Tuesday, December 16, 2008
So live your life
“Well, actually, you can’t be whatever you want to be. The world decides what you can and can’t be.”
Monday, December 15, 2008
Oh, footnotes
I'm reading (skimming, if we're going to be really accurate here) this article on feminist legal methods for my sociology of law exam tomorrow morning(...crap). I always enjoy reading the title footnote describing the author of the article, because it's always fun to find out that behind the text is an actual person. Also, just last week, I read this really engaging article about humanitarian intervention as a pretext and saw that my amazing criminal law professor, Derek Jinks, had contributed- always cool to see that.
Anyway- as someone who spent hours slaving over footnotes for the Texas International Law Journal and bemoaning the absurdity of how Bluebook adherence means editors all lose their minds just a little bit (sure, the real problem is how lazy I am, but hey, why get bogged down in the details), I thought hers was really amusing.* Just imagine the discussions that went on there; to be a fly on the wall in THAT final read...
* I need more sleep, less coffee.
Anyway- as someone who spent hours slaving over footnotes for the Texas International Law Journal and bemoaning the absurdity of how Bluebook adherence means editors all lose their minds just a little bit (sure, the real problem is how lazy I am, but hey, why get bogged down in the details), I thought hers was really amusing.* Just imagine the discussions that went on there; to be a fly on the wall in THAT final read...
* I need more sleep, less coffee.
The shoe
It's hard to put into words how I feel about this. On the one hand, of course I try to understand the frustration and the pain that Iraqis feel about the war. I don't mean to undermine their very real concerns and anger and sadness.
But... I don't really believe in hating people or in treating them in an undignifying manner no matter who they are, even when (maybe especially when) we are holding them accountable. So although I don't know if I would say I blame Al-Zaidi, I also certainly can't say I condone his behavior.
But... I don't really believe in hating people or in treating them in an undignifying manner no matter who they are, even when (maybe especially when) we are holding them accountable. So although I don't know if I would say I blame Al-Zaidi, I also certainly can't say I condone his behavior.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
The International PostSecret Exhibition opens today
From an article on the opening:
For those who may not be familiar with PostSecret, it began four years ago when Frank Warren, a Germantown, Md., resident, decided to try an idea at the annual Artomatic exhibition in Washington, D. C. His idea: To pass out blank postcards to complete strangers in hopes they would return them with a personal secret and a doodle jotted on one side.
The postcards came pouring in and Warren put them on display, instantly becoming the talk of the exhibition. What Warren did not expect was that the postcards would continue filling his mailbox, long after the exhibition came to an end. Before long, he was receiving postcards with witty, depressing, shocking, engaging and even insulting secrets from every state in the country.
Warren decided to create an online blog to start posting the secrets he was receiving. Then, postcards started arriving regularly from Australia, India, the United Kingdom and beyond.
“ I realized I had tapped into something that was there all the time — something full of mystery and wonder, ” Warren said. “ I quickly realized I was no longer the leader of the project. PostSecret had a life of its own. ”
Four years later, Warren continues to receive more than 1, 000 postcards per week from around the world. The PostSecret site, www. postsecretcommunity. com, averages six million hits per month. To put things into perspective, that’s more visitors than eBay.
PostSecret — a sampling of more than 450 PostSecret postcards — will be on display Dec. 13 through Feb. 1 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Over the past four years, the online version of PostSecret has become one of the most popular forums of conceptual art, possibly ever....
In addition to providing an important outlet, Warren believes PostSecret represents an opportunity for anyone, anywhere to add to the story of life. And that, he said, is the truest form of art.
For those who may not be familiar with PostSecret, it began four years ago when Frank Warren, a Germantown, Md., resident, decided to try an idea at the annual Artomatic exhibition in Washington, D. C. His idea: To pass out blank postcards to complete strangers in hopes they would return them with a personal secret and a doodle jotted on one side.
The postcards came pouring in and Warren put them on display, instantly becoming the talk of the exhibition. What Warren did not expect was that the postcards would continue filling his mailbox, long after the exhibition came to an end. Before long, he was receiving postcards with witty, depressing, shocking, engaging and even insulting secrets from every state in the country.
Warren decided to create an online blog to start posting the secrets he was receiving. Then, postcards started arriving regularly from Australia, India, the United Kingdom and beyond.
“ I realized I had tapped into something that was there all the time — something full of mystery and wonder, ” Warren said. “ I quickly realized I was no longer the leader of the project. PostSecret had a life of its own. ”
Four years later, Warren continues to receive more than 1, 000 postcards per week from around the world. The PostSecret site, www. postsecretcommunity. com, averages six million hits per month. To put things into perspective, that’s more visitors than eBay.
PostSecret — a sampling of more than 450 PostSecret postcards — will be on display Dec. 13 through Feb. 1 at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Over the past four years, the online version of PostSecret has become one of the most popular forums of conceptual art, possibly ever....
In addition to providing an important outlet, Warren believes PostSecret represents an opportunity for anyone, anywhere to add to the story of life. And that, he said, is the truest form of art.
Mugabe takes step toward power-sharing
Wow, what a team player.
Thank goodness, who else would stop the genocidal UK bastards from spreading cholera throughout Zimbabwe.
Oh, Mugabe. Please just let go and step down.
