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for the folks on the hill

added: Fri, 10th March 2006 | 485 views | 0x in favourites
feed url: http://www.rabbitstewlounge.com/weblog_rss.php?w=2

My personal blog on politics, society, and religion. I am an advocate of responsible free speech, human rights, and fighting injustices.

Latest feed entries:

Ilyas is now online too

Not to be left out, I have posted a slideshow of Ilyas' birth as well.

He was born September 28th, 2005 in Providence, Rhode Island. He was 50cm (about 20 in) long and weighed in at 3.460kg (7 lbs, 10oz): http://www.grengama.com/brood. . Him and Sara were almost the exact same size!

I'll try to post additional albums soon...

I've Updated My Personal Site

In case you don' know, I maintain a personal website called "Grenga Ma" over at www.grengama.com. I've owned this site for more than 10 years (I think :-s), and it has gone through a ton of transformations. Anyway, I've settled on keeping it a personal site for music, art, and family info.

In addition, I've finally uploaded all the songs from all four of my albums! Please take a moment and have a look on my music page.

Have a look/listen/feel and let me know what you think!

We're All in Belgium!

As most of you know, the family just moved to Belgium. Things went without a hitch (Ok, I'm lying -- we had plenty of hitches). It is about 8:30 am here now and I think I'm pretty close to normalizing my time.

I promise to give some of the details of the move as soon as I can have a few more minutes on the PC. I'll tell you about the cat, the car, and coffee. Trust me, you'll want to hear these stories!

In all honesty, I am really happy to finally be here. It feels good to not be in limbo and to be getting ready for the "new life". I feel like Columbus and Erikson -- well, not really. I don't have tight pants or horns on my head. Silly... yes... but it is the equivalent of 2am for me so cut me some slack!

Imagine Peace!

This is a complete cut & paste from an email I got from Yoko (not a personal message of course). I don't think she'll mind the plagiarism:

www.IMAGINEPEACE.com

Join the biggest online peace demonstration.

Put banners on your websites.
Put IMAGINE PEACE on your work computer.
Put posters in your window.
Send postcards.
Put up flyers.
Put them on your noticeboard at work or at school.
You can even make T-Shirts.
You can do it.
Do it now.
Get them all from the download section at
www.IMAGINEPEACE.com/download.html

Email us photos & tell us what you're doing.

If one billion people in the world think peace, we'll get peace.
You may think: "Well, how are we going to get one billion people in the world to think PEACE?"
Remember, each one of us has the power to change the world.
Power works in mysterious ways.
You don't have to do much.
Visualise the domino effect and just start thinking PEACE.
Thoughts are infectious.
Send it out.
The message will circulate faster than you think.
It's time for action.
The action is PEACE.
Spread the WORD.
Spread PEACE.
Remember: A dream we dream together is reality.
So stand up, speak out, and come together.
Imagine all the people living life in peace.

love
Yoko

The Hate Epidemic, What Was the Tipping Point?

Hate -- on both sides of the isle -- has reached epidemic proportions. I am not talking about a new anti-Islamic cartoon, a violent riot in some part of the Middle East, abuses at military bases, or the rise in roadside car bombs inside Baghdad. These are just symptoms. I'm talking about a festering hate that is now beyond parlor discussions and out in the open. Hate is a very powerful emotion that can lead to very undesirable outcomes.

What was the tipping point?

People in Africa and Asia lived through Slavery and Colonization, but there was no significant violent reaction towards the West. Just mistrust, bottled anger, and suspicion. Now though, these things no longer seem bottled up. Malcom Gladwell's book, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference", discusses three rules of an epidemic: "The law of the few", "The stickiness factor", and "the power of context".

The Law of the few states that it doesn't take much to kick off an epidemic. Before 9/11 there was beginning to be a healthy inquiry into the Muslim world. Lots of balanced documentaries about Islam were published. After 9/11, almost every production has been tied in some way to terrorism, extremism, or fundamentalism. But was 9/11 really the culprit? Or could it have been Gulf War I? That's when OBL began to hate. Maybe it has more to do with Arab oil and deals made in the seventies? Our US support for Saddam in the 80s?

The Stickiness factor states that in order for an epidemic to make it past the early stages, it must be "sticky". If it wasn't cool to hate the West, then hating the West wouldn't stick and become a problem. The same is true regarding the West and Islam: If it can't be rationalized in some way that hating Muslims is Ok and acceptable, the idea or notion wouldn't stick. With the steady, unending rise of hate and bias crimes against Muslims in the US as an indicator, I believe that some Muslims, politicians, and media outlets have created an atmosphere (on both sides of the isle) where this sort of hate is acceptable; therefore making it sticky.

In context of course, we have Arab oil, Israel and Palestine, the Sudan, globalization, war, among other things. The power of groups --whether political parties, al-Qaeda, the Palestinians, or a small team of insurgents -- play an important role as well. They can carry the "virus" of hate in the larger context of mistrust, injustice, sensationalism, human rights abuses, and occupation quite easily. You can convince people nowadays that terrorism is bad as easily as you can convince young Muslims in the Middle East that the West is bad.

Was there a terrorism tipping point? Or is the entire situation inflated and sensationalized for political gain? You might not notice a few bees buzzing around in your garden, but if you walked over to the hive and shook it up a bit, you'd have a problem.

There is an epidemic on hand, but I believe it has little to do with terrorism and more to do with imperialism, self preservation, and hate (on both sides). War has tremendous economic benefits as well as political security. People are less likely to vote out a wartime President. People are more likely to follow a reckless leader in times of war -- even knowing the potential consequence (Israel, Palestine, Hamas, USA, al-Qeada, et al).

To break free, we need to find a cure for the hate. This could start by addressing the problems of war, occupation, education, and justice. It could conclude with a golden era, where technology and understanding come together to solve problems like desertification, AIDS, and hunger. Hate is blocking that progress, as we occupy ourselves with war, saber-rattling, and finger-pointing.

Palestinian Refugee Problem

[ Angry Mood: Angry ]
Spoken by Rabbi Elon, an Israeli blogger and NRP-NU Chairman:



Quote:




We have avoided resolving the refugee problem by hiding the refugees behind walls, like a ticking bomb waiting to explode; the refugee situation threatens to blow up in our faces. More than two-thirds of Gaza residents now live in filthy refugee camps and by allowing things to continue as they are we are allowing the perpetuation of a great injustice.






So far so good, I think. There is a conscious realization that the refugee problem is in fact a problem. But just when I think he is suggesting fixing the problem (right of return, illegal settlements, walls, checkpoints, etc...), he goes on in true Zionist form:



Quote:



Israel must demand the release of all Palestinian refugees interned in camps, the closure of these camps, and total dissolution of UNRWA. When surveyed, the majority of Palestinian refugees want a visa to another country and seed money to help begin a new life outside the walls of the refugee camps. The reallocation of UNRWA funds combined with a few billion dollars from Israel, the United States and Europe could provide each refugee family with $100,000- $200,000 and the opportunity to begin a new life.





Now, he is blaming Arabs and Palestinians for purposfully keeping the refugee camps alive and in poverty for the sole purpose of keeping the World's attention on Israel's injustices. UNRWA is an International organization who more or less tries to keep the refugees alive. Elon is calling for their disbandment, and for the removal of refugees to other places. he isn't suggesting -- at all -- that these refugees would be allow to return to their homes, but rather, shipped off.

Reminds me of the inquisitions, Hitler, and Apartheid.

Hamas exists because of Israel's actions over the past 50 years. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out. It seems to me that in order to fix the problem, it isn't about shipping deed owners away to Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Europe, but rather broad and sweeping reform in Israel herself.

Address the problem and fix it -- make it right.

Jericho Update!

This just in:



Quote:




Fans trumpeting the cause of CBS' canceled drama "Jericho" have caught the network's ear. CBS, deluged with calls, messages and shipments of nuts signifying viewer displeasure, is reconsidering its decision, a source close to the production said Tuesday.

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly. A decision on whether to bring the show back, probably for a midseason run, is imminent, the source said.






Yahoo! Looks like all those nuts are making a grand impact!

The CBS/Jericho Nuts Campaign is Really Taking Off!

[ Cool Mood: Cool ]
Wow, what a difference a week makes! I wrote last week of my displeasure with CBS canceling my favorite show, Jericho. A petition was started and fan messageboards were buzzing. But then I got busy with work and my attention drifted away from Jericho and onto other things.

A colleague at work then informed that things have really taken off. First, many of the show's actors and actresses have joined the discussion on the discussion boards. Skeet Ulrich wrote:



Quote:




A week ago our show was canceled and it feels like time has stood still ever since. We loved bringing you this story. [...] Your support is incredible and means more to all of us than you will ever know!






And from Lennie "The Hawk" James, who played my favorite character, Hawkins:



Quote:




I write to you from my home in London utterly staggered by the events of the last week or so. I, along with all the cast and crew from the show, was totally gutted (UK slang for 'very upset') when news came down that our show was canceled.






Many others have chimed in as well. I have never seen anything like this before. The cast (and I bet even some crew members!) have stepped up and have become involved. Imagine if CBS continued the show now? Fans have had an opportunity to interact with their favorite characters. This can only create an even stronger base audience.

But perhaps the biggest and loudest development over the past week is the Nuts campaign!

As I write this, CBS has had the pleasure of getting MORE THAN 18,000 lbs of NUTS from JERICHO fans. Let me say that again: More than 18,000 POUNDS!

Check out http://www.nutsonline.com/jericho. In true capitalist spirit, this company stepped up and made ordering Jericho nuts super easy. All you have to do is go to their website, specify the amount you want to spend. And off they go.

Here are some YouTube videos:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9UogT5AWRo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoxePewKK8o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g07OKqGSb0o

You might not be a fan of Jericho, but why not help Jericho fans make this statement by sending CBS your very own bag of NUTS!

Other websites:
http://www.jericholives.com/
http://www.jerichorallypoint.com/sm/index.php

Save Jericho!

I've never been so bummed about a television show being cancelled before. But for some reason this one is different. It's different in a lot of ways but most importantly: It isn't anything like what else is on TV. CBS is making a bad decision on this one. This is the type of show that could (with better management and scheduling) attain the ranks of something like X-Files.

Ahh well. Please sign the petition!:
http://www.petitiononline.com/09272006/petition.html

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