Thursday, October 4, 2007
A Free Night of Amazing Music.
Paris Hilton on David Letterman
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Los Desaparecidos at Museo Del Barrio
Feb 23 - June 17, 2007
I saw this exhibit today. "Los Desaparecidos". I really like political art, but this exhibit was a bit intense even for me. The security guard asked me if I was okay as I walked out of the exhibit. I don' t know if I looked upset, or if I was just pale after seeing all the installations. The exhibit was upsetting. One of the artists whose work really struck me was a Colombian artist by the name of Oscar Muñoz. The name of his piece was "Project for a Memorial" wherein there are 4 television screens with a separate video on each. They are videos of him sketching a man's face with water on a rock. As he drew some other feature of the same face, the other parts of the drawing dried and disappeared. It was so frustrating to watch it over and over again.
The photograph of the Rio de la Plata where the bodies of political dissidents were dumped after having been sedated was hard to look at - the river looked cold and unforgiving and yet that is how many people met their fate.
Another artist whose work struck me was Luis Camnitzer , and one photo in particular that read, "He was losing his will to clarify."New York, NY – January 30, 2007 –-El Museo del Barrio, New York’s premier Latino and Latin American cultural institution, will present The Disappeared (Los Desaparecidos) from February 23 – June 17, 2007. This traveling exhibition, organized by the North Dakota Museum of Art and curated by Laurel Reuter, brings together visual artists’ responses to the tens of thousands of persons who were kidnapped, tortured, killed and “vanished” in Latin America by repressive right-wing military dictatorships during the late-1950s to the 1980s.
The Disappeared (Los Desaparecidos) gathers 14 contemporary living artists from seven countries in Central and South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Uruguay and Venezuela), all of whose work contends with the horrors and violence stemming from the totalitarian regimes in each of their nations during the mid- to late-20 th century. Some of the artists worked in the resistance; some had parents or siblings who were disappeared; others were forced into exile. The youngest were born into the aftermath of those dictatorships. And still others have lived in countries maimed by endless civil war. These artists whose work is represented in the exhibition are Marcelo Brodsky , Luis Camnitzer , Arturo Duclos , Juan Manuel Echavarría , Antonio Frasconi , Nicolás Guagnini , Nelson Leirner, Sara Maneiro , Cildo Meireles , Oscar Muñoz , Ivan Navarro , Luis González Palma , Ana Tiscornia and Fernando Traverso . Also included is a collaborative installation Identity/Identidad by a collective of 13 Argentinean artists.
The range of visual languages -- drawings, prints, photographs, installations and mixed media -- incorporated in The Disappeared (Los Desaparecidos) frequently employs similar forms to evoke the presence of the missing person or persons. Bodies, faces, personal possessions and names, often methodically compiled and arranged, appear both boldly and subtly throughout the work in the exhibition. “Through their intense visual and emotional impact, these works communicate the unspeakable and reveal the artist’s assumed role of social responsibility towards ending the silence surrounding these extreme cases of human rights violations,” says Julián Zugazagoitia, Director of El Museo del Barrio. “In this context of public awareness and education through art, El Museo, as the only venue in the Eastern United States for this internationally traveling exhibition, aims to assemble as broad an audience as possible to confront and preserve the memory of these recent historical tragedies.”
Free public programs for adults, educators and children will be offered in relation to the exhibition and to encourage dialogue among viewers. Scheduled programming includes a series of film screenings, monthly family tours and workshops, an evening of music as a tribute to los desaparecidos in March, and an artist panel moderated by Columbia University Professor Andreas Huyssen on May 23. A bilingual illustrated color exhibition catalogue written by Laurel Reuter and Lawrence Weschler and produced by Charta , Italy with funding from The Lannan Foundation will accompany The Disappeared (Los Desaparecidos).
Support for this exhibition has been provided by the Otto Bremer Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation and the Lannan Foundation.
Major funding for the presentation of The Disappeared (Los Desaparecidos) at El Museo del Barrio provided by the Oak Foundation. Additional support provided by Mahnaz I. and Adam Bartos and by Open Society Institute.
About El Museo del Barrio
El Museo del Barrio is New York ’s premier Latino cultural institution, representing the diversity of art and culture in the Caribbean and Latin America . As one of the leading Latino and Latin American museums in the nation, El Museo continues to have a significant impact on the cultural life of New York City and is a major stop on Manhattan’s Museum Mile as well as a cornerstone of el barrio, the Spanish-speaking neighborhood that extends from 96 th Street to the Harlem River and from Fifth Avenue to the East River on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. El Museo was founded in 1969 by artist and educator Rafael Montañez Ortiz in response to the interest of Puerto Rican parents, educators, artists and activists in East Harlem who were concerned that their cultural experience was not being represented by New York ’s major museums. In 1994, corresponding to substantial local and national demographic changes, El Museo broadened its mission to present and preserve the art and culture of Puerto Ricans and all Latin American and Latino communities throughout the United States.
