Jacques Offenbach’s four-hour The Tales of Hoffmann is simply one of the greatest operatic extravaganzas I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, from opera houses at Manhattan’s Metropolitan to Zurich to Croatia to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, etc. The sprawling story (libretto by Jules Barbier, based on his and Michel Carre’s play, derived from three stories by E.T.A. Hoffmann, a Prussian Romantic author of fantasy and Gothic horror), accompanied by a soaring score, explores the love life of the poet Hoffmann (Italian tenor Vittorio Grigolo), as he embarks on an odyssey seeking the golden fleece of the ideal woman. He’s a sort of 19th century Henry Miller off on a sensuous sojourn that takes the gallivanting wordsmith across Europe with destinations vividly brought to life by costumer/scenic designer Giovanni Agostinucci’s sets, exquisitely wrought without peer.

The attack on Syria by the United States while illegal per international
law (not sanctioned by the UN Security Council and opposed by Russia and
China) comes to remind as all of four basic facts of geopolitics:

1-US Presidents no matter how “unconventional” must always obey the rules
set for them. Trump came to office opposing intervention in Syria and is
now directly siding with the “rebels” and has accepted the 1990s neocon
strategy of regime changes across Western Asia that are supposed to benefit
"Israel".

2-As Henry Kissinger said: “all foreign policy is domestic policy”. With a
strong Zionist lobby in the US and absence of any counter lobby that
watches over US (let alone world) interests, we have a push for wars
supposed to help apartheid Israel whether in Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, or Syria.

3-Modern warfare kills far more civilians than military (the ratio now is
>10 to 1). War is immoral, illogical, and criminal and has no “good side”
or “bad side”. The only positive thing now is that countries that use wars

Sunday, April 9, 5pm
Portia's Cafe, 4428 Indianola Ave.
Facebook event

Join us at Portia's Cafe for lively, HEARTFELT discussion of what the true cause is of our #1 killer... heart disease. Does heart disease "run in the family?"
It's likely the FOOD that runs through the generations, as opposed to "bad genes."
Join us to learn exactly which foods are most protective for heart health, and which to eliminate from your diet. We will demonstrate (and you will devour) 3 delicious recipes that are simple, delicious, and easy to duplicate at home. Come a bit hungry as we'll be eating throughout class. You'll enjoy some video clips of some of the world's leading experts on reversing heart disease, and then I'll teach you how to implement their advice at home in your own kitchen.

1. Chemical weapons are worse than other weapons.

This is not the case. Death and dismemberment are horrific regardless of the weapon. No weapon is being used legally, morally, humanely, or practically in Syria or Iraq. U.S. bombs are no less indiscriminate, no less immoral, and no less illegal than chemical weapons -- or for that matter than the depleted uranium weapons with which the United States has been poisoning the area. The fact that a weapon has not been banned does not create a legal right to go into a country and kill people with it.

2. Chemical weapons use justifies the escalated use of other weapons.

Does shoplifting justify looting? If a Hatfield poisoned a McCoy, would another McCoy be justified in shooting a bunch of Hatfields? What barbarism is this? A crime does not sanction another crime. That's a quick trip to hell.

3. Important people we should trust know who used chemical weapons.

No, they do not. At least they do not know that the Syrian government did it. If they knew this, they would offer evidence. As on every past occasion, they have not done so.

"When you kill innocent children, innocent babies, little babies . . . that crosses . . . many lines." -- Donald J. Trump, April 5, 2017

Hypocrisy, because:

Children Killed on January 29 in Donald Trump's Botched Yemen Raid
Asma Fahad Ali al Ameri -- 3 months
Aisha Mohammed Abdallah al Ameri – 4 years
Halima Hussein al Aifa al Ameri – 5 years
Hussein Mohammed Abdallah Mabkhout al Ameri – 5 years
Mursil Abedraboh Masad al Ameri – 6 years
Khadija Abdallah Mabkhout al Ameri – 7 years
Nawar Anwar al Awlaqi – 8 years
Ahmed Abdelilah Ahmed al Dahab – 11 years
Nasser Abdallah Ahmed al Dahab – 12 years

And one of these victims, eight-year-old Nawar "Nora" Awlaqi, was an American citizen.

Gar Smith / Environmentalists Against War www.envirosagainstwar.org