The Impeachment Debacle

Acquitting the Guilty

There you have it! Trump was acquitted of  the two serious charges that were well founded in facts:

1. Abuse of power 
2. Obstruction of justice  

The first charge related to Trump having withheld military aid worth $391 million to Ukraine , even though the sum had been approved by the US government, and then offering it conditionally to Ukraine for personal favours. The president wanted Ukraine to compromise his political opponents, the Bidens, as well as getting involved in the issue surrounding the 2016 elections in a way that would be favourable to him. The second charge related to Trump abusing his authority in order to undermine the possibility of a fair trail, by blocking the summoning of crucial witnesses. The second charge went exactly according to party lines: 47 guilty and 53 not guilty. The first was slightly different because one Republican, Mitt Romney, voted with integrity and gave a guilty verdict. Conviction would have required a two-thirds majority, so Trump was well clear of danger. 

A Victory for Self-Interest

The charges, which were well supported by the evidence at hand, despite Trump's success in blocking the available witnesses, were no trifling matter. They touched on the moral fabric of US government, as well as its national security. So Trump's claim that his acquittal was a victory for the American people, beggars belief. It is a victory for corruption and dangerous self-interest. It is a deathblow to the American Constitution that finds itself powerless in the face of blatant abuse. However, even more tragic, is the example this sets for the American people and generations of Americans to come. To add insult to injury, Trump lambasted and even threatened those who voted against him. Moreover, the debacle did nothing to dent Trump's support base, not yet, at least.

Inaction is Complicity 

It feels as though we are heading for a polarised world with those who care about truth, honour and justice on the one side and those who only care for themselves or are too ignorant to realise how the Trumps of this world manipulate them, on the other. Or has it always been this way? Whatever the answer is, the fact is that the planet has never been more vulnerable to the folly of mankind. It is therefore more imperative than ever that we do everything in our power to work for a safer and fairer world. 

Join UN-aligned and help build a better world.

Labelling Suicide while Missing the Point

Every Forty Seconds

The 10th September was World Mental Health Day. In this context the WHO published a flyer to raise awareness on suicide and how to help prevent it: Working Together to Prevent Suicide. The WHO highlights the fact that every forty seconds a life is lost to suicide. This is tragic and all the more so because so much more could be done to help, both on an individual and on a social basis. It is reassuring that the WHO is taking this problem seriously, but I object to suicide being so often  linked with mental health. 

Let's face it: it's life that's crazy... but it works

True, mental health may be a factor, just as it influences all our decisions, but the assumption that suicide is a mental health problem is a lie and perhaps one of the main reasons people do not wish to talk about it. Life is absurd and often it is torture, not because of mental weakness, but owing to the insurmountable hurdles it places before us. I remember a story my father once told me be about his time in Libya during the war. The soldiers would often cruelly entertain themselves by encircling a scorpion with a ring of fire it could not escape from. The highlight was seeing the trapped scorpion sting itself to death. No mental health problems there, just an easier way out. 

Sometimes it feels crazy to carry on. It is survival that is often the insanity. But it is an insanity that works; an insanity that defies entropy and ushers in light and creation; love, even. Survival is an act of faith. There is nothing sane about it other than the bizarre evidence that it can work and that is worth fighting for.  

Ten reasons to fight on...

In May, I published an article on suicide and suggested ten reason why it was not a good idea. The reasons, of course are not exhaustive, but here they are again:

You may be killing a future self who may not want to be terminated. You are his or her guardian. Fight the moment and pass on the baton of your personal growth.

That future self may have an important role to play, even if it is just saving a butterfly from drowning, or someone who will prove to be a great benefactor to humanity... or you, yourself, may become that benefactor.

You are a winner. Part of you outraced millions of spermatozoa racing to fertilise the egg. You owe it to all those potential lives to make the most of your own. As the Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa states: "To be born a human being is rarer than a star that shines by day."

