Tag Archives: dialog

The sun came up on a different world —Julian Assange

Julian Assange of Wikileaks spoke from the Ecuadorean Embassy in London today (video, text):

The next time somebody tells you that it is pointless to defend the rights we hold dear, remind them of your vigil in the dark outside the Embassy of Ecuador, and how, in the morning, the sun came up on a different world, and a courageous Latin American nation took a stand for justice.

The British government made a stunning mistake in throwing away the worldwide goodwill just gained through the London Olympic Games, by actually beginning to storm a sovereign embassy in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that was observed throughout the Cold War. How could they be so foolish? This man, this reporter and publisher, they think is somehow more dangerous to them than the armed might of the Soviet Union was? This is as if JFK arrested MLK after John Glenn’s first orbital flight (a step which JFK fortunately did not take).

There is something you can do, even when the world is turned upside down:

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Moe the Owl: August LAKE meeting tonight

Come help us find out what’s going on and connect the dots,

When: 5:30PM tonight, Tuesday, 2 August 2011

Where: Moe’s on North Ashley in Valdosta
3145 North Ashley Street
Valdosta, Georgia
333-0649
The food is good at Moe’s, and you can see what they put in it.

Sign up for the facebook event or come as you are.

LAKE is the name; transparency is the game.

-jsq

dialogue on consolidation was a forbidden zone —Barbara Stratton

Received yesterday on Videos of CUEE’s idea of a “public dialog”. -jsq
In their minds every name signed as attending is part of their consensus, which is why I never sign in. It is also why they keep trying to say Sam Allen is for consolidation even though he chairs the group against consolidation.
I went to the June & July CUEE meetings just to see what they were doing & to dialogue about consolidation. At both meetings dialogue on consolidation was a forbidden zone. I keep telling you their game plan is textbook UN Agenda 21. Debate is not allowed. They manipulate everything to create what they misname “consensus” which means per their numbers & statistics everyone who does not speak out against their agenda is for their aganda including anyone who never shows up at all. In their minds every name signed as attending is part of their consensus, which is why I never sign in. It is also why they keep trying to say Sam Allen is for consolidation even though he chairs the group against consolidation. They made sure they got photos of him at the July meeting to further their consensus game.

If you live in the city or the county & you want to hear real dialogue about consolidation

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a “public dialog” —Alex Jones

Received today on Three things to actually improve education. This CUEE supporter completely ignores all three things I recommended to improve education; I will respond in more detail in the next post. -jsq
I have actually attended several of the public meetings and listened to the discussions from the Education Planning Committee. I’m not sure if you realize this or not, but the committee consists of parents, concerned residents and educators from both school systems and VSU. The committee also has members who are supportive and opposed to school unification, and it includes both city and county residents. In fact, Sam Allen even attended and participated in the last meeting.

The objective of the Education Planning Committee is to

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Local foods, local economy, local community

Local food is more than healthier, it’s even more than tasty. It’s also local economy and local community.

In the U.K., small local shops are being replaced by big-box supermarkets. A widespread argument for this conversion is that consumers get more choice. Peter Wilby wrote in the Guardian 3 May 2011 about why that’s not good enough:

Even the “good for consumers” defence of the big stores requires scrutiny. Supermarkets may offer mangoes and kiwi fruit as a blessed relief to generations who recall the surly greengrocer grunting “no demand for it” when asked for anything out of the ordinary. But the option to buy locally grown produce is increasingly closed off; many varieties of English fruit disappeared long ago. Supermarkets stock food not for its taste, but for its longevity and appearance. Conventional economists count numbers, assuming that a huge increase in toilet roll colours represents an unqualified gain to the consumer. They neglect more subtle dimensions of choice.

The central issue, however, is whether “what the consumer wants” should close down the argument. What people want as consumers may not be what they want as householders, community members, producers, employees or entrepreneurs. The loss of small shops drains a locality’s economic and social capital. Money spent in independent retail outlets tends to stay in the community, providing work for local lawyers and accountants, plumbers and decorators, window cleaners and builders.

He then cites U.S. research that shows local stores promote the local economy. Are we just consumers? Maybe we do other things than just buy stuff? Especially, do we do other things together? Continue reading

May LAKE meeting: The owl in Lake Park

Continuing to fly around the county, the owl lights in Lake Park Tuesday evening: Monthly LAKE Meeting
When: 6 PM, Tuesday 3 May 2011
Where: Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q
1088 Lakes Boulevard
Lake Park, GA 31636-3013
(229) 559-0052
That’s on Lakes Blvd at exit 5 off of I-75. They’re open until 9PM.

However, at 7PM the Lake Park City Council meets. We can go see a city council that talks to its people during its meetings!

Help cover food, water, transportation, incarceration, solar energy, biomass, and regular local government meetings: you never know when news will be made!

If you follow the LAKE blog, On the LAKE Front, which you can also see through the LAKE facebook page, you know what we cover, from protesters to private prisons to gardening to schools, all of which turn out to be related. What else do you want to investigate? You can be LAKE, too! Continue reading

Many interesting comments

Lately there are many interesting comments on the blog, especially on these posts: You can follow all this in the Recent Comments on the blog.

Please also see our Submissions Policy. Looking forward to your comments.

-jsq

Walk out into the audience —Leigh Touchton

This came in Sunday as a blog post on To Speak or Not to Speak. As a contrast, Lowndes County Commissioners do usually talk to people before and after their meetings, and sometimes they use that time to answer questions citizens asked during the meeting. -jsq
Yost engaged Dr. Noll (and was unpleasant about it) at one meeting that I attended, Mayor Fretti engages people sometimes, Attorney Talley engaged J. Smith last Thursday, and sometimes others at other meetings, myself included, and Vickers talks pretty much to whomever he wants whenever he wants. The whole CTBH policy is a smokescreen. The Council Comments period ought to be followed by adjournment and then the Councilmembers making their remarks from the dais during Council Comments ought to have to walk out into the audience and deal with the voters’ concerns directly.

When Jimmy Rainwater was Mayor, I may not always have agreed with him, or he with me, but he always came out into the audience and talked to us.

This Council is not responsive to the concerns of its citizens,

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Dr. Mark P. George wants a conversation @ VCC 7 April 2011

The mayor prefaced a comment that he’s read (apparently in this blog) that he’s been criticized for not paying attention while people are speaking. He clarified that he’s often taking notes. Then Dr. Mark P. George spoke, wondering when people would get answers to their more substantive questions.
I have an attorney. These folks have an attorney. He’s sitting right there.
Indicating the city attorney.

Here’s Part 1 of 3:


Dr. Mark P. George @ VCC 7 April 2011 Part 1 of 3:
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 April 2011,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Dr. George amplified the not paying attention comments by adding in body language, and saying he did appreciate taking notes. He asked if the meeting is recorded. Mayor Fretti answered yes.

Dr. George remarked:

It seems to me you are now cloaking the lack of response in legalities.

Legality does not equal morality.

Council Sonny Vickers remarked that he already told everyone he is for the biomass plant.

Dr. George recommended conversation, following up on new information.

The mayor asked Dr. George to wrap up. Dr. George responded:

There really is no end.

Here’s Part 2 of 3:


Dr. Mark P. George @ VCC 7 April 2011 Part 2 of 3:
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 April 2011,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

More back and forth between Dr. George and the mayor about how or whether or when he or somebody might answer questions, followed by interchange between Dr. George and the audience.

Here’s Part 3 of 3:


Dr. Mark P. George @ VCC 7 April 2011 Part 3 of 3:
Regular monthly meeting of the Valdosta City Council (VCC),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 7 April 2011,
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

-jsq

LAKE as a news medium

We are the media, and you can be, too!

According to the OPEN Government Act of 2007:

[T]he term ‘a representative of the news media’ means any person or entity that gathers information of potential interest to a segment of the public, uses its editorial skills to turn the raw materials into a distinct work, and distributes that work to an audience. In this clause, the term ‘news’ means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. Examples of news-media entities are television or radio stations broadcasting to the public at large and publishers of periodicals (but only if such entities qualify as disseminators of ‘news’) who make their products available for purchase by or subscription by or free distribution to the general public. These examples are not all-inclusive. Moreover, as methods of news delivery evolve (for example, the adoption of the electronic dissemination of newspapers through telecommunications services), such alternative media shall be considered to be news-media entities.
It’s pretty obvious LAKE qualifies as a news medium with its blog, On the LAKE Front, as well as its web pages and its facebook page.

Here is the bill’s full text. The bill was sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy and 17 others, ranging from Sen. Barack Obama to Sen. Johnny Isakson. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush 31 December 2007.

Of course that’s really just a detail, having to do with the Wikileaks comparison.

Most of what LAKE does has more to do with Georgia law, about open records requests and this passage, O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1-c.:

“Visual, sound, and visual and sound recording during open meetings shall be permitted.”

None of that requires a news medium. Any citizen can file open records requests or record public meetings. Remember, you are the media!

-jsq for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange