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Iraqi press freedom
A disturbing piece in today’s NY Times about the plight of Iraqi journalists. Not only are they being systematically slaughtered by Sunni terrorists (sorry, “freedom fighters”). They’re also being persecuted under the draconian laws of the Shia-dominated government. This is the democracy we’ve created. This is the liberation of Iraq. The press restrictions extend to Iraqi Kurdistan, often thought of
The bill passes
Dahlia Lithwick of Slate breaks down exactly what this detainee rights bill means. Her piece is two days old but still worth reading, as the bill has now passed. Lithwick also makes an interesting point in this piece. The infamous Abu Ghraib photos, she claims, did not shock the nation’s conscience; perversely, they softened up public perceptions and made torture
A new article
I have a piece [pdf] in the Jazz Times Education Supplement 2006/2007, on the topic of artist-developed education and outreach programs.
“The darkest blot on the conscience of the nation”
Those are Senator Pat Leahy’s words on the impending Senate passage of this disgraceful bill on detainee rights. See this NY Times report: “What this bill would do is take our civilization back 900 years,” to before the adoption of the writ of habeus corpus in medieval England, Senator [Arlen] Specter said. Fine by Bush and Cheney, fine by hordes
“Necessary killing”
WBAI 99.5 FM, New York’s left-wing radio station, is holding a fundraiser at the Brecht Forum on October 4. The event will feature “Britain’s foremost radical philosopher,” Ted Honderich, who will speak about “Right and Wrong: The Ethics of Terrorism.” Here is a brief indication of Honderich’s grasp of right and wrong: I myself have no serious doubt, to take
Atzmon in “Jewface”
I can’t quite make sense of this, but it appears that Gilad Atzmon, the UK-based jazz saxophonist, antizionist ideologue and antisemitic hatemonger (see here and here), has created an alter ego called Artie Fishel. My first impression of Artie is that he’s something like a blackface character, a Jewish sambo. Be sure to check out Artie’s glossary of Jewish terms.
WW4 Report vs. Project Censored
Here is word of an interesting intramural battle between my fellow bloggers at WW4 Report and one of their former writers, Keith Harmon Snow, who recently won an award from Project Censored. Snow lashes out at his former editors; he’s also taken to putting the words “Rwandan Genocide” in scare quotes. I’m glad WW4 Report is rid of this person,
World Can’t Wait and all that jazz
Word is getting out about an October 5 benefit concert for the protest group The World Can’t Wait (WCW), to take place at the reconstituted Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem. Free-jazz luminaries such as William Parker will perform. I’ve remarked on WCW on this blog in the past. To recap, it is a front for the Revolutionary Communist Party, a Maoist