Political Gastronomica : Mitzvahs

Is the second canary signalling? You decide...

This morning, I saw an article that made my heart run slightly cold - which lead me to post it on my Facebook Notes. The response was quite intriguing that I decided to republish it here on my site.

So this morning, I see an article in the International Herald Tribune which made me stop cold (please, note the pun)

As temperatures rise, a greening of Greenland

NARSARSUAQ, Greenland: A strange thing is happening at the edge of Poul Bjerge's forest, a place so minute and unexpected that it brings to mind the teeny piece of land that Woody Allen's father carries around in the film "Love and Death."

Its four oldest trees - in fact, the four oldest pine trees in Greenland, named Rosenvinge's trees after the Dutch botanist who planted them in a mad experiment in 1893 - are waking up. After lapsing into stately, sleepy old age, they are exhibiting new sprinklings of green at their tops, as if someone had glued on fresh needles.

"The old ones, they're having a second youth," said Bjerge, 78, who has watched the forest, called Qanasiassat, come to life, in fits and starts, since planting most of the trees in it 50 years ago. He beamed like a proud grandson. "They're growing again."

When using the words "growing" in connection with Greenland in the same sentence, it is important to remember that although Greenland is about four times the size of France, it has only nine conifer forests like Bjerge's, all of them cultivated. It has only 51 farms. (They are all sheep farms, although one man is trying to raise cattle. He has 22 cows.) Except for potatoes, the only vegetables most Greenlanders ever eat - to the extent that they eat vegetables at all - are imported, mostly from Denmark.

But now that the climate is warming, it is not just old trees that are growing. A Greenlandic supermarket is stocking locally grown cauliflower, broccoli and cabbage this year for the first time. Eight sheep farmers are growing potatoes commercially. Five more are experimenting with vegetables. And Kenneth Hoeg, the region's chief agriculture adviser, says he does not see why southern Greenland cannot eventually be full of vegetable farms and viable forests.

As someone who recently read and watched Gore's Inconvenient Truth, looks like the second canary is signaling...

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 10:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Israelis and Palestinians: Bridging the Divide

In my travels, I have met some very interesting people - some of which are looking to address problems that have have a serious impact on life in this world. Dafna Tal is one of them. Dafna is a photographer from israel that has been frustrated with the division between Israelis and Palestinians and has been working to make a difference in the lives of others.

The following press release of her upcoming event in New York is her way of making things happen. Consider this a personal invitation from Dafna.

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 10:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

60 Minutes - Revisiting The Horrors Of The Holocaust

At the time when the Jewish community is celebrating the holiday of Hannukah and the ongoing clamor from the President of Iran over the "myth" of the Holocaust, a story is being run on 60 minutes tonight that might shed some "evidence" on this "myth":

At cbs.com:
(CBS) One man holds his fate in his hands: a list of inmates — his name among them, but crossed off — who were sent to a notorious slave labor camp few ever emerged from. Another holds the very card he signed as a teenager upon his entry to a concentration camp. A third sees a form the Nazis created to track the mail he never received in Buchenwald because the rest of his family had already been murdered at Auschwitz. All three Holocaust survivors are viewing for the first time the records the Nazis meticulously kept on them and 17 million other victims of Hitler's Third Reich.

Their stories and other revelations from the secret archives previously closed for 60 years are part of correspondent Scott Pelley's report, this Sunday, Dec. 17, at 7 p.m. ET/PT on 60 Minutes.

Is there something else that needs to be shown as to the reality of the horrors of those times? How can the decimation of 17 million people be a "myth"? Is there something fundamentally wrong when a story can be misconstrued and facts be rearranged in such a way that they can lead credence to such impossibilities? Just because of a position of power, can a person be assumed to be "correct" just because they claim a "fact"?

