Okay, this is really funny. This is a real photo from Dumbya's presenting of his new supreme court nominee. That dancing fellow is John Roberts young son. It is pretty disturbing to think that someone who will make decisions for the rest of us can't control his own child. I'm surprised that the whitey house hasn't issued a statement declaring the child mentally unstable from a swimming accident or something. Damn, that is funny stuff. Even funnier, after about a minute or so of his Mean Jean, the child (and Mom and sister) were escorted out by the secret service. To see the video go to The Daily Show and check out the "Who is John Roberts?". Kudos to Stewart and his team again.

Okay, here are my two cents. John Roberts seems to not be an uber-nazi right wing extremist. Is he an idealogue? Probably to some extent. The fact, however, is that he doesn't look like a Neo-Con. Can we expect more than that? As much as he isn't Sandra Day O'Conner or a Thurgood Marshall, he probably isn't a Thomas or Scalia? Let's face it, we lost the election. We failed. He isn't as bad as any of the people we fought over for the Federal courts and it is Dumbya's right to pick someone. With this guy maybe we can live with him relative to what the alternatives might be. We should save our fight for when Rehnquist has his embellism.

The Return
Hello my droogies! I'm glad to be back and I apologize for my absence. I hope I can be forgiven. I don't really have any excuses. I did deal with a lot of hangovers and too much silly other languages, but that hasn't stopped me before and now I must return to you humbly.

In my absence, terrorists have attacked, again, this time in London from some homegrown suiciders. Damn. Also, Sandra Day O'Conner resigned being replaced by a Bushie. Shit. The good news is that based on reports it looks like americans only killed about 30-40% of the casualities in Iraq. Not bad considering... Well, considering that a lot more people are dying from terrorists in Iraq and we don't worry so much about that.

I'll try not to leave you again.

For a few moments of fun check out this site which shows the next addition to my home:

Turbo Tap

and enjoy a pic from my last trip (from outside my window).

Mexico, mexico
Topic: Racism
Okay, I was asked to comment on this and the truth is that it is so shocking I felt I had to get involved.

These are the about to be released special edition stamps celebrating Mexican culture. A lot of news organizations have covered this (BBC and NY Times) and apparently 750,000 of these stamps are going to be released. The character is called Mem?n Pingu?n and (from the Times):

Created in 1943, the comic-book character was inspired by a Cuban child, its creators said. He is well intentioned but hapless, and his mannerisms and speech reinforce 1940's stereotypes of blacks as lazy, mischievous and uneducated, anthropologists and civil rights advocates say. Comic books featuring the character are still being published in Mexico.

How this is representative of Mexican culture I will never know. This is extremely shocking in light of the current state of racial misunderstanding. I guess the good thing is that it does really illustrate how blacks are considered in the broader world (especially in light of yesterdays post). Still, it is really just unbelievable that something like this could be possible in a country that one considers to be a modern nation.

This is really funny commentary on why they just don't get it (from the BBC):

A spokesman for Mexico's president on Thursday noted that the cartoon had in the past helped to promote family values, and called the adverse reaction "strange."

One Mexican diplomat responded that the character was no more offensive than the cartoon Mexican mouse, Speedy Gonzalez.

I should add that Speedy Gonzalez is a pretty offensive stereotype...but we aren't making a stamp.

After initially posting about this I found these pictures of covers of the comic. F**k me but I can't believe that they think this shouldn't be offensive. I guess no aid to Africa from Mexico. Makes you wonder what all the Native Americans in Mexico are complaining about.

>

Back to what I really wanted to cover. Check out this catfish!

This 650lb catfish was hauled in on the Mekong River. Sadly, giant catfish are a dying species and this one, which they hoped to keep alive, didn't make it. They were able to milk it for spawning purposes but then it was cut up and sold to villagers. I wonder how he tastes.

Rwandan Genocide
Topic: Movies
The wife and I watched the movie Hotel Rwanda which is the rivetting story of Paul Rusabegina who used his mind and his poise to save over 1200 Rwandan refugees from the butchers of the madness of the genocide. It is a very moving story. As intended by the director, one is moved by anger, sadness and, most importantly, shame. A little history here...

This is an excerpt from a short BBC write up on the subject:

Ethnic tension in Rwanda is nothing new. There have been always been disagreements between the majority Hutus and minority Tutsis, but the animosity between them has grown substantially since the colonial period. The two ethnic groups are actually very similar - they speak the same language, inhabit the same areas and follow the same traditions. But when the Belgian colonists arrived in 1916, they saw the two groups as distinct entities, and even produced identity cards classifying people according to their ethnicity. The Belgians considered the Tutsis as superior to the Hutus. Not surprisingly, the Tutsis welcomed this idea, and for the next 20 years they enjoyed better jobs and educational opportunities than their neighbours. Resentment among the Hutus gradually built up, culminating in a series of riots in 1959. More than 20,000 Tutsis were killed, and many more fled to the neighbouring countries of Burundi, Tanzania and Uganda. When Belgium relinquished power and granted Rwanda independence in 1962, the Hutus took their place. Over subsequent decades, the Tutsis were portrayed as the scapegoats for every crisis.

So the issue is that any racial differences between the two types of people (Tutsis are thought to have lighter skin - more northern african - and be taller) but the actual differences can be very subtle. The real issue is that the Belgian colonialists made grades and then divided the people changing the gradient of human differences into two classes. This is what really started the problems.

The genocide itself doesn't require too much explanation. Rwanda had become a place where everything required a well placed bribe and corruption up to the highest levels set the scene for the need of scapegoats. In the early nineties, reprisals(?) against Tutsis forced a division in the population. The Tutsis left the country. In Uganda they regrouped into a 'rebel' force called the RPF (Rwanda Patriotic Front) and, with the help of moderate Hutus, were intent on ending the racial injustices that plagued the country. As they began their campaign against the ruling government, the government and military began to help foster racial divides. One of the biggest parts of this was the somewhat state sponsered hate radio of Radio-T?l?vision Libre des Mille Collines or the RTLM which spewed devisive rhetoric. Referring to the Tutsi minority as 'Cockroaches' between mixes of popular music from the time. Although I don't speak french, if you listen to an excerpt you can hear the subtelty of the propaganda (in fact in this case you can actually here the starting bars of a popular song of the time 'Now that we found love by Heavy D).

This racial anger was supported by some wealthy Hutus, such as Felicien Kabuga (still wanted), who armed the angry mobs (an unofficial militia) called the Interahamwe or Those Who Attack Together. The trigger for the atrocities was a peace accord signed between the President of Rwanda Habyarimana and the RPF. Habyarimana had helped to foster the tensions by calling Tutsis RPF collaborators. Unfortunately, after signing the accord his plane was mysteriously shot down. His death was immediately blamed on the RPF and retribution would be swift and unjust.

The RTLM broadcasts demanded retribution and the unofficial militias began attacking all the Tutsis in their neighborhoods. Many reluctant Hutus were swept into the madness and the death toll quickly rose. The hate filled speech demanded the blood of all of the 'Cockroaches' and no one was spared the machete. Woman were repeatedly raped, some to death, and pregnant Tutsis were cut open to remove the fetus so they could be killed as well.

During this time the UN maintained a constant presence on the ground. The soldiers were ordered specifically not to shoot. Many watched hopelessly as Tutsis were butchered in front of them. Foreign forces moved in quickly to evacuate foreign citizens and then the Rwandans were left to themselves. While the world looked on the killing continued unabated for 100 days. Politicians talked, and talked, and did nothing. The UN was impotent, the 'security' council quickly ordered that the remaining UN forces be removed and people like Madelaine Albright, representing my country, stalled. French troops remained in Rwanda but offered no aid. The west went to great lengths to ignore the problem.

In the end, estimates of over 800,000 people were killed. 12% of the Rwandan population was decimated. The country was torn apart. The killing only stopped when the RPF forces arrived in the capital, Kigali, and seized power.

