Geeking out

Sort of an embarrassment of riches this week at UT Austin:
Tonight, I'm off to hear Mary Robinson speak at the LBJ School. [Free passes still avail. @ Union]
Actually headed for a brown bag session with her this afternoon. Not that I don't have a heap of work to do on deadline...
And, I just found out that MIT Econ Prof. Esther Duflo is lecturing on poverty and microfinance tomorrow on campus. [3:30-5 p.m. ACES Bldg., Rm 2.302, FREE]

O.k., well, it's exciting to a poverty and human rights geek like me...
Peace/سلام

Completely irrelevant to most of you, but...

It's snowing. In Austin.
It was 23C on Sunday.
And now it's snowing as I try to listening to a former U.S. ambassador talk about democracy and development in Africa.
I would rather be outside making snow angels.
Peace/سلام

What do we mean by "terrorist"?

Two things make me raise this issue for the umpteenth time.

First, there was a discussion on CNN the other day about the benefits and drawbacks of civil versus military courts in trying terror suspects. The success rates of civil courts was knocked by the CNN reporter who said it depended on how the word "terrorist" was being defined, as the court's definition included domestic terrorists, those involved in narco-terror, etc. and did not isolate Muslim terrorists. As though the successes of the courts in prosecution terrorists were a moot point without making such a differentiation. I, of course, began screaming at the T.V. (a common thing when I actually watch - my roommate likes to remind me the people behind the glass cannot hear me) that the courts obviously were defining terrorists as people who engage in acts that elicit terror, as opposed to Muslims who engage in acts that elicit terror. Quite a concept, no?

Second, and literally closer to home, today in Austin a man apparently burned down his home and then committed suicide by flying his small plane into an multi-story government office building. The latest news is that two bodies have been recovered, one the pilot and the other an IRS employee. His suicide note included a tirade against the IRS and U.S. government. Yet the local police are calling it a criminal act instead of a terrorist act. So, somebody with a grudge against the U.S. government flies a plane into a building, but it's not terrorism?

Or, as Sepia Mutiny notes, "Terrorist. For f*** sake!"

Does there have to be an organizational structure? What about more nebulous, cell-based groups with more tenuous direct linkages? Is the definition based on death tolls? What about a series of individual, isolated actions based on similar ideological beliefs? What about ETA, True IRA? Or are we just going for brown, funny name (Wait - Richard Reid? Eric Rudolph?), Muslim?
Peace/سلام

Forget Kansas! What's the Matter With Texas?

More crazy from Texas care of Governor Rick "Le Coif" Perry, who is leading in the polls going into the Republican gubernatorial primary here. Of course, in the party primary he's up against a former Republican Senator and "Washington insider," a term equated with many here with fascist/Nazi/elitist/etc. even within your own party, and another Republican candidate who made news this week by questioning U.S. involvement in the September 11th attacks.
Texans, have you people not had enough of this guy?

Of course then there's the codification of crazy in the schools here thanks to the state board of education.

I'll admit, I fervently hope Perry actually plays the secession card before I finish my graduate program. I know he won't, in part for the five bazillion logical reasons that I'm sure at least one advisor on his staff is aware of, but boy would it be fun to watch that crazy unfold.
Peace/سلام

The Mysteries of the Unisex Bathroom

Texas is not a place known for progressive views regarding gender and sexuality - though there was a recent glimmer of hope in Houston - or much else for that matter. Sorry, Austinites and all you right wing haters who claim the city is some sort of cross between Sodom and Moscow c. 1905 or Beijing c.1949, but we're not the wild liberal, socialist hotbed people claim we are. Not by miles and miles and miles.

So, when the staff at the campus gym suggested I try the unisex bathroom because there were no lockers available in the women's locker room I said, "Oh, yeah the...the WHAT?"
I've heard of them, but never seen one. I know one of the arguments in their favor is that they provide a safe space for transgendered folks, which is a good thing. They seem like a perfectly reasonable thing to me. I just never expected our uni to be progressive enough to provide such a space.

