it often is) or motivated by a desire to assist one political party or the other (which is rarely true), together with his effort to balance the scales by granting an outcome to the liberal justices.
Justice Scalia is still, allegedly and reputedly, furious with the Chief for his vote in this controversial case.
The swing vote on the Court is usually Justice Kennedy's "concurrance." Perhaps, in the future, Chief Justice Roberts will more often side with the forces of goodness and light -- i.e., the liberals -- ensuring a greater place for himself in legal history. If Justice Holmes is remembered as "the Great Dissenter," then Justice Kennedy may be known to history as the "the Great Concurrer."
During a week (Summer, 2012) when the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, faced contempt charges for withholding discoverable material from Congress (Ms. Rice?), the national commitment to and understanding of the rule of law has become suspect and is subject to challenge. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" then "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")
The perception in the world is that U.S. talk of "legality" is often a hypocritical lie. ("Legality and Legal Ethics" and "New Jersey is the Home of the Living Dead" then "Is America's Legal Ethics a Lie?")
"Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation's violations of human rights have extended."
These are the words of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who is also a Nobel Prize winner (2005):
"Recent legislation has made legal the president's right to detain a person indefinitely on suspicion of affiliation with terrorist organizations. ..." (emphasis added!)
Americans are being targeted for assassination without judicial proceedings of any kind or (in the opinion of most legal experts) anything that can be called "due process of law" as required by the Constitution.
Mr. Holder, it is not due process of law to say: "We discussed this assassination among ourselves and decided there was no need to tell the victim or to explain our secret reasons for determining that an American citizen should be killed without having a chance to counter whatever accusations, if any, there may be against him or her, or to explain him- or herself."
No one seems to care much about this. The corporate media seems strangely docile.
What happened to the independent press in America? 9/11? Is there any independent press these days? Not that I can see. ("What is it like to be plagiarized?" and "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
Many of us who are dark-skinned or "ethnic" (Latinos) are also subject to "stop and frisk" detentions, sometimes for hours, monitored or censored and prevented from speaking based on our opinions, or worse -- like me -- also plagiarized, exposed to cybercrime, assaults, and more based on our controversial statements, or for any or no reason that is ever communicated to us.
"Yahoo in Spanish" should be taking notes: Are you people from Miami or Union City? ("Manohla Dargis Strikes Again" and "Cubanazos Pose a Threat to National Security.")
A recent documentary on the Central Park jogger case or the murder of Trayvon Martin makes it clear that we have a long way to go to achieve true racial justice.
Other persons in America may be stolen from with impunity, tortured or raped in prisons and jails. ("Albert Florence and American Racism" and "Psychological Torture in the American Legal System" then "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "America's Holocaust" and "Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison.")
Like the robot-bomb campaign, mindless "get tough" policies have been counterproductive, turning people against the U.S. by creating enemies where we should find friends -- as in Pakistan -- while fostering long-lasting hatreds.
Hostility to Americans is on the rise in many parts of the world, not just the Middle East. This hostility accounts for the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Libya and may well produce similar attacks in any of a dozen other embassies at any time. ("A Report Card For Barack Obama" and "Havana Nights and C.I.A. Tapes.")
As in New Jersey, where courts and the legal establishment have negated legal ethics and come to symbolize appalling corruption and America's so-called "decline" for many persons in the world, so the U.S. which, essentially, created the modern system of international law after World War Two, is now the embodiment of international illegality -- or even CRIMINALITY -- for millions (or billions) of people. President Carter closed his essay with an important caution:
"At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But instead of making the world safer, America's violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends."
November 28, 2012 at 12:01 P.M. I received a call at my home from 1-347-502-2556. This is one of several calls from this cell phone number which, I am sure, is legitimate. Perhaps the call is from "Jazmin" at Time/Warner? Yahoo in Spanish?
Jimmy Carter, "A Cruel and Unusual Record," in The New York Times, June 25, 2012, at p. A19.
Lauren E. Bohn, "Carter Declares A 'Crisis Stage' For Israeli/Palestinian Relations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 8.
Mark Landler & Jeremy Peters, "Rice Concedes Error On Libya; G.O.P. Digs In," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A1.
I have yet to read the U.S. Supreme Court's decision upholding -- at least in part -- the Obama Health Care Law. Efforts by Republicans to make this law an issue in the presidential election backfired on them, fortunately.
On the basis of news accounts, this seems like a sound judicial decision reflecting Chief Justice Roberts' recognition, I believe, that the Court must not be perceived as politically partisan on issues (which it often is) or motivated by a desire to assist one political party or the other (which is rarely true), together with his effort to balance the scales by granting an outcome to the liberal justices.
Justice Scalia is still, allegedly and reputedly, furious with the Chief for his vote in this controversial case.
The swing vote on the Court is usually Justice Kennedy's "concurrance." Perhaps, in the future, Chief Justice Roberts will more often side with the forces of goodness and light -- i.e., the liberals -- ensuring a greater place for himself in legal history. If Justice Holmes is remembered as "the Great Dissenter," then Justice Kennedy may be known to history as the "the Great Concurrer."
During a week (Summer, 2012) when the Attorney General of the United States, Eric Holder, faced contempt charges for withholding discoverable material from Congress (Ms. Rice?), the national commitment to and understanding of the rule of law has become suspect and is subject to challenge. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" then "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")
The perception in the world is that U.S. talk of "legality" is often a hypocritical lie. ("Legality and Legal Ethics" and "New Jersey is the Home of the Living Dead" then "Is America's Legal Ethics a Lie?")
"Revelations that top officials are targeting people to be assassinated abroad, including American citizens, are only the most recent, disturbing proof of how far our nation's violations of human rights have extended."
These are the words of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who is also a Nobel Prize winner (2005):
"Recent legislation has made legal the president's right to detain a person indefinitely on suspicion of affiliation with terrorist organizations. ..." (emphasis added!)
Americans are being targeted for assassination without judicial proceedings of any kind or (in the opinion of most legal experts) anything that can be called "due process of law" as required by the Constitution.
Mr. Holder, it is not due process of law to say: "We discussed this assassination among ourselves and decided there was no need to tell the victim or to explain our secret reasons for determining that an American citizen should be killed without having a chance to counter whatever accusations, if any, there may be against him or her, or to explain him- or herself."
No one seems to care much about this. The corporate media seems strangely docile.
What happened to the independent press in America? 9/11? Is there any independent press these days? Not that I can see. ("What is it like to be plagiarized?" and "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
Many of us who are dark-skinned or "ethnic" (Latinos) are also subject to "stop and frisk" detentions, sometimes for hours, monitored or censored and prevented from speaking based on our opinions, or worse -- like me -- also plagiarized, exposed to cybercrime, assaults, and more based on our controversial statements, or for any or no reason that is ever communicated to us.
"Yahoo in Spanish" should be taking notes: Are you people from Miami or Union City? ("Manohla Dargis Strikes Again" and "Cubanazos Pose a Threat to National Security.")
A recent documentary on the Central Park jogger case or the murder of Trayvon Martin makes it clear that we have a long way to go to achieve true racial justice.
Other persons in America may be stolen from with impunity, tortured or raped in prisons and jails. ("Albert Florence and American Racism" and "Psychological Torture in the American Legal System" then "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture" and "America's Holocaust" and "Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison.")
Like the robot-bomb campaign, mindless "get tough" policies have been counterproductive, turning people against the U.S. by creating enemies where we should find friends -- as in Pakistan -- while fostering long-lasting hatreds.
Hostility to Americans is on the rise in many parts of the world, not just the Middle East. This hostility accounts for the attacks on the U.S. embassy in Libya and may well produce similar attacks in any of a dozen other embassies at any time. ("A Report Card For Barack Obama" and "Havana Nights and C.I.A. Tapes.")
As in New Jersey, where courts and the legal establishment have negated legal ethics and come to symbolize appalling corruption and America's so-called "decline" for many persons in the world, so the U.S. which, essentially, created the modern system of international law after World War Two, is now the embodiment of international illegality -- or even CRIMINALITY -- for millions (or billions) of people. President Carter closed his essay with an important caution:
"At a time when popular revolutions are sweeping the globe, the United States should be strengthening, not weakening, basic rules of law and principles of justice enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. But instead of making the world safer, America's violation of international human rights abets our enemies and alienates our friends."
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
President Obama's Unkept Promise.
"Close Guantanamo Prison: Mr. Obama's Promise to Shut Down the Nationwide Detention Facility Deserves High Priority," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 26, 2012, at p. A26.
"On his second day in office in 2009, President Obama signed an executive Order that was a declaration of American renewal and decency hailed around the globe. It called for the closure, in no more than a year, of the detention camp at the United States naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- the grim emblem of President George W. Bush's lawless [emphasis added] policies of torture and detention. Accompanied by other executive orders signaling a break from the Bush era of justice delayed and denied, it was a bold beginning."
Guantanamo was not closed during the president's first term. Blaming the Congress is not convincing. The prison is a federal facility which the president should be able to close at the stroke of a pen.
This "concentration camp" -- for this is the term for the Guantanamo facility throughout the world -- has become a symbol of America's legal contradictions and hypocrisy.
Indeed, much the same is true of my situation, I believe, because I am involved in a daily struggle against cybercrime, censorship, and various slanders or psychological torture attempts.
I am involved in this struggle in a nation that lectures to the world about tolerance for dissent and free speech. There is no guarantee that I will be able to continue writing from one day to the next.
Incidentally, I am not a "bartender" nor do I drink alcohol. I cannot say what other falsehoods are disseminated about me. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
Distractions and failed attempts to change the subject are mostly irrelevant to the critique offered in these blogs of what is clearly a serious problem in New Jersey.
Most of the men still held in Guantanamo (166 inmates remain at that prison) have never been charged with any offense nor tried for any reason.
No one now seriously disputes that most of these individuals -- far from being "the worst of the worst," as Mr. Rumsfeld suggested -- are not terrorists and have committed no crimes. We are stuck with these persons. Their torture and continued incarceration seems to satisfy some visceral and primal need for scapegoats after 9/11.
It is plausible to suppose that Mr. Obama wished to avoid being depicted as "soft on terrorism" by the people who will see him in such terms no matter what he does. (Mr. Netanyahu?)
The president has continued Bush era policies that violate fundamental human rights which America is committed to defending on the world stage.
Worse, Mr. Obama has encroached on Americans' civil rights in a manner that must delight Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan: execution of Americans without due process of law, robot bombs that have taken the lives of thousands of mostly innocent persons who are dismissed as "collateral damage," surveillance and monitoring of communications by individuals throughout the world, including within the nation's borders, and similar tactics are increasingly "routine."
Does any of this overreaching make us "safer" or more secure? I doubt it. I am sure that the robot bombs make us less secure and contribute to a more dangerous world situation.
Fundamentalist Islamic forces in Pakistan -- some allied with the Talliban -- are growing stronger and have recently engaged in a bombing campaign in reaction to U.S. actions in Pakistan.
A nation with a hundred nuclear weapons is in real danger of falling to fundamentalist forces friendly to the Talliban because of our failed policies in the region for which we can blame both American political parties.
New Jersey's dismal effort to conceal its own disintegration into the status of a failed jurisdiction by means of lies and attacks aimed at hurting and silencing me -- along with many others -- falls into the same category of heinousness and stupidity.
"The new administration decided to adopt the Bush era's extravagant claims of state secrets and executive power, blocking any accountability for the detention and brutalization of hundreds of men at Guantanamo and secret prisons, and denying torture victims their day in court."
These are great crimes still being committed by the nation that must embody the rule of international human rights laws. Ignoring such crimes has an acid-like effect on the moral character of our nation and fosters an international climate of hostility to basic principles of legality and political ethics on the global stage.
We have undone the work of generations of legal scholars and statespersons (Mrs. Roosevelt, Justice Robert Jackson, and others among them) in pursuit of torture and drone policies in order to accomplish nothing of value.
New Jersey's lies and crimes committed against me appear equally pointless and idiotic.
Do you speak to me of "ethics," Mr. Rabner?
Sources:
New York & the World:
Jodi Rudoren, "Ex-Foreign Minister Heads Party to Oppose Netanyahu," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A8. (Gaza has cost Mr. Netanyahu even in Israeli domestic politics.)
Kareem Fahim, "Egypt Protesters Gather to Denounce Mori in Scenes Recalling Uprising," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A12. (Developments in Egypt suggest Mr. Morsi was perceived as a "winner" in the Gaza matter, but not at home?)
"A Needless Charge for Prison Families," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A33. (Exhorbitant fees for calls to families, usually collect, from inmates further exploits a vulnerable and often poor population group.)
John F. Burns & Alan Cowell, "British Lawmakers Warn Against Press Restrictions," in The New York Times, November 29, 2012, at p. A10. (Levenson report discussed during question time with the Prime Minister this week opted, essentially, for self-regulation by the UK media. It cannot be confirmed that someone hacked into Lord Levenson's phone.)
Adam Liptak, "Court Muses On Unicorns In Debating Sentencing," in The New York Times, November 29, 2012, at p. A18. (It is rare when oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court touch upon the metaphysics of essences, nominalism, "unicorns," and jurisprudence: "Robert Unger's Revolutionary Legal Theory" and "What is Law?")
Maria Eugenia Diaz & William Neuman, "Venezuelan Judge Who Angered Chavez Says She Was Raped While in Prison," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A5. (The number of rapes in U.S. prisons exceeds the proportional rate in Venezuela.)
James Risen, "Suit Planned Over Death of Man C.I.A. Drugged," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A21. (Man killed by CIA "mind control" experiments -- which have gone underground since the eighties -- whose family members are now suing the government.)
Sharon Otterman, "Sex Abuse Trial of Brooklyn Man Begins," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A25. (Orthodox community in Brooklyn is divided over painful child abuse revelations and scandals.)
John Markoff, "Learning Curve: No Longer Just a Human Trait," in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A1. (Learning and self-inventing programs aimed at creating A.I. systems take the next step: "Mind and Machine" and "John Searle and David Chambers On Consciousness.")
"Their Problem With Elizabeth Warren," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A20. (Republican opposition to the most qualified Democrat in the Senate to serve on the banking committee, Elizabeth Warren, must not prevent the junior senator from Mass. from serving on that committee.)
New Jersey's Continuing Farce:
"Christie Seeks $37 BILLION for Sandy Relief," (Editorial) in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. A-20. (How much of this money -- if received -- will be stolen? Conservative estimates suggest 40-50% will disappear in New Jersey. Perhaps Mayor Jones of Paterson will be entrusted with distribution of the funds.)
Allison Pries & Michael Copley, "Surgeon Arrested On Drug Charges: Accused of Improperly Filling Prescriptions," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Physicians in New Jersey routinely assist with illegal drug distribution and the "questioning-torture" of victims in the legal system as well as with frauds aimed against the insurance industry. This includes, allegedly, MARY ANN BENIGNO, 52, of Saddle River, New Jersey where a recent "private network" of child porn enthusiasts has been uncovered.)
Monsy Alvarado & Allison Pries, "Pal Park Still Mum On Cops in Shooting: Chief Says Setbacks Stall Release of IDs," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Inquiry beginning into fatal shooting of a man in Leonia, Bergen County, again.)
Hannan Adeley, "Zisa's Ex- May Join Pension Litigation: Possibly Entitled to Payments," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Disgraced former Hackensack Police Chief, KEN ZISA, now awaiting the outcome of an appeal that will determine the length of his prison stay, may have an ex-wife -- as distinct from a former mistress with whom he conspired to defraud insurance companies -- entitled to half of one, or all, of his pensions even if Mr. Zisa is a convicted fellon. N.J. taxpayers don't mind, right?)
Peter J. Sampson, "Man Guilty in Mortgage Scam: Father, Son Bilked $4.4 MILLION From Lenders," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-2. (Frederick "Freddie" Grippo, 32, of Old Bridge, admitted to bilking distressed homeowners of $4.4 MILLION with the assistance of several well-respected New Jersey law firms as well as his dad. "New Jersey's Politically-Connected Lawyers On the Tit" and "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics.")
Richard Cowen, "Town Begins New Inquiry On Generators: North Hudson to Investigate Officials' Use of Borough Gear," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-3. (Mayor Randy George decided to "take care" of his own needs for power before worrying about town residents. This "shabbyness" and/or "shabbiness" is normal in New Jersey.)
Kibret Marcos, "Fair Lawn Man Convicted of Molesting Toddler: Jurors Had Deadlocked Last Year," in The Record, November 20, 2012, at p. L-3. (Latest in the epidemic of child abuse conspiracies, private networks, scandals in New Jersey. This one involving John Katsiagiannis, 30, from Fair Lawn, N.J., another Bergen County offender. Ms. Riccioli, friend of yours?)
