why the devil has more vacation-time than santa: reason number 1,073

The blog, black looks recently put up an entry sex tourism in Africa: (click on link for full story). One of the reasons why this story is so surprising to me is that "normally" when I've read about the concept of sex tourism, it usually occured in Asia, especially urban centers in Thailand like Bangkok. I honestly never knew that this particular kind of thing occured much in Africa. The second aspect which is really striking, is that even though formal slavery has been essentially abolished virtually everywhere, there are still multiple and pervasive ways in which extreme poverty allows the same basic degrading relationship to continue to exist, perhaps in a mutated form.

I wanted to know how the whole sex tourism thing worked so I started a series of conversations with some of the young men working in the "tourist shops". I discovered that first the sex tourists were both men and women but it was the men (mostly from Northern European countries such as Germany, Sweden, Norway etc) who "went" for the young girls and boys. I was told that many of the tourists came every year and stayed for up to 3 months living with a chosen boy or girl. In some cases they would even take the child back to their home country. They told me that everyone, the police, government officials, embassies all knew what was happening but did nothing. One of the ways in which the Europeans took the children back to their homes was by promising to give the children an education and support his or her family back home. It was only when the child was in Germany or Norway that they discovered they were in fact to be sexual slaves. One young man told me he knew of someone who was kept prisoner for over a year in Germany before he was able to escape and seek help and eventually he returned to Gambia.

why the devil has more vacation-time than santa: reason number 4,337
why the devil has more vacation-time than santa: reason number 5,012

clash of the uncivilized: insights on the cartoon controversy

From Imam Zaid Shakir:

The current crisis shows the extent we Muslims are vulnerable to media manipulation, superficial shows of piety, and counterproductive one-upmanship militancy. If we start with the issue of media manipulation, it is clear that Western and Eastern media outlets played a large role in stirring up Muslim, and now Western sentiments. When the crisis initially broke in September, it was barely a blip on the media radar. Few outside of Denmark even knew of the cartoons. The Danish Muslim community, appropriately, by and large ignored the story. It was only after a campaign undertaken by a delegation of Danish Muslim community activists to stimulate greater interest in the issue that the crisis reached the proportions we are currently witnessing. These activists traveled throughout the Muslim East trying to draw attention to the issue. When the issue was popularized by Iqra and other Arab satellite channels, and the cartoons were reprinted by several European papers, the crisis deepened. In light of that reality, it would be hard to deny the role the media has played in sparking and now perpetuating the crisis.

full article

shouting "fire" on a crowded planet

A certain parallel struck me in thinking about this whole cartoon controversy. Proverbially, even the most radical defendants of free speech will say that it is not appropriate to shout "fire" in a crowded theater. The argument, of course, is that such "speech" can cause people to panic, will lead to a stampede, and is likely to cause people to be physically harmed in the process. Given the rioting, violence and death which has happened in the wake of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy I wonder how many people are willing to make that connection?

word cloud

It's a "word cloud" made from words commonly appearing on Grenada. (Font size corresponds to frequency). Apparently all the cool kids are doing it.

heads up

Ashurah is on Thursday.

jimi izrael on chappelle

Hip-Hop Journalist Jimi Izrael had an interesting take in the wake of Dave Chappelle's recent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey Show:

I was real troubled by white media coverage of Dave Chappelle’s turn on Oprah Winfrey. Clearly uncomfortable, Dave told Oprah that he took pride in the fact that he did humor of two levels, but has lost confidence in white folk’s ability to decipher the intention of it. He said he began to have doubts that white folks bring the tool set necessary to deconstruct his show for what it is: satire wrapped in irony, wrapped in even more satire.

“Chappelle’s Show” is us laughing at white folks laughing at him, because they have no idea why they think he’s funny. But we do. Because whites necessarily have to acknowledge their nearly imperceptable privilege, bringing their own set of prejudices and assumption to every viewing. This is prerequisite for whites to glean any humor whatsoever from “Chappelle’s Show”, and we know it. You and I know that. They don’t, and that’s REALLY what’s so funny. They have no idea the show is encoded ... and it’s hilarious.

But I think Dave was worried that his show had become less a comedy than a warehouse of coonery, where whites brought their ideas about blacks to be affirmed and reinforced. They began to laugh AT and not WITH. I think he’s right---his humor walked that line, and slipped over on occasion. (full story)

everyone has their sacred cows

guess who's coming to dharma

No, I'm not converting but I was still intrigued by the Black Buddhist blog, Zen Under the Skin: Reflections of an African-American Practitioner. It is interesting to think about the process by which other Black folks move away from the traditional church and re-"orient" themselves in a new spiritual direction. Check out: Resources for Black Buddhists for more information.

the quartet meme

I was tagged with:
The Quartet Meme (Grrrr)

Four Jobs I’ve Had in My Life
1. middle school teacher
2. paper boy (okay it was one day)
3. bank teller
4. dj

Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over, and Have
1. Conquest of the Planet of the Apes
2. Deep Cover (the 1992 film with Laurence Fishburne)
3. Five Heartbeats
4. Hollywood Shuffle

Four places I’ve lived
1. Illinois
2. California
3. Michigan
4. Massachussetts

Four TV Shows I Love To Watch
1. Battlestar Galactica (the new one)
2. Deep Space Nine
3. The West Wing
4. The Boondocks

Four Places I Have Been On Vacation
1. Cancun, Mexico
2. Spain
3. Miami, Florida (I spoke the most Spanish in Miami)
4. Wisconsin Dells.

Four Websites I Visit Daily
1. Black Electorate
2. Chickenbones
3. Third Resurrection (you wouldn't believe how cool it is when I'm surprised by the stuff that is put up there)
4. and um... Wikipedia

Four Favorite Foods
1. pizza with pesto sauce and Tortellini from Antonio's
2. a good tofu stir fry
3. a good taco salad
4. home-cooked arroz con frijoles negros, yucca and platanos fritos.

Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now
1. home
2. New York
3. San Francisco Bay Area
4. ummmm.... Planet Grenada

Four people whom I tag next
1. Elenamary - De Aqui y de Alla
2. Brownfemipower - Woman of Color Blog
3. DA - Crime of Aquinas
4. Leila from Sister Scorpion (who is asking for a meme)

encyclopedia of biblical errancy

I used to own The Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy by C. Dennis McKinsey. It's basically a book which brings together in once place a whole host of arguments against Biblical Inerrancy. I say I used to own it because I lent it to a Christian acquaintance of mine who won't give it back. I think the book disturbed him and he must have burnt it or something. From time to time I tease him about how the Bible says something about "Thou shalt not steal".

Anyway, the book tends to take a shotgun approach. What it achieves in terms of its comprehensiveness it loses in its poor use of logic. Some of the book's arguments are valid examples of contradictions or difficulties, but many are also easy to resolve. Still, the book has its interesting points, and if you want to study Christian-Muslim polemics its probably worth a gander.

Especially since I just found out that it is available free online:
Online Version of the Encyclopedia of Biblical Errancy

no hay sangre negra

Thanks to Elenamary for the heads-up...

Taunya Lovell Banks recently published a paper entitled: Mestizaje and the Mexican Mestizo Self: No hay Sangre Negra, So There is No Blackness on how Afro-Latinidad and mestizaje play themselves out in a Mexican context. Here is the abstract (will probably discuss later):

Many legal scholars who write about Mexican mestizaje omit references to Afromexicans, Mexico's African roots, and contemporary anti-black sentiments in the Mexican and Mexican American communities. The reasons for the erasure or invisibility of Mexico's African roots are complex. It argues that post-colonial officials and theorists in shaping Mexico's national image were influenced by two factors: the Spanish colonial legacy and the complex set of rules creating a race-like caste system with a distinct anti-black bias reinforced through art; and the negative images of Mexico and Mexicans articulated in the United States during the early nineteenth century. The post-colonial Mexican becomes mestiza/o, defined as European and Indian, with an emphasis on the European roots. Thus contemporary anti-black bias in Mexico is a vestige of Spanish colonialism and nationalism that must be acknowledged, but is often lost in the uncritical celebration of Latina/o mestizaje when advanced as a unifying principle that moves beyond the conventional binary (black-white) discussions of race. This uncritical and ahistorical invocation of mestizaje has serious implications for race relations in the United States given the growing presence and political power of Mexican Americans because substituting mestizaje for racial binarism when discussing race in the United States reinforces rather than diminishes notions of white racial superiority and dominance. Therefore legal scholars who write about Latina/o issues should replace their uncritical celebration of mestizaje with a focus on colonialism and capitalism, the twin isms that influenced ideological theories and racial formation from the late fifteenth through the twentieth century in the Americas.

radical women of color carnival

The Radical Women of Color Carnival: Edition #1

ashurah

It's that time of year again. Oddly enough, this "year" Chinese New Year coincided with the Muslim New Year and the beginning of the first ten days of the month of Muharram. It is definitely a time when religious sensibilities will be heightened among Muslims (I wonder how much that affected the response to the Danish cartoons).

I shared some thoughts on the subject of Ashurah last year (wow, Planet Grenada is approaching its first birthday soon) so this year I think I'll mostly just point to a sampling of what some other members of the Muslim blogosphere are saying. The comments range from...

The Informative:
Sister Scorpion: Judaism, Sunni Islam, and Shi'i Islam and Ashura
Sunni Sister: The Hijrah and Muharram
Zam Zam: Muharram 2006/1427

The Festive:
Dervish: Happy New Year
Colloquy: Tonight We're going to Party Like it's 1427

And the Personal:
Brown Rab Fish Girl: This is a weeping song; a song with which to weep (Nick Cave)
Truth & Beauty: Reclaiming Ashura

And from Grenada last year
day after day after day...

tri-caucus

WASHINGTON - The racial divide exposed by Hurricane Katrina has united minority lawmakers in Congress who hope to leverage their numbers to aid overlooked communities. Members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus are creating a new group that will include all of their members. The Tri-Caucus will not replace the existing caucuses.
(full story from Yahoo News)

somewhat machiavellian

I guess I sort of knew that...

