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The Blogmanac: "On This Day" ... and much more
Think universally. Act terrestrially.
For in a hard-working society, it is rare and even subversive to celebrate too much, to revel and keep on reveling: to stop whatever you're doing and rave, pray, throw things, go into trances, jump over bonfires, drape yourself in flowers, stay up all night, and scoop the froth from the sea.
Anneli Rufus*
April 30, 1583, Richard ('Iron Dick' or 'Richard in Iron') Burke, first husband of the Irish chieftain and pirate, Granuaile (Grace O’Malley), died.
One of many themes discussed by hoi polloi and upper crust is whether life is ever just. I, like most, remain nonplussed. The Bard himself has put it thus: "Golden lads and girls all must, As chimney-sweepers, come to dust." Perhaps. And even Iron Dicks, I trust, As all things ferrous, come to rust. PW
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
Tie a yellow ribbon around that stupid bloody flag
And what on earth could have been going through the minds of the Australians who showed up at the closing days of the Bali trial of Schapelle Corby carrying Aussie flags and wearing yellow ribbons?
If I were Schapelle, who is charged with the preposterous capital crime of smuggling four keys of ganja from Australia into Indonesia, I would want to stop my 'supporters' reminding the judges about John Howard, the Union Jack, and of course, Tony Orlando and Dawn. I know how those in a confined, hot space would detrimentally affect my judgement.
Iraq Through the Eyes of Unemebedded, Independent Journalist Dahr Jamail
Dahr Jamail, one of the few independent, unembedded journalists reporting in Iraq for months, joins us in our firehouse studio to discuss the siege of Fallujah, detention of Iraqis, so-called 'reconstruction' and much more. [includes rush transcript]
"One of the most enduring images of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal is the photograph of a prisoner cloaked in black, standing on a box with wires attached to his outstretched arms.
"Now, the man depicted in the photo has reportedly been identified. He is speaking out on this week's edition of the PBS newsmagazine 'Now.' His name is Haj Ali. He was a mayor of a Baghdad suburb and a member of the ruling Baath Party, when he was snatched off the street in late 2003 and transported to Abu Ghraib, despite denying involvement in the insurgency.
"In the interview, Ali says,
'They made me stand on a box with my hands hooked to wires and shocked me with electricity. It felt like my eyeballs were coming out of their sockets. I fell, and they put me back up again for more.'
"Today is the first anniversary of the publication of the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. We turn now to Iraq.
"We turn now to Iraq. An article in the British newspaper the Guardian titled 'This Is Our Guernica' reads:
"'In the 1930s the Spanish city of Guernica became a symbol of wanton murder and destruction. In the 1990s Grozny was cruelly flattened by the Russians; it still lies in ruins. This decade"s unforgettable monument to brutality and overkill is Falluja, a text-book case of how not to handle an insurgency, and a reminder that unpopular occupations will always degenerate into desperation and atrocity.'
"Those are the words of journalist Dahr Jamil. He spent many months in Iraq as one of the only independent, unembedded journalists there. He published his reports on a blog called DahrJamailIraq.com and was a regular guest on Democracy Now! He joins us in our firehouse studio today ..." Read on at Democracy Now!
"The so-called global war on terrorism does not exist, a high-ranking army officer has declared in a speech that challenges the conventional political wisdom.
"In a frank speech, Brigadier Justin Kelly dismissed several of the central tenets of the Iraq war and the war on terrorism, saying the "war" part is all about politics and terrorism is merely a tactic.
"Although such wars were fuelled by global issues, they were essentially counter-insurgent operations fought on a local level. This would result in Australian soldiers fighting in increasingly urban environments.
"Speaking at a conference on future warfighting, Brigadier Kelly, the director-general of future land warfare, also suggested that the 'proposition you can bomb someone into thinking as we do has been found to be untrue'.
