Ending 20th century Socialism

With the death of Kim Jong-il North Korea's totalitarian dictator, the world can finally say goodbye to the era of 20th century 'socialism' that dominated much of the globe throughout the century. The world can say goodbye to the Stalinist dictators and the kleptocrats and say hello to... what? Consumer capitalism? Or maybe, 21st century Socialism, in the style of Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales.

As we've seen with Fidel Castro's retirement from dictating, Cuba has made moves towards liberalizing it's economy and ameliorating some of its more criticized human rights problems. North Korea, which is on track to build a railway and gas pipeline connecting Russia and South Korea looks to be headed down a similar path if transition goes smoothly. Will Korea continue on its political path, collapse or turn into a state capitalist economy like China? It's too early to tell. One thing is for sure, the era of 20th century socialism is in its dying days.

What will this mean for American foreign policy? Well, it will likely spell trouble, if communism dies in Korea. Who will American authorities point at to say, "look you don't want to be like them, right?" The negativist approach to tackling the socialist problem. Not North Korea. Not Cuba. Venezuela is looking pretty peachy these days. As are Vietnam and Bolivia. Also, China. But wait, China isn't socialist, its state capitalist. Right, that may be America's last chance at salvaging the image of 'capitalism.' But they'll never admit that the burgeoning China is capitalist even if it will restore faith in capitalism, they're just too prideful.

Either way, two conceivable paths could be drawn with the end of 20th century socialism. The waning of capitalism in favour of 21st century democratic socialism, or a newfound respect for China's state capitalism, and the birth of the concept of 21st century capitalism with China at its head. This spells a dramatic shift away from democratic process and widespread human rights violations in favour of economic growth.

Thus ends 20th century Socialism. Your move, China.

learning

i've Learned some things in the past 24 hours. Or at least Realized some things. First i have to address the Tragedy in Japan. A lot of people may dismiss this Disaster because it's happened to an Affluent "Western" Country, the 3rd largest economy in the world; however, it is important to recognize that all Tragedies are Equal despite what standard of living the victims may or may not have had before the Tragedy. All Humanitarian efforts are Worthy causes whether they are in seemingly cursed nations like Haiti or seemingly Utopian nations like Japan.

the second thing i learned was that no war is just. In discussing this topic with someone i consider a Friend we came to a Disagreement. He believed that war could and often was Just and that Pacifism was a naive philosophy. I finally realized the problem with this is that by defining wars as just or unjust we are defining sides and in the process establishing Conflict. By saying that war is just or unjust we separate the world into us and them, when really the people who perpetrate injustice upon others are Humans just like us. In reality, every act of war is an error which reflects upon the Values of all of Humanity. No one can say that Gandhi and King's non-violent Pacifist Activism was naive and served no greater purpose. War is simply not the only way of fighting injustice. War which brings an era of peace and freedom is in reality the exception not the rule.

the other thing i've increasing been coming to terms with is that the vast majority of people will not agree with me, whether by their own intelligent decision or out of apathy. Whether the topic is political, concerning an individual's belief that public debate on the Israel-Palestine issue is important or whether it is a question of appreciating the progressive rock of RUSH or the cult following of Meatloaf or even none of the above (god forbid). The fact is we are impossibly divided even considering that we all strive for the same basic things. Love, shelter, freedom.

today, the Rebel of the Day is a guy named Nick Day, who spoke his mind despite criticism and refused to step back even in the face of overwhelming opposition from those who elected him. It is this level of moral conscience which is desperately needed in our society. And I hope that others can see this and make an intelligent decision to speak out.

march in March...

it's the beginning of what looks to be a month of Revolution...
March madness has hit the streets,
more Protesters,
in more countries,
are Marching in the streets than in recent history,
People are sick AND tired everywhere.
Workers and Voters are awakening from their deep slumber,
they're calling Labour the US's sleeping bear,
and recent Protests the beginning of the "People's Party."

