Of China's young artists, Zhao Zhao, 30, is one of the most provocative. For a long time, he worked together with Ai Weiwei. A new show of his work opened over the weekend at Berlin's Alexander Ochs Gallery. SPIEGEL conducted a brief interview with the artist shortly before the opening of "Zhao Zhao: Nothing Inside II".
Category: news
“Eleven miles by ferry from Perth is Western Australia’s “premier tourist destination”. This is Rottnest Island, whose scabrous wild beauty and isolation evoked, for me, Robben Island in South Africa. Empires are never short of devil’s islands; what makes Rottnest different – indeed, what makes Australia different – is silence and denial on an epic scale…”
...click here to go through to Pilger’s piece in full @ the guardian...
Life on Earth or business as usual?
The US’s leading climatologist talks about what our future looks like if we continue along with business as usual — and what we could do to prevent catastrophe:
“…Well, I think the government should be asking the scientific community. We have a National Academy of Sciences that was formed at the request of Abraham Lincoln to advise the government on technical matters, which require scientific expertise. So if the government wants to do something it could ask the Academy to give it a report to provide some guidance and that’s not really happening. Instead, we’re allowing the politics to control the discussion and that then ends up leading to little if any action because politics is not going to allow it simply because there’s such a preference among the fossil fuel industry and the people who are making a lot of money off of it to continue business as usual…”
This article was published 24 April ’13, in partnership with GlobalPossibilities.org.
…Click here for the piece in full @ AlterNet…
© a jfreos
VII The Magazine
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readers unprecedented intimate access and insight to the work of
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VII Photo represents 29 photojournalists working at the forefront
news industry. Their work appears regularly on the covers and pages
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“How the photographers see the world”
…simply click the pic to go through to…
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MAGAZINE of contemporary CHINA.
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to check it out…
April 2013
…special report Venezuela without Chávez;Hollande’s rapid conversion to neoliberalism; Régis Debray, why France should leave Nato;Naples, model for a Europe in decline?Karachi, mirror of Pakistan’s failed state;Kenya, grandiose plans for a deep-water port; the high cost of cheap meat; Guantanamo, the women who wait… and more…
…simply click the pic above to access English language edition…
The desperate, human plight of refugees and asylum seekers.
Let’s reject the myths and embrace our empathy and compassion…
Join the conversation by adding#rethinkrefugees to your tweets…
Human Rights Watch has released “We Will Teach You a Lesson”
(February, 2013)
Sexual Violence against Tamils by Sri Lankan Security Forces:
(London) – Sri Lankan security forces have been using rape and other forms of sexual violence to torture suspected members or supporters of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Human Rights Watch said in a report released February, 2013. While widespread rape in custody occurred during the armed conflict that ended in May 2009, Human Rights Watch found that politically motivated sexual violence by the military and police continues to the present...2013...
...Please click the image above to freely download the 144page report via HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH...
March 26, 2013 Richard Denniss @ www.tai.org.au
“A cabinet reshuffle provides the perfect opportunity for a prime minister to clarify the role of incoming ministers. Now that Gary Gray has been confirmed as the Minister for Resources and Energy, the big question is whether the former director of corporate affairs for Woodside Petroleum will be responsible for Australia’s natural resources or follow Martin Ferguson’s lead and act as minister for the companies that extract Australia’s resources.
There’s a big difference.”
Too Much is an innovative not for profit site “dedicated to the notion that our world would be considerably more caring, prosperous, and democratic if we narrowed the vast gap that divides our wealthy from everyone else.”
Here @ the interpretOr, we came upon TooMuch via AlterNet which recently flagged signing up for their inequality weekly.
Too Much | A project of the Program on Inequality and the Common Good at the Institute for Policy Studies. About the IPS: IPS is a community of public scholars and organizers linking peace, justice, and the environment in the U.S. and globally. We work with social movements to promote true democracy and challenge concentrated wealth, corporate influence, and military power. As Washington’s first progressive multi-issue think tank, the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) has served as a policy and research resource for visionary social justice movements for over four decades — from the anti-war and civil rights movements in the 1960s to the peace and global justice movements of the last decade. Some of the greatest progressive minds of the 20th and 21st centuries have found a home at IPS, starting with the organization's founders, Richard Barnet and Marcus Raskin. IPS scholars have included such luminaries as Arthur Waskow, Gar Alperovitz, Saul Landau, Bob Moses, Rita Mae Brown, Barbara Ehrenreich, Roger Wilkins and Orlando Letelier.
