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Monday, September 17, 2001
posted by emira
5:07 PM
Judy Rebick's got something to say:
In Canada, the United States and elsewhere around the world we have an important choice that will profoundly affect the course of human history. We can support the U.S. government whatever they decide to do and join what will no doubt be a senseless war that will massively increase civilian casualties, strengthen Islamic fundamentalism in the Middle East and foment even more hatred and racism around the world. Or we can stand with our neighbours in their grief, but stand up to them in their anger.
posted by emira
2:59 PM
Zmag's commentaries on the current political situation read like a Media/Cultural Studies All-Time Greatest Hits list: Said, Jensen, Fisk, Herman, Chomsky, Klein and there is more...
posted by lauren
2:02 PM
Now this is an American flag I'd be proud to fly.
posted by emira
11:20 AM
I, under the company, have just been preliminarily approved for a credit card with a limit up to $100,00.00. Ha!
posted by emira
9:58 AM
I don't have the words to cope with this.
posted by emira
9:42 AM
In an attempt to distract ourselves yesterday evening, my lovely and I went out into the world to pick up a copy of the 2001 Vancouver Film Festival Guide. Oh what fun! Among the immediate highlights:
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of Delicatessen and City of Lost Children, has a new film out: Amelie, which looks positively amazing and is the gala opening film so will probably sell out quickly.
The new David Lynch film is also going to be showing at the festival. The guide includes this description of Mullholand Drive: "Then, to put it mildly, all hell breaks loose. Characters switch names, personalities are inverted, a woman with blue hair in a mysterious nightclub lip-synchs Roy Orbison in Spanish, and much, much more."
There are two Swedish films that deal with racism and immigration in Sweden that look quite interesting, but which I can not remember the names of and don't have time to troll through the website.
There are several fabulous looking documentaries as well, including a few on the garment industries overseas.
Bad Girl, is a program addressing women who produce porn and includes interviews with Annie Sprinkle and Candida Royalle.
There are lots more, I spent way too much time pouring over the guide and dog earing corners.
posted by lauren
9:16 AM
My brother's best friend, Tyler Duncan, placed third in the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition, the finals of which took place on Saturday. I would say this is the most prestigious art song competition in the world, and we are thrilled beyond measure for Tyler and his girlfriend, Erika (who accompanies him on piano). Hooray!
posted by lauren
8:36 AM
Gay Drain
by Jan Prout
365Gay.com Newscenter in Toronto(September 11, Toronto) The United States is facing a "gay drain" to Canada. The Toronto Sun reports record numbers of same-sex couples are applying to immigrate to Canada.For decades Canada has faced a "brain drain" to the US as hundreds of high skilled people flooded south for better paying careers. Now, skilled gay and lesbian couples are deserting the US for Canada where their relationships are recognized.
Friday, September 14, 2001
posted by lauren
5:04 PM
My dad just forwarded me an email from a friend of a friend, Tamim Ansary, who is Afghani-American and has lived in the US for 35 years. It's powerful, a little scary, but worth reading, I think. I disagree with the idea that war might solve anything, but I read his perspective with great interest nonetheless. I have quite simply no real knowledge of the situation in Afghanistan, so am very interested to hear from those who know what's going on there. Apologies for the length, but I feel it ought to be read in its entirety. I've been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we're at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought about the issues being raised especially hard because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I've lived here for 35 years I've never lost track of what's going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I'm standing. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They're not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It's not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. Some say, why don't the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they're starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines, the farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that's been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They're already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today's Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They'd slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans, they don't move too fast, they don't even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn't really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they've been raping all this time. So what else is there? What can be done, then? Let me now speak with true fear and trembling. The only way to get Bin Laden is to go in there with ground troops. When people speak of "having the belly to do what needs to be done" they're thinking in terms of having the belly to kill as many as needed. Having the belly to overcome any moral qualms about killing innocent people. Let's pull our heads out of the sand. What's actually on the table is Americans dying. And not just because some Americans would die fighting their way through Afghanistan to Bin Laden's hideout. It's much bigger than that folks. Because to get any troops to Afghanistan, we'd have to go through Pakistan. Would they let us? Not likely. The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. And guess what: that's Bin Laden's program. That's exactly what he wants. That's why he did this. Read his speeches and statements. It's all right there. He really believes Islam would beat the west. It might seem ridiculous, but he figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers. If the west wreaks a holocaust in those lands, that's a billion people with nothing left to lose, that's even better from Bin Laden's point of view. He's probably wrong, in the end the west would win, whatever that would mean, but the war would last for years and millions would die, not just theirs but ours. Who has the belly for that? Bin Laden does. Anyone else?
