Monday, April 22, 2013
Boston Marathon bombing hits home
Spartan Daily
Boston Marathon bombing hits home
by Margaret Baum Apr 17, 2013 10:15 pm Tags: 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta, Boston Marathon
Margaret Baum is the Spartan Daily Executive Editor, her column appears every other Monday.
I was sitting down eating lunch on Monday when I got a news alert on my iPhone. The alert said two explosions had gone off at the finish line of The Boston Marathon.
I remember that moment very clearly. In a single moment my heart sank.
I remember scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed just moments before I heard the news of the explosions. A friend that I had gone to college with in Boston right after high school was running the marathon that morning. She had already posted some photos of herself in Boston that morning.
My first thought was to go to her page and find out if she was OK. By the time I found her page again, I was relieved to find that she had finished and already left the area before the bombs went off.
My mom told me, "I never thought this would happen in Boston." I know that sounds like one of those things that people always say whenever there is a tragedy, but this felt different.
My phone started ringing off the hook with calls from family and friends. My Facebook feed was full of posts from people I know on the East Coast and all around the country.
This incident really hit home for me. I love Boston. I know that everyone loves their favorite cities. For me, Boston was home. I lived there for two years. I went to school there. I often dream about going back there. It is the place I started my adult life.
After high school, I felt the need to get away and start over and Boston was the place where I decided to begin a new chapter of my life.
Boylston and Newbury Streets were two of my favorite places in the city. I often went to the movie theater on Boylston Street or would window shop or grab ice cream with friends on Newbury Street.
Even though I wasn't physically in Boston that day, part of me is always there. Sometimes I still feel like the wide-eyed 18-year-old girl I was then, exploring the city and taking in all the history it had to offer.
I have this connection to the city. It is a connection that can never be broken no matter how long I stay away. I've heard numerous heart wrenching stories about the bombing on Monday and mine seems minuscule compared to some of the others, but it is my own.
I had a strange feeling that this event had a familiar feel to it, but I couldn't put my finger on what it was. It finally all made sense to me yesterday morning as I was streaming the White House Press Conference on my phone.
I have read a lot of stories about Monday's incident. Many of these stories describe how the bombs were made.
A New York Times story posted on Tuesday read,"The explosives that killed three people and injured more than 170 during the Boston Marathon on Monday were most likely rudimentary devices made from ordinary kitchen pressure cookers, except they were rigged to shoot sharp bits of shrapnel into anyone within reach of their blast and maim them severely, law enforcement officials said Tuesday."
As I continued reading that story, it was the next line that really hit home for me. "The pressure cookers were filled with nails, ball bearings and black powder, and the devices were triggered by 'kitchen-type' egg timers, one official said."
It reminded me so much of another bombing that I remember vividly. I was a young girl at the time and there was no way I could understand what happened then.
I was just 12 years old when it happened. My parents and I had been staying at one of my father's friends homes in Atlanta, Georgia for the Summer Olympics.
I don't remember our entire trip, but I do remember parts of the night of July 27, 1996. I remember waking up right around the time that reports later said the bomb went off.
I walked into the room where my parents were sleeping. I woke my mom up and said, "Mom, I can't sleep and I don't know why." I was so freaked out for some reason.
I never knew why or how I woke up that night. Eventually we turned on the TV to hear the news of what had happened at Centennial Park.
I only slightly understood, but I knew it was something bad and I knew that people had gotten hurt. I don't remember the explanation that my parents provided. I do remember a few of the questions that ran through my head that night.
Why did this happen? Why would someone do this? Why would someone want to hurt people?
Now that I'm quite a bit older, I see things differently, as I should. I still have those questions floating in my head, but my perspective has changed.
I have felt a range of emotions over the last few days.
I realized that as people often say, things like this do happen and they can happen everywhere.
Does that mean everyone should live in fear? I don't know that I have the answer to that. I certainly would understand if some people didn't run marathons or races out of fear of similar incidents. Personally, I will go on living my life as I always have.
I will always have a special place in my heart for Boston. As I told my boyfriend last night, "Boston was the place I started my journey that led me to where I sit at this moment."
My condolences go out to everyone affected by this tragedy.
In some ways I am still that 12-year-old girl. I won't say that I understand why some people do the things that they do. Seeing the photos and hearing the stories of this tragedy made me physically ill. I wondered why someone would do something like this. I always ask myself that question when our nation faces a tragedy such as this one.
Looking back, I asked myself the same thing in Atlanta as a little girl and once again on 9/11.
I may never fully understand why things like this happen.
As a journalist, I haven't had to deal with reporting on tragedies such as these but I know that someday I might.
I believe that from a journalistic standpoint the best thing that can be done in a tragedy is to get information out to the public as soon as possible. I strongly believe that and were I among the journalists reporting on this tragedy I would try my best to do just that.
One thought on “Boston Marathon bombing hits home”
Ted Rudow III, MA on April 22, 2013 said:
They have sown violence and will reap violence.They reap the whirlwind! "Where did we go wrong?" the parents ask. "How could my little darling do this?" Very easily. There are lots of kids out there who are really tormented and , but because their parents are not there for them and don't take the time they need to comfort and take proper care of them, they're pushed over the edge and end up doing such horrible things. They're the product of a nation that has forgotten just where their values are meant to come from. They have turned to money, power and Hollywood for answers, and have been found wanting.
