Profesionāls politiķis - runā par kaunu.

Tikt aktīvajā politikā par jebkādu cenu, caur jebkādām durvīm, nav nekāds interesantums pats par sevi. Bet ir interesanti, kā šie indivīdi un mutējošās organizācijas (partijas) un savienības, ko tie veido, cenšas domāt un rīkoties noteiktos veidos, lai sasniegtu mērķi. Varbūt tikai ikdienišķi naivi ir pārdomāt plašāku tēmu "Jānis Jurkāns un tikumu ētika" un jautāt, vai viņiem ir pārliecība, ka viņi ir nepieciešami? Vai viņu politiskie sasniegumi un reputācija liecina par to, ka viņiem ir, ko piedāvāt? Acīmredzot, ir jātic savam kaut kādam stāstam, kas apliecina, cik daudz esmu sasniedzis un izdarījis labu, lai atgrieztos, lai būtu ta cienīgs, lai bez manis nevarētu iztikt. Godmanis atbildēja Kaimiņam, kad tas jautāja par motivāciju kandidēt, ka viņu motivējot vēlme "sastādīt biškīt problēmas jaunajiem, kas grib, lai viņus ievēl tāpat". Ar "jaunajiem" viņš domāja tos, kuri "tagad ir pie šprices".

Bet visu uzmanību veltīt indivīdiem būtu ierobežojoši. Tās ir [ideoloģiski] mutējošas organizācijas, jeb institūcijas, kas veido vidi, kurā tiek darīts politiskais darbs. Hipotētiski varētu teikt, ka šīs institūcijas kā kopa kļūst amorfas un to atšķirības ir virspusējs strukturāls politiskā darba blakusprodukts. T.i. partiju ideoloģiskās/politiskās atšķīrības nav galvenais motivējošais faktors politiķiem - indivīdiem un grupām. Šīs atšķirības atražojas paralēli citām, merkantilām interesēm, politiķiem par tām nav daudz jāuztraucas. Šāda situācija, kurā politiskais darbs ir iespējams bez primāriem ideoloģiskiem apsvērumiem individuālā un grupu līmenī, rada situāciju, kurā par mērauklu tiek ņemta 'rīcībspēja', bet aizvien vairāk izlēgta 'atbildība'.

Any assurance that something is indeed binding merely reflects the existence of doubts. In this case, the uncertainty is based on the absence of NATO soldiers in the alliance’s new member states, including Poland and the Baltics, which feel threatened as they observe Russia’s destructive actions in the region. - NATO’s Second-Class Members

"The rapid uptake of electronic cigarettes has been a consumer-led self-help public health movement (Stimson & Costall, 2014) with no expenditure of healthcare resources, and has been met with neglect and sometimes antipathy from many public health experts and tobacco control organisations who clearly do not have ‘ownership’ of the innovation. The public health response to regain ownership has coalesced around the precautionary principle. Hence the public health discourse has mainly focused on potential use of e-cigarettes by young people, their potential as a gateway to smoking, and fear that they might undermine the ‘de-normalisation’ of smoking by ‘re-normalising it’. Few public health experts have been engaged in supporting and promoting this grass roots movement, despite the fact that it accords with one of the basic principles of public health as outlined in the WHO Ottawa Charter for Health – that ‘Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health…’ (WHO, 1986). As has been noted ‘This seems to be exactly what electronic cigarette consumers are doing – taking control of things that determine their health’ (Stimson, 2014)." - Disruptive innovations: The rise of the electronic cigarette

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/israelgaza-conflict-the-secret-report-that-helps-israelis-to-hide-facts-9630765.html