Low and behold it's a little locker room complete with showers and everything. I've had all to myself each time I had to use it. None of the staff could tell me the reasoning behind it and none were sure of the proper etiquette for using the place. I'll admit I'm not one to be bothered by public nudity and what not. Even if I'd not been raised in a family with very healthy attitudes towards the human form, working in closed quarters on boats, as I have, should cure most people of any lingering hangups or excitement about walking in on others changing. However, I do try to be somewhat respectful of other people's hangups, at least within reason. The fact that you're out in the open when changing and showering left me wondering how badly I would freak somebody out who happened to walk in not expecting to run smack into a naked lady. Hasn't happened yet, but....If you're on campus and in the gym, consider yourself warned.
Peace/سلام

Laissez les bon temps rouler!

I have the two coolest, most wonderful librarians working my neighborhood branch.
Not only do they help direct me to some really amazing, obscure films and music...not only do they like to hang out and talk...and they're both great musicians...

Today they beaded me for Mardi Gras with a strand of jaw breaker-sized purple beads hefty enough to use as a defensive weapon. Just for stopping by to pick up the copy of Network I had on hold. I mean, how many of you have Mardi Gras-celebrating librarians?

Alas, no gumbo party this year to match the one I threw while living in Istanbul.
Peace/سلام

Beware the Snowpocalypse!

Three weeks until I depart Tejas for Egypt and Turkey. Luckily, I'll have my passport in case Texas secedes from the U.S. whilst I'm gone. There's a lot of work to be cranked out between now and then. I am in need of some fun and frivolity. Other than Hawaii, we seem to be the only part of the U.S. not buried in snow at the moment. Given this photo, we should be thankful.
To my friends and family shoveling out: beware the snow Daleks, people!
Peace/سلام

Really, Pat? Part deux

So, Pat, tell me again who made a pact with the devil?
Peace/سلام

Too much input

In the last 48 hours I've read over 600 pages in coursework. That's not meant as a boast but rather a warning that if you never hear from me again, I've likely read myself into a coma via an aneurysm.

It's fair to say I like a challenge, but more accurate to say I need a challenge. That's true in every facet of my life. I need to rumble. Not saying it's healthy, mind you, just that it's one of the things about myself I've come to understand. If something, somebody, isn't challenging, why bother. Boredom unleashes my Hulk. You won't like me when I'm bored.

This leads me to do things like sign up for five graduate classes, when I'm only required to be in three. On top of a 20-hour a week internship (luckily no teaching assistant position this semester). And then to schedule a three week trip to Egypt and Turkey in the middle of the semester. Why not? Oh, and I've taken up boxing of late, which I've found...soothing.

At the moment, in preparation for my departure, I am cramming about two to three months work for my five classes in to the next four weeks. My goal is to be wheels up with only my Development Economics exam serving as in-flight entertainment on the way to Egypt.

Yes, I did finally connect with E., a member of the Helwan Social Work faculty who worked with our department on an exchange before my time. I'll be attending the 23rd Helwan Social Work Conference and staying in Egypt for nearly two weeks. My department is graciously and generously supporting my trip, believing as I do that it fits well into their desire to internationalize the program. I may have my frustrations with the profession, but my department has always supported me and that's not just blowing smoke. E. has graciously offered to host me in her home, which I am thrilled about. My hope while in Egypt is to sort out some organizations that might be willing to have me intern/volunteer over the summer in some facet of development. With no classes to take at the uni, I would rather spend my time developing professional experience and continuing to work on my Arabic. And Austin just wasn't really quite oppressively hot enough for me last summer. From Cairo I'm stopping in Istanbul for a week on the way home to see old friends and try to connect with the NGO and development sector there, too.

For now, I am nose-to-books/laptop screen, sustained by my joy at returning to my favorite part of the world and finally making it to Egypt.
Uff ya! Back to work....
Peace/سلام

Rejoice in the Post-Burns Night Good News

The Chieftan of the pudding race, which I happen to enjoy, is legal once more in the U.S.
I'd absolutely no idea it was ever illegal, though I know plenty who think it's gross (Philistines!).
Of course, you could always make it yourself.
Peace/سلام

RIGAUD brothers FOUND SAFE

UPDATE (Sunday):
JUST received excellent news that ALL FIVE BROTHERS ALIVE & SAFE in P-a-P!

Trying to help spread the word for a friend, who is looking for her five little brothers in Port-au-Prince.
Their last name is RIGAUD
Their address is 198 Rue St. Hubert, Turjeau, P-a-P
If anybody happens to read this and have any information, anything, just post a comment and I can get word to her immediately.

