The Peace Tree

The Peace Tree has come to a close.

2010-05-10T18:11:00.013-05:00

Dear readers and authors, present and past, it is time to close The Peace Tree's doors for good. It has been a wonderful experience for these past years, but all good things must come to an end so that others may rise in their place.
It has been a pleasure.

Peace,
Mark (You can find me @ Confession Zero)...

W.S. Accountability

2010-04-29T00:00:00.000-05:00

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL BIGOT...?

2010-04-28T16:50:00.003-05:00

_________________________________________________________________

Harvard Law Student: Possible That 'African Americans Are, On Average, Genetically Predisposed To Be via www.huffingtonpost.com

An email written by a third-year Harvard Law student has incited outcry at law schools across the country. The email, reported by Above the Law, came after its unidentified writer made some controversial remarks at a dinner.

_________________________________________________________________________

I'd say that on average a white Harvard Law Student is predisposed or as likely to be a racist as much as the next bigot that attends college anywhere in the nation.

Announcing BlogBlast For Peace 2010!

2010-04-21T21:16:00.003-05:00

Welcome to the 7th launch of BlogBlast For Peace aka Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere. It's inception began in 2006 with one single post and a cry for peace in our world.

A small group of bloggers answered that challenge and it began to spread across the internet in ways that humble me still. It reaches across political lines and religious creeds, abides in corners of unrest and places of hope, gives voice to individual beliefs and promotes tolerance for diversity. It celebrates the genius in each one of us, found in sparkling conversations of passionate pleas for change in the earth. It is that hope for change that motivates us.

It was the Internet's first ever online movement of its kind to invite bloggers to post the same message on the same day. From blog to blog it has moved and continues to grow. We have been amazed to see the power and passion shown each year displayed on pages across the world. We visit each other with our prayers and scribbles, prose and poetry, art and angst, heart and hilarity - and we are moved by it. From one post to thousands of others in fifty countries and almost every state in the United States, something rare and wonderful happens on BlogBlast For Peace day.
I am privileged to witness it.
I invite you to experience it.
It's time.
Join us!

November 4, 2010
Bloggers from all across the globe
will blog for peace.
We will speak with one voice.
One subject.
One day.

How To Get Your Peace Globe 2010
Here's how to do it in 4 easy steps!

1. Choose one of the Peace Globe designs shown on this page. Right CLICK and SAVE in JPG format.

2. Sign the globe using Paint, Photoshop or a similar graphics tool. Decorate the globe anyway you wish. You can even include the name of your blog. Clickhere for thousands of inspiring examples from previous BlogBlasts.

3. Return the peace globe to me via email ~ blogblastforpeace at yahoo.com and sign the Mr. Linky below. Leave a comment and your blog's name and url in the Mr. Linky so that we can visit each other.
Your submission will be numbered and dated in the official gallerywith a link back to your post and a permanent spot on the Official BlogBlast For Peace website.

4. On November 4,2010 DISPLAY YOUR GLOBE IN A POST on your blog, FACEBOOK WALL and TWEET IT!

Title your post "Dona Nobis Pacem" - Latin for Grant Us Peace. This is important. The goal is for all blog post titles to say the same thing on the same day. Write about peace that day or simply fly your globe.
Come back here and sign your name again once you've posted your own globe.

Need ideas and inspiration? Go to BlogBlast For Peace.com to see the gallery of thousands of peace globes and posts from 50 countries already submitted and numbered.
If you'd like to read about the history of this movement, go here.

ORWELL ROLLS (in his grave)

2010-04-17T14:15:00.004-05:00

Perhaps the most important documentary available...

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE REST...

11th Hour (Everyone should see this film. Check your local library.)

2010-04-15T23:42:00.002-05:00

Peace of the Pie 2010

2010-04-15T13:43:00.003-05:00

Let [us] solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby
the great human family can live in peace. ~ Julia Ward Howe

Join this national action, working with members of your community to take pies to your local Congressional offices on May 7th (the Friday before Mother's Day). The focus of this action is to let Congress know, with unforgettable visuals and “tasteables,” that peacebuilding wants and deserves a piece of the federal budget pie. It has been The Peace Alliance's largest action of the year for the past five years, and one of the most effective, fun and memorable.

(Read more about the history of Mother's Day and why it has been chosen for this campaign).

Dutch holocaust vicitim finally receives an apology

2010-04-12T13:40:00.002-05:00

Today is Shoah day in Israel and also the 65th anniversary of the liberation by Canadian troops of Westerbork, the Nazi transit camp in the east of the Netherlands. As Radio Netherlands reports, one of the survivors of the death camps has finally been recognised by the Dutch government,

As part of the commemorations, Selma Engel-Wijnberg was made a Knight in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Presenting the royal award, Dutch Health Minister Ab Klink praised her continuing determination to tell her story for the benefit of future generations. He also offered a formal apology on behalf of the Dutch government for the way she was treated after the war.

Now 87, Selma Engel-Wijnberg was one of the few Dutch survivors of Sobibor extermination camp in Poland and the only one still alive. On her return to the Netherlands, she had problems with the Dutch authorities. Because she had married a Polish man, Chaim Engel, they no longer regarded her as a Dutch citizen and attempted to deport her. The couple later emigrated to Israel and then to the United States.

For more on Mrs Engel-Wijnberg's story - with an astounding video description of her arrival at Sobibor, click here.

"...When they opened the doors, these big doors that we had to go out, they start screaming and hitting with the whips, and, uh, we had to go out and out, and, all, all the people, and there was a little trolley, a little wagon what, uh, the coal miners use that goes, you can, uh, uh, rip it open that people can easy go out, so all the people that couldn't walk, they throwed them in there, and also children what got lost from their parents, they had to go in the trolley, and this trolley went straight to the gas chamber."

More on Sobibor, click here. On the right above is a photograph of the Himmelfahrtstrasse, or road to heaven, which led to the gas chambers in Sobibor. (Photo Jacques Lahitte)

Israeli Love Song

2010-04-05T10:20:00.001-05:00

"War is not a show"

2010-04-03T11:38:00.002-05:00

The arrest of two protesters for trespass interrupted the Aerospace and Arizona Days military exhibition and air show Sunday afternoon, March 21. John Heid, 55, and Gretchen Nielsen, 77, unfurled a banner declaring "War is Not a Show" and quietly stood near the Predator UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle) that was on display for public viewing at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

The pair was taken to the Pima County Jail, where they were processed and released by 10 p.m. They are scheduled to appear in Tucson City Court for arraignment, Heid on April 29 and Nielsen on April 30.

In a statement to the press, Heid recounted his reasons for staging the action:

"War is not a show. It is killing us. And them. Combatants and children alike. Our soul and civil society. The moral order too is a casualty. War is hell. Not a cause for celebration. A frontal assault on reason. And the earth. War is not a spectacle or
family entertainment.

"Today at the Air Show we see its shiny weapons, not its bloody victims. Not the nearly 4,400 dead U.S. soldiers. Not the tens of thousands of Iraqi, Afghani or Pakistani civilians. We glorify the mighty flying death machines and ignore the havoc they wreak.

"Today, just after the seventh anniversary of the war on Iraq, we vigil beside an MQ-1 Predator drone. Over 700 Pakistani civilians have been killed by this machine's Hellfire missiles. Davis-Monthan is home base for the 214th Reconnaissance Group of the Arizona National Guard which flies around-the-clock combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan with the Predator.

"In the shadow of death we raise our plea for peace. For skies free of weaponry. For an end to war without end. The show is over, let peace begin."

SWIMMING LESSONS

2010-04-01T15:31:00.000-05:00

LEARNING TO SWIM

Oscar Romero, prophet and martyr for peace

2010-03-24T16:37:00.001-05:00

3/24/2010 ** El Salvador's president, Mauricio Funes, apologized today on behalf of the Salvadoran state for the death of the archbishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Oscar Arnulfo Romero, which occurred on March 24, 1980.

"In my capacity as President, I apologize on behalf of the Salvadoran state for this assassination committed 30 years ago. On behalf of the Salvadoran State I apologize to the family of Romero, and I extend my condolences," said Funes, ... in the corridor between gates 8 and 9 of the airport terminal, where he unveiled a mural commemorating the religious leader.

Responding to the words of Funes, Gaspar Romero, brother of the martyred archbishop, said: "I accept with humility, love and gratitude the apology, albeit 30 years later. "

At the end of the ceremony, during a conference with local media, Funes said of the ritual of reconciliation: "I apologized because the state failed to investigate, but it is not for me to investigate, that is up to the judges of the Republic" he clarified. Translated from La Prensa Grafica

Photo caption: In 2006 Billie Greenwood (left) and fellow travelers from Dubuque, IA listen to one of the sisters who knew Romero explain the events surrounding his death in the very chapel in which he was assassinated. Note his portrait on the wall in the right of the photo.

*******************

No expressions of condolences or remorse were expressed by the U.S. that I know of.

New details of the actual murder have recently emerged. Get the story in the newly-uploaded YouTube video:

"D'Aubuisson told me: take care of it"

D'Aubuisson is a graduate of the U.S. School of the Americas.

(Yes, that is the same chapel as in the photo at the top of this post.)

Targeted Citizens by Adalah...

2010-03-23T10:58:00.000-05:00

Targeted Citizen - English from Adalah on Vimeo.

DE-FACING FACEBOOK

2010-03-22T11:41:00.001-05:00

'of thee i sing'

2010-03-16T07:01:00.000-05:00

i watched 'sons of anarchy' last night with hubby on the netflix. we seem to be drawn to gritty dramas like that- we also enjoyed 'deadwood' and 'the shield'. what struck me- i was rooting for the bad guys. now, i am sure that's what the writers intended- as they make the bad guys partially good and the good guys- well, bad. the atf agent is played quite well by ally walker and she gave me much to think about in this age of border wars with canada and mexico- and the fact that we still have the odious guantanamo bay.

what is it in the american psyche that allows the dissonance between innocent until proven guilty and gleefully watching someone arrested and tased on 'cops'? from the nightly news to the dozen or so 'law and order' episodes to the ads on the sidebar on facebook calling for fbi applicants, our nation has become a police state. oh, most of us don't believe so- but in america, we hold people without legal counsel and we trick them into talking without one. i am most definitely not pro death penalty- not because some of these folks who did indeed commit heinous crimes shouldn't pay the ultimate price--- but because our track record with jailing innocent folks isn't good.

our justice system is beyond flawed- when you have the patriot act and the military commissions act and hundreds of other laws on the books like the draconian 'three strikes and you get life' laws- well, appeal is tough. and if you do the crime, i absolutely believe that you should do the time. i guess i just have an outmoded sense of justice- i believe that if you are innocent you should be set free.

and, i don't see things in black and white. i see myself sitting in that chair- and know that i wouldn't want to be interrogated for hours on end without my legal counsel or forced into a van in the middle of the night to be spirited away while my loved ones didn't know where i was. guilt isn't supposed to be proven in the streets by arresting agents or officers- or in an hour's time on a tv show. but it is- and america is not a land of liberty.

Effective new worker clears landmines: Detection rats

2010-03-14T00:00:00.001-06:00

Trained rats are assuming the daunting task, customarily undertaken by dogs, of detecting unexploded land mines. A Tanzanian-based non-profit, APOPO, began training and using the African Giant Pouched rat in response to the global landmine problem. Rats are currently clearing land mine fields in Mozambique, where unexploded weapons remain from conflicts in the 1960's, 70's and 90's.

The project will eventually clear over 3.7 million square miles by 2013, opening an immense--previously unusable--new area to development.

Using rats for this operation offers lesser developed nations some specific advantages.

Rats are lighter than dogs, so they are less apt to trigger an unintended landmine explosion. The African Giant Pouched rats used by APOPO are larger than many species of rat, however. (see video above)
Rats are biologically well equipped for smelling. Due to their stature, their noses are closer to the ground than are dogs.
Because they are indigenous to nearly every area plagued by the landmine problem, they are more resistant to local diseases.
Rats are less expensive to train and maintain than dogs.
Unlike dogs, who tend to bond with a single handler, rats transfer easily and work well with different handlers.

They do present a few disadvantages. Due to their smaller size, it takes rats longer to cover a designated area. It is also more difficult to train the rats to sniff in a defined pattern, although trainers have developed effective training methods.

How do the rats work? As reported in MediaGlobal, a land-clearing operation looks like this:

"The rats wear harnesses attached to a wire held on either end by a handler. The rats then run up and down the attached wire, and each time the rat reaches the end of the wire, the handlers move slightly in one direction, until the rat has meticulously inspected the entire section. The rats are trained to detect the smell of TNT, and to start scratching and digging when they find something. They are then called over by their handlers and given a tasty reward, and the mine can be removed."

The video at the top of this page shows the low-tech but very effective process in action.

Experts don't expect rats to replace the role that dogs play. Rather, they see the new use of rats as a "complementary tool" in the effort to free the world of land mines in an efficient and cost-effective way.

ch-changes

2010-03-09T05:33:00.000-06:00

apologies to david bowie....

i had a conversation with a blog buddy of mine the other day about the rapidity of change that feels as if it occurred over the past decade. in fact, we both agreed that it felt as if we missed a couple of decades somewhere and ended up here. now, in all probability, we didn't :) but it sure feels that way. both of us are fairly adaptable and i, personally (and i suspect he too), love new technology. not all of it will i use- but hey, i think tools to assist in the world's peoples communicating freely- well, it has to be a good thing. and i am not crediting martha stewart for that one ;)

anyhoo, i say quite a bit that the more things change- the more they don't. and that's oddly true too. reconnecting with folks from the past may seem like a good idea- to catch up and to find out what's been going on in their lives and so on- but in truth, it probably isn't. at least in my case. what i have found over the years is that- human beings don't really change at their core. who they are at 18 at the core- is who they are at 38 or 48 or 58, etc.. now, that's not to say that they are the same people- the outside stuff does change- but the values they decide on or that are instilled in them- stay fairly consistent. at least in my experience...

i don't know that i have quite figured out the human species yet though... we are a strange breed. many of us have families who love us but who we don't know how- or don't want to- communicate with. it's baffling to me how many people out there are relieved to move away from their parents and basically write them off and out of their lives for no better reason than they are annoying- or boring. really? these folks gave you life and nurtured you- stood by you during rough times as well as good- and because you are so very busy and self important living your life- you leave them be. nice.

i understand dysfunctional families all too well- i lived in one. i have been fortunate to have at least one viable parent- and i am thankful for that. i see folks from around the globe who have lost their family and/or friends through war, famine, drought, natural disasters, etc., who would most likely give anything to have them back- and we, here in america, throw our families away in the pursuit of selfish interests. haven't wrapped my mind around that yet.

when you look at america as a country- there are some positive changes taking place in pockets- but i don't think you can look at it as a unified country anymore. we are imploding and folks are desperately trying to actively deny that we are. a nation is only as good as the people that makes it up- and i really don't see americans as good people. we are an egotistical, narcissistic lot who wants what we want when we want it and the rest of the world be damned. if we think that you may threaten our lifestyle of fast food and mcmansions- well, we'll just blow you to smithereens with our video game toys so we don't actually have to get our hands dirty- and we can sleep at night pretending we haven't killed anyone of any importance.

hey, if they ain't a wasp- they don't belong on the planet- right? i suppose that's why we can ignore our loved ones with no conscience- and why we don't work to communicate with them while we all share life. it's easy to disagree and use it as a wedge to keep us apart. it takes courage and growing a set to put aside our egoism and self interests and make time for what is really important- human relationships and family. it is my belief that the folks who will survive climate change won't be the wasps- or the western world- we will take until we can't take anymore- it will be the cultures who have a belief in sharing and working together and who believe that ancestors and elders are worth something.

and that's change i can believe in...

"Beautiful, dear, and shot to pieces Mexico"

2010-03-07T13:39:00.002-06:00

caption: Looking into Northern Mexico during a windstorm: the dust haze is a metaphor for the shroud of darkness that has engulfed the country.

by Martha Guadalupe Romero, from an opinion column in El Nuevo Diario (Managua, Nicaragua), March 4, 2010.

----------

Military "solutions" are not solutions for the underlying problems that face neither Mexico, nor--for that matter--its northern neighbor the U.S., today. This opinion piece from Central America laments the failure that is increasingly obvious as the death toll mounts and the violence rages in the failed "drug war." ~Billie Greenwood

------------------------

One of the most fascinating countries of the planet, not only for its pre-Hispanic and colonial history, but for its geographic beauty, architecture, food, music and especially the warmth and happiness of its people, seems to be on the edge of collapse due to the status of insecurity and violence in which its residents live.

For many years now, but never as in recent ones, the drug cartels have been forcing the country into a generalized climate of violence. Corrupt officials, lack of timely attention and wrong measures are some of the reasons which have brought the country to this point. The use of the army in civilian security activities, and the granting of status to the military as the main role players in this battle, by means of the approval of a national security law, is probably the Mexican government's most questionable measure. The mayor of Ciudad Juarez admitted two large errors: underestimating narcotics traffickers' capabilities and not cleansing the police forces' corruption in a timely manner.

On the borders to the south of Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras face similar events everyday: institutional corruption, the advance of narcotraffic and inattention to the needs of the young, who today make up the majority of the population in Latin America. El Salvador and Honduras, countries highly impacted by the gangs, have applied harsh policies that have not only been ineffective but have added to the violence. Although the problems mentioned are not as large in Nicaragua, we have to take preventive measures to enable our youth to survive the horror of narcotraffic.

It is quite evident that the solutions to these problems lie elsewhere, such as fostering education, generating decent employment and investing massively in opportunities for youth, which sees itself forced to take wrong pathways or to escape the hell of its neighborhoods, turned into drug paradises or battlefields, where the use of every type of weapon has replaced books, work and civic values.

Mexico must win the battle of Juarez with different weapons than those used by the government. Education, employment and opportunities are more efficient and farther reaching. We must listen to the shout from Juarez.

--------

Source: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FORMER BORDER PATROL OFFICERS
NAFBPO grants permission for distribution of the information they translate, extract and condense on the condition that they are credited as the source.

"Funnel Effect" creates humanitarian emergency on U.S. border

2010-02-28T17:02:00.005-06:00

Caption: Memorial at U.S. Port of Entry, Columbus, NM "In memory of the immigrants who died in the desert, seeking a dream."

"Their deaths are systematic and they're the results of a policy. And it's not just a few. It's thousands." John Carlos Frey, Filmmaker

It happened again this month. And it's happening with increasing frequency.

Volunteers on humanitarian patrol in the desert discovered the body of a deceased migrant. The unidentified person-- the body too decomposed to determine even the gender --had been dead for at least six or seven months, officials estimated.It lay in a shallow grave, partially covered in small rocks, adorned with a hand-made cross.

-------------------

Some 6,000 people have died crossing the Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California borders with Mexico since 1994, say human-rights groups.

About 500 more die every year.

More than 61 bodies of unauthorized migrants have been recovered in southern Arizona alone in the four deadly months of October 2009 through January 2010, according to Tucson's Coalición de Derechos Humanos. They carefully document each one in an attempt to report the human cost of failed U.S. border and immigration policies.

This year's total shows a 36% increase over the same period last year, says the group.

Migrants are increasingly funneled into the most isolated and desolate terrain of the Arizona-Sonora desert border, resulting in the recovery of more and more skeletal remains. This "Funnel Effect," as the Binational Migration Institute terms it, occurs when traditional, less dangerous, crossing points are sealed.

As people are pushed into increasingly treacherous areas, rescue and detection is less likely and the likelihood of death becomes more certain. It is Russian roulette played with a desert environment.

Filmmaker John Carlos Frey, in his new documentary "The 800 Mile Wall," puts the responsibility squarely on U.S. policy for what he terms "an atrocity."

Because counts of human remains recovered in states neighboring Arizona aren't available, activists say that no one knows precisely the full extent of the present crisis. Frey says some estimate the death toll could be 20,000.

The area known as the Tucson Sector, a particularly dangerous stretch of the border, reaps a large share [40%] of the deaths. The Border Patrol apprehended over a quarter million migrants here during the 2009 fiscal year. During that time the remains of 213 persons were recovered. Activists condemn that death rate of 88.2% per 100,000 apprehensions as unacceptable.

Arizona groups call on the U.S. to address the humanitarian emergency along the U.S./Mexico border. Comprehensive reform of U.S. immigration law will right the wrong. It would allow laborers to enter the U.S. with dignity and safety. And it would, in turn, also provide security to the U.S. by allowing the nation to screen potential entrants.

To rely simply on border enforcement policies hands out more and more death sentences in the desert.

"Men, women and children continue to perish on our border, communities cry out for justice, and yet nothing has been done to address the policies that have pushed migrants into the deadly Arizona terrain" laments Kat Rodriguez, Coordinator of Derechos Humanos. "We truly are in the midst of a devastating human rights crisis."

Of the individual discovered in the desert earlier this month, the co-founder of No More Deaths stated:
"Even one death in our deserts represents a tragedy and a failure of the government to uphold human rights. We hope that others will join us in working and praying for change." - Rev. Gene Lefebvre

IQBAL TAMIMI SHORTLISTED FOR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE BY MUSLIM NEWS

2010-02-27T19:43:00.001-06:00

Dear Peace Tree authors and readers, I would like to encourage you to drop a note to The Muslim News as Iqbal Tamimi, Confession Zero poet and dear friend, has been shortlisted for the prestigious media awards for excellence for 2010! (Iqbal's write-up is 5th from the bottom at the previous link)

EMAIL: muslimnews@muslimnews.co.uk

Any postitive feedback would certainly not hurt her chances of being selected for the 2010 award since she is up against a wide array of talent...

Thank you,
Mark Prime

Some Thoughts on Tea Parties and American Conservatism

2010-02-26T23:13:00.003-06:00

Watching snippets from CPAC, this revival circus of fundamentalist conservatism, was, for me, an accelerated lesson in the American culture -- and one I could do without, I admit. As a European transplant of only a few decades, and one slow to learn, I had no idea this level of psychopathic-like hatred and ignorance existed in such a large segment of American society. Yes, I am surprised -- shocked, really, though perhaps I shouldn't be.

This vehement ultra-conservatism is a logical outgrowth of several uniquely American phenomena: the US is a new and relatively isolated nation, built largely through force and oppression by assorted rebels and troublemakers (aka pioneers), who propagated their "pioneering" genes along with their misguided and grandiose beliefs in their exceptionalism onto subsequent generations. While doing so, they have managed to ignore or dismiss the reality of human existence, which is made possible (and livable) only through employing empathy and cooperation, and, dare I say, love, care, and justice.

