…welcome Neil. And, yes, love is blind in many ways. I don’t doubt that almost to a person we each have similar stories. I know I do. I am quite lucky that my wife of over 3 decades still embraces Emma Goldman and votes 3rd party members! :-)
On Oct 9, 6:58 am, archytas <[email protected]> wrote: > Thanks for information about Dennis Orn - one has to hope some can > survive our jungle. I want to believe in Obama, but frankly don't. > It's so difficult to imagine anyone can survive our political party > systems (anywhere) and remain an OK person. Our own MP and > councillors are pathetic in a way Obama is not - the corruption is at > very low levels. It might be interesting to poll on whether any of us > really do know any politicians like 'Orn's Dennis'. I was in a > relationship with a government minister some years back (argh! my > future is all behind me!), having known her as a political activist > years before (I was on the 'other side' then despite my leftie > leanings). I had really liked her and we almost married. She turned > out to be utterly useless other than in feathering her own nest once > she was on the inside track, all the democratic politics forgotten > (was it ever real?) - and I still quake at my own deception. We met > fairly recently as she did talk about the old days and how the > 'corruption' got to her. This wasn't much different from what some > old cops say about being on the inside of things and it being disloyal > to make them public. It was a difficult meeting as I still tend to > see her as I did then and it's rather swooning. I've never felt she > was just an opportunist, but even the union road is littered with > turncoats. We held hands and laughed at some documentary footage of > the enemy (here the Conservative Party) doing much the kind of local > case work with crime and domestic violence victims she used to get me > into - the laughs being about the 180 degree turn in who was doing > this. There were some tears about where the compassion went, some > talk of means to ends and being convinced everything was too > complicated once you had to do deals. > > I've just turned down a job in Iran (partly because I'm not fit to > cope but also because I can't see me doing any good and some fears on > personal safety). I think answers might lie in international project > collaborations - on farming, construction, education, policing - > because 'ordinary' people are the only answer. Here, I think (say) > that Vam and I swapping 'duties' and countries with our families could > do more good than the 'Noble' stuff, if enough of us could do it and > there must be some virtual way into this on a large scale. I suppose, > simplified to the extreme, I think we could change leadership by being > able to ignore it. Vam and I could swap without fear of the English > Defence League or its Indian equivalent - but there are parts of the > world this is not true of. Withering away this kind of idiocy (which > is not just abject racism) would also wither away the need for that > part of the State that 'protects' us from it. > > The Ignobles have become all-too-Noble these days Don. We'd have to > refuse one! Changeri was in the frame for the Nobel (Zimbabwe) and we > don't really know if he is just a Mugabe in waiting. Kissinger got it > for ending a war that was still going on he had expanded into other > countries. Maybe Obama shouldn't have been humbled and insisted he is > too worthy to accept? > > On 9 Oct, 13:27, Don Johnson <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Picked with a two week resume, he joins the Nobel club with such > > luminaries as Jimmy Carter and Yassir Arafat. How fitting. Dividends > > from the World Apology Tour '09. > > > Time to expand on that Ignobel list Archy. > > > dj > > > On Fri, Oct 9, 2009 at 4:18 AM, frantheman <[email protected]> > > wrote: > > > > So, the prize committee chooses Obama, less than a year after he has > > > begun to operate on the world stage, before many concrete results have > > > been seen. > > > > Spontaneously, I see this as a gesture of thankfulness and hope; > > > thankfulness to the American people that they have elected a successor > > > to Bush, a man who did so much global damage, a successor who works > > > with different visions and ideal-structures, a more positive > > > fundamental view of what it means to be human and what societies > > > (local, national and global) can and should be doing and achieving. > > > > Hope that he will realise some of this vision and trust that his > > > country and the world puts in him. The past few months have made me a > > > little concerned that the experts and lobbyists, advisors and > > > professional analysts are wearing him down with detail and > > > realpolitik. > > > > Maybe this award will strengthen that "Yes, we can" impetus, in the > > > face of the everyday inertia of the thousand arguments of > > > complicatedness against changing anything, against daring to hope. > > > > Francis- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups ""Minds Eye"" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/minds-eye?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
