Word: commitments
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...Roman philosopher Seneca came to a sad end. Spurred by patriotism, he came out of exile to tutor Emperor Claudius' unstable stepson Nero and was rewarded for his pains several years later when his onetime student ordered him to commit suicide. At least Nero recognized greatness; ordinary mortals died by torture when a shadow crossed the Emperor's demented brain. In this threadbare, novelistic pastiche, Vincent Sheean treats Seneca far worse. Though the historical Seneca was second only to Cicero as an exponent of Stoicism, Sheean's Seneca has only windy self-pity and a maundering facility...
Abuse of Authority. Many jurists have long been fascinated by the entrapment defense. Most agree that there is a fine balance to be kept on that score. Is the defendant the sort of person who might reasonably have been expected to commit the crime without solicitation? But should not the court acquit the defendant regardless of criminal predisposition? Even if he were not predisposed to it but was seduced into committing the crime, is he not as guilty as if he had thought...
...Harakat Tahrir Falastin (Movement for the Liberation of Palestine). By itself, El Fatah means "Conquest." One of El Fatah's top leaders is Haj Amin Husseini, the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Since the first of the year, Asifa claims to have made 13 raids into Israel to commit acts of "strategic sabotage," that is, the dynamiting of reservoirs and kibbutz buildings...
...radicals seem to perceive any conflict between their underlying existential philosophies and their Marxist sympathies. There is certainly a strong psychological link between the two. Anyone drawn to the uncompromising individualism of existentialism with its rejection of a priori moral authority is likely to have an opposing urge to commit himself entirely to authority. That is a commonplace in psychology, but it is often forgotten by those who notice the intellectual inconsistency between the two positions. Sartre easily fits the existentialist-Marxist pattern of deep ambivalence to authority, if the childhood he describes in The Words is any indication...
...perhaps due to Chinese design. As well as anyone in the West, Peking knows the value of psychological warfare. But the Chinese would be foolish to commit themselves to a major ground war against the U.S. at this time. Said one Asia expert: "The benefits to China would be nil; they are now getting all of the advantages [from Viet Nam] with no real risks." And, since it will be at least five years before even the primitive 20-kiloton package exploded at Lop Nor can be delivered onto global targets, it seemed likely that the current Chinese thunder...