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The 29th day

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Author of a fine Vietnam era memoir (An American Requiem) as well as a best-selling book on the Catholic church and the Jews (Constantine’s Sword), James Carroll of the Boston Globe is, to my mind, our most underrated columnist. His pieces are invariably powerful, reasoned yet passionate, and almost always offer an unexpected perspective on the bleak events of our moment. Perhaps you see him less on alternative websites — though commondreams.org posts him regularly — because of his religious bent. He is a practicing Catholic deeply involved in the reform of his church and this is often reflected in, in fact adds power to, his columns, as in his first line in the remarkable piece which follows. “The 29th day for America?” catches the eerie and deceptive calmness of the present moment at the edge of what looks distinctly like an abyss. I’ve added a piece of reporting by Jim Lobe from the Asia Times that catches the odd mood of the moment — something like the disjuncture Carroll describes — in war-gripped Washington DC. Tom

The 29th day for America?
By James Carroll
The Boston Globe
January 14, 2003

CONSIDER THE LILIES, Jesus said – but he was thinking of the field. The lesson for the political season just underway comes from the lilies of the pond, water lilies. It is an old French riddle. ”At first there is only one lily pad in the pond, but the next day it doubles, and thereafter each of its descendants doubles. The pond completely fills up with lily pads in 30 days. When is the pond exactly half full? Answer: on the 29th day.”

The entomologist Edward O. Wilson uses this riddle to illustrate the urgency of our ecological crisis. ”Because earth is finite in many resources that determine the quality of life – including arable soil, nutrients, fresh water, and space for natural ecosystems – doubling of consumption at constant intervals can bring disaster with shocking suddenness.

To read more Carroll click here

The unreality of imminent war
By Jim Lobe
Asia Times
January 13, 2003

WASHINGTON – There is something very unreal about being in Washington at the present time.

CONSIDER THE LILIES, Jesus said – but he was thinking of the field. The lesson for the political season just underway comes from the lilies of the pond, water lilies. It is an old French riddle. ”At first there is only one lily pad in the pond, but the next day it doubles, and thereafter each of its descendants doubles. The pond completely fills up with lily pads in 30 days. When is the pond exactly half full? Answer: on the 29th day.”

The entomologist Edward O. Wilson uses this riddle to illustrate the urgency of our ecological crisis. ”Because earth is finite in many resources that determine the quality of life – including arable soil, nutrients, fresh water, and space for natural ecosystems – doubling of consumption at constant intervals can bring disaster with shocking suddenness.

To read more Carroll click here

The unreality of imminent war
By Jim Lobe
Asia Times
January 13, 2003

WASHINGTON – There is something very unreal about being in Washington at the present time.

On the one hand, there is a general assumption that the United States is going to invade Iraq – perhaps with UN Security Council approval, perhaps no later than mid to late-March, and possibly as early as next month.

On the other hand, there seems to be almost no effort to build already soft public support for war with Iraq. On the contrary, the ongoing and patently more dangerous crisis over North Korea’s nuclear program has forced Iraq off the front pages, while a growing number of mainstream commentators and politicians – not to mention US allies – are asking why containing Iraq is not a better option than invading it.

The build-up to war is inescapable.

To read more Lobe click here