Britney, News, Sex, Repression

Wow wow wow wow wow!! Britney, Britney, Britney. I don't really need to say much, as everyone has said it already, but I can't help but indulge myself... WTF?!! It was only a few years ago you were making out with Madonna on stage, in anticipation of the release of your new album. You were on top of the world, in a really hot, slutty getup. And now what? You still have the slutty getup, but an extra 50 lbs. and a really lacklustre comeback performance to boot. OK, you had two kids, and you' ve been through a lot lately. You still look damn fine. But honey, you need to get into the music. Where was all that hip shaking I was used to seeing you do a la "I'm A Slave For You"? This was your moment, and I hate to say that you probably could have shit on stage and had a better performance.

Alas, thus is the life of a former teen star who has more money than can wrap her pretty little mind around. OK. There, I said it. I got it out of me, enough said. What was even more entertaining to me was Sarah Silverman's monologue post performance, where she really ripped Brit apart-- she did a great impression of her kids, which, as anyone who watched it can attest, was dead on. While in questionable taste, I found it quite amusing. Many were pissed off about some racially sensitive comments, but come on... lighten up. It's for the sake of comedy, and all everyone needed after "you know what" (BRITNEY's laughable performance) was a good chuckle. Well done Ms. Silverman, well done. Jewish humor is always a delight.

When I hear about Britney or Lindsay or Paris or Nicole I always get a little pissed off, and a little secret pleasure. Especially when it's bad news for them. First of all, why the is this shit on CNN, when people are being killed and repressed the world over? How can we devote hours upon hours to all of this nonsense which has no value to society in anyway, shape, or form, aside from the mere entertainment value.

Nonetheless, I must admit that I enjoy hearing about their misfortunes. Mainly because I don't think they deserve anything they have-- they are spoiled brats, whose biggest concerns are the color of their next coiffe, or what party they are can make big. I would love to see nothing more than them to wind up poor and alone, with no attention and no pride. That's maybe a bit much. And, I must say that I do not wish such a fate on Britney, because I really want to see her ass shaking like it used to onstage. But FUCK!!! How much cocaine can these little bitches get up their noses before they die?? They are snorting machines.

Anyway, I take back that mean mean comment about them dying from poverty, and replace it with the following: Attention to news that is pertinent to the human condition would be nice from all the news outlets, instead of worthless news produced to sell that we are subjected to (We can thank Fox News for selling news that their demographic (backwards rural hoodlums)agree with, instead of what's actually going on.) I guess until we enforce a more rigid definition of what is valuable news, we will have to continue hearing about the woes of these drama queens. In the meantime, I suggest to those who care to switch to BBC, because it is subject to harsh British standards of journalism, or indy news (CurrentTV is amazing!)

While we are bombarded by popular media that commercializes sexuality, internal cultural forces, such as religion, make us ashamed of our sexuality. So says director John Cameron Mitchell (most famously for Shortbus, an amazaing film featuring live sex scenes that is known to many as "that movie.") He observes that repression of sexuality can lead to many undesirable effects for society, and advocates a more mature and sophisticated understanding of sexuality, in all of its complicated animalistic glory. I applaud this view, and much enjoyed the scene from the film where a hot guy shoots a load into his own mouth. ;)

While Americans have a hard time dealing with sexuality, perhaps nowhere is there more sexual repression than the Muslim world, where it is enforced by Sharia. The Afghan burka, a head-to-toe covering women were mandated to wear during the Taliban's regime, is the symbol to the Western world of this repression. I just watched CNN's Lifting the Veil with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, a superb Pakistani journalist. It studies the progress that women are acheiving in a place where they were virtual property. It was extremely frustrating to watch, as men walked past women, taunting them as if they were beasts. This goes on to this day.

Conditions have only slightly improved for women there. Cultural forces prevent most women from removing the burka, or even attending school, both of which are gaurunteed under Afghanistan's constitution. Thus, when widowed, with no right to property or work, the women have no choice but to beg on the streets for food.

Life with a husband seems not much better in many circumstances. An epidemic of burning oneself has spread across the country's women like fire itself, as kerosene fuel is cheap and abundant in this impoverished country. The women drench themselves in the liquid, and set themselves in flames, with the intention of killing themselves. A poor choice, because they often survive the initial trauma with horrific third degree burns, then die days or weeks later from infection, which can be even more painful.

Why do they do it?? Obaid asked many of them this very question, as they lie on there death bed. The answer: they had to escape from the pain of being systematically treated like shit by society and their husbands and mother in laws (these two are the ones who make the major decisions regarding her life.) And, to protest such awful treatment, they burn themselves. It sends a message. Imagine the horrible pain they endure from the burns that cover their body... well, their life is infinitely more painful. And, the incidence of these cases has risen since the independence of Afghanistan from the Taliban.

The US and coalition forces heralded the liberation as a victory for women, and President Bush, being the wonderful humanitarian he is, spoke of the end of their repression thanks to the American cunning. Alas, conditions are no better for these women now. What's sick about the whole thing is, the women wear the burkas so that the men don't get excited and lose control. Society deals with the inability of men to control themselves by stripping women of all dignity and rights. Women are beginning to enter schools, without the restrictive burka, but that is as much progress that can be accounted for on a wide scale. As Obaid points out, the only thing these women have now is hope. For more, check out the program.

Some Muslim women say that a veil (a burka is a little more extreme than a simple veil) to cover themselves is in a way liberating, despite what Westerners say. It releases one from the obligation to pretty up. Society can't judge you for not being drop dead gorgeous, because they can't see your hair beneath the veil. While these women are entitled to this opinion, and I agree that we might be too harsh on women in terms of beauty and presentation, I would shoot myself if I had to wear such a thing. I like taking the time to get ready every morning, and make myself damn hot to go take over the world. And on that note, I am off to go get some beauty sleep so I can be sexy for tomorrow.

New York Summer

I had a fabulous summer in New York these past few months. I got to spend time with my hot bf, whom I miss very much now, as he has left me back here in Columbus. And I have to have my tonsils out tomorrow! I am second guessing myself now, but cryptic tonsilitis is not a pleasant thing, especially to the nose. So, I digress...

Being in the "center of the universe" for some time has given me some new perspective. To start, I saw a well made documentary on Cite Soleil, a slum in Port Au Prince, Haiti, a place the UN has called the world's most dangerous place. It follows 2Pac (not the beloved US rapper) and his brother Bily, as the hired help of President Aristide. Their job is to intimidate political dissent in Cite Soleil and the greater Port Au Prince area.

The film highlights the frightening reverence for African-American thug culture that the desperate miserables of Haiti entertain. Haiti is illustrated as a democracy turned upside down by dictators trying to get some hold on law and order.This struggle to maintain power and authority is incarnated in the gang the brothers lead. Intimidation with AK-47s and other large weapons is a must to gain respect.Guns and violence, untreated disease and injury, and malnutrion and dirty water are all characteristic of the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.

It makes one wonder how this happened. Perhaps it has been in the shadow of a world that could not embrace a black republic, as the West has consitently placed costly embargoes on the country, crippling civil society. The brothers run into trouble as Aristide flees from a rebel overthrow, and Franco-American troops arrive to reinforce the groups new-found sovereignty. See The Ghosts of Cite Soleil.

Living in New York showed me a thing or two about rent... and that is, it is expensive to live there! In Manhattan, the median rental price for just a studio is $2,200/month! While such astronomical prices keep the riff raff (like me) out of ritzy neighborhoods, it can be stiffling to the vibrancy of urban diversity. Across the pond, London is home to equal affluence that can afford such prices, as well as the rest of the city that cannot.

