Nascence

Return

2005-12-30T00:17:00.000-05:00

My primary blogging activities are moving over to Squarespace. Nascence is back with the same ole' curmudgeonly attitude regarding the affairs of my own little world and the World. I hope you'll join me over at Nascence 2.0.

Almost gone

2005-08-23T17:38:00.000-04:00

During a much celebrated lunch break...I noticed something else to appreciate...summer...the dreaded season...is almost over.

Today's temps:

Hi: 85
Lo: ~60

More importantly, 35% humidity.

Mmm hmmm, Autumn is just around the corner.

Phase two: getting oriented

2005-08-21T14:12:00.000-04:00

Phase two starts tomorrow with the start of my new new job. There will be two days of orientation and then it is time for my feet to hit the pavement. This will be my primary full time job. So, Monday is the beginning of 60-80 hour work weeks and hopefully existent savings for grad school.

Volunteer orientation at Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) is this coming Thursday. I hope that while volunteering at the refugee assistance organization that I can gain an increased amount of insight and experience into their daily operations. KRM is a primary agency in Kentucky for refugee relocation playing a community role very similar to Catholic Charities in Maine.

Real rejuvenation

2005-08-16T17:52:00.000-04:00

Today was a good day for my spirit. Not one of those days that changes your life just one of those days that reminds you that you do have some control and that things just might be alright. It all started at midnight. I opened a book that I had borrowed from a friend, it's titled "The Jesus I Never Knew" and was written by Phillip (?) Yancey. I have read and enjoyed other books by the author so it started off with an advantage. This book is pretty good and down to earth.

Later in the day--we are talking about 7:00am folks--I went to work.

I have rejoined the workforce, American labor, the mesoamerican proletariat or the 'rat race' as some may choose to call it. It felt good just to work...

Good blog: Africa Unchained

2005-07-28T00:56:00.000-04:00

That discussion between Ayittey and Moyers on the 'Wide Angle' program really spurned my interest in doing some focused research the professor, the Free Africa Foundation, the Institute for Humane Studies and blogs covering African affairs and issues.

In doing such research, I found a wonderful blog called "Africa Unchained" written by Emeka Okafor, a finance and IT consultant based in New York. Most recent entries have covered Professor Ayittey's most recent book, the need for an independent press and strengthening African leadership.

I think this blog is a new regular read for me.

The wide angle view

2005-07-27T15:10:00.000-04:00

I saw an episode of the PBS documentary series "Wide Angle" last night covering the plight of zimbabwean border jumpers into neighboring Botswana. The episode also included a discussion between American university economics professor George Ayittey and Bill Moyers on what is necessary to improve African living conditions. Professor Ayittey vehemently attacked institutional corruption and bad governance generally which he believes have been the primary causes of sustained poverty rather than sustained development which due to rich sources of minerals and elements should certainly be possible. I was spellbound by the talk and am planning on buying his most recent book entitled "Africa Unchained".

It would seem that he was implying that the best way to fight poverty and create stable and free societies in many African countries is not through traditional humanitarian aid, which too often is misused by corrupt officals, but by discouraging poor leadership and encouraging the growth of a strong civil society and independent press. Poor leaders such as Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe who Ayittey described as a "disgrace to all Africans...". Such deservedly strong language and passion are a stark contrast to the inaction of the African Union, the SADC, and leaders of Southern African nations.

The 4th and all other things...

2005-07-04T23:43:00.000-04:00

I hope y'all had a great fourth of July! Mine went pretty well. I hung out with a friend who I had not seen in almost two years and met his fiance and her family in Campbellsville. We all then did the barbecue and fireworks thing. They are such an "awesome twosome" that being near them provides an uplift to even the perpetual singleton.

Well, many things have happened over the past several weeks since my last post:

May he rest in peace: My grandfather, Elmer L. Copeland Jr., passed away at the age of 81 at his home in Michigan. He had been battling prostate cancer for a couple of years. I did not know him well but can say that since the funeral that has become less true. The most awkward, unfortunate and fortunate part of this moment in our family history was that the funeral and subsequent gathering of many different Copelands, Mixons, etc. turned into a family reunion stengthening the somewhat tenuous bonds that had barely existed before granddaddy's death. I left Michigan feeling proud of the people who have come before me and committed to making their struggles, hopes and dreams a part of my own.

Jobs?, Jobs!, Jobs!@?$: I now have a job interview with a netcasting company out of Baltimore concerning possible productions on African issues. I am also continuing my search for local employment perhaps as a substitute teacher or some temporary clerical assignment.

Reinvading academia: During a routine search for interesting graduate academic programs, I came across an online Masters of Professional Studies (MPS) in Humanitarian Services Administration at the University of Connecticut. It would take the same time as other degree programs I have investigated, cost $4,000-$5,000 less, allow me to work full-time (which helps me pay for the program) and at my own pace, and prepared me immediately for work in an non-governmental, governmental, or international organization dealing with development, peace, and human rights. The faculty responsible for the program have laudable credentials as well and course work covers a broad spectrum of political, social and economic issues. I can not find any downsides at the moment.

5K time: I started running recently to manage stress due to the job search, raise cardiovascular endurance and increase lower body muscular tone. Initially, I could not run more than three laps around the track without stopping for a breather (less than a mile). Now, I can run two miles (8 laps) continuously. Once I reach 3.1 miles or 5 kilometers I am going to enter a race and see how I do. The first race coming up in the area is the Magnolia 5Kon July 30th down in the state park near Rough, KY. 3 weeks is enough time to shave 30 minutes off of your three mile running time, right?

Oops, it happened again: My sister-in-law and neice found out about me being gay by accident. Half of my immediate family found out in similar fashion but this was a most shocking way to start what I thought would be a relaxing Sunday and it was not the way that I wanted to tell them but it can not be changed now. My second oldest neice, Alexis, who is 12 was reading my phone messages to a friend when I heard her say "Uncle Brandon, you want a man?". She had found a message that said "If I can not find me a good man, then I want a cat!!". So, I told them both that I was gay and that yes, I am looking for a good man. LOL. So the circle continues to expand.

I, Boomerang: a lamentation

2005-06-07T14:57:00.000-04:00

After a month of fruitless searching for a new job. I decided that that inevitable moment had arrived.

So, a few days ago I moved back to Kentucky. Yes, indeed. I kicked and screamed as much as I could while driving at the same time all the way here. I continue to lament my bad fortune but also I remember that I am also fortunate to have a safety net to fall back on during rough patches such as these. Some people don't.

A year ago, I was in Maine participating in something larger than me...something that I really believed in. I didn't have much money and it was very stressful but when I left the office and arrived home I really felt good about things. It was a huge privilege which made me feel whole for moments that were fleeting but precious. You know, I felt as though for once in life I was giving more than I was taking.

Now. I am unemployed, single and living in the same place that I stayed before I left for college. I despise regression and that is exactly what has happened...a huge step backwards.

Now things will start from the ground up again fraught with the same risks and hopefully with the same opportunities.

CNN: The New York Times of the airwaves? Hopefully someday...

2005-06-03T01:11:00.000-04:00

Thanks Ted. For saying what need to be said.

Ted Turner, in a speech to CNN employees in Atlanta, said that the news network should cover more international and environmental news on its domestic feed and less 'pervert of the day' stories that seem to preoccupy other news nets.

"Somebody's got to be a serious news person. Somebody's got to be the most respected name in television news, and I wanted that position for CNN.

"I wanted to be The New York Times of the airwaves. Not the New York
Post, but The New York Times. And that's what we set out to do, and we did it."

I am such a newsaholic. This was especially true when I was in high school and dreamed of being a broadcast journalist and eventually working at CNN. I've grown so upset with mainstream news outlets and their obsession with infotainment that I now try to view CSPAN and listen to NPR. I know that CNN, MSNBC, FOX News, etc are also a business as well as a service but lately I have found that CSPAN and NPR are more interesting (yes, I know that is sort of shocking when mentioning CSPAN but Washington Journal on its good days is a comfortable thing to wake up to...).

France: "The 'Non' aftermath"

2005-05-30T18:20:00.000-04:00

As the shockwaves of France's rejection to the EU constitution continue to tear across the continent, President Chirac is now retooling his administration. Prime Minister Raffarin apparently will be the first to go which leads to one of the first mysteries of "the non aftermath".

"Who will be the next Prime Minister of France?".

This person will probably be ideally positioned to be the Right's candidate to occupy Elysee in 2007. My favorite of the names being bandied about is the current Interior minister Dominique de Villepin. Compared to Chirac he is young, popular and not "as conservative". (Example: in response to Sunday's vote he is purported to already be considering economic programs that keep 'social realities' in the equation...). Such language I conclude means a more centrist economic approach than either Sarkozy or Chirac would envisage in the coming years. This seems to be wise as France's unemployment has recently risen to 10%, one of the highest rates in Western Europe.

But that isn't the primary reason for my liking de Villepin as the next PM. His leadership of the nations opposed to war in Iraq during deliberations in the United Nations Security Council when he was Foreign Minister is the primary reason. He eloquently outlined a vision of a bold and more robust UN better able to resist the efforts of any one nation to bend it to serve their national interests instead of those of all nations. This eloquent vision made me proud to be an internationalist at a time when it was not 'en vogue'.

The Financial Times gives a brief overview of the major contenders. Dominique de Villepin, Michele Alliot-Marie and Nikolas Sarkozy.

The democracy that is yet to be...

2005-05-30T17:57:00.000-04:00

Burma's still-born democracy recently marked its 15th anniversary. In 1990, the National League for Democracy, which remains the country's largest pro-democracy party, achieved an overwhelming victory winning more than 80% of parliamentary seats in a national poll. The results were never recognized by the junta that continues to rule. In fact, NLD leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for years now and a group convened to draft a new constitution is stalled.

Unexpectedly sweltering

2005-05-27T20:43:00.000-04:00

...I was coming back from the gym today. I was hot, sweaty and tired. Very ready for a shower. I get out of the car, walk up the stairs and as I prepare to open the door....

Hmmm....the apartment key seems to have disappeared from my key chain--oh well, I figured--it was a full house inside. Only that it apparently was afternoon nap time. A quick knock on the door should suffice right? No. It most certainly did not. After five long knocks on the door I decide to call and wake someone from their deep slumbering. After five phone calls and no answer. I revert back to knocking with no success. It is then that I sit down on the balcony and listen to my CD player, listen to the rancorous shenanigans of neighborhood kids and try to fix my cell phone which is perpetually on the fritz.

After 1 hour and 32 minutes of waiting against the door, my sister opens the door without a word.

"...I am not drinking fucking merlot!!"

2005-05-25T11:33:00.000-04:00

Saw Sideways last night. I really liked the movie as I had expected. The characters have their failings but it's a movie and all of us in reality do as well. Now my sister and other family are going to watch it and I await their reviews. I don't remember the name of Thomas Haden Church's character, so I will refer to him as "almost-married-man".

Favorite exchange (outside of The Hitching Post before a double-date):

Almost-married-man: "...and if they want to order merlot, we're drinking merlot..."
Miles: "...I am not drinking fucking merlot!!"

Though, I still don't understand the hostility toward merlot in the movie.

"The junta targets everyone": Today's Burma

2005-05-24T19:19:00.000-04:00

The peoples of Burma, a nation in southeast Asia ( I refuse to use the name 'Myanmar' that the regime has placed upon the country) have suffered under almost continuous human rights abuses perpetrated by the military junta that has ruled for decades with funding from the activities of illicit narcoterrorists.

I have been interested in the affairs of this expansive nation ever since reading of the heroic acts of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy. So, you can imagine how excited I was to learn about the efforts of Guy Horton, a human rights researcher, which are profiled by John MacGregor in today's International Herald Tribune.

Horton has just published a 600-page report entitled "Dying Alive: A Legal Assessment of Human Rights Violations in Burma."

In the article, Horton is quoted: "The violations inflicted on the Burmese people in general are undoubtedly crimes against humanity...but the destruction of the homes, medicines and food of hundreds of thousands of ethnic people may amount to an attempt to commit genocide. If an international court were to arrive at the same conclusion, it would oblige humanitarian intervention. And that could put the Burmese regime in some peril."

Horton's recipe for action sounds strikingly similar to the suggestions of those that have followed the situation in Darfur.

The Liberty Party of Canada has two new best friends...

2005-05-19T19:51:00.000-04:00

...and their names are Chuck and Carolyn...so for the time being it would seem that the sword of Democles that had hung precariously over Paul Martin and the Liberals proverbial neck has been lifted. Independent MPs Chuck Cadman and Carolyn Parrish along with the tie breaking vote of the Speaker Peter Milliken helped pass the budget by a comfortable margin, 153-152.

Ultimately, are the New Democrats the winner of this long act of high political drama?

It's just her against her ovaries...

2005-05-19T13:06:00.000-04:00

Canada's government is in the hands of just three independent members of parliament and the speaker of parliament today as Parliament heads toward two crucial budget votes. If two of the independent MPs vote "no" on the measures then our neighbors to the north will be headed to the polls within weeks. It would be second time within a year. All of this excitement, now I know why I like parliamentary democracies so much.

Well, I was reading today's Globe and Mail, and my eyes ran across a fascinating quote from Carolyn Parrish, one of the three independent MPs. She is currently suffering from what her spokesperson described as either an ovarian cyst or kidney stones and her presence on Parliament Hill for this evening's votes was in doubt...well until her spokesperson weighed in:

"Come hell or high water, there's no frigging way I'm going to let one
ovary bring the government down."

Yowser! Now that is frank language if I have ever heard it from a government official.

Shock, shock, shock

2005-05-17T17:48:00.000-04:00

I was surprised to read in today's Globe and Mail that Belinda Stronach had defected to the Liberals and is now in the cabinet. I can imagine that Thursday doesn't look so bleak now for Paul Martin. Don't breathe a sigh of relief yet.

I was also surprised to review the praise that Sunday's parliamentary elections in Ethiopia have received. European observers and a team of 24 from the Carter Center have said that it was the most competitive election in the nation's 3,000 year history. There have been few reports of abuses and the opposition may win over 185 seats in the 547-seat Parliament. Official results are due out on June 8th.

Surprised was I (yoda-language) also at the exchanges between George Galloway, British MP of the Respect Party, and US Senator Norm Coleman. Coleman is rabidly anti-UN (so it seems).

My eyebrows are stuck...

Derby and Gremlins

2005-05-11T13:53:00.000-04:00

There was something awry with circumstances over the weekend as I travelled with my brother-in-law to Kentucky for Derby weekend. After two rainstorms and two traffic jams in Charleston I was a wary driver. Then came the flat tire. I heard this flumping noise and the car started vibrating...so I asked "Should I pull over?". I know, silly question.

"Yes! Yes!!" he said...you could tell that this was my first vehicular mishap. The spare was affixed with amazing speed. Made it to a little town called Dunbar and a heaven-sent mechanic put on a new tire for a low price.

Picking up the pieces in the company parking lot...

2005-05-06T13:50:00.000-04:00

Well, it happened. I was "let-go". It is every temper's nightmare. As you near that 90-day line (after which they have to pay a real salary with benefits, you get paranoid and know that the "end is near". It was day 84 or 85, I believe. I really doubted that this company would be that ruthless to me and I thought that I had developed a repoire with some of my colleagues.

I was wrong. Very wrong.

Yesterday morning as I was driving into the company parking lot with my banana-berry smoothie in hand and a little spring in my step (which was unusual as I'm just not a morning person), I received a call on my cell. It is my employment 'agent' I guess I could call her, and she tells me that "they've let me go" and then follows up with a wickedly poor-timed question "where are you?".

My answer after an appropriate spot of silence...."In the company parking lot" (It was one of those horror movie moments for me...like on the movie where the killer is calling from inside the house....yes, that movie...)

"I was terminated in the company parking lot!!"

She feigns concern and with considerable pity in her voice follows with "I had meant to tell you yesterday, so you wouldn't have to get up..." While you are at it, please pay my bills in the subsequent absence of a regular paycheck...

According to my sympathetic friends. This is a blessing in disguise and I should restart my search for a "real" job or go back to school, which were things I had intended on doing anyway. My father's most helpful words were "they do this to everyone and you were overqualified anyway..."

I really dislike blessings in disguise. Why the subterfuge from this cosmos? In the next leg of this journey toward personal solvency (biz talk, lol) I want unadulterated, unfettered good fortune. So, I think it is a time for a career, enough with a "daily job".

In light of this experience, there is a new movie on my to-see list "Funny Ha Ha". An indie film about the travails of the postsecondary education journey towards adulthood. Don't take my dry description of it to heart though...I think this is a going to be a really poignant cinematic experience. :)

Preventing blog fossilization

2005-05-02T22:34:00.000-04:00

I am writing this long delayed entry from my mobile phone because the home computer has yet to recover from the lightning storm of three weeks ago. This after 10 calls to two different customer service lines and the disbursement of 5 distinct case numbers.
I am most amazed at two things currently. One is somewhat personal and the other concerns global affairs. So, as you would expect they are not really related.

First, all of my friends share with me the trials of what many call a 'Quarter-Life Crisis'. Careers, relationships, just general direction. I am both concerned and relieved to know that I am not the only person in these kinds of predicaments.

The second part is my shame that America with its new investment in new 'deterrent' nuclear weapons would presume to be a propent of nuclear arms control. C'mon! I am no fan of Kim Jong-Il or the mullahs in Iran but as long as we remain one of the world's largest arms exporters and a nation with one of the largest nuclear arms stockpiles then we also remain morally bankrupt on this issue.

End of Hibernation update

2005-04-11T14:35:00.000-04:00

My *blogdar is slowly awakening from its longer than expected slumber...(yes, it lives now...)

Over the past month...I have...not in particular order...

...suffered from a stomach virus, met some interesting people, babysat, read some interesting books, watched some inspiring movies (The Motorcycle Diaries, I Heart Huckabees, etc.), mourned the Pope and contemplated my quasi-Catholic childhood, mourned democracy in Zimbabwe as Tsvangarai and the MDC again suffered a rigged election, become angry with international press attention to Charles and Camilla and lack of attention to the continuing conflicts in Darfur and Congo, been invited to be in the audience for a Commission on Electoral Reform hearing in Washington DC, decided it is probable I will go back to school sometime soon, looked into Portuguese wines thanks to a friend, experienced Chilean wines thanks to me :), watched as the Kyrgyz people rose up and overthew a plucky physicist-turned-pseudobenevolent tyrant...at least we think that is what happened, tried and failed to fix Chicken Tetrazzini (my next attempt is easier: Teriyaki Chicken and Fried Rice) and contemplated becoming more involved in local politics...

And if what I hear from Kentucky and Maine are any indication then things are more eventful to my west and north.:)

Not comprehensive but reall close...

Felican Naskigton

2005-03-03T00:43:00.000-05:00

Happy birthday to my oldest nephew Josh! 11 years old today and many years still to come.

Some newsclips

2005-03-02T23:55:00.000-05:00

As I skimmed the news today, there were some bits that definitely caught my eye:

A US company, Titan Corporation, has been found guilty of bribery in Benin to the tune of more than $2 000 000. "SEC documents allege that in 2001 Titan money was funneled into Kerekou's re-election campaign through the president's business advisor, who was simultaneously working as the US company's agent in Benin.

OSCE observers say that the Kyrgz parliamentary elections over the weekend fell far short of international standards. There were scattered protests in the frontier provinces but no 'tulip revolution' yet.

Radio Free Asia reports that the main leader, Sam Rainsy, of the Opposition in the Cambodian parliament has fled to France after he and several proteges were stripped of immunity. The regime of Hun Sen has refused to disclose the nature of the charges.

After nine Bangladeshi soldiers in the MONUC mission in Ituri, DRC were killed by local militia, UN peacekeepers struck back. Hard. 60 militia members were killed in a counterattack the likes of which has not been seen in the country since the time of Lumumba and the 1960s. Kinshasa is sending an additional 3 000 troops to assist the UN troops in stabilizing the region which over the past several months has been marred with spasmodic episodes of ethnic turmoil.

(speaking of Congo...this time the river)

Eksom, the national energy company of South Africa, is proposing a new dam on the Congo river which they suggest could provide electricity to the more than 520 million people (85-90%) on the continent who currently manage without it. Environmental groups such as the World Rainforest Movement have stated concerns about disruption of fish habitats and silt flow. Seeing that the Congo is a huge river system almost 3 000 miles long nurturing the second largest rainforest area in the world and that the dam is expected to have an electrical power output larger than China's Three Gorges Dam means that it could be a doosie for Central Africa's environment.

Exploring Beaujolais with a friend

2005-02-27T13:06:00.000-05:00

A good friend of mine and a regular reader sent the following:

"...I have been experimenting a bit and have discovered Beaujolais wines from France. They aren't overly expensive, can be found in the grocery store…I started drinking them after I read an intriguing article about the Beaujolais "Nouveau" wines which are released on the third Thursday of November each year. They are a young Beaujolais wine and I've discovered that I really like them. That led me to try the more mature Beaujolais a few months ago. The label of one brand I tried said it was a table wine. If you aren't familiar with Beaujolais, I recommend you try it."

I was not familiar and so I have decided to do just that. I had so far confined my experience to Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Red Zinfandels but the high marks that my friend gives the Beaujolais Nouveau is cause for an immediate trip to the local wine and spirits store. But first, I did some more research. Beaujolais Nouveau is a fascinating story of a wine. Really quite interesting. I think the story that my wonderful friend was referring to is “Exploring Beaujolais” located at an online winezine called “Into Wine”. At the ever-dependable wikipedia, I found the following concerning the Beaujolais region of France and their wines:

The region is known internationally for its long tradition of winemaking, and more recently for the enormously popular Beaujolais nouveau. Almost all Beaujolais wines are reds of the Gamay grape varietal. Whites from the region, which make up only 1% of its production, are made with Chardonnay grapes. Beaujolais tends to be a very light bodied wine, with relatively high amounts of acidity, and strikes some as thin and sour, although this is likely to be avoided if it is served with food.

Beaujolais Villages makes up 25% of the region's production, and can come from the vineyards surrounding the ten villages in Beaujolais. Wine from these individual crus can be more full-bodied, darker in color, and significantly longer lived. The ten crus are: Morgon, Moulin-a-vent, Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Saint Amour, Chiroubles, Chénas, Fleurie, Juliénas, and most recently, Régnié.

Also according to wikipedia, the man “almost single-handedly responsible for the annual Beaujolais nouveau phenomenon” is none other than the celebrated negociant Georges Deboeuf who is referred to in the “Into Wine” article as the King of Beaujolais. This would seem appropriate since his family has been involved in wine-making for over 300 years and he himself has produced and sold wines for more than 50 years.

The first time I went to the local wine and spirits store which is called “Total Wine” I actually picked up one of his signature flower labels which according to Wine Spectator and Forbes.com have a mixture of “violet, blackberry and boysenberry aromas and flavors [that] unfurl in a silky, lush Fleurie, with extra notes of spice, toast, vanilla and minerals. Fruit echoes on the long, pure finish. Really, really fine. Drink now through 2005.” At an average cost of just $14/bottle for such deliciousness his brand of Beaujolais are one of their top ten wine deals. Unfortunately, I put it down in favor of a merlot from the Western Cape wineries of South Africa. I won’t do that again.

Georges Duboeuf: King of Beaujolais and one of his signature flower labels. (Into Wine/Yahoo!)

Speaking of wine and with the Oscars tonight, I still haven’t seen the movie “Sideways”. I love Paul Giamatti and Sandra Oh both of whom are in the movie. So that is on the to-see list with a bottle of beaujolais, of course.

Am I starting to sound like Martha??

Sacre Bleu!!! 35-a-week in France imperiled

2005-02-26T00:41:00.000-05:00

France's 35 hour a week work schedule first implemented by a Socialist administration in the early 1990's is now in danger of vanishing. President Jacque Chirac and Prime Minister Jean-Paul Raffarin's center-right coalition which controls both houses of parliament is pushing through a bill reforming France's labor laws in order to attract more foreign investment and make the French national workforce more globally competitive.

An interesting sidenote: While it is widely known that the American workforce is the world's most productive as a whole it should be noted that on a per-person basis the European workforce outperforms by as much as 15%. So, I was all the more surprised to learn in addition as I listened to the radio...that while we take an average of 10 vacation days per year, the French take 30. More vacation and more productivity. I think I need to do some more research here to find out what the problem is that Chirac and Raffarin purport to fix.

The togolese people are triumphant

2005-02-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

Rue de la triomphe?: People in the streets celebrating Faure's decision to step down ahead of elections. (AFP)

Today the rising international pressure and domestic discontent reached a climax and for once it was the dictator that blinked...Faure Gnassingbe has decided to relinquish his hold on the Presidency. But he is not gone. His party, Rally of Togolese People (RTP), has chosen him as their presidential candidate. There is some uncertainty concerning who will hold office in the brief interregnum but opposition parties and the African Union indirectly are demanding that speaker of the national assembly, Fambare Ouattara Natchaba, be installed as the Constitution originally required but it appears that it will be put to a vote within the assembly. Now international pressure must continue to ensure that the upcoming elections are as free and fair as possible.

Red Iberia...continued

2005-02-23T01:22:00.000-05:00

Jose Socrates and the Socialists won 45% of the vote and 120 seats in the 230-seat parliament in their best election showing ever. It is believed that economic stagnation and the former administration's support of the Iraq war were factors that worked against the Popular Front coalition which won just 29% of the vote and will retain 72 seats. The radical left did also particularly well as the loose alliance garnering 7% of the vote in its best foray as well. The Left Bloc will have 8 members of parliament.

More good news...bloggers are a forced to be reckoned with in Nepal as they punch holes in the information blackout that coup-happy King Gyandendra has placed on the small country. Radio Free Nepal is one such blog and it has become a daily read for information that does not toe the 'monarchical' line.

Red Iberia

2005-02-23T01:17:00.000-05:00

2005 elections collage: Jose Socrates votes, the Socialists win and Portugal celebrates. (Reuters/AP)

After a socialist win in Portugal the entire Iberian peninsula can now be said to be 'rose red'. It's Zapatero in Spain and Socrates in Portugal. Now if only Hollande can do what Jospin couldn't and take care of Chirac in France...

Old Dominion Politics: "The New School of Virginia"

2005-02-20T18:28:00.000-05:00

I learned about this story thanks to a diary entry by mkrell over at Daily Kos concerning the Virginia House of Delegates, The Harvest Foundation and the city of Martinsville. As I am new to it, there is a little confusion for me. I will post two related stories on this topic and do more research soon.

Here is a related story from the January 25th edition of the Danville Register Bee concerning an approaching deadline to complete needed studies on the viablity of such an institution and the Harvest Foundation:

SCHEV discusses report on Southside university
By Mac McLean
RICHMOND, Va. - The executive director of the State Council on Higher Education in Virginia testified Monday before the House Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education about his organization’s Jan. 13 report on a proposed public university in Southside.

“We should delay any new creation of a higher education institution until it has been fully studied,” Daniel LaVista said.

While LaVista said he admired the boldness and creativity of the Harvest Foundation’s Harry Cerino and Ronald Carrier, president of the proposed New College of Virginia, he explained that SCHEV was not yet ready to fully endorse the plan and called for a detailed, objective needs assessment that would involve feedback from community leaders to better outline the details of a plan.

“Minimally, this is a $90 million investment of the next decade that we feel should be couched in better information and documentation,” he said. “The triad of business, education and government needs to be in place.”

The idea of a needs assessment is central to the SCHEV report response Cerino and Carrier drafted Friday on behalf of the Harvest Foundation.

“Why is SCHEV waiting until 2005 to perform what the General Assembly instructed it to do in 2004?” the response letter asked, claiming that SCHEV should have carried out the full needs assessment this past year when it was originally charged to study the area’s needs for higher education.

“SCHEV is remiss in fulfilling the General Assembly’s request and Southside Virginians should not be penalized for SCHEV’s omission.”

LaVista said that once the needs assessment had been carried out, SCHEV would be ready to endorse one of the several options currently being discussed that would bring higher education to the region.

“We would be ready to go forward and put something in place at the next session,” said Gloucester Del. Harvey Morgan, who chairs the subcommittee.

Here is the second story published about two weeks later describing further developments on a possible needs assessment for the school's viability and the status for each branch regarding vocal and financial support for this initiative.

Local officials react to state budget proposals
By Mac McLean
DANVILLE, Va. - Local and state officials are vowing to keep the momentum going behind two Southside higher education proposals despite a setback on Sunday.

Supporters of both the plan to bring a new higher education institution to the area and Danville’s Institute for Advanced Learning & Research were disheartened when neither program received the funding they sought in the House’s proposed series of budget amendments.

“We’re disappointed by the level of funding in the House budget,” the Harvest Foundation’s Harvey Cerrino said. “But we are generally encouraged by the interest.”

In January 2004, the Harvest Foundation issued a $50 million grant challenge to programs that would establish a new four-year college in the Martinsville/Henry County area.

In December, Gov. Mark Warner proposed adding an additional $1.5 million to the effort when he presented his series of budget amendment before members of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance committees, which are responsible for drafting the state’s budget.

The $1.5 million was not included in this year’s House budget proposal.

“The subcommittee supports the recommendations of our State Council of Higher Education that a thorough needs assessment is required,” said Gloucester Del. Harvey Morgan, who chairs the House Subcommittee on Higher Education.

Morgan instead suggested that the state spend $100,000 on a detailed needs assessment that would fully study the feasibility of building a higher education institution in the area and report back to the General Assembly in time for the 2006 session.

The Senate, however, kept the proposed $1.5 million in its budget proposal.

“We need to make sure that money stays in place,” Pittsylvania County state Sen. Charles Hawkins said. “The governor’s proposal gives us an opportunity to look and see what can be done in our area.”

The Senate actually strengthened Warner’s proposal with a language amendment that stated the money should be targeted at programs that benefit all communities in the Southside region and that it should leverage existing resources in the region including community colleges, private institutions, research centers and private sector assets.

The Senate’s budget also included an additional $2.1 million in funding for the institute that was not in the House budget.

“We will wait and see how that plays out,” the institute’s Curtis Callaway said. “We have people looking out for our interests and we’ll see what happens.”

Danville Del. Danny Marshall had proposed a budget amendment that would give the institute an additional $9.2 million over the next two years.

“I was disappointed that the House didn’t put any money in for the institute,” said Marshall, who was pleased to see the $2.1 million in the Senate’s budget. “At least we’re not starting from zero.”

Both the institute and the Martinsville college plan have support in the executive branch.

Warner touted his proposed $1.5 million for the new college plan during his State of the Commonwealth address on the same day that SCHEV released its report calling for a needs assessment.

The governor also proposed an additional $678,000 in operations funding for the institute as well as $55,000 for supplies and materials.

Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine has also lent his support to both projects.

“The lieutenant governor is pleased to see that the money for both Southside University and additional support for the institute was in the Senate budget,” Kaine spokesman Jeff Kraus said.

“He looks forward to continuing to work with lawmakers from both parties to ensure that money remains in the budget through the conference report and remains in the budget that is returned to the governor’s desk.”

I hope to do more research on this topic and post more than a compilation of recent stories soon.

Fear the morning

2005-02-19T00:37:00.000-05:00

Seeing how I have now inhaled an entire bottle of a South African merlot in celebration of my first week at my new job... subsequently changing my mind about South African wines... I think this is an appropriate time to talk about how Americans will be the largest wine consumers in the world soon. Surpassing Spain, Italy and even France.

Man! I have decimated this large bag of salsa doritos...they are soooo good. Wow.

Sleeping ministers let dictators lie

2005-02-18T00:29:00.000-05:00

I sense some animosity from the writers of NewZimbabwe.com ...and the matter-of-fact missive is aimed squarely at SA foreign minister Dlamini-Zuma over her positive comments towards the Mugabe regime as elections near. Here is the second half of the blistering editorial that speaks an unforgiving truth to a complicit power…

“Her positive message about Mugabe ignores the fact that only last week, over 30 Zanu PF youths marched on a police station in Norton. A police officer was stabbed, paying the price for having dared arrest a Mugabe thug.
What chance, if any, is there for the conduction of a free and fair election when the police are brutalized by bands of thugs in the name of a revolution?
What chance is there of the opposition parties getting a fair election when three independent newspapers are off the streets because they dared give a voice to the opposition?
What chance is there of a free election in a country where foreign journalists are banned, and an unelected minister given power to decide who should practice as a journalist?
What chance when an unelected minister dabbles in semantics, telling the world that the opposition can only access broadcast public media and not Press?
And what chance when a police chief and a top judge refer to Robert Mugabe, mastermind of the death of over 20 000 minority Ndebeles, as Zimbabwe's "top policeman"?
If you are Zuma, and if you are a minister in Thabo Mbeki's sleeping Cabinet, a free and fair election is possible.
If you are a Zimbabwean, crying for that right to be allowed to choose a leader of your choice, you can only say: Fuck Zuma!”

The headline was “Fuck Zuma” and initially it did not fare too well with readers, see here, but after an explanation things simmered down.
There are other developments. NewZimbabwe.com also reports that the South African group, COSATU, has stated that it ZMNews.com reports that the country's election machinery is in ‘disarray’. Hopefully, all of Zimbabwe’s people will be afforded the opportunity to go to the polls on March 31st.

Crimes, polls and more polls

2005-02-16T23:01:00.000-05:00

The BBC reports that Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has briefed the Security Council on the need for war crimes and atrocities to be referred to the International Criminal Court.

Mugabe and his ZANU-PF apparatchiks continue to make a mockery of the SADC and South Africa especially when SA’s foreign minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says that she ‘is pleased’ as news leaks out that main opposition party meetings have been disrupted and their elections chief has been arrested. I don’t like neoconservative ideology much but Zimbabwe is indeed an ‘outpost of tyranny’.

Togo will hold presidential elections 60 days from now. But Faure’s grip on the Office of the Presidency remains knuckle-throbbingly tight. The opposition pledges to continue protests.

Morning hope

2005-02-16T08:18:00.000-05:00

This article about the influence of refugees personal stories gave me hope this morning that immigration in America might remain a forward-looking and positive thing. It appears that due to the powerful and personal influence of two refugees holding audience with the president over the past year that the government might allow the maximum of 70,000 refugee resettlements to occur for the first time since before 2001.

Read the Los Angeles Times story here.

Satisfying the inner nerd

2005-02-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

As a permanent singleton and the resident nerd, I actually have time to ponder the history of Valentine's Day.

Resolutions and relief

2005-02-13T14:40:00.000-05:00

Published a list of resolutions at 43things.com, found it via the exceptional Kia. Finally found out what was wrong with my car....(deep breath)...a computer malfunction. The mechanic fixed it with the flip of a switch at no cost. I am relieved. Now, it's time for an oil change.

An attack on the vulnerable

2005-02-12T15:26:00.000-05:00

The Real ID Act of 2005 (HR 418) introduced by Representative James Sensenbrenner, late last month is a real threat to open immigration advocates, asylum applicants and other potential immigrants from around the world. Sensenbrenner appears very desperate to use the tragedy of 9/11 in buttressing his campaign for national ID cards using biometric information inevitably.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association takes a look at several provisions in the bill that raise red flags concerning civil liberties and privacy. Specifically, sections 101-104 and sections 201-207.

One provision in the bill that riles me would give the Secretary of Homeland Security the ability to bypass environmental regulations protecting our parks and reserves supposedly to secure our borders at his discretion. A cabinet secretary can invalidate government regulations at ‘his discretion’?

Full text of HR 418 and a vote tally can be found at The Liberty Committee .

Although the bill passed with more than 260 votes in favor, Michaud and Allen both fell into the nay slot thankfully as did Representative Scott here in Virginia. Good job guys. Its future is less certain in the Senate.

Harry and the protesters

2005-02-12T02:45:00.000-05:00

Harry Olympio is an opposition leader who could be a contender for the Togolese presidency should Faure and his cronies come to their senses and yield to the constitution. He is currently organizing protests in the capital, Lome, one of which is scheduled for today.

I could only find a few paragraphs mentioning in a recent Associated Press article. Here is a snippet:

"The protests in Lome were the result of a call Thursday by opposition leader Harry Olympio, who went into hiding this week, fearful that he is being hunted by police.

"I'm calling on Togo's people to stand up for themselves," Olympio said in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location. "We will continue to fight and apply pressure until there is a rightful leader in Togo. What we have now is a coup d'etat."

Olympio is a nephew of Togo's first president, Sylvanus Olympio, who was killed at the gates of the U.S. Embassy in a 1963 coup that brought Eyadema to power. He runs the opposition party Rally for the Support of Democracy and Development with his cousin, Gilchrist Olympio, who lives in exile in Paris and is the son of the first president.

At the Olympio home in Be, the leader's wife and three children were visibly shaken, fearful of being targeted by government forces. Near their front door, a man beaten by police sat with bandages around his head.

"I fear for my children," said Michelle Olympio, sitting on the front porch of their home, where the smell of burning tires wafted through the air."

I have a tendency to oversimplify, but it seems that the last forty years of Togolese politics has been the story of two battling political families. The Eyademas and the Olympios.

Kubatana indeed

2005-02-11T16:16:00.000-05:00

I watch for Zimbabwe news items and topics frequently and I ran across a story that gave me hope. It concerns the start of a new independent daily newspaper called The Zimbabwean. It is being started by members of the Zimbabwean diaspora in Britain, particularly Wilf Mbanga, formerly a key mover and shaker for the late Daily News. I found a detailed article about this development over at ZWNEWS.com, here's a snippet:

"..."Zimbabweans are deprived of news – they are being fed a diet of Zanu PF propaganda every day," Mbanga said in an interview at the launch in the Africa Centre in London’s Covent Garden district. "The aim of the paper is to inform millions of Zimbabweans in the diaspora about what is going on at home, and to tell Zimbabweans at home what’s happening outside the country. It is a two-way traffic." Mbanga and his wife, Trish, who are now based in Britain, have sunk their life-savings into the project. Two Dutch NGOs are raising funds, and subscriptions from Zimbabweans have poured in, said Mbanga, not only from South Africa and Europe, but from exiles in the USA, Canada and Australia. There are hopes that circulation will rise to hundreds of thousands and more. Plans are for early print runs of 20,000 in South Africa and 30,000 in Britain. For sales in Zimbabwe – where thugs regularly beat up vendors of The Daily News – Mbanga believes he has found a loophole in Mugabe’s catch-all press laws requiring journalists and publications to register. "It’s unpredictable," he acknowledged. "But there is no law requiring us to register if the paper is published outside Zimbabwe."

