early after our lord ' s message, the shepard of hermas said : " but anger is foolish, and fickle, and senseless. now, of folly is begotten bitterness, and of bitterness anger, and of anger frenzy. this frenzy, the product of so many evils, ends in great and incurable sin. " ( book ii, commandment 5 ) cognitive psychological research has found support for seven cognitive distortions relating to anger and the other dysfunctional emotions : - selective abstraction is focusing on one event to the exclusion of others. a mother, for example, pays attention to the " d " on her son ' s report card while ignoring the " a ' s " and " b ' s. " this " d " now becomes the focus of anger. - arbitrary inference is drawing a conclusion unwarranted by the facts in an ambiguous situation. for example, a parishioner says " hello " to the parish priest in the church hall, the priest doesn ' t reply, the person concludes the priest doesn ' t like him or her and has a right to be angry. - personalization, an event occurs that an individual concludes is directed to them personally. a patron in a busy restaurant perceives the waiter is purposely not waiting on his or her table. the patron never entertains the waiter may be under stress attempting to serve other patron ' s needs. the patron, concludes, they have a ' right ' to be angry. - polarization is the tendency to see things in all or nothing terms. ' cynthia, jack ' s wife misses making dinner one evening, because he ' categorizes ' events into polarities he views her as a " bad " wife. all the categories between the absolute categories of good and bad are missed. he has the right to be angry at a " bad " wife. - generalization is the tendency to see things in always or never categories. ' jack ' comes home late from work. his wife ' jill ' feels her husband will always be inconsiderate and never change. not only is she angry at his lateness, but his future lateness as well. - demanding expectations, the belief that there are laws or rules that must or have to be obeyed. a mother believes he son should not talk back because she is his " mother. " she has the " right " to be angry. ( note god gave us free will, he ' asks ' us to obey his commandments. like christ, parents can ' prefer and constructively work


talk back because she is his " mother. " she has the " right " to be angry. ( note god gave us free will, he ' asks ' us to obey his commandments. like christ, parents can ' prefer and constructively work ' toward obedience from their children, but they have no guarantees their children will respect them. ) of spiritual help here is to reflect on the life of our lord. he was bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, crucified and died for our salvation. he himself told us : no servant is greater than his master ( mat. 10 : 24 ) — - why would we expect to be treated any differently than our lord. it is a blessing if we are treated and honored, but we have no guarantee ) a program of rewards for appropriate behavior and punishment, without anger, for inappropriate behavior would be constructive. - catastrophizing, the perception that something is more that 100 % bad, terrible or awful in the example above, the mother feels that it is terrible, the end of the world, her son answered back, which of course triggers increasing anger. after recognizing our recognizing and labeling the cognitive distortions, eliciting anger, clinicians aid patients in re - structuring them. there are three questions that lead to restructuring. : 1 ) where is the evidence? 2 ) is there any other way of looking at it?. 3 ) is it as bad as it seems? using the examples above some restructured interpretations might be : ( selective abstraction ) : true, my son got a " d ", but he also received some a ' s and b ' s ) ; ( arbitrary inference ) : " father didn ' t say hello, he may not like me, but maybe he has something on his mind and he didn ' t even hear me. " ( personalization ) : " the waiter is so busy with other tables, maybe he doesn ' t even see me. " ( polarization ) : " my wife, jill missed dinner today, there are many other things that make up our relationship besides one dinner " ( generalization ) : " let me talk to jack about his work schedule and at least ask him to call me if he is going to be late " ( demanding expectations ). " i prefer that my son not talk back to me, let me praise him when he talks correctly and fine him a nickel whenever he talks back. " in addition to the above restructuring questions the " mental ruler technique " ( burns, 1980 ) is particularly


i prefer that my son not talk back to me, let me praise him when he talks correctly and fine him a nickel whenever he talks back. " in addition to the above restructuring questions the " mental ruler technique " ( burns, 1980 ) is particularly helpful in dealing with catastrophizing. a situation in the example above a child ' talking back ' to his / her parents is evaluated on a 0 to 100 scale, with 0 being the most pleasant thing you could picture happening to you. people infrequently have trouble imaging a very pleasant event ( 0 ). sitting on a sun drenched tropical beach is a typical image. people frequently need help imaging a " graphic " worst event ( 100 ). use of an example such as the particularly horrifying death of a medical missionary in southeast asia several years ago can be of help. after starvation failed to kill this individual, his captors placed chopsticks in his ears and hammered then in, a little each day, until the chopsticks penetrated his brain and the missionary died. using the " mental - ruler technique ' and the restructuring questions, it can be seen that the mother whose son answered back is surely not the same as chopsticks in the ears, in fact, it is probably no more that a 10 or 20 on the mental - ruler scale. thus successful catastrophizing challenging and a more realistic evaluation. instead of viewing this a " catastrophe " is now is viewed as a manageable problem to be solved. these psychological techniques have to be applied rigorously and consistently. they should be used whenever we find ourselves starting to become angry. one helpful way is to excuse yourself and leave the room for a few minutes to collect our thoughts, making sure the psychological " restructuring and reinterpretation is also permeated by our lord ' s teaching and his self - emptying life for us. we can reflect on the words of st. mark the acetic : do you want the tree of disorder — i mean the passion of bitterness, anger and wrath — to dry up within you and become barred, so that with the axe of the spirit it may be ' hewn down and cast into the fire ' together with every other vice ( matt. 3 : 10 )... if this is really what you want keep the humility of the lord in your heart and never forget it... call to mind who he is, and what he became for our sakes. reflect first on the divine light of his divinity revealed to the essence


really what you want keep the humility of the lord in your heart and never forget it... call to mind who he is, and what he became for our sakes. reflect first on the divine light of his divinity revealed to the essences above [ the angels ] ( eph 1 : 21 )... then think to what humiliation he descended in his ineffable goodness, becoming in all respects like us who were dwelling in the dwelling of darkness and the shadow of death ( mat 4 : 16 ). " petition our lord ' s help in this way to help restructure. this " time - out " can be accomplished by something as simple as going to the restroom. restructuring should can also be incorporated into evening prayer, especially during the examination of conscience and prayer for forgiveness of sins. this active approach toward our becoming like christ is our vocation as christians. st. james tells us " so you see, then, it is his actions that a person is put right with god, not by his faith alone " ( james 2 : 24 ). all the wishing or prayer we do, if it does not lead us to actively make ourselves like christ is empty. " since you are god ' s dear children you must try to be like him, your life must be controlled by love... " ( eph. 5 : 1 - 2 ). work, vivified by prayer and the sacraments, is the way to advance in our likeness in christ. only then will we be able to say with christ : " father forgive them for they know not what they do " ( lk 23 : 34 ) this is true anger management. beck, a. t., rush, s., shaw, b. & emery, g ( 1979 ). cognitive therapy of depression. ny : guilford press. burns, d. ( 1980 ). feeling good : the new mood therapy. ny : the new american library. ellis, a. ( 1962 ). reason and emotion in psychotherapy. ny : lyle - stuart. palmer, g. e. h., sherrard, p. & ware, k. ( 1979 ). the philokalia 1, london : faber and fager visit fr. morelli ' s facebook page. v. rev. fr. george morelli ph. d. is a licensed clinical psychologist and marriage and family therapist. he is the coordinator of the chaplaincy and pastoral counseling ministry of the antiochian orthodox christian archdiocese and religion coordinator ( and antioch


bipolar disorder : hypomanic episodes hypomanic episodes can occur in people who have mood disorders. hypomanic episodes are less severe than manic episodes, although a hypomanic episode can still interfere with your ability to function properly. hypomania may be diagnosed if : - a distinct period of elevated or irritable mood occurs in which the mood is clearly different from a regular nondepressed mood. - three or more of the following symptoms last for a significant period of time : - inflated self - esteem or unrealistic feelings of importance - decreased need for sleep ( feels rested after only a few hours of sleep ) - racing thoughts or flight of ideas - being easily distracted - an increase in goal - directed activity ( work or personal ) - irresponsible behaviors that may have serious consequences, such as going on shopping sprees, engaging in increased sexual activity, or making foolish business investments - the mood or behavior change is noticeable to others. - the episode is not severe enough to cause impairment in social or job functioning and does not require hospitalization. - the symptoms are not caused by reference substance abuse opens new window. if you feel that you or someone you care about may be experiencing a hypomanic episode, contact your doctor to discuss the possible causes and the treatment options. | by : | | reference healthwise staff | | last revised : reference march 1, 2012 | | medical review : | | reference patrice burgess, md - family medicine reference lisa s. weinstock, md - psychiatry


