Springs Eternal

84% of Iraqis feel safe in their neighborhoods, double from a year ago.

64% of Iraqis believe in democracy for Iraq.

-BBC/ABC poll

Hopeful, no?

But how much Iraq has actually changed for the better, and if the media's perception and propagation of these results has been skewed by the simple fact that some of only positive things to come out of years of coverage. Further, reciprocally, has the high polling numbers been influenced by the whatever media coverage they have encountered there, in Iraq.

(Look, at least Iraq excels in something. Not that we're terribly far behind.)


(Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn)

Often, in NY, people can be irrationally dramatic, even paranoid about certain neighborhoods or parts of the city.

They've lived here for a long time (like myself), or even their whole lives, and still they have prejudiced (based not just race or ethnicity, but, perhaps more importantly, class), specious and simply outdated opinions about the relative safety throughout NYC. Usually, these people are speaking of places they have never been to. Then what informs these beliefs?

Perceptions of a city's criminal topography (where crime affects both criminal and non-criminal victims) can be fomented in myriad ways: personal or second-hand experience, TV, music, and, at least here maybe, the movies (this is NY after all). But in general, it's probably the news that has most affect on how the safety of place is interpreted.

News media have a defined set of aesthetics--crucially, a fixation on all things dramatic and/or criminal--and carry the weight of an authoritative voice; so that, public opinion is formed within, or bounded by, the confines of available media outlets.

This is the standard media studies outlook. If the case, it only remains to draw a line from the nightly local newscast to how a neighborhood is perceived, both within and outside its borders.

New favorite guy:

Atul Gawande.

Among other things medical, Dr. Gawande writes about health care reform, the practice of medicine, and, most recently, about the torturous effects of solitary confinement on prisoners, from Iraq and Afghanistan to international black sites, Guantanamo Bay to the American penal system--by far the largest in the world.

Yeah, he's pretty rad. Been reading his articles for a few years now, but this is the first interview of him I've seen (thanks Charlie). Charmingly compassionate, with the intellect to back it up.

These days, for me anyway, the medical profession isn't held in the highest, or at least as high, regard. For just about the past year (Happy Anniversary, brush with death!), I've had more doctors and appointments, more things poked into me, taken out of me, and put back in, than I care to think about.

And though I'm still here, writing, sometimes it seems as though it's despite it all. For instance, the greatest medical breakthrough and insight in my case history has come not from one of the heads of cardiology at a major NY hospital, but from my brother--and he's a lawyer. So maybe you can understand my underwhelming appreciation of the medical community.

No doubt, the meds I'm on are surely helping to keep me ticking. But, if not for the FDA, I could have prescribed them to myself with a few blood tests and WebMD.com.

To be clear, I'm not expecting a doctor to go all Alexander-the-Great on the Gordian Knot that is my own personal, unending, real-life episode of "House." But a few small cuts wouldn't hurt... hell, it might even help, right?

Anyway, thanks bro!

Slam Dunk... Really!?!

I would think this wouldn't need to be articulated, but I just witnessed some think-tank policy-wonk, who definitely should have thought of this, use the now (or so I thought) infamous phrase, uttered by George Tenet in response to the validity of questionable intelligence that effectively started the war in Iraq.

Really!?! You mean when you hear the words "slam dunk" and you don't think of the pock-marked spy guy giving a verbal thumbs-up to the stupid looking, funny guy who resembles a monkey? (I'm looking at you Georgy-boy.) Really?!

Fine, then I'll state it here: the phrase "slam dunk" or "it's a slam dunk" can only be used ironically, preferably in a snarky, derisive manner, for the purpose of sarcasm.

What's the hub-bub, bub?

So now that Obama-rama is almost upon us, one of the first questions to be answered, raised by one of the first issues we've been promised will dealt with by the New-Man, the closing of Guantanamo prison: what is to be done with all those meanies?

Well, brought onto American soil would raise the messy issues of habeas corpus and other Latin legalese. Eh. That seems like a lot of trouble. Especially, as is often the case, there's no smoking guns for the good folks at CSI: Miami to get evidence from. Hell, there's not even any rape-kits. Remember, this isn't Abu-Grahb and we're not talking about prosecuting American soldiers--hey, watch it, buddy.

Of course, we could try returning them to their countries of origin, or even where they were captured, mostly in Afghanistan and Iraq. Why not? Undesirables have been routinely shipped off to these types of countries (you know: lots of sand, oil, and Muslims) for years. And they--the new jailers--don't even have to worry about ball-torture retribution from the public, as balls are fair game! Then again, if we're to believe these guys are such bad-asses, why would they want them? And, better still, why do we want to give them up?

I've got the answer: the sea. Either a decommissioned, or unused, aircraft-carrier should do the trick, right? Not our land, not theirs. Even better, for the prisoners and guards anyway, how about an ocean-liner? You know, a cruise ship! Nothing fancy, of course. But I'm sure there's plenty sitting in dry-dock these days, the way the vacation industry has been giving it away lately. Christ, even my parents are going on a cruise in a couple of weeks--so it can't cost more than an Econo-lodge per-night. I'd spring for that. Plus, how angry a terrorist can you be if you're being tooled around the Gulf of Mexico, drinking pina coladas? Virgin pina coladas, of course. Very virgin, most likely.

Totally. Bad. Ass.

I know ever place already has it, especially here in NY. I didn't watch the network news last night, so I don't know if they covered it. But check it out, it's not just the cover, they did entire articles!

I love these guys (The Yes Men). They did a fake press conference a few years back, in Louisiana, pretending to be HUD official, fooling local media and government officials, declaring that New Orleans housing projects would not be closed as had been planned, allowing residents homeless from Katrina to move back in. The hoax was less about the planned closure and more a critique of the federal governments inaction in response to the ongoing housing crisis in NO post-Katrina. Coincidentally enough, achem, last winter I wrote a paper about this very topic at a time when riots were breaking out in downtown New Orleans over what was to be done for public and affordable housing in the city. (Warning: it's loooong.)