Zorba the Greek

Zorba the Greek
By
Nikos Kazantzakis
(1883 - 1957)

Everyone of us has to get a copy of the book and the movie, so that we can have a good discussion the next time we get to go to Papadakis Taverna! Opah!

http://www.interkriti.org/culture/kazantzakis/kazantz2.htm

Yiorgis Zorbas,on whom Zorba the Greek was modeled,had worked with Nikos Kazantzakis on a project involving coal and wood to support the war.

One of the most important Greek writers, poets and philosophers of the 20th century, was born in Iraklion in 1883. In 1906 he graduated from the Athens Law School and continued his studies in Paris (1907-1909). During the Balkan Wars he fought as a volunteer in the Greek Army. After the Wars he traveled to many European and Asian countries, publishinhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gifg travelogues from his trips (Spain, Egypt-Sina, China-Japan, Russia, England etc.)

Kazantzakis, much more of a philosopher than a writer, was deeply influenced by the writings of Nietzsche and Bergen, and the philosophies of Christianity, Marxism and Buddhism. In his work, he attempted to synthesize these different world views.

http://www.interkriti.org/culture/kazantzakis/kazantz2.htm
http://www.historical-museum.gr/kazantzakis/index1.html

Blogging in the Haunted Neighborhood

I decided to wander around the blogging neighborhood and found many interesting sites. I was happily skipping around like an idiot and blam, I was very horrified to read blogs that were X-rated and everyone was talking like it was a friendly little tea party. The Soft Cell song 'Tainted Love' came to my mind and then I felt totally slimed, and convinced that we are all going straight to hell in a tote bag. Waking up this morning I felt like it was a nightmare and I didn't go down that dark street with those bad people living in every house, or did I? I felt like throwing out my computer and I am not kidding. I do feel like I need a priest to pray over this thing, and restore it back to it's pure form. Too late. It's tainted. God restoreth my blog innocence please.

The Cask of the Amontillado

I have managed to avoid this irritating story by Edgar Allan Poe since I was 14. However, since I have turned myself in and have become a student once again, this story returns as our first assignment. If you read the title quickly, you will suppose that it is about a dead armadillo, or an armadillo with a cast. It is neither. The title refers to a 126 gallon barrel of Amontillado wine. Amontillado wine is a medium sherry wine. I have just recalled that the first time I got drunk was on cream sherry wine and I was 14. Oh, my god! The plot thickens. Anyway, it is an awful story about a resentful man who gets one of his 'betters' drunk, lures him down to his cellar, and walls him up alive behind 12 tiers of stone and plaster. We all have gotten resentful before, so I got the first page of the story. After that it just gets darker and deeper and ends abruptly with Montresor plastering the poor unfortunate and plastered Forunato in his wine cellar forever. Haven't we heard this plot from Poe before? Yes, we have. Poe, often drunk, probably forgot. Moral to the story...it's your turn to find one and post it here. One source for the story: http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/cask/

Love Canal Ain't So Lovely

The Love Canal Tragedy
I will always remember the television news stories about Love Canal and the sad and cold looking abandoned homes. Behind the doors held the devastation and pain of who knows how many diseased generations caused by dumping 22,000 tons of toxic chemicals into a huge ditch left by the Love Company, when the funds ran out to build an intended Venice-type canal system. In a report from California State University web site, "The Love Canal was used as a chemical waste disposal site from 1942 until 1953, by Hooker, the city of Niagara Falls, and the US Army, until it was full with approximately 22,000 tons of toxic chemicals, waste, and garbage. In 1953, it was physically covered with a clay cap, and then in 1978 the New York State School Board purchased the land for $1.00 from Hooker Chemical Company."

