Obsidian Wings

king for a day

by russell

I have two political heroes:  Lincoln is one, the other is Martin Luther King.

Through pure persuasion, without acrimony or hate, and by appealing to the best nature of his adversaries, he made the lives of millions of people better.  By placing his own life and body, and the lives and bodies of his followers, at the mercy of the anger and abuse of his adversaries, without returning one angry gesture or action, he made the lives of millions of people better.

There's a lot to say about King and his legacy, but really all I have to say tonight is thank you, Dr. King.

May his memory remain and continue to inspire.

Afghanistan Encounters American Urban Planning

by Jacob Davies

From an FP post discussing village destruction in Afghanistan:

Well, it's a good thing we decided to take our campaign against the Taliban to the village of Tarok Kolache. I mean, if we hadn't gone there and fought off the Taliban - and improved the design of their village with our urban planning knowledge! - it's clear the local inhabitants would have continued to suffer terribly.

Luckily for them, we have brought our best planners to their village and substantially improved its livability using the latest in high-explosive remodeling techniques. They can now enjoy views of the sky night and day no matter where in their house they are; new "open plan" layouts have been designed without any of those pesky walls that were getting in their way; a modern, sparse, possession-free lifestyle is now theirs; and unparalleled views of the surrounding countryside are available now that all those inconveniently-placed pomegranate trees have been blown up.

Best of all, they can now enjoy the benevolent authority of the most corrupt government in the world instead of those nasty, nasty Taliban who made life so unlivable.

Well, they'll enjoy our brutal and corrupt puppet government until we get bored and leave, then they'll probably wind up with the Taliban again. But they'll continue to enjoy the improvements we made to their cities, and I hope, remember us fondly as they huddle in the ruins of what were once their homes.

Speak To The Kitty At The Old Address! We're Just That Indecisive: Another Open Thread!

by Gary Farber

The  "Email Me" link under the kitty at the top left of this blog is now open for business and listening again.  That's obsidianinfo at yahoo dot com.

If you wrote to obsidianinfo at yahoo dot com in recent years, and received no answers, which has happened to many of you -- in fact, there was nothing personal about it, I assure you -- you weren't being singled out to be ignored.

Honest. It wasn't you. It's me.

I apologize. Blame me.

An American Family, 300 Million Strong

by Jacob Davies

(Transcript.)

"So sudden loss causes us to look backward - but it also forces us to look forward; to reflect on the present and the future, on the manner in which we live our lives and nurture our relationships with those who are still with us.

We may ask ourselves if we’ve shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to the people in our lives. Perhaps we question whether we're doing right by our children, or our community, whether our priorities are in order.

We recognize our own mortality, and we are reminded that in the fleeting time we have on this Earth, what matters is not wealth, or status, or power, or fame - but rather, how well we have loved - and what small part we have played in making the lives of other people better.

And that process - that process of reflection, of making sure we align our values with our actions - that, I believe, is what a tragedy like this requires.

For those who were harmed, those who were killed - they are part of our family, an American family 300 million strong."

I don't have anything to add.

commonwealth

by russell

The preamble to the US Constitution includes the phrase, "promote the general welfare".  That words "general welfare" appear again in the famous list of Congressional powers in Article I Section 8.

What does this phrase mean?  There was no "welfare" as we know it now - no federally provided transfer payments or entitlements.

Folks who espouse a libertarian, or "classic liberal", point of view will tell us that "the general welfare" is synonymous with individual liberty.  Individual liberty was certainly a central, and essential, idea to the folks who wrote the Constitution.

But it was not the only concept they bore in mind.

The BABBLE Continues: An Open Thread

by Gary Farber.

This is a variant of this post.

Per previous announcement:

The ObWi Bay Area Bloggers Bullsh*t League of Earth = ObBABBLE's second meeting is announced.

WHO: This is an open gathering; anyone reading this is invited.  In actuality, the main connector is that I can get you to read this.  You are invited.  You.

All readers of, and lurkers at Obsidian Wings are especially invited.

You may know me from: blogs.  Science fiction fandom.  Publishing.  My writing.  Anywhere. You are invited.

You may be a reader of blogs, and that's all. You are invited.

You may be a member of the Bay Area science fiction community, or want to be.  You are invited.

You may simply be interested in political discussion, or talk about sf, or tech, or gadgets, or anything smart. You simply may enjoy meeting people who may be congenial and interesting.  You are invited.

If you read this: you are invited.  You are encouraged to pass this along to anyone you think interested, and to repost this information as you like; letting me know, though, would be nice.

WHERE: Crepevine.  Specifically.

5600 College Avenue, Oakland, CA

5600 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618
Ph: (510) 658-2026

WHEN: Saturday, January 15th, 2010, 1 p.m. until we're done.

PURPOSE: Socializing, meeting each other, fun.  Flame wars dampened with beverages and cheer.

QUESTIONS: put comments on this thread at Amygdala or Obsidian Wings, or Facebook; if necessary, email gary underscore farber at yahoo dot com or at the working, new, ObWi kitty email address.

Name of group still likely to change, as is everything else.

Frequency to start will be monthly, but subject to further detail and change of location/time; possibilities of every other weekend subgroups may occur, or may not.

Further notices are intended to be issued at least monthly, at least one week before the next meeting, preferably two weeks. (Ha!  I have a rich fantasy life.)

This is an open gathering: you are encouraged to bring interesting people who might be interested. 

Feel free to copy and repost this message, but if you do so, it's helpful to say so in public comments, or email gary underscore farber at yahoo dot com, so I'll have some idea how many more people might show up.

R.S.V.P encouraged, but not required.

Gary Farber: Irresponsible Party.

Co-instigators: Jacob Davies, RAL.

