Month: December 2004

  • TUESDAY POLITICS

    Person of the Year 2003

    Probably dead, wounded, or permanently emotionally scarred thanks to






    Person of the Year 2004





    Deep Thought: “Instead of trying to build newer and bigger weapons of destruction, mankind should be thinking about getting more use out of the weapons we already have.”
    Today I am grateful for: Time outs
    Guess the Movie: “Damn You! Goddam You! Nobody D.O.R’s after eleven weeks! Nobody!” Answer: An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982. Winner: llcj65.
    10 Ways to Be a Better Person
    #3. There is no growth in resentment. Emotions are often directly related to your perception of the world around you. Viewing things in a positive light can make your world into a better place, and foster confidence and self-respect.
    End of Day: 8:24 pm
    + = No more work till next Tuesday!
    - = First day of winter.

  • MONDAY BOOK

    This Cold Heaven: Seven Seasons in Greenland
    by Gretel Ehrlich (2001)

    My neighbor loaned me this book with a glowing report, and I must say exploration of Greenland would have been one of the last things I would have thought of to read about. To my relief, the author has a gift for words, as well as a fascinating story to tell. To me, it’s a great example of just how miraculously diverse we humans are in our interests. Ms. Ehrlich has written a number of books about places, and in this case first visited Greenland “to get above the treeline,” having sustained a hit by lightning that had damaged her heart. She became entranced by the story of the great Danish-Inuit explorer Knud Rasmussen’s seven expeditions in the early part of this century and decided to follow his trail. Recently, thenarrator posted a little piece with a reference to glaciers. Here is a take on them from this author:

    “A thousand years ago the hunter’s world was made of ice and darkness, water and light, meat eaten raw and dried, and skins–dog, seal, polar bear, reindeer, Arctic hare, and eider duck–that were sewn into clothes, tents, and sleeping bags. The seasons rocked back and forth between light and dark and the ice was always moving: the top of Greenland is jostled by 52,000 square miles of Arctic sea, most of it ice. Polynas–areas of open water–were created when surging tidal currents broke the ice, and stayed open like unhealing sores in midwinter. The land was an ocean that broke against bodies of water, shattering into islands big and small. Tides arm-wrestled pack ice until it accordioned up against itself, finally falling onto the mainland’s shore. Glaciers calved great slabs of ice as big as convention centers and as fanciful as the Taj Mahal, and these sailed down the fjords all summer, their arches, towers, and shoulders collapsing in sudden heat as if from a fit of laughter.

    Why would people live in this barren desolate place and, if not born there, why would they be drawn to visit it? Guess I’ll find out as I read in my warm house in Portland, Oregon.


    Deep Thought: “Many people do not realize that the snowshoe can be used for a great many things besides walking on snow. For instance, it can be used to carry pancakes from the stove to the breakfast table. Also, it can be used to carry uneaten pancakes from the table to the garbage. Finally, it can be used as a kind of strainer, where you force pancakes through the strings to see if a piece of gold got in a pancake somehow.”
    Today I am grateful for: Sleigh bells
    Guess the Movie: “Forget it! I’m stayin’ right where I am. It’s gonna take you and the police department and the fire department and the National Guard to get me outta here!” Answer: Norma Rae, 1979.
    10 Ways to Be a Better Person
    #2. Judging others is easy while judging oneself can be extremely difficult. Look at yourself honestly and ask: What would I like to change about myself? What are my strengths and weaknesses? What do I have to give?

    Apparently not a popular topic.  So I’ll make a big judgment here and just say that I’ll never read a Time magazine again in my life.
    End of Day: 7:43 pm
    + = Getting some extra Z’s tonight.
    - = Plumb tuckered out.

  • PEOPLE WHO KNOCK ME OUT
    Nelson Mandela
    (See sidebar for others)
    He is 86 years old now and has returned to live out his life in the place where he was born – Qunu, Transkei on the eastern Indian Ocean side of South Africa. He retired from the Presidency of South Africa five years ago after marrying his third wife, Graca Machel, on his 80th birthday.

