Blacknell.net

Politics, open government, and safe streets. And the constant incursion of cycling.

Category: Society Page 31 of 69

Feeling the Veil: A Reader Response

By

On December 30, 2008

In Society, Travel

The following comes from a longtime reader (and friend), in response to my post highlighting Megan Stack’s article on her experience as a woman in Saudi Arabia:

I can’t believe you, of all people, would post that article on Saudi Arabia. I don’t mean so much about the content (although I do partly mean that, in some places) as to the whole way it was written. Parts of it read like Ann Coultier or whatever the fuck her name is. At least she is out and out nasty. This wolf in sheep’s clothing reporting.

I love the oh so subtle (and then sometimes not so) perpetuation of the idea that the great white race once again knows best how to ponder the shortcomings of the the inferiors, and feels defeat at not being able to liberate them. I loved the journalistic integrity in the piece that set such an objective tone right off the bat with the heavy abaya dragging her along and the comparison of sludgy Arabic coffee and the pure, clean American coffee.  I wonder if she, like Bush, also likes the brown people.

And if the kingdom made her slouch, she maybe didn’t have much of a backbone to begin with. But then, it wouldn’t make for thrilling reading, would? Man, those chiropractors in SA must be shoveling in the money.

(I don’t claim to know anything about living day in and day out in Saudi Arabia, where I know women’s rights are far different and much more restricted, almost non existent[.]  But really, what does an article like this which still reads as inflammatory towards its very subjects, the woman, while trying to seem so above it all, hope to achieve?)

I must be missing something from this article from the view point of someone not from the Middle East, or my anger at the tone is too much and I am not seeing something. Because otherwise, I don’t get it. I hate this kind of journalistic reporting. You could have posted something much better addressing the same issues. Or, if you didn’t have it, you could have waited. Not this. Not this piece of crap that reduces hostile situations to “glares” (her) and “baring of teeth” (them, always with the animal references of course.)

Travel Notes: Omnibus Edition

By

On December 30, 2008

In DC, Law, Personal, Society, Travel

[Part of my year-end omnibus series]

Mitch Altman’s story of a weekend in a new city captures one of the best parts of traveling – random connections with interesting people:

[My host] also organized an anti-war event at a community center, and somehow during the event the Coke machine they rented as the center-piece of the performance caught on fire while videos of “Dr. Strangelove” mixed with actual footage from Iraq on the floor.  I met Charlie through a journalist from Libération who interviewed me in the early days of TV-B-Gone media craziness.  As well as hosting me in his wonderful, government-subsidized apartment (they actually support the arts in France!), Charlie is a great connector, hosting get-togethers where journalists, film makers, artists of all sorts, many flavors of activists, and other interesting, creative, intelligent people mix and mingle in long nights of conversation and friendly debate.

~

Anil Dash lives the dream.  Almost.

~

I’m a sucker for certain historical travel narratives, and this was right down my alley.  It’s an account of two young women who set off in 1944 on a long circle through the eastern US (via bike, train, and riverboat).  What makes it particularly interesting is that the first half appears to be a contemporaneously written account, and the second finished by one of the women when she was in her 80s.

~

Does flying occasionally scare you?  Then don’t read this.

~

The best in travel usually entails taking some risk, in my experience.  This list wouldn’t be my own, but it’s not a bad place to start.

~

My trip to Argentina last month marked the first time I’d ever had my photo taken at a border, as a condition of entry.  Presumably, other countries will be following the United States further down that road:

The Homeland Security Department has announced plans to expand its biometric data collection program to include foreign permanent residents and refugees. Almost all noncitizens will be required to provide digital fingerprints and a photograph upon entry into the United States as of Jan. 18.

Because nothing keeps us safe like storing your biometric information in a one stop shop for identity thieves.

~

I’m going to have the opportunity to get to a new part of the world in the next year or two – Southeast Asia.  Shamefully, I have to admit that it’s never held that much interest for me, as a region.  Maybe I could start with Burma.

~

A little closer to home – the Yellow Arrow Capitol of Punk tour of DC’s punk history might be worth a look.  Punk was never really my thing, so I can’t speak to the quality of it, but the execution strikes me as really a good idea.   The Yellow Arrow concept goes well beyond DC – right now, it claims 467 cities.  Check it out.

~

Craig of Travelvice captures some of the, uh, cultural nuance of eastern Europe.

