oil and water: Canada's conundrum

it's hard to think about life without the energy sources we currently use. just last night I drove 25 minutes alone in my car to a remote point break to surf powerful overhead waves at sunset. I love surfing and would not be able to do it without a car.

I ride my bike to work everyday. the reasons for it have more to do with pleasure and convenience than wanting to avoid using fossil fuels. riding my bike is not enough.

when will  shit hit the fan? how much longer will our ecosystem sustain us before it starts to sputter in fits of exhaustion?

the video below highlights how Canada is managing its oil sands and water resources. the management style is that old one where maximizing profit trumps any other considerations -as opposed to valuing profit, people and environment equally.

I've said this before and I reckon most of you who come here would agree, that we as people are not separate from environment. we must come to terms with this fact and act accordingly.

the environmental movement has been painted with a green brush and many people see that colour and disassociate themselves, thinking that they are not green, that their values are red or blue.

but the environment is where we live.

it is our food, shelter and comforter. without it we won't survive, nor will our children. my son included.

what are we going to do?


H2oil animated sequences from Dale Hayward on Vimeo.

remember: the halifax explosion

bombs have no positive attributes







these photos are of my neighborhood. it was completely flattened during the explosion.

"The Halifax Explosion occurred on Thursday, December 6, 1917, when the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, was devastated by the huge detonation of the SS Mont-Blanc, a French cargo ship, fully loaded with wartime explosives, which accidentally collided with the Norwegian SS Imo in "The Narrows" section of the Halifax Harbour. About 2,000 people were killed by debris, fires, or collapsed buildings and it is estimated that over 9,000 people were injured. This is still the world's largest man-made accidental explosion.

At 8:40 in the morning, the SS Mont-Blanc, chartered by the French government to carry munitions to Europe, collided with the unloaded Norwegian ship Imo, chartered by the Commission for Relief in Belgium to carry relief supplies. Mont-Blanc caught fire ten minutes after the collision and exploded about twenty-five minutes later (at 9:04:35 AM).All buildings and structures covering nearly 2 square kilometres (500 acres) along the adjacent shore were obliterated, including those in the neighbouring communities of Richmond and Dartmouth. The explosion caused a tsunami in the harbour and a pressure wave of air that snapped trees, bent iron rails, demolished buildings, grounded vessels, and carried fragments of the Mont-Blanc for kilometres."

earth day = humans day

what am I doing for earth day? well I rode my bike to work in the pissing spring rain. please hold your applause. riding my bike to work is not going to "save our planet."

this may get a little ranty so cool your boots.

We’ve been getting duped for a long time with this earth day bullshit. Now everyone is “green” and every company offers a “green” product line. You can pledge monthly tithing’s to save: whales, wolves, hawks, beaches, frogs and trees. Hell you can even pledge to send some poor belly full of worms kid in a developing country to school. You can put their picture on your fridge and smile each time you go for your next beer. But really what it all boils down to is saving our own asses.

Before I get too cynical let I re-direct.

We are animals. Unlike other animals like iguanas in the Galapagos Islands, we do not speciate. This means that we are not limited by geographic location as we can adapt to live in any part of our earth. Like the iguana, we have a habitat which needs a basic level of natural functioning to support the life of the iguana. Any radical changes in the Galapagos sea iguanas’ environment and it will die. This is the same for us. However, because we can adapt so easily, and we can eat and digest just about anything, our habitat is not as easily derailed as say that of a really specialized animals like the marine iguana of the Galapagos.

All I’m saying through the above obvious statement is that we need to be honest with ourselves and with the language we use. We are destroying our own habitats. Some have destroyed theirs so completely that it doesn’t support them any longer and they must rely on aid. Haiti is the perfect example. I won’t waste any virtual ink on the blaming game as to who is responsible for the most damage to our habitat (we all know it’s the developed countries). The bottom line is that if you shit in your cage then you gotta sleep in your shit.

