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Newsletter 145
April 2026
My love of America / Easter 2026
The view from the pool
The place is a physiotherapy pool in a remote town, on a Saturday morning before Easter. Somewhere in the depth of France. The wounded, the overweight, the suffering go there ; for relief and healing. The mood, generally, is silent and serene, restricted to small talk and descriptions of ailing. On this eve of Easter something is happening. A rare, rising sound of anger and disgust in the moist air. About « the Americans ».
« They think they’re the kings of the world, and they give hell to all ! » cries one, whereas others concur. A bomber was shot down in Iran, with a missing pilot. Giving the protesters a feeling of retribution, instant satisfaction. These people are not political. They come from all walks of life. Their common focus is to be self-centered, busy with their own pain and probability of progress.
The price of gasolene in service stations is on everybody’s mind. Fifty liters will now cost you a hundred euros ($115) if your car runs on petrol. If it does on diesel, you will lose twenty more bucks. People feel strangled, choked. Both sides of the Atlantic. « Americans struggle as gas prices surge » – although gas is twice less expensive there, at over $4 for a gallon, they still struggle, most of them. « Trump struck Iran, now farmers are paying the price » (New York Times, April 3, 2026)
This was when Artemis II was on its way to the other side of the moon, with three men aboard and a woman – three of them Americans. As of this writing, April 6, 9 pm Greenwich time, the astronauts have surpassed the record for the farthest distance traveled by human beings from Earth : 400,000 km, thus surpassing the previous record of Apollo 13 back in 1970. Humankind is supposed to stand in awe : the-farthest human beings have gone into space !
The view from the moon
« Trust us, you look amazing, you look beautiful ! and from up here you also look like one thing ! We’re all one people ! » exclaimed the Artemis Orion pilot, Captain Glover.
His crew partner, astronaut Christina Koch, who holds the record for the longest spaceflight by a woman, marveled about « the breathtaking aspect of seeing your home planet both lit up bright as day and also the moon glow on it at night »
Awesome, from 250,000 miles, isn’t it. « Cut off from contact with the outer world, and with the past, the citizen of Oceania is like a man in interstellar space, who has no way of knowing which direction is up and which is down. » Orwell, 1984. He has no access to internet, has he. The news from the « outer world » never get into his sanitized bubble beyond the moon, do they.
The view from the ground – and from underground
It’s all there, with a click. From the Israeli media, Lebanese media, you find it with the BBC, the New York Times, Reuters, AFP…
On the eve of the Artemis launch : ‘When sirens sound it feels like a heart attack’ – anxiety cases surge amid war. March 31, 2026.
– Six-story building collapses in Tel Aviv. April 1. Launching day.
– At least 23 more people killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon over past twenty-four hours. April 3.
– Five wounded after Iran fires missiles at Tel Aviv area… hits near Kirya Defense Ministry HQ. April 4.
– ‘We’re sinking deeper’, Iranians brace for infrastructure strikes. April 6
– Israel steps up attacks on Lebanon, killing dozens. April 6.
– 2,5 million children stuck at home for five weeks since outbreak of the hostilities. April 6.
– Foreign airlines extend Israel flight cancellations. April 6.
You are welcome to check by yourselves, one way or the other.
https://messageriesdelapaix.org/index.php/2026/04/01/media-april-2026/
We look beautiful and amazing, like one thing, rushed to underground shelters, or confined to the ruins and rubble of Gaza, oh Captain ? When Israel, a tiny country of ten million, has become nothing less than a pariah state, more of a trap than a nation, where hundreds of thousands are rushed to shelters at all times of day and night any time the sirens shriek, where kids haven’t gone to school since March 1, and flights to and fro have been suspended sine die… When one in six million people have been forcibly displaced in Lebanon, many of their homes destroyed or doomed… When tens of millions in Iran expect electricity and water to be cut off by tomorrow morning, April 8 at dawn ?
MAGA – Make America Great Again !
So, yes, we guess, whereas the Artemis Orion spaceship is cruising around the moon, and back – is there a pilot in command on spaceship Earth ? From the standard Western point-of-view, it is supposed to be the POTUS (President of the United States), with his MAGA motto – or is it the Secretary General of the United Nations ? Is there any global authority aboard this drifting human ship of billions ? Do we have to fly up 250,000 miles to realize we’re all one ?
Up there / Down here. War after war after war. All the way from Cuba 1961 to Viet-Nam, and from Afghanistan to Iraq, from Syria to Gaza and Iran. Haven’t we learnt anything from so many failures and orchestrated devastations ? Take it back to Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom. October 2001. End result ?
