by Shaker P
Hours after the earthquake hit, my four coworkers (one Haitian and three Americans) and I (also American) were with a group of 30 or so people in the courtyard of a hotel near Petionville that had sustained the quake without damage. Across from the hotel is a large park, into which dozens of families were streaming from side streets, carrying food and bedding, and grasping their children tightly, to settle in for a sleepless night away from the buildings that might fall in the aftershocks.
Two small figures came in from the street, a girl and a boy. They looked as though they'd been dipped in fine powdered sugar from head to toe. Except where they were bleeding: Minor cuts and probably a fractured wrist for the girl. In America I would have said they were 8 and 6, but in Haiti I've learned it's very hard to estimate age because of chronic malnutrition. When the girl realized that people wanted to listen to her, and that there were Creole speakers among us, she burst into tears and told her family's story. Their house had collapsed on top of them, and now they were in the park, with nothing. "We almost died today," she repeated. We sat them down and brought them water to drink, ibuprofen for her pain, and a first aid kit to clean their wounds.
Maya (not her name) is twelve, and her brother Ron (not his name) ten. Once she had been cared for, with ice on her wrist, Maya decided it was time to bring the rest of her family to the hotel courtyard. My friends and I sat with Ron while others accompanied her to the park. Soon, in came Maya's mother, with a babe in arms, a brother, who looked about Maya's age, and a sister, maybe three years old. All had the terrible powdered-sugar coating. Quietly, they settled onto a bench and the edge of a fountain. The doctor who was with us looked at each of them in turn. Maya's mother probably had a fractured top of her foot. Again, ibuprofen and ice were the remedies we had.
Coke and crackers were produced by the hotel, and the family ate. The three-year-old girl settled in on my lap, and one of my friends was holding the baby. Soon they were both deeply asleep. The hotel was happy to offer them space in the courtyard where we were all planning to sleep, but that was still too close to a building for them. They chose to return to the park, and were anxious to get back before the space was full. We walked them across the street, and when they were settled in a spot, handed the sleeping baby and toddler to Maya's mother and older brother. We gave them the little cash we had on us and returned to the hotel.
Soon we heard that there was a clinic functioning nearby, and we volunteered there until early in the morning. It was difficult, but what a difference it made having morphine and strong antibiotics to give to people injured in every imaginable way by falling buildings. Later we would not have those to give.
At daylight Wednesday morning, my group decided to make our way back to the place where our organization has worked on community-based health and nutrition since the 90's, about 20 miles outside of Port au Prince, near the epicenter of the quake. We walked partway and then were lucky enough to hitch a ride. Tens of thousands of people were on the move that day, walking, with few possessions. Again I was struck by how fiercely people—women and men—were holding on to their children.
"I saw only the best of human nature."
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker JupiterPluvius: If the Wish Fairy gave you one wish, that would be simultaneously granted both to you and to the person at whom you are currently angriest, what would that wish be?
I'm not angry at anyone at the moment, unless you count the sort of nebulous, borderless, morphing anger that gets directed at people like political strategists and advertising executives, people whose names I may never know, but who shape the world, and hence my life in it, in ways I constantly resist.
And if those people count, then I wish for both myself and for them the desire and ability to make others a little happier, and to make ourselves a little happier, because to make others less happy is a crime, and to make ourselves unhappy is where all crime starts.
Not Migrants and Fatties
[Trigger warning for descriptions of sports-related injury.]
So, Iain and I both lurrrrrrrrve the Olympics, and we've been watching coverage of the Winter Olympics almost nonstop. And here's something interesting I've noticed: The NBC commentators talk incessantly about the various injuries that been sustained by the athletes. I've heard about countless sprains, ligaments, broken bones. I've heard about a ruptured Achilles tendon. I've heard about a speed skater who sliced into his own leg with his skate, and a figure skater who sliced into his partner's face with his skate. I've heard about the elaborate medical procedures that were done to repair these injuries, and the extensive physical therapy that some of the athletes have done to get back to their sport.
Some of the athletes are from the United States. Some of them are from other countries but were training in the United States.
And not once has anyone commented that these athletes are a drain on the healthcare system.