So what is the answer? How do we fix things? According to some it may be too late but perhaps the most powerful thing anyone in a developed country can do to help preserve their “own” habitat is to radically cut down on their total consumption of resources. I will leave it that as I intended this to be more linguistic discussion than an ethical argument about consumerism environmentalism.

Happy Humans Day!

stick out your chest: the book Chavez gave Obama

and not your ass

OK so some people think that the Hawaiian surf culture can take localism too far. that they use violence too easily. but what else is a people to do? the video below is very interesting and features a member of Da Hui reading an open letter to the people of Tahiti encouraging them to stand up against Billabong and the ASP and demand to be able to take a greater part in the contest both as competitors and organizers.

why? because it is their land, their wave, their culture, their capital interest and their sovereign right. I truly and sincerely hope that the Tahitian's take heed and move to force the ASP to comply.


this brings me to another point. I have often lamented here that the internet has questionable benefits in terms of human and personal relations. but the same way as Da Hui video will influence many so has the photo and story of Venezuela's Hugo Chavez gifting a communist book to America's Barak Obama.



the book is "Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent." in the book author Eduardo Galeano explores the "various facets of Latin American history according to the patterns of five centuries of exploitation."

exploitation may seem like a harsh word to some North Americans, especially if you are a good law abiding citizen who works an honest wage and takes care of his family. but we need to open our eyes to the vast desert of social and environmental destruction which we are leaving behind in our wake of over consumption.


Chavez is brilliant in this public propaganda stunt. by this simple gesture he will effectively educate thousands of Americans in the way of economic and military exploitation that the US has been so successful at inflicting on Latin America. I hope that the Tahitians too will take back what is rightfully theirs and demand a major share in the earnings of the western companies who are exploiting Tahiti's natural resources.

"the traditional teaching of the Church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids".

Pope Benedict XVI

only one conclusion can be drawn from this statement. the world we live in is absolutely absurd and paradoxical. there are over 22 million HIV infected people in Africa. that's two thirds of Canada's entire population. and the best way to deal with it is through abstinence and prayer?

kalle lasn (monkey see -do)

L.A.: But what about the good ideas? Do they really come from cyber these days, as some people are saying?

Kalle Lasn: I don’t know, I’m from the old school. I don’t see it yet. I see a lot of frenetic activity in cyberspace, but a lot of it is like the postmodern hall of mirrors. It’s just people sending email messages to each other, hand on the mouse, and you think that you’ve done something great if you get some big idea here and send an email to your friend, and pass it on, and you think you have made some sort of a big thing for the day. I don’t actually see too many really new ideas coming out of cyberspace yet. I see a lot of new ideas still coming out of philosophers, musicians, thinkers, sociologists, a few economists. I think that the big ideas are still coming out in the traditional way, and then they start to reverberate within cyberspace. They are amplified there in cyberspace.

for the rest of the interview go to adbusters

soundbites for this reading provided by dub.com dubcast #6

jesus malverde protect us

it’s easy to demonize the cartel boys from Mexico as they slay each other by the dozen. how could they be so brutal, so inhuman? why have they allowed the drug trade to take over their communities? perhaps it’s better to break it down a little.

•during the mid to late 1800's the US fought a dirty war in attempt to capture as much Mexican territory as possible. Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian gives us a graphic, albeit fictional account of how that time transpired
•completion of the Glenn Canyon Damn in 1963, effectively robbing water from Mexico -“the Colorado River Delta in Mexico is deprived of silt and vital nutrients, which has changed a once lush environment to infertile land.”
•NAFTA

oh there’s a lot more in the history over the past 100 years that can help explain why Mexico is in the state that it is today. the war on drugs in Mexico is nothing more than an economic struggle. the people from the north of Mexico have no way to make a living. the lands are not arable. factories have closed due to cheaper labor in Asia.

