yesterday i was thinking to myself of how no one really writes or sings love songs that really articulate what love is. they sing of a warped idea of love... love as just feelings and excitment and not really touching on the essence of love. Have any of these pop stars really ever been in love? do they really feel, in the depths of their bellys, and do they have a knowing in the invisilbe depths of their minds, or what love is? i was really annoyed that no one sings about love in a beautiful,meaningful way... [of course, by "no one" i'm just generalizing].

that was me in a fit of disappointment about cheap artists misuing the idea of love... and then i hung out with Stevie Wonder in my iTunes! unreal! the guy delivers. the nice thing is that he writes most of his stuff too... so he can bridge the written content with the emotional delivery--even in the studio!

i'm drowing myself in stevie wonder right now. the guy's amazing!

who would have ever thought...? ;)

i know this comes very late, but i was rather intrigued by the 'orange revolution' in ukraine. not so much by the idea of people going to streets to protest and get somewhere with it... but rather by some of the details of how this revolution took place.

people were on the streets for three weeks straight--in ukrainian cold no less. how on earth did 'they' [organizers of this revolution] manage to coordinate, sponsore and finance such a movement? they out-organized a sitting government, which is quite a feat. especially in a supposedly, 'undemocratic' country where those spaces to move around and organized are reported to be limited.

so was this revolution something "locally" grown, or was it the hand of a foreign power at play? i don't know if we'll ever know the answer, and i don't want to sound like a skeptic of people power, but these eastern european 'revolutions' of the past few years are really suspicious in my view. they way they happen, logistically, just doesn't add up. how do they do it if these things are really not financially bankrolled by foreign 'investors' in political change...? how do they keep people on streets on end... sounds petty, but for thousands of people out in freezing temperatures for days, you have to provide food, adequate clothing, access to sanitation etc. and if these things are spontaneous (i.e. they occur upon hearing that an election is stolen, then the protests start). how do they sustain it for weeks on end until those in power flee...?

it's nice to believe in the human spirit and the human element... i believe it those things too. but there are practical, logical things that don't seem to fit!

i have been researching this for a little while and found the following article on the Ukrainian Orange Revolution

http://www.timeswatch.org/twarticles/2004/20041221.asp


does anyone else have any insights/perspectives or articles that discuss this issue to some extent? or is anyone out there in ukraine where they can shed some more light on this situation...?

if my suspicion is true of the influence and probably sponsorship of these 'people' revolutions by other interested parties on the outside--such as the US and European governments, then that's rather unfortunate because the long term effects are VERY bad for those countries. in cases where they fail, the sitting governments take extreme measures to reduce and limit he abilities of external sources to kick them out. they pass laws banning financing from external organizations, they limit media freedoms, they create an electoral environment which they control more that is what is necessary or healthy! and in cases where they succeed, you get a subsidized democracy which is really not very sustainable...

am keen to learn more on this!


looking forward to a great discussion

bebesiyaphi? COSATU tried to go to Zimbabwe again [BBC story]


these people just want to make a scene. they were told under what conditions they could carry out their visit. they make their own conditions. get deported and then they complain... and the media twists it and shows them as the vicitms in this case. yet many 'democratic' countries deny people entry for less clear violations. such a farse!

COSATU should really focus on it's core business and mandate... or change it's name, mission and purpose. local Trade Unions are not an extension of a country's foreign policy. if the Zimbabwe Trade Union body went to south africa with a hostile mission against the government of SA, they'd also get sent home packing.