Hurricane Katrina and U.S. September 11

-
"It would have been almost impossible to imagine, during the days and weeks that followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that we might someday look back on that depressing time with a tinge of nostalgia.... In a strange way, Sept. 11 - despite all the instantaneous proclamations that things would never be the same - represented a final moment of innocence."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mazisi Kunene's “Thoughts on June 26 (South African Liberation Day)”

-
My friend and colleague Gwen Becker pointed out to me how this brilliant poem by South African writer Mazisi Kunene could be read not only in a voice of defiance, but of profound ambivalence. "Was I wrong when I thought All shall be avenged? Was I wrong when I thought The rope of iron holding the neck of young bulls Shall be avenged? Was I wrong When I thought the orphans of sulphur Shall rise from the ocean? Was I depraved when I thought there need not be love There need not be forgiveness, there need not be progress, There need not be goodness on the earth, There need not be towns of skeletons, Sending messages of elephants to the moon? Was I wrong to laugh asphyxiated ecstasy When the sea rose like quicklime When the ashes on ashes were blown by the wind When the infant sword was left alone on the hilltop? Was I wrong to erect monuments of blood? Was I wrong to avenge the pillage of Caesar? Was I wrong? Was I wrong? Was I wr...
Read more

Why Tom Zarek Was Right

-
Image
Tom Zarek: Underserved by the otherwise excellent writers. Most of the anti-Gaeta sentiment I've heard is empty chatter, calling Gaeta "a coward" or "power mad" or "a weasel." Gaeta knew less than viewers know about Cylons, and from his perspective, indeed, from any logical human perspective of a character in the story, the mutiny and coup were logical responses to: a) a tyrannical presidential-military cliqu e that based its pursuit of Earth on what was originally a flat-out lie b) the centralisation of power in an unelected president ruling by cynical religious manip ulation which drifted into self-deluded fundamentalist zealotry and a messiah-complex c) an Executive who nearly succeeded in stealing an election d) a miltary strong-man who himself overthrew civilian rule, ruled by nepotism, undermined criminal inquiries he himself launched, and made clear he would overthrow any government he opposed e) a civilian-military clique of master-race Cap...
Read more

TONIGHT ON THE TERRORDOME: The Five Percent Nation of Gods and Earths

-
Image
(ignore the "Barack Obama" title on the above Youtube video) FM88.5 Edmonton cjsr.com 6 pm Mountain Time If you’ve ever listened to hip hop, then you’ve heard the influence of this remarkable and mysterious community. They’re a decentralised, non-hierarchical society whose members number in the tens of thousands. Ch ances are you’re familiar with them even if you didn’t know it. Their most famous citizens include the Wu Tang Clan and members such as Method Man, the RZA and Raekwon, the singer Erykah Badu, the groups Brand Nubian and Poor Righteous Teachers, rappers Rakim, CL Smooth and Busta Rhymes, to name just a few. But their influence goes far beyond their population, because through hip hop, their teachings and vocabulary have become part of North American culture. Terms and phrases such as G, the bomb, break it down, manifest, represent, do the math, and peace were introduced, reinvigorated or redefined by them. Through their influence, the ph...
Read more