"And your silence is all to no avail; today the blinding sun of torture is at its zenith; it lights up the whole country. Under that merciless glare, there is not a laugh that does not ring false, not a face that is not painted to hide fear or anger, not a single action that does not betray our disgust, and our complicity."

-Sartre, Preface to Franz Fanon's The Wretched Of The Earth.

Urgent: UOC Sit-In at the Admissions Building!!! (Who Needs Woodbridge Anyway?)

14 undergraduates have entered Yale's Admissions building just after 10 AM this morning. They are now sitting in indefinitely to demand that the university commit to significant reductions of both the Student Contribution and the Family Contribution components of its financial aid structure.

You can support them by calling (203 432 2550) or emailing (richard.levin@yale.edu) Yale's President, Richard C. Levin, and tell him to listen to the voices of over a thousand students who've backed the UOC's platform and make Yale a leader on this issue, on which it now lags significantly behind Princeton and Harvard.

Phoebe and others are liveblogging the sit-in. I will hopefully have updates here as well. Please take action now.

Financial Aid Statistics Comparing Yale, Harvard, and Princeton:
Percentage of undergrads receiving financial aid:Yale - 40%Harvard - 48%Princeton - 52% (in the class of 2008)
Average grant package (per year):Yale - $22,000Princeton - $26,100 (for the class of 2008)Harvard - $28,000
Average debt at graduation:Yale - $16,000Harvard - $8,830
Self-help contribution (for one academic year):Yale - $4,200Harvard - $3,500Princeton - approx. $2,500
Change in numbers of applicants for the class of 2009:Yale - (-)1.2%Harvard - (+)15%Princeton - (+)17%

And the anti-worker agena you rode in on...

NYC says no to Wal-Mart

The decision by the developer, Vornado Realty Trust, is a blow to Wal-Mart,
the world's largest retailer, and comes after company officials said that New
York City was an important new frontier in which Wal-Mart was eager to
expand.

nice cartoon.

it's about time

Six Feet Under season three is finally making it to DVD. It's the only season i haven't seen any of. If it's anywhere near as good as season two, i'll be happy.

one pill makes you stronger, one pill hopefully kills the evil bacteria in your stomach

Two weeks and 112 pills later, the antibiotic course is finally over. Hopefully it worked and i won't have to do this again, both because i hate the GI Doctor's office and the way the receptionist looks at me whenever i go in there, and because these pills fuck up my digestive system and are a pain in the ass to remember to take.

For all the Yale folks, i hope the Levin forum goes/went well...

So, does the fact that a racist reactionary like Samuel Huntington, or an outspoken imperialist like Njiall Ferguson (that British Empire worked real well in Pakistan and Palestine, buddy) supports Larry Summers help him or just throw dirt on the grave of his tenure as president?