~

While I’m working on finishing this story (really, one day . . . ), you might enjoy this account of Dubai, which I think hits the marks pretty well:

Inside the airport, there was a 90-minute wait at passport control. Surrounding me were an international smorgasbord of travelers; Indian businessman, Arab millionaires, Palestinian refugees, Russian hookers, Japanese tourists, and women dressed head to toe in black robes, complete with leather gloves. With a population of 1.2 million, Dubai only has about a couple hundred thousands locals, the rest are migrant laborers from India, Pakistan, Philippines and Malaysia, not to mention the UK and USA. The guy in the line warns me of ever-present blonde Russian hookers, “There are 200 000 of them in Dubai!” he tells me, shaking his head in disapproval, as if they were an unpopular teenage accessory.

~

I probably won’t write about the Nova Scotia trip I took in October, and I have no clever way to work this into another story, so I’ll just post this link to the site of a restaurant we passed.  Because I am twelve.

Feeling the Veil: A Woman’s Reporting in Saudi Arabia

By

On December 29, 2008

In Society, Travel

[And sometimes we find pieces for which we simply never hit the “Publish” button.  This is about a year and a half old, but still perfectly relevant.]

Check out this excellent piece by Megan Stack, reporter for the LA Times, on her experiences in Saudi Arabia:

I was ready to cope, or so I thought. I arrived with a protective smirk in tow, planning to thicken the walls around myself. I’d report a few stories, and go home. I had no inkling that Saudi Arabia, the experience of being a woman there, would stick to me, follow me home on the plane and shadow me through my days, tainting the way I perceived men and women everywhere.

[ . . . ]

I spent my days in Saudi Arabia struggling unhappily between a lifetime of being taught to respect foreign cultures and the realization that this culture judged me a lesser being. I tried to draw parallels: If I went to South Africa during apartheid, would I feel compelled to be polite?

That last question is something I’ve considered myself, especially during my travels this past year.  The photo on the right was of a Dubai-based newspaper that I read on a flight from Mumbai to Dubai.  It was a little jarring, to see that as front page news (and not free of irony, with its position right under headline about “Fashion Week”).

Update: Here’s a response that I urge all to read.

Do the Right Thing: Webb & Prison Reform

By

On December 29, 2008

In Law, Policy, Politics, Society, Virginia

The Washington Post has an article on the reaction to Sen. Webb (D-Va) and his plans to introduce legislation aimed at reforming the US prison system.  Webb – unlike just about every other politician – isn’t interested in grandstanding by adding penalties on top of penalties.  Rather, he’s interested in reducing prison population, improving conditions in prisons, and seeing better outcomes for those that are released from prison.   Of course, this doesn’t go over very well in Virginia:

It is a gamble for Webb, a fiery and cerebral Democrat from a staunchly law-and-order state. Virginia abolished parole in 1995, and it trails only Texas in the number of people it has executed. Moreover, as the country struggles with two wars overseas and an ailing economy, overflowing prisons are the last thing on many lawmakers’ minds.

But Webb has never been one to rely on polls or political indicators to guide his way. He seems instead to charge ahead on projects that he has decided are worthy of his time, regardless of how they play — or even whether they represent the priorities of the state he represents.

State Sen. Ken Cuccinelli II (R-Fairfax), who is running for attorney general, said the initiative sounds “out of line” with the desires of people in Virginia but not necessarily surprising for Webb. The senator, he said, “is more emotion than brain in terms of what leads his agenda.”

Some say Webb’s go-it-alone approach could come back to haunt him.

“He clearly has limited interest in the political art, you might say, of reelection,” said Robert D. Holsworth, a political science professor at Virginia Commonwealth University.

I think most long-time readers will recall that I’ve got problems with Webb.  But on this, I’m 100% behind him.

The Vatican Called. It Wants Galileo Back.

By

On December 24, 2008

In Politics, Society

Oh, that the man himself could know about this:

The Vatican is recasting the most famous victim of its Inquisition as a man of faith, just in time for the 400th anniversary of Galileo’s telescope and the U.N.-designated International Year of Astronomy next year.

[ . . .  ]

It’s quite a reversal of fortune for Galileo Galilei (1564-1642), who made the first complete astronomical telescope and used it to gather evidence that the Earth revolved around the sun. Church teaching at the time placed Earth at the center of the universe.

The church denounced Galileo’s theory as dangerous to the faith, but Galileo defied its warnings. Tried as a heretic in 1633 and forced to recant, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, later changed to house arrest.

What is it they want to do?

In May, several Vatican officials will participate in an international conference to re-examine the Galileo affair, and top Vatican officials are now saying Galileo should be named the “patron” of the dialogue between faith and reason.

Irony is alive and well in Rome, I see.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RiU2T4Psyc[/youtube]

A Christmas Message . . .

