Blue day, somewhat cloudy

Tammet, Daniel. (2006). Born on a Blue Day: A Memoir of Asperger's and an Extraordinary Mind. London, Hodder & Stoughton.

Tammet's Asperger's and autism take the form of "Savant Syndrome," a combination of extraordinary abilities and equally extraordinary disabilities-- he's a whiz with numbers, helpless in personal interaction, can learn a new language in a week but can't converse spontaneously, sees details far more sharply than almost anyone but fails to notice larger patterns -- he may see your nose but not your face. He cares about people, but has no empathy: that is, he does not sense what it is they feel, and thus either does not respond at all or responds in startlingly inappropriate ways, taking in only the literal sense of another person's words. It is surprising and admirable that he could write a readable book, and his descriptions of how he experiences events are valuable clues as to how the brain processes information (apparently his left lobe is somehow damaged so the right does almost all the work). But be warned: a book by a very bright person who has no empathy with an imagined reader nor any notion of the overall pattern of what he is writing can be no more than a string of informative but emotionally flat episodes.

See Daniel Tammet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and

Optimnem: The Official Website of Daniel Tammet; when I'm ready to try again to improve my German, or learn some other new language, I'll try out his system.

Thanks to my friend Jeanne Durban for suggesting this book.

Politics of the absurd

«The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) said in a statement issued Jan. 30 that it is adding 350 Nepalese soldiers to its force in order to fight crime in Port-au-Prince."americas.org

Lots of luck, guys, and sharpen your Gurkha knives. Here's what the U.S. State Department says about Haiti. And here's what the Nepalese say about their peacekeepers: The Rising Nepal

What 'Israel's right to exist' means to Palestinians | csmonitor.com

This piece by John Whitbeck may help clear up some rhetorical confusion. What 'Israel's right to exist' means to Palestinians | csmonitor.com

Socialism today in South America

Like you, I've been wondering what "socialism for the 21st century" might look like. Here's a good overview of what it looks like so far in South America. It's especially interesting for its insight into what it might mean for the relations between Venezuela and its English-speaking, pro-"socialist" neighbor Guyana. The author is Odeen Ishmael, Guyanese ambassador in Caracas. Socialist Ideology Takes New Roots in South America

Also check out the other articles on this site.

Anti-Bush T-Shirts

Thanks to Ivan Light for forwarding this list. Now go out and print your own!


Ulysses S. Grant: No Longer Our Worst President

(on an infant's shirt): Already smarter than Bush.

That's OK, I Wasn't Using My Civil Liberties Anyway

Bush. Like a Rock. Only Dumber.

Killing For Peace Is Like Screwing For Virginity

You Can't Be Pro-War And Pro-Life

If You Can Read This, You're Not the President

Of Course It Hurts: You're Getting Screwed by an Elephant

George Bush: Creating the Terrorists Our Kids Will Have to Fight

(over a photo of Bush) Electile Dysfunction

America: One Nation, Under Surveillance

They Call Him "W" So He Can't Misspell It

Which God Do You Kill For?

Jail to the Chief

No, Seriously, Why Did We Invade Iraq?

Bush: God's Way of Proving Intelligent Design is Full of Crap

Bad President! No Banana.

We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language

We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them

Is It Vietnam Yet?

Guess What? Bush Doesn't Care About Poor White People Either

When Bush Took Office, Gas Was $1.46

The Republican Party: Our Bridge to the 11th Century

What Part of Bush Lied Don't You Understand?

Bush Lost Iraq. Deal With It

The Ode Less Traveled

Unhappy with that great syllabic mess
of stutterings and halts that I call prose,
I've found this book just off the press
that I most need: self-help for me and those
like me who want to sing but only caw
in raucous tones disordered and sans law.

A 12-step plan to bardhood. First, step one:
sound out the samples, tap your feet
to Shakespeare, Heaney, Dickinson and Donne,
until you're sure you've caught the beat:
pentametrically ordered five-by-five,
those iambs and those trochees come alive!

Then pen in hand, begin to write some word
that's stressed on second stroke; you can forget
if it makes sense, an iamb even if absurd
sounds good in the right place. And yet,

the lesson that you learn is truly sad:
All poetry, or most I've ever read,
consists of this: the banal thought well said.
It sounds good sometimes even when it's bad.

(To try it on your own, see Stephen Fry, The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within, Gotham Books, 2005.)

Ethnic cleansing in Israel

Here is a 15-minute talk by Ilan Pappe, an Israeli and professor at Haifa University, delivered at Northeastern University in Boston, November 19, 2006: The Cleansing of Palestinians. Pappe traces the Israeli campaign to expel Palestinians from Palestine to the very origins of the Jewish state. Zionism's two founding impulses were, first, to find a safe haven for the Jews (quite necessary and urgent in an era of pogroms in the late 19th century), and second, to redefine Judaism as a national movement. It is this second impulse that, according to Pappe, is used by the entire Israeli political elite to justify any action -- including individual and mass killing, rape and destruction of property -- in its ethnic-cleansing campaign; Pappe hopes to stir a movement to end this policy.

See also Ilan Pappe: Israeli Jewish myths and the prospect of American war

And on the other side, ILAN PAPPE... Advocate of Israel's Destruction;

and finally, for details on his books, interviews, etc., Welcome to the official website of Ilan Pappé

As you will see, there is intense debate (especially in Israel) over some of his historical interpretations, which I'm not in a position to judge (e.g., were the Camp David accords really designed to establish "two Bantustans"?). What he says in this 15-minute talk seems to me persuasive.

Act to protect press freedom

Thanks to Daniel del Solar for forwarding this urgent notice from Martha Wallner about this latest effort by the Bush administration to suppress our right to know and reporters' right to report. Martha writers:

Dear friends, I am forwarding this information about a colleague of mine, Sarah Olson. Sarah does excellent reporting for the National Radio Project program “Making Contact” which is heard on community and public radio all around the country.To listen to a program she recently produced on what pregnant women in prison face – go to: radioproject. Please read about Sarah’s case below and if so moved take one or more of the support actions also described below. Thanks, Martha Wallner

***************************************************************************************************

Sarah Olson, a reporter for Truthout received a supoena in December to testify in the court-martial of 1rst Lt. Ehren Watada, the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to Iraq. The supoena is to compel Olson to testify that Watada made statements against the war to her that the military has deemed conduct unbecoming an officer. Olson objects to testifying and if she doesn’t she risks 6 mos. in jail (unlike civilian grand juries which can hold you up to 18 mos.) Dahr Jamail, who blogs and reports on Iraq, and who you may have heard on Democracy Now! is also on the witness list although he has not been subpoenaed. He recorded a speech Watada gave to a Iraq Veterans Against the War conference and posted it on the web.

At this juncture, Olson is in urgent need of support, please see below for details.

To read her full interview with Lt. Watada

In a statement explaining why she will not testify, Olson points out that,

“It seems clear that the U.S. Army is attempting to redefine the parameters of acceptable speech and to classify dissent as a punishable offense. Subpoenaing journalists in this case unequivocally sends the message that dissent is neither tolerated nor permitted. Utilize your constitutionally guaranteed speech rights and go to prison. What rational soldier would agree to speak with me or any other member of the media if jail was a likely result?

When the press cannot or does not reflect the vibrant and varied perspectives within our society, it is reduced to a simple transcriber of government press releases. The record of existing dissent is erased, and a dumbed-down, homogenized version of “The American Experience” is all that’s left in its place.”