http://web.csuchico.edu/~tm5/disaster.htm

I researched the EPA site and found a report by Eckardt Beck, January 1979. Beck was administrator of EPA Region 2, 1977-1979 He reports a sign a resident had put in front of his house in 1978, "Give me liberty. I already have death." Ironically, grading the site and preparation of the land for building would weaken the soil cap put over the dump. Twenty-five years after the Hooker Company stopped dumping chemicals, heavy rain further weakened the soil and the black oily substance came to the surface. He stated that he visited the site and that there were, "Trees and gardens were turning black and dying. One entire swimming pool had been had been popped up from its foundation, afloat now on a small sea of chemicals. Puddles of noxious substances were pointed out to me by the residents. Some of these puddles were in their yards, some were in their basements, others yet were on the school grounds. Everywhere the air had a faint, choking smell. Children returned from play with burns on their hands and faces." In his report he states that the Love Canal issue was really the start of the Superfund to assist toxic sites in cleanup efforts. Good thing.

http://www.epa.gov/history/topics/lovecanal/01.htm

I was still looking for who the villains were in this whole case when I found a hero. Mrs. Gibbs. Mrs. Gibbs went door to door in her neighborhood to ask if anyone had illnesses since the moved into the Love Canal neighborhood. She was concerned about her and the neighborhood's children's health. She was also concerned about the safety of the school all the kid's went to. She went to the School Board who dismissed her as a "hysterical housewife" and in her interview she said that, "…every government door was slammed in our faces." She said that she had to overcome a lot of fear to pursue what she knew was the right thing to do. The whole story is amazing and the addition of the information I got about Mrs. Gibbs, I feel that all those in power, including Love who left the big hole in the ground in the first place, who had the opportunity to profit from this, including the Board of Health, and School Board are the villains and are culpable.

http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2002/fenceline/getinvolved_article01.html

The story isn't over. The current status on the love Canal Case according to an article called The Love Canal Project by Corrie Kennedy, " To date, over 400 chemicals have been identified in the Love Canal dump site. After twenty years and more than $250 million for clean-up and containment (Brownfield News, 1998) the New York Department of Health has deemed the area habitable (Hoffman, 1995). The perceptions of the residents, however, has become one of the most difficult challenges of the Love Canal case. In order to redevelop the area, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the EPA have devised a plan for reduced housing prices to encourage home buyers to consider the area. This has become a controversial issue as people who believe the area is less than safe, feel that his (sic) will subject low income families to health hazards (OMcC Productions, 2001)." According to this article, the chemical company warned any buyer in writing that the land could not be utilized for homes or schools. They were still held responsible and were fined $129 million to give to the government for cleanup, that would be disbursed to the EPA and FEMA and other federal agencies. The Chemical Companies must be rich and are in fact earning 1 trillion annually. That's 1 billion per employee.

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309061792/html/46.html

The Kennedy article stated that it will take 20,000 years for the toxic waste at Love Canal to decompose. So, none of us for the next 19,900 years will live long enough for this dump to be safe. Maybe that is what they were counting on.

http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/geo/faculty/boyce/geo4g03/projects/kennedy

Just trying to Get It Right

I have been working on trying to delete part of this and can't. OK, I'll keep trying!

Blogging and Regretting It

Well, I started thinking. I know, that's dangerous, yet I couldn't help myself. I started thinking about when I have less time to do this blogging thing, and will I have blogger's remorse. Do I have to write everyday, bla, bla. Like so many diaries I've left pages blank at times only two entries for the whole diary. Oh, oh. Where are all the diaries I've kept since I was 15!I had a box taped like Fort Knox, and stashed it somewhere. I have a few questions for you.#1 Have you ever lied in your diary, in case someone would find it and should they would read it, only you would know? #2 Have you ever written in code and then forgot the code? Well, I have. So, this blog is danger of getting misplaced, lost or written in a code that even I may forget!

The Smoking Pellet Gun

The Smoking Pellet Gun

Joining The Ranks of The Troublemakers

Well, after enjoying making A's on my term-papers, I watched TV for most of the day. I watched Possessed, the real story of that possessed kid The Exorcist was based on, I also watched the Crying Camel of Mongolia (it made me cry, too) and Michael Moore's 1989 documentary (Roger and Me) about General Motors closing a truck plant in Flint, Michigan. I can hardly wait for school to start again.

