Post-Gazette 8-10-12.Pmd
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VOL. 116 - NO. 32 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, AUGUST 10, 2012 $.30 A COPY GREENWAY SPARKS CONTROVERSY OVER “TERRORIST” IMAGE by Sal Giarratani A debate has begun over a ored figures are iconic and by Julius Mourlon at the new mural in Dewey Square recurrent feature” in the Crono Festival in Lisbon not far from the Occupy work of these artistic sib- back in 2010. It is very simi- Boston site that depicts a lings and that “the figures lar to the Greenway mural large character peering out are frequently shown wear- except for the covering on from behind a red shirt ing whimsical hats, colorful the head and without a wrapped around the head. hoods or scarves — another crane positioned close to the Boston’s Fox 25 posted a hallmark feature of the art- character’s hand, leading photo of the 70 by 70 foot ists’ work.” me and many others to see mural on its Facebook page I viewed the photo and the it as an automatic weapon and within 24 hours had lots first thing I saw was a hooded that terrorists often use. of feedback. Most viewers of terrorist-looking character. Why wasn’t the crane re- the mural photo are under, If the purpose of this mural moved when the mural was what the Metro newspaper is to “bring color and energy completed? Many assume said was “the wrong impres- to the streets of Boston as that the crane was left there sion that the cartoon char- well as inspire curiosity and to add to the whole imagina- acter is wearing a Muslim imagination,” as the ICA tion thing. headscarf.” The mural was states, this mural has done The ACLU says they sup- painted on a wall of a Big its job. However, for liberals port exercising freedom of Dig ventilation building. Of to now say it proves how rac- expression of the artists and course, liberals say the Mus- ist and ignorant regular that the mural is simply lim — like responses are folks are when they see a showing what the project cu- nothing more than ‘bigoted terrorist on the wall is to say rator is calling “a little boy in remarks and the always in- curiosity and imagination pajamas with a shirt over his correct ACLU calls those must always be politically head.” What about the free- mural comments “ugly.” correct is a great example of dom of expression of others Brazillian brothers Gustavo pure liberal bull. The “pure like myself and others who and Octavio Pandolfo known political bull” was part of a see the mural not as a little as “Os Gemeos” created this quoted response to Boston’s boy in pajamas? Doesn’t the temporary mural to promote Fox 25 Facebook photo from Bill of Rights protect us too? an exhibit of theirs at the Jim Dayotas who also added Or are we all just a bunch of Institute of Contemporary he was “surprised they did ugly racists who don’t know Art over in the Seaport not do a jet” too! good art when they see it? District. According to an I recently viewed another As far as I’m concerned, Os ICA spokesperson Kelly mural by these brothers Gemeos can take their mu- Gifford, “These yellow-col- elsewhere in a photo taken ral and…! News Briefs FEAST OF by Sal Giarratani Saint Agrippina de Mineo China’s Canadian Energy The Obama Administration may not like the energy buried in Canada’s Alberta oil sands but China apparently does. Recently, China’s state- owned Cnooc sought to buy Canada’s Nexen as a post-Keystone XL Pipeline bid for $15.1 billion to replace the U.S. as Canada’s biggest energy in- vestor and market. The Obama rejection of the $7 billion Keystone XL has seemingly got both Canada and China thinking out loud. Canada’s prime minister has said Canada needs to diver- sify its energy markets, maybe by building a pipe- line from Alberta to their West Coast to export to China. Lesson for Democrats in Washington, D.C., Canada’s oil sands will be developed. If the U.S. doesn’t want this oil, China and all of Asia will take it. Why don’t liberals understand this fact of life? “Liberals Must Be Drinking Different Water than the Rest of Us” I was recently reading a copy of The Nation dated July 29, 2012. Front-page and center was “ISLAMOPHOBIA Anatomy of An American Panic.” Liberals love making fun of legitimate concerns about radical jihadists and concerns about our domestic security. If you listen to liberals, any- Saint Agrippina de Mineo annual feast was recently held in Boston’s North End. On time you question Islam and terrorism, you are Thursday evening the children of the Saint Agrippina Society