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Radio Rox--Women in Black NYC-Palestine & Israel
This is a 20 minute Radio Roxanne audio clip with an interview of Women in Black (WiB), NYC--With one NYC Jewish woman who helped found NYC's WiB, and one NYC Jewish woman whose personal transformation prompted her to join WiB's weekly vigils, and then went to Palestine and Israel to learn firsthand about the living the conditions there. The link to the audio at my website is here:
http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne1-26-09.html
and below at the end of this written back-story (--not a part of the audio narration, which is a different text only contained in the audio, nor the interview--) to my encounter with them... I hope that this post goes some way to shattering the wall of lies regarding what's really going on in Palestine and Israel, at a time of precarious "cease fire". There are also some links to more information at the end, including a few actions you can take.
**
I encountered WiB NYC purely by chance and entirely to my good fortune. They saved my intellectual and emotional life and that's not hyperbole. I don't think I knew it then, how important running into them at precisely the moment on the day I did, but I know it now: Seeing them-- and our conversation--helped remind me of several things it's easy to forget in this culture... Things like why I'm alive, what my purpose in life is, what is most important, the preciousness of life and my time and how I really want to spend it, and why I do things that nearly kill me sometimes just to get my true work done... As I said, I didn't know the serious significance of our exchange, but I know it now, because after that crazy trip to New York City----and I mean IMMEDIATELY after (as in the DAY I returned home)---- I learned that my mom has lung cancer. (--Let me just say right now: Thanks in advance for condolences and questions... The prognosis is the worst, and I knew that in my heart immediately, even though the Dr's had to do weeks of testing to know it... And thank you, but no, thank you, there's nothing you can do. It just sucks.--) It is only in a culture such as ours--one that removes us from the reality of death and forces on us the degree of denial-- with which we live, that such experiences strip reality to its core, and I have always liked that core. When someone that important in one's life becomes terminally ill and / or dies, what is most important gets immediately engraved in sharp relief over everything else, and that kind of thinking about and way of living in the world can rattle things, as it should--If one is open to that happening...
....As it did for me, which is why it took me six months to produce this piece. I'd listened to it many many times since August, '08, when the trip to NY, the interviews, and the news about my mom collided, but it was only in the past week, while editing it and writing the notes for narration, that the meaning of it to me and my life as an artist of audio, words, and images -- and the relationship of all of that to my life as an activist -- really became clear (In the context of the personal realities described above and below...) I hope it speaks to the same for you.
[ NOTE: Please know, these notes speak primarily to how my trip to NY City basically traumatized me. It's full mostly of how stupid the workshop was in many ways, and how I hated it. So, here's a quick mention of other experiences that still have great meaning to me: I recovered every morning and night ( I felt great about my endurance and my life post- and pre-workshop every single day!); the neat and exciting things that happened (Like the time I was walking "home" up broadway and saw some people staring up at the sky at a building with funny lighting and I said, "What's that you're looking at?", and they said, "That's the Empire State Building!" ---Goes to show you I was NOT in NY City for the "sight-seeing"!!); the really funny experiences I had (Like: the hilarious exchange I had the first morning with the first (and only) cab I took, when the Nigerian-born cab driver would not stop flirting with me, when all I wanted to know about from him was the Nigerian rebels patroling the Delta against the oil companies destroying their landbase...); the goofy stories that happened that only I could have happened to me (Like the time I was walking in Times Square and didn't know it, even though I had walked through it twice every day for three days, and how, when I finally realized it, I was looking all around me, mesmerized, spinning around in circles, thinking about how, in that digital wasteland, most people were experiencing "the Square" by using digital technology, (cameras and cell phones) --which to me means not really experiencing it, but filtering it through some media-- which means NOT paying attention, and then BOOM!! I fell off a curb, (not paying attention of course ;), with all 50 lbs of my computer, recorder, mics, etc, on my back still... And then I heard, "Are you okay?" And I looked up to see a Hassidic Jewish man pausing from his conversation on a cell phone!!!!--Yes, I was okay!!); the crazy all nighter I did one night by going to Starbucks (where I never usually go--I hate them), meeting someone who tried to take me home with him ("to listen to music", he said, and I told him I had enough audio to listen to that would fill 5 lifetimes, and drinking some caffeinated Starbucks drink that made me feel nearly like I was going to have a heart attack--and I wish I was exaggerating on that!); the awesome space I slept in (A small apartment that is used by a massage therapist, so every night I'd walk into a veritable meditation suite!!), and the new friend I made because of it (the massage therapist to whom a local Buffalo friend introduced me); the fantastic food I ate and the very fun and creative way I ate breakfast every morning (walking through the urban jungle, picking fruit and bagels and pastries from the various street vendors!!); the terrific sense of power I felt every morning and night on my 3 mile walk back and forth from the place I stayed in Columbus Circle to Soho, where the workshop was held, (carrying in my backpack those 50 pounds of equipment each way); the fabulous Mexican meal we had with one of the very cool audio artist teachers of the workshop, and the spectacular audio artists' / gallery we went to on a field trip that night; and most important, the first night I spent with an old friend (and her family) I hadn't seen since '97, the last time I was in NY, when we walked into Central Park, and that amazing, magical, life-force sensation I felt when that cool fresh night air caressed my face and soothed my lungs...]
