All the World's a Stage, Act for Change

Halliburton: Texas to Dubai

2007-03-12T14:17:00.000-04:00

Remember Halliburton, the company who recieved billions of US government dollars in no-bid contracts to go overcharge US soldiers for food and gas in Iraq? Do you think this company whom the US trusted, via its subsidiary KBR, to wash soldier's clothes and latrines would be grateful to the government, or at least to former CEO Dick Cheney, and maintain its corporate headquarters in the US and paying US taxes?
Well, Halliburton is shifting its HQ from Texas to Dubai.

2007-03-11T18:06:00.000-04:00

Watch a short video of the New Yorker staff writer Lawrence Wright in his one-man show, “My Trip to Al-Qaeda,” at the Culture Project, in New York City. Wright has covered Al Qaeda for the magazine; last year, he published the book “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.” In the course of his work on the roots and the rise of Islamic terrorism, Wright has conducted more than six hundred interviews and travelled to Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, and much of Western Europe. The play, which he wrote and performs, is a first-person account of his experiences, and examines, among other themes, the tension between his roles as journalist and citizen.

2007-03-11T10:06:00.000-04:00

Along the (soon to be) 160,000 military US troops in Iraq, there are about 100,000 private contractors, including 48,000 private security forces. That's the second largest contingent stationed in Iraq, after the US military. They do not respond to the military chain of command, and are accountable to no one. See the incisive FRONTLINE documentary on these Private Warriors.

"The Seasons Alter"

2007-02-23T10:00:00.000-05:00

"The Seasons Alter" is a contemporary short film interpretation of a sequence from Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The film reinvents classic Shakespeare for a contemporary audience but also delivers one of the most pressingly urgent environmental messages of our time: climate change. The text was only slightly adapted, the apocalyptic imagery is not due to a feud between a divine couple, but Titania's words from ACT II Scene 1 are shared to imply that our dissension, lack of care, frivolous cheer, has had disastorous consequences of which we are the parents, and it is our responsibility to ammend.

See the short movie at Futerra and read along with the text below.

Text

OBERON
Ill met by moonlight, proud Titania.

TITANIA
These are the forgeries of jealousy:
And never, since the middle summer's spring,
Met we on hill, in dale, forest or mead,
By paved fountain or by rushy brook,
Or in the beached margent of the sea,
To dance our ringlets to the whistling wind,
But with thy brawls thou hast disturb'd our sport.

OBERON
Tarry, rash wanton: am not I thy lord?

HERMIA
Therefore the winds, piping to us in vain,
As in revenge, have suck'd up from the sea
Contagious fogs; which falling in the land
Have every pelting river made so proud
That they have overborne their continents:
The ox hath therefore stretch'd his yoke in vain,
The ploughman lost his sweat, and the green corn
Hath rotted ere his youth attain'd a beard;
The fold stands empty in the drowned field,
And crows are fatted with the murrion flock;
The nine men's morris is fill'd up with mud,
And the quaint mazes in the wanton green
For lack of tread are undistinguishable:
(...)I would my father look'd but with my eyes.
[He is their parent and original]

HERMIA
Rather your eyes must with his judgment look.

THESEUS
The human mortals want their winter CHEER;

TITANIA
No night is now with hymn or carol blest:

HERMIA
Therefore the moon, the governess of floods,
Pale in her anger, washes all the air,
That rheumatic diseases do abound:
And thorough this distemperature we see
The seasons alter: hoary-headed frosts
Far in the fresh lap of the crimson rose,
And on old Hiems' thin and icy crown
An odorous chaplet of sweet summer buds
Is, as in mockery, set:

TITANIA
the spring, the summer,
The childing autumn, angry winter, change
Their wonted liveries, and the mazed world,
By their increase, now knows not which is which:
And this same progeny of evils comes
From our debate, from our dissension;
We are their parents and original.

OBERON
you amend it then; it lies in you:

TITANIA
No.
We are their parents and original.

US surge in Iraq

2007-02-10T09:52:00.000-05:00

How many USAmericans are present in Iraq and taking part in its occupation and exploitation?

In the January/2007 State of the Union address, President Bush announced an increase in over twenty thousand US troops, which raise the total of boots on the ground to over 150,000 (for variation over time see Global Security).

But the Congressional Budget Office says the real troop increase could be as high as 48,000. The estimate is based on the Pentagon’s policy of sending additional support units alongside regular combat troops. At least 15,000 support troops would have to be sent alongside the 21,000 shipping off to Iraq. The same study also estimates the escalation could cost up $27 billion in its first year -- nearly nine times the official estimate. (ref)

To the military presence, one need also add the 100,000 contractors deployed by the Bush administration, 48,000 people working for private security firms, like Blackwater.

2006-12-29T11:11:00.000-05:00

From: A Look Back and Ahead In An Age of Neocon Rule By Stephen Lendman

-- 47 million Americans can't afford basic health insurance.

-- Over 80 million in total have no health coverage during some portion of each year and most of them are employed.

-- The Bush administration just proposed sweeping cuts in payments to pharmacies to reduce the Medicaid benefits 50 million poor in the country rely on, can't afford to make up the difference for on their own, and may have to forego medications they vitally need if pharmacies won't fill prescriptions at lower prices.

-- The US ranks 41st in infant mortality, and the World Health Organization (WHO) ranks the country 37th in the world in "overall health performance" and 54th in the fairness of health care despite spending at a current level overall of around $2 trillion a year or about double the amount per capita of the OECD countries that deliver superior health care overall to their citizens as a national priority.

-- Well over 12 millions Americans struggle daily to feed themselves, and many thousands across the country can't afford housing and are forced to sleep on the streets including in winter cold.

-- A just released December 14 US Conference of Mayors report said these conditions continue to worsen based on a survey of 23 cities showing 7% more requests for food aid in 2006 following a 12% jump in 2005 during a period of economic growth.

-- The same report showed requests for shelter rose 9% in 2006 with requests from families with children rising 5%.

-- Public education is deliberately being eroded with illiteracy in basic reading, math and computer skills shamefully high and rising.

-- The US prison population is the highest in the world at 2.2 million and increasing by 1000 a week, half of those in it are black, and half of the total prison population is there for non-violent offenses half of which are drug-related. The US prison system is a shameful Gulag and an affront to humanity. The appalling conviction and sentencing of first-time drug offender Weldon Angelos is but one of countless examples. He was convicted of three sales of marijuana in 2004 while in possession of a gun unrelated to the sale. Under the insane federal mandatory sentencing laws, he was sentenced to five years for the first offense and 25 years each for the other two totaling 55 years in federal prison or a likely life sentence if he's forced to serve it all because he possessed and sold a few "joints" of a substance less harmful than legal cigarettes that kill millions yearly while it's not known marijuana ever killed anyone using it. Only in America.

-- The true state of things overall is suppressed by the dominant corporate-controlled media (including the NPR and PBS parts of it) functioning as a national thought-control police controlling all mass communication and depriving the public of any real information vital to a healthy democracy and their welfare.

-- Racial segregation is as great as in the 1960s, and the national sport almost is demonizing Muslims as "terrorists, radicals, extremists and Islamofascists" and impoverished "people the color of the earth" Mexicans and Latin Americans as "illegal immigrant invaders polluting" our white western European society and culture, mindless that they only come el norte in desperate search of work because of the devastating effects of NAFTA on their lives that destroyed their ability to support their families.

Data from the Oakland Institute think tank specializing in social, economic and environmental issues shows that heavily subsidized US corn exports to Mexico have tripled since NAFTA came into force forcing two million Mexican corn farmers out of business, something that was predicted in advance but allowed to happen anyway. It also led to suicides but at a rate nowhere near the level globalized trade US-style had on farmers in India where as many as 100,000 of them have taken their own lives because "New World Order" indebtedness caused them to lose their farms and then everything else.

-- Childhood poverty in the US ranks 22nd and next to last among developed nations when there should be virtually none tolerated in the richest country in the world or toleration of any of the other listed abuses.

-- An alarming number of high-paying and other jobs have been exported abroad in a process that's gone on for decades but picked up in momentum since the 1980s and especially in recent years. Mckinsey Global Institute estimates the volume will grow 30 - 40% a year for the next five years. Forrester Research estimates 3.3 million white-collar jobs will be lost by 2015 with most affected areas in financial services and information technology, and University of California researchers estimate that "up to 14 million American jobs are at risk to outsourcing."

-- Workers almost everywhere have been harmed, including in the US, as union clout and worker rights here have declined in an age where the social contract government once had with its working people has been dismantled with less than 13% of the work force (the lowest in the industrialized world) unionized today compared to one-third of it in 1958. In an age of modern-day "robber barons," the middle class bedrock of a democratic state is slowly disappearing as the nation moves closer to becoming a banana republic at a time when 51 of the world's largest economies are corporate giants, most of them US-based.

Winning Iraq flip-flop

2006-12-28T14:25:00.001-05:00

Time's Person of the year

2006-12-20T06:52:00.000-05:00

Each year Time magazine selects a "Man of the Year" for their last issue. This year You were selected, the user of the World Wide Web.

If that's so why was the result of the on-line poll for "Man of the Year", conducted on the Time website so blatantly disregarded?

I just checked it and it cleary shows Hugo Chávez, the newly re-elected President of Venezuela, in the lead with 36%. The closest to Time's choice is the YouTube guys with 11%. If You is to be valued then at least Your choice should merit a reference in the cover story. I guess Time isn't so confortable with the notion of the world polling on who is really the Man of the Year if it departs from who they might deem acceptable.

Parenting by same-sex couples

2006-09-17T17:44:00.000-04:00

Among the homophobic retorts to the possibility of adoption by same-sex couples, is the notion that these couples cannot provide the conditions for proper upbringing and adopted children are more likely to become themselves homosexual. The concern implies, of course, that this is a problem, that somehow it would imply the propagation of an unnatural behavior. However, one need also address whether the availble evidence shows this to be the case or not. I conducted a cursory review of the scientific literature on the topic, and found a number of recent reviews that indicate children adopted by same-sex couples are no more likely to become homosexual than those adopted by heterosexual parents. Here is a summary of some of those papers:

Tasker, F. (2005) Lesbian mothers, gay fathers, and their children: A review. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 26, 224-240.

Abstract: (...) Findings from research suggest that children with lesbian or gay parents are comparable with children with heterosexual parents on key psychosocial developmental outcomes. In many ways, children of lesbian or gay parents have similar experiences of family life compared with children in heterosexual families.

Leung, P., Erich, S., & Kanenberg, H. (2005) A comparison of family functioning in gay/lesbian, heterosexual and special needs adoptions. Children and Youth Services Review, 27, 1031-1044.

Abstract: The purpose of this study was to identify possible contributing factors to family functioning in three types of adoptive families: those headed by gays/lesbians, those headed by heterosexuals, and those involving the adoption of children with special needs. These three adoptive family types were examined concurrently so that commonalities and differences could be identified and considered for use in adoption practice. A multiple regression analysis was used to assess the relationship between the dependent variable (standardized family functioning score) and independent vafiables (child behavior scores, special needs adoption, gay/lesbian headed families, age at adoption and at interview, diagnoses of disabilities, total social support score, number of previous placements, previous abuse and co-sibling adoption). Results indicated no negative effects for the parenting of adopted children by gay/lesbian headed families.

Greenfeld, D.A. (2005) Reproduction in same sex couples: quality of parenting and child development. Current Opinion in Obstetrics & Gynecology, 17, 309-312.

Recent findings The current literature on [families with same-sex parents] is limited by small sample sizes and a predominance of studies of lesbian mothers and their children, with few studies of gay fathers and their children. A recent study of adolescents living with same sex parents recruited from a large national sample supports the notion that adolescents raised by same sex couples are doing well psychologically and are not more likely to be homosexual. The authors concluded that it was the quality of parenting, not parental sexual orientation that accounted for developmental differences. The literature supports the notion that children of lesbian mothers and gay fathers are not more likely to become homosexual and are not measurably different from children raised by heterosexual parents in terms of personality development, psychological development, and gender identity. Larger longitudinal studies of same sex parents, particularly gay men, are needed, including those who choose to become parents through the use of assisted reproduction.

Anderssen, N., Amlie, C., & Ytteroy, E.A. (2002) Outcomes for children with lesbian or gay parents. A review of studies from 1978 to 2000. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 43, 335-351.

Abstract: Twenty-three empirical studies published between 1978 and 2000 on nonclinical children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers were reviewed (one Belgian/Dutch, one Danish, three British, and 18 North American). Twenty reported on offspring of lesbian mothers, and three on offspring of gay fathers The studies encompassed a total of 615 offspring (age range 1.5-44 years) of lesbian mothers or gay fathers and 387 controls, who were assessed by psychological tests, questionnaires or interviews. Seven types of outcomes were found to be typical: emotional functioning, sexual preference, stigmatization, gender role behavior, behavioral adjustment, gender identity, and cognitive functioning Children raised by lesbian mothers or gay fathers did not systematically differ from other children on any of the outcomes. The studies indicate that children raised by lesbian women do not experience adverse outcomes compared with other children. The same holds for children raised by gay men, but more studies should be done.

Fitzgerald, B. (1999) Children of lesbian and gay parents: A review of the literature. Marriage and Family Review, 29, 57-75.

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to review the research literature concerning the development of children with gay and lesbian parents. It begins by discussing some of the social, theoretical, and legal implications of studying this population, and critiques a number of the assumptions guiding this research. The review then proceeds to include studies on children of divorced lesbian and gay parents, as well as studies conducted on children of gay and lesbian families that are planned. The body of literature generally concludes that children with lesbian and gay parents are developing psychologically, intellectually, behaviorally, and emotionally in positive directions, and that the sexual orientation of parents is not an effective or important predictor of successful child development.

Tasker, F. & Golombok, S. (1995) Adults Raised as Children in Lesbian Families. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 65, 203-215.

Abstract: A longitudinal study of 25 young adults from lesbian families and 21 raised by heterosexual single mothers revealed that those raised by lesbian mothers functioned well in adulthood in terms of psychological well-being and of family identity and relationships. The commonly held assumption that lesbian mothers will have lesbian daughters and gay sons was not supported by the findings.

I did find some articles that state in the contrary in their abstract, most of which by Dr. Paul Cameron. For instance:

Cameron, P. & Cameron, K. (1998) Homosexual parents: A comparative forensic study of character and harms to children. Psychological Reports, 82, 1155-1191.

Abstract: 40 appeals cases of custody disputes drawn systematically from all cases involving a homosexual parent in the United States were compared to 38 appeals cases involving heterosexual custody disputes drawn randomly from listings under parental "character" and 18 appeals cases drawn randomly from "general" cases in Dicennial Digest from 1966 to 1991. Each case involving homosexual vs heterosexual claimants was examined for recorded information about (1) the character of the homosexual parent, the associates of the homosexual parent, the heterosexual parent, and the associates of the heterosexual parent, (2) the effects, particularly harms, upon the child(ren), and (3) psychiatric opinion. 82% of the homosexual vs 18% of the heterosexual parents and 54% of the homosexual's associates vs 19% of the heterosexuals' associates were recorded as having poor character in cases involving a homosexual claimant. Of the 66 recorded harms, e.g., molestation, physical abuse, to the 73 children, homosexual persons accounted for 64 (97%). Of the 32 lesbians, 6 mere recorded as having engaged in criminal activity and 3 of bringing false charges of child sexual abuse against the father. Psychiatric opinion, however, ran 25 to 12 in favor of custody for the homosexual parent. In the 56 heterosexual vs heterosexual comparison cases, 18% of the heterosexual parents and 28% of their associates were recorded as having poor character. Six harms to their 105 children and 3 instances of criminality but no false charges of sexual abuse were recorded. In the appeals court literature, homosexual parents were disproportionately of poor character and disproportionately associated with various harms to their children.

These are articles published in peer-reviews journals, but it is worthwhile pointing out that P. Cameron is the chairman of the Family Research Institute, whose mission statement is

to generate empirical research on issues that threaten the traditional family, particularly homosexuality, AIDS, sexual social policy, and drug abuse. FRI believes that published scientific material has a profound impact, both in the United States and around the world.
FRI was the first traditionally-minded organization to conduct scientific research in these areas and to publish it in peer-reviewed professional journals. Produced by scholars, this research provides lasting empirical evidence and influences public policy. FRI's scientific articles can be accessed in almost all university and medical libraries around the globe.

Lastly, despite the indication from the majority of recent reviews that same-sex parents provide a good parenting environment, and that there seems to be no effect on the childs sexuality, one need recieve these results while accepting the limitations of these studies. These stem, in part, from the limited sample sizes available for study. On this matter, see for instance,
Schumm, W.R. (2004) What was really learned from Tasker and Golombok's (1995) study of lesbian and single parent mothers? Psychological Reports, 94, 422-424.

Stanley Jordan Playing Eleanor Rigby

2006-09-10T04:55:00.000-04:00


Stanley Jordan Playing Eleanor Rigby

This blog has only too rarely fulfilled its commitment to art (or science for that matter) as political imperatives always took priority. But this was a must to share. I had been familiar with the amazing sound of jazz guitarist Stanely Jordan, and some time ago was shocked to catch a tv clip of one of his live performances. Watch him use tapping to play Eleanor Rigby: the sound is amazing, to understand that it is coming from a single guitar is astounding, to watch his virtuousness is mindblowing.

2006-08-18T04:47:00.000-04:00

If the violence in Iraq is mostly due to domestic rivalry, why were 70% of the 1,666 roadside bombs planted in July - the highest monthly total of the occupation - directed against the USAmerican occupation forces? see

2006-08-17T14:05:00.000-04:00

Do you feel safer when passenger screening at airports is reinforced?

When even bottled water, lotions and medication is confiscated?

Is it worth the delays and lost baggage (over 20,000 items by Britsh Airways in the recent screenings)?

Do you think that terrorists are devoid of imagination?

Why restrict strict security screenings to the airports? Why not commuter trains, which could be arguably justified after the July 11th Mumbai train bombings?

Israeli and US ties

2006-08-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

Did you know...

Israel is second (behind the US) in the number of companies traded on Wall Street, having recently surpassed Canada (see) ;
In 2004, the fluctuations in Israeli stock market and the Nasdaq had a correlation of 87% (see);
Warren Buffett bought 80% of Iscar, an Israeli company that produces blades and other industrial equipment, a $4 billion dollar investment (see)
The US has given $108 billion dollars in aid to Israel since 1949, an average of 2.6 bn/year since 2000 (see)

death toll

2006-08-15T08:47:00.000-04:00

Since July 12th:

~1,000 Lebanese dead (mostly civilians)
1/4 of Lebanese forced to abandon their homes
Lebanese infrastructure destroyed
100 Israeli soldiers and 40 civilians dead (see)

Was it worth it?

2006-07-13T08:54:00.000-04:00

Rally in Oakland Civic Center as part of the California Nurses Association protesting the National Labor Relations Board's expected decision to remove the ability of nurses to form and be represented by unions, by considering them supervisors instead of employees. Unlike employees, supervisors do not have protected rights under federal law to form and join unions.

Wouldn't you prefer to have content, respected, qualified, well-rested health-care providers the next time you go into the emergency room?

This is a question of workers rights, and by implication of the gender composition of the nursing profession, women's rights. Its a question of your health rights. Take Action here.

Perception is reality

2006-06-30T13:32:00.000-04:00

The documentary "Flock of Dodos", by former Evolutionary Ecologist Dr. Randy Olson, covers the Intelligent Design /Evolution debate. Its backdrop is the recent Dover School Board decision to have teachers read two paragraphs to all classrooms:

Because Darwin's Theory is a theory, it is still being tested as new evidence is discovered. The Theory is not a fact. Gaps in the Theory exist for which there is no evidence. A theory is defined as a well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations.
Intelligent design is an explanation of the origin of ife that differs from Darwin's view. The reference book, Of Pandas and People is available for students to see if they would like to explore this view in an effort to gain an understanding of what intelligent design actually involves. As is true with any theory, students are encouraged to keep an open mind.

Teachers refused, forcing the administration to order janitors and other staff to mechanically read the statement to the students. These did so reluctantly, refusing to answer any questions. Teachers stood outside, in protest. I transcribe the paragraphs so that one might see that beyond simply being a statement for Intelligent Design as a scientific alternative, it is frought with confusion as to the meaning of 'theory'.
Some very heroic teachers, including Kitmiller, filed a case against the School Board (see the complete complaint here). And the conservative judge's ruling was a resounding condemnation of ID.
I saw the documentary, appropriately at the recent annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Evolution. Its really informative and entertaining. And it goes beyond the ID/evolution debate to tackle to general problem of communication in the modern era, which favors those that have simple messages and are out to evangelize their worldview rather than pursue the truth. This affects not only scientists trying to educate the general public and facing IDers with catchy slogans ("Teach the controversy"), but also Democrats who have had difficulties challenging the Republican PR machine.
Randy Olson was present at the showing of his film, and really pushed the notion that public debates are now won by those whose discourse is clear and sharp. If it spreads and infects quickly and marks our perception of reality, then it becomes reality. Facts be damned. If necessary, address not the core issues, but the trimmings, what Olson called Trivia Tackling: find fault with a classic example of evolution, and the whole house of cards will collapse; or attack Democratic candidate John Kerry's war record with the Swift-boat ad.
These ideas, as applied to the political sphere, are spelled out by George Lakoff in his book Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate--The Essential Guide for Progressives. Read the first chapter here.

2006-06-09T19:15:00.000-04:00

What is this gigantic construction site? The future US embassy in Baghdad, Iraque, due to be operational in June 2006.

How big is it? 104 hectares, the size of Vatican City, containing 21 buildings, including six blocks, with 619 one-bedroom flats, a recreation building, a beauty salon, gym, swimming pool, a school, its own water treatment plant and electrical generator.

What about security? Its surounded by five-metre-thick walls and ringed by military guards.

How much will it cost to build? President Bush requested $1.3 billion for the embassy in the 2005 "emergency supplemental". Presently, 3,500 workers are constructing the complex, 24hours a day.

For how much did Iraq sell the real estate to the US? $0

(cit The Age
also see the Congressional Research Service April 2005 report)

2006-06-05T14:02:00.000-04:00

With enlistment rates down and the Reserves and National Guard stretched to the breaking point, how long do you think it will take before President Bush brings back the draft?

Draft FAQs

2006-05-31T06:42:00.000-04:00

How would Ezekiel Hernandez feel about Bush's decision to send thousands of National Guards and later private security companies to the US-Mexico Border?
Ezekiel Hernandez, an 18-year-old goat herder and a US citizen, was shot in the back and killed with an M-16 on May 20, 1997 by US marines deployed to enforce Operation Gatekeeper - a drug trafficking control effort along the border. The Marines were 230 yards away from Hernandez, who was herding goats near his home in Redford, Texas, a border town. The Marines claimed self-defense, which was accepted by authorities. No Marines were charged ever of this killing.

2006-05-29T08:44:00.000-04:00

How would you feel if your son or daughter died fighting for a war based on lies and deception perpetrated by your government?

Would you be willing to risk your life for the opportunity to kill innocent men, women and children living under foreign occupation, so that some fat cats, your compatriots, can line their pockets with more cash?

2006-05-17T07:26:00.000-04:00

In 2005, the driest year in the UK since 1973, who paid for the 800 million gallons of water lost a day in leaks - enough to meet the needs of 24 million people a day

- the private water distribution companies, like Thames Water, which loses one-third of its water between the reservoir and the home and was 2005's worst offender with a loss of 200 million gallons daily;

- or the consumers, who saw a 46% increase in water prices in the first nine years of privatization led by Margaret Thatcher in 1988?

See Public Citizen's Water for all on the issue of public vs private water systems.

2006-05-15T11:43:00.000-04:00

Does the White House honestly believe that the deployment of thousands of national guardsmen along the 1,952 mile (3,141 km) border between the US and Mexico is going to stop the flow of economic migrants?

Is illegal emigration so worrisome that it warrants the use of an already stretched-thin military?

2006-05-11T08:11:00.000-04:00

Have the $50 billion worth of contracts paid by Iraque to 150 U.S. corporations been spent to benefit the people of Iraque or the corporations?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If after the Gulf War it took merely three months for Iraqis to rebuild the water, electricity and sewage systems, why is it taking Bechtel Corporation of San Francisco, the recipient of a $2.8 billion contract to rebuild these systems during the US occupation, not been able to reach pre-war levels, although its been at it for three years?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the supply of oil has reduced sharply (from 2.5 million barrels a day before the invasion of Iraq to the present 2 or 2.2 million barrels a day), and the main oil companies are posting record profits (ExxonMobile had the largest return of any company in history), the why are oil prices increasing?

Worthwhile questions

2006-05-11T07:39:00.000-04:00

I read today a news piece concerning a study of youth's understanding of the news. Apparently those that watch the "false-news" comedy program "The Daily Show", with Jon Stewart, get a better grasp of the news than those watching "legitimate" news programs. I think there are many reasons for this. Casting aside the fact that the Daily Show (DS) viewers might represent a more sophisticated set of viewers (which might not even be true), it is an entertaining show that appeals to our funny bone, not our fears. Perhaps we are more likely to retain information in order to share with friends, rather than repress in order not to panic.

DS however is not a "false-news" show as many other spoofs on news broadcasts. Its more like the comments you might make among friends when critically watching the news, ie, when you question the news being fed to you, question the people cast on the news, their motives, the politics. Jon Stewart simply asks outloud questions that we ask ourselves and points out the ridicule of certain contradictions in politics. In that sense, DS is content-rich: it gives the news bullets with a tone that prompts one to make connections and think. Furthermore, it cuts through the mundane items to focus on central themes, like war, corruption, and does so by diving through the surface and, again, asking critical questions.

Inspired by this notion of how simply stating certain questions that make connections, one can instill some degree of critical thought, and impressed with the output of a portuguese blog that has a daily post with a single question, I'm going to attempt to post more regularly on this blog, by using the question format. Often, I simply don't have time to write the more detailed posts I'd like and simply don't post at all.

