If you're gonna cry history, use the logic.

Okay so I don't know if y'all recall me talking about how Chile exhumed Salvador Allende's remains to determine if he died from self-inflicted gunshots or not.

Well, the inquest resolved the other day and they said it was suicide.

Okay, sure, I can accept this. I went looking for an English language source on the story (gee I don't know why the US news doesn't find this important) and I found this article: The Left's Big Lie on Allende. Yeah, I don't know why I clicked either.

The first line led me to write this post.
History: President Salvador Allende of Chile really did commit suicide in 1973, an inquest concluded on Tuesday. Now will the Left stop saying the U.S. and Chile's army did him in?

History is correct. He did kill himself, according to the inquest. Wanna know why he did it? Because the US Funded coup -- tanks, munitions, guns, ammunition, paid off soldiers and generals were storming the presidential palace to kill him and over throw his government. So, yes President Allende took his own life. But not because he wanted to do so. I'm fairly certain he didn't wake up that morning and say "hey friends, I'm gonna kill myself, k bye." Clearly he tried to defend the LEGALLY ELECTED GOVERNMENT that the military should have been supporting and at the last desperate moment, when he could no longer salvage even his own life, he took his.

So no, US. We are not off the hook for Allende's (and those of the thousands of desaparacidos that followed) death. Good try though.

Exhuming the 1970s American Foreign Policy

I've spent many a September 11 reminiscing about the heavy handed US policies of the 1970s. When I was in university, I worked on researching the coup d'etat in Chile which happened to take place on 11 September 1973. I find the parallels and the meaning behind both days to be something worth examining.

It is telling though, how little American media and Americans nowadays at a whole know or care about Latin American affairs if they don't directly affect our supply of oil or kill our kids, or emigrate illegally (see Venezuela, Colombia, Mexico). This wasn't always so. See in the 1970s, the idea of having a dictatorship that was BFFs with our goverment was far more palatable than a legally elected socialist regime. So the US got into helping fund coups and pretty much endorsing crimes against humanity in parts of Latin America.

Salvador Allende was a physician who championed socialist ethos. His election was fraught with controversy but was won fair and square. The US tried to intervene secretly even before he was inaugurated, and his three years in the office were completely undermined by boycotts and other nasty tricks the CIA used to try to force his hand.

Allende didnt' back down, and on 11 September 1973, the military revolted. Led by Agustin Pinochet (for whom there is, presumably, a nice spot in hell somewhere), they stormed the Presidential Palace (La Moneda) and in the ensuing firefight, Allende was killed. The official story was that he committed suicide, but many who knew him doubted he would have done so.

In January, the Chilean government announced that it had exhumed Allende's body to put to rest whether he killed himself or he was assassinated. (Even if he killed himself, he was still assassinated, clearly.)

I found this article earlier today only in Spanish, and it's telling that the first English link Google came up with for me was from a non-American source. (And the only reason I have the Spanish-language articles is because I added a section on Google News for Chilean news services.)

As I went looking for an article in English for this post, I found also that Nathaniel Davis, the ambassador to Chile in the 1970s, recently died. He was famous for saying that the US wasn't really involved in the coup and the machinations to bring down Allende, but de-classified documents released by the CIA at the beginning of the decade showed otherwise. As the ambassador, Davis may not have known what they were up to, but he was responsible for the safety of Charles Horman, the journalist who went missing in Chile and was one of the desaparacidos - thousands of disappeared people who were ultimately murdered by Pinochet and his regime.

I am curious to see what the results are of this autopsy. If it was a murder, instead of a suicide, does it make that much difference to the people of Chile who were murdered by the thousands after his death? I'd like to think it would bring renewed war criminal charges against people like Henry Kissenger, but I won't hold my breath.

