Op-Ed
The city of Chicago and the federal government will be putting on a $55 million security extravaganza later this month to protect NATO delegates, representing the most powerful military force on the planet, from nonviolent protesters who want to see an end to war.
Think of the mini-security state as an ironic projection of NATO’s own agenda, which is control — by force — of as much of the world as possible. And of course the propaganda that accompanies the big show is that the protesters are the dangerous and disruptive ones, that NATO’s violence is distant, necessary and somehow clean, despite the occasional awkward headline (“NATO Admits Killing Afghan Mother, 5 Children in Air Strike”).
What the protesters really represent is what NATO, and all the forces of empire and domination, fear most: the impertinence to question and challenge authority and demand a say at the big table.
“The nonviolent resister has a deep faith in the future, and believes that the forces in the universe are ultimately on the side of justice. To quote Dr. King, ‘The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’”
Think of the mini-security state as an ironic projection of NATO’s own agenda, which is control — by force — of as much of the world as possible. And of course the propaganda that accompanies the big show is that the protesters are the dangerous and disruptive ones, that NATO’s violence is distant, necessary and somehow clean, despite the occasional awkward headline (“NATO Admits Killing Afghan Mother, 5 Children in Air Strike”).
What the protesters really represent is what NATO, and all the forces of empire and domination, fear most: the impertinence to question and challenge authority and demand a say at the big table.
“The nonviolent resister has a deep faith in the future, and believes that the forces in the universe are ultimately on the side of justice. To quote Dr. King, ‘The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’”
If you choose to live in an apartment or condo complex due to its pet-friendly allure, make certain to insist that management does not use phenoxy herbicides, such as 2,4-D, on the lawns where you walk, play, and breathe. Most phenoxy herbicides, including 2,4-D, must be disposed of in the same manner as toxic waste would be; yet this same toxic substance is liberally sprayed on the lawns where dogs and children walk and play. And remember that these hazardous products are tracked inside on shoes and paws and are brought inside through the air via doors and windows.
As Dr. Oz advised in his "O" magazine page (January 2011), we should always remove our shoes before coming inside because lawn chemicals (herbicides) have been linked to certain cancers and neurological and reproductive disorders. Wouldn't it be better just not to use them? Dogs and cats can't leave their shoes at the door.
As Dr. Oz advised in his "O" magazine page (January 2011), we should always remove our shoes before coming inside because lawn chemicals (herbicides) have been linked to certain cancers and neurological and reproductive disorders. Wouldn't it be better just not to use them? Dogs and cats can't leave their shoes at the door.
“I get mad when bloggers accuse me of lying -- of knowing the information was false. I didn’t.” -- Colin Powell.
Can you imagine having an opportunity to address the United Nations Security Council about a matter of great global importance, with all the world's media watching, and using it to… well, to make shit up – to lie with a straight face, and with a CIA director propped up behind you, I mean to spew one world-class, for-the-record-books stream of bull, to utter nary a breath without a couple of whoppers in it, and to look like you really mean it all? What gall. What an insult to the entire world that would be.
Colin Powell doesn't have to imagine such a thing. He has to live with it. He did it on February 5, 2003. It's on videotape.
Can you imagine having an opportunity to address the United Nations Security Council about a matter of great global importance, with all the world's media watching, and using it to… well, to make shit up – to lie with a straight face, and with a CIA director propped up behind you, I mean to spew one world-class, for-the-record-books stream of bull, to utter nary a breath without a couple of whoppers in it, and to look like you really mean it all? What gall. What an insult to the entire world that would be.
Colin Powell doesn't have to imagine such a thing. He has to live with it. He did it on February 5, 2003. It's on videotape.
Two key steps have helped to ruin May Day in the United States. First, Labor Day was created at a completely different time of year -- labor day without the struggle, labor day without the history, labor day without the labor movement. Second, Loyalty Day was created on May 1st.
"We did not choose this war. This war came to us on 9/11. We don't go looking for a fight. But when we see our homeland violated, when we see our fellow citizens killed, then we understand what we have to do."
These are the words that President Obama used on Tuesday to describe the Afghanistan war, but they would have been more appropriately said by any Afghan citizen.
Coming out of the mouth of the President of the United States, these words are nothing more than nationalistic propaganda — designed to justify an aggressive war of choice launched against a sovereign nation. Somebody chose this war, and it certainly wasn't the Afghan people — 92% of whom have never even heard of the events of 9/11.
These are the words that President Obama used on Tuesday to describe the Afghanistan war, but they would have been more appropriately said by any Afghan citizen.
Coming out of the mouth of the President of the United States, these words are nothing more than nationalistic propaganda — designed to justify an aggressive war of choice launched against a sovereign nation. Somebody chose this war, and it certainly wasn't the Afghan people — 92% of whom have never even heard of the events of 9/11.
This letter is in response to the articles covering the Justice Department's
decision not to reopen the probe of the 1970 Kent State shootings.
Well, it appears the ghosts of Tin Soldiers and Nixon are coming back to the Kent State Campus.
First, your most ambitious students are being charged more money because they choose to take more credit hours {without any justification for the increased fees}. Second, the annual out-of-control beer party is put down by a armed SWAT team wearing similar uniforms as the Guardsman did 42 years ago {except that this time the tear gas is far more potent}. Now you have a Justice Department under the leadership of a Democratic President that decides they would rather look anywhere but at KSU or for that matter perhaps Dealey Plaza, the Lorraine Hotel and the Ambassador Hotel. Per the article: "The FBI's Cleveland office apparently destroyed the original Strubbe tape in 1979, according to the Justice Department." This begs the question: why wasn't it given to the Smithsonian Museum as a artifact of history? Why the rush to destroy the tape?
Well, it appears the ghosts of Tin Soldiers and Nixon are coming back to the Kent State Campus.
First, your most ambitious students are being charged more money because they choose to take more credit hours {without any justification for the increased fees}. Second, the annual out-of-control beer party is put down by a armed SWAT team wearing similar uniforms as the Guardsman did 42 years ago {except that this time the tear gas is far more potent}. Now you have a Justice Department under the leadership of a Democratic President that decides they would rather look anywhere but at KSU or for that matter perhaps Dealey Plaza, the Lorraine Hotel and the Ambassador Hotel. Per the article: "The FBI's Cleveland office apparently destroyed the original Strubbe tape in 1979, according to the Justice Department." This begs the question: why wasn't it given to the Smithsonian Museum as a artifact of history? Why the rush to destroy the tape?
This was the headline: “Zimmerman, Martin’s parents to face off in court.”
The words, of course, merely summed up a moment in the news cycle last week. We, the news-consuming public, were primed – by CBS, but it could have been any mainstream outlet – for a tidbit of potential drama the next day in the hottest murder trial around right now. But in the process, we were also silently reminded, yet again, that everything is spectacle. At the level at which we call ourselves a nation, nothing is serious, not even matters of life and death.
There’s something so painful about all this – painful beyond the horror of the crime itself, or the national murder rate. The 24-7 media trivialize the stakes and gleefully report the “courtroom drama” as a sporting event; but even more distressingly, the legal bureaucracy swings into motion without the least awareness of any value beyond its own procedures. It all happens with a certainty of purpose that generates the illusion that things are under control and social order prevails.
The words, of course, merely summed up a moment in the news cycle last week. We, the news-consuming public, were primed – by CBS, but it could have been any mainstream outlet – for a tidbit of potential drama the next day in the hottest murder trial around right now. But in the process, we were also silently reminded, yet again, that everything is spectacle. At the level at which we call ourselves a nation, nothing is serious, not even matters of life and death.
There’s something so painful about all this – painful beyond the horror of the crime itself, or the national murder rate. The 24-7 media trivialize the stakes and gleefully report the “courtroom drama” as a sporting event; but even more distressingly, the legal bureaucracy swings into motion without the least awareness of any value beyond its own procedures. It all happens with a certainty of purpose that generates the illusion that things are under control and social order prevails.
Here in the land of the free lunch and the home of the instant gratification, most people make a huge deal out of children's rights or fetuses' rights, or occasionally both. Which is extremely bizarre -- crazier perhaps than bombing houses in Afghanistan to protect the rights of the women inside them. Because we're engaged in the deliberate and knowing process of slowly and irreversibly rendering the whole damn planet uninhabitable. If not our children, then their children will be forced to live in a desert or move to the North Pole if we don't quickly change our ways -- and possibly even if we do. And if we don't change our ways, the approach we take to the coming crisis will make fascism look like summer camp.
Earth day is the day we all look at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint. 20% of all greenhouse gases come from automobiles, so it makes sense to start there.
The rising gas prices are causing many people to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. That is a good thing, not just for the economy. Newer vehicles get better gas mileage and produce less toxic emissions. Anyone buying a new vehicle should consider donating their older one to charity. The charity will either fix the car so that it is road worthy and passes emissions tests or make sure it is completely recycled. The money it gets will be used to further its mission.
Anyone not replacing their car can still help the environment by making it greener. Keeping it tuned up, the tires inflated and changing the air filter often will produce up to a 25% improvement in gas mileage.
A less toxic anti-freeze is now available that is 65% less toxic. New life-time wiper blades are available that are not made from petroleum based rubber. They are 100% recyclable. There are many non-toxic cleaning products for both the outside and interior of the car.
The rising gas prices are causing many people to buy a more fuel efficient vehicle. That is a good thing, not just for the economy. Newer vehicles get better gas mileage and produce less toxic emissions. Anyone buying a new vehicle should consider donating their older one to charity. The charity will either fix the car so that it is road worthy and passes emissions tests or make sure it is completely recycled. The money it gets will be used to further its mission.
Anyone not replacing their car can still help the environment by making it greener. Keeping it tuned up, the tires inflated and changing the air filter often will produce up to a 25% improvement in gas mileage.
A less toxic anti-freeze is now available that is 65% less toxic. New life-time wiper blades are available that are not made from petroleum based rubber. They are 100% recyclable. There are many non-toxic cleaning products for both the outside and interior of the car.
As we mark the 100-year anniversary of the unsinkable Titanic sinking, we should recall both the good and bad of that long-forgotten world of 1912. Were an unbelievably expensive means of luxury travel between the United States and Europe invented today, there would be no reason to expect peace activists to be found among the passengers. But it is not at all surprising that among the first-class passengers on the world's largest ship in 1912 was a well-known advocate of peace. This is what Wikipedia has to say about him:
"William Thomas Stead (5 July 1849 – 15 April 1912) was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. . . .
"William Thomas Stead (5 July 1849 – 15 April 1912) was an English journalist and editor who, as one of the early pioneers of investigative journalism, became one of the most controversial figures of the Victorian era. . . .