Incidentaly, tied to this theme of critical questions: check out the letter the President of Iran Ahmedinejad sent to George W. Bush. Its somewhat long but worthwhile to dash through in to get a first-hand impression. In it, he assumes Bush's Christian commitment and addresses a extensive list of questions, largely asking whether his policies are consistent with those his religious values. Aside from the intruding God-speak, he asks questions asked of American Imperialism the world over. Its also worthwhile to read on the question of Israel. News on Iran is now always cast in the light of its development of nuclear reactors for energy (although its civilian purpose is not usually explicitly states in the news - allowing for confusion between energetic purposes and belligerent uses). So you might very well hear "Ahmedinejad visited the Phillipines ... bla-bla-bla ... nuclear ... bla-bla-bla ... Israel will disapear". It leaves the impression, the association that he is proclaiming the destruction of Israel, with nuclear bombs. The associations while not explicitly filling in the dots, can leave an enduring impression. Recall how the White House's statements associating Saddam and 9/11, while rarely saying Saddam was responsible, contributed largely to a majority opinion that he was indeed responsible and therefore that war was justified. What Ahmedinejad has in fact been forecasting is that the Jewish state of Israel is untenable, that Israel is an artificial creation that oppresses Palestinians and destabilizes the region, and that there should be a referendum where Christians, Jews and Muslims can participate to decide the future of those territories. Regardless of whether you subscribe to a two-state or one-state solution, or think he would support such a suggestion, given the larger growth rate of Palestinians, it becomes clear that he is not asking for the destruction of Israel. In the recent conference on Palestine, held in Teheran, he articulated very explicitly that Israel would disapear as an implosion.

Free Liza Maza

2006-04-26T12:51:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Abril 25th, 2006, in the Phillipines, formal charges and arrest warrants were filled against 6 congresspeople, and 42 others, on charges of rebellion, which in the Phillipines is punishable with the death penalty.
The case dates back to Feb 24, 2006, with a state of emergency was declared, after the government led by president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo alleged it had been victim of a coup d'état. The plot would have coincided with demonstrations marking the revolution that toppled former dictator Ferdinand Marcos (on Feb 22-25, 1986).
Arroyo claimed there existed a “clear and present danger to our republic that we have discovered and thwarted … a plan by a few misguided elements in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), in conspiracy with the Left represented by the National Democratic Front–Communist Party of the Philippines–New People’s Army (NDF-CPP-NPA), to overthrow the government.” Yet what she was truely confronting during the first few days of protesting was massive desatisfaction with her corrupt, inept government that united many organizations and brought thousands to the streets to rally and march. She responded by issuing Proclamation nº1017, on Feb 24th, which led to dozens of arrests and the raid of the Daily Tribune and Abante, newspapers opposing Macapagal-Arroyo. 1017 also included a "no rally order". This was immediately defied in an opposition rally that included religious and political activists, among them former President Corazon Aquino, Senate President Franklin Drilon, former Vice President Teofisto Guingona, Bishop Teodoro Bacani and Bishop Oscar Cruz. The rally at Ninoy Aquino Monument in Ayala Avenue, Makati City was met with violent dispersal by police and several protesters were arrested, including one of the rally leaders, University of the Philippines Prof. Randy David.
On Fev 7th, the PNP–CIDG (Philippine National Police-Crime Investigation and Detection Group) filed cases against 51 alleged communists, which includes four party-list representatives: Satur Ocampo, Crispin Beltran, Teodoro Casiño and Liza Maza. They were provided sanctuary by House Speaker Jose de Venecia who offered his office and conference room to be their detention cell as long as they are under the protective custody of the House. (For more details see, for instance, a regional human rights organization Solidarity Philippines Australia Network - SPAN)
Although the state of emergency was lifted on March 3rd, the crackdown on progressive peoples organization continues. There are reports of political assasinations, threats and persecution of political activists. Among the targeted groups is Gabriela National Women's Alliance, whose vice-chair, Liza Maza, was been under house arrest. Maza was tireless activist and lawmaker defending women's human rights, having sponsored the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (2003) and co-authored the Anti-Violence in Women and Children Act.
The Philippine people need your solidarity. Those unjustly arrested and facing potencial death penalty rulings, including Liza Maza, need your support. Visit the Gabriela website to find out more and how you can help.

Hunger strike for union rights

2006-04-23T14:35:00.000-04:00

Janitors, housekeepers and groundkeepers at the University of Miami have been fighting for the right to join a union. Their employwer, the company UNICCO, is threatening and intimidating workers fighting for this recongnized basic human right. Worker have pleaded with the President of the University, Donna Shalala, a former Clinton administration official, to intervene, but she has refsed to do so.

The struggle became more intense when, two weeks ago, several workers and half dozen university students (in solidarity) started a liquids-only hunger strike. Four of the hunger strikers have already been hospitalized. For video footage of the strike go here.

Civil rights leaders, politicians and labor leaders have showed their support for the hunger strikers and, mst importantly, for the workers right to join a union. Workers are asking for expressions of solidarity, and directing supporters to write Donna Shalala.

Workers are simply asking Shalala to allow them to join a union through the card check procedure, whereby if enough cards signed by workers wanting to form a union are collected, the union must be recognized. The procedure is not formally recongized yet. Workers wanting to form a union must undergo several bureaucratic steps supervised by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), which tend to favor the union busting tactics employed by company owners. For this reason, more than 40 senators and 200 representatives in Congress have called for a new labor law, the Employee Free Choice Act which would make card check procedures the right of every employee. These hunger strikers are on the forefront of the fight for Union and Workers Rights in the US.

Alito

2006-01-10T17:08:00.000-05:00

Concerned about Alito's nomination for the Supreme Court? Check out this site.

Nobel Prizes

2005-12-15T17:55:00.000-05:00

The Nobel Prize is one of the world's most prestigious awards. For a scientist it is certainly among the highest degrees of recognition there is. This is perhaps less true of writers, for which there are other equally prestigious awards. But even for writers, this is the award for which they are in competition with writers of all languages. The matter is perhaps different for peace activists. One does not work for peace with the aim (or hope) of winning this prize (the same is not true of scientists).
Universities brag about the number of Nobel laureates among their faculty in the brochures. Nations with large numbers of Nobel laureates gloat. Other nations rejoice when they have (finally) one of their members awarded or merely nominated, unless of course the nation is Burma and the awardee is Aung San Suu Kyi. This last example illustrates how while most of use recognize the remarkable intelligence and the successful activity of laureates (and nominees), this does not mean that governments take all the opinions of Nobels as just and right.
Yet we should take note, governments included, when several nobel laureates sign joint statements. Some recent examples:

The Nobel Peace laureates Jimmy Carter, the Dalai Lama, Shirin Ebadi, John Hume, International Physicians For the Prevention of Nuclear War, José Ramos Horta, Desmond Tutu, Lech Walesa, and Jody William, signed a letter calling for worker's rights, the right to organize, form unions and collective barganing, and criticized nations like Colombia, Burma, China, Zimbabwe and ... the US for limiting these rights.
The laureates José Saramago, Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, Rigoberta Mechú and Nadine Gordimer signed a declaration demanding the respect for the sovereignty of Venezuela.

Ocassionally, the acceptance speech is a enduring mark on history. This was certainly the case with Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech. Or, when Jean-Paul Satre refused the Nobel Prize for Literature. It is a moment when the awardee has the world stage and can speak his mind for all to hear.
This year the Nobel prize for Literature was awarded to the playwright Harold Pinter. Pinter is now 75, is suffering from cancer, and was recently hospitalized, so he was unable to travel to Stockholm. But he sent a 46 minute speech intitled Art, Truth and Politics (which one can see in its entirety over the web) in which, among other topics, he unsparingly accuses the US of "systematic, constant, vicious, remorseless" crimes, of exercising "a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good". He does not spare his own country, the "bleating little lamb tagging behind [the US] on a lead, the pathetic and supine Great Britain".
I bow to your courage, Mr. Pinter, to speak up in your moment of pain, to be unafraid of the scorn from those that believe such cermonies should be unpolitical, to speak your mind before the world and plead for peace for humankind. That is the certainly the mark of one worthy of recognition.

Venezuelan elections

2005-12-08T08:54:00.000-05:00

Last weekend, there were elections in Venezuela for the National Assembly. Five parties that opposed President Hugo Chávez boycotted the elections and withdrew for the ballot, arguing lack of trust in the electoral process and in the independence of the electoral authority. The chief of the European Union mission, Jose Albino Silva, said observers were "surprised" when the opposition parties withdrew, as their main complaint was addressed and the provided no new reasons for their withdrawl. He added, audits showed vote results and voting machines were "clearly reliable".

Abstention rates were however quite high (~75%). Opposition parties argue this demonstrates a strong opposition to Chávez. But this type of argument is pure rhetoric. They did not provide an option for voters wanting to oppose Chávez, and cannot now legitimately claim the 'silent majority' vote. Press worldwide made this the most important result of the election, and thus assumed their role in backing the Chávez opposition.

However, abstention is a complex factor. While it certainly is an indicator of a lack of commitment to the electoral process, it can hardly be automatically translated into any one single political viewpoint.

One should also place this level of abstention in Venezuela into context, particularly as to what it might mean regarding support for Chávez.

Recall referedum of 15th Aug, 2004, an abstention rate of ~30,08%
Local elections in Dec/2000, an abstention rate of ~77%
Elections that same year, in July, for the National Assembly, Governors and the President, had an absention level if ~44%. Chávez won the presidential elections with
Referendum of 16 December 1999, abstention rate of 55,6%
Elections for the Constitutional Assembly, abstention rate of 53,8%
Referendum of 25 of Abril 1998, abstention rate of 62%
Presidential elections 6/Dec 1998, abstention rate of 36,6%
Local elections in 1995, abstention rate of ~54%
Presidential and Congressional elections in 1993, abstention rate of 39%
Local elections in 1992, abstention rate of 50,7%

Data from the Nacional Electoral Commission (CNE) of Venezuela

One can clearly see from these data that abstention rates vary, but tend to be high. Rates were lowest when there were presidential elections, which is not surprising for a presidential system, where the president is the head of government. It also reinforces Chávez legitimacy as president, so often undermined by the opposition and media. He was elected with 56,20% in the 1993 elections, and 59,75% in the 2000 elections (see CNE data), a clear majority the George W. Bush never achieved. His slim majority in 2004 did not however keep him from claiming a political mandate. Likewise, the referendum in 1999 represented resounding victory of Chávez's political program, with 87,75% voting for the new constitution. The recall referendum of 2004, the most recent challenge to Chávez's legitimacy, proved a confortable defeat of his recall (59% against), with low abstention (30%).

One need recognize that voter also affects western, first-world, democracies. In the 2004 elections for the European Parliment, the EU average abstention rate was 54.5%, reaching rates of participation as low as 16.96% (in Slovakia) or 20.87% in Poland. These are not just values of recent members. In 1999, the UK only 24% of voters participated in the EP elections.

Voter turnout in the US is hardly remarkable either. Since 1972, it has fluctuated around 55%, as a percent of eligible voters (it is lower if one uses Voter Age Population - VAP), although there was a marked turnout increase in the 2004 elections (61%). But it was merely 39,3% in the 1998 midterm elections.

Thus, while it is a matter of concern that abstention rates were high in these last elections it can hardly be concluded that this represents any large opposition to Chávez. Rather it is part of a larger problem, dealt with in many democracies, with the electoral ballot system. One for which there is no single solution, and there is not single cause.

Employee Free Choice Act

2005-12-06T17:37:00.000-05:00

Only 12.5% of private-sector employees belong to a union, yet over 59% claim they would belong to a union if they could choose freely. Who can blame them? Union workers gain higher wages and have better benefits. Yet forming a union in the US is filled with obstacles. If emplyers catch whiff that workers plan to form a union they can demand a secret ballot election held by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB establishes a 60-day period before the elections giving employers ample time to "bring in the troops", the union-busting firms that are specialists in campaigning against union drives and using legal tricks to postpone the actual vote. These firms organize large scale anti-union campaigns, including sending letters to worker's homes, organizing mandatory closed-door meetings against the unions. Many employers also hold one-on-one mandatory meetings with supervisors to pressure workers to vote against the union, threatening to close the workplace if the union wins the election. Most often, workers trying to organize have far fewer resources to oppose the power advantage of employers. One forth of employers illegally fire at least one worker for union activity during union drives. The NLRB is toothless against such violations by employers. The original National Labor Relations Act made it illegal to fire union workers, but one of its ammendments, the Wagner Act of 1935, allows employers to hire "permanent replacements".
On Dec. 10th, Human Rights Day, workers around the US will fight for the approval of the Employee Free Choice Act that among other things will allow workers to form a union by simply collecting card approvals from the majority of workers, by-passing the NLRB-process. One of the articles of the Universal Human Rights Charter is the right to form unions and to collective bargaining. A human right should not be a struggle. Workers should be able to organize freely. Let employers then learn to satisfy their demands. The US cannot compete with other low-wage countries, like China or India, by offering their workers low-wage, no-benefits jobs. Thats not how it will be able to keep factories and jobs from going abroad.
Check out the AFL-CIO website and American Rights at Work.

Treaty on the European Constitution

2005-05-31T06:57:00.000-04:00

Last Sunday, the French voted NO to the Treaty on the European Constitution, in what was a very participated campaign. Unlike other elections for the European Parliment and referenda on european matters, this election had a reasonably low abstention rate (~30%). Equally important, it was preceded by a very broad and participated debate. For this reason, this No cannot be argued to be a result of ignorant antagonism about the treaty itself. There were many public deabtes (french style tv debates are nothing like US style hardball, one actually hears most people talk, and they have informative things to say), and books on the constitution were bestsellers. One might claim voter-ignorance, for instance, in the referendum on the treaty that took place in Spain, where there was hardly any public debate on the treaty and discussion of its content. But there the vote was 60-so-% YES, with a very high abstention rate.

This NO-vote came despite the very strong appeals of President Chirac and the the pilgrimage of many european leaders to France to try and convince the French people. But there arguments hardly mentioned the content of the treaty, rather they attempted to blackmail the voters by warning them that France would be placed outside the EU if the vote was negative.

What does the treaty contain anyway? Its hard to sumarize. The proposal of a European Constitution is 473 pages long. The protocols and annexes, which are considered an integral part of the European Constitution, yet hardly discussed, are a further 382 pages. That's a total of 855 pages. Granted some have very little content. But still, its far from being the simple, readable ,and interpretable text that a constitution is should be. Constrast this with the new Venezuelan Constitution that is so embraced by its people, that it has become a bestseller and is sold on street corners.

In its vast numbers of articles, it deals with most aspects of social-economic, political, cultural, and military life. It refers less to citizen's rights than to the market-economy it institutes constitutionally. And when it does refer to rights, it constitutes a step back from some national constitutions. For instance, the French and Portuguese Constitution grant to the "right to a job" to all citizens, whereas the European Constitution grants the "right to work". It also devalues the social system that has been achieved in most of Europe, while giving greater emphasis to the development of a military and security system. These are but a few reasons to oppose the treaty. It may certainly seem strange to an outsider, how or why people from the whole political spectrum are opposing this proposal. They are doing so for different reasons. The proposal is so extensive, that it poses a target for the extreme right, the communists, more than half of the socialist voters, and a considerable minority of right-of-centre parties (in government). This also makes it very hard to imagine how one could go back to the drawing board if this proposal is abandoned.

Tomorrow, Holand is very likely to also vote no in its referendum. Thats two down, but the UK has still to decide whether to have a referendum or not, whether to consider the process alive or dead. If it drops out, thats it. And the EU commission has no idea where to go from there.

WWII: corrections

2005-05-08T18:12:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate the end of WWII, or rather its European stage. But a few corrections need be made to most of what the commentators say. Its sad to them downplay or simply ommit the crucial role of the USSR in the defeat of Nazi-fascism. One need only look at a map and compare the size of the eastern and western fronts to realize the largest front was in the east, where most of the combats were taking place. One need only compare the numbers of dead, to see how Germans lost many more soldiers in the Western front, where the URSS resisted under extremely harsh conditions with millions dead. It is unfair to criticize Stalin for having decided to resist in Moscow, Stalingrad, and Leningrad (the latter with different names now), when Churchill did the name. The difference was simply that Germany placed much greater force on the eastern front, whereas it was only capable of attacking Great Britain in the sea and air. The facts are clear, if one had to assign one single member of the allied forces as the victor over Germany it would be the URSS. It fought longer, suffered more, and travelled longer to reach Berlin first. And George W. Bush using this ocasion to spew attacks upon the URSS and make it out to be the worst scourge in Europe's history is uncalled for.
It is also necessary to remember that the end of WWII did not mean the end of fascism in Europe. It persisted in Portugal and Spain, until 1974 and 75. It Portugal it lasted 48 years, a record for fascist rule. Both countries were officially neutral during the war, playing both sides, although Spain profitted highly from German support during its civil war. However, the allied victory was celebrated by the people. The pictures show portuguese in the Lisbon streets, bearing flagless poles, as the exhibition of the flag of the USSR was prohibited.

Conclave

2005-04-20T18:04:00.000-04:00

The recent election of the Roman Catholic Pope brought the word 'conclave' onto print and the lips of newscasters and citizens. It has a curious history. Early papal election occasionally lasted for a very long time, forcing authorities to seclude the cardinals to "encourage" a speedier decision. Cardinals were fed by the villagers hosting the cardinals. After the death of
Clement IV in 1268, the cardinals were once again secluded: under lock and key, con-(with)-clave(key). After a period of deadlick, the hosting city of Viterbo, Italy, refused to send any supplies other than bread and water, as they were apparently abusing the town's resources: it was taking almost three years! After that, they soon came to a conclusion, electing Gregory X, who then instituted seclusion and a number of 'conclave' rules for the next elections: they were to recieve no pay, after three days of meeting they would recieve only one meal a day, and after five days only bread and water.
I wish this time they had taken a little longer. They might have come up with a different pope.

Nuclear fears

2005-04-20T16:51:00.000-04:00

Growing up in Manhattan in the 70s I was a pretty confident kid, strolling the streets of Harlem without great concerns. But I did have a fear of death. It would hit me like a wave of panic, unrelated to no immediate threat. (I still have these panic attacks.) I believe this fear also surfaced cryptically in a couple of episodes in which I feared I was going to become blind. I also remember feeling an imminent threat to my life: when someone told me the bubble-gum tattoo on my arm would not let my skin breathe, when the solar system's plants fell into alignment. Those seem really far fetched now. I also had a fear of nuclear war, and remember having very vivid dreams with missiles and nuclear explosions. This was before films like 'The Day After". I was certainly very receptive to life-threatening scenarios, but this one in particular must have been fostered by something, cold-war talk, school filme, nuclear fall-out shelter signs. I don't know. I suppose this fear was more generalized. I would imagine those that grew up in the states and had nuclear attack drills (where they protected themselves under their desks!), those that lived through the Cuban Missile Crisis, would have this fear as well. Despite MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction), it was not far-fetched, but rather quite palpable.
In the 80s, the world went through great shifts, among them a number of pacts drawn between Gorbatchev and Reagan procurring some degree of nuclear disarmament. Reagan talked about Star Wars, a plan that hit a dead-end at the time but is now re-surfacing. But there was a genuine sense that the threat of a world-wide nuclear conflict was subsiding. (More regional threat persisted, as India and Pakistan, recurrent partners in war, became nuclear nations.)
I have more recently been afflicted by renewed fear of the use of nuclear weapons. And once more I do not think these are unwarranted. These fears derive largely not to the (very real) possibility of a terrorist nuclear softbomb attack. Or the threat of a nuclear launch from Iran or North Korea. (Incidentally, I recently read how a nuclear warhead travelling on a Scud missile that did not hit ground, but exploded one mile high could generate electromagnetic waves strong enough to burn out electricity in huge areas, say the whole eastern US.) My fears derive from the pro-nuclear plans of the Bush Administration. This is not militant anti-US sentiment. These same ordering of blame, with the US as highest on the scale of threat to Nulcear peace, was voiced by Jimmy Carter.
The Bush administration is pursuing plans to biuld new forms of nuclear weapons, such as the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, or bunker-buster, and the mini-nukes. These are concieved not as weapons of dissuasion, in the context of MAD and détente, but as weapons that military officers are authorized to recruit in the course of conventional war. The Nuclear Posture Review makes it clear that these weapons are part of the arsenal to be called upon. At the same time, the US is backing away from treaties upon which Nuclear peace is based, such as the Test Ban Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. (There will be a round of talks on the NPT in NYC this May.) In addition, the invasion of Iraq has sent out a clear message to other countries on the "Axis of Evil" list. Compliance with US demands achieves little: afterall Iraq did not have WMDs, as it stated when pressured by the US. UN inspections had kept this from happening, and although inspectors were stating there were no WMDs, the US conjured its own evidence, and went ahead with its apriori plans anyhow. So what's the point of playing the game, if yo get beat up in the end, regardless of what you do. Might as well get ready for what is bound to come. Naturally North Korea assess possessing Nuclear Weapons is its only defense against an invasion by the US. NK is also playing the diplomacy game, trying to secure economic benefits. But then it had been promised, by Bill Clinton, to recieve aid in restructuring its Enery sector. That door was closed by Bush, who first broke off talks with NK, then ignored them as he was busier on the other side of the world.
The Russians now have a new ICBM (Intercontinental Ballistic Missile), the SS-27, a much faster version of the SS-25. The US's National Missile Defense system was based on the SS-25. It has failed tests repeatedly, and faced hurdles that were not of mere implementation and which further research could resolve, but unsurmountable problems (such as how to distinguish between real and dummy warheads in weightlessness). But it will be totally useless against the SS-27. (The NMD is expected to cost between $800 bn - $1.2 trillion by 2015.)
The peace movment in the past was able to mobilize against the lunacy of nuclear weapons. We must raise the No-Nuke flag once more.

Donations

2005-01-07T06:42:00.000-05:00

Donating blood has always struck me as a remarkable example of the spirit of community. Sure in some places blood donations are paid, and there are shortages in almost all blood banks. But still there are tens of thousand of people that spend time and expend blood with no other payback than the reward of knowing they are allowing for the recovery or survival of a stranger. In some cases, the time expended is not small. For some time I did apheresis, a process done in certain blood banks whereby blood is extracted, centrifuged to separate different components (plasma, platelets, and white blood cells), certain components are collected and the remainder returned to the donors body. This cycle, extraction-centrifugation-return, occurs several times over a couple of hours. This way larger amounts of clotting factors can be donated, and more often, than if one were to extract those factors from the blood given in a regular donation. This is particularly important for premature babies, patients with weak immune systems, such as cancer patients, etc.

What is most striking about the generosity of blood donations is that it occurs continually. Publicity and constant reminders and appeals are the norm, but to be sustainable it relies on people coming in on a regular basis. It cannot depend upon waves of adherence driven by a catastrophe. Such mass responses have their merit as well. I was living on Long Island (New York) on 9/11, and a bunch of us from school felt we had to do something, and after supporting collections of water and blankets, we went that afternoon to Stony Brook University Hospital to donate blood. The Hospital was packed with likeminded people, and this was repeated nationwide. Sadly, we soon realized that given the characteristics of the attack there was no urgent need for blood. The banks urged people to come at a later date and expanded their contact list. (Some months later there was a shortage of blood again.) People also reacted strongly by donating money to several organizations.

I'm recalling all this in the aftermath of the Asian catastrophe provoked by the earthquake and tsunami of December 26th, 2004. The developed nations have responded with the promise of some $2 bn in aid. The point has been made that often these sort of pledges aren't kept, and struck nations are left hanging. In the US's case, a substantial contribution came only after considerable public pressure. GWBush, in his ranch in Crawford, Texas, slacked in giving the matter importance, then promised $15 million, then $35, then finally $350 million. Generous, but it corresponds to what the US spends in a day on its military occupation of Iraq.

Personal contributions to relief organizations that are active in afflicted areas have also been extensive. Thinking about the peaks of contributions led me back to the blood donations. How can one try to budget a more regular contribution to organizations, be they humanitarian, animal-rights, environmental, without it depending on catastrophic events claiming our attention, and wallet? Sure, one can wait for the envelope from Nature Conservancy with the pretty calendar, or from the local homeless shelter with address labels. Or wait for Christmas: I found it very satisfying to donate money to several organizations as Christmas gifts in the name of the person receiving the gift. Certainly more to the spirit of the season than buying the latest Eminem CD, or a new pair of socks. But that comes once a year, or the case of requests received at home does not require action on my part nor offer much in the way of choice on whom to give to. Which raises another issue I hear some people complain about: there are too many issues, too many organizations, I don't know who to trust. But this confusion, and a certain laziness to gather information and make choices should not keep us from donating. One can now get more information than ever about the work certain organization do. And if there are too many issues one can decide to give a generous contribution to an organization of greater breadth of activity, or give more modest contributions to a number of organizations with different activities (my personal favorite). The next question is, how much? There is no minimum, most organizations are happy to receive anything (and as much as) we might give them. So it usually comes down to, how much can afford? And her is the crux of the matter I wanted to write about, the difference between a catastrophe-driven contribution vs. a continual, budgeted contribution. Most of us to not include contributions, donations, charity in our personal or family budgets. (Those that do tend to think of them as tax-writeoffs, and this dictates the amount donated.) Without it being included in our yearly budget, when the time comes and we ask how much can I afford, it always seems one can't afford much, although the answer might be different if it were a therapeutic shopping spree at the mall. I'm suggesting one set aside a certain amount of income for donations per year, that it be included in one's budget (which may even not exclude certain extraordinary donations, or eventual adjustments in case of a budget crunch).

Well, how much to set aside? What is reasonable, without being cheap? I suggest one allocate 0.7% of one's budget to donations, coins in a coffee cup, and contributions. That's $84/year for every $1,000/year earned.

I didn't pull this number out of the air. This is the percentage of GNP (or as I gather some are starting to refer to as the GNI), the UN General Assembly in 1970 set as the target for nations to give as aid to developing nations. Most donor countries committed themselves to reaching this target, though not the US. Yet few have reached it (in 2002, Denmark 0.96%, Norway 0.89%, Sweden 0.83%, Netherlands 0.81% and Luxembourg 0.77%). Some G8 countries that assumed the target have declined in their support, as the UK from 0.51% in 1979 to 0.31% in 2002. See here for more on the 0.7% target campaign. Individuals should set an example, and take a small burden of the world as their responsibility. Everyday.

