"La amistad es lluvia de flores preciosas"
"Friendship is like a shower of precious flowers"
I was looking for something else, but found this at the following:
http://www.inside-mexico.com/SAN.htm
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
A Message from Martha (AFSC, New England) on the Immigration Raids
Greetings Friends
Many of you have followed the news of the immigration raids in Rhode
Island recently. 31 people were apprehended in the most recent one,
which means 31 families are suddenly without income. Heroic efforts
have been made to locate people (ICE moves them often, making the task
more difficult) and get lawyers and bonds posted. Several are getting
out of jail this week, joining the 12 who have already been released.
Most are monitored constantly and all are prohibited from working. The
earliest court date that I have seen is in September, which means there
is an extended financial crisis for many families.
However you feel about immigration, I hope you will both support people
in this country, however they got here, having due process (many of the
individual situations are complex) and humane treatment. In addition,
there are families in need of assistance. They need money to cover rent
and utilities, food assistance (rice, beans, milk, meat, vegetables,
fruit, tortias, etc) and household products (shampoo, toilet paper,
diapers, soap, etc). I write asking you to do what you can to collect
supplies and deliver them to St Teresa's Church in Olneyville (on Manton
Ave up the hill, toward Atwells) or to send funds. Make checks payable
to English for Action, PO Box 29405, Providence RI 02909 with the words
COMMUNITY EMERGENCY FUND in the memo. EFA is a non-profit, so
donations are tax deductible. If you want your gift to remain anonymous
please add a note to that effect. You can also deposit money directly
at any Citizens Bank to account #00163005 by visiting any branch office.
There also may be need for assistance with transportation. Many folks
are unable to drive, which makes getting to appointments with attorneys
or court a challenge. Please call Shannah Kurland if you are able to
volunteer driving. Spanish nice but not necessary. 439-0518.
Thanks Martha
Martha Yager
AFSC-SENE
33 Chestnut St.
Providence RI 02903
401-521-3584
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still
dark. Rabindranath Tagore
Many of you have followed the news of the immigration raids in Rhode
Island recently. 31 people were apprehended in the most recent one,
which means 31 families are suddenly without income. Heroic efforts
have been made to locate people (ICE moves them often, making the task
more difficult) and get lawyers and bonds posted. Several are getting
out of jail this week, joining the 12 who have already been released.
Most are monitored constantly and all are prohibited from working. The
earliest court date that I have seen is in September, which means there
is an extended financial crisis for many families.
However you feel about immigration, I hope you will both support people
in this country, however they got here, having due process (many of the
individual situations are complex) and humane treatment. In addition,
there are families in need of assistance. They need money to cover rent
and utilities, food assistance (rice, beans, milk, meat, vegetables,
fruit, tortias, etc) and household products (shampoo, toilet paper,
diapers, soap, etc). I write asking you to do what you can to collect
supplies and deliver them to St Teresa's Church in Olneyville (on Manton
Ave up the hill, toward Atwells) or to send funds. Make checks payable
to English for Action, PO Box 29405, Providence RI 02909 with the words
COMMUNITY EMERGENCY FUND in the memo. EFA is a non-profit, so
donations are tax deductible. If you want your gift to remain anonymous
please add a note to that effect. You can also deposit money directly
at any Citizens Bank to account #00163005 by visiting any branch office.
There also may be need for assistance with transportation. Many folks
are unable to drive, which makes getting to appointments with attorneys
or court a challenge. Please call Shannah Kurland if you are able to
volunteer driving. Spanish nice but not necessary. 439-0518.
Thanks Martha
Martha Yager
AFSC-SENE
33 Chestnut St.
Providence RI 02903
401-521-3584
Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still
dark. Rabindranath Tagore
Monday, July 28, 2008
Reading Grace Paley's poems in the hospital
I read several of the poems from Fidelity out loud this morning. What Rhett thinks of them I do not know.
What would you want read to you -- prose, poetry, cartoons, et cet.-- if you were hearing your last voices?
Any experiences that folks want to share is greatly appreciated.
What would you want read to you -- prose, poetry, cartoons, et cet.-- if you were hearing your last voices?
Any experiences that folks want to share is greatly appreciated.
Friday, July 25, 2008
"Remembering and admiring two hard-working black men" by Rhett S. Jones
I have spent as much time as possible with Rhett S. Jones this week. No one really knows whether his current illnesses will subside or will take his last breath.
It's a weird thing to witness: the medical actors, their tools, the visitors, the shifting reports.
Rhett's eyes and words twinkle and pause.. And we wonder. What next?
I found this wonderful essay he wrote about his father and maternal grandfather.
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:eGFTA8mXYFIJ:www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2000-01/00-082.html+rhett+s.+jones&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
It's a weird thing to witness: the medical actors, their tools, the visitors, the shifting reports.
Rhett's eyes and words twinkle and pause.. And we wonder. What next?
I found this wonderful essay he wrote about his father and maternal grandfather.
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:eGFTA8mXYFIJ:www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2000-01/00-082.html+rhett+s.+jones&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=us
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Library Rally Today: Location Change Due To Rain.
Today at 5:00 p.m., the Library Reform Group will hold a press conference in the former Benny’s building at 1380 Broad Street.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Borrowing the family car
Nomi invited me to post here, which is sort of like someone letting me borrow the family car--except I don't drink and drive anymore. Well I don't drink as much, and drive, anymore.
I just want to see if this shows up, and then I will drop some acid and get creative.
