The End of the Page

The Fear: Riveting, Eye-Opening and Terrifying Abuses of Power

by Luke Goldstein

Rating: 9 out of 10

Every day when we wake up, we quickly take stock of our surroundings. Is light pouring through cracks in the bedroom curtains? Where is the end of the bed, so I don’t bang my foot against it in the dark again? How long do I have to snooze before I absolutely must get ready for work? These are the types of questions that plague many people each morning. Yet for others, those unlucky enough to be living under the rule of a corrupted and violent government, the only question each morning is more like, “Will I live to see another day?” History has shown many times before how the oppressed can quickly become the oppressor once power sinks its claws in and Zimbabwe, under the rule of President Robert Mugabe, now stands at the pinnacle, waving a flag boasting leadership and unity on one side, but the other a desperate cry for help. Which one will the world respond to?

The Fear: Robert Mugabe and the Martyrdom of Zimbabwe is a harrowing travelogue by Peter Godwin, detailing his trip back to his homeland after an election, which should have ousted their despotic leader, but instead unleashed a paranoid and chaotic fury unlike anything seen before. Peter moves in and out of danger, trying to document as clearly as he can the abuses and tragedies inflicted upon the people who dared to challenge the status quo and spoke their mind in this fledgling democracy.

The set up to this barbarism was a recent national election for Zimbabwe in 2008, where Robert Mugabe, the country’s longtime president, lost to Morgan Tsvangirai in bogus political theater gone wrong (or right, depending on which side you were on). Mugabe and all of his generals had the opportunity to walk away with plumped up golden parachutes and immunity from any number of crimes they committed during his reign. Instead, the madman showed his true colors, not the green, yellow, red and black stripes of their flag, but rather the green of greed and the red of rage towards those who voted against him. With the assistance of his generals, already hardened by previous extreme civil wars, and brutal war veterans who saw Mugabe as the savior and bringer of their true freedom, he set about intimidating, torturing and killing anyone who spoke out against his legitimacy as the one true ruler.  Untold numbers have already died in the struggle for true democracy there and even more are living with the physical and mental scarring left behind by roving gangs of power-hungry war vets and brainwashed youth who have been taught torture and death dealing as a civil trade.

Godwin does an amazing job detailing out these horrors, while posting them up against the background of the natural beauty and serenity Zimbabwe can hold underneath. The country, itself awash with the blood of wars between the tribes and now overflowing once again with the bodies of its people, still manages to capture a sense of timelessness and purity in their countryside and jungles. Godwin tries to show that side of his home and prove that keeping those people and their traditions alive, outside the despotism of Mugabe, is truly something worth fighting for, possibly dying for.

The examples and scenarios of intimidation and murder unleashed by Mugabe go far beyond the pale of human rights abuses, causing the international community to balk at recognizing him as the true leader. The opposing party (known as the MDC) has refused to give up and endured years of assassinations and trumped up prison stays in conditions rivaling those in medieval times. Today, you will find a GNU (Government of National Unity) set up in Zimbabwe consisting of members of Mugabe’s cabinet and those of the MDC, but Godwin pulls back the sheen of stability to show the fallacy of this tenuous brotherhood of man. Heads of the opposition only agreed to stop the continued bloodshed and in hopes of staving off outright civil war, but with a new election coming around the bend, people are once again worried they will be targeted for their votes. Towns loyal to the MDC fear they will once again be burned, looted, pillaged and their women raped by roving gangs of Mugabe conscripts.

The Fear was the nickname given by the people to the blanket of intimidation laid over the country by Mugabe and the book reads like something from hundreds of years ago when countries were conquered and re-settled by vicious landlords. Yet, when you let it sink in that these horrible actions are being carried out even to this very day, it chills even the most disconnected reader. It is an eye-opening look into a world many of us would never know, or care to know, exists, but once you see it, you will not be able to look away.  For those who do read the book and want to help the cause, there are various ways listed out on Godwin’s website.

The End of the Page recommendation: The Fear strikes deep with painfully detailed examples.

Your Chance to Be a Real Superhero!

