200 Years Together

Within the pantheon of time, places and people memorial and immemorial there are bicentennials.
Some are celebrated and cherished, while others are perhaps best forgotten?

Came across the blog of Kevin MacDonald, Professor of Psychology at California State University–Long Beach, today as I scoured the web (briefly) as well as my own internal one (but that should go without saying). He reminds us today of another "important" Alexandr Solzhenitsyn tome, 200 Years Together (Full Title: Two Hundred Years Together: Russo-Jewish History, Vol. 1: 1795-1916) that has "unfortunately not been translated into English," though, [of course] the process is beginning (reasons why the process seems to be overall quite slow is speculated about here. Hint: Antisemitism).

An (apparently) Russian site (ethnopoliticsonline.com) or "hub" responsible for posting content of the book online comprising (mostly rough) translations can be followed here with Chapter 1 also having been completed (by "two Christians that share a common theological outlook and (in consequence) a substantially common outlook on culture.") found here.

An interesting interview (2003) with the late author revealing his own thoughts and feelings about Dvesti let vmeste (200 Years Together) can be found here.

Interviewer, Lydia Chukovskaya, from The Moscow News concludes in her afterword:

"Solzhenitsyn's is a different, above-the-fray vantage point. His is a different objective, totally devoid of writer's vanity: Not really needing our approval, Solzhenitsyn seeks to act as a kind of referee in a protracted historical debate. He does not seem to care even whether there is still anyone left in the ring or whether Russian Jews, having acquired the Russian language and culture, have fully assimilated. Meanwhile, anti-Semites, for want of something better to do with their narrow minds, will keep harping on their tune, even if not a single Jew, so hateful to them, remains on the planet.
With his book, comprising evaluations of tsars, Khrushchev, Beria, Galich,and Zhabotinsky, and quotations from Lenin to Stalin to Grigory Pomerants to Lydia Korneevna Chukovskaya, Solzhenitsyn stepped into the minefield of the Jewish issue. And he walked across it confidently - maybe because there is no longer a mine that could blow up his authority.
"Russian Jew. Jew. Russian. How much blood has been spilled, how many tears shed over this; what untold suffering there has been, and at the same time how much joy in spiritual and cultural growth. There were, and there still are, many Jews who bore this brunt - being a Russian Jew and Russian at the same time. Two loves, two passions, two struggles - isn't this too much for one heart?"

As for The Occidental Observer, the mission statement (with fund raising appeal) must be noted here:

"The Occidental Observer will present original content touching on the themes of white identity, white interests, and the culture of the West. Such a mission statement is sure to be dismissed as extremism of the worst sort in today’s intellectual climate—perhaps even as a sign of psychiatric disorder. Yet there is a compelling need for such a site. A great many other identifiable groups in the multicultural West have a strong sense of identity and interest, but overt expressions of white identity and white interests (or European-American identity and interests) are rarely found among the peoples who founded these societies and who continue to make up the majority . . . . "

I don't know about any of that (and I'm "white").

"Touching on" such theme may be okay as long as there is some humility, as well (for certain), persistence, consistency and balance in the presentation of ideas.

As history, conscience and "God" (and granted, to some possible degree, even "evolutionary psychology"; though "group *evolutionary* strategy" remains suspect) must ever be our guide, then let THEM speak, too.

This article in the Encyclopedia of Chicago by David R. Roediger, professor of history at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) who reportedly "writes from a Marxist theoretical framework," may be of some use in the pursuit of that. Or perhaps this one from the same source on "Our Common Hurtage."

With all of his books and articles, Professor MacDonald has been called a lot of names over the last few years, including the "Marx of Anti-Semites," possibly first coined in this 2003 article from The American Conservative.

Summaries and reviews of his books on Judaism appear on his own website here.

A pattern or "group strategy" emerges, possibly.

Motivations remain, seemingly, ever complex and mysterious in any case.

So many academics relegated to the dustbin, so little time (and good material) for distance learning . . .

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And now for something completely different.

Richard Pryor as "Rev. James L. White":

Other Angels

As I prepare to meet The Little Angels of Korea at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts tonight, a stark reminder of why there need to be little angels (of Korea or anywhere) comes to me by way of Canada's National Post:

"In her youth, Kim Young-soon was a dancer and a member of the North Korean elite who lived a life of calculated caution, surrounded by privilege and propaganda in Pyongyang."

Read more about Kim Young Soon here and here.

