Red shouldered hawk © Robert Sommers 2026
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Playing Nice
“We are not doomed to endless gridlock,” said Barack Obama today. I wonder if that is a good thing or not? If you have only averted that gridlock by constant capitulation to the other side, oft times prematurely. Some gout ridden old fossil like Mitch McConnell threatens to shut off government and you shake in your boots and give away the store. If you had waited a little longer on the tax cuts, maybe they could have felt some of the heat, no? Cut off all their lazy constituent's unemployment checks and see what happens...But enough about the past, it is a new day after all.
Dealing with the obstructionist Republicans should be like the recent South Korean reaction to the North. We are going to drill and we are going to respond and if you don't like it, tough shit. And the North backed down and whimpered for once. It's like piss on it, you want to fight, lets fight.
Ditto the Republican's losing hand on not granting benefits to 9/11 responders. The responders got in Tom Coburn's face today, tried to look him in the eye. Who's the good american again? And the GOP backed down.
Obama scored one with the Start treaty today so he deserves a little credit. And I hope that my conservative friends agree, or at least agree with Colin Powell and the first George Bush, two supporters of the treaty. John Kyl looked like he had drank spoiled milk. And McCain is all apoplectic about DADT repeal.
Maybe the President can get a little headwind and make a few more things happen. See what else he really actually believes in...
Dealing with the obstructionist Republicans should be like the recent South Korean reaction to the North. We are going to drill and we are going to respond and if you don't like it, tough shit. And the North backed down and whimpered for once. It's like piss on it, you want to fight, lets fight.
Ditto the Republican's losing hand on not granting benefits to 9/11 responders. The responders got in Tom Coburn's face today, tried to look him in the eye. Who's the good american again? And the GOP backed down.
Obama scored one with the Start treaty today so he deserves a little credit. And I hope that my conservative friends agree, or at least agree with Colin Powell and the first George Bush, two supporters of the treaty. John Kyl looked like he had drank spoiled milk. And McCain is all apoplectic about DADT repeal.
Jehovah's favorite choir
A $615,000 federal grant to University of California Santa Cruz to digitize the Grateful Dead archive was listed at No. 4 in the report that identifies 100 examples of "wasteful" spending.
On a certain level I totally agree. If I had my druthers the first responsibility for spending would be helping feed hungry people, the second keeping them warm. But I think that an archive to a great american institution like the Dead is certainly preferable to say, paying Goldman Sachs 100 cents on the dollar (12.6 billion dollars) in retiring AIG's debt or buying a bunch of napalm or something like that. (Cost - war in Afghanistan - 377 billion dollars.) We set aside 250 million dollars for abstinence education funding last year. Like that's not pissing money away.
By these standards the money for the Grateful Dead archive is pretty paltry, a mere $615,000.00. I started looking into the archive and found this information in the Calgary Sun:
By the way the two progressive proof Grateful Dead posters shown on top are very rare pieces from my collection. Probably one of a kind. They are from the Texas artist Jack "Jaxon" Jackson. AOR 2.25 Avalon Ballroom - 1969.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
THORINSHIELD
Obscure 1960's band. The first song is pretty unspectacular but I always liked the second track here, The best of it.
Balder
Since I am on the Norse thing, and it's a slow rainy day, I would like to share a drawing with you from my collection. I bought this ink wash from Judith Rafferty many years ago and I have always loved it. There is sort of a Picasso, Don Quixote-esque character to it. It was painted by the Norwegian artist Louis Moe in 1929.
The painting shows the god Balder at the River Helayid. Balder was the Norse god of love and happiness, son of Odin and Frigg, the most beloved god in the norse pantheon. Balder had a prophetic dream of his own death. He grasped the verity of his dream because he is the god of truth. His mother had the same dream. The death of Balder was foretold to be the event that would portend the destruction of the gods.
Frigg was worried and had all living creatures promise not to hurt her son. Every creature made the vow except for the mistletoe, being thought unimportant and too young to swear an oath.
The trickster Loki, Balder's cousin, had an arrow made of mistletoe and went to the place where the gods were casting spears at Balder. He gave the arrow to the blind god Höðr who cast it at Balder and killed him.
Balder was ceremonially burnt upon his ship, Hringhorni, the largest of all ships. As he was carried to the ship, Odin whispered an unanswerable riddle in his ear. Balder's wife Namma threw herself into the funeral fire to await Ragnarok, when he would be raised from the dead and reconciled with Höðr.
This painting shows Balder and Namma alongside Hel at the river Helayid. Frigg begged Hel through the messenger Hermod to release her son. Hel promised to release Balder from the underworld if all objects alive and dead would weep for him. And all did, except a giantess, Þökk, who refused to mourn the slain god. It turns out that he is actually Loki in disguise. And so we await the end of the world.
The painting has a beautiful but bittersweet quality. The horse has almost a Pleistocene feel. The forlorn figures perfectly illustrate the age old tale. I have had elderly Norwegian women try to translate the inscription. It is evidently written in an old version of their language and hard to perfectly decipher. Let me know if you know any old Norse gods who can take a crack at it.
Another link to Moe (1857-1945).
Edda
Annar sonur Óðins er Baldur, og er frá honum gott að segja. Hann er svá fagr álitum ok bjartr svá at lýsir af honum, ok eitt gras er svá hvítt at jafnat er til Baldrs brár. Þat er allra grasa hvítast, ok þar eptir máttu marka fegrð hans bæði á hár og á líki. Hann er vitrastr ása ok fegrst talaðr ok líknsamastr. En sú náttúra fylgir honum at engi má haldask dómr hans. Hann býr þar sem heita Breiðablik, þat er á himni. Í þeim stað má ekki vera óhreint.
The second son of Odin is Baldur, and good things are to be said of him. He is best, and all praise him; he is so fair of feature, and so bright, that light shines from him. A certain herb is so white that it is likened to Baldr's brow; of all grasses it is whitest, and by it thou mayest judge his fairness, both in hair and in body. He is the wisest of the Æsir, and the fairest-spoken and most gracious; and that quality attends him, that none may gainsay his judgments. He dwells in the place called Breidablik, which is in heaven; in that place may nothing unclean be.
Kiss - God Of Thunder
Sort of fits the narrative but definitely the worst piece of music I have ever put on the website.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thunder God
The Council of Conservative Citizens, the southern white supremacist organization, has their liederhosen in a twist over the fact that Marvel Comics has cast a black man as a supporting actor in the new Thor movie.
From their website:
Marvel Studios turns Norse god black.
The relentless attack on European heritage has been expanded to mythology. Hollywood isn’t just re-writing recent history, they want to re-write European mythology and folklore with a left-wing multi-cultural slant.
Last week we brought you the story of how radical left-wing groups are demanding that the new Lord of the Rings prequel, a series based on northern European mythology, add non-whites to the cast.
This week Marvel Studios, a company already known for pushing left-wing ideology in its movies, released its trailer for Thor. The movie re-writes German mythology with a multi-cultural slant. The God Heimdall is played by a black man. An extra Chinese character is added to the pantheon for good measure as well.
Can you imagine the outrage if the same multi-cultural makeover was applied to other races?"
There is even a new Boycott Thor website. It had this gem: Marvel has a history of advocating for the left-wing. In early 2010 they even used their Captain America comic to attack the TEA Party movement. Marvel front man Stan "Lee" Lieber personally funds left-wing political candidates. Now Marvel has inserted left-wing social engineering into European mythology, casting a black man to play a Norse deity.
Wonder why it was important to list Stan Lee's real last name? And hobbits and elves are northern european? Let me guess where the orcs came from.
Last week we brought you the story of how radical left-wing groups are demanding that the new Lord of the Rings prequel, a series based on northern European mythology, add non-whites to the cast.
This week Marvel Studios, a company already known for pushing left-wing ideology in its movies, released its trailer for Thor. The movie re-writes German mythology with a multi-cultural slant. The God Heimdall is played by a black man. An extra Chinese character is added to the pantheon for good measure as well.
Can you imagine the outrage if the same multi-cultural makeover was applied to other races?"
There is even a new Boycott Thor website. It had this gem: Marvel has a history of advocating for the left-wing. In early 2010 they even used their Captain America comic to attack the TEA Party movement. Marvel front man Stan "Lee" Lieber personally funds left-wing political candidates. Now Marvel has inserted left-wing social engineering into European mythology, casting a black man to play a Norse deity.
Wonder why it was important to list Stan Lee's real last name? And hobbits and elves are northern european? Let me guess where the orcs came from.
CCC was in the news today when Mississippi Governor and potential Republican presidential hopeful Haley Barbour chose to celebrate their contributions to segregation in his state. Trent Lott took a considerable amount of heat a few years ago when he offered his support for the organization as well.
Jimmy Carter said last week that he thinks that America is ready for a gay president. Which makes sense, when you consider how well we have done with Obama and the race issue in this country.
Jimmy Carter said last week that he thinks that America is ready for a gay president. Which makes sense, when you consider how well we have done with Obama and the race issue in this country.
muddy stream
***
Neighbor called a few hours ago. My wind machine, a monstrous tower with a jet engine perched on the top that sits in what is left of my grove, was sending out puffs of fire and smoke and emitting gigantic shot gun like blasts in the rain. An obvious major short in the high powered lines. Good thing it is raining or I might be sleeping in the shop again. Power company on the way.
***
We had a nice dinner at Bill and Jan's last night. Her brother, Denis Kelly, is a noted cookbook author and meat guru as well as a longtime food and wine judge. Denis made us a wonderful meal that started off with grilled prawns with a chili/lime rub, then a roasted filet with sage, garlic and thyme and a mushroom, tawny port sauce. This was accompanied by a mango, peach salsa. I am not a big white wine guy but I always love his choices. He can tell you where this guy sits in the Loire Valley and they guy that delivers his mail to boot. Last night we had a Sancerre sauvignon blanc by Didier Daganeau and a 2005 Gigondas by Guigal. Leslie brought a nice red and we all had ourselves a great old time. Once again I out drank an irishman, always a stunning achievement.
Actually Denis is an amazing guy, a professor of Greek and Latin at St. Mary's, a poet, collector and ex pachuco who has been one of the greatest supporters of my writing over the years and a fan of the fiction I write that few seem to like. He gave me a lot of encouragement last night and I really appreciate both it and his friendship.
***
Got a nice note from Concrete Blonde's Johnette after I sent her my review of her show yesterday. Sweet.
***
We went and saw the movie Tron yesterday, after our customary brunch with Reneé. I liked it, with a few caveats. Stunning effects, the light cycles' contrails taking on the effect of soap bubbles. Very stimulating movie aesthetically but too long. Not to give it away but Bridges runs into a CG version of himself that was a tad annoying. Looked a bit manufactured but a very good try. There is a marvelous clockwork orange type character named Zeus and some lovely ladies. It had a bit of a blade runner thing going as well. Disney always pioneers a lot of cutting edge technology and if you need a mindless romp into cyberspace, have at it. The message to me was that old zen hippies might not fare real well in the brave new world. The machines are taking over, and judging from my life right now, they are evidently really pissed.
***
Speaking of old zen hippies, I have a list of 21st century contrivances that drive me nuts. E-cards, Evites, smiley icons, the phrase lol, texting, racist emails, electronic books, facebook, twitter, etc.
***
I had the pleasure of spending time with my young nephew Jake during thanksgiving. He asked if he could borrow my phone. Within three minutes he had uploaded about 8 games and had mastered technology that I couldn't dream of conquering. And I think I am above average on the technology front. But these kids today instantly grasp the technology. We all know that if we need to get anything done you have to find someone under ten to help you. It's seamless for them.
We were discussing this general subject at breakfast this morning and Tony brought up an article from the New York Times Magazine yesterday, In pursuit of the perfect brainstorm. He said that it brought up new approaches to problem solving, I need to read it more carefully. Now we live in an environment where it is not so much knowing anything, but being able to access the information that is readily at our fingertips. Someone mentioned that cashiers that have graphic user interfaces on their machine's have pretty much lost the capacity to make change in their heads. Give them an extra dime or quarter so that you can get a round number back and watch their little head's swim.
We can only speak in 144 character staccato bursts acceptable to the social networks. Contrast that with, let's say, the eloquent letters between John and Abigail Adams, or the knowledge of geography or basic science that every schoolchild seemed to possess in the late 19th century and you can make a great case for de-evolution. But we already knew that everything was going to shit, didn't we? Got to make way for the homo superior...
Shim-kus
Shimkus - (def. latin shim - to try to refute a complicated scientific principle; kus - with pedantic and irrational theological precepts) 20th century. ex. We explained that the earth was round but we ran into a shimkus.
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) is the new chair of the Environment and Economy Subcommittee. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over energy policy, energy regulation and utilization and the Clean Air Act. I think that it is foolhardy to put a man who thinks the way this man does in such a position. Every hearing is now destined to become a bible study. And the grossest act of pollution is just part of god's infallible plan.
Hope you're happy.
Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) is the new chair of the Environment and Economy Subcommittee. This subcommittee has jurisdiction over energy policy, energy regulation and utilization and the Clean Air Act. I think that it is foolhardy to put a man who thinks the way this man does in such a position. Every hearing is now destined to become a bible study. And the grossest act of pollution is just part of god's infallible plan.
Hope you're happy.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Don Van Vliet
Richard Hudgins ask that I pay suitable tribute to the late Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart.
Great musician and very competent painter.
Great musician and very competent painter.
The Great Truffle Caper
Last night nine of us traveled to our friend Renee's beautiful home and concocted a meal that will live in our hearts and dance on our taste buds for ever. Before I discuss the finer points of our culinary fare, first a bit of history.
I run with a nice group of foodies who really enjoy each other's company. The size and number of the collective varies from event to event. We had all discussed going to El Bizcocho for their White Truffle night but when we heard that it was $350.00 per head, quickly demurred.
So my wife came up with an idea, why not buy some white truffles wholesale, and everybody take a crack at cooking with them? Bring a wine selection for your food course. But first, just what the heck is a truffle?
From Wiki: A truffle (pronounced /ˈtrʌfəl/) is a fungi fruiting body that develops underground and relies on mycophagy for spore dispersal. Almost all truffles are ectomycorrhizal and are therefore usually found in close association with trees. The mycelia of truffles form symbiotic relationships with the roots of several tree species including beech, poplar, oak, birch, hornbeam, hazel, and pine. They prefer argillaceous or calcareous soils which are well drained and neutral or alkaline. Truffles fruit throughout the year, depending on the species and can be found buried between the leaf litter and the soil.
There are hundreds of species of truffles that are big, but the fruiting body of some (mostly in the genus 'Tuber') are highly prized as a food. The 18th-century French gastronome Brillat-Savarin called these truffles "the diamond of the kitchen". Edible truffles are held in high esteem in French, Spanish, northern Italian and Greek cooking, as well as in international haute cuisine.
The "white truffle" or "Alba madonna" (Tuber magnatum) comes from the Langhe area of the Piedmont region in northern Italy and, most famously, in the countryside around the city of Alba. It is also found in Croatia, on the Istria peninsula in the Motovun forest alongside Mirna river. Growing symbiotically with oak, hazel, poplar and beech and fruiting in autumn, they can reach 12 cm diameter and 500 g, though are usually much smaller. The flesh is pale cream or brown with white marbling. The white truffle market in Alba is busiest in the months of October and November. The Tuber magnatum pico white truffle is found mostly in northern and central Italy, while the Tuber borchii, or whitish truffle, is found in Tuscany, Romagna, the Marche and Molise.
I started rooting around for the truffles on line and settled on truffles from the Sabatino Tartufi Company, almost half the price of Dean and Deluca. We ordered two ounces of the precious white tuber, Tuber Magnatum Pico for $278.00. A far cry from $350.00 per head. They were shipped priority overnight two days before the feast. It worked out to $62.00 per family, expensive but doable. I have noticed that the price has risen this week to $309.00 so it must be like a commodities market.
When I received the shipment I took it over to Dixon and Connie's house to store in their fridge. We opened the perishable box, and pulled the beautiful nuggets out of the bag and the most heavenly aroma filled the kitchen. I carefully counted the fungal boulders and gave their temporary host a cautious glance.
Last night was the big event. We arrived at the spanish hilltop home around five. The night started with a pinot and bubbly. When the last guests finally arrived we started talking about the logistics and sequencing of the operation. There were at least five very competent alpha cooks in the kitchen, the question is could they work together? We had sketched out a menu in the previous week, how would it all play out?
We munched on a delicious array of cheeses while things got sorted out. A gorgeous table was set, complete with Reneé's Georg Jensen flatware. The water pitcher was filled and had nice added citrus. Reneé had baked bread earlier in the day for the occasion that was still warm. Checked out her great home.
I know that I am prejudiced but it was amazing comfort food and my favorite of the night in a very stellar night. Leslie also accompanied her dish with her unusual finely minced celery root salad, and one that we all really loved.
The next course was prepared by the wonderful cook, John C.. John whipped up a mushroom truffle risotto, right before our eyes, with a few varieties of japanese mushroom that I was not familiar with. Very warming and sensuous and made special by a hint of habonero in the broth. Hearty and perfect.
The next course was fresh green beans, prepped by Brigitte and Morgan, and cooked by John and Leslie with a splash of Temecula Valley white truffle olive oil and a dash of truffle salt. Absolutely delicious, I am so glad that we included this dish.
Reneé was up next with the traditional french fare of scrambled eggs with shaved truffles. This is how truffles are normally served in france and italy. It was magnificent as well and the eggs were cooked perfectly, not too wet and not too dry.
Dixon followed next with his handmade lobster truffle ravioli, large pillows stuffed with delectable treasure. An excellent entree dish.
He also had some incredible wines to share with us. I did not note the names and vintages, being remiss last night but not a bad bottle in the bunch. Brig and Morgan brought Veuve Cliquot. Jeaneane and John brought some fantastic reds from their recent trip to Sonoma.
Dessert was not the fresh lemon gelato originally conceived, as the machine had some kind of breakdown, but instead ably substituted with Williams Sonoma salted chocolates, homemade brittle from Dixon and a bunch of other sweet temptations.
Connie offered up a bottle of her precious Donna Daria dessert wine from Italy, the soft topaz colored victual seductively warming our palates and tummies.
Of course, we talked and talked and thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Reneé insisted on cleaning up herself. The evening ended with strong cups of coffee and tea brewed from fresh picked lemon verbena straight from the garden.
This was a great meal. I am not a cook and it was a pleasure to watch the craftsmen work together so seamlessly in the kitchen. We all can't wait to do something else together again! It was so nice of Reneé to host the group. To surviving in style!
Friday, December 17, 2010
Villagers get their pitchforks
Re: ‘The crumbling of Main Street shops’ [Letter, Village News, 12/9/10]
Thursday, December 16th, 2010
Issue 50, Volume 14.
