V-E Day: Sometimes War IS the Answer

I am invariably both amused and infuriated by those idiotic bumper stickers reading, "War is Not the Answer."

Well, sometimes it is: the great revolutions (including our own), the Civil War, and above all, World War II. Without war, no end of slavery, no victory over fascism. Q.E.D.

Here, the classic Soviet patriotic song, "Sacred War":



Here, Winston Churchill congratulates the British people on the victory of freedom:

Investigative Journalists: As South African Judge, Goldstone Condemned more than Two Dozen Blacks to Death

New information on the career history of Judge Richard Goldstone, author of the controversial report on the Gaza conflict of 2009:

Judge Goldstone's dark past

Yedioth Ahronoth investigation reveals man preaching human rights, who authored scathing report against Israel's operation in Gaza, sent at least 28 black defendants to gallows as South African judge under Apartheid regime

Tehiya Barak, Tzadok Yehezkeli
Latest Update: 05.06.10, 23:55 / Israel News
. . .
A special Yedioth Ahronoth investigation reveals Richard Goldstone's dark side as a judge during the Apartheid era in South Africa. It turns out, the man who authored the Goldstone Report criticizing the IDF's actions during Operation Cast Lead took an active part in the racist policies of one of the cruelest regimes of the 20th century.

During his tenure as sitting as judge in the appellant court during the 1980s and 1990s sentenced dozens of blacks mercilessly to their death. . . .

Yedioth Ahronoth's findings show that Goldstone sentenced at least 28 black defendants to death. Most of them were found guilty of murder and sought to appeal the verdict. In those days, he actually made sure he showed his support for the execution policy, writing in one verdict that it reflects society's demands that a price be paid for crimes it rightfully views as frightening. (read the rest)

The report goes on to detail other instances in which he upheld racist or oppressive laws, on one occasion handing down jail sentences to youths for mere possession of tapes by ANC leaders, while on another, exonerating white police officers "who had broken into a white woman's house on suspicions that she was conducting sexual relations with a black man."

Goldstone's defense was a not unexpected but nonetheless problematic one: though he had personally opposed the system and its laws, he was duty-bound to work within it and apply them as fairly as he could. In another interview, he added that Nelson Mandela had no problem appointing him as a judge. Naturally, this proved to be a rather unsatisfying answer for many, in light of both historical precedent and Goldstone's own moralizing stance since that time.

Critics, from US lawyer Alan Dershowitz to Israel's conservative Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, were quick to note, with Schadenfreude, the similarity to the excuses of Nazi officials and war criminals:

"Goldstone took a job as an apartheid judge. He allowed dozens of black people who were unfairly tried to be executed," Dershowitz told Channel 2 TV.

"You know, a lot of people say we just followed the law, German judges… That's what (German SS officer and physician Josef) Mengele said too. That was Mengele's defense and that was what everybody said in Nazi Germany. 'We just followed the law.' When you are in an apartheid country like South Africa, you don't follow the law," Dershowitz added.

In one sense, Goldstone's record does not bear on the significance of his Report, which will stand or fall on its merits. But given that the document prompted widespread charges of bias, the investigation may yet prove to be pertinent to a new reading. Already we are hearing suggestions that Goldstone's opinions there (but presumably in other recent endeavors, as well), far from representing a set of neutral analyses, in fact reflected a sort of perverse overcompensation for a blemished moral past about which he preferred to keep silent. In the words of Deputy Foreign Minister Ayalon, "This so-called respected judge is using this [Gaza] report in order to atone for his sins and gain international legitimacy.”

I am very curious to see how this all plays out. In the meantime, it is interesting to see the Nazi analogy used somewhat more judiciously than is often the case. It remains provocative here, too, but generally within bounds (admittedly, I could have done without the gratuitous and inaccurate reference to Mengele). No one is accusing Goldstone of committing crimes like the Nazis. Rather, the charge is that he is rationalizing his complicity in the policies of a racist regime on the same grounds that they did. This reminds us of a moral dilemma that all of us should contemplate, and not only in this context.

Postscript: thus far, the story does not seem to have had any play in the mainstream western media.

Preservation Hall of Shame: 1870s Historic House Demolished

breaking news in brief:

The Pacific Lodge Masons yesterday destroyed the historic 1870s Chauncey Lessey House (26 Spring Street). Demolition work was continuing yesterday when I visited the scene.

A more detailed report will follow on this site. Reporter Scott Merzbach, who alerted me to the action and asked for commentary, will be running a story soon, perhaps by the end of this week.

Amherst Historical Commission Moves Ahead on Preservation Projects

Spring Town Meeting begins tomorrow night. It should be (famous last words) one of the less complex and contentious ones, because the recent tax override greatly simplifies the financial picture and obviates the need for agonizing choices. Controversy will probably center on only a few articles, one (# 16) involving a major economic-development initiative that could result in the creation of 500,000-square foot professional research park in North Amherst.

There are few historic preservation items, as such, on this year's warrant (# 17, CPA), and they should be uncontroversial (more on those in a later posting). The only one generating the slightest bit of heat so far is a proposal to purchase a piece of former farmland for multipurpose uses: mainly recreational grounds adjoining a school, but also conservation and, we hope a combined affordable housing and historic preservation use of the old residence. (There are also wetlands/conservation areas.) Although some people have questioned the wisdom of the measure, it should be a no-brainer. As the Conservation Director has explained, a chance to acquire a prime large piece of property close to the center of town is a rare, and perhaps today unique opportunity. It's not the sort of situation in which one wants to leave the development to the vagaries of the private market.

In the meantime, the real news for us on the Historical Commission is that we are moving steadily ahead on the record number of projects for which we secured funding last year, on the occasion of the Town's 250th anniversary. Updates will follow shortly.

In the meantime: let the games begin.

1 May: International Holiday of the Working-Class and Socialist Movement

Many of my acquaintances here spent the day attending the gay Pride Parade or the Amherst Ultimate Invitational, or just generally enjoying the warm spring day (86 degrees F, last I checked) and pagan holiday (yes, even Morris Dancing takes place in our fair town, though my opinion of the sport tends to echo that of Edmund Black Adder.) However, this is also, in most other parts of the world, the annual holiday of the working-class and socialist movement.

The anthem of that movement is of course the "Internationale," which Pierre Degeyter composed in 1871, immediately following the collapse of the Paris Commune. Only in 1888 did it acquire the rediscovered verses of Eugène Pottier. Soon, versions in other vernaculars appeared. There were multiple German ones, but that of Emil Luckhardt proved to be the most enduring. (Fun facts to know and tell: in late Imperial Germany, one could be sent to jail for public singing of the song.) The message was simple: as the title suggests, bonds of class are stronger than those of nationhood. The reality was more complex: the First World War proved the durability of national identities and loyalties, a fact that the left is still struggling to come to terms with.

In the US, the "Internationale" is probably regarded as a "communist" song if it is known at all, but it in fact remains popular among the mainstream labor movements and social democratic parties throughout the rest of the world. When I was a student, I attended a huge outdoor French-German trade union rally in Stuttgart, at which the musicians asked audience members to sing the song in their respective native tongues.

Herewith a few renditions of the "Internationale"


Here's a classic version in the original French. (The advantage of this video is that it scrolls the text as the music plays. The disadvantage is the association with silly factions of the marginal left.)




This version, featuring Hannes Wader singing at a German Communist Party (DKP) rally in 1977, is among the folksiest and most engaging.



Some Anglo-Americans don't like it and say that it sounds like "beer hall" music. But they also don't necessarily like this classic, fully orchestrated one, which they find pompous or "militaristic." There's no pleasing some people. At any rate, this one has the practical advantage of providing the text scrolling across what appears to be an East German banner.



This one, in Hebrew, features some classic images of the socialist movement along with some more incongruous recent pictures.



This rather more relaxed, almost wistful version entails an adaptation of the text, performed by the Union of Working and Studying Youth back in the 1970s. The musical tone has strong echoes of that era and place, but generally in the positive sense.



And in the meantime, there are metal, reggae,and electronic versions (the largest collection here).

Now, I ask you: can Morris Dancing compare with any of this?

[Last year's post ]

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Just Plain Fools: SJP Opts for Second Life in the Fantasy World

The appearance of Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine's promotional film reminds me that I need to do a follow-up on an earlier post.

Every year around this season, I face a dilemma: should I try to concoct some sort of April Fool's spoof news, whether deliberately deceptive or patently preposterous? It's a busy time of year: the end of the semester is coming into sight, mid-term papers pile up, taxes nag and beckon. Usually, I therefore don't get around to the task. Fortunately, this year and last, Hampshire Students for Justice in Palestine came to my rescue by producing absurdities of the sort that I could not have dreamed up by myself.

