Friday, April 30, 2004

Ivory Coast

I got a letter from Samson today, my host in the village of Azaguie Makagouie two summers back. It's the same as always. Things are good. Donald talks about me a lot. The French are behind the rebellion. He mentioned that he tried to join the army, but wasn't accepted because there are already plenty of volunteers. Unsurprising, I suppose.

I can't say why it's so important to me to get these letters. They always say the same thing. But they do mean a lot to me. I write back, too, though I suppose I don't have much to say either. Some day I hope to be able to say that I'm coming back to visit.

Oh, and I voted for "kinda hot girls" so they won't mess around with other guys.
posted by weiss @ 5:06 PM 0 comments

hooray for hotdogs!
I want to thank whoever sent out the little ads in campus mail for Wiener Winner... that rocked and made my day.
I will definately try to head over whenever my class schedule allows me to. (Start monday my class is going to consume me)

Anyway. Hope you are all having a lovely May Term.. I will see whenever I can!
posted by Erini CS @ 1:32 PM 0 comments

Your tax dollars at work, torturing Iraqis

So the mainstream press has finally begun talking about the mistreatment and torture of Iraqi detainees, an issue that Christian Peacemaker Teams has been highlighting for five months.

And worse reports are now coming to light. The prisoner in the photo at right was told that if he fell off the box he would be electrocuted, according to 60 Minutes II. According to InfoShop news, "The CBS News program said the Army also had photographs showing a detainee with wires attached to his genitals and another showing a dog attacking an Iraqi prisoner."

The Guardian reported today that one "civiliant contractor" apparently raped a male Iraqi detainee to "soften him up" for interrogation. However, his mercenary status protects him. The colonel quoted in the article says, "One contractor was originally included with six soldiers, accused for his treatment of the prisoners, but we had no jurisdiction over him." Mercenary interrogators were also apparently involved in command of the U.S. soldier's filmed gloating as they graphically humiliatied Iraqis.

The U.S. military is clearly continuing to innovate in anti-accountability measures by sub-contracting out the dirtiest operations in Iraq to corporate contractors. After decades of teaching Central American militaries similar tacts, they're finally walking the talk with their own version of paramilitaries.

The six low-ranking soldiers who caught on film committing atrocities will likely serve as scapegoats for the military, ignoring the clear systematic abuses reported in the numerous testimonies collected by CPT. For those of you who haven't read CPT's Report on Detainees, here's an excerpt (keep in mind this is a statistical summary from 72 testimonies):

C. Coalition Forces's Treatment of Detainees
i. Cases in which Coalition Forces and/or contracted workers reportedly abused the detainee: 10
a. Reported instances of hitting with hands: 11
b. Reported instances of hitting with other objects: 1
c. Reported instances of kicking: 5
d. Reported instances of stomping: 2
e. Reported instances of aggressive shoving: 6
f. Reported instances of other physical abuse: 2
g. Reported instances of excessively tight handcuffing: 4
h. Reported instances of prolonged handcuffing: 10
i. Reported instances of prolonged forced kneeling: 7
j. Reported instances of prolonged exposure to sunlight: 4
k. Reported instances of prolonged covering of eyes: 3
l. Reported instances of prolonged exposure to loud music: 2
m. Reported instances of deprivation of food: 3
n. Reported instances of deprivation of water: 11
o. Reported instances of deprivation of minimal sanitary conditions: 2
p. Reported instances of deprivation of urination privileges: 1
q. Reported instances of refusal of necessary medical care: 2
r. Reported instances of electrocution: 1
s. Reported instances of prying off a toenail: 1
t. Reported instances of psychological abuse: 3

More effectively than any one or anything else, the U.S. military in Iraq is hardening and recruiting the next generation of potential terrorists. "They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of wheat wither, producing no grain. And if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it." (Hosea 8:7)
posted by Unknown @ 5:23 AM 0 comments

Grad receptions were fun, no?
posted by sasha @ 3:12 AM 0 comments

wow
by looking at the pictures in Goshen College \ Virtual GC \ Photo Album \ Commencement Weekend 2004 \ Campus community celebrates: post-graduation 4/25/04, it looks like the GC non-white to white attendance ratio was 1:1. way to go PR!

on another note, it looks like JHB has a thing for Ross Bay, as he found his way into at least 4 photos.
106th Goshen College Commencement Weekend (2004) appearances to date:
ross 4 (he's way back in the crowd of a ben beachy photo)
walter wangerin 3
sasha 3
hussein 2
katie yoder 2
julia 2
nick enz 2
ben beachy 2
shirley 7
posted by kate @ 12:33 AM 0 comments

posted by sasha @ 9:18 PM 0 comments

"Whom in Okinawa made you this steel?"?

In Kill Bill: Vol. 1, the subtitles say (and I quote): "Whom in Okinawa made you this steel?" I believe this is an improper use of the word whom. One wouldn't say, "Him made you this steel," but rather, "He made you this steel"; therefore it should be "Who...?"
posted by D-Bo @ 9:05 PM 0 comments

CVS

So I ran out of the following items in convenient simultaneity:

• soap
• kleenex
• toothbrush
• shave cream
• underarm deodorent

In response, I went to CVS where I was subjected to The Beatles and the discovery that, in response to an increase in theft, bar soap is now stored in a locked cabinet. Bar soap? I mean, of all things to steal. It seems like there would be items both smaller and more valuable.

Going to CVS often makes me reflect upon various people I've heard speak about life in Communist Eastern Europe. They often would talk about how everyone had to have the same kind of lamp or car because there was only one kind. Frankly, I don't see how this was a huge problem. It doesn't seem that bad during those times when I'm forced to choose between literally two-hundred different boxes of Kleenex.

To further enhance the interestingness of the experience, the scanners bar code scanners were not working. I had to recite the price of all my purchases as the friendly and apologetic clerk pointed to them. "Um... three ninety-nine? Two-fifteen, I think. Oh that one I know: three forty-nine." This was a very strange experience.
posted by weiss @ 9:47 AM 0 comments

Contracts

Oh exams. I spend so much time with you and you give me nothing.

Listen up, Shoupers: I really am very tired of all these exams. Contracts. I feel like I know all the ideas, but I also feel like I should study more, you know, because everyone else is. But how. Ick. Anyway, I'm tired and going to bed, wishing that eating dinner on the back patio hadn't been the highlight of my day.

posted by weiss @ 11:00 PM 0 comments

Summer Lovin'
Jubilee USA staff, I knew that you would come around. Now that you've decided to be mine all mine, we can let our anti-globalization passion ignite as hot as the summer days of D.C.


posted by celestial @ 4:40 PM 0 comments

it's may term! woo hoo! i fully intend on spending as much of may as inebriated as possible.
i also intend on producing a terrible piece of art work for every occasion i become imbibed.
here's the result from my most recent "fall":

posted by kate @ 4:27 PM 0 comments

WINNER WIENERS
Brick house is hosting the first every month-long may term wienie roast. Justina will be firing up the grill a few minutes before we all leave our classes at noon. Following the firing, there will be a mass exodus from campus to brick where there will be a free ham and 50 cent dogs and 50 cent beverages. come and support a local business.

ben's hair
what did shirley ever do with his 4 years of growth?
posted by meg @ 1:57 PM

i did more than just learn how to play magic!
after the "fun" at brick i went home and fired up TuxPaint, my newest favoritest program ever! and made this:

man, i'm amazing!
i highly recommend you download this and set is as your desktop.
posted by kate @ 9:47 PM 0 comments

Why don't you call?
Oh Jubilee USA Network, baby, I gots to know whether I'm going to get some of your sweet sweet grassroots organizing internship loving this summer. Honey, I'm hurting and I need some debt relief. You said you would call, and all I got in three weeks is an e-mail saying you "need to talk." You saw me at the protests at the World Bank and IMF meetings. We even met in the subway, and you acted so nice. I need to know, baby. My mama said there's too many social justice organizations in the sea to spend my time chasin' just one. I gots a passion to organize, and if you don't want me, I'll have to give my radical loving to someone else.

posted by celestial @ 8:48 PM 0 comments

I'm sick
So I played around on my computer and found a very old movie about the soa with a v/o by josaih that I made back in the day when ITS let me use their equipment. I also watched saved by the bell, the cosby show, and the fresh prince, and then downloaded zoolander and watched it.
posted by meg @ 4:49 PM 0 comments

Trip through memory lane with... The Record photo archives


posted by sasha @ 11:05 AM