the cartels exist because in North America and Western Europe there is a huge demand for drugs. at what point will we take responsibility? are we not to blame for the violence which happens in order to maintain the flow of drugs north? it’s the same with diamonds and hard woods from the Congo, or coal from Colombia, or garments from sweatshops in South East Asia.

at what point do we accept some responsibility for the slayings, the desertification of once fertile lands, the indentured servitude of millions of hands, deforestation, starvation, human trafficking, and on and on? I don’t mean to navel gaze. I’m completely aware as to how I benefit from our taking and taking. I just want to be honest, and see myself as no different than the cartel boys. the only difference between them and me is our weapon of choice. mine is my wallet while theirs is the pistol.

shakas, aloha and the responsibility of the I(ndividual)

the shaka sign is often used to symbolize the spirit of Aloha. "Aloha in the Hawaiian language means affection, love, peace, compassion and mercy."

as for the new American president I think it can be said that he brings a lot of hope and intelligence to government. but let us not forget those famous words from JFK "ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country." and what is it that WE can do?

-reconsider our personal relationship to wealth and things. for it is our hunger for consumption which is in no small part responsible for inequity around the world as we gather others resources either with small dollars or by force when necessary.

-reconsider our personal relationships to "happiness" and health. for hapiness is not found in fast and "convenient" foods and hundreds of TV channels but rather in the feelings of self reliance and strong body which in turn feeds our mental health.

-and our personal relationship to social responsibility at home and abroad. let us not stand aside and watch as the genocide continues in Darfur. let us demand the end to the unjust occupation and war on Iraq. let us not let our own people suffer from poor health by allowing corporations to feed them rubbish while maintaining medical care out the financial reach of most. let us make our own things again and re-establish our traditions of craftsmanship and ingenuity. let us think for ourselves and use our voices.

Prayer = War

I'm over it! It's time to stop pretending and lying that religion is the way to save our souls or whatever. It's bullshit. Religion is to blame for most of the current violent conflicts world wide. From the Lord's Resistance Army's despicable tactics in Northern Uganda, to the still ongoing genocide in Darfur, to the Palestine Israel conflict, to the Muslim vs. Christian terrorism in the Philippines there's war for a god. Then there's the more subversive stuff like the Christian Right in North America and who knows what else.

If you really want to make a change in the world then STOP PRAYING. Religion sets up hierarchies and divides us based on blind faith and archaic ideology. Religion causes hatred and breeds war. Religion takes our money, our self worth, our ancestral beliefs, our cultures. The decimation of hundreds of indigenous and First Nations tribes in the Americas and the Caribbean are because of religion.

What should you believe in then if not your God? Believe in your breath. Believe in your ability to choose and to give and to love. Believe that we are in this moment and that this moment is what we have. Believe in Peace and tolerance.

Current Religious Wars:

Afghanistan:……Extreme, radical Fundamentalist Muslim terrorist groups, non-Muslims. Osama bin Laden heads a terrorist group called Al Quada (The Source) whose headquarters were in Afghanistan. They were protected by, and integrated with, the Taliban dictatorship in the country. The Northern Alliance of rebel Afghans, Britain and the U.S. attacked the Taliban and Al Quada, establishing a new regime in part of the country. The fighting continues.

Bosnia:……Serbian Orthodox Christians, Roman Catholic), Muslims. Fragile peace is holding, due only to the presence of peacekeepers.

Côte d’Ivoire:……Muslims, Indigenous, Christian. Following the elections in late 2000, government security forces “began targeting civilians solely and explicitly on the basis of their religion, ethnic group, or national origin. The overwhelming majority of victims come from the largely Muslim north of the country, or are immigrants or the descendants of immigrants…”
A military uprising continued the slaughter in 2002.

Cyprus:……Christians, Muslims. The island is partitioned,creating enclaves for ethnic Greeks (Christians) and Turks (Muslims). A UN peace keeping force is maintaining stability.