A sordid, revealing video from Reuters of life behind that veil (briefly lifted) appears here.

N.B.: On second thought, "other" angels seemed a more appropriate header here.

24 hours, 33 minutes . . .

Distractions.

We live amidst constant distractions and therefore, in a state of constant distractedness.

The doomsday TV series "24" has finally completed its inexorable run recently, and I must admit, in the beginning of its run 8 years ago, I was captivated by the story; particularly, the character of Jack Bauer. His wild, impossible, yet strangely feasible exploits against the forces of darkness seeking the destruction of all things "America" held me in fascination for weeks.

Then, I woke up or got sick; I forget.

Or maybe it really was the fear, cowering in some dark corner within me somewhere that just knew it was all too true.

Meanwhile, politics and religion remain strange bedfellows just as God remains not, easily or lightly, uncovered within; The Gulag.

Which brings me to the subject of a new documentary, "33 Minutes," produced by The Heritage Foundation.

Are we, in reality, under the threat of some great nuclear attack?

Is the character of Jack Bauer somehow prescient or an actual precursor of things (or actual persons) yet to come?

Of course not (I mean, let's hope not, or hope so; depending).

The facts of the (complex) matter is that most folks really don't know (including me).



Oh, for the simpler days of High Frontier, SDI and Lieutenant General Daniel O. Graham.

I remember those days and a meeting or two . . .

The precipice between war and peace, between (again) - God and The Gulag - seems to be, yet, quite narrow.

And that's not being alarmist, neo-conic or foolish either. 

Polarizations of party, ideas and peoples are one thing, but surely we can eventually --inexorably-- come to agree that little mankind, the human species, NEEDS transcendence or transcendent meaning; in other words, God.

If not God, who?

And, if God is not there, where is He/She?

And then you have more words along with more numbers:

"Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earthwill pass away, but my words will never pass away." (Matthew 24:33)

"Katyn" - A Heritage Event

Went to the Heritage Foundation this evening for a special viewing of a really cool, hot, exciting, special effects feature movie!

NOT really.

Some may have already seen "Katyn" as it has been on DVD (and Netflix) for some time.

Lee Edwards, Heritage Distinguished Fellow in Conservative Thought (and resident historian) introduced the presentation after a reception that included Heritage Expert and Director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom, Nile Gardiner, who introduced Robert Kupiecki, the Polish Ambassador to the United States.
The Ambassador's brief remarks were warmly received and deeply appreciated.

Edwards noted that for Poles, when it comes to the preservation and revival of their culture and history, they themselves give much credit to the three Ws - [Lech]Walesa, [Karol] Wojtyla, and [Andrzej] Wajda.

Comparable in quality though not quantity to the Holocaust for Jews (who were most significantly targeted in Poland; 3 million + victims), but with a difference. The selected targets, according to recently (1999-2004) released/declassified NKVD documents in the case of the Katyn Massacre (22,000 victims) were "all members of the Polish Officer Corps" as well as a big chunk of the Polish intelligentsia (hence, the hope of any future for Poland).

Like vultures fighting over a carcass, the two evil powers could in no way share opposite borders or "scraps" with each other, much less - the victim in the middle -- and brought untold destruction and chaos upon Poland as first one, then the other took control, then lost it again.

The last occupier (the USSR) thought it could seal that deal (and cover it up).

By the grace of God, that plan has ultimately failed.
And seen, perhaps, from a certain nationalistic/Roman Catholic view (beyond all recent tragedy), God indeed, has apparently prevailed.

Of interest -- though Soviet responsibility for the massacres has finally been confirmed (noting only 1,803 as the numbered dead) Russia still refuses to classify Katyn as a war crime or an act of genocide.
Its own investigation has been closed on grounds that the perpetrators of the massacre are already dead. Also, the Russian government does not classify the Katyn dead as victims of Stalinist repression. They are therefore not subject to formal posthumous rehabilitation.

The Polish Investigation, which began in 2004, continues.

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Was proud to see how apparently strong the Heritage Foundation remains both in terms of its outreach in regards to the highest ideals of clarity, integrity and co-prosperity as well as in terms of the hospitality of its bright and youthful staff.

For those in the Washington, D.C. vicinity, I recommend a visit to The Heritage Foundation for reasons already noted as well as for the many resources and civic education programs it offers.

Check them out here.

Now also is a good time to view a part of "The Gulag Collection" which is soon to make a national tour (including the George H.W. Bush Library in Austin, TX).

I wrote a bit about the collection last year.