Putin, and Afghanistan: A Peek at Two Rough Drafts of History

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May 28 to June 9, 2003, we joined my cousin and her husband on a Baltic cruise on the occasion of their 50th wedding anniversary.  It was a marvelous time, Copenhagen start and end; St. Petersburg, Russia, June 3 and 4; the other days Stockholm, Helsinki and rural Finland, Estonia, Gdynia (Gdansk) Poland; Oslo, Norway.  A sampler, but a rich one.

But this trip was different: two days after President George Bush visited Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg (May 31-June 1, 2003) we were there, in fact, one of our tour bus stops was  the lobby of the hotel where the Bush’s stayed.  President Bush meetings with Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.

At our  Copenhagen hotel, London’s  Financial Times (FT) for May 29, 2003,  opined on the upcoming Bush visit: Putin, Financial Times June, 2003.  A few weeks earlier, May 1,  2003, had been President Bush’s premature presumed-triumphal “Mission Accomplished” visit to the USS Abraham Lincoln off San Diego.

Back in Copenhagen as our trip ended, at the same hotel, another copy of the Financial Times, this one for June 7-8, 2003, featured a review of what has come to be described as “Charlie’s War” – the early 1990s U.S. dive into the deep end of the pool that is Afghanistan.  The U.S. descent into that over 30 year quagmire was helped along by then-Texas Congressman Charlie Wilson.

The entire and very interesting FT commentary is here: Afghanistan Charlie Wilson 1990s.  Note: the link can be enlarged for ease of reading.

I tend to save things for future reference, as was the case for these two articles.  Given recent history, they seem particularly relevant.  They are offered as food for thought – snapshots of a rough draft of history.  What we choose to remember, and what we choose to forget.

It is 20 years since I saved these articles, less than two years after 9-11-01.

They speak for themselves.

Personal opinion: in our country, at least so far, citizens elect our representatives.  If we criticize them – as we do – we are criticizing ourselves.

Register.  Become informed.  Vote.  Express yourself in other ways.

 

 

Sondergard and the Mn Orch

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For years we’ve subscribed to short season (usually 6 concerts) of the Minnesota Orchestra, a magnificent band!

This mornings Minneapolis Star Tribune, page one, featured the debut of a new conductor.  As the review in the Variety section headlines: “Thomas Sondergard makes an epic debut”.

Here’s the front page photo:

Sep 22, 2023 Minneapolis Star Tribune front page

Here’s the program descriptor of the concert we heard: Sondergard Mn Orch Prog Sep 21 2023.  The Strib review is here: https://tinyurl.com/yrdkta8r

On page two of the link, note the highlighted section at the bottom of the page.  Wherever you are, you can listen, live, to the full performance tonight, 8 p.m. CDT.  You’ll be glad you did.

Also in this program book is an article about Sondergard in his own words; and an interview with the featured Oboe soloist Nathan Hughes. Sondergard:Hughes Mn Orch Prog Sep 21 2023 

NOTE: In the photo, had Sondergard looked to his left, he’d have caught us, four rows back.  Fame is elusive….

Additional Note: The annual twin cities Nonviolent observance is between now and October 3.  Schedule of events here.

Vladivostok, and other things.

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I’m ending this week with ‘miscellany’ – there’s far too much going on to write about everything.  Here goes:

  1. VLADIVOSTOK

Earlier this week, Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin met near Vladivostok, Russia.

I am a long-ago Geography Major.  Back then – the 50s – I would only have known it had to be a very long ride from Pyongyang to Moscow.  Those were the days when you had to look at a Globe, a map hanging on the wall, or an Atlas in the library to even find Vladivostok, if it even showed up on the immense land mass that was, then, the USSR.

Now, the handy route map on my computer  apologizes for having no data about how to get from Pyongyang to Vladivostok, but still provides amazing information.  So, my alternative was to get the route from Moscow to Vladivostok.  Here it is, as adapted by myself:

Moscow Vladivostok Russia N. Korea Ukraine

Long and short: It’s over 5000 land miles from Moscow to Vladivostok.  On the other hand, unknown to me till yesterday, Russia shares a few miles of border with North Korea, close to Vladivostok. Indeed, Khasan, Russia is at the border with North Korea,  160 miles or so from Vladivostok.

(It’s about 500 miles from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Moscow – not much more distant than Minneapolis to Chicago.)

Geographically, Russia is an immense country – roughly the size of Canada and the U.S. combined.  On the other hand, Russia’s population is less than half that of the United States; and about three times the population of Ukraine….

Of course, Vladivostok would not be in the news except for the fact that Kim Jong Un and Vladimir Putin were talking in person about some deals.  The in-person meeting had its own messages to the assorted audiences who would see it.

So, we catch a moment when two authoritarians apparently commit to their deal.  Of course, their power will be utterly worthless to them when they die, as they will, as we all ultimately do.

There are few scoundrels in Putin and Kim’s class.  But I could easily write a list of perhaps ten individuals who I’d consider equally or even more dangerous authoritarians – people who control power over people in assorted ways, a few of them in our own country.  Your list may well be similar to mine, but who specifically doesn’t matter.  To whom, including themselves, would more concentration of power make a long term difference?

The reality, it seems to me, is the symbolism of the armored train that Kim Jung Un used to get to the border of Russia.  It demonstrates the constant paranoia about enemies.  They and their ilk are  in prisons of their own making, with only temporary reward.  No thanks.

2. COURT

The Rule of Law has been the hallmark in our countries aspiration to democracy.   It has been and hopefully will continue to be our ideal.  By no means is our Rule of Law perfect.  But it is infinitely better than a Law of Force, such as demonstrated Jan. 6, 2021, and surrounding days following the election of 2020.   It has been a dismal time in our history.

The Rule of Law is deliberately tedious and all about interpretation of evidence, and ultimately left up to a judge (there are over 30,000 of these, state and federal), or a jury of citizens.  Justice takes time, and is foolish to predict outcomes.  I can wait.  But I will follow the process over the coming months and perhaps even years.

I pay a great deal of attention to the legal issues front and center regarding Jan. 6, Mar-a-Lago, Fulton County GA, New York, etc., but   I have devoted very little space to them here.  To the best of my recollection I have not personally used the words “Donald Trump” in this blog since January 2021.   (There have been rare mentions since Jan 2021, and have been in comments by others than myself.). To me, “Donald Trump” is really only the people who voted him into office and still support him.  As an individual, he is nothing – a modern day “Wizard of Oz” behind his media screen, a fraud gifted in front of a microphone.  In my opinion, he will stand alone as the worst president in all of our history as a country.

In progress now are the first of endless court cases which deserve to be watched.  There are  over  1,300,000 lawyers in the U.S.  who will be especially attentive.  Their function is to argue points of law.  So disagreements and losing cases are not alien concepts to them.  Every lawsuit is at some level one versus another.

My continuing mantra: be sure you’re registered to vote, and that you vote well informed in the upcoming elections; and urge others you know to do the same.

 3. MAUI:

This week I came across a 2013-14 calendar I’d kept which featured a series of ancient maps.  I leafed through it, and January was an 1885 map of Maui:

Maui, 1885

If you look carefully, on the far left of the map, there is a circled word, Lahaina, which has immediate meaning in these days.  Here’s a pdf of the  map,  Maui 1885

Lahaina, the site of the recent disastrous fires which gripped us all,  is but a speck on Maui, as Maui is just a speck in the Pacific Ocean.

Detail is important, but it is also important to retain perspective.

(The colors on the map connote ownership in 1885, the green and the yellow were either government or crown properties.  Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898, a state in 1959.)

4. MISCELLANY:

Of course, there’s always “breaking news”. everywhere.  This week a strike of United Auto Workers began; there is harping about impeaching Joe Biden, etc. etc.  Bad news always sells better than good.

I like to notice the people I have contact with every day, in every context, whether I know them or not.  While there are exceptions, I am struck by how truly decent people are.  It is good grounding in reality.  I would guess others have the same impressions.  We know we’re a polarized society, but I see signs that folks are working on that, one interaction at a time.  There is hope.

*

Molly sent an article about Covid vaccination for the upcoming fall season. “There’s a lot of general info & background in this article, fyi. here sounds good to me!” .

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Frank suggests the following:

Father Harry Bury, Maverick Priest was interviewed by Don Olson on Thursday September 14th on KFAI on 90.3 FM’s “Northern Sun New”.

This talk will be archived for 2 weeks.

Play at Landmark “War, Resistance, and Protest: The Trial of the Minnesota 8”  October 5th & 6th – 7 pm | October 7th – 2 pm, 2023      $10

Dick’s note: The play is Frank’s personal story of the  important trial and subsequent imprisonment at the time of Vietnam War protests in the late 60s early 70s.  Frank is a long-time friend, but I did not know him till long after the events of the Trial.

5. RECOMMENDATION:

Like everyone, I’m besieged with information.  Every time I publish a post I say publicly what I consider my self to be – you can see it at upper right: Moderate Democrat.

Over time, I’ve come to rely on several commentators as frequent sources of credible information, especially on politics in general.  I recommend you check out any of these sources, any time.  Joyce Vance, Civil Discourse, on matters of Law; Heather Cox-Richardson, Letters from an American, on matters of public and international policy and history; Jay Kuo, The Status Kuo, on matters of Law; Doug Muder, The Weekly Sift, on general matters of public policy.  There are many other reliable sources, but these are good, reliable, frequent sources of informed analysis.  I especially thank my friend, Joyce, for making me aware of these and many other resources.

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POSTNOTE SEP. 17: Last evening I happened across a very relevant TV program, released May, 2020, which is still accessible.  It was a 2020 William Shatner program on the topic of Cults.  At least take notice of it, here.  I did not seek the program out, but it is very relevant to today….

COMMENTS (see also the end of this post): 

from Howie: Thanks for the geography lesson. Having driven from the Midwest to Seattle and from the Midwest to DC, I have a personal experience with the size of the US, about 3000 mi wide. 5000 mi within Russia takes on a personal scale. I suspect that many who travel at 300 mph, 30k ft above the earth, will not have that personal perspective.

from Darryll:  Early in Trumps rule, I compared him to the Wizard of OZ.  I also compared him to a carnival barker.  I now believe “mob boss” is the best description. I cannot understand the people, I know well, supporting him.  The book, by his niece, describing him is right on the money.

 I believe he and his kind are as much a danger to this country as global warming.  He can be stopped.  I have problems with people who think global warming is not a danger.  I taught the principals of global warming in my classes for many years.

 

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9-11-01 revisited

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POSTNOTE: Chuck W sent his own blog commentary, which can be accessed here.

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Today is the 22nd anniversary of 9-11-01.  It was a Tuesday.

Twin Towers New York City late June 1972. At this point, one of the towers had opened, the second was near complete.  Photo Dick Bernard

Over the years, I have written often about aspects of 9-11 and its profound impact on me, personally, but I wondered, this year, why the attention?  It is, after all, 22 years.  At the end of this post, unedited, is what I wrote on September 9, but didn’t post at the time.

My attitude changed last night, watching another National Geographic perspective, this segment. about Air Traffic controllers in the wake of the national catastrophe of 9-11-01.

I rarely fly, but planes remain almost a daily presence for me.  Ironically, in a recent post I included recollections about 9-11-01 and airplanes, including this: “My daily walking route is beneath several major flight paths.  A typical walk is punctuated at least a half dozen times by sounds of jet or other aircraft heading somewhere or other.  Not so, September 12 and 13, 2001.  The silence from above those days was truly deafening.  Yes, birds were chirping, and in other ways life seemed serene but no sound from the sky.  None.  The planes began to fly again and the silence ended.”  (This quotation is from the beginning of the final link at the end of this Aug. 22 post on Ukraine.)

What stuck with me last night was the air traffic controllers at Gander Newfoundland – a place that on a normal day dealt with (my recollection) 7 large aircraft landings, but on 9-11-01 had to handle 234 landings of major aircraft in a couple of hours, as it became apparent that planes were being used as weapons of terror, and the first response was to ground everything, everywhere, with planes in the air forced to go to other than major airports to diminish the risk to the greatest number of people.

The ATC’s at Gander and elsewhere did heroic work that day, and in my case were unsung until last night.  There were and are infinite repetitions of people working together every day, everywhere.  We all live on the same island.

I suspect that 9-11-01 will remain part of the national conversation than other similar catastrophes, and probably for good reason.  As I point out in my draft (below), there is lots for all of us to consider as we go forward into the rest of our lives.

*

Saturday night meant an entire evening revisiting 9-11-01 and its aftermath on the National Geographic Channel.

It was long and well done, as could be expected.

When it ended I asked myself the repetitive question I have asked over the past 22 years: what have we learned from the experience of 9-11-01?

What have each of us learned…what have I learned?

In a democracy, the “I” is most important.  Because each of us participate in setting the direction for our society.  The U.S. is US.

About a week ago I watched the new documentary: Escape from Kabul, about the end of U.S. presence in Afghanistan in August, 2021.   I highly recommend it.

Afghanistan was our initial target in response to 9-11-01.  We were there 20 years.

After the film I wrote a brief on-line review which I wish I had copied, to the effect that Afghanistan should represent an opportunity for all of us to learn.

My writing was the 7th review.  It was brief, it was non-partisan, it named no names or blamed no President.

I looked back later in the week, it had not passed muster with whomever controls what others see.  It apparently did not fit the preferred narrative.

So be it.

It’s now 22 years since 9-11-01. One of my grandkids was born about 8 months after 9-11; he graduated from high school in the terrible Covid year of 2020; he’s now in his senior year in college.

His cohort has seen it all in their lifetime.  I wonder how they will apply the lessons of the last 20 years to their lives.

I wish them well.

Commentary 4/20/2002: Afghanistan colum 4:2002001

Rewiring America

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An unwritten rule of the road in these parts is don’t mess with summer, which ends with Labor Day.  Makes sense to us.

So, when we met J. Drake Hamilton of Fresh Energy on August 18, I said I wouldn’t pass information along till September.  By our Minnesota rule-of-thumb it’s now Fall.

We’ve been a supporter of Fresh Energy for a number of years.  It has been a very effective advocate for its mission “to shape and drive bold policy solutions to achieve equitable Carbon-neutral economies.  Together we are working toward a vision of a just, prosperous and resilient future powered by a shared commitment to a carbon-neutral economy.”

At our meeting Aug. 18, J. shared with us a publication that is well worth your time, prepared by a national organization Rewiring America.  At the site, scroll down to “Go Electric.  Free Guide to the Inflation Reduction Act“.

For beginnings I’ll let the weblinks speak for themselves.

Take an active look.

School 2023-24

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Yesterday, the day after Labor Day, was the first day of school here.  At my coffee place, the Blackboard had been cleaned and a question for the day appeared:

The previous day, I’d stopped by the Middle School where my daughter is Principal, and gave her my more or less annual calendar taken at the Education Minnesota (state teachers union) booth at the State Fair.  I had posed for the free photo a few days earlier (see below).  Tuesday, ours was a 30-second meeting – it was, after all, day one of the school year, and managing a 1000 student school is not easy.

Here’s the pdf version, easier to use: 2023 Calendar.

The place called school has always been complicated, never more so than today.  I have certain ‘street creds’ on the topic, being the oldest child of career public school teachers, and a lifelong connection to public schools in varying capacities.

My daughters school has about a thousand kids.  Begin with the reality that every student has two parents, from all of the variations of families.  The kids often have siblings, and friends and other associations.  More than most occupations, public education is intensely personal.

Public Schools has an essential but oft-overlooked function.  The school is an essential preparation for the child preparing for independence and  immersion in the larger world outside the home – a transition from which a child cannot be insulated.

Kids need to learn how to get along, often with others they might not normally associate with.  This includes not only other students, and teachers, but all range of other school employees, cooks, custodians, etc., etc., etc.  All are human beings, with all the complexity that comes with that.  We see this every day in our own environments.  Public ed mirrors our own selves.  Life is not always ideal; it is always real.

My youngest grandkid is about to finish high school, the last of nine.  I’ve watched them all from a Grandpa’s perspective.  Like society in general, they are not “identical twins”, none of them.

We adults know the drill from experience, how it is to grow up.  For the kids, its on the job training, as it was for us.  Adults who teach and have other roles in school are helpers in this transition, and we each have our own memories.

*

Years ago, before I retired, I was assigned to do a couple of workshops at the annual Summer Leadership Conference of my teachers union, then called MEA.  I don’t remember the specific topic of the workshop; I will never forget what happened.

I decided to start the workshop by asking participants, most of them teachers with lots of experience, to think back to their own years as a student, then to think of a school employee who really made a difference for them, then to pick a word or two to describe what it was about that school employee that made a difference in their lives.

Long story short: the entire workshop ended up devoted to the feedback from participants.  Only a single person, of perhaps 40 in all, could not come up with anyone who had made a positive difference in his life.

Later I recorded the words that had been used.  They are below.  Use them your self to identify someone (not necessarily only a school employee) who stood out in your own life.  You might find it of interest.  Here is a pdf of the illustration: Qualities of Educators.

(Of course, these are the best qualities of an exemplary educator defined by a veteran teacher who was once a student.  Every teacher would readily acknowledge that there are infinite variations from day to day in every interpersonal interaction in the school.  We all know about our own good days and bad days, and about the uncertainties of larger group and interpersonal dynamics.  But educators everywhere, every day, aspire to a better experience for all.)

I represented public school teachers for 27 years, and for nine years was one myself.  With an entire life in and with daily proximity to school employees I say with no hesitation: the public is very well served and public education is a great gift to children everywhere.

Have a great year.

POSTNOTE: I was sitting in the coffee shop when the first person wrote their comment.  She appeared to be middle school age, with perhaps an older sister and some of the sisters friends.

Her comment: “How to get out of the “prison”.  I also like my drink and the bagel.”

If/As I see other comments, I’ll add here.

CURRENT EVENT: THE REFERENDUM FOR SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY DISTRICT #833 NOV. 2023

There is hardly an institution in our country as “public” as the Public School.

In my own school district, South Washington County #833, in east suburban St. Paul, nearly 19,000 children, about 20% of the total population of about 100,000 in four distinct cities, depend on public participation and support.  This plays out again in a school referendum scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023.

This years referendum is described here in a mailing to school district residents: Sowashco 833 Referendum 2023.  Here is more, from the District’s website as of Sep 9, 2023

This is a second run for this referendum – the first failed in August 2022, my opinion, lack of public participation.  About 20% of eligible voters voted against the referendum; only about 10% of the eligible voters voted for.  This meant about 70% of eligible voters didn’t show up, for all of the usual kinds of reasons.

So, the referendum failed, but the anti-referendum folks didn’t succeed, either.  The demonstrated needs remained, only now they are more expensive.  The blame game is not very persuasive.

Because school referendums are so locally centered, and because school board members are elected locally, and school staff are hired locally, there are all sorts of rules relating to school district lobbying for its own funding.  There are in fact rules.  Here are the rules from last year: Sowashco 833 Rules 2022.  If the school district officials do not seem to be vigorously supporting their own referendum, it is because they are not allowed to, by law and policy.

As was true last year, this year all indications are that the recommendations were made carefully, based on needs.  But beyond the recommendations, the campaigning has to be community based, and not from the institution itself.  There are two months, and early voting begins soon.  It will be seen how this all plays out in the next two months.  Public involvement is essential.

NOTE: I posted about the 2022 election on August 12, 2022.  If you are interested it is accessible here.

Directly relevant to the 2023 issue:

Sept 22 is the First Day Vote Early! or make a plan to vote by Nov 7, 2023.
On Sept 21, 6:30 pm – 7pm at Jerry’s Foods, Supt. Nielsen will discuss what’s on the Levy.  Because of space limitations, RSVP is requested: here

 

1) See what’s on your Ballot, here:
 (type in zip code, then house number & spin for the street)
A) Choose 3 of 11 candidates.
 (2 are incumbents – Simi Patnaik and Melinda Dols; Satonia Moore worked at Lake Middle School for 15 years.
Here’s Jamie Kokaisel blog – she ran as a bloc with Eric Tessmer (who got elected), to cut taxes, fund private schools, villify the ‘other’, ban books

B) Choose for the Levy here – question 1, 2, and /or 3 
if you click through, it has a 34 page Powerpoint
Slide 7 – shows a survey of what voters preferred to fund 75% for HS, 60% for Elem.
Slide 8 – student enrollment 18,520 grows to 19,199 in 5 years, based on Preschoolers – who live here, NOW
Slide 31 – shows $6/mo property tax for Q1 + shows $2/mo for Q2 = $8/mo for both passing
2) They DO NOT factor in the City of Woodbury’s “2040 Plan”  – to increase population 80,000 to 90,000 by 2030
by adding more houses, townhouses and apartments. (Would some have schoolchildren?)

 

3) Here’s the Sign-up for Th Sept 21, 6:30pm at Jerry’s Foods, upstairs.
SD47 hosts a program, with Supt Nielsen on the levy questions

 

A New Flag for Minnesota?

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PRE-NOTE: I have made additions to the posts for August 11 (Lahaina), August 22 (Ukraine) and August 24 (Stairs).  Access through archive at right on this page.

*

A current important issue in Minnesota is the design of the Minnesota state emblem.  More on that below.

One week ago I was at Huot MN, a few miles west of Red Lake Falls on the Red Lake River in northwest Minnesota.  The occasion was the annual chautauqua & French-Canadian/Metis Festival of AFRAN (Association of the French of the North), a group with a history going back to 1981.

Centerpiece of the Festival was a hand-made Red River Oxcart – the vehicle which facilitated earliest white settlement of what is now the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul from Pembina and points north and west in the early and middle 1800s.

Red River Oxcart at Old Treaty Crossing, Huot MN, August 26, 2023.  Cart handmade to original 1800s cart specifications by Ed, Dan and Owen Jerome. Ed Jerome (Hallock MN, in photo) was the Master Craftsman in making this cart and taught the skill to his cousins, Dan & Owen at Turtle Mountain ND.

The August 26-27 event was at what is now referred to as the Old Crossing Treaty Park.  A short walk from the above photo was the actual Red Lake river oxcart crossing access, now a public boat launching area.

