Zan's Almanac Archives
Archives 2006-2007
December 16, 2006
David Plotz is, is reading the Old Testiment, looking for interesting things that don't necessarily teach religous and moral things. Just for Fun and good reading. Here is a link to his blog: Blogging the Bible
Do you know the difference between Shiites and Sunnis? Not the historical difference, but the ones that are important to our security. I think you will find this piece from the Times a little disconcerting. Shiite and Sunni
October 9, 2006
There is a lot of talk about reducing our dependence on foreign oil. That is given as a reason for new drilling in Alaska. The reasons for not drilling seem to always revolve around ecology. However I have another reason why we shouldn't drill for more oil on US soil, and that is why deplete our bank account that we shall surely need desperately sometime in the future? Lets use the other guy's oil now and keep ours for later. As oil gets more and more scarce in the world, we will be darned glad to have a source within our own territory.
So, lets reduce
our oil dependency in other ways: conservation, more efficient vehicles, renewable
sources etc., but lets keep our own oil "in the bank" for when we
really need it.
As
I struggle to
to create paintings that one might actually want to look at, and my wife, Cammy
struggles to learn to make clay bowls on the potter's wheel, I was taken by
an old African saying that I heard on NPR:
"A good cook is one who has broken many pots."
Sept. 16, 2006
How Long Are We Going To Keep Helping Osama? Before we went to war in Iraq, I believed that doing so would have the very opposite result from what we were trying to accomplish, that is the security and safety of the United States. Now more and more people, including high people in the Republican Party, are coming to that view.
Our presence in the mid-east is increasing the instability of an area which was already experiencing internal upheaval. The technology of the modern world, especially modern communications, is seen by many traditionalists as a direct threat to the ancient culture of Islam. In the United States, we are experiencing a similar thing in the form of the increasing polarity between the far right and the modern world. However here violence is mostly kept in check by our tradition of the rule of law.
The Sunni-Shiite conflict adds to the conflict and confusion. It has existed almost as long as Islam itself and feeds on the current instability.
Our very existence is helping Osama and the other religious radicals to bring more and more moderate Muslims to their way of thinking. We are polarizing the worlds of East and West in a way that will affect us for a very long time to come. Lieutenant Lieutenant General William E. Odom explains why much better than I can. Follow this link to read some quotes: General Odom quotes
We have two real interests in the mid-east. Democracy is not one of them. Terrorism is not one of them. If we were not there, the terrorists would have no interest in us. Oil and Israel are our only legitimate reasons for being there. Oil is a legitimate reason. The west must have the oil to sustain our "way of life." Without mid-eastern oil, the cost of energy would be many times higher, and our economy would be devastated.
Israel is another question. It is a country that should never have existed in the first place. It was a creation of England for a small vocal group of right wing Zionists. At the time of Its creation did not have the support of most of the Jewish people. Nevertheless, it exists, so goal now must be to find a way in which it can survive in peaceful coexistence with its neighbors.
On the lighter side, I am enjoying learning oil painting. It is still not very presentable, but I am working on it. My hope is to be able to paint scenes of the sea and ships. When I improve a bit, I will include some here on the Almanac.
You
might wonder why the picture of the tug Walter Ross.
When I was
about six, a very long time ago, my grandparents took me to
Bucksport, Maine. There resided the old steam tug Walter Ross. My grandfather
knew most of the crew, so he would take me down to the pier .... More
about the Walter Ross
Sept. 15, 2006
Went to the movie Little Miss Sunshine last night. It was very funny. Somewhat slapstick, but done very well. Rated R for use of the f word and talk about sex by the grandfather, but nevertheless a really funny movie. I recommend it for a lot of laughs as well as some serious things to think about.