There is now a website set up to cover Olson’s case where you can learn more and make donations to help defray her legal costs. Olson is also asking people to send letters to the commanding general at Ft. Lewis and to Robert Gates. The addresses are:

Lt. Gen. James Dubik
Commanding General
Fort Lewis and I Corps
Bldg 2025 Stop 1
Fort Lewis WA 98433


Honorable Robert Gates
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington DC 20301


Finally, Olson is asking for signatures on the following statement:

We, the undersigned journalists, academics, artists and citizens, object to the Army’s decision to subpoena independent journalist and radio producer Sarah Olson and Honolulu Star Bulletin reporter Greg Kakesako, to testify in the court-martial of 1st Lt. Ehren Watada, the first officer to publicly refuse to deploy to Iraq. We are further disturbed by the Army’s decision to add independent journalist Dahr Jamail and videographer Sari Gelzer to the prosecution’s witness list.

It’s a journalist’s job to report the news, not to participate in government prosecutions of political speech. The press cannot function if it is used by the government, and hauling a journalist into a military court erodes the separation between government and press. Turning reporters into the investigative arm of the government subverts press freedoms and chills
dissenting speech in the United States. The press must preserve its ability to cover all aspects of a debate, not just the perspectives popular with the current administration. We believe a journalist’s duty is to the public and their right to know, not to the government.

In the name of the cornerstone values this nation claims to uphold and for which the men and women in the military are fighting, we ask that you to end your insistence that journalists participate in the court-martial of Lt. Watada. We need more information, participation, and debate – inside and outside the military – not less. As the LA Times argued in its January 8th editorial: “It’s time for the Army to back off.”

You can sign the statement by sending an email to Sarah Olson at solson75@yahoo.com indicating your support. Very important–do this TODAY, Sarah needs these letters by Jan. 19th!

For more information and to support Olson and Jamail

For more information on the case of Lt. Ehren Watada
#30

Daniel del Solar
e-mail solarmedia@hotmail.com
cell 510 290 3022

IF you WANT PEACE work for JUSTICE

Israel/Palestine: The One-State Solution

Miko Peled provides arguments for what I too think is the only reasonable, humane and sustainable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A single state, with equal rights for all regardless of ethnicity or religion, and a democracy embracing all and guaranteeing basic civil rights, could be the model for transformation of the entire Middle East. (Thanks to Khalil Nakhleh for signaling this article.) ZNet |Israel/Palestine | The Answers Have Changed

Legislating history: Holocaust denial ban

Prison sentences for those who deny the Holocaust of 1939-45 or Armenian genocide, 1915-17, are among the worst imaginable ways to "combat racism and xenophobia," their supposed purpose. For one thing, such laws probably won't work where they are proposed--they go against hard-won conquests of free speech in western Europe, as well as the commercial interests of a lot of mass media delighted to stir up a storm about anything. But the greater threat is that they might work, at least somewhat, not to make people feel more tolerant toward other races, but to shut up about their unofficial, unsanctioned opinions. And then where will we be? In something like Putin's Russia, where only the official story gets expressed, or maybe Iran, with its deep and complex apparatus for control of opinion.

Curiously, last year the then-leading candidate for president of that country (he lost, though) argued that censorship wasn't working. The man who did win, Ahmadinejad, has not dismantled the censorship apparatus, but has come up with imaginative ways to test the West's tolerance for dissent: a cartoon contest lampooning the Israels leaders' supposed Holocaust-complex.

History should be left to the historians, to debate and argue out their interpretations. The evidence for the so-called "Holocaust" (the real event, or series of events, was far worse than any real holocaust) is overwhelming, it appears to me and should appear to most people. So those who claim it didn't happen can be refuted by evidence. Denying those "deniers" a voice is denying ourselves a chance to debate and clarify many details of a very complex history, in which vast parts of European society--not only in Germany--were complicit. As for the Armenians, the debate is not over whether tens of thousands or more died, but over whether (a) their death was deliberate policy by the Ottoman leadership and if so, (b) what responsibility modern Turkey, the secular nation-state created by Attaturk, has for its imperial predecessors. We should do everything we can to get Turkey to acknowledge the issue and join an open search for the historical truth; punishing in France those who denied that it happened is as obnoxious to free speech as punishing in Turkey those who argue that it did.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Push for EU Holocaust denial ban

See also The fight against Holocaust denial by Raffi Berg (BBC)

But most of all, see Index on Censorship