This is a series of ten emails I wrote back to family and friends from July 2008 to September 2008.
I have uploaded them as a block in chronological order.
Emails from America 2008
1. 7 July; Email from Harvard
2. 5 August; Home stretch at Harvard
3. 7 August; Democratic Campaign School Albuquerque
4. 20 August; Olympics, Chicago, Biden
5. 26 August; Denver volunteer orientation
6. 29 August; DNC Denver- Obama-mania
7. 29 August; Riot Police
8. 1 September; RNC and hurricane Gustav
9. 8 Sept; Total Immersion in Elephants
10. 15 Sept; Decompressing in Cleveland
11. Appendix 1; Dhon's Story- A Tibetan in Harvard Square (published in Harvard Summer Review 2008)
#1; Monday, July 07, 2008 2:14 AM
Email from America- Harvard
Hi Family and Friends.
Bostonian-in-Wellington John Healey kindly organised his mother Anne Marie to collect me on arrival from Logan Airport Boston at 8am Thursday 19 June.
Not only did she have to drive a considerable distance up from South Boston in peak hour traffic, but this was the morning traffic was flooding into Boston for a huge victory parade for the local basketball team.
Yes, just prior to coming to Boston I did read the basic Boston fact book- Paul Revere/ Tea Parties etc. I now know the difference between Celtics, Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Revs— they do not all play each other. (Friends know when I talk about sports I am usually winging it).
There are over 50 universities and colleges in Boston- it’s like Starbucks, there seems to be a university on every corner.
The top medical research hospitals are in Boston and there are more doctors per square inch than any other place in the world. It is the best place to get a rare undiagnosed disease ….anyone watch House?
And Harvard Square seems so familiar – the beautiful gracious buildings and campus, the ambiance- it’s like being on a film set; although it is very touristy over the summer school duration. Sort of compares with Oxford in England .
The study-load is heavy, as expected.
I am surprised the Global Energy, Security and Environmental Geopolitics course I am doing is so …… anti-American. Blood and Oil…...
An American scientist lecturing on the global energy crisis explained by analogy that we were all locked in this airtight classroom with limited oxygen. He said Conservationists would tell us to all breathe slower, whereas Scientists would try to find the key to unlock the door, so we could all get out of the room.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking;
• What if they don’t find the key before we all suffocate to death?
• While we are all trying to breathe slower, why are all the Americans in the room doing aerobics classes, hyperventilating, and picking fights with the psychopaths in the room? (when they should be looking for the key)
• And the psychos like they will blow up the world anyway
So that’s the gist of that course.
The postgrad Journalism course is very professional. The seminars are simultaneously video-cast online for distance students all around the world. Distance students only have a 5-7 second delay – they msm their comments online and participate in class discussions in real time. Mind you, the students in Spain , Iceland , South Africa etc must be getting up in the middle of the night. I registered on an online New York University course (which was far more pro-US foreign policy) in February this year—just for the real-time global classroom experience.
I walk 40 minutes to campus every morning and back most nights- it is 30-35 degrees at midday. The facilities at Harvard are luxurious- I feel I am getting value for US$ ---- I can’t say it any other way. I spend most my time at the Widener Library and the Brattle St Computer lab. The campus Athletic Centre gym and swimming pool complex is huge.
It hasn’t taken me long to figure out how the economic downturn is affecting people here as well. Oil prices affecting transport and airlines, property prices and mortgagee sales, unemployment and business closures, freak weather and the election campaign- it’s just like home in NZ. Of course the War is always in the background. And like 80% of college students, I get my daily political news from The Daily Show....
Most mornings I wake up and watch TV3 News video-stream-online on my laptop. Did you know you can read whole books on google-books--- but they don’t allow you to print them out? Also, all the writing for my coursework I can be stored more securely in cyberspace or on web blog. A few years ago, we could never imagine how our lives would depend so much on technology. (I did go to a course on cyber-terrorism in DC last year and how the world economy could be crashed within 24 hours by hacking into the heart of Wall St).
I travel down to New York to see Ants next weekend Friday to Monday 11-14 July. It is 4.5 hours by Megabus ($15) and return by Amtrak 4 hours ($85). Nancy and the kids return to NZ for 5 weeks.
Would love to hear from you....... anita
ps If you find my rambling emails boring you can click here and write 'unsubscribe' in the subject line.
………………………………………………………………………………….
#2; 5 August 2008
Home stretch at Harvard
Hi friends and family,
Only 12 days of exams, final assignments and presentations before I finish at Harvard- the time has flown. My biggest project is a 4500 word foreign policy memo for Secretary of State Condi Rice on military engagement in Africa.
Harvard and Bostonare wonderful places to know. Nobody should miss the Swan Boat ride at Boston Public gardens. With a classmate, I went on a day outing to the stunning JFK museum in South Boston. Here you get to relive the JFK era ….such as a replica of the room of the JFK debate with Nixon, the 1960 Democratic convention paraphernalia, Jackie Kennedy’s wedding dress, Bobby’s office, and of course the audio-visual corridor if the assassination. There were theatrettes showing movies of the Cuban missile crisis, Cold War, Vietnamand civil rights. Camelot. Yes, this is Kennedy country; the third Senator Kennedy for Massachusetts is on his last legs.
Free Tibet.
Every Wednesday night in Harvard Square, I join a group of 30-40 Tibetans protest for a Free Tibet. Now this was not exactly easy for someone like me who, to Tibetans, resembles the enemy race trying to annihilate them. But I kept turning up and eventually they warmed to me, especially after one of the monks was so chuckled I uploaded him onto youtube. I hate to reinforce stereo-types but they are such slight, soft, gentle, spiritual Buddhist people in the mould of the Dalai Lama. One night I started talking to the leader and decided to use him as my feature writing case study. The lecturer said “Oh no, not another Free Tibet story- it has been done to death.” And I think she is sick of reading about it. But I had promised the Tibetans to write about them and did not want to hurt their feelings*…
* This article was subsequently judged best post grad writing entry during Harvard summer school
and published in the Harvard Summer Review 2008--- See Appendix 1.
