Thru Other Eyes

The Emperor's New Clothes

Sometimes a picture is really worth a thousand words.....

Happy Mother's Day

To my Mom and to Moms everywhere. Have a great day! Anita Renfroe says it best...

60 Years

We can celebrate many things on this 60th anniversary of the founding of the modern day State of Israel. There is much to be thankful for. There is much that we have achieved. Israel has been the source of many innovations in the areas of water management and agriculture, science, medicine and technology. The country enjoys its own form of democracy and for many of its citizens it has created economic prosperity with an open and dynamic economy.

(NOTE: This article is somewhat longer than what I usually present here. For those who find it more convenient to read hard copy, you can download and print a copy at the end of the article.)

The fact that the state of Israel even exists, after thousands of years of Jewish statelessness,

Woops, Sorry. This Gas Tax Holiday Debate is Giving Me Gas

Am I the only one who thinks this presidential primary season is turning more and more into silly time at the happy farm? The gas tax holiday debate now raging between the candidates is nothing more than the idiocy du jour.

McCain got the ball rolling by proposing a summer recess from the 18-cent a gallon federal tax on gasoline. As he put it:

"I'd like to see families in America have a relief from ever-increasing costs of gasoline so maybe at the end of the summer, after this tax holiday, they could buy school supplies for their children."

Quite a sweet thought but since everyone agrees that the savings for the average American family would be around $30, McCain should have said ‘a bit of the school supplies for one of their children, maybe.’

Impressions of Queen's Day 2008 in Amsterdam

It was another fun Queen's Day today. Here are a few impressions of how 500,000 people celebrated in Amsterdam: canal fun, street artists, flea market sidewalk sales, folks in orange.

(You can click the images for full size)

Long Live the Queen!

Lang Leve de Koningin!

Wednesday the 30th of April we celebrate the official birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Although Queen Beatrix's real birthday is January 31, when she ascended to the throne in 1980 she decreed that her mother's birthday, April 30, would become Koninginnedag - Queen's Day - as a tribute to the much loved Queen Mother Juliana.

 

Wednesday the 30th of April we celebrate the official birthday of Her Majesty the Queen. Although Queen Beatrix's real birthday is January 31, when she ascended to the throne in 1980 she decreed that her mother's birthday, April 30, would become Koninginnedag - Queen's Day - as a tribute to the much loved Queen Mother Juliana.

Pangea Day: Thru the World's Eyes

On Saturday, May 10 at 18.00 GMT you can be part of a unique event bringing the world together through film:

"The Pangea Day Mission & Purpose

Pangea Day is a global event bringing the world together through film.

Why? In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that – to help people see themselves in others – through the power of film.

The Pangea Day Event

Starting at 18:00 GMT on May 10, 2008, locations in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked for a live program of powerful films, live music, and visionary speakers. The entire program will be broadcast – in seven languages – to millions of people worldwide through the internet, television, and mobile phones.

The 24 short films to be featured have been selected from an international competition that generated more than 2,500 submissions from over one hundred countries. The films were chosen based on their ability to inspire, transform, and allow us see the world through another person's eyes.

The program will also include a number of exceptional speakers and musical performers. Queen Noor of Jordan, CNN's Christiane Amanpour, musician/activist Bob Geldof, and Iranian rock phenom Hypernova are among those taking part."

 

Stop The Presses! Start The Killing!

The US Supreme Court delivered a 7 - 2 decision this afternoon finding that Kentucky's application of lethal injection does not qualify as 'cruel and unusual' punishment. Several states wasted no time in welcoming the decision and announcing they would be gearing up their murder mills now that the decision is in.

Kentucky along with 34 other states and the federal government use a three-drug procedure. The first drug administered is

Coalition Of The Killing

Amnesty International released its annual report today on the use of the death penalty worldwide. As in previous years, the United States remains one of the world’s most enthusiastic practitioners of the death penalty.

According to Amnesty’s report  

Geert Wilders Bedankt!

