Essays, Interviews, Observations, Pop Culture, Stories, and other Dodginess

Deranged Vaginas

Posted on July 26, 2013
Pussy Riot HBO DOC

Pussy Riot (HBO)

Who knew the Russian Orthodox Church could be such an asshole?

Following the arrest of three members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot, one of the church’s patriarchs referred to them as “Deranged Vaginas.”

I’ve followed the story of Pussy Riot since the arrest following their “Punk Prayer” inside a Moscow cathedral in March of 2012. Three were arrested – Nadia, Masha, and Katia.

Nadia and Masha remain imprisoned to complete their two-year sentence in a penal colony (!), having recently lost their chance at parole. Katia has since been released.

I just watched the HBO documentary, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer. There’s a lot of interesting verbiage in it. In addition to the “deranged vaginas” comment, members of the church’s Carriers of the Cross – who look like a washed-up shitty classic rock cover band – called Nadia “a demon with a brain.”

“There have always been witches who wouldn’t repent,” says one asshole carrier.

My favorite was an old woman who said Pussy Riot “took a shit in the heart of Russia.”

Then there was the Russian talk show host who asked if the performance by the young ladies “was an act of war.”

Pussy Riot - Masha, Katia, Nadia

Masha, Katia, Nadia (Guardian UK)

Pussy Riot, I’m a fan. I’m a fan of Nadia, who believes women should be allowed to run services and stand at the altar. Another great moment in the documentary is when Nadia’s (really cool) husband greets her in the court room for the first appeal process. “You look good,” he tells her. “I always look good,” she replies.

I’m a fan of Nadia’s “No Pasaran” (They Shall Not Pass) T-shirt . I want one.

I’m a fan of Nadia’s father, who supports her and helped write some of the band’s lyrics. “He’s the best,” Nadia says of her father. “I am who I am because of him.”

I’m a fan of Masha, and how she frustrated the judge with her “I don’t understand the charges” barrage. “Unjust” was her favorite word as a child, her mother says.

“We are jokers, jesters, holy fools” – Nadia

I’m a fan of Katia, and wonder what she was constantly writing or drawing in the courtroom cell. I’m a fan of the “Pussy Riot Secret Headquarters” where the remaining band members hang out. I’m a fan of the Pussy Riot look – those striking balaclavas, the colored tights and dresses. It’s a great look. They’re all beautiful women, inside and out.

I’m not a fan of the prosecution witnesses, who during testimony believe that having church goers “needing to be calmed down” following the Pussy Riot staging as merit for a two-year prison sentence. I’m not a fan of those calling Masha’s mother and telling her they’ll rip the limbs of Masha’s child if she’s not imprisoned.

I agree with one of Riot’s lawyers, who said such destabilization of the public’s mood “only increases the protest movement.”

There’s only one good riot. And that’s Pussy Riot.

Nadia during July parole hearing (Alexander Roslakov)

Nadia during July parole hearing (Alexander Roslyakov)

HBO documentary Pussy Riot A Punk Prayer

30 Minutes in Gary

Posted on July 24, 2013

Gary, Indiana, is right next to Chicago. It’s known for Michael Jackson and as one of the most burned up, blighted cities in the country. It’s held the title as the Murder Capitol of the U.S. in the past, and although its population has dwindled, I believe it still ranks right up there, as that figure is determined by murders per number of residents. So far this year there have been 31 murders in Gary. And it’s only about 23 miles from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, where most of the city’s murder and violence take place.

I drove through Gary this past Saturday afternoon, down its main street, Broadway. I had my camera with me and decided to take some pictures on and around Broadway. I took about 30 minutes and for these photos didn’t leave my Jeep. By no means am I a professional photographer, and I missed some great opportunities, including a large pit bull in the back of a pick-up next to me that, to keep it from lunging at other drivers, was connected to  a series of chains that resembled something from the Thunderdome in that Mad Max film. But here they are.

21st and Broadway

53rd and Broadway

Gary, Indiana alley

Garage near 6th and Broadway

Gary, Indiana photo

6th and Broadway. Gary Housing Authority.

Broadway in Gary, Indiana

Around 7th and Broadway

old cars in Gary, Indiana

Old cars in a lot around 51st and Broadway

Roy Boy's in Gary

The re-opening of the famous Roy Boy’s tattoo shop at 3844 Broadway

Abandoned building, Gary, Indiana

Area of 21st and Broadway – Abandoned Home

53rd and Broadway. Gary's 29th murder took place outside here where the manager of the place was shot in the head

53rd and Broadway. Earlier in July Gary’s 29th murder took place outside here where the manager of the place was shot in the head.

Gary, Indiana photo series

6th and Broadway. Folks chilling across the street from the GHA.

United Arab Emirates Changes Rape Law

Posted on July 22, 2013

“It could have been worse. She could have claimed she was raped by a bottle of alcohol” – United Arab Emirates Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan

Dubai rape Marte Deborah Dalelv

Marte Deborah Dalelv (EPA)

The United Arab Emirates has changed its rape law in the wake of a high profile case involving a Norwegian woman’s sexual assault claim in a Dubai hotel.

Previously, the law stated rapists can only be convicted if either the perpetrator confesses or if four adult Muslim males witnessed the crime.

Under the new law a rapist can be convicted if he confesses or the crime is witnessed by two adult Muslim males, a monkey, and “a guy in a wizard’s hat.”

Marte Deborah Dalelv was recently pardoned after being sentenced to 16 months in prison for having unlawful sex and illegally consuming alcohol. Dalelv was arrested after reporting she was raped by a colleague in a Dubai hotel.

The United Arab Emirates has been heavily criticized by rights groups for condoning sexual violence against women. Bob, from Cleveland, also criticized the UAE for “everyone long-ass names.”

Noting the serious charges of unmarried sex and liquor, UAE Foreign Affairs Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed al-Nahyan said Dalelv’s situation could have been worse.

“”She could have claimed she was raped by a bottle of alcohol,” he said.

In a 2012 case  involving Dubai, a British woman reported she was raped by three men and found guilty of drinking alcohol without a license. in 2010 another British woman claimed to have been raped by a hotel employee and was charged with public intoxication. And in 2008, an Australian woman claimed to have been raped and was convicted not only for the sex act but for drinking alcohol.

A Dubai hotel spokesman, Abuday Bin Corduroy Zaharei, blamed all the rape accusations on “the white bitches who drink.”

When Dalelv presented her rape claim to officers, she said they asked her if she called the police “because she didn’t like it (the sex).”

Zaharei admitted that he himself was once raped, at least by “America’s definition of rape,” but since he enjoyed it he didn’t seek to press charges.

A male worker at the hotel where Dalelv said he was raped “was deeply saddened” on what happened to her and other Western women in Dubai. The worker, who refused to give his name in fear of retribution, borrowed from a line Jack Nicholson’s Joker said in Batman: “Decent women shouldn’t come here. They’d be much happier somewhere else.”