tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117Tue, 17 Sep 2024 00:19:15 +0000progressive v. regressive politicsconnective imageryU.S. foreign policy and diplomacycultural violencenonviolent social changeLatin AmericaconnectivityNo Stranger To Strange LandshopeArab SpringWest Asiaart & cultureconspiratorial thinkingcynicismfundamentalismEduardo Galeanochaosfearmythsreligionsecrecy and democracysustainable societyAfghanistanDr. Martin Luther King Jr.poetrypoliticswaterBecause the World is Round... blogdrug policyislamophobiatravelBill MoyersColombiaDr. Cornel WestGeorge CarlinKurt VonnegutUruguaybig historycyclessocial networkingwikileaksAlbert SchweitzerAmy GoodmanFrida KahloGore VidalIrshad ManjiJoaquín Torres GarcíaJosé MujicaMexicoNaomi KleinRachel MaddowReza AslanRichie HavensRory StewartVan Jonescomplexityself-definitionsocial healinga literally virtual, virtually figurative, figuratively metaphysical exploration into the power of connectivityhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)Blogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-5060243402690585454Sun, 29 May 2016 00:06:00 +00002016-10-11T18:59:11.836-06:00art & cultureconnective imageryLatin AmericaMexicotravel Ah, historic Pátzcuaro! Promoted by the tourism secretariat as a Pueblo Mágico, it is a magical place, with a long history going back to the early 1300s, when the local indigenous people, the purépechas, founded it a couple hundred years before the Spaniards arrived in 1522. While Jamie has known Pátzcuaro since 1969, the two of us first came here together in the spring of 1993. We hadhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2016/05/alive-again-in-patzcuaro.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4795721514948692600Sat, 21 May 2016 23:28:00 +00002019-02-12T13:20:27.071-07:00art & cultureColombiaconnective imageryLatin Americatravel During the wee hours of 21 April, 2016, Jamie and I flew LAN from Montevideo, Uruguay, to Bogotá, Colombia, with a short stopover in Lima, Peru, arriving to a lovely day in the Colombian capital, all snuggled up against a line of intensely green mountains to the east, around noon. &nbsp;Following a minor adventure in which we ended up way out in the parking lot with all our baggage falling http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-way-too-short-visit-to-bogota-colombia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4228888141145051134Sun, 15 May 2016 22:50:00 +00002016-10-11T19:00:40.544-06:00connective imageryUruguay After several days of heavy rains, we were fortunate enough to have a sunny day on 20 April when we cleaned ourselves out the doors of our little house in el campo outside of La Paloma, Rocha, Uruguay, settled up with everyone we had sold or traded all our stuff to, said goodbye to our friends, and took a taxi to the terminal to ride the bus to the airport and leave in the early hours of 21 http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2016/05/reflections-upon-leaving-uruguay.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-7261839603365581683Tue, 02 Feb 2016 17:41:00 +00002016-02-02T12:55:32.978-07:00big historycomplexityNo Stranger To Strange Lands R.I.P. David Bowie (8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016)You are among the most creative, beautiful,&nbsp;and positively impactful human beingswho ever lived! Edit: Before anyone gets their hopes up, please note that this article has absolutely nothing to do with David Bowie, except ever so subtly, at the very end. I just couldn't let his death go unacknowledged. The brainchild of David http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-big-deal-about-big-history.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-6358746101362436806Sat, 02 Jan 2016 19:45:00 +00002016-01-17T07:57:02.764-07:00Albert Schweitzerbig historyhopeNo Stranger To Strange Landssustainable societytravel Dr. Albert Schweitzer |&nbsp;Image via Wikipedia Our House in Barrio Parque It’s 1 January 2016. I’m in my house in Barrio Parque, La Paloma, Uruguay, surrounded by Uruguayans who’ve come mostly from the departmental capital of Rocha to flock to the beach while I continue with the day-to-day struggles of life. This barrio is over on the opposite side of Cabo de Santa María fromhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2016/01/a-new-years-jaunt.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-7920598012348048006Mon, 29 Dec 2014 02:03:00 +00002016-01-02T05:00:28.270-07:00art & cultureconnective imageryconnectivityEduardo GaleanoJoaquín Torres GarcíaJosé MujicaLatin Americaprogressive v. regressive politicssocial healingUruguaywater Introductory Note Another year has passed, during which I, unfortunately, have been too busy making the money I need to survive to engage in what I really love to do. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy my current writing and editing work, and I am very thankful to have the opportunity to do it. But it takes up all my energy. Perhaps the new year will bring me to a place where I can once http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2014/12/joaquin-torres-garcia-v-ayn-rand-unique.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4862835190674624507Mon, 02 Dec 2013 17:19:00 +00002016-02-02T07:58:00.890-07:00Bill Moyersconnective imageryconnectivitycultural violencefundamentalismmythsprogressive v. regressive politicsreligionReza AslanWest Asia Reza Aslan (photo by&nbsp;Larry D. Moore CC BY-SA 3.0) La Paloma, Uruguay So, the holiday season is upon us. It always sneaks up on me, here in the Southern Hemisphere, where springtime is awakening into summertime. It doesn’t help that I live in a summer resort town, where the bigger issue is the launch of the holiday season that will rain a deluge of beachgoers onto the usually http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/12/imagine-religion-as-social-reform.