    South Africa was first colonized by the English and the Dutch in the 17th century for its fertile farmlands and in 1900 when diamonds were discovered, the two powers clashed in the Boer War. In the 1940′s the Afrikaner National Party invented apartheid as a way to keep economic and social control by white domination. This situation worsened by the 1960′s when it was called “Grand Apartheid” and enforced by police repression.

    Mandela was born into a fairly powerful family in 1918, his father being the counselor to the main chief of the surrounding territory, and when his father died he was groomed for the chieftainship. As early as 1940, when he was 22, he was expelled from college for participating in a student strike and finished his BA degree by correspondence. Three years later, at 25, he joined the African National Congress as an activist. He married for the first time and formed the Youth League of the ANC. By age 34, he had opened a law office in Johannesberg and married his second wife, Winnie, who was also a famous activist. Four years later, he was arrested and charged with treason and was finally acquitted in 1961 but arrested the very next year again for inciting a strike. While in prison this time he was put on trial for treason and received a life sentence. He was then 44. It would be 28 years before his release in 1990 at the age of 72. During that time, he twice refused release because it was on the condition that he renounce violence. He said only a free man can negotiate. In 1990, the African National Congress was finally unbanned and Mandela was released from prison to the great joy of his countrymen. The next year he became President of the ANC and in 1993 received the Nobel Peace Prize. He then became the first black President of South Africa, holding the position until 1999.

    Well, this is my little history lesson for today. The word “apartheid” is a South African word, but it’s an old story – bullying of one group of people by another for the sake of greed and power. Kind of like what’s happening in Iraq today. Sometimes one man, when he becomes a symbol of resistance, is enough to turn the course of history. Mandela went to prison for almost three decades of his life because he was a true patriot on a mission. Each time someone steps forward in this way on the world stage, it gives the rest of us a little added push to know that there are just some things up with which we will not put. I hope he spends his final days in truly deserved peace.


    Deep Thought: “I don’t pretend to have all the answers. I don’t pretend to even know what the questions are. Hey, where am I?”
    Today I am grateful for: The joyous dysfunctionality of Christmas activity
    Guess the Movie: “So that’s why everyone around here treats me like some dime-store floozy. They all think I’m screwing the boss. And you just love it, don’t you? It gives you some kind of cheap thrill like knocking over pencils and picking up papers. I’ve put up with all of your pinching, poking, staring and chasing me around the desk because I need this job. But this is the last straw. I’ve got a gun out there in my purse. Up until now I’ve been forgiving and forgetting because of the way I was brought up, but I’ll tell you one thing. If you say another word about me or make another indecent proposal, I’m gonna get that gun of mine and I’m gonna change you from a rooster to a hen with one shot. And don’t think I can’t do it.” Answer: 9 to 5, 1980. Winner: rideuponthewind.
    10 Ways to Be a Better Person
    #1. Exercise patience in everything you do and understand that change will take time, devotion, and hard work. Accomplishing one simple goal right now wll make it easier to accomplish larger more difficult ones later on. (more later)
    End of Day: 8:37 pm
    + = Gorgeous sunny day today.
    - = Rumsfeld – get him the hell out of there.

  • SATURDAY POEM
    Couldn’t find a poet with a last name starting with Q for the life of me. So here’s my own latest.

    Joab

    The poet turns back for the long spell of old age. His swallow’s arm no longer mirrors pleasure. He who tilled distress into sustenance is locked in a fierce sleep.

    May beauty and fact secure your last flight through the storms of liberation!

    Deep Thought: “The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.”
    Today I am grateful for: Sign language
    Guess the Movie: “I love you. Not like they told you love is, and I didn’t know this either, but love don’t make things nice – it ruins everything. It breaks your heart. It makes things a mess. We aren’t here to make things perfect. The snowflakes are perfect. The stars are perfect. Not us. Not us! We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and *die*. The storybooks are *bullshit*. Now I want you to come upstairs with me and *get* in my bed!” Answer: Moonstruck, 1987. Winner: thenarrator.
    US Isn’t Winning Against Iraqi Insurgents, Agencies Warn
    by Warren P. Strobel, John Walcott and Jonathan S. Landay
    WASHINGTON – The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department have warned President Bush that the United States and its Iraqi allies aren’t winning the battle against Iraqi insurgents who are trying to derail the country’s Jan. 30 elections, according to administration officials. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 9:47 pm
    + = Nice day with grands, saw Lemmony Snicket movie, wrapped gifts, ate lunch out, etc.
    - = Need to branch out on xanga.

