Bobby Fischer

Robert James Fischer, the highly controversial International Grandmaster of Chess who defeated Boris Spassky in 1972 to become World Chess Champion only to default the title three years later, died today at the age of 64.

Fischer although brilliant on the chessboard left much to be desired as a person in this way he was very similar to Grandmaster Alekhine and Joseph Henry Blackburne in the sense that their prejudice and anti Semitism tarnished their accomplisments.

My Thoughts on Papal Primacy

The Pope's reaffirmation of the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church as the only true church will undermine all future attempts toward reconcillation with the Orthodox churches because the Othrodox hold that the twenty-eighth canon from the Council of Chalcedon which reads as follows:

Canon XXVIII.
Following in all things the decisions of the holy Fathers,
and acknowledging the canon, which has been just read, of the One Hundred and
Fifty Bishops beloved-of-God (who assembled in the imperial city of
Constantinople, which is New Rome, in the time of the Emperor Theodosius of
happy memory), we also do enact and decree the same things concerning the
privileges of the most holy Church of Constantinople, which is New Rome.
For the Fathers rightly granted privileges to the throne of old Rome, because it
was the royal city. And the One Hundred and Fifty most religious Bishops,
actuated by the same consideration, gave equal privileges (ἴσα πρεσβεῖα) to the
most holy throne of New Rome, justly judging that the city which is honoured
with the Sovereignty and the Senate, and enjoys equal privileges with the old
imperial Rome, should in ecclesiastical matters also be magnified as she is, and
rank next after her; so that, in the Pontic, the Asian, and the Thracian
dioceses, the metropolitans only and such bishops also of the Dioceses aforesaid
as are among the barbarians, should be ordained by the aforesaid most holy
throne of the most holy Church of Constantinople; every metropolitan of the
aforesaid dioceses, together with the bishops of his province, ordaining his own
provincial bishops, as has been declared by the divine canons; but that, as has
been above said, the metropolitans of the aforesaid Dioceses should be ordained
by the archbishop of Constantinople, after the proper elections have been held
according to custom and have been reported to him.

Notes.
Ancient Epitome
of Canon XXVIII.
The bishop of New Rome shall enjoy the same honour as the
bishop of Old Rome, on account of the removal of the Empire. For this
reason the [metropolitans] of Pontus, of Asia, and of Thrace, as well as the
Barbarian bishops shall be ordained by the bishop of Constantinople. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xi.xviii.xxviii.html

This canon and the canons of the Council of Trullo were protested by Leo I and his immediate successors although, some documentary evidence exists to indicate that Pope Ardian I ratified them in 787:

Nearly a century later Pope Hadrian I. distinctly recognizes all the
Trullan decrees in his letter to Tenasius of Constantinople and attributes them
to the Sixth Synod. “All the holy six synods I receive with all their
canons, which rightly and divinely were promulgated by them, among which is
contained that in which reference is made to a Lamb being pointed to by the
Precursor as being found in certain of the venerable images.” Here the
reference is unmistakably to the Trullan Canon LXXXII.
Hefele’s summing up of
the whole matter is as follows:
(Hefele, Hist. of the Councils, Vol. V., p. 242.)
That the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nice ascribed the Trullan canons
to the Sixth Ecumenical Council, and spoke of them entirely in the Greek spirit,
cannot astonish us, as it was attended almost solely by Greeks. They
specially pronounced the recognition of the canons in question in their own
first canon; but their own canons have never received the ratification of the
Holy See. 358Thus far Hefele, but it seems that Gratian’s statement on the
subject in the Decretum should not be omitted here. (Pars I. Dist. XVI., c. v.)
“Canon V. The Sixth Synod is confirmed by the authority of
Hadrian.
“I receive the Sixth Synod with all its canons. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.xiv.ii.html

The fact that the Papal legates were absent from the vote on the twenty-eighth canon of the Council of Chalcedon and from the Council at Trullo does not necessarily invalidate those canons as Pope Adrian I demonstrated.

I do not argue that the beliefs of the church are outdated. I argue simply that a return to the position taken by Pope Adrian I in 787 on these issues would be more beneficial to the church and would not necessarily alter fundamentally the belief of the church, this possition is illustrated by illustrated by the masses held by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II celebrated with Eastern bishops they omitted the Filioque. Also the Dominus Iesus declaration signed by then Archbishop Bertone who was the Secretary of the Congreggation for the Doctrine of the Faith and then Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, who was then the Prefect of the Congregation. The Declaration was ratified by Pope John Paul II of 6 August 2000, the document omitted the filioque without comment.

Musing on the International Criminal Court

The development of an International Criminal Court are rooted in the Charter of the International Military Tribunal dated 8 August 1945 and Protocol Rectifying Discrepancy in the Charter dated 6 October 1945, Article six of the Charter broadly defined three classes of offenses prosecutable under internation law.

The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility:

(a) CRIMES AGAINST PEACE: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the
accomplishment of any of the foregoing;

(b) WAR CRIMES: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;

(c)CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated.

Leaders, organizers, instigators and accomplices participating in
the formulation or execution of a common plan or conspiracy to commit any of
the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan.

