Israeli Apartheid

My lecturer Sue Ferguson wrote an article about the new apartheid - the Israeli Apartheid - some time ago and pitched it to several publications that were under the same media conglomerate. Due to the corporation's policies, the article was repeatedly rejected by all the publications. She finally managed to have it published in an independent magazine which has a relatively marginal distribution. I personally think this issue, with her article in particular, deserves more attention.

Read it here.

Looking back with humor

I need to pen this down so that if I were one day to reflect on this incident, it would still be with humor and not hate.

Let me begin by saying that the one hour gap bestowed upon my hectic Tuesday schedule was efficiently and peacefully spent catching up on my reading assignments in the quiet peace of Victoria Park. The Universal Journalist's Chapter 12 was a breeze, thanks to its abundance in anecdotes and case studies. I was obliviously oblivious to my surroundings until I came near the end of the chapter. There were some raised voices that was invading my realm of concentration. I looked up to see a couple - both seeming either a little intoxicated (or recovering from an intoxication) despite the cup of coffee they were each cradling - clumsily looking away from me. When I looked back down at my book, I found that I had completely lost my concentration so I decided to start on another assignment - listening in to an anonymous conversation and observing their habit in reporting speech. As I tried to inconspicuously listen to the couple's conversation, I found that it wasn't really that much of a challenge since their conversation was essentially aimed at me, as I soon discovered. The dialogue went something like this :

Lady : I saw him, I mean I SAW him and I thought to myself this guy is...is...(waves hand)

Man : Yeah...yeah...

Lady : Yeah...they had Ben Ladin on there...and I SAW him with his...his beard and...I was saying right under my skin, this guy is NOTHING but trouble...just WAIT and see...

Man : Yeah...yeah...

Lady : ...and a month later nine eleven happened...and I thought...I KNEW it! I KNEW it! I thought, why aren't you guys LISTENING...I KNEW it...it's all right THERE...

At this point I decided to close my book and move elsewhere. I was having trouble keeping my face straight. That lady was talking with an intensity that can only come from complete ignorance of what a fool she was making herself out to be. There was a sense of tragic humor in her patheticalness, her misguided presumption and her vapid speech. I imagine her to be one of the million or so self-proclaimed experts of the string of catastrophic events that's hit the world in the last decade. In my mind I saw her nursing her ego with visions of imaginary men in standard issue black suits and dark glasses knocking at her door saying, 'Ma'am, we've been made aware of your confounding abilities in forming conjectures based on as meagre sources as your basic hunch. Would you like to come and work for the CIA?' In her mind she would mostly likely gasp (or perhaps rasp) in surprise before reluctantly agreeing 'for the good of the country'. I don't know why I thought of the CIA. We're in Canada. 'It doesn't matter, Ma'am. The world NEEDS your expert misguided insight!'. Adios wackos.

I gave so much it hurt!

I gave blood today.

Hold the applause.

The many pit stops that were set up before one can actually leave the blood bank after donating blood actually proved to be useful.

I successfully made it through all of them and finally sat down at the last - a table full of juices, snacks and candy - to have the obligatory chat with the student volunteers for five minutes and collect my novelty button and 'Be nice to me...I gave blood today!' stickers.

At the first sip of my apple juice, nausea came over me. I asked if this was normal and was immediately rushed to the nearest cot - which proved necessary because my knees gave out just as my rump hit the cot.

The next twenty minutes involved the nurse placing and replacing cold cloths on my head and telling in a joking manner meant to conceal authority, 'OK, we're in charge now. We'll tell you when to get up.'

I was allowed to - slowly -sit up and finally stand for a few minutes to make sure the nausea had passed. I was also obliged to explain my journey home - a seven minute walk - to the nurse in charge in full detail (down so-and-so street, two blocks past the park, across the so-and-so Square parking lot, etc).

I headed home holding my bonus box of juice, making several wrong turns - despite knowing the entire way like the back of my hand by my second day of classes - and thus extending my travelling time to more then ten minutes.

All in all, giving blood is not nearly as romantic an occasion as depicted on TV. It borders on embarrassingly traumatic.

the CB Lab

Three hours to kill

The basement lab at the Carnegie Building is fast becoming my favourite spot to kill time. Hardly anyone is ever there because it's partially under construction and it's close to the Student Union Building where, for one reason or another, I often have to go. What really lures me to this secluded spot is actually its wide ascending stairs and fake Greek pillars and pediments that is reminiscent of an ancient albeit contrived history. Stepping through the front entrance brings me to a large domed foyer. Unlike the other buildings, the Carnegie Building seems to be endowed by a collection of tasteful artwork throughout its halls. I felt impelled to affect a certain amount of finesse with which to match its genteel decor. All of its offices are doored with thick heavy wood. The immense carpeted floors silences any trail of rude footsteps. I learned in class the other day that it is not simply a matter of having a past, but how we are acquainted by our past that informs who we are today. Perhaps borrowing from a favored past more than suffices when none is to be found of one's own.

Mining for jewels

...and I found one today!

7pm Iftar quickie

I'm at the WLU computer lab because my PC's not working because I forgot to bring the power cable for my monitor to campus. I don't really blame myself (or anyone, for that matter) because we have had a busy week and it being Ramadan somehow makes everything else besides ibadah seem unimportant. Anyways, I'll be going back this weekend so there's really no love lost. I'll just watch TV for now. Besides, I've already gotten five writing and reading assignments from my first day of class. I guess I'll just geek it up and start working on them. Speaking of which, we've been asked to start a blog where we'll be posting all our assignments and drafts. That means this blog is hitting the backseat again. I don't mind it. I love the structured training I'll be getting in return.

It's almost 7p.m. now so I'll be heading home to reheat the frozen dinners I brought with me from home. Note to self : Don't bring too much next week because after the first two days, the luxury of a (frozen) home-cooked meal wears off.