Iraqi war whistleblower Katharine Gun follow-up

Tristero and Juan Cole of Informed Comment have both picked up the story mentioned below. If anyone sees any other blogs mentioning it, could you let me know?

Iraq war whistleblower faces trial

The Guardian Unlimited (the online edition) has this story, titled US stars hail Iraq war whistleblower, with today's dateline. The story is about Katharine Gun, a British former employee of GCHQ who is facing trial tomorrow for violating the Official Secrets Act. The official secret she violated is that of a US 'dirty tricks' operation to spy on the UN Security Council.

I was rather amazed that this story is not all over the blogosphere, let alone the mainstream media. The Guardian is almost the only Western media outlet to carry it, at least according to a Google News search. And who else is carrying it? Al Jazeera, Pravda and a Cuban newspaper are amongst the top hits. And this is despite the fact that her cause has the backing of a "star-studded solidarity drive". There is a short comment from the Guardian as well as the main story. I also did a basic Google search and found a few blogs and lefty sites covering the story, but none of the big hitters - not Buzzflash for instance.

Overrun in Atlanta, by Joel of Pax Nortona

I know! I know! I'm behind in my blogging. I knew (some) about the events in Atlanta on the 15th, but I didn't post anything then. And then I didn't even read blogs yesterday. So today I readPax Nortona's excellent post about it. It's a great image - Bush running scared from a small angry crowd, despite all his overwhelming protection, and then to cap it all - an all white Dixiecrat fundraiser in Atlanta. How does this guy get away with it?

Sex and the Democrats

AlterNet has this story about the role that perceived manliness and sexiness plays in vote-getting. Apart from other questionable things about this interesting hypothesis, it doesn't have a thing to say about the electability of female candidates. All the stuff about nurturing fathers vs. strict fathers is very interesting, and the stuff about the crotch-padding of Bush's infamous flight suit is . . . disturbing. But it automatically raises questions in my mind - if this is all true, how does a woman have to be perceived to be elected? Experience would show, in Britain, that a "strict mother" figure works in similar situations to those calling for a strict father, and that a big handbag is symbolic and important, although I don't understand why. But will any of this translate to American? And how can I use it to advance my own private goal of seeing Chelsea Clinton in the White House (not as First Lady, either) in 2012?

Iowa Death Trip

Steve Perry of the blog Bush Wars (also at Babelogue) has teamed up with Mark Gisleson to bring us a Minnesota radical's and a former Iowan's perspectives on the Iowa Caucuses. Should be good.

Mark Steel

If you live in Britain, you may enjoy the Mark Steel Lectures on the BBC. I just watched the first one, on Byron, on BBC Four. I love this guy; he is so funny, and I am a sucker for working class erudition. If you don't live in Britain, I guess you'll have to be content with the website.

Religion's sexual problems

Karen Armstrong, in an article titled The Eve of destruction, traces the origins of the constantly resurgent misogyny in most modern-day religions. It's not as simple as you probably think.
Quote on Islam:
The Prophet Mohammed, for example, was anxious to emancipate women and they were among his first converts. . . There is nothing in the Koran about the veiling of all women or their confinement in harems. This practice came into Islam some three or four generations after the Prophet, under the influence of the Greek Christians of Byzantium, who had long covered and secluded their women in this way.
Quote on Christianity:
Jesus . . . and St Paul had women disciples. They did not ordain them as priests, because there was no Christian priesthood until the third century. The early Christians espoused a revolutionary egalitarianism; a priestly hierarchy was too reminiscent of Judaism and paganism, which they were beginning to leave behind. Those who today condemn women's ordination as a break with tradition should be aware that priesthood and episcopacy are themselves innovations that depart from the practice of the primitive church.

I have further thoughts, too, on this article, which is sparked by the looming possibility of a breakaway Anglican "wing" which only allows male priests. There are still (and probably always will be) some things about the British psyche that are totally impenetrable to me. Quite a number of them have to do with the Anglican church. This is a country that is almost aggressively secular, not compared to France, obviously, but certainly compared to the US. Less than 10% of nominally Christian Britons are churchgoers or practitioners of any religious devotions such as prayer or meditation. Yet the Anglican church, due to Establisment of Religion, wields enormous if narrowly-channeled power. That's why this ongoing controversy over the ordination of women and female bishops really puzzles me. My own church in the US (United Methodists) is far more conservative on many social and "lifestyle" issues than the centre of the Anglican church in the UK, and yet has had female bishops for decades. The UMC had one major schism in the 19th century over slavery, and has been threatened with another over "reconciling" with gays and lesbians, but the ordination of women was relatively serene, and they (the women) are now some of the most popular and influential bishops. So what accounts for the Anglican hysteria? Misogyny? God forbid!