By

On December 24, 2008

In Personal, Society

from Polly Toynbee (and many, many more):

“There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”.

Merry Christmas.

Down the Memory Hole

By

On December 22, 2008

In Law, Society, Tech

Does anyone at all believe that the White House isn’t engaged in a massive erasing binge right now?

The required transfer in four weeks of all of the Bush White House‘s electronic mail messages and documents to the National Archives has been imperiled by a combination of technical glitches, lawsuits and lagging computer forensic work, according to government officials, historians and lawyers.

It’s a tradition, you know:

Thomas S. Blanton, the National Security Archive director, said controversy surrounding the last-minute handling of e-mails by retiring presidents — including intervention by the courts — is hardly exceptional.

Blanton wrote in a 1995 book that Ronald Reagan tried to order the erasure of all electronic backup tapes during his final week in office; the current president’s father struck a secret deal with the U.S. archivist shortly before midnight on his final day in office to seal White House e-mails and take them with him to Texas; and Clinton asserted in 1994 that the National Security Council was not an agency of the government so he could keep its e-mails beyond public reach.

Blanton said last week that “the situation is exponentially worse” under the current administration because the volume of electronic records at stake from Bush’s tenure is higher than in previous administrations. If some of the records are manipulated, even for a short while, he said, “the problem and the cost to the taxpayers is going to be exponentially worse, [as well as] the delay and the lag time before journalists and historians are going to be able to see this.”

Hateful

By

On December 19, 2008

In Law, Society

Thanks, Prop 8 voters:

The sponsors of Proposition 8 asked the California Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the marriages of the estimated 18,000 same-sex couples who exchanged vows before voters approved the ballot initiative that outlawed gay unions.

The Yes on 8 campaign filed a brief arguing that because the new law holds that only marriages between a man and a woman are recognized or valid in California, the state can no longer recognize the existing same-sex unions.

Perhaps it’s time to get personal with these people.

Madoff=Wall Street

By

On December 19, 2008

In Policy, Society

Paul Krugman is dead on, here:

Yet surely I’m not the only person to ask the obvious question: How different, really, is Mr. Madoff’s tale from the story of the investment industry as a whole?

The financial services industry has claimed an ever-growing share of the nation’s income over the past generation, making the people who run the industry incredibly rich. Yet, at this point, it looks as if much of the industry has been destroying value, not creating it. And it’s not just a matter of money: the vast riches achieved by those who managed other people’s money have had a corrupting effect on our society as a whole.

[ . . . ]

But surely those financial superstars must have been earning their millions, right? No, not necessarily. The pay system on Wall Street lavishly rewards the appearance of profit, even if that appearance later turns out to have been an illusion.

Consider the hypothetical example of a money manager who leverages up his clients’ money with lots of debt, then invests the bulked-up total in high-yielding but risky assets, such as dubious mortgage-backed securities. For a while — say, as long as a housing bubble continues to inflate — he (it’s almost always a he) will make big profits and receive big bonuses. Then, when the bubble bursts and his investments turn into toxic waste, his investors will lose big — but he’ll keep those bonuses.

O.K., maybe my example wasn’t hypothetical after all.

It’s worth a couple of minutes to read the whole thing (especially the part about the bipartisan corruption).

Update: Naturally, the Madoff investors want a bailout, too.

American Values: Nothing Wrong With Homosexuality Being a Crime

By

On December 19, 2008

In Law, Policy, Society

I knew that the Vatican opposed the UN statement calling for the decriminalization of homosexuality, but until Silence’s comment here, I had no idea that the United States apparently couldn’t bring itself to stand along side the civilized world in calling for an end to such idiocy:

Sixty-six countries signed a joint statement in support of LGBT human rights, which was tabled at the United Nations General Assembly today (18 December 2008). The full list follows below.

The most surprising non-signers were the United States and South Africa.

So what, right?  It’s not like it’s a big problem.

“Some international human rights instruments have, of course, been interpreted to include sexual orientation, but this is not the same as the explicit prohibitions that exist concerning discrimination based on race, nationality, gender and so on.

“Currently, 86 countries (nearly half the nations on Earth) still have a total ban on male homosexuality and a smaller number also ban sex between women. The penalties in these countries range from a few years jail to life imprisonment. In at least seven countries or regions of countries (all under Islamist jurisdiction), the sentence is death, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Mauritania and parts of Nigeria and Pakistan,” said Mr Tatchell.

We should be so proud.

Page 31 of 69

Previous

Next

Powered by WordPress & Theme by Anders Norén