Archive for the 'Politricks' Category

Simple Solutions

Published
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on June 24, 2008
in Buddhism, Politricks and Worldsaving
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Here’s this month’s message from Hozouji. I’m sorry it’s a little tardy. I’ve been a tad busy with marking.

割り切れぬ

And here it is in romaji and then my translation:

subete ga
warikerenu
tokoro ni
jinsei no
myoumi ga aru

Not everything
can be broken down
into simple solutions,
and therein lies
life’s beauty.

Hmm… Seems a bit top-heavy. Oh, well…

Update: There’s a slightly revised version plus Masaya Kanzaki’s commentary up here: LINK

Zimbabwe

Here’s the latest campaign from avaaz.org for Zimbabwe:

…against the odds, hope survives. Amidst growing international pressure, Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party and the opposition have entered private talks. A unity government may be possible yet.

The United Nations Security Council unanimously held on Monday that free and fair elections are now impossible in Zimbabwe. The UN Secretary-General spoke out. But it is African leaders, most of all Thabo Mbeki, who hold the key. Even Mugabe cannot cling to power without their cooperation. Today, we’re launching an emergency campaign, petitioning these leaders to call an immediate summit, isolate Mugabe, and broker a legitimate government for Zimbabwe. Our call will be published in big newspaper advertisements in South Africa, Tanzania, Angola, and Mozambique this week — click here to see the ads and endorse their message:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_zimbabwe/5.php?cl=100616919

Zimbabwe’s neighbours supply its electricity and goods, and control the borders. Many Southern African leaders are already calling for the postponement of the election — but there’s a real danger that they will end up accepting this charade. This would be a grave miscalculation: if Mugabe succeeds in his de facto coup, Zimbabwe’s implosion will accelerate, and chaos could spread throughout the region.

So our campaign will publicly name those African leaders who hold Mugabe’s last remaining lifeline. If these leaders step up strongly now, they can convince enough of Mugabe’s officials that change is coming one way or another — and set the stage for Morgan Tsvangirai to lead a unity government to Zimbabwe back together…

http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_zimbabwe/5.php?cl=100616919

Dennis Kucinich Forces Vote on Bush Impeachment

Published
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on June 11, 2008
in Politricks
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Dennis Kucinich has introduced 35 measures of impeachment against President Bush, reading his resolution into the Congressional Record for nigh on 5 hours. Here's the first five minutes.

Link to Washington Post article.

Link to Dennis Kucinich’s website.

Link to Scott Bateman cartoon.

Tibet

Published
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on March 18, 2008
in Politricks and Worldsaving
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お久しぶり。I’ve been somewhat tied up with this and then but will write a proper blog post soon. In the meantime, this seemed important, so up it goes - the recent campaign from avaaz.org.

After decades of repression under Chinese rule, the Tibetan people’s frustrations have burst onto the streets in protests and riots. With the spotlight of the upcoming Olympic Games now on China, Tibetans are crying out to the world for change.

The Chinese government has said that the protesters who have not yet surrendered “will be punished”. Its leaders are right now considering a crucial choice between escalating brutality or dialogue that could determine the future of Tibet, and China.

We can affect this historic choice–China does care about its international reputation. China’s President Hu Jintao needs to hear that the ‘Made in China’ brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing can succeed only if he makes the right choice. But it will take an avalanche of global people power to get his attention–and we need it in the next 48 hours.

The Tibetan Nobel peace prize winner and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama has called for restraint and dialogue: he needs the world’s people to support him. Click below now to sign the petition–and tell absolutely everyone you can right away–our goal is 1 million voices united for Tibet:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/tibet_end_the_violence/2.php

China’s economy is totally dependent on “Made in China” exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new China, respected as a leading world power. China is also a very diverse country with a brutal past and has reason to be concerned about its stability — some of Tibet’s rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from Tibetans who seek dialogue and reform.

We will deliver our petition directly to Chinese officials in London, New York, and Beijing, but it must be a massive number before we deliver the petition. Please forward this email to your address book with a note explaining to your friends why this is important, or use our tell-a-friend tool to email your address book–it will come up after you sign the petition.

The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak–we must help them be heard.

Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
BBC News: UN Calls for Restraint in Tibet
Human Right Watch: China Restrain from Violently Attacking Protestors
Associated Press: Tibet Unrest Sparks Global Reaction
New York Times: China Takes Steps to Thwart Reporting on Tibet Protests

Morpheus for President

Published
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on March 3, 2008
in Books and Politricks
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Somebody has put up the text of a classic Sandman sequence to dramatize the ongoing struggle for power between Obama and Clinton ~ and it so works!

LINK 

Milkshakes

Published
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on January 19, 2008
in Politricks
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Last night’s party at Joan was so much fun, I’m still laughing! I’ll upload some pictures later, but for now, here’s an analysis of the American presidential contenders that everyone can understand, in terms of milkshakes. I found this on boingboing.

