Ken's (Pro)posterous Posts

Suck on it Los Angeles Times! Your protest coverage of #m1gs #mayday2012 Sucked!

Thu, 03 May 2012 13:47:01 -0700

May 2, 2012

The Los Angeles Times

Letters to the Editor

RE: "May Day rallies test LAPD," May 1, 2012

Dear Editor:

Sadly, with yesterday's report on the May Day protests in L.A. ("May
Day rallies test LAPD; Occupy activists square off with officers
downtown..."), the Times fell to a new low in its history of traditionally
poor coverage of political protests.

The Lawyers Guild had at least 60 legal observers stationed amongst the
numerous May Day protests. Three (3) arrests in the day-long schedule of
protests hardly qualifies as a "test" for the LAPD, whose top officers
repeatedly told me during the day that the day was "99% peaceful and
orderly" on the part of the protesters. (We are, however, still
investigating several legal observer reports of brutal behavior by some
members of the LAPD. A matter your reporters failed to cover.) The other
eight (8) arrests reported by the Times were, in fact, members of a union
protesting their employers at LAX, and those civil disobedience arrests were
planned well-in advance between the union and the LAPD and really had
nothing to do with the other May Day protests.

As to the article's report on the numbers and size of the protests, I
am left wondering if the article's reporters were even actually in Los
Angeles yesterday. I was present throughout the largest of the two principal
immigrant rights marches and rallies, and at the first, and biggest, other
reporters on the scene estimated the crowd as, "about 10,000," not "only
several hundred" as the Times reported.

In sum, your article, with its front page picture of a protester being
confronted by an angry cop, could only leave the reader with the clear
impression that a hand-full of trouble-makers came out yesterday to do
nothing more than "test" the LAPD and run wild in the streets, when the
truth is that thousands came out and peacefully protested economic injustice
towards immigrants, and all other workers in this nation.

Sincerely,

Jim Lafferty

Executive Director,

National Lawyers Guild, Los Angeles

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Demand Full Transparency on LAPD's Secret Spying Program - April 26th at 5 PM

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:15:22 -0700

Concerned Communities Join Forces at LAPD “Symposium” to Rescind Special Orders 1 & 11 and

Demand Full Transparency on LAPD’s Secret Spying Program!

The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition will hold a rally and press conference on Thursday April 26th at 5 PM at 100 W. 1st Street, LA calling on the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) for full transparency regarding LAPD’s secret spying program. A Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) “symposium” is to be held at LAPD headquarters at the same location later at 6:00 pm.

Coalition members will attend the "symposium" expecting an opportunity for full participation by the community in collective exchange of analysis, questions and impact of such policies.

JOIN US!

Thursday April 26th, 2012

Rally & Press Conference: 5 PM

LAPD “Symposium” begins: 6 PM

100 W. 1^st Street, Los Angeles

Corner of 1^st and Main – across city hall

For further information please call 562-230-4578

WILL WE SLEEP OR WILL WE FIGHT!!

http://stoplapdspying.org

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-LAPD-Spying-Campaign-to-Rescind-Special-Order-1/207946612645811

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My letter to @TomLaBonge re: #LAUSD District 5 #Redistricting. I hope the commission holds the line. #edu #socal

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 20:14:41 -0700

Dear Commission Members, I am writing to you as a Los Angeles native, homeowner in the impacted district, registered voter, and parent of an LAUSD middle-school student within the impacted region.
The proposed map has no tangible benefit to the students within the region; on the contrary, moving Garfield and unincorporated East Los Angeles into another district separates the community and makes navigating the LAUSD structure more challenging for me as someone who lives at the border of the City of Los Angeles and unincorporated East L.A.

Accepting the proposed map might provide individuals such as school board member Monica Garcia future political advantage but I pray the commission hold the line to its original purpose: to ensure that redistricting provides more power to voting Los Angelenos rather than a process benefitting those already in office.

Please consider my two points above (1. this map makes navigating LAUSD more confusing for parents; 2. this map doesn't benefit children in LAUSD or voters at large).
Thank you for your time and attention. I would present these comments in public but I am co-presenting at 9:45am for the .
Please feel free to contact me via email or surface mail with any questions.

Very truly yours.
/s/
Los Angeles, CA 90063

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Keep ELA in #LAUSD District 5, STOP THE POWER GRAB! CALL NOW!

