Modern libertarianism is the disguise adopted by those who wish to exploit without restraint. It pretends that only the state intrudes on our liberties. It ignores the role of banks, corporations and the rich in making us less free. It denies the need for the state to curb them in order to protect the freedoms of weaker people. This bastardised, one-eyed philosophy is a con trick, whose promoters attempt to wrongfoot justice by pitching it against liberty. By this means they have turned “freedom” into an instrument of oppression.

via This bastardised libertarianism makes ‘freedom’ an instrument of oppression | George Monbiot | The Guardian

A very refreshing and important viewpoint about how the word ‘freedom’ is so often misused to serve selfish aims and goals.

George Monbiot, the author has pretty impressive credentials!

Top 10 Greatest GOP Moments of 2011

The global war on drugs has “failed” according to a new report by a group of politicians and former world leaders.

The Global Commission on Drug Policy report calls for the legalisation of some drugs and an end to the criminalisation of drug users.

The panel includes former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, the former leaders of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, and the entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

…

The 19-member commission includes Mexico’s former President Ernesto Zedillo, Brazil’s ex-President Fernando Henrique Cardoso and former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria, as well as the former US Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker and the current Prime Minister of Greece George Papandreou.

The panel also features prominent Latin American writers Carlos Fuentes and Mario Vargas Llosa, the EU’s former foreign policy chief Javier Solana, and George Schultz, a former US secretary of state.

via BBC News – Global war on drugs ‘has failed’ say former leaders.

“But far from being a frail old gentleman, he appeared before the camera as spry, mischievous and articulate as the public had ever known him throughout a long career as a campaigner for various causes at odds with the establishment.”

The interview is in 3 parts on YouTube but I have combined them together in a playlist for easy viewing. It is a very entertaining interview and Lord Russell is a treat to watch and listen to. But the part that stays with you is right at the end – his last words. The interviewer asks him for some parting words addressed to a future generation and this is what he says,

“I should like to say two things, one intellectual and one moral. The intellectual thing I should want to say to them is this: When you are studying any matter, or considering any philosophy, ask yourself only “What are the facts? And what is the truth that the facts bear out?” Never let yourself be diverted either by what you wish to believe or by what you think could have beneficent social effects if it were believed. But look only and solely at what are the facts. That is the intellectual thing that I should wish to say.

The moral thing I should wish to say to them is very simple. I should say: Love is wise, hatred is foolish. In this world which is getting more and more closely inter-connected we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don’t like. We can only live together in that way and if we are to live together and not die together we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet.”

Prophetic words these! Unfortunately we have still not learnt this simple lesson.

James Richard Verone woke up June 9 with a sense of anticipation.

He took a shower.

Ironed his shirt.

Hailed a cab.

Then robbed a bank.

He wasn’t especially nervous. If anything, Verone said he was excited to finally execute his plan to gain access to free medical care.

via Bank robber planned crime and punishment | bank, richard, hailed – Gaston Gazette.

“On leaving the church they were surrounded by an angry mob and shoved off the street and into a park. They were surrounded for about seven hours, with pro-government supporters shouting insults. The women responded by staying on their feet, silently staring their opponents in the face.”

The Damas de Blanco (Ladies in White) of Havana, Cuba go to mass every Sunday wearing white dresses and then silently walk through the streets. This is their silent protest, not for or against any government or ideology or ruler, but simply to express their desire to be reunited with their husbands, sons, fathers, brothers, who were arrested and summarily tried and sentenced in 2003 by the Cuban government for their work with the Varela Project, a grassroots initiative to institute constitutional reforms and promote human rights in Cuba.

Varela Project organizer Oswaldo Paya:

None of those convicted in April 2003 was charged with using or having weapons, inciting violence or disorder, espionage, or any other crime. They were convicted for expressing their opinion, exercising free journalism, and promoting civic initiatives.

Cuba’s Black Spring and the Ladies in White – The Huffington Post

Their strategy and method of protest appear to be adopted from the famous Madres de Plaza de Mayo in Argentina who were demanding information on their missing sons from the military dictatorship that ruled the country. They have been immortalized in popular culture through songs such as Sting’s They Dance Alone and U2′s Mothers of the Disappeared.

“Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.
…
Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you.”

Thomas Jefferson

I was reading a letter Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States (and probably one of the greatest) wrote to his nephew in 1787. Amongst other things, he talks to him about religion. The lines above are an excerpt. The full version is below.

Religion. Your reason is now mature enough to examine this object. In the first place, divest yourself of all bias in favor of novelty & singularity of opinion. Indulge them in any other subject rather than that of religion. It is too important, and the consequences of error may be too serious. On the other hand, shake off all the fears & servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. You will naturally examine first, the religion of your own country. Read the Bible, then as you would read Livy or Tacitus. The facts which are within the ordinary course of nature, you will believe on the authority of the writer, as you do those of the same kind in Livy & Tacitus. The testimony of the writer weighs in their favor, in one scale, and their not being against the laws of nature, does not weigh against them. But those facts in the Bible which contradict the laws of nature, must be examined with more care, and under a variety of faces. Here you must recur to the pretensions of the writer to inspiration from God. Examine upon what evidence his pretensions are founded, and whether that evidence is so strong, as that its falsehood would be more improbable than a change in the laws of nature, in the case he relates. For example, in the book of Joshua, we are told, the sun stood still several hours. Were we to read that fact in Livy or Tacitus, we should class it with their showers of blood, speaking of statues, beasts, &c. But it is said, that the writer of that book was inspired. Examine, therefore, candidly, what evidence there is of his having been inspired. The pretension is entitled to your inquiry, because millions believe it. On the other hand, you are astronomer enough to know how contrary it is to the law of nature that a body revolving on its axis, as the earth does, should have stopped, should not, by that sudden stoppage, have prostrated animals, trees, buildings, and should after a certain time gave resumed its revolution, & that without a second general prostration. Is this arrest of the earth’s motion, or the evidence which affirms it, most within the law of probabilities? You will next read the New Testament. It is the history of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite pretensions: 1, of those who say he was begotten by God, born of a virgin, suspended & reversed the laws of nature at will, & ascended bodily into heaven; and 2, of those who say he was a man of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions to divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition, by being gibbeted, according to the Roman law, which punished the first commission of that offence by whipping, & the second by exile, or death in fureâ. See this law in the Digest Lib. 48. tit. 19. §. 28. 3. & Lipsius Lib 2. de cruce. cap. 2. These questions are examined in the books I have mentioned under the head of religion, & several others. They will assist you in your inquiries, but keep your reason firmly on the watch in reading them all.

Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, & that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement; if that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a God, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love. In fine, I repeat, you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject anything, because any other persons, or description of persons, have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness of the decision. I forgot to observe, when speaking of the New Testament, that you should read all the histories of Christ, as well of those whom a council of ecclesiastics have decided for us, to be Pseudo-evangelists, as those they named Evangelists. Because these Pseudo-evangelists pretended to inspiration, as much as the others, and you are to judge their pretensions by your own reason, and not by the reason of those ecclesiastics. Most of these are lost. There are some, however, still extant, collected by Fabricius, which I will endeavor to get & send you.

This one’s from my midnight web-browsing files!

Found it here…

First up – Google pays tribute to the Apostle of Peace through this Google Doodle which appears on the Google India and Google UK pages.

Next, Obama, on the way to Copenhagen, issued a special message of commemoration for the occasion.

“On behalf of the American people, I want to express appreciation for the life and lessons of Mahatma Gandhi on the anniversary of his birth. This is an important moment to reflect on his message of non-violence, which continues to inspire people and political movements across the globe.”

Obama’s admiration for Gandhi is well-known. During the run-up to last year’s Presidential Election, it was revealed that he had a portrait of the Mahatma at his Senate Office. Also recently, when he was asked by a 9th grader at the Wakefield High School, Arlington, Virginia, about who he would chose if he could have dinner with anyone, dead or alive, his answer was,

I think that it might be Gandhi, who is a real hero of mine. Now, it would probably be a really small meal because — (laughter) — he didn’t eat a lot. But he’s somebody who I find a lot of inspiration in. He inspired Dr. King, so if it hadn’t been for the non-violent movement in India, you might not have seen the same non-violent movement for civil rights here in the United States. He inspired César Chávez, and he — and what was interesting was that he ended up doing so much and changing the world just by the power of his ethics, by his ability to change how people saw each other and saw themselves — and help people who thought they had no power realize that they had power, and then help people who had a lot of power realize that if all they’re doing is oppressing people, then that’s not a really good exercise of power.

In today’s message he speaks about America’s debt to the Mahatma (“Americans owe an enormous measure of gratitude to the Mahatma.”), especially for the inspiration for the non-violent Civil Rights Movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. King had this to say on All India Radio on March 9, 1959 during his month-long visit to India, which affected him “in a profound way, deepening his understanding of non-violent resistance and his commitment to America’s struggle for civil rights” (Wikipedia),

May I also say that, since being in India, I am more convinced than ever before that the method of non-violent resistance is the most potent weapon available to oppressed people in their struggle for justice and human dignity. In a real sense, Mahatma Gandhi embodied in his life certain universal principles that are inherent in the moral structure of the universe, and these principles are as inescapable as the law of gravitation.

To continue with the tributes, here are some of my favourite remarks and observations on Gandhi made by other global figures.

To start off, here is Einstein‘s observations on Gandhi. I love the last bit – “a man who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being, and thus at all times risen superior“.

“A leader of his people, unsupported by any outward authority; a politician whose success rests not upon craft nor mastery of technical devices, but simply on the convincing power of his personality; a victorious fighter who has always scorned the use of force; a man of wisdom and humility, armed with resolve and inflexible consistency, who has devoted all his strength to the uplifting of his people and the betterment of their lot; a man who has confronted the brutality of Europe with the dignity of the simple human being, and thus at all times risen superior.”

Romain Rolland, the French author, was acutely aware how Gandhi, a non-Christian lived the ideals of Christ more than any Christian ever.

“Gandhi is not only for India a hero of national history, whose legendary memory will be enshrined in the millennial epoch. Gandhi has renewed, for all the peoples of the West, the message of their Christ, forgotten or betrayed.”

Dr. King recognized this as well.

“Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale.”

Lord Richard Attenborough, the director of Gandhi, quotes the Mahatma himself in order to explain the essence of the Mahatma’s message of non-violence.

“When asked what attribute he most admired in human nature, Mahatma Gandhi replied, simply and immediately, ‘Courage’. ‘Nonviolence’, he said, ‘is not to be used ever as the shield of the coward. It is the weapon of the brave.”

And finally Edward R. Murrow, an American radio newsman, reporting from the Mahatma’s funeral, sums up his life thus,

The object of this massive tribute died as he had always lived – a private man without wealth, without property, without official title or office. Mahatma Gandhi was not the commander of great armies nor a ruler of vast lands. He could not boast any scientific achievement or artistic gift. Yet men, governments and dignitaries from all over the world have joined hands today to pay homage to this little brown man in the loincloth who led his country to freedom. In the words of General George C. Marshall, the American Secretary of State, “Mahatma Gandhi had become the spokesman for the conscience of all mankind. He was a man who made humility and simple truth more powerful than empires.” And Albert Einstein added, “Generations to come, it may be, will scarce believe that such one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth.”

The last words, where he quotes Einstein, are well-known. Einstein had got it right, it seems, about how difficult it will be for people in the future to believe that there was such a man in our midst, and it did not take too many generations either.

And to end tonight I present an article that the famous novelist George Orwell wrote for Partisan Review in January, 1949. In his own words, Orwell was no fan of Gandhi. He says quite frankly, “I have never been able to feel much liking for Gandhi”. But in an unbiased, rational analysis of the man even he admits, ”His character was an extraordinarily mixed one, but there was almost nothing in it that you can put your finger on and call bad, and I believe that even Gandhi’s worst enemies would admit that he was an interesting and unusual man who enriched the world simply by being alive.”

“One may feel, as I do, a sort of aesthetic distaste for Gandhi, one may reject the claims of sainthood made on his behalf (he never made any such claim himself, by the way), one may also reject sainthood as an ideal and therefore feel that Gandhi’s basic aims were anti-human and reactionary: but regarded simply as a politician, and compared with the other leading political figures of our time, how clean a smell he has managed to leave behind!”

“They have the right to ignore me.
But I too have the right not to vote for them to represent me.
My vote is not a gift. I cast my vote with a hope that they will fight for me and for people like me.
Yes, one vote from one woman probably means nothing.
But they should remember: In Indonesia, there are millions of us and we all can think.”