Democratic National Convention; Denver 24-29 August
I am all organized with flights and accommodation for the DNC in Denver. The DNC decided to delay the convention to start the day after the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics because they thought Americans could not watch two TV channels at the same time. I have registered on their volunteer list- and mentioned the DC internship I did last year with Congressman Kucinich. They may be needing lots more volunteers since the announcement Obama will be making his official acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential candidacy at the 75,000 capacity Inverco Stadium. Wow!
However, things are not going smoothly. Apart from being a logistics and security nightmare, the DNC has not budgeted to pay for the stadium. Tickets are not for sale—they are going to ‘distribute’ them. To Whom???
I would think the smart thing to do would be to sell them for an extortionate price and raise more money for the campaign! DO THE MATHS…. 75,000 x $100-$200 = …….. that would pay for Hillary’s debt plus more.
Obama’s speech is being promoted as an historic event and comparing it with Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” speech and JFK’s inaugural “Ask not what America can do for you…..” speech.
Talk about escalating expectations to astronomical-stratospheric heights. Shouldn’t he be UNDER-promising and OVER-delivering? I would think Obama’s speech writers would not be sleeping too well at nights at the moment.
I also got myself on the invite list for the Asian-Americans for Obama Chapter at the DNC…. I should be able to pass for one of them….
GOP Convention; Minneapolis 1-4 Sept.
So the diminutive, unobtrusive, unassuming Bangladeshi-American man sitting next to me in class turns out to be a Federal Court Lawyer. He is also part of an elite team of election voting law Republican lawyers who will be dispatched to any state in the case of a dispute/recount on voting day. (remember Florida in 2000?)
“So you can get me into the Republican convention?” I ask bluntly.
“…err…… I’ll get back to you,” he says.
A week later he comes back with,“If you can get yourself up to Minneapolis, I can get you into the Republican National Convention lawyer’s workshop as my legal assistant. You wear a Vote John McCain t-shirt and keep your mouth shut!”
“But but I can talk Republican…. Guns, pro-life, anti-immigration etc….” I say.
“Not with that accent you don’t,” he says.
So I am working on getting myself up to Minneapolis 31 Aug-3 Sept.
Anita
Ps- why has the Winston story gone on longer than the Tony Veitch story?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
#3; 7 August 2008
Democratic Campaign School
Albuquerque (ABQ) 1-4 August 2008
Trainer; Dr Murray Fishel.
Hi Friends and Family,
Sorry to all friends and family who are not interested in US politics- but it may get boring for you as go on the road conventioning.
2 weekends ago, I spent a weekend at Democratic Campaign School.....
anita
----------------------
Over the summers from late 1960s to early 1970s, Dr Murray Fishel mobilized busloads of his political science students at Kent State* to travel down to the southern states to sign up black voters.**
May 4, 1970 is a date he remembers as a personal tragedy; he said it forever changed his life.
Taking a long weekend off from Harvard study, I flew down from Boston to Albuquerque, New Mexico to attend Democratic Campaign School. It took over seven hours door to door via Chicago, and there was a couple of hours time change somewhere. This is a huge country.
Ray Goldstein’s friend in Cleveland Ohio, Murray Fishel, organized my summer internship last year with Congressman Kucinich’s presidential primaries campaign in Washington DC, so it was great to finally meet him when he picked me up from ABQ airport. The first thing he tells me is......... we were going to a private fundraisers’ function that night where donors had contributed either $5000 or $10,000 to the Democratic state legislature campaign……and I didn’t bring any money or anything to wear.
The last time I was in 40 degree heat in the desert it was Las Vegas with Jill.
Albuquerque is not exactly Las Vegas, but the (casual dress) function was at a lovely private hacienda set up with a marquee where about 100 people were wined and dined (fed and watered is probably more appropriate phrase). I met most the candidates who would be attending campaign school, and really they were such low key (rural?), small-town friendly and really down to earth. Nice people. There were no raffles.
New Mexico is a huge state with a population barely 2 million of which about 45% are Hispanic (Mexican) and 12% are Native American- the state with the highest % of these demographics. It is a PINK state. In 2004, the Republicans won the state by about 1000 votes. They are hoping the swing to Obama in the presidential race this year will help swing the state legislature elections-- which, in New Mexico, I can best compare to our regional or city council elections……. really.
Murray is a ‘progressive’ Democrat. He talks of real Democrats like they were in the 1930s. In the 1960s Murray would have been at the forefront of the civil rights and anti-Vietnam war protests. Then of course, Kent State came up against Nixon.
In 1982, Murray set up the first political science graduate degree course in election campaigning at Kent State. He has been semi-retired for quite a few years now but up until his heart attack earlier this year, he was still very active consulting for Democratic campaigns as well as running these campaign training workshops for state legislature candidates. He has been involved in over 2000 election campaign races from state legislature to presidential..
Early start on the Saturday morning, campaign school was held at the stunning Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, a major tourist attraction. As the Democratic state caucus was also meeting at the venue, class numbers fluctuated between 20 and 25; they were mainly candidates (with campaign managers) challenging incumbent Republicans.
We enjoyed two days of campaign training in brilliant, lively, motivating and persuasive fashion. Murray enthralled us all with his riveting anecdotes, stories of strategic campaign manoeuvres and Republican jokes (which I will not repeat until after I attend the Republican convention). Of course Murray was enjoying himself – he’s just so good at it. The eight to nine hour days went fast…..and there were no breaks; lunch was eaten during the vote builder sessions.
This was hard work training made fun. The participants laughed in role play sessions on how to ask donors for money (and how not to ask for money) and how important it was to recruit grassroots volunteers. Adapting his academic background, Murray has the gift of explaining complex theoretical concepts simply, and applying them to real life campaign situations. He was explaining strategy and even though some tactics felt counter-intuitive, he gave concrete examples to dispel any doubts.
Murray is the foremost strategist on negative campaigning and how to best inoculate and deflect from negative campaigning. One example, a state senator who had been charged with drunken driving asked him for help; Murray advised, managed and wrote the script to defuse the situation before the senator’s opponents and the press went into action. Another example was to prepare the campaign for a gay Democratic state attorney general before the Republicans came out with their standard ‘wedding-cake-with-two-grooms’ attack posters. Both deflections were successful.