Rwanda currently continues to sit on a powder keg. Too much blood was spilt for the sins to be forgiven so quickly. Over 100,000 people remain in prison for their part in the massacres, but many leaders are still free. The tension will lie under the surface and we must never turn away again until peace is ensured. Of course we will look away as we are currently looking away in the Congo and the Sudan. Freedom isn't free is our rallying cry for Iraq yet no massacres were happening there. No genocides. When will the west pay for the damages to the beautiful continent of Africa.

For me the saddest part of this is that all the participants are victims. Africa has been raped and pillaged for so long all sense of humanity has been brushed away. The blood of the dead is on all our hands.

Check out the BBC site dedicated to the atrocities.

U2's trip (con't)
Topic: Travel
Once again I'm diverging to my good friends travels, enjoy!

... I saw some restaurant or something called Fifi recently, which of course made me laugh.

I won't be back until the end of July, so no 4th for me. Maybe I'll go to one of the popular "Yankee go home!" rallies instead.

Well, I probably have quite a few stories to tell so far, but I'll tell you about this afternoon. I decided to drive back to Trabzon from Erzurum early in the afternoon, to get over the coastal mountain range that gave me so many problems last week. Well, I was on track, when I picked up a farmer hitchhiker just outside of İspir, who then convinced me to stop and have some tea at his destination, which was no more than two or three kilometers from where I picked him up.

Well, over the next two hours we ate a huge pile of cherries from his trees, ate tomatoes, green peppers and cucumbers, a couple of eggs, bread, all along with a lot of tea. He and one of his sons then picked another few kilograms of cherries for me, and then if that wasn't enough, started shaking mulberries out of one of their trees for me. The only thing that stopped them was a thunderstorm that rolled into the valley. Anyways, he then took me up on my offer to drive him to his village, about two kilometers up the hillside. Just as it seemed I'd be on my way, he again convinced me to have "just one more glass of tea", so I ended up meeting his mother, wife, younger son, and daughter. Of course, the whole time I was grilled over my education, work, parents, their jobs, their parents, marital status, age, and the current ecomomic conditions in Canada. They found the word "okay" to be hilarious, because I apparently use it a lot. Well, with evening approaching, I again headed for the mountains, this time one pass east of the last one I went over. I thought I was homefree, when I came around a bend and saw the wall of fog ahead. This time, though, the road was fine all the way, with a few exceptions, and the biggest problem was looking out for the cows in the mist, trotting up the road out of the fog, then disappearing again into the ether...

I'm back in İstanbul tomorrow, thankfully for my pocketbook. Gas is USD 2 a litre here; did I mention that before? That explains the lack of cars on the highways here.

Nobel Prizes
Topic: History
While in Oslo we happened to arrive at the opening ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize Museum. While there we listened to a few speeches by the director and I think members of the royal family. It was interesting and the web page is interesting as well. Compare the two pics. Which one did I take?






Anyway, the interesting thing in all of this is that many of the peace prize awardees haven't been so successful at creating peace, only fighting for it. That is most illustrated in the peace prize for the end to fighting in Israel. Anyhoo.

I have been to the mountain top and it is owned by Alfonso Bedoya.

U2's trip
Topic: Travel
Okay, I'm posting today for someone else. I should add, I haven't gotten permission but I think that it is worth putting this online for the friends of his who care about him and want to know how he is doing.


Hmm, at the moment I'm in Artvin for the night. spent the day first walking to some remote castle near ?amlıhemşin, then spent the first half of the afternoon hanging out with this retired guy hitchhiker, who wanted to show me the local sights. I thought he was going somewhere, but he was just killing time. Interesting conversations ensued, and the guy wants me to come back next summer to hang out at the local spa and the nomadic pasture lands up in the mountains above town. He made me drink a glass of the local water, and I am eagerly waiting to find out if it gives me dysentery.

