Africa not filled with poverty?

This AllAfrica.com article about the misrepresentation of Africa is so freakin crazy. It seems that, for this author, caring is just a mask for racism and disdain.

I'm sorry, lady, but people in Africa really do lack access to clean water and basic sanitation.

More people really do have AIDS in Africa than anywhere else. Millions of children really are orphans because their parents died of AIDS.

It is literally a DARK place - that's not some arbitrary insult. If you look at one of those satellite images of the world at night, Africa is a dark continent. No electricity means less business, less economic development, and thus less economic vitality. Compare the lights in the U.S. or Europe to the darkness in Africa.

The Save Darfur campaign paints Africa in a bad light? It should! Genocide is occurring. Should we not give Sudan negative media coverage?

No one is denying that Africa is all the things you say in the last paragraph - beautiful, strong, rhythmic, hopeful. But if true caring is a glossing over of the quote-unquote true problems that exist, then I guess I just don't care.

The fact that she even puts the word Africa in quotations throughout the article shows how freakishly paranoid she has become about the whole thing. Africa is indeed a place! It's an actual land mass. It's not a myth. It's not a political construction. It's a real mixing bowl of thousands of vibrant cultures that have some strengths and some weaknesses in common. No need for quotations.

The end of books

I'm currently very disillusioned with books because I have realized that anyone can publish one, and that the things you might read in one book are, almost definitely, contradicted in 100s of others. The daily responsibility of filtering truth from myself is overwhelming enough - add to it an information flow attacking me through innocent BOOKS and I may very well drown. :)

Of course it's not just books - ideas and information come in many ways. But the fact that I can find a book to reinforce any worldview or opinion of mine is a little disconcerting. What is truth!? And who can we believe to point us toward it?

Here is a tremendously fascinating Washington Post article about Blue Media and Red Media. In a nutshell, Republicans like FOX and Democrats divide their attention between CNN and NPR. Haha. Not super surprising. But hopefully you DO find it super disconcerting. Choosing news sources that reinforce your current views seems strange and unhelpful for the person with an open mind. On the other hand, we select our sources on a constant basis - who we spend time with, what places we visit, which companies we buy from, etc.

In a world where we choose the news source that is most compatible with our status quo beliefs, do we have more freedom or less? Does that bring us closer to truth or further away?

Personally, I am finding that the subjectivity is where it's at. I'm having more and more of a sense of awe at our intuition. Now don't get freaked out - I'm not necessarily saying all the answers are within me or within you. But in a way, they are. All I have is my own mind and my own conscience to tell me what's good and right and true. In a way, I also have a very loving community to help me with this, but honestly, they don't agree on most matters of contention.

I guess that, for deciding what's true, the other thing I rely on is getting out into "the real world" and gathering empirical evidence - what do I see? But even then, my choice of going into the ghetto to see the real world may be opposed to your idea of going into New York's financial district where, in your perspective, "real life" happens. So even then, even if we could agree on a common circumstance that portrays reality, we have to use our minds, feelings, intution, conscience, etc. to gather and sort information about reality. We will still come to different conclusions. Even if we could get so far as to agree about truth and reality, the way we emphasize different things - by how much we love certain things, how much time and concern we devote to them - this will also show that what we believe to be TRUE, or most true, differs greatly.

Sigh. Life in the year 2006. You asked for it; you got it - Americaaaaaaaa. lol

Wow. Worth a raised eyebrow

This is just strange. I can't brush over this news item. What makes someone do this? Could be anything, I know... There's a long, complex human history behind the shot, I know... but it's still sad and strange.

World Cup official shot himself

Berlin's top World Cup official shot himself in the head just hours after the tournament ended and is now fighting for his life, police say.

Juergen Kiessling, 65, was rushed to hospital from his house in Reinickendorf, a suburb of Berlin, after a neighbour heard the shot.

The motive for the apparent suicide attempt is not yet clear.

German media report that he left two suicide notes - one for his daughter alone, and one for his family.

Berlin hosted the World Cup final on Sunday, when fans watched Italy beat France on penalties.
Mr Kiessling was known as "Mister WM" (Mr World Cup) by colleagues in Berlin. He was responsible for the hugely successful Fan Mile in Berlin city centre, a concourse where giant screens showed the matches to hundreds of thousands of fans who could not get tickets.

The tournament was widely seen as a great success for the host nation.

Organ theft

Yesterday at the gym, I watched (well, read the closed captioning for) a CNN special on human organ trafficking in China. Basically, people who can afford it and need replacement organs such as a liver or kidney, go to China. They don't realize it but their new parts are coming from Chinese prisoners. Often times these prisoners are in captivity for simple things such as tax-related crimes. Other times they are there for their political beliefs. And many have testified before the U.S. Congress that they've seen organs extracted from Chinese prisoners while they are still alive. While they are still bleeding and breathing.

Words can't express how sick and sad this report made me. You should have seen some of the images...

Anyway, I don't have time right now to research this and write an informed post, but here are a few links.

Sale of Human Organs in China

Harvesting and sale of body parts

Bolivia's war on poverty

Making economic and social policy is, in my humble opinion, quite possibly the most important thing a government does. Our leaders are elected to make and enforce POLICY, and the ones that deal with money, opportunity, and society are pretty central. Capitalism is the best generator of wealth, yes, but does little or nothing to distribute it fairly. That's where leadership comes in. And no, by fairly I don't mean that everyone should get an equal share... but children shouldn't be abandoned, and the elderly shouldn't be forgotten, and people without homes, food, medical care, education... should not be left to suffer. That's just what I think. We're humans. Come on people. We need each other. I'm not talking utopia or communism. I'm talking about remembering who we are. So I like this article. The specifics can be debated, sure, but why is it big news when a country cares for its people? If you want an even more fascinating article, read about how Morales feels like a prisoner of neo-liberal laws and red-tape.

Bolivia unveils anti-poverty plan
By Daniel Schweimler
BBC South America correspondent

The government of Bolivia has announced a radical plan to reduce poverty and create employment in the poorest country in South America. Almost $7bn (£3.8bn) will be invested in ambitious public works programmes.

The economic plan announced by Planning and Development Minister Carlos Villegas aims to create 100,000 jobs a year for the next five years.

It is the latest measure in a series implemented by President Evo Morales since taking office in January.

The people of South America, and especially Bolivia, have often heard their leaders promise to reduce poverty and create jobs.

But President Morales appears to mean it and many Bolivians believe what he says.

The money will come from the recently nationalised gas industry, supplemented by international lending and foreign investment.

The plan, presented in the presidential palace in La Paz, also aims to deliver more basic public services such as school meals and better access to clean water.

Speedy changes

Since he came to office, Evo Morales, a former cocoa leaf grower, has launched a number of ambitious projects to reduce poverty and close the gap between rich and poor in Bolivia.

He cut wages in the public sector, including his own, and sent troops in to take control of oil and gas installations after he nationalised the industries. He has forged links with Venezuela and Cuba and worries Washington.

Few in Bolivia deny that the country needs radical changes.

The speed with which President Morales has moved to implement those changes has delighted his supporters, but left wealthy Bolivians and foreign investors nervous and uncertain how they should react.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/americas/5090850.stm

Christian vs. Christian on AIDS

This is a truly interesting article:

Rift Opens Among Evangelicals on AIDS Funding

For one thing, it's definitely shocking where Pat Robertson comes down on the issue. And for another... it's just interesting. (Man I am sooooooo tired that's all I can offer. lol)