The problem of water remains open.

–Titos Patrikios

Scott Horton in Harpers:
Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, an isolation regime that was put in place for child-detainees, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed. It makes for fascinating reading.
Full article.

Transcript of Neely interview by Human Rights of the Americas.

by Tristan

The media is hitting mary jane pretty hard these days since michael phelps (8 gold medal, record setting, olympic swimmer) got caught on camera pulling tubes the other day. Any Google search of the story will bring up hit after hit of sad drug-war-minded articles and opinion pieces referencing role model behavior and calls to “Think about the Children” when punishing this role model. I appreciate Kathleen Parker’s clear analysis of the situation in the widely read Post. Pic above is courtesy of the whitehouse.gov link in her piece.

Beyond the celebrity gossip and closed minded ranting all over the media, is the most surprising article i’ve seen about mj recently, stating:
“THC, the main psychoactive substance in the cannabis plant, may … stimulate the formation of new brain cells.”

Stick that bit of scientific research in your pipe and smoke it!
Whether he’s just chilling out or thinking long term, let’s leave the kid alone and let him take care of his brain however he pleases.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

“He said he was told to monitor certain groups in order to eliminate them as suspects for more intense targeting. Those groups, he said, were U.S. journalists and news agencies. But rather than excluding the news organizations from monitoring, he discovered that the NSA was collecting the organizations’ communications 24 hours a day year round. ”

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2009/01/nsa-whistleblow.html

As President Obama begins his presidency, I wonder if the successes of his campaign and inaugural address are built on his understanding as a community organizer, that shifting power away from an individual, and onto many people builds strong, healthy and compassionate relationships – between citizens and government, between political parties and between nations of the world.

A recent study done by a team of Psychologists at the University of California, published in Psychological Science examined the influence of personal sense of power on the desire to help others. The researchers conducted the study by pairing individuals with partners who told them stories of emotional suffering and pain, and measured various responses to those interactions.

The findings of the study suggest that those who have a higher sense of power feel less compassionate and distressed when others are suffering compared to individuals who have a lower sense of power. The study also found that “high-power individuals reported a weaker desire to get to know and establish a friendship with their partner. In other words, powerful people were not motivated to establish a relationship with distressed individuals. This idea is supported by the fact that the distressed participants reported less of a social connection with high-power partners compared to low-power partners.”

I would be curious to see Obama’s results on the questionnaire to see how he rated himself on self-perception of power. From his campaign to his first days in office, his speeches have stated that it is up to all of us to use our individual power to get the country back on its feet. It is perhaps his recognition that the power on which to build our country’s success is spread out amongst everyone, and not solely in his hands, that makes us feel so connected to him.

So if we all feel so connected to our President and he is compassionate to all of our situations, then we’re at a good starting point. But at the same time, in this joyous new beginning, we must remember that he’s not the only one with influence over the direction of this country. Regardless of where Obama falls, our current economic policy paradigm is built on the idea of corporate power. And the results of the study match reality – people don’t feel connected to those institutions that supply their retirement, health insurance and salaries. What if Obama took his understanding of power and helped Americans in these economic challenges, not by helping corporations who fundamentally don’t share his view of power, but by investing in build bonds on the proximate level – supporting local businesses, communities, friends and families. If together we prioritize strengthening local alliances and distributing power equally, then we can build the compassionate relationships necessary to rely on each other to live a good life, regardless of what happens to corporations.

(inspired by No Impact Man)

obama & fillmore, san francisco, originally uploaded by *takeitez*.

sf ,<3s obama

“Dude, you’re just going through a Thrisis,” he told me. “A crisis in your 30s, doubting what you’ve been doing with your life. It’s the second-biggest trend right now, behind the Menaissance.”

Whether its the turning of the new year, being raised by ambitious parents, finding myself in an overachiever social group or finding ourselves solidly in our 30’s, there’s a lot of pressure to do things right, and do it quick, because time’s running out. I was quite pleased to find David Rosen’s NYT short piece “Dire Times Offer a Chance to Reconsider Choices” (originally titled in dire fashion – “In a life of firsts, its the seconds that count most”) sharing his tales of the pressures we ask ourselves “Is this what I’m going to be doing every day until I die?” Whether we’re determined to stick out this career choice or are contemplating a more inspiring line of work, there are many of us examining whether the path we’re on is the best choice for us to have a significant positive impact on this world in which we live.

What we choose to do with our lives now seems so important. Whether its going back to school, switching fields or figuring out how to best achice the next level of advancement within our current field, there’s a lot of pressure. And its not about pressure not to fail, but to fail ourselves (or is it our parents or societies pressures) in not becoming the image of professional success we idealize.

Whether the struggle to make a success of oneself is catalyzed by forced change of career due economic hard times or due to the neverending nagging in head about not being good enough, the feeling is often the same. When you’re in your 30’s it seems like its now or never to take the leap. But the question that inevitably comes up, is what is the right leap. As Rosen suggests, it seems like slowing down and diversifying around your interests is probably the most reasonable step to take. And I’d suggest look inside ourselves and find what living a successful life really is and follow that long and windy road one step at a time.

Musicians are attempting to reclaim their art in the name of human rights and art being a positive force in the world. The entire article by AP is here.

Amy Leblanc takes on the same subject with a twist in her post “The Medium is the Message” as she questions political street artist Shepard Fairey’s (Obey) expanded clothing line, which she found out, not only is catering to consumerist hipsters, but is also has all of their products made in China. Read the comments for the back and forth on artists who sell out. Some of them are worth the time.

riled up?
hot and bothered?
ready to unleash some of that pent up energy?

coming soon to a Bay Area wall near you…