where the truth lies
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DEBTOCRACY- A GREEK FILM WITH LESSONS FOR IRELAND
13 years ago
Saturday, November 25, 2006
i personally always preferred FLOUR tortillas
and of course the virgin of guadalupe (i have her on my steering wheel cover) is one of my favorite images. what more could a grrl want than that?
He envisions beauty, not burritos
By Diane Haithman
Corn, or flour?Artist Joe Bravo, 56, uses tortillas as his canvas, and he chooses flour — mainly because L.A.'s Tortilleria San Marcos, the company that fashions the specialorder, 2-foot-diameter tortillas on which he paints, has a bigger flour press than corn press. "But I also get more texture variations when I cook them over the stove top," he says.
Bravo — whose tortillas are on view through Jan. 13 at the Mexican Cultural Institute, 125 Paseo de La Plaza, across from Union Station — started painting tortillas as a Cal State Northridge student for a practical reason: "I didn't have the money to buy canvas," he says. "I was staring at a tortilla one day and thought: Why not paint on it?"Bravo's first tortilla artwork, a hanging mobile, disintegrated because it was improperly preserved; these days, Bravo gives his tortillas several coats of acrylic varnish.................
He envisions beauty, not burritosBy Diane Haithman
Corn, or flour?Artist Joe Bravo, 56, uses tortillas as his canvas, and he chooses flour — mainly because L.A.'s Tortilleria San Marcos, the company that fashions the specialorder, 2-foot-diameter tortillas on which he paints, has a bigger flour press than corn press. "But I also get more texture variations when I cook them over the stove top," he says.
Bravo — whose tortillas are on view through Jan. 13 at the Mexican Cultural Institute, 125 Paseo de La Plaza, across from Union Station — started painting tortillas as a Cal State Northridge student for a practical reason: "I didn't have the money to buy canvas," he says. "I was staring at a tortilla one day and thought: Why not paint on it?"Bravo's first tortilla artwork, a hanging mobile, disintegrated because it was improperly preserved; these days, Bravo gives his tortillas several coats of acrylic varnish.................
meanwhile, back in iraq
things keep getting worser and worser as alice would say
i can't imagine living like this. day to day not knowing if you can worship where you choose or pick your dead up from the morgue or have a relationship with someone who is of a different sect that you.
After 'Thanksgiving Day Massacre' in Iraq: 6 Burned Alive
BAGHDAD Shiite militiamen grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near Iraqi soldiers who did not intervene, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.The savage revenge attack for Thursday's slaying of 215 people in the Shiite Sadr City slum occurred as members of the Mahdi Army militia burned four mosques, and several homes while killing an unknown number of Sunni residents in the once-mixed Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad.Meanwhile, two bombs exploded in northern Iraq on Friday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 26, the police said. Followers of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warned Friday that they would suspend their membership in Parliament and the cabinet if Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki met with President George W. Bush in Jordan next week, a member of parliament said. Bush and Maliki were scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday in Amman, the Jordanian capital.The Sadr bloc in Parliament and government is the backbone of Maliki's political support, and its withdrawal, even if only temporarily, would be a severe blow to the prime minister's already shaky hold on power.The legislator Qusai Abdul-Wahab, a Sadr follower, said in a statement that U.S. forces were to blame for the bombings Thursday in Sadr City because they had failed to provide security.............
i can't imagine living like this. day to day not knowing if you can worship where you choose or pick your dead up from the morgue or have a relationship with someone who is of a different sect that you.
After 'Thanksgiving Day Massacre' in Iraq: 6 Burned Alive
BAGHDAD Shiite militiamen grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive near Iraqi soldiers who did not intervene, police Capt. Jamil Hussein said.The savage revenge attack for Thursday's slaying of 215 people in the Shiite Sadr City slum occurred as members of the Mahdi Army militia burned four mosques, and several homes while killing an unknown number of Sunni residents in the once-mixed Hurriyah neighborhood of Baghdad.Meanwhile, two bombs exploded in northern Iraq on Friday, killing at least 22 people and wounding 26, the police said. Followers of the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr warned Friday that they would suspend their membership in Parliament and the cabinet if Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki met with President George W. Bush in Jordan next week, a member of parliament said. Bush and Maliki were scheduled to meet Wednesday and Thursday in Amman, the Jordanian capital.The Sadr bloc in Parliament and government is the backbone of Maliki's political support, and its withdrawal, even if only temporarily, would be a severe blow to the prime minister's already shaky hold on power.The legislator Qusai Abdul-Wahab, a Sadr follower, said in a statement that U.S. forces were to blame for the bombings Thursday in Sadr City because they had failed to provide security.............
it is my personal belief
king george and his (soon to be dissipated) court do NOT care either about the truth OR about the condition of mother earth. as evidence;
A Step Shy of Book-Burning
By Kelpie Wilson, TruthOut.org
It never got down to actual book-burning, but the Republican choke-hold on government would clearly have taken us there. In August, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, the Bush Environmental Protection Agency began closing most of its research libraries, both to the public and to its own staff.
The EPA's professional staff objected strongly, insisting that closing the libraries would hamstring them in their jobs. In a letter to Congress protesting the closures, public employees said, "We believe that this budget cut is just one of many Bush administration initiatives to reduce the effectiveness of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and to continue to demoralize its employees.".........
.............Closing the EPA libraries is the perfect symbol to characterize the methods of the Bush administration. Since 2000, the Republicans have cemented their reputation as ushers of a new dark age. They have sought to shroud the light of science by closing libraries and by suppressing scientific reports. They have gagged their own scientists and persecuted whistleblowers. They have cloaked government in secrecy, a prime example being Dick Cheney's secret meetings with oil companies to draft an industry-friendly national energy policy. But that era is now winding down.
Just before the election, Barbara Boxer and other senators sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee calling for restored access to the libraries. There is every reason to hope that the Democrats will follow through with their newly won power and get those libraries reopened. But this will be just the beginning of a Herculean task to clean the muck out of the stables and restore an environmental regulatory function to government..............
there DOES appear to be hope with the changing of the guards though. i've not quite given up
A Step Shy of Book-Burning
By Kelpie Wilson, TruthOut.org
It never got down to actual book-burning, but the Republican choke-hold on government would clearly have taken us there. In August, under the guise of fiscal responsibility, the Bush Environmental Protection Agency began closing most of its research libraries, both to the public and to its own staff.
