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Aug
31
Close to the source news from New Orleans
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Riveting, even if MSM. More coverage on main page.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:22 pm August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
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Aug
31
Going down, down, down
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Latest news on President Bush’s job approval rate. (45%) (lowest ever recorded for him) (down seven points from January) (poll by Washington Post – ABC)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:11 pm August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
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Aug
31
Eyelids as full as Lake Pontratrain; Muffin tops; and SPORTS!
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I fell asleep easily to the sounds of wind and rain, as remnants of Katrina made her way into Ohio. But when I woke up, my first thought was of New Orleans. And, as I listened to the 6:15am news, tears welled up and over my lids like flood water over a levee. You should have seen me when the Twin Towers fell and I didn’t hear from my brother who works five blocks away for a day.
And I’ve only been a visitor to these cities.
Do these occurrences, experienced from outside the locales, make anyone else feel like a television viewer in the movie, The Truman Show? That was the Jim Carrey film in which everyone – including all the people that lived in his town – but Jim Carrey knew that his character was living out life in a completely propped up setting and only Ed Harris knew what would happen.
Other than God, if even God, there’s no Ed Harris character in Hurricane Katrina. Although the prospects of recovery look way beyond daunting.
Here, weather reports predict up to five inches of rain in some areas and maybe tornados, but I’m not blinking an eye.
My former college roommate from N.O., who evacuated to Tennessee, writes that her husband works for a national company and expects to start back to work from TN until they can return home. They’re trying to keep life normal for their third grade daughter, who is obviously out of school – like hundreds of thousands of other children across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
There hasn’t been too much about the effect of the disaster on children, probably because saving them seems to be the most immediate need. I’ve heard stories about babies from NICUs being helicoptered to Baton Rouge. The National Mental Health Association posted some information for how to help children cope.
My friend says not to send any items, just money. We’ve donated through the UJC before and they tell us not to send to local LA, MS or AL agencies because, well, they’re not in their local places right now.
No more word from my friends in Fairhope, AL, which is about an hour southeast of Mobile, on the bay. I’m hoping that everything is alright, just chaotic. Mobile got slammed, too.
__________
So am I really out there with my daughter now, even on mornings like this?
Not only am I out there, but today, I was out there in my vented pink mules, bathrobe (tightly wrapped), pink flower-lined trench coat (such a deal) and a children’s sky-blue rain coat with Impressionist fish and ducks on it. Why the last piece of clothing? Because it had a hood to protect me from the raindrops. I’d melt otherwise.
__________
You’ll never see my muffin top
I caught up with the Sunday papers last night and laughed through William Safire’s rant on the phrase “muffin top.” Do men have any idea about the terms we use to describe some of their less attractive styles and habits?
__________
Go Luxembourg!
Andy Roddick lost in the first round of the U.S. Open yesterday, on his 23rd birthday to 22 year old Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Let’s give him a collective “awwww.”
I don’t know Gilles, but one of my Chinese major classmates in college was a girl named Christina Hassensomething or other and she was a like a minor princess or something, definitely from Luxembourg (I used to say Lichtenstein to tease her). She had a Zsa Zsa Gabor accent (imagine that in Chinese language lab) and drove a shiny red MG, as a freshman. She was a BEOC (Big Euro On Campus).
Anyway, that’s my encounter with Luxembourg. I doubt that knowledge would’ve helped Andy, except that she was very cute. Of course, now she’s my age and well, I’m old enough to be Andy’s mom. Eww.
Next up for Muller is Robby Ginepre, a little known American.
BTW, have you looked at the printable versions of any draw? They’re nearly impossible to read. Yeah, yeah – I know – I could just enlarge it to like 400%. But seriously, I’ll wait until more folks are eliminated. I just don’t like squinting that much (deepens my wrinkles).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:25 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Close to the source news from New Orleans
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Riveting, even if MSM. More coverage on main page.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:22 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Going down, down, down
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Latest news on President Bush’s job approval rate. (45%) (lowest ever recorded for him) (down seven points from January) (poll by Washington Post – ABC)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:11 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Eyelids as full as Lake Pontratrain; Muffin tops; and SPORTS!
