Had a wonderful dinner at Alias last night with Paul, an erstwhile housemate of mine back in Cambridge Mass in the late seventies. (I think "erstwhile" is okay when to refer to events over twenty years ago). Paul and his long-time companion Bob, who now live on island in Maine, are in town for a few days to attend a wedding and do some sight-seeing. I may go with them to the Frick later this week as Bob is an art-history enthusiast (Renaissance Venice a specialty)
It was a pleasure to see them: Paul has had to retire early due to a conjunction of disabilities, but is still very active in their small town by Casco Bay. I would love to sail in Maine again someday and drop anchor in their bay.
Also baked chocolate-chip cookies with Theo Sunday. They were a little dry but I will have another try soon and use fresher chips.
Collateral Damage?
A couple of interesting articles in the NYT over the past couple of day. Monday's piece US Approach on North Korea Is Straining Alliances in Asia suggests that South Korea might be questioning the benefits of its fifty-year alliance. I did not know for instance that the Yongsan base, a major US facility, sits in the middle of downtown Seoul. How is placing a large base in the midst of a capital city and within artillery range of the DMZ a good idea?
And today Tuesday, the Times has a pair of articles on the risk posed to archaeological and religious sites in Iraq by war and/or bombing. I am not comparing the costs of damage to sites or shrines with the deaths of non-combatants, but there is a cultural issue here. And it will matter to many people whether such places are damaged or contaminated with depleted uranium rounds.
For it bears remembering that Mesopotamia and indeed all of of Iraq east of the Euphrates -- unlike the empty deserts of Kuwait -- is a cradle of Western civilization, riddled with sites of great historical importance. We deplored it when Saddam vandalized Shi'a shrines in Najaf and Karbala in 1991 in retaliation for the uprisings against him. We condemned the destruction of Bosnian mosques and libraries by Serb forces. Damage to such sites in Iraq would be a black mark on Western civilization itself.
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It was a pleasure to see them: Paul has had to retire early due to a conjunction of disabilities, but is still very active in their small town by Casco Bay. I would love to sail in Maine again someday and drop anchor in their bay.
Also baked chocolate-chip cookies with Theo Sunday. They were a little dry but I will have another try soon and use fresher chips.
Collateral Damage?
A couple of interesting articles in the NYT over the past couple of day. Monday's piece US Approach on North Korea Is Straining Alliances in Asia suggests that South Korea might be questioning the benefits of its fifty-year alliance. I did not know for instance that the Yongsan base, a major US facility, sits in the middle of downtown Seoul. How is placing a large base in the midst of a capital city and within artillery range of the DMZ a good idea?
And today Tuesday, the Times has a pair of articles on the risk posed to archaeological and religious sites in Iraq by war and/or bombing. I am not comparing the costs of damage to sites or shrines with the deaths of non-combatants, but there is a cultural issue here. And it will matter to many people whether such places are damaged or contaminated with depleted uranium rounds. For it bears remembering that Mesopotamia and indeed all of of Iraq east of the Euphrates -- unlike the empty deserts of Kuwait -- is a cradle of Western civilization, riddled with sites of great historical importance. We deplored it when Saddam vandalized Shi'a shrines in Najaf and Karbala in 1991 in retaliation for the uprisings against him. We condemned the destruction of Bosnian mosques and libraries by Serb forces. Damage to such sites in Iraq would be a black mark on Western civilization itself.
- bruno 2-25-2003 7:55 pm