The EPA's professional staff objected strongly, insisting that closing the libraries would hamstring them in their jobs. In a letter to Congress protesting the closures, public employees said, "We believe that this budget cut is just one of many Bush administration initiatives to reduce the effectiveness of the US Environmental Protection Agency, and to continue to demoralize its employees.".........
.............Closing the EPA libraries is the perfect symbol to characterize the methods of the Bush administration. Since 2000, the Republicans have cemented their reputation as ushers of a new dark age. They have sought to shroud the light of science by closing libraries and by suppressing scientific reports. They have gagged their own scientists and persecuted whistleblowers. They have cloaked government in secrecy, a prime example being Dick Cheney's secret meetings with oil companies to draft an industry-friendly national energy policy. But that era is now winding down.
Just before the election, Barbara Boxer and other senators sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee calling for restored access to the libraries. There is every reason to hope that the Democrats will follow through with their newly won power and get those libraries reopened. But this will be just the beginning of a Herculean task to clean the muck out of the stables and restore an environmental regulatory function to government..............
there DOES appear to be hope with the changing of the guards though. i've not quite given up
Friday, November 24, 2006
hey principal mccracken
why not make all of the babes in the good ol' us of a wear niqabs and stay home unless they are accompanied by a male family member. sounds like a damn good idea to me
Girl dismissed from lifting class sues
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An Anderson County teenager has filed a lawsuit over her temporary dismissal from a weightlifting class by a principal who feared male students might try to rape her.
Anderson County High School has asked a federal magistrate to dismiss the $1 million sex discrimination suit by student Ambrea Phillips and her father.
"There's no dispute she was removed," school attorney Arthur F. Knight said at a hearing Thursday. He contended Phillips was reinstated within days and suffered "no academic detriment whatsoever."
Phillips' attorney, Roger L. Ridenour, said stress from the incident caused the student to become physically ill. He said the handling of the situation by then-principal Bob McCracken is part of a pattern of mishandled sex issues at the high school.
Phillips was an honor student and a track team member when she signed up for the class, where she eventually earned an A. She has since graduated and is in college.
McCracken said in a deposition that he was afraid Phillips might be sexually assaulted in the class.
"Having a female with 35 or so male students in an isolated area from the school, it sets a very liable situation in my opinion," McCracken said in the deposition.
Three days after kicking Phillips out of the class, McCracken changed his mind and reinstated her............
Girl dismissed from lifting class sues
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - An Anderson County teenager has filed a lawsuit over her temporary dismissal from a weightlifting class by a principal who feared male students might try to rape her.
Anderson County High School has asked a federal magistrate to dismiss the $1 million sex discrimination suit by student Ambrea Phillips and her father.
"There's no dispute she was removed," school attorney Arthur F. Knight said at a hearing Thursday. He contended Phillips was reinstated within days and suffered "no academic detriment whatsoever."
Phillips' attorney, Roger L. Ridenour, said stress from the incident caused the student to become physically ill. He said the handling of the situation by then-principal Bob McCracken is part of a pattern of mishandled sex issues at the high school.
Phillips was an honor student and a track team member when she signed up for the class, where she eventually earned an A. She has since graduated and is in college.
McCracken said in a deposition that he was afraid Phillips might be sexually assaulted in the class.
"Having a female with 35 or so male students in an isolated area from the school, it sets a very liable situation in my opinion," McCracken said in the deposition.
Three days after kicking Phillips out of the class, McCracken changed his mind and reinstated her............
a four part series from the los angeles times
how we are not only poisioning our land(s) we are poisioning our native popuation AND NOT DOING A DAMN THING ABOUT IT.
blighted homeland
part i, toxic homes A peril that dwelt among the Navajos
During the Cold War, uranium mines left contaminated waste scattered around the Indians. Homes built with the material silently pulsed with radiation. People developed cancer. And the U.S. did little to help.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff WriterNovember 19, 2006
Oljato, Utah -- Mary and Billy Boy Holiday bought their one-room house from a medicine man in 1967. They gave him $50, a sheep and a canvas tent.For the most part, they were happy with the purchase. Their Navajo hogan was situated well, between a desert mesa and the trading-post road. The eight-sided dwelling proved stout and snug, with walls of stone and wood, and a green-shingle roof.The single drawback was the bare dirt underfoot. So three years after moving in, the Holidays jumped at the chance to get a real floor. A federally funded program would pay for installation if they bought the materials. The Holidays couldn't afford to, but the contractor, a friend of theirs, had an idea.He would use sand and crushed rock that had washed down from an old uranium mine in the mesa, one of hundreds throughout the Navajo reservation that once supplied the nation's nuclear weapons program. The waste material wouldn't cost a cent. "He said it made good concrete," Mary Holiday recalled.As promised, the 6-inch slab was so smooth that the Holidays could lay their mattresses directly on it and enjoy a good night's sleep.They didn't know their fine new floor was radioactive............
part ii water water everywhere but not a drop to drink (safely) Oases in Navajo desert contained 'a witch's brew'
Rain-filled uranium pits provided drinking water for people and animals. Then a mysterious wasting illness emerged.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff WriterNovember 20, 2006
Cameron, Ariz. -- In all her years of tending sheep in the western reaches of the Navajo range, Lois Neztsosie had never seen anything so odd.New lakes had appeared as if by magic in the arid scrublands. Instead of hunting for puddles in the sandstone, she could lead her 100 animals to drink their fill. She would quench her own thirst as well, parting the film on the water's surface with her hands and leaning down to swallow.Despite the abundant water, an unexpected blessing, her flock failed to thrive. The birthrate dropped, and the few new lambs that did appear had a hard time walking. Some were born without eyes.Lois' husband, David, wondered whether the sheepdogs were mating with their charges. A medicine man, he also suspected witchcraft. He tried to fight the spell by burning cedar and herbs and gathering the sheep around the fire to inhale the healing smoke.The livestock were not his only worry. A mysterious sickness was affecting the couple's two youngest daughters.Laura, born in 1970, had a weak right eye and was prone to stumbling. Arlinda came along the following year and developed ulcers in her corneas by age 5. A few years later, she was walking on the sides of her feet.At the Indian Health Service hospital, doctors were mystified. Experts concluded that both girls suffered from a rare genetic disorder.There was another possibility, but no one considered it until many years later.No one connected the children and the sheep................