The American myth of self-made man, and the unfettered, rabid capitalism it spawned (or was it the other way around?), is a prime example of this misguided ideology that continues to wreak havoc on our society. It promotes an untrue and distorted vision of man and life that's brutal, selfish and merciless, a life where we are forced to engage in cut-throat competition for dwindling resources and where might always makes right. Unfortunately, the myth is alive and thriving in the Beckland and vicinity, despite its toxic influences. It will take generations, better educated and traveled, I suspect, to finally weed it out.

I watched recently an interview with David Cameron, a leader of the British conservative party, widely considered a rabid right-winger among his natives. I watched and listened -- and waited for the punchline, which didn't come. This British "rabid right-winger" sounded more progressive than many so-called progressive Dems in the US: he extolled his love for and undying committment to NHS and went on at length about securing equal educational opportunities for all, among other things. I still don't understand where his "rabid right-wingerism" is hiding. What a difference an ocean makes! I wish American conservatives were as humane.

If there is any consolation, I think, it is the fact that the myths of American dream, self-made man, and (I hope) fake glory of the unbridled capitalism are on their way to the dustbin of history. This is at least one reason behind the sudden resurgence of the crazies -- i.e., Glenn Beck and his ilk (angry white men, by and large). While many of their complaints are legitimate, listening to the emotions behind them makes one notice intolerance and hatred. These people feel that their cherished delusions are slipping away (thus their calls to "get my country baack!") and they are frightened out of their minds (some literally, as we can see in the most extreme cases, e.g., Beck).

But there is no way of stopping social progress, no matter how hard the reactionary demagogues may try. We know that social and political systems based on injustice and gross inequalities are doomed to fail sooner or later, taking with them their discredited and inhumane ideologies.

We are evolving and people like Beck&Co. are scared of this change -- they are even able to say so directly, bless their small hearts and overheated minds. Granted, Americans take longer than others to make this journey out of the dark ages, but they do make it nevertheless.

I look at the younger generations and see that they are more egalitarian, more open and eager to learn, hungry for meaningful lives based on genuine, higher human -- and humane -- values. They have seen what the old order has done to their parents (or what their parents did with it -- or both) and they don't want that for themselves. They are more idealistic, but at the same time more sophisticated, better educated and informed, and able to transcend various cultural and other limitations that bound their elders (this thanks, in no small measure, to being more in step with progress in informational technology).

We are witnessing the last -- and because of that so violent -- paroxysms of a dying ideology, may it rest in peace (and sooner than later, let's hope). I'd even say that American society is undergoing positive disintegration on a massive scale. So I am hopeful.

Who Will Be Next on the Gallows? Charlie King

2010-02-26T19:59:00.001-06:00

This song makes me cry. How does it affect you?

WHO WILL BE NEXT ON THE GALLOWS?
© 2007, CHARLIE KING, PIED ASP MUSIC (BMI)

SADDAM HUSSEIN IS FALLING THROUGH SPACE WITH A PRAYER ON HIS LIPS AND FEAR IN HIS FACE
DEEP IN THE GREEN ZONE THEY SAVOR SWEET RELEASE
IN MORTAL DEFIANCE HE DROPS THROUGH THE AIR WHILE SOLDIERS LIKE PIT BULLS BAITING A BEAR
MAKE HIM BY CONTRAST THE HERO OF THE PIECE
THE WHITE HOUSE CAN CLAIM ONE MORE MISSION COMPLETE IRAQIS IN MICHIGAN DANCE IN THE STREET
SHIITES IN BAGHDAD ARE LYNCHED - EYES FOR AN EYE
THE BODY COUNT SURGES, THE WAR BLUNDERS ON THEY LOOK FOR A LEADER WHO’S RUTHLESS AND STRONG
LIKE THE ONE THEY JUST HUNG, WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION “WHY?”
WHY DO WE NEVER GROW WEARY OF THIS? CONDEMNED BY THE WORLD OR BETRAYED BY A KISS
GUILTY OR INNOCENT, HIT OR MISS AND WHO WILL BE NEXT ON THE GALLOWS?
FROM BUNK BEDS AND CEILING FANS, RAFTERS AND SHELVES COPYCAT CHILDREN ARE HANGING THEMSELVES
AS IF IT’S A GAME. WATCH WHAT THEY DO.
THEY DO WHAT THEY WATCH WITHOUT JUDGMENT OR HOPE THE HEART OF THIS WORLD AT THE END OF ITS ROPE
TWISTING IN CIRCLES, LEARNING THAT IT’S ALL TRUE
WHY DO WE NEVER GROW WEARY OF THIS? CONDEMNED BY THE WORLD OR BETRAYED BY A KISS
GUILTY OR INNOCENT, HIT OR MISS AND WHO WILL BE NEXT ON THE GALLOWS?
IDI AMIN DIED AT HOME IN HIS BED PINOCHET PASSED AWAY OLD AND WELL FED
WHEN FRANCO WAS BURIED A HERO, NIXON SENT FLOWERS.
YEAH, SADDAM IS GUILTY BUT PLEASE KEEP IN MIND WE PAID FOR HIS SINS TILL HE STEPPED OUT OF LINE
WE’LL SUPPORT ANY SON OF A BITCH, BUT HE’S GOT TO BE OURS
AND WHEN WILL WE EVER GROW WEARY OF THIS? THE EXTRAVAGANT HAND OR THE MERCILESS FIST
YOU PLAY BY OUR RULES OR YOU CEASE TO EXIST AND WHO WILL BE NEXT ON THE GALLOWS?
QUADAFFI, LOZADA, URIBE MUGABE, KISSINGER, DUVALIER
CHENEY, GONZALES, NEGROPONTE WHO WILL BE NEXT ON THE GALLOWS?

... And That's Government-Run Health Care For Ya!

2010-02-25T14:38:00.004-06:00

It all began some eight years ago ...

[READ MORE +/-]

... when my mother was diagnosed with a cancer lesion in her left lung. After numerous tests (PET scans, bloodworks, biopsies), it looked at the time that there were no metastases. So, the whole of her left lung was removed - because the tumor was nonetheless already invasive and thus could not be simply excised from the lung. She ended up staying at the hospital for about two weeks after the surgery and then was sent home. From there, my mother would have to undergo further regular monitoring tests (again: PET scans, CEA blood levels, etc.) every six months.

A year later, two of her peripheral lung lymph nodes showed signs of having been invaded by a (very) few metastasing cells that had somehow avoided prior detection. Consequently, she swiftly underwent a regime of radiotherapy (targeted at her two problematic lymph nodes) coupled to a regime of chemotherapy - if only to make sure that any and all of these few metastasing cancer cells were wiped out once and for all. Of course, she ended up at the time losing all her hair, along with the additional digestive, skin sensitivity, fatigue and nausea problems that inevitably come with chemotherapy.

At least, she could immediately return home after each radio- and chemotherapy treatment.

To cheer her up, her silly elder son (i.e. moi) kept calling her Lieutenant Llia (you know - from ST: The Motion Picture. Hey - my parents happen to love ST as much as their kids, so what can I tell ya?).

Then came a complication from her radiotherapy - of all things. The skin where the rad beams had to pass through in order to attack the cancer cells in the two lymph nodes began to inflamme badly and "burn". At the same time, her lower esophagus began to swell from inflammation to the point of closing up almost completely. So my mother had to have a gastroenterologist "open up" her esophagus again with some contraption, along with a prescription of anti-inflammatory meds. Her radiologist also prescribed her an anti-inflammatory/healing cream for her skin burns.

But in the end, the combined radio- and chemotherapy did their work and she managed to come through it well enough, all things considered. Including the return of her hair.

Of course, she would still have to undergo regular monitoring tests (yet again: PET scans, CEA blood levels, etc.) every six months.

And so it went, without any further problems or complications.

Until three years ago.

That's when my mother caught a bad case of pneumonia in her (remaining) right lung, consequently hampering seriously her lung's ability to take in oxygen. She had to be hospitalized for some three weeks under critical care, being pumped up with antibiotics while having to lie under an oxygen tent (for about a week) and thereafter having to breathe under a ventilation mask (for the other two weeks).

Unfortunately, she ended up contracting C. difficile during her hospital stay, which meant more antibiotics - not counting the pain and diarrhea.

But again, she pulled through and all ended well, nevertheless.

Until two years ago, that is, when blood began appearing in her urine, along with recurring pain in her bladder area. As it turned out, my mother happened to be one of the very rare cases where lung cancer occurs at the same time with bladder cancer - so, the "good news" was that this tumor did not result from metastases of her former lung tumor. Unfortunately, bladder cancer is very difficult to be spotted by PET scans, because the bladder always lights up brightly under this diagnostic procedure (you see, the non-metabolising, radiolabelled sugar analogue used for PET scans is taken up by cancer cells and not normal ones - hence, the bulk of what is ingested by a patient ends up quickly in the bladder ... this applies somewhat similarly as to why her past chemo did little to kill her bladder cancer cells). After further tests and biopsies, it was revealed that this bladder tumor was already big and invasive enough as to require the removal of the whole bladder. Just to make sure, all peripheral bladder lymph nodes were also removed, even if they did not lit up under PET scans. Also, this meant at the same time "rewiring" surgery in order to hook up her kidneys to a small piece of her own ileum, so that she would hook up urine collection bags to her side - in lieu of a bladder. She ended up staying about two weeks and a half at the hospital.

From there, she would have to continue her regular monitoring tests (yet again: PET scans, CEA blood levels, etc.) every six months, in addition to also seeing her urologist to monitor the well-being and well-functionning of her urine evacuation. Also, she would have from then on a specialized nurse available on call (to speak to or to come over) should any little problems occur with her urine collection bags.

And thus again, my mother pulled through it all and is now rather used to her small urine collection bags (for the day), as well as to the "big bag" she has to hook herself up with, for when she sleeps at night.

In between and through it all, my father had undergone his regular annual check-ups, including monitoring his prostate. Sure enough, the prostate reached a "minimum critical size" last year. After undergoing tests (PET scans, biopsies), he was diagnosed with prostate cancer - albeit at a very, very, very early stage. His oncologist discussed options with him: either have the prostate removed - which seemed like a too radical treatment considering how early the cancer was caught - or undergo a rather new procedure which involved inserting small radioactive beads into the prostate, leaving them there to do "their thing" for a year, at which point they would have completely disintegrated. In other words: harmless and painless. Oh - and with a 90+% success rate, at that.

So after a mere three months following the original "hmmm, it looks like your prostate has reached a minimum critical size, here" announcement, my father's prostate was inserted with them radioactive beads.

Of course, his mischievous, ingrate elder son (i.e. moi) spent the better part of the following year dispensing jibes and taunts such as "Hey, look! It's Radioactive Man to the rescue!", or "Let's shut the lights out and see Radioactive Man glow in the dark!" or "Here comes the Six Million Rads Man!" along with making the famous "bionic" sound whenever he would walk or move (disclosure: my father cheerily went along with that last one, purposely moving in slow-motion as in the tv series, especially when he would come at me for a pretend slap-up-the-head for my annoying naughtiness. You see, when I was a kid, him and I would never miss an episode of Steve Austin's exploits). In any case, my father will also have to undergo regular exams (PET scans, CEA levels, etc.) every six months to monitor the regression of his cancer - just like my mother.

Hence, in the end, everything ended rather well for both my mother and father, after all...

Not so fast. I forgot to mention that through every step of the way of their treatments and/or compications, there were undue delays because the treating physicians had to get approval from bureaucrats at the Régie de l'Assurance Maladie du Québec (our provincial government-run health care). But I suppose one gets used to this enough. However, just this past summer, my parents got a visit from one of these bureaucrats, one who was "in charge, in handling" their health care files. As it turned out, my mother had not only maxed out her "health care quota", she had in fact overshot it due to bureaucratic error. Nonetheless, either she had to get private insurance to reimburse the government (which was impossible, considering all of her "pre-existing conditions"), or she and my father had to pay out of their pockets (I won't tell you how much - let's say that the amount ended up in the mid six figures). But because this was a bureaucratic error, an alternative was offered: that my father, and/or me and/or my brother, "give up" some of our health care quotas in order to balance everything out. So all three of us did, and even more - because we had to make sure that my mother would continue to have her regular monitoring exams, while at the same time making sure she would get more care should she need it, and while making sure that my father did not end up short-changed for his possible, eventual needs. I was not there during the initial visit from that government bureaucrat, but my father told me that she even went as far as to mention that my parents, especially my mother, should begin to think about doing the "right thing" for our family and society in general, so as to help preserve health care quotas for everyone. It wasn't hard to understand what the "right thing" was. In any case, my brother and I ended up letting go of a sizeable portion of our respective health care quotas, for the well being of our parents - especially our mother. I guess I will have to have kids someday, so that they may do the same thing for me, eh? Well, that's our government-run, universal health care system for ya!

******************************

Everything described above truly happened to my parents - except, of course and obviously, for that very last paragraph.

And to make sure: no, never a single bureaucrat ever got involved in the medical decisions made by physicians regarding the treatments of my parents, and there certainly was never a "visit" from a government bureaucrat regarding non-existent "health care quotas" and other such nonesense.

And to drive the point home: all my parents ever had to pay out of their pockets were the rented, private hospital rooms. Medicines (or urine collection bags)? All either fully reimbursed or, at least, have sizeable portions reimbursed - by that very same government-run, universal health care system.

I concede that I should've written a post as this one a long while ago, especially when the health care debate was raging hot in the US last summer - a debate that inevitably spills on over to our country, because those idiots who seek to dismantle our universal health care system invariably jump eagerly into the fray in order to further muddy the debate and make it somehow a "valid one" in Canada as well. Furthermore, every once in a blue moon, some Canadian decides to go to the US for treatment - for whatever reasons, either personal or, rarely, actually valid medically - which in turn reignites the bogus debate about the efficiency and quality of our Canadian universal health care system ... which also in turn is giddily used as canon fodder by those on both sides of the border who wish fervently for no universal health care system.

This happened again recently.

Hence, the present post.

Also, because the "public option" has been essentially abandonned once and for all by President Barack Obama, and considering the sham that is the current so-called "health care summit" as well as the further scaling-back of whatever health care bill that is to be someday voted into law, I decided to illustrate what my parents have gone through medically over the past eight years in order to make plain and simple the following final points:

A) in a private health care system, my mother would have been denied coverage and/or dropped a long time ago - most probably during her pneumonia because having the one lung left constituted a "pre-existing condition" or somesuch, or even more likely following the diagnosis of her bladder cancer (here's a similar example here). Or, her rates would have been hiked insanely. Hell, anything goes in this regard where the insurance companies are concerned - so there.

B) it is a certainty that my father would have had to have his prostate surgically removed, as opposed to the radioactive beads treatment, because the former procedure is much simpler and cheaper than the latter. As it regularly happens in the US.

C) even in the unlikelyhood that my mother would not have been dropped already, chances are that whatever private insurance my parents would have purchased would've fallen far short of covering/paying everything (co-pays, maximum coverage, loopholes and whatnot, anyone?) - thus leaving them either drowning in debt, with my brother and I along with them, or outright bankrupt and forced into poverty. As it happens regularly in the US.

and D) every treatment, every exam, every everything, performed by physicians in the treatment of my parents would have had to get approval by private insurance bureaucrats - including disputing/denying of procedures for more cheaper ones, if not outright denial of treatment. As it happens every day in the US.

If that is not enough to close this bogus debate once and for all, then how about this:

Thanks to our universal health care system, my parents got state-of-the-art, high quality care whenever they needed, all the while continuing to live comfortably, and affluently, in their retirement years.

As a matter of fact, my parents went to Europe for 2 weeks last summer, as they try to do every two years (which they haven't been able to lately, considering my mother's complications of two and three years ago. The previous time they went over there was the following year after my mother's radio- and chemotherapy).

So just go back to point C) above to finally get the whole point.

And if you still don't want universal health care, then fine by me - because if you are that much stupid, then you just don't deserve it.

Period.

And good luck with your private health care insurance anyways, eh?

(Cross-posted from APOV)

of tempests and tea parties

2010-02-23T04:34:00.001-06:00

i have been thinking in broad strokes lately--- and conversely, i have been hunkering down and working on personal issues. it would suffice to say that i am just plain exhausted. i have a feeling many folks are worn down and worn out by life- and it just shouldn't be that way. there really isn't any reason for it either- but for the greed of a small percentage of the entire human population. of course, we see it on a global scale with price gouging during disasters; private contractors simply stealing money allotted for projects to help folks; the financial implosion across the world, etc., etc.,

i started to think about what that means for me- i have to constantly be on the alert for my financial institutions levying fees and fines for any and everything; i have to pay fees and surcharges on any government or utility 'privelege' of using- more for simply using electricity in my home or renewing my driver's license; i have to be on the alert for disreputable gutter companies or price shop to not get taken advantage of to have my gutters replaced; i have to worry about taking my car to the garage for a check engine light coming on so i don't get ripped off; i pay pretty close to double for groceries than i did 10 years ago- and i have to worry whether or not my food has been genetically altered or filled full of antibiotics--- or has some viral disease like mad cow or fish fungus. whew!!!

not to mention- we have a horribly broken government system from the local governments on up and are constantly fighting against our neighbors, colleagues, and often friends and family members against a dangerous and regressive ideology. did i mention i am freakin' pooped? when you live with the stress of waiting for that other shoe to drop- and put other life losses on top of all of the above- i think we have a pretty fair idea of how most americans are living these days. even those of us who haven't lost our jobs and homes- are kind of waiting for the whole shebang to collapse and anarchy rein- and we all lose everything. it's that kind of decade i guess.

anyhoo, had to have mom's sink fixed and was lucky enough to have a buddy who could do it. got me thinking about capitalism and whatnot- and yes, i do need to have the car and gutters fixed. and, i am still looking for a part time job to pay for it... welcome to the western world where suburbanites want so badly to keep their mcmansion gated subdivisions safe for their 2.3 kids and dog and suv- that they join tea parties because they are promised a bag of lies. we, the people, have all been sold a bill of goods- the american dream- and the fact that we have woken up from that and can see that it amounts to owning swamp land--- is lost on the leaders of the tea bag movement and their minions.

the fight has just begun- and i hope that upcoming social civil wars don't devolve into actual bullets flying. and, i also hope that evolution speeds up a bit and the conservative mindset is just a painful blip in the human history.

1,000,000 Voices Virtual March for Health Care Reform

2010-02-22T12:44:00.000-06:00

On Feb. 23rd -- that's tomorrow! -- and 24th. More information at DailyKos. Please join. You don't have to wait till tomorrow. Do it now.

PEARL OF THE ANTILLES by tom karlson (poets for peace long island)

2010-02-17T00:00:00.014-06:00

Pearl of the Antilles

They walked and paddled
wanderlust and wondrous game, easily caught, pulls proto-Indians east and south across the Bering strait down to the Caribbean rim from Venezuela to one hundred islands north and west bringing cassava, cotton, tobacco, sweet potato and five thousand years of language and culture

1492: Taino and Columbus collide
Taino-Arawak one million strong
Columbus armed with gun, smallpox, chain gang, iron, and time Two generations later, 600 natives remain

1508: The thousand plantations must be fueled Natives gone, West Africa’s humanity is for sale

1790: French slave masters destroy 30,000 slaves each year Europe feeds on Haitian tobacco, coffee, sugar, cotton, indigo produced by the black gold of the French bourgeoisie 750 ships, 24,000 sailors move this cargo and humanity from Africa to Haiti to Europe the triangle of death

1804: Toussaint L’Oveture leads 30,000 slaves, against Napoleon’s finest actions birthed by the French and American revolutions the little man’s dreams of new world empire extinguished, French Louisiana sold, the US doubles size

Haiti the second republic of the new world The first freed slave republic US, France, the rest of Europe responds Haiti must be crushed embargo and boycott force her to pay 152 million francs reparations to French and US bankers Interest and principal paid off in 127 years,

1915: Wilson sends in the Marines
US debt collectors
19 years occupation
After 127 years interest and principal paid in full

1957-1986 the US runs Haiti
a client colony with
Papa Doc, then Baby Doc and
the tonton macoute
60,000 murdered, millions stolen
Haiti is in good hands

1990, Aristide elected, wins 90% of the vote, US coup, 1991 2000 Aristide reelected, Demands 21 billion at UN Kidnapping and coup 2004 2,000 disappeared Jean Bertrand Aristide banished to Africa Fanmi Lavalas, his party, barred from all elections by US

January 12, 2010
Earthquake
200,000 dead
Fourth invasion
200 flights a day
180 military flights
12,000 marines, guns, secure the rubble
(rumor of oil)
Graffiti in cite soley
“Marines al lakai nou”
“Nou pap tounin esclav enko”
Marines out, we will not be slaves...

Haiti the struggle must continue

THE NUMBERS...

2010-02-16T20:56:00.001-06:00

the february of my discontent

2010-02-16T05:29:00.001-06:00

suffice to say- it has been a rough february thus far. not all stress is bad and there has been both- personally and on the world scene. and i have not been all that chatty. it has been increasingly difficult for me to find anything at all to say to anyone and i have hunkered down instead hoping to somehow get myself back on track. two weeks in and i have not been entirely successful.

so, today i began to think about disconnect- how i long for it and how easy it seems to do for most other folks in america's modern culture. i haven't quite caught on as to how to go about it- the disconnecting from reality and life. most of us have no idea where our food comes from- for many it comes already prepared from a restaurant and may as well simply appear out of the ether. most americans don't have any idea that our meat comes from supersized agri-farms or ocean pens that pollute the water and shorelines or that the main source of our fruits and veggies these days is central and south america.

many folks don't realize that we are transitioning to unmanned drones operated by a soldier half a world away who can drop bombs destroying an entire village and be home in time for dinner with no thought as to the repercussions of his joystick and red buttons. so much like a video game.

i suppose what really got me to thinking about our disconnect with the real world is death and dying. i know, i know, i am hopelessly morbid but as i get older, the impending demise of my parents and my husband's parents looms closer. plus, one of my blog buddies recently lost his mom and the blogosphere lost bro tim two weeks ago. it hits home quickly. there was a time when folks could process all of this in real time- families attended the bodies and laid folks to rest. now, it's almost like they haven't even lived- let alone died. we make a phone call and our loved one is whisked away to a funeral home to be dolled up for the after life and placed in a casket lined with silk like they are sleeping. they are whisked away to be cremated or buried and that's it- better hope you don't need more than 3 days leave from work 'cause that's usually all you get and it's back to the 'normal' routine.

it is weirder online and in the entertainment biz- take heath ledger for example, he is forever young on the big screen and it's almost like you can reach through the screen and those moments are still there. when i go into facebook, or over to blog of revelation, there's bro tim's smiling face looking back at me- and his words are still there frozen in time. i could very easily pretend he is simply on vacation.

i don't know whether technology is a help or a hindrance in human development but i do know that we, as a species, globally, are at a crossroads. our love for the here and now and for bigger and better- and cutting edge technology- cannot continue unabated. we have to begin to put some thought into our future and not just live here and now. while i don't believe we should cling to the past, ala conservatism, i do think that there is something to be said about learning from it. we need to reconnect to the basics- people, nature, life. or there won't be any left.....