Music time again

Ok, so this one I also had a difficult time with. I think this list hates me

Day 01 - Your favorite song
Day 02 - A song that makes you happy
Day 03 - A song that makes you sad
Day 04 - A song that reminds you of someone
Day 05 - A song that reminds of you of somewhere
Day 06 - A song that reminds you of a certain event
Day 07 - A song that you can dance to
Day 08 - A song that makes you fall asleep
Day 09 - A song from your favorite band
Day 10 - A song that no one would expect you to love
Day 11 - A song that describes you
Day 12 - A song from your favorite album
Day 13 - A song that you listen to when you're angry
Day 14 - A song that you listen to when you're happy
Day 15 - A song that you listen to when you're sad
Day 16 - A song that you want to play at your wedding
Day 17 - A song that you want to play at your funeral
Day 18 - A song that makes you laugh

The only one I can think of for this day is kind of sad

I remember tuning to MTV after a day of sitting in various rooms in my dorm and watching the coverage of 9/11 that fateful Tuesday. The video for this song appeared and it just seemed to sum up the day and the response afterward.



Does 9/11 invoke any songs for you?

Alas, earwax.

Today's Livejournal Writer's Block Question:
If you could choose which fashions would go out of style permanently, what would you choose, and why?

Gee, I goddamned wonder. ;)

Actually, I had a discussion about this with one of my coworkers. I said that we don't need the 80s or the 90s to come back, we should go back to 1920. I said this before I saw the really nice Victorian-esque jewellry we got in and now I really want Edwardian fashions to come back instead. Or more Mad Men-esque outfits. While I don't watch the show, I am in love with the clothing. Also it doesn't hurt to have the gorgeous Christina Hendricks wearing the clothes.

Why I love this show. (SHUT UP)

This is the video making the rounds of the internet tonight. And ys, I'm not gonna lie I loved it.

I love it even more now after reading this article that I stole from OhNoTheyDidn't.

A genuine American hero, who truly deserves the attention he garnered tonight. I don't have more to say than that; how can you turn this guy down? If I'm the AI producer I don't either.

Today I did nothing.

And yet in the spirit of making sure I update you on the minutiae of my life every day, I am going to post.

Today I spent a goodly amount of time in front of the TV or the computer. Actually both. I was going to do stuff but then I realized I didn't have to, which made me happy. I didn't have to call the landlady -- she cashed my check the 11th but it didn't show up in my online banking til the 17th, wtf. I love my bank but it is SLOOOOOOOOOOOWER than molasses* when updating online banking. But it instantly knows when someone tries to log onto my account from another country. Whatever, HSBC ;)

Anyway, what did I do today? I bet you are all just DYING to know. I'm not. But I put up the rest of my Christmas lights. This was accompanied by a lot of cursing. See, I went outside, but like a smart person I did not put on a coat. I wore a hoodie and jeans outside and kept yelling "FUCK IT'S COLD OUT HERE" approximately every thirty seconds. But I accomplished my task! I nearly put my foot through a folding chair though. That was fun. Except the exact opposite. This was also accompanied by a chorus of obscenities. "Fuck, fucking chair fuck you, fuck." And the dude walking by chatting on his phone didn't notice, so I declared victory.

So after that I went inside and watched TV til it got dark and then I decided I really wanted to go to the store to get something for dinner -- nothing I had was really floating my boat. I got to the end of the block before I decided it wasn't worth it. It was booger-freezing weather, something I hadn't encountered since I was taking finals at SLU. Goddamn no I wasn't going to walk the half mile to the grocery store and back in that shit. Go ahead, take away my cold sensitivity card, but I went inside and made hot chocolate and that was more awesome than yelling at the wind to stop blowing.

So then I made dinner and I watched more TV. This cold case detective solved the Jack the Ripper killings, or so he believes. I thought it was kind of neat -- he started out trying to solve these hundred year old cases in NYC and linked them to the Ripper murders. Then it turns out that nobody had apparently bothered to read one of the main suspect's confessions for over eighty years. Not sure if it's legit or not, but it sure seems pretty convincing. Here, you can read up on Norris's suspect.

So then I came in here and surfed the internet some more and now I'm going to work on editing my book a bit so I can print it off and begin editing it by hand. Tomorrow is work and gift shopping day. Shooooot me.

*This is the only time molasses moved quickly.

The Holocaust and a Soapbox

My cousin Kate posted this article on her twitter: Man snuck into Auschwitz during WWII. This guy kept sneaking in and getting the real scoop of what was going on inside the infamous concentration camp. He managed to save the life of one of the prisoners directly and probably helped boos the spirits of many more. What an amazing story.

