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Movement
These two pictures highlight two very different types of movement. At the top are the “whirling dervishes” of the Mevlâna Egitim ve Kültür Dernegi in Istanbul. From their ceremony booklet: Contemporary science definitely confirms that the fundamental condition of our existence is to revolve. There is no object, no being which does not revolve and the shared similarity among beings
Return
I’m back from a whirlwind trip through Istanbul, southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq. Watch this space for dispatches and travelogues. These two pics capture the view from my friends’ beautiful apartment on Istiklal Cadessi, in Beyoglu, Istanbul.
Puttin’ it in park
This blog is on pause while I travel. Back in late March. What a terrible time to leave New York, just when Bobo Stenson, Anthony Braxton, Jenny Lewis, the Pogues, Edward Simon, Dilated Peoples and the Silver Jews are gearing up for gigs. At least I got to hear Roy Haynes tear the roof off the Vanguard tonight (er, last
The Sopranos returns
With breathtaking results. I’m a latecomer to the series but a huge fan for the last 18 months or so (OK, I’m really late). Tonight’s season premiere met expectations many times over. I won’t discuss the plot but wanted to highlight a comment from Emanuele Alfano of the Italian-American One Voice Coalition (sorry, paid NYT link), who has led the
Items
At the risk of dignifying the shabby comment in response to my previous post, I’ll state for the record that I’m 100 percent opposed to any military strike on Iran. The women’s activists beaten on March 8 are among those who will abolish the rule of the clerics, in time. For Cheney & Co. to run amok right next door
Iran beats feminists
Doug Ireland carries a report from Janet Afary about the International Women’s Day gathering in Tehran on March 8: The peaceful gathering of women’s rights activists, women’s groups and human rights defenders who had gathered in Park Daneshjoo (Student Park) yesterday, in commemoration of March 8th, International Women’s Day, ended in violence, when they were attacked and assaulted by plain
Bravo, Roger Waters
The ex-Pink Floyd singer refuses to cancel his show in Israel. He condemns the separation wall and the occupation but tells the Guardian: I have many fans in Israel, many of whom refuse to serve in the military. I won’t cancel my trip to Israel because I don’t agree with the government’s policies, just as I won’t stop performing in
Now that’s a lede
Just got around to reading Lawrence Kaplan’s attack on the Hummer, which begins: At first glance, Route 27, which winds its way into the Hamptons, and Route Irish, which winds it way into Baghdad, appear to have basically nothing in common. But they do. On both roads, today’s vehicle of choice is the Humvee. Needless to say, they serve vastly