(日本語の要約下)
U.S. military bases are a focal point for local and global social justice issues. Recently, military spending has also become an important domestic financial issue. Most lawmakers refuse to consider reforming defense spending, even though it accounts for one of the highest shares of the national deficit. Consider some of the financial and political implications of U.S. bases:
Video by RTAmerica.
The issues sparked by foreign bases are examined in this 2007 Alternet article (http://www.alternet.org/story/47998), reprinted from Chalmers Johnson's "Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic"(Metropolitan Books).
Some might object that the above media have a decided political bias. However, the spending debate about bases is beginning to enter into the mainstream. Representatives Ron Paul and Dennis Kucinich are both calling for a reduction of foreign bases in Japan on financial grounds: http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/2-congressmen-call-for-pullout-of-u-s-forces-from-japan (Article reposted at http://peacephilosophy.blogspot.com/2011/02/kyodo-news-2-congressmen-us-troops-out.html...initially received it through their Tweet. Thanks Peace Philosophy Center and Twitter!) Although some might argue that Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul are fringe political figures, their attention on this issue indicates a consensus between the the far left and far right on military spending. Despite their rhetoric, classifying either of them as radical or reactionary is also mistaken, as they operate within the narrow line of electability in American national politics.
As the video indicates, foreign military bases are symbols of America's international power and influence. One can easily argue that the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Vietnam war, the Iraq war and current base issues are all examples of the USA flexing its military muscles on the world stage to advance its economic agenda. Anyone care to debate this assertion? Post comments! :)
Regardless of one's political allegiances, defense reform needs to be a major issue in the upcoming budget debates. Americans need to put pressure on the Obama administration and congress to take a serious look at our out-of-control military spending policies. See a future post on "efficiency" for more on making defense reform a political reality.
（本当に下手な日本語で、ごめんなさい。読んで、直していただきたいです！）
米軍基地は国内外社会的正義の問題の焦点です。最近米軍予算は重大な国内財政でもあります。財政赤字の大部分は防衛予算が占めているにもかからわず、ほとんどの議員が米防衛予算の改変を考えていない。米軍基地の財政・政治的影響について考えてみましょう：
Video by RTAmerica.
Alternetよりこの問題の記事が2007に出ってきました。(http://www.alternet.org/story/47998), チャマーズ・ジョンサンより"Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic"(Metropolitan Books)復刻版.
上記のメディアは差別があるというと、二人のアメリカ国会議員は最近沖縄の米軍基地に反対することを言いました：http://www.japantoday.com/category/politics/view/2-congressmen-call-for-pullout-of-u-s-forces-from-japan この記事はカナダのPeace Philosophy Centerのブログで初めて読みました。（実はツィッターで記事のリンクを見ました。）この団体は日本語と英語で米軍基地など日米関係問題平和活動について記事をよく出っています。ありがとう！
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Join the Protest in Support of Takae!
Join the protest on 2/20 to demand the stop of the construction of the U.S. military helipads in Takae, Okinawa!
English call to action (look for English below the Japanese):
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/hansentoteikounofesta09/20110127
If you can't join the protest in Tokyo, please write a letter to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Blog Update
Thanks to all who have read this blog. As I reflect on my original intention and what this blog has become, I would like to recover my original purpose with a few new new media tactics. I realize the blog has become a repository for my progressive media activities. I would be proud to call it liberal media, and in fact I am happy to disclose my bias as a blogger seeking radical Truth, which transcends all political labels.
I'd like to return to my original idea to distinguish posts as consumed media, produced media and reflection through the use of logos.
consumed media.
produced media reflectionI designed the images myself (haha) long ago and haven't been using them. I think they will be helpful designations for readers who would prefer only to read mindful reflection, rather than getting a deluge of consumed media, or vice versa.
Second, I am getting on Twitter! After seeing what a powerful tool it can be for activists it Iran, Tunisia and Egypt, I think it is finally time for me to use it mindfully. I was skeptical of Twitter at the beginning. In fact I thought it was dumb. ("Tweets!? Sounds dirty or something.") But I also knew in 2009 when Twitter came to my attention, that I would inevitably end up using it at some point. I think now is the time. Follow me @bking47!
