tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-99473552024-03-14T04:40:51.503-04:00Light Seeking LightTo clarify: the title is excerpted from Act 1 of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost. The full quote goes:
"Light, seeking light, doth light of light beguile;
So ere you find where light in darkness lies,
Your light grows dark by losing of your eyes."
It's a warning against spending too much of your life in scholarly pursuits.D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.comBlogger6279125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-50100733060847584772012-11-12T10:12:00.002-05:002012-11-12T10:12:36.211-05:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 19, Floriade 2012<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
And here we are in Venlo, not far from Amsterdam and site of the 2012 Floriade, one of the world's largest horticultural expositions. We were quite lucky to be able to see it because the next one will not be for another ten years.<br />
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Big boots to fill.<br />
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Little shoes for sale.<br />
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Entrance to the main exhibit hall.<br />
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Inside. I have so many pictures, and so little space. I'll just post a few to give you a bit of the flaot of the place.<br />
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Flowers, flowers everywhere... <br />
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Even on the walls of the exhibit buildings<br />
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And all sorts of whimsical thingys<br />
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After several hours and hundreds of photos we finally exited the expo over this interesting bridge and reboarded our bus heading on to our next destination. As impressive as the Floriade was, and it WAS impressive, it was just a hint of what was in store for us.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-65718010319572471172012-11-12T09:57:00.002-05:002012-11-12T09:57:50.840-05:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 18, the Kinderdijk Again<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Leaving Rotterdam we passed through many miles of industrial landscapes punctuated here and there by quaint villages.<br />
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Arriving eventually at the Kinderdijk once again.<br />
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Then onto a bus that took us to Venlo where we would attend Floriade, 2012.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-75330094077256189652012-11-03T14:17:00.002-04:002012-11-03T14:19:22.683-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 17, Rotterdam<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sailing north through the night we headed for our next port of call -- Rotterdam.<br />
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On the Meuse River approaching the Erasmus Bridge. <br />
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Rotterdam is one of the largest ports in Europe. In the 1970s the city undertook a major beautification effort, one part of which was preserving the old harbor.<br />
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And in addition to preserving the city's past there was a major effort to promote new, experimental architectural styles. Here's one result -- Piet Blom's "Cube Houses". We spent some time wandering through the complex and, of course, I took pictures.<br />
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Even the mailboxes are colorful.<br />
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Exterior staircases.<br />
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We wandered through the central market. A few things caught my eye.<br />
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More experimental architecture. The tall red tower is the tallest residential structure in the Netherlands.<br />
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Back down to the river.<br />
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Then once again we boarded the boat and headed northward.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-31978696613217296862012-10-29T03:01:00.005-04:002012-10-29T03:01:44.321-04:00Through the Heart of Europe: Part 16, Veere<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Our next stop was at the lovely little town of Veere. Five centuries ago it was a major port dominating the wool trade between Scotland and Holland, but today it is a quiet community of only 1,500 people.<br />
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This charming girl welcomed us as we entered the town.<br />
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The main street lined with traditional houses.<br />
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Many of the houses boasted enclosed gardens.<br />
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The school playground.<br />
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Lots of little tourist shops.<br />
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Dreamer.<br />
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The church spire.<br />
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A shopgirl.<br />
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A reminder of the old days when ships from Veere sailed the globe<br />
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The town hall.<br />
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A sixteenth century merchants house.<br />
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Remnant of the old defenses.<br />
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Roofs and flowers.<br />
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A quiet street near the dyke.<br />
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Shhhh. Don't wake the sheep.<br />
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As we sailed away the skies were filled with migrating waterfowl. <br />
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On our way to Rotterdam, our next stop.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-14787489621376306302012-10-04T06:58:00.001-04:002012-10-04T06:59:02.254-04:00Death of a True Believer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I suppose I should say something about the recent death of prominent Marxist historian, Eric Hobsbawm, but I won't. My mother taught me that if I couldn't say anything good about someone, stay silent. He was a true believer -- a Stalinist to the end. I'll let Michael Burleigh speak for me <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9579092/Eric-Hobsbawm-A-believer-in-the-Red-utopia-to-the-very-end.html">here</a>.</div>