posted by lauren
1:00 PM
Much-needed laughter: Orgy continues in back of police vanPeople arrested for having an orgy on a Spanish beach continued their sex session in the back of a police van.
posted by lauren
12:47 PM
I am trying to move on, and managed to get a lot more work done today than I have since Monday. I agree with those who are encouraging everyone to live, dammit -- it's all we can do, and what we must do. However, I encounter little setback moments, like when I read this: ...[W]e sat in the armory waiting with hundreds of others, to see the most updated lists - alive and dead. Salvation Army volunteers and the Red Cross have been so incredibly giving that I am starting to cry thinking about them again. But they handed out these sandwhich's made by local school children. I mean, you could see the tiny little fingerprints in the bruised white bread with peanut-butter and jelly. I looked at the woman eating in front of me, and when she pulled out the sandwich, a little blue note came out and in big, crooked letters, a child had written "I LOVE YOU," and drew a big sunshine and stick people. Okay, I just broke down again. All of the sandwhich's had little notes in them and hungry as I was I couldn't swallow that kind of unconditional kindness.
visit the site here.
posted by emira
9:54 AM
A brief lesson in logic:
According to Rev. Falwell, feminists, "pagans", gays, liberals, abortionists (?) and the ACLU have brought America to a fallen place in the eyes of God, and for this it has been punished. Osama bin Laden, the alleged perpetrator of the attack, also believes that the United States has gone the way of Satan. Therefore, it would seem that Falwell and bin Laden seem to agree with each other. I wonder if they know.
posted by lauren
9:03 AM
caterina.net reminds us of the prophecies of poets. What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust
-- T. S. Eliot, The WastelandI and the public know
What all schoolchildren learn,
Those to whom evil is done
Do evil in return.
. . . . .
Into this neutral air
Where blind skyscrapers use
Their full height to proclaim
The strength of Collective Man,
Each language pours its vain
Competitive excuse:
But who can live for long
In an euphoric dream;
Out of the mirror they stare,
Imperialism's face
And the international wrong.
-- W. H. Auden, September 1, 1939
posted by lauren
8:49 AM
$4.3 million and counting.
posted by lauren
8:28 AM
Good to know there are some things we can always count on -- like Jerry Falwell's heart being two sizes too small. "I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say 'you helped this happen.'" What a pathetic man.
Thursday, September 13, 2001
posted by emira
4:03 PM
A very positive message just came into my inbox from Technodyke:
Many among us have lost friends and family. Many among us have lost our sense of safety and have come face to face with our mortality. These are frightening and dark days, but I am fortified by amazing feats of human nature that I have seen -- the bravery of our emergency workers, the rushes at the blood banks, the overwhelming monetary donations and even the simple acts of greeting shocked and weary pedestrians with glasses of water on their long journey out of the city the morning after the attacks. It is this which caps my sadness from moment to moment and gives me cause to smile. I am overwhelmed with both an immense and immeasurable pride in and a deep and incalculable fear of human nature. All human nature.
Which brings me to another point which I would like to address. We, as a community of individuals who are so familiar with oppression -- who know the pain and frustration of being "lump-summed" and classified simply based on one facet of our existence -- we must band together to support and protect our fellow citizens (and guests) of Arabic descent. America was founded on the principles of freedom and has taken pride in its classification as a "Melting Pot". Our friends and neighbors are as varied in ethnicity as they are in personality and all of us, every one, have contributed to this vibrant and diverse culture of our nation.
When we find out where the blame lies for these attacks, please -- I urge you all, every one of you to remember that regardless of the nationality of the group(s) which have perpetrated these attacks, they are not representative of any entire nation, culture or republic. They are one small isolated sect of a greater culture which is made up of individuals; mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers -- family and friends and neighbors. Just like our culture. Just like our fellow Americans. We have lost so many innocent lives already... Please do not let us be cause for the grief of others.
So please support your local businesses owned by any group you see being oppressed by the media's sensationalism and the public's misguided anger. Please do whatever is within your means to intercept any violence you may see. Remember that we are a global society.
posted by emira
3:26 PM
Tragedy might make for opportunity
From the Daily Star in Lebannon.
In the long run, this could actually help America and all parties in the Middle East by causing them to see that they in fact have a common interest in achieving a fair and comprehensive peace that portends a better life for Arabs and Israelis alike. Tuesday’s events establish quite clearly that no one, anywhere, is immune to such acts, making it incumbent on everyone who values human life to help prevent similar occurrences in the future. America has been made to know the suffering that so many other countries understand all too well. Now it should lead the way in finding solutions to the problems that breed violence and desperation.
posted by lauren
3:19 PM
Bizarrely, the Backstreet Boys have spoken out against going to war. Here's Kevin's take on things: "I just think we're a little bit of an arrogant nation, and maybe this is a bit of a humbling experience... it raises the question in my mind, What has our government done to evoke or provoke this action, that maybe we don't know about?" Who knew the BSB could be more thoughtful than your average TV reporter? The excerpt that can be viewed online doesn't include the bit about war vs. peace, but in the interview I saw on television, they unanimously agreed that they did not want the US to go to war.
posted by emira
12:43 PM
White House Comment Line
This from a friend in the US:
I just found out there was such a thing (who knew?!), but with polls reporting 94% of american's supporting military action even if it means we go to war, it becomes all the more important for those of us who favor a more measured reaction to speak up about it:
The # is 202-456-1111.
Apparently it is difficult to get through.
posted by emira
12:40 PM
A woman's response: [from Zmag.org]
An Interview with Phyllis Bennis of the IPS
Ward: Well, now you know that you are in a huge minority tonight when you
suggest that one of the things we ought to take from this is to ask the
question of why committed terrorism against the United States to begin with,
and most Americans are simply going to say, "Who cares?" most Americans are
going to say, "It was whoever it was and we're going to go get them," and
most Americans at least in the polls already that have been released, say
that our support for Israel is very crucial and that, you know, this is just
going to solidify . . . you, you are in a huge minority when you suggest
that part of what happened today might be connected to foreign policy
decisions that we have made in other parts of the world.
Bennis: But, you know what Bernie, you may be right that I am in a minority,
but I think these words have to be said. We've had too many years of
experience of answering these kinds of attacks with more violence. And you
know what? It hasn't worked. If we're serious about ending attacks like
this, we have to go to the root causes.
Ward: And what are the root causes?
Bennis: To me it's a question of the arrogance of the U.S., the policies
around the world, not only in the Middle East, although that's obviously a
big component, but our policies of abandoning international law, dissing the
United Nations, refusing to sign conventions and international treaties that
we demand everybody else in the world sign on to, whether it's the
prohibition against anti-personnel land mines, support for the international
criminal court, the convention on the rights of the child, for God sakes
that should be a no-brainer, only the U.S. and Somalia have refused that
one, you know, when countries around the world and people around the world
look at this, not to mention the most recent stuff about abandoning the
Kyoto treaty, threatening to throw out the ABM Treaty, that's been the
cornerstone of arms control for, you know, twenty-five years, they say, "Who
is this country? Why do they think they're so much better than everybody
else in the world just because they have a bigger army?"
Ward: So do we deserve what happened to us today?
Bennis: No, no one deserves what happened. There's no justification. . .
Ward: Did we ask for it?
