On December 10, 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly. Article 5 states "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". Wikipedia
...But Cheney doesn't exactly inspire confidence at this point, does he? What I fear most is not just the next attack, but the response to it; and how, bit by bit, the West and our enemies may become gradually more and more alike...But the center is weak. Andrew Sullivan
Intimidation has not turned back one transcendent thought or one valuable idea from going where it was destined to go, and doing what it was destined to do. It may be temporarily delayed, or its species may revert only to propagate in a related form, but brute force (the world's greatest idiot) has never kept the germ from its divine order. A black eye never reformed a drunkard, a czar never stopped a free thought. Charles Ives
We don't yet live in interesting times but man, the times they are a confusin'...
- Personally, for this month anyway, it's summer, life is good, there are three or four World Cup soccer matches every day and despite a first game debacle, the US could still make it to the next round tomorrow. And yet, contemporary news makes it clear we torture, they torture, and others used to torture. I'm not a conscientious objecting purist but how did we lose the moral high ground?
- Although (or because) I grew up in a family of old-fashioned Indiana conservatives, I don't generally hang out around smart Gay Republicans. And yet I am closely following Andrew Sullivan's blog. Something about bloggers who also write for national publications -- gotta respect that. I do have a fantasy that Sullivan can be the tipping point and become our generation's Walter Cronkite by moving beyond the Republican Party. Or to phrase it differently, our short-term fate is in Republican hands and I believe there are enough traditional, responsible Republicans to think all is not lost. But time is running out...
- I also don't know what to make of the Charles Ives' quote. On the one hand, he's become my "desert island" composer. His work is so sophisticated, interesting, and pleasurable that I will never get enough of it. On the other hand, his comments in general and his music are rather "in your face." I won't call him or his music "brutish" but it definitely has an air of brashness, albeit in a humane way. It pains me to say this but I predict his music will be held in less esteem twenty years from now, similar to the cooling of avant-gardism between say 1922 and 1942 (John Cage notwithstanding). One can only hope it's a temporary lull.
- Finally, I already miss the "good ol' days" when Ligeti (and modernism) was alive...
youtube: john kerry steps up versus 'stay the course'. the dark side part one, courtesy dick cheney. "classic" torture from the original mess (video not safe for humans).
wikipedia: the phrase 'you are either with us, or against us' (as used by such notables as bush, jesus christ, anakin skywalker and indiana's current republican governor)
answers.com: like a sick eagle overview
aworks: charles ives
fourthturning eras: unraveling crisis
how to save the world: dave pollard
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