Organizing Notes

A BLAST FROM THE PAST

2012-01-28T06:49:00.002-05:00

A talk I did in 2006, just converted to YouTube by supporter Brendan O'Connor, where I speak about the necessity to convert the military industrial complex.

This will have to due for today's post as I am up early and on the way to the University of Maine-Augusta for a statewide Occupy conference.

IS IT POPULAR?

2012-01-27T17:35:00.000-05:00

OCCUPY OPENED THE DOOR

2012-01-27T15:42:00.004-05:00

A friend and I went to Bowdoin College today at noon to hear author/activist Barbara Ehrenreich speak. Bowdoin College and the town of Brunswick are doing a "community read" of her book Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.

We got there early so we could hand out the above flyer as folks arrived. Another one of our local Occupy Brunswick activists helped us so we had three of us passing out the 250 copies I brought. It wasn't enough though as a huge crowd packed the hall.

Ehrenreich is an engaging storyteller with a good sense of humor. She went undercover to write Nickel and Dimed and worked as a house cleaner in Portland, Maine and at a WalMart in Minnesota among many other working class jobs across the country. Her descriptions of trying to live on $7.00 an hour touched many hearts in the audience - I imagined that many Bowdoin students (who predominately come from wealthy families) had never heard such stories before.

Ehrenreich didn't have much earth shaking advice about what could be done other than suggesting people vote for Obama. She began the talk by scolding Obama for never using the word "poverty" in his recent State of the Union address. Then she went on to trash Bill Clinton for his administration's "welfare reform" that furthered Ronald Reagan's assault on social progress.

But Ehrenreich left a hungry audience hanging as she never once addressed the structural reality of the "corporate domination" of our economy and political system. Her liberal reforms calling for more public housing, education funding, and the like fell far short of possible solutions to the problem of corporate dismantling of the social fabric.

During the 10-minute question period Ehrenreich did regain some stature in my eyes as she, on her own, mentioned the need for people to get engaged in the Occupy movement. One disheartened woman asked a question about what could be done and Ehrenreich strongly reminded her that the Occupy movement had changed the national discussion - had brought the issue of class back into the public square.

I looked around the audience after Ehrenreich's third reference to the Occupy movement and felt good that we had handed out those 250 flyers. I guess we should now plan to have a big crowd turn out for our February 12 Occupy Brunswick Public Meeting. After all, Barbara Ehrenreich told everyone they should go join Occupy.

ITCHING FOR WAR WITH IRAN?

2012-01-27T10:47:00.007-05:00

RT reports: With harsh US rhetoric and tensions around Iran's nuclear program snowballing by the hour, American polls nonetheless show that most Americans think a war with Tehran would be a grave mistake. But do the leaders care?

Despite Iran's recent consent to return to negotiations over its atomic work, the Obama administration says war with Tehran is still on the table. Even harsher statements come from some of Washington's hawks like Newt Gingrich, who spoke of breaking the Iranian regime within a year.

I once read that Iran is eager to develop nuclear power because it presently relies so much on oil and natural gas exports to fuel its economy. Once it develops nuclear energy (which I oppose because of obvious safety and environmental reasons) Iran would be able to sell even more fossil fuels since it would not need to use them for its internal energy production needs.

All this U.S. and Israeli hysteria about Iranian nuclear weapons is a smokescreen to create the justification to topple that regime so the oil majors can get their hands on the huge stocks of oil and natural gas now controlled by people who resist playing ball with corporate globalization.

February 4th has been called as a Day of Mass Action to Stop a U.S. War on Iran. Local events will be held around the world.

NEWT WANTS "AMERICAN MOON BASE"

2012-01-26T16:31:00.003-05:00

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is campaigning in Florida and made a trip to the space coast where he promised a permanent base on the moon.

Such massive spending could only come from the complete defunding of social progress in our nation.

The idea that "America" should control the moon would violate the United Nations 1979 Moon Treaty that says no country, no corporation, nor any individual can claim ownership of the moon.

The U.S. has never signed the Moon Treaty.

See more on the ideas for moon mining and military outpost here

PROTEST IN THE SEA

2012-01-26T10:33:00.002-05:00

Today, in the Gangjeong sea protest, 5 people including Catholic brother Park Do-hyon, Ms. Oh Doo-hee, Abigail Yu, Lee Jong-hwa and Kim Dong-won, were arrested by Jeju maritime police agency. The purpose of barge ship was to move the tetra pods near the Gangjeong port so the Navy (and lead contractor Samsung) can prepare the site for blasting the rocky coastline which the villagers fondly call Gureombee.

MORE ON SMART METERS

2012-01-26T08:14:00.001-05:00

PIVOT TOWARD ASIA-PACIFIC

2012-01-26T07:20:00.003-05:00

Youngsil Kang from Gangjeong village on Jeju Island joined me at Bath Iron Works yesterday as workers streamed out of the shipyard at 3:30 pm. Youngsil is traveling around the U.S. for two months and did a talk in New York City last week. We were lucky to have her visit Bath yesterday. Two local newspapers covered her visit - one of the stories will appear in the paper today and the other next Thursday.

It was a surprise for the workers to see the Korean banner Youngsil held (No Navy Base) but of course they did not know what it said. I called out to them as they passed by telling them she was from South Korea and that she came from a place where the Aegis destroyers they build will be ported.

Usually on such a day I've had at least a dozen workers take my flyers but yesterday, with three cameramen snapping photos, only two took Youngsil's letter. (One of those taking photos was BIW worker Peter Woodruff who shares a weekly radio show with me on WBOR at Bowdoin College. Youngsil was impressed that Peter had the courage to come out when so many workers at the shipyard scurried away from us.) We submitted her letter to the local newspaper as a Letter to the Editor so hopefully the content will still be available to the public.

"U.S. Navy shipbuilding programs will not be slashed to meet an expected Pentagon-wide reduction in spending. We've placed a priority on shipbuilding," Sean Stackley, the Navy's top acquisition official, told reporters on January 12. "You can see a lot of alignment between the [new Obama] defense strategy and what the Navy does."

With the new Naval fleet, "We span the globe.....We have enormous payload capacity in our big boys," bragged Navy Undersecretary Bob Work at the Surface Navy Association symposium in Washington DC.

In a related story the Washington Post reported yesterday that "Two decades after evicting U.S. forces from their biggest base in the Pacific, the Philippines is in talks with the Obama administration about expanding the American military presence in the island nation, the latest in a series of strategic moves aimed at China. If an arrangement is reached, it would follow other recent agreements to base thousands of U.S. Marines in northern Australia and to station Navy warships in Singapore."

Obama is moving quickly to implement his "pivot toward the Asia-Pacific" as outlined in the Pentagon's recent Defense Guidance. This coming massive U.S. military buildup bodes ill for the likes of Jeju Island, Guam, Okinawa, the Philippines, Hawaii and more.

These military moves on the grand chess board make the coming Global Network meetings in Hawaii (Feb 18-21) and on Jeju Island (Feb 24-26) all the more important for our work. It is through these meetings that we will learn much more about the real impacts this "pivot" will cause to the people across the Asia-Pacific. From these meetings we will also be able to develop organizing strategies to increase our ability to support the beleaguered people who are always the ones to suffer from U.S. imperial designs.

As Obama and the Pentagon make their "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific it is incumbent on the peace movement to also make an intellectual and organizing pivot toward that region as well.

NADER ON OBAMA'S STATE OF UNION SPEECH

2012-01-25T12:50:00.001-05:00

Responding to President Obama's State of the Union address, longtime consumer advocate and former Presidential candidate Ralph Nader says Obama's criticism of income inequality and Wall Street excess fail to live up to his record in office. "[Obama] says one thing and does another," Nader says. "Where has he been for over three years? There are existing laws that can prosecute and convict Wall Street crooks. He hasn't sent more than one or two to jail."

On foreign policy, Nader says: "I think his lawless militarism that started the speech and ended the speech was truly astonishing. [Obama] was very committed to projecting the American empire, in Obama terms."

VILLAGE OF WATER

2012-01-25T09:42:00.000-05:00

NO JOBS

2012-01-24T21:26:00.004-05:00

You'd think that Obama - who got elected president on the backs of black people across the country - would be doing something to change the staggering unemployment and poverty situation in the urban centers.

But truth is that he is doing nothing for the poor (no matter their color). He talks alot about the middle class and virtually never mentions poor people.

This video gives you a glimpse of what it looks like in Chicago these days as poor people lined up to get a job application to work in a Ford automobile factory. But they had so many people show up they closed the doors and sent them all home. (Who said poor people don't want to work?)

What is astounding is just how patient these folks are - or are they just resigned to a life of misery? It's a very sad story.

The rich have abandoned the rest of us. This is a return to feudalism. Why in hell are the rich paying so little in taxes? Why do corporations get welfare from the government? Why are we wasting so much money on the Pentagon and endless war? Why aren't we building rail systems and a solar society? Why aren't we making real demands on the oligarchy?

Why aren't we all out in the streets marching?

DRONES AT HOME

2012-01-24T09:24:00.002-05:00

America's controversial use of its drones in Asia may have caused overwhelming anger, but now it's threatening to do the same at home. Washington's key spying weapon in overseas operations is becoming a common tool for U.S. police, stirring up privacy concerns among more and more Americans.

NEW FILM ON JEJU FIGHT

2012-01-23T21:59:00.002-05:00

The South Korean Government [under pressure from the U.S.] is constructing a naval base on Jeju Island.

The Base is the inspiring tale of a humble fishing and farming community. Men, women and children determined to fight military and corporate giants with their bare hands, in pursuit of a vision of Peace shared for generations.

Not sure when this will be available to the public. But I'm sure it will be a very interesting story that you will want to see and share with many others.

VANDENBERG AFB PROTEST PLANNED

2012-01-23T20:57:00.001-05:00

ASSORTED PIECES OF THINGS

2012-01-23T09:33:00.006-05:00

I went to an interesting lecture last night at Bowdoin College in Brunswick. David Zirin, the sports writer for The Nation, spoke about "Not Just a Game: Power, Politics and American Sports”. He's a very entertaining and interesting speaker. He just wrote a book with 1968 Olympian John Carlos (remember the people power salute?) and they've been touring the country together, often stopping to meet and speak with Occupy movements. Even Mary Beth, who expected to be bored and sleeping by the end of his talk, loved Zirin and found him interesting as he integrated corporate sports issues with politics in general. You should check out his blog here
The Artists and Poets Walk through South Korea arrived in Gangjeong village over the weekend, just in time for the Chinese New Year. What a feat it was, especially through the cold and snow of a Korean winter. That is just the kind of national outreach that is needed to bring more awareness to the Korean people about the Navy base fight on Jeju Island.
Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, will speak on Friday at Bowdoin College. I will go to hand out leaflets to the hundreds who will likely attend. We are organizing an Occupy Brunswick public meeting on February 12 so it will be a great opportunity to spread the word. Bowdoin is having a full week of speakers - the student who opened the Zirin event last night made some veiled reference to trouble on the campus last year as the reason for this week of speakers. It was not clear what she was referring to but she kept talking about the "chance to open your mind" - so I think it must have something to do with the fact that most students at Bowdoin are rich white kids who tend to be arrogant and conservative. (I heard that some Bowdoin students recently were chanting on the campus "We are the 1%"). There must have been some food fight last year with the small group of progressive (and people of color) students on campus which made this week a "healing" time. But I am only speculating - I'm curious now and must find out the whole story.
This coming Saturday a statewide "Visions and Strategies for the Occupy Movement in Maine" conference will be held at the University of Maine-Augusta. There is alot of buzz about this meeting and I think there will be a big crowd attending. It speaks to the fact that despite most Occupy camps having been forcibly shut down by the gendarmes, the movement lives and breathes. Should be a fun day.
The Newt Gingrich victory in South Carolina has thrown the Republican nomination process into further turmoil. One Gingrich adviser said people want "a tough guy". I'd call him a bully, a racist, a corrupt hack, a thug. The oligarchy likes the idea of turning the electoral process into a boxing match - making it very ugly and dirty. The more voters that get turned off and don't show up at the polls the better they seem to figure. It's all ultimately a distraction from the fact that the 1% is ripping the 99% off big time. The current political slug fest helps mask that reality.

NEW KIND OF WARS

2012-01-22T22:27:00.000-05:00

SUNDAY SONG

2012-01-22T10:05:00.001-05:00

The Colbert Report
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OCCUPY BERLIN

2012-01-21T09:54:00.000-05:00

TEARING THINGS UP

2012-01-20T11:46:00.009-05:00

The environmental community is claiming a great victory following Obama's decision to deny the Keystone XL TarSands permit because the current pipeline route would pass through Nebraska and significantly impact the Ogallala Aquifer. It is a vast yet shallow underground water table located beneath the Great Plains. One of the world's largest aquifers it reaches portions of South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas.

Protest leader Bill McKibben said, “Assuming that what we’re hearing is true, this isn’t just the right call, it’s the brave call. The knock on Barack Obama from many quarters has been that he’s too conciliatory. But here, in the face of a naked political threat from Big Oil to exact ‘huge political consequences,’ he’s stood up strong. This is a victory for Americans who testified in record numbers, and who demanded that science get the hearing usually reserved for big money."

Obama's press secretary told the media that the president suggests Keystone XL reapply for the pipeline permit but route it around Nebraska which is the state with the largest part of the aquifer beneath it. It would take some time of course to redesign the route - probably would not be done until after the November presidential election.

My guess is that the magician in the White House would then approve the pipeline and the big machine in the photo above, that is used to rip up the Tar Sands in Canada, could then get back to work. I know the environmental groups are trying to put a positive spin on their successful effort to slow down this pipeline but I think I'd be a bit careful about suggesting that Obama had just shown an unusual display of courage. I think it was a classic case of Obama's shifty hands.

