I am sorry for the blog hiatus, but I follow a method of historical research a bit akin to method acting! I am absolutely immersed in the world of Burnes. I am in Bhuj at tne moment, and yesterday was at Mandivi looking at the shipyards and harbours where Burnes procured his boats to sail up the Indus – they are still made today. Much larger than I had realised. In Mumbai I identified a “lost”, uncatalogued portrait of Alexander Burnes which I think is the finest of him anywhere. The owners did not know who it was. It is by Brockendon like the one in the royal geographical society but is quite different, with him in military uniform. It is by Brockendon, not a copy.
Today disaster. I have lost ten days worth of notes. I noticed this morning that I had two versions of the identical document of my notes open – an .ODT on open office. One was a much older version. Paradoxically they had the identical file name but both showed as saved – the save icon was blanked on each.
Having checked that the content was all there on the version on which I was working, and that it was saved, I decided the best thing was to close off the extraneous version. Disaster!! An error message came up saying open office would now close. On restart, document recovery brought up only the old version, minus ten days work. I had a moment of hope when I right clicked on the document icon and saw “restore earlier versions of the document” but clicking on that just brought up a ,essage that there are no earlier versions available.
I am heartbroken- these aren’t just notes that can be recovered from memory, but also painstaking transcripts of old manuscripts, some of which I probably can’t access again even if I had the time and money.
I can think of a dozen things I might have done to avoid this situation. Comments on how to avoid such happenings are not welcome in the current trying circumstance. The real question is, can anyone think of anything at all that might help? I am running Open Office on Windows 7.
I really cannot express how much in despair I feel. This trip has cost all my available cash and I have to come back soon as money is out.
[If any mods have hung around while the blog is quiet, I am getting an extremely small typeface, only on this site. Do we have a problem, or is it another computer glitch personal to me?]
Komodo & Courtenay: I agree; the focus on Grass’ youth is being used to make his main point disappear. Not, I think, deliberately, by angrysoba. I think he is a remarkably fair-minded commentator, though with a particular dislike of, and sense for, neo-Nazis on this board, in disguise or otherwise. I do not think that makes anyone a ‘Zionist’ – and I know several decent though perhaps ill-informed ‘Zionists’ who are in no way to blame for the terrible state we are in, or for the actions of their government, or for the brutal starvation of Gaza. Perhaps they were born in what is now Israel, perhaps they just have friends there. Either way, to equate them with plans for evil world domination is laughable. NB Clark summarised a while ago several criticisms that AS has posted about the Israeli government’s treatment of the Palestinians which do not fit into either mode.
But still. Grass’ message is widely being ignored by a focus on his youth, by much of the media. Rather like people laughed at Pinter, when he wrote about the Iraq attack. Which makes it not too strange that in the early days of the Third Reich writers (and comedians) were killing themselves in droves. People no longer seemed to listen when they used their insight to say something seriously and factually.
Of course one is not anti-semitic to attack the actions of the minority Israeli government: should go without saying. Just as one is not anti-Christian for deploring the Spanish Inquisition or anti-lizards for objecting to David Icke.
NB However, as Komodo points out, one can use criticism of the Israeli government to attempt to stir up hatred for an anti-semitic agenda. Lovely. I worry that such people think that the discrediting of the Lib Dems leaves their agenda with a political chance and in fact, since the Conservatives are allied with several far-right European groups (something we hear little about) it is already happening. Deep joy. As Nevermind says, we need to be busy in the next election: Given the absence of a good Green or a credible Independent I would vote for any candidate of any party with any track record of decency myself. Is this wrong?
@ DonnyDarko,
“Israel has become everything it accuses everybody else of being and have turned the Palestinians into the persecuted people of Palestine in the process and if Israel succeeds with their ethnic cleansing then the irony will be complete.”
This is stunningly true.
A. I am persecuted.
B. I get sympathy ( “i” becomes “Israel”).
C. Israel does to the Palestinians some the Palestinians discrimination things which is reminiscent of
discriminatory things done to Jews.
The abuses against the Palestinians are blatant – in your face – and reek of racism via ethnic cleansing and discrimination – but, so many are in denial – just as in the days of Apartheid ( it really wasn’t all that bad to support the racial status quo of discrimantion and domination directed against the majority – now – was it?)
One faction has F-16 jets attacking, bombing killing and pushing people off their land, and then when the people being exiled resist and start shooting home made rockets against the aggressors, or become human bombs, then it is not the ones taking the land or using heavy military equipment and state of the art war planes to be questioned – but only the ones who were expelled from their land with no right of return. But – don’t forget – God gave some an almighty right to the land and not to be questioned about their policies or the legitimacy of their actions. Along that trajectory of reasoning – I just heard that the Native Americans were soon to reclaim the whole of Manhattan and some Cherokees have a plan to reclaim the state of Oklahoma (as reparations for the “trail of tears”).