"His speech appears to fly in the face of a comment by the Prime Minister, John Howard, last year that the 'contest in Iraq represents a critical confrontation in the war against terror ...'" Source: Sydney Morning Herald via South News (stay informed: I highly recommend a subscrion to the latter)
The city of Teotihuacan, Mexico, settled in the 2nd century BCE, was ancient when the Aztecs found its ruins. They named it 'place of the creation of the gods'.
The entrance of a ritual cave there was aligned to a point on the western skyline where the sun set on August 12 and April 29. These days are separated by day counts of 260 and 105 (making 365 in all). The ancient Mesoamerican system had a 260-day ritual calendar and a 365-day standard calendar.
The same horizon position is the setting point of the Pleiades, the star cluster that makes its initial annual appearance on the first of two days each year when the noon sun passes directly overhead at the latitude of Teotihuacan ...
This is just a snippet of today's stories. Read all about today in folklore, historical oddities, inspiration and alternatives, with many more links, at the Wilson's Almanac Book of Days, every day. Click today's date (or your birthday) when you're there.
"Its backers describe it as the 'world's biggest ever mythological theme park'. Hindu gods such as Ram, Hanuman and Krishna will be the central attractions for a 'Disneyland on the Ganges' in India.
"The aim of the 25 acre park, called Gangadham, is to recreate great moments in Hindu mythology through hi-tech rides, an animated mythological museum, a 'temple city', food courts and a sound and light show.
"The park is to be on the banks of the Ganges, in the north Indian pilgrimage town of Haridwar.
"It is where the Hindu god Vishnu is said to have left his footprint. The town attracts more than 18 million visitors a year." Source: BBC News
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The ivory-billed woodpecker, feared extinct for 60 years, has been seen in a remote part of Arkansas, ornithologists said on Thursday.
"Several experts have spotted and heard at least one and possibly more ivory-billed woodpeckers deep in an ancient cypress swamp in eastern Arkansas. One was videotaped last year.
"'This is huge. Just huge,' said Frank Gill, senior ornithologist at the Audubon Society. 'It is kind of like finding Elvis.'" Source
"The novelist Frederick Forsyth yesterday became the latest high-profile personality to publicly back an attempt by the father of a murdered Red Cap to unseat Tony Blair.
"He has urged voters in Mr Blair’s Sedgefield constituency to support the 52-year-old anti-war protester Reg Keys.
"Mr Keys is standing as an independent and basing his campaign on accusations that the Prime Minister misled parliament over the reasons for going to war.
"His son, Lance Corporal Tom Keys, 20, was one of six members of the Royal Military Police killed by an Iraqi mob as they manned a small police station in Al Majar Al Kabir on 24 June, 2003.
"Mr Forsyth, who has penned many successful novels, including The Day of the Jackal and The Fourth Protocol, said the people of Sedgefield had the power to stop Mr Blair returning to power." Source: Scotsman
Bob Black's classic essay 'The Abolition of Work' has been reprinted in many languages and is now in the Almaniac dialect. The author has permitted me to publish it, and it's now on this page in the Scriptorium.
"The former United Nations human rights envoy to Afghanistan, Cherif Bassiouni, has said he lost his job because of pressure from the United States.
"The UN Human Rights Commission ended Professor Bassiouni's mandate at a meeting in Geneva last week.
"American officials said Afghanistan's human rights situation had improved.
"But Prof Bassiouni said it was because US defence officials did not want investigations into the way people were detained without trial by US forces.
"Prof Bassiouni has spent the past year investigating allegations of human rights violations in Afghanistan for the commission.
"The professor, who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999, was extremely critical of Washington's policy on detainees." Source: BBC
* Ø * Ø * Ø *
Shooting the Messenger Who Reported Human Rights Abuses in Afghanistan
"In a report issued to the UN Commission on Human Rights, M. Cherif Bassiouni reported on allegations that American military forces and independent contractors in Afghanistan acted above the law with 'sexual abuse, beatings, torture, and use of force resulting in death.'
"As a result, the UN Commission on Human Rights was pressured at a meeting in Geneva by U.S. diplomats to eliminate his post that was appointed by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan last April: the United Nation's 'independent expert on human rights in Afghanistan.'
