Charles van Heck's Woodhull Journal

War

  • Flying a Plane Without a Parachute

    There is a story told about Lyndon Johnson. In the telling, the President was playing poker in the White House family quarters with a few of the congressional leaders. During the game, he became melancholic, brooding. The assumption was that… Continue reading

  • When Reason Sleeps, the Monsters Emerge

    The Times published a poem by Robert Palmer in 1916 that reads in part: From sodden plains in West and East the bloodOf kindly men streams up in mists of hate,Polluting Thy clean air: and nations greatIn reputation of the… Continue reading

  • 11 November, Part Three: The Reverberating Gunshot

    “’Some damned foolish thing in the Balkans,” Bismarck predicted would ignite the next war. The assassination of the Austrian heir apparent, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, by Serbian nationalists on June 28, 1914, satisfied his condition.’” So wrote Barbara W. Tuchman in… Continue reading

  • Fail Safe in an AI World

    “Things are in the saddle and ride mankind.” Emerson This October 16th through the 28th marks the 63rd anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis. For thirteen days, the world stood on the brink of nuclear war. On the sixth day… Continue reading

  • The Moral Crisis Pricking the Conscience

    When does war become an act of vengeance? The question pricks at the conscience in times of war, political instability, and humanitarian crisis. We again find ourselves in such a period. The question demands a response. Gaza. Palestinians: 59,219 fatalities:… Continue reading