What have the Arabs ever done for us?

So asked daytime talk show presenter "Kilroy", in a now controversial newspaper article. And Guardian columnist Derek Brown is telling him what. Of course, historically the Arabs are the inventors of zero and algebra, and are the discoverers of much astronomical knowledge and many chemical processes. At their cultural peak, they were artists, writers and architects of far greater skill and taste than Europeans of the day. But many people who know these facts, even if Kilroy doesn't, have no idea of the richness of Arab culture today, in such areas as poetry and prose, calligraphy, ceramics and architecture.

Last Copter Out of Baghdad by Rick Perlstein

This Village Voice article by Rick Perlstein shows why some commentators are calling the Iraqi war "Vietnam on crack".

If you are up for a really good think . . .

you could do worse than read Philosoraptor's latest post, which is concerned with a David Brooks article about neo-conservatives and the "great unhinging". It's long, but worth it.

Google for fun and profit

One of the great things about the Guardian Online is that its articles, like this one, are really helpful and practical. This one is all about Google, including how to make it work for you.

Re-branding Bolton?

In the Guardian today, Tristram Hunt, in an article titled Industrial evolution, discusses the changing public perceptions of the industrial revolution, from the "wilderness of dirty brick" and the "filth and ugliness" described by J. B. Priestley in the 1930s to the new image of the genesis of modern, prosperous Britain. The Big Pit in Blaenavon, Derwent Valley Mills and New Lanark are just some of the "dirty bricks" that have gained the status of "world heritage sites" and many other less famous sites are popular attractions; also prized nowadays are the industrial landscapes and portraits of heroes of the Industrial Revolution by artist Joseph Wright. So, it sounds like Bolton is missing the boat, culturally speaking, by a recent move to revert to its pre-industrial name of "Bolton-le-Moors" to give it "a fresh, environmentally friendly feel and help to attract business." Better to try to become a world heritage site, and celebrate its northern grittiness. (The article is an excerpt from Hunt's new book, Building Jerusalem: The Rise and Fall of the Victorian City.)

Which Enterprise Character Are You?

You're T'Pol. You are very analytical and logical, as any good Vulcan is, but this makes you stick out like a sore thumb. You're cold and calculated, but there's a softer side to you that you tend to keep under wraps. Take the Enterprise Quiz! Brought to you by redanubis.

Definition of the day

Via e-mail, from a self-styled libertarian:
lib·er·tar·i·an n. - A gun-toting economist on drugs.

The Truth about the Rosenbergs

This is from Zeek: A Jewish Journal of Thought and Culture. It's a review of a book by the Rosenbergs' son, Robert Meeropol, in which he does not claim to know "the truth", but rather explains his own "agnostic" stance on their innocence and how his experience has formed his character as an activist.
If you want to buy An Execution in the Family: One Son's Journey, click here to buy it from my store (only in the UK and Europe).

US father in 'Private Ryan' plea as son is killed in Iraq

From today's Observer, and also added to the "Special Reports" on the Iraq War. I don't have a comment on this; just read it. It's another sad war story.

Labour Website of the Year

Vote for the Labour Website of the Year over at LabourStart. And thanks to the Mad Prophet, fellow anarcho-syndicalist, for this link.

Are You A Blogaholic?

I took this test to find out Am I A Blogaholic? My results said: "60 points is in the 51 through 80 precent.[sic] You are a dedicated weblogger. You post frequently because you enjoy weblogging a lot, yet you still manage to have a social life. You're the best kind of weblogger. Way to go!" Thanks to The Whole Wide World of Fat Buddha for the link.

How do they find me?