You Are Somewhat Machiavellian

You're not going to mow over everyone to get ahead... But you're also powerful enough to make things happen for yourself. You understand how the world works, even when it's an ugly place. You just don't get ugly yourself - unless you have to!

How Machiavellian Are You?

One of the most interesting passages in the Bible for me is Matthew 10:16 where Christ gives his disciples the following instructions: "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves." For the longest time, in the back of my mind I've thought if I ever write some kind of science fiction story about some Christian theocratic government coming to power in the US, then that would probably be the motto of their intelligence agency.

islam and christianity blending in africa

LAGOS, NIGERIA At first, it seems a surprising sight: inside a two-story mosque in sub-Saharan Africa's largest metropolis hangs a life-size portrait of Jesus Christ.

Yet worshipers at "The True Message of God Mission" say it's entirely natural for Christianity and Islam to cexist, even overlap. They begin their worship by praying at the Jesus alcove and then "running their deliverance" - sprinting laps around the mosque's mosaic-tiled courtyard, praying to the one God for forgiveness and help. They say it's akin to Israelites circling the walls of Jericho - and Muslims swirling around the Ka'ba shrine in Mecca.

This group - originally called "Chris-lam-herb" for its mix-and-match approach to Christianity, Islam, and traditional medicine - is a window on an ongoing religious ferment in Africa. It's still up for debate whether this group, and others like it, could become models for Muslim-Christian unity worldwide or whether they're uniquely African. But either way, they are "part of a trend," says Dana Robert, a Boston University religion professor.

Full story from Christian Science Monitor:
In Africa, Islam and Christianity are Growing, Blending

Also see: the wise men for link to story on Senegalese Muslims celebrating Christmas.

chappelle opens up

David Chappelle is starting to talk more openly about his life and why he walked away from the 3rd season of the Chappelle Show. Apparently it wasn't a secret African-American cabal called the Dark Crusaders.

More on Chappelle's recent appearance on Oprah.
More on Chappelle's upcoming appearance on Inside the Actor's Studio

why muslims get mad

In the media, people tend to focus on the "last straw" and don't even pay attention to everything else which comes before it. Abu Gharaib, Guantanamo, Kashmir, Gujurat, the latest atrocities in Palestine, 9/11 backlash, the Patriot Act, Jose Padilla, Afghanistan, Iraq, and all of the other ways in which Muslim life and honor is disrespescted.

Al-Jazeera: US radio host upsets Muslim body A Muslim civil liberties group has demanded an apology from the host of a Los Angeles-area radio show for making fun of a stampede that killed hundreds of Muslims during the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

the dirty dozen

The biggest Islam-related story in the world today is obviously the recent uproar about the Danish cartoons depicting Muhammad (saaws). I really just have a few brief comments:

1. Even if you believe strongly in free speech (and I do) it is really really stupid to piss on the religious sensibilities of a billion people.

2. Muslims are under no obligation to give their money to people (or those associated with them) who piss on their religious sensibilities. So the boycotts are a beautiful response. It is certainly a wiser, more constructive response than resorting to violence (which unfortunately is also happening).

3. Anger doesn't arise in a vacum. And I don't believe that in all times and places, you would find Muslims reacting violently to a mere cartoon. (For example, Muhammad was depicted on a past episode of South Park without causing any kind of protest as far as I know) From the recent French riots we know that the European Muslim community is facing all sorts of issues of class and race, anger and disrespect, and that it only takes a catalyst to bring those issues to the surface.

Telegraph: Anti-Islamic Comments from the Danish Queen
The Brussels Journal: Danish Imams Propose to End Cartoon Dispute (includes cartoons)
Alt.Muslim: The Dirty Dozen (And the Damage Done)
Alt.Muslim: Through The Looking Glass: The Danish Cartoons

so if we take hostages, what should they call us?

Critics Say Detaining Suspected Terrorists' Wives May BackfireIt Could Alienate the Iraqi People, Experts Say

Jan. 29, 2006— Since the beginning of the war in Iraq, there have been questions about U.S. troops' sensitivities to Islamic culture — especially when dealing with women. Now there are new questions about a tactic the military calls leveraging. For example, marines found weapons and explosives in a woman's house and wanted her to lead them to her husband. The military says this sort of intimidation is a necessary tool. But internal military documents suggest it's taken a new turn: Detaining wives of suspected insurgents in hopes of getting their husbands to surrender. "If they're being taken solely for the purpose of drawing their men out of hiding, it can even appear to look like hostage taking," said Jumana Musa of Amnesty International.(full story)

Could be Jumana, could be.