Oh yeah, it's definitely an election year....

In December of 2000, even though I strongly disagreed with the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to order a halt to the counting of legally cast ballots, I saw it as my duty to reaffirm my own strong belief that we are a nation of laws and not only accept the decision, but do what I could to prevent efforts to delegitimize George Bush as he took the oath of office as president.

I did not at that moment imagine that Bush would, in the presidency that ensued, demonstrate utter contempt for the rule of law and work at every turn to frustrate accountability...

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posted by Lorna Brown at 7:52 PM

Must be an election year. Meanwhile please make sure you wear your sunscreen - that's a verified summer threat.

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posted by Lorna Brown at 8:19 PM

Go check out my new Photoblog, courtesy of Blogger and Hello:

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posted by Lorna Brown at 1:40 AM

So, the project I've been working on for months is live now. Go get hello - download it and start posting pictures to your Blogspot blog. It's free, and it's really really fun.

I'm totally overwhelmed by all the pictures that have been posted all over the world in just the last 24 hours, using our little product. Newborn babies, introduced to the world... pictures of people laughing, playing, eating, dancing... smiling. Most especially touching were the photographs from Faiza in Baghdad - I sat down and cried when I saw them this morning.

Did you know that from some angles, Baghdad doesn't look so different from Santa Monica? and then - from other angles, it couldn't be further away.

I feel like we've helped to open a window into the world - people everywhere have the ability to post their pictures. I can't even tell you how good this feels.

Ever since I had my first website (and that's going on 10 years now), it's been my dream to tell stories on the web - to tell stories with *pictures*... and now, because I work with the most amazing group of engineers and designers in the world, I'll be able to help millions of other people do the same.

Go get Hello and get your blog started now:

 

posted by Lorna Brown at 1:13 AM

Pictures in Baghdad - a new photoblog from Faiza:

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posted by Lorna Brown at 10:16 PM

Two girls, both from West Virginia. Neither is even old enough to order a drink in a bar, yet both enlisted in the US military. Both wanted to see the world, and serve their country. But how different their stories are!

The first girl was riding in a Humvee that was overtaken during an ambush in Nasiriyah. She was badly injured, though nine of her friends and fellow soldiers were killed, and she was taken into custody and brought to an Iraq hospital.

The whole country was galvanized. "This is exactly the reason NOT to send women into combat," people said. This delicate young woman was locked away and subjected to who knows what kind of abuse (though that topic would later receive detailed coverage in the book and made-for-TV-movie deals).

Eventually, she was rescued on a stretcher, draped in an American flag, in a dangerous special secret ops mission. It was apparently neither dangerous nor secret enough to leave the TV cameras at home, but I digress. The point is, her story and her photos captivated the world, she was a perfect example of Apple-Pie America.

Flash forward one year. The world is again captivated by another sweet-faced girl from West Virgina. Her pictures are in every paper, and on TV, too. But this time, it couldn't be more different. Nobody seems to wonder whether or not she was abused - the pictures quite clearly show her doling out the abuse. She's a perfect example of Ugly America.

What a difference one year can make.

posted by Lorna Brown at 8:29 AM

This is a touching obituary for a San Francisco tailor who survived the Holocaust. I cannot begin to imagine how difficult his life was, nevertheless, he came to America, put his kids through school, and ran a successful business for years. More importantly, he worked hard to make the people around him happy.

I'm linking to this story not only because I think it's a wonderful piece of history, it's also an important reminder of how people work to create a beautiful life, even despite horrible circumstances.

I was also amazed at this quote. Maybe it could serve as a reminder that there is never an excuse for torturing other human beings.

We all asked, where is God? Why did he allow this? Making people prance naked in front of soldiers back and forth and such," Esther Jachimowicz said. "I don't know. That smart I'm not."

posted by Lorna Brown at 7:17 AM

posted by Lorna Brown at 7:07 AM

A circus - in Iraq. Because children everywhere need to laugh. I can't explain how touched I am by these people who've given up their own comforts to help bring some comfort to others.

posted by Lorna Brown at 1:45 AM

More links:

Torture at Abu Ghraib - As promised, Seymour Hersh does it again. A New Yorker article that everyone should read.

A diary of a civilian consultant, Joe Ryan, who worked as an interrogator at Abu Gharib. The diary is down, but Google's cache is still intact.

And next is a beautiful example of armchair activism, wherein blog readers uncover a few inconsistencies in the stories from CACI International. Check out the post at Billmon.org: An Iraq Prison Diary.

In case you wanted to know a little more one of the GIs behind those pictures, here are a few more tidbits about Lynndie England:

A simply pastoral depiction of her childhood, from The Muslim News:

England grew up in a trailer down a dirt road behind a saloon and a sheep farm in Fort Ashby, W.Va., a one-stoplight town about 13 miles south of Cumberland...

According to Sy Hersh's New Yorker article, Lyndie is pregnant, and has been reassigned to Fort Bragg. My best wishes to the lovely couple (yes, that's her fiancee in the photographs, wearing the latex gloves).

posted by Lorna Brown at 11:18 PM