Author: Peter Buckley

The Grey Whale (Eschrichtius robustus)

The Grey Whale is not one of the larger whales, but adults can reach 55ft. It has no dorsal fin, but is distinguished by a series of low bumps on the back near the tail. It has a smallish head (in proportion to the body), with two or three shallow grooves on the throat, and two blow-holes. The baleen, the means by which whales filter small crustaceans from mud and water, is hair-like, short and thick, with coarse, frayed inner edges. Sometimes the snout is seen covered in mud, or with barnacles adhering to it. These appear to irritate it, and may be a reason they seek out brackish, shore water to dislodge them. The body streamlining is also affected.

This whale is probably best known today for the extraordinary annual migration between the Arctic feeding grounds, and the breeding and calf-rearing grounds off the coast of Baja California. Grey whales undertake the longest  migration of any known mammal, and researchers have suggested that these epic journeys could also be driven by the threat of predation from killer whales.

Its habit of venturing within sight of land to breed almost caused its extinction. In the days of intensive whaling, in the 1870’s, something remarkable was noticed. The whales had changed their migration habits and were avoiding the coastal areas. By what means could whales who experienced the dangers posed by whalers near the coasts communicate this to others within the population?  At the same time, they were known as ‘devil-fish’ among whalers, and had a reputation for fierceness and aggression, attacking boats with little provocation. They swim faster than the similarly sized sperm whale, and once harpooned, would charge frantically about, capsizing boats and drowning men..

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William Tyndale c.1494- 1536

WILLIAM TYNDALE, born about 1494, near Gloucester, England, at a turbulent time, that of Henry VIII. He excelled in the study of Hebrew, Greek and Latin. In July 1515  he received a Master of Arts degree at Oxford University.

By 1521 he was an ordained Roman Catholic priest. At that time Catholicism in Germany was in turmoil because of Martin Luther’s activity, but England remained a Catholic country until Henry VIII finally broke with Rome in 1534, and in this respect, was a religious backwater.

About 1521 he came to the home of Sir John Walsh as a tutor for his children. Mealtimes around Walsh’s table often found the young Tyndale debating with the local clergy. Among them was John Stokesley, who had known Tyndale at Oxford. He later replaced Cuthbert Tunstall as bishop of London.

Tyndale matter-of-factly challenged their opinions by using the Bible. In time, the Walsh family became convinced of what Tyndale was saying, and the clergymen were invited less often and were received with less enthusiasm. Naturally, this embittered the clerics further against Tyndale and his beliefs. Tyndale grew convinced that the Bible alone should determine the practices and doctrines of the church and that every believer should be able to read the Bible in his own language..

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Sleep and Sleep Disorders

In order to keep up with a busy daily schedule of work or social engagements, some people only surrender to sleep when extremely tired. It is part of our culture, ‘nightlife’ being seen as cool, exciting or trendy. Fact: among Americans and Britons, 1 in 3 sleeps no more than 6.5 hours a night. In contrast, others, for many different reasons, would give anything for a good night’s sleep. The saying “No one died through lack of sleep” probably isn’t true.

Occasional insomnia lasting a few days or so is not uncommon, and it is generally related to stress and the ups and downs of life. When insomnia becomes chronic, however, emotional or physical disorders may be involved, and it is important to seek medical help. This discussion does not suffice to self-diagnose.

A new-born sleeps for frequent short periods that total about 18 hours a day. According to sleep experts, although some adults appear to need only three or four hours of sleep a day, others need up to ten hours, eight hours representing a norm. As we get older, our sleep needs may lessen, but old age in itself does not mean poor sleep.

When you do not get enough sleep, you are likely to become more irritable and even depressed.

“Scientists theorize sleep has a restorative function for the brain, and that learning continues during sleep,” said one sleep expert, “at night you consolidate your memories and any learning that happened during the day gets put into place at night. Not having that period of rest actually impairs memory and learning.” Moreover, he says that “when you get enough sleep, it probably serves some function to stabilize your emotions.” Continue reading Sleep and Sleep Disorders

The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power

Rating: ★★★★★

For those who hold to the view of the world comprising Politics, Religion and Commerce, this subject needs no introduction. For those concerned about current news items such as the Gulf of Mexico oil spill (see footnote) this work is also illuminating. For those who think a change in political administration will solve the problem, think again.