“We’re living in extreme times and if you listened to modern rock music you wouldn’t know that,” says Gillespie. “I just think it’s odd there’s no protest, resistance or critique of what’s going down. It’s like people are tranquilised. All the rights people had fought for – people like trade unionists, anarchists, artists – are being clawed back by extremists. These people [in charge] aren’t rational thinkers. Someone like Boris Johnson hides behind that bumbling public schoolboy image but he’s a sinister rightwing c**t trying to bring in anti-strike legislation … we’ve got to fight these fucking people!”
Bobby Gillespie’s primal scream: click here to go to the interview in full @ the guardian
Peta, I’ve just Googled ‘abbott fascist’ said Tony…
“I think it is important that people, especially women, hear the truth about Tony Abbott, and not just the myths,” said Peta…
“..In climate policy, the US lags behind other countries. Quotes a current scientific review: “109 countries have enacted some form of policy regarding renewable power, and 118 countries have set targets for renewable energy. In contrast, the United States has no adopted any consistent and stable set of policies at the national level to foster the use of renewable energy” or adopted other means that are being pursued by countries that do have national policies. Some things are being done in the US, but sporadically, and with no organized national commitment. That’s no slight problem for us, and for the world, in the light of the great predominance of American power – declining to be sure as power is diversified internationally, but still unchallenged…”
(Noam Chomsky via AlterNet: March ’13 – click here for piece in full)
An interpretOr was introduced to this incredible talk by Aboriginal psychologists working here in Western Australia. I’m still processing the magnitude of Prof McDaniel’s message and compassionate call to action, but in the interim, thought I’d share this extraordinary talk with you, our readers and visitors. Words that still resonate are reconciliation, collective responsibility, appreciation, belief and action…
biography:
Professor Michael McDaniel is an Aboriginal man who is a member of the Kalari Clan from the Wiradjuri nation of Central New South Wales. Michael's involvement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander higher education spans more than two decades. Michael has previously been the Professor and Dean of Indigenous Education at the University of Western Sydney and the Director of Warawara Department of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University. Michael also previously taught at UTS, where for some years he was Director of Indigenous Programs within theSchool of Adult Education. Michael has held part-time lectureships in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education at the Australian Catholic University and the University of Sydney. Michael is also a member of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Higher Education Consortium (NATSIHEC). On a number of occasions Michael participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as part of the NATSIHEC delegation. For the period 2013-2015 is a Ministerial appointed member of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council (ATSIHEAC).
"The real issue is this: Why have we surrendered control over something so basic to human survival as seeds? Why have we bought into the biotech industry’s program, which pushes a few monoculture commodity crops, when history and science have proven that seed biodiversity is essential for growing crops capable of surviving severe climate conditions, such as drought and floods?" ...click anywhere above to go to this piece in full @ AlterNet...
March 2013
… Iraq ten years on, special report; Tunisia, Ben Ali all over again? France’s unspoken shift to the right; Colombia, who’s missing from the table? South Africa’s new apartheid; Slovenia’s crisis is political; the great shale gas swindle; Benedict’s Latin America message; 3D printers, return to a craft ethos?buy before you fly…
…just click any story above to access…
Abbott and Morrison are gutless, nasty and deeply foul conservative men who have craven form in demonising the defenceless for political gain – refugees, terminally ill former asbestos workers etc. What’s even more repulsive is that they press their buttons of fear and bigotry with the demented expectation that a majority of Australians support their views.
Well, come September, let us the people prove them WRONG.
(the interpretOr will also examine the timing of this latest burst of xenophobia, when our time permits. It may be no cooincidence that Morrison gushed his bile on 28th Feb, 2013…)
Cordt Schnibben @ spiegelONLINE:
“the Japanese disaster waiting in the wings.”
Iranian regime arrests scores more journalists, including bloggers and film makers, late January 2013.
