Well, the aristocracy in this country [what? You thought we were democratic?] is reaching new levels and brotherly love is they way to dominate and rule. Not much that we can do about it. Considering the families that we have, the mouths to feed, its best to not see things that are so obvious.

The next thing to exploding bombs, that people are afraid of are white vans. Seriously.. just can't tell when that speeding white van stops infront of you, some hefty fellows jump out and take you for a heart warming get-together in hell.

Its all in the papers, the news.. its a media bloom I tell ya.. Never has the media rights been violated so much, never have injustices taken place in plain sight and never before so published. There was a time when a scandoulous news report brought many to kneel before the courts, many a time when a harasment dealt with a single whim of a news paper reporter... not anymore. You can shout ALL you want, but there's no shame in it anymore.. infact its more publicity. "DO AS WE SAY or else......". The shouting press, the media frenzy, just serves someone's purpose...

Well, democratically elected aristocracy is probably a first time thing in this world... A new phenomenon... probably following the old saying... if you can't beat them, join them. So the political scientists must be dying to come to SL these days... SUCH rare insights into a new world ruling.. no.. world domination theory : 'Grab all you can, while the sun shines. If people shout...' What people? where?

Collective punishment is not representative of democratic processes.

Someone is not to be punished for the acts of others.

DWAYAT, in my opinion should, have been rendered unconscious by any means possible if he wouldn't stop driving - I assume the only practical way to arrest his rampage - so that he could have been put in jail for manslaughter, of course after a trial, in which I can't see how he could plead innocent and or get away, not even especially since the bias against Palestinians in Israeli courts, with his crime.

It clearly states in the BBC and Al Jazeera articles that Israeli's higher ups, such as Attorney-General Menachem MAZUZ, support collective punishment even though it may bring upon Israel "legal difficulties." But only difficulties, thank God. "Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has said that he wants to destroy the home of the driver who killed three Israelis after he rammed a bulldozer into their vehicles." This is despite that "[i]n 2005, Israel pledged to the supreme court that it will not demolish the homes of Palestinians involved in attacks on Israelis." (source)

That sounds more like revenge than justice to me.  The number of family members living in the home that was DWAYAT's is 20.  Supposedly "freedom-loving" human beings are happy with punishing twenty innocent individuals for something out of their hands.

 Are you?  

Your opinions are welcome.

What Is Globalization? - Noam Chomsky

Free Market Fantasies by Noam Chomsky 1/5

Secondly, for all Second Life people- if you have any questions or comments about this- PLEASE don't IM me in world on this topic- many of you do and I appreciate your concern, but all there is to know about this is RIGHT here, and you will save me a lot of typing of the same thing. Thanks endlessly!

Now, updates. Strap in.

Not only that I got revoked the immigration (mind you, I was initially whole heartedly approved!), I also got  accused of being a 'conspirator against the government for entering a fraudulent marriage for the purpose of evading Immigration laws of USA'. So here's the new battle. At age 27, in times where general paranoia of terrorism is at its peak, I am being stamped like this? On what basis?  This came from the immigration office where I was not asked a thing about my marriage at the interview, and where I had to literally PUSH pictures of my husband and I for the officer to look at. I got that letter from them shortly after the last post, and I still do not believe that this 'decision' is up to someone who never asked anything about me, my husband, my marriage in general....anything personal about us at all. Ultimately, this means that in case of my departure (I will not allow myself to get deported, I will depart voluntarily if need be) if I ever need or want to come back to USA  to visit friends, vacation or maybe for business- I will more then likely be denied access, even on a tourist visa under 'conspirator' tag, which...well, what does that sound like to YOU?  :/

If you aren't sure, here's a common definition of 'conspirator, conspiracy'-a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot). What's your first association after the definition?

So, at one point I was a student with a crush on her favorite professor (who hasn't had a crush on their professor/teacher at some point?) , at another point I was a chick who had enough guts to hook up with the professor because I realized he was way too cool to pass up despite the age difference and the fact my friends did not find him attractive (well, I hope that most people think like this when they choose their partner), then I became (in my husbands' words)  "...my favorite wife!" (he was married before), and then I got widowed and 'became a conspirator'.

So, since the last post, I have abandoned all hope that there is sanity on planet Earth and have taken  steps to try and resolve the situation. The steps basically include spitting out more money (non-refundable even if I get denied again), and filling out more forms, and l lastly - 'better' proving that my marriage was not fraudulent.  Oh, well.

So you tell me-  is having a joined checking account  more valid proof  that a marriage is genuine then  about a year of back and forth hand written love letters or emails and/or  sworn testimonials of numerous friends of your true relationship? In my case, about 17 people who came to our house and stayed at least a weekend with us. All of them with clean records, some with highest security clearances (one would HOPE USCIS would trust those), several of them served in the Military etc...

I have spoken to a number of professional people who deal with USCIS about this and they keep saying "Well, you have to understand that the marriage fraud is at high rates in USA."....Well, fine- now someone please tell me why don't they, just like in the good old days (at least according to what I have heard from people older then me), send a field representative to people's houses to check on them one afternoon to see whether the couple is really in a household together? There's your 'paperwork reduction act' right there. Not enough people to do that? There is at least one border patrol office in any place that deserves a title 'town' in USA, and they sit in offices. Way far from any border, really. I remember Lake Charles Border Patrol office- I lived right next to it for months- their cars were always parked nicely in the driveway. I always wondered what were they patrolling. If any official ever showed up at our house, they would have found exactly what I testified many times- me dancing around the kitchen to some strange Tibetan ambient music and making some wild food or painting in my studio (which, mind you, contained numerous portraits of my husband), and Glenn writing his book at the computer, ocasionally yelling over to me 'Come tell me what you think about this what I wrote!', Cat and dog goofing about the living room...you know...ordinary stuff...

Proof of genuine marriage...You know, when two people get married, last thing on their mind is 'Oh, let's fabricate some 'proof' that we really mean it...

The easiest thing is to open a checking account together, report address together and pay bills at same address. You don't even have to live with a person to pay their bills these days. You can do that online, and/or you can wire them cash via paypal into that checking account. I really ask myself who assumed those rules that a married couple should have a joined checking account? It might have been a common thing in the past century that as soon as you get married you do that, I don't know... Is that some kind of expected governmental prescription of how people should deal with their finances? Or what about bills? Why do I have to pay bills to prove that I love a person and that they love me? Hm.. Is 'I buy food, cook, clean and fuck you- and you pay bills and mow the grass' that unbelievable of a marriage? I am an artist- I could never balance anything in my life, least a checkbook...

Best part-having this 'evidence' is not a *law*. It's an expectation, apparently. So if you happen to have a married life different from standards of your immigration officer- or you don't pay an immigration attorney several thousand bucks to shake their finger at the agency to *prove* how serious you are- you might find yourself in my situation.

Speaking of lawyers...I cannot grasp one thing. It is a commonly known fact that you can get ahead by hiring a lawyer to fill your papers out for you and send them to the USCIS office. That costs a few thousand dollars, including hourly pay of some $250+, depending on how expensive of an attorney you get. And all they really are there for is to help you fill out forms and make sure you don't send out the wrong forms etc. For literate people, that's really not a difficult thing to do- I filled out all of my forms correctly and sent them in on time. Why would I have to spit out several thousand dollars to an attorney over a normal and legal process that doesn't by law *require* an attorney involved?