Do No Harm

My Concern for Our Earth and Our ‘Karma’

Do no harm as an injunction against making products or testing that is harmful to humans as well as the environment or animals. I had to focus on animals, farming and excessive use of chemicals. I know some believe that animals don’t have the same rights as humans because they aren’t human and act on instinct, and do not fit into ‘rational freedom of self-determination’. When I asked my terrier, Isabella, she took issue with this. So, I will try to approach the subject and examine it from an ethical standpoint. I do have an issue with using animals to test products, too many chemicals in farming, inhumane treatment of farm animal and stock of any kind by meat producers, and have also thought that we should have a statue to honor the lowly chicken (and not a Kentucky Fried Chicken‰ bucket), whom has given more than anyone to this country in the form of meat, feathers, beaks (to make collagen!) eggs and chicken soup. I believe that we could act humanely on behalf of our furred and feathered friends, and do honor to all life.

I am unhappy about PETA, though. An article about a law citing that animals aren’t persons is reiterated at a website called AnimalRights.net about litigation on behalf of cows. It refers to the commercial about happy cows and that PETA litigated because they say cows aren’t happy on farms. It obviously lost and that is an issue I have with PETA. They seem to be such a radical protector of animals that they come off as anti-people. I believe in some of their themes but cannot promote it as what as the greatest good for everyone. http://www.animalrights.net/archives/year/2005/000246.html

My focus is that humane treatment of animals is good for everyone, including the animals, people and our environment. I believe in a more holist approach, and the Big Picture. We don’t have to raise animals in conditions that limit and hurt them so severely. I believe that they can be even killed humanely, with less fear and suffering. My conscience says that I should be vegetarian, but I’m not. When I put myself to the moral test on this subject I am inconsistent, and feel guilty. I am nowhere near a farm, but care about the American Farmer for themselves and as part of our heritage that is being edged out due to greed. I also care about what happens to the animals on mega-farms, that are raised in tiny cages so that all the animals can be contained, and more the profit in a smaller space. I feel that it is demoralizing and insidiously corrupting to everyone. We all put up with it and the most consumers that are perpetuating this are nowhere near the starting point of a hamburger. I can’t even get it through all the theories about how this happened but did it start out that way? If everyone had the opportunity to sit together in the slaughterhouses and observe directly, the day in and day out violent ending of so much life, would it be allowed to continue?

So, you would wonder why I am still eating meat? Because when I see it, it is in a little package, processed and does not look anything like where it comes from. I think that we are the same with products we come in contact with everyday. In the short run, we are getting what we want, to get the effect we want, distanced from the initial pain of it all. In the long run, we are seeing that improper feeding of animals, excessive use of chemicals of all kinds, has resulted in mad cow and other diseases passed on to humans. This is altering us in unknown ways, and pollution of our food system with chemicals and more chemicals. In our rampant and wholesale production for more products, the faster and the cheaper is the better, we have polluted our world with toxic bi-products that will be with us, well, forever. It was a non-issue when everyone raised their own animals or traded, the same with produce, nothing but natural ingredients. There were no far-reaching ethical problems, as people raised what they needed or traded for what they needed, and most had a direct relationship with the animals, and hopefully cared about them, and used the bi-product to enrich the land. Now, the world is small and the problem, bigger. We have outgrown the small farmer. Everything is really more out of control than we realize. The largest chemical company in the United States now also controls 25% of the food product. Guess who the chemical company is? Our old friend Dow, (I haven't begun to say enough about them, the producers of Agent Orange, I'll put all that in another post) who has their hand in, well, I guess everything on the planet now. Dow has caused so much pain and has caused so much damage it is incalculable and it isn’t over yet.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14907115&;BRD=1918&;PAG=740&;dept_id=226959&;rfi=6