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
I fell asleep easily to the sounds of wind and rain, as remnants of Katrina made her way into Ohio. But when I woke up, my first thought was of New Orleans. And, as I listened to the 6:15am news, tears welled up and over my lids like flood water over a levee. You should have seen me when the Twin Towers fell and I didn’t hear from my brother who works five blocks away for a day.
And I’ve only been a visitor to these cities.
Do these occurrences, experienced from outside the locales, make anyone else feel like a television viewer in the movie, The Truman Show? That was the Jim Carrey film in which everyone – including all the people that lived in his town – but Jim Carrey knew that his character was living out life in a completely propped up setting and only Ed Harris knew what would happen.
Other than God, if even God, there’s no Ed Harris character in Hurricane Katrina. Although the prospects of recovery look way beyond daunting.
Here, weather reports predict up to five inches of rain in some areas and maybe tornados, but I’m not blinking an eye.
My former college roommate from N.O., who evacuated to Tennessee, writes that her husband works for a national company and expects to start back to work from TN until they can return home. They’re trying to keep life normal for their third grade daughter, who is obviously out of school – like hundreds of thousands of other children across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
There hasn’t been too much about the effect of the disaster on children, probably because saving them seems to be the most immediate need. I’ve heard stories about babies from NICUs being helicoptered to Baton Rouge. The National Mental Health Association posted some information for how to help children cope.
My friend says not to send any items, just money. We’ve donated through the UJC before and they tell us not to send to local LA, MS or AL agencies because, well, they’re not in their local places right now.
No more word from my friends in Fairhope, AL, which is about an hour southeast of Mobile, on the bay. I’m hoping that everything is alright, just chaotic. Mobile got slammed, too.
__________
So am I really out there with my daughter now, even on mornings like this?
Not only am I out there, but today, I was out there in my vented pink mules, bathrobe (tightly wrapped), pink flower-lined trench coat (such a deal) and a children’s sky-blue rain coat with Impressionist fish and ducks on it. Why the last piece of clothing? Because it had a hood to protect me from the raindrops. I’d melt otherwise.
__________
You’ll never see my muffin top
I caught up with the Sunday papers last night and laughed through William Safire’s rant on the phrase “muffin top.” Do men have any idea about the terms we use to describe some of their less attractive styles and habits?
__________
Go Luxembourg!
Andy Roddick lost in the first round of the U.S. Open yesterday, on his 23rd birthday to 22 year old Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Let’s give him a collective “awwww.”
I don’t know Gilles, but one of my Chinese major classmates in college was a girl named Christina Hassensomething or other and she was a like a minor princess or something, definitely from Luxembourg (I used to say Lichtenstein to tease her). She had a Zsa Zsa Gabor accent (imagine that in Chinese language lab) and drove a shiny red MG, as a freshman. She was a BEOC (Big Euro On Campus).
Anyway, that’s my encounter with Luxembourg. I doubt that knowledge would’ve helped Andy, except that she was very cute. Of course, now she’s my age and well, I’m old enough to be Andy’s mom. Eww.
Next up for Muller is Robby Ginepre, a little known American.
BTW, have you looked at the printable versions of any draw? They’re nearly impossible to read. Yeah, yeah – I know – I could just enlarge it to like 400%. But seriously, I’ll wait until more folks are eliminated. I just don’t like squinting that much (deepens my wrinkles).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 7:25 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Close to the source news from New Orleans
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Riveting, even if MSM. More coverage on main page.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:22 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Going down, down, down
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Latest news on President Bush’s job approval rate. (45%) (lowest ever recorded for him) (down seven points from January) (poll by Washington Post – ABC)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:11 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
31
Eyelids as full as Lake Pontratrain; Muffin tops; and SPORTS!
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
I fell asleep easily to the sounds of wind and rain, as remnants of Katrina made her way into Ohio. But when I woke up, my first thought was of New Orleans. And, as I listened to the 6:15am news, tears welled up and over my lids like flood water over a levee. You should have seen me when the Twin Towers fell and I didn’t hear from my brother who works five blocks away for a day.
And I’ve only been a visitor to these cities.
Do these occurrences, experienced from outside the locales, make anyone else feel like a television viewer in the movie, The Truman Show? That was the Jim Carrey film in which everyone – including all the people that lived in his town – but Jim Carrey knew that his character was living out life in a completely propped up setting and only Ed Harris knew what would happen.
Other than God, if even God, there’s no Ed Harris character in Hurricane Katrina. Although the prospects of recovery look way beyond daunting.
Here, weather reports predict up to five inches of rain in some areas and maybe tornados, but I’m not blinking an eye.
My former college roommate from N.O., who evacuated to Tennessee, writes that her husband works for a national company and expects to start back to work from TN until they can return home. They’re trying to keep life normal for their third grade daughter, who is obviously out of school – like hundreds of thousands of other children across Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
There hasn’t been too much about the effect of the disaster on children, probably because saving them seems to be the most immediate need. I’ve heard stories about babies from NICUs being helicoptered to Baton Rouge. The National Mental Health Association posted some information for how to help children cope.
My friend says not to send any items, just money. We’ve donated through the UJC before and they tell us not to send to local LA, MS or AL agencies because, well, they’re not in their local places right now.
No more word from my friends in Fairhope, AL, which is about an hour southeast of Mobile, on the bay. I’m hoping that everything is alright, just chaotic. Mobile got slammed, too.
__________
So am I really out there with my daughter now, even on mornings like this?
Not only am I out there, but today, I was out there in my vented pink mules, bathrobe (tightly wrapped), pink flower-lined trench coat (such a deal) and a children’s sky-blue rain coat with Impressionist fish and ducks on it. Why the last piece of clothing? Because it had a hood to protect me from the raindrops. I’d melt otherwise.
__________
You’ll never see my muffin top
I caught up with the Sunday papers last night and laughed through William Safire’s rant on the phrase “muffin top.” Do men have any idea about the terms we use to describe some of their less attractive styles and habits?
__________
Go Luxembourg!
Andy Roddick lost in the first round of the U.S. Open yesterday, on his 23rd birthday to 22 year old Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. Let’s give him a collective “awwww.”
I don’t know Gilles, but one of my Chinese major classmates in college was a girl named Christina Hassensomething or other and she was a like a minor princess or something, definitely from Luxembourg (I used to say Lichtenstein to tease her). She had a Zsa Zsa Gabor accent (imagine that in Chinese language lab) and drove a shiny red MG, as a freshman. She was a BEOC (Big Euro On Campus).
Anyway, that’s my encounter with Luxembourg. I doubt that knowledge would’ve helped Andy, except that she was very cute. Of course, now she’s my age and well, I’m old enough to be Andy’s mom. Eww.
Next up for Muller is Robby Ginepre, a little known American.
BTW, have you looked at the printable versions of any draw? They’re nearly impossible to read. Yeah, yeah – I know – I could just enlarge it to like 400%. But seriously, I’ll wait until more folks are eliminated. I just don’t like squinting that much (deepens my wrinkles).
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:25 am August 31st, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
Hang up epidemic?
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Even if that’s the case, I count myself in good company.
First, I hate polling and telemarketing calls that come in at the dinner hour. That might be when you’ll find me home, but it’s also when you’ll find me harried – meaning, I’m not talking to you.
If you’re a political entity or nonprofit or a bunch of other groups, I can’t make you stop with the do not call list. But I can not answer the phone, or not answer your questions.
Well – tonight, someone called to ask me questions for the Ohio something something. I asked who was sponsoring the survey. He said CCI. I said, who’s CCI. They’re the company implementing the survey. So I said, but someone must be commissioning the survey – is it a political party like the Ohio Democrats or the Ohio Republicans? He said, yes. I said, groovy – now which one is it? He said Democrats. And I said – Well alright! Ask away.
So he starts to ask me some questions, I answer, and then I get beeped. It’s the dinner hour in a house of three kids – busy time. I quickly dis the other caller and go back to the surveyor – AND HE’S HUNG UP ON ME.
No wonder why my own party can’t get things straight.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:01 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
Hang up epidemic?
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Even if that’s the case, I count myself in good company.
First, I hate polling and telemarketing calls that come in at the dinner hour. That might be when you’ll find me home, but it’s also when you’ll find me harried – meaning, I’m not talking to you.
If you’re a political entity or nonprofit or a bunch of other groups, I can’t make you stop with the do not call list. But I can not answer the phone, or not answer your questions.
Well – tonight, someone called to ask me questions for the Ohio something something. I asked who was sponsoring the survey. He said CCI. I said, who’s CCI. They’re the company implementing the survey. So I said, but someone must be commissioning the survey – is it a political party like the Ohio Democrats or the Ohio Republicans? He said, yes. I said, groovy – now which one is it? He said Democrats. And I said – Well alright! Ask away.
So he starts to ask me some questions, I answer, and then I get beeped. It’s the dinner hour in a house of three kids – busy time. I quickly dis the other caller and go back to the surveyor – AND HE’S HUNG UP ON ME.
No wonder why my own party can’t get things straight.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 6:01 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
Egypt’s blog scene gives voice to dissent
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
This article from the Christian Science Monitor discusses the use of blogs in Middle Eastern countries to advocate, organize and act:
Many Arab bloggers are tackling sensitive political and human rights issues rarely broached by the state-controlled media. They are proving to be a powerful source of information, capable of reaching a few hundred like-minded activists, or of rallying international attention to a cherished cause.
After government supporters attacked and beat protesters in late May, Egypt’s blogging community led the effort to publicize what had happened.
“I had never heard the word blogger until May 25,” says Rabab al-Mahdi, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo, and an opposition activist. “But now I know them well because of all the amazing coverage they had of the protests. My friends overseas all followed what happened through the blogs, because they have more credibility than the mainstream media.”
Activists in Egypt rely on blogs like Fattah’s to find out the time and place of future demonstrations, to learn who has been arrested and where they have been taken, and to debate the effectiveness of opposition strategies. In short order, Egypt’s bloggers have become a political force, capable of more than merely commenting from the sidelines.
In early June, Fattah and two other bloggers decided they were tired of protesting in the same tired locations, with the same hackneyed slogans. Acting independently of opposition elders, they used their blogs to organize a protest in a working-class Cairo neighborhood, which attracted a respectable 300 people. The young bloggers’ innovative logos, slogans, and choice of location prompted a sweeping debate among the Egyptian opposition.
Similarly, after three suicide bombers pounded the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 23, three other Egyptian bloggers organized an antiterrorism candle light vigil. It attracted so much interest that the government banned it at the last minute.
Read the whole article here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:22 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
Hang up epidemic?
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Even if that’s the case, I count myself in good company.
First, I hate polling and telemarketing calls that come in at the dinner hour. That might be when you’ll find me home, but it’s also when you’ll find me harried – meaning, I’m not talking to you.
If you’re a political entity or nonprofit or a bunch of other groups, I can’t make you stop with the do not call list. But I can not answer the phone, or not answer your questions.
Well – tonight, someone called to ask me questions for the Ohio something something. I asked who was sponsoring the survey. He said CCI. I said, who’s CCI. They’re the company implementing the survey. So I said, but someone must be commissioning the survey – is it a political party like the Ohio Democrats or the Ohio Republicans? He said, yes. I said, groovy – now which one is it? He said Democrats. And I said – Well alright! Ask away.
So he starts to ask me some questions, I answer, and then I get beeped. It’s the dinner hour in a house of three kids – busy time. I quickly dis the other caller and go back to the surveyor – AND HE’S HUNG UP ON ME.
No wonder why my own party can’t get things straight.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:01 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
If she weren’t in Crawford…
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Ok. I know squat about Gold Star Families for Peace (I mean, nothing – I didn’t even get the name right as I tried to google it) and I don’t know all that much more about Cindy Sheehan – no more than anyone else who reads papers and blogs and watches cable news.
But if I didn’t know of her, and the ad that I just saw on CNN (11am Tues.) came on, and I listened to the words coming from the person’s mouth, I have to tell you – I agree with everything she said, and her sentiments. I just do. I understand exactly what she’s saying and I’m okay with how she’s saying it.