Whatever it is that life is about, problems are there as challenges that help us learn. Perhaps death will merely postpone those lessons and you may have to meet the same challenges with all the preceding crap until you get there again.

Many suicides go wrong; even well planned ones. You may find yourself with the same problems, plus the added inconvenience of being severely disabled or having to deal with some stupid reactions from those closest to you.

"This too will pass!" Sometimes we just need to weather the storm, because however frightening the situation may be, it may pass. If not, it is always more worthy to "take arms against" those "slings and arrows" than "oppose" them by ending your own self, which is really not opposing them at all, but taking their side!

Sometimes, a chemical imbalance or a trivial matter may cause disproportionate reactions. Important decisions should not be taken at our lowest ebb.

The urge to end it all is sometimes a reflection of what lies without, not what lies within you. See it a a nudge to change direction. There usually are many alternatives and we just have to break away from the conditioning that makes us believe that we are bound to the hopelessness of our environment.

Bigoted social and religious pressures often force us to be what we are not. This can be hell. Don't take that hell with you. Stick your middle finger up to it instead and don't let bigotry crush you.

Your death could have unhappy consequences: sadness, despair, more suicides...

Trump and what money can't buy!

Trump's shopping list!

So, President Trump now wants to buy Greenland! An uninhabited Greek island is one thing, but the largest island in the world that is also an autonomous territory... Well! Although Greenland has been a part of Denmark for over 200 years, it has been increasingly self-governing since 1979, with only foreign affairs and defence still controlled by Denmark. The suggestion just highlights how callous and clueless the American President is. 

People are not for sale

Despite its promising name, Greenland is no Eden. Three quarters of it, in fact, are covered under permanent ice. Erik the Red, the Norse explorer, reportedly gave it the attractive name in order to encourage colonisation. Now Greenland has 57 thousand or so inhabitants and they are justifiably proud of their identity, culture and autonomy. For Trump, however, people are just pawns and this move is just another confirmation of his cynical outlook. For Trump, money and power come first. What next? Will he decide to auction Puerto Rico (a US unincorporated territory) to the highest bidder? Slavery was abolished in the US in 1865, but clearly, Trump still does not quite understand that people are not for sale.

A US tradition

True, the US has a tradition of buying territory; the purchase of Louisiana from France in 1803, Florida from Spain in 1819 and Alaska from Russia in 1867 are just a few examples of its many transactions. Nevertheless, the world is a very different place now and annexing people and lands through war or purchase is now seen for what it is: an affront to civil rights.

UN-aligned is striving for a better world. Join us now at UN-aligned.org

The Ten Commandments and the Failure of the Faithful

Religions

Religions may be seen as an attempt to make sense of life and its mission. I could say 'life and its meaning', but 'meaning' can justify a certain passivity, a statement of fact. Mission denoted purpose. Religions are an approximation because they deal with realities that transcend our present status; a bit like using the birds and the bees to teach children the facts of like. Only fools would take their stories and metaphors literally. There is more to religions than dos and don'ts. However, the dos and don't are more specific; they are basic norms. Let's take the Ten Commandments for instance.

The Ten Commandments

The Ten Commandments revolve around honouring God and respecting our fellow human beings. The directives are pretty basic: do not kill, do not steal, do not commit adultery... I guess adultery is breaking a marriage contract, so I would resolve that by not going into one in the first place and avoiding having sex with people who have. God is presented as the guiding principle, so I have no trouble honouring that. And yet I do not follow any established religion. Indeed, the Ten Commandments are endorsed, directly or indirectly, by most religions, including, of course, the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Why, oh why, then, are religious people the cause of so much violence in the world? What do they not understand about not killing, stealing or coveting? The bitter irony is that, frequently, their atrocities are actually committed in the name of God or religion. 

So, why then?

The answer is simple: because many of us are a bunch of nasty idiots willing to be led by a few devious ones. All it would take is a bit of good will and common sense and we could live in peace and harmony. If this is not worth striving for, then what is?

