On Terrorism

On Christmas Day, a man flying from Amsterdam to Detroit attempted, unsuccessfully, to light an explosive and take the plane down. He claims he was working for Al Qaeda. This news has really upset me, for a number of reasons – both obvious and not so.

I hope one day for same safe, secure world that everyone hopes for. Free of extreme poverty, starvation, illiteracy, racism, torture and other human rights abuses and terror. When I hear stories like this, I get sad about what it really means – the current state of our world, and what the outcome of this news will be. Will a people be vilified? Perhaps. And what will that mean? Legislation laced with prejudice and racism? The minaret ban in Switzerland gave me heartache. The racist islamophobe who called Islam the new plague in Europe gave me heartache.

Or will it just mean more war – more seemingly unending, seemingly unwinnable wars? More US based intervention? Intervention called humanitarian, yet called so in vain? I would call it US led, except when other countries “pledge” troops in numbers so minuscule my first instinct tells me it’s a joke, it really is a US intervention…with a few hundred other troops woven through the ranks. I read somewhere that the success rate for US intervention was somewhere in the twenties. Can we still call that success?

The selfish side of me rolls its eyes knowing there will be “heightened airport security.” I don’t claim to have all the answers. I like to leave space to allow the experts to talk and do. But I am someone who flights commercial airlines quite frequently and, OMFG, which airport security official let the man through with an explosive? And was it the same person who was so adamant about me throwing out my Creme de La Mer a few months back? Or the one who overlooked the two bottles of hand lotion, just barely oversized, I accidentally left in my handbag?

Perhaps I cannot really grasp what’s going on, perhaps I’m unable to see the forest through the trees. But this isn’t working for me. And it doesn’t seem to be working for the world.

I trust you, Mr. President. I trust your judgment and that of the people with whom you have chosen to surround yourself. But when will this be fixed? No, that’s not what I meant to ask. WILL this be fixed? Can this be fixed? No political spin nonsense. Just honesty. Are we going in the direction of peace, resolution? I can wait forever if the answer is yes, but the problem is it doesn’t seem to be.

xo

J. Justine

All I Do Is Pack

…Yes, again. I am packing, again. Ugh. This isn’t fun. It is time to look into sending luggage ahead. Seriously. Also, I need wardrobe trunks…that way when I live out of a suitcase, it’s actually a suitcase that looks like a closet. Does anyone use wardrobe trunks anymore? Things to look into…

xo

J. Justine

PS. MERRY CHRISTMAS

Tale Of Two Weekends: Beautiful, Wonderful Copenhagen

I also went to Copenhagen…in below freezing weather.

We protested. Kidding! We didn’t get their early enough to join in on the organized demonstration, but we found them and agreed with them and promptly left when the police officers in riot gear with cans and cans of tear gas showed up.

We went to Christiania, a “free town” of freed minds, where we poked around in stores and turned down multiple offers to buy certain “mind-freeing” substances. We got cold and went into a coffee shop, where Tornado Rider, a band from Oakland, was practicing. Yes, the lead singer is playing the cello.

We met friends and went to a house party and had a blast, though the clothes I wore will never smell like not smoke again.

There was limbo, in which I did not participate. I did, however, dance and hop around to Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance and Poker Face. Later, we went to Hopenhagen and to see art installations around the city for the climate conference.

I haven’t had this much fun in a while. I’m going back because as it turns out, Scandinavia is pretty and the people are friendly and sweet and shower you with compliments, I’m a sucker for compliments…but next time I go will be during the summer, when its warm(er) and the sun doesn’t start setting at 3p in the afternoon.

xo

J. Justine

Tale Of Two Weekends: Lyon’s Fête Des Lumières

I went to Lyon for the weekend to see an old friend. We laughed.

We shopped for freshly made silk. She made jokes her French friends could not understand and I laughed harder at their blank stares.

We walked for hours to find a restaurant that would feed us. We found one, but they only served steak so Z and I, both pseudo-vege-something-ans, ate french fries for dinner. We laughed again.

Then, we went to see the lights. We ooohed and awwwed. We then went out for a nightcap and talked the night away.

xo

J. Justine

Happy Holidays

Back home for the holiday and Delta is giving me partial presents. Received mileage credit for my flight from CDG to JFK but not any of the three other legs of my journey. Hm. Isn’t getting flight mileage super fun? I love calling companies and waiting on the line for hours only to have them tell me to fax all my information to their black hole of mileage credit.

In other news, happy holidays all. For the holidays that have passed. For the holidays that are to come. I hope they will be, or were, wonderful and that you spent them happily with family and your travels getting there were safe.

J. Claire just left me for the west coast – after missing her flight, on which she was upgraded to first class for free days ahead, she got on another flight cost and guilt free on which she was ONCE AGAIN upgraded to first class for free. It was like the year 2000 in terms of travel ease. We both wish you the happiest of holidays and much love and joy for the season.