  • FRIDAY FIVE

    1. Describe the condition of your keyboard:
    Dismal. It was such a nice new keyboard once too. Microscopic food and fingerprint and cat hair remains. Luckily I type fast enough that I don’t have to look at it, plus I’m really nearsighted. If anyone else used it much, I’d probably be shamed into cleaning it, but then keyboards are cheap.
    2. Can you sing, or are you always out of key?
    When I was young I actually sang with gusto and a guitar in other people’s earshot. I still sing with gusto alone in my car, though I can’t really hear myself cuz I have the music cranked up so loud. I have a feeling my ability to stay on key has slipped but I guess I’ll never find out.
    3. What keys do you carry with you?
    Car key, house key, two office keys, three unidentified keys one of which is probably a second lock I never use on the front door. Plus a spare car key in my purse in case I take my purse with me but leave the main keys locked inside the car. I keep a house key hidden outside the house in case I lose that one.
    4. What is the key to personal happiness?
    Depends on which person you mean. For myself, it’s feeling loved and having someone to love. With that, I can manage anything else. Unfortunately, either of those are not a given and have never felt totally secure in all these years.
    5. What gets you keyed up?
    If any of my blood relatives are unhappy, hawks of the people variety, racism, people who get in the down elevator when they meant to go up, being taken for granted, being around people who are drunk or loaded, cruelty to animals, the religious right, proselytizing, those telephone sales calls that you know must be long-distance or computerized because there’s a pause right at first (long enough that you can hang up), and much much more, don’t even get me started.

    Deep Thought: “The first thing was, I learned to forgive myself. Then I told myself, “Go ahead and do whatever you want, it’s okay by me.”
    Today I am grateful for: Saliva
    Guess the Movie: “People always look down their noses at hookers. Never give you a chance, because they think you took the easy way out, when no one could imagine the willpower it took to do what we do. Walking the streets, night after night, taking the hits and still getting back up.” Answer: Monster, 2003.
    Senate Dems Lack Aggressiveness
    by Matthew Rothschild
    Senate Democrats need to get in a fighting mood, and not go meekly into the Republican night.
    Unfortunately, some of the leaders of the party aren’t mustering much energy for the battle.
    Harry Reid, the Senate Minority Leader, says, “I always would rather dance than fight.” And he says he’d probably support Antonin Scalia for chief justice, remarking, “This is one smart guy.”
    Such a comment should not come as a total surprise.
    After all, Reid is pro-war, anti-choice, weak on civil liberties, and a buddy of Bush’s. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 9:39 pm
    + = Started wrapping Xmas presents today.
    - = Having trouble finding poet starting with Q for tomorrow’s blog.

  • THURSDAY WHATEVER
    Golden Globes Nominations (Awards – January 16)

    BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
    The Aviator
    Closer
    Finding Neverland
    Hotel Rwanda
    Kinsey
    Million Dollar Baby

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
    Scarlett Johansson – A Love Song for Bobby Long
    Nicole Kidman – Birth
    Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake
    Hilary Swank – Million Dollar Baby
    Uma Thurman – Kill Bill Vol. 2

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
    Javier Bardem – The Sea Inside
    Don Cheadle – Hotel Rwanda
    Johnny Depp – Finding Neverland
    Leonardo DiCaprio – The Aviator
    Liam Neeson – Kinsey

    BEST MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDY
    Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    The Incredibles
    Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera
    Ray
    Sideways

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – MUSICAL OR COMEDYK
    Annette Bening – Being Julia
    Ashley Judd – De-Lovely
    Emmy Rossum – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera
    Kate Winslet – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    Renée Zellweger – Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE -MUSICAL OR COMEDY
    Jim Carrey – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    Jamie Foxx – Ray
    Paul Giamatti – Sideways
    Kevin Kline – De-Lovely
    Kevin Spacey – Beyond the Sea

    BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
    The Chorus (Les Choristes) (France)
    House of Flying Daggers (China)
    The Motorcycle Diaries (Brazil)
    The Sea Inside (Spain)
    A Very Long Engagement (France)

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
    Cate Blanchett – The Aviator
    Laura Linney – Kinsey
    Virginia Madsen – Sideways
    Natalie Portman – Closer
    Meryl Streep – The Manchurian Candidate

    BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
    David Carradine – Kill Bill Vol. 2
    Thomas Haden Church – Sideways
    Jamie Foxx – Collateral
    Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby
    Clive Owen – Closer

    BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
    Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby
    Marc Forster – Finding Neverland
    Mike Nichols – Closer
    Alexander Payne – Sideways
    Martin Scorsese – The Aviator

    BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
    Charlie Kaufman – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
    John Logan – The Aviator
    David Magee – Finding Neverland
    Patrick Marber – Closer
    Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor – Sideways
    A little commentary: Haven’t seen a single one of the Best Picture nominees yet. Only Best Actress film I’ve seen is Kill Bill Volume 2 on video and loved it, very funny script, and of course cool athletics. David Carradine got a great part. No Best Actor films yet. I’ve seen Eternal Sunshine and The Incredibles. Both interesting but didn’t really yank my chain. I always wish the best for Jim Carrey though. Not such a great fan of Kate Winslet. Too English Rose for me. Haven’t seen any of the foreign films yet. Saw Manchurian Candidate and Streep did Streep and I didn’t care for the film, maybe because the sound was turned too low in the theater and I had to strain to hear it all. Just starting to watch Collateral on video. Review later. The film that actually intrigues me most from the few little trailers I’ve seen is Million Dollar Baby. I love to watch Eastwood grow old, but also he’s a fine director. Followed closely by Hotel Rwanda, which I know nothing about except that it stars Don Cheadle, whom I always enjoy. Anybody else seen any of these yet? Seems like a lot of them just came out in the past month or so.

    Deep Thought: “If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason.”
    Today I am grateful for: Unabridged anything
    Guess the Movie: “No… wire… hangers! What’s wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you: no wire hangers EVER?” Answer: Mommie Dearest, 1981. Winner: cordelia_naismith.
    What Our Troops Want For Xmas: Armored Humvees… And An Exit Plan
    by Arianna Huffington
    If there is one thing Democrats should have learned from Karl Rove during this year’s election, it is the value of relentlessly attacking — day in and day out — your opponent’s perceived strength.
    Well, from now until Congress is asked in January to vote on the next $80 billion the president wants for the war in Iraq, not a day should go by without Democrats shouting from the rooftops that the White House is shamefully betraying the very troops it so vociferously claims to be supporting. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:33 pm
    + = Xmas shopping virtually done.
    - = Now if I had a damn thing wrapped it would be good.

  • WEDNESDAY MOVIES
    Maria Full of Grace

    A 17-year-old quits her subsistence wage job in Colombia and is lured into traveling to New York as a drug mule, along with a close friend. They swallow dozens of wrapped heroin pellets and the tension builds from there. Catalina Moreno plays the role of the headstrong Maria with a quiet dignity and the interesting side note is that the writer/director, Joshua Marsten, is a young New Yorker no older than she who makes his debut with this film.

    Monsieur Ibrahim

    I had put off renting this from the videostore but eventually got it from the library. Omar Shariff (still gorgeous as an aging corner store owner in Paris) befriends a boy who is abandoned by his father just at the point where he is becoming a man. Together they fill each other’s empty spaces. Much wisdom and coming to terms. Both of these films are remarkable.


