Amnesty International Group 22 Pasadena/Caltech News
Volume XXIV Number 10, October 2016
UPCOMING EVENTS
Thursday, October 27, 7:30 PM. Monthly
Meeting. We meet at the Caltech Y, Tyson
House, 505 S. Wilson Ave., Pasadena. (This is
just south of the corner with San Pasqual.
Signs will be posted.) We will be planning our
activities for the coming months. Please join
us! Refreshments provided.
Friday-Sunday, October 28-30. Amnesty
International USA Western Regional Conference.
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Los Angeles -
Westside (near LAX).
Tuesday, November 8, 7:30 PM. Letter
writing meeting at Caltech Athenaeum, corner
of Hill and California in Pasadena. This
informal gathering is a great way for
newcomers to get acquainted with Amnesty.
Sunday, November 20, 6:30 PM,. Rights
Readers Human Rights Book Discussion Group.
This month we read "Mastering the Art of
Soviet Cooking: A Memoir of Food and
Longing" by Anya von Bremzen.
COORDINATOR'S CORNER
Hello everyone,
Happy Halloween!
The Western Regional Conference is this
weekend and you may still be able to register at
the door. Here's the link:
http://www.amnestyusa.org/events/regional-
conferences/western
Group 22 will have a display featuring our POC
Narges Mohammadi. Hope to see you there!
For those of you who live in Pasadena, our
September Rights Readers selection, "The
Sympathizer" by Viet Thanh Nguyen is the One
City, One Story book for this year!
This novel is the winner of several literary
awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for fiction.
Kathy
GROUP 22 OCTOBER LETTER COUNT
UA for POC 6
Other UAs 13
Total 19
To add your letters to the total contact
aigp22@caltech.edu
Next Rights Readers meeting:
Sunday, November 20
6:30 PM
Vroman's Bookstore
(upstairs)
695 E. Colorado Blvd
Pasadena
Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking
by
Anya von Bremzen
REVIEW
The New York Times Sunday Book Review
Beyond Borscht
'Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking,' by Anya
von Bremzen
By SARA WHEELER
SEPT. 13, 2013
The culinary memoir has lately evolved into a
genre of its own, what is now known as a
"foodoir." But Anya von Bremzen is a better
writer than most of the genre's practitioners, as
this delectable book, which tells the story of
postrevolutionary Russia through the prism of
one family's meals, amply demonstrates.
The author and her mother arrived in
Philadelphia in the winter of 1974, stateless
refugees with no warm coats. They were also,
von Bremzen says, "thoroughly gentrified
Moscow Jews," abandoned some years earlier
by the infant Anya's father. But to tell their
story, von Bremzen goes back to her maternal
grandparents in the 1920s, interspersing
historical material with flash-forwards and
commentary as she works her way to the
present. When, for example, von Bremzen
returns to Moscow in 1987, the reader is offered
a disquisition on Russia's "long-soaked, -
steeped and -saturated history with vodka" -
or, failing vodka, with politura ("wood
varnish").
An award-winning food writer, von Bremzen is
also the author of "Please to the Table" (1990), a
cookbook featuring the various cuisines of the
former Soviet Union. To confect this latest
volume, she and her mother (now 79) used their
overheated American kitchen and dining room
"as a time machine and an incubator of
memories." Deploying the hallowed 1939 "Book
of Tasty and Healthy Food," known to Soviet
citizens simply as "the Book," they recreate old
dissident get-togethers, preparing a Stalin's
Deathday Dinner and even brewing their own
kvass.
Not surprisingly, there's much that's harrowing
in "Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking,"
especially the sections dealing with World War
II. Here von Bremzen moves artfully between
historical longshots (minefields being cleared
"by sending troops attacking across them") and
intimate details, like her schoolgirl mother's
lunch ration of podushechka, a candy the size of a
fingernail. More amusingly, the chapter on the
1950s includes a short essay on living in a
culture of perpetual shortages: "Your average
Homo sovieticus spent a third to half of his
nonworking time queuing for something." A bit
later, von Bremzen reaches her own birth, in
1963, a year also remembered for one of the
worst crop failures in post-Stalin history.