Bennis: The question is: How do we stop it? The question is how do we stop
it. And military strikes are not going to stop it.
posted by lauren
11:36 AM
Muslim school closed because of threats. SO distressing. Elsewhere, oneworld.net has good coverage from a global perspective. And Amazon's relief donations near $3 million.
posted by lauren
10:52 AM
Two new pieces of news drift in: The good news: apparently, George Bush has just gone on television to say that everyone in America needs to treat Arab Americans and Muslims with respect. The bad news: Rumour has it that a mosque in Montreal has been firebombed. Neither report is confirmed. They both came via Rabble.ca's message boards.
posted by emira
9:29 AM
If any one finds a feminist account of this week's events please send it our way.
posted by lauren
9:29 AM
Continuing the theme of the day, I just received this email list through a women-in-technology listserv I belong to:salaam everyone, all of us are reeling from the horror of what the world has witnessed today. on this list and others and among my friends there is this feeling of wanting to dissasociate from islam and muslims. i completely understand this. however, i think it is important in times like these to remember who we are and to rely on the compass of our hearts. i am not responsible for the insanity of anyone in the world, regardless of what they claim to be. the people who did this, if they do turn out to be muslims, are not speaking for me. this is not in my name. i refuse to have to state this to my nonmuslim friends or co-workers because they should know who i am. i have lived my life in such away, and have interacted with the world in a way, that should make that statement unnecessary. and much more importantly, these people, do not represent islam to me. i am muslim because my heart and my being would have it no other way. i will not allow these people to decide for my heart. it is bad enough that they will be able to represent islam in the media, there is no way that they will do so in my heart. I REFUSE THEM ENTRANCE. my heart is my sacred space wherin i celebrate my love for my Creator, NO WAY WILL THEY INTERFERE WITH THIS. lets stay strong and remember who we are, even if the world around us forgets. may Allah shower mercy and solace and healing to every corner of this planet tonight and may our hearts remain forever fortresses of peace and contentment. masalaama,
itrath Amen.
posted by lauren
9:27 AM
Doing what we can is a great, personal account of New Yorkers supporting emergency workers, and each other.
posted by emira
9:17 AM
Through tears of my own I just came here to post with the same sentiment of what Lauren has said below. I am at a loss after some of the things I have read on the web this morning. People justifying senseless acts of racism, bigotry and hate. There is no justification for this kind of hatred. I heard part of a newsclip last night indicating that school children in Quebec had to leave school as a result of harrassment. School children.
It goes without saying that I am lucky to have grown up white and Canadian. When I was quite young I remember telling my mom that I wanted to go to Beruit. I wanted to go to see the land that she and my father spoke so fondly of spending time in before I was born. I wanted to meet the people who had sent my pregnant mother back to Canada with beautiful handcarved gifts for her new child. I wanted them to know that I had been born safely and that I spent many a dinner listening to stories of their daily lives and the kindness they showed my family. My mother told me that most of the places she had been were now gone. Entire city blocks bombed. Valleys empty. People she spoke of dead. Then my mom told me that if I ever wanted to go to Beruit, she would feel safer if I changed my name for the purpose of travelling. Because a white girl with an arabic name, that happens to be spelled in a way preferred by a certain religious sect, might come under undo scrutiny. That is something I grew to accept.
I am not going to be harrassed in the streets -- unless I raise my voice -- I am still a white Canadian girl. But I have read accounts of people who have suggested that everyone with an Arabic name/affiliation/association/religion/eyebrows/what-have-you should be punished/killed. And I think about how I have always cherished my name, cherished the lives of those people who I grew up hearing stories of, who I was named in honour of. And now I don't know how to get the humanity of those experiences across to those who seek to spread hate.
I consider it an act of extra-ordinary negligence that Bush has failed to call on Americans to spread peace. That the largest theme of official rhetoric has been revenge.
