Warming..

Xymphora was sick but now he(?)'s back.  Thankfully, his(?) writing is still as incisive as ever.  Like a bitch slap to your stupid face:

There is a bizarre bi-partisan - for the most part, and I assume by agreement - plan in current American politics to deal with the problem of global warming by simply not talking about it (the old plan of dealing with it by denying all the science and obvious facts on the ground became too silly even for politicians). Global warming simply does not exist as an issue in American political life, despite the immense effect it is having on the fly-over Americans.


Americans have been doing lots of really, really awful things recently, with no obvious effect on the lives of average Americans (although, believe me, the repercussions are coming). The fact that by ignoring global warming they are going to truly and deeply fuck themselves within a few years is almost heartwarming.

He(?)'s not wrong..

Egypt: Having Trouble Visualizing The Connections And Influence Of The Internet On The Egyptian Revolution?

This should help.. And in the spirit of a connected 'Net, I found this from Xymphora, who found it on Mondoweiss, who linked to it from its creator, Kovas Boguta. Super fascinating. (Checking out his connectivity map is essential for understanding, so go there first!) Excerpts:
The map is arranged to place individuals near the individuals they influence, and factions near the factions they influence. The color is based on the language they tweet in..
..
(Wael Ghonim).. is prominently located near the bottom of the network, straddling two factions as well as two languages. The size of his node reflects his influence on the entire network.

The lump on the left is dominated by journalists, NGO and foreign policy types; it seems nearly grafted on, and goes through an intermediary buffer layer before making contact with the true Egyptian activists on the ground. However, this process of translation and aggregation is key; it is how those in Egypt are finally getting a voice in Western society, and an insurance policy against regime violence.
..
Some protesters only spoke Arabic but..others make an effort to be visible to the rest of the world on purpose. They want to reach out, and connect with, the rest of the global society.
..
In a case of ironic symbolism, the far left-most satellites are the Whitehouse, State Department, and Wael Ghonim's employer, Eric Schmidt, who is merely a speck on the map. (In other words, they had no idea what was happening on the street, and absolutely no influence on the unfolding events..)And that's probably how everyone in the rest of the network would like this future to look.

I'm doing a bit of paragraph reshuffling here, but a sentence from Boguta's opening statement is the perfect summation:
The Egyptians use of Twitter captures.. the freedom of expression and association that is possible in that medium, and which is representative of a new collective consciousness taking form.

Already, the data is being compiled and analyzed. What didn't work has been noted, and what worked is being modified to fit other country's specific circumstances. We have seen minor examples (in comparison) of the Internet's power of expression and organization, but what happened in Egypt has tapped that potential and shown the world, tangibly, the power of information, and the speed of which it can(and will)be disseminated and acted upon.

What we saw was not just the overthrow of an authoritarian regime or the creation of a new political dynamic in the Middle East, but the fledgling steps of that global collective consciousness and its burgeoning self awareness. Connectivity and expression doesn't rely on power, money, and influence. Mubarak's billions and iron fisted control couldn't put down the 'Net or keep him in power. Global thought just took a great leap forward, and while recent events are hugely important in what will be our documented History, the beginnings of the awareness of What Can Be began not only on the streets, but also on the servers, of Cairo.

Political Double Standard Much?

From Xymphora:

"Imagine if a prominent American politician of Latino descent emerged from an hour long meeting with the President of Mexico to triumphantly announce that he would side with the President of Mexico against the policies of the President of the United States."

The right wing hounds would NEVER stop barking would they? Insert another country, and well.. Do you hear any barking?