Joel Bakan, Canadian professor of law and author of  The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power examines  corporate misdeeds that have gone largely unpunished, and the consequences, some of which are simply shocking. Take the “externalisation” of costs, well-illustrated by the example of a corporation using cheap labour in a country where people are desperate, near starvation, but moving on elsewhere when the people are no longer so poor, or better equipped to defend themselves. Come to think of it, is this why work once done in Britain is now done in India or Eastern Europe?  As the west faces competition from the emerging Asian economies, it is clear that even social costs are being externalised in the pursuit of profit and greed. (Externalization is the effects on third parties who ordinarily play no role in the initial transaction. I would draw a parallel to military-speak for civilian deaths during conflict: ‘collateral damage’ ) The pattern may also be seen by the Japanese economy now, say, compared with thirty years ago.

This book and the film ( The Corporation [DVD] [2006])  sounds a valid warning, an accessible introduction to the problematic nature of large corporations who seemingly have symptoms of psychopathy, compared, for example, with a callous disregard for the feelings of other people, the incapacity to maintain human relationships, a reckless disregard for the safety of others, deceitfulness (continual lying to protect profits), the incapacity to experience remorse or guilt, and the failure to conform to social norms and respect for the law.

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Bullying at School, Bullying at Work, What can be done?

WHAT causes a person to begin bullying others? If you have ever been victimized by a bully, you probably would say, “There’s no excuse for that kind of behaviour.” But there is a big difference between a reason and an excuse. The reason why a person becomes a bully does not excuse the wrong behaviour, but might help us understand it. And that can have real value.

Anger at the bully’s conduct can blind us, filling us with frustration, but we need see more clearly how we can find solutions. So let’s look at some factors that give rise to this unacceptable behaviour.

Social or financial background can be little to do with it. Often a bully’s childhood is marred by poor parental example or by outright neglect. Many bullies come from homes where the parents are cold or uninvolved or have, in effect, taught their children to use violence, outright or suppressed, to handle problems. Children raised in such an environment may not see their own verbal attacks and physical aggression as bullying; they may even think that their behaviour is normal and acceptable. Sometimes bullying begins with younger siblings, or cruelty to animals..

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The Socinians in Poland

The Socinians

Faustus Socinus (or Fausto Sozzini), an Italian influenced by Servetus’ writings, was moved by his brutal execution at the hands of Calvin, to examine the Trinity doctrine. He concluded that it had no basis in the Bible. Faustus decided to leave his comfortable life as a courtier and share the truths he had learned from the Bible. (Reason and Religion in the English Revolution: The Challenge of Socinianism)

Hounded by the Catholic Inquisition, Socinus travelled to Poland, where, by 1574, he found a small group of Anabaptists who called themselves “The brethren.. who have rejected the Trinity.” To Socinus, this religion was clearly the closest to the truth of the Bible. So he settled in Kraków and began to write in defense of their cause.

These Socinians, as they later came to be called, wanted most of all to restore the pure Christianity taught in the Bible. They felt that the Protestant Reformation had merely skimmed off some of the corruption of the Catholic Church while leaving its unbiblical teachings intact.

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John Hales 1584- 1656

John Hales was a principled English protestant divine born at Bath in 1584. After an education at Oxford, he was elected fellow of Eton College, the capacity for which he is best known. By 1636, his liberal theological views had brought him into conflict with the masterful,autocratic William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, who however, was so charmed by his learning and conversation, that he appointed him as a canon of Windsor.

Hales was a man of learning, well read in many branches of literature, a man of sound common sense, well balanced and moderate in his views, disliked extremism, with a reputation as a peacemaker among his contemporaries. He taught a passion for unity, the value of study, a questioning of religious dogma, but also the necessity of faith.  He greatly admired the teachings of Faustus Socinus (see Post: The Socinians in Poland ), and Clarendon said of Hales, ‘he would often say that he would renounce the Church of England tomorrow if it obliged him to believe that any other Christians should be damned, and that nobody would conclude a man to be damned who did not wish him so.’

Hales was one of the earliest admirers of Shakespeare, Dryden saying of him, ‘there was no subject of which any poet ever writ, but that he would produce it much better done in Shakespeare’. Like many scholars, Hales wrote little, and reluctantly. His miscellaneous writings were collected and published in 1659, under the title ‘Golden Remains of the Ever Memorable Mr. John Hales’

In 1649, Hales was turned out of his Eton fellowship, having refused to take the oath of ‘engagement’ to the Cromwellian regime. This oath took the form: “I do declare and promise, that I will be true and faithful to the Commonwealth of England, as it is now established, without a King or House of Lords.” He refused on the basis of neutrality. He spent the rest of his life in great want, which was relieved to some extent by the sale of his valuable collection of books. He died on 19 May 1656.