So – why can’t Israel – like any other state on the face of the earth be questioned or held to account for the rights or wrongs of official state policy?
I miss your KSM post Mary – which is ‘big league’ for me (I have researched this damnation for six years). Important it is and I re-post the details:
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After years of political wrangling between Obama and Congress, the so called ‘KSM Terrorist case’ was transferred from civilian back to the military commission last year.
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Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammed Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi will all be tried by military tribunal and I believe will all be executed . They will be arraigned at the Guantanamo Bay prison by the end of this month, the Defense Department said.
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The American people have already waited far too long for TRUTH & justice for the WTC and Pentagon attacks, and the US administration’s use of the military commissions means that justice will never truly be achieved, in the eyes of Americans or the rest of the world.
Yes, Courteney: is anyone here seriously questioning that?
Nuid….”Sorry, I know the topic is forbidden”
Why would that be? I thought Craig was a whistle blower and would support you in telling the truth?
# So – why can’t Israel – like any other state on the face of the earth be questioned or held to account for the rights or wrongs of official state policy? #
Because they are the Chosen People, silly. The zionist Herzl said he wanted Israel to be ‘a nation among nations’, on equal footing. But that stops at criticism, all of which is ‘antisemitic’! Don’t worry, with an attrition rate
of 50,000 a year, according to the Jewish Agency in Al-Quds, this gangster cult will be extinct in 250 years.
@Clark mon ami
If a ‘geologist’ studies geology, and a ‘biologist’ studies biology, what does a ‘denialist’ study?
Pollok, Craig banned the topic of 9/11 because it was diverting the majority of threads. He did, however, open a thread specifically for that subject. The thread got so long that your browser may have trouble loading it!
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http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2010/01/the_911_post.html
On a new tack, noticed that the BBC often wheels in an expert from the Brookings Institute to comment on international developments. Well, at least it isn’t the American Enterprise Institute (Koch bros, Atlantic Bridge, parcel of neocon rogues) thinks I…but let us learn more.
The name Haim Saban is insufficiently known this side of the pond. Despite his bending the Democrats’ procedures in order to get H. Clinton a job. And no doubt he had his reasons for donating to Bush as well. I think this talented rock promoter* and co-conspirator with Murdoch deserves wider recognition: more here…
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haim_Saban
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See also, Martin Indyk.
*Not a bit like “Lord” Levy, then
Best comment is on Gilad Atzmon’s website, “Art of Resistance – a comment on Günter Grass – Thursday, April 5, 2012”.
No wait – strike that! Gilad is a self-hating Jew! And he’s HD!! Omig-d!
Hasbara. Upfront and naked.
http://telem.me/telem-meets-the-british-ambassador
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This evening we had a Public Diplomacy session in Tel-Aviv, working with the Open University. The subject of hasbara/Israel advocacy is very close to the Israelis and we had quite a discussion.
After an introduction by Itay Zider, we were joined by Mr. Matthew Gould, the British ambassador to Israel. Mr. Gould spoke about the growing partnership between the two countries and the close political, security and scientific ties. He also referred to the situation on British campuses, saying that though some of the universities in the UK are touched by a deep anti-Israeli drift, most of them do not take part in those tendencies and are a safe place for pro-Israel activists.
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…..He also mentioned that the best way for Israel to influence its image worldwide is to make steps towards ending the conflict.
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In passing, and without any particular emphasis, obviously.(I guess someone might have picked up on him if he had urged building more settlements and trashing Gaza again as a means to court international acclaim)
A letter to the Guardian ref the article by Harding and Sherwood on the Grass poem.
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http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1333736850.html
Günter Grass and changing German attitudes towards Israel
The poet hopes his latest work, What Must Be Said, will prompt others to break their silence on Israel’s nuclear weapons
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/05/gunter-grass-german-anger-at-israel
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How about all these redundacies in the BBC’s News output? Get rid of the reporters and jounalists and just transmit the fiction and propaganda. Is that the plan?
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The programmes that do still sometimes produce quality in-depth news and investigatory stuff are going. We’ll be left with mindless sport, mindless “comedy”, plays and repeats with a hefty dose of propaganda thrown in. Oh and endless series of Strictly Come Dancing!
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/mar/27/bbc-news-cuts
Israel’s secret plan to expand its colonies in Palestinian territory:
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/israel-defense-ministry-plan-earmarks-10-percent-of-west-bank-for-settlement-expansion-1.421589
The Daily Mail calls out the BBC, regarding “national interest”, including the NHS:
“The BBC has a duty to represent the British nation…but is it doing so?”
