Fools without Borders!

MSF: This is the story of those fools who rush in to places where angels fear to tread. They have been everywhere -- from Rwanda to Kosovo -- helping and treating people, providing people with medical care and attention. It was their guy, who identified the outbreak of SARS (and died from it). And even after the devastating Tsunami of Asia, it were them who reached Indonesia first. This is the story of Medecins Sans Frontieres, or Doctors Without Borders.

Now why do they do so instead of sitting at home and drinking wine? (Are they all jobless losers with nothing else to do? Believe me, I would have loved to think so. Sadly though, I must confess that this is not the case, unless, of course, they are bluffing all along!). Because it is, in their words, "an ethic of refusal." And all they do is to relieve siffering: "For MSF, this is the humanitarian act: to seek to relieve suffering, to seek to restore autonomy, to witness to the truth of injustice, and to insist on political responsibility."

One must agree with their standpoint that euphemisms like Complex Humanitarian Emergency, or Internal Security Crisis does not help much to mask the real nature of man-made disasters such as that in Bosnia-Herzegovina or Rwanda. Such language, however, frames the problem, determinates the responsibilites, and defines whether a political, medical or humanitarian response is adequate. It also offers excuses to the guilty many a time. "No one calls a rape a complex gynecologic emergency. A rape is a rape, just as a genocide is a genocide. And both are a crime."

Does it mean that they're naive enough to think that they're capable of stopping all these? No. They're not. They know very well that humanitarian efforts can never stop a genocide or a war. "There are limits to humanitarianism. No doctor can stop a genocide. No humanitarian can stop ethnic cleansing, just as no humanitarian can make war. And no humanitarian can make peace. These are political responsibilities, not humanitarian imperatives. "

And though they try to act without any border, they realize that humanitarian action is not without limitations. In Rwanda, for example, demands made by organizations such as MSF and Red Corss to stop the genocide by the use of force, were met with institutional paralysis, self-interest, and a denial of political responsibility. Thus, "It cannot be a substitute for political action."

They object to the principle of military intervention without clear frameworks of responsibility and transparency, on valid grounds. They feel that "Armies should be at the service of governments and policies which seek to protect the rights of victims."

Coming back to SARS: The guy who identified SARS was an Italian physician working with the WHO. He was the president of the Italian chapter of Medecins Sans Frontieres and was one of the individuals who accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of MSF in 1999.

While being based in Hanoi, Vietnam, where he mainly worked on combatting parasitic diseases for WHO, he identified an outbreak of the previously unknown SARS. In late February 2003, he became infected with SARS, and died on March 11, 2003 in Bangkok, where he went to attend a medical conferences. His name was Carlo Urbani, and he was 46 years old.

Acknowledgements: www.nobel.se, www.wikipedia.org

Pigagus Stole The Book (Of Hippies and Other Crazy Bastards)*

The turmoil of the 60's (due, to a large extent, to the Vietnam War, but also other issues such as the Civil Rights Movement, and the Alabama Church Bombing etc.) led to many significant events/developments worldwide. For the USA, one of the most important of such phenomena was the surfacing of a bunch of lunatics who, through their persistent efforts, tried to change the American Society and its thought process, and who thus made many people re-think.

One of the most important and colorful of such people was Abbe Hoffmann who, alongwith Jerry Rubin, established the Youth International Party (Yippies). Hoffman, who was a staunch anti-war activist, often used comical and theatrical tactics to drive home his point. One such event was a mass demonstration by more than 50,000 people, who attempted to levitate The Pentagon using psychic energy. During another of his innovative protests (carried out on the 24th of August, 1967), a group of people led by him threw (from the gallery of the New York Stock Exchange) fistfuls of dollar bills down to the traders below and made them scramble to grab the bills money as fast as they could.