The South Carolina Republican primary vote will be tomorrow and the "clown show," as one conservative pundit called it, is beginning to send huge waves of fear through elements of the Republican party. There is talk that the evangelical wing of the party is trying to create an "anybody but Romney" movement in hopes they can slow down what had seemed to be an inevitable anointment of the former Massachusetts Governor as the party's presidential candidate. The Obama-ish Romney, moderate and swinging in the wind like a weather vane, is not the top choice of the more conservative Republican rank-and-file. He was the candidate of the oligarchy. But his campaign is proving to be inept and his failure to connect with people in a human way has become legendary. The talk is now that there could be a brokered Republican convention this summer and that someone from the outside will emerge to save the day. I still maintain that the puppeteers are happy to watch the clown show proceed as they intend to have Obama reelected and the dysfunctional Republican primary process just helps to make that end come true. It's all theatre - interesting for sure - but still theatre and destructive. The Republicans are warming up to their role to divide the American people against each other - working class whites against people of color, anti-union, anti-female, anti-science, anti-democracy, pro-corporate - it's a return of the 1850's Know Nothing Party.

TAKING IT TO A NEW LEVEL IN EGYPT

2012-01-19T20:25:00.000-05:00

Egyptian activists say they are fighting an information war with the country's military rulers.

They say state media has not been reporting truthfully about what they call the army's brutal handling of protests.

To counter the official narrative, a grassroots campaign called Kazeboon, or Liars, has now been launched.

By setting up screenings in streets and squares across Egypt, activists say they want their message to be heard in every home.

ANOTHER VIEW ON THE CLAMP DOWN

2012-01-19T20:16:00.001-05:00

OBAMA'S MAN IN CHICAGO ERECTING OBSTACLES TO NATO SUMMIT PROTESTS

2012-01-19T12:08:00.009-05:00

I hope to go to Chicago in May for the anti-NATO protests and alternative conference that are now being planned.

NATO will hold a summit meeting in Chicago on May 20-21. The Network for a NATO-Free World: Global Peace & Justice will organize a counter-summit conference and protest on May 18-19.

The Chicago summit will make clear that NATO “will not leave Afghanistan behind: we'll stay committed, with a focus on continuing to train and educate Afghan security forces, to continue to improve their capacity,” NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen declares on the NATO website. NATO also plans to discuss continued funding and deployments of a controversial U.S. controlled "missile defense" system that is being used to surround Russia.

Despite its claims, NATO was never a defensive alliance, and since the end of the Cold War has been transformed into a global alliance structure to wage “out of area” wars in Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, as well as to “contain” Russia and China.

But there is a problem. Former Obama Chief of Staff, and now Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel is using his office to erect legal obstacles in front of the many organizations who are attempting to secure permits for marches and assemblies. Mayor Emanuel lobbied hard to land the summit in "his" city.

An impressive coalition of organizations -- unions, anti-war, human rights, churches and neighborhood groups -- held a news conference to press their demands on January 17 at Chicago's City Hall.

In this excerpt from the news conference speakers include Eric Ruder, Coalition Against NATO/G8's War & Poverty Agenda; Erek Slater, ATU 241 member speaking for ATU International Vice Presidents; Talisa Hardin, National Nurses United; Wayne Lindwal, SEIU 73 Chicago Division Director; Jesse Sharkey, Vice President, Chicago Teachers Union.

Mayor Emanuel is carrying water for Obama and NATO who don't want any alternative voices to be visible during the summit. There are such big military plans ahead for NATO and the corporate oligarchy does not want the American people, or people around the world, to be drawn into a public debate about whether we should keep wasting our $$$ on this aggressive, expansionist, militarist and undemocratic NATO war machine.

This looks like a good opportunity for the nationwide Occupy movement to link with folks who are organizing these protests. After all, NATO is the military arm of corporate globalization.

$$$ IS NOT SPEECH

2012-01-18T09:31:00.001-05:00

Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012.

Move to Amend volunteers across the U.S. will lead the charge on the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights.

See more here

EXCUSES ABOUND TO JUSTIFY CORPORATE RULE

2012-01-17T21:43:00.002-05:00

Friends Mark Roman & Lisa Savage from Maine offer a review of stuff people say in defense of the current occupant of the White House.

CLIMATE CHANGE UPDATE: IT'S GOING NUTS

2012-01-17T20:06:00.002-05:00

Extreme snow in Valdez, Alaska from anchoragedailynews on Vimeo.

The snowfall has been extreme this winter in Valdez, Alaska even for a city used to lots of snow. When the weather cleared, many were busy trying to move it from streets and roofs and reopen schools. Valdez residents discuss how they've handled the 322 inches of snow that had fallen by January 13, 2012.

The weather is out-of-whack. How can anyone deny this reality?

The Mother Earth is having convulsions.

LET'S MAKE OUR ECONOMY MORE FRIENDLY TO CORPORATE INVESTMENT - LIKE CHINA

2012-01-17T16:14:00.000-05:00

The Daily Show
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OCCUPY CONGRESS - SENATOR ARRESTED FOR SUPPORTING NDAA

2012-01-17T16:02:00.003-05:00

Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) lead the way for Obama's forces in Congress to pass the NDAA which will allow any of us to be arrested without charges, to be held indefinately, not allowed legal representation, nor allowed our day in court.

It's called corporate fascism.

OBAMA'S NEW "STRATEGIC DEFENSE GUIDANCE"

2012-01-17T13:21:00.008-05:00

On January 3 Obama signed the new Pentagon defence guidance. It's called Sustaining U.S. Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense.

Following Hillary Clinton's recent statement that U.S. policy would now "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific, this document solidifies that turn and backs the statement with the full force of the military machine.

I want to share a few bits from the document since it's unlikely that many of you will have time (or interest) in reading the whole thing.

Working with like-minded nations, the U.S. has created a safer, more stable, and more prosperous world for the American people [read the 1%], our allies, and our partners around the globe than existed prior to WW II. Over the last decade, we have undertaken extended operations in Iraq and Afghanistan to bring stability to those countries and secure our interests.
Al-Qaida and its affiliates remain active in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, and elsewhere....The primary loci of these threats are South Asia and the Middle East....For the foreseeable future, the U.S. will continue to take an active approach to countering these threats by monitoring the activities of non-state threats worldwide, working with allies and partners to establish control over ungoverned territories, and directly striking the most dangerous groups and individuals when necessary.
U.S. economic and security interests are inextricably linked to developments in the arc extending from the Western Pacific and East Asia into the Indian Ocean region and South Asia, creating a mix of evolving challenges and opportunities....while the U.S. military will continue to contribute to security globally, we will of necessity rebalance toward the Asia-Pacific region.
The U.S. is also investing in a long-term strategic partnership with India to support its ability to serve as a regional economic anchor and provider of security in the broader Indian Ocean region.
China's emergence as a regional power will have the potential to affect the U.S. economy and our security in a variety of ways.
U.S. policy will emphasize Gulf security, in collaboration with Gulf Cooperation Council countries when appropriate, to prevent Iran's development of a nuclear weapon capability and counter its destabilizing policies.
The U.S. has enduring interests in supporting peace and prosperity in Europe as well as bolstering the strength and vitality of NATO, which is critical to the security of Europe and beyond.
In this resource-constrained era, we will also work with NATO allies to develop a "Smart Defense" approach to pool, share, and specialize capabilities as needed to meet 21st century challenges.
Across the globe we will seek to be the security partner of choice, pursuing new partnerships with a growing number of nations - including those in Africa and Latin America - whose interests and viewpoints are merging into a common vision of freedom, stability, and prosperity [ for corporation control].
Growth in the number of space-faring nations is also leading to an increasingly congested and contested space environment, threatening safety and security.
Our planning envisages forces that are able to fully deny a capable state's aggressive objectives in one region by conducting a combined arms campaign across all domains - land, air, maritime, space, and cyberspace.
Even when U.S. forces are committed to a large-scale operation in one region, they will be capable of denying the objectives of - or imposing unacceptable costs on - an opportunistic aggressor in a second region.
States such as China and Iran will continue to pursue asymmetric means to counter our power projection capabilities.
Sustaining our undersea capabilities, developing a new stealth bomber, improving missile defenses, and continuing efforts to enhance the resiliency and effectiveness of critical space-based capabilities.
Modern armed forces cannot conduct high-tempo, effective operations without reliable information and communication networks and assured access to cyberspace and space.
Department of Defense (DoD) will continue to work with domestic and international allies and partners and invest in advanced capabilities to defend its networks, operational capability, and resiliency in cyberspace and space.
As long as nuclear weapons remain in existence, the U.S. will maintain a safe, secure, and effective arsenal.
Homeland defense and support to civil authorities require strong, steady-state readiness, to include a robust missile defense capability.
Finally, in adjusting our strategy and attendant force size, the DoD will make every effort to maintain an adequate industrial base and our investment in science and technology.

See Joseph Gerson's (Disarmament Coordinator of the American Friends Service Committee and Director of the AFSC’s Peace and Economic Security Program in New England) critique of the new guidance plan here.

HEDGES SUES OBAMA

2012-01-17T13:16:00.001-05:00

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges has filed suit against President Obama and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta to challenge the legality of the National Defense Authorization Act, which includes controversial provisions authorizing the military to jail anyone it considers a terrorism suspect anywhere in the world, without charge or trial. Sections of the bill are written so broadly that critics say they could encompass journalists who report on terror-related issues, such as Hedges, for supporting enemy forces. "It is clearly unconstitutional," Hedges says of the bill. "It is a huge and egregious assault against our democracy. It overturns over 200 years of law, which has kept the military out of domestic policing."

Democracy Now speaks with Hedges, now a senior fellow at the Nation Institute and former New York Times foreign correspondent who was part of a team of reporters that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2002 for the paper’s coverage of global terrorism.

He is joined by Hedges’ attorney Carl Mayer, who filed the litigation on his behalf in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.

LATEST FROM JEJU ISLAND

2012-01-16T22:27:00.006-05:00

A Catholic priest was arrested today while attempting to prevent cement mixer trucks from entering the Gangjeong village.

108 Catholic sisters held a press conference where they demanded an apology from the national police chief for the arrest of 29 people on January 10, including 18 nuns, and the halt to Navy base construction.

Writers and artists peace relay walk arrived in Mokpo, southern port of Korean peninsula today. They are arriving at Jeju port on 17th by ferry and be at the Gangjeong village on 20th.

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is disturbed by the arrest of 29 people including those from a religious group for praying in front of the construction site of the naval base in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island on January 10. In a report AHRC says, "Having monitored the situation of Gangjeong village and the arrest or persecution through legal means against the villagers and activists, the Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of South Korea to stop the arbitrary use of force by the police and military in Gangjeong village in Jeju Island, guarantee the right to peaceful assembly and demonstration and respond to the demand of villagers who are affected by the construction."

WHITEWASHING KING

2012-01-16T15:56:00.003-05:00

BOYCOTT SAMSUNG

2012-01-16T12:31:00.003-05:00

High-tech gadgets built on the backs of workers: South Korea’s richest conglomerate uses banned and highly-toxic substances in its factories, without informing and/or protecting its workers. As a result at least 140 workers were diagnosed with cancer, of which at least 50 young workers have died. Despite clear evidence, Samsung denies its responsibility and publicly discredits the sick and deceased, as well as their relatives. Samsung has a history of over 50 years of environmental pollution, trade union repression, corruption and tax flight. Samsung’s power in South Korea is so great that many citizens speak of the “Samsung Republic.”

Samsung is also the lead contractor on the Navy base construction project on Jeju Island in South Korea. Their workers have been harshly cruel to the people of Gangjeong village, a 400-year old fishing and farming community who are non-violently fighting to save their way of life.

Boycott all Samsung products. Tell others to boycott Samsung as well.

You can vote Samsung as the worst corporation in 2012 here

IN MEMORY OF....

2012-01-16T11:19:00.000-05:00

BEYOND CAPITALISM IS OUR ONLY HOPE

2012-01-15T20:59:00.004-05:00

Capitalism Is The Crisis: Radical Politics in the Age of Austerity examines the ideological roots of the "austerity" agenda and proposes revolutionary paths out of the current crisis. The film features original interviews with Chris Hedges, Derrick Jensen, Michael Hardt, Peter Gelderloos, Leo Panitch, David McNally, Richard J.F. Day, Imre Szeman, Wayne Price, and many more!

This Canadian documentary explains the nature of capitalist crisis, visits the protests against austerity measures, and suggests organizing paths for the future.

GUEST WRITER: EDUCATION DECLINE INTENTIONAL

2012-01-15T19:34:00.002-05:00

Why the United States Is Destroying Its Education System

by Chris Hedges

A nation that destroys its systems of education, degrades its public information, guts its public libraries and turns its airwaves into vehicles for cheap, mindless amusement becomes deaf, dumb and blind. It prizes test scores above critical thinking and literacy. It celebrates rote vocational training and the singular, amoral skill of making money. It churns out stunted human products, lacking the capacity and vocabulary to challenge the assumptions and structures of the corporate state. It funnels them into a caste system of drones and systems managers. It transforms a democratic state into a feudal system of corporate masters and serfs.

Teachers, their unions under attack, are becoming as replaceable as minimum-wage employees at Burger King. We spurn real teachers—those with the capacity to inspire children to think, those who help the young discover their gifts and potential—and replace them with instructors who teach to narrow, standardized tests. These instructors obey. They teach children to obey. And that is the point. The No Child Left Behind program, modeled on the “Texas Miracle,” is a fraud. It worked no better than our deregulated financial system. But when you shut out debate these dead ideas are self-perpetuating.

Passing bubble tests celebrates and rewards a peculiar form of analytical intelligence. This kind of intelligence is prized by money managers and corporations. They don’t want employees to ask uncomfortable questions or examine existing structures and assumptions. They want them to serve the system. These tests produce men and women who are just literate and numerate enough to perform basic functions and service jobs. The tests elevate those with the financial means to prepare for them. They reward those who obey the rules, memorize the formulas and pay deference to authority. Rebels, artists, independent thinkers, eccentrics and iconoclasts—those who march to the beat of their own drum—are weeded out.