In this corner we have the heavy-weight champion,
the brute with noble origins but broken morals The Tea Party!
Challenging is the up-and-coming underdog,
with no corporate-backing whatsoever,
but a long albeit difficult and fractured history...
(building anticipation)
THE PEOPLE'S PARTY!!!


now that i'm done indulging in some sort of strange Free Verse Poetry, i'd just like to say. I hope to begin blogging more frequently again (i feel ridiculous knowing /literally/ no one reads this anyway). But yeah, seems i'm getting caught up in Revolution Fever, and i need to say things. So this is ONE of my outlets, other than facebook and twitter, and non-interweb-based writing.

today, i'll leave you with a Rebel of the Day!!! A long forgotten and all but abandoned tradition on this blog.

as i was riding into town on the Bus today i saw one lone Woman on the side of the road holding up a Picket Sign that read, "International Woman's Day, Solidarity (female symbol) With African Women." This tiny act of Protest, this individual March filled me with Respect, Happiness and Hope.

also, apparently it's the start of lent. This lent i'll be giving up... nothing. At least, not for the sake of lent. It's a Noble idea, but the tradition has lost meaning.

Take Action

Big oil has finally done it. Through lies and smear campaigns they've cast enough doubt over man-made climate change to send the quasi-medieval Saudi Arabia into Copenhagen screaming. This leaves oil-drenched nations everywhere breathing a sigh of relief that they don't have to put their reputation on the line by blocking climate talks, the Arabs are taking the bullet. What is our responsibility as citizens of the planet? With a new climate deal being negotiated this week it is important that we all do our part.
Here's some important links:
Seal the Deal: Petition for Fair Climate Talks (Earth Mosaic)
Hopenhagen (Messages of Hope)
Show Your Vote (Have your say at Copenhagen)
Official COP15 Website (For more information and neat links)

Canada, Climate, Copenhagen, Commonwealth

This December the world will meet in Copenhagen to forge a new climate alliance to succeed the Kyoto protocol which is now 12 years old and set to expire in 2012. While people all over the world rally for a new treaty and leaders have high hopes for carbon-cap policies some people are still shit-disturbers on the issue. The PM of Canada Stephen Harper has stated that there will be no binding treaty reached in Copenhagen next month, reflecting once again his "can't do won't try" attitude on climate change.

His statements coincide with a nation-wide radio campaign by Calgary-based climate change skeptics friendsofscience.org. This organization makes outrageous claims like, climate change is not man-made its caused by the sun, the world has been cooling for the past 10 years and atmospheric levels of CO2 do not correlate to higher worldwide temperatures. The immediate thought is that this organization must be funded by the oil industry unfortunately Canadian law does not require organizations to reveal their sources of funding. When asked about their funding the organization claims that they are a small grass-roots organization supported by small individual donations, but a simple look at the ad campaign reveals the absurdity of that claim.

One source claimed that the 30-second radio spot which runs on 15 stations nation-wide 20-30 times a day for the past month would cost upwards of $65000, an obscenely high value for any grassroots organizations' budget. Other sources claim the organization is funded by big oil companies in Canada and supported by Stephen Harper's fishing buddies, making the PM guilty by association. Whether or not Stephen Harper directly funds or supports the campaign of doubt by friendsofscience.org is not the question however. The question is, does national doubt on the climate change issue help Stephen Harper leading up to Copenhagen on December 7, 2009? He has already stated there will be no climate treaty next month. When Harper finally comes out and says he doesn't believe in climate change and finally confesses his romantic affair with oil interests, will anyone truly be surprised?

World leaders have started to question Canadian leadership on the issue of climate change. Specifically, at a Commonwealth summit it was proposed that Canada be suspended from the Commonwealth because of inaction on climate change. That would put Canada in league with nation's such as Nigeria, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Pakistan who have been suspended for their human rights record at different times throughout history. This is a welcome move to other Commonwealth nations more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as Bangladesh, who condemn Canada's deliberate inaction and interference on climate change policy.

Will this become the norm? Will developed nation's who defy climate action be condemned for the impoverished souls they reap through deliberate inaction? It needs to happen to send a message. If Canada joins the ranks of Pakistan and other countries suspended for their corrupt ways it will send a message to the Canadian people and to developed nations world-wide.

So what can be done? When the government, corporations, and radio-stations in this country can't make the moral and ethical decision to tell the truth. People cite freedom of speech, but this is Canada, the government holds the right to censor messages it finds offensive and yet it deliberately ignores the nation-wide smear campaign which is breeding ignorance and teaching lies. Its easy to believe that climate change isn't happening, because the alternative is terrifying, and who's going to question someone with the name friends of science? Its propaganda in its purist form, but because it supposedly comes from a small organization its off the radar. Keep an open mind.