Ok, so I sent in a nice package yesterday. This is where it gets 'fun' in some surreal way.

The first time around I kind of found it over the top to present the immigration officer with pictures of my husband and I both nude on the couch. This time I sent it in. I have also enclosed emails my husband and I exchanged over a period of over one year when he would ocasionally travel to teach Martial Arts seminars. Emails that discuss getting a pet, furnishings and house arranging matters, taxes, and all other wonderful stuff any 'fraudulent' couple would not actually do. Oh, and I also included emails where my husband talks about certain parts of his anatomy acting in a certain way when he thinks of me while he's away from home.  One would hope that would authenticate that we have shared something.

It took me some 6 hours of writing a 4 page letter, filing out the form, organizing testimonials, mounting photographs, printing emails, photo copying all of the above ( the stack of paperwork grew up to be over 150 pages of miscellaneous stuff), hopping into a car at 6 PM and hauling to catch the last mail truck for the day in order to get this to them on time. And now- more waiting. (Don't you HATE when a great drama episode ends with uncertainty?)

Now seriously...I just do what I do. The opening of my latest build in SL is tomorrow. I am very excited about that... I'll keep making dresses while waiting, I'll keep feeding and cuddling my Cat and all the other wonders of being a lump of energized meat placed on a rock in the universe.  I'll keep wishing that I make it to SLCC this year to meet a bunch of SL folk I adore and know will be there...you know...'stuff'.

What else is there to do anyway?

Love,

Eshi

Diebold commits outright voter fraud ok ok for real this time outright voter fraud to install puppet presidents like George W. Bush, and members of Congress sell their votes to big oil and big pharmaceuticals and big every other group of criminals.
But a 19 year old sells his for $10 as a joke and is arrested and faces up to five years in prison and $10,000 in fines, something is very wrong here, because there are some members of Congress, well most, that would never see the light of day again if they were actually held accountable for taking bribe money.

94 Democrats in Congress took a total of $907,946 in bribe money from the likes of AT&T to sell their votes, and sold you, I, and every American out to legalize George Bush's illegal warrentless domestic spying.

So my observation is simple: When you commit felonies in America, be rich, powerful, and well connected, or be 19 years old and go to jail for 5 years over a law passed in 1893.

Excuse me while I yawn through another celebration of America’s birthday of a country born of freedom and justice, two concepts that are not shared by many people in the African American community.  It’s kind of hard to celebrate freedom and justice when people who are sensitive to the plight of people in the black community have to see the injustice of America.  In the past year Sean Bell’s murderers have been acquitted of any wrong doing when they shot up a man on his wedding day.  The murderers of Martin Anderson were also acquitted for activating his latent sickle cell trait with a baton across his neck and an ammonia tablet stuffed up his nose.  The same government that tells the poor to pull themselves up by their boot strap will move with lightning speed to save Bear Sterns from collapsing.  The Supreme Court decides that people do not have the right to sue drug companies if the FDA approves the drugs.  It’s been a banner year for justice and freedom.

It should be no surprise to anyone that I celebrate America’s birthday with a grain of salt.  The way things are going it’s all I can afford to waste these days.  The price of gas is up.  The price of food is up.  The price of everything is up with the exception of sport utility vehicles and houses.  But with the squeeze on credit and with well over four hundred thousand jobs lost so far this year, jobs that won’t be coming back no matter how well the economy recovers, fewer people can afford to buy a house anyway.  The economy looks bad and the economy for people in the black community, the economy looks even worse.  So I really don’t have a lot to celebrate today.  I have to say that I am hopeful for a brighter future.  But things look pretty bleak at the moment.

Barack Obama and John McCain promise to change things and buck the system.  But the more they talk the more people should realize the more they sound the same.  There’s the promise of lower taxes, an end to war, more education, and more prosperity.  The politicians say they understand what I’m going through.  I found this funny because John McCain admitted he hasn’t pumped or paid for gas since premium was called ethyl and Barack Obama tells black people that black men should show some responsibilities and step up to the plate on Father’s Day following the age old hypocrisy of judging the entire black community based on the negative behavior of a relatively small minority.  Neither one gives me any confidence that they understand my situation at all.

I don’t expect many people from the racially generic dominant community that is predominantly white to understand my situation.  Most white people who have taken the time to read my articles and write a response will reply with hatred and some of the most insensitive comments.  It’s all one America.  But the America that people like Cindy McCain, with her nine figures of inherited wealth, has always been most proud of takes on a totally different perspective when the wealth isn’t quite as vast and the challenges are a lot more challenging.

We have a history of celebrating young blacks who are able to overcome the challenges of life in the black community.  Why?  Because we know that this country does extraordinarily little to help people in the black community overcome the conditions of racial disparity that the dominant community imposed on the black community ever since white people stole our ancestors from their homes back on the continent.  We see the rare example of the truly successful black person who uses his or her natural talent and intellect and a little bit of luck to overcome circumstances that discourages many black people.

Some folks like to wash their hands of the conditions of the black community.  Nobody alive owned slaves and nobody alive was a slave at the peak of America’s institutionalized slavery.  Nobody is blatantly telling black people that they can’t go to school or that they can’t work anywhere they want.  We can’t do anything to discourage people from being racist when they exercise covert racism.  We don’t owe the black community anything.

But on the flipside, we didn’t have to invade Iraq to keep the Iraqi people free.  We didn’t have to help the Taliban refine their fighting skills when Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet Union.  We don’t have to support Israel to the detriment of the Palestinians and the rest of the Arab community and the Middle East.  We didn’t have to invade Vietnam.  We didn’t have to invade Korea.  We didn’t have to help institute a Marshal Plan to help rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II.  We didn’t have to airlift food to the people in Berlin when the communist iron curtain fell.  We didn’t have to help the Allied forces invade France on D-Day.  We didn’t have to impose sanctions on Cuba for retaking control of their country.  We didn’t have to bomb Kosovo or stop Slobodan Milosevic from slaughtering Albanians.  We didn’t have to do a lot of things that we choose to do as a compassionate country concerned with whatever is going on with humanity throughout the world.

It is only when we talk about doing something for black people that we start to throw our hands up in the air in frustration and bemoan the fact that we don’t have a responsibility to correct anything that might be wrong.  We can step up to the plate and go far beyond our responsibility for nearly anything that impacts people.  We just don’t have to do anything to help black people.  We don’t even step up to the plate to help black people get on their feet after a hurricane in our own backyard.  And this is the country I want to celebrate?

Just because some of us black people may be doing well individually doesn’t mean that America couldn’t do more to help the entire black community.  It might be true that we are doing better than a lot of black people in the rest of the world.  But we are not living in the rest of the world.  We are living here in America with other Americans.  Other countries aren’t responsible or able to do anything to alleviate the disparity black people live with.  America is responsible and is quite capable.

Maybe things will be better in the future.  Maybe by the time America’s three hundredth anniversary comes around we will finally have a social system that truly respects and appreciates racial and cultural diversity and doesn’t penalize people for being outside a finite definition of what is culturally acceptable.  Maybe by then we will learn that as a nationwide community we all need to be more compassionate for each other.  Maybe by America’s three hundredth birthday we will all be considerably proud of America.  And if we do find someone who isn’t as prideful as the rest of us to be here we will ask what we can do to improve our community instead of showing the animosity and the disdain for others that has become the norm for the way America treats the black community.