Now the gruesome toll of school shootings involving children who gained access to guns is leading some parents to add another, potentially awkward question about guns to the list. After all, guns, mostly handguns, are present in an estimated 40% of U.S. households. And according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 5,285 kids aged 19 years and under died in gun-related deaths in 1995, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
It's time for parents to wake up to the plight of their children! It's time for parents to see just where they are letting their children go by means of their selfish interests and by not taking time for the kids. Let this be a lesson on taking the time needed to minister to your kids. Do something now, today.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Spartan Daily
© 2013 The Spartan Daily
Serving San Jose State since 1934
Frank Capra
Frank Capra
Thsank you, Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA for this wonedrful reminder of a wonderful life: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is a 1946 American drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story “The Greatest Gift”, written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, and privately published by the author in 1945. This is director Frank Capra’s classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls. A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter mockingly and coldly turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. A flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building and Loan. This is the most wonderful life in the world– thankfulness and being content. It’s full of lessons on fighting, on perseverance, on pouring time into others, on inspiring confidence, not giving up, on ...
11 Mar 2013 15:19
Thsank you, Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA for this wonedrful reminder of a wonderful life: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is a 1946 American drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story “The Greatest Gift”, written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, and privately published by the author in 1945. This is director Frank Capra’s classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls. A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter mockingly and coldly turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. A flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building and Loan. This is the most wonderful life in the world– thankfulness and being content. It’s full of lessons on fighting, on perseverance, on pouring time into others, on inspiring confidence, not giving up, on ...
11 Mar 2013 15:19
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Fracking
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/21/18735610.php
Fracking
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Sunday Apr 21st, 2013
The chemicals used in fracking are highly diluted and natural gas is clean and abundant and fracking will provide many needed jobs. The promotional language that fracking has been unrolled across our nation. One of my biggest concerns is what fracking does to air quality. Our other Western states like Colorado showing that drilling and fracking operations are almost always accompanied by spikes in ground-level ozone -- smog.
Of all human cancers, bladder cancer is the one most likely to recur. Atrazine is one of the weed killers that we use in the United States and it's either the number one or number two weed killer. And interestingly it's banned for use in the European Union. Look it as an issue of a woman's reproductive rights. You know, a woman's body is the incubator and the first environment for a child. And that surely the flipside of Planned Parenthood is to be able to plan a parenthood and carry it out without other people's toxic chemicals interfering with it.
So do chemicals, like people are they innocent until proven guilty? Are they allowed on the market first until we can prove by dying or by harmed children that the chemicals should not be on the market? Or are we going to create precondition to say that before a chemical can be marketed you have to demonstrate through careful testing that almost certainly no one is going to get hurt.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Fracking
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Sunday Apr 21st, 2013
The chemicals used in fracking are highly diluted and natural gas is clean and abundant and fracking will provide many needed jobs. The promotional language that fracking has been unrolled across our nation. One of my biggest concerns is what fracking does to air quality. Our other Western states like Colorado showing that drilling and fracking operations are almost always accompanied by spikes in ground-level ozone -- smog.
Of all human cancers, bladder cancer is the one most likely to recur. Atrazine is one of the weed killers that we use in the United States and it's either the number one or number two weed killer. And interestingly it's banned for use in the European Union. Look it as an issue of a woman's reproductive rights. You know, a woman's body is the incubator and the first environment for a child. And that surely the flipside of Planned Parenthood is to be able to plan a parenthood and carry it out without other people's toxic chemicals interfering with it.
So do chemicals, like people are they innocent until proven guilty? Are they allowed on the market first until we can prove by dying or by harmed children that the chemicals should not be on the market? Or are we going to create precondition to say that before a chemical can be marketed you have to demonstrate through careful testing that almost certainly no one is going to get hurt.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Wake up!
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/16/18735289.php
Wake up!
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Tuesday Apr 16th, 2013
They have sown violence and will reap violence.They reap the whirlwind! "Where did we go wrong?" the parents ask. "How could my little darling do this?" Very easily. There are lots of kids out there who are really tormented and , but because their parents are not there for them and don't take the time they need to comfort and take proper care of them, they're pushed over the edge and end up doing such horrible things. They're the product of a nation that has forgotten just where their values are meant to come from. They have turned to money, power and Hollywood for answers, and have been found wanting.
Now the gruesome toll of school shootings involving children who gained access to guns is leading some parents to add another, potentially awkward question about guns to the list. After all, guns, mostly handguns, are present in an estimated 40% of U.S. households. And according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 5,285 kids aged 19 years and under died in gun-related deaths in 1995, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
It's time for parents to wake up to the plight of their children! It's time for parents to see just where they are letting their children go by means of their selfish interests and by not taking time for the kids. Let this be a lesson on taking the time needed to minister to your kids. Do something now, today.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wake up!