UN-aligned striving for a better world: Join the movement!

Would you rather fiddle while Rome burns, or head for the water pump?

If this is the new new normal, civilisation is heading for a nosedive...

My last post concerned the guilt of Republican politicians relating to their refusal to condemn President Trump's blatant racism and other disreputable acts. The problem, however, does not stop there. The danger is that the conduct of Trump and his entourage could become the new normal. Indeed, the political world is full of examples of oppressive and unprincipled leaders, but to have the United States join that clique is a serious blow to decency, human rights and environmental accountability. 

Rightly or wrongly, the US has generally been considered a beacon radiating the values of tolerance, magnanimity and progressiveness. True, much hypocrisy went into the making of that impression, but it served an important purpose nonetheless. With the US now openly flouting and deriding these principles, toxic self interest around the political world will be emboldened. Recently, Iran mocked Trump's "genocidal threats", but we may not know, until it is too late, what dangerous consequences such reckless behaviours could have.

Doing nothing is doing something...

Progress is fragile; as is morality. A Christian mystic once said that we must do what we believe is right, before we start believing right, whatever it is we do. With the rotten examples prominent people like Trump and Putin are presenting, the culture of disrespect and bulling will only increase. We must not take civilisation for granted. If we do we will be sleepwalking into another dark age. Doing nothing is doing something... and that something is bad.

UN-aligned is working for a fairer world. Joining us is one way of ensuring that you are not just a spectator to the disastrous events of recent years. As Ken Saro-Wiwa pointed out: silence would be treason!

Trump's blatant racism given a green light by Republican politicians

America's racist President

If a manual on how to be a racist existed, "Go back to your own country!" would certainly be there at the top of the recommendations with other hateful slurs. Even Trump isn't stupid enough not to know that. He took it a step further, however, by hurling his insult at four American citizens, congresswomen, in fact: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota. Three of them were actually born in the United States, the exception being Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia. 

The implication is that anyone whose skin is not white is not truly American. If this is not racism, what is? In one of the comments he said that they should "go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came." But Trump is Trump: no surprises there. 

Carte Blanche 

What is surprising (well, perhaps not that surprising), is the fact that a resolution condemning the President's comments on June 16, passed with only four Republicans supporting it. They were Fred Upton of Michigan, Brian Fitzpatrick of  Pennsylvania, Susan Brooks of Indiana and Will Hurd of Texas. The remaining 187 Republicans in the House of Representatives who voted, opposed the symbolic resolution. 

One wonders what Trump has to do to induce Republican politicians to object. Incarcerate migrant children? Obstruct justice? Attack the free press? Mock the science on climate change? Sell arms to rogue states? Cause havoc with the international community and jeopardise world peace? Oh, right... he has already done all that; and more. Well, credit where credit is due: Trump has managed to do what no Democrat could have dreamed of doing so spectacularly. He has show the true colours of the Republican Party and what they stand for.

The UN unable to condemn attack on migrants

And so it continues...

Migrants are once again the victims of indifference and direct aggression. Six children and about 50 adults were killed and more that three times as many were badly hurt when a migrant detention centre was bombed by the forces of General Khalifa Haftar who are fighting the UN recognised government of Libya. The site had clearly been designated as a UN sanctuary, but this made no difference. The attack that took place on the early hours of Wednesday, but reports are now coming to light that people were fired on as they tried to escape the bombardment.  No surprise there. Migrants are treated as sub-human even by those who have the responsibility of attending to them. 

The UN adds insult to injury

In a Security Council special meeting yesterday, the members failed to condemn to attack, apparently owing to US opposition to the condemnation. No surprise there either. Today about 80 migrants died when their boat capsized near Tunisia. The tragedy goes on and on while the UN is paralysed by its inept mechanisms.  People are dying: again and again and again... We cannot stand back and let such a hollow organisation be the mouthpiece of out moral obligations.