Issue 50, Volume 14.
I just wanted you to know Mr. Sommers that I do not buy cheap. I never shop WalMart and I always shop Fallbrook first.
But, we have no book store, no music store, and no dress shop that doesn’t make you look like a gypsy. I hate high end decorator objects that leave me feeling cold. I mean, who wants a huge wooden pineapple on their end table? I don’t want to pay $42 for a baby outfit that will be outgrown in three months, especially when I have 11 grandchildren. What is there to buy here?
Let’s face it, the Fallbrook business consortium has always tried to make our town "artsy" for all those out-of-town tourists that they want to draw in on the weekends (who never come).
What they forget is the Monday through Friday it’s us that they need to please. We don’t need more art or more knickknacks. We need more of life’s necessities, the things that we actually use in our daily lives.
When we have this, then we will alls shop Fallbrook first.
Joyce B.
Shops that make you look like a gypsy. Now who could she be referring to? Have a good portion of the town warming up the tar and even my friends are shaking their heads at my mean indiscretion. You've really done it now, Ollie. As Bri put it, it read differently in print than on the blog. It was harsh. Hey, just spell my name right. Sorry if I offended you. Wait until next week.
Man's dominion and the green dragon
"Environmentalism is deadly to the gospel of Jesus Christ." Janet Parshall
"Environmentalism has a long history of believing in exaggerations and myths." Dr. Richard Land
"Environmentalism is leading people away from god and into humanism." Tony Perkins
Now who believes in myths again? Let me get this straight...Nice triangulation play to portray environmentalism as a war against the poor. Keep mining that coal and removing those mountains. Just don't get black lung like your Daddy. After all, pollution is just part of God's great plan for us.
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Fantastic Voyage
GoogleLabs has just a new website that allows the user to browse the human body. Google Body Browser. You need to download a browser with WebGL support like the new Chrome beta. It works with the HTML5 canvas product to create 3D imagery that you can view from any angle or depth. I only messed with it for a few minutes but found that I could travel through the skeletal, muscular and neural systems of the body with ease as well as a trip to various organs. A clinical version of Alex Grey. Might check it out.
Jalalabad
My good friend and faithful blast reader Tracy sends these pictures over that she took north of Jalalabad while she worked with the Peace Corps in 1967. She lived there with her late ex husband. My post on Qatar triggered her memories. These are the dancing boys of Tegari. Fascinating. Thanks for sharing Tracy!
Notice all the children in the background..... but I was the only woman there.
They were proud to show off, and foreigners made a good audience. It wasn't unusual to see two men riding their bicycles along while holding hands.
Check out the saddle shoes and jingle bell anklets.
Thanks for the memories... T
Matters of State
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| Masada |
The recent revelations of President Nixon's feelings about jews are not exactly earth shattering. Revolting yes, earth shattering no. It has always been a well known fact that the foreign service was pretty well stacked with arabists. But the Israelis are tough cookies themselves and not above either manipulating American opinion or currying favor with the ultra right in this country. An honest assessment would have to point out their penchant for a certain amount of game playing in the wake of the failure of the Oslo agreements. They have a hostile enemy in Gaza that is sworn to their destruction. No easy way forward, especially with a bifurcated Palestinian camp that knows that it can not ultimately deliver any assurances that can be taken credibly.
There has been a kerfuffle of late over the IRS's treatment of a group of pro Israel lobbyists called Z Street. Z Street is a hawkish Israel lobby that has 8,000 members and was formed as a counterweight to the more dovish J-Street lobby. They have been denied a 501 c-3 tax exemption on the grounds that Israel is a terrorist nation. Well let me take that back, that was the first declaration, which was modified into Israel is a country where terrorism takes place, as if they need to assume responsibility for it. Jon Waddell, the manager of the Exempt Organizations Determinations Group said today that Z Street was referred to his TAG (touch and go) group because of a policy in which organizations that could potentially provide services to nations that have a “high risk of terrorism” are subject to further review.
He states in his brief "A referral to the TAG group does not indicate that the organization supports terrorism, only that further development is necessary to ensure that the organization will put procedures in place to prevent resources from being used to support terrorism." He wants to be sure that a pro Israeli group's resources don't support terrorism. Okay.
What rankles supporters of Israel is that real terrorist front groups like the Holy Land Foundation and CAIR, who have been found to have funneled money to actual terrorist groups, had no problem getting the IRS exemption.
They have sued the government and their discovery points out some what may be some troubling goings on inside the governmental agencies as it pertains to Israel. Another pro Israeli applicant was asked the following questions:
Does your organization support the existence of the land of Israel?
Describe your organization’s religious belief system towards the land of Israel.As if there is a litmus test in that regard and that an affirmative answer would somehow disallow an application. In a separate affidavit, Diane Gentry, the specialist who communicated with Z Street’s lawyer, denied claiming to the lawyer that there was a special policy for pro-Israel groups or that groups opposed to administration Middle East policy are given special scrutiny.
Lawyers say that Z Street has little hope of winning its suit. I only mention it because the administration does seem to have a bit of hostility to Israel and the entire notion of a jewish homeland. But no democratic administration would ever adopt the Nixonian habit of using the IRS to go after its political enemies, would it?
I was perusing some State Department transcripts and found this gem from the October 12th, 2010 briefing with Philip Crowley, Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of State:
QUESTION: P.J., do you recognize Israel as a Jewish state and will you try to convince the Palestinians to recognize it?
MR. CROWLEY: We will continue our discussions with the parties. I would expect, following up on the Arab League meetings of late last week that George Mitchell will go to the region at some point. I’m not announcing anything, but I – it would be logical for us to follow up directly with the parties, see where they are. We will offer our ideas on – based on our conversations what our assessment is that – of what each side needs to be able to make the political commitment to remain in these direct negotiations.
QUESTION: And do you recognize Israel as a Jewish state?
MR. CROWLEY: We recognize the aspiration of the people of Israel. It has – it’s a democracy. In that democracy, there’s a guarantee of freedom and liberties to all of its citizens. But as the Secretary has said, we understand that – the special character of the state of Israel.
QUESTION: Is that a yes or no?
QUESTION: P.J., it’s – do you want to answer his question or --
QUESTION: Did you say yes or no to that question from Michel?
MR. CROWLEY: Hmm?
QUESTION: Michel’s question was a yes or no sort of question. I was wondering whether that was a yes or no.
MR. CROWLEY: We recognize that Israel is a– as it says itself, is a Jewish state, yes.
Is it just me or does Mr. Crowley seem a tad uncomfortable with the notion of a jewish state? Anyhow, the Israelis and Palestinians are in a dark dance and seem to deserve each other, twisted in a gordian knot and both trying to come up with the perfect endgame to their minuet. They both vie for the podium, where they compete against each other, tearing their shirts, in a competition over who has undergone the greater victimhood.
Hamas said yesterday that it would never recognize Israel, ever. Will never forsake violent struggle until Israel is vanquished. But hey, why should we believe them for one second? The administration announced last week it planned to intensify Palestinian state-building as a means of making progress on the ground toward a peace agreement for a two-state solution. They have been giving huge amount of money to the Palestinians, a sum that Rep. Ros-Lehtinen today called a blank check.
I have been a frequent critic of the Netanyahu government and Israel's lurch to the religious right. I think that their settlement policy will work against their own best interests in the long run. The Palestinians need a contiguous state that they can prosper in and be proud of, replete with a water source. It does Israel no good to get into a squeezing game with them.
Having said that, I read an interesting editorial by Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Danny Ayalon the other day where he mentions that all of the settlements comprise no more than 1.7% of the land captured in 1967. Palestinians say that the number is actually 6.7 %. In any case, it is smaller than we are led to believe. The question is how much more land Israel would claim for security purposes if a two state solution is ever actualized? What Israel calls defensible borders. We know that Israel has already returned 90% of the land occupied in 1967, principally the Sinai, to no noticeable effect, and with no recognizable concessions from the Palestinians.
I am not sure if this administration is anti Israel or anti-Palestinian, neutral or an honest broker. Many have made the case that they are heavily weighted to the Palestinians. I hope that both sides can find a workable solution that provides peace and security for all of the players in the region. Soon.
Queer Qatar
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| Boy dancer, Afghanistan |
Rather than thanking Blatter for his heads up, homosexual groups are crying out in protest and indignation.
Juris Lavrikovs, communications director for the European branch of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, said the comments were "very unfortunate and have left people deeply offended."
"I think they should come out with a strong statement and not just wash it away," Lavrikovs told The Associated Press. "We are talking about a very basic human right that is being violated."
"This is not a joke, this is a matter of life and death to people," Lavrikovs said. "Qatar and more than 70 other countries in the world still criminalize individuals for homosexual relationships, and some countries even punish them by death sentence.
"It's disappointing to see that an organization that is promoting the game, which in its statutes condemns discrimination of any kind, is coming out with comments like this."
"Sepp Blatter jokes about the risk to gay visitors in 2022, but Qatar's anti-gay policies are no laughing matter," British human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said.
Former NBA player and openly gay John Amaechi said on his website that "FIFA has endorsed the marginalization of LGBT people around the world."
Amaechi also demanded an apology from FIFA and urged other associations to distance themselves from Blatter's comments.
"Anything less than a full reversal of his position is unacceptable," he said.“He’s really saying don’t even ‘look’ gay, re-closet yourself and pretend the ties and love and affection you have for your partner or even some random bloke you might meet on your travels are gone for the whole time you’re in Qatar.”