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Tuesday Apr 16th, 2013
They have sown violence and will reap violence.They reap the whirlwind! "Where did we go wrong?" the parents ask. "How could my little darling do this?" Very easily. There are lots of kids out there who are really tormented and , but because their parents are not there for them and don't take the time they need to comfort and take proper care of them, they're pushed over the edge and end up doing such horrible things. They're the product of a nation that has forgotten just where their values are meant to come from. They have turned to money, power and Hollywood for answers, and have been found wanting.
Now the gruesome toll of school shootings involving children who gained access to guns is leading some parents to add another, potentially awkward question about guns to the list. After all, guns, mostly handguns, are present in an estimated 40% of U.S. households. And according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 5,285 kids aged 19 years and under died in gun-related deaths in 1995, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
It's time for parents to wake up to the plight of their children! It's time for parents to see just where they are letting their children go by means of their selfish interests and by not taking time for the kids. Let this be a lesson on taking the time needed to minister to your kids. Do something now, today.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wake up
Friday, April 19, 2013
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Friday, April 19, 2013Wake up
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
They have sown violence and will reap violence. They reap the whirlwind! “Where did we go wrong?” the parents ask. “How could my little darling do this?” Very easily. There are lots of kids out there who are really tormented and , but because their parents are not there for them and don’t take the time they need to comfort and take proper care of them, they’re pushed over the edge and end up doing such horrible things. They’re the product of a nation that has forgotten just where their values are meant to come from. They have turned to money, power and Hollywood for answers, and have been found wanting.
Now the gruesome toll of school shootings involving children who gained access to guns is leading some parents to add another, potentially awkward question about guns to the list. After all, guns, mostly handguns, are present in an estimated 40% of U.S. households. And according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 5,285 kids aged 19 years and under died in gun-related deaths in 1995, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
It’s time for parents to wake up to the plight of their children! It’s time for parents to see just where they are letting their children go by means of their selfish interests and by not taking time for the kids. Let this be a lesson on taking the time needed to minister to your kids. Do something now, today.
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04:51 RSS Archive
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Wake up
LATEST NEWS : Govt moves to pick ‘educated’ directors
Home Print Email A A
Friday, April 19, 2013Wake up
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
They have sown violence and will reap violence. They reap the whirlwind! “Where did we go wrong?” the parents ask. “How could my little darling do this?” Very easily. There are lots of kids out there who are really tormented and , but because their parents are not there for them and don’t take the time they need to comfort and take proper care of them, they’re pushed over the edge and end up doing such horrible things. They’re the product of a nation that has forgotten just where their values are meant to come from. They have turned to money, power and Hollywood for answers, and have been found wanting.
Now the gruesome toll of school shootings involving children who gained access to guns is leading some parents to add another, potentially awkward question about guns to the list. After all, guns, mostly handguns, are present in an estimated 40% of U.S. households. And according to the National Center for Health Statistics, 5,285 kids aged 19 years and under died in gun-related deaths in 1995, the most recent year for which statistics are available.
It’s time for parents to wake up to the plight of their children! It’s time for parents to see just where they are letting their children go by means of their selfish interests and by not taking time for the kids. Let this be a lesson on taking the time needed to minister to your kids. Do something now, today.
More from The Daily Star
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Friday, April 12, 2013
Avoid being another domino in superpower’s game
Friday, April 12, 2013
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Friday, April 12, 2013
Avoid being another domino in superpower’s game
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
They have been a prey to America, and have been battered about and besieged on all sides, economically and militarily. So as Iran has been a tool in a hammer, it shall also endure suffering and pain, and attack by America. This shall drive a great wedge between America and Europe. But this tool is not enough to balance things, and as has been written by the journalists, Iran knows it shall be targeted, as Iraq was targeted and as Libya was targeted.
Those that are targeted and have been targeted have a unity in that they have been victimized by this threat, this superpower, America. So listen not, hearken not to those that cry, “Peace, peace,” for there shall not be peace. There shall not be one world brought about through peaceful means. But there shall be one world that is a result of war, economic collapse and disasters.
The Arabs and Muslims of the world think it’s unjust–and they’re right! The U.S. is simply picking on a stubborn little trouble-making individual and country which most of the rest of the world doesn’t like either, so they figure they can get away with it without any big problems. If that domino falls, then you may well see some Arab and Muslim nations fall as well, further polarising the world.
02:00 RSS Archive
The Daily Star
Home Newspaper Frontpage Backpage Metro National World Letters Business Sports Entertainment LifeStyle Op-Ed Editorial Sections Tech Star Health Science Law and Our Rights Book Reviews Environment Literature City In Frame Strategic Issues Urban Magazine Forum The Star Rising Stars Star Campus Star Insight Supplements Independence Day Special 2013 22nd Anniversary Amor Ekushey Avoid being another domino in superpower's game LATEST NEWS : Tribunal not happy with hartal absence
Home Print Email A A
Friday, April 12, 2013
Avoid being another domino in superpower’s game
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
They have been a prey to America, and have been battered about and besieged on all sides, economically and militarily. So as Iran has been a tool in a hammer, it shall also endure suffering and pain, and attack by America. This shall drive a great wedge between America and Europe. But this tool is not enough to balance things, and as has been written by the journalists, Iran knows it shall be targeted, as Iraq was targeted and as Libya was targeted.