searching for the truth written by : dennis balthaser the pyramids and the bible much has been written over the years about the three large pyramids of giza, and the sphinx, and thousands of years later we still don ' t know who built them, how they were built, or for what purpose. egyptologists claim they were completed about 2500 bc making them 4000 years old today, which would possibly predate many of the things mentioned in the old testament of the bible. many of the best - preserved temples in egypt however, were built during the new kingdom, ( 1550 - 1069 bc ), during a period of national wealth and renewed interest in monumental building. we have been given many theories on the actual construction of the great pyramid using various types of ramps to erect the two million, 2 to 70 ton stone blocks from ground level to a staggering 450 feet high. knowing the tools available to the egyptians at the time, and the number of laborers that would have been required, plus the time factor for erecting these gigantic structures, doesn ' t add up logically or mathematically. thus far no records have been discovered to indicate the egyptians actually built them, unlike other records that have been discovered, through hieroglyphics in temples, chambers, and tombs of structures the egyptians did in fact build. why then if the egyptians kept good records for other structures, are there no records of how “ they ” built the pyramids. another theory that has been presented is the possibility of extraterrestrial involvement, perhaps not in the actual construction, but offering the technology as indicated in stephen mehler ' s book, “ the land of osirus ”, referring to a civilization that pre - dated the egyptians, known as “ khemitians ”, who supposedly had contact with star people, and lived in north africa which today is egypt, some 10, 000 years ago. the purpose of the pyramids according to many egyptologists was to bury certain pharaohs in them in preparation for their afterlife journey. why then particularly with the great pyramid, was nothing ever found inside to indicate that kufu ( a 4th dynasty pharaoh ) was buried there? as far back as 890 ad when the arab ' s first entered the great pyramid, nothing was ever found to indicate kufu had been buried there. other purposes of the pyramids, suggested by several researchers, is the explanation that the pyramids were a form of energy machine of some sort. if the three pyramids of giza and the sphinx are older than the egyptian


had been buried there. other purposes of the pyramids, suggested by several researchers, is the explanation that the pyramids were a form of energy machine of some sort. if the three pyramids of giza and the sphinx are older than the egyptian civilization as many of us believe they are, why is there no reference to these gigantic structures in the bible? they are in fact the only remaining things of the original 7 wonders of the world. surely they would have stood out during the time of moses, who was raised by an egyptian pharaoh ' s daughter, after she found the infant moses floating in a basket on the river. some believe that the israelites were responsible for building the pyramids during the time they were in egypt, prior to moses leading them out to the promised land during the exodus around 1400 b c. ( exodus 13 : 17 - 18 ). the israelites would not have been involved in building the 3 pyramids of giza, since the pyramid building ended before the israelites came to egypt. concentrating on the possible age of the 3 pyramids of giza and the sphinx raises the question about moisture in egypt over the years. the deterioration on the back of the sphinx indicates that at some point in time there was a tremendous amount of rainfall. even though the nile river flooded annually during the ancient egyptian civilization time, the deterioration on the sphinx indicates a much larger amount of rainfall existed at some point. like other researchers have speculated, could noah and the flood described in the bible have been involved? one researcher claimed that aquatic fossils have been found on the inside walls of the pyramids. were they preserved there by floodwater, or where they already in the stone blocks when they were quarried miles away from the pyramids current location? as i write this many other questions arise. the bible does reference many structures that were erected all over the middle east as far back as 2600 bc. one such structure described in the bible was the “ tower of babylon ”, or as it is sometimes referred to the tower of babel. ( genesis 11 : 3 - 4 ). descriptions of the height vary by researchers ; however most say it would have been taller than the great pyramid. other large structures, buildings and man - made objects listed in the bible include solomon ' s temple built between 966 and 586 bc. the dimensions and detailed instructions on how to build noah ' s ark are also described in the bible. ( genesis 6 : 14 - 17 ) the unit of measurement most frequently discussed in the bible was the cub


built between 966 and 586 bc. the dimensions and detailed instructions on how to build noah ' s ark are also described in the bible. ( genesis 6 : 14 - 17 ) the unit of measurement most frequently discussed in the bible was the cubit. one cubit was equal to 1 foot, 6 inches, ( 18 ” ). using a cubit measurement for building the ark, it would have meant it was 450x75x45 feet in size. later the romans used the roman foot for measuring, which was derived from the approximate size of a man ' s foot. one must also consider that those who built all those ancient structures didn ' t have access to the technology we have today, ( or did they? ) regardless of whether you refer to structures mentioned in the bible or other sources we know of, the technology was extremely impressive, and many have withstood the test of time, which we are just today beginning to unearth. regardless of your christian beliefs, archeologists are continually unearthing structures that were in fact present as mentioned in the bible. others have not yet been located such as noah ' s ark, but are being continually searched for. so as stated earlier if the pyramids are as old, ( or older ) than we believe, why is there no mention of them in the bible, since they would have been the most obvious structures in egypt, or the world for that matter, prior to the time the israelites were in captivity in egypt? as a christian myself, who also researchers the ufo phenomena, i find it odd that to my knowledge there is no reference to the pyramids in the old testament of the bible. should anyone reading this have information contrary to what i have presented, i would be pleased to hear his or her views. as i do with my ufo research, i will continue to ponder the question why? dennis g. balthaser


my 9 month old is anemic and the pediatrician started him on iron drops. i would like to raise the iron level up without using iron drops. what foods can i feed him that are high in iron and are age appropriate for him to eat? if your son is anemic, it ’ s very important for you and your pediatrician to work together to create a treatment plan that you ’ re both comfortable with. if you ’ re not comfortable giving your son the iron supplement your pediatrician recommended, be sure to let the doctor know. in babies, iron deficiency anemia can cause serious and potentially irreversible health problems if it ’ s not properly treated. sometimes, it ’ s not possible to quickly reverse an iron deficiency through dietary changes alone, and an iron supplement becomes necessary — at least temporarily — to treat iron deficiency anemia. your doctor will likely want to perform another blood test on your son after about a month of treatment to make sure the treatment is working and that your son ’ s anemia is resolving. babies between the ages of 9 months and 24 months are at increased risk for iron - deficiency anemia because they ’ re growing very rapidly, and it ’ s difficult for them to get all the iron their bodies need from their diets alone. full - term babies are born with iron stores in their bodies that they accumulated during the last months spent in their mothers ’ wombs. these iron stores can last as long as four to six months after birth. premature and low - birth - weight babies have lower iron stores at birth, typically lasting only about two months or so. the most common cause of iron deficiency anemia in babies is a lack of sufficient iron in the diet. but some babies ’ digestive tracts aren ’ t able to absorb enough iron, even when they ’ re eating iron - rich foods. that ’ s when iron supplements can be very helpful. the good news is that most babies with anemia don ’ t have to take the iron drops forever, just long enough to get their iron stores built back up. from there, an iron - rich diet can help maintain sufficient iron in the blood and body. foods that are good sources of iron include meat, beans, egg yolks, and leafy greens, such as spinach, prepared in a manner that makes them suitable for babies to eat. foods that are iron fortified, such as some infant cereals, are also good sources of the mineral. cow milk, on the other hand, is a poor source of iron


an operating room registered nurse, also known as a perioperative nurse, cares for patients at all stages of operative care ( before, during, and after surgery ). there are three areas of the operating room in which such a nurse might focus : circulating, scrub nurse, and first assistant. the circulating nurse is concerned with maintaining a sterile environment in an operating room ; this type of nurse opens sterile packages containing items that assist with operating procedures, as well as documents procedures needed to maintain a sterile environment. the scrub nurse, wears gloves and scrubs, and hands the surgeon ( s ) necessary instruments ; he or she also monitors a patient ' s condition during surgery. the first assistant works most closely with the surgeons, doing some hands - on performance on the patient such as cutting into tissue or suturing, and hands the surgeon ( s ) the necessary instruments. operating room nurses work indoors in sterile operating rooms in hospitals and medical facilities. their immediate supervisors are the surgeons with whom they work, in addition to administrative supervisors within the nursing hierarchy. they work not only with surgeons, but with fellow nurses and anesthesiologists. their work schedule might call for them to be on duty any day of the week, at any hour, either by scheduled assignment or on short notice. operating room nurses may be exposed to dangerous substances that are used in sterilization and anesthesiological procedures, and they are also are around sharp objects. a registered nurse must complete of an accredited nursing program to receive certification. being a first assistant also may require a certain number of years in practice as a registered nurse or additional coursework. being an operating room nurse requires critical thinking, the ability to work in a fast - paced environment and be highly adaptive. because these nurses work in situations that potentially involve death, they should be emotionally prepared to handle a variety of outcomes without a drop in performance. registered nurse ( rn ), operating room tasks - supervise surgical technologists and medical assistants during surgeries. - provide education to patients and their families about the recovery process. - monitor patients for signs of complications during and after operating procedures. - track patients ' vital signs during operations.


