Eugene Linden
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Latest Musing

Pet Peeves: Absurd Sci Fi Films Division

            Settle into my seat on a flight from Heathrow to JFK. Scan through movie options. Banshees of Inn...

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Books


Fire & Flood
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Deep Past
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Articles by Category
endangered animals
rapid climate change
global deforestation
fragging

Books
The Ragged Edge of the World



Winds of Change
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Afterword to the softbound edition.


The Octopus and the Orangutan
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The Future In Plain Sight
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The Parrot's Lament
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Silent Partners
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Affluence and Discontent
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The Alms Race
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Apes, Men, & Language
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The March of Folly


Monday November 10, 2014

How is it, that afterthe debacle of Vietnam, we make the same mistakes in Iraq and then Afghanistan -- of fighting the war we were prepared to fight rather than preparing for the circumstances of the conflict at hand? Of course, it's not just u,s as evidenced by the French in World War II, or all the generals in World War I who thought that cavalry and trench warfare were effective strategies in an era that introduced the machine gun and poison gas.

The whole sad, wasteful history of feckless military strategies bears witness to the point that a society or civilization is only as advanced as the deployment of its collective intelligence. In every case of failed military strategy, there were military minds that knew better, but who either muted their voices or  were ignored.

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Short Take

Summer Evenings in July

 

I go out to my porch, drink in hand, as the gloaming fades. I sit on a very comfortable rocking chair, given -- maybe loaned; it’s unclear -- by a friend.

My cat, Noodles, joins me, settling on the couch facing me. He tends to his grooming, and I wait for the fireflies to appear.

There are less every year and this is disquieting on an otherwise perfect night. I want them to be fruitful and multiply -- if possible by the millions.

That would be a sign that, perhaps, all is well.

It’s warm, and to my west is a wall of green, dominated by a very tall Linden. Hello, fellow Linden!

As the warm air stills around me, emotions rise. I feel – I’m sure the Germans have a long word for it, but I’m too lazy to search on google – I feel…

Something deep and strong; something like love for the world.

It gives me hope for another day.



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