World Peace Could be Closer than You Think

Finally, some great news, courtesy of Joshua Goldstein at Foreign Policy.

medicine and humanity and possibility

HIV and AIDS are diseases that no-one thought possible to cure. so when a doctor in a hospital came up with a solution, tried it, and it worked, he was scoffed at. "who was this guy and who did he think he was?!" that man was gero hüttner and his patient was timothy brown, aka The Man Who Had HIV, and Now Does Not.

everything is ok

outside life

the sun is shining, snow is melting, and it's starting to get a little bit smelly on public transport thanks to the muppet with their giant oversize buggy basically forcing your face into your neighbour's armpit as you swing from the handrail. there's slowly more rubbish on the streets as, well, there's more people on the streets. you have to do laundry that little bit more often because you get stinky faster.

El Verano is here.

and all i have to say is, bring it on!

perhaps the best thing to happen...

to punctuation since the invention of the ampersand. folks, please welcome the 'SarcMark'

refugees

Will a trade in human beings ever be acceptable? One of the issues Professor Michael Sandel raises in the first of his 2009 Reith Lectures on "A New Citizenship"

i got an envelope

i got an envelope is the newest project from the people who brought you "photochaining".

it's simply really. write your name and address on an envelope, put a stamp on, leave it somewhere public...and see what gets sent to you.

that's a whole lot of trust right there...

word up

what does the kid on the street
think bout politics?
fusty old men in suits
spending money on things
spouting "change" but then
not doing anything
to bring it about?

maybe.


but who knows?! oh, hold up. here we go.

Rap Log. Aiming to bring some hip-hop panache to the world of political blogging .

Recognise

anarchy + alcohol

"Drink, like caffeine or sugar in the body, only plays a role in life that life itself can provide for otherwise. The woman who never drinks coffee does not require it in the morning when she awakens: her body produces energy and focus on its
own, as thousands of generations of evolution have prepared it to do. If she drinks
coffee regularly, soon her body lets the coffee take over that role, and she becomes dependent upon it. Thus does alcohol artificially provide for temporary moments of relaxation and release while impoverishing life of all that is genuinely restful and liberating.

If some sober people in this society do not seem as reckless and free as their boozer counterparts, that is a mere accident of culture, mere circumstantial evidence. Those puritans exist all the same in the world drained of all magic and genius by the alcoholism of their fellows (and the capitalism, hierarchy, misery it helps maintain) – the only difference is that they are so self-abnegating as to refuse even the false magic, the genie of the bottle. But other “sober” folk, whose orientation to living might better be described as enchanted or ecstatic, are plentiful, if you look hard enough. For these individuals – for us – life is a constant celebration, one which needs no augmentation and from which we need no respite.
...
When one or two persons cease to drink, it just seems senseless, like they are ejecting themselves from the company (or at least customs) of their fellow human beings for nothing. But a community of such people can develop a radical culture of sober adventure and engagement, one that could eventually offer exciting opportunities for drink-free activity and merriment for all. Yesterday’s geeks and loners could be the pioneers of tomorrow’s new world: “lucid bacchanalism” is a new horizon, a new possibility for transgression and transformation..."

Wasted, indeed.

history is a weapon

History isn't what happened, but a story of what happened.

"We must choose whose interests are best: those who want to keep things going as they are or those who want to work to make a better world. If we choose the latter, we must seek out the tools we will need. History is just one tool to shape our understanding of our world. And every tool is a weapon if you hold it right."

let's...um...PIZZA!

to be filed under the "i want one of those even though i have nowhere to put it" section. It's a vending machine. that makes fresh pizza. mmmmm mamma mia

go live with a stranger

that's what this guy suggests as a way to make the world a better place. just for a week, live as part of someone else's life.

radical ideas

also tagged as "60 seconds to change the world" on the BBC website.
I'm quite in favour of this one. Ban all make-up.