Boat launch/landing at Old Crossing, Huot MN
August 26, 2023

The Treaty referred to was concluded in 1863, and is briefly described here: Huot Crossing Trtyt 1863001.

*

This years event at Old Crossing dovetailed with an important initiative which will be discussed this fall in Minnesota, in preparation for consideration by the 2024 Minnesota Legislature, and   is defined in the 2-page legislation titled “State Emblems Redesign Commission”: Minnesota Flag Redesign 2023.

Information about the Redesign Commission is here, and will doubtless be updated frequently.

There are an abundance of opinions about the Minnesota Flag, which has seen a number of renditions since statehood in 1858.  A good general history of the flag can be read here.  More general information about flags, generally, can be read here.

PERSONAL OBSERVATIONS: I learned of the Flag Redesign proposal early in 2023.  I hadn’t known of it before.  I knew little about the Minnesota flag history, but do know the history of flags, generally, and their relationship to power, and the tensions between natives and white settlers in this area as the United States expanded.

Minnesota became a state in 1858, and before and after came all of the assorted transactions that ultimately resulted in the United States in which we live today.  We are no longer in 1858.  165 years later, what the flag will be, is going to be debated.  It will be an interesting conversation.

I felt, and feel, that the Commission is a good idea, regardless of what it reports out.  This commission mandates representation of native constituency groups.

Early on, I thought my friend, Virgil Benoit, who also organized the Old Crossing event I attended August 26, had  a well thought out position on the flag issue.  You can read his comment here: Virgil Benoit on Mn Flag and Seal (2).

I was also struck by the design of the logo of Virgil’s organization, which would make a very appropriate description of Minnesota of today.

August 26, 2023, at Old Crossing Event, Huot MN.

UPDATE:

September 2, 2023, the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a front page article about the issue. Minnesota Flag Redesign Star Trib Sep 2 2023

COMMENTS:

from Jeff: I think there was an article in either the WaPo or the NYT recently on the issue of state flag redesigns.   Interesting read.  There is alot of it going on , as it is deemed branding now.

response from Dick: I really don’t follow this stuff very closely, and learned about it at a meeting perhaps in February.  It had apparently come up in a prior legislative session and failed.  Some dust was kicked up about it.  I sent around the wording of the Law relating to the members of commission, to which one responded “My eyes must need correcting…I don’t see any European Americans on that list.”  If you look at the committee list, 5 of the 13 are specifically for persons of color.

I would suspect that in previous decisions about the flag there was no such allowance to specifically give non-white folks actual representation.

It will be very interesting to see what results by January.

Here’s a picture of the current symbol, from the xrmap flag collection 2.7, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

from Mary Ellen: Our northern neighbor, Canada, adopted its maple leaf flag in 1965. Before that the flag was a field of red with the Union Jack in one corner and symbols of Canada in the opposite corner.

I hope Minnesota can find an equally successful new design. It is time.

 

 

 

 

 

The Stairs…1940

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August 31 additions follow the photo. 

Two earlier posts: Lahaina(8/11/23), and Ukraine (8/22/23), are available here.  Both solicit comments, and are thus incomplete.

This is a work in progress – check back in a week.  The General topic of “The Stairs” is here, handwritten, brief: Dick B 1940.  As noted, this in the 1940th post since I began this space in 2009; before that, I had 1940 earlier posts following 9-11-01.  1940 is my birth year.  It works for me!

The title reflects the below photo, which will later be explained.

August 22, 2023, First Unitarian Society Minneapolis.

August 31, 2023: On the same day I published this post (Aug 24), we left for 6 days in northwest Minnesota.  I knew what I wanted to use to complete this post, but simply ran out of time.  Briefly, below is  what I planned to say.

Age:  Those who know me at all, know that I’m 83 years old, which is 2 1/2 years older than President Joe Biden, our U.S. President for whom I have immense respect.  Yes, he’s “just a kid”.

Age manifests in different ways for all of us.  I see a fair number of fellow citizens every day, some of them every day.  They know my reality; I know theirs, generally.

We don’t get old at a given pace.  I’m oldest of 28 cousins; six of them have preceded me in death, the first 23 years ago.  All died of natural causes, some unexpectedly, others more slowly.  A seventh has been permanently and totally disabled for many years, in a nursing home.  Life happens.

I picked the above photo to demonstrate the reality of personal life as a older person.  August 22, I gave a brief talk at the podium of this church.  I had to navigate four steps.  What I noticed was there was no side rail.  The side rail is useful security for me.  I walked up with no problem, I had to walk down, too.  The next speaker, younger, offered a hand, and I accepted.  I would have done okay by myself, but was glad the personal ‘railing’ was there!  I’ve seen accidents happen on steps.

Long and short, having a few extra miles on life’s chassis does have its downs, but by no means is being older necessarily a disability either.  My cousin who died at 51 in 2000 certainly didn’t expect to die.  Life happens.

Age is no more a disability for me than for anyone else, and I find silly the preoccupation with age in leaders.

Communication:  As noted in my letter, I started my amateur career with blogging in September, 2001, 22 years ago.

I am very aware of the huge change in ways of communication since 2001…and even before then I came up with a phrase which I think is my own: “we have more ways to communicate less”.

Between 1985 and 2001 I edited a small newsletter for a nationality affinity group.  We did six issues a year.  It wasn’t until after 2000 that there was a first reference in the newsletter to a website, or to an e-mail address.  Those who got the newsletter certainly knew about technology by then, but most relied on hand-written letter, and the U.S. mail delivery of printed newsletters for their written information.

Going forward, Facebook, the first of the mass social media means, first appeared in 2004, followed in short order by YouTube (2005), Twitter (2006), iPhone (2007), and on and on and on.

