This is the blog for the Bentari Project.
Saturday, November 12, 2016
a thousand degrees of recycled rock hot rocks like diamond genitals lava flows planetary semen Prometheus clay retching planet future rockery age old bed a thousand degrees cuts deep rivers and makes a glorious scab for wounds that leave no scars witness canyons caves craters calderas plugs and mountains—igneous formations dignified by a million co...
Read full postWednesday, October 19, 2016
This entry is about the kindest, most patient man that America has ever tortured, Mohamedou Ould Slahi. [1] On Feb. 22, 2015, we posted a piece about this gentle forgiving man. [2] This update is a happy one—a belated, but glad outcome, indeed. Shortly after 9/11, and at the request of the United States and the CIA, Slahi’s own country, Mauritania,...
Read full postSunday, October 16, 2016
A happy text message warmed my heart in the early morning. Our niece Rebecca sent us a photo of her youngest son Henry. He was all wrapped up in Bentari and under the spell of the African forest at dawn. This is Rebecca’s message: "Henry just told me that Bentari’s Dad went on a hunt and he hasn't seen him for a long time and that's sad." Henry cal...
Read full postSunday, September 25, 2016
Live in Joe Birdsong’s world. It is our world, in mid-20 th Century, where a promising young African-American begins to build his musical acumen in Portland, Oregon. He becomes one of the first black high school teachers there. Paternity led to an early marriage that was bound for the irreconcilable rocks. Then the Army drafted Joe, and his educati...
Read full postThursday, September 08, 2016
Shown here, Malala Yousafzai [1] met the Obamas in the Oval Office, October 11, 2013. The First Family recognized the teen-ager for her leadership on girls’ educational equity. As if to demonstrate her lead role, Malala took the opportunity to point out that the President’s drone policy was fueling terrorism. “If we refocus efforts on education it ...
Read full postSaturday, July 30, 2016
In his vital book The Devil’s Chessboard,[1] David Talbot spells it out—underneath our veneer, behind the curtains of power, our government plays chess against the world. The global stage is the board. World leaders are the pieces. We always get to move first, and our moves are often mortal for pieces that we take. “Check mate,” we state with vanit...
Read full postFriday, July 29, 2016
Now, the ceiling is smashed! The sky is the limit! Let masculinity take a back seat to Women drivers at long and welcomed last! Take heart, you girls! Of all the ages, your time has come! Spine up, you men, and cheer with that deep and guttural primal scream, for your mothers, sisters and daughters have their day at long and welcomed last! In her s...
Read full postFriday, July 22, 2016
In Chad, there once ruled a dictator named Hissène Habré. In 1982, the U.S. began to provide millions of dollars in military aid and training for Habré’s secret police. [1] Apparently, President Reagan and his advisors determined that Hissène Habré’s usefulness as a supporter of America’s global interests outweighed his terrible human rights record...
Read full postMonday, July 18, 2016
In her first novel The Enchanted , Rene Denfeld [1] provides one of the most glorious yet gruesome tales of torture and triumph that you will ever enjoy. Standby. You will live in the pit, but your life becomes illuminated—somehow. Your companion in the dungeon narrates. He explains one salvation, saying, “The books brought brilliance to my life, a...
Read full postSaturday, July 16, 2016
Justice for Victor Jara is a victory for human rights. 43-years after he was murdered, his killer is close to facing justice in the form of extradition to Chile—there to answer the charges of war crimes. On Monday June 27, 2016, a court in Orlando held Pedro Barrientos responsible for Victor Jara’s death. The Jara family was awarded $28-million as ...
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