East Timor:……Christians, Muslims. A Roman Catholic country. About 20% of the population died by murder, starvation or disease after they were forcibly annexed by Indonesia (mainly Muslim). After voting for independence, many Christians were exterminated or exiled by the Indonesian army and army-funded militias in a carefully planned program of genocide and religious cleansing. The situation is now stable.

India:……Animists, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs. Various conflicts that heat up periodically producing loss of life.

Indonesia, province of Ambon:……Christians, Muslims. After centuries of relative peace, conflicts between Christians and Muslims started during 1999-JUL in this province of Indonesia. The situation now appears to be stable.

Iraq:……Kurds, Shiite Muslims, Sunni Muslims, western armed forces. By mid-2006, a small scale civil war, primarily between Shiite and Sunni Muslims started. The situation appears to be steadily degenerating.

Kashmir:……Hindus, Muslims. A chronically unstable region of the world, claimed by both Pakistan and India. The availability of nuclear weapons and the eagerness to use them are destabilizing the region further. More details Thirty to sixty thousand people have died since 1989.

Kosovo:……Serbian Orthodox Christians, Muslims. Peace enforced by NATO peacekeepers. There is convincing evidence of past mass murder by Yugoslavian government (mainly Serbian Orthodox Christians) against ethnic Albanians (mostly Muslim).

Kurdistan:……Christians, Muslims. Assaults on Christians (Protestant, Chaldean Catholic, Assyrian Orthodox).

Macedonia:……Macedonian Orthodox Christians, Muslims. Muslims (often referred to as ethnic Albanians) engaged in a civil war with the rest of the country who are primarily Macedonian Orthodox Christians. A peace treaty has been signed. Disarmament by NATO is complete.

Middle East:……Jews, Muslims, Christians. The peace process between Israel and Palestine suffered a complete breakdown. This has resulted in the deaths of thousands, in the ratio of three dead for each Jew. Major strife broke out in 2000-SEP. Major battle in Lebanon during mid-2006. No resolution appears possible.

Nigeria:……Christians, Animists, Muslims. Yourubas and Christians in the south of the country are battling Muslims in the north. Country is struggling towards democracy after decades of Muslim military dictatorships.

Northern Ireland:……Protestants, Catholics. After 3,600 killings and assassinations over 30 years, some progress has been made in the form of a ceasefire and an independent status for the country.

Pakistan:……Suni, Shi’ite Muslims. Low level mutual attacks.

Philippines:……Christians, Muslims. A low level conflict between the mainly Christian central government and Muslims in the south of the country has continued for centuries.

Russia,Chechnya:……Russian Orthodox Christians, Muslims. The Russian army attacked the breakaway region. Many atrocities have been alleged on both sides. According to the Voice of the Martyrs: “In January 2002 Chechen rebels included all Christians on their list of official enemies, vowing to ‘blow up every church and mission-related facility in Russia’.”

South Africa:……Animists, “Witches”. Hundreds of persons, suspected and accused of witches practicing black magic, are murdered each year.

Sri Lanka:……Buddhists, Hindus. Tamils (a mainly Hindu 18% minority) are involved in a war for independence since 1983 with the rest of the country (70% Sinhalese Buddhist). Hundreds of thousands have been killed. The conflict took a sudden change for the better in 2002-SEP, when the Tamils dropped their demand for complete independence. The South Asian Tsunami in 2004-DEC induced some cooperation. The situation in mid-2006 is degenerating.

Sudan:……Animists, Christians, Muslims. Complex ethnic, racial, religious conflict in which the Muslim regime committed genocide against both Animists and Christians in the south of the country. Slavery and near slavery were practiced. A ceasefire was signed in 2006-MAY between some of the combatants. Warfare continues in the Darfur region, primarily between a Muslim militia and Muslim inhabitants.

Thailand:……Buddhists, Muslims. Muslim rebels have been involved in a bloody insurgency in southern Thailand — a country that is 95% Buddhist. The army has seized power and has agreed to talks with the rebels.

Tibet:……Buddhists, Communists. Country was annexed by Chinese Communists in late 1950’s. Brutal suppression of Buddhism continues.

Uganda:…. Animists, Christians, Muslims. Christian rebels of the Lord’s Resistance Army are conducting a civil war in the north of Uganda. Their goal is a Christian theocracy whose laws are based on the Ten Commandments. They abduct, enslave and/or raped about 2,000 children a year.

-List obtained from religioustolerance.org.

ENOUGH!

good things

here's a good piece of Jamaica culture via U Roy from the late 1970's. these days there's Armageddon in Haiti, genocide in Darfur, cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe, food riots in Bolivia, mass exodus of migrant workers back to their impoverished homelands all over Europe and Asia... and I live here in this little bubble. free to surf and enjoy a life not of my choosing but indeed of my design.

we choose every day no? I vacillate sometimes but more times I begin to know what I want and which way to go.

easy -go easy. don't tread hard on the land. I heard that advise from so many Rasta singers and thinkers. "tread light pon de land." in some Rastafarian beliefs the individual is the I and the creator/creation is the I. therefore to be free, to achieve enlightenment you must be I and I. you must be one. you must tread lightly upon the earth and respect your fellow man.

adolescence

When I was an adolescent I skateboarded, rode bikes, and sang in a band. I had a few girlfriends, anxiety, and was slowly developing a work ethic through various after school and summer jobs. My first job was at the Polk County Democrat, the town newspaper with its 100 year old three color printing press that required that section B be inserted into section A by hand , stacks of fifty at a time. I could insert 50 sections in less than a minute, fingers black from the moist ink. Then I worked at a grocery store for a few months. That was easily one of the worst jobs I ever had. I also worked for lawn service companies as summer jobs for years. But I digress.



Imagine if your fist job was to walk around the desert holding a Kalashnikov. Your job is to fight against other youth your age for God knows what reason because you’re not seeing any progress. In all likelihood you will kill women and children. You will torture people and if you get caught by your enemies you will likely be tortured and then killed. There will probably be good times but most of the time will be tense. If you manage to at some point “retire” from this work you will probably suffer years, if not for the rest of your life, from post traumatic stress disorder. You will have a difficult time forming and maintaining meaningful personal relationships. And in all likelihood you will use violence to resolve simple disputes. Through it all you’ll be hungry, you won’t have access to decent medical care, dental care will be out of the question, and accessible potable water will not exist. And if and when you get a chance to watch TV, it will probably be reruns of Baywatch –Pamela Anderson and Hasselhoff teasing you with what your life could be like in America.



you can see more photos of Chad rebels here

The latest report from the UN released this week claims that at least 300,000 have died in the conflict in Darfur. A conflict that's been ignored by the world at large even though it was officially declared a genocide. And now with rising foods prices across the globe things are sure to get worse.

If you don't have a bicycle to get around I suggest you get one. You'll need self reliance as well as cheap transportation if things continue in their downward slope. And if things get better then at least you'll have improved health from pushing pedals.

today's riddims by way of jahtari.

eating bleach

In North America we are getting a little freaked out about the coming economic crisis. People are tightening down on their personal spending as the prices of gasoline and food increase. But for the most part many of us are living as usual and hoping that things will level off eventually. Chances are that will happen too with only the poorest of the poor feeling a serious impact.

How much do you pay for a pint at the pub? $4.50 or $5 perhaps? Then maybe leave .50 cents to a $1 tip. Let’s just imagine that it comes to $6 per pint including tip and you drink 3 pints. That $18 represents 18 days of what the average person in Haiti has to live on. People in Haiti at the moment are living on $1 per day! Can you imagine? What do you reckon you could eat if you had $1 measly dollar per day? And that’s not counting paying for education or even basic services like a roof over your head, electricity, medical services, dental, etc. The Caribbean is not cheap either. Just because it’s one of the poorest countries don’t mean foods are cheap.

