So, one day you look down and see your feet in shoes you don't recognize. Maybe you like them, maybe you don't. This is where life begins. Welcome to WSATA, where the Goddess returns.
Nintendo is warning buyers of its new 3DS that exposure to 3D gaming could stunt eye development in children under six years old. I saw this story at CNN, where the writer says it's possible to switch off the 3D functionality.
Nintendo further warns:
"... everyone who plays the 3-D gaming system to take periodic breaks from the games as often as every hour or 30 minutes."
Ethicists say suspending a prison sentence on the condition that one sister give the other a kidney is a "quid pro quo" and threatens the ethical underpinnings of living donation laws. ... Dr. William Hurlburt, a Stanford neurologist who sat on the President's Council on Ethics, said the news was troubling.
Updated December 30: CNN talks to Evelyn Rasco, the mother of Jamie and Gladys Scott, about their impending release.
Jamie Scott was allowed to leave prison briefly for another sister's funeral since her imprisonment. Here she holds her grandchildren. Her sister Gladys, reports San Francisco Bay View, was not allowed to attend.
According to the Associated Press, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour has suspended the life sentences of Gladys and Jamie Scott and the condition of Gladys's sentence suspension is that she donate one of her kidneys to Jamie, her sister. Jamie has been on dialysis and her poor health was the catalyst for some activists to push even harder for the sisters' release.
Per the AP:
Barbour is a Republican in his second term who has been mentioned as a possible presidential contender in 2012. He said the Mississippi Parole Board reviewed the case at his request and agreed with the indefinite suspension of their sentences, which is different from a pardon or commutation because it comes with conditions.
... Barbour says, "the Mississippi Department of Corrections believes the sisters no longer pose a threat to society. Their incarceration is no longer necessary for public safety or rehabilitation, and Jamie Scott's medical condition creates a substantial cost to the state of Mississippi."
So, the governor does not admit that sentencing these two women to life in prison was unduly harsh. In fact, he frames the release in terms of their having been a threat and of saving the State of Mississippi the cost of Jamie Scott's medical care. The moral question is would Jamie Scott have gotten better care from the start had she not been in a Mississippi prison when she became ill? Would her kidneys have failed if she had not faced the stress of an unjust sentence?
Given Barbour's retelling of segregationist history in the South, a retelling that indicates he's willing to spin facts any which way he can to make himself appear to have been on the right side, I'm not surprised that he would skirt the issue of actual injustice, Mississippi-style, in the Scott sisters case. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that rarely do government officials and elected politicians admit to injustice, regardless of political party.
The Scott sisters continue to maintain their innocence. In 1994, the pair was convicted of armed robbery (Read my piece on their struggle at BlogHer.com), and the teen males who testified against them were given light sentences in comparison with the two women. One young man was threatened with being sent to Parchman Penitentiary and raped if he did not testify against the sisters, according to the teen's testimony in court. The young men were also asked to sign statements that had been prepared for them that they did not read, according to testimony.
While it was an alleged armed robbery, the women were not said to have handled a gun or other weapon, no one was hurt, and the amount of money taken from the victims has been disputed to be somewhere between $11 and less than $300. The sisters' family's alleged that a Mississippi sheriff sought revenge against the women's father because he refused to pay bribes to the sheriff. No matter whose story you believe, it's hard to escape the notion that life terms were excessive.
I could say a lot more on how Barbour went about this, but really, the contemplation would take me to a very dark place.
CNN is reporting that R&B singer Teena Marie, known for singing with the late Rick James and also having a powerhouse voice, has died in her sleep at age 54. Her manager says she suffered a grand mal seizure earlier this year.
The video below is the original recording of "Fire and Desire," her most famous duet with James and the version I bought when I was a 19 or 20 and it was new. I bought it again for my mp3 player last year, and below that is a clip from her singing at the 2004 BET Awards with James. However, I recall hearing "Lovergirl" on the radio often, too. She recorded with both Motown and Epic. Her official website dubs her "the Ivory Queen of Soul."
Coldplay's "Fix You" was playing last night in my dream, and that's probably because I heard it recently during NBC's Sing Off! finale last Monday night. The exceptionally talented Street Corner Symphony performed it with other contestants.
I will buy their first CD, and I will also joyfully buy Committed's first CD. They are the group of church boys from Alabama who won the $100,000 prize and the Sony recording contract. I really enjoyed this season of the show.
Committed had me on night one performing "This Love" by Maroon 5. And I was still loving them during episode 2 and the rest of the season.
The Supreme Court has again cast aside an appeal that raised doubts about President Barack Obama's U.S. citizenship, a grass-roots legal issue that has gained little legal or political footing, but continues to persist in the courts. ... The justices without comment Monday rejected a challenge from Charles Kerchner Jr., a Pennsylvania man who sought a trial in federal court forcing the president to produce documents regarding his birth and citizenship.