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-6174240834363813429Sun, 08 Sep 2013 20:13:00 +00002016-02-02T07:58:00.893-07:00Arab Springconspiratorial thinkingcynicismDr. Martin Luther King Jr.nonviolent social changeprogressive v. regressive politicsU.S. foreign policy and diplomacyWest Asia From "I have a dream" to "I&nbsp;will seek authorization for the use of force,"&nbsp;the final week of August 2013 was an intense one. "I have a dream" We had the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington reminding us of how far our nation has and hasn't come in achieving race equality, putting us in a self-reflective mood and highlighting the conflict between those who climbed up and, http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/09/from-i-have-dream-to-i-will-seek.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-114225515786620003Thu, 11 Jul 2013 18:04:00 +00002016-01-02T04:58:36.186-07:00fundamentalismprogressive v. regressive politicssecrecy and democracyU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy This Snowden NSA leak saga is doing strange things to me. For starters, it has me obsessed. This real-time spy thriller has me scanning through the Internets, searching for the latest news and looking for any and all information about this snowy-white computer whiz kid that I can dig up. I want to know everything. Freedom of information I want to know more details about Snowden's life,http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/07/eward-snowden-strange-love-or-how-i.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-5396939688456586753Tue, 11 Jun 2013 20:02:00 +00002016-01-02T05:01:18.183-07:00conspiratorial thinkingNo Stranger To Strange Landsprogressive v. regressive politicssecrecy and democracy This is a bit contrary to the usual progressive stance on the latest NSA data collection revelations. Although I believe that the legal system that is in place might very well be infringing on our Fourth-Amendment rights, I don't see a major scandal here. Rather, I see an opportunity highlight the danger of excessive secrecy. Back in September 2008, after giving birth to by book, No Stranger http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/06/secrecy-scandals-and-snowden.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-582360966945107311Tue, 23 Apr 2013 19:33:00 +00002016-01-02T04:57:04.689-07:00art & culturecynicismnonviolent social changeRichie Havens <!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]> http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/04/richie-havens-magic-lives-on.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-3063284380441283344Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:06:00 +00002016-01-17T10:04:15.594-07:00cultural violencedrug policyLatin AmericaU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy Note: This article was written a few weeks ago, but due to some engrossing assignments, I didn’t have time to clean it up and post it until now. So please accept my apologies for lagging a bit behind in the national conversation. I feel that the main ideas discussed are important, despite this. Thanks to all my readers, Julie Pre-script: So this commentary is not so out of the loop&nbsp;after http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/03/overcoming-inertia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-2266243109601165742Fri, 25 Jan 2013 04:57:00 +00002016-01-02T04:54:27.863-07:00conspiratorial thinkingcultural violenceDr. Martin Luther King Jr.nonviolent social changeprogressive v. regressive politics World events World events over the past two months since my last post have been riveting. The elections came and went, and then, just as I foretold, Israel attacked Gaza, only ceasing when Obama, trying hard to pull off his pivot to Asia, sent Clinton to babysit. Egypt’s newly elected leader, Mohamed Morsi, shone in the international spotlight for his role in brokering the peace, only to set http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2013/01/thoughts-on-world-events-sources-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4179556327696804105Mon, 05 Nov 2012 20:24:00 +00002016-02-02T07:58:00.886-07:00connectivityWest Asia People all around the world watch the circus of U.S. elections unfold with the understanding that the presidency of the United States affects their lives. Decisions about war and peace, whether or not to address climate change, crafting trade policies and ensuring the stability of financial institutions on the part of the “leader of the free world” reach far beyond the borders of the http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/11/outside-surreality-bubble.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4692398778843280729Thu, 04 Oct 2012 17:45:00 +00002019-04-10T16:36:31.481-06:00conspiratorial thinkingcultural violencefearfundamentalismislamophobiaprogressive v. regressive politicsreligion Well, Pam Geller has finally gained the attention she so very much desires with the billboards posted by New York City’s Metropolitan Transit Authority, marketing fear of Islamic jihad and the dehumanization of all Muslims. One billboard redefines Islamophobia as “Islamorealism” using an anonymous number of alleged “deadly Islamic attacks,” while others advocate support of the “civilized manhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/10/fundamentalism-is-enemy-of-peace-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4587975405574012886Mon, 17 Sep 2012 00:29:00 +00002019-01-12T17:34:33.651-07:00cultural violencefearislamophobiaprogressive v. regressive politicsreligionU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy All over the Muslim world, people are angry. They have every right to express their anger &nbsp;– as long as it is done nonviolently toward both persons and property and within the laws of the land – ...just as the maker of a trailer of the fake movie has the First-Amendment right to express his opinion &nbsp;– as long as it is not fraudulently harmful or willfully offensive withinhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/09/islamophobia-hate-destroys-hater.