**
I was in NY City for a week long audio workshop in August 2008. I had prepared for months (since March) for what I thought would be a 40 hour week (8 hours per day) intensive of working on the work I love, a huge break from the wage slave life of my day jobs every week. I thought I'd learn about how to better demonstrate the relationship of the wave form (sound) to the content (subject matter with which I deal) in my audio work. I thought I'd meet others like me--Others who recognize the urgent need for radical cultural change, who are ready and willing to use their voices in their work as part of the artillery in the war to save the world from the corporatist forces of destruction. I thought we'd be roaming the crazy streets of NY, gathering sound from all the languages spoken there--from the trees surrounded by cement and black top, to the hawks in central park and on sky-scrapers, preying on the rat race of civilization. I thought I'd get, in 40 hours, some personal mentoring in my work as an activist and artist using audio.
I thought a lot of things. I was wrong almost to the point of stupid.
What I actually got was: During a heat wave in NY City, the workshop was held in a small room with about 17 other people (includes the presentors). The room was *VERY* small (think: photo-matt booths--maybe the square footage of about 5 of them), and ---during a weeklong heat wave in NY City in August of 2008---there was no air conditioning. Well, there was one, and it was so loud that because we needed to talk and listen (yes, listen--It was an *audio* workshop, afterall), they had to turn it off when we were in the class sessions (You may recall that I mentioned that was 8 hours per day...) ---- ___That___ is a minor point, since I really am not a fan of air conditioning anyway. I am however a huge fan of breathing fresh air--BUT: The windows did not open in the room. Did I mention fans? There was one, but again, it was too loud for us to hear when we were listening to sounds and speaking and all that, so off the fan went... The room we were in, let me remind one more time, for an audio workshop, was a room with BAD acoustics. Now, I dunno, but it seems to me that a workshop on audio would be held in an context in which the environment for the conduction of sound would be of great significance to the presenters. I didn't get that impression, though.
The people I met were mostly from NY City. They seemed to be more interested in my peculiarities than in my work. I found this off-putting. When I am getting to know people, I want to know what it's like to be them. If you want to know what it's like to be someone, and you don't have a lot of time (---And I mean __especially__ if you don't have a lot of time, because if you have time, you should just spend time with them, and you'll learn slowly in their presence what it's like to be them), then you ask questions about what they love, what they hate, what their passion is, what they fear, what they have learned in life, what their daily life is like... Never once in the entire time I was there with all those people, did ANY one of them ask me what I'm working on, what I care most about, why I do my work, what really matters to me. I mean, we had this short time together, (although, honestly, after the way I was spoken to and treated, 40 hours was waaaaay too long), and given that we were all gathered together to hone our craft and (I thought) explore ways to share our ideas and work, the things we could have been talking about were not at all what I was talked to about. Examples (with my answers, some of which I gave, except for the sarcastic answers which I kept to myself) include: "Oh, you live in Buffalo? Why?" [Sarcastic ANSWER: Because I HATE NY City].... "Why do you walk here? --why not take the subway?" [Serious ANSWER: Because I would rather be in the fresh air and sunlight for the morning and night commute, especially considering I am sitting in a room lacking either sun or air, or decent sound dynamics, for FORTY pathetic hours in this entire week!!!]..... "You __clean houses___ for a living????!!!!!" [Snarky ANSWER: Yes, and I run my own life, too, as opposed to people who suck up to some employer for your living] "Why do you exercise so much?" [One ANSWER: Because I do manual labor for a living and if I don't take care of my body, I can't eat; Another ANSWER I didn't say: Because I need to be in top shape for the battle of living in a culture that's killing us all, even though you're so blind to it, you don't even notice]....
I know it sounds like I didn't like these people, and by now, that's generally true. But then--I just wanted to connect on equal ground, and instead, often whenever I spoke in class, I got ignored, or dismissed, or otherwise disrespected. I'm not imagining it--It was just very uncomfortable, and it took me a long time to figure out what was going on there--And now my analysis is it was a classic case of class dynamics in that class room... I'm not saying every single thing that happened, but believe me, there was some weird shit that went on there. Add that to the facts that: I got **maybe** two hours of mentoring attention during the whole 40 hour week. We did not once get any opportunities to gather audio as a group nor as an assignment. I did not once get asked to join the small groups that formed for dinner.