No one has complained about non-citizens and immigrants using our emergency services.
No one has complained about the "unhealthy lifestyle" Olympians engage in, and how all their totally preventable (if only they'd give up their hopes, dreams, passions, and jobs!) injuries are contributing to rising healthcare costs.
Funny that.
It's almost like there's some kind of zany double-standard at work in our national discourse!
Ahem.
FYI
I really, really love it when I'm in line waiting for a customer service type person (CSTP) to assist me and the CSTP completely bypasses me by speaking to a man waiting either in front of or behind me in line--because the CSTP assumes that I must be with the man (as noted in their surprise/apology-like mumblings when I speak up).
Because I couldn't possibly have my own business to attend to.
Quote of the Day
"There's just too much brain-dead partisanship, tactical maneuvering for short-term political advantage rather than focusing on the greater good, and also just strident ideology."—Democratic Senator Evan Bayh, who happens to be one of my senators, on why he's not seeking reelection to the Senate.
You know, Senator, your alleged concern for the "greater good" might mean more to me if you hadn't just announced your plans to vacate your office without warning to the Democrats just before the candidacy filing deadline, thereby significantly increasing the odds your seat will be filled by someone who doesn't even marginally believe in the bodily autonomy of half the population, who doesn't even marginally support queer equality, and who doesn't even marginally support treating suspected terrorists as human beings.
You were already a shitty Democrat (even by the Democrats' pathetic standards), but it's pretty goddamned low to make sure there was no chance of getting a more progressive person in your seat. Asshole.
So
I see that the BBC is covering the issue of sexual assault in the US military and also what it's like to be a woman military member. They're not just doing one article but are highlighting all week long.
Any guesses as to when you think a US media outlet will care to give the same coverage?
lolsob
Today's Edition of "Conniving and Sinister"
Strips One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 116. In which Liss reimagines the long-running comic "Frank & Ernest," about two old straight white guys "telling it like it is," as a fat feminist white woman and a biracial queerbait telling it like it actually is from their perspectives. Hilarity ensues.
On Exploitation, and Anti-Exploitation Messaging
[Trigger warning.]
Copyranter just called my attention to this new spot for StartFreedom.org, a British anti-trafficking site. It's another in a long list of PSAs and adverts for various anti-trafficking, anti-rape, or anti-domestic abuse orgs that features violent imagery, a new trend I really disdain. (Remember this Keira Knightley spot?)
Just this weekend, I saw a billboard along a highway not far from my house with a picture of a little boy with a bruised eye, with the text, "He's got his mother's eyes," followed by some quip that strongly suggested a mother who stays with an abusive father is responsible if her children are abused. Even without the victim-blaming, I was unthrilled with the violent imagery coupled with a pun. It's not the worst thing in the world to suspend the urge to be clever for the duration of one anti-violence ad.
Anyway, in this spot, a white British schoolgirl is stalked, has her head smashed against her desk, and is dragged by her hair out of a classroom by a man while the rest of the class, including the teacher, who continues to do rollcall as if nothing is happening, does nothing to help her.
Put on Your Easter Bonnets, Fatsronauts!
You know, I was just thinking the only thing that could make a White House celebration of a Christian holiday even more fucking objectionable is layering the First Lady's fat-hating and disablist and otherwise problematic "anti-childhood obesity" campaign on top of it.
Voila! "The President and First Lady have announced that this year's White House Easter Egg Roll will be held on Monday, April 5, 2010 with the theme of 'Ready, Set, Go!' promoting health and wellness. The event will feature live music, sports courts, cooking stations, storytelling and, of course, Easter egg rolling. All of the activities will encourage children to lead healthy and active lives and follow the First Lady's 'Let's Move!' initiative, a national campaign to combat childhood obesity."
LOST LATE
Friday night, Jimmy Fallon did a great parody of Lost on his show. I thought the Losties who hadn't seen it would enjoy—and, quite honestly, it'll probably be pretty amusing for anyone who knows the basic outlines of Lost and enjoys seeking the piss taken out of it!
