1. I love your door knockers. I love Prague, just went back for the 2nd time in ’03. The first time I went, the Socialist Heroes were in charge — how triste, how sad, how unhappy a city it was then. I am so happy to see the Sun come back to that wonderful city.
I am envious of your trip to Tunisia. I’ll get there someday.
My Jewish family had been in America for so long (circa 1900) that we do not know the names of any family members we lost in the European Holocaust 1935-1945. We only know we lost family statistically.
In America, there is a little antisemitism, but it is a flavor of life — not a poison of death, never a genocide. Jews have been safe and done well in America. Legally we have always had completely full citizenship … but the Nazis made Jews second-class and third-class and finally zero-class and finally dead citizens. (The Nuremburg Race Laws). A pity. Before the Nazis, Germany was the first Euro nation to give full citizenship to Jews, around 1830.
Weisenthal’s achievement was … well … not something Great and Humanitarian like Amnesty International or Medicins Sans Frontieres.
Weisenthal made it his life’s work to Clean Up The Horrible Nazi Mess. This is not a criticism. It was horrible work that had to be done. Monsters like these Nazi criminals had to be caught and brought again before the judgment of Civilization and Humanity. Germany, France, Italy, Austria had to be pressured into facing their genocidal past and apprehending and trying these criminals.
The same thing happens today in the Balkans. If the former Yugoslavia wants to join the rest of Western Europe, they must apprehend their war criminals from the 90s and send them to den Haag for trial and justice.
Likewise, there is work like this to be done from recent African genocides, the monsters must be brought to justice.
It’s just sad that Weisenthal and others like him must clean up these terrible messes, so the Past will not continue to make the world sick.
But I think it is the Future we must put our hearts and souls into so these state genocides do not happen again in the future. In the Past, state genocides — the Armenian Genocide by Turkey in the 1920s, for example, and the Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge Cambodian genocide — have been a regular, “normal” part of our planet’s history.
How can we make that stop? How can we stop the state genocides and “ethnic cleansings” before they begin?
In my USA I must live in the shadow of our “ethnic cleansing” of our First Peoples/Aboriginals/Native-Americans/Indians. And also our slaves abducted from Africa.
If we can’t stop these horrors from happening, we’ll always need someone like Weisenthal to clean up the horrible blood and stench.
Dear Bob,
It’s always a pleasure to have your visit.
I agree entirely with your words.
And, by the way, I’ve never been in Prag or in Tunisia (yet!), but some generous friends keep on sending me some beautiful door knockers that I publish along side with some pictures of my own.
You’ve never been to Prague?????
I don’t care if you’re a brain surgeon in the middle of an operation! Drop everything and go immediately! This is Prague’s Wonderful Season, the city is still in the sunshine of its new Freedom! From the Unhappiest City on Earth, to the Happiest City on Earth!
Of course you don’t have to go there for the Absinthe … I understand Portugal has kick-ass Absinthe of its own. Sim? Nao?
(And I think Prague is still cheap to visit. But That Will Not Last Long! Don’t delay!)
P.S. I stole two of your doorknockers.
Be my guest, “stole” as much as you can :-))
I once met a guy from Holland that came to Portugal mainly to for the absinthe. I suppose it’s good 🙂
I’ve noted your advice to go east 🙂
The closest that i’ve been was in Bratislava, five years ago.
well … here is the Euro-Gossip from my Absinthe-loving friends …
No Absinthe in Netherlands, still banned. Still banned in most other EU nations.
England — Czech absinthe by the glass at fancy £££ up-scale pubs.
Czech Absinthe = Color and Taste are right, but the wormwood/thujone (the Fun Molecule in Absinthe) are just Tourist Strength. Disney Absinthe.
Portuguese Absinthe = the kind Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa and Van Gogh and Verlaine and Rimbaud and Oscar Wilde loved!
