continental political thought class on monday -- that is to say, a class on french and german leftist thought in the 1950s/60s -- and the tutor explaining that a lot of people on left in south america looked to gramsci for inspiration partly because he's a classic and everyone who's read any marxist/leftist theory knows him and partly cos he provides a non-marxist alternative for the left -- and the tutor said that this wasn't just a speculation; when he said people turned to gramsci, he's seeing names and faces in his mind, in argentina (where he's from), in uruguay, in chile. -- i can't imagine what it'd be like to have been part of the left movements in latin america -- to be now sitting in a classroom in new york teaching gramsci seeing the faces of those who believed in it --

on wednesday i went for the meeting in support of the divestment campaign at columbia and there were several professors who spoke up -- it's a faculty initiative -- and said i'm jew i hold dual citizenship in the state of israel and i protest the occupation. there's a group of jewish women -- women in black -- who hold a vigil every week for those who have died in the second intifada, palestinian and jew alike. someone talked of how her father was very very sick in ramallah and it was impossible to get medicines and morphine patches; they had to ask israeli friends to help them get supplies in tel aviv. i should do more reading and put up a coherent argument in protest of the occupation; this isn't an argument but --