Also, I would just like this opportunity to say: Holocaust deniers, you can suck it. There's gotta be a special level of hell for people like you. When I took a course on the Holocaust I was disgusted by how much denial propaganda was out there. There's obtuse and then there's being deliberately obtuse.

It bothers me both on a historian basis and more importantly on a personal basis that people would choose to blatantly ignore evidence of over six million people being murdered. It just undermines the sacrifices made by the dead and the survivors of those concentration camps. Even if it wasn't your own ethnicity forced into the camps, how can you not have compassion for those that were? I hope I never understand how someone can think like that.

I got a new cell phone. I was tired of paying upwards of 60bucks a month to use mydamn phone five times a month, or worrying about running out of money on the phone while texting someone. So I got a Tracphone, with double minutes for life. If I wasn't buried under three or four blankets I'd go pull it out and tell you all the number. If you're on facebook with me you'll see it tomorrow. If you're cool I might even let you text me. ;) (I do so love the texting)

In unrelated news, I will be in your home and native land Oct 21-22 (mostly the 22) for to see Laura Pausini live in Montreal. If anyone wants to come out for the day on Thursday 22 October I would love to see you!

I also bought some new clothes today because I wanted to and they were on sale. I haven't had a chance to pull out. I got one of the watches my company is selling for BCRF.
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I have a confession to make. I had never read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. So I never really got the OH MISTER DARCY hype that the internets and most of my English major friends seem to have. But I picked up the book for a buck at Goodwill, and I just finished it. Darcy's cool and all, but Elizabeth is far more awesome than anyone else in the book, sorry to say.

Then I saw at the bookstore: Mr Darcy -- Vampire

.....


.....


What, I ask you, Internets, is this fuckery?

My head hurts.

Books!

I figured I'd do a comprehensive recap of the books I've read this summer. I'm sure i'm missing some because all I did was grab the stack of books I have by my bed that I know I finished but didn't write up.

Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore:

This book I picked up out of a $1 sale at Borders. I don't think it's anything I would have picked up if I had to pay more for it, but that's why I love this sale.

This book is the story of three immigrant families in Brooklyn in the 1950s. The protagonists are all Jewish Eastern European families whose children grow up and intermarry. It's really interesting to see the different sociological structures that come into play when you get to meet them. (Sorry, I read this book early on this summer, I'm not as quick to recall it as when I first read it.) But I think even for more than a dollar I would pick up this book again.

Petropolis, by Anna Ulinich:

Sasha is the child of a Russian woman and a half-black, half-Russian scientist. She and her mother are abandoned by her father when she is small, and she grows up idolizing her absent father. Suddenly finding herself a teenage mother, her mother sends her to Moscow to go to school and raises the child as Sasha's sister. Sasha instead joins a mail-order bride service in order to sneak into the US and find her wayward father. She finds a lot more than him when she gets to the US, though.

This is absolutely riveting and hilarious at the same time. Definitely worth the read.

My Answer Is NO (If That's Ok With You) by Nanette Gartrell.

This I also picked up for a dollar. I don't usually do self-help books, but this one I keep finding myself going back to. I have a hard time saying no to people, at least without feeling bad about it, and this book understands that. It's really good with real life examples and concrete psychological reasons to explain why I (and other women) feel this inability to say no without guilt. Definitely incredibly worth the read. I found it incredibly helpful this summer while working as an assistant manager at my store.

Malinche, by Laura Esquivel.

I had high hopes for this book. I paid a dollar for it as well, and I know Esquivel's other major novel, Como agua para chocolate, at least in movie form. I'm incredibly familiar with the source material, and I know the story of Malinche. I was horrifically disappointed in her take on her. I don't know if it's the English translation screwing the pooch or that it was just THAT. BAD. It was short so I powered through it.

The Lady Elizabeth, Alison Weir.

Last time I did a book review post I talked about Alison Weir's Jane Grey novel, and how I was slightly disappointed in it. I said then that I looked forward to this one to see if her fictional works had improved.

I did find it an improvement. I still find her dialogues to be a little stilted (I'm a little biased because most of my own writing is dialogue. I like to tell, not show ;)), but her characterisations are improving. Elizabeth is as fascinating a character as history can make her, and I truly enjoyed reading her life from her "own" perspective. I liked it better than Innocent Traitor.