Those that are targeted and have been targeted have a unity in that they have been victimized by this threat, this superpower, America. So listen not, hearken not to those that cry, “Peace, peace,” for there shall not be peace. There shall not be one world brought about through peaceful means. But there shall be one world that is a result of war, economic collapse and disasters.
The Arabs and Muslims of the world think it’s unjust–and they’re right! The U.S. is simply picking on a stubborn little trouble-making individual and country which most of the rest of the world doesn’t like either, so they figure they can get away with it without any big problems. If that domino falls, then you may well see some Arab and Muslim nations fall as well, further polarising the world.
Poor plaintiff’s right to attorney
Saturday, April 06, 2013
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Poor plaintiff's right to attorney
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Friday, April 05, 2013
Poor plaintiff’s right to attorney
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Of the 2.2 million inmates in the United States, more than sixty percent are members of racial and ethnic minorities, and the law puts a disproportionate number of them on death row. That Supreme Court decision, Gideon, 50 years ago said, “You have the right to an attorney in a criminal case, even if you cannot afford it.” When the justices ruled in Gideon’s favour, hundreds of prisoners who also had been denied their legal rights were freed or given new trials and our current system of public defenders was born.
For decades the poor had really been very vulnerable in our criminal court system and frequently faced very severe punishments alone. What Gideon did was basically say that our constitution requires that we treat people equally when their life and when their liberty is at risk. And it changed the way we thought about counsel for the poor in this country. We have tolerated extremely bad lawyering in these cases.
The average disbarment rate in most states is about one percent of lawyers. In Washington State, one percent of lawyers end up disbarred or suspended. But the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” looked at all the 84 cases that resulted in death sentences and found that 20 percent of those cases involved lawyers who were later suspended or disbarred.
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Poor plaintiff's right to attorney
LATEST NEWS :
Friday, April 05, 2013
Poor plaintiff’s right to attorney
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
Of the 2.2 million inmates in the United States, more than sixty percent are members of racial and ethnic minorities, and the law puts a disproportionate number of them on death row. That Supreme Court decision, Gideon, 50 years ago said, “You have the right to an attorney in a criminal case, even if you cannot afford it.” When the justices ruled in Gideon’s favour, hundreds of prisoners who also had been denied their legal rights were freed or given new trials and our current system of public defenders was born.
For decades the poor had really been very vulnerable in our criminal court system and frequently faced very severe punishments alone. What Gideon did was basically say that our constitution requires that we treat people equally when their life and when their liberty is at risk. And it changed the way we thought about counsel for the poor in this country. We have tolerated extremely bad lawyering in these cases.
The average disbarment rate in most states is about one percent of lawyers. In Washington State, one percent of lawyers end up disbarred or suspended. But the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” looked at all the 84 cases that resulted in death sentences and found that 20 percent of those cases involved lawyers who were later suspended or disbarred.
©2013 thedailystar.net. All Rights Reserved
«
Wednesday, April 03, 2013
PENINSULA PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER
PENINSULA PEACE AND JUSTICE CENTER
www.PeaceandJustice.org www.facebook.com/penin.pjc
A free community forum ... Timely and insightful
I R A N
Iran Presidential elections in June ... Will the democracy movement re-emerge?
Economic sanctions inflict pain ... On ordinary people.
A belligerent anti-Iran resolution in the US Senate ... And 65 Senators endorse it.
Still in the crosshairs ... Who might pull the trigger? And when?
Wednesday Apr 3rd, 2013
I phoned and support what they express! They have been a prey to America, and have been battered about and besieged on all sides, economically and militarily. So as Iran has been a tool in a hammer, it shall also endure suffering and pain, and attack by America. This shall drive a great wedge between America and Europe. But this tool is not enough to balance things, and as has been written by the journalists, Iran knows it shall be targeted, as Iraq was targeted and as Libya was targeted.
A conversation with
Dr. Ali Ferdowsi
Prof. of Political Science, Notre Dame de Namur Univ.
Native of Iran
Tuesday, April 2, 7:00 PM
Community Media Center, 900 San Antonio Road, Palo Alto
Full details - including how to watch online - are here
< < < < < < > > > > > >
Up next from PPJC
JOYSTICK WARFARE
The Legality and Morality of Combat Drones
A talk by Paul George, PPJC's Director
Tuesday, April 16, 7:00 PM, Cupertino
Endure suffering and pain
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/03/18734619.php
Endure suffering and pain
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Ted Rudow III, MA )
Wednesday Apr 3rd, 2013
They have been a prey to America, and have been battered about and besieged on all sides, economically and militarily. So as Iran has been a tool in a hammer, it shall also endure suffering and pain, and attack by America. This shall drive a great wedge between America and Europe. But this tool is not enough to balance things, and as has been written by the journalists, Iran knows it shall be targeted, as Iraq was targeted and as Libya was targeted.
