politics

http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/features/climate-wars/index.html

For all who have yet to hear - check this out.  Environmental 'real politic' with Canada's Robert Fisk like journalist Gwynne Dyer.

Program Excerpt:  read more »

One London, UK cop is learning the hard way that what you (or your "friends") post on Facebook can cause trouble down the line.

Pc Rob Ward is under investigation for posting the following message on his Facebook page on April 1st, the first day of the G20 protests in London:

"Rob Ward can't wait to bash some long haired hippys up @ the G20."

To which one of his friends replied:

"Dats bad but good in da same way lol."

The original message from the cop was bad enough, but his friend's reply certainly doesn't inspire confidence in the police either.

This is the same G20 protests where the police killed Ian Tomlinson, a 47 year-old news vendor.

What can we learn from this?  Facebook is cool with how easy and convenient it makes communicating online, but sometimes it's those very conveniences that work against you.  Be careful what you post!

[Pc 'eager to hit G20 protestors' -- BBC] via BoingBoing.net

Photo credit: adotjdotsmith on Flickr  read more »

Ok, that title might be a little bold considering that I don't know much about this topic besides what I've followed in the mainstream media.  This editorial by Johann Hari in the Independent (via BoingBoing.net) sheds new light on the Somalian piracy problem, for me at least.

Sure, the pirates have done some bad things.  Unsurprisingly however, western nations have been committing terrible, unforgiveable crimes in Somalian waters.  Like overfishing, and get this: dumping nuclear waste.

Yes: nuclear waste. As soon as the government was gone, mysterious European ships started appearing off the coast of Somalia, dumping vast barrels into the ocean. The coastal population began to sicken. At first they suffered strange rashes, nausea and malformed babies. Then, after the 2005 tsunami, hundreds of the dumped and leaking barrels washed up on shore. People began to suffer from radiation sickness, and more than 300 died.

Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy to Somalia, tells me: "Somebody is dumping nuclear material here. There is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury – you name it." Much of it can be traced back to European hospitals and factories, who seem to be passing it on to the Italian mafia to "dispose" of cheaply. When I asked Mr Ould-Abdallah what European governments were doing about it, he said with a sigh: "Nothing. There has been no clean-up, no compensation, and no prevention."

At the same time, other European ships have been looting Somalia's seas of their greatest resource: seafood. We have destroyed our own fish stocks by overexploitation – and now we have moved on to theirs. More than $300m-worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster are being stolen every year by illegal trawlers. The local fishermen are now starving. Mohammed Hussein, a fisherman in the town of Marka 100km south of Mogadishu, told Reuters: "If nothing is done, there soon won't be much fish left in our coastal waters."

This is the context in which the "pirates" have emerged. Somalian fishermen took speedboats to try to dissuade the dumpers and trawlers, or at least levy a "tax" on them. They call themselves the Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia – and ordinary Somalis agree. The independent Somalian news site WardheerNews found 70 per cent "strongly supported the piracy as a form of national defence".

[You are being lied to about pirates - Johann Hari, The Independent]  read more »

www.defendfreespeech.ca
A British Member of Parliament, George Galloway, was banned from speaking in Canada this week by the Federal Conservative Government on ground that he has provided material support for a listed terrorist organization Hamas.   read more »

It was reported today (March 18, 2009) in the Toronto Star that as four Canadian banks enter the top ten North American banks (ranked by assets) "Ottawa, meanwhile, has committed to keep credit flowing by purchasing up to $125 billion in mortgages from banks and other lenders.  To date, it has bought some $53.4 billion worth of those loans."  (Toronto Star March 18, 2009 Business Section B4)  read more »

This superb animated vid draws on some great maxims and illustrations to tell the most important story of our time: how to move our society toward a culture of the commons. 

My fav quote: "On the Internet, the viral spiral is how the new commons are born. It began with free software, and later became the web." - David Bollier

Our dreams won’t fit in their coalition…  read more »