digital meme» Politics Archives – digital meme

Meron Benvenisti quote regards hypocracy two state solution Israel Palestine

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 15:11:51 +0000

Since it is impossible to refrain from reacting to the Palestinian demand for self-determination in the occupied territories, the Israelis seek to limit it to a mere quarter of them, those who live in the West Bank. For them they have invented a unique concept of a “state”: Its “sovereignty” will be scattered, lacking any cohesive physical infrastructure, with no direct connection to the outside world, and limited to the height of its residential buildings and the depth of its graves.

The airspace and the water resources will remain under Israeli control. Helicopter patrols, the airwaves, the hands on the water pumps and the electrical switches, the registration of residents and the issue of identity cards, as well as passes to enter and leave, will all be controlled (directly or indirectly) by the Israelis. This ridiculous caricature of a Palestinian state, beheaded and with no feet, future, or any chance for development, is presented as fulfillment of the goal of symmetry and equality embodied in the old slogan, “two states for two peoples.” It is endorsed – even by supporters of Greater Israel – and the traditional peace camp rejoices in its triumph.

- by Meron Benvenisti in article for Haaretz Daily Newspaper

Lawrence Lessig – Fix Congress First

admin — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 17:29:08 +0000

Lawrence Lessig has moved from activism on Creative Commons issues to activism on fixing Democracy. It boils down to trust. A system of governance without trust can not be an effective Democracy. A system that incorporates an addiction to lobbyists money and electoral campaigns to maintain power and, at the end, retire into the wealthy arms of the very system that lobbies government – is doomed to dysfunction and chaos. Lawrence Lessig argues that the all important action necessary to allow any other effective actions on any other topic, is to remove this addiction from the system. Doesn’t matter which side of the debate you are on – if you want a government that responds to issues and constituents, you need to get them off this drug. They won’t do it themselves, an intervention is required and we are it. We all need to fix this – that is his new focus. His website that takes on the challenge is Fix Congress First.

photo by this guy

Fault Lines – In Deep Water: A Way of Life in Peril

admin — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 21:04:18 +0000

Sea Shepherd

admin — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 18:59:23 +0000

If you believe business as usual will work and you don’t need to do much more than pay your bills and drop your kids off to school, you may want to watch this. Human Governments and Big Business have squeezed out pretty much all that Earth can take and keep on giving. From here on out life as usual causes irrevocable damage. If the seas have mass die off and extinctions, what kind of world are we going to leave the children? Human children, it’s not just about the whales and krill and Ocean acidity.

“Work smarter, not harder”

admin — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 23:31:45 +0000

From baheyeldin.com

“Work smarter, not harder” is something that sounds good, but in reality it is often a hollow sentence with no substance in it. In the corporate world, when a manager informs his team of staff cuts, while the workload is the same or more, “smarter” does not mean anything other than “do more with less”. If this “working smarter” was tangible and doable, then why was it not employed before the staff cuts? Huh?

Here is a Dilbert comic lampooning this misused non-wisdom …

Health Care: What is Single Payer?

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 16:29:02 +0000

Just heard this lady on the radio (KEXP 90.3FM, Community Forum, 7:30 AM Sat 2/27/10), what got me is the part where a $600 bill ( starting with overly expensive healthcare and overly high copays, and a health emergency that struck at the end of the year, thus requiring two years worth of max-copays in two months, plus continuing strugle to pay health bills culminating in… ) they can’t pay forces them to file bankruptcy, she to be able to pay for health insurance to finish her cancer treatments and her husband a few days before going into the hospital for heart surgery. This is her organization’s website – americanpatientsunited – where one quickly finds this video:

Amy Goodman causes Olympic anxiety for Canadian border guard

admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:02:21 +0000

Canadian border guards give Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now! a thorough detention and harassment as she attempts to cross the border into Canada to promote her new book.

How is this in Canada’s border guards purview? Harassing a news anchor on a book tour? Over the Winter Olympics? After 90 minutes, when they finally let her in to Canada, it was grudgingly, still treating her as a persona non grata, limiting her stay to two days.

“People with some of the smallest carbon footprints on earth are being displaced by companies with some of the biggest.” by Mark Schapiro

admin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:01:27 +0000

Corporate solutions seem to lose sight and punish the little guy even without actively willing it. They just can’t help themselves. It’s the nature of the belief system that the world needs leadership and you’re it. The little guy, living in their little world, with their little education just don’t get it.

Didn’t think I would find material to object to in buying up forest to preserve trees to hold carbon and trade those carbon offsets on the open market. But the rights of the indigenous people need to be respected, their use of the surrounding forest factored in to the equation. It complicates the formulas, but as long as their use requirements are sustainable in that environment I believe their rights need to be factored in, not factored out with restrictions, pressure and policing tactics (fines, jail, guns).

Watched it on DN! Mark Schapiro of the Center for Investigative Reporting. After traveling to Brazil, Schapiro writes, “People with some of the smallest carbon footprints on earth are being displaced by companies with some of the biggest.”

But thought he did a bit of a clumsy interview. Seemed to me likes to talk at length, not in short succinct live interview friendly complete thoughts, thus he wasn’t getting to the point in the time allowed. So I went to his Frontline piece and saw him present his argument in the way he is good at. And he makes a good point. Bellow is the first 2 minute video chapter of several chapters.

And here is the Mother Jones article GM’s Money Trees.

zanews: South African satire not welcome to political leadership

admin — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:03:20 +0000

South African puppet show satire doesn’t make it to tv but does make it online

Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu as cranky puppets? South African politicians don’t like being satirized in a tv news puppet show.

While originally intended to broadcast on the South African public tv station this show had the plug pulled on it. Widely speculated is the theory that certain of the satirized politicians did not like the unglamorous representation of themselves. A few calls, a little arm twisting and it’s gone. But is it? These puppets can be seen in all their glory online.

USA President’s official White House family photo

admin — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 02:38:36 +0000

President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, sit for a family portrait in the Green Room of the White House, Sept. 1, 2009. (Official White House Photo)

Actually, The Official White House Photostream has quite a few interesting photos.