Global
“Just because we can’t sell shares in nature doesn’t mean it has no value.” Thomas Friedman
“Big Oil and King Coal may have armies of lobbyists, lawyers, foreign diplomats and even military advisors, but Americans know that we can do better for ourselves, our country, and our fellow humans. As the writer Arundhati Roy says, ‘Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.’” Michael Brune
“Reversing global warming will require a World War II level of mobilization. It is the work of tens of millions, not hundreds of thousands. Such a shift will require massive support at the social, cultural, and political levels. And in an increasingly nonwhite nation, that means enlisting the passionate involvement of millions of so-called minorities—as consumers, inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, buzz marketers, voters, and workers.” Van Jones
“Big Oil and King Coal may have armies of lobbyists, lawyers, foreign diplomats and even military advisors, but Americans know that we can do better for ourselves, our country, and our fellow humans. As the writer Arundhati Roy says, ‘Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.’” Michael Brune
“Reversing global warming will require a World War II level of mobilization. It is the work of tens of millions, not hundreds of thousands. Such a shift will require massive support at the social, cultural, and political levels. And in an increasingly nonwhite nation, that means enlisting the passionate involvement of millions of so-called minorities—as consumers, inventors, entrepreneurs, investors, buzz marketers, voters, and workers.” Van Jones
Hope Destroyed, Justice Denied: the Rape of Palestine
by William A. Cook
EXPATHOS, Groningen, Netherlands, 2008
The cover of Hope Destroyed, Justice Denied: the Rape of Palestine tells a significant story on its own: from a Palestine of green dotted with a few Jewish settlements, mainly in the north, transiting through the UN partition plan designation and the 1967 war to what is now the reverse - a small strip of green on the coast at Gaza, and a small sprinkling of isolated green bantustan communities huddled in the middle of Israel. The Jewish community in Israel has been very successful in their ongoing purpose to achieve dominion over all the lands of Palestine. They have achieved this by abrogating and denying almost every international law that has been established to govern how one group of people should interact with another in times of peace and war, but mostly war.
by William A. Cook
EXPATHOS, Groningen, Netherlands, 2008
The cover of Hope Destroyed, Justice Denied: the Rape of Palestine tells a significant story on its own: from a Palestine of green dotted with a few Jewish settlements, mainly in the north, transiting through the UN partition plan designation and the 1967 war to what is now the reverse - a small strip of green on the coast at Gaza, and a small sprinkling of isolated green bantustan communities huddled in the middle of Israel. The Jewish community in Israel has been very successful in their ongoing purpose to achieve dominion over all the lands of Palestine. They have achieved this by abrogating and denying almost every international law that has been established to govern how one group of people should interact with another in times of peace and war, but mostly war.
Two seconds of radio news was enough — suddenly the 2008 presidential campaign collapsed around me in an unrecognizable heap of consumer politics as I ate breakfast.
“Redistribution of the wealth,” John the Candidate was saying. “That’s one of the tenets of . . . socialism.”
This was maybe the ten thousandth time I’d been whacked with that and similar Cold War-era words in the last couple weeks, and the surrealism buildup — the sheer weight of all this empty rhetoric and mock horror, the waste of money and air time and newsprint, the overwork of my own revulsion mechanism, but most of all my exhausted sense of urgency that the nation has serious troubles that need immediate attention — came out in a groan of paralyzing despair.
Enough, enough, enough, enough, enough. Electoral politics at the presidential level — excuse me, this is the most important reassessment of national and global direction taking place on the planet right now — has deteriorated, or at least half-deteriorated (the Karl Rove half), to the level of impulse snack sales at the supermarket checkout aisle.
“Redistribution of the wealth,” John the Candidate was saying. “That’s one of the tenets of . . . socialism.”
This was maybe the ten thousandth time I’d been whacked with that and similar Cold War-era words in the last couple weeks, and the surrealism buildup — the sheer weight of all this empty rhetoric and mock horror, the waste of money and air time and newsprint, the overwork of my own revulsion mechanism, but most of all my exhausted sense of urgency that the nation has serious troubles that need immediate attention — came out in a groan of paralyzing despair.
Enough, enough, enough, enough, enough. Electoral politics at the presidential level — excuse me, this is the most important reassessment of national and global direction taking place on the planet right now — has deteriorated, or at least half-deteriorated (the Karl Rove half), to the level of impulse snack sales at the supermarket checkout aisle.
If your television declares John McCain the president elect on the evening of November 4th, your television will be lying. You should immediately pick up your pre-packed bags and head straight to the White House in Washington, D.C., which we will surround and shut down until this attempt at a third illegitimate presidency is reversed.
A critical US Supreme Court decision against GOP voter meddling in Ohio may prove temporary.
In its on-going campaign to inject chaos and confusion into the voting process, the GOP has sued Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, demanding that she release to county boards of elections lists of registered voters whose information does not precisely match government data bases. The right to vote of such registrants---by most estimates as many as 200,000 in Ohio alone---could then be challenged on a case-by-case basis. George W. Bush was awarded Ohio's 20 electoral votes in 2004 with an official margin of less than 119,000 votes, though more than 100,000 votes cast in that election remain uncounted.
The 200,000 voters targeted by the Republican Party were all registered since January 1, 2008. News source estimates suggest 75-80% of these newly-registered voters are Obama supporters.
In its on-going campaign to inject chaos and confusion into the voting process, the GOP has sued Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, demanding that she release to county boards of elections lists of registered voters whose information does not precisely match government data bases. The right to vote of such registrants---by most estimates as many as 200,000 in Ohio alone---could then be challenged on a case-by-case basis. George W. Bush was awarded Ohio's 20 electoral votes in 2004 with an official margin of less than 119,000 votes, though more than 100,000 votes cast in that election remain uncounted.
The 200,000 voters targeted by the Republican Party were all registered since January 1, 2008. News source estimates suggest 75-80% of these newly-registered voters are Obama supporters.
I spent the past couple of days hanging out with Vincent Bugliosi who
wants Bush killed for his crimes, following a fair trial of course, and
who openly pushes the supposed need for retribution while disclaiming
much interest in deterrence or restoration. Then I watched Oliver
Stone's new movie, "W," which depicts Bush as a poor, sad fool who's
just been trying his hardest to please his daddy all these years. If I
have to choose, I'm on Stone's side.
Soon we will have a new president. It is imperative that we, the members of the peace, anti-war and anti-imperialist movements, scrutinize his actions, starting with his acceptance speech, to determine whether he is taking actions that we believe will lead to real peace and justice in the world.
Although we may not agree on some of the specifics, I have made a list of possible points below that can used as a starting point to monitor how well he is doing over the course of his term in office. Even if he initially takes some actions that we agree with we should not let ourselves be misled into thinking that positive changes will continue to occur without continuous pressure from us. Your thoughts are welcomed. For one thing I may have missed important points.
Has the new President:
Although we may not agree on some of the specifics, I have made a list of possible points below that can used as a starting point to monitor how well he is doing over the course of his term in office. Even if he initially takes some actions that we agree with we should not let ourselves be misled into thinking that positive changes will continue to occur without continuous pressure from us. Your thoughts are welcomed. For one thing I may have missed important points.
Has the new President:
-
1. Withdrawn U.S. troops from Iraq?
2. Ordered that the U.S. pay restitution to Iraq?
3. Withdrawn U.S. troops from Afghanistan?
4. Pledged to refrain from carrying out illegal cross border attacks into Pakistan?
To the Editor:
As voters in this Great State of Ohio, we demand the following of each and every newspaper in this state:
1. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of allegations of voter fraud.
2. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of lawsuits filed by each political party, the reason for those suits, and the outcome of those suits.
3. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of the reported number of questionable registrants.
4. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of how the Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner is intending to resolve those issues of voter fraud and questionable registrants before the election.
5. In light of the recent Supreme Court decision defending Secretary of State Jennifer Bunner’s decision NOT to turn over state databases to county election boards in order to validate registrants, we demand in a non-partisan nature that you report HOW these 88 counties intend to properly determine the validity of each registrant.
6. Inform the readers in a bi-partisan nature the number of voters registered by ACORN, and the manner in which ACORN is acquiring those registrants.
As voters in this Great State of Ohio, we demand the following of each and every newspaper in this state:
1. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of allegations of voter fraud.
2. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of lawsuits filed by each political party, the reason for those suits, and the outcome of those suits.
3. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of the reported number of questionable registrants.
4. Inform the readers in a non-partisan nature of how the Secretary of State, Jennifer Brunner is intending to resolve those issues of voter fraud and questionable registrants before the election.
5. In light of the recent Supreme Court decision defending Secretary of State Jennifer Bunner’s decision NOT to turn over state databases to county election boards in order to validate registrants, we demand in a non-partisan nature that you report HOW these 88 counties intend to properly determine the validity of each registrant.
6. Inform the readers in a bi-partisan nature the number of voters registered by ACORN, and the manner in which ACORN is acquiring those registrants.
The three participants in the third U.S. presidential debate last week
pretended Iraq didn't exist, but if you go to a rally of supporters for
either candidate it's the top issue talked about. Baghdad, a city in
ruins, divided into ethnically cleansed fiefdoms of rubble, rats, and
open sewage, a place where one risks death by walking outside, is
managing major rallies of tens of thousands of people in opposition to
the treaty to extend the occupation for three more years (and beyond)
that is being negotiated by Bush and Maliki. And yet, the U.S. peace
movement is largely hibernating until the November 4th U.S. elections,
and the U.S. Congress remains almost entirely comatose.
To a consumer of U.S. corporate media this makes some sense. The occupation is for the benefit of the people of Iraq and, with the help of "the surge", it is "succeeding." President Bush is actually working on an "agreement" to "end" the "war." Peace activists should be celebrating, right?
To a consumer of U.S. corporate media this makes some sense. The occupation is for the benefit of the people of Iraq and, with the help of "the surge", it is "succeeding." President Bush is actually working on an "agreement" to "end" the "war." Peace activists should be celebrating, right?