US elections

2004-11-10T17:34:00.000-05:00

I recently moved from the US back to Europe, in particular Portugal. (The move partly explains why I have posted here less regularly). I left the US shortly after the RNC, which gave me a chance to join in the protests against Bush&Co. I'm still following US politics quite closely. As was most of Europe. It was impressive to see French TV channels, British channels, Spanish and Portuguese channels, following the Bush/Kerry race more closely than the recent elections for the European Parliment. It was a testemant to the importance of the US, and to the European fear that Bush would be re-elected. I was reluctant to wage on either candidates victory for the longest time, and was conformed to it being a razor-sharp close race. But on the morning of the election, the voter turnout gave me hope that Kerry might actually win. I went to sleep that day (Portugal has a 5 hour difference to EST) listening to NPR on the internet, and was transported to when I lived in the US. The next day I was stunned, that Bush not only won, but won without any recount, won the popular vote as well as the electoral college, that the GOP won seats in both houses, that Daschele lost his post, the gay marriage bans, the advances in the education of "creation science". Yes there were a few important vitories (Obama, Feingold, McKinely), but all in all, it was a marked defeat for the Democrats, while of course Bush didn't really gain a big victory, afterall he only got 51% of the vote. Certainly not enough to really claim any "mandate", or confirmation of his policies. If anything, the election demonstrated, that contrary to Obama mantra, the nation is deeply divided. The map of red and blue states illustrates this (although an interesting map with shades of purple, rather than the bicolor states, is revealing). Bush gets 69% in Wyoming, but a mere 9% in Washington DC, or 17% in Manhattan (ironically, these latter two places are of course where the 9/11 attacks occurred). Of course, its important now to keep a critical, vigilant civil society and not return to the post-9/11 acquiesence to the chief. One that does not take assaults on civil liberties without opposition. One with a press that asks questions, rather than simply transcribing white house press releases.

Flu season

2004-10-16T17:24:00.000-04:00

World War I will be remembered as a gruesome and deadly war. The number of dead in certain battles are staggering: 306,000 at la Somme (almost 20 thousand british dead on the first day of battle), over 260,000 at Verdun. The war killed, mamed, wounded, taumatized, widowed and orphaned. To think that after such a muderous war, the world was hit with a pandemic flu which turned out to be more deadly.
The 1918-19 "Spanish flu" pandemic killed at least 20 million people, and perhaps as many as 100 million. In India alone an estimated 17 million died, a morbidity of about 5% of the population. In the US, 28% were infected and half a million died. In a time before the fluid, rapid interconnectedness of jumbo airplanes, the disease spread across the world and took its toll in a mere 6 months. The only sizable city with no documented outbreak is a town on the island of Marajo at the mouth of the Amazon River. In most cities, 20% of its inhabitants were infected. Global morbidity was estimated at 2.5% of the population. In 1957 and 1968, there were two milder pandemics of global impact.

The recent issue of Science had a New in Focus section on the Flu and risks of new pandemics. Of course, now an infection can spreak around the world with greater speed. A model by Rebecca Grais at Johns Hopkins University predicted an outbreak would peak in most of the 52 cities within 6 months. Some of the more catastrophic predictions estimate that when a new pandemic "finally peters out 18 months later, more than 2 billion people have become ill, and more than 40 million are dead--twice the number claimed by AIDS in 25 years". But even more conservative models, like that of Meltzer from the CDC predict a "pandemic could cause between 314,000 and 734,000 hospitalizations and claim between 89,000 and 207,000 lives, they found. Even the lower figures would overwhelm the U.S. health system, says Meltzer: Hospitals were under severe stress when the 1999-2000 flu season was worse than usual."

The memory of old pandemics together with such grime posibilities causes great concern when small outbreaks occur, they could mean a big one. This was the case in 1997, when an outbreak of H5N1 avian flu in Hong Kong killed six people, and when SARS, not a particularly contagious virus, infected fewer than 9000.Where do the new viruses come from?

"For decades, the dominant theory was that new pandemic viruses arise when avian and human flu viruses reassort, or hybridize, inside pigs, which can be infected with both. (Chinese farms, where ducks, humans, and pigs mingle, were seen as plausible locales.) But since 1997, three avian flu viruses--including H5N1, the virus that has infected poultry in 10 Asian countries--have been found to infect humans directly. Now, the predominant worry is that humans infected with both avian and human viruses may be mixing vessels.
Fortunately, chances of this happening still seem low, says Neil Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College in London. Even if you assume that reassortment occurs in each and every patient infected with the two viruses--which is unlikely--more than 600 people would have to be infected with H5N1 to create a 50% chance of reassortment, Ferguson and his colleagues wrote earlier this year in Science (14 May, p. 968). So far, fewer than 50 people in Vietnam and Thailand are confirmed to have
been infected with H5N1. What's more, most reassortants are likely to pose no threat."

An issue of major concern is how prepared we are in case of a major pandemic? Antiviral drugs albeit effective are expensive and in short supply. Oseltamivir, a potent antiviral sold as Tamiflu, which would act as the initial defense against H5N1, the potent Asian bird flu, if it assumed a form transmitted between humans, is made by only one company, Roche, at a single plant in Switzerland.
The other weapon are vaccines. The prospect of avian viruses being able to directly infect humans actually posed a challenge.

"Flu vaccines are traditionally made by infecting eggs with a target virus and a nonpathogenic strain that grows well. In the eggs the viruses mix their eight genes. Manufacturers then select a strain with genes for neuraminidase and hemagglutinin (two glycoproteins on the virus's surface) from the target virus, and the rest from the normal flu strain; inactivated virus is then used to make vaccine. But H5N1 kills eggs [because the same form that infects humans, infects birds].
A solution exists: reverse genetics(Science, 27 February, p. 1280). Using this technique, the two genes for neuraminidase and hemagglutinin, as well as the six genes from a safe virus, are cloned in bacterial DNA and then reassembled. With highly virulent strains like H5N1, the hemagglutinin gene is first modified to reduce its pathogenicity so the seed virus can be grown in large quantities in eggs. Using reverse genetics, teams at St. Jude and the U.K.'s National Institute for Biological Standards and
Control (NIBSC) each produced an attenuated Vietnam H5N1 strain within 3 to 4 weeks earlier this year--"clearly a phenomenal advance," notes Iain Stephenson of the U.K.'s Leicester Royal Infirmary."

Vaccine supply is a motive of concern. Only 15 countries have preparedness plans, and global supply is short: "the world's capacity for making a monovalent pandemic flu vaccine is now 900 million doses, enough for only 15% of the world's population." Few companies are willing to place their R&D into making them. Only 9 countries in Europe produce 85% of the world's flu vaccine. There is one major supplier in the US: Aventis Pasteur.

"Of the world's 12 major flu vaccine manufacturers, so far only two are willing to tackle the financial, regulatory, and patent issues involved in making a new pandemic vaccine, mainly for the U.S. market. (...) Companies have little incentive to test pandemic vaccines for a market that may never materialize. Intellectual-property and liability issues are also major deterrents. The reverse-genetics flu vaccine is licensed by MedImmune, which uses technology from St. Jude. But Mount Sinai School of Medicine and the University of Wisconsin have patents on similar technology. MedImmune has licensed it for research purposes to Aventis Pasteur and Chiron, but if these companies or others wanted to market a vaccine, they would need an agreement with the other patent holders, says Hugh Penfold of the Centre for the Management of IP in Health R&D, a nonprofit in Oxford, U.K. (...) Even if companies worldwide had the ability and commitment, it could still take 4 to 6 months to manufacture a reverse-genetics vaccine matching a new pandemic flu strain. "

Bundle up this season. Don't get sick.

Nigeria:

2004-10-05T14:43:00.000-04:00

A peace treaty has been signed between the Nigerian Federal Government and the Rivers State militias: Niger Delta People's Volunteer Force,led by Alhaji Mujahid Dokubo Asari, and the Niger Delta Vigilante Service, led by Ateke Tom. The government had deployed troops to the region early last month to end gang violence in Port Harcourt, the hub of Nigeria's oil industry, and its surrounding villages. On the 1st of October, the NDPVF launced "a full-scale armed struggle" to wrest control of the region's oil riches from the government, on the 44th anniversary of Nigeria's independence from Britain. Dokubo Asari claims to be fighting for the self-determination of more than 8 million Ijaws, the dominant tribe in the southern delta region that accounts for nearly all of Nigeria's daily oil exports. [the NDVS is also Ijaw.] After the peace deal was agreed, Dokubo Asari promised to continue to press for common control of their resources. "We have decided henceforth, there will be only one banner for Ijaw people. We shall join forces with other ethnic nationalities to compel the Nigerian government to be alive to its responsibilities to the people."
This unrest contributed to the recent spike in oil prices. Nigeria is Africa's major oil exported (ranked 7th in the world) and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports (10% US crude imports). Nigeria's daily production of is 2.5 million barrels, 28,000 barrels a day from the Niger Delta alone. Royal Dutch Shell, which accounts for half of the oil production, withdrew 250 employees and halted its oil production in response to unrest. Other foreign companies are Agip, which exports about 200,000 barrels of oil daily from its Brass terminal on Nigeria's Atlantic coast, and ChevronTexaco, the country's third-largest oil producer.
The Christian Science Monitor summarised recently (1/Oct/2004):

"The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo has been vocal in its pursuit of
money stolen by the late dictator Gen. Sani Abacha and his associates, but
activists ask why the authorities have failed to confront living members of
other notoriously corrupt military and civilian regimes.
Western multinationals are also widely accused of helping sustain graft. A report
published in July by the US Senate found that US oil companies in Equatorial
Guinea made payments to government officials and their relatives and formed
joint ventures with companies linked to members of the country's repressive
ruling clan. A consortium of Western companies including a subsidiary of
Halliburton is under investigation in the US, France, and Nigeria over
allegations that it made more than $150 million of illicit payments to Nigerian
officials and expatriates."

Further talks are expected to resume on October 8 in the Nigerian capital, government officials and rebel leaders said. Associated Press cited (on Oct 4th) military sources to report an outbreak of violence last weekend in the Ijaw village of Ke, near Bille, in which "several people" were killed.
Oil prices are cheap in Nigeria, but few of the population benefit from oil wealth. Despite being Africa's biggest exporter of the type of crude oil that is the best suited for refining into petrol, Nigeria is forced to import refined petroleum products due to the poor state of its four refineries. Fuel prices also increased in Nigeria: the government issued a 25% hike in late Sept. Nigeria's central labour movement, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has theatened to strike if the government fails to reverse the recent fuel price hikes. Its time the African people (not foreign companies, and not African cronies) benefit from the riches of their natural resources, to address the problems of hunger and disease that affect so many millions.

Violence in Latin America and the Alien Tort Claims Act

2004-09-09T16:44:00.000-04:00

"One must not love oneself so much, as to avoid getting involved in the risks of life that history demands of us, and those that fend off danger will lose their lives." These words were pronouced by the Salvadoran Archbishop Oscar Romero in his last homily before he was assassinated in the church by a sharpshooter, on March 24, 1980. Romero was one of the few clergy actively campainging against the right-wing governmental and paramilitary violence and pleaded with President Jimmy Carter to cease US financial and military aid used directly to repress the people of El Salvador: the U.S. sent $1.5 million in aid every day for 12 years and many military officers were trained in Fort Benning in Georgia, USA. ('School of the Americas').
The year Romero was assasinated, 1980, the violence claimed the lives of 3,000 per month, with cadavers clogging the streams, and tortured bodies thrown in garbage dumps and the streets of the capitol weekly. Over 75,00 Salvadorans would be killed during the civil war, one million would flee the country, another million left homeless, constantly on the run from the army—and this in a country of only 5.5 million.
In 1993, the UN Truth Commission found Roberto d'Aubuisson, Death Squad Leader and founder of the right wing ARENA Party and his associate Alvaro Saraiva responsible for Romero's murder. Saraiva ontained the assassin's gun, arranged for his transportation to the chapel, and paid him afterward. The then government of El Salvador passed, in response, an amnesty law that rendered this and any other ruling void. d'Aubuisson died in 1992, but Saraiva is alive and living in California. Declassified State Department and CIA documents reveal the government was aware of Romero's involvement on Romero's murder as early as May 1980. And yet, this murderer was living peacefully in the USA.
In an odd twist, he was recently convicted of liability in Romero's murder by a Federal judge in Californian, who ruled he must pay USD$10 million to Romero's family. The ruling was possible because of the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act, which allows foreign citizens to to sue in civil cases people living in American courts.
The case was brought to court by the human rights group Center for Justice and Accountability, on behalf of a relative of Romero's. Saraiva went into hiding and was tried in absentia.
The Alien Tort Claims Act, an ancient law passed to protect victims of piracy and ensure that the US would not become a haven for pirates. In 1979 torture was a violation of the “law of nations.” So, the father and sister of Joel Filartiga, a seventeen-year-old who had been tortured to death in Paraguay, used the act against Joel’s torturer, who was living in Brooklyn at the time. Since then the law has been used only 25 times, largely to human rights abusers pay for their actions. Among the accused under the ATCA are Robert Mugabe and Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic. ATCA has also been used against corporation, such as the energy company UNOCAL accused by Burmese workers. The Bush Admnistration has struggled to limit the use of ATCA. In late June, the Supreme Court, unanimously ruled in the against the Justice Department and affirmed the aplicability of the law in the case of Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain against the Justice Department and affirmed the aplicability of the law in human rights cases. (Humberto Alvarez-Machain, a Mexican doctor, was kidnapped from Mexico to stand court in the US. He was acquitted.)
On Sept 6th, the Colombian attorney general's office said that Colombian soldiers assassinated three union leaders last month. This contrasts with the army's earlier contention that the three men were Marxist rebels killed in a firefight.

"Colombia is by far the world's most dangerous country for union members,
with 94 killed last year and 47 slain by Aug. 25 this year, according to the
National Union School, a research and educational center in Medellín. Most of
those killings were by right-wing paramilitary leaders linked to rogue army
units. Worldwide, 123 union members were slain last year, according to the
International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, a Brussels-based group. "
Juan Forero, NYTimes (Sept/8/04)

United Steel workers union have filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Colombian union Sinaltrainal. The suit alleges that Coca-Cola and Panamerican Beverages, its principal bottler in Latin America, waged a campaign of terror, using paramilitaries to kill, torture and kidnap union leaders in Colombia. Sinaltrainal alleges that Coca-Cola bears indirect responsibility for the killing of Isidro Segundo Gil, a union leader shot dead, on 5 December 1996, at his workplace. For more on the cumplicity of Coke in union leader muders, see killercoke.org.

Arab link to Beslan School tragedy

2004-09-07T14:22:00.000-04:00

323 hostages, including 156 children, were killed in the Beslan school take-over, in North Ossetia, Russia. More than 500 people remain hospitalized, and many are unaccounted for. The official story is that Russian forces decided to break the siege at the last minute in reaction to the militants’ actions in response to an escape attempt by a few school children.
Military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer claims this is a fabrication meant to cover up the disastrous outcome of what he believes was a planned assault. Just as in the hostage-taking drama at the Dubrovka Theater in Moscow in October 2002, he accuses the authorities of hiding the truth from the Russian public. He notes, the authorities misled everyone about how many hostages there were, intentionally diminishing their number several times over. They lied, saying that the hostage takers had refused to conduct negotiations when, in fact, it was the Russian authorities who refused to hold talks from the very start, just as in the Dubrovka case, when they also refused to conduct negotiations. They lied, saying that the hostage takers had no demands when, in fact, they had demanded that President [Vladimir] Putin sign a decree withdrawing Russian forces from Chechnya."
There is also question of who perpetrated the siege. One of the survivors captors pointed the finger at Aslan Maskhadov, a leader of Chechen separatism. Maskhadov has denied responsibility. Local officials have pointed to an Ingush component, raising fears of ethnic tensions in the region. Ingush and North Osetia, neighboring republics, have long had acrimonious relations and fought a short war in 1992 that resulted in 600 deaths.
Then there is the implication that this event was an al-qaeda connection. Similarly to President Bush remarks after Sept 11th, 2001, Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the massacre as "an attack on our country." (CNN.com 9/4/04), implying indirectly that these are acts conducted by forces outside Russia. Putin has long contended that Arab terrorist groups, including al Qaeda, have played a role in the violence in Chechnya, where a majority of people are Muslim. Russia's Security Service reported that 10 of the hostage-takers at the school were Arabs, a claim that if substantiated would boost Putin's assertions. Russian authorities said Friday that they believed the siege was masterminded by Chechnya's most notorious warlord, Shamil Basayev, an Islamic militant whose funding channels are believed linked with al Qaeda's. (sfgate.com 9/4/04).
This link is credible, yet one should recall that the origins of al-qaeda trace back to the mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan against USSR in the 80s. The mujahideen gathered muslim combatants from all over the muslim world, and provided an embryo of organization and financing for al-qaeda as fighters dispersed in the early 90s. Many made their way to Yemen and Sudan, others journeyed to a new "front" of Islamic resistance: Albania, Bosnia, Dagestan and Chechnya.
The Islamist lawyer Montasser al-Zayyat points out that Putin "wants to gain the sympathy of the international community, in saying he is not crushing a people but is fighting international terrorism which strikes the United States and Europe. However, in Chechnya it is national liberation movements which are aspiring to independence. The Islamic credentials of these movements have brought them the support of Islamist groups whose fighters have joined them. But at heart the movements remain nationalist." (Turkish Press.com 9/7/04) Their national libertation nature does not in any degree justify the siege of Beslan school. However, if Putin and Russia is to find a solution to the tensions in the southern caucus region, the source and causes of instability must be understood. This is analogous to the claims that the resistance to US occupation in Iraq is the responsability of Saddam loyalists (unlikely, as his regime crumbled with US invasion) or foreign fighters (if nothing else, the guerrilla tactics reflect a deep knowledge of the terrain and popular ties), rather than a deep rejection on the part of Iraqi nationals. Afterall, the persecuted forces led by the Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are deeply Iraqi.

Science under the Bush Administration

2004-08-25T18:31:00.000-04:00

One of the most talked about speakers at the July Democratic Republican Convention, in Boston, was Ron Reagan, son of the two-time president and beloved figure of the Republican party. Ron Reagan spoke specifically in defense of embryonic stem-cell research. His speech was touted as non-political, but here is how Reagan ended:
In a few months, we will face a choice. Yes, between two candidates and two parties, but more than that. We have a chance to take a giant stride forward for the good of all humanity. We can choose between the future and the past, between reason and ignorance, between true compassion and mere ideology.

He cannot help but make these strong contrasts, for its not that the Bush Administration has systematically sidelines the opinion of scientists, in favor of positions of the religious right or powerful corporations. Another speaker at the convention to make this point extremely clear, in a short yet powerful speech at the convention, was Robert Kennedy Jr, the son of the former eponymous Attorney General, himself an environmental activist and lawyer:

In 20 years as an environmental advocate, I’ve been disciplined about being non-partisan in my approach to the environment. If you talk to the CEOs of almost any environmental organization, they’ll say that the worst thing that could happen to the environment would be if it became a partisan issue, the province of a single political party. Five years ago, if you asked experts what they thought was the gravest threat to our environment, they’d mention a whole range of issues, from over-population to global warming, to toxins in our food and air. But today, they’ll give you just one answer: It’s George W. Bush.
You simply cannot talk honestly about the environment today without speaking critically about this administration. This administration has promoted 400 major rollbacks that threaten to eviscerate 30 years of environmental progress. They’ve put polluters in charge of the very agencies that are supposed to regulate them. The second in command of the EPA is a former Monsanto lobbyist. The second in command of the Forest Service is a former timber
industry lobbyist.
This administration says that we have to choose between environmental protection on one hand and economic prosperity on the other. But that is a false choice. Good environmental policy and good economic policy are identical. If we treat this earth as a business, converting our natural resources to cash as fast as possible, we might have a few years of pollution-based prosperity. But our children would have to pay for it - pay for it with a barren landscape, poor health, and astronomical clean up costs.
Environmental injury is deficit spending – putting the cost of our generation’s prosperity on the backs of our children. This entire Administration is about deficit spending. They’ve squandered a $5 trillion surplus. And they’ve squandered the goodwill of the world.

Kennedy Jr. has a longer exposition of his views in The Nation, called The Junk Science of George Bush.

A comprenhensive critique of the Bush Administration's misuse of science in its policy making was prepared by preeminent scientists. Their report, titled Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policy Making, was released in Feb'04. The scientists charged the Bush administration with widespread and unprecedented "manipulation of the process through which science enters into its decisions." In conjunction with the statement, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) released detailed documentation backing up the scientists’ charges in its report, Scientific Integrity in Policy Making. This report was recently updated. UCS also issued a sign-on statement signed by "more than than 5,000 scientists [including] 48 Nobel laureates, 62 National Medal of Science recipients, and 127 members of the National Academy of Sciences. A number of these scientists have served in multiple administrations, both Democratic and Republican, underscoring the unprecedented nature of this administration’s practices and demonstrating that the issues of scientific integrity transcend partisan politics." Among the structural reasons invoked in the statement are:

Highly qualified scientists have been dropped from advisory committees dealing with childhood lead poisoning, environmental and reproductive health, and drug abuse, while individuals associated with or working for industries subject to regulation have been appointed to these bodies.
Censorship and political oversight of government scientists is not restricted to the EPA, but has also occurred at the Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, and Interior, when scientific findings are in conflict with the administration’s policies or with the views of its political supporters.
The administration is supporting revisions to the Endangered Species Act that would greatly constrain scientific input into the process of identifying endangered species and critical habitats for their protection.
Existing scientific advisory committees to the Department of Energy on nuclear weapons, and to the State Department on arms control, have been disbanded.
In making the invalid claim that Iraq had sought to acquire aluminum tubes for uranium enrichment centrifuges, the administration disregarded the contrary assessment by experts at Livermore, Los Alamos and Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

Hand-in-hand with the structural measures are policy decisions exposing the systematic misuse, abuse, and disregard of science in policy-making, in the areas of the environment (undermining the Endagered Species Act, the Clear Skies Act, international efforts to curtail Climate Change), public health (emphasizing abstinence, rather than condom use), and defense (deciding to proceed with projects deemed inviable by scientists, such as missile defense, or 'bunker-buster' that do not generate fallout).

Crisis in Congo

2004-08-17T12:40:00.000-04:00

Sadly, the situation in Western Sudan, in the Dafur region, is not the only humanitarian crisis in Africa. War in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has led to perhaps 3.5 million civilians dead, a toll that makes this war more deadly to civilians than any other since World War I, and a refugee crisis of enormous magnitude. At stake is control over gold, diamonds, timber and coltan, used in the making of mobile phones.
The power-sharing government, installed in 2003, is beginning to crumble and there is great risk of a return of overt war. On Aug 13th, 151 Congolese Tutsi refugees, known as Banyamulenge, were massacred in Gatumba refugee camp, some 120 km south from Bukavu. Gatumba sheltered 860 Congolese before the attack. It is one of three camps near the DRC border hosting 20,000 Congolese who fled fighting in the DRC's South Kivu province in June.
A Burundian rebel movement, the Forces nationales de liberation (FNL) led by Agathon Rwasa, has claimed responsibility for the massacre. Rwasa's FNL, whose stronghold is in the province of Bujumbura Rural that surrounds the capital, is the only rebel group in Burundi not to have laid down its arms.
However, several regional leaders, including Azarias Ruberwa leader of the Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD-Goma) and one of Congo's four vice-presidents, blame the massacre on Rwandan Hutu rebels in the DRC known as Interahamwe and elements of the Mayi-Mayi. On monday, Aug 23rd, Ruberwa announced his group, the RCD, has suspended its participation in the country's power-sharing government, saying Congo's peace process has broken down and needs to be reassessed. The former rebels say they have no plans to resume fighting.
Understanding the politics of the Congo is hard. Its a huge country, the 12th largest in the world with over 250 ethnic groups, and some 700 local languages and dialects. War has involved numerous factions and many of the DRC's neighboring countries. A brief history of the more recent conflict is helpful.
The genocide in neighboring Rwanda and Burundi, in 1994, led to the massive inflow of more than a million Hutu refugees into exile in the DRC. In late 1996, Rwandan sent its troops into the Congo, asserting the need to impede preparations for attacks on Rwanda and to protect the Banyamulenge, Congolese of the Tutsi ethnic group. Rwandan soldiers together with combatants of the Allied Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo (Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaire, AFDL), a hastily organized coalition of Congolese forces led by Laurent-Desire Kabila, attacked refugee camps, killed tens of thousands of Rwandans, many of them unarmed civilian refugees, and forced hundreds of thousands to return to Rwanda.
The AFDL rebel force and its Rwandan and later Ugandan allies overthrew the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko, in May 1997. Kabila assumed the presidency, and 14 months later sought to oust their foreign backers. Rwanda and Uganda supported a new rebellion against the Congolese government led by the RCD. In August 1999, Tutsi troops supported by Rwanda and Uganda attempted to overthrow Kabila. The rebel groups took control of much of the east of the DRC. Zimbabwe, Namibia, Chad, Sudan, and Angola sent troops in support of Kabila. In 1999, rifts emerged between Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) rebels supported by Uganda and Rally for Congolese Democracy (RCD) rebels backed by Rwanda.
A cease-fire was signed in Lusaka, in July of 1999. However, the fighting continued between rebels and government forces, and between Rwandan and Ugandan forces. In January 2001, President Kabila was shot dead by a bodyguard, and was succeeded by his son, Joseph Kabila. In February, Kabila met Rwandan President Paul Kagame in Washington, after which Rwanda, Uganda and the rebels agreed to a UN pull-out plan.
In Dec.'02, a peace deal was signed in South Africa between Kinshasa government and main rebel groups. Under the deal rebels and opposition members are to be given portfolios in an interim government. In April 2003, Pres. Kabila signed a new constitution, under which an interim government will rule for two years, pending elections. In June, Kabila named a transitional government to lead DR Congo until democratic elections take place in 2005.