    Deep Thought: “If you want to sue somebody, just get a little plastic skeleton and lay it in their yard. Then tell them their ants ate your baby.”
    Today I am grateful for: 10 more shopping days till Xmas
    Guess the Movie: “You see, Mrs. Walker, this is quite an opportunity for me. For the past 50 years or so I’ve been getting more and more worried about Christmas. Seems we’re all so busy trying to beat the other fellow in making things go faster and look shinier and cost less that Christmas and I are sort of getting lost in the shuffle.” Answer: Miracle on 34th Street, 1947. Winner: thenarrator.
    Getting Out of Iraq: A Letter to the US Peace Movement
    by Mike Kress
    America is now enmeshed, much like Israel, in a spiraling cycle of violence. For the sake of Iraq’s people and our nation’s future – and for the benefit of all humanity – we must end the occupation of Iraq. The question is, how?
    Gene Sharp, a leading nonviolence educator and author of The Politics of Nonviolent Action, teaches that change is possible when a movement adopts a strategy that undermines a regime’s “pillars of support.” The Bush regime’s pillar of support in Iraq is the military. The peace movement’s adoption of a strategy that reduces first time military enlistments and the number of current service members willing to serve in Iraq could make the occupation unsustainable. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:39 pm
    + = Actually bought some slipper socks today after being reminded they exist by a xangan.
    - = They’re kind of creeping me out.

  • TUESDAY POLITICS

    Click here for one of a number of online places to sign a petition supporting Howard Dean for Chair of the DNC. I was an early fan of HD for speaking out loudly and clearly against the war in Iraq before anyone else I’d heard of at the time. Before he deconstructed during the campaign for the Presidency, I’d had a few little hints here and there of a less than temperate personality, but his apparent intent and principles outweighed, and still outweigh, my minor hesitancies. So this past weekend the Democratic Party heavyweights met in Orlando to take a look at possible candidates for DNC Chair and Dean gave a great speech. Apparently, a decision will be made in February. I heard some talking head on the TV media say that he doesn’t stand a chance because the folks who will choose are so conservative. Wondering what you all think of his chances and of him. An article I just read says he would have more influence by running for President again in 2008. Is it possible for him to do both? It seems like the Democratic Party needs a real shot of adrenaline and it’s scary to see it trying to cozy up to the conservative folks on the right. Thoughts?

    Deep Thought: “If you’re being chased by an angry bull, and then you notice you’re also being chased by a swarm of bees, it doesn’t really change things. Just keep on running.”
    Today I am grateful for: Apoplexy
    Guess the Movie: “Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they’re really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?” Answer: Midnight Run, 1988. Winner: thenarrator.
    MoveOn PAC Calls for New DNC Chair Connected to Grassroots; Petition from Tens of Thousands of MoveOn Members Calls for Open Selection Process, New Party Direction
    WASHINGTON — December 10 — Calling on the Democratic Party to choose a chair who will “reconnect the party with the grassroots,” MoveOn PAC is planning to deliver a petition from tens of thousands of its members to the Democratic Party State Chairs meeting in Orlando Saturday. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 8:42 pm
    + = Get my crowns tomorrow Finally.
    - = Holiday pressure building.

  • MONDAY BOOK
    Digital Photography – by Steve Bavister, 2000, UK


    I know nothing. Except that besides writing this comes next in my pantheon of future creativity. I want to record my family in black and white. I want to learn to put them at ease enough to capture their essences for future memories. In my life, I had a few wonderful photographer friends who gave me this gift for myself and my children when they were small and I so treasure these few photographs today. The book is a “no-nonsense, jargon-free guide for beginners.” I have it out from the library. The introduction begins:
    “There has never been a more exciting time to be involved in photography….At its simplest, digital imaging is the process by which photographs are ‘digitized’ so they can be used in a computer. Once there they can be cropped, improved, combined and then used in countless ways that would have been unimaginable before digital imaging came along. Your computer can literally become a digital darkroom…”
    A few years ago I took a darkroom class thinking I would try to build one in my home, but there is simply no space for it in my tiny house. Just recently it dawned on me that with the new photo printers available and the fantastic digital cameras I can begin without an actual darkroom. The photos are from my 2.0 megapixel digicam of the grandson I adore who began to draw with no prodding years ago and still does. My secret wish is that he might become an architect because he can take apart and put together just about anything. But I’m not in charge of that. What I can do is record him in artist mode. Is he not beautiful?
    Deep Thought:“In the first castles, I bet a common mistake was putting the torture room next to the master bedroom. Boy, you’re just not going to get the good sleep that way.”
    Today I am grateful for: Zoom
    Guess the Movie: “Is that what your little note says? It must be hard living your life off a couple of scraps of paper. You mix your laundry list with your grocery list you’ll end up eating your underwear for breakfast.” Answer: Memento, 2000. Winner: thenarrator.
    My Bloody To-Do List
    by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
     As the regular columnist of “Dr. Lisa’s Class” for the quarterly Once Upon a Time Magazine, a journal for authors and illustrators of children’s books, I was surprised when the editor rejected my most recent submission, saying, “No harsh realities of war here, even though I’d probably forward your piece to others if I saw it written elsewhere.” The article follows for Audrey to forward. (Rest of article here.)
    End of Day: 9:15 pm
    + = Started editing Chapter 8.
    - = Sheep in living room chair watching sheep announcing news on TV: “And this just in, the grass really is greener on the other side of the fence.”

