Rebecca Walker, the daughter of writer Alice Walker and the author of "Black, White, and Jewish", has posted her photo on her website (ulp! I think I'm in love) and seems to be about ready to start putting up content.
I first discovered Alice Walker when I was a young adult (about 20 or 21) in the Air Force. I still remember picking up a copy of "You Can't Keep A Good Woman Down" in the base library at the Presidio of Monterey. I was totally blown away by her writing. I promptly bought that book and her earlier collection of short stories, "In Love and Trouble". I still think those two books hold some of the finest short fiction I've ever read.
Later on, Walker would become famous for her novels, including "The Third Life of Grange Copeland" and of course "The Color Purple". (Confession: I wasn't craze about TCP.) She's also got a new book out which is classed as a novel but appears to be in the form of a series of vignettes. Since I'm partial to her work in the short-story mode, I will probably succumb to temptation and buy it soon.
But like so many people, Alice Walker strode merrily off the deep end with the Iraq crisis. I remember reading in a magazine article published shortly before the war that she had gone to Iraq as part of some "human shield" program. All I could do was shake my head and say, "Alice, what were you thinking?" I don't know whether she ever bothered to talk with Iraqis who were actually free to speak their minds - either here in the US, or in Iraq after the liberation. I don't know what, if anything, she has to say about the torture chambers and mass graves.
I do know that Rebecca Walker embraces both her mother's African-American heritage and her father's Jewish identity. I've read in a couple of places that the mother and daughter are rather far apart politically; when asked about her daughter's politics in a recent interview (I think in Ms.), Alice replied tersely, "I don't talk about my daughter's politics."
Haven't got a copy of BW&J or the new Alice Walker yet, but I'll probably stop by Powell's tonight (writing this post has kind of committed me to do that, I guess), and I'll undoubtedly have more to say about the Walkers soon.
2004-07-06
The Home Front: Goli Ameri Campaign
Spent some time last Friday volunteering for the Goli Ameri campaign. I got to meet Ms. Ameri, she's really fabulous in person. I was with about half a dozen other volunteers; we put together signs for the Independence Day parade.
More News from the Home Front
It's confirmed: I pick up the keys to my new place tomorrow morning!
FM and TNG are still away traveling - they get back to San Francisco on July 20. She's a major travel addict - used to wear me to a frazzle, but it'll be great for the kid.
I've started "Absolution Gap", the third volume of Alastair Reynolds' terrific trilogy. Reynolds is a Welsh-born astrophysicist who works for the European Space Agency. He is also one heck of a writer. He's not only helped to revive space-based science fiction as a genre - he is turning it into an art form. The character of Scorpio is one I won't soon forget. For those of you who will never read Reynolds because "I don't read sci-fi", all I can say is, you don't know what you're missing. Really and truly.
Also working my way through the complete DVD series of Babylon 5 (all five seasons). Just about to finish Season 1. It's such a pleasure to watch really great actors like Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik (as the mortal enemies G'kar and Londo), especially in a well-written show like this one. The creator, J. Michael Straczynski, writes most of the scripts himself; a few episodes are written by guest writers. (A couple of the guest-written episodes are a bit weak, I think; and there's one in particular I have some problems with. But I'll post on that later.)
I'm starting to take lessons in chanting the Torah from a friend at the synagogue. Her son Ari just joined the Army reserves. He's about to graduate boot camp - and he turns 18 today! Let's wish him all the best.
FM and TNG are still away traveling - they get back to San Francisco on July 20. She's a major travel addict - used to wear me to a frazzle, but it'll be great for the kid.
I've started "Absolution Gap", the third volume of Alastair Reynolds' terrific trilogy. Reynolds is a Welsh-born astrophysicist who works for the European Space Agency. He is also one heck of a writer. He's not only helped to revive space-based science fiction as a genre - he is turning it into an art form. The character of Scorpio is one I won't soon forget. For those of you who will never read Reynolds because "I don't read sci-fi", all I can say is, you don't know what you're missing. Really and truly.
Also working my way through the complete DVD series of Babylon 5 (all five seasons). Just about to finish Season 1. It's such a pleasure to watch really great actors like Andreas Katsulas and Peter Jurasik (as the mortal enemies G'kar and Londo), especially in a well-written show like this one. The creator, J. Michael Straczynski, writes most of the scripts himself; a few episodes are written by guest writers. (A couple of the guest-written episodes are a bit weak, I think; and there's one in particular I have some problems with. But I'll post on that later.)
I'm starting to take lessons in chanting the Torah from a friend at the synagogue. Her son Ari just joined the Army reserves. He's about to graduate boot camp - and he turns 18 today! Let's wish him all the best.
2004-07-05
Our Enemies Are Scared.
The degenerate cowards that captured Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun are now realizing they made the mistake of their lives. Now they are frantically trying to deny their earlier boast that they killed him. "No, no, he's OK, we didn't mean that."
"On Sunday, another group, Ansar al-Sunna, denied reports that Hassoun had been beheaded.
"This statement quoting us is baseless, and it's not true at all," the militant group Ansar al-Sunna said in a statement posted on its Web site." - CNN report
So now they think capturing a fellow Arab, a fellow Muslim, and a US Marine wasn't the brightest thing in the world to do? Well, who would have thought that. Guess it kinda makes it a little harder for them to claim this is a "war on Islam", right? Guess it kinda makes them look bad to advertise to the world that there are brave and honorable Muslims in the world after all - and it sure ain't them.
Well, guys, you're a little late with those insights. 'Cuz you just dug your own graves.
"On Sunday, another group, Ansar al-Sunna, denied reports that Hassoun had been beheaded.
"This statement quoting us is baseless, and it's not true at all," the militant group Ansar al-Sunna said in a statement posted on its Web site." - CNN report
So now they think capturing a fellow Arab, a fellow Muslim, and a US Marine wasn't the brightest thing in the world to do? Well, who would have thought that. Guess it kinda makes it a little harder for them to claim this is a "war on Islam", right? Guess it kinda makes them look bad to advertise to the world that there are brave and honorable Muslims in the world after all - and it sure ain't them.
Well, guys, you're a little late with those insights. 'Cuz you just dug your own graves.
So where is he?
The terrorist scum who kidnapped Cpl. Hassoun now claim he's alive and well.
I'd love to believe that. All right, assholes, where is my fellow Marine? You got some live pictures you'd like to show us? When do you plan to turn him over?
Our enemies are stupid. And now they're scared. They kidnapped a US Marine and bragged that they were going to kill him on television. Then, at some point, it began to dawn on them how badly they had f*cked up. So now they're frantically trying to claim it was all a big mistake.
Yeah, punks. Big mistake all right. Be ready to die like the diseased dogs you are.
I'd love to believe that. All right, assholes, where is my fellow Marine? You got some live pictures you'd like to show us? When do you plan to turn him over?
Our enemies are stupid. And now they're scared. They kidnapped a US Marine and bragged that they were going to kill him on television. Then, at some point, it began to dawn on them how badly they had f*cked up. So now they're frantically trying to claim it was all a big mistake.
Yeah, punks. Big mistake all right. Be ready to die like the diseased dogs you are.
2004-07-03
Hassoun Killed, Terrorists Claim
Terrorists in Iraq say they have killed US Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun. I'll post more on this soon.
2004-07-02
Morning Report: July 2, 2004
American volunteer owes life to Iraqi heroes. 22-year-old Scott Erwin, an American civilian volunteer in Iraq, credits a spare battery and Iraqi courage with saving his life. The battery, hanging in a pouch around Erwin's neck, stopped a bullet during an ambush. Also during the hail of bullets, the Iraqi translator, a friend of Erwin's, "was able to kind of pull me down and pull me from the car, until I was actually pulled to the opposite side outside of the car, so the car itself was almost blocking myself and him from the fire." The ambush killed an Iraqi officer and his driver.
Iraqi police put him and the others into the back of a pickup truck and sped off to the Green Zone. Erwin recalled that on the way to the hospital he tried to talk to his close friend, Col. Mohammed.
"I realized he wasn't answering, and then the translator, who saved my life, I believe, said that he had passed away."
Gunfire shattered some of the windows of the ambushed vehicle.
While in a state of shock, Erwin said he remembered feeling deep disappointment and sadness for the loss of Col. Mohammed's life, because he had a family -- a wife and two children.
He said he thought about how Col. Mohammed "would never get to see a prosperous Iraq, which he always talked about and he always dreamed about."
Read the whole story at the link.
Iraqi police put him and the others into the back of a pickup truck and sped off to the Green Zone. Erwin recalled that on the way to the hospital he tried to talk to his close friend, Col. Mohammed.
"I realized he wasn't answering, and then the translator, who saved my life, I believe, said that he had passed away."
Gunfire shattered some of the windows of the ambushed vehicle.
While in a state of shock, Erwin said he remembered feeling deep disappointment and sadness for the loss of Col. Mohammed's life, because he had a family -- a wife and two children.
He said he thought about how Col. Mohammed "would never get to see a prosperous Iraq, which he always talked about and he always dreamed about."
Read the whole story at the link.
2004-07-01
The New Republican: TNR Discovers Sudan
"Do something," the editors implore in the July 8/12 issue, referring to the Sudan crisis.
Well, some of us have been. I've just gone through all my back copies of TNR since April, and it appears the Sudan crisis has only just popped up on the magazine's radar. The editorial criricizes the Bush administration's alleged passivity during the past year, but does not cite any instances of TNR's voice being raised in outrage during that period.
The piece admits that "in recent weeks, the Bush administration has taken modest steps in the right direction," which may account for the editorial's timing. TNR has to say something, fast, before Bush steals the show altogether.
The editorial offers a number of strategies that might help: "To make sanctions effective, the United States should coordinate with its European allies" - hope springs eternal - "the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank." And while our own combat strength is fully committed elsewhere, "logistical and airlift support" might encourage some of those other nations to come on board with peacekeeping troops. (Well, it can't hurt to ask.)