Our farmers and farmers worldwide are committing suicide (Many American farmers by ‘accident’ so that their families can get the insurance, this was spoken of by a crisis worker at a center that was created because so many farmers are depressed that a hotline specifically for farmers was founded. I was watching a PBS story on the subject of global farming, I found the article but the American reference was omitted.) in unprecedented numbers because they are losing farms that have been in the family for generations. Unfortunately, farmers in India are using the farming chemicals bought from the United States to commit suicide. The world cannot compete with us, we appear greedy and self-serving and no wonder many in the world are so angry with us. We appear to think globally but it seems to be for new markets and proliferating certain company’s growth, rather than caring for the world. As Americans we are great givers. Does the exploitation of our own and the world’s resources pull us all together? No. I believe that is immoral. Does it serve the most people with the greatest good? No. All the wealth is still in the hands of a relatively small amount of people. The huge chemical companies I am writing about may give to certain causes for charitable reasons. That giving does not outweigh the harm done. Especially if they are paying off those they have harmed for whatever reason, and wouldn’t have been harmed if not for industry accidents, overflows, fires, chemical dumping and exposures. Human workers are not an ends but a means to produce more and more stuff. Companies are called out legally over and over, but overcome, not because they are moral, but because of deep pockets. Animals are way down the line somewhere. I believe what we do to the least of us, reflects who we are. http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/rough/2005/07/seeds_of_suicid.html
http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/wto/shiva121499.html

We cannot ignore the treatment of animals because ultimately we are all in this together, man and beast. I found an excellent site teaching us about just what I am writing about. Joyce D’Silva, CEO of Compassion in World Farming Trust explained that ethical farming can be achieved and she uses what she calls the Ethical Matrix. I am grateful that there is a worldwide movement for better management of land and animals. http://www.animalsentience.com/features/ethical_matrix.htm

An example of farming gone wild is hog farming is North Carolina. Starting in 1980, hog farms in”… N.C. range between 10,000 and 25,000. In 1991, US Senator Wendell Murphy co-sponsors legislation that exempts farms from zoning laws. 1992, Smithfield Foods, Inc. opened the world’s largest meat processing plant in Bladen, NC. 1994, hog population triples to 10 million, compared to 5% increase nationally.” 1995, NC passes a bill requiring new swine swills to be 1500 ft. from the community at large. 1996, president Clinton signs Freedom to Farm Act trying to cut farm subsidies. “1997, the Clean Water Responsibility Act tries to put a moratorium on new and expanding hog farms in NC. 1999, hurricane Floyd hits NC, flooding the hog waste lagoons and contaminated water supply. 2003, Gov. Easley gets a 4-year extension of the hog moratorium.” http://www.duke.edu/web/mms190/hogfarming/index.html NC is still 2nd in the nation for hog production and continues to be a major polluter. To quote the same site, “…During the past decade, the Tar Heel State has become the unwitting site of a giant explosion. North Carolina's hog population has grown faster than any state in the nation, swelling from 2.6 million to 10 million hogs since 1987. That's a 285% increase in hogs, compared to only a 14% increase in people. North Carolina's hogs produce a mind-boggling amount of waste: 19 million tons of feces and urine a year, or over 50,000 tons every single day, that's more waste in one year than the entire human population of Charlotte, North Carolina produces in 58 years!” This risk was taken (unchecked growth, pollution and poor planning) and it was unacceptable but few of us know about it, so it continues. I guess it matters to those within 1500 feet. http://www.duke.edu/web/mms190/hogfarming/environmental.html

In closing, the Dow Chemical Company, many farmers who are operating as a large corporation (edging out the small and middle size farms) and the hog farmers in North Carolina, any meat producers that continue to abuse live animals unnecessarily, are violating the ‘Do No Harm’ injunction are ethically and morally ‘challenged’ to say the least. Laws may be passed but lots of money and a different spin (the tobacco industry for instance) will allow us to continue to slowly kill ourselves. How ‘products are produced’ do matter to us, but if we don’t see it, it appears less harmful. So, lets keep it real. We do not eat dogs, cats or our pet parakeet because they are part of the American family and it would be abhorrent to us. We really know they are sentient, as any person with a pet will tell you. We wouldn’t even let anyone hit our dog, or kick our cat without putting up a fight. Not so with animals on farms far, far way away from us, so they aren’t really real. What we don’t know is hurting us. The problem is overwhelming, has many tentacles, more at stake than we realize. How do we lasso a chemical tornado? Our environment is changed forever and I fear, there is no going back.

The Smoking Pellet Gun: Plots, Theories & Conspiracies