"...the most authentically inclusive being I have ever met"

[Gene Zitver]

A nice tribute to C Hitchens from rather an unlikely source:
http://www.guerrillanews.com/bunker/west/doc2038.html

All the more meaningful, I think, coming from someone who strongly disagreed
with his support of the war in Iraq.

I'm not sure why, but I almost always find it touching when someone reaches
across the political divide to express admiration and respect for someone with
sharply different views. Perhaps because it seems to happen so rarely these
days?

Gene

[Martha Bridegam]

Gene Zitver wrote:

Just got around to reading this. Thanks.

(Had to reread carefully to see there was nothing unsanitary about the hand
extended in the men's room, but anyway...)

Interesting about "...his darkest fear (boredom)..."

It was reassuring to read that article a few weeks back about Hitchens bucking
against official restrictions on journalists at the edge of the Iraq show. He's
not a toad-eater. It's just that his weakness for important friendships has led
him to ignore some whopping hypocrisies.

/M

[vze2bytx]

I was lucky enough to have a drink with him at the Wellesley Orwell
conference reception - he was very nice.

"Martha Bridegam" <ma...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:3EE36AF4...@pacbell.net...

[Martha Bridegam]

vze2bytx wrote:

> I was lucky enough to have a drink with him at the Wellesley Orwell
> conference reception - he was very nice.

*NU?*

*WHAT DID HE SAY?*

/M

[vze2bytx]

It was the evening that GW Bush landed on the USS Lincoln. He had just
arrived and had seen it on TV - I hadn't, because I was at the sessions.

He made the contrast between the relaxed posture of the sailors chumming
with Bush on the flight deck, the touching and joshing, and the
scared-shitless rigidity of the people shown surrounding Saddam Hussein on
Iraqi TV.

We also talked about my son, who's a medic and in Iraq now.

"Martha Bridegam" <brid...@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:3EE64951...@pacbell.net...

[Martha Bridegam]

Thx. Hope your son's OK.

/M

[John Rennie]

"vze2bytx" <vze2...@mail.verizon.net> wrote in message
news:ZQQFa.5674$zu3....@nwrdny01.gnilink.net...

> It was the evening that GW Bush landed on the USS Lincoln. He had just
> arrived and had seen it on TV - I hadn't, because I was at the sessions.
>
> He made the contrast between the relaxed posture of the sailors chumming
> with Bush on the flight deck, the touching and joshing, and the
> scared-shitless rigidity of the people shown surrounding Saddam Hussein on
> Iraqi TV.

I have seen quite a few films of H****r with German servicemen
all of whom appeared relaxed and jolly in his company. This
obviously proves that he was a good fella too. Poor old
Saddam merely lacked the common touch.

[selene1022]

gzi...@aol.com (Gene Zitver) wrote in message news:<20030606134558...@mb-m01.aol.com>...

I hope that he's able to get the documentary of "Letters" made. It's a
great little book. Love him or hate him, Christopher Hitchens is one
of the finest political writers, and most fascinating public
intellectuals of his generation. He is also very generous with
readers, students etc. from my experience.

JV

[vze2bytx]

Thanks, Ms Bridegam.

My son called last Friday, spoke to my wife in a brief phone call.

He's been in Iraq about three weeks now, now staying on one of the palace
grounds in central Baghdad.

I couldn't have a clear position on the war because of him. Things change
when you're putting your own at risk.

I had been sending Hitch's stuff about the war to my son for months, by
e-mail before he left Germany and by regular mail as he moved to Kuwait.

This was for his morale, because Hitch did make the best case for the war
and what the post-war mission should mean. I told Hitch that.

"John Rennie" <j.re...@ntlworld.com> wrote in message
news:v1YFa.121$3X3.1...@newsfep2-gui.server.ntli.net...

[Martha Bridegam]

If it's something he's able to tell you, & that you are properly able to
disclose, do you have a sense how many ordinary U.S. soldiers can communicate
in Arabic, or how many local people speak English? I've been wondering about
this ever since you posted that suggestion about sending an Arabic language
instruction set to Any Soldier.
(<http://www.google.com/groups?selm=5K%25qa.14720%24xw4.2912%40nwrdny01.gnilink.net>)

Thx,

/M

[vze2bytx]

He told me they were getting classes in Arabic now, and had received some
basic phrase instruction while waiting in Kuwait. I have no idea of the
effectiveness of that instruction.

I've also sent him a couple of copies of "Modern Iraqi Arabic" by Yasin
Alkalesi, with some other verb conjugation/ Arabic script word books for him
and his platoon. He can get by pretty well in Swahili, because he went to
school in Kenya for a year. Swahili has many Arabic source words, so he
said he can understand some spoken Arabic words.

I'm sure all the Arabic linguists on active duty or in the reserves have
been sucked into this. There are probably hundreds if not a coupla
thousand, ranging from immigrant native speakers, to second generation
near-native to half-assed fluency, the full one-year DLI Monterey course
grads down to the four month Ft. Bragg Special Ops Arabic course grads.

The vast majority of soldiers don't know any Arabic and probably don't have
much inclination to learn. This is not all their fault. Even in the best
of circumstances the army restricts the freedom of its soldiers because of
"Force Protection." In much more "permissive environments" than Iraq, like
Bosnia and Kosovo, soldiers were not allowed off base to socialize,
fraternize, etc., except in very controlled circumstances.

In Iraq, women are off limits, although there was an interesting story in
the Globe last week:
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/157/nation/Friendships_flower_for_soldiers
_Iraqi_women+.shtml
This removes a major motivation for language learning. The Third Infantry
Division, they just want to leave. Yesterday.

Don't know how Iraqis many speak English.

I've asked him to write, a (BIG) essay, but he's a non-academically oriented
19 y.o. and more used to phone and emails, plus mail is slow. I'll post
items of interest as I receive them.

"Martha Bridegam" <brid...@pacbell.net> wrote in message

news:3EE930E3...@pacbell.net...

[Martha Bridegam]

vze2bytx wrote:

Thanks for all this. (Might as well go back to posting at the bottom of the
message.)

I guess I pictured all of them out patrolling the streets by twos & wondered if
language barriers arose in yer basic police-citizen conversation, as in, "Who
said you could hot-wire that car?" "It's my own car, I can prove it, the papers
are in that bag there..." "...Why doesn't the name on your ID match the name on
this paper?..." "That's the old owner, look at this other paper, it's the bill
of sale from him to me..." etc. (If they have driver's licenses and vehicle
titles in Iraq, that is.)

So the true picture has more to do with lonely guys moping around the base and
praying for air conditioning in English?

/M

[bayle]

"vze2bytx" <vze2...@mail.verizon.net> wrote in message

news:l4bGa.8$5Z...@nwrdny03.gnilink.net...

> I'm sure all the Arabic linguists on active duty or in the reserves have
> been sucked into this. There are probably hundreds if not a coupla
> thousand, ranging from immigrant native speakers, to second generation
> near-native to half-assed fluency, the full one-year DLI Monterey course
> grads down to the four month Ft. Bragg Special Ops Arabic course grads.
>

As a graduate of the full year DLI course in Arabic (I understand it's been
increased to a year and a half) let me tell you that it isn't near enough.
Your son, if he gets the opportunity to do so safely, will learn more
speaking to Iraqis in the real world over a few months than we ever learned
sitting in class 8 hours a day, even though our instructors were native
speakers. If it's any help the Iraqi instructors were extremely nice in my
day.