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2126040/BBC-bias-Is-Corporation-representing-British-nation.html
Technicolour, thanks for your kind supportive words. We may disagree on things but I am glad that you are willing to engage in rational discussion and that we can see each others’ positions in good faith.
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In contrast, Komodo seems to be berating me for questioning Gunter Grass’s moral authority while believing himself to be “entitled” to call me a “hasbara” and ex-member of the IDF. I don’t quite know what he means by “entitled” here except as, perhaps, an expression of his freedom of speech which has no consequences. By the same token perhaps I could say that he is a pedophile as I need no evidence for my claim and am merely “entitled” to say so. Perhaps Komodo can explain why he is “entitled” to lie about me in a way which adds some distinction between his lie and my speculation.
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Courtney Barnett: It is hard to speak truth to power, without a label being placed on one.
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I happen to like one of Chomsky’s responses to this old cliché. He says that speaking truth to power is not as useful as it sounds given that “power” already knows the truth and simply doesn’t care. Now speaking truth “about power” might be something different.
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Donny Darko: There’s quite a few books that explain Heydrich’s jewishness as the reason for his extremes in dealing with the Czech problem.If you go down a generation or two,you’ll find a jew in most german families.
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“There’s [sic] quite a few books…” is about as respectable a source of information as “everybody knows…” Would you like to, at least, cite a source; perhaps one of these “quite a few” books?
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“As for Ratzinger, SS Div 12 was Hitler Jugend.” [citation needed]
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“Guess there was no way of denying Kurt Waldheim eh ??” Aha! Gotcha! Except for the fact that I never disputed Waldheim was a Nazi. Who does?
Have you cared to read the national socialist 25 point program?
Angrysoba, I owe you an apology for not accepting your apology for your typo last month:
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http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2012/02/question-of-the-day/#comment-341306
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I think that, rather than making accusations, it would have been better if Komodo had simply asked you whether you were part of Hasbara or ex-IDF. The option of just asking seems neglected; contributors seem to prefer jumping directly to accusation.
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Having said that, you, Angrysoba, are as guilty as anyone else, c.f. your implication that I think faith is “cool” or believe in some retributional “quantum fairy”, oh and a hundred other times that you’ve misrepresented or exaggerated contributors’ arguments. Of course, such polarisation is a useful rhetorical device, but it raises the temperature more than it increases illumination, and I think that converging upon consensus is better than winning arguments. To reverse my own argument again, your style of debate on this blog is far less inflammatory than it used to be, and for that, personally and as a moderator, I thank you.
Just read the whole poem in english and it is damning to say the least.
The generational clash within Germany, the young who are not prepared to feel guilty on their great grandfathers behalf, versus those who think that Israel is forever tied to germany for its inherent guilt, clearly marks this poem as much as tit speaks of the international mesmerised pro Israel lobby, which is blinkered to its own insane occupation and harm it dishes out to Palestinians.
Thanks for this, Clark, another Land grab that is unexceptable, the expansion of settlement and incarceration of nomads marks out Apartheid Israel today, a rogue nuclar country that is occupying its neighbours territory, in perpetitity and with the wests canivance.
It is up to no single person to judge the morality of guenther grass, he has long made himself a subject of the masses, so the masses will make their mind up over his latests poem, for all its worth I find his kind of reality Zeitgeist is refreshing.
Ratzingers guilt lies with the many cover ups of paedophilia in Catholic church history for over thirty years, his refusal to ‘advise’ pope Woitila in support of Liberation theology and contraceptive measures, his stoicism and adherence to 14th. century dogma, a wahabi catholic so to speak.
Grass was daft exitable and 17years old when he joined the SS, he does not go to reunions and such like and has owed up for his youthfull mistake. The argument is a bit long in the tooth when one compares it to the eagerness of young approachable drone pilots today.
Mark Golding,
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The “small” pure fusion bomb you reference has a kill radius of 500 metres not 500 miles (based on 3 tonne yield).
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Do pure fusion bombs already exist? Some nuclear bomb designers have said they believe they do. Is “Red Mercury” just a hoax, a cover or is there something terrifying lurking in the shadows?
Stealing Easter as well as stealing the Palestinians’ land.
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The Messianic Movement Smuggles Zionism into the Mainline Church
Charles E. Carlson Apr 5, 2012
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Stealing Easter from Jesus
The Messianic Movement that is growing inside America’s mainline churches could be called the second generation of what has been called Christian Zionism. Its leaders are no longer arrogant celebrity types, like John Hagee, who have become an embarrassment to traditional church-goers. The crass, first generation of Christian Zionists, used by sponsors in Israel’s Likud Party to mobilize millions of pro-Israel zealots and force the U.S. Congress into serving the interests and executing the plans of Israel rather than of the United States, is in its last stage of usefulness; its mission has been accomplished.