I have, I am ashamed to admit, indulged in one of those inevitable blogging vanity exercises, and gone through the "referrals" section of my site meter reports with a fine-tooth comb. I even compiled a sample of the results in a document. A few interesting things came to light. My daughter is named Aimee, one of my nephews is named Tyler, and they were standing next to each other in this family reunion picture, which is on my personal page. I didn't know there was a popular porn star named Aimee Tyler, but this has garnered me a lot of glimpses from searchers looking for a bit of skin. (As will this post, now I come to think of it.) I already get a few looking for "sex", because that word is in my blog description. On a more serious note, I was surprised how many people come my way looking for book reviews, and occasionally restaurant reviews, even though I haven't done any of the latter.

How the Brits feel about the new visa requirements in the US . . .

and Homeland Security/Patriot Act issues generally. This post on LiveJournal has really touched a chord with the British, but it needs to get out in the blogosphere of American blogs. Thanks to Not You, the Other One for pointing me to this post.

Camp Delta Seven of Nine to be Returned to UK

No, I don't mean Jeri Ryan. (How's that for sexing up the blog?)
The Guardian reports that seven of the nine British detainees in Camp Delta will now almost definitely be returned to the UK as remaining legal hurdles are cleared.

Barlow and his big mouth

Unless you are a deadhead or a musicologist or a student of early internet communities, you will not have heard of John Perry Barlow; I am the first and the third, to a small degree, so I have. Therefore, when I read in All the Pages Are My Days that JPB had started a blog, I clicked onto it eagerly. And discovered a hornet's nest. The guy has been in the blogosphere less than a month and already he is the right's favourite political football! Catch it in midstream at "Narcissism and the American Left", by Armed and Dangerous. The statement that aroused the storm of debate was:
"We can't afford to lose this one, folks. If we do, we'll have to set our watches back 60 years. If they even let us have watches in the camps, that is." (Safire Takes A Shot At Us, by BarlowFriendz)
I actually agree with a LOT of what the original post in Armed and Dangerous is saying. Don't get me wrong, I still love JPB as a poet (and they call him an internet uberexpert too, but I don't think that actually requires technical or real-world brilliance), and no one is saying his heart ain't in the right place (on the left, yep, right where it belongs) but the essay pushed a lot of buttons for me. As you may or may not know, I have been in and out of leftist political movements since 1970, and the two things that always drive me crazy and drive me out are : 1) the way polemicists, mostly male, always pull the "ooh I'm such a criminal rebel, the establishment is scared of me and I'm going to be disappeared soon" routine and 2) the way the SWP or even less savoury groups take over everything just as it's growing big.
Looking back at JPB's statement, I say two things. First, there were so many better ways he could have finished that sentence "If we do, . . ." He could have referred to America's eroding image in the rest of the civilised world, to the lurking unsustainability in the economy, to the corruption in corporate circles or to the mostly hidden plight of the poor. To suggest that the greatest threat the Bush admin poses is to wealthy technocrat liberal big-mouths like himself is tragically solipsistic. Second, why 60 years? That would be 1943-44, really a heyday for leftist intellectuals. It bespeaks a certain ignorance of history I have come to expect in so-called intelligentsia of the hippie school. It makes the few of us who care about such things look bad by association.

Guardian tries to read minds, gets award for bad journalism

What a difference a word makes! As reported in Andrew Sullivan, the Guardian had a moment of insane irresponsibility and published the following sentence:
"The killing of Reuters cameraman Mazen Dana, who was shot dead by US troops in August for filming outside an Iraqi prison, provoked outrage."
As one would expect, this statement has also provoked outrage, mainly amongst the American military. Consider if the word "for" had been changed to "while". Does this highlight why I say the sentence is irresponsible? How can a journalist know what a soldier shoots someone "for"? A blog called "Iraq Now", authored by a soldier, makes this reasonable point:
"Here's a news flash for you guys: Mazen Dana was killed when he went downrange during a firefight, turned around, hefted something on his shoulder, and foolishly aimed it in the direction of a tank's gunnery optics."
Well, yeah, exactly. I was halfway trained in journalism in the early 1970s (before I changed my major for the third time out of seven.) None of the ethics and standards that I learned at that time are in evidence today, even in the world's highest rated publications. It makes me ill sometimes.