Remember this British prince flying an Apache helicopter over Afghanistan in 2012-2013, as a co-pilot and gunner, gunning down twenty-five men, by his own estimates, and frankly stating « The thumbstick I fired was remarkably similar to the thumbstick for the PlayStation game I’d just been playing. » ? The warnings he had received from various commanders, what was made of them ? « At times we felt the commanders were right, we were creating more Taliban. […] Afghanistan was a war of mistakes, a war of enormous collateral damage – thousands of innocents killed and maimed… » Spare, Prince Harry. From one war of mistakes to the next ?
This is not to dismiss Artemis II, or the MAGA pledge. If the POTUS felt the need to focus on making America great again in his 2024 election campaign, it is a stark reminder that America was great once, but lost it. How it lost it obviously goes back to the quagmire years of Viet-Nam, 1963-1975, the Gulf Wars and their lies, 1990-1991 / 2003-2011, and the even longer quagmire failure in Afghanistan, 2001-2021. Hence the presidential pledge, leading to the electoral victory in 2024 : « They said he will start a war, I’m not going to start a war, I’m going to stop wars ».
Remember the driving force behind this 2024 campaign : « uniting citizens of all backgrounds around a common core of common sense ». Time to reminisce. Step back and reminisce. Remember Ike’s stern warning about the Military-Industrial Complex, in his January 1961 State of the Union address, handling the baton to John F. Kennedy.
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-dwight-d-eisenhowers-farewell-address
Take it back to 1961 then. Ike for Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States of America.
Ike also was a moniker (I Know Everything) for Alan Shepard, the first American ever to travel into space, in May 1961 – some three weeks after Yuri Gagarin had been the first human being in space, to orbit the Earth, aboard Vostok 1. Al Shepard, with the Mercury Seven – Scott Carpenter the scubadiver, Gordon Cooper the pianist, John Glenn « the last American hero », Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Don Slayton : how these seven inspired awe and heartfelt love in the Western part of the world ! All the more as Alan Shepard returned into space in early 1971, and became the oldest man to walk on the moon, at the ripe age of 47 (Apollo 14).
As for the first American to orbit the Earth, in February 1962, John Glenn, he also returned into space, with Discovery, in 1998, aged 77 – after being a senator, for a quarter of a century, from 1974 until 1999.
So, yes, take it back to Eisenhower, who somehow kick-started the space programme, and the pioneers Glenn, Shepard, Cooper, Carpenter. From the days when America stood its ground, from Freedom 7 to Friendship 7 (Shepard’s and Glenn’s vessels).
And, if we do care to make America great again, and inspiring, lovable, remember the awful fate of simple people in Beirut, in South Lebanon, in Tel Aviv, in Dimona, in Gaza, in Haifa, in Tehran… Remember the wounded’s anger in that pool, in the middle of Nowhere, at what America may drift into.
Remember John Glenn’s address to the Congress, after his return on Earth, at the end of February 1962 : « As our knowledge of the universe in which we live increases, may God grant us the wisdom and guidance to use it wisely. »
And those of you who harbour doubts as to what God may grant or not grant, heed Ike’s advice, for what it is worth – We should take nothing for granted … Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry…:
« In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.
[…] We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together. »
So that our love of America may rise again, eventually.
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It has been a full year since our last Newsletter in English (eight posted otherwise). Then, the war and devastation in Gaza was still ongoing. Until the ceasefire of October 2025. Since, what has changed for people there ? Over two million of them survive in rubble in half the space they used to enjoy prior to October 2023. Who cares about the people there, the schooling of children in ruins ?
Is rushing from one war to the next helping anyone, apart from the arms manufacturers ?
‘When sirens sound, it feels like a heart attack’ Anxiety cases surge amid war. Ynet News, March 31
Six-story building collapses in Tel Aviv. Ynet News, April 1
At least 23 more people killed in Israeli attacks in Lebanon over past 24 hours. L’Orient Today, Apr.3
Five wounded after Iran fires missiles at Tel Aviv area, hits near Defense Min. HQ. Haaretz, Apr. 4
‘We’re sinking deeper’ Iranians brace for infrastructure strikes. BBC, April 6
Israel steps up attacks on Lebanon killing dozens. The New York Times, April 6
2,5 million children stuck at home for 5 weeks since outbreak of hostilities, The Times of Israel, Apr 6
Foreign airlines extend Israel flight cancellations, Ynet News, April 6
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