Down ballot elections will become more significant with these elections in the long term. Even if Barack Obama does not win the presidency he will have effected a sea change in Democratic party voting from the bottom up. This is how Republicans dominated Congress and Senate even during Democratic presidencies. And the bottom-up shift starts even before state legislatures at school boards, church boards and community trusts level.
Well into his 70s and rehabilitating from a heart attack and the recent loss of his wife, Murray still has enthusiasm and hope for an Obama administration.
anita
* Kent State University, Ohio.
** Yes, his students all came back.
ps Boston has become yet another favorite city. Anyone who is coming to visit here for the first time, I will write them out a list of my favorite places..... Isabella Stewart Gardiner, JFK, Harvard Yard, Boston Public Library......
………………………………………………………………………………….
#4; Tuesday, 26 August, 2008 2:59 AM
Olympics, Chicago, Biden
Hi Family and Friends,
Nancy says the Silver medalists are the most miserable looking Olympians.
Back in New York after Harvard, I managed to watch the remainder of the second week of the Olympics and it was great. But US coverage I only caught NZ athletes intermittently online -- I see we did okay.
I hope you all enjoyed the Olympics, so stay in front of the TV and tune into the Democratic Convention starting day after the Beijing closing ceremony.
I arrived in Chicago yesterday and fly down to Denver tomorrow.
I am staying at Rob Sherlock's amazing apartment on the 36th floor of a 72 floor building, in a city with the tallest buildings in the world..
This is Obama country.
Has Obama chosen the most un-inspirational, safest, neutral, low risk choice for running mate?
I am going to make it to 3 out of 4 toss up states.....
anita
………………………………………………………………………………………..
#5; Wednesday, 20 August, 2008, 4:06 AM
Denver 2008 Convention Volunteer Headquarters volunteer@denverconvention2008.com
Hi family and friends,
I am typing on a mini keyboard so excuse typing.
The DNC sent me this training video for volunteers-- it's almost evangelical.
I will be stationed at vounteer HQ which is operating 7am-9pm for the four days of the convention---- opposite the convention center at Pepsi stadium.
There will be an influx of 60,000+ people here for the convention....
those who are interested---Take a fast-forward look through the video...
Anita
Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee
Make Up Volunteer Orientation
Dear Volunteer,
Thank you for your continued enthusiasm for volunteering with the Denver 2008 Democratic National Convention and for your patience as we work to assign an unprecedented number of volunteers. You are receiving this email because our records show that you were unable to attend our July 26th Orientation. To provide you with the necessary training, in an as accesible way as possibe, we have created an online video of the orientation that was held on the 26th. This video is roughly 1 hour and 10 minutes long, so please plan accordingly. If you are unable to set aside the uninterrupted time to watch the video in full, you will have the ability to revisit portions that you miss.
Please be sure to watch all of the video. At the end of the video, you will receive special instructions to ensure that you obtain credit for going through our online orientation.
Please Click here to go to the online orientation video.
We look forward to seeing you soon!
Sincerely,
The Volunteer Management Team
Special Note: If the link above does not take you to the online orientation please copy and paste the following address into your search bar.
http://www.denverconvention2008.com/?page=volunteer-video
This email was sent to anita.williams@xtra.co.nz by volunteer@denverconvention2008.com.
Update Profile/Email Address
Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™
Privacy Policy.
Email Marketing by
Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee Volunteer Headquarters
1200 17th Street
Suite 600
Denver
CO
80202
..................................................................................................................
#5; Friday, 29 August, 2008 4:46 AM
DNC Denver--- Obama-mania
no links
hi family and friends,
Clintons Make their Peace; Whew!!!!
There was a collective sigh of relief here in Denver as Bill Clinton finished his speech at Pepsi Stadium fully supporting Barack Obama. Bill couldn’t have come over more genuine… as the follow-up to Hillary’s gracious endorsement on Tuesday night. She and Chelsea were great.
This must have taken some effort considering the animosity within the Democrats still evident on the streets of Denver with the Hillary t-shirt supporters out in full force holding Vote Hillary placards …. Hillary voters fall into 4 categories.
1. those who switch their vote to McCain
2. those who abstain from voting
3. those who still vow to vote for Hillary despite her name not being on the ballot…. Really.
4. those who begrudgingly switch to Obama
Only the Clintons could convince more and more to move to category 4.
Personally, I still think Obama should have made her running mate… despite all the atrocious/sour grapes-type Billary cartoons over the last few months.
I landed in Denver 6 hours late on Sunday 24 Aug. after missing the plane in Chicago. Long story but this was not smart considering over 60,000 people were trying to get into Denver over the weekend. But Wow, this week Denver must be the most exciting city in the world. The place is buzzing.
So you will forgive me if I namedrop my way through this entire email, starting with…. bumped into Mitt Romney at Sam’s diner this morning where MSNBC were filming their breakfast show.We just missed Rudy Guiliani —but I will catch these Republicans again in Minneapolis next week where they will feel more comfortable.
John Healey’s brother’s wonderful mother-in-law has so kindly put me up in the most beautiful apartment in the world, in the city where Oprah is paying $50,000 for this week’s accommodation. I walked past the swish restaurant closed off for Oprah’s private function. Nor was I invited to parties put on by Clooney, Affleck, Sting, Springsteen, Damon, Willie Nelson, Sean Penn etc etc Even if Hilton and Spears may not be here, there are plenty of look alikes.
BUT Tuesday night I was invited to Congressman and Elizabeth Kucinich’s party at a gritty pool hall-bar in the low rent part of town. It was fun being amongst a voting demographic mainstream America would consider lunatic fringe, but in NZ would have their own political party—pacifist, socialist, fringe-hippy.... they all look like Mike Ward, and would live in Nelson.
“I Have A Team!”
Obama flew into Denver tonight making his surprise appearance at Pepsi Stadium after Biden’s mediocre acceptance speech. I still have not got my ticket for the 75,000 seat Invesco Stadium for his historic acceptance speech. There is still 24 hours and I am working on it as I head down to Volunteer HQ. Everybody Wants Tickets! And they have closed off a mile radius of the stadium---- mine- sweeping today. Word on the streets is the huge black market for the tickets despite the non-transferability…. Best story on Ebay, “Invesco tickets $1000 each; Proceeds to McCain”.
