Flak Magazine Letters
2000
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12-16-00
To: James Norton
Re: Three Questions for the Greens
Very good article... do you really think the Greens are an angry mob? Maybe misunderstood. I think its just made up of people who aren't so easily wooed and swayed... you know? I agree... 2004 is gonna be fantastic, I really cannot wait. One question, who do you feel could fill the shoes of Nader? He is getting old, can he retain the amount of spunk he's got now for the next 4 years until the next election? Maybe Ventura... who knows?
Sean Moritz
Brooklyn, NY via Milwaukee, WI
12-16-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Jim:
You are dreaming when you set out possible reachable goals for the Naderites. They are a pimple on the ass of democracy and will recede, just like the little fart from Texas who made his billions from the government and then choose to take the role of a crusader fighting the big, bad, federal government. He is quiet now — he got another multi-million dollar contract.
Mata Ghandi
12-16-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Jim,
Thanks for your point of view; I hope Ralph and the others read it; the party needs to start taking the lead in issues which might now, after the 2000 debacle, get some attention;
Al Buono
12-8-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Dear Jim,
I wish to state rapidly that every journalist who writes about Chavez and who has never come to this country to see for themselves what a communist state in premature development is like is not, under any circumstance an experienced journalist. To write about a lunatic and to praise Chavez like you did in your internet article of flakmag.com is ludicrous. Not only did it show that you might not know this country for yourself, but that you spend way too much time watching TV.
I wish to state that this lunatic is using immense state funds to spy on the general population on tapped telephone, he's taking away people's property in silent ways and for those who have houses or apartments with an extra room or two, it is not ridiculous to think that family's of the marginal classes will be moved inside them. So, there you are, a man with a family, you've broken your back working to pay your own home and along comes a family bashing your door down and saying they will now occupy your spare room.
The next day you wake listening to two people copulating in a flea-ridden mattress next to your room and their children crying of hunger. Their mother finishes and gets all the milk from your fridge. You yell at her, she calls the police and they evict you from your home...
Scenes like this can be generated in Venezuela. In Cuba they at least respect your property until you leave or you are exiled. Here, these punk heads don't. For your extra information: Word has it and has proven itself that this maniac is doing treaties with all the guerrilla groups of Latin America. You might waking up one day in about 20 years to discover that this mad man has united all Latin America into one giant socialist state that will expand north across your border and into your own house in the nice comfy States of America.
Yank your CIA snipers and covert spies here as soon as possible and kill this bastard...
For some reason, the United States won the Cold War and global communism went into decline. Don't let another 70 years go by like that again.
By the way... you Americans want to know how to stop socialism in Latin America and how to eliminate ideological support for guerilla groups... invade Cuba and whak Castro. As long as he lives, he'll continue spawning more Chavezes.
Good luck in your next article. People die here in Venezuela everyday.
Signed,
David
12-6-00
To: James Norton
Re:
I can't wait for Hugo's sudden death!! You should do some research before praising a criminal like Chavez. Look into how his troops killed a lot of innocent people while taking over a tv station. Look into how he is intimidating journalists. Look into how he lied to recruits so he could use them to overthrow a democratically elected president. The man has plenty of blood on his hands. Maybe you should write about that, but I'm sure you won't.
Tony Rodriguez
12-6-00
To: Sean Weitner
Re:
Hi Sean,
Though tempted just to use the Complaint Generator for this entire letter I managed to resist. But while playing with the idea it did come up with this line; "Scores of people, just like you, have finally decided that they've had enough of Sean's grievances.", which I thought somewhat funny.
In its defense, this complaint machine has given me a new lease of life... so far I've used it in letters against six companies and am in the process of mailing them. Imagine all of the time and money I can waste at work! I can only try to picture the poor souls face at the Durex company reading through a well versed letter accusing them of racism, double standards and brainwashing the minds of young children...
Maybe there is a god after all?
Ed
11-03-00
To: Stephanie Kuenn
Re:
I agree that some people who are forced out to the fringe from mainstream inclusion, can sometimes become obnoxious, betraying their desperation, as you experienced while attending a Gore rally.
But you also need to look at the context of the situation: Gore, intimately involved with the Commission on Presidential Debates, was more than happy to not have Nader included in the debates (nor even let in w/ tix); Gore, whose $50 million campaign and "liberal" democratic platform have not been strong enough to secure him the election, decided he'd win over Nader supporters by actually saying, himself, "A vote for Nader is a vote for Bush" (while not even bothering to publicly inspect or co-opt any of Nader's political views); Gore who has made numerous promises about numerous issues, especially the environment, has failed to deliver on numerous occasions; mainstream press has, for the most part, been treating Nader's candidacy as nothing more than a hinderance to Gore, while hardly even suggesting what the Green platform consists of, nor what Nader envisions regarding multiple issues; neither the Dems nor Repugs discuss any of the issues that are considered by many to be more important than those they agree to disagree on, in public, thus prompting many to try to get other issues heard; Gore has not responded publicly to many accusations and shortcomings brought up by traditional democrats, as illustrated by your experience of routy Naderites (who, mind you, were probably all inexperienced and young agitators) directly confronting Gore himself — this should have blown a hole in the "integrity" of the campaigning process for you, if nothing else; etc.