IranWire, a project led by Maziar Bahari, produced this video calling for the journalists’ release.
Committee to Protect Journalists reports that Iran has maintained a revolving-door policy for imprisoning journalists, freeing some detainees on furloughs even as new arrests are made. In its December 2012 prison census, CPJ found that Iran was the world's second-worst jailer of journalists, with 45 journalists imprisoned in reprisal for their work. The threat of imprisonment has led scores of Iranian journalists to flee into exile in recent years. the interpretOr supports open media and we now reach over 90 countries (source: WordPress.com). Why not share this post or video and let the Iranian regime know that the world is watching.
Wikipedia on Colin Barnett’s “Controversial Policies”:
In October 2004, Barnett led a campaign to re-criminalise homosexuality for anyone under the age of 18. This policy was met with fierce criticism from the community and was opposed by all other parliamentary parties, including the Nationals.[19] In October 2009, Barnett announced a series of new policies relating to drug legislation including a repeal of the Cannabis Control Act 2003.[20] The previous laws were formulated by Geoff Gallop's drug summit, taking input from experts such as academics, police, social workers, lawyers, medical professionals and members of the public.[21] Barnett has stated it is his intention to overturn these laws because of his beliefs and stated that the drug summit members made a mistake introducing them[22] and that cannabis was a "gateway drug".[23] To help with the enforcement of this new policy, Barnett also supported legislation to give police the power to search and seize property without any suspicion or belief that a crime has been committed.[24] A Liberal parliamentarian, Peter Abetz, voiced support for these laws in parliament by drawing reference to the work Adolf Hitler did to bring security to Nazi Germany.[25][26] Barnett stood by Abetz's statements, saying he was making a valid point.[27]
“Twoy’s our boy, Lord Chwissie!” enthused a gushing Gina. “Twoy’s our…”
…Boy…Gina. Dear, dear Gina. Pray tell, pray tell…
He’s just sooper. He’s our boy, that Twoy!! Aherrrha. Can I wead you a bit of his Wikipedia computer entwy thingummy…here we are now…Wiki…pedia! Right then, right, just popping his name in to the search box thingummy…
Splendid, dear Gina. Splendid….
Here we go now, ahumphh…I’ll wead you a bit..here we go…
…On 27 April 2008 further allegations were published, these included the sniffing of a chair of a female Liberal staffer as well as claims he crawled around on his hands and knees pretending to be the staffer’s husband. Buswell first refused to deny the allegations,[14] and then subsequently admitted to the act.[15] The woman later revealed Buswell “was groaning and writhing in sexual pleasure”.[16]
Ohhh, ohhh, what a fella, dear Gina. An ebsolute card! Hmmahh, rather partial to the odd studded Chesterfield, meself…
Here’s another good bit, Lord Chwissie…Twoy…Twoy’s our…
…Buswell “squirrel gripping” (grabbing the ahhh, the ahhh testicles of) Liberal MLA Murray Cowper and just wound the corner…round in parliament. Cowper did not deny the incident, saying “As far as I’m concerned the matter’s dead and it’s time for everyone to move on, the media included.”[20]
Squirrell gwipping, no less!? Well, well now. A squiwell-gwipping-ripping-gweat-safe pair of hands. Smeashing. Twoy’s our boy.
Better dash, Lord Chwissie.. The poptastic Sir Cliff’s in town and, and, and, and Twoy boy is escorting me for the evening’s entertainment!!
On all fours, no doubt, my dear, dear Gina…
A West Australian man whose children were taken away from him by the authorities has rejected suggestions he was a drinker who neglected his kids. Donald Collard has been giving evidence in a Stolen Generations compensation case, which is expected to set a precedent for others in WA. Mr Collard, his wife Sylvia, and seven of their children are seeking damages and costs over the removals, which occurred from 1958 to 1961. Mr Collard has said he was the victim of social and institutional prejudice because he was classified as one-quarter Aboriginal, while his wife was considered "native"... ...click here to go through to David Weber's piece in full @ ABC
Love is older than capitalism. But the romantic variety, along with its peculiar pains, takes cultural center stage just as capitalism makes its debut. That’s no coincidence. Capitalism and romantic love have grown together, reinforcing and reflecting each other in ways that we hardly notice…click here for piece in full @ free @AlterNet…
“Look, good morning cadet Australians. This is none other than me…me, your leader…all rise for the flag” said Tony Abbott.
