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