Thank you Geert Wilders? Yes, thank you Geert Wilders. Fitna and Geert Wilders’ performance during the parliamentary debate that followed the video's release have indeed shown us that we stand on the precipice of a monumental decision. Unfortunately for Geert, it’s not quite the decision he was hoping for.

Wilders’ Youtube video Fitna (to call it a film would give it way too much credit) has stirred a lot of debate and controversy both in the Netherlands and abroad. The reactions to the video can be grouped into four broad areas:

War Games

Yesterday I read about a new weapons system Israel is deploying on the border with Gaza. Although I find any weapons system repugnant, this one made me especially stop and think about what happens when war becomes like a game.

According to Ynetnews, an Israeli news website from Yedioth:

"IDF deploys new anti-terror system around Gaza

"Army upgrades its capabilities in the Gaza region: New system combines camera, machine gun and enables IDF troops stationed in operations room to identify and fire at terrorists without risking themselves...

"The systems, which are equipped with a camera and a machine gun, enable soldiers to watch any activity that takes place near the fence and if necessary to fire at the push of a button. The new system will soon be officially declared "operational."

"We will be able to distinguish between terrorists and innocent civilians," another military official said."

There's just something about this new weapons system

Five Years Iraq

For me today, the only appropriate way to pause on the fifth anniversary, this fifth memorial for the war in Iraq is to have my thoughts with all those who have lost and given their lives in this war. So many lives and so many futures lost; it is a heavy burden we bear.

As I look at all the events around us today: the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, other trouble spots where war is waging, the elections in the USA, I think about our individual responsibility as citizens of democracies. Especially the responsibility we create when we send boys and girls, men and women, off to die and to kill.

Death of darkness, death of night,
Let me feel the warmth of your blinding light.
Heroes one, Heroes all.
They felt the haunting of Gabriel’s call.

You couldn't have died for sins unknown.
Perhaps for a sin I must call my own?
Why did we send you, did we do what’s right?
Whose war was this you left to fight?

Forgive me my brother, my mother, my father,
Forgive me my lover, my sister, my daughter and son,
Forgive me my silence, the love that I squandered,
I hold onto your pain, for I’ve let you down.

~ Thru Other Eyes

The Madness of King George

Over the last weeks we have been treated to the spectacle of a President who is increasingly out of touch with reality and for whatever reason is less and less inhibited about showing it.

 

First we had George as the dancing bear outside the Oval Office as he waited to endorse John McCain.

Last Friday, we had the President telling the Economic Club of New York, "I'm coming to you as an optimistic fellow," exactly at the time that Bear Stearns' stock price was nose-diving and behind the scenes efforts were underway for JP Morgan to buy the once venerable bank for 7 cents on the dollar in an effort to stave off further bank collapses. Not since the 1930's had such a government guaranteed deal been necessary; but George was optimistic.

The most insightful and revolting look into Bush's emotional and intellectual state came on Thursday in a videoconference the President held with American military reconstruction teams in Afghanistan. 

The Real Dish On Geraldine Ferraro's Comments

When I saw the web video of Geraldine Ferraro's performance last night on NBC I couldn't believe her indignation at the turn of events stemming from her Obama comments. Was it feigned or was it truly felt? Who knows. What ticked me off the most was her misleading and self-serving explanation of the comments' background and context.

If you have ten minutes to spare and are interested in a complete picture of her comments, their background and context then you should really check out this commentary from Keith Olbermann.

Our Brave Vets Speak Out - We Should Listen

Today marks the start of Iraq Veterans Against the War's 'Winter Soldier: Iraq & Afghanistan' event in Washington, D.C. You can follow the proceedings via the Web.

Inspired by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War's original Winter Soldier Investigation of 1971, Iraq Veterans Against the War are holding a similar event this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Regardless of how one feels about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan it is fundamentally important to respect those who have chosen in good conscious to serve their country in this way. Too many have paid the ultimate price with their lives and too many have come home as physically and psychologically shattered men and women.

The very least we can do is to listen to these courageous men and women who are bravely stepping forward to bear witness to the true horrors of the wars we have sent them to fight in.

From IVAW's website: