…. Still haven’t done it — written that entry about how and why Francisco Goya’s life and work relates to the mess we’re in today — but while I was out for an errand this afternoon, I passed a used book shop and saw in the window Gwyn A. Williams’s wonderful book, Goya and the […]
This entry is a continuation and commentary of sorts on David Weinberger writing here and here, and Frank Paynter responding here and here. There’s a lot of interesting commenting going back and forth on those two blogs, which you can read for yourself. Although I got into the fray a little bit by commenting on […]
Witch hunts have a certain pattern: first, you find a person you don’t like for some reason. Second, you find a reason to accuse them of something. Third, you create enough hysteria (one fingerprint becomes fingerprints, for eg.) to lock them up under Gestapo-like rulings (“material witness”) and then you squeeze them until they confess […]
David Leigh of The Guardian reported yesterday that UK forces taught torture methods: The sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison was not an invention of maverick guards, but part of a system of ill-treatment and degradation used by special forces soldiers that is now being disseminated among ordinary troops and contractors who […]
The breaks between my blog postings have gotten rather large, haven’t they? Well, much goes on offline and asks for attention, and some things online take up mental energy but don’t leave traces. So much to address, even as the “writing spaces” shrink like the night in the face of summer’s longer days… I do […]
The Christian Science Monitor has a stunning comprehensive report on the abuse of Iraqi prisoners of war by American soldiers: US general: Abu Ghraib abuse coverup, by Tom Regan (posted May 3, 2004). The article includes many hyperlinks to other news sources and background information. It quotes both sides, those who are outraged as well […]