Boycott Made In China

I am given hope with the news that four American students have bravely traveled to China and waved a banner saying "Free Tibet" at the base of Mount Everest. Luckily they were merely deported and the news is being spread around the world.

A girlfriend of a friend of ours, a lovely Italian-French girl who was getting her masters, traveled to China a year or two ago to shoot a film about life there. I don't know the details of what she was doing, but she never returned. She was killed there, perhaps by the Chinese government.

After watching a documentary some time ago about the Tibet Freedom concert which took place a few years ago, I was reminded of the atrocities that the Chinese government continue to carry out to this present day.

Here is a government (not the people - the government) which is not democratic, which has nuclear weapons, which limits freedoms of speech, which tortures minorities with physical and sexual abuse in prisions, which forces sterilization of poor women, which censors the internet, which favors indentured labor practices in its factories, and which is deliberately destroying the environment.

When I think of terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and rape rooms, I think of the Chinese government, not Iraq.

Please choose to not buy products that are Made in China, especially when you have a choice. Not only are the products of poor quality, and soon end up in landfills when they break, but it inadvertently supports the growing economy of a reckless government and unemployment in our own economy. Even made in Indonesia or India is better, since those are democracies.

I have also decided to not watch the 2008 Olympic Games on television or the internet, in protest of the Chinese government and their increased development in anticipation of the games.

Only when we are brave enough to stand and speak, will anyone listen.

Student Protesters Article - Reuters

Tatanka Iyotanka (Sitting Bull) Said

Behold, my brothers, the spring has come,
The earth has received the embraces of the sun
And we shall soon see the results of that love!

Every seed is awakened and so has all animal life.
It is through this mysterious power that we too have our being
And we therefore yield to our neighbors,
Even our animal neighbors,
The same right as ourselves, to inhabit this land.

We need bees

It seems that honeybees are getting cancer. Perhaps all the radio waves, microwaves, cell phone waves, satellite waves and high voltage electricity waves are interfering with their natural flight patterns? Perhaps there's a new fungus or virus? Perhaps they're ingesting some kind of amphibian DNA found in the genetically modified corn? Perhaps they're being fed with high fructose corn syrup? How many packaged foods for humans have high fructose corn syrup anyway, and how can it possibly be good for consumption?

Makes me want to live with no electricity and all organic food.

Recipe for Zucchini Quiche (Tarte aux courgettes)

Season: March through September

Ingredients:
2 large or 3 small organic zucchini
1 small yellow onion
1 refrigerated ready made fluffy layer/butter pie crust
2 organic eggs
1/2 cup fresh grated swiss cheese (Emmental or Gruyère)
1/2 cup organic light fresh cream
butter
salt
pepper
(optional bacon, mushrooms, sage, thyme, parsely)
fresh organic lettuce (not iceburg)
organic cherry tomatoes
shallots
sunflower oil
red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar

Time: 40 minutes

First: (Time 00:00)
Open pie crust and let sit to room temperature 5 to 10 minutes, stab lightly with fork to perforate. If needed, pop into 350 to 375 oven for 5 minutes to pre-bake.

Second: (Time 00:05)
While the crust is getting ready, slice zucchini and onion. Put into large frying pan with 1/4 tsp butter and 1/4 tsp sunflower oil. Cover and simmer 5 - 10 minutes until soft but not juicy. Option to add chopped bacon and/or chopped mushrooms.

Third: (Time 00:10)
Make sure pie crust is not still in oven! While zucchini and onion simmer, mix two eggs, fresh cream in a small bowl. Add 1/2 tsp salt and dash of pepper. Option to add sage, thyme or parsely.

Fourth: (Time 00:15)
When zucchini and onion are done, drain and lay in bottom of pie crust. Cover lightly with half of grated cheese. Cover that with egg/cream mixture and work into the spaces between zucchini. Top with rest of grated cheese.

Fifth: (Time 00:20)
Cook pie in oven for 20 to 30 mintues or until golden brown on top and solid in middle. Meanwhile, wash several lettuce leaves and tomatoes, dry, slice tomatoes and 1/2 of one shallot. Put salad on plates and drizzle lightly with vinegar and sunflower oil (1/2 tsp vinegar and 1 tsp oil).

Sixth: (Time 00:40)
Let pie sit a few minutes to gel, then cut in slices and serve with salad.

Note: "organic" has been mentioned where I believe it makes a difference in the taste and quality of the ingredient. Using more or less cream or eggs, or % fat in cream, or oven temp. will change consistency of the pie.

Bon Appétit!

Votez!

The French voted today. It was interesting to see another perspective on democracy. Here's what I saw:

A year or so before the elections, potential candidates gather signatures to be officially considered on the national ballots. Each political party seems to privately decide on who will represent them, Sarkozy for instance is the president of his political party, the UMP. Once someone has over (1000?) signatures, they can be an official candidate. There is no limit to how many candidates may run.

Before the official race has begun, candidates try to get as much media coverage by slyly appearing on talk shows, making public speeches and appearances. Having good contacts seems to be the best way to edge your way onto TV.

Once the official race has begun each candidate gets exactly (one hour?) (with no commercials or pauses) as a guest on an official news program. The candidates are asked questions, and as soon as the question has been posed, a giant clock on a screen behind the candidate counts the seconds of their response, and stops with them, so that the cumulative total of their response time on national TV is one hour. Each night of the week a different candidate appears on the show.

In the first round of the election, anyone may vote for any candidate they wish. If any one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they are the next president. If not, the two candidates with the highest percentages face eachother two weeks later in the runoff final.

Two weeks before the first round, all registered voters (at age 18 all citizens receive their voter registration card automatically) receive a letter instructing them where to vote (at the town hall, civic center or public school). Enclosed with the letter is one publicity flier for each of the official candidates, same size, each styled with the candidates photo, typeface and personal message. Lage posters are also put up outside polling stations from two weeks before the elections - one for each candidate, same size, right next to eachother in a row. I assume privately funded publicity is not allowed, as I did not see one commercial or poster advertising a candidate.

The day of the election is a Sunday, so practically no one has to worry about missing work to vote. Polling stations are generally open from 8am to 6pm. Outside the voting place I saw no additional posters or fliers, and no person talking to voters as they entered. I also saw no police.

Once inside, voters go to a table where a pile of small note card sized papers stands for each candidate. Each paper simply has the name of the candidate printed largely in the middle. Voters may take one from each pile (or just the one they want if they don't care about others seeing who they vote for) and a small blue envelope. They then proceed to a curtained booth where they put the paper with the name of their chosen candidate in the envelope. A single paper on the wall of the booth warns that tampering with the name, adding remarks or anything, will result in the vote not being counted.

After sealing the envelope, voters exit the booth, throw away any extra papers in a trash can, and wait in line with their sealed envelope. They show two voting monitors a photo ID card, their name is checked in the register, their voter registration card is stamped with the date to prove they voted in this election, and they drop their envelope into a large clear plexiglass box. The mayor of Rambouillet was monitoring this box himself, and smiled a photogenic smile as C's blue envelope went in. Then someone announced "has voted!", and the voter may leave.

So each envelope must be opened by hand and each paper sorted. There is no record (besides fingerprints or DNA) on the envelope or paper to hint at who voted. Electronic voting machines are rumored to be in some more urban voting places already this year, although many are protesting.

By 7pm this evening, the preliminary results were announced. Sarkozy will face Royale in the runoff in two weeks. I'll bet it'll be a close race.

Banner Caption: Imagine the France of the Future
(Many fear that a Sarkozy presidency will result in a police surveillance state, as supported by this image of officers outside his party headquarters.)