Christians, non-violence, Lent and the Stations of the Cross

2010-02-15T11:25:00.002-06:00

"We are living in a period of commerical globalization. What we really need is spiritual globalization." ~

Sister Joan Chittister, Charter for Compassion Trailer

For many with a Catholic Christian upbringing like mine, attending the "Stations of the Cross" was standard Lenten devotional practice. Catholic school kids often daydreamed through the service, secretly glad their time in church earned them a reprieve from classroom drudgery during the Church's annual penitential season, the six weeks preceding Easter. To actually pay attention to the devotion was horrifying.

That's because the Stations of the Cross focus on the torture and execution of Jesus Christ--a most violent and excruciating death. Centuries of religiosity perhaps attempted to sanitize the drama, but it really can't be tamed. Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ," a 2004 portrayal of the events in all their gruesome detail, provoked great controversy in that respect as well as praise.

As an adult I rejected the concept of a personal God who was so offended by sin that it was deemed necessary to subject a beloved offspring to abusive treatment and annihilation in a reparation or "get-it-right" project. So I had to reframe the event of Christ's death in a way that made more sense to me.

With the onset of Lent upcoming--February 17th is the Ash Wednesday kickoff--perhaps you're looking for a fresh lens through which to view the death and resurrection of Christ. Here are two helpful resources:

The Center for Christian Nonviolence offers a booklet containing the Stations of the Cross of Nonviolent Love for private meditation or group prayer. You can get it through the CCNV Store at the websitecenterforchristiannonviolence.org . You can view them and download copies for free at the same website under Resources [or directly:HERE].

Another Stations of the Cross that highlights the spirituality of Nonviolent Love is found on Sister Joan Chittister's website athttp://store.benetvision.org/wayofcrgator.html and is simply entitled "Way of the Cross: Gateway to Resurrection." Since it is not available for free download, I will simply give it my personal recommendation. Anything she writes is worth a read.

Both booklets recast the violence inherent in this central event of Christianity-- the via dolorosa (way of suffering), crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus-- as the quintessential nonviolent event of history. I found their efforts meaningful and relevant.

Lord knows our world can use less violence and more peace.

______________

The author is not connected in any way with the products listed in this post and received no money in exchange for their mention.

Bill Nighy -Robin Hood tax on banks

2010-02-13T00:23:00.000-06:00

What a great idea!

INCURIOUS BASTARDS

2010-02-08T14:01:00.008-06:00

Who's the most intellectually incurious? » create free polls
Tags : rush limbaugh sarah palin pat robertson the christian right teabaggers glenn beck jon stewart

Ride on the Peace Train

2010-02-06T21:52:00.001-06:00

Great day for a tribute to Cat Stevens!

Women ONE to one...

2010-02-03T13:40:00.001-06:00

I pledge to use my voice, take action and go beyond to push for improved policies and increased investments that empower women struggling against great odds in the world's poorest countries.

it's that time of year

2010-02-02T06:52:00.003-06:00

i find myself thinking more in 'seasons' than in months these days :) i suppose it's because i am starting to think in terms of 'gardening' instead of just grocery shopping. i really hate grocery shopping. and, i have a feeling more and more folks are feeling the same way because i have seen reports at various news agencies about the rise of the backyard garden here in america. suburbanites taking back their yards from the sculpted hedges and flowers with names i can't pronounce that aren't indigenous; urbanites container gardening and taking vacant lots for community plots- family farms hanging on by a thread and attempting to go organic.

that has got to irritate big ag quite a bit. but i don't care. i have no desire to put genetically altered, hormone and antibiotic stuffed meats, dairy and vegetables in my mouth. i suspect many other folks don't either. at any rate, it's a trend towards more self sufficiency- more awareness about the environment but also about our own relationship with our planet and nature- and how we effect each other.

and, while i know that evolution takes a long time when left to it's own devices, i honestly see the writing on the wall for the right wing mind set. negative, mean spirited, aggressive, sociopathic power hunger along with greed isn't going to survive in a world where we are going to have to work together to simply to exist as a species.

and, i, for one, will not be sorry to see that dinosaur- um elephant- go extinct.

An Iraq Veteran Speaks

2010-01-31T21:09:00.002-06:00

By Mike Prysner -- Veteran: U.S. Army

Mike Prysner served in Iraq. Now that he has returned, he has something to say.

The video lasts 4 ½ minutes and concludes as follows:

Our real enemies are not those living in some distant land. They're not people whose names we don't know or whose cultures we don't understand. The enemy is people we know very well and can identify. The real enemy is a system that wages war when it's profitable, the enemy is the CEOs who lay us off our jobs when it's profitable, the insurance companies who deny us health care when it's profitable, the banks who take away our homes when it's profitable. Our enemy is not five thousand miles away. They are right here at home. And if we organize and fight with our sisters and brothers we can stop this war we can stop this government and we can create a better world.
- Mike Prysner

The address from which this video was excerpted is available HERE, and I recommend that you view the panel presentation to hear the message in context. Prysner's testimony was recorded during an event sponsored by Iraq Veterans against the War (IVAW) called "Winter Soldier." It lasts just under 11 minutes, is unedited and in situ here:

Panel: Racism and War: the Dehumanization of the Enemy: Part 2

For more information on Michael Prysner, click HERE.

COMMANDER IN CHIEF INC.

2010-01-30T16:56:00.004-06:00

Forget the small potatoes… how about we elect corporations as president?

We should have thought of this years ago! The possibilities are astoundingly limitless!

How about Exxon Mobil for commander in chief?
Forget lethal injections, bring back the gas chambers.
(Food-stamps? Forget about it. Give us gas cards, we can always eat later!)

Halliburton?
They are- Oops... I meant, it- it is perfectly capable of running a lousy and rather lethal business.
(Instead of clean water and clean energy solutions… we get bupkis!)

General Motors?
Forget universal health coverage. The AMA would be replaced by the AAA and we’d get universal car insurance with free towing.
(Holy lug wrench! Free towing? Damn skippy, I’m voting for GM!)

Chevron?
It would fight for every inch of oil on earth to maintain US supremacy.
(And we all know that doing so will keep us safe and secure for centuries to come. Yippee!)

GE?
The shut-off notice would replace the census.
(But hey, GE is into a whole range of shit, so the benefits don’t stop there!)

McDonalds?
Imagine the Mcservice. Imagine the drive through Mcocracy; three to seven in every small Mctown, forty to fifty in every Mccity. I mean imagine the children all smiling and screaming “MCDONALDS” every damn Mcblock you drive?
(The new McUS Mcmotto would be, Mcshit for food, Mcshit for service, Mcshit for governance, but always with a Mcshitty smile to greet you (plus all the Mcnapkins you can carry)!

AT&T?
Everyone’ll get a calling plan with a direct line to the US government!
(Sure, the calls will be outsourced to India and other countries, but the intention is really all that matters, especially when you’re put on hold for six friggin’ hours!)

Bank of America?
Now there’s a presidential sounding name, Bank of America. It just rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? Every four years the elections would be replaced by a massive nationwide bail-out.
(On the plus side, talk of voter fraud would be a thing of the past!)

No! How about Wal-Mart?
Yes! Finally something we can all agree on… I mean if Wal-Mart ascended to the highest office in this land, not only would we have door greeters in every business to thank us for coming to the store that slays small businesses with their mere presence, but we’d also be treated to everyday low expectations… every single solitary waking moment…
(Wow! I mean can you say job/parking lot security? Wal-Mart can’t, but they’ll sell you a shopping cart full of shit anyway!)

QUESTIONS AND HOPEFULLY SOME ANSWERS

2010-01-30T12:21:00.004-06:00

President Obama holds an open discussion across the aisle. Complete Video.

After witnessing this incredible dialogue from President Obama and the difficulty from Republicans to disengage the partisan rhetoric, even immediately after President Obama pleaded with them to do so, I have a question for the president, who, on February 4, 2010, will be speaking to grassroots supporters and answering questions about our plan to move forward.... (You can ask your question here.)

My question:

Dear Mr. President,
Now that you've shown the way forward with your graciousness and ability to work with the other side of the aisle and you've shown that this kind of bi-partisanship is the way and seemingly the only way to get things done for the people of the United States, what are your plans to continue this rather amazing and much needed transition? I do not envy you that, but I support the idea wholeheartedly!

Thank you, Mr. President.

Dr. Ilana Feldman

2010-01-28T00:00:00.000-06:00

VIDEO: Humanitarianism: Prolonging the Palestinian Political Plight?

Assistant Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs,
George Washington University

These are the quick and unedited recordings of today's event.

Part 1.

(SEE PART 2 AND MORE - Palestinian Center Blog-)

NO REVOLT OF THE GUARDS

2010-01-27T19:49:00.001-06:00

Howard Zinn dies of a heartattack at age 87

The wish for a coming revolt of the guards
Did not emerge with any expectant breath
Or a momentous thunder of rebellion.

Instead…
It passed between the dreaming walls of our hope,
Silent and mortified.
It wove its way near the heart and fell away
Breathless.

We hungered for its branding mark to walk upon
Our shields. We’re ready for the next great one,
The next sun to etch its words on our caution.

We see ourselves as we imagine; a rescuer,
A warrior of unending good, a rebel without history
looking for a voice to call his own.

We’ve tossed our coins into the breathing fountain
And hidden our shame in the thankless gutter,
We’ve carried our bodies across our days
Like hand grenades;
Immigrants in a strange land of heavy skies.

A People's History

Howard Zinn...

rest in peace.

Welcome To The Corporate States Of America

2010-01-27T14:30:00.003-06:00

(Further elaborating from Mark Prime's previous post on the matter)

That's right, my American friends - it is now official, thanks to your SCOTUS.

I hope you enjoy your authoritarian, corporatocracy-driven, security and surveillance state.

[READ MORE +/-]

Meanwhile:

U.S. Chamber of Commerce Discloses It Spent $123 Million In Lobbying;

U.S. Chamber of Commerce celebrates its ‘influence’ over Massachusetts Senate race;

Wall Street Investors Lavish Scott Brown’s Campaign With Money, Get Out The Vote Operations;

Big Banks Spent $24 Million Lobbying in 2009;

Hedge Funds Post Biggest Year In A Decade, Are Sitting On $77B In Cash;

JPMorgan Chase Earns $11.7 Billion;

Morgan Stanley: A Weak Year, But With An 'Astonishing' Bonus Figure;

Failure Often Guarantees Future Rewards;

Banks lobbying against a financial crisis responsibility fee also planning to pay out big bonuses;

Jobless claims surge to 2-month high;

Suburban Poverty Surges;

Goldman Sachs Profits Hit $4.8B, Pay Up 47 Percent Over 2008;

Consumer Protection Agency in Doubt;

In The Service Of The Corporatocracy;

Big Pharma: Carpetbagging At Its (Worse) Best;

Obama Retreats on Health Care;

Pelosi: House can’t pass Senate Health Care bill now;

McConnell On Health Reform: ‘It Would Be Good For The Country If It Failed’;

Whistleblower reveals how insurers can game healthcare bill;

Largest US health insurer’s profits rise 30 percent;

Secrets of the Immigration Jails;

The Pervasive And Pernicious Influence Of Corporate-Owned Media;

The Manufactured Doubt Industry;

More On Corporate Selfishness And Self-Interests;

Self-Interest In Climate Change Skepticism And Everything Else: Proof Is In Teh Money;

US tech companies urged not to support censorship;

Warning: Internet Censorship Coming Soon ... If Not Already Here;

Because Infringing On Privacy Is A Lucrative Business;

NYPD routinely arrests students for non-crimes;

FBI broke law for years in phone record searches;

GOP Is Overjoyed At The Unprecedented Influence Corporations Will Now Have In Federal Campaigns;

Acting In God Faith: Doing God's Work (Again);

"Doing God's Work";

Reloaded Again: And The Blackmail Con Game Continues;

... And The Continuing Blackmail Con Game Keeps On Going;

Because Slavery Is Such A High Profit, Low Labor Cost, Business ...

War Incited Or Waged By Corporations?

Indeedy - welcome to your Corporate States of America.

Welcome to your Corporatocracy.

Hope you enjoy it ...

(Cross-posted from APOV)

Muslim Women cartoonists: A Palestinian and a Pakistani written by Iqbal Tamimi of Palestinian Mothers

2010-01-26T17:00:00.003-06:00

By Iqbal Tamimi

One of the amazing fields where Muslim women have shown extra special skills in self expression is working as cartoonists. The skills of two Muslim women working in the same field but separated by a wide geographical and social distance is highlighted here, one in Pakistan and the other in Palestine.

I guess a very small number of people in the West know about Muslim women creative artists in general, the majority stereotyped Muslim women as an outcome of recycling the same headlines by the Western media, painting a gloomy picture of oppressed women whose freedoms are high jacked by men and their role is limited to bearing children and cooking. This view suits the Western media fine, because a great deal of such images are recycled to justify political aggression and interference in a number of Muslim countries, even though some stories are right yet not many want to go through the effort of finding out how right they are.

Omayya Joha is a well known cartoonist in the Middle East; she is the first Palestinian and Arab woman political cartoonist that has worked for a daily newspaper, and the first to establish her own business of Joha Toon. Joha was born in Gaza on February 2, 1972. She graduated from the Mathematics Department at Al Azhar University in Egypt 1995 with the highest degrees of honour and distinction. She is a member of the Naji Al-Ali Assembly of Fine Arts in Palestine, the Palestinian cartoonist who drew 40.000 political cartoons and created the Hanthalh character; the pair footed Palestinian child who appears to be watching what is going on, and thus we always saw his back and never saw his face. Joha is so good that she has won the Arab Journalism Award for her work in 2001 in a very competitive field dominated by men.

The other Muslim woman cartoonist is the Pakistani Nigar Nazar who invented the character of Gogi to express her views about diverse subjects ranging from male chauvinism to suicide bombers. Nazar has chosen Gogi to be her main character as a long-lashed, short-coiffed, polka dot-wearing, pixie-faced modern Pakistani Muslim woman.

While the Palestinian cartoonist Omayya Joha has chosen to highlight many personalities in her society and not to focus on a woman character to express her views regarding the Israeli occupation that left women, men, and children of all age categories equal in pain. Joha herself is a victim of Israel’s aggression that destroyed her city Gaza and killed both her first husband by shooting him and her second husband by denying him the right to seek medical help under the siege.

There is a deep touch of sadness and feeling of oppression in every drawing she created. Her subjects are refugees, oppressed Palestinians, prisoners, and a great deal of bereavement and despair and criticism of the International community for its hypocritical stand of the Palestinian plight. And as much as she expressed her anger of the Western international stand, she expressed the same anger towards Arab political establishments and leaders for letting the Palestinians down.

Nazar’s work on the other hand shows womanly humour in a male-dominated society where she seeks social freedom, Pakistan her country is not suffering occupation, Pakistan suffers other kinds of problems like being a male dominant society, where illiteracy is infesting in its communities and where there are some radicalization of the youngsters is going on, Naza is striving in her work to see social progress by conquering ignorance which happens to be an inside enemy, while Joha shows lots of pain and longing for political freedom from the Israeli oppressor who happens to be an outside enemy.

Nazar who is based in Islamabad, lectured at Colorado College for a short period, hoping to help Americans deepen what she suspects is a typically one-dimensional perception of Islamic society and culture, while Joha who was born during the occupation has never been able to travel to the West because of the Israeli siege, she longed to share her experience on international level but she could not attend many invitations, even though she is the most prominent female cartoonist in the Middle East.

Nazar, whose father worked in the Foreign Service when she was young, spent several years in America. Her Cartoon character Gogi began as a daily comic strip in a Pakistan newspaper called The Sun in 1970 when Nazar was 22. She also animated a cartoon for Karachi Television about that time. Later she was freelanced for The Herald monthly before publishing books of Gogi cartoons; her first published book was on the market in 1975.
Joha on the other hand started her career by working as a teacher for 3 years, then she resigned to focus on her work as a cartoonist. She worked for ‘Alrisalah’ newspaper since 1979, and worked for ‘alquds’ newspaper from 1999-2002, and since February 2002 she works for ‘ Alhayat Al-Jadeeda’ newspaper besides her work for the Qatari newspaper ‘Al-Raya’.

Nazar character of Gogi reflects gentle humour. But some might misinterpret her sense of humour especially when she makes a point of criticism related to her culture. She pointed out once in one of her strips that the traditional headscarf, the chaddar, actually has advantages, such as hiding one from creditors. This hint about a high section of her poor society and many who suffer the debts might be misinterpreted as criticism or disrespect of a Muslim Pakistani traditional costume that equals wearing the hijab in other Muslim socities. Her created character Gogi and friend once remarked as well on the reaction to male births and female births since her Pakistani society prefers have a baby boy as is the case in many socities. ‘When a son is born, the father passes out cigars. When a daughter is born, a father simply passes out’ she commented. "That was my first meaningful cartoon," Nazar said. Newspaper editors in Pakistan are not always receptive to Gogi as a mouthpiece for modern urban women, she said.

Joha is unlike Nazar her cartoons are political direct messages. Nazar said ‘I don't do political cartoons until I get very, very angry. And then they don't get published’ she said, so it is not quite clear if she has chosen social caricature because she is not angry enough, or because she has fears that her work might not be published.

Unlike Nazar, Joha has had a very sad life, she was married twice and both husbands died, the first husband was Rami Khader Saad, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in 2003 for being a fighter in the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam, one of Hamas groups, the second husband was Wael Oqailan who died due to Israeli siege when he was prevented from leaving the Gaza strip to seek medical treatment after being injured in an explosion in the stomach. Aqilan died in May 2009. Joha’s personal and nation’s difficult life is reflected in her work which is focussed on the political messages,while Nazar's messages are social and tackles almost everything from sexual harassment to equal education opportunities, eventually her work began appearing on the sides of buses in Islamabad and Lahore.

With the high illiteracy rates in Pakistan, Nazar saw that cartoons are a good way to get messages across." Through Gogi, Nazar has tackled topics such as AIDs, arranged marriages, domestic violence, government corruption and sectarian strife, and even health and hygiene illustrations that she was assigned to do by UNICEF. She's written and drawn children's storybooks on the environment as well, such as "The Garbage Monster." She's painted hospital murals and illustrated comic books to help children avoid recruitment as suicide bombers.

Joha uses her home key symbol as her signature; the key appears in many of her work as a reminder of her hope like all Palestinian refugees to return back to their homes, the homes they were forced out from by the Zionists in 1948 and since then they became refugees more than once. The Peace dove also is present in many of her drawings along with the blood and the children and their mothers. While Palestine’s map that appeared in her work seems to shrink by the years with Israel’s policies of expansion and confiscations of Palestinian lands. The chains are highlighted in her work as well since almost 11.000 Palestinians are imprisoned in Israeli jails, one in every 4 Palestinians have been arrested at least once in their life time, which is considered the highest percentage in the world.

Both women Joha and Nazar seemed to say a great deal about their societies and cultures through the art of cartoon, which in many cases speak louder than a history book. And taking into account the difficult strive to win the race in a male dominant line of work, both Muslim women have done a great job by being the ambassadors of women in their countries who expressed their solidarity to women victims of politics on different levels.

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Unprecedented Corporate Interference (written by Change Congress)

2010-01-22T17:44:00.002-06:00

Yesterday's Supreme Court decision allowing unprecedented corporate interference into the electoral process should serve as a wake-up call to anyone concerned about the integrity of our democracy.

With the American people's trust in Congress already at a historical low, and an avalanche of questionable contributions about to enter into our political system, it may soon be impossible to determine why members introduce, support, or oppose pieces of legislation. And the cloud of money surrounding Congress will only get thicker.

It's tempting to do what many in both parties have already done: throw up our hands and declare this a lost cause. But there is a path forward.

Larry Lessig, founder of Change Congress, wrote a piece for the Huffington Post explaining the consequences of the Court's decision -- and outlining the next steps our country should take. Please take a few minutes to read his essay, and forward it along to everyone you know who's troubled by the state of our democracy:

http://action.change-congress.org/HuffingtonPost

The Citizens United decision has made our work at Change Congress more important than ever. With your continued support, I'm hopeful that we can help build a political system free of the taint of special interest money and influence.

Sincerely,

Monica Walsh
Development Director

Lessig... Obama's First Year: Change Congress

2010-01-20T15:05:00.001-06:00

CHANGE CONGRESS.ORG

One year ago was a moment when many things felt possible -- whether or not you supported President Obama's agenda. One year later, we've now seen that even a transformative figure in the Oval Office can't transform the way Washington works. Only we can.

Watch Lawrence Lessig's video presentation on how changing Congress is the only way to truly change our country.

Reloaded: The Cost Of Security (Meaning: Terror)

2010-01-20T14:30:00.000-06:00

Following up on this post from last week, proof again that the terrorists are winning as we keep on losing ourselves beyond redemption (emphasis added):

[READ MORE +/-]

Poll: Most Americans would trim liberties to be safer

After a recent attempted terrorist attack set off a debate about full-body X-rays at airports, a new McClatchy-Ipsos poll finds that Americans lean more toward giving up some of their liberty in exchange for more safety.

The survey found 51 percent of Americans agreeing that "it is necessary to give up some civil liberties in order to make the country safe from terrorism."

At the same time, 36 percent agreed that "some of the government's proposals will go too far in restricting the public's civil liberties."

The rest were undecided or said their opinions would depend on circumstances.