Hoffman and other members of the "Chicago Seven" such as Jerry Rubin, were arrested after violent confrontations of the protestors with police during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and charged with conspiracy and inciting to riot . His courtroom antics , which included appearing in judicial robes, or suggesting the judge during his sentencing to try LSD, and offering to set him up with a dealer he knew in Florida made news headlines.

His commercially successful book, "Steal This Book", considered a classic of American pop culture of the 1960s, includes advice on topics as diverse as growing marijuana, to making pipe bombs. It contains an appendix about the counterculture scene in several major American cities, and is filled with his political views: "Avoid all needle drugs--the only dope worth shooting is Richard Nixon." The book's success led Hoffman to say: "It's embarrassing when you try to overthrow the government and you wind up on the Best Seller's List."

But it was not only him, who did such things. His friend and co-founder of Yippies, Jerry Rubin, was no less an activist and eccentric than he was! Rubin decided to attend Berkeley in 1964, but soon dropped out to focus on social activism, which began with his protesting the refusal of a local grocer at Berkeley to hire African Americans employees. He was one of the "Chicago Seven" to be indicted alongwith Hoffman. With ease, they managed to turn the courtroom into a circus.

Then we had the (in?)famous Allen Ginsberg, that venerable crazy man, who dared to write, "America, go fuck yourself with your atom bomb." and who coined the term, "Flower Power" (in California, in 1965) and thus leading to "Flower Children", and many others of that generation, who made America re-think. Young people like Bob Dylan, greatly influenced by Gingsberg and otehrs, wrote, "The times are a-changing". Oldy Pete Seeger sang, "Where have all the flowers gone?".

*After the article, "THE NIGHT I MET ALLEN GINSBERG: An appreciation of KEROUAC, BURROUGHS, CASSADY and the other bastards who ruined my life" that appeared in the Rolling Stone magazine. (By Johnny Depp, Rolling Stone Magazine, 07/08/99; An excerpt from "The Rolling Stone Book of the Beats: The Beat Generation and American Culture," a Rolling Stone book edited by Holly George-Warren and published by Hyperion.)

Acknowledgements: Wikipedia.Org. (Many other websites, such as Citzine.Ca, and Hippy.Com contain many interesting essays).

Talking of the Ghost of Old Tom Joad*

"Men walkin' long the railroad tracks
Goin' someplace there's no going back
Highway patrol choppers comin' up over the ridge

Hot soup on a campfire under the bridge
Shelter line stretchin' round the corner
Welcome to the new world order
Families sleepin' in their cars in the Southwest
No home no job no peace no rest"
............................................................................
............................................................................
"Well the highway is alive tonight
But nobody's kiddin' nobody about where it goes
I'm sittin down here in the campgire light
With the ghost of old Tom Joad"

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He created Tom Joad, travelled with Charlie, and was one of the most humane authors. To quote him, "Man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up in the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments."

*************************************************************
He also advised the young authors as follows:

'I remember one last piece of advice given me. It was during the exuberance of the rich and frantic '20s, and I was going out into that world to try and to be a writer.
I was told, "It's going to take a long time, and you haven't got any money. Maybe it would be better if you could go to Europe.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because in Europe poverty is a misfortune, but in America it is shameful. I wonder whether or not you can stand the shame of being poor."
It wasn't too long afterward that the depression came. Then everyone was poor and it was no shame anymore. And so I will never know whether or not I could have stood it. But surely my teacher was right about one thing. It took a long time - a very long time. And it is still going on, and it has never got easier.
She told me it wouldn't. '

*********************************************************

He had genuine feelings for people, though some critics find some of his writings sentimental or even childish. He was considered a persona non grata (for all practicval purposes) by his own townsfolk, because they felt his epic put them all in bad light. However, the scenario is very different now, and the same people are now proud of, and to honor, him.