Please give to the efforts in Haiti, but beware of hucksters. You can find reputable organizations via Charity Navigator.
Peace/سلام

Really, Pat? REALLY?

While everybody else is struggling to help those in Haiti, Pat Robertson offered THIS explanation for the nation's continued struggles and a condemnation of Haitians. Kudos to the woman beside him, by the way, who said absolutely nothing in response to his racist, crazy story.

So, let's tally: 9/11 was the fault of feminists, gays, and the ACLU, the 2005 tsunami wasn't really a tragedy because it killed Muslims, the Gulf Coast would have been spared if not, again, for those pesky gays (God apparently really hates a Pride parade), and now those devil-worshiping Haitians caused their own 200-plus years of suffering from poverty, dictatorship, unrest, environmental degradation, and now a massive earthquake.
Disgusting.

Having grown up in S. Florida, all news from the Caribbean basin is local. I was relieved to hear that one friend's family on the island is reported safe. My thoughts have been with Haitians and others there, including the apparently hard-hit MINUSTAH and other U.N. staff. No one deserves a disaster like this, but few places are more ill-equipped to handle this.
Peace/سلام

Update: Not to be outdone by Pat, the every-classy Rush has now cannonballed into the "Worst Person in the World" contest: “We've already donated to Haiti. It’s called the U.S. income tax.”

And two more things...

About to walk out the door, but wanted to share these two pieces:

Liberty Clinic is back (Guardian)
This is such a great idea. Anybody know if an American paper has a similar feature?

The Americanization of Mental Illness (NYTimes Magazine)
Replace 'mental illness' with 'social work'. This is part of the discussion of indigenization/universalism debate in social work. Worth a read.
'Ta.
Peace/سلام

Back to Work

I start back at my internship with the local public agency tomorrow morning. This break wasn't as productive as I'd hoped and I'm happy to get back to work. Classes begin the following week. Not starting out with as much spunk as I'd hoped and that worries me.

My goals for this semester are to throw myself into the macro/meso-end of things. For our macro project, I'm developing a project to redesign our center's waiting room to make it humane, welcoming and user-friendly. The plan is for a mural project, more information accessible to walk-ins (not locked behind the counter), and overall simply a space that feels less like the waiting room at county lockup. The fact that people camp out at the door from as early as 1am never ceases to bother me; I think about it perhaps too much. I'll also be studying up on the budget - Aren't I a girl who knows a good time? - and attending some of the council meetings to see how things are actually accomplished within the agency. I'll also be making a bother of myself with the planning department to see how/if they actually work with neighborhoods. How does community development happen in this town? I also have to organize and implement a group project. No idea what it will be at the moment other than it will not be a therapy group. My God, aside from lacking any training, there's no way anyone in, well their right mind, would let me help them heal. Other than a training group, nobody has really given me much of a clue on other possibilities, so I've no idea what will come of the assignment.

While I still have to hit certain direct practice markers for the department and the CSWE, I am trying to find ways to make it my own. Since the people who come to the us seeking help really don't know what a social worker can do for them in the context of our agency any more than I do, I put forth the idea that I make like Lucy and set up shop amongst the people. For set times I'll just sit with everybody in the waiting room and talk to anybody who would like to talk. Some of the people seeking help are only waiting to get a letter stating they cannot receive help from our agency so they can take that letter to another agency to receive their help. No sense in those folks waiting all day for that. And no sense in some people waiting for weeks for an appointment with me. I just think it will feel a little more community oriented and less clinical. At least I hope so.

While this position has been interesting in many ways, it has certainly taught me that I am a field person, not an office person. Confinement, fluorescents and grey-beige walls kill the soul, at least mine. I also miss being so removed from people's lives. It may get a bit trying when everybody in the village is in your business, but there are few better things than sitting with the council, taking tea with the women, being invited to a wedding, roughhousing with kids or helping bring in the alfalfa crop. Still hope to get back to that.

We'll see what the next few months bring...
Peace/سلام

I'm an idjit.

Uff ya! Finally, somebody left a comment on my wee blog and....I somehow deleted it.
And it was a positive comment!
To that anonymous soul I say, "Sorry."
Peace/سلام