Peter J. Sampson, "Wife of Union Leader Pleads Guilty of Theft: Husband Faces Charges of Embezzling $350,000," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-3. (Richard "Buzzy" Dressel charged with scam to funnel $350,000 to his wife Kathleen Dressel, 54, of Montvale. Mafia connections to this labor union are denied, allegedly. Garcia & Kriko?)
Ed Beeson, "Trio Faces Insider Trading Charges High School Buddies Used Spy-Like Charges," in The Star Ledger, November 20, 2012, at p. 1. (Lawyers assist high school buddies in insider trading scam that -- even Stuart Rabner pal, Paul Fishman -- was forced to prosecute. Will Mr. Fishman protect Stuart Rabner, Debbie Poritz and other influential New Jersey legal figures from liability? Terry Tuchin?)
"On his second day in office in 2009, President Obama signed an executive Order that was a declaration of American renewal and decency hailed around the globe. It called for the closure, in no more than a year, of the detention camp at the United States naval facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- the grim emblem of President George W. Bush's lawless [emphasis added] policies of torture and detention. Accompanied by other executive orders signaling a break from the Bush era of justice delayed and denied, it was a bold beginning."
Guantanamo was not closed during the president's first term. Blaming the Congress is not convincing. The prison is a federal facility which the president should be able to close at the stroke of a pen.
This "concentration camp" -- for this is the term for the Guantanamo facility throughout the world -- has become a symbol of America's legal contradictions and hypocrisy.
Indeed, much the same is true of my situation, I believe, because I am involved in a daily struggle against cybercrime, censorship, and various slanders or psychological torture attempts.
I am involved in this struggle in a nation that lectures to the world about tolerance for dissent and free speech. There is no guarantee that I will be able to continue writing from one day to the next.
Incidentally, I am not a "bartender" nor do I drink alcohol. I cannot say what other falsehoods are disseminated about me. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
Distractions and failed attempts to change the subject are mostly irrelevant to the critique offered in these blogs of what is clearly a serious problem in New Jersey.
Most of the men still held in Guantanamo (166 inmates remain at that prison) have never been charged with any offense nor tried for any reason.
No one now seriously disputes that most of these individuals -- far from being "the worst of the worst," as Mr. Rumsfeld suggested -- are not terrorists and have committed no crimes. We are stuck with these persons. Their torture and continued incarceration seems to satisfy some visceral and primal need for scapegoats after 9/11.
It is plausible to suppose that Mr. Obama wished to avoid being depicted as "soft on terrorism" by the people who will see him in such terms no matter what he does. (Mr. Netanyahu?)
The president has continued Bush era policies that violate fundamental human rights which America is committed to defending on the world stage.
Worse, Mr. Obama has encroached on Americans' civil rights in a manner that must delight Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan: execution of Americans without due process of law, robot bombs that have taken the lives of thousands of mostly innocent persons who are dismissed as "collateral damage," surveillance and monitoring of communications by individuals throughout the world, including within the nation's borders, and similar tactics are increasingly "routine."
Does any of this overreaching make us "safer" or more secure? I doubt it. I am sure that the robot bombs make us less secure and contribute to a more dangerous world situation.
Fundamentalist Islamic forces in Pakistan -- some allied with the Talliban -- are growing stronger and have recently engaged in a bombing campaign in reaction to U.S. actions in Pakistan.
A nation with a hundred nuclear weapons is in real danger of falling to fundamentalist forces friendly to the Talliban because of our failed policies in the region for which we can blame both American political parties.
New Jersey's dismal effort to conceal its own disintegration into the status of a failed jurisdiction by means of lies and attacks aimed at hurting and silencing me -- along with many others -- falls into the same category of heinousness and stupidity.
"The new administration decided to adopt the Bush era's extravagant claims of state secrets and executive power, blocking any accountability for the detention and brutalization of hundreds of men at Guantanamo and secret prisons, and denying torture victims their day in court."
These are great crimes still being committed by the nation that must embody the rule of international human rights laws. Ignoring such crimes has an acid-like effect on the moral character of our nation and fosters an international climate of hostility to basic principles of legality and political ethics on the global stage.
We have undone the work of generations of legal scholars and statespersons (Mrs. Roosevelt, Justice Robert Jackson, and others among them) in pursuit of torture and drone policies in order to accomplish nothing of value.
New Jersey's lies and crimes committed against me appear equally pointless and idiotic.
Do you speak to me of "ethics," Mr. Rabner?
Sources:
New York & the World:
Jodi Rudoren, "Ex-Foreign Minister Heads Party to Oppose Netanyahu," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A8. (Gaza has cost Mr. Netanyahu even in Israeli domestic politics.)
Kareem Fahim, "Egypt Protesters Gather to Denounce Mori in Scenes Recalling Uprising," in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A12. (Developments in Egypt suggest Mr. Morsi was perceived as a "winner" in the Gaza matter, but not at home?)
"A Needless Charge for Prison Families," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 28, 2012, at p. A33. (Exhorbitant fees for calls to families, usually collect, from inmates further exploits a vulnerable and often poor population group.)
John F. Burns & Alan Cowell, "British Lawmakers Warn Against Press Restrictions," in The New York Times, November 29, 2012, at p. A10. (Levenson report discussed during question time with the Prime Minister this week opted, essentially, for self-regulation by the UK media. It cannot be confirmed that someone hacked into Lord Levenson's phone.)
Adam Liptak, "Court Muses On Unicorns In Debating Sentencing," in The New York Times, November 29, 2012, at p. A18. (It is rare when oral arguments before the U.S. Supreme Court touch upon the metaphysics of essences, nominalism, "unicorns," and jurisprudence: "Robert Unger's Revolutionary Legal Theory" and "What is Law?")
Maria Eugenia Diaz & William Neuman, "Venezuelan Judge Who Angered Chavez Says She Was Raped While in Prison," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A5. (The number of rapes in U.S. prisons exceeds the proportional rate in Venezuela.)
James Risen, "Suit Planned Over Death of Man C.I.A. Drugged," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A21. (Man killed by CIA "mind control" experiments -- which have gone underground since the eighties -- whose family members are now suing the government.)
Sharon Otterman, "Sex Abuse Trial of Brooklyn Man Begins," in The New York Times, November 27, 2012, at p. A25. (Orthodox community in Brooklyn is divided over painful child abuse revelations and scandals.)
John Markoff, "Learning Curve: No Longer Just a Human Trait," in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A1. (Learning and self-inventing programs aimed at creating A.I. systems take the next step: "Mind and Machine" and "John Searle and David Chambers On Consciousness.")
"Their Problem With Elizabeth Warren," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A20. (Republican opposition to the most qualified Democrat in the Senate to serve on the banking committee, Elizabeth Warren, must not prevent the junior senator from Mass. from serving on that committee.)
New Jersey's Continuing Farce:
"Christie Seeks $37 BILLION for Sandy Relief," (Editorial) in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. A-20. (How much of this money -- if received -- will be stolen? Conservative estimates suggest 40-50% will disappear in New Jersey. Perhaps Mayor Jones of Paterson will be entrusted with distribution of the funds.)
Allison Pries & Michael Copley, "Surgeon Arrested On Drug Charges: Accused of Improperly Filling Prescriptions," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Physicians in New Jersey routinely assist with illegal drug distribution and the "questioning-torture" of victims in the legal system as well as with frauds aimed against the insurance industry. This includes, allegedly, MARY ANN BENIGNO, 52, of Saddle River, New Jersey where a recent "private network" of child porn enthusiasts has been uncovered.)
Monsy Alvarado & Allison Pries, "Pal Park Still Mum On Cops in Shooting: Chief Says Setbacks Stall Release of IDs," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Inquiry beginning into fatal shooting of a man in Leonia, Bergen County, again.)
Hannan Adeley, "Zisa's Ex- May Join Pension Litigation: Possibly Entitled to Payments," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-1. (Disgraced former Hackensack Police Chief, KEN ZISA, now awaiting the outcome of an appeal that will determine the length of his prison stay, may have an ex-wife -- as distinct from a former mistress with whom he conspired to defraud insurance companies -- entitled to half of one, or all, of his pensions even if Mr. Zisa is a convicted fellon. N.J. taxpayers don't mind, right?)
Peter J. Sampson, "Man Guilty in Mortgage Scam: Father, Son Bilked $4.4 MILLION From Lenders," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-2. (Frederick "Freddie" Grippo, 32, of Old Bridge, admitted to bilking distressed homeowners of $4.4 MILLION with the assistance of several well-respected New Jersey law firms as well as his dad. "New Jersey's Politically-Connected Lawyers On the Tit" and "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics.")
Richard Cowen, "Town Begins New Inquiry On Generators: North Hudson to Investigate Officials' Use of Borough Gear," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-3. (Mayor Randy George decided to "take care" of his own needs for power before worrying about town residents. This "shabbyness" and/or "shabbiness" is normal in New Jersey.)
Kibret Marcos, "Fair Lawn Man Convicted of Molesting Toddler: Jurors Had Deadlocked Last Year," in The Record, November 20, 2012, at p. L-3. (Latest in the epidemic of child abuse conspiracies, private networks, scandals in New Jersey. This one involving John Katsiagiannis, 30, from Fair Lawn, N.J., another Bergen County offender. Ms. Riccioli, friend of yours?)
Peter J. Sampson, "Wife of Union Leader Pleads Guilty of Theft: Husband Faces Charges of Embezzling $350,000," in The Record, November 30, 2012, at p. L-3. (Richard "Buzzy" Dressel charged with scam to funnel $350,000 to his wife Kathleen Dressel, 54, of Montvale. Mafia connections to this labor union are denied, allegedly. Garcia & Kriko?)
Ed Beeson, "Trio Faces Insider Trading Charges High School Buddies Used Spy-Like Charges," in The Star Ledger, November 20, 2012, at p. 1. (Lawyers assist high school buddies in insider trading scam that -- even Stuart Rabner pal, Paul Fishman -- was forced to prosecute. Will Mr. Fishman protect Stuart Rabner, Debbie Poritz and other influential New Jersey legal figures from liability? Terry Tuchin?)
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Global Plea For Gaza Cease-Fire.
Jodi Rudoren, "Gaza Clash Escalates With Deadliest Israeli Strike: Brigades That Fire On Israel Are Showing More Discipline," in The New York Times, November 19, 2012, at p. A1.
David D. Kirckpatrick & Mayy el Sheikh, "An Emboldened Hamas Makes New Demands -- Netanyahu Holds Fast," in The New York Times, November 19, 2012, at p. A1.
As of the latest count 116 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli operations in Gaza, 27 children and 25 women among them. 3 Israelis have been killed. It is undisputed that all of these victims are civilians. (Some now raise the number as high as 160 persons killed in Gaza.)
The national right to self-defense does not excuse Israel's leaders in Jerusalem -- or the leadership of any other nation -- from the obligation to protect civilians and/or non-combatants, especially children.
Astonishingly, it is necessary to say this: Palestinians are human beings with the same rights as you or I, or Mr. Netanyahu. (The Israeli Prime Minister's name has appeared in the Times as "Netanjahu" and "Netanyahu.")
Mr. Obama's controlled and "minimalist" responses to questions on this issue display a Stuart Rabner-like lack of concern with the appalling human consequences of policies that are murderous and shocking to the world. I refer to the policies of everyone with guns and rockets in Gaza.
I trust that President Obama's private comments are more forthright. It is never "meaningless" for the United States of America to say:
"We are agonizing and suffering with all victims of violence in Gaza. We recognize the human reality on the ground as well as security and geopolitical issues. We are mindful -- in this season of Thankfulness -- of the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. We will strive more mightily to bring them the peace they deserve before we sit down to enjoy the good fortune and plenty available in our society. We pray for you. We must continue to struggle together to make peace."
An army used to supress or fire upon a civilian population is worthy of Assad's Syria, not something Israel should ever do. The lingering effects of trauma on a colossal scale for Palestinian and Israeli children cannot be calculated.
Sadly, a number of hacks into my sites prevented me from making corrections yesterday, as I have indicated elsewhere, which disrupted the posting of a short story for the holidays. I will return to the writing of that story soon. ("Hansel and Gretl.")
I detect the same indifference to my rights and those of readers of these writings on the part of the persons responsible for the cybercrime that I struggle against as is seen today in Gaza. This does not surprise me. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
Indifference to inhumanity -- torture or harming of children to control their parents -- is monstrous and diminishes all of us.
I see little difference between America's robot bombs and the bombings of schools and hospitals by U.S.-supplied F-18 ("Phantom") fighter jets in Gaza. A writer to read on the robot bombs issue is Medea Benjamin. Noam Chomsky is still the best commentator on the "open-air prison" that is Gaza.
I cannot say whether I will be able to post this text against the constant attacks by hackers during the 45 minutes per day when I have access to the Internet. Many of my writings continue to be plagiarized.
U.S. media is unable -- or unwilling -- to cover my situation. Other national media seems to be picking-up the story, including China, I have reason to believe and hope. ("What is it like to be plagiarized?" then "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
People in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere in the Middle East are especially horrified by this latest escalation by Israel and also by the American non-response, or seeming neutrality and indifference to the humanitarian crisis.
Transformations of the Islamic world -- including profound changes that are only beginning to be felt and seen -- will dictate a change in policy from the leadership of those countries, also of European states, and much of the rest of the world. This level of human suffering by innocents cannot be ignored by the global community.
The U.S., especially, cannot and should not ignore these global changes nor the attitudes of BILLIONS of people in the world to this carnage.
It is because I support Israeli security and the welfare of that embattled nation, that I urge restraint upon the leadership in Jerusalem.
Security cannot be acquired through murder and oppression. Terror tactics -- by anyone -- will only continue to generate a response in kind.
Sources:
New York & the World:
Scott Shane & Charlie Savage, "F.B.I. Inquiry Into E-Mails Raises Questions On Motives," in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A11. (Was Mossad a contributor to General Petraeus' troubles? Is there a partnership between the far Right-wing of the Republican party and Israeli Likud members? "Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez?" Efforts to prevent me from writing continue to go unpunished. I wonder why that is?)
Joe Nocera, "A Texas Prosecutor Faces Justice," (Op-Ed) in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A27. ("A prosecutor's conduct often goes unchallenged. Not this time." "Justice For Mumia Abu-Jamal" and "Larry Peterson Cleared by DNA.")
Ethan Bonner, "Gaza Crisis Poses Threat to Faction Favored by U.S. : Leadership in West Bank Loses Credibility as Palestinians Rally Behind Hamas," in The New York Times, November 20, 2012, at p. A1. (U.S. is one of the losers in this conflict.)
Gregory D. Johnson, "The Wrong Man For the C.I.A.," in The New York Times, November 20, 2012, at p. A27. (John Brennan is an apologist for the robot bombs and wrong for the credibility of the C.I.A. in Pakistan and the world.)
Peter Baker & David D.Kirckpatrick, "Egypt's Leader Is Crucial 'Link' in Gaza Deal," in The New York Times, November 22, 2012, at p. A1. (Keep your eyes on Muslim Bortherhood efforts now that much of the Middle East is igniting.)
Erick Echholm, "Constitutional Experts Denounce Oklahoma Judge's Sentencing of Youth to Church," in The New York Times, November 22, 2012, at p. A26. (Church and state issues are obvious with a judge's possible violations of the "Establishment Clause.")
Lauren E. Bohn, "Carter Declares a 'Crisis Stage' for Israeli/Palestinian Relations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 8. (No one was listening to President Carter's prediction of a new Gaza action or increasing hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians. No one was paying attention when Mr. Carter suggested the abandonment of a two-state solution by both sides.)
David E.Sanger & Thom Shanker, "Gaza Conflict as Trial Run: For Israel, Exploring Defense Against Iran," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A1. (No one is suggesting that Israel invade Iran these days. Israel is pondering what it cannot do alone.)
Jodi Rudoren & Isabel Kershner, "Factions in Gaza Make Unity Vow After Cease-Fire: Celebrations Ring Out," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A1. (How many Palestinians have you "interrogated," Terry Tuchin? How many African-Americans have you tortured, Mr.Tuchin? "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
David D. Kirckpatrick & Mayy el Sheik, "Citing Deadlock, Egypt's Leader Seizes New Power and Plans Mubarak Retrial," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A4. (U.S. is losing influence in the region and was marginalized in this conflict by Egypt.The American reaction seemed "inept." What happened?)
Kareem Fahim & David D. Kirckpatrick, "Violent Protests in Egypt as Leader Expands Power," in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A1. (Crowd control?)