part iii don't ask for help unless you're white Navajos' desert cleanup no more than a mirage
Through a federal program, decontamination seemed possible. But delays and disputes thwarted the effort.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff Writer November 21, 2006
Church Rock Mine, N.M. -- Most of the mining companies that drilled, dug and blasted for uranium on the Navajo reservation during the Cold War did nothing to repair the environmental damage they left behind. For a time, tribal leaders staked their hopes for a cleanup on Superfund, the landmark legislation that forces polluters to pay for remediation of toxic sites.More than 1,000 abandoned mines are scattered across the Navajo homeland, which covers 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.Such a comprehensive cleanup is "exactly what Superfund was designed for," said Paul Connor, a lawyer who once directed Superfund enforcement policy for the Environmental Protection Agency.It hasn't happened. Bureaucratic delays and misunderstandings between the tribe and the EPA have prevented the Navajos from tapping Superfund's deep pockets and broad legal authority.Instead, the tribe reluctantly settled for a partial cleanup under a separate program. That effort left many hazards untouched.One of them is in Church Rock Mine, a Navajo community named for an abandoned uranium site. A 30-foot-high heap of grit and dynamited stone from the mine looms over a cluster of 15 homes. The wind roars for hours at a time, scattering radioactive dust throughout the settlement.For years, residents appealed to tribal leaders and the U.S. government for help. In 2003, tired of waiting, they joined forces with Navajo activists who were using a foundation grant to conduct radiation testing.In a dry wash where generations of children had played catch and tag, they discovered elevated radiation levels.........
part iv since you don't count anyway, we're going to take your land (again) Mining firms again eyeing Navajo land
Demand for uranium is soaring. But the tribe vows a 'knockdown, drag-out legal battle.'
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff Writer November 22, 2006
Crownpoint, N.M. -- When mining companies started calling tribal offices last year, Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. issued an edict to employees: Don't answer any questions. Report all contacts to the Navajo attorney general.Decades after the Cold War uranium boom ended, leaving a trail of poisonous waste across the Navajo Nation, the mining industry is back, seeking to tap the region's vast uranium deposits once again.Companies are staking claims, buying mineral rights and applying for permits on the edge of the tribal homeland. They make no secret of their desire to mine within the reservation as well.That prospect has turned neighbor against neighbor and touched off legal, political and financial maneuvering far from Navajo lands.Fifty years ago, a nuclear arms race propelled the search for uranium. Today, the driving force is the quest for new sources of energy. China and India are building nuclear reactors at a rapid pace to fuel their growing economies, and the Bush administration is pushing to expand nuclear energy in this country to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.With demand increasing, the price of uranium has climbed to more than $60 a pound. Six years ago, it was as low as $7.Mining companies are extracting uranium in Texas, Wyoming and Nebraska, and are taking steps to mine in Colorado.But Navajo country, covering some 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is the biggest prize of all — "the Saudi Arabia of uranium," in the words of Mark Pelizza, a vice president of Uranium Resources Inc.............
blighted homeland
part i, toxic homes A peril that dwelt among the Navajos
During the Cold War, uranium mines left contaminated waste scattered around the Indians. Homes built with the material silently pulsed with radiation. People developed cancer. And the U.S. did little to help.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff WriterNovember 19, 2006
Oljato, Utah -- Mary and Billy Boy Holiday bought their one-room house from a medicine man in 1967. They gave him $50, a sheep and a canvas tent.For the most part, they were happy with the purchase. Their Navajo hogan was situated well, between a desert mesa and the trading-post road. The eight-sided dwelling proved stout and snug, with walls of stone and wood, and a green-shingle roof.The single drawback was the bare dirt underfoot. So three years after moving in, the Holidays jumped at the chance to get a real floor. A federally funded program would pay for installation if they bought the materials. The Holidays couldn't afford to, but the contractor, a friend of theirs, had an idea.He would use sand and crushed rock that had washed down from an old uranium mine in the mesa, one of hundreds throughout the Navajo reservation that once supplied the nation's nuclear weapons program. The waste material wouldn't cost a cent. "He said it made good concrete," Mary Holiday recalled.As promised, the 6-inch slab was so smooth that the Holidays could lay their mattresses directly on it and enjoy a good night's sleep.They didn't know their fine new floor was radioactive............
part ii water water everywhere but not a drop to drink (safely) Oases in Navajo desert contained 'a witch's brew'
Rain-filled uranium pits provided drinking water for people and animals. Then a mysterious wasting illness emerged.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff WriterNovember 20, 2006
Cameron, Ariz. -- In all her years of tending sheep in the western reaches of the Navajo range, Lois Neztsosie had never seen anything so odd.New lakes had appeared as if by magic in the arid scrublands. Instead of hunting for puddles in the sandstone, she could lead her 100 animals to drink their fill. She would quench her own thirst as well, parting the film on the water's surface with her hands and leaning down to swallow.Despite the abundant water, an unexpected blessing, her flock failed to thrive. The birthrate dropped, and the few new lambs that did appear had a hard time walking. Some were born without eyes.Lois' husband, David, wondered whether the sheepdogs were mating with their charges. A medicine man, he also suspected witchcraft. He tried to fight the spell by burning cedar and herbs and gathering the sheep around the fire to inhale the healing smoke.The livestock were not his only worry. A mysterious sickness was affecting the couple's two youngest daughters.Laura, born in 1970, had a weak right eye and was prone to stumbling. Arlinda came along the following year and developed ulcers in her corneas by age 5. A few years later, she was walking on the sides of her feet.At the Indian Health Service hospital, doctors were mystified. Experts concluded that both girls suffered from a rare genetic disorder.There was another possibility, but no one considered it until many years later.No one connected the children and the sheep................
part iii don't ask for help unless you're white Navajos' desert cleanup no more than a mirage
Through a federal program, decontamination seemed possible. But delays and disputes thwarted the effort.
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff Writer November 21, 2006
Church Rock Mine, N.M. -- Most of the mining companies that drilled, dug and blasted for uranium on the Navajo reservation during the Cold War did nothing to repair the environmental damage they left behind. For a time, tribal leaders staked their hopes for a cleanup on Superfund, the landmark legislation that forces polluters to pay for remediation of toxic sites.More than 1,000 abandoned mines are scattered across the Navajo homeland, which covers 27,000 square miles in Arizona, Utah and New Mexico.Such a comprehensive cleanup is "exactly what Superfund was designed for," said Paul Connor, a lawyer who once directed Superfund enforcement policy for the Environmental Protection Agency.It hasn't happened. Bureaucratic delays and misunderstandings between the tribe and the EPA have prevented the Navajos from tapping Superfund's deep pockets and broad legal authority.Instead, the tribe reluctantly settled for a partial cleanup under a separate program. That effort left many hazards untouched.One of them is in Church Rock Mine, a Navajo community named for an abandoned uranium site. A 30-foot-high heap of grit and dynamited stone from the mine looms over a cluster of 15 homes. The wind roars for hours at a time, scattering radioactive dust throughout the settlement.For years, residents appealed to tribal leaders and the U.S. government for help. In 2003, tired of waiting, they joined forces with Navajo activists who were using a foundation grant to conduct radiation testing.In a dry wash where generations of children had played catch and tag, they discovered elevated radiation levels.........
part iv since you don't count anyway, we're going to take your land (again) Mining firms again eyeing Navajo land
Demand for uranium is soaring. But the tribe vows a 'knockdown, drag-out legal battle.'
By Judy Pasternak, Times Staff Writer November 22, 2006
Crownpoint, N.M. -- When mining companies started calling tribal offices last year, Navajo President Joe Shirley Jr. issued an edict to employees: Don't answer any questions. Report all contacts to the Navajo attorney general.Decades after the Cold War uranium boom ended, leaving a trail of poisonous waste across the Navajo Nation, the mining industry is back, seeking to tap the region's vast uranium deposits once again.Companies are staking claims, buying mineral rights and applying for permits on the edge of the tribal homeland. They make no secret of their desire to mine within the reservation as well.That prospect has turned neighbor against neighbor and touched off legal, political and financial maneuvering far from Navajo lands.Fifty years ago, a nuclear arms race propelled the search for uranium. Today, the driving force is the quest for new sources of energy. China and India are building nuclear reactors at a rapid pace to fuel their growing economies, and the Bush administration is pushing to expand nuclear energy in this country to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.With demand increasing, the price of uranium has climbed to more than $60 a pound. Six years ago, it was as low as $7.Mining companies are extracting uranium in Texas, Wyoming and Nebraska, and are taking steps to mine in Colorado.But Navajo country, covering some 27,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, is the biggest prize of all — "the Saudi Arabia of uranium," in the words of Mark Pelizza, a vice president of Uranium Resources Inc.............
Thursday, November 23, 2006
happy thanksgiving
i wanted to link to an article by robert jensen, phd professor at the university of texas. he wrote it last year
i know others (yes, you rick) may disagree. i see it more from mr jensen's point of view. while we have MANY things to be thankful for (and believe me i am), we also have many things we must reflect upon. the sins of my father are NOT my sins but i also do not wish to commit those very same transgressions.
No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen, AlterNetPosted on November 23, 2006, Printed on November 23, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/44661/
One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.
In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas.
Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits -- which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States.
That the world's great powers achieved "greatness" through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable.
But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin -- the genocide of indigenous people -- is of special importance today. It's now routine -- even among conservative commentators -- to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful.
One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building. From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hearty Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. ...........
tomorrow (or perhaps this weekend), i am going to post a series of stories (4 in total) from the los angeles times. it deals with what we did on some reservations in the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s into today. how we allowed the land to be raped but beyond that, we left toxic waste. how when the very same toxic waste was discovered in a town in colorado (grand junction) the government paid for a TOTAL clean up. how those huts on the reservations are STILL stewing in toxic goo with many deaths and diseases thrown in.
once again, happy thanksgiving
i know others (yes, you rick) may disagree. i see it more from mr jensen's point of view. while we have MANY things to be thankful for (and believe me i am), we also have many things we must reflect upon. the sins of my father are NOT my sins but i also do not wish to commit those very same transgressions.
No Thanks to Thanksgiving
By Robert Jensen, AlterNetPosted on November 23, 2006, Printed on November 23, 2006http://www.alternet.org/story/44661/
One indication of moral progress in the United States would be the replacement of Thanksgiving Day and its self-indulgent family feasting with a National Day of Atonement accompanied by a self-reflective collective fasting.
In fact, indigenous people have offered such a model; since 1970 they have marked the fourth Thursday of November as a Day of Mourning in a spiritual/political ceremony on Coles Hill overlooking Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts, one of the early sites of the European invasion of the Americas.
Not only is the thought of such a change in this white-supremacist holiday impossible to imagine, but the very mention of the idea sends most Americans into apoplectic fits -- which speaks volumes about our historical hypocrisy and its relation to the contemporary politics of empire in the United States.
That the world's great powers achieved "greatness" through criminal brutality on a grand scale is not news, of course. That those same societies are reluctant to highlight this history of barbarism also is predictable.
But in the United States, this reluctance to acknowledge our original sin -- the genocide of indigenous people -- is of special importance today. It's now routine -- even among conservative commentators -- to describe the United States as an empire, so long as everyone understands we are an inherently benevolent one. Because all our history contradicts that claim, history must be twisted and tortured to serve the purposes of the powerful.
