http://www.hiddenfromhistory.org/
To say that I was sickened as I heard this report today (this is a former priest, who uncovered deliberate and well-hidden genocide, particularly of young children, as young as 2 years old, on the part of the Canadian government (the Mounties were the enforcers) and the various churches... This was in the late 19th and up to the middle of the 20th century; Christian mission schools 'educated' these children and killed them, exposed them to TB, raped them... hundreds of thousands of innocent young children... There is a documentary that I want to buy; it is going to be difficult to watch... And by the way, besides the fact that these aboriginal inhabitants of the Canadian lands were there to begin with, they were said to be incapable of owning land... they were just 'holding it' from the rightful owners (i.e. the invaders and colonizers). This may still be the law in Canada... Boycott the f...ing Olympic games!
Then I was listening to Nora Barrows-Friedman writing from Hebron, occupied West Bank, about Israeli military abducting young boys, beating them until they required treatment for internal bleeding... while holding the parents at gunpoint so they couldn't defend their child... http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article11120.shtml
And earlier, or the night before, a special on torture, where a US high official (can't recall which one... it's all a blur... I was sitting on the couch with tears and rage and a total inability to comprehend...) asked whether it was necessary (as Cheney continues to maintain, unrepentant - which is the position of the Israelis and of the Canadians...) to crush or threaten to crush the testicles of a young boy whose father was being questioned... and I don't know what it is that we are, I can't say what we have become, because obviously we did it, again and again, and continue to do it to this day... I don't know of any animal other than the human animal that does these things...
Oh, I forgot... there is a common element... it's called greed. In Canada, they were trying to clear the land of 'aboriginals' so they could log to their heart's content. In Palestine, idem. And why, pray tell, are we in Iraq, Afghanistan, or any of the other places we have invaded in the past, either through our own acts and deeds or those of 'allies' that have no commissions of inquiry to respond to?
To Mr. Obama, to everyone in his administration: It has to be repudiated. With regard to Israel, you can't keep saying that the ties between our country and theirs are unbreakable. They are committing unspeakable genocide. To Canada, own up and pay up. To France, with regard to Haiti, the same. And the list goes on.
Silvia, physically tired from difficult physical training, and emotionally exhausted from 'human' doings... I can't do this anymore. I want to emigrate to Jupiter or to Pluto... I don't want to be a part of this execrable human race...
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
The endless specter of torture
Link TV had yet another program on torture... Every time a torture exposé comes on I promise myself I won't watch this time, because it sickens me, makes me feel exposed and vulnerable and very very angry at the same time, as though I am somehow lacking because I let this go on, although I have been ranting about it for years and years, and it was the subject of some of my songs when I had gigs, in Crawford, Texas, and in DC and in the Poconos, and nothing came of it, none of my impassioned pleas for impeachment, indictment and imprisonment...
Here in this very bitácora are writings on torture, on the moral imperative of a nation that is governed by the rule of law, but we have decided to omit or disregard the reckoning, as if such horrors could ever be forgotten, never mind that we saw Japanese soldiers put to death for waterboarding during the 2nd World War, but ah, always different rules for the new Empire, even though the Emperor has no clothes...
http://www.linktv.org/programs/torture-on-trial
http://www.linktv.org/programs/blueprint-for-accountability-working-the-dark-side
Here in this very bitácora are writings on torture, on the moral imperative of a nation that is governed by the rule of law, but we have decided to omit or disregard the reckoning, as if such horrors could ever be forgotten, never mind that we saw Japanese soldiers put to death for waterboarding during the 2nd World War, but ah, always different rules for the new Empire, even though the Emperor has no clothes...
http://www.linktv.org/programs/torture-on-trial
http://www.linktv.org/programs/blueprint-for-accountability-working-the-dark-side
Sunday, March 7, 2010
El día internacional de la mujer/International Women's Day
El día internacional de la mujer se celebra a través del mundo, si bien poca gente en los Estados Unidos lo conoce o celebra. Conmemoramos, entre otras cosas, la muerte de más de 146 obreras jóvenes en el fatídico fuego de la fábrica Triangle Waist que ocurrió en marzo de 1911. Sin embargo, los datos que nos proporciona la historia indican que esta celebración representa la historia de miles de mujeres (y hombres) en la lucha por mejores condiciones laborales y por el derecho a "pan y paz" o a "pan y rosas." No olvidemos nunca la huelga sexual de Lysistrata en la Grecia de antaño para terminar con una guerra, o a las mujeres de París marchando durante la revolución francesa exigiendo el derecho al voto, gritando a lo largo de su protesta, libertad, igualdad y fraternidad.
El 8 de marzo del 1857, obreras de fábricas textiles y de ropa declararon una protesta y huelga general en la ciudad de Nueva York en contra de salarios bajos y condiciones pésimas de trabajo. Buscaban que se les redujeran las horas de trabajo a 10 horas diarias, que se les pagara la misma cantidad que a los hombres, y que se les permitiera tiempo para amamantar a sus hijos. Fueron atacadas por la policía y obligadas a terminar la marcha, pero dos años después, también en marzo, establecieron su primer sindicato.
Hubo más protestas otros 8 de marzo en otros años. Por ejemplo, en 1908, 15,000 mujeres marcharon a través de la ciudad de Nueva York exigiendo menos horas de trabajo, mejor paga, y el derecho al voto. Ahora bien, el primer Día Internacional de la Mujer se celebró el 28 de febrero de 1908 en los Estados Unidos, luego de una declaración al respecto por parte del Partido Socialista Norteamericano.
En 1910, la primera conferencia internacional de mujeres fue celebrada en Copenhague por la Internacional Socialista, y en esa conferencia se estableció la celebración de un Día Internacional de la Mujer, en reconocimiento al movimiento global por el voto y los derechos de la mujer. A la conferencia asistieron más de 100 delegadas de 17 países, y la propuesta de que se instituyera un día internacional de celebración tuvo aprobación unánime.
En 1911, este día fue celebrado por más de un millón de mujeres y hombres en Austria, Dinamarca, Alemania y Suiza. Las alemanas habían escogido la fecha del 19 de marzo porque en esa fecha en el 1848, el rey pruso les había prometido a las mujeres el derecho al voto.
En marzo del 1911 ocurrió el fuego en la fábrica Triangle Waist. La firma Triangle Waist era típica de las fábricas o talleres explotadores de sus obreros en aquellos tiempos. A los obreros se les tenía encerrados como animales y se les obligaba a trabajar largas horas bajo condiciones peligrosas y poco sanitarias. En el 1909, ya había ocurrido un incidente en esa fábrica que provocó que los 400 trabajadores, en su mayor parte muchachas, se marcharan del trabajo en protesta. La Liga Sindical de Mujeres, una asociación progresista de mujeres blancas de clase media, había ayudado a las jóvenes obreras a formar piquetes y a protegerse de los criminales anti-laborales y de la provocación de la misma policía. En una reunión histórica en Cooper Union, miles de obreras textiles de fábricas a lo largo de la ciudad de Nueva York siguieron el llamado de la joven Clara Lemlich de que había que llevar a cabo una huelga general. Al final de la huelga se llegó a un acuerdo que estableció uno de los primeros sistemas de querellas contra los patronos. Pero muchas de las fábricas y talleres en la ciudad no tenían sindicatos laborales, porque en su mayoría empleaban a inmigrantes.
El sábado 25 de marzo de 1911, empezó un fuego en los pisos superiores del edificio Asch, en la ciudad de Nueva York, donde estaba localizada la fábrica Triangle Waist Factory. En pocos minutos el fuego en la fábrica había sido causa de la muerte de 146 chicas. Las puertas estaban cerradas con candados para que las chicas no pudieran irse antes de la hora de salida. Muchas chicas saltaron del noveno piso, para morir desbaratadas sobre las aceras de la gran ciudad. Esta tragedia cambió para siempre las condiciones laborales en la ciudad de Nueva York. Las chicas tenían entre 15 y 23 años, y eran en su mayoría inmigrantes italianas, alemanas, rusas e irlandesas. El edificio solamente tenía una escalera de incendio. Y no hay duda de que las puertas de salida estaban selladas con candados. Los dueños del edificio, Blanck y Harris, fueron declarados no culpables en un juicio que se les hizo por asesinato. Años después le pagaron $75 por cabeza a 23 de las familias de muchachas muertas que habían puesto una demanda civil.
A partir de este fuego, todas las celebraciones del día internacional de la mujer han incluído una conmemoración de las víctimas del fuego, muertes que realmente no tuvieron razón de ser, y que indican de nuevo que la avaricia conlleva resultados fatales. En 1975, las Naciones Unidas se unió a la causa, y ahora la celebración cuenta con su apoyo. Es de suma importancia este día para recordar todo lo que ha ocurrido, las luchas, las dificultades, los logros y victorias, y para poder determinar todo lo que aún tenemos que hacer antes de que nos podamos considerar como parte de un mundo justo y cuerdo.
El 2005 fue el año de la celebración de Pekín + 10. En el año 1995 en Pekín, las naciones miembros de la Comisión sobre el Estado de la Mujer de las Naciones Unidas se reunieron para crear pautas que permitieran medir el grado de progreso en cuanto al logro de la igualdad sexual. En Pekín +5, en el 2000, se reunieron de nuevo para revisar dichos logros y explorar las estrategias necesarias para acelerar el proceso de igualdad. En 2005 se celebró Pekín + 10 y las mismas naciones se reunieron en la ciudad de Nueva York para continuar la discusión, discutir el progreso y el trabajo que queda por hacer en asuntos como los derechos humanos, la violencia contra las mujeres y niñas, la salud, el trabajo sin paga, la pobreza y la diversidad de la mujer. El gobierno norteamericano, aislado por otros países, acordó finalmente firmar la Plataforma de Pekín y retirar una enmienda que había propuesto con relación al derecho de la mujer a servicios reproductivos. Esta es una victoria para la mujer a través de nuestro malherido planeta.
El Día Internacional de la Mujer es la historia de todas las mujeres en la lucha por una participación equitativa en la sociedad. En estos momentos en que más y más mujeres, tanto en los Estados Unidos como en otros países, viven en un estado cada vez mayor de pobreza, y continúan sufriendo de condiciones laborales de desigualdad, de discriminación sexual, de crímenes de violencia dirigidos específicamente contra la mujer, tenemos que unirnos como un ser indivisible para lograr que todos los habitantes de este planeta, sin importar su sexo, tengan los mismos derechos y tengan voz y voto en todo lo que les concierne.
El místico inglés John Donne dice muy bien que ningún hombre (o mujer) es una isla, sino parte del continente, y que la muerte de cualquier hombre o mujer nos disminuye, porque estamos envueltos con la humanidad, y por lo tanto, nunca preguntemos por quién tañen las campanas: tañen por cada uno de nosotros.
Silvia Antonia Brandon y Pérez
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Women's Day is celebrated throughout the world, and commemorates, among other things, the death of over 146 young female workers in the Triangle Waist Factory Fire of March, 1911. But historical data makes clear that this celebration is very much the story of the work of thousands of women (and men) attempting to obtain better working conditions and the right to "bread and peace," or "bread and roses." Let us never forget the sexual strike instigated by Lysistrata in ancient Grece in order to end war, or Parisian women's march on Versailles to demand women's right to vote during the French Revolution, to the call of liberty, equality and fraternity.
On the 8th of March, 1857, women from clothing and textile factories held a protest and general strike in New York City against low wages and poor working conditions. They sought a reduction of the working day to ten hours, equal pay for work done, and time off to breast feed their young. They were attacked and made to disperse by the police, but two years later, also in March, they established their first labor union.
More protests followed on March 8 in other years, including 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. However, the first IWD was observed on February 28th, 1908 in the US following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.
In 1910, the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen by the Socialist International and an International Women's Day established, intended to honor a global movement for women's rights and suffrage. The conference had over 100 women delegates from 17 countries, and the proposal for an international day of delebration was greeted with unanimous approval.
In 1911, IWD was celebrated by over a million women and men in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date of March 19th was chosen by German participants because the Prussian King had promised the vote to women on that date in 1848.
In March of 1911 the Triangle Waist Factory Fire occurred. The Triangle Waist Company was typical of sweatshops of the day, in which workers were herded together and forced to work long hours under unsanitary and dangerous conditions. In 1909, an incident at the Triangle Factory had caused a walkout of its 400 employees. The Women's Trade Union League, a progressive association of middle class white women, had helped the young women workers picket and fence off thugs and police provocation. At a historic meeting at Cooper Union, thousands of garment workers from all over the city followed young Clara Lemlich's call for a general strike. A historic agreement was reached which established a grievance system. But many sweatshops, employing immigrant workers, were not unionized.
On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building, where the Triangle Waist Factory was located, and within minutes the factory, locked by the owners so the women could not leave work, had claimed the lives of 146 girls. Girls jumping out of 9th floor windows to their death and the final carnage changed working conditions in New York forever.