I drink your milkshake, but only if the Bible says it’s allowed. — Mike Huckabee

I drank a milkshake on 9/11. — Rudy Giuliani

I drink your milkshake, but I’m paying for it with gold. — Ron Paul

I will fight the corporations so that you can drink your own milkshake. — John Edwards

I have 35 years of milkshake-drinking experience. *sob* — Hillary Clinton

America deserves a new milkshake. -Barack Obama

etc… LINK

Worldsaving Links

Published
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on January 4, 2008
in Intyatyambo, Politricks and Worldsaving
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Z-com

Independant left-wing media institution Zcommunications have a spiffy new site featuring writers such as Tariq Ali, Noam Chomsky, Robert Fisk, George Monbiot, Howard Zinn etc…

…one of the great newspapers of the internet, print, and video. You get more in one visit than hours of thumbing through voluminous newspaper voices of rapacious power. The range of good journalism, writing and scholarship on ZCom is astonishing: from the pen of the well-known to eyewitness reporting of ‘citizen journalists’. John Pilger
LINK

Intyatyambo

When Udo visited the other day, he updated me on the level of progress made at the Intyatyambo community project. If you don’t remember, Intyatyambo is a South African community project for disadvantaged kids and Udo has volunteered his services as a builder, handy-man and fundraiser. Since becoming involved he has helped raise ￥4 million which has already been spent on fulfilling the children’s basic needs (food and clothing) and on buying three professionally converted shipping containers with a clean bathroom, hygienic playrooms and bedrooms to replace the tin shack that they spent their days in before. However, they are still very far from their goal of raising enough funds to build a new care centre. Here’s a short video about the people behind the project:

Learn more at the Intyatyambo website and keep up-to-date at the Intyatyambo Blog.

Crisis in Kenya

And here’s a message from avaaz.org on the current crisis in Kenya:

It’s the New Year - but for the people of Kenya, a rigged election threatens genocide. There’s something we can do to help before it’s too late, so I thought you might be interested –

Last week, Kenya held a national election marred by vote-tampering. President Mwai Kibaki has claimed victory after pressuring the electoral commissioner and the challenger Raila Odinga has called for protests. Violence has broken out across the country, with gangs of machete-wielding youth terrorizing the population leaving hundreds dead. Suddenly, this hopeful country could be sliding toward genocide.

We mustn’t sit back and watch this nightmarish scenario unfold — but we need to act fast. Archbishop Desmond Tutu has flown into Nairobi, joining the African Union in an effort to broker a power-sharing agreement and review the election results. If talks are to succeed, governments around the world must avoid prematurely recognizing a fraudulently elected leadership and locking in their power. That’s where we come in.

You can click the following link below to send a note to the government, asking them to withhold recognition of a new Kenyan president until agreement is brokered and the election results are independently reviewed:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/kenya_free_and_fair/98.php?CLICK_TF_TRACK

It’s too early to tell how far the situation in Kenya could deteriorate — but we just can’t afford to wait and find out.

Tariq Ali on Benazir Bhutto

Published
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on December 30, 2007
in Politricks
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Zcom has a transcript up of an interview with historian Tariq Ali on the recent crisis in Pakistan which offers an interesting perspective on recent events. Here’s an excerpt:

TARIQ ALI: Her father was probably the most popular politician in Pakistan, pledging massive social reforms. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who had been elected in the 1970 elections, had won a large majority in the country that we now know as Pakistan and had been elected on a very radical platform. He came to power.

He implemented some of his reforms, not all, became extremely autocratic, clashed with the United States on a number of issues, including Pakistan’s right to have nuclear weapons. Henry Kissinger warned him in private that if you do not desist on the nuclear issue, we will make a terrible example out of you. That’s what Bhutto wrote from his death cell. The United States organized a military coup d’etat. General Zia-ul-Haq took power in 1977, organized a trial against Bhutto, charging him with an absurd charge of murdering someone. The judges were pressured, and they found him guilty, and Bhutto was hanged in April 1979. It could not have happened without US support and approval, because Zia was a nobody, and Washington clearly green-lighted the murder.

And Bhutto, from his death cell, wrote a very moving document called “If I Am Assassinated,” in which he said there are two hegemonies—these are his words. He said, “There are two hegemonies that dominate our country. One is an internal hegemony, and the other is an external hegemony. And unless we challenge the external hegemony, we will never be able to deal with the internal one,” meaning Washington is the external hegemony and the army is the internal one. And this is a problem which still haunts Pakistan and which, I have to say, has now created this new crisis.

And unfortunately, his daughter decided to collaborate with both of these hegemonies. One has to say this. Her second period in office was a total disaster, because not only did she do nothing for the poor or her natural constituency, but basically it became an extremely corrupt government, and she and her husband accumulated $1.5 billion through corruption. This is well known to everyone.

Now, when the United States decided they wanted to put her back in there, they told her, we are going to whitewash you so clean no one will even know. And this is what the global media and networks have been doing. Look, I knew her well. I’m very upset that she’s dead. But the piety being displayed on the global media networks is beyond belief. You know, it’s as if there’s no past, no history in this country or its politicians.