posted by lauren
8:35 AM
I just received an upsetting email from an Ismaili-Canadian friend: i was telling someone today, that i have never felt so violated and discriminated against before. sure the name calling and crap in school was hurtful, but this goes deeper. what is this world coming to. the us gov't keeps talking about revenge, hunting those who did it down, responding immediately etc, but no-one ever talks about what is the most positive response to this tragedy? what can we do to foster compassion, unity, peace in our society? what positive things can we do to change people's consciousness away from the knee-jerk anger to one of peace and harmony? how many people have talked about what we can do in schools, in cities, at work to make every person feel important and that they belong? ...there was someone being interviewed on cbc this morning that suggested that women who wear the islamic garb should not go out for a few days. is that crazy or what? really...what IS this world coming to? Then, after reading that through tearful eyes, I read this and this. I know many, many people have said this already, but I beg all of you to look within you and ask yourselves what positive thing you can create in the aftermath of this tragedy. What ill can you help to address in your community, so that we can try to prevent hatred from taking over the world? I know that many of us are already doing what we can, and if that is the case for you, please carry on doing it, and know that the work you're doing is the most important thing in the world. Meanwhile, the Amazon donation page for the Red Cross has raised over $2.4 million, and the number is climbing every minute.
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
posted by lauren
4:57 PM
Amazing. The Amazon page for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund has already raised almost $1.4 million (US). I must say, my faith in the goodness of people has been strengthened by watching so many people reach out to help each other.
posted by emira
3:07 PM
Also from the ZNet commentaries:
If we are truly going to claim to be decent people, our tears must flow not only for those of our own country. People are people, and grief that is limited to those within a specific political boundary denies the humanity of others.
And if we are to be decent people, we all must demand of our government -- the government that a great man of peace, Martin Luther King Jr., once described as "the greatest purveyor of violence in the world" -- that the insanity stop here.
- Robert Jensen School of Journalism University of Texas Austin
posted by lauren
2:59 PM
There are some very thoughtful, incisive commentaries available via ZNet, including: - "Flying Bombs" - Who Saw It Coming? (CounterPunch) by Alexander Cockburn and Jeffrey St Clair. An excerpt:
The commentators were similarly incapable of explaining with any depth the likely context of the attacks; that these attacks might be the consequence of the recent Israeli rampages in the Occupied Territories that have included assassinations of Palestinian leaders and the slaughter of Palestinian civilians with the use of American aircraft; that these attacks might also stem from the sanctions against Iraq that have seen upward of a million children die; that these attacks might in part be a response to US cruise missile attacks on the Sudanese factories that had been loosely fingered by US intelligence as connected to bin-Laden.
In fact September 11 was the anniversary of George W. Bush's speech to Congress in 1990, heralding war against Iraq. It was also the anniversary of the Camp David accords, which signaled the US buy-out of Egypt as any countervailing force for Palestinian rights in the Middle East. One certain beneficiary of the attacks is Israel. Polls had been showing popular dislike here for Israel's recent tactics, which may have been the motivation for Colin Powell's few bleats of reproof to Israel. We will be hearing no such bleats in the weeks to come, as Israel's leaders advise America on how exactly to deal with Muslims. The attackers probably bet on that too, as a way of making the US's support for Israeli intransigence even more explicit, finishing off Arafat in the process. - "America Under Attack": Guilty Or Not, Here We Come by Danny Schechter
posted by lauren
8:57 AM
The Hunger Site is back.
posted by lauren
8:46 AM
If you're trying to find someone who was in New York yesterday, check out the following "safe lists": I'm Okay - Find Someone - Disaster Message Service - SeptEleven - New York City Bombing Check-In Registry.
posted by lauren
8:05 AM
I think I'll be able to work today.Last night, I went to church for the first time in a long time. It was really good to share space with my elders, who have been through this kind of thing (wars, terrorism, and destruction) a time or two. Also to get some hugs from people who have known me since I was a kid. I went because I knew it would be an hour when I would hear prayers for peace, rather than calls to war. We lit candles and sang "Abide With Me," and there was some small comfort in these familiar (but still strongly symbolic) rituals. I've just learned that two donation sites have been set up: one through Amazon, and another through Paypal. Finally, I'd encourage you to read (yet another) perspective on yesterday, this time from Michael Moore. An excerpt: Congressmen and Senators spent the day calling for more money for the military; one Senator on CNN even said he didn’t want to hear any more talk about more money for education or health care -- we should have only one priority: our self-defense.Will we ever get to the point that we realize we will be more secure when the rest of the world isn’t living in poverty so we can have nice running shoes?