One vehicle for taming history is various patriotic holidays, with Thanksgiving at the heart of U.S. myth-building. From an early age, we Americans hear a story about the hearty Pilgrims, whose search for freedom took them from England to Massachusetts. There, aided by the friendly Wampanoag Indians, they survived in a new and harsh environment, leading to a harvest feast in 1621 following the Pilgrims first winter. ...........
tomorrow (or perhaps this weekend), i am going to post a series of stories (4 in total) from the los angeles times. it deals with what we did on some reservations in the 40s and 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s into today. how we allowed the land to be raped but beyond that, we left toxic waste. how when the very same toxic waste was discovered in a town in colorado (grand junction) the government paid for a TOTAL clean up. how those huts on the reservations are STILL stewing in toxic goo with many deaths and diseases thrown in.
once again, happy thanksgiving
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
they're whippin' 'em out bradley international airport
in my home state! i am SO disturbed by this. NOT by the breastfeeding but by people ANYONE, even if it's ONLY ONE PERSON, thinking it's 'disgusting' or 'unnatural' OR the worst, 'SEXUAL'. to the women out there who breastfeed, i've got your back sista grrrlfrens. (not judging those who DO NOT breastfeed. i'm just saying anyone should be 'allowed' to breastfeed anywhere one is 'allowed' to take a baby)
Breast-feeding moms hold protest against Delta
Windsor Locks-WTNH, Nov. 21, 2006 Updated 12:32 PM) _ Nursing mothers are showing their support for one another in airports across the country. Their so-called "nurse-in" is in response to what they call intolerance by Delta Airlines.
by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina
Within eyesight of the Delta ticket counter at Bradley International Airport Kristy Levesque of Groton nurses her two month old daughter Naomi.
"My heart just broke for her. I just put myself in her shoes and was like, oh my gosh, what would I do if that was me," she said.
Levesque is talking about a recent incident aboard a Delta Connection commuter flight from Vermont to New York. Emily Gillette, 27, a breast feeding mom just like her, was asked to cover up or get off the plane. Gillette refused and, baby in tow, was taken off the plane.
"I was really disturbed," Levesque said.
So Levesque and six other moms joined forces today to publicly hold a nurse-in near the Delta terminal. Lactating moms at a dozen airports around the country also joined in protest.
"I'm not gonna stand up here and take off my shirt. It's about feeding my baby," Susan Parker of Glastonbury said while holding her ten month old Anna.........
previously: you can whip 'em out and more more more on whippin' 'em out
Breast-feeding moms hold protest against Delta
Windsor Locks-WTNH, Nov. 21, 2006 Updated 12:32 PM) _ Nursing mothers are showing their support for one another in airports across the country. Their so-called "nurse-in" is in response to what they call intolerance by Delta Airlines.
by News Channel 8's Jodi Latina
Within eyesight of the Delta ticket counter at Bradley International Airport Kristy Levesque of Groton nurses her two month old daughter Naomi.
"My heart just broke for her. I just put myself in her shoes and was like, oh my gosh, what would I do if that was me," she said.
Levesque is talking about a recent incident aboard a Delta Connection commuter flight from Vermont to New York. Emily Gillette, 27, a breast feeding mom just like her, was asked to cover up or get off the plane. Gillette refused and, baby in tow, was taken off the plane.
"I was really disturbed," Levesque said.
So Levesque and six other moms joined forces today to publicly hold a nurse-in near the Delta terminal. Lactating moms at a dozen airports around the country also joined in protest.
"I'm not gonna stand up here and take off my shirt. It's about feeding my baby," Susan Parker of Glastonbury said while holding her ten month old Anna.........
previously: you can whip 'em out and more more more on whippin' 'em out
it seems the "concerned women for america"
are concerned about the WRONG shite. yeah, the truth sometimes isn't pretty is it? the truth doesn't make one HATE their country. the truth baby will set you FREE
hey ms crouse, we can't ALL have white skin. white ain't necessarily right you know
i say bill morgan is taking a step in the right direction
Teachers emphasize the Indians' side
By ANA BEATRIZ CHOLO, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 21, 6:20 PM ET
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the items now belong to him because he "discovered" them. The reaction is exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things back.
Morgan is among elementary school teachers who have ditched the traditional Thanksgiving lesson, in which children dress up like Indians and Pilgrims and act out a romanticized version of their first meetings.
He has replaced it with a more realistic look at the complex relationship between Indians and white settlers.
Morgan said he still wants his pupils at Cleveland Elementary School in San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving. But "what I am trying to portray is a different point of view."
Others see Morgan and teachers like him as too extreme.
"I think that is very sad," said Janice Shaw Crouse, a former college dean and public high school teacher and now a spokeswoman for Concerned Women for America, a conservative organization. "He is teaching his students to hate their country. That is a very distorted view of history, a distorted view of Thanksgiving."
Even American Indians are divided on how to approach a holiday that some believe symbolizes the start of a hostile takeover of their lands............
hey ms crouse, we can't ALL have white skin. white ain't necessarily right you know
i say bill morgan is taking a step in the right direction
Teachers emphasize the Indians' side
By ANA BEATRIZ CHOLO, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 21, 6:20 PM ET
LONG BEACH, Calif. - Teacher Bill Morgan walks into his third-grade class wearing a black Pilgrim hat made of construction paper and begins snatching up pencils, backpacks and glue sticks from his pupils. He tells them the items now belong to him because he "discovered" them. The reaction is exactly what Morgan expects: The kids get angry and want their things back.
Morgan is among elementary school teachers who have ditched the traditional Thanksgiving lesson, in which children dress up like Indians and Pilgrims and act out a romanticized version of their first meetings.
He has replaced it with a more realistic look at the complex relationship between Indians and white settlers.
Morgan said he still wants his pupils at Cleveland Elementary School in San Francisco to celebrate Thanksgiving. But "what I am trying to portray is a different point of view."
Others see Morgan and teachers like him as too extreme.
"I think that is very sad," said Janice Shaw Crouse, a former college dean and public high school teacher and now a spokeswoman for Concerned Women for America, a conservative organization. "He is teaching his students to hate their country. That is a very distorted view of history, a distorted view of Thanksgiving."
Even American Indians are divided on how to approach a holiday that some believe symbolizes the start of a hostile takeover of their lands............
my favorite american director, robert altman has passed
i loved (most) of his work. i REALLY loved it. he was an original. one of a kind. he blew off the hollywood establishment. he did innovative things such as having his actors talk over each other in scenes (like people do in REAL life). next to fellini, he was my favorite
Robert Altman: An American original
By Michael WilmingtonTribune movie critic Published November 21, 2006, 9:48 PM CST
Robert Altman was an American original and a moviehouse treasure whose work spanned generations. He was the great gadfly filmmaker who shook up the Vietnam era in 1970 with the classic movie "M*A*S*H," and then kept provoking and entertaining audiences for the next 36 years with a string of outrageously personal and often scaldingly irreverent movies.Altman, who died Monday in Los Angeles from complications from cancer, was 81..........