It's amazing to see how many folks are posting "Happy July 4th" on wordpress.com. Get an education!

From Democracy Now, July 4th, 2003:

Today is a national holiday commemorating July 4th when American colonies declared their independence from England in 1776. While many in the US hang flags, attend parades and watch fireworks, Independence Day is not a cause of celebration for everyone.

For Native Americans it is a bitter reminder of colonialism, which brought disease, genocide and the destruction of their culture and way of life.

For African Americans Independence Day did not extend to them. While white colonists were declaring their freedom from the crown, that liberation was not shared with millions of Africans who were captured, beaten, separated from their families and forced into slavery thousands of miles from home.

Today we will go back more than 150 years to hear one of the most powerful voices of the abolition movement–Frederick Douglas.

Born a slave in Maryland in 1818, Douglas escaped from slavery in the 1830s and became a leader in the growing abolition campaign through lectures and his anti-slavery newspaper The Northstar. He would become a major civil right leader in the Unites States.

Douglas gave his Independence Day oration in 1852.

Today we’ll hear excerpts of that speech as part of a dramatic reading of Howard Zinn’s classic work: A People’s History of the United States.

The great historian gathered with actors and writers several months ago at the 92nd Street Y in New York.

The cast included Alfre Woodard, Danny Glover, Marisa Tomei, Kurt Vonnegut, James Earl Jones and others.

LISTEN HERE ]]> http://westofwabansia.wordpress.com/?p=288 Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:49:52 +0000 Teddy F http://westofwabansia.wordpress.com/?p=288 It is the 4th of July. This means Hot dogs, fireworks, family, and a bunch of Americans forgetting that this holiday is really only celebrating the freedom of a few privileged rich, dead, heterosexual, white men. Hey at least there are Hot dogs. Why do black people, gay people,  poor people, and women celebrate this holiday? Is it just to get together with friends and family? Is it like thanksgiving, in that it means family/friend time more than it means independence, racism, and injustice?

Not sure, hey at least Drive me Crazy is on tv...

Someone mentioned to me, concerning my last post, how I had unevenly criticized the two sides in the bulldozer incident and had left out the fact that the Palestinian man who went on a lethal rampage had killed three innocent people and wouned upward toward 40 and that he or she hoped that I didn't think the death of innocent lives was either necessary or justifiable collateral damage.

 I suppose I should clarify my intentions and thoughts.  I wasn't writing on the incident per se, I was focusing on reactions and consequences to the incident.  I don't think that taking away innocent lives is justifiable; however, this is going to sound really harsh and bad, but I don't feel as bad when it happens to the Israeli side.  Let me explain.

The only way that normal people, innocent people - that is, I'm referencing, most Israeli citizens not in positions of leadership - will be able to do anything, or rather be convinced they should do anything, about the occupation of the West Bank and the control of the borders of the Gaza Strip is when they realize that Israelis are not the only ones suffering, that Israelis are not the only ones with a problem, that the silent Israelis are doing a disservice to their self interests when they don't push their government to take actions such as a complete stop of settlement building.  If Palestinians did not participate in violence, what would that say to Israel? That they accept the occupation - that Palestinians are okay with how they do not have basic human rights.  The freedom of movement, the right to self determination.  Why else do things like this occur?

Quick clarification point, when I refer to occupation, I am not referring to Israeli military presence in Israel Proper, but Israeli military presence in Palestinian territory as defined by the '67 borders, which means presence in all of the West Bank, including land between the Green Line and the separation/apartheid/security barrier, whatever you want to call it, and control over the Gaza Strip.

Now I know that violence sounds counter productive.  I was talking to some friends last night about this.  Someone had mentioned s/he was talking with someone else about it and this person said s/he was happy that it happened exactly because it does say to Israel, the Palestinians do not accept the occupation. My friend told this person but when violence settles down and there's more calm, things get better.

For instance, there used to be a checkpoint between Ramallah and Birzeit.  Those who went to Birzeit University who lived south of Birzeit would have to go through this checkpoint, which did not allow cars through, every day, people would have to walk about 200 meters (may two km? I can't remember) to pick up another taxi to head to school.  But things cooled down and the checkpoint eventually was taken away.  That sounds like everyone else should follow suit, right?

I don't think that the occupation will end anytime soon, and I don't just think it's cuz more sanctions will be put on the Palestinians because of acts of violence; or rather that sanctions will not be withdrawn due to acts of violence.

I went to a refugee camp yesterday, Al-Jalazoun, which has about a population of 1200 or 1300, abour 50% are kids under the age of 14.  Water is available once every two weeks. Families are so large so many kids can't get enough attention from their families that many of them have psychological issues.  Most of the residents of this camp have been living there since 1948 when Israel declared independence.  I'm pretty pumped to volunteer.

The discrepancy between the qualities of life of Palestinians and Jews living in the West Bank is a disgrace.

Literally across the street is a Jewish settlement, population 3000, size approximately the same as Al Jalazoun.  Water available everyday. Green lawns.  I haven't seen the whole shibang yet, but I can bet you that they don't have unpaved streets or unfinished building structures.

The refugees from Jalazoun have to keep away from a certain side of their camp because the settlers have a history of shooting at them.  If there are Israeli soldiers protecting the settlement, I think the requiring of the settlers by law to be armed is a little ridiculous, especially when they aren't reprimanded for shooting at innocent refugees, or regular Palestinians, who do not necessarily pose any harm.

The refugees are not allowed to build any more new structures on new land but the settlement is a different story.  Settlements every where are a different story.  Has anyone else noticed that in the past couple months settlement building/expansion has increased rapidly, especially around Jerusalem.  This is a common occurrence when there are negotiations going on between the two sides.  Most of us know that once these settlements are built, there's no turning back, Jew forever (for hopefully most will become Jewish Palestinian in the future if they insist on staying - I assume if and when Palestine becomes a country, it will not allow dual citizenship).

 However, there are instances of settlements that have gone away due to violence from the get-go.  And I never thought I would endorse violence, but what's going on between the Israelis and Palestinians a cold war, and people need to accept it.  When you're at war, which I don't approve of in the first place, what are you going to do, sit back and let your enemy destroy you and appropriate your land and hope that if you remind them that you own that land they just took that they will give it back...

or defend yourself and your rights even if it be in a manner you would under normal circumstances denounce?

Reminder, Bil'een, half an hour West of Ramallah has had about 2/3 of its land dispossess by the Wall for an expansion plan for the settlement of Modi'in Ilit.  Eleven "months after the High Court of Justice ordered the state to dismantle the segment of the separation fence near the Palestinian village of Bil'in within "a reasonable amount of time," the Defense Ministry has yet to do so. It has not even begun to plan an alternative route there, in accordance with the court's instruction." (source)

This should be an outrage among the Israeli public.  As I mentioned in a previous note, the natives of this town have been protesting peacefully every friday for the passed four and a half and a half or so years.  Even after the Israeli court decided 1700 meters of the Wall, which in Bil'een is really only a fence - thus easily removable, needed to be moved in a timely manner since it was decided in court that the plans were with the intentions of accommodating a Jewish settlement.  Kind of fishy that Israel claims to not have the funds to do it.  However some said that they've put it into the 2009 budget. A conveniently and obnoxiously long period of time that could be used to finish the expansion.  Not to mention all the funds that are being used to build the settlements in Jerusalem right now, which is clearly more problematic and controvesial since bil'een is of more interest to Bil'eenis in a general sense, whereas Jerusalem is clearly an essential part of the Palestinian state which all Palestinians, I'm sure, hope for.