"It was only last year that the U.S. had pushed for the post of 'Special Rapporteur' to be downgraded in stature to that of 'independent expert.' Now with the elimination of this position, the burden of monitoring human rights abuses in Afghanistan falls upon the shoulders of UN human rights commissioner Louise Arbour whose global responsibilities 'won't leave her time to focus on Afghanistan,' according to Brad Adams, Asia director of Human Rights Watch. But this is precisely what the Bush administration wants." Source: Dissident Voice
"An American politician has called on the United States Government to release the figures it used to compile a report on global terrorism.
"Congressman Henry Waxman says the figures may undermine Washington's assertion that it is winning the war on terrorism.
"He says he has been told that the number of terrorist attacks in Iraq last year was nine times higher than in 2003.
"The State Department last year initially released erroneous figures that understated the attacks and casualties in 2003, and used the figures to argue that the Bush administration was prevailing in the war on terrorism." Source: BBC/Reuters/ABC
"To participate in the first FLEXMOB/euroMAYDAY ACTION simply email your mobile phone number to euromayday@hushmail.com. We will send a text message to you on the morning of MAYDAY (Sunday May 1st), with directions of how to participate at this year's Europe-Wide Day of action (www.euromayday.org)." Source: WOMBLES
"The Iraqi insurgency is just as strong now as it was one year ago, the most senior US military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers has admitted." Source via South News
Ghost of Sir Joh declares state of emergency to stop funeral protest
"The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that a group of disgruntled former power station workers are planning to blockade the state funeral of Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who, as Queensland premier, had little respect to the right to protest.
"In response, Sir Joh has appeared from beyond the grave to declare a state of emergency.
"The ghosts of riot police past will be out in force to ensure that nothing can prevent Sir Joh's corpse from touring the cemetery." Source: The Daily Grind, via SatireSearch
The death of US aid worker Marla Ruzicka (28) in Iraq
By Bob Herbert, NY Times, April 25, 2005
"The vast amount of suffering and death endured by civilians as a result of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq has, for the most part, been carefully kept out of the consciousness of the average American. I can't think of anything the Bush administration would like to talk about less. You can't put a positive spin on dead children. ...
"More than 600 people attended Ms. Ruzicka's funeral on Saturday in her hometown of Lakeport, Calif. Among them was Bobby Muller, chairman of the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation. A former Marine lieutenant, he knows something about the agony of war. His spinal cord was severed when he was shot in the back in Vietnam. He told the mourners: 'Marla demonstrated that an individual can make a profound difference in this world. Her life was dedicated to innocent victims of conflict, exactly what she ended up being.'" Source: NY Times
Marla Ruzicka Lived, Died for Her Cause "The global justice movement, at least in its current incarnation, is a young cause. Rooted in the anti-sweatshop campaigns of the 1990s and thrust onto the world stage by the Seattle anti-WTO protests of 1999, the movement remains overwhelmingly youthful in composition, leadership and spirit.
"As such, it has experienced few deaths of comrades - particularly among the legions of activists in the United States. Until now.
"Marla Ruzicka, the 28-year-old head of the Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict, which worked to aid civilian victims of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, was killed Saturday on the road from Baghdad to that city's airport when her car was apparently caught between a suicide car bomber and a U.S. military convoy." Source: Common Dreams
"(New York, April 27, 2005)— The crimes at Abu Ghraib are part of a larger pattern of abuses against Muslim detainees around the world, Human Rights Watch said on the eve of the April 28 anniversary of the first pictures of U.S. soldiers brutalizing prisoners at the Iraqi jail.
"Human Rights Watch released a summary of evidence of U.S. abuse of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as well as of the programs of secret CIA detention, 'extraordinary renditions,' and 'reverse renditions.'