The text of article six provided the basis the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide adopted in 1948 and the Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal adopted two years later in 1950 reaffirmed the existence of classes of offenses that are anathemas to civilized societies founded on the rule of law

Principle VI

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:
(a) Crimes against peace:
(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any
of the acts mentioned under (i).
(b) War crimes: Violations of the laws or customs of war
include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or
ill-treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the seas, killing of hostages,
plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or
villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.
(c) Crimes against humanity: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on
political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such
persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connexion with any
crime against peace or any war crime.

Principle VII

Complicity in the commission of a crime against peace, a war crime, or a
crime against humanity as set forth in Principle VI is a crime under
international law.

Principles III and IV of the Principles ofInternational Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nüremberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal, 1950 reaffirmed the doctrine of CommandResponsibility and the concept of agency flowing therefrom as outlined inArticles Seven and Eight of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal which read as follows:

Article 7.

The official position of derfendants, whether as Heads of State or responsible officials in Government Departments, shall not be considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.

Article 8.

The fact that the Defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determines that justice so requires.

The related doctrines of command responsibility and agency as outlined in the documents of the Tribunal are closely linked to the doctrine of Respondeat superior found in the common law.

I find it ironic, paradoxical and hypocritical that United States, the nation that advocated pushed hardest for command responsibility provisions in the Charters of the International Military Tribunal; the International Military Tribunal for the Far East; and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, refused to ratify the Charter for the international Criminal Court because, of fears that the Command Responsibility and Agency provisions could be utilized to prosecute Americans.


It seems to me that we Americans have forgotten these words:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created
equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,
that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

The American goverment seems to believe that their position endows them with the ability to act in a manner that to my mind is contrary to the Declaration of Independence of the United States, The Constitution of the United States and the obligations of the United States as member of the international community.

In my mind the ratification of the Statute of the International Criminal Court would serve as benefit to United States because the Statute provides a degree of protection not currently accessible to the American expatriates living abroad.

Musings on the United States

The United States of America stands now at a fork in the road of international diplomacy. There are two paths that stretch out before the United States and its people. One, is the path that leads ultimately to the United States remaining a relevant force on the international stage and retaining its leadership role within the community of nations. The second path leads down the road that will lead in the final analysis to irrelevance and result in the United States becoming a lesser power that longs for the glory, power, prestige, and honor of days forgotten in the mists of time.

Individuals may ask themselves what can be done to prevent the United States from sinking into total irrelevance. The answer my friends is very simple the United States must take the lead on issues where they have long been seen as neutral or acting contrary to the will of the international community.


There are at least four examples of actions that the United States Congress can readily and easily take without violating the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America

1. Ratify the Convention on the Rights and Dignity of Persons with Disabilities of 2006, and its Protocol A/RES/61/106 because, nothing within the text of the Convention in violates the Constitution or the laws of the United States. I would argue that words of the Declaration of Independence and those word inscribed on the Statute of Liberty demand that we the United States take a proactive stand to defend the rights of those who cannot defend themselves.


2. Ratify the 1971 Declaration on the Rights of Mentally Retarded Persons, G.A. res. 2856 (XXVI), 26 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 29) at 93, U.N. Doc. A/8429 (1971), and the Principles for the Protection of Persons with Mental Illnesses and the Improvement of Mental Health Care, G.A. res. 46/119, 46 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 189, U.N. Doc. A/46/49 (1991) because, the protection of all individuals is enshrined within the Declaration of Independence

3. Ratify the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, G.A. res. 34/180, 34 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, U.N. Doc. A/34/46, entered into force Sept. 3, 1981, and its Optional Protocol Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, G.A. res. 54/4, annex, 54 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 5, U.N. Doc. A/54/49 (Vol. I) (2000), entered into force Dec. 22, 2000 and the
Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women G.A. res. 48/104, 48 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 217, U.N. Doc. A/48/49 (1993). because, the principles contained therein are in accord with the First, Fourteenth, and Nineteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

4. Ratify the Convention on the Rights of the Child, G.A. res. 44/25, annex, 44 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force Sept. 2 1990 because the Declaration of Independence is the heart of the Republic and it proclaims the right of all mankind to life liberty and the pursuit of happines and to rob children of the ability to pursue these goals in in my mind akin to crime against humanityand conscience.

The Passing of Carrie Rozelle: The End of an Era

The disabled community within the United States received some sad news earlier in the week, the New York Times reported the death of Carrie Rozelle. Her death marks the passing of one most powerful voices for the disabled in the United States. Though I never met Mrs. Rozelle, her influence could be felt and seen from New York to Texas to Alaska and even into the corridors of power in Washington D.C.

In June of 2000 I participated in the 2000 National Leadership Conference for Youth with Disabilities, at the conference much of the discussion surrounding the plight of those individuals with learning disabilities revolved around the programs Mrs. Rozelle founded and the ease with which they could be adapted and implemented in other regions of the United States.

Mrs. Rozelle's death marks the end of an era and the start of another. We the disabled community have a duty and a responsibility to ensure the legacy of Mrs. Rozelle remains ever vibrant and undiminished.