Just something to keep in mind as we all try to make sense of the entrenched dirty games of politics. It takes a lot of resources to have your voice heard in our country, and, sometimes, just using your voice can be the most effective.
Good luck in your future endeavors,
Todd Rising
11-02-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Jeez, do you live in this century? What makes you think that a modern western culture is not the typical audience for a soft drink?
Andrew Craven.
10-15-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
hello
i read yer article on ralph nader. i was also at the rally and i came away with a slightly diferent view. i am very pleased to hear that you are intending on voting for him. however, i strangly disagree with the statement you made, "...pretending that their votes really do count." what kinda right wing horseshit is that. if you vote and whoever you vote for, inherently 'makes your vote count.' apparently yer more concerned that you won't be voting for the 'winner.' you should really try to avoid such symantic-type errors. thanks for your time.
michael
09-20-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
Dear Mr. Clay: I read your recent piece on Nader in Flak. All I have to say is this: Boy, did you ever dial the wrong number!
Your arguments (as to why this man would supposedly not make a good president) are absolute and utter fluff. He's "frumpy"? He's "nerdy"? My God, have you ever read the cheap shots that were taken by cheap journalists when they got on the subjects of Lincoln's or Truman's or Teddy Roosevelt's un-Washingtonian manners when they were candidates?
He wouldn't be any good at "cooperating with opponents" (read: serving special interests)? Is that what we want a president to do? Thank God the Presidnt in the early 1860's didn't "cooperate with his opponents" as candidate McClellan apparently wanted him to. Nor did FDR, who called a robber baron a robber baron. Which of the candidates in 2000 does FDR's bluntness remind you of?
It's "pie in the sky" to try to abolish the death penalty or institute universal health care, when almost every other developed country in the world has managed to do both?
Do you really think that Nader's views on race and gender issues are mere "boilerplate"? Compared to whose? Gore's? Bush's?
Time and time again during this campaign, the mealy mouthed "leaders" of environmental, labor, feminist and gay-rights groups do two awful things. First, they endorse Gore even when he throws his support toward things they, and you, hate (sending jobs overseas, allowing clearcutting in old growth forests, "reforming" welfare) and avoids speaking out about the "defense of marriage" bigotry; and second, they criticize Nader--whose positions on these issues are substantially the same as theirs--for supposedly not having spent enough of his life crusading for those specific issues! Again I say, compared to whom? Gore? Bush?
And in November, regardless of whether Gore or Bush wins, the top one per cent of the population will laugh all the way to the bank, knowing that if all who had voted against Nader because he "can't win" had the guts to vote their consciences, he might indeed have won.
r. Clay, can you live forever with a politics so soulless and so bereft of passion??? Or do you want an America that could still produce leaders of the caliber of a Jefferson, an FDR, a Thurgood Marshall ? Are you a man or a mouse?
Tom McCormick
Lincoln, NE
09-20-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
I just read The Nader Dilemma and while you made a couple of valid points, I can't agree that Gore would be a better choice over anyone. Before you cast your vote for Gore, perhaps you should read Alexander Cockburn's "Al GoRe: A Users Manual." After reading this book, a Gore presidency scares me more than a Bush presidency.
Robert Astromsky
09-14-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
Dear Mr. Risen:
I happened to be doing some research on Mr. Karski and stumbled across
your eloquent and poignant description of your interview with him. I had to
write you although I have no idea what Flak magazine even is.
I was very moved by your portrayal of Mr. Karski, and, while I agree with you that most people would not trade their lives for his, it does seem that some individuals such as Mr. Karski are called particularly to do that which most of us cannot or will not. It appears a tragedy that he suffered so many years, as did I imagine his wife, after contributing so much.
Thank you.
