G'day!

I came back from Australia on the 31 of May, and have spent much of the time since sleeping. Sorry for the severe lack of posts lately. Considering how much there is to be angry over I really have no excuse. At any rate:

In Australia, they have many of the same hotbutton issues we do: big agribusiness, immigration issues, racism, etc. However, here is what they currently do that we could borrow from: mini-flush buttons, for when it just doesn't take much water to do the job; hotel lights that only work when the key is inserted into a special slot, thus making it impossible to leave lights on when the room is empty; and "Media Watch," a 15-minute program on the ABC (like the British BBC, rather than the American ABC) that points out the major lapses of the media.

While there, I had an interesting discussion with a Lebanese-American who was a part of my program. I acknowledged that Zionism did displace many Arabs in the area and that Israeli severely mishandled the war in Lebanon and that my sympathy with the Zionist movement was that I could understand the fear that moved Jews to feel the need for a safe haven and the feeling that it could not have been made anywhere other than in the location of Ancient Israel, but that didn't mean the founding of Israel didn't have serious problems. She acknowledged that anti-Jewish sentiment is a large part of what causes strife and that much of the Palestinian refugee problem has been caused and exasperated by neighboring Muslim nations. It was altogether a very civil discourse and I was quite proud of both of us.

Finally, as it is mid-year, I am going to rededicate myself to sticking to fair trade/organic chocolate, coffees, and teas. I am also going to work on decreasing my consumption of eggs and dairy and planning better to avoid being stuck outside the house in a position where I cannot do those things.

Stay tuned for a post on journalism.