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The Power of Words

The making of a good Dictionary
is a contribution of the highest order to the welfare of a language.
It clarifies and stabilises the pronunciation, orthography and meaning of its words;
garners and stores the varied wealth of its vocabulary.
To the farmer, his barn; to the manufacturer, his warehouse;
to all who use and value their native tongue, a dictionary.
 — David Lloyd George

Without arguing with David Lloyd George, who after all, was trying to make a valid case for dictionaries everywhere, things change over the course of a hundred years. Not in itself a problem, as it provides a reason to keep selling new dictionaries.

‘We all know words don’t mean what they meant sixty, or six hundred years ago.  And yet..words do contain within themselves echoes of their previous lives.  We hear in them not only the way we use them now, but also the way our parents used them, and their parents before them.  Words are like living things, as they move around, they grow, they change.  A word is nothing but information.  English spelling and pronunciation, simply tell us where the word came from, how it relates to other words, and what it likely meant…    (Frantic Semantics: Snapshots of Our Changing Language).

We learn a word’s connotations, the associations it carries beyond the current dictionary meaning, by hearing it in context, from childhood, or when we first heard the word. This may explain why we don’t like certain words. In the ‘caring professions’ at present (a term I also personally dislike), we have ‘Service user’. No one likes it because of the tendency to abbreviate everything, and who wants to be a ‘user’? On the other hand, one of the terms it replaced, along with ‘patient’, or ‘inmate’, was ‘client’. Such is the dilemma. What about ‘customer’? Why is it also unpopular? Apparently, in the time of Shakespeare, it too, was linked to the brothel. This is a much wider problem than it first appears, many otherwise respectable words end up with sexual overtones. As if you needed more examples, here are some.

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Hugh Miller, The Cromarty Stonemason 1802- 1856

Cromarty today is a quiet little town on the Black Isle, North-east Scotland. At the dawn of the nineteenth century, however, it was an important fishing centre, and an important trade supplying the needs of visiting shipping sheltering in the firth nearby, brought relative prosperity.

Born on 10 October 1802, as a boy, Hugh loved the rocky shores and wooded hills of the Black Isle, which he explored, sometimes alone or with friends, sometimes with his uncles, who taught him to appreciate the teeming wildlife of sea, shore and countryside. At nightfall, by the glow of a cottage fire, he was entranced by the tales the old folk could tell, as they passed the long winter evenings.

His father having died at sea when he was five, he developed a certain self-reliance, and so, despite his uncle’s offer to fund a college place, at seventeen he decided to become a stonemason. He knew the trade was hard, but also that the slack winter months would allow him to study natural history and literature, his true vocation. For the next fifteen years, he travelled all over the north of Scotland, quarrying, stone-cutting and building. During this time, as he laboured, he made many of the geological observations familiar in his writings. The Old Red Sandstone, until then little known to fossil collectors or geologists, became his particular interest. Continue reading Hugh Miller, The Cromarty Stonemason 1802- 1856

Conspiracy Theory (Part One)

Part One: Media and Conspiracy Psychology

Conspiracy theories are as old as the human psyche. But fears of an all-embracing political plan to take over the world appear to go back only as far as the French Revolution. In that same country, in the nineteenth century, the Dreyfus affair divided public opinion. Conspiracy theories continued to grow in importance up until the mid-twentieth century, when two arch-conspiracy theorists, Hitler and Stalin, warred against one another (despite a non-aggression pact), causing the worst blood-letting in human history. The world war sobered the Americans, who in subsequent decades dismissed conspiracy theories, and the mainly fringe groups or individuals who promoted such ideas, in their valid quest for some meaning or motive behind the seemingly meaningless, wanton destruction of war and commercial exploitation.

Sometimes those holding such ideas were denigrated for political, commercial, cultural or racial reasons, or for reasons of academic jealousy.   Some raise issues current in our culture:  these include those who question the assassination of Kennedy, or the death of Princess Diana, “Ufologists,” and perhaps those, such as David Icke, who claims  a reptilian race runs the earth and/or alien installations exist under the earth’s surface. Such themes enjoy a certain popularity, but owe little to common sense or carry little real influence. The politically disaffected,the political far right, and other alienated minorities have all been labelled ‘conspiracists’. Their theories imply a political agenda, but lack any significant credibility, or even influential publicity. To run for office with similar ideas in the manifesto would be to experience electoral disaster.

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