Barack and the re-election
November 9, 2012
Look i’m one of these people who believes that Barack is genuine. Because i’ve read his accounts of working as a community organiser in the South side of Chicago. Here he talks about that experience with a bunch of kids who just got him re-elected. And i know that success for him is not just gaining the presidency, it’s training these individuals, this new generation of people who can change the world. Who will make a difference.
Via the Huffington Post: Obama Tears Up While Addressing Campaign Staff.
No, he’s not perfect. He’s just an individual, just a man. But i like the way he works.
Okay, i’m going to gather all those US election videos in the one post. Yes i did get a bit obsessed during the election.
Flight of the Conchords – Feel Inside (and stuff like that)
September 17, 2012
Aaaaah! Sally played this for me at work the other week. “You won’t be able to get it out of your head,” she said.
And that’s true.
Then i watched it again with Tim and Sam up at Elphinstone the other day. How we laughed.
Apparently the song spent weeks at number one in NZ Aotearoa, and raised about $1 million and a hundred and ten and twenty one. In a bowl.
I love Murray at the start, “Yes and i gave some money back in 1988, so that’s all done now?”
And Jemaine talking about the songs in the Muppet Movie, “They were pretty derivative though, don’t you think?”
From the punch: an interesting perspective on an awkward tv moment. I didn’t see Q&A last night but I’ll see it on iView now!! Amusing comparisons of greg combet with clark kent, and suggestions that sophie mirabella looked as though she may have poisoned her fellow presenter. Can’t wait to see it.
Here’s the video. Yikes. Mirabella received a pasting from the twitterati because of the way she recoiled in horror, but GetUp and others came to her defense:
Wendy Harmer was quoted as saying, ”This flaming of Sophie Mirabella does not sit well with me. As much as I do not like her politics, this is not on.”
What do you really think about smoking?
June 30, 2012
Okay this one got me.
An interesting take on anti-smoking ads.
No scare tactics.
Thousands in Norway Sing Children Of The Rainbow
April 27, 2012
I love this story. 40,000 people singing a children’s protest song from the sixties. A song about how we should all just get along and be nice to each other.
Such an awful reason to be singing. So sad watching, you can feel the grief of the crowd.
77 people killed because a guy had very bad ideas in his head.
And it’s interesting listening to the people in the news story speak Norwegian. You have no idea what they’re actually saying, but at the same time, it’s really clear what they would be saying.
Jon Stewart Derides Dubya People (Osama-related)
May 15, 2011
Aah Jon Stewart. Sometimes you need a little heavy-handed humour. i know the whole experience has been very Team America: World Police; and what we’re looking at is a political assassination of the craziest kind. Killing an unarmed alleged mass murderer in his pyjamas etc. Not to mention the singing and dancing in the street. But ..How About the Bush People trying to take credit for killing Bin Laden?! No wait, it was Reagan who got him. If you need some laughter on the topic, watch this video.
Love-bombing has risks too [article]
April 18, 2011
photo credit: freestylee
What about the nerve of Donald Rumsbum, trying to take credit for the Egyptian revolution!! Let me see, how is this similar to the kind of “pro democracy” outings of Donald and Dubya?
Did a hundred thousand people get killed?
Did countless precious ancient artefacts get destroyed?
Did the west start a civil war and then 5 years later work out how to manage the situation?
did Western govts lie to their citizens in order to invvde a sovereign nation, almost bankrupting the world in the process?
This article from the Guardian strongly makes the case that Rumsfold is delusional. Which we knew, but it’s nice to read a well-worded case innit!
A better way to push democracy, but the west’s love-bombing has risks too | Jonathan Freedland
How to win a non-violent revolution
April 15, 2011
Recently i read this very interesting article from the Guardian about Gene Sharp – the little known author of a world best-seller. In some places, bookshops have been burned to the ground for selling his work, according to this article in the guardian.
Apparently the book has been translated into many languages. It was originally written for the people of Burma, and explores the full range of weapons that people have at their disposal (apart from weapons of violence). Yes, colour and flags can be weapons, because they aim at the heart of the tyrannical regime. The basic idea is that if the population refuse to be drawn into violence or fear, then they must win
Who knows more about the book? Can you give me more details?
More links over there:
Tales from the Lou gives a good write-up and background.
Gene Sharp on the wikipedia.
Some of his books you can download over at online books, Uni Pennsylvania.
Some key steps, quoted from the book:
Develop a strategy for winning freedom and a vision of the society you want,
Overcome fear by small acts of resistance,
Use colours and symbols to demonstrate unity of resistance,
Learn from historical examples of the successes of non-violent movements,
Use non-violent “weapons”,
Identify the dictatorship’s pillars of support and develop a strategy for undermining each,
Use oppressive or brutal acts by the regime as a recruiting tool for your movement,
Isolate or remove from the movement people who use or advocate violence.