The girls were mostly Italian, German, Russian and Irish immigrants, ages 15 to 23. The building had only one fire escape and there is no question that the doors leading out of the factory had been locked by the owners of the factory, who were later acquitted in a criminal trial for the death of the women.
All subsequent IWD celebrations commemorate the senseless death of these young girls. It was made official by the United Nations in 1975. It is vitally important as a day to remember all that has taken place, the struggles, the victories, as well as to take stock of all that must still take place before we can consider ourselves part of a sane, just world.
2005 marked the celebration of Beijing +10. In 1995 in Beijing, member nations of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women met to come up with guidelines for measuring progress on achieving gender equality. At Beijing +5, in 2000, they met again to review achievements and explore strategies to accelerate action. Beijing +10 in 2005 brought together the same member nations in New York to continue the discussion, to discuss progress and the work yet to be done in areas such as human rights, violence against females, health, unpaid work, poverty and women's diversity. Our government, after being isolated by other member countries, finally agreed to sign the Beijing Platform and to withdraw an amendment it had required concerning women's rights to reproductive health services. This is a victory for women throughout our beleaguered planet.
Thus, International Women's Day is the story of all women in the struggle for equal participation in society. At a time when more and more women, in the United States and other countries, live increasingly in poverty, and continue to suffer from unequal working conditions, from sexual discrimination and crimes of violence specifically directed at women, we must all stand together to bring about equal rights and an equal voice to all inhabitants of this planet, no matter their gender. We could rephrase Donne's meditation to include women: No man is an island, entire of itself; every (wo)man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. (...) Any (wo)man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in (wo)mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
El 8 de marzo del 1857, obreras de fábricas textiles y de ropa declararon una protesta y huelga general en la ciudad de Nueva York en contra de salarios bajos y condiciones pésimas de trabajo. Buscaban que se les redujeran las horas de trabajo a 10 horas diarias, que se les pagara la misma cantidad que a los hombres, y que se les permitiera tiempo para amamantar a sus hijos. Fueron atacadas por la policía y obligadas a terminar la marcha, pero dos años después, también en marzo, establecieron su primer sindicato.
Hubo más protestas otros 8 de marzo en otros años. Por ejemplo, en 1908, 15,000 mujeres marcharon a través de la ciudad de Nueva York exigiendo menos horas de trabajo, mejor paga, y el derecho al voto. Ahora bien, el primer Día Internacional de la Mujer se celebró el 28 de febrero de 1908 en los Estados Unidos, luego de una declaración al respecto por parte del Partido Socialista Norteamericano.
En 1910, la primera conferencia internacional de mujeres fue celebrada en Copenhague por la Internacional Socialista, y en esa conferencia se estableció la celebración de un Día Internacional de la Mujer, en reconocimiento al movimiento global por el voto y los derechos de la mujer. A la conferencia asistieron más de 100 delegadas de 17 países, y la propuesta de que se instituyera un día internacional de celebración tuvo aprobación unánime.
En 1911, este día fue celebrado por más de un millón de mujeres y hombres en Austria, Dinamarca, Alemania y Suiza. Las alemanas habían escogido la fecha del 19 de marzo porque en esa fecha en el 1848, el rey pruso les había prometido a las mujeres el derecho al voto.
En marzo del 1911 ocurrió el fuego en la fábrica Triangle Waist. La firma Triangle Waist era típica de las fábricas o talleres explotadores de sus obreros en aquellos tiempos. A los obreros se les tenía encerrados como animales y se les obligaba a trabajar largas horas bajo condiciones peligrosas y poco sanitarias. En el 1909, ya había ocurrido un incidente en esa fábrica que provocó que los 400 trabajadores, en su mayor parte muchachas, se marcharan del trabajo en protesta. La Liga Sindical de Mujeres, una asociación progresista de mujeres blancas de clase media, había ayudado a las jóvenes obreras a formar piquetes y a protegerse de los criminales anti-laborales y de la provocación de la misma policía. En una reunión histórica en Cooper Union, miles de obreras textiles de fábricas a lo largo de la ciudad de Nueva York siguieron el llamado de la joven Clara Lemlich de que había que llevar a cabo una huelga general. Al final de la huelga se llegó a un acuerdo que estableció uno de los primeros sistemas de querellas contra los patronos. Pero muchas de las fábricas y talleres en la ciudad no tenían sindicatos laborales, porque en su mayoría empleaban a inmigrantes.
El sábado 25 de marzo de 1911, empezó un fuego en los pisos superiores del edificio Asch, en la ciudad de Nueva York, donde estaba localizada la fábrica Triangle Waist Factory. En pocos minutos el fuego en la fábrica había sido causa de la muerte de 146 chicas. Las puertas estaban cerradas con candados para que las chicas no pudieran irse antes de la hora de salida. Muchas chicas saltaron del noveno piso, para morir desbaratadas sobre las aceras de la gran ciudad. Esta tragedia cambió para siempre las condiciones laborales en la ciudad de Nueva York. Las chicas tenían entre 15 y 23 años, y eran en su mayoría inmigrantes italianas, alemanas, rusas e irlandesas. El edificio solamente tenía una escalera de incendio. Y no hay duda de que las puertas de salida estaban selladas con candados. Los dueños del edificio, Blanck y Harris, fueron declarados no culpables en un juicio que se les hizo por asesinato. Años después le pagaron $75 por cabeza a 23 de las familias de muchachas muertas que habían puesto una demanda civil.
A partir de este fuego, todas las celebraciones del día internacional de la mujer han incluído una conmemoración de las víctimas del fuego, muertes que realmente no tuvieron razón de ser, y que indican de nuevo que la avaricia conlleva resultados fatales. En 1975, las Naciones Unidas se unió a la causa, y ahora la celebración cuenta con su apoyo. Es de suma importancia este día para recordar todo lo que ha ocurrido, las luchas, las dificultades, los logros y victorias, y para poder determinar todo lo que aún tenemos que hacer antes de que nos podamos considerar como parte de un mundo justo y cuerdo.
