Well I find myself living between two places. In one of these places I feel like I have a purpose, like there's always something to do. In the other place I'm just killing time. I don't have an Iphone to keep myself busy like so many other people I see around me. I'm not interested in getting drunk or heading to Tim Horton's for a double double. But I have appointments so that's why I'm here. And I get to spend time with Jane so that's good. Just can't wait until it's back home.
--
And sorry in advance for yet again remarking on the Israel-Palestine business. But, with Netanyahu pulling out all the stops and Obama falling into step (was he ever out of step?), you really realize that the Palestinians are getting somewhere. If the US and Israel effectively order you not to do something then you should definitely do it.
It looks like the UN General Assembly is set to vote to recognize a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders come the fall. How the chumpy have fallen. Slow and steady wins the race. And as much as they would like to use their veto, if a significant number of states vote then even the dismal US can't stop the inevitable. I wonder what it will mean. Fun times ahead.
And the only knock against the 1967 borders is that they are 'indefensible'. Huh, they must think we are pretty stupid. What the fuck do they think happened between 1948 and 1967? That's right defence.
But of course all this is a distraction. With a state, it will just be Palestinians abusing Palestinians instead of Israelis.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Talk is Cheap
Terribly sick. Miserable start of spring, and worst, I know that my annual end of May allergies are on their way. Mostly I'm spending my days shivering in bed and trying to sleep away 24 hours of each day, waking every two hours, eating very little. I haven't been ill in years I think, so I guess I was due.
Happily I am reading and listening to some great Democracy Now! shows. If you've never checked out Democracy Now! please listen and consider supporting them. We need a Democracy Now! North.
Tonight apparently Barack Obama is going to address the Muslim world or something. More meaningless bullshit. Check out Robert Fisk's great commentary on the dismal speech to come. I've included an excerpt tonight:
"OK, so here's what President Barack Obama should say today about the Middle East. We will leave Afghanistan tomorrow. We will leave Iraq tomorrow. We will stop giving unconditional, craven support to Israel. Americans will force the Israelis – and the European Union – to end their siege of Gaza. We will withhold all future funding for Israel unless it ends, totally and unconditionally, its building of colonies on Arab land that does not belong to it. We will cease all co-operation and business deals with the vicious dictators of the Arab world – whether they be Saudi or Syrian or Libyan – and we will support democracy even in those countries where we have massive business interests. Oh yes, and we will talk to Hamas.
Of course, President Barack Obama will not say this. A vain and cowardly man, he will talk about the West's "friends" in the Middle East, about the security of Israel – security not being a word he has ever devoted to Palestinians – and he will waffle on and on about the Arab Spring as if he ever supported it (until, of course, the dictators were on the run), as if – when they desperately needed his support – he had given his moral authority to the people of Egypt; and, no doubt, we will hear him say what a great religion Islam is (but not too great, or Republicans will start recalling the Barack Hussein Obama birth certificate again) and we will be asked – oh, I fear we will – to turn our backs on the Bin Laden past, to seek "closure" and "move on" (which I'm afraid the Taliban don't quite agree with)."
Happily I am reading and listening to some great Democracy Now! shows. If you've never checked out Democracy Now! please listen and consider supporting them. We need a Democracy Now! North.
Tonight apparently Barack Obama is going to address the Muslim world or something. More meaningless bullshit. Check out Robert Fisk's great commentary on the dismal speech to come. I've included an excerpt tonight:
"OK, so here's what President Barack Obama should say today about the Middle East. We will leave Afghanistan tomorrow. We will leave Iraq tomorrow. We will stop giving unconditional, craven support to Israel. Americans will force the Israelis – and the European Union – to end their siege of Gaza. We will withhold all future funding for Israel unless it ends, totally and unconditionally, its building of colonies on Arab land that does not belong to it. We will cease all co-operation and business deals with the vicious dictators of the Arab world – whether they be Saudi or Syrian or Libyan – and we will support democracy even in those countries where we have massive business interests. Oh yes, and we will talk to Hamas.
Of course, President Barack Obama will not say this. A vain and cowardly man, he will talk about the West's "friends" in the Middle East, about the security of Israel – security not being a word he has ever devoted to Palestinians – and he will waffle on and on about the Arab Spring as if he ever supported it (until, of course, the dictators were on the run), as if – when they desperately needed his support – he had given his moral authority to the people of Egypt; and, no doubt, we will hear him say what a great religion Islam is (but not too great, or Republicans will start recalling the Barack Hussein Obama birth certificate again) and we will be asked – oh, I fear we will – to turn our backs on the Bin Laden past, to seek "closure" and "move on" (which I'm afraid the Taliban don't quite agree with)."