*********************************************************

'Now Tom said "Mom wherever there's a cop
beatin' a guy
Wherever a newborn baby cries
Where there's a fight 'gainst the blood and hatred
in the air
Look for me Mom I'll be there
Wherever there's somebody fightin'for a
place to stand
Or decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody's strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes Mom you'll see me." '
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*The Ghost of Tom Joad by Bruce Springsteen

[In memorium: John Steinbeck (Feb. 27, 1902 - Dec. 20, 1968)]

Happy Birthday, Quantum Mechanics!

Quantum mechanics was born on the 14th of December 1900 (by which time, it was generally agreed upon that most of the significant discoveries in Physics were made, and there remained only a little patchwork to be done in order to make it totally coherent and complete), when Max Planck explained the derivation of his radiation law at a meeting of the German Physical Society in Berlin. This presentation of Planck's described the key concepts of quantum mechanics and discussed some of the most recent and startling applications. Over the past century, this revolutionary new idea has profoundly altered our understanding of the universe, and the 20th century more or less belonged to Physics.

Interestingly, unlike for Newton, no apple fell on Planck's head. Nor even a light bulb! But they say that the glow of a light bulb left him confused. For, while the yellow glow of a light bulb suggested that most of its light/radiation was at visible frequency, the physics of the day would have predicted that a heated object should emit mostly shorter-wavelength, invisible radiation. Max Planck presented his explanation for this troubling observation, known as the black-body radiation problem, and the light-bulb started driving physicists crazy ever since! For, to solve his problem, Planck had had to invent the notion of the quantum, and as Feynmann puts in, 'We can safely say that nobody understnads Quantum Mechanics.… Do not keep asking yourself, if you can possibly avoid it, "But how can it be like that?"… Nobody knows how it can be like that.' Or to quote Murray Gell-Mann, who described quantum mechanics as 'that mysterious, confusing discipline which none of us really understands but which we know how to use'.

Nor was Planck's own view very different! Though he had to (reluctantly) announce that certain experimental results could only be understood if energy was emitted or absorbed in discrete packets (called 'quanta'), and not continuously as had been supposed to happen uptil then, and thus declare the arrival of Quantum Physics, the nature and significance of quanta made him very unhappy, as is evident from the following: 'He was really a revolutionary against his own will… He finally came to the conclusion, "It doesn't help. We have to live with quantum theory. And believe me it will expand. It will not only be optics. It will go in all fields. We have to live with it".' But the die was already cast, and there was not looking back. Nobody had the power to stop the onslaught of Quantum Mechanics, not even Planck, doubts and confusion of his later life notwithstanding!

[However, Plancks' situation was not as hapless as that of Paul Ehrenfest, whose problem of low self-esteem and constant doubts about his abilities was only compounded by the confusion created by the Bohr-Einstein debate about the interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, and who finally ended up killing himself in 1933.]

Fools Die! *

In a world, where all major issued are solved through bombing, and where International Trade equilibrium is maintained through dumping millions on tons of wheat into the ocean, there comes a fool every now and then who, in his/her fully screwed-up mindset, tries to ease the agony of the World, or who tries to feed the hungry, and help the needy.

But rarely, if ever, we come across such extreme fools, who:

would give over 100 concerts a year as benefits for various causes, the most prominent among them being his own organization, "The World Hunger Year", dedicated to ending world hunger,

or, support 82 charities and 33 organizations focused on ending world hunger,

or, convince the President to create a Hunger Commission exploring ways to eliminate world hunger.

And, as we all know, Fools Die.

And what could be a better way for such a fool to die than in a road accident while on his way to another benefit,

*(The title of s book by Mario Puzo); In Memorium: Harry Chapin (1942-1981)

Dear "Old Folkie"!

They say: everyone is a communist at 20; but most give up being one by the time one's 25!

Why this is so, is easy to understand: At 20, everyone wants to change the world; at 25, most of us realise that it's not going to work; that's the usual story.

Rarely does one hear of someone, who wanted to become a hermit at 16, and continues to remain one even at the age of 85! Rarely one reads about a fella, who had the guts to oppose McCarthyism with steadfast determination.