This time, our college newspaper, the Climax, for some reason chose its April 1 issue in which to run a story on "Divestment: A year later." It was bizarre in several regards: (1) The College never divested from any holdings because of their alleged association with the Israeli Occupation ("O": remember to hold down that shift key!) of Palestine; (2) the actual anniversary of the non-event occurred in February; (3) the story appeared in an insert that bore the earnest statement, "The articles on the preceding four pages are meant to be taken seriously. The others are not."

Oh, really?

Let's consider what the article says: Although the typographically challenged piece does cite the administration view (including remarks by the President deploring the uncivil atmosphere on campus), the title seems to take the non-event as a fact ("Divestment: A year later") and the body of the text most prominently features an array of statements by SJP members insisting that their version alone is true, e.g. "We always say divestment is a statement and the statement was made. Whatever the administration says, we know what happened."

Yes, and I'm Napoleon. It must be nice to be able to live in the reality of your own choosing—except, of course, to the extent that it just underscores to others the fact that you're a total loser in the only game that we know. The divestment movement's desperate attempt to parlay defeat after abject defeat into a string of glorious victories reminds me of nothing so much as the bitterly cynical definitions of the online game, "Second Life," in the Urban Dictionary.

In any case, that stock refrain about the "statement" is starting to wear a bit thin for those of us stuck here on planet reality. It was on the banner that appeared on the anniversary of the non-event back in February, itself echoing the placards of 2009.

The obscure(d) message seems fortuitous. Did HSJP perhaps mean to say that divestment was a "state of mind" rather than a "statement"? That would certainly be more in line with the facts. If divestment indeed occurred, then why the insistent need to proclaim that it was "a statement" in 2009 and "still [!] is a statement" in 2010? Does an action taken by an official body not speak for itself?

Aye, there's the rub: no such action took place. Bummer, again, heroic activist dudes. When Hampshire College proudly and honorably divested from its holdings in South Africa a generation ago, there was never any doubt at the time—not to mention, a year later: The administration explicitly announced the step. In this case, it flatly denies it. (And, last I checked, only the administration has the right to represent official College policy to the public.)

It's easy to explain the difference:

If I sell my shares in Chrysler because I think it's a badly-run company that does not serve its stockholders, it's technically "true" that I have "relinquished" (to use the language of another recent student flier) my investment in a particular firm that profits from our irresponsible reliance on fossil fuels, but I have hardly "divested" myself—as a conscious and political statement (which is the only practical meaning that "divestment" can have in this context)—of participation in the carbon-based economy: especially if I continue to hold stock in Ford, Toyota, and Mobil. Simple enough, one would think.

Paradoxically and unfortunately, then, the HSJP-ers are thus forced to resort to the same logic that their nemesis, former Harvard President Lawrence Summers, employed to criticize the actions of their own movement as antisemitic: in effect if not intent.

Ouch. It's what we academics like to call: irony.

By so insistently focusing on the "statement," the HSJP-ers are attempting to divert our attention from the (non-)action itself—but in fact inadvertently calling attention to it. If the action indeed took place, why does the College refuse to acknowledge it? If the act was indeed so significant, why were there no consequences, why has no one followed the revolutionary leader?

Allow me to translate and simplify still further:

• an action can indeed be a statement
• this alleged action never took place
• thus, the (non-)action cannot have been a "statement"
• to state that an action occurred when it in fact did not: well, that's just a lie.

QED

got that?

[note: because the online version of the newspaper is not available, I have uploaded a scan of the article after the original post]

Dept. of Interior Approves Cape Wind: Shot heard around the world for clean energy, or just the latest shot in a nine-year war?

[logo on Environment
Massachusetts message]

The Department of the Interior today, at long last, approved the much-debated Cape Wind project, which will establish a farm of 130 turbines five miles offshore in Nantucket Sound. State Secretary of Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles said, "This will be the shot heard around the world for clean energy."

Many environmental groups—including Environment Massachusetts—lauded the achievement as a great victory for sustainability, climate action, and common sense. Some other environmentalists denounced the measure and vowed to continue fighting it.

A debate that had been raging on the Massachusetts preservation listserve flared up again today, as the majority of posters took harsh anti-Cape Wind stances, reiterating a host of concerns, ranging from dire harm to the ocean ecosystem to despoliation of historic views (though the project is to be located five miles offshore) or even destruction of presumed (for now submerged) historic landscape or archaeological remains (though whatever is there hasn't been seen since the Ice Age). Several Native American tribes likewise promised to keep up the fight.

