History « The Ramblings of An Eternal Student of Life

Monday, March 23, 2015

◊ ISIS, Jesus and the Power of The Apocalypse

Current Affairs ... History ... Religion ...

I finally got around to reading Graeme Wood’s important article in The Atlantic entitled “What ISIS Really Wants”. In a recent post I discussed Wood’s follow-up note to his article; this note seemed very relevant in and of itself. But now it’s time for a thought or two from me about Wood’s main article.

Actually, I only have one big thought to share here (but yes, it is still a big one, requiring many words). In my previous post regarding Wood’s follow-up note, I embraced his point that ISIS should be considered a “legitimate” interpretation of Islam. After reading the actual article, I reaffirm his contentions. Most Muslims around the world do not embrace this version of Islam; by the same token, very few attempt to reject it on grounds of being inauthentic.

The key players and supporters of the ISIS movement (including clerics, scholars, politicians and military leaders) are very savvy about the Koran and the history of Islam. They make a very detailed and credible effort to justify their policies (however brutal and inhumane) using the words and directives of the Prophet Mohammed himself. Over the past two years, ISIS has managed » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 7:43 pm Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Friday, January 30, 2015

◊ Why Jews Don’t Farm Much Anymore

History ... Religion ... Society ...

I came across two interesting articles recently about why you don’t see all that many Jewish farmers out there. A recent economic study points out that back in ancient times (say when Jesus lived or even before), most Jews were farmers just like in most every other human culture. But over the upcoming millennium, they largely left that way of life, mostly moved to the cities, and took up a wide variety of trades and enterprises.

According to these economists, this was not so much because of laws forbidding land ownership by Jews (although such laws did exist given that Jews were usually a minority group and often treated as outsiders by the powers that were). The main factor was the high degree of literacy promoted by the Jewish culture. I.e., smart people found better things to do in a world where trade was growing than raise crops and milk goats.

A similar conclusion was reached in a Slate article from 2003. Judaism has always emphasized the importance of reading, so as to keep the Torah alive (and thus preserve the Jewish identity). And so, Judaism early on developed a tradition » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 2:41 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Friday, October 17, 2014

◊ We’re Hooked on a System that Requires Injustice

Economics/Business ... History ...

I’m presently listening to a Teaching Company audio course on “Big History”, by Professor David Christian. At first I was a bit cynical about the whole “big history” concept, i.e. a sweeping review of all known major events from the Big Bang (13.7 billion years ago) to the modern homo sapiens civilization now existing on planet Earth. I figured it would be a bit “fluffy” and insubstantial, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Professor Christian’s interesting insights and ability to draw relevant themes from “the really big picture”. Some of the major themes from his sweeping panorama approach regard the increase of complexity, the increasing density of information flows, and increasing concentrations of usable energy. But the good Professor also offers occasional comments regarding trends specific to our own little corner of the Universe, i.e. human history and modern civilization.

I’m getting near the end of Christian’s 48 lectures, where his focus zooms in on the world that we know or can remember (or at least have heard about, like World War 1 and 2 and the Great Depression). Professor Christian made a somewhat startling observation about capitalism, i.e. the modern economic system that we depend upon to maintain our present lifestyles here in the greater suburban precincts of America. I suppose that many of us “comfortable but concerned” citizens, those having any sort of liberal sympathy favoring social justice, maintain a love-hate relationship with capitalism. On the one hand, we revile it for all of the unfair economic consequences that it has for many people (e.g. the long-term unemployed, family farmers, inhuman working conditions in the eastern-world factories that produce most of our consumer goods . . . just to get started). Not to mention its lack of focus on long-term sustainability issues (with global warming presently being “exhibit # 1” in that regard).

But on the other hand, we usually don’t refrain from enjoying its fruits, such as convenient shopping opportunities on Amazon and other on-line retailers, affordable prices and wide variety at supercenter stores like WalMart and Home Depot, modern technical wonders from » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 5:25 pm Read Comments (3) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, August 31, 2014

◊ Is Malthus Really Gone For Good?

Current Affairs ... History ...

Lately I’ve been listening to Prof. David Christian explain his “Big History” concept (courtesy of a CD course from the Teaching Company), and I’ve almost reached the end (i.e., the present). I’ve hung in there from the Big Bang and matter formation thru the first stars and star clusters leading to galaxies and solar system formation, then the condensation of the planets around those stars (using heavy elements sprayed into the void from the heart of supernova explosions). And then came the various coincidences that eventually allowed warm watery environments to evolve with slimy life forms somehow forming, eventually leading to intelligence, consciousness and society — at least on one tiny planet in an otherwise insignificant corner of the Milky Way (a generally insignificant galaxy in its own right).

In one of his final lectures in the course, Prof. Christian discusses the “Malthusian Crisis” or cycle, i.e. a situation where the human population of a large portion of the world (or sometimes the whole world itself) grows beyond its long-run carrying capacity in terms of nutrition, energy, shelter, and protection from disease. Under such conditions, the population starts decreasing, until things get back in balance a few generations later. Professor Christian offered two examples of an historical Malthusian Crisis — the first is in the 14th century, when people start intermingling from around the world, spreading nasty diseases and plagues (such as the Black Death) that started killing people off in large numbers. There were other basic factors, such as populations that were growing too fast for the agricultural capacity to keep up, along with climate changes that just made it worse. Experts estimated that world population levels dropped by perhaps one quarter (from 450 million to 350-375 million) in the 14th century, after a few hundred years of slow growth.

Then in the 17th century, things got bad once again, termed a “General Decline” by some scholars. A global cooling took place (called the Little Ice Age, possibly related » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:37 pm Read Comments (3) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, June 29, 2014

◊ How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Retirement (NOT)

Art & Entertainment ... History ... Personal Reflections ...

Not long ago at work, I told someone that I was “on the bomb run” for retirement. What I meant was that if I could get through another handful of years and if my luck really held up somehow, I might possibly be able to retire! Well, I’d probably still have to get a part-time job somewhere to make ends meet (and to get myself out of the house to mingle with people – admittedly, my job is probably 2/3 of my present social life, as I’m not a natural mingler). Nonetheless, I’m at the point where retirement is starting to become “imaginable”. (My cousin, who is my age, is less than 18 months out on his own “retirement bomb run”; he’s closer than me, and I hope he makes it!).

But who knows, a lot could yet go wrong, and I don’t want to jinx it. Nonetheless, the world is changing faster and faster, and my office is also changing; I’m getting tired of running faster and faster all the time just to stay in place. I feel like my best career days are behind me and it’s become less of a rat race and more like a rat inside a running wheel. So, I daydream more and more these days about retirement, and do various back-of-the envelope calculations to see if I could pull it off financially. Finances are a huge hurdle for many baby boomers these days; because of recession, job losses and lack of savings, many face the (grim) prospect of needing to work full time into their seventies.

So, I look at my present career and financial situation as though I’m “on a bomb run”. For those of you who aren’t fans of aerial combat, when a bomber airplane goes out on a mission and starts to get near the target where they will drop the bomb, the crew will initiate a procedure called “the bomb run”. » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:09 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Saturday, May 17, 2014

◊ A Bit of 1876, Hidden In North Newark

History ... Photo ...

I have been driving past this old building in North Newark on my way to and from work for over 20 years. And yet, only in the past few weeks did I notice that it might be something a bit more special than just another junky old building being used as a supply warehouse for some two-bit local business. From the ground level (first photo), it doesn’t look like much; just another place with graffiti and metal security doors. But if you happen to look at the top, you see the year 1876 proudly displayed. And you see signs of a building design and architecture that certainly are over 125 years old, remnants of another era, of a different way of living and doing things.

Wow, 1876; the USA’s Centennial. A decade after the Civil War was concluded. It’s interesting that whoever built that building took the time and expense to have its year of construction prominently advertised. Today we usually hide a building’s date of construction in an obscure cornerstone, or don’t show it at all.

Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find any Internet information on this building, other than that it is located at 577 North 3rd Street and is home to the Ascot Tag and Label company. Newark has plenty of architecturally and historically significant buildings that are being preserved, and that is good. Still, it’s too bad that a plebeian, day-to-day industrial building like this isn’t getting any attention. In a way, places like this tell you even more about what daily life must have once been like, than any old church or mansion. Please take a moment and sample a bit of late 19th Century urban America, via my camera and my blog.

◊ posted by Jim G @ 8:34 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, March 9, 2014

◊ Time for a Cold War 2?

Current Affairs ... Foreign Relations/World Affairs ... History ...