If Israelis really wanted peace that would make their government stop settlement building.  Their silence is acceptance and if they support a Palestinian state, then they must support Palestinian human rights and therefor I can see no other option than to a disapproval of settlement building.

Anyway, I can see some a situation in the US where someone goes on a wild rampage and then some cop goes up to his bulldozer and shoots him in the head several times, but what I would hope for is his arrest and due process.  Israelis are pretty quick to call something a terrorist attack.  Would we call any crime in the US against innocent civilians necessarily terrorist?  Just because what happened was violence of Palestinians against Israelis doesn't pre-reserve the title of terrorist act.  Does anyone remember the settlers caught on camera beating the Palestinian a couple weeks ago?  They covered they heads and faces like militant Palestinians do, and not only physically hurt people, but instilled terror, extreme fear, in those who were watching and filming.

I guess what I was originally trying to say is that it is completely unacceptable to target innocent civilians, but the message it sends I support. We are still here.  Palestine is still occupied.  Nothing is being done about it even though those in power could do something about it.  The Israeli authorities need to stop bowing down to the conservative right and actually do what it thinks it can do to keep peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, not what would create peace between Israel and the Palestinians AND keep domestic politics at bay.  Success is never without sacrifice, and I think it's about time the rich, selfish, non impoverished nation of Israel give up some of its hubris.  Some of you survived the Holocaust, and consequently you have a nation where racism is government sanctioned in favor of Jews (thus institutionalizing what you were fleeing from, sounds quite like America, you good ol' Christian nation!), you did what you thought was impossible - made a world where you were at the top.  If you really are so insecure that you MUST be the majority then*, good job, now stop playing God.

*Recall that Israel was first Jewishly populated by Europeans, and since 1948 was predominantly Jewishly populated by Arabs. About 50% of the Jewish population in Israel Proper is of Arab decent, mostly from Morocco, Iraq and Yemen. However, Israel is still ran by the European Jews despite their being a majority.

I'm utterly disgusted.

Le Monde Diplomatique
3 July 2008
By Dahr Jamail

On June 16 I was the co-recipient of the Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism with Mohammed Omer in London. Omer is a 24 year-old Palestinian with whom I felt, and feel, honored to have shared this award. During my brief talk while accepting the award, I told the audience I could not think of anyone else I would rather share the award with. Omer’s work from his Gaza homeland has been a beacon of
humanitarian reportage; his work serves as a model of peace and attempted reconciliation with Israel for the youth in his occupied territory.

Unlike me, Omer’s journey to London to receive the award was next to impossible. When I heard the news that I was a co-recipient, I simply booked my flight from San Francisco and boarded my plane. Omer – whose home has been crushed by an Israeli bulldozer and who has seen most of his seven siblings killed or maimed by the Israeli army which occupies his homeland – struggled even to get an exit visa. The veteran journalist John Pilger, who handed us each our award, described his journey: “Getting Mohammed to London to receive his prize was a major diplomatic operation. Israel has perfidious control over Gaza's borders, and only with a Dutch embassy escort was he allowed out.”

Then, after the ceremony, came our even more different return journeys. My biggest problem was an hour’s delay for the flight back to my home country -- which last year gave Israel $2.38bn in military aid. And will again give that same amount for the coming fiscal year, along with an extra $150m. (As of July 2006 direct US aid to Israel had reached $108bn according to conservative estimates.)

Omer, on his return home last Thursday, was tortured by Israel’s security forces, Shin Bet. He was met by a Dutch official at the Allenby Bridge crossing (from Jordan to the West Bank) who was to ferry him back into Gaza. The official waited outside for Omer as he entered the Israeli building. Inside, Omer was told he was not allowed to call this embassy escort when he asked to do so; a Shin Bet officer searched his luggage and documents, and asked him for his English pounds.

Omer was surrounded by eight armed Shin Bet officers. This is how he described what happened next. “A man called Avi ordered me to take off my clothes. I had already been through an x-ray machine. I stripped down to my underwear and was
told to take off everything. When I refused, Avi put his hand on his gun. I began to cry: 'Why are you treating me this way? I am a human being.' He said, 'This is nothing compared with what you will see now.' He took his gun out, pressing it to my head and with his full body weight pinning me on my side, he forcibly removed my underwear. He then made me do a concocted sort of dance. Another man, who was laughing, said: 'Why are you bringing perfumes?' I replied: 'They are gifts for
the people I love'. He said: 'Oh, do you have love in your culture?’

"I had now been without food and water and the toilet for 12 hours and, having been made to stand, my legs buckled. I vomited and passed out. All I remember is one of them gouging, scraping and clawing with his nails at the tender flesh beneath my eyes. He scooped my head and dug his fingers in near the auditory nerves between my head and eardrum. The pain became sharper as he dug in two fingers at a time. Another man had his combat boot on my neck, pressing it into the hard floor. I lay there for over an hour. The room became a menagerie of pain, sound and terror."

Consider the fact that the Israeli Supreme Court has allowed the use of “moderate physical pressure” in the questioning of prisoners. Israel holds more than 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of them under administrative detention (no charges filed, detention can be renewed every six months).

Now consider the fourth Geneva Convention (1949): “(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities…shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.”

“To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;…(c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment…”

Former Dutch ambassador Jan Wijenberg said of what happened to Omer: “This is by no means an isolated incident, but part of a long-term strategy to demolish Palestinian social, economic and cultural life ... I am aware of the possibility that Mohammed Omer might be murdered by Israeli snipers or bomb attack in the near future.”

Janet McMahon, managing editor of the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs with whom Omer files stories, just told me he is still in hospital. “He may go home, or have an operation. He's still in a lot of pain – and it’s hard for him to swallow, or to breathe deeply. He's being fed intravenously.“

As Omer’s colleague, I cannot reconcile the disparity in our experiences. How can we reconcile something that is irreconcilable in the absence of all justice?

Le 16 juin dernier, nous avons reçu conjointement à Londres, Mohammed Omer et moi, le prix de journalisme Martha Gellhorn. Omer est un jeune Palestinien de 24 ans, avec lequel je suis fier d’avoir partagé cette distinction, comme je l’ai dit lors de la cérémonie. Son travail depuis sa terre natale de Gaza constitue un modèle de reportage humanitaire, mais aussi une tentative de réconciliation avec Israël.

Contrairement au mien, le voyage d’Omer à Londres a été presque impossible. Lorsque j’ai appris que j’allais recevoir ce prix, j’ai simplement réservé ma place sur un vol San Francisco-Londres et pris place à bord. Omer — dont un bulldozer israélien a détruit la maison et qui a vu la plupart de ses sept frères et sœurs tués ou mutilés par l’occupant — a d’abord dû se battre pour obtenir un visa de sortie.

La suite, c’est le journaliste émérite John Pilger, couronné bien avant nous, qui la décrit : « Faire venir Muhammad à Londres afin qu’il y reçoive son prix fut une véritable opération diplomatique. Israël exerce en effet un contrôle tatillon aux frontières de Gaza, et il a fallu une escorte de l’ambassade néerlandaise pour le faire sortir. »

Même après la cérémonie, nous ne sommes pas revenus chez nous de la même manière. Mon plus grave problème fut un retard d’une heure du vol pour les Etats-Unis — qui ont donné l’an dernier 3,2 milliards de dollars d’aide militaire à Israël, et lui redonneront la même somme dans la prochaine année fiscale, plus un bonus de 150 millions.

