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Counterpunch v. Cooper
Joshua Frank, writing in Counterpunch, has indicted Marc Cooper for the high crime of criticizing Ward Churchill. In case you’ve forgotten, Churchill is the widely vilified Colorado academic who penned the 9/11 essay “Some People Push Back” and used the term “Little Eichmanns” to describe employees of the World Trade Center. Churchill’s essay is here. Before I respond, a reminder
Journalism, from Venezuela to Iraq
Very pleased to see this savaging of Hugo Chavez in the lefty New Statesman. Alice O’Keeffe comments on the aftermath of Hugo’s shutdown of the RCTV network: RCTV has been replaced by TVes (pronounced té vès, or “you see yourself”), a government channel that has the apparently laudable aim of moving away from a western, consumerist agenda and reflecting the
Light posting
I miss blogging, I really do.I’m wrapping up a review of Amitav Ghosh’s essay collection Incendiary Circumstances: A Chronicle of the Turmoil of Our Times. It will appear in the next edition of Democratiya. And busy with a number of other things as well. And trying to enjoy the summer a bit. But I’m sure the blogging bug will hit
On “Sicko”
I said I’d refrain from further comment until I saw Michael Moore’s film. Well, I have. In short, everything up until the Cuba scene was far better than I expected. And the Cuba scene was far worse than I expected. Moore’s indictment of HMOs and corrupt politicians is spot-on. His portrait of the Canadian, British and French systems is probably
Booker’s Newark
Interesting piece in the NY Times today about the smear campaign underway against Newark mayor Cory Booker. Among the mayor’s most vocal detractors is Amiri Baraka, long ago a vital artist and music critic, now a crackpot of the worst sort, but one who retains his sycophantic following in jazz circles. Anyhow, note that according to one Baptist reverend, …many
Six Picks: July 2007
My monthly list of recommended CDs, as published in All About Jazz-New York, July 2007: The Nels Cline Singers, Draw Breath (Cryptogramophone) Kahil El’Zabar’s Infinity Orchestra, Transmigration (Delmark) Victor Goines, Love Dance (Criss Cross) Myra Melford & Tanya Kalmanovitch, Heart Mountain (Perspicacity) Enrico Pieranunzi, Live In Japan (CAM Jazz) Vinson Valega, Awake (Consilience)
Vision Festival ’07
My review of the first two nights is at Jazz Times online. The festival continues through this Sunday. I neglected to mention the rare performance by South African drummer Louis Moholo, which will close the festival on the 24th. I’m happy to report that Moholo will appear in Philadelphia as well, on June 29. [Update: A reader notes that Moholo
The veil
A piece in the NY Times today concerns the wearing of the niqab, the full face veil, by Muslim women in Britain. The issue has drawn plenty of controversy, in other countries as well. Here in Philadelphia, go run an errand and you’re likely to come across at least one woman covered head to toe in black — very much