The future of the world

They took all the trees,
put 'em in a tree museum / And they charged the people / a dollar and a half just to see 'em.
(Joni Mitchell, Big Yellow Taxi, 1970)

Photo of "Protected Ancient Tree. Sister of Sequoia." Brisbane, Australia.
Photo: Glenn Weiss

Boycotting the Enemy, boycotting oneself

Sensible words from Uri Avnery: "This distinction between "moderates" and "fanatics" on the Arab side is superficial and misleading. Basically, this is an American invention. It evades the real problems. It contains a large measure of contempt for Arab society. It leads to a dead end." Grossman's Dilemma - Gush Shalom - Israeli Peace Bloc

Meanwhile, BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraqi death toll hits record high

Responsible shopping is not enough

Mark Engler has an article in the November issue of New Internationalist, which is on the stands but not yet on-line. Meanwhile, you can check out the September issue of NI (always interesting), and then check back in (I suppose) a few days to read Mark's piece, which is clearly argued and well researched as usual: Sweating over sweatshops: Supporting 'clean clothes' campaigns to end the exploitative labour practices that pervade the textile industry is not as simple as just picking the 'right' brand to buy, reveals Mark Engler.

Doomsday and rebirth

As I read what the scientists say and watch what the politicians and the lords of industry do, I wonder which of us will perish first: I or the planet. As things stand now, I'm the one in better health. But if Earth continues to sicken, that's it for me too.

Unexpected things could happen. They always do. The planet could survive by some as yet unforeseen reaction against all that our race has been doing to it. Some great cataclysm, more powerful than any tsunami or eruption we remember, may free it to survive without us. If intelligent life eventually reappears, will it find any trace of who we were? And will it care? Or will it be doomed to repeat the same mistakes?

Don't call it hunger!

Some Americans Lack Food, but USDA Won't Call Them Hungry - washingtonpost.com

Boohbah Zone

For some inspired silliness: fun with colors and noises. Check out Boohbah Zone.

Massacre in Beit Hanoun: Gush Shalom - Israeli Peace Bloc

See Uri Avnery's column in Gush Shalom - Israeli Peace Bloc: In One Word: MASSACRE! And on the impact of the U.S. elections on the near future:

A cynic might say: Democracy is wonderful, it enables the voter to kick out the moron they elected last time and replace them with a new moron.

But let's not be too cynical. The fact is that the American people has accepted, after a delay of three years and tens of thousands of dead, what the advocates of peace around the word - including us here in Israel - were saying already on the first day: that the war will cause a disaster. That it will not solve any problem, but have the opposite effect.

The change will not be quick and dramatic. The US is a huge ship. When it turns around, it makes a very big circle and needs a lot of time - unlike Israel, a small speed-boat that can turn almost on the spot. But the direction is clear.

Of course, in both new houses of Congress, the pro-Israeli lobby (meaning: the supporters of the Israeli Right) has a huge influence, perhaps even more than in the last ones. But the American army will have to start leaving Iraq. The danger of another military adventure in Iran and/or Syria is much diminished. The crazy neo-conservatives, most of them Jews who support the extreme Right in Israel, are gradually losing power, together with their allies, the crazy Christian fundamentalists.

Finding bad news in the good

Lighten up, guys! Of course, we all know that Tuesday's election doesn't solve all our problems, but ferkryssakes, it was a victory! And even a small victory is better than a defeat. The point is not that one marginally less corrupt gang of politicians replaced a more corrupt gang, as this sourpuss wants us to believe: Election 2006: Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me

First of all, "corruption" is a process that can affect any living organism, not a congenital defect peculiar to politicians. That's why we have the cleverly designed institutions in our U.S. Constitution, the checks and balances, to control or limit the opportunities for corruption. Politicians, or probably any of us, can submit to influence, unless they or we are suicidally fanatic. A congress made up of incorruptible men and women would mean a chaos of people who absolutely refuse to waver from previously held positions. The closest thing I can remember from history was the early sessions of the French revolution, where nobody was willing to give ground to anybody. And we know where that led: la Terreur (including the invention of Dr. Guillotin), counterterror, and then Napoleon and what was in reality (though not called that) the first world war. Not a pretty picture.

Second, the real victory in this election was not the replacing of one set of politicians with another (though that is not insignificant), but what that process implies in a democracy: a massive public education about our responsibilities and our rights, about what aggression abroad is costing, and so on. These election results confirm once again Lincoln's dictum: You can fool some of the people all of the time, you can even fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. As a result of this latest electoral campaign more of the American people are a little more savvy, and it's going to be harder to fool all or even most of them (us) even some of the time.

Photo of Abraham Lincoln from For Counsel

Small change

BBC NEWS | Business | Baghdad's 'missing' billions

Ted Rall: New dangers from old foes?

Lest Tuesday's Democratic and democratic triumph appear too sweet, Ted Rall offers us a dash of bitters. uExpress.com: Ted Rall by Ted Rall -- (11/07/2006) RALL 11/7/06.

And another comment by Tony Auth.

Still, the triumph was sweet!