Jim Andrews
Since the beginning
Works in Victoria Canada

ARTBASE (2)
BIO
Jim Andrews does http://vispo.com . He is a poet-programmer and audio guy. His work explores the new media possibilities of poetry, and seeks to synthesize the poetical with other arts and media.
Discussions (847) Opportunities (2) Events (14) Jobs (0)
DISCUSSION

Re: SCREENFULL_THE_BOOK


> you rock man /:b
>
> On Sat, 26 Mar 2005, jimpunk wrote:
>
> > http://www.screenfull.net/THE_BOOK_2.pdf
> >
> > (need acrobat reader 7 to view
> > http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Ya, that's a wonderfully different PDF. I liked the radio blog, also (
http://www.screenfull.net/stadium/2005/03/screenfull-radiosounds.html ).

ja

DISCUSSION

Mahoud al-Braikan


MAHMOUD AL-BRAIKAN was born in al-Zubair, southern Iraq. He studied law at
Baghdad University in the 1940s. From 1953 to 1959 he was a teacher in
Kuwait, then returned to Baghdad and completed his law studies in 1964. He
taught Arabic language and literature at Basra's Teachers' Training College
until his retirement in the 1990s. He was killed in his Basra home on 28
February 2002, apparently by thieves.

His poetry: http://www.masthead.net.au/issue9/braikan.html

DISCUSSION

Twenty one Iraqi poets in translation


Twenty one Iraqi poets in translation:
http://www.masthead.net.au/issue9/iraqi.html .
In the new issue of Masthead edited by Alison Croggon.
A sample:

11
if we cannot convince the grass
to become an orchard
how can we change
our ways?

12
there is no way out
the locks are unknown
and we are shut

13
the ghosts will change
their attire
in a few minutes
to play their real roles
on stage

from "Clay Tablets" by Vivian Slioa
http://www.masthead.net.au/issue9/slioa.html

DISCUSSION

Re: Re: Re: Re: the rapture and anti-environmentalism


> It's easy to pick on a group that everyone generally despises and
> no one knows very much about. Do a little research, make some
> facile conclusions, and then declare whatever you like... (blacks
> are prone to drug abuse, muslims are prone to terrorism).
> Politically correct people aren't allowed to say either of those
> things (and well they shouldn't be), but say anything you like
> about Christians and the general response is, "that may or may
> not be true, but I wouldn't put it past 'em."

Moyers is not criticizing Christianity at large, Curt. For instance, in
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17852 he says:

"...as Blaine Harden reported recently in The Washington Post, some
evangelicals are beginning to "go for the green." Last October the National
Association of Evangelicals adopted an "Evangelical Call to Civic
Responsibility," affirming that "God-given dominion is a sacred
responsibility to steward the earth and not a license to abuse the creation
of which we are a part." The declaration acknowledged that for the sake of
clean air, clean water, and adequate resources, the government "has an
obligation to protect its citizens from the effects of environmental
degradation.""

He also wishes to distinguish conventional Christian teaching from what he
wishes to criticize:

"There are millions of Christians who believe the Bible is literally true,
word for word. Some of them

DISCUSSION

Re: Re: the rapture and anti-environmentalism


> > http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17852 is an article called "Welcome to
> > Doomsday" by Bill Moyers. It concerns the anti-environmentalism of
> > 'rapture'ists.

> c:
> millions *may* believe? What kind of an ass-covering assertion
> is that to hang your whole argument on? Yes, millions believe in
> this version of the second coming, but millions haven't connected
> it to prerequisite environmental destruction. He's extrapolating
> a tenous generalization based on some extreme cases.

If one believes that the end of the world is (literally) near (not
figuratively as in 'the future is uncertain and the end is always near')
then the importance of not only environmentalism but many another
forward-looking view concerning the world or worldly things is simply moot,
is it not? If one holds that we are in end game of the worldly existence of
humanity, then one may well disregard things like environmentalism as
planning for a future which simply will not exist.

Regardless of whether environmental plundering is 'welcomed', it is not
particularly consequential if there isn't going to be a world much longer.

The Bush administration is not environmentally responsible. Whether it's
because environmental plundering is simply profitable, in the short term, or
for other reasons, I have no idea. But, certainly, if one believes that
there isn't going to be a world around for much longer, the importance of
environmentalism and other such forward-looking views is gravely diminished.

ja