El 2005 fue el año de la celebración de Pekín + 10. En el año 1995 en Pekín, las naciones miembros de la Comisión sobre el Estado de la Mujer de las Naciones Unidas se reunieron para crear pautas que permitieran medir el grado de progreso en cuanto al logro de la igualdad sexual. En Pekín +5, en el 2000, se reunieron de nuevo para revisar dichos logros y explorar las estrategias necesarias para acelerar el proceso de igualdad. En 2005 se celebró Pekín + 10 y las mismas naciones se reunieron en la ciudad de Nueva York para continuar la discusión, discutir el progreso y el trabajo que queda por hacer en asuntos como los derechos humanos, la violencia contra las mujeres y niñas, la salud, el trabajo sin paga, la pobreza y la diversidad de la mujer. El gobierno norteamericano, aislado por otros países, acordó finalmente firmar la Plataforma de Pekín y retirar una enmienda que había propuesto con relación al derecho de la mujer a servicios reproductivos. Esta es una victoria para la mujer a través de nuestro malherido planeta.
El Día Internacional de la Mujer es la historia de todas las mujeres en la lucha por una participación equitativa en la sociedad. En estos momentos en que más y más mujeres, tanto en los Estados Unidos como en otros países, viven en un estado cada vez mayor de pobreza, y continúan sufriendo de condiciones laborales de desigualdad, de discriminación sexual, de crímenes de violencia dirigidos específicamente contra la mujer, tenemos que unirnos como un ser indivisible para lograr que todos los habitantes de este planeta, sin importar su sexo, tengan los mismos derechos y tengan voz y voto en todo lo que les concierne.
El místico inglés John Donne dice muy bien que ningún hombre (o mujer) es una isla, sino parte del continente, y que la muerte de cualquier hombre o mujer nos disminuye, porque estamos envueltos con la humanidad, y por lo tanto, nunca preguntemos por quién tañen las campanas: tañen por cada uno de nosotros.
Silvia Antonia Brandon y Pérez
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
International Women's Day is celebrated throughout the world, and commemorates, among other things, the death of over 146 young female workers in the Triangle Waist Factory Fire of March, 1911. But historical data makes clear that this celebration is very much the story of the work of thousands of women (and men) attempting to obtain better working conditions and the right to "bread and peace," or "bread and roses." Let us never forget the sexual strike instigated by Lysistrata in ancient Grece in order to end war, or Parisian women's march on Versailles to demand women's right to vote during the French Revolution, to the call of liberty, equality and fraternity.
On the 8th of March, 1857, women from clothing and textile factories held a protest and general strike in New York City against low wages and poor working conditions. They sought a reduction of the working day to ten hours, equal pay for work done, and time off to breast feed their young. They were attacked and made to disperse by the police, but two years later, also in March, they established their first labor union.
More protests followed on March 8 in other years, including 1908 when 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. However, the first IWD was observed on February 28th, 1908 in the US following a declaration by the Socialist Party of America.
In 1910, the first international women's conference was held in Copenhagen by the Socialist International and an International Women's Day established, intended to honor a global movement for women's rights and suffrage. The conference had over 100 women delegates from 17 countries, and the proposal for an international day of delebration was greeted with unanimous approval.
In 1911, IWD was celebrated by over a million women and men in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. The date of March 19th was chosen by German participants because the Prussian King had promised the vote to women on that date in 1848.
In March of 1911 the Triangle Waist Factory Fire occurred. The Triangle Waist Company was typical of sweatshops of the day, in which workers were herded together and forced to work long hours under unsanitary and dangerous conditions. In 1909, an incident at the Triangle Factory had caused a walkout of its 400 employees. The Women's Trade Union League, a progressive association of middle class white women, had helped the young women workers picket and fence off thugs and police provocation. At a historic meeting at Cooper Union, thousands of garment workers from all over the city followed young Clara Lemlich's call for a general strike. A historic agreement was reached which established a grievance system. But many sweatshops, employing immigrant workers, were not unionized.
On Saturday, March 25, 1911, a fire broke out on the top floors of the Asch Building, where the Triangle Waist Factory was located, and within minutes the factory, locked by the owners so the women could not leave work, had claimed the lives of 146 girls. Girls jumping out of 9th floor windows to their death and the final carnage changed working conditions in New York forever.
The girls were mostly Italian, German, Russian and Irish immigrants, ages 15 to 23. The building had only one fire escape and there is no question that the doors leading out of the factory had been locked by the owners of the factory, who were later acquitted in a criminal trial for the death of the women.
All subsequent IWD celebrations commemorate the senseless death of these young girls. It was made official by the United Nations in 1975. It is vitally important as a day to remember all that has taken place, the struggles, the victories, as well as to take stock of all that must still take place before we can consider ourselves part of a sane, just world.
2005 marked the celebration of Beijing +10. In 1995 in Beijing, member nations of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women met to come up with guidelines for measuring progress on achieving gender equality. At Beijing +5, in 2000, they met again to review achievements and explore strategies to accelerate action. Beijing +10 in 2005 brought together the same member nations in New York to continue the discussion, to discuss progress and the work yet to be done in areas such as human rights, violence against females, health, unpaid work, poverty and women's diversity. Our government, after being isolated by other member countries, finally agreed to sign the Beijing Platform and to withdraw an amendment it had required concerning women's rights to reproductive health services. This is a victory for women throughout our beleaguered planet.
Thus, International Women's Day is the story of all women in the struggle for equal participation in society. At a time when more and more women, in the United States and other countries, live increasingly in poverty, and continue to suffer from unequal working conditions, from sexual discrimination and crimes of violence specifically directed at women, we must all stand together to bring about equal rights and an equal voice to all inhabitants of this planet, no matter their gender. We could rephrase Donne's meditation to include women: No man is an island, entire of itself; every (wo)man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. (...) Any (wo)man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in (wo)mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
Friday, January 29, 2010
It's the economy, stupid...
I am having a hard time believing that one-twelfth of 2010 is almost gone... Just before Christmas I bought a used leather couch from someone who was moving, actually, a loveseat, in good condition, and I had an old, once wonderful couch that my two cats had shredded (not the couch per se but the arm rests) so I was trying to figure out how I would get the old couch out, and get rid of it. The landlord wants these broken up with an ax so they can fit into the garbage container... otherwise he gets charged for removal. Anyway, a young friend who heard me talking about it said he had a neighbor with a bunch of children and others living in her apartment, because people have been losing their jobs and moving in together, and he thought she could use the couch!
I felt good and bad about my couch going to someone else, because even though it had been a very good couch, the arm rests looked terrible, but within a half hour someone from the woman's apartment came over and they loaded the couch away, and were very happy because the people who were sleeping on the floor would now have a comfortable couch to sleep in! One woman's castoffs is another woman's treasure, particularly in this economy...
