Human trafficking is the third-largest criminal industry in the world, after arms and drugs. While soccer fans anticipate the excitement of the games, many of us in the anti-trafficking movement are deeply troubled by the expected surge of sex trafficking in Germany to meet the demand for commercial sex associated with the World Cup.
Chic
Long-Scorned in Maine, French Has Renaissance - New York Times
I took French in junior high school because I thought it was elegant and sophisticated. It was a bit of a shock to learn that until recently it was an object of derision in Maine, where it has only recently gained a grudging cachet, according to the New York Times.
Muriel Spark, RIP
Muriel Spark, Novelist Who Wrote 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie,' Dies at 88 - New York Times
Muriel Spark, known for her finely polished, darkly comic prose and for the unforgettable Miss Jean Brodie, one of the funniest and most sinister characters in modern fiction, died Friday at a hospital in Florence, Italy. She was 88.
Web Success
Caterina.net: 9 reasons why people will *love* your web site
Caterina on what makes a website succeed.
Lit News
MoorishGirl reports that Randa Jarrar's first novel has been accepted for publication. Some of her shorter work is on the web.
Ailing Computer
My computer is back on line after a major overhaul. For some reason, I was suddenly flooded with the "blue screen of death," and my machine has been inoperable for over a week. So far, knock on wood, my rebuilt machine is a joy to use, but the process of reinstalling software is always a bit tedious.
Philosophical Marshmallow Makes Its Debut
A Bleak Day for Civil Rights
Halley Suitt Reminds Us of Our Mortality
Halley's Comment: Dick Clark's Return: Real Reality TV
We've seen a lot of unreal reality TV, very overproduced schlock, but last night, we saw reality. On New Year's Eve when the old Grim Reaper and young Baby New Years lindyhop out the last few steps dance of a long year, we saw both in Dick Clark. Dick Clark the seemingly ageless, age-defying fifties soda shop cutie is suddenly 76 years old and not in American Bandstand twist-and-shout shape.
At the same time, Clark's comeback was a very heartening way to begin the New Year. We are all geting older; may we face it with Dick Clark's grace and courage.
Bad Law
Congress deserves a pat on the back today for facing down the Bush administration and passing John McCain's unconditional ban on torture, right? Not exactly. Alongside McCain's legislation sits another amendment that undercuts the ban by allowing for the legal use of testimony obtained by torture. If enacted, that provision will move the United States away from standing behind a clear legal and moral principle and into the murk of hedges and exception-making—achieving exactly what McCain's bill is supposed to avoid.
Why is Carl Levin supporting this atrocious amendment?
Hope Yet
House Endorses Senate-Passed Ban on Mistreating Terror Suspects
In a symbolic move, the House endorsed a Senate-passed ban on cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of foreign terrorism suspects Wednesday as negotiations between the White House and Sen. John McCain over the provision appeared at an impasse.
Dept. of Foxes Guarding Henhouses?
To Halt Abuses, U.S. Will Inspect Jails Run by Iraq - New York Times
American military officers will inspect hundreds of detention centers and embed with Iraqi police commando units and other Interior Ministry forces to try to halt widespread abuses uncovered by raids on two Iraqi-run detention centers in Baghdad in the last month, the American ambassador pledged Tuesday.
New Aid
A Scotsman Wields a Not-So-Invisible Hand in Africa - New York Times
"We don't want to create a dependency culture in Africa," he said. "We make an investment. We want a return. We wouldn't just give the money and hope for the best. I am a Scotsman after all."
Scottish billionaire Sir Tom Hunter promises a novel approach to aid to Africa in conjunction with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Lost in Space
The New York Times on President Bush's plan for victory in Iraq: "A president who seems less in touch with reality than Richard Nixon needs to get out more."
Slate Weighs in on Ivy Admissions
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Stereotypes
One way to define racial stereotypes is as the ascription of a limited set of social behaviors to a limited set of physical characteristics. The result obscures individual differences and often denigrates a particular group of people. One example is the stereotype that "they all look alike." J-A, commenting on an episode of Without a Trace, muses:
It was a much more thorough presentation than the 007 film set in North Korea where the extras were all talking in Chinese, which to me implied that from a non-Asian point of view, Asians all sound the same and it doesn't matter that there are all these different countries and cultures in that region.
On blackprof.com, Paul Butler cites examples of the phenomenon in reverse. He describes television portrayals of African Americans in embarrassing conflicts portrayed for entertainment value in a two-part post (part 1 and part 2). What cultural assumptions make the conflict between a black quarterback and a black receiver fodder for television drama? What cultural assumptions induce an African American talk show host to broadcast a show about an African American woman and her gay African American husband? Professor Butler's point seems to be that cultural stereotypes define these individuals for the mass media, blurring their individuality and reinforcing the stereotypes.
Our Jane
The New York Times gives a glowing review to the new movie of Pride of Prejudice.
50 Percent
A good friend of mine remarked over dinner the other night that you have read everything you need to read if you have read Moby Dick and the Brothers Karamazov. Guess that means that I am halfway there.
Military Tribunals Again
Supreme Court to Hear Tribunals Challenge
The Supreme Court agreed today to rule on the legality of the Bush administration's planned military commissions for accused terrorists, setting the stage for what could be one of the most significant rulings on presidential war powers since the end of World War II.
I feel very conflicted about the Court's decision to hear this case. On the one hand, I am dismayed that the question of whether such tribunals might be legal has ever been raised; clearly they ought not to be. However, I hope, though I do not expect, that the Court will see the light and rule that the tribunals are illegal, and that prisoners may sue in U.S. Court's to enforce the Geneva Conventions.