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:20:57 -0700

The last public hearing concerning LAUSD Redistricting is tomorrow, April 25, at 8:30 AM. The City Council has their regular meeting afterwards (10 am) and we are an item on their agenda.

You still have time to call or send an email: Keep ELA and Garfield HS in LAUSD district 5! Stop the power grab by the mayor and monica. We have the democratic right to elect our own LAUSD Board member, to represent our interests to defend and expand public education, and keep the privatization charter school movement out of ELA, and to have local community control of our schools. That is why we elected our own LAUSD Board member Bennett Kayser last year and now, the mayor, monica and their big budget "nonprofit" ics is pushing to take over ELA, and violate our democratic right to elect our own representative!

Having two Board Members in the LAUSD for the greater Eastside of Boyle Heights and unincorporated ELA gives Latinos more representation. ics, monica and antonio want to have only one Board seat for greater Eastside. That means less representation, less democracy, and less diversity of political views. STOP THE POWER GRAB: Keep ELA in LAUSD District 5! ELA unincorporated is not part of LA City, the ELA Garfield HS Bulldog tradition is one of fighting to protect our community, protect and improve our schools, to fight for local representation!

We do not want to be taken over by the downtown political interests of the mayor with his puppet politicians like monica and his high paid poverty pimps like ics who dupe and use parents and students to support the mayors political goals. Act now attend the meeting, call or write and email to:

The LA City Council WILL decide on a final map April 25, Wednesday. Join by calling or writing to Council-members serving on the Rules Committee, who will make final recommendations, and send a message to KEEP ELA AND GARFIELD HS IN LAUSD DISTRICT 5!

CALL or send an email to Council President Wesson, 213-473-7010, Chair, Rules Committee (copy everyone else listed below). In the "To" Field edw.johnson@lacity.org (his Chief of Staff) and erika.pulst@lacity.org (Clerk for the Committee).

Copy:

Councilmember LaBonge (Vice Chair) 213-473-7004

tom.labonge@lacity.org

Jeanne.Min@lacity.org

Councilmember Buscaino 213-473-7015

doane.liu@lacity.org

Councilmember Huizar

Councilmember.Huizar@lacity.org 213-473-7014

Ana.Cubas@lacity.org

Councilmember Englander   213-473-7012

Councilmember.Englander@lacity.org
John.S.Lee@lacity.org

Carlos Montes

www.csosite.org

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.

Henry Ford.

Sent: Mon, Apr 23, 2012 11:07 pm
Subject: Fwd: Special Council Meeting regarding LAUSD Redistricting Info Wed.

Here are the minor changes re linking LAUSD district 5, it does not include GHS, only the far eastern areas of ELA, and parts of El Sereno. The NEW report and NEW recommendation by the Chief Legislative Aide of the LA City is, attached and in the web link below, in the Agenda item. Special meeting to vote on it is this Wednesday, at LA City Hall, see note below.

C.
Re-Alignment of Districts 2 and 5

Council District 10 has submitted a proposal that makes adjustments to the configuration of

Board Districts 2 and 5, and that also makes modifications to the proposed borders of Board

Districts 1, 4, and 7. The proposal (as detailed in Appendix C.3) would move the boundaries of

the corridor connecting the north and south sides of Board District 5 largely back to its existing

configuration along the eastern border of the LAUSD, move all of the Koreatown area,

Filipinotown, Chinatown, and Little Tokyo into one Board District, and reduce the number of

splits among different high school attendance zones.

This adjustment would reduce total population deviation

Carlos Montes

www.stopfbila.net

www.immigrationcoalition.org

www.csosite.org

www.fightbacknews.org

"Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right.

Henry Ford.

-----Original Message-----
From: Elizabeth Minemann <elizabeth.minemann@lacity.org>
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Sent: Mon, Apr 23, 2012 5:45 pm
Subject: Special Council Meeting regarding LAUSD Redistricting Info

Hello,

Please note:

SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2012

8 am committee meeting      and 10:A.M. OR AS SOON THEREAFTER

AS COUNCIL RECESSES ITS REGULAR MEETING

JOHN FERRARO COUNCIL CHAMBER

ROOM 340, CITY HALL

200 NORTH SPRING STREET, LOS ANGELES, CA 90012

http://ens.lacity.org/clk/councilagendas/clkcouncilagendas376777_04252012.pdf

Thank you.

