Living @ the speed of life... |
Tuesday, September 17, 2002
Streams of Bloggishness wrought by Ray Sweatman from blogs by many...(including mine, I'm happy to say)... Saturday, September 14, 2002
The Seduction of Convenience
 Convenience is a great seducer. After all, the path of least resistance will always prevail in a world filled with unthinking, disposable, automatons. It's not our fault, we are encouraged not to think, to strive for Happiness™(as portrayed on any TV commercial between any infomercial on any commercial station in Consumerland™), to accept convenience in our lives and ignore consequences. We are encouraged to feel small, to feel helpless, insignificant. We are encouraged to keep our heads down, don't rock the boat, don't cause trouble, don't draw attention to ourselves.
Products are now built with a minimal life span, the quicker we use it up the quicker we buy another. A razor used to last a lifetime, now you are lucky if it gets you to the other cheek. We used to want quality and endurance from products. We used to touch and smell food before we purchased it. We used to enjoy speaking to each other, face to face. We used to eat less and do more. Soon we will be plugged into our Automasofa™ replete with catheter, intravenous drip and credit card swipe machine, experiencing Life™ in all its 3D, surround sound, Technitouch™ glory. Never moving except to swipe our credit card for the next delivery of Air™. Of course it comes in any flavour you could desire and is piped direct to your Blinkermask™ for your convenience... Friday, September 13, 2002
And Bush wonders why he can't get international support for his war...
This at Sandhill Trek would be reason enough for some... Maybe it has something to do with the fact that economic liberalism is compulsory for developing countries but optional for Bush and the American steel industry... Maybe it has to do with the fact that a lot of people around the world believe Bush is as much a threat to world peace as Saddam Hussein including, former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela... Perhaps it has to do with the fact that 178 countries signed up to the Kyoto accord. Bush did not... ***I was pleased to find that someone arrived at the site the other day having typed america, greed & insular into Google. I must be doing something right...*** Thursday, September 12, 2002
It's all hocus pocus and sleight of hand to deflect attention from the real issues...
So basically nothing has changed. America is still bullying the rest of the world and has made it quite clear that unless the United Nations play by American rules they will take home their football... Or... Same old script, same old cast of characters; familiar, swarthy, moustachioed bad guy; simple, all American, cowboy, good guy; show down; high noon; staring each other down in the heat of the desert... ineffectual towns people (read "rest of world") look on...ah if only real life were so simple... Or... Check out such real issues as Isolating US Unilateralism in this piece at Znet. Or... Switch on the TV and watch Survivor.... Wednesday, September 11, 2002
Tuesday, September 10, 2002
Saturday, September 07, 2002
What justification is there for war with Iraq?
What support is there, internationally, for war with Iraq? Where is this dossier of evidence so damning as to condemn many thousands of Iraqi civilians to death in a war which is as much about control of oil markets and boosting Bush's popularity as about the so called "war on terrorism"? Tony Blair may back Bush on his call to arms but the British public are far from convinced, as are many of Blair's own cabinet. The leaders of the Western World cannot continue throwing their weight around like bullies in the school yard. This is the very behaviour which leads to extremist attitudes and inevitably to atrocities against the West such as those on 9/11. Bravo George and Tony, just keep leading us down the same old bloody and arrogant path. 9/11 should have been a wake up call, a time to reflect and ask ourselves why any organisation would find it necessary to slam 4 hijacked civilian jets into the very heart of Western Democracy. Certainly any developing power with the means of producing weapons of mass destruction will be monitored closely but any actions to stop such development should be pursued through the UN. That's what they are there for. The UN Security Council must sanction any such attack. It has not. Thursday, September 05, 2002
So you take the pills. And when they start to work their patented magic on you, you take stock. You can't do much else. Theres a lot of that. Just thinking. Thinking about all the things that brought your life to this point. Thinking about all the dreams you once had for your future. And eventually, after a few months of this self analysis, you begin to realise that there is a future for you. That's a surprise, at first. For the longest time it was hard to see as far as tomorrow. And then you start to realise that you can change. That is a revelation. Suddenly you understand it's not too late, you can do things now that will put your life closer to the path you truly wanted. So you start to set goals for yourself. Nothing too big at first, just small things that you could not do only a couple of months ago. Like, making phone calls or going out of the house to buy groceries. Little victories each one. It's a start. It's something you can build on... Tuesday, September 03, 2002
Let's not beat about the Bush here. The outcome of the Johannesburg World Summit will prove to be a catastrophe of the highest magnitude, the repercussions of which will be felt for generations to come. This was an opportunity for global relations to grow up, to lead the people of the world into a new safer, wealthier, more peaceful and sustainable future. But that opportunity has been thwarted by greed, an unbelievable lack of vision and a criminal lack of leadership. This was a chance for the United States of America, the shining light of western democracy, to lead the world, to show that greed and self interest are not at the heart of such a powerful and great nation.
For a country whose decisions and policies have such far reaching effects to maintain such an insular outlook is not only short sighted politically, it is insane. At a time when American foreign policy is under such worldwide scrutiny, at a time when the people of the United States are dying in terror attacks by fanatics who see the US as some kind of all consuming, corrupt, cesspit of humanity, it is being shown to be nothing but subservient to the excesses of personal/corporate greed. Posturing and threatening war on legitimate foreign states, ignoring international law, showing a complete disinterest in the future of our ecology and the poor in the world is hardly the way for such a country to act. History will record how shallow, cowardly and self-serving the politicians of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries have become. America is not the sole perpetrator in this respect. The USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and the OPEC countries all refused point blank to sign up to any agreement which implemented timetables or material targets. Brazil had been touting a target of a paltry 10% renewable energy sources by 2010, with strong support from the EU among others but that was dead in the water. No way. Not even considered. The lack of leadership which America and other wealthy nations have shown at the summit is shocking. We must now come down from our ivory tower of comfort and the detached consumer culture of the twentieth century and wake up to the realities that lie ahead. We all have a part to play. We all must take back the personal responsibility which we have relinquished for far too long. Ignoring the consequences of our actions. Still striving for an individualistic American Dream long since devoid of any moral value, for our wants and dreams are insatiable but the resources upon which these dreams are built, are finite and for every one man getting richer so millions get poorer. How can we continue to base our economy on growth and more when the resources to achieve these ends grow ever less? How can we base our progress as a species on something as volatile and essentially valueless as Market Forces? How can we continue to support political parties whose policies perpetuate the depletion of global resources? Parties who relentlessly ignore the plight of their sinking ship of gluttons and thieves while the burden of their consumption drags them to a watery grave. History will record how shallow, cowardly and self-serving the civilians of the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries became. How they shrugged their shoulders and did nothing to stop the rot. And how they deserved what they got. Sunday, September 01, 2002
Recieved two emails this week that I thought I should post...
The first from a friend of mine... "Nigerian woman sentenced to death for having a child out of wedlock. I have attached the link to the Amnesty International site of which on the right hand side there is a letter to the Nigerian president that you can sign. She has 30 days to appeal against her sentence. It takes literally one minute. It may be worth forwarding this on to all your friends - http://www.mertonai.org/amina/ I have signed it." So have I... The second, a worying phenomenon highlighted in an email from Michael Albert at ZNet... "-- the reason I am writing at all today -- is odd, but you should please heed it. There is a new hacking stunt afoot. People send messages that they concoct in other people's names and with other people's return address as the seeming source.It is a way to spread disinformation designed to generate confusion and hostility, as well as to drain people's energies...The aim is that the misrepresented person should be hit with thousands or even tens of thousands of messages, with ensuing time wasting recriminations. My warning is simple. If you get a message that seems to be from or to include words from some left figure or list or institution that are contrary to what you think that figure -- list or institutions -- believes, or even if you are not sure, but the words are incendiary -- don't rush to reply. Assume there is something horribly wrong. Soon enough it will be evident if the person, list, or institution, really has lost their way, or if, instead, it is a hack." Just passing it on... |