carried a miniature statue of the saint throughout the neighborhood. This is the beginning of bigger things (Continued on Page 15) to come. (Photo by Rosario Scabin, Ross Photography) (More photos on Page 9) THE POST-GAZETTE SATELLITE OFFICE IS NOW OPEN AT 35 BENNINGTON STREET, EAST BOSTON This office is open on Tuesdays from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM and Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PMPM, for the convenience of our East Boston and North Shore clients and contributors Call 617-227-8929 for more information Page 2 POST-GAZETTE, AUGUST 10, 2012 Res Publica by David Trumbull You Cannot Build Up By Tearing Down Some months ago a friend However, this is exactly ROMAN LAW from Andover recently sent where Reich, who is so per- The early Roman law that tween freemen and slaves. some of the odd things me a Huffington Post essay ceptive up to this point, goes we’ve heard so much about A slave was considered per- which could be owned. If a written by Cambridge’s Rob- on autopilot and lapses into in earlier years is the legal sonal property and anything wild beast was found and ert Reich. I read things from socialist canards. His solu- system which was developed that he acquired, including then escaped, the ownership Professor Reich from time to tion is not to stop trying to about 450 B.C. inheritance, became the was lost. A person, who im- time and always end up at better yourself by tearing When their laws were first property of the master. A proved another’s property the same conclusion: Reich down someone better off. arranged into a systematic master could not order that believing it to be his own, is smart and perceptive; he Rather his answer is to tear collection, this collection a slave be put to death for could refuse to return it un- has a knack for finding a ne- down someone even better was known as the “Law Of any reason, however, rea- less compensated for the glected truth that, once put off. Aside from the question The Twelve Tables” and it sonable chastisement was work. If a son was guilty for into writing, seems so self- of whether “soaking the set simple rules which were permitted and the master any wrongdoings, the father evident that you can’t be- rich” is sound policy eco- suitable for the community was not held liable if a slave could either pay the dam- lieve you missed it; but nomically or ethically, Reich’s as well as establishing equal died under the lash. Slaves, ages or surrender his son to at the end he falters and flawed conclusion — we need treatment for the rich and on the other hand, were not the injured party. falls into old left clichés, substantial tax increases on poor alike. Enactment of without some protection un- These are just a few ex- debunked Keynesian eco- the rich — is absolutely re- these early laws was der the law. amples of the rules by which nomics and 1930s Socialist futed by his argument. On through assemblies of the A poorly treated slave could people were required to live can’t. the one hand he says the common people but this run away from his master 2000 years ago. Living con- Reich, in this piece “The problem is that the rich kind of assembly soon fell and take refuge at a statue ditions, social attitudes, lit- Republican Shakedown,” ac- have distorted and broken out of use because large of the emperor, thus compel- eracy and just plain basic cuses Republicans of being the system. On the other numbers of persons sitting ling the master to sell him survival probably forced the tools for the rich, hoodwink- hand he says the answer is together in this manner to someone else. Paternal enactment of laws which ing middle-class Americans higher taxes on the rich. But were difficult to oversee and power was also highly recog- seem absurd to us today. We (in the largely non-union- if the rich have the inordi- very expensive to bribe. nized and seemed to give should not lose sight of our ized private sector) into nate influence he says, then Later, under the Roman Re- absolute power to a father history of lawmaking since thinking that government won’t they simply use it to public, a Praetor or Magis- over his son, including any the Declaration of Indepen- and unions in the public sec- corrupt the tax code in their trate decided which cases property that a son might dence and those “blue laws” tor are the cause of our eco- favor? were fit to be brought before have acquired. which now seem equally lu- nomic stagnation under The answer is not to tear a judge and which were not.