"'Abu Ghraib was only the tip of the iceberg,' said Reed Brody, special counsel for Human Rights Watch. 'It's now clear that abuse of detainees has happened all over—from Afghanistan to Guantánamo Bay to a lot of third-country dungeons where the United States has sent prisoners. And probably quite a few other places we don’t even know about.'" Source: Human Rights Watch
Gallipoli, Turkey, 1915: An estimated 131,000 Allied soldiers were killed and 262,000 wounded (sources vary widely); about 250,000 (some sources say 450,000) Turkish men were killed or wounded in an area measured in a handful of square kilometres.
The Australian, New Zealand and Turkish governments put on a big show (dawn service) at Anzac Cove on Anzac Day, 2005. The crowd was huge, as it is each April 25: this year there were 17,000 Aussies and an unknown number of others.
The solemnify the occasion, the organisers played music videos, including Stayin' Alive by the Bee Gees.
"TV Turnoff Week is no ordinary social ritual. The goal is simple: to shake up routines and get people questioning the role of TV in their lives.
"Sure, it’s a statement against dead-end couch culture. But it's also about cleaning up the mental environment. Like our oceans and air, our shared mindscape is littered with pollutants -- distorted news, manipulative ads, violence and top-down culture.
"How can we fight back? In years past, we've smashed TVs, postered schools and offices, aired ads, and performed anti-tube street theater. The hottest idea this year? TV-B-Gone™ -- a key-chain remote control capable of turning off virtually any television. It's the ultimate tool for reclaiming our commons.
"From April 25 to May 1, thousands of jammers will be hitting the streets with this ingenious device, illicitly zapping TVs. Clarity of mind, one click at a time.
"Radical human rights attorney Lynne Stewart has been falsely accused of helping terrorists. On Tuesday, April 9, 2002, she was arrested and agents searched her Manhattan office for documents. She was arraigned before Manhattan federal Judge John Koetl. This is an obvious attempt by the U.S. government to silence dissent and install fear in those who would fight against the U.S. government's racism, seek to help Arabs and Muslims being prosecuted for free speech and defend the rights of all oppressed people." Source
Lynne Stewart is you and me. Anyone could find themselves framed by Bush's 'Patriot Act'. Click here to find out why the case of Lynne Stewart should matter to you, and what you can do to help.
Who will defend you if your lawyer is afraid to speak?
"The U.S. Army celebrated Earth Day this year with a special campaign called 'Sustaining the Environment for a Secure Future.' The effort's website features links to an Army Earth Day message, an Army Earth Day video promo, computer screen wallpaper, and a commemorative poster.
"'We are a nation at war. The need to protect our homeland has never been clearer,' the Army's message states. 'The Army's Strategy for the Environment establishes a long-range vision that focuses efforts that sustain our mission. For success in the global war on terrorism we must carry out our responsibilities for the long-term. The land, air, and water resources we work and train on are vital to both our present and future missions. We must use those resources wisely in a manner that reflects our devotion to duty and respect for the needs of tomorrow’s Soldiers.'"
The last pope was a master of public relations, which is to say, his PR firm was. The new pope has done exactly what I would have got him to do if, when I was a PR manager, he had been my client: he's flattered the media within days of his election:
Pope Benedict Seeks `Fruitful' Rapport With Media "April 23 -- Pope Benedict XVI, in his first address to members of the press, said he would seek to maintain a close working relationship with them, and expressed gratitude for their coverage of events leading to his election.
"The pope's 15-minute 'audience' with journalists, held inside a crowded 6,500-seat auditorium, was interrupted by cheers and claps usually reserved for athletes and rock stars." Source: Bloomberg
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of Days
Almanac
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Tie a yellow ribbon around that stupid bloody flag
First anniversary of Abu Ghraib
Gangadham: Hindu mythology theme park
'Extinct' Ivory Billed Woodpecker Sighted
Author backs father of dead soldier to beat Blair
Shooting the Messenger Who Reported Human Rights Abuses in Afghanistan
The agony of war
Abu Ghraib Only "Tip of the Iceberg"
Activist victim of the 'Patriot Act'
Pope's public relations