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sad Truths
Wow, another brilliant and challenging article from George Monbiot. I especially appreciate his challenge to back to the land folks (I guess I'm one of them--just ignore my computer), around manufacturing. We obviously will need energy and mining to make gardening tools, butchering tool in the future. Anyway please check out the article. If you don't here are some highlights below:
"The problem we face is not that we have too little fossil fuel, but too much. As oil declines, economies will switch to tar sands, shale gas and coal; as accessible coal declines, they'll switch to ultra-deep reserves (using underground gasification to exploit them) and methane clathrates. The same probably applies to almost all minerals: we will find them, but exploiting them will mean trashing an ever greater proportion of the world's surface. We have enough non-renewable resources of all kinds to complete our wreckage of renewable resources: forests, soil, fish, freshwater, benign weather. Collapse will come one day, but not before we have pulled everything down with us."
"All of us in the environment movement, in other words – whether we propose accommodation, radical downsizing or collapse – are lost. None of us yet has a convincing account of how humanity can get out of this mess. None of our chosen solutions break the atomising, planet-wrecking project. I hope that by laying out the problem I can encourage us to address it more logically, to abandon magical thinking and to recognise the contradictions we confront. But even that could be a tall order."
I guess I really have to start talking to people about powering down in a real way, make it real to them. I don't feel much like a spokesman but we really need to start talking about these issues. I have no idea how to challenge all the advertising that promotes the destruction of the planet in such a pretty package. We are up against it friends. Again check out that article.
"The problem we face is not that we have too little fossil fuel, but too much. As oil declines, economies will switch to tar sands, shale gas and coal; as accessible coal declines, they'll switch to ultra-deep reserves (using underground gasification to exploit them) and methane clathrates. The same probably applies to almost all minerals: we will find them, but exploiting them will mean trashing an ever greater proportion of the world's surface. We have enough non-renewable resources of all kinds to complete our wreckage of renewable resources: forests, soil, fish, freshwater, benign weather. Collapse will come one day, but not before we have pulled everything down with us."
"All of us in the environment movement, in other words – whether we propose accommodation, radical downsizing or collapse – are lost. None of us yet has a convincing account of how humanity can get out of this mess. None of our chosen solutions break the atomising, planet-wrecking project. I hope that by laying out the problem I can encourage us to address it more logically, to abandon magical thinking and to recognise the contradictions we confront. But even that could be a tall order."
I guess I really have to start talking to people about powering down in a real way, make it real to them. I don't feel much like a spokesman but we really need to start talking about these issues. I have no idea how to challenge all the advertising that promotes the destruction of the planet in such a pretty package. We are up against it friends. Again check out that article.
Puke
The rejoicing in the death of Osama Bin Laden is enough to make one want to puke. I listened to the World at Six on CBC Radio One this evening and it was sickening to hear the joy that a bullet to the head caused. It just shows how violent and screwed up we all are. Revenge, revenge, revenge! The media, as ever, took sides, instead of just covering the news. Beating the drums of war and never, ever risking discussing complexity to confuse the plebs.
And these were grown adults rejoicing in death. The only moment of sanity came from the mouth of a babe. The comments of a little boy, whose father had been killed in 9/11 or the numerous trillion dollar wars that have followed (I'm sorry I don't remember which one) were conveyed by his mother. She happily told him bluntly of the brains splattered on the mansion walls in Pakistan. His response: "Why didn't they put him on trial"? Bless you.
Children at least know something about justice, unlike the madmen and women who lead and follow.
And never, ever do we wonder if, for all his own brand of madness (not far from our own clearly), does Bin Laden have (excuse me, had) genuine grievances. A quick list: the occupation of Palestine, Arab dictators, torture (and Bin Laden surely used it too) and secret police, corruption demonstrates that he had some fair points (Hitler had some good ideas right?).
Incidentally check out this great opinion piece from Robert Fisk. Fisk interviewed Bin Laden on three occasions and, unlike most reporters, he doesn't serve power.
Now I can get back to puking as the Conservatives win their majority. I'm sure Bin Laden would have died happy had he lived to see this result.
And these were grown adults rejoicing in death. The only moment of sanity came from the mouth of a babe. The comments of a little boy, whose father had been killed in 9/11 or the numerous trillion dollar wars that have followed (I'm sorry I don't remember which one) were conveyed by his mother. She happily told him bluntly of the brains splattered on the mansion walls in Pakistan. His response: "Why didn't they put him on trial"? Bless you.
Children at least know something about justice, unlike the madmen and women who lead and follow.
And never, ever do we wonder if, for all his own brand of madness (not far from our own clearly), does Bin Laden have (excuse me, had) genuine grievances. A quick list: the occupation of Palestine, Arab dictators, torture (and Bin Laden surely used it too) and secret police, corruption demonstrates that he had some fair points (Hitler had some good ideas right?).
Incidentally check out this great opinion piece from Robert Fisk. Fisk interviewed Bin Laden on three occasions and, unlike most reporters, he doesn't serve power.
Now I can get back to puking as the Conservatives win their majority. I'm sure Bin Laden would have died happy had he lived to see this result.
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