Thoughts of a Bear

"…when you go to war, you assume that the lives of people in another country are not as valuable as the lives of your own countrymen. If we really believe, as our most fundamental moral principles demand we believe, that the children in other countries have as much right to live as our children, then we must refuse the call to war. It is time, by public demand, by general outcry, to end “the scourge of war.” The best thing we can do for Veterans Day is to pledge: “No more war veterans."

Howard Zinn (via vaginawoolf)

(via loveyourchaos)

worldteahouse:

GINGER MATCHA (green tea) LATTE

steep 1 tsp of ginger root in 1/2 cup of boiling water for 5 minutes

put in 3 matcha scoops (3/4 tsp) of matcha in steeped water

steam 1/2 cup of milk and pour into matcha/ginger brew

stir, garnish with matcha powder if desired

wildfood:

Pineapple!

via micahtcollins

Found this photo so striking and beautiful. I had no idea this is what pineapple farming looks like!

fyeahafrica:

Drought does not necessarily lead to famine: The catastrophe in Somalia was man-made.

Minneapolis, Minnesota - Several months ago, I wrote an essay entitled “Genocidal Politics and the Somali Famine”. It appears that the coordinator of the UN’s Monitoring Committee for Somalia agrees with the essay’s proposition that nature is not to blame and that powerful human actors are responsible for the catastrophe.

The coordinator of the Monitoring Group recently published an article in which he claimed that the Somali famine is not only a catastrophe, but that identifiable individuals and groups engaged in the production of the famine and therefore have committed crimes against humanity. This bold statement by the coordinator of the Monitoring Group demands careful assessment.  

It has been common wisdom for decades that droughts do not by themselves lead to famines, and the cause of the latter is the failure by national and international authorities to take action long before people run out of food. There have been 10 major droughts over the last 50 years in the Horn of Africa in general, and in Somalia in particular.

The evidence gleaned from this climatic record show that most droughts did not produce famine.

For instance, the first famine in Somalia since independence occurred in 1991/2, when roaming gangs destroyed or looted peasant harvests and then warlords used food as a weapon against hapless people. Today’s famine is similarly a consequence of the (in)actions of several Somali and international actors.  

I partly agree with the coordinator’s assessment that this is a man-made famine and, therefore, that those responsible have committed crimes against humanity. However, my disagreement with his claim is that he only offers a partial list of the perpetrators by ignoring some of the major culprits, while accusing others who had nothing to do with the making of the famine.

There is a general agreement that something went horribly wrong in southern Somalia for thousands of people to die of starvation and for hundreds of thousands to be in grave risk of perishing. The coordinator of the Monitoring Group points his finger at the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and al-Shabaab as the principle culprits that precipitated the famine. Consequently, he recommends that these two Somali actors should be hauled to the International Criminal Court (ICC) to account for “their crimes against humanity”.

(continue reading)

Abdi Ismail Samatar is a Professor of Geography at the University of Minnesota and a research fellow at the University of Pretoria.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

submitted by http://cafunee.tumblr.com/

(Source: , via loveyourchaos)

A little bit of love, resistance and political activism

In this post I wanted to discuss political engagement. I think it is something that is missing from so many peoples’ lives an it’s difficult to be thoughtful and engaged citizens all of the time. Even as a student who, for the past five years, has been learning about political issues on a daily basis, I have never been to a protest or written a letter to any level of government and I have never even volunteered for a party during an election campaign. And it can be overwhelming keeping up with all the news that is happening out there. The amount of information is infinite, and it’s intimidating. Sometimes I honestly feel I am a terrible and lazy political science student, but over the years I have come to develop my own notions about politics, my own goals, and my own forms of activism.

 By definition politics is about the struggle for power. The who, what, where, when, why, and how of power. This can be the power that is possessed by the ruling political party of a country, the government, or even the power differences between a man and a woman. All relationships are political. However, something else my favorite university teacher taught me is that politics is fundamentally about human psychology. Every decision, every person’s perspective on an issue or their reaction in a certain situation is based on their experiences and the chemistry in their brains. Politics is about the differences between individuals and between groups of people; how we can best live peacefully with those differences.

Take radio for example. I love radio and choose to work in it because I enjoy it and am good at it, but also because it has an inherent ability to bring people together; to create a sense of community.  I have met so many people working in radio, extremely genuine people who, despite the fact that we hardly know each other, are very kind and open. Radio is a very local form of media. While it is about providing the community with local information, it also about sharing stories and about human interaction. This to me working in radio is a form of political action.

                Not all political action is harmonious and loving though. An extremely important concept to learn in politics is the simple phrase “Where there is power, there is resistance.” The state is never the only thing that exercises political power. For example, many fashion trends used to be political statements made against the mainstream. Tattoos and piercing used to be a form of resistance and opposition.

 My relationship with my best friend puzzled me for quite some time. We have substantial differences in our beliefs and values and I sometimes wondered if I betrayed my own beliefs and values through the relationship. I was in a Feminist Theory class last year and we talked about media adds targeting women, about what kind of messages they give, what does being a woman mean, how if femininity socially constructed. My best friend is exactly that girl we were talking about; she doesn’t think about the mainstream depictions of women and buys into everything she is sold. But I realized just because she doesn’t hold all the same beliefs I do, doesn’t mean we cannot be friends. In fact, I have learnt a very valuable lesson from this relationship. It’s actually a very positive thing that we can have such difference and still respect and care for one another. One thing that was not taught in my Feminist Theory class, was that women need to love other women. Girls especially are quick to judge one another. I am no different if I degrade other girls because they choose to wear makeup all the time, and I choose not to. My relationship with my best friend is something I consider a form of resistance. There are things in life that we are expected to do, whether it’s dying our hair or forming our relationships. In any situation when we stop and think and discover the ways our decisions are affected by the outside world, this is a form of political resistance.

So even if we aren’t all the poster-child for political activism, I urge you to think about your own ways you try and make a difference in your day to day life. What your goals may be, whether they are using all local ingredients for supper tonight, or working to strengthen your community.

Helen, Auntie Cheryl and Nagymama

Like all “foodies” Thanks Giving is my favorite holiday. But I have more on my mind than food lately. I don’t mean to be cliché and mundane and bore you with the “this-is-what-I-am-so-thankful-for” sappy story, but I want to express my gratefulness for the powerful and exceptional women that are in my life. This post is dedicated to three very different, all equally strong and inspirational woman.

Helen: I met Helen through my work at the radio station. She’s one of our loyal listeners that comes out every weekend to visit when I am on site at different events around the community. My position is called the “Events Cruiser”. I’m the face of the station that gets to go around and check out the fun things that are happening and talk to people, give free stuff away, that kind of thing. I’ve known Helen for over a year now and our relationship has developed into more than the formal “Hi, how are you” greeting I say to everyone when I’m working with the public. Helen has become a second mom. She’s been through a lot of health problems, has had multiple surgeries since I’ve known her, and one of her sons is struggling with his health as well. I’ve never once seen Helen down or angry or complain about anything at all. She talks to every person with sincerity and kindness. And she talks to everyone. I mean, this woman could do my job better than I could. The best though is her sense of humor.  I have never heard a more bold and unrestricted laugh. She throws her head back and lets out the mightiest cackle.  No matter what her day brings she enjoys every minute. I have learned from Helen one of the most important things: To be unapologetically true to yourself, be fearless, and I can’t put it any other way than “Just don’t give a fuck.”

Auntie Cheryl: As much as I try and live my life to be truest to myself, sometimes I am a nervous wreck. Auntie Cheryl intimidates the HELL out of me. I can’t help but feel complete admiration for this woman. We’ve had long, long conversations about politics, religion, love, our families, our past relationships, everything. I got to go on a summer road trip with her this past August to Montana. She told me, “I want to drive down to Montana to meet some real cowboys and republicans.” A month later she was outside my front door in her two-seater convertible with a bottle of bubbly and we were on our way. I was nervous, fretting that we hadn’t planned anything. On our ferry ride to Port Angeles we realize we probably should have taken a different ferry. We ate fried chicken and raspberry chocolate wine for dinner. I am the biggest health freak ever, so when I don’t get my daily fruits and veggies, I get cranky. I hate uncertainty, I like everything planned and managed and thought through and rationalized. While academics has exposed me to so many things about the world, now I have a tendency to over think everything, and it makes the tiniest things far too complex. Cheryl and that trip taught me how to let go. I have become biased against salads and the health craze because we all need to remember to live a little. It’s okay to get lost. On our road trip we ended up having to take a massive detour down a gravel road. Auntie Cheryl said to me, when you’re not completely focused on getting to your destination you enjoy things so much more, kind of like life too.