archiving early america : a web site devoted to the historical documents of the 18th century. the formation of a national government : chapter 3 in the american revolution - an html project. the constitution continues to serve as the foundation of our government and our society. every group, from the national rifle association to the american association of retired people, have claimed the constitution as the source of their rights and interests. and although over 11, 000 changes to the original document have been proposed, only 28 amendments have ever been ratified. during the week we mark our nation ' s birth, it is important to examine the motivations that drove the continental congress. what were the pressing issues of the day that caused the framers of the constitution to choose the amendments they did? what were their long range intentions? how has a document drafted two centuries ago survived essentially unchanged? have the principles codified in the original constitution lasted? gerard gawalt, early american history expert with the library of congress since 1969, answered your questions about the way the constitution took shape and how the document changed the united states and the rest of the world. a question scott hume of tempe, arizona : while some have advocated changing the constitution to more accurately reflect the myriad of current realities and worldviews in this country, others suggest that the documents intrinsic vagueness is the key element in its continued ' success. ' your comments, sir. gerard gawalt responds : the constitution is subject to constant change through judicial interpretation, legislation, and simply the will to use various parts of the constitution. the founding fathers made it extremely difficult to amend the constitution in fact to avoid the willow tree form of government. the remarkable aspect of the united states constitution is that the fundamental principles of the document have never been challenged in recent years. certainly the civil war was a direct challenge to the federal constitution, and its nature was preserved by military power ( which was ironically what the founding fathers feared the most ). a question from edward sternberg of milwaukee, wi : one of the more frequently revisited issues of constitutional law, as i - - a biologist - - see it, is the question of strict construction. it seems to me that jefferson ' s efforts to justify the louisiana purchase must have been instructive on this issue. i know little about the topic - - please share with me your views. gerard gawalt responds : although jefferson did not help write the constitution, he certainly was concerned with its interpretation. the louisiana purchase was a concern to jefferson. so much so, that he even drafted


topic - - please share with me your views. gerard gawalt responds : although jefferson did not help write the constitution, he certainly was concerned with its interpretation. the louisiana purchase was a concern to jefferson. so much so, that he even drafted an amendment to the constitution to allow for the addition of new territory by treaty and simultaneously to create an indian reservation of much of the land west of the mississippi. jefferson was persuaded by madison, monroe, fallatin, and other national leaders that the broad interpretation of the constitution that he so opposed when the federalists were in power was indeed a valid interpretation when the right party was in power. this action by jefferson virtually assured the acceptance of the broad interpretation of the constitution. strict interpretationists have been on the defensive ever since jefferson ' s action. a question from bill rand of rochester, mn : to me one of the most complicated aspects of the constitution is whether or not we should abide by the original framer ' s intent. i feel that living in strict standards according to what thomas jefferson and his original compatriots meant when they wrote the constitution, is probably wrong. after all times have changed, but then again adapting the constitution constantly to the world around us would destroy any meaning inherent in this noble document. some sort of middle ground must be reached, but is this possible? gerard gawalt responds : we have operated on a middle ground of interpreting the constitution for most of the last 200 years ( with the notable exception of the civil war ). jefferson thought that a republican form of government was worth a revolution every 20 years. fortunately, that has not been necessary. despite jefferson ' s fear of judicial interpretation and the broad interpretation based on the general welfare clause, these have proven to be the keys to the constitution ' s longevity and success. madison and john jay ( more than hamilton ) realized that the balance of powers within the three divisions of the government were critical to providing forums for a large and diverse nation. it has proven to be very difficult for any national section or special interest, be it ethnic or economic, to control all the branches of government. thus there has been room for the various philosophies and the conflicting parties to play out their roles in the public republican forum. a question from michelle miller of shrewsbury, pa : madison is often called the father of the constitution. what was his role? what was his background and how did it affect the document? gerard gawalt responds : james madison was the driving force behind the national movement to call a constitutional convention.


: madison is often called the father of the constitution. what was his role? what was his background and how did it affect the document? gerard gawalt responds : james madison was the driving force behind the national movement to call a constitutional convention. he was responsible for drafting the virginia plan of government and preparing a guide for the new form of government. although he spoke often and eloquently in the convention, his most important role was behind the scenes where he motivated and cajoled delegates into compromising and staying at their task until a product was finished. he then took the lead in securing the adoption of the constitution by state assemblies called specifically for that purpose. madison, like most the southern founders of the nation, was a wealthy and large land and slave owner. his wealth and the labor of his slaves allowed him the time and freedom to master the intricacies of political philosophy and practical politics that enabled him to be the father of the constitution. he was one of the coterie of virginians, that the world will probably never see the like of again. a question from mike hadley of richmond, va : other countries alter or scrap their constitutions all the time, but the u. s. has essentially left ours in tact. what is it about our constitution that makes it so enduring? gerard gawalt responds : the success of the constitution has depended on the ability of congress and the federal courts to informally effect constitutional amendments ( interpretations ) by the general welfare clause and judicial interpretation. on the other hand it has been extremely difficult to formally amend the constitution ( only 27 out of 10000 attempts ). the result has been a remarkably flexible but stable document. a question from cindy kinch of boston, ma : what impact did constitution have on political philosophy and other intellectual movements at the time ( i. e. its affect on the french revolution )? gerard gawalt responds : the constitution gave a great impetus to the republican politicial philosophy. not only the french, but the swiss, polish, turkish and several other european countries based new forms of government in the nineteenth century on the american constitution. the american constitution also served as a model for the emerging south american countries in the nineteenth century. some historians say that the british commonwealth of nations and ultimately the united nations were based on the federal form of government. certainly the united states constitution and the success of the united states government proved that a republican form of government could succeed in governing a large and diverse people. charles h. france of phoenix, arizona the constitution gives all


based on the federal form of government. certainly the united states constitution and the success of the united states government proved that a republican form of government could succeed in governing a large and diverse people. charles h. france of phoenix, arizona the constitution gives all the world something to have hope for. this is the reason everybody wants to come here. i don ' t want any changes made to it. this encludes the first and the second amendment. glen self of charlottesville, va the strength of the constitution is in it ' s minimalist approach to defining government. it set the direction and tone without casting minutia in stone. a prime example is the concept of cruel and unusual punishment. at the time of, or shortly prior to, the framing of the constitution, the use of torture to punish or to gain a confession was common. torture iincluded, the rack, whips of chain, being drawn and quartered, keel hauling, branding, blinding etc. to the framers these were cruel and unusual. although i am sure they would stand agast at the idea that not having cable tv or movies is considered cruel they wrote a document that does allow for different interpretations as society changes. it is up to us as citizens to ensure that mores of today are not allowed to overly change the basic intent of the constitution. prohibition was an excellent example of an ill considered amendment to the constitution. like a house built on a firm foundation, to remain strong we should only tinker with the foundation when absolutely necessary. linda springrose of st. louis, mo i have thought a lot about the u. s. constitution, and i have wondered why it is that other countries draft new consti - tutions with some regularity while we have had ours for over 200 years with little change. i think the concepts in it are broad enough to have lasted throughout all these years, and it would be extremely difficult to draft a new constitution. i believe that the basic rights of men protected in the constitution are universal, but i do believe that the forefathers of our country and drafters of the constitution are probably rolling over in their collective graves knowing what is being perpetrated in the name of constitution. that is, the miltia ( covered by the constitution ) arrested in arizona today for intention to blow up government build - ings is definitely at cross purposes with what thomas jefferson and george washington most likely had in mind. i believe the constitution has had a very great impact on the rest of the world, and i believe


arizona today for intention to blow up government build - ings is definitely at cross purposes with what thomas jefferson and george washington most likely had in mind. i believe the constitution has had a very great impact on the rest of the world, and i believe that it has been used as the model for the drafting of many other constitutions. it incorporated many of the philosphical ideas of the day ( e. g., rousseau ) that are still seriously studied and referred to today as basic rights of men ( and, today, women ). i think that making a document that would last throughout the ages and would have influence almost the world over was one of the things the founding fathers had in mind, and they certainly did a bang - up job! john bolton of ny, ny the constitution is essential ; especially the bill of rights. it has proven itself to be sturdy and adaptable over the years. any attempt to trivialize or amend it should be viewed with great trepidation and suspicion. bill housley of salt lake city, ut first some background on me... i am a member of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints, also known as " mormons ". it is our belief that the original church of jesus christ left the earth with the death of the apostles and awaited a time when religious freedom would allow it ' s restoration. among other things, we believe that columbus was inspired of god to sail the ocean and locate the new world. further that the newly independant colonies in 1776 were aided by god in their war to shake off the tyrany of british rule. we further believe that the founding fathers of our nation ' s constitution were rightious, god fearing men who were inspired of god in the writting of the constitution. that it was for the express purpose of the restoration of god ' s work on earth that this nation has prospered under this government. ok... what were the motivations of the men who drafted the constitution? well, they desired to build a system where the governing power filtered up from the peaple, that those who served in government were to be just that, servants. it has lasted as long as it has because god has prospered it for the purpose of perpetuating his work and preparing the world for the second coming of jesus christ. the constitution and this nation have served as role models for other nations, the know that government by the peaple can work and be prosperous. also, certain elements of the way demac


work and preparing the world for the second coming of jesus christ. the constitution and this nation have served as role models for other nations, the know that government by the peaple can work and be prosperous. also, certain elements of the way demacracy is implented therein have been duplicated in other nations to give them a template for building there own forms of democracy and spread the freedom and prosparity of democracy and free enterprise around the world. daniel pushor of nashua, nh history is replete with examples of despots bent on world domination, which is the goal of the united nations. the u. s. constitution is the only protection we have from the globalists! john holliday of santa rosa, ca basically, they wanted to get away from the ravages of a non - redeemable paper currency. if you read george washington ' s letters, you ' ll see that the economy was faltering and he had no idea what to do. when the convention was convened, one of the major issues was to stop the paper money inflation and do whatever was necessary to keep it from coming back. they succeeded with article 1, section 10 which keeps a state from making any thing but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debts. if a state is thus prohibited, the only way to ensure that commerce would continue, was for the states to be the protectors of the money. if you want further proof, read the re - release of " a caveat against injustice ", originally by roger sherman but with added comments by author f. tupper saussy, spencer judd publishers, 1982. strangely enough, we are facing the same problem today. hmmm! wonder what to do. c. fred mullins of springfield, oh the constituton is still " vital " today and, as you have mentioned in your homepage article, cited by nearly everyone to justify their exotic activities. in this smokescreen, nearly a smog, of political activity, perhaps the constitution lacks a cogent defense as a direction giving document. the supreme court is perhaps not nearly active enough in settling the squabbles over what the founders ' words imply for today ' s world situations. it is at least my impression that in many areas that matter to the most generalized individual, personal freedoms have been seriously eroded in favor of the establishment since the late 1960 ' s. i feel that this is due in large measure to the federally un - funded collapse of the educational system in defense