Omer, qui est rentré jeudi 26, a été maltraité par les forces de sécurité israéliennes. Un officiel néerlandais était venu le chercher au pont Allenby (qui relie, au-dessus du Jourdain, la Jordanie et la Cisjordanie) pour l’accompagner jusqu’à la bande de Gaza. Ce diplomate a attendu à l’extérieur du bâtiment israélien, à la frontière, qu’Omer lui fasse signe. Mais, à l’intérieur, on a interdit au journaliste palestinien d’appeler cette escorte diplomatique. Un officier du Shin Bet fouillait ses bagages et ses documents, et lui demandait ses livres britanniques. Soudain, il s’est retrouvé encerclé par sept membres armés des services.

La suite, il la raconte lui-même : « Un homme appelé Avi m’a ordonné de me déshabiller. Pourtant j’étais déjà passé aux rayons X. J’ai enlevé mes vêtements, ne gardant que mes sous-vêtements. Il m’a dit de les ôter aussi. Comme je refusais, il a mis la main sur son arme. Je me suis mis à pleurer : “Pourquoi me traitez-vous ainsi ? Je suis un être humain.” Il m’a répondu : “Ce n’est rien par rapport à ce que tu vas subir maintenant.” Il a alors sorti son arme, me l’a pressée sur la tête et, m’immobilisant de tout son poids, il m’a retiré de force mes sous-vêtements. Puis il m’a imposé une sorte de danse de son invention. Un autre officier m’a demandé en riant : “Tu rapportes du parfum ?” J’ai rétorqué : “Ce sont des cadeaux pour des gens que j’aime.” Il s’est écrié : “Oh, l’amour fait partie de votre culture ?” »

Omer poursuit : « J’ai ensuite attendu douze heures sans nourriture, sans eau et sans toilettes. Lorsque je devais me lever, mes jambes se dérobaient. J’ai vomi et perdu connaissance. Tout ce dont je me souviens, c’est d’un de ces hommes griffant et labourant de ses ongles la chair sous mes yeux. Après quoi il a saisi ma tête et enfoncé profondément ses doigts près du nerf auditif, à côté de mon tympan. La douleur s’est accentuée lorsqu’il a utilisé deux doigts d’un coup. La botte d’un autre homme m’écrasait le cou sur le sol. Je suis resté ainsi allongé pendant une heure. Cette pièce est devenue un lieu de souffrance, de cris et de terreur. »

Il faut savoir que la Cour suprême d’Israël a autorisé les « pressions physiques modérées » lors des interrogatoires de prisonniers, lesquels sont plus de dix mille, dont beaucoup en détention administrative (malgré l’absence d’inculpation, cette détention peut être prolongée tous les six mois).

Il faut savoir aussi que la Quatrième convention de Genève (1949) précise : « Les personnes qui ne participent pas directement aux hostilités, y compris les membres de forces armées (…), seront, en toutes circonstances, traitées avec humanité, sans aucune distinction de caractère défavorable basée sur la race, la couleur, la religion ou la croyance, le sexe, la naissance ou la fortune, ou tout autre critère analogue. (…) A cet effet, sont et demeurent prohibés, en tout temps et en tout lieu, à l’égard des personnes mentionnées ci-dessus : a) les atteintes portées à la vie et à l’intégrité corporelle, notamment le meurtre sous toutes ses formes, les mutilations, les traitements cruels, tortures et supplices ; (…) c) les atteintes à la dignité des personnes, notamment les traitements humiliants et dégradants. »

Apprenant ce qui est arrivé à Omer, l’ancien ambassadeur néerlandais Jan Wijdenberg a déclaré : « Il ne s’agit absolument pas d’un incident isolé, mais d’une stratégie à long terme pour démolir la vie sociale, économique et culturelle palestinienne. (…) Je crains que Muhammad Omer ne soit assassiné dans un avenir proche par des snipers ou un missile israéliens. » Quant à Janet McMahon, directrice du Washington Report on Middle East, la revue américaine qui publie des reportages d’Omer, elle vient de m’informer qu’il se trouve encore à l’hôpital. « Peut-être rentrera-t-il chez lui, peut-être devra-t-il être opéré. Il souffre encore beaucoup — il a du mal à avaler et à respirer. On le nourrit par intraveineuse. »

En tant que collègue d’Omer, je ne peux pas me faire à la disparité de nos expériences. Comment rêver de réconciliation en l’absence de toute justice ?
Dahr Jamail

Journaliste, auteur de Beyond the Green Zone : Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq, Haymarket Books, Chicago, 2007.

• The city of Uruk is established and ruled by an Apollonian and imperialist young man named Gilgamesh.
• Gilgamesh is perceived, by at least some of his subjects, as an unjust ruler. He, for example, overworks the city dwellers of Uruk and takes into his bed the newleywed brides of the city before passing them off to their husbands.
• The gods, worried at Gilgamesh's unbridled Apollonian and imperial power, fashion a Dionysian wild-man of equal strength to match Gilgamesh, and name him Enkidu.
• Enkidu, as an innocent and uncultivated Tarzan-like figure, does not stay in the wilderness, but undergoes a process of civilizing. The process begins by encountering a woman, followed by adopting the manners of shepherds, such as drinking from a cup. Enkidu's adoption of ever more civilized ways, however, diminishes his native born wild power.
• Enkidu, on hearing of the injustices in Uruk, becomes the young rural revolutionary who is determined to go to the big city and set the political order right:

I will go to the place where Gilgamesh lords it over people, I will challenge him boldly, and I will cry aloud in Uruk, 'I have come to change the old order, for I am the strongest here.'

It is at this point, at the end of Part One, that one of the great scenes in the Gilgamesh Epic occurs. Like Jacob at night, wrestling the angel of the Lord in the book of Genesis, so Enkidu, in a night clash, wrestles with Gilgamesh.

This wrestling scene possesses all the elements of a contemporary arena-staged World Wrestling Federation (WWF) match today. Following, for example, is how the Epic of Gilgamesh describes Enkidu entering the city. Notice that he is an outsized persona who, as it were, struts onto the city stage. He is even trailed by a sexy woman (though not here, elsewhere in the Epic the woman is described as a temple prostitute and someone who did it with Enkidu for six days and seven nights nonstop). Also notice that the crowd is abuzz in Enkidu's presence, sizing him up, and trying to decide whether he is a match for his opponent, Gilgamesh. Enkidu, from the vantage of the people in the street, is the good guy:

Now Enkidu strode in front and the woman followed behind. He entered Uruk, that great market, and all the fold thronged round him where he stood in the street in strong-walled Uruk. The people jostled; speaking of him they said, 'He is the spit of Gilgamesh.' 'He is shorter.' 'He is bigger of bone.' 'This is the one who was reared on the milk of wild beasts. His is the greatest strength.' The men rejoiced, 'Gilgamesh has met his match. This great one, this hero whose beauty is like a god, he is a match even for Gilgamesh.'