Some of the groups involved:

Congolese Liberation Movement (MLC) rebels supported by Uganda.
Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) purportedly launched to promote reconciliation, the UPC quickly became a predominately Gegere-led political party intent on promoting the interests of the Hema and related Gegere. It turned to Rwanda for support and formed an alliance with the Rwandan-backed RCD-Goma after being excluded by the RCD-ML and the MLC from the Mambasa ceasefire talks in December 2002.
Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie (RCD-Goma), or Rally for Congolese Democracy. A movement split from the RCD-ML, backed by Rwanda, that provides aid to the Union of Patriotic Congolese (UPC), a Hema militia group. RCD-Goma refers to the group based in Goma which controls most of North and South Kivu, parts of Maniema, Orientale, and Katanga, and a large part of Kasai Orientale provinces. RCD-Goma is widely described as proxy of the Rwandan government and dominated by forces of the Rwandan army which occupies this territory. The Banyamulenge play a major role in the RCD
Rassemblement Congolais pour la Démocratie - Liberation Movement (RCD-ML) also refered to as Congolese Rally for Democracy. Launched in September 1999 after a split from the RCD-Goma. Backed at the start by Uganda, the RCD-ML has been fractured by leadership struggles and in-fighting.The RCD-ML's military wing is the Congolese Popular Army (APC). The RCD-ML entered into the Sun City agreement of April 2002 and the APC are now being trained and armed by Kinshasa.
Rally for Congolese Democracy - National (RCD-N): Congolese Rally for Democracy
initially operated as a front organization for the Ugandans in exploiting the diamond riches of the town of Bafwasende. In 2001 and 2002, the RCD-N supported MLC attempts to win resource-rich areas from the RCD-ML.
The term Mayi-Mayi originally applied to numerous locally based groups of combatants committed to the defense of their communities against outsiders. During the course of the war, some Mai-Mai came to focus on increasing their own wealth and power in the name of defending their communities. They became opportunistic predators, killing, raping and pillaging local civilians.
Army for the Liberation of Rwanda (Armée pour la liberation du Rwanda, ALIR), a Rwandan Hutu militia, operates in eastern Congo, in Kivu
Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (Forces démocratiques pour la liberation du Rwanda, FDLR), a Rwandan Hutu militia affiliated more closely with the Congolese army (Forces Armées Congolaises, FAC) operated mostly in South Kivu and Katanga.
The Interahamwe (Those who attack together) was one of the military groups that acted to exterminate Rwanda's ethnic Tutsi population in 1994.
Forces nationales de liberation' (FNL) is the armed wing of the Parti pour la liberation du peuple hutu (PALIPEHUTU), the longest-established Hutu rebel group in Burundi. FNL also is widely believed to have been behind the December 2003 killing of the Vatican's representative in Burundi, Monsignor Michael Courtney, 50 kilometers south of Bujumbura.

Democracy in America

2004-08-16T23:10:00.000-04:00

Hugo Chavez has survived the recall referendum. Nearly 60% of voters supported the Venezuelan president. The referendum came as a result of an agreement between Chavez and the opposition, in May 2003, mediated by the Organization of American States (OAS), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and The Carter Center (an NGO established by former President Jimmy Carter). Article 72 of the Venezuelan constitution permits citizens to request – if they can gather the signatures of 20 percent of registered voters – a recall referendum on an elected leader halfway through his or her term. Yesterday, millions stood in line committed to vote in an expressive dedication to democratic participation. Chvez recieved a confortable victory, which hopefully will remove any question of Chavez's legitimacy.
The Bush administration has exerted its weight in support the Chavez oppostion. When Chvez was temporarily removed from power by a military coup, in April 2002, the US was quick to support the illegal government and blamed Chavez for creating instability. The State Department release at the time stated: "undemocratic actions committed or encouraged by the Chavez administration provoked yesterday's crisis in Venezuela." A popular uprising, however, reversed the coup and restored the elected President, Chavez, to government. The Bush administration has yet to exercise the same speed of recognition to the referendum results, although the Carter Center, which oversaw the process, has already accepted the Chavez victory.
This isn't the only country where the Bush adminstration has expressed support for the overthrow of democratically elected officials (while claiming to represent a beacon of democracy, of spreading democracy in the Middle East, etc). In February 2004, armed insurgents began to take over Haiti and overthrow the legitimate President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The miltias were lead by Guy Philippe, former U.S. Special Forces-trained Police Chief – trained in Ecuador under their guidance, and Jodal Chamblain, the C.I.A. supported death squad leader. The OAS and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) attempted to broker a peace deal. However, the US rather than support these efforts, coerced Aristide to leave the country (see reports about the removal and interviews with Aristide on Democracy Now!).
The US recognizes the new government, but Caribbean leaders in a meeting last weekend were unable to make a final decision on whether to restore full diplomatic ties with Haiti. At least four heads of government have signaled their opposition to the move, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Guyana, and Dominica. Aristide is presently in Jamaica.
The Center for American Progress outlines instances of the Bush Administration blatant support for a democratic candidate in another country in the Americas.

In Nicaragua in 2001, U.S. Ambassador Oliver Garza appeared on the campaign trail with ruling party presidential candidate Enrique Bolaños, who was challenging Sandinista Daniel Ortega. The U.S. Embassy invited Bolaños to join the ambassador in handing out food to the poor. In another instance, Governor Jeb Bush of Florida ran an advertisement in La Prensa, Nicaragua's main newspaper, entitled, "George W. Bush Supports Enrique Bolaños." The ad described Ortega as "an enemy of everything the United States represents," and Enrique Bolaños as "a man whose past promises a future of freedom."
In 2002, U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha warned the Bolivian people that the United States would discontinue aid if they elected Evo Morales, the leader of the coca growers, as the country's president. Some analysts believe that Morales' popularity grew in protest to the Bush administration's intervention.
In 2004, Salvadorans elected center-right presidential candidate Tony Saca over Schafik Handal, the candidate of the former guerilla party, Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN). During the campaign, U.S. officials, including Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Roger Noriega and Special Envoy Otto Reich, warned about the possible trade, economic and migratory consequences of an FMLN victory. Furthermore, just before the election, Republican Congressman Thomas Tancredo promised to introduce legislation that would complicate the ability of Salvadoran-Americans to send remittances to their families in El Salvador should the FMLN win the election. This was a worrisome threat, as Salvadorans depend upon the more than $2 billion they receive from their family members in the United States for survival. U.S. actions served to polarize Salvadoran politics, as Saca campaigned as the candidate who could protect remittances, while Handal seized on the anti-Americanism that the U.S. intervention generated.

Let hope the US is able to have an election in November without any hitches. Unlike those in 2000.

Justice in East Timor (and more)

2004-08-09T22:11:00.000-04:00

East Timor is a former Portuguese colony. After Portugal overthrew its 48-year long fascist dictatorship in 1974, Timor declared independence on Nov 28, 1975, but was invaded and occupied by Indonesia nine days later. What followed was one of the most devastating ethnic cleansing episodes of history: one third of the Mauber, the people of East Timor, were killed over several decades of Indonesian occupation. After international pressure and crisis in the Indonesian economy and regime, the 78.5% Timorese voted in favor of independence in the UN-backed 1999 referendum. After it became clear the independence had won overwhelmingly, Indonesian military (TNI)-backed militias wrought a wave of violence, killing over 1,500 people and destroying property. This crisis was overcome, and May 20th, 2002, East Timor's independence was officially recognised. Later that year, on Sept. 27th, it became the junior member of the UN, which now encompasses 191 nations.
East Timor, a small nation slightly larger than the Bahamas, has necessarily faced difficulties in its first few years as an independent nation. It lacks infrastructure, qualified personel, and economic resources. Its greatest hope for a viable economy is the extraction of oil, however Timor is engaged in negociations with Australia over how has extraction rights. Here is an explanation of the situation from the East Timor Action Network, a US solidarity organization:

In October 2002, East Timor enacted a Maritime Boundary Law, claiming a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in all directions, based on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). If this international principle were applied, many of the oil and gas fields Australia has exploited and intends to exploit would fall within East Timor's EEZ. Where their neighbors' claims overlap, countries need to negotiate a permanent maritime boundary, usually halfway between their coastlines. In March 2002, Australia gave formal notice that it was withdrawing from international legal mechanisms - the International Court of Justice and the International Tribunal for the Law of
the Sea - to resolve boundary issues that cannot be settled by negotiation. East Timor’s leaders called this withdrawal a hostile act. The withdrawal prevents the new nation from bringing Australia to those forums to contest its refusal to engage in timely and cooperative boundary negotiations.

The other powerful and rich country in its vicinity with which East Timor can have economic relations is naturally its former occupier, Indonesia. This economic need has forced East Timor to not make strong demands of justice and reparations from Indonesia. On Saturday, Aug 7th, a Jakarta appeals court dismissed all pending cases against Indonesians indicted for crimes against humanity committed in East Timor after the 1999 referendum, overturned the convictions of four high-ranking Indonesian military (TNI) and security officials, and reduced by half the ten-year sentence of a notorious TNI-backed militia that led the post-plebiscite violence. The US Congress is presently discussing whether to provide financial to the Indonesian military.
Give this heroic people a break. Give them justice, peace, and their own resources to make their living. Its time. Go to the ETAN website to see what you can do to express support.

2004-08-09T21:01:00.000-04:00

World Bubbles. (Sorry for the extras posts: I was trying a new way of posting images to blogger). I just had to share the wrapper of thes bubble maker a friend of mine bought. It contained a bubble "soap" solution and 6 different plastic bubble makers. The remarkable thing was the "Made in ..." on the back. If you can't read from the photo, the bubble solution was made in Mexico, but the bottle and cap in which it is in, as well as the label, were made in the USA. The bubble makers were made in China, although the bubble shooter was made in Taiwan. Finally the packaging was made and printed in Hong Kong. It doensn't mention were it was all assembled, but somehow it was transported over most of the globe and reached a department store on Long Island, New York, USA for the retail price of $1.49. Talk about Globalization. It reminded me of a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr's Strength to Love

We are everlasting debtors to known and unknown men and women.... When we arise in the morning, we go into the bathroom where we reach for a sponge provided for us by a Pacific Islander. We reach for soap that is created for us by a Frenchman. The towel is provided by a Turk. Then at the table we drink coffee which is provided for us by a South American, or tea by a Chinese, or cocoa by a West African. Before we leave for our jobs, we are beholden to more than half the world.

In the case of the plastic bubble makers, one single product was made from components from all over. This isn't anything new either. I guess it struck me as remarkable because its a dinky little plastic thing, that costs less than a dollar and a half. Its not a car or a computer, where some components can be made by untrained workers and other components require robotics and qualified labor. Its a bubble maker. How much profit margin is made by having the bubble solution made in Mexico rather than the US were the bottle it goes into is made? How cheap is the shipping back and forth, compared to the extra cost of labor?

WTO agreement in Geneva

2004-08-01T12:22:00.000-04:00

The World Trade Organization (WTO) members approved a plan on Aug 1st to end export subsidies on farm products and cut import duties around the world. The consensus among the 147 nations veils the intense dispute that broke down the negociations in Cancun, Mexico in September of 2003.
Cancun was held to complete the Doha round (2001) and concentrated on four main areas - agriculture, industrial goods, trade in services, and a new customs code. Developing nations formed a alliance and refused to sign a proposed agreement which they felt favored the rich nations, particularly on agriculture.
Take the case of cotton. The livelihood of some 10 million West African is dependent upon cotton farming. Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad produce cheap, high-quality cotton, often using traditional methods, but are unable to compete against subsidized competition from the mighty United States. American cotton producers receive USD$3,9 bn in subsidies from Washington each year.
In Geneva, the US, the EU, Brazil, and Japan agreed to eliminate export subsidies at a date to be set, to limit other subsidies, and to lower tariff barriers. The plan includes a "down payment" that would see an immediate 20% cut in the maximum permitted payments by rich nations. Developing countries also won the right to protect "special" products crucial to the well-being of their economies. In return, wealthier nations won better access to markets in developing nations, particularly for industrial goods.
Some major NGOs downplay the agreement. The development aid charity Oxfam International pointed out the agreement has no timeline, and so African nations are dependent on the good will of the USA. Celine Charveriat, Head of Oxfam Internationals Geneva office said: "Presented as a breakthrough, the text on agriculture does little to address the problem of export dumping, instead introducing dangerous loopholes for yet more subsidies especially from the US. (...) After days of closed door negotiations, rich countries have delivered a deeply unbalanced text as a take or leave it option. This puts developing countries in the unfair position of having to accept a bad deal or reject and get blamed by the US and EU for failure."
Despite having right on their side, constituting the majority and forming a coordinated block, developing countries have less pull in negotiations. "We don't really have a choice. African countries come under a lot of pressure both from industrialized countries and their own governments not to jeopardize food aid or bilateral agreements," said one African Union representative, on condition of anonymity, quoted in www.iol.co.za.
This deal opens the way for full negotiations to start in September. The next WTO ministerial meeting will be December 2005, in Hong Kong.

I'm back & Nuclear Concerns

2004-07-26T23:19:00.000-04:00

I'm back at my computer. Had an outstanding trip to the SouthWest of the US, the so-called 4 corners region, where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona meet. I visited numerous National Parks, including Arches, the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Mesa Verde. Check out some of the hundreds of photos.

As I traveled around I kept in touch with the news. Here's something that grabbed my attention.

Congress approved Bush's $417 bn defense bill last week. The Senate approved the Pentagon spending bill 96-0 and the House followed suit by 410-12. The legislation included

$25 billion for the next few months of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and a 7 percent boost for other defense programs.
+ 3.5% pay increase for the troops, but it should be noted the Senate rejected a proposal by Tom Daschle, the minority leader from South Dakota, to guarantee annual increases in veterans' health benefits. The vote was 49 to 48 in favor of Daschle's proposal, but it needed 60 votes to pass because it violated budget limits. The bill increases veterans health care to $30.3 billion still $1.3 billion less than veterans' groups wanted.
$70 bn for development of an array of planes, ships and weapons, surpassing even the buildup of the 1980s. These include the Air Force unmanned Predator aerial attack vehicles, Stryker combat vehicles for the Army and a DD(X) destroyer, the purchase of 39 more Army Black Hawk helicopters and a Virginia-class attack submarine.
$10 bn for continued work on a national missile defense system
$36.6 million from two Energy Department programs: a study of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, a weapon capable of destroying underground bunkers, and the Advanced Concepts Initiative, which includes research into smaller or "low yield" nuclear warheads (those less than kilotons). Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass) and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif) sponsored an amendment to but these programs, but the amendment was rejected 55-42.

The latter two points are particularly disconcerting. Both are based on bad science and will lead to an escalation of global nuclear threat. The missile defense system is plagued with technical limits, problems that future research cannot solve. Objects in space, such as a missile warhead, are nearly weightless. Therefore there is no way to distinguish between a warhead and well designed decoys. Bottom line: a multi-billion dollar 'defense' system could be bypassed by a few creative balloons. Most test conducted by the Pentagon failed to destroy the missiles, and this was when they knew the location and time of missile launch. For additional reasons why the missile defense system isn't feasible, check out the work of Theodore Postol.

The development of new forms of nuclear weapons constitutes a clear violation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. These weapons will dissolve the distinction between conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction, and are understood by the Pentagon as 'usable' nuclear weapons. This has already sent other countries, such as India, the go-ahead to develop of their own low-yield nuclear weapons. And its argued these smaller weapons could be obtained and transported by terrorists. The 'bunker-busters' are plagued with their own collection of technical problems. They are promoted as necessary to destroy deep, underground bunkers, which could store WMDs. The limiting factor in destroying these bunkers is the resistance of missile warheads, which must penetrate hundreds of feet into the ground before detonating (one of Saddam's bunkers was 300 ft underground ). However, this limitation is common to both conventional and nuclear weapons. According to Princeton University physicist Rob Nelson, even a very small nuclear bunker-buster with a yield of about 0.1 kiloton (1/200 the energy of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima), must penetrate approximately 230 feet underground for the explosion to be fully contained. Currently, the Pentagons only nuclear earth penetrator, the B61-11, can achieve a depth of only 20 feet in dry earth. At this depth, a 0.1-kiloton nuclear weapon would blow out a huge crater and eject a massive cloud of radioactive dust and debris into the atmosphere. For more information on the new nuclear weapons visit the Council for a Livable World

These projects must be abandoned. They are a waste of money that should be employed in more constructive projects. In the same Senate bill $95 million was allocated to support the victims in Sudan. This falls short of the $200 million needed by United Nations agencies for the urgently needed humanitarian aid in western Sudan's Darfur, but it a better use of money than the $99.4 million secured by Sen Susan Collins (R-ME), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for detail design work the DD(X) destroyer, the next generation of destroyers.

Away from computer

2004-06-30T14:13:00.000-04:00

I'll be away from any computer until mid July. Hope you'll visit then and thereafter.

Farmingville

2004-06-23T01:37:00.000-04:00

PBS is showing the 2004 eponymous documentary about the tensions in the Long Island town of Farmingville. In the 1990s some 1,500 Latino, mostly Mexican, immigrants settled in this surburban community of 15,000 residents. Trying to make ends meet on low wages and in order to have money to send back to their families, they saved money by living by several dozens to a house. Employed mostly as day laborers they congregated around street corners waiting to be picked up.
Residents begun to express fear to pass these men on the streets, complained of noise of trucks coming by their neighborhoods to pick up/drop off employees. Tensions escalated quickly with anti-immigrant protests in the streets, driven by a new local organization, the Sachem Quality of Life. SQL represents the patriotic, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen appalled the the police or INS did nothing to solve 'the problem'.
On Sept 17th, 2000, 2 day laborers were beaten by a couple of neo-nazis. This spurred more local organization in defense of immigrants, including the Brookhaven Citizens for Peaceful Solutions. In addition, the Latino Day-laborer community organized itself, forming Human Solidarity.
In early 2001, the Suffolk County Legislature, trying to find a reasonable solution approves a bill to establish a hiring site, some location that would harbor day-laborers looking for jobs so they wouldn't be crowding around 7/11. Later County Executive Robert Gaffney vetoed the bill, forcing the County Legislature to reconsider the bill. A veto override fails, the hiring site bill is killed, and the community is left with no concrete solution. That is, other than "deport 'em all".
The documentary is quite fair and balanced [sorry FOX], including private interviews with SQL members, anti-hate and pro-immigration organizors, day-laborers, and legislators. Most dramatic is the footage of the legislative sessions and the emotional interventions by the community members; footage on the streets of Farmingville, of day-laborers faced with angry protestors bearing signs and taking pictures of them and of potential employers to supply the INS; footage of some day-laborers trying to get their boss to pay them several thousand in backpay; and footage of the SQL "Conference of Truth", held in August of 2001, that brought several anti-immigrant figures from around the States, including Barbara Cox, former VP-candidate along with Pat Buchanan, and Glenn Spencer, member of American Patrol.
One of the most thought provoking issue is the accusation of racism thrown at the SQL and community members. Many people seemed shocked at the accusation, claiming they are merely concerned about their community and upholding the law. These concerns would be the same if they were Swedish, one woman says. The former leader of SQL explains she came to understand the racism-card is used rhetorically to undermine what they are trying to say. One almost believes them. But hearing some of them describing how they're afraid of sending their children to the store, or how women are sexually solicited by the crowds of men, the underlying fear of the different becomes more apparent. Hearing the things yelled out by picketeers makes it evident. Learning about their uncompromising strategy and their association with national anti-immigration organizations [whose spokespeople are real wack-jobs, talking about a Mexican invastion of the US and a US-Mexican consipiracy against the USAmerican people], it becomes clear SQL was not interested in solving the problem of crowding in houses or street corners and restoring the dream community, but in driving these people out and using it as an example.
See the PBS website for local times or if you want to by the documentary.

Links between Saddam's Iraq and al-Qaeda

2004-06-21T15:43:00.000-04:00

There's been some battling in the media and political circles over the links between al-Qaeda and Saddam-era Iraq. It was prompted by the release of an interim report by Philip Zelikow, the executive director of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, better known as the "9/11 Commission." The report, entitled "Overview of the Enemy", concludes «There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and al
Qaeda also occurred after Bin Ladin had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear
to have resulted in a collaborative relationship.(...)We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States.».
Based on this, the papers claimed "Panel Finds No Qaeda-Iraq Tie" (NYTimes), "Al Qaeda-Hussein Link Is Dismissed" (WashPost) and Sen. John Kerry said "the president owes the American people a fundamental explanation about why he rushed to war for a purpose that it now turns out is not supported by the facts.»
Bush and Cheney quickly retorted that there is evidence of a relationship between Saddam and al-Qaeda. With his usual eloquence, Bush stated «"The reason I keep insisting that there was a relationship between Iraq and Saddam and al Qaeda: because there was a relationship between Iraq and al Qaeda.» The right-wing pundits rallied in Bush's defense. Even Putin stunned everyone by saying Russia's intelligence services gave the Bush administration information after 9/11 terror that suggested Saddam's regime was planning to strike against the United States.
Part of the controversy can be blamed on blurring two separate links: Saddam-al Qaeda, and Saddam-9/11. All parts seem to accept that there were ties between Saddam and al-Qaeda. But while Zlikow concludes there is «a lack of evidence of "operational" ties between Iraq and al Qaeda», thus dismissing the ties to nonsubstantive, the Bush Administration hypes the relationship into an indictment of Saddam and a justification for the invasion and occupation.
Time put it best by stating Â«the Bush Administration sometimes sounds like a teenager carefully delineating the different shades of romance from "seeing other people" to "hanging out" to "hooking up."» The 9/11 Commission's conclusions referred to the Saddam-9/11 link. Bush&Co. insisted on a Saddam-al Qaeda linked and that it had never claimed a Saddam-9/11 link.
Now, the Press may have overstated the case in their headlines, and didn't help much to clarify the matter (what else is new). But Bush and particularly Cheney have been playing the 'link to 9/11' card all throughout the war buildup, by consistently mentioning Saddam and 9/11 together they have helped shape the public misconception that the two were linked, even if the implication was never spelled out. «Back in 2002 Bush stated that "you can't distinguish between al-Qaeda and Saddam in the war on terror." And when Bush declared war on Iraq last year, he sent a letter to Congress citing Iraqi involvement in 9/11 as one of the reasons for war.»(Time Magazine).

« In late 2001, Cheney said it was "pretty well confirmed" that attack mastermind Mohamed Atta had met with a senior Iraqi intelligence official. Later, Cheney called Iraq the "geographic base of the terrorists who had us under assault now for many years, but most especially on 9/11." Bush, in 2003, said "the battle of Iraq is one victory in a war on terror that began on September the 11th, 2001."
In January [2004], Cheney said the "best source" of information on the subject was an article in the Weekly Standard, which reported: "Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein had an operational relationship from the early 1990s to 2003 that involved training in explosives and weapons of mass destruction, logistical support for terrorist attacks, al Qaeda training camps and safe haven in Iraq, and Iraqi financial support for al Qaeda -- perhaps even for Mohamed Atta -- according to a top secret U.S. government memorandum." » WashPost June/17

William Saffire in a NYTimes OP-ED blames the 9/11 «commission's leaders for ducking responsibility for its interim findings» and generating uneccessary confusion. But Bush and Cheney have been at it for some time longer. Perhaps Saffire, a former speech writed for Dick Nixon, is joining in the attacks against the commission, accusing it of being politcally charged and acting to undermine Bush. Perhaps he would have preferred it be chaired by the first suggestion for the job, Henry Kissinger.

Science meets Bush politics

2004-06-17T23:25:00.000-04:00

The US Senate approved the 2005 Defense Authorization Act defense spending bill for research of new nuclear weapons: $33.6 million for studies of low-yield and “bunker buster” nuclear weapons. These five kiloton nuclear weapons are about half the size of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. It also approved a Bush administration request to shorten the time required to prepare for a full-scale nuclear test from 24 months to 18 months.

The Bush administration says research into these new nuclear weapons will make the nation's nuclear arsenal into a more effective deterrent. [Deterency works after all.]
The administration argues that these kinds of weapons could reduce the potential for causing civilian casualties and could improve the effectiveness of nuclear weapons in destroying deeply buried and hardened targets.

Critics are concerned that the Bush administration’s plan blurs the line between the use of nuclear and conventional weapons and could undermine the international effort to contain the world's development of nuclear weapons. California Democrat Dianne Feinstein, said “We are telling other countries, do not do what we do, do what we say. We are practicing the ultimate hypocrisy.”

A nuclear weapon exploded just beneath the Earth's surface would create a massive crater and would throw more radioactive dirt and particles into the air than one detonated above the target, according to Sidney Drell, a nuclear physicist with Stanford University. For fallout to be contained, even a 0.5 kiloton nuclear weapon would have to penetrate at least 150 feet into the Earth in order for fallout to be contained.
But there is no known material that could be used to encase a bomb that could penetrate more than 50 feet, Drell said, “even if we slam them in at supersonic speeds.”
Extracted from Environment News Service

The Union of Concerned Scientists is running a letter-writing campaign to pressue Congress to support the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA), first introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (D-CT) in Jan/03. In Oct it came to the floor and recieved only 43 votes.
The CSA calls for a reduction in emissions of heat-trapping gases to 2000 levels by the year 2010. To achieve this reduction at the lowest possible cost, the bill creates a market-based system of tradable allowances. This market-based system was based on the successful system of sulfur dioxide emission permits created under the 1990 Clean Air Act.
A version of the Climate Stewardship Act (CSA), H 4067, was introduced to the House of Representatives on March 30, 2004. While a House vote is highly unlikely during the current congress, the bipartisan group of representatives introduced the CSA to raise the visibility of the climate issue and increase support for responsible action on climate change among members of the House.
Visit the Union of Concerned Scientists website to learn more about this legislation and write your representatives. Their organization has published an Investigation into the Bush Administration's misuse of science, a very worthwhile read, called Scientific Integrity in Policymaking.

Harry Belafonte @ Global Exchange

2004-06-16T04:43:00.000-04:00

Harry Belafonte, the singer and activist, received the 2004 Human Rights Award by Global Exchange in San Francisco. His acceptance speech was broadcast on Democracy Now!. This is an excerpt:

«I believe that we may march and we may show our numbers in great volume from time to time. We do that. Women marching on Washington in large numbers. Peace activists turning out occasionally to demonstrate their passions of peace. These things go on and we see them. But what we don't seem to understand is that we have not yet, in some profound and meaningful way, interrupted the way in which the enemy does business. [applause] early on, I was introduced to a song in my youth and I was aspiring to find my place in the world as an artist. I remember a song that said calculate carefully and ponder it well and remember this when you do, "My two hands are mine to sell a major machine and they can stop them, too." [applause] It is the stopping of the machine that we seem to falter. For some reason we have not understood clearly what the blueprint was when we recall and think about what happened in the Civil Rights Movement and the Labor Movement and the Women's Movement in its early manifestations. The one thing that all those movements had in common was that they stopped the machine. And until we stop the machine, and in the way in which they -- they hungrily pursue profit, until we tell them you will not turn another moment of profit until you deal with our spiritual bankruptcy as a nation , until you find a new codes of honor in which to deal with the world, we will not tolerate any longer your banks, your institutions, we'll no longer tolerate your military interventions and your military impositions. [applause] and we are ready to put our bodies and our lives on the line to do that. (...) We must just understand that the sacrifice we have yet to make is demanded of us. Somebody is going to have to, in cleaning up the air, talk about not driving anymore. Somebody, in trying to get a better price for good, is going to have to say that we just can't keep running after the fast food market. Somebody is going to have to make a sacrifice. Somebody is going to have to put their body in front of the machine. Somebody is going to have to die. It's the way things are. It's the way things have been. And we, in our efforts to try to change and make a better world, will have to pay a price. Truth is -- we must ask ourselves, are we willing to go all the way? Ask yourself if you are truly willing to die for what you believe and you might come up with an answer that will explain to you why we haven't quite moved as far ahead as we should be moving. What are we prepared to give? What are we prepared to do? And should it be any less than those who have gone before us and who are willing to pay the price?»