Changing the UN

You have three options: 

1. Pretend everything is all right
2. Admit the UN is a big mess and do nothing about it
3. Work for a better UN

UN-aligned is dedicated to the third option. UN-aligned may not be perfect, but at least it is trying. Perhaps it is the only organisation whose main goal is to change the UN for the better and from the outside with something completely new. Change cannot come from within because the UN procedures and structures are too flawed. A new United Nations is needed and that is what UN-aligned is striving for. Why not help us? You can help by joining UN-aligned. You can help by making its mission more robust and its message more visible. And finally, you can help by adding your personal magic and your passion to this noble mission.

Contact us today: UN-aligned.org.

Looking at migration in the face

It has not been a good week for refugees; but then again, it never is... 

Today's The Guardian reports how the Lebanese government forced 5,000 refugee families to demolish their own home in order to induce them to return to Syria. 

Yesterday, the captain of rescue ship Sea-Watch 3, Carola Rackete, was arrested after she forcefully docked her ship in the Italian island of  Lampedusa. Having rescued 53 migrants drifting off the coast of Libya on June 12, the Sea-Watch 3 was left stranded while the Italian authorities kept refusing to let her dock.

Last Sunday a Salvadoran young man drowned with his two-year-old daughter while trying to swim across the Rio Grande to US territory. The photo of their corpses was sprawled across the world press for much of the week.

Migrants and refugees

Refugees and migrants are people seeking a better life in a country other than their own. Refugees may have more obvious reasons to flee their country, such as war or persecution, but it would be fair to say that the reasons for a person to "up and go" are never trivial. I say "their" country, but many of these displaced people are actually stateless. These people do not have a country at all and there are about 12,000,000 of them. All migrants have one thing in common: they are often demonised. Why?

Why the animosity?

Well the arguments are generally the same. On the one hand we accuse them of trying to steal our  jobs, while on the other we slate them for being ignorant, lazy and offensive. If the latter accusation were true, it is hardly likely that the former would follow. 

Of course, there are countless other criticisms and these are sometimes levied at the way particular governments deal with immigration. Some citizens accuse their governments of spoiling immigrants and giving them all they want on a silver platter, while they have to struggle for every penny they earn. In certain cases, this may be true, though perhaps more so in the past. Nowadays, with nationalism on the rise, even leftist governments are careful not to ruffle the sensitivities of the electorate.

The root of the problem

Migrants are people; and like all people they have good and bad qualities. Indeed, they will have additional problems, such as those linked to traumatic experiences, language and adjusting to different customs. These issues may make them more difficult to deal with. A shortage of jobs and resources will make immigrants even less welcome. However, these challenges are not the point, as they are challenges that can be resolved. The root of the problem is, rather, whether we believe that these people have rights; that is, the same human rights as citizens. 

For many people, migrants do not have rights and their very safety can be compromised. The policies of Trump and Salvini are not the only ones that are jeopardising the lives of migrants. But life is just the last straw. Before that migrants are treated with dehumanising contempt. We would not allow our dogs to be treated the way we allow our governments to treat immigrants. Deep down, we know that the problems relating to migration are not insurmountable. Yet, we pretend they are, as solving them might put us out, somewhat. We are no different to the caricature of Marie Antoinette dismissing the problem with a shake of the hand: "Let them eat cake!"

Sitting on the fence.

As Ken Saro-Wiwa stated referring to the plight of the Ogoni people: "Silence would be treason." By pretending not to notice, we are actually taking the sides of the oppressors. Every little helps and we must do whatever it is we can to proclaim and safeguard the dignity of humanity. The bell tolls for all of us.

UN-aligned campaigning for a fairer world. Learn more about our mission and what you can do to help: here.

150 Lives...

Second thoughts...

After ordering an attack on Iran last week, president Trump had an after thought. How many human lives would it cost? One wonders: what amount of casualties would have made his strike acceptable? Fifty? A hundred? 