Like any good wrestling match, the challenger (in this case, Enkidu) must offer a provocation to the reigning champion (in this case, Gilgamesh). Enkidu does this by blocking Gilgamesh's way to the evening's latest virgin newleywed, waiting for her husband in the bridal chamber:

In Uruk the bridal bed was made, fit for the goddess of love. The bride waited for the bridegroom, but in the night Gilgamesh got up and came to the house. Then Enkidu stepped out, he stood in the street and blocked the way. Mighty Gilgamesh came on and Enkidu met him at the gate. He put out his foot and prevented Gilgamesh from entering the house, so they grappled, holding each other like bulls. They broke the doorposts and the walls shook, they snorted like bulls locked together. They shattered the doorposts and the walls shook. Gilgamesh bent his knee with his foot planted on the ground and with a turn Enkidu was thrown.

On being thrown, Enkidu declares:

[Y]ou are raised above all men, and Enlil has given you the kingship, for your strength surpasses the strength of men.

The Epic then states:

So Enkidu and Gilgamesh embraced and their friendship was sealed.

Dionysian Enkidu and Apollonian Gilgamesh were now a fearsome tag team with still more powerful opponents, later in the Epic, to come. 

Kashmiri Muslims Protest Against proposed facilities to Hindu Pligrims to Amarnath

Are Muslims violent - Ask the pligrims

Pls shre your views in the comment section

Fifty-four years ago to the day, a young Jewish boy from a small town in the Carpathian Mountains woke up, not far from Goethe's beloved Weimar, in a place of eternal infamy called Buchenwald. He was finally free, but there was no joy in his heart. He thought there never would be again.

Liberated a day earlier by American soldiers, he remembers their rage at what they saw. And even if he lives to be a very old man, he will always be grateful to them for that rage, and also for their compassion. Though he did not understand their language, their eyes told him what he needed to know -- that they, too, would remember, and bear witness.

And now, I stand before you, Mr. President -- Commander-in-Chief of the army that freed me, and tens of thousands of others -- and I am filled with a profound and abiding gratitude to the American people.

Gratitude is a word that I cherish. Gratitude is what defines the humanity of the human being. And I am grateful to you, Hillary -- or Mrs. Clinton -- for what you said, and for what you are doing for children in the world, for the homeless, for the victims of injustice, the victims of destiny and society. And I thank all of you for being here.

We are on the threshold of a new century, a new millennium. What will the legacy of this vanishing century be? How will it be remembered in the new millennium? Surely it will be judged, and judged severely, in both moral and metaphysical terms. These failures have cast a dark shadow over humanity: two World Wars, countless civil wars, the senseless chain of assassinations -- Gandhi, the Kennedys, Martin Luther King, Sadat, Rabin -- bloodbaths in Cambodia and Nigeria, India and Pakistan, Ireland and Rwanda, Eritrea and Ethiopia, Sarajevo and Kosovo; the inhumanity in the gulag and the tragedy of Hiroshima. And, on a different level, of course, Auschwitz and Treblinka. So much violence, so much indifference.

What is indifference? Etymologically, the word means "no difference." A strange and unnatural state in which the lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil.

What are its courses and inescapable consequences? Is it a philosophy? Is there a philosophy of indifference conceivable? Can one possibly view indifference as a virtue? Is it necessary at times to practice it simply to keep one's sanity, live normally, enjoy a fine meal and a glass of wine, as the world around us experiences harrowing upheavals?

Of course, indifference can be tempting -- more than that, seductive. It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction.

Over there, behind the black gates of Auschwitz, the most tragic of all prisoners were the "Muselmanner," as they were called. Wrapped in their torn blankets, they would sit or lie on the ground, staring vacantly into space, unaware of who or where they were, strangers to their surroundings. They no longer felt pain, hunger, thirst. They feared nothing. They felt nothing. They were dead and did not know it.

Rooted in our tradition, some of us felt that to be abandoned by humanity then was not the ultimate. We felt that to be abandoned by God was worse than to be punished by Him. Better an unjust God than an indifferent one. For us to be ignored by God was a harsher punishment than to be a victim of His anger. Man can live far from God -- not outside God. God is wherever we are. Even in suffering? Even in suffering.

In a way, to be indifferent to that suffering is what makes the human being inhuman. Indifference, after all, is more dangerous than anger and hatred. Anger can at times be creative. One writes a great poem, a great symphony, one does something special for the sake of humanity because one is angry at the injustice that one witnesses. But indifference is never creative. Even hatred at times may elicit a response. You fight it. You denounce it. You disarm it. Indifference elicits no response. Indifference is not a response.

Indifference is not a beginning, it is an end. And, therefore, indifference is always the friend of the enemy, for it benefits the aggressor -- never his victim, whose pain is magnified when he or she feels forgotten. The political prisoner in his cell, the hungry children, the homeless refugees -- not to respond to their plight, not to relieve their solitude by offering them a spark of hope is to exile them from human memory. And in denying their humanity we betray our own.

Indifference, then, is not only a sin, it is a punishment. And this is one of the most important lessons of this outgoing century's wide-ranging experiments in good and evil.

In the place that I come from, society was composed of three simple categories: the killers, the victims, and the bystanders. During the darkest of times, inside the ghettoes and death camps -- and I'm glad that Mrs. Clinton mentioned that we are now commemorating that event, that period, that we are now in the Days of Remembrance -- but then, we felt abandoned, forgotten. All of us did.

And our only miserable consolation was that we believed that Auschwitz and Treblinka were closely guarded secrets; that the leaders of the free world did not know what was going on behind those black gates and barbed wire; that they had no knowledge of the war against the Jews that Hitler's armies and their accomplices waged as part of the war against the Allies.

If they knew, we thought, surely those leaders would have moved heaven and earth to intervene. They would have spoken out with great outrage and conviction. They would have bombed the railways leading to Birkenau, just the railways, just once.

And now we knew, we learned, we discovered that the Pentagon knew, the State Department knew. And the illustrious occupant of the White House then, who was a great leader -- and I say it with some anguish and pain, because, today is exactly 54 years marking his death -- Franklin Delano Roosevelt died on April the 12th, 1945, so he is very much present to me and to us.

No doubt, he was a great leader. He mobilized the American people and the world, going into battle, bringing hundreds and thousands of valiant and brave soldiers in America to fight fascism, to fight dictatorship, to fight Hitler. And so many of the young people fell in battle. And, nevertheless, his image in Jewish history -- I must say it -- his image in Jewish history is flawed.

The depressing tale of the St. Louis is a case in point. Sixty years ago, its human cargo -- maybe 1,000 Jews -- was turned back to Nazi Germany. And that happened after the Kristallnacht, after the first state sponsored pogrom, with hundreds of Jewish shops destroyed, synagogues burned, thousands of people put in concentration camps. And that ship, which was already on the shores of the United States, was sent back.

I don't understand. Roosevelt was a good man, with a heart. He understood those who needed help. Why didn't he allow these refugees to disembark? A thousand people -- in America, a great country, the greatest democracy, the most generous of all new nations in modern history. What happened? I don't understand. Why the indifference, on the highest level, to the suffering of the victims?

But then, there were human beings who were sensitive to our tragedy. Those non-Jews, those Christians, that we called the "Righteous Gentiles," whose selfless acts of heroism saved the honor of their faith. Why were they so few? Why was there a greater effort to save SS murderers after the war than to save their victims during the war?

Why did some of America's largest corporations continue to do business with Hitler's Germany until 1942? It has been suggested, and it was documented, that the Wehrmacht could not have conducted its invasion of France without oil obtained from American sources. How is one to explain their indifference?