Kerchner's fixated on what I call the "immaculate conception of Americans" for president meaning he believes the United States Constitution's definition of "natural born" is that only those born on U.S. soil and of parents who are both United States citizens already can be POTUS.
In the video above, Texas State Representative Leo Berman (R) answers Anderson Cooper's questions, sort of, and appears to be nuttier than a fruitcake with his birther talking points. In November, the Texas rep. introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature that mandates all candidates for president or vice president of the United States of America present to the Secretary of State of Texas his/her original birth certificate or be excluded from Texas ballots. So, all you people who want to run for president whose original birth certificates have been destroyed after fires or flood in state houses could not get votes in Texas if Berman has his way.
To give you a better idea of Berman's mental state, at a Glenn Beck "Take Back America" rally in April, the Texan called President Obama "God's punishment on us."
In his interview with Cooper, Berman consistently appears misinformed. For instance, he quotes a blogger but claims to be quoting the Congressional Research Service. Cooper tells Berman, the State of Hawaii has certified that Obama's birth certificate stating he was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961, is authentic. He also explained to Berman that the non-partisan FactCheck.org has obtained a state-certified copy of the president's birth certificate with the official raised seal. Berman responds that any machine could make one of those seals.
The Texan won't believe the birth certificate is real unless he sees the original. Anderson should have told him to get on a plane to Hawaii and go through the archives himself because while he readily accepts fellow birther's claims that "we know nothing about Obama," he refuses to accept the Hawaiian government's certifications and would rather think it's a great conspiracy to keep President Obama in the Oval Office.
Berman also plugs his ears after declaring he knows less about Obama than any other president ever and suggesting it's strange not to have access to Obama's school records. Cooper tries to tell him that former president George W. Bush's school records are also off limits legally to the public. They only became available through illegal means.
But come on, we know nothing will satisfy the birther people. Even if we could send them back in time to personally view Obama's birth in Hawaii, they would still not accept that he's a citizen because they also cling to his father being Kenyan and a subject of the British Crown. I'm inclined to adopt MsLadyDeborah's conclusion that this birther nonsense would not continue if Obama were white.
Just when I thought some Tea Party leaders could sink no lower, I learn that one of its most prominent leaders, according to the Huffington Post, is calling for the United Methodist Church to be disbanded. I take this personally since I grew up in the UMC.
My grandfather and great-grandfather were UMC ministers and many of my family members are still on its rolls. In fact, I've been thinking about returning to the UMC. I guess my roots are calling me.
I drifted away thinking I needed a denomination that embraced a pentecostal tradition more and had clearly defined guidelines for living. Ironically, many such churches ostracize members that don't get with their political agenda to force a conservative Christian doctrine onto the nation, and I don't think that's what the Apostles advocated.
HuffPo reports that Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation and someone who claims to be a former member of the UMC, calls the denomination the "religious arm of socialism" and "the first Church of Karl Marx."
TPM Muckraker says that after seeing a sign at a UMC building in Washington D.C. for the Dream Act (The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act, which failed to pass in Congress), Phillips wrote at his blog that he said "I have a DREAM. That is, no more United Methodist Church."
It seems that he divined from this sign that the UMC is "pro-illegal immigration," but he also maligns the UMC because it supports health care reform and helping the poor. He probably holds similar animosities toward the Christians who support the views of Sojourner's Magazine. Apparently in Phillips's mind, Jesus of Nazareth would have objected to helping the poor or being willing to pay more in taxes so your fellow citizens could have access to health care. (Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly also imagines that Jesus believed in locking people out rather than loving people in.) So, Phillips wants "no more" UMC.
Naturally, Phillips tosses around the word "freedom" a lot as though only he knows what the word means. I continue to be amazed at how often people who proclaim themselves "patriots" and "freedom-loving Americans" seek to diminish the rights of others. Speaking of the Methodist church, Phillips writes:
"They want amnesty, they want "economic justice", they opposed "global climate change" (earth to the Methodists, man isn't doing it), fighting global poverty (here is another hint, most poverty is caused by a lack of freedom and lack of a free enterprise system). Not shockingly, the Methodists side with the Islamists against Israel, and of course oppose America in Iraq."
So, there you go. Another Tea Party leader is showing his true colors as anti-freedom of religion. So much for the Constitution of the United States of America they claim to love so much. Perhaps this tendency to want to control other people's religious beliefs is why so many Tea Party members love Sarah "Dominion Theologist" Palin.
You can read Phillips's blog to verify his statements; however, you will have to subscribe. Can you stomach that?
