Don’t quite know what to think

Recently, an ex German girl band pop star was charged with “attempted grievous bodily harm” for having unprotected sex with three men between 2004 and 2006 without mentioning to them that she was HIV positive.

I really didn’t know what to think about the whole situation. First, I didn’t realise you could be charged for doing so (sentence up to 10 years possible). Intellectually, it does seem like a viable conclusion for putting someone’s life at risk. But, the Big-Brother-is-watching-you side of me finds the whole situation disconcerting.



(Sorry, couldn't find this video in English. If any of you can help me here with the link, I'd be very appreciative.)

Then there is the part of me who finds the whole fact ludicrous that a woman should be accused of having unprotected sex with a man, as if it isn’t his job to see that he uses a condom.

What do you think? Read an article about it here.

Give This Man A Cigar

I'm speechless. Even if John Shimkus' speech was taken out of context, which surely it must be, there is no explaining away his ignorance.

This is where I first saw the video and it's worth your time to read Phil Plait's thoughts on the matter.

It might be worth the voters time as well, to ask their candidates about their thoughts on global warming before they cast their votes.

Same old, same old

During this last week, I find that I am very frustrated reading articles about the haves-or-have-nots of the US stimulus bill.

Actually, I am sure that just three weeks ago, plus one day, on the eve of Obama's inaugural ceremony, in an obvious collective rush of jubilation, studies stated that Americans (including the small folk and the big brass) were willing to "give" Obama a six-month honeymoon to start working out some of the major kinks in the system. Now, three weeks later, to heck with the six months! Let's pout, pose, and position every bloody Republican congressperson, probably every Republican senator (not holding my breath on those three yes-no-maybe-so votes), and a newly voted-in Republican chairperson against the bill.

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All the talk seems to be about the imperfections of the bill and the question whether the spending will produce the right results. Well, you know what, at this late point in time, they might just have to give it a try anyways. If hindsight were really as good a predictor as Dr. Phil says, then we (the whole world!) wouldn't be in the present pickle.

What makes this whole bickering back-and-forth so frustrating, is hearing the politicians speak as if they think they know what they are talking about when it is so obvious they don't, as if the outcome of this stimulus spending is predicable, as if they are voting on principle instead of what they should be doing: voting out of desperation in a fleeting attempt of stem the tides of some very bad wrongs.

I don't know about you, but the American recession isn't coming, it has already arrived. At least in my very humble circle of friends it has. Two friends in New Zealand have lost their jobs because their companies' main offices are in America and the first thing the American companies did was close down their foreign offices, even though these foreign offices both were bringing in money. Two other friends have lost their homes in the States. Five friends in the States were made redundant in the last two weeks. One friend, who was working at the company for the last 18 years, was given one week's severance pay. These facts I have just taken off the top of my head. Give me some time to actually think or research the situation; I'd probably come up with a lot more examples.

So, here is my plea to all you Republican and Democrats politicians out there in Washington, just vote yes. I do not care why you are voting no, so save your breath and explanations. But, if you vote yes, I will read every single article or interview you put out there for me to consume. I’ll even promise to remember your name.

The First Decisive Measure

One of my favourite books during my teens and twenties was The Once And Future King, by T.H. White. I haven’t read it in the last twenty years, but I pulled it off my bookshelf the other night, and I’ve been reading it in short bits and spurts. (This silly jet lag is causing ruckus to my sleeping patterns.)

I’m very much enjoying reading the book after such a long time. In particular, what draws me is the discussion on war between Merlyn and the newly crowned King Arthur.

“There is one fairly good reason for fighting – and that is, if the other man starts it. You see, wars are a wickedness of a wicked species. They are so wicked that the must not be allowed. When you can be perfectly certain that the other man started it, then is the time when you might have a sort of duty to stop him.” (spoken by Merlyn)

Later, there is a discussion between St. Toirdealbhach and Lot’s sons about why he (Toirdealbhach) stopped fighting wars. Toirdealbhach says that when the numbers fighting the war increase to a number where people fighting are no long knowledgeable about the true reasons for fighting, nor do they know who they specifically were killing, he (Toirdealbhach) lost heart.

Which brings me to a conversation I had with a dear old friend of mine in Montreal. She stipulated, if Mr. Obama is elected and if he wanted to send a resounding message to Americans and the rest of the world that America is absolutely serious about taking decisive measures to re-establish its integrity and dignity as a world leader, the first measure Mr. Obama could take would be a fairly easy thing to do. He would just have to close down the prison at Guantanamo. If he did that, he would not only instill great hope to the people of the world, but also achieve great applause.

Choosing with Care

One of the aspects of Mr. Obama's political journey that has impressed me these last two years, is his obvious ability to choose people well. The very fact that he is where he is at the moment is, in my estimation, in large part due to the people who are working for him, advising him, and supporting him.



In times like these, this is what the world needs. Not a Mr. Graham whose viewpoint on deregulation are disastrously relentless. Not a Ms. Palin who obviously is not in a position to understand the crisis, let alone lead us out of it.

I've tried to not say anything negative about Mr. McCain on this blog. Still, enough is enough.

Jump Start

These last two week or so things have been so askew with the coverage of the Rebublican’s campaign. Even though I haven’t written anything about my distress and discomfort with the McCain/Palin campaign, I have been, as so many, rather obsessive with following the hype.

This is why it felt good to see this video from the New York Times this morning stating the hope that all of the hype has peaked. I wonder whether it is possible for is to accelerate the decent from the height of this Palin Mania. It’s time to make a statement, and mine is to give a cold shoulder to a campaign not deserving of attention, and focus once again on discussion of important issues.