Too bad it seems as though everything that’s been piled on top of the message – including the person designated as the messenger – has obscured and nearly ridiculed the message itself.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:00 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
“We are a valiant people. We will endure…there are so many more people who lost their lives…”
This from a woman named Harriet, who was being interviewed by a CNN correspondent moments ago as they overlooked the devastation, in the sun now, from Hurricane Katrina.
Twenty minutes before that, CNN broadcast a report from correspondent Jeanne Meserve. She struggled to not break down, but lost it more than a few times as she recounted story after story to someone who sounded like Aaron Brown (what’s he doing on in the morning?):
Animals still alive while tangled in and unable to free themselves from electrical wires. Children being plucked and helicoptered away from their homes. A CNN employee unseen for hours after trying to help someone else in need.
My good friend and college roommate who grew up in N.O evacuated to Nashville with her husband and daughter. She knows nothing about her home, but her mother saw her neighborhood on television and knows that it’s underwater.
For anyone who’s never been, New Orleans is an amazing place. And not just because tombs are above ground (except for the Jewish ones – they got special dispensation to be buried beneath – guess they might also be the ones most likely to float? does that mean they’re witches? too much free association here)(did you know that even with the French and Spanish history of N.O., a Jewish guy gave a ton of money early on and his name is on a huge plaque in the French Quarter right at a big entrance to the boardwalk) or because of Bourbon Street or because of the movie The Big Easy.
New Orleans is a great city because of the diversity in its history and its present. Its geographic significance. It’s religious significance. It’s sports significance. It’s universities. The home of Mardi Gras.
Hey – how about that Louisiana Civil Code for those of us who went to law school? How could you not love a place that codifies common law?
You can guess I’ve been there a few times. And each visit occupies its own place in my mind and in my history.
Visit 1. 1982 NCAA Final Four. Sophomore in college. Junior year roommate-t0-be from N.O. Close friend from Selma, AL. Bus trip from D.C. to N.O. Hours and hours and hours to get there. Most memorable image from the bus ride: Sandy DuPlantier (native N.O., and now lawyer) doing splits in the bus aisle to the song Get Down On It.
I didn’t sleep much for three days, but I cheered my voice out, partied like an O.U. student (couldn’t resist – sorry) and created other memories that will die with only me. (If you remember who made “the pass” and which team won, I’ll buy you a Hurricane. Hmm – I wonder how the reputation of that famous N.O. drink will change now. Now, if you remember the top two players on the other team, I’ll buy you that big, sits on the cement and goes up to your chin Hurricane.)
I’ll give you a hint on “the pass” – he was a sociology major (I know because I was too – only 11 of us out of, like, 1500 students).
Visit 2. Early 1990s. The Ombudsman Association had its annual conference in N.O. and I went. It was one of my first trips alone after having had a child. The House of Blues had just opened and the food was outstanding as always. Great fun. And I didn’t even call home that much.
Visit 3. October 2001. This was a trip of opposites. It was planned pre-9/11 as a 40th birthday celebration and N.O. reunion of Georgetown pals – the original group that had gone in 1982, plus one. After 9/11, none of wanted to cancel. All of us had lived abroad and traveled enough to continue traveling.
I’ll never forget how dead Hopkins was the day I left. DEAD. And absent of anyone who looked different. It seemed as though only middle-aged white males were milling in the terminals. And, really, no one was milling.
Totally eerie.
Four of us rented a condo for four days. Three of us flew in and the friend from AL drove. Once again, I talked with my friends until I lost my voice, slept little and drank a lot and made some memories I’ll never share.
However, I did not flash on Bourbon Street – even though I wasn’t yet 40, somehow, I just wasn’t into it. Which none of these friends could believe because in college, among this group, I was “the girl most likely to.” (If you haven’t read the Susan Sarandon entry, you might want to now.)
I did, however, go to a club where they had foam dancing. No one in Cleveland had ever heard of it, but a few months later, there actually was an article in the PD about foam parties at local clubs. I don’t know if they ever caught on here. I was a party-pooper that night in N.O., though, because, not only didn’t I flash, I also stayed at the downstairs bar where no foam could reach me.
Just from the national guard presence at the airport, I knew something was different on the trip back, Sunday, October 7, 2001. Those men had not been there three days ago when I arrived. And now, they were everywhere around the serpentine security line.
Earlier, I’d been told that my name came up on some search and they had to inspect my bags by hand before they went into baggage check. Then, I was told I had to be wanded. When my face registered frustration at that prospect, the couldn’t have been more than 20 year National Guardsman said something like, some ladies really like it.
Ok, pal. Bad thing to say to someone who’s almost 40, married with three kids and a lawyer and social worker.
I got wanded, picked up my bags and backtracked to the Guardsman. In my most polite, eyelash batting fashion possible, I told him that there are federal laws against harassing women and while I didn’t think he was harassing me, I told him that I thought some women passing through security might interpret such comments otherwise.
And you know what? He thanked me. Now that was unexpected. And, although I can’t quite say that he made me feel badly for saying something to him, he was very sincere in his thanks and I do believe that it never occurred to him that even one-liners like that can be offensive. And, of course, are totally unnecessary.
Anyway, anyone who keeps a political or war-oriented blog will know what was going on without me saying much more. But I didn’t get to figure it out until several hours later when I had to sit in my plane, on the tarmac, in Cleveland. We’re all cellphoning our SOs and immediately we’re buzzing: the U.S. started to bomb Afghanistan just after our plane lifted off.
So, of course, all of us on the plane figured air space was shut down, or there was a terrorist attact. Turned out there was a security breach in Hopkins.
But to be on that plane and not know, for two hours, what was going on, and for our loved ones to only be able to tell us that, well, we’d just started bombing Afghanistan…now that was a memory I hadn’t anticipated.
So, like Harriet on CNN said, “We are a valiant people. We will endure.”
Godspeed Harriet.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 1:14 pm August 30th, 2005 in Politics | 4 Comments
Print This Post
Aug
30
Egypt’s blog scene gives voice to dissent
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
This article from the Christian Science Monitor discusses the use of blogs in Middle Eastern countries to advocate, organize and act:
Many Arab bloggers are tackling sensitive political and human rights issues rarely broached by the state-controlled media. They are proving to be a powerful source of information, capable of reaching a few hundred like-minded activists, or of rallying international attention to a cherished cause.
After government supporters attacked and beat protesters in late May, Egypt’s blogging community led the effort to publicize what had happened.
“I had never heard the word blogger until May 25,” says Rabab al-Mahdi, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo, and an opposition activist. “But now I know them well because of all the amazing coverage they had of the protests. My friends overseas all followed what happened through the blogs, because they have more credibility than the mainstream media.”
Activists in Egypt rely on blogs like Fattah’s to find out the time and place of future demonstrations, to learn who has been arrested and where they have been taken, and to debate the effectiveness of opposition strategies. In short order, Egypt’s bloggers have become a political force, capable of more than merely commenting from the sidelines.
In early June, Fattah and two other bloggers decided they were tired of protesting in the same tired locations, with the same hackneyed slogans. Acting independently of opposition elders, they used their blogs to organize a protest in a working-class Cairo neighborhood, which attracted a respectable 300 people. The young bloggers’ innovative logos, slogans, and choice of location prompted a sweeping debate among the Egyptian opposition.
Similarly, after three suicide bombers pounded the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 23, three other Egyptian bloggers organized an antiterrorism candle light vigil. It attracted so much interest that the government banned it at the last minute.
Read the whole article here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:22 am August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
If she weren’t in Crawford…
Filed Under Politics | Leave a Comment
Ok. I know squat about Gold Star Families for Peace (I mean, nothing – I didn’t even get the name right as I tried to google it) and I don’t know all that much more about Cindy Sheehan – no more than anyone else who reads papers and blogs and watches cable news.
But if I didn’t know of her, and the ad that I just saw on CNN (11am Tues.) came on, and I listened to the words coming from the person’s mouth, I have to tell you – I agree with everything she said, and her sentiments. I just do. I understand exactly what she’s saying and I’m okay with how she’s saying it.
Too bad it seems as though everything that’s been piled on top of the message – including the person designated as the messenger – has obscured and nearly ridiculed the message itself.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:00 am August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
Print This Post
Aug
30
“We are a valiant people. We will endure…there are so many more people who lost their lives…”
This from a woman named Harriet, who was being interviewed by a CNN correspondent moments ago as they overlooked the devastation, in the sun now, from Hurricane Katrina.
Twenty minutes before that, CNN broadcast a report from correspondent Jeanne Meserve. She struggled to not break down, but lost it more than a few times as she recounted story after story to someone who sounded like Aaron Brown (what’s he doing on in the morning?):
Animals still alive while tangled in and unable to free themselves from electrical wires. Children being plucked and helicoptered away from their homes. A CNN employee unseen for hours after trying to help someone else in need.
My good friend and college roommate who grew up in N.O evacuated to Nashville with her husband and daughter. She knows nothing about her home, but her mother saw her neighborhood on television and knows that it’s underwater.
For anyone who’s never been, New Orleans is an amazing place. And not just because tombs are above ground (except for the Jewish ones – they got special dispensation to be buried beneath – guess they might also be the ones most likely to float? does that mean they’re witches? too much free association here)(did you know that even with the French and Spanish history of N.O., a Jewish guy gave a ton of money early on and his name is on a huge plaque in the French Quarter right at a big entrance to the boardwalk) or because of Bourbon Street or because of the movie The Big Easy.
New Orleans is a great city because of the diversity in its history and its present. Its geographic significance. It’s religious significance. It’s sports significance. It’s universities. The home of Mardi Gras.
Hey – how about that Louisiana Civil Code for those of us who went to law school? How could you not love a place that codifies common law?
You can guess I’ve been there a few times. And each visit occupies its own place in my mind and in my history.
Visit 1. 1982 NCAA Final Four. Sophomore in college. Junior year roommate-t0-be from N.O. Close friend from Selma, AL. Bus trip from D.C. to N.O. Hours and hours and hours to get there. Most memorable image from the bus ride: Sandy DuPlantier (native N.O., and now lawyer) doing splits in the bus aisle to the song Get Down On It.
I didn’t sleep much for three days, but I cheered my voice out, partied like an O.U. student (couldn’t resist – sorry) and created other memories that will die with only me. (If you remember who made “the pass” and which team won, I’ll buy you a Hurricane. Hmm – I wonder how the reputation of that famous N.O. drink will change now. Now, if you remember the top two players on the other team, I’ll buy you that big, sits on the cement and goes up to your chin Hurricane.)
I’ll give you a hint on “the pass” – he was a sociology major (I know because I was too – only 11 of us out of, like, 1500 students).
Visit 2. Early 1990s. The Ombudsman Association had its annual conference in N.O. and I went. It was one of my first trips alone after having had a child. The House of Blues had just opened and the food was outstanding as always. Great fun. And I didn’t even call home that much.
Visit 3. October 2001. This was a trip of opposites. It was planned pre-9/11 as a 40th birthday celebration and N.O. reunion of Georgetown pals – the original group that had gone in 1982, plus one. After 9/11, none of wanted to cancel. All of us had lived abroad and traveled enough to continue traveling.
I’ll never forget how dead Hopkins was the day I left. DEAD. And absent of anyone who looked different. It seemed as though only middle-aged white males were milling in the terminals. And, really, no one was milling.
Totally eerie.
Four of us rented a condo for four days. Three of us flew in and the friend from AL drove. Once again, I talked with my friends until I lost my voice, slept little and drank a lot and made some memories I’ll never share.
However, I did not flash on Bourbon Street – even though I wasn’t yet 40, somehow, I just wasn’t into it. Which none of these friends could believe because in college, among this group, I was “the girl most likely to.” (If you haven’t read the Susan Sarandon entry, you might want to now.)
I did, however, go to a club where they had foam dancing. No one in Cleveland had ever heard of it, but a few months later, there actually was an article in the PD about foam parties at local clubs. I don’t know if they ever caught on here. I was a party-pooper that night in N.O., though, because, not only didn’t I flash, I also stayed at the downstairs bar where no foam could reach me.
Just from the national guard presence at the airport, I knew something was different on the trip back, Sunday, October 7, 2001. Those men had not been there three days ago when I arrived. And now, they were everywhere around the serpentine security line.
Earlier, I’d been told that my name came up on some search and they had to inspect my bags by hand before they went into baggage check. Then, I was told I had to be wanded. When my face registered frustration at that prospect, the couldn’t have been more than 20 year National Guardsman said something like, some ladies really like it.
Ok, pal. Bad thing to say to someone who’s almost 40, married with three kids and a lawyer and social worker.
I got wanded, picked up my bags and backtracked to the Guardsman. In my most polite, eyelash batting fashion possible, I told him that there are federal laws against harassing women and while I didn’t think he was harassing me, I told him that I thought some women passing through security might interpret such comments otherwise.
And you know what? He thanked me. Now that was unexpected. And, although I can’t quite say that he made me feel badly for saying something to him, he was very sincere in his thanks and I do believe that it never occurred to him that even one-liners like that can be offensive. And, of course, are totally unnecessary.
Anyway, anyone who keeps a political or war-oriented blog will know what was going on without me saying much more. But I didn’t get to figure it out until several hours later when I had to sit in my plane, on the tarmac, in Cleveland. We’re all cellphoning our SOs and immediately we’re buzzing: the U.S. started to bomb Afghanistan just after our plane lifted off.
So, of course, all of us on the plane figured air space was shut down, or there was a terrorist attact. Turned out there was a security breach in Hopkins.
But to be on that plane and not know, for two hours, what was going on, and for our loved ones to only be able to tell us that, well, we’d just started bombing Afghanistan…now that was a memory I hadn’t anticipated.
So, like Harriet on CNN said, “We are a valiant people. We will endure.”
Godspeed Harriet.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:14 am August 30th, 2005 in Politics | 4 Comments
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Aug
30
Egypt’s blog scene gives voice to dissent
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This article from the Christian Science Monitor discusses the use of blogs in Middle Eastern countries to advocate, organize and act:
Many Arab bloggers are tackling sensitive political and human rights issues rarely broached by the state-controlled media. They are proving to be a powerful source of information, capable of reaching a few hundred like-minded activists, or of rallying international attention to a cherished cause.
After government supporters attacked and beat protesters in late May, Egypt’s blogging community led the effort to publicize what had happened.
“I had never heard the word blogger until May 25,” says Rabab al-Mahdi, a political science professor at the American University in Cairo, and an opposition activist. “But now I know them well because of all the amazing coverage they had of the protests. My friends overseas all followed what happened through the blogs, because they have more credibility than the mainstream media.”
Activists in Egypt rely on blogs like Fattah’s to find out the time and place of future demonstrations, to learn who has been arrested and where they have been taken, and to debate the effectiveness of opposition strategies. In short order, Egypt’s bloggers have become a political force, capable of more than merely commenting from the sidelines.
In early June, Fattah and two other bloggers decided they were tired of protesting in the same tired locations, with the same hackneyed slogans. Acting independently of opposition elders, they used their blogs to organize a protest in a working-class Cairo neighborhood, which attracted a respectable 300 people. The young bloggers’ innovative logos, slogans, and choice of location prompted a sweeping debate among the Egyptian opposition.
Similarly, after three suicide bombers pounded the Sinai resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh on July 23, three other Egyptian bloggers organized an antiterrorism candle light vigil. It attracted so much interest that the government banned it at the last minute.
Read the whole article here.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:22 am August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
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Aug
30
If she weren’t in Crawford…
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Ok. I know squat about Gold Star Families for Peace (I mean, nothing – I didn’t even get the name right as I tried to google it) and I don’t know all that much more about Cindy Sheehan – no more than anyone else who reads papers and blogs and watches cable news.
But if I didn’t know of her, and the ad that I just saw on CNN (11am Tues.) came on, and I listened to the words coming from the person’s mouth, I have to tell you – I agree with everything she said, and her sentiments. I just do. I understand exactly what she’s saying and I’m okay with how she’s saying it.
Too bad it seems as though everything that’s been piled on top of the message – including the person designated as the messenger – has obscured and nearly ridiculed the message itself.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 8:00 am August 30th, 2005 in Politics | Please comment
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