Now today a neighbor visited; I have been helping her with a problem with Bank of America (one of their new ways of stealing money from their depositors... they 'sell' life insurance to people who would never buy it, and deduct outrageous monthly fees directly from their depositors' accounts... no policy is ever sent to the depositor, and it's an automatic deduction so people don't always realize for a while that their money is being taken...) This particular woman earns a pittance, and when she found out that she had been paying for $100,000 in life insurance... she joked that had she known this she might have killed him for the insurance!. Today she wanted to know if I could help her file her tax return; she has a 7 month-old baby who was happily gurgling away while she explained the situation, and a 14 year-old, and last year her common-law husband and she made, between the two of them, before taxes, $19,000. So I wondered if any of the people I hear talking about the economy and complaining about Obama's 'outrageous' 'socialist' measures could survive, a whole family of four or five (there is another daughter also...) on $19,000 before taxes...
We are doing health care rallies to get health care reform approved, and I don't understand how anyone can argue about this! I haven't had health care since 1995. I go to a dentist in Mexico, and although I use mostly alternative health care (chiropractors and acupuncturists, juicing and vitamins and meditation) it's a bit of a time bomb, were something to happen...
Health care is a fundamental human right, no different from the right to food and shelter and speech. And we are the only industrialized nation that has no health care policy covering all its citizens.
I felt good and bad about my couch going to someone else, because even though it had been a very good couch, the arm rests looked terrible, but within a half hour someone from the woman's apartment came over and they loaded the couch away, and were very happy because the people who were sleeping on the floor would now have a comfortable couch to sleep in! One woman's castoffs is another woman's treasure, particularly in this economy...
Now today a neighbor visited; I have been helping her with a problem with Bank of America (one of their new ways of stealing money from their depositors... they 'sell' life insurance to people who would never buy it, and deduct outrageous monthly fees directly from their depositors' accounts... no policy is ever sent to the depositor, and it's an automatic deduction so people don't always realize for a while that their money is being taken...) This particular woman earns a pittance, and when she found out that she had been paying for $100,000 in life insurance... she joked that had she known this she might have killed him for the insurance!. Today she wanted to know if I could help her file her tax return; she has a 7 month-old baby who was happily gurgling away while she explained the situation, and a 14 year-old, and last year her common-law husband and she made, between the two of them, before taxes, $19,000. So I wondered if any of the people I hear talking about the economy and complaining about Obama's 'outrageous' 'socialist' measures could survive, a whole family of four or five (there is another daughter also...) on $19,000 before taxes...
We are doing health care rallies to get health care reform approved, and I don't understand how anyone can argue about this! I haven't had health care since 1995. I go to a dentist in Mexico, and although I use mostly alternative health care (chiropractors and acupuncturists, juicing and vitamins and meditation) it's a bit of a time bomb, were something to happen...
Health care is a fundamental human right, no different from the right to food and shelter and speech. And we are the only industrialized nation that has no health care policy covering all its citizens.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Revolution as the true spirit of Christmas
Christmas, navidad, natividad, the nativity, the birth of a powerful and holy being. You do not have to be Christian to acknowledge that the Jesus whose birth Christians celebrate at this time of year was a powerful and holy being, one who worked throughout his short life to ‘revolutionize’ the times, worlds without end. He came to enforce perennial principles, such as truth and love and beauty and yes, peace. As any revolutionary, he threatened the status quo, threatened the ‘business as usual’ of the time, because with his every word, he demanded a fundamental change, not in perennial principles but in the way they are conceived, understood, acted upon. For this, as with so many others who threaten ‘business as usual,’ he was imprisoned, tortured, and horribly put to death. Shades of Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib.
Often the simple way of seeing things is truly the best way. Then as now, the custom was to use simple words but to paint and clothe them in different fashions, what we call today, the spin or framing of issues. Thus, you could take a word such as peace and wage war ‘for’ peace. You could say that all men are created equal and then use that lofty principle to ensure unequal treatment based on race, nationality, gender, or even sexual preference. In the name of universal love, you could spread hatred far and wide.
The concepts were there, as Plato saw them, lofty and supreme, but it is what was done and what continues to be done with them that Jesus wanted to change; he wanted to ‘revolvere’ which is the Latin for revolve from which the term revolution issues; to turn something on its axis and bring it back to the starting point. He called for a change in paradigm, meaning, a fundamental change in how something is seen or visualized.
As I write this on December 23rd, millions go about shopping for gifts that they may celebrate a holy day honoring the birth of a man who was born in poverty and spent most of his life preaching with no recognition, no congressional seat, no official status or university doctoral dissertations. Millions more will die today and tomorrow and on Christmas day and on the day after that, including many new born babes, because they will lack the wherewithal to sustain life while others will exchange frequently meaningless gifts and engage in an orgy of food and celebration. In the US, some will jeopardize their continued existence, mortage payments, health, in the frenzy to have a “merry Christmas.”
For all who want truth, peace, love and justice for all, let us consider the spirit of this man of Galilee and what it is that he spoke about, what he represented. We have pallid representations of the things he said, for they were taken down by human messengers and translated, and things are frequently lost in translation, but we can glean even from the imperfect renderings the true message.
In one of his most famous speeches, which has become known as the Sermon on the Mount, he blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled, and those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He blesses the merciful who shall obtain mercy and the peacemakers who shall be called sons and daughters of God.
We are living in dire times, when more than ever we need the strength to seek righteousness, mercy, and peace. A time when, lacking leaders who stand firm on principles, we must be our own leaders. Jesus said that he had come to fulfill the law, eternal law, that which cannot be clothed or framed or disguised. It is time that we demand that the law, without spin or framing, be fulfilled to its last jot and tittle. That we demand an end to death, and torture, to war and the profiteering from war, to poverty in all its guises, and that we seek to secure the just punishment of all those who have broken the law. That we ask, as he asked, for true revolution. For only then may we be called the children of Spirit.
A thoughtful and revolutionary holiday to each and all of you, my brethren.
Main Entry: rev•o•lu•tion
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English revolucioun, from Middle French revolution, from Late Latin revolution-, revolutio, from Latin revolvere to revolve
1 a (1) : the action by a celestial body of going round in an orbit or elliptical course; also : apparent movement of such a body round the earth (2) : the time taken by a celestial body to make a complete round in its orbit (3) : the rotation of a celestial body on its axis b : completion of a course (as of years); also : the period made by the regular succession of a measure of time or by a succession of similar events c (1) : a progressive motion of a body around an axis so that any line of the body parallel to the axis returns to its initial position while remaining parallel to the axis in transit and usually at a constant distance from it (2) : motion of any figure about a center or axis (3) : ROTATION 1b
2 a : a sudden, radical, or complete change b : a fundamental change in political organization; especially : the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed c : activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation d : a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something : a change of paradigm e : a changeover in use or preference especially in technology
Often the simple way of seeing things is truly the best way. Then as now, the custom was to use simple words but to paint and clothe them in different fashions, what we call today, the spin or framing of issues. Thus, you could take a word such as peace and wage war ‘for’ peace. You could say that all men are created equal and then use that lofty principle to ensure unequal treatment based on race, nationality, gender, or even sexual preference. In the name of universal love, you could spread hatred far and wide.