El Museo’s varied permanent collection of over 6,500 objects from the Caribbean and Latin America includes pre-Columbian Taíno artifacts, traditional arts, twentieth-century prints, drawings, paintings, sculptures and installations, as well as photography, documentary films and video. Through the sustained excellence of its collections, exhibitions, publications and bilingual public programming, El Museo reaches out to diverse audiences and serves as a bridge and catalyst between Latinos, their extraordinary cultural heritage, and the rich artistic offerings of New York City .
El Museo del Barrio is located at 1230 Fifth Avenue between 104th and 105th Streets and may be reached by subway: #6 to 103rd Street station at Lexington Avenue; #2, #3 to Central Park North/110 th Street station or by bus: M1, M3, M4 on Madison and Fifth Avenues to 104th Street; local crosstown service between Yorkville or East Harlem and the Upper West Side in Manhattan M96 and M106 or M2. Museum hours: Wednesday - Sunday, 11AM to 5PM . Closed on Monday and Tuesday. Suggested museum admission: $6 adults; $4 students and seniors; members and children under 12 accompanied by an adult enter free. To learn more about El Museo, please visit our website at www.elmuseo.org or call 212-831-7272.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
'Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic' - Chalmers Johnson
'Nemesis' Tells of U.S. in Peril
Monday, February 5, 2007
"México: el racismo que no se nombra"
A pesar de las evidencias abrumadoras, en nuestro país se sigue negando la existencia de prácticas de discriminación racial. El presidente puede hablar de los trabajos que ni los negros hacen y unos sindicalistas pintar suásticas en Paseo de la Reforma. Nada pasa. Quizá porque el racismo a la mexicana es, digamos, "más sutil" o porque el nuestro es un racismo sobre todo contra los indígenas y los morenos en general, un racismo de exclusión
Nadie en México admite ser racista, así como nadie quiere verse más oscuro de lo que un canon no dicho de aceptación social exige. Según el Consejo Nacional para prevenir la Discriminación (Conapred), 40% de los mexicanos está dispuesto a organizarse con otras personas para solicitar que no se establezca cerca de su comunidad un grupo de indígenas. Y es lógico, pues 43% opina que los indígenas tendrán siempre una limitación social por sus características raciales.
La declaración del presidente Vicente Fox sobre los trabajos que ni los negros quieren, declaración de la que nunca se retractó, demuestra el vergonzante racismo que todos padecemos.
¿Qué es el racismo para que la mayoría de las personas se sientan intimidadas frente a su sola mención? La Real Academia ofrece dos definiciones: "exacerbación del sentido racial de un grupo étnico, especialmente cuando convive con otros", la primera; y "doctrina antropológica o política basada en este sentimiento y que en ocasiones ha motivado la persecución de un grupo étnico considerado como inferior", la segunda. Dicho de esta forma, el racismo parecería algo casi limpio, libre de connotaciones económicas, de género o de acceso a los servicios públicos. Peor aún, una especie de locura o de fobia, individual o colectiva: una "enfermedad" de la que ninguna persona es plenamente responsable.
Por ello, una amiga en París pudo soltar durante una cena: "De Bush puede decirse cualquier cosa, menos que sea racista. Mira que nombrar a una mujer negra en la Secretaría de Estado...". Según ella no existe razón alguna para llamar racista a un presidente que redujo los fondos para la manutención de los diques de Nueva Orleáns: fue un mal cálculo económico que sería tendencioso relacionar con el hecho que la capital de Luisiana estaba habitada precisamente en 80% por población negra y pobre.
Las dos definiciones tampoco explican el racismo que no se nombra en México. No hay corriente o partido político que reivindique algún tipo de superioridad racial y la oficial definición de México como país mestizo acalla cualquier exaltación de un grupo étnico. No obstante, es indudable que los habitantes de los 62 pueblos indios y las minorías negra y asiática de México sufren discriminación, invisibilización, pauperización y difícil acceso a los servicios públicos como consecuencia de una discriminación racial tan difusa como negada.
Durante el Foro Regional de México y Centroamérica sobre Racismo, Discriminación e Intolerancia, que se llevó a cabo en la ciudad de México en noviembre de 2000, Ariel Dulitzky afirmó que la discriminación racial es negada en América Latina y que este afán por ocultar, tergiversar o encubrir el racismo dificulta las medidas efectivas que pueden tomarse en su contra. La igualdad, sea racial, de género, étnica, religiosa u económica, dista aún de ser vista en la región como un requisito esencial y fundacional de la democracia. Todo acto de racismo es, por lo tanto, negado "aquí no estamos en Europa donde queman a los migrantes", interpretado "decir que los indios no tienen cultura no es racismo, es que no tienen acceso a la escuela" o justificado "sí, se les metió a la cárcel, pero no entendíamos qué decían, no hablan español".
Los chistes, en México, ridiculizan todos los grupos raciales y étnicos que no sean el mayoritario o el de elite (blancos ricos), subrayando algunas de las características propias de su condición de marginados. Al mismo tiempo que no puede verse un solo comercial televisivo o cartel publicitario en el que aparezca un bebé o niño de rasgos indígenas, ser indio es sinónimo de ser inculto y portarse como ranchero es demostrar timidez o poco savoir faire; los negros se cenan entre sí y nadie puede diferenciar a un chino de otro. Todos los lugares comunes del racismo están comúnmente en nuestras bocas y no hay familia que no esgrima un abuelo español, una tía inglesa o un primo francés para subir de categoría social.
El mestizaje encubridor
Mestiza es la persona que nació de madre y padre con fenotipos distintos o pertenecientes a etnias de culturas diversas. En México y Centroamérica es la persona hija de europeo y amerindia, aparentemente sin preferencia hacia ninguna de sus raíces. No obstante, el mestizaje encubre una gran mentira, la de la armonía entre grupos étnicos y raciales gracias a la violencia sexual colonial, que sigue siendo cimiento de las jerarquías de género y de raza en la actualidad. De hecho, el papel de las mujeres indígenas y negras es rechazado en la formación de la cultura nacional; la desigualdad entre hombres y mujeres es erotizada; y la violencia sexual contra las amerindias y negras ha sido convertida en un romance, como en el caso de Cortés y la Malinche. Según la brasileña Ángela Gilliam, a este conjunto de prácticas culturales, a la vez sexistas y racistas, se le podría llamar en América "la gran teoría del esperma blanco en la formación nacional". Quizá por eso entre los mestizos ser güero es poder reivindicar un padre o bien creerse superior, hermoso y con derechos.
Al fin y al cabo, conquista, colonización y racismo han sido indisociables y la cultura colonialista no ha desaparecido con la independencia política. La violencia es hija de esta tríada que hambrea, mata y ofende por segregación.
El colombiano Carlos Arocha Rodríguez insiste: la idea que todos somos mestizos, todos somos café con leche, todos tenemos sangre indígena o negra, impide el desarrollo y la identificación de grupos raciales específicos. Mientras este mito se utiliza para impedir el desarrollo de identidades y reivindicaciones propias, no se le utiliza para conseguir mayor grado de igualdad e integración social. La ideología oficial del mestizaje transforma a la diversidad en invisible, niega el derecho al disenso y permite, al mismo tiempo, la exclusión de todos aquellos que quedan fuera de la norma del mestizo. De hecho, aunque todos seamos mestizos, a los más blancos les va mejor.
En México, el mestizaje fue una "invención" de los liberales criollos cuando, al finalizar la guerra de Independencia, tuvieron que construir al "ciudadano" para no reconocer a los pueblos indios ni su protagonismo ni sus derechos ancestrales, que eran incompatibles con el proyecto capitalista. Mestizo era alguien que no se identificaría con lo indio, a la vez que era descartado como blanco. Desde entonces, el imperativo categórico de los que querían llegar lejos era el de "mejorar la raza", que se traducía en "casarse con una güerita". Hoy la Iglesia católica ha venido a reforzarles el poder de la confusión: ha beatificado al indio Juan Diego, cuyo retrato oficial lo muestra tan barbado como un español.
Según Sueli Carneiro, las que podrían ser consideradas historias o reminiscencias del periodo colonial permanecen vivas en el imaginario social y adquieren nuevos ropajes y funciones en un orden social supuestamente democrático que mantiene intactas las relaciones de género según el color, la raza, la lengua que se habla y la religión instituidas en el periodo de los encomenderos y los esclavistas.
La extensión y perdurabilidad de estas prácticas, que acompañan el mito de la democracia racial de los mestizos, llevan a que la población en general esté poco dispuesta a explicar las disparidades sociales en términos de inequidades raciales, prefiriendo las explicaciones basadas en disparidades económicas. La primera Encuesta Nacional sobre Discriminación en México, de 2005, revela que uno de cada tres mexicanos opina que lo único que deben hacer los indígenas para salir de la pobreza es no comportarse como indígenas.
En 1994, el Comité para la Eliminación de la Discriminación Racial de la OEA observó que México "no parece percatarse de que la discriminación latente que padecen 56 grupos de indígenas (...) queda comprendida en la definición de discriminación racial... Es inadecuada la descripción de la difícil situación de esos grupos como una mera participación desigual en el desarrollo socioeconómico". Amnistía Internacional hoy ratifica que en la base de las desapariciones, invasiones de tierras, encarcelamientos arbitrarios, violencia contra las mujeres, pobreza y baja escolaridad en las zonas indígenas de México está el racismo.
La justificación de la discriminación por motivos de clase antes que de raza es un corolario de la premisa de la democracia racial y la máscara ideológica de las sociedades monolíticamente mestizas, con sus supuestas ausencias de prejuicios y discriminación. Si existe armonía racial porque hay sólo una raza (la mestiza), todas las diferencias deben explicarse en función de la pobreza, estatus social, educación. Nunca debe inferirse que la ausencia o escasez de servicios públicos a una determinada comunidad por su pertenencia étnica sea el factor que provoca su baja escolaridad, pobreza y marginación. Según Dulitzky, el sólo planteamiento de la cuestión racial es visto como algo foráneo mediante el cual se procura traer al país problemas que pertenecen a Estados Unidos (modelo del odio racial frente al que todas las demás organizaciones sociales deben ser comparadas).
El racismo en pocas palabras
El dirigente maya Genaro Serech Sem describe al racismo en estos términos: "una creencia, una imaginación de las diferencias creadas en provecho de los explotadores contra el pueblo maya, para justificar sus privilegios y agresiones. El racismo en su esencia expresa prejuicios desfavorables, repugnancia, miedo, desconfianza, desprecio, hostilidad y odio hacia el pueblo maya, como mecanismo para esconder el estado de dominación, opresión y explotación que se ha cometido contra nuestro pueblo".
Nueve de cada diez indígenas entrevistados por el Conapred opinan que en México son discriminados por su condición, que tienen menos oportunidades para conseguir trabajo y para ir a la escuela que el resto de las personas. Dos de cada tres aseguran que son nulas las posibilidades de mejorar sus condiciones de vida y que no se les respetan sus derechos. A uno de cada cinco se le ha negado trabajo por el simple hecho de ser indígena.
La mayoría de los representantes indígenas del país, al hablar de racismo, enumeran las discriminaciones de sus prácticas culturales, religiosas, médicas y jurídicas, en el plano educativo y en el acceso a la salud, así como la opresión por parte de las autoridades, en particular el ejército y la policía, y las invasiones de sus tierras por parte de ganaderos. No faltan las denuncias de genocidio y de encarcelamiento de indígenas en Oaxaca, como "forma habitual del sistema social y político".
En general, las personas que no aceptan la existencia del racismo en México, frente a las denuncias indígenas y sus reivindicaciones de autonomía, aluden a la resistencia de los indios a la igualdad, les exigen que se vuelvan "mexicanos", que se porten como mestizos oscuros, sin sus indumentarias, sin su historia, sin ninguna dignidad, como hijos del avasallante universalismo colonizador con el cual los racistas se identifican.
En México, la población indígena se concentra en el centro y sur del país. En 803 municipios hay 17 mil localidades eminentemente indígenas que, por su tamaño y dispersión, por el desinterés de la federación y el desvío de recursos, cargan con elevados grados de pobreza y aislamiento, carencias de servicios públicos y escasa comunicación. Resienten de manera grave las consecuencias de la descapitalización del campo, la falta de inversión productiva, los altos niveles de erosión del suelo, la escasa o mala calidad de la educación pública y la ausencia de servicios médicos. Las comunidades negras de Oaxaca, Guerrero y Veracruz padecen de los mismos males y, como las indígenas, son culpadas de ser sus causantes.
El racismo en la vida cotidiana
Recuerdo la impresión que me provocó hace unos diez años haber llegado a la farmacia de Huejuquilla el Alto, Jalisco, atiborrada de personas que esperaban ser atendidas. Fui llamada de inmediato al mostrador. Cuando dije que había muchos antes que yo, la dueña me explicó que los demás eran huicholes, es decir indios. Todavía lamento no haber tenido el coraje de aguantarme el dolor de muelas y salirme.
Lorenza Gutiérrez, de Huechapan, una comunidad mixta de Puebla, recuerda que en la escuela las niñas se diferenciaban por su ropa, por la lengua que hablaban y por cómo se peinaban, aunque el color de la piel y el tamaño eran iguales. Durante toda la primaria, cada día, una de sus compañeras de salón le jaló las trenzas para ver cómo se aguantaban las indias. Hoy participa en organizaciones productivas de mujeres y afirma que la verdadera condición de indio es la de pobre, más aun "aquí sólo el indio pobre es indio".
En mayo de 2005, un domingo por la mañana, Juanita Pérez Martínez, tojolabal de Las Margaritas, Chiapas, tuvo un día libre durante un taller para mujeres indígenas que se impartía en la ciudad de México. Decidió salir a pasear con tres compañeras con quienes se encontró en Tacubaya. Desde que se subieron al metro, la discriminación se hizo patente y adquirió varios matices de racismo: un grupo de jóvenes que iba rumbo a Chapultepec se mofó de ellas por su indumentaria; dos hombres mayores les instaron para no demorarse en las escaleras mecánicas; una señora les gritó desde el andén opuesto que necesitaba una sirvienta y se ofendió cuando le contestaron que no buscaban trabajo. Una vez en Xochimilco, a la más joven de ellas el lanchero intentó seducirla y hasta la jaló de un brazo; cuando ella se alejó con sus amigas, el hombre le gritó "india fea" y "desagradecida".
En 1986, el antropólogo Iván Gomezcésar, en el centro de San Cristóbal de las Casas, saludó a unas muchachas tzotziles que se disponían a vender dulces caseros en el suelo de la plaza; poco después, un grupo de muchachitos coletos les arrebató sus mercancías, frente a la mirada indiferente de dos policías, para desafiar al "chilango" que fraternizaba con los indios. Poco después, esperando hacer una llamada, vio como en una farmacia vendían a los hombres formados en fila "Aceite Huapo", un veneno en forma de alcohol, para que se envalentonaran y "hablaran castilla".
Al hoy filósofo tzotzil Miguel Hernández, quien habla y escribe tzeltal y chol además de su lengua, al inscribirse en primaria le dijeron que no sería capaz de aprender nada porque no era "hombre de razón", pues no se expresaba en español.
No vayamos más lejos, todos hemos escuchado a alguien así: la mamá en el restaurante al niño que acaba de tirar la botella de refresco: "¡No seas indio!". El padre de familia explicando al compadre que por las tareas que desempeña le pagan muy mal: "Trabajo como negro". La vendedora en la farmacia convenciendo a una clienta que la crema es realmente blanqueadora: "Se va a ver como güera". La joven saliendo de la maternidad donde fue a conocer al recién nacido de su mejor amiga: "Lástima que sea morenito". La clasemediera entrada en años atrincherada detrás de su parasol en la playa: "Es que el sol me hace daño, me quedo renegrida como costeña". La mujer en la peluquería: "Si tengo pelos en las piernas es porque no soy india".
Frente a actitudes como éstas (cualquier persona que quisiera abrir ojos y oídos podría percibirlas a su alrededor, pues son cotidianas), es evidente que seguir diciendo que en México no hay racismo es la mejor forma para no enfrentarlo y seguirlo tolerando. La discriminación como determinante de la pobreza y la desigualdad es un tema obviado; ya es hora de afirmar que es un verdadero impedimento para la vida democrática.
Friday, January 19, 2007
On Net Neutrality and Democracy !!
WATCH & LISTEN
Go here to watch the report and click on image that looks like this:
The Net at Risk
Check out the live discussion online.
Mike McCurry, co-chairman of Hands off the Internet, a coalition of telecommunication-related businesses, and Ben Scott, policy director of the nonpartisan public interest organization Free Press, which advocates in favor of net neutrality, and representative of SaveTheInternet.com, will respond to the program, each other, and to viewers' comments. Citizens Class on The Net at Risk.
The future of the Internet is up for grabs. Last year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) effectively eliminated net neutrality rules, which ensured that every content creator on the Internet-from big-time media concerns to backroom bloggers-had equal opportunity to make their voice heard. Now, large and powerful corporations are lobbying Washington to turn the World Wide Web into what critics call a "toll road," threatening the equitability that has come to define global democracy's newest forum. Yet the public knows little about what's happening behind closed doors on Capitol Hill.
Some activists describe the ongoing debate this way: A small number of mega-media giants owns much of the content and controls the delivery of content on radio and television and in the press; if we let them take control of the Internet as well, immune from government regulation, who will pay the price? Their opponents say that the best way to encourage Internet innovation and technological advances is to let the market-not the federal government-determine the shape of the system.
"The genius of the Internet was that it made the First Amendment a living document again for millions of Americans," says Robert McChesney, a media scholar and activist and co-author of OUR MEDIA, NOT THEIRS. "The decisions that we're going be making ... are probably going to set our entire communication system, and, really, our entire society, on a course that it won't be able to change for generations."
With the MOYERS ON AMERICA series, we inaugurate Citizens Class, an extensive, interactive curriculum designed to encourage and facilitate public discourse on the issues raised in the series. The workshop features multimedia discussions, reference materials on the key perspectives presented in the program, and questions for further reflection-all designed to stimulate deep and thoughtful community dialogue. Interested? Check it out. In search of specific information? Just browsing? Select topics below to explore a range of issues, from the new digital divide, voices from the debate over net neutrality, to ways to find out who owns your local media.
NET NEUTRALITYSo why "neutrality?" Because since the Internet's inception, everyone, every site, regardless of the data load, has been given equal-i.e., neutral-treatment by providers, their content transmitted at equal speed. Net neutrality advocates argue that changing this system will give unfair advantage to deep-pocketed content providers, while start-ups, small businesses, and nonprofits who can't pay the piper will be unduly punished. The telecom proponents of the tiered system insist that they need these new fees (in addition to those paid by their users) to recoup the costs of updating their networks to handle all the new data-heavy content. Many also object to the additional government regulation and involvement that would be necessary to enforce net neutrality.
Neutrality supporters worry that without regulation, there's no guarantee that some traffic would move over the net at all. In other words, neutrality supporters say that only with regulation would internet users be guaranteed access to whatever they want to read, listen to, or watch online, and that without regulation, large telecom companies could block or censor things they don't like without consequence.
This past summer, Congress took up the issue. Following a huge lobbying campaign by both sides, including millions spent by the cable and phone corporations, the House voted down an amendment to the Act that would have made the Federal Communications Commission responsible for enforcing neutrality. In the Senate, a similar amendment was defeated in committee, but net neutrality legislators managed to table a vote on the telecommunications bill indefinitely in hopes that they can somehow force the issue back to the forefront.
Some lawmakers have said they are sympathetic to the cable and phone conglomerates' assertions that regulating the Internet isn't necessary. "A lot of us believe that we don't have a problem today," says Rep. Fred Upton, Chairman, Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, (R-MI). "And we're not going to overly regulate a product ... which might stifle the entrepreneurship and the progress we want to make in the future."
But other legislators are concerned about the implications of changing the longstanding Internet standard of neutrality, especially as the public becomes more aware and the battle heats up. The telephone and cable firms are proposing "the rules of monopolists, the rules of duopolists," says Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), who led the fight in the House for net neutrality. "We have to go back to the rules which created the Internet."
What's more, the companies that deliver internet connections to most homes are increasingly in the business of generating content, as well, so supporters of neutrality worry that they'll be in a position to privilege their own content over competitors. For example, if AT&T decided to start its own online auction site, neutrality supporters say, the firm's customers might find themselves unable to use eBay — unless Congress protects net neutrality. Media watchers are worried that the Internet will follow the path of other media — where deregulation led to consolidation - and some would say — to fewer voices being heard. (Find out more about media consolidation.)
Find out more about the implications of pending legislation and the history of net neutrality-and let us hear your voice-in the MOYERS ON AMERICA Net Neutrality Citizens Class.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The word "HISPANIC" !!!
So I called the Berkley linguist and he claims that:
Personally, I don't label myself Hispanic (language/culture), nor do I label myself Latino ( large region). I am simply American (nation). What I choose to read behind closed doors, how I choose to express myself among my family, the music I choose to listen to and the language I speak among friends is not the business of the federal government, nor the Nixon administration, or any other administration. However, if there were enough boxes on the forms to accurately describe my origin, there would have to be a box for my nationality (American), a box for the languages I speak (Spanish and English), a box for my culture (a culture where Spanish is spoken, located in the North American continent, not in Central America, not in South America, not in the Caribbean, and not in Spain), a box describing the color of my skin (brown in the summer and yellow in the winter with perpetual black circles over my eyelids and under my eyes!!!), and finally, a box describing my feminist inclinations!!
Alas, I also called in Wikipedia.....
Hispanic (Spanish Hispano, from Latin Hispānus, adjective from Hispānia, "Iberian Peninsula") is a term denoting a derivation from Spain, its people and culture. It follows the same style of use as Anglo, which indicates a derivation of England and the English. Thus, the Spanish-American War in Spanish is known as Guerra Hispano-Estadounidense, the "Spanish-German Treaty" is Tratado Hispano-Alemán, and "Spanish America" is Hispanoamérica.
As used in the United States, Hispanic is one of several terms of ethnicity employed to categorize any person, of any racial background, of any country and of any religion who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America, whether or not the person has Spanish ancestry. It is therefore not a racial term, although as used in the United States it often carries racial connotations. The term was first adopted in the United States by the administration of Richard Nixon[1] and has since been used as a broad form of classification in the U.S. census, in local and federal employment, and numerous business market researches.
In Spain, Spanish-speaking Latin America and most countries outside the United States, Hispanic/Hispano is not commonly employed as a term for ethnicity; however, this can be implied depending on the context. When used in this manner, in Spanish-speaking Latin America an Hispano is commonly regarded to be any person whose ancestry stems, in whole or in part, from the people of Spain — to the contrast of the non-Hispanic (ie. non-Spanish descended) population. In this sense, when speaking of a nation's Hispanic population, those who are implied are Spaniards, criollos, mestizos, and mulattos, to the exclusion of indigenous Amerindians, unmixed descendants of black African slaves or other peoples from later migrations without any Spanish lineage who today reside in any of the Hispanic nations, regardless of whether they now use Spanish as their first and only language. In contrast, a non-Spanish-speaking Mayan Amerindian from Mexico, for example, who lives in the U.S. would be considered Hispanic as the term is officially defined and commonly understood there. North Americans often confuse the words "Hispanic" and "mestizo", therefore assuming that all Latin Americans are dark-skinned with black hair and brown or black eyes. There are, however, many fair-skinned, blue-eyed, blonde Hispanics who are not mestizo.
"Hispanic" as a U.S. ethnic label
It is important to remember that the majority of "Hispanics" do not identify as "Hispanic" or "Latino," but with their national origin, i.e. Mexican-American. And, it is debatable that Latino is any less self-imposed than Hispanic. The label, Hispanic, was the result of efforts by a Hispanic New Mexican senator, Montoya, who wanted a label that could be used to quantify the Spanish-speaking population for the US Census. The label Hispanic was chosen in part because in New Mexico, well-to-do people of Spanish descent such as Montoya referred to themselves as Hispanos, and the transliteration of Hispano is Hispanic. Thus, while Latino is more popular in some urban areas, Hispanic is more popular in some parts of the southwest.
Previously Hispanics were commonly referred to as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". These terms, however, proved even more misleading or inaccurate since:
- Most U.S. Hispanics were not born in Spain, nor were most born to recent Spanish nationals;
- Although most U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish, not all do, and though most Spanish-speaking people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., many U.S. Hispanics by the fourth generation no longer speak Spanish, while there are some non-Hispanics of the Southwestern United States that may be fluent in the language), and;
- Although most Hispanics have a Spanish surname, not all do, and while most Spanish-surnamed people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., there are tens of millions of Spanish-surnamed Filipinos, but very few, only about 3.5%, would qualify as Hispanic by ancestry).
- Many Catalans and Basques refuse to identify themselves as Hispanic in the US census, especially those who have Catalan and Basque as mother tongues.
- The term "Spanish" to denote a person from or of descent from a Latin American country is incorrect, as "Spanish" means a person who is from Spain.
The term "Spanish American", however, is still currently in use by many of those who, while not of recent descent from a Spanish national, have continued to practice and view Spanish culture and identity as dominant in their lives. In this usage it emphasized ancestral history and identity, and is not meant to indicate citizenship of the 'old country'.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
What Makes You NOT a Buddhist - Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse
Moving away from conventional presentations of Buddhist teachings, Rinpoche challenges readers to make sure they know what they're talking about before they claim to be a Buddhist. With wit and irony, he urges us to move beyond the superficial trappings of Buddhism - beyond a romance with beads, incense, and exotic people in robes - straight to the heart of what the Buddha taught. He throws down the gauntlet to the Buddhist world, challenging common misconceptions, stereotypes, and fantasies. In essence, this book explains what a Buddhist really is.
Can you accept that all things are impermanent and that there is no essential substance or concept that is permanent? Can you accept that all emotions bring pain and suffering and that there is no emotion that is purely pleasurable? Can you accept that all phenomena are illusory and empty? Can you accept that enlightenment is beyond concepts; that it's not a perfect blissful heaven, but instead a release from delusion? Rinpoche encourages us to examine our most fundamental assumptions and beliefs, and he inspires us to explore the authentic Buddhist path based on these traditional four seals of Buddhism.
CAUSES AND CONDITIONS: THE EGG IS COOKED AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT
When Siddhartha spoke of “all assembled things,” he was referring to more than just obvious perceptible phenomena such as DNA, your dog, the
When all the innumerable causes and conditions come together, and there is no obstacle or interruption, the result is inevitable. Many misunderstand this to be fate or luck, but we still do have the power to have an effect on conditions, at least in the beginning. But at a certain point, even if we pray that the egg won’t cook, it will be cooked.
Like the egg, all phenomena are the product of myriad components, and therefore they are variable. Nearly all of these myriad components are beyond our control, and for that reason they defy our expectations. The least-promising presidential candidate might win the election and then lead the country to contentment and prosperity The candidate you campaign for might win and then lea4 the country to economic and social ruin, making your life miserable. You may think liberal, left-wing politics are enlightened politics, but they may actually be the cause of fascism and skinheads by being complacent or even promoting tolerance of the intolerant. Or by protecting the individual rights of those whose sole purpose is to destroy other people’s individual rights. The same unpredictability applies to all forms, feelings, perceptions, traditions, love, trust, mistrust, skepticism—even the relationships between spiritual masters and disciples, and between men and their gods.
All of these phenomena are impermanent. Take skepticism, for example. There was once a Canadian man who was the very embodiment of a skeptic. He enjoyed attending Buddhist teachings so that he could argue with the teachers. He was actually quite well versed in Buddhist philosophy, so his arguments were strong. He relished the opportunity to quote the Buddhist teaching that the Buddha’s words must be analyzed and not taken for granted. A few years later, and he is now the devoted follower of a famous psychic channeler. The ultimate skeptic sits before his singing guru with tears running like rivers from his eyes, devoted to an entity who has not a scrap of logic to offer. Faith or devotion has a general connotation of being unwavering, but like skepticism and like all compounded phenomena, is impermanent.
Whether you pride yourself on your religion or on not belonging to any religion, faith plays an important role in your existence. Even “not believing” requires faith—total, blind faith in your own logic or reason based on your ever-changing feelings. So it is no surprise when what used to seem so convincing no longer persuades us. The illogical nature of faith is not subtle at all; in fact it is among the most assembled and interdependent of phenomena. Faith can be triggered by the right look at the right time in the right place. Your faith may depend on superficial compatibility. Let’s say that you are a misogynist and you meet a person who is preaching hatred against women. You will find that person powerful, you will agree with him, and you will have some faith in him. Something as inconsequential as a shared love of anchovies might add to your devotion. Or perhaps a person or institution has the ability to lessen your fear of the unknown. Other factors such as the family, country, or society you are born into are all part of the assembly of elements that come together as what we call faith.
Citizens of many Buddhist-ruled countries, such as
When we learn to see the assembled parts of all things and situations, we learn to cultivate forgiveness, understanding, open-mindedness, and fearlessness. … Fear and anxiety are the dominant psychological states of the human mind. Behind the fear lies a constant longing to be certain. We are afraid of the unknown. The mind’s craving for confirmation is rooted in our fear of impermanence.
