From ABC NEWS:
[ In an apparent reversal of policy, the Justice Department will send an official to answer questions before Congress on the investigation and prosecution of alleged sex crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Last December, the department declined to send an official to testify before the House Judiciary Committee hearing on law enforcement efforts to protect U.S. contractors in Iraq. The hearing featured testimony by Jamie Leigh Jones, a young Texan woman who says she was gang-raped while working for government contractor KBR in Iraq. ]
The KBR rape case:
Warning: The Nation article contains graphic description of what was done to the victim.
Then there is this:
[ The Greatest Silence: Rape in the CongoToday, in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, rape is taking place on a scale that is almost unimaginable. In the last ten years, hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped - but their suffering goes unacknowledged. Instead, they are invisible, shamed and mute. This is the story of one filmmaker's crusade to break the silence surrounding this shocking reality, armed with a firsthand connection with the women and men she meets. Winner of a Special Jury Prize (Documentary) at this year's Sundance Film Festival, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo premieres Tuesday, April 8 at 10pm ET/PT. ]
From what I could handle of this documentary (made by a rape victim herself) it seems these guys believe that rape makes them stronger, and thus, then, is 'good for Congo.'
So convenient a 'belief' isn't it. Like the one that 'meat is bad for women,' so only men get to eat it.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Monday, April 7, 2008
You Can See Vaquero Live Tonight at the BirdBeckett Bookstore in SF
http://www.bird-beckett.com/
Right now the Mambo group is playing -- and they aren't bad.
Alas, as management informed me, the vid quality isn't great.
Right now the Mambo group is playing -- and they aren't bad.
Alas, as management informed me, the vid quality isn't great.
The Wanderers
The hours during which Vaquero is flying from one place to another are anxious ones for me now. This didn't used to be true, but these days with such terrible oversight of the aviation industry, and the crazy weather, I worry, until I learn he's actually taking off, and until I learn he's actually safely landed. In between I'm muchly unsettled.
To get through last night's flight, I watched my favorite gang movie, The Wanderers. The movie was released in 1979, it was based on Richard Price's novel from 1974, who based it on high school gang life in the Bronx in the early 1960's.
The movie is rather more, um, expressionistic, than the novel. It was much influenced by West Side Story. But as marvelous as West Side Story is choregraphically, musically, , in my opinion, the music for The Wanderers is the Very Best. It is the soundtrack of what was popular music that was played on the radio, at parties,in the car making out, for everyone in that audience: black, white, Asian.
It's also kinda autobiographical for Price.
Price is one of my favorite writers, as I've probably said before. I loved his first novel, The Wanderers, with which he scored so high, so young, and early in his career. His next two novels were -- um, not interesting; young man, trying to leave home, doesn't know what to do with his life and with love. We have lived that story ourselves and it has been written by every new writer so we don't want to read it any more, unless there is something really new here, but there wasn't -- just recycled so many times it was limp (the best part was description of winter in an upstate NY city). Lucky for Price Hollywood called, and Hollywood called because of The Wanderers. It even gave Price a small role in the movie. So the lesson here is -- every new writer -- write a gang novel. The critics and the movies never tire of them.
After Hollywood, Price found a voice again. Most of the time. (In The Wanderers, two of the principals take off for California at the end, having no idea what they were doing or going to do -- didn't even graduate from h.s. This was prior to Price going to Hollywood.)
Price got to write for The Wire. Which no women got to do, and no black people either, but oh dear, I love The Wire anyway, but I still think it could have been even better if there had been any episodes written by women and black people.