many areas that matter to the most generalized individual, personal freedoms have been seriously eroded in favor of the establishment since the late 1960 ' s. i feel that this is due in large measure to the federally un - funded collapse of the educational system in defense of that establishment. the resultant relatively uneducated populace is much less trouble than my nearly one - minded peers were ( to the larger business / political interests ) but are now a major burden in their massive unproductivity and general inability to contribute constructively. still, this state of affairs challenges those that remain to somehow incorporate and make productive economic use of this massive pool of de - classe resource. not necessarily a constitutional issue in and of itself, but nevertheless rife with constitutional issues in the long run. certainly a lively opportunity for present day social scientists and technologists hand - in - hand with their legal team ( s ). charles j. iseman of columbia, maryland the constitution has proven to be remarkably successful in fashioning a sturdy guidepost for the evolution of our democratic form of government. the ingenious provision for a system of checks and balances among the branches of the federal government and between the federal and state governments has served to protect and gradually to expand the overall quantity and quality of individual liberty. the constitution allows for amendments, but only through a process that ensures that amendments truly reflect a broad consensus of public opinion that endures over a respectable period of time. it is highly unlikely that any attempt to rewrite the constitution afresh would assure the protection of individual freedoms as well as the blessed original. the chances of damaging these liberties and of slanting provisions to favor the special interests of those with greater political power, to the detriment of those less powerful, is simply too great to warrant the risk of undertaking such an attempt. david swindle of mckinney texas i believe that we should for the most part leave the constitution alone. i realize that there are issues we must look at, but we must make it a difficult process to change. i also have problems with the way our federal goverment changes the interpertation of sections of the constitution when it suits them. our goverment seems to be determine to lay waste to 200 years of freedom, by supressing our basic freedoms. their " drug war " is a good example. this waste of time effort and people is turning our nation into a nation of criminals, and those of us who could care less about using drugs, pay the price, all in the name of the war


“ and even there — even in the midst of this inferno, those above us remained our liberators. though it would have been a very tragic fate indeed to have been killed by our liberators! but the bombs couldn ’ t distinguish between the persecutors and the persecuted. we were simply lucky. ” hitler first came to power in germany when ralph giordano was 10 ; when he was 20, he survived the devastating attack that flattened hamburg. read about some of giordano ’ s harrowing experiences as a half - jewish german citizen who survived the bombing of germany and went on to become an accomplished writer and producer. this interview has been translated from its original german. q. so, mr. giordano, first of all i ’ d like to ask you to tell us : what was this hamburg of the pre - war period like, where you grew up? what did you like about the city, what kind of a city was it? could you describe it? hamburg was my nest. a wonderful childhood in the first ten years ( i was born in 1923 ) until 1933. [ it was ] home, with a deep feeling of belonging. in this city, [ i had ] a carefree childhood. until 1933, when hitler came to power, and it soon became very clear to me that a new age had dawned. the first difficult, internal injury did not come from the city, although the gestapo was already there in may of 1933. the first difficult, internal injury came from a place where i expected it least : from my playmates with whom i had grown up in hamburg - barmbek. it ’ s over 70 years ago now, but it must have been a summer day in the year 1935 : hitler had already been in power two and a half years. my best friend, heinemann, with whom ( as i said ) i had grown up, said to me : “ ale ( i was called “ ale, ” that was my nickname ), ale, we ’ re not going to play with you anymore — you are a jew. ” still today, when i relate this story to you, cold shivers run down my back. later i experienced horrible things under arrest by the gestapo. but these words, “ ale, we ’ re not going to play with you anymore, you are a jew ” — that was a minute, a second even that i will never forget, even if i were to live to be 150 years old. so, by 1945 ( twelve years after


’ re not going to play with you anymore, you are a jew ” — that was a minute, a second even that i will never forget, even if i were to live to be 150 years old. so, by 1945 ( twelve years after that ), every feeling of belonging had died. the isolation began immediately in 1933, with such experiences as the one i just described. q. tell us a little about your family. my father was a musician, and had a sicilian father — my grandfather, rocko giordano. my mother was a piano teacher. they met each other at the conservatory, and it was, as much as i could tell as a child, a happy marriage. we — my brother egel and i, and later rocko, who came in 1930. my older brother egel arrived in 1921 and i in 1923. we had a sheltered childhood, and then our life became, when i was 10, my older brother 11, and my younger brother barely 3 … only then did i become aware that i had a jewish mother. that simply hadn ’ t played a role at all before, but it began to shape our lives to an ever - increasing degree. i had a classical high school education. on the first day we were divided between aryans and non - aryans, jews and non - jews. one can see just how much my brother and i were not aware of our standing by the way that we placed ourselves in the larger group of about 30 people, while the non - aryans numbered about 6. in total ignorance of what was going on, we placed ourselves in the larger group. that afternoon, my mother and my father said to us : “ you stood with the wrong group : you belong with the smaller one. ” i didn ’ t sense then, and don ’ t have in my memory now, that my parents communicated any cause for anxiety when they told us that we belonged in that group. while i do not want to anticipate later events, it did do something to me. but it certainly was censorship. i was 10 years old and sensed that something was being questioned here : something that had been self - evident before, namely how much we belonged. and that was an experience that impacted me from the outset. and to an ever increasing degree. then, when we were freed by the eighth british army of field marshal montgomery, all ties to germany had died. since 1938 we had accustomed ourselves to speaking of “ the germans, ” to whom we did not belong. in


an ever increasing degree. then, when we were freed by the eighth british army of field marshal montgomery, all ties to germany had died. since 1938 we had accustomed ourselves to speaking of “ the germans, ” to whom we did not belong. in the war, we felt like part of the allied forces. [ sigh ] q. this hamburg was also a working class city : ernst thalmann and the communists were strong in the 1920 ’ s. how did that play itself out for you in the 1930 ’ s? was it a totally normal, national socialist city, with a community of people that cheered hitler on? we know of pictures of an open car with admiral horthy in it and that drove through hamburg while the people cheered. how did you experience that? the area of barmbek was primarily populated by workers. it was the largest district in the city. in my memory the number was 300, 000 residents. and i remember the sea of flags before 1933 : red flags, the three arrows of the spd, we the communists too, and then of course the swastika — at first only marginally, but then after the so - called takeover by hitler the swastika arrived in a torrential flood. and i think hitler was very rapidly successful, as in all parts of germany, at winning over the masses. proletariat masses, too — indeed, one shouldn ’ t give in to illusions. i remember the example of a family with many children that lived above us at hoflerstrasse 113. in 1930, 1931 and 1932 they hung the hammer and sickle and made themselves out to be communists. then suddenly after 1933, the swastika was hanging out in front of their place. i remember in 1934, my mother came into our apartment looking very pale and said the neighbor mr. finger ( that was his name ) had just written to a former comrade : “ what! you still stand by the red flag! you are still in the communist party! we ’ ll take the [ land ] away from you. ” so i think what i ’ ve just related here is very symbolic, though for starters the communists sacrificed the most. but the germans at that time succumbed to the siren calls of the nazis very quickly, and it was just as true in hamburg - barmbek where we lived. that means that maybe the resistance in the workers ’ district was greater, or the compliance not so extensive. but on the whole i remember that, overall, the germans at that time all fell


as true in hamburg - barmbek where we lived. that means that maybe the resistance in the workers ’ district was greater, or the compliance not so extensive. but on the whole i remember that, overall, the germans at that time all fell like dominos. something came out of the depths of german history that obliged them to prepare the way for the leader. i think it ’ s the sorest chapter of their history, along with the nazi period. the way the people — what induced them frenetically to agree to a regime that left not even a shred of doubt as to its violence, frenetically to cheer on such an unappetizing figure as this adolf hitler … the telltale sights were all there — in film. q. but what do you think was the reason? the reason is that germans of that time had a long prior history as subjects, as people willing to serve, and so were internally predisposed to these authoritarian tones. the terrible thing that then became evident was that, when the murderer needed them, his henchmen were there. and i think that ’ s exactly the most important question to study : how it was that a people like the germans — to whom i felt i belonged for the first 10 years of my life — could have such a massive deficit of humane orientation that they were willing, quite literally, to fight for their leader until five minutes after midnight. and just how allied they were with the regime and its ideology is apparent, i think, only after 1945, 1949. what i mean is that 70 years have passed since the fall of the third reich, but we are still grappling with that period. in other words, we ’ re experiencing that our grappling with the nazi period is lasting much longer than its actual historical existence. and that ’ s frightening. it was “ only ” 12 years — 12 years too many, of course — but given this short length, out of proportion with the extremes and counterforces of our current grappling with this period. precisely this long era of examination and dispute shows how deep the readiness for this period was. and as the alert little boy that i was, i experienced the full impact of the fact that an entire people — no, that ’ s not right : not an entire people, but the majority — succumbed to violent ideas which led to crimes singular in the history of mankind, and that will probably remain singular. in the microcosm of the district where i was born, the preconditions for


not an entire people, but the majority — succumbed to violent ideas which led to crimes singular in the history of mankind, and that will probably remain singular. in the microcosm of the district where i was born, the preconditions for this monstrous lack of humane orientation showed themselves in manifold ways. in this germany, intoxicated with hitler, a young person of my generation ( born 1923, and so ten years old in 1933 ) had no other choice but to become a nazi. it didn ’ t work any other way. there simply wasn ’ t an opportunity for internal resistance to the violent agitation and propaganda that was driven into these young people. when no resistance was allowed in your parents ’ home — and that was the case the majority of the time — then a young person couldn ’ t help but become infected with national socialism. and so my criteria for judging other people are based largely on how old one was in 1933. as a result i have a much different sensation towards older people, who as a consequence of their age were responsible for what happened, than i do towards young people. q. how did you experience the militarization of hamburg, of the society? and by that i mean the inner as well as outer militarization. battleships were put to water, blohm and voss, etc. could you describe this a bit from memory? well for starters, i think militarization was apparent to me in other young people, in my playmates. they became members of the german youth, i think until 10 years of age, and then by 14 they were part of the hitler - youth. that was the case for almost all of my friends, though we of course ( my brother and i ) were not a part of that, as children of a jewish mother. no, no, we understood that. one of my good friends who had remained my friend in spite of everything ( and there were such friends ) was first in the german youth and then in the hitler youth. then hitler in hamburg. i remember that at my school we were required to cheer for him. i also remember that there were classmates from my school who defected ( and my brother and i did too of course ). i also see that it must have been battleships from blohn and vloss that were put to water. that hitler came to hamburg i can also remember — i even saw him in the flesh, so to speak. he was driving in a car at a great distance. i wasn ’ t standing in the


and vloss that were put to water. that hitler came to hamburg i can also remember — i even saw him in the flesh, so to speak. he was driving in a car at a great distance. i wasn ’ t standing in the front - most row, but i can see the cheering people quite clearly in my mind ’ s eye. the alienation from my environment increased with every degree that this system won more followers, and i sensed very clearly that i was being isolated from my childhood. it ’ s a very clear feeling that i still have to this very day. i have the awareness of a deep feeling of belonging up until 1933 — 1934, and then the way that this belonging was annihilated and how i became estranged from myself, so to speak. it was a terrible process. and the loss of belonging was an incisive experience in my life. it became possible only after liberation to experience belonging under different circumstances — under democratic circumstances — and just how deeply this process of alienation had penetrated became evident in how long it took me to stop speaking of “ the germans. ” it took until 1987 for me to be able to give my book its name, the second guilt : on the burden of being german — that is, for this to be a title with moral and intellectual integrity, since i could not have given it that title if i didn ’ t feel that it applied to the author. and it did, eventually. but the book came out in 1987, as i said, 40 years after liberation. that ’ s how long it took. today i do have a sense of belonging, and since then, over the course of a long process, this feeling of belonging has even grown. but it is not self - evident, as it is for people whose belonging was never questioned ; it isn ’ t self - evident today and it never will be. i no longer say “ the germans, ” no, no ; i feel bound to this home, to this difficult fatherland. but the experience, the pain, the humiliation, the indignity, and of course the physical agonies — the gestapo treated me — and mistreated me — in such a way as i don ’ t even want to describe to you, since it would ruin your day. as far as it is and was possible, all of that has been processed and worked through. but the scars remain, and will be there even if i live to be 150 years old. q. you referred to the launch of a battleship


day. as far as it is and was possible, all of that has been processed and worked through. but the scars remain, and will be there even if i live to be 150 years old. q. you referred to the launch of a battleship. were those important events that also made clear to you, as a young person, the militarization of germany, the orientation towards militant action, if you could describe it? was the city in state of emergency? it was all very clear from the outside. the police developed a whole new appearance, the whole way they looked was different. most germans were raised in an authoritarian manner — not all, of course, but most of them — and that was true even in the working classes. and this was evident, as i said, in the outer appearance. this characteristic way of being of the military was clearly perceptible, tangible. although always, in my case, with the feeling of standing outside it, because we simply didn ’ t belong. in 1938, the list of bans and rules for jews had grown to over 100. among them was the rule, from the reich ’ s ministry of the economy, that jews could only buy sewing things worth 20 reichspfennigs every quarter year. you have to imagine that. my mother wasn ’ t allowed on the streets past 8 : 00pm, an occupational ban from the reich ’ s cultural ministry for her as a piano teacher. that means that what was happening, on the outside, was actually generally and subconsciously trending towards a conflict. whereupon i don ’ t mean to say that the germans of that time yearned for war. no, no. for that, 1914 and 1918 were still too fresh. of course the armament and the accumulation of workers from off the street picked up. and, as is man ’ s nature, if he sees a stretch of disadvantages before him, then he ’ ll seize upon the tangible opportunity. in this manner many people thought : “ yes, yes, i ’ m building a canon along with them, and tank too, but at least i have work. ” it ’ s an uncanny mechanism that took place there, and then paved the way for such violent regimes. q. but then it became even worse, since the germans won. in poland, france, the soviet union … and there was an exalted feeling that hitler was the greatest. i want to tell you something. i never believed in the triumph of hitler ’ s germany. not for one second. and


won. in poland, france, the soviet union … and there was an exalted feeling that hitler was the greatest. i want to tell you something. i never believed in the triumph of hitler ’ s germany. not for one second. and not even at the times of the highest triumphs. germany conquered one weaker opponent after another : poland was weaker, holland, belgium, denmark, norway — all of them were weaker. then came the soviet union, the assault on the soviet union on july 22, 1941. and here, near the karlstadt building, there was a large board in the shop window where the eastern front was being traced out. and that was sinister enough for those of us whose life was a race between the “ final solution of the jewish question ” and the ultimate victory of the allies. we had left the bird to the snake on the eastern front, what were they doing there? and then in 1941 it was “ advance, advance, advance. ” in 1942 the greatest expansion of power that germany had ever recorded, all the way to the caucasus and grosky ( grosny in the modern tschech republic ) — that ’ s half the distance between the eastern border of germany and the western border of china — one can well ask what the germans even wanted there, so far away from stalingrad. so. and in front of this map, there were always a lot of people gathered. among them was ralph giordano, who was an apprentice in a railroad factory nearby here, and who numbered among those in the assemblage before this map. quite frequently. and i heard of course the cheers for the victories, all the way to moskow and smolensk. i have such names in memory as shitomer, kiev, viteps. and i still know exactly what i thought. this germany, which was now so powerful as if it would stay that way forever, this germany will go down — with man and steed and tank, smitten upon crown and limbs, and all of you will no longer understand. these cheering people who grew up with “ nobody is stronger than germany, ” and of course full of racist disdain for the eastern peoples like the poles and the russians. and i thought : how lucky that you all can ’ t read my thoughts, since if you could, you would take me away on the spot. and this confidence that hitler germany would lose the war did not have rational roots at all. the conviction did not come from the fact that


you all can ’ t read my thoughts, since if you could, you would take me away on the spot. and this confidence that hitler germany would lose the war did not have rational roots at all. the conviction did not come from the fact that the allies had more tanks, more planes, more gasoline, more armament, more battleships, more boots — rather, it was something more metaphysical. evil would not win. that ’ s what lived in me. i was full of doubt that we would actually experience the downfall of this evil, but completely sure that hitler ’ s germany would eventually be destroyed. q. how did you experience the beginning of the war from the air? at first british cities were attacked by the germans, and then the brits attacked berlin in 1940, but that escalated really quite slowly. can you describe it? and did you already have the feeling that, ' hmm, hamburg : its turn will also come? ’ one discovered what aerial warfare meant from the newsreel, and in particular aerial warfare carried out against the allies — against england. that ’ s where one saw the smoking rubble and ruins and all the havoc that bombs could wreak. but at first germany remained spared. my memory of the first bomb was ( that must have been autumn of 1940 ) they fell quite close to us. we lived at the time in hamburg - barmbek, in the hoflerstrasse 113, and they fell not even 150 meters right next to a gas station. thank god no fire ever broke out. my brother and i, we lay in bed! my mother always went downstairs into the air - raid shelter. i wonder whether the neighbors had a problem with that or not, since if they had had a problem with it, then my mother and we would not have been allowed into the shelter — that happened elsewhere, but it did not happen to us. that must be said in favor of our fellow tenants. so we lay in bed, and one can tell from this that we had no idea of what could actually happen here in germany. i only remember that i had gotten up and looked out the window, and then often saw ( not just once ) how a bomb of the royal airforce would be illuminated by the cone of light from the search lamps, and my heart trembled on one side that nothing would happen — because those above in the planes were our liberators, and they remained our liberators. i won ’ t tell you of all the atrocities that i experienced during these air raids. but