Pass it on.

The first meeting had 9 people, including myself, and one person seen only by me.  This means 7 people not me. 

This is not a huge and overwhelming gathering.  This second meeting may be smaller, now that people have met me.  We might have only me and two others.  We may have more.  Come and find out along with me.  Don't be intimidated.  But it's all up to you.  No obligation whatever, obviously.  

This message expires as obsolete no later than Saturday, January 15th, 2010, 1 p.m. PST.

ADDENDUM, 1.11.11, 11:11 p.m.: How you can recognize Gary Farber, aside from the cane and Colorful Blogging Attire, and Sheer Attitude:

My hair is somewhat shorter, and I won't be bringing the cats I'm cat-sitting/sleeping with.  Hello!

Aww, aren't we more cuddly looking than you thought?

And I'm telling everyone

by von (retired*)

Jamelle Bouie signs off from a guest stint at Mr. Coates' blog by quoting The Sound of Music.  He explains:

I actually hate The Sound of Music, but I had the tune in my head, and thought it would be a nice way to sign off.

That's interesting, because a lot of people hate The Sound of Music.  I hate The Sound of Music.  You probably hate The Sound of Music.  Your second cousin Elda Jones (nee May) might cop to liking The Sound of Music on the right afternoon, and Fred Bastian, your best friend from the Navy, will say that he appreciates the arrangements, but I doubt either one will pull out the love word.

In fact, in my entire life I've only met one person who will admit to loving The Sound of Music.  Not just tolerating it; not just appreciating it; not just liking it.  Loving it.

My mother.

She also loves Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  And Cats.

(Miss Saigon, however, was kinda "eh.")

So, how does it feel to know that my mom is a more punk rock than me, you, and all y'all combined, with a side of Henry Rollins?  Because if loving The Sound of Music in the face of such disdain ain't punk, I don't know what is.

Here's an open thread. 

*See the second footnote from my retirement post for the definition of "retirement".  Until they change the password, baby.

He Was A Freelance Writer. He Had It Made.

"He was Joe Mayer, freelance writer. He had it made."

-- Charles Bukowski

A friend of mine needs your help.  I'm asking you to help him. 

Not because you know him, though you may.

Not because you like him, or his opinions, because you may not.

Not because he's special, though he is.  (We all are.)

But because he needs the help.

And everyone who needs help should be helped.

Who is Roy?

I can only tell you some things I know. 

MAJ. Andrew Olmsted On Gays In The Military

by Gary Farber.

Major Olmsted is no longer with us; he died a hero.

Doctor Science wrote a superb post in the last week of December on DADT and Rape Culture, which didn't get remotely the attention it deserved, because, of course, it was just after Christmas, and before New Year's, in America, according to the majority calendar.

Spirited debate did result in comments, and the debate, while tedious and understandably offensive to many, nonetheless had many comments I thought worthwhile.  Open debate is something we try to aim for at Obsidian Wings, though like all bloggers, we have our personal views and prejudices.

I'm extremely grateful to long time and valued commenter Mike Schilling, who has been writing smart stuff online at least since the Nineties on Usenet, for reminding us, and me in particular, of the late Major Andrew Olmsted's, former co-blogger here on Obsidian Wings and elsewhere (see our upper right sidebar, please), first under his own name, and then under the pseudonym of "G'Kar," from his beloved Babylon 5, which was one of the best serial space operas yet made for American television, words and views about gays in the military, written December 21, 2007 in a post entitled Military Musings.

Andy started off talking about the M4 carbine, and then moved onto this, which I'll quote, because he isn't here to do so himself:

[...] Now, on to other topics, like heterosexism in the military and the breaking of the Army. While I am sure that what OCSteve recalls as the situation extant in his unit when he served prior to Don't Ask, Don't Tell (DADT) may have been the case in his unit, I find it less plausible that a similar situation obtained across the entire military. As Jesurgislac points out, the military was discharging people vigorously for their sexuality throughout the 1980s; DADT may have made matters worse for gays and lesbians, but they were far from accepted before that policy arrived. I have nothing but contempt for a policy that permits convicted criminals to serve while asking people to leave simply because their sexuality or gender does not fit neatly into society's binary system.

On the Brink of Collapse

by Eric Martin

Wikileaks has shed some light on the controversial blockade of Gaza, a subject that recveived rare (and fleeting) attention in US media when a flotilla of aid to that besieged region was attacked by Israeli soldiers in the Spring/Summer of 2010.

At the time, there was some discussion of the purpose of the blockade: with certain Israeli factions claiming the blockade was meant to prevent arms shipments to Gaza, while most aid groups and human rights organizations pointed to the broad, wide-ranging nature of the items on the blockade list as evidence of an intent to collectively punish the residents of Gaza by choking off economic activity and denying other vital materials.

Evidence unearthed by WikiLeaks seems to vindicate the latter view:

According to a leaked United States diplomatic cable sent to Washington from the American embassy in Tel Aviv in late 2008, Israeli officials told American diplomats “on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge.”

The cable, headlined, “Cashless in Gaza,” was published on the Web site of the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten on Wednesday. Aftenposten announced recently that it now has access to the entire trove of 250,000 leaked communiques obtained by WikiLeaks.

The cable also delves into some of the more complex financial aspects of Israel’s embargo of Gaza, including the fact that Israeli shekel continued to be used as the currency of the territory, even after it was taken over by the Islamist Hamas movement.

One section of the report explained that while the government of Israel “believes that maintaining the shekel as the currency of the Palestinian Territories is in Israel’s interests, it treats decisions regarding the amount of shekels in circulation in Gaza as a security matter.”

This blockade continues with only slight modifications. It remains a cruel form of collective punishment.