Monthly Archives: August 2005

Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962

Posted on August 31, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Starbucks released Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962 on August 30, 2005. Starbucks has been criticised for entering the CD business and having a monopoly of a release for say eighteen months. I do not share that criticism. Yes … Continue reading →

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Test Answers: Presidents Hussein & Bush: War Criminals? (A Quiz)

Posted on August 30, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Which, if any, of these persons is a war criminal? President Saddam Hussein George W. Bush 1) Which of these persons invaded another country without justification? Mr Bush in Iraq; President Hussein in Kuwait. 2) Which of these persons indiscriminately … Continue reading →

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Iraq “Victory”: Foreign Affairs article

Posted on August 28, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

“How to Win in Iraq” Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. From Foreign Affairs, September/October 2005 Much is being made of this article in Foreign Affairs. Allegedly, it is being poured over by the Bush administration as a roadmap toward victory. The … Continue reading →

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Base Closings and American Militarism

Posted on August 26, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

President Eisenhower warned of the military-industrial-complex in his farewell address in 1961 which was basically an admonition that the militarisation of America would corrupt the society and acquire unwarranted power. Now consider this. The Pentagon wishes to close bases throughout … Continue reading →

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Lenin and Iraq

Posted on August 25, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

V. I. Lenin in Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (1917) assessed the underpinnings of world war as basically a result of capitalist nations striving to maximize profit in an insatiable search for new export markets. To Lenin, as capitalism … Continue reading →

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Iraq War: Where Are the Antiwar Fathers?

Posted on August 24, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Where are the fathers of dead women and men soldiers who have died in Iraq denouncing this unjust and disgraceful war? Surely it is not merely women who are enlightened enough to recognise that this war was not fought for … Continue reading →

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Congressperson Walter L Hensley and World War I Opposition

Posted on August 23, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

A high-school classmate contacted me and informed me that his grandfather, Congressperson Walter L Hensley, voted against the Declaration of War, that brought the U.S. into World War I as an “associated power”, on Good Friday, April 6, 1917. The … Continue reading →

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Celeste Zappala and the Antiwar Movement

Posted on August 21, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Here is yet another mother of a dead soldier who has turned against this war. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/337010p-287873c.html Before the Iraq War there was a massive antiwar movement that was global in reach. While not as intense in the U.S. as in … Continue reading →

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Karl Marx: Is there a God?

Posted on August 20, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

In classical Marxism, the notion of a god is dismissed as a human-made invention. Greatly influenced by the transformational criticism of Ludwig von Feuerbach, The Essence of Christianity, Marxists believed that humans created god and not the reverse. The only … Continue reading →

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Gaza, Israel and Colonisation

Posted on August 18, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Since I know many students consult my online work: 1) Arabs speak Arabic. An Arab may be Christian but an Arab speaks Arabic. Iranians are Muslims but are not Arab because most speak Farsi or Persian and not Arabic. 2) … Continue reading →

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Karl Marx: Religion “is the opium of the people”

Posted on August 17, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Marx wrote in the Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right that religion “is the opium of the people.” By this he meant it was a tool of ideology used by capital to enslave and narcotise the proletariat. … Continue reading →

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Karl Marx (Communist) v. Ronald Reagan (Capitalist)

Posted on August 16, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

When one thinks about Communism and laissez-faire Smithian capitalism, one can discern many similarities but with vastly different results due to a transformation of the human temper. Marx envisioned communism as a highly decentralised community where individual actions would be … Continue reading →

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Ex Corde Ecclesiae and Mandatum

Posted on August 15, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

While the American bishops have not enforced the mandatum, it is basically a licensing to teach theology. Only Roman Catholic theologians who teach at a Roman Catholic university are required to receive one from the local ordinary. The purpose of … Continue reading →

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Academic Freedom at a Catholic University

Posted on August 14, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Should a professor who teaches at a Catholic university advocate abortion rights? That’s easy. The answer is “yes” if she or he wishes to do so. Should a professor who is Roman Catholic who teaches Roman Catholic theology have the … Continue reading →

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Abortion and Crime

Posted on August 13, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Several years ago a study “Legalized Abortion and Crime,” by University of Chicago economist Steven Levitt and Stanford University’s John Donohue III, concluded legalised abortion may be responsible for approximately half of the crime rate’s recent fall. Their reasoning was … Continue reading →

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Abortion and Judge John G Roberts

Posted on August 12, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

NARAL Prochoice America under pressure from the one-party state withdrew an ad that portrayed Judge John G Roberts, when he filed in 1991 a legal brief, as “supporting . . . a convicted [abortion] clinic bomber” and of having an … Continue reading →

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Senator Hillary Clinton and War

Posted on August 11, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

It is necessary to remember that Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton supported this war. She is unfit to run for president and should the Democrats nominate two prowar candidates in a row, it would merely be another example of the lack … Continue reading →

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N.C.A.A. Edges Toward Greatness in Banning Racist Universities From Tournaments

Posted on August 9, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

The following schools have racist names and or mascots of Native-Americans who were devastated by white-settler genocide following the invasion of Columbus–although he technically did not invade the upper mainland of North America. Note one of the nicknames is “savages.” … Continue reading →

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Mr Peter Jennings ABC News

Posted on August 8, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

Peter Jennings was probably the most progressive of the anchor persons. Although he got swept up in the mania of war and nationalism, I always started the 1730 news with ABC because I felt he would possibly present and probe … Continue reading →

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On Suspension and War

Posted on August 7, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

On Sunday the Daily Southtown ran 2 photos of me; on Wednesday one and this Sunday one other. All this was related to their retrospective of me on Sunday, a blistering hostile attack by a reader on Wednesday and my … Continue reading →

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Nations to be condemned for being part of the Coalition of the Vassals II

Posted on August 4, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

In my blog of July 29, I noted countries that had withdrawn their forces from Iraq and some that were continuing to deploy. These nations also have troops in country. While relatively small contingents, nonetheless their association with the hyperpower … Continue reading →

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President Bush and Mr Bolton

Posted on August 3, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

President Bush should be praised for appointing John R. Bolton as permanent representative to the United Nations. He was not confirmed by the Senate and receives this position through what is called a recess appointment. The Constitution wanted the president … Continue reading →

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Academic Freedom: Suspension Retrospective III: Bringing It All Back Home, Jane Fonda, Karl Marx

Posted on August 2, 2005 by Peter Kirstein

http://www.dailysouthtown.com/southtown/insight/dsin.html In Dylan’s album, “Bringing It All Back Home” there is a very complex cover. Albums of The Impressions, Robert Johnson, his cat named Rolling Stone, a glass collage he designed, a fall-out shelter sign warning of nuclear war, Sally … Continue reading →

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