dreams and fantasies

 TUESDAY

the red cross report on torture in bush administration has been leaked

you can find pdf file of it here on new york review of books website

report has put more pressure on obama to do some kind of inquiry on bush admin torture policy

redcross say that doctors who participated committed medical ethics crimes

redcross says the report was supposed to be classified, who could have leaked it

redcross say they shocked i tell you shocked, article that goes along with it is sobering

exxcerpt from accompanying article:

the CIA seems to have arrived at a method that is codified by the International Committee of the Red Cross experts into twelve basic techniques, as follows:

• Suffocation by water poured over a cloth placed over the nose and mouth...
• Prolonged stress standing position, naked, held with the arms extended and chained above the head...
• Beatings by use of a collar held around the detainees' neck and used to forcefully bang the head and body against the wall...
• Beating and kicking, including slapping, punching, kicking to the body and face...
• Confinement in a box to severely restrict movement...
• Prolonged nudity...this enforced nudity lasted for periods ranging from several weeks to several months...
• Sleep deprivation...through use of forced stress positions (standing or sitting), cold water and use of repetitive loud noises or music...
• Exposure to cold temperature...especially via cold cells and interrogation rooms, and...use of cold water poured over the body or...held around the body by means of a plastic sheet to create an immersion bath with just the head out of water.
• Prolonged shackling of hands and/or feet...
• Threats of ill-treatment, to the detainee and/or his family...
• Forced shaving of the head and beard...
• Deprivation/restricted provision of solid food from 3 days to 1 month after arrest...

As the Red Cross writers tell us, "each specific method was in fact applied in combination with other methods, either simultaneously or in succession." A clear picture of this cumulative effect comes from the three long excerpts of interviews with detainees published as annexes at the end of the report, which I have quoted from and discussed at length in my earlier article.^[11] To understand the effect one must remember what all experienced torturers know: dramatic results can be achieved with simple techniques. Forced standing, for example:

Ten of the fourteen alleged that they were subjected to prolonged stress standing positions, during which their wrists were shackled to a bar or hook in the ceiling above the head for periods ranging from two or three days continuously, and for up to two or three months intermittently.... For example, Mr. Khaled Shaik Mohammed alleged that, apart from the time when he was taken for interrogation, he was shackled in prolonged stress standing position for one month in his third place of detention.... Mr. Bin Attash for two weeks with two or three short breaks where he could lie down in Afghanistan and for several days in his fourth place of detention.... Mr. Hambali for four to five days, blindfolded with a type of sack over his head, while still detained in Thailand....

This prolonged forced standing is, again, an ancient technique, and a favorite, notably, of the Soviet intelligence services. It can be difficult, when gazing at the stark descriptions of these procedures, to understand their effect. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, for example, when approving in December 2002 a series of interrogation techniques that included forced standing for up to four hours, famously scribbled in the lower margin, beneath his initials: "However, I stand for 8–10 hours a day. Why is standing limited to 4 hours? D.R." Secretary Rumsfeld, who no doubt was standing at his desk when he scrawled these words, professed to have difficulty comprehending the difference between working at a standing desk in one's office—signing documents, talking on the telephone, speaking to subordinates, drinking coffee—and standing naked in a very cold room with hands shackled to the ceiling for hours and days at a time.

One can gain a hint of the difference simply by rising and standing motionless with one's hands extended directly overhead and trying to maintain the position for, say, thirty minutes. Then imagine maintaining it for several hours, or days, or weeks. The physical effects, as described in a notorious study of Communist interrogation methods by two psychologists, are dramatic:

After 18 to 24 hours of continuous standing, there is an accumulation of fluid in the tissues of the legs. This dependent edema is produced by the extravasation of fluid from the blood vessels. The ankles and feet of the prisoner swell to twice their normal circumference. The edema may rise up the legs as high as the middle of the thighs. The skin becomes tense and intensely painful. Large blisters develop, which break and exude watery serum....^[12]