Meanwhile:

The path down the road to perdition continues, especially in the USA where now some 54% of Americans believe torture is "often" or "sometimes" justified (an actual increment of 10% from June 2008).

Security - Hallowed Be Thy Name.

Indeed:

So, my American friends ...

Maybe you remain unfazed by all of this, your smug reasoning reassuring you that nothing like that could ever happen to you, that it is inconceivable that some "tracker" has been listening (or may yet still) to your most private conversations on the phone, or parsing through your emails, or credit card/bank statements, and so on.

Or maybe you remain approving of indiscriminate domestic spying, confident that such setting aside of constitutional rights serves the ultimate purpose of catching them evul ter'rists (which, as it turns out, is a false premise), while also being of the mind that such "accidental" abuses happen to others - never to you. In other words, you are one who would gladly proclaim "Security - Hallowed Be Thy Name" with much gratitude, patriotic fervor and conviction.

But regardless, how would you know whether or not you have been caught in the "wide-net" approach to electronic surveillance already adopted by Police and Security Agencies?

How would you possibly become aware that some faceless "tracker" is sharing all that was caught of your most private, intimate conversations - all the while sharing laughs with colleagues in so doing? That complete strangers have become quite familiar with your private life?

That faceless, shadowy men and women have been endowed with the power to act as nothing more than peeping toms, all-too-eager to watch and listen into every and all facets of your privacy, of your intimacy?

And how would you know whether or not you will be branded a security threat just because you went on strike, or because someone "out there" has decided that some of the books/newspapers/magazines that you read may be suspicious, or simply because you were overheard complaining about the government?

That is the question, isn't it?

(...)

All of the above once again demonstrate the harsh, ugly reality in this post-9/11 world driven by fear and the willingness to accept the ludicrous fallacy that we need to surrender "some" of our basic constitutional rights in order to improve security against terrorist attacks.

Yet always forgetting that abuse of security measures is as inevitable as the sun rising and setting - especially without any significant oversight, or even refusal of such.

Better wake up fast on your own and now, instead of being awaken by the thundering sound of jackboots just outside your home ... mere moments before your door is crashed open and you get picked up in a "pre-emptive security sweep".

Do you get it now?

In an older post on this same matter, I made the following conclusion:

Hence, it still remains to be established indeed whether we will stand up for our constitution, our democracy-based society, or let fear and paranoia sweep them away in lieu of authoritarianism - as we keep allowing our elected representatives to grant vast powers to security agencies.

More than ever, we better wake up before it is too little, too late ...

If it isn't already.

Well then - considering that the ever incremental costs in money and civil liberties is meant apparently to keep us safe from nefarious, evil terrorists like this s.o.b. ... I suppose it is safe to say that the results are now in - and it looks like it is indeed too late for us all.

Thus why I reiterate: we are the real problem with terrorism.

But congratulations nonetheless to the terrorists for such an unequivocal, complete and total victory.

(Cross-posted from APOV)

yesterday, today and beyond

2010-01-19T06:36:00.004-06:00

i watched a program about beans yesterday. the whole program was about beans and how to grow them and prepare them. yeah, so? there was a segment on seed saving and the nice gentleman was explaining how he saves seeds for posterity. not terribly remarkable, or is it? the practice of seed saving went the way of backyard gardens- and this nice man in maine wants to bring both back to this generation. he believes that there is a disconnect between us and our food and so, he developed a program by which he educates kids and teens on gardening and seed saving. what struck me was when he was talking about some of the heirloom seeds- and they have some from the cherokee's trail of tears. he explained that the native folks were allowed to go inside and take what they could carry--- and many of them took their seeds.

mom and i were talking about it- and we wondered what folks today would take if they could only take what they could carry- pictures? bank book? whatever it would be- i doubt it would be seeds. we just assume that we will always be fed. what a presence of mind to take seeds to plant wherever you end up- a connection to where your food came from. many folks don't know that corn is indigenous to this hemisphere. it is a grass that native populations brought with them as they migrated from south america to north america. many folks don't realize that the lovely yellow ears we grab at the supermarket--- or even farmer's markets- are not the native varieties but hybrids invented within the last hundred years or so.

so, for this nice gentleman to have seeds saved from the original native populations is pretty important. it's a connection to our food and our roots as people and as a nation. backyard gardening is catching on again- and i hope that our 'heirloom' seeds do to.

A nonviolent look at a violent act

2010-01-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

By Vickie Aldrich [reposted with permission from Grassroots Press. Original date: 12/28/2009]

A while back I kept hearing about acts of violence, one of which was the media coverage of the shooting at Fort Hood. As the media puts the Fort Hood incident into sound bites, and hero stories, I think it is important for us all to realize that no act of violence is a one-act play on an empty stage.

I often feel frustrated as the media portrays and dramatizes these events. The questions “why?” and “how can we see the warning signs?’ lead us away from other questions, and to focus on individuals rather than on the culture and acceptance of violence in this country. Hero stories are told that carry with them an implication of “good shooter, good violence” and “bad shooter, bad violence.” I remember after the incident at Virginia Tech there were people who used that incident as a reason to carry arms and to have more weapons.

This incident involved trained U.S. military personel. As I listened to the extensive media coverage of victims I wondered: If the same incident had happened in Iraq or Afghanistan, where civilians of those countries were the victims, would we hear their stories? Would they be considered victims or “collateral damage”? This is part of the illogic of war and violence, which leaves me wondering, how do we turn this country away from violence towards nonviolence?

I believe that we are making progress as a nation, as a country that has both violence and massacres in our history. The voices of nonviolence are heard more and more often. People will argue that nonviolence is not effective in such situations; I agree and disagree. It reminds me of a story of going camping with some friends long ago. The driver took a shortcut and we got stuck, after the same driver had gotten us out of the situation, one friend argued, “This is why we needed him along to get us out of this mess.” I countered that without this person we would not have gotten stuck in the first place.

As with these incidents, we are told that “we need the guns to kill because we have the guns to kill.” “We need to train people to kill because we have trained people to kill.” This is the unending merry-go-round of violent logic. The effective use and time to use nonviolence is like an hourglass. The actual violence occurs at the narrow neck in the middle; before that moment there are often times for the use of nonviolence, but that chance narrows and lessens as the point of ignition is neared, and once past that point the opportunities for nonviolence once again increase.

As we are past an incident, past the moment of violence, let us move on, not focusing on preventing violent incidents, but on developing communities and a world in which nonviolence grows and flourishes.

A Quaker who has taught courses in nonviolent communication, Vickie Aldrich teaches mathematics at Doña Ana Community College.

The Cost Of Security (Meaning: Terror)

2010-01-13T14:30:00.002-06:00

The terrorists keep on winning - my point ... exactly.

In the meantime, what has been the monetary cost of "fighting terrorism and improving our security"?

[READ MORE +/-]

For Canada: the Afghanistan "mission" overall price tag will be an estimated $11.3 to $18.1 billion by 2011. $23.1 billion in successive increases to National Defense spending have been dished out since 2001. The military budget for 2008-2009 was $18.2 billion, which increased to $21.2 billion for 2009-2010 - a 60-year high. Spending for development in Afghanistan up to 2006 was $466 million - by 2011, it is expected to reach $1 billion. In between, more than $2.6 billion have been committed to enhancing aviation security since 2001 - just last year, airport security cost $450 million and its further "beefing up" will cost $590 millions this year (apparently not including the installation of 44 body scanners @ $250,000 a piece for a whopping $11 million price tag). In the same vein, the budget for CSIS ballooned from $248 million in 2001-2002 to $356 million in 2006-2007, along with an additional increase of $80 million over two years beginning in 2008. And by the way - the security budget for the 2010 Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games in Vancouver will amount to about $900 million.

For the USA: the cost of the war in Afghanistan so far amounts to approximatively $235.9 billion (about $57,077.60/minute). The running tab on the Iraq war stands now at about $716 billion. The combined cost of both wars is now almost at $1 trillion. Military spending (excluding the costs of the Iraq/Afghanistan wars) has increased from $404 billion in 2001 to $626 billion in 2007, and then to $636 billion by the end of 2009. $23 billion have been spent on reconstruction and development contracts in Afghanistan since 2002. Another $53 billion have been likewise spent in Iraq since the 2003 invasion. In between, the TSA's budget went from $6.5 billion in 2003 to almost $8 billion in 2009. The number of body scanners in airports will more than triple, going from the 40 already in use to 150 (@ $150,000-$190,000 a piece). Meanwhile, the budget for the DHS has reached $55 billion for the 2010 fiscal year (pdf here). And for 2009 alone, the estimated (i.e. classified) budget for the National Intelligence Program (which includes the CIA, FBI, NSA and various military intelligence branches) stood between $55 billion and $66.5 billion.

I am reminded of the infamous words of one Osama bin Laden (emphasis added): "We, alongside the mujahideen, bled Russia for 10 years, until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat ... So we are continuing this policy in bleeding America to the point of bankruptcy."

Incidentally - Canada's accumulated deficit stood at about $55.9 billion for 2009 (a record), whereas that of the USA now stands at about $12.3 trillion (another record).

And never you mind that Canadians and Americans are now essentially living in Corporatocracy-run National Security and Surveillance States - all for nothing.

But do you know what's even worst? All those people on the right who keep screaming, yelling, crying, asking, demanding, insisting, promulgating, encouraging, preaching, enabling, pushing that we continue further surrendering to the terrorists - all the while lying about terrorism in order to score political/ideological points, if not actually advancing themselves politically.

It has worked before - why should it not work still?

All of the above constitute proof again that the ever-expanding and wasteful, so-called Global War on Terror is only about scaring people, not protecting them.

All of the above furthermore constitute proof again that we are the real problem with terrorism.

And that is why the terrorists keep on winning.

Any questions?

(Cross-posted from APOV)

DEATH KNELL OF THE FOURTH

2010-01-13T01:52:00.011-06:00

Sarah Palin appears on The O’Reilly Factor

This debut was certainly not unexpected. I am surprised, however, that it wasn't sooner, given the unreasonable popularity of Palin. In all honesty, every conservative I’ve had the opportunity to ask about Palin has a nearly identical response, she sends a chill down their spine. None of them have anything really positive to say about the former Wasilla emperor.

Chills? Yes. Surely you jest? No. It is not that there’s anything within her own individuality or her phantom power for them to fear, but the conservatives, the rational, level-headed conservatives, know that, if she is ever to become even more polarizing of a political figure than she is now with an R attached to her name, even remotely, her phantom power will become a wrecking-ball and spell the destruction of the GOP.

The only way this could happen, they surmise, and rightly so, is if she runs for president or vice president again on the Republican ticket. (If she runs with Glenn Beck as her VP nominee, the GOP will unreservedly implode.) Some progressives might cheer such an outcome, but not me. We need to maintain the two-party system, for that matter, we need more than two viable parties to vote for, to balance and check the other(s), to help bring us out of the tail-spin of corruption and end the media's love affair with candidates that they should be holding accountable for past and present wrongs.

The line between entertainment and news, between the windbags and bobble-heads sucking on the corporate teat and true journalists has never been so thin. I mean thin to the point of the line being almost non-existent! This must change! David Mamet wrote in his book, Writing in Restaurants, that the difference between entertainment and art is (and I paraphrase here), “Entertainment’s accessible and art… is necessary.” How true this is when one considers journalism an art form.

We've nearly lost the fourth estate to corporatism. And Palin's appearance with the king of crap and the public's and the media's inane focus on such, somewhat proves my point. Of course I would never consider either of those two, O'Reilly or Palin (or ninety-eight percent of FOX News programs for that matter), to be anywhere near the actual "fourth estate", but, if FOX gets its way, as it appears to be doing, this country will never be able to figure the accessible estate from the necessary estate and that will most certainly be the death knell for these United States of America.

We don't need anymore damned entertainment, we need art. We need our fourth estate to be strong, willing to stand up to any and all corporatist thugs including their bosses. We need to take our estate back; rip it from the hands of entertainment and return it to its rightful place, within the clutches of necessity.

Pathologizing Dissent, or Deja Vu All Over Again

2010-01-13T01:23:00.001-06:00

Hendrik Hertzberg, from The New Yorker magazine, whose political commentary I usually enjoy and agree with, has just added himself to the growing and not-so-illustrious line of those who mock and dismiss critics of our so-called health care reform bill, in his piece aptly titled -- because of its unintentional self-mockery -- Um, Pathetic.

To his credit, Hertzberg, somewhat reluctantly, admits that the bill has “conspicuous flaws,” but he breezily absolves our lawmakers of their responsibility for them, maintaining, rather unconvincingly, that our Congress is an inanimate entity, impervious to human feelings, thoughts, or intentions.

A curious observation, that, especially in light of the various astounding concessions our supposedly unfeeling and unthinking Senators (OK, there may be some truth to it) were able to intentionally finagle for their votes. For example, the sweet and jaw-dropping Medicaid deal for Nebraska secured by just one (allegedly unfeeling and unthinking) individual Senator, Ben Nelson. Or a mind-boggling provision giving Medicare benefits to all citizens of one town in Montana, obtained by Senator Baucus. (This begs an obvious question: if it can be done for all citizens of one whole town, why not for all citizens of our country?)

For an inanimate, unfeeling entity, the Senate members have shown remarkable, life-like nimbleness and skills in securing favorable concessions on their own behalf (because, let’s face it, they were negotiated with an eye on their upcoming elections).

Furthermore, Hertzberg does something even more unsavory in his attempt to excuse the Senate and President Obama from bearing responsibility for the "conspicuous flaws" of this bill: he joins the chorus of those who pathologize dissenting critics, even though his attempts at this untoward exercise are somewhat less heavy-handed than those done by the White House.

But Hertzberg too ridicules people like Howard Dean (whom the White House called “insane,” “irrational” and “uninformed”), Arianna Huffington, Keith Olbermann, Ralph Nader, and others. Not that he gives any space in his column to discussing the merits of their criticisms – he dismisses them off hand, attributing to the critics' thinking a “pathetic fallacy:" that of considering our Congress to be populated by living and breathing human beings.

Hertzberg says,

The pathetic fallacy is a category mistake. It’s the false attribution of human feelings, thoughts, or intentions to inanimate objects, or to living entities that cannot possibly have such feelings, thoughts, or intentions—cruel seas, dancing leaves, hot air that “wants” to rise.

Ah, yes, cruel seas and dancing leaves. Just like our Congress.

To think of it, accusing one of cultivating a “pathetic fallacy” is only a tiny bit less offensive, if at all, than calling one “insane” (as it was done to Howard Dean). But the overall message is the same: the critics of the insurance reform must be, well - what’s the word? – crazy. Their thinking is seriously and "pathetically" compromised. That’s the diagnosis at which Hertzberg and others in his camp arrive without giving any consideration to the merits of the critics’ objections.

For some of us, this trend to pathologize dissent has the familiar aura of the way the Soviet government dealt with its critics, labeling them psychotic if they dared to voice their opposition to its policies. The next step was forced hospitalization and “treatment” – thankfully, Hertzberg et al. are not advocating that. Yet.

Instead, they issue soothing assurances from experts, like Paul Krugman who calls this massive and mandatory transfer of the American working and middle-class into the hands of private corporations “a great achievement.”

Reasonable people disagree on this. Rather than “establishing the principle that all Americans are entitled to essential health care,” as Krugman says (quoted by Hertzberg), the bill clearly establishes that all Americans are to be sacrificed like lambs on the altars of the corporate profits – or be punished if they refuse to participate in the sacrifice.

Call it what you will, but please do not call it a “great achievement,” or, even worse, a historic health care overhaul, as our grandiose and self-serving lawmakers and pundits are prone to do. That’s as offensive and possibly harmful as being diagnosed insane for pointing out the unpalatable obvious.

Hertzberg also compares the current legislation to the troubled and imperfect process of enacting Medicare under, first, Kennedy, and then Lyndon Johnson, as if forgetting that Medicare is a government-run program and not yet another corporate enterprise (which is what this health insurance reform effectively turns our health care into).

He lectures angry progressives, in the condescending manner of one who can so capably point out others' pathetic fallacies, that their indignation would be better directed at what an earlier generation of malcontents called “the system”—starting, perhaps, with the Senate’s filibuster rule, an inanimate object if there ever was one.

Curiously, or not at all, somehow Hertzberg does not seem to appreciate a possible fallacy creeping into his own reasoning -- that trying to change "the system" is only slightly more challenging than trying to change individual minds of "the system's" members.

But you know what they say: one man's fallacy is another's New Yorker's commentary.

Last but not least: Hertzberg takes exception to those who call Obama a “liar.” All right. What should we call the President then, if he has broken his major campaign and early presidential promises pertaining to the health care reform (e.g., on drug price controls and importation, public option, tax increases – you know, all those things that would make this legislation a real reform, and not just putting lipstick on the corporate pig)?

Not only that, but when recently asked about his abandonment of the public option, Obama stated that he never campaigned on it or promised it, which flies in the face of verifiable facts (i.e., his own documented statements). If these are not lies, what should we call them – terminological inexactitudes perhaps?

On one thing, however, I agree with Hertzberg: yes, it is all, um, pathetic.

Cross-posted from The Middle of Nowhere.

winter thoughts

2010-01-12T06:41:00.002-06:00

there's a fresh blanket of snow on the ground here in upstate new york- and there isn't much traffic so there's that calm quiet that pervades after a storm. except we didn't have a storm :) i couldn't tell you much that has been going on in the world at large these days- i have checked out. but i have been fighting an inner battle with myself. isn't it funny that life can be good and yet we still have inner conflict.

is that the very core of humanity? conflict?

i am actually fighting to keep my head above water as i attempt to process life as it unfolds- aging; parental ill health; job market; global climate change and the chaos it well may bring, etc.,- and i keep reminding myself that change happens. conflict and change- two things that humans have at their core. i don't particularly like either and with the january gray it's tough to keep positive. hence, my news blackout.

i think it's important to write about where we are in addition to what we are for and against. but, i suppose for that to have meaning, we have to know who we are and what we're for and against to begin with. therein lies the rub..... :) i don't harbor illusions about humanity as a whole- human nature doesn't lend itself to overall positive outcomes. individuals continue to surprise me with the third "c" of humans-- courage in the face of adversity.

in spite of myself, i still have that lingering feeling of hope :)

A Symbol of Resistance

2010-01-12T06:26:00.002-06:00

Miep looks like a pack mule. She goes out nearly everyday in search of vegetables, and then cycles back with her purchases in large shopping bags. She’s also the one who brings five library books with her every Saturday.
-- Anne Frank July 11, 1943

Last week we read about the death of Freya Gräfin von Moltke. Last night it was reported that Miep Gies, another symbol of resistance, has died.

From the Anne Frank Foundation

Miep Gies, the last surviving and best known helper of Anne Frank and the people who shared her hiding place in an Amsterdam canalside house, has died in Hoorn on 11 January at the age of 100. Right until the end Miep remained deeply involved with the remembrance of Anne Frank and spreading the message of her story. Every day she received letters from all over the world with questions about her relationship with Anne Frank and her role as a helper. “I’m not a hero’, she once said, “It wasn’t something I planned in advance, I simply did what I could to help.” Miep Gies leaves a son, a daughter in law and three grandchildren behind.

In her own words,

'I stand at the end of the long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more - much more - during those dark and terrible times years ago, but always like yesterday in the hearts of those of us who bear witness. Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then.' -- Miep Gies on her website

For the BBC report, click here.
Photo copyright Anne Frank Stichting.
Cross posted at Antemedius and Blazing Indiscretions.

BOOK REVIEW "Jewish Terrorism in Israel"

2010-01-11T15:41:00.000-06:00

This book review is the inaugural edition of a new Palestine Center initiative. Each month, we will be conducting a review of a recent book that deals with issues relating to Palestine and/or the Israel/Palestine conflict. Books that are chosen for review can be academic or non-academic, historical or fictional. Next month we will be reviewing Joe Sacco's Footnotes in Gaza. If you would like to suggest a book for review, please contact the Palestine Center.
"Jewish Terrorism in Israel" written by Ami Pedahzur and Arie Perliger
Hardcover: 264 pages, Columbia University Press (November 9, 2009)

Palestine Center Book Review No.1 (11 January 2010)

By Yousef Munayyer

After 11 September 2001 the literature on terrorism took a decisive turn. Theories that explained terrorism by suggesting economic factors as causal factors, including underdevelopment, were significantly challenged. The 19 individuals which carried out one of the deadliest attacks in history were not economically deprived and most were well-educated. Support began to gather for religious motivations behind terrorism, and given the events of the post-9/11 world, much of this literature singled out Islam.

Some theories went so far as to say that the degree of severity of terrorist acts varies based on the religious backgrounds of the perpetrators, citing high death tolls in attacks committed by al-Qaeda. Muslim groups, the argument goes, are more likely to kill in greater numbers and this was due to religious ideology. Certainly, there are many problems with these arguments including the failure to account for technological advances, the wide availability of deadly materials and the strategic motivations behind types of attacks. Studies that drew these conclusions focused on cases in the post-9/11 world, neglecting millennia of historical cases that cast doubt on the explanations of terror which single out Islam and Quranic interpretations.

For these reasons and more, the recently released Jewish Terrorism in Israel by Ami Pedahzur and Arie Perliger, is a timely and important contribution to the study of terrorism and the general discussion of extremism in Israel and globally, both historically and contemporarily.

The book is unique and attractive for a number of reasons. First, the authors, both Israeli scholars, were granted unprecedented access to Israeli documents about Jewish terrorism that allowed for a detailed description of events. Pedahzur and Perliger have been "researching Jewish terrorism for more than ten years, during which [they] have gathered thousands of official documents, mostly court protocols, interviewed 25 former terrorists, politicians and spiritual leaders as well as law enforcement officials, and conducted six comprehensive surveys of communities where terrorist groups originated, which include more than 4,800 respondents" (pg. xiii).1

Second, the authors utilize network analysis to explain why the models of hierarchical, vertical networks and command structures are insufficient in explaining Jewish terror groups and they favor explanations based on socialization and horizontal networks.

Third, Pedahzur and Perliger trace the ideological connections between Jewish terrorists in the modern era, like the Bat Ayin group, which was active in recent years, all the way back to the time of the Hasmonean Family of Jewish zealots who perpetrated attacks against the Roman rulers of Palestine -- perhaps the earliest recorded acts of terrorism in human history.

