Author: R J Adams

It’s hard to understand how the Dalai Lama was willing to partake in the political machinations of US politicians, and the greatest warmonger on the planet, that have been ongoing over the last few days. His Holiness, a man of peace for whom respect runs deep among many who otherwise spurn religious leaders, may well have performed his duties more effectively by denouncing the policies of his host and refusing to accept the Congressional Gold Medal foisted on him today.

George W Bush presented the medal, describing the Dalai Lama as “a universal symbol of peace and tolerance”.

Later, the American president went on to discuss his latest venture – World War III – as a possibility if Iran failed to toe the US line over nuclear power.

The use of this phrase is something George W Bush appears to enjoy bandying. Immediately following 9/11 he declared his ‘war on terror’, World War III.

As Professor Brian Leiter wrote in his blog, “Leiter Reports”, back in early 2005:

“For his inauguration, George W. Bush essentially declared war on much of the world. He did so, of course, without using that word; today’s sociopathic heads of state are well-tutored in the art of rhetoric…….”

Read the rest of it and understand more precisely what he meant.

Indeed, so imbued has this presidency and administration been with warfare and saber-rattling, it is difficult not to consider George W Bush obsessed with the idea of controlling the world through military power.

But then, probably he is.

All the more reason for His Holiness, Tenzin Gyatso, the fourteenth Dalai Lama, to have given this warmonger and his hangers-on a very wide berth.

Filed under: Good and bad

There’s been a minor catastrophe at Sparrow Chat recently. All the posts from October 5th disappeared from the database following a problem with the newly upgraded WordPress 2.3.

Thankfully, they have now been retrieved and measures are being taken to ensure it cannot happen again. Unfortunately, while the posts were saved, all comments on the relevant posts have been obliterated. Apologies to those who have left comments in the last ten days.

Hopefully, normal service can now be resumed.

Once a year, salve in a mammoth concert centered on London’s Royal Albert Hall, find the British unleash their patriotism in a harmless celebration of the event that has become known as “The Last Night of the Proms.”

Henry Woods founded the series of eight-week summer “Promenade Concerts” of classical music in 1895, recipe and they have become a British institution. The last night is special; a time to discard the evening suits, let down the hair, and wave the Union Jack or Flag of St George while singing one’s heart out.

In recent years, the BBC has organized events in many of the nation’s main parks, with huge video screens and sound systems delivering the “Last Night” to spectators who emerge en masse, complete with beer and sandwiches, to enjoy a great time.

In my last post, I offered the words of Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, to those of the American public who wished to distill their patriotism into nationalistic warmongering. The British no longer feel that need and reserve their patriotic fervor for the international sports scene, or just once a year, for the “Last Night of the Proms.”

Here then, for Flimsy Sanity, and all those other Americans who “never knew it had words”, is Mark Elder conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra at the last night of the 2006 Proms season, in Edward Elgar’s Pomp and Circumstance March No 1, “Land of Hope and Glory.”

Filed under: Better a cello than an AK47