Ironically, the mushroom of ways to communicate has had the effect of isolating us even more than in the old days.  We communicate in sound bites, and then only selectively.  We don’t have to answer phones, or consider other opinions than our own. We can and do self-isolate.   The days of the old weekly newspaper come to mind, when every word that was printed was pored over, including ads, and local social news, and even letters to the editors which might dare to have a difference of opinion.  Nowadays, we don’t have to contend with such things as competing ideas.  And it is not healthy.

Onward!

 

 

Ukraine Visitors

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March 13 2023

Added September 5, 2023: from Minneapolis Sunday Tribune September 3, 2023: Ukraine kids 2023 STrib 9 3 23

Added August 31, 2023: A few of us who visited with the Ukraine students added comments after the gathering.  Mine is the last one of this group.

from Martha: The Hopkins t-shirt [ln one of the visitors?] was an opener for me.  Several young people came from the town of Boryspil which is a Sister City of Hopkins, MN.  My connection with Hopkins was as an Elementary Counselor for the last 17 years of my career…What these Ukranian young people know and think about is far beyond what I thought about at their age.  Their experience and understanding of serving and being a part of community action was so thoughtful and impressive.

from Terry: When we asked about the Holodomor, they all nodded and said that, yes, their grandparents had told them about that terrible time.

from Dennis: It was a great experience interacting with these wonderful students… The student who handled all the public translations was remarkably mature and competent and she doubtless has a great future ahead for herself!!

from Maureen: I am glad that things worked out for us with First Unitarian Church so we could stay out of that horrible heat and humidity!

The small group I was in apparently bonded quickly as they did not want to move on when it came time to change groups.  MAP members began by explaining their beginning in activism. I had a copy of a photo of the “Napalm Girl” and Father Bury had a photo of him chained to the Embassy Gate in Saigon that was on the front cover of his bio book, Maverick Priest – both reactions to the Vietnam War. 

One of the questions a Ukrainian youth had (might have been one of the two the Afghani youth in our group) was “How do we stop war?” Another Ukrainian student asked “what to do with all the former military if the military were done away with? Another youth said if he were not here with the leadership group, he would be helping to make the equivalent of molotov cocktails (He was either 17 or 19 years old).  It was once again a very valuable experience being able to participate in these discussions with the Ukrainian youth!

from Stephen: Yes, the teens were smart, creative, attentive, hopeful, with some sadness.  As the years go by, I pray that hope and stamina wins out.  I concur with the comments made here.  The ongoing landmines, and aftermath of them ;they are very well aware of esp in Eastern and Southern Ukraine.  I believe these students will have a multiplier effect upon returning.  I am sure that I will remember the faces of the ones I spoke to and heard from.  The absolute insistence upon Russia leaving is all the more necessary on our part. Thanks to all who made this happen.

from Virgil: I visited with a young man, who is struggling to decide what to do after he completes high school in a year. If he stays, he will be drafted into the military. If he leaves he could avoid the war and potential injury or death. Leaving would give him the opportunity to pursue his dreams.

I was in a group with several young women from Karkiv. I was surprised to hear there are a number of areas in Karkiv that have not been damaged! All the news pictures I’ve seen show severe destruction. One of the women’s home was damaged but not destroyed. Their schooling is almost totally online, partially because their schools and universities have been badly damaged. In addition, it’s too dangerous to have many students in one area. They are so close to the Russian border that it’s very difficult for the missile defense systems to shoot down in-coming rockets (in contrast with Kiev). They were much less hopeful that the war will end soon, in contrast to last year’s students.

from Dick Bernard: Personally, I didn’t specifically connect with any group.  I did go by each group and there was plenty of attentiveness among the participants.  There seemed an excellent dialogue at each breakout.

I was also at the event last year.  The war was definitely going on then, but probably not yet taken quite as seriously as it is now.

I think a lot about our own United States World War II experience where, initially after Pearl Harbor, there was a burst of patriotism and the usual optimism that “we’ll kick a*s”, and come home victorious.  War often is accompanied by such bravado at the beginning, then reality sets in.

A year later, the end of 1942, then two years later, then almost three years later, the summer of 1945, and everyone realistically wondered, would the war ever end?

I think similarly about 9-11-01 and the U.S. Iraq/Afghanistan misadventure which became a many years long quagmire.  I said to a colleague that I see a direct analogy between what we did re Iraq and Afghanistan to be like what Russia has tried to do to Ukraine.

And in a sense, at this moment, for four years we’ve had our own internal civil war in the U.S., not only the election business, but the schism within the peace movement itself about how to approach the Ukraine and Syria issues.  We have our own issues to deal with.  But August 22 was a very good and very positive contribution.  Thanks to all.

from Jim N to Global Solutions MN Board.  Jim was at the Aug 22 meeting:

  Russian invasion and Occupation of Ukraine (18 months ago)

CGS Minnesota has general statement of support for Ukraine on its website. Our statement is general response to situation as it was unfolding. It makes no references to the policies of the US government to this serious global challenge. Our statement was a response to the Ukrainian program and speaker that we sponsored on this topic.

My thoughts:

  1. One Russian justification that NATO was expanding eastward seems without merit. NATO is primarily a defensive alliance and Ukraine has never been a member. Russia has historically attempted to dominate East European countries. The 1930’s “Holodomor” was a historic attempt by Russia to violently subject Ukraine.

3.  In March of 2022, shortly after the beginning of the invasion the International Court of Justice ruled “Russia should immediately suspend military operation in Ukraine” the military operation is in defiance of the international law.

  1. Ukraine became independent in 1991 with the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1994 by agreement Ukraine gave up their huge stock of nuclear weapons in return for an agreement (Budapest Memorandum) with the US, Great Britain, and Russia etc. that would assureUkrainian borders and territory.
  2. A United Nations General Assembly non-binding resolution condemns the Russian invasion by a vote of 141 to 7 with numerous abstentions. Many countries that are not direct neighbors have aided Ukraine both military and humanitarian: Australia, Japan, South Korea, Ireland, Israel Sweden etc. The conflict is a global and precedent setting.
  3. Russia’s violent invasion without prior mediation or attempted negotiation is a tragic mistake that overshadows any grievances that they may have with Ukraine.
  4. The Nelson family supports Ukrainian independence with financial support of the Minnesota Ukraine Center, Alight and the International Institute in addition to our letters to elected officials.
  5. The Russian invasion has displaced millions of people and tragically disrupted food supplies affecting people many counties. I therefore believe that the Russian invasion should continue to be one of the top priorities of our organization.

from Larry, reference Jim’s: This is very good.  The only thing I have to add relates to my interest in Intl Criminal Court.  I think it is a problem for the U.S. to take a strong stance on the violation of intenrnational law by Putin, with no recognition of our similar violation, e.g. with the way we invaded Iraq.  I think our statement on Ukraine should include some push for the U.S. to sign on to the ICC and to encourage all others to do the same. I have frequently said, “When kids get into a fight on the playground, we don’t give them guns and tell them to work it out”.  I’ll say now that they also don’t get to say, “I never signed on to that rule about not fighting on the playground, so I don’t have to do what you say”.

from Dick: Jim, I think your statement was very well done.

I think Putin miscalculated in his dream of restoring the past glory of the Soviet Union.  Much of this goes back to 1991 when the USSR collapsed.  Many of us can remember Gorbachev’s visit to Minnesota in June of 1990.  I followed Mikhail and Raise Gorbachev’s travels much of the day, including when their plane took off in the evening.  It was an important time in history, and Minnesota was part of it.

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POSTNOTE 8:30 p.m. August 22: This afternoons gathering of over 30 young people from Ukraine with representatives of Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) was enriching.  The visitors from Ukraine ranged from age 14-17.  For the moment I’ll let one photo represent the approximately 50 of us who were in attendance.  (Holding court is Jim Nelson.  Jim was one of those at the first meeting of the group which became MAP in January, 1995.)

Aug. 22, 2023. Jim Nelson, Minneapolis, converses with some of the Ukrainian student visitors. The meeting was held at the First Unitarian Society in Minneapolis.

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9:20 a.m. August 22: Today I will meet about 20 young people from Ukraine, visiting here – a respite from the war.  I don’t know any of these students, but I expect they are not picked at random.  In various ways they have exhibited positive leadership at home, standing out among 40,000,000 or so of their colleague citizens.  (Ukraine is about the same size as Texas, and more populous.  It is a large country.)

I will be among a group of twin cities peace and justice  advocates meeting with the group, today.  I was part of a similar gathering last year.  It was a great event.  Last year, and this, are difficult times in Ukraine…and in a different way in the U.S. as well.

I’ve been asked to give what is likely about a 5-minute talk about a Twin cities organization of which I was President 2005-07.  Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers.  I suspect all of the students speak some English, but what I say will be conveyed to them in their native language by a translator.  This will be a new experience for me.

Since I have very little ‘live’ time, I’ve decided to file, here, some items relating to MAPs history, as I have come to know it, albeit largely in the rear view mirror.  The items are in pdf packets which you can peruse if/as you wish.  I also expect to add a postnote after I return home from the event this afternoon.

May 1, 2006, Dick Bernard holding banner at right. Standing next to Dick is Louise Pardee, who died very recently; behind Dick is Dr. Joe Schwartzberg, longtime peace and justice activist.

Minnesota Alliance of Peacemakers (MAP) has a longer history that perhaps even its current members know.  It’s roots demonstrably go back to the 1940s, and it consistently has advocated for a greater sense of global peace and justice.

I got involved in MAP in the wake of 9-11-01; was President of the group from 2005-07, and from 2008 to the present, I have been a member through my website AMillionCopies Initiative.  I did a quick rough draft of American History, and asked some friends for comments.  The three pages are worth your time, and your own thought.  How would you define our history? MAP and U.S. History.  I invite special note to the first three paragraphs on page three.

MAP is, in reality a continuation of two local organizations founded at the time of the end of WWII and the United Nations Charter.  The summary information is here: MAP History and related groups.  MAP came into existence in the 50th anniversary year of the United Nations founding.

Here is the first MAP statement of values, from September, 1995: MAP 1995 contract with the world.  The current mission and values at the MAP website have changed over time, of course, but seem congruent with the original themes from 28 years ago.  Of particular interest to me is page one of 1995 contract, and the six bases used for establishing MAPs Contract with the World.

Finally, 9-11-01 is the event which motivated me to get more involved in Peace and Justice activities, including MAP.  Among other activities, I wrote often about aspects of 9-11-01 and its impact on our society.  Here are a couple of examples: MAP Dick B Personal Reflections after 9 11 01

Students arrive Aug 9, 2023.  I will add a postdate to this post on return from the gathering this afternoon.

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

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Added August 31, 2023: It has been three weeks since the catastrophic Lahaina fire.  It essentially has disappeared from news, replaced by the latest headline this morning “Idalia slams into Florida, Georgia”, and on the TV talk about how Congress may resist disaster relief – too expensive, too many.  And the narrative about climate change…or not.

