I am at a loss for words after viewing Paul Fusco’s photographs of the victims of Chernobyl. I will let the photos speak for themselves, but be warned that some of the photos are not for the faint of heart.
Technorati Tags: Photography
I wasn’t going to write on the current debate on illegal immigration going on in the U.S., but the New York Times has an article by Randal C. Archibold that I can’t ignore.
Opposition to illegal immigration is a bad thing?
But the turnout of 800 or so in this windswept prairie town reflects the activism around the immigration debate that has rippled to rural areas in the Midwest, where the Latino population has soared in recent years but opposition to illegal immigration remains deeply ingrained.
What is Archibold trying to say here, that just because the number of illegal aliens has soared that the legal citizens of the region should no longer be opposed to illegal immigration? That is ridiculous. By this rational lots of crimes should be welcomed due to their increase! Everyone should be opposed to illegal immigration.
The unbelievable gall!
“We’ve never been united like that, all of us Latinos,” said Jose Torres, a meatpacking plant worker who attended the rally. “We are here and not leaving, and we need to let people know that.”
Maybe Mr. Torres is a legal alien or citizen of the United States, unfortunately Archibold leaves out that important detail. If he’s not, then I find his statement that they are not leaving to be presumptuous and galling beyond belief. If he is illegal, then in my opinion, he and the other illegal aliens like him should be deported!
This is the United States of America, isn’t it?
Still, many people here who are not Hispanic take offense at the waving of foreign flags — during the rally here a few carloads of young white men drove past pointedly brandishing American flags — and chafe at hearing so much Spanish spoken on the streets.
You’re damn straight I would take offense at the waving of foreign flags, if it coincided with criminals—make no mistake those who entered the country illegally are exactly that—protesting rights that are not and should not be guaranteed to them. I’ve also read that many of these hispanic immigrants have the nerve to fly the American flag below the flags of their countries’. This does not offend me, it makes my blood boil. As far as hearing Spanish, or any other language in the streets for that matter, I have absolutely no problem with that.
What a great idea!
Senator Sam Brownback, a Republican, broke with fellow conservatives to favor a provision in a Senate bill that would allow a guest worker program that ultimately would steer illegal immigrants to citizenship. That put him in the company of major agriculture and industry leaders here.
Let’s reward them for illegally entering the country by giving them citizenship. Leave it to the politicians to come up with this. This is not the logical way to go about this, and it is not the answer to the problem. All this will do is encourage more illegal border crossings at a time when the importance of securing our borders should be a top priority.
Political Power for Illegal aliens?
In recent months a generation of longtime workers and their relatives, some of whom have moved on to better-paying work, opened businesses and raised families here, have seized on the immigration debate in an effort to increase Latino political power.
Political power for Latinos/Hispanics is all well and good. As long as they are Latino/Hispanic Americans and not illegal aliens. Illegal aliens should not have political power in a country which is not theirs. To suggest otherwise is ridiculous.
Mexican-American
The younger generation, especially the children of the immigrants, who make up nearly two-thirds of the public school enrollment now, are also beginning to assert themselves. Kasmine Hidalgo, 25, whose father came here years ago to work in a meatpacking plant, National Beef, recalled an awkward moment when a local radio reporter approached her during the demonstration here on April 10. “He asked me, well, ‘Are you Mexican or American?’ ” Ms. Hidalgo said. “I said: ‘I am Mexican-American. I was born here.’ People do not realize a lot of us are from here. We do need more political leaders, and maybe this is a step.”
I don’t give a damn where you were born Ms. Hidalgo, not if your father was an illegal immigrant. Once again Archibald omits that important detail. If illegal aliens have children in the U.S. those children should not automatically gain U.S. citizenship. If law currently grants citizenship in such cases it should be changed.
We deserve rights!
We have to keep this going, to claim our rights.
Sorry honey, but if you, or in my opinion your parents, are an illegal immigrant then you don’t have nor deserve any rights which are reserved for U.S. citizens.
Rights are for U.S. citizens period. I am completely against any Bill that would encourage more aliens to enter the U.S. illegally. Illegal aliens should be deported. It is as simple as that. What the politicians should be doing is working on a temporary worker bill that would allow legal immigrants to enter the U.S. and gain temporary or short-term employment. Perhaps if the immigrant met the proper conditions the short-term period could be extended or lengthened.