Creating a problem

The Iranian problem is of Trump's making. He pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, started a war of words and began imposing harsh sanctions. On top of that, Trump bullied all other nations to follow suit. A legally binding deal became powerless in the face of Trump's financial blackmail. Of course that did not have to be the case, but few countries had the backbone to stand up to Trump's threats.

The provocation continues; as does the war of words. On Monday Trump insulted the Iranians by imposing sanctions on their Supreme Leader. Iran retaliated by calling the White House administration "retards". Trump responded by threatening to obliterate parts of the country.

150 and counting...

Trump's intransigence will end up costing a lot more than 150 lives. He has passed that threshold many times over already with his support of Saudi Arabia. Add to that the deaths that will result from his ruthless policies, such as those on climate change, immigration, health care and arms sales and the tally will just keep getting higher and higher.. Messing up the climate could by itself end up costing millions of lives, if not the planet itself. But if Trump did ask how many lives would be lost by the US pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, he clearly did not care then.

Murder is murder

Jean Rostand had said:

Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god.

Provoking war is not a innocuous game. Hundreds of thousands of innocent lives could be lost in a major confrontation. Trump may then want to stand back an wash his hands from any responsibility. Even if he did manage to fool himself, he would have a hard time fooling anybody else. Or perhaps he just wants to be a god!

Success at the mercy of nationalism: Lucano under attack

Riace's claim to fame...

The Calabrian town of Riace is back in the news. Well, "back" for those who are old enough to remember the excitement generated when two huge bronze statues were discovered in the sea there in 1972. They are now known as the Riace Bronzes (Bronzi di Riace) and they are a testament to a time when a good part of Italy was dotted with Greek city-states. No one knows why the statues of the warriors ended up in the water: perhaps they were too Greek for the sensitivities of the nascent Roman Empire.

Riace's return to the spotlight has been gradual and is thanks to its ex-mayor, Mimmo (Domenico) Lucano. Lucano is famous for having turned the dying Italian town into a vibrant, thriving and cultural hub. In fact, after he was elected Mayor in 2004, he made Riace a model of integration and sustainability by welcoming immigrants and supporting them to revitalise the local economy. His achievements were feted around the world. In 2010 Lucano came second in the World Mayor competition and in 2016 he was listed by Fortune as one of the best world leaders. He also received the Dresden Peace Prize in 2017.

Lucano under attack

However, not everyone was happy. Lucano's dogs were poisoned and he was even shot at in 2009, shortly after his reelection. Then, in October 2018, Lucano was charged with aiding illegal immigration by facilitating marriages of convenience. His trial started last Friday and includes other similar accusations. Many believe that the accusations are politically motivated and that the authorities are deliberately giving him a rough time. He has even been exiled form Riace.

Like his fellow bronze warriors, who may not have been "Italian" enough in their appearance, Lucano is not Italian enough in his outlook. His achievements are being reversed and Riace is beginning to look like a ghost town once again. Italy, whose population is dwindling, is full of them. I rattle around in one of them myself. 

Destructive and self-destructive nationalism

It will be interesting to see what sort of punishment will be meted out to Lucano, if he is convicted. Bigots and nationalist, of which there are many, would no doubt be glad to see him or his ideas sink as the bronzes had done before him; and as migrants continue to do, by the thousands. This is nationalism at the cost of decency and common sense; nationalism at the cost of survival

UN-aligned: working for a fairer world.

Unlocking Wedlock

The slow pace of same-sex marriage...

Same-sex marriage is now legal in almost thirty countries in the world. Considering same-sex unions date back over 12,000 years and that there are almost 200 countries in the world, this is not much of an achievement. In recent times, the first country to legalise same-sex marriage was the Netherlands. That law was passed in December 2000 and came into effect in April 1, 2001. So, even in the last few decades, progress has been slow.

What is marriage?

