Refugees

Mass expulsion of the Poles by the nazi Reich in 1939.

Refugees

I feel a little remiss for not having written something earlier. This is a kind of hard topic for me to write about. Philosophically, I believe more democracy in the world can help stem the tide of refugees. Because I am not a particularly violent person, I support the notion of nonviolent ends to bring more democracy to the world. Numerous dictatorships have fallen recently because of the educated will of the people. http://aeinstein.org/organizations/org/FDTD.pdf This is a free ebook From Dictatorship to Democracy by Gene Sharp.

People are more likely to flee oppression and dictatorial rule than open democracies. Genocide is often the product of harsh dictatorial regimes. Also, in democratic regimes people have a tendency to not starve.

Many of the problems of todays refugees stem from totalitarianism and genocide. Every day we see news about genocide in the Congo and Sudan. There is always some new atrocity being committed. Now, they no longer call it genocide, they call it ethnic cleansing.

The perpetrators claim they are cleansing an area of a particular people. Of course, it is not genocide because they are not necessarily killing all the people, they are instead forcing many of them to become refugees. This is a link to the Merriam Webster definition of "Ethnic Cleansing".
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethnic%20cleansing

Every "ethnic cleansing" creates refugee camps where the people from a particular ethnic group are concentrated into a camp where they wait for help. These refugees are forced into neighboring countries where they bring chaos. This is an interesting article on the chaos which has been caused in Chad from Sudan.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/02/11/africa/darfur.php

Oppressive regimes have learned it is impolitic to committ genocide, but it is still somewhat acceptable politically to force people from their homes into refugee camps. The people are not dead. But many seem to be waiting to die. Many of the camps seem like concentration camps with open doors.

I do not have a solution for this. It is an eternal problem. Sometimes being aware and telling others is the only thing you can do. The euphemisms being used in todays media are misleading at best. They are designed to lull you into accepting things which are inhuman.

Evening Thoughts, Diet Books

The original torch from the Statue of Liberty replaced in 1986. You wonder sometimes when national monuments get subtly changed how artistic meaning changes and subtly influences the concept of freedom.

It is much like the closing of the Statue of Liberty because of fear of terrorist threats immediately after September 11, 2001. The base was not reopened until August 2004. The crown is under consideration for reopening. It is still not open. There is a troubling symbolism to this.

Why I Copyfight. This is an interesting article on copyright and the way it has changed by Cory Doctorow. I very much enjoy his writing.

http://www.locusmag.com/Features/2008/11/cory-doctorow-why-i-copyfight.html


I updated my Bloggers Unite icon. This time it is Bloggers Unite for Refugees. On November 10, 2008, I am going to write a short essay on refugees like over 10,000 bloggers on the internet.http://unite.blogcatalog.com/participate/

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore,

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

by Emma Lazarus, New York City, 1883

Diet Books

I read another diet book this evening. These things are kind of infernal. I don't like the idea of following a dieting program. I keep hearing the voice of my father, "eat less and move more", "whole grains only", "no candy, no soda, no snack foods," "drink selzer instead of soda", "the center of the supermarket is full of junk", "your family has a history of diabetes", "fruit is good for you". "when are you going to take up martial arts again?", "do you have an exercise program?", "why aren't you cooking more at home, it is cheaper and healther?", or my grandmother, "you were so skinny when you were on the swim team."

I remember when I weighed the least. I was on a strict vegetarian diet and I ran five miles every single morning. I still was not light, even then. Vegetarianism is much cheaper. It probably would be good for me to cut out a lot of meat. Sigh, I wish otherwise, but I have to go back to my childhood.

It really is no longer a choice. The voice of my doctor says, "lose weight or else you are in trouble", "cut out the carbohydrates", "the weight watchers program might be good for you","start walking every day."

So here I am starting to lose weight, walking a bit every day, and starting a lightweight yoga program.