Did the ICC do the right thing in issuing the warrant for al-Bashir's arrest?

The people of Darur think so:

Darfuris themselves are well aware of how they might be punished for backing the ICC; yet, despite the indictment of two Darfuri rebel leaders along with members of the government in Khartoum, it is hard to find anyone aside from Mr Bashir’s few Arab supporters in the main towns who opposes the court’s action. Justice matters even—perhaps especially—to people who have nothing.

Misc. beautiful stuff: Alhambra, Beirut

Something really beautiful I got to see in Grenada a few weeks ago- the Alhambra.

Too bad my memory card was full or else I would have taken so many more pictures.

Something else really beautiful is this new Beirut song I've gone playing practically on repeat:


This song was apparently on Natalie Portman's charity compilation CD back in late 2007, which I think should be a lesson to us all that doing good makes beautiful music (oh yeah and Natalie Portman is one of the coolest people ever)

Prayers with Tsvangirai

Car-truck crash kills Zimbabwe prime minister's wife, injures him

"I'm skeptical about any motor vehicle accident in Zimbabwe involving an opposition figure," said Tom McDonald, the U.S. ambassador to Zimbabwe from 1997 to 2001. "President Mugabe has a history of strange car accidents when someone lo and behold dies -- it's sort of his M.O. of how they get rid of people they don't like."

al-Bashir, a real stand-up guy

ACT NOW; Tell Secretary Clinton to prioritize Darfur

Confronting myself

I have a confession to make. I am not proud of what I am about to admit, but, especially in light of my last post, I think I should admit it. Maybe it will hurt my credibility, but in the end I hope it actually helps it.

I was in London the summer of 2006. I was probably even more of a typical American tourist than I'd like to imagine. My friend and I were on one of those bus tours when we hit terrible traffic and were forced off the bus. There was apparently "some protest" going on, which was clogging the streets. Frustrated and probably still cranky from jet-lag (and the culture shock that happens, even in a Texas to London transition, as a silly 21-yr old girl who has never really been anywhere), we started to wander the streets. That's when we crossed paths with the protest. It was quite a sight to behold: people yelling, signs supporting Hezbollah.

"So...what's this all about?" my friend asked me.

And that's when I responded with, quite literally, every single little bit of knowledge I had on the matter: "Oh, Hezbollah is a terrorist group at war with Israel. They're supporting terrorists, isn't that nice?" And off we went, after snapping a few pictures, probably to find some chips or pints.

I did not know a lick of information about why these protesters were angry, what they knew, what their family and friends knew or had experienced. I did not even know what the war was about. And I judged the shit out them. Because I knew all I needed to know: Hezbollah = terrorist.

Now, I like to think I have grown up a little bit since then, and will at least make an attempt to learn about a situation before I get some opinion going about it. But I have to say, when you confront your own biases and your own mental shortcuts and your own cultural upbringing, and you start to see how they have failed....well, not only yourself but the rest of the world, in a way...it's hard to commit yourself again.

And then when you do...

I recently took a trip to Spain with my wonderful friend Sadie, during which I brought up the Facebook responses I got after posting the Palestinian death toll during the war. Sadie, who is Jewish, helped me understand something that I had not previously understood to the extent I should have: the way I went about conveying the message I wanted to convey was divisive. Although in my own head I wanted to address and bring attention to the human catastrophe happening, with some topics, especially ones as inherently sensitive as Israel/Palestine, the way you deliver a message can be just as important as what you say. Do I regret posting the death toll? I don't regret my thoughts on the matter, and I still hope that I opened up some eyes or at least made people think a little bit more about the situation. I do wish that I had found a less divisive way to do so, or at least fully recognized at the time how divisive the message was. In the end, after all, what I hope for is peace rather than division.

So in what may come as shocking news to some of my Facebook friends, it turns out that I support (....or at least don't NOT support) the decision of the U.S., Israel, and other countries to pull out of the Durban II conference due to its perceived Anti-Semitism. Sure, let's tackle discrimination. Let's tackle whatever you would call the way Israel treats Palestinians. But it shouldn't be done with finger-pointing and pretextual conferences. And Israel does deserve some recognition of its security concerns. This conference promises to fan the flames, and that is not something I think is necessary. To put it lightly.

Anyway. I am headed to Paris again this weekend (oh, how I love that city!), because the Paris Half-Marathon is Sunday. I will not be running in it after all; I incurred an injury a little over a month ago and have only been able to (gently) resume running this week. But...I had already booked the trip, so it is still a great opportunity to go see the wonderful city and cheer on Sadie.

Who is a "terrorist"?

Great article from NY Times.

In Cairo, Wafaa Younis was seated on a curb, selling bread and green onions and mint leaves, as goats ate trash strewn across the street. She was asked what advice she would give Mr. Obama as he tried to repair the Arab perception that Washington was the enemy.

“You have to understand everyone’s opinions and demands, and negotiate,” she said. “There will be no peace without this.”

Fleet Foxes

Mi hermanito favorito has the best taste in music. Here is Fleet Foxes:





My brother says this song- or at least the last minute and a half or so- reminds him of our childhood. Mostly he just loves the americana feel and, of course, the chords; they're beautiful.