Highly recommend that anyone watch The Wanderers. Because, most of all, it points to how music back in those days bridged differences of all kinds and brought everyone together in some way. Which is not the situation these days, with the corporatists niching and thus dividing us. Remember when most radio stations played a lot of music, when the radio provided the common soundtrack to our lives? The Wanderers is from that era. So, as the corporatists got busy buying up our media, the first thing they did was replace our genuine musica popular -- a force that helped create common, public space, where all kinds of people came together -- with hate talk radio. Which has done more to divide us than anything else ever in this nation, except slavery. Music of all different kinds, that was the radio, that was our commonly heard sound track. It was replaced by hate talk radio, to divide us, so the corporatists can continue to screw us without our protest, like the bleed out of your i-pod makes me me annoyed at best and furious at worst, the beat box that I turn my car into enrages you, etc. Even cyberspace is just a bunch of separate ghettos. Divide and conquer. That's what music is about now. Propaganda, like the corporate garbage that does get on country radio -- The Dixie Chicks are the example of what will happen if you don't toe the corporate line. Used for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. Etc.
Yes, this is part of what the presentation at EMP is about. He's going to do a presentation at one of the San Francisco venues that will be three times longer than the one in Seattle, because he's got more time. But this is the part he's going do. Unless he changes his mind and does one of the other parts instead.
To get through last night's flight, I watched my favorite gang movie, The Wanderers. The movie was released in 1979, it was based on Richard Price's novel from 1974, who based it on high school gang life in the Bronx in the early 1960's.
The movie is rather more, um, expressionistic, than the novel. It was much influenced by West Side Story. But as marvelous as West Side Story is choregraphically, musically, , in my opinion, the music for The Wanderers is the Very Best. It is the soundtrack of what was popular music that was played on the radio, at parties,in the car making out, for everyone in that audience: black, white, Asian.
It's also kinda autobiographical for Price.
Price is one of my favorite writers, as I've probably said before. I loved his first novel, The Wanderers, with which he scored so high, so young, and early in his career. His next two novels were -- um, not interesting; young man, trying to leave home, doesn't know what to do with his life and with love. We have lived that story ourselves and it has been written by every new writer so we don't want to read it any more, unless there is something really new here, but there wasn't -- just recycled so many times it was limp (the best part was description of winter in an upstate NY city). Lucky for Price Hollywood called, and Hollywood called because of The Wanderers. It even gave Price a small role in the movie. So the lesson here is -- every new writer -- write a gang novel. The critics and the movies never tire of them.
After Hollywood, Price found a voice again. Most of the time. (In The Wanderers, two of the principals take off for California at the end, having no idea what they were doing or going to do -- didn't even graduate from h.s. This was prior to Price going to Hollywood.)
Price got to write for The Wire. Which no women got to do, and no black people either, but oh dear, I love The Wire anyway, but I still think it could have been even better if there had been any episodes written by women and black people.
Highly recommend that anyone watch The Wanderers. Because, most of all, it points to how music back in those days bridged differences of all kinds and brought everyone together in some way. Which is not the situation these days, with the corporatists niching and thus dividing us. Remember when most radio stations played a lot of music, when the radio provided the common soundtrack to our lives? The Wanderers is from that era. So, as the corporatists got busy buying up our media, the first thing they did was replace our genuine musica popular -- a force that helped create common, public space, where all kinds of people came together -- with hate talk radio. Which has done more to divide us than anything else ever in this nation, except slavery. Music of all different kinds, that was the radio, that was our commonly heard sound track. It was replaced by hate talk radio, to divide us, so the corporatists can continue to screw us without our protest, like the bleed out of your i-pod makes me me annoyed at best and furious at worst, the beat box that I turn my car into enrages you, etc. Even cyberspace is just a bunch of separate ghettos. Divide and conquer. That's what music is about now. Propaganda, like the corporate garbage that does get on country radio -- The Dixie Chicks are the example of what will happen if you don't toe the corporate line. Used for torture at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. Etc.
Yes, this is part of what the presentation at EMP is about. He's going to do a presentation at one of the San Francisco venues that will be three times longer than the one in Seattle, because he's got more time. But this is the part he's going do. Unless he changes his mind and does one of the other parts instead.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Martin Luther King
In Memphis, Mason Temple, the last place MLK gave an address, before his assassination.
Belafonte, who characterizes himself as a humanist, not a Christian, speaking about Christianity, slavery, the Black Church, his dear departed friend, Martin Luther King, and their discussions, blow through your ears, into your heart, like a powerful wind blows through a wide field of grain.
The Tavis Smiley show.
--------------------
Vaquero's out the door.
We spent all yesterday, a true spring day, together. We got haircuts, got new sneakers (surely a sign of spring!). We worked on the EMP presentation. Whoa, is it gonna burn! About ten we went to a lovely little new Thai restaurant for dinner. This morning was packing, making a huge brunch, working some more on the EMP presentation, and then off he went.
He'll be in good hands, I'm sure. I hadn't realized for some reason that in Portland he's going to be met by Alexander Cockburn and the Counterpunch editor.
Belafonte, who characterizes himself as a humanist, not a Christian, speaking about Christianity, slavery, the Black Church, his dear departed friend, Martin Luther King, and their discussions, blow through your ears, into your heart, like a powerful wind blows through a wide field of grain.
The Tavis Smiley show.
--------------------
Vaquero's out the door.
We spent all yesterday, a true spring day, together. We got haircuts, got new sneakers (surely a sign of spring!). We worked on the EMP presentation. Whoa, is it gonna burn! About ten we went to a lovely little new Thai restaurant for dinner. This morning was packing, making a huge brunch, working some more on the EMP presentation, and then off he went.
He'll be in good hands, I'm sure. I hadn't realized for some reason that in Portland he's going to be met by Alexander Cockburn and the Counterpunch editor.
Friday, April 4, 2008
West Coast Schedule
From the Vaquero Mailing List:
[ Here's the schedule for my occidental peeps:
Monday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. Bird & Beckett Music and Records, 653 Chenery Street (in Glen Park), San Francisco. (with music by Teddy Strong's T-Mambo Duo).
Talk + songs.Tuesday, April 8, noon. The Poetry Center, HUM 512, San Francisco State University. Talk + songs.
Tuesday, April 8, 7:30 p.m. Bollyhood Café, 3372 19th Street @ Mission Street, San Francisco. Talk + songs.
Wednesday, April 9, 7 p.m. Portland State Library, 7 p.m. Portland.
Thursday-Sunday, April 10-13. Experience Music Project Pop Conference,Seattle. (My presentation is at 11 a.m. on Saturday, but this promises tobe a great EMP and the whole thing should be an . . . experience.)
And beyond the west coast swing:
Thursday, April 17, 1 p.m., room 605, King Juan Carlos Center, 53 Washington Square South, NYU. New York.
April 30-May 2. La Feria del Libro, Santo Domingo, D.R.
And save the date, more details later:
Thursday, May 8. Brecht Forum, NYC. The World That Made New Orleans book party! ]
[ Here's the schedule for my occidental peeps:
Monday, April 7, 7:30 p.m. Bird & Beckett Music and Records, 653 Chenery Street (in Glen Park), San Francisco. (with music by Teddy Strong's T-Mambo Duo).
Talk + songs.Tuesday, April 8, noon. The Poetry Center, HUM 512, San Francisco State University. Talk + songs.
Tuesday, April 8, 7:30 p.m. Bollyhood Café, 3372 19th Street @ Mission Street, San Francisco. Talk + songs.
Wednesday, April 9, 7 p.m. Portland State Library, 7 p.m. Portland.
Thursday-Sunday, April 10-13. Experience Music Project Pop Conference,Seattle. (My presentation is at 11 a.m. on Saturday, but this promises tobe a great EMP and the whole thing should be an . . . experience.)
And beyond the west coast swing:
Thursday, April 17, 1 p.m., room 605, King Juan Carlos Center, 53 Washington Square South, NYU. New York.
April 30-May 2. La Feria del Libro, Santo Domingo, D.R.
And save the date, more details later:
Thursday, May 8. Brecht Forum, NYC. The World That Made New Orleans book party! ]
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Thom Hartman Gone from NYC's Air America Flagship Station
Instead, get this!
Ed Schultz, from North Dakota, has his prime time 3-hour slot from noon to 3 p.m.