A crucial question indeed, that any activist must pose himself, to realize the true extent of his commitment, of his compassion for the oppressed and their suffering, for those who die not because they willingly 'place their lives on the line' but rather because the machinery has engulfed them. How important is it to aid the millions of refugees? How important is it that biotech research institutes study malaria, cholera, and AIDS, instead of penile erectile disfunction or hair loss? How important is it to stop the use of land-mines, kalashnikovs, cluster bombs, and nuclear weapons? Enough to sacrifice a 1/2 hour of reading, an afternoon of protesting, evenings of organizing, a professional career, one's life?

2004-06-14T23:24:00.000-04:00

* Remember Florida's felon purge list from the 2000 Presidential elections, which wrongly identified 8,000 Floridians as felons - thus ineligible to vote - and listed 2,300 former felons, despite the fact that the state had restored their civil rights. Despite these and other errors, Florida used a new purge list in the mid-term elections of 2002, when Gov. Jeb Bush was up for re-election. Well, new elections, new purge list in Florida. This one has 47,000 names. But this time the names are secret, because of a 2001 state law the lists are available to political parties and their candidates. "This will make it difficult for the public to discover if thousands more Floridians are wrongly purged. In a close election, a faulty purge list could be decisive." Florida's The Ledger (June 12)

* Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" will appear in movie theaters in the US on June 25th! In May Walt Disney Co. banned its Miramax Films subsidiary from distributing the movie before the November 2 US presidential elections. Disney then ceded the rights to two of its studio executives, Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who have associated with Lions Gate Films and IFC Entertainment to distribute the film. But now the Motion Picture Association of America gave it an "R" adult rating because it contained "violent and disturbing images" and strong language. Ortenberg said in a statement the ratings board's decision was "completely unjustified".

* In response to questions from Anonymous:
How much progress will be made in the US towards abolishing the death penalty and joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) depends mostly on the result of the presidential elections in November. Bush as Governor of Texas signed off a record number of executions. Despite the public sway against the death penalty, particularly after many prisoners on death row were exonerated, the Republicans are not likely to support a change in this area. [Check out National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty]. During Bush's presidency, the US has exerted pressure on a number of countries to sign bilateral agreements to exempt USAmericans from pressution in the ICC. This direction was intensified with the 'War on Terrorism'. So don't expect him to support it. The ICC, however, is not a well known issue in the US on which there is strong public opinion. [Check out USA for the ICC]

John F. Kerry is opposed to the death penalty (USAToday)
Kerry "supports U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court, but also believe that U.S. officials, including soldiers, should be provided some protection from politically motivated prosecutions." (FCNL)

For information on the legality of the prisoner detentions in at Camp X-ray, Guantanamo Cuba, check out the Center for Constitutional Rights, a NY-based law group that is leading a case on their behalf in US and international courts.

2004-06-14T02:32:00.000-04:00

* Human Rights Watch published an excellent report concerning the use of torture by the US, showing how "the torture and mistreatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was the predictable result of the Bush administration's decision to circumvent international law" as demonstrated in Justice and Defense Department memos reported by the press recently.

* Venezuela’s National Elections Council has ruled that opponents of President Hugo Chavez have gathered the required number of signatures (2.5 million)to hold a recall referendum. Chavez faces a recall election August 15 that could unseat him. On June 13, Chavez described the recall as a confrontation between himself and George W. Bush.
He said Venezuela's political battle would play out between the US president, "who wants to take over this country, and myself, who is prepared to do whatever is necessary to defend the country. If 3.75 million voters -- the number who voted for Chavez in 2000 -- vote against him August 15, he will have to step down and a new presidential election will be held. Chavez was ousted in April 2002 in a short-lived military coup. The United States quickly moved to recognize and deal with the new transitional government of opposition business and political leaders. But the coup fell apart within 48 hours and Chavez was returned to power after his old army unit rallied other military companies to his defense.

* USA TODAY: Analysts, traders and money managers are fixated on the last day of June. "It is like Y2K." June 30 is the day the Federal Reserve is expected to raise short-term interest rates for the first time in more than four years. It's also the day the USA and its allies are scheduled to hand over power to Iraq's interim government.
Uncertainty about Iraq and the threat of rising interest rates have kept many investors on the sidelines. It would mark the first increase since May 16, 2000, a new trend: the start of a Fed program to boost borrowing costs. Stocks tend to suffer when rates rise. In general, stock performance is hurt by each successive increase. There is also an outside chance the Fed will catch investors off guard by raising rates by a half percentage point, and not the quarter point most expect.

Pentagon Report Allowing Torture

2004-06-08T22:53:00.000-04:00

Yesterday (June 7), the Wall Street Journal was the first to refer to a Pentagon report outlining the framework for the use of torture. The report was requested in late 2002, after the military in Guantanamo Bay complained they were not sucessful at getting information out of their prisoners. The report was delivered in March 2003, and in a nutshell says the White House is not bound by any international treaties regulating torture, such as the Geneva Conventions or the Convention Against Torture (ratified by the U.S. in 1994). Although its not clear yet whether Bush was aware of this report, its reasonable to think that once the issue of torture, or 'abuses' came up, that the report would have been mentioned in White House circles. The report and its history, plainly demonstrate the pictures of torture at Abu Ghraib should not have come as a surprise, nor could they be dismissed as a freak occurence by a few soldiers. In not only represents common practices, but the government made sure that it had a legal defense of torture used in Guantanamo (limiting prisoners' food, denying them clothing, subjecting them to body-cavity searches, depriving them of sleep for as much as 96 hours and shackling them) and later in Iraq.

«(...) at its core is an exceptional argument that because nothing is more important than "obtaining intelligence vital to the protection of untold thousands of American citizens," normal strictures on torture might not apply. (...) Civilian or military personnel accused of torture or other war crimes have several potential defenses, including the "necessity" of using such methods to extract information to head off an attack, or "superior orders," sometimes known as the Nuremberg defense (...) A military official who helped prepare the report said it came after frustrated Guantanamo interrogators had begun trying unorthodox methods on recalcitrant prisoners. "We'd been at this for a year-plus and got nothing out of them" so officials concluded "we need to have a less-cramped view of what torture is and is not." The official said, "People were trying like hell how to ratchet up the pressure," and used techniques that ranged from drawing on prisoners' bodies and placing women's underwear on prisoners heads -- a practice that later reappeared in the Abu Ghraib prison -- to telling subjects, "I'm on the line with somebody in Yemen and he's in a room with your family and a grenade that's going to pop unless you talk." (...) The working-group report elaborated the Bush administration's view that the president has virtually unlimited power to wage war as he sees fit, and neither Congress, the courts nor international law can interfere. It concluded that neither the president nor anyone following his instructions was bound by the federal Torture Statute. (...) Moreover, "any effort by Congress to regulate the interrogation of unlawful combatants would violate the Constitution's sole vesting of the commander-in-chief authority in the president," the lawyers advised. Likewise, the lawyers found that "constitutional principles" make it impossible to "punish officials for aiding the president in exercising his exclusive constitutional authorities" and neither Congress nor the courts could "require or implement the prosecution of such an individual." » (WSJ June 7)

The Center for Constitutional Rights has obtained a copy of the report, which you can download from their site.

Protesting in the "age of terrorism"

2004-06-07T21:08:00.000-04:00

The Group of Eight (G8) economic summit begins Tuesday on Sea Island, Georgia, a retreat for the very wealthy. In addition to Prez Bush, the summit will host Britain's PM Blair, Canada's PM Martin, France's Prez Chirac, Germany's Ch. Schroeder, Italy's PM Berlusconi, Russia's Prez Putin, and Japan's PM Koizumi. The port city has a pop. of 16,000 people, some are leaving temporarily afraid to get mistakenly arrested. Protesters are expected, as in most recent G8 meetings. And more than 10,000 local, state and federal officers will flood the area "to protect the summit and maintain order". Attorney General John Ashcroft said next week’s summit could be one of several high-profile U.S. events targeted this summer by al-Qaeda. This just goes to show there is fine line between terror alerts of international terrorist networks and mobilization against largely non-violent protesters against war or economic globalization. It might seem reasonable to think events at which protesters will be present are also likely targets for terrorism, but terrorism would hardly justify the size of the law enforcement contingent. al-Qaeda has no precendent in attacking meetings of this nature. Security is predictably at high alert, making it a less attractive target, despite the high terror "return". The "security army" is aimed simply at dissuading protesters and guaranteeing these to not disrupt the meetings as in Seatle 1999.
This will be a mere prelude to the security mobilization that is mounting to hinder the protests at the Republican National Convention (RNC) at the end of August. " The Department of Homeland Security has designated the convention a National Security Event, freeing up federal funds for it. The Secret Service and FBI are reported to be working with the New York Police Department to coordinate security. New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said he is concerned about the possibility of disruptive protests." (MSNBC May 4th)
" Security costs for the Republican National Convention this summer will hit $76 million, says police Commissioner Ray Kelly. (...) the police department, which has about 36,500 members (...) will use 6,000 to 10,000 officers to handle the convention. "
The NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Parks Department have tried to prevent a large demonstration by refusing a permit a rally on the Great Lawn in Central Park, filed by United for Peach and Justice (UFPJ), that is planned for Sunday, August 29th and count have over half a million participants. Bloomberg has used bogus arguments to defend his denial, as editorials have argued, "other large groups have used the Great Lawn in the past to no ill effect." (Newsday May 12th), " critics have a right to gather in the same borough as the conventioneers they are protesting. Making a parade route available in Manhattan is not enough. The demonstrators have a right to a central rallying place in which they can speak and be heard." (NYT May 11th), "For the first time in recent memory, the New York Times and New York Post editorial boards took the same side of an issue -- the local equivalent of Jupiter aligning with Mars. 'Keep Off The Grass' appears nowhere in the First Amendment. Former mayor Koch advises Bloomberg to let the marchers post a bond and be done with it." (Washington Post May 17th)

Saddam Hussein

2004-06-06T00:22:00.000-04:00

Have you wondered what's happened to Saddam since he was arrested on Dec 13th, 2003? Naturally he's being held in an undisclosed location, held by US forces, and being interrogated. After the all the information that has come out on the interrogation and torture practices of the US in Afghanistan and Iraq one wonders how he is being treated. But what is to be his fate? He's been in detention for over six months now. I finally found some information on the subject. Its been reported that "the transfer of sovereignty to Iraq's interim government on June 30 will include control of prisons and could lead to the handover of Saddam Hussein for trials by Iraqis. 'Saddam Hussein should be handed over to the Iraqis for trial by Iraqis', [said British ambassador Emyr Jones Parry]. Several UN Security Council members have expressed concern that prisoners are not mentioned in the US-British draft resolution on the transfer of soverignty currently being debated."(Scotsman, 4 Jun).
A Iraqi War Crimes Tribunal has been established. Its head is Salem Chalabi, nephew of Ahmad Chalabi, the leader of the Iraqi National Congress (INC) who provided a false perspective on Iraq's WMD capability and how Iraqis would recieve US troops was the Pentagon's pet being groomed for the presidency. Ahmed Chalabi mislead the US, was part of the interim government, but recently became at odds with the Pentagon and CIA. But that is another story.

Salem Chalabi established the Iraq International Law Group (IILG), which describes itself as "your professional gateway to the new Iraq." Assisting Salem in setting up the IILG was a partner Marc Zell (the IILG's website has been registered in Zell's name). Zell is an Israeli settler of the Gush Emunim (Bloc of the Faithful) stripe. Here the plot thickens.
Zell had for many years been [US Undersecretary of Defense Douglas] Feith's partner in their Washington-Tel Aviv law firm, Feith and Zell (FANDZ). FANDZ had been set up when Feith left government to pursue the work of a "foreign agent" representing Turkey and some Israeli interests. Following the Baghdad opening of the IILG, Zell soon opened, in the US, an office for Zell, Goldberg& Co., which promises to assist "American companies in their relations with the US government in connection with Iraq's reconstruction projects." It is interesting to note that Zell, Goldberg still uses the website FANDZ, the site of the old Feith and Zell firm. So when Zell boasts his connections to government, businesses know exactly what is meant. In the relatively short period of time since the fall of the Baath Party regime, IILG and Zell, Goldberg have facilitated contracts in the tens, possibly hundreds of millions of dollars. (Arab News, June 2nd)

But there is some disagreement as to whether/when prisoners, particularly Saddam, will be handed over to the Iraqi War Crimes Tribunal. "The head of Iraq's war-crimes tribunal said [May/11] that the United States has pledged to hand over Saddam Hussein and about 100 other suspects to Iraqi authorities before July 1 if Iraq is ready to take them into custody. U.S. officials denied any decision had been reached." (Associated Press) Other star prisoners include Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as `Chemical Ali', and Tariq Aziz, Saddam's former deputy prime minister. In any case, Salem Chalabi has said no trial would start before 2005.

OTPOR

2004-06-06T00:16:00.000-04:00

I've used this symbol on my website, my car and now on this blog to represent posts of a political nature. It is not merely the drawing of a fist. It is emblem of OTPOR (the serb word for 'resistance'), the student youth movement that helped bring down Slobodan Molisevic. It was remarkable in that this non-violent movement was not seeking power, merely the overthrow of Milosevic. He did loose the presidential election on September 24th, 2000. He refused to step down from power. But popular pressure, with the help of OTPOR, lead to Milosevic stepping down on Oct 5th, 2000. Graffiti played a major role in the movement's mode of action and their mobilization of the rest of the population.

Otpor became famous because of its favourite weapon: caustic slogans spray-painted on the walls of Serbia’s cities. The first, when nobody had heard of them yet, was the clearest and simplest, a kind of birth certificate: "Resistance until Victory". In December 1999, Otpor wished everybody a happy new year of resistance. A few months before the events of October 5, "The year 2000 will be the one" could be read on walls everywhere. They were right. They also invented a new resistance measurement unit called the 'otpormeter'. After the September 24 elections, the famous "Gotov je" (He’s cooked) became the slogan spray-painted most on walls, staircases and in bar restrooms. On October 5, when a bulldozer broke down the door of the state radio and television headquarters, the government’s main propaganda mouthpiece, Otpor printed posters and calendars with the slogan, "A bulldozer-operator is asleep in all of us." Leery of all politicians, even if they belong to the opposition, Otpor’s new slogan is, "We’re keeping an eye on you." From UNESCO

Uganda: yet another humanitarian crisis

2004-06-01T02:18:00.000-04:00

UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy returned from Uganda recently and declared "Uganda is home to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world today. HIV/AIDS is spreading in the north at an alarming rate and basic literacy is in decline."
Uganda has been involved in a civil war for over 18 years, between the military government lead by Yoweri Museveni and the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), of which about 80 to 90 percent of whose soldiers are abducted children (more than 30 000 children over the 18 years). The LRA, led by Joseph Kony, wants to replace the Ugandan government with a theocracy based on the biblical Ten Commandments.
According to UNICEF, the situation in northern Uganda has deteriorated sharply since 2002, when the Ugandan government vowed to wipe out the LRA leadership by force if necessary: 'Operation Iron Fist'. The number of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) and those in dire need of humanitarian assistance has increased from 800 000 to over 1.6 million in just two years, according to the International Rescue Committee, making Uganda Africa's fourth largest displaced population after Sudan, Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo. More than 10 000 children have been abducted since June 2002 - the highest number since the war began. The abducted children are forced to fight and commit atrocities, and are subjected to sexual violence and sexual slavery.
Also in 2002, Uganda and Sudan signed a bilateral agreement giving the Ugandan army access to southern Sudan where LRA is believed to be operating from, linking these two regions both undergoing humanitarian crisis. Kony is believed to be hiding somewhere in Sudan. With very little break in between, the LRA continues to kill, rape and abduct children. In February 2004, the LRA killed more than 300 internally displaced people in a camp in Barlonyo, near Lira town, according to the UN news agency, IRIN.
The military junta, led by Museveni, is no better, going as far as to commit atrocities against villagers believed to harbour or aid LRA fighters. In April 2004, Human Rights Watch reported that torture is endemic in Uganda's military and security forces. Furthermore, out of the 26.4 million people living in Uganda, about 38 percent live below the poverty line, according to CARE.

This post was inspired by Mandisi Majavu's piece from ZNet

2004-05-26T21:40:00.000-04:00

The Sudanese government and southern rebels signed a peace agreement today to end the 21-year civil war in the south. "The accord between the mainly Muslim and Arab north (the base for the government) and the mainly Christian and animist south is intended to pave the way for a comprehensive ceasefire and a six-year transition period leading to a referendum on independence for the south." (Guardian, May/27).
But as Human Rights Watch appeals, this must not deflect criticism of the government's ongoing campaign of “ethnic cleansing” in the western region of Darfur, and one of the worst humanitarian problems we are faced with presently. A recent editorial explains the situation:

The violence in Sudan began a year ago, when two rebel groups in Darfur -- the Sudan Liberation Movement/Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) -- attacked government military installations. The rebels were protesting raids by local militias, or the Janiaweed ("men on horseback"), who were suspected of acting on behalf of the government. The Sudanese government responded with a "scorched earth" campaign, and stepped up support for the Janiaweed.
It is estimated that more than 1 million Sudanese have been forced from their homes in the Darfur region. More than 120,000 are said to have crossed the border into neighboring Chad; the rest are internal refugees. They come from the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, members of the region's ethnic majority. They are Black Muslim peasants. The Janiaweed are Arab nomads. That difference is reported to be the reason for the Khartoum government's support of the militias. (...)
Earlier this month, Acting U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Bertrand Ramcharan made the case for action in a closed-door briefing. Speaking to the press afterward, Mr. Ramcharan charged the Sudanese government with adopting a scorched earth policy and condoning, if not committing, "repeated war crimes and crimes against humanity." Apparently, senior Sudanese officials admitted in private that they "recruited, uniformed, armed, supported and sponsored the militias."
The Security Council's failure to act is sad. But that failure, coming less than a decade after inaction permitted genocide to occur in Rwanda, makes the world body an accomplice to the crimes being committed. The U.N. cannot claim ignorance of what is happening. It has the information it needs. It also knows all too well what the price of inaction will be: slaughter.
Politics lies at the root of the U.N.'s inaction. African and Arab states have backed the Sudan government's claim that this is an internal matter. The same nations backed Khartoum's successful effort to win a third consecutive term on the U.N. Human Rights Commission. What credibility can that organization have when its members slaughter their own citizens? (Japan Times May/27)

The report from Human Rights Watch explains further:

As recently as [May, 24], Arab militias attacked five villages 15 kilometers south of Nyala in Darfur, killing 46 civilians and wounding at least nine others, according to local sources. The militias, known as Janjaweed, were accompanied by government soldiers in three Land Cruisers armed with antiaircraft artillery. Human Rights Watch has extensively documented how the Janjaweed have been armed, trained, and uniformed by the Sudanese government.
The framework peace agreement to be signed today in Naivasha, Kenya, was negotiated between the Sudanese government and the southern-based rebels, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). It brings the parties significantly closer to ending the civil war between the Khartoum government and the southern-based rebels that since 1983 has cost 2 million lives, most of them southerners. Negotiations on security arrangements and implementation remain.
The peace negotiations were conducted for nearly two years under the auspices of the InterGovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and with the mediation of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway. Although the agreement includes provisions on the structure of the Sudanese government and oil revenue sharing during an interim six-and-a-half-years’ period, no other rebel groups or political parties were included in the negotiations.
Human Rights Watch called on the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution requiring the Sudanese government to disarm, disband, and withdraw the Janjaweed from the areas they have occupied, and to bring them to justice for gross human rights abuses perpetrated against civilians. On May 25, the Security Council issued a strong presidential statement on Darfur expressing “deep concern” at reports of widespread attacks on civilians, rapes, forced displacement, and other violence, especially that “with an ethnic dimension.” It demanded that those responsible be held accountable. It failed, however, to identify any party responsible for the attacks, although it did condemn “these acts which jeopardize a peaceful solution to the crisis.” (Humand Rights Watch, May/26)

Al Gore, the former VP and flat presidential candidate, has once again used MoveOn
as a platform to make very strong statements against Bush Jr., a practice that he has found easier when out of professional politics. On this occasion, he uses the torture in Abu Ghraib to make broader criticism of his foreign policy.
George W. Bush promised us a foreign policy with humility. Instead, he has brought us humiliation in the eyes of the world. (...) There is good and evil in every person. And what makes the United States special in the history of nations is our commitment to the rule of law and our carefully constructed system of checks and balances. Our natural distrust of concentrated power and our devotion to openness and democracy are what have lead us as a people to consistently choose good over evil in our collective aspirations more than the people any other nation. (...)
Listen then to the balance of internal impulses described by specialist Charles Graner when confronted by one of his colleagues, Specialist Joseph M. Darby, who later became a courageous whistleblower. When Darby asked him to explain his actions documented in the photos, Graner replied: "The Christian in me says it's wrong, but the Corrections Officer says, 'I love to make a groan man piss on himself."
What happened at the prison, it is now clear, was not the result of random acts by "a few bad apples," it was the natural consequence of the Bush Administration policy that has dismantled those wise constraints and has made war on America's checks and balances.
The abuse of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib flowed directly from the abuse of the truth that characterized the Administration's march to war and the abuse of the trust that had been placed in President Bush by the American people in the aftermath of September 11th.

House of Bush

2004-05-25T23:15:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading Craig Unger's House of Bush, House of Saud: The secret relationship between the world's two most powerful dynasties. It has a really detailed history of how the royal family established investment and friendly relationships with George W. Bush (the 40th and the 42nd prez), James Baker III, Dick Cheney, the Carlyle Group. Saudi money bailed many USAmerican companies out. In return, Saudis got the guarantee of security for their regime. This relationship was at its high point during the Reagan/Bush admins. During this period the US supported the Islamic militants that fought the soviets in Afghanistan, the development of the mujahideen, which lead to the ascendancy of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda. The Saudis were eager to get the Rebuplican party back in the White House and donated generously. They were repaid when in the aftermath of 9/11, when all planes were grounded, a select list of Saudis were allowed to leave the country and the Express VISA system was intact, even though some of the hijackers had gotten into the US exactly in that fashion. Bottom line: the relationship between the two Houses has fostered terrorism and then hindered the fight against it. I highly recommend the book. I may cover more details from here at a later point.
Recent news are quite concerning. The Associated Press reported today that U.S. officials have obtained new intelligence deemed highly credible indicating al-Qaida or other terrorists are in the United States and preparing to launch a major attack this summer. "There is clearly a steady drumbeat of information that they are going to attack and hit us hard," said the official, who described the intelligence as highly credible.
A report by the International Institute of Strategic Studies, claims that al-Qaeda has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks. It may be seeking weapons of mass destruction in its desire to inflict as many casualties as possible. Although about half of al-Qaeda's top 30 leaders have been killed or captured, it has an effective leadership, with bin Laden apparently still playing a key role. Osama bin Laden's network appears to be operating in more than 60 nations, often in concert with local allies.
Frankly I see these reports and I get scared. Which is one more reason why I think Bush needs to leave office. His tactics in the self-proclaimed 'War against terrorism' have promoted greater instability and resentment against the West. Partly, as Richard Clarke's report reveals, for lack of understanding of the middle east. Partly because the Bush foreign policy is dictacted by neo-con ideologues with a manichean world view.
We need someone who can make the more powerful military nation in the world be respected for its sense of fairness and its ability to foment dialogue and problem resolution, and that is not unconforatable with relenquishing some of its dominance. The problems we face are real. The choice of strategy is crucial.

Insect Notes

2004-05-24T21:20:00.000-04:00

If you've been recently anywhere near trees out in Long Island (or surely other locations in the Northeast), you've probably had some caterpillars string down onto your head or clothing. We're experiencing quite an outbreak of cankwerworms that are defoliating many trees (mostly oaks). I remember a week or so ago there were so many in the forest patch I was walking in that their frass (insect feces) falling on leaves and ground sounded like rain.
Many of the caterpillars are the Fall Cankerworm, Alsophila pometaria (Harris). The larvae vary in color from apple green to dark brownish green in color with a dark middle stripe and three narrow white lines on each side. Fall cankerworms have three pairs of fleshy prolegs at the end of the abdomen (as opposed to the Spring Cankerworm, Paleacrita vernata). The Spring and Fall Cankerworms larvae emerge in the Spring, when foliage is young. When they are about to pupate, they descend to the ground on silk threads. The larvae then burrow into the ground to a depth of one to four inches, spin a silken cocoon and pupate. The pupae remain in the soil until the late fall or early spring. The names of two species refer to when the adults emerge: the Spring cankerworms emerge in the early spring the following season, the Fall cankerworms emerge as adults in late fall of the same season, often during warmer periods in October through early December. The females are wingless and a dull grey color. They crawl up on tree trunks to await a winged male.
My advisor, Doug Futuyma, found that populations of the Fall Cankerworm are formed by a minority of sexual individuals and a majority of parthenogenetic females - females that reproduce asexually. Because females are wingless and many asexual, a population can be composed of many very differentiated strains, specialized on different host plants (oak, maple, etc), with different adult emergence time and hatching times. [Mitter, C., D. J. Futuyma, J. C. Schneider and J. D. Hare. 1979. Genetic Variation and Host Plant Relations in a Parthenogenetic Moth. Evolution 33: 777-790.]