At LoveRadically, writing about Phillips's attack on the UMC after he supposedly saw a Dream Act sign , the blogger says:
I am not going engage Mr.Phillips on his ignorance of the United Methodist Church or his blatant over-generalization of all the members of the UMC as people who hate American. As an aside, I dare you sir to step into my church on Sunday morning and tell our veterans they hate America. Nor will I debate Mr. Phillips's stance on the DREAM Act or any other legislation. I will only ask Mr. Phillips why HE hates America and democracy? I only make that assumption because Mr. Phillips seems to dislike the way a democratic government works, that is debating and discussing the issues of the day instead of condemning an entire denomination because of one sign outside one building.
Yep. But I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn that Phillips knows the history of the church and its founders, Charles and John Wesley, and thinks that he, Phillips, a Tea Party leader, somehow has greater wisdom.
From what I've read of his rhetoric elsewhere, the man misunderstands "separation of church and state." He denounces the UMC for sending emails to its members about church leaders' positions on political issues. So, he doesn't seem to get that separation of church and state does not mean people of faith lose freedom of speech.
Earth to Mr. Phillips: The evangelical Christian right has been politically active for a long time! Maybe you should read some history books (not those from Texas, however). Also, again, see Sarah Palin.
Last year I wrote "The Grim Sleeper: Death and Racial Politics," a post about the California case involving a serial killer who murders poor, black women and the investigation's slow progress. Fellow blogger MsLadyDeborah alerted me to an update. Per the LA Times, the Los Angeles Police Department is "seeking the public's aid in identifying about 160 women whose images were found on the property of accused serial killer Lonnie Franklin Jr." So far, reports CNN, five of the women have been identified, but whether they are dead or alive is unknown.
Is this controversy with boycott the same as objections to The Last Airbender casting? As Rosanna Rosanna Danna would say, "It's always something!"
I just read at The Root and the U.K. Guardian that a white supremacist group in the U.S.A. is boycotting the superhero movie Thor because British black actor Idris Elba has been cast as the Norse god Heimdall. Wikipedia says Heimdall is called "the white god." An older Guardian article describes Heimdall in Thor as "guardian of the burning rainbow bridge between the world of men and the world of gods."
I must add here that if that designation is in spiritual language, the description "white" most likely signifies a non-physical, positive nature and character, but we can't escape that Vikings are generally white. This website constructed by a University of Idaho class discusses the role of Odin worship or Norse mythology among some white supremacist groups:
"The page is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of all modern Odin worship beliefs and practices (see that here). Nor is it an examination of current understandings on Norse mythology. Its focus is on how Odin worship in understood, manipulated, and employed by modern white supremacist groups, both in America and in the United Kingdom. Germany will also be included, since that is where much of the white power music scene started. I also want to make it clear that plenty of Odinists are not white supremacists. There are a number of people who truly want to return to their ancestors’ religious beliefs without any political agenda. This is a distinction that seems blurred in much of the current research. ... Why is this topic important? First, understanding the views of those in the white supremacy movement is vital to putting a stop to it. And we cannot understand their views without understanding the reasoning behind them."
British director Kenneth Branagh cast Elba in the role most likely because the actor has name recognition and is talented. Readers will remember him from HBO's The Wire, the husband in Obsessed which also starred Beyoncé, the father role in Tyler Perry's Daddy's Little Girls, as the soon-to-die Tango in American Gangster with Denzel Washington, and from guest appearances on Showtime's The Big C as the main character (Laura Linney) Cathy's love interest. I thought he was pretty hot in The Reaping in 2007 with Hillary Swank as well. In addition, he's the star of a British detective show, Luther. So, we're not talking light-weight nobody here.
Nevertheless, the Council of Conservative Citizens belittles Elba's work, ignoring his acting career and only referencing his DJ experience. The group also calls Marvel Comics, creators of the superhero comic book Thor, an advocate of leftwing ideologies that has attacked the Tea Party (Does the Tea Party welcome their support right now? In 2009 the Roanoke Tea Party disavowed the CCC.). And it's not just the CCC that's unhappy with Elba as Heimdall. Baddass Nerd says that when news spread that Elba had been cast as a Norse god, quite a few geeks had fits.
The writer at The Root says of the CCC:
"We guess they're really pissed that Jewish Natalie Portman is playing love interest Jane Foster. Too bad she and Elba won't be kissing. That would probably send the white supremacists into a frenzy."
Ah, echoes of the infamous "near" kissing scene between Captain James T. Kirk and Uhura in the original Star Trek. Many television stations in the integration-resistant American South refused to air the episode in 1968.
I think The Root writer, speaking of Jane Foster, means Thor's love interest. In the movie, by the way, Portman's character will not be a nurse, as Foster is in the original comic book, but she'll play a doctor instead. I don't think anyone's protesting that change.
The very Aryan-looking Chris Hemsworth stars as Thor; so, there's something the CCC and Geeks can rejoice about. The Marvel website says:
"The epic adventure "Thor" spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard.At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth."
"There has been a big debate about it: can a black man play a Nordic character?" he told TV Times. "Hang about, Thor's mythical, right? Thor has a hammer that flies to him when he clicks his fingers. That's OK, but the colour of my skin is wrong?
"I was cast in Thor and I'm cast as a Nordic god," he said. "If you know anything about the Nords, they don't look like me but there you go. I think that's a sign of the times for the future. I think we will see multi-level casting. I think we will see that, and I think that's good."
In that same Guardian article, comic book fans are reported to have said:
"This PC crap has gone too far!" wailed one. (Another said) "At the risk of sounding like a bigot, I think this is nuts! ... Asgard is home to the Norse Gods!!! Not too many un-fair complexion types roaming the frigid waste lands up there. I wouldn't expect to see many Brad Pitt types walking around in the [first mainstream black superhero] Black Panther's Wakanda Palace!""
The question that's ripping through my mind is this: How is this protests and boycott different or similar to the ones against M. Knight Shymalan's casting of The Last Airbender? Shymalan cast white actors in roles the series creator had written as people of color, and he said he did it for marketing purposes.
I've got my own answer to the question, but it's very long with scholarly documentation and history notes, and so, I'll leave it to others to say what they think about this topic with more passion. For the record, to me the The Last Airbender and the Thor issues are not quite the same thing when we consider prevailing hegemony and power distribution in movies and reality over the years. It's sad that some white men, given all the power that white males have amassed and still have, continue to to feel supremely insecure and easily threatened.
My son, 20, who can't wait to see this movie in May 2011, says he can see how his fellow superhero geeks could arrive at this objection (he won't even address the white supremacists thinking) but also says, "It's Norse mythology. I don't care."
Below an injured Elba's interviewed on a British talk show, Jonathan Ross. He talks about the difficulty with doing the American accent, his role on Luther, his time as a D.J., and in Part 2, he discusses Thor.
Part 2: Ross says Elba is so good looking that Ross considers kissing a black man.
Years ago, when I first heard Gerald Levert's "Your Smile," I loved the song, but that was partly because it sampled Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Your Precious Love." When he talks in the opening of "Your Smile" he makes no mention of the classic by name, but he does say we should "remember this one from way back."
Here's Marvin and Tammi singing "Your Precious Love."
Remember the old saying, "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean nobody's following you"? Well, now, given the many security cameras in stores, RFID tags in clothing, trackers attached to shopping carts, the next time you get that creepy feeling that someone's watching, you'll probably be right.
I had to post this Digital Story of the Nativity, especially since my final pedagogy project for a rhetoric and composition class was on social media and composition in the digital age. It begins with Mary hearing from Gabriel, the arch angel, on her iPhone. I hope readers enjoy it.
I saw this on a friend's Facebook page (before CNN picked it up), YouTube video of the University of Hawaii marching band formation of a ball being kicked. Whoever mapped this one out was really thinking and from now on, everybody else's traditional formations may look amateurish. I had to show it to both my adult children, both former band geeks.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assangesays he designed the website exposing government "secrets" so that he would not know the identities of people who leak information to the site. Consequently, he tells NBC's Today show that he does not know Army Specialist Bradley Manning, 22, (pictured) the U.S. private who's been accused of leaking documents Assange's website. Salon.com reports that the conditions of the soldier's imprisonment are harsh. Manning was arrested in May.
In the CNN video below, Assange says that people are starting to see that the Swedish rape charges against him don't hold water. His and his attorneys' greatest fear is that if he's turned over to Swedish authorities, he will be sent to America to be charged with espionage. CNN also has a story about Assange's alleged dating profile on O.K. Cupid. Is that news?
Did you recognize the image Clay Duke painted on the wall from the movie V for Vendetta? When I saw this story about the Florida school board shooting yesterday, I got a chill, not just because the video was scary either. I used to cover school board meetings in other parts of the country and sometimes the people coming in to protest budget cuts or ask for school board backing on some project did seem wild-eyed occasionally, but not one seemed as disturbed as yesterday's gun-weilding shooter in Florida.
It was a life-threatening situation, but the potential shooting victims remained calm. Afterward, the school superintendent, William Husfelt, said in interviews that this is America and school board meetings are still safe. So, the district won't go overboard now with increased security measures at meetings.
The AP calls Clay Duke, 56, the "burly, bipolar man" in its lead about yesterda's shooting at the Bay District Schools board meeting in Panama City, Florida. (See series of videos below that tell parts of the story.) Using spray paint, Duke drew a red "V" within a circle on the meeting room wall, the image used in the movie V for Vendetta and the same image he posted to his Facebook page. He then said somebody was going to die as he objected to his wife, Rebecca Duke, being fired. (More on the V for Vendetta connection)
His wife had previously been employed as a school teacher for the district. She was dismissed in February after she failed to pass the probationary period. With her firing, the Duke family lost health benefits. He shot at the school board members, was shot at three times and hit in the knee by a district security officer, and then he shot himself in the head and died. Read the entire AP story here.
His wife had a press conference today and said her husband was a "gentle giant" and that "the economy and the world just got the better of him."
Her husband was an ex-convict, according to news sources, with a history of mental illness. Mrs. Duke said in a press conference that he never missed his medication. Based on reports about Clay Duke's fears that the world was ending ever since Y2K, his comments on his Facebook Page about government-sponsored media, and other fears about taxes, etc., that his wife seems to reference in video of her press conference, I'm guessing he had some kind of paranoid personality disorder in addition to bipolar disorder.
"My Testament: Some people (the government-sponsored media) will say I was evil, a monster (V) … no … I was just born poor in a country where the Wealthy manipulate, use, abuse, and economically enslave 95% of the population. Rich Republicans, Rich Democrats… same-same… rich… they take turns fleecing us… our few dollars… pyramiding the wealth for themselves. The 95%... the us, in US of A, are the neo slaves of the Global South. Our Masters, the Wealthy, do as they like to us…"
(Leaving suicide notes on social media pages or actually killing oneself on YouTube. Remember Abraham Biggs? Is the way of our social media age?)
CNN's video, some from Florida affiliate WJHG, shows school board member Ginger Littleton attack Duke with her handbag/purse after the gunman began his speech saying everyone can leave but the "assholes" sitting at the desk. He threw her to the ground but did not shoot her.
Survivors are praising God. Superintenddent Husfelt told CBS News that "God blocked the bullet." Mrs. Duke says her husband was an excellent shot who probably missed on purpose.
The next video shows a Full view of school board members reactions.
School board members, including Husfelt, discuss the shooting in the following video. He says that Duke looked determined. From CNN's story:
"It was surreal," Husfelt told CNN's "American Morning." "He had already told us that he was going to die, he was prepared to die, and we were going to die as well. ... You could tell by the look in his eyes there was going to be some killing going on.
Husfelt also commends Mike Jones, the retired police detective and district security guard who shot the gunman in the knee, and Littleton who tried to stop Duke with her handbag. He says, "She's like us even though she's a female."
Littleton says her three daughters asked her "Mom are you just stupid? What were you thinking?" She says she was thinking her fellow school board members were lined up like ducks and about to die.
Here is an interview with a witness who left when Duke told the audience to go.
And finally, here's CNN's later story with gunman saying, "Somebody is going to die."
Even though Hugh Jackman crashed and hurt his eye doing a zip-line stunt for Oprah Winfrey in Australia, the Queen of Talk's ultimate Australian adventure is a hit down under. The BBC's Nick Bryant in Sydney said her visit feels like a "presidential, papal and royal visit all rolled into one."
I saw the show yesterday when she told her "ultimate viewers" that she was taking them, the entire audience, to Australia. They're there now where Oprah is doing a series of interviews with Australian stars and American rapper Jay-Z. The Sydney Opera House has been renamed temporarily the Sydney Oprah House in her honor as Australia's tourism officials hope her visit prompts others to visit the country.
In other Oprah news, Rosie O'Donnell, who will be getting her own show on Oprah's new network, OWN, which launches in January, is now saying she backs Oprah's declaration that she and long-time friend Gayle King are not gay. Well, it's about time Rosie stopped feeding the rumor mill about Oprah and Gayle. I remember last year when Rosie spoke out of turn, in my opinion, insinuating on Howard Stern's radio show that Oprah's relationship with Gayle is not what Oprah says it is:
“When they did that road trip, that’s as gay as it gets,” O’Donnell said. “And I don’t mean it to be an insult either. I’m just saying, listen, if you ask me, that’s the couple.”
So, what did it take for Rosie to quit that kind of talk, a show on OWN? Now she's saying that she believes everything Oprah says and if Oprah says she's not gay then she's not gay.
Looks to me in that clip like Rosie's doing some back peddling to counter what she said on Stern's show. She should count herself lucky that Oprah apparently doesn't hold grudges.
Rosie was asked about this partly because of what she's said in the past and partly because Oprah recently broke into tears during an interview with Barbara Walters when asked about her and Gayle's deep friendship. (This rumor's been floating around for a long time and at first Oprah didn't comment on it because when you deny you're gay, people accuse you of having said there's something wrong with being gay. She finally, however, had to comment a few years back when Gayle's children started being asked questions. The two did an interview for O Magazine.)
Here's part of the recent interview with Walters.
I've never understood the public's speculation about this friendship or obsessions with which celebrity is gay or not in general. But as I've said before, I grew up in a time when best female friends would walk down the street, whisper and giggle in each other's ears, and the only thing people thought was, "Must be talking about boys or men." Shows of affection between women weren't questioned the way they seem to be now.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, 39, who is receiving a flood of support from around the world, has been released on bail with tight restrictions, report news sources. Per Sky.com:
He was granted conditional bail for £240,000, thanks in large part to an address being put forward where the Australian national could reside. ... Vaughn Smith, a former Army captain who founded and runs the journalist Frontline Club, offered his 600-acre country estate as a bail address as well as a financial surety.
ABC News says that's $315K in American money. "Assange was being held in solitary confinement -- for his own protection (while imprisoned in London for alleged sexual assaults against two women in Sweden)," ABC reports, and since his imprisonment, websites for credit card companies, PayPal, and his vocal opponents such as Sarah Palin, have been attacked by hacktivists, hackers who support Assange; however, Assange says he has not directed anyone to launch cyber attacks on websites.
Multiple celebrities are coming to Assange's aid such as Bianca Jagger and film director Ken Loach. In America, documentary film director Michael Moore announced on his blog that he's putting up $20,000 toward Assange's bail. He urgers his readers to, "Tell the US government and other governments and corporations to halt their persecution of WikiLeaks." It's been reported that the U.S. is preparing to indict Assange.
The U.K. Guardian has a running update on this saga and reports that cheers erupted when Assange was granted bail. The paper also has video of supporters commenting on Assange's imprisonment outside the courtroom in London.
Wired says the conditions for his release are as follows:
"Assange must surrender his passport and agree to travel restrictions, adhere to a curfew and wear an electronic tracking device. He must remain at a Sussex address and report into a local police station each evening."
Wired says further that Swedish officials plan to appeal his release.
According to Assange's stepfather, Brett, Julian's mother, Christine Assange is so "terrified" by her son's troubles that she has gone into hiding. (She talks about her fears in a video at this link and does not believe her son would sexually assault anyone.) The stepfather, who also said Julian was bullied as a child because he was nerdy but also sometimes exhibits a violent temper, gave his interview to the gossip paper, the National Enquirer, but he's also spoken to news outlests such as CNN's Australian affiliate, reports New York Magazine. Assange's parents used to work in theater.
An alternative to Wikileaks is staking a claim on releasing secrets. CNN reported yesterday that "former WikiLeaks members unhappy with the way WikiLeaks is being run under Assange" have launched their own site with similar open information goals called Openleaks.org. One of its founders, Daniel Domscheit-Berg, says in a documentary that aired on Swedish television that Wikileaks has become too focused on one person. WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnssonmembers wishes Openleaks well, saying "the more, the better."
And lastly, another techie's in the news because of the Wikileaks controversy. The Atlanticprofiles Aaron Bady of the blog Zunguzgungu, as "the unknown blogger" who changed Wikileaks coverage."
"His probing analysis of Julian Assange's personal philosophy and possible motivations became an oft-cited piece of the global conversation about what WikiLeaks might mean. Before Bady's November 29 post, Julian Assange and the Computer Conspiracy; "To destroy this invisible government", only a few hundred people a day found their way Bady's blog. In the days afterward, tens of thousands of people swarmed to the site -- and Bady ended up linked by some of the most influential media outlets on the planet."
The article references other times when big media's followed the footsteps of lesser-known bloggers and brought them the attention they deserved.
I knew I had forgotten something in my Aretha Franklin tribute. Tonight I was listening to Aretha's "Chain of Fools" and then remembered this entertaining dance scene with John Travolta and ladies in the movie Michael.
I took these photos last year during the 2009 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Actually, I shot video that was too crowded with tourists walking in front of my view to post online. More photos are posted on my Facebook page. I probably need to check this with Kalamu ya Salaam, but I think these two black Mardi Gras Indians in the first two photos both serve as the wild man that clears the path for the Big Chief.
This last photo shows the detail on one of the suits.
The Talented Tenth in Pictures To counter the negative images of African Americans in the late 19th century, W.E.B. Du Bois displayed portraits of middle-class blacks at the Paris Exposition of 1900. The Root has published some images from this act of defiance.
The photos are courtesy of the prints and photographs division of the Library of Congress, and you may search the entire collection there as well as Du Bois's other works.
The slide show narrative that goes with the picture above reads:
At the original 1900 exhibit, both sitters and photographers were presented anonymously. It has since been established that Thomas Askew, a prominent African-American photographer in Atlanta, made many of the photographs for Du Bois' Georgia Negro studies. In the Library of Congress catalog, a typical image caption would read, "African American woman, half-length portrait, facing right, with left hand under chin." Some sitters have since been identified, including Du Bois' students at Atlanta University.
These photos made me think of one of Prof. Kim Pearson's comments on my old post about self-mythology. Posting a picture of Du Bois of a child, the one that I've added below, she said:
"The stories we are told about ourselves, and the stories we tell about ourselves are critical to the ways in which we think about our opportunities. This is part of my fascination with the life of WEB Du Bois, whose mother was single, disabled and working class descendant of black freeman, and whose father was a Civil War deserter and the illegitimate son of a mixed race New England merchant. Despite his poverty and birth into circumstances that would have been considered shameful in that Victorian post-bellum era, his mother had a portrait made of him when he was four:"
Professor Kim has been researching how the stories we tell about ourselves connect to the stories others tell about themselves and how these stories when matched well may later result in beneficial networking. She seems particularly interested in how the telling of such stories through digital media can influence and improve opportunities for minority students.
When I see Du Bois's Paris exhibition, I think about how he sought to change the flat narrative of African-Americans written by the dominant culture's gatekeepers in his day, an inaccurate narrative that reached beyond America and left in the minds of others negative stereotypes of American black people.
See the slide show at TheRoot.com, which is only a small part of the whole collection.
Thank you to Elisa at BlogHer.com, I learned that I can watch NBC's Sing Off! on Hulu as well as at NBC. I saw the opening episode, but apparently this second one got away from me. I didn't realize that it comes on twice weekly, Mondays and Wednesdays at 8 eastern/7 central.
To me, this show is much better in its second season than it was in its first season. I think they realized with Glee's enormous success on Fox that they could push this competitive show about real singing groups up a notch.
I was working on something else, when I glimpsed the headlines for Metrodome's roof collapse. I thought I was misreading the news, but it's true. With the blizzard sacking the Midwest, so much snow has fallen in Minneapolis that the stadium's Teflon roof caved in. As a result, the Vikings/Giants game will be Detroit tomorrow night. Gee, I hope Prince is nice and warm. Here's Fox Sports video of the roof collapsing.
Now, back to the New Orleans Saints game. They're playing the St. Louis Rams today in the Superdome. Jabari Greer just recovered the ball.
CNN's John Sutter defines the term "cyber attack" in the video above and says a cyber attack is an attack that takes place online, in cyberspace, and not in the real world. He also says the term "cyber war" regarding the attacks in support of Wikileaks and Julian Assange is an exaggeration.
These attacks generally involve bombarding a website's servers with request that cause its actual customers denial of service for a while or replacing the message on a website's opening page with another message the hacker prefers, but these attacks do not affect your personal information. The purpose is not to rob the site's customers or steal their identities. Credit card companies such as Visa are being attacked because some of them have refused to process payments to Wikileaks. Sutter says ordinary consumers don't need to worry about these attacks. So, breathe. How's Julian Assange doing?
A Canadian newspaper reports that Julian Assange has been moved to isolation for his own safety, and he has asked for a computer because he has difficulty writing by hand. According to ABC news, his attorney Jennifer Robinson said he's been restricted from access to a phone and his lawyers:
"This means he is under significant surveillance but also means he has more restrictive conditions than other prisoners," she said. "Considering the circumstances he was incredibly positive and upbeat."
An American indictment on spying charges related to the Espionage Act may be next, his lawyers think, but his attorneys call any such indictment "unconstitutional."
In Australia, Assange's home country, supporters have protested in his support, saying he's done nothing illegal and freedom of speech is under attack.
Julian's mother, Christine Assange, feels the Australian Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, has betrayed her son by calling his release of various government documents "illegal" and irresponsible.
Julian Assange sits in a British prison on Swedish rape charges that supporters believe are bogus and politically motivated. Mrs. Assange says her son would never commit rape and she worries for his safety.
Jessica Valenti, writing at the Washington Post, argues that the rape charges have been "badly reported," showing confusion in America about what is considered rape in Sweden. Assange is accused of not taking "no" for an answer after a woman who first said "yes" changed her mind and said "no" and of having sex with a woman while she was sleeping. Two women on separate occasions have accused him. The case also has something to do with failure to use a condom, something that in America would not result in charges of any sort.
Valenti says Americans notion of rape is based more on violent coercion and that Swedish laws are more progressive, allowing that a form of date rape, sex that begins consensually but later becomes nonconsensual, is still rape.
"Swedish rape laws don't ban "sex by surprise" (a term used by Assange's lawyer as a crass joke), but they do go much further than U.S. laws do, and we should look to them as a potential model for our own legislation (writes Valenti).
In fact, some activists and legal experts in Sweden want to change the law there so that the burden of proof is on the accused; the alleged rapist would have to show that he got consent, instead of the victim having to prove that she didn't give it."
The accusation that he had sex with a woman while she was sleeping has sparked debate about whether it's possible to have sex with a sleeping woman. At NPR, people wrote in to say yes, it's possible. I agree that it is definitely possible. It happened to me once. To this day I don't know if I was just exhausted that night or if the person drugged me, but the first time on the next day he laughed when I asked him not to do it. He did it twice.
So, I'm not saying Assange didn't rape these women. Nevertheless, as I've said before, the charges and arrests came at a very convenient time that benefits Assange's enemies more than it does these women. Why didn't Sweden go after him before he leaked all those documents embarrassing U.S. diplomats and Arab leaders?
The Wikileaks case makes for some strange bedfellows. I see at BlogHer, some feminists are rallying behind Assange and Wikileaks. Liz Henry explains how this can be, that feminists would appear to defend what could turn out to be a rapist. She's concerned that Assange will not be treated fairly. I think she's right on that point. In my opinion, how he's being handled regarding these charges has far more to do with punishing him for releasing the documents than it does with concern for alleged rape victims.
What about the poison pill?
It appears Assange has not released the password for the so-called "poison pill"/"thermonuclear device"/"insurance file" aka "insurance.aes256," that news sources said his associates would release if he were arrested, killed, or Wikileaks was shut down. PC Magazine reported earlier this week:
The National Security Agency (NSA) has known about the file for months: Assange uploaded the file in July to WikiLeaks's Afghan War Diaries page, as if challenging hackers to break in (at least 100,000 have probably tried, Wikileaks tweeted back in August.) Perhaps pre-empting Cablegate, in October WikiLeaks tweeted to followers to mirror the insurance backup.
The Christian Science Monitorsays the file may have more than 251,000 State Department files, and according to CNN, "experts" say the file's encryption is impossible to break.
Thinking about Aretha Franklin's diagnosis of pancreatic cancer and writing my Aretha Franklin tribute for BlogHer.com, I mentioned Luther Vandross but not the feud he had with the diva. I just learned about that through Google Books. There you can read old issues of Jet Magazine like the one below. (click the picture to read the old Jet article.) You can also read my full post at BlogHer here.
The Jet piece tells Aretha's version of her life as does the Diva's book, From These Roots.
But even cooler than that is this shot announcing Aretha, James Brown, Gladys Knight, and Diana Ross and the Supremes as 1967 winners of the National Association of TV and Radio Announcers awards. Aretha won in the category of top R&B record for "Respect" and also the top female artist slot. Gladys Knight and the Pips won that same year for "most promising group."
With many others, I'm praying for the Queen of Soul
The news about Aretha Franklin is not good, not good at all. Reports from her family earlier this week say the 68-year-old singer, pop culture icon, Detroit resident, and first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has pancreatic cancer.
The illness has a high incidence rate among African-Americans, according to John Hopkins University researchers, but it's also the illness that claimed Patrick Swayze's life. The recovery rate is dismal. The American Cancer Society says, "Fewer than 4% (of patients) will be alive after 5 years." Nonetheless, the singer's friends, including Jesse Jackson, and her family say she's "doing very well" after surgery, and some family members "insist she will sing again."
Last week the 68-year-old underwent surgery for a mystery illness. The surgery was deemed a success, but the reason or reasons for the surgery were not released to the public. A few weeks ago Franklin canceled all concerts through May 2011 due to "medical reasons."
I immediately agreed to write a tribute to Aretha, thinking that the Queen of Soul's work is in me so deeply this writing tasks would be easy, a cake walk since her music has been the soundtrack playing during critical parts of my life. However, less than 20 minutes into the writing process I was weeping and wanting to kick myself because my spirit challenged my mind with questions: What made you think you could do this? The Queen of Soul has pancreatic cancer. The prognosis does not bode well. Almost every song you hear from this woman evokes memories of your mother, your aunts, your childhood, your hopes for love in your youth, your disappointment in love later, even your literal dreams. Aretha has appeared in your dreams singing. You can't write this blog post. What were you thinking?
Those words are no exaggeration. Aretha's music always seems to be near me. When I first heard about her hospitalization and the prayer vigils, I think I went into denial. It was Friday night, December 3, and I was at a Christmas gala, a fundraiser held for a community center in New Orleans, listening to a band, Clark Knighten and the 4X4 Connection featuring Naydja Cojoe.
Naydja was singing one of Aretha songs, "Baby I Love You," and doing a good job of it, too. I was singing along at the table, embarrassing my son, who was a few days shy of his 20th birthday, and making my daughter, who is nearing 30, laugh as well as my cousin's daughter, age 17. I made faces and sang: .... Please continue reading at BlogHer.com.
Nintendo is warning buyers of its new 3DS that exposure to 3D gaming could stunt eye development in children under six years old. I saw this story at CNN, where the writer says it's possible to switch off the 3D functionality. 
