SHAME: US is Screwing Over Iraqis who Helped Us

I am ashamed to be an American today.  I learned about TheListProject.org. 

Synopsis: Iraqis who helped US in Iraq during and after the war have put themselves in danger and are now being murdered in Iraq, because US failed to protect them or take them in as refugees.  US had a moral obligation, went through the motions (senate passed a law allocating 25,000 visas), but…

The machine that should have allowed people to immigrate failed. 

Example: a guy worked as a forklift operator, attempted to immigrate as a refugee, provided US Immigration everything needed, had the American company he worked for vouch for him, and yet the system dragged the process on failing to adequately handle his case.  He started the process on June 28th, 2011.  Around June 2012, he was murdered. (source: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/takingnames/)

Teaching Framework for Developing Countries

Idea: create a framework through which people in the developing countries could learn something and teach others.  First application may be teaching/learning art-related things.  However, could be applied to any field.  Art may be one of the classes that would provide more of a pleasant feedback.

Purpose:

• create an opportunity for people to develop themselves without immediate financial compensation
• create an opportunity for the best artist to break out into the international art scene when a skillset they possess might not be immediately useful to the community

Musings: politics

Sometimes thoughts just click… Just posted the following to http://www.uspoliticsonline.com

“IMHO, the US has just as much ignorance as any other place. Just like in any democratic country in Europe, people tend to brew in groups choosing feel-good literature that resonates with their point of view.

Ask most Americans why they like/hate George Bush and you will get the same answer you’ll get from most Europeans: an emotional outpour completely devoid of economic or political perspective/context.”

http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=492358&postcount=221

And another post that was a reply to a Bush = Hitler comparison:

“May be I am wrong, but it seems to me a great ignorance to equate Bush and his cabinet to the likes of Hitler.

Bush+friends: elected leaders in a decentralized government structure under constant scrutiny from the outside as well as from within. The closest he comes to violating human rights at home is abortion issues and, perhaps, the presumed stupidity he subjects his voters to during his speeches. The US, even to the most critical of eyes, was a stable economic powerhouse.

Hitler+friends: centralized government, engaged in gross human-rights violations inside his own country as well as outside, head of a country in an economically and politically volatile time period.

Everything else to be said about legality can be derived from the statement above. I agree that we have to pay attention to what’s going on, but let’s be reasonable here.”

http://www.uspoliticsonline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=492354&postcount=100

Can’t wait for eDebate to come to life… damn bugs and no time to weed them out.

Politics: my position on Bush’s foreign policy.

Last Updated: 02.11.2005 – 2:35 AM – THIS ARTICLE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!!

First off, for me everything comes down to one question: “what will minimize suffering in the short/mid/long term?”

Consequently, while the answer to the above question seems to me to align with the political right, my interest lies SOLELY with the desire to understand: I am open to changing my position as, quite possibly, my present understanding may be incorrect. This issue is too important for egos to play any role in the formation of one’s opinion.

Also, I do know that much of what is here may sound like right-wing rhetoric, but please, if there is something that is obviously wrong, point it out to me, and I will change my view to take your comments into account.

Having said that, the following is how I perceive our world:

Context:

All countries are somewhere between Western and non-Western.

• The Western countries have decentralized capitalist democratic governments
• The non-Western countries are ruled by centralized elites having totalitarian control

Most are somewhere inbetween, but it’s safe to say that most are significantly closer to one of the above.