New Jersey's Disintegration:
Jeff Pillets, et als., "Scout Abuse Files Speak Volumes: Many Decades-Old Cases Never Reported to Police; 36 New Jersey Leaders Listed," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p. A-1. (New Jersey leads the nation in the number of persons involved in these scout molestation matters. None was subjected to "hypnosis" or "therapy" by Terry Tuchin? How many persons have been falsely accused by Mr. Tuchin? What secret statements has Mr. Tuchin made against his victims? Who was providing "protection" for these so-called "scout leaders"? Or for Tuchin? Bob Yudin? Debbie Poritz? What did they do to you, Marilyn Straus? "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest.")
Rebecca D. O'Brien & Deena Yellin, "Another Luring Attempt Reported: Girl, 13, Says She Was Accosted in Westwood," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p.L-1. (N.J.'s disgusting spectacle of child molestation by persons buying "protection" explodes.)
Peter J. Sampson, "Judge Sentences Informant in Corruption Ring to 6 Years," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p. A-4. (Rabbi's son Solomon Dwek gets 6 years to study the Talmud. Friend of yours, Stuart Rabner?)
Chris Harris, "Hearing Set in Complaint Against Mayor; Official Alleges Harassment in Emerson," in The Record, October 22, 2012, at p. L-3. (Mayor Carlos Colina targeted in a suit by Joseph Scarpa, alleged underworld figure and Borough Administrator, that will be heard before Judge Ray F. McGready, who may belong to George E. Norcross, III.)
Melissa Di Pinto & Carly Romalino, "12 Year-Old Goes Riding, Does Not Come Home," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (N.J.'s nightmare of DAILY child abuse, digusting exploitation of children made possible by corruption, remains mostly unpunished. Is this an example of New Jersey's "ethics," Mr. Rabner?)
Matt Friedman, "F.B.I. Papers Threaten Ex-Sheriff's Court Bid: Oxley Won't OK Release of Dwek Conversations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (Joseph Oxley will not get to sit on the Superior Court bench because he refuses to release details of his chats with Dwek and other F.B.I. material. What's he hiding?)
Mary Ann Spoto, "Court: Due to Judge's Error, Ex-Cop Guilty of Sex Crime Not Bound by Megan's Law," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (Not everybody has to register? Was this a "mistake"? Or a deal? Was cash money exchanged?)
"North Bergen Appoints New Police Chief," in The Record, November 5, 2012, at p. L-3. (New Police Chief, ROBERT DOWD, will be responsible for protecting "Big Nicky" Sacco and Jay Romano. I remember Mr. Dowd well. He was among the officers, allegedly, targeting a former client of mine for abuse, whose official accusations were rejected as part of a Superior Court reversal of North Bergen's Municipal Court finding based on "bias.")
Scott Fallon, "Problems Persist at Sewage Facility," in The Record, November 6, 2012, at p. L-1. (More INCOMPETENCE in New Jersey government resulting in 240 MILLION gallons of untreated raw sewage pouring into New York harbor. Thanks a lot, New Jersey.)
John Reitmeyer & Melissa Hayes, "Christie Advisor Leaving Halfway House Post: His Firm Targeted in Times Series Last Summer," in The Record, November 9, 2012, at p. A-4. (William J. Palatucci, Esq., tarnished in halfway house scandals with rumored underworld affiliations and close to Mr.Christie as well as Republican "power-house" and convention delegate, will leave Community Education Centers in order to serve on the legal ethics committee, perhaps?)
David D. Kirckpatrick & Mayy el Sheikh, "An Emboldened Hamas Makes New Demands -- Netanyahu Holds Fast," in The New York Times, November 19, 2012, at p. A1.
As of the latest count 116 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli operations in Gaza, 27 children and 25 women among them. 3 Israelis have been killed. It is undisputed that all of these victims are civilians. (Some now raise the number as high as 160 persons killed in Gaza.)
The national right to self-defense does not excuse Israel's leaders in Jerusalem -- or the leadership of any other nation -- from the obligation to protect civilians and/or non-combatants, especially children.
Astonishingly, it is necessary to say this: Palestinians are human beings with the same rights as you or I, or Mr. Netanyahu. (The Israeli Prime Minister's name has appeared in the Times as "Netanjahu" and "Netanyahu.")
Mr. Obama's controlled and "minimalist" responses to questions on this issue display a Stuart Rabner-like lack of concern with the appalling human consequences of policies that are murderous and shocking to the world. I refer to the policies of everyone with guns and rockets in Gaza.
I trust that President Obama's private comments are more forthright. It is never "meaningless" for the United States of America to say:
"We are agonizing and suffering with all victims of violence in Gaza. We recognize the human reality on the ground as well as security and geopolitical issues. We are mindful -- in this season of Thankfulness -- of the pain of our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. We will strive more mightily to bring them the peace they deserve before we sit down to enjoy the good fortune and plenty available in our society. We pray for you. We must continue to struggle together to make peace."
An army used to supress or fire upon a civilian population is worthy of Assad's Syria, not something Israel should ever do. The lingering effects of trauma on a colossal scale for Palestinian and Israeli children cannot be calculated.
Sadly, a number of hacks into my sites prevented me from making corrections yesterday, as I have indicated elsewhere, which disrupted the posting of a short story for the holidays. I will return to the writing of that story soon. ("Hansel and Gretl.")
I detect the same indifference to my rights and those of readers of these writings on the part of the persons responsible for the cybercrime that I struggle against as is seen today in Gaza. This does not surprise me. ("Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
Indifference to inhumanity -- torture or harming of children to control their parents -- is monstrous and diminishes all of us.
I see little difference between America's robot bombs and the bombings of schools and hospitals by U.S.-supplied F-18 ("Phantom") fighter jets in Gaza. A writer to read on the robot bombs issue is Medea Benjamin. Noam Chomsky is still the best commentator on the "open-air prison" that is Gaza.
I cannot say whether I will be able to post this text against the constant attacks by hackers during the 45 minutes per day when I have access to the Internet. Many of my writings continue to be plagiarized.
U.S. media is unable -- or unwilling -- to cover my situation. Other national media seems to be picking-up the story, including China, I have reason to believe and hope. ("What is it like to be plagiarized?" then "'Brideshead Revisited': A Movie Review.")
People in Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and elsewhere in the Middle East are especially horrified by this latest escalation by Israel and also by the American non-response, or seeming neutrality and indifference to the humanitarian crisis.
Transformations of the Islamic world -- including profound changes that are only beginning to be felt and seen -- will dictate a change in policy from the leadership of those countries, also of European states, and much of the rest of the world. This level of human suffering by innocents cannot be ignored by the global community.
The U.S., especially, cannot and should not ignore these global changes nor the attitudes of BILLIONS of people in the world to this carnage.
It is because I support Israeli security and the welfare of that embattled nation, that I urge restraint upon the leadership in Jerusalem.
Security cannot be acquired through murder and oppression. Terror tactics -- by anyone -- will only continue to generate a response in kind.
Sources:
New York & the World:
Scott Shane & Charlie Savage, "F.B.I. Inquiry Into E-Mails Raises Questions On Motives," in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A11. (Was Mossad a contributor to General Petraeus' troubles? Is there a partnership between the far Right-wing of the Republican party and Israeli Likud members? "Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez?" Efforts to prevent me from writing continue to go unpunished. I wonder why that is?)
Joe Nocera, "A Texas Prosecutor Faces Justice," (Op-Ed) in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A27. ("A prosecutor's conduct often goes unchallenged. Not this time." "Justice For Mumia Abu-Jamal" and "Larry Peterson Cleared by DNA.")
Ethan Bonner, "Gaza Crisis Poses Threat to Faction Favored by U.S. : Leadership in West Bank Loses Credibility as Palestinians Rally Behind Hamas," in The New York Times, November 20, 2012, at p. A1. (U.S. is one of the losers in this conflict.)
Gregory D. Johnson, "The Wrong Man For the C.I.A.," in The New York Times, November 20, 2012, at p. A27. (John Brennan is an apologist for the robot bombs and wrong for the credibility of the C.I.A. in Pakistan and the world.)
Peter Baker & David D.Kirckpatrick, "Egypt's Leader Is Crucial 'Link' in Gaza Deal," in The New York Times, November 22, 2012, at p. A1. (Keep your eyes on Muslim Bortherhood efforts now that much of the Middle East is igniting.)
Erick Echholm, "Constitutional Experts Denounce Oklahoma Judge's Sentencing of Youth to Church," in The New York Times, November 22, 2012, at p. A26. (Church and state issues are obvious with a judge's possible violations of the "Establishment Clause.")
Lauren E. Bohn, "Carter Declares a 'Crisis Stage' for Israeli/Palestinian Relations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 8. (No one was listening to President Carter's prediction of a new Gaza action or increasing hostilities between Israelis and Palestinians. No one was paying attention when Mr. Carter suggested the abandonment of a two-state solution by both sides.)
David E.Sanger & Thom Shanker, "Gaza Conflict as Trial Run: For Israel, Exploring Defense Against Iran," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A1. (No one is suggesting that Israel invade Iran these days. Israel is pondering what it cannot do alone.)
Jodi Rudoren & Isabel Kershner, "Factions in Gaza Make Unity Vow After Cease-Fire: Celebrations Ring Out," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A1. (How many Palestinians have you "interrogated," Terry Tuchin? How many African-Americans have you tortured, Mr.Tuchin? "Terry Tuchin, Diana Lisa Riccioli, and New Jersey's Agency of Torture.")
David D. Kirckpatrick & Mayy el Sheik, "Citing Deadlock, Egypt's Leader Seizes New Power and Plans Mubarak Retrial," in The New York Times, November 23, 2012, at p. A4. (U.S. is losing influence in the region and was marginalized in this conflict by Egypt.The American reaction seemed "inept." What happened?)
Kareem Fahim & David D. Kirckpatrick, "Violent Protests in Egypt as Leader Expands Power," in The New York Times, November 24, 2012, at p. A1. (Crowd control?)
New Jersey's Disintegration:
Jeff Pillets, et als., "Scout Abuse Files Speak Volumes: Many Decades-Old Cases Never Reported to Police; 36 New Jersey Leaders Listed," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p. A-1. (New Jersey leads the nation in the number of persons involved in these scout molestation matters. None was subjected to "hypnosis" or "therapy" by Terry Tuchin? How many persons have been falsely accused by Mr. Tuchin? What secret statements has Mr. Tuchin made against his victims? Who was providing "protection" for these so-called "scout leaders"? Or for Tuchin? Bob Yudin? Debbie Poritz? What did they do to you, Marilyn Straus? "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest.")
Rebecca D. O'Brien & Deena Yellin, "Another Luring Attempt Reported: Girl, 13, Says She Was Accosted in Westwood," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p.L-1. (N.J.'s disgusting spectacle of child molestation by persons buying "protection" explodes.)
Peter J. Sampson, "Judge Sentences Informant in Corruption Ring to 6 Years," in The Record, October 19, 2012, at p. A-4. (Rabbi's son Solomon Dwek gets 6 years to study the Talmud. Friend of yours, Stuart Rabner?)
Chris Harris, "Hearing Set in Complaint Against Mayor; Official Alleges Harassment in Emerson," in The Record, October 22, 2012, at p. L-3. (Mayor Carlos Colina targeted in a suit by Joseph Scarpa, alleged underworld figure and Borough Administrator, that will be heard before Judge Ray F. McGready, who may belong to George E. Norcross, III.)
Melissa Di Pinto & Carly Romalino, "12 Year-Old Goes Riding, Does Not Come Home," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (N.J.'s nightmare of DAILY child abuse, digusting exploitation of children made possible by corruption, remains mostly unpunished. Is this an example of New Jersey's "ethics," Mr. Rabner?)
Matt Friedman, "F.B.I. Papers Threaten Ex-Sheriff's Court Bid: Oxley Won't OK Release of Dwek Conversations," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (Joseph Oxley will not get to sit on the Superior Court bench because he refuses to release details of his chats with Dwek and other F.B.I. material. What's he hiding?)
Mary Ann Spoto, "Court: Due to Judge's Error, Ex-Cop Guilty of Sex Crime Not Bound by Megan's Law," in The Star Ledger, October 23, 2012, at p. 13. (Not everybody has to register? Was this a "mistake"? Or a deal? Was cash money exchanged?)
"North Bergen Appoints New Police Chief," in The Record, November 5, 2012, at p. L-3. (New Police Chief, ROBERT DOWD, will be responsible for protecting "Big Nicky" Sacco and Jay Romano. I remember Mr. Dowd well. He was among the officers, allegedly, targeting a former client of mine for abuse, whose official accusations were rejected as part of a Superior Court reversal of North Bergen's Municipal Court finding based on "bias.")
Scott Fallon, "Problems Persist at Sewage Facility," in The Record, November 6, 2012, at p. L-1. (More INCOMPETENCE in New Jersey government resulting in 240 MILLION gallons of untreated raw sewage pouring into New York harbor. Thanks a lot, New Jersey.)
John Reitmeyer & Melissa Hayes, "Christie Advisor Leaving Halfway House Post: His Firm Targeted in Times Series Last Summer," in The Record, November 9, 2012, at p. A-4. (William J. Palatucci, Esq., tarnished in halfway house scandals with rumored underworld affiliations and close to Mr.Christie as well as Republican "power-house" and convention delegate, will leave Community Education Centers in order to serve on the legal ethics committee, perhaps?)
Thursday, November 15, 2012
America's "Gridlock" and the Crisis in Gaza.
November 20, 2012 at 12:35 P.M. Yesterday I was forced to retype entire paragraphs to correct a single letter because hackers altered the spacing of my texts. I believe this "technique" is part of the frustration-inducement and use of anxiety in censorship through cybercrime used against me. I will continue to write.
Isabel Kershner & Fares Akram, "Israel Assault Into Gaza Kills a Hamas Leader: Wider Conflict Feared," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (General condemnation for Israeli actions in the world.)
Mark Handler, "Obama Details Lines of Battle In Budget Plan," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (Gridlock and no reduction in taxcuts for the rich -- regardless of the election results -- according to Republicans.)
Michael S. Schmidt, Scott Stone, and Alan Delaquierre, "F.B.I. Agent in Petraeus Case Is Called a Relentless Veteran," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (FREDERICK W. HUMPPHRIES, II, 47, Republican F.B.I. agent in Florida behind Petraeus matter with Congressional "connections.")
The continuing crisis in Gaza has generated renewed hostility against U.S. embassies and Israeli interests in the world.
Particularly worrisome is the Egyptians' decision to withdraw their embassy from Israel. The Jordanians are also abandoning their embassy in Israel.
The Egyptians are only the first to reach out to President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama was seen in the Islamic world as a target of Mr. Netanyahu's hostile p.r. efforts during the reelection campaign. The U.S. president is asked to recognize the humanitarian effects of the crisis.
A foreign trip by Mr. Obama may be unwise at this time, even as a distraction from the Middle East crisis, because it suggests indifference to how these events are perceived in the world.
Fourteen persons were killed in the first day of the Isareli operation in Gaza; over one hundred Palestinians killed during the most recent "period of crisis" last month (three Israelis murdered yesterday in response to the targeted hit); and a pregnant Palestinian woman with her two children was murdered today.
In order for the U.S. to establish credibility, as a negotiator with both parties, our nation cannot be seen as an "apologist" for Israel. This is what Mr. Obama meant by creating "daylight" between Israel and America. Thus far, Mr. Obama's answers to questions concerning events in Gaza have been formulaic and disappointing.
The Israeli/American connection is and must remain fundamental and powerful. This alliance transcends any individual leader in either country.
Nevertheless, the two nations must be able to offer mutual criticisms on human rights matters and to differ on key issues at times. An explosive situation in the Middle East is the last thing Mr. Obama desires at the moment.
Egyptian "Muslim Bortherhood" members are obligated to assist their brethren in Gaza. Jordan may go up in flames, as I suggested, after the latest of two nationwide uprisings against King Abdullah.
Israel may wish to worry more about Jordan, right next door, than Iran. A number of Egyptians and others are making their way to Jordan for reasons other than tourism. Some prospective fighters are coming from as far away as North Africa, I believe, with the goal of entering Israel to carry out attacks.
The Egyptian Prime Minister is visiting Gaza today, sharing the emergency with Palestinians, and he "experienced" the death of a child held in his arms -- a child who had been wounded in the bombings, as reported on Al Jazeera.
Overwhelming military superiority on the part of Israel has created a situation in which the Isareli military acts, routinely, without severe military consequences in response (fortunately!), while generating intense political and diplomatic consequences for America as well as for the Israeli government.
Libya (and/or "Lybia" and/or "Libyia") is nothing compared to the situation in Gaza right now. There are at least 9 countries in which the U.S. embassy is threatened as I type these words.
As long as the U.S. is identified with Israel's military tactics -- or is deemed responsible for Israeli superiority -- we will share the adverse effects of Israel's actions.
I believe in Israel's right to exist and be secure. American military action would be appropriate to prevent severe harm to Israel, by any nation and for any reason, in the unlikely event that the Israeli military could not deal with the challenge.
