Just finished reading Barack Obama’s “Dreams from my Father” – it’s a good read – flowing narrative that draws you in, with insightful and nuanced reflection. The book is about his journey to discover and forge his own identity, and also about his thoughts on race politics. He writes about growing up with the identity struggles that come with mixed cultural background, working as a community organiser in Chicago, and returning to Africa to meet his father’s side of the family.

i was surprised how emotional i became when reading about Obama in the latest edition of Time mag. Emotions that kept returning as i read the book. Could there really be an authentic person in politics? Someone with intelligence, decency, style and the competence to govern .. who believes in assembling the best minds and working together to solve problems?

That sense of hope that he generates was sorely needed in the world, especially when looking to the USA to return to its noble visions of highest and best potential.

For me it’s not so much about the colour of his skin .. as the fact that we are about to have a Community Organiser in the White House. Not only a person who works at grass roots level, but someone who understands that to solve big problems, we need to find common ground and work together.

(i say “we” .. meaning that .. that the whole world depends on that one country to be their best. Unlike the fearful and aggressive, unreconstructed alcoholic version of the US we’ve had recently.)

In my view Barack is a good person, who believes in getting things done .. and does things differently. My hope is that he will move politics back into a place of decency and competency, genuine problem solving and that he will inspire others to join the world of community organisers.

He is a good person .. i wonder if he will turn out to be a great person.

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i just remembered watching the acceptance speeches at Ben and Rhi’s house, projected huge upon the wall.
Just as sweet as the day kevin007 took the throne of Oz.

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Links:

• Article in Newsweek about the book.
• Book on Amazon.

photo credit: Hot Meteor

Finally i’ve read a book that has nothing to do with terrorism or international politics. My very good friend Shanny lent me an extraordinary tale called “Marching Powder”, the true story of an Englishman inside a Bolivian prison.

Ooh yeah, a true story. We love it.

So Thomas McFadden became famous because he started giving tours, and became the unofficial tour guide of San Pedro prison, in La Paz; Lonely Planet had the prison listed as a must-see destination mainly because of this guy’s charming demeanour (and cocaine parties).

But it’s not only tourists who pay their way into the prison .. the prisoners themselves have to pay an entrance fee into San Pedro – after they are sentenced. They then have to buy their own cell through the internal real-estate system!

.. there are restaurants and shops set up so that people can survive;
.. prisoners’ families stay inside the prison because they can’t live in the ruined outside economy without their breadwinner.
.. And the best cocaine laboratories are hidden away inside the prison.

It’s plainly written, and very enjoyable, although painful and frightening in places. There’s a lot you find hard to believe, and corruption drips off the page. i’d give it a big 8 star rating.

Apparently Brad Pitt is producing the film, due this year.
(more info:

• interview with author and subject, at bNet;
• review in SMH, ’03;
• talk of a documentary at foreign correspondent;
  
• the author in Wikipedia.)

The shiningly witty Ms Fits has had a book-related brush with some patrons at Meredith.
Story involves a Dog with a dog during Dr Dog (?! yes, read up.)

Apparently, it’s Not Okay to read while Dr Dog is playing. Not even quietly in the distant background. Interferes with other people’s enjoyment. Too freakish. Too girly-swot.

What is going on in this crazy old world. i know we’ve never really been a bookish nation but what happened to live and let effing live. Aren’t Australians supposedly renowned for our laidback and tolerant approach to life?

Oh, i remember tolerance, that was before the time of darkness.
For about five minutes, after the previous time of darkness.

Not as if Ms Fits was crouched motionless in the mosh pit, reading aloud over the band. The book wasn’t anything like ‘How to Destroy Swamp Rock Fans in One Easy Sitting’.

i guess we just hate interLekchoools. SmartRRRses!
Watch out! They’ll be burning witches next, on piles of books. You mark my words. Lucky she got out alive.

Too much ignorant hooligan-ism-ality going on for my liking !

(image: thanks florianB, and sidelong.)

If you’ve just tuned in, i’ve been writing because my story appeared in newspapers around Australia (and Europe): cairns, brisbane, adelaide, sydney, melbourne, perth, tassie, england, the.uk, ireland and yes – sweden. (plus: front cover of cairns post! pdf 900kb)

This was a bit of a buzz for me, especially as the story was faintly ridiculous. People get kicked out of pubs all the time for being not-what-the-locals-ordered. Or a bit weird. Maybe even “socially undesirable”. In fact an Indigenous woman got kicked out the same pub five minutes before i did – and her face didn’t get in the media, did it?

Yes i got kicked out of a pub for having a book with me. A book with the T-word in the title. Plus wires hanging out me pocket. And staring in shock when that dark-skinned lady got chucked out the door. She was a good dancer.

The locals thought i was going to blow the place up. Apparently.

My friend Avril was shocked and wrote a letter to the Editor of the Cairns Post who found it a worthy headline and chased me down. Thank heavens i had the wits in the interview to pose as a tosser, and claim that i was “Absolutely flabbergasted”. Yeah, go michael !

Many people, gathered around water coolers, found this to be a sign that we’ve lost the plot, gone to hell in a hand-basket, and that hard-right governments are turning to tyranny. Also that the government and media hype is really about subduing Western populations and centralising control.

Following this, the people of Australia kicked out their conservative government. Yeah, go The People!

So, what do you think? Are we on track? Should we be going to war to stop all this anti-civilian violence. Rounding up folk who look different? Surrendering our civil rights in the interests of public safety? Sending suspects overseas where we can torture them ‘legally’?

Time to get some ring-ins .. yep just ring this number and chat to us now .. oh how do i make the switchboard work?

(images: thanks for takin it to the banksy by guano at flickr)