How often does one read of a Commie, who confesses that "I apologize for following the party line so slavishly, for not seeing that Stalin was a supremely cruel misleader.", or is realistic enough to say the following:

"I still call myself a communist, because communism is no more what Russia made of it than Christianity is what the churches make of it. But if by some freak of history communism had caught up with this country, I would have been one of the first people thrown in jail." ?

And how often does one read something like the following said about a guy:

"Perhaps no single person in the 20th century has done more to preserve, broadcast, and redistribute folk music than him(sic), whose passion for politics, the environment, and humanity have earned him both ardent fans and vocal enemies since he first began performing in the late '30s. His never ending battle against injustice led to his being blacklisted during the McCarthy era, celebrated during the turbulent '60s, and welcomed at union rallies throughout his life. His tireless efforts regarding global concerns such as environmentalism, population growth, and racial equality have earned him the respect and friendship of such political heroes as Martin Luther King, Jr., Woody Guthrie, and Cesar Chavez, and the generations of children who first learned to sing and clap to Seeger's Folkways recordings must number in the millions. Rising above all of Seeger's political ideals and his passion for authentic folk music is his clear voice and chiming banjo which both sing out with a clarity that rings true."?

Fortunately, Our dear "Old Folkie" is all of these and more.
___________________________________________________________________
"Old Folkie"
*************
-Harry Chapin

He's the man with the banjo and the 12-string guitar.
And he's singing us the songs that tell us who we are.
When you look in his eyes you know that somebody's in there.
Yeah, he knows where we're going and where we been
And how the fog is gettin' thicker where the future should begin.
When you look at his life you know that he's really been there.
Still, what is the name that they're calling that man?
What is the name that they're calling that man?
You know, it's always the Old Folkie
They say he's always bleedin'
But whenever somebody's needing him,
He's the one who cares.
It's always the Old Folkie
Whenever somethin's burning,
Or a lesson needs some learning,
Or a tide that needs some turning,
To a better world somewhere,
Yeah, the Old Folkie's there.
Yeah, for forty years now he's been pushin' on.
Carrying the dream 'cause Woody's long gone.
He's the last voice singing that Bound for Glory song.
And if you never seen him you might take a look
He's the man who put the meaning in the music book.
Yeah, the world may be tired but Pete's still going strong.
Still, what is the name that they're calling that man?
What is the name that they're calling that man?
You know, it's always the Old Folkie
They say he's always bleedin'
But whenever somebody's needing him,
He's the one who cares
It's always the Old Folkie:'
Whenever somethin's burning,
Or a lesson needs some learning,
Or a tide that needs some turning,
To a better world somewhere, Yeah, the Old Folkie's there.
What is the name that they're calling that man?
What is the name that they're calling that man?
You know, it's always the Old Folkie
Singing for some hopeless cause.
Shouting at the mountain top
The wind is his only applause.
It's always the Old Folkie
We don't know what we're missing
'Cause nobody ever listens,
'Cept the lovers as they're kissin'
Oh, he's singing for them somewhere.
Yeah, the Old Folkie's there. The Old Folkie's there.

(Pete Seeger in New York, August, 2004)

Note: One may have a look at the excellent website, www.peteseeger.net for more info.
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Note: Materials from websites such as IMDB.com, lyrics.duble.com, Wkipedia.org and MP3.com, have been used for this posting.

Acknowledgements:
www.moorsmagazine.com/images/peteseeger.jpg; for the first picture
www.counterpunch.org/Pete_at_NYC_demo.jpg; for the second picture

Turn Off the Light!

This was the first song I listened on the radio, on the first day of my new assignment in a new place, a new country, back in 2001.

This was also the last song I heard on the radio before I left my workplace of 29 months about a year ago. However, I never paid much attention to the song; nor did I know anything about you in particular.

But these days, whenever I listen to this song, it brings me back the memories of those days.

And for sure, "Not everything in this magical world is quite what it seems", like you said.

Happy Birthday, Nelly!