D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-75406790358112003382012-10-04T06:46:00.001-04:002012-10-04T11:05:28.244-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 15, Ghent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Leaving the boat we boarded a bus at Terneuzen that after a short journey deposited us near the center of Ghent, one of the oldest settlements in Western Europe. It has been inhabited since the Neolithic period and has at various times been dominated by Celts, Romans, Franks, Vikings, and the Dutch. It has also been an important industrial center since the High Middle Ages.<br />
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A small shrine at the point where we started our tour of the city. <br />
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The "Friday Market", one of the city's most important commercial centers. The statue is of Jacob van Artevelde, a prominent weaver who ruled the city through the early stages of the Hundred Years War between France and England. His policy was to preserve the neutrality and trading rights of the city, but ultimately this failed and he was forced to side with England. This led to him being excommunicated by the Pope after which he was killed by an angry pro-French mob. <br />
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Medieval guild houses off Friday Square.<br />
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Ghent was long dominated by artisan guilds and this tradition of labor politics has continued throughout its history. These buildings, which have long dominated the area around the square were the headquarters of the labor party and of the socialists. They prominently display Marxist slogans.<br />
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Buildings on the Graslei, a street running along one of the city's canals.<br />
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An early-modern building that, from the decorations on its walls, was apparently a brothel.<br />
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The medieval castle, the Gravensteen, where the Counts of Flanders held court.<br />
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Mmmmm, beer. Lots of beer.<br />
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Windows.<br />
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The medieval meat market, headquarters of the butchers guild.<br />
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The canal runs past St. Bavo Cathedral. The large object lying in the middle of the canal near the bridge is a broken statue of Neptune, originally located at the nearby fish market. How it got into the canal I don't know. <br />
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An elderly man, condemned to be starved to death for heresy, was granted one last wish -- that his daughter, who had recently given birth to his grandson, be allowed to see the child every day until he died. Every day the dutiful daughter brought the child to the man's cell. Months passed and he continued to live, long past the point when he should have died. Confounded religious authorities decided that it was a sign from God that he should be allowed to live, so he was released. The statue shows what really happened.<br />
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The city hall.<br />
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St. Nicholas Church in the city center.<br />
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After several hours strolling through Ghent and admiring its wonders we again embarked on our bus, returned to the boat, and set course for the Netherlands.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-15128029021967472952012-10-03T15:51:00.002-04:002012-10-03T15:51:30.697-04:00<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When I was in graduate school the unholy trinity of Race, Class, and Gender was rapidly displacing other, more traditional, concerns as subjects for historical inquiry. Now the process is complete. Witness the agenda for the upcoming American Historical Association meeting where nothing but the unholy three is up for consideration. Read about it <a href="http://www.mindingthecampus.com/forum/2012/10/look_what_theyve_done_to_us_hi.html">here</a>.<br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-37725474315108151892012-10-01T04:02:00.003-04:002012-10-01T04:02:40.121-04:00I'm Baaaaack!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, I'm finally back in the country and able to start blogging again. While I get myself organized <a href="http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/09/china.html">here </a>are some very neat photos of contemporary China from the <i>Boston Globe</i>.</div>
D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-27354324944531507192012-09-06T01:38:00.000-04:002012-09-06T01:39:14.546-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 14, Antwerp to Ghent<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Leaving Antwerp we sailed through the afternoon past industrial landscapes. I love industrial landscapes -- can't help it, I grew up near Pittsburgh. <br />
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Eventually we docked, disembarked, boarded buses, and made our way to Ghent. <br />
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D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-86909147326482929602012-09-03T17:39:00.000-04:002012-09-03T17:39:28.019-04:00True Believer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqoIvOe1XE0/UEUjYarwfWI/AAAAAAAANRA/wEdf4GYNGr8/s1600/DSC_0018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZqoIvOe1XE0/UEUjYarwfWI/AAAAAAAANRA/wEdf4GYNGr8/s400/DSC_0018.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The only question is, does he pray to the picture or to the empty chair?<br />
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</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-55382702445897499892012-08-29T00:51:00.000-04:002012-08-29T00:51:47.659-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 13, Antwerp<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We disembarked in Antwerp, and took a walking tour of the city.<br />
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Bicycles and poetry. <br />
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Along the riverfront.<br />
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A riverside statue commemorating a local legend about a giant who would attack local boatmen [when they were drunk]. <br />
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This is the Antwerp "Steen" [stone fort] that guarded the harbor. It was first constructed in the fourteenth century and has been renovated several times since.<br />
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This is the Antwerp "meat hall" [Vleeshuis] which housed the butchers guild. The bricks and sandstone were selected and organized to make the whole structure look like a thick slab of meat. The style is called, in Dutch, "speklagen" which means "bacon layers". <br />
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Beside the meat hall is the "blood mountain". Butchers would slaughter animals at the top of the rise and the blood would drain down both sides. <br />
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Nearly every block boasts one of these statues of the Virgin Mary. They testify, not to the devotion of the Antwerpen, but to their ingenuity. Street lanterns were heavily taxed by local authorities, but religious shrines were tax exempt, so every time residents or merchants wanted to light their streets they erected a statue of the virgin and claimed that the light fixture was part of a shrine. <br />
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The "Grote Markt", Antwerp's central square, dominated by the Cathedral of Our Lady, constructed in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth centuries over the site of a Thirteenth century chapel.<br />
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The city hall, decorated by flags of all the nations that maintained embassies in the city. <br />
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Guildhalls. The tallest one is that of the archers guild, which was charged with the defense of the city. It was the most prestigious guild and one of its most famous members was Peter Paul Rubens. The medieval buildings burned in the mid-sixteenth century and were rebuilt in Renaissance style. The statue in the foreground illustrates another local legend. Supposedly an evil giant named Druoon Antigoon was terrorizing the local populace, but a Roman soldier named Silvius Brabo killed him, cut off his hand, and threw it in the river. This incident supposedly gave the town its name [hand werpen] which means hand thrown.<span style="color: grey; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><b><br />
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Renaissance style houses and shops.<br />
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A sixteenth century workers house. <br />
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These statues honor the artisans who worked on the cathedral.<br />
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So-si-do.<br />
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One more game, one more level, and I will eat. <br />
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A warehouse for goods shipped from the Belgian Congo.<br />
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The green square "Groenplaats" which features a statue of Rubens and in the background stands the tower of the Cathedral.<br />
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Looking back at the cathedral from the river.<br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-85799201910975353622012-08-24T04:24:00.000-04:002012-08-24T04:24:14.062-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 12, Willemstad<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Heading south from the Kinderdijk our next stop was Willemstad, a sixteenth-century fortified town named for William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch revolt against Spain. The town has been preserved much as it was centuries ago, but its most striking features [the fortifications themselves] are best seen from the air. Unfortunately, we were on foot so we could not see them in their full glory.<br />
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There was a small carnival in town when we arrived, but since it was early morning when we passed through there were few customers to be seen. <br />
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Willemstad is a small town, only about 2,000 residents, and will not be growing in the future because the government has banned development in the area, which is preserved as a living museum.<br />
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The oldest reformed church still standing in the Netherlands.<br />
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Approaching the town center.<br />
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A canal [really a large moat] runs around the periphery of the fortifications.<br />
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The windmill that regulates the water level in the canal.<br />
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Commerce on the river and a modern windmill.<br />
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Resuming our southern journey into Belgium we eventually approached Antwerp. This is the view from our mooring site on the River Schelde. <br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-19528147419129208382012-08-21T11:17:00.000-04:002012-08-21T11:17:00.320-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 11, the Kinderdijk<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Our next destination was the town of Nieuw-Lekkerland, not far from Rotterdam. Our purpose was to visit the famous Kinderdijk.<br />
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On our way we passed some glorious scenery.<br />
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<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QJjPcWUqF-M/UDOhjz7wiFI/AAAAAAAANKI/ZpHtHR5WJqs/s1600/DSC_0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QJjPcWUqF-M/UDOhjz7wiFI/AAAAAAAANKI/ZpHtHR5WJqs/s320/DSC_0090.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
And finally docked within easy walking distance of the Kinderdijk.<br />
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Kinderdijk is Dutch for "Children's Dike". The name derives from an old story about a disastrous flood that took place in 1421. After the flood a wooden cradle was seen floating on the water, rocking from side to side. Upon inspection it was found to contain a cat, that had been leaping from side to side to keep the cradle from taking on water, and a baby, safe and sound. The story has passed into English folklore as "The Cat and the Cradle".<br />
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Near the entrance a small fisherman.<br />
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This is what everyone expects to see in Holland. Here at the Kinderdijk the nineteen working windmills are not just a tourist attraction -- they actually serve to pump water out of the canals and into a reservoir to maintain water levels [although most of the pumping these days is done by deisel engines.<br />
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We were able to enter one of the windmills. Here are wooden clogs worn by the mill keeper, a bit embarrassing for our guide who had just informed us that nobody in Holland today wears such uncomfortable shoes. <br />
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Inside the mill.<br />
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Look, sheep!<br />
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A watergate near the entrance, <br />
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Nieuw-Lekkerland.<br />