“Imagine,” said a public school teacher in New York City, who asked that I not use his name, “going to work each day knowing a great deal of what you are doing is fraudulent, knowing in no way are you preparing your students for life in an ever more brutal world, knowing that if you don’t continue along your scripted test prep course and indeed get better at it you will be out of a job. Up until very recently, the principal of a school was something like the conductor of an orchestra: a person who had deep experience and knowledge of the part and place of every member and every instrument. In the past 10 years we’ve had the emergence of both [Mayor] Mike Bloomberg’s Leadership Academy and Eli Broad’s Superintendents Academy, both created exclusively to produce instant principals and superintendents who model themselves after CEOs. How is this kind of thing even legal? How are such ‘academies’ accredited? What quality of leader needs a ‘leadership academy’? What kind of society would allow such people to run their children’s schools? The high-stakes tests may be worthless as pedagogy but they are a brilliant mechanism for undermining the school systems, instilling fear and creating a rationale for corporate takeover. There is something grotesque about the fact the education reform is being led not by educators but by financers and speculators and billionaires.”

Teachers, under assault from every direction, are fleeing the profession. Even before the “reform” blitzkrieg we were losing half of all teachers within five years after they started work—and these were people who spent years in school and many thousands of dollars to become teachers. How does the country expect to retain dignified, trained professionals under the hostility of current conditions? I suspect that the hedge fund managers behind our charter schools system—whose primary concern is certainly not with education—are delighted to replace real teachers with nonunionized, poorly trained instructors. To truly teach is to instill the values and knowledge which promote the common good and protect a society from the folly of historical amnesia. The utilitarian, corporate ideology embraced by the system of standardized tests and leadership academies has no time for the nuances and moral ambiguities inherent in a liberal arts education. Corporatism is about the cult of the self. It is about personal enrichment and profit as the sole aim of human existence. And those who do not conform are pushed aside.

“It is extremely dispiriting to realize that you are in effect lying to these kids by insinuating that this diet of corporate reading programs and standardized tests are preparing them for anything,” said this teacher, who feared he would suffer reprisals from school administrators if they knew he was speaking out. “It is even more dispiriting to know that your livelihood depends increasingly on maintaining this lie. You have to ask yourself why are hedge fund managers suddenly so interested in the education of the urban poor? The main purpose of the testing craze is not to grade the students but to grade the teacher.”

“I cannot say for certain—not with the certainty of a Bill Gates or a Mike Bloomberg who pontificate with utter certainty over a field in which they know absolutely nothing—but more and more I suspect that a major goal of the reform campaign is to make the work of a teacher so degrading and insulting that the dignified and the truly educated teachers will simply leave while they still retain a modicum of self-respect,” he added. “In less than a decade we been stripped of autonomy and are increasingly micromanaged. Students have been given the power to fire us by failing their tests. Teachers have been likened to pigs at a trough and blamed for the economic collapse of the United States. In New York, principals have been given every incentive, both financial and in terms of control, to replace experienced teachers with 22-year-old untenured rookies. They cost less. They know nothing. They are malleable and they are vulnerable to termination.”

The demonizing of teachers is another public relations feint, a way for corporations to deflect attention from the theft of some $17 billion in wages, savings and earnings among American workers and a landscape where one in six workers is without employment. The speculators on Wall Street looted the U.S. Treasury. They stymied any kind of regulation. They have avoided criminal charges. They are stripping basic social services. And now they are demanding to run our schools and universities.

“Not only have the reformers removed poverty as a factor, they’ve removed students’ aptitude and motivation as factors,” said this teacher, who is in a teachers union. “They seem to believe that students are something like plants where you just add water and place them in the sun of your teaching and everything blooms. This is a fantasy that insults both student and teacher. The reformers have come up with a variety of insidious schemes pushed as steps to professionalize the profession of teaching. As they are all businessmen who know nothing of the field, it goes without saying that you do not do this by giving teachers autonomy and respect. They use merit pay in which teachers whose students do well on bubble tests will receive more money and teachers whose students do not do so well on bubble tests will receive less money. Of course, the only way this could conceivably be fair is to have an identical group of students in each class—an impossibility. The real purposes of merit pay are to divide teachers against themselves as they scramble for the brighter and more motivated students and to further institutionalize the idiot notion of standardized tests. There is a certain diabolical intelligence at work in both of these.”

“If the Bloomberg administration can be said to have succeeded in anything,” he said, “they have succeeded in turning schools into stress factories where teachers are running around wondering if it’s possible to please their principals and if their school will be open a year from now, if their union will still be there to offer some kind of protection, if they will still have jobs next year. This is not how you run a school system. It’s how you destroy one. The reformers and their friends in the media have created a Manichean world of bad teachers and effective teachers. In this alternative universe there are no other factors. Or, all other factors—poverty, depraved parents, mental illness and malnutrition—are all excuses of the Bad Teacher that can be overcome by hard work and the Effective Teacher.”

The truly educated become conscious. They become self-aware. They do not lie to themselves. They do not pretend that fraud is moral or that corporate greed is good. They do not claim that the demands of the marketplace can morally justify the hunger of children or denial of medical care to the sick. They do not throw 6 million families from their homes as the cost of doing business. Thought is a dialogue with one’s inner self. Those who think ask questions, questions those in authority do not want asked. They remember who we are, where we come from and where we should go. They remain eternally skeptical and distrustful of power. And they know that this moral independence is the only protection from the radical evil that results from collective unconsciousness. The capacity to think is the only bulwark against any centralized authority that seeks to impose mindless obedience. There is a huge difference, as Socrates understood, between teaching people what to think and teaching them how to think. Those who are endowed with a moral conscience refuse to commit crimes, even those sanctioned by the corporate state, because they do not in the end want to live with criminals—themselves.

“It is better to be at odds with the whole world than, being one, to be at odds with myself,” Socrates said.

Those who can ask the right questions are armed with the capacity to make a moral choice, to defend the good in the face of outside pressure. And this is why the philosopher Immanuel Kant puts the duties we have to ourselves before the duties we have to others. The standard for Kant is not the biblical idea of self-love—love thy neighbor as thyself, do unto others as you would have them do unto you—but self-respect. What brings us meaning and worth as human beings is our ability to stand up and pit ourselves against injustice and the vast, moral indifference of the universe. Once justice perishes, as Kant knew, life loses all meaning. Those who meekly obey laws and rules imposed from the outside—including religious laws—are not moral human beings. The fulfillment of an imposed law is morally neutral. The truly educated make their own wills serve the higher call of justice, empathy and reason. Socrates made the same argument when he said it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong.

“The greatest evil perpetrated,” Hannah Arendt wrote, “is the evil committed by nobodies, that is, by human beings who refuse to be persons.”

As Arendt pointed out, we must trust only those who have this self-awareness. This self-awareness comes only through consciousness. It comes with the ability to look at a crime being committed and say “I can’t.” We must fear, Arendt warned, those whose moral system is built around the flimsy structure of blind obedience. We must fear those who cannot think. Unconscious civilizations become totalitarian wastelands.

“The greatest evildoers are those who don’t remember because they have never given thought to the matter, and, without remembrance, nothing can hold them back,” Arendt writes. “For human beings, thinking of past matters means moving in the dimension of depth, striking roots and thus stabilizing themselves, so as not to be swept away by whatever may occur—the Zeitgeist or History or simple temptation. The greatest evil is not radical, it has no roots, and because it has no roots it has no limitations, it can go to unthinkable extremes and sweep over the whole world.”

JANUARY 18 INTERNET BOYCOTT

2012-01-15T14:30:00.005-05:00

On Jan. 18th there is going to be an all-out strike on the Internet. Websites across the Internet are going dark in protest of the Internet censorship bills in Congress, SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA.

If passed, SOPA would allow the U.S. Department of Justice and copyright holders to seek court orders against foreign and even domestic websites that enable or facilitate copyright infringement. If a website is accused, it could be punished by being removed from search engine results, barred from online advertising networks, and blocked from payment processing networks. In other words, sites like Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and Reddit could be crippled for hosting or linking to user-uploaded content that potentially infringes on copyrights.

The bill would also make the unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content, such as a song or TV show, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

Once you’ve made a decision on how you feel about SOPA, there are a couple of things you can do to help prevent it from passing. Call your Congressperson and tell him or her how you feel about the legislation. You can also send a letter to your state’s Congressperson through the American Censorship Day website. The SOPA vote is scheduled for January 24, so the sooner you act, the better.

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

SUNDAY SONG

2012-01-15T10:00:00.002-05:00

KICK THE BELLY WASH ADDICTION

2012-01-14T21:21:00.003-05:00

Today at Tom Sturtevant's memorial service in Winthrop, Maine (more than 450 people showed up) three of his nieces went up to tell some stories about him.

One of them talked about how he detested a product she said he called "belly wash" - soda, or pop, some call it soft drink. But there is nothing soft about this stuff.

This very interesting video is for all of you out there who still drink belly wash - especially the diet version.

An interesting name - someone most peaceniks are very familiar with - pops up in this story. Watch and learn.

CLOSE GUANTANAMO NOW!

2012-01-14T12:07:00.000-05:00

HIS WORDS STILL RING TRUE

2012-01-14T10:29:00.002-05:00

You see alot of similarities today between the treatment of MLK and the way Cornell West is being hounded for pushing Obama. King was vilified for coming out against the Vietnam War as he made the deadly connections between endless war and cutbacks in LBJ's "war on poverty".

These days West (and Tavis Smiley) are the leading African-American voices against endless war and cutbacks in social progress.

King was killed because he was moving to unite the civil rights and the peace movements. We must not let his death be in vain. We must push ahead to create organizational linkages between the peace movement and those who work day-to-day to ameliorate the suffering of our fellow citizens.

Unless and until we build these kind of coalitions we will see no justice and no peace.

THE RIGHT TO DIE

2012-01-13T17:08:00.007-05:00

This is former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and he is a big time right-to-life (anti-abortion) activist who says all human life is sacred.

It's an example of why I never take people like him seriously. They talk out of both sides of their mouth.

He'd kill half the world's population if he had half a chance and at the same time would be on his knees praying for babies in the womb.

Go figure.

Find our more about the self-righteous Santorum here

ODDS & ENDS

2012-01-13T10:54:00.004-05:00

We got 5 inches of snow yesterday - at last. I went out several times to shovel. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a mirage. My last time was around 10pm - the night was so still, the snow covered trees swayed in the wind, the neighborhood looked like a picture postcard, I lingered outside for awhile not wanting to leave the beautiful scene. After 30 years in Florida I have to drink in these moments fully.

I am on my way out to pick up our newsletter from the printer. The local newspaper company prints it - for them quite a small run compared to what they are used to printing each day. My next step is the stuff the newsletters into envelopes to mail them to our international members. Our national mailing list will be sent out directly from the printer who also does non-profit mailings. Much easier that way - and quicker.

Tomorrow is the memorial service for Tom Sturtevant. I've heard that there will be a big crowd there, his family reserved the middle school gymnasium in Winthrop. Going to be alot of tears flowing. There will be lots of love there.

I am setting up a 30-day west coast speaking tour for myself (April 1-30) that will begin in Los Angeles and end up in the Seattle area. Already I've got invitations to stop in 17 different communities along the dusty trail. Global Network member MacGregor Eddy (WILPF) wants to give me Amtrak tickets so I can take the train the whole way. I am very excited and I'm sure it will be a great experience. Should have the schedule in order in about another week or so.

Next Thursday I will tape the next edition of my public access TV show. The topic will be "Smart Meters". Our city government here in Bath has voted for a moratorium against installment of these meters which are raising serious questions about their impact on health, safety, and privacy. Our local power company is ignoring the moratorium and pushing residents hard to agree to have them installed. We've been called three times at our house by the power company and received several mailings. Looking forward to doing the show. More people need to be aware of the issues involved. You can learn more about the meters here

THE NUMBERS DON'T LIE

2012-01-12T22:08:00.002-05:00

It is hard for many in the mainstream media to accept that Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) came in 2nd place in the New Hampshire primary. Many voters liked his anti-imperialism, anti-Wall Street, and anti-drug war positions.

The corporate media love Romney and Obama and they won't be denied - even by the voting public.

WHY DO THEY HATE US?

2012-01-12T11:45:00.002-05:00

An eye-opening video clip that made it online Wednesday may cause a scandal on par with what erupted with the Abu Ghraib photographs of 2004. Now US Marines have been caught on film - urinating on dead Taliban.

A 40-second excerpt of the clip has managed to make its web to the Web and in it viewers can watch four US Marines on patrol in Afghanistan allegedly urinating on the corpses of deceased Afghan men. It is unclear of the victims’ identities in this incident, but according to a note included with the uploaded file, the US servicemen were members of the Marine Scout Sniper Team 4 and the 3rd Battalion 2nd Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. The group was dispatched to the northern Helmand Province in Afghanistan during the summer of 2011.

This should win over some more hearts and minds....to the Taliban side. We are one sick country. End the war now!

IMPORTANT BOOK TO BE RELEASED ON MLK DAY

2012-01-12T10:28:00.003-05:00

Publishing on MLK Day 2012: The Military Industrial Complex at 50 is the most comprehensive collection available explaining what the military industrial complex (MIC) is, where it comes from, what damage it does, what further destruction it threatens, and what can be done and is being done to chart a different course.

Authors (from within and without the MIC) contributing chapters to this collection (and available for interviews) include: Ellen Brown • Paul Chappell • Helena Cobban • Ben Davis • Jeff Fogel • Bunny Greenhouse • Bruce Gagnon • Clare Hanrahan • John Heuer • Steve Horn • Robert Jensen • Karen Kwiatkowski • Judith Le Blanc • Bruce Levine • Ray McGovern • Wally Myers • Robert Naiman • Gareth Porter • Chris Rodda • Allen Ruff • Mia Austin Scoggins • Tony Russell • Lisa Savage • Mary Beth Sullivan • Coleman Smith • Dave Shreve • David Swanson • Pat Elder • Jonathan Williams • Ann Wright.

