Woman to Woman:
Black Journalist Confronts Racist Drag Queen

Virtual War(games)

The concept behind Wafaa Bilal's piece is intense and sick. In a period when Americans seem more concerned with the next American Idol than the war, an Iraqi artist's attempt to engage us in virtual game realities seems to me a pretty damn ironic way to get our bloody attention.

From Crudeoils.com:

"Iraqi born Wafaa Bilal has become known for provocative interactive video installations. Many of Bilal's projects over the past few years have addressed the dichotomy of the virtual vs. the real. He attempts to keep in mind the relationship of the viewer to the artwork, with one of his main objectives transforming the normally passive experience of viewing art into an active participation. In Domestic Tension, viewers can log onto the internet to contact, or shoot, Bilal with paintball guns. Bilal's objective is to raise awareness of virtual war and privacy, or lack thereof, in the digital age..." read on.

NYPD Surveillance of 2004 RNC Protesters

Wow. Even though many folks knew that NYPD and other law enforcement agencies were spying on activist groups during the 2004 Republican National Convention, it'd be safe to say that not many of us ever thought we'd lay our eyes on proof.

Well look no further, but today, documents revealing police surveillance in the run up to the 2004 RNC protests were made public through a court order. Some of the groups that received mentioning include:

Anarchists People of Color
Critical Resistance
National Immigrant Solidarity Network
Youth Channel
Manhattan Neighborhood Network
Hip Hop Summit Action Network
United for Peace and Justice
National Youth and Student Peace Coalition
Planned Parenthood Federation of America
NYC AIDS Housing Network

This lists of groups, which includes such innocuous groups like Youth Channel and NYC AIDS Housing Network, confirms widely held beliefs in NYC activist circles that the 5-0 and its minions weren't concerned with "protecting America against terrorism" but instead were in the process of building a portfolio to (1) plan their over-the-top and illegal preemptive arrests during RNC and (2) collecting COINTELPRO-inspired file cabinets of surveillance materials in which to later use to potentially target and harass.

In one of the reports, police found that Anarchists People of Color "explored subletting an apartment in NYC in order to accommodate group members from 'around the country.' " In the same report, police infiltrators noted that other protest organizers from Critical Resistance, More Gardens and WBAI radio were planning an event that would "unite peoples.. train community leaders."

I was involved in the RNC protests. I thought they were the most powerful examples of democracy that I have participated in my life. I either am familiar with all of the groups above or I or folks I love and respect have done work with them.

For the government to be directing its "law enforcement" efforts on these groups and communities, sends a clear signal to what interests they are protecting. Why not a World Bank conference call? Why not a Halliburton board meeting? Why not peep out their own meetings and document how in their search for supposed illegal activities they were in fact committing their own?

Right now I'm writing a play about a young man who has a super power of healing. How would this character fit into this supposed benevolent society? Of course all these questions are rhetorical. I know the answer (the character questions i'm still working on though!). And I know you know the answer too. But I'm just putting it out there again for all of us to think about while going about the dailies of life.

Don't lose hope. Fight for it.

RIP: The Price Is Right

This article in today's Washington Post will have you smiling 'n laughing all the way through. I actually don't know what I enjoyed more, the humor and playfulness of Hank Stuever's writing (RSS 'em) or going down memory lane.

So long Bob Barker, you made many stay-at-home days filled with voyueristic fun, even if it was a bit consumer-driven. ;)

don don da don
don don da don
don don D A D A DA DA...

I've been a bit obssessed with what went down in Blacksburg, Virginia yesterday. Maybe because my school had the previous school shooting record of honor . Maybe because CNN sucked me in with their wall to wall coverage. Maybe because I'm fascinated by how different these 30 deaths feel to me (to America?) than the 3,000+ or the 60,000+ of Iraq. Or maybe because..

Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman, was a playwright who channeled his depression and sick thoughts into his writing .

VT reminds me so much of UT. From their student president to their school pride.

The first picture of a victim I saw was a young Black double major , well liked and who loved to laugh.

I feel guilty for watching so much, reading so much of violent moments like this one.

I might write about it some day.

That it just doesn't make sense to me. That maybe if I were there I could've stopped it.



I don't know.

When I get home I'm going to listen to Virginia Tech English Professor Nikki Giovanni's speech at the convocation ceremony where Bush spoke at earlier today.

Be well.