Mitt Romney: For the Record
23 Friday Sep 2011
Posted in Uncategorized
Monthly Archives: September 2011
…we are the real countries….
12 Monday Sep 2011
Posted in life, literature, love, media lizzy
Archaic literature needs translators, compelling authors and characters, to engage us. To touch our spirit, inspire our intellect, craft bridges between the Old World and ours, remind us of lessons learned in war and in peace. Michael Ondaatje’s remarkable gift for language and understanding of longing, passion, fear, betrayal and obsession – and their complicated relationship with diplomacy, governance – is unparalleled. Today marks his sixty-eighth birthday.
My favorite passage from Ondaatje’s exquisite repertoire:
“We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden in as if caves.
I wish for all this to be marked on by body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography – to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience.” — from The English Patient
—Media Lizzy
Thought for the day….
12 Monday Sep 2011
Posted in media lizzy
Tags
Ten Years Hence: The 2,996 – Justin Molisani
10 Saturday Sep 2011
Posted in 9/11, new york, September 11, terror, UBL, W, war on terror, world trade center, WTC
This piece was originally published in 2006.
This man is Justin J. Molisani, Jr. He was killed by Islamic terrorists on September 11th. Justin was Senior VP for Eurobrokers in Two World Trade Center. Every place I have looked for information about him tells the same story… good man, big guy, big heart – loved his wife and daughter more than words could say. He & his wife were hosts for the neighborhood Christmas Party. One of2,996 souls who were taken from their loved ones – and from America’s complicated and beautiful fabric.
New York Times: Portraits in Grief, Justin J. Molisani, Jr.
On September 11, 2001, Justin called his wife Jodi just after the first plane hit. His office was on the 82nd floor of Tower Two. After they hung up, Justin began evacuating his coworkers. Due to his efforts, about 80% of Eurobrokers employees escaped death by mere moments. His courage is one of so many examples of the courageous goodness in mankind. That he was an American, is our good fortune.
On Monday, all the Cable networks will show footage in real time of September 11, 2001. Some will stream the coverage in its entirety on their websites. Most will have some picture-in-picture stuff happening during the broadcasts. Newspapers have been sorting through photographs of that day, contemplating which to put on the front page.
President Bush will address the nation in prime time. America will grieve all over again. The memories for some have faded. For others, it will seem like yesterday. The sound of a loved one’s voice is harder to recall now. For others, it will be the first time they put an old home-video in the VCR… just to jar their memory. As a survivor, the burden to remember never fades. The words left unspoken wear on the tenuous connection we have to our past.
This weekend, remember Justin Molisani – and his wife Jodi, his daughter Morgan Lynn – in your prayers and thoughts. Gather your loved ones close, and raise a toast to this wonderful man. He was your brother too.
—Media Lizzy
Hypocrisy: Congo, China & America’s Next Move
07 Wednesday Sep 2011
Posted in africa, conflict minerals, Congo, corn lobby, media lizzy, obama
Tags
2012, barack, bush, cobalt, conflict minerals, Congo, democrat, drc, ethanol, food supply, genocide, GOP, media lizzy, obama, politics, sudan
Hypocrisy. There is little so distasteful, or so common, in modern political discourse as the politician who espouses one idea publicly while holding the opposite view privately.
Disingenuous. Another behavior that continues to find it’s way to Center Stage. In many ways, it is the spokesperson for Hypocrisy.
While both of those qualities are available in abundance, that does not mean they should be. Nor that we should tolerate or accept this behavior.
I don’t expect to agree with any candidate on every issue. I don’t care to. Ideological purity tests do not interest me. Demonstrate competence, intelligence, compassion and more than a passing affinity for the Constitution – and you’ve got my attention.
If concern for the environment is your big issue, fine. Let’s go there. (Ahem, Jon Huntsman and Gore supporters.) Let’s take care of our water. Our air. Recycle. Recognize that family farmers are often the best stewards of the land, what practices do they employ that can be translated elsewhere? As technology advances, so should we. Responsibly.
If you want me to drive a “green” car, that’s fine. Let’s agree at the outset that any electric vehicle should contain cobalt from ethically sourced mines. For that matter, any of the circuitry or other components should come from conflict-free sources. I am not going to jump into an electric car simply because you say it’s great for the environment. Maybe HERE in the United States it is – but not if the minerals come from Congo. Not if the minerals are the product of slave labor, systemic mass rapes and labor driven by a fear of auto-cannibalism or murder. Not if the minerals are strip mined in the heart of Congo, where the second largest rain forest in the world is compromised by China and other speculators.
Ethanol, then? Fine. Let’s talk about ethanol. I do not support fuel-grade corn subsidies. I do not support the production of fuel-grade corn at the expense of FOOD grade corn. I refuse to hop behind the wheel of an ethanol powered vehicle until the production of corn ethanol, or any bio-fuel, does not disrupt the food supply in Latin America where food grade maize shortages over the last few years are on the rise. Much like the cassava in Africa, maize is a primary food source for many people in Latin America. Unless the ethanol can be produced ethically, I am not getting behind the wheel of the car.
Natural gas? Perfect. Sign me up, as long as it comes from predominately domestic sources.
This brings me to oil. We have rich natural domestic resources. We should be intellectually honest here. Preserving our perfect little Stepford world at the expense of others, for “green” marketing schemes is anathema to the American Dream. We can be both green and ethical. Republicans need to work with Democrats. Engineers and innovators should look at resources available here, and how ethical investments abroad, will advance production.
If you want to beat China, get them where it hurts: on the wholesale side of their business. In the back of the house. Beat them at every turn. Resource exploration. Providing local jobs – under ethical circumstances. If you are a miner in Congo, do you want to be a slave or become a successful artisan miner with personal, financial and physical security. Do you want to have lots of folks buying your wares? Or just genocidal warlords that sell to China? Think about it.
President Obama has avoided any tangible success in the anti-genocide or human dignity arena. Corporate minded folks, like Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, fought divestment – or worse – were utterly indifferent to it. In Huntsman’s case, he implemented policies for both George W. Bush and Obama that appeased China. Wholesale and retail, Huntsman helped. Yes, he understands the Chinese very well. Goodie for him. That makes him all the more responsible for the acts China profits from. Conflict minerals. And petrol wealth from Sudan’s genocidal regime.
The door is wide open on this key aspect of foreign policy. We live in a world transformed, almost daily, by advances in technology. This is a time when America should be on the leading edge of developing whatever comes next. Ethically. Our policy should come from a place that evokes Emma Lazarus as much as it does Ben Franklin.
—Media Lizzy