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Then back on board our boat for the next leg of our journey through the waterways of the Netherlands.<br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-72693428955156656872012-08-15T07:36:00.000-04:002012-08-15T07:36:23.079-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 10, The Kroller-Muller Museum<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After Bonn the boat headed down the Rhine toward Dusseldorf while several of us boarded a bus for a side-trip to see the magnificent collection of 19th and 20th Century art at the Kroller-Muller Museum in the Netherlands. <br />
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Along the way we passed this estate where Audrey Hepburn spent her final years. <br />
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The museum is surrounded by a sculpture garden set in a lovely deciduous forest. Here's a piece near the entrance.<br />
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And inside the entrance, more sculpture. <br />
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"Desire, deserve, delight". <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kyiAEFQPcFk/UCuGkWgkClI/AAAAAAAANHs/GLYS7Uu_FA4/s1600/DSC_0023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kyiAEFQPcFk/UCuGkWgkClI/AAAAAAAANHs/GLYS7Uu_FA4/s320/DSC_0023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
But the real treasures in the museum are the paintings, many by Van Gogh and other late nineteenth century artists. Here are some of the most famous:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rTulipNaD2Y/UCuGlqTmlhI/AAAAAAAANIE/-gpXcYhCnfs/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rTulipNaD2Y/UCuGlqTmlhI/AAAAAAAANIE/-gpXcYhCnfs/s320/DSC_0048.JPG" width="254" /></a></div><br />
But there are also things on the wall like this. <br />
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Aaaah, Monet...<br />
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Corot....<br />
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?????...<br />
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The snack bar where we rested for a bit.<br />
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Back outside, wandering through the sculpture forest.<br />
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Horns....<br />
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Then back on the bus for a return to our boat.<br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-39047538179895284372012-08-13T04:35:00.000-04:002012-08-13T04:35:13.419-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 9, Bonn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">The next stop on our river journey was Bonn, a mid-sized city on the Rhine that had a half-century of glory as the capital of West, and later United Germany. Starting in 1998, though, most government functions were moved to Berlin and Bonn has since reverted to being the quiet little river city it had been before World War II. Bonn is an ancient city -- historical records date back to the first century BC and it had been long-established before then -- but little of its ancient past remains today. In the sixteenth through the eighteenth century, Bonn was the residence of the Archbishop of Cologne, who also was one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire, and some impressive structures from that period are on display<br />
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This is a view across the Hofgarten [court garden] showing the Kurfürstliches Schloss -- The Prince/Elector's palace. Today it is the administration building for the University of Bonn. The city has lots of students. <br />
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Mistletoe on a tree bordering the Hofgarten.<br />
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A dead bicycle simply left to rust. <br />
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Looking back across the Hofgarten toward the art museum.<br />
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The Bonn Cathedral -- constructed during the High Middle Ages. It used to serve as the Cathedral church for the Bishop/Elector of Cologne. Before that a church stood on the site dedicated to the memory of Saints Cassius and Florentius.<br />
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These disembodied heads commemorate the saints, Roman legionaries who were martyred because they refused to fight against other Christians, or so we were told. <br />
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An interesting statue, representing a local folk legend, near the Dom.<br />
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A street leading off the main market square. We were there on a Sunday morning so everything was closed, but there was no reason not to take pictures. <br />
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A decoration adorning the fountain that stands at the center of the market square.<br />
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We then went to a high place where we had a nice view of the Rhine. Naturally, I took a picture of a barge loaded with scrap metal. <br />
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A ferry on the Rhine docked at an amusement park.<br />
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When we returned to our boat another one was tied up next to us. They were serving lunch.<br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-51706010363948767172012-08-08T06:09:00.001-04:002012-08-08T06:10:39.008-04:00Murdock on Climate Change<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Rupert Murdock has the best short assessment of the situation with regard to climate change. He recently tweeted: "Climate change very slow but real. So far all cures worse than disease." That is the real state of affairs, and Fred Krupp, writing in the Murdoch-owned <i>Wall Street Journal</i>, urges both the alarmists and the hard-core skeptics to heed it. In particular he urges conservatives to seek market-based responses to global warming.<br />
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It sounds good, and to my mind is the only reasonable response to the current situation, but given the polarization of opinion on the issue of climate change, it will be difficult to achieve a reasonable set of policies. <br />
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Perhaps a Romney administration can craft such policies. The current one certainly, on the basis of its performance so far, cannot. <br />
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One can hope. <br />
