Ask me anything via tumblr – http://scottnolansmith.tumblr.com/ask
01
Feb
10
Ask me anything
via Pragati
German Pirate Party members protest full-body scanners in their underwear at the Berlin-Tegel airport.
Soundtrack: Muse, “Uprising” – “They will not force us. They will stop degrading us. They will not control us. We will be victorious!”
via Wired
We’re the Transportation Security Administration. We’re working hard to make sure you enjoy a safe flight. And while we cannot apprehend every terrorist, you can count on us to do what we’re trained to do whenever there’s a security breach–overreact to tiny threats.
Overreact to tiny threats; ignore the big ones. That’s what we do, and we do it better than anyone.
via ReasonTV
The economy can and should be utilized as an arm of diplomacy, sadly, it is often overlooked.
We should look to the market as a tool for spreading ideals and impacting individuals. We can further the concepts of democracy and personal liberty by showering peoples with economic opportunity, as opposed to restricting them from it.
Blockades are designed to punish, usually punish a regime or government, when in fact they punish the people. Blockades do not work, they hinder. They disenfranchise and anger individuals. They do not get angry with their own governments, but with those whom are restricting them. It is best to target the people positively, so they look outside at positive roles and begin to question the actions taking place within their borders that are hindering their growth and progress.
Economic freedom and trade should be promoted and utilized as a tool of diplomacy, not forgotten and ignored.
The Rafah border crossing is the sole border crossing under Egyptian control between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. The rest remain controlled by Israel and are sealed pretty tight. The Rafah crossing has remained closed since June 2007 and has been opened only on rare occasions. However, the Egyptian Government has opted to temporarily open it through the 6th of January, allowing permitted individuals to cross back and forth. This allows many to buy food and supplies, see their families on either side of the line and has allowed for the severely injured and sick to seek improved medical care. While this may seem relatively small and insignificant, it really isn’t. A change of this nature is quite big and is in my opinion a welcomed push in the right direction.
If was not to many months back that the world was celebrating the anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, a day that is well worth celebrating. However, on that day many forgot the number other walls and barriers still separating people today, those throughout Israel and Palestine included. These walls and drawn barriers divide peoples, families and resources. They prevent people from growing, from living healthy and prosperous lives. They deny individuals of their rights, liberties and freedoms that are natural to all individuals the world over. Caging people into an area of violence and poverty punishes the innocent for the actions of a guilty few and has no place in today’s world.
It is time more walls fell. It is time individuals became the overall focus in Gaza, not the collective actions of a few who hinder the whole.
Image via Palestine Monitor
14
Nov
09
Don’t mess with the kids!
Groups of parents opted to blockade 20 pre-schools today in Copenhagen, as the Council’s Children and Youth Committee began considering possible cuts to pre-schools. One group of parents and children (shown above) held out plastic cups, begging for money to help Copenhagen’s pre-schools.
Nina Reffstrup of the Copenhagen Parent Association says:
Parents are doing this to send a clear signal to the politicians that they should not touch the compensation arrangement. The child and youth budget has been hit hard enough by savings of 200 million kroner. The (extra) 50 million must simply not be found in the child/youth budget.
No word on where the parents would prefer the cuts to come from or what the Council will choose to do in the end.
04
Nov
09
Mickey is headed to Shanghai
The Chinese government has approved (finally) plans to build a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai.
Disney has been trying for the past 10 years to edge its way into mainland China and the government’s approval opens the doors for the project to move forward.
Working with the local government in Shanghai Disney hopes to open the park by 2014.
Today marks a first for Native American nations. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is opening an Embassy of Tribal Nations in Washington, DC. The event coincides with President Obama’s 1st Annual Tribal Nations Conference, set to begin on Thursday.
NCAI President Jefferson Keel marked the occasion, saying:
For the first time since settlement, tribal nations will have a permanent home in Washington, D.C. where they can more effectively assert their sovereign status and facilitate a much stronger nation-to-nation relationship with the federal government.
The official opening of the embassy will take place later today. Tribal leaders, Members of Congress and administration officials are likely to attend.
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Details on the official opening:
WHO: Tribal Leaders, International Dignitaries, Supporters of Indian Country
WHAT: Embassy of Tribal Nations Gala Open House
WHEN: Tuesday, November 3, 2009–2:00-8:00 p.m.
WHERE: Embassy of Tribal Nations — 1516 P Street, NW — Washington, D.C. 20005
26
Oct
09
World Wide Web goes global
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is set to expand the web beyond its Latin alphabetic restrictions. ICANN is in the process of meeting and hashing out a structure that will allow for a multilingual address system to support the use of non-Latin scripts, including Arabic, Chinese, etc.
The primary drive behind the push is simply to make the net more international, recognizing that the the majority of the people on Earth do not use languages that are based on the Latin alphabet. This change will open the world of online communication to new groups of people, especially those in developing regions who are not familiar with Latin script and languages.
21
Oct
09
Where is the press most free?
Reporters Without Borders has released its 2009 Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Topping the list this year, in a five-way tie for first, are Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Norway, and Sweden. Ireland aside, it’s a Scandinavian sweep! Closing out the top ten are — Estonia, Netherlands, Switzerland, Iceland, and Lituania.
The US holds a three way tie with the UK and Luxembourg for 20th. However, that is actually positive news, as the US was placed 40th last year. While the report’s authors are happy to see US improvements, they do cite a few reasons to be concerned:
Despite a slight improvement, the attitude of the United States towards the media in Iraq and Afghanistan is worrying. Several journalists were injured or arrested by the US military. One, Ibrahim Jassam, is still being held in Iraq.
The report also highlights some rather dim global trends. Though the index’s leaders are all European states, the overall trend in Europe is a negative one.
France (43rd), Slovakia (44th) and Italy (49th) continue their descent, falling eight, 37 and five places respectively. In so doing, they have given way to young democracies in Africa (Mali, South Africa and Ghana) and the western hemisphere (Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago).
Journalists are still physically threatened in Italy and Spain (44th), but also in the Balkans, especially Croatia (78th), where the owner and marketing director of the weekly Nacional were killed by a bomb on 23 October 2008.
But the main threat, a more serious one in the long term, comes from new legislation. Many laws adopted since September 2008 have compromised the work of journalists. One adopted by Slovakia (44th) has introduced the dangerous concept of an automatic right of response and has given the culture minister considerable influence over publications.
Additionally, Israel sank 47 spots and Iran is nearing the bottom of the list, practically sharing space with Turkmenistan and North Korea. Closing the list is the African state of Eritrea, “where the media are so suppressed they are non-existent”.
