by John Grahan and Ann Medlock, Founders of the Giraffe Heroes Project, Sept. 17th, 2020 …. We write this piece as seasoned political observers whose politics are just left of center; we are not far-left radicals. And what we’re observing is that, with just weeks left until what could be the most important election in US history, the evidence from Donald Trump’s four years in office is now incontrovertible: He is set on destroying this constitutional republic and replacing it with a fascist state with himself as its head. His moves are a clear and present danger to this nation, Read More
Where is everybody?
A remote friend who returned from a world trip early March wrote to me “…. The most difficult thing is to touch ground again when everything is ‘so much in-the-air’.” And yes, indeed, it seems people are evaporating somehow from their presence known to us previously. Or was our previous perception an illusion? Hmm…. One thing, as another friend told me, fur sure is tension and stress. Some sort of mind paralyses seems to be gripping as a result. Everybody is on the defensive, preparing for whatever strange thing there is to come – or, no one is eager to Read More
Cosco and the Bee Refuge at the Refugio Sulayr and Bibliotheca del Sol
This is to give you an impression about our protagonist Cosco Louis de Cordier. What Louis has managed to do is extraordinary: he is not only a highly imaginary artist he is also a visionary in other fields. His historic rediscovery of the Lost Labyrinth of Egypt is the most spectacular, but the creation of Bibliotheca del Sol near the Refugio Sulayr in the Alpujarras is a feast of its own. Follow the preceding link to a video for that so you can have a look and get a feel for the place. It is here, that Cosco is now Read More
GECA Campaign Climate Adaptation
Report from the kick-off event on 9/11/2020 “The most benevolent counter attack on a historically rather loaded date: yes, climate adaptation is what matters today, more than anything else!” Four Giraffe-Heroes were present at the event, which alone made it a great success. Now the clock is ticking, and PLEASE, we are dependent on your support! You may have a look at the live-streamed part of the evening by following the first link below; the second leads you to the campaign website where to make a DONATION. There are great rewards to harvest, so have a look if you didn’t Read More
Celebrating Sven Hammrell
…… One of Sven’s greatest talents must have been the ability to spot unique people and ideas before anyone else. He and Olle would bring them into the ever-expanding network of the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, ask them to contribute to Development Dialogue, and then stay connected with them forever. People leading new and alternative thinking on health, media, disarmament, science, technology, agriculture, ecology, education, pharmaceuticals, the global economy, UN reform, and any other conceivable, important topic were spotted and brought together. A young Pat Mooney was one such character. Sven realized before anyone else that this Canadian activist had an Read More
The Great Divide and the Giraffe Heroes Foundation – An Appeal –
We are living in an age of divisions, growing ever more extreme. The technical divide, yes; but not only. Increasingly, in the technically well advanced society the wealth and welfare divide is gaining dramatically ground and has reached absolute, historical proportions. In parallel there is a less noted and less accepted divide creeping in: the intellectual divide. The new Big Brother, China, is leading the lot, followed by a maniac American president who wishes to erase the intellectual discourse in the name of fake news and alternative facts. The so called scientific community, powered by big pharma and power hungry, Read More
Ai Weiwei
What happened in China is not just about the pandemic. It raises the question of whether the West can continue to see China as a partner without basic transparency and trust in its political structure. This struggle will last longer than the disease itself. It is painful, but has become necessary. China stands as a challenge to the West, not just economically but with cultural and social differences and conflicts in ideology. SCMP, July 29th, 2020. Go to interview
Scallion Dutch Baby, by Shen Lu, June 2020
The dishes I make myself flavor my moods, and season my experience of the news. As my birth country and my host country cast blame on one another, I eat four-cheese pizza with a side dish of blanched cauliflower seasoned with soy sauce, vinegar, and extra chili oil. The day Trump moved to halt legal immigration into the U.S., I poured osmanthus-infused syrup over a steamed Chinese yam, tingeing the edges of my rage and despair with its bright floral sweetness. When police detained volunteers who archived censored articles about coronavirus, I threw too many bird’s eye chilies into a Read More
Words from a World Past?
… Crises there will continue to be. In meeting them, whether foreign or domestic, great or small, there is a recurring temptation to feel that some spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. A huge increase in newer elements of our defense; development of unrealistic programs to cure every ill in agriculture; a dramatic expansion in basic and applied research…. Another factor in maintaining balance involves the element of time. As we peer into society’s future, we — you and I, and our government — must avoid the impulse to live only for today, Read More
Freedom of Fear
The chapter in Samantha Power’s recent book “The Education of an Idealist” (William Collins, 2019) on the impressive response to the 2015 Ebola outbreak by the Obama administration – with so many lessons not taken to tackle the present Covid crisis under a maniacs regime….. Power finishes her writing with the following lines: “Looking back, I now see all that the scoreboard could not capture: The relief of a father who has been reunited with his son, newly free of a deadly disease. The look on a government minister’s face as he traverses a rainbow crosswalk. The insistence of diplomats Read More