Now that I'm on Twitter, I will use this as my major activist media forum - to spread information about the causes I find important. Hopefully, this will satisfy friends who have noticed the increasing seriousness of my politically oriented facebook posts. (I will probably still post politically on FB, but I'll try to keep it light, fun and bubbly.) Facebook = friends. Twitter = activism.
Getting the News from Egypt
Congratulations to the people of Egypt who changed their government through largely nonviolent protest! They are an inspiration to the world.
This is a reflective post about the way I have been getting news and information about Egypt.
My main source of news has been NPR. Listening to All Things Considered, On The Media, Fresh Air and occasionally the hourly news updates, I learned about the protests from well-trained journalists and experts. Most of the interviews on these shows were with academics or people who have had direct experience in Egypt. Accessible interviews with scholars are one of the things I value most about NPR. I think our tax dollars should certainly support this important form of news analysis distribution. (Please sign the petition at http://pol.moveon.org/nprpbs/?rc=fb.taf.alt.5 if you agree.)
Democracy Now! has also had intensive live coverage of the events. I tuned into the program a couple times this past week to get up to date information and listen to interviews with experts. Senior Producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous gave reports from a studio near Tahrir Square. Though I didn't tune into any live video, I think Democracy Now! was webcasting live from Cairo.
Similarly, Al Jazeera English had a live video-feed from Tahrir Square through its website. I'm tuned there now. They are analyzing the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and reading Tweets.
Yesterday, I went to the New York Times website to look up an arts and culture review, and I was sidetracked by an article on the latest news from Egypt.
This morning, I turned on my TV, which is almost always tuned to Channel 1, NHK. This is where I heard of Mubarak's resignation (辞任). After some local news and the weather, the broadcast turned to an analysis of the events in Egypt. With a table discussion of journalists and Egypt experts, they discussed Mubarak's resignation and the events of the past three weeks. One reporter explained the role of facebook in the revolution using a cartoonish diagram in the shape of a pyramid with hieroglyphic-type symbols. (Charts and graphs like this are typical of Japanese TV and news.)
On gmail, my friend's status read "LOVE TO THE EGYPTIANS!" I chatted her, and she sent me a website with translated protest signs from the revolution. She found it on a friend's facebook site, and my partner told me she was getting most of her news about Egypt from friends' facebook posts.
The importance of the events in Egypt and the quality of the media coverage of the revolution gave me pause to stop and think about where I get my information. These sources generally confirmed and corroborated the basic facts of one another, and I took comfort in receiving mostly valid information from these well-established news organizations. The images from each source, however, differed slightly. For example, Democracy Now! showed graphic images of the wounded. They also featured an extended speech in English by a physician who had been at the forefront of the protests and was encouraging his fellow demonstrators to proceed fearlessly. NHK had images and voices of individual protesters, who appeared mostly angry to me, but the commentators said, "They look so happy, don't they?" (嬉しそうですね！）(Am I socialized as an American to find images of Arab mobs scary and angry? I'm no Islamaphobe, but I should be aware of my own social conditioning. I really did find the people's facial expressions angry, even if they were voicing their happiness and excitement about Mubarak's resignation.) The image which will stick with me for a long time is the overhead view of Tahrir square overflowing with protestors. The website of translated protest signs featured portrait-like images of the signs and people holding them. I was struck by the variety of faces, from a cosmopolitan-looking young woman with a headscarf and sunglasses to a middle-aged man with a dark, wizened face, a lazy eye and several scars. The images of "cool" young Egyptians taking pictures with their cell phones and gathering in the streets also seemed to predominate many of the Western sources I tuned into.
Finally, the languages of the coverage also caught my attention. Most of the media from NPR, Democracy Now! and the New York Times was in English, including interviews with protestors and experts. There was little or no Arabic. NHK, however, used footage of the protestors speaking in Arabic with translated subtitles in Japanese. These are some of my observation about how these various media sources painted the story with their own news-brand's shade of truth.
This is a reflective post about the way I have been getting news and information about Egypt.
My main source of news has been NPR. Listening to All Things Considered, On The Media, Fresh Air and occasionally the hourly news updates, I learned about the protests from well-trained journalists and experts. Most of the interviews on these shows were with academics or people who have had direct experience in Egypt. Accessible interviews with scholars are one of the things I value most about NPR. I think our tax dollars should certainly support this important form of news analysis distribution. (Please sign the petition at http://pol.moveon.org/nprpbs/?rc=fb.taf.alt.5 if you agree.)
Democracy Now! has also had intensive live coverage of the events. I tuned into the program a couple times this past week to get up to date information and listen to interviews with experts. Senior Producer Sharif Abdel Kouddous gave reports from a studio near Tahrir Square. Though I didn't tune into any live video, I think Democracy Now! was webcasting live from Cairo.Similarly, Al Jazeera English had a live video-feed from Tahrir Square through its website. I'm tuned there now. They are analyzing the role of social media in the Egyptian revolution and reading Tweets.
Yesterday, I went to the New York Times website to look up an arts and culture review, and I was sidetracked by an article on the latest news from Egypt.This morning, I turned on my TV, which is almost always tuned to Channel 1, NHK. This is where I heard of Mubarak's resignation (辞任). After some local news and the weather, the broadcast turned to an analysis of the events in Egypt. With a table discussion of journalists and Egypt experts, they discussed Mubarak's resignation and the events of the past three weeks. One reporter explained the role of facebook in the revolution using a cartoonish diagram in the shape of a pyramid with hieroglyphic-type symbols. (Charts and graphs like this are typical of Japanese TV and news.)On gmail, my friend's status read "LOVE TO THE EGYPTIANS!" I chatted her, and she sent me a website with translated protest signs from the revolution. She found it on a friend's facebook site, and my partner told me she was getting most of her news about Egypt from friends' facebook posts.The importance of the events in Egypt and the quality of the media coverage of the revolution gave me pause to stop and think about where I get my information. These sources generally confirmed and corroborated the basic facts of one another, and I took comfort in receiving mostly valid information from these well-established news organizations. The images from each source, however, differed slightly. For example, Democracy Now! showed graphic images of the wounded. They also featured an extended speech in English by a physician who had been at the forefront of the protests and was encouraging his fellow demonstrators to proceed fearlessly. NHK had images and voices of individual protesters, who appeared mostly angry to me, but the commentators said, "They look so happy, don't they?" (嬉しそうですね！）(Am I socialized as an American to find images of Arab mobs scary and angry? I'm no Islamaphobe, but I should be aware of my own social conditioning. I really did find the people's facial expressions angry, even if they were voicing their happiness and excitement about Mubarak's resignation.) The image which will stick with me for a long time is the overhead view of Tahrir square overflowing with protestors. The website of translated protest signs featured portrait-like images of the signs and people holding them. I was struck by the variety of faces, from a cosmopolitan-looking young woman with a headscarf and sunglasses to a middle-aged man with a dark, wizened face, a lazy eye and several scars. The images of "cool" young Egyptians taking pictures with their cell phones and gathering in the streets also seemed to predominate many of the Western sources I tuned into.
Finally, the languages of the coverage also caught my attention. Most of the media from NPR, Democracy Now! and the New York Times was in English, including interviews with protestors and experts. There was little or no Arabic. NHK, however, used footage of the protestors speaking in Arabic with translated subtitles in Japanese. These are some of my observation about how these various media sources painted the story with their own news-brand's shade of truth.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
No Helipad in Takae, Okinawa!
Please use this letter as a template to send a message to the U.S. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos. You can send your message here: http://tokyo.usembassy.gov/e/info/tinfo-email.html
Learn more about Takae in English here:
http://www.fpif.org/articles/postcard_fromtakae
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/hansentoteikounofesta09/20110103
http://nohelipadtakae.org/files/VOT-english2010Oct14.pdf
More posts about Takae coming soon!
Dear Ambassador Roos,
As a U.S. citizen living in Japan, I am deeply concerned about the events in Takae, Okinawa. The construction of six helipads in Yambaru forest is threatening the sovereignty, way of life, and natural environment of the people of Higashison, Takae and the surrounding areas. Despite three years of protests by the residents, the Okinawa Defense Bureau, the Japanese government and the U.S. government have forced the construction of the helipads. This expansion of the U.S. military presence in Okinawa is both unnecessary and damaging to U.S./Japan relations, as well as to America's international image.