And yet, my friends, good things have also happened in this traumatic century: the defeat of Nazism, the collapse of communism, the rebirth of Israel on its ancestral soil, the demise of apartheid, Israel's peace treaty with Egypt, the peace accord in Ireland. And let us remember the meeting, filled with drama and emotion, between Rabin and Arafat that you, Mr. President, convened in this very place. I was here and I will never forget it.

And then, of course, the joint decision of the United States and NATO to intervene in Kosovo and save those victims, those refugees, those who were uprooted by a man whom I believe that because of his crimes, should be charged with crimes against humanity. But this time, the world was not silent. This time, we do respond. This time, we intervene.

Does it mean that we have learned from the past? Does it mean that society has changed? Has the human being become less indifferent and more human? Have we really learned from our experiences? Are we less insensitive to the plight of victims of ethnic cleansing and other forms of injustices in places near and far? Is today's justified intervention in Kosovo, led by you, Mr. President, a lasting warning that never again will the deportation, the terrorization of children and their parents be allowed anywhere in the world? Will it discourage other dictators in other lands to do the same?

What about the children? Oh, we see them on television, we read about them in the papers, and we do so with a broken heart. Their fate is always the most tragic, inevitably. When adults wage war, children perish. We see their faces, their eyes. Do we hear their pleas? Do we feel their pain, their agony? Every minute one of them dies of disease, violence, famine. Some of them -- so many of them -- could be saved.

And so, once again, I think of the young Jewish boy from the Carpathian Mountains. He has accompanied the old man I have become throughout these years of quest and struggle. And together we walk towards the new millennium, carried by profound fear and extraordinary hope.

Well, we were there. Regulars may be thinking that we spend our lives heading off to big rock gigs, but that's far from the truth. Still, this felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Mandela on his last visit to the UK and quite possibly his last major public appearance.

The Gig Itself

The concert was great in its own way - could have done without the Sugababes who didn't seem to manage to be in tune very much - and the remaining half of Queen seemed a curious choice to close out the night. I also just wish Annie Lennox had sung some of her own stuff as well as her impressive, impassioned speech about HIV/AIDS in Africa - and of course it would have been so much better to have had Bono & The Edge in person rather than on the big screen. But for all that, it was a great night.

And we particularly loved the African musicians - one of the most moving moments was the guy Peter Gabriel came on stage to introduce: Emmanuel Jal (right). He was a child soldier in Sudan - and was rescued by an aide worker called Emma McCune - about whom he wrote a song that he sang. (She was an extraordinary figure, an English girl from a private school background who controversially ended up marrying the Sudanese guerilla commander Riek Machar and then was killed in a car crash in Nairobi. All the subject of a fascinating book called Emma's War.)

There was also a showing from East Africa - Kenyan Suzanna Owiyo and Ugandan BBCool who were both great in their very different ways. Johnny Clegg brought back childhood memories for Rachel and did a great duet with the legendary Joan Baez (although both seemed to battle against technology to be heard). The other South African appearances were great too - especially The Soweto Gospel Choir who backed nearly everyone. Eddy Grant did the old protestors' favourite of Gimme me hope, Jo'anna. I could go on. But the big highlight was the duet of South African Vusi Mahlasela and American crooner Josh Groban singing Weeping (below).

For those who don't know it, the song Weeping has a powerful story. Written by Dan Heymann while he was a soldier drafted into the South African apartheid regime army, it poignantly conveys the absurdities and horrors of apartheid in ways that only music can. Mahlasela and Groban have recorded it together with Ladysmith Black Mambazo and you can/should get it from iTunes here - as have the Soweto String Quartet (whose recording was the first i'd heard). Both arrangements brilliantly weave the new South African national anthem Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika (=God Bless Africa in Xhosa) into the background.

The Man Himself

But of course the centrepiece was the 90 year old man himself. And he looked frail, unsteady and uncertain, perhaps a little deaf, perhaps short-sighted. Countless performers went on about how good he looked for 90 and that is certainly true. But it was poignant to see Graca Machel gently steer him to the podium and then tell him when to wave, and then in classic African idiom, whisper to him at the end (but caught on the PA) 'we're moving now, papa'. It is not without reason that he is commonly regarded now as the world's favourite grandfather.

And yet, when for those brief moments that he spoke, Hyde Park was silenced. It was crystal clarity, and that voice, so unmistakably Mandela's, rang out - and the moral authority of a man who has suffered, forgiven and led a nation into peaceful transition, transfixed his audience once again. It was unforgettable - and he is surely right about HIV/AIDS - it is not so much a disease as a human rights issue (especially when there are so many competing interests in the western pharmaceutical industry as well as endemic corruption in African health institutions).

So Mandela is my hero. He is certainly unique - and his impact on the modern world is unmatched. It felt right and proper to honour him.

But there are limits, with which I feel sure he would agree. And when compere June Sarpong got carried away by the moment (or at least I hope that that was the reason) and suddenly described him as 'the greatest human being who had ever lived' I balked, and so did a teenage boy standing just behind us. When this lad muttered 'but what about Jesus?' I could only agree. The thought was picked up by the Daily Telegraph review the next morning which noted:

20 years after massed superstars gathered at Wembley to demand his release from Robben Island jail, Mandela has evolved into a quasi-Christ figure.

Of course it was a gift for me - because I was preaching on Jesus being the Son of Man who forgives 2 evenings later - and had already decided to take the theme of our contemporary yearning for superheroes. And while Mandela has showed remarkable Christlike qualities, neither he (nor his honoured memory post-mortem) will ever be able to deliver on what we demand from our heroes. For idols never come up with the goods in the end. They simply can't. And I feel sure that Mandela doesn't believe any of the hype about himself, and nor do his family. For the they know of what he is made, despite his undeniably great and awesome qualities - and they are merely exploiting (legitimately in my opinion) the currency of his fame and prestige for great good, namely the conquest of HIV/AIDS. Revisionists will appear in decades to come and find all kinds of chinks in his armour, all kinds of skeletons, as they seek to right the excesses of hagiographers. And indeed the better biographies make it clear that he is no saint (Anthony Sampson's biography is my favourite) but is a human being like the rest of us. Well, no surprises there. And in no sense does this diminish what he has achieved. It should merely prevent us from absurdities and idolatries.

So all in all it was a great night. And we were near enough to get some fantastic photos (which you can see on my Flickr page). My favourite was not actually of the stage at all. The VIPs stand was off to the side, at the top of which was Mandela's personal 'booth'. I turned around and took pics of it every now and then, unsure of what would come out or be visible. Imagine my joy the next morning when i sifted through them and found this one. It needed playing around with the exposure a bit and it is not quite in focus. But you can clearly see the great man sharing a joke with our dearly beloved Prime Minister, Gordon Brown. How cool is that?!

"For our Freeze Project moments, we would like to draw a couple of hundred people at a time to participate in drawing attention to some of the social injustices of the world. Instead of protesting, we would like to create an experience that is fun, non-intrusive (in your face activism), and inclusive. We believe that we could use “the Freeze” to draw attention in a crowd, which will then be followed up with a brief handout to people about a particular social injustice in the world."

And here is a video from the past event at Downtown Disney

Ms. Johnson, a petite (5'1") honor student, promptly enlisted in that branch of the armed forces after graduating high school. She died after only 8 weeks at her station, a suicide per the Army. Her father believes that she was the victim of a combination rape/murder and that the ensuing investigation is a cover-up of suspicious activity.

