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Kathy Glasgow of Miami New Times interviews Marilese, who came to the United States in 1992 fleeing political violence in her Haitian homeland. Now she has three children, an uncertain place in the United States and a heart filled with dark memories. "Marilise's story of degradation, poverty, and fear begins to reveal a person who in some ways has been an innocent victim all her life, except there's really no such thing," Glasgow writes. "It's hardly inspirational. Perhaps it's allegorical, a story not too far removed from that of every other Haitian woman who ever came here on a boat, except in degrees of darkness. She tells it in a stream of consciousness, pouring out vignettes then suddenly skipping to a different incident years removed. It sounds too awful to have happened, but so do too many stories from Haiti."

Continue ReadingPast and Future Dark for Haitian Tonton Refugee

Ted Rall, who went to Afghanistan with his wife as a correspondent for The Village Voice and two radio stations, tells the Los Angeles Times about his "12th century experience." Rall, a cartoonist by trade, has an acerbic and cynical take on the war. For example, Rall descibes how Taliban surrender means a quick shave and a change of headgear. "The next day they are Northern Alliance troops. ... This is a fashion war," Rall tells the LA Times. "They could change hats again tomorrow -- and they probably will."

Continue ReadingTed Rall Describes His Afghan Nightmare

The Cleveland Free Times' pick of Rep. Gary Condit, R-Calif., as Man of the Year wins praise from Al Kamen of The Washington Post. Kamen says Free Times "got it right" because the selection "should be given to someone who kept the country enthralled for much of the year." Even after Sept. 11 should have wiped Condit off the radar, Condit "was determined not to cede the front page to Osama." Lisa Chamberlain, editor of the Free Times, says in an editorial about the choice, "Gary Condit is the quintessence of a gluttonous society operating without fear or consequence, content to distract itself with inanities."

Continue ReadingPost Praises Free Times for Naming Condit Man of Year