Splits and alliances were unpredictable in the political world, as well: liberal Democratic Governor Deval Patrick and Senator John Kerry supported the project, whereas newly elected conservative Senator Scott Brown—like his liberal predecessor Ted Kennedy—opposed it.

We are a state that loves its process and debate, and nothing brings out that double-edged trait like what one blogger called "the mother of all NIMBY battles": it's got environment, historic preservation, Native American rights, and plain old nasty political mudslinging—something for everyone to get worked up and indignant about. Why stop when we're having fun?

Stay tuned.

SJP Slogan. Fail.

There they go again.

Hampshire College Students for Justice in Palestine (HSJP) just premiered its self-congratulatory documentary.

If the rather lame graphic design is any indication, this film won't be Oscar material. (Here you can check out some shots of the videographer trying to find someone at SJP demonstrations besides the organizers. Fail.)

The title is a bit more clever—or rather, too clever by half—and thereby hangs a tale.

Jon Haber, one of the shrewdest chroniclers and analysts of the divestment movement, has a particularly trenchant analysis of its strategy:

Because divestment activists represent such a small minority of student opinion (and an even tinier minority of US public opinion overall), their goal is to attach their message (that Israel is an “Apartheid state” worth of economic punishment) to a well known institutions such as a university, church or city. This allows them to “punch above their weight” by declaring their anti-Israel message is not simply emanating from a small, non-representative minority, but rather represents the policy of a respected organization.

Hampshire SJP offers a textbook illustration of the practice.

The title of the film, "To Know is Not Enough" (Non Satis Scire), also happens to be the motto of Hampshire College. What better way to affirm the persistent but fraudulent assertion that the institution divested itself of support for the "Israeli Occupation (remembered to capitalize it) of Palestine"?

Unfortunately, the use of "Non Satis Scire" only reminds us that we also have another Latin motto here, which serves as the title of the handbook governing academic life and community norms:

Non Satis Non Scire: Not to Know is Not Enough

The same principle applies to SJP's cavalier attitude toward historical complexity and the basic norms of civil discourse and intellectual honesty: Ignorance is no excuse.

So, nice try with that title. Fail.

Kundera on youth, politics, stupidity, cruelty, and history

"Youth is terrible: it is a stage trod by children in buskins and a variety of costumes mouthing speeches they've memorized and fanatically believe but only half understand. And history is terrible because it so often ends up a playground for the immature; a playground for the young Nero, a playground for the young Bonaparte, a playground for the easily aroused mobs of children whose simulated passions and simplistic poses suddenly metamorphose into a catastrophically real reality."

—Milan Kundera, The Joke, definitive edition (NY: Harper Perennial/Aaron Asher Books, 1993) 87

E-Day/Earth Day turns 40

We mark 40 years of the international holiday dedicated to environmentalism. As noted in a recent post, Earth Day was the brainchild of distinguished Wisconsin Senator and environmentalist pioneer Gaylord Nelson (1916-2005), and I recall the celebration and events in school. Already on that first occasion, some 20 million people around the world took part.

Among the numerous actions this year:

• Environment America created a "Declaration of Energy Independence" bemoaning the fact that, 40 years of progress notwithstanding,

America has had a failing energy policy that continues to reward polluters, undermines the health of the American people, threatens our national and economic security, and keeps us dependent on energy sources from overseas. We call on Congress to finally push aside the obstruction of the polluter lobby and stand with America's Clean Energy Patriots. We call for America's elected leaders to join us as Clean Energy Patriots and deliver on the promise of a clean energy revolution and climate action now.

By contrast, Repower America took the opposite tack, arguing that we are closer than ever to our goal (thus: the revolution of rising expectations rather than declining status). The goal is the same, though: call your senators and urge them to support the forthcoming bill for clean energy and action against climate change.

The National Council for Science and the Environment—which also celebrates its 40th anniversary this year—noting that only 2 percent of Americans buy clean energy when offered the choice, launched a Buy Clean Energy Campaign.

Jewish Funds for Justice asked members to support congressional action in favor of Green Jobs.

Repower America both addressed green jobs and sought to cash in on the shared birthday of hip hop and Earth Day by offering a Biz Markie remix.



The music and text in the first half remain good, though there's not much that one can do to save the maudlin and banal second part (still, not as disturbing as the picture of Al Gore on the top page of the site).

Environment Massachusetts sought to cash in, period: asked for 40 bucks in honor of 40 years. Simple and straightforward, at least.

As for Stephen Colbert, on tonight's Report, he declared: "I celebrate Earth Day because this is America's planet."