(Side note: Weir is publishing a biography of ANNE BOLEYN, guys, ANNE FREAKING BOLEYN. How AWESOME is this book gonna be????_

Ok, just three more, I promise.

The Shipping News, by Annie Proulx.

I read this book years and years earlier, way before I had even considered visiting Newfoundland. (Yeah, that long ago.) So when I found this book @ Goodwill for a buck, I had to save it and re-read it. I knew the basic storyline -- guy loses his cheating slut of a wife in a car accident, and moves with his two daughters to his family's ancestral home in Newfoundland.

Having been to the island and actually having taken much of the same journey that Quoyle did, it puts this book in a whole new light. The whole time I was reading it I felt incredibly homesick, for a place I've never even lived in and only visited twice in my life. She did the island and its people justice. It's definitely one of my top ten books of all time. And if you haven't visited Newfoundland, I STRONGLY encourage you to do so.

Another book I picked up for a dollar: East of the Mountains, by David Guterson.

I read Snow Falling on Cedars probably about the same time that I read The Shipping News, so I only vaguely remember that I enjoyed the book. This time out was no exception. Guterson describes Washington state pretty well, although I've never been there so I can't say for sure. I didn't read the jacket insert that describes the book, or I don't think I would have picked it up. It tells me that it's the story of a man who is on a deathwish going hunting in the woods and all the strange people he encounters that make him want to live again. Sounds hokey, but Guterson pulls it off. After a while, though. It took me about 75 pages in to even really care about Ben, and it took til the end for me to sit there and say, "Hey, this book wasn't so bad after all."

Finally! Last book. FOR NOW DUN DUN DUN.

The Widow of the South, by Robert Hicks.

This one JUMPED off the store shelves at me. I wanted to read this one so much just from the back cover alone. It's a novel based on a real person, Carrie Winder McGavock. Hicks gives her a motivation for her devoted service to the cemetery at Carnton.

Too bad that it takes until the bad guy wants to plow over the graves of the Confederate soldiers, nearly 2/3 of the way through the book for things to click. Neither Carrie nor Zachariah, the solder whose leg she amputates, are that interesting of a character.

I'll admit a caveat about this. I keep trying to read Civil War stuff like Cold Mountain and i just. can't. get into it. I don't know if The Widow of the South suffers from that problem or if it's just a bad book. I need unbiased opinions ;)

Book reviews!

I missed doing these posts, so I will do a few of the books I've read recently.

First up, Innocent Traitor: A Novel of Lady Jane Grey, by Alison Weir.

Weir is my favourite historical author, and I was elated to find out she'd branched into novels. I picked this one up in Ottawa, and I was slightly disappointed. Weir is a master at writing historical characters, using the available facts to give us a clear sense of the subject. Something got lost in the novel though. The facts are all there, but the spirit is missing. She set it up similarly to what Phillipa Gregory did in The Boleyn Inheritance by using three first person narrators. But unlike Gregory, this setup just loses its punch. Jane Grey is the best character in the book, but it's clear that Weir is not nearly as interested in Queen Mary. I dunno, I was underwhelmed.

I have Weir's The Lady Elizabeth, and that's up next to read so I'm hoping it goes a little better. I think Innocent Traitor was her first novel.

Up next I have uh, another Alison Weir book. But this one is one of her standard biographies. And as usual, I have nothing bad to say about it at all. She manages to bring a woman who there is limited source material regarding to life. Eleanor of Aquitaine was the Duchess of Aquitaine, Countess of Poitou, Queen of France, and Queen of England. She was in fact one of the most famous, most influential women of her day. Sadly because she lived in the 12th century, there is little remaining of her records -- even her tomb, Weir reveals, was destroyed in the 18th Century during the French Revolution. While most of the book talks about Eleanor's family, Weir is able to show fairly easily how these forefathers and descendants influenced and in turn were influenced by this woman known as "the most beautiful woman in Europe."

The final book I'm gonna talk about is a Kate Atkinson novel. If you haven't read anything by this woman I strongly encourage you to do so ASAP. I love this woman and her writing. And I was reading One Good Turn, which is a sequel to Case Histories. If you haven't read Case Histories you don't necessarily NEED to in order to understand this book, but it helps. It revolves around poor ex-detective Jackson Brodie, a man who seems to find trouble no matter where he goes. The supporting cast of characters is so rich and creative that it's almost worth it on its own.

