Last words of a Hero: General Hermann Henning von Tresckow

These are the last words of German General Hermann Henning von Tresckow, spoken on July 21, 1944, when he learned in Bialystock that the plot to assassinate Hitler had failed. He committed suicide immediately afterward.

“The whole world will vilify us now, but I am still totally convinced that we did the right thing. Hitler is the archenemy not only of Germany but of the world. When, in few hours’ time, I go before God to account for what I have done and left undone, I know I will be able to justify what I did in the struggle against Hitler. God promised Abraham that He would not destroy Sodom if just ten righteous men could be found in the city, and so I hope that for our sake God will not destroy Germany. No one among us can complain about his death, for whoever joined our ranks put on the shirt of Nessus. A man’s moral worth is established only at the point where he is ready to give up his life in defense of his convictions.”

In Greek mythology the Shirt of Nessus refers to a poisonous shirt that killed Hercules.

The World’s Happiest Countries

http://www.forbes.com/2010/07/14/world-happiest-countries-lifestyle-realestate-gallup-table.html
Very interesting. Quick observations: 1) The top countries are almost all wealthy; 2) Scandinavians seem really happy (in spite of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo); 3) Costa Rica is not wealthy, but stands at no. 6, probably because of its emphasis on quality of life and tight social networks; 4) In spite of the stresses of violence and war, Israel comes in high at no. 8; 5) in spite of its wealth, the US is only at no. 14; 6) Bulgaria is the unhappiest European country; 7) France, Germany, Italy, and Spain are not high up, and the United Kingdom and Ireland are not so great. 7) Brazil and Panama are relatively highly placed; 8) Africa is very unhappy; 9) the happiest Asian countries are in the Middle East or Central Asia, not in South Asia or the Far East; 10) How is Turkmenistan almost as happy as the US.

Integration

Integration: unifying the One and the Many.

Time Melting

We have millennia between us, you and I. Feel the centuries melt as time recedes.

Duck and Cover

http://www.wimp.com/duckcover/
What to do in a nuclear attack according to “experts” in 1951: Hilarious, naive, and sobering (via Nelson French).

Jews Don’t Camp

http://www.youtube.com/user/chickenturkeypenguin

Hilarious.

Web as Random Acts of Kindness

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P65XdTlk4vA
The internet as a verb: self-creating, transformative, and spreading kindness (via Nelson French).

Singing Puppies to Sleep

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCnAjel02lM

Ultimate cuteness.

Israeli Internal Religious Conflict

If ever the Palestinians and Israelis get it together, this will become the big issue in Israel:  progressive and secular Jews vs. the Ultra-Orthodox. Israel is only 20% Orthodox, and many of them are not Ultra-Orthodox.  E.g. Shimon Peres is Orthodox, and he’s no fan of the ultra-religious and their parties.  About 15 years ago, everyone predicted that the Ultra-Orthodx would grow substantially in numbers, but that has not happened, as many children of Ultra-Orthodox families are influenced by the broader global culture (as many of the youth are in Iran) and do not stay within the fold.  The Palestinian conflict helps the Ultra-Orthodox, since it divides everybody else.  In the long run, I don’t think that the Ultra-Orthodox can win, because the numbers are not on their side and because this is not the direction of human culture.  Time is on our side.

History in our Cells

Each person contains the history and memory of the species and the planet in his or her cells.

Humans are Earth Beings

Humans are earth beings (Gen 2.7), created from millennia of terrestrial DNA. To connect with our bodies is to connect with our primal origins.

Actors on a Stage

We’re all actors on a stage, each of us with our assigned role. Waking up means taking a place in the audience to see this.

Time and Space

Time and space are symbols, pointers toward something eternal and boundless.

The One and the Many

The One and the Many: No Many without the One, no One without the Many.

11 of the Craziest Things about the Universe

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marcus-chown/11-of-the-craziest-things_b_628481.html#s107477

My personal favorite: There are an infinite number of copies of each one of us living out an infinite number of alternate lives. I actually find that comforting.

Breath

Breathing is life. Breathing is words. Conscious breathing draws us closer to creation.

Meet the Sloths

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/211/kims-picks-meet-the-sloths

Very cute.

Ruach

Often translated “wind” or “spirit”, ruach in Genesis 1:2 refers to the underlying force of existence and the universe: ” “Energy.”  It’s gender is feminine and is frequently understood in Jewish tradition (especially mysticism) as a feminine counterpart to a more masculine organizing creator.  Whether or not these gender connotations are useful or accurate in some way, they offer a picturesque and poetic way of describing the ultimate.

Hermit Crabs as Social Networkers

http://tuftsjournal.tufts.edu/2010/05_2/features/02/

This is pretty cool: Hermit crabs and human beings as social networkers.

10 Tragic Moments in Food Propaganda

http://www.salon.com/food/feature/2010/06/10/food_propaganda/slideshow.html

“From Freedom Fries to Mecca Cola, a slide show of sadly politicized food to embarrass all eaters…”

Waking Anesthesia

Under waking anesthesia, life moves as a dream does. Time contracts. Moments take on greater meaning. Events do not flow from one to another, but from symbol to symbol, forming a poem and a painting.

