2010 winter olympics have begun

Vancouver saw the onset of the 2010 Winter Olympics this past weekend and unless you’ve been hiding in the depths of your own dark bubble, you’ll know that some people ain’t too happy about this.

On February 13 the Heart Attack March saw protesters aiming to block the vital transportation routes leading to the olympic games events.While the previous afternoon over 3,000 protesters converged for a peaceful rally and march through downtown Vancouver to the site of the Games’ opening ceremonies.

You can read some independent coverage of the protests at rabble.com, IPS and Vancouver’s media coop.

Check out this video to see scenes from the Heart Attack March and discussions about why this event took place.

For an easy-to-digest summary of why the Olympics are being met with resistance look here.

Alongside stealing native land, we’ve seen increased homelessness, social cleansing, ecological destruction, corruption, corporate invasion, displacement of the poor to name just a few… all this for the glory of seeing our beloved sports stars do their thing? Can victory and glory really be achieved when it is attained at the cost of another?

Here’s another summary of what’s going on:

invasion day not australia day

I just realised after writing my last post: today is Australia Day. While for many Australians this is simply a day for hanging out with mates, drinking beers around the BBQ and getting as pissed as possible, for others its a day to ponder their national identity, and for many it’s a day to mourn the invasion of their country, the genocide of their loved ones and the struggle against racism that continues even today…

White people have caused a lot of death, tragedy and suffering since we invaded this beautiful country. Let’s not forget this. And let’s put a stop to the rampant racism that continues today, despite our little “Sorry” note from the prime minister. We must work together to bring racial justice to the people who will always truly own this land. We must work in harmony. We must not stop until their rights are heard, acknowledged and acted upon.

So as I send my love back across the ocean to both Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians alike, I pray that this year the universe will bring peace and happiness to us all; that we might working together to bring harmony across all races; that the land we live on will be cherished, loved and respected…

Blessings to you all!

racist emission offsets to justify white people’s consumption

a friend drew my attention to this article today in the Guardian. It talks about a new method for battling climate change. Consumers will be able to offset their carbon emissions by  paying for contraception measures in poorer countries. I’m aghast. To say the bloody least…

anti-consumerist models for tackling climate change rarely acknowledge the uneven power dynamic amongst consumers, failing to acknowledge that it is a privilege given to be able to afford ethical food and clothing choices let alone pay to offset your carbon emissions…

when these models talk about ‘our’ consumer behaviours, they are often talking about people with a certain amount of money and a very particular skin type…

climate change is – at large – a white, middle class issue. It is distracting us from more pressing issues at hand.

The idea that white people can now justify their consumption by helping to control the population of black people kinda blatantly points this out… and it’s appalling!

Come on people! Racist schemes such as this new method is NOT the answer. Until we start working together for social justice, the earth will continue to disintegrate. Until we acknowledge we are NOT on a level playing field and start adressing this issue, focussing on ways to justify ‘our’ consumption behaviours will only serve to perpetuate the mess we are all in.

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http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/03/carbon-offset-projects-climate-change