What If The Italians “Returned” to England?

I’ve been reading “Zionism and Palestine”, a book written in 1937 (and updated in 1940) by Sir Ronald Storrs. His perspective on Zionism is somewhat unique. In 1918 Storrs became Military Governor of Jerusalem. In 1921 he became Civil Governor of Jerusalem and Judea. From 1926-1932 he was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Cyprus.

Zionism and Palestine by Ronald Storrs

This morning I read this passage about the suggested return of Jews to Palestine which I suspect puts the Palestinian view into some perspective:

The injunction, under Article 6 of the Mandate, that the Administration “shall encourage in co-operation with the Jewish Agency close settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not required for public purposes” in Palestine, sounded with a curious difference in different ears. To the world at large it seemed a reasonable satisfaction by the bestowal of surplus, unused and unwanted areas. To the Zionist, who had hoped that with the prosperity of British rule his rapidly augmented population would need every possible acre of land in the country, it was the obvious initial minimum of concession unwarrantably delayed by the Government. The thinking Arabs regarded Article 6 as Englishmen would regard instructions from a German conqueror for the settlement and development of the Duchy of Cornwall, of our Downs, commons and golf-courses, not by Germans, but by Italians “returning” as Roman legionaries. For such loss of national and political future repeated assurances of strict and scrupulous maintenance of religious rights and sites (assumed under British rule everywhere) were about as satisfactory compensations for the inviolable conservation of the Court of Arches and of Westminster Abbey. Article 6 has not yet been “implemented”, owing to the lack of available State property, but it still stands in the Mandate, and is still being vigorously pressed by Zionists.

The Scorpion and The Frog

A few of us were talking on Twitter tonight about this famous story – which I’ve always assumed was written by Orson Welles for his 1955 film “Mr Arkadin” – about the scorpion and the frog.

I’ve used this as my expectation of people ever since I first saw the film 20 years ago. People will do what their character demands.

G’Day World #358 – Greydon Square is back!

greydon square cpt theorem

Rapper Greydon Square joins me again on the show to talk about his new album The CPT Theorem.

If you haven’t heard of 27 year-old Greydon before (or heard my first interview with him), his story is interesting: he grew up (as Eddie Collins) in a Group Home in Compton, California, got involved with a gang at a young age, was busted for a crime, and given the choice of prison or joining the US Army. He chose the latter and ended up in the US Army in 2001 and Iraq in 2004. During this time he was a committed Christian who studied the Bible. The more he studied the Bible the more questions he had about his religion which lead to his becoming an atheist, with many of the lyrics of his rap songs focus on atheism and the skeptic inquiry. He also is completing a physics major. His fans include Richard Dawkins, Penn Jillette… and yours truly.

This time, instead of focusing on his atheism, I wanted to talk to Greydon about how he writes his music. He’s a one man band – producer, composer, lyricist, performer, businessman. And, as you’ll here on the tracks I’ve laid into the interview, his shit is excellent.

You can buy his albums through iTunes or from the link on his MySpace.