Engagement: An Official Announcement

My girlfriend J, and I are now officially engaged. As many of my readers know I proposed in February but, at that time I did not possess sufficient funds to purchase an engagement ring. Due to some good fortune on the stock market my investments provided returns large enough to allow for the purchase of a ring while, maintaining the integrity of my savings account.

So, I purchased the ring and presented it to her last night at a romantic dinner.
For those of you who are wondering the wedding will occur at the earliest in December 2008.

The Supreme Court and Chess: A Question

Several years ago the Oyez Project in conjunction with Justia developed a game called Oyez Baseball it is an expanded and updated version of a game devised in 1979 by Profesor Robert M. Cover called "The Law-Baseball Quiz" which debuted in April of 1979.

Both versions of the game compared baseball players Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States of America in an efort to enhance knowledge of the personalities that make up the high court,

The nature of the game makes me wonder whether it is possible to develop a game that involves chess players on the master and grandmaster levels with the jurists that have been members of the high court?

Chess and Politics Part II: Civility in politics

I fear the Congress and the President as institutions have in large measure forgotten the importance of decorum, respect, fair play civility and honor. I find the increasing trend towards winning every vote using whatever tactics and stratagems necessary to achieve the win regardless of however questionable to be quite disturbing.

For twenty-seven years I have been following politics during those years I noticed that the only time the Congress and the President refrained from promoting their own self interests and subverted the concerns of their states placing national concerns before them for any length of time occurred during the periodic governmental shutdowns that characterized the 1980's and the early 1990's, during times of national tragedy or crisis. At all other times it seems as though the mantra of Government has become anything goes.

The attitudes exhibited by the Congress and the Office of the President reminded me of an epigram given by Dr. Emanuel Lasker, the World Chess Champion from 1894 to 1920, Dr.
Lasker once remarked:

Chess is above all a fight.

It could be argued that politics like chess is a fight in the sense that both are contests in which opponents seek to obtain an advantage over each others often relying on combinations and other techniques to achieve their ends. Further there are numerous examples in both politics and chess illustrate the tendencies of master class politicians and chess players to promote their own self interests at the expense of the public at large. Having said that I should note that their have been individuals such as Jeanette Rankin and Edmund Ross who valued honor, decorum, civility, respect and principle. In this way they were akin to Carl Schelecter and Geza Maróczy chess players who valued fair play and honor over a win under questionable circumstances. The powers that be would do well to take to heart the lessons of these individuals who valued fair play and honor over a win under questionable circumstances.

Education and Culture

The trend of increasing globalization mandates an educational experience that is culturally diverse in nature to enable the teachers and students from the majority to develop an understanding of the natal culture of minority students and successfully bridge the divide between the two cultures. The wisest and most learned of teachers recognize the need for multicultural education because as Mohandas K. Ghandi observed:

No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.

Before an education can begin an individual must possess a rudimentary degree of understanding and self awareness of their own cultural perspective and philosophy.
Education at its most fundamental level is the expansion of the minds of students through the infusion of new thoughts, ideas, concepts and processes as Oliver Wendell Holmes pointed out:

One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.

The stretching of the mind to encompass the acquisition of new cultural experiences occurs most readily through use of direct experiences that possess a sense and feeling of meaning for the individuals, are those involving interactions between an individual and other individuals from diverse backgrounds including ethnic and linguistic minorities as well as interactions with individuals possessing learning and physical disabilities. These interactions permit the development a greater degree of cultural sensitivity and foster the growth of the spirit, which is in and of itself is a hallmark of culture according to Jawaharlal Nehru:

Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.

Educators who seek to widen their own horizons or those of their students must do so with the greatest care being taken because as with all things an education begun prematurely can be quite dangerous because, the mind may not be able to cope with the knowledge that accompanies new ideals, concepts, and processes as Oliver Wendell Holmes illustrated:

Knowledge and timber shouldn't be much used till they are seasoned.

The use of unseasoned knowledge that results from an education which is begun too early to be accompanied by understanding often leads to the loss of both cultural identity of awareness of the majority, and the denigration of the culture of the minority culture. If the proper care is not devoted to education the end result is an education that is contrary to the aims of multicultural education as Edward T. Hall asserted:

We should never denigrate any other culture but rather help people to understand
the relationship between their own culture and the dominant culture. When you
understand another culture or language, it does not mean that you have to lose
your own culture.

The Usefulness of Learning Style Inventories

Using learning styles inventories to determine the learning styles of individuals is to a certain extent subjective in nature because, the responses to the questions are largely qualitative in nature. The use of qualitative questions and responses raises the following question in my mind: Can the use of qualitative questions and responses accurately develop a quantitative picture of an individual and their learning habits? I would argue that the picture of an individual developed through the use of such tests remains to a degree subjective in nature because, such tests are by their nature are reliant on the opinions of the test taker. In order to be the most effective the test administrator must bear in mind the inherent subjectivity of the tests and must not rely completely on the results of such tests, in order to maximize the usefulness of the information gathered from the results should be weighed and balanced against the observations of the teacher.

My Thoughts on Cognitive Development

Jean Piaget’s work related to cognitive development theory fully realized the general stages of cognitive development postulated by James Mark Baldwin. While, the divisions proposed by Piaget are generally sound. I find that the theory as advanced by the Piaget and pure Piagetians too simplistic because, the theory as advanced by them is illustrate is indicative of a smooth and fluid developmental pathway . Cognitive behavioral development is in truth a difficult, arduous, and lengthy process the pure Piagetians when developing the theory never anticipated or provided for the phenomenon of decalage which are unpredicted gaps in the developmental process and never provided any means or method of explaining the gaps.

Additionally, the theory as constructed initially by Piaget and his early disciples consisted of the four stages: Sensorimotor (years 0–2); Preoperational (years 2–7); Concrete operational (years 7–11); Formal operational (years 11–adulthood); with each stage possessing many half-stages. Piaget and the pure Piagetians used a broad and general set of domains when constructing the theory that did not take into account the possible existence of developmental stages beyond formal operational stage or of a stage that precedes the onset of the preoperational stage, subsequent research has demonstrated two things: One, that the majority of these half-stages are in fact full developmental stages. Two, research has provided sufficient evidence to support the existence of stages beyond the formal operational stage and prior to the beginning of the preoperational phase.

Lev Semenovich Vygotsky argued that the person possesses a zone of proximal development; Vygotsky defined the zone of proximal development as the gap between student’s actual developmental level as determined through the ability of the student to engage in problem solving and the potential developmental level when influenced by their interaction with peers and adults.

. . . The distance between the actual developmental level as determined by
independent problem solving and the level of potential development as determined
through problem solving under adult guidance, or in collaboration with more
capable peers (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86)

The primary difference between Piaget and Vygotsky laid within their differing views and attitudes towards the exact nature and role of culture especially the idea of cultural mediation through the use of artifacts and symbols in the developmental process.

Having said that it cannot be denied that zone of proximal development exists, the main question that must be considered remains the degree to which cultural mediation affects and influences cognitive development.

I do not ascribe fully to either theorem, in my mind in order to be truly effective the Piagetian cognitive development theorem must be considered bearing the emendations of the Neo and Post Piagetians to the original theory in mind without these revisions the theory becomes useless. The most effective system in my mind would be one that uses Erikson’s model of psychosocial development, while taking into account Neo and Post Piagetian cognitive development theory, Vygotsky’s definition of the zone of proximal development, and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

Locard's Principle: A Political Application

A recent discussion about Senatorial politics raised the following two questions in my mind:

1. Can the principle of transference that is the foundation of Locard's Exchange Theory be applied metaphysically to politicians as a result of their interactions and exchanges?

2 If so could it be argued in a metaphysical sense that the moderates, centrists and independents could be construed as metaphysical examplars of the validity of transference on the basis of their position on the political spectrum?

Chess and Politics

Many amateur chess players, myself included tend to over utilize the queen.

As I have grown older and matured I have come to realize that over use of the queen in chess game has the following consequences:

First, most novice players tend operate under the fallacy that queen is omnipotent and capable of winning the game without assistance, this error often leads to disaster.

Second, the use of queen alone and unassisted over extends her, draining her power and lessening her effectiveness.

Third, the dimuntion of the power of the queen in conjunction with the dimminishment of her influence and control over the board often results in a zugszwang situation that results in the loss of the queen and other less powerful pieces ultimately hastening checkmate.

The same holds true in politics many would do well to remember Theodore Roosevelt's maxim of speak softly and carry big stick. I believe it significant that Teddy Roodevelt placed speaking before using the stick, a metaphor for the war making powers.

In doing so Roosevelt reaffirmed the belief of the Founders that the war powers, should only be invoked andexercised as a last resort when persuasion, negotiation, and all other avenues have failed to achieve the foreign policy goals of the United States, and only then after due deliberation with great care, caution, and due diligence being given to the objectives and outcomes.

A reflection on the Passing of Claudia Alta Johnson

The passing of Lady Bird Johnson earlier in the week marks the passing of an icon.

Her death means that last of the true anti segregationist liberal Democrats from Texas aligned with Sam Rayburn, Alan Shivers, and Henry B. Gonzales has passed away and that the Texas has experienced the end of an era.

She was untill the end of her life a patriot and a great lady with the power to curb her volatile and fire-eating husband.

There is not Texan be they Democrat, Republican, or Independent who would speak ill of Mrs. Johnson she earned and commanded the respect of all.

Freedom of Press and Speech: Some Random Thoughts

Many years ago made by a Judge Billings Learned Hand in a speech called The Preservation of Personality in 1927.

Our dangers, as it seems to me, are not from the outrageous but from the
conforming; not from those who rarely and under the lurid glare of obloquy upset
our moral complaisance, or shock us with unaccustomed conduct, but from those,
the mass of us, who take their virtues and their tastes, like their shirts and
their furniture, from the limited patterns which the market offers.

The issues raised by the debate over whether the Harry Potter series should be banned from public schools I find intriguing. Both the pro and anti Harry Potter groups involved in cureent legal challenges have expressed a wide array of viewpoints that represent the opposing ends of the sociopolitical spectrum and the many shades of gray in between resulting in many intensely heated exchanges and debates concerning freedoms of press and speech as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Despite their differences, there exists at least one point upon which both parties would agree as a matter of principle.

I believe that both sides would agree that each is party is entitled to possess their own opinion
Any attempt to mandate or make compulsory a single opinion must be regarded as an anathema. Every conservative, liberal, moderate or independent regardless of social, economic or political leanings would concur with Voltaire's long held maxim:

I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death
your right to say it.

However, the clamor that Harry Potter series has caused amongst the religious conservatives especially in the Deep South for example in Gwinnett County Georgia endangers the ability of
the Republic to endure because, the tensions over this issue have polarized the populace and resulted in cause being brought before a court of law.

The fact that a dispute over a series of books that began its life as an issue at school board meeting has evolved into a court case and made its way into a legal setting is deeply disturbing to me.

It seems to me the continued endurance and health of the Republic requires that individuals take great care and remain wary of utilizing the legal system to impose through force of law an individual viewpoint as Robert Jackson eloquently pointed out in 1943:

Those who begin coercive elimination of dissent soon find themselves
exterminating dissenters. Compulsory unification of opinion achieves only the
unanimity of the graveyard. Barnette v. West Virginia (1943)

Texts that should be required reading

The Federalist Papers

Joseph Story's

• Commentaries on the Constitution
• The Writings of John Marshall, late Chief Justice of the United States, upon the Federal Constitution, Boston, 1839.

Alexis de Tocqueville's

• Democracy in America

Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

• The Common Law
• The Path of the Law

What is Truth?

Merriam Webster's Online Dictionary defines truth in the following manner:

Main Entry: truth Pronunciation: 'trüthFunction: nounInflected Form(s): plural truths /'trü[th]z, 'trüths/Etymology: Middle English trewthe, from Old English trEowth fidelity; akin to Old English trEowe faithful -- more at TRUE1 a archaic : FIDELITY, CONSTANCY b : sincerity in action, character, and utterance 2 a (1) : the state of being the case : FACT (2) : the body of real things, events, and facts : ACTUALITY (3) often capitalized : a transcendent fundamental or spiritual reality b : a judgment, proposition, or idea that is true or accepted as true thermodynamics> c : the body of true statements and propositions 3 a : the
property (as of a statement) of being in accord with fact or reality b chiefly
British : TRUE 2 c : fidelity to an original or to a standard4 capitalized, Christian Science : GOD - in truth : in accordance with fact : ACTUALLY http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

My problem with the definitons set forth by Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries is that the definitions are only partially correct.

I argue that the definitons of truth and falsehood contained in the dictionary capture in part actual definitions of such concepts because, while the definitions can illustrate the various aspects of truth or falsehood that are objective only.

The definitons of these terms cannot illuminate the subjective portions of the concepts of truth or falsity. Inherent within these terms there exists a degree of subjectivity, in the sense that the preception of what truth and faslehood acutally are, is dependent upon the point of view of an individual whose perceptions of truth and falsity will be affected by the cultural lens of an individual.

Only one thing I am certain of, and that is the fact that whats truth is for one indivdual may not be so for another.

Locard's Exchange Theory

Professor Edmond Locard wrote the following in the early years of the twentieth century:

Wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves, even
unconsciously, will serve as a silent witness against him. Not only his
fingerprints or his footprints, but his hair, the fibers from his clothes, the
glass he breaks, the tool mark he leaves, the paint he scratches, the blood or
semen he deposits or collects. All of these and more, bear mute witness against
him. This is evidence that does not forget. It is not confused by the excitement
of the moment. It is not absent because human witnesses are. It is factual
evidence. Physical evidence cannot be wrong, it cannot perjure itself, it cannot
be wholly absent. Only human failure to find it, study and understand it, can
diminish its value. - Professor Edmond Locard http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locard%27s_principle

Locard was primarily focused on trace evidence of a physical nature, yet, I would argue that the perpetrator or perpetrators of a crime or series of crimes leave their victim or victims with trace evidence that is not visible to the eye. I would argue that these latent traces are left on the minds, hearts and very souls of victims.

I would also argue that the converse is also true in that I would that victims of crimes leave invisible marks on the perpetrators of crimes that when discovered confirm the guilt of the criminal.

A Foil to Tehran's Nuclear Plans

I tend to think that both the Jordanians and Israelis are exceptionally concerned by Iranian nuclear ambitions.

Before Iran is allowed to dominate the region the Israelis and Jordanians will work in concert to neutralize the threat posed by the Iranians.

There exists precedent for such cooperative action.

On 21 March 1968 the IDF with the express permission of King Hussein of Jordan launched operations against the PLO based at Al-Karameh.

Two years later in September of 1970 with the aid of the Jordanian Army, IDF, the Israeli Air Force and the United States Navy succeeded forcing the Syrian and Iraqi Army armored brigades that sought to reinforce the PLO forces waging war against the Jordanian government at the time to withdraw forcing the PLO to retreat into Lebanon.

It seems likely that Iranian intransigence over its nuclear program could foster the same sort of cooperation that I outlined above. I would also assert that it is likely that if a moderate Sunni nation such as Jordan developed a nuclear program especially with Israeli and American aid it could serve as a powerful deterent to Iran and the Wahabi of Saudi Arabia.

Further the United States government has given its blessing to the proposed Jordanian program according to the Jordan Times

AMMAN (JT) — The US State Department indicated that it had no
objection to a plan by Jordan to develop a nuclear programme for peaceful
purposes, the Associated Press reported.
Deputy spokesman Tom Casey, without
mentioning Jordan by name, said every country that adheres strictly to the
nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) "has the right to develop civilian
nuclear power for the benefit of their people”. Casey commented Friday in
response to an announcement by King Abdullah Jordan was “actually looking at
nuclear power for peaceful and energy purposes”. “We've been discussing it with
the West. I personally believe that any country that has a nuclear programme
should conform to international regulations and should have international
regulatory bodies that check to make sure that any nuclear programme moves in
the right direction,” the King told Akiva Eldar of Israel’s Haaretz newspaper on
Friday.
“…The rules have changed on the nuclear subject throughout the whole
region. Everybody's going for nuclear programmes. The Egyptians are looking for
a nuclear programme. The GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman] are looking at one….” The US offered to help Egypt
with nuclear technology after President Hosni Mubarak announced his country
would revive plans for a nuclear programme, shelved in the aftermath of the 1986
accident at the Soviet nuclear plant in Chernobyl, according to the AP. Two
months later, the leaders of the oil-rich GCC said they would consider starting
a joint nuclear programme for peaceful purposes. Some Arab countries complained
for years over Israel's nuclear programme and alleged arsenal, but it never
prompted them to seek programmes of their own. Israel is believed to have an
arsenal of several hundred warheads, though it has never officially confirmed
it. Arabs repeatedly called for its weapons to be eliminated.
Asked if he was
saying that he expected Israel to join the NPT, the Monarch said: “What's
expected from us should be a standard across-the-board. We want to make sure
this is used for energy. What we don't want is an arms race to come out of this.
As we become part of an international body and its international regulations are
accepted by all of us, then we become a united front.”
The Islamic Action
Front, Jordan’s largest opposition group, on Saturday backed King Abdullah’s
plan, according to an IAF official.
“The IAF highly appreciates King
Abdullah's call for having a nuclear programme because this issue is a question
of national consensus,” IAF spokesperson Rahil Gharaibeh said in a statement.
“All Arab countries should be interested in the possession of this technology
because the foe number one of the Arab and Muslim world already owns this
technology, including its military branch which it uses to threaten our security
and stability.”
The AP quoted analysts as saying that Iran's progress in
building its nuclear facilities sparked a rush among some Arab countries to look
at programmes of their own, raising the possibility of a dangerous proliferation
of nuclear technology — or even weapons — in the volatile region.
Some Sunni Arabs already expressed concern over Iranian influence in Iraq and Lebanon. Now they fear that the mainly Shiite Persian nation could develop warheads to back
its growing power in the Middle East, the AP said.
The US, its allies and Security Council sanctions imposed last month failed to dissuade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from halting atomic plans, which Tehran say are
peaceful. Any significant Arab nuclear programme is likely years away, and
some observers are sceptical that cash-strapped countries have the resources for
powerful facilities. But simply announcing the intention could be meant as a
signal to Iran that its ties to Arab nations will suffer over its nuclear drive
— and to the United States that its Arab allies are concerned. http://www.jordantimes.com/sun/homenews/homenews1.htm

The presence of facilities at Inshas, and Al-Dabah, and Dimona in Israel, as well as the proposed facility in Jordan should be sufficient to deter Iran or Syria from taking or making any provocative actions that could result in a detirioration of the situation in the Middle East.

Godspeed Mayor Kollek

On 2 January 2007 Teddy Kollek died at the age of 95. While Teddy Kollek firmly believed that Jerusalem should be united under Israeli control, he advocated coexistence with and tolerance for the predominantly Arabic population of East Jerusalem.

Mahdi Abdul-Hadi, a Palestinian intellectual and longtime Jerusalem resident,
said Kollek's relations with Jerusalem's Palestinians were complex, but he
earned their grudging respect for rising to the challenge of his
office.
"Previous mayors were nobody in Jerusalem. They sat around in their
offices not knowing what Jerusalem meant," Abdul-Hadi said. "Teddy Kollek knew
what Jerusalem meant to the world ... very few people will grasp that
opportunity and grasp that moment, that event and take advantage of it."

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/02/africa/ME_GEN_Israel_Obit_Kollek.php

His moderate position in the stream of Israeli politics was virtually unique when he was first elected Mayor of Jerusalem in 1965 and his calls for restraint during and in the aftermath of the Six Days War prevented the complete destruction of the Arab neighborhoods and the forced relocation of Arabic residents of East Jerusalem.

The complexities he demonstrated definitely made him one of the most intriguing figures in history.

Niches

For the last several years I have been seeking job with which I could be content and one that I would find fulfilling. I gave at various times thought of pursuing interests tthat involve my inteersts of law politics, international relations and anthropology and archaeology.

Books, Coins and Chess Sets

I find that collecting books, coins, and chess sets, pewter are way in which I can find outlets for my creative impulses and collecting them is much more fun than participating in sports.

A Salute to Veterans

We have shared the incommunicable experience of war. We have felt - we still
feel - the passion of life to its top. In our youths our lives were touched by
fire. Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

It is because of the noble and gallant conduct of veterans like Justice Holmes and other veterans like my grandfather that the United States if America remains a beacon of liberty.

I who am not able to take up arms because of my disability give thanks for women and men who can do take up arms to defend the country. I only wish that I could join you in the fight.

UST a campus with troubles

lolWhen I took Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, we were taught that the word, Catholic has three meanings.

One: In its most general, sense the word catholic means universal.

Two: The term Catholic applied to those followers of Christ living in the Western portion of the Roman Empire.

Three: The term applies to those Churches and by extension their members who are in communion with, His Holiness, the Bishop of Roman and acknowledge his authority.

Can UST and the community truly and legitimately call itself a Catholic institution?
In my mind in order to be truly catholic in nature, a community or institution must meet all three definitions.

The University meets the second and third definitions of the term catholic. However, I would argue that the University fails to meet the first definition for two reasons,

First, the toleration of any form of discrimination against student minorities at the University is an abomination.

Second, the unwillingness in the past of the administration to acknowledge and engage in dialogue with gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered students on the issues faced by these students on campus daily as outlined in this passage from the article by Christina Fojas entitled Gay/Straight Alliance shifts focus: Club to request HRC chapter, non-discrimination policy,

Discrimination on campus has appeared in many subtle forms, primarily in
insensitive comments or hostile attitudes from classmates, according to Alliance
members. In one instance, Perez said a student brought a male doll dressed in a
pink bikini to school as a joke. "I felt embarrassed," Perez said. "No one wants
to acknowledge that there are gay students on campus, that there is
discrimination and it needs to be dealt with." http://www.ustcauldron.org/media/storage/paper444/news/2006/10/19/OtherNews/Gaystraight.Alliance.Shifts.Focus-2399452.shtml?norewrite200611021431&sourcedomain=www.ustcauldron.org&mkey=416196

seems to me to be exclusionary in nature and contrary to the stated mission and purpose of the University.

I applaud the efforts of the Gay/Straight Alliance. I urge the members to stay the course to which they have committed themselves. I give them my full and unconditional support.
It is my hope that your efforts will serve to encourage other minority groups on campus to speak out especially the disabled students of the University of Saint Thomas.

During my time at the University of Saint Thomas as a disabled student I was only too well aware no student advocacy group existed to aid the students of the university whose disabilities often left them at a disadvantage especially as incoming freshmen because, in my experience most incoming freshmen with disabilities were not well acquainted with the processes and procedures that were in place to determine the need for accommodations/ Additionally, topic relating to disability were not addressed during my tenure as a student in the New Student Orientation Program. To the best of my knowledge these deficiencies have not been address.

To the disabled students, I say the time has come for the disabled students of UST to unite together for the purposes of insuring that there is exists a student group for incoming students to turn to when they need support and advice.

And then there were eight: A reflection on Pluto

The International Astronomical Union after several days of sometimes acrimonious debate has decided to reclassify Pluto as a dwarf planet, stripping it of its original designation as a true planet, a designation that Pluto had held since, its discovery in 1930.

www.iau2006.org/mirror/www.iau.org/iau0603/index.html


In ight of this decision primary school teachers will have to develop a new mnemonic device to asist their students in memorizing the planets.

An Intriguing question: How am I

Yesterday, I received a voice mail message from a friend who se voice I have not heard since late December or early January asking how I was doing, Her voice mail message made me pause to reflect on the question.

In my reflections I found that I have been answering that question on a day by dat basis and yet I had comnsidered the cumulative effect of the question in the sense that I never really considered it over the long term.

An assessment of my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual state is something that I assess on a daily basis because, there is not a single uniform answer.

Indeed in the last eight months I have grown older and perhaps gained a little wisdom through my experiences. I have changed and grown in some ways and in others I remain unchanged.

Most of the changes were due in part to medical and psychological problems I am now under treatment for, and now I am on the right combinations of medications.

Also, I have found that I have generally withdrawn from much of the social activities I used to enjoy and have begun taking more pleasure in playing chess, reading, writing coin collecting, and stamp collecting, sword collecting that for a long while I had to give up because of all that was going on in my life.

In all I would say that the past eight months on a scale of -10 to a +10 that I have seen both ends of the spectrum. More often than not I fall into the middle of the spectrum. To provide a more detailed explanation of why this so would not in mind be prudent so I will say simply that I have been lonely and while my beautiful dogs Alli who passed away and my new dog Bella can only allieviate so much of my lonliness.
.