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Read his editorial <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444320704577569231537988226.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop">here</a>. </div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-11401021322433112952012-08-07T07:03:00.000-04:002012-08-07T07:03:11.522-04:00Cliodynamics -- The Latest Attempt to Model History<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Ever since the Enlightenment scholars have sought to create a "science" of history -- that is, to use scientific methodology to discover deep structural changes in the human condition over time and to use these to formulate "laws" of history. I personally worked in this field for about two decades. At the time it was called "cliometrics" and it sought to take advantage of advances in computer technology to examine vast amounts of data in hopes that regularities would appear that could then be formulated as scientific laws of human development. It was a worthwhile enterprise in that it exposed many previously unseen or poorly understood aspects of the American and, more generally, the Western experience, but in the end [as Charles Tilly has noted] the endeavor established only one really important new understanding -- that past populations in the Atlantic world were far more mobile, both politically and socially, than had previously been appreciated. They were, in Stephen Thernstrom's words, "Men [and Women] in Motion." At the time we assumed that, as computer technology became more powerful and as more and more information was reduced to machine readable form, our understanding of the past would improve to the point where a true science of history would be achievable.<br />
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Well, it didn't pan out, and most of us engaged in the work moved on to other fields of inquiry. In my own case my interests came to center on the functional relationship between institutional development and culture formation. But the centuries-old dream didn't die and it has once again emerged under a new name -- "Cliodynamics". Laura Spinney interviewed some of today's practitioners for <i>Nature </i><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/human-cycles-history-as-science-1.11078">here</a>. These new number crunchers argue that they have discovered a hidden dynamic of American history that produces major periods of social instability every fifty years. Well, actually they only seem to have three data points [the 1870s, the 1920s, and the 1970s] and are ignoring the huge peak in violence and social disruption that attended the onset of the Civil War ["Bleeding" Kansas, New York Draft Riots, etc]. I am also unimpressed with their use of proxy variables [like income inequality and life expectancy] to model dynamic social structures. Too, their explanation of the variables underlying the supposed cycles they identify doesn't seem to take into account major periods of social and political repression that accompanied WWI, WWII and the early years of the Cold War. One might posit an alternative explanation for the period they are studying -- when the government draws millions of young men out of civil society and into the military, often shipping them out of the country, the level of civil disorder declines. I would also want to look at regional variations. Whatever, I am not convinced by what is reported of their conclusions.<br />
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There is really nothing new here. The Cliodynamics scholars are doing pretty much what the Cliometricians of nearly half a century ago were doing with one exception -- they have better equipment [the early researchers used note cards and shoe boxes to organize their observations, by my time we had advanced to punch cards and mainframe computers, today they have wonderful shiny, glittery new machines sitting on their desks]. Conceptually and methodologically I see no real difference. I expect that a couple of decades down the road they will come to the same conclusion that earlier generations of scholars reached, an appreciation that in human affairs contingency rules. What they are doing is not history -- it is a negation of history.<br />
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</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-67849873430035341942012-08-03T05:33:00.000-04:002012-08-03T05:33:12.562-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 8, Traben-Trarbach<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After Trier we sailed back to Traben-Trarbach where we once again tied up along the bank through the night and much of the following day. Time enough for a leisurely stroll through the towns.<br />
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A kayaker out for his morning exercise.<br />
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A view of Trarbach from Traben.<br />
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Very aggressive waterfowl. There were a lot of different species constantly fighting over territorial rights on the river.<br />
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You see the strangest things looking out of European windows.<br />
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The center square<br />
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Crossing the bridge to Trarbach<br />
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Looking back at Traben from the bridge connecting the two towns. <br />
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There are a lot of representations of ravens sprinkled around the area. I'm not sure why. Perhaps it is because the name Traben derives from an old Celtic word, "raven" which meant "small settlement". <br />
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And of course representations of waterfowl. <br />
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Just a nice staircase with some art deco features that I shot as we returned to the boat. <br />
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Then it was back on the boat and heading toward Bonn. On our way we passed what remains of the famous Bridge at Remagen. <br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-46147694427489670722012-08-01T02:06:00.000-04:002012-08-01T02:06:08.922-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 7, Trier<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">We docked at Trier in the Rhineland-Palatinate, which claims to be the oldest city in Germany. It certainly is old, having been settled more than two thousand years ago. It is also the oldest seat of a Christian bishop north of the Alps.<br />
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While walking from our bus to the historical center of town we passed this building and it caught my eye. I just like the pattern the window and lamp make. <br />
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Trier was extremely important politically. Not only was the Archbishop of Trier an important figure in the Catholic hierarchy and a very large landowner, he was also an elector [one of seven men who chose the emperor] of the Holy Roman Empire. His influence was felt throughout northern Europe.<br />
