During the Bush administration, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld ordered confiscation of all photos taken at Baghdad’s central prison, Abu Ghraib, in which revolting, sadistic scenes of torture were causing a tidal wave of national and international outrage that would have certainly implicated the Bush administration. Bush and Rumsfeld are gone, but torture clings to Gina [...]
While living in Ossining, NY during the 1960’s, I listened to my friend Jim Beach from Tarrytown, NY give honest political reports about events each evening on Radio WHUD (Tarrytown is a city on the Hudson River 25 miles north of New York City). One day Jim received a phone call from a man in Cleveland who said “Your political comments would no longer be needed.” Jim and I were somewhat shocked to discover his astute progressive political observations would be replaced by a corporate takeover.
During the emotional tour given to General Eisenhower, he blustered: “The Interstate Highway system was intended to go around, not through cities!”
September is a critical moment in our history. Humans began tinkering underground this month with atomic weapons that can destroy entire cities or nations. During my time (1980-1981) studying linguistics and Chinese at the University of Hawaii I learned the USA had over 40,000 targets in the former USSR. I discovered the US Navy ”roamed [...]
“Women hold up half the sky” is an ancient Chinese proverb. Women comprise over half of 7.2 billion people in the world of 2015. Discrimination against gifted females on the basis of gender can easily lead to a legal problem. In 1972 the Anglican Church (of England) in Hong Kong ordained Joyce Bennett as the [...]
From 2000-2008 it was my privilege to serve as chaplain in Lafayette Parish Correctional Center (LPCC). One Cajun inmate from Canada fled to Lafayette for cultural/ethnic reasons. Before the Royal Mounted Canadian Police (Mounties) arrived early one morning to escort “Francois” back home I paid numerous visits to him because of his sadness and isolated [...]
Mordechai Vanunu was a technician with the nuclear weapons program already existing in Israel during the 1980’s. Vanunu was en route to be interviewed by a reporter from THE LONDON TIMES when Mossad agents of Israel’s intelligence agency then snatched him in a London “honey trap”, whisked him off to Tel Aviv, found him guilty [...]
Project for a New American Century (PNAC) is a 75-page document drawn up by highly patriotic individuals (“neocons”) in 1997. PNAC is the brain child of Dick Chaney, Donald Rumsfield, Paul Wolfowitz with ex-CIA head George Herbert Walker Bush. Reporters in 2015 hesitate to ask Jeb Bush about his support for PNAC. Other brazen reporters [...]
Charles Osgood (1933- ) was a CBS commentator whose opinions became much respected in weekly Sunday morning features. Osgood predicted “The USA will bring the death of English.” Fortunately, millions of others in many nations are striving to learn, speak and write English by printing or even reading/writing in “cursive.” A Lafayette parent was disheartened [...]
The highly-respected anthropologist Ashley Montague (1905-1999) said simply: “A civilized society is a considerate society.” Why not cloak consideration with a fleece-lined jacket of compassion? For Gandhi “God is Truth.” Are we asking too much in seeking honesty, consideration and compassion in life? Enslavement of human beings is the absolute antithesis of all virtuous qualities [...]