“I’m starting this morning’s national assemblies schools address series with the thrilling news….the thrilling news, cadets, that Don Voelte AO…Don Voelte AO is to become…look…Chairman of new ABC INC…cadet Australian’s, Don’s legendary partnership with another great Australian, none other than Sir Pete Gammell d’Bush-Family- Hospitality, saw him appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Seven West Media Limited, circa June 2012. A loyal Australian tower of moral courage across our rugged colony…Don’s been a director of Seven West Media Limited, and prior to the formation of Seven West Media Limited, West Australian Newspapers Holdings Limited since December 2008…
…As you’ll know from your history books, significant experience in the global oil and gas industry is a prerequisite of leadership in our great colony…and, prior to his retirement in June 2011, Donny was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the legendary Woodside Petroleum Limited, a position he had held since joining the company in 2004, cadet Australians. Appropriate comunications are a hallmark of my Abbott administration and will stand our great colony in good…”
(TBC…)
Why, despite being one of the world’s wealthiest countries, is Australia unable to break the cycle of poverty? Al Jazeera:
http://aje.me/14P5foE
“According to surveys and reports, 2.2 million Australians live below the poverty line, while more than 600,000 children under 15 live in households where no one has a job.”
Beau Gann, welcome to EarthTalk.
It’s all good
Ok. Mr Gann, as you know, this interview is likely to be reaching planets that are not entirely familiar with your profession. Can you describe for our viewers and listeners a typical working day, in the “ore “sector, down there on planet Earth?
It’s all good
Erhm, let me rephrase. What’s it like to dig up iron ore…on an immense industrial scale… down there in the Pilbara region of Earth’s Australia?
It’s all good
OKkk, here at EarthTalk we’re across incontrovertible evidence that your planet is facing catastrophic climate change that is attributable to the activities of your area of work. Does what you do as an individual not impact upon your fragile planet…
It’s all good
Righty ho… Do you not have any qualms about what you’re doing?
It’s all good
Beau Gann, we’ll leave it there for now. Thanks for joining us on EarthTalk…
It’s all good
Well, viewers, that was Mr Gann, one of Earth’s leading ‘miners’. As we saw, he seemed reluctant to put his income source into any kind of global perspective – this trait has been a recurring theme of this series on ‘Earth: roles, incomes and the future’…
Just this January, deadly floods have devastated Queensland and we’ve had to add a new colour to the weather map as parts of Australia broke records reaching nearly 50 degrees. This could be the new normal, but the election has just been called and we have a chance to push our government to do much more to combat climate change.
It seems crazy, but taxpayers in Australia pay $1.7 billion every single year to fuel mega-mining machines. These gas guzzling trucks, diggers and bulldozers fry the planet. If we can close this huge loophole, we will save mountains of money and could force the richest companies in Australia to be more efficient with their fuel. Let’s end their fuel free ride. Treasurer Wayne Swan can strike this line from our national budget —sign the urgent petition below to urge him to act, then forward this email to everyone. When we reach 100,000 signers, Avaaz will set up a mining truck installation outside Parliament House to deliver our call to Swan’s front door:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/were_paying_for_the_floods/?bBdLddb&v=21656
Drought, fires, flooding, tornados; we’ve seen it all. Scientists predict that without more immediate actions, the temperature of the planet could rise by over 4 degrees before the end of the century. Sign the petition now, and then forward this email widely:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/were_paying_for_the_floods/?bBdLddb&v=21656
MORE INFORMATION:
Clean-up launched after deadly Australia floods (AFP)
http://au.news.yahoo.com/world/a/-/world/16026957/clean-up-launched-after-deadly-australia-floods/
Australia goes purple as temperatures soar off the charts (CBS)
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57562752/australia-goes-purple-as-temperature-goes-off-the-charts/
Billions spent on fossil fuel incentives (The Sydney Morning Herald)
http://www.smh.com.au/environment/billions-spent-on-fossil-fuel-incentives-20110228-1bbsn.html
G20 and fossil fuel subsidies (ACF)
http://www.acfonline.org.au/sites/default/files/resources/G20_fossil_fuel_subsidies_25-6-10.pdf
“The major energy-producing countries are still firmly under the control of the Western-backed dictatorships. So, actually, the progress made by the Arab Spring is limited, but it’s not insignificant. The Western-controlled dictatorial system is eroding. In fact, it’s been eroding for some time. So, for example, if you go back 50 years, the energy resources — the main concern of U.S. planners — have been mostly nationalized. There are constantly attempts to reverse that, but they have not succeeded…
….Take the U.S. invasion of Iraq, for example. To everyone except a dedicated ideologue, it was pretty obvious that we invaded Iraq not because of our love of democracy but because it’s maybe the second- or third-largest source of oil in the world, and is right in the middle of the major energy-producing region. You’re not supposed to say this. It’s considered a conspiracy theory…”
Alan Beresford B’Stard, MP.
Christopher Maurice Pyne, MP.
Der Spiegel is reporting that the European Union is seeking to increase the private sphere of its citizens by strengthening data protection laws for the web. Large Internet firms and lobbyists are fighting the plans. Here’s a snapshot of the debate in Brussels:
…if the EU’s draft privacy and data protection law isn’t changed, Gmail and Facebook may be forced to abandon their ad-supported models and start charging their customers in Europe or stop providing them with these popular services altogether…”
By Konrad Lischka and Christian Stöcker @ SPIEGEL (english lang… )
Current issue: February 2013
“LMD provides a cool, reasoned, different view of the world’s most pressing issues”
New York Review of Books
DAFOH Advisory Board:
Jacob Lavee, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Director of Heart Transplantation Unit, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, ISRAEL
J. Wallis Marsh, MD, Professor of Surgery, Specialist for Liver Transplantation, Pittsburgh, USA
Narinder Mehra, MD, Professor and Head of Department of Transplant Immunology & Immunogenetics (AIIMS), New Delhi, INDIA
Maria A. Fiatarone Singh, MD, FRACP, Professor of Medicine, John Sutton Chair of Exercise and Sport Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, AUSTRALIA
Eric Jay Goldberg, MD, Senior Medical Director, Shire Regenerative Medicine, La Jolla, USA
Ghazali Ahmad, MD, Senior Consultant and Head Department of Nephrology Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Chairman of National Renal Registry, Head of Nephrology Services, Ministry of Health, Kuala Lumpur, MALAYSIA
Julian Assange recently addressed the Oxford Union (UK) via videolink from the Ecuadorian Embassy, see earlier interpretOr post, and the accompanying audio (of his speech) via YouTube is currently muted. So, for the record, here is a synopsis of what was actually said (source: Oxford Union)
Julian Assange begins his address by saying that in 2007-08 he was looking at what was happening in Iran. He says that a lot of people did good work, especially Thomas Fingar in:Trying to correct the movement towards war with Iran based on lies.He says one of the worst modern deceptions of the western world happened only in 2003 where we went to war with Iraq based on lies where over 100, 000 people were killed and millions of Iraqi refugees displaced as a result.In 2008 WikiLeaks published Iraq's classified rules of engagement for the US army. In those rules there was a section that permitted a border skirmish to start up that allowed US troops to go into Iran under a variety of circumstances. Because of the leak Iran held a press conference saying that in no way are the US allowed into their territory. After this a second rules of engagement was published omitting the border skirmish. Between 20% and 50% of all wars have started as a result of these border skirmishes. 45 hostile military bases surrounds Iran's borders, because of this there is a constant fear of being invaded making for a very tense atmosphere in the country.He makes the point that WikiLeaks is not against intelligence agencies but mentions that corruption within intelligence agencies is born out of secrecy.Intelligence analysts mustn't be held responsible to the public through cultural bias but must be responsible to historical record.He mentions the WikiLeaks movie saying that it's a mass propaganda attack against the WikiLeaks organisation, also it fans the flames for war on Iran as is demonstrated in the opening scene of the film that is read out by Assange who has the script. The movie shows Iran as having an active nuclear program when intelligence reports have revealed in high confidence that this is not the case.Filmed on Wednesday 23rd January 2013
the interpretOr 