The concepts were there, as Plato saw them, lofty and supreme, but it is what was done and what continues to be done with them that Jesus wanted to change; he wanted to ‘revolvere’ which is the Latin for revolve from which the term revolution issues; to turn something on its axis and bring it back to the starting point. He called for a change in paradigm, meaning, a fundamental change in how something is seen or visualized.
As I write this on December 23rd, millions go about shopping for gifts that they may celebrate a holy day honoring the birth of a man who was born in poverty and spent most of his life preaching with no recognition, no congressional seat, no official status or university doctoral dissertations. Millions more will die today and tomorrow and on Christmas day and on the day after that, including many new born babes, because they will lack the wherewithal to sustain life while others will exchange frequently meaningless gifts and engage in an orgy of food and celebration. In the US, some will jeopardize their continued existence, mortage payments, health, in the frenzy to have a “merry Christmas.”
For all who want truth, peace, love and justice for all, let us consider the spirit of this man of Galilee and what it is that he spoke about, what he represented. We have pallid representations of the things he said, for they were taken down by human messengers and translated, and things are frequently lost in translation, but we can glean even from the imperfect renderings the true message.
In one of his most famous speeches, which has become known as the Sermon on the Mount, he blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled, and those who are persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. He blesses the merciful who shall obtain mercy and the peacemakers who shall be called sons and daughters of God.
We are living in dire times, when more than ever we need the strength to seek righteousness, mercy, and peace. A time when, lacking leaders who stand firm on principles, we must be our own leaders. Jesus said that he had come to fulfill the law, eternal law, that which cannot be clothed or framed or disguised. It is time that we demand that the law, without spin or framing, be fulfilled to its last jot and tittle. That we demand an end to death, and torture, to war and the profiteering from war, to poverty in all its guises, and that we seek to secure the just punishment of all those who have broken the law. That we ask, as he asked, for true revolution. For only then may we be called the children of Spirit.
A thoughtful and revolutionary holiday to each and all of you, my brethren.
Main Entry: rev•o•lu•tion
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English revolucioun, from Middle French revolution, from Late Latin revolution-, revolutio, from Latin revolvere to revolve
1 a (1) : the action by a celestial body of going round in an orbit or elliptical course; also : apparent movement of such a body round the earth (2) : the time taken by a celestial body to make a complete round in its orbit (3) : the rotation of a celestial body on its axis b : completion of a course (as of years); also : the period made by the regular succession of a measure of time or by a succession of similar events c (1) : a progressive motion of a body around an axis so that any line of the body parallel to the axis returns to its initial position while remaining parallel to the axis in transit and usually at a constant distance from it (2) : motion of any figure about a center or axis
2 a : a sudden, radical, or complete change b : a fundamental change in political organization; especially : the overthrow or renunciation of one government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed c : activity or movement designed to effect fundamental changes in the socioeconomic situation d : a fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something : a change of paradigm
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Libertad
El jueves salí de California para asistir de nuevo a la protesta masiva contra la Escuela de Asesinos en el Fuerte Benning, en Georgia, EEUU. De viernes a domingo fui intérprete voluntaria para víctimas de la tortura, personas cuyos seres queridos han sido asesinados en sus diferentes países, y todo a manos de soldados y oficiales entrenados en este fuerte por el ejército norteamericano. A través de todos los testimonios, difíciles de dar, escuchar e interpretar, se me ocurre que lo esencial es la libertad. Es esa libertad de poder ser 'humano' en el sentido más amplio de la palabra; libertad que se infringe a diario a nombre del poderoso caballero don Dinero...
Escuchando a un joven de Etiopía que había salido hace muy poco, meses solamente, de un centro de tortura en su país, donde fue torturado una y otra vez por meses y meses por haber ayudado en las urnas, escucharlo dar su testimonio mientras sollozaba, y yo le trataba de interpretar el testimonio roto y ensangrentado a un sacerdote colombiano que también fue torturado, por su trabajo por los pobres de la tierra, como dijera mi gran apóstol José Martí, comencé a escribir lo que tal vez es un himno... Tal vez le añada música...
Libertad
Soy incorruptible.
He nacido en las entrañas
de la vida,
y me nutro del aliento y de la sangre,
la sonrisa y la esperanza
de los seres de la tierra.
LIBERTAD
Soy indestructible.
Ni con golpes ni torturas,
ni con muertes ni prisiones,
sigo andado, siempre erguida,
cual bandera enarbolada,
siempre viva.
LIBERTAD
Soy amada y soy temible;
soy la libre incorruptible,
la esperanza ineludible,
libertad inquebrantable,
la esperanza del pasado,
luz brillante en horizonte
libertad, hoy y mañana,
soy tu madre, padre, hermana.
Libertad, dilo en voz alta,
libertad, piénsalo adentro,
en la sangre, las entrañas,
en testículo y ovario,
en la célula preciosa,
libertad, amada, amante.
¡LIBERTAD!
Luego venía recordando tanto testimonio triste... la valerosa Nerys, del Salvador, torturada en su octavo mes de embarazo, y tirada en una fosa común. Estuvo en coma por 6 meses; su crimen era que alfabetizaba a los niños indígenas... Conoció y trabajó con el santo de las Américas, el arzobispo Romero...
Mi patria fue títere de los EEUU hasta que Fulgencio Batista salió huyendo... Fuimos invadidos una y otra vez... Teníamos siempre que cumplir con los deseos del amo... Batista, apoyado por dólares, tenía su sarta de esbirros y torturadores... Recuerdo cuando empezaron a salir aquellas víctimas de la tortura, en enero de 1959.... Y luego viví en la República Dominicana cuando EEUU invadió a partir del golpe de estado contra el legítimo presidente, el Dr. Juan Bosch... Vi mucha hambre y miseria en Santo Domingo, mucho racismo, parecidos al racismo de mi patria, y el hambre y la miseria de mi patria...