Of course, I am all for it... for now. It is not the gender of the partners that I am concerned about; rather, marriage itself. Indeed, I agree with marriage for as long as people want it. I just believe that in the long run they would be better off not wanting it. Marriage is a religious or legal convention with implications. For some, it is primarily a testament to their love. 

Religious or legal marriage

Marriage as a religious obligation for anyone wishing to live and have sex together is just another religious norm. As a legal convention, however, it can be many thing according to how it is defined and implemented. Considerations include tax, conjugal rights and concessions, but also specifics such as gender, age and number of partners. 

Why should we need laws and incentives to tie us into these things? If I should wish to live with two boyfriends and a girlfriend, why should it be anybody's business, but my own and that of my partners? 

Mosuo women in Lu Gu China

Children

What about children? Should the state not ensure that there is a stable framework for children to be brought up in? Probably it should, as long as people cannot be trusted to act responsibly, like many animals do; but this does not necessarily mean marriage. There are so many alternatives. Just look at the customs of the Mosuo people in China. Marriage does not exist there and they can do very well without it. We could have more varied and flexible contracts to safeguard the rearing of children, if that is what is needed.

A proclamation of love

As for the proclamation of love... well, marriage is one way of doing it. It is, that is, if you happen to tick the right boxes in accordance with the legislation of your country or the requirements of your religion. A customised contract could do it as well, if not better, just as a firework display or beach party could! 

Equality for better, but not for worse

When you commit yourself to marriage, you will either be allowed to divorce or not. If you can divorce, you will possibly be paying a very high price for it. Why should you? If you cannot, but wish to, then the price will higher still! 

So, long live equality, but let us not overlook the freer alternatives to it while we are striving for it.

Taiwan gives the world a lesson in democracy

Learning a thing or two from Taiwan...

Taiwan gave the world a lesson in real democracy last month when same-sex marriage was legalised in the "country". In a referendum last November, 72% of the population had voted against allowing same-sex marriage. Two years earlier, however, Taiwan's supreme court had ruled that limiting the definition of marriage to couples of the opposite sex was unconstitutional. Legislators therefore backed the Government Bill, putting justice before numbers. This is real democracy. 

Taipei, Taiwan

Might is not right and nor are numbers

Numbers cannot change something that is wrong into something that is right. Prejudice against the LGBTQ is rampant around the world. Its prevalence does not make it right. Quite the contrary, it makes it even more vicious. The same applies to all breaches of human rights; and there are many. Those that hide behind religions are particularly pernicious. Taiwan itself is a whole nation whose rights have been abused by the international community. So many numbers; and yet, so wrong.

UN-aligned campaigning for a fairer democracy

Killers with smiling faces

Another mass shooting...

So, there was another mass shooting in the US yesterday. Twelve people were killed by the gunman. Still, despite the vivid horror of gun violence, what is likely to change? The NRA, the gun lobby and the profits of the arms trade are "too important" in the US for much to be done about the problem...

More victims than we could possible imagine

Now imagine a similar attack, discriminate only in as much as the preferred victims are the most vulnerable. Imagine too that instead of twelve victims we have around 65. Then multiply that by every nation on earth and then again by every single day of the year...

That is how many people are dying every year (c. 4.6 million) because of air pollution, according to the the World Health Organisation. This figure does not include other types of pollution, climate change or different forms of deadly contamination. How many millions would that make?

                                                 UN-aligned for a fairer and safer world!

Routinely massacring the innocents

Dying of pollution does not sound as dramatic as being shot, but don't be fooled. Desperately gasping for breath is just one of the problems. So we have terrorists all over the world jointly killing thousands, or tens of thousands, of people every day: every single day! And what are we doing about it? 

Precious little. Why? The same reason why more is not done to curb gun violence: politicians want to keep the economy ticking. Just like terrorists, they care little about collateral damage. These politicians and the destructive enterprises they support are really just a more insidious and deadly form kind of terrorist. They are all around us: killers with smiling faces.