I don’t know where I’m going with this. Maybe I’m reminding myself how good I have it. Maybe I wish to make a statement to the few people who stop by here once inna while. Maybe I feel guilty for indulging while others are storming their government offices chanting “we are hungry!” –risking being shot at by security forces like and left to die like dogs in the street. I wish I had answers but all I have are questions. It won’t be a surprise if Haiti becomes completely unstable and death rampant in the coming months. People there are trapped with no food, no fuel, and worst of all –no hope. Haiti boasts the only successful slave revolution in the New World. I wonder what Toussaint L’Ouverture would think of his country now. The effects of colonization and resource mongering are being felt as much as ever these days.

jah jah city

from the BBC
“Jamaica's poor have been abandoned by the government and left to the mercy of violent criminal gangs, Amnesty International says in a new report.
The human rights group said inner-city Jamaicans were being "held hostage" in the battle between gangs and the state.
Amnesty said Jamaican authorities had stigmatised and "wilfully neglected" inner-city communities.
Jamaica has one of the region's highest murder rates, with 1,500 homicides in 2007 and 272 police killings.
"Criminal gangs... keep thousands of people living in constant fear," Amnesty's Fernanda Doz Costa said.
"Entire populations are shut down by barricades and unable to leave their homes after 5pm. Children don't go out to school and adults don't go to work because transport is suspended."
The human rights group urged Jamaican authorities to address the underlying causes of what it said was a "human rights crisis".
It said the government should act to reduce murder rates, introduce human-rights based policing and reform the judicial system."

The garrison communities like Jungle and Rema in Kingston are not what we see in travel adverts about Jamaica. On my last day in Jamaica my friend Frogy drove me through these areas on the way to the airport. In two years living in Jamaica I never saw anything like I’d see on that last drive through the city. The streets were dirty and run down like the rest of the city, but you could tell you were approaching a garrison community by the military blockade at the entrance to Rema. Big camouflage trucks and soldiers armed with machine guns patrolled the area. The walls were riddled with bullet holes and political graffiti. I gave thanks for the tint on the windows of the vehicle I was in.

There is some serious inequity in our world and it’s not all as far away from us as we’d like to think. For young men growing up in these poor neighborhoods of Kingston, the goal is to stay alive and learn to hustle. There is no possibility of escape -with the rare exception of a musician making it.

Often I hear reggae music in clubs or bars and people dance and laugh and feel happy. Any they should feel happy. But reggae is mostly a music of protest and defiance -defiance against the downpressors (as the Rasta would say), defiance against Babylon. The all inclusive’s lining the coasts of Jamaica, serving all you can eat booze and food, are nothing less than a slap in the face to a people who’ve been tricked by the IMF, World Bank, aggressive resource reaping nations, and yes even their own politicians. Be sure the pick up the next issue of Foulweather titled The Beach due out soon for more about my short time in Jamaica.

Prisoner in Freedom City

It's easy for us to criticize China's environmental policies and labour issues. What we do not clearly see however is how people actually live in China. Perhaps the Olympics will allow the world a broader view of Chinese rule but most likely, issues like human rights and working conditions will be whitewashed for the foreign cameras.

Below is a video titled "Prisoner in Freedom City." It depicts secret police keeping an eye on a couple that are known human rights activists. As of Dec 27th the man who shot the video had been under arrest and out of touch. His wife and newborn baby are under house arrest and not one of their friends have been able to get in touch or even bring her food. It is not known what condition mother and baby are in either.