[READ FULL REVIEW +/-]

Reading through the book, it becomes evident that this is the most complete and detailed account of Jewish terrorism to date. The accounts of several plots of Jewish terrorists, including a number of attempts at destroying mosques on Jerusalem's Temple Mount and coordinated attacks on Palestinian mayors, is chilling, and the authors skillfully weave the data they collected to make reading an academic book palatable to the casual reader. One account of a terrorist plot from the book is excerpted below.
Early in March 2002, Shlomo Dvir-Zeliger and Ofer Gamliel began to discuss various targets for such an attack. In the end, the girls' school in Abu Tor was chosen, as the court verdict stated, "with the intention of causing great suffering by murdering girls going to learn at school."...As the day of the attack approached...they invested a great deal of time in putting together the bomb and other components attached to it. They also conducted preliminary scouting expeditions in Abu Tor to ascertain the optimal location for placing the trailer so the explosion would cause a maximum number of human casualtiesthey set the time so that the booby-trapped trailer would explode during the girls' assembly at 7:30 in the morning. (pg. 121)
The book discusses a number of different Jewish terror organizations from ancient to modern times. It is an important contribution to the literature on terrorism, particularly at this moment in the development of the field, because it highlights acts of terror perpetrated and ideologically supported by religious and ethnic motivations that are not Islamic. This book should be considered essential reading for anyone interested in terrorism in general and political violence in the state of Israel.

Yet, though this book does make solid contributions, it has weaknesses as well. The most notable weakness revolves around the period of the creation of the state of Israel. Despite the fact that groups like the Irgun (IZL) and the Lehi (LHI) were responsible for the most deadly and infamous acts of Jewish terror in modern history, the authors fail to place these groups under the same scrutiny. To be fair, a discussion of these groups is included in the book, however they are not subject to the same network analysis as Jewish terror groups in more recent times. Further, a number of heinous attacks perpetrated by these groups are not mentioned.

It is important, at this point, to review the authors' definition of terrorism. Their understanding of terrorism which was applied in the book is a four-part definition (pg. xii): Terrorism involves 1) the use of violence, 2) a political motive that activates the violence, 3) an intention to strike fear into the victims and their community 4) the victims of terrorism are civilians or non-combatants. This definition encompasses most of the elements that the mainstream literature on terrorism accepts.

It is striking then, that a book on Jewish terrorism that adopts such a definition would leave out the massacre at Deir Yassin and other attacks against the Palestinian Arab community. Benny Morris, another Israeli academic, describes the attack at Deir Yassin as follows:
Deir Yassin is remembered not as a military operation, but rather for the atrocities committed by the IZL and LHI troops during and immediately after the drawn out battle: Whole families were riddled with bullets and grenade fragments and buried when houses were blown up on top of them, men women and children were mowed down as they emerged from their houses, individuals were taken aside and shot. At the end of the battle, groups of old men, women and children were trucked through West Jerusalem's streets as a kind of "victory parade" and then dumped in (Arab) East Jerusalem.2
All elements of the definition described by the authors are met, yet Deir Yassin did not make it into the text. In fact, the authors steered away from describing attacks against Palestinians during the period when the IZL and LHI were active. Even though the vast majority of those killed during the Irgun's reign of terror were Palestinian Arabs and the vast majority of their attacks targeted Palestinians; the authors fail to fairly characterize this reality. Instead they claim that Irgun "activities focused primarily on the struggle against restrictions imposed by the British Mandate authorities on the immigration of Jews to Eretz Israel." (pg. 13) Why they chose to omit these events, in what seems to be systematic fashion, is unclear.

Another curious characterization is in the treatment of two assassinations which appear one after the other in the book (pg. 27-31). Folke Bernadotte and Israel Kastner both fell to the bullets of Jewish terrorists, but the ways in which the assassinations were described, particularly the explanations of the motives, left much to be desired.

Kastner was a Hungarian Jew who became embroiled in scandal in Israel after he was accused of aiding Nazis in the mass murder of European Jewry. The authors argue that the libel lawsuit which Kaster filed to fight the accusations, and ultimately lost, paved the way for his assassination by right-wing fanatic members of the Lehi. Bernadotte was a Swedish diplomat that acted as the first United Nations envoy to the conflict. He was assassinated only one day after finalizing a plan for peace which included the immediate return of Palestinian refugees to their homes. This fact, and the fact that Bernadotte was responsible for saving thousands of Jews from concentration camps only a few years prior, was also omitted in the description of his assassination. In the case of Kastner, the authors chose a narrative that allows the reader to possibly rationalize, if not justify, the assassination from a Jewish perspective. No such narrative was afforded Bernadotte.

Yet the most glaring omission in this time period is not in narrative or in acts of terrorism against Palestinians that were neglected. Rather, the biggest weakness is the failure to characterize many activities of the Haganah as terrorist acts.

Of the Haganah and the Palmach the authors say "despite the determination of these groups the option of engaging in systematic terrorism was not viable" and that they believed that "violence should be exercised in orderly fashion." (pg. 10) While this may, or may not be true, this disqualification of the Haganah as a terrorist group is based on criteria that were not in the definition outlined by the authors in their methodology (see above). In fact, criteria such as selecting an option of "engaging in systematic terrorism" or "practicing chaotic violence" were not mentioned prior to the disqualification of the Haganah and not mentioned after. So why exclude the Haganah?

Certainly several isolated Haganah acts fit the definition of terrorism the authors put forward. The Haganah's participation in Deir Yassin, and a number of other massacres which targeted civilians and intended to harm or engender fear for political motives, is clear in the historical record. Take for example, the destruction of the village of Beit Masir. The Haganah's Harel brigade, directed by Yitzhak Rabin, perpetrated the destruction of a village and claimed on 11 May 1948 "we are currently blowing up the houses. We have already blown up 60-70 houses".3

The exclusion of the Haganah is at the very least, grounds to raise serious selection bias questions and at worst a reflection of shoddy scholarship. The author's could have avoided such criticism by providing a reasonable explanation for the exclusion of Haganah acts, but they failed to do so. To claim that the Haganah did not commit terrorist acts because they were more efficient at it, or orderly while doing so, does not make the act any less terrorizing in nature.

The failures in this book, however, do not outweigh the importance of its contributions to the literature on terrorism in general and Jewish extremism in particular. The shortcomings gravitate to a period in the history which is still taboo for many Israelis to address candidly. Leaving this period aside, Jewish Terrorism in Israel sheds light on a brand of terrorism that much of the world has overlooked, and helps us grapple with the formation of radical ideologies, terrorist groups and the socialization of political violence in communities.
Yousef Munayyer is Executive Director of the Palestine Center. This policy brief may be used without permission but with proper attribution to the Center.

The views in this review are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Jerusalem Fund.

Activists, lawyers to rebuke Obama publicly: 8th Gitmo anniversary

2010-01-10T10:03:00.003-06:00

Activists and detainee lawyers demand that President Obama uphold his pledge to close the Guantanamo "war on terror" prison. With a rally and march in Washington D.C. planned for January 11, on the eighth year of the prison's inception, they publicly oppose any plan for holding prisoners without charge or trial in the U.S.

On January 22, 2009, after signing the Executive Order to close Guantanamo, President Obama said: "This is me following through ... on an understanding that dates back to our founding fathers, that we are willing to observe core standards of conduct not just when it's easy but also when it's hard."

Witness Against Torture members will rally in front of the White House at 11:45 a.m. using street theater to protest the lack of progress toward justice for detainees since Obama took office. Speeches will demand the true change the administration promised. The event kicks off a 12-Day Fast for Justice to end on January 22-- the Obama administration's self-declared, and now-voided, deadline for closing Guantanamo, the group said.

"Obama promised to break with the Bush administration," says Matt Daloisio of Witness Against Torture. "But in so many areas-- from the continued use of rendition, to the ongoing detention of innocent men at Guantanamo, to the refusal to prosecute alleged torturers-- he has sustained the policies of his predecessor. And he is in the process of expanding these policies at the Bagram prison in Afghanistan. As fear of terrorism again grips the nation, we need to stand more firmly on the principles of justice and the rule of law, and not go further down the disastrous path of the last eight years."

After the demonstration, activists will stage a Guantanamo prisoner procession to the National Press Club. There activists will join the Center for Constitutional Rights for a press briefing featuring detainee lawyers. Led by CCR Executive Director Vince Warren, it will include a reading of letters from released and exonerated Guantanamo detainees calling for the prison's closure and justice for all detainees.

[READ MORE +/-]

Witness Against Torture is a grassroots movement that originated in December 2005 when 24 activists walked to Guantanamo to visit the prisoners and condemn torture policies. It engages in public education, community outreach, and non-violent direct action. For the first 100 days of the Obama administration, the group held a daily vigil at the White House, encouraging the new President to uphold his commitments to shut down Guantanamo.

From Witness Against Torture website:

When President Obama signed the Executive Order calling for Guantanamo's closure, we felt as though we had won - that the long years of arguing against torture (of all things), of demonstrating, of railing, were over. We dared to believe that a new day had dawned. Soon, however, our optimism faded to feelings of frustration and betrayal. The administration has dragged its feet and continued to trample on the lives of the men - real people, not merely abstract "others" - at Guantanamo... So, it is with resolute-- but heavy-- hearts that we in Witness Against Torture once again turn our attention to the sad business of marking January 11, 2010 and the eighth year of torture, abuse and detention at Guantanamo. (emphasis mine-BG)

ABOUT the VIDEO: Featured on the Witness Against Torture website, the video features images from a previous White House demonstration, narration on the group's perspectives, and the song "Mad World" from the movie Donnie Darko:

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To learn more visit www.witnesstorture.org
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Source: Witness Against Torture, Contacts: Frida Berrigan, Jeremy Varon

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Welcome To Your Corporatocracy: Proof Is In Teh Money

2010-01-06T14:30:00.002-06:00

Back in December, I did a couple of posts (here and here) whereby I endeavored to illustrate to drive home the point that no noble principles of patriotism, no social obligations, no moral imperatives, nor even basic human decency and compassion, can twart the nature of the corporate beast to manufacture doubt concerning facts in order to keep on making profits.

Energy corporation-funded climate change denialism is an obvious example. As was the case for denialism of the link between cigarette smoking and lung cancer.

Same thing more recently with many US anti-health care reform groups/lobbies being heavily funded by ... health care insurance and pharma corporations.

On this matter, here's the latest assault to this effect (emphasis added):

[READ MORE +/-]

REPORT: Challenges To Constitutionality Of Health Reform Funded By Health Industry Money

Since Democrats secured 60 votes to pass health care reform legislation — and passage became inevitable — prominent conservatives relaunched an under-the-radar campaign to invalidate reform through the legal system. On the eve of the final health care vote in the Senate, Sens. Jim DeMint (R-SC) and John Ensign (R-NV) invoked a “constitutional point of order” to allow the Senate to rule by majority vote on whether the “Democrat health care takeover bill” is unconstitutional. Legislatures in approximately 14 states — organized by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a “business-friendly conservative group that coordinates activity among statehouses — have also introduced initiatives to ratify constitutional amendments that would repeal all or parts of the pending health care reform legislation, and Attorney Generals in at least 13 states are challenging a deal secured by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) to fund Nebraska’s Medicaid expansion for perpetuity.
In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), the attorneys generals from South Carolina, Washington, Michigan, Texas, Colorado, Alabama, North Dakota, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Utah, Florida, Idaho and South Dakota “wrote that they consider the [Nebraska] provision ‘constitutionally flawed’ and demanded that it be stricken from the final bill.”

Yesterday, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal explaining “Why the Health-Care Bills Are Unconstitutional.” “The policy issues may be coming to an end, but the legal issues are certain to continue because key provisions of this dangerous legislation are unconstitutional,” he wrote, and went on to challenge the constitutionality of the individual mandate, the so-called sweet heart deal for Nebraska, and the requirements for states to establish health insurance exchanges and insurance regulations.

The effort may prove a strong political organizing tool for conservative activists, but the legal reasoning has little support beyond the right fringe of the Republican party and the health care industry. Several weeks ago, the New York Times reported, “The states where the [constitutional] amendment has been introduced are also places where the health care industry has spent heavily on political contributions.” The industry has also contributed heavily to the campaigns of at least 7 of the 13 attorney generals threatening to sue the federal government over the Nebraska provision. (Campaign finance data was not readily accessible for the other 6 attorneys generals.)

An analysis conducted by the Wonk Room of available campaign finance disclosures for AGs from South Carolina, Washington, Michigan, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Utah and Idaho reveals that the health industry contributed heavily to their campaigns. For instance, Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett (who is also running for Governor) accepted some $24,300 from the health care industry for his campaigns, including $10,300 from Pfizer PAC, $3,500 from Aetna Inc. PAC, and $2,500 from United Health Group Inc. Read the full analysis here.

Same old, same old.

From health care to stimulus packages to deregulations to rights of privacy to climate change to virtually any law which directly or remotely touches off on any aspect of the economy - corporations have their hands either in shaping our laws (through lobbyists or direct access to drafts of bills), influencing our elected representatives (again through lobbyists and/or campaign funds) and shaping public opinion overall (through funding of special interest lobbies/groups and/or through influence with corporate media accomplices).

Remember this little gem?

During the Senate Finance Committee’s mark-up session of the health care reform bill today, Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY) — who has had a hard time staying awake during these meetings — offered an amendment that would have delayed “a committee vote for two weeks.”

Bunning requested that the Committee put-off a vote on the health care bill until the final legislative language of the bill is made available on the Committee’s website for at least 72 hours. The amendment failed, with all of the Democrats except Sen. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) voting against it. But had the amendment passed, it could potentially have halted the health care debate for weeks.

Before the vote took place, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) offered a defense of Bunning’s amendment by arguing that the 72-hour provision was critical because it provides time for senators to consult with health insurance lobbyists:

All the Senator from Kentucky is asking is for 72 hours to determine the cost. Senator Snowe has spoken eloquently about sunshine, and the openness, and the fact that the American people would support this 90 percent, 95 percent. But the thing that I’m trying to point out is we would have at least 72 hours for the people that the providers have hired to keep up with all of the legislation that we pass around here, and the regulations that we pass around here, to say “hey, wait a minute. Have you considered this?” And that’s all I’m asking for — is not only cost, but also the content of a bill. And that 72 hours, I think, is highly, highly important.
To be clear, Roberts is referring to health insurance lobbyists when he references the “people that the providers have hired to keep up with all of the legislation.”

Or this other one?

Back there, Transport Minister John Baird (yes - this same John Baird) was caught privately encouraging Canada's big airlines to step up their lobby campaign in order to kill a proposed "passenger bill of right" while his predecessor, then-Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, publicly supported such legislation - in the name of the Harper government, of course.

(...) And here is the evidence to that effect (emphasis added):
Transport Minister John Baird says he didn't pander to airlines with passenger bill

Transport Minister John Baird on Wednesday denied any collusion with the major airlines to stymie a passenger bill of rights, saying the government has simply "been working constructively" with the industry.

Internal government documents obtained by Canwest News Service show the transport minister's office privately pleaded with Canada's major airlines to step up their lobby campaign "to stop this motion in its tracks" even as the minister at the time, Lawrence Cannon, publicly supported it.

The motion passed unanimously in the House of Commons in June 2008 with the support of Cannon and Baird, who failed to bring forward legislation when he succeeded Cannon as transport minister in October 2008.

(...) Baird said there's nothing nefarious about the relationship, adding "we're been working constructively with the airlines."
"Working constructively with the airlines"? To kill the bill, yes indeed.

Here is tangible proof again:

Let us pay closer attention to the very first sentence of the first highlighted paragraph in this email of Baird to airline VIPs:
You're going to have to do some lobbying to stop this motion in its tracks.
Now, let us look at this other sentence in the same email:
If you don't lobby the grits and the Block, we're going to find ourselves in a position where we are outvoted by the Opposition Parties.
So what do we have here?

A) a minister (Baird ) is telling airline VIPs what to do in order to kill a motion regarding a "passenger bill of rights";

B) said same minister (Baird), is explaining to those same airline VIPs why the minority government of which he is part can't by itself kill the motion, and thus explains why this requires airline lobbying of MPs from Opposition Parties in order to ensure that a majority of MPs would end up turning down the motion - all the while keeping the minority Harper government "in the clear". In other words: "help us help you".

Put A and B together, and what you have here is a bona fides "behind-the-door" (i.e. secret) agreement between two parties for a deceitful purpose.

A connivance.

And in the reality-based world we live in, folks, that is the very definition of collusion!

Period.

If for whatever reason you remain unconvinced of this, then here's the clincher (emphasis added):
The (Harper minority) Conservative government launched Flight Rights Canada last September to inform air travellers of their rights, but only after airline executives reviewed several drafts, provided input, approved the final product, and signed off on the minister's speech to launch the program — a process that raised the ire of a top bureaucrat involved, the documents show.

(...) In the House of Commons, Baird confirmed Wednesday he doesn't support the bill, but defended the Tory record on the file, saying the government has "put forward new public policy" (Flight Rights) in the area of passenger rights.
Once again, what we have here is "a secret agreement between two or more parties for a deceitful purpose".

A connivance.

A collusion.

And the same applies with going to war (or not - and by the way: there are oil interests in Yemen, dontcha know), the use of military contractors (euphemism for mercenaries), stiffer crime and punishment (especially since many prisons are run by private corporations now), new transportation "rules" (of goods, of people - see above), outright slavery and so on and so forth.

As I stated previously:

I am all for a free market-based economy. Indeed, competition drives initiative and creativity, leading to better (or new) products as well as to better (or new) services, and henceforth to a better and greater choice for consummers. This in turn will usually translate well into job creation or maintenance, along with better salaries. And this in turn will usually translate into better individual spending powers and higher standards of living.

However, trusting in corporations to "do the right thing" with regards to the welfare of society, citizens, employees, et al., is pure nonsense. The reality is that companies and corporations live by one thing and one thing only: the bottom line. Hence, companies and corporations will do anything, regardless of whether they initially had good intentions or not, to keep profits not only high but also to increase them as well. In other words, companies and corporations will cheat, lie or steal, even go as far as to use spying, sabbotage and violence, as means to protect and increase their profit margins. This is simply the nature of the beast.

Therefore, just like societies need laws to place clear definitions of what is acceptable, non-criminal conduct for their citizens, so must there also be laws to place clear definitions of what is acceptable, non-criminal conduct for companies.

Some call these "regulations". I call these necessities, just like criminal laws for the citizenry. After all, laws serve to maintain the welfare, peace and prosperity of society overall.

What has happened throughout these past decades - and keeps happening - constitutes the first and foremost argument for the need to have companies and corporations to obey laws, just like every citizens. As I said above, call said laws "regulations" if you will - nevertheless, laws on due process of contract awarding through an appropriately regulated submission process, as well as rigorous boundaries imposed for the fulfillment of contracts, in addition to codified acceptable behavior by companies and corporations (as in our case) and corporate responsibility, are a matter of necessity for the continuity of our democratic societies founded upon the Rule of Law.

But corporations are quite aware of this. As much as they know themselves - that when kept unchecked, the need for maximization of profits will inevitably lead to fraud and corruption, as well as to a blatant disregard and abuse of human dignity, human civil liberties and human rights. I repeat here: no noble principles of patriotism, social obligations, moral imperatives or even basic human decency and compassion can twart this.

Hence why time and time again - any law that is passed (or watered down/rejected, depending on the interests involved) is heavily tainted with corporate influence and money.

Consequently, democracy is effectively on life support - if not dead already.

So - welcome to your corporatocracy.

Hope you enjoy it.

(Cross-posted from APOV)

Nazi resistance leader Freya von Moltke dies in Vermont

2010-01-06T00:56:00.006-06:00

R.I.P. Freya von Moltke

BURLINGTON FREE PRESS/ASSOCIATED PRESS:

NORWICH -- Freya von Moltke, a prominent member of the Nazi resistance in World War II, has died at the age of 98, her son said.

Von Moltke, who was born in Germany but had lived in Vermont since 1960, died Friday after suffering a viral infection, her son Helmuth von Moltke told the Lebanon Valley News.

In her writings after the war, von Moltke described her life in the resistance with her husband, Helmuth James Graf von Moltke, who co-founded the anti-Nazi Kreisau Circle and was executed for his activities.

[...]

The Kreisau Circle included several dozen clergy members, economic experts and diplomats. Freya von Moltke hosted meetings in 1942 and '43 at the family estate at which the group discussed plans for the democratic Germany they hoped would follow the collapse of the Third Reich.

In 1943, the group established contact with Col. Claus von Stauffenberg, the leader of the German military resistance, and supported his failed attempt on July 20, 1944, to assassinate Hitler with a bomb.

Helmuth von Moltke was arrested in January 1944 for warning a friend that he was about to be arrested. He was executed a year later for treason.

In 1947, Freya von Moltke left Europe for South Africa, where her mother-in-law had been born. She worked as a social worker but grew troubled by the apartheid regime and returned in 1956 to Germany, where she began publicizing the activities of the Kreisau Circle.

She moved to Vermont to live with Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy, a Dartmouth College professor and social philosopher who had fled Germany after the rise of the Nazis. After Rosenstock-Huessy died in 1973, she dedicated herself to promoting his works and those of her late husband.

Her transcriptions of her husband's letters were published in German in 1988 as "Letters to Freya 1939-1945." Her memoirs, "Memories of Kreisau and the German Resistance," were first published in 1997.

After the fall of communism in 1989, the von Moltkes' former estate was chosen by the German and Polish governments as the site of a reconciliation Mass between the two nations. It is now used as a youth center and meeting place to promote European integration.

Von Moltke gave her blessing to the establishment of the Freya von Moltke Foundation for the New Kreisau to support the work being done at the estate.

A memorial service is scheduled for Friday at the Norwich Congregational Church, associate pastor the Rev. Mary R. Brownlow said Sunday.

I've always been amazed by the courage of the resisters against the Nazi regime of whatever cultural or political stripe - aristocrats or Anarchists, Communists or Social Democrats or whatever - who acted at enormous personal risk.

On Tuesday, January 5 the Guardian had an editorial, "In praise of... Freya von Moltke":

"She dedicated much of the six and a half decades of post-war life she would enjoy to chronicling the German resistance, in lectures and books, and in her later years she supported the conversion of Kreisau into a centre for European reconciliation. A woman who lived and sacrificed through her country's darkest years, was keen to bequeath the promise of a brighter future."

