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Artists Protest Tamms Supermax Prison with Mud Stencils
Last Saturday in Chicago, local artists partnered with the Tamms Year Ten coalition to protest state-sanctioned torture at the supermax prison in Southern Illinois. And they did it with mud.
Prisoners… are held in permanent solitary confinement, and never leave their cell except to shower or exercise alone in a concrete pen. Their is no communal activity, no contact visits, no phone calls, an no educational or rehabilitative programming… The supermax was designed to be a short-term shock-treatment, but one-third of prisoners have been held indefinitely since the prison opened over ten years ago.
From the Just Seeds Blog: Illinois Torture Publicized with Ecological Art: Chicago and Milwaukee artists boost Tamms Year Ten message with mud stencils
The International Herald Tribune, the global edition of the NYTimes, published the results of their study related to what it would take to end the Israel/Palestinian conflict. They surveyed Palestinians and Israelis from 2004 to 2008, questioning citizens across the political spectrum including refugees, supporters of Hamas and Israeli settlers in the West Bank. Respondents were asked to react to hypothetical but realistic compromises in which their side would be required to give away something it valued in return for lasting peace.
The surprising finding? More than monetary compensation and just as important as resolving the decades-old land dispute was the desire of people on both sides to receive a sincere apology and recognition of the right to exist. This seems so fundamentally human… we all desire genuine respect and the right to exist as safe, independent, free people. And this seems achievable!
The study found that…
In general the greater the monetary incentive involved in the deal, the greater the disgust from respondents. This strongly implies that using the standard approaches of “businesslike negotiations” favored by Western diplomats will only backfire.
I don’t think anyone believes a simple “We’re sorry” is going to solve a conflict this ongoing and painful, but the findings of this study seem to suggest that a genuine apology and official recognition of the other side’s simple right to exist is a necessary part of any peace agreement with hope of lasting.
In the wake of the passage of Proposition 8, a group of gay and lesbian families are taking to the airwaves with five 30-second Public Service Announcements airing on daytime and prime time television throughout California. They ran during the Presidential Inauguration with the purpose of capturing the hearts and minds of people who do not understand why marriage is so important.
Love the URL as it sums up what has to happen before change in our country’s attitudes and policies will be realized: GetToKnowUsFirst.org
Happy Martin Luther King Day. May the dream no longer be a dream, but reality. Full text of the speech available here.
President Bush @ Final Press Conference c/o 236.com
Bush had his final press conference yesterday (woo hoo!), and when asked if he could name any mistakes during his presidency, he said that “Not having weapons of mass destruction was a significant disappointment.“
Really? You were bummed out that Iraq did not have nuclear weapons stockpiled for a rainy day?
Thank god inauguration day is right around the corner.
IL Gov. Rod Blagojevich went out for a winter jog while the House voted to impeach him today. That seems in keeping with past behavior… Carry on like all is normal despite being one of the biggest scandels on the news. One point of confusion though… Here in Chicago it’s 28 degrees today. Why in the world is he not wearing a hat and gloves?
From the Huffington Post:
President-elect Barack Obama arrived in DC at AFB at 7pm EST after leaving Midway airport at 4:45 pm CST. He left his Hyde Park house at about 4pm and arrived at Midway about 30 minutes later. As he boarded plane, he waved to press and said he would see us in DC. He came to back of plane and said the following:
“Well guys, I am looking forward to seeing you guys in Washington…..I gotta say I choked up a little bit leaving my house today.”
Obama Arrives in DC
Sad to see you leave my beloved Chicago, but so happy you’re headed to the White House. Good luck to you Obama!
Much has been made in the news lately about the “shoe incident”, but now you too can get in on the action!
Sock and Awe Game