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This is the front of the Elector's Palace in Trier, constructed in the eighteenth century. The building is lopsided because it could not be finished without doing damage to the city's most famous structure. <br />
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That structure would be the Constantine Basilica, constructed in the fourth century by Emperor Constantine the Great. Here we see it towering over the Elector's Palace. <br />
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The palace garden, once the site of a monastery where, we were informed, Saint Augustine was educated. <br />
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The Basilica, constructed by Emperor Constantine back in the fourth century AD. Today it is a Protestant church. For centuries Trier served as an imperial residence. <br />
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One of the towers of the bishop's cathedral. Various portions of it were constructed in different eras and so it is a visual representation of the architectural history of the region. The lower parts of this tower were constructed in Romanesque style while the top was early Gothic. <br />
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And this adjacent section represents northern high Gothic architecture. <br />
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The central market. I was here early in the morning and the vendors were just setting up. <br />
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Just a few blocks from the bishop's cathedral is this independent church, constructed by Trier's artisan guilds. They built it just a few feet taller than the highest tower in the Dom -- an indication of some of the social and political tensions that troubled the city in the middle ages. <br />
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The House of the Three Magi, first constructed in 1230. Today the first floor [not shown] is a store, but it used to be a plain wall with no entrances. On the right is a floating door which was the way you entered the building, climbing a retractable set of stairs. Putting the entrance on the second floor is an indication of the need for protection residents of Trier felt during the high middle ages. <br />
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The Porta Nigra [the Black Gate] -- a Roman gatehouse built in 180 AD. In the eleventh century it was the residence of Saint Simeon, who died there. After his death the gate was converted into a church and was used as such for centuries.<br />
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The pathway leading back to the river and our boat. It was a nice stroll through a gorgeous town. There was one local sight we missed. Karl Marx was born in Trier and his home is now a museum to his life and work. Somehow I didn't mind missing it.<br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-83234091870873374232012-07-31T02:43:00.002-04:002012-08-01T03:20:43.192-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 6, The Mosel River<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">After leaving Koblenz we sailed through the wind country along the Mosel River. Here we are passing the picturesque town of Cochem.<br />
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The Reichsburg Castle looms over Cochem. I was standing behind a double-paned glass window when I took this photo. It produced a ghost image that I think is kinda cool. <br />
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Past extensive vineyards.<br />
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The lovely town of Zell.<br />
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Hilltop villages.<br />
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Walking through the vineyards.<br />
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Approaching Traben-Trarbach<br />
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Grevenburg castle overlooking Traben-Trarbach<br />
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The Buddha Museum, built by a local convert to Buddhism. <br />
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The "River Harmony" -- our home during the tour.<br />
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We were tied up opposite these dramatic sandstone cliffs. They make for a nice picture. <br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-14944042402888901532012-07-31T00:35:00.000-04:002012-07-31T00:35:50.558-04:00Why has the Cultural Critique of Capitalism Succeeded?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Throughout its national history America has had a love-hate relationship with capitalism. There have been powerful critics -- Jeffersonian Republicans, Jacksonian Democrats, Southern slave-holding elites, labor agitators, immigrant workers, etc., but even so, the nation as a whole has honored the entrepreneurial spirit and the institutions of capitalism that produced great wealth and widespread individual opportunities. Today the critics of capitalism seem to be in the ascendency. Charles Murray asks why.<br />
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He identifies a number of factors -- cronyism and rent-seeking, a dramatic increase in inequality, a shift from productive to manipulative forms of entrepreneurship, etc., but he feels that the most important factors are cultural, to wit, a demoralization of our national culture that precludes a principled defense of capitalism by its foremost practitioners. In other words, so complete has been the victory of the Left in our educational and entertainment industries [what used to be called "the long march through the institutions"] that they have made a principled defense of capitalism all but impossible.<br />
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If we are to restore national greatness, he argues, we must launch a cultural counter-offensive to the left-wing critique that pervades our national culture today. He writes: <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>[I]t should be possible to revive a national consensus affirming that capitalism embraces the best and most essential things about American life; that freeing capitalism to do what it does best won't just create national wealth and reduce poverty, but expand the ability of Americans to achieve earned success—to pursue happiness. </i></blockquote> But it won't be easy. <br />
<a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=9947355&pli=1&pli=1" name="U7162890446DAG"></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Reviving that consensus... requires us to return to the vocabulary of virtue when we talk about capitalism. Personal integrity, a sense of seemliness and concern for those who depend on us are not "values" that are no better or worse than other values. Historically, they have been deeply embedded in the American version of capitalism. It... is necessary to remind the middle class and working class that the rich are not their enemies....</i> </blockquote> And, most importantly, it requires the remoralization of the nation's elites. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>[I]t is... necessary to remind the most successful among us that their obligations are not to be measured in terms of their tax bills. Their principled stewardship can nurture and restore our heritage of liberty. Their indifference to that heritage can destroy it. </i></blockquote> Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.readability.com/read?url=http%3A//online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443931404577549223178294822.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_Books_LS_Books_2">here</a>.<br />