Oskar Schindler Museum

http://jta.org/news/article/2010/06/09/2739531/exhibit-at-schindler-factory-site-recalls-nazi-era-krakow
Krakow (Poland) opens Oskar Schindler Museum at site of his factory.

D-Day

http://www.army.mil/d-day/

“The U.S. Army remembers June 6, 1944: D-Day in Normandy, France. Video, audio, photos, posters, and maps tell the story.” A great moment.

Integration

Integration: Making sense of opposites; living in diverse realms; finding a way to enjoy eating chocolate, garlic, sushi together: ONE

The Flotilla Incident and My Frustration with Israel

Israel clearly has the right to defend itself by maintaining the blockade against a country whose government is committed to annihilating it, and Israeli soldiers were confronted with a violent response on at least one of the ships.

I still find this situation demoralizing and depressing.  How come Israel was not better prepared to handle the flotilla?  Israel is supposed to have the best military and the most sophisticated counter-insurgency techniques.  It sure did not look like that here.  When the commandos descended on to the Turkish ship, they looked like sitting ducks for a an angry mob.  How could the Israeli military have so badly misjudged this situation, putting their own soldiers at risk and giving the anti-Israel crowd an enormous PR victory?  The flotilla organizers were not about giving aid to Gaza.  They want to break the Israeli blockade and move public opinion against Israel.  They may not have broken the Gaza blockade (yet), but they succeeded in turning world opinion against Israel, its supporters, and the global Jewish community once again.  Israel looks like a bull in a china closet and is finding itself increasingly isolated.  From a PR point of view, the flotilla was a great victory for those who want to destroy Israel.

No matter what the legitimate justifications for Israel’s actions, they don’t matter in the end.  What matters is public perception as filtered through the media and the internet.  Pro-Palestinian activists understand this.  The Israelis and their supporters seem clueless.  While Israel takes a reactive posture, focusing on tactics in individual incidents (and the tactics were a failure here, a screw-up by the military), the pro-Palestinian activists take a longer, strategic view of turning the world against Israel (and Jews).

When will Israel and its supporters learn to use the media and the internet to their advantage?  When will Israel act pro-actively and cultivate a strategy that looks at their long-term interests?  If events keep piling up in this form, Israel will find itself in an untenable position.  For its sake and our sake, I hope somebody gets the message.

High-Five Etiquette

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/205/kims-picks-high-five-etiquette

“It may be the friendliest greeting ever invented. The high five is less professional than a handshake. But it’s more personal than a simple wave. It’s reserved for the closest of friends. But what’s the right way to do it? What if you mess one up? Don’t worry. Learn proper high five technique in thi…”

High-Power Repairman

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/116/kims-picks-high-power-repairman
I found this moving. This high power repairman is one of those people that makes possible the lives we live. We often forget that, what we take for granted, requires others to have complex skills and courage

Meals as Holy

The Source is an honored guest at every meal. Show it hospitality by taking pleasure in good food and by eating with gusto (Gen 18).

We are not our Habits

We are not our habits, our patterns, or our roles. We are something else altogether.

A Human and a Gorilla Reunite

http://www.tvkim.com/watch/203/kims-picks-gorilla-encounter

A beautiful video story of a human and a gorilla reuniting.

Gulf of Mexico Disaster

Gulf disaster: When we wreak havoc on the earth, she vomits back.

Friendship Between Lion, Tiger, and Bear

http://planetsave.com/2009/12/21/friendship-between-lion-tiger-and-bear-video/

The Wizard of Oz comes to life.

Stability

Maintain stability in the face of volatility.

Learning Another Language

Learning another language is an acting exercise. You practice feeling yourself in another’s skin and move to a new beat.

Copernicus Reburied

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=10719548
A moving story, at least for me. A scientific hero, Copernicus (who proved that the earth and other planets orbit the sun), finally gets his due.

Languages and Rhythm

Languages echo the pulsating rhythms of life. To speak or read another language is to feel another rhythm.

Social Networking and the Movement of Money and Power

With global social networking, money and power move much more effectively and faster horizontally than they do vertically in traditional structures.

Triumph of Social Networking in Politics

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0510/37468.html
I’m most interested here in social networking and its synergy with media. The triumph of social networking activists on both the left and the right shows the diminishing power of long-established political institutions and traditions. Money and power move faster horizontally than they do vertically. Fast-growing social networking promises just as fundamental changes for other institutions as well: business, education, religion, media, newspapers, publishing, transportation, environment, etc. Organizations that do not transform themselves in fundamental structural ways will find themselves replaced by others that understand the new dynamics.

Watching Whales Watch Us

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/magazine/12whales-t.html
Here’s another article on whales. This one discusses the high level of intelligence and sociability of whales. I have certainly found the experience of a whale on the ocean a spiritual experience and deeply moving. The one I saw was exploring us as much as were exploring it. It seemed close to an encounter with a highly intelligent alien being. The article suggests that perhaps whales are now willing to deal with humans after their long struggles with whaling.

Whaling Industry

http://www.neh.gov/news/humanities/2010-03/Whaling.html
Here’s one article dealing with whaling as an industry in the first half of the 19th cent. (until the time when petroleum was discovered) and the rough life of whalers.

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