So, one night, the last night there--Thursday-- I was walking home thinking about the above whole week. I was tired and hungry and a little sad and definitely lonely. I was thinking about not going back, about just hanging out in the city--Especially Central Park--for the next and last day, Friday. I was at my lowest point emotionally--I was looking down at the sidewalk as I walked, wondering if I could muster an adventure for dinner, like I had all week. At one point, I had to look up to cross the street, and there I saw them: The beautiful, the powerful, the brilliant, the sight-for-sore-eyes line of Women in Black (with men!), holding signs of protest against U.S. policies toward Israel and Palestine, and against the apartheid conditions of Palestine at the hands of Israel (care of U.S. funding).
I stopped.
I am one who cries easily, and one who often works to hold back my tears when I feel tears well up. It's rare that I am instantly catapulted into crying. In this instant, I cried. I smiled, too. They weren't tears of grief, but of relief. Tears of wonder that I happened to encounter this group of people at precisely the moment I was feeling most lonely, having found no one with whom I felt a true and good connection all week. Still smiling, I thought, "Those are my people!!!"
They allowed me to interview them and then they invited me to dinner. It was the most wonderful, most satisfying, meal all week. I owe a big THANKS to the Women in Black NYC.
Here is the link to those interviews: http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne1-26-09.html
Below my signature are several more other interviews about what's going on in Palestine.
Thank you for listening.
-Roxanne
* * *
derrick jensen & radio roxanne-premise one:
http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne10-7-2008.html
~ http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/ ~
Earthstream Creative Projects, Inc.
http://www.myspace.com/radioroxanne
http://mobilebroadcastnews.ning.com/profile/RoxanneAmico
"so hear the voices, let them speak. we're talking about presence acknowledged."
(studs terkel)
"if miracles are needed, let them issue from our hands" (one people)
*superb online marketing consultation: www.othymes.com
**
January 24, 2009 Israel admits using white phosphorous in attacks on Gaza
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5575070.ece
**
Johann Hari
Columnist, London Independent Posted December 28, 2008 Bloggers' Index The True Story Behind This War is Not the One Israel is Telling
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-true-story-behind-thi_b_153825.html
**
Obama, take away the pain in my stomach
An open letter to Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcGm-gxmxHw
**
Unseen Gaza
Warning
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
ICH Channel 4 Video Report - Broadcast - January 22, 2009
Is what has been presented on our screens and in our papers a true reflection of events on the ground in Gaza? And how do these reports differ to those aired in other countries?
With reporters unable to enter Gaza, attempted media manipulation from both sides and strict regulations governing what images that can be shown on British TV, Jon Snow asks a range of journalists from at home and abroad about the challenges of getting the full story.
Featuring images that haven’t before been aired on mainstream television, Jon also examines the difference between the coverage at home and that in the US, Europe and the Middle East. He compares the coverage available on terrestrial channels with satellite TV and the internet and investigates the extent to which some British Muslims are by-passing the mainstream British media and looking elsewhere for their information.
To what extent does the choice of news outlet affect opinion of the conflict?
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/unseen-gaza/
----- Original Message ----- From: Joanna Drzewieniecki To: IsPalEvent Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 9:17 AM Subject: [Ispal_task_event] [Fwd: Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid]
Please act! Thanks, Joanna
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:15:32 -0500 (EST) From: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Take Action: President Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid
Click here or on the icon above to watch the video. Can you feel the change in the air? We can.
Last Thursday, at the State Department, President Obama introduced former Sen. George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and stated:
"Our hearts go out to Palestinian civilians who are in need of immediate food, clean water, and basic medical care, and who've faced suffocating poverty for far too long. Now we must extend a hand of opportunity to those who seek peace. As part of a lasting cease-fire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce."
In other words, President Obama agrees with one of our key post-ceasefire demands: Israel must comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which calls for "unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment," and Israel must end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, an illegal form of collective punishment of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents who live there.
To watch the video of President Obama's remarks (fast-forward to 32:00), click here. To read the transcript, click here.
Also, on Friday, Rep. John Olver and six other Representatives circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter addressed to Secretary of State Clinton expressing their "deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task." (The full text of the letter is below.)
TAKE ACTION
1. Contact President Obama at 202-456-1111 or send him an email by clicking here to thank him for his support for unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and for lifting Israel's siege.
However, all of our demands have not yet been met.
Also, be sure to tell President Obama that Israel must pay reparations for killing more than 1,300 Palestinians and injuring more than 5,000 during its three week war on the occupied Gaza Strip. Israel also must be held accountable for destroying an estimated 4,000 buildings and should pay for the estimated $2 billion in damages.
And tell President Obama that Israel must be held accountable for its misuse of U. S. weapons to kill and injure Palestinian civilians and to target Palestinian civilian infrastructure. Rep. Dennis Kucinich already has requested the State Department to investigate Israel's violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Ask President Obama to make sure this investigation is complete and accurate and that Israel is sanctioned by ending U. S. military aid as a consequence of its violations of this law.
