I recorded this video last night (using my new flip HD and PiTiVi editing suite).
Part 1
Part 2
If you are thinking of donating to Haiti relief efforts
If you are thinking of donating to Haiti relief efforts I would recommend either of these two organizations:
The Haiti Emergency Relief Fund
or
Realclimate on the hacked climate change emails
A friend asked me for my take on the hacked climate change emails. Before formulating my thoughts I went to realclimate.org to see if they had anything. They do… and it’s indispensable as usual.
Badri’s Poems
[Collected here are some of Badri’s poems]
September 30, 2011
Crossing the Line
Sardar Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
He plan my poverty;
Suddenly I am a rich man,
For my income is thirty three.
Having crossed the line by a whole Rupee,
I now have more and more;
I see around my jhuggi things
I never could see before.
That magic buck floats angelic
Beyond my penury;
The thirty two upon the ground
Reach up for the Christmas tree.
The knowledge that this extra buck
Puts me among the haves,
Makes me feel I needed not
The sumptuous fishes and loaves
The infirmity of noble minds
[Originally published in The Hindu October 25, 2009]
Implementing the Bolivarian Revolution: Julio Chavez in Toronto
On October 10/09 Venezuelan former mayor, now state legislator Julio Chavez spoke at the University of Toronto sponsored by Hands off Venezuela and the Louis Riel Bolivarian Circle. He came in sporting the unassuming Bolivarian fashion: red T-shirt, red baseball cap (with a Canada logo on it), jeans, and sneakers, and fired up a powerpoint presentation.
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Control the geography, control the people: Saed Abu-Hijleh in Toronto
Just over a month ago (Oct 14/09) Palestinian geographer and director of the “Center for Global Consciousness” Saed Abu-Hijleh spoke at the University of Toronto. Traveling to the North American continent was no escape: Canadian Border services had put him through the ringer at Pearson airport, the border agent asking him whether he would “say anything against Israel” during his time in Canada. “Why did they give me a visa if they were going to humiliate me? I’ve had Canadians stay at my house in Nablus, but when I come to Canada I get treated like this.”
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Congo Week
Congo Week is coming to the University of Toronto. I’ll be speaking on October 20th and my friend Brad Macintosh on October 15th. If you’re in Toronto, check it out. Schedules here at:
An award weirder than Obama’s Peace Prize
Seriously. The Colombian magazine, Semana, and its owner, Alejandro Santos, just won a COHA award for Excellence in Print Journalism.
Santos comes from one of Colombia’s most powerful families and Semana, while I’ll admit that it is an indispensable source (like El Tiempo), is thoroughly an establishment outlet. COHA, meanwhile, is also indispensable, but perhaps I thought it was a little more oppositional in outlook than it actually is. So I was a little surprised to see the award.
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The M-19 Palace of Justice Takeover in 1985: New Documents
The amazing National Security Archive strikes again, this time showing how the Colombian army is responsible for the deaths of 70 people when they raided Colombia’s Palace of Justice following the guerrilla group M-19’s takeover of it in 1985.
The most striking note in it, that accords with anecdotes I’ve heard from people who were around at the time and knew people who died, was the two contradictory cables that came from the US Embassy, spaced two days apart:
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