Director Robert Altman has died
and from imdb
Director Robert Altman Dies at 81
Robert Altman, the legendary director behind such modern classics as MASH, Nashville, The Player, and Gosford Park, died Monday night in Los Angeles; he was 81. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, and a statement released Tuesday afternoon stated that Altman died from complications due to cancer; the news release also said that Altman had been in pre-production for a film he was slated to start shooting in February. When he was presented with an honorary Academy Award just last year, Altman revealed that he had been the recipient of a heart transplant within the past ten years, a fact he hadn't made public because he feared it would hinder his ability to get work. One of the most influential and well-respected directors of modern cinema, Altman's work was marked by a naturalistic approach that favored long, unbroken tracking shots and overlapping dialogue (as well as storylines), as well as improvisation, usually among a large ensemble cast. Though now regarded as one of the premier American filmmakers, Altman had a career that reached both popular and critical highs as well as lows, as he burst onto the scene in the early '70s with very acclaimed films, but had a string of commercial and critical failures as well. All told, he received five Oscar nominations for directing MASH, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts and most recently Gosford Park. Other numerous awards include two Cannes Film Festival wins (for The Player and MASH), a Golden Globe (for Gosford Park) and an Emmy (for the TV series Tanner 88).............
damn fine obit in the ny times
if you ain't seen nashville you ain't lived. i think most everyone has seen mash of course. nashville had THE best music. dang! even henry gibson 'sang'. ronee blakley and barbar harris had some AMAZING songs. i MUST find that soundtrack. it's on vinyl. wonder if i can get it on a cd
brewster mccloud
mccabe & mrs miller
are also two of my favorites by him.
Robert Altman: An American original
By Michael WilmingtonTribune movie critic Published November 21, 2006, 9:48 PM CST
Robert Altman was an American original and a moviehouse treasure whose work spanned generations. He was the great gadfly filmmaker who shook up the Vietnam era in 1970 with the classic movie "M*A*S*H," and then kept provoking and entertaining audiences for the next 36 years with a string of outrageously personal and often scaldingly irreverent movies.Altman, who died Monday in Los Angeles from complications from cancer, was 81..........
Director Robert Altman has died
and from imdb
Director Robert Altman Dies at 81
Robert Altman, the legendary director behind such modern classics as MASH, Nashville, The Player, and Gosford Park, died Monday night in Los Angeles; he was 81. The cause of death was not immediately disclosed, and a statement released Tuesday afternoon stated that Altman died from complications due to cancer; the news release also said that Altman had been in pre-production for a film he was slated to start shooting in February. When he was presented with an honorary Academy Award just last year, Altman revealed that he had been the recipient of a heart transplant within the past ten years, a fact he hadn't made public because he feared it would hinder his ability to get work. One of the most influential and well-respected directors of modern cinema, Altman's work was marked by a naturalistic approach that favored long, unbroken tracking shots and overlapping dialogue (as well as storylines), as well as improvisation, usually among a large ensemble cast. Though now regarded as one of the premier American filmmakers, Altman had a career that reached both popular and critical highs as well as lows, as he burst onto the scene in the early '70s with very acclaimed films, but had a string of commercial and critical failures as well. All told, he received five Oscar nominations for directing MASH, Nashville, The Player, Short Cuts and most recently Gosford Park. Other numerous awards include two Cannes Film Festival wins (for The Player and MASH), a Golden Globe (for Gosford Park) and an Emmy (for the TV series Tanner 88).............
damn fine obit in the ny times
if you ain't seen nashville you ain't lived. i think most everyone has seen mash of course. nashville had THE best music. dang! even henry gibson 'sang'. ronee blakley and barbar harris had some AMAZING songs. i MUST find that soundtrack. it's on vinyl. wonder if i can get it on a cd
brewster mccloud
mccabe & mrs miller
are also two of my favorites by him.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
outrageous
we don't have to fly an attorney general to a country where women aren't even allowed to drive (much less vote) and apologize for convicting a citizen of that country - who, while living in OUR country sexually abused a woman 'working' for his family. WE PAID FOR HIS TRIP. WE, the taxpayers.
Suthers reassures Saudis
Feds back Suthers' trip to explain case of captive nanny
By Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News November 18, 2006
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers flew to Saudi Arabia this week to reassure government officials there that Homaidan Al-Turki was treated fairly when he was convicted of sexually abusing an Indonesian nanny held a virtual captive in his Aurora home.
Suthers sat knee-to-knee for an hour with King Abdullah and also met with Crown Prince Sultan, Saudi journalists and relatives of Al-Turki during his weeklong trip to the capital city of Riyadh, Deputy Attorney General Jason Dunn said Friday.
"There was a lot of public attention in Saudi Arabia on this case," Dunn said, adding that "misperceptions" there about the U.S. judicial system and Colorado in particular convinced U.S. officials that the highly unusual trip was warranted.
In June, Al-Turki was convicted in Arapahoe County of 12 counts of unlawful sexual contact with force, one count of theft of services over $15,000, false imprisonment and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
Al-Turki has been portrayed in the Saudi press as a victim of the U.S. judicial system's bias against Muslims. Many Saudis say Al-Turki would not have been convicted in his own country.
The Saudi government gave Al-Turki $400,000 to post bail on the charges. .......
Suthers reassures Saudis
Feds back Suthers' trip to explain case of captive nanny
By Chris Barge, Rocky Mountain News November 18, 2006
Colorado Attorney General John Suthers flew to Saudi Arabia this week to reassure government officials there that Homaidan Al-Turki was treated fairly when he was convicted of sexually abusing an Indonesian nanny held a virtual captive in his Aurora home.
Suthers sat knee-to-knee for an hour with King Abdullah and also met with Crown Prince Sultan, Saudi journalists and relatives of Al-Turki during his weeklong trip to the capital city of Riyadh, Deputy Attorney General Jason Dunn said Friday.