This entire debate is absolutely ridiculous. Can you imagine the response illegal American aliens would get if they protested like this in Mexico? That’s what I thought.
Technorati Tags: Immigration
Craig Mod, the excellent designer over at Chin Music Press noticed my review of Kuhaku and posted a response to my complaints regarding the wrapper or obi. Unfortunately, I left the comments closed on the review so he was unable to post here. The reasoning behind the obi makes much more sense now, and I won’t complain any further about it, although I still dislike it, and now I am going to throw it away guilt free with the designer’s approval! Here is what Craig has to say about the obi.
I’d respond directly on his blog but the comments are closed. Plus it’s probably good to get this out in the open: We hate wraps too! Which is why we want you (as soon as the book passes through the scanner at the register) to rip that obi off and trash it. Please! The reason why we didn’t use a cover on Kuhaku or DYK is because we like our books to feel like solid objects — without unnecessary paper to be snagged or fall off or become creased. However, we have to include basic book information for sales purposes. As such we use wraps, like on Kuhaku. But please, don’t feel obligated to keep them on. We printed them on the cheapest paper in the most boring way possible for a reason — so you can happily trash it without guilt once you own it!
Technorati Tags: Books
I’d been reading excellent reviews of Chin Music Press’s Kuhaku since it was published a year or so ago, but just couldn’t be bothered to buy and read another book on Japan, after having been disappointed so many times in the past. But then my sister gave me an Amazon gift certificate and I decided to quench my curiosity by giving it a look.
Kuhaku is hard to describe for many reasons. It is an anthology of nonfiction and fiction—I hope!, short stories, poetry, and essays. The one thing that can definitely be said is that it is about Japan. Maybe, probably even, not the Japan you are thinking of, nor the Japan I was thinking of either. The essays are written by a nice cross selection of Japanese and foreign writers. Between the covers you’ll find something for everyone. The serious, the mundane, the titillating, the bizarre, the amusing, and the horrific are all to be found. It is an absolutely lovely, well designed book, from the beautiful silkscreened cover, to the clean typefaces and rich illustrations inside. This book truly is a work of art. From the moment I picked it up and felt the rich texture of the book’s cover I was hooked. The essays and stories seem targeted more toward those who actually live, or have lived in Japan. If you know nothing about Japan pick it up anyways. You’ll get a nice cross section of knowledge about this paradoxical country, and who knows you might even find yourself visiting one day to answer the important questions raised by this small anthology. Are there really hotels for dogs? Do real journalists get paid to visit the red light districts? Japanese people are polite, aren’t they? And many, many more.
Some of the essays,however, were only mediocre, as usually happens with anthologies, but others had me variously, laughing out loud or shaking my head in agreement and disgust. Overall the mediocre pieces blend well with the rest, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.
On the negative side, the copy I received from Amazon was slightly damaged on the inside corner of the top back cover. Normally, I wouldn’t even mention it, but this is a beautiful book that I look forward to owning and enjoying for a long time. The last gripe I have is with the paper wrap—the white portion in the photo— with the subtitle, ISBN number, and other related information on it. These things are common in Japan. If you’ve ever bought a CD,DVD, or manga in Japan you know what I’m talking about. I absolutely hate these things. It’s impossible to keep them on the book while you are reading it, and if you take it off it will most likely be lost. I would have much preferred that the book either had a standard dust jacket or nothing at all.
All in all I can’t recommend this book enough! I am hoping to see more like it from Chin Music Press in the future.
Technorati Tags: Books
Today Apple turns thirty. In the not so distant past tech pundits, mavens, and moguls were predicting the imminent end of the world’s most innovative computer company. Luckily for mac lovers and the millions of happy iPod users they were all wrong. I’m looking forward to Apple’s next thirty years, and more importantly, how they plan on celebrating their 30th.
Technorati Tags: Apple
Yesterday I had to go to the Consulate in Fukuoka City to have a consular officer witness the signing of various documents. An uneventful trip, however, was made more interesting by something I saw while walking through Tenjin. I walked past a homeless man, who had camped out near a subway entrance. Nothing unusual in that. What caught my eye was the white cable running out of his jacket and up to the earbuds in his ears. Sure enough, I spotted a homeless guy who owns an iPod, and it wasn’t a cheap shuffle either. It was a 4 gig white nano. I know because I asked him. I think when the homeless are buying iPods that it is a good sign that Apple is completely dominating the market for mp3 players.