Day: November 17, 2010

Truth In Advertising–Part 2

I recently wrote a post about the campaign ads and how they were choked full of lies, half truths and exaggerations….and why we as a country cannot make these cowards tell the truth in their ads for election….after all they are selling a service…the service of representation….

Across the pond…in the UK…they have the right stuff when it comes to these ads….

A candidate named Phil Woolas was suspended and his election was nullified for lying in election campaign stuff….

Woolas – who was Immigration Minister under Gordon Brown – was found guilty by two High Court judges of breaking election law by knowingly making false statements about an opponent.

He accused Lib Dem candidate Elwyn Watkins in a pamphlet and two mock newspapers of pandering to Islamic extremists. His campaign team was said to have set out to “make the white folk angry”.

Now here is a great idea…..my Brit friends I salute you and your country’s election laws….

Why Not A Non-Violent Approach?

International Studies Desk

Subject:  Middle East

I realize I said I would not post on the Middle East conflict again and I will hold to that…this post was a post in waiting….and I feel compelled to post it…..

For the time being any Middle East peace is on the back burner…it has been overshadowed by the US mid-terms and Obama’s visit to India….but people need to keep an eye on the region……it could be the powder keg that erupts without warning and becomes front page fodder….again…..

I recall back in the day in the ME there was the first Intifada…..when kids were throwing rocks at Israeli soldiers and were met with bullets and tanks…this gave the Palestinian cause a shot to the arm in the world stage….and then as quickly as the sympathy began it was over….why?  Some moron thought that firing rockets at the Israelis was a good idea….and once they did all that international good will and sympathy went down the crapper…..

How about a non-violent approach?  Well that is just ducky….but what did Gandhi accomplish?  England would have given India up anyway…..the caste system is still prevalent….so what did they accomplish?  MLK in the Us, what did they accomplish?  Blacks can vote and eat at all lunch counters…but they are still seen as 2nd class citizens by many….so what did they really accomplish?

I have heard some say that the Palestinians should take a page from the playbook of Gandhi and MLK, jr and try the non-violence approach….but is that a good idea?  In an article written by Yglesias for thinkprogress.rg…..

………as it turns out the IDF isn’t just folding immediately upon contact with non-violent tactics. Instead, Abdallah Abu Rahmah who was leading non-violent resistance in the village of Bil’in was sentenced yesterday to 12 months in prison. Some people I’ve spoken to here say this goes to show that non-violence is hopeless and that a return to armed intifada is inevitable. They may be right about the inevitability, but I think they’re wrong about the hopeless part. Your Gandhis, your Martin Luther Kings, and your Nelson Mandelas all spent time in prison and prevailed in the end. The point, however, is that it only works if it captures the attention of the world so here I am paying attention.I know that a lot of decent people try to avoid commenting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict because they find the debate too unpleasant. But I find that those same decent people tend to be the ones who like to muse about “where’s the Palestinian MLK?” and such. So if you’re one of those people, I implore you to pay attention and mention this. The alternative to there being some sign that this is catching the eyes of the world is a return to violence and counter-violence and disaster.

Contrary to popular belief….the theory of non-violent action is NOT appropriate or effective in every case…….and the Middle East Peace Process is one of those cases….with that said……it could be part of the plan to get Israel to the table……the one thing that is seldom mentioned when talking about non-violence….that is that your opponent does NOT have to abide by the technique……India comes to mind….Selma comes to mind…..

Oh Haiti! I Am So Sorry!

Think back about a year ago….a massive earthquake took out a large portion of the island nation of Haiti….you remember those days….celebrities getting their required PR photos taken….politicians handing out a couple of bottles of water so their photo-op looked good and so on….all the concern was basically a PR stunt…yes I said stunt…..

Only a small portion of the money pledged has made it to the country…..why?  Better yet…now that the sensationalism has subsided….NO one cares….it is sad and I apologize for the lack of compassion that the media and governments are showing toward the island….

And now…thanx for all the concern of the world a massive Cholera epidemic has engulfed the island….

Hundreds of protesters threw stones at UN peacekeepers, set up burning barricades and torched a police station in Cap Haitien.

Six UN peacekeepers were injured in the clashes, the UN said. At least 10 people were also injured.

As well as calling for UN peacekeepers to leave Haiti, demonstrators accused the government of “leaving the people to die”, the AFP news agency reported.

This will not be last incident of protesters and violence….the world has seen to it…….we should be proud of our governments….we opened our hearts and wallets to people that needed our help and the government have been nothing but pricks from the start……. after the photo-ops…….