Short bios of the authors are available here

The book will be available at MIC50.org in paperback, bulk discount, audio, PDF, kindle, Epub, and iPad/iPhone.

The MIC, this book expertly argues, kills large numbers of people, endangers us, hollows out our economy, transfers our wealth to a tiny elite, devastates the natural environment, and threatens civil liberties, the rule of law, and representative government.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower found the nerve in his farewell speech in 1961 to articulate one of the most prescient, potentially valuable, and tragically as yet unheeded warnings of human history:

“In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

“We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

This collection shows that the “total influence” of the MIC has increased, the disastrous rise of misplaced power is no longer merely a potential event, our liberties and democratic processes are in a state of collapse, and that Ike himself disastrously misinformed the citizenry when he claimed that the very monster he warned of had been “compelled” by the need for “defense.”

LISTEN CLOSELY

2012-01-12T09:57:00.003-05:00

Panetta: "Are they [Iran] trying to develop a nuclear weapon, no."

This one speaks for itself. The U.S. is berating Iran, surrounding Iran, doing covert ops inside Iran, working with Israel to assassinate their scientists, and slap economic sanctions on them.

But the Secretary of War says, no, Iran is not trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Just a small detail.

These guys drip with arrogance.

READING FROM THE SCRIPT

2012-01-11T16:57:00.007-05:00

It is my opinion that the oligarchy wants Obama back for a second term and that they will carry him through to victory. Just like they did Bill Clinton. It's no wonder the Republicans have such a weak slate of candidates in the current state primaries.

The oligarchy thinks it's good to have a pro-corporate Democrat in the White House now and then. It helps keep the rabble down. They spice it up a bit by having the right-wing throw outrageous accusations at Obama by calling him a Socialist and other such nonsense. That is theatre to help perpetuate the mythology in America that we have real differences between the two corporate political parties.

In the end the power structure runs two horses in each race. Bush against Kerry was one example - they both belonged to the secret Skull & Bones Society at Yale University.

This time we'll likely get Obama and the corporate branded Mitt Romney as the top choices. But Romney as president would not be able to keep the left tamed the way Obama can - particularly the black community who is getting screwed more than anyone else these days.

But let's just think about 2016 for a moment. The oligarchy likes to plan ahead - even though they have always raged against centralized five-year plans as being communism - they are now setting future elections up.

Take this video above with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (Republican). He was rumored to be the "new darling" of the party, the great hope for 2012, but after playing coy for several months, Christie had a big news conference to announce that 2012 "was not his time". The first thought that came to my mind was, yeah, they've told you 2016 will be your shot at the gold.

So it's interesting that this video of Christie campaigning for Romney in New Hampshire is being promoted within conservative circles as an example of how Christie would be tough (and nasty) on those protester types. They are setting Christie's brand for next time around.

When the social program cuts really hit hard in the near future, and we see further attacks on the "entitlements" (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and what is left of the welfare program), the public will get even more restive. The oligarchy is grooming bully boy Christie who will have no problem banging some heads of those who get out of line.

You might wonder who the Dems are grooming for 2016? I saw a trial balloon floated the other day by Robert Reich (Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor) where he predicted that Obama would switch Hillary and Joe Biden's positions before the November election. Putting Hillary in as V-P would energize some elements of an otherwise dispirited Democratic party - the perfect TV rerun of the "Mod Squad" - one black, one white, one woman. Hillary would then be first in line for 2016.

Stay tuned.

PENTAGON CUTS ARE MINUSCULE

2012-01-11T13:57:00.001-05:00

THE MAGICIAN DOES IT AGAIN

2012-01-11T12:36:00.011-05:00

Head U.S. CEO Barack Obama has just appointed Michael Taylor senior advisor to the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration. This is the same man that was in charge of FDA policy when GMO's were allowed into the U.S. food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety. Taylor is now America's food safety czar. The magician continues his slight-of-hand tricks as we lead up to the November national elections. Obama's corporate overseers are very happy with him.

Our newsletter is at the printer and just might be ready by the end of this week. It will be put in the mail to about 3,000 people right away. I try to keep our snail mail address list trimmed down because I can't see mailing newsletters to folks who linger on the list for years without giving any indication of support. I like to carry folks for awhile on the list but want to see if they either give a donation or show some commitment to doing something locally to support our work. So it's not just money we are looking for. Over my years as an organizer I've found that most people have about a three-year period where they settle on an issue and then they grow impatient and move on - I call it the MacDonald's view of social change. They drive up and want to see your immediate success - then when it doesn't happen they move on to greener pastures. They mean well but we've all been conditioned to be transient in our political socialization. It's not that folks have to join our group - they could join others and that would be fine - but this dynamic runs through all movements. Only about 20% stay with an issue over many years but those folks are the gems. Every movement relies on those gems to keep alive. I remember Abbie Hoffman, who came to one of our weekend retreats when I was working for the Florida Coalition for Peace & Justice saying, "You've got to take good care of your spark plugs." He was right.

Civil rights activist and PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley pissed off some Democrats last summer when he accused Obama of not doing enough for poor African-Americans and launched with Princeton professor Cornel West a “poverty tour” of the U.S. to highlight economic disparity. Smiley was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the 20th annual MLK luncheon on Jan. 16 hosted by the Peoria [Illinois] Civic Center, but has been replaced by Georgetown professor Michael Eric Dyson because of his comments. “I don’t see my role as one of criticizing the president. I see my role as one of holding the president — this and every other president — accountable,” Smiley said in an interview on Fox News on Monday. “Something is wrong with this country … that so often the political right, and I am no defender of the political right … gets accused of playing the game of political correctness. What this underscores is that those on the left, the Democrats can play that game of political correctness as well.” According to Smiley, six out of 1,500 people who bought tickets for the event complained about his appearance. The fact that they prevailed, he said, is a “quintessential example of political correctness.”

Obama's team has been strong arming dissent from the left his whole time in office.....Chris Hedges is right about the bankruptcy of the liberal class. This is one more illustration of why the oligarchy loves the magician. Once again he shows how he effectively keeps so-called progressive institutions (like the 20th annual MLK luncheon in Peoria) toeing the line and taking on the task of repressing anyone like Smiley who dares to challenge the corporate policies of Obama. It's quite sad really.

GLOBAL NETWORK MEMBERSHIP FORM 2012

2012-01-11T08:33:00.007-05:00

20 Years of Organizing to Keep Space for Peace

Membership in the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space is open to all organizations and individuals.

Please add _______________________________to the Global Network membership list. (Organization/Individual Name)

Enclosed is our annual dues for 2012 in the amount of __________________ (pay what you can best afford on a sliding scale between $10 - $100).

Donations to the Global Network are tax deductible.

(One easy way to donate is using the internet. Go to our web site at www.space4peace.org and look for the orange Donate Now! button and contribute via your credit card. This is a secure process.)

Name_______________________________

Address____________________________

City________________________________

State______________ Zip____________

Country___________________________

Phone ( )____________________

E-Mail:____________________________________

Thank you for your support. (If you have already recently donated for 2012 we thank you very much.)

** See our latest newsletter, Space Alert, on-line at this link (Be patient as it takes a bit to load since it is a big file.)

Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
PO Box 652
Brunswick, ME 04011

WORKING FOR THE MAN

2012-01-10T17:34:00.001-05:00

Employees at The New York Times are upset and aren't afraid of letting their bosses know. The company has been slashing employee benefits and laying off staffers all while Janet Robinson, the company's CEO, has got millions in bonuses. Russ Baker, investigative journalist for WhoWhatWhy.com, looks at how the reporters at The New York Times are dealing with the situation.

NUNS BLOCK THE GATE

2012-01-10T13:15:00.003-05:00

Latest Report from Jeju Island

Today, 22 Catholic nuns and a priest who were praying for peace were arrested in front of gate of Jeju naval base construction site. Professor Yoon-Mo Yang (who recently was on a 70-day hunger strike), Sung-Hee Choi and five Peace School students (teenagers) were also arrested.

Sung-Hee Choi was just holding a sign alongside the nuns who were praying. The other arrested activists were dancing to music at the time. Police officially said they had arrested them as obstruction of business and illegal assembly.

Amnesty International (AI) has just sent one of their staff to Gangjeong village to investigate the human rights violations that have been occurring as a result of the massive military/police harassment and intimidation against the villagers and their many supporters. We hope that AI will decide to engage in this important effort.

IT'S AN ANTI-CORPORATE ERUPTION

2012-01-09T22:38:00.001-05:00

INTERVIEW WITH TOM STURTEVANT

2012-01-09T19:58:00.003-05:00

Here is my 2010 interview with Tom Sturtevant.

His memorial service will be held Saturday, January 14th, at the Winthrop Middle School at 2:00 pm. It is located on Rambler Road, off Rt 133 in Winthrop, Maine. (Look for a sign for Winthrop High School at the intersection of 133 and Rambler Road, then look for signs directing you to parking).

You can read Tom's obituary here

DEALING WITH THE ECONOMIC DIVIDE

2012-01-09T16:37:00.004-05:00

Time banking is increasingly popular as the economic crisis grows. Creative ways to survive will have to be developed and this is certainly one of them.

I wrote a play last week set in the context of my public access TV show called This Issue. I met with two visual artists and an actor today and we went through the play and did some brainstorming about it. Came out nice.

The play is about me interviewing two members of the "upper crust" on my TV show- getting their reactions about the growing economic divide between the rich and the rest of us. The names of the characters in the play are Constance and Herman Dollagrabber.

We are going to do it in the TV studio and then put it on the air - no editing - what you see is what we'll get. Should be fun to do and we'll see how it comes out. Not likely to get it filmed for a couple more weeks which will give us some more time to tinker with the copy and get our props lined up.

It's based on a true story where I was once in a local coffee shop and a guy in a suit came up to me and said, "How come you never interview anyone from the 'other side' on your show?" I told him that the "other side" is on mainstream media all the time but you virtually never get to see the kind of grassroots folks I interview getting their fair share of coverage in the media.

But I changed my mind and wrote this play to give the "other side" their moment in the sun....

A WORLD BEYOND WAR & HATE

2012-01-08T21:22:00.000-05:00

A GREAT MAN PASSES ON

2012-01-08T13:38:00.007-05:00

Today we sadly learned that a great man has passed on. Tom Sturtevant, a Maine Veterans for Peace stalwart, died yesterday.

When we moved to Maine in 2003 it became clear to me that Tom was one of the most dedicated and selfless people I had ever met.

Tom went with us to South Korea in 2009 for our annual Global Network conference in Seoul. Tom was stationed on a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of Korea during the war and was deeply changed by the saturation bombing of North Korea. He often recalled how virtually every standing building in the north was destroyed by U.S. warplanes. He took a Veterans for Peace flag with us on that trip and wanted it to be given to South Korea Veterans for Peace. On my next trip to Korea I was able to deliver on that request and brought back a South Korean VFP flag that we presented to Tom at one of our Maine VFP meetings.

Last Friday I got a letter from Tom with a check for $500 and a news clip from the Boston Globe in the envelope (he was always sending me articles from various papers). I called to thank him for his kind donation. He said he wanted the funds to go toward our February 24-26 Global Network meeting on Jeju Island. He said he wished he could come along but felt his age prevented him from the travel.

Over the years Tom participated in virtually every event I organized in Maine - whether for the Global Network or for our chapter of Veterans for Peace. I loved him like a father. I will miss his quiet but steady leadership so much.

Tom Sturtevant was a true man of peace.

You can see an interview I did with Tom on my public access TV show here

SUNDAY SONG

2012-01-08T10:38:00.003-05:00

WALK FOR PEACE - REUNIFICATION

2012-01-07T09:21:00.006-05:00

Writers, poets, and artists are walking from near the border of North and South Korea all the way to Jeju Island.

The walk is 527 km and began on December 26. Led by the Writers Association of Korea under the banner of "Peace Relay, Writers walking Line one national road." Line one is originally the 1068 km long national road to SinEuiju in North Korea, but now stops in Imjinkak. . . it is the symbol of division and trauma of the Korean war, and also a symbol of wishes for peace and reunification.

Once they arrive in Mokpo, final station on the southern end of the peninsula, they'll move by ferry to Jeju Island and then walk to Gangjeong village.

January 27 will be the 7th anniversary of Jeju Island having been designated as the ‘World Peace Island.’ It would be nice if Jeju Gov. Woo Keun-Min and South Korea's right-wing President Lee would note the irony.

Obama's new Department of War "Defense Guidance" which calls for a U.S. military "pivot" toward the Asia-Pacific is causing a stir on Jeju Island. People see even more clearly that the Navy base now under construction will be a key outpost for U.S. forces and will play a direct role in the escalation of tensions in the region.

Hello, fellow U.S. citizens, are we hearing the cries of the people in the Asia-Pacific against this madness?

More photos from the peace walk are available here

STILL AT IT

2012-01-06T13:24:00.001-05:00

ASIA-PACIFIC CONFLICT ZONE

2012-01-06T09:08:00.003-05:00

To bolster the Philippine claim over its territories in the West Philippine Sea, Akbayan Representatives Walden Bello and Kaka Bag-ao led the first-ever civilian mission to Pag-asa Island, Municipality of Kalayaan in the Spratly Archipelago. Joining the team were Ifugao Rep. Teddy Baguilat, Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone, Kalayaan Mayor Jun Bito-onon, Palawan Governor Baham Mitra, AFP Western Command Commander Maj. Gen. Juancho Sabban, and a group of journalists. The mission followed reports of China's aggression against Filipino fishermen in the region, and reports of their attempt to construct infrastructure that would establish their dominance over Philippine territories.