Lots on my plate right now, but I think I can find an hour or so to get unhinged later this week.
Now, then, who would like to start commenting?
Oh, that's right we need a subject. Howsabout the pretendsidential aspirations of the current governor of Providence Plantations and the State of Rhode Island. Well, maybe he just wants to be the guy who makes Buddy Cianci look like a statesman--what a douchebag.
I just want to see if this shows up, and then I will drop some acid and get creative.
Lots on my plate right now, but I think I can find an hour or so to get unhinged later this week.
Now, then, who would like to start commenting?
Oh, that's right we need a subject. Howsabout the pretendsidential aspirations of the current governor of Providence Plantations and the State of Rhode Island. Well, maybe he just wants to be the guy who makes Buddy Cianci look like a statesman--what a douchebag.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Astounding Stories: January 1937
The appearance of the first issue of Astounding Stories of Super-Science (soon to be just Astounding Stories) in December 1929 marked an important advance for the infant genre known then as scientifiction. At the time, the three already-existing magazines had all been founded by the genre's creator, Hugo Gernsback. Scientifiction had become sufficiently popular that Clayton Publications, an established pulp magazine publisher, decided to get in on the action.
As Isaac Asimov notes in his anthology Before the Golden Age, Astounding published stories that were "heavy on adventure" and seemed, to Asimov's ten-year-old self, to be less sophisticated than the other magazines. Then, too, 1929 turned out not to be the best time to launch a new magazine. As the Great Depression deepened, Astounding Stories switched from monthly to bimonthly publication before finally coming to a halt with its March 1933 issue.
However, Astounding was unexpectedly reborn half a year later when Street & Smith Publications took over the title from the bankrupt Clayton Publications, and with the October 1933 issue resumed monthly publication. The first few issues under the new imprint ran leftover stories from the Clayton days, but under new editor F. Orlin Tremaine Astounding quickly began to change for the better. As Asimov writes, "Astounding Stories had the best stories, the most interesting artwork, the liveliest letters column." Astounding was recognized by Asimov and his fellow science fiction fans as the field's leading magazine, a position it would maintain for the next fifteen years.
I recently acquired a copy of the January 1937 issue of Astounding. To someone used to the current digest-size SF magazines measuring seven and a half by five inches, the pulp-size Astounding is a bit of a shock. It's nine and a half by six and a half inches, and half an inch thick. There's no getting away from the fact that the old pulp-size magazine looks and feels more impressive than the digest size. And of course, the extra space allows for more stories.
Mind you, in a way the modern SF magazines shouldn't exist at all. The market niche that the pulps filled was taken over in the 1950s by comic books and mass-market paperback books, and by the end of the 1950s all the pulp fiction magazines were dead except for the science fiction magazines and the mystery magazines. Science fiction magazines are the coelacanths of the publishing world.
So, what would you find between the covers of the January 1937 issue of Astounding Stories? In brief, you would find a tug-of-war going on between three different writing traditions. The oldest style can be called Gernsbackian, and it's represented by John Russell Fearn's story "Metamorphosis". The Gernsbackian story begins with several pages of technobabble-laden exposition in the form of a conversation between two or more scientists. The plot is then allowed to move forward in language strongly reminiscent of Victorian melodrams. "Metamorphosis" begins with the requisite conversational exposition between two scientists who have been working for three years on a device to re-create the conditions of the Big Bang (though they don't call it that, since the term "Big Bang" wouldn't be coined until 1948). The scientists switch on their device and it explodes, leveling every building in a hundred mile radius. The two scientists have managed to create a form of living energy that goes on to consume the entire world, and eventually the entire universe. Another Gernsbackian story is "Linked Worlds" by R. R. Winterbotham, in which a scientist (after the obligatory exposition) uses a new invention to transform himself into an energy being.
The second tradition is the super-science story, represented by the cover story "Beyond Infinity" by Nat Schachner. (Since Schachner already has a story in the issue under his own name, by custom "Beyond Infinity" appears under a pen name, Chan Corbett.) The super-science story was pioneered by E. E. Smith in his 1928 serial "The Skylark of Space". Violent action, wild inventions, and a cosmic scale described in standard pulp fiction prose are the hallmarks of the super-science story, and Schachner provides plenty of it in "Beyond Infinity". The story opens with Earth under assault by aliens from Antares. The last surviving humans huddle in a fortified bunker miles below the surface while the Antareans slowly battle their way down. The valiantly heroic Garth Anders fights off the Antareans while the great scientist Peter Loring works out the nature of the universe. Loring designs and constructs a device that will allow the last humans to escape extermination at the hands of the Antareans by transcending the limitations of space and time.
The third tradition can be called Campbellian, and it's represented by Earl and Otto Binder's "SOS in Space" and Raymond Z. Gallun's "Luminous Mine". Although John W. Campbell made his name as one of the leading practitioners of the super-science story, he established a new style of science fiction under the pen name Don A. Stuart with his ground-breaking 1934 story "Twilight". The Campbellian story features realistic science and realistic characters with a minimum of pulp fiction blood-and-thunder. The Binder brothers' "SOS in Space", for example, takes the form of a series of messages between the radio operators of two interplanetary space liners in transit between Earth and Mars. One of the ships is caught in a wave of solar radiation caused by sunspot activity, and the consequences could be deadly. In Gallun's "Luminous Mine", a prospector in the Arizona desert who has just murdered his partner stumbles across an alien device that is using advanced technology to mine the Earth's minerals.
