You might need it!

Pictures are taken at various times during the DC snowstorm in 2009.  As more pics are taken, this page will be updated.

We could only take a few pictures from the house – as you can tell, we’re pretty much stuck right now since no-one makes snowchains for powerchairs (Mark E. Smith where art thou???)

Strangely, the town’s Department of Public Works hasn’t taken the plows out to the street (at time of writing, saturday evening).  This is slightly perturbing.

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• Twitter Updates for 2009-12-02
  (tags: musings)

It’s not easy being a Supreme Court Justice, I imagine.  As we’ve seen with the confirmation hearings in recent years, just getting the job demands you be laid bare before a public and will be judged not for your deeds, but for your ideology.

But once they’re confirmed and take up their place on that bench, they’re supposed to take on the tough questions they were grilled so hard to determine their views for.

That includes the ugly dark questions of racism and bias that have formed such a core part of the identity of the United States since before its inception.

Instead, this month the U.S. Supreme Court ran away from having to look at that dark face.  They declined, without comment, to hear the appeal of a group of Native Americans against the name of the football team for the nation’s capital itself – The Washington Redskins.

What makes this an act of cowardice by the Supremes is that the case, brought in an attempt to force the team to stop using this derogatory and racist term, was decided on a technicality.

The effective end result, as far as the Supremes are concerned I think, is that they won’t have to actually rule on the racist nature of the team name itself.

That’s their cowardice.

In Brown vs Board of Education, the nation was shown that the Supreme Court could, would, and did, make a stand against racism, and for the rights of every citizen to be equally protected, nurtured, and defended under the law.

In Brown vs Board of Education, the Court’s decision sent waves through US society, finally bringing the status of blacks to match that of whites.  That took guts.

In Harjo v. Pro-Football Inc (the case in question), it seems the Washington Redskins are “too big to fail” – If the Supremes had heard the case, and ruled for the plaintiffs, it would have been an acknowledgement of the ongoing racism, in sports at least, towards Native Americans for so long.  Football in the US is a huge money making operation, and the case challenged one of the biggest franchises.

They blinked.

This is simply an indication of the refusal of America to accept and acknowledge what it has done in the past, and is still doing, to Native Americans.

As I’ve discussed in the past¹², the Washington Redskins have become a symbolic demonstration of this pervasive and insidious dehumanized racism.

So now we have to contend with the weekly chants and banners and TV sportsdrones all effectively using the NDN equivalent of the “N” word with official sanction from on high.  We will continue to see Zema Williams in the equivalent of blackface cheering on the team every week, a black man helping to perpetuate the stereotype of Indians³.

I’m not the only one that has pointed out that if the team were named “The Washington niggers”, or “The Washington Kikes”, there’d be an uproar, demonstrations, and questions asked in Congress.  I’m not making this stuff up, white people also recognize the damage the team’s name does to an entire culture.

But to challenge it is to bring up things the United States wants to keep hidden and untold, things as vociferously avoided as Turkey refuses to allow discussion of the Armenian Genocide.  In many ways, Harjo v. Pro-Football Inc would have forced the United States to remember just whose blood was shed, and by whom, as the United States became a country.

Worse, it would have set a precedent for other lawsuits, pending and yet to occur, that are meant to address such things as the Land Trusts, and other broken treaties.

American Indians remain loyal to a country that consistently refuses to be loyal in return.  More American Indians serve in the United States Armed Forces per capita than any other “minority” group.  After Katrina, tribes surrounding the affected areas put into place emergency response teams that were on the ground days before FEMA bothered to show up.

But NDNs aren’t black, NDNs aren’t hispanic, they don’t have the lobbying power of the other minorities, and let’s be honest here – other minorities fighting for “equality” tend to stop fighting the moment they’ve succeeded for themselves alone.

It is said that prejudice is the last refuge of the insignificant.

Refusing to face it is a stain on the record of the highest court in the land.

What it gained in the brave decision to rule in Brown vs Board of Education, it has washed away by sidestepping the question.

That’s a sad reflection on America in the 21st Century.

1. My Post: The Washington Niggers, [back]
2. My Post: They just don’t get it, do they? [back]
3. See my previous post, They just don’t get it, do they? [back]

Try Bog, my 3D mentor’s … he’s far far worse!

(He also needs to learn how to set up permalink redirects in Wordpress … Either by clicking on the nifty button inside Wordpress that sets it up for him, or paying me a consultancy fee for clicking it for him )

Tomorrow should be Sophie Lancaster’s 20th birthday.

Unfortunately she won’t be able to be there.

Two years ago, 2007, she and her boyfriend Robert were attacked by a group of youths in Lancashire.

Once he was down, she tried to protect him, and was beaten, kicked, stomped, in the head.

As her attackers left laughing bragging about their deed, Sophie and her boyfriend were left in a puddle of blood in the park.  Sophie’s head injuries resulted in a coma.

Two days later, she died.

Their crime?

They were goths.

No, nothing else.  Just that.

Different.

Being different shouldn’t be a capital offense.  It shouldn’t result in someone being beaten, another being kicked until they go into a coma and later die.

But in this case it did.

Isolated incident, you say?  Not really.

There was no reason for Sophie’s death.  No reason for the attack to begin with.  no reason for the youths involved to brag about their actions as they left the scene.  no reason for the parents of some of those youths to be laughing and joking during the investigation and questioning of their kids.

No reason.

None.

In Sophie’s name a foundation was created, a charity.  In their own words from their website:

The charity, known as The Sophie Lancaster Foundation, will focus on creating respect for and understanding of subcultures in our communities.

It will also work in conjunction with politicians and police forces to ensure individuals who a part of subcultures are protected by the law.

A lot of people are rallying to support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation, especially Illamasqua, a make-up brand.

Illamasqua commissioned a short film, and are hoping to gain 1,000,000 hits.

I’ve seen the film.  It’s worth watching.

Being murdered because you’re different is not the way to go.  It’s too simple to say that Sophie was a victim of the “Youth Culture”, or a gang – Hailing Star shows that not all youths are as advertised in the media.  Sophie certainly didn’t fit the media ideals of what a Youth in the UK is.

Their only “crime” to those youths was to be different.

Tomorrow is Sophie’s birthday.

She can’t be there, but maybe you’d like to give the Foundation named after her a present.

I’ve just finished uploading some more of my portfolio to the GFX site.

• He ain’t your parent’s clown!!
• Trust Me …
• Dark Unicorn Guardian
• Sidhe Snow Summoning
• Tenement Terror
• Pinup Girls (NSFW)

Looking over the storage drive, uploading the portfolio to the GFX site is going to take a while yet!

Whew, it’s been a busy year, and I totally zoned keeping up with the blog!

So, to celebrate life quietening down enough for me to get back on top of posting, I’ve been making some changes to the site.

One of the biggest changes is the Artwork section is being retired from this site, and being moved to it’s own showcase site at http://gfx.moonwolfs-lair.com.  The catalog for tubes and other artwork for sale will also be going up there.

The comments system on the site now uses Intense Debate, which lets you reply to comments others post, as well as gets more exposure.  You can also use multiple ways to login to post comments through Intense Debate, as well as favourite comments and posts to your own blogs and sites easier.

The theme is changed, using a stock one for now until I get a chance to hack it up.

Lastly, I’m beginning to reformat some more of my writing notes and short stories to post up here.

Lots of changes, feedback is always welcome!

Hi all,

I’m in the middle of gutting the site and bringing it up to date with new features, as well as adding a better system for tracking my images, both paid and free.

Please bear with me if things go wierd for a little while.

A common refrain over the past several years has been a perceived silence on the part of Muslims condemning terrorism. That’s been expanded to include criticism of the same perceived silence over the more extreme interpretations and implementations of Sha`ria law.

Wandering around the ‘net, I’ve found there are a lot of “moderate” Muslims who have been doing just that – criticising the actions of those who take Islam to lengths others (especially in the west) find abominable.

Likewise there are times when “ordinary” Muslims take issue with their community and leaders for that silence, or taking their “elders” to task for paying lip service to condemning things that are, to western eyes, unacceptable whilst turning a blind eye to (or supporting) those thing in practicality.

You have to wonder at the courage in their faith it takes for these Muslims to stand up and publicly criticize other Muslims. As I recall from my own research, there’s actually a fatwa (religious ruling) that forbids publicly criticizing another Muslim – a ruling that seems to be very situational (i.e. people are reminded of it as a public criticism of Muslims who are publicly criticizing other Muslims).

Let’s be honest here. Osama Bin Laden is a megolomaniacal coward on a huge ego trip where he basks in the adulation of as many dupes he can find as possible. He’s not doing what he does because of Islam, Islam is simply the method he’s exploiting to get followers.

In that respect, I don’t think he is any different than Jim Jones, David Koresh, or Fred Phelps.

He’s a coward because this great believer in martyrdom hasn’t become a martyr. As is usual for his kind, he has to stay alive to carry on his “divine mission”. Convenient, really, isn’t it?

By cloaking his personal ego trip in the mantle of Islam, Bin Laden immediately gets to exploit that injunction against criticizing Muslims. At the same time, he gets to ride the coat tails of people who are truly being persecuted – but you never hear of him or his people actually doing anything that truly benefits those people.

Muslims do notice these things, and do speak out against them. Some label these Muslims “moderates”, but I have to wonder if that label is incorrect. Should it really be “Actually Faithful Muslims”?

These Muslims are the ones who remember those passages in the Qur`an that prohibit harming yourself, prohibitions against killing innocents, defining when it’s acceptable to go to war. They understand their religion, not pervert it into a vehicle to promote their own egotistical agendas as some clerics, and people like Bin laden, are wont to do. They understand that there is a difference between “innovation” of Islam, which is prohibited, and the “adaptation” of Islam, placing it in cultural context as written.

When they step up to the plate to condemn both the actions of these “pseudo” Muslims, and criticize the practical silence and implied support of other ego-driven Muslims, we should support them. They’re doing what we, in the west, are calling for Muslims to do – but if they do it and we ignore it, we then become partially responsible for those calls being ignored.

If we want Muslims to be able to come forwards in larger numbers to condemn the actions of these criminals who subvert Islam for their own ends, we have to show these “moderate Muslims” that their efforts are recognized, and supported.

Maybe then, the tribesmen in Pakistan and Afghanistan will start to see Bin Laden for the coward on a power trip that he really is – not as a heroic leader, but as a cult leader. There’s a passage in the Qur`an about cults too, I believe – once these Muslims understand the truth behind their “great hero”, then their own religion tells them what to do with him.

Whether they rip his head off with a rusty knife, bury him in the ground and lob rocks at him, or hand him over to the US to answer for his crimes against the US, it’s a success by any measure.

See, I have a serious problem with criticisms that attribute Bin Laden and his ilk as being representative of “all Muslims”, or that “all Muslims” support, by default, these criminals.

Every time I go to Arlington National Cemetery when the family of a fallen hero allows the Patriot Guard Riders the privilege and honour of being a part of bringing that hero home, I see grave markers standing over Christian, Methodist, Pagan, Jewish – and Muslim soldiers.

Muslims who died defending this country.

If people start accusing all Muslims – they’re spitting on the sacrifice of these Muslims too.

That’s not acceptable. You spit on the memory of a fallen hero, for whatever reason, and we’re going to have a discussion.

Period.

We scragged the Taliban because they refused to hand over a criminal. We should do the same to Pakistan if they likewise refuse to hand him over. He must answer for his actions, and it really is simple – anyone who supports him, gives him shelter, should be dealt with accordingly.

Because he’s a criminal and mass murdering coward – not because he’s a Muslim. His religion has bugger all to do with it really, just as religion really had bugger all to do with the Jonestown Massacre, Waco, or the Westboro Baptist Church’s childish tantrums at the funerals of our fallen heroes.

Many Muslims can see this. They’re speaking out. If we (the west) don’t listen to them, don’t hear them, how can we expect other Muslims to?

So Tropical Storm Hanna is busy making its way up the coast towards us – if the predicted track is anything to go by, it’ll be a few miles to the east of us in about four hours time.

DC, as usual, is losing its mind in panic mode. We’ve already seen the panic buying at the local grocery store. Like people didn’t have a clue this might be coming while Gustav was still ambling around the Gulf Coast!

The DC area is really weird when it comes to inclement weather conditions – especially the local drivers. I call it “Dinosaur Syndrome”.

Think about it. The dinosaurs all died out because, at the end of the day, they couldn’t adapt to changing environmental conditions.

Now think about DC area drivers.

They wake up in the morning, it’s a nice day. They drive off to work – most of them, despite years of first-hand-experience, still using the parking-lot that is the Capital Beltway parking lot (I-495).

They work for a few hours (in theory), then comes lunchtime.

And it’s raining.

They’re totally flummoxed by this, and drive as if it was still great weather – they haven’t managed to switch over to “driving in the rain mode”. The end result, there’s accidents.

Those lucky enough to avoid anything major then return to work, and spend the rest of their work day trying to kick their brains into “driving in the rain mode”. They do so, come out of their offices to drive home, and are flummoxed once more – it’s sunny again.

So they try to drive home, but they’re in “driving in the rain mode” and haven’t switched back. The end result, there’s accidents.

Rinse.

Repeat.

Hence, Dinosaur Syndrome.

This is, after all, the DC area – everything is done according to government specifications on a government timetable. It only stands to reason that this extends to people’s ability (or lack of) to adapt to the weather

I wonder why people accuse me of being a cynic?

Here’s to the area first responders, and the utilities crews when they come out for the aftermath. May they be safe from the weather – and DC Dinosaurs on their way to their work!

[UPDATE 1750 EDT]

Well, Hanna’s gone past us – and it was relatively anti-climactic.

It’s on its way to New York/Philadelphia now, as you can see from the snapshot I’ve ‘ported over from Google Earth.