  • PEOPLE WHO KNOCK ME OUT
    (See sidebar for others)

    JOHN LENNON and ANNIE LEIBOWITZ

    John Lennon was born in Liverpool in 1940 and raised by his aunt and uncle. We all know the story by now, how he met Paul McCartney and together they brought the Beatles to the world. We know he eventually met Yoko Ono and began to perform with her and on his own. We know that in 1979 he had a very bad year when she threw him out to get drugs, sex and other women out of his system and that in 1980 he returned to her, having kicked heroin cold turkey, and cut his final album Double Fantasy to critical acclaim. In 1949, Annie Leibowitz was born in Connecticut to an air force officer and modern dance instructor parents. A product of the San Francisco Art Institute, she got her big break in 1970 with a shot of Allen Ginsberg smoking dope on a peace march that she sold to Rolling Stone magazine for $25. Three years later she became the magazine’s chief photographer. Her expertise was celebrities, especially rock musicians. On the afternoon of December 8, 1980, she produced this famous shot of John and Yoko in their hotel room in New York City. By that evening Lennon would be dead. Today Annie Leibowitz works out of a converted garage on Manhattan’s West Side with as many as 30 assistants. In 1983, she left Rolling Stone for another trendy radical magazine, Vanity Fair, where she has been ever since turning out her very personal, stylized photos of famous people. John Lennon’s death was traumatizing to all of us who admired him for his outrageous, in-your-face activism and his incredible talent. On that afternoon in December 1980 Annie Leibowitz captured for us the essence of his capacity for love.
    (Other famous photos by Leibowitz)

    Deep Thought: “I hope in the future Americans are thought of as a warlike, vicious people, because I bet a lot of high schools would pick “Americans” as their mascot.”
    Today I am grateful for: Italics
    Guess the Movie: “Love is passion, obsession, someone you can’t live without. If you don’t start with that, what are you going to end up with? Fall head over heels. I say find someone you can love like crazy and who’ll love you the same way back. And how do you find him? Forget your head and listen to your heart. I’m not hearing any heart. Run the risk, if you get hurt, you’ll come back. Because, the truth is there is no sense living your life without this. To make the journey and not fall deeply in love – well, you haven’t lived a life at all. You have to try. Because if you haven’t tried, you haven’t lived.” Answer: Meet Joe Black, 1998.
    Guantánamo Torture and Humiliation Still Going On, Says Shackled Briton
    by Vikram Dodd and Clare Dyer
    Fresh allegations about a regime of torture and humiliation inflicted on detainees by their American captors at Guantánamo Bay have been made by a Briton still held there, according to Foreign Office documents seen by the Guardian.
    The claims by Martin Mubanga, from London, are the latest to surface from the prison where the US holds 550 Muslim men it claims are terrorists in conditions that have sparked worldwide condemnation. (Rest of article here.)
    (And why isn’t somebody with clout DOING something about this?!!)
    End of Day: 8:48 pm
    + = Wonderful quiet day, finished Chapter 8, now into editing.
    - = So behind on Xmas cards.