C. Tremps
09-09-00
To: James Norton
Re:
jim- okay, you are the only person who reviewed this book that has a direct contact link, so i am writing to you about Bail's novel.
true, it is inspiring in the rich way the tale is woven, and i can tell the man knows what he is doing - a very slow and subtle rambling way of writing, similar to watching a small and curious insect makes its way in the world for awhile.
so why did i finish the book in one day and throw it in exasperation at the end? why does my blood boil when pondering it? (as i have been doing constantly the "day after")
perhaps because this beautifully wraught story is also narrowminded and typical. as well as seemingly overlooking the serious flaw of yet another silent woman character.
ellen has the potential to be a great character, indeed the sections told through her eyes are startling and complex - so why then, does she remain hollow and lifeless while the male characters around her decide her fate?
yes, it is a fairy tale, and yes, it is true that even in the "modern" world, women are often silenced, but this leaves an even greater responsibility within every art form to dissasemble and question these concepts. Bail has a responsibility to point out the flaws within the paradigm he has created.
fairy tales can be pretty deconstructing, ya know.
so whatever, most people seemed to love the story, and i admit bail is amazing on many levels. but the teachings we learn SUCK and it was aggravating to read about such an imprisoned woman, especially with no analysis of her situation.
one of the reviews even mentioned how holland and ellen were looking for a husband for her together....
excuse me?? the problem with containing women in such a typical and screwed up way has obviously gone past most readers
thanks
tim bengy
09-06-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
I got very upset when I started to do research on the net regarding Croatia and NDH and the accusations of Genocide at Jasenovac Camp. As a Croat and from a family that suffered during WWII it's hard to read all this garbage regarding the amount of people that were killed at Jasenovac Camp. To understand you have to read the minds of the Serbs and there Yugoslav counterparts.
To no avail they created a peice of history that will banish the Croats for another 50 years. Most of the information on the web is propaganda crated to clear the Serbs of there own terror. I do agree people were killed at Jasenovac and I do not condone it at all but the numbers are blown way out of porportion. 700,000 people to be killed is unrealistic.
There were numbers derived in the past 10 years that are accurate to what really happended there 30,000 people. To understand is to know the Serbs as a people. If you want i can forward to you stamps printed in Serbia showing the Mighty Serb killing the Jewish Snake... but that's ok because that will never surface because of the strong Communist hands. What this is about is as follows as an educated person when I read your story and see all you did was incorperate facts that you found in books that were written by fictional Serbs and to call it the third largest Concentration Camp in South Slav its ludicrous. Do research and if so i will supply accurate data and at the end you will see propaganda tought by the nazis still works well in the 21st century...
Thanks
Marino Grlic
09-06-00
To: Clay Risen
Re:
Dear Mr. Risen,
Having just read your essay reviewing the qualia (and quality) of Censored 2000, I feel obligated to respond in short by questioning the basis for your criticism. Please oblige these few minutes to hear what I have to say. I am a student, and a good one at that, and i had NEVER heard anything like what I've recently encountered in reading through Project Censorship's book.
True, some of their stories sound conspiratorial, but most are not of the implausible 'grand' conspiracy-type but rather issues that are localized and (perhaps) easily explained by the structure of a society (our own) that is governed by capitalism, and nominally by democracy.
I object to your presumption that Project censorship is not part of (an integral part of) the solution to such tautological problems as those you posed, (e.g. cynicism-dominated public discourse; the replacement of quality communication with "junk-food" media; apathy in democracy - the choice between tweedledum and tweedledee), problems which appear to be specifically addressed by Project Censorship.
This short letter was written merely to inform you of my confusion regarding the thesis of your review. It seems that a consistant elucidation of under-reported news-stories, even if those news stories happen to commonly fall into broadly-defined categories (possibly because of the nature of the news which is 'censored' ?), is part of the solution, both to curing media-induced cynicism in our democracy and in creating livelyhood for alternative media sources, sources which are by definition more diverse and/or localized.
Perhaps a more inlightening discussion could have turned around what percentage of Project Censorship's under-reported newstories actually have become accepted history. Just what is the track-record of this group? Is it possible that they, too, have fallen victim to media sensationalism, concatenating scores for reports that, while unconfirmed, make good head-liners or book dust-jacket sound bites? The bottom line: Is this stuff true? And if it is, What're You doing about it?
SIncerely, and hopefully not too confrontationally,
Conor Flynn
University of Puget Sound
09-05-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Hi Jim!
Just thought I would drop a line to let you know that there is little to do with religion in the safety demo that precedes a flight. It is rather as the result of people having died without the necessary instructions to extricate themselves from a dire emergency that they are conducted.
The flight attendants' job is to ensure an evacuation, but if they die, then you have to know how to get out of the plane. You may wish to entertain yourself with looking over a flight attendant manual from any airline. You would need to make friends in the industry to get a peep, though.
I've seen enough disaster film about airport emergencies to know that the preparations are necessary. The most prevalent emergencies are ususally of a first aid nature, but when you have a category III situation on hand, it is certain that you will listen intently to the same instructions during emergency preparations, and think them less of a prayer and perhaps that the flight attendants job is less symbolic of fear and more one of positive reinforcement.
