Author: Shelley Powers

Categories
People Places Political

More on Anti-Semitism in Northern California

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

According to an email I received from the editor, later this afternoon, the Jewish Bulletin of Northern California will have another article related to the Peace Rally at SFSU. You can look for it at the publication’s web site.

In the meantime, the publication did just post an article about an English class being taught at UC Berkeley (SF Gate also published an article on this class). The class, “Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance”, generated a lot of controversy because the teacher, a pro-Palestinian graduate student stated in the course description:

“…This class takes as its starting point the right of Palestinians to fight for their own self-determination. Conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections.”

When I first read this description, I was appalled. That a University known for free thinking would have a class with this disclaimer attached.

Should the class be pulled? If it focuses on the use of writing and rhetoric as it relates to the Middle East, then I don’t believe it should be pulled. A writing class of this nature would not only be interesting, it would be thought provoking as well as useful. However, this applies only if the class looks at the impact of writing and rhetoric from both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Unfortunately, as the class is titled and according to the political affiliation of the teacher, it promises to be pro-Palestinian biased, and that’s inappropriate considering the venue.

These issues are never black & white, or uncomplicated, are they?

Categories
Copyright

Creative Commons

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

According to Dan Gillmor, the concepts and technology behind Napster are continuing despite the recent resignations and layoffs at the company.

In particular, Gillmor references new organizations and technologies being introduced at the O’Reilly Emerging Technologies Conference this week, including Creative Commons — a non-profit organization dedicated to “…the notion that some people would prefer to share their creative works…”.

Lawrence Lessig is Chair on the Board of Directorys, and technology team members include Lisa Rein and Aaron Swartz, both of whom I have worked with in past and current writing efforts.

What do you think? Would you dedicate your creative effort to the public domain in the interest of sharing? Technologists have been doing this for years with software; now the door opens for creative talents in other fields to share their work.

Will photographers, writers, musicians, and artists in other media buy into this concept?

Creative Commons: A bold new venture.

Categories
Political Weblogging

SFSU

There’s been considerable discussion throughout the weblogging community about a Pro-Israeli peace rally held at SFSU earlier this month.

According to a letter by Professor Laurie Zoloth, Jewish Studies Program Director, a group of pro-Palestinian counter-protestors caused a riot or near-riot at the Rally, physically threatening the Rally members, as well as saying things such as “Hitler didn’t finish the job” and that the “Jews should go back to Europe”.

This is hateful behavior, and saddens me greatly to hear that such things are happening in San Francisco, a city I see as one of the most tolerant in the country.

I’ve also read that we webloggers have a …disdain for the search for the truth. Bluntly, this is an assessment I disagree with. I believe that webloggers have an almost obsessive interest in the “truth” — whatever, we believe it to be.

Whatever we believe it to be.

What is the truth about anti-Semitism in San Francisco and northern California? What is the truth behind the “Shame of SFSU”? Was there a riot? Were Peace Rally members physically threatened? Did the counter-protestors say ugly things such as “Hitler didn’t finish the job?” Did they threaten to kill the Hillel rally members?

I dislike reading such things as the San Francisco Bay area is the new France, because San Francisco is seen as progressively becoming more and more anti-Semitic. I dislike it, but is there truth in this statement?

I remember a pro-Israeli rally held at Justin Hermann Plaza a few blocks from myself only a month or so ago. I remember the smiles of the rally attendees as they left, and how they felt that the rally had gone well. I know this because I walked home just behind a group of them who live in my condo building. As far as I could see, there had been no counter-demonstrations, no slurs, no hatred expressed.

Yet only a few miles away, and a short time later, this incident occurs at SFSU.

What’s happening? What is the truth?

We webloggers have been told that we’ll never supplant professional journalists because we don’t research, we don’t pursue, we don’t investigate. True — we tend to link a lot, instead. And sometimes this isn’t enough.

I have no interest in challenging professional journalists, but I want to find out what’s happening in this city. I want to find out what happened that day in SFSU. I want to hear the stories, and print them in this weblog, and together explore what is “the truth”.

To do this, though, I need help. I need contacts with people in the area — pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-Peace, or neutral observer. I need contacts with people who were at the SFSU demonstration. If you know of people I should talk to — and I’ve already started the process of contacting people in the last two days — please email me with contact information, or have the people contact me directly.

You say we should seek the truth; I say, you’re right. And I also ask for your help.

Categories
Weblogging

Lock the door. Close the browser.

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Due to problems at provider, my DSL connection was choked down to sub-modem speeds. Painful. And basically unworkable with Movable Type — all those buttons…

Thankfully, back to working speed today.

Yesterday, I was sitting in my favorite chair, listening to music and typing into my laptop when the door to my apartment opens. A man enters, sees me and stops, half in, half out. He stares at me, I stare at him, waiting for him to say something along the lines of “Oh, excuse me! Wrong door!”

When he continues to stare and look around the apartment in confusion, I ask, “Can I help you?”, being sure to put a little ‘you’ve walked into my home, bud, and what if I had been nude’ tone into my voice.

He starts laughing and says, “I’ve come to the wrong floor! I live on the second floor and must have got off on the wrong floor. I live in 222!”

Sounds reasonable. Easy mistake. Just shut the door on your way out.

“I was so surprised. I couldn’t figure out who you were.”

Well, cool. Please leave now.

“How funny! You must have really been surprised, too.”

WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED TO DO TO GET YOU TO GO!

I got up and walked towards the door and the guy still isn’t leaving. Friendly, not harmful at all — just chattering away. Being a polite soul, I respond to his chatter. Yes, funny coincidence. Yes, I do sometimes forget to lock my door when I bring groceries in. And, yes, weather has been nice…now move your butt outside my door!

After I herded him out, and just as I’m closing the door he calls back, “Well, nice meeting you!”

I locked the door and started to walk away. Stopped. Turned back and threw the dead bolt.

We are a society that is, above all, polite. We have raised courtesy to an art form, honing it into fine-edged usefulnes. Our words become knives as we fight a duel called “conversation” — victor and victim equally bloodied. We circle and stab, and then commiserate with the pain, apologize for the sting.

We pommel each other with argument and viewpoint, all the while debating the finer points of etiquette. We hammer at each other with opinion; we blast most eloquently, and always with the highest regard, the deepest sincerity.

We hold mirrors up to show others their flaws, only to find that the silver has flaked off, the glass is transparent.

You know what I like about weblogging? If you read something you don’t like, or something that irritates you, or a piece of self-righteous garbage, you can close the browser and it’s gone. You don’t have to be polite. You don’t have to read, react, respond.

Just close the browser.

Categories
Events of note Just Shelley

Earthquake!

Recovered from the Wayback Machine.

Just had an earthquake — my first San Francisco earthquake.

Strange experience!

Not a biggie — but shook the apartment. I’ve never been through one of the Seattle quakes, so this was my first earthquake. The ground does roll, doesn’t it?

more on the quake at USGS and SF Gate.

Update — I was the first source online to report the quake. You can all pay me now…

Just found out the quake was a 5.2, and occurred at 10:01 in Gilroy, south of San Francisco. This is a significant quake without being overly dangerous. Enough to shake but not shatter.

Reports of water pipe breakage, that sort of thing. My apartment’s on landfill, which might account for the “rolling” impression. I actually felt it in my chair before it rattled the door. Felt as if the floor literally rolled under me.

Sorry if I’m going on, but this really was a unique experience for me…

BTW — You’ll all be glad to know that I looked out the window and the Bay Bridge is still standing 😉