Maggie

"She wasn’t fair and she didn’t know the meaning of the word. If she had, she would have helped, not opposed, Nelson Mandela in his fight against apartheid. She wouldn’t have personally ordered the sinking of the Argentinian warship General Belgrano even though it was outside the defined exclusion zone. (Three hundred and twenty-three men died that night.) She wasn’t fair and she wasn’t just, either, otherwise she would have seen—as many of her ministers did—that the Poll Tax would only make life harder for people who were already struggling."

A perfectly just remembrance of Margaret Thatcher by Scottish novelist Andrew O'Hagan in the New York Review of Books.

And if you have the stomach for it, much more on Maggie from Morrissey, Simon Schama, Ken Livingstone, John Lydon, Andrew Spooner and Ian McEwan.

Guy Denning

Guy Denning is a self-taught English artist currently living in France. Mostly known for his gritty and brooding paintings, Denning has heartily embraced various internet outlets including YouTube where he demonstrates how he paints, as well as a terrific blog and Facebook page where he posts a new drawing each day. Denning has been paying close attention to the Occupy Wall Street protests and is busily posting images inspired by the New York conflagration as well as capturing moments seen via the internet in Oakland, London and elsewhere. His uncanny ability to illustrate powerful emotion in the simplest gestural sketches is incredible, and the recent wave of protests have served as an explosive outlet for his deeply felt cynicism and world weary politics. Absolutely worth a look.

Bastille Day

by Ron Padgett

The first time I saw Paris
I went to see where the Bastille
had been, and though
I saw the column there
I was too aware that
the Bastille was not there:
I did not know how
to see the emptiness.
People go to see
the missing Twin Towers
and seem to like feeling
the lack of something.
I do not like knowing
that my mother no longer
exists, or the feeling
of knowing. Excuse me
for comparing my mother
to large buildings. Also
for talking about absence.
The red and gray sky
above the rooftops
is darkening and the inhabitants
are hastening home for dinner.
I hope to see you later.

Martyr Murals

Very interesting article in The Guardian from a few weeks back about Ganzeer, an Egyptian graffiti artist. After the uprising in Egypt brought a new sense of change possibility to the street, this story surfaced about a young man who used the rare opportunity to paint unsanctioned murals on the walls of Cairo. His Martyr Murals project aims to produce public portraits of every single Egyptian killed in this year's uprising. As soon as he paints a mural, the government officials paint it over, but

"...in Tahrir and in protests all over the country, people got a taste for expressing themselves openly, and the government can't easily regain that control over public space again...Creating graffiti involves taking ownership of the streets, just like we did during the uprising. And so of course it's political, and illegal."

Read the full article here and check out Ganzeer's blog here.

News from Spain

Fascinating developments out of Spain that you shouldn't overlook.

For more than two weeks, since before Spain’s May 22 local elections, thousands upon thousands of protesters have been gathering in the central squares of major cities to express their anger with the emptiness and disconnectedness of the election campaigns, and outrage at the failure of the political system in general. "Los indignados" — the outraged — as they have become known are still swelling in numbers.

The rage stems largely from a deep economic crisis that has left Spain struggling to emerge from recession and with an unemployment rate of more than 20 percent, the highest in the European Union. Youth unemployment is higher than 40 percent. Unable to afford basic necessities, and confronting a desperate future, the movement is both protesting against the current government and demanding larger systemic change. What's truly amazing however is that participation in the protests hasn't been limited to angry kids - there are many many people gathering in the streets from all corners of Spanish society. Los Indignatos include everyone from construction workers to doctors to lawyers to bartenders. It is still a relatively small movement, but it is developing the look and feel of a large popular revolt.

Since the elections the tone of the protests has shifted, but they haven't ceased.

The 10-minute documentary below is a short interview with Spanish economist and political philosopher Jose Luis Sampedro, interspersed with powerful scenes from the Madrid protests. Sampredo doesn't mince words, and blames Spain's troubles on a corrupt financial system combined with a complete lack of compassion for the unfortunate as reinforced by the media. He predicts that things will get far worse before they get better. The film is required viewing. Hit the CC button in the lower part of the window for English subtitles.

Bikes at War

Rather than display her considerable ignorance, Gurldoggie stays clear of anything resembling contemporary politics. That being said, it's hard to resist this image of the rebellion in Libya, courtesy of Photo District News. Do I think good things are happening in Libya? Do I support one side or another? Is military action ever justified? By anyone? Hell if I know. But I will always support the creative use of bicycles. And this guy is welcome on my Critical Mass ride. Ka-Boom.

Thanks to The Corey for the photo tip.

Beware the Ides of March

Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world
Like a Colossus, and we petty men
Walk under his huge legs and peep about
To find ourselves dishonourable graves.
Men at some time are masters of their fates:
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
Brutus and Caesar: what should be in that 'Caesar'?
Why should that name be sounded more than yours?
Write them together, yours is as fair a name;
Sound them, it doth become the mouth as well;
Weigh them, it is as heavy; conjure with 'em,
Brutus will start a spirit as soon as Caesar.
Now, in the names of all the gods at once,
Upon what meat doth this our Caesar feed,
That he is grown so great? Age, thou art shamed!
Rome, thou hast lost the breed of noble bloods!
When went there by an age, since the great flood,
But it was famed with more than with one man?
When could they say till now, that talk'd of Rome,
That her wide walls encompass'd but one man?
Now is it Rome indeed and room enough,
When there is in it but one only man.
O, you and I have heard our fathers say,
There was a Brutus once that would have brook'd
The eternal devil to keep his state in Rome
As easily as a king.

— Cæs. The ides of March are come.
Sooth. Ay, Cæsar; but not gone. Act iii. Sc. 1.

Daniel Beltrá

Photographer Daniel Beltrá has made a career out of traveling to the world's precious ecosystems to document scenes of environmental devastation. Based in Seattle, Beltrá has traveled from Indonesia to the Arctic to the drought-ridden waterways of Brazil to the marshes of Louisiana to capture images of nature fouled by industry run amok. Yet his photographs are so well composed, so energetic, so artful in their composition that they lure your eye into lingering before you quite realize the extent of the devastation you're seeing.

He was recently named first runner up for the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, and two just weekends ago Beltrá was the subject of a lengthy article in the Seattle Times. His blog also features hundreds of his images, arranged by geography.

Sacco Wins Ridenhour Prize

For the first time, the Ridenhour Book Prize will be given to a comic book. Joe Sacco's graphic novel "Footnotes in Gaza" has won the award, which carries a $10,000 dollar prize.

Ron Ridenhour was the Vietnam Veteran whose 1969 letter to Congress and the Pentagon brought the My Lai massacre to light. Ridenhour went on to have a successful career as an investigative journalist and the prizes named after him - the book prize, a career prize and a prize for truth-telling - are awarded to writers and journalists who strive to "protect the public interest, promote social justice or illuminate a more just vision of society."

Footnotes in Gaza is the story of two forgotten incidents in Palestine - the 1956 mass killings of Palestinians in Rafah and Khan Younis. The statement from the Ridenhour committee notes that the book is a work of "profound social significance, one that explores the complex continuum of history. At a time when peace in the Middle East has never seemed more elusive, Sacco's illustrations bear witness to the lives of those who are trapped by the conflict." The award itself will be presented in April in Washington, DC.

Freedom in Burma

Poster artist and controversial folk hero/capitalist pig Shepard Fairey has created a new poster featuring Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and calling for democracy in Burma. Fairey is offering to mail them to anyone, anywhere in the world, who promises to put up them around their city. The posters are free, and Fairey will even pay for the shipping. The poster is also available for sale to those willing to take a different kind of risk. More about the Freedom to Lead campaign here.

Puig Antich

Following the premonition of a beautiful birth, the remembrance of a haunting death. On this day 35 years ago, March 2 1974, Salvador Puig Antich was the last man assassinated by the Franco regime in Spain.

Puig Antich was born in Barcelona in 1948, and was 20 years old during the French general strike that led to the collapse of the De Gaulle government. Inspired by this example, he involved himself in the fight against the Franco dictatorship, eventually becoming a member of the Movimiento Ibérico de Liberación, an anti-Franco and anti-capitalist militant organization. Puig Antich was part of a group that robbed Spanish and French banks, using the money to support the group's clandestine publications, and to support strikers and imprisoned workers.

In 1973 Puig Antich and two other gang members were captured in a Barcelona bar, during which a Guardia Civil was killed. Puig Antich was accused of having fired the shots that killed the policeman, though it was later proved that he was killed by another Guardia during the operation. Regardless, Puig Antich was sentenced to death. His sentence was protested around the world by activists and governments alike, but Franco, who was holding fast to the last rudiments of his control, did not concede. Puig Antich, then 25 years old, was executed in a cell of the central Barcelona jail on March 2 at 9:40 am. Franco himself died 18 months later, and his government collapsed soon after.

I Will Always Stand on the Side of the Egg

The Japanese novelist Haruki Murakami recently made the controversial decision to travel to Israel to accept the Jerusalem Prize for literature. On receiving the award, he gave a powerful speech detailing his motives in accepting the award and exhorting all of us to recognize and fight abuses of power. The speech is published in its entirety in Salon. I've excerpted a small piece below.

I chose to come here rather than stay away. I chose to see for myself rather than not to see. I chose to speak to you rather than to say nothing.

Please do allow me to deliver one very personal message. It is something that I always keep in mind while I am writing fiction. I have never gone so far as to write it on a piece of paper and paste it to the wall: rather, it is carved into the wall of my mind, and it goes something like this:

"Between a high, solid wall and an egg that breaks against it, I will always stand on the side of the egg."

Yes, no matter how right the wall may be and how wrong the egg, I will stand with the egg. Someone else will have to decide what is right and what is wrong; perhaps time or history will decide. If there were a novelist who, for whatever reason, wrote works standing with the wall, of what value would such works be?

Ingrid Betancourt - Colombian Hostage

This is a guest post, from Liza.
____________________

Ingrid Betancourt, founder of the "Oxygen Green Party" in Colombia and a creative, bold and dedicated anti-corruption activist, has been held hostage in the jungle for six years by the FARC leftist guerillas. Reports are she is dying, chained by her neck, no longer taking food or medication.

I am reading her autobiography from 2002 outlining her courageous and outstanding anti-corruption work in government and politics. She believes corruption is the root of the problem there, the core that desperately needs to be addressed, and the armed resistance movements, the narco-trafficking, the paramilitaries and right wing government are all inflamed infections that have spread from unchecked corruption.

She was a surprise winner during her first election to congress. An unknown 32 year old woman, she won notoriety, name recognition, and, ultimately, a seat in government, by handing out condoms while saying "A shield to corruption" which was at first considered a shock and a disgrace. For her second campaign, where she won more votes than anyone ever had in a congressional campaign in Colombia, her theme was something like "Let's arouse government - Viagra for Colombia".


On April 4 her teenage son Lorenzo drew worldwide attention by issuing very personal yet public pleas for her to hang on, and for her release. These videos are in Spanish and French - the second has been translated into English (go to right side box and click "more").






Right now there is a groundswell of people insisting on her release. Last weekend there were protests all over France where she has dual citizenship because of a former marriage.


I have been touched by her story, and amazed to discover the unfolding situation, so thought you might be interested, too.

Simic

Charles Simic (shown here with his father in 1942) is currently the U.S. Poet Laureate. Unlike many of the past Poets Laureate, Simic has no qualms about being forthrightly political. Not political in the sense of favoring one party over another, but rather political in that he is unafraid to speak out against tyranny and injustice wherever he encounters it, from his native Yugoslavia to his adopted home country. Simic has a very powerful essay in the December 20 New York Review of Books, titled "The Renegade," which explains how his childhood in war-ravaged Belgrade influenced his lifelong suspicion of political leaders in general, and of nationalist demagogues in specific. He doesn't single out the current U.S. administration as a notable example of demagoguery, but the implication is there.

"Like many others, I was under the impression that Yugoslavia was a thriving country not likely to fall apart even after Tito's death. I made two brief trips to Belgrade, one in 1972 and another in 1982, had heard about ethnic incidents, but continued to believe, even when the rhetoric got more and more heated in the late 1980s after the emergence of the first nationalist leaders, that reason would prevail in the end. I had no problem with cultural nationalism, but the kind that demands unquestioning solidarity with prejudices, self-deceptions, paranoias of the collective, I loathed....

The years of the Vietnam War focused my mind. It took me a while to appreciate the full extent of the prevarication and sheer madness in our press and television and our political opinion, and to see what our frothing patriots with their calls for indiscriminate slaughter were getting us into. The war deepened for me what was already a lifelong suspicion of all causes that turn a blind eye to the slaughter of the innocent."

Like so much of Simic's writing, the essay is painfully direct, using unexpected yet perfectly tuned metaphors to turn his personal experiences into the stuff of universal truth. This is well worth reading and keeping.

You need to be a NYRB subscriber to visit their site, but the article is re-printed in full here.