Nagymama: This is the word for Grandmother in Hungarian. My dear, beautiful grandmother. Unlike my unmarried, highly educated and successful auntie, my nagymama lives an extremely traditional lifestyle. It’s been very, very difficult to overcome this difference. She does all the cooking and cleaning for my grandpa. He never even lifts a dish and complains when their traditional Hungarian suppers don’t have the exact right amount of salt. Oh boy. The feminist inside me wants to rage. At first, I didn’t even pity my nagymama, I resented her.  How could she be so stupid? She must be stupid. It infuriated me. While Helen maintains a contagious humor towards every circumstance she faces, my nagymama would sit politely and serve her misfortune tea.  She would not say one word because women are not supposed to question things and voice their opinions. I have watched my nagymama struggle, I have listened to her heavy sighs at the end of an entire day in the kitchen. Although our attitudes towards life sits on opposite extremes, my nagymama’s strength is remarkable. She is there for me in a heartbeat.  No matter what she has on her list of things to do, between ironing my grandpa’s clothes and taxing her friends around who cannot drive, she always has time to serve me a bowl of homemade soup for lunch. Her unselfishness has taught me that sometimes in life we need to put all the differences aside, all the frustrations aside and just love people. We all need to make sacrifices; however, those sacrifices can turn out to be so enriching and healthy.

Tucked Inside with Rain and Wind Outside my Window

Well, it’s been a few weeks since my introductory post. I’ve been brainstorming my next post, trying to get stuff out on the page and to be honest blogging is not as easy as it seems. The main theme that has been on my mind for my second post is the time of year. The summer and its warmness have left and it is once again September with October right around the corner. As a political science student I realize I should have been thinking about 9/11, Palestine and its bid for statehood to the UN Security Council, and a long list of other substantial world events that are occuring. While I browse these headlines daily, the change in seasons stirs something greater inside me. The strong winds and vibrant colors mirror the thoughts engendered in my head. It’s a feeling hard to describe that I can only phrase in a somewhat ambiguous, over simplistic way: human.

Now, the only way for me to explain what I mean by human is through an off topic, long and complex example. Troy Davis was executed in the state of Georgia this weekend. He was sentenced to the death penalty for committing a murder, despite a number of the eye-witnesses retracting their statements against him and no physical evidence proving he murdered anyone. To say the least it is a very sad and aggrevating case. I read an article written by a journalist who has been covering the Troy Davis trial for over a decade. She witnessed his death at the state prison. The journalist, Joann Merrigan, wrote a long, heartfelt description of the confusion and horror she felt.  She writes “And then the warden pronounced him dead at 11:08 p.m. by saying “the lawful execution of Troy Anthony Davis has been carried out by the state of Georgia.” This sentence threw me off as I was reading. In the middle of her beautiful and terrible piece about another human being’s death, the law had reduced it all to that one single sentence. It felt so meaningless after all the questions and emotions she described. One question she posed especially struck me: “I wondered about love and grief and why some people have more than their share and why others who are lucky are often stupid about their good fortune.”  

So, how does this relate to the changing seasons? Well, I think fall has the ability to ground us. As a “foodie” I associate the change in seasons with a change to the menu rather than flipping the calendar page. The bounty of summer is gone; the water melon and peaches and strawberries have long disappeared from the tips of our tongues. During fall, we are forced to look around us, see what is there. It’s been one of those weeks where I’ve taken everything out of my closet and for the first time in years have actually been aware of what is in my house. It’s a feeling of rootedness, of connection, and for myself the feeling of being human.

While the shift from summer to fall is always a little depressing, it is also uplifting. There comes with it a sense of renewal and growth.  An appreciation for what we have.

A Little About Me

Thanks for following my blog! To tell you a bit about myself, my name is Alexandra. I have a few addictions which will probably become apparent. These include political issues, the news, and cooking/growing food. Tea is included in the food category as well.  I wake up in the morning, listen to and read the news (at the same time sometimes), go to school to study political science, and then come home and cook huge, tasty dinners (which I also consider political because I am one of those overly-aware-of-everything-I-buy people). In between this routine, I work at a radio station part-time. The thing I enjoy most about my work is talking to people. I live my life somewhat like a sponge. I absorb everything, learning everywhere I go and from the people that I meet and talk to. My degree has fueled much of this desire to learn as I have come to realize how massive, how different and how fluid human beings and the world are. And that, is really exciting.

Despite my training throughout university to look at the world and all of its complexities, I have a tattoo on my back of the word ‘Simplicity’. Happiness has perplexed me occasionally, and I have arrived at the conclusion that happiness comes from within. It is not a measurement of whether we are living ideal lives, but an expression of who we are as people. For example, picking fresh herbs is something that brings me happiness. Or making a fresh cup of watermelon-ginger juice in the summer, which you can do by putting watermelon and freshly grated ginger in a blender. It’s the simple, everyday things which create happiness in my life. But the wide world is out there waiting, and I won’t spend every day talking about the rosemary I got from the tree down the street. This blog is another way I am attempting to engage with the world, learn new things from others, and also explore all the buzzing thoughts that are in my head as I begin my journey as a university student emerging from five years of reading, thinking, and writing, reading, thinking, and writing. Now I can do that without paying money and worrying about getting a measly B!  

I hope you enjoy my ventures in random, interesting things!