The Living Room

Weather or War ?

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Michaela

The Horn of Africa is in the middle of its worst drought in more than 60 years with up to 12 million people facing famine in parts of Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Somalia. Why is this particular region so vulnerable? Is it the weather or war?

Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Climate change, Drought, Famine | Leave a comment

Imperial retreat

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Michaela

Tarak Barkawi

Not so long ago, Western powers were doubling down on their commitment to Afghanistan. Dire warnings circulated about how the US “abandoned” the country after the Soviet retreat. This time, the West would stay and help Afghanistan achieve “stability”. It would withdraw only when “indicators” found that the Taliban insurgency had been contained.

Now it is obvious that those indicators were set for President Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012.

The course and timing of imperial retreats usually reflect circumstances in the imperial country, not the target country. It’s about the US and the West, not Afghanistan. As ever, Vietnam is instructive.

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Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Afghanistan, Barack Obama, South Vietnam, United States, Warfare and Conflict | 3 Comments

Immediate Democracy

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michaela

By Stathis Gourgouris

The historical fact that Athens was the birthplace of democracy has been haunting the crowds assembled for nearly two months in the city’s Syntagma (Constitution) Square, right across from the House of Parliament, protesting undaunted against the government’s incapacity to represent and protect the interests of its own society.

The consistent invocation of Athenian democracy by the crowds is hardly the result of patriotic longing for glorious ancestry. The people are haunted by a historical fact that, though imprisoned in its own myth, has emerged with radical contemporary significance as the last line of defense against the violation of people’s basic dignity.

Thus, the question of Athenian democracy is suddenly no longer confined to academic discussions but put to the test in real living conditions. Over several weeks, thousands of people emerging from the anonymity of sprawling urban life have come together to inhabit a public space, day and night, and to organise it around a collective political interrogation.

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Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Democracy, European Union, International Monetary Fund, Stéphane Hessel, Syntagma Square | 1 Comment

Dance for the masses

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michaela

Dance for the people..

Posted in Music & Movies | 1 Comment

Sobering

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Michaela

I came across this break down of US Federal Taxes. So where does the tax money go ?
And more importantly – how do you feel about how the money you contribute to the administration is being spent ?

Many people – actually most – don’t know where or how their federal tax dollars are being spent. They feel disengaged from the personal and societal impacts of federal spending and believe they have little influence over the creation or oversight of our nation’s budget.

Yet, the federal budgeting process is meant to be open and participatory, with elected officials fully accountable to their constituents. This is crucial for a healthy democracy where all people have the ability and opportunity to shape our federal spending priorities.

Source: National Priorities

Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Budget, Economic, United States | 2 Comments

Sacred Text

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Michaela

Qur’an, India, 16th century. Chapter 18, al-Kahf (The Cave) verse 110 to Chapter 19, Maryam (Mary), verse 31
BL Add. MS 18497, ff. 118v–119

3 Comments

When in Greece…

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Michaela

By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN

Athens

Katerina Sokou, 37, a Greek financial journalist at Kathimerini, a daily newspaper, told me this story: A group of German members of the Bavarian Parliament came to Athens shortly after the economic crisis erupted here and met with some Greek politicians, academics, journalists and lawyers at a taverna to evaluate the Greek economy. Sokou said her impression was that the Germans were trying to figure out whether they should be lending money to Greece for a bailout. It was like one nation interviewing another for a loan. “They were not here as tourists; we were giving data on how many hours we work,” recalled Sokou. “It really felt like we had to persuade them about our values.”

Sokou’s observation reminded me of a point made to me by Dov Seidman, the author of the book “How” and the C.E.O. of LRN, which helps companies build ethical business cultures. The globalization of markets and people has intensified to a new degree in the last five years, with the emergence of social networking, Skype, derivatives, fast wireless connectivity, cheap smartphones and cloud computing. “When the world is bound together this tightly,” argued Seidman, “everyone’s values and behavior matter more than ever, because they impact so many more people than ever. …We’ve gone from connected to interconnected to ethically interdependent.”

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Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Economy of Greece, European Union, Greece | 1 Comment

Gross National Happiness

Posted on July 20, 2011 by Michaela

‘What is the meaning of life? To be happy and useful’ (Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama)

By Derek Bok,

In a time of tight budgets and financial crisis, politicians look to economic growth as the centrepiece of their domestic policy programmes. Gross Domestic Product is taken to be the leading indicator of national well-being. But, as we look ahead to 2011 and beyond, we should ask ourselves: is it really wise to accord such importance to growth?

Granted, many studies have confirmed that wealthier nations tend to be happier than poor ones, and that rich people are generally more satisfied than their less affluent fellow citizens. Yet other findings from several relatively well-to-do countries, such as South Korea and the United States, suggest that people there are essentially no happier today than they were 50 years ago, despite a doubling or quadrupling of average per-capita income.

Moreover, in a recent Canadian study, the happiest people turned out to reside in the poorest provinces, such as Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, while citizens in the richest provinces, notably Ontario and British Columbia, were among the least happy. Since happiness is ultimately what people want the most, while wealth is only a means to that end, the primacy now accorded to economic growth would appear to be a mistake.

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Posted in The world we live in Now | Tagged Economic growth, Gross domestic product, Gross National Happiness, United States, Wealth | 2 Comments

Political Theatre

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Michaela

Republicans and Democrats are still debating a deal to lift the US debt ceiling in order to avoid defaulting on its payments. Congress must raise the $14.3 trillion limit on US borrowing by August 2 or the government will run out of money to pay its bills.