Read the rest over at ZWNEWS.com.

No more nooners...

2005-02-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

I am now employed again. I finally found a job. Well, it's only temporary but it is something until I find a permanent one or go back to school.

Old Dominion Politics: Common sense and reason temporarily return to Richmond

2005-02-11T02:36:00.000-05:00

This is the first of an ongoing series on Virginia politics.

Two travesties are the result of some unfortunate political machinations recently. One has been shot down and the other’s destiny won’t be known until December 2006 at the earliest. You know, I thought common sense and reason had flown the coup after I briefed myself on this ‘droopy drawers’ bill. C’mon now. Are you telling me that out of the problems facing constituents in Norfolk and in all of Virginia for that matter…that sagging britches is at the top of the heap? The bill (House Bill 1981) was passed by the House of Delegates but a Senate committee today unanimously voted it down. Kudos to that committee. Now please do the same to that resolution which supports a state gay marriage ban. Perhaps without the ‘droopy drawers’ legislation Virginia is no longer an international laughingstock but with this resolution against gay marriage Virginia just might be an intergenerational laughingstock. That resolution and the constitutional process to come could be infinitely more embarrassing and more damaging to the posterity of all Virginians.

ON THE NEWS PAGES
Droopy drawers not a fashion no-no yet (Roanoke Times)

Virginia House begins process to amend Constitution (Hampton Roads Tribune)

A cautious air...

2005-02-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

Continuing to watch Togo. Faure is stll promising elections "as soon as possible" while providing no prospective time. ECOWAS after a high level meeting in Niger yesterday has joined with the African Union and threatened sanctions in accordance with its 'good governance protocols' if constitutional order is not re-established. Opposition leaders are cautious and unfortunately it appears that the citizen strike while still in effect has been abandoned by a large majority.

Occurrences

2005-02-10T11:58:00.000-05:00

I learned this morning that I could have a lead on temporary job.

Unfortunately, for the second time I tried a South African wine and it made me gag. I am not even going to test the "third times a charm" adage here. And it was a merlot too. The last gag worthy wine I had was an Australian shiraz.

The polyphasic sleep experiment is an utter disaster. Well, for now at least. I am going to take a break for a few days and try again.

A good move...

2005-02-09T16:43:00.000-05:00

Thanks to activists like Bono, organizations such as Jubilee 2000 and a growing anti-debt movement putting pressure on the G8 nations it appears that some of the world's poorest countries may soon be debt free or have it significantly reduced. Thereby allowing for more revenue to be funnelled toward social services and not to the global North.

More soon.

When words become action

2005-02-09T11:09:00.000-05:00

Hypocrisy and doublespeak are rampant in the first week of Faure's rule in Togo. According to the Associate Press today, the new dictator made his first public speech lasting about ten minutes and said that he would allow for elections as soon as possible and reiterated his commitment to democracy. He speaks these words despite his undemocratic rise to the Presidency. The dictator also offered amnesty to opposition officials such as Gilchrist Olympio who are in exile currently. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I mean, isn't it Togo's parliament, the military and Faure and his cronies that are constitutional criminals? The people of Togo and opposition parties along with the thousands of brave Togolese that have had to flee in a wide diaspora should not be held in a haughty contempt by a man whose democratic governance credentials are nonexistent.

Public protests have been banned, any independent press are intimidated and no date for elections has been set. I guess a commentator for a local radio station, Nana FM, said it best in an article in today's New York Times when he said..."we are waiting to see if words become action..." Yes, the entire world is watching and waiting.

I hope that at ECOWAS, at its meeting today, will take a firmer stance than it did a few days ago. The apologist words of Mohamed Ibn Chambas for Faure Eyadema were reprehensible.

"We are protesting..."

2005-02-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

"Togo is not a hereditary monarchy, so the army and parliament have no right to impose the son of President Eyadema on the people…we have to let them know that we disagree with this, we are protesting." Welder Emmanuel Akwetey, Lome (February 8, 2005).

The democratic will is strong in the people of Togo if not its leader today. Plenty of news on the Togo front today. According to the Associated Press, the United States speaks and what do we have to say? “We’re watching…” But, you see, we say it with a Clint Eastwood stare. Thousands of Togolese and 6 political parties are participating in a “stay home” strike to protest the military’s actions. Stores and streets are empty. It is being called “Togo, dead country”. Togo’s political parties are not the only agents uniting in opposition. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), African Union (AU), European Union (EU), US, and a West African Human Rights organization known as RADDHO have all condemned the military’s actions and each has called for differing levels of action.

RADDHO wants Faure Eyadema overthrown. The EU has withdrawn from trade talks aimed at easing embargoes tied to Togo’s poor civil and human rights record. The AU has threatened sanctions and refused to recognize the administration and the US…well the US is watching…hmmm

Sisyphus knows...

2005-02-08T13:56:00.000-05:00

It's official. I have now sent out about 20-25 resumes, cover letters, writing samples, references, keychains and a few CV's. According to job search lore, I should expect about 2 responses right?

Psst...Just kidding about the keychains...

Faure and ECOWAS

2005-02-07T15:13:00.000-05:00

As Faure Gnassingbe, 39, was sworn into office today, AU Chairman Olusegun Obasanjo urged all African leaders to spurn the undemocratic transition. Obasanjo also sought help from the international community in organizing free elections in Togo in the near future. Apparently the continuation of Faure Eyadema’s rule with the help of the military is not an attempt by one family to stay in power but for one minority ethnic tribe to stay in power. The Kabye tribe, of which Faure and Gnassingbe Eyadema are apart of, dominates the military and the military is the sole reason why the past few days have been possible. I am sure it is not that simplistic but thats at least one angle for this story.

Unfortunately, while the African Union has taken a tough stance against the military coup, ECOWAS (Economic Organization of West African States) has not shown as much opposition. According to an Associated Press news report, Mohamed Ibn Chambas who is the general secretary of ECOWAS said "it is encouraging that the Togolese authorities have now realized the necessity to respect the country's constitution by seeking to go through the existing constitutional processes."

What?! After changing the constitution to accommodate an illegal seizure of power the leader of a regional economic organization praises the Togolese administration for its supposed observance of ‘existing’ constitutional structure? It is the height of undemocratic complicity.

"Constitutional order must be re-established" in Togo

2005-02-07T01:31:00.000-05:00

In reading some news reports today I learned that Togo's parliament amended the constitution to legalize the coup engineered by the military. Togo's ruling party apparently gets much of its backing from the military so this is no surprise. But what is encouraging is the tough stance that the African Union, formerly the Organization of African Unity, (which was accused of being a 'Dictators Club') is taking towards Lome.

Commissioner Konare and the African Union (AU) have been tough from the beginning of this crisis. Adam Thiam, Konare's spokesperson said the following concerning the military's actions since Gnassignbe Eyadema died..."it isn't sufficient reason and the constitutional order must be re-established, so that power can be held by the president of the national assembly...If the charter of the 53-member AU is respected, "this administration will not be recognized because it comes from a coup d'etat."

The AU threatened that all of its members would not legitimize the military's newly installed leader. Togo has recently been attempting to ease trade restrictions with the West, particularly the European Union, but apparently continuation of one family's national dynasty is more important than legitimacy and economic cooperation.

Sunday morning reading

2005-02-06T08:27:00.000-05:00

The sun is rising in a clear sky and I subtly hear Canadian geese outside my window. Can Canadian geese really be heard subtly? They are actually quite loud.

I came across an article concerning an international affairs issue that has interested me for some time now. The Russian occupation of Chechnya. Jason Boog, contributing writer over at INTHEFRAY magazine has an excellent piece on the toll that this protracted war has taken Russia's armed forces. An interesting and pertinent angle considering our protracted occupation of Iraq. Published last month it is centered on a small town just outside of Chechnya (the city of Rostov-on-Don) where groups of fresh recruits are apparently mobilized and sent into the trouble region.

Here's a snippet from the beginning:

"...At the end of last summer, wreckage from an exploded airplane fell just outside this city, changing everything for these soldiers. The guerilla war in Chechnya had jumped the border to Russia with renewed intensity. In just a few weeks, Chechen suicide bombers had destroyed two airplanes, bombed a Moscow subway stop, and murdered hundreds of children in a Beslan schoolhouse. In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin summoned military forces to tighten borders, pacify Chechnya, and protect Russia.

The increased attacks, however, only highlighted problems with Russia’s military that have been brewing for years. Russia’s terrorism policy rests in the hands of thousands of young men from the Rostov region, pulled into the army every year under a confusing set of draft laws that many find ways to evade. According to many active soldiers and their advocates, the army is a poorly financed and demoralized force. Although the government responded last January with initiatives to build a contracted army, it is unclear how effective the reforms will be or how they will help extricate Russia from a war that it cannot win..."
Read the rest of Boog's interesting article at INTHEFRAY magazine.

The past is still the present

2005-02-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

The small West African nation of Togo has a new dictator after the previous one was felled by a heart attack. Gnassingbe Eyadema, 68, had been the longest serving head of state after clutching the reins of power in two coups (1963 and 1967) ruling Togo for almost four decades with little permissible opposition. So who is next in line? According to the national constitution it should be the speaker of parliament, Fanbare Tchaba. But according to the Army it is no less than Junior himself (Faure Eyadema) to which the top spot belongs to in Togo "from this day forward" according to the Togolese army chief of staff, General Zakari Nandja.

General Nandja and the elements of military high command responsible for making the decision, contrary to Togolese constitutional guidelines, that Faure Eyadema is the new paramount national leader have committed nothing less than a third coup d'etat.

Former president of Mali and current commissioner of the African Union, Alpha Oumare Konare, urged..."that ECOWAS convene a meeting rapidly, together with the African Union, to monitor the evolution of this situation..." and stated that "it is crucial that the constitution's rules be applied for his succession".

In what appear to be volatile and uncertain circumstances a continuation of a status quo that cost economic development, political freedom, humanitarian aid and amicable relations with the international community is not tenable. I hope that Faure Eyadema heeds the words of Commissioner Konare.

An unintended hue

2005-02-04T22:54:00.000-05:00

For the second time in as many tries I have turned more of my white clothes an odd shade of pink. I have washed clothes for a long time and this didn't start happening until I started using my sister's washing machine. Pink pajamas. Pink undershirts. Pink socks. Remarkable. I feel like I am already back in college.

The first day of the polyphasic sleep experiment failed. I went to sleep at around 6a for my first 'nap'. I woke at noon. Five and a half hours after I was supposed to wake up. I ran across a modified polyphasic schedule which has a core sleep of 3.5-4.5 hours per night and then 2 to 3 30 minute naps during the day. Perhaps that will work.

Applied for several federal jobs mostly dealing with immigration and asylum.

Been there...

2005-02-04T19:47:00.000-05:00

Yeah, this is definitely the road sign for me. I am almost invariably closer to confusion and bewilderment than to love and happiness.

aurelientt Highway

Bewilderment Avenue	7
Dumpsville	21
Mt. Happiness	39
Lake Love	157
Paintown	465
Please Drive Carefully

Where are you on the highway of life?

From Go-Quiz.com

Early February Experiences

2005-02-03T23:52:00.000-05:00

Today was a day of new experiences.

Finally got to see 'Ray' and my admiration for Jamie Foxx's talent has reached new levels plus it is really my first true experience with the music of Ray Charles. I am saddened by this but plan on making up for lost time. I found myself humming notes from the movie soundtrack for much of the remaining day. How can he not win the Best Actor nod after a performance like that?

It snowed and chili was on the stovetop. Earlier in the week I had decided to buy some orange habanero peppers to see just how hot they are. So, I diced up half of a pepper and sprinkled it into my chili along with some shredded cheese. Five hours after eating that first bowl of chili my mouth still burns...I will be buying many more of those peppers...no one else in the house is willing to even touch them.

Finished part of a biography of Buckminister Fuller. Discovered that he was a proponent of polyphasic sleeping, which allowed him to be alert and productive with around 3-4 hours of sleep. I figure that this would force me to finish all of the half completed projects that lay dormant in my mind.