Monarchy

I have been waiting to catch an Outside the Beltway Traffic Jam Linkfest to do this post about the true Monarch of Great Britain. Just because I want people to know about this, because it's cool.
I saw this show on Channel 4 narrated by Tony Robinson (Baldrick in Blackadder and the presenter of Time Team.) The website has the amazing genealogy that he created to track down who is the real successor to the throne, if his theory that Edward III was illegitimate is correct, and if all other "rules" about succession were followed. The most amazing thing about it is who the true monarch turns out to be: a very personable Earl who lives in Australia and is called "the Pom" rather than the Earl of Loudon.
"In 1969, he married the red-headed Noelene McCormick, and together they had five children, who in turn have given them five grandchildren (Noelene has since died). When Michael's mother died in October 2000, he inherited the earldom (if not the British throne). His heir is his eldest son Simon, the present Lord Mauchline.
"When Tony Robinson told Michael that, according to the research, he should be the king of England, he accepted the news calmly, then said: 'I believe that Australia should be a republic. I'm not a mad monarchist.' "
Along the way a lot of fascinating stuff was brought out: reference was made to the still controversial possibility that Richard III did not kill "the princes in the tower", a claim that was examined in Josephine Tey's novel The Daughter of Time, a personal favourite of mine. Also the story of the Hastings family's interaction with the recognised royal family, and the story of how they lost their fortune (twice). Fascinating stuff.
Meanwhile, the Guardian comes out with these wonderful well-reasoned screeds every now and then about the lingering anachronism that appears to be the real monarchy, like this one, which asks, why can't we have a grown-up discussion about this topic, for once?

My test results

I took the Which Classic Movie Are You? (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) and the Which Famous Person Are You? (JFK!!!) tests. You can see the results and link to the tests yourself here.

Thanks to Joel for the links to the tests.

My refund nightmare

Jonathan Freedland explodes the pernicious myth of consumer power. "But what force on earth is weaker than the feeble power of one?" (From America's best labour hymn - Solidarity Forever.)

Guardian's Baghdad Blogger column

Salam Pax queues up with many other Iraqis to apply for a mobile phone; meanwhile, in another queue, only those 65 and over can escape the hajj lottery.

The Pop vs. Soda Page

The Pop vs. Soda Page shows on a map of the US where people call the sweet fizzy stuff "pop", "soda", "coke" or other. (It doesn't say what the other is.)

Twelfth Night

Jeanne of Body and Soul is back with a lovely post about today's holiday, also known as the 12th day of Christmas or the feast of the Three Kings. She tells the story of La Befana, which I first heard of through a puppet show at the Heart of the Beast puppet theatre in Minneapolis.

Our British Allies

Correspondences - News By the People For People, features this 1948 essay by Edmund Wilson with contemporary commentary by Magpie. I have to say that it is accurate, in that it corresponds very well with my own experiences and perceptions. I still have never done that ex-anglophile rant; maybe I never will. It has gone too far now, and would be rambling and overly complex, so I guess my thoughts and feelings on the subject will just leak out gradually in petty annoyance and almost-concealed resentments. How very English.

Britney

Yahoo News - BRITNEY SPEARS. And they accuse homosexuals of weakening, denigrating or destroying the institution of marriage. Bah!

Wow! No, I mean, really - wow!

I discovered a new blog called Correction, recommended by Real Live Preacher, and this post was very inspiring. It is a long musing (not rambling at all, despite what he says) about the nature of faith and truth. But then this one, called Desolation, just blew me away. You must read this guy.

Return of the King, condensed parody version

By mollyringwraith:

This is absolutely hysterical. Here's just one of my favourite bits:

SAM: He's trying to kill us! We're walking straight into a trap. I'm not going one step further.
FRODO: Leave, then. I'm sick of your paranoid delusions anyhow.
SAM: But I...
FRODO: Go on - get out of here. Good riddance.
SAM: But you...
FRODO: Have a nice death.
FRODO stomps off. SAM stays behind, weeping piteously.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ THE BOOK: ...the f**k??