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</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-65411234866816148992012-07-26T20:56:00.000-04:002012-07-26T20:56:28.242-04:00Condi on the Future of American Foreign Policy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Condi cuts loose with her ideas on the direction American foreign policy should take in the future. Her major points:<br />
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These are times of rapid and fundamental change -- if we wish to have some say into how things settle out we will have to overcome our reluctance to lead.<br />
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We have long-term goals -- 1) promoting democratic institutions and political inclusiveness; 2) re-engaging with Iraq -- it will be an essential partner in future developments; 3) promoting prosperity in the Middle East -- prosperity will forge cooperative relations among the countries of the region; 4) promoting democracy and democratic dissent in the Western Hemisphere; 5) building on the Bush administration's Trans-Pacific Partnership to promote regional trade and mutual security in East and South Asia; 6) extending free trade on a global scale and developing our domestic resources; 7) re-establishing confidence amongst our traditional allies who will be our future partners; and 8) reform our trouble educational systems.<br />
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She concludes with a ringing endorsement of American exceptionalism:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The American people have to be inspired to lead again. They need to be reminded that the US is not just any other country: we are exceptional in the clarity of our conviction that free markets and free peoples hold the key to the future, and in our willingness to act on those beliefs. Failure to do so would leave a vacuum, likely filled by those who will not champion a balance of power that favours freedom. That would be a tragedy for American interests and values and those who share them.</i></blockquote> Read the whole thing <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f4837046-d67b-11e1-ba60-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz21mPhdLFw">here</a>.</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-75926383747309941562012-07-26T00:45:00.000-04:002012-07-26T00:45:40.432-04:00Apocalyptic Totalitarianism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">One of the most celebrated of France's "New Philosophers" was Pascal Bruckner. Celebrated, that is, until recently. Now he is one of the most vilified figures in Europe. Why? What happened?<br />
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Bruckner committed what many on the Left consider to be the ultimate sin -- he published a book [The Fanaticism of the Apocalypse] attacking the intellectual foundations of the Green movement. His argument is that, whatever the merits of the science of climate change, global warming alarmists have advanced a despotic agenda which they attempt to justify by deploying apocalyptic rhetoric that has the effect of infantilizing the public, the better to control it. He compares climate change alarmism to medieval peasant religion and argues that the "propaganda of fear", advanced by the Green movement has disturbing totalitarian overtones. Moreover, he notes, implementing the Green agenda would consign the vast majority of the world's population to perpetual poverty.<br />
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It's an interesting argument. The book is not currently available in English, but you can read a good summary of his positions <a href="http://afr.com/p/lifestyle/review/scorning_the_propaganda_of_fear_35NPhGM05z5vuBNPRHVobI">here</a>.<br />
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</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-75221226561111699462012-07-24T02:41:00.000-04:002012-07-24T02:41:15.024-04:00Through the Heart of Europe -- Part 5, The Rhine Gorge<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Back on the boat we headed down the middle course of Rhine past numerous picturesque castles and towns. Here are a few of the things we saw.<br />
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Through the morning we sailed past castle after castle on our way to Boppard. <br />
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This is the Ehrenfels castle.<br />
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Eventually we pulled into Boppard where we paused for a while. We ate lunch, then some of us took a walking tour of the town while others boarded a bus for a tour of the Marksburg castle. <br />
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Back on the river. Contrails in the sky.<br />
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Schloss Liebeneck<br />
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Then, towering above us, the Marksburg Castle, the only hilltop castle in the region that was never destroyed.<br />
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The town of Lahnstein.<br />
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Approaching Koblenz<br />
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Castle Ehrenbreitstein<br />
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The "German Corner" of Koblenz, where we docked for the night. The mounted statue is of Bismark. <br />
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</div></div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9947355.post-16478572957935924582012-07-24T02:21:00.000-04:002012-07-24T02:21:50.330-04:00Thinking and Not Thinking About Sex<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Over the course of my lifetime attitudes and values regarding sex have been radically transformed, and as they have the range of discourse on the subject have changed even more dramatically. When I was young a lot of sexual subjects just could not, or would not be discussed. Today those subjects are talked about endlessly. As a friend of mine put it, "the love that dare not speak its name has become the love that cannot shut up." At the same time other subjects that once were discussed freely have become verboten. The recent persecution of University of Texas sociologist, Mark Regnerus illustrates the problem. The <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/An-Academic-Auto-da-F-/133107/?cid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en"><i>Chronicle of Higher Education</i></a> notes his sin and its consequences:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Regnerus's offense? His article in the July 2012 issue of <em>Social Science Research</em> reported that adult children of parents who had same-sex romantic relationships, including same-sex couples as parents, have more emotional and social problems than do adult children of heterosexual parents with intact marriages. That's it. Regnerus published ideologically unpopular research results on the contentious matter of same-sex families. And now he is being made to pay.</i><br />