Tuesday, September 11, 2001
posted by lauren
4:38 PM
Some great first-hand-New-Yorker commentary at Choire's:I called my Mom a little while ago, just because it's one of those days where you just need to call your Mom. She's 83 years old and she says this is the craziest thing she's ever witnessed in her entire life. We talked about Pearl Harbor, about her days as a nurse at Providence Hospital in Seattle, about the hallways lined with cots and the blackouts, my father's time in the Air Force patrolling the Atlantic for submarines... I asked her if this was similar and she said, "Well honey, that was as much of a surprise as this is, but it was so far away and Hawaii still seemed like a U.S. possession. Pearl Harbor wasn't here on the mainland. They didn't use our own planes to attack us. And we didn't have a complete idiot for a President in the White House."
posted by emira
4:12 PM
Another extremely well written analysis. Sorry for the length:
Michael Klare, professor of peace and world security studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and the author of the recently published "Resource Wars: The New Landscape of Global Conflict"
You would have to look for groups that are capable of highly skilled and professional operations like this. Your first thought would have to be what is called "the Afghans" -- not necessarily the Afghan government, but that group of people who volunteered to fight with the mujahedin against the Soviet army and received very sophisticated training as well as financing from the CIA. This group would include bin Laden, but there are others as well.
The actions today clearly involved dozens but not hundreds of people. A small enough group to keep their activities secret as they were plotting.
We will desperately look for targets to strike; the pressure for retaliation will be enormous. But it will be hard for us to pinpoint the responsible parties. Groups like the Afghans are stateless. You could strike the Taliban central command, but it's unlikely their top leadership authorized it. These terrorist networks are purposely not highly structured. They're like the right-wing militia types in this country. They may all show up from time to time at the same gun shows, but there is no mailing list or centralized command.
We failed to kill those responsible for the Nairobi embassy bombing when we attacked Afghanistan and the Sudan. I think our chances this time of targeting the right people will also be very slim.
These actions took a tremendous level of precision and sophistication. My guess is this group put all of its resources into this; they've shot their wad. It might inspire other groups that view the U.S. to be the Great Satan to strike, but the numbers who are capable of pulling off something like this are few.
The Palestinians are unlikely to have been involved in something like this. Their rage is directed at Israel, the enemy within their sight. And their military and political apparatus is under immense stress right now; they have their hands full at home.
People are saying this attack was unprecedented, but there have been similar attacks against U.S. targets overseas, of course, like the embassy in Nairobi, the U.S.S. Cole and the military barracks in Saudi Arabia.
This action points less to Palestine than it does to the Saudi Arabia peninsula, where there is a major U.S. military presence and where the U.S. is a powerful backer of the Saudi royal family. Among those like bin Laden who view the U.S. as the Great Satan, in their minds the U.S. military is an occupying force in a sacred land and the Saudi family is corrupt and complicit.
I'm very worried about anti-Arab and anti-Islamic hysteria. And I'm very worried it will radically alter the lives of average Americans. It will be a long time before Americans ever take a plane trip the same way or visit public spaces. The fear will lead to stepped-up security measures and an erosion of our civil liberties.
Americans will struggle with the question "Why us. I thought we were the good guys?" But for many people in the world, we are a symbol of evil and oppression. Our vast wealth and power are bound to create resentment in some quarters. We should ask ourselves what actions our government has taken over the years that have built up this resentment. Such as our close relationship with the Saudi royal family, which many in that country view as hopelessly corrupt and tyrannical. Since there is no ability to oppose the family's rule in a democratic fashion, opposition to their rule is bound to take a terroristic route.
More here.
posted by emira
3:51 PM
This post from someone on the Rabble boards:
I'm getting a little tired of hearing that this is an "attack on freedom" (just heard Netanyahu repeat it now on Newsworld). It's an attack on the US, and usually when people attack the US it's because they're attacking a LACK of freedom for some people, not the supposed freedom that the US stands for. They're attacking the "freedom" that the US feels they have to dump all over other nations of the world.