The question is whether Israeli military action in Gaza is a "feasible and proportionate" response to the security issues raised by recent rocket attacks by Hamas in light of the likely human consequences.
This is, in fact, the debate currently taking place within Israeli politics, both on the Left and Right.
I am glad that Ehud Barak is Foreign Secretary/Minister of Defense, as former Prime Minister, he has experience and is very cool under pressure. The issue is more complicated than the undisputed right of every nation to self-defense. Persons to read on the Israeli/Palestinian crisis are Noam Chomsky and Richard Falk.
Israel wishes to avoid boots on the ground in Gaza. Allegations that this operation is a stunt by Mr. Netanjahu to gain votes in the upcoming election seem absurd to me.
I condemn not the killing of the Hamas leader, but the taking of so many innocent lives which cannot be minimized in a crowded urban setting.
As a result, on humanitarian grounds, continued operations in Gaza would be improper. Additional rocket attacks by Hamas, however, will ensure that such operations will continue indefinitely.
I urge Israel -- as difficult as it may be -- to exercise restraint in this situation. There is no point in making suh a request from Hamas. Allow the diplomats time to deal with the crisis. I hope that Professor Chomsky made it home safely.
The Cuban embargo is also resulting in deaths and suffering to innocent people. By siding with the U.S. -- or even by not voting against the U.S. position -- Israel has been further isolated in the world.
This is an instance of Israel paying a political price for siding with the U.S. on an issue where (I believe) that nation otherwise agrees with the world community that opposes the embargo.
The U.N. will probably, once again, condem this barbarism. Any embargo is an act of war on a civilian population. I believe that this issue is reconsidered every year. There will be new opportunities to persuade the president on this embargo issue. If the U.S. position changes, I am sure Israel will also agree to end the embargo.
The targeting of diplomats, such as Susan Rice, for reprisals to embarass the president is offensive. Having said that, I am sure that Ms. Rice is not the best candidate for Secretary of State where an experienced political figure, like John Kerry, is needed and available.
My e-mail accounts are blocked, illegally. I have only 45 minutes per day to write my essays and other texts. I am subjected to a variety of harassments at public computers after the destruction of my home computer. No images can be posted at these blogs. No answer to my continuing requests for the truth in my matters has been received from New Jersey.
If I were able to post images with this essay, I would attach the photo of a Palestinian journalist holding his murdered eleven month-old son, a casualty of the most recent wave of bombings. He is seen weeping while posing his unaswerable question to the world: "What has my son done to deserve this death?"
A list of sources detailing incidents of corruption, incompetence, frauds, and other examples of the failure of New Jersey's legal system will be attached to this comment in the days ahead, provided that I am able to continue writing on-line.
America's selective and slanted coverage of the Gaza crisis is shameful.
I am unable to add a list of sources due to vandalism at this site that alters paragraphs when I attempt to make corrections. Hence, I may have to post the list of sources separately. I will try to add those sources because they are important.
Sources:
New York & the World:
Jodi Rudoren & Isabel Kershner, "Israel Widens Gaza Assault, Hitting Government Targets: Diplomats Confer in Cairo, Pressing for a Cease-Fire," in The New York Times, November 18, 2012, at p. A1. (The crisis in Gaza is escalating, more children are dying.)
Ethan Bonner, "With Longer Reach, Rockets Bolster Hamas Arsenal," in The New York Times, November 18, 2012, at p. A1. (Israeli civilians are still under threat.)
Jodi Rudoren, "Netanjahu Says He'd Go It Alone On Striking Iran," in The New York Times, November 6, 2012, at p. A5. (The Gaza crisis is the greatest achievement of Iran's intelligence services.)
"Names of the Dead," in The New York Times, November 6, 2012, at p. A7. (Over 12,000 wounded; 2,132 casualties in Afghanistan of American service members.)
Joe Nocera, "A Texas Prosecutor Faces Justice," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A27. (Finally, an attempt to deal with the plague of prosecutorial misconduct, lying, falsifying, denial of evidence and cover-ups that destroys innocent lives. "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")
Jodi Rudoren, "Riots Erupt Across Jordan Over Gas Prices," in The New York Times, November 14, 2012, at p. A7. (Jordan is close to crisis stage.)
Isabel Kershner & Fares Akram, "Israeli Assault Into Gaza Kills a Hamas Leader," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (Who are the "fighters" going to Israel to assist the Palestinians?)
Ethan Bonner, "Israel, Battlefield Altered, Takes a Tougher Approach," in The New York Times, November 17, 2012, at p. A1. (" ... the arrival in Gaza and Sinai from North Africa of other militants ..." Israel should look at this issue closely.)
"Another Israel-Gaza War? Israel's Right to Defend Itself is Unarguable, but Is This the Best Way?," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A34. ("Engaging in a full-scale war is especially risky. ...")
Isabel Kershner & Rick Gladstone, "Israel and Hamas Step Up Air Attacks in Gaza: Tel Aviv a Target as Calls For Restraint Are Rejected," in The New York Times, November 16, 2012, at p. A1. (30,000 to 70,000 reserves called-up for possible ground war. This is the worst possible outcome for all parties.)
New Jersey & the World:
Melissa Hayes & John Reitmeyer, "Governor Open to 'Smart' Halfway House Fixes," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-1. (The halfway house scandal will follow Mr. Christie and will hurt the governor in any future campaign.)
Richard Cowen, "N. Halledon Mayor, Chief Used Borough Generators: Council Investigating; Merchant Reaction Mixed," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-1. (More of the Jersey Shuffle as people in emergency rooms were left without power.)
Tom Hayden, "Federal Panel Rejects Appeal of Ex-Mayor's Corruption Conviction: Judges -- Evidence Finding Democrat Guilty is Sufficient," in The Star Ledger, November 13, 2012, at p. 15. (Joe Vas, a former Menendez capo then an enemy, lost his appeal, but claims: "I didn't know from nothing!")
"School Chief's Folly: He Takes a Van, Generator, Vacation," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-10. (The usual scams with compensation, taxpayer-provided vacations, in the midst of Sandy's terrors.)
Mary Jo Layton, "Suit Alleges Years of Scout Abuse: Incidents Date to the 1990s," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. A-1. (Dozens of boys molested by protected persons in New Jersey. "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")
AP, "House Report to Blame Corzine Over MF Global," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. A-8. (GOP members say collapse is due to Corzine's decisions as is the "disappearance" of over $1 BILLION in customer money.)
Peter J. Sampson, "Union Leaders Arrested: Allegedly Stole $350,000 From IBEW," in The Record, November 16, 2012, at p. A-1. (Labor "leaders" connected to mob and politicians steal $350,000. "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" and "Mafia Influence in New Jersey Courts and Politics.")
Marcy Gordon, "Corzine Faulted in Debacle," in The Record, November 16, 2012, at p. L-9. (Corzine faulted for $6.3 BILLION bet on European countries' debt, nearly $2 BILLION of clients' money flew the coop while Corzine's money was tucked away. Mr. Corzine testified under oath that he "did not know what happened.")
Nick Clunn, "Cop Sued in Case of Mistaken Identity: Paterson Man Alleges Beating," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. L-1. (N.J. is famous for cases of "mistaken identity" featuring victims of police violence and criminality. "Albert Florence and New Jersey's Racism" and "Driving While Black [DWB] in New Jersey.")
Denisa R. Superville, "Ex-Officer's Case Costs Bogota $85,000 -- Fees Likely to Rise After Review," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. L-3. (Officer Regina Tasca -- first lesbian woman on force -- fired in violation of her rights for doing the right thing.)
Richard Cowen, "Mayor Draws Controversy: Faces Inquiry Over Generator Use as well as Two Lawsuits," in The Record, November 15, 2012, at p. L-6. (Randy George says: "Let 'em eat cake.")
Isabel Kershner & Fares Akram, "Israel Assault Into Gaza Kills a Hamas Leader: Wider Conflict Feared," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (General condemnation for Israeli actions in the world.)
Mark Handler, "Obama Details Lines of Battle In Budget Plan," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (Gridlock and no reduction in taxcuts for the rich -- regardless of the election results -- according to Republicans.)
Michael S. Schmidt, Scott Stone, and Alan Delaquierre, "F.B.I. Agent in Petraeus Case Is Called a Relentless Veteran," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (FREDERICK W. HUMPPHRIES, II, 47, Republican F.B.I. agent in Florida behind Petraeus matter with Congressional "connections.")
The continuing crisis in Gaza has generated renewed hostility against U.S. embassies and Israeli interests in the world.
Particularly worrisome is the Egyptians' decision to withdraw their embassy from Israel. The Jordanians are also abandoning their embassy in Israel.
The Egyptians are only the first to reach out to President Barack Obama. Mr. Obama was seen in the Islamic world as a target of Mr. Netanyahu's hostile p.r. efforts during the reelection campaign. The U.S. president is asked to recognize the humanitarian effects of the crisis.
A foreign trip by Mr. Obama may be unwise at this time, even as a distraction from the Middle East crisis, because it suggests indifference to how these events are perceived in the world.
Fourteen persons were killed in the first day of the Isareli operation in Gaza; over one hundred Palestinians killed during the most recent "period of crisis" last month (three Israelis murdered yesterday in response to the targeted hit); and a pregnant Palestinian woman with her two children was murdered today.
In order for the U.S. to establish credibility, as a negotiator with both parties, our nation cannot be seen as an "apologist" for Israel. This is what Mr. Obama meant by creating "daylight" between Israel and America. Thus far, Mr. Obama's answers to questions concerning events in Gaza have been formulaic and disappointing.
The Israeli/American connection is and must remain fundamental and powerful. This alliance transcends any individual leader in either country.
Nevertheless, the two nations must be able to offer mutual criticisms on human rights matters and to differ on key issues at times. An explosive situation in the Middle East is the last thing Mr. Obama desires at the moment.
Egyptian "Muslim Bortherhood" members are obligated to assist their brethren in Gaza. Jordan may go up in flames, as I suggested, after the latest of two nationwide uprisings against King Abdullah.
Israel may wish to worry more about Jordan, right next door, than Iran. A number of Egyptians and others are making their way to Jordan for reasons other than tourism. Some prospective fighters are coming from as far away as North Africa, I believe, with the goal of entering Israel to carry out attacks.
The Egyptian Prime Minister is visiting Gaza today, sharing the emergency with Palestinians, and he "experienced" the death of a child held in his arms -- a child who had been wounded in the bombings, as reported on Al Jazeera.
Overwhelming military superiority on the part of Israel has created a situation in which the Isareli military acts, routinely, without severe military consequences in response (fortunately!), while generating intense political and diplomatic consequences for America as well as for the Israeli government.
Libya (and/or "Lybia" and/or "Libyia") is nothing compared to the situation in Gaza right now. There are at least 9 countries in which the U.S. embassy is threatened as I type these words.
As long as the U.S. is identified with Israel's military tactics -- or is deemed responsible for Israeli superiority -- we will share the adverse effects of Israel's actions.
I believe in Israel's right to exist and be secure. American military action would be appropriate to prevent severe harm to Israel, by any nation and for any reason, in the unlikely event that the Israeli military could not deal with the challenge.
The question is whether Israeli military action in Gaza is a "feasible and proportionate" response to the security issues raised by recent rocket attacks by Hamas in light of the likely human consequences.
This is, in fact, the debate currently taking place within Israeli politics, both on the Left and Right.
I am glad that Ehud Barak is Foreign Secretary/Minister of Defense, as former Prime Minister, he has experience and is very cool under pressure. The issue is more complicated than the undisputed right of every nation to self-defense. Persons to read on the Israeli/Palestinian crisis are Noam Chomsky and Richard Falk.
Israel wishes to avoid boots on the ground in Gaza. Allegations that this operation is a stunt by Mr. Netanjahu to gain votes in the upcoming election seem absurd to me.
I condemn not the killing of the Hamas leader, but the taking of so many innocent lives which cannot be minimized in a crowded urban setting.
As a result, on humanitarian grounds, continued operations in Gaza would be improper. Additional rocket attacks by Hamas, however, will ensure that such operations will continue indefinitely.
I urge Israel -- as difficult as it may be -- to exercise restraint in this situation. There is no point in making suh a request from Hamas. Allow the diplomats time to deal with the crisis. I hope that Professor Chomsky made it home safely.
The Cuban embargo is also resulting in deaths and suffering to innocent people. By siding with the U.S. -- or even by not voting against the U.S. position -- Israel has been further isolated in the world.
This is an instance of Israel paying a political price for siding with the U.S. on an issue where (I believe) that nation otherwise agrees with the world community that opposes the embargo.
The U.N. will probably, once again, condem this barbarism. Any embargo is an act of war on a civilian population. I believe that this issue is reconsidered every year. There will be new opportunities to persuade the president on this embargo issue. If the U.S. position changes, I am sure Israel will also agree to end the embargo.
The targeting of diplomats, such as Susan Rice, for reprisals to embarass the president is offensive. Having said that, I am sure that Ms. Rice is not the best candidate for Secretary of State where an experienced political figure, like John Kerry, is needed and available.
My e-mail accounts are blocked, illegally. I have only 45 minutes per day to write my essays and other texts. I am subjected to a variety of harassments at public computers after the destruction of my home computer. No images can be posted at these blogs. No answer to my continuing requests for the truth in my matters has been received from New Jersey.
If I were able to post images with this essay, I would attach the photo of a Palestinian journalist holding his murdered eleven month-old son, a casualty of the most recent wave of bombings. He is seen weeping while posing his unaswerable question to the world: "What has my son done to deserve this death?"
A list of sources detailing incidents of corruption, incompetence, frauds, and other examples of the failure of New Jersey's legal system will be attached to this comment in the days ahead, provided that I am able to continue writing on-line.
America's selective and slanted coverage of the Gaza crisis is shameful.
I am unable to add a list of sources due to vandalism at this site that alters paragraphs when I attempt to make corrections. Hence, I may have to post the list of sources separately. I will try to add those sources because they are important.
Sources:
New York & the World:
Jodi Rudoren & Isabel Kershner, "Israel Widens Gaza Assault, Hitting Government Targets: Diplomats Confer in Cairo, Pressing for a Cease-Fire," in The New York Times, November 18, 2012, at p. A1. (The crisis in Gaza is escalating, more children are dying.)
Ethan Bonner, "With Longer Reach, Rockets Bolster Hamas Arsenal," in The New York Times, November 18, 2012, at p. A1. (Israeli civilians are still under threat.)
Jodi Rudoren, "Netanjahu Says He'd Go It Alone On Striking Iran," in The New York Times, November 6, 2012, at p. A5. (The Gaza crisis is the greatest achievement of Iran's intelligence services.)
"Names of the Dead," in The New York Times, November 6, 2012, at p. A7. (Over 12,000 wounded; 2,132 casualties in Afghanistan of American service members.)
Joe Nocera, "A Texas Prosecutor Faces Justice," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A27. (Finally, an attempt to deal with the plague of prosecutorial misconduct, lying, falsifying, denial of evidence and cover-ups that destroys innocent lives. "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System" and "New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics.")
Jodi Rudoren, "Riots Erupt Across Jordan Over Gas Prices," in The New York Times, November 14, 2012, at p. A7. (Jordan is close to crisis stage.)
Isabel Kershner & Fares Akram, "Israeli Assault Into Gaza Kills a Hamas Leader," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A1. (Who are the "fighters" going to Israel to assist the Palestinians?)
Ethan Bonner, "Israel, Battlefield Altered, Takes a Tougher Approach," in The New York Times, November 17, 2012, at p. A1. (" ... the arrival in Gaza and Sinai from North Africa of other militants ..." Israel should look at this issue closely.)
"Another Israel-Gaza War? Israel's Right to Defend Itself is Unarguable, but Is This the Best Way?," in The New York Times, November 15, 2012, at p. A34. ("Engaging in a full-scale war is especially risky. ...")
Isabel Kershner & Rick Gladstone, "Israel and Hamas Step Up Air Attacks in Gaza: Tel Aviv a Target as Calls For Restraint Are Rejected," in The New York Times, November 16, 2012, at p. A1. (30,000 to 70,000 reserves called-up for possible ground war. This is the worst possible outcome for all parties.)
New Jersey & the World:
Melissa Hayes & John Reitmeyer, "Governor Open to 'Smart' Halfway House Fixes," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-1. (The halfway house scandal will follow Mr. Christie and will hurt the governor in any future campaign.)
Richard Cowen, "N. Halledon Mayor, Chief Used Borough Generators: Council Investigating; Merchant Reaction Mixed," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-1. (More of the Jersey Shuffle as people in emergency rooms were left without power.)
