Swans Commentary: Letters to the Editor - letter197

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Letters to the Editor

(August 23, 2010)

 

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Intelligent design? Michael Doliner's Scientific Theories And Experiments

To the Editor:

Are you telling me that "man" could be the intelligent source in DNA? Why didn't you explore that hypothesis more fully? Why didn't you discuss how "man" designed the first form of life and implanted intelligence in the first DNA molecule? It is fascinating and amazing how you people think!

Gerald Berry
Salida, Colorado, USA - August 9, 2010

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Lucid Assessment: Louis Proyect's Tony Judt: An Appreciation

To the Editor:

I was so impressed with Louis Proyect's comments on Tony Judt that I read Judt's article "Ill Fares the Land." Again, I was impressed with his comments on modern day society. I felt compelled to pass on a copy of the first page of the article to people whom I knew would appreciate what he had written. I sent a copy to the opposition Liberal leader of the Albertan Provincial Government. He replied saying that the article was "excellent" and that he would discuss it with his "team." All other replies have been favourable. One of my contacts was so impressed with the quality of Judt's penmanship that she has ordered a copy of "Ill Fares the Land."

I regularly read SWANS and I recommend your Web site to anyone who I believe would appreciate top quality political commentary.

Sincerely,

Alex Munro
Calgary, Alberta, Canada - August 18, 2010

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The Legend of Boris Vian's "Le Déserteur"

To the Editor:

While searching for the original poem "Le Déserteur" by Boris Vian, I stumbled upon your Web site's article. I read the whole thing, curious to see that even people from native English language were interested in the work of Vian. Everything was great, the translation perfect, but I wanted to add precision to some things. Here we go: You write that "It is also said that the last two verses of the song originally read, 'que je serai en arme/et que je sais tirer' (that I'll be armed/and I know how to shoot) but that it was changed to reflect the pacifist and anti-militarist character of the song."

Here the story as I've been taught in French schools:

This song was first a poem. And the lasts two verses of that poem were, in fact « Que je serai armé/Et que je sais tirer ». But when the time came to make it as a song, the label refused the song because they said that the last two verses were encouraging violence against government representatives. Boris Vian changed them so he could deliver his message.

Thank you,

Daniel Bernard
Paris, France - August 14, 2010

[ed. This is story that has made the rounds. It's never been proved...or disproved. Still, this is one of the most dramatic songs in antiwar history.]

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Published August 9, 2010
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