Link

Pakistan

Published
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on November 7, 2007
in Politricks
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It’s important, I think, to vary one’s media lens occasionally so as to get a better perspective on what’s really happening out there in the world. If we just receive information from accepted establishment sources (like the BBC in the UK, or NHK in Japan) and think: that’s it, that’s how it is, that’s the way the world is turning, we are going to end up with a very distorted view of reality. Vary your sources and think critically. I think we are all aware of the political situation in Pakistan right now. But how exactly do we perceive it? Through an establishment lens General Musharraf does seem like a rather sympathetic character: a lone strong man figure standing against a tide of irrational terrorists and corrupt politicians and bureaucrats. His choices aren’t ideal but heck (!), out there - in Pakistan(?!) - what’s a guy to do? Here’s a different perspective from Avaaz.org (those who lack time or energy for the entire article,  please scroll down to the part I’ve put in bold - that pretty much brings the message home):

Pakistan is on the brink: unpopular president General Pervez Musharraf has imposed a state of emergency, sacked the Supreme Court, shut down the media and basic freedoms, and imprisoned democratic opposition leaders. The general blames his actions on an imagined coalition of terrorists and independent-minded judges — but his real fear may be losing absolute power.

Elections are planned for January 2008 — they must not be postponed. But martial law and the imprisonment of democratic opposition leaders don’t make for a free and fair vote either. So we’re calling on the international community — particularly the US Congress, which has voted Musharraf billions of dollars in military aid over the last six years — to use all its leverage for swift elections and restoring constitutional protections. Click below to sign our petition immediately, then tell your friends so they can do the same –

http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistan

We just received this email from Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the UN’s Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion worldwide. Now under house arrest in Lahore, she’s one of many Pakistanis urgently asking the world community to raise our voice:

There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers… The Chief Justice is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention laws…

There are other scores political leaders who have also been arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days… the President (who has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires.

Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the scene is likely to get uglier. We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife…

–Asma Jahangir
Lahore, Pakistan

General Musharraf claims that martial law is necessary to combat extremist terror. But it just doesn’t add up. Musharraf retains strong links with the Pakistani Taliban (see PS below). His emergency powers are being directed only against the democratic opposition, free press and judiciary – just days before a scheduled ruling on whether Musharraf could run for president while remaining army chief. In an August poll, too, Pakistanis rated “ensuring an independent judiciary, free press and free elections” as their top priority.

Right now, leaders around the world are deciding how to respond. The General is dressing up his crackdown in the rhetoric of “anti-terrorism” because Musharraf and his military supporters depend on foreign military aid and international recognition to maintain their legitimacy. That’s why we have to speak out now.

The world can’t ignore the threat of chaos in Pakistan, or the voices of our fellow democrats there. Let’s come together as we did on Burma, and move our governments to act. In these crucial early days, the voice of the world’s people has tremendous power. Let’s use it. Sign the petition and tell your friends today -

http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistan

With hope,

Paul, Pascal, Galit, Ricken, Graziela, Ben and the whole Avaaz team

PS for more background on Pakistani polls and Musharraf’s links to the Pakistani Taliban, see: http://www.avaaz.org/blog/en/pakistan

Free Burma

Published
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on October 4, 2007
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Free Burma!

I received this message from avaaz.org yesterday:

Dear friends,

Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma’s rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty.

China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals’ reign of terror. We’re delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning Thursday with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide, and in the South China Morning Post. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week? The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family!

http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php

China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma’s dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression?

People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny. Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word!

With hope and determination,

Ricken, Paul, Ben, Graziela, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team.

For the best local reporting on the situation in Burma, try these links:

http://www.irrawaddy.org

http://www.mizzima.com

So if you haven’t signed the petition yet, sign it now. Here’s that link again: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php

And tell your friends!

Some More Links For Ya

Published
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on October 2, 2007
in Politricks
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My friend, Arch-Hippy Eric Mandala, sent me this mail today:

After decades of military dictatorship, the people of Burma are rising – and they need our help. …I just signed a petition calling on Burma’s powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma’s rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 200,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered to the UN secretary general, and broadcast to the Burmese people by radio. We’re trying to get to 1 million signatures this week, please sign below and tell everyone!


And now I’ve signed it and so should you. Here’s the link: Stand With Burma.Julian Piggot sent me a link to this fascinating documentary on Robert McNamara, former US Secretary of Defence, and President of the World Bank. Watch this and learn about the decision making process behind the firebombing of Japanese civilians during WW2, the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Vietnam War. McNamara is an excellent speaker, a highly intelligent man and at some point he seems to have been involved in inventing the seat belt… He also clearly has a lot of blood on his hands. And I think he feels it too (though he won’t admit it). Here’s the link: The Fog of War. (Prego Jules)

And I found this game on BoingBoing and it’s fun but pretty hard to do well. I played it as cynically as I could but just kept on bankrupting the company. I guess I’ll never be a businessman. Play it online here: McDonald’s Video Game.