The descriptions of meals are delightful, despite
the anomaly at the heart of her book: during the
Soviet period, there was almost nothing decent
to eat, unless you were a party official. After the
revolution, she explains with characteristic
elegance, "in just a bony fistful of years, classical
Russian food culture vanished." Inevitably,
therefore, "a story about Soviet food is a
chronicle of longing." But von Bremzen makes
the best of her material, conjuring the whiff of
fermenting sauerkraut in an enameled bucket,
the sight of sinews and fat glistening in a cheap
goulash "with an ivory palette" and the sharp
and creamy taste of the ubiquitous salat Olivier
in the "kitschy, mayonnaise-happy '70s." The
gunky Olivier, she writes, "could be a metaphor
for a Soviet ŽmigrŽ's memory: urban legends
and totalitarian myths, collective narratives and
biographical facts, journeys home both real and
imaginary - all loosely cemented with mayo."
When the Soviet Union implodes, von Bremzen
is tucking into wild duck with a fiery sauce in
the rebellious Georgian subrepublic of
Abkhazia. The 21st-?century chapter,
excruciatingly titled "Putin on the Ritz," is brief,
and she rounds off the book with a collection of
recipes, one per decade. In homage, I made her
version of kulebiaka (fish, rice and mushrooms in
pastry). As she says, "the sour cream in the yeast
dough . . . adds a lovely tang to the buttery
casing." Priyatnogo appetita.
(Sara Wheeler is the author of "O My America!: Six
Women and Their Second Acts in a New World.")
AUTHOR BIO
Anya von Bremzen is a two-time James Beard
Award-winning culinary writer. She was born in
1963 in Soviet Russia, and her works include The
New Spanish Table, The Greatest Dishes: Around the
World in 80 Recipes, and Please to the Table: The
Russian Cookbook (coauthored by John
Welchman). Mastering the Art of Soviet
Cooking: A Memoir of Food and Longing from
2013 is a culinary autobiography and compact
Soviet history in one, its title obviously ironic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anya_von_Bremzen
Security with Human Rights
By Robert Adams
Fighting the Demonization of Ordinary
American Muslims - Like Me
By Ali Albassam, Security with Human Rights
volunteer
July 16, 2016
Newt Gingrich recently proposed that American
Muslims be tested and questioned on their
religious beliefs-and face deportation.
Gingrich told Fox News:
"The first step is you have to ask them the questions.
The second step is you have to monitor what they're
doing on the Internet. The third step is, let me be
very clear, you have to monitor the mosques."
Gingrich's comments are the latest in this trend:
After horrific terrorism attacks, pundits take to
cable news to offer discriminatory, anti-Muslim
proposals and rhetoric.
For me, it hits home. I was twelve years old
when the 9/11 attacks, a crime against
humanity, occurred. A wave of discrimination
followed-for me, and for many other American
Muslims.
In my eyes, I was as American as anyone else
my age. I celebrated the Fourth of July with my
family, played high school sports and shared
many of the same interests as my peers.
But after 9/11, I was frequently bullied in school
and harassed in public, especially when I was
with a relative who wore a headscarf. These
changes made me paranoid, and I struggled
with an identity crisis. Seemingly overnight, I
went from being a regular American, to public
enemy number one-by virtue of my faith.
I kept telling myself that things would get
easier, that the feeling of being "othered" would
eventually fade away, and that my faith would
no longer be defined by the heinous actions of a
few.
Unfortunately, the political and social climate
for American Muslims has only worsened over
time. Anti-Muslim discrimination is now
mainstream and heavily ingrained within U.S.
culture. We see it on TV news and Hollywood
movies that continuously depict Muslims as
terrorists.
Violence against American Muslims and
mosques continues to be reported in the
aftermath of attacks in the U.S. and Western
Europe. Most frighteningly, it's not just rhetoric
- we're seeing proposals to change U.S. law and
law enforcement practices to target law-abiding
American Muslims.
Gingrich joined other public figures in
suggesting widespread monitoring of
mosques-without suspicion of a crime. In fact,
the NYPD has in the past done so-designating
entire mosques as "terrorism enterprises" in
order to justify the use of invasive surveillance
measures.
These policies demonize Muslim Americans and
falsely portray the entire community as
complicit in terrorism. In actuality, according to
one study, two out of every five disrupted
terrorism attacks between 2001 and 2011 were
based on information provided by Muslim
community members.
Another example is a Senate hearing on
"Radical Islam" held a few weeks ago, as a
response to the mass shooting in Orlando. As a
volunteer for Amnesty International USA in
Washington, D.C., I felt compelled to attend.
