California Senate Bill No.861 Conflicts Minerals in the Democratic Congo

   On October 9, 2011 the state of California did pass SB861, Corbett. Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This bill will ensure that companies are held accountable when using conflicts minerals. Thank you to Senator Corbett and her staff, Djibril Diop!!!! 

    In July 2010, the Dodd-Frank-Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act require the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to impose regulations on militia-controlled minerals from Congo. Companies must reveal to the SEC whether they use these minerals in their products and the steps they are taking to make sure that they are using “conflicts-free minerals”.

     I know that very few people know about blood minerals or even care about the impacts. I would like to thank everyone who made SB 861 happen, on behalf of “poor people that worked in hellish conditions” as nicely said by Tim Worstall, in" Blood in the Mobile: What,Conflict Minerals, Again? ". His point of view is very interesting and informative. He said  “Get those refiners to stop taking Congo material, or even material that they cannot trace back to a mine, and you’re done.” So SB 861 is another step forward!! According to Amy Westervelt in “AnticipatingNew SEC Rules, Tech Companies Shift To Conflict-Free Metals” , companies are  now willing to do anything to avoid PR nightmares....

    And yes, very poor people work in hellish conditions for little money every parts of the World.  So thank you California for caring!

Same Moonlight for Our Dreams...

Senate Bill No. 861
CHAPTER 715
An act to add Section 10490 to the Public Contract Code, relating to
public contracts.
[Approved by Governor October 9, 2011. Filed with
Secretary of State October 9, 2011.]

legislative counsel’s digest
SB 861, Corbett. Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Existing law authorizes contracting between state agencies and private contractors and sets forth requirements for the procurement of goods and services by state agencies and the various responsibilities of state agencies and the Department of General Services in implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill would not become operative until the later of January 1, 2012, or the date the United States Securities and Exchange Commission issues the final rules and regulations on the implementation of Section 1502 of Public Law 111-203, and would become inoperative upon a specified date.

....

BILL NUMBER: SB 861 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett (Coauthor: Senator Anderson) (Coauthor: Assembly Member V. Manuel Pérez)

Book of the Week: Cultural Internationalism and World Order by Akira Iriye

This book is currently on top of my book wish list!
I like the fact that Akira Iriye analysis goes beyond traditional diplomatic history by incorporating cultural perspectives. I like the term of "cultural internationalism", I am not sure about world order but I will read this book!! As an international student, I found out that your cultural imprint goes beyond  "diplomacy", at the end you learn to adapt while understanding others. Akira Iriye seems to have a very liberal view. He is encouraging "cultural internationalism"beyond the traditional understanding of international relations as competition for power and wealth. His book was published in 1997 but I think the issue is still current!

No Conflict Minerals in California!

"California is the first state to consider its own legislation to ease conflict minerals mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo out of the supply chain for electronics." from California leads US in taking a swing against Congo's conflict minerals by Talia Samuelson.

Please Sign the Conflict Minerals Petition here

SB 861 is a landmark piece of legislation that will help curb the trade in illegally extracted minerals from eastern Congo. The conflict in Congo is the deadliest since World War II, claiming more than 5.4 million lives since 1998. Rape has become a devastating weapon of war; hundreds of thousands of women have reported brutal rapes, a fraction of the estimated total. This bill could incentivize compliance with federal regulations on conflict minerals and the development of conflict-free products. In so doing, SB 861 could help show, once again, that California is a leader in protecting the rights of the most vulnerable in the world. I support swift and complete passage of SB 861.

To Fukushima nuclear power heroes

While most of us  pray and hope for Japan, 180 employees at Fukushima nuclear power are real heroes. They are not just doing their jobs or duties. They are sacrificing their health to save others. Instead of mourning their losses or nursing their own family, they are trying to save others. It is admirable and virtuous. I do not like that many authors keep on stating “Japanese sense of duty”. Of course morality starts as a set of culturally defined goals and supports a social system of regulation.  However, we are talking about emergency and survival. There are not in time for considerations of appearance and convenience. It is that ultimate sense of survival as a group or “human community” that makes us more than social animals. I think that using national or social identity is undermining Japanese’s amazing resilience and strength in this catastrophe.
Thank you to all Fukushima employees!!! For Haiti, I hated that  some writers undermined the strength and dignity of the victims. I do not understand that ego trip. Maybe it is a language thing.  If I could read articles in Japanese it  would alleviate that weird stereotypical analysis. Maybe in time of crisis, ego trip is all we have left to reassure ourselves that we are doing good so far. Maybe we all just scared...