Your notion is interesting as a cultural angle, but don't kid yourself. If you ever fly, then ask yourself whether these people can be trusted to carry out their duties during an emergency. Perhaps you attribute this fear to flight attendants as a representation, but in actual matter of fact, passengers have no notion of just how deeply their travel anxieties go, and strap themselves in awaiting the moment of take-off, to a claustrophobic environment with a sense of denial to an impending possiblity of doom. No matter how we come across, the passengers will still grab on to their armrests or holding their breath. I guess what we do will seem utterly futile at that point.
Fran
09-04-00
To: James Norton
Re:
hi iam an italian boy that want to correspond with e-mail or pen pals with university girl of your country. where in internet i can find this information??? can you help me mister jim??? thank you for your cooperation
bye
paolo
08-24-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Ummm...your article is way off the wall. First, you start off by calling the Ah-64 Apache dainty. It is one of the only all weather helicopters, with an array of weapons, including a heavy armor piercing machine gun, a MLRS (Multiple Launch Rocket System) and huge hellfire missiles. As read through your article, I don't see one thing that sounds like Comanche. It is not made to be a troop carrier. Look at the picture at the top at the page that you have. Do you see any place for troops to get in and out? No. Than look at the Huey. It has sliding doors on both side so troops can get in and out. It was made as a reconnaissance platform which can relay information back to the HQ and to ground units without the pilot having to work at it. I would be very interested to hear what your source of information is. I am a Army aviators dependent.
Scott W.
08-10-00
To: Julia Lipman
Re:
Noam Chomsky's writing is best presented without commentary.
W. Sinnott
07-27-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Dear Jim (James?)
Thank you, I think, for your review of our site. As a review ought to be, it was balanced and filled with opinion. I was flattered that you enjoyed my essay "What the Hell Did You Call Me?"
I flinched at your hammer-blows on our editing abilities; this is the only reason I delight in noticing a simple typo on your guidelines page, as follows:
>"Meet the Editors
>Please feel to contact any of the following editors about >your submission or proposal"
Although it is true that one may initiate contact by feeling, I believe this was not your intention.
Very Truly Yours,
Kevin Murphy
TimmyBigHands
07-18-00
To: James Norton
Re:
"Say what? Why does such a thing exist?"
A nightclub hopping beer alcoholic, two DUIs forced me to give up the alcohol some twelve years back. The folks at AA said don't mess with the nonalcoholic beer because it has .05% alcohol. By my math that meant I would have to drink six in an hour (unlikely) to equal a 3.2% beer. I took my chances, and having a non-alcoholic beer in my hand at parties and nightclubs helped me to never go back to "real" beer. As far as fitting in with a drunken boisterous group goes, it's not difficult, and I get laid more often, and make an ass of myself less often.
O'Douls sucks! Try a Kaliber or Haake Beck or Saint Pauli Girl or Buckler or Clausthaler-all imported non-alcoholic and they sell in a nightclub about the same price.
Nicely written piece.
George Hickey
01-30-00
To: James Norton
Re:
Hi, There was occluded truth on your pondering of the etymology of Frapp. There are many things to bear in mind with etymology of surnames. The most obvious point of interest with Gold is that Gold-, -man(n), -berg, -stein names very often are direct transpositions of Hebrew names into the local language ( When we say language we are talking pre-standardisation of (modern) European languages so it would be a transposition into a "dialect" ) we find equivalents in all areas where the Jews wandered / were driven.
In the case of the Teutonic tongues there was a vast diversity in the middle ages ( to the point of there being little mutual intelligibility between the principalities that constitute modern nation states[ conspiracy theorists can insert here their manifestos on lower educations role in perpetuating race myths, hehe ]. It is therefore very optomistic to assume that an etymology could be found in a contempory bilingual dictionary of Hochdeutsch / Standard English [ whatever that means nowaddays??? ] ( a dialect that certainly bears often little / no resemblance to the German variations of a thousand years ago ).
Bear in mind that spelling ( phonolgy /morphology ) has no natural set of rules and that even mutually intelligible dialects could have differing spelling "systems". My phonological instinct would place 'Frapp' in Fresia / Jutland / Netherlands. We may consider modulations like f = v =w, a = au = u, b = p ( generating: vraubb, wrubb etc. ) It could have even been shortened from some other word. At the end of the day with some clear evidence or a handy genaeology it could very well be a name from a language which was bastardised by the pronunciation of another language after emigration. And besides, German is "a" language full ofÊa multitude of false etymologies. Who knows ;-)
I would hazard a guess of Jewish origins and some obscure twig of the Western Germanic members Indo-European family. Linguistics of all fields is an addictively interesting subject. I would whole-heartedly recommend that you get yourself some introductory literature. Your suppositions aren't wide of the mark, but the science / theories is far more funky and strange! ;-) Alles klar? Mach's gut!
Richard