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The “Messianic movement” is wooing mainline churches with a velvet glove. Caesar Aharon, author of Judaizing Elements in the Messianic Movement, wrote almost 15 years ago about the danger of Jewish corruption inside the churches and recorded a valuable program about it. Trained as a Conservative Jew, Aharon followed Jesus without Jewish reservations or Old Testament trappings.
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http://whtt.org/newwhtt/main.php?nid=10189&ncateid=1
Prof William A. Cook writes
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In Defense of Günter Grass
by William A. Cook / April 7th, 2012
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Throughout history, it has been the inaction of those who could have acted, the indifference of those who should have known better, the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most, that has made it possible for evil to triumph.
– Haile Selassie
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Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their own history so soon? Have they turned their backs on their profound and noble religious traditions? Have they forgotten that God cares deeply about the downtrodden?
– Bishop Desmond Tutu
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These two cautionary admonitions capture the thrust of Günter Grass’ electrifying poem, “What Must Be Said,” that has brought an avalanche of invective – some scurrilous, some vituperative, some even personal vilification – against the man who warns the people of the world as well as the Jewish people of the dangers inherent in the actions of the Zionist controlled government of the State of Israel. Such condemnations avoid direct rebuttal of Grass’ pointed cries of despair as he contemplates continued indifference to the slow yet calculated genocide that exists in Israel’s occupation of Palestine reverting instead to derogatory innuendo, ignorance of conditions prevalent in the occupied territories, ignorance of those determined to destroy Israel, and personal guilt as a German. There is no reflection on the worst sin human kind can inflict on their fellow human beings, the silence of indifference to the plight of the Palestinians or to the potential danger facing the people of the mid-east should Israel pre-emptively strike Iran.
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http://dissidentvoice.org/2012/04/in-defense-of-gnter-grass/
It is with the support of the Chinese that Irans oil transfers are disrupted. This does not look good at all, too much pressure.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2012/04/2012458720519320.html
I see I have annoyed Angrysoba (again)
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I said: “hasbara demands no less”. Which to my mind could certainly be interpreted as implying that I thought Angrysoba was propagating the hasbara(“education”) ethic. It falls short of an absolute assertion that he is part of a movement. Whether or not he has signed up to whatever the successor of Megaphone is, whether or not he is part of an organised group (“hasbara” does not necessarily imply this), that is what he appears to be doing in most of his posts. I make no apology for using the term in that context.
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I said it would not surprise me to learn that Angrysoba had served in the IDF. That was very far from stating that he had: but the fact is, it wouldn’t, on the basis of his expressed views and the way he states them. If he says he didn’t, I have to accept that.
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Clark’s advice, to ask first, is good, and I will bear it in mind.
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I would attempt to mollify Angrysoba by wishing him a happy Pesach, but as that celebrates the first time the tribes of Israel decided to build settlements on Palestinian land, that would be inconsistent of me…
“You can’t let them make the rules apply to US??!!” department
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http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/deputy-fm-makes-urgent-u-s-visit-in-effort-to-nix-un-settlement-probe-1.421591
Mary: “Stealing Easter from Jesus” may be a compellingly emotional strapline, but as the Christians stole Pesach (think Paschal Lamb… a term itself saturated with Talmudic meaning) from the Jews in the first place, hardly a fair one.
St Theresa of May loses. Raed Salah wins his appeal. Poor Theresa was ‘misled’. Raed Salah will not be deported. He will return home without a stain on his name or character.
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May and Community Security Trust 0 Raed Salah 1
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http://www.middleeastmonitor.org.uk/news/press-release/3605-raed-salah-wins-appeal-against-deportation
One more, and I’ll bugger off…
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A Thames Swimmer Writes:
http://elitismleadstotyranny.squarespace.com/
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Some possible activities suggested here.
Mary, thanks for the news about Raed Salah. Now watch the Daily Mail go loopy; judging by Salah’s Wikipedia entry (before more balanced Wikipedians started editing it) it was the Daily Mail that were doing much of the demonisation campaign. Use Wikipedia’s “Article History” tab if you want to see what it was like before.
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“Misled” eh? I often speculate about the direction of communicational influence between the corporate media and powerful people. In the end, I suppose it’s two way traffic. I expect that many of the powerful are too busy to go looking for diverse viewpoints on the Internet. This leaves them dependent upon “advisers”, whose viewpoints may be biased by the same mechanism, and may also have their own objectives. This seems compatible with Technicolour’s point; it is worth writing to MPs etc., though you can only expect bland, evasive replies.