Fearlessness is generated when you can appreciate uncertainty, when you have faith in the impossibility of these interconnected components remaining static and permanent. You will find yourself, in a very true sense, preparing for the worst while allowing for the best. You become dignified and majestic…. By knowing that something is lying in wait for you just around the bend, by accepting that countless potentialities exist from this moment forward, you acquire the sill of pervasive awareness and foresight like that of gifted general, not paranoid, but prepared. … The recognition of impermanence is key to freedom from fear of remaining forever stuck in a situation, habit, or pattern.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Saddam Hussein Hanged.
(Actually, I just checked, California beat out Texas!!)
So why am I upset???
I suppose I am upset because I realized the very grim, dismal hope for humanity. Saddam Hussein is tried for the crimes he committed against people of his own nation. The trial is made a public spectacle/circus for over a year -- every portion is practically televised. And then his death, his hanging, is also broadcast & displayed. And why did the method of death have to be hanging? Why couldn't it have been something else? Hanging seems archaic, but meant to prove a point. I know that that his death being televised was also meant to prove a point.
So, what is the point???
Killing someone doesn't really purge the country of Iraq; killing Saddam Hussein doesn't really aid in the healing of the nation or to help reconcile the Sunnis and the Shittes. In my opinion (that's why this is my blog), his death only contributes and reiterates the hate that already exists in Iraq, and all over the world. Throughout the course of history, hate for hate, violence for violence, death for death haven't really worked to alleviate society's problems and the cycle of hate/hatred. And 'America' is supposed to be changing the course of history, or at the very least showing the world how it's supposed to be done? Doubtful.
Further, I find it interesting that Saddam Hussein refused to wear the head covering for his hanging -- much like the last act of defiance of Albert Camus' character, Meursault, in L'Etranger. Except this time, in the year 2006, 'citizens' didn't show up to the towne square as in the old days to witness the tragic end to a man's life, or to witness the suffering of another human being shunned and later killed in public just so they could go home and utter, "I'm glad that wasn't me.", but rather people over the world showed up to his hanging via the internet and television and tuned into see the suffering of yet another human.
I ask again, "So what is the point?"
Friday, December 1, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
This Little Girl is SMARTER than most Adults!!!
(Sorry D. you showed me this video and I loved it!!)
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
Amy Goodman in San Antonio, Texas
I have had the privilige to hear many people speak, but Amy Goodman was pretty incredible. She is very intelligent and her summary of US foreign policy over the last 50 years made the audience sick, especially what happened in East Timor. What particularly struck me about her lecture was her commitment to articulating people's name over and over and over throughout her speech. She said that by naming people, by pronouncing their name, you dignify them. This is true, how many people were never named throughout history? How many soldiers will have died in Iraq with no name?
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Lady Fest San Antonio, Texas
October 19 - October 21, 2006
Since the first LadyFest, the event has branched out into other urban centers such as Amsterdam, Atlanta, Belgium, Berlin, Birmingham, Brighton, Bristol, Brooklyn, Cardiff, Dublin, Lansing, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Orlando, Ottawa, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Toronto, Washington DC, and more. Primarily volunteers organize each festival locally and independently of other LadyFest events. Proceeds from LadyFest festivals are donated to non-profit organizations dedicated to eliminating the sexist oppressions of women.
Friday, October 13, 2006
NALAC Conference and Meeting Muses !!
The NALAC Conference in San Antonio was simply awesome!! A local writer gave me her ticket to attend. She said that my analytical mind would take away quite a bit from the conference and she just didn't have enough time in her schedule to attend. And why not, I was eager to be surrounded by people who have risked everything to love their work, their job, their contribution.
I was a little disappointed at how diluted the actual workshops were, but the people who attended rocked!!
The workshop on music was enlightening because it was in that moment that I felt that reoccuring theme in my life -- wishing to love something as much as they loved their work and their contribution. They were so fully engrossed and caught up in the moment and the audience felt truly transported. I admired and envied the musicians for having such a passion for their work that propelled them to get up every morning, as well as their ability to rouse the audience. I suppose the reason for going was that I wanted to be around passionate people, or people with passions! Being around so many muses and that kind of palpatable energy was really wonderful, re-energizing, and refreshing. I am not used to spending so many days socializing, or around that many people. I am not socially phobic, but it simply doesn't happen very often. Two particular muses made me smile much!! One particular muse gave great, long hugs. If I saw him today I'd hug him until he yelped -- which would not be difficult at all. :-)I feel privileged to have met them both. And the pianist kicks ass!!! You know who you are! You are playing at my wedding, don't you dare forget!! I will do the work on my end at finding the suitable mate. Arrrrghhhhh!
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Celebrando El Grito
A wonderful of day climbing, sun, jumping in the river, and good company!! But most importantly, a day of mental clarity due to physical challenges!!! 'Viva Emiliano Zapata' ! No downtown celebration for me of Mexican Independence and all the alcohol that that necessarily entails.
Tuesday, August 1, 2006
C'est Officiel.
Les différents visages de CoQuille......