"There was a lot of public attention in Saudi Arabia on this case," Dunn said, adding that "misperceptions" there about the U.S. judicial system and Colorado in particular convinced U.S. officials that the highly unusual trip was warranted.
In June, Al-Turki was convicted in Arapahoe County of 12 counts of unlawful sexual contact with force, one count of theft of services over $15,000, false imprisonment and conspiracy. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.
Al-Turki has been portrayed in the Saudi press as a victim of the U.S. judicial system's bias against Muslims. Many Saudis say Al-Turki would not have been convicted in his own country.
The Saudi government gave Al-Turki $400,000 to post bail on the charges. .......
MORE MORE MORE on whippin' 'em out
this was on msnbc YESTERDAY. it's NOT there today. odd odd odd. i have the link. i did indeed read the story (yesterday). the headline comes up but not the story. i did a search on msnbc and nothing at all comes up (the original story does not the follow up). the article was all well and good but what got to me were the comments made by the readers of this story. some of course saw nothing wrong with breast feeding ones children. others, like me were OUTRAGED. i know what breasts are really for. SEX and to SELL STUFF. that's it. unless you are f**king OR selling beer and cars those bad boys should be boxed in and strapped up. period. some like me thought breast feeding in a public place was DISGUSTING (yes, they used that word). some couldn't understand why a woman HAD to breastfeed her child on a one hour flight (of course some other liberal commie pinko pointed out there was a FOUR HOUR DELAY on that very same flight). another left wing supporter of people's rights (hah!!!) pointed out the woman was being VERY discreet about the feeding and her husband was between her and the aisle.
women should keep their breasts covered while on airplanes UNLESS they are filming a shaving cream commercial. WE ALL KNOW THAT
Flight attendant disciplined for booting mom
Airline takes action after breast-feeding mother removed from flight
(this article did come up but it's NOT the one i wanted to post today Woman kicked off plane for breast-feeding baby
Files complaint saying she was being discreet, airline disagrees
women should keep their breasts covered while on airplanes UNLESS they are filming a shaving cream commercial. WE ALL KNOW THAT
Flight attendant disciplined for booting mom
Airline takes action after breast-feeding mother removed from flight
(this article did come up but it's NOT the one i wanted to post today Woman kicked off plane for breast-feeding baby
Files complaint saying she was being discreet, airline disagrees
Monday, November 20, 2006
mr rich makes a point out loud
of course you and i know the democrats winning was no accident or fluke no matter what other media says. of course we know there is no great fight going on between all of the democrats. disagreements sure. certainly NO MORE than between republicans. what the hell is most of the media thinking (or where do their paychecks really come from should i ask?)
Frank Rich Hits Media's 'Fictional Story Line' Since the Elections
By E&P Staff Published: November 19, 2006 12:05 PM ET
NEW YORK In his Sunday column for The New York Times, behind its online paid wall, Frank Rich hits the "fictional story line" in the media this past week following the Democrats' midterm election triumph. "Elections may come and go," he writes, "but Washington remains incorrigible. Not even voters delivering a clear message can topple the town’s conventional wisdom once it has been set in the stone of punditry."The false story line, he explains, includes the myth of a party in shambles over the Murtha vs. Hoyer right, while downplaying the re-emergence of Trent Lott as a GOP leaders in the Senate. But the primary alleged falsehood is that the Democrats' sweep was "more or less an accident. The victory had little to do with the Democrats’ actual beliefs and was instead solely the result of President Bush’s unpopularity and a cunning backroom stunt by the campaign Machiavellis, Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emanuel, to enlist a smattering of 'conservative' candidates to run in red states.... And now the party is deeply divided as its old liberals and new conservatives converge on Capitol Hill to slug it out. "The only problem with this version of events is that it’s not true..........
Frank Rich Hits Media's 'Fictional Story Line' Since the Elections
By E&P Staff Published: November 19, 2006 12:05 PM ET
NEW YORK In his Sunday column for The New York Times, behind its online paid wall, Frank Rich hits the "fictional story line" in the media this past week following the Democrats' midterm election triumph. "Elections may come and go," he writes, "but Washington remains incorrigible. Not even voters delivering a clear message can topple the town’s conventional wisdom once it has been set in the stone of punditry."The false story line, he explains, includes the myth of a party in shambles over the Murtha vs. Hoyer right, while downplaying the re-emergence of Trent Lott as a GOP leaders in the Senate. But the primary alleged falsehood is that the Democrats' sweep was "more or less an accident. The victory had little to do with the Democrats’ actual beliefs and was instead solely the result of President Bush’s unpopularity and a cunning backroom stunt by the campaign Machiavellis, Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emanuel, to enlist a smattering of 'conservative' candidates to run in red states.... And now the party is deeply divided as its old liberals and new conservatives converge on Capitol Hill to slug it out. "The only problem with this version of events is that it’s not true..........
goodbye ruth
you'll be missed
Singer Ruth Brown dies at age 78
One of the pioneering rhythm and blues singers, Ruth Brown, has died aged 78.
Known as "the girl with a tear in her voice" for emotion-laden singing, Brown died on Friday after a stroke and heart attack in Las Vegas.
She was a best-selling black female artist of the early 1950s with songs including (Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean, So Long, and Mambo Lips.
Despite a career slump in the 1960s, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1993.
Her hits for Atlantic Records were so huge that the record company became known as "The House that Ruth Built."
'Important and beloved'
But her work with Atlantic Records ended in 1961 as her gutsy, belting style fell out of favour.
When her career revived, she led a battle for artists to receive royalties from record companies.
Singer Bonnie Raitt said: "Ruth was one of the most important and beloved figures in modern music.
"You can hear her influence in everyone from Little Richard to Etta (James), Aretha (Franklin), Janis (Joplin) and divas like Christina Aguilera today." ............
(and thank you john waters for putting her in hairspray)
the debacle that was Iraq
NOT my words (of course my sentiment) but the words of a (former) insider, kenneth adelman. king george is running out of friends. his court is dwindling.
what's a boy to do? i'll tell you BRING OUR MEN AND WOMEN HOME NOW
Embittered Insiders Turn Against Bush
By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 19, 2006; Page A01
The weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney's residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the "cakewalk" Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. "It was a euphoric moment," Adelman recalled.
Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."
Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.......
what's a boy to do? i'll tell you BRING OUR MEN AND WOMEN HOME NOW
Embittered Insiders Turn Against Bush
By Peter Baker Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, November 19, 2006; Page A01
The weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney's residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the "cakewalk" Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. "It was a euphoric moment," Adelman recalled.
Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq."
Adelman, a former Reagan administration official and onetime member of the Iraq war brain trust, is only the latest voice from inside the Bush circle to speak out against the president or his policies. Heading into the final chapter of his presidency, fresh from the sting of a midterm election defeat, Bush finds himself with fewer and fewer friends. Some of the strongest supporters of the war have grown disenchanted, former insiders are registering public dissent and Republicans on Capitol Hill blame him for losing Congress.......
do you know who cyrus kar is?
i didn't (well i didn't know his name). now i do and so should you
not only is mr kar an american, HE IS A NAVY VETERAN as well
Video: Iranian-American filmmaker sues Rumsfeld
David EdwardsPublished: Friday November 17, 2006
In this video clip, CNN interviews Cyrus Kar, an Iranian-American filmmaker, who is suing U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for wrongful imprisonment and the violation of his Constitutional rights.
In Iraq to film a historical documentary, Kar was charged with being a terrorist and placed in the notorious prison at Abu Ghraib. He was held for 55 days, most of them in solitary confinement. After 49 days, he was finally given a hearing and eventually freed.
Rumsfeld has filed motions to have the suit dismissed. A hearing in January will determine if Kar's lawsuit can go forward...........
..........RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Cyrus Kar is an Iranian-American who went to Iraq last year to film a historical documentary. It had nothing to do with the war. But just days after arriving, his trip took a stunning turn. Kar landed at the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison where he says U.S. troops called him the American terrorist.
CYRUS KAR, FILMMAKER ARRESTED IN IRAQ: I could hear them in what must have been their standard mantra, which was, you f-ing terrorist. You're here to kill Americans. You f-ing terrorist.
KAYE: So how did this Los Angeles filmmaker, who's lived in the U.S. since Kindergarten, this Navy veteran, end up a suspected terrorist? Kar says his taxi, driven by an Iraqi, was stopped at a checkpoint. The car's trunk was search and Kar, his camera man and driver were arrested for plotting to build roadside bombs............
not only is mr kar an american, HE IS A NAVY VETERAN as well
Video: Iranian-American filmmaker sues Rumsfeld
David EdwardsPublished: Friday November 17, 2006
In this video clip, CNN interviews Cyrus Kar, an Iranian-American filmmaker, who is suing U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld for wrongful imprisonment and the violation of his Constitutional rights.
In Iraq to film a historical documentary, Kar was charged with being a terrorist and placed in the notorious prison at Abu Ghraib. He was held for 55 days, most of them in solitary confinement. After 49 days, he was finally given a hearing and eventually freed.
Rumsfeld has filed motions to have the suit dismissed. A hearing in January will determine if Kar's lawsuit can go forward...........
..........RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Cyrus Kar is an Iranian-American who went to Iraq last year to film a historical documentary. It had nothing to do with the war. But just days after arriving, his trip took a stunning turn. Kar landed at the notorious Abu Ghraib Prison where he says U.S. troops called him the American terrorist.
CYRUS KAR, FILMMAKER ARRESTED IN IRAQ: I could hear them in what must have been their standard mantra, which was, you f-ing terrorist. You're here to kill Americans. You f-ing terrorist.
KAYE: So how did this Los Angeles filmmaker, who's lived in the U.S. since Kindergarten, this Navy veteran, end up a suspected terrorist? Kar says his taxi, driven by an Iraqi, was stopped at a checkpoint. The car's trunk was search and Kar, his camera man and driver were arrested for plotting to build roadside bombs............
i knew immolation (self and otherwise) was/is a problem in india
An Afghan woman Gulsum 16, is seen at her bed during an interview with the Associated Press at ICRC hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan on Nov. 15, 2006. Blood dripped down the 16-year-old girl's face _ another beating by her drug addict husband. Weary of the punches and life, she ran to the kitchen, doused herself with gas from the lamp, and struck a match to set herself ablaze. (AP Photo/Musadeq Sadeq)
Musadeq Sadeq / AP
i never imagined it was in afghanistan. can you imagine how horrid it would have to be in order to WANT to kill yourself by fire? some as young as 9. 9???????? my goddess what these grrrls and women must have to endure.
More Afghan women turning to suicide by fire
Depserate to flee hardship, scores of Afghan women self-immolate annually
The Associated Press
Updated: 4:04 p.m. ET Nov 18, 2006
KABUL, Afghanistan - Blood dripped down the 16-year-old girl’s face after another beating by her drug addict husband. Worn down by life’s pain, she ran to the kitchen, doused herself with gas from a lamp and struck a match.
Desperate to escape domestic violence, forced marriage and hardship, scores of women across Afghanistan each year are committing suicide by fire. While some gains have been made since the fall of the Taliban five years ago, life remains bleak for many Afghan women in the conservative and violence-plagued country, and suicide is a common escape.
Young Gulsum survived to tell her story. Her pretty face and delicate feet were untouched by the flames, but beneath her red turtleneck sweater, floral skirt and white shawl, her skin is puffy and scarred.
More than a month after her attempt, her gnarled hands still bleed.
“It was my decision to die. I didn’t want to be like this, with my hands and body like this,” she said, sitting on a hospital bed in Kabul and hiding her deformed hands beneath her shawl.
An upward trendReliable statistics on self-immolation nationwide are difficult to gauge. In Herat province, where the practice has been most reported and publicized, there were 93 cases last year and 54 so far this year. More than 70 percent of these women die.
“It’s all over the country. ... The trend is upward,” said Ancil Adrian-Paul of Medica Mondiale, a nonprofit that supports women and girls in crisis zones.
The group has seen girls as young as 9 and women as old as 40 set themselves on fire. But many incidents remain hidden, Adrian-Paul said.
“A lot of self-immolation and suicide cases are not reported to police for religious reasons, for reasons of honor, shame, stigma. There is this collusion of silence,” Adrian-Paul said on the sidelines of a conference this week in Kabul on self-immolation. ..........
picture:
Musadeq Sadeq / AP
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