Friday, July 27, 2007

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i'm a feminist. there. i said it. i'm proud to believe that women have as much intrinsic worth as men; that there is nothing they should be barred from doing because of their gender - either inside, or outside, ecclesial circles. i believe that women can be very sexy, but that they are not sex objects, placed here for the exploitation and enjoyment of men. i believe that women have a valuable contribution to make in society: politically, economically, spiritually, manually - just as men do. i believe that women disney world honeymoon should be measured by more than their bra size; that they can grow more beautiful with age; that their beauty (or value) does not necessarily depend on their physical looks (as society chooses to rate them). i believe that motherhood is sacred, precious and honorable in and of itself and that a woman has an intrinsic right to choose it as her life's work. i believe that she likewise has the intrinsic right to choose other paths in life. i am not commenting at all here on the whole "pro-choice/pro-life" debate, but am simply stating that a woman is no more a de facto parent than any man. doesn't seem like very radical stuff to me. seems pretty axiomatic, in fact.

One of the most troubling cultural developments of recent times is the rise of what has been dubbed "torture porn", films that dwell lingeringly on the physical details of tortured innocents. I have not seen any of these- the Saw and Hostel films, or The Captive, the most recent addition to the genre, but I have read written accounts of them and they are hideous. Much of what passes for entertainment these days is appalling, an appeal to the basest impulses and darkest corners of the fallen psyche. The films have done well at the box office, often outgrossing--in both senses of the word--their competitors. I suppose that we ought to be grateful, at least, that the torturers in these films are the bad fundraising events guys, not the heroes, as in the hit television series 24-- which I also have not seen--where the good guy, Jack Bauer, regularly tortures terrorists. All for a good cause, of course. What should trouble us further is the fact that all of this is taking place against a background of U.S. government-sanctioned torture. Whatever sidestepping and evasiveness marked the Bush administration's response to accusations of torture in the past, it has become undeniable that America has joined the ranks of the torturers. Waterboarding, exposure to extreme temperatures, denial of food and water, sleep deprivation, attack dogs, aural assault: it reads like a catalog of tactics from some second rate dictatorship.

One of the most troubling cultural developments of recent times is the rise of what has been dubbed "torture porn", films that dwell lingeringly on the physical details of tortured innocents. I have not seen any of these- the Saw and Hostel films, or The Captive, the most recent addition to the genre, but I have read written accounts of them and they are hideous. Much of what passes for entertainment these days is appalling, an appeal to the basest impulses and darkest corners of the fallen psyche. The films have done well at the box office, often outgrossing--in both senses of the word--their competitors. I suppose that we ought to be grateful, at least, that the torturers in these films are the bad guys, not the heroes, as in the hit television series 24-- which I also have not seen--where the good guy, Jack Bauer, regularly tortures terrorists. All for a good cause, of course. What should trouble us further is the fact that all of this is taking place against a background of U.S. government-sanctioned torture. Whatever network marketing leads sidestepping and evasiveness marked the Bush administration's response to accusations of torture in the past, it has become undeniable that America has joined the ranks of the torturers. Waterboarding, exposure to extreme temperatures, denial of food and water, sleep deprivation, attack dogs, aural assault: it reads like a catalog of tactics from some second rate dictatorship.

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i'm a feminist. there. i said it. i'm proud to believe that women have as much intrinsic worth as men; that there is nothing they should be barred from doing because of their gender - either inside, or outside, ecclesial circles. i believe that women can be very sexy, business intelligence software at sysco but that they are not sex objects, placed here for the exploitation and enjoyment of men. i believe that women have a valuable contribution to make in society: politically, economically, spiritually, manually - just as men do. i believe that women should be measured by more than their bra size; that they can grow more beautiful with age; that their beauty (or value) does not necessarily depend on their physical looks (as society chooses to rate them). i believe that motherhood is sacred, precious and honorable in and of itself and that a woman has an intrinsic right to choose it as her life's work. i believe that she likewise has the intrinsic right to choose other paths in life. i am not commenting at all here on the whole "pro-choice/pro-life" debate, but am simply stating that a woman is no more a de facto parent than any man. doesn't seem like very radical stuff to me. seems pretty axiomatic, in fact.

i'm a feminist. there. i said it. i'm proud to believe that women have as much intrinsic worth as men; that there is nothing they should be barred from doing because of their gender - either inside, or outside, ecclesial circles. i believe that women can be very sexy, but that they are not sex objects, placed here for the exploitation and enjoyment of men. i believe that women have a valuable contribution to make in society: politically, economically, spiritually, manually - just as men do. i believe that women should be measured by more than their bra size; that they can grow more beautiful with age; that their beauty (or value) does not necessarily depend on their physical looks (as society chooses to rate them). i believe that motherhood is sacred, precious and honorable in and of itself and that a woman has an intrinsic right to choose it as her life's work. i believe that she likewise has the intrinsic right to choose other paths in life. i am not commenting at all here on the whole "pro-choice/pro-life" debate, but am simply stating that a woman is no more a de facto parent diesel generator manufacturer than any man. doesn't seem like very radical stuff to me. seems pretty axiomatic, in fact.

One of the most troubling cultural developments of recent times is the rise of what has been dubbed "torture porn", films that dwell lingeringly on the physical details of tortured innocents. I have not seen any of these- the Saw and Hostel films, or The Captive, the most recent addition to the genre, but I have read written accounts of them and they are hideous. Much of what passes for entertainment these days is appalling, an appeal to the basest impulses and darkest corners of the fallen psyche. The films have done well at the box office, often outgrossing--in both senses of the word--their competitors. I suppose that we ought to be grateful, at least, that the torturers in these films are the bad guys, not the heroes, as in the hit television series 24-- which I also have not seen--where the good guy, Jack Bauer, regularly tortures terrorists. All for a good cause, of course. What should trouble us further is the fact that all of this is taking place against a background of U.S. government-sanctioned torture. Whatever sidestepping and evasiveness marked the Bush administration's response to accusations of torture in the past, it has become undeniable that America has joined the ranks of the torturers. Waterboarding, exposure to extreme temperatures, denial of food and water, sleep deprivation, attack dogs, aural assault: ip whois it reads like a catalog of tactics from some second rate dictatorship.

Joann Sfar continues to charm the nation while promoting his new book with Pantheon: THE RABBI'S CAT. He was on National Public Radio yesterday, for a terrific interview. He even identity management system played country music live. You can hear it for yourself on NPR's website: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4805753 link P.S. I am not related to NPR's Robert Siegel, as far as I know.

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