Latvijā televīzijas kanālos, tajos, kas šeit bāzēti, ļoti liela daļa filmas un seriāli ir krievu valodā. Vakaros no, teiksim, 6 kanāliem, divos raida latviešu valodā, pārējie krievu valodā, visbiežāk krievu [nekvalitatīvos] seriālus. Viena kanāla devīze skandina "наш канал, наши люди".
Latvija ir divkopienu valsts, bet šis apsvērums netiek ņemts vērā pietiekami kā politiska reālitāte. Preambulas poētika un nīkulīgais integrācijas diskurss ir vēlmju domāšana, kas tikai pastiprina šizmu.

http://www.channel4.com/news/the-israeli-military-does-not-target-civilians-video

Politiķiem ļoti patīk "let's be clear" trops. Tāds pats ir "sending a clear message". Parasti tas nozīmē tieši pretējo, jeb to, ka skaidrs ir pavisam maz, un runātājs sev par labu vēlas no šīs neskaidrības novērst uzmanību.

Un beidzot žurnālists, kurš uzdod jautājumus, nevis māj ar galvu.

Professor Stephen Hawking is backing the academic boycott of Israel by pulling out of a conference hosted by Israeli president Shimon Peres in Jerusalem as a protest at Israel's treatment of Palestinians.

Israel Maimon, chairman of the presidential conference said: "This decision is outrageous and wrong.
"The use of an academic boycott against Israel is outrageous and improper, particularly for those to whom the spirit of liberty is the basis of the human and academic mission. Israel is a democracy in which everyone can express their opinion, whatever it may be. A boycott decision is incompatible with open democratic discourse."

In 2011, the Israeli parliament passed a law making a boycott call by an individual or organisation a civil offence which can result in compensation liable to be paid regardless of actual damage caused. It defined a boycott as "deliberately avoiding economic, cultural or academic ties with another person or another factor only because of his ties with the State of Israel, one of its institutions or an area under its control, in such a way that may cause economic, cultural or academic damage".

"It begins with basic liberal principles—the sanctity of the individual, the priority of freedom, distrust of public authority, tolerance—and advances no further. It has no taste for reality, no curiosity about how we got here or where we are going."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-28051208

50%, 1/4, whatever

Jaunākajā The Lancet izdevumā ir neliels raksts par Ķīnas nespēju izpildīt PVO tabakas izstrādājumu marķēšanas prasības un kopumā veicināt vispārēju tabakas lietošanas ierobežošanu. Kā izrādās, iemesls tam ir gandrīz politiski triviāls, proti "the serious conflict of interest presented by the State Tobacco Monopoly Administration, a government agency responsible for maintaining country's tobacco industry and also responsible for leading national tobacco control efforts [...] The State Tobacco Monopoly Administration is not only a governmental agency with major vested interests to support tobacco industry, it is also one of the key members of the interministerial coordinating group on FCTC* to lead the development and formulation of tobacco control policy in China."

*WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)



The integration of government administrative power with strong financial resources into tobacco industry has completely transformed China's tobacco industry. Tobacco production has increased from 1 789 billion units in 2003, when China signed the WHO FCTC, to 2516 billion units in 2012, an annual increase rate about 3—6%

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-27635554

http://anthropomics2.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/nazis-love-nicholas-wade-shouldnt-that.html

Dievs, cars, žīdmasoni, tēvija, miers, predestinācija - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFdZXWcRqW4

Kaut kur vakar izlasīju, ka "the emergent antithesis, hierarchy, encompasses its suppressed negation, equality".

Tam taču ir jābūt pašsaprotami, ka Krievijas politiķiem ir ekskluzīvas tiesības saukt par fašistiem un nacistiem tos, kuri nepiekrīt Krievijas politikai. Princis Čārlzs vienkārši neapdomīgi savā komentārā pielietoja šo patentēto idiomu.

"...developing democracies, are bad at selling themselves. On the surface, they appear weak, riven with conflict and self-criticism. They air their corruption scandals in public. They allow public protests. By contrast, autocracies appear smooth and united—until, suddenly, they aren't."

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/foreigners/2014/05/egypt_could_learn_from_india_dictatorships_could_learn_from_the_south_s.html