Obama has taken my advice and started talking down expectations of his speech saying it would not be as special as the speech he made last year when launching his primaries’ campaign.
However, there are giant screens everywhere downtown —so it will still be a great party on the streets of Denver.
The best way I can describe the atmosphere here is somewhere between ‘party central’ and ‘the last days of the Roman Empire’. This is Las Vegas for Political Junkies.
Most the activity is centred in Downtown Denver along the 2-3 km stretch of 16 Street Mall- thousands of people walking up and down this I M Pei designed pedestrian mall entertained by street vendors, fancy dress party, music music noise noise noise smiles happy happy happy… spotting congressmen, senators, celebrities, media stars and everybody who is anybody.
AND a heavy visible presence of security… every policeman in the Colorado is in Denver.
Downtown Denver was completely re-architectured by I M Pei in the 1990s so it is the perfect convention city. Everything is within 15-20 mins walking distance with continuous free shuttles up and down the pedestrian mall.
The Pepsi stadium is a heavily secure area with streets closed off within the half km security radius, but the Convention Center area down the road is like a bazaar.
5. The commercial is the political.
Conventions are about the 4 M’s
• Money
• Message
• Mechanics
May I also add Merchandising….. there are hundreds of vendors of Obama paraphernalia from t-shirts, buttons, flags, umbrellas, posters, tacky dolls, mugs, bling and everything you can think of from sublime to….. whatever.
6. Protestors and riot police
Every possible extreme political faction from left to right, mainstream to lunatic fringe is represented here- many staying at Tent city at the big park at the end of the Mall.
The usual….
Fulun gong – a smaller variation on Free Tibet.
Drop Pants, Not Bombs--- is the 2000s remake of 1968 theme.
Prolife protesters--- and its dozens of subsidiaries from church groups, one sponsored by durex, to a group of well dressed whites carrying placards – ‘Abortion is Black Genocide’ – think about it, takes a bit of processing.
Hari Krishna— colourful and musical – haven’t seen them for a while.
Winner—Homo Sex is Sin versus this most delightful trans-gender-atheist.
Bravest--- McCain supporters in a city full of Obama-maniacs
Most dramatic--- anti-Iraq war group dressed in Guantanamo Bay – orange overalls and black hoods---
Plus the Human rights/anti torture protesters; T-shirts with the iconic Abu Ghraib photos – Incidentally, torture poster girl Corporal Lindy England (remember her?) was recently released from prison this year complaining she could not get a job in Walmart- job discrimination. But she may get book and film rights, speaking circuit (like Monica Lewinsky) which will keep her in luxury for the rest of her life.
Most obscure— www.stopbirdporn.org --- did not have the time to work this one out.
7. Volunteering and looking ridiculous is relative.
Friendly friendly friendly happy happy happy smile smile smile
Monday morning, on registering at the crowded Vounteer HQ everybody stood up and gave me the biggest cheer for being the volunteer from the furthest place from Denver…what a lovely welcome to the DNC. And everyone loves this NZ accent- especially coming from someone who looks like me.
I was registered with the lowest security volunteer identified by color t-shirts . From Red at Pepsi, Blue at the convention center, Orange at the symposiums, Yellow manning the kiosks and I was White t-shirt out on the streets giving out leaflets, maps, tourist info and Being Photo Ops……?
So you think I look ridiculous in this hat? But it beats being dressed up as a green polar bear or Democrat donkey on a Segway in 35 degree heat.
So many photos were taken of me in this hat- I will forever be part of people's picasa web albums as memories of DNC Denver 2008.
AND everyone loves this NZ accent- photos turned into videos and they really just wanted me to keep talking. Thank goodness I can talk Democrat…
8. Conventioneers, delegates, caucuses and political strategists.
The area around the Convention Center is also like a bazaar. All the dozens of caucuses and lobby groups meet in this massive venue. On Tuesday I attended the DNC Asian Americans for Obama and was surprised when the key speaker was Obama’s half-Indonesian, half-sister who is married to a Malaysian Chinese husband. Maya Soetoro-Ng was delightful and spoke for 15 mins.
Once inside the Convention Center I wandered around to see if I could gate-crash one of the other caucuses. If I looked like I fit, I could have just walked in….
For example;
Green caucus--- but did not have my green T-shirt
Black caucus--- not quite
Womens caucus --- easy…..
AARP—Seniors…. Not quite…
Disability caucuses—splits up into deaf, blind, wheelchair, intellectually disabled---probably if I tried.
And the entire mass lobby groups- teachers, labor, nurses, paramedics……
9. Symposiums, 15,000 Media and Bloggers workshops
The speakers symposiums were held at the Performing Arts complex – names like Madeleine Albright, Walter Mondale, Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi, Carl Bernstein, Gary Hart, Ralph Nader and….. Ben Affleck. Representatives from academia, government, UN, politico and all the major political media incl BBC.
So yesterday I went to a 2.5 hour session where Albright (Clinton’s Sec of State) chaired a panel on
‘enhancing the US leadership role around the world’…. Which questioned why the US has lost some legitimacy as leader of the free world….. really?? And how whichever incoming president will address this most difficult situation.
This was the most appropriate symposium for me considering I have some expertise in this topic from both the NYU and Harvard courses.
The discussion fell into 4 categories of faltering US world leadership
• Diplomacy, War and the military; will US retreat to isolationism as it had in the past?
• Energy, oil, climate change and the environment as a national security imperative…. Need I say more?
• The world economy, globalization,…..first world debt, …..and the emerging economic giant- China. Corporate social responsibility … Nations rise and fall has always been dependent on their economy.
• Human rights advocacy and hypocrisy …. With such a great record in Guantanamo, the US needs to make an unequivocal position on torture.
Historically, the incoming president will come into the worst First Day position in international affairs as far as American reputation and worldwide respect. And its also the economy stupid stupid stupid….
Where is that haiku?
How on earth does the US president expect to lead the world from the bottom of this great big hole? …………………………………………..
I am back on the streets as a volunteer today. Over the last 3 days I feel the atmosphere on the streets intensify…..
Party Fun still has its limits. Sensory overload mixed with the effects of mile high altitude, lack of sleep, alcohol and very very high political stakes.
From what started as good-natured bantering, opposing protest groups are becoming more aggressive; yesterday it took 30 riot police to protect the 8 members of the Homo Sex is Sin group from being mauled to death.
Vendors will get increasingly desperate at the thought of being stuck with hundreds of Obama t-shirts after 60,000 supporters depart, considering the t-shirts may not have a life past November 4.
Like me, lots of people are surviving of 4-6 hours sleep at night.
Denver hopes people will stay over the Food and Wine festival Labor weekend.
Then schools start on Tuesday next week.
But there is a mass exodus at Denver airport Friday night- I have 24 hours to get up to Minneapolis with sleepover in Chicago offloading all my Obama paraphernalia before I get on the bus. I do not want to get my t-shirts mixed up.
This is an incredibly rushed email but I wanted to write to you in NZ before I left Denver and re-adjusted my mindset to GOP.
I have limited internet and batteries as I sit here in the park…. So there are no links in this email.
I will have time to put together photos in a slide show later.
Also, I realise so many of you are reading this email on your blackberries!
.....................................................................................................................
#6; Friday, 29 August, 2008 5:18 AM
riot police
....really need to add that denver is swarming in riot police this week.
every policeman and and every horse in colorado is in Denver ths week
must be the most docile riot police you will ever meet-- remember smiles smiles friendly friendly....
they travel in packs on foot, on cycles,on motorbikes, on horses and big hummer assault vehicles.. denver and minneapolis have both been alloted $50 mill for security and the visual presence is felt.
by mid week they were posing for photo ops like the rest of us...but it must be hot in all that riot gear.
which brings me to the most dangerous thing in denver this week.
the horses walk on footpaths in the mall and everywhere..... they DROP everywhere at any time and it is not cleaned up.
i hear periodic swearing as yet another pedestrian walks into horse dropping and they are angle deep in green horse..... everywhere!!!
the streets are cleaned up at nights.
Pps. I managed to get A and A minus for my 2 Harvard courses.
...................................................................................................................................
#7; 1 Sept 2008
Republican National Convention and hurricane Gustav
Arrival in GOP city- the convention starts, or doesn't start, tomorrow.
Hi Friends and Family,
So of all the hotels in Minneapolis, I booked myself into the same hotel as the Republican Delegation from Alabama.
Wonderful! What a great opportunity to dissipate my outdated prejudices of men in white pointy hoods burning crosses on lawns. It goes back to my mother’s movie star crush on Sidney Poitier when I was young; “In the Heat of The Night” is my first and lasting impression of Alabama.
I must talk to an Alabaman; but overhearing them speak I decided I didn’t want to waste my life waiting till they got to the end of a sentence. I hesitate to mention Forest Gump as that would imply mental slowness.
An estimated 45,000 Republicans (10-12,000 anti-Bush protesters and thousands of media) flood into Minn-St Paul this weekend minus Bush and Cheney who will be tending to hurricane Gustav in Louisiana. There will be a ‘tonal change’ here at the RNC. The convention starts tomorrow, and the GOP are wondering how to throw a party during a national disaster. what are they going to do with all those blown up red balloons?
They way I see it, Gustav could save McCain’s bacon if he turns this negative event to his advantage, and by using very clever strategy….
McCain can’t out-Obama Obama not even with the photogenic Sarah Palin; this may be McCain’s chance to do a Guiliani-9/11 whereby the then most hated mayor in America transformed himself into hero-of-the-world in his leadership of post- apocalypse New York.
Unfortunately for me.....
Whereas at the DNC I was immersed in the grassroots of the party, my official schedule as legal secretary to a Californian Republican lawyer is far more upscale.
• Monday- Republican lawyers workshop and cocktail reception- I have brought my good clothes, it should be swish….
• Tueday- official talk and brunch with Ted Olson on the future of the US Supreme Court,
• then the rest of the day ON THE FLOOR OF THE RNC at Xcel stadium in St Paul. I told Stephen Levine I would get onto the convention floor…. okay, this is slightly the wrong party … but still pretty clever of me to get access to (infiltrate may be a better word) the convention floor.
• Wednesday – the Irish Reception and at 10pm, the filming of the Daily Show with Jon Stewart!
• Thursday – party with Californian delegation – Damn! Just heard Arnie Governator will not be coming to the RNC because he's organising sending help for Gustav.
And I am all dressed up for a party which may be cancelled! abbreviated is the word they are using.
But there are certain expectations I go into this convention with which may or may not be confirmed…….
1. I expect the RNC to be whiter, older, more male and in the case of Alabama delegates, fatter.
2. I expect the anti-Bush protests to be more violent – on TV I see they are already arresting protesters on ‘probable cause to riot’ and the convention hasn’t even started yet.
3. As all the extremes of the Democratic Party were represented in Denver, I expect to see more church, more guns, more wealth, more oil and more pro-life and anti tax. Today, the most interesting face-off I saw was between Christian Scientologists and Minneapolis Anonymous (look like a drama group)– winner of the best dressed protesters.
4. I have already assessed the merchandising is more up-market and certainly more expensive. Looking for a cheap McCain T-shirt.
As I watch on TV Sarah Palin arrive at St Paul airport, the next few days will be totally unknown. The RNC are playing it day by day. Some of my official engagements may be cancelled but this is still an historic event.
If the RNC closes down tomorrow, this will be my last email.
anita
……………………………………………………………………………..
#8; Monday, 8 September, 2008 5:47 PM
Total Immersion in Elephants; 1-4 Sept.
RNC; Minneapolis-St Paul
hi Friends and Family,
I had arrived in St Paul with trepidation. After Denver, Angelia said she always thought the National Conventions were knee deep in horse-shit. Donkeys I can handle- there are elephants down here.
Attending the RNC has been the most unusual experience of my trip and thanks to Fazlerab Gohlam Dastragriquadri (Faz for short), the Republican Lawyer who was kind enough to organize my access into the depths of the RNC, knowing I was not a GOP sympathiser.
Faz is one of 3 Californian reps for the Republican National Lawyers Assn.