Thank goodness, who else would stop the genocidal UK bastards from spreading cholera throughout Zimbabwe.
Oh, Mugabe. Please just let go and step down.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Darfur, Another Year Later
In January, President Bush said this about Darfur: “My administration called this genocide. Once you label it genocide, you obviously have to do something about it.”
Yet, last week — nearly one year later — this is what the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, told the United Nations Security Council about Darfur: “Genocide continues. Rapes in and around the camps continue. Humanitarian assistance is still hindered. More than 5,000 displaced persons die each month.” How can this still be?
The world has long declared its revulsion at the atrocities committed by Sudan’s government and its proxy militias in Darfur and done almost nothing to stop it. It took years of political wrangling to get the Security Council to approve a strengthened peacekeeping force with deployment set for Jan. 1. More than 11 months later, the Security Council has managed to send only 10,000 of the promised 26,000 peacekeepers. Large-scale military attacks against populated areas continue.
Much of the fault lies with Sudan’s cynically obstructionist president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But Russia and especially China — which has major oil interests in Sudan — have shamefully enabled him. So have African leaders. The United States and its allies also bear responsibility for temporizing, most recently over how to transport troops and equipment to the conflict zone.
President Bush said on Wednesday that the United States was prepared to provide airlift. So why has this taken so long?
Now, the war crimes charges Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has brought against the Sudanese leader for his role in masterminding Darfur’s horrors (the burning of villages, bombing of schools and systematic rape of woman) may — may — be changing the calculus in Khartoum.
Mr. Bashir recently agreed to peace talks mediated by Qatar and pledged to punish anyone guilty of crimes in Darfur. Until proved otherwise, the world must assume that all of this is theater designed to fool the Security Council into delaying his reckoning at the Hague.
The African Union and the Arab League, seeking to protect one of their own, are pressing the Security Council to delay a formal indictment and arrest warrant, saying it would hurt chances for a negotiated peace. The Bush administration has threatened to block such a move and we hope it stands firm. President-elect Barack Obama and his advisers have called for strong action to end the Darfur genocide. We hope the next administration moves quickly. But have no doubt: Fixing Darfur, which is increasingly engulfed in inter-rebel warfare, gets harder by the day. The indictment, expected in February, is undeniably deserved. United Nations officials say that up to 300,000 people have been killed in the Darfur conflict and that 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.
Still it might be worth delaying if Mr. Bashir called off his murderous militias, stopped obstructing deployment of a strengthened peacekeeping force and began serious peace talks. The world is waiting.
Article.
ADD YOUR VOICE!!! Ask Obama to keep his promise to make Darfur a priority.
Yet, last week — nearly one year later — this is what the International Criminal Court prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, told the United Nations Security Council about Darfur: “Genocide continues. Rapes in and around the camps continue. Humanitarian assistance is still hindered. More than 5,000 displaced persons die each month.” How can this still be?
The world has long declared its revulsion at the atrocities committed by Sudan’s government and its proxy militias in Darfur and done almost nothing to stop it. It took years of political wrangling to get the Security Council to approve a strengthened peacekeeping force with deployment set for Jan. 1. More than 11 months later, the Security Council has managed to send only 10,000 of the promised 26,000 peacekeepers. Large-scale military attacks against populated areas continue.
Much of the fault lies with Sudan’s cynically obstructionist president, Omar Hassan al-Bashir. But Russia and especially China — which has major oil interests in Sudan — have shamefully enabled him. So have African leaders. The United States and its allies also bear responsibility for temporizing, most recently over how to transport troops and equipment to the conflict zone.
President Bush said on Wednesday that the United States was prepared to provide airlift. So why has this taken so long?
Now, the war crimes charges Mr. Moreno-Ocampo has brought against the Sudanese leader for his role in masterminding Darfur’s horrors (the burning of villages, bombing of schools and systematic rape of woman) may — may — be changing the calculus in Khartoum.
Mr. Bashir recently agreed to peace talks mediated by Qatar and pledged to punish anyone guilty of crimes in Darfur. Until proved otherwise, the world must assume that all of this is theater designed to fool the Security Council into delaying his reckoning at the Hague.
The African Union and the Arab League, seeking to protect one of their own, are pressing the Security Council to delay a formal indictment and arrest warrant, saying it would hurt chances for a negotiated peace. The Bush administration has threatened to block such a move and we hope it stands firm. President-elect Barack Obama and his advisers have called for strong action to end the Darfur genocide. We hope the next administration moves quickly. But have no doubt: Fixing Darfur, which is increasingly engulfed in inter-rebel warfare, gets harder by the day. The indictment, expected in February, is undeniably deserved. United Nations officials say that up to 300,000 people have been killed in the Darfur conflict and that 2.7 million have been driven from their homes.
Still it might be worth delaying if Mr. Bashir called off his murderous militias, stopped obstructing deployment of a strengthened peacekeeping force and began serious peace talks. The world is waiting.
Article.
ADD YOUR VOICE!!! Ask Obama to keep his promise to make Darfur a priority.
Photo from Paris
I've meaning to post this picture I took in Paris like two months ago, but I've been...what's that word for when you put things off for no good reason? Oh yeah: lazy. Now that I have finals to study for, though, it seems like a good time to do it.
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