Ah, the poor Ukraine. Three of my grandparents hailed from Poland, growing up not far from the Ukraine border. The fourth was from Belarus, just to the north. They all came to America about 100 years ago. It’s nice to see that Poland has escaped domination and gotten itself on its feet as a modernizing Western nation. Belarus is still a mess, but it’s a mostly stable mess, having accepted second-rate status as a Russian satellite nation. But the Ukraine – – it just can’t seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be another Poland or another Belarus. And the Russians have made it eminently clear that they will make it as difficult as possible for the Ukrainians to escape their dominance and work more closely with the European community. Several years ago I wrote a post noting the Orange Revolution in Kiev. The same issues were in play back then, and 5 years later, they are still way up in the air. This one is not going to get resolved anytime soon.

The big question for the USA is just how to approach this situation. Should we channel our inner Winston Churchill (as the British themselves are no longer able to; Great Britain is now just another Euro nation, not the declining but still world-dominating force that it was in the late 1930’s . . . the USA of today has inherited this role, including the downward trend) and get tough with Putin? Well, unlike the days of Churchill and the rise of Hitler, the Russians still have enough nuclear weapons remaining to basically put an end to our civilization. So we need to approach this with much caution.

Another part of this big question is, just how dangerous is Putin and modern Russia? Is Putin another Hitler? Does he have plans for the world, plans that we and a lot of others may not like? And even if he does, can he do as much damage » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 3:13 am Read Comments (2) / Leave a Comment

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

◊ But For Some Microbial DNA Variants . . .

History ... Society ...

Despite my interest in history, I’ve never learned all that much about the European conquest of the American continents between the 16th and 19th centuries. Pretty much all that I know came from suburban grammar school in the early 1960s. The flavor of it all was pretty much that there were some people occupying the region stretching from the Bering Strait and Newfoundland down to Cape Horn, and they had some interesting if rudimentary civilizations going for them. But the Spanish first arrived, followed later by English, Dutch, French and others, who brought forth better, more advanced arrangements than the natives could ever dream of. So, even though some of the tactics used by the Euro invaders weren’t very kind, the “Indians” weren’t making all that much out of the rich natural resources surrounding them. It was for the Europeans to come in and set the Americans on the path of progress, to set up some real civilizations that could make the most out of the mostly-untouched natural bounty available in the “New World”. The various Indian nations put up some resistance, in some cases tough and noble resistance, but in the end, the inevitable march of human progress could not be denied.

Of course, that point of view itself could not survive the “march of progress”. The Euro conquest of the American continents is now seen more honestly, basically as an invasion by one people eager to take away the riches that another people enjoyed. One reason why the Spanish and then French and English (and eventually the young American nation) were so successful against the natives was supposedly because the “Indians” were mostly backward. They were small, unorganized groups living in a fashion similar to what the Europeans experienced during the Dark Ages, a millennium before.

Or were they? Before the Europeans started arriving in mass after 1500, modern research shows that the native populations in both North and South American were much larger than » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 11:31 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

◊ Yes, He’s The Great Pretender

History ... Politics ...

I still can’t understand why so many Americans think that Ronald Reagan was a great President. A recent Harris poll indicates that Reagan is considered by 25% of Americans as the best President since 1940, beating FDR (at 19%) and Kennedy (at 15%). A 2012 survey by Nate Silver of 4 presidential scholar polls found Reagan to be the 10th greatest Prez, just behind JFK (and ahead of Lyndon Johnson, at #12).

I lived through the Reagan years, and to be honest, I think that the Gipper is one of the most overrated leaders of all time. Actually, he was one of the luckiest. The economy started in slump when he was first elected in 1980, but then achieved significant growth levels for the balance of his two terms. People still attribute this to his tax cuts and “Reaganomics”, but actually, oil and energy prices dropped significantly during this time (due to technical factors on the world level and not due to anything Reagan did or didn’t do), and inflation was tamed by the initially painful restraint on money supply growth by Fed Chairman Paul Volcker (who, remember, was appointed by President Jimmy Carter).

The US’s major enemy for the past 50 years, the Soviet Union, had also lost its strength and began its collapse by the end of Reagan’s term. Part of this could be attributed to » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 10:37 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

Sunday, September 1, 2013

◊ WW1 in a Tweet

History ...

I’m not very good with short twitter-like messages; just can’t seem to think of anything that would come across in 140 or even 200 characters. Especially not about stuff like World War 1 and its lessons for today’s Middle East.

But here’s a good short thought that I recently read about World War 1. I think it serves nicely to explain what that war was really all about.

[Our belief that] when a government we find unsatisfactory is overthrown, we can expect a better government to follow, goes back at least as far as President » continue reading …

◊ posted by Jim G @ 5:14 pm Read Comment (1) / Leave a Comment

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