During my commute to the Senate building, I
became overwhelmed with anxiety, afraid that I
would somehow feel betrayed by my own
government. But upon arrival, my anxieties
quickly diffused. I noticed a long line of diverse
attendees that wrapped around the building.
Many showed up to protest the hearing and
found creative ways to get their message across.
Code Pink's posters read, "Islamophobia is un-
American", and activists handed out
"Islamophoben" pills to "cure irrational fear of
Muslims."
A handful of those who participated in the
hearing conveyed a similar message.
Senator Coons (Del.) and Senator Durbin (Ill.)
spoke out against anti-Muslim bigotry during
the hearing. "We can and must defeat terrorism
without sacrificing our constitutional
principles," Coons said.
"And to sacrifice these principles and blame
over a billion Muslims ... only serves to divide
Americans, to alienate the Muslim world and
legitimate the murderous groups."
"We are being called upon like many
generations have in the past, to respond to a
legitimate fear of terrorism in a way that is
consistent with our American values and when
we lapse into this notion that we are going to
condemn a faith I think we've gone too far, "
Michael German, a fellow at the Brennan Center
for Justice and a former undercover FBI agent of
16 years, testified that using terms like "radical
Islam" actually "puts us on a path to perpetual
war with predictable consequences to civil
liberties, human rights and the rule of law." He
added, "[this language] only serves to stoke
public fear, xenophobia and anti-Muslim
bigotry."
Amnesty International USA, in this statement
for the record, said that for U.S. law enforcement
to single out American Muslims would be
blatant religious discrimination, and fly in the
face of U.S. commitments to support religious
freedom at home and around the world:
"The U.S. should not join the dubious company of
governments and armed groups that single out
religious minorities for discriminatory treatment-
including on the grounds of security. Examples
include China, where Zhang Kai, a lawyer
supporting churches resisting the removal of crosses,
was placed under "residential surveillance" and
accused of endangering national security in August
2015 ; and Iran, where in 2013 an Iranian-American
Christian pastor was sentenced to eight years'
imprisonment for "forming house churches with
intent to harm national security."
The U.S. government must not respond to
terrorism by betraying the very values it was
founded on. By ensuring that American
Muslims are treated with dignity and without
discrimination in civic and political life, the U.S.
can set an example of an effective counter
terrorism strategy that doesn't abandon its core
values.
Death Penalty News
by Stevi Carroll
YES ON 62
Saturday, October 1, Trevor and I hawked the
YES on 62 message to folks who were at the
farmers market for their fresh fruits and veggies.
We had a great time and had some wonderful
conversations. One of my favorites was with a
woman who said, "I'm voting for this, and I'm
the mother of a murder victim. Two wrongs don't
make a right."
Candy, Trevor, and I hit the asphalt of the
Pasadena farmers market Saturday, October 22
to spread the YES message some more. Lots of
people said they'd already voted, and others
said they were registered and aware of the
propositions. Many others expressed interest in
learning about Prop 62 and said they thought
they would vote yes on it. We also filled them
in on Prop 66 and our suggestion to vote no on
66. One man, Paul, early in the day said, "That's
ridiculous" to Prop 66. As the day wore on, this
sentiment was expressed in a variety of forms.
Trevor explains Yes on 62 (and in the background we can
see our 'Make America Great Again' friends there to
register voters).
Candy with brochures at the ready
We are going to table again on November 5, so if
you'd like to spend some time in the fresh air
and make new friends, please let us know.
If you are a person who likes to talk with
strangers on the phone, you can phone bank for
the Yes on 62 campaign. You can participate
remotely from the comfort of your own home -
you just need a computer with internet access
and a phone. The remaining days are Tuesday,
November 1 and Thursday, November 3 from 6-
9 PM PT. To sign up, go to
http://go.justicethatworks.org/page/s/phone-
bank-for-yes-on-62.
The campaign can still use some cash, so to
donate, go to
https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/jtw-
home.
Anthony Ray Hinton
What's it like to spend almost 30 years on death,
be exonerated, and return to freedom? Anthony
Ray Hinton knows. Like so many people who
end up this nation's death row, Mr. Hinton had
a court appointed lawyer. Also like so many
people on death row, he'd seen his lawyer only
three times in the two years before his trial. And
when he told his lawyer he was innocent, his
lawyer replied, "All of y'all always say you
didn't do something."
When he was arrested in 1985, he told the
arresting officers that he did not have a gun and
that his mother did. The State's expert ballistics
witness said the bullets that killed someone in a
robbery matched his mother's gun. But even
before the trial when he told the detective
interviewing him that he was the wrong man, he
was told, "I don't care whether you did it or not.
You will be convicted."
In 1995 after seeing Bryan Stevenson on TV, Mr
Hinton contacted him and the Equal Justice
Initiative. A new ballistics expert examined the
bullets and said they didn't match. The attorney
general of Alabama refused to re-examine the
case, a one-hour investment of time, because he
said he it would be a "waste of taxpayers'
money", so Mr. Hinton spent 16 more years on
death row.
While Mr. Hinton was on death row, his cell
was 30 feet from the death chamber. During his
years there, he watched 54 men walk to their
executions, during which he could smell their
burning flesh. Also during this time, 22 men
committed suicide.
Upon his release, he bought himself a king-size
bed because while he was in prison, he'd
dreamed of being able to sleep stretched out
rather than curled up. He also goes outside to
see the stars at night.
To read an interview that 60 Minutes did with
Mr. Hinton, go to www.cbsnews.com/news/60-
minutes-life-after-death-row-exoneration/.
Ohio
For months now, we've seen stays of execution
for inmates on the Ohio death row. The
problem is not that the State does not want to
execute, but rather that it's not had the lethal
cocktail to do the deed. Ohio now may be able
to get the needles ready because the State
intends to use a three-drug cocktail that is very
similar to the one used in Oklahoma. The drugs
are midazolam, rocutonium bromide, and
potassium chloride, all of which are FDA
approved and do not come from a
compounding pharmacy. While finding
companies that will sell their products to be
used in State-sponsored deaths has been
problematic, officials in Ohio have said they
have found a new (unnamed) source for the
drugs from a large manufacturer. While the
FDA approves drugs, it does not approve the
ways in which corrections departments choose
to use them.
Recent Exonerations
Mark Maxon - State: IL
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Mark Maxson was convicted of the rape
and murder of a 6-year-old boy in Chicago and
sentenced to life in prison. He was exonerated in
2016 when DNA on the victim's clothing was
linked to a convicted murderer who confessed
to the crimes.
Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro, and Nelson Ruiz
- State: PR
Date of Exoneration: 9/27/2016
In 1994, Nelson Ortiz, Jose Caro and Nelson
Ruiz were convicted of murder, rape,
kidnapping, robbery, and illegal use of a
weapon in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. They were
exonerated after the prosecution's two chief
witnesses recanted and DNA tests excluded
them as the perpetrators.
Stays of Execution
October
19 Robert Van Hook OH ^^
19 Terry Darnell Edwards TX (Date
changed to January 26, 2017)
November
2 Ramiro Gonzales TX
(The execution date was removed from the
Texas Department of Corrections schedule
without comment.)
16 Jeffery Wogenstahl OH ^^
^^ (All 2016 Ohio executions granted a reprieve
because new execution drugs could not be obtained)
Executions
October
5 Barney Ronald Fuller, Jr* TX
Lethal injection 1-drug (Pentobarbital)
19 Gregory Paul Lawler GA
Lethal injection 1-drug (Pentobarbital)
* volunteer - an inmate who waived ordinary appeals
that remained at the time of his or her execution
Documentary: 13TH
If you access to Netflix (or have a friend who
does), you might consider watching 13TH.
"The title of Ava DuVernay's extraordinary and
galvanizing documentary 13TH refers to the 13th
Amendment to the Constitution, which reads
"Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a
punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been
duly convicted, shall exist within the United States." The
progression from that second qualifying clause to the
horrors of mass criminalization and the sprawling
American prison industry is laid out by DuVernay
with bracing lucidity. "
You can watch the trailer at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V66F3WU2CKk
Amnesty International Group 22
The Caltech Y
Mail Code C1-128
Pasadena, CA 91125
www.its.caltech.edu/~aigp22/
http://rightsreaders.blogspot.com
Amnesty International's mission is to undertake research and action focused on
preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity,
freedom of conscience and expression, and freedom from discrimination, within the
context of its work to promote all human rights.