Yesterday evening, though, I think I set a new record in crazy driving. I got caught after nightfall in a fogged-in mountain pass, on a totally crappy dirt road. I couldn't see more than six feet ahead of me; at one point, a stream crossed the road, and the road made a ninety degree turn right there, so I started driving up the stream by mistake... didn't look very different from the road, but after ten feet or so, I had a bad feeling and spotted what turned out to be the road. Of course, as I was reversing back, the car stalled, and I thought that I was a goner. Got it going again, though, and was able to continue on the road until it was blocked by snow drifts. Had to backtrack to the last split, about ten km back, to take another route down the mountain. Damn, the thing was marked as a major road on my map, but it had grass growing on it. Anyways, I don't think I saw another car for about 2 hours in total. If they could make a video driving game that wild, it would be amazing.

Funny though, and hour before that all happened, I was drinking tea with a bunch of ladies and their kids on the side of the hill outside Bayburt where the Bayburt fortress is. They were knitting lace, and as I walked by, they enthusiastically called me over for tea. They proceeded to quiz me about my life... I followed that up with running along the rampart of the fortress... the only person up there. It was amazing.

Tomorrow I'll make it to Kars (also),which isn't that far a drive, but the highway may just be a dirt road, so it may take a while to get there, who knows. My major goal for this trip are the ruins of Ani, just beyond Kars, and then if I have time, a castle at the foot of Mount Ararat, where Sultan Beyazıt the first was held captive by Tamerlane.

My last hitchhiker this evening told me, whatever you do, never drive at night, and don't pick up hitchhikers...

This is fascinating stuff. U2 is in the region below circled in blue. Our thoughts are with you my friend!

Justice
Topic: Racism
Finally, Edgar Ray Killen is going to jail. This man has escaped justice for 40 years and he is finally going to jail. I think the only sad part about this is that the media is focusing on the killer (ironic last name!) and not the victims. I'll try to add something to this but you should have some web surfing yourself. First, here are the victims:

The two white men, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, were intended to spend the summer of 1964 as part of a movement by CORE called 'The Mississippi Summer Project', organized to ensure that blacks in Missippi registered and excersized their right to vote along with just trying to help educate people about the process. The simple idea was turned out to be not so simple. The Klu Klux Klan, abbreviated as the KKK, is a violent hate group that is organized with the goal of complete racial segregation and the return(?) of America to its 'White, Protestant roots'. They suck, but in the 60s in Mississippi they were powerful and dangerous. Michael and Andrew were on a mission to investigate a Klan church burning and beating of the congregation that was a symbol by the KKK to punish the church members for aiding the CORE movement. They were joined by a young activist local, James Chaney, and were arrested by the local sheriff. The sheriff, a Klan member, held them without any means of outside contact and then released them in the middle of the night to face the whims of Killen and his cohorts. That was their last night on alive.

Finally, Killen is going to jail. Most of the other people involved did some jail time or have since died. None received appropriate jail time and Killen had escaped justice altogether. No longer. Finally the families can feel that justice is done. Hopefully Killen will get great medical care so he has plenty of time to regret the life he has led.

Here are the celebrating families. James' brother and Michael's wife.

To get some more history lessons check out a Google
on the victims.

Finally, things in the world are getting a bit better. Caltech is finally desegregating.

Boston
Topic: Travel
Okay, we started the morning in T?rnby, a section of K?benhavn near the airport there in glorius Denmark. We had booked a hotel 'near' the airport, and in fact it wasn't too far, the problem was that it looked good on the internet but it turned out to be somewhere between a hostel and a real hotel. The room was really small. We had our own toilet and shower; however, the two were the same meaning that I could use both at the same time. Maybe it was cool.

Next we took the train (didn't buy a ticket) to the airport. Got on the plane and headed to London. Heathrow was a short stay and now we are back in Boston. Goodnight and god bless america.

Final Update
Topic: Travel
Well the wedding was fantastic. We had a wonderful time in the north of Denmark and enjoyed watching the ceremonies of our friends. Although we missed out on all the speeches (in Danish) we did still enjoy all of the customs that surrounded the wedding. The ceremony started at 2pm and we got back to the hotel around 2:30am. The sun was coming up.

Our trip has been a success and we are now in the train station in Kobenhavn preparing to go to our hotel. We have been measuring our days in beds and we only have one more left.

Next update in Boston.