Translation: China and the U.S. are going to be playing a hard game of chess over every disputed piece of land or sea-bed that might have any resources on or under it.

NEWS FROM THE OTHER FASCIST STATE

2012-01-05T10:14:00.008-05:00

It's sad that people have to make a living selling their soul to the devil. The latest news from Israel is that students are being recruited to become sales persons for the Israeli fascist state. In a declining economy people are pushed to do things they might not normally wish to do. It's becoming more important than ever to be very discerning about what you read and hear.

The National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) has become a full-time partner in the Israeli government’s efforts to spread its propaganda online and on college campuses around the world.

NUIS has launched a program to pay Israeli university students $2,000 to spread pro-Israel propaganda online for 5 hours per week from the “comfort of home.”

The union is also partnering with Israel’s Jewish Agency to send Israeli students as missionaries to spread propaganda in other countries, for which they will also receive a stipend.

This active recruitment of Israeli students is part of Israel’s orchestrated effort to suppress the Palestinian solidarity movement under the guise of combating “delegitimization” of Israel and anti-Semitism.

The involvement of the official Israeli student union as well as Haifa University, Tel Aviv University, Ben-Gurion University and Sapir College in these state propaganda programs will likely bolster Palestinian calls for the international boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

The Obama team has decided to send a couple thousand U.S. troops to Israel in the next few months. The Jerusalem Post quotes U.S. Lt. Gen. Frank Gorenc, Commander of the Third Air Force based in Germany, saying it will not be just an "exercise" but a full "deployment". The U.S. is reportedly bringing its THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) and ship-based Aegis ballistic "missile defense" systems to Israel. The U.S. forces will integrate with Israeli missile defense systems like the Patriot and Arrow. What is most important about these "exercises" is that these systems are the "shield" that can be used to pick-off Iranian retaliatory missile strikes after a U.S.-Israel first strike attack. I find it highly unlikely that Iran will launch an attack on Israel unless first provoked. But if the U.S. and Israel, who are already running covert sabotage operations inside Iran, do launch a first-strike attack on Iranian nuclear facilities then Iran will have to respond. At that point these so-called "missile defense" systems would be used as the shield.
I have long believed that the U.S. and Israel will some day attack Iran. It's insane but since when has that stopped the oligarchy from starting trouble? The U.S. now has Iran surrounded. U.S., British and French oil companies want control of Iran's resources. They are poking a sharp stick at Tehran and are trying to draw a reaction. At some point they are likely to get one and Holy Hell will break loose. Russia and China don't want to see Iran taken down so they could get dragged into all this. The U.S. and Israel are playing with fire.

CAPITALISM HAS REPLACED GOVERNMENT

2012-01-04T22:19:00.005-05:00

It's always wise to remember your history. Sadly in this world of corporate dominated mind-washing TV the public is losing its ability to know, or even care about, its history. Into that void steps the corporate controlled political hacks who run our Congress and do the bidding of the Wall Street oligarchs.

NO SNOW

2012-01-04T11:09:00.008-05:00

This is what our house usually looks like this time of year. But today, as I look out the window, there is not a drop of snow anywhere. It's cold out and the wood stove is humming downstairs in the kitchen but it looks like the next couple days will return to the recent pattern of warming up again. Freeze and thaw, freeze and thaw.

Last night on the news there were reports that ice fishing in Maine, usually just beginning to get under way, is delayed because lakes and ponds are not yet sufficiently frozen. The snowmobiling industry in northern Maine is silent now as there is virtually no snow in that part of the state either.

In none of the news reports did anyone mention those two controversial words - climate change. In fact its interesting, if I can generalize for a moment, that the preponderance of climate change deniers are those more rural and conservative Tea Party types who live up north and are avid ice fishermen and snowmobilers. You'd think they must be wondering just a bit. Hello!!!!

I finished up my work on the Global Network newsletter last night after two solid days of virtually non-stop research, writing, editing, and selecting photos. (I had done some of it over the past week or so but had to wait to do much of the final editing until folks sent me their articles for the newsletter.) Our layout person has the whole thing now and we hope to have it to the printer by this time next week.

My next project is to close out the GN accounts for 2011 and send the financial report to our boards. All very boring but necessary work.

The action across Maine starts to pick up this month with a union rally today at the state capital in Augusta and a couple weekend meetings of the Bring Our War $$ Home and Occupy movements later this month. I had to pass on the union rally today because I have so much administrative work to get done.

I don't often write about the administrative tasks that I have to do but they are key elements in holding the Global Network together. Without the fundraising, bookkeeping, maintaining and communicating with our various mailing lists none of what I do would be possible. So I am careful not to neglect that part of the work.

HEDGES ON C-SPAN

2012-01-03T10:00:00.004-05:00

You can thank the Occupy movement for Chris Hedges getting a three-hour slot on C-SPAN. No doubt about it. Occupy has busted open some doors. Enjoy his great interview.

I worked 10 hours straight yesterday on the Global Network newsletter. Almost ready to be sent to layout person. It's always a tough bit of work but fun. This will be the 20th anniversary edition and I am collecting many old photos from past GN events.

I also sent an email out to my west coast contacts yesterday asking about interest in me doing a 30-day speaking tour from Los Angeles to Seattle next April. Within a couple hours I heard from folks in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Portland, and Seattle. Off to a nice start. MacGregor Eddy (Salinas) called and said she will give me free Amtrak train tickets to go the whole distance from L.A. to Seattle. Wonderful news!

OBAMA & CIVIL LIBERTIES

2012-01-02T15:38:00.002-05:00

I'm tied up with our newsletter today.....got alot done already but need to move this thing toward layout, printing, and mailing as quickly as I can.

If you are not on our mailing list let me know and I will send you a copy. Give me your email and street mailing address. Send to globalnet@mindspring.com

This detention story is one thing I'll be sure to put into the newsletter. It's a huge, and sadly, highly under reported story that will change our lives dramatically.

SUNDAY SONG

2012-01-01T10:32:00.002-05:00

ONE YEAR IN GANGJEONG VILLAGE

2011-12-31T15:32:00.003-05:00

Our Life, Our Love and Our Struggle. . . Film by Dunguree

A quick review of the past year and the courageous struggles of Gangjeong villagers on Jeju Island, South Korea to stop the construction of Navy base.

THE FIRST OCCUPATION

2011-12-30T22:52:00.001-05:00

On this day, December 30th, in 1936 -- 75 years ago today -- hundreds of workers at the General Motors factories in Flint, Michigan, took over the facilities and occupied them for 44 days.

HAPPY NEW YEAR.....WE'VE GOT OUR WORK CUT OUT FOR US IN 2012

2011-12-30T13:51:00.003-05:00

The Kinks in studio rehearsal.....rare stuff

Uncle Son

The Kinks

He was just a workin' man,
Simple rules and simple plans,
Fancy words he didn't understand,
He loved with his heart,
He worked with his hands.

Liberals dream of equal rights,
Conservatives live in a world gone by,
Socialists preach of a promised land,
But old Uncle Son was an ordinary man.

Bless you Uncle Son,
They won't forget you when the revolution comes.

Unionists tell you when to strike,
Generals tell you when to fight,
Preachers teach you wrong from right,
They'll feed you when you're born,
And use you all your life.

Bless you Uncle Son,
They won't forget you when the revolution comes.

TRUTH ABOUT JOB CREATION

2011-12-30T11:41:00.004-05:00

It's called empirical evidence. Verified by the scientific method. There is no denying it. Military spending creates fewer jobs than any other kind of spending.

Boom....that old myth that war is good for the economy has been exploded.

This interview with Robert Pollin at UMASS-Amherst Economics Department shows in clear terms that cuts in Pentagon spending will in fact lead to more jobs being creatied as the money gets moved to education, health care, public transit or other green technology development.

So we have all these politicians talking about jobs - the public is job scared - why aren't the elected officials grabbing onto this evidence and using it to show the voters that this is the way we can create more jobs?

Simple answer....most of the politicians are in the bag. They are essentially operatives for the military industrial complex. Why else would they be ignoring this evidence? Why else would they remain quiet as a church mouse when Secretary of War Panetta screams that cuts in the Pentagon budget will wreak the economy? Why would the Boston Globe, and news media across the nation, trumpet Panetta's words and ignore this truth coming from this study? Why won't our local (liberal - what does that mean anymore?) congresswoman ever talk about this study in public?

It's our job...we are the ones who have to spread this word. We are the citizen journalists....citizen leaders who have to make damn sure that the people learn about this very important information. If we don't do the job it won't get done.

WHAT RELIGION?

2011-12-29T12:14:00.006-05:00

Want to see why I am not big on traditional religion? Any of them. This disgusting scene in Bethlehem was best described by activist David Swanson when he said, "Christian Priests Mark Jesus' Birth at His Birthplace by Beating the S--- Out of Each Other."

Yeah these paragons of virtue, justice, non-violence and piety are some of the leading causes of global conflict.

Alot of people like to say what Jesus would do it he came back today. (I guess that is the price of fame.) I think that if Jesus came back today he likely throw most Christians out of their many expensive temples before he headed down to Wall Street to toss some tables aside.

Scripture time:

“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:23-24

"And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons."
Matthew 21:12

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Luke 6:27-36

WAR MACHINE RATTLES ON

2011-12-29T11:50:00.005-05:00

My letter was finally published in our local paper yesterday. I like the headline they gave it. Nice ring it has.

Dear Editor:

Your headline “War is over” on Dec. 15 was just a tad misleading.

We’ve still got the war in Afghanistan going costing taxpayers $12 billion every month. It appears that we are getting ready to attack Syria — and maybe Iran — and President Obama recently returned from his Asia- Pacific trip where he announced a couple thousand U.S. troops will be deployed in Australia.

Why Australia? Good question.

Maybe most readers didn’t hear we are now surrounding China with U.S. military base expansion in Japan, South Korea, Guam, Australia and Aegis destroyers being deployed just off their coast. Obama also has been expanding weapons sales to Taiwan.

Pentagon spending is now well over $ 660 billion a year, but when you add in the military expenditures from “off-budget” departments like the NRO, NSA, DoE, NASA and the secret “black budget,” the true figure reaches $1 trillion a year. The U.S. spends more on the military than the rest of the world combined.

Our two senators from Maine say that China is our new enemy. China holds our enormous debt and we are their best customer. Are they likely to want a war with us? I seriously doubt it.

Here in Maine, and across the nation, we see growing efforts to destroy social progress with more cuts in health care, education and infrastructure. The 1 percent, who now control Congress, continue to reaccumulate capital while transferring jobs overseas where they can maximize their profits and shelter their taxes.

At the same time they continue to ask the 99 percent of us to sacrifice even more and have our children die on foreign lands so that the corporations can control the declining stocks of natural resources on our fragile Mother Earth.

Former President Eisenhower was right when he warned the nation to “beware of the military industrial complex” that has gained unwarranted influence in the halls of Congress.

The people are suffering as the war machine expands. It’s time for us to rattle our chains while we still can.

Bruce K. Gagnon,
Coordinator,
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space
Bath

GROW YOUR OWN

2011-12-28T15:03:00.002-05:00

Our garden here in Maine is not quite so elaborate nor can we grow year round like they can in Southern California. We are talking about building a green house that would extend our growing season.

This excellent video shows just what can be possible if we all apply our minds and energy to the task. With the further corporatization of agriculture and the declining economic situation we all need to forget the big green fancy lawns and use the ground to grow our own food.

LOWERING THE BARRIERS TO WAR

2011-12-28T12:36:00.002-05:00

Over the past decade, the US military has shifted the way it fights its wars, deploying more unmanned systems in the battlefield than ever before. Today there are more than 7,000 drones and 12,000 ground robots in use by all branches of the military.

These systems mean less American deaths. They also mean less political risk for the US when it takes acts of lethal force -- often outside of official war zones.

But US lethal drone strikes in countries like Pakistan have brought up serious questions about the legal and political implications of using these systems.

Fault Lines looks at how these new weapons of choice are allowing the US to stretch the international laws of war and what it could mean when more and more autonomy is developed for these lethal machines.

RICHEST MEMBERS OF CONGRESS IN 2010

2011-12-27T16:27:00.003-05:00

Senate Top Ten

John F. Kerry - Democrat MA $231,722,794
Mark R. Warner - Democrat VA $192,730,605
Herb Kohl - Democrat WI $173,538,010
John D. Rockefeller IV - Democrat WV $99,057,011
Frank R. Lautenberg - Democrat NJ $85,572,116
Richard Blumenthal - Democrat CT $73,151,590
Dianne Feinstein - Democrat CA $69,046,622
Bob Corker - Republican TN $59,550,022
James E. Risch - Republican ID $54,088,026
Mitch McConnell - Republican KY $27,213,024

House Top Ten

Darrell Issa - Republican CA $448,125,017
Michael McCaul - Republican TX $380,411,527
Jane Harman - Democrat CA $326,844,751
Jared Polis - Democrat CO $143,218,562
Vern Buchanan - Republican FL $136,152,641
Nancy Pelosi - Democrat CA $101,123,032
Alan Grayson - Democrat FL $93,896,519
Kenny Marchant - Republican TX $49,340,275
Gary G. Miller - Republican CA $46,008,028
Rodney Frelinghuysen - Republican NJ $42,900,594

The Congress is an equal opportunity employer for multi-millionaires. It's no wonder they have no qualms about destroying social progress. They are safe and sound in their green padded cocoon.

You can see the full list here

U. S. WAR PLANS COMING INTO FOCUS

2011-12-27T15:49:00.000-05:00

The world’s attention is increasingly focused on Syria and Iran as the region continues to move toward military confrontation. Less noticed, however, is that the pieces are being put into place for a truly global conflict, with military buildup taking place in every region and threatening to draw in all of the world’s major powers.

WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2012?

2011-12-27T11:19:00.001-05:00

I love this....and the great oracle speaks at the end.....

THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD SEES THE U.S.