I'm not justifying this attack in ANY way, but I just think it's such a self-centred idea that America is the heart of freedom when they do more to promote the economic enslavement of people from developing nations, and when they prop up regimes (including in the Middle East) that stand for anything BUT freedom.
Well put.
posted by emira
1:42 PM
The Indy Media sites seem to be back up again. There is some interesting commentary here.
posted by emira
12:41 PM
CNN news on television has a banner running across the bottom declaring the Disneyland and Disneyworld have been closed. I have yet to hear about the status of Eurodisney...
posted by emira
12:24 PM
With respect to those who have suffered already with today's events, my own blood chills at the thought of what is yet to come in terms of retalliation. The president is a Texan after all, and the fact that this attack does not seem to have been purpotrated by a "nation state" will not curtail the call for revenge.
posted by emira
12:20 PM
So far some of the best discussions on events and the issues that are arising have been on Rabble.
posted by lauren
9:57 AM
Yuck! Although I am appalled at the tragedies taking place to the south of us, I am equally disgusted by the polemical crap being spewed by the "average people on the street" being interviewed on television, i.e. "Yes, this is really upsetting. I think it would make us all feel safer if we were to bomb the rest of the goddamn world to show 'em who's boss!" If watching these scared people act all tough weren't upsetting enough, I just received an email from a software company whose CEO apparently thought it appropriate that he send the following to their entire notification list (which, I probably don't need to tell you, ostensibly exists for the purposes of letting people know about new versions of software): Hello everyone, This is [name removed, because I don't feel like a personal attack at the moment], the CEO of [again, removed]. As you may have heard the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked about 45 minutes ago. The Team at [removed] would like to send our heart felt sorrow to those that perished in these attacks. We would like to also say on record that if any country is found responsible for these attacks, we call for that country's complete destruction and annihilation. Do not let terrorism which is designed to create fear and stop production, halt your life or work. Stay focused and do not stop what you are doing. May God bless us all and the decisions we must make. I mean, what the hell is that? I have never given you permission to send me your opinions about anything, let alone warmongering bullshit, invocations of deities, or jingoistic rants. (Needless to say, I have unsubscribed.) The sad thing is that I expect we'll be hearing this kind of stuff for weeks, if not months. Let the games begin.
posted by lauren
8:35 AM
Freaky: the scary, scary stuff happening in D.C. and N.Y. today. I have this creepy, helpless feeling. Helplessness and fear are uneasy bedfellows. Frivolous: Found this Buffy season premiere trailer through prolific.org, the author of which is apparently my weblogger twin.
Monday, September 10, 2001
posted by emira
4:59 PM
I went to a party this weekend held by one of the hubs of vancouver's fashionista community. As such, some of my favorite and most worshipped designers were in attendence. Sadly, I am a bit disturbed by this unabashed embracing of the eighties that even some of my favorite designers are taking on, at least in their own personal style. While I'm ok with making a few historic references, I can not support dressing like you just walked off the set of Degrassi Jr. High. I dared my girlfriend to come up with just one thing from the eighties that she would saction reviving. After much thought she was only able to come up with PYT. It would seem that I am doomed to exist outside of fashion until this horrible trend passes.
posted by emira
4:37 PM
This brought tears to my eyes.
posted by emira
3:01 PM
You know how there are people in your life who you come into contact with over the years and every time you get the chance to hang out with them you think to yourself "wow, I should totally get to know this person and hang out with them more"? But then for various reasons, the biggest one probably being that you just don't get off your ass and make the effort, you never seem to make that fabulous "friend connection." In my own experience have found that invariably when, and if, you do finally befriend that person you will find that they are indeed a superstar and an even more fabulous individual than you ever had imagined. I humbly invite you to meet one of those people.
posted by lauren
12:49 PM
The Dirty Story Quiz (which some of you may remember me talking about before) is now up and running. Please go check it out -- I'm a very proud mama.
Friday, September 07, 2001
posted by lauren
10:40 AM
whatdoiknow has a great recap of the Anne Heche / Babs Walters interview, as compared to Bjork v. Charlie Rose. And Lynda Barry's latest fuels my continuing dog envy, not that I needed any more fuel for that...
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