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“Brother-fighter”
“With hearts full of faith, Hamas commends brother-fighter Abu Musab … who was martyred at the hands of the savage crusade campaign which targets the Arab homeland, starting in Iraq.” — official Hamas statement on the killing of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi **Update: Commenter Pat points out, correctly, that the above statement has been denied by the Hamas leadership. My bad.
Baroness Tonge’s world
There’s been some derision (justified, in my view) aimed at Baroness Jenny Tonge of the House of Lords for her June 8 letter to The Independent — in which she argues that Israel’s separation wall is forcing Palestinian militants to “export themselves” to wage jihad in Iraq. The letter also makes reference to “the USA and its military base in
Hilton Ruiz succumbs
The pianist, grievously injured in New Orleans, has died. The cause of his injuries is still under investigation. Ruiz will be viewed on Monday, June 12 at the Barrett Funeral Home at 424 West 51st Street & Ninth Avenue. 212.265.0335 Update: Viewing is Sunday June 11th and Monday June 12th, 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm and 7:00 pm – 9:00
“Rough Crossings”
My review of “Rough Crossings,” with pianist Jason Moran, soprano Alicia Hall Moran and historian Simon Schama, is now online at the Jazz Times site.
Evil: when no other word will do
It pains me to post this right after an item about CDs. But this is reportage from Iraq that I want to preserve before it goes behind the NYT archival wall. Regarding the calculated slaughter of commuters traveling from Baghdad to Baquba on June 4: The roadside executions took place on a road north of Baghdad, near a village called
CDs on parade
I receive anywhere from 10-20 CDs per week in the mail. I can’t listen to them all, so they tend to collect in neat stacks around my apartment. I’d like to think I’m becoming more efficient, but keeping up with all this music is a constant struggle (one that I’m happy and honored to undertake, of course). Anyway, I finally
Iraq: the oil issue
One of the posts in my Kurdistan travelogue concerned Iraq’s acute gasoline shortage. It baffled me then and still does. But this extensive piece in the NYT is the best treatment of the issue that I’ve seen. Once thought to be only a tool for insurgents to undermine the government, the pipeline attacks have evolved into a lucrative moneymaking scheme
Supporting pianist Hilton Ruiz
Via Jazz Promo Services. — New York, NY –June 1, 2006– Famed Puerto Rican/New York Composer, Pianist and Jazz musician Hilton Ruiz is in a coma at a New Orleans hospital Intensive Care Unit with severe trauma to the face and a fractured skull. The circumstances surrounding this tragic incident are under investigation by the New Orleans Police Department. In