Now, in politico-economic boudoirs, the discussions are on nuclear power safety and readiness to natural hazards. Well, I am an optimistic person but I am allergic to double standards. While everybody pretends to surf the “I am so green trend”, our need to maximize progress is unstoppable!! Let us face it! Therefore, let’s not be optimist hypocrites about nuclear power!!! According to WHO, the average person is exposed to about 3.0 millisieverts (mSv) a year of radiation, from naturally-occurring, medical and other sources. Sadly at the Fukushima Daiichi site has recorded radiation as high as 400 millisieverts an hour -- a level known to be a risk to human health. Data from here.  Of course Japan nuclear catastrophe and the earthquake/tsunami devastation are alarming.

However, take a look on the map below and let us not forget that natural disasters can occur anywhere. Many countries are undergoing safety protocols on their old nuclear power plans while other stopped their  construction.
Hopefully, as a global community, "we" will be wiser by learning from Japan.

Country	In operation		Under construction
	Number	Electr. net output MW	Number	Electr. net output MW
Argentina	2	935	1	692
Armenia	1	375	-	-
Belgium	7	5,926	-	-
Brazil	2	1,884	1	1,245
Bulgaria	2	1,906	2	1,906
Canada	18	12,569	-	-
China Mainland Taiwan	13 6	10,048 4,980	27 2	27,230 2,600
Czech Republic	6	3,722	-	-
Finland	4	2,716	1	1,600
France	58	63,130	1	1,600
Germany	17	20,490	-	-
Hungary	4	1,889	-	-
India	20	4,391	5	3,564
Iran	-	-	1	915
Japan	54	46,823	2	2,650
Korea, Republic	21	18,665	5	5,560
Mexico	2	1,300	-	-
Netherlands	1	487	-	-
Pakistan	2	425	1	300
Romania	2	1,300	-	-
Russian Federation	32	22,693	11	9,153
Slovakian Republic	4	1,792	2	782
Slovenia	1	666	-	-
South Africa	2	1,800	-	-
Spain	8	7,514	-	-
Sweden	10	9,303	-	-
Switzerland	5	3,238	-	-
Taiwan	6	4,980	2	2,600
Ukraine	15	13,107	2	1,900
United Kingdom	19	10,137	-	-
USA	104	100,747	1	1,165
Total	442	374,958	65	62,862

Nuclear power plants world-wide, in operation and under construction, as of Jan 19, 2011

 Source Here

Chocolate addiction is definitively global

In December, scientists unlocked the genetic code of  Theobroma cacao aka chocolate.The article from Nature genetics is fascinating. Criollo Cocoa is from Central America. Our dear chocolate went through 3000 years of domestication. From the Mayas to our supermarkets, cocoa has changed to vigorous and productive hybrids.  In this evolution, we lost the fine flavor of chocolate from the Criollo varieties. According to the article: “Fine-cocoa production is nevertheless estimated to be less than 5% of the world cocoa production due to the low productivity and disease susceptibility of the traditional fine-flavor cocoa varieties. Therefore, breeding of improved Criollo varieties is important for sustainable production of fine-flavor cocoa.”

Of course, 18 European countries did partner with CIRAD (a research agency designed to help developing countries develop their agricultural industries) for the love of cocoa. Today, Ivory Coast cocoa farmers are protesting against the UN sanctions by burning cocoa beans. Ivory Coast is the biggest cocoa producer in the world.  Farmers are losing their wages while cocoa has been at highest trading price for a year. This is done for the love of politics.

It seems that in 3000 years of domestication, nothing has changed. For the Mayas, cocoa trees were sacred and beans were used as currency.  Cocoa beans traveled from central America to Europe thanks to Christophe Colomb. The democratization of chocolate in Europe went along with chocolate slavery. The globalization of the chocolate markets goes with economic slavery. And our annual global binging of 3.7 million tons of cocoa comes with many genetics breeding and political manipulations. As a child our parents often told us to never forget that some children working in the cocoa fields never tasted chocolate. I know that fair trade is a drop in the ocean but sometimes a little is all we need to survive. Chocolate addiction is definitively global!!!

All That We Share by Jay Walljasper

Jay Walljasper is a veteran writter for Ode. I picked up an old magazine at the library for 25 cents.It liked the title: Ode for intelligent optimists!!! It was interesting and easy to read.  I like Walljasper's arguments about commonness in our global community.
Once again,the World is not perfect or imperfect. And I am not perfect or imperfect.  I am a monad among monads. I am a dreamer among dreamers. We are different but the same. And we have common dreams under the same moonlight.

Here the article from Ode

In All That We Share, veteran journalist Jay Walljasper, a former editor at Ode, presents the ultimate guide to save ‘the commons,’ which he defines as “everything we inherit or create together and must pass on.”
What is the commons exactly?
“It is, in short, what we share together, in contrast to what we own individually. It includes everything from parks and streets to the environment and the Internet. It covers the world’s most ancient folk tales and the latest dance steps. When you start to think about it, a lot of essential elements of our lives exist outside the realm of private property.”
In your book, you claim the commons is under threat. How did that happen?
“The last 30 years has witnessed an overwhelming trend to privatize valuable things that once belonged to all of us. Big companies, for example, are now taking over control of public water systems, which has sparked huge protests in South America because people suffer higher prices and have no say on how this precious resource is managed. Many things that we share have been neglected to the point of ruin. If something does not make a profit, in the eyes of many politicians and business executives, it is not worth anything. That’s why we are seeing more libraries with their doors locked, parks where the playground equipment is falling apart. A sad symbol of this is public drinking fountains everywhere that do not work. We are all supposed to buy bottled water now.”
Which initiatives to save the commons have inspired you?
“Wow, this could take all day! Among the most compelling mentioned in my book are community gardens; open source software; Creative Commons Licenses (an alternative to copyrights, where creators allow their work to be freely shared for certain purposes); a new public square in downtown Detroit that has brought hope and significant private investment back to a battered city; a Mexican farmer who revived indigenous farming techniques to make severely eroded soil fertile again; and an art group in San Francisco that makes a point about public space by turning parking spaces temporarily into mini-parks.”
What can we do to revitalize the commons?
“The first step is simply to be aware of all the various forms of commons that are important to your life. This includes groups of people working together toward the common good, like Wikipedia and public health agencies. The next step is to strengthen these commons in every way possible as voters, activists, social entrepreneurs, and good neighbors.”

RAISE Hope for Congo

It is an Enough project!!! It is addressing the conflicts over minerals and violence against women!!
"RAISE Hope for Congo seeks to fundamentally change the equation for Congo by using Enough’s robust field research, advocacy, and communications to bolster a broad grassroots movement that promotes lasting solutions. Our initiatives work to educate and empower individuals to be a part of those solutions to the conflict."

Raise hope for congo

Remember Patrice Lumumba Speech:

Considered so dangerous to imperialist powers that he was imprisoned after his election and ultimately assassinated, Patrice Lumumba was confident that we who love freedom would fight on, saying: "We are not alone. Africa, Asia, and free and liberated people from every corner of the world will always be found at the side of the Congolese."

"We are going to show the world what the Black man can do when he works in freedom, and we are going to make of the Congo the center of the sun’s radiance for all of Africa."

Happy 2011, the International Year of Forests

 
"The United Nations General Assembly declared 2011 as the International Year of Forests to raise awareness on sustainable management, conservation and sustainable development of all types of forests"

Happy 2011 to you all...
According to Flag Counter, 85 countries visited!
Thank you!!
Same Moonlight for our Dreams!!!                                                 

The global increase of heart disease and cancer

In the “A Global Call to Action on Cancer and Heart Disease”, Christine Gorman explains that the increase of heart diseases and cancers is linked to the adoption of Western-style diet and lifestyles.  She also points out that cancer is a side effect of success. Longer life implies aging populations, so cancer and heart diseases are the new trend. However the lack of available treatments, resources, and infrastructures is accentuating this disease trend.Beyond the side effect of longer life spam, adopting a Western-style diet is the worst.

The exodus from rural are to urban area is destroying the global health. In developing countries, many farmers are forced to move to urban zones. They are giving up their lifestyles and cultures to mimic a new one, a western lifestyle symbolizing social ascension. So the rice and beans meal is becoming bread and canned something.  With the loss of traditional farming, native cereals are replaced by white rice. In an article, I found out  that we are eating more rice than we are producing!!! “Rice is the staple food for around 2.5 billion people, or more than one-third of the global population. The global price of rice has been increasing for much of the current decade. According to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), a non-profit research and education center, this is because the world is consuming more rice than it is producing, and global stocks are becoming rapidly depleted”

Low income populations are working more and more to make nothing. They are incorporating fast food feeding to the detriment of traditional meals. As a child I rarely had processed food. Our food staple was rice, beans, tons of vegetables, fruits, fish and meat.  At eighteen years old, I left home for the first time. Far from my mother, I westernized my diet so much that I gained weight. I also got sick. My anemia was at the worst. I understood that the spinach, lentils, chicken livers, chick peas, and beans were necessary to my well being.  I went back to what I was used to. Mom was right!!  To this day, I eat all my veggies.Sometimes I am craving plantains, yucca roots, and other cereals!And I am thankful for Asian stores...