6 replies on “" (…) one of the lucky few (…)"”
Paz à sua alma…
1. I love your door knockers. I love Prague, just went back for the 2nd time in ’03. The first time I went, the Socialist Heroes were in charge — how triste, how sad, how unhappy a city it was then. I am so happy to see the Sun come back to that wonderful city.
I am envious of your trip to Tunisia. I’ll get there someday.
My Jewish family had been in America for so long (circa 1900) that we do not know the names of any family members we lost in the European Holocaust 1935-1945. We only know we lost family statistically.
In America, there is a little antisemitism, but it is a flavor of life — not a poison of death, never a genocide. Jews have been safe and done well in America. Legally we have always had completely full citizenship … but the Nazis made Jews second-class and third-class and finally zero-class and finally dead citizens. (The Nuremburg Race Laws). A pity. Before the Nazis, Germany was the first Euro nation to give full citizenship to Jews, around 1830.
Weisenthal’s achievement was … well … not something Great and Humanitarian like Amnesty International or Medicins Sans Frontieres.
Weisenthal made it his life’s work to Clean Up The Horrible Nazi Mess. This is not a criticism. It was horrible work that had to be done. Monsters like these Nazi criminals had to be caught and brought again before the judgment of Civilization and Humanity. Germany, France, Italy, Austria had to be pressured into facing their genocidal past and apprehending and trying these criminals.
The same thing happens today in the Balkans. If the former Yugoslavia wants to join the rest of Western Europe, they must apprehend their war criminals from the 90s and send them to den Haag for trial and justice.
Likewise, there is work like this to be done from recent African genocides, the monsters must be brought to justice.
It’s just sad that Weisenthal and others like him must clean up these terrible messes, so the Past will not continue to make the world sick.
But I think it is the Future we must put our hearts and souls into so these state genocides do not happen again in the future. In the Past, state genocides — the Armenian Genocide by Turkey in the 1920s, for example, and the Pol Pot/Khmer Rouge Cambodian genocide — have been a regular, “normal” part of our planet’s history.
How can we make that stop? How can we stop the state genocides and “ethnic cleansings” before they begin?
In my USA I must live in the shadow of our “ethnic cleansing” of our First Peoples/Aboriginals/Native-Americans/Indians. And also our slaves abducted from Africa.
If we can’t stop these horrors from happening, we’ll always need someone like Weisenthal to clean up the horrible blood and stench.
Dear Bob,
It’s always a pleasure to have your visit.
I agree entirely with your words.
And, by the way, I’ve never been in Prag or in Tunisia (yet!), but some generous friends keep on sending me some beautiful door knockers that I publish along side with some pictures of my own.
You’ve never been to Prague?????
I don’t care if you’re a brain surgeon in the middle of an operation! Drop everything and go immediately! This is Prague’s Wonderful Season, the city is still in the sunshine of its new Freedom! From the Unhappiest City on Earth, to the Happiest City on Earth!
Of course you don’t have to go there for the Absinthe … I understand Portugal has kick-ass Absinthe of its own. Sim? Nao?
(And I think Prague is still cheap to visit. But That Will Not Last Long! Don’t delay!)
P.S. I stole two of your doorknockers.
Be my guest, “stole” as much as you can :-))
I once met a guy from Holland that came to Portugal mainly to for the absinthe. I suppose it’s good 🙂
I’ve noted your advice to go east 🙂
The closest that i’ve been was in Bratislava, five years ago.
well … here is the Euro-Gossip from my Absinthe-loving friends …
No Absinthe in Netherlands, still banned. Still banned in most other EU nations.
England — Czech absinthe by the glass at fancy £££ up-scale pubs.
Czech Absinthe = Color and Taste are right, but the wormwood/thujone (the Fun Molecule in Absinthe) are just Tourist Strength. Disney Absinthe.
Portuguese Absinthe = the kind Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa and Van Gogh and Verlaine and Rimbaud and Oscar Wilde loved!
I will let you know when I get to Bairro Alto.