Truth Collective

Iran was on its way to establishing itself as an open democracy as well as a country that allowed its people to speak out (in some sense) and communicate freely (at least, far more than our friends in China), but recent moves by its government have thrown up great barriers in communication. The people have been stifled and what limited sense of expression they were allowed is being stripped away. There’s only so much they can do to stand up for themselves within their own borders without revolution; so people across the globe have been standing up for the rights of the Iranian people to communicate freely, but it seems this help isn’t without persecution: apparently a man in Ohio was attacked for providing proxies to Iranians to allow them to twitter.

This is a battle for freedom of communication in an age built almost entirely on communication. Reach out to the people of Iran, no matter your religious viewpoint, no matter the history of the country; its people deserve uncensored communication as much as anyone else.

I’ve read about a severely oppressed society, one that was fed information and facts that were pure propaganda. The people of the society allowed the oppression to evolve much too long without taking action against it resulting in thousands upon thousands of people who were all afraid to think or act outside the pretense laid in and around them. They let it get too far. It’s history was contrived as were stories about any nations and people outside its boundaries. In the mind of every individual was a singular face, one that was imprinted and could easily transcend time. This face was that of the one supreme overseer, a father of the entire nation. Am I speaking about North Korea Or Oceania, a fictitious nation depicted in George Orwell’s 1984–a book I read in high school. I can’t help but wonder in amazement as I survey the history of some nations whose regimes and social order resemble this: how could such a society ever allow itself to turn to this? What must its history be like?

I’ve heard plenty of stories about North Korea and its notorious Kim Jong Il, but I frankly had no idea it was on this level:

Dr. Becker writes:

“The Democratic Party is now fairly well united in the belief that governments frequently do better than private decision makers in both the economic and social spheres.

Similarly, the Republican Party under the leadership of Eisenhower and Reagan had a more consistent classical conservative philosophy of supporting private markets in the economy, little military involvement in other countries, and even little interference in social arrangements. Neither Eisenhower nor Reagan was particularly religious, and they did not have strong views about gays or abortion rights. The shift in the attitudes of the Republican Party toward more interventionist views on social issues, and to some extent also on military involvement to create more democratic governments in other countries, has created this crisis in conservatism. Better stated, it has created this crisis in the conservatism of the Republican Party.”

link.

There has been quite a bit of commentary in the media about Obama’s first 100 days (which apparently is a lot of time to get stuff done).  Many gave mixed reviews–the conclusion one reaches depends much on which policy fronts one deems most important and the relative change or lack of change in that area.  If you want more than the fair and balanced opinion, consider coming to your own conclusion based on what matters most to you.  The Institute for Policy Studies has published a comprehensive and very readable guide to Obama’s first 100, rating him a modest 7 out of 10 (5 is no change) overall.  Download the report here.

John B. Judis writes for FP:

“Socialism, once banished from polite conversation, has made a startling comeback. But what about socialism as a remedy for today’s crisis?

If you think of the Soviet Union or Cuba, socialism doesn’t have any relevance. But if you consider the Scandinavian countries, as well as Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, whose economies were shaped by socialist agitation, then another kind of socialism—call it “liberal socialism”—has a lot to offer.”

link to full article.

I’ve two things to talk about. They’re somewhat similar in that they could both very easily be mentioned in the same conversation without too many degrees of separation, but they’re quite different. Doesn’t matter, though. It’s my post.

Through the magic of Facebook, I noticed a friend posted an article from The Onion about the fickle state of mind of American citizens. So, of course, I had to pass this interesting article along. It’s The Onion, though, so don’t go and take it seriously like some other very special people. But I bet it’s not far from the truth! You want to read it now, don’t you?

Okay, this second bit is truer than the not so true first one I mentioned. On a serious note, and along similar lines (really), there’s plenty of corruption in our wonderful world to write stories about. This one comes at you from a friend of mine who lives in the Philippines, and is there any place more corrupt than that? Well, there are a few, but it’s definitely up there! Here we go:

So, say you’re living in a country that’s not one of the creative outlets of our modern world. You’re on your way to your favorite bookstore to see the newest shipment of books. That thrill you get to look upon the newest products of written creativity is simply overwhelming, isn’t it? Well, that’s too bad, because your local customs officials have decided to go against a 50 year treaty and claim that bookstores in your country, which get their shipments from other nations, have to pay a tremendous fee to get their books. That’s not so bad, right? “One bookstore had to pay $4,000 on a $10,000 shipment.” says the article. Yeah… ouch. And it’s all Twilight’s fault. Silly vampires [this link is just a tangent]. Read the article.