The scholar, who was particularly talented at statistical analysis, had one mission: to undermine the conventional wisdom of the Navy and related government projects.Ĭhurchill became prime minister with the fall of France, and Lindemann’s role expanded to general strategic oversight, but his basic task in the midst of the enormously complex war remained continuous. When Churchill returned to government as head of the Admiralty at the start of World War II in Europe, he immediately recruited Lindemann and gave him freedom in selecting his staff and generally in choosing his myriad projects.

He clearly regarded his friend as not only worthwhile company, but possessed of special talent. Churchill’s granddaughter Celia Sandys politely described him as “anti-social.”Įven Churchill’s endlessly patient, tolerant wife, Clementine, resisted having the Oxford don as a weekend houseguest, but Winston insisted. Lindemann’s primary problem, however, was himself, a relentless know-it-all and generally obnoxious. As an organization, we successfully resisted intimidation. When followers of radical Lyndon LaRouche, who exploited youth, tried to break up a meeting, we removed them. When a telephoned bomb threat disrupted a lecture by Congressman Paul Findley, critic of Israel, we continued the presentation in a stairwell. Over time, efforts to suppress speakers came from representatives in Chicago of a wide range of foreign governments, and people across and beyond the political spectrum. Gray, head of Hart, Schaffner & Marx, provided crucial courageous support. Facing severe backlash, the companies abandoned that course.ĭecades ago, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, my employer, attracted intense organized pressure to cancel an event featuring an official of the controversial Palestine Liberation Organization. In craven cowardice, Waldenbooks removed “Satanic Verses” from shelves, followed by B. There followed threats and violence directed not only against Rushdie but also stores selling the book.

In 1988, his book “Satanic Verses” offended Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini, who then publicly ordered to kill the author. Many years ago, Rushdie became a target of the fundamentalist killers who run Iran. The severely wounded author faces long recuperation and may lose an eye.

Thankfully, Salman Rushdie survived the vicious knife attack in New York.

Winston churchill high school