2. Contact your Representative before noon on Tuesday at 202-224-3121 and ask her/him to "sign on" to Rep. Olver's "Dear Colleague" letter on U. S. humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
It's important that you contact your Representative as soon as possible because the letter is closing for signatures by the deadline mentioned above. Call your Representative, identify yourself as a concerned constituent, ask her/him to "sign on" to the letter, and state why you feel it is the responsibility of the United States to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.
And for more take action ideas:
3. Sign our open letter to President Obama, "We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy."
4. Organize in your community to tell President Obama, "Yes We Can…End Military Aid to Israel." Israel's war and siege on the occupied Gaza Strip would not have been possible without the military and diplomatic support of the United States. We need to have sustained, long-term organizing to end military aid to Israel to prevent future massacres from taking place. Sign up today as a volunteer organizer and we'll send you an organizing packet with postcards, petitions, and fact sheets. To receive your organizing packet, click here.
5. Register for our Feb. 1-2 Grassroots Advocacy Training/Lobby Day in Washington, DC before noon Eastern on Tuesday.
Rep. Olver "Dear Colleague" Letter Support Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza
Urge Secretary of State Clinton to support immediate humanitarian assistance for Gaza
Dear Colleague,
With the rest of the world, we gladly welcomed the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 18. However, there remains a dire humanitarian situation that must be immediately addressed. We believe that it is in the United States' interest to play a leading role in alleviating the human suffering in Gaza.
The armed conflict in Gaza resulted in widespread destruction to homes and to public and commercial infrastructure across Gaza. Fuel shortages have cut electricity, limiting the ability of Gaza's hospitals to operate. Medical supplies are in short supply and hospitals are understaffed. The humanitarian supplies and food that do reach civilians only meet a small percentage of the real need. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential public services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza.
Please join us in writing to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to request that the United States lead the international effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The United States has long been a leader on humanitarian issues and we should seize this opportunity to alleviate the suffering of civilians and restore our historic moral standing among the community of nations.
Sincerely,
LOIS CAPPS DAVID PRICE Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN W. OLVER KEITH ELLISON Member of Congress Member of Congress
SAM FARR MAURICE HINCHEY Member of Congress Member of Congress
BARBARA LEE Member of Congress
**********
Dear Secretary Clinton:
First, we would like to congratulate you on being sworn in as our nation's 67th Secretary of State. We are very hopeful that this new era in American foreign policy upon which we embark can advance the cause of peace in the Middle East and beyond.
As strong supporters of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, we are writing to express our deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task.
As you know, the situation on the ground is dire. The flow of humanitarian goods into the Gaza Strip is limited to food and medicine. Yet there exists a real need to allow for the importation of construction materials and fuel, which require the opening of crossings into Gaza. For example, only the Karni Crossing has the capacity for transporting large cargo, such as cement, but it remains closed.
In addition, in order to rebuild civilian infrastructure in Gaza the international community is going to have to make significant monetary contributions. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential services to the Palestinians in Gaza.
We also remain especially concerned about the desperate condition of medical services in Gaza. Although Israel has begun to allow limited medical supplies into Gaza, the need far outweighs the availability while hospitals remain understaffed and ill-supplied. One of the most crucial steps that needs to be taken is for Israel to allow critically ill patients to be transported out of Gaza and into Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, where they may receive necessary medical care. We therefore urge you to express this concern directly to Israeli government officials.
In addition to the several thousand individuals who were physically injured during the recent military operations, we can expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of individuals suffering from psychological trauma. In order to help the population to begin rebuilding, we will need to further ensure that funds are used to provide adequate mental health services in Gaza.
Failure to address this humanitarian emergency has the potential to produce a crisis of even more unspeakable proportions. We therefore respectfully request that the State Department release emergency funds to UNRWA for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. We believe the State Department can make funds available through accounts such as Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) and urge you to facilitate the transfer of funds as soon as possible.
We look forward to maintaining a productive and ongoing dialogue with the State Department and the Obama Administration regarding the United States response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Toward that end we respectfully request that you or your staff share with us the actions taken to date and the strategy you will pursue to address the humanitarian crisis within14 days.
Finally, we know that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole is a top priority of the Obama Administration and we applaud President Obama and you for your early and public commitment to meet this challenge. We also believe that the naming of former Senator George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East is commendable.
We believe the security interests of both Israel and the United States will be greatly enhanced by the establishment of a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and that United States involvement is indispensable in achieving that goal. We stand ready to work with you as the Administration furthers these efforts.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
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http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne1-26-09.html
and below at the end of this written back-story (--not a part of the audio narration, which is a different text only contained in the audio, nor the interview--) to my encounter with them... I hope that this post goes some way to shattering the wall of lies regarding what's really going on in Palestine and Israel, at a time of precarious "cease fire". There are also some links to more information at the end, including a few actions you can take.