Tom Hayden, "Federal Panel Rejects Appeal of Ex-Mayor's Corruption Conviction: Judges -- Evidence Finding Democrat Guilty is Sufficient," in The Star Ledger, November 13, 2012, at p. 15. (Joe Vas, a former Menendez capo then an enemy, lost his appeal, but claims: "I didn't know from nothing!")
"School Chief's Folly: He Takes a Van, Generator, Vacation," in The Record, November 13, 2012, at p. A-10. (The usual scams with compensation, taxpayer-provided vacations, in the midst of Sandy's terrors.)
Mary Jo Layton, "Suit Alleges Years of Scout Abuse: Incidents Date to the 1990s," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. A-1. (Dozens of boys molested by protected persons in New Jersey. "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")
AP, "House Report to Blame Corzine Over MF Global," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. A-8. (GOP members say collapse is due to Corzine's decisions as is the "disappearance" of over $1 BILLION in customer money.)
Peter J. Sampson, "Union Leaders Arrested: Allegedly Stole $350,000 From IBEW," in The Record, November 16, 2012, at p. A-1. (Labor "leaders" connected to mob and politicians steal $350,000. "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" and "Mafia Influence in New Jersey Courts and Politics.")
Marcy Gordon, "Corzine Faulted in Debacle," in The Record, November 16, 2012, at p. L-9. (Corzine faulted for $6.3 BILLION bet on European countries' debt, nearly $2 BILLION of clients' money flew the coop while Corzine's money was tucked away. Mr. Corzine testified under oath that he "did not know what happened.")
Nick Clunn, "Cop Sued in Case of Mistaken Identity: Paterson Man Alleges Beating," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. L-1. (N.J. is famous for cases of "mistaken identity" featuring victims of police violence and criminality. "Albert Florence and New Jersey's Racism" and "Driving While Black [DWB] in New Jersey.")
Denisa R. Superville, "Ex-Officer's Case Costs Bogota $85,000 -- Fees Likely to Rise After Review," in The Record, November 14, 2012, at p. L-3. (Officer Regina Tasca -- first lesbian woman on force -- fired in violation of her rights for doing the right thing.)
Richard Cowen, "Mayor Draws Controversy: Faces Inquiry Over Generator Use as well as Two Lawsuits," in The Record, November 15, 2012, at p. L-6. (Randy George says: "Let 'em eat cake.")
Friday, November 9, 2012
Republicans, Unplugged.
November 14, 2012 at 2:10 P.M. Once again, the Cuban embargo has come before the General Assembly. Global opinion is overwhelmingly on the side of ending the embargo. This archaic piece of cold war legislation is causing millions to suffer in Cuba and billions of dollars to be lost by the economies of both countries. Strangulation of the Cuban people is inhumane and counterproductive.
I appreciate the political pressures on President Obama. However, like many persons of conscience, I urge the president to abandon this failed experiment in political blackmail. I am sure that, once more, the U.S. will be embarassed by the U.N. vote. I will continue to argue against this law, every year. ("Time to End the Embargo Against Cuba.")
Today's targeted assassination by Israel of a Hamas leader and killing of fourteen others, including a number of children in Gaza, is the first crisis of the second term for President Obama. Noam Chomsky happens to be in Gaza. Professor Chomsky may be endangered by these events. Let us hope that Mr. Chomsky -- the world's foremost linguist and rationalist philosopher -- will come home safely.
November 9, 2012 at 10:15 A.M. I received a call from "JAZMIN" (what happened to "Muhammad" or "Marcel"?), allegedly, from Time/Warner. The call ostensibly emanated from 718-358-0900. At 11:53 A.M. and 2:50 P.M., I received calls from 845-206-4250. Apparently, these calls came from the same source.
I did not realize that Time/Warner used a cell phone to call customers about their bills. My cable bill was paid on November 7, 2012 even though it is not due until November 11, 2012.
In the aftermath of Sandy -- which has affected so many people's lives in this city and in New Jersey -- Time/Warner, allegedly, was so concerned about payment of a bill which is not due until December 6, 2012, about one month from now, that Ms. Jazmin was required to call my home to remind me to pay this forthcoming bill, or my service would be cut off, or I may incur "additional fees."
Obviously, this was not a call from Time/Warner, Mr. Menendez. I doubt that "Jazmin" is the real name of the person making this call. ("Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" and "Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez.")
These tactics of harassment, cybercrime, censorship and much worse are racist ("Jazmin"?) and unethical as well as criminal.
Use of so-called "psychological torture tactics" should have no place in our politics. Harassments of those who disagree with you, Mr. Tuchin, will not change the results of the presidential election. ("Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez" and "An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli.")
I was glad to learn that President Obama won Florida's electoral votes, bringing his total to 332. Perhaps Mr. Rubio and Ms. Ros-Leghtinen can lead the effort for "bipartisanship" in Miami. Mr. Obama won the Latino vote in the "Sunshine State" by a comfortable margin. Mr. Rubio's efforts on behalf of the Republican ticket may have helped President Obama. About 50% of Cuban-Americans, again, voted for the President.
David Rivera's ethics charges and possible future indictment in Florida is said to have opened a door into new investigations of more of Mr. Rubio's "friends." Allegations of involvement by the Right-wing Cuban-Americans in the troubles of General Petraeus can not be confirmed. Is this about intimidating or embarassing Mr. Obama? ("Cubanazos Pose a Threat to National Security.")
Please see: Michael D. Shear, "As Electorate Changes, Fresh Worry for G.O.P.," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A1 and Nicholas Confessore & Jess Bidgood, "Little to Show For Cash Flood Big Donors," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A1. (Citizens United did not help?)
Use of gutter tactics derived from foreign intelligence agencies designed to damage people emotionally, permanently, is not the best future direction for partisan politics in America. We must find common ground, "Jazmin." ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
An unidentified F.B.I. agent "alerted the office of representative Eric Cantor, REPUBLICAN of Virginia, the House Majority Leader, about the inquiry [into Mr. Petraeus's love-life] in late October ..."
Scott Shane & Charlie Savage, "Timeline Shows F.B.I. Discovered Affair in Summer: Congress Seeks Inquiry," in The New York Times, November 12, 2012, at p. A1-A8.
What role, if any, Ms. Ros-Leghtinen and Marco Rubio have played in this matter is unknown at this time. Curiously, F.B.I. concern about possible cybercrime in Florida led to an investigation that resulted in the C.I.A. Director's resignation. More serious and well-documented allegations of cybercrime and cyberstalking at these blogs continue to be ignored. ("How censorship works in America.")
Denial of what is now obvious cybercrime and censorship, also much worse, is not the answer for New Jersey. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
It is vitally important that New Jersey acknowledge responsibility for terrible crimes committed against innocent persons by overzealous enthusiasts, like John McGill, Esq. perhaps. ("New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics" and "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics" then "Herbert Klitzner, Esq.'s Greed and New Jersey's Hypocrisy.")
Privacy rights cannot continue to be violated with impunity: What did you know, Ms. Poritz, and when did you know it? ("Deborah T. Poritz and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey" then "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest.")
Please direct all insults and threats to me, not my family members, New Jersey. Happy holidays.
"We'll leave Republicans to their discussions in quiet rooms in the hope that at least a few are suggesting throwing out their old and failing play book, seemingly written by and for a dwindling society of angry white men."
"Republicans, Unplugged: A Divided America Heard the Right-Wing Appeal to Fear and Resentment and Didn't Buy It," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A22 (emphasis added).
Have you no sense of shame, Mr. Rabner? ("No More Cover-Ups and Lies, Chief Justice Rabner!" then "Chief Justice Rabner and the Decline of the New Jersey Supreme Court.")
A list of sources will be attached to this essay in the days ahead if I am able to regain access to these blogs in order to continue writing.
Sources:
New York and the World:
Adam Liptak, "Question for Justices: When Does Evidence Require a New Trial?," in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A16. (Justice Scalia is quoted as saying: "Like other human institutions, courts and juries are not perfect. One cannot have a system of criminal punishment without accepting the possibility that someone will be punished mistakenly. That is a truism, not a revelation." Would Justice Scalia be equally sanguine about such a "mistake" if he or his family members were subjected to it? Does Mr. Scalia's analysis change if mistakes are made more often when defendants are African-Americans or Latinos as opposed to whites?)
Patrick Di Leo, "Caught Rigging the Game: Explains What's at the Heart of the Scandal at Barclay's Bank and Beyond," in Socialist Worker, August, 2012, at p. 7. (Barclay's Bank fined $455 MILLION for actions in connection with the "loss" or "disappearance" of several billion dollars. No one will go to prison: "So Black and So Blue in Prison" and "Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison.")
Alan Moss, "Chief Injustice or Health Care Hero?," in Socialist Worker, August, 2012, at p. 10. http://www.socialistworker.org/node/19012. (Chief Justice Roberts experiences an epiphany. Did he vote for Obama/Biden?)
Roger Kimball, "A Vicious Narcissus: On the Career of Gore Vidal," in National Review, August 27, 2012, at p. 27. (A man criticized by Gore Vidal, who refused to debate Vidal at the time of the criticisms, now publishes an attack on the deceased novelist. See Vidal's essay "The Hacks of Academe" and my essay "Book Chats and 'Chits.'" Has Mr. Kimball visited my sites? James Wood? Jim Holt? Has Mr. Kimball used either of those names in writing articles for publication?)
Richard A. Posner, "The Spirit Killeth, But the Letter Giveth Life," in The New Republic, September 13, 2012, at p. 18. (Judge Posner offers an effective critique of Mr. Scalia's theory of interpretation.)
David Kaiser & Lovisa Stannow, "Obama Tries to Stop Prison Rape," in The New York Review of Books, October 11, 2012, at p. 49. (Is Mr. Romney "for" prison rape? 1 out of 3 U.S. women in prisons will be raped, many of them more than once.)
"Romney Versus the Automakers: He Can't Admit the Bailout Helped, So He Decided to Invent Problems With It," in The New York Times, November 1, 2012, at p. A30. (Why Romney lost.)
"Report On Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails," Dept. of Justice, April, 2012, 88 pages.
http://www.ojp.usdojgove/reviewpanel/pdfs/prea_finalreport_2012.pdf
Kate Zernike, "One Result of Hurricane: Bipartisanship Flows," in The New York Times, November 1, 2012, at p. A26. (Irony, Ms. Guardagno? No conflict of interest for a government lawyer writing, as a journalist, under the name "Kate Zernike"?)
Scott Shane, "Petraeus's Lover C.I.A. Profile Leaves Void in Benghazi Furor," in The New York Times, November 3, 2012, at p. A1. (Is there an Israeli/Miami connection in this matter? The New York Post is delighted to feature a classy headline that reads: "Cloak and Shag Her!")
Adam Nagovsky, "How a Race in the Balance Went to Obama," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. 1. ("Election, 2012" Analysis and breakdown. Not as close as we thought. The issue of continuing tax cuts for the rich was decided by the electorate. These tax cuts must be ended. Gridlock will not go away.)
New Jersey's Sad Decline:
"Failure at 4Cs: Former Director Gets a Huge Nest Egg," (Editorial) in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. A-12. (MARY ANN MIRKO, scooped $1.4 MILLION for her retirement benefits and other perks in addition to a hefty salary as a "non-profit" executive. These scams have to end in New Jersey. As a result of this greed, the 4Cs of Passaic County will lose $900,000 in funding: "Celeste Carpiano Likes Da Shore.")
Kibret Marcos, "Zisa Linked to Cops On Trial: Dispatcher Says Ex-Chief Seen On Night of Alleged Tampering," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-1. (Despite being sentenced to years in prison, Mr. Zisa -- former Hackensack Chief of Police -- has yet to serve a minute behind bars.)
Justo Bautista, "Doctor Pleads Guilty to Kickback Charge," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-3. (Dr. Bercik? LUCIO CARDOSO, 54, admits to "kickback scheme" with Orange, New Jersey diagnostic center. Lawyers may have been involved. Judges?)
Chris Harris, "Schroeder Hears Criminal Charges in Hillsdale: Accused of Writing Bad Checks," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-3. (New Jersey Assembly's "member" goes under.)
Lindy Washburn & Barbara Williams, "Car Insurer Files Suit Against Meadowlands Hospital Owner," in The Record, October 12, 2012, at p. A-4. (Alleged fraudulent claims by lawyers and doctors who are, so far, protected from professional ethics and legal claims.)
Abbott Koloff & Justo Bautista, "Cop Accused of Sex Assault: Essex Sheriff's Officer is Wayne Man," in The Record, October 12, 2012, at p. L-1. (THOMAS INGHAM, 48, charged with sexual assault of an 18 year-old young woman. Officer Ingham investigates sex offenses. Did Ms. Poritz enjoy the company of young women, Diana Lisa Riccioli?)
Colleen Disla & Mary Jo Layton, "N.J. Scout Leader in Sex Files: 'Perversion' Papers Tell of Secret Dismissals," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. A-1. (A number of prominent persons in New Jersey may be part of a child molestation network that is sheltered in the state. Multiple pending investigations are still "open." "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")
Denisa R. Superville, "Parents On Edge Over Luring: Officials Sound Call for Vigilance," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. L-1. (As long as New Jersey's many bribed politicians continue to provide protection for the child sex industry, these activities will flourish.)
Kibret Marcos, "Another Officer Denies Aiding a Cover-Up: Says Captain Chose Not to File Charges," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. L-1. (Filing false charges, altering reports, hiding evidence, covering-up atrocities to protect insiders is not limited to the Office of Attorney Ethics -- OAE -- but defines a number of police departments and agencies in New Jersey.)
Salvador Rizzo, "Resurgent Menendez in Line to Lead Panel," in The Star Ledger, November 13, 2012, at p. 1. (Favorable coverage in New Jersey media may be expensive for Bob. Senator Menendez wants to head the "Foreign Relations Committee" of the U.S. Senate: "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" then "Is Senator Bob 'For' Human Rights?" and "Senator Bob, the Babe, and the Big Bucks" then "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics.")
I appreciate the political pressures on President Obama. However, like many persons of conscience, I urge the president to abandon this failed experiment in political blackmail. I am sure that, once more, the U.S. will be embarassed by the U.N. vote. I will continue to argue against this law, every year. ("Time to End the Embargo Against Cuba.")
Today's targeted assassination by Israel of a Hamas leader and killing of fourteen others, including a number of children in Gaza, is the first crisis of the second term for President Obama. Noam Chomsky happens to be in Gaza. Professor Chomsky may be endangered by these events. Let us hope that Mr. Chomsky -- the world's foremost linguist and rationalist philosopher -- will come home safely.
November 9, 2012 at 10:15 A.M. I received a call from "JAZMIN" (what happened to "Muhammad" or "Marcel"?), allegedly, from Time/Warner. The call ostensibly emanated from 718-358-0900. At 11:53 A.M. and 2:50 P.M., I received calls from 845-206-4250. Apparently, these calls came from the same source.
I did not realize that Time/Warner used a cell phone to call customers about their bills. My cable bill was paid on November 7, 2012 even though it is not due until November 11, 2012.
In the aftermath of Sandy -- which has affected so many people's lives in this city and in New Jersey -- Time/Warner, allegedly, was so concerned about payment of a bill which is not due until December 6, 2012, about one month from now, that Ms. Jazmin was required to call my home to remind me to pay this forthcoming bill, or my service would be cut off, or I may incur "additional fees."
Obviously, this was not a call from Time/Warner, Mr. Menendez. I doubt that "Jazmin" is the real name of the person making this call. ("Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" and "Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez.")
These tactics of harassment, cybercrime, censorship and much worse are racist ("Jazmin"?) and unethical as well as criminal.
Use of so-called "psychological torture tactics" should have no place in our politics. Harassments of those who disagree with you, Mr. Tuchin, will not change the results of the presidential election. ("Illegal Payments to Bob Menendez" and "An Open Letter to My Torturers in New Jersey, Terry Tuchin and Diana Lisa Riccioli.")
I was glad to learn that President Obama won Florida's electoral votes, bringing his total to 332. Perhaps Mr. Rubio and Ms. Ros-Leghtinen can lead the effort for "bipartisanship" in Miami. Mr. Obama won the Latino vote in the "Sunshine State" by a comfortable margin. Mr. Rubio's efforts on behalf of the Republican ticket may have helped President Obama. About 50% of Cuban-Americans, again, voted for the President.
David Rivera's ethics charges and possible future indictment in Florida is said to have opened a door into new investigations of more of Mr. Rubio's "friends." Allegations of involvement by the Right-wing Cuban-Americans in the troubles of General Petraeus can not be confirmed. Is this about intimidating or embarassing Mr. Obama? ("Cubanazos Pose a Threat to National Security.")
Please see: Michael D. Shear, "As Electorate Changes, Fresh Worry for G.O.P.," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A1 and Nicholas Confessore & Jess Bidgood, "Little to Show For Cash Flood Big Donors," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A1. (Citizens United did not help?)