I gotta say, I didn't like Franken at all, because he's a lousy radio person, and he isn't anywhere near as funny as he thinks, but I liked his guests and his topics, and the show moved fast, in exactly the way a talk radio should.
I haven't liked Hartman much at all, because he gave so much time to whackadoodles and neoCons. Nor did his show move or have rhythm. Franken's show did have some rhythm. Both he and Hartman are fixated on 60's rock for their bumpers and so on, which I think is a big mistake and just because it bores the sh*t out of me personally. But because it is so white and monolithic.
Schultz's voice is so close to the Big Cheese's I can hardly stand to listen to it. So far his show is even more boring than Hartman. No color, no rhythm, no sense of segue. And even MORE boring music choices.
Why can't progressive radio have great voices instead of these boring middle of the road old white guys?
This is about as antithetical to the picture Obama is attempting to get us to visualize of the U.S. as you can get, i.e. multi-cultural, multi-rhythmed, multi-colored, and not OLD and white.
So -- Schultz has actually moved to NYC, and at the moment has Obama on the phone, talking about Grand Forks, ND, where he's going to be Friday. I wish Schultz well, but hope he didn't buy whatever housing he's in. The Air America NYC station is so badly treated, nobody seems to last long, except Randi Rhodes.
Now Hartman, though gone from NYC's AA, is on an additional 4 AA affiliates, which says to me this:
Hartman doesn't have the voice for NY radio. Schultz doesn't either.
Whereas Randi Rhodes does -- and so does Rachel Maddow (gads, she's great!), so does Sam Seder, and so Laura Flanders, as Brit inflected as it is. But she's just the greatest, and has got it all: great guests, great topics, great rhythm, color, cool, authority -- o can she roll and turn on a dime!
Ed Schultz, from North Dakota, has his prime time 3-hour slot from noon to 3 p.m.
I gotta say, I didn't like Franken at all, because he's a lousy radio person, and he isn't anywhere near as funny as he thinks, but I liked his guests and his topics, and the show moved fast, in exactly the way a talk radio should.
I haven't liked Hartman much at all, because he gave so much time to whackadoodles and neoCons. Nor did his show move or have rhythm. Franken's show did have some rhythm. Both he and Hartman are fixated on 60's rock for their bumpers and so on, which I think is a big mistake and just because it bores the sh*t out of me personally. But because it is so white and monolithic.
Schultz's voice is so close to the Big Cheese's I can hardly stand to listen to it. So far his show is even more boring than Hartman. No color, no rhythm, no sense of segue. And even MORE boring music choices.
Why can't progressive radio have great voices instead of these boring middle of the road old white guys?
This is about as antithetical to the picture Obama is attempting to get us to visualize of the U.S. as you can get, i.e. multi-cultural, multi-rhythmed, multi-colored, and not OLD and white.
So -- Schultz has actually moved to NYC, and at the moment has Obama on the phone, talking about Grand Forks, ND, where he's going to be Friday. I wish Schultz well, but hope he didn't buy whatever housing he's in. The Air America NYC station is so badly treated, nobody seems to last long, except Randi Rhodes.
Now Hartman, though gone from NYC's AA, is on an additional 4 AA affiliates, which says to me this:
Hartman doesn't have the voice for NY radio. Schultz doesn't either.
Whereas Randi Rhodes does -- and so does Rachel Maddow (gads, she's great!), so does Sam Seder, and so Laura Flanders, as Brit inflected as it is. But she's just the greatest, and has got it all: great guests, great topics, great rhythm, color, cool, authority -- o can she roll and turn on a dime!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Dominican Republic
They just phoned with flight numbers, hotel reservations, etc. for the Dominican Republic stay at the end of this month, beginning of May.
I'm going on this one, since it isn't a physically rigorous.
Having a bad back has put a lot of obstacles in my way when it comes to what I think of of as Deep Travel.
I'm going on this one, since it isn't a physically rigorous.
Having a bad back has put a lot of obstacles in my way when it comes to what I think of of as Deep Travel.
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