The following circumstances are known:

• Her body was found in a contractor's tent, not her living quarters, and there was a bloody trail leading away from said shelter.
• A bullet and an exit wound were found at the front of her head above her left eye. Assuming she was unable to unhinge her jaw, this appears to contradict the Army's claim that she shot herself in the mouth with an M-16 rifle.
• Further complicating the "magic bullet" theory is the fact that the hole, allegedly the result of a rifle shot to the head, is too small to have caused the exit wound, which was consistent with revolver fire. The hole is also on the wrong side of the right-handed woman's skull.
• Her genitalia was burned with a caustic material, possibly lye or acid. It is possible this was done to conceal evidence.
• Beyond the bullet hole, there were several injuries to her body, including a broken nose, loose teeth, abrasions all over her person, and a concaved eye.
• Despite being clothed at the crime scene, autopsy pictures of the body showed evidence of burns to the right hand side of her body and blood pooling inside the opposite side her body after she died.
• A pair of white military-issued gloves were glued to her hands after they were burned.
• Photos and documents related to the investigation were released to her father, but not before he had to make use of the Freedom of Information Act to get them and U.S. Representative Wm. Lacy Clay made reference to her at a Congressional hearing for Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch.
• A sketch of the crime scene shows: Johnson lying face-up in two large pools of blood, her right forearm across her face; a cot/stretcher between Johnson's body and her weapon she is said to have shot herself with; and an aerosol can between a tent window, where a fire was set, and Johnson's right leg.
• Originally designated a crime scene, the investigation was halted at the order of a general.

In short:

"...the Army has continued to insist that the LaVena committed suicide by pointing her rifle with her non-dominant hand at..her head....and set herself on fire, all after she beat herself up and poured acid on her genitals..." (Jezebel)

As of June 4, this case is considered closed and no further investigation is planned.

This is absolutely inconceivable.

It is also not an isolated incident: ten families have contacted the Johnsons with similar stories, the common thread between them all being rape.

We have to wonder why this story is not being covered by the domestic (U.S.) mass media. Many of the outlets that are covering this story are smaller local papers and foreign publications.

We have to wonder why the military and the government have been so reluctant to investigate the death of a soldier. This cannot be what they mean when they talk of supporting the troops or staying the course.

How do you fight an enemy you're supposed to be protecting because you wear the same uniform?

--DC

Sources: here, here , here, here, here

Video via KMOV TV.

Physicians blamed the delayed care on shrinking budgets that have prompted many hospitals to either consolidate mental health services or shut them down completely.

Well that will get attention. Psych patient left to die. This hellhole is more than likely one of many.

I'm taking that horrific point and running with it.....I wonder what "physicians'" excuses are for lackadaisical care/attention *that's puttin' it mildly*, when they read on a chart, hear in report or from the patient while taking a personal health history.....that there is a *gasp* History of "mental illness"

The feline *I'm draggin ya in here C-please tell your story* has been through this recently and I've lived it too-I'll bet many of you have as well.

Who has had serious physical complaints blown off as "some psych issue" once any psych history question had been answered truthfully? This includes: giving some intake triage clerk/nurse a med list (ssri's are included),  just sayin' "Yeah, I've been depressed before", as well as going to see a specialist for the first time.....anyone else?

Be careful how you answer that type of question. Your life could depend on it.

Do psych patients have to publicly die in inhumane ways for people to notice how real discrimination does exist in this country? A discrimination caused by a stereotype (flamed by media hype or that cat poop guy...also see: pit bull under media hype)  Discrimination. The kind that turns a person into a non-human through another's eyes.

I'm talking about a discrimination so vile that it causes a so called medical professional's eyes to glaze over, ears to fill with sludge and then he turns into a mind numbed automaton that can only spout some version of "It's a different manifestation of your mental illness"

That's the short version...AKA "What Happens at the Office"

If you are unlucky enough to be in the ER and perhaps in pain because your internal organs feel as if they are exploding.....you may run across Resident Boy Genius who likes to think of his patients as textbooks...he may label you "duel diagnosis depressed patient." In other words...Until you are taken seriously by someone with common sense and a heart, (or coding-whichever comes first)  you are thought of as a nut-job with a substance abuse problem.

Be careful how you react to this species of professional. While being your own best advocate, even while in pain...remain firm but calm...or...you guessed it, you will validate his stereotypignosis. You'll then be shipped off to the psych ward and still be sick. I have seen it-some were not even psych patient material...try CONFUSED DUE TO HYPOXIA, BOY GENIUS.  Also, respiratory acidosis is not a psych term...yeah, I'm a psych discriminating doc's worst effen nightmare, I've seen the piss-poor treatment they provide and have also been treated like a 2nd class patient.

That's some real discrimination. Failure to diagnose...failure to listen....failure to treat...failure to humanize...failure to think...to give a rat's ass, all because of what is written in a chart or how one may be perceived.

I won't even go into what happens to people with that label in what most consider day to day life. You know, filling out routine forms or just questions most don't think twice about answering...that sort of thing.

Think twice about it.

If you are tempted to pick up the phone to make an appointment for the miracle cure advertised on television or in a magazine-when you feel as if they are describing you at brief moments during stressful times in your life...think twice about that too.

That label is for life and it is not as free as the samples they like to hand out at the pdoc's.

I committed bank robbery and they put me in prison, and that was right. Then I committed journalism and they put me in the hole. And that was wrong.

This book is worth far more than the dollar I payed at The Strand. The majority of the books in those $1 and 48 cent bins at The Strand are there for a reason - most are obscure and lack literary value. I found plenty of good/known books during the winter months because no one will stand outside and sift through random titles in 20 degree weather. (I've learned the hard and painful way to always wear gloves) During the summer, however, all bins are pretty much crowded at all hours of the day as pedestrians stop and glance the titles for a few minutes on their way home.

This book reminded me of why I used to read so much - I got 100 pages within a day. Dannie M Martin, a convicted criminal of bank robbery, sent his manuscript to Peter Y. Sussman, an editor for the Chronicle.  Sussman successfully interweaves Martin's articles among his storytelling of exactly how Martin "committed journalism." At first glance Sussman's constant commentary would seem annoying, but everything transitions very well and provides necessary background information to understand the consequences and significane of Martin's writing.

I'm surprised that I've never heard of this book because it's really exceeding my expectations. I suppose what made Martin successful as a writer because that's what his goal was - to be a writer, reporting the reality of prison, as opposed to complain that he's serving 15 years in prison. He acknowledges that he was rightfully convicted and didn't belong in society at the time. However, he reminds us that convicts are still human beings and the majority do not serve a 957-year sentence as a demented serial killer. (Jeffrey Dahmer) I'm the first one to advocate women's rights and proper justice because of my own past and lack of the latter, but at the same time society cannot create monsters out of bank robbers and drug dealers.

New York Times writer Miles Corwin interviewed Dannie M Martin:

Simply "warehousing criminals is not the answer. "A Lot of people have the attitude: 'The Hell with those guys. Lock them up and throw away the key.' But say you take a few thousand guys and lock them all up for fifteen years in the most brutal, violent places. Pretty soon everyone - even the ones who don't deserve that kind of punishment - turn into the kind of monsters it takes to survive in there."

For fifteen years, he said, the "hard-liners" are happy because the criminals are off the streets. But, he asked, what happens when the fifteen years are up?