Those that are targeted and have been targeted have a unity in that they have been victimized by this threat, this superpower, America. So listen not, hearken not to those that cry, "Peace, peace," for there shall not be peace. There shall not be one world brought about through peaceful means. But there shall be one world that is a result of war, economic collapse and disasters.
The Arabs and Muslims of the world think it's unjust--and they're right! The U.S. is simply picking on a stubborn little trouble-making individual and country which most of the rest of the world doesn't like either, so they figure they can get away with it without any big problems. If that domino falls, then you may well see some Arab and Muslim nations fall as well, further polarizing the world.
Ted Rudow III, MA
We treat people equally?
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/04/03/18734616.php
We treat people equally
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Wednesday Apr 3rd, 2013
Of the 2.2 million inmates in the United States, more than sixty percent are members of racial and ethnic minorities, and the law puts a disproportionate number of them on death row.
That Supreme Court decision, Gideon, 50 years ago said, you have the right to an attorney in a criminal case, even if you cannot afford it. When the justices ruled In Gideon’s favor, hundreds of prisoners who also had been denied their legal rights were freed or given new trials and our current system of public defenders was born
For decades the poor had really been very vulnerable in our criminal court system and frequently faced very severe punishments alone. What Gideon did was basically say that our constitution requires that we treat people equally when their life and when their liberty is at risk. And it changed the way we thought about counsel for the poor in this country. we have tolerated extremely bad lawyering in these cases.
The average disbarment rate in most states is about one percent of lawyers. Washington State, one percent of lawyers end up disbarred or suspended. But the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” looked at all the 84 cases that resulted in death sentences and found that 20 percent of those cases involved lawyers who were later suspended or disbarred.
Ted Rudow III, MA
We treat people equally
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Wednesday Apr 3rd, 2013
Of the 2.2 million inmates in the United States, more than sixty percent are members of racial and ethnic minorities, and the law puts a disproportionate number of them on death row.
That Supreme Court decision, Gideon, 50 years ago said, you have the right to an attorney in a criminal case, even if you cannot afford it. When the justices ruled In Gideon’s favor, hundreds of prisoners who also had been denied their legal rights were freed or given new trials and our current system of public defenders was born
For decades the poor had really been very vulnerable in our criminal court system and frequently faced very severe punishments alone. What Gideon did was basically say that our constitution requires that we treat people equally when their life and when their liberty is at risk. And it changed the way we thought about counsel for the poor in this country. we have tolerated extremely bad lawyering in these cases.
The average disbarment rate in most states is about one percent of lawyers. Washington State, one percent of lawyers end up disbarred or suspended. But the “Seattle Post-Intelligencer” looked at all the 84 cases that resulted in death sentences and found that 20 percent of those cases involved lawyers who were later suspended or disbarred.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
10 years into the Iraq war
Thursday, March 28, 2013
01:57
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
10 years into the Iraq war
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
The U.S. seems to have a hard time figuring out reasons for its wars, especially the ones it wages on Iraq, so it keeps changing them until it finds something that will stick and sound reasonable and justifiable. Wars require creative marketing, you know. For this second Gulf War, the U.S. started off trying their best to tie Saddam to Osama bin Laden’s outfit so they could pin part of the blame for 9/11 on him.
Something like two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq either staged the 9/11 attacks or played some sort of role in the attack behind the scenes, or that some of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqis! That’s not the case at all, but it just goes to show that if you keep repeating a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it!
Words have power, both for good and bad, especially when spoken by the president. Teddy Roosevelt used to call the presidency a “bully pulpit,” a place where a good leader could preach moral values and principles. Of course, it can also be a place where an unscrupulous or immoral leader can promote bad values, ungodly principles, and war, which has also been the case.
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
10 years into the Iraq war
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
The U.S. seems to have a hard time figuring out reasons for its wars, especially the ones it wages on Iraq, so it keeps changing them until it finds something that will stick and sound reasonable and justifiable. Wars require creative marketing, you know. For this second Gulf War, the U.S. started off trying their best to tie Saddam to Osama bin Laden’s outfit so they could pin part of the blame for 9/11 on him.
Something like two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq either staged the 9/11 attacks or played some sort of role in the attack behind the scenes, or that some of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqis! That’s not the case at all, but it just goes to show that if you keep repeating a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it!
Words have power, both for good and bad, especially when spoken by the president. Teddy Roosevelt used to call the presidency a “bully pulpit,” a place where a good leader could preach moral values and principles. Of course, it can also be a place where an unscrupulous or immoral leader can promote bad values, ungodly principles, and war, which has also been the case.
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Saturday, March 23, 2013
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Peninsula readers' letters: March 19
From Daily News Group readers
mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/18/2013 06:30:36 PM PDT
March 19, 2013 6:21 AM GMT
Updated: 03/18/2013 11:21:21 PM PDT
10 years after
Dear Editor: The U.S. seems to have a hard time figuring out reasons for its wars, especially the ones it wages on Iraq, so it keeps changing them until it finds something that will stick and sound reasonable and justifiable. Wars require creative marketing, you know. For this second Gulf war, the U.S. started off trying its best to tie Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden's outfit so it could pin part of the blame for 9/11 on him.