**
I encountered WiB NYC purely by chance and entirely to my good fortune. They saved my intellectual and emotional life and that's not hyperbole. I don't think I knew it then, how important running into them at precisely the moment on the day I did, but I know it now: Seeing them-- and our conversation--helped remind me of several things it's easy to forget in this culture... Things like why I'm alive, what my purpose in life is, what is most important, the preciousness of life and my time and how I really want to spend it, and why I do things that nearly kill me sometimes just to get my true work done... As I said, I didn't know the serious significance of our exchange, but I know it now, because after that crazy trip to New York City----and I mean IMMEDIATELY after (as in the DAY I returned home)---- I learned that my mom has lung cancer. (--Let me just say right now: Thanks in advance for condolences and questions... The prognosis is the worst, and I knew that in my heart immediately, even though the Dr's had to do weeks of testing to know it... And thank you, but no, thank you, there's nothing you can do. It just sucks.--) It is only in a culture such as ours--one that removes us from the reality of death and forces on us the degree of denial-- with which we live, that such experiences strip reality to its core, and I have always liked that core. When someone that important in one's life becomes terminally ill and / or dies, what is most important gets immediately engraved in sharp relief over everything else, and that kind of thinking about and way of living in the world can rattle things, as it should--If one is open to that happening...
....As it did for me, which is why it took me six months to produce this piece. I'd listened to it many many times since August, '08, when the trip to NY, the interviews, and the news about my mom collided, but it was only in the past week, while editing it and writing the notes for narration, that the meaning of it to me and my life as an artist of audio, words, and images -- and the relationship of all of that to my life as an activist -- really became clear (In the context of the personal realities described above and below...) I hope it speaks to the same for you.
[ NOTE: Please know, these notes speak primarily to how my trip to NY City basically traumatized me. It's full mostly of how stupid the workshop was in many ways, and how I hated it. So, here's a quick mention of other experiences that still have great meaning to me: I recovered every morning and night ( I felt great about my endurance and my life post- and pre-workshop every single day!); the neat and exciting things that happened (Like the time I was walking "home" up broadway and saw some people staring up at the sky at a building with funny lighting and I said, "What's that you're looking at?", and they said, "That's the Empire State Building!" ---Goes to show you I was NOT in NY City for the "sight-seeing"!!); the really funny experiences I had (Like: the hilarious exchange I had the first morning with the first (and only) cab I took, when the Nigerian-born cab driver would not stop flirting with me, when all I wanted to know about from him was the Nigerian rebels patroling the Delta against the oil companies destroying their landbase...); the goofy stories that happened that only I could have happened to me (Like the time I was walking in Times Square and didn't know it, even though I had walked through it twice every day for three days, and how, when I finally realized it, I was looking all around me, mesmerized, spinning around in circles, thinking about how, in that digital wasteland, most people were experiencing "the Square" by using digital technology, (cameras and cell phones) --which to me means not really experiencing it, but filtering it through some media-- which means NOT paying attention, and then BOOM!! I fell off a curb, (not paying attention of course ;), with all 50 lbs of my computer, recorder, mics, etc, on my back still... And then I heard, "Are you okay?" And I looked up to see a Hassidic Jewish man pausing from his conversation on a cell phone!!!!--Yes, I was okay!!); the crazy all nighter I did one night by going to Starbucks (where I never usually go--I hate them), meeting someone who tried to take me home with him ("to listen to music", he said, and I told him I had enough audio to listen to that would fill 5 lifetimes, and drinking some caffeinated Starbucks drink that made me feel nearly like I was going to have a heart attack--and I wish I was exaggerating on that!); the awesome space I slept in (A small apartment that is used by a massage therapist, so every night I'd walk into a veritable meditation suite!!), and the new friend I made because of it (the massage therapist to whom a local Buffalo friend introduced me); the fantastic food I ate and the very fun and creative way I ate breakfast every morning (walking through the urban jungle, picking fruit and bagels and pastries from the various street vendors!!); the terrific sense of power I felt every morning and night on my 3 mile walk back and forth from the place I stayed in Columbus Circle to Soho, where the workshop was held, (carrying in my backpack those 50 pounds of equipment each way); the fabulous Mexican meal we had with one of the very cool audio artist teachers of the workshop, and the spectacular audio artists' / gallery we went to on a field trip that night; and most important, the first night I spent with an old friend (and her family) I hadn't seen since '97, the last time I was in NY, when we walked into Central Park, and that amazing, magical, life-force sensation I felt when that cool fresh night air caressed my face and soothed my lungs...]
**
I was in NY City for a week long audio workshop in August 2008. I had prepared for months (since March) for what I thought would be a 40 hour week (8 hours per day) intensive of working on the work I love, a huge break from the wage slave life of my day jobs every week. I thought I'd learn about how to better demonstrate the relationship of the wave form (sound) to the content (subject matter with which I deal) in my audio work. I thought I'd meet others like me--Others who recognize the urgent need for radical cultural change, who are ready and willing to use their voices in their work as part of the artillery in the war to save the world from the corporatist forces of destruction. I thought we'd be roaming the crazy streets of NY, gathering sound from all the languages spoken there--from the trees surrounded by cement and black top, to the hawks in central park and on sky-scrapers, preying on the rat race of civilization. I thought I'd get, in 40 hours, some personal mentoring in my work as an activist and artist using audio.
I thought a lot of things. I was wrong almost to the point of stupid.
What I actually got was: During a heat wave in NY City, the workshop was held in a small room with about 17 other people (includes the presentors). The room was *VERY* small (think: photo-matt booths--maybe the square footage of about 5 of them), and ---during a weeklong heat wave in NY City in August of 2008---there was no air conditioning. Well, there was one, and it was so loud that because we needed to talk and listen (yes, listen--It was an *audio* workshop, afterall), they had to turn it off when we were in the class sessions (You may recall that I mentioned that was 8 hours per day...) ---- ___That___ is a minor point, since I really am not a fan of air conditioning anyway. I am however a huge fan of breathing fresh air--BUT: The windows did not open in the room. Did I mention fans? There was one, but again, it was too loud for us to hear when we were listening to sounds and speaking and all that, so off the fan went... The room we were in, let me remind one more time, for an audio workshop, was a room with BAD acoustics. Now, I dunno, but it seems to me that a workshop on audio would be held in an context in which the environment for the conduction of sound would be of great significance to the presenters. I didn't get that impression, though.
The people I met were mostly from NY City. They seemed to be more interested in my peculiarities than in my work. I found this off-putting. When I am getting to know people, I want to know what it's like to be them. If you want to know what it's like to be someone, and you don't have a lot of time (---And I mean __especially__ if you don't have a lot of time, because if you have time, you should just spend time with them, and you'll learn slowly in their presence what it's like to be them), then you ask questions about what they love, what they hate, what their passion is, what they fear, what they have learned in life, what their daily life is like... Never once in the entire time I was there with all those people, did ANY one of them ask me what I'm working on, what I care most about, why I do my work, what really matters to me. I mean, we had this short time together, (although, honestly, after the way I was spoken to and treated, 40 hours was waaaaay too long), and given that we were all gathered together to hone our craft and (I thought) explore ways to share our ideas and work, the things we could have been talking about were not at all what I was talked to about. Examples (with my answers, some of which I gave, except for the sarcastic answers which I kept to myself) include: "Oh, you live in Buffalo? Why?" [Sarcastic ANSWER: Because I HATE NY City].... "Why do you walk here? --why not take the subway?" [Serious ANSWER: Because I would rather be in the fresh air and sunlight for the morning and night commute, especially considering I am sitting in a room lacking either sun or air, or decent sound dynamics, for FORTY pathetic hours in this entire week!!!]..... "You __clean houses___ for a living????!!!!!" [Snarky ANSWER: Yes, and I run my own life, too, as opposed to people who suck up to some employer for your living] "Why do you exercise so much?" [One ANSWER: Because I do manual labor for a living and if I don't take care of my body, I can't eat; Another ANSWER I didn't say: Because I need to be in top shape for the battle of living in a culture that's killing us all, even though you're so blind to it, you don't even notice]....
I know it sounds like I didn't like these people, and by now, that's generally true. But then--I just wanted to connect on equal ground, and instead, often whenever I spoke in class, I got ignored, or dismissed, or otherwise disrespected. I'm not imagining it--It was just very uncomfortable, and it took me a long time to figure out what was going on there--And now my analysis is it was a classic case of class dynamics in that class room... I'm not saying every single thing that happened, but believe me, there was some weird shit that went on there. Add that to the facts that: I got **maybe** two hours of mentoring attention during the whole 40 hour week. We did not once get any opportunities to gather audio as a group nor as an assignment. I did not once get asked to join the small groups that formed for dinner.
So, one night, the last night there--Thursday-- I was walking home thinking about the above whole week. I was tired and hungry and a little sad and definitely lonely. I was thinking about not going back, about just hanging out in the city--Especially Central Park--for the next and last day, Friday. I was at my lowest point emotionally--I was looking down at the sidewalk as I walked, wondering if I could muster an adventure for dinner, like I had all week. At one point, I had to look up to cross the street, and there I saw them: The beautiful, the powerful, the brilliant, the sight-for-sore-eyes line of Women in Black (with men!), holding signs of protest against U.S. policies toward Israel and Palestine, and against the apartheid conditions of Palestine at the hands of Israel (care of U.S. funding).
I stopped.
I am one who cries easily, and one who often works to hold back my tears when I feel tears well up. It's rare that I am instantly catapulted into crying. In this instant, I cried. I smiled, too. They weren't tears of grief, but of relief. Tears of wonder that I happened to encounter this group of people at precisely the moment I was feeling most lonely, having found no one with whom I felt a true and good connection all week. Still smiling, I thought, "Those are my people!!!"
They allowed me to interview them and then they invited me to dinner. It was the most wonderful, most satisfying, meal all week. I owe a big THANKS to the Women in Black NYC.
Here is the link to those interviews: http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne1-26-09.html
Below my signature are several more other interviews about what's going on in Palestine.
Thank you for listening.
-Roxanne
* * *
derrick jensen & radio roxanne-premise one:
http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/radioroxanne10-7-2008.html
~ http://www.spiritmorphstudio.com/ ~
Earthstream Creative Projects, Inc.
http://www.myspace.com/radioroxanne
http://mobilebroadcastnews.ning.com/profile/RoxanneAmico
"so hear the voices, let them speak. we're talking about presence acknowledged."
(studs terkel)
"if miracles are needed, let them issue from our hands" (one people)
*superb online marketing consultation: www.othymes.com
**
January 24, 2009 Israel admits using white phosphorous in attacks on Gaza
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article5575070.ece
**
Johann Hari
Columnist, London Independent Posted December 28, 2008 Bloggers' Index The True Story Behind This War is Not the One Israel is Telling
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/johann-hari/the-true-story-behind-thi_b_153825.html
**
Obama, take away the pain in my stomach
An open letter to Obama
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EcGm-gxmxHw
**
Unseen Gaza
Warning
This video may contain images depicting the reality and horror of war/violence and should only be viewed by a mature audience.
ICH Channel 4 Video Report - Broadcast - January 22, 2009
Is what has been presented on our screens and in our papers a true reflection of events on the ground in Gaza? And how do these reports differ to those aired in other countries?
With reporters unable to enter Gaza, attempted media manipulation from both sides and strict regulations governing what images that can be shown on British TV, Jon Snow asks a range of journalists from at home and abroad about the challenges of getting the full story.
Featuring images that haven’t before been aired on mainstream television, Jon also examines the difference between the coverage at home and that in the US, Europe and the Middle East. He compares the coverage available on terrestrial channels with satellite TV and the internet and investigates the extent to which some British Muslims are by-passing the mainstream British media and looking elsewhere for their information.
To what extent does the choice of news outlet affect opinion of the conflict?
http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2009/01/24/unseen-gaza/
----- Original Message ----- From: Joanna Drzewieniecki To: IsPalEvent Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 9:17 AM Subject: [Ispal_task_event] [Fwd: Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid]
Please act! Thanks, Joanna
-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Take Action: Pres. Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid Date: Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:15:32 -0500 (EST) From: US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
Take Action: President Obama Calls for Lifting Gaza Siege; Rep. Olver for Gaza Aid
Click here or on the icon above to watch the video. Can you feel the change in the air? We can.
Last Thursday, at the State Department, President Obama introduced former Sen. George Mitchell as his Special Envoy for Middle East Peace, and stated:
"Our hearts go out to Palestinian civilians who are in need of immediate food, clean water, and basic medical care, and who've faced suffocating poverty for far too long. Now we must extend a hand of opportunity to those who seek peace. As part of a lasting cease-fire, Gaza's border crossings should be open to allow the flow of aid and commerce."
In other words, President Obama agrees with one of our key post-ceasefire demands: Israel must comply with UN Security Council Resolution 1860, which calls for "unimpeded provision and distribution throughout Gaza of humanitarian assistance, including of food, fuel and medical treatment," and Israel must end its blockade of the Gaza Strip, an illegal form of collective punishment of the 1.5 million Palestinian residents who live there.
To watch the video of President Obama's remarks (fast-forward to 32:00), click here. To read the transcript, click here.
Also, on Friday, Rep. John Olver and six other Representatives circulated a "Dear Colleague" letter addressed to Secretary of State Clinton expressing their "deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task." (The full text of the letter is below.)
TAKE ACTION
1. Contact President Obama at 202-456-1111 or send him an email by clicking here to thank him for his support for unimpeded humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip and for lifting Israel's siege.
However, all of our demands have not yet been met.
Also, be sure to tell President Obama that Israel must pay reparations for killing more than 1,300 Palestinians and injuring more than 5,000 during its three week war on the occupied Gaza Strip. Israel also must be held accountable for destroying an estimated 4,000 buildings and should pay for the estimated $2 billion in damages.
And tell President Obama that Israel must be held accountable for its misuse of U. S. weapons to kill and injure Palestinian civilians and to target Palestinian civilian infrastructure. Rep. Dennis Kucinich already has requested the State Department to investigate Israel's violations of the Arms Export Control Act. Ask President Obama to make sure this investigation is complete and accurate and that Israel is sanctioned by ending U. S. military aid as a consequence of its violations of this law.