2011-12-26T22:16:00.000-05:00

THE LARGER VISION

2011-12-26T15:20:00.006-05:00

Mary Beth Sullivan speaking at a Global Network conference

Laurie Kirby (Woodstock, NY) and Dave Webb (Leeds, England) march through Bath, Maine calling for conversion of BIW

Moving from a War Economy to a Peace Economy

The Humanist: A Magazine of Critical Inquiry and Social Concern

By Mary Beth Sullivan

Behind every question about how to get the United States back on track and improve the lives of average Americans (the so-called 99 percent) lies the necessity for economic conversion—that is, planning, designing, and implementing a transformation from a war economy to a peace economy. Historically, this is an effort that would include a changeover from military to civilian work in industrial facilities, in laboratories, and at U.S. military bases.

To that end, I am compelled to share what I’ve learned from reading Seymour Melman, the most prolific writer on the topic.

Melman was a professor emeritus of industrial engineering at Columbia University. He joined the Columbia faculty in 1949 and, by all reports, was a popular instructor for over five decades until he retired from teaching in 2003. (He died a year later.)

Melman was also an active member of the peace movement. He was the co-chair of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), and the creator and chair of the National Commission for Economic Conversion and Disarmament. It is reported that Melman was under surveillance by the FBI for much of his career because of his work criticizing the military-industrial complex—a sure sign that there must be something worth hearing in his work. What did he say that the power structure feared?

The economic conversion movement in past decades played a valuable role in bringing together the peace movement and union leadership to do the heady work of imaging how this country could sustain industrial jobs when, as it was envisioned, the United States would cease production of the weapons of the Cold War. It is a history that should not be forgotten.

Melman noted that U.S. industry had historically followed an established set of market rules: industry created products consumers needed or wanted, sold those products, made a profit, and then used those profits to improve production by upgrading the tools for more efficient production.

Military production for World War II began to change these rules of industry, which were later institutionalized in the 1960s when Robert McNamara was secretary of defense. McNamara, who came to the Pentagon after his tenure as an executive at Ford Motor Company, implemented some critical changes.

Within the Pentagon, civilian and uniformed officials were in conflict about the procedures for how to determine the costs of weapons to be contracted for manufacturing. On the one side, led by an industrial engineer, the idea was to base costs on the formulation of alternative designs and production methods—a competitive approach that promoted economic growth. The other side proposed generating costs based on what was previously spent. For the Pentagon, this meant following the “cost-plus” system used during World War II, also known as cost maximizing. As Melman put it in his 2001 book, After Capitalism, “contractors could take the previous cost of making a product for the Pentagon and simply add on an agreed-upon profit margin.”

McNamara opted for the second option. The result was that by 1980, the cost of producing major weapons systems had grown at an annual rate of 20 percent. Melman observed that by 1996, the cost of the B-2 bomber exceeded the value of its weight in gold.

McNamara went on to model the Pentagon after a corporate central office, defining policy, appointing chiefs of subordinate units, and maintaining accounting and management functions with huge discretion. Each military service participated in the process of acquiring material and weapons. This process resulted in tens of thousands of employees becoming hundreds of thousands, paid with U.S. tax dollars, to maximize the profits of weapons producers.

Melman minced no words in articulating the consequences in the opening of his book, Pentagon Capitalism (1970) and later in The Demilitarized Society (1989):

The operation of a permanent military economy makes the president the chief executive officer of the state management controlling the largest single block of capital resources…this combination of [economic, political, and military] powers in the same hands has been a feature of statist societies—communist, fascist, and others—where individual rights cannot constrain central rule.

…Nowhere in the constitution is top economic power conferred.
Among the many critical consequences of the state-controlled industry described by Melman in After Capitalism:

■ Firms were no longer efficiency-oriented—rather, industry produced increasingly complicated goods.
■ Production had nothing to do with meeting the needs of ordinary consumers. Melman pointed out that even though a nuclear-powered submarine is a technological masterpiece, consumers can’t eat it; can’t wear it; can’t ride in it; can’t live in it; and can’t make anything with it.
■ Labor lost control of any decision-making it had over production. With the influx of capital came an influx of white-collar middle managers, and the alienation—or disempowering—of workers.
■ Where the U.S. was once a top producer and exporter of tools needed for production of consumer goods, the complexity of military production focused industry on specialized machinery and tools that have no utility in meeting consumer needs.
■ The Pentagon consumed the talents of U.S. scientists and engineers whose skills were needed in other sectors of society.

In one of Melman’s last articles, published in the political newsletter Counterpunch in March of 2003, his frustration was palpable. He noted that New York City put out a request for a proposal to spend between $3 and $4 billion to replace subway cars. Not a single U.S. company bid on the proposal—in part because the nation no longer had the tools it needed to build its subway trains. In the article, titled “In the Grip of a Permanent War Economy,” Melman calculated that if this manufacturing work were done in the United States, it would have generated, directly and indirectly, about 32,000 jobs. “The production facilities and labor force that could deliver six new subway cars each week could produce 300 cars per year, and thereby provide new replacement cars for the New York subway system in a twenty-year cycle,” Melman wrote, noting that such an endeavor would depend on well-trained engineers but that “it is almost twenty-five years since the last book was published in the United States on [urban public transportation].”

Percolating within the economic conversion movement that began some four decades ago was a vision to reduce the economic decision-making power of the wartime institutions. The plan was to set up a highly decentralized process, based on “alternative-use committees,” to implement the changeover from military to civilian work in factories, laboratories, and military bases. Half of each alternative-use committee would be named by management; the other half by the working people. There would be support of incomes during a changeover.

Nationally, a commission chaired by the secretary of commerce would publish a manual on local alternative-use planning. It would also encourage federal, state, and local governments to make capital investment plans, creating new markets for the capital goods required for infrastructure repair.

Three principal functions would be served by economic conversion: First, the planning stage would offer assurance to the working people of the war economy that they could have an economic future in a society where war-making was a diminished institution. Second, reversing the process of economic decay in the U.S. economy, particularly in manufacturing, the national commission would be empowered to facilitate planning for capital investments in all aspects of infrastructure by governments of cities, counties, states, and the federal government, which would comprise a massive program of new jobs and new markets. (Melman frequently referred to the annual “report card” published by the American Society of Civil Engineers to highlight the declining U.S. infrastructure—deteriorating roads, bridges, schools, and so on—a situation that continues to worsen.) And third, the national network of alternative-use committees would constitute a gain in decision-making power by all the working people involved.

Melman worked with students, union leaders, the peace movement, and with Congress to create momentum around these ideas. There were some key events along the way.

In 1971, George McGovern included the idea of economic conversion when he announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. His statement included this position:

Basing our defense budget on actual needs rather than imaginary fears would lead to savings. Needless war and military waste contribute to the economic crisis not only through inflation, but by the dissipation of labor and resources and in non-productive enterprise…

For too long the taxes of our citizens and revenues desperately needed by our cities and states have been drawn into Washington and wasted on senseless war and unnecessary military gadgets… A major test of the 1970s is the conversion of our economy from the excesses of war to the works of peace. I urgently call for conversion planning to utilize the talent and resources surplus to our military… for modernizing our industrial plants and meeting other peacetime needs.

In 1976, SANE held a conference in New York City titled “The Arms Race and the Economic Crisis.” Melman was a featured speaker. This conference was instrumental in winning an economic conversion plank in the Democratic Party platform that year. A decade later, in 1988 and ’89, Melman had several meetings with then Speaker of the House, Rep. Jim Wright (D-TX). Wright convened a meeting of certain members of Congress who were committed to supporting the economic conversion bill proposed by Rep. Ted Weiss (D-NY). Speaker Wright told Melman that, in his opinion, the arms race had taken on dangerous but also economically damaging characteristics and that military spending “sapped the strength of the whole society.”

On the first day of the opening of the 101st Congress, Speaker Wright convened a meeting of members who had proposed economic conversion legislation, along with their aids. The purpose was to ensure that all proposals be joined into one, and that this legislation be given priority. To dramatize the importance of this bill, it would be given number H.R. 101.

Melman and SANE were elated. And then reality hit. As Melman reported: “Supporters of such an initiative did not reckon with the enormous power of those opposed to any such move toward economic conversion. In the weeks that followed, these vested interests waged a concerted and aggressive campaign in Congress and the national media to bring down Jim Wright over allegations of financial misconduct.”

The allegations had little substance, but Newt Gingrich, representing a headquarters district of Lockheed Martin, led the Republican attack. Sadly, they won. According to Melman, “Their media campaign drowned out any further discussion of economic conversion… A historic opportunity had been destroyed.”

Even so, economic conversion plans were being developed in California and beyond. A 1990 Los Angeles Times article reported that

Irvine, California Mayor Larry Agran planned to make his home town a national model for economic conversion by using what all presumed would be “under-worked” defense companies to build a major monorail project. He envisioned a major local mass-transportation industry. His proposed Irvine Institute for Entrepreneurial Development would also look for ways to push local rocket scientists toward environmental cleanup, healthcare, and other such enterprises.

In Los Angeles, Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, with the support of the International Assn. of Machinists, convened a committee to study prospects for converting aerospace jobs to establishing an electric car-manufacturing industry. They argued that there were linkages in technologies and skills across industries.

On the state level, California Assemblyman Sam Farr promoted a package of bills that required the governor to 1) convene an “economic summit” on conversion, 2) appoint a council to study the issue, and 3) come up with a means of facilitating the transfer of military technology to the civilian sector.

At the federal level, Senator Weiss continued to push economic conversion legislation until his death in 1992. (To my knowledge, no other member of Congress has taken on this issue.) But George H.W. Bush’s attack on Iraq in the 1990 Persian Gulf War was a critical nail in the coffin of the national economic conversion movement.

That’s not to say there haven’t been some in the peace movement who have continued to keep the embers of economic conversion alive. In Groton, Connecticut, for example, the local peace community organized a “listening project” to engage the community about what economic conversion might look like for General Dynamics’ Electric Boat Company, builder of submarines for the U.S. Navy. For more than thirty years, the Peace Economy Project in St. Louis has been advocating for conversion from a military to a more stable peace-based local economy. The Woodstock, New York, peace community held a conference in 2009 focused on the conversion of Ametek/Rotron, a local manufacturer that makes parts used in F-16 fighter planes, Apache attack helicopters, tanks, and missile delivery systems. Certainly there are others out there engaging their home communities in envisioning alternatives to continued production for endless war.

My partner, Bruce Gagnon, is the coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and has been organizing around conversion since the 1980s. His typical question to any audience is: “What is the United States’ number one industrial export?” Audiences across the country shout out “weapons.” He then asks them to consider that if weapons are the number one industrial export, what is the global marketing strategy? “Endless war” becomes the refrain.

In 2003 Bruce and I moved to Maine, in part to be near Bath Iron Works (BIW), the General Dynamics-owned production facility for naval destroyers that are deployed with Aegis weapons systems. These Aegis destroyers are part of the “Star Wars” or missile defense vision; they rely on space satellites when launched toward their targets. Bruce and I joined the vigils organized by peace groups in Bath, and Bruce organized some vigils for the Global Network. We would hold signs critical of the purpose of the Aegis destroyer (after all, it’s not about defense but destruction) and would offer an alternative vision for the factory (build wind turbines, not destroyers). Initially, people laughed, scoffed, scorned, and some spewed hateful things at us.

In 2007 we bought a big house in Bath with a friend, tore down a wall to create a community room, and began hosting conversations about the idea of economic conversion. We interviewed people who had lived in the community for some time. We interviewed workers at BIW, including Peter Woodruff, who joined our conversion study group early on. Broken-hearted by the role of the Aegis destroyers in the shock and awe campaign on Iraq, he has been a brave and creative organizer inside the shipyard.

As BIW copes with episodic layoffs and a diminishing need for U.S. warships, fewer people scoff at our signs and message. Envisioning a future for BIW in a peace economy is an essential asset to the community.

Meanwhile, there is momentum in Maine to generate wind power options. A professor at the University of Maine is experimenting with composite materials to create a prototype for an offshore wind turbine, and a former governor has created a private company to position wind turbines throughout the state.

As a friend who was an employee at BIW many years ago points out, BIW did convert years ago—from making commercial ships to naval destroyers. Can it experience another conversion now, making wind turbines and other renewable energy products? What if BIW converted to making hospital ships?

The idea of transforming the U.S. military to a humanitarian relief organization is not unheard of; Maine author Kate Braestrup spoke at the state’s Veterans for Peace PTSD conference this year and told the story of her Marine son who has experienced a number of deployments focused on disaster relief. She asked him how he could do humanitarian relief using former instruments of war. He told her it took some creativity, but they were able to transform their equipment to rebuild infrastructure. Braestrup then asked this question: given that devastating extreme weather events will continue to occur, why don’t we build hospital ships at BIW to meet the need for disaster relief—and if we need to adapt the material to fight wars, then certainly we can figure out how to do that, right?

It behooves the peace movement to create a vision that the populace can get excited about—a vision that will capture people’s imagination. A vision that sees the skills and talents of our engineers and scientists creating the renewable energy infrastructure critical to surviving the twenty-first century; a vision that engages peace activists, environmentalists, labor, students, artists, and food security folks in creating plans for how we will warm, feed, and transport people in the year 2040. This is the true security need for the United States, and the world.

Economic conversion is an idea whose time has come. As evidence, I submit that we have an ally in none other than Deepak Chopra, the preeminent leader in the field of mind-body medicine. Few people know that, after the 2008 election, Dr. Chopra sent a public letter to Barack Obama that he called “Nine Steps to Peace for Obama in the New Year.” Asserting that it was an anti-war constituency that elected Obama, Dr. Chopra invoked the spirit of Dwight D. Eisenhower in insisting Obama move from an economy dependent on war-making to a peace-based economy. Dr. Chopra’s recommendations included writing into every defense contract a requirement for a peacetime project; subsidizing conversion of military companies to peaceful uses with tax incentives and direct funding; converting military bases to housing for the poor; phasing out all foreign military bases; and calling a moratorium on future weapons technologies.