In 1989, the Geschwester-Scholl-Preis, named after Sophie and Hans Scholl of the White Rose Society, awarded posthumously (link in German) - in the presence of Freya von Moltke - to Helmuth James von Moltke for "Briefe an Freya 1939-1945 " ("Letters to Freya 1930-1945"). You can also read the New York Times review of that book here.

For further reading, I recommend "Berlin Diaries 1940-1945" the posthumously published diaries of Marie Vassiltchikov, who was secretary to Adam von Trott and and was acquainted with Helmuth von Moltke and many other people in the July 20th plot.

Photo: Freya von Moltke - Wikipedia Creative Commons/HopsonRoad

new year is here

2010-01-05T07:39:00.000-06:00

i guess i wonder why it feels like the middle of last year? it certainly doesn't feel like the same time last year- the endless waiting for the bush cabal to be out of office.... the hope that things were going to look up and get better. i'm not feeling that guarded optimism i had last year at this time.

but that doesn't mean that i am not going to come out swinging.... here's the deal...

the health care bill that will eventually become law--- sucks. sucks on so many levels i lost count but two main points come to mind

1) i don't like being mandated to do anything- and i like it even less being forced to have health care or have to pay a penalty to the irs. really? this is the DEMOCRATIC plan?

2) there is no international terrorism. nope. at least not in the way our government would have us believe. it's absolutely fascinating that so many people swallowed this lie. there have been 2 instances of 'terrorism' on american soil that allegedly came from the middle east- both within less than a decade of each other and both in pretty much the same spot. there are folks in the military industry (because it's really just a corporation with saluting) who have come out and admitted as much and they have been dismissed as 'conspiracy theorists.' that's a laugh because the conspiracy is happening within our own government.

the terrorist groups exist within their own countries- most terrorist acts within america have come from right wing fringers- britain has the ira- the hot spots in the middle east were hot because it was a guerilla civil war. the uss cole bombing? well, how can it be terrorism when we had our warship in yemen?

anyway, if the official story doesn't make sense- folks should question it. most of what we see going on around the globe is a direct result of our global policies. by 'our' i mean the western world not just america. naj recently posted about something that caught my attention:

"Now a word with my non-Iranian readers: I don't need you to cheer Iran on it's unravelling "revolution"; I don't want you to wish our "rebellion" success; I don't like it when you wear green symbols and act with more zeal than is of your business! What I wish you did is to just be aware of what is happening in Iran such that in your DEMOCRATIC systems, you can influence YOUR politicians to do the right thing vis a vis Iran. And the right thing is NOT imposing sanctions on the people and holding secret talks; and the right thing is to NOT allow Israel make threats on Iran while expecting Iran to disarm; and the right things is to not decontextualize what is happening in Iran, because you think Iran's connected to your life through the oil umbilical cord!"

i see it all of the time within the left wing blogosphere- hurrahing when protesters in iran or monks in burma take on the government; praising them for standing for democracy against tyranny- and then within the same paragraph making excuses for the democratic controlled congress who came up with the bullshit mandates in the health care bill while systematically eliminating anything good in it. really? look, the ruling class here is the ruling class- parties mean little or nothing. what we need is a global revolution- and i am not optimistic that that will ever happen.

but someone else is- hence the 'terror scares' to increase the already heightened police state right here within the american borders. crime is down, according to a current fbi report, and i fail to see why we need the continued tasing and paramilitary measures employed by our extremely flawed penal system. right now, we have a system that incarcerates people at one of the highest rates in the developed world---- to make money. at the expense of others.

profit over people does not make peace. we can kumbaya all day long and wish with all of our hearts for peace on earth and good will towards men. but, as long as the global ruling elite run the show in league with the corporates- it can't be. certainly something to think about.

2010! Let's hope it is better than the last ten!

2010-01-01T00:00:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year!

CONFESSION ZERO

Dear Readers and Authors,

2009-12-31T17:24:00.001-06:00

Happy New Year!

I have been relatively absent as of late and my only excuse is found below...

CONFESSION ZERO...

new year, new decade- new outlook?

2009-12-29T06:05:00.000-06:00

as this year winds down, i find myself wondering about human relationships. we read daily about this group or another killing each other over differences or greed and we wring our hands and tell each other- 'if only they could see how much they have in common- they would get along.' very true- but we who live in relative peace fail to do the same. we don't 'agree to disagree' anymore and we refuse to see the other side on principle.

besides that, the holiday season is an excuse to get together with friends and family- and for some reason, we have decided it's a good idea to force camaraderie once a year. that wasn't really what got me thinking- many folks have passed or are ill this season in my piece of the universe. my husband got a call from good friends whom he hasn't spoken to in a few months- their parent passed the day after cmas of a heart attack. it struck him that he hadn't made the effort to communicate and neither did they and it took a traumatic experience to bring them around.

if we won't make treasured friends and family a priority in our daily lives, how can we expect there to be peace on earth in a bigger sense? if the relationships we cherish are so taken for granted, how can we expect our ideals not to be? we have seen our civil liberties eroded like our interpersonal relationships- and neither seem to phase us.

the song that always gets stuck in my head at this time of year- and it is a bit trite and annoying- 'let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me'- actually resonates with meaning when i look at the bigger picture. and i find that i am less tolerant of lame excuses of money or distance or busy lives as excuses not to keep a connection with loved ones. priorities in life should be in perspective- and all the excuses in the world can't make up for the life of someone who is forever gone.

something to think about in the new year...

Unexpected Hope: Creating Miracles amid Dust and Chaos

2009-12-27T00:00:00.000-06:00

The wind spirals desert dust from the dirt roads of Anapra, one of the poorest communities of Juarez, where houses are built of concrete block--or sometimes just cardboard. Many residents migrated here from other parts of Mexico, searching for a better life. One of them is an unlikely hero: Cristina Estrada.

Cristina herself dropped out of school to work in a Juarez maquiladora, a factory for export. Maquila jobs pay only $5 a day, not much when food prices here are similar to those across the border in Texas. So, when a severe job injury forced her out of even that employment, she fell into a depression.

But enter the unexpected: a missionary gave her some books from a library that was closing. That gift launched Christina on a new lifework: helping Anapra's neighborhood children stay in school so that they could have alternatives to low-paying maquiladora jobs. Education, she believed, was the ticket to a better life.

Her original goal was to help kids complete sixth grade, something she herself was never able to achieve. Using the library books, she started an after-school program to help kids stay in school. She found school supplies and shoes so the children could attend Mexico's public system and pay the fees required for inscription, uniforms, exams and graduation.

She succeeded. And her first class of sixth grade graduates had bigger dreams: middle school. But this requires real money for registration and uniforms, fees, more extensive supplies, bus fare and lunches. Cristina turned to a US Catholic priest doing mission work in Anapra who appealed to his friends. More donations came from US groups who visited Cristina and toured the simple library program she managed.

And the first group of students continued their education beyond sixth grade.

Middle school led to further dreams: high school...and the financial needs mounted.

And then the first high school graduate shared his dream of going to university.

Never ever had Cristina thought that she would be the instrument of her children graduating from a university. Neither did she have an inkling of how to finance it. But, Cristina says, "God provided funds." That first young man graduated from nursing school at the University of Juarez.

Now, in December 2009, Cristina supports hundreds of young people in their education:

Ten are in university. Each of them started in her after school program, and each plans to return to the community to work - giving back some of what they have been given.

Thirty-eight are in middle school. Seventy-five are in high school. And 80-200 children come daily for after school help and encouragement from volunteers in the program Cristina manages.

This all transpires in "the murder capital of the world" where drug cartel violence has killed nearly 2,600 people this year. As a result, few outsiders visit Cristina and her library these days; donations have dwindled. But Cristina still relies on help. Contributions not only fuel the education, but also enkindle hope that her children are not forgotten in the city's chaos. Sometimes that help arrives in circumstances that seem miraculous.

But then Cristina is a bit of a miracle herself.

[READ MORE +/-]

"Making Miracles Amdist Dust and Chaos": In this video Cristina receives a grant from Catholic sisters in New York. The check arrives unexpectedly, just days before the university students' registration money is due. Cristina had neither any money to pay that bill nor any expectation of forthcoming help. Watch her reaction and share in the miracle for a heartwarming holiday moment.

Acting In God Faith: Doing God's Work (Again)

2009-12-23T14:30:00.001-06:00

This is indeed laughable:

[READ MORE +/-]

DeMint Laughably Claims Republicans Have Been Acting In ‘Good Faith’ To Improve Health Care Reform
Republicans opposed to health care reform have long said that their “objective is to slow this down” in order to “defeat” reform. Earlier this month, Politico’s Chris Frates obtained a copy of a memo authored by Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) outlining exactly how Senate Republicans can kill health reform using various parliamentary tactics such as offering “an unlimited number of amendments — germane or non-germane — on any subject.”

Over the past few weeks of Senate debate, Republicans have put their plan into action, using procedural stunts like Sen. Tom Coburn’s (R-OK) demand that Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) 767 page single payer amendment be read in full on the Senate floor. On Fox News today, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), who took delight in Coburn’s effort, claimed that Republicans weren’t just being “obstructionist,” but were working in “good faith” to make “progress” on the legislation:

HOST: Alright, so we read that quote from your spokesperson about how you’re basically being obstructionist and it sounds like you think that’s a badge of honor at this point. But let’s face it. Are you just postponing the inevitable and do the American people really just want you to obstruct it or are they looking for progress here?

DEMINT: We’ve tried to work in good faith with the Democrats for the last few weeks, debating a bill on the floor, proposing amendments. But its turned out that this bill is just a decoy and that the whole strategy’s bait and switch. They’ve been working on a bill behind closed doors that we haven’t seen. That no Democrat other than Harry Reid has seen. And what I mean by obstructing is at least slow it down in time, give us a time to even look at it or read it. But they’re gonna file this bill at the same time they file a motion to cut off debate. Before we even have debate. So the definition of obstruction is really maybe slow it down for a day or two, so we can at least see a little bit of what’s in the bill.

DeMint went on to claim Republicans “have not been in the way so far” and “haven’t held up anything.” Watch it:

DeMint is being willfully misleading when he says that Republicans are acting in “good faith” with their procedural tactics. In fact, he tweeted on Wednesday that the GOP will “do everything we can to stop this government takeover of health care.”

Just last week, Sen. Jon Kyl (R-AZ), the Republican whip, told Hugh Hewitt that “none” of the Republican “amendments are designed to make the bill better.” In an interview on WorldNetDaily’s radio show yesterday, Sen Bob Bennett (R-UT) admitted, “We’re not offering amendments in order to fix it.” DeMint claimed he was only trying to “slow it down for a day or two,” but Bennett explained what the real strategy is:

BENNETT: Well, we’re opposed to the bill. That’s the first thing that people need to understand. We’re opposed to the bill and we don’t think it can be fixed. We’re not offering amendments in order to fix it. We’re offering amendments in order force the Democrats to confront some of the bad parts of the bill and force them on the record. To say, oh gee, I’ve opposed this amendment that would have and then you fill in the blank because every amendment we propose is, we propose exposes one of the problems in the bill. Sure, we want to make sure that it does not get voted on in 2009 because the chances that it gets defeated if it gets voted on in 2010 are better. There’s nothing really complicated about that. I think even a journalist in the mainstream media ought to be able to figure that one out.

Perhaps DeMint is confused about what the term “good faith” means.

Good faith indeed on the part of Jim DeMint.

Nevertheless - I think DeMint knows exactly what he means by good faith (emphasis added):

GOP wants to ‘kill health reform through God’s intervention’

Prominent congressional Republicans have turned to Christian activist Lou Engle to help them bring God to their side in their battle to defeat health care reform.
In an online "prayercast" Wednesday night, Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann joined a number of Christian leaders in praying that health care reform will be defeated. Leading the prayer was Engle, whose organization Call to Conscience describes itself as a "movement to bring holiness and purity back to America."
On her show Thursday night, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow played a clip of Engle, the prayercast's leader, discussing California's Proposition 8 last year. If same-sex marriage is allowed to stand in California, Engle argued, it "will release a spirit that is more demonic than Islam. A spirit of lawlessness and anarchy. And a sexual insanity will be unleashed into the earth."
"Liberals are debating whether or not it is smart and ethical to have a mandate without a public option," Maddow said. "On the Jim DeMint and Sam Brownback side of the aisle, they are approaching this rather differently."
During the prayercast, Sen. DeMint said, "If we have the government making decisions about the most personal and private part of our lives, it's so naive to think that that coverage is not going to include a number of things that cause people of faith a lot of heartburn, whether it's funding abortions, whether it's rationing care, whether it's funding medical marijuana, whether it's euthanasia."

Now, watch them piously pray:

Yes - there was our very same Jim DeMint.

Yes - there was the very same Michele Bachmann.

Yes - there was the very same Sam Brownback.

And yes - there was the very same Lou Engle ...

Other luminaries attending this prayercast included Tony Perkins, Randy Forbes, Harry Jackson and Jim Garlow.

Funny how these bozos never pray for anything positive - you know, like the end of disease? Or universal peace on Earth? Or other some such ideals?

Then again - what else can you expect from primitive minds?

Doing God's work indeed ... and then some.

Welcome (again) to our semi-Dark Ages.

(Addendum: one more note added in proof that those bozos just can't pray for anything actually positive and/or noble. And yes - this is the very same Tom Coburn here ... And then in response, here is the enlightened "base" wondering whether their bozos prayed hard enough. Words fail me.)

(Cross-posted from APOV)

The Surge

2009-12-23T14:21:00.002-06:00

Now grit your teeth -
the grit won't grind.
Sandstorm's gonna blow

Don't hold your breath
but use your sleeve -
your brother's gotta go

A mountain crag
holds forty men,
but no one really knows

a Kabul street
could call us out
if one guy's backpack blows

the wind is hard
the sand wears down
the bottom of our soles

they're holding tribes
to melt 'em down -
that country's full of holes

and it could cost you
daughters, sons
and all their future goals

with all the soldiers
you bring in
to please a million fools

happy winter solstice

2009-12-22T06:45:00.000-06:00

i set myself free this year. for years, baking cookies and making treats to send out in packages to friends and loved ones- was my 'thing' and i really enjoyed it. but over the last few years, 'the decade from hell' to be more precise, with the rise of the christian fanatics and christianity shoved down your throat at every turn- the season lost its luster. couple that with the corporate, capitalist greed and people trampling each other to get an xbox- well, i didn't give a hearty you-know-what if i ever 'celebrated' another holiday season.

and i say 'holiday season' and i also say 'happy holidays' because the whole month does not belong to one religion- and contrary to the adherents of that religion and their insistence that 'christ is the reason for the season'- he really isn't. early cultures celebrated the turning of the seasons for centuries- the equinoxes and the solstices were cause for feasting, games and family time- and yes, gifts. the current unholy corporatist greed fest is a largely 20th century invention- although things started downhill around the turn of the last century.

anyhoo, i decided that i was simply not going to participate. nope. i initially started out telling myself that the packages would be smaller- only a few treats this year- and i ended up simply sending the few gifts we are obligated to send. i hate obligatory gifting. yep. now, i am not a kill joy- i enjoy my egg nog and rum as well as the next person and i love the food from thanksgiving through ringing in the new year- but the ridiculous idea that one has to save up gifts all year and stuff 900 of them under the tree to make the season a happy one- well, it's ridiculous.

if we all think back to holidays that were special to us- one or two special gifts stand out; or playing in the snow with cousins and siblings; or aunt jo and uncle larry hosting the annual feast and the adults playing cards around the table afterwards. the gifts make the kids shriek with excitement but for the most part- they pick out their favorite toy and go outside and play. we could all save ourselves hassle and stress if we did what my mom did and picked from the top 5 things on the lists. those are the ones we want the most. and guess what? none of us always got what was on our list- and we all survived. imagine that. and now, we are the ones hosting the annual feasts and we should be the ones who know better about over gifting and obligatory gifting.

so, from now on, i am not gifting unless i want to- and i will feast and play games from thanksgiving to new year- and anyone who feels obligated to gift me because it's the holiday season- you can make a donation here in my name

arbor day foundation

happy holidays......

Obama's Nobel war speech By John Dear SJ

2009-12-20T20:18:00.002-06:00

John Dear is a very talented Roman Catholic priest (Jesuit) with a tremendous commitment to peace. This column appeared in the National Catholic Reporter. I think he articulates my misgivings very well. We can't rely on the leaders to make peace. We must be the change ourselves.
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Created Dec 15, 2009 (copyright info at bottom)

President Obama’s speech last week in Oslo, where he received the Nobel Peace Prize, undermined the example of all the peacemakers of the ages. Standing before the world, he defended America’s military misadventures, dismissed nonviolence and endorsed the just-war theory as the way to peace.

The peacemakers Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. received particular attention. With a kind of rhetorical sleight of hand, Obama admired and scorned them at the same time, saying in effect: here are good men but, in our modern world, impractical men. With that, Obama undercut his own soaring campaign rhetoric espousing audacious hope. Hope withered on the moment. Here is yet another American president beating the drums of war in the name of peace. Nothing makes the heart sink like the notion, a very Orwellian nightmare: “the way to peace is through war.” His speech was a veritable call to despair.

I leave it to others to comb through the speech’s details. I prefer to regard matters more broadly. Namely, Obama struck me as a modern-day Constantine who, in the fourth century, pulled off the unthinkable. He beguiled the early church into renouncing the nonviolence of Jesus. And he placed in the church’s hand something more “practical”--the pagan Cicero’s justifications for war. Pure legerdemain.

Obama reminds me, moreover, of Augustine, who himself embraced Cicero’s notions and hoodwinked further with the idea that sometimes “the best way to love an enemy is to kill him.” Just as Constantine banished the nonviolent Jesus, Obama has, in effect, banished Gandhi and King. And he did it oh so subtly, like a New York pick-pocket, giving with one hand and taking back with the other. His speech has been a big hit here in Washington, where I write this.

Obama cited an excerpt from King’s Nobel acceptance speech in 1964. “Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem. It merely creates new and more complicated ones.” And he paid King due respect: “As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King’s life’s work,” Obama said, “I am living testimony to the moral force of nonviolence. I know there is nothing weak, nothing passive, nothing naive in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.” But then Obama branded both as ineffectual and naïve. Nonviolence, he said, could “not have halted Hitler’s armies” or convinced “al-Qaida’s leaders to lay down their arms.” And my heart dropped when he concluded: “Instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace.”

On both counts I disagree. King and Gandhi were not naïve. When actually put into practice, when enough of us do the hard work, nonviolence works. Hearts change and structures of injustice and war begin to unravel. From India to South Africa we have seen how nonviolent change happens.

I disagree on the second point, too, the point that says war makes for peace. The chief axiom of nonviolence says the very opposite. The ends lie within the means, just as the tree exists within the seed. How can the anguish of war -- destruction, displacement, hunger, terror, torture, martial law, summary executions, civilian casualties, oceans of grief -- how can these ever favor us with peace? The only way to peace is through peaceful and loving means.

Obama has arrogantly overstepped his bounds. If Obama is right, then St. Francis and St. Clare were wrong. If Obama is right, then Mahatma Gandhi, Dr. King, Dorothy Day, and Mother Teresa were wrong. If Obama is right, then the nonviolent Jesus is wrong. And we should put his memory aside.

But no, Obama is wrong. We as Jesus’ followers need to insist on the Way of nonviolence. We need to practice and demand love for enemies. We need to renounce the just war theory. It’s inapplicable because no longer can its conditions be met, if they ever could. The fire power of modern warfare had made the theory obsolete. But even so, it is inadmissible because Jesus commanded otherwise.

I realize mine is a minority voice. Sarah Palin applauded Obama’s speech. So did Newt Gingrich. One wonders how many Catholic bishops, priests, religious and lay leaders did the same. To their minds nonviolence doesn’t work. Sometimes you must destroy a village to save it. Apply the right rhetoric and every war can be justified.

These are the notions of our times; they hang in the air. But I urge people not to believe the president’s war rhetoric. More, I urge church people to take up the work of making nonviolence more widely understood and accepted.

Ken Butigan, a teacher of nonviolence with the Franciscan group Pace e Bene (see www.paceebene. org [1]) writes this week that Obama was able “to discredit nonviolence -- and thus buttress his argument for war -- because there is no sturdy conviction in the mind of the larger public that nonviolence is anything but limited, weak, passive, utopian and ineffective.” The zeitgeist deprives our imaginations of alternatives to war.

We need, Ken says, to “mainstream nonviolence.” That is, to launch a systematic campaign to educate. Only then will the stigma of nonviolence be lifted. “Just as we have gradually mainstreamed the rule of law, human rights, and the vision of democracy,” he says, “we have the opportunity to mainstream the power of creative nonviolence.”

Then would the world learn how nonviolent resistance, when put into practice, did indeed impede Nazis killing; how it brought down dictatorships in the Philippines, Chile and Serbia; how it led the Velvet Revolutions throughout Eastern Europe in 1989 and brought down the Soviet Union in 1991; how it informed successful movements in South Africa, Ukraine, Georgia, Indonesia, and East Timor.

Then we would all begin to become aware how people around the globe, this very day, are engaged in nonviolent movements. (See, for example, Eric Stoner’s daily Web page, www.wagingnonviolence.org [2].)

I agree with Ken. The world urgently needs good people to take up this ministry of teaching Gospel nonviolence. Ken’s program, “Pace e Bene,” offers an excellent course on nonviolence that can be taken over a weekend or a semester; participants can later become facilitators to bring the course to their local communities.

If we are to widen the understanding and practice of creative nonviolence, many more people will have to teach it. We need to teach nonviolence -- its history, its methodology, its spirituality, its daily practicality -- widely. It needs to be taken into our schools, our churches, our libraries, our government offices, our workplace, our media, our prisons. And this ministry needs to be equal with every other church work, if not central.

Advent reminds us that the whole point of life is God, love, compassion, and peace. Each Advent, we hear eloquent speeches that contradict the president’s. The voices of Advent espouse the wisdom of nonviolence which bears good fruit. Isaiah speaks of a world where swords will be beaten into plowshares, where the study of war falls away, where everyone lives in peace. Mary of Nazareth, in her noble Magnificat, proclaims God’s nonviolent transformation of the world. John the Baptist calls us to prepare a way for the God of peace. Angels appear, a heavenly choir, and sing during a brutal season of “peace on earth.” Thank God for these Advent voices! Our true hope lies with them.