Note: This is neither J. Claire nor me. (It’s Shala Monroque and Alexia Niedzielski in Moscow) But it could be. And Koons’ heart looks like a giant ornament. It felt appropriate.

xo

J. Justine

AmEx, I Love You

I recently got my December 2009 American Express bill. That’s the one that includes the annual fee. The platinum fee is enough to make you search for other options. And Mint, my online financial adviser who sends me emails like “You’ve exceeded your shopping budget,” hates my AmEx card. They tell me my bank has “nickeled and dimed me” in their standard anti-fee emails. And I considered it. I considered closing my American Express account.

Then, today happened. It snowed in Paris and as a result, Charles De Gaulle is a ZOO, and where it’s not a zoo, its eerily quiet because flights have been cancelled left and right. My flight has been delayed hours. Annoyed, I sat by the gate, glaring at the man who thought it would be a good idea to start guitar practice. THEN, someone reminded me on Twitter about airport lounges. I’m not an elite member on Air France. I think I’m silver or gold for Delta. But, I am an American Express card holder.

One flash of the card, along with a valid boarding pass, and entry was free. FREE! Is there a more glorious price? The businessman next to me was forced to pay 35 Euros, which is a discount for his elite frequent flier status. And my AmEx got me in for free. Todays happen all the time. AmEx covers my rental car insurance AND travel insurance automatically if I purchase a flight or a rental card with the card. The AmEx is staying, annual fee and all. Sorry, Mint.

xo

J. Justine

What I Miss Most Is The Idea Of Going To The Caribbean

Here I sit in Copenhagen (more on that later). World leaders are coming to discuss climate change. Protesters are calling for action, a planetary bailout. Artists have laced the city with installations portraying their views. And I, because I have been unable to thaw out this entire weekend, have been thinking of the Caribbean. Not really just the Caribbean, but all tropical islands.

I was at my worst when I went to see the 100 Places Exhibit. I would have cried when I found out sea level was rising so high that the Maldives were in danger of going under water, had I not been so convinced that my tears would freeze just as they came out of my tear ducts. I stared at the photo of the clear blue Caribbean Sea for a few minutes longer than anyone else. I felt a small pang of homesickness. For, what I miss most*, is the possibility of going to the Caribbean in this freezing cold weather. Just the idea of being able to go, because, Lord knows, I do not go often. Dear cheapcaribbean.com, you’ve helped me through my winters more than you know.

xo

J. Justine

100 Places Exhibit, Kongens Nytorv Square, Copenhagen. See also, 100places.com

*Dearest family, friends, when I say most obviously this is second to being in your presence, your smiling faces and inexpensive phone calls. All my love.

Happy Human Rights Day

Today is Human Rights Day. I believe, as I’m sure you do, that all of us are born free and equal in rights and dignity. Unfortunately, in many parts of the world, people are not treated this way. Please, today, donate to your favorite human rights organization. Or, if you do not have one, you can adopt mine.

The use torture as a criminal investigatory tool, despite the Convention Against Torture, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and other international treaties, is still widespread. Imagine being accused of a crime (anything from thief, to treason, to something you didn’t actually do), being pulled from your home and taken to a prison where you are humiliated, beaten and tortured for hours at a time while you await trial (or even formally charging) for days, months, or years. International Bridges to Justice seeks to end torture as a criminal investigatory tool this century. You can help by donating a small amount to their campaign to raise money for attorneys and to train attorneys, judges, magistrates, and police officers in developing countries with high rates of torture. In the past, the money they’ve raised has helped to open a juvenile interrogation room in China to ensure better juvenile defense rights or to secure bail hearings and training for attorneys to argue at them for prisoners in Zimbabwe.

Give here if you feel so moved.

OR, if you’re in Geneva, come to the fundraiser at Fenomeno (rue de Paquis 28) this evening. 15CHF entry includes a free drink. There will be happy hour drink specials, a DJ and dancing.

As always, thank you for your generosity.

xo

J. Justine

Human Rights Day Approaches…

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Margaret Mead.

As Human Rights Day approaches, as I delve deeper and deeper into readings and articles and theories on failures and triumphs in failed states and become more unsure about what the solution is, I think about tourism to these countries.

Tourism can spark an economy, that much we know for sure. But in a country with militias, rebel forces, corrupt governments, do we really want to contribute to the economy? The continued purchasing of tin and gold from DR Congo has funded the FDLR (Hutu militia) for some time since those areas rich in tin and gold are controlled by rebel groups. So, no, we don’t want to fund the conflict. No one wants to fund genocide.

On the other hand, however, Suu Kyi, the opposition leader in Burma has long opposed tourism to the country, hoping that a boycott of the country will force the government to change their ways. She’s recently dropped this opposition (given that tourism is run through private organizations and not the government), stating that tourism might help. Might help open the eyes of the world to the oppression citizens are subjected to by the military junta.

So, what’s the solution? Read? Know where you’re going and who’s pockets you’re fattening. Then, enjoy, I suppose. And let your experiences change you, for the better. Because, idealistic as it may be, I do believe that one person can change the world and that every single person should try.

This motivates me, hopefully it will do the same for you:

xo

J. Justine

I Hate Exclamation Points, But I Am Excited.

I almost just fell off my chair doing my excited dance. British Airways has flights for $2, excluding taxes, from Geneva to London, says Orbitz. $2?! And British Airways is my absolute favorite airline. Booking immediately…

xo

J. Justine