Speciesism

By Tom Kando

Madeleine is to be commended for her eloquent plea for animal rights. I am also for animal rights. I appreciate vegetarianism, I love my cats, I would never dream of hurting animals, I oppose unnecessary animal research (e.g. for beauty products), I feel that poachers and others who kill animals for their pelts, ivory or other parts should be punished severely, I find hunting and fishing cruel.

I do not disagree per se with anything Madeleine says, and I wouldn't want to set up this conversation as a polemic between us, or see my earlier post on abortion being used as a straw man (see http://european-americanblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/abortion-animal-rights-and-levels-of.html) For example, I didn’t write that the mentally disabled are less sentient and are therefore more expendable. I didn’t write that rationality should be the criterion for expendability. SENTIENCE, yes. And this puts Madeleine and me in agreement, since sentience and her criterion - the capacity to suffer - are synonymous.
Read more...

Animal Rights **

by Madeleine Kando

As an argument in his discussion on: Abortion, Animal Rights, and Levels of Consciousness, Tom says that: ‘The criterion for destroying life should be: The higher the level of consciousness and sentience of an organism is, the more evil it is to kill it.’

Does that mean that it is less evil to kill the mentally disabled? Don’t they have a lower level of sentience than someone without a mental handicap?

The fundamental question is, should moral equality be based on characteristics such as ‘sentience’ and ‘rationality’? When more weight is given to mental capacity over other abilities in deciding who to give equal rights to, we are entering a slippery slope. Read more...

Equality for Dummies **

by Madeleine Kando

For the past two weeks I have been caught in a mahlstrom, you know, one of those giant funnels that drag ships down to the depths of the ocean, never to be seen again.

My daughter asked me: 'Mom, what does equality mean?' I was naïve enough to think that I could give a simple answer, albeit with a little googling in secret, so that she wouldn't think I was a total nincompoop.

But the more I googled, the more I realized that the meaning of equality is so slippery and complex that it completely boggled my mind. I took solace in realizing that it had also boggled, or at least occupied the minds of numerous philosophers for the past several millennia. So I have resigned myself to the fact that it would take more time than I have left on this earth to truly wrap my head around the concept. Read more...

Englishmen Can Be Rude, Too

By Tom Kando

There is always the widespread feeling that the British are classy. For example, Downton Abbey is wildly popular at this time, but the stereotype is longstanding. As are other stereotypes, such as the rude Frenchman, the jolly but sexually harassing Italian, the humorless German/Swiss (take your pick), the duplicitous Greek/Hungarian (take your pick), the miserly Dutchman/Jew (take your pick).

The British (and other Anglos, such as Australians and Canadians) usually come off relatively unscathed in these prejudices - probably because Anglo-Saxon culture still dominates the world, even though more and more precariously.

But I want to lodge a contrary note: My wife, my children and I have traveled around the world for decades, visiting dozens of countries, including Australia, Britain and just about every other European country. I must tell you: Many of the meanest people we have encountered over the years were English, or some other form of Anglo-Saxon. Here is a sample of our experiences:
Read more...

The Many Worlds Theory

by Madeleine Kando

I heard a snippet on public radio the other day about a new technology that allows a viewer to change the outcome of a movie. Plymouth University researcher Alexis Kirke has developed a technique that reads the minds (and bodies) of the audience by measuring heart rate, muscle tension, brainwave activity and perspiration, to monitor their reaction. Several versions of a movie are shot in advance and depending on the audience's 'reaction', the appropriate version of the next scene if selected.

It's too bad this wasn't available when so many great movies were made way back when. I have always been in the habit of mentally rewriting the ending of movies. Take a movie like 'The Manchurian Candidate'. The Soviets capture and brainwash Raymond Shaw (played by Lawrence Harvey) to become an assassin for their cause. He is supposed to kill the US Presidential Candidate, but after unwittingly shooting his sweetheart who happens upon the scene, Raymond instead takes revenge and shoots his mother, who is the 'operative' in the plot. The movie ends tragically when Raymond shoots himself after realizing what he has done and has been forced to become.

I fantasized so many times about the ending of this movie. Marco, Raymond's army buddy, played by Frank Sinatra, opens the door to the small sound booth where Raymond has positioned himself, just too late to prevent Raymond from quickly pointing his rifle at himself and pull the trigger. Why the hell didn't Marco climb the stairs a bit faster? Read more...

Women in Combat

by Madeleine Kando

"The Army is the supreme symbol of duty, and as long as women are not equal to men in performing this duty, they have not yet obtained true equality. If the daughters of Israel are absent from the army, then the character of the Yishuv (Jewish community in Israel) will be distorted." David Ben Gurion

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has decided to lift a ban that prohibited women from serving in combat units. I have never served in the military and wonder if I have a right to voice my opinion on this matter, but my instinct tells me that this decision is of historical importance.