For those in the NorthEast of the US, there is another exciting insect event: the emergence of periodical cicadas (Magicicada sp.). The typical cicadas have yearly reproductive cycles. Periodical cicadas live most of their lives in a immature stage below ground feeding on root sap, and then emerge in large numbers. Then after a period of 13 or 17 years, depending on the species, a huge number of adults emerge. There are several species, each with distinct morphology. Some have a period of 13, others 17 years. Curiously, species with similar periods are not the most closely related, rather morphologically similar species with 13 and 17-periods form closely related species pairs. 17-year nymphs grow more slowly during the first four years of life than do 13-year cicadas. An individual species may have different populations, in different localities, all with similar periods, but with emergence dates falling on different years. This pattern gives rise to different broods, that rarely reproduce with each other (but there are exceptions). This year is the emergence of brood X, of the 17-year species. So far it hasn't been reported on Long Island, but other states are already experiencing the explosion. Check Cicada mania for updates.

Why should they emerge simultaneously in large numbers? The common explanation is that by emerging in large number, predators or parasites become rapidly satiated leaving many alive. The more interesting question for me is why 13/17 years? Why not some other numbers? It seems to have to do with the fact that they are prime numbers, which reduces the occurence of co-emergence of broods, or the co-emergence of the cicadas and predators. [Cox, RT and CE Carlton. 1998. A commentary on prime numbers and life cycles of periodical cicadas AMERICAN NATURALIST 152: 162-164] But then why not other prime numbers, such as 3,5 or 7? Lloyd and Dybas postulated a parasitoid with a life cycle of many years duration, nearly synchronized with the ancestral periodical cicada and exerting a counter-selection pressure favoring a longer life cycle. A race between the parasitoid and the cicadas would have culminated in the 13-year cycle, and the parasitoid would have gone exticnt. [Monte Lloyd and Henry S. Dybas. 1966. The Periodical Cicada Problem. II. Evolution 20: 466-505.]

Camilo Mejia

2004-05-20T14:24:00.000-04:00

The trial of Staff Sergeant Camilo Mejia began yesterday in Fort Stewart Georgia. Mejia served three years in the Army and almost five in Florida's National Guard when he was deployed to Iraq in April 2003. He spent six months in Iraq, and then returned to the U.S. on what was supposed to be a two-week furlough in October 2003. But he did not report back to the military until March 2004, when he announced that he would file a conscientious objector application. During that time, he tried to obtain a discharge based on the fact that he is not a U.S. citizen — he's a permanent resident with a green card and Nicaraguan citizenship — and the Army limits non-U.S. citizens' service to eight years. He learned, however, that that time limit has been suspended during the war on Iraq.

His reasons for not wanting to return to the Iraq quagmire were moral and legal, he claims. He witnessed — and sometimes even caused — many deaths, including deaths of children, political protesters, and other civilians. He saw the brutalizing effects the war had on his fellow soldiers. Mejia's objector application claims he saw Iraqi prisoners treated "with great cruelty" when he was put in charge of processing detainees last May at al-Assad, an Iraqi air base occupied by U.S. forces. Ordered to keep prisoners awake for up to 48 hours, soldiers would sometimes bang on walls with a sledgehammer or would "load a 9 mm pistol next to their ear."
Ramsey Clark, a former U.S. attorney general under LBJ and one of Mejia's lawyers, said Mejia was protected by international law to avoid duties that would have constituted war crimes. Mejia faces a year in prison and a bad-conduct discharge if convicted of desertion.

In his own words:
"When you look at the war, and you look at the reasons that took us to war, and you don't find that any of the things that we were told that we're going to war for turned out to be true, when you don't find there are weapons of mass destruction, and when you don't find that there was a link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, and you see that you're not helping the people and the people don't want you there, to me, there's no military contract and no military duty that's going to justify being a part of that war."

And this is an excerpt of a letter his mother addressed to the activist community
Please come to Ft. Stewart, GA from May 19-21 to support the trial of my son, Camilo Mejia Castillo
Dear Friends,
I want to thank the thousands of people who have expressed their support for my son's decision not to return to the war in Iraq (...). He served in Iraq from March to October 2003. He returned to the U.S. for a two-week leave in October and decided he could not, in good conscience, return to the "illegal and immoral war in Iraq." He went AWOL and then on March 15, reported back to the military authorities and applied for conscientious objector status. On March 25, the Army charged him with desertion and placed him in military custody at Ft. Stewart, Georgia.(...) On behalf of my family, I am asking the organizations and individuals who support my son's case to join us at this historic trial. (...)We plan to hold vigils in the evenings, starting the evening of May 18.(...)Camilo is the first Iraq War veteran to publicly refuse further military service. We will have many expert witnesses testifying on behalf of our argument that his orders to deploy were illegal under US and international law. The most recent US polls show that the majority of the public are now starting to oppose this war. Camilo's trial can contribute significantly to the growing momentum to end the occupation and bring the troops home. This is why it is so important to show strong public support for his courageous stand. Together we can say NO to this immoral war, and YES to granting Camilo conscientious objector status. Together we can say bring our soldiers home, and return sovereignty to the Iraqis. Thank you so much for your support. If you have questions or plan to join us, please contact me at SolaBay@aol.com .
In peace,
Maritza Castillo

In a separate letter she writes
I've also learned that army officials have restricted Camilo to Ft. Stewart and have barred him from conducting face to face interviews on the base with the media. Louis Font, his civilian attorney, plans to challenge this "gag" order, arguing that my son's rights to free speech are being abridged. (...) I'm addressing the people of the United States of America, the Hispanic Community and the world to express my deepest sorrow and indignation about the injustice that is being made against my son. I want to ask you to continue giving him your support. Please write letters to Camilo expressing your support towards his cause. Send letters to the Army Officials and to the Congress of the United States demanding that his conscientious objection application be accepted.

Camilo's Address:
Ssg. Mejia Camilo
A Company USAG MED-HOLD 865
Hase Road,
Ft. Stewart, GA 31315

Commanding General, Fort Stewart's Address:
Major General William G. Webster, Jr.
Commanding General, Fort Stewart,
42 Wayne Place,
Ft Stewart GA 31314

Also, visit the American Friends Service Committee for other ways to show your support.

Assaults on Gaza Strip

2004-05-18T23:21:00.000-04:00

The IDF (Israeli Defense Force) is assaulting the civilian populations of Rafah with violence remeniscent of the 2002 attacks on Jenin and Nablus. Rafah is situated in the West Bank, near the Egyptian border. Last week an armored vehicle was blown up, killing five soldiers assigned to destroy alledged arms-smuggling tunnels. In response the IDF destroyed about 100 houses, and officials said hundreds more may be torn down. At least 20 Palestenians have been killed in the operation (Ha'aretz). The United Nations Relief and Works Agency has
issued a call to the Israeli military to halt its demolition operations in Rafah in the Gaza Strip where 12,600 people are now homeless. In all, more than 11,000 Palestinians in Rafah — out of a population of 90,000 — have been made homeless by Israeli demolitions since the outbreak of fighting in 2000.
Arab Nations have requested a UN Security Council meeting for Tuesday in hopes of support for a resolution condemning Israel's widespread destruction of Palestinian homes along the Gaza-Egypt border. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has condemned Israel's demolition of Gaza Strip homes as "unacceptable". But its doubtful any condemnation will emerge from the Security Council where the US holds veto power.

Daniel Barenboim, the musician and conductor, upon receiving the Wolf Prize, on May 9, made the following statements in the Israeli Parliment, the Knesset:
"I am asking today with deep sorrow: Can we, despite all our achievements, ignore the intolerable gap between what the Declaration of Independence promised and what was fulfilled, the gap between the idea and the realities of Israel?
Does the condition of occupation and domination over another people fit the Declaration of Independence? Is there any sense in the independence of one at the expense of the fundamental rights of the other?
Can the Jewish people whose history is a record of continued suffering and relentless persecution, allow themselves to be indifferent to the rights and suffering of a neighboring people?
Can the State of Israel allow itself an unrealistic dream of an ideological end to the conflict instead of pursuing a pragmatic, humanitarian one based on social justice.
I believe that despite all the objective and subjective difficulties, the future of Israel and its position in the family of enlightened nations will depend on our ability to realize the promise of the founding fathers as they canonized it in the Declaration of Independence.

Same-sex marriage

2004-05-18T21:31:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, Massachusetts became the first US state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. More than a thousand couples have already received their licenses in this short period.
President Bush's reply was to renew his call to Congress to pass a discriminatory amendment to the U.S. Constitution denying marriage for same-sex couples. "The sacred institution of marriage should not be redefined by a few activist judges. All Americans have a right to be heard in this debate."

The fact that the president is supporting a constitutional amendment underlines how vehemently and passionately he and the Christian-right oppose same-sex marriage. Since the Bill of Rights (1791), the US constitution has only been amended 17 times (once to reverse a previous amendment - prohibition). It requires approval by a two-thirds majority in both the Senate and House and three-quarters of the states for ratification.
In the US system, it is not unusual for courts to spearhead societal changes. Major issues, such as civil rights to education (Brown v. Board of Education in 1954), rights to interracial marriage (Loving v. Virginia in 1967), abortion rights (Row vs. Wade) have been decided in the courts. Nor is it unusual for states to preserve their sovereignty, under Federalism, and approve distinct progressive laws.
That's why even Bob Barr, who authored the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, in a Newsweek interview opposes the amendment. DOMA created a federal definition of "marriage" and "spouse". Marriage is defined as a "legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife," and spouse is defined as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife." Same-sex marriages are not recognized by the federal government, or eligible for any of its benefits, such as Social Security. Under DOMA, individual states have the right to recognize same-sex marriages, but these will not be recognized by the federal government or states that decide accordingly.
According to Barr, this seemed sufficient back in 1996, because they never suspected local officials to take initiative on this issue. But some state judges and city mayors (such as New Paltz and San Francisco) did, and the issue came to the spotlight.

This is not a fringe phenomena (the numbers in just a few days speak for themselves): most polls show a nation divided, with a majority favoring same-sex marriages. It is not a whim: there are concrete legal rights that are denied same-sex couples that cannot marry, such as health benefits, social security, jointly hold property, inheritance, etc. And civil unions (granted in Vermont) do not cross state lines.
Bush will try to make this into an electoral issue (Kerry, from Massachusetts, opposes same-sex marriage, but also opposes the amendment). Its part of his religious agenda. And if it garners attentions, it might very well steal focus from other less comfortable issues for him.

Paragraph 175

2004-05-14T02:12:00.000-04:00

I recently saw, on DVD, the documentary Paragraph 175, produced and directed by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman, released in the 2000 Sundance festival, where it won the documentary jury prize for direction. The title refers to a section of the 1871 German Penal Code, which states "an unnatural sex act committed between persons of the male sex or by humans with animals is punishable by imprisonment; the loss of civil rights may also be imposed."

Between 1933 and 1945 100,000 men were arrested for homosexuality under Paragraph 175. Some 10-15,000 people were sent to concentration camps. Some 4,000 survived. This is the highest death rate among non-jewish nazi camp prisonors.
Fewer than ten survivors were known to be alive when the documentary was filmed. Research on this neglected topic was spearheaded by the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. The main historian featured in the documentary is Hans Muller, who had never heard of the persecution of homosexuals in nazi Germany, and came upon the topic in finding his identity as a gay historian. Encouraged by the work of historians and researchers, eight of these survivors, then in their 80s and 90s, gave their personal testimonies in 1995. The documentary is a criss-cross of these testimonies. It starts with the Weimer Republic period, during which Paragraph 175 was in effect, but homosexuals enjoyed a climate of acceptance and openly assumed their sexuality (unusual for the period). Berlin was an Eden for gays and lesbians, with numerous gay bars and dance clubs.
It covers the rise to power of the nazi party, which initially appeared to accept homosexuals. The leader of the nazi brown shirted stormtroppers, the Sturmabteilung (SA), Ernst Roehm, was openly gay, and the nazi opposition used that as a political tool against the nazis. Hitler stood by Roehm during these attacks, and wrote "[the SA] is not an institution for the moral education of genteel young ladies, but a formation of seasoned fighters. [...] private life cannot be an object of scrutiny, unless it conflicts with basic principles of National Socialist idealogy." However, Roehm fell victim to the political struggles with the Nazi party, and was killed in the night of the Long Knives (June 19-30 1934). Hitler then used Roehm's homosexualtiy as further argument for his murder. Homosexuals were purged from the Nazi party and prey to generalized persecution.
In 1935, on the anniversary of Roehm's murder, the nazis introduced a new sodomy law and created the Reich Office for the Combate of Abortion and Homosexuality. Lesbianism was seen as a temporary and curable condition, and lesbians were sparred persecution to a large extent. Women were seen as having a pivotal role in the reproduction of the aryan race. Male homosexuality, however, was seen as incurable and contagious, and depriving "Germany of the children they owe her" (Himmler). While most were sparred the gas chambers, they were among the chosen for medical experiments and castration.
The nazi version of Paragraph 175 remained in effect West Germany until 1969!! According to the notes that accompany the documentary, "some survivors were re-arrested after the war and re-imprisoned. The East and West German governments not only excluded all homosexuals from reparations but also deducted time spent in concentration camps from their pensions. Marriage, escape by suicide, or retreat into isolation were common responses. In the 1950s and 1960s, the number of convictions for homosexuality in West Germany nearly equaled the number under the Nazi regime."

The documentary is not a "heavy, depressing" documentary (I often hear that complaint from people reluctant to watch and learn from such documentaries). There are inevitably grim historic points that never fail to impress, such as when Heinz Dormer, who had been compelled to join the hitler youth but was later interned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp, described the 'Singing Forests': prisoners hung from a hook on poles, howling and screaming, an inhuman sound. "Beyond human comprehension. And much remains to be told," says Dormer. [And the need to try to understand is what compells me to see even the most 'depressing' of documentaries'.]
But there are also many stories of bravery and it is endearing to see these men, after all they have gone through, recollect with a smile in their eyes their first gay experience, covert gey encounters. One of the interviewees, Albrecht Becker, was briefly imprisoned under Paragraph 147, but after his release, and realizing there were nearly only women in his town, joined the army in order to "be around men."
One of the most piercing interviews is that of Pierre Seel, a French Alsatian. He confessed to conflict in being interviewed by the German historian Muller, for he vowed never to shake hands with a German. Later he describes how he was forced to watch (together with 300 other prisoners) the torture and murder of his friend in Schirmeck camp, and how he himself was beaten and sodomized with a 25cm piece of wood. With visceral indignation, he yells at Muller "Do you think I can talk about that? That it is good for me?" "I am ashamed for mankind", he concluded. Those words had such a powerful, haunting resonance for me. Not a personal embarassment, not a jab at the Germans, but a generalized disapointment with humanity.
Another, Gad Beck, a Jew and gay, is out-right inspiring. His strength and vitality are in stark contrast with all the other interviewees, who seem more affected by age and experience. Beck played a role in the Jewish resistance in Berlim, after the war helped in the construction of Israel, and later returned to Germany to work with Berlin's Jewish community. He tells an extraordinary story. He learned from his lover's boss that he and his family had been arrested. The boss asked him "Do you have courage?", and gave Beck his son's hitler youth uniform. Beck entered the school, saluted 'Heil Hitler' and asked to see the officer in charge. He asked for his lover, Manfred. A Gestapo asks whether he'll bring him back, and Beck replies 'What eles? He's a Jew"'. Twenty meters out of the school house, already safely out, Manfred calmly says 'I cannot go with you Gad. If I leave my sick family now, I'll never be free again. I have to go with them. I'm the only strong one'. Without saying goodbye, he turned and walked back to the school house. 'Something was forever broken in me', concluded Beck.
Another interviewee, Heinz F. was repeatedly arrested during the war, having spent over eight years in concentration camps. He was released from Buchenwald and immediately recruited into the retreating army, eight before the German defeat. He told no one of his experiences until appearing in this film, "out of shame" he confessed with visible distress. He described how after the war his mother said or asked nothing. "It's all about patiently carrying one's burden." Muller asked whether he would have liked to have talked to someone about his experience with anyone. And in a moving moment, this 92 year-old, cries as he says he would have liked to talk about it with his father.

Heinz Dormer, repeatedly re-arrested in t the 50s and 60s, under Paragraph 175, was still seeking reparations when the documentary was released. And Pierre Seel, 90% disabled from the torture suffered, was still seeking official acknowledgment of his case. This documentary is also a inspiration to historians and artists. A year after its release, 2001, the German government issued an official apology to gay victims of the Nazis. Which reminds me to write about 'apologies' some time soon.

Khalil Gibran

2004-05-05T22:46:00.000-04:00

My friend handed me a book a couple months ago, by a Lebanese author I didn't know. It stood near my bed untouched, until yesterday I finally picked it up and was really taken by it.
The Prophet, by Khalil Gibran, is on the surface a religious text. A ship has arrived and the main character, who has long awaited the ship, will be leaving. Upon his departure, many towns people ask him about numerous topics, and the main section of the poem is the main character's pronouncements on everything from food to love, clothes and death. Some of them are appealing, other less so.
Normally I wouldn't be partial to reading anything with such a description, it rings of self-help book, or 'Don't sweat the small stuff'. But something captured my attention and emotion. Perhaps its modernity, the power of the poetry, its secular humanism (for although God is mentioned, this is not an Epistle written hundreds of years ago, with religious followers, a liturgy). Perhaps what grabbed me was that in very begging the 'prophet' deals with the conflict of leaving, which is very much my present state.

How shall I go in peace and without sorrow? Nay, not without a wound in the spirit shall I leave this city. Long were the days of pain I have spent within its walls, and long were the nights of aloneness; and who can depart from his pain and his aloneness without regret? Too many fragments of the spirit have I scatterd in these streets, and too many are the children of my longing that walk naked among these hills, and I cannot withdraw from them without a bruden and an ache. It is not a garment I cast off this day, but a skin that I tear with my own hands. Nor is it a thought I leave behind me, but a heart made sweet with hunger and with thirst. Yet I cannot tarry longer.

Gibran has an interesting biography. Born in Lebanon in 1883, his father was imprisoned for tax evasion and his family immigrated to Boston, where they lived in poverty. There his talent was recognized and Fred Holland Day tutored him. At 15, he returned to Lebanon to finish his education and learn Arabic. Gibran rebeled against the parochial education of the Maronite-founded school which offered a nationalistic curriculum. After completing his studies, he returned to Boston, but he and his family was burdened with poverty and death. He wrote intially in Arabic, publishing in English only as late as 1915. Before this, he travelled to Paris and then settled in New York, gathering influences and contacts whereever he went. He became politically active, viewing WWI as an Lebanon's opportunity of liberation from the oppressive Ottoman Empire. Aas a result of his liberal positions towards religion and women, his desire to bring western ideas to Arabic countries, he never became established as an Arabic writer. He died on April 10th 1931, of liver cancer. The New York streets staged a two-day vigil for Gibran’s honor, whose death was mourned in the U.S. and Lebanon. His will left large amounts of money to his country, since he wanted his Syrian citizens to remain in their country and develop it rather than immigrate.

2004-05-03T10:03:00.000-04:00

Check out Seymour Hersh's piece in the New Yorker, on the issue of torture of Iraqis by US military. Hersh is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, who won noteriety when he helped uncover the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. He's read a fifty-three-page report written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba completed in late February. "Taguba found that between October and December of 2003 there were numerous instances of 'sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses' at Abu Ghraib. This systematic and illegal abuse of detainees, Taguba reported, was perpetrated by soldiers of the 372nd Military Police Company, and also by members of the American intelligence community."

Human Rights Watch points out, the United States has also not adequately responded to allegations of other abuses in U.S. detention in Afghanistan, including cases of beatings, severe sleep deprivation, and exposure of detainees to extreme cold.

In Iraq a U.S. army lieutenant colonel who admitted that in August he threatened to kill an Iraqi detainee, firing a shot next to the man's head during a violent interrogation, received a fine as a disciplinary measure, but was not subjected to a court martial. The U.S. army in January discharged three reservists for abusing detainees at a detention camp near Basra in southern Iraq.

There are enough reports of abuses that lead one to fear these may not be exceptions. Either the orders come from higher up, or there is a chronic loss of the chain of command - as some of the officers in Abu Gharaib complained about. I heard a right-wing talk show host yesterday, lamenting the outcry at these photos, whereas there was small outcry at the photos of US contractors killed in Falluja. [He must have been referring to the Arab press.] But there is a fundamental asymmetry. The atrocities perpetrated in Falluja were done by a mob, composed of people angry at their state of siege. These military atrocities were committed by members of a hierachical structure, pledged to abide by the Geneva conventions. In addition, they are the occupying power, with greater force, and greater responsibility of setting an example. Neither group has a moral excuse. But the military (or the police) have the higher moral burden.
And there are channels to correct abuses, which must be pursued to the fullest extent.

2004-05-01T17:06:00.000-04:00

In 1884 the United Brotherhood of Carpenters introduced a resolution on the convention floor of the Federation of Organized Trades and Labor Unions. It called for a general strike to begin on May 1, 1886, for gaining the eight-hour workday as a standard for all workers in the United States. Most workers toiled for better than 12 to 16 hours on average, seven days a week, with no overtime, insurance or workers' compensation protections.
The resolution was adopted unanimously. [How's that for organized labor, setting a date for a strike two years in advance!] Struggles between labor and the police, National Guard, and the Pinkertons were violent in those times, and it was not uncommon for deaths to occur during clashes.
The newspapers and industrialists were instilling fear that May 1st, 1886 would be and inssurection, as the Paris Commune of 1871, that strikers were as foreign agents. As the day approached, more and more unions and workers were pledging to strike.
On May 1st, 1886, a saturday, but normally a workday, more than 350,000 workers walked off their jobs. The day is described in Labor's Untold Story, by Richard Boyer and Herbert Morais, thus: "May 1 was a beautiful day in Chicago. (...) crowds of workers, laughing, chatting, joking, and dressed in their best clothes, accompanied by their wives and children, were assembling for a parade on Michigan Avenue. (...) Off the main route of the parade and on streets adjacent to it, companies of armed police and special officers were gathering ready to enforce "law and order." On strategic rooftops police, Pinkertons, and militia officers were stationed with raifles and ohter paraphernalia of war. 1,350 members of the National Guard were mobilized and under arms, uniformed, equipped with Gatling guns." Among the speakers were Albert Parsons, a member of both the Knights of Labor and the Chicago Central Labor Union, and Albert Spies, the editor of the German workers' paper Die Arbeiter-Zeitung. All went peacefully, the militia demobilized, and police back to regular duty. But the strike continued.
On Monday violence errupted. Again, from Labor's Untold Story: "The police, exasperated by the futility of May I after such high expectations, gained some relief by clubbing the locked-out emplyees of the McCormick Harvester Works, as they ruched in 300 scabs. At closing time a great crowd of the lowcked-out employees were waiting the exit of the scabs when police suddenly charged them with drawn revolvers. The retreated when police, according to a witness, 'opened fire into their backs. Boys and men were killed as they ran.'" Six workers were killed.
The outraged leaders of the Chicago eight-hour movement organized a protest meeting in Haymarket Square the next day, May 4th. 180 police, came from the nearby station, in regular military formation. The crowd began to run. As the Police Captain Ward was demanding the meeting disperse, a bomb was thrown into a squad of police, killing eight. Police reacted by firing in every direction, and clubbing and trampling as they attempted to gain control. More than 200 of the participants were wounded when panicking police opened fire into the crowd.
In the following days, "the police, urged by the press and pulpit, by the great and the near great demainding immediate revenge, went wild, packing Chicago's jails (...) raiding the headquarters and offices of tradeunions and other working class organizations.
Among the arrested and indicted were Spies, Michael Schwab, Fielden, Parsons, Adolph Fischer, George Engel, Louis Lingg and Oscar Neebe. All were charged with conspiracy to murder, despite the fact that only three had been present at the Haymarket meeting. During the trial in June 1886, the state could not provide evidence that any of the men had knowledge of the bomb or that they had incited or participated in the violence.
As a result of the trial, all but one of the men received death sentences (Neebe received 15 years). Despite international outcry, Spies, Parsons, Fischer, and Engel were hanged on November 11, 1887; Lingg escaped by committing suicide.
In 1888, the American Federation of Labor voted to continue the eight-hour movement, fixing May 1st 1890 as the time for actions. The interactional labor movement, supported the eight-hour fight and designated May I, 1890 an interantional day of struggle.

Does this day still have meaning today? While in many developed countried there is an eight-hour day, in many this is still a goal. Many workers, even in developed coutries, find the need to world 12-hour days (or longer) to make ends meet. There are many violations of workers rights, and many struggles for gaining rights. Workers and union organizers still face violence everywehere.
Colombia is a nightmare in this regard. Thousands of trade-unionists have been assasinated since 1986. Three of every five unionists killed in the world are Colombian. The government and industrialists make use of the military and paramilitaries to specifically target union organizers. A worldwide campaign against Coca-Cola is based on significant proof of its complicity in murders. Ray Rogers, the president of Corporate Campaign, and a Coca-Cola shareholder brought these issues to the floor of a Coca-Cola share-holders meeting this April. Despite his right to talk, he has dragged away by six plainclothes Wilmington Police officers.
The class struggle continues. Perhaps the nature of class has changed since the 1880s, but as Michael Zweig in The working Class Majority points wout, one still has grupos of poeple with different degrees of power to determine and control the process in work and society.
The fact that the day is celebrated by millions worldwide (ironically, less so in the USA) is a testament to its continued significance. Millions of workers worldwide marched from Thailand to Ghana, South Africa to Russia, Germany to Canada, both Koreas to Cuba, Britain to Australia. Some of the events were marked by violence (such as Germany).

2004-04-30T19:42:00.000-04:00

Well today's news has once again brought war photos from Iraq of significant impact. CBS's flagship 60 Minutes II postponed a report about abuses of Iraqi prisoners by US miliary because of pressure from the Pentagon. "The Pentagon was really very concerned about broadcasting the pictures, and I
think they had good reason," said 60 Minute executive producer Jeff Fager. But last night they aired these shocking photos. This hooded, naked prisoner standing on a box had wires attached
to his genitals and was told that if he fell off the box, he would be electrocuted. Other photos show naked prisoners being forced to simulate sex acts. A female soldier, with a cigarette in her mouth, simulating a gun in her hand and pointing at a naked Iraqi's genitals. Two soldiers triumphantly atop a pile of naked Iraqi bodies. It is significant that these events happened at Abu Gharib prison, west of Baghdad, a prison that carries with it a reputation of torture since the Saddam era. What has changed Iraqis muist ask themselves?