Although the Gernsbackian and super-science stories were still appearing in Astounding Stories in 1937, their days were numbered. By the end of the year, John Campbell himself had succeeded Tremaine as editor. He soon retitled the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, and by the end of the 1930s he was building up a stable of writers who would take the Campbellian style to new literary heights. Under Campbell and his new writers, Astounding would become the center of science fiction's Golden Age.
As Isaac Asimov notes in his anthology Before the Golden Age, Astounding published stories that were "heavy on adventure" and seemed, to Asimov's ten-year-old self, to be less sophisticated than the other magazines. Then, too, 1929 turned out not to be the best time to launch a new magazine. As the Great Depression deepened, Astounding Stories switched from monthly to bimonthly publication before finally coming to a halt with its March 1933 issue.
However, Astounding was unexpectedly reborn half a year later when Street & Smith Publications took over the title from the bankrupt Clayton Publications, and with the October 1933 issue resumed monthly publication. The first few issues under the new imprint ran leftover stories from the Clayton days, but under new editor F. Orlin Tremaine Astounding quickly began to change for the better. As Asimov writes, "Astounding Stories had the best stories, the most interesting artwork, the liveliest letters column." Astounding was recognized by Asimov and his fellow science fiction fans as the field's leading magazine, a position it would maintain for the next fifteen years.
I recently acquired a copy of the January 1937 issue of Astounding. To someone used to the current digest-size SF magazines measuring seven and a half by five inches, the pulp-size Astounding is a bit of a shock. It's nine and a half by six and a half inches, and half an inch thick. There's no getting away from the fact that the old pulp-size magazine looks and feels more impressive than the digest size. And of course, the extra space allows for more stories.
Mind you, in a way the modern SF magazines shouldn't exist at all. The market niche that the pulps filled was taken over in the 1950s by comic books and mass-market paperback books, and by the end of the 1950s all the pulp fiction magazines were dead except for the science fiction magazines and the mystery magazines. Science fiction magazines are the coelacanths of the publishing world.
So, what would you find between the covers of the January 1937 issue of Astounding Stories? In brief, you would find a tug-of-war going on between three different writing traditions. The oldest style can be called Gernsbackian, and it's represented by John Russell Fearn's story "Metamorphosis". The Gernsbackian story begins with several pages of technobabble-laden exposition in the form of a conversation between two or more scientists. The plot is then allowed to move forward in language strongly reminiscent of Victorian melodrams. "Metamorphosis" begins with the requisite conversational exposition between two scientists who have been working for three years on a device to re-create the conditions of the Big Bang (though they don't call it that, since the term "Big Bang" wouldn't be coined until 1948). The scientists switch on their device and it explodes, leveling every building in a hundred mile radius. The two scientists have managed to create a form of living energy that goes on to consume the entire world, and eventually the entire universe. Another Gernsbackian story is "Linked Worlds" by R. R. Winterbotham, in which a scientist (after the obligatory exposition) uses a new invention to transform himself into an energy being.
The second tradition is the super-science story, represented by the cover story "Beyond Infinity" by Nat Schachner. (Since Schachner already has a story in the issue under his own name, by custom "Beyond Infinity" appears under a pen name, Chan Corbett.) The super-science story was pioneered by E. E. Smith in his 1928 serial "The Skylark of Space". Violent action, wild inventions, and a cosmic scale described in standard pulp fiction prose are the hallmarks of the super-science story, and Schachner provides plenty of it in "Beyond Infinity". The story opens with Earth under assault by aliens from Antares. The last surviving humans huddle in a fortified bunker miles below the surface while the Antareans slowly battle their way down. The valiantly heroic Garth Anders fights off the Antareans while the great scientist Peter Loring works out the nature of the universe. Loring designs and constructs a device that will allow the last humans to escape extermination at the hands of the Antareans by transcending the limitations of space and time.
The third tradition can be called Campbellian, and it's represented by Earl and Otto Binder's "SOS in Space" and Raymond Z. Gallun's "Luminous Mine". Although John W. Campbell made his name as one of the leading practitioners of the super-science story, he established a new style of science fiction under the pen name Don A. Stuart with his ground-breaking 1934 story "Twilight". The Campbellian story features realistic science and realistic characters with a minimum of pulp fiction blood-and-thunder. The Binder brothers' "SOS in Space", for example, takes the form of a series of messages between the radio operators of two interplanetary space liners in transit between Earth and Mars. One of the ships is caught in a wave of solar radiation caused by sunspot activity, and the consequences could be deadly. In Gallun's "Luminous Mine", a prospector in the Arizona desert who has just murdered his partner stumbles across an alien device that is using advanced technology to mine the Earth's minerals.
Although the Gernsbackian and super-science stories were still appearing in Astounding Stories in 1937, their days were numbered. By the end of the year, John Campbell himself had succeeded Tremaine as editor. He soon retitled the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, and by the end of the 1930s he was building up a stable of writers who would take the Campbellian style to new literary heights. Under Campbell and his new writers, Astounding would become the center of science fiction's Golden Age.
Rally for the Libraries of Providence, 7/24/08
The following is from Patricia Raub of the Library Reform Group (link is on the list at the bottom of this blog). RI prides itself on tourism and so any call or email or letter to any of the decision makers is valuable.
