Tuesday, January 31

what is compassion?

Monday, January 30

the t shirt guy


Some facts about Cuban Communist Revolutionary Che Guevara (aka T Shirt guy).

Che was a totalitarian, achieving huge amounts of disaster.
Many of the early leaders of the Cuban Revolution favored a democratic or democratic-socialist direction for the new Cuba, but Che was a mainstay of the hardline pro-Soviet faction, and his faction won.
Che presided over the Cuban Revolution's first firing squads.
He also founded Cuba's "labor camp" system—the system that was eventually employed to incarcerate gays, dissidents, and AIDS victims.

Friday, January 27

basement panorama

Before

After

Thursday, January 26

blondie vs condie


Some might say the 2008 Presidential race has already begun.

Is America ready to elect a female leader, even more so to elect a black female leader?
The debate will only get hotter.

uk espionage


Okay, I couldn't let this one slip by any longer.

Russia have accused senior UK diplomats based in Moscow of spying on the state, and claims it has footage to prove it.

Alledgedly, a fake rock was recovered with a hiden transmitter built into it that allowed covert passers-by to download top secret information from secure sites.
They also claim that they have the footage to prove that UK spys were aided by a Russian citizen recruited by MI6.

Let's be honest - as "shocking" as these allegations may appear, there are likely very few influential countries left in the world today that don't use espionage to "keep others in check".
And given that Vladimir Putin (ex KGB agent himself, no less!) is a hardliner from the cold war era with a penchant for surpressing civil society and freedom of press, I really have no problem with it.

The real kicker is this; that the UK government has for years been funneling money to Russian NGOs and groups commited to Human Rights and political change. Sweet!
Putin apparently tried to tighten controls on how $ is donated to Russian NGOs last year, in an apparent attempt to enforce his "brand" of government.

I for one reckon that's one of the most positive pieces of news that has come out of the UK for quite a while.

chinese google


Google has officially launched it's new search engine in China, although not without widespread criticism.
Reporters sans Frontiers have been particularly outspoken on the topic.

Chinese searchers will be barred from accessing information on topics such as democracy and the Tiananmen Square masacre of '89.

To their credit, Google does censor themselves and inform users when access to information has been restricted - in contrast to other $ hungry corp beasts like Yahoo and Msoft.
However, I reckon it's a small concession to a huge compromise.

I'm writing Google a letter - I still haven't heard back from Yahoo.

Wednesday, January 25

canada:has:voted


So, Canada has voted and decided to swap a minority Liberal government for a minority Conservative government.
More than ironic considering the general ribbing dished out by the Canadian press in the aftermath of George Ws recent election victory in the south.

In less interesting news, The Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada also beat out the Communist Party of Canada.

Monday, January 23

Nepal:in:turmoil


Back in February, many around the world began to watch with concern what was happening in Nepal.
King Gyenandra sacked the Government and seized complete control of the Asian Nation.

Since then a three-way battle has emerged between the king, pro-democracy protesters and the maoist rebels from the countryside.

Who are the Maoist rebels? They are an extremely well organised group of Communist Revolutionaries somewhat inspired by "Mao Zedong thought" who have coerced a good following among the peasantry and rural poor - some through political inspiration, others through fear of violent retribution.

With the reemergence of Communism, it looks like the Nepalese appear to be toeing the recent latin-american trend for voting in ultra-left leaning governments (See Chavez and Morales).
For now it looks as though the Nepalese power struggle is far from over, and democracy further still.

Sunday, January 22

early:bird


I've grown to really enjoy the quiet peace of a morning.
I love the quiet winding down of a late evening.
It's the inbetween parts that I struggle with.

Saturday, January 21

history:history:history

Friday, January 20

whale:of:a:time


This is a brilliant story.

Apparently a disorientated 7 tonne whale swam up the Thames River in London this morning, the first such sighting since 1913.
Remarkable not only in the sense that it has so far survived the infamously potent aquamark that is the Thames, but also in that when it got to Chelsea - like most sensible Londoners would - it turned around and made speedy exit.

The English are fairly well known in Europe for being animal lovers, but one guy went the extra mile and jumped in to help divert the 17ft mamal away from the river banks.

Pictures of the whole thing here.

Wednesday, January 18

more:giving:thoughts


Thinking about trade/injustice issues again, I stumbled across a fascinating post written by the Chairman of my organisation.
It is comforting to know I am not alone in my frustration with our recent methodology relating to giving, poverty relief and the make poverty history campaign.

. . .

"Now for more than two generations we look back on relief
and development efforts that have been non-relational by nature,
working through large institutions and governments, and we find that it has by
and large been a failure. We shouldn’t really be surprised. So what
am I advocating -- that we all keep our money in our own pockets, and
continue our selfish existence? Of course not, but what I do want to advocate
is relational giving.

One of the great advantages of living in this era is that relationships can be established right across the globe. We travel and have plenty of means of staying in touch with people we meet. Nearly all of us know people in other parts of the world, and when it comes to the body of Christ we have this great global network of trust and relationships. As a Christian, I know Christians in Africa who can be trusted with money. I know Christians in South
Asia who have a good track record of stewarding resources well, who understand the principles of sustainable development. What I am saying is, when I give through relational networks I have great confidence that what I have given will be used for the purpose for which it’s intended."

. . .

Linsey's recent post was also very impassioned and interesting.

I personally would like to see more emphasis placed upon erradication of corruption, the importance of education, and safeguards on western countries plundering skilled/intellectual reserves within vulnerable populations.

picasso:picasso:picasso


Formerly renowned for being chemically imbalanced, Picasso our house cat was my latest model.
Indeed we seem to have formed a mutual pact between us; I no longer attempt to over-stroke, and he won't forcibly place himself between my legs in the middle of the night.

Tuesday, January 17

secrecy:explosions

NK top dog Kim Jong Il has apparently crept out of the country on another secret visit to China, no doubt he has been summoned to provide nuclear explanations to Mr Hu and Mr Jiao Bao.
Interestingly enough, another large explosion has followed in close vicinity.

Monday, January 16

hope:evolve:hope

Saturday, January 14

morocco:watch


I thought it was worth mentioning the ongoing situation and positive development in Morocco.
Many of my friends carry a vested interest in the North African Islamist state, I myself visited in 2002 and travelled to several cities as well as the famed Sahara desert.

Under the new and inspired leadership of King Mohammed IV, Morocco has become somewhat of a pioneer within the arab world investigating and addressing past human rights abuses within its borders.
Most of the violations occured under the rule of Mohammed's father King Hassan II, primarily focused on opposition activists but included believers of other religions.

Mohammed's truth and reconcilliation comittee serves to hear complaints, but also determines sufficient compensation to be paid to victims. He has also passed recent legislation enabling women more power.

I had previously heard rumours about the guy's character, but this looks like good fruit coming from a guy looking to move the country forward, and is also an answer to many, many prayers.

Friday, January 13

computerprogramming


I invented a new programming code this morning.
I call it "trinary".
It's related to "binary", just a little more inclusive.

federalelection:more


It looks like there will be alot more territory up for grabs in the upcoming 2006 Canadian federal Election.
*Tsk Tsk, only joking.*

I was trying to find out what kind of a manifesto each party was putting out, but I really couldnt make head or tail of it, even at their respective websites.
So, I have come to a few elementary conclusions based on their televised propa, er adverts.

I think that The Liberals are banking on a strong anti handgun stance as well as their decent trackrecord for balancing budgets. As far as their tv ads go, it looks like they would like you to believe that Stephen Harper may not be capable of operating a simple calculator.

Conservatives are on an anti-corruption bent. And quietly increasing friendliness with the neighbours to the south.

I haven't figured anything out about Jack Layton except that he likes young people, old people, and maintains a well groomed moustache.

Wednesday, January 11

totheskies


Guardian angel, anyone?

Monday, January 9

forcedrepatriation


I wanted to throw out a couple of posts on human rights issues; specifically to a cause that is close to my heart.

With the enormous suffering brought on by the "Arduous March" i.e. famine of the 90s, and the totalitarian nature of the current regime in North Korea, an influx of refugees and asylum seekers into China have gradually increased in the last 10 years.

If caught or found by authorities, most are forcibly repatriated back to North Korea where execution or prison camps almost certainly await.

China hopes to placate any possibility of a refugee crisis, and doesn't want to risk upsetting it's unstable nuclear-friendly neighbour.