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-6561434726248980946Sun, 02 Sep 2012 19:38:00 +00002016-07-15T13:16:51.190-06:00Colombiacultural violencecynicismdrug policyLatin Americaprogressive v. regressive politicssustainable societyU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy This week, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that his government has begun engaging in peace talks with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolutionarias de Colombia (FARC). In a nationally televised speech on Monday, 27 August, he acknowledged that "exploratory talks" had been taking place since February in Cuba, and now, the stage is set for dialogue to be formally launched in Oslo in http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/09/can-president-santos-bring-peace-to.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-9080672423662552769Sun, 19 Aug 2012 18:30:00 +00002016-01-02T04:52:15.750-07:00Latin Americaprogressive v. regressive politicssecrecy and democracyU.S. foreign policy and diplomacywikileaks Ah, the poignant poetry, the rich wrinkling, the incising irony, the heartbreaking hypocrisy, the contradictory clusterfuckery, the alluring alliteration! Correa and Assange: a match made in someplace decidedly unheavenly, a place where hormones betray heroes and authoritarians rally righteously upon their duplicitous daises. On their blog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/08/correa-and-assange-contradictions-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-3264943112850253394Wed, 08 Aug 2012 22:16:00 +00002016-02-02T10:42:05.309-07:00Eduardo GaleanoGeorge CarlinGore VidalKurt VonnegutLatin America A hero’s passing is one of life’s most difficult coincidences. These are people who are not everyday participants in one’s life – not in the same way that friends and family might be. Their reasons for being heroes, of course, will outlast their physical being far into the future, and this part of them might be a daily presence – comforting, inspiring, reminding us of what greatness http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/08/ode-to-gore-vidal-on-archetypal-hero.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-8575069664289491821Mon, 21 May 2012 04:17:00 +00002019-01-12T17:38:28.175-07:00Arab Springcultural violencefearislamophobiaprogressive v. regressive politicsreligionWest Asia Egyptians will be going to the polls for the long-anticipated presidential elections on 23-24 May, with a runoff for the top two contenders scheduled for 16-17 June if no one achieves more than 50% of the vote. Some results are already coming in from Egyptian citizens living overseas. Partial results released on Friday, 18 May give the lead, with 26%, to Independent candidate Abdel Moneimhttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/05/egyptian-elections-and-islamaphobia.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-1442273367669515419Sun, 06 May 2012 20:53:00 +00002016-01-02T04:51:14.630-07:00Afghanistanconnective imageryhopepoliticsU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy Kabul, Afghanistan (image via Wikipedia) As reported by the The New York Times on 26 April 2012, Acting at the behest of President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, senior American officials told a California congressman last weekend that he was not welcome in Afghanistan because of concerns that his sharp criticism of Mr. Karzai would undermine Washington’s efforts to rebuild trust with thehttp://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/05/keeping-tabs-on-situation-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-4664177809929937289Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:32:00 +00002016-01-02T04:50:01.764-07:00cultural violencedrug policyU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy The Sixth Summit of the Americas is currently being held in Cartagena, Colombia (after a bit of alleged pre-event partying that caused 11 U.S. secret service and five U. S. military personnel who were linked to the use of prostitutes&nbsp;to be sent home), and one of the most attention-grabbing issues, if not on the official agenda, is a serious discussion about changing the way that the http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/04/global-connections-guinea-bissau.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-7419584233043367984Fri, 06 Apr 2012 20:07:00 +00002016-01-02T04:49:38.835-07:00cultural violencehopeLatin AmericaRachel MaddowU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy Rachel Maddow, via Wikipedia In my previous post, I discovered the strange but true nature of the military mindset, that dreamy, quixotic, incurable optimism that has been perceived and discussed by such realists as Rory Stewart and Howard Zinn. What an amazing set of realizations – that it is members of the armed forces who are regularly deluding themselves about what can and cannot be, http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/04/adrift-in-sea-of-military-exportation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-3753143510575438482Sun, 18 Mar 2012 20:46:00 +00002016-01-02T04:49:08.735-07:00AfghanistanhopeRory StewartU.S. foreign policy and diplomacy Gentle Giant - Rory Stewart Well, how is one to be hopeful about Afghanistan now, after these horrific incidences – the accidental Koran burning, and then the insanity unleashed in the Panjwai district of southern Kandahar Province on a dark, disastrous night last week, supposedly by an angry, possibly drunken soldier? Sixteen innocent civilians, mostly women and children killed – this goes http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/03/answer-for-afghanistan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7309103269666257117.post-7905294293956848482Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:35:00 +00002016-02-02T07:58:00.899-07:00Afghanistanconnectivityconspiratorial thinkingcyclesfearprogressive v. regressive politicsU.S. foreign policy and diplomacyWest Asia Astronomical Clock, Prague (image via Wikipedia) Time, I am convinced, is not a linear dimension. Rather, I believe it is a mysterious force of cyclical motion, propelling events along the nearly imperceptible curve of reality. It is at those moments that stand out for their enduring personal impact that time’s cyclical nature reveals itself. And for me, such a time is when fears of war http://connectivelyspeaking.blogspot.com/2012/02/nuclear-iranian-fear-factor.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Julie R Butler)0