As Christmas approaches and I prepare to leave for Gaza, I pray that we will hear their voices, heed their words, and take hope from them. Let us embrace their message and give our lives anew to the nonviolent Jesus and his way, even if we do not understand it all.

The Baptist King and the Hindu Gandhi both walked the nonviolent path of the Gospel. As for Obama, he is set to go the way of all presidents. The lives of King and Gandhi, by contrast, still bear the fruit of peace. Their words and teachings are worth following for they point us back to the methodology and life of Jesus himself.

I hope we can reject the eloquent despair offered last week by President Obama and choose instead the hopeful examples of Gandhi, King and our Advent messengers. As we prepare for Christmas, we turn from war and empire, and look to the margins, among the poor and powerless, the humble and childlike. There we will discover the meaning, presence, wisdom and power of peace.

***

John Dear’s latest book, Daniel Berrigan: Essential Writings, along with his recent autobiography, A Persistent Peace, and his collection of essays, Put Down the Sword, and Patti Normile’s John Dear On Peace, are available from www.amazon.com [3]. For information, see: www.johndear. org [4].

On the Road to Peace
Copyright © The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company
115 E. Armour Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64111
(TEL 1-816-531-0538 FAX 1-816-968-2268)

Source URL: http://ncronline. org/blogs/ road-peace/ obamas-nobel- war-speech

Links:
[1] http://www.paceeben e.org
[2] http://www.wagingno nviolence. org
[3] http://www.amazon. com
[4] http://www.johndear .org

Epic Eco-Trek Evades Northern Mexico Violence

2009-12-20T00:00:00.000-06:00

Hopping across the US-Mexico border on a Greyhound bus is merely a hiccough when your bike trip measures 8132 miles through Alaska, the US, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.

Alex Godfrey and Andrew FinlayAndrew Finlay began an epic cycling journey on the Arctic shore in Deadhorse, Alaska on August 2nd. They won't stop until they reach Panama City in March 2010. They're on a mission: to seek out people in diverse environments and uncover their successful methods of sustainable living.

Godfrey, who was born in England in 1983 and raised in France, and Finlay (known as "Fin") who grew up in the UK and has a handful of years on Alex, are no ordinary trekkers. Alex is a master of biodiversity conservation, and Fin is an environmental advisor and manager. They are recording their journey in film, in photo and on a blog as they lay the foundation for the upcoming "Going South" documentary [Trailer HERE]. It will chronicle their discoveries as well as those of their counterpart duo who are currently biking through South America. The two teams combined will traverse the hemisphere longitudinally, from Arctic Sea to Antarctic Sea.

The two altered their planned border crossing when border officials and other locals warned them about the violence in North Mexico. Godfrey quips: "...two 'Gringos' on bicycles with plenty of easily sold gear would be like hanging the proverbial carrot in front of the 'Bandito's' noses."

They adapted their plan with solid problem-solving skills, making arrangements with Greyhound bus to bus through northern state of Chihuahua to its capital. This meant dismantling their bikes--not intended to be easily disassembled--and crating them for transport.

Good fortune led them to biking enthusiast West Cosgrove. He heads Project Puente, a nonprofit organization specializing in introducing visitors to the inner dynamics and social issues of the El Paso-Juarez border. Godfrey assessed Cosgrove's assistance with gratitude: "[West] gave us an objective overview of the current situation and made the whole passage as stress free as possible."

The duo arrived safely in Chihuahua ahead of schedule.

The website "Going South--cycling through the Americas" follows both biking pairs on the epic journey. Ecologically sustainable project samples they are investigating are explained on the site in six categories. Projects include everything from ACAI berry production to fully biodegradable diapers.

Only in America -- or, "I Told You So!"

2009-12-18T13:55:00.004-06:00

On PBS News last night, Mr. The-Strangest-Name-Outside-of-Porn-Business Axelrod (and doesn't he look the part, too?) waxed semi-poetic on the virtues of the health care reform bill that is going to be (i.e., may be) voted on before Christmas. Axelrod assured us so.

And he added, causing a massive jaw drop in yours truly, that this is the most progressive piece of legislation -- I'm not sure if he said in a long time, or ever, because at that very moment the downward pull of my jaw created an unbearable pressure in my ears, which resulted in a deafening POP! Thus I missed the Axelrod's qualifer for his self-serving assertion.

As I was picking my jaw off the floor and trying to jump on one foot to restore my hearing (an old Polish folk remedy), I pondered, as it's customary during such complex acrobatics, the sad absurdity of his statement.

Only in America this colossal transfer of the poor, huddled masses to the greedy paws of the private insurance cartel could be called the most progressive piece of legislation, whether in the recent years, or ever.

Only in this world, where rabid capitalism defines who we are and how we treat each other, we can have a presidential adviser state with a straight face that this is something we should all look forward to and be proud of.

Only in this strange country of ours, up is down and black is white. I thought I've seen everything under the communism, where the propagandist double-speak ruled the day and we learned early on to make fun of anything coming out of the politicians' mouths (because whatever it was, it had zero resemblance to reality). That was before I moved to USA where the wonders of absurdity never cease to amaze me. Commies had nothing on the corporatist propaganda -- the pinkos' attempts at shaping the minds and hearts, that was a child's play. This, here, in the US, this is the real mind-boggling (literally) deal.

But back to the miracle at hand, a.k.a. this most progressive piece of propag... I mean, legislation. Let's take a quick stroll down the memory lane.

First, Barack Obama said that a single-payer health care is the best solution to our health care woes. He was right, of course, but that was years ago, before he ran for President and he could afford to both say the truth and be right. Then, as the candidate-Obama, he insisted that a robust public option and drug price controls would be necessary to introduce any meaningful changes to this broken system.

Next, he started to remind us not to get our panties in a bunch over such an insignificant sliver of the health care reform as the public option, and he struck a quiet, behind the closed doors deal with PhRMA promising them not to touch their God-given right to super duper sweet profits garnered from the Americans' suffering. That was when he was already President. At the same time, he and his people told us that things will be just fine, not to worry. He said that we will have a uniquely American health care system.

Little we knew then what he meant, but, as I (and others) frantically kept pointing out, the signs of things to come were already there, for all to see (should all wanted to keep their eyes open). One of the sure giveaways about the real scope of this "reform" was the change of language: some time in the summer, the White House talk switched from discussing health care reform to health insurance reform. Yes, we've noticed and we told you so. (I told you so is the phrase my husband uses with abandon when I rant about the "reform." I'm just passing it on, is all. Call it the giving spirit of Christmas, or something.)

(BTW, if you'd like to take a moment to bang your head against the wall at any time, please feel free to do so. It is the only thing any rational person would be expected to do in these circumstances.)

As of today, there is no public option, the Medicare expansion plan was killed (thanks, pouty Joe), no drug price controls in sight, no cost controls to speak of, and, of course, no competition for the private insurance companies who are also exempt from antitrust laws. And as if that was not enough, there is an extra slap in the progressive faces coming in the form of the scrapped abortion provision in the bill. So is this the most progressive piece of legislation or what?

Sorry, Mr. Axelrod, it's not even close -- unless you redefine progressive ASAP (preferably while jumping on one foot and banging your head against the wall; harder, please).

But not all is grim news. There is a bright side: Christmas arrived early for the medical-insurance cartel this year. Can you hear the bells ringing? It's Santa Claus coming to Cigna, Wellpoint, United Healthcare and all the naughty boys and girls from The Outfit, bearing things glittery and nice -- and lots of them, too, something like 30+ million. Oh, and the insurance stocks are soaring.

So rejoice, all ye faithful -- joyful and triumphant, The Outfit will show us the way, first to servitude, and then to bankruptcy, or maybe the other way around, not that it matters.

Merry... whatever.

But, hey, at least we can laugh (and you know what they say, laughter is the best medicine -- pretty soon it'll be the only medicine, if it isn't already -- so enjoy):

Cross-posted at The Middle of Nowhere.

Israel's youngest prisoners of conscience

2009-12-18T13:40:00.001-06:00

US-based Jewish Voice for Peace (www.jvp.org) Campaign to support the Shministim, Israeli 12th graders who refuse to serve in an occupying army. Say yes to universal human rights for all people. Support the newest class at www.shministim.com

RADIO WINS HOUSE!

2009-12-17T12:00:00.001-06:00

Low Power Radio Wins in the House!
Now We Need Your Help in the Senate.

Today, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Local Community Radio Act with a voice vote.
This proves that together, we can move Congress. Thank you for all your hard work, phone calls, and support!
Now all eyes are on the Senate - we need your help to jump through this last hoop!
Call your Senators this week and ask them to get the Local Community Radio Act (S592) on the Senate agenda. Call our office with questions: (215) 727-9620.
Your call is essential. If we don’t get a Senate vote this session, the bill dies and we have to start over. Oh no!
The Prometheus Radio Project has lead the fight for more low power radio since 1998. Our work is made possible by your support.

Can you donate $15 now
to help win a victory in the Senate?

Once we pass the bill, we can light up the country with real local media - bringing community news, independent music, and local perspectives to the public airwaves.
Thanks and congratulations to everyone on this historic day for community media. On to the Senate!
Electromagnetically yours,
The Prometheus Radio Project
www.expandlpfm.org
(215) 727-9620

Holy Land Christmas

2009-12-17T00:00:00.003-06:00

Because Infringing On Privacy Is A Lucrative Business

2009-12-16T13:23:00.001-06:00

Security agencies crave to monitor and spy on everyone. Telecom companies, like any and all business, want to make insane profits.

How do the two add up? It's simple: telecom companies charge security agencies for any and all wiretaps, retrieval of communication data, etc., all the while pretending that they protect the privacy of their customers.

Follow the money indeed (emphasis added):

[READ MORE +/-]

A little-noticed letter from Yahoo! to the US Marshals Service offers troubling insight into the surveillance policies of one of the Internet's largest email providers.
In response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking details of Yahoo's! policies allowing the Justice Department to request wiretaps of its users and the amount they charge US taxpayers per wiretap -- the search engine leviathan declared in a 12-page letter that they couldn't provide information on their approach because their pricing scheme would "shock" customers. The news was first reported by Kim Zetter at Wired.
"It is reasonable to assume from these comments that the [pricing] information, if disclosed, would be used to "shame" Yahoo! and other companies -- and to "shock" their customers," a lawyer for the company writes. "Therefore, release of Yahoo!'s information is reasonably likely to lead to impairment of its reputation for protection of user privacy and security, which is a competitive disadvantage for technology companies."
Yahoo! also argues that because their price sheet for wiretaps was "voluntarily submitted" to the US Marshals Service, it is exempt from the Freedom of Information Act law.
Verizon, meanwhile, says (letter PDF) they can't provide details on how much they charge for wiretaps because it would be "confusing."
“Customers may see a listing of records, information or assistance that is available only to law enforcement,” Verizon writes, “but call in to Verizon and seek those same services. Such calls would stretch limited resources, especially those that are reserved only for law enforcement emergencies.”
Consumers might “become unnecessarily afraid that their lines have been tapped or call Verizon to ask if their lines are tapped (a question we cannot answer),” the telecom giant adds.
Verizon also revealed it "receives tens of thousands of requests for customer records, or other customer information from law enforcement."
The Freedom of Information request was filed by muckraker Christopher Soghoian.
"Assuming a conservative estimate of 20,000 requests per year, Verizon alone receives more requests from law enforcement per year than can be explained by any published surveillance statistics," Soghoian responds. "That doesn't mean the published stats are necessarily incorrect -- merely that most types of surveillance are not reported.
"In the summer of 2009, I decided to try and follow the money trail in order to determine how often Internet firms were disclosing their customers’ private information to the government," he adds later. "I theorized that if I could obtain the price lists of each ISP, detailing the price for each kind of service, and invoices paid by the various parts of the Federal government, then I might be able to reverse engineer some approximate statistics. In order to obtain these documents, I filed Freedom of Information Act requests with every part of the Department of Justice that I could think of."
Cox Communications, meanwhile, says they charge "$2,500 to fulfill a pen register/trap-and-trace order for 60 days, and $2,000 for each additional 60-day-interval," Zetter notes. "It charges $3,500 for the first 30 days of a wiretap, and $2,500 for each additional 30 days. Thirty days worth of a customer’s call detail records costs $40."
"Comcast’s pricing list," she adds, "which was already leaked to the internet in 2007, indicated that it charges at least $1,000 for the first month of a wiretap, and $750 per month thereafter."

In other words: authoritarianism + corporate complicity = fascism.

Which prompts me to reiterate the following points (with new links added):

Whenever a civilian government either outsources its responsibilities in matters domestic and/or foreign affairs, whether to corporations, security agencies and/or the military, then it is safe to say that it is the beginning of the end of democratic governance - ultimately leading to authoritarian corporatocracy, security state and/or military junta ... or all of the above, also known as fascism.

In addition to the overwhelming assaults on the U.S./Canadian constitution's civil rights and human rights (i.e. military commissions, indiscriminate domestic spying, security sweep pre-emptive arrests, renditions, indefinite detentions, torture, etc.), including outsourcing of security and war efforts (Blackwater/Xe, anyone?), the U.S. government is now letting go of some of its people-empowered roles in diplomacy and foreign affairs.

(...) "It's about separation of power and having the military subordinate to civilian policymakers rather than the other way around" - Cernig is spot on with this reminder.

However, I would amend this truism to include security agencies alongside the military.

(...) All the necessary tools are already on hand.

As the saying goes - one must remember and understand history in order not to repeat the mistakes of the past.

It remains to be established whether we, Americans and Canadians alike, will stand up for our constitutions, our democracy-based societies, or let fear and paranoia sweep them away in lieu of authoritarianism - as we keep allowing our elected representatives to defer their entrusted powers and responsibilities to security agencies and the military.

We better wake up before it is too little, too late ...

Marching straight toward authoritarianism?

Looks like we're getting there fast - if we're not already there.

I think it is safe to say that it is already "too little, too late" ...

Addendum: here's one more note added in (scary) proof ...

(Cross-posted from APOV)

winter solstice doldrums

2009-12-15T00:00:00.001-06:00

i don't know where we are headed- no one does- but i find myself wondering if any of our ancestors stood on the cusp of their future and looked at their present with such depression. don't you feel it in the air- that air of what i feel is exhaustion? you have folks who fought against- or simply lived during- the last 8 years of terror and fear and now, the last year of disappointment and constant negativity. no wonder this isn't a merry season for so many. you won't hear it in the msm- but there is so much loss here in america, i really believe most adults are trudging into the holiday season with dread rather than joy. many have lost their jobs, homes, or integrity to keep the other two; many families are battling bankruptcy or medical issues or have a loved one who isn't here- perhaps in the armed services, or have passed away- or divorce.

why do we have to take our misery out on each other? i talk to people all of the time who work with folks who are so unhappy, they make the work environment hostile to others. no one dares quit as they need the job. folks rip each other apart because of skin color, sexual preference, religion, or political viewpoints. really? we really aren't the united states of america anymore and haven't been for some time- i guess we are simply americans- as are the canadians, folks in iceland- and all of south america. we have about as much in common.

i'll be honest, i won't reconcile my feelings for folks who are mean spirited, miserable, and shortsighted- which pretty much encompasses 3/4 of the folks who call themselves americans. the self centeredness of the culture has caused me to withdraw. i have a feeling that the burned out exhausted folks wish they could too.

i find myself increasingly with little to say. i learned long ago that folks don't want to hear the truth if it interferes with their lifestyle. i doubt that has changed. everything i write- i have written on many occasions over the last 4 years or so that i have blogged. i genuinely hoped people would change with a regime change- not obama or the congress but everyday people--- and of course, they haven't. the war on christmas has been stoked up yet again and we still are hearing the same right wing slant to everything. hard to stay positive with a steady dose of negative.

there is some hope- the obama admin has done many positive things quietly- as the msm doesn't cover much positive about our first family. there have been disappointments for sure- but it certainly doesn't compare with the previous lawless 8 years. we really should be focusing our attention where it really, really counts- local, state and congressional candidates. we can make a difference on a smaller scale. and really, the only reality we can change is our own.

Driving History: Bus-eum Reminds US How to Treat Enemies

2009-12-14T17:24:00.003-06:00

Sages say that those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it. And that may be why the TRACES traveling exhibit, or "bus-eum," roves the US on a dual mission. Objective #1: To tell the story of German POWs who were held in camps across the U.S. during WWII. The important lesson illustrates that as a nation we can make enemies, or we can choose to make friends out of enemies.

By the end of World War II roughly 372,000 German prisoners of war (POWs) were imprisoned in over 660 camps in almost every U.S. state and the territory of Alaska. Held in U.S Army-operated work camps, they harvested crops, built roads and waterways, felled trees, roofed barns, erected silos, laid city sewers, constructed tract housing, and did other practical wartime tasks--even the U.S. Army laundry.

Because many 19th-century Germans had immigrated to America, many who worked with the POWs could speak to them in their native tongue. In the process, they formed significant, often decades-long friendships with "the enemy." The POWs changed considerably as individuals and as a group, and the relationships they formed influenced post-war American-German relations. A number of POWs even chose to immigrate to the United States after the war.

TRACES' mobile museum, called the Bus-eum 3--a retrofitted school bus painted fatigue green--is touring the US through June 2010, reaching schools, libraries and historical societies. Its narrative panels and films tell the story.

"The main lesson we want people to take away is how you treat people," Kellman told The Edmond Sun. "You create friends, or you create enemies. In our treatment of the German POWs, we created 370,000 friends. ... Word got back to the German army itself that if you surrender to the Americans, you won't be harmed and you'll be taken care of, so the men would be more willing to lay down their arms and less willing to fight - and that saved American soldiers' lives."

TRACES' motto is "We bring HISTORY to LIFE!" The Bus-eum 3 is not going let people make mistakes because they don't know history. After six years, they've got 20 states, 1,400 towns and about 150,000 visitors to prove it.

And they are driving forward toward a future of human rights, international reconciliation and conflict avoidance through education.

G. O. ?. D.

2009-12-13T19:59:00.002-06:00

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Beck - Not So Mellow Gold

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Israeli Confessions

2009-12-11T14:07:00.001-06:00

For the list of sources of the quotes please go to: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note...

If one wants to know why and how the conflict started in Palestine more than 60 years ago, the "confessions" of Israeli and Zionist leaders should make it very clear.

700,000 Palestinians (more than half of the Palestinian population at the time) were expelled in 1948.

More than 600 towns and villages were ethnically cleansed.

Thousands were killed and maimed.

... the crimes continue to this date, and so does the unjustified condoning attitude of "civilized" governments.

Obama And The First Big Lie Of The 21st Century

2009-12-09T14:30:00.001-06:00

If by "big lie" you are thinking of the one concerning Saddam Hussein's WMDs and links with al'Qaeda, then you would be in error. That would be the second big lie of the 21st century. However, you would be correct in assuming that the first big lie of the 21st century involved Bush and Co. nevertheless.

What is that first big lie? President Obama parrotted it himself (emphasis added):

[READ MORE +/-]

Under the banner of this domestic unity and international legitimacy — and only after the Taliban refused to turn over Osama bin Laden — we sent our troops into Afghanistan.

Oh, really?

Let us now take another look at the justifications put forth by the Bush administration for the Afghanistan war, as laid out by President Bush's address on October 7, 2001 (emphasis mine):
"On my orders, the United States military has begun strikes against Al Qaeda terrorist training camps and military installations of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

These carefully targeted actions are designed to disrupt the use of Afghanistan as a terrorist base of operations and to attack the military capability of the Taliban regime (...).

I gave Taliban leaders a series of clear and specific demands: Close terrorist training camps. Hand over leaders of the Al Qaeda network, and return all foreign nationals, including American citizens unjustly detained in our country.

None of these demands were met. And now, the Taliban will pay a price."
Hence why the war in Afghanistan is deemed to this day a "just" war, meant to capture/destroy al Qaeda (especially their leader Osama bin Laden), the perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks.

Putting aside the fact that the Taliban was never a terrorist organization to begin with, here are some interesting, seldom known, truths concerning the Taliban's "refusal" to hand over bin Laden:
a) From September 28 to October 4, 2001, the Taliban negotiated and agreed to extradite bin Laden to Pakistan in order to place him before an international tribunal, with the court free to decide whether to try him on the spot or hand him over to America - but Pakistan President Musharraf killed the deal in the end;

b) In the morning of October 7, 2001 (a few hours before Bush's address and the beginning of the war), the Taliban offered to try bin Laden themselves - but the White House rejected the offer;

c) On October 14, 2001, the Taliban offered to hand bin Laden over to the U.S., provided that proof was shown that he was responsible for 9/11 - but this offer was likewise flatly rejected by the White House.
Ergo: in its (incompetent) desire to rush into war, the White House effectively lied about the Taliban's refusal to hand over bin Laden in order to cover up ... their desire to rush into war.

Hope for change?

More like meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

And as for the USA getting out in 2011 - again, I'll believe it when I see it ... indeed.

I wonder whether my own Canadian Prime Poseur will increase the number of Canadians troops in Afghanistan to help President Obama meet his desired 10000 additional NATO troops ...

(Cross-posted from APOV)

it's beginning to look a lot like...

2009-12-08T04:50:00.000-06:00

nothing. i am not in the 'christmas spirit.' why? you may ask- it's the season. well, no, it really isn't. not yet. the current incarnation of the yule season is a 20th century invention based on greed and consumerism. it's interesting to watch the herds of sheeple filing into the stores like they are barns. we are so conditioned to shop, shop, shop to make our season bright that it's little wonder folks are so crabby this time of year. and spare me the whole 'war on christmas' bullshit- jesus was born on one day- not the whole month. now, that would be a miracle.

i had a meltdown over the whole sending of gifts thing this year because it really smacks against what i believe. the whole obligatory gift thing negates the meaning of gift giving. it has made me really take stock of my life, my relationships with people and my belief system. this season is for family time and feasting and relationships. the gifts are incidental to the whole thing. they have replaced what is really important. when we remember our favorite memories, they tend to be one favorite gift or the delicious pie aunt fay made- not a treeful of gifts that get opened and tossed aside. kids don't keep count of how many they get- parents do. kids remember the 'red rider bee bee guns' or the polly prissy pants doll they got from santa.

gifts should be given because the giver has put thought into the gift and believes that the recipient would like it or could use it. and they should be given in august and march and whenever- not saved for one time of year only. ultimately, i made the decision that this is really the last year i participate in the consumer driven, corporate conditioned shop fest that is the american christmas dream. next year- if folks insist on gifting- they can make a donation in my name to the national arbor day foundation.