Similarly, please make it a priority to find a solution to the Futenma Airbase issue which will address the environmental, social and political concerns of the Okinawan people. Though the helipad issue in Takae is not as well known, it is equally distressing.
Please work with the Okinawa Defense Bureau to stop the construction of the helipads immediately. I ask you to take all steps in your power to defend the rights of the people of Takae and the citizens of Okinawa. Thank you for your consideration, and best of luck in your efforts.
Sincerely,
Learn more about Takae in English here:
http://www.fpif.org/articles/postcard_fromtakae
http://d.hatena.ne.jp/hansentoteikounofesta09/20110103
http://nohelipadtakae.org/files/VOT-english2010Oct14.pdf
More posts about Takae coming soon!
Friday, February 4, 2011
「オルタナ・クール」ロックス！| "Alter-Cool" Rocks!
(English below)
「オルタナ・クール」は沖縄オルタナティブメディアのUSTREAM番組です。今見ています。USTREAMを使うのは初めてです。このメディアが大好きです！聞く、見るだけではなく、チャットで質問などコメントができるので、本当に楽しいです。
僕には今日の第５回「オルタナ・クール」の番組がすごいと思いました。なぜかと言うと、僕が好きで興味がある話がたくさん起きていた。例えば、サンフランシスコで色々な平和活動していたオガナイザー桃原淳（すなお）さんはアメリアカと日本の文化を比べたり、沖縄の過去と現在文化を説明してくれました。そして2時間目は高江のヘリパッドの問題については「高江がたいへん！24時間座り込み＠沖縄県庁前」を実行した二人 (大城永子（ひさこ）さん 森岡理歩歌（りほか）さん) がインタビューしてもらいました。つまり沖縄アルタナティブメディアをすごく尊敬しています。
一時間目はちょっと音質の問題があったが、２時間目は結構直りました。そして高江ヘリパッドの問題に関係ある米軍の「オスプレー」という攻撃ヘリコプターの映像と那覇の24時間座り込みの動画が放送しながら同時USTREAMで見せました。これはかっこいい機能ですね！ツウィターから来たチャットもいっぱいあった (でも僕はファスブックでつながっていた）。USTREAMの危ない所は見ながら、注意散漫の可能性が高い。メールを書いたり、ブロッグをしたりすることをしていました。夕食も見ながら食べて、チャットでも書き(過ぎ)ちゃった。だが、色々な関係あることを同時にやるのはそんなに悪くない。（後でmultitaskingというポストをしましょう。）USTREAMはテレビの世界を本当に変われるみたいなことと思います。
「オルタナ・クール」は沖縄オルタナティブメディアのUSTREAM番組です。今見ています。USTREAMを使うのは初めてです。このメディアが大好きです！聞く、見るだけではなく、チャットで質問などコメントができるので、本当に楽しいです。僕には今日の第５回「オルタナ・クール」の番組がすごいと思いました。なぜかと言うと、僕が好きで興味がある話がたくさん起きていた。例えば、サンフランシスコで色々な平和活動していたオガナイザー桃原淳（すなお）さんはアメリアカと日本の文化を比べたり、沖縄の過去と現在文化を説明してくれました。そして2時間目は高江のヘリパッドの問題については「高江がたいへん！24時間座り込み＠沖縄県庁前」を実行した二人 (大城永子（ひさこ）さん 森岡理歩歌（りほか）さん) がインタビューしてもらいました。つまり沖縄アルタナティブメディアをすごく尊敬しています。
一時間目はちょっと音質の問題があったが、２時間目は結構直りました。そして高江ヘリパッドの問題に関係ある米軍の「オスプレー」という攻撃ヘリコプターの映像と那覇の24時間座り込みの動画が放送しながら同時USTREAMで見せました。これはかっこいい機能ですね！ツウィターから来たチャットもいっぱいあった (でも僕はファスブックでつながっていた）。USTREAMの危ない所は見ながら、注意散漫の可能性が高い。メールを書いたり、ブロッグをしたりすることをしていました。夕食も見ながら食べて、チャットでも書き(過ぎ)ちゃった。だが、色々な関係あることを同時にやるのはそんなに悪くない。（後でmultitaskingというポストをしましょう。）USTREAMはテレビの世界を本当に変われるみたいなことと思います。
"Alter-Cool" is a USTREAM program produced by Okinawa Alternative Media. I just finished watching their most recent webcast. It was my first time using USTREAM. I love this medium! You're not just listening or watching, but it's really fun because you can ask questions or comment via the chat stream.
For me, this fifth edition of "Alter-Cool" was awesome. So many things that I like and are interesting to me were brought together in the discussion. For example, Sunaoko-san, an organizer in San Francisco who has done various peace activities since the early 90s, compared American and Japanese culture, and discussed some of the differences he's observed in past and present Okinawan culture. The second hour was about the Takae helipad issue. It featured an interview with two of the people (Hisako-san and Rihoka-san) who helped stage a 24-hour protest in Naha (Okinawa's capital city) in support of the citizens of Takae. In short, I really respect Okinawa Alternative Media and what they are doing with this program.
During the first hour there was a little trouble with the sound quality, but it was basically fixed by the second hour. Also, a previously recorded video about the dangerous "Osprey" military helicopters and footage from the 24-hour sit-in/protest in Naha were broadcast during the episode. What a cool feature! And there were tons of comments on the chat from Twitter (although I used Facebook to connect). The dangerous thing about USTREAM is that there is lots of opportunity for distraction. For example, while I watched I was writing email and blogging. Also I ate dinner during the broadcast, then wrote (too much!) on the chat. But I don't think doing several related things at the same time is necessarily so bad. (Future post on multitasking?) USTREAM seems like it could really change the face of television.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Imagine All the People Without Internet
Imagine an internet blackout like the one in Egypt in your country. Imagine all the people without internet in America, Japan, Brazil, China, Korea, India, Nepal, etc. Imagine no access for a day, a week, a month.
If you're like me, you know it would be painful at first. But you also imagine it would come as a sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air. The world's largest library and a major source of instant gratification gone, all of a sudden? It would be earth-shattering for some, those of use whose dependence on the internet borders on unhealthy. But (re)learning how to use time, engage with other media-technologies (including human bodies), reading a book (for goodness sake! - and NOT on a Kindle [I get Kindle spam from Amazon like everyday...it's starting to kind of piss me off]) might do us good.
Inspired by the situation in Egypt, I tried to imagine what an internet blackout might look for me, you, it, us. Below is a feeble semi-literate (I was gonna say semi-literary, but it comes across as more semi-literate) sci-media-fi imagining of such a scenario.
________________________________________________________________________________________
You're sitting in your cubicle at 10:39, gchatting with Beth two rows down.
Beth Johnson says:
did you see the latest duck-trapped-in-a-coal-mine meme?
its hillllarious
ILMAO!!!
What would people do without the internet? I'll tell you what they'd do - they'd go insane! If people didn't have enough incentive to take to the streets and depose our government after it started an unnecessary war, imagine that all the computer screens in all the offices of America suddenly went blank. "Can't get any work done here, so let's take the day off." People would be jumping for joy, clicking their heels in the air... "No work today, the internet's gone away!" On the commute home, you try to tweet about it, but Twitter's down, too. "The heck with it," you'd say, "maybe I'll just start a conversation with someone next to me on the bus..."
"Twitter's down. Can you believe it?"
"I know, I tried to access my facebook an hour ago. I can't even get Farmville to work on my iPad!"
Maybe you'd swap stories about your days at work, learn about each others' professions and go out for a drink to celebrate your day off. You decide to duck into the local sports bar, because, as fate would have it, you both live in the same neighborhood and you're both baseball fans. Who woulda thunk?
In the bar, you make a shocking discovery: the TV has been shut down, too. The bartender checks the plug. The lights are working fine, what the hell could be wrong? The whole Comcastic media conglomerate must be down. He flips through all 800 channels, hope growing dimmer with each flick. Instead of the crisp, HD hews of warm static electric reds greens and blues, a cold dark screen stares back, more like a black hole sucking in your fantasy football dreams.
Another drink? Sure. Why not substitute one addiction with another? When you get home, Lauren is pissed off that you've been out so late.
"Are you drunk? It's only 7:30!"
"Didn't you hear, hon? The internet's down! It was cause for celebration. Plus I met one of our neighbors, Pat. He's an IT guy for..."
"You know you still have to put the kids to bed."
"OK."
"Hey daddy, we couldn't watch TV tonight. Could you tell us a story?"
"Once upon a time..." The words struggle to come out at first, but soon you're lost in a maze of characters and plot twists and triumphant endings. But the kids are asleep before you can finish. "Maybe I should write that down..." And just as you contemplate taking pen to paper for the first time since college, Lauren entices you to snuggle. And you forget that second life, that other skin of video, wire and cold metal hard drives, as you drift into deeply contented dream-filled sleep, thankful for your family and the warmth of your cozy cuddle buddy.
If you're like me, you know it would be painful at first. But you also imagine it would come as a sigh of relief, a breath of fresh air. The world's largest library and a major source of instant gratification gone, all of a sudden? It would be earth-shattering for some, those of use whose dependence on the internet borders on unhealthy. But (re)learning how to use time, engage with other media-technologies (including human bodies), reading a book (for goodness sake! - and NOT on a Kindle [I get Kindle spam from Amazon like everyday...it's starting to kind of piss me off]) might do us good.
Inspired by the situation in Egypt, I tried to imagine what an internet blackout might look for me, you, it, us. Below is a feeble semi-literate (I was gonna say semi-literary, but it comes across as more semi-literate) sci-media-fi imagining of such a scenario.
________________________________________________________________________________________
You're sitting in your cubicle at 10:39, gchatting with Beth two rows down.
Beth Johnson says:
did you see the latest duck-trapped-in-a-coal-mine meme?
its hillllarious
ILMAO!!!
What would people do without the internet? I'll tell you what they'd do - they'd go insane! If people didn't have enough incentive to take to the streets and depose our government after it started an unnecessary war, imagine that all the computer screens in all the offices of America suddenly went blank. "Can't get any work done here, so let's take the day off." People would be jumping for joy, clicking their heels in the air... "No work today, the internet's gone away!" On the commute home, you try to tweet about it, but Twitter's down, too. "The heck with it," you'd say, "maybe I'll just start a conversation with someone next to me on the bus..."
"Twitter's down. Can you believe it?"
"I know, I tried to access my facebook an hour ago. I can't even get Farmville to work on my iPad!"
Maybe you'd swap stories about your days at work, learn about each others' professions and go out for a drink to celebrate your day off. You decide to duck into the local sports bar, because, as fate would have it, you both live in the same neighborhood and you're both baseball fans. Who woulda thunk?
In the bar, you make a shocking discovery: the TV has been shut down, too. The bartender checks the plug. The lights are working fine, what the hell could be wrong? The whole Comcastic media conglomerate must be down. He flips through all 800 channels, hope growing dimmer with each flick. Instead of the crisp, HD hews of warm static electric reds greens and blues, a cold dark screen stares back, more like a black hole sucking in your fantasy football dreams.
Another drink? Sure. Why not substitute one addiction with another? When you get home, Lauren is pissed off that you've been out so late.
"Are you drunk? It's only 7:30!"
"Didn't you hear, hon? The internet's down! It was cause for celebration. Plus I met one of our neighbors, Pat. He's an IT guy for..."
"You know you still have to put the kids to bed."
"OK."
"Hey daddy, we couldn't watch TV tonight. Could you tell us a story?"
"Once upon a time..." The words struggle to come out at first, but soon you're lost in a maze of characters and plot twists and triumphant endings. But the kids are asleep before you can finish. "Maybe I should write that down..." And just as you contemplate taking pen to paper for the first time since college, Lauren entices you to snuggle. And you forget that second life, that other skin of video, wire and cold metal hard drives, as you drift into deeply contented dream-filled sleep, thankful for your family and the warmth of your cozy cuddle buddy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)