Jul 21 (23 hours ago)
Dear library advocates,
The Library Reform Group, (LRG), has spent the weekend reviewing the terms of the Agreement for Library Services recently negotiated by the Mayor’s Office and PPL and ratified by the PPL Board of Trustees last Thursday. We are relieved that the 2008 proposed Agreement provides for maintaining the existing level of library services and the current number of branches through June of 2009, providing most library staff with job security for another year and suggesting that library patrons will not experience any reduction in services or branch closures for eleven more months. However, LRG is deeply concerned about what could occur after June 30, 2009.
The provisions of the 2008 Agreement cover a four-year period from 2008 through 2012. However, after one year, PPL can make the transition into a library system which operates with drastically fewer branches and a lower level of service and programs. BECAUSE THE 2008 PPL AGREEMENT OBLIGATES THE CITY TO CONTINUE TO PAY $3.5 MILLION annually over the term of the Agreement, the City and Patrons of the Library will have no recourse but to accept less in library services and branch locations for the same amount of City funding.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? WE DON’T THINK SO.
Currently, the 2008 Agreement does not provide for the City to terminate or to re-negotiate the Agreement, should PPL decide to drastically reduce branches, staff and/or library services.
CALL THE MAYOR at (401) 421-7740 and demand that he add an escape clause to the Agreement for Library Services BEFORE the City Council votes on this agreement next week.
Demand, as well, that he and PPL commit to re-opening the Washington Park Branch Library in its original location NOW. The City has spent taxpayer dollars to repair and renovate the structure and the Library has failed to resume operations in the Washington Park building.
We invite you to attend our press conference at 5:00 p.m. this Thursday, July 24, at the former Washington Park branch library (1316 Broad Street) to call upon the Mayor and PPL to FIX THIS FLAWED AGREEMENT.
Jul 21 (23 hours ago)
Dear library advocates,
The Library Reform Group, (LRG), has spent the weekend reviewing the terms of the Agreement for Library Services recently negotiated by the Mayor’s Office and PPL and ratified by the PPL Board of Trustees last Thursday. We are relieved that the 2008 proposed Agreement provides for maintaining the existing level of library services and the current number of branches through June of 2009, providing most library staff with job security for another year and suggesting that library patrons will not experience any reduction in services or branch closures for eleven more months. However, LRG is deeply concerned about what could occur after June 30, 2009.
The provisions of the 2008 Agreement cover a four-year period from 2008 through 2012. However, after one year, PPL can make the transition into a library system which operates with drastically fewer branches and a lower level of service and programs. BECAUSE THE 2008 PPL AGREEMENT OBLIGATES THE CITY TO CONTINUE TO PAY $3.5 MILLION annually over the term of the Agreement, the City and Patrons of the Library will have no recourse but to accept less in library services and branch locations for the same amount of City funding.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? WE DON’T THINK SO.
Currently, the 2008 Agreement does not provide for the City to terminate or to re-negotiate the Agreement, should PPL decide to drastically reduce branches, staff and/or library services.
CALL THE MAYOR at (401) 421-7740 and demand that he add an escape clause to the Agreement for Library Services BEFORE the City Council votes on this agreement next week.
Demand, as well, that he and PPL commit to re-opening the Washington Park Branch Library in its original location NOW. The City has spent taxpayer dollars to repair and renovate the structure and the Library has failed to resume operations in the Washington Park building.
We invite you to attend our press conference at 5:00 p.m. this Thursday, July 24, at the former Washington Park branch library (1316 Broad Street) to call upon the Mayor and PPL to FIX THIS FLAWED AGREEMENT.
Monday, July 21, 2008
Fire and ICE
Oddly, or perhaps not, the Robert Frost poem, "Fire and Ice" has been haunting me for months or longer -- when did the INS become ICE ??
Here's a link to the poem. Hope it functions!
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fire-and-ice/
I have no idea Robert Frost's stances on immigration matters.
He's neither my favorite nor my least liked poet, but is one I was exposed to during those tender early elementary years.
OK, I admit it: I'm hoping that the silly act of this post will exorcise this poem from my head.
Here's a link to the poem. Hope it functions!
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/fire-and-ice/
I have no idea Robert Frost's stances on immigration matters.
He's neither my favorite nor my least liked poet, but is one I was exposed to during those tender early elementary years.
OK, I admit it: I'm hoping that the silly act of this post will exorcise this poem from my head.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mark Twain, Nelson Mandela And RI Wobblies!
Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principle one was that they escaped teething.
-Puddn'head Wilson's Calendar
Thanks to Alan Cordle's blog, [http://alancordle.com/blog/]
I realize it is Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday!
Upcoming IWW Legal Defense Fund-Raisers:
Join us in our effort to raise thousands of dollars in legal fees to fight the criminal charges of Alex Svoboda and Jason Friedmutter, members of the Providence Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) who were attacked and arrested by the North Providence police last August 11th during a union march. Pictures @ http://jonathanmcintosh.
July 18, 5:30pm Potluck Cookout and Raffle
Mid-summer cookout (vegan options available). Bring a dish to share and BYOB. Raffle featuring fabulous local gifts and prizes.
392 Pine St. Providence
August 2, 8:00pm Homebrew Beer Garden
Homebrew crafted by the Bartertown brewmaster. Five different varieties. Donations. 21+.
139 Wood St. Providence
August 3, 10am-2pm Pancake Breakfast
Flapjacks, french toast, tofu scramble, homefries, fruit, pastries, and mimosas. Vegan options available. Donations.
139 Wood St. Providence
For more information contact the Providence IWW at 402-639-4171, providenceiww@gmail.com
Nurses at Our Lady of Fatima Hospital Authorize Strike (R.I.)
Nurses at Fatima Hospital, in RI, voted Wed. to authorize their union leaders to call a strike if they feel such a move is warranted.But union and hospital officials, who have been negotiating since May, gave different assessments of the severity of the dispute.“I can tell you we are miles apart,” said Christopher
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Thursday, July 17, 2008
An uncertain future: 31 workers expected to face immigration
A month-long investigation culminated Tuesday when 50 immigration agents and 12 state police detectives swept into six Rhode Island courthouses at the end of the work day and peacefully arrested 31 maintenance workers on suspicion of being illegal immigrants. Some had used fraudulent identification to obtain their jobs, said U.S. Attorney Robert Cl
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
La Lucha Continua and Small World Stories
The Providence Journal reports that 70 people rallied yesterday, in front of Providence's 'Garrahy' Building [family court,etc.] supporting the 31 arrested.[see my amber alert of 7/17]
I will try to post the link soon.
Please visit the Rhode Island Future website
http://rifuture.org/
and http://www.oceanstateaction.org/
the site for Ocean State Action
for updates.
On a cheerful note: I had occasion to speak with 2 women in two departments of a giant pharmaceutical company. No need to give any advertising to this company. The women were in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
The second woman, Judy and I began talking about baseball. I have few opportunities to speak with anyone from that area, so naturally I ask questions about the St. Louis Cardinals. Judy's affection for her team was powerful. She shared that her brother John ( # 41, RHP) played for them for two years.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=fulghjo01
If he played against the Mets at Shea, I might have been in attendance...
***
Karen in Pennsylvania has the last name "Sherlock". She did not realize that a wonderful man named Paul Sherlock advocated and legislated for RI's children with special needs for many years...His name is revered and his death was mourned by many.
I will try to post the link soon.
Please visit the Rhode Island Future website
http://rifuture.org/
and http://www.oceanstateaction.org/
the site for Ocean State Action
for updates.
On a cheerful note: I had occasion to speak with 2 women in two departments of a giant pharmaceutical company. No need to give any advertising to this company. The women were in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
The second woman, Judy and I began talking about baseball. I have few opportunities to speak with anyone from that area, so naturally I ask questions about the St. Louis Cardinals. Judy's affection for her team was powerful. She shared that her brother John ( # 41, RHP) played for them for two years.
http://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=fulghjo01
If he played against the Mets at Shea, I might have been in attendance...
***
Karen in Pennsylvania has the last name "Sherlock". She did not realize that a wonderful man named Paul Sherlock advocated and legislated for RI's children with special needs for many years...His name is revered and his death was mourned by many.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Amber Alert -- We are being arrested -- Not Joking
Dozens Arrested in raids at courthouses 08:25 AM EDT on Wednesday, July 16, 2008BY KAREN LEE ZINER and FELICE J. FREYERJournal Staff Writers Leonardo Tornes waits outside the ICE headquarters building in Providence last night. > The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez PROVIDENCE — Federal immigration agents and state police raided six Rhode Island courthouses yesterday, arresting dozens of people employed by two contractors hired by the state. The detainees are all believed to be maintenance workers. The raid led to a noisy demonstration by at least 100 people outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement office at 200 Dyer St. last night. Police officers arrived as the crowd grew; at one point the police pushed a line of demonstrators across the parking lot. Some in the crowd were relatives of the arrestees. Others included clergy and at least one state representative, Grace Diaz, and members of immigrant advocacy groups. Leonardo Tornes said his sister, Francesca Tornes, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was arrested at the Kent County Courthouse. "She has two children — one and five years old," he said through an interpreter. "A friend who worked with her called, and said they have taken everyone," he said. Craig N. Berke, spokesman for the Rhode Island judiciary, said the raids occurred simultaneously at 5 p.m. at all six Rhode Island courthouses. He said a "substantial" percentage of employees of two contractors hired by the state were taken into custody. Berke declined to name the contractors, however relatives of some of the detainees identified one company as the Tri-State Enterprises employment agency on North Main Street. Berke said those who were arrested "are not state employees. They are not employees of the judiciary." He said "dozens" of people were arrested but he did not have an exact count. "The investigation was initiated by the judiciary," Berke said. "In early June, we forwarded evidence to the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Rhode Island State Police. The judiciary has been cooperating with that investigation on a daily basis since then." Berke declined to say what the evidence was. "I also know that there was at least one courthouse –– I'm not sure if there was more than one –– in which no employees of the vendor were taken into custody," Berke said. "They were screened but not taken into custody." In the two Providence courthouses, the workers were just starting their shift at 5 p.m. and would have normally stayed till 9 or 10 p.m. In the other courthouses, the workers come in earlier and are normally done by 6 p.m. Asked who will clean the courthouses today, Berke said, "They'll be cleaned. Not every employee of the vendor was taken into custody today. And we also have daytime maintenance staff who will have to do double duty" today. Berke said that as of last night the two contractors were still employed by the judiciary. The courthouses that were raided are: the Garrahy Judicial Complex and the Licht Judicial Complex, both in Providence; the McGrath Judicial Complex in Wakefield; the Murray Judicial Complex in Newport; Kent County Courthouse in Warwick, and the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal in Cranston. Paula Grenier, an ICE spokeswoman in Boston, said an enforcement action had been carried out "as a result of a joint investigation by federal and state authorities." Grenier said the action "is part of an ongoing criminal investigation." She would not confirm that the courthouses were raided, or say how many people were detained. The raids occurred during the first meeting of a governor's advisory panel, charged with monitoring any "unintended consequences" of Governor Carcieri's executive order cracking down on illegal immigration. The order issued in March requires that state police be deputized with certain immigration enforcement powers. News of yesterday's raids spread rapidly as courthouse workers phoned relatives, friends and community leaders. Demonstrators assembled outside the ICE building in Providence at about 8 p.m. As police arrived, the group divided and people rushed to doors at the front and rear of the building. Juan Garcia, organizer for Immigrants in Action at St. Teresa Church in Olneyville, said his cell phone began buzzing at 4:45 p.m. as he was driving toward Newport from Providence to discuss fallout from an immigration raid there several weeks ago that led to 42 arrests at stores, restaurants and apartments. He said he learned the arrests had occurred at the Kent County courthouse "and right here in Providence," he said pointing to the Garrahy Judicial Complex across the street from ICE headquarters. Some of the women who were arrested "have little kids, bigger kids," he said. Garcia said, "This is the consequence of the governor's executive order. All companies receiving money from the state will review the legal status of people." (The order requires using a federal E-Verify system for all new hires, but not current employees). Monica and Jacqueline Lorenti said their stepfather was arrested at Superior Court. "His boss called. He said he couldn't do anything, nothing — everybody had the handcuffs on."
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Tuesday, July 15, 2008
" Bust the Bigots "
My friend Max posted this on facebook:
You are warmly invited to an FSP public meeting Bust the Bigots: Defend Bilingual Education! on Sunday, July 20, 2008. We will hear a report on the racist Initiative Petition #19, the latest attempt to scapegoat immigrants for the collapsing economy. If passed by voters in November, IP#19 will butcher English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in Oregon’s public schools. But it can be stopped!
Come share your ideas on ways to defeat this xenophobic attack and defend ESL students and their union teachers. Equal access to quality education for all!
We’ll be meeting at 1:00pm at the Bread and Roses Center, which is at
819 N. Killingsworth St., Portland (1/2 block west of N. Albina, on TriMet bus lines #4 and #72). A hearty brunch will be served at 12:00pm for an $8.00 donation.
For more information call 503-240-4462 or email fsp@igc.org.
I don't know what FSP is, but will find out and amend this post. Max, please feel free to comment on this blog or send me an email or facebook message; Thanks!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Rhode Island's Child Advocate, Jametta Alston
State child advocate Jametta Alston, is willing to protect children in DCYF custody at all costs. Even if her bold decision to sue the state for neglect forces her to commit career suicide, she’s determined to make her case for the kids.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Charlotte's Web In My Refrigerator!
What font is most sympathetic to the spirit of E.B.White?
Please send me reflections and suggestions! There must be pages and pages of rumination!
Yesterday I placed about 5 strawberries into a mug and stored them in my refrigerator. When I removed the mug this morning, I spied a spider (of perhaps 2 mm span) on a tiny web atop part of the mug. The mug is not one I use for coffee; it's a good size for a generous soup serving.
Then I realized that there was this grey orb next to Charlotte. The egg sac!
Readers, of course, I called local photographer, my son, Ethan Alexander Richardson!
Charlotte is in a safe place...I think...
Friday, July 11, 2008
Thank You Wherever You Are.
Thank you Marsha Z. West.
Thank you Harold Rogovin
Thank you Grace Paley.
* * * * * * * * * **
I am so grateful for the folks associated with this blog.
The greenest contributor is spectral_ev. There is a lovely list of commenters and linkers...and I am appreciative of Anonymous.
Richard, Ted, Daniel, Tom Kalinowski, Sr. Democommie[please forgive the lack of umlauts,et al.], Nancy, Eileen ( Happy Birthday!!), Robert, Alan, Bugzita, Bukko in Australia, and the names which escape me, the friends of Providence College workers and students, the person who wrote at length about the history of Puerto Rico...I will amend this list.
When I look at the "recent visitors" of this blog, I am fascinated.
Thank you, Vern Radul(of OOIBC) and Luke(of socialjusticenights) and Matt (RI Future) and Mike Kellogg of Word Reference fame.
Thank you Dnaz,(of many names), Ashok, Rueben Drone, Dave von E., Max, Johnny Pez, Kiersten, Carl (simply left behind). Grazie Megan.
Thank you Mysterious Terablogger and all relations.
Thank you dear Isaac for trying to visit when I sent you the wrong address, and Esther for looking at my attempt to post the photo of Tillie and Ethan...
Nora, your email inspired me.
And, without General J. C. Christian would any of us be here?
My wit is paltry and plebeian in the General's world, yet he introduces me to the Satirical Salvation, sweeter than wine. (apologies to the Weavers...)
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Best Book of 2012
Gentle reader, Nomi has generously invited me to guest post. In the tradition of Kmareka, which reports the news before it happens, I offer below a review of a book that Pope Benedict XVI hasn't written yet. But it's sure to be a best-seller when he does.
My Life in Hitler Youth by Pope Benedict XVITranslated from the German by Sophia Magdalena Scholl With commentary by Steve Biko, Rabbi Hillel, Badshah Khan, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and the Ven. Mahaghosananda
While confessional literature has won an enduring readership, it is unusual to find a religious or political leader who is willing to attempt it. Most are less given to autobiography than to self-promotion. It is all the more surprising that Pope Benedict, whose tenure had been characterized by autocracy, even, some would say, arrogance; has humbly and honestly laid bare his experience as a teenage German boy caught up in the Nazi war machine. Read More
In today’s world where child soldiers are cannon fodder for countless civil conflicts, where troubled teenagers are induced to volunteer for ten, or even twenty-year contracts with the privatized militias favored by the developed nations, where poor mothers have their children implanted with hardware to increase their value on the mercenary market, Pope Benedict’s book stands as a powerful challenge to our 21st century way of war.
The catalyst for this amazing book was a 2007 meeting in Rome with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
From that day, Benedict began to suffer from insomnia. A letter from a boyhood friend in Germany, a fellow Hitler Youth, triggered a spiritual crisis. He flew to Germany, secretly and under high security, to hear his friend’s confession and to give last rites.
The Pope returned to Rome with a new resolve to address the needs of the world’s children. His anti-war stand, previously muted by his close relationships with the world’s aggressors, became more clear. Benedict’s frank conversations with Rabbi Hillel concerning the abuses that occur when religion becomes handmaiden to politics led to a change in direction that some call ‘radical’. His account of that conversation is not only a heartfelt apology for the failure of the Catholic Church to effectively oppose the Nazis, but an admission that political expediency corrupted the Church’s response to the atrocious acts of that regime.
The Pope’s visit to Brazil, where he met with some of the poorest of his flock without fanfare or entourage, celebrating Mass in a tin shanty, washing the feet of meninos da rua (street children) will go down in history as one of the great expressions of the Catholic faith.
Since that visit, the Pope has led his flock in a direction that is changing the global Church. The Pope’s recent encyclicals have drawn criticism as well as praise.
‘A Little Child Shall Lead Them’ prompted one conservative commentator to remark that the Pope, who was formerly known as a crusader against abortion “now expects us to waste our tax dollars on snot-nosed welfare brats.”
But despite accusations of betrayal from many of his former allies on the American religious right, this pope is enjoying a surge of popularity not seen since the reign of Pope John the XXIII, and the loss of membership of the past few decades is reversing as the Church gains more new converts and lapsed Catholics return to the faith.
The rumor that the Vatican will soon make priestly celibacy optional has sparked a renewed interest that promises to alleviate the dire shortage of priests in the developed nations; and if implemented would legitimize the de-facto priestly marriages that are common in Africa.
Meanwhile, in Central America, the revival movement known as ‘Caridad’, endorsed by the Church despite its strong resemblance to the ‘Liberation Theology’ that was dismantled by Benedict just a few years ago; promises to take the wind out of the sails of the Protestant Evangelical revival as former Catholics return to the faith of their childhood.
Here in the US, it is interesting to see some of the same politicians who enjoyed support from the pulpits of their local Catholic churches now invoking the principle of separation of Church and State.
Worldwide, the Catholic church has undergone a profound shift in emphasis. New orders of nuns, and lay women’s societies operate with a freedom unimaginable just a few years ago. With the goal of protecting children they have organized on behalf of women in practical ways–health care, literacy, employment, respect.
‘Space Your Children’ a pamphlet by Liberian nun and midwife Sr.Grace Wah, has been ignored by papal authorities despite its frank endorsement of birth control. Sr.Wah would have been facing censorship, if not excommunication, for such views prior to Benedict’s change of heart.
And it is a change with implications for history. Benedict’s conversation with Hussam Abdo, a teenage would-be suicide bomber disarmed by Israeli police, and Solomon Masisi, a former child soldier from Congo, is still being processed three years later.
This Pope, who began his reign determined to roll back the changes of Vatican II, now stands in the shoes of John XXIII, and promises to take his legacy farther than any thought possible. ...
Back in 2008---
The Buzz...
The Love...
While confessional literature has won an enduring readership, it is unusual to find a religious or political leader who is willing to attempt it. Most are less given to autobiography than to self-promotion. It is all the more surprising that Pope Benedict, whose tenure had been characterized by autocracy, even, some would say, arrogance; has humbly and honestly laid bare his experience as a teenage German boy caught up in the Nazi war machine. Read More
In today’s world where child soldiers are cannon fodder for countless civil conflicts, where troubled teenagers are induced to volunteer for ten, or even twenty-year contracts with the privatized militias favored by the developed nations, where poor mothers have their children implanted with hardware to increase their value on the mercenary market, Pope Benedict’s book stands as a powerful challenge to our 21st century way of war.
The catalyst for this amazing book was a 2007 meeting in Rome with survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy.
“I prayed with them, I assured them that never again would such violation of innocence be tolerated. Committees would be formed, the guilty would be routed out. I thought I was doing all that I could, but there was no mistaking the disappointment in their eyes. They wanted to hear something more from me.”
From that day, Benedict began to suffer from insomnia. A letter from a boyhood friend in Germany, a fellow Hitler Youth, triggered a spiritual crisis. He flew to Germany, secretly and under high security, to hear his friend’s confession and to give last rites.
“He needed to unburden his soul to someone who knew what we did, and what was done to us. Our souls were violated, we were seduced by hate. It was not for me to grant absolution. We wept together and asked God’s forgiveness. Then we forgave those who had done this to us. They themselves were deluded by sin.”
