The latest from The Full Feed from HuffingtonPost.com
- John Marshall: Banking System to Rely On Nation's Birthday Checks
- Rob Crilly: Darfur and the International Criminal Court
- Karen Dalton-Beninato: Live Green Orleans Launches: Grammy Winners and Voodoo Vixens
- Mike Ragogna: Kidstock with Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Moby, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Donovan and...David Lynch?
| John Marshall: Banking System to Rely On Nation's Birthday Checks | Top |
| As the global financial and economic crisis worsens, policy makers now believe the success of the bank bailout rests on private investors, including hedge funds, private equity funds and Grandma. Economically, grandmas are best known as the world's leading purchasers of hard candies placed in a dish on the coffee table for company. But financial experts know that grandmas are also the world's leading distributor of $25 birthday funds. "Typically these checks are mailed once a year to an ungrateful grandchild," said an official who wished to remain unidentified because he is an ungrateful grandchild. According to census figures, there are currently 76.9 million Americans aged 44 to 62 who call themselves Grandma, Nana or some other term. Analysts estimate that if their $25 checks were diverted to Wall Street, the nation's banks could receive $1.9 billion. But that is not nearly enough to jump start the economy, as experts say it will take roughly 300 billion trillion manillion dollars, plus jumper cables that reach from here to China. And it will be difficult to get investors to buy contaminated assets that wiped out the capital of many banks. Fortunately, experts have another resource to tap into: the nation's couches. "The average American loses anywhere from five cents to $1.35 in his couch each year," said an expert. "If we can recover these monies, not only from between the cushions, but deep down in the disgusting parts, we can prevent foreclosures as well as clean the TV room." Another untapped source of income comes from perhaps America's wealthiest icon, the Tooth Fairy. Economists believe that if there were a way to get this mythical oral pixie to buy distressed assets instead of paying for lost baby teeth, the crisis could be over by July. Meanwhile, experts, officials and economists agree that the key to solving the banking crisis is giving more money to the people who created it in the first place. More on The Bailouts | |
| Rob Crilly: Darfur and the International Criminal Court | Top |
| Fighters of the Lord's Resistance Army, Uganda's shadowy rebel cult, have forced more than 130,000 people from their homes in the Democratic Republic of Congo since Congolese soldiers joined Ugandan and Southern Sudanese forces in launching an all-out assault on guerilla hide-outs before Christmas. Hundreds of civilians have died at the hands of the LRA. But just over two years ago, LRA negotiators were days from signing a peace deal with the Ugandan government to end Africa's most brutal war - two decades of bloodshed horrific even by the skewed yardstick of the world's most violent continent. Joseph Kony, the reclusive LRA leader, cried off sick with diarrhoea and never signed the deal. The reason, according to one of his closest lieutenants who defected just over a year ago , was that he feared trial and execution by the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Now his loyal footsoldiers - many of them snatched as children - are waging their brutal war once again. Kony may be wrong about the risk of execution - the ICC doesn't kill criminals - but his example is instructive in thinking about Darfur as the world waits for the Sudanese president, Omar al Bashir, to be indicted on war crimes charges . The decision of the ICC judges on whether to charge Bashir is expected in days or weeks with massive consequences for Darfur, Sudan and Africa in general. With peace talks between the Sudanese government and rebels of the Justice and Equality Movement starting in Qatar today , why do anything to disrupt the faint chance of peace in Darfur? Or is the whole thing a cynical plot by Khartoum to make the ICC judges think again. Either way, criminalising a head of state can only raise temperatures in an already volatile country, putting peacekeeping operations at risk and forcing aid agencies on to a defensive footing. A shaky peace deal with the south, signed in 2005 ending more than 20 years of civil war, will weaken further under the pressure. And the Darfuri rebels could become sufficiently emboldened to have another crack at the capital, Khartoum. Against that is the need to hold leaders to account for their actions. If war crimes have been committed in Darfur then the people responsible should be prosecuted. This debate - framed as justice versus peace in the Darfur context - is nothing new. Humanitarian actors have to grapple with similar issues in every theatre of misery. Generally the aid agencies on the ground come down on the consequentialist , pragmatic side of the argument, and opt for a position that allows them to continue doling out sacks of food, medicine and water pumps. For them, questions of justice and rights and responsibilities come second to saving lives. (Although their language often uses terms such as "rights" and "responsibilities" they are actually used as a shorthand for consequentialist positions, where ends are more important than means. See rule utilitarianism , for example.) The further you travel from Africa, the more rights-based theories of ethics take over. The issues look much more black and white from New York, London or the Hague. And there is no doubt that a proper, long-lasting peace can only come with a just settlement - and that might very well involved carting people such as Kony and Bashir off to the ICC. But it might very well also reduce the possibility of peace being reached at all. That, of course, doesn't matter if you are a following a justice or rights-based deontological approach: Means overtake ends in importance. The right thing to do is the right thing to do, regardless of whether it actually achieves peace. So much of this comes down to worldview. And the two approaches are ultimately incompatible. The debate over the role of the Save Darfur coalition is one such example of how the two sides are speaking different, untranslatable languages. Advocates of justice-based arguments are unlikely to be swayed by appeals to the negative consequences of taking Bashir to the ICC, for example. They have already decided that consequences are less important than justice. At times these differences flare into outright hostility. For a summary of positions you can read Michael Kleinman , whose background is with aid agencies, and David Sullivan , of the Enough project. Not only are the positions incompatible, the two sides cannot even talk to each other. At the very least they need a common ethical language so that the opposing worldviews can express their differences in terms that the opposition can understand. In practice many people use a mix of deontological and consequentialist ethics for their everyday lives (it's wrong to lie, except in certain circumstances, such as to avoid hurting someone's feelings, say) and the challenge is to find a similar framework for social ethics, that can accommodate both worldviews, allowing the two sides to express their differences in a common language. So for me, this is not about picking sides, it's about trying to reconcile the differences between people who should be on the same team. For now, the more time I spend in Africa, the more attractive I find the messy, contradictory, imperfect solutions that stop the fighting. They may not tackle the deep-seated injustices and may just be storing up problems for the future. They might not resolve the big issues, but it stops people dying. Just ask the 130,000 people displaced by the LRA. This tension between advocacy and humanitarian organisations in Sudan will be one of the key themes in a book I am writing to be published by Reportage Press . This was cross posted at the Frontline Club . More on Darfur | |
| Karen Dalton-Beninato: Live Green Orleans Launches: Grammy Winners and Voodoo Vixens | Top |
| Live Green Orleans, the first eco daily for New Orleans, has launched with everything but the kitchen sink. Which by the way may be storing toxic chemical cleaning products so check the site out for everything from tips on rebuilding green to an exclusive video clip of Dr. John's CD which won a Grammy Award last night. New Orleans is the environmental canary in the coal mine for rest of the country, so I'm proud of the spirit shown in our local green movement. The best way to let you know how the site rolls is a list of the latest posts. The following are some of the stories in LiveGreenOrleans.com's green New Orleans themed link-o-rama. It's quite a list, but consider this your Eco Surf the Web Monday. Welcome home. Dr John VIDEO on the Rivers, the Bayous and the Fishing Holes Save the Pets, Save the World A Green Ultimate Fighter from the 9th Ward Our Voodoo Vixen of the Week, Enjoying City Park Greening Your Home Global Green's Energy Saving Tips Give, Live and Love Green for Valentine's Day Crushed Can Folk Art John Sinclair's Exclusive Mardi Gras Posts The World's Safest Peanut Butter Reclaiming 20 Floors of Furniture Eco Salvage with Architectural Beauty Greenrock Greenbama on the Stimulus Bill Of Duels and Ladybugs Green Rocketships in a Rotten Environment Google Maps in the Wetlands (Long List, Right?) Seven Stages of Green Rebuilding The Tea Tree Oil Fix for Colds Coastal Plantations It's Not Easy Being Green: A Daughter Remembers Global Green Saving our Schools Our Eco Traveler in Costa Rica More on Green Living | |
| Mike Ragogna: Kidstock with Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Moby, Sheryl Crow, Ben Harper, Donovan and...David Lynch? | Top |
| It won't be a Woodstock redux, and there'll be no moshing at New York City's Radio City Music Hall at 8pm, Saturday, April 4th, when Sir Paul McCartney and a star-studded roster of hipsters such as Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder, Moby, Ben Harper, and Sheryl Crow, along with Paul Horn, The Beach Boys' Mike Love, a bunch of surprise guests, and hosts David Lynch, Russell Simmons, and Laura Dern appear on that historic stage. But under the David Lynch Foundation's banner of "Change Begins Within," this special benefit concert is intended to raise funds to teach one million children meditation--and that includes 10,000 at-risk students around the New York City area. "This concert will provide the support for kids to 'dive within'...to help overcome the stress and violence that is destroying their lives, and to unfold their full potential to become healthy, happy, creative individuals," the iconic filmmaker explained in a press release from just a few days back. His foundation already has awarded scholarships to more than 60,000 students across the United States as well as the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. And what is this meditation technique that David Lynch's organization has been promoting? Here are some hints: It was learned and popularized most famously by The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Donovan, Mary