The death of a noble man

This morning I attended the funeral service for Rev. William John Young C.S.B. I did not know Reverend Young all that well. Although, he was there for me during a difficult period in my life in his capacity as a priest. In this capacity he was able to help to find hope in a time when I had none left for myself and I had despaired of graduating. I will always be grateful to him for all the counsel and help he gave me during this period of my life.

Resquiat in Pacem Alli Doodle

My Beautiful dog Alli was euthanized today because, she developed Mange and cancerous tumors. I miss her greatly. I have a greater affection for her because than I do for most my relatives and acquaintances at school, when ever I was down or needed to talk out my problems I would take her for a walk and tell her my problems because, she unlike the majority fo humans I know never judged me.

Rest In Peace Alli my friend and thank you for all that you did for me.

Some thoughts on Television and America

Edward R. Murrow once said of television that it has the ability to teach, to illuminate, and to inspire people.

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and
indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. Stonewall Jackson, who
knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, "When war
comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." The trouble with
television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.

I believe Edward Murrow was correct concerning television and indeed the battle for survival for survival he spoke of in October of 1958 has come. This battle has come in the forms of the War on Terror and the War in Iraq.

It is has been said that support for the war in Iraq has been flagging in the polls whether this downturn is justified is not for me to say. I would comment only that television is being improperly used in these two instances because it does not teach, illuminate or inspire in any way the populace of the United States to learn.

Indeed the loudest voices are either those on the far right of the political and social spectrum or those on the far left of those spectrums. The great mass of individuals that occupies the center has been muted. The reason for this is the great indifference and apathy that pervades through the middle of the spectrum.

The popularity of shows such as Survivor, The Great Race, and Lost seems to indicate that the public at large is allowing themselves to be isolated and insulated from those events that have an effect on our daily. For example, I hear many people complaining about the high prices of oil and gasoline. Yet, I have not heard the question, why are oil and gasoline prices high from the public at large there have been individuals who have asked the question but, as of yet there have not been whole segments of the population that have asked with one voice such questions.

Yet it is not solely the fault of the the public at large. A share of the responsibility rests with the network executives and reporters as well because, many have forgotten the duty and responsibility they possess to be the catalyst for debates on social and political issues that inspire individuals to take a stand. However, journalists must undertake this responsibility with great care because with due diligence being accorded to examining both sides of an issue because, in and of themselves words can be persuasive as Edward Murrow remarked

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be
credible; credible we must be truthful.

It seems as though journalists sometimes forget these lessons as the election night coverage of the 2000 presidential election by CNN and Dan Rather's now discredited report on the military service of President George Walker Bush.

Eric Sevareid in his final broadcast as part of CBS News on 30 November 1977 laid out some rules that he adhered to in reporting

The rules are self imposed, these were few: Not to underestimate the
intelligence of the audience; and not to overestimate its information;
to elucidate when one can more than to advocate; to remember always that the
public is only people and people only persons no two alike; to retain the
courage of one's doubts, as well as one's convictions in this world of
dangerously passionate certainties; to comfort oneself in times of peril with
the knowledge that the saving grace of the press, print, or broadcast is a
self correcting nature and to remember that ignorant and biased reporting has
its counterpart in ignorant and biased reading and listening. November
30, 1977

I would argue that the nation as a whole is not served by television seeks not to teach not to illumine and not to inspire but to merely isolate the individual by replacing true reality with a scripted one that is escapist in nature.

The resulting programming fundamentally underestimates of the intelligence of the audience and provides less than adequate information to the public on the issues that are foremost in the consciousness of the people.

Indeed I would assert that the public is unable to go to the polls in an informed manner because of an indifference on the part of the majority of Americans that occupy the center. The indifference that pervades the center of the American sociopolitical system I would argue is reinforced by the predominant place given to escapist programming on television and that the television networks with the exception of PBS and a variety of specialized networks are neglecting the responsibility they have to assist parents, teachers, and clergy in their roles as educators of the youth of America.

What does this have to do with the War on Terror, the War in Iraq and the genocide Darfur. Edward R. Murrow envisioned a television that served as an educational tool.

If we are to be successful in rooting out the terrorists and their agents the American people must be educated and learn about the various groups involved. The best way to know about these enemies and to defeat them is to understand the way our enemies think, and feels to that end it is important the American people be educated in the history, social practices, mores and values of Americas enemies such as al-Qaida, the Taliban, the militias in both Iraq and Sudan and compare them against the mainstream of Islam illustrating them for what they are heretics who pervert the message of Islam.

Also, the United States must utilize the media as a tool for psychological warfare that can be used used to destroy the morale of the enemies that are facing the United States because, as General Thomas Jonathan Jackson once said:
"When war comes you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard." Only by employing this idea along with Philip Henry Sheridan's belief in a type of warfare in which one of the primary goals is to seek out and destroy the flow of aid to the enemy will the United States be successful in Iraq and Afghanistan. The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are not merely conflicts that have their genesis in differing belief systems and systems of conduct. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are wars for the hearts, minds and souls of the citizens of Iraq and Afghanistan.