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Whether any of this makes one iota of a difference, at least those of us who participate can feel that we at least did our part.
ruminations & ramblings on life, politics, the arts, politics in the arts & world events by a republican actress
"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it." [snip] "The effort necessary to remain uncorrupted in an environment where fear is an integral part of everyday existence is not immediately apparent to those fortunate enough to live in states governed by the rule of law. Just laws do not merely prevent corruption by meting out impartial punishment to offenders. They also help to create a society in which people can fulfil the basic requirements necessary for the preservation of human dignity without recourse to corrupt practices. Where there are no such laws, the burden of upholding the principles of justice and common decency falls on the ordinary people. It is the cumulative effect on their sustained effort and steady endurance which will change a nation where reason and conscience are warped by fear into one where legal rules exist to promote man's desire for harmony and justice while restraining the less desirable destructive traits in his nature."
Official Myanmar website, for a look at the powers of self-delusion.
For more information on the situation in Burma.
Earlier this year, a former Minister from Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party wished Al Qaeda success in its attacks against the U.S., and in its targeting of President George W. Bush. The Fatah leader, Abu Ali Shahin, said in an interview on official PA TV: "Oh [Al-Qaeda] brother, leave us and focus on your business. You have Bush! Do to Bush what you want, and we wish you success with Bush, even more. I, Abu Ali
Shahin, wish you success with Bush... We are fighting the Americans and hate the Americans more than you!" [PA TV, Jan. 1, 2007]
SCANDAL ALERT: Condi Rice co-owns a house with a Stanford liberal documentary director who used to make liberal documentaries with Bill Moyers! What a hypocrite. Rice, of course, works for an administration that is totally conservative and always doing things against liberals — and now we find out that she shares a home with a liberal?
According to Washington Post diplomatic correspondent Glenn Kessler’s book about Condi — which we sort of flipped through, but obviously not closely enough — Rice owns a house with liberal filmmaker Randy Bean. Oh, and there’s a third co-owner, too: “CoitBlacker, a Stanford professor who is openly gay.” Oh, and Randy Bean’s a woman.
Bean explained the joint ownership and line of credit..... by saying she had medical bills which left her financially drained and Rice helped her by co-purchasing the house along with a third person, Coit Blacker.And nowhere in either article does it state that they actually live in that house together. All it mentions (in the rawstory.com article) is that the real estate records show Rice is a co-owner.
"The position of the union is clear in its rejection of normalization [with Israel] and requires that members abide by this position."In spite of the 1979 Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel, there is still great antipathy for the Israelis and reluctance to expand and normalize relations.