17 soldiers have been suspended over the allegations of abuse of prisoners. Six of them are facing court martial. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, responsible for 4 jails in Iraq, is among seven officers facing charges that soldiers under their command mistreated detainees. These soldeirs must be severly reprimanded, as a question of justice, and to avoid the further spread of violent action by soldiers whose tour of duty has been stretched. And a reprimand should not limit itself to a written reprimand, a possibility suggested in a report by Al Jezeera. Bush and Blair have already made PR statements of disgust, while emphasizing these acts were not representative of the 'Coalition' military. Amnesty International claim this is not an isolated event, and demand an investigation.

2004-04-29T23:30:00.000-04:00

I've been paying close attention to bumper stickers and car art in general, and noticed the phrase 'Never Forget, Never Again' on number of cars, with reference, and justly so, to Sept. 11th, 2001. In thinking of things to paint on my own car, I tried to think of other events that one should never forget. I never found a way of transposing the idea onto the car, but instead started compiling photos along that theme. The Holocaust, slavery, use of nuclear weapons, and also 9/11 are some themes that I started developing. In doing so, I found myself not shying away, and quite actively seeking, shocking photos. It is in my nature to acknowledge both the evil and good in human nature, both the joy and darkness of life. And therefore, I don't avoid movies with non-Hollywood endings, or brush aside a friend who is depressed and not in the most uplifting of moods. Likewise, I feel a need to read, see, and learn about the tragic, horrible, and despicable acts humans are capable of, without turning away. Some themes I have a great interest in, the Holocaust being the one that first comes to mind, for the depths of the horrible seem to have no end. [It always amazes me how some people prefer not to see yet another documentary on the Holocaust, with the excuse they know about it already. There are too many details worth knowing for that to be close to the truth. Most importantly, no single book or movie, or anything short of having gone through it, will allow you to 'know about it'. Well, if that's true then what's the point? To get as close as you can, to understand, to not allow yourself to forget.] No pleasure-seeker would sit through a viewing of the Shoah, or read Primo Levi. It is not a morbid interest that draws me to it. But a refusal to look away, and the truth of George Santayana's words "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

The theme of which photos to see and make public has been recently in the headlines in two events surrounding the US occupation of Iraq. One, the publication of the horrific photos of US Americans burnt, shred apart and hung in Falluja. That the photos were even shown was concievable for press editors because they were not Iraqi civilians, nor US soldiers, but rather US civilians working for Blackwater Security Consulting. The other, the photo of flag drapped coffins of US soldiers being shipped back home.

The photo was taken by Tami Silicio, a contract employee from the Seattle area who works the night shift at the cargo terminal, and was published in the Seatle Times on April 21st. As a result, Silicio was fired for violating US government regulations that prohibit photos of coffins of US soldiers, supposedly to protect the privacy of the families. Ed Lowe, a Newsday journalist, recalled in an commentary (April 28th) how he would scan the wire services for names of soldiers Killed in Action in Vietnam, figure out where their families lived and visit them to get comments. He observed how "without fail, each time, the stricken family would graciously invite me into their home, eager to share the biography of the child they had lost, proud of his service and nonored by the suggestion that his sacrifice would not go unoticed, nor unnoted." Its pretty obvious that the government policy is not to protect the families, but the public image of the government and manage public opinion on the costs of war.

There was an interesting piece by Jim Lewis Front Page Horror: Should newspapers show us violent images from Iraq?, which came out on April 5th, in slate.msn.com. Lewis is a photojournalist who has been sitting on photos he took in Ituri, Congo in 2003, for he finds the horror in the pictures seem to get in the way of conveying what is actually happening in that civil war. Curiously, in Feb 2003, Lewis engaged in an online discussion with Luc Sante, another photojournalist, a propos of Susan Sontag's book Regarding the Pain of Others. In that discussion, which one can follow on salon.com, Lewis defended publishing photos of atrocities. But as he himself explains, having taken such photos changed his mind.

I cannot argue this issue without opening a back door and stating that never having witnessed an atrocity I cannot state categorically that I would never change my mind on this issue, as Lewis did. However, his perspective is that of a photojournalist. His preocupation is whether horrific photos are the best purveyors of information, or whether they are distractions. "History, context, and culture all make the events in Fallujah very different, but history, context, and culture are precisely what a picture can't show, at least not one picture alone." He's right, but it remains that such photos reflect not only a specific context (e.g., civil war in Congo), but also the ability of humans to perform horror on other humans. From that perspective, that of a citizen, such photos are I think always informative. I can read about cutting a person's scalp, but I can't even begin to understand its horror without a visual reference. Not to say that text does not have its strengths. And it is from good journalistic writing that we get most our context and information, and even to some degree our link to empathy with victims. And years from now, when we look upon those pictures of Falluja, we won't learn the whole story, but for those that know the context, they will work as a good reminder of the extent of resistance against US occupation.

I think emotion has muddled the issue for Lewis, for many of the problems he raises are not specific to photographs. Later in his slate piece, he states "pictures of extreme violence are always a kind of pornography: There is an outrageous event. There is the fact that someone was present with a camera to record it." That is an interesting sidepoint, which reminds me of the 1994 Pulitzer-prize winning photographer Kevin Carter, who took the photo of the dieing Sudanese girl and was haunted by having not intervened, became depressed, and committed suicide.
But then is it not pornography for the media to camp outside of people's houses for a comment. To flip flop from sports to war to weather. To bait us with suspenseful comments before a commercial break. Newspapers are not exempt. I find it incredible that the New York Times has a narrow horizontal news piece on a massacre with the rest of the page and the facing page containing advertising for Tiffany's and Macy's.

I am concerned about the media using photos for their shock value. But that is something they already do. Barry Glassner, in Culture of Fear, notes how as crime was decreasing in the US the news coverage of murders and other crimes soared. That is an issue of media ethics, they have an obligation to provide context. Does their failure in doing so, mean that they should also not show the photos in question?

We should also be concerned with emotional saturation and numbing. But that is something that happens also with textual news. After years of hearing news about a conflict, someone paying half-attention to events will meld them together, loose the train of events, context, become somewhat indifferent to an additional dead civilian, an additional bombing. And who can follow so many conflicts worldwide? Who can stay fine-tuned to events in Colombia and Honduras and Congo and Ache and Haiti and Sudan and Iraq and Chiapas and Chetchnya so on and so on. Again, this is not something specific to photos. In a way, they allow us to capture more events, and somehow try to find a common thread.

Lewis again, "shocking photographs become horror-porn very quickly and very easily, more quickly and easily than language does. A picture can do many things that a paragraph can't, but enlightening us about the horrors of war isn't one of them." In an interview on NPR, the interviewer recalls reading how a shopping card was found among a victims personal effects, and how reading that gave him a deep connection, humanized the victim. To return to the context of the Holocaust, I read a number of personal accounts of survivors. Reading these, particularly in book form, gives you the element of time, of continual suffering that seeing a photo cannot offer. But how could I really attempt to recreate the experience in my mind without having seen any images, the experience is so beyond my own. Clearly, text and image are complementary. In what they have to offer and in the dangers their over-exploitation entail.

2004-04-25T20:46:00.000-04:00

Viva 0 25 de Abril

Today is 30 years since the democratic revolution in Portugal. On the dawn of the 25th of Abril, 1974, a group of military started to occupy key sites in Lisbon. Despite not being sure what was going on at first, and annoucements that should stay at home, civilians flooded the streets. Finding that the military were overthrowing a 48 year old fascist regime - the longest in history - they brought the soldiers flowers (red carnations become iconic) and supported them as they released political prisoners and occupied the political police building and other government buildings. The colonial war was ended, and a number of African countries (including Angola and Moçambique) and East Timor became independent. It was a remarkable revolution in that the transition was quite nonviolent, even though it was driven by the military. It need be noted that this was a military composed of a broad sample of society, a result of the draft during many years of colonial war. Turbulent months followed, were the multiple forces fought for power or simply to keep the democratic nature of the new regime. There were counter-revolutionary attempts that the military in alliance with civilians held back. History was molting lava.

30 years after democracy is still in place, although many of the conquests of the revolution, the nacionalizations and agrarian reform, have l been reversed. The accelerated decolonization is criticized. More gravely, the freshness of democracy has evaporated, the importance of popular participation in the democratic process muddled, cynicism about politicians in place. Thirty years is a generation. I was two when it all happened, but it left deep emotional marks on me. I cannot hear descriptions of the oceans of people who came out on the streets on the 1st of May 1974, without having shivers run through me.

Many feel this is history long past and feel no attachment to it. Yet the fascist past and the transition process to democracy still marks our present. And we have yet to face this history head on. Much was written and sung during the transition to democracy, in a burst of liberty. But then, as if to allow the nation to look move on, or because of a shift in political beliefs, we looked forward, in search of stability. Post-war Germany too only reflected upon its nazi past, a generation after the war. The time has come for Portugal too to look back. We had a vicious political police (PIDE/DGS) that simply dissolved into civilian society. What happened to these people? There were never any trials, compensations, or attempt of reconciliation with victims of torture and unjust imprisonment. Many draftees were against the colonial war, yet complied with their 'call to duty'. What of their inner struggles, fighting and killing under the uniform of a fascist regime? What of the foreign influence in the domestic political struggles, namely the role of Frank Carlucci and the CIA in finanacing political parties of their preference.

I suppose reflecting upon the decolonization process is part of this process. It is often commented it should have been slower, we should have helped the African countries more. But those cold hind-sight criticisms fail to recognize two important issues: portugal was still resolving its democratic process as was in a poor position to hold anyone's hand in their transition, and most importantly it was not simply our choice - the former colonies wanted independence. Regardless of whether it was the best long-term option, their new sovereignty gave them the right to make their own mistakes. Decades of civil war followed in Angola and Moçambique, que help again from foreign influence. Millions died and the countries never developed the potential that their natural resources might afford - a destiny not uncommon in Africa, unfortunetly. But I hardly blame Portugal decolonization process for this turnout. Case in point, the history of East Timor was not determined by Portugal having 'abandoned' the region. But rather to the action of Suharto's Indonesia with US support. If Portugal has any responsibility it is in not exerting diplomatic pressure earlier and with greater vigor and consistency, not with having given sovereignty to the Maubere people. This is what they wanted. And kept wanting during the Indonesian occupation. Even during this period, it was questioned if such a small region should be given independence, whether it would be a viable economy. And after decades of struggle, they have gained it once again. There are striking parallels in the riveting periods of 25 de Abril de 1974, and the independence of East Timor, or the election in South Africa. A people after years of repression gains a voice. Let it be heard.

2004-04-25T19:35:00.000-04:00

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes is a marvelous book. Its a first person journal maintained by Charley Gordon, a mentally retarded 32 year old that undergoes a surgical procedure and becomes smarter. As he becomes smarter, his writing improves, he begins to read voraciously and worlds of emotion open to him, including love and disapointment and pain, as he realizes people he thought were his friends used to make fun of him and remembers his family and why he was forced to leave home. As he rebels against the scientists that are studying him, and runs again with a test mouse, Algernon, he becomes aware he may start to loose his abilities. The final touching moments of the book follow Charley's decline.

On March 29th, Theatre Three offered a magnificent evening of scenes from their production of Flowers for Algernon, followed by Daniel Keyes, the author of the book, reading from his autobiography and recollecting about the writing process and the history of Flowers. He remembers how he used to 'second act': dress up, mix with the audience during the first intermission, enter the theatre and try to find a seat. This way he say many 2nd and 3rd acts, but never 1st acts, which he would have to reconstruct.

The first germ of the story came to him when he was 17 and premed at NYU and waiting for the subway from Brooklyn to Washington Sq., and it struck him that education was building a wedge between him and his family, and then together with that realization came a 'what if' idea, 'what if you could increase a person's intelligence'. He later gave up pursueing medicine, and choose psychology as his major, and to become a writer and write about the human mind and its conflicts with itself. He had many false starts with writing the story, but could not find the right character.

Many years later, he got a request for a story from a sci-fi mag, flipping through notes he found an idea that said "boy in a modified english class". He was teaching at Jefferson at the time, and was teaching some classes of slow learners and some of gifted kids who wanted to become writers. In the latter class, there were those that thought success should be a handed over to them. Keyes:" There are those who want to write, and those who want to be writers." In one of the other classes, in the first day one of the boys that had sat in the back, came to him and said he knew he was in "a dummy class", but wanted to know if he worked and hard and did well, whether he could be put in a regular class. The thought that a developmentally challenged kid could want the same as he, knowledge, hit Daniel Keyes in the gut. He now had a character, but no story yet.

The third germ of Charley Gordon, a recollection that is not in his autobiography, is af another student in that class. This student was always silent and didn't know how to read. Keyes taught him afterhours to read using phonics. He learned to read, started reading books and became involved in class. His family had to take him out of school for a while, for family reasons, and when he returned he had lost it, forgotten everything he had learned. This process of learning and then decline gave him the plot.

From that point on, the story wrote itself. Keyes would find out what Charley would do by writing. Daniel Keyes had to defend his story many times from changes suggested by editors. But resisted changing his story at every turn, particularly the end, many times criticized for being downbeat. Interestingly, Cliff Robertson, who took on the tv and then movie adaptation, tried to change the story, but was never able to make a changed version work. The movie, for instance, kept the downbeat ending because they couldn't find a mouse that could wiggle its whiskers for a cute upbeat ending. So they kept the original ending.

An interesting factoid. When Flowers was being made into a musical, Charles Strauss, who worte the music, had to swap the song 'Tomorrow' originally written for Charley, to another show that was having problems, 'Annie'.

Daniel Keyes is asked frequently whether Charlie wouldn't have been better off not having had the operation. To which he has come to respond, paraphrasing St. Augustine, better to have learned and lost, than never to have learned at all.

2004-04-23T19:21:00.000-04:00

I have a lot to catch up, so I'll start off by going through some theatre I've seen recently, from most recent into the past. Last Wednesday (4/21), I saw the Roundabout Theatre's Twentieth Century, on 42nd St, with Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche. It was a cute little situation comedy, with mixed identities and
trickery. The cast was fine, and the set very elaborate: its was all inside a train, and the compartments moved side-to-side on the stage giving greater focus to different sections. It was fun, but nothing more.

The day before, Tuesday (4/20) I went with a couple of friends to see Embedded, by Tim Robbins, at The Public Theater. He got some pretty harsh criticism and some rave reviews, and the run had been extended twice, so I was curious. I wasn't blown away, but it was a great night of theater, of using the theatrical medium and devices to really lay bare some of the things the other media don't allow us to experience as well. Perhaps the best example, was a very short scene, in which a soldier in Iraq faces the audience, where a suspect might be, and opens fire with his machine gun in our direction. While a movie might provide us that experience, only the theatre can provide an actual human in front of us, his eyes a mixture of fear, surprise and hatred, and the lights burning our eyes as he sprays us with bullets. The play follows several storylines, those of several soldiers, including Jen-Jen Ryan (a stand in for Jessica Lynch), several embedded reporters with different postures towards the process, and the pyramid of power, "The Office of Special Plans" composed of Dick (Cheney), Woof (Paul Wolfowitz), Pearly White (Richard Pearle), Cove (Karl Rove), Gondola (Condi Rice), and Rum-Rum (Don Rumsfeld). Noticeably, and purposefully absent, is W. Tim Robbins said "Satire should make you laugh and scare the hell out of you." And it certainly did both. The power-mongers in masks make us laugh because they're silly, venerating Leo Strauss and suggesting Bush get a crown, but also because despite their silliness they are believable, as when they tell the French to go fuck themselves or conspire to manipulate public opinion. We're in Jen-Jen's room when she tries to get her story straight, in face of the made-for-movie story the military tried to cast. The Sargent who trains the embedded journalists and keeps them in-line, also has a passion for muscial theatre.
Colonel Hardchannel says it won't be hard to manipulate elections in Gomorra, after all it was easy enough in the Sunshine State. But otherwise, the military are protrayed by the soldiers, their camaradery, their fear, their relations with their family, and their desire to go home. The play made me laugh and re-mobilized me to beat Bush. At the end, I stood up, to thank a good performance and to pay respect to actors who put on a politically charged play in a time when dissent is becoming more acceptable again, but is still only tolerated in moderation.

Lastly, I have to refer the production of Flowers for Algernon I saw at Theatre Three, some two weeks ago. It was one of the best productions I've seen at Theatre Three. The staging, lighting, and the music by Jennifer Testa, were all outstanding. But my attention was drawn to the stage and the acting. Having read the book, I knew how Charley Gordon's process depended so much on the change in language as was curious to see that translated on stage. Heath Cohen did an outstanding job, from the fidgetty dim-witted Charley to the furiously intellectual later on. So perfect is his contrast that one cannot help but me moved by his loss towards the end of the play. We are beside him every step of his development and self-discovery, and later with his pan at he begins to know how people really feel towards him (the bakers as something to laugh at, the doctors as an object of research) and then the pain as he realizes he will loose what he has gained. But he is not afraid to die or to live, only to not have lived.

I was also fortunate to have seen Daniel Keyes at Theatre Three. But those comments are for another time.

2004-04-23T12:40:00.000-04:00

I'm back, and with a higher degree! My defense went very well, and I'm quite happy. I still need to work on my dissertation, polishing some chapters, and writing the 'binding' chapters (intro and conclusion), but the main hurdle is passed. So now, I'll have time to blog away on so many things that I left aside and so much that is happening. Hope you'll find it interesting.

2004-04-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

I'm in the last two-week stretch before my doctoral defense, and most of my time and energy is going to writing an already overdue chapter and preparing my prublic presentation. I'll probably only have time to post something after that date (April19th). If I do post anything before then (like this post), I'm probably procrastinating. Shame on me! Its not for lack of things to write about either. So, I invite you to check back in a few weeks.

2004-03-27T08:28:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, I saw the documentary Unprecedented: the 20000 Presidential election, and LA Independent Media Center Film by filmmakers Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler. I had paid close attention to events during the Florida recount and had heard most of the facts, but the strength of this documentary comes from placing all these different elements of malfeasance and fraud together and making use of results of public inquiry made after the elections.
They start off by talking about Jeb Bush. He lost his first bid for Florida governor. During that campaign, when asked what he could do for African-Americans in Florida, he responded "Not much". When he won his second race for governor, he did more than that, he removed most affirmative action laws. That prompted a large voter registration campaign by African-Americans for the 2000 elections, with the take five people to the polls drive. As a result, in 2000, 65% more African-American voters went the poles. But there they faced multiple obstacles. Many weren't on the roster, although they had voted in the same county previously. Some voter were wasked for multiple forms of id, although state law has not such requirement. Police gave tickets for loitering to people waiting in line. Who knows how many votes were lost this way. But there were more coordinated modes of voter exclusion:
(a) the felon purge list - this involved the misuse of a 1868 florida law, written by ex-confederate soldiers, in order to exclude many Af-Am from voting. Since then, it had been used haphazardly, but in 1998, the Florida State Legislature toughened the law, requiring a private firm to compile a computerized felon list. Katherine Harris, in charge of implementing the making of this list, hired Data Base Technologies (DBT). Florida state officials told DBT to use loose parameters in building the list. In Unprecendented, Greg Palast explains that among these parameters were the disregard of middle initials and Jr./Sr., the use of only the first four letters of the first name, a close apporximation of a persons birthdate. So that if your name somewhat matched that of a convicted felon anywhere in the states, you were put on the purge list. It was later shown that DBT had concerns about this practice and the number of resulting false positives.They wrote Emett Mitchell IV of the state government, and the state replied this is how they wanted the list compiled.
(b) Even if you conviction date appeared to be somewhere in the future - which I didn't quite understand how that could be. But they showed a excluded voter, whose conviction date was in 2007. Most of these were dealt with by blanking out the conviction dates. There were 4,000 missing conviction dates. 50% of these were Af-Am. 93% of the Af-Ams voted Democrat in Florida. Overall, its estimated that 15% of the people on the list were not felons. Someone points out that the state payed 4 million dol. to compile felon list, but would not spend 100,000 dol. on voter education.
[The trick to watching the documentary is to add up the number of votes that were not cast or thrown out, and how it swamps the differance between Gore and Bush.]
(c) In addition, 2,883 ex-offenders, convicted outside of Florida, whose voters rights were restored, and subsequently moved to Florida, were wrongfully not allowed to vote. According to Florida Supreme Court, you cannot have any of your civil rights removed when entering the state. However, Jeb Bush required that these ex-felons, some of which had already voted after leaving prison, had to write him and ask for permission to vote, a requirement that appears nowhere in state law. 93% of people coming out of prison vote democrat. So the future president's brother and Florida governor, Jeb Bush, and the Bush Florida Campaign director and Florida Secretary of State, Katherine Harris, knew they were desenfranchising sectors that voted democrat overwhelmingly.

Then came election date, Nov 7th 2000. Remember staying up until late, and then finally concluding it was going to take longer than normal.
Of the 6,137,938 ballots cast, Bush was ahead 1,784 votes in the first count. As this was <0.03%, less than a 'tenth of a percentage point' state requires an automatic recount. This was done in the same way, by machines. On the second count, the margin was reduced to 350. This in itself is amazing. 350 votes separated the presidential candidates!. [Of course, not counting at all all those desenfranchised voters mentioned earlier.] After the machine recount, officials revealed that 175,000 ballots were uncounted by machines, wither because they were under- or overvotes. Here's were the 'butterfly ballot' comes in. This is the ballot with names of presidential candidates on both sides of a middles strip where voters had to punch their vote. The order of the holes alternated in correspondance to names to its left and right, such that the second hole corresponded not to Al Gore, the name underneath George Bush in the left-side column, but to Pat Buchanan, who was the first name on the right side column. 5,300 ballots overvoted for Buchanan and Gore. There was also the catterpillar ballot (this one I had missed): a multi-page ballot, with the explicit instruction that voters need vote on every page. The problem is there were presidential candidates on more than one page. This lead to 27,000 overvotes being thrown out in Duval county. 16,000 of these were in precints that vote 98% democratic. [Still counting?]
As a result of these irregularities, the Gore campaign, lead by Warren Christopher, requested manual recounts in only 4 counties: Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Volucia. The fact that a state-wide manual recount was immediately requested was heavily criticized by different interviewees in the documentary. An the legal battle begins. The Bush side was lead by James Baker III and had the help of many Jeb Bush key aides that resigned shortly after a mess was percieved and joined the Bush campaign full time.
Katherine Harris refused to delay the state certification deadline of Nov 17th, which wouldn't give enough time for manual recounts. The democrats appealed to the State Supreme Court. The Court ordered a delay of certifications pending their rule on the case. During the delay, the manual recounts continued and a battle over absentee ballots began. Ironically, because democrats wanted to exclude the absentee ballots cast after the election, the Bush camp turned the table on Gore argument, and accused him of wanted to not count all the votes, particularly those by voters serving in the armed forces.
The Florida Supreme Court ruled the deadline of certification moved to Nov 26th. Republicans appealed to US Supreme Court. Amid vociferous protests from Bush supporters, the counties continued counting. When Nov 26th arrived, Palm Beach hadn't yet finished recount and Miami-Dade decided to shut down because of pressures from protesters lead by Republican staffers. Broward county reported a net gain of 563 ballot gain for Gore and Volucia County a 96 gain for Gore: a sum 659 ballot net gain for Gore. Hoever, combined with the absentee ballots, mostly republican, gave Bush a margin of 537 votes. The NY Times later reported that 680 overseas absentee ballots marked after election day were certified by K.Harris. Based on the official count, on Nov 26th, Katherine Harris excluded to unfinished return from Palm Beach and delcared Bush the winner of Florida's 25 electoral votes. The Gore campaign went back to the courts, and by a vote of 4-3, the Florida Supreme Court ordered manual recounts in Florida counties were these had not yet occurred. The recount Dec 9th deadline. The Republicans appealed to the US Supreme Court. Their 4-3 ruling, on Dec. 12th, to stay the recount ended the election. Their majority argument was that the lack of a uniform standard for counting manually violated the 'equal protection clause' of the 14th ammendment. The dissenting Supreme court justices argued that if a unform standard was lacking, send the case back to Florida and request them to devise one. According to Alan Dershowitz, the ruling ignored Florida court rulings in which 'voter intent prevails over tecnicalities'. The decision was unique in that it only applies to Bush vs. Gore, because the majority was full aware that if it were used broadly, given the heterogeneity of standards nationwide, any elections in the US would be invalid.
In 2001, a media consortium including the NYTImes, Washington Post, LA Times and Orlando Sentinal and others, analyzed the statewide 175,000 unread ballots. Somewhere from 2,000 to 20,000 of these were retrievable votes. Their results were published on Nov 12 2001, and conclude that if you look at all of the ballots, in all the Florida counties, Gore would have won by a small margin.
However, if you included only their recounts for the 4 counties requested by Gore - and which had never been completed - then Bush had more votes. The media, almost without exception, made more of the later fact. Inside, however you would find that a full statewide review - never requested, which the Florida Supreme Court had permited, but the US Supreme Court disavowed - would have given Al Gore the majority of Florida votes . The Washington Post presents a table, with the margin of votes favorable for Gore, regardless of the method used. Actually, the more accepting the method is (say from 'fully produced chads and limited marks on optical ballots' to 'one corner of chad or any optical mark') the smaller the margin for Gore. The later method would have given him a margin of 60 votes statewide.