Enter co-op living. Imagine living on the Thames, on some of the most expensive real estate in the world. The building you live in is a beautiful post-war brick structure, and you have your unit, which is plenty big enough for you and your family, decorated sublimely. Imagine then that you establish your own rent, based upon your pay. You would effectively be imagining cooperative living in London.

A non-governmental bought up the land from the government at subsidized prices in the 60's. They constructed multi-use buildings, that is, residential/commercial in the same building, and have created a sustainable neighborhood where you don't have to be a doctor, lawyer, or CEO to live in.Instead, you must be of moderate income to rent out these units. A very clever idea indeed.

Controversy does not shy fromt this arrangement, though, as the organization wants to open a high rise luxury condominium building, where tenants will be charged market price. While this would promote mixing of classes, is this ethical in light of the fact the organization got the land at subsidized prices? Regardless, I know I would certainly appreciate such an organzation in Manhattan. There are few other ways in which the lower middle class can have access to the city center.

Speaking of the city center, the other day in Union Square I saw an anti war demonstration. It was quite refreshing, being from the Midwest, to see such animosity toward the Bush regime. Nonetheless, I wondered about the current ethnic tensions in Iraq. I don't know how responsible it would be for the US to pull out recklessly after effectively destroying any semblance of a civil society that existed before. Without "peace keepers" (I don't know if the term is appropriate for US forces), will the ethnic groups turn Iraq into the next Rwanda? Or did we just peel the band aid (Hussein's regime) off an increasingly more hostile situation, wherein the Sunni minority was priveleged. In any case, Washington obviously didn't have this thought out, nor did/do they care.

It seems more and more, as more and more evidence has not surfaced as to the existence of WMDs and the poor excuse for a government we installed is falling apart, as if the only reason we went into Iraq in the first place was money! As most people are realizing, the biggest winners in Iraq have been American corporations, who have reaped HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars from oil and US taxpayers. And not just any corporations! The ones old Bush and friends used to head. That is to say, Haliburton and its umbrella entities.

How are these corporations getting paid directly by the government? They are awarded contracts, without any market competition, and without any effective auditing to ensure where the money is going. They provide services, such as feeding the troops, building and securing airports and other infrastructure, transporting goods and services, and a plethora of other odd jobs. Of course, neither the troops or Iraqis are benefitting from these services. Why? Because these contractors don't give a shit about the quality of their work. Troops are served rotting food and nonpotable water, while Iraqis are given hospitals in which the plumbing is so half assed that piss and shit literally drip from the ceiling and down the walls.

And what does this administration do about these mother fuckers effectively wasting our tax dollars (and by wasting, I mean securing it in Swiss bank accounts)? NOTHING! They refuse to prosecute anyone. Why? Because they used to run these companies!!!!!! WTF!! Anyway, enough of my rambling. If you want more on your wasted money, see Matt Taibbi's "The Great Iraq Swindle" in the latest Rolling Stones (issue 1034, Sept. 6, 2007).

As long as Republicans keep the guise of strong faith and values (that is anit abortion and anti gay marriage) they can probably go on robbing this country out of its livlihood and lives for a long time come. As far as faith goes, author Christopher Hitchens says "To choose dogma and faith over doubt and experiment is to throw out the ripening vintage and to reach greedily for the Kool-Aid" in his book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.This is one of many gems he put so poetically in his plea for secularism. I must say I agree with his Freudian views on religion. After all, this juvenile drink is certainly much more palatable to an unrefined tongue, as religion is to an unrefined mind. In his case for a more secular society, he cites that religion poses as antipode to reason/science, that religion does not provide anyone with any sense of morality that humans don't naturally have, that religion can be viewed as a form of child abuse (think male/female circumsision), that religion acts as an excuse for politicians to do as they will under the guise of faith, and that America's founding father's were in many ways anti-traditional religion. It is good reading for anyone no matter their faith or convictions.

On that note, I must be on my way back home to rest before my surgery. I'll have faith that I survive this horrible trauma my body's about to sustain. Wish me luck!