This lovely short film really helped me get a handle on the scale of the Icelandic volcano in a way that the still and aerial photography I’ve seen did not.
Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull — May 1st and 2nd, 2010 from Sean Stiegemeier on Vimeo.
Tag: international
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The source of democracy
I couldn’t put it better myself:
Haven’t we learned and understood that democratic processes and civil societies need to come from within? Democratic governments and liberal economic policies can’t be forced on to a nation from the outside, however desperately they may need it. No, these things must come from within. Without the domestic demand for civic organizations, liberal economic policies and free rights, there is no point in trying to force the issue. You can only encourage the society to structure a framework for these rights and ideals.
And no, it’s not about Iraq. This is from one of the comments on Are aid donors now running Haiti?.
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War Criminals? part 2
Some of the brutal interrogation methods that Mr. Yoo and Mr. Bybee approved for use on Qaeda prisoners, including wall-slamming and the near-drowning of waterboarding, had never before been authorized in American history, and the United States had condemned such treatment as torture and abuse when used by other countries.
Um, perhaps because it is torture?
via Justice Department Report Finds John Yoo and Jay Bybee Not Guilty of Misconduct — NYTimes.com.
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War Criminals?
John Yoo, page 251
Jay Bybee, page 255
Steven Bradbury, page 258
Michael Chertoff, Adam Ciongoli, John Ashcroft, page 259
Based on the results of our investigation, we concluded that former Deputy AAG John Yoo committed intentional professional misconduct when he violated his duty to exercise independent legal judgment and render thorough, objective, and candid legal advice.
We found that former AAG Jay Bybee committed professional misconduct when he acted in reckless disregard of his duty to exercise independent legal judgment and render thorough, objective, and candid legal advice.
We did not fmd that the other Department officials involved in this matter committed professional misconduct in this matter.
Sadly, this is a document that looks only at whether Office of Legal Counsel staff performed according to professional standards as lawyers. Whatever their “professional responsibilities,” it is clear from even my cursory look that these government officials were participating in the justification of torture.
Notably absent are then-President Bush, Vice President Cheney, congressional leadership, CIA personnel, and members of the military who may have been complicit in our nation’s descent into barbarism in the name of their “war on terror.”
(A tip of the hat to Andrew Sullivan.)
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Why we don’t make things any more
After World War II, large corporations went on acquisition binges and turned themselves into massive conglomerates. In their landmark Harvard Business Review article from 1980, “Managing Our Way to Economic Decline,” Robert Hayes and William Abernathy pointed out that the conglomerate structure forced managers to think of their firms as a collection of financial assets, where the goal was to allocate capital efficiently, rather than as makers of specific products, where the goal was to maximize quality and long-term market share.
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World Toilet Day
World Toilet Organization WTO is a global non- profit organization committed to improving toilet and sanitation conditions worldwide.
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Thinking of Iran
I’m playing my regular Wednesday gig on Radio Riel today with music of the Silk Road, including a particular focus on Persian and Arabic music. I hope you’ll tune in at http://music.radioriel.org.
Radio Riel is an internet radio station that started in Second Life. I do weekly programming as well as DJing for events in Second Life.
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Good coverage of Iran
Regular updates on the election and its aftermath: