"This is the moment of our deepest sorrow. Our nation has lost its greatest son," President Jacob Zuma said last night following the death of the world's most loved statesman, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. Thus leads the Times (of Johannesburg) article announcing the death on Thursday of the iconic South African. Nelson Mandela was instrumental in ending apartheid in his country and his passing is being mourned by millions around the world. The Times reports on his fellow South Africans' reactions to his passing and concludes: "His charisma, generosity of spirit, and an unwavering commitment to the wellbeing of his fellow humans, earned him love and acclaim across the globe. It earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and as an elder statesman he continued to champion the cause of reconciliation, peace and human rights, speaking out strongly on issues including Aids and armed conflict." He was 95. [Link to Times Live "Nelson Mandela: A Timeline"]Don't listen to the critics of the Iran nuclear deal. As James Action writes in his post at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that criticism is wrong. The agreement will slow Iran's nuclear progress. "To accurately assess the Geneva deal, four questions need to be answered. First, if Iran abides by the agreement, how much further will it be from the bomb than if there had been no agreement? Second, has the P5+1 made disproportionate concessions to get the deal? Third, if Iran violates the terms of the Geneva agreement, is its noncompliance likely to be detected? And, fourth, if noncompliance is detected, can anything meaningful be done about it? The answers to all of these questions demonstrate that the deal is a good one." He explores the answers to these questions in detail in the post. Serge Halimi presents the same message in Le Monde Diplomatique, adding that "after 30 years of confrontation, direct or through intermediaries, Iran and the US are preparing to normalise relations. The event recalls the historic meeting between US president Richard Nixon and China’s Mao Zedong in February 1972... [which] transformed the entire geopolitical scene. The thaw between Iran and US, Halimi writes, "could also help to settle conflicts in Syria and Afghanistan."
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The well-funded conservative group ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council) is behind many of the most regressive, anti-government and anti-democracy efforts in the country - including, but certainly not limited to, voter suppression laws. The Guardian has some of the best coverage of their efforts. At a time when Citizens United threatens to undermine the foundations of American democracy and rampant partisanship threatens to make government dysfunctional, ALEC is an organization that deserves careful scrutiny. Here are links to some of The Guardian's recent coverage. Scary reading...December 4: ALEC calls for penalties on 'freerider' homeowners in assault on clean energy
December 3:ALEC facing funding crisis from donor exodus in wake of Trayvon Martin row (yes, they are behind the stand your ground laws)
November 20: Obamacare faces new threat at state level from corporate interest group Alec
(This one is too shameless not to summarize: "A new ALEC proposal, approved by its annual meeting in Chicago in August and published as a model bill for adoption by state assemblies across the nation, would scupper the federal health insurance exchanges set up under Obamacare. The Health Care Freedom Act, as ALEC calls its model bill, threatens to strip health insurers of their licenses to do new business on the federal exchanges should they accept any subsidies under the system.")
August 8: US lobbying group Alec pushing pro-gun agenda despite promise to stop
After New Zealand's high court rejected his appeal for asylum as a climate refugee, Ioane Teitiota has decided to take the case to the Court of Appeals. Radio New Zealand reported on Wednesday that "Mr Teitiota's lawyer Michael Kidd said on Wednesday the father-of-three will now take his case to the Court of Appeal, where he will argue that rising sea levels are making his homeland uninhabitable." With a predicted rise of sea level of a half meter or more according to the latest IPCC assessment report, much of Kiribati will be under water by the end of the century. The Kiribati native's island country's "elevation is no more than 2 meters above sea level. Its fresh water comes from aquifers. Saltwater intrusion into the aquifers is expected to make the islands uninhabitable before rising water overtakes settlements." [Conservation International website]
Nelson Mandela Images and Quotes
Hate and love - quotespick.com
Poverty - activatingthoughts.blogspot.com
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