The vision is clear, it is obvious, it is mainstream. An important next step for us is to determine what we can do in our home communities to empower local unions and workers, environmentalists, healthcare workers, social workers, secular and spiritual leaders alike, and the neighbors next door to engage—to look around, determine the needs, create the collaborations, and wrestle the funds away to start building a survivable future.

- Mary Beth Sullivan lives in Bath, Maine, near the General Dynamics-owned Bath Iron Works, where naval destroyers, fitted with Aegis weapons systems, continue to be built. She is a social worker who attempts to serve the needs of a growing homeless population in a time of diminishing resources. She is also active with the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space.

THE OTHER SIDE OF WAR

2011-12-26T12:17:00.005-05:00

The war never ends for those who return home from Iraq or Afghanistan.

Talk of them being heroes is not in sync with their own experience.

Yes, let's remember the vets but let's also bring them all home now and give them real support once they get here. Not just the usual rah-rah cheers and then abandon them to the lonely streets of the nation.

See more on this story here

NO REST FOR THE WEARY

2011-12-25T22:20:00.006-05:00

The Gangjeong villagers on Jeju Island, South Korea had a very short Christmas break from their important fight to halt the Navy base construction.

On December 26 (Korean time) 29 villagers and supporters were arrested for sitting in the road and blocking construction vehicles. They were taken to jail. (The number grew from 15 to 29 after a number of Catholic priests sat in front of the gate as well and were also arrested.) Those still in jail have begun a hunger strike.

Please remember that a boycott of Samsung products has begun. Samsung is the lead construction contractor for the Navy base project. Please be sure to avoid Samsung products and tell others about this boycott.

The Navy base will be a key port for U.S. Aegis destroyers, outfitted with so-called missile defense systems, and will be used to help surround China. The U.S. is now in the process of dramatically increasing its military presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

These Aegis destroyers are built at Bath Iron Works here in Maine.

The Gangjeong village is a 400 year old farming and fishing community. Just off the coast are soft-coral reefs that will be destroyed by dredging to make it possible to bring the huge warships into the port. Already villagers have found that the contamination of the air from blasting and heavy construction equipment has negatively impacted their popular tangerine products - the fruit has been dropping from the trees with a never before seen growth on them.

You can daily follow the Gangjeong villagers struggle on Facebook at this link

THIS SIMPLE PHRASE

2011-12-24T19:06:00.001-05:00

WHAT I WANT FOR XMAS

2011-12-24T09:07:00.004-05:00

Here is my Christmas wish list......

I want the birds to live. I love birds.

I want this climate change to stop. Our weather in Maine is weird and getting weirder by the day. I've noticed neighbors planting banana trees and pineapple.

I want the public to turn off their TV's and hit the streets. Imagine how fun that would be.

I want the wars to stop - all of them.

I want to have a rail system that could take me anywhere I wanted to go. Each rail car with Wifi connection.

I want my local newspaper to be a newspaper again.....and print my latest Letter to Editor.

I want our Teabag governor in Maine to move to Jamaica.

I want there to be free health, dental, and mental health care for everyone. Pay for it with cuts in Pentagon spending.

I want Bath Iron Works to build rail cars and wind turbines which would mean they would have to hire more people.

I want the politicians to stop viewing their job as a career. Get elected, be real, and be done after one term. It's called citizen representative.

I want the children of the world to have a future.

I want to be able to watch baseball, basketball, and news channels on TV without having to pay $75 a month. I refuse to pay it.

I want the U.S. to close all our bases overseas. I want to Bring Our War $$ Home.

I want The Kinks to get back together - at least for one album. I would like for them to invite me to watch them make the record. Maybe let me sing backup and shake a tambourine too.

I want my son to not have to work so hard.

I want everyone to be happy. Can't we all just get along?

I want cars/trucks to vanish from the face of the Earth. I could live with motor scooters.

I want my feet to stop hurting after I walk a long distance. I love to walk.

I want the militarization of space to stop.

I want the aliens to come and tell us the whole story - who God is, how it all started, what happens when you die, and is it true that only the rich go to hell.

I want a new dog, preferably a Beagle, but for free and already house trained.

I want someone to come and take the things away from our house that collect dust. I am tired of stuff.

That should do it.....I don't want to be greedy.

ASKING THE CHURCH FOR A PLACE TO LAY THEIR HEADS

2011-12-23T17:44:00.004-05:00

The Episcopal Church in New York City turned Occupy down when they requested the use of a vacant lot for their camp....retired Bishop gets dissed by his church as they reject his plea for them to open their hearts to Occupy.....coming at the same time of Christ's birthday where they will sing songs and reenact the birth in the lonely manger.

Seems the church misses the irony.

I think the song goes something like this - Away in the manger no crib for a bed...The little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head.

The institutional church has largely become the pawn of the oligarchy. Jesus would shudder if he could see what is done (or not done) in his name these days.....

XMAS SHELL GAME - WATCH BOTH HANDS

2011-12-23T10:21:00.005-05:00

This syndicated cartoon appeared in newspapers across the county

The Christmas spirit has lately been dampened by the bickering between the two corporate parties in Washington. They've been playing good cop - bad cop again. When they start doing that you'd better watch both of their slimy little hands.

The Repubs and Dems have been going at each other about a two month payroll tax cut. For those who don't pay attention "payroll tax" is the money that goes into the Social Security Trust Fund. The normal rate is 6.2% but it has been trimmed down to 4.2% and the Democrats have a goal of reducing it to 3.1%. Their reasoning is to give the funds back to the taxpayer as an economic stimulus.

A very popular idea - everybody likes tax cuts.........

The Repubs in the House said they would not support just a two month tax cut. They want to make it at least for a year or even permanent. Back and forth they go.....so guess what?

This morning we learn that the Repubs have agreed to the two month cut. To seal the deal, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) promised Thursday that he would appoint a conference committee to take up negotiations after New Year’s Day on ways to pay for a full-year tax cut.

In the end they all will agree on a long-term cut. What is the result? They reduce the amount of funds going into Social Security at the very same time that many private worker pension plans have been devastated due to the gambling going on at the stock market.

But don't worry both parties in Washington tell the people. The money that is reduced from Social Security will be replaced with funds from the general revenue to ensure that the retirement trust fund remains solvent. OK, that sounds nice....but I thought the general revenue funds were running in the negative....we are already borrowing from China to supplement the general revenue fund deficit.

It's a shell game.

"Social Security was not established to be a source of 'temporary' stimulus funds. The idea that its payroll tax rate should be moved up and down with economic events is highly dangerous to the program's financial future," Chuck Blahous, a public trustee for Social Security and Medicare, said in a statement.

Blahous and others argue that the more Social Security is seen as a program that must rely on general tax revenue, the less it will be viewed as a self-financed program that pays out earned benefits.

"Social Security will gradually be turned into something more akin to welfare, for which the funding is provided not solely by ... workers but also by a subsidy funded by those subject to income tax," Blahous said.

In other words Social Security would be turned into just another discretionary program. A fund that can be cut or even shut down depending on the whims of Congress and the White House.

In an even more cynical gesture the agreement will extend unemployment insurance for two more months - a move likely to have been made as a way to buy union support for the stealth attack on Social Security.

Watch out for gifts from Scrooge at Xmas time....you've got to keep a close eye on both of his money grubbing hands.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

2011-12-23T09:59:00.003-05:00

Xmas on Jeju Island

MY THEME SONG

2011-12-22T23:05:00.003-05:00

Apeman
The Kinks

I think I'm sophisticated
'Cos I'm living my life like a good homosapien
But all around me everybody's multiplying
Till they're walking round like flies man
So I'm no better than the animals sitting in their cages
in the zoo man
'Cos compared to the flowers and the birds and the trees
I am an ape man

I think I'm so educated and I'm so civilized
'Cos I'm a strict vegetarian
But with the over-population and inflation and starvation
And the crazy politicians
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore and make like an ape man

I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man
I'm an ape man I'm a King Kong man I'm a voo doo man
I'm an ape man
'Cos compared to the sun that sits in the sky
compared to the clouds as they roll by
Compared to the bugs and the spiders and flies
I am an ape man

In man's evolution he has created the cities and
the motor traffic rumble, but give me half a chance
and I'd be taking off my clothes and living in the jungle
'Cos the only time that I feel at ease
Is swinging up and down in a coconut tree
Oh what a life of luxury to be like an ape man

I'm an ape, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man
I look out my window, but I can't see the sky
'Cos the air pollution is fogging up my eyes
I want to get out of this city alive
And make like an ape man

Come and love me, be my ape man girl
And we will be so happy in my ape man world
I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man
I'll be your Tarzan, you'll be my Jane
I'll keep you warm and you'll keep me sane
and we'll sit in the trees and eat bananas all day
Just like an ape man
I'm an ape man, I'm an ape ape man, I'm an ape man
I'm a King Kong man, I'm a voo-doo man
I'm an ape man.
I don't feel safe in this world no more
I don't want to die in a nuclear war
I want to sail away to a distant shore
And make like an ape man.

PEOPLE WIN ONE IN CHINA

2011-12-22T22:33:00.001-05:00

The spirit of protest and real democracy is indeed spreading globally. It's unstoppable now and with each small thing we do we help spread this wave of hope and action.

CIGARS, DRONES, & ATTACK ON IRAN

2011-12-22T10:53:00.012-05:00

Years ago while living in Florida I organized several trips to Cuba so activists and church people could taste the forbidden fruit. On one of the trips we visited a Cuban cigar factory and learned the remarkable story about how the workers would read to one another while they worked. Newspapers, novels, and the like were read all day long as the cigars were wrapped and when the Cuban revolution happened the workers in the cigar factory were some of the most active because they also were some of the most educated workers in the country. Last night I was speaking with a worker from Bath Iron Works and he told me how he regularly tacks articles (and sometimes my blog posts) on a bulletin board where a couple hundred workers daily stop to read the things he places there. Sometimes they are articles about the Jeju Island Navy base fight, reports on the Occupy movement and the growing economic divide in the country, stories about the growing suicides among active duty GI's, or the recent reports about the government throwing hundreds of dead soldiers body parts into garbage dumps. My friend said he is trying to help his fellow workers recover from watching Fox News.

While the U.S. war in Iraq is supposedly over new reports indicate that Secretary of War Leon Panetta plans to continue flying Predator surveillance drones over the war ravaged nation. The unmanned airplanes will operate out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey. Panetta also told Fox News that 40,000 U.S. troops will remain based throughout the Gulf region just in case they are needed. Panetta stated that the CIA drone flights over Iran will also continue. You might wonder if it is illegal and provocative for the U.S. to be sending military flights over Iranian air space? It's obvious that the U.S. and British military are doing economic sabotage missions inside Iran. This is how the U.S. got into the Vietnam war - first sending the CIA into Vietnam to blow up public transport and other infrastructure targets. Step by step it led to a full blown escalation and ultimately a very long and disastrous war.

HYPING THE IRAN THREAT

2011-12-21T22:00:00.005-05:00

We know that the US is already in a covert war with Iran. Key scientists involved in Iran's nuclear program have been assassinated and several Iranian government buildings have been blown up by US/Israeli operatives.

Now Iran, says a new Univision documentary, is being aided by Venezuela and Cuba. According to this right-wing documentary, the three countries are meeting in Mexico to plot terrorist attacks in the US. Is the Iranian threat real? Eva Golinger, lawyer and author, joins RT to analyze this question.

It's a replay of Ronald Reagan's hype that the communists from Nicaragua where going to attack the US by sweeping north into Texas back in the mid-to-late 1980's. He used this story line to justify the US support for the Contra war against Nicaragua that ultimately targeted and killed legions of innocent civilians.

The US corporate war machine has Iran surrounded and they are anxious to take out their leadership and grab their fossil fuel resources. So far they have been rolling the dice of war (Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya) and getting away with it. Their thinking is - who is going to stop us?

These arrogant, dishonest, greedy, and sick bastards must be stopped before they turn this into a WW III. The people of the world need to reject following the US and NATO into another of these bloody blunders.

How many times can the oligarchy keep running this same story line out to justify war? The answer is as long as people keep buying it or at the very least remain silent.

CREATING COMMUNAL ECONOMY

2011-12-21T15:41:00.002-05:00

It's a utopian fantasy - discover a ghost town and rebuild it in line with your ideals - but in Spain where there are nearly 3,000 abandoned villages (most dating back to the Middle Ages), some big dreamers have spent the past 3 decades doing just that.

SENDING BEST WISHES

2011-12-21T10:35:00.007-05:00

Happy holidays to you.

This time of year means family to me - a time to remember all those in my extended family who do so much to make the world a better place.

It's not easy sledding out there but we keep pushing the rock up the hill.

A local minister friend asked me the other day why I don't just sit back and let it all crash and see what God has next in store for us.

I told him I am stubborn and that I can't turn my head away from it all.

I learned some years ago, thanks to Quaker friend Al Geiger who lives in Jacksonville, Florida, that we can't be attached to results. He helped me understand that we just have to be faithful to the path, do our level best, and from there things are ultimately beyond our control. Al is one of those I dearly miss from my years in Florida.

So for me that means acceptance of my limitations and just giving it all I can without losing my sense of awe and love for the great mystery of life.

The greatest gift I could get this holiday season is knowing that many of you all over the world are doing your best as well to bring sanity and justice to our world. I join hands with you as we keep pushing toward the new year. Know that as long as I am breathing I will be there with you on the ramparts even if I have to crawl.

As we come near to the end of the year I want to take a moment and remember all those we love who have passed on before us......they will always live in our hearts.

Thanks for stopping by the blog.......I send you my best wishes for love and peace.