A somewhat unusual person in appearance and personality, he is incredibly disorganised, shambolic and inefficient, and, if not for my ‘assistant’ help, may have missed exams, deadlines, planes and schedules. Despite this, he still managed to get an A in the Harvard course which I got A minus.
Anti-Iraq protest;
1 Sept; Monday we took a public bus to check out the Xcel Arena in St Paul as the security zone would be up to 1 km radius around the RNC venue.
The bus was full of Anti-Bush protesters flooding into the State Capitol area. After they all disembarked, down the next street our bus was blockaded by a large placard carrying vehicle; as thousands of protesters moved up the street swarming around the bus, the driver refused to open the doors to let us or any of the remaining 10 passengers off, saying we were safer inside the bus.
This was quite scary as the riot police at the end of the street pulled down their helmets and drew their long batons. Police with Alsatians on leases increased the volatility factor. We never got off the bus taking the round trip back to Minneapolis at this stage 1pm. Later I saw on the news the protesters did in fact erupt at 1pm.
The hostility against the incumbent government being so intense, to wear my McCain T-shirt (and covering myself in GOP regalia as I had done Obama in Denver) in public would have been suicidal. Whereas the Denver protesters had numbered 10 to 100 per cause, this anti-RNC protest was estimated at 8,000 to 10,000 people. The ‘create chaos’ protesters were aiming to disrupt the RNC in any way possible, including targeting and even kidnapping delegates, infiltrating the convention, sabotaging food and pouring something into the air vents.
The atmosphere in St Paul was very different from the party-party of the perfectly choreographed Denver DNC. GOP strategists have been thinking on their feet on how to manage the Gustav uncertainty for the RNC. Even though they were on track by Tuesday night, estimated $millions was lost by Minn-St Paul businesses and sponsors. To counter this, the non-appearance of Bush-Cheney was probably a blessing.
The pregnant ‘Juno’ Palin story would never be a big media issue in NZ. WE would think it is almost criminal to force a 17 year old girl to marry just because she is pregnant. But elephants don’t seem to see it that way.
Republican Lawyers’ reception at City Hall.
Nice food and wine.
Still name-dropping, I did not meet Arnie Governator, McCain or Bush but I did meet their senior legal advisors. I did not meet Senator John Kerry, but I ate at the same table as the candidate who is running against Kerry in Massachusetts. They all gave me their business cards.
The reception was a pep rally/ firing-up session where they spoke against liberal US Supreme Court appointments and getting more lawyers to fight democratic lawyers ‘stealing elections’. They talked about Obama and the Bradley Effect,
and what Bush referred to as the ‘angry left’, were people who would rather go out and protest, than vote… a big problem for democrats.
Media commentators have criticized RNC for lack of colour; At the lawyers reception, there were 150 people of which 20% were women. There were 5 African Americans (2 were security), 3 Chinese (including me), 2 Indian (including Faz)) and maybe 6 Hispanics (4 were serving the food).
2 Sept-Tuesday RNC Xcel Arena; The ethnic mix of the lawyers’ reception was also reflected at the Xcel Convention (20,000 conventioneers) and disguised in my Vote McCain costume I thought I would blend with the crowd. But non-white people were conspicuous by their absence and I really felt it--- here I am being photographed again. Two women wanted to put me on their blog because I was ‘so cute’--- nice to be such a novelty. A media person asked me for a comment on GOP and minorities and I told them I was an overseas observer. It would not be fair for me to skew US media perceptions with my personal commentaries although in hindsight, I could have gone to town.
It was reported the RNC was 93% white and 67% male (compared to the DNC; 65% white and 55% male) and I was personally very aware of this. In fact, the 7% non-whites probably included security and the people serving the food.
Fred Thompson and democratic turncoat Senator Joe Lieberman spoke – just a taste of the venomous attack campaign against Obama yet to come.
We travelled to and from the convention in chartered GOP buses with the Georgia Delegation to avoid protesters. Maybe I was paranoid but the big sign on the side of the bus ‘GOP BUS to the RNC’ did make me nervous considering talk of kidnapping conventioneers. Why advertise it?
It was interesting listening to the Georgia conventioneers but I can’t understand how grown southern men call themselves as ‘Bubba’. They actually have it on their name badge. I was in the lift with Congressman Bubba McDonald. Bubba is also a voting demographic. Bubba does not vote for Obama.
3 Sept- Wednesday 6pm. I tagged along to the Irish-American Republicans reception at Minneapolis City Hall with Irish music, food and beer. It started an interesting event but an hour into the reception, we were given much sought after tickets to the convention floor for the Sarah Palin speech. We made a mad dash to the big night at Xcel Arena and I found myself seated amongst New York delegates who all looked, dressed and talked like the Sopranos. At first I thought ‘caricature’- but they were for real.
8pm; Just in time for key speakers Romney, Huckabee, Guiliani .. leading up to Sarah Palin’s running mate acceptance speech- which turned out to be the peak of the RNC ( I would even say overshadowing McCain’s speech on Thursday). There is no doubt Palin was a coup to solidify the GOP base. She electrified them. This is really scary stuff. Palin will kill Biden in the VP debate next week.
If I was a true advocate of anti-abortion, pro-guns, pro-war, pro-oil drilling, conservative family values, no social welfare, white supremacy and I went to church, this night could have been the highlight of my life.
But three days of total immersion in elephants culminating in the Palin speech and I was starting to feel nauseous.
Romney advocated a return to Reaganomics…. I thought I was time-warped back 30 years.
Huckabee reinforced the heroism of veterans that linked fighting and winning wars with freedom of Americans. Wasn’t that the Vietnam argument?
Guiliani’s speech rallied the ‘drill baby drill’ chant which went on for 5 minutes and by that time I was ready to throw up.
Palin also framed the Iraq war debate in terms of ‘victory’ and ‘winning the war’. Don’t they know they lost the day they started the war. Rallying victory cries in the name of patriotism just gives them the excuse they need to keep fighting wars until they ‘win’.
Early exit out of RNC city.
I really thought I could get away with infiltrating the RNC but the joke was on me.
I should not have been there. Not only did I feel like an impostor, but being surrounded by 25,000 elephants going wild with enthusiasm was just too scary. I will never do this again.