---------------------------

obama wants to 'move on', article makes case that its not a 'move on' situation

that it is a demon lying in wait to trip america up again under the right conditions

basically this guy calling on obama to perform an exorcism, he say that demon got to go

a luta continua

rdoc

MONDAY DAY

okay, a couple of quickies before i see if i can do it again

ward churchill won case that he was fired for this essay, which does seem to be intemperate
radical left rhetoric instead of reasoned radical left analysis

this guy dewit makes the case that of course he was fired for the essay, not his scholarship, but that
he never should have been hired but for political correctness in the academy, much less tenured et al

churchills article was painful reading and i found myself skimming, but i have radical colleagues who would consider it righteous work - and me a sellout for pointing out that its problematic on a lot of levels 

but this dewit guy makes some good points about why the academy was so late in realizing churchill scholarship was shoddy

i found this article to be interesting because syracuse has slid me some slack over the years
and while i think i warrant any slack ive received i question churchill myself on a variety of planes

this dewit guy indicts what he calls postmodern multiculturalism while i of course say its a little more nuanced than that, but i look at that piece for instance i did for oxford and its not academic in the strict sense

and i wonder if there are parallels, though there are major differences in tone and substance
i tend to dismiss intemperate rhetoric myself as not worthy of the struggle in the 21st century

i wouldnt call him venal, more like stuck in the 60s and counterproductive, preaching to the choir

i consider my work creative nonfiction and when you look at this blog for instance, wouldnt consider this academic either but i try to make it real on the literary side, make if of literary and destinic substance

that im a literary artist instead of a straight up academic works in my favor but when you think
that my last novel came out some 10 years ago i have to acknowledge that syracuse has shown some faith in me that this guy would probably interpert differently

all the more reason to finish rest for the weary - this summer

same folk who championed churchill likely the same folk who would champion/tenure me

and i would like to come thru for syracuses vote of confidence in me - o what a tangled weave

on another note i see that zumas charges have been dropped
another questionable characters questionable case,

im going to have to give zuma benefit of the doubt

mbeki was a disappointment, i fear zuma will be too
i want him to be a good president and unleash south african potential

im gone, i got to clock some pages

all my love

rdoc

MONDAY MORNING

rickydoc on a sungun, 360%

clocked a 6 hour workday yesterday, damn i feel good (a 9 would have been better but hey)

good woodshed start, cant wait till im 24/7 - should do schoolhouse today but when you hot you hot

wasnt altogether happy with what i came up with but good or bad not for me to say - dont judge, just work

just keep on pushing, keep slogging thru, page by page, word by word, keep pushing thru

ima clock me another 6 hours today, (well maybe a 3) then i will wade into my manuscript pile

which mean schoolhouse week will be no sleep catchup again but such is life in the literary lane

its all good - i love the literary life, always have always will

all my love

rdoc

SATURDAY

hello world, ran down ot the city yesterday for ihsans memorial at fred dougs, it was packed
mostly with theater folk, i realized ihsan was more theater than he was literary, i knew him

as a writer but his crew was theater and you know how dramatic the theater crowd is
it was a good memorial, long string of readers, brenda connor bey miller was there

ihsans old buddy from the ceta artist days, thats how i met ihsan, we were ceta artists together
ive wondered if they would have something like the ceta (or old wpa) program in current crises

ohwell, let me move on, came right back to syracuse after the memorial, didnt even hang out newyork
cause i wanted to get back and get some rest and try to clock some pages today

saw this article about zumas impending dismissal that said he is more complex than the caricatures allow for and also gave like an insiders picture of the political infighting between zuma and mbeki that lead to his election, kinda ffascinating

im gone, its been weeks since ive clocked pagesk one of those really rough periods
schoolhouse has been brutal and ive still got a stack of manuscripts to critique

ishan should be an insipiration to me, the harder life got on him the harder he worked on his novel
he would be there in his hospital bed writing away, same same jeff allen w/his recent health crises

i told my memorial folk ishan reminded me of an old literary joke i once heard, my version -
there was a painter a dancer and a novelist, they were all three told they had a year to live,

the painter was asked how the year would be spent and replied that there was this mountain
that had been a lifelong goal, im going to climb that mountain if its the last thing i do

the dancer was asked and said im going to hunt down a lost love and im going to love like no one has ever loved before

the novelist was asked what will you do with your last year and said im going to work on my novel

see what im saying

rdoc

FRIDAY

hello world, closing down the semester, about 4 weeks, 6 counting maymester
which is cool, im starting to withdraw now, thinking about the novel, clocking hours