The Pope returned to Rome with a new resolve to address the needs of the world’s children. His anti-war stand, previously muted by his close relationships with the world’s aggressors, became more clear. Benedict’s frank conversations with Rabbi Hillel concerning the abuses that occur when religion becomes handmaiden to politics led to a change in direction that some call ‘radical’. His account of that conversation is not only a heartfelt apology for the failure of the Catholic Church to effectively oppose the Nazis, but an admission that political expediency corrupted the Church’s response to the atrocious acts of that regime.
“We had forgotten that the greatest Rabbi, Our Lord and Savior, spoke truth even at the cost of his life. We failed to take up our cross and follow him."
The Pope’s visit to Brazil, where he met with some of the poorest of his flock without fanfare or entourage, celebrating Mass in a tin shanty, washing the feet of meninos da rua (street children) will go down in history as one of the great expressions of the Catholic faith.
Since that visit, the Pope has led his flock in a direction that is changing the global Church. The Pope’s recent encyclicals have drawn criticism as well as praise.
‘A Little Child Shall Lead Them’ prompted one conservative commentator to remark that the Pope, who was formerly known as a crusader against abortion “now expects us to waste our tax dollars on snot-nosed welfare brats.”
But despite accusations of betrayal from many of his former allies on the American religious right, this pope is enjoying a surge of popularity not seen since the reign of Pope John the XXIII, and the loss of membership of the past few decades is reversing as the Church gains more new converts and lapsed Catholics return to the faith.
The rumor that the Vatican will soon make priestly celibacy optional has sparked a renewed interest that promises to alleviate the dire shortage of priests in the developed nations; and if implemented would legitimize the de-facto priestly marriages that are common in Africa.
Meanwhile, in Central America, the revival movement known as ‘Caridad’, endorsed by the Church despite its strong resemblance to the ‘Liberation Theology’ that was dismantled by Benedict just a few years ago; promises to take the wind out of the sails of the Protestant Evangelical revival as former Catholics return to the faith of their childhood.
Here in the US, it is interesting to see some of the same politicians who enjoyed support from the pulpits of their local Catholic churches now invoking the principle of separation of Church and State.
Worldwide, the Catholic church has undergone a profound shift in emphasis. New orders of nuns, and lay women’s societies operate with a freedom unimaginable just a few years ago. With the goal of protecting children they have organized on behalf of women in practical ways–health care, literacy, employment, respect.
‘Space Your Children’ a pamphlet by Liberian nun and midwife Sr.Grace Wah, has been ignored by papal authorities despite its frank endorsement of birth control. Sr.Wah would have been facing censorship, if not excommunication, for such views prior to Benedict’s change of heart.
And it is a change with implications for history. Benedict’s conversation with Hussam Abdo, a teenage would-be suicide bomber disarmed by Israeli police, and Solomon Masisi, a former child soldier from Congo, is still being processed three years later.
This Pope, who began his reign determined to roll back the changes of Vatican II, now stands in the shoes of John XXIII, and promises to take his legacy farther than any thought possible. ...
Back in 2008---
The Buzz...
VATICAN CITY – When President Bush pays a visit to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday, [the 13th, 2008] it will be his sixth meeting with a pope, and his third meeting with Benedict in just over a year.
Never in U.S. history has a president consulted so often with the leader of the Catholic Church. Carl Anderson, a former Reagan aide who now heads the Knights of Columbus, calls it "remarkable."
The Love...
Bush delivered his address after calling at the Vatican to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, who recently visited the United States. The two leaders took a stroll through the lush Vatican Gardens on Friday, stopping at a grotto where the pontiff prays daily.
"Your Eminence, you're looking good," Bush told the pope.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Medic in famous photo dies after PTSD struggle
During the first week of the war in Iraq, a Military Times photographer captured the arresting image of Army Spc. Joseph Patrick Dwyer as he raced through a battle zone clutching a tiny Iraqi boy named Ali.On June 28, Dwyer, 31, died of an accidental overdose in his home in Pinehurst, N.C., after years of struggling with post-traumatic stress disor
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Monday, July 7, 2008
"Governor [of RI] to Appear on the O'Reilly Factor"
Rhode Island's Governor Don Carcieri continues to promote his "Executive order on illegal immigration" which might be better titled, "Ill-thought out order on Executive immigration".
According to an email I received today: Tonight will be his appearance.
Has he nothing better to do with his time?
If he wants to campaign for national office, why not simply say so.
I cannot understand how anyone can call himself "pro-life" and eliminate health care from people, and encourage excessive prosecutions of workers, and deportations of parents, et cetera.
According to an email I received today: Tonight will be his appearance.
Has he nothing better to do with his time?
If he wants to campaign for national office, why not simply say so.
I cannot understand how anyone can call himself "pro-life" and eliminate health care from people, and encourage excessive prosecutions of workers, and deportations of parents, et cetera.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Fireworks Postponed Due To Plovers
Fireworks cannot be exploded within 3/4 of a mile of a known plover nest, and two pairs of plovers selected the private beach club on Boston Neck Road to set up housekeeping. A set of chicks has already learned to fly, so they could flee in the event the sky explodes at dusk. But the two chicks of a second pair won’t be ready to fly until July 14.
read more | digg story
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Chicago Museum Closes Contentious Exhibit, Bounds of Holy Land
" In the wake of an outcry from Chicago-area Jews, the Windy City’s only Jewish museum closed down a high-profile maps exhibition that parsed the issue of Israel’s borders and boundaries. " from Rebecca Spence's article in The Forward (June 26,2008)
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
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