I re-booked an earlier bus back to the beautiful city of Chicago where I have been power sightseeing the last three days with Anne Marie Healey from Boston.
I leave for the battleground state of Ohio tomorrow on the last leg of my trip.
Be back in NZ 20 September.
anita
………………………………………………………………………………………..
#9; 15 Sept 2008
Decompressing in Cleveland Ohio
Hi Family and Friends,
I fly home out of San Francisco airport at 9.30pm on the 90th day of my 90 day US visa. If the plane is delayed, at midnight I officially turn into an illegal Martian.
Today is the 86th day.
For a political junkie like me, attending the 2 conventions was the ultimate psychedelic trip. I am still processing thoughts and emotions from both extremely different events. And extreme is the word.
In Denver, I remember smiling, laughing, genuine friendliness and being happy all the time- one great big party. In Minneapolis, I felt out of my comfort zone, scared of being found out, apprehensive about hostility and physical violence, patronized for being so minority ethnic, and felt a bit unethical for being there. Most of all, when the speeches came out, I never thought I would feel such fear for the world when surrounded by 20,000 people cheering for such extreme values I found nauseous - on economy, war and freedom, and environment.
After 9 days of hindsight, the RNC was the more critical experience.
Then I hit Chicago… If anyone (who knows Chicago) wants to see what Anne Marie and I covered in 3 days of turbo sightseeing- I will send you the itinerary and challenge anyone to better the mileage. This was our version of the Chicago marathon.. What a beaut city!
So I arrived in Cleveland for debriefing and decompressing with Dr Murray Fishel. He tells me great stories like working for State Senator Tom Hayden (Calif.) in the ‘60s and given charge of escorting Jane Fonda to political functions at the height of her activism days. What contemporaries…
I spent 2-3 days walking and cycling around the nature metro reserves of Cleveland. Seen a lot of trees, the eagles’ rookery, squirrels, beavers, goundhogs, and trees and nature.....I can’t believe how many hours I have been sleeping.
On Thursday (incidentally 9/11), Murray took me to Kent State University where he gave me his personal account of the days leading up to this tragic historical event (May 1 Nixon started bombing Cambodia). On May 4, 1970 there was a carnival–type atmosphere to the protest on campus…..then noise and shouting, he was having lunch at the faculty building then shooting and screaming, he ran out of the building to see chaos. He still gets choked up when he points out the places the kids were shot dead and talks angrily how America is still sending its kids to get killed in wars… they have learnt nothing.
Murray says in his lifetime of presidential elections, and he has campaigned for Democratic candidates since Eisenhower won in 1956, there have never been presidential elections as crucial as these elections. For America, for the World.
McCain currently running 4 points ahead of Obama is probably the Palin effect.
Hillary really should have been on the Democratic ticket and this may be Obama’s fatal mistake (because he thought it would be too crowded in the White House with Bill there too).
As the grand finale to my trip, I will be catching Hillary at the Lorain County Community Centre tomorrow at a (hopefully small) rally.
This trip has been my political intrepid journey; but it is getting scary over here and I can’t wait to get home.
Signing off in America….
anita
……………………………………………………………………………..
This Tibet story was judged best post grad writing entry for Harvard summer school
and published in the Harvard Summer Review 2008.
#11; Appendix 1
Dhon’s Story; a Tibetan in Harvard Square 1700 words
In 1980, an 8-year-old Tibetan boy was taken away from his family in North India, and transplanted into an alien culture half a world away. His refugee parents would only see him once every three to four years but this was their one hope for a future they could never have given him. He had been selected by a foundation from hundreds, maybe thousands, of children to be educated at a special boarding school in South England.
Today, that boy, now 36 years, leads the lively and colorful gathering of about 40 Tibetans in Harvard Square every Wednesday evening. Dhondup (Dhon) Phunkhang has never stepped foot on Tibetan soil, and yet he possesses an ingrained devotion for the home country from which his father escaped in 1959, after 10 years of Chinese Communist persecution. Although not typical, Dhon represents a whole new generation of young Tibetans growing up in the west who have never seen Tibet, and yet they are consumed by the vision of its freedom. With Tibetan flags, placards, banners, singing, Buddhist prayer and rhythmic chanting, it is a congenial, non-confrontational gathering of Buddhist monks, men, women and children with serious purpose. As a member of the Tibetan Association of Boston, Dhon describes it as a vigil, rather than a demonstration or protest.
“What –do-we-want?” Dhon chants to the crowd.
“Free Tibet!” the crowd chants back.
“Human rights?”
“In Tibet!”
“We give up a few hours a week in a reasonably supportive environment,” Dhon says, “in contrast to thousands of Tibetans who risk persecution, imprisonment and even death demonstrating in Tibet.”
The ‘reasonably supportive environment’ regularly involves Dhon firmly standing his ground against antagonistic Chinese (PRC) international students at Harvard. His composure is critical leadership to defusing unpleasant altercations. Sensitively, there are placards insisting “We are not against Chinese people. Just Chinese Communist Party repression of Tibetans”.
Dhon, and other leaders of the Tibetan community (of about 500), mobilized the vigil on March 15 this year in response to China’s brutal crackdown of freedom protesters in Tibet. Up to 150 people gathered in Harvard Square every night while images of the Free Tibet protests were beamed around the world during the Olympic Torch Tour. In a world wide effort which has attracted the support of world leaders as well as devoted celebrities like Richard Gere, it is the children of Tibetan exiles who are the foot soldiers of this long-time struggle. As spokesman, Dhon is articulate and impressionable; his personality is open and generous. Whereas some in the group were not comfortable talking to journalists, he is confident and forthcoming in promoting the Free Tibet cause.
“China cannot suppress the truth!’ he chants.
“Shame, shame, shame!” the crowd chants back.
“Allow the press back into Tibet!”
“Shame, shame, shame!”
And yet, the tyranny continues.
Over the last four months, as media attention cooled off, the Boston Tibetans continued to congregate weekly in Harvard Square keeping local awareness and visibility high. There seems little chance of an Olympic boycott now but they do not exhibit any bitterness; just optimism and purpose. From August 7, throughout the two weeks of the Beijing Olympics, the vigil congregates every evening in Harvard Square. Over 150 supporters turned out on the first night.