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<i>Regnerus has been attacked by sociologists all around the country, including some from his own department. He has been vilified by journalists who obviously (based on what they write) understand little about social-science research. And the journal in which Regnerus published his article has been the target of a pressure campaign.</i></blockquote>And what is the tenor of the criticism: <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2012/06/don_t_let_criticism_of_the_new_gay_parents_study_become_a_war_on_science.html">Slate </a>provides a sample:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Mark Regnerus is a hateful bigot. He’s an ultra-conservative with links to Opus Dei. His new <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0049089X12000610" target="_blank">research paper on same-sex parenting</a> is “intentionally misleading” and<strong> </strong>“seeks to disparage lesbian and gay parents.” His “so-called study doesn’t match 30 years of scientific research that shows overwhelmingly that children raised by parents who are LGBT do equally as well.” His “junk science” and “pseudo-scientific misinformation,” pitted against statements from the American Psychological Association and “every major child welfare organization,” deserve no coverage or credence.</i><br />
<div class="text parbase section"> <div class="text"> </div></div></blockquote><div class="text parbase section"> <div class="text"> <blockquote><i> That’s what four of the nation’s leading gay-rights groups—the Human Rights Campaign, the Family Equality Council, Freedom to Marry, and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation —<a href="http://www.glaad.org/releases/flawed-paper-claims-overturn-30-years-credible-research-shows-gay-and-lesbian-parents" target="_blank">declared in a joint statement</a> this week. Flanked by a mob of bloggers, they’re out to attack Regnerus’ motives, destroy his credibility, and banish his study from the scientific record. Even <strong><em>Slate</em></strong> contributor E.J. Graff says “<strong><a href="http://prospect.org/article/what-hurts-children-more-having-lesbian-and-gay-parents-or-junk-science-about-their-parents" target="_blank"><em>Slate</em></a></strong><a href="http://prospect.org/article/what-hurts-children-more-having-lesbian-and-gay-parents-or-junk-science-about-their-parents" target="_blank">'s editors should be ashamed</a>” for publishing Regnerus’ “dangerous propaganda.”</i></blockquote>Wow! No book-banners or "paranoid" authorities of the mid-twentieth century were more narrow-minded than today's left of center critics. And it is not just political activists or bloggers who are spewing venom. As the Chronicle notes many of the calls for censorship have come from within the academic profession itself.<br />
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Why, and what does this tell us about the state of scientific authority in today's world? I quote the Chronicle at length.<br />
</div></div><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>Sociologists tend to be political and cultural liberals, leftists, and progressives. That itself is not a problem..., [b]ut the ideological and political proclivities of some sociologists can create real problems.</i><br />
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<i>[S]ome sociologists... lose perspective on the minority status of their own views, ...take for granted much that is still worth arguing about, and... fall into a kind of groupthink. The culture in such circles can be parochial and mean. I have seen colleagues ignore, stereotype, and belittle people and perspectives they do not like, rather than respectfully provide <em>good arguments</em> against those they do not agree with and <em>for</em> their own views. </i></blockquote> In this blinkered environment reasonable discussion of issues is impossible and entire categories of evidence are automatically excluded from consideration. But there is more:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i>The temptation to use academe to advance a political agenda is too often indulged in sociology, especially by activist faculty in certain fields, like marriage, family, sex, and gender. The crucial line between broadening education and indoctrinating propaganda can grow very thin, sometimes nonexistent. Research programs that advance narrow agendas compatible with particular ideologies are privileged. Survey textbooks in some fields routinely frame their arguments in a way that validates any form of intimate relationship as a family, when the larger social discussion of what a family is and should be is still continuing and worth having. Reviewers for peer-reviewed journals identify "problems" with papers whose findings do not comport with their own beliefs. Job candidates and faculty up for tenure whose political and social views are not "correct" are sometimes weeded out through a subtle (or obvious), ideologically governed process of evaluation, which is publicly justified on more-legitimate grounds—"scholarly weaknesses" or "not fitting in well" with the department.</i></blockquote>And here we get to the core of the problem. The institutions we have created to provide us with objective and valuable information and analysis on important social and political issues have become so thoroughly corrupted by political correctness that they can no longer be trusted. This is not a new problem -- one need only glance at the academic literature on race or sex produced early in the twentieth century to see evidence of blatant bias -- but it is central to our modern culture. For a century and more Western elites have exalted science and relied on some form of it to guide our responses to perceived problems. This reliance on scientific authority stands at the core of "progressive" ideology. But it has become increasingly apparent, even to laymen, that the pronouncements of scientific and academic authority on a wide range of subjects are not to be trusted. This is a genuine crisis, not just for academia but for all society, and it is one that has to be addressed in a serious way. <br />
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</div>D. B. Lighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05663484917515894917noreply@blogger.com0