Censoring and wine

2005-01-21T20:02:00.000-05:00

Today I heard from a friend in Maine who had come down to protest the inauguration. She told me that just after her and another mutual friend had arrived (around 5am) they ran into a reporter from a Richmond station.

As he interviewed her lobbed the following question her way: "What is it that you do not like about the President?"

Well, my friend answered: "His environmental issues [lack thereof], his sending of troops to Iraq based on lies and she cited the need for a recount..."

Apparently the reporter thought her remarks were too hot to handle and radioed back that her comments would need to be 'edited'. The studio reminded the censor-happy reporter that he was on LIVE. So there you had one embarrassed and red-faced journalist and a unpleaseant relief on our diminished ability to question presidential authority and prerogatives. I told my friend that I want to be at the next protest so that we can anger and annoy a Michael Powell-less FCC.

My sister and I after an annoying interview session went to a local wine shop. This was my first time in such a specialty shop so I immediately went to the 'merlot' section. I was immediately overwhelmed by the various choices before me. We asked a clerk for some guidance and he let us taste some of the new arrivals. Before tasting the selections, I told him that I really liked reds. So he suggested I try the new red zinfandel that had just arrived. In ignorance, I heard 'zinfandel' and was not expecting much. I-was-very-pleasantly-surprised. I immediately bought a bottle. I don't know why I ever had a low opinion of zinfandel wines.

I may make a vinophile out of my sister yet. She said that she was going to tomorrow's weekly wine tasting.

A quick note to friendster...

2005-01-21T11:27:00.000-05:00

I'm baaack...see horrendous profile here

Universitat??

2005-01-19T00:47:00.000-05:00

To my loyal visitor from the Middle East thanks for popping in and I hope that you do so often in the coming months...My best wishes and prayers follow you on the difficult path you have set upon to further freedom and liberty.

Well the pictures from the road trip across the country are in...most were taken by my roommate so that means they are very good. Huge thanks to my roommate.

Interviews are finally starting to line up here in Newport News. I've decided that I am going to work until I go off to grad school wherever that ends up being. It looks like it will be in August or September. So that leaves considerable time for me to save for school.

One of my resolutions for the new year is to write one entry per week dealing with human rights. My first entry will not deal with Sudan but with something that came to my attention just about a week ago. As you may have read in the news, Margaret Thatcher's son was accused of being involved in a coup plot against the ruler of Equatorial Guinea. The bit of information that was new to me was that the ruler of the small African nation is purported to be a cannibal.

Another ripple

2005-01-08T15:07:00.000-05:00

I think this has to be the first birthday as far as I can remember in which I next to nothing planned to celebrate it. I am now 24, unemployed and sick. So what am I doing? Well, I am cooking a meal worthy of today's fete, filling out resumes, cover letters and endless statements of purpose and drinking a whole lot of honey ginger tea. A key to every door, I presume.

Got back into Newport News a couple of days ago and can now consider myself settled after almost a month of travelling. I have wittled the colleges I am interested in down to 3. Universitat Jaume I (Castellon, Spain), Arcadia University (Philadelphia), and the European Peace University (eastern Austria). After looking at the curricula and other program details more closely and considering cost and employment possibilities in humanitarian affairs or peace and conflict resolution based on the experiences of students that have gone through each program, I would be honored to get into any one of the above mentioned schools. The most formidable obstacle at the moment is the GRE. It is too expensive. I am not worried about how I will do on it cause I usually fare pretty well with standardized tests.

There are about 12 jobs for which I am going to apply. Many are in the DC area. After researching some of the organizations I am really excited in my job search.

I decided that I am going to accept an invitation to go back to my high school alma mater to speak for Black History Month. Although I am not sure that itI want to speak about the threat that HIV/AIDS represents to the young black community and the need for a holistic approach to sex education in our schools read: safe sex education which talks about contraception and propylactics in addition to encouraging abstinence. Coretta Scott King spoke about it recently. Social equality will not be acheived by minority communities as long as we do not take care as we love one another. I am particularly distressed by the fact that many of the new HIV/AIDS infections in the US are in the 15-24 age bracket and hit minority communities especially hard. One reason for this phenomenon is because our educational system refuses to embrace 'safe sex' education in addition to 'abstinence only' sex ed.

This is something that I want to talk about as a former spokesperson for a Teen Abstinence campaign in Kentucky. It is something that I will talk about as a young person of color and a sexual minority. I hope that people will listen and that I can start to advocate for a more balanced perspective on sex education in our schools.

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma to Santa Rosa, New Mexico to Flagstaff, Arizona

2005-01-04T18:13:00.000-05:00

Continued updates from our road trip.

For what our schedule was in the first half of our trip, we woke up pretty early. (Around 10am.) We left Santa Rosa which was about 100 miles outside of Albuquerque. I immediately noticed the remarkable difference in landscape between Oklahoma and New Mexico. My roommate sarcastically asked me what I thought of the wide skies and dry, bushy and brown terrain that spread out before us. I said "Different and beautiful". It was. I even saw some horned/antlered (?) animal roaming as we neared ABQ.

At around 2:00p, we arrived in Albuquerque and I was less than amused at the rapid demise of my wallet after paying for the hotel the night before. So I decided that I would skip lunch in ABQ and wait until we arrived in Flagstaff later in the day. After we saw some of the adobe homes in suburban areas. I really did not see much in Albuquerque that impressed me.

At 4:00p, we headed for Flagstaff which we expected to take around 5 hours. It took longer for good reason. We stopped at the Painted Desert National Forest (?) which is located in northeastern Arizona. Unfortunately, it was closed. So the most that we saw of any sort of petrified wood was on a postcard in the gift shop.

We arrived in Flagstaff at around 9:00p. We got lost and for about 30 minutes as we travelled back and forth along one road just off the interstate. When we finally found the place, there were several "ahhhhs". It was the most fascinating log cabin I have ever seen. One of hosts took us out to eat at a local pizzeria. Unfortunately it happened to be karaoke night. The singing lived up to the true meaning of the word (tone deaf) from every possible aspect. There was some atrocious singing that night. But the meat lover's pizza was delicious. I am no vegetarian but I usually shy away from anything called "meat lover".

Back Home Now

2004-12-29T16:24:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a joyous and comforting Christmas this year and that the New Year is one that opens on a prosperous and progressive span for you in all dimensions of your life. My access to the internet is rather scarce right now so entries are few and far between right now.

I arrived in Louisville, Kentucky on Christmas Eve and got to see my big sister before she left for Iraq. We didn't have a big holiday dinner this year opting for a smaller brunch on Christmas Day at my sister's place. It was a good change. I got to see my brother's child, Darrian, for the first time. He is 14 months old and temperamentally he is the polar opposite of Kaden but just as adorable. Also saw Alexis my second oldest niece who lives in the DC area. I joke that she is a PTBIW (president to be). Today is also my brother-in-law and youngest niece's birthday. So plenty is happening with family right now.

The job search and race to complete grad school applications as deadlines loom has begun. I have not taken the GRE yet so that makes the task of getting applications filled out difficult at best. So, I will concentrate on polishing my resume.

I am watching with increasing horror as the death toll in Southeast Asia continues to rise. 81,000 deaths all (as of today) from one natural catastrophe in a matter of hours is not something that I can presently wrap my mind around. The magnitude is just impossible to comprehend. There will need to be a truly unprecedented response from the international community in order to maintain even a modicum of stability in areas where entire villages have been scoured off the face of the earth.

Updates on the other half of our road trip from Maine to California will be coming soon.

Some updates in the past and present...

2004-12-15T15:12:00.000-05:00

Well hello there, I am currently sitting at a computer provided gratis for a time from the nice folks here at the Ronald J. Norick Downtown Library in Oklahoma City. It is time for a few updates as this trip across America has more than halfway unfolded. Some of the postings are in a retroactive fashion...

Currently in Oklahoma City.

I remember coming home from school turning it to CNN which I was already addicted to and seeing pictures of a building that had been damaged by some unimaginably powerful blast. We visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial today which was a sobering experience. There are hundreds of empty chairs representing the victims of Timothy McVeigh's insanity after he bombed the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in April of 1995. There is also a sheet of flat granite tiles about 70 yards in length with a very thin layer of water cascading across it. Two tall entrance walls bookmark the granite tile waterfall with the time of the attack engraved near the top of each, between 9:01a and 9:03a on April 19, 1995.

Nashville, Tennessee to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

2004-12-14T17:11:00.000-05:00

We are now up to current time. As mentioned I am writing from a public library in downtown Oklahoma City. Over the past several hours we have traveled the farthest distance so far since we left Virginia. In one day we made it from Nashville, Tennessee to Shawnee, Oklahoma about 35 miles outside of Oklahoma City. About 700 miles making for a total so far in our trip of almost 2000 miles. We are almost halfway through our journey.

Nashville was better than I remembered it and that it what is best to be said about this entire day. I was traveling through a part of the country which I've seen before. But it seemed smaller and less majestic in my memory than what I saw today. Nashville, Memphis and Little Rock each had sites which we wanted to see but were limited by our odd arrival times.

As we awoke outside of Nashville, the first stop we made was "White Castle", a sack of 20 burgers was enough to hit the spot. They are so good. Not the healthiest food for traveling but delicious no less. In Nashville, my roommate hit Broadway where there are many 'Elvis and country music theme" establishments and then she toured the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. I sat in the car and continued to catch up with family. We eventually headed toward Centennial Park where the Parthenon is located. It is a true-to-size replica of the parthenon at the Acropolis in Athens, quite impressive. At about 2:30p we headed toward Memphis, Nashville's other music city, where Graceland and Beale Street. Well because we ended up stopping for a look at Loretta Lynn's Dude Ranch just pass Jackson, Tennessee we were far too late for Graceland and decided to bypass downtown Memphis to soldier on toward Little Rock, Arkansas.

We arrived in Little Rock, Arkansas at around 10:30p. Of course, the recently-opened Clinton Presidential Library was closed. So we just took pictures in front of the surpisingly impressive structure. I had expected the library to look like a glass trailer about to fall into the river but it really is a nice building conveying a sense of modernity and progress illustrating the brighter points of Clinton's presidency. Downtown Little Rock in general was pretty nice. It looks like it has recently undergone some revitalization which seems to have been extremely successful.

We continued toward Oklahoma City at around 11:00p, arriving at 1:30a and decided to stay a few minutes outside of O.K. City in Shawnee.

Chapel Hill, North Carolina to Suwanee, Georgia and to Nashville, Tennessee

2004-12-12T16:48:00.001-05:00

This was our third and fourth day of travel and covered a day and a half of traveling really. (December 12 and 13) We had lunch at a chinese buffet in nearby Carrboro. I have eaten at so many chinese buffets over the past year that my expectations had reached some kind of plateau. The restaurant had sushi, which I love and the shrimp was great. So it pleasantly exceeded them. After lunch we headed to UNC to take an informal campus tour. The campus architecture is grand and seems to convey the prestige that students get by obtaining a degree there. We left Chapel Hill with a pack of Krispy Kremes which I almost completely demolished (I am such a pig) as we headed south towards another friend and suburban Atlanta. Surprisingly we did not get lost and arrived in Suwanee, Georgia at around 9:30p. We all headed to a barbecue restaurant called Sonny's where the meals and the service are 'hot' if you know what I mean. You know, I prefer pulled barbecue rathan sliced meat that has been marinated in a dry-rub (Kansas City style), so it wasn't completely satisfying.

Woke up the next morning and headed to downtown Atlanta around noon. We all toured the 'World of Coke' Coca-Cola museum and CNN center. Since I used to want to work for CNN, I was really excited about seeing the inner mechanisms of one of the world's largest news machines. Between the two tours, we had lunch at a Jamaican restaurant called, not coincidentally I suspect 'Jamaica Jamaica', in Atlanta's historic underground district. The food was incredible. I've never had jerk chicken before but this first time will not be my last. It was so hot it scorched the roof of my mouth and must've raised my body temperature a few degrees. Washing it down with ginger beer did not help much to alleviate the burning but it quenched the thirst. This was a treat because it is sometimes very difficult to find really hot food and this was an inadvertant run-in.

We left Atlanta at late afternoon and headed north towards Nashville. We stopped for a snack break near Dalton on the Tennessee-Georgia border and just shy of Chattanooga. This was my roommate's first experience with the drive up burger phenomenon known as 'Sonic'. She liked it. Arrived just south of Nashville in Murfreesboro and stayed the night, prepared to see Tennessee's music cities tomorrow.