A full transcript is available by clicking "Read More." It took me forever to do the transcript, because there's a lot going on and not a lot of dialogue, but I tried to make it as comprehensive as possible.
Not-So-Random You Tubery: Curling Science
Curling is going on right now in Vancouver.
Curling is very cool
I don't have time to do an entire transcript, but the CBC News article that goes with this video sums it up:
A researcher studying the science of curling for Canada's Olympic team has found that sweeping doesn't melt the pebbly ice as many believe, but softens it and subtly changes its physical characteristics.
"What we discovered is that it never melts. It only slightly warms up due to the friction of the sweeping," said Tom Jenkyn of the University of Western Ontario.
Sweeping can warm the ice by about 1.5 degrees, Jenkyn said, and reduces friction for the curling rock.
Jenkyn is studying the physics of curling using an infrared camera as part of the Canada's $22-million Own the Podium research program into sports of the Winter Olympics.
Jenkyn's full results are being kept secret until June 2010, revealed only to Canada's Olympic athletes, coaches and officials.
"We're sworn to secrecy," he said.
Here's more about the Own the Podium program from the Toronto Star.
If you are a curler and/or know more about the physics of curling, let's have it in comments!
Calling All Legal Scholar Shakers
Say you have a former vice-president who goes on the air and says stuff like this:
"I was a big supporter of waterboarding," Cheney said in an appearance on ABC’s This Week on Sunday. He went on to explain that Justice Department lawyers had been instructed to write legal opinions to cover the use of this and other torture techniques after the White House had settled on them.Is a signed confession the only thing missing at this point?
[...]
Cheney told Jonathan Karl that he used his position within the National Security Council to advocate for the use of waterboarding and other torture techniques. Former CIA agent John Kiriakou and others have confirmed that when waterboarding was administered, it was only after receiving NSC clearance.
Taliban's Military Commander Captured in Raid
Well! This is, one hopes, good news insomuch as it has the possibility of bringing nearer the end of the war in Afghanistan:
The Taliban's top military commander was captured several days ago in Karachi, Pakistan, in a secret joint operation by Pakistani and American intelligence forces, according to American government officials.According to American officials, the raid was carried out by the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, which is Pakistan's military spy agency, and the ISI was accompanied by CIA operatives. The ISI is also leading the interrogation of Baradar, with CIA operatives' involvement.
The commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is an Afghan described by American officials as the most significant Taliban figure to be detained since the American-led war in Afghanistan started more than eight years ago. He ranks second in influence only to Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Taliban's founder and a close associate of Osama bin Laden before the Sept. 11 attacks.
Mullah Baradar has been in Pakistani custody for several days, with American and Pakistani intelligence officials both taking part in interrogations, according to the officials.
It was unclear whether he was talking, but the officials said his capture had provided a window into the Taliban and could lead to other senior officials.
It's great that Pakistan appears finally to be cooperating more unreservedly with America to go after the Taliban, but it's concerning that they are leading the interrogation as "the Pakistanis have long been known to subject prisoners to brutal questioning," i.e. what we would call torture.
Spencer Ackerman succinctly argues that it's important from a strategic standpoint, in addition to all the moral reasons, not to torture Baradar: "The ultimate point of fighting the Taliban is to compel them to give up fighting and accept some version of a post-Taliban order in Afghanistan. Torturing Baradar—which the Pakistanis have been known to do—is counterproductive to that effort. If we treat the guy respectfully, in a demonstrated way, it might spur a reconsideration of Taliban goals. I am not counting any chickens, but any hope of a game-changing possibility will be foreclosed upon if we or our allies torture Baradar."
I don't know that treating Baradar well will spur a reconsideration of Taliban goals, but I know that not treating him well will more deeply entrench loyalties among his followers. Which ought to be a good enough strategic reason not to do it, even among those who (gag) support torture.
Question of the Day
Suggested by Shaker picaflor: What mystery would you like to see finally solved?
About 20 different historical mysteries come immediately to mind, but I'm going go with who helped Lee Harvey Oswald kill JFK.
Quote of the Day
"I don't owe him shit. He really screwed my life up, is how I look at it."—Joe the Plumber, so totally over John McCain.