Tyler Moore, Mia Farrow, Clint Eastwood, Heather Graham, and Deepak Chopra; over the years, it was embraced by millions in the United States, including hugely famous celebrities in entertainment, sports, politics, art, broadcasting, science, the medical field, education, and even religion; its famous teacher brought the technique to the West in 1958 with the intention of lowering the stress of both the individual and the planet; and since its introduction, it's impossible to not at least know someone who knows someone who practices the technique for 20 minutes twice a day. Okay, that last point gave it away, it's Transcendental Meditation, introduced to our society by the late Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, who himself, had enjoyed incredible celebrity during the sixties and seventies when "TM" (as it's called) became embedded in US mainstream culture. Mostly known for his highly-influential, artistic films such as Eraserhead , The Elephant Man , Blue Velvet , Dune , Mulholland Drive , Inland Empire , Wild at Heart , Lost Highway and the pop-culture phenomenon and television series, Twin Peaks , Lynch has dedicated most of his time to this cause. "In today's world of fear and uncertainty," he said, "every child should have one class period a day to dive within himself and experience the field of silence--'bliss'--the enormous reservoir of energy and intelligence that is deep within all of us." The end result? "Teach one million kids to meditate, and we will change the world overnight," he declared. Dr. William Stixrud, Ph.D, a clinical neuropsychologist in Silver Spring, Maryland, who specializes in working with children, has researched the technique and its effect on the young mind. "I have been a big fan of using TM in schools for many years due in part to the program's unparalleled ability to create the experience of relaxed alertness in students, and to create learning environments in which students feel safe to tackle very difficult material and assignments," he explained. On a more publicized level, for decades, many in the medical community have recommended this particular form of meditation to lower stress, blood pressure, and to help combat addictions such as smoking and self-medication. Educators have found that it improves focus, reduces violent tendencies, reduces incidents of drug abuse, and improves the social interaction and overall behavior of students. Additionally, studies have found that practicing the technique (in what has been dubbed "quiet time") has improved academic performance while lowering stress, anxiety, and depression in students. In New York City, where this concert will be performed, "Over one hundred schools...expressed interest in incorporating the Transcendental Meditation technique into their systems," Dr. John Hagelin, Ph.D, a professor of physics, pointed out. He continued, "Extensive research on the benefits of the TM technique on student health and performance...contribute(s) to the wide acceptance of the program." In 2008, when Lynch held a one day seminar on the subject for educators, they literally had to turn away scores of people from the hotel due to the overwhelming response and attendance. And if all of this sounds a bit too good to be true or too granola-eque for your taste, take into consideration that The National Institutes of Health has pledged grants in the amount of twenty-four million dollars over the last 20 years to study the TM technique's effects on heart and brain functioning. The entity has found the technique especially provides benefits against high blood pressure. Last year, in Parade Magazine , Dr. Mark Liponis wrote an article titled "Alternative Therapies That Really Work," within which he stated TM was the "most popular meditation practice" with "scientific backing" behind it that "passed the litmus test of rigorous medical inquiry." So, this is what the "Change Begins Within" event is promoting, and what is being offered to our children by David Lynch and his organization--with the cooperation of parents and schools, of course, and with the initiative's endorsement by participating musicians of the benefit concert. It's the opportunity for any student, member of The Boys & Girls Clubs of America, etc., to become smarter and less-stressed by meditating--plain and simple. "I've been 'diving within' through the Transcendental Mediation technique for over thirty years," Lynch revealed. "It has changed my life, my world. I am not alone." He's right, you'd be surprised who is practicing the technique, probably even as you're reading this article. Now, if you can remember back to the days when TM first became the "it" child across this country's campuses, when The Beatles, Donovan, The Beach Boys, and so many others flew to Rishikesh to spend time with Maharishi, and if you can remember the waves of interest when Deepak Chopra touted its benefits on the lecture circuit, in books, and on TV shows, then you can see that there is something about TM that keeps it electric in the culture. It's no longer just your father's TM, though, yeah, it's exactly the same simple practice that's been taught for hundreds of years. For most, this April 4th, Radio City Music Hall concert will be about the music, but its statement of solidarity and support of this technique could be the beginning of yet another American Transcendental Meditation wave of consciousness raising. In our new Obama Era of openness to all things that make us a more functional, successful society, this TM thing just might be a useful tool to get us there. More on South Asia | |
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