Tags: Holocaust, Bad Arolsen, Fact versus Fiction, 60 Minutes

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 6:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More on "Land of the Blind"

Last Friday, I took my podcasting kit with me to the Village 7 in the East Village and met up with Writer/Director Robert Edwards to chat about the launch of "Land of the Blind" in New York City. Over the course of two hours, we created a couple of podcasts talking about a number of things including how he came about to create such a film, the various reviews and reactions the film generated, and how he came to raise $5M and attach Rafe Fiennes and Donald Sutherland to a first effort by a novice fiction director. You can hear the podcasts below:

Introduction (mp3)
Robert and I discuss the origins of the film and how he created the story and the hidden meaning behind the imagery.
Recap of Reviews (mp3)
Robert discussed the impact the film has had on audiences and reviewers alike.
How To Make an Independent Film (mp3)
After being a documentarian, I wondered how he was able to attract $5M in funding for his first writing effort and then attract such powerhouse talent such as Donald Sutherland and Rafe Fiennes.

Since our meeting, Robert sent a message:

Thanks to the support of our friends and the movie's fans, the film did well enough in its opening week that its theatrical run in Manhattan has been extended. It will be playing at the Village 7 (but not the Empire 25) for another week, through next Thursday June 29. Beyond that remains to be seen....

Unfortunately, it did not do well enough to convince the distributor to open it in other cities across the US. A hurried release, in the middle of summer, with little advertising and no marketing proved too much, even with a groundswell of popular support.

But we're not sunk yet. We know that this is a controversial film that people other love or hate. We are negotiating now to bring the film to other cities on a one-by-one basis. Details on international theatrical release also to follow soon.

I really appreciate your support of the film, and you passing the word on to friends and colleagues. This is proof that grassroots support and word of mouth CAN make a difference, and win at least a battle or two, if not the whole war.

Please tell your friends and readers in New York who may be interested in the film that there is still time to see it, and stay tuned for details of further distribution across the US and worldwide...

Thanks again for spreading the word. I'll be in touch soon....

So, can you help get out the word? The film is still at the Village 7 on 3rd Avenue in the East Village - check out the film and tell us how you feel it is.

Tags: Land of the Blind, grassroots marketing, Robert Edwards

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 3:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More on Boris Weisfeiler

Quick Update: Both Olga and Anna have met are planning on meeting with President Bachelet and have been successful in generating some news coverage (See Centre Daily and Santiago Times). For more information, they have also released a press release clarifying some of the mistakes on the Santiago Artle (including the fact that now 27 lawmakers have signed on, above the original 14). I include the press release for clarification and you can learn more at http://www.findboris.com.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Lev Weisfeiler or levw (at) weisfeiler (dot) com in US ( anna (at) weisfeiler (dot) com in Chile)

MISSING AMERICAN: RENEWED FOCUS BY BI-PARTISAN GROUP OF U.S. LAWMAKERS

Santiago, Chile - A bi-partisan group of 27 U.S. Senators and Representatives wrote a formal letter of inquiry to the President of Chile, Michelle Bachelet regarding the fate and possible whereabouts of long-time missing Penn State professor Boris Weisfeiler, the American citizen who disappeared in Chile in 1985. The letter was crafted by U.S. Rep. John E. Peterson, R-PA. The letter was delivered personally this afternoon to the Chilean president by Boris's family. The Weisfeiler family hopes to meet with President Bachelet later this week.

The letter represents the first piece of direct, formal correspondence between members of the U.S. Congress and newly inaugurated Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

For her part, President Bachelet has heard of the Weisfeiler case before, briefed in 2002 as minister of defense under former President Ricardo Lagos, and most recently by Secretary Rice upon urging from Congress earlier this month.

Weisfeiler was a Pennsylvania State University professor at the time of his visit to Chile. His disappearance has never been fully explained, though there is evidence suggesting the involvement of members of Colonia Dignidad, a secretive, right-wing community led by a former German Nazi, who was recently arrested.