2004-03-27T01:00:00.000-05:00
Michael Hardt's second talk was on the concept of Multitude, the focal topic of his and Antonio Negri's upcoming book, published by Penguin.
1. Multitude is suggested in contrast to the concept of the people and the social mutiplicities of the mob, masses or crowd. The later are manipulable, need a leader, and members become undifferentiated. The people is a unity, individuals set aside their differences, and can be sovereign. The multitude represents a multiplicity, it is a set of singularities, able to be an active subject, and thus to rule itself.
2. Multitude is also in contrast to the working class, which is based on exclusion of nonmembers (the unproductive labor, the unwaged classes). Under the framwork of Multitude, all forms of labor are productive. This concept gains value as the traditional working class has lost its hegemonic position over society. It has been replaced by immaterial labor and affective labor, whose product is immaterial, primarily intellectual, yet creates social life. Just as the working class was a minority when it became hegemonic, the immaterial labor is also a minority numerically, but hegemonic qualitatively, dictating trends, e.g., society has become affective, intelectual, informational, visual, etc.
3. Multitude is also an alternative to the party as a form of political organization. However, because it is all inclusive: where does it leave the issue of class struggle?
Listen to the lecture [Note - the file is over an hour and poor in sound quality]

2004-03-26T08:19:00.000-05:00
Yesterday I saw the first of two talks given by Michael Hardt at the Humanities Institute at Stony Brook University. Hardt is an associate Professor of Literature and Romance Studies at Duke Univ., and is the co-author (with Antonio Negri) of has published Empire (Harvard, 2000) and the forthcoming Multitude (Penguin, Sept. 2004). The series is entitles War and Democracy in the Age of Empire. He argues the nature of war has changed in recent years.
1. Whereas previously wars were usually waged between sovereign states, the present state of war is that of a global civil war, within a global empire. Instances of war have their local aspects, but largely wars contain of element of war against empire.
2. Whereas previously was was seen as an exception to be used when politics was exhausted, we are now in a global state of of exception, with the USA - having an exceptional role - in driving the permanent war which replaces regular politics as a means of negotiation.
3. The present war against an abstract enemy is equivalent to police activity, used in time of omnicrisis. It is boundless in spatial range and and time.
4. The arguments used to legimitize violence have changed, and states have a declining ability to legimitize it. He gave the example of Gulf War I (justified by the breech to international law after the invasion of the sovereign state of Kuwait), then the NATO intervention in Kosovo (an intervention against a sovereign state justified on moral grounds, to avoid ethnic cleansing), and finally the present Gulf War II. Contrary to the prior two examples, where a priori reasoning was used, preventive war uses a posteriori arguments, 'violence' is justified retrospectively if it can bring order. This is a more tenuous form of legitimation. [Illustrated particularly well with Iraq, where it is still to be demonstrated whether security has been increased.]
5. War has become the foundation of politics (e.g., nation building). It has been reduced to police action (albeit at a global scale), while retaining its ability of waging mass destruction and individualized torture. He refers to this as Biopower.
6. Democracy is threatened by this change to a permanent state of exception, of suspension of the rule of law by a state of emergency - a practice accepted previously when state of emergency was understood to be brief. But the change in the character of was is cause and consquence of a failure of democracy and loss of the concept of democracy. The crisis in democracy allows the state of permanent war to continue. He gave as examples of this crisis the 2000 presidential election (I have to find time to summarize the excellend documentary Unprecedented) and the Norwegian Study of Power and Democracy that describes a decay in democracy even in Norway. What's new, that adds to a older trend of breakdown in democracy, are the effects of globalization on democratic representaion and functioning. Quite possibly the mechanisms of democracy that were developed for states are not appropriate at the global scale. At a time when state democracies are in crisis, we find ourselves needing and lacking a concept of global democracy. Most of the discussion about global democracy centers on the reform of global institutions, e.g., WTO and IMF, revolves around the issues of transparency, accountability and governance. But this illustrates how we don't know what global democracy means, or what democracy in itself means. Transparency is great, but it is not a sufficient condition for democracy. In fact, tyrannies may be transparent. And the question of accountability, raises the question of accountability to whom. Reform proponents, such as Stiglitz, answer: accountability to expert economists. They're really talking about efficiency and stability.
How would one organize a form of representation on a global scale? How would one vote for a global president, or WTO? An optimistic note: there were also strong doubts that democracy could be expanded from the scale of a city-state to a nation-state. Its not an insoluble problem.

Listen to the talk [note - the recording is not great and last over an hour]

2004-03-23T08:42:00.000-05:00
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin was killed on Monday, March 22. While he was being wheeled out of an early morning prayer session, he was struck by missiles fired from Israeli helicopter gunships and died instantly, along with seven others. More than a dozen people were injured in the attack, including two of his sons. The Israel Defense Forces issued a terse statement:

"This morning, in a security forces operation in the northern Gaza Strip, the IDF targeted a car carrying the head of the Hamas terror organization, Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, and his aides," the IDF statement said. "Yassin, responsible for numerous murderous terror attacks, resulting in the deaths of many civilians, both Israeli and foreign, was killed in the attack." Hamas official Ismail Haniyeh commented: "This is the moment Sheikh Yassin dreamed about". The Hamas leadership said Ariel Sharon had "opened the gates of hell."

The international community, including the EU and UN secretary general Kofi Annan, firmly condemned the assassination of Yassin. The United States Administration has sent confusing statements. Condoleezza Rice, seemed close to endorsing the killing, saying "Hamas was a terrorist organisation and Sheikh Yassin was heavily involved in terrorism." State department spokesman, Richard Boucher, struck a very different note, saying he "the US government was deeply troubled by the attack."

I guess the question is whether this was an act undertaken under the framework of war. Only during war does one accept such targeted assasinations, such frontal murder. Only during war, when the objective is to bring the enemy to its knees and surrender, is it conventional to trespass over enemy territory and launch a broad attack. Obviously, Sharon assumes Israel is at war, which raises the question of what his war objectives are. Does he honestly think he is simply engaging a war on Hamas and other terrorist organizations, which happen to be intertwined with a oppressed population? Is it a broad war against Palestinians - this is most assuredly how they percieve it, along with most of the Muslim world. Does he hope the assasination will help decrease terrorism? He is falling under the same misleading conception - to which the Bush administration falls victim - that terrorism can be fought with brutal violence. It may sound like a trite cliché, that violence breeds more violence, but rings true.

Perhaps this isn't an idication that Israel is at war. Assuming, this was "simply" a targeted assasination, I am compelled to still react against it. I am against the death penalty, and think more would have been acheived by arresting and trying Yassin. Others would not have to have died during his assasination. And most importantly, it would have projected a message of justice, not revenge, that would contribute to an eventual peace process. The targeted assasination merely lead to acts of counte-revenge.

BBC obituary
Wikipedia biography

2004-03-21T21:09:00.000-05:00
Yesterday, the one year anniversary of operation "Shock and Awe" in Iraq, March 20th was a great day of marching for peace all world round. According, to United for Peace and Justice, one of the major organizers in the US, there were over 300 Events in the U.S., and more than 270 other cities in more than 60 countries. Upwards of 2 million people worldwide on the streets marching for peace. I went with people from Stony Brook and other Long Island towns on aÃÂ´LIRR 'Peace Train' into NYC. The day before I indulged myself, and got a 128Mb memory card for my camera, and took loads of photos. While the Long Island contingent was congregating, I was interviewed by a Newsday journalist, Tomoeh Murakami Tse.
And parts of the interview made it into her report. She did refer to me as a student of 'ecology and revolution [sic]', which is not untrue, but it is not really the name of my graduate program. I marched with a Bush puppet on my back, dressed as the Grim Reaper, with a clown's nose - which we got as we left Penn Station from someone advertising the circus in Madison Square Garden. The march went peacefully, no scuffles with police. I marched with EE friends, but then they got tired, and I continued by myself. I managed to walk all the way back to the rally spot, on 24th and Madison, in time to hear a number of speeches, including Amy Goodman and part of her interview with Aristide on his way to Jamaica. I got close enough to the stage to take some pics of the speakers and tape some speeches. I felt all high tech with the large memory card and the digital recorder.Unfortunatelyy, I didn't record some of the speakers names, so I can't identify them, including one of the speakers that most affected me. She was a poet from Brooklyn, and after she was announced I was expecting her to read a poem of hers. But she was so emotional, she couldn't find the words. She remembered how NYers were loving to one another after Sept. 11th, and how the most important task facing us is defeating Bush, to get his foreign policy out of office, for the benefir of the US and on behalf of all those that cannot vote in the US. The later really struck home. Another speaker was Jewishsh activist, who had gone to the south in 1960 working under Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee and spent 20 years there working for civil rights. She invoked heJewishsh ethical tradition that said, "Thou shall not stand idly by". The same principle took her to Israel and Palestine to protest Israel's occupation and control of Palestinian territories, which she compared to the segregation she saw in Southern US.
I walked back to Penn Station, up Broadway, with Bush still on my back, and there was so much street commerce it felt like a bazaar. Its mostly a African-American area, and there was a lot of support, but hardly any other evidence of the march. I made it back to Stony Brook at 8, exhausted. My voice wasn't as tired as usual, but my body ached.
I tried to get some rest, also because the last week had plenty of short nights. Sunday, I spent the afternoon and evening sorting the photos, writing a piece about the march for Portuguesese paper. And then a reply , to an editorial that appeared the the Stony Brook Statesman, titled "Election 2004: No Europeans allowed." This piece was a reaction to John Kerry statemant's about foreign leaders wanting Bush out of office and his refusal to disclose the names. I had seen the article on Friday and knew I had to reply, before even reading the it the whole way through. Just the title was offensive, particuarly because it came after the US reaction to the elections in Spain. In my reply I criticize his reation to Kerry, but also the reactions to the Spanish elections. Newsday was one of the newspapers that had run on its front page the insinuation that the elections were a victory for Al-qaida. But sunday in Newsday there was an article that was pretty good. The article talks mostly about al-Qaida, but also was where I finally read about were the islamic connection in the Spanish train bombings comes from. The Abu Hafs Al-Masri Brigade, claimed responsibility for the Madrid attacks in a letter published in a London newspaper on March 12. This is the same organization that claimed responsibility for the August 2003 blackout in the United States, calling it "Operation Quick Lightning in the Land of the Tyrant of this Generation." For those who attribute the blackout to technical failures, Abu Hafs is not a credible source.

I also spent more time that I thought it would take finding the correct reference to the mandate "Thou shall not stand idly by". It is in Leviticus 19:16. It turns out the this is the translation in the Jewish tradition, "Lo ta'amod al dam rey'echa : You shall not stand idly by while your neighbor bleeds" where it clearly means it is unethical not to act while there is human suffering. But while looking for the Portuguesese translation, I discovered that the Christian version of the verse is very different. In the King James Bible, the same passage says, "neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor". This is a different principle, not condemning inaction, but harmful action. The same divide between Jewish and Christian translations happens in Portuguese. From a Jewish Brazilian website I found the translation "Lo taamod al dam reecha; Não fique impassível ao ver o sangue do seu irmão derramado". Wheras Christians versions had "não conspirarás contra o sangue do teu próximo", "não atentarás contra a vida do teu próximo". Does this divide reflect a ethical divide as well?

Sunday morning I finished watching a PBS documentary on DVD about Islam. It traces the origins of the Crusades to the burning of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, by order of the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim, in 1009. According to the academics in the documentary, al-Hakim was legitimately mad. But this fed the hatred for the far more advanced muslims, on the part of the 'dark-ages' Christians in Europe. Although the church was rebuilt in glory by 1048, and Christians continued to practice in Jerusalem in peace, Pope Urban II traveled all throughout Europe and brought religion and military goals together. On July 15th 1099, the crusaders entered Jerusalem. They massacred its population, killing both muslims and christians, as they could not distinguish among them. In 1187, Saladin (Salah-al-Din ibn Ayyub), reconquered Jerusalem. He did not retaliate against Christians. Members of all faiths once again worshipped in Jerusalem.

2004-03-19T07:29:00.000-05:00
How is it possible that in Spain they arrested, within a week of the terrible Wednesday March 11th train bombings, killing more than 200 commuters, a number of suspects tied to the terrorist act, yet in the US so far only one person, the french citizen Zacarias Moussaoui, has been brought to trial in connection with 9/11? The Spanish have even arrested one of the most significant players in the September 11 plot, al-Qaeda's point man in Spain, Imad Eddin Barakat Yarkas, aka Abu Dahdah. This despite the hundreds of blanket arrests in the US right after 9/11. Despite the 'suspects' taken from Afganhistan and brought to Camp X-Ray in Guantanomo Bay, Cuba. Despite the 'suspects' arrested in Iraque. Not that these 'suspects' are known to have anything to do with the actual 9/11 attacks.

In Mid February, 5 British citizens were released from X-Ray and returned to Britain: Shafiq Rasul, 24; Asif Iqbal, 20; and Rhuhel Ahmed, 21 -- all from the English Midlands town of Tipton and dubbed by British tabloids "the Tipton Taliban" -- as well as Tarek Dergoul, 24, of London. The fiftth man, Jamal Udeen, was backpacking through Afghanistan, where he was jailed by the Taliban as a suspected spy. Finally, he was rescued by American troops, only to be promptly packed off to a cage in Guantanamo Bay. All five were released Tuesday, March 9th. Lord Justice Johan Steyn, a senior British judge, recently called the Guantanamo detentions "a monstrous failure of justice." Four other Britons remain incarcerated in Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay. Speaking for the first time since his release this week, Jamal Udeen, 37, from Manchester, outlined a brutal regime of oppression including being chained to the floor during 12-hour interrogations and having an unknown drug administered by injection. In a separate statement, Tarek Dergoul, 26, from east London, said he had been interrogated at gunpoint, beaten and subjected to "botched medical treatment" thought to involve amputation.

The US is also failing to aid trial trials of 9/11 suspects in other countries. In Germany, Mounir el-Motassadeq, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in February 2003 after being found guilty of 3,066 counts of accessory to murder and of playing a logistical role for the members of the Al Qaeda cell in Hamburg that produced three of the Sept. 11 pilots. Lawyers for Motassadeq asked the court to overturn the verdict, arguing that he was denied a fair trial because the United States had refused to allow testimony by Ramzi bin al-Shibh. Germany's highest court on Thursday overturned the verdict against the only person convicted of involvement in the Sept. 11 terror attacks. also citing a refusal by the United States to allow testimony from bin al-Shibh, the Hamburg court acquitted Abdelghani Mzoudi, the second suspect to be tried on charges of involvement in the attacks, of accessory to murder and membership in Al Qaeda. The court made clear that it had acquitted Mzoudi not because it was convinced of his innocence, but because the evidence was not enough to convict him (NYT March 5). Ramzi bin al-Shibh,Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni who was allegedly a key planner of the Sept. 11 attacks was arrested in September, 2002 in the Pakistani city of Karachi and is in American custody.

And then some people have the nerve to equate the change of power in the Spainish March 15th elections as a victory of al-qaeda, that the Spanish are wimps in fighting terrorism. This reveals tremendous ignorance and roguishness. The Spanish have a much longer and horrible history of domestic terrorism. They have also learned, by experience, that you can't deal with terrorism militarily. Even marginal military victories against terrorism, such as the French in Algeria, come at a huge domestic cost for a democracy, as it requires a state to go beyond the boundaries of a true democracy. I even find it offensive to say that Aznar and the PP lost because of a reaction to the train attacks. It implies that Spanish voters are so superificial they vote as a function of things that happen in the week before the election, whereas discontent with Aznar's domestic policy and the deep divide between his policy of support for the US/War in Iraq and the majority opinion against the war, that these factors accumulated over 4 years of Aznar's governance had little impact upon voter decision. Al-Qaeda may like to state that is a victory for them, but why should the pundits keep repeating their message

Roland Flamini, of UPI, reports on March 16, that the margin between the government and the opposition Socialist Labor Party, or PSOE, had been steadily narrowing since the beginning of 2004. A NOXA poll published in the newspaper Vanguardia on March 7, [before the train attacks] showed that the PSOE had closed the gap with Aznar's PP to 2.5 percent. Then on Monday the 9th, a different poll published in another leading paper, El Pais, showed the PP winning, but losing their absolute majority. The poll showed the PP dropping 11 seats in the Spanish Parliament and the PSOE picking up 16 seats. At the start of election week, it was anybody's race. If anything I like to think of this as a defeat for George W. Bush, for in part the Spanish vote reflected their opposition to Aznar following W's foreign policies and their conviction that they're wrong. That opinion has been strongly for more than a year (today's the anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq). The attacks may have brought this more to the surface, but to say they drove the elections is to undermine the intelligence of spanish voters. To spin the Spanish elections as a victory for Al-qaeda is to devalue democratic transitions, and more seriously to subscribe to the view that Bush's anti-terrorism strategy is the correct one. There are more effective, more civilized, more consensual, more constructive, and less violent means of combating terrorism.

2004-03-18T13:41:00.000-05:00
Sitting at home writing my post-doc application and my last thesis chapter. I'm taking a break from writing now .... by writing this. Outside it is snowing

Yesterday's department colloquim was by Paul Turner. It was quite interesting and he was a very good speaker. He talked about sex and complementation in viruses.. Apparently some viruses, including influenza, have multiple DNA fragments. If there is coinfection of a host, viral offspring can contain a reassortment of the fragments of parental viruses. This is for of sex in addition to recombination with host DNA. Complementation also requires coinfection, and occurs when a virus that is less fit when infecting by itself, gains a fitness benefit when coinfecting with a more fit virus - which incurs a cost in Turner's system, the bacterio+hage phi-6, because there is an upper limit to # of viruses produced in a host. He used this system experimentally to see how the forces of sex - that purge mutations - and complementation - which allow mutations to persist in a population longer - compare. This would address the question of whether sex in viruses allows them to avoid mutation load. His experiments showed that complementation was a stronger force, for populations udnergoing complementation lost mutations at a slower rate than controls. Complementation is a curious phenomena whose mechanism is not well understood. He ventured to ideas: that the less fit virus benefits either from a more efficient RNA polymerase or from an excess of protein shells produced by the fitter virus. I asked whether there were the equivalent of 'species barriers' to complementation, to which Turner replied there is a recently discovered bacteriophage phi-8 that may allow one to look into that.

In the evening, I did a performance of the Festival of One-Act Plays at Theatre Three. Jonathan Hickman and Lee Brown, my friends and housemates came. It went well - I love playing Chaplin, the scottie. Unfortunetly, Danny Amy didn't arrive in time for his act. He is directing 'Grease' at Rosylyn HS, and was there that night. We were convinced he would make it. But when it came time for the last act, 'Napkin', he wasn't there. Matt Paduano decided correctly to not go ahead with it, and made a (very) brief message that the performance was over. The actors were all standing backstage not knowing whether to come out and take a final bow. It was so bizarre I burst out laughing and had to run further into the theatre so as to not be heard.

2004-03-17T01:34:00.000-05:00
What is going on in Haiti?

In March 2003, I had read an article in the New York Review of Books on Haiti by Peter Dailey reviewing Robert Fatton Jr.'s book Haiti's Predatory Republic: The Unending Transition to Democracy. The review describes the murder of journalists and other human rights abuses, massive unemployment (80%), and the split of the Fanmi Lavalas ("Lavalas Family"), Aristide's ruling party, as a result of personal struggles for wealth and power. It painted the fall of the popular Aristide the Priest to the corrupt leader. So when I started reading reports of an uprising against Aristide in Haiti I was not surprised. I was quite surprised however when western governments started to side with the rebellion's demand to exile Aristide. Afterall, he had been elected democratically. The US had ostensiblly intervened, under Clinton, to re-enstate Aristide. As usual the situation is more complex that meets a superficial reading.

Kim Ives, editor of the Haitian newspaper, Haiti Progres, talked with Aristide while he was in Central African Republic and reported to the radio program Democracy Now! (check it for Haiti updates: Amy Goodman just flew with Aristide to Jamaica). According to Ives, the "rebels" are most assuredly U.S. financed, headed by:
Guy Philippe - former U.S. Special Forces-trained Police Chief – trained in Ecuador under their guidance
U.S.-trained police chief. He had been a soldier, was taken to Ecuador during the coup where he was trained by U.S. Special Forces, and brought back with a group of 11 others ('the Ecuadorians'). They attempted a coup under the Preval administration. He's also been accused of drug dealing in Panama and Ecuador.
Jodal Chamblain - number two of the FRAPH death squad created at the suggestion of the C.I.A., funded by the C.I.A., responsible in large measure for the -- for a majority of the 5,000 killed and disappeared in Haiti during the 1991 to 1994 coup d'etat.
John Tatoune came up from the underclass of Gonaives and was also a FRAPH head involved in the 1994 Raboteau massacre
Ives recounts how the US and France drafted a resignation letter for him, how the US ambassador, James Foley, tricked Aristide into depart from Haiti. Other interesting facts mentioned by Ives include how Aristide was working on claiming USD$21.7 billion from France for reparations for colonialism and slavery.
The new prime minister LaTortue, brought from Florida, among the first things he is said to have to restore: the Haitian military. He is the former Foreign Minister of Leslie Manica of a neo-devaluerist sector - the president who was installed by the military in 1998 after the election massacre of 1987.

And who in the Bush administration might be behind this support to Aristide ousting: Roger Noriega, assistant U.S. secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. (Excerpts from Newsday staff writer, Ron Howell March 1, 2004:
"Roger Noriega has been dedicated to ousting Aristide for many, many years, and now he's in a singularly powerful position to accomplish it," Robert White, a former U.S. ambassador to El Salvador and Paraguay, said last week.

White, now president of the Center for International Policy, a think tank in Washington, said Noriega's ascent largely has been attributed to his ties to North Carolina Republican Jesse Helms, an arch-conservative foe of Aristide who had behind-the-scenes influence over policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean before retiring from the Senate two years ago. Noriega's involvement with Haiti dates back more than a decade. In the early 1990s he was an adviser at the U.S. mission to the Organization of American States. Between 1994 and 1997, he served as a senior staff member on the House of Representatives' Committee on International Relations. Then, in 1997, he went to work for the Senate's Committee on Foreign Relations as a top aide to Helms.

Helms was passionate in his dislike of Aristide and tried mightily to stop President Bill Clinton from sending troops to restore Aristide to power in 1994 after his violent ouster three years previously. In an attempt to forestall that military action, Helms released a now-discredited CIA report purporting to show Aristide was "psychotic."Helms found a like-minded official in Noriega, who fed the senator's hostility toward Aristide, said Robert Maguire of Trinity College in Washington.)

2004-03-16T19:01:00.000-05:00
This is the one year anniversary of the death of Rachel Corrie, the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) activist who was murdered in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli bulldozer. On this day, I remember her heroism and the cruelty of the Israeli occupation she witnessed, fought against, and lost her life to. Check out her memorial website with a letter from parents "to all who have paused today to remember our daughter Rachel Corrie and to call for an end to the occupation".

UNRWA reported before October 2003 that Israel had demolished 655 houses in Gaza since September 2000, rendering 5,124 homeless, along with large tracts of agricultural land. Using figures from B'tselem, the Israeli human rights organization, Israel demolished 223 houses in 2003 and 30 so far in 2004, to March 7, and that these demolitions are conducted as punishment, "against families of persons wanted by the security forces or who have been killed." Btselem reports that Israeli security forces and armed settlers have killed 540 Palestinians since March 2003, 4 of whom were killed inside Israel's borders, 109 of whom were children under 18. At the same time, 132 Israeli civilians, including 20 children, were killed by Palestinians.

When I first saw the pictures of the bulldozer bringing her down, I was struck by the sheer inutility of the murder - I mean, although I profoundly disagree when Israeli troops shooting at Palestinian kids throwing rocks, I can at least see some, albeit violent, logic behind it. But to ram a person down that is in pure non-violent protest, in the absence of any "angry, menacing protesters" is bewildering. The other was the open fields that lay behind the bulldozer. Its not as if there was a lack of space requiring the Isrealis to make room. It was a profoundly futile murder. It qualifies as evil.

2004-03-16T18:05:00.000-05:00
The Bush administration is tactful as always (NOT!). Libya agrees to desmantle its nuclear program, and what does the US do: flaunt it in front of journalists and the world. The US Energy Secretary, Spencer Abraham, led journalistspast wooden crates containing 22,680 kilograms of machine parts used for enriching uranium, at Oak Ridge, Tennesse. [The Oak Ridge complex is where the US developed enriched uranium and the original atomic bombs in World War II. What is the US going to do with all this Libyan material?] According to Abraham this is the "tip of the iceberg" of a vastly larger quantity of sensitive technology sold to Libya by a trading network headed by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. Libya paid $US100 million ($135 million) for the nuclear components and bomb designs over two decades. Khan admitted this year that he sold such equipment to Libya, Iran and North Korea, but Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf immediately pardoned him [isn't that nice]

Libya is upset the United States has portrayed its nuclear disarmament as a victory in US nonproliferation efforts, saying it should be recognized as the fruit of international cooperation. "Libya was quite unhappy with this dog and pony show because it hurts them domestically (and) in the Arab world," said the Vienna-based official close to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) which is headquartered in the Austrian capital. "It looks like unilateral US disarmament of Libya, and Libya wants it recognized as disarmament under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and IAEA auspices," the official, who asked not to be named, told reporters in Washington. The head of the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said his agency also deserved credit for disarming Libya, a process which is being performed under UN supervision.

2004-02-11T12:28:00.000-05:00
On Feb 10th, at the Wang Center in Stony Brook University, Prof. Biju Mathew, a Taxi Worders Alliance (TWA) organizing committee member and Assistant Professor for Information Systems at Rider University, gave a talk on the conditions of taxi workers in NYC.

Some of the conditions he described are outrageous: The 'yellow cab' medalions, with a market value of approx. a $1/4 million, are held by a few owners, that lease them to drivers on a daily basis for approx. $110 for a 12hr shift. Drivers then have to pay to stock the car with gas, i.e., they start their work day with a negative balance of something like $130. Then they try to make sure that after 12 hrs of work they actually take money home and not a deficit (which is not a rare event). The situation is worse when brokers lease the medallion and sell the car to the driver: this also transfers the cost of repairs to drivers.
Since the early 1990s, over half of the yellow cab drivers are from certain regions of South East Asia, 30% are Arab and Carribean. On top of financial hardship, drivers are frequently victims of racism, which occurred quite visably after 9/11.
In 1998, the Taxi Workers Alliance was formed. Perversely cold shouldered by the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) for their organizing efforts, the TWA team called for a 24-hour strike. The strike was wildly successful. In describing the action, New York Magazine wrote, " Bhairavi Desai [TWA founding member] was the force behind the most impressive show of cabbie solidarity in the city's history." TWA boasts a 3,000 strong membership. Although New York City taxi drivers experienced a 50 percent drop in income after September 11th, they were systematically excluded from disaster assistance by government agencies and most private charities. In July 2002, in part through the efforts of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, FEMA revised its Mortgage and Rental Assistance program eligibility guidelines to include cab drivers. The New York Taxi Workers' Alliance is providing outreach and helping thousands of eligible drivers apply to FEMA before FEMA's January 31, 2003 deadline.