Herman Ouseley, chairman of Kick It Out, a British campaign group for equality and inclusion in soccer, said he expected better from someone in Blatter's position.
"It was all frivolity and laughter but it's a serious business -- people's existence he has ridiculed," Ouseley told the AP at the launch of his group's annual review at the British Parliament.
"We can't have that from the top of the world governing body -- you've got to show leadership because you've got to influence the standards of behavior required and then you've got to enforce it when there's a failure." Ed Connell, Campaigns Officer for the Gay Football Supporters Network, said: “While we’re working with the FA to get people to understand there is an issue with homophobia around football, Sepp Blatter is simply not getting the issue.”
Rather than chastise Blatter for making what some consider intemperate remarks, I think he should be applauded for potentially saving gay people from some pretty terrible consequences. I looked into Qatar's laws and history.
"Article 201 of the Qatari Penal Code punishes sodomy between consenting adults (irrespective of sex) with up to five years of imprisonment." In 1995, an American citizen in Qatar was sentenced to receive 90 lashes during a 6-month prison term for "homosexual activity," according to the U.S. Department of State's report on human rights practices for 1996. Apparently those that fear the lash may be given the option of accepting hormone therapy for their gay condition.
Even Qatari royalty are not immune from the draconian prosecution. The Crown Prince of Qatar should be stoned to death for being gay, according to Dr Yusuf al-Qaradawi, the Muslim fundamentalist scholar who is based in Qatar. These allegatons appear in the Middle East news magazine Aljazeera. Dr Qaradawi was defended by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, in a Guardian comment Aljazeera quotes Dr Qaradawi as saying: "The scholars of Islam, such as Malik, Ash-Shafi`i, Ahmad and Ishaaq said that (the person guilty of this crime) should be stoned, whether he is married or unmarried." According to Aljazeera, this is the verdict of Dr Qaradawi in response to allegations that Qatar's 25 year old Crown Prince Tameem Bin Hamad Al-Thani was spotted at the popular London gay night club, G.A.Y. The prince and his male partner, Michael Heard, were allegedly banned from G.A.Y. for a month following a fight.
An interview with a gay man arrested in Qatar who ended up spending four months in jail in a "nightmare."
So the reality is, we live in a world where a lot of really awful things still happen. FIFA and Sepp Blatter are not agents of societal change, they are in the business of football. The World Cup and whatever liberal stand they may take will not affect the terrible repression of women, gays and minority sects that exists throughout the arab world and africa, where punishment for the banned sexual orientation is rising exponentially and often punishable by death. We are talking about a culturally ossified region. Where homosexuality is practiced at probably the same frequency as anywhere else but kept under wraps. So I think he is correct in advising athletes and tourists to keep it in their pants. But you have to wonder why they would award the cup to such a brutal, repressive regime in the first place?
***
"How can you fall in love if you can't see her face," said 29-year-old Mohammed Daud. "We can see the boys, so we can tell which are beautiful."
In other news from the middle east, American company DynCorp admits to hiring young boys dressed as girls to dance at the company farewell party in Kunduz. In September 2009, the State Department fired eight security guards at the U.S. embassy from the security contractor ArmorGroup North America for what a watchdog group described as a "Lord of the Flies" environment at the guards' living quarters. Allegations included lewd behavior and sexual misconduct.
It is a typical and long standing practice in Afghanistan for men to take such boys for sexual property. Wikileaks has lifted the veil on the practice of bacha bazi or "boyplay." Looks like the americans are learning new tricks from their middle eastern hosts.
"How can you fall in love if you can't see her face," said 29-year-old Mohammed Daud. "We can see the boys, so we can tell which are beautiful."
In other news from the middle east, American company DynCorp admits to hiring young boys dressed as girls to dance at the company farewell party in Kunduz. In September 2009, the State Department fired eight security guards at the U.S. embassy from the security contractor ArmorGroup North America for what a watchdog group described as a "Lord of the Flies" environment at the guards' living quarters. Allegations included lewd behavior and sexual misconduct.
It is a typical and long standing practice in Afghanistan for men to take such boys for sexual property. Wikileaks has lifted the veil on the practice of bacha bazi or "boyplay." Looks like the americans are learning new tricks from their middle eastern hosts.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Concrete Blonde - Belly Up Tavern
Concrete Blonde is the chanteuse Johnette Napolitano and her amazing guitar foil, James Mankey, backed by a drummer, Gabriel Ramirez.
This band has been around since the early eighties, Mankey previously playing for the band Sparks. Concrete Blonde was the moniker given to the big hair musicians in bands of the seventies like Poison or Ratt.
Let me just say that Johnette Napolitano is the most powerful woman singer I have ever witnessed, with the exception of Grace Slick. I was never lucky enough to see Janis live but Johnette is definitely the shit. Deep and soulful does not begin to describe.
It is hard to put her magic into words but I will try. A workmanlike and proficient bass player, she and the superlative guitar whiz Mankey dance around each other's notes like Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse. She has a great sense of time and power and can really drive the sound when she needs to. Mankey is like watching a master candymaker pull taffy, beautiful sonic squiggles emanate from the brushstrokes of this aural Rembrandt's strat. They listen to each other very well.
Mankey is a humble and quiet man who eschews the spotlight, preferring to speak through his instrument. My favorite guitar player for the last ten years, he weaves the rhythm and leads artfully and effortlessly. He will occasionally put his pick in his mouth and starts this psychedelic plucking with his fingers like a gentle foreplay, coaxing divinely inspired music from his fretboard.
Johnette is scary. Truly. Gothic tales of blood and betrayal. Kind of a creepy Anne Rice-ish vampire thing going on. But so intelligent. A woman in full flower with the vocal strength of 100 mortals, able to sustain her cries for an eternity and fear no space to tread. Just a freaking great voice, a long beautiful physique and a brilliant mind. I was thinking last night that it was like music for people who have been through a few personal wars and tribulations in their lifetime. Who have gained in wisdom what they have perhaps lost in innocence. And the rose in full bloom that senses the approach of cool autumn, if I may be permitted a bit of poetry.
We missed the opening band, hanging out with Ron and Lena and going for matzoh ball soup at Miltons. Johnette came out in a sleek dress and high heels, looking very hot. Very sexy, beautiful woman. Just started ripping as always. Played a Midnight Oil tune, and all of the rest of her songs that I wanted to hear. Pulled something interesting out about the last time she did a wakemeup, in 1983.
Last time I saw her was alone at Cafe du Nord, a kind of woman's bar in San Francisco. Last year. A lesbian chick with a steamer tattooed on her chest and a crewcut thought I was getting wise with her girlfriend and wanted to have it out. Lots of dykey plaid nose ring girls last night as well and a couple acting sort of crappy around Les. But the crowd for the most part was really great and appreciative and we had a great time.
Leslie and I catch every tour they play and I think Johnette looked better than she has in years. And played better. Every Concrete Blonde show I ever went to had some great musical payoff. This was no different.
Highly recommended.
Wōdnesdæg
I got an email from Gawker the other day that informs me I am one of a suspected 1.4 million users or commenters that have had their passwords hacked. The hacker group Gnosis apparently broke into their system. They suggested changing the password and the password for any other account that might use the same logins. You can run a test on this widget to see if your account has been similarly compromised.
The hack affects a myriad of sites, including Yahoo. If you are like me, you have probably been lazy and used the same passwords too long. Now I must begin the laborious task of changing every password. Yuck. But it is definitely time to tighten things up. I don't bank online but instantly checked my PayPal account. Millard had his hacked a few months ago by some enterprising african chap.
People are pretty stupid with their passwords. Find out the name of somebody's pets and add a birth year and you probably crack half of America. Perhaps it is better to have a letter number combination with no meaning in the English lexicon? How long before a powerful computer starts punching out algorithms with every word and two number combination in the dictionary?
Dan Ariely ran an interesting article by Alon Nir on the password subject a few months ago.
Anyhow, I got a wake up call. Ain't all this new technology fun?
***
I find all the complaints from the military leaders about gays in the military a bit specious. The troops themselves overwhelmingly don't care, according to polling. Of the 115,052 active troops surveyed, 69% believe they have already worked alongside a gay service member, and 92% of those said it had a positive impact or no impact on their working relationship.
Gates and the Pentagon leadership have studied the issue and want to repeal DADT. General Amos thinks that openly gay troops would be a major distraction. Isn't their some military doctrine called insubordination?
Besides, the gays and lesbians are there now, ladies and gentlemen. Hasn't wrecked military morale yet.
Wonder what the homophobic brass are really scared of? Maybe they have their own issues...
***
Speaking of insubordination and treason, did you catch Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce's act? He made some rather pithy statements about our president recently at a panel discussion at David Horowitz's Freedom Center.
"I can tell you that the best thing about 1070 is that Obama may not be visiting Arizona because we actually require papers now," said the Republican state senator at the event held by Judicial Watch.
"When you talk about jihad, that is exactly what Obama has against America, specifically the state of Arizona. Think about it. This is the first time in the history of the United States that a sitting president has sided with a foreign government to sue the citizens of its country. For defending our laws? For defending and protecting the citizens of the state of Arizona? It's outrageous and it's impeachable."
According to UPI, he signaled his belief that he sees the president's actions as "treasonous" and added, "I certainly don't want to overstate, but you know we have the Second Amendment for a reason."
Gee Russ, what exactly are you suggesting? That if you are a conservative it's alright to imply that we waste the chief executive, so long as he or she is a Democrat? That President Obama can't visit your state because he doesn't have the proper papers? You folks just ooze credibility.
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