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On-line Storage (a scattershot overview) #tech #minddump

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 18:34:09 -0700

I've been re-evaluating my on-line storage options this weekend. Currently, that buffet includes AmazonS3; Dropbox; SpiderOak; and a server for SCP/rsync. None of these solutions do what I need or want.

AmazonS3 has a nice free tier but, once it's no longer free, I don't know if I want to pay their data storage rates because I could always house PDFs and images elsewhere.
Dropbox is really nice but given their security snafus last year, I don't know if I feel confidence storing any sensitive data there. That being said, the autoupload from my android tablet is very cool because it ends up becoming an ad hoc backup of images taken with my tablet.

SpiderOak is a real interesting option because they are big on zero-knowledge which is something we should demand from our cloud vendors as default. I believe that was one of the Dropbox snafus, not having encryption on the data they're custodians of. As a general rule, this is one of the sexy features of SpiderOak. Another great feature is the polyfunctionality of the client: it does storage, sync, and sharing. The sync feature is really tight: it let's you sync across clients/devices.

The last tool, which I believe is not a practical tool for most people is access to a linux server and either setting up an rsync job or using an SCP tool with a GUI (WinSCP, FileZilla, etc). This route is good for techies but it isn't a very practical route for the average user.

At this point, I'm considering purchasing additional space on the SpiderOak server: a $100/year doesn't seem so bad....but then again, backing up docs via rsync, photos via amazons3, music via amazon music and google music, and system via time machine (yeah, i use a mac) might point to status quo being the most inexpensive though piecemeal solution.

I'm planning to look a little further into S3 as a solution to host things like PDF and video for certain applications related to work...but then again, embedding a clip and letting a scribd or vimeo take the traffic hit in exchange for a little branding might not be unreasonable given the uncertain recurring cost with long-term hosting w/in the S3 infrastructure.

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CitizenshipWorks Nominated for a Webby Award!

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:49:00 -0700

I really admire IAN and the support they get from PBN. ------Original Message------

We're excited to share that CitizenshipWorks (http://www.citizenshipworks.org), a project of the Immigration Advocates Network, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and Pro Bono Net, has been nominated for Best Law Site in the 16th Annual Webby Awards.
Hailed as the "Internet's highest honor" by The New York Times, The Webby Awards, presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS), is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.
As a nominee, CitizenshipWorks is also eligible for The Webby Awards' "People's Voice Award", which is voted for online by fans across the globe. CitizenshipWorks is currently leading the votes in its category! Please vote for us and help us maintain our lead! Here's how:
1. Visit the Law category at http://pv.webbyawards.com/ballot/64
2. Click "Sign-up to vote" at the top of the page and register to vote with your email address or use your Google, Facebook or Twitter account login. (This step only takes a minute.)
3. After you have created an account, return to http://pv.webbyawards.com/ballot/64. To vote, click the CitizenshipWorks logo and then click again to confirm your vote. If you see a voting tally with percentages, you have voted successfully. That's it!
Winners will be announced on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. If you have questions, email us at support@immigrationadvocates.org. Thanks for your support!
Best,
Immigration Advocates Network

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MEDIA Coverage: RECALL MONICA GARCIA

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 02:38:49 -0700

Amazing coverage of an effort to hold elected officials accountable.
RECALL MONICA GARCIA media coverage:
http://www.recallmonicagarcia.com/media_coverage
campaign launch: April 11, 2012 at LAUSD Beaudry

TELEVISION
Ch22 http://www.recallmonicagarcia.com/recall_monica_garcia_press_conference_april_11_2012

Univision Ch34 (link to be posted later)
NEWSPAPER
LA OPINION, 2nd page on April 12 http://www.recallmonicagarcia.com/la_opinion_covers_recall_monica_garcia_press_conference_april_11

DAILY NEWS http://www.dailynews.com/education/ci_20371766/lausd-critics-launch-campaign-recall-school-board-president

RADIO coverage
KPCC: http://www.scpr.org/blogs/education/2012/04/11/5535/lausd-board-president-target-recall-campaign/

KPFK: (link to be posted later)
AM690: "Nuestra Gente" April 11, 9:00pm
AM690: "Nuestra Gente" video of interviews:

AM 1020: April 12, 3:00pm
BLOGS
http://highlandpark-ca.patch.com/articles/protesters-call-for-firing-of-lausd-board-chief-video#youtube_video-9569457

http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2012/04/lausd-recall-monica-garciaits-good.html
PROFESSIONAL FREELANCE
Pocho One Photography:

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The lesson of Ellison's Invisible Man...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 11:16:56 -0700

This is part of an email I wrote to our talented communications team today. I thought I'd share an excerpt because it underscores how sometimes, for the sake of appearing neutral, we actually (and unintentionally) perpetuate the invisibility that is ingrained in the racist society that we've inherited.
First off, people of color subjected to violence deserve to be named. Racism works by removing the humanity of the proverbial other and always making the person an outsider via labels such as country of origin, race, gender, etc. Second, the FBI is looking at it as a murder. A murder is VERY different from a tragic death. A tragic death is me breaking my neck because I slipped and fell in a bathtub. A murder would be me getting beat to death by the cops, even if they say it was provoked, would be murder. Here, there was a xenophobic come racist note next to the body.
I know we can't put up something like the feministing piece (which i <3), but at least naming those that society wants to remain nameless is part of our role as a civil rights org. http://feministing.com/2012/03/26/shaima-alawadi-iraqi-woman-murdered-in-ca/ --

I think that there's a delicate balance communications folks have to walk: how do we/they avoid alienating folks while being perfectly clear/honest with folks who have a different analysis predicated by their class or race-based privilege? Anyhow, it's a challenge for all of us; I know I sometimes euphemize tragedy for the sake of group comfort. In my silencing, I'm helping racism grow stronger....which is the path of least resistance.

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Angela Davis on Trayvon Martin (Rest in Freedom)

Mon, 26 Mar 2012 15:20:25 -0700

“Trayvon’s blackness wasn’t something he could hide, so it wouldn’t have mattered whether he’d worn a hoodie or a t-shirt that fateful night. It mattered that he was black, and it mattered that the person who shot him had a vendetta out for black men before Trayvon ever set foot in the neighborhood. It matters that in 2012, there are more black men in prison today than those who were enslaved in 1850. It matters that blacks, in particular black men, are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and underrepresented in colleges. It matters that the black unemployment rate is nearly double that of unemployment for the general population. It matters that blacks are less likely to be screened, diagnosed, and treated for preventable diseases, less likely to own homes, less likely to receive research grants, and more likely to retire in poverty than their white counterparts. It matters that blacks are less likely than whites to abuse drugs, but more likely to be convicted of drug crimes. None of these statistics are due to a genetic predisposition to violence, poor health and underachievement, instead as a direct result of the disenfranchisement of blacks that has occurred in this country for more than 200 years at the hands of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, discrimination, and the institutionalized racism in our schools, banks, businesses, courts, and prisons that has torn apart our families and fractured our community. Just like Trayvon Martin, race mattered for Amadou Diallo, Oscar Grant, Sean Bell, Emmett Till, and hundreds more we will never know the name of who died because of their skin color.”
~Angela Marie Davis

much love,
-daNaE-

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Fw: Posterous has been acquired by Twitter

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:04:13 -0700

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile
From: Posterous Spaces <no-reply@posterous.com>
Date: Mon, 19 Mar 2012 19:57:34 -0700
To: <kmontenegro@comeuppance.net>
Subject: Posterous has been acquired by Twitter

Hi Ken,

I’m thrilled to announce that Posterous has been acquired by Twitter!

The opportunities in front of Twitter are exciting, and we couldn’t be happier to bring our technology and expertise to hundreds of millions of users around the globe. Plus, the people at Twitter are genuinely nice folks who share our vision for making sharing simpler.

Posterous Spaces will remain up and running without disruption. We’ll give users ample notice if we make any changes to the service. For users who would like to back up their content or move to another service, we’ll share clear instructions for doing so in the coming weeks.

You can find more information answers to other questions you may have here.

Finally, I’d like to offer thanks to everyone, especially those who have been with Posterous since day one. The last four years have been an amazing journey. Your encouragement, praise and criticism have made Posterous better, and I really appreciate everything you’ve done.

Thanks again and I look forward to building great things for you at Twitter.

- Sachin

Posterous Spaces loves posting for you!

Post now by emailing post@posterous.com »

Attach photos, music, video, documents and any type of file. We take care of the rest.

You're receiving this email because you signed up for a posterous account.
Change your email settings or unfollow

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Hood Sounds #90033

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:09:15 -0800

VN-20120308-00001.amr Listen on Posterous

Because being hood is more tragic than a badge of honor. Love hearing, "I should have been selling my ass because by now I'd have a house."

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House Hunting (a preamble)

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:38:28 -0800

On the list, writing about attempting to buy a house from flippers. It's interesting as far as it triggers thoughts about expectations, world views, economic privilege, and what property means (the "bundle of rights").
Good times...especially if the seller comes around.

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STOP LAPD SPYING TOWNHALL: Saturday March 3, 2012

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 11:52:00 -0800

COMMUNITY TOWNHALL MEETING

Immigrants, Youth, Formerly Incarcerated People, and Other Concerned Communities Join Forces to Stop Civil Rights Abuses Authorized in LAPD “Special Order 1”

Learn about the campaign to rescind LAPD’s Special Order 1 (formerly Special Order 11), a policy directive that infringes on privacy and civil liberties, promotes racial profiling and legitimizes spying by law enforcement.

JOIN US!   GET INVOLVED!!

Saturday March 3rd, 2012at 10:30 AM

828 W. Washington Bl., Los Angeles, CA 90015

(SEIU USWW Union hall)

For further information please call Hamid Khan at 562-230-4578 or email at hamidk@cangress.org

http://www.facebook.com/events/318021458235905

www.stoplapdspying.org

SO 1 - Townhall flier.pdf Download this file

SO 1 - Townhall flier ESPANOL.pdf Download this file

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I'm getting an award from the #NLG!!! Come out if you're in #SoCal for a good time. #fb #li

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:46:59 -0800

HERE’S YOUR INVITATION TO THE LA/NLG’S “2012 WINTER AWARDS PARTY”
Honoring Lawyers Guild Attorneys who Defended Occupy LA!

Saturday, February 25^th, from 7:00-120:00 p.m.
Great food & Drinks!

Dance to the Music of the Popular, “Los Jornaleros Del Norte!”
All for the Low Price of $50.00 person, $25.00 for students!

Location: SEIU Service Workers West, 828 W. Washington Blvd., L.A., CA 90015

HONORING: LA/National Lawyers Guild Attorneys ERIN DARLING, JOHN MICHAEL LEE,KEN MONTENEGRO, SRI PANCHALAM, CAROLYN PARK, MATTHEW STRUGAR & MIKE TORCIVIA, for their outstanding work on behalf of defending Occupy LA!

Use the Form Below to Reserve Your tickets Now!

Name:_____________________________________________Phone#__________________

E-Mail Address:_________________________________________

Number of Tickets: ____________________Send Check, Payable to “NLG” to, National Lawyers Guild, 8124 W. Third St., Ste. 101,

LA, CA 90048; or e-mail ticket order to: jlafferty@nlg-la.org; or phone in order to: 323/653-4510 (Tickets held at door.)

And please consider buying an extra ticket or two for low-income guests!

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You've just been ousted as the mayor of Escandalo Cantina!

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:41:09 -0800

Sorry for the bad news, but Juan has just ousted you as mayor of Escandalo Cantina!
https://foursquare.com/v/escandalo-cantina/4e556afaaeb75a7448e083ce

Don't take it too hard - a few more check-ins and you could be back on top...
Good Luck!
- Your friends @ foursquare

foursquare labs, Inc. 568 Broadway, New York, NY 10012

Please remember you can always go to your User Settings page to adjust your account and contact info, privacy controls, email preferences and options linking to Twitter and Facebook.

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For The Sorrow Of A Continent by S. Mehmedinovic

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 11:56:00 -0700

This is from the lovely City Lights Pocket Poets Series. The book is Nine Alexandrias by Semezdin Mehmedinovic. Mehmedinovic is interesting in his own right given his experiences in the attempted genocide of his people in the Balkans.

What struck me about this piece is the universal dislocation that's a recurrent theme in so much of the art that I like. There a sense of knowing you're never going to be home, you're never going to be comfortable. But that's OK. It just is.

Going from one American coast to another,

I saw lonely people, sorrowful and angry,

I saw good people, and even those transmitted the

Only warmth they had to the ring on their finger

And I believe I've preserved a sorrowful expression

Within me for the sorrow of a continent

Just like a train preserves the memory of a galleon

Since every message reaches me across my feet

What I mean is, I'm a political

Emigre every trip I take

Always on ground treading water

I feel like I shouldn't be here

And that I'm standing on the planet Diagonally

Like those kids drawn on greeting cards put out by UNICEF

Always on ground treading water and train preserving the memory of the galleon are my favorite images in this piece.

