Horner's Corner

Ludwig Wittgenstein

b.April 27, 1889

Photographed by Ben Richards in Swansea

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Wittgenstein’s Dream

Peter Porter

I had taken my boat out on the fiord,

I get so dreadfully morose at five,

I went in and put Nature on my hatstand

And considering the Sinking of the Eveninglands

And laughed at what translation may contrive

And worked at mathematics and was bored.

(….)

After dinner I read myself to sleep,

After which I dreamt the Eastern Front

After an exchange of howitzers,

The Angel of Death was taking what was hers,

The finger missed me but the guns still grunt

The syntax of the real, the rules they keep.

And then I woke in my own corner bed

And turned away and cried into the wall

And cursed the world which Mozart had to leave.

I heard a voice which told me not to grieve,

I heard myself. ‘Tell them’, I said to all,

‘I’ve had a wonderful life. I’m dead.’

…(more)

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Wittgenstein

rowing from Skjolden to his house

Ludwig Wittgenstein: A Biographical Sketch

via ::: wood s lot ::: “the fitful tracing of a portal”.

Noam Chomsky in TomDispatch.com:

The fact that the Israel-Palestine conflict grinds on without resolution might appear to be rather strange. For many of the world’s conflicts, it is difficult even to conjure up a feasible settlement. In this case, it is not only possible, but there is near universal agreement on its basic contours: a two-state settlement along the internationally recognized (pre-June 1967) borders — with “minor and mutual modifications,” to adopt official U.S. terminology before Washington departed from the international community in the mid-1970s.

The basic principles have been accepted by virtually the entire world, including the Arab states (who go on to call for full normalization of relations), the Organization of Islamic States (including Iran), and relevant non-state actors (including Hamas). A settlement along these lines was first proposed at the U.N. Security Council in January 1976 by the major Arab states. Israel refused to attend the session. The U.S. vetoed the resolution, and did so again in 1980. The record at the General Assembly since is similar.

There was one important and revealing break in U.S.-Israeli rejectionism. After the failed Camp David agreements in 2000, President Clinton recognized that the terms he and Israel had proposed were unacceptable to any Palestinians. That December, he proposed his “parameters”: imprecise, but more forthcoming. He then stated that both sides had accepted the parameters, while expressing reservations.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Taba, Egypt, in January 2001 to resolve the differences and were making considerable progress. In their final press conference, they reported that, with a little more time, they could probably have reached full agreement. Israel called off the negotiations prematurely, however, and official progress then terminated, though informal discussions at a high level continued leading to the Geneva Accord, rejected by Israel and ignored by the U.S.

A good deal has happened since, but a settlement along those lines is still not out of reach — if, of course, Washington is once again willing to accept it. Unfortunately, there is little sign of that.

More here.