Polly Toynbee: helping children break the class divide

Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee cites an American study titled "Meaningful Differences in the Everyday Experience of Young American Children" to show how class differences are cemented in the first three years of a child's life based on the number of words spoken to it, and the ratio of encouraging to discouraging statements made. One interesting statistic: children of middle-class professionals at the age of three have larger average vocabularies than the parents of children on welfare. And the implications of this study are that no amount of money spent on improving language in schools will suffice without very early intervention: by the age of three, it is often too late to correct the imbalance.

Soros: The Bubble of American Supremacy

In The Bubble of American Supremacy in the December issue of Atlantic Monthly, George Soros sums up the sequence of events from the Cold War through "September 11" so succinctly that it ought to be quoted in elementary World History books of the near future. (Thanks to best friend Joani for this link by e-mail.)

I'm Back!

Back to the UUUK that is. I had an interesting and fun visit - no political arguments and surprisingly little contention of any kind. Both adult children are doing pretty well (not that they couldn't both use some money if you're offering!) And my parents are still going strong despite such calamities as having a broken neck and two rounds of surgery or being bitten by a dog while out walking. I went shopping with my two younger sisters at an outlet mall in Gulfport, something we realised we had never done together (that's go shopping full stop, not just at this particular place.)
I am very out of touch with things. They do have newspapers of a sort in Gulfport and the family is on the internet through AOL (which is a bugger to use when you're not used to it.) But I only caught the high points. My dad is a fan of Faux News and my Mum doesn't watch news unless something that is important to her has happened. 'Nuff said. (But I love 'em anyway and I am not just saying that in case they read my blog, either.)
So maybe a real post with content and links and all that will come out tomorrow. I need to readjust my sleep cycle now.

Just Keeping In Touch

This is just a note to let folks know I am still around. But around Gulfport Mississippi at the moment.
My Mum got a new computer from my youngest brother for Christmas so this is what I am blogging on. I am going to crash (me not the computer) pretty soon. I got back to my Aged Ps' house from the party, which is why we are all here - it was my middle sister Cindy's 25th wedding anniversary. There were at least 50 people there. There were a lot of nostalgic tears. And no political arguments; in fact no arguments of any kind. Amazing.
I am spending some good time with my grand-daughter. There were two little babies, almost exactly the same age, at this party. Shep, Cindy's husband, is 19 years older than she is, and his grand-daughter from a previous marriage had a baby girl the day after Savannah was born. So my younger sister has a step-great-granddaughter one day younger than my only grand-daughter. Kind of like that old "I'm My Own Grandpa" song. But what's really cute is this baby is named Aspen. So we have two babies at a family get-together not really related to each other, and both named after popular American holiday destinations.
I got a cool new picture of my son Carey, which will be up on the Personal Page after I get home.
We had a lot of good food, provided by my other sister Denise and my youngest brother Scott, who is attending chef school (his second career, after being a radio programme manager for many years.)

Personal Stuff and Blogkeeping

I have added a few links on the links page, all "borrowed" from the Fat Buddha: The National Security Archive (secret history of the US) and a new news source, the Sunday Herald. At Deborama's Kitchen, I have our Christmas menu and an Indian Christmas menu, the latter also thanks to Pete at Fat Buddha.

I phoned my parents' house in Gulfport last night and my daughter answered the phone. She is there three days ahead of me, because it was the only flight she could afford. I asked her how the flight was, with the almost-four-month-old baby and all. As I expected, baby Savannah is an excellent traveller; not a sob or cry the whole trip, just dozing, nursing, laughing or looking around with all-consuming curiosity, which is pretty much all she ever does, according to both her Mom and mine. And her Mom was the same and so was I, according to mine. Isn't it great how heredity works?

Things sound pretty peaceful there, at least so far. I was a little worried that amongst the three of them - my mother and my two sisters, all fairly pious evangelical Christians, one of them might have a go at Aimee for not being married. (She's planning to marry but Savannah's father is not quite free of his previous marriage yet.) But, I probably shouldn't worry. I am sure that family peace and harmony and getting to see a great-niece or great-granddaughter will outweigh the dubious efficacy of prosetylization.

Louis Theroux and the Aryan White Resistance

Dick Jones' Patteran Pages, a blog I just recently discovered and blogrolled, had a good review of this show "Louis Among the Nazis". I saw it and I was mightily impressed by it, in more or less the same way as Dick. Except for the pity part; I really can't pity white supremacists because they are not harmless and theoretical to me. I have known too many in real life. Of course they love their children and are kind to their friends and occasionally polite to non-white people who either pay them for something or work for them. That only means they're human; it doesn't mean they're harmless.

