February 18, 2008
“Thanks to Facebook, we have created an exponential effect.”Just about two weeks ago there were mass protests throughout Colombia against the Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC. FARC, established in 1964 as the Colombian Communist Party, is a rebel group that over 31 countries call a terrorist organization. Allegedly it finances its operations through drug trafficking and kidnapping, currently holding over 40 political hostages and 700 captives for ransom. FARC had somewhat fallen off the radar due to Colombia’s recent booming economy, but antisentiment was refuled when FARC announced in June 2007 that 11 state lawmakers whom had been detained by the group for 5 years were killed in a “crossfire.”  Recently, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, in some sort of politial game, announced his recognition of the group as a “real army,” rather than a terrorist group, and proclaimed that the Venezuelan army was ready to help the group. This prompted Óscar Morales, a 33 year old engineer in Colombia to start a facebook group called “A million voices against the FARC.” It was originally designed to be a virtual protest among himself and his friends. That quickly spread, resulting in protests throughout the world on February 4. An estimated 4.8 million people turned up for over 365 marches throughout Colombia, one of the country’s largest demonstration. I certainly am no expert on this situation - I was just floored, again, by the power of the internet. 

“Thanks to Facebook, we have created an exponential effect.”

Just about two weeks ago there were mass protests throughout Colombia against the Revolutionary Armed Forces, or FARC. FARC, established in 1964 as the Colombian Communist Party, is a rebel group that over 31 countries call a terrorist organization. Allegedly it finances its operations through drug trafficking and kidnapping, currently holding over 40 political hostages and 700 captives for ransom. FARC had somewhat fallen off the radar due to Colombia’s recent booming economy, but antisentiment was refuled when FARC announced in June 2007 that 11 state lawmakers whom had been detained by the group for 5 years were killed in a “crossfire.” 

Recently, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, in some sort of politial game, announced his recognition of the group as a “real army,” rather than a terrorist group, and proclaimed that the Venezuelan army was ready to help the group. This prompted Óscar Morales, a 33 year old engineer in Colombia to start a facebook group called “A million voices against the FARC.” It was originally designed to be a virtual protest among himself and his friends. That quickly spread, resulting in protests throughout the world on February 4. An estimated 4.8 million people turned up for over 365 marches throughout Colombia, one of the country’s largest demonstration.

I certainly am no expert on this situation - I was just floored, again, by the power of the internet. 

February 17, 2008
In early Jan, I excel spreadsheeted this list of museums and exhibits that I would like to view in 2008. Just trying to make sure I don’t take this city for granted.
In early Jan, I excel spreadsheeted this list of museums and exhibits that I would like to view in 2008. Just trying to make sure I don’t take this city for granted.
like giving a drink to an alcoholic
NY Mayor Bloomberg’s thoughts on the recently approved stimulus package
February 16, 2008

BYOB part deux: Why I don't buy bottled water...

  1. Mainly because I don’t like being taken advantage of.
  • The bottled water industry is a $46 billion dollar industry.
  • Americans bought over 31.2B liters of water in 2006.
  1. It’s a colossal waste of money for what comes out of the tap.
  • It’s not always natural, nor is it spring; most of what you’re buying (25%, or so I’ve read) is just from the tap, and Americans spend $15B on it a year.
  • Remember when Dasani had to change its label to include the words “Public Water Source?”
  1. It’s also bad for the environment.
  • It takes 3 to 5 times more water to make and fill one plastic water bottle than the bottle contains.
  • In order to fulfill US’s demand, over 17M barrels of oil is used. That’s enough to fuel 1M US cars for a year.
  • 86% of water bottles are not recycled and end up in landfills and take over 1000 years to decompose.
  1. Tap water could actually be healthier.
  • The EPA holds higher standards for testing tap water than the FDA does for bottled water.
  • A 1999 study found that 60-70% of bottled water sold in the US was exempt from FDA’s bottled water standards because they don’t apply to water bottled and sold within the same state.
  1. And, of course, the bottles are said to leach chemicals.
  • Take a look at your bottle and you’ll see the inscription “Do not refill.” You may even see “store in a cool, dry and clean place away from light.”
  • PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which is the plastic most bottles are made of, can leach benzyl butyl phthalate (endocrine disruptive chemicals, cause of liver & male reproductive damage in rodents), and DEHA (a known carcinogen) - though we are not yet certain how and to what extent these are harmful to humans.
  • Even your Nalgene is not safe. Nalgene’s are made of a polycarbonate plastic called Lexan that contains bisphenol A (BPA), which if consumed can cause chromosomal disruption, miscarriages, birth defects and obesity. Nalgene’s were recently pulled from the shelves at some stores in Canada until further research.
February 15, 2008

don't know much about ...tea

I need to learn about tea: consumer trends, various brands, tea producers, etc. If you’re an aficionado or at least have some knowledge and interest in tea, I’d love to chat. Please email me at whatilearned@gmail.com. Much obliged!
I saw The Real Dirt on Farmer John last night. It was great – quirky, educational, reflective, and about organic farming and CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. I was very inspired to finally join. When you join CSA you get weekly deliveries (to your neighborhood CSA) of organic seasonal vegetables and fruit from a nearby farm. It’s easy, very reasonably priced, a great way to support your local farmers and ensure youf food is fresh and free of pesticides. You can even take a visit out to your farm! Here’s a list of CSA delivery locations in New York.   For ideas of what to do with the CSA (or any) produce, refer here & here.            

I saw The Real Dirt on Farmer John last night. It was great – quirky, educational, reflective, and about organic farming and CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. I was very inspired to finally join.

When you join CSA you get weekly deliveries (to your neighborhood CSA) of organic seasonal vegetables and fruit from a nearby farm. It’s easy, very reasonably priced, a great way to support your local farmers and ensure youf food is fresh and free of pesticides. You can even take a visit out to your farm! Here’s a list of CSA delivery locations in New York.  

For ideas of what to do with the CSA (or any) produce, refer here & here.            

How do you know that what you know is true?

I’ve been told that every seven years, human knowledge doubles.

In researching that I also read that online information doubles every six months. And IBM claims that by 2010 the amount of digital information in the world will double every 11 hours. 

On the first day of my 7th grade history class, my professor assigned an essay with the prompt - How do you know that what you know is true? It’s difficult these days; there’s just so much noise.

February 14, 2008
Steven Spielberg has decided to withdraw as the artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing stating “my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual.” Activists are looking for other corporate sponsors to respond in the same way. Why? Because of China’s ties to Sudan, whose military conflict has killed between 200 and 400 thousand and displaced over 2.5 million in Darfur. China currently receives oil from Sudan, and in turn sells weapons and aircraft to the Sudanese government. A UN investigation shows that the majority of the weapons used to attack civilians were of Chinese origin (or so I’ve read, I can’t find the actual UN report). Interestingly enough, China has veto power in the UN Security Council and has used it to oppose sanctions or punitive measures against Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, thus allowing the genocide in Darfur to continue. Again, why? Many people believe that is because of China’s dependence on Sudan for its oil (China buys 2/3 of Sudan’s oil, representing about 8% of China’s total oil consumption). Some believe Africa is China’s new frontier, suggesting that China may send 300M people to Africa to solve its problems of over-population and pollution(!). China has, indeed, made the largest investment in Africa (the IBIC bought 20% of South Africa’s Standard Bank in Africa). Another ideology is China’s non-intervention pillar. It’s not about oil - oil is a fungible commodity; any one barrel can be exchanged for any other barrel, in theory, and China could easily buy its oil elsewhere. Instead, this third ideology suspects China vetoed sanctions against Khartoum because China supports non-intervention into domestic affairs. If you remember the situation in Burma (also a conflict over oil), China reaffirmed its non-intervention foreign policy. It does not want anyone else getting involved in any other country’s domestic civil affairs, perhaps especially its own. Side note: Google Earth offers images of the crisis in Darfur (via Wired). Wow - the power of the internet amazes me.

Steven Spielberg has decided to withdraw as the artistic advisor to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing stating “my conscience will not allow me to continue with business as usual.” Activists are looking for other corporate sponsors to respond in the same way.

Why? Because of China’s ties to Sudan, whose military conflict has killed between 200 and 400 thousand and displaced over 2.5 million in Darfur. China currently receives oil from Sudan, and in turn sells weapons and aircraft to the Sudanese government. A UN investigation shows that the majority of the weapons used to attack civilians were of Chinese origin (or so I’ve read, I can’t find the actual UN report).

Interestingly enough, China has veto power in the UN Security Council and has used it to oppose sanctions or punitive measures against Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, thus allowing the genocide in Darfur to continue. Again, why?

  • Many people believe that is because of China’s dependence on Sudan for its oil (China buys 2/3 of Sudan’s oil, representing about 8% of China’s total oil consumption).
  • Some believe Africa is China’s new frontier, suggesting that China may send 300M people to Africa to solve its problems of over-population and pollution(!). China has, indeed, made the largest investment in Africa (the IBIC bought 20% of South Africa’s Standard Bank in Africa).
  • Another ideology is China’s non-intervention pillar. It’s not about oil - oil is a fungible commodity; any one barrel can be exchanged for any other barrel, in theory, and China could easily buy its oil elsewhere. Instead, this third ideology suspects China vetoed sanctions against Khartoum because China supports non-intervention into domestic affairs. If you remember the situation in Burma (also a conflict over oil), China reaffirmed its non-intervention foreign policy. It does not want anyone else getting involved in any other country’s domestic civil affairs, perhaps especially its own.

Side note: Google Earth offers images of the crisis in Darfur (via Wired). Wow - the power of the internet amazes me.