Mike Meyer, courtesy of Boing Boing

by Luke Goldstein

A few weeks back I came across this article on Boing Boing:

Mentally disabled man robbed of his epic Superman collection

Immediately after reading it, I mentally tried to cleanse myself of the stain from knowing someone out there would actually do such a lowdown, despicable thing. Then, immediately after that, I called my uncle, where I have my comics still stored from before moving to California. I asked him to look through my boxes and pull out the still-in-the-bag copy of Superman #75 (The Death of Superman).

My plan was to find an address, send it to him and write a post about it, hoping to draw a little more attention and get maybe some other Super-donations. Well my plan turns out to be fairly easy because thousands of people beat me to it:

Facebook page / Get Satisfaction page

Also, in amazingly great news, while waiting for my special comic to arrive, the person who stole Mike’s collection has been caught and the original collection has been returned to him.

Now you might think there is really no reason to send anything now that he has his prized possessions back, but I think there is still a statement to be made. First off, it helps to remind people that there is more good in the world than evil. Secondly, Mike has promised that whatever duplicates he receives he will donate himself to a local charity. So, someone somewhere will undoubtedly be appreciating whatever generosity comes their way.

Here is the address in case you still have an urge to send something along:

Mike Meyer c/o Bill Smith
7041 Kingsbury Blvd.
St. Louis, Mo. 63130

Thanks for reading, as always.

Kickstart the Future with Prison Break 2438

Just wait until I draw in the thought bubbles. It’ll blow your mind.

For those of you unacquainted with fundraising and self-publishing your own projects, there are a few amazing websites out there which lend a helping hand in organizing and evangelizing your future piece of awesomeness. Kickstarter is one of those where you can list a project and create donation tiers, teasing out bigger and better prizes for people who donate more and more green to the project. There is a wealth of these needy creative ventures out there and for anyone with a few disposable bucks and a desire to feel like you have truly helped the world become more interesting and imaginative, please dive deep into this site at your absolute soonest. Here, I’ll even point you toward one worthy project right now…

Prison Break 2438

In a bleak futuristic world, in which the United States of America has split into multiple countries, a small band of civil rights revolutionaries must save their leader from the clutches of an evil government.

The manuscript has been written, rewritten and rewritten some more and the authors have now connected with renowned Darkhorse Comics and DC Comics veteran artist Brian Ewing for the soon-to-be-impressive cover artwork.

Lend a hand to help another piece of imagination get out there into the hands of readers everywhere. Who knows, if you donate enough, you could even get yourself free copies of the book, maybe even the original cover art itself! Check it out.

Take Part: Leaders of ‘The Cove’ movement and more…

Documentaries are at their best when you feel absolutely compelled to jump out of your seat and help before the ending credits roll. Few of them can make such claims, but recently I was enthralled by The Cove and the images I saw made my eyes water and my stomach turn.

This post is not meant to be a review of the movie, but let me be as straight as I can when I say everyone should see this. There is no excuse at all for the massacre of dolphins still taking place in those waters. Even if you mock those who rally under the title ‘animal lover’, you would have a hard time defending those being exposed in this film.

Yet, as I mentioned before, the goal is not to just bring this terrible tragedy to light, but to also motivate you to help in whatever way you can. Take Part is a group that is not only managing the information about the current status in the cove and where all the help is going, but also a number of other charities and causes are listed there.

If you have any time, money or even free space in your brain, please take a look at their website and see if you can find a way to lend them a hand. I know there is an overwhelming number of issues and causes in this world, but if everyone just picked one and actually donated just a little time, money or effort, the results would not only change the world in the present, but it would help make sure places like ‘the cove’ never appear again.

Kiva – Loans That Change Lives

Kiva’s mission is to connect people, through lending, for the sake of alleviating poverty.

Kiva empowers individuals to lend to an entrepreneur across the globe. By combining microfinance with the internet, Kiva is creating a global community of people connected through lending.

Kiva was born of the following beliefs:

• People are by nature generous, and will help others if given the opportunity to do so in a transparent, accountable way.
• The poor are highly motivated and can be very successful when given an opportunity.
• By connecting people we can create relationships beyond financial transactions, and build a global community expressing support and encouragement of one another.

Kiva promotes:

• Dignity:   Kiva encourages partnership relationships as opposed to benefactor relationships. Partnership relationships are characterized by mutual dignity and respect.
• Accountability:   Loans encourage more accountability than donations where repayment is not expected.
• Transparency:   The Kiva website is an open platform where communication can flow freely around the world.

As of November 2009, Kiva has facilitated over $100 million in loans.

New Look, New Home

Conquering is fun!

[image via Flickr: mr la rue]

Big greetings to all the readers out there. You might have been a little troubled and possibly emotionally scarred by the disruption in service yesterday, so for that I humbly apologize. I’ve been working on a new blog design over the past couple months and it finally reached the point where I needed to turn it all on and see it work in action. There were a few bumps in the road along the way, but everything seems to be in place now. There will be more design changes to come, but hopefully they will not interrupt service at all.

Thanks as always for reading and please feel free to leave comments on the posts, share them using the new cool “Share This” widget and keep coming on back! In the coming months you will see some new voices, new topics and an expansion on where this whole project is going. If you have any interest in writing for The End of the Page or maybe just a suggestion on the blog itself, leave me a comment or send an e-mail.

Women’s Aid

What more is there to say?

Human Rights Campaign

The Human Rights Campaign represents a grassroots force of more than 700,000 members and supporters nationwide. As the largest national gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization, HRC envisions an America where GLBT people are ensured of their basic equal rights, and can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.

Click on the pic to learn more and donate.

Donating time to Doggy Thunderdome: A day in the life of…(4/24)

1 – Author and Entrepreneur Tim Ferris created a book/sensation called The 4-Hour Workweek, where he details out ways to become part of the “New Rich” by correctly maximizing your time. Well, as productive and beneficial as that sounds, the true test comes from what you do with all this new time and money. Tim has made a nice step in the right direction by starting up fund raising efforts to build schools in places like Nepal (click here to donate to this worthy cause). Hopefully this new trend where we blend the definitions of “the fortunate” with “the generous” will continue for years and generations to come. [via Tim Ferris]

2 – David Blaine has lost some of that mysterious luster he had back in the day, but he is going to attempt to regain some of that when he tries to break the world record for longest time holding one’s breath. His attempt at the record will be during his upcoming appearance on Oprah. What he doesn’t know is audience members on Oprah have already broken that record numerous times in order to win Burberry Coats and free Prada handbags. [via Perez Hilton]

3 – It’s ok, Jon. We’ve all had those mornings. I recommend a quick dose of Orange Chocolate Chip Sherbet and a Battlestar Galactica marathon. [via Garfield Minus Garfield]

4 – I’ve yet to see the new documentary from Ben Stein titled, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, but now I am even more interested in donating my ticket money to it because it has become the latest victim in the suing spree from Yoko Ono. She is suing based on the fact John Lennon’s Imagine is used in the movie without her permission. Something about the history of John Lennon tells me that he wouldn’t mind his music being used to help open discourse on the subject of faith and censorship. Something also tells me he would dead set against Yoko’s addiction to lawsuit and money grabbing control stunts. Maybe it’s just me. [via FilmDrunk]

5 – In space, no one can hear you get pulled over. [via Film School Rejects]

6 – It took me a good ten minutes to come down from a rage after reading this claim by Hillary Clinton that she now leads in the popular vote. My tolerance for her double speak, political spin doctoring and blatant lying (how many snipers were shooting at you during that visit, Mrs. Ex-First Lady?) has reached an all time low. Her popular vote claim is only based on the addition of the votes in Florida and Michigan. She seems to think we will all ignore the fact that Obama didn’t campaign in Florida since he knew their delegates were not going to be allowed at the convention and the even better fact that Obama was not even on the ticket in Michigan. Counting those votes in her favor is as bad, if not worse, than the claims of voter tampering and racial blocking that took place in 2000 by the Bush campaign. Once again she is proving that she is bringing no change, no betterment of the political process and proving only one thing, women can lie and scheme just as good as men. Well played. [via CNN]

7 – When I have a cold and have to stay inside, I never make anything this creative. I kinda wanna get sick now just to do this. [via pouringdown]