In doing so, China consistently ignores its obligations under the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the status of refugees, which obliges it to allow the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to consider applications for political asylum from anoyone with a justifiable fear of persecution in his/her homeland.

All in all, the government of China has obligations to provide the UNHCR with unimpeded access to North Korean inside its borders and to enable the UNHCR to determine whether they are refugees and whether they require assistance, consistent with the 1951 United Nations COnvention Relating to the Status of Refugees, the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, and the 1995 Agreement on the Upgrading of the UNHCR Mission in the People's Republic of China to UNHCR Branch Office in China.

Boiled down, hundreds of thousands of koreans are risking life and limb to gain access to the type of freedom you and I enjoy every waking minute.

I'm researching effective ways to petitiont the Chinese government which I will share later.

Video footage is of a political prison camp for forced repatriates broadcast on South Korean News.

Friday, January 6

nothing, really


If you were around The Drake Hotel in Toronto last weekend, you might have witnessed my first foray into photo exhibitions.
Apparently the exhibition was in conjunction with some sort of record label promotion.
First rung, hopefully.

Thursday, January 5

foundthis

More intruiging NK video; this time bodyguards.

Wednesday, January 4

injustice & exploitation continued


In an effort to further elaborate my confusion and rapidly expanding pessimism, I thought I would share an account of something that appeared to be of no consequence at the time, but has since thrown a spanner into my [limited] worldview.

Whilst attending a conference in kelowna a couple of months ago, I purchased several cups of fair trade coffee. (Regular free coffee was also available).
Again, I just want to pretext this by acknowledging my support for all forms of fair trade and justice initiatives, regardless of whether they appear to be fashionable.
However, I still reserve the right to question such efforts, as I am about to illustrate.

On one such occasion as I purchased a cup of (rather excellent) coffee, I was also given a small white wristband emblazened with the "Make Poverty History" campaign logo that was being sold at the time.
"I know what this is." I thought, as my mind located images of celeberities such as Claudia Schiffer and Tony Blair sporting theirs with unabated verve and enthusiasm.
I thought nothing more of it and slipped the little accessory onto my wrist and continued to slurp on Dave's rather delicious Fair Trade coffee.

Little did I know the journey and origins of the wristband itself.
Had I have known that it may have been produced in a sweatshop in Fuzhou China, at the expense of slave labourers being paid as little as 9p (18 cents) an hour, I probably wouldn't have been so quick to slip it on.

After all, how was I to know?
The very least I could expect from a fair trade initiative is for them to produce their promotional tools without undue exploitation.

Which I believe only adds to my suspicions that I am a subconsciously willing exploiter of many, and to what degree, I have no idea.
But I does disturb me.

Perhaps it is time to look at our current methodology in dealing with poverty and injustice.
Does the way that we spend funds in Africa placate short term problems in return for ensuring long term agony?
Does the root and source of the pain (political corruption more often than not) have to be dealt with first and foremost before we begin continue to throw cash at the problem?

What is the best way to do that?

(For those more interested in corporate accountability, this is a good site).

letter to yahoo

I'm not really expecting a change in Yahoo's international expansion plans, but I wanted to see if they would give me any answers personally.
What follows is the letter that I wrote to Yahoo.

Dear Yahoo! Customer Services

I am not sure that I am writing this to the correct department, if so please excuse it and pass it on to the right people.

I have been a happy and enthusiastic customer of your webmail service for many years now, as well as a regular user of the Yahoo! splash page.

As a committed customer, I have been somewhat disturbed to read reports on Yahoos cooperation with the Chinese government regarding the recent conviction of journalist and Chinese citizen Shi Tao.

Surely cooperating with a regime that sports an appallingly bad record on human rights is a questionable way to conduct business, no matter how fruitful the financial reward?

I personally believe that as a Western company with a good reputation, taking a stand in a situation like this would go a long way in improving and maintaing PR generally.

Kind regards and anxiously waiting your response

#$*% *&!^#
"Larph"

Monday, January 2

thepriceofjustice&fairtrade


Am I the only one who sees the irony/hypocrisy exhibited in anti-globalisation protests?
Why is it that the doors of Starbucks businesses are seemingly kicked down with the soles of Nike trainers made in sweatshops in Indonesia?
Is that supposed to compute?