Yep, that fits

The U.F.O.s:

You're the secret master, and YOU don't even know
what you're up to.

Fnord.


Which Illuminati are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

The revolution should not be eulogised

Rebecca Blood, one of the pioneers of weblogging, had this really good article in the Guardian Online section a few days ago.

Too good to only link

Click on the comic to go to the link, where you can see more of the same.

Why the US wants Iraq's debts cancelled - and Argentina's paid in full

Naomi Klein's comment in the Guardian tells the truth about "third-world debt". It's not the ideology, it's plain, old-fashioned greed.

Quake update

This morning I read that three people died in yesterday's earthquake. Not such modest damage after all. Prayers and healing thoughts for Californians.

Anyone remember the Equal Rights Amendment?

No? Most of you are too young anyway. Elaine of Blog Sisters links to Ellen Goodman with this insight: Three (terrible) things were threatened as consequences of passing the ERA : Unisex toilets! Women in combat !! and [gasp] Gay Marriage !!! Strange thing is, we now have all three, but no Equal Rights Amendment. It does make me tired.

Richter 6.5 but not the big one

A pretty big quake hit California today but caused only "modest" damage. The epicentre was near San Simeon, about 250 miles north of LA.

Is the end in sight for Denmark's autonomous commune?

The Observer's article on "the commune that kept hippie dream alive" tells of the threat to the the 30 year old self-governing Christiania commune in Copenhagen. The right-wing coalition of parties that has opposed the commune from its beginnings has finally attained a majority in parliament, and although only 45% of the voters want the commune shut down (it is amongst other things a major tourist attraction) there are plans for legislation against it, followed by mass evictions. "Christianites," as the members are known, will not go without a fight.

Women Under Siege in Iraq

This story is from The Nation, by Lauren Sandler. Many Iraqi women are now trapped in their homes, afraid to venture out on to lawless streets with police and even male relatives considering their plight to be of little importance. Stories of rape and kidnap are angrily denied by authorities, who say that such things reflect "American values" which do not exist in Iraq.

The legacy of the Triangle Shirtwaist fire

The Bookmovision blog by Julia had this great article back in September. If you don't know anything about the Triangle Shirtwaist fire, and you think you know American history, you really don't. I hate to be harsh, but there is a lot they don't teach you in school. . . The article is mainly about this book, Triangle: The Fire That Changed America, by David Von Drehle.

Secularism gone mad

The Guardian columnist Madeleine Bunting responds to the news of the banning of Muslim headscarves for French schoolgirls. The article has some very good and pithy things to say about the difference between the British and the French secular humanist approach to the "problem" of religion in its midst. My take on the issue is a little different, although I don't disagree with anything Bunting has to say here. In America, that great stronghold of religious freedom, I have seen that secular agnostic liberals can be just as wrong-headed as Chirac, and just as dogmatic as any Bible-thumping Christian. What I see here is the ultimate result of that line of thought. It goes something like this:
1. In the Dark and Middle Ages, religion is all-powerful and oppressive
2. There is a Reformation, and a counterforce develops, but still a religion and still oppressive
3. The two powers clash and there is religious conflict; millions die
4. The Enlightenment - an ideal is raised - allow all to be free to practice their own religion, including "none" (e.g. atheism or agnosticism or scientism or secular humanism)
5. In the secular state, where religious liberty is prized, the non-religious feel threatened
6. Anti-religion becomes a third force and develops its own oppressive mechanisms
At this point, game theory takes over. In some states, the "old" religion retains the upper hand but the new is tolerated and agnostics, etc. are tolerated. In some states, either the old or the reformed religion takes the upper hand absolutely; it doesn't matter which one, either way you are back to step 1. And in a few cases, mainly Soviet Russia, but now possibly including France, the agnostics etc. gain the upper hand, still feeling vulnerable to the "oppression" of the devout amongst them. The result is exactly the same: you are back to step 1. In other words, a state where a schoolgirl is forbidden to cover her hair in the name of religious freedom is no more free than medieval Europe, or Afghanistan under the Taliban.