Y no es que no tenga cosas que criticarle al gobierno revolucionario, pero no hay gobierno (en este caso, dictadura) sin problemas, y más con el monstruo a 90 millas... Lo dijo Martí: He vivido dentro del monstruo, y le conozco las entrañas. Lo dijo en otra forma Lorca, años después... en el barrio en el que vivo actualmente, los centroamericanos y mexicanos viven vidas difíciles, siempre sujetos al arresto y maltrato por la migra...
El viernes por la noche los que hablaban eran chicos y chicas que trabajaban recogiendo tomates en Immolakee, Florida; nos hablaron de la esclavitud, personas obligadas a trabajar bajo amenaza de muerte en los campos, por centavos... Y eso me recordó el trabajo que hice durante dos semanas cuando el desastre de Nueva Orleans... Estuve ayudando a llevar comida a un campamento para refugiados... En el medio del trabajo se me acercó un policía local a pedirme botellas de agua para su ciudad, no en Nueva Orleans sino en Texas, tan tristemente pobre que los alcantarillados no funcionaban, y el agua potable no lo era... De ahí el poema que sigue, mientras el entonces presidente Bush descansaba en su mansión veraniega....
Vengo como el ocaso
Vengo como el ocaso,
arrastrando tristezas,
hojas al viento, pétalos
de jazmines muertos, los últimos rayos
de un sol ensangrentado
en la campiña seca.
Aquellas horas últimas vimos llegar a los niños, los niños con esos rostros solemnes, que no pueden comprender tanto horror, que no se ríen ni sonríen, que caminan sonámbulos hacia el comedor de la iglesia, donde hay comida, agua, todo lo que faltó en aquel paraje triste donde hubo tanta belleza, tanta música, tanta risa.
El mundo sigue en sus asuntos
diarios, la gente camina por el aeropuerto,
los teléfonos suenan, las alarmas
gritan en sílabas estrepitosas.
En cada esquina una mujer
habla de sus compras.
Había una bebe negrita como un carboncillo, llorando desconsoladamente; aguantaba un osito que alguien le había dado, pero como con olvido, con desinterés, y cerca la madre, amamantando a un crío silencioso. Dos niños, dijeron tener doce años, mirándonos con la cara del que ha visitado el infierno y todavía no da pie con bola.
Los televisores todos reportaban
la continuidad de los desastres,
las aguas inundando ilusiones,
platos, cruces, tenedores y libros,
cadáveres, todo en una putrefacción
de 'limpieza étnica.'
Agua, jugos, sacos de papa, papel higiénico, cajas de galleticas dulces, y algo de abrazos y de besos, de un pedir perdón porque somos de la misma humanidad que los atropella, los abandona, los hace maldecir el mismo día de su nacimiento. Y al final, un abrazo empañado de lágrimas, y un querer quitarse hasta la ropa y los zapatos, hacer algo, algo, cualquier cosa, un alivio...
Fuimos a ofrecerle algo a los dos chicos,
una zanahoria, un trago de agua,
una tajada de manzana. Las miradas
decían, 'aparentamos vida,
solamente.'
He regresado. Me duele la espalda de acarrear bolsas de zanahorias, papas, me duele la vergüenza de una impotencia sorda. No tengo lenguaje. No tengo nada que decir. Cuando trato de expresar aquel horror imperdonable, la gente me dice que tal vez cuando duerma, que seguramente estoy algo cansada, que con los días se me 'pasará' la desesperación.
En un rancho lujoso
un presidente tocaba la guitarra
como Nerón tocando el violín
mientras ardía Roma. En las afueras
del lujo y la miseria, la muerte acecha, fiera.
Escuchando a un joven de Etiopía que había salido hace muy poco, meses solamente, de un centro de tortura en su país, donde fue torturado una y otra vez por meses y meses por haber ayudado en las urnas, escucharlo dar su testimonio mientras sollozaba, y yo le trataba de interpretar el testimonio roto y ensangrentado a un sacerdote colombiano que también fue torturado, por su trabajo por los pobres de la tierra, como dijera mi gran apóstol José Martí, comencé a escribir lo que tal vez es un himno... Tal vez le añada música...
Libertad
Soy incorruptible.
He nacido en las entrañas
de la vida,
y me nutro del aliento y de la sangre,
la sonrisa y la esperanza
de los seres de la tierra.
LIBERTAD
Soy indestructible.
Ni con golpes ni torturas,
ni con muertes ni prisiones,
sigo andado, siempre erguida,
cual bandera enarbolada,
siempre viva.
LIBERTAD
Soy amada y soy temible;
soy la libre incorruptible,
la esperanza ineludible,
libertad inquebrantable,
la esperanza del pasado,
luz brillante en horizonte
libertad, hoy y mañana,
soy tu madre, padre, hermana.
Libertad, dilo en voz alta,
libertad, piénsalo adentro,
en la sangre, las entrañas,
en testículo y ovario,
en la célula preciosa,
libertad, amada, amante.
¡LIBERTAD!
Luego venía recordando tanto testimonio triste... la valerosa Nerys, del Salvador, torturada en su octavo mes de embarazo, y tirada en una fosa común. Estuvo en coma por 6 meses; su crimen era que alfabetizaba a los niños indígenas... Conoció y trabajó con el santo de las Américas, el arzobispo Romero...
Mi patria fue títere de los EEUU hasta que Fulgencio Batista salió huyendo... Fuimos invadidos una y otra vez... Teníamos siempre que cumplir con los deseos del amo... Batista, apoyado por dólares, tenía su sarta de esbirros y torturadores... Recuerdo cuando empezaron a salir aquellas víctimas de la tortura, en enero de 1959.... Y luego viví en la República Dominicana cuando EEUU invadió a partir del golpe de estado contra el legítimo presidente, el Dr. Juan Bosch... Vi mucha hambre y miseria en Santo Domingo, mucho racismo, parecidos al racismo de mi patria, y el hambre y la miseria de mi patria...
Y no es que no tenga cosas que criticarle al gobierno revolucionario, pero no hay gobierno (en este caso, dictadura) sin problemas, y más con el monstruo a 90 millas... Lo dijo Martí: He vivido dentro del monstruo, y le conozco las entrañas. Lo dijo en otra forma Lorca, años después... en el barrio en el que vivo actualmente, los centroamericanos y mexicanos viven vidas difíciles, siempre sujetos al arresto y maltrato por la migra...
