my darling adorable friend (yes, marcy) has been nagging me for days that I haven’t blogged on the site for a long time, although i have much to say.
so, marcy love, this is for you.
a collection of tidbits.
this morning, someone told me “they have their reasons. they have their reasons to be racist.” we were talking about the lebanese army and the narh el bared palestinian refugee camp. specifically, we were talking about the incident when the lebanese army opened fire on an unarmed protest. Two palestinian men were killed.
So, they have their reasons to be racist.
Well, I replied, the Israelis have their reasons for commiting genocide against the Palestinians. Hitler had his reasons for the mass murder he committed against Jews, Gays, Communists, and Gypsies. Everyone has reasons for everything they do. That doesn’t mean their reasons are justified. We can seek to understand racism but not to justify - and definitely not to forgive it, most especially when it is committed by an authority figure.
so, that was this morning.
this afternoon, i come across this article: “Colin Chartres, director general of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) said the causes of water scarcity are essentially identical to those of the food crisis. “There are serious and extremely worrying factors that indicate that water supplies are close to exhaustion in some countries,” he said. He pointed out that current estimates indicate the world will not have enough water to feed itself in 40 years time, “by when the current food crisis may turn into a perpetual crisis.” ”
Further down in the article, there is this additional powerful tidbit: “the World Bank needs to stop making water privatisation a condition for their loans”.
Yes: after having it proven, time and time again, that privatization of water drives up water prices and causes increased suffering on the poor and only works - at best - if there is a strong government - and, damn, if there is a strong government, then why the hell privatize to begin with, after having proven all this, the World Bank continues - in the name of alleviating poverty (yes, orwellian once again) to continue to push for privatization of the one resource that we literally need to survive.
But there is more.
Then there is this article, for anyone out there who still things that Obama has one redeeming feature - now that he’s proven himself to be a Zionist (see his VP, if still in doubt) and proven himself to support warfare (keep the US troops in Iraq, just decrease their number a little bit, and then increase the number of troops in Afghanistan, another occupation that murders civilians and steals resources), hell, maybe he is good on the environment, maybe he is not so bad on internal US economic policies. Well - check this out: “Barack Obama has made sure to put biofuels at the front and center of his economic proposals, and has a history of backing laws favorable to agribusiness.“
Favorable to agribusiness. not the farmer.
supporting biofuel - which is one of the main reasons for the food crisis and an additional projected contributor to climate change.
perfect.
but, wait, there must be good news, right?
yes.
there is.
Free Speech Radio News investigated the outcome of the recent Bolivian recall election that included not
just president Evo Morales, but the governors who called for Morales’ recall. Guess what. Two of those governors are out and Evo Morales got 10% more backing than the record 54% he got when he was elected.
Look South for hope.
Look inward for hope.
Look to Gaza and the rest of occupied Palestine for hope. How? They still live. Despite it all, they still live.