The magazine suggests that a transfer of "even a fraction of the 2,000 American troops currently stationed in nearby Djibouti" could have a "dramatic psychological impact". And shortly after a gratuitous suggestion that "few in the Bush administration have ever shown much enthusiasm for using the US military to save African lives," the editors remember that "some 200 American ground troops helped end the violence in Liberia last summer."
"If President Bush wants to show the world that his moral rhetoric was sincere in Iraq, he now has his chance, in Sudan." I couldn't agree more. It's nice to know that The New Republic is finally catching up with President Bush.
Well, some of us have been. I've just gone through all my back copies of TNR since April, and it appears the Sudan crisis has only just popped up on the magazine's radar. The editorial criricizes the Bush administration's alleged passivity during the past year, but does not cite any instances of TNR's voice being raised in outrage during that period.
The piece admits that "in recent weeks, the Bush administration has taken modest steps in the right direction," which may account for the editorial's timing. TNR has to say something, fast, before Bush steals the show altogether.
The editorial offers a number of strategies that might help: "To make sanctions effective, the United States should coordinate with its European allies" - hope springs eternal - "the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank." And while our own combat strength is fully committed elsewhere, "logistical and airlift support" might encourage some of those other nations to come on board with peacekeeping troops. (Well, it can't hurt to ask.)
The magazine suggests that a transfer of "even a fraction of the 2,000 American troops currently stationed in nearby Djibouti" could have a "dramatic psychological impact". And shortly after a gratuitous suggestion that "few in the Bush administration have ever shown much enthusiasm for using the US military to save African lives," the editors remember that "some 200 American ground troops helped end the violence in Liberia last summer."
"If President Bush wants to show the world that his moral rhetoric was sincere in Iraq, he now has his chance, in Sudan." I couldn't agree more. It's nice to know that The New Republic is finally catching up with President Bush.
Anti-Gay Law Takes Effect in Virginia
An uncommonly hostile law aimed at stripping gay couples of their legal rights took effect in Virginia today, according to a CNN report. The legislation prohibits civil unions, partnership contracts or other arrangements "purporting to bestow the privileges or obligations of marriage." A rally in Richmond to protest the law drew over 400 people, and similar demonstrations were held in other cities statewide.
Saddam Transcript
The transcript of Saddam's arraignment is actually more interesting than you might expect. I'll post my thoughts on it later.
Let's Blogroll!
An uncanny resemblance. Jeffrey at Iraqi Bloggers Central notes the striking similarity between Saddam's courtroom rhetoric and the pronouncements of certain other individuals we've heard lately.
A close call, and some thoughts on security. Zeyad reports on a too-close-for-comfort car chase by some bandits, and stresses the need for increased Iraqi visibility in the security forces. He reports that "overall ... Baghdadis are cautiously optimistic about new developments."
Battle of wits. Ginmar gets to interrogate a new prisoner (not Zarqawi, unfortunately), and explains the different philosophies of interrogation. "One of them is the one that took the dark road to Abu Ghraib. The other is the one that it seems everyone in my company pretty much believes in: the battle of wits. This is where you plot and plan and study your opponent, eyeing body language, and weighing what facts you have, and how you can use them." She also talks about R&R, the mood in Qatar, and women's intimate apparel. (And no, I don't believe she plans to employ any of the latter with her next subject.)
US blunder. Big Pharaoh is appalled at an incident involving US forces and the Iraqi Police. Read the post, and don't miss the discussion in the comments corner.
Immigrant smuggling. CaribPundit has a
thought-provoking report on immigrant smuggling. Immigrants from Mexico and Central America are often subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment, while criminal gangs reap huge profits.
A close call, and some thoughts on security. Zeyad reports on a too-close-for-comfort car chase by some bandits, and stresses the need for increased Iraqi visibility in the security forces. He reports that "overall ... Baghdadis are cautiously optimistic about new developments."
Battle of wits. Ginmar gets to interrogate a new prisoner (not Zarqawi, unfortunately), and explains the different philosophies of interrogation. "One of them is the one that took the dark road to Abu Ghraib. The other is the one that it seems everyone in my company pretty much believes in: the battle of wits. This is where you plot and plan and study your opponent, eyeing body language, and weighing what facts you have, and how you can use them." She also talks about R&R, the mood in Qatar, and women's intimate apparel. (And no, I don't believe she plans to employ any of the latter with her next subject.)
US blunder. Big Pharaoh is appalled at an incident involving US forces and the Iraqi Police. Read the post, and don't miss the discussion in the comments corner.
Immigrant smuggling. CaribPundit has a
thought-provoking report on immigrant smuggling. Immigrants from Mexico and Central America are often subjected to degrading and inhuman treatment, while criminal gangs reap huge profits.
Morning Report: July 1, 2004
"Real criminal is Bush." - Saddam Saddam Hussein was belligerent and sullen by turns at his first court appearance in Baghdad, giving his title as "President of Iraq" and challenging the judge's authority, but quieting down when ordered to do so. CNN's Christiane Amanpour reported: "He said please a lot, which I'm sure is a change for him." He defended the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, referring to the Kuwaitis as "dogs". He declared that "the real criminal is Bush", and, according to Fox News, labeled the hearing as "theater".
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