2. Contact your Representative before noon on Tuesday at 202-224-3121 and ask her/him to "sign on" to Rep. Olver's "Dear Colleague" letter on U. S. humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
It's important that you contact your Representative as soon as possible because the letter is closing for signatures by the deadline mentioned above. Call your Representative, identify yourself as a concerned constituent, ask her/him to "sign on" to the letter, and state why you feel it is the responsibility of the United States to provide humanitarian relief to Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip.
And for more take action ideas:
3. Sign our open letter to President Obama, "We Need a Change in Israel/Palestine Policy."
4. Organize in your community to tell President Obama, "Yes We Can…End Military Aid to Israel." Israel's war and siege on the occupied Gaza Strip would not have been possible without the military and diplomatic support of the United States. We need to have sustained, long-term organizing to end military aid to Israel to prevent future massacres from taking place. Sign up today as a volunteer organizer and we'll send you an organizing packet with postcards, petitions, and fact sheets. To receive your organizing packet, click here.
5. Register for our Feb. 1-2 Grassroots Advocacy Training/Lobby Day in Washington, DC before noon Eastern on Tuesday.
Rep. Olver "Dear Colleague" Letter Support Humanitarian Assistance for Gaza
Urge Secretary of State Clinton to support immediate humanitarian assistance for Gaza
Dear Colleague,
With the rest of the world, we gladly welcomed the news of a ceasefire in Gaza on January 18. However, there remains a dire humanitarian situation that must be immediately addressed. We believe that it is in the United States' interest to play a leading role in alleviating the human suffering in Gaza.
The armed conflict in Gaza resulted in widespread destruction to homes and to public and commercial infrastructure across Gaza. Fuel shortages have cut electricity, limiting the ability of Gaza's hospitals to operate. Medical supplies are in short supply and hospitals are understaffed. The humanitarian supplies and food that do reach civilians only meet a small percentage of the real need. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential public services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza.
Please join us in writing to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to request that the United States lead the international effort to provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The United States has long been a leader on humanitarian issues and we should seize this opportunity to alleviate the suffering of civilians and restore our historic moral standing among the community of nations.
Sincerely,
LOIS CAPPS DAVID PRICE Member of Congress Member of Congress
JOHN W. OLVER KEITH ELLISON Member of Congress Member of Congress
SAM FARR MAURICE HINCHEY Member of Congress Member of Congress
BARBARA LEE Member of Congress
**********
Dear Secretary Clinton:
First, we would like to congratulate you on being sworn in as our nation's 67th Secretary of State. We are very hopeful that this new era in American foreign policy upon which we embark can advance the cause of peace in the Middle East and beyond.
As strong supporters of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples, we are writing to express our deep concern for the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and to request immediate action by the United States to address this crisis. With the ceasefire now in effect, it is critical that the United States play a leading role in alleviating the suffering of civilians in Gaza and we respectfully urge your assistance in this task.
As you know, the situation on the ground is dire. The flow of humanitarian goods into the Gaza Strip is limited to food and medicine. Yet there exists a real need to allow for the importation of construction materials and fuel, which require the opening of crossings into Gaza. For example, only the Karni Crossing has the capacity for transporting large cargo, such as cement, but it remains closed.
In addition, in order to rebuild civilian infrastructure in Gaza the international community is going to have to make significant monetary contributions. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) estimates financial needs of nearly $350 million just to rebuild their own infrastructure and continue providing essential services to the Palestinians in Gaza.
We also remain especially concerned about the desperate condition of medical services in Gaza. Although Israel has begun to allow limited medical supplies into Gaza, the need far outweighs the availability while hospitals remain understaffed and ill-supplied. One of the most crucial steps that needs to be taken is for Israel to allow critically ill patients to be transported out of Gaza and into Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, where they may receive necessary medical care. We therefore urge you to express this concern directly to Israeli government officials.
In addition to the several thousand individuals who were physically injured during the recent military operations, we can expect to see a dramatic increase in the number of individuals suffering from psychological trauma. In order to help the population to begin rebuilding, we will need to further ensure that funds are used to provide adequate mental health services in Gaza.
Failure to address this humanitarian emergency has the potential to produce a crisis of even more unspeakable proportions. We therefore respectfully request that the State Department release emergency funds to UNRWA for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. We believe the State Department can make funds available through accounts such as Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance (ERMA) and urge you to facilitate the transfer of funds as soon as possible.
We look forward to maintaining a productive and ongoing dialogue with the State Department and the Obama Administration regarding the United States response to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Toward that end we respectfully request that you or your staff share with us the actions taken to date and the strategy you will pursue to address the humanitarian crisis within14 days.
Finally, we know that addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a whole is a top priority of the Obama Administration and we applaud President Obama and you for your early and public commitment to meet this challenge. We also believe that the naming of former Senator George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East is commendable.
We believe the security interests of both Israel and the United States will be greatly enhanced by the establishment of a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and that United States involvement is indispensable in achieving that goal. We stand ready to work with you as the Administration furthers these efforts.
US Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation
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