INTELLECTUALLY BANKRUPT

2011-12-20T13:29:00.014-05:00

I've been reading various websites this morning and stopped by one Maine Democratic party blog that I regularly check on. A woman had posted an article wondering why their party was lacking in energy and not attracting younger folks.

She went on to describe better times and said, "Back in 2004, the Democratic Party was full of energy. We were at the end of George W. Bush’s first term. We had had enough. I joined MOB – Mothers Against Bush. I went to rallies. And let it be noted: this is WAY out of my comfort zone. I’m not usually one to be public about my beliefs. But I did what I could. I rallied around John Kerry."

I find this quote fascinating because she reveals several important things. First the name of the group "Mothers Against Bush" confirms what I've felt for a long time and that is many "party" people don't necessarily engage in protest movements because they are upset about a war or some particular issue. Quite often they join "rallies" because the events are really to smash one particular candidate (in this case Bush) or support another candidate (a Democrat).

Sometimes they do, for example, "join" peace groups but primarily because they believe it will help to build support for the slate of Democrats running in an upcoming election.

Then after an election is over these party people fold up their "activist" banners and go home to wait for the next election cycle. In their minds they see themselves as part of the larger "movements" but in truth their energy, money, and hearts are closely reserved for their party.

In the comments following this woman's piece a good number of folks wrote in trying to help offer suggestions on how to revive the flagging Democrats in Maine. One man wrote in part, "We also need to step back and realize how much President Obama and the Congressional Democrats have accomplished — passing national health care, ending both the wars, saving the economy from the forces of evil in the financial sector."

Reading this made me angry. This is what I'd call intellectual bankruptcy. Claiming that Obama had ended both wars and saved the economy from Wall Street! Outrageous. I immediately wrote a response that said:

Ending both wars? What planet are you living on? We are still mired in Afghanistan at the cost of $12 billion per month. You want to know why progressives are abandoning the Dems like rats off a sinking ship? It’s remarks like this that Obama has ended both wars. Dems are blinded by party loyalty and can’t be critical of their own corporate dominated war party. Very sad.

I see this with loyal Democrats all the time. They find it virtually impossible to face the reality of what their president and party stand for and are doing. They turn their heads when they see such actions like expanding the war from Afghanistan into Pakistan and miraculously convince themselves that Obama has in fact ended "both wars". Or they blame the non-closure of Guantanamo detention center on the Republicans.....on it goes.

One email I got today was in a series of emails discussing the Obama fiasco. A woman wrote, "Obama is now so discredited in the eyes of many fine progressives who believed he would make a dent (including me, duh!).... For sure, let's build an alternative party and take the fine progressives to the left of the democratic party with us: they are looking for alternatives!!!"

I'd sure hate to be a Democrat today trying to "rebuild" the energy for that party. The public ain't buying it and neither are the real honest hard working grassroots activists who are the bedrock of most movements - particularly the Occupy movement. They get it and won't be fooled again.

Sadly I think Obama will be reelected but it won't be because most voters buy his worn-out line anymore. Polls are showing that most of the public has little confidence in either party and are not happy with the declared candidates in either of the two corporate controlled political parties.

Obama is likely to win because many will hold their nose and vote for the "lesser" of the devils. Holding your nose though does not create energy and passion for a party. It just helps to hold off the smell from the rotting corpse.

We must continue to build the alternative vision, the non-corporate vision of what a world could look like without endless war, greed, materialism, and environmental destruction. Only when we do that can we reach the day where real democracy can flourish.

STILL GOING UNTIL THE COWS COME HOME

2011-12-20T12:07:00.004-05:00

We have no other option than to keep pressing on until the oligarchy gives way to true liberty, justice, peace, and economic equality in the U.S. and around the world.

We can't be discouraged (for long) nor can we afford to throw in the towel. It's the future generations and the many plant and animal species on our Mother Earth we are fighting for - all our relations.

Let this coming new year be a time of recommitment for each of us. Let us remember that the #1 job of a human being is to ensure that those coming after us have a chance for survival on this beautiful spinning orb.

Let's also remember we are not alone. This noble struggle for planetary dignity is happening in every country and on every continent. Connected we are a mighty force. Let's keep it rolling. Each of us can do even one small thing each day to help this cause. Reach out and feel connected to this historic energy.

TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER COLD, HARD MATTERS

2011-12-19T13:18:00.005-05:00

It's cold here, last night dipping down to about 6 degrees. Just a touch of snow on the ground. Weather reports predict 46 degrees by Thursday as we continue the up and down cycle that is not normal for this time of year in Maine. It's the kind of weather fluctuations that make people sick as our bodies can't adjust to the back and forth.

I will attend my City Council meeting tonight as they will be once again debating the merits of the new so-called 'Smart Meter' wireless devices amid concerns about their impact on residents' health, privacy and power bills. So far my city council has declared a 6-month moratorium on their installation by a slim 5-4 margin. There will be an effort to overturn that decision this evening. I am still learning about the issue but tend to feel like we need to slow down the runaway train and stop the corporate arm-twisting that is pushing these things.

The Russian Phobos-Grunt space probe, launched on November 9 to go to a moon of Mars, had its rocket system fail to fire it into deep space from low Earth orbit. Phobos-Grunt is expected to fall to Earth between January 6-19. It's been confirmed that “one of the craft’s instruments” contains 22 pounds of Cobalt-57. The Russian space agency expects that “between 20 and 30 fragments of the probe with a total weight of up to…440 pounds will survive the fiery plunge and shower the Earth’s surface.” Journalist Karl Grossman (one of the founders of the Global Network) reports that while Cobalt-57 isn’t plutonium, considered the most deadly radioactive substance, it still can be harmful. He quotes Argonne National Laboratory’s Human Health Fact Sheet that Cobalt-57 has a half-life of 270 days, “long enough to warrant concern.” (The hazardous lifetime of a radioactive material is 10 to 20 times its half-life.) The document notes that Cobalt-57 can cause cancer. It “can be taken into the body by eating food, drinking water, or breathing.” It's no wonder we all are so wary of technology and the constant claims that everything is safe. Don't worry - be happy! Ugh......

I've begun working on the next Global Network newsletter. It will be a special 20th anniversary edition as the organization was founded in 1992. One of our board members, Holly Gwinn Graham from Olympia, Washington, recently sent me photos from many past GN events that I had never seen. It will be fun to weave them into the newsletter.

I watched CBS-TV news show 60 Minutes last night and they did a segment on the large numbers of foreclosed and vacant homes in Cleveland, Ohio. The banks don't want them, and don't want to pay for their upkeep since they are not selling, so the city has been left holding the bag. They are bulldozing the homes left and right as the numbers of homeless people multiply like a bunch of rabbits. Wouldn't it make more sense to change the mortgages and let people pay something so they can stay in their homes? This unforgiving capitalism has got to go. It's as outdated and cruel as feudalism.

JESUS IS A FOOTBALL FAN?

2011-12-18T12:19:00.001-05:00

What about soccer?

SUNDAY SONG

2011-12-18T09:29:00.005-05:00

In the place where our old home was destroyed,
We bury the charred bones of our relatives,
Now the white flowers are blooming there.
Oh, we must never allow, we must absolutely forbid another Atom Bomb to fall.

Deadly rain gathers poison from the sky,
And the fish gather death from the depths of the sea,
Fishing boats are idle, their owners are blind,
Deadly harvest, of two Atom boms,
And landsmen and seamen you must watch and take care,
That the third Atom bomb never falls.

They got sisters and brothers
Fighting 'gainst one another
They got dreams and schemes and build war machines
And try to out-do each other
We got children that are starving
But that don't bother them
They're much to busy getin' rich
To worry about our little children

Save me Jesus!
Save me Jesus!
Save me Jesus!
Jesus save me
From this god forsaken place

They got satellites and space ships
Flying 'cross the universe
They killed before
And they'll kill again
Just so they can say they're first
They build monuments and churches
And things I aint seen yet
And they've signed a law with their autographs
In case you might forget

Save me Jesus!
Save me Jesus!
Save me Jesus!
Jesus save me
From this god forsaken place

FREE BRADLEY MANNING

2011-12-17T12:31:00.004-05:00

Almost Gone (The Ballad Of Bradley Manning )

Written by Graham Nash and James Raymond

Locked up in a white room, underneath a glaring light
Every 5 minutes, they’re asking me if I’m alright
Locked up in a white room naked as the day I was born
24 bright light, 24 all alone

What I did was show some truth to the working man
What I did was blow the whistle and the games began

Tell the truth and it will set you free
That’s what they taught me as a child
But I can’t be silent after all I’ve seen and done
24 bright light I’m almost gone, almost gone

Locked up in a white room, dying to communicate
Trying to hang in there underneath a crushing wait
Locked up in a white room I’m always facing time
24 bright light, 24 down the line

What I did was show some truth to the working man
What I did was blow the whistle and the games began

But I did my duty to my country first
That’s what they taught me as a man
But I can’t be silent after all I’ve seen and done
24 bright light I’m almost gone, almost gone
(Treat me like a human, Treat me like a man )

The song release is timed to Manning's first judicial hearing scheduled for December 16th, following more than 17-months in custody, including a year in solitary confinement that Amnesty International has characterized as "harsh and punitive."

"WAR IS OVER" - MORE TRUTH EMERGES ABOUT IRAQ

2011-12-17T10:14:00.007-05:00

December 18, 2007

To: Mr. Randy Waddle, Assistant Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado

CC: LTC John Shawkins, Inspector General, Ft Carson, Colorado
Major General Mark Graham, Commanding Officer, Ft Carson, Colorado
Major Haytham Faraj, USMC, Camp Pendleton, California
Lt General Stanley Greene, US Army Inspector General
Subject: Formal Notification of War Atrocities and Crimes Committed by Personnel, B Company, 2-12, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division in Iraq

Dear Mr. Waddle,

My name is John Needham. I am a member of Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, (BCo,2-12INF,2BCT,2ID . I deployed with my unit to Iraq from October 2006 until October 2007 when I was medically evacuated for physical and mental injuries that I suffered during my deployment. The purpose of my letter is to report what I believe to be war crimes and violation of the laws of armed conflict that I personally witnesses while deployed in Iraq.

Upon arriving in Iraq in October of 2006 my unit was assigned to the ¼ Cavalry unit at Camp Prosperity. In March of 2007 I was sent back to my unit, B Company 2-12 at Camp Falcon. It was at Camp Falcon that I observed and was forced to participate in ugly and inhumane acts against the Iraqi citizens in our area of responsibilities. Below I list some of the incidents that took place.

In March of 2007, I witnessed SSG Platt shoot and wound an Iraqi national without cause of provocation. The Staff Sergeant said that he suspected the Iraqi be a “trigger” man. We had not been attacked and we found no evidence on the man to support the suspicion. As the Iraqi lay bleeding on the ground, PVT Smith requested to administer first aid to the Iraqi. SSgt Platt said no and “let him bleed out.” When SSG Platt walked away, Pvt Smith and PVT Mullins went to the Iraqi, dragged him to an alley, and applied first aid. They then drove him to the cache for further treatment.

In June of 2007 1SG Spry caused an Iraqi male to be stopped, questioned, detained, and killed. We had no evidence that the Iraqi was an insurgent or terrorist. In any event when we stopped he did not pose a threat. Although I did not personally witness the killing, I did observe 1sg Spry dismembering the body and parading of it while it was tied to the hood of a Humvee around the Muhalla neighborhood while the interpreter blared out warnings in Arabic over the loud speaker. I have a photo that shows 1SG Spry removing the victim’s brains.

On another occasion an Iraqi male was stopped by a team led by Sgt Rogers as he walked down an alleyway. The Iraqi was detained and questioned then with his hands tied behind his back, SGT Rogers skinned his face.

1ST Spry shot a young Iraqi teenager who was about 16 years old. The shooting was unprovoked and the Iraqi posed no threat to the unit. He was merely riding his bicycle past an ambush site. When I arrived on the scene I observed 1SGT Spry along with SSG Platt dismember the boy’s body.

In August of 2007, I responded to radio call from SGT Rogers reporting that he had just shot an Iraqi who was trying to enter through a hole that the platoon had blown in a wall to allow them observation of the area during a security patrol. When I arrived, I saw a one armed man who was still alive lying on a barricade. The man was about 30 years old. He had an old Ruger pistol hanging from his thumb. It was obvious to me that the pistol was placed there because of the way it hung from his thumb. The Iraqi was still alive when I arrived. I saw SGT Rogers shoot him twice in the back with hollow point bullets. The Iraqi was still moving. I was asking why they shot him again when I heard Sgt Hoskins say “he’s moving, he’s still alive.” SPEC Hoskins then moved to the Iraqi and shot him in the back of the head. SSG Platt and SGT Rogers were visibly excited about the kill. I saw them pull the Iraqi’s brains out as they placed him in the body bag. CPT Kirsey must have learned something about this incident because he was very upset and admonished the NCOs involved.

I have seen and heard 1SGT Spry brag about killing dogs. He kept a running count. At last count I remember he was boasting of having killed 80 dogs.

On many occasions I observed SGT Temples, SSG Platt and SGT Rogers beat and abuse Iraqi teenagers, some as young as 14, without cause. They would walk into a house near areas where they suspected we had received sniper fire, then detain and beat the kids.

I have photos that support my allegations. I also have numerous other photos on a laptop PC that the unit illegally seized from me. I have requested its return but they have refused.

My experiences have taken a terrible toll on me. I suffer from PTSD and depression. I had no way to stop the ugly actions of my unit. When I refused to participate they began to abuse and harass me. I am still in treatment at the Balboa Naval hospital. I respectfully request that you investigate these matters, that you protect my safety by reassigning me to a different unit that is not located at Fort Carson, that you return my PC or, at least, seize it to protect the evidence on it, and that you issue a military protective order to prohibit the offending members of my unit from harassing, retaliating, or contacting me.

I have some photographs and some supporting documentation to these allegations.

Respectfully,
PFC John Needham
US Army

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