Use of gutter tactics derived from foreign intelligence agencies designed to damage people emotionally, permanently, is not the best future direction for partisan politics in America. We must find common ground, "Jazmin." ("Law and Ethics in the Soprano State" and "New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
An unidentified F.B.I. agent "alerted the office of representative Eric Cantor, REPUBLICAN of Virginia, the House Majority Leader, about the inquiry [into Mr. Petraeus's love-life] in late October ..."
Scott Shane & Charlie Savage, "Timeline Shows F.B.I. Discovered Affair in Summer: Congress Seeks Inquiry," in The New York Times, November 12, 2012, at p. A1-A8.
What role, if any, Ms. Ros-Leghtinen and Marco Rubio have played in this matter is unknown at this time. Curiously, F.B.I. concern about possible cybercrime in Florida led to an investigation that resulted in the C.I.A. Director's resignation. More serious and well-documented allegations of cybercrime and cyberstalking at these blogs continue to be ignored. ("How censorship works in America.")
Denial of what is now obvious cybercrime and censorship, also much worse, is not the answer for New Jersey. ("New Jersey's 'Ethical' Legal System.")
It is vitally important that New Jersey acknowledge responsibility for terrible crimes committed against innocent persons by overzealous enthusiasts, like John McGill, Esq. perhaps. ("New Jersey's Office of Attorney Ethics" and "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics" then "Herbert Klitzner, Esq.'s Greed and New Jersey's Hypocrisy.")
Privacy rights cannot continue to be violated with impunity: What did you know, Ms. Poritz, and when did you know it? ("Deborah T. Poritz and Conduct Unbecoming to the Judiciary in New Jersey" then "Trenton's Nasty Lesbian Love-Fest.")
Please direct all insults and threats to me, not my family members, New Jersey. Happy holidays.
"We'll leave Republicans to their discussions in quiet rooms in the hope that at least a few are suggesting throwing out their old and failing play book, seemingly written by and for a dwindling society of angry white men."
"Republicans, Unplugged: A Divided America Heard the Right-Wing Appeal to Fear and Resentment and Didn't Buy It," (Editorial) in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. A22 (emphasis added).
Have you no sense of shame, Mr. Rabner? ("No More Cover-Ups and Lies, Chief Justice Rabner!" then "Chief Justice Rabner and the Decline of the New Jersey Supreme Court.")
A list of sources will be attached to this essay in the days ahead if I am able to regain access to these blogs in order to continue writing.
Sources:
New York and the World:
Adam Liptak, "Question for Justices: When Does Evidence Require a New Trial?," in The New York Times, November 13, 2012, at p. A16. (Justice Scalia is quoted as saying: "Like other human institutions, courts and juries are not perfect. One cannot have a system of criminal punishment without accepting the possibility that someone will be punished mistakenly. That is a truism, not a revelation." Would Justice Scalia be equally sanguine about such a "mistake" if he or his family members were subjected to it? Does Mr. Scalia's analysis change if mistakes are made more often when defendants are African-Americans or Latinos as opposed to whites?)
Patrick Di Leo, "Caught Rigging the Game: Explains What's at the Heart of the Scandal at Barclay's Bank and Beyond," in Socialist Worker, August, 2012, at p. 7. (Barclay's Bank fined $455 MILLION for actions in connection with the "loss" or "disappearance" of several billion dollars. No one will go to prison: "So Black and So Blue in Prison" and "Foucault, Rose, Davis and the Meanings of Prison.")
Alan Moss, "Chief Injustice or Health Care Hero?," in Socialist Worker, August, 2012, at p. 10. http://www.socialistworker.org/node/19012. (Chief Justice Roberts experiences an epiphany. Did he vote for Obama/Biden?)
Roger Kimball, "A Vicious Narcissus: On the Career of Gore Vidal," in National Review, August 27, 2012, at p. 27. (A man criticized by Gore Vidal, who refused to debate Vidal at the time of the criticisms, now publishes an attack on the deceased novelist. See Vidal's essay "The Hacks of Academe" and my essay "Book Chats and 'Chits.'" Has Mr. Kimball visited my sites? James Wood? Jim Holt? Has Mr. Kimball used either of those names in writing articles for publication?)
Richard A. Posner, "The Spirit Killeth, But the Letter Giveth Life," in The New Republic, September 13, 2012, at p. 18. (Judge Posner offers an effective critique of Mr. Scalia's theory of interpretation.)
David Kaiser & Lovisa Stannow, "Obama Tries to Stop Prison Rape," in The New York Review of Books, October 11, 2012, at p. 49. (Is Mr. Romney "for" prison rape? 1 out of 3 U.S. women in prisons will be raped, many of them more than once.)
"Romney Versus the Automakers: He Can't Admit the Bailout Helped, So He Decided to Invent Problems With It," in The New York Times, November 1, 2012, at p. A30. (Why Romney lost.)
"Report On Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails," Dept. of Justice, April, 2012, 88 pages.
http://www.ojp.usdojgove/reviewpanel/pdfs/prea_finalreport_2012.pdf
Kate Zernike, "One Result of Hurricane: Bipartisanship Flows," in The New York Times, November 1, 2012, at p. A26. (Irony, Ms. Guardagno? No conflict of interest for a government lawyer writing, as a journalist, under the name "Kate Zernike"?)
Scott Shane, "Petraeus's Lover C.I.A. Profile Leaves Void in Benghazi Furor," in The New York Times, November 3, 2012, at p. A1. (Is there an Israeli/Miami connection in this matter? The New York Post is delighted to feature a classy headline that reads: "Cloak and Shag Her!")
Adam Nagovsky, "How a Race in the Balance Went to Obama," in The New York Times, November 8, 2012, at p. 1. ("Election, 2012" Analysis and breakdown. Not as close as we thought. The issue of continuing tax cuts for the rich was decided by the electorate. These tax cuts must be ended. Gridlock will not go away.)
New Jersey's Sad Decline:
"Failure at 4Cs: Former Director Gets a Huge Nest Egg," (Editorial) in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. A-12. (MARY ANN MIRKO, scooped $1.4 MILLION for her retirement benefits and other perks in addition to a hefty salary as a "non-profit" executive. These scams have to end in New Jersey. As a result of this greed, the 4Cs of Passaic County will lose $900,000 in funding: "Celeste Carpiano Likes Da Shore.")
Kibret Marcos, "Zisa Linked to Cops On Trial: Dispatcher Says Ex-Chief Seen On Night of Alleged Tampering," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-1. (Despite being sentenced to years in prison, Mr. Zisa -- former Hackensack Chief of Police -- has yet to serve a minute behind bars.)
Justo Bautista, "Doctor Pleads Guilty to Kickback Charge," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-3. (Dr. Bercik? LUCIO CARDOSO, 54, admits to "kickback scheme" with Orange, New Jersey diagnostic center. Lawyers may have been involved. Judges?)
Chris Harris, "Schroeder Hears Criminal Charges in Hillsdale: Accused of Writing Bad Checks," in The Record, October 11, 2012, at p. L-3. (New Jersey Assembly's "member" goes under.)
Lindy Washburn & Barbara Williams, "Car Insurer Files Suit Against Meadowlands Hospital Owner," in The Record, October 12, 2012, at p. A-4. (Alleged fraudulent claims by lawyers and doctors who are, so far, protected from professional ethics and legal claims.)
Abbott Koloff & Justo Bautista, "Cop Accused of Sex Assault: Essex Sheriff's Officer is Wayne Man," in The Record, October 12, 2012, at p. L-1. (THOMAS INGHAM, 48, charged with sexual assault of an 18 year-old young woman. Officer Ingham investigates sex offenses. Did Ms. Poritz enjoy the company of young women, Diana Lisa Riccioli?)
Colleen Disla & Mary Jo Layton, "N.J. Scout Leader in Sex Files: 'Perversion' Papers Tell of Secret Dismissals," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. A-1. (A number of prominent persons in New Jersey may be part of a child molestation network that is sheltered in the state. Multiple pending investigations are still "open." "New Jersey's Child Sex Industry" and "Is Menendez For Sale?")
Denisa R. Superville, "Parents On Edge Over Luring: Officials Sound Call for Vigilance," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. L-1. (As long as New Jersey's many bribed politicians continue to provide protection for the child sex industry, these activities will flourish.)
Kibret Marcos, "Another Officer Denies Aiding a Cover-Up: Says Captain Chose Not to File Charges," in The Record, October 18, 2012, at p. L-1. (Filing false charges, altering reports, hiding evidence, covering-up atrocities to protect insiders is not limited to the Office of Attorney Ethics -- OAE -- but defines a number of police departments and agencies in New Jersey.)
Salvador Rizzo, "Resurgent Menendez in Line to Lead Panel," in The Star Ledger, November 13, 2012, at p. 1. (Favorable coverage in New Jersey media may be expensive for Bob. Senator Menendez wants to head the "Foreign Relations Committee" of the U.S. Senate: "Does Senator Menendez have mafia friends?" then "Is Senator Bob 'For' Human Rights?" and "Senator Bob, the Babe, and the Big Bucks" then "Corrupt Law Firms, Senator Bob, and New Jersey Ethics.")
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Images and Death.
November 7, 2012 at 12:45 P.M. Congratulations to President Barack Obama on his reelection. America has chosen hope over despair. The Republicans have admitted to being "baffled" by the election results. Mr. Romney's declared policy yesterday to prepare "only a victory speech" did not serve him well.
Mr. O'Reilly's comments on Fox News were inappropriate and highly irresponsible: Mr. Obama was not elected (or reelected) because 50% of Americans want "stuff" for free from the government. Only 1% of the people demand stimulus funds and tax cuts after leading us into an economic crisis.
But enough about Bain Capital. It is time for bipartisanship in the national interest. Sadly, we will not see cooperation in Washington, D.C. We will see more gridlock, obstructionism, division -- and the American people as well as the global population will suffer. Americans cannot afford these continuing post-election ego contests. Let us deal with the reality that is facing us, N.J. and G.O.P. members. Our children will thank you for it.
Mr. Boehner's comments claiming an alleged "mandate," despite losing the presidential election -- suggesting an inflexible as well as non-cooperative approach on economic issues that must be intended to undermine President Obama's efforts -- is unfortunate for the American people. I have never heard of a Speaker of the House and Minority Whip refusing the reelected U.S. President's phone call on election night.
Perhaps Republicans on the Hill have not taken in the numbers. Far from being a "tie," like Bush v. Gore or Kerry v. Bush, this election was not as close as many expected: The president's popular vote lead was over 2 million, according to the latest accounts, and he will be credited with Florida's electoral votes when they get around to counting all votes, if they ever do. President Obama will have Florida's electors added to his 303. Jeff Zeleny & Jim Rutenberg, "Obama's Night: Tops Romney in Bruising Run & Democrats Turn Back G.O.P. Bid For Senate," in The New York Times, November 7, 2012, at p. A1.
November 2, 2012 at 3:55 P.M. I did not expect to reach this site after being unable to write at one library branch. Although I have completed a draft of this review by hand, on a legal pad, I cannot say when I will be able to transcribe the full text here in order to post the work on-line. I will try to write every day. ("What is it like to be censored in America?" and "How censorship works in America.")
Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child (New York: Vintage, 2011), 435 pages.
Alternative Review: James Wood, "Sons and Lovers," in The New Yorker, October 17, 2011, http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2011/011107/111017crbo_books_wood?
"I sometimes hold it half a sin."
I hope that many people will read The Stranger's Child. The novel is so sumptuously and elegantly written that the delights of the prose alone justifies the cost of the book.
Reviews of Mr. Hollinghurst's books in America, generally, have been favorable. Concerning The Stranger's Child, however, critics and reviewers -- including Mr. Wood, perhaps -- have been less sympathetic or understanding than one might have hoped: for example, few readers have paused to consider the author's dedication of the novel to "I.M." [In Memoriam] "Mick Imlah 1956-2009."
This terse dedication to a deceased friend clues us in to the haunting and powerful presence of death in the story and in all of our lives in the AIDS-era and after 9/11.
I write this essay as a storm devours the lives of about 80 persons from my city and neighboring areas, including killing persons whose precautions have been impeccable and whose lives have no doubt been utterly moral even as less worthy others are spared, seemingly, for no rational reason or purpose.
Much the same may be said of the bloody spectacle that was once called: "The Great War." Hundreds of thousands of the finest young men of a generation perished for no particular reason in a stagnant military struggle now known, more accurately, as only the first World War.
Mr. Hollinghurst's writing is tinged with melancholy and pain at loss -- loss of friends, possibly, and a sharp, middle-aged appreciation for the tragedy and transitory nature of all forms of beauty. I suspect that many personal losses have been transformed into art in this work. Beauty fades all-too quickly, vanishing before our eyes, leaving only a ghostly and sweetly-perfumed presence in the memory.
Mr. Hollinghurst's subjects in Stranger's Child are memory and time, love and loss, eros and thanatos.
Evelyn Waugh is one important influence on this author, not only Brideshead Revisited but even more Decline and Fall and Sword of Honor.
On one level The Stranger's Child is an elegy for a Rupert Brooke-like World War One poet who falls in battle.
On a deeper level, the novel is a personal exploration of Hamlet-like themes of lost affections and vanished youth.
On yet another level, the book raises profound questions concerning literature and life, history and imagination. ("Jacques Derrida's Philosophy as Jazz" and "Metaphor is Mystery.")
What is a poem about? To whom does a poet/poem "belong"? At what point does a poet become his or her poem? Is the truth found in a work of literature external or internal to the work?
An "elegy" is a "song of mourning or lamentation for the dead, with reflections on the departed life, often ending in a mood of calm and consolation."
Tom McArthur, ed., The Oxford Companion to the English Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 343.
The Stranger's Child is an elegy that focuses on a possibly gay central character -- "Cecil Valance" -- with several supporting players in the drama also being gay, so that this extraordinarily fine work is in danger of being ghettoized as a "gay novel" that is meant to be read only by gays and lesbians.
Nothing could be more wrong or absurd. If there is such a thing as "gay literature" then this is not it: Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest; Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time; Henry James' The Wings of the Dove; or, for that matter, Shakespeare's "Sonnets" and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice; also Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and A Search for the King -- transcend attempts to limit their importance to so-called "gay issues." These works and many others today become universal meditations on aspects of human nature and life.
An example of a kind of elegy for the first AIDS generation of gay men is Edmund White's haunting Farewell Symphony. Much the same may be said of E.M. Foster's Where Angel's Fear to Tread and Howard's End which touch on themes of loss and yearning for a vanished Edwardian age.
A.S. Byatt's Possession examines parallel themes of scholarly greed for "possession" of genius in literature; and Sarah Waters' gorgeous neo-Gothic Affinity, a novel I am currently reading, should be mentioned as well since in that novel death is analogized to "imprisonment" of various kinds in terms of the situation of women in sexist Victorian society and of many lesbians today. ("Judith Butler and Gender Theory" then "Master and Commander.")
These books provide true touchstones for Mr. Hollinghurst's meta-literary preoccupations that complement his romantic story. There is so much added pleasure in this novel when one is reminded of Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure and of Derrida's riddles about textuality as one delights in Mr. Hollinghurts's luxurious prose.
Mr. Hollinghurst's lush style is not "antiquarianism," Mr. Wood, it is simply fine writing. It only appears "antique" to us because we have become accustomed to bad writing in our print media and novels. "LOL! Whatever." ("God is Texting Me!")
" ... 'In Memory of Major Robert Gregory' is Yeats's first full statement of what he took to be a complex and tragic situation: the position of artists and contemplatives in a world built for action, and their chances of escape, which are in effect two: the making of images, and death."
Frank Kermode, "In Memory of Major Robert Gregory," in Romantic Image (New York & London: Routledge, 1957, 2002), p. 37.
Mr. Hollinghurst -- like "Cecil Valance" -- is concerned with "the making of images and death" in this novel. The name "Valance" suggests duality: "valance" refers to a veil or curtain placed before something private and also to dual aspects or bivalent levels of reality. ("Magician's Choice" then "The Soldier and the Ballerina.")
Literature, like Mr. Hollinghurst's protagonist, possesses this "yes-and-no" quality by describing the internal and external "world" of its makers. ("Metaphor is Mystery.")
Was Cecil Valance "gay"? The question misses the point that the major concern of this text is a poem, "Two Acres." The title to the novel, for example, and the opening pages of the work establish a relationship with Alfred Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam." This masterpiece of English literature written "for" Arthur Hallam who died suddenly in 1833 at the age of 22 is among the most gloriously ambiguous of texts:
I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel;
For words, like nature, half reveal
And half conceal the soul within.
But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies,
The sad melancholic exercise,
Like dull narcotics numbing pain.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, "In Memoriam," in Paul Negri, ed., English Victorian Poetry: An Anthology (New York: Dover, 1999), p. 30.