Let us hope that when December 7th comes along the citizens of Canada will demand a binding climate treaty from the governments of the world, but more importantly from their own government. Let us march on parliament hill if Stephen Harper doesn't cease his bad habit of blocking climate talks. Let us protest our government for creating national humiliation when the Commonwealth suspends us from it's ranks. And most importantly let us next time vote for a government that will pledge long-term, effective action on climate change. It is our moral imperative as Canadian citizens and citizens of the World.

Movement Musician of the Week: The Flobots "Fight With Tools" (Live)


Rebel of the Day (Need a Better Title): Shirin Ebadi "Tehran denies seizing Shirin Ebadi's Nobel medal"
She is a Human Rights lawyer who received the Nobel Peace Prize. She's the first Muslim woman to receive a Nobel Prize. In the wake of the last presidential elections she was expelled from the country and her medal was seized from her husbands safety deposit box by the government.

The Broadcast

I'm not sure what this blog is going to be about. It's a broadband broadcast of a yet undecided message. Its been a while since I wrote anything worth, anything, literally, I haven't written in over a month. There are things that I've had on my mind, but not had the motivation or time to write about. Corporatism, globalization and neo-liberalism. Whatever that means, I'll pretend I know. All concepts that are an inevitable part of our everyday lives and yet concepts I'm growing to become more and more skeptical about. My reasons are complex, or maybe I'm just brainwashed and therefore can't explain them, but I'd like to call on my moral system. My inspiration and educational materials are as follows, The Corporation, Food Inc., Age of Stupid, The Flobots, FightWithTools.org. I wish I had less corporate means of discovering the evils of corporatism but alas any message must be spread through the corporate controlled mass-media if it is to be heard anywhere. What is corporatism? Our world is filled with it, where corporations (legal persons) are given preferential treatment to REAL persons. What is the justification for this? A buck? Because corporations supposedly work for the benefit of the majority, giving us what we want and raising our standards of living. But without environmental, economic and social justice corporations work worldwide to exploit every resource and every last ounce of manual labour in an effort to turn over a profit. It cannot be denied, the corporation is a psychopath and its goals are ultimately destructive to those around it (roughly 6.6 billion human beings). After watching the three movies listed above, and being socially indoctrinated by the Flobots heavy beats and movement lyrics I find myself thinking long and hard about the food I eat, the things I buy and the media I consume. Branding. Corporate Buyouts. Bankrupcy. Monsanto. DDT. Agent Orange. Abuse of Power. Corporate Lawsuits. Child-labour. Starvation Wages. Exploitation. Extortion. Oil Extraction. Disaster Capitalism. Shock Doctrine. Corporatism. Neo-Liberalism. Globalization. Climate Change. CO2. PPM. How can we free ourselves of brands? In everything we do we are attached to a brand, even in writing this blog I'm attached to the brand of the internet giant Google Inc. In watching TV I'm forced to watch and thinking about advertisements for commercial products, and brands are inadvertantly built in my head, the greatest and most expensive product for corporations, and yet the easiest to sell. I'm a Walkman, you're an iPod and he's a Zune. Again, how can we conquer this? Remove brands from our daily conversation. We can try hard as we might to avoid brands but even those "farm fresh" bovine products have their history in corporations not unlike Monsanto. But even if we are forced to by into a brand we are not forced to talk about it and fuel it. Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people." Well the same applies for brands as people (considering the corporation is a legal person anyway). To talk about brands is to narrow your mind and the world you live in. We need to talk about ideas, learn ALL sides of the story, recognize the bias from all sources. As an online friend said, we need to develop strong roots for support and stability, not flashy flowers and foliage. A tree survives through the winter because of its roots, the foliage dies out, its fleeting. While foliage is necessary for a time and to a certain extent a tree without roots would dry up and die, fall down and rot.

Movement Musician of the Week: The Flobots "Rise" (Forgive the corporate propaganda pre-video)
Rebel of the Day (so cliché): Ban Ki-moon UN chief urges leaders to 'seal deal' on climate change
For saying a climate deal is in sight when leaders such as Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper are saying there is no deal on the horizon and therefore are taking a can't do won't do strategy, Ban Ki-moon is the rebel of the day.

Media: The Opiate of the Masses

Its nothing new. Everyone knows it. The media is the opiate of the masses. But no one has realized just how bad it is. Every single aspect of the media only serves to aid in building apathy in the youth of today. From the most frivolous materialistic tripe on MTV to a deep and thoughtful documentary about war-torn Sudan. The problem with the media we see every day is, we see it every day. It has become an everyday occurrence to hear about the troubles shaking a far off country. Blood and gore do not have the same effect as they used to. When footage of a genocide is seen alongside footage of Saw IV, the trivial becomes reality and reality becomes trivial. It all meets on this basic median level, entertainment. The opiate of the masses.

Its a problem that I've been hearing lately. Media tells us all these things that are happening in the world and all these evils that must be fixed. Media tells us to stand up and do something about it so this media can't be the opiate can it? No the opiate tells us everything is alright, not to worry, nothing can go wrong, just be happy. But that's where things have changed since the 60s. Unfiltered, raw media coverage of world events is now the norm, so we should all be very aware of the evils in the world. We should all be standing against them, right? But we aren't. The youth are mesmerized by the evils they see in Michael Moore's documentaries and movies like Hotel Rwanda and even Youtube footage of violence against peaceful protesters in Iran, but do we stand up. No. It stays in the back of our heads. We feel like because we saw Blood Diamond, and because we listened to a protest song by Rise Against or The Flobots, that we have done our part. Education is as far as we go.

Some of us will pass the information on, teach other people, tell them about what goes on in the world. But truly we are just introducing our friends to the opiate. Its come to a point where knowing whats going on in the world and learning to live with the fact you can't do anything about it is better than not knowing what is going on in the world around us. This is why even the most morbid and depressing of media is an opiate. If we know whats going on in the world we are less likely to go out and see it, and if we are less likely to go out and see it we are less likely to try and change it. Very few of us will ever, learn the truth, teach others, and go on to take action against the evil.

The other problem is when we confuse meaningful media with media that makes us feel good. An example that can be made is of Bob Marley. While Bob Marley does have quite a few protest songs, his songs are famously happy-go-lucky. There is value in music that promotes peace and love, but at a certain level it starts to give a false impression of peace and love and allows us to believe that everything is okay. Meanwhile wars are being fought all over the world and soldiers on route to fight in Iraq are listening to Bob Marley in their Jeeps to keep up their morale. Happy music does create or invoke feelings of happiness and satisfaction, so it can also, not kept in moderation, make us blind to the truth of the world around us.

So there it is, the source of all our apathy. Its the connectivity; the media bombardment we encounter every day. A mélange of good, bad, morbid, frivolous and earthshaking content. It all becomes overwhelming when we try to separate it into its respective categories, especially when we have to deal with the bad. So what do we do? On some unconscious level we mix it all together into the one category we can easily manage, entertainment. We become desensitized and our sympathies do not become actions or even often words. We have to be careful with our intake of media. We have to be sure to separate the good from the bad, the frivolous from the meaningful, and we have to consider what does it all mean? How does it affect me, and those around me, and others? These are all important questions for every concerned citizen. And finally if you want to break the cycle of apathy, what can I do to change this?

EU Fights For Ugly Fruit Rights

Is he REALLY ugly? Or is he just misunderstood? That is the question the top European Commission for Agriculture had to ask themselves. Starting this July 1st, 20 year old food laws will be lifted in the EU meaning that irregular fruit and vegetables like Mr. Cuddly the tomato (above) will begin being sold again.

The change in laws is welcomed by market operators all over Europe as they get more freedom to sell fruits and vegetables with a little more, character and pizazz. I'm sure market vendors and market shoppers alike will be glad to see more curvy cucumbers, gnarly carrots and lumpy tomatoes for sale in weeks to come.

It was getting to a point where people would walk down the aisle and see the same vegetable over and over again. They never even had to squeeze their fruits to check for freshness, shopping was no longer a challenge or even remotely interesting. With the laws in place for 20 years variety was falling off the shelves it would not long before certain vegetables such as bell-peppers were deemed to wild to be sold by European Agricultural Standards.

Aside from the inherent cost benefit to selling these foods and not letting them go to waste and the benefit of seeing more variety in the stores there is also a clear environmental benefit to selling deformed fruits and vegetables. In a time of economic and environmental struggle this is the only choice, allowing farmers to produce more cash-crop and allowing consumers to purchase "ugly" veggies for less. If you ask me, there's nothing ugly about these fruits. Okay, maybe Mr. Cuddly but come now, we all have limits.