http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs at the intersection of religion & politics, conscience & law, history & biography Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:06:33 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Here's a movie I want to see, Four Lions, for more than a couple of reasons... It's getting good reviews, and it's supposed to be funny. DARK, yes, and funny. It'll get us to think about difficult topics, like terrorism. Parts of it are set in Yorkshire, England. Awhile ago I noticed that a lot ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=240 A new book on the Cold War, and how close to the edge we were all skating, is mentioned in a post on the Daily Kos blog. The author, David E. Hoffman, is asked what part of the book he would recommend that President Obama should read if he had ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=239 From An Agreement of the People, for A firme and present Peace, Upon grounds of common-right and freedome (1647): I. That the people of England, being at this day very unequally distributed by Counties, Cities, and Boroughs, for the election of their deputies in Parliament, ought to be more indifferently proportioned, ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=238 Mr. Phanor had traveled to Haiti to invest in land for an apartment building, and ended up trapped in the ruins of his room on the first floor of the Hotel Montana. He was buried for seven hours, with only one arm free, before members of a United Nations peacekeeping ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=237 I've been interested for awhile in the historic parallels between pirates (the English-speaking ones, especially in the Atlantic ocean) and Quakers. Of course, in a compare-and-contrast exercise, there'd be more contrast than comparison, but still... Here's an article that may spark some thoughts along those lines: "A History of Pirates" or "Bootylicious: ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=236 The New York Times has a broad overview article, "Beneath a Scandal in British Parliament, Deeper Furies," on the current crisis in parliamentary rule in Britain. We do get a passing mention of "a democratic tradition that traces its origins back at least 800 years." However, the revolutionary era of the ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=235 Torture Memos: Waterboarding by Jonathan Mann The detainee is lying on a gurney that is inclined at an angle 10 to 15 degrees. A cloth is placed over the detainee's face, cold water is poured on the cloth. The wet cloth creates a barrier through which it is difficult or in some ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=234 MSNBC's Rachel Maddow grills former Secretary of State Colin Powell on torture. He was one of the top officials at "principles meetings" where Bush administration policies and procedures were considered and (sometimes tacitly?) approved. A transcript is posted at MSNBC. You can see what an excellent diplomat Powell is (and not always ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=233 Tom Engelhardt writes a sobering essay on what lies ahead for us, on this day when it would seem the earth stood still. He starts by taking seriously an offhand account George Bush gave recently, of what his economic advisors have actually been telling him. George Bush: The question facing a President is ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=231 "No se Registró Novedad Digna de Mencionar" /      Nothing happened worthy of mention. En diciembre de 1974, el Departamento de Investigaciones registra a Benjamín Ramírez Villalba, Amílcar Maria Oviedo y Carlos José Mancuello que fueron capturados junto a Rodolfo Ramírez Villalba. A mediados de 1976, los cuatro desaparecerían ... http://www.strecorsoc.org/scs/?p=229