Equally significant is Rubert Brooke's (1887-1915) most famous sonnet:
If I should die, think only this of me;
That there is some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blessed by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learned of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke, "The Soldier," in Robert M. Bender, & C.L. Squier, eds., The Sonnet: An Anthology (New York: Washington Square Press, 1965, 1987), p. 290.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."
Shortly before the First World War Cecil Valance is invited to spend a weekend at the family home of Cambridge University classmate and lover, George Sawle.
George's sixteen year-old sister, Daphne -- like England -- is in the midst of a transition from innocence in adolescence, amidst Edwardian splendor or comfort, to experience in the aftermath of ghastly wars and resulting deprivations.
Significantly, allusions are offered to Tennyson -- a friend of the Sawle family -- whose poems are read aloud in the suburban house called, "Two Acres." This unusual name will also serve as the title to Cecil Valance's poem written in Daphne's journal in gratitude and commemoration for the stay.
England's decline in the twentieth century and the "shabbiness" of the once lovely Daphne will be analogized in a subtle comment on the effects of a terrible century upon the English language and civilization.
A reference to Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" (p. 27.) whose haunting themes of timeless searching for an evanescent beauty and agonizing sense of loss will mirror the quest of several characters for a return to an instant of perfect bliss in the June of life -- individual lives, certainly, but also in the life of a great nation -- will be captured forever in verse in the form of Valance's poem "Two Acres."
"Two Acres," two siblings -- Daphne and George -- each is romantically involved with the poet who is the symbol of English beauty and literary genius represented in the form of a single image at the center of the novel: a marble tomb for Cecil Valance that is to "stand for all time."
A poet/poem becomes a "monument" to the English language and people: Is literature something "living" and vital that is about "eternal" aspects of human nature? Or is literature merely a fleeting confession of sexual "sins" or other autobiographical fodder for People magazine? Is what matters in the long scope of history the meanings of great works that are universal? Or personal confessions? Is there a difference between two kinds of "communication" personal and philosophical?
You, the reader, are invited to answer these questions by Mr. Hollinghurst.
"Now the lovely tune," the introductory theme of Dutchman, "was pulsing through the garden, full of yearning and defiance and the heightened effect of beauty encapsulated in an unexpected setting." (p. 28.)
As in Alice in Wonderland the English garden is an idyllic setting for symbolizing innocence and youth, also romanticism about landscape and people. ("A Review of the T.V. Show, 'Alice.'")
The title to the novel hints not only of Cecil's possible fathering of a child while on leave during the war, as part of a brief encounter with Daphne, but also points to some famous lines from Tennyson's "In Memoriam":
And year by year the landscape grow
Familiar to "The Stranger's Child." (p. 52.)
The novel's reader is the true "Stranger's Child" wandering into this text.
This blessed "plot" of English soil will be hideously altered by time. English poetry and civilization are depicted as crumbling, falling from a state of glory, as we all must, into decrepitude and death (?), even as Cecil's poem and life are transformed into rich matter for small-minded literary scholar-squirrels digging for the hard nut of "truth" as opposed to Truth.
The sharpest disapproval in the novel is reserved for literary journalists and devoted readers -- like Alan Hollinghurst as "Paul Bryant"? -- digging into the personal lives of their favorite authors.
Is James Wood also another "Paul Bryant"? Aren't all of us, as readers, a bit like Mr. Bryant? I suspect so. ("Shakespeare's Black Prince" and "An Evening With Gore Vidal.")
Mr. Bryant's focus misses the point to the poem and, indeed, to the life of Cecil Valance because of an inability to appreciate the "seven types of ambiguity" and complexity of this genius for an earlier generation of English persons. That generation has now been taken from us by time and war, placed forever on the far side of a divide between the living and dead, a "valance" between living readers and dead poets, including (someday) the readers of this very novel and the novelist, Mr. Hollinghurst, who must depart the scene in the fullness of time.
Time's passage and the acid-like effects of history upon even marble monuments -- or black ink -- is underlined for readers for whom "Time's Winged Chariot" must draw near:
" ... The bracket clock whirred and then struck eleven, its weights spooling downwards at the sudden expense of energy. She had to sit for a moment, when the echo had vanished, to repossess her thoughts. Other clocks (and now she could hear the grandfather in the hall chime in belatedly) showed a more respectful attitude to telling the hours. They struck, all through the house, like alternative servants. Not so that brass bully, the morning room clock, which banged it out as fast as it could, 'Life is short!' it shouted. 'Get on with it, before I strike again!' Well, it was their matter, wasn't it: Carpe diem. ..." (p. 88.)
And the point is emphasized, again, as George Sawle visits Cecil's tomb when the question arises whether the likeness of the carved figure is accurate to the poet's appearance in life.
How do we understand the poetry and lives of our greatest literary figures? Do our monuments in the world of letters reflect "reality"? Are our "heros of the pen" flesh-and-blood men and women, or do they become myths?
" ... 'Hello, Cecil, old boy,' he said pleasantly and not very loudly, with a dim echo, and then he laughed to himself in the silence that followed. They wouldn't have to have an awkward conversation. He listened to the silence, with its faint penumbra of excluded sounds -- birdsong, periodic rattle of the distant mower, soft thumps that were less the wind on the roof than the pulse in his ear." (p. 119.)
Daphne marries the Evelyn Waugh-like Dudley, divorces him, then marries Revel Martin, an important painter, in search of the fleeting magic offered by Cecil in an English garden.
Is Daphne the "Flying Dutchman" in this myth? Daphne's memoirs are at least as true as the mythical "objective" history reconstructed by Paul Bryant. The "reality" of these lives is beyond all individual accounts; finally, it can only be confined to Cecil's marble tomb. ("Michel Foucault and the Authorship Question" then, again, "Master and Commander.")
Paul Bryant (James Wood? Alan Hollinghurst?) is the inheritor of English civilization -- heaven help us! -- who does very nicely by exploiting the lives of persons he is incapable of understanding. "Hooper" in Brideshead Revisited has inherited the estate.
Britain has entered a new Dark Ages, we feel, where "Sonnets" have been replaced by "texting" and Wagner by "The Spice Girls." Like Oliver Cromwell, David Cameron has come to rule over lord and vassal alike. Actually, the age of Mr. Cameron sounds pretty good. Boris Johnson is next. ("There will always be an England.")
To focus on the possible gay identity of the poet to the exclusion of other themes in this ambitious novel may confirm many of Mr. Hollinghurst's worst fears concerning the decline in reading skills among us peasants.
Perhaps the most tragic and important character in this story is Daphne, not Cecil. After all, to have lived, genuinely and eternally, only for a few moments early in a long life may be agony worthy of Wagner's music.
Setting down this novel one is struck by the realization, once again, that any human life is as variable and complex as the greatest works of the finest writers:
"'As it happens,' said Stokes, 'we weren't quite able to decide, were we, George? Is it Cecil, or is it, as it were, someone else?' He had a slight air of taking sides and teasing" -- as does Mr. Hollinghurst -- "Madeleine, [Proust?] while George entirely understood and bitterly resented? ..."
Then,
" ... 'I'm afraid I don't think it's him!' ..." (p. 129.)
Is Cecil the great poet everyone thinks he is? Cecil is indeed a great poet because his words mattered, if only for a little while, at a moment of crisis for a great nation.
George Sawle's yellowing photographs and the almost comical destruction of Cecil's revealing letters at the conclusion of the narrative hint at the insignificance of biographical detail to the importance and meaning of literature to say nothing of the accidental nature of the Canon of Great Books.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could face
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His longing face, like a child's sick of sin,
If you could bear, at every joint, the blood
Come gurgling from the froth corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile incurable sores on imminent tongues, --
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest, --
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Wilfrid Owen, "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori," in Oscar Williams, ed., The Mentor Book of Major British Poets (New York: Signet, 1963), pp. 477-478.
Wilfrid Owen, Sigfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and other poets are echoed in Mr. Hollinghurst's text.
"Anthem for Doomed Youth."
Cecil Valance in Stranger's Child creates a poem that reflects the happiness of a perfect weekend. Fortune and the day come together to make the poem a masterpiece that is reflective of personal and public concerns, a significant moment in history and individual lives is captured in verse -- however fleetingly -- with Churchill's quoting of the lines on the radio during the worst moments of the Battle of Britain.
The Valance poem's meaning seems, simultaneously, external and internal to the text. The words point to emotions of the artist as well as to horrible events in the world. This will be the judgment of posterity at a moment of literary-mythical need.
Recognition of the importance of such needs for myth is one aim of Stranger's Child.
Predicting what literary works will survive the ravages of time is a fool's game. One writes out of a need to establish a larger communication with the world knowing that Paul Bryant-types will never understand literature as anything but veiled autobiography. Astonishingly, these days, the most complex short stories and novels are routinely reduced to stereotypes meeting P.C. expectations.
The true subject of a poem, this novel suggests, is the poem itself. The poem's multiplicity mirrors the subjectivity of the author/poet (all that personal stuff), but also must reflect the felt needs of intelligent future readers and recipients of a work's coded personal revelations. ("What you will ..." and "Conversation On a Train.")
Tensions are explored by Mr. Hollinghurst between literature and life: Dudley's indifference to "Wilfrid" (his son or perhaps his brother's son) -- the name offers an allusion to Wilfrid Owen -- and Dudley's equal indifference to the body of a woman who has died as a guest in his home is contrasted with his literary concerns as a society novelist. (p. 186.)
Absence of genuine feeling is then contrasted with the affectation of "literary sensibility" at several points in the text, notably during Paul Bryant's interview of the aged Daphne.
"It was one of those disorienting moments, all too common in Paul's life, when he saw he'd missed something, and thinking back he couldn't see what had triggered the change in emotion in the other person. He wondered if she was about to cry. Socially awkward, but wonderful for the book if the trick had worked and he'd stilled some brand new memory; he glanced at the patient revolution of the tape." (p. 371, emphasis added.)
Memories captured in words or images cannot be tested against an objective external world. They may be self-sufficient and reflective of that objectivity ("truth" if you like) that is independent of the individual keeper of memory, but memories must be embodied in some enduring form that matters to the person recollecting in tranquility. ("What is Memory?")
"Two Acres" is that enduring form in this novel -- a novel that is also "enduring form" for the affection and sense of loss of the novelist that is felt and expressed for a departed friend -- and, like a marble monument, the text is transformed into a "likeness" of its reader/subject/maker.
This is one of Shakespeare's greatest lessons and themes that "in black ink my love may still shine bright."
Every work of literature, as a great writer once explained, is "for you." You the reader of the work. This is because to "live" the work must resonate for readers with powerful meanings.
A work of literature must live in and "for" you, as a reader, if it is to survive.
The poem, "Two Acres," in the story we are told met the needs of an embattled generation of British persons for expressions of patriotism. Patriotism, of the ethical variety, is desperately needed today in America and Britain. The cathartic function of art allowed British people to endure the horrors of that great conflagration that would be followed by an even more dreadful war. What would allow Americans to survive a life-threatening struggle today? "The Simpsons"? ("Who killed the liberal arts?" and "Nihilists in Disneyworld.")
The future importance of Cecil's poem in Stranger's Child is an open question. With most literary works "survival" is always in doubt. Survival will always depend on their merits, to be sure, but equally on the needs of posterity. You are invited to decide this issue with regard to "Two Acres," as a poem, and to the fine novel in which it is placed.
Mr. Hollinghurst's achievement, as a faux World War One poet, matches the achievement of Siegfried Sassoon, but falls short of the standard of Wilfrid Owen and Rupert Brooke.
The most profound observations in the novel have to do with the "ephemera" that fills the lives even of scholars in the humanities: egotism, gossip, jealousy that prevents men and women from achieving an adequate understanding of a poem or poet -- even of themselves.
Busy scholar-squirrels and seekers of power fill their days with distractions from the reality of death and of our need for love and beauty not as some terrible weakness; rather, as a matter of being fully human we NEED these things. We must, as W.H. Auden says "love one another or we shall die." (Pages 411-412.)
As for wars, military and otherwise, George Santayana -- who knew many of the World War One poets, as his students, and who may be a better poet than Mr. Hollinghurst! -- reminds us of the illusory nature of so much human pride, arrogance, and conceit as well as of our easily dashed hopes for peace and love:
"Only the dead are safe; only the dead have seen the end of war. ... This war has given you your first glimpse of the ancient, fundamental, normal state of the world, your first taste of reality. It should teach you to dismiss all your philosophies of progress or of governing reason as the babble of dreamers who walk through one world mentally beholding another."
Soliloquies in England (Ann Arbor: U. Mich. Press, 1967), pp. 102-104.
This is the lesson that a great generation of poets sought to impart to us and that we have yet to absorb:
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.
Wilfrid Owen, "Anthem for Doomed Youth," in Major British Poets, p. 479.
Mr. O'Reilly's comments on Fox News were inappropriate and highly irresponsible: Mr. Obama was not elected (or reelected) because 50% of Americans want "stuff" for free from the government. Only 1% of the people demand stimulus funds and tax cuts after leading us into an economic crisis.
But enough about Bain Capital. It is time for bipartisanship in the national interest. Sadly, we will not see cooperation in Washington, D.C. We will see more gridlock, obstructionism, division -- and the American people as well as the global population will suffer. Americans cannot afford these continuing post-election ego contests. Let us deal with the reality that is facing us, N.J. and G.O.P. members. Our children will thank you for it.
Mr. Boehner's comments claiming an alleged "mandate," despite losing the presidential election -- suggesting an inflexible as well as non-cooperative approach on economic issues that must be intended to undermine President Obama's efforts -- is unfortunate for the American people. I have never heard of a Speaker of the House and Minority Whip refusing the reelected U.S. President's phone call on election night.
Perhaps Republicans on the Hill have not taken in the numbers. Far from being a "tie," like Bush v. Gore or Kerry v. Bush, this election was not as close as many expected: The president's popular vote lead was over 2 million, according to the latest accounts, and he will be credited with Florida's electoral votes when they get around to counting all votes, if they ever do. President Obama will have Florida's electors added to his 303. Jeff Zeleny & Jim Rutenberg, "Obama's Night: Tops Romney in Bruising Run & Democrats Turn Back G.O.P. Bid For Senate," in The New York Times, November 7, 2012, at p. A1.
November 2, 2012 at 3:55 P.M. I did not expect to reach this site after being unable to write at one library branch. Although I have completed a draft of this review by hand, on a legal pad, I cannot say when I will be able to transcribe the full text here in order to post the work on-line. I will try to write every day. ("What is it like to be censored in America?" and "How censorship works in America.")
Alan Hollinghurst, The Stranger's Child (New York: Vintage, 2011), 435 pages.
Alternative Review: James Wood, "Sons and Lovers," in The New Yorker, October 17, 2011, http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2011/011107/111017crbo_books_wood?
"I sometimes hold it half a sin."
I hope that many people will read The Stranger's Child. The novel is so sumptuously and elegantly written that the delights of the prose alone justifies the cost of the book.
Reviews of Mr. Hollinghurst's books in America, generally, have been favorable. Concerning The Stranger's Child, however, critics and reviewers -- including Mr. Wood, perhaps -- have been less sympathetic or understanding than one might have hoped: for example, few readers have paused to consider the author's dedication of the novel to "I.M." [In Memoriam] "Mick Imlah 1956-2009."
This terse dedication to a deceased friend clues us in to the haunting and powerful presence of death in the story and in all of our lives in the AIDS-era and after 9/11.
I write this essay as a storm devours the lives of about 80 persons from my city and neighboring areas, including killing persons whose precautions have been impeccable and whose lives have no doubt been utterly moral even as less worthy others are spared, seemingly, for no rational reason or purpose.
Much the same may be said of the bloody spectacle that was once called: "The Great War." Hundreds of thousands of the finest young men of a generation perished for no particular reason in a stagnant military struggle now known, more accurately, as only the first World War.
Mr. Hollinghurst's writing is tinged with melancholy and pain at loss -- loss of friends, possibly, and a sharp, middle-aged appreciation for the tragedy and transitory nature of all forms of beauty. I suspect that many personal losses have been transformed into art in this work. Beauty fades all-too quickly, vanishing before our eyes, leaving only a ghostly and sweetly-perfumed presence in the memory.
Mr. Hollinghurst's subjects in Stranger's Child are memory and time, love and loss, eros and thanatos.
Evelyn Waugh is one important influence on this author, not only Brideshead Revisited but even more Decline and Fall and Sword of Honor.
On one level The Stranger's Child is an elegy for a Rupert Brooke-like World War One poet who falls in battle.
On a deeper level, the novel is a personal exploration of Hamlet-like themes of lost affections and vanished youth.