El viernes por la noche los que hablaban eran chicos y chicas que trabajaban recogiendo tomates en Immolakee, Florida; nos hablaron de la esclavitud, personas obligadas a trabajar bajo amenaza de muerte en los campos, por centavos... Y eso me recordó el trabajo que hice durante dos semanas cuando el desastre de Nueva Orleans... Estuve ayudando a llevar comida a un campamento para refugiados... En el medio del trabajo se me acercó un policía local a pedirme botellas de agua para su ciudad, no en Nueva Orleans sino en Texas, tan tristemente pobre que los alcantarillados no funcionaban, y el agua potable no lo era... De ahí el poema que sigue, mientras el entonces presidente Bush descansaba en su mansión veraniega....
Vengo como el ocaso
Vengo como el ocaso,
arrastrando tristezas,
hojas al viento, pétalos
de jazmines muertos, los últimos rayos
de un sol ensangrentado
en la campiña seca.
Aquellas horas últimas vimos llegar a los niños, los niños con esos rostros solemnes, que no pueden comprender tanto horror, que no se ríen ni sonríen, que caminan sonámbulos hacia el comedor de la iglesia, donde hay comida, agua, todo lo que faltó en aquel paraje triste donde hubo tanta belleza, tanta música, tanta risa.
El mundo sigue en sus asuntos
diarios, la gente camina por el aeropuerto,
los teléfonos suenan, las alarmas
gritan en sílabas estrepitosas.
En cada esquina una mujer
habla de sus compras.
Había una bebe negrita como un carboncillo, llorando desconsoladamente; aguantaba un osito que alguien le había dado, pero como con olvido, con desinterés, y cerca la madre, amamantando a un crío silencioso. Dos niños, dijeron tener doce años, mirándonos con la cara del que ha visitado el infierno y todavía no da pie con bola.
Los televisores todos reportaban
la continuidad de los desastres,
las aguas inundando ilusiones,
platos, cruces, tenedores y libros,
cadáveres, todo en una putrefacción
de 'limpieza étnica.'
Agua, jugos, sacos de papa, papel higiénico, cajas de galleticas dulces, y algo de abrazos y de besos, de un pedir perdón porque somos de la misma humanidad que los atropella, los abandona, los hace maldecir el mismo día de su nacimiento. Y al final, un abrazo empañado de lágrimas, y un querer quitarse hasta la ropa y los zapatos, hacer algo, algo, cualquier cosa, un alivio...
Fuimos a ofrecerle algo a los dos chicos,
una zanahoria, un trago de agua,
una tajada de manzana. Las miradas
decían, 'aparentamos vida,
solamente.'
He regresado. Me duele la espalda de acarrear bolsas de zanahorias, papas, me duele la vergüenza de una impotencia sorda. No tengo lenguaje. No tengo nada que decir. Cuando trato de expresar aquel horror imperdonable, la gente me dice que tal vez cuando duerma, que seguramente estoy algo cansada, que con los días se me 'pasará' la desesperación.
En un rancho lujoso
un presidente tocaba la guitarra
como Nerón tocando el violín
mientras ardía Roma. En las afueras
del lujo y la miseria, la muerte acecha, fiera.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Escribimos con sangre pero no perdura
The French did not learn the lessons of history,
nor the British, Spanish, German, Portuguese,
and we, the latest bloated children of empire,
have learned them least of all.
We write with blood but it does not last, it never
lasts; we guillotine, garrotte, nuke existence beyond
existence. The trees remember and they perdure,
but they do not speak. Late at night there is a susurration
of aimless human souls beckoning remembrance.
Alas, it is too quiet, gentle, too much a part
of the natural environment. We are the animal
that puts its hand twice, thrice, no, even unto
eternity on the burning fire, and are amazed
when the fire is hot, and burns it. We have no memory
of yesterday, of the singeing pain, of the pain
of our mothers holding their dismembered children.
Escribimos con sangre, pero no perdura.
Yesterday as I was driving back from a job, I listened to a report on China's black jails on NPR's All Things Considered. Jails where dissenters, people complaining about corruption, are locked away, sometimes tortured, and if not physically tortured, at least mentally tortured, in that they do not know why, or what or when will happen, whatever is going to happen. It brings the dissenters away from the main city, so that there can be an appearance of 'normality' and all things are bright and beautiful in this wonderful land. Obama talked about human rights in China... but no one is talking about the human rights of our prisoners, the ones in Guantánamo, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who knows where else...
Friday I leave for the SOAW, which trains foreign Latin American soldiers to engage in brutal repression (remember the recent Honduran coup d'état?) So it seems as though, in many ways, it is business as usual,
oh what a thrill, Lucille,
let's not complain, Lorraine,
we understand, Rostand,
and we haven't got time for the pain...
Oh, and, the economic recovery? The 'bailout'? For the rich and the superrich, mes amies. For the AIG's and the Bank of America and the major major fuckers... the University here, the State University, is increasing its tuition and costs by 32%. After all, we don't need no college degree to work in the McDonaldized future world...
O brave new world that has such people in it...
nor the British, Spanish, German, Portuguese,
and we, the latest bloated children of empire,
have learned them least of all.
We write with blood but it does not last, it never
lasts; we guillotine, garrotte, nuke existence beyond
existence. The trees remember and they perdure,
but they do not speak. Late at night there is a susurration
of aimless human souls beckoning remembrance.
Alas, it is too quiet, gentle, too much a part
of the natural environment. We are the animal
that puts its hand twice, thrice, no, even unto
eternity on the burning fire, and are amazed
when the fire is hot, and burns it. We have no memory
of yesterday, of the singeing pain, of the pain
of our mothers holding their dismembered children.
Escribimos con sangre, pero no perdura.
Yesterday as I was driving back from a job, I listened to a report on China's black jails on NPR's All Things Considered. Jails where dissenters, people complaining about corruption, are locked away, sometimes tortured, and if not physically tortured, at least mentally tortured, in that they do not know why, or what or when will happen, whatever is going to happen. It brings the dissenters away from the main city, so that there can be an appearance of 'normality' and all things are bright and beautiful in this wonderful land. Obama talked about human rights in China... but no one is talking about the human rights of our prisoners, the ones in Guantánamo, in Afghanistan and Iraq, and who knows where else...
Friday I leave for the SOAW, which trains foreign Latin American soldiers to engage in brutal repression (remember the recent Honduran coup d'état?) So it seems as though, in many ways, it is business as usual,
oh what a thrill, Lucille,
let's not complain, Lorraine,
we understand, Rostand,
and we haven't got time for the pain...
Oh, and, the economic recovery? The 'bailout'? For the rich and the superrich, mes amies. For the AIG's and the Bank of America and the major major fuckers... the University here, the State University, is increasing its tuition and costs by 32%. After all, we don't need no college degree to work in the McDonaldized future world...
O brave new world that has such people in it...
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