The letter was organized by Representative John Peterson (R-PA), who represents Boris Weisfeiler's district, and was also signed by Senators Edward Kennedy (D-MA); John Kerry (D-MA); Arlen Specter (R-PA); Rick Santorum (R-PA); Robert Menendez (D-NJ); Barney Frank (D-MA); Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA); Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), who is the senior Democrat on the House International Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere; Rep. Shelley Berkley (D-NV), who is also a member of the International Relations Committee; Rep. James Moran (D-VA); and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). Rep. Howard Berman (CA-D), Rep. Robert I. Wexler (FL-D), Rep. Cynthia McKinney (GA-D), Rep. Abercrombie (HI-D), Rep. Dennis Moore (KS-D), Rep. Steven F. Lynch (MA-D), Rep. James McGovern (MA-D), Rep. Richard Neal (MA-D), Rep. Chris Van Hollen (MD-D), Rep. John Conyers (MI-D), Rep. Maurice Hinchey (NY-D), Rep. Sherrod Brown (OH-D), Rep. Mike Doyle (PA-D), Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (PA-R), and Rep. Allyson Y. Schwartz (PA-D).

Tags: Boris Weisfeiler Michelle Bachelet Hillary Clinton

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 12:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Free Boris Weisfeiler

Recently, I was at the IPDI Conference (see earlier post)
and met a young lady who is waging a two woman campaign to generate visibility on an American citizen's kidnapping that occurred in Chile over 20 years ago. Interestingly enough, after twenty years of uncertainty and frustration, the Weisfeiler family might finally get the information they have dearly sought after these many years with a personal meeting with the new President Michelle Bachelet this coming week. But they need our help to get Senators and Representatives to sign on to a letter to show the US Congress' support for closing out this case.

On Christmas Break in 1985, Professor Boris Weisfeiler from Penn State was on a hiking trip near the Chilean border where he mysteriously disappeared. Chilean authorities (after a cursory investigation) concluded he had drowned and promptly closed the case.

Years later, due to the Clinton Institute's effort on declassifying documents due to the Pinochet Administration, it was discovered that Professor Weisfeiler was actually kidnapped by Pinochet's troops and had been detained in a mysterious settlement known as Colonia Dignidad (presumed to be a Nazi encampment). He was assumed to either be CIA, or a Russian or a Jewish spy - and was beaten, tortured and possibly killed. In 2002, then-Minister of Defence Michelle Bachelet met with the Weisfeiler family to investigate further after these documents had been uncovered. Unfortunately, at the time (and in 2004), the Chilean courts were not particularly receptive to SoS Bachelet's efforts.

This year, Michelle Bachelet recently won the Presidency of Chile and met with Secretary of State Rice to formally engage in bilateral talks between the US and Chile. The Weisfeiler family recently learned of some surprising news that might hint at the survival of Professor Weisfeiler and enlisted the support of 14 US Senators and Congressmen (a bi-partisian group of the likes of of Sen. John Kerry, Sen. Rick Santorium, Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Barney Frank) who submitted a signed letter requesting SoS Rice to specifically follow up on this issue.

This week, the Weisfeiler family is again returning to Chile to meet with President Bachelet with another letter signed by over 27 US Senators and Representatives to address this issue. The challenge is - most of the most appropriate people to help out (including Sen Clinton, Lieberman, Schumer, Biden, Bayh and others) have not signed on to the letter - due primarily to bureaucratic challenges getting through to the respective Senators and Representatives.

Can you help the Weisfeiler family to make your Senators and Representatives aware of this issue - to help them declassify the remaining documents in Chile that could help them resolve this two decade long search?

Learn more at www.saveboris.com.

UPDATE: Just found this link to the possibility that Boris may be alive on another blog:

But according to documents declassified by the U.S. State Department in June 2000, Weisfeiler was picked up by a military patrol and taken to the compound. Two years later, an informant reported to the U.S. embassy in Santiago that Weisfeiler was still alive but was being tortured and held in animal-like conditions inside the compound.

See news accounts here and here.

Tags: Boris Weisfeiler Michelle Bachelet Hillary Clinton

Posted by Sanford Dickert at 7:09 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack