Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Thursday, July 15, 2010
MIXED WORLD REACTIONS TO ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF DARFUR
Paris (July 15, 2010 - Darfur News Service) - Mixed reactions greeted revelations that Israel had established a partial blockade of Darfur with troops on the Chad-Sudanese border. Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, condemned the Israeli move stating "we do not have the time or resources to devote to Darfur because we are too busy pretending to care about the Palestinians". Confusion reigned through European capitals. Spokesmen at the British and English Foreign Ministries said their governments were not sure how to react as there were no Jews in Darfur. Meanwhile sources in Ankara, Tehran and Tripoli reported that the Turkish, Iranian and Libyan governments were gathering jeeps and camels to be part of a desert flotilla to break the blockade. However, a surprising measure of support came from the few remaining opposition party leaders in Zimbabwe, Cuba and Venezuela who begged Israel to blockade their countries as well.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
ISRAELI BLOCKADE OF GAZA MAY HAVE LED TO DISMAL FRENCH SHOWING AT WORLD CUP
Bloemfontein, South Africa (World Soccer News Service - WSNS) (24 June 2010)France's unprecedentedly abysmal World Cup campaign came to an end earlier this week. The initial assessment attributed the poor French showing to a lack of team spirit and acrimony which came to a head in an expletive-filled rant at the team's coach during France's 2-0 loss to Mexico. However, WSNS has now been able to confirm that the French team's atrocious play was caused by the teams' distress over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. One French player told WSNS that "it was impossible to focus on a game when the Israelis are starving people to death in Gaza." A high ranking French official stated that all of France "recognizes that given the daily tragedies in Gaza, the team's attempts to even play was truly heroic and in the spirit of Marshall Petain." None of the team members or government officials would speak on the record due to fears of the Jewish and Zionist controlled media. WSNS will report additional details as they emerge.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Limits of Knowing Another Person
In Love's Executioner, Dr. Irvin Yalom, presents a collection of stories about several psychotherapy patients. Dr. Yalom uses one of the stories to explain why we are limited in our ability to fully know another person.
First, there is "the barrier between image and language". Our minds think in images but we must convert images into words when we try to communicate our thoughts and feelings to another. Unfortunately, words rarely suffice because they are "feeble approximations of the rich images that once coursed through [our minds]."
Second, we are "selective about what we choose to disclose" to others. We may feel that we have been completley honest and open while subconsiously hiding relevant facts. Third, the information concerning our mental images and feelings is often lost in translation because the use of language makes it "wildly improbable that the images formed by a recipient will match the sender's original image." Moroever, when we recieve information, it is filtered through our own biases. We "distort others by forcing them into our own ideas" and when we see a "face it is our own idea of that person that we recognize.
Finally, it is impossible to fully know another person because each individual is an intricate and complex being. Many people believe that if "given enough information, they can define and explain a person." Dr. Yalom cautions that in our society, "there is increasing pressure fom hospitals, insurance companies and the governmental agencies to sum up a person in a diagnostic phrase or numerical catagory." However, trying to lump people into catagories is futile and harmful because when "we relate to people believing that we can catagorize them" we end up ignoring their "vital parts" that "transcend catagory." Consequently, a healthy relationship must be be "based on the assumption that the other person is never fully knowable."
Similarly, if we want to create a healthier society we must acknowledge the complexity and intricacy of each individual and accept that we can never fully know (and control) someone else. Although this approach is complicated and frustrating, it is worthwile because it is based on an honest view of human nature and will allow for individual growth.
First, there is "the barrier between image and language". Our minds think in images but we must convert images into words when we try to communicate our thoughts and feelings to another. Unfortunately, words rarely suffice because they are "feeble approximations of the rich images that once coursed through [our minds]."
Second, we are "selective about what we choose to disclose" to others. We may feel that we have been completley honest and open while subconsiously hiding relevant facts. Third, the information concerning our mental images and feelings is often lost in translation because the use of language makes it "wildly improbable that the images formed by a recipient will match the sender's original image." Moroever, when we recieve information, it is filtered through our own biases. We "distort others by forcing them into our own ideas" and when we see a "face it is our own idea of that person that we recognize.
Finally, it is impossible to fully know another person because each individual is an intricate and complex being. Many people believe that if "given enough information, they can define and explain a person." Dr. Yalom cautions that in our society, "there is increasing pressure fom hospitals, insurance companies and the governmental agencies to sum up a person in a diagnostic phrase or numerical catagory." However, trying to lump people into catagories is futile and harmful because when "we relate to people believing that we can catagorize them" we end up ignoring their "vital parts" that "transcend catagory." Consequently, a healthy relationship must be be "based on the assumption that the other person is never fully knowable."
Similarly, if we want to create a healthier society we must acknowledge the complexity and intricacy of each individual and accept that we can never fully know (and control) someone else. Although this approach is complicated and frustrating, it is worthwile because it is based on an honest view of human nature and will allow for individual growth.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Monday Musings
What is it about Mondays in January? The sun is shining but it still feels cold and the trees, grass, buildings, people and life itself seem washed out and pale. Is this just an extension of the drabness that follows New Years? I have always thought of New Years as a harsher version of Labor Day. The party/summer is over.
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