A Chilly Reception in Texas for Obama's Afghan Troop Surge

2009-12-06T00:00:00.002-06:00

“This war, destructive of humanity like all wars, is also supporting a corrupt, ineffective Afghani government, and has all likelihood of becoming an endless quagmire. ~ Joe Heyman, Border Peace Presence

El Paso TX, December 1. Downtown El Paso was uncharacteristically coated yesterday morning with a snow that forced the county offices and the University of Texas to close the previous day. Perhaps not as surprisingly, local activists greeted the news of Obama’s impending Afghanistan troop surge announcement with chilly opposition across from the city’s central plaza.

In conjunction with a broad coalition of Texas peace and justice organizations, the Border Peace Presence gathered outside Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) office to emphasize their opposition to any escalation of the war in Afghanistan. Coalition spokespersons call on Obama to completely withdraw all military and paramilitary personnel and announce a plan to rebuild the country.

Joe Heyman, who summoned this special gathering of Border Peace Presence timed to immediately precede Obama’s call for a significant escalation of the war in Afghanistan, stated: “He’s going to promise that in some vague point in the future we’re going to begin to withdraw troops but in the meantime we’re actually adding troops. The wars continue. My sign says: ‘War without end?’. We’re asking that question.”

A dozen peace supporters braved temperatures that hovered just above freezing at the historic Cortez Building, which houses Reyes’s office. Several local television channels filmed their gathering and conducted interviews to illustrate the evening news coverage of Obama’s message.

Since the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2000, a total of 467 Texas men and women have lost their lives, according to The Texas Observer (11/27/09). This comprises 9 percent of the total American casualties. The recent toll has averaged one Texan killed per month.

Hundreds more troops will be killed along with countless civilians should the U.S. escalate forces, asserts the non-profit TrueMajority. It could become a decades-long quagmire. Terrorism experts question the effectiveness of this approach to fighting Al Qaeda. Add to this, they say: the war will devastate the US economy and divert funds urgently needed for health care, education and jobs.

Texans have paid $74.2 billion for the American invasion and occupation of Iraq and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan since 2001. That amounts to $3,163 per taxpaying Texan, according to The Texas Observer.

[READ MORE +/-]

Other Texan groups on record as opposing the Obama initiative in Afghanistan are:
the Dallas Peace Center, Texans for Peace, the Crawford Peace House, Austin Center for Peace and Justice, Code Pink, the South Texas Alliance for Peace and Justice, Denton Peace Action, Houston Peace and Justice Center (HPJC), Iranians for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), The Interfaith Community for Palestinian Rights, Military Families Speak Out (MFSO), North Texas for Justice and Peace, Peace Action Denton, UNT Campus Antiwar Network, Peace Mennonite Church, San Antonio Peace Center, South Texas Alliance for Peace and Justice, Texans for Peace, Texas Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Under the Hood Café (Fort Hood Support Network), Veterans for Peace (VFP) – Houston, and Waco Friends of Peace.

For more information: 12 REASONS TO LEAVE AFGHANISTAN NOW by Texans for Peace

Photo caption: The historic Cortez Building that houses Rep. Reyes' office set the backdrop for the peace protest.

Borderlands, Breathing

2009-12-04T14:24:00.001-06:00

From El Machete - The Unapologetic Mexican-

In January 2009, the International League of Conservation Photographers sent a team of world-renowned photographers, with writers, filmmakers and scientists to the borderlands of the United States and Mexico to document the wildlife, ecology, and effect of immigration and the border wall on this landscape.

Borderlands, Continental Divide produced by The Cornell Lab of Ornithology from iLCP on Vimeo.

So, Umm, Why Exactly Did Bin Laden Escape From Tora Bora Back In 2001?

2009-12-02T14:30:00.002-06:00

Because of utter incompetence, that's why (emphasis added):

[READ MORE +/-]

Rumsfeld decision let Bin Laden escape: Senate report

Osama bin Laden was "within the grasp" of US forces in late 2001 but escaped because then-defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld rejected calls for reinforcements, a hard-hitting US Senate report says.

The report, set for release Monday, is intended to help learn the lessons of the past as President Barack Obama prepares to announce a major escalation of the conflict, now in its ninth year, with up to 35,000 more US troops.

It points the finger directly at Rumsfeld for turning down requests for reinforcements as Bin Laden was trapped in December 2001 in caves and tunnels in a mountainous area of eastern Afghanistan known as Tora Bora.

"The vast array of American military power, from sniper teams to the most mobile divisions of the marine corps and the army, was kept on the sidelines," the report says.

"Instead, the US command chose to rely on airstrikes and untrained Afghan militias to attack Bin Laden and on Pakistan's loosely organized Frontier Corps to seal his escape routes."

Entitled "Tora Bora revisited: how we failed to get Bin Laden and why it matters today," the report -- commissioned by Senator John Kerry, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- says Bin Laden expected to die and had even written a will.

"But the Al-Qaeda leader would live to fight another day. Fewer than 100 American commandos were on the scene with their Afghan allies and calls for reinforcements to launch an assault were rejected.

"Requests were also turned down for US troops to block the mountain paths leading to sanctuary a few miles away in Pakistan.

"The decision not to deploy American forces to go after Bin Laden or block his escape was made by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his top commander, General Tommy Franks," the report says.

"On or around December 16, two days after writing his will, Bin Laden and an entourage of bodyguards walked unmolested out of Tora Bora and disappeared into Pakistan's unregulated tribal area. Most analysts say he is still there today."

Rumsfeld's argument at the time, the report says, was that deploying too many American troops could jeopardize the mission by creating an anti-US backlash among the local populace.

The report dismisses arguments at the time from Franks, Vice President Dick Cheney and others defending the decision and arguing that the intelligence was inconclusive about Bin Laden's location.

"The review of existing literature, unclassified government records and interviews with central participants underlying this report removes any lingering doubts and makes it clear that Osama bin Laden was within our grasp at Tora Bora."

Gee ... really? Here's a little something from yours truly, back in October 2007 (emphasis added):

(...) We all know how this has been turning out so far:
(...) faced with the reality of this war and seeking to salvage the most out of it humanitarian-wise, the United Nations Security Council authorized an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan on 12/20/2001, which not only included N.A.T.O. forces but was also to be lead by N.A.T.O. itself. The ISAF's original peacekeeping mandate was for a duration of six months - however, partly because of the Taliban insurgency and partly because the U.S. has been "too busy" with its Iraq War since it began in 03/2003, the ISAF's mandate was thereafter extended in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and then extended anew until 03/2008 ... with talks already in the works for a further twelve month-extension beyond this date. In between, N.A.T.O. expanded its Afghanistan mission by increasing its forces in 2005 and in 2006 (including Canadian ones) - because its peacekeeping mission had transformed into a counter-insurgency one.

(...)

Although having been successfully pushed out of power, the Taliban insurgency rages on in spite of the wishful thinking that it is weakening.

(...)

Osama bin Laden got away and is still in hiding, along with most of the al-Qaeda leadership - even if he and his organization were the prime justification for going into Afghanistan in the first place.
In other words: due to the incompetence of Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz et al. (especially by their demonstrated incapacity to keep focused on the Afghan mission at hand and complete it soundly before moving on), N.A.T.O. had to change its peacekeeping/reconstruction mandate to full combat operations - because the Taliban and al-Qaeda were back in force (after being essentially allowed to flee to Pakistan in order to regroup), and enough to enact a significant insurgence at that. So in effect, N.A.T.O. ends up trying to finish the job the Bush administration should have completed to begin with, but instead botched - i.e. N.A.T.O. is trying to make up for the ludicrous mistakes of the demonstrated incompetence of Bush and Co..

How so? The Powell Doctrine was already established and demonstrated after Desert Storm. But then the resident incompetents in the White House (Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz et al.) tossed it aside when they went into Afghanistan - especially because, as it has been revealed, they already had their sights on Iraq. So, they went in Afghanistan without massive deployments, made those stupid deals with the Afghan Warlords and their militias, contented themselves with routing the Taliban and al-Qaeda away from Khabul (and for the life of me, I never understood why no one figured out that the remnants of al-Qaeda and the Taliban would run into Pakistan and, consequently, take strategic steps to block off the border in order to prevent this - then again, they never had enough boots on the grounds to enact such a basic strategy to begin with - but I digress), and then they asked for U.N./N.A.T.O. help because they had begun occupying themselves with Iraq.

To put it more succintly, as yours truly did back in April of last year (emphasis added):

Conclusion: the Taliban and al-Qaeda have been back in force after being essentially allowed to flee to Pakistan and regroup, thanks to the mind-boggling incompetence of the Bush administration.

Or, in other words: this has been a policy of retreat from bin Laden and Afghanistan.

Incompetence: always resulting into utter, neverending, FUBARs.

Q.E.D. - and que sera, sera.

(And see also MoS)

(Cross-posted from APOV)

OUT OF CENTRAL ASIA NOW!

2009-12-02T13:07:00.000-06:00

http://outofcentralasianow.wordpress.com/

Our Earth New Urbanism - Rooftop Dwelling

2009-12-02T00:07:00.001-06:00

Following betmo's cue, I thought I'd post an older poem (3/3/06) about the earth, but first I wanted to share another video in the series "Our Earth" and urge us all to think about our footprint... Enjoy.

Terreform, a nonprofit architecture collective transforms the rooftop of a building in downtown Brooklyn into a shelter and farm for urban refugees- people displaced by the mortgage crisis. Their two-week project, called Terrefarm, used only materials found in the building, and involved students and teachers from around the world. For more episodes in this series, visit: New Urbanism

O! ORIGINAL EARTH!

In this land of twenty million years and Ishango Bone;
The root of man in his original life,
In his foremost loss, from the barren drums of home
To the brimming terms of literacy, Egypt, Carthage,
the Nubian Kingdom, the Great Zimbabwe, Sahel,
Hutu and Tutsi now both so scorched in grief!

Malawi, Kenya and of Livingston’s Victoria Falls,
Lake Victoria; the Nile, its soggy trough beseech!

O! Original land, you shall not go!

Stay your spirit’s dancing in splendid hope's refrain!

O! Children come!

Stand upon on the back of eternity and pray for rain!

mrp

'let it begin with me'

2009-12-01T07:55:00.001-06:00

i don't wish for peace on earth anymore. nothing in human history suggests we'll ever see it. what i do wish for- and what i am seeing glimmers of here and there- is self sufficiency. i also wish for awareness that what you have causes another to go without- and i see more and more folks realizing that as the world grows smaller. i am not hopeful that the world situation is going to change- there will always be the same type of folks in charge- the ones who want to exploit others. what gives me hope is that more and more 'regular' folks are doing what they need to do to change things where they are.

i had a restful, thankful thanksgiving this year and from what little contact i had with other human beings- i felt hopeful for the first time in a long time. i hear more words like 'we want to make our environmental footprint smaller' and 'i want to buy locally but don't know where' and i hear parents teaching their children to be respectful and mindful of where things come from. folks here in america are in dire straits- unemployment and under employment are at all time highs and what makes me feel good about the whole thing is- it is forcing folks to learn things that a generation had forgotten. things like reusing and fixing things- swapping and mending clothes and other household goods. it is actually fostering more of a sense of community than we here in america have felt in a long time.

now, i am not getting all pollyannish- i know we still have a really long way to go- but the seeds have been planted- and with some attention- they are going to grow. climate change or not.

JFK's Living Legacy at the US-Mexico Border: An Example to the World

2009-11-29T00:00:00.000-06:00

A charismatic president, an untamed river and international diplomacy: all combine to tell a fascinating story. As we commemorate this week the day US President John F. Kennedy was laid to rest in Arlington National Cemetery on November 25, 1963, his historic influence continues here in El Paso, Texas, a tribute to his enduring legacy.

Mexico and the U.S. ended a three year boundary war with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. It set their boundary at the Rio Grande River. With that settled they shared relative peace. But a living river did not make a good international boundary. Flooding in 1864 and a southbound shift of the Rio Grande moved an entire section of prime urban land over to the El Paso, TexasTexas side of the river. What once was Mexico suddenly became the United States!

Mexico and the United States both claimed this land -- several hundred acres called El Chamizal, named after the vegetation that grew in the floodplain. Although many American citizens were living in that area, Mexican citizens filed suit to reclaim it in 1895. The issue, however, dragged on over the years across history; the US was resistant to return the land. The dispute continued unsettled until John F. Kennedy entered the scene.

When young, charismatic US President John F. Kennedy visited Mexico, he took its capitol by storm; the Mexican people loved him and his wife Jacqueline. Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos frankly asked Kennedy to look into the border matter, advising him that relations between the US and Mexico would never be smooth until the problem was solved. John F. Kennedy called the dispute "the black mark." On August 29, 1963, the United States wiped that mark away by signing the Chamizal Convention returning Mexico a total of 630 acres to end the conflict. In 1964 Presidents Adolfo López Mateos and Lyndon B. Johnson, Kennedy's successor, met on the border personally to end the dispute officially, once and for all.

Mexico and the United States took steps to ensure that this problem would never happen again. The Rio Grande River was confined to a man-made concrete channel so it could not shift again; that concrete channel remains to this day.

On the U.S. side of the disputed land, the Chamizal National Memorial now stands to promote the arts by highlighting the two nations' blended cultures. This memorial, operated by the US Park Service, emphasizes cooperation, diplomacy and cultural values as a basic means to conflict resolution. A representation of President Kennedy dominates a mural on the exterior of the park building (photo above).

"Far more than mere acreage, Chamizal is an idea, a dynamic process, dedicated to furthering the spirit of understanding and goodwill between two nations that share one border."~from the National Park Foundation

John F. Kennedy's legacy lives on the US-Mexico border.

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"[T]he solution to this controversy will serve as a notable example to the world at large and will contribute to world peace by demonstrating that all differences among nations, regardless of how complicated they may be, can be resolved through friendly negotiations." ~ John F. Kennedy, 1963
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Challenging Reality

2009-11-28T00:16:00.002-06:00

The Paucity of Hope By Yousef Munayyer

2009-11-26T14:59:00.016-06:00

Ibrahim Abu Jayyab, 23, was a big Barack Obama supporter and during the election campaign he spent hours phone-banking for him. However, unlike some of Ibrahim's Palestinian-American counterparts, he was calling from Gaza, dialing internationally to American households, urging votes for Obama.

Today, a year since the election, prospects for "hope and change" coming to the people of Palestine have all but vanished. Despite fifteen years of talk of creating a Palestinian state, Palestinians have seen only increased illegal Israeli colonization of the land that was supposed to be their future state. A devastating assault on Gaza which left over 1,400 people, mostly civilians dead, was the culmination of eight years of failed George W. Bush administration policy. Still, you cannot blame Ibrahim and his fellow Palestinians for being hopeful when Barack Obama first took office.

Things could not seem worse during the Bush administration for the Palestinians, so Obama was an improvement before his first day in office. Many Palestinians felt President Obama would carry out an evenhanded policy for the first time. His lofty and populist rhetoric during the campaign resonated with a people long trying to appeal to a sense of international equality and justice. Despite failed peace efforts and a heinous attack on an already suffocated Gaza, many still remained hopeful.

However, the only real change taking place since Obama's election is Israel's continued illegal geographic expansion in the West Bank and increased defiance of international law. Israel continues unchecked settlement expansion and evicting scores of Palestinians and demolishing their houses in Jerusalem, defying their obligations under the 2003 Road Map for Peace.

Factually, there is little change between the Bush and Obama administrations' approaches to the peace process. Both administrations have failed to enforce Israel's obligations under the Road Map. Furthermore, the Obama administration has adopted the Bush administration's failed and flawed policy of supporting one Palestinian faction against the other, rather than unite them under a common theme of mutual interest.

Despite repeated requests from the Obama administration for Israel to stop colonizing Palestinian land, the colonization continues unabated. Israel's Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has openly defied and publicly ridiculed U.S. policy.

Yesterday, Israel announced the expansion of yet another illegal settlement. The Obama administration's response was a toothless statement expressing "dismay". The failure of successive U.S. administrations to increase political and financial pressure on Israel for violations of international law and U.S. policy has led to a West Bank littered with Israeli settlements and only emboldened the Israeli government to defy us further. Even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who has put what little domestic legitimacy he had left on the line to participate in fruitless negotiations, said yesterday that Obama is "doing nothing" to advance the peace-process right now.

Today the effect of this, especially at this moment in history, is devastating. Palestinians were at the brink after the attacks on Gaza and the only thing that brought them back from the edge was optimism about the future. The focus now has returned to the pain of Gaza and years of wasted time invested in a process that has only resulted in dispossession of the Palestinian people.

There is a communication gap between the U.S., Israel and the Palestinians when defining the goal of a "peace process". Palestinians, and most of the world, believed the goal was to end the illegal occupation that started in 1967, creating a state in that territory for Palestinians which would ultimately lead to peace in the region. However, Israel's actions continue to defy that goal. The Israeli government's continued apartheid-styled occupation jokingly refers to a "piece process" as it continues to carve up Palestinian land one piece at a time. The world is not laughing.

The United States must immediately define to Israel and the Palestinians clear goals with specific and reasonable time tables enforced with tough political and financial repercussions for any party that fails to follow obligations.

Palestinian youth are unlikely to dedicate time to volunteer for President Obama's re-election and, the way things are going, are unlikely to be living in a free and independent state of Palestine by that time either. The future of the next generation of Palestinians, their ambitions, hopes and desires reflect our policies. So far, these policies have been hopeless.

Yousef Munayyer is Executive Director of the Palestine Center. This policy brief may be used without permission but with proper attribution to the Center.

Original Brief

A Purpose-Driven War

2009-11-26T14:10:00.000-06:00

A billboard on the street tells us who we are:
"God, guns, guts & glory" - and what man could want more?
On another street, the signs are just as clear:
Stake your lives for Allah in the mighty path of war.

It's war that gives men purpose.
War fulfills men's dreams.
Wars force the idle hands at play
to work life & death schemes.

War defends the women
against the warring men.
War kills for the children
so they'll be safe again.

Peace breeds easy living
that spoils our hearts and souls.
Peace brings corrupting happiness
in simple, low-life goals.

Peace welcomes in a garden
and fruit-trees and old women,
their stories' gentle wisdom,
philosophy of old men.

War is always in a rush
to burn its path much higher;
its words a fever-eloquence,
fodder for the fire.

There's men inside the planning rooms
and men who shed their blood
and women's blood dismissed as tears
and women plowing mud.

I'm sure the night is inside out
the moment sky turns day.
I'm sure the rabbit nibbles grass
until his heart's the prey.
I'm sure there is a purpose here
that we're all living for:
To live, to breed, to contemplate,
Then kill ourselves in war.

The Peace Tree

The Peace Tree has come to a close.

W.S. Accountability

HARVARD LAW SCHOOL BIGOT...?

Announcing BlogBlast For Peace 2010!

Welcome to the 7th launch of BlogBlast For Peace aka Dona Nobis Pacem in the blogosphere. It's inception began in 2006 with one single post and a cry for peace in our world.

ORWELL ROLLS (in his grave)

11th Hour (Everyone should see this film. Check your local library.)

Peace of the Pie 2010

Dutch holocaust vicitim finally receives an apology

Israeli Love Song

"War is not a show"

SWIMMING LESSONS

Oscar Romero, prophet and martyr for peace

Targeted Citizens by Adalah...

DE-FACING FACEBOOK

'of thee i sing'

Effective new worker clears landmines: Detection rats

ch-changes

"Beautiful, dear, and shot to pieces Mexico"

"Funnel Effect" creates humanitarian emergency on U.S. border

IQBAL TAMIMI SHORTLISTED FOR AWARD OF EXCELLENCE BY MUSLIM NEWS

Some Thoughts on Tea Parties and American Conservatism

Who Will Be Next on the Gallows? Charlie King

... And That's Government-Run Health Care For Ya!

of tempests and tea parties

1,000,000 Voices Virtual March for Health Care Reform

PEARL OF THE ANTILLES by tom karlson (poets for peace long island)

THE NUMBERS...

the february of my discontent

Christians, non-violence, Lent and the Stations of the Cross

Bill Nighy -Robin Hood tax on banks

INCURIOUS BASTARDS

Ride on the Peace Train

Women ONE to one...

it's that time of year

An Iraq Veteran Speaks

COMMANDER IN CHIEF INC.

QUESTIONS AND HOPEFULLY SOME ANSWERS

Dr. Ilana Feldman

NO REVOLT OF THE GUARDS

Welcome To The Corporate States Of America

Muslim Women cartoonists: A Palestinian and a Pakistani written by Iqbal Tamimi of Palestinian Mothers

Unprecedented Corporate Interference (written by Change Congress)

Lessig... Obama's First Year: Change Congress

Reloaded: The Cost Of Security (Meaning: Terror)

yesterday, today and beyond

A nonviolent look at a violent act

The Cost Of Security (Meaning: Terror)

DEATH KNELL OF THE FOURTH

Pathologizing Dissent, or Deja Vu All Over Again

winter thoughts

A Symbol of Resistance

BOOK REVIEW "Jewish Terrorism in Israel"

Activists, lawyers to rebuke Obama publicly: 8th Gitmo anniversary

Welcome To Your Corporatocracy: Proof Is In Teh Money

Nazi resistance leader Freya von Moltke dies in Vermont

new year is here

2010! Let's hope it is better than the last ten!

Dear Readers and Authors,

new year, new decade- new outlook?

Unexpected Hope: Creating Miracles amid Dust and Chaos

Acting In God Faith: Doing God's Work (Again)

The Surge

happy winter solstice

Obama's Nobel war speech By John Dear SJ

Epic Eco-Trek Evades Northern Mexico Violence

Only in America -- or, "I Told You So!"

Israel's youngest prisoners of conscience

RADIO WINS HOUSE!

Low Power Radio Wins in the House!Now We Need Your Help in the Senate.

Holy Land Christmas

Because Infringing On Privacy Is A Lucrative Business

winter solstice doldrums

Driving History: Bus-eum Reminds US How to Treat Enemies

G. O. ?. D.

Israeli Confessions

Obama And The First Big Lie Of The 21st Century

it's beginning to look a lot like...

A Chilly Reception in Texas for Obama's Afghan Troop Surge

Low Power Radio Wins in the House!
Now We Need Your Help in the Senate.