The Raven

Tuesday, March 11, 2003

Restless in Paradise

We mentioned a few days ago that you can tell something's amiss just by the very body language people are using of late. Shoulders are rounded, heads are swiveling, the population's looking scared and acting hinky. Stand too long in one spot and you're likely to catch a bullet—four people already found that out the hard way when they ran afoul of New York's "thrill killers," a duo of misfits who've been executing strangers just for the giggles of it.

Of course, looking too long in one spot could get you whacked, too. Like the 22-year-old man who got himself shot to death yesterday after losing a staring competition with a biker outside of the Hell Raisers motorcycle club in Detroit. So the trick is to develop a kind of fast-scanning, global vision of your surroundings, taking notice of anything out of the ordinary, whatever the hell that is nowadays, without lingering long enough to look like a predator and not so skittish as to look like prey. It isn't easy, and the Raven understands why you feel like an exhausted hero every damn day you make it back home alive.

A Blood-Soaked Muzzle

That's what John Ashcroft's filthy mug looks like these days. His latest mauling of our civil rights is becoming evident at bookstores and libraries around the nation as a little-known proviso of the Patriot Act takes hold like a virulent cancer in the final stages of killing its thrashing victim.

In case you can't make it out, the sign in the photo to the right reads:

WARNING

Although the Santa Cruz Library
makes every effort to protect your
privacy, under the federal USA
PATRIOT Act (Public Law 107-56),
records of the books and other
materials you borrow from this library
may be obtained by federal agents.
That federal law prohibits library
workers from informing you if federal
agents have obtained records about
you. Questions about this policy
should be directed to Attorney
General John Ashcroft, Department of
Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530.

The September 11 terrorists succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. Each and every day what was once the pinnacle of human liberty and freedom—our country—is becoming something that's looking increasingly like a Middle Eastern police state.

The bright note here is that Rep. Bernie Sanders, Ind-Vt., has forwarded a bill to Congress to repeal the library and bookstore provisions of the Patriot Act, and his Freedom to Read Protection Act would allow record searches of those venues only "if federal agents first showed they were likely to find evidence of a crime," which shows you how deep of a hole we've fallen into in two years.

In a letter to an inquiring senator, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Bryant said Americans who borrow or buy books surrender their right of privacy...Corallo also said the provisions pose no threat to ordinary Americans, only to would-be terrorists.

Go back and read that a second time. I'm calling my Congressman's office tomorrow morning and urging him to support Sanders's bill. You should, too. But read the linked article in its entirety first.

Just Shut the Hell Up and Die

That's what Ashcroft is telling two women who sued his office in pursuit of a court order allowing them access to medical marijuana. I'm not going into a big story here, but look at the plaintiff's case:

One of the ill women seeking the court order against the government was Angel Raich, a 37-year-old Oakland woman suffering from a variety of ailments, including scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea, fatigue and pain. She said she was partially paralyzed on the right side of her body until she started smoking marijuana.

The federal judge who turned them down cited a 1970 law that states that "marijuana, like heroin and LSD, has no medical benefits and cannot be dispensed or prescribed by doctors." The Supreme Court needs to get its act together here because killing people in the name of stupidity is wrong.

Just looking at these two stories should make it strikingly clear who our biggest enemy is right now, and why creative acts of civil disobedience may be necessary prior to the 2004 election. I'm not sure we can wait that long.

6:35:36 PM

One Hundred Percent There

No matter how tough things get, I always think of Mr. Frisbee turning to Brian as they both hang crucified, and saying, "Cheer up, Brian. I mean, what have you got to lose? You know, you come from nothing. You're going back to nothing. What have you lost? Nothing!

Which makes perfect sense if nothing else does. Our lives are bookended by dust. It's just that pesky in-between bit that people get all worked up over. Speaking of inflamed passions...

Kickin' it with Shaaban

That's what people around the Middle East are doing today as they rock down the house with Shaaban Abdel-Rahim's latest pop single, "The Attack on Iraq."

You may remember Shabaan as the Egyptian guy whose 2001 runaway hit "I hate Israel" positioned him as the informal battle druid of the Islamic empire. If there's one thing I'm learning as I work through life's maze of confusion, it's to never underestimate the power of poetry to stir people's affections.

"Enough! Chechnya! Afghanistan! Palestine! Southern Lebanon! The Golan Heights! And now Iraq, too? And now Iraq, too? It's too much for people. Shame on you! Enough, enough, enough!"

This is the Arab world's response to Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten?" And what's important here concerns Ray Sweatman's parody of that song, which, while utterly too complicated to move the hidden strings of the heart, contained a prescient stanza:

Perhaps they'll even learn a chord or two
And race to the top of the charts like you...

Which they have done. Shaaban's magic lies in the simplicity of his lyrics, which are phrased in vernacular Arabic and touch on ground verbotten to the politically skittish Arab man in the street.

"I can't talk, he can't talk," Barghouti said, pointing to his colleague, Bassem Maali, as they listened to the song. "The people are afraid to talk, but Shaaban sings. It's 100 percent there. He sings through the music what people are saying in the street. He's not scared."

When people talk like that about you, you have "street cred," and they're listening. The Raven's been kicking with Shaabar all morning, by the way, and thinks he's pretty good [the first song listed is the best]. Click here for an excerpt from "The Attack on Iraq" along with commentary.

Geoslavery

You know that ankle bracelet device we use to put people under house arrest in this country? Might have some other applications.

Consider the observations of Jerome Dobson, a University of Kansas research professor who's foreseeing some Orwellian ramifications to GPS technology. Consider the GPS wristwatch shown at right.

"What we are suggesting is that we are only one technological step from placing a transponder in there that burns or stings a person if they step off a prescribed path by a meter. Or if they stay too long in one place. Or cross the path of another person they are prohibited from seeing, or if they congregate with other people."

Prisons are getting rather expensive these days, aren't they. But the real concern is how other countries who are less squeamish about civil rights an' stuff might apply these techniques.

Nose, Grindstone

Ever wondered who's to blame for the current labor market? According to Richard Bayer, chief exec at a New York career counseling group, you are.

"In the '90s, employees had the upper hand and they abused it by demanding too many perks. Now the pendulum has really swung the other way and the employers really have the upper hand."

See, it was all those freebies and extras you extorted from management. So you had this coming. Says here that since March 2001 our economy has shed some 3 million jobs, with 308,000 lost in February alone. Youch.

Ham-Ha!

In this scary and unpredictable world, it's nice to have someone to turn to for comfort. I know that some of you turn to a deity, and some of you seek refuge in mind-altering chemicals and hedonistic night-club orgies. Meet my vice: His name is Hamtaro, and he's the star of a bunch of the little hamsters who have "big adventures" every week on the Cartoon Network.

He's the cute and cuddly pet Hamster of 5th grader Laura. Eager to be her secret helper, his courage and adventurous spirit make him the inspirational hero of all the other hamsters. He's a lot of fun too!

You betcha! Those bright eyes and his plushy little tummy just make you want to squeeze 'im all over an' everything.

See, unlike us, Hamtaro and the "Ham-Ham Friends" get to live each day as a whole new adventure, replete with fun, excitement, and friendship. This bunch looks ready to give Hello Kitty a run in the marketplace, by the way, with Hamtaro goods skyrocketing in sales to the Japanese adolescent market as well as the legions of 55-year-old American anime freaks. But it just makes this world a little bit brighter, and makes it easier to always look on the bright side of life. Cheer up Brian. Worse things happen at sea.

11:44:54 AM