Robert F. Kennedy on the Mindless Menace of Violence
January 11, 2011
Following the shooting in Tucson i found this speech by Robert F Kennedy from April 1968 – after the assassination of Martin Luther King. It’s really worth listening. Very much of its time, yet still very relevant. You can also find the full transcript over here.
via YouTube – Robert F. Kennedy speech ~ Mindless Menace of Violence.
i liked what the sheriff said after the shooting: all this violent, hateful and abusive rhetoric that fills the tv and radio channels of the US mass media may well be free speech, but it can have consequences.
(Found the Kennedy speech via ‘The only adult in the room‘ – an unabashed fan site for the current president of the US (POTUS) – one of the commenters posted it.)
What if the tea party was black?
December 17, 2010
Nice work from a rapper known as Jasiri X in the United States of Hell: “What if the Tea Party was black?”.
The Tea Party have been seriously dissing their president. If they were left-wing or non-white, the media would interpret their messages as seditious, treacherous and Anti-American. They would be vilified in the most ugly ways imaginable. But no, the Tea Party is the darling of the media with their horribly misguided and intellectually-damaged thought missiles. Reprehensible rubbish.
Thanks for this video!!
via YouTube – What if the Tea Party was Black?.
Ok, irony alert. i got the video from “Stuff White people do”, chapter entitled: listen to anti-racist music. Yes i’m trying to salve my bruised conscience. Whatever.
While i’m talking of anti-racist music, one of my all-time favourites is “George Bush don’t like black people” by the Legendary KO. Impressed to see this song has its own wikipedia page.
..and here’s the original quote from Kanye West that led to the remix:
..and another video mix
This originally came out back in ’05. Xeni at BoingBoing pointed everyone toward it. You can still get the mp3 file too: “George Bush Don’t Like Black People” MP3 (8.7MB). [Lyrics here.]
On the other side of The Pond, a 15 year old gains notoriety with this stirring speech during the recent demonstrations around education fees. Good to see the next generation coming up and with such strength and passion. Really like the way he weaves narrative into the invective. No music, but a really good talk eh.
Obama on bullying – “it gets better” campaign
October 31, 2010
“i do know what it’s like to grow up feeling like you don’t belong.”
okay, Barack’s popularity might be rapidly declining with people living in the USA (due to the heinous media campaign against him), but i’ve got to say he is becoming one of my all time heroes. Who gets hold of the US presidency and makes a video like this, for gay and lesbian kids still at school?
Go Obama.
Watch and enjoy.
via YouTube – President Obama: It Gets Better.
Boxing Day (PS): i’ve just found one of the sequels, where White House staff add to this message with their own stories. It’s so good to see this kind of message coming out of the US government. They have a whole part of the wh.gov website geared toward the campaign. wh.gov/itgetsbetter Which is part of the larger campaign at itgetsbetter.org
PS: i know many people are probably angry with Obama’s administration for fighting to prevent a Judge making the decision to get rid of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military position.. even though they’ve said they want to get rid of it.
Sigh. Seems bizarre. They say they want the change, but when a judge gives it to them, they go, “ah no wait til we’re ready”.
Postscript, December’10: well Obama was good for it. The military, congress and the senate all worked together to repeal the DADT regime. Good news.
i wonder if this Bill Hicks video is offensive. Probably i shouldn’t post it without listening first, but my speakers aren’t working, so here goes.
Oh yeah, there’s a severe language warning on this one. NSFW!! And it’s likely to offend supporters of military personnel. Thank you Bill.
Some people go destructive, other people make art
September 17, 2010
Dude you have no Qu’ran.
You’ve got to love the Autotune remixes.
i don’t know what’s going on in the USA at the moment. They’ve got a brilliant leader, and a whole bunch of intelligent creative compassionate people working for social change, but somehow there’s still idiots who want to burn Holy Books during a really ugly world war.
And then there’s the cool people who just run up and spoil the media event.
On top of that, someone is going to make an autotune remix out of anything these days.
—————————————-
Thinking:
One of the comments on the youtube video page was this:
‘so, let me get this straight: hippies love to burn flags but can’t stand to see the Koran get burnt?’
Interesting point.
i think it’s a bit like Jewish jokes.
You can make all the anti-Jewish jokes you like, if you are in fact a Jewish person.
You can burn the US flag if you’re a US citizen.
(okay, it’s not legal, i mean under my rules which i’m making up right now)
You can criticise the heck out of your own relationship, tear yourself to shreds, burn the Bible if you’re raised a Christian, find the weak spots in your cooking strategies, etc.
But lay off other people’s business.
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Election – the aftermath
August 23, 2010
Following the series of election videos comes this triumph from Taiwan. This is a must-watch video!!
Especially for Julia’s laughter at the crucial moment.
Yes the commentary is in Taiwanese (i think), but you get the picture.
And a very good turn from Paul Keating on Radio national breakfast, before the election (while Rudd was still at the helm).
“Goodness of heart is a requirement for a good country”.
