Category Archives: Uncategorized

Colombia is the original El Dorado: rich in gold, other minerals, oil, cocaine. But why go to a country which has become one of the most dangerous in the world? Because the Clinton administration had just voted 1.3 billion dollars of our tax money to wage a “War on Drugs” in Colombia. The current administrationContinue reading “Return From El Dorado”

We are at war. Whether we agree with our government or not, whether we like it or not, we do find ourselves in a situation of conflict: not just with Iraq, not only with much of the rest of the world, but also with whole sections of our own community, possibly with members of ourContinue reading “We Are At War”

A movement for World Citizenship does exist, and practically every country in the world, including the U.S., has granted visas to the holders of its passport. For those interested in the history of this movement, there is an informative website:My plan tonight is to place my reflections on a personal level, more within the contextsContinue reading “A Case for World Citizenship”

Last November a group of us from Tucson, Arizona, went on a trip to Israel/Palestine. For the last four years I have been a member of a local Tikkun group. Before that I had not known much about Zionism or the foundation of Israel, or the condition of the Palestinians. I became impressed with peopleContinue reading “A Pilgrimage to the Holy Land”

My friend John and I just came back from our Trans-Siberian trip. I had been to Russia, and before that to the Soviet Union. My connection to that part of the world has to do with the fact that my parents were born there, but left the country in 1920 because they were on theContinue reading “War and Peace”

WHY DO WE NEED ENEMIES? I had initially planned to talk about my peace activism, which included several trips to the Soviet Union, mostly with religious groups, to conduct people-to-people encounters. I will refer to them briefly, but now feel that it might be more timely to focus on the Ukraine issue. This is, inContinue reading “Theology Uncorked”

So how do I take it from what John the Leninist/Stalinist told you? As Joe warned you, I am the child of Russian exiles. What that actually means is that my family, on both sides, were Whites, i.e. fought on the opposite side of the Bolshevik Revolution, and left the country in 1920. What thisContinue reading “Salt of the Earth”

My friend John and I did a Trans-Siberian train trip last July. I had been to Russia, and before that to the Soviet Union. My connection to that part of the world has to do with the fact that my parents were born there, but left the country in 1920 because they were on theContinue reading “The War Drums are Beating Again: Can you hear them?”

                                           This is a hopeless task. At a time when tales – not just your everyday story of deadbeat dads – but tales of rape and habitual paternal molestation are the topic of the day… At a time like this I want to remember my kind, interesting, amazing dads – all three of them.Continue reading “A Tribute to My Three Fathers”

My very first trip to what was then the Soviet Union took place in 1984. As I sat on the plane it occurred to me that the year “1984” had caught up with the title of George Orwell’s famous dystopia, and the thought crystallized all my own misgivings and secret fears.  I had read theContinue reading “On the Streets of St. Leninsburg”