In his distinct Londoners’ accent, Dhon speaks with gracious admiration of the Dalai Lama and the importance of spiritual leadership to Tibetans oppressed in China, as well as Tibetan exiles.
“The Dalai Lama preaches and practices unity, compassion, peace and non-violence,” Dhon says. “He travels the world tirelessly in highly publicized meetings with world leaders.”
And still, China has not ceded.
“Long Live……”
“The Dalai Lama!”
“Long Live…….”
“The Dalai Lama!”
Dhon tells of the traumatic background to his father’s escape for his life, leaving his wife and family behind in Tibet. Years later in Dharamsala, (the home of the Tibetan government in exile in North India) his father remarried and Dhon was born third of four children in 1972. There is a half-sister in Tibet Dhon has never met. As a young child, his family could not afford his education at better schools, so he was sent to a Protestant missionary school until the Pestalozzi foundation intervention into his life. The divergence between a Christian education and a Buddhist home life would have create a faith conflict in adults, but Dhon says he managed it as a child in the same way he merged his three languages; Tibetan, English and Hindi. He saw no incongruence, it came naturally.
Young Dhon’s selection by the Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust was not entirely random. At age eight, he does remember exams; and there is scant reference to meritocracy in the website information other than to say they choose ‘talented’ and ‘bright but needy’ children who would otherwise ‘spend their lives working in foul conditions for survival’. There was an expectation these children “....go on to make a contribution to their communities as they grow up.” Great expectations.
The Pestalozzi method integrates a cultural environment where the children maintain their own language, ethnicity and religious faith. Dhon was cared for by two Tibetan housemothers and this was his concept of ‘family’ for the next 10 years. In a distinct Londoners’ accent, he describes ‘Tibetan House’, ‘Zambia House’, ‘India House’ and others, as being as close as the school could transplant ‘home’ in 1980s England. He and seven other Tibetan children of his age, along with other year groups, also kept in close contact with the Tibetan community in London. There was no cultural dislocation. Dhon is a product of this extraordinary philanthropic experiment.
The foundation’s objective was for their students to eventually return home with skills and education to help develop their communities. However he says, “Home communities change while the student is overseas and the time lapsed in years spent away caused a social distancing.” On his few trips back to Dharamsala during his youth, Dhon felt somewhat set apart because of his unusual life circumstances; whether this was a manifestation of his own feelings or the attitude of those left at home, it is not clear.
After school and college, under the British education system Dhon went to Plymouth University and graduated with a civil engineering. Before finding work in London as an engineer, he devoted a year to Pestalozzi as a voluntary social worker and counsellor for the school.
“As a young person in the school, I would have appreciated someone to talk to in this capacity,” Dhon says. It is during this time he acquired an interest in working with human development and connecting displaced youth with their culture. “Young Tibetans need a sense of purpose for self esteem. Inter-generational discomfort and the passive nature of Tibetan culture are not conducive to activism by the young,” he says. “Humility and spirituality is very much Tibetan culture intertwined with Buddhism and I struggle with this. Living in the west, especially in America, humbleness is seen as weakness.” He had trained as an engineer, but there already seemed a calling to his community leadership and activism.
“Stop the persecution!”
“In Tibet!”
“Stop the genocide!”
“In Tibet!”
In fortuitous family circumstances, Dhon’s mother was sponsored into the U.S. in 1990 under a special Tibetan refugee plan, eventually bringing over the rest of the family. In 2002, Dhon hesitantly left his adopted home in the UK to join his family in Boston. As in London, it was natural for him to assume a leadership role in the Tibetan community mostly resident in Cambridge. He talks enthusiastically about his teaching role and working closely with children of Tibetan exiles to maintain their culture in camps and workshops.
“For young Tibetans growing up in the west, it is so easy to lose our minority language, religion and culture; and this is far more critical when our culture has been radically displaced. But then, there is stronger motivation to preserve our identity and our spirit which is unique to the world. It is the Free Tibet cause which binds us more tightly,” he says, referring to the usually high assimilation factor of first generation children of immigrant minorities into western culture.
Dhon also articulates the dilemma between idealists and pragmatists in the Free Tibet movement. Tibetan idealists want total self-determination and autonomy. The pragmatists are willing to compromise to get what they can now; to bend rather than snap.
“Ironically, the Chinese government intensify Tibetan nationalism because persecution only mobilizes stronger rebellion to unify against China. If the communists allowed some degree of autonomy, they could more easily infiltrate,” he says, alluding to the more insidious issue of Chinese assimilation by stealth.
“One World, One Dream?”
“Free Tibet, Free Tibet?”
“Olympics in China?”
“Torture in Tibet!”
Recently, Dhon made an unfortunate discovery. With a distinct name like Dhondup Phungkang, his name googles up over 30 websites including newspaper articles quoting him, Youtube videos on the Harvard Square protests and his community organization of Tibetan culture training camps.
“I should have changed my name because it would now be impossible for me to get a China visa to visit Tibet. To visit Tibet been my dream, but it would not have stopped me organising these protests,” he says.
“People always ask me “What’s the point? You are not going to change anything, you are wasting your time,” and our biggest challenge is against this hopelessness and defeatist attitude. I am a great believer in the words of Gandhi… “be the change you want to see in the world” and it is my mission to empower young Tibetans with this aspiration. As an individual I have limited influence, but I have the ability to spread this chain reaction.”
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi was a 17th century Swiss educational philosopher. After the French invasion of Switzerland in 1798, Pestalozzi gathered orphaned children, sought refuge in a deserted convent in the Swiss Alps, and educated them in his philosophical method for the duration of the Napoleonic wars. In the name of this heroic man, the Pestalozzi Overseas Children’s Trust (POCT) has been running institutes in Switzerland and England taking children from six of the poorest countries in the world to educate them in these special school environments. The Dalai Lama is the charitable trust’s current patron. For the son of a Tibetan exile, Pestalozzi’s benevolent legacy changed his life’s trajectory. Has Dhon fulfilled Pestolozzi’s vision?
“I never thought of it as an obligation,” Dhon says. Dhon’s irresistible passion and personal mission for Tibet is unconditional.