I was pondering the justice/fair trade movements - and please excuse my current pessimism - but does it not appear to be a bandwagon designed to alleiviate a certain level of guilt induced by the materialistic and consumeristic lifestyles that we lead in the developed world?
"Buy Fair Trade coffee" and "Don't buy Wal Mart". Fair enough, I don't want to knock it, but if you will allow me...

I have come to suspect that these efforts are half hearted conscience-pleasers, otherwise mostly unrelated to the roots of justice and fairness.
Why do I say that?
I say it because suscribing to this limited ethos of "justice" is convenient.
Buying fair trade coffee often enough means reaching for a different brand on the shelf, and possibly shelling out a few extra pennys.
Buying clothes not made in a sweatshop might mean reaching for something different off of the rack or avoiding your local Wal Mart store (like we all know we should) in favour of a different warehouse conglomerate.
I believe that this kind of sacrifice is convenient, and therefore a popular.

But how many of us log onto the internet with Microsoft software, check our email at Yahoo, and Google search the football scores whilst swigging back on a can of coke?
These multimillion dollar corporations cooperate with regimes such as the one in China, willingly assisting in surpressing the opportunity for freedom of information and human rights change for millions - nay 1.3 billion - Chinese citizens in return for large financial reward.

Why are issues like this not taken seriously?
Because they are inconvenient.
Realistically, if you had to rearrange your lifestyle around issues such as the Chinese one, life in our technically advanced society would prove very difficult, and incredibly inconvenient to say the least. It would probably prove hard to make a living.
And that's what grates me most about the Fair Trade bandwagon.
If you really care about the root of the issue, live it as a lifestyle.
Otherwise doesn't it just sort of appear to be an odd mis-match of whatever you feel like being "just" about at the time.

That's why I have no time for antiglobalisation activists unless they live on a commune, farm the land with bark; stinging nettles for clothing.

Am I being too harsh?

Sunday, January 1

howfaristoofar?

With China quickly arriving as the economic force that we have all expected it to become, it cannot be surprising that with it a raft of ethical and moral conundrums have surfaced also.

A few months ago, Yahoo - bound by local business laws in china - helped to convict a chinese journalist by supplying vital information and evidence (as the state required it to).

Microsoft have gone - in my opinion - twenty steps too far in allowing the Chinese versions of it's software to prohibit online publication of materials using words such as "freedom" and "democracy".
Being the corporate poster childs that they are for western and capitalist economies, how much further can they take the blooming biscuit on this one?

For how much longer will The West beat their chest's and bang the human rights drum whilst continue to line it's pockets with Chinese Yuan at the expense of freedom and the very values they proport to uphold and cherish the most?
This sort of backwards rubbish unravels at the heart of it a complete lack of integrity as long as we prefer $ to values and justice, and to say that it has removed the jam from my doughnut would be vicious understatement.

How far is too far?
End of rant.

asocialistsnip



Apart from visiting a local bakery, another of the more peculiar must-dos on the Larph's travel itinerary is getting a local haircut.

This is an account of his first bonafide socialist snip.
Knowing fairly well the emphasis communist governments place on hairstyles of all things, he was intruiged as to the experience in itself.

Foreigners are allowed to receive a haircut at two designated places within the city on Saturdays only.
"Once I had payed for my grossly inflated 6 Euro haircut (locals receive a salary of around 1 Euro per month), I was sherhered into an area complete with a giant on-the-wall haircut menu.
The menu itself appeared to offer the same haircut viewed in 23 vaugley different locations.

"I think I ordered a number 22, although I'm not sure which one the lady cutting my hair decided to give me.
What I am sure of is that it consisted of an inordinate amount of hairspray, and an obscenely blunt razorblade.
I wish somebody would have mentioned that they would try to give me a shave. I tried to explain that I had already shaved that morning, but for some reason she was very insistent. If it hadn't have been culturally insensitive to pass out in the chair, I think I would have considering the pain induced."

Experience absorbed, a languid and faint Larph transported his newly bouffanted hair sculpture towards the nearest bathroom, and proceeded to administer irordinate amounts of tissue paper to his sore and bleeding face.