pre summer woodshed, its a good sign that its coming down on me so soon
cause the trick is to hit the ground running as soon as the schoolyear is over

have up a head of steam otherwise half the summer is spent just getting in the woodshed groove
and that wont do, probably do more posting cause i will have more discretionary time, thats how it

works, im generally leary of personal posts and try to do strategic ones but i tend to get personal during a woodshed push, whatever i come up with will have to work fine cause this will just be runoff from me doing that novel

chelsea finished her market draft a couple of weeks ago and sent it on off, im real proud of her
let me see, any commentary before i close down shop, try to clock some hours before i get on

the road to the city for ihsans funeral, theyve asked me to read from paths of sanctuary, id rather do
ibo island but its not about me is it,

oh i was going to say something about obama, hes been p to a lot since the last time i spoke on him
past the ephoria of the election, now its about pulling for his policies, hoping they good ones, hoping

they work out as he intends them, hoping he keeps his good ratings and dont commit no mistakes that cost him critical mass, hopiing things work out with the cars, with afghanistan, the financial sector, congressional challenges, hoping he get some good judges in place, just hoping hoping hoping

seems we can rack up a good european debute him and michelle, (hey the queen touched her 1st)
and he got his budget through congress, he seem to be doing okay all on his own

ive basically decided to let obama handle his business i will handle mine
speaking of which im out of here, see if i can clock me some pages

get me some woodshed momentum going

life is good

rdoc

WEDNESDAY

this video is for my fellow servants of the cat people
my feline masters instructed me to post it

all my love

rdoc ,

TUESDAY

hello world, i been working, wouldnt say ive been working hard but ive been working
ive reached that burnout stage in semester where ive moved from doing more than called for

to doing as little as i can get away with,

i keep getting nibbles behind that oxford piece, reminds me why i dont do shorts 
you the man for about a month then its gone, i prefer books

im gone

rdoc

Comments

[Lafreya]

Just to let you know the Oxford piece touched me deeply. Made me think long and hard about my own writing. So thank you.

[arthur flowers]

thanks for the props lafreya

i was afraid to read your comments, afraid you were jacking me up about that churchill post

i do these posts challenging my own circles and then get all anxious about them

i must say i like that oxford piece myself, wish they would put it online

i see on your site that you are struggling with a work too, welcome to send me chapters

hang in there, may the gods of literature be good to us all

arf

[BuffaloSoldier]

THE RETURN OF THE BUFFALOSOLDIER-for one more comment. BuffaloSoldier salutes Abbey Lincoln. At the
request of SoulDoctor, in a week or so, after fulfilling some pressing obligations, I will share
an observation I shared with him on an email.
I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this message.

[BuffaloSoldier]

IN THE 1800S, DOWN IN ARIZONA AND MEXICO- BuffaloSoldier salutes Yolanda Hill. Okay, I've freed up some time. SoulDoctor made some observations about Ward Churchill and mentioned that some might declare him (SoulDoctor)
a sellout. SoulDoctor/sellout? During the 70s when he knew me, he didn't know I belonged to a progressive organization called The Nubian Temple Of Chess. Our mission statement was to bring other "progressive" groups together in a relaxed setting. So we could sit down with excessive name calling and finger pointing that led to the kind of Bunchy Carter killing.
Our point being there weren't that many conscious anyway. The HarshLeft,
the fanatical Muslims( I grew up around the corner from Bubbles. He was with those who killed those Hanifa women and girls in Washington DC) were
never a thoughtful part of the 60s. see, actual revoluntary politic doesn't allow for lazy sloganeering. we had quiet sets, plenty of Vegan food, Amazing Grace the instrumental playing in the background, chess games
going. Brothers and Sisters reasoning together quietly. It was worth it
to hear someone say "I never thought of it that way before, Brother."
Remember reactionary thinking comes from both the right and the left,the
Christian and The Muslim, the literary and the uncultured. If we cry
sellout so often, we'll so devalue the word, we'll miss it when a real
sell out is in our midst. Remember Othello, anyone?
I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this message.

[BuffaloSoldier]

tHERE CAME A BRAND NEW SOLDIER- BuffaloSoldier salutes Dr. Ben.
that's supposed to be "without excessive name-calling"
I'm BuffaloSoldier and I approve this correction