For instance, in this chart, it appears that Mr. Obama(172) is leading Mr. McCain (148) in solid electoral votes, Mr. McCain (79) has more leaning electoral votes (Mr, Obama 66), and there is 73 tossup votes. Does anyone know what can be done to help sway those voters in the tossup states and help assure those voters who are leaning?

I think that what I will do, is try and write some more posts about Mr. Obama and how his person and his promised political strategies are influencing my personal and political beliefs. I will also start focusing my comments on articles written by bloggers who write with concern about political issues rather than extrapolating upon the ludicrous choice of the VP candidate.

It’s time to go on the offensive and create interesting discourse again.

Quiet Revolution

Like many of the bloggers I’ve read yesterday and today, I was very impressed with the speech Mr. Obama held Thursday. My daughter and I watched Mr. Obama giving his speech yesterday morning on the Internet. Much of the responses of the bloggers were along the lines, “yes, maybe we dare to believe” variety. What I wonder at this point, is not whether Mr. Obama will be elected president, though I decidedly hope this will happen, but whether Thursday night’s speech managed to finally ignite a flame announcing the arrival of a revolution of social change long in coming?

This avalanche of change has perhaps been a quiet revolution to date, but there is no denying a shift has occurred over the last decade empowering all individuals to break barriers and find voice. And, it is the Americans who have led this revolution. The notion of social participation to entice change began, I believe, nearly a decade ago, in part, through developments in Internet technology.

The IT crash of 2000 signaled a shift in conscious thinking concerning the use of Internet. This shift resulted in innovative ideas such as the Read/Write web (Web 2.0) and open source (e.g., SourceForge) coming to being. Many new innovations followed: micro-financing (e.g., Kiva), global community work (e.g., Nabuur), and grassroots political activism (e.g., Change Congress). All of these programs are powerful in their simplicity and completely, convincingly empowering for anyone willing to participate.

It has been fascinating for me to see how this quiet revolution has evolved. At a time when I found no hope in finding leadership in America as a nation, and Bush/Cheney as a government, when it came to environmental and military practices, I found hope of change through the common folk* already creating it.

And maybe, just maybe, it was necessary for America and the world to experience these last eight years of the Bush/Cheney administration to waken us up to our individual potential for creating change. As Mr. Obama said, “…it is that American spirit, that American promise, that pushes us forward even when the path is uncertain; that binds us together in spite of our differences; that makes us fix our eye not on what is seen, but what is unseen, that better place around the bend.”

These last years has already created so much change in my life, I don’t think there has been any time in my adult life where I have learned so much and participated in so many new creative endeavours. Some of these experiences have been questionably disappointing, but overall and most irrevocably they have changed my life and my actions.

(*I’m not sure what is the pc word for common folk is anymore, but let me assure you these common folk are in no ways common, but rather they are heroes of mine.)

My Personal Vantage Point

Just after I moved to Germany from Canada 26 years ago, Ronald Regan sent in American troops to Grenada. My parents who live(d) in Grenada happened to be visiting me in Germany at the time. In the days after the Americans landed, we were desperate to find out what was happening back at home. The American newspapers were proclaiming victory in their “intervention”. The British, French and German papers were affronted by the lack of propriety of the American “invasion”. Very few people were listening to the Grenadian points of view. It was difficult to know what was true or not.

Living through this experience made me realise, a) how tainted or biased the media is by political agenda, b) how confusing it is for concerned citizens to formulate our own opinions when hearing or reading so many conflicting points of view, and c) yet, in the end, I believe it is very important for us to make up our own minds about what is true. For the truth is a matter of vantage point or personal perspective, and not something absolute.

When Ronni asked us all to write about topics concerning the up-and-coming American election, I thought immediately about writing how the media in Germany is presenting the presidential election. But, after a few failed attempts, I realise I can really only write about how I am experiencing the election from afar. In some ways this experience is like that which I experienced long ago: wading through oceans of biased reporting, listening to conflicting points of view, and eventually believing in something new.

It might surprise many Americans to know just how interested Europeans are in politics overall and specifically in American politics. Even though there was countless media coverage on the judiciary debacle in Florida during the 2000 election, and puzzlement over Bush’s re-election in 2004, this year’s election is not so much about the American electoral system, it is about Obama. What interests the media is whether the American people will elect this intelligent, informed, and articulate politician who promises change, or his opponent who just gives lip service to it. I am not personally sure whether this is what European citizens are most concerned with. It's perhaps an over simplification of a more complex situation.

To understand the discrepancy between the information the media presents and the viewpoints of the citizens, take the example of Obama’s speech in Berlin. As much as the press would like to say that people came to hear Obama speak because they think he is a rock star. It just is not so. They are curious about his so-called rock star status, but they travelled from far and wide to hear him speak about history, politics, and his vision for America. Is it so hard to believe that hundreds of thousands of people are interested in such matters?

In Europe they do things like gather in masses. Just a few weeks ago, millions of people came to London to celebrate Mandela’s birthday. Yes, they came for the festivities, but they also came to honour and celebrate history, politics, and Mandela’s vision.

In the end, I don’t know if Obama will be elected. The American electoral system is too confusing to understand and the American voters too volatile to predict. There is also the question whether Obama and his party can live up to the promises he makes even if elected. One thing that I am convinced though, he has already made change. He has shown the Old World cynics in Europe that the American Dream is still alive. Who would have thought three years ago… that Obama could win the primaries, that a political underdog would refuse funding from lobbyists, that so many young citizens would stand up to be heard, and that Internet technology content could fuel such a lively global debate?

I’m optimistic that this change will continue. I believe it will create other changes, not only in American politics and government, but also in the politics and governments of other countries as well. And for this belief I am thankful, in part, to Obama, but more so to people like Ronni and other bloggers who have opened my eyes to new facets of your political culture.