Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
– Immanuel Wallerstein: The Great Libyan Distraction
– Chomsky: On Libya and the Unfolding Crises
– Obama’s Libya Speech and the Tasks of Anti-Imperialists
– Libya is another case of selective vigilantism by the west
– Hugs From Libyans
– The shape of Libya’s ‘better future’ remains elusive
– Juan Cole: An Open Letter to the Left on Libya
– After unscripted Arab drama, the west sneaks back on set
– Intervention in Libya: Is It Really the Only Option?
– Libyan rebels offer cease-fire. Does Qaddafi have the upper hand?
– Libya rebels pen oil deal with Qatar
– Gaddafi regime admits attempts to talk to west
– Exposed: The US-Saudi Libya deal
– Undisciplined Libyan rebels no match for Gaddafi’s forces
– On Libya’s Revolutionary Road (narratives of the rebels)
The disjointed news flow from Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) continues to provide a confusing picture of the status of the 4 crippled nuclear power stations at Fukushima Dai-ichi on the East coast of Japan. This is leading to a very broad spectrum of opinion on the actual status and future consequences. The spectrum of opinion ranges from those who argue that Fukushima Dai-ichi is on course to become a Chernobyl scale incident or worse, to those who argue this is a storm in a teacup pointing out that reactors have been hit by a large earthquake, gigantic tsunami and survived with minimal casualties so far. So where does the truth lie?
To be able to get the president of the United States to laugh like that in front of the whole world in these awful times… well, that’s a real accomplishment. I am not surprised, however. If you know Wendell [Berry], he can make very funny remarks at the most unexpected times. I asked him what he whispered to the president but he’s not talking. Says he can’t remember.
His message, now and always, is that society is ignoring and abandoning ecological and economic common sense and we will pay for it. Is he right? Look around you.
Well, it has been Naomi Klein week here at Transition Culture! Here is the film, beautifully produced by those good folks at nuproject, of Naomi’s talk in Totnes last weekend. Amazing they have turned it around so quickly. Here’s the film … enjoy …
The local organic farmers with whom we have been spending time in the Philippines and elsewhere are less affected by these price swings precisely because they consume much of what they harvest, and they sell the rest to local markets. These farmers have achieved at the household level what Frances Moore Lappé terms “food democracy,” and what the small farmer coalition, Via Campesina, calls “food sovereignty” at a national level.
Talking to people here, it doesn’t seem like people are all that concerned about jobs, about creating jobs out of this. Whereas I think in most parts of the world that’s the first question – how am I going to make a living? Seeing that this could be an opportunity not just for a healthier life with more community connection but that there could be more economic stability than they currently have. That would be a major motivator.
1. Foster community and cultivate networks.
2. Work at multiple levels of scale.
3. Make space for self-organization.
4. Seize breakthrough opportunities when they arise.
5. Facilitate — but give up the illusion that you can direct — change.
6. Assume that change is going to take time.
7. Be prepared to be surprised.
– Christian Coalition Visits Hill for Energy Discussion
– Generation Why project spreads ideas with ‘informed optimism’ approach (Canada)
– Rockefeller Bill Would Gut the EPA
– Climate activist Tim DeChristopher talks about his guilty verdict
– Germany’s future is Green
Food is at the core of so many of our global problems, including hunger, obesity, energy, climate change, economic disparity, and on and on. But it’s also something that unites us— everyone eats.
And finally, there is always the surprise of: Why now? Why did the crowd decide to storm the Bastille on July 14, 1789, and not any other day? The bread famine going on in France that year and the rising cost of food had something to do with it, as hunger and poverty does with many of the Middle Eastern uprisings today, but part of the explanation remains mysterious. Why this day and not a month earlier or a decade later? Or never instead of now?
The earthquake and tsunami which ripped apart the northern half of Honshu in Japan on Friday has caused a massive humanitarian disaster and a nuclear emergency which may still develop into a major catastrophe. The wider knock on effects could be a backlash against nuclear power, and further global economic instability as a result of damage to what is the world’s 3rd largest economy. Meanwhile in Libya the civil war raged on, and in Bahrain protests became bloody as the government turned to military force and outside help to retain power.