Newport News, Virginia to Chapel Hill, North Carolina

2004-12-10T23:41:00.000-05:00

My roommate arrived in Newport News at late afternoon and we headed towards Chapel Hill to visit a friend in college there. We first had to travel west through Richmond to get onto I-85 south, I think. About thirty minutes outside of Chapel Hill we stopped to eat and get our bearings. We stopped at a Hardees. In case you don't understand the significance of this I will remind you that this is the restaurant that makes a burger with over 1400 calories. I was very happy. I had 'Mello Yello' for the first time in a quite a while. It taste similar to Mountain Dew and I used to drink quite often along with 'Big Red'. These two happenings brought back some memories. (Is it a little odd that a burger joint and a drink flavor would trigger nostalgia...perhaps.) We arrived in Chapel Hill at around 10a-10:30a, talked for a while and then called it a night. Tomorrrow we would see Chapel Hill a little and then head towards Atlanta.

Lewiston, Maine to Newport News, Virginia

2004-12-09T13:15:00.000-05:00

This is a journal series concerning what for me is currently the 'road trip to end all road trips'.

This is the most driving I have done in one day in my entire life. What was expected to be a 12-14 hours leg turned into 20-22 hour trip from Lewiston, Maine to Newport News, Virginia. My car now shakes at any time if the odometer goes above 70 and the check engine light is on. My humble car may be in need of intensive care. We started off from Lewiston-Auburn at around noon (which was four hours later than expected) due to the unending need for more and more creative ways to squish clothes, TVs, snowboards and not a few tchotchkes into our cars. Before heading off we stopped to have breakfast at the Dunkin Donuts on Lisbon Street in Lewiston and there was this really nice woman who was originally from Virginia. She suggested taking the Tappan Zee bridge into suburban New York City instead of the George Washington Bridge onto I-95, which would have cost $6.

We arrived in southern Connecticut region at around 7:00p and it seemed to be the middle of rush hour, bumper to bumper traffic for as far as the eye could see. At least an hour had passed and heavy rain had begun to fall as we pull into New City, NY to take a rest with some family. After two and a half hours and a call from my best friend back in Kentucky along with some delectable pumpkin cheesecake, coffee and pepperoni (yes, I know an odd mix but conversation topics were equally eclectic) we started again onto the New Jersey Turnpike. The rain, fog and odors (for some reason beginning around Newark) colluded to make New Jersey seem endless. My roommate seemed at first to be oblivious to the bad driving conditions cause she was jetting at 75 mph for some of the time but she eventually slowed down. We saw the sign for Delaware at almost 3:00a in the morning and neared Baltimore which seemed deserted about an hour later.

Why is the northeast so toll-happy? We must have paid nearly $30 in tolls as we passed out of Maine and into Virginia where the toll booths seem to have evaporated.

Well the Northern Virginia-DC area is a hoot at 5:00a in the morning, I tell ya. Getting lost for an hour and a half can make any situation exciting. We were both groggily looking for the city of Arlington. Our drownsiness had us following signs for the Arlington National Cemetary where we then ended up on the National Mall which is gorgeous at that time of the day, by the way. (I never thought I would find that out anytime soon.) We found the city and the specific location my roommate was staying. I then headed for Newport News alone through the height of DC's Monday rush hour. By this time, it had been half a day of driving and I was too tired to be nervous.

Arlington to Newport News is a two and a half hour journey unfer normal circumstances. These, for unlucky me at least were not normal circumstances, the trip took four hours. I got stuck in two traffic jams just forty miles outside of Newport News. The first of which lasted more than an hour. Finally at around 11:00a after nearly a full of day of driving, double what was initially expected, I arrived at my sisters place. Tomorrow we would head for North Carolina.

First winds...

2004-12-04T11:52:00.000-05:00

After complaining every day of November that it was too warm, it snows on my final day of work. Lewiston-Auburn woke up to an earlier than expected snowfall and it was beautiful. Well, of course, until it was necessary to drive in it. The office threw me a party and I was simply overwhelmed with gratitude at the rich experience that this year has been replete with.

Two days until Quebec City. Five days until we leave Maine for a long, very long journey to California.

UN reform

2004-12-01T01:24:00.000-05:00

Reform is the talk of the town at the UN as a panel of 16 is set to make recommendations on preparing the UN to deal with 21st century challenges.

Some press coverage

The view over at the Christian Science Monitor

Warren Hoge at the New York Times: "No institutional concern at the United Nations has been studied more with less to show for it than the need to broaden the membership of the 15-nation Security Council to reflect the world of today rather than the one that existed at the Council's inception nearly 60 years ago." I agree. I agree. I agree.

An Associated News report states that "one method would add six new permanent members to the council, which has had the same five permanent states -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- since the United Nations was founded in the wake of World War II."

I hope that this is the first step in peeling off the archaic dustjacket that is wrapped so tightly around the entire UN system.

Aurora Borealis

2004-11-08T03:26:00.000-05:00

Beautiful and Thank you. Those were the only things that I could think after seeing an Aurora Borealis event in the sky as I returned from gorcery shopping. I was pulling some bags out of the car and looked up because it seemed to be brighter than normal and there is this green shimmering ribbon in the sky just behind the building across the street. I literally lost my breath. I have seen few natural phenomena that embody as much beauty as what I just saw. I put the bags down and appeciated the moment (about 30 seconds).

Mistake One: I opened my mouth...

2004-11-08T01:29:00.000-05:00

OK, I have recovered somewhat from Black Tuesday. It has been a bit since I last posted. I just have one personal anecdote to share before I look at the electoral ruins of some races I had been watching...

I was at a restaurant in Bar Harbor a while ago with my roommate. The waiter came to the table and asked "Will you be having an entree tonight?" I said "Oh no, not tonight, no entree". This really amused him.

The waiter looked at my roommate and they both laughed which caused me to stop talking in my brief but not infrequent puzzlement. Two hours later, I realized why they had laughed. Why can't a main course be called a main course? You know, I sometimes feel the hint that I have said something stupid but this is one of the few unfortunate occasions where I was able to pinpoint the moment.

I had the drunken chicken. Very embarrassing.

Defrost your fingers and pull the lever!!!

2004-11-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

An important message from me to you:

VOTE !!!

and then...
Volunteer with a local GOTV effort
For voters in Maine, you can register and vote on the same day. So go to your polling place and pull the lever!
And now back to your reguarly scheduled programming...

'The young and the restless voters'

Politics in the Pine Tree State: Would you like a cap with your taxes, ma'am?

2004-10-22T15:06:00.000-04:00

The proposed Palesky initiative which would cap property taxes at 1% similiar to what California did in the late 1970's is in the news nationally.

As a volunteer in public transportation and tranportation issues advocacy for people of low income and immigrants and refugees, I voted against the drastic measure because it would hurt municipal abilities to provide essential services such as public transportation, fire and public safety, etc.

But, in reality all I needed to do was look at the state of California's cities and towns after more than 20 years of Proposition 13.

Voting

2004-10-22T10:52:00.000-04:00

I voted this morning...for Kerry. I knew that I would be way too busy on election day so I went to City Hall and put in an absentee ballot. Now I am going to continue to inform people about the election issues locally and to organize GOTV efforts in the hope that Maine will not vote schizo next month.

Happenings

2004-10-21T22:52:00.000-04:00

TherewasadrivebyshootingbackhomeinwhichmyfatherscarwashitIamnotkidding,unfortunatelyyouknowbetweenitssocialconservatismandhavingaseeminglysenileandloopyjuniorsenatorKentuckyislookinglessandless friendlypinkishdressshirtcauseseveralmenintheofficedecidedtomakeitawearpinkday.InsomniabutafewdreamsIhavehadsolittlesleepthisweek...Meetingsandmoremeetingsandthepassionofthe election'spassionate

Boston sox' em four

2004-10-21T00:12:00.000-04:00

Well, the Boston Red Sox have become the first team in MLB history to come from behind in a 0-3 deficit!

Darfur meets Wikipedia

2004-10-21T00:09:00.000-04:00

The Darfur conflict now has an entry on Wikipedia. The latest section is as recent as this month and I hope to help in keeping it constantly updated. Here is what October 2004 looks like:

October 2004

On October 15, 2004 World Health Organisation official David Nabarro estimated that 70,000 people had died of disease and malnutrition in Darfur since March.

On October 17, 2004 in a meeting between leaders of Libya, Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria and Chad, the idea of foreign intervention was rejected. They stated that they believe it to be a purely African matter. Egptian presidency spokesman Magued Abdel Fattah said that the international community should, "provide Sudan with assistance to allow it to fulfil its obligations under UN resolutions (on Darfur) rather than putting pressure on it and issuing threats".

The African Union had expected to have 4,500 troops in place in the region sometime in November, but lack of funds, and cited 'logistical difficulties' have delayed this deployment. Khartoum has said it is waiting for the AU's Peace and Security Council to meet on Oct. 20 and decide on the expanded duties and numbers of the force. Peace talks between Sudan and Darfur rebels are also scheduled to resume in on Oct. 21., in Abuja, Nigeria.

Stop Sinclair update 9

2004-10-20T23:54:00.000-04:00

I received a forwarded response from Rank and Son GMC out of Milwaukee after writing to the Top Ten Sinclair advertisers...it was an interesting reply:

"To whom it may concern,

it is simply amazing the response I have gotten from all over the country in regards to the Sinclair program to be shown. To be listed with the likes of "Arby's, Circuit City and U.S. Cellular, I am wondering if the budget I have spent with channels 18/24 in Milwaukee is to much. I can only imagine that these company's had to spend in the millions to get your attention and Rank & Son has a budget less than $800.00 per month. WOW, talk about getting out to the people! That might sound a little sarcastic, but I am trying to make a point. We are a small metro car dealership in Milwaukee and some how got on this list of company's that literally spend millions. We do not agree with any political views displayed by channels 18/24 of Sinclair in the showing of this program and are not showing any commercials the day before, the day of or the day after."

Stop Sinclair update 8

2004-10-20T23:30:00.000-04:00

Sinclair's stock has fallen considerable over the past year according to a letter in an article on MaineToday.com:

"Given the stock´s already poor performance, it would seem that any bad news would risk reducing investor interest and, thus, risk a lower stock price," the letter reads.

Hevesi said only three of the company´s directors appear to meet NASDAQ´s independence criteria and notes Sinclair shares have dropped from $15.02 in January to below $7, while other stocks in the sector have increased.

"Some critics suggest that Sinclair management is more interested in advancing its partisan political views than in protecting shareholder value. They say Sinclair´s partisan agenda also risks alienating viewers, advertisers and regulators," Hevesi wrote.
******************************************************
Almost 150,000 sigs at the online Stop Sinclair petition.

80 advertisers have pulled out including Burger King. Good, cause now I have an excuse to eat some fast food. Again.

Politics in the Pine Tree State: Maine and the Electoral College

2004-10-17T15:01:00.000-04:00

The Boston Globe has a great article featuring Maine's possible role in an election night squeaker on Nov. 2 and Lewiston-Auburn's role in the state as the largest city in the second CD. A snippet below:

"Maine's politics are notoriously fickle. The fact that Bush's parents own a home in Kennebunkport, marking them in Maine as "from away," has not been a political asset. In his 1992 reelection defeat, then-president George H.W. Bush finished third in Maine, behind Bill Clinton and independent candidate Ross Perot. Perot's 30 percent showing in Maine was his best in the country that year.

Moreover, two of the state's last five governors were independents, and the congressional delegation now consists of two Republicans, both women, in the Senate, and two Democrats, both men, in the House. Democrats (31.1 percent) hold a slight registration advantage over Republicans (28.7 percent), according to the most recent figures compiled by the secretary of state's office. But independents (38.2 percent), a plurality, hold the balance of power in the state..."

Stop Sinclair update 7

2004-10-15T12:01:00.000-04:00

Just a few minutes ago, I received this message from Wendy at Food Lion concerning their advertising on WGME. It's a puzzler.

"Effective immediately, we have reversed our decision to pull our advertising from WGME. We recognize that WGME has been put in an untenable position. It was never our intent to politicize this issue even more, or to punish WGME. We are in the supermarket business, not the political business. We have always made our media buying decisions based on our customer demographic, and will continue to do so."

Stop Sinclair update 6

2004-10-15T09:23:00.000-04:00

Over at Daily Kos, Bill in Portland Maine, notified everyone that there has been a third advertiser to pull out from advertising on WGME. Also, the Portland Press Herald is giving the station a pair of black eyes through a testy editorial and coverage of the ducking advertisers.

The Stop Sinclair campaign petition now has almost 70,000 signatures. I think they will be submitting their petition to their headquarters sometime today.

Na na na na hey hey hey!!!

2004-10-14T22:36:00.000-04:00

Graduate programs of interest

US

Arcadia University—International Peace Education and Conflict Resolution
Webster University—Political Science
University of Denver—International Administration/International Human Rights

Europe or Central America

University for Peace—International Peace Studies/International Human Rights
Universitat Jaume I—Peace and Development Studies
European Peace University—Peace and Conflict Studies

Stop Sinclair update 5

2004-10-14T22:10:00.000-04:00

I was sent an unconfirmed report tonight that Hannaford has stopped advertising with WGME. The message was marked from Susan Wharton, a customer relations specialist.

"On October 13, 2004 we contacted the Sinclair Broadcasting Group and WGME to discuss our concerns with their decision to broadcast the documentary titled, "Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal."

We, at Hannaford, have made the decision to pull our advertising from
Sinclair Broadcasting and WGME, effective immediately, and until further notice. We are still in contact with WGME and will continue to monitor the situation."

Stop Sinclair update 4

2004-10-14T01:31:00.000-04:00

I received an email from someone telling me that Joe Bornstein, a local attorney, has pulled advertising from WGME in response to Sinclair's recent actions. Also, Portland Radio Group, responded by email. Their operations manager said that they had "recently heard the news reports about Sinclair and saw the Press Herald news article."

Stop Sinclair update 3

2004-10-13T00:23:00.000-04:00

Sent out emails to several more local companies that purportedly advertise with local Sinclair affiliate, WGME.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas

2004-10-12T15:04:00.000-04:00

One of the best short stories by one of the best science fiction/fantasy writers ever! Omelas rising....in analyzing this story it's a little discomforting to see some aspects of our society.

Story was found at the Daily Pencible.

The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas
By Ursula K. LeGuin

With a clamor of bells that set the swallows soaring, the Festival of Summer came to the city Omelas, bright-towered by the sea. The ringing of the boats in harbor sparkled with flags. In the streets between houses with red roofs and painted walls, between old moss-grown gardens and under avenues of trees, past great parks and public buildings, processions moved. Some were decorous: old people in long stiff robes of mauve and gray, grave master workmen, quiet, merry women carrying their babies and chatting as they walked. In other streets the music beat faster, a shimmering of gong and tambourine, and the people went dancing, the procession was a dance. Children dodged in and out, their high calls rising like the swallows' crossing flights over the music and the singing. All the processions wound towards the north side of the city, where on the great water-meadow called the Green Fields boys and girls, naked in the bright air, with mud-stained feet and ankles and long, lithe arms, exercised their restive horses before the race. The horses wore no gear at all but a halter without bit. Their manes were braided with streamers of silver, gold, and green. They flared their nostrils and pranced and boasted to one another; they were vastly excited, the horse being the only animal who has adopted our ceremonies as his own. Far off to the north and west the mountains stood up half encircling Omelas on her bay. The air of morning was s o clear that the snow still crowning the Eighteen Peaks burned with white-gold fire across the miles of sunlit air, under the dark blue of the sky. There was just enough wind to make the banners that marked the racecourse snap and flutter now and then. In the silence of the broad green meadows one could hear the music winding throughout he city streets, farther and nearer and ever approaching, a cheerful faint sweetness of the air from time to time trembled and gathered together and broke out into the great joyous clanging of the bells. Joyous! How is one to tell about joy? How describe the citizens of Omelas? They were not simple folk, you see, though they were happy. But we do not say the words of cheer much any more. All smiles have become archaic. Given a description such as this one tends to make certain assumptions. Given a description such as this one tends to look next for the King, mounted on a splendid stallion and surrounded by his noble knights, or perhaps in a golden litter borne by great-muscled slaves. But there was no king. They did not use swords, or keep slaves. They were not barbarians, I do not know the rules and laws of their society, but I suspect that they were singularly few. As they did without monarchy and slavery, so they also got on without the stock exchange, the advertisement, the secret police, and the bomb. Yet I repeat that these were not simple folk, not dulcet shepherds, noble savages, bland utopians. There were not less complex than us. The trouble is that we have a bad habit, encouraged by pedants and sophisticates, of considering happiness as something rather stupid. Only pain is intellectual, only evil interesting. This is the treason of the artist: a refusal to admit the banality of evil and the terrible boredom of pain. If you can't lick 'em, join 'em. If it hurts, repeat it. But to praise despair is to condemn delight, to embrace violence is to lose hold of everything else. We have almost lost hold; we can no longer describe a happy man, nor make any celebration of joy. How can I tell you about the people of Omelas? They were not naive and happy children--though their children were, in fact, happy. They were mature, intelligent, passionate adults whose lives were not wretched. O miracle! But I wish I could describe it better. I wish I could convince you. Omelas sounds in my words like a city in a fairy tale, long ago and far away, once upon a time. Perhaps it would be best if you imagined it as your own fancy bids, assuming it will rise to the occasion, for certainly I cannot suit you all. For instance, how about technology? I think that there would be no cars or helicopters in and above the streets; this follows from the fact that the people of Omelas are happy people. Happiness is based on a just discrimination of what is necessary, what is neither necessary nor destructive, and what is destructive. In the middle category, however--that of the unnecessary but undestructive, that of comfort, luxury, exuberance, etc.--they could perfectly well have central heating, subway trains, washing machines, and all kinds of marvelous devices not yet invented here, floating light-sources, fuelless power, a cure for the common cold. Or they could have none of that: it doesn't matter. As you like it. I incline to think that people from towns up and down the coast have been coming to to Omelas during the last days before the Festival on very fast little trains and double-decked trams, and that the trains station of Omelas is actually the handsomest building in town, though plainer than the magnificent Farmers' Market. But even granted trains, I fear that Omelas so far strikes some of you as goody-goody. Smiles, bells, parades, horses, bleh. If so, please add an orgy. If an orgy would help, don't hesitate. Let us not, however, have temples from which issue beautiful nude priests and priestesses already half in ecstasy and ready to copulate with any man or woman, lover or stranger, who desires union with the deep godhead of the blood, although that was my first idea. But really it would be better not to have any temples in Omelas--at least, not manned temples. Religion yes, clergy no. Surely the beautiful nudes can just wander about, offering themselves like divine souffles to the hunger of the needy and the rapture of the flesh. Let them join the processions. Let tambourines be struck above the copulations, and the gory of desire be proclaimed upon the gongs, and (a not unimportant point) let the offspring of these delightful rituals be beloved and looked after by all. One thing I know there is none of in Omelas is guilt. But what else should there be? I thought at first there were no drugs, but that is puritanical. For those who like it, the faint insistent sweetness of drooz may perfume the ways of the city, drooz which first brings a great lightness and brilliance to the mind and limbs, and then after some hours a dreamy languor, and wonderful visions at last of the very arcane and inmost secrets of the Universe, as well as exciting the pleasure of sex beyond all belief; and it is not habit-forming. For more modest tastes I think there ought to be beer. What else, what else belongs in the joyous city? The sense of victory, surely, the celebration of courage. But as we did without clergy, let us do without soldiers. The joy built upon successful slaughter is not the right kind of joy; it will not do; it is fearful and it is trivial. A boundless and generous contentment, a magnanimous triumph felt not against some outer enemy but in communion with the finest and fairest in the souls of all men everywhere and the splendor of the world's summer: This is what swells the hears of the people of Omelas, and the victory they celebrate is that of life. I don't think many of them need to take drooz. Most of the processions have reached the Green Fields by now. A marvelous smell of cooking goes forth from the red and blue tents of the provisioners. The faces of small children are amiably sticky; in the benign gray beard of a man a couple of crumbs of rich pastry are entangled. The youths and girls have mounted their horses and are beginning to group around the starting line of the course. An old woman, small, fat, and laughing, is passing out flowers from a basket, and tall young men wear her flowers in their shining hair. A child of nine or ten sits at the edge of the crowd, alone, playing on a wooden flute. People pause to listen, and they smile, but they do not speak to him, for he never ceases playing and never sees them, his dark eyes wholly rapt in the sweet, thing magic of the tune. He finishes, and slowly lowers his hands holding the wooden flute. As if that little private silence were the signal, all at once a trumpet sounds from the pavilion near the starting line: imperious, melancholy, piercing. The horses rear on their slender legs, and some of them neigh in answer. Sober-faced, the young riders stroke the horses' necks and soothe them, whispering. "Quiet, quiet, there my beauty, my hope..." They begin to form in rank along the starting line. The crowds along the racecourse are like a field of grass and flowers in the wind. The Festival of Summer has begun. Do you believe? Do you accept the festival, the city, the joy? No? Then let me describe one more thing. In a basement under one of the beautiful public buildings of Omelas, or perhaps in the cellar of one of its spacious private homes, there is a room. It has one locked door, and no window. A little light seeps in dustily between cracks in the boards, secondhand from a cobwebbed window somewhere across the cellar. In one corner of the little room a couple of mops, with stiff, clotted, foul-smelling heads, stand near a rusty bucket. The floor is dirt, a little damp to the touch, as cellar dirt usually is. The room is about three paces long and two wide: a mere broom closet or disused tool room. In the room, a child is sitting. It could be a boy or a girl. It looks about six, but actually is nearly ten. It is feeble-minded. Perhaps it was born defective, or perhaps it has become imbecile through fear, malnutrition, and neglect. It picks its nose and occasionally fumbles vaguely with its toes or genitals, as it sits hunched in the corner farthest from the bucket and the two mops. It is afraid of the mops. It finds them horrible. It shuts its eyes, but it knows the mops are still standing there; and the door is locked; and nobody will come. The door is always locked; and nobody ever comes, except that sometimes--the child has no understanding of time or interval--sometimes the door rattles terribly and opens, and a person, or several people, are there. One of them may come in and kick the child to make it stand up. The others never come close, but peer in at it with frightened, disgusted eyes. The food bowl and the water jug are hastily filled, the door is locked; the eyes disappear. The people at the door never say anything, but the child, who has not always lived in the tool room, and can remember sunlight and its mother's voice, sometimes speaks. "I will be good, " it says. "Please let me out. I will be good!" They never answer. The child used to scream for help at night, and cry a good deal, but now it only makes a kind of whining, "eh-haa, eh-haa," and it speaks less and less often. It is so thin there are no calves to its legs; its belly protrudes; it lives on a half-bowl of corn meal and grease a day. It is naked. Its buttocks and thighs are a mass of festered sores, as it sits in its own excrement continually. They all know it is there, all the people of Omelas. Some of them have come to see it, others are content merely to know it is there. They all know that it has to be there. Some of them understand why, and some do not, but they all understand that their happiness, the beauty of their city, the tenderness of their friendships, the health of their children, the wisdom of their scholars, the skill of their makers, even the abundance of their harvest and the kindly weathers of their skies, depend wholly on this child's abominable misery. This is usually explained to children when they are between eight and twelve, whenever they seem capable of understanding; and most of those who come to see the child are young people, though often enough an adult comes, or comes back, to see the child. No matter how well the matter has been explained to them, these young spectators are always shocked and sickened at the sight. They feel disgust, which they had thought themselves superior to. They feel anger, outrage, impotence, despite all the explanations. They would like to do something for the child. But there is nothing they can do. If the child were brought up into the sunlight out of that vile place, if it were cleaned and fed and comforted, that would be a good thing, indeed; but if it were done, in that day and hour all the prosperity and beauty and delight of Omelas would wither and be destroyed. Those are the terms. To exchange all the goodness and grace of every life in Omelas for that single, small improvement: to throw away the happiness of thousands for the chance of happiness of one: that would be to let guilt within the walls indeed. The terms are strict and absolute; there may not even be a kind word spoken to the child. Often the young people go home in tears, or in a tearless rage, when they have seen the child and faced this terrible paradox. They may brood over it for weeks or years. But as time goes on they begin to realize that even if the child could be released, it would not get much good of its freedom: a little vague pleasure of warmth and food, no real doubt, but little more. It is too degraded and imbecile to know any real joy. It has been afraid too long ever to be free of fear. Its habits are too uncouth for it to respond to humane treatment. Indeed, after so long it would probably be wretched without walls about it to protect it, and darkness for its eyes, and its own excrement to sit in. Their tears at the bitter injustice dry when they begin to perceive the terrible justice of reality, and to accept it. Yet it is their tears and anger, the trying of their generosity and the acceptance of their helplessness, which are perhaps the true source of the splendor of their lives. Theirs is no vapid, irresponsible happiness. They know that they, like the child, are not free. They know compassion. It is the existence of the child, and their knowledge of its existence, that makes possible the nobility of their architecture, the poignancy of their music, the profundity of their science. It is because of the child that they are so gentle with children. They know that if the wretched one were not there sniveling in the dark, the other one, the flute-player, could make no joyful music as the young riders line up in their beauty for the race in the sunlight of the first morning of summer. Now do you believe them? Are they not more credible? But there is one more thing to tell, and this is quite incredible. At times one of the adolescent girls or boys who go see the child does not go home to weep or rage, does not, in fact, go home at all. Sometimes also a man or a woman much older falls silent for a day or two, then leaves home. These people go out into the street, and walk down the street alone. They keep walking, and walk straight out of the city of Omelas, through the beautiful gates. They keep walking across the farmlands of Omelas. Each one goes alone, youth or girl, man or woman. Night falls; the traveler must pass down village streets, between the houses with yellow-lit windows, and on out into the darkness of the fields. Each alone, they go west or north, towards the mountains. They go on. They leave Omelas, they walk ahead into the darkness, and they do not come back. The place they go towards is a place even less imaginable to most of us than the city of happiness. I cannot describe it at all. It is possible that it does not exist. But they seem to know where they are going, the ones who walk away from Omelas.

Lord have mercy!

2004-10-12T14:19:00.000-04:00

Urban Outfitters is having a fall sale where prices have been slashed an additional 25%...

Update 2

2004-10-12T13:30:00.000-04:00

Sylvan Learning Centers has pulled its advertising from Sinclair station newscasts across the country in response to their forced showing of the anti-Kerry documentary, according to Daily Kos.

A list of advertisers can be found online as well where you can find contact information.

I only found one advertiser at the WGME website, Dunkin Donuts. I will watch the news tonight to record more advertisers.

So, the boycott begins...

Stop Sinclair! update

2004-10-11T20:37:00.000-04:00

A quick update on the Sinclair Broadcasting Group's (SBG) upcoming station programming.

There is a Stop Sinclair blog up and a petition online that will be submitted to the FCC. Also, the Democratic National Committee also will file a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission.

Infonote: This anti-Kerry movie that SBG is forcing its stations to run will reach 24% of American television households in several battleground states including Maine.

Sinclair has some explaining to do...

2004-10-09T23:22:00.000-04:00

According to this LA Times article, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which has an affiliate in Portland (WGME), is up to some suspicious pre-election shenanigans.

Here is a sample letter from "thinkdouble" over at dKOS where I first caught wind of the story.

To Whom It May Concern:

The decision by Sinclair Broadcast Group to air the anti-Kerry smear before the election is outrageous. I will watch my local Sinclair affiliate, WGME in Portland, Maine, only long enough to know what advertisers to boycott.

The program is not news but propaganda and your decision to pre-empt programming, to force stations to air the program, is a blatant and deeply offensive abuse of power. You do your viewers, your stockholders, your employees, and most of all the country a disservice if you persist in broadcasting this program before our election.

I will next be contacting my representative in congress.

You can send a quick email to WGME here at tvmail@wgme.com.

Harambe

2004-10-08T15:04:00.000-04:00

Waangari Maathai has won the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Citation said that she has been a source of inspiration for millions.

Maathai stood up courageously against the former oppressive regime in Kenya. Her unique forms of action have contributed to drawing attention to political oppression - nationally and internationally. She has served as inspiration for many in the fight for democratic rights and has especially encouraged women to better their situation.

Maathai combines science, social commitment and active politics. More than simply protecting the existing environment, her strategy is to secure and strengthen the very basis for ecologically sustainable development. She founded the Green Belt Movement where, for nearly 30 years, she has mobilised poor women to plant 30 million trees.

NYT editorial Sudan

2004-10-04T08:53:00.000-04:00

There is a very good editorial on Darfur in today's New York Times by Romeo Dallaire, the commander of UN forces during the Rwandan genocide.

Quiet Sunday

2004-10-03T15:06:00.000-04:00

This was sent to me today by a friend...

Hunger: the foremost illness.
Fabrications: the foremost pain.
For one knowing this truth
As it actually is,
Unbinding
Is the foremost ease.

Freedom from illness: the foremost good fortune.
Contentment: the foremost wealth.
Trust: the foremost kinship.
Unbinding: the foremost ease.

-Dhammapada, 15, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu.

Starting a dialogue with religious leaders

2004-09-30T14:13:00.000-04:00

I am now contacting local religious leaders concerning the crisis in Sudan to see if they can take a large role in educating their congregations about what is happening in Darfur. I have been working with on a different issue with a local Episcopal clergywoman and when I emailed her about Sudan, it was like a breath of fresh air, to see that she had been following it somewhat. She sent me some information from an Episcopal newswire and seems committing to educating her own congregation about current affairs in Darfur and about engaging our minds on what we can do together to help. So, the first contact went well.

Alpacas at the office

2004-09-30T14:10:00.000-04:00

Put this in the you-never-know-what’s-going-to-happen-at-work file. Some alpaca farmers came to the office, they were from the Indian River Alpaca Farm in nearby Wilton and they brought some of the adorable animals along with them in their minivan. So just picture a herd of office workers running toward the nearest exit to pet them…the alpaca not the farmers. Pictures soon.

Chili recipe and debate

2004-09-27T01:19:00.000-04:00

I made my first attempt to whip up some chili in celebration of the first week of autumn yersterday. I think it was a success with some coaching from mama back in KY and a cousin in NC. Here is what I used....

A pound of ground beef fried with a quarter-section of sliced onion and green pepper
A healthy portion of McCormick's "Hot" chili seasoning along with salt and pepper
A can of tomato sauce (13 oz.) (with some water added, as it was a little too thick...I couldn't find tomato juice at the grocery)
Spaghetti noodles (my cousin and I had a debate on whether the noodles thing is a Midwestern-schtick because in my time in Maine and her time in North Carolina neither of us has ran into anyone who eats their chili with noodles although while through Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Chicago...I noticed that Skyline chili w/noodles is quite popular)
A small can of red kidney beans (drained because the juice in that can was just disgusting)

In adding it all together and letting it simmer on low heat for about 15 minutes, you get a satisfying meal with a side of cornbread. For my next autumn meal, I think I am going to try out butternut squash soup.

2004-09-20T13:31:00.000-04:00

Incredible. Absolutely incredible. I am on my lunch break doing my daily review of press reports on the situation in Darfur and I come across an article in today’s Scotsman. AU troops in Darfur are now breaking the veil of silence and reporting on the Sudanese government and Janjaweed activities in the region. The article is by a South African journalist on site in Darfur and I am just going to post it here…because my summation cannot do the article justice.

Darfur troops blow the whistle

Fred Bridgland, Johannesburg—AFRICAN Union soldiers yesterday accused the Sudanese government of brazenly breaching the ceasefire in the Darfur region and continuing to attack villages with a contemptuous disregard for the presence of peace monitors.

AU peacekeepers claim the situation is "falling apart" in Darfur, with the Sudanese not complying with the ceasefire demands.

Their allegations come after the UN Security Council on Saturday approved a resolution threatening oil sanctions against Sudan if the government fails to rein in the Arab Janjaweed militias blamed for killing tens of thousands of black Africans in Darfur.

AU soldiers in Darfur leaked the contents of classified reports sent to the union’s Addis Ababa headquarters, after their superiors refused to publish them. They paint a damning picture of the Sudanese government’s contempt for peacekeeping.

"They [the government] are not acting in good faith," says the AU’s mission chief, Ghana’s Colonel Anthony Amedoh. "Everything is falling apart. There are so many clear violations by the Sudanese government. They’re using aircraft where they’re not supposed to and they’re moving their forces all the time. They are not complying at all, but we can’t stop them from violating the ceasefire, we can just report it. They just deny it and don’t stop what they are doing."

The African commanders say the Sudan government is treating them like fools while its army, acting in close alliance with the Janjaweed militias, continues its ethnic cleansing of the Fur, Zaghawa, Masalit and other black African tribes.

Colonel Barry Steyn, commander of the small South African force with the AU mission, says he counts bodies of Sudan army and Janjaweed victims each week and sends classified reports to Addis Ababa. Describing maggot-infested decomposing skulls, he says: "You believe there’s an inherent goodness in people, but you see some of these villages and it shakes that belief. You look at this stuff and it makes you turn dead white."

Saturday’s Security Council vote was carried 11-0 with four abstentions - China, Russia, Pakistan and Algeria. China, a permanent council member with veto power and huge oil interests in Sudan, said immediately after the vote that it would veto any future resolution that sought to impose sanctions on Sudan. "I told the American government that the position of my government on sanctions is a firm one," said China’s UN ambassador, Wang Guangya. "We always believe that sanctions are not a helpful means to achieve political objectives. It will only make matters worse."

The resolution says the council would have to meet again to consider sanctions against Sudan’s petroleum sector or other punitive measures if the Khartoum government does not act quickly to stop the violence and bring the perpetrators to justice - or if it fails to co-operate with the 480-strong AU monitoring force. The council also ordered an investigation into whether the attacks constituted genocide. A declaration of genocide would oblige the UN to intervene militarily under the Convention on Prevention of Genocide.

The AU commanders decided to break silence and talk freely to visiting South African reporters because of the futility of their task and the AU’s refusal to publish what is really happening in Darfur.

"They [the Sudan Army] say there’s a fuel problem when they want to keep us on the ground," says Major Gordon Schmidt, a South African communications officer. "They don’t want us to take off because they don’t want us to see. It’s a big violation."

Schmidt was speaking as a Sudan army strike helicopter carrying 30 heavily armed soldiers took off on an attack mission from the Darfur town of Nyala. AU monitoring troops from Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Senegal and Egypt were ready to follow in their own choppers. But they are dependent on the Sudan army for fuel and, as flight crew stood ready, an AU soldier reported back: "The Sudanese say there is no fuel." By the time fuel arrived, the Sudanese attack was over. AU commanders and their troops watched from their tents and land cruisers as Sudanese officials welcomed back the attack force with smiles, hugs and multiple signing of forms.

"These people are not truthful, we’re always fighting about these fuel issues," says Sergeant William Molokwane of the South African Defence Force. "We are supposed to know about these movements - troops moving out of the city, attack helicopters flying in and out of the airport. They will only tell us, ‘we are testing them’."

As Sgt Molokwane sighs with frustration, a Nigerian soldier comes in from patrol and tells his commander, Colonel Negabi : "We caught them fighting together red-handed." He said Sudan soldiers and Janjaweed militiamen were jointly attacking civilians in a large refugee camp.

Sgt Molokwane is distraught. "Aside from our small protection force [of 120 Rwandan soldiers] there are absolutely no arms here," he says. "If something happens now, what can we do?"

I have one question for you. After reading such an article, would you be willing to believe that the African Union can now be trusted to be sole force in peacemaking for Darfur? My answer is a definite no.

Nerzhin and Rubin

2004-09-18T18:30:00.000-04:00

OK, well I am reading 'The First Circle' as mentioned yesterday and I wasn't really engaged with the book until I reached page 38.

Page 38, section 8 "The fifth year in harness"
Nerzhin while speaking to Rubin says the following concerning the search for happiness.
"In order to understand the nature of happiness we first have to analyze satiety...Remember that thin, watery barley or the oatmeal porridge without a single drop of fat? Can you say that you eat it? No. You commune with it, you take it like a sacrament! Like the prana of the yogis. You eat it slowly; you eat it from the tip of the wooden spoon; you eat it absorbed entirely in the process of eating--and it spreads through your body like nectar. You tremble at the sweetness released from those overcooked little grains and the murky liquid they float in. And then--with hardly any nourishment--you go on living six months, twelve months..."

I really liked that. What do you think?

Pretty noise and Solzhenitsyn

2004-09-17T20:27:00.000-04:00

If you're feeling blue put on Jill Scott's new CD. The single "Golden" is sure to provide a pick-me-up. I have been listening to it at work. Jill is so so soooo good. Also, I heard Charlie Mars on CLZ while driving to work several mornings in a row....he is from Texas and does have the velvet voice. He was in Portland tonight at the Big Easy but I couldn't go...oh well, he'll be back in October? I think.

Reading....The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Yes--
I know--
it --
is--
a Friday night...

A sense beyond rationale

2004-09-13T23:58:00.000-04:00

Tonight, I learned from my mother that my older sister is going to Iraq for one year. Shocked was I? Yes, definitely...initially. Now, I am just indignantly angry. I know, she signed up for it voluntarily. But I was protesting this atrocious war before it even started and now for its horrific tentacles to reach out and envelope one of my family members! Our occupation of Iraq was an issue yes but now it is something different...this just adds to my determination to defeat Bush. I swear. I was protesting him before he was even inaugurated and look what his Orwellian misadventures of clean skies and wars against 'terror' have done to our democracy. I will tell you...they poison our environment, embolden our enemies and endanger global security. They told her that she was either going to Iraq or Afghanistan. What a prospect. I can only imagine being a mother of three who was just promoted and thinking of renewing my wedding vows now having to look forward to Baghdad, Ramadi, Najaf or Tikrit. Her husband and her beautiful children and the wonderful legacy that they embody do not deserve this situation. This was a war of choice but not theirs, not mine, certainly not Orestes. Yet she goes....Yet she goes....

2004-09-11T01:16:00.000-04:00

Sandy toes at Popham Beach near Phippsburg...(I know, an odd picture...) For more pics, visit my photoblog at GreatestCities

2004-09-11T00:13:00.000-04:00

The many, many boats participating in festivities at Windjammer Weekend in Camden