On yet another level, the book raises profound questions concerning literature and life, history and imagination. ("Jacques Derrida's Philosophy as Jazz" and "Metaphor is Mystery.")
What is a poem about? To whom does a poet/poem "belong"? At what point does a poet become his or her poem? Is the truth found in a work of literature external or internal to the work?
An "elegy" is a "song of mourning or lamentation for the dead, with reflections on the departed life, often ending in a mood of calm and consolation."
Tom McArthur, ed., The Oxford Companion to the English Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992), p. 343.
The Stranger's Child is an elegy that focuses on a possibly gay central character -- "Cecil Valance" -- with several supporting players in the drama also being gay, so that this extraordinarily fine work is in danger of being ghettoized as a "gay novel" that is meant to be read only by gays and lesbians.
Nothing could be more wrong or absurd. If there is such a thing as "gay literature" then this is not it: Oscar Wilde's The Portrait of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest; Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time; Henry James' The Wings of the Dove; or, for that matter, Shakespeare's "Sonnets" and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice; also Gore Vidal's The City and the Pillar and A Search for the King -- transcend attempts to limit their importance to so-called "gay issues." These works and many others today become universal meditations on aspects of human nature and life.
An example of a kind of elegy for the first AIDS generation of gay men is Edmund White's haunting Farewell Symphony. Much the same may be said of E.M. Foster's Where Angel's Fear to Tread and Howard's End which touch on themes of loss and yearning for a vanished Edwardian age.
A.S. Byatt's Possession examines parallel themes of scholarly greed for "possession" of genius in literature; and Sarah Waters' gorgeous neo-Gothic Affinity, a novel I am currently reading, should be mentioned as well since in that novel death is analogized to "imprisonment" of various kinds in terms of the situation of women in sexist Victorian society and of many lesbians today. ("Judith Butler and Gender Theory" then "Master and Commander.")
These books provide true touchstones for Mr. Hollinghurst's meta-literary preoccupations that complement his romantic story. There is so much added pleasure in this novel when one is reminded of Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure and of Derrida's riddles about textuality as one delights in Mr. Hollinghurts's luxurious prose.
Mr. Hollinghurst's lush style is not "antiquarianism," Mr. Wood, it is simply fine writing. It only appears "antique" to us because we have become accustomed to bad writing in our print media and novels. "LOL! Whatever." ("God is Texting Me!")
" ... 'In Memory of Major Robert Gregory' is Yeats's first full statement of what he took to be a complex and tragic situation: the position of artists and contemplatives in a world built for action, and their chances of escape, which are in effect two: the making of images, and death."
Frank Kermode, "In Memory of Major Robert Gregory," in Romantic Image (New York & London: Routledge, 1957, 2002), p. 37.
Mr. Hollinghurst -- like "Cecil Valance" -- is concerned with "the making of images and death" in this novel. The name "Valance" suggests duality: "valance" refers to a veil or curtain placed before something private and also to dual aspects or bivalent levels of reality. ("Magician's Choice" then "The Soldier and the Ballerina.")
Literature, like Mr. Hollinghurst's protagonist, possesses this "yes-and-no" quality by describing the internal and external "world" of its makers. ("Metaphor is Mystery.")
Was Cecil Valance "gay"? The question misses the point that the major concern of this text is a poem, "Two Acres." The title to the novel, for example, and the opening pages of the work establish a relationship with Alfred Lord Tennyson's "In Memoriam." This masterpiece of English literature written "for" Arthur Hallam who died suddenly in 1833 at the age of 22 is among the most gloriously ambiguous of texts:
I sometimes hold it half a sin
To put in words the grief I feel;
For words, like nature, half reveal
And half conceal the soul within.
But, for the unquiet heart and brain,
A use in measured language lies,
The sad melancholic exercise,
Like dull narcotics numbing pain.
Alfred Lord Tennyson, "In Memoriam," in Paul Negri, ed., English Victorian Poetry: An Anthology (New York: Dover, 1999), p. 30.
Equally significant is Rubert Brooke's (1887-1915) most famous sonnet:
If I should die, think only this of me;
That there is some corner of a foreign field
That is forever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blessed by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learned of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
Rupert Brooke, "The Soldier," in Robert M. Bender, & C.L. Squier, eds., The Sonnet: An Anthology (New York: Washington Square Press, 1965, 1987), p. 290.
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori."
Shortly before the First World War Cecil Valance is invited to spend a weekend at the family home of Cambridge University classmate and lover, George Sawle.
George's sixteen year-old sister, Daphne -- like England -- is in the midst of a transition from innocence in adolescence, amidst Edwardian splendor or comfort, to experience in the aftermath of ghastly wars and resulting deprivations.
Significantly, allusions are offered to Tennyson -- a friend of the Sawle family -- whose poems are read aloud in the suburban house called, "Two Acres." This unusual name will also serve as the title to Cecil Valance's poem written in Daphne's journal in gratitude and commemoration for the stay.
England's decline in the twentieth century and the "shabbiness" of the once lovely Daphne will be analogized in a subtle comment on the effects of a terrible century upon the English language and civilization.
A reference to Wagner's "Flying Dutchman" (p. 27.) whose haunting themes of timeless searching for an evanescent beauty and agonizing sense of loss will mirror the quest of several characters for a return to an instant of perfect bliss in the June of life -- individual lives, certainly, but also in the life of a great nation -- will be captured forever in verse in the form of Valance's poem "Two Acres."
"Two Acres," two siblings -- Daphne and George -- each is romantically involved with the poet who is the symbol of English beauty and literary genius represented in the form of a single image at the center of the novel: a marble tomb for Cecil Valance that is to "stand for all time."
A poet/poem becomes a "monument" to the English language and people: Is literature something "living" and vital that is about "eternal" aspects of human nature? Or is literature merely a fleeting confession of sexual "sins" or other autobiographical fodder for People magazine? Is what matters in the long scope of history the meanings of great works that are universal? Or personal confessions? Is there a difference between two kinds of "communication" personal and philosophical?
You, the reader, are invited to answer these questions by Mr. Hollinghurst.
"Now the lovely tune," the introductory theme of Dutchman, "was pulsing through the garden, full of yearning and defiance and the heightened effect of beauty encapsulated in an unexpected setting." (p. 28.)
As in Alice in Wonderland the English garden is an idyllic setting for symbolizing innocence and youth, also romanticism about landscape and people. ("A Review of the T.V. Show, 'Alice.'")
The title to the novel hints not only of Cecil's possible fathering of a child while on leave during the war, as part of a brief encounter with Daphne, but also points to some famous lines from Tennyson's "In Memoriam":
And year by year the landscape grow
Familiar to "The Stranger's Child." (p. 52.)
The novel's reader is the true "Stranger's Child" wandering into this text.
This blessed "plot" of English soil will be hideously altered by time. English poetry and civilization are depicted as crumbling, falling from a state of glory, as we all must, into decrepitude and death (?), even as Cecil's poem and life are transformed into rich matter for small-minded literary scholar-squirrels digging for the hard nut of "truth" as opposed to Truth.
The sharpest disapproval in the novel is reserved for literary journalists and devoted readers -- like Alan Hollinghurst as "Paul Bryant"? -- digging into the personal lives of their favorite authors.
Is James Wood also another "Paul Bryant"? Aren't all of us, as readers, a bit like Mr. Bryant? I suspect so. ("Shakespeare's Black Prince" and "An Evening With Gore Vidal.")
Mr. Bryant's focus misses the point to the poem and, indeed, to the life of Cecil Valance because of an inability to appreciate the "seven types of ambiguity" and complexity of this genius for an earlier generation of English persons. That generation has now been taken from us by time and war, placed forever on the far side of a divide between the living and dead, a "valance" between living readers and dead poets, including (someday) the readers of this very novel and the novelist, Mr. Hollinghurst, who must depart the scene in the fullness of time.
Time's passage and the acid-like effects of history upon even marble monuments -- or black ink -- is underlined for readers for whom "Time's Winged Chariot" must draw near:
" ... The bracket clock whirred and then struck eleven, its weights spooling downwards at the sudden expense of energy. She had to sit for a moment, when the echo had vanished, to repossess her thoughts. Other clocks (and now she could hear the grandfather in the hall chime in belatedly) showed a more respectful attitude to telling the hours. They struck, all through the house, like alternative servants. Not so that brass bully, the morning room clock, which banged it out as fast as it could, 'Life is short!' it shouted. 'Get on with it, before I strike again!' Well, it was their matter, wasn't it: Carpe diem. ..." (p. 88.)
And the point is emphasized, again, as George Sawle visits Cecil's tomb when the question arises whether the likeness of the carved figure is accurate to the poet's appearance in life.
How do we understand the poetry and lives of our greatest literary figures? Do our monuments in the world of letters reflect "reality"? Are our "heros of the pen" flesh-and-blood men and women, or do they become myths?
" ... 'Hello, Cecil, old boy,' he said pleasantly and not very loudly, with a dim echo, and then he laughed to himself in the silence that followed. They wouldn't have to have an awkward conversation. He listened to the silence, with its faint penumbra of excluded sounds -- birdsong, periodic rattle of the distant mower, soft thumps that were less the wind on the roof than the pulse in his ear." (p. 119.)
Daphne marries the Evelyn Waugh-like Dudley, divorces him, then marries Revel Martin, an important painter, in search of the fleeting magic offered by Cecil in an English garden.
Is Daphne the "Flying Dutchman" in this myth? Daphne's memoirs are at least as true as the mythical "objective" history reconstructed by Paul Bryant. The "reality" of these lives is beyond all individual accounts; finally, it can only be confined to Cecil's marble tomb. ("Michel Foucault and the Authorship Question" then, again, "Master and Commander.")
Paul Bryant (James Wood? Alan Hollinghurst?) is the inheritor of English civilization -- heaven help us! -- who does very nicely by exploiting the lives of persons he is incapable of understanding. "Hooper" in Brideshead Revisited has inherited the estate.
Britain has entered a new Dark Ages, we feel, where "Sonnets" have been replaced by "texting" and Wagner by "The Spice Girls." Like Oliver Cromwell, David Cameron has come to rule over lord and vassal alike. Actually, the age of Mr. Cameron sounds pretty good. Boris Johnson is next. ("There will always be an England.")
To focus on the possible gay identity of the poet to the exclusion of other themes in this ambitious novel may confirm many of Mr. Hollinghurst's worst fears concerning the decline in reading skills among us peasants.
Perhaps the most tragic and important character in this story is Daphne, not Cecil. After all, to have lived, genuinely and eternally, only for a few moments early in a long life may be agony worthy of Wagner's music.
Setting down this novel one is struck by the realization, once again, that any human life is as variable and complex as the greatest works of the finest writers:
"'As it happens,' said Stokes, 'we weren't quite able to decide, were we, George? Is it Cecil, or is it, as it were, someone else?' He had a slight air of taking sides and teasing" -- as does Mr. Hollinghurst -- "Madeleine, [Proust?] while George entirely understood and bitterly resented? ..."
Then,
" ... 'I'm afraid I don't think it's him!' ..." (p. 129.)
Is Cecil the great poet everyone thinks he is? Cecil is indeed a great poet because his words mattered, if only for a little while, at a moment of crisis for a great nation.
George Sawle's yellowing photographs and the almost comical destruction of Cecil's revealing letters at the conclusion of the narrative hint at the insignificance of biographical detail to the importance and meaning of literature to say nothing of the accidental nature of the Canon of Great Books.
If in some smothering dreams, you too could face
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His longing face, like a child's sick of sin,
If you could bear, at every joint, the blood
Come gurgling from the froth corrupted lungs,
Bitter as the cud
Of vile incurable sores on imminent tongues, --
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest, --
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.
Wilfrid Owen, "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori," in Oscar Williams, ed., The Mentor Book of Major British Poets (New York: Signet, 1963), pp. 477-478.
Wilfrid Owen, Sigfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke and other poets are echoed in Mr. Hollinghurst's text.
"Anthem for Doomed Youth."
Cecil Valance in Stranger's Child creates a poem that reflects the happiness of a perfect weekend. Fortune and the day come together to make the poem a masterpiece that is reflective of personal and public concerns, a significant moment in history and individual lives is captured in verse -- however fleetingly -- with Churchill's quoting of the lines on the radio during the worst moments of the Battle of Britain.
The Valance poem's meaning seems, simultaneously, external and internal to the text. The words point to emotions of the artist as well as to horrible events in the world. This will be the judgment of posterity at a moment of literary-mythical need.
Recognition of the importance of such needs for myth is one aim of Stranger's Child.
Predicting what literary works will survive the ravages of time is a fool's game. One writes out of a need to establish a larger communication with the world knowing that Paul Bryant-types will never understand literature as anything but veiled autobiography. Astonishingly, these days, the most complex short stories and novels are routinely reduced to stereotypes meeting P.C. expectations.
The true subject of a poem, this novel suggests, is the poem itself. The poem's multiplicity mirrors the subjectivity of the author/poet (all that personal stuff), but also must reflect the felt needs of intelligent future readers and recipients of a work's coded personal revelations. ("What you will ..." and "Conversation On a Train.")
Tensions are explored by Mr. Hollinghurst between literature and life: Dudley's indifference to "Wilfrid" (his son or perhaps his brother's son) -- the name offers an allusion to Wilfrid Owen -- and Dudley's equal indifference to the body of a woman who has died as a guest in his home is contrasted with his literary concerns as a society novelist. (p. 186.)
Absence of genuine feeling is then contrasted with the affectation of "literary sensibility" at several points in the text, notably during Paul Bryant's interview of the aged Daphne.
"It was one of those disorienting moments, all too common in Paul's life, when he saw he'd missed something, and thinking back he couldn't see what had triggered the change in emotion in the other person. He wondered if she was about to cry. Socially awkward, but wonderful for the book if the trick had worked and he'd stilled some brand new memory; he glanced at the patient revolution of the tape." (p. 371, emphasis added.)
Memories captured in words or images cannot be tested against an objective external world. They may be self-sufficient and reflective of that objectivity ("truth" if you like) that is independent of the individual keeper of memory, but memories must be embodied in some enduring form that matters to the person recollecting in tranquility. ("What is Memory?")
"Two Acres" is that enduring form in this novel -- a novel that is also "enduring form" for the affection and sense of loss of the novelist that is felt and expressed for a departed friend -- and, like a marble monument, the text is transformed into a "likeness" of its reader/subject/maker.
This is one of Shakespeare's greatest lessons and themes that "in black ink my love may still shine bright."
Every work of literature, as a great writer once explained, is "for you." You the reader of the work. This is because to "live" the work must resonate for readers with powerful meanings.
A work of literature must live in and "for" you, as a reader, if it is to survive.
The poem, "Two Acres," in the story we are told met the needs of an embattled generation of British persons for expressions of patriotism. Patriotism, of the ethical variety, is desperately needed today in America and Britain. The cathartic function of art allowed British people to endure the horrors of that great conflagration that would be followed by an even more dreadful war. What would allow Americans to survive a life-threatening struggle today? "The Simpsons"? ("Who killed the liberal arts?" and "Nihilists in Disneyworld.")
The future importance of Cecil's poem in Stranger's Child is an open question. With most literary works "survival" is always in doubt. Survival will always depend on their merits, to be sure, but equally on the needs of posterity. You are invited to decide this issue with regard to "Two Acres," as a poem, and to the fine novel in which it is placed.
Mr. Hollinghurst's achievement, as a faux World War One poet, matches the achievement of Siegfried Sassoon, but falls short of the standard of Wilfrid Owen and Rupert Brooke.
The most profound observations in the novel have to do with the "ephemera" that fills the lives even of scholars in the humanities: egotism, gossip, jealousy that prevents men and women from achieving an adequate understanding of a poem or poet -- even of themselves.
Busy scholar-squirrels and seekers of power fill their days with distractions from the reality of death and of our need for love and beauty not as some terrible weakness; rather, as a matter of being fully human we NEED these things. We must, as W.H. Auden says "love one another or we shall die." (Pages 411-412.)
As for wars, military and otherwise, George Santayana -- who knew many of the World War One poets, as his students, and who may be a better poet than Mr. Hollinghurst! -- reminds us of the illusory nature of so much human pride, arrogance, and conceit as well as of our easily dashed hopes for peace and love:
"Only the dead are safe; only the dead have seen the end of war. ... This war has given you your first glimpse of the ancient, fundamental, normal state of the world, your first taste of reality. It should teach you to dismiss all your philosophies of progress or of governing reason as the babble of dreamers who walk through one world mentally beholding another."
Soliloquies in England (Ann Arbor: U. Mich. Press, 1967), pp. 102-104.
This is the lesson that a great generation of poets sought to impart to us and that we have yet to absorb:
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of good byes.
The pallor of girls' brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing down of blinds.
Wilfrid Owen, "Anthem for Doomed Youth," in Major British Poets, p. 479.
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