8 – An inflatable IPod chair. Just what the doctor ordered for my cubicle. Do you think my desk-neighbors will mind when my mix of Disturbed and Color Me Badd plays all day? Nawww… [via swissmiss]

9 – As cool as this special edition of the board game Clue is, it is one step closer to that day when they release one with real weapons inside. Then, only then, will the dinner party start to get really exciting. [via uncrate]

10 – The moment I saw this I only thought one thing: “Two dogs enter, One dog leaves!”. Welcome to Doggy Thunderdome. [via uncrate]

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

Daily Musings 3/4

1 – Obviously the most important topic of the day, IT’S PRIMARY TIME!!! The big states hitting the polls today are Texas and Ohio and if Clinton doesn’t win both those states, along with big showings in all the rest, it’s curtains for the New York Senator. I’ll be refreshing this post as often as I can while refreshing CNN for up-to-date results. I’m on the Obamamania train, but even if I wasn’t, it really is the time and the place for people to once again give a crap about voting and taking control back. We’ve seen the results when we shirk our duties (i.e.: mentally challenged cowboys with their finger on the trigger).

2 – Trent Reznor, aka Nine Inch Nails, is following the Radiohead trail and releasing nine tracks off his new album for free. You can download the EP here, or pay a little more for the full album, or pay a little more for a physical CD sent to you, or pay a little more for a collectors edition, or pay a little more for a super-duper NIN uberfan edition. Really, Trent? The power of giving the album away for free when it starts to look like a drug dealer tossing out the first hit. [via Starpulse]

3 – Spice Girl Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice, is going to strip naked to help support a charity raising money to fight the sex trafficking trade. Something about getting naked to support the downfall of sex slaves just seems slightly skewed to me. Maybe I’m just having bad memories from the time I went to the Little People’s Rights rally dressed as an Oompah Loompah. [via StarPulse]

4 – Drew Barrymore has shifted the spotlight away from her near perfect relationship with Justin Long to the amazingly generous donation she made to a world hunger charity. She presented the foundation with a $1 million dollar check during her appearance on Oprah yesterday and it is being earmarked for the hunger crisis in Kenya, although if you follow the link on the right side of my home page, it will take you to the charity site and you can designate where you would like your donation to go. I chose “Greatest Need” because I think hunger is hunger no matter where you live. So if you have the spare funds, maybe choose a Domino’s Pizza for dinner one night instead of $60 in sushi, you can easily give that to these starving kids. What you receive is much more filling than food.

5 – This is truly the beginning of the end. They know all our secrets! [via Dave]

6 – Marion Cotillard is firing back at the quotes being used against her concerning 9/11 and the moon landing. Evidently she made those a long time ago and they were taken out of context. So I’ll translate for those not fluent in backtracking French, “I used to be crazy. I’m better now.”

7 – The back-up quarterback of the world breathe a sigh of relief as Brett Favre finally retires from the NFL. He walks away holding numerous records and widely known as one of the most consistent and dedicated quarterbacks in NFL history. Now the only problem is how to supplement the instant loss of tourism and sale of foam cheese hats in the town of Green Bay. [via Sports Illustrated]
8 – The video game Rock Band is taking the next step into musical history as they begin to create and release playable tracks from the Grateful Dead. What this really means is a quick upsurge in arthritis, exhaustion and death from malnutrition as players are chained to their game systems through 4 1/2 day long jam sessions. Also, sales of Cherry Garcia ice cream will undoubtedly take a jump. Mmmm…jump. [via Starpulse, their on a roll today]

9 – Now that Battlestar Galactica is back on the air, people from all walks of life are showing their fandom proudly, but none more so than these musicians that are planning a tribute show for the sci-fi phenomenon. I’m a fan of the show, but I think I am a couple steps back from singing songs about it or naming my kids something that can only be pronounced through a series of grunts. [via Starpulse, again ]

10 – Airborne is going to be paying out $23 million dollars in a class action lawsuit where the petitioners claim: “Airborne is basically on overpriced, run-of-the-mill vitamin pill that’s been cleverly, but deceptively, marketed.” You mean we haven’t cured the common cold yet? What the hell! First some French lady tells me we never landed on the moon, then this! I don’t think I can read the news anymore. It’s too disturbing. [via CNN]