Monthly Archives: October 2011

No Face: Wall of Fire

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

My mother died of cancer on July 11, 1990, at the age of 68. Cremation decision, by my father, I guess, or she may have specified. Went through the wake, she being embalmed, but closed casket, opened only privately, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Family, Funerals, Ottawa Reflections | 1 Comment

Turkey, Not Tunisia

Posted on October 28, 2011 by

My friend, Neil Remington Abramson, made a comment in relation to my thoughts on political change in Libya. He talked about the “election of the Turks”. I assumed he meant Tunisia, and so edited his comment, and added a link. … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Change | Leave a comment

Shifted: Standard Operating Evil

Posted on October 27, 2011 by

Evil often best operates in concealment, and often the best hiding place is “standard operating procedures”, that are habits, and go unquestioned. From an extracted e-mail exchange with Neil Remington Abramson, October 26, 2011 (reproduced with permission): Neil: I don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophy, Religion | 1 Comment

Amy Winehouse, Billie Holiday: When She Was On

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

Here she is, 2007 or so: Here she is, with Tony Bennett, shortly before her death: Here she is, stagecollapsed in Belgrade, with the end appearing almost inevitable: The Billie Holiday of this era, with a difference being that Billie … Continue reading →

Posted in Music | Leave a comment

No Fury, But Surely Hell?

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

I asked my friend, Ahmed Abualsamh, how he could interact with so many people, including me, whom he was certain were all going to Hell. As I had understood Ahmed at one point, all non-Muslims go to Hell and most … Continue reading →

Posted in Religion | 2 Comments

Sirtefied IV: What Institution-Building?

Posted on October 24, 2011 by

Libya was declared liberated yesterday, at the same time that it was declared by interim leader Mustafa Abdel Jalil that Shariah would be Libya’s principal law: Any law that violates Shariah is null and void legally. Within the limits of … Continue reading →

Posted in Haiti, Libya, Political Change | 1 Comment

Easy Occupation II

Posted on October 23, 2011 by

So easy, so easy. Canadian politicians lining up to support the “Occupy (name your city)” protesters. Peggy Nash of the New Democratic Party–and the party’s Finance Critic, no less, saying that “I think what the Occupation movement is expressing is … Continue reading →

Posted in Political Change | 1 Comment

Sirtefied III

Posted on October 22, 2011 by

The United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are now all calling for an investigation into the circumstances of the death of Moammar Gadhafi. Seems a bit off the mark; wasn’t what was happening in … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, Political Change | Leave a comment

Ontario: Greece Vision IV

Posted on October 21, 2011 by

On October 6, 2011, my friend, Neil Remington Abramson, commented in relation to the Ontario election results (reproduced with permission): Subject: Four More Years Incredible! You guys went for McGuinty again! From here, he doesn’t seem that great. On October … Continue reading →

Posted in Equalization, Politics - Provincial | Leave a comment

Sirtefied II

Posted on October 20, 2011 by

The images of him being dragged, alive, into the crowd: The animal-like sounds of the crowd, accompanied by the screaming of “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”), being an obscene religious perversion, within my limited understanding of the religion. Reminds me … Continue reading →

Posted in Libya, Political Change, Politics - International | Leave a comment