Fighting hand to hand, which combat units are designed to do, should be the least desirable job for any soldier, male or female. That's where the killing occurs. But it is also given the highest respect, both in the military and amongst civilians. And more importantly, it is a stepping stone to advancing your career. If women are denied combat experience, they will also be denied opportunities to climb up the military ladder.

One of the reasons history books are populated by men rather than women is because women didn't take part in the fighting. Glory, fame and admiration went to the winner of a battle. There are exceptions, of course. The Amazons, a race of female warriors, have survived oblivion through Greek mythology and the Valkyries, female Viking warriors are celebrated in Norse mythology. There is a question whether the Amazons and the Valkyries really existed, but almost half of the bodies found in 14 Viking burial grounds belonged to women, and some were buried with the swords and shields they presumably used in life. And of course there is good old Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans who defeated the English in the Hundred Years' War. She definitely was flesh and blood. She was burnt at the stake for her valiant effort to save France. Read more...

Six Questions About Lance Armstrong

By Tom Kando

I watched both of Oprah’s interviews with Lance Armstrong, mesmerized. The second one was even more gripping than the first. Lance choked, when talking about the burden he has placed on his 13-year old son Luke. Still an act? Still a lying psychopath? You decide.

Despite the incredible amount of coverage and the enormous brouhaha, many things remain obscure. Here are six questions to which I don’t have answers:

1. How did Armstrong pass over 500 drug, urine and blood tests, during his career? With all the cheating and the increasingly stringent and sophisticated testing, how did he get away with it so often? I am sure many other racers got away with cheating as well, but many did not. Why was Lance so exceptionally successful at cheating?
Read more...

Obamacare, Fascism and Brown Rice

by Madeleine Kando

Yesterday, Whole Foods CEO John Mackey made a splash when, during an NPR interview he characterized President Obama‘s Affordable Care Act as “fascism.” I decided to write him a letter.

Dear Mr. Mackey*:

If I could remember how long I have been a patron of our local Whole Foods store I would certainly tell you, but it’s been too long and I’d rather not be reminded of how much of my hard earned money I have put in your pocket over the years.

I know you like to be in the limelight and voice your political opinions, although I have read somewhere that it is sometimes a sign of an overblown ego. But that doesn’t apply to you, I am sure.

Your recent comment comparing Obamacare to Fascism was not as well received as you might have hoped, although hardly a shock for someone who is familiar with your strong support of ‘consumer-driven’ health care. You have compared Obamacare to Socialism in the past, so I am not surprised at your recent statement that:

‘[Obamacare] is more like fascism than socialism. Socialism is where the government owns the means of production. In fascism, the government doesn’t own the means of production, but they do control it, and that’s what’s happening with our healthcare programs and these reforms.’

I would like to correct you on two points: First, under Socialism it is the people who own the means of production, not the government. I am afraid you are confusing Socialism with Communism. Second, comparing Obamacare to Fascism makes even less sense. Fascism is best described as a merging of corporate and government interests. How, exactly, does Obamacare fit into this definition? Read more...

A Review of the Movie "Zero Dark Thirty"

By Tom Kando

This is the story of Operation Neptune Spear, the mission to kill  Osama Bin Laden. The mission has also been  called operation Geronimo, the code name given to Bin Laden by the CIA.

The movie describes the ten-year hunt for   Bin Laden and its successful conclusion.  It describes an incredible sequence of black ops, CIA board meetings, “black sites” where detainees are being tortured, explosive Pakistani streets, suicide bombings,  and of course the final assault on the Bin Laden compound in Abbottabad.

In one word: awesome. The central character - better word: heroine -  is CIA operative “Maya,” played brilliantly by Jessica Chastain. Through dogged determination, she is able to  almost single-handedly track down and  finally eliminate the world’s number one public enemy. She survives assassination attempts and overcomes Washington bureaucracy. One of the many controversies surrounding the movie is the extent to which the Maya character is fictitious. It is not, although it is probably embellished. Read more...

Homicide: Locally and Globally

By Tom Kando

As I open the morning newspaper, hardly a day goes by when I don’t see a notice of another gun death  in the greater Sacramento  region. The small notices are usually  hidden on a secondary  page. The forever snuffing out of a  human life  is so banal, so everyday.  On January one  of this year, I started keeping count.

As of January nine , the Sacramento Bee   has reported  9 people  shot to death in the greater Sacramento area. Yes - one per day. This includes one suicide, one suspect killed by a cop,  and the double murder on New Year’s eve.

If this trend continues, we will end up with 365 deaths by gun for the year. I know, my total so far is  a mishmash. Still, gun deaths are gun deaths. Read more...