We were in northern Minnesota for a few days, and our host was  talking about a relative who’d been to Maui in 1983, and commented then on the wooden buildings he’d seen, close together, on the island.  A disaster waiting to happen.  More or less “they should have known”. As it happened, we were in the dining room of a home in a town that was devastated by a “100 year flood” in 1997, in a location unlikely to be at risk, a long ways from the Red River of the North over 15 miles away.  This didn’t protect the town, then.  My reminder about this caught our host short….  Memories are short; needs are great; pre-planning is for someone else, later.  The worst case “will never happen”, but always seems to, and today is more frequent, and of course, debated.

We can’t assure anything in our own future.  Neither can our neighbors, no matter how nearby or far away.  Society needs to step up to the plate when needed, and do the difficult thinking ahead to hopefully keep catastrophes to a minimum, whatever the cause.

Pre-note: Helping Maui recover.  I asked my cousin, Georgine, who’s lived on the Big Island for years, and is very active there, for a reliable fund raising portal.  Here’s what she sent:

Maui Strong Fund: Online

The Hawaiʻi Community Foundation started a Maui Strong Fund to support residents affected by the wildfires, which firefighting crews continue to battle in Lahaina, Pulehu/Kīhei and Upcountry areas. Individuals can donate here.

There is a credit card processing fee, but HCF will not take an administrative fee, and 100% of the money will be given to the service provider.

The fund has been seeded with $1 million.

Non-profits seeking funding can email a request mauistrong@hcf-hawaii.org.

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August 10, Georgine, my cousin who lives on the Big Island of Hawaii, sent a family update, which I think others might find of interest.  This update is found at the end of this post.  There is an immense amount of news on this tragedy.  I mean no disrespect in taking a few moments to remember a short visit to Maui, including Lahaina,  in 1985.

The below maps shows locations where Georgine and Robert live (Kailua-Kona) where her house is (Kawaihae); and Lahaina, Maui (here)

Here is a google map of Maui.  The Big Island is southeast of Maui;  here is a google map, including the locations of Kawaihae and Kailua-Kona.  Hawaii is by far the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, about 5 times the size of Maui.  Maui is about the size of Hennepin and Ramsey County (MN) combined.  The Big Island is about 1/20th size of Minnesota.

As noted, the regular media provides much more up to date information, but in this worldwide community we live in, first person accounts like Georgine’s are really helpful

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POSTNOTE Sunday, August 13, noon: It’s now nearing a week out from the catastrophic fire that consumed Lahaina, Maui, HI.

Words seem superfluous, on the other hand, words can be cathartic as well.  And since I’ve been there, albeit 38 years ago, words come to mind.
The flight from Honolulu to Kahului airport was short.  I don’t recall how long.  I picked up a rental car and the drive was to Kihei.   Here is the map.  To my right everything appeared to be forest on a slope.  Kihei, the destination, was basically straight ahead, apparently south from Kahului.

Maui is not densely populated.  Maui’s most recent population is about 160,000; in 1985, when I was there, about half that.

The drive to Lahaina, the day after arrival, was just a leisurely day trip up the shore.  The Banyan tree was a key memory; some pretty fast small crabs at the shore were also an attraction.  Otherwise, Lahaina seemed just a tourist town.  I don’t recall visiting any museums or such.  I have a recollection of lava rock along the shore.  It was a very pleasant day.

The next day was a drive up to the rim of Haleakala.  It was not an easy drive – mostly up the mountain – about 50 miles.

Somewhere there are pictures, but they have to remain in memory.  Vivid in minds-eye was the silversword.

38 years ago, the Lahaina tragedy was something I could not have imagined.  Much of the Hawaiian islands are quite dry, but the usual image is verdant.  This is a function of windward and leeward sides of significant mountains.  But as we know, now, Hawaii is not immune to the same kind of problems as other places.

Of course, Lahaina is not the only tragedy in these days of instant and global communication.  Some of the recent ones were recited at church this morning.

We are a global community.  In the modern era, of international travel and instant communication, we cannot escape awareness of what is going on elsewhere in the world.  We all share this space which is planet earth.


COMMENTS:

from Jeannie:  Aloha

Those of us who have survived loss from lava flows since 1983 all agree upon this: we have not suffered at all compared to our dear people of Lahaina Maui.  As of August 10 the list compiled of THEIR unaccounted totaled 1106.
(Jeannie lives in Kilauea area of Hawaii.)
from Georgine, Aug. 10: It is horrible what happened in Maui.  The winds were hurricane force, without rain and the fire raged through town.  There were also 4 fires on Hawaii Island around the Kawaihae house.  Luckily the wind was blowing towards the ocean, and the house was not threatened, even though it was surrounded by 4 different fires.  The wind was so extreme, the house would have burned if wind direction had changed.  The fires are now contained and the wind has died down.  Friends were staying at the house.  Saw them last night and were grateful they viewed the events as a good story, rather than being afraid of the fire.  We have an incredible fire department here.  

Maui and Lahaina will take a long time to recover.  It is so very sad, especially when recovery from Covid times had just started to happen.  Haven’t yet heard how many businesses were lost in the fire, and consequently how many jobs.  Saw that the population of Lahaina was 13,000.  They are all now homeless and there is so little affordable housing here.  Maui is evacuating both tourists and local people to Oahu (Honolulu) convention center.  There was no electricity in many parts of Maui, including some of the hotels.   The airlines have been incredibly helpful as has the military and government officials from all parts of the state.  People in Lahaina did not have time to collect anything because the fire went through so quickly.  It is probable there will be more fatalities.  They are still fighting fire and have not been able to do a full search and rescue.

Feel very lucky to still have the Kawaihae house.  My thoughts are with the many people on Maui who have such huge losses.  Please send this message to your family list Dick so that others know how lucky we are on Hawaii Island.

Love and aloha, Georgine
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