GO READ KATE ATKINSON GO GO.

YOU CAN'T RUSH FASHION

Last night I worked from 6pm to 3am doing the new floorset. Well, really I processed freight and everyone else set up the store. When I emerged from the back room, there was a wall for LEGGINGS. Entirely devoted to leggings. AND GUESS, oh GUESS, dear readers what one type of leggings were labelled along the wall. Go on, guess.

I'll wait.

Yeah. Luckily they haven't come in yet. Otherwise I might have to light them on fire. Unlike my home store, which nearly caught on fire. My roommates both worked tonight and told me how they had to evacuate the mall after a power outage to their side of the mall.

So! Latest on Honduras. (Yes, I'm still posting about that. You all can play tl;dr).

Because Chávez and Zelaya are BFF, Chávez cut off oil supplies from Venezuela to Honduras in a classic move.

Zelaya, in turn decided his move would be to give an ultimatum. A vague ultimatum.

And finally, teachers returned to work after ending their strike. Teachers struck originally to support Zelaya.

Apparently Zelaya has a fetish for these hats:

I haven't forgotten about Honduras

RL got in the way of my Honduras updates -- yesterday I had to work and then I kinda just mindlessly surfed the internet to get over how sad I am bout leaving that store. Today was in town, and it's the last time I will see her for a while since she's moving to Japan later this month.

My money sitch is gonna run me tight. Love it.

Maricela wrote this on Facebook a couple of days ago:

La verdad de Honduras
Share
Tues at 11:45
Es una pena que los gobiernos y las organizaciones internacionales traten a este evento como una barbarie y una acto troglodita. Mas del 90% de la población se opone a la restitución del Sr. Zelaya quien ha pretendido en múltiples ocasiones pasar por encima de la ley y se ha mostrado incapaz de gobernar este país con justicia. Este Sr. ha ofendido los valores y derechos del pueblo Hondureño y la democracia, al haber llegado al poder por medio de mentiras y promesas falsas, y luego introducir ideas izquierdistas a semejanza de Hugo Chávez, quien es un gorila necio que pretende llevar a América Latina por el mismo camino de la antigua Europa socialista. Los militares arrestaron a Manuel Zelaya siguiendo las órdenes de la Corte Suprema de Justicia debido a sus actos criminales, y el mismo dia el poder fué devuelto a los civiles. Esto no ha sido un golpe de estado ni un regreso a los años oscuros como ha sido clasificado por el resto del mundo, sino un acto de valor, por el cual el pueblo Hondureño ha optado por despedir a un empleado incompetente y ponerle fin al circo del Sr. Zelaya. Los noticieros internacionales han tergiversado la información convirtiendo a este señor en una victima. Por esto, yo y todos aquellos que queremos la paz y la democracia en nuestro país queremos que nuestra voz sea escuchada y pido que nos ayuden a transmitir nuestro mensaje.

El mundo solamente ha podido ver un lado de la moneda en el que el Sr. Zelaya ha quedado como la víctima. Hoy dia se le brindo la oportunidad a este señor de hablar frente a Asamblea General de la ONU donde proporcionó un discurso lleno de mentiras. Por dar algunos ejemplos, dijo que la fuerzas militares han mantenido a Honduras en un estado de parálisis por 3 dias, disparando a la gente y lastimando a unas 160 personas, cuando esto es mentira. En el país hay calma, unidad, y fe en el nuevo gobierno. Entre otras mentiras dijo que él vive en una casa de clase media, que está en contra de las dictaduras, y que ha reducido la pobreza en 2 años. Todas estas son mentiras. Me parece que lo justo y correcto en esta situación es que el pueblo de Honduras también tenga la oportunidad de expresarse ante la comunidad internacional y explicar porque apoyamos la destitución de esta persona. No es posible que la ONU y la OEA evalúe la situación sin mandar delegados al país y analizar la situación desde adentro, examinando todas las acusaciones que se han hecho en contra del Sr. Zelaya. La Fiscalia ya ha emitido una orden de arresto a través de la interpol en cuenta de 18 delitos incluyendo narcotráfico, traición a la patria, desvío de recursos y crimen organizado.


