Friday, October 2, 2009

Weekender links

Tonight in Woodside, Queens: a benefit for Typhoon Ondoy Disaster Relief efforts sponsored by a range of Filipino organizations. There's a lineup of spoken-word, musical and dance artists, and all proceeds go to MIGRANTE International in the Philippines, a non-profit group working directly with survivors. Find more information on the typhoon's aftermath from a left political perspective at the Bayan USA and the Gabriela USA websites.

The State Department
won't let the New York Philharmonic's rich donors accompany the orchestra to Havana, so the orchestra isn't going.

Read the statement by the International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network in support of yesterday's Palestinian general strike.

Head over to Contra James Wood for a class-conscious, or at least a corporate-conscious, angle on one of the many limitations of the "Best Fiction of the Millennium (So Far)" list recently issued by The Millions.

Speaking of James Wood, here are some worthwhile thoughts (not his) on the novel.

This is more than a week old, so look elsewhere for up-to-date coverage of the University of California walkouts, but check out Laila Lalami's piece for helpful background.

Finally, someone in the film industry, a woman of course, dissents from the Auster-Rushdie-Allen-Scorsese crowd's inexcusable defense of child rapist Roman Polansky. The Village Voice's chief movie writer has some choice words as well.