We have so much to be grateful for -living in North America and expressing ourselves however we please. I don't know how we can help those in other places where things are not as easy as here, but I suppose we could start by living intentionally and recognizing that our every action, our every purchase, has a cumulative effect on the lives of others.


more on this story at the New York Times.

ego trip

I have a lot of respect for author Naomi Klein, particularly because she encourages us to be aware and to educate ourselves about our surroundings and our society’s inner workings. This is the antithesis of what consumer-based organizations would require from us. Their aim is for us to learn or be exposed to those things which will benefit their economic interests so that they may continue to feed the need for limitless expanding profit margins.

Over the last couple of years I’ve been exploring my own relationship with consumerism and self discipline. It is easy to anthropomorphise consumerism, and many anti-consumer groups use this tactic as a way of creating hatred and/or fear for the want of things. But if we take a step back and look more objectively I believe we can see that things have a purpose and that we can separate that purpose from our own internal desires. This is by no means an easy task. And the money and intellect that goes into advertising is perhaps greater than what it costs to produce and distribute most goods. This means that for most of us normal everyday folk it’s hard to always distinguish the truth behind marketing campaigns and objectively decide if a given thing is vital to our lives.

The question I pose to myself is not whether to have or not have things. Rather, to allow myself, my emotions and my credit, to be controlled by things. Our society is based on things and we are great at inventing them. From living spaces to tools and medicines, humans are incredibly creative. But it seems that our modern society has been shifting more and more to an obsessive acquisition of goods for the sake of acquisition instead of for the actual use of said good.

Recently I wrote a post about choices in our daily lives. Living in the developed world affords us with infinite choices, from the smallest item to where we want to live or attend university. One anonymous comment stated “that freedom is found by actually making a choice.” We must be aware of our surroundings and have enough knowledge to make educated decisions, especially when it comes to civic responsibilities such as voting. More importantly however, and perhaps a bit more difficult, we need to understand ourselves –our individual needs and desires –and be able to make rational and intentional choices about the way we lead our lives.

I often fail with some of my intended paths. As of late I’ve had little exercise and my diet has been horrible. I can feel it when I wake up in the morning. The bus has taken the place of my daily bike commute, and sure I have good excuses like: it’s below freezing and snowing. But I know that riding my bike to work has more benefits internally than not riding my bike. Self discipline and determination have always been my biggest foes and it’s funny because after all the time that it’s taken me to write these words I am at a loss as to how to proceed. So I leave you with a clip of Klein’s newest project. Ask your local library to get you her book.

Aloha and mahalo

It's Begun

The police in Burma have made their first move on the peaceful protesters using tear gas and firing live bullets over the heads of protesters. Over one hundred people have been arrested and many have been beaten and seriously injured by the police. It's hard to get much news because the government keeps a tight grip on censorship.

We are so lucky to have our basic freedoms. And yet, as our governments impose on the freedoms of other countries we stand by idly or simply in ignorance. We should learn something from the Burmese monks, who knowingly risk their lives for the sake of their people and even ask the public not join the protest so that they are not hurt.

Spread the word about this travesty in the making to all the people you know.

We should all be hoping that the protests is Burma over the military government do not turn into a bloody massacre as they have in the past. The latest BBC News report says that:

“The junta, which violently repressed the 1988 protests killing some 3,000 people, finally broke its silence over the mounting protests late on Monday, saying it was ready to "take action" against the monks.”


All photos from BBC News. For more on this issue go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7011655.stm

I cannot overstand

There are some things I cannot comprehend.

War.

Hamas and Fatah have launched a bloody and insane war against each other in the last few days. There are stories of captured men being handcuffed and thrown off of rooftops.

How can humanity react this way?

It sounds like a naïve statement. But really, can you imagine yourself in this situation?

I cannot. I am eternally grateful that I was born into a peaceful family who taught me the value of friendship and enjoying the simple things in life like food and community.

Sometimes I wish I could pray for the end of religion. Perhaps then we could have some peace. And maybe then some our world leaders couldn’t hide their resource mongering behind bogus religious reasoning. Religion breeds intolerance and a loss or rational thought. But then man historically has rarely acted rationally.

There are many things I cannot understand.