The globalization of resources should not be associated this new trend of “consumption colonization.” Supermarkets have their place in emerging economies as long as Local Farmers Markets are promoted and protected because only a tiny minority can afford decent food in those supermarkets. Supermarkets should buy and sell local products as well. I believed that we inherent our parents diet. With heritable epigenetics, our diet influence the genes of our children and grandchildren. The inequality, the imbalance of resources and climate changes are causing majors change in disease trends. The solution would be reasonable access to medication, protection of local economies, and of course the increase of  local farming!

We are what we eat...

Same Moonlight for our Dreams

International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December

"The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, recalls the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (resolution 317(IV)of 2 December 1949)." 

http://www.antislavery.org/english/

Oblivion of Darfur for Gold

According to MININGREVIEW.COM, “Sudan has signed 10 exploration deals for gold, iron ore and other minerals… Mining minister Abdel Bagi al-Jaylani told Reuters that the exploration deals were with Sudanese companies and four international companies from Saudi Arabia, India, Great Britain and China, to search for copper, lead, iron, zinc and gold.” It sounds so simple!!!

Southern Sudanese independence Referendum will take place on January 2011. Knowing that the South has an estimated of 6 billion barrels of oil reserves, gold digging in the North is the best next thing!! Then in 2011, Sudan is expected to sign 50 mining agreements in three Darfur states-“Kassala and Gedaref in the east, and the north-south border region of South Kordofan”. It is simple, isn’t!

I would love to know if the zealous companies will take environmental issues in consideration. While Sudan is suffering from inadequate supplies of potable water, soil erosion, desertification, and droughts, I hope that they will not insult local populations by using scarce water or poisonous chemical cyanide and accidentally over pollute the Nile. The hydropolitics in the Nile basin is complicated and affect regional and global welfare.Another well orchestrated oblivion profiting gold diggers. It is not about secular southern Sudanese versus theocratic state in northern Sudan but about power. Independence... separation... Save Darfur…For more go on the  Enough project. And pray for rain and peace in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states...

Same Moonlight for our Dreams

Activist of the week: Rokhaya Diallo boycotting Guerlain

 I know that this video is in French and many of you do not understand. However, the intensity of the conversation does not need any translation. Again it  is not about Guerlain in the current  racism controversy. It is is about the disregard, the condescension and that "French Patronizingly superior behavior " toward Africans. I am a negress, and I am proud of it. The word does not offend me but the depreciation, the disdain, and the arrongance are worst that the word. I love this video because it displays the disfunctional relationships we have in France.And Rokhaya Diallo was able to talk trough by fighting back with humor and diplomacy. Inside, it burns , it hurts and it stinks as much as Guerlain nigger bomb. It is almost a catch-22 because you must be an accomplice to act on that stage if you want to be heard. In the same time, the complicity is destroying your soul in both side.Nevertheless, we all must do  what we can.Thank you Rokhaya Diallo!!! You rock! Merci!

Unreal collision of feminism and extremism to apoptosis

In France, the Burqa will be officially ban in Avril, 2011.  Yesterday, a retiree teacher was condemned to one month of jail suspended sentence for pulling out the Burqa of a lady from the emirates(26 years old!!!). And this passionate sexagenarian feminist will have to pay 800 euros fine. As much as the government preaches a secular elitism on human rights, it is a theatrical masquerade. It is a pure farce worthy of Moliere himself.  Bright and loud fireworks are much easier to handle than real problems of racial discrimination, economical marginalization and unemployment. I do respect the desire of  secularism but where is the equality, liberty, fraternity  stands in this denial of  rights.  I applaud this skillfully exploited situation. 

Attacking women is the oldest trick in the book because women are the motor of civil rights. They are quiet, soft and gentle but transmit the fire within. By destroying their freedom to practice their religions, it will accentuate the generation gap and the lack of “real” identity in youth. The youth is already battling the invisibility and a disregarded struggle in integration. And if you add the gender role on top, it is an excellent prey to predators and apoptosis. The suicide within the communities is a response to the forced mutation...Now, that the necrosis starts to expand only extremism can accelerate the required apoptosis. It is all about fear. It is not about the veil, the burqa, the miniskirt, the bikini or feminism. The Islamic dress code is a lame excuse. It is about our children. 

The oppression on women creates a less stable environment for them to transmit a peaceful fire to their children. For the longest time, forcing integration was enough to guarantee cultural fragmentation or silent ethnocide. The ban on Burqa expresses the polarization of France. And the sexagenarian feminist of the day was compelled to identify and separate her from us. It is an unreal collision of feminism and extremism to apoptosis. To conclude, I  will quote Arthur Rimbaud: “Life is the farce which everyone has to perform.”and Septima Poinsette Clark , “The greatest evil in our country today is not racism, but ignorance.”  

They are us. We are them. Different but the same.

Same moonlight for our dreams

A Race for Biodiversity in our “Green” Global Economy

According to this article, the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity meeting, Nagoya-Tokyo, was “fairly” harmonious regardless of the failure to reach consensus on vital contentious problems. In clear, it was a smooth progression from Copenhagen’s theatrical fiasco however this buzzing “green greed” did prevail over certain devastating consequences of biodiversity loss. The author, Malcom Foster reports that the crucial point was “the division between developing and industrial nations over working out a system to fairly share genetic resources, such as medicine extracted from plants — long a sore point for poorer countries.” Thank you Mr. Fisher!!!
It is cynical that modernization is at the source of all our problems. It was supposed to fix everything. We were supposed to work less, so we could live more and relax more. Instead, we want more for less, then take more and give less. In the process, we forget that Earth has the monopole of our economy!! Remember: Dirt! “Dirt is us, we are dirt. Dirt is earth’s skin. “This is a living breathing matrix of life on terrestrial earth.” Indeed we are dirt. Beyond the ideals of a green revolution, we are dirty guilty.
It is great to craft diplomatic protocols to fix and share responsibility. However, I do agree with the argument of developing countries and indigenous about not profiting from the bounty of their resources that benefited wealthy western companies. The contribution of billions in the name of biodiversity conservation is noble. Nevertheless, the extinctions of local economies by imposing legal dependency to developed countries at the expenses of developing nations’ biodiversity landscapes are slightly confusing. Dirty, dirty…
May we all win in this race for biodiversity…

The Colony by Al Jazeera

It is a super interesting documentary. I was surprise how much similarities I have with the Chinese immigrants and the African natives. Seriously, I was surprised that no matter where we are from,with diverse cultures, languages and spirituality, we are the same. In this global community, our differences are fading away even if we pretend otherwise. In a community of colonies, we tend to forget that cooperation is vital to our survival on the long run. I wish to find a documentary on African immigrants in China.
Enjoy!

Life and Debt by Stephanie Black

I watched "Life and Debt"  this week end. It was done in 2001 but still true in 2010. It is about the duality between the world of "tourists" and "natives" with the  International Monetary Fund as provider. It is a deep reflection of  global economy and the death of local economies in Jamaica. The worst is that colonization is condemned nowadays but the "economical colonization" is currency. One farmer said that "it is an insult to our dignity". And it does summarize the movie. Of course you can follow the eloquent discourse about post-colonial landscape,a global pattern common throughout the Third World,  debt over double digits  billion to the IMF, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB).
At the end, the economic policies  are killing people that are supposed to benefit. It is an infernal cycle of inflation, recession,national's loan, currency devaluation, lowering wages, and the so trendy "market deregulation". Life and debt exposes the impact of globalization in Jamaica.  Everybody is third world  at this time, no matter how titled is the dice it has only six faces. It is just unfair that it always the same people that are gambling at the expenses to the third class citizens.
Same Moonlight for our dreams.

Fair Trade choice of the week: Sakaad Kenya

Sakaad is selling handmade bags by women in Kenya. Artisans with quality product and reasonable prices. And free shipping on orders over $20.00!!!Sakaad has been a member of the Fair Trade Federation(www.fairtradefederation.org) since April 19th 2007.Sakaad has been a member of the Better Business Bureau, since May 17th 2007, and participates in the Better Business Bureau Online Reliability Program, since June 8th Sakaad is a child company of Curio Africana Expo International. Started in Kenya, Curio Africana Expo International has been in business since 1980.

Black Classic Handbag at $40.00
Grey Sisal Duffel at $45.00

October is Fair trade Month

Please go on www.fairtrademonth.org to vote because every purchase has power.