And now, to the not so beautiful, the features list for a phone system.

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Birthday Cake by Paul Goodman #poetry

Sat, 06 Aug 2011 12:54:10 -0700

This is from the selection of poems in the Paul Goodman Reader:
Birthday Cake

Now isn't it time
when the candles on the icing
are one two too many
too many to blow out
too many to count too many
isnit it time to give up this ritual?

although the fiery crown
fluttering on the chocolate
and through the darkened room advancing
is still the most loveliest sight
among our savage folk
that have few festivals.

But the thicket is too hot and thick
and isn't it time, isn't it time
where the fires are too many
to eat the fire and not the cake
and drip the fires from my teeth
as once I had my hot hot youth.

Amazing and lovely.

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From Robert Kelly's Last Light

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 22:31:06 -0700

I have believed in time
& in time
come
to this meadow
where all the
moments of time are one
I'm reading an old anthology that my friend Anthony turned me on to. It's called, The Voice That Is Great Within Us edited by Hayden Carruth. I want an editor somewhere to use the same logic or criteria as Carruth did on this in 1970. The selections are amazing (by and large).

This selection from Last Light makes me think of Auden or Eliot's Four Quartets.

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Timely Poem by Bill Knott: Testament

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 09:46:11 -0700

TESTAMENT
You know the fable
How a soldier’s bible
Kept in his jacket pocket
Stopped a bullet
But that catechism
Born to foster schism
Also stopped his heart his

Mind from finding peace
He would not have had need
Of such a shield
Nor would his blood have been
Thrilled to kill someone
Of another faith
If in that book he had not first read death

====
As we enter yet another war (because we need a trinity thereof at a time), this poem should resonate strongly.
Bill Knott is part of the twitterverse: you can find him at @notknott

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War Talk (part 1)

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 20:05:34 -0800

I remember borrowing this book years ago and being both moved and amazed at the artistry behind Roy's words and, more importantly (maybe) the incisive analysis coupled with intellectual honesty. Once upon a time, the artistry of her words would have been enough...but that's a different topic.
Now, as the third (or fourth) book post bar-exam, I'm re-reading it with a bit more pause and within the context of the Bush years having come to their superficial end (though the policies remain entrenched and enshrined by the "opposition" party".

There were moments where the observations/realities of the Indian sub-contintent transfer to the realities in the United States of America. One such instance is:
"Why isn't there a peace movement?" Western journalists ask me ingenously. How can there be a peace movement when...peace means a daily battle: for food, for water, for shelter, for dignity.
A statement regarding impunity by politicians resonates here given the impunity of Bush, Rumsfeld, most bank CEOs and CFOs, Timothy Geithner, and, given the status of Bradley Manning and Gitmo torture, President Obama:

Resignation? Have we lost all sense of proportion? Criminals are not meant to resign. They're meant to be charged, tried, and convicted.
Finally, the issue of nationalism and fascism is addressed or examined thusly:

It's disturbing to see how neatly nationalism dovetails into fascism. ....nationalism -in its many avatars: communist, capitalist, and fascist- has been at the root of almost all of the genocide of the 20th century.

Each time you defend the rights of an institution, any institution (including the Surpeme Court), to exercise unfettered, unaccountable powers that must never be challenged, you move toward fascism. Fighting it means fighting to win back the minds and hearts of people. It means keeping an eagle eye on public institutions and demanding accountability. It means putting your ear to the ground and listening to the whispering of the truly powerless.

I wonder if our movements will continue to be decimated by economic comforts of the first world. By sinecure (yes, I'm slightly guilty of liking my comfort), or the proverbial seat at the table.

Or, like the alleged immigrant rights movement in the US, will we always allow organizational power to trump people power? Will we here the voices of those directly impacted or will we continue to listen to learned and "objective" talking heads? How do we take those spaces back and put the voice of the impacted at the center...even if that means that our brand isn't visible...or if the person steps outside our externally imposed messaging frame? More importantly, as someone who has suckled at the teat of the NPIC for almost 20 years, how do we wean ourselves so that these voices can come through?

As Roy says, "Heaven help us make it through the night".

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