{"id":20815,"date":"2016-03-27T04:27:16","date_gmt":"2016-03-27T11:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/?p=20815"},"modified":"2016-03-27T04:27:16","modified_gmt":"2016-03-27T11:27:16","slug":"squatchs-open-thread-26032016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.politicsplus.org\/blog\/2016\/03\/27\/squatchs-open-thread-26032016\/","title":{"rendered":"Squatch’s Open Thread 26\/03\/2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday I really slept late, later than ever before — 4:50 pm!  To say the least, this cold has knocked me for a loop. Although it is getting better, it has altered my schedule.  I hope to go see my mother tomorrow providing my cold is even better than today.  This week coming up will be busy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Short Takes<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — What Green realized was Syrian refugees are more similar to us than they are different.<\/p>\n

\"rob<\/p>\n

"They're just like everyone else in the community that would be helping out. And he's part of the community now."<\/p>\n

A short article with a universal truth that we all need to remember!<\/span><\/p>\n

Politico<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — <\/span>Condemnation of the attacks in Brussels, as in Paris, Istanbul, Damascus, Baghdad, Bassam or Ouagadougou, has to be firm, absolute, and without exceptions, half-measures or attempts to distinguish between victims. Clarity is essential here, as it is in the terminology we use and the solutions we propose. But before we can formulate a response, we must face the problem head on and try to understand its origins (this in no way means justifying acts of terrorism, whatever George W. Bush may have said, and what Manuel Valls says today).<\/p>\n

It is imperative that we untangle the reasons behind this hard swerve toward violent extremism — because it is not just “mad,” “irrational” and “inhuman.” These words only serve to confuse our vocabulary, and offer no political clarification on the elements of the equation. They add blindness to an emotional reaction already stoked by fear. What we need today is reason and measured conversation — we have to be tough, yes, but above all, reasonable.  …<\/strong><\/p>\n

We cannot support dictatorships, be political and economic partners with states who export literalist Salafi doctrine, be silent when civilians are massacred south of our borders and hope that we will not receive a response to the injustice and humiliation we have provoked.<\/p>\n

The author makes some very valid points.  As to this last point made above, how many people have said "Why is Saudi Arabia an ally of the US?" .  Saudi Arabia is engaged in war crimes in Yemen using weapons bought from the US and Great Britain.  That relationship is not lost on others.  We all need to look at our relationships and define them in terms of our values.<\/span><\/p>\n

Huffington Post<\/strong><\/span><\/a> — <\/span>This World Water Day, however, millions of people who share our planet are constantly thinking about water. How could they not be? Their children die from waterborne illnesses, because the local stream is contaminated. Others forfeit their schooling to trek long distances for water each day. Families lose their harvests — and their food supplies — because there's no irrigation for their parched crops.<\/p>\n

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22 March was World Water Day.  This year, the focus is on water and jobs.  Here is a short UN promo.<\/span><\/p>\n