- Fast Company: The danger of insider language.
- Wally Bock: Project planning tips from home renovation.
- Rob Long: Watching basketball with real and rap royalty.
- France 24: The French military-run brothels during WWI.
- Nixon and Moynihan: The new book by Stephen Hess.
- Tanmay Vora: To communicate effectively.
- Universities are so tolerant? A warning about "partyism."
- Back by popular demand: A classic scene from "Rome."
- Amity Schlaes on turning around The New Republic.
- Commentary: The European anti-Israel double-standard.
- Spiegel: A charter pilot's run-in with Venezuelan drug lords.
- Cuban dissident Armando Valladares: "Against All Hope."
- National Review: Civility on campus.
The piece on French brothels mentions American doughboys, a topic with which I'm familiar.
ReplyDeleteThe Army and the US administration put on a major effort to make sure the clean (in the old meaning of the word) young men we sent to Europe stayed that way.
You might be surprised at the effort that was made in that effort. The YMCA, YWCA, Salvation Army, Jewish Welfare Board, Knights of Columbus, the War Camp Community Service, and the American Library Association formed the "Seven Sisters," a group that supported health, welfare, and recreation alternatives for the soldiers to keep them out of the houses of 'ill fame.' Sometimes it worked, but sometimes soldiers behaved like soldiers often behave.
It amazes me how much effort was made in this direction. For example, intelligence testing became a very big deal. Also, classes were held to try to alleviate illiteracy and many similar shortcomings, at least until combat pressures got to be too much.
Interesting story if you're interested.
Larry,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. The morality aspect must have been a major influence although I also imagine they were sensitive to the fact that armies in the past had been seriously weakened by disease.
Michael