 The Fair Trade Certified label helps you make choices, with the confidence that your product is socially and environmentally sustainable. When you purchase Fair Trade products, you vote with your dollars to support what matters to you.

	Fair Trade is a market-based system—that develops global trade, not aid—in which farmers are empowered with the tools to raise themselves out of poverty.
	Fair Trade certification enables farmers and workers to practice sustainable farming, remove dangerous chemicals, conserve resources, and preserve their land for generations to come.
	Fair Trade provides farming organizations the support to build their business capacity, which allows them to deal directly with buyers around the world to negotiate fair prices and offer fair wages.
	Fair Trade guarantees women access to health care, child care, representation and freedom from harassment so they are able to play leading roles in their families and their cooperatives.
	Fair Trade helps families keep their children in school. With added revenues from Fair Trade, parents can pay tuition, set up scholarships, and give the gift of education in isolated communities.

The allegory of the cave inside our homes, communities to Chilean miners

After the condemnation to death of Socrates for impiety and corrupting the youth, Plato wrote many dialogues hoping to describe a perfect government. I guess a government that would have spare Socrates. In the Book VII of The Republic: It starts with an allegory on ignorance and knowledge. Socrates imagines male prisoners since their childhood in a cave. They are chained so they only see the walls of the cave and the shadows projecting the reflections of people and objects that are outside. The men never knew that these shadows are taken for reality. When the first prisoner is freed, he is forced to look toward the light. At first his eyes were burning. He preferred the darkness, and comforting shadows. Slowly he locates people, the moonlight and stars. Finally, the man looks at the sun; he understands that it is the cause of all the shadows projected.  This allegory expresses all of Plato’s philosophy. It is about the soul, morality and idealism of a supreme good. We as a community are supposed to join for the supreme Good.  According to Plato evil is only a mistake done due the ignorance of Good. That is why the republic should be a reflection of a thriving community under the leadership of the philosopher “elected” by us.

Once again, the allegory of Plato's cave is at the core of the long and painful rescue of Chilean miners.  In contrast, this men know reality,  the have a raw  knowledge of life under the republic. The are miners!!! Everyday, they go down the cave and risk their life to live without chains. However there are already enchained  in the invisible cage but they have chosen to fight for their children and families. According to news, now that they are close to freedom, nobody wants to be the first. And everyone wants to be the last.The ruff accession to reality scares them. And this seclusion must have exacerbated their sense of communities within the community. The wisdom they gained  makes it unbearable to pretend otherwise because it is equally difficult to  acquire and transmit such knowledge. I want to believe that their altruism and compassion is catalyzed by the refusal of being the first out.  Of course, their unity is a stellar symbol of the supreme  good. We should be humbled and inspired by them!!Nevertheless, deep down you know that they have to faced reality with a new mind, different  fears, and dreams. They have changed. And their realities did not. At the end, no one will care and they probably will have to go down the cave again. While many pretending leaders will have time to contemplate more ideas.

For the rest of us that are not locked miners. We  tend to enter caves as well. Our caves can be internet, television, shopping, consummation, recreation, name it and even dreaming. It can definitively be pleasurable because we have access to so much rights and goods. However let us not be enchained in our realities, and find comfort in the communities within the community. The allegory of the cave is even inside our homes, now and then do not forget to stare at the moonlight and the stars. And keep on worshiping the morning sun because this is it! Let us pray for them...

Same Moonlight for our dreams.

From Wikipedia:
After "returning from divine contemplations to human evils", a man "is graceless and looks quite ridiculous when – with his sight still dim and before he has gotten sufficiently accustomed to the surrounding darkness – he is compelled in courtrooms or elsewhere to contend about the shadows of justice or the representations of which they are the shadows, and to dispute about the way these things are understood by men who have never seen justice itself?"

Fair trade-Online by SERRV

According to the website, it is a non-profit!!! If we must keep in mind that we are a global community, let us not forget that we are a global economy. And if a little of our spending can support artisanal crafts and small farmers so be it. "SERRV is a nonprofit organization with a mission to eradicate poverty wherever it resides by providing opportunity and support  to artisans and farmers worldwide."
Here some items for fair trade gifts!!!
Shade of Gold Earrings-Phillipines at $12
Crimson Power Cuff-India at $10
Sonoke Bracelet-Indonesia at $4
Seascape ring-Chile at $11
Sea Waves Tote-Vietnam at $28
Sisal Trivet Set-Rwanda at $20
Cau Vong Bowl set-Vietnam at $21