Something like two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq either staged the 9/11 attacks or played some sort of role in the attack behind the scenes, or that some of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqis. That's not the case at all, but it just goes to show that if you keep repeating a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it.
Words have power, both for good and bad, especially when spoken by the president. Teddy Roosevelt used to call the presidency a "bully pulpit," a place where a good leader could preach moral values and principles. Of course, it can also be a place where an unscrupulous or immoral leader can promote bad values, ungodly principles and war, which has also been the case.
Ted Rudow III,
Palo Alto, CA
Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/21/18734024.php
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Thursday Mar 21st, 2013
Ted Rudow III, MA
While America’s need to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace has never been lower, the obstacles have never been higher: Israel has now implanted 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have seriously eroded the appetite of the Israeli silent majority to withdraw from the West Bank.
While there may be fewer reasons for the U.S. to take risks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is still a powerful reason for Israel to do so.
The status quo today may be tolerable for Israel, but it is not healthy. And more status quo means continued Israeli settlements in, and tacit annexation of the West Bank. That’s why I think the most important thing Obama could do on his trip is to publicly and privately ask every Israeli official he meets these questions: Please tell me how your relentless settlement drive in the West Bank does not end up with Israel embedded thereforever ruling over 2.5 million Palestinians with a colonial-like administration that can only undermine Israel as a Jewish democracy and de-legitimise Israel in the world community? I understand why Palestinian dysfunction and the Arab awakening make you wary, but still. Shouldn’t you be constantly testing and testing whether there is a Palestinian partner for a secure peace?
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Thursday Mar 21st, 2013
Ted Rudow III, MA
While America’s need to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace has never been lower, the obstacles have never been higher: Israel has now implanted 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have seriously eroded the appetite of the Israeli silent majority to withdraw from the West Bank.
While there may be fewer reasons for the U.S. to take risks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is still a powerful reason for Israel to do so.
The status quo today may be tolerable for Israel, but it is not healthy. And more status quo means continued Israeli settlements in, and tacit annexation of the West Bank. That’s why I think the most important thing Obama could do on his trip is to publicly and privately ask every Israeli official he meets these questions: Please tell me how your relentless settlement drive in the West Bank does not end up with Israel embedded thereforever ruling over 2.5 million Palestinians with a colonial-like administration that can only undermine Israel as a Jewish democracy and de-legitimise Israel in the world community? I understand why Palestinian dysfunction and the Arab awakening make you wary, but still. Shouldn’t you be constantly testing and testing whether there is a Palestinian partner for a secure peace?
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
22:20
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‘Hefazate Islam a Jamaat ally’
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
photo: Reuters
While America’s need to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace has never been lower, the obstacles have never been higher: Israel has now implanted 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have seriously eroded the appetite of the Israeli silent majority to withdraw from the West Bank. While there may be fewer reasons for the U.S. to take risks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is still a powerful reason for Israel to do so.
The status quo today may be tolerable for Israel, but it is not healthy. And more status quo means continued Israeli settlements in, and tacit annexation of the West Bank. That’s why I think the most important thing Obama could do on his trip is to publicly and privately ask every Israeli official he meets these questions: Please tell me how your relentless settlement drive in the West Bank does not end up with Israel embedded thereforever ruling over 2.5 million Palestinians with a colonial-like administration that can only undermine Israel as a Jewish democracy and de-legitimise Israel in the world community? I understand why Palestinian dysfunction and the Arab awakening make you wary, but still. Shouldn’t you be constantly testing and testing whether there is a Palestinian partner for a secure peace?
/* *//* *//* */
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LATEST NEWS :
‘Hefazate Islam a Jamaat ally’
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Prospect of Palestinian settlement diminishing
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
photo: Reuters
While America’s need to forge Israeli-Palestinian peace has never been lower, the obstacles have never been higher: Israel has now implanted 300,000 settlers in the West Bank, and the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza have seriously eroded the appetite of the Israeli silent majority to withdraw from the West Bank. While there may be fewer reasons for the U.S. to take risks to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there is still a powerful reason for Israel to do so.
The status quo today may be tolerable for Israel, but it is not healthy. And more status quo means continued Israeli settlements in, and tacit annexation of the West Bank. That’s why I think the most important thing Obama could do on his trip is to publicly and privately ask every Israeli official he meets these questions: Please tell me how your relentless settlement drive in the West Bank does not end up with Israel embedded thereforever ruling over 2.5 million Palestinians with a colonial-like administration that can only undermine Israel as a Jewish democracy and de-legitimise Israel in the world community? I understand why Palestinian dysfunction and the Arab awakening make you wary, but still. Shouldn’t you be constantly testing and testing whether there is a Palestinian partner for a secure peace?
/* *//* *//* */
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Tuesday, March 19, 2013
10 years after
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Peninsula readers' letters: March 19
From Daily News Group readers
mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/18/2013 06:30:36 PM PDT
March 19, 2013 6:21 AM GMTUpdated: 03/18/2013 11:21:21 PM PDT
10 years after
Dear Editor: The U.S. seems to have a hard time figuring out reasons for its wars, especially the ones it wages on Iraq, so it keeps changing them until it finds something that will stick and sound reasonable and justifiable. Wars require creative marketing, you know. For this second Gulf war, the U.S. started off trying its best to tie Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden's outfit so it could pin part of the blame for 9/11 on him.
Something like two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq either staged the 9/11 attacks or played some sort of role in the attack behind the scenes, or that some of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqis. That's not the case at all, but it just goes to show that if you keep repeating a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it.
Words have power, both for good and bad, especially when spoken by the president. Teddy Roosevelt used to call the presidency a "bully pulpit," a place where a good leader could preach moral values and principles. Of course, it can also be a place where an unscrupulous or immoral leader can promote bad values, ungodly principles and war, which has also been the case.
Ted Rudow III,
Palo Alto, CA
Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.
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Peninsula POWERED BY
Peninsula readers' letters: March 19
From Daily News Group readers
mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/18/2013 06:30:36 PM PDT
March 19, 2013 6:21 AM GMTUpdated: 03/18/2013 11:21:21 PM PDT
10 years after
Dear Editor: The U.S. seems to have a hard time figuring out reasons for its wars, especially the ones it wages on Iraq, so it keeps changing them until it finds something that will stick and sound reasonable and justifiable. Wars require creative marketing, you know. For this second Gulf war, the U.S. started off trying its best to tie Saddam Hussein to Osama bin Laden's outfit so it could pin part of the blame for 9/11 on him.
Something like two-thirds of Americans believe Iraq either staged the 9/11 attacks or played some sort of role in the attack behind the scenes, or that some of the 9/11 hijackers were Iraqis. That's not the case at all, but it just goes to show that if you keep repeating a lie often enough, people will eventually believe it.
Words have power, both for good and bad, especially when spoken by the president. Teddy Roosevelt used to call the presidency a "bully pulpit," a place where a good leader could preach moral values and principles. Of course, it can also be a place where an unscrupulous or immoral leader can promote bad values, ungodly principles and war, which has also been the case.
Ted Rudow III,
Palo Alto, CA
Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Pope Francis
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/13/18733558.php
Pope Francis
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Francis.
When the disillusioned idealistic young son of a wealthy Florentine merchant decided to follow God, evade the draft, leave home and family and live communally in an old deserted chapel in poverty as beggars, he was cursed and beaten by his father, wept over by his mother, rebuked by his friends and condemned by his own church, despised by the despicable, disdained by the vain and spurned by society.
But his humble love, truth and honesty and passion for peace, poverty and the poor soon won his pitiful people the approval of the Pope and the permanent antipathy of the pompous, yet this flower unfolded the far-flung Franciscan Fathers of the future!
The frail forms of St. Francis and St. Clare, also experienced some of the same bitter criticism and even suffered some of the same violent and retaliatory reaction and persecution, denunciation and condemnation that was suffered by their Franciscan predecessors, yet their truth and sample, too, cannot be quenched by tyranny!
While St. Francis was going through the cellar of his father's fabric factory, appalled by the pitiful condition of the poor creatures slaving there to whom his smile and his hand and his love and compassion pierced their darkness with a ray of God's hope. While his poverty-stricken and ragged little band of beggars were wandering through the streets of Assisi singing and praising God in the rain.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Pope Francis
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Buenos Aires has been elected to be the 266th pope of the Catholic Church, taking the name Pope Francis.
When the disillusioned idealistic young son of a wealthy Florentine merchant decided to follow God, evade the draft, leave home and family and live communally in an old deserted chapel in poverty as beggars, he was cursed and beaten by his father, wept over by his mother, rebuked by his friends and condemned by his own church, despised by the despicable, disdained by the vain and spurned by society.
But his humble love, truth and honesty and passion for peace, poverty and the poor soon won his pitiful people the approval of the Pope and the permanent antipathy of the pompous, yet this flower unfolded the far-flung Franciscan Fathers of the future!
The frail forms of St. Francis and St. Clare, also experienced some of the same bitter criticism and even suffered some of the same violent and retaliatory reaction and persecution, denunciation and condemnation that was suffered by their Franciscan predecessors, yet their truth and sample, too, cannot be quenched by tyranny!
While St. Francis was going through the cellar of his father's fabric factory, appalled by the pitiful condition of the poor creatures slaving there to whom his smile and his hand and his love and compassion pierced their darkness with a ray of God's hope. While his poverty-stricken and ragged little band of beggars were wandering through the streets of Assisi singing and praising God in the rain.
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
when there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
Grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand,
to be loved as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying [to ourselves] that we are born to eternal life.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Monday, March 11, 2013
Lessons from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Monday, March 11, 2013
23:43
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Lessons from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is a 1946 American drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story “The Greatest Gift”, written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, and privately published by the author in 1945. This is director Frank Capra’s classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls.
A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter mockingly and coldly turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. A flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building and Loan.
This is the most wonderful life in the world– thankfulness and being content. It’s full of lessons on fighting, on perseverance, on pouring time into others, on inspiring confidence, not giving up, on following your dreams, on bitterness and forgiveness, on trust and faith and love. It is a sweet, touching story of the struggles in life and brings out the need to fight to rise above your circumstances. That’s what we can learn from the drama.
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Monday, March 11, 2013
Lessons from ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
Ted Rudow III, MA, Encina Ave, Palo Alto, CA
‘It’s a Wonderful Life’ is a 1946 American drama film produced and directed by Frank Capra, that was based on the short story “The Greatest Gift”, written by Philip Van Doren Stern in 1939, and privately published by the author in 1945. This is director Frank Capra’s classic bittersweet comedy/drama about George Bailey (James Stewart), the eternally-in-debt guiding force of a bank in the typical American small town of Bedford Falls.
A desperate George appeals to Potter for a loan. Potter mockingly and coldly turns George down, and then swears out a warrant for his arrest for bank fraud. A flood of townspeople arrive with more than enough donations to save George and the Building and Loan.
This is the most wonderful life in the world– thankfulness and being content. It’s full of lessons on fighting, on perseverance, on pouring time into others, on inspiring confidence, not giving up, on following your dreams, on bitterness and forgiveness, on trust and faith and love. It is a sweet, touching story of the struggles in life and brings out the need to fight to rise above your circumstances. That’s what we can learn from the drama.
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Thursday, March 07, 2013
Obama's drones
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Peninsula readers' letters: March 02
From Daily News Group readers
mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/01/2013 06:23:02 PM PST
March 2, 2013 6:44 AM GMTUpdated: 03/01/2013 10:44:31 PM PST
Obama's drones
Dear Editor: Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently revealed he was initially instructed to deny the existence of the Obama
administration's targeted killing program overseas. Even though the administration has since backed down from that stance, it continues to stonewall members on releasing the Justice Department memos explaining the program's legal rationale.
The administration's position was initially that it couldn't even acknowledge there was in fact a targeted killing program. Now its position has shifted slightly and it is saying it can't acknowledge that the CIA has a role in the targeted killing program.
That kind of argument is really beneath our system. And it's certainly true that the Obama administration has continued many of the Bush administration's most controversial and problematic national security policies and, in some instances, expanded those policies.
Said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul: "We're talking about someone eating at a cafe in Boston or in New York, and a Hellfire missile comes raining in on them. There should be an easy answer from the administration on this. They should say, 'Absolutely no, we will not kill Americans in America without an accusation, a trial and a jury.' "
Ted Rudow III,
Palo Alto
Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.
Children
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/03/07/18733269.php
Children
by Ted Rudow III, MA ( Tedr77 [at] aol.com )
Thursday Mar 7th, 2013
The United Nations Children Fund, or UNICEF, is accusing Israel of systematically abusing Palestinian children in military custody. In a new report, UNICEF says Israeli forces have subjected detained Palestinian youths to "to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" as defined by the U.N. Convention Against Torture. UNICEF special representative Jean Gough unveiled the report’s findings.
"We identified a pattern of ill-treatment when children are in military custody, and what we see is that this happens in the first 48 hours. Imagine a child sitting in front of an interrogator without sleeping. So that’s very hard on the child, and that’s difficult for him. So this is where we want to make the changes to make sure that that doesn’t happen."
Life in the occupied territories has mentally damaged Palestinian children, with 90 percent having experienced several traumatic events. The experiences include imprisonment, inhaling tear gas, nighttime attacks on their homes, Israeli soldiers brutalizing their parents in their presence and Israeli authorities demolishing their homes. So the vicious cycle goes on, and it's one the Palestinians are losing, as they're being ground down, humiliated, and destroyed in every way possible.
Pray for the poor, pray for the peacemakers, pray for protection for the innocent, pray for a solution. According to UNICEF figures, Israel arrests and interrogates around 700 Palestinian children aged 12 to 17 each year.
Ted Rudow III, MA
Saturday, March 02, 2013
Obama's drones
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Peninsula readers' letters: March 02
From Daily News Group readers
mercurynews.com
Posted: 03/01/2013 06:23:02 PM PST
March 2, 2013 6:44 AM GMTUpdated: 03/01/2013 10:44:31 PM PST
Obama's drones
Dear Editor: Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs recently revealed he was initially instructed to deny the existence of the Obama administration's targeted killing program overseas. Even though the administration has since backed down from that stance, it continues to stonewall members on releasing the Justice Department memos explaining the program's legal rationale.
The administration's position was initially that it couldn't even acknowledge there was in fact a targeted killing program. Now its position has shifted slightly and it is saying it can't acknowledge that the CIA has a role in the targeted killing program.
That kind of argument is really beneath our system. And it's certainly true that the Obama administration has continued many of the Bush administration's most controversial and problematic national security policies and, in some instances, expanded those policies.
Said U.S. Sen. Rand Paul: "We're talking about someone eating at a cafe in Boston or in New York, and a Hellfire missile comes raining in on them. There should be an easy answer from the administration on this. They should say, 'Absolutely no, we will not kill Americans in America without an accusation, a trial and a jury.' "
Ted Rudow III,
Palo Alto
Copyright 2012 San Jose Mercury News. All rights reserved.
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