New developments include: attempts to bring Zelaya back to the country, pressure from the OAS on Honduras to restore Zelaya, threatening expulsion. The new President, Micheletti, is willing to negotiate on this, but Zeleya is going to face impeachment proceedings should he return.

It seems like Micheletti is holding out an olive branch to Zeleya. If Zeleya returns, don't expect to see him be President much longer.

Maricela gave me little bit more today.

First off, while she is fully in support of Zeleya's removal, she feels that moving him to Costa Rica was not the right call. After reading a bit more, I agree as well. Calling it a coup is more plausible if you remove the leader from the country. Arresting him and calling for impeachment hearings would have led to less condemnation and possibly fewer protestors.

Here's a good article discussing the US take on it. To sum up, basically the US is treading lightly. While they condemn the tactics of taking down Zeleya, they're not insisting upon his reinstatement. Which is in line with policies of previous administrations.

Maricela also wanted me to post this video:

I don't agree with what Krauthammer is saying here, mainly because he uses a Hitler comparison, and I feel that it is a little overblown in this situation. He kind of throws out all the "scary" left wing names -- Chavez, Ortega. It's like a who's who of Latin American leftists.

Zeleya is asking the UN for help in getting himself reinstated.

It seems apparent that no one likes how this was done, like Maricela said, but no one has a problem with the reasoning behind it. The American government, the OAS (Organization of American States), and leaders worldwide seem to be avoiding talking about the reasons behind the arrest.

I will probably keep posting about this every day except when I go to Canada this weekend, because I think it's an important news story that I don't want to see get lost.

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In non-Honduras news, I finish my last day at my store tomorrow. After I come back from Canada, I'll be in Colonie Center for the summer and most of the fall. It'll be a+++ good times. I'm gonna miss the hell out of my girls though

Theresa will be here tomorrow and Wednesday. She leaves me for Japan on July 25 -- she's going to be a JET!

I know there was something else I wanted to talk about, but I can't remember it now. Oh well!

Honduras "Coup"

As a Latin American historian, I kinda find this Honduras coup fascinating. One of my friends on Facebook, born and raised in Honduras, wrote as her status about 20 minutes ago:

Para todos aquellos que condenaron el golpe de estado en Honduras: INFORMENSE señores, solo los que estamos aqui adentro sabemos lo que de verdad sucede...si prefieren, veanlo asi...NO fue golpe de estado...simplemente se despidió a un empleado incompetente!!!!...lo unico ilegal aqui es lo que queria hacer Mel por medio de una farsa populachera para perpetuarse en el poder.

Basically, she says (if I'm translating this correctly -- feel free to correct me!) basically, thi wasn't really a bad thing to get rid of this guy. In her current status update, she says to google La Masacre en los Horcones. (this is the only English source that was easily readable I could find, which should tell you something about how much Americans care or know about Honduras). What's interesting about this, for the tl;dr crowd is that this massacre took place on the land owned by Mel Zelaya, who is the father of today's deposed president -- Manuel Zelaya.

As befitting a friend of Chávez, Zelaya is of course claiming the US is involved in this coup. Were this a year ago, I'd probably agree. If this was the 1980s, you betcha. But thankfully Henry Kissenger is nowhere near this White House.

For now, Roberto Micheletti is the interim president of Honduras. Micheletti was the leader of Congress.

To sum up: Honduras underwent a coup d'état because Zeleya, the President wanted to overturn the law that bars him from running for President again. The same thing happened in Venezuela a couple of years ago but Hugo Chávez overcame it. Zeleya is currently in Costa Rica, since the military arrested him at his house and threw him on a plane to get him out of the country.

Maricela, my friend whose status messages are quoted above, posted the following in English:
To all my friends in the international community, I ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT...We, the people of Honduras are voicing our opinions so that the world can understand that we are standing up for our democracy through the destitution of a person who has abused our nation's constitutions in many different ways, we oppose Zelaya's restitution and ask that you also help us voice our opinions and send positive thoughts our way

This link also explains in a bit more detail just what Zeleya has done in Honduras, which makes it less of a coup and more of an impeachment.