my heart trembled on one side that nothing would happen — because those above in the planes were our liberators, and they remained our liberators. i won ’ t tell you of all the atrocities that i experienced during these air raids. but those were our liberators and above all i thought, “ come down from there, take us with you, free us from this fear of a violent death that was possible at any moment, come down. ” q. but you surely didn ’ t have any idea of what would happen next. no, we didn ’ t. in the year 1941 hamburg was attacked more frequently, but nothing actually happened that was really terrible. that only changed, not with operation gomorrah, but rather one year before. on the 26th to the 27th of july there was an attack that made aerial warfare very clear to us. that was a heavy attack. i remember how the women screamed, even a neighbor woman whom i knew as a strong woman, who said “ i can ’ t take it anymore! i can ’ t take it anymore! ” because the bombs fell down without interruption, the light quivered in the air - raid shelter, and because it was clear that aerial warfare had reached germany. that was a deep - rooted experience that reached its high - point one year later [ with operation gemmorah. ] q. did you hear at the time that at the beginning of 1942, lubeck was attacked and the old town burned? did you hear that, and did you also hear that the so - called exile community — like thomas mann — welcomed that? you probably also welcomed that, but do you know what there was to discover at this time? well, the uncanny thing is that lubeck had been attacked and that was, of course, mentioned, even in the armed forces ’ report, and with all the usual verbiage that above all things like hospitals and schools had been bombed ( while of course this kind of bombing accuracy just didn ’ t exist then, as it does today ). but for example we didn ’ t hear of the thousand - bomb attack on koln. that must have been 1942, i guess in spring, and today we know what kind of havoc that attack wreaked. but the other germany did not get to receive that information. and lubeck was of course very close to hamburg, although of course there were no pictures of it. so that means — and i ’ ve considered if what i say is true. when it hit hamburg, we were


get to receive that information. and lubeck was of course very close to hamburg, although of course there were no pictures of it. so that means — and i ’ ve considered if what i say is true. when it hit hamburg, we were actually unprepared for it, in spite of this heavy attack one year earlier. this means that the nazis masterfully understood that they needed to keep the damage a secret, and prevent people from wondering whether it could hit them too. this is something i ’ ve thought about many times : how is it that we didn ’ t know what was happening in koln? koln was the city most attacked, 270 attacks, since it simply was the closest metropolis. q. how did the people react? you mention this large attack one year earlier. was the hate tangible, the terror, pilots, and as far as language is concerned, how was that absorbed by the community, so to speak? well i think the overwhelming majority of germans had not conceived — in contrast to us — these bombs and these bombers as liberators, which is not so incomprehensible, but hate? i don ’ t know whether this definition applies. fear, sure, i think, yes. but hate? that might have changed in the course of all the years of bombing by armadas that flew over germany, and bombed one city out after another, but at the time i sensed nothing of it. q. summer 1943. let me say something about it. one summer evening, the 24th of july, 1943, the day of the first attacks, i was working on my hamburg family novel, the bertinis, that would come out in 1982. i had the idea to use my own life as the raw material for a novel in january of 1942, in other words three years before liberation and of course without knowing whether we would be freed. and i worked in the living room alone on my notes, my manuscript. slightly before 12 : 00 the sirens went off. and we went, as always since the first heavy attack one year before, into the cellar — and it was clear actually within only a few minutes that something was happening, something that overshadowed everything that had happened before, even the night of the 26th and 27th. it was as if the people were paralyzed. nothing moved and everyone thought that it was “ lights out ” for him or her in a matter of seconds. the bombs howled down, and there was a gruesome noise. if you heard the noise, then that meant that


people were paralyzed. nothing moved and everyone thought that it was “ lights out ” for him or her in a matter of seconds. the bombs howled down, and there was a gruesome noise. if you heard the noise, then that meant that the bomb was hitting someone else ; the bombs that hit you were the ones you didn ’ t hear ahead of time. it continued without interruption. when at 2 : 00am i climbed out of the basement and into the street, the linden trees that lined the street — big trees that reached as high as the fourth floor, 17 to 18 meters high — they were bending towards the south, because the oxygen had been so depleted by the fire. the fire was so strong that these great trees were bending in this direction. innenstadt and st. pauli were hit, barmbek not. i remember that exactly, as well as a rustling in the air, a totally uncanny sound. so. then midday on the 25th of july, the americans came, and pelted the harbor. but above hamburg — it was july, it was hot — already after the first attack, one could see the sun only as if it were behind a veil. the second attack, the “ night of phosphor ” from the 27th to the 28th, was once again a monstrous load of bombs, but above all, phosphor was dropped, which of course we sensed from kilometers away. everyone thought that at any moment it could hit him or herself. but that was not the case. then after the attack i went outside, and the whole horizon was like one glowing ember, and the trees were bent over — these strong lindens! bent over like this, such that branches broke off, from the oxygen, like this, and then flew around, so that we had to run for cover since we could have gotten hit by the trees. so one really knew that hamburg was the intended target, and that this will not be the last attack. and then came the night from the 29th to the 30th of july, a thursday to a friday, when it was barmbek ’ s turn. i have often depicted this, also in my hamburg family novel the bertinis, all from my memory of it. but it strikes me as difficult to speak of it, because i ask myself today in astonishment how it was that we were able to come out of it alive. after two minutes it was clear that barmbek was the intended target. everything was crackling — the fire


as difficult to speak of it, because i ask myself today in astonishment how it was that we were able to come out of it alive. after two minutes it was clear that barmbek was the intended target. everything was crackling — the fire crackled — and we were together, my parents, three brothers, and my grandmother and grandfather on my mother ’ s side. within a short time the smell of burning was so strong that one had to leave the basement. to make a long story short : it was burning all around, an inferno like no human imagination could picture, everything was ablaze, and constantly the bombs came down and we had only one idea : to get to the extinguisher tank, the so - called sandbox in which i had played as a child, but it too was burning with phosphor and so we couldn ’ t go into it. so we tried instead to reach the edge of the city park. and from our apartment that meant a distance of about one kilometer. the city was starting to wear down, there were lights — it was an open area, and we tried to escape this inferno. it actually took four hours for us — crawling across the ground on our bellies — to get out of this hellish scenario. and i ’ ll never forget : there ’ s this elevated railway bridge to the forest villages, and in front of it was a bombed - out pit that was filling fast with water, and my grandmother ( who already at that time was an old woman ) fell into it and would have drowned, but my father and i pulled her out. then she lay on the ground, and just at that moment a tongue of fire shot out of the burning street, from the other side, and pushed my grandmother over. her hair was completely gone, though her skin wasn ’ t bleeding from the fire — but all her hair was gone, without the flames having touched her skin [ laughs ], it was really unbelievable. then we reached the edge of the city park as the “ all - clear ” signal came, and it was obvious to us that we had been bombed out. but we had, unbelievably, survived this third heavy assault of the operation gomorrah. there was then also a fourth at the beginning of august, which was scattered by a thunder storm, and then the loads were dropped once again with appalling consequences all around hamburg. my later wife came from an area that was especially badly hit then. yes, but we had survived


the beginning of august, which was scattered by a thunder storm, and then the loads were dropped once again with appalling consequences all around hamburg. my later wife came from an area that was especially badly hit then. yes, but we had survived. and even there — even in the midst of this inferno, those above us remained our liberators. though it would have been a very tragic fate indeed to have been killed by our liberators! but the bombs couldn ’ t distinguish between the persecutors and the persecuted. we were simply lucky. if the english pilot had, instead of pressing it like this, just pressed it like that, then they would have swept us away, but were alive. in all other ways like so many other people who didn ’ t survive, except that we were alive. q. how did the people react to the first attack? how did people find out that altona and st. pauli had been attacked? you ’ ve also told a story of a man and a wheelbarrow. could you tell that again? in short, how did people react? i remember around noon on the 25th of july, so after the first attack, many people were moving out of the south of hamburg through barmbek, in order to leave the city. among them was a man with a wheelbarrow, which he wasn ’ t using for water. that is how i remember it. and in his wheelbarrow there was something lying there, covered, and i don ’ t remember today whether he showed me or told me this, but at any rate — it was his wife, who was half burned, and who was running out of hamburg. any i myself could not imagine being in this situation, or a similar one — being bombed out. and that means that one really has to experience an event the hard way in order to be able to imagine it. two days later, i got my chance. q. did the people respond with a lack of comprehension, or with chaos, with panic? how should one imagine that? they weren ’ t allowed to leave the city. every notion was invalidated. what had come over hamburg and over many german cities was, in the history of war, something completely singular up until that point. you couldn ’ t think it up beforehand, and i think that most people were shocked to the point of being without feeling. how else should one react to this universe of fire that was released there. my father and i — i still don ’ t


you couldn ’ t think it up beforehand, and i think that most people were shocked to the point of being without feeling. how else should one react to this universe of fire that was released there. my father and i — i still don ’ t know why to this day — we were, one or two days later ( i think it was monday by then, and not already sunday ) in the city, here in gansemarkt, again i don ’ t know why, but we learned of what had happened even before it got to barmbek. and it was a feeling as if a movie were showing before my eyes, something that i experience even now as if i were on the outside — in other words, that one ’ s own imaginative world does not suffice to involve oneself in these happenings. and i remember that my father — when we had arrived at the edge of the city park at the break of dawn on the 30th of july after the third heavy attack — my father came back with the news : the house at hoflerstraße 113, where we had lived for 20 years, is gone, is no longer there, like the entire district. and it didn ’ t shock me. it didn ’ t shake me at all — the fact that one had just survived was so unbelievable, that everything else stepped way, way back. no, the people were shocked, they stood under shock in a literal and a figurative sense. it was also something that even the strongest imagination could not paint for oneself. in this situation a person got into an internal emergency situation, in which he first of all tried to shut everything out of his consciousness except for the fact that he had survived. and then, of course, then the fear that the next time, it would get hold of you yourself. after all it had cost 500, 000 lives, and that ’ s not even taking into account the maimed and the injured. in other words, the war of bombs against hitler ’ s germany had traumatized the entire country. q. if you could try once again to describe this chaos, in which you moved almost like an animal — in these hours while the dead lay on the street — how should one imagine this? you ’ ve said that you yourself saw the fate of others as if in a movie. but what was your movie, then, so to speak? we ourselves were our own film. one simply didn ’ t have the opportunity to care for others. quite literally we made the passage from our house to the


others as if in a movie. but what was your movie, then, so to speak? we ourselves were our own film. one simply didn ’ t have the opportunity to care for others. quite literally we made the passage from our house to the edge of the city park crawling on our knees or lying on our stomach like a snake — we couldn ’ t stand upright, that wasn ’ t possible — and meanwhile constantly surrounded by a horrible uproar. imagine : bombs that way tons exploding around you, an entire district in flames, that had been unthinkable before. and then, when we came to ourselves around noon, we were standing at the edge of the city part and had only a distant likeness to the other people there, as you can imagine. the first question was : where do we go now? we decided to go to the mother of my father, who lived on romanstraße, and had to pass through districts that had been hit but not flattened, not obliterated, like in the southeast of hamburg. and we passed by my school, where i had gone for years, and it was burning. that was in winderhude. we passed by the a large front of row houses, and my mother screamed “ it ’ s going to collapse! it ’ s going to collapse! ” and she ran, and then fell down. of course there were people around us with similar fates, but one was completely busy with oneself. next we got to the apartment of my grandmother at romanstraße 31, which was undamaged and would have been a good lodging place since we had no other one. but the lodger [ or : tenant ] who lived with my grandmother — a man with whom we had gotten along well until then — said, “ this is out of the question, you can ’ t move in here with five people, ” ( admittedly it was a small apartment ) “ if you aren ’ t gone within a half hour i ’ m calling the gestapo. ” well, i fell into a hysterical crying fit, and when my mother saw me, she lost her ability to speak and move. we always believed that my mother was the rock of the family ( and we all saw it that way — my father, my brothers and i ) : my mother was the foundation. but now i realized that my mother relied on me, and if i were weak, so to would she be. in this second, as she lay speechless and unmoving, it was clear to me :


) : my mother was the foundation. but now i realized that my mother relied on me, and if i were weak, so to would she be. in this second, as she lay speechless and unmoving, it was clear to me : “ ale, you have the responsibility now. ” q. this was already by day — or was there even a day, a difference between day and night? well the sun was totally clouded over. the sun was like an evil eye. the sky over hamburg was sulphurous, truly like hell. and we set off, then, to the harbor, and on our way on the grindellallee a massive facade was burning, and my mother said again, as she did earlier in front of my school, “ come on, let ’ s run away fast, fast! it ’ s going to collapse! ” we did that, and in that moment the wall really did collapse, and my younger borhter rocko ( he was the youngest ) — covered in dust — came uninjured from what was like a chamber of haze and dust. countless times i ’ ve thought to myself : if we had just lingered for only a few more seconds, because, say, a shoelace had gotten untied and we were bent over with it, and we had stayed standing there for just a little longer, we would have been struck dead. well, that was the beginning of an odyssey that can ’ t interest us here. at any rate the aerial war remained an experience that accompanied us until the end of the war. q. did one distinguish between brits and americans at the time? no, at the time one didn ’ t know that. you figured that out later. the americans specialized in attacks by day, and the royal air force specialized in attacks by night. that continued to be the case until dresden. dresden was bombed by the royal air force and not by the americans. q. but the people did not distinguish between them. no, no, no. although i think that the german armed forces ’ report did distinguish between american organizations and english organizations, it could well be. i don ’ t think that this distinction was something that people generally knew about. q. if you could describe this city, this hamburg. we started to talk about it, like the fact that when you were a child, it was home to you. what was left of this home from your childhood? let me tell you what i experienced, immediately after liberation on may 4th, 1945


. we started to talk about it, like the fact that when you were a child, it was home to you. what was left of this home from your childhood? let me tell you what i experienced, immediately after liberation on may 4th, 1945 by the eighth british army. i thought — after i had looked around hamburg for myself — we had gone to the town major, my brother and i, with a report of what we had been through, here at the corner of the neuer jungfernstieg. and i thought to myself : even in a hundred years, this city will look like it does now. nobody will pick up this rubble. which of course was wrong, since within 10 years the rubble had been swept away. and of course enormous repressed and sublimated energies went into that reconstruction. the rapid pace of rebuilding, the economic miracle — everything was thanks to the fact that the germans of the time totally repressed the period of national socialism, or at least the majority did. but that hamburg looked proportionately different, no, i didn ’ t think that. although someone who had an idea of how the city looked before, if he for example came to hamburg via the south over the elbrucken, then — if he came in the night of the 27th to the 28th of july, 1943 — the burned out southeast of hamburg still seems like a single large scar to me. because these quarters, these districts — hammerbrook, rothenburgsort, billstedt — were literally obliterated. what hitler threatened would happen to english cities and which was realized in part, had also hit germany. and then of course i saw, i experienced, how the city slowly but still in many ways impressively was lifted up again. i can only say this : hamburg is the most beautiful city in the world, which i say not because i was born here, but rather just because it is. as a television man, i ’ ve been to 38 countries — in africa, asia, latin america, and i ’ m familiar with all the big cities. but hamburg is something incomparable, even just because of its topography. the lower elbe is four kilometers across — i ’ ve lived for a long time in koln, and in contrast the rhein looks like a trickle! q. would you say it was a legitimate goal to attack hamburg? if we could come to this debate. should one have — was it justified or not — to set fire to the working class part of the city. that was


like a trickle! q. would you say it was a legitimate goal to attack hamburg? if we could come to this debate. should one have — was it justified or not — to set fire to the working class part of the city. that was, after all, not a coincidence, but planned. well the germans are world champions at feeling like victims. they were the ones who caused the greatest numbers of victims to other peoples. in other words, this universe of murder in germany - occupied europe is something that arose out of germany, and it is much discussed whether the aerial warfare was a war crime. i can only say one thing to that : the ones first and foremost responsible for every civilian and military death and injury of the second world war are those who started it in the first place. hitler and the national collective of his hangers - on ( not hitler alone — he would have been a semicolon in the history books, had it not been for his supporters. ) this aerial warfare — sure, one can ask whether it could have been carried out somewhere else, that ’ s legitimate. but even if i seem cold saying this, the aerial war ( which, by the way, had demanded 500, 000 deaths from the english and americans ) was something that was right, yes it was right that this war was carried out. even if i seem cold … i saw countless dead, burned people … people who had been burned and baked together like a piece of bread, so small … yet it was still right, if only that i am now sitting before you today, that too, thanks to the anglo - american air force. my family won the race between the “ final solution of the jewish question ” and the final victory of the allies only by the width of a hair. q. when my mother was supposed to be deported, we went underground ( i had prepared everything ), and we held out under dante - esque conditions until may 4th, 1945. the aerial warfare had clearly shortened the war. and our life was a matter of a few days. if the 8th british army had come one week later, we would have died of hunger in our rat - infested, damp cellar, because we had been cut off in the last few weeks from the supply of foodstuffs. i can only be grateful to the men of the american air fleet. just as i am thankful to every allied soldier — and clearly also to the red army — and will forever be grateful. they were chosen ( so it seemed to me then


to be spared, forgiven. and why? they unleashed this universe of murder over germany - occupied europe. they helped to commit this breach in civilization. what ’ s the difference between a city that is destroyed by air, and a city that is paralyzed by war on the ground, by artillery? during the night in which dresden burned, with 25, 000 to 30, 000 deaths — terrible, but the same fate met hundreds of other small towns through the war on the ground. what ’ s the difference? i mean, if it ’ s said that dresden wasn ’ t necessary, you can still say, even if dresden did not have strategic meaningfulness, well — this thesis of debating is characteristic of a certain species of german. these people want to suppress the numbers of the holocaust victims, and raise the numbers of those killed by aerial warfare. it ’ s one and the same species of german that wants both of these things. no, i think the air raids had a hand in the fact that i am sitting here before you today, and that many thousands, hundreds of thousands of concentration camp inmates could also be liberated. but in one thing, bomber harris — and that ’ s a curse word in germany — was wrong. he thought that he could get the germans to turn against hitler, and i do believe that this was a psychological goal of the air warfare. but he was wrong, that bomber harris. hitler could do what he wanted with the germany of that time. even the inferno of the bombings did not persuade the germans to lean harder against their own internal enemy, and to conquer him from the inside out. those who wanted that, as we know today, were a little tiny sheep, and it was characteristic of the men of july 20th, 1944 that they did not know how the majority of germans would behave if the assassination succeeded. q. did you hear that the party was constantly on the go, and that they brought relief packages of provisions that possibly contributed to the fact that the people were able to hold out? without a doubt. i can think of my own example. we came down into a little village in the middle of germany, a village of about 500 people, bosdorf, near ubersfelde — and it worked. the mayor wasn ’ t happy that we had arrived, especially after my father explained to him what demon ’ s children we were, and then he gabbed something about the world jewry — but he liked the groceries, the provisions, and everything worked out. without a doubt that contributed to


had arrived, especially after my father explained to him what demon ’ s children we were, and then he gabbed something about the world jewry — but he liked the groceries, the provisions, and everything worked out. without a doubt that contributed to the fact that everything didn ’ t get off track. the bureaucracy functioned until the very last minute. and we got money, it was being disbursed to people. the money of course wasn ’ t worth anything, but still. with the basic provisions of groceries, one could get along. q. the catastrophe of hamburg actually only spread through rumors in germany. you went somewhere else — how did people react to the stories, or was there even an exchange of information that the official party press and radio naturally wouldn ’ t have given? well, hamburg had passed into a new era of aerial warfare, so that at first the readiness of the people to take in those who had been bombed out into their homes was great — these people were after all distributed throughout all of germany. at first the readiness to help was large, and we also experienced that in the little village. and i believe it was also that way in other places, or at least at the beginning. whether or not that remained the case at a later point, when those bombed out numbered into the hundreds of thousands, i ’ m tempted to say is doubtful. today we also know how these displaced persons were treated by the native population. this is a frequently suppressed chapter. in bavaria, americans forced germans at gunpoint to take on other german lodgers, whereupon one has to say that of course nobody likes it when other people intrude upon one ’ s private space. but when conditions are as they were … i think that there were many tragic cases, and some people asked themselves : “ where is this folk community that was talked about to no end? ” q. describe sodom and gomorrah. today some people ask, “ operation gomorrah, what is that, where did that come from? ” educated people have a weak idea of sodom and gomorrah from the bible. now that i ’ m asked what i have to say about it, i have to admit — and not without trepidation and apprehension — that i don ’ t know the bible that well. i only know that the residents, the inhabitants of sodom and gomorrah supposedly sinned, and that ’ s where i become skeptical. because it that ’ s true, then that means that they were


t know the bible that well. i only know that the residents, the inhabitants of sodom and gomorrah supposedly sinned, and that ’ s where i become skeptical. because it that ’ s true, then that means that they were justifiably punished. and if one carries the analogy over to the attack on hamburg, well, i wouldn ’ t go so far. that this inferno passed over hamburg has other roots than that god is punishing the people because of their sins. i don ’ t know whether it was such a happy idea to give this name to the attacks. the reasons that 40, 000 people had to die here are very different. simply put, because many adults among them had become participants in their own fate. one can ’ t forget that. and with all sympathy, all the mourning, one must never forget the children. children are always innocent. and the ones responsible for these burned, innocent children are : first of all hitler, but then the collective of his supporters. and let us never forget not to name hitler alone, but rather first of all his following, which made possible everything that came over germany, and over the world. q. when you, with your present 86 years of life, look back at yourself as a 20 - year - old, back then in 1943 in the summer, what do you see? in my memories, the memories of one who came from there, i say : over the course of a long, long life, the ego changes to the point of being unrecognizable to oneself. in other words, people transform, without that meaning that certain segments and elements of the ego can ’ t remain the same. i believe — without wanting to draw the suspicion of immodesty — that characteristic of me and my life is that, when i see weaker people, then i always stand by their side. maybe that ’ s because i was once weak myself, and it was important that somebody stood by me. but when i see that somebody must be helped, then i ’ m there, and it doesn ’ t matter what risks are associated with that. it just doesn ’ t work any other way — i can ’ t do it any other way. and that has remained. otherwise there are of course many things that one smiles about, and things that one did oneself that are abhorrent to remember. but all in all, i can only say that — at the cost of the fallen and the dead of the second world war — a life


course many things that one smiles about, and things that one did oneself that are abhorrent to remember. but all in all, i can only say that — at the cost of the fallen and the dead of the second world war — a life has been bestowed upon me that in the end i can only be happy about. the creative spinning top that turns in me could only have extended itself under the condition of a democratic republic, a democratic, constitutional state, and with the highest of consequences. i ’ ve made 100 movies for television, i ’ ve visited 38 countries in africa, latin america, and asia, i ’ ve written 19 books — and i could always say everything and write everything that i wanted. i have never been censored. i ’ ve been able to experience the pure joy of my creative powers, and my life has progressed in such a way that i can only say ( in spite of everything that remains scarred, or hasn ’ t yet scarred over ) that my story is a success, and that makes me happy. and many people envy me above all — even when they are 20 years younger — that the hair on my head stayed, which was obvious to me my whole life, but turns out not to be so obvious when you turn 70, 75, 80, 84. so i ’ ve been proven right about this, too. but above all, there ’ s one thing i haven ’ t lost : i haven ’ t lost my humor. once someone has lost that, and the ability to be happy and to smile — then, in spite of everything that was, one is truly lost. and i never wanted to be that. and i never want to be that, all the way to my — hopefully still distant — end. my american experience were you there for the storming of normandy beach? the bombing of germany? the victory in the pacific? or perhaps your friends and relatives have passed on stories of their own world war ii experiences that you would like to share.


for more than a century, railway stations have been an integral part of the canadian landscape. not only do they stand as testimony to canada ' s development, but to many canadian communities they are an important source of pride. that a great many canadians feel an attachment to these railway stations is shown by their enthusiastic efforts to preserve them. until the late 1980 ' s, public efforts to preserve railway stations were hindered by the absence of legislation. as most railway stations are owned or controlled by federally regulated railway companies, they are not subject to the various provincial laws that protect heritage. in 1988 parliament passed a private member ' s bill to protect these railway stations. the heritage railway stations protection act was given royal assent in september 1988. the heritage railway stations protection act requires federally regulated railway companies to obtain authorization from the governor in council before removing, destroying, altering or disposing of a heritage railway station, and before altering any of the heritage features of the station. it also allows for timely public involvement in opposing those interventions that are seen as potentially deleterious to a heritage railway station or its heritage features. the act provides for heavy fines for infractions. the heritage railway stations policy is based on the heritage railway stations protection act. responsibility for the implementation of the act and this policy has been given to the minister of canadian heritage, who is supported by the historic sites and monuments board of canada. the heritage railway stations policy promotes consultation, dialogue and public participation in the pursuit of the shared goal of identifying and conserving the built heritage. the policy establishes processes for identifying and evaluating heritage railway stations ; for specifying, where applicable, the features that give them heritage value ; and for reviewing on a case - by - case basis any intervention that might affect them or their heritage features. the federal government encourages railway companies that own or control these stations to apply cultural resource management methods in their treatment of them, and to set an example in conserving aspects of canada ' s built heritage.


ibm ' s racetrack memory moves closer to the checkered flag ibm researchers are now a step closer to commercializing an experimental technology that could be used load up a mobile phone with so much storage that it could keep copies of every movie made this year. called " racetrack memory, " it ' s a technology that ibm fellow stuart parkin has been tinkering with since 2004. unlike a hard drive, which spins magnetically charged atoms around using a motor, racetrack memory uses electric currents to move collections of electrons, called magnetic domain walls, up and down a very tiny wire. " it ' s like a kind of magnetic wave that we ' re moving along without having to move the atoms, " parkin said. by moving these domain walls to a reader, racetrack should be able to read and write data much more quickly, and using far less power than today ' s storage devices. " it would be a million times faster to access the first bit, and use much less energy, and there would be no problem with crashes, " parkin said. parkin thinks he can have a big effect on the storage capacity of common electronic devices such as phones. with the right funding, he thinks he ' s two to five years away from building chips filled with minuscule wires were he could push magnetic domains around, storing up to one hundred times as much data as today ' s flash memory chips. using wires a few microns long and about 30 nanometers wide - - one thousandth the thickness of human hair - - the first racetrack chips could store hundreds of gigabytes or even a few terabytes of data, parkin said. parkin ' s team has already developed some early racetrack prototypes - - chips that can read and write simple data sets - - but until now there was a key unanswered question : how exactly do these magnetic domain walls move? " if we wanted to manipulate and place these domain walls precisely, that was something we needed to know, " parkin said. before now, there had been two schools of thought on this question. one held that the magnetic waves that parkin talked about had no mass and would move instantly at their set speed as soon as the current was applied ; and they ' d stop instantly too. the other view was that maybe they actually had mass and were subject to the laws of inertia - - taking a bit of time to speed up to speeds of hundreds of miles per hour, and essentially coasting to a stop when the current was turned off. in a


the assembly for the teaching of english grammar some questions and answers about grammar why is grammar important? this exercise will introduce you to sentence combining - - that is, organizing sets of short, choppy sentences into longer, more effective ones. however, the goal of sentence combining is not to produce longer sentences but rather to develop more effective sentences - - and to help you become a more versatile writer. tips for teaching grammar tips for teaching grammar is a selection of practical and effective strategies for teaching various aspects of grammar to students at different grade levels. it is edited by brock haussamen and pam dykstra, and it draws on the writings, listserv discussions, and workshop presentations of many members of ateg. teaching grammar is far from the most important part of teaching writing. this list of verbs will help you understand verbs a little better. for a more in - depth look at verbs, see the verb page. welcome to hypergrammar electronic grammar course at the university of ottawa ' s writing centre. this course covers approximately the same ground as our english department ' s eng 1320 grammar course. the content of hypergrammar is the result of the collaborative work of the four instructors who were teaching the course in fall 1993 : heather macfadyen, david megginson, frances peck, and dorothy turner.