Call to Action! OCTOBER 2011 America's Tahrir Square

I have been following the news of the uprisings in the Middle East very closely. I have also followed some of the news on Greece, and now especially Spain. All this has me feeling excited and engaged, but also wondering...where is America's "Tahrir Square"? I often have wondered whether americans will ever rise up...and I have often felt helpless, attending small rallies in small towns, wondering if we will ever be heard, or if anything would come of being heard. We are such an enormous country, and so spread out. Large protests can go by largely unnoticed. But they haven't always gone unnoticed, have they? I'd like to think that (although the racial oppression in this country is far from resolved) the March on Washington in 1963 meant something, even accomplished something. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech has inspired so many. I am hoping for more radical change than what came about after the 1963 march. So are many others. Which brings me to America's "Tahrir Square." An event is being planned. A concert, rally and protest will kick off a powerful and sustained nonviolent resistance to the corporate criminals that dominate our government.

Here is an excerpt of the call to action from October2011.org:
October 2011 is the 10th anniversary of the invasion of Afghanistan and the beginning of the 2012 federal austerity budget. It is time to light the spark that sets off a true democratic, nonviolent transition to a world in which people are freed to create just and sustainable solutions.
We call on people of conscience and courage—all who seek peace, economic justice, human rights and a healthy environment—to join together in Washington, D.C., beginning on Oct. 6, 2011, in nonviolent resistance similar to the Arab Spring and the Midwest awakening...
..."Stop the Machine! • Create a New World!" is a clarion call for all who are deeply concerned with injustice, militarism and environmental destruction to join in ending concentrated corporate power and taking direct control of a real participatory democracy. We will encourage a culture of resistance—using music, art, theater and direct nonviolent action—to take control of our country and our lives. It is about courageously resisting and stopping the corporate state from destroying not only our inherent rights and freedoms, but also our children’s chance to live, breathe clean air, drink pure water, grow edible natural food and live in peace.

So rise up!  Be a part of the movement! Gandhi said it, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Worried nobody will show up? Take in these numbers.
The first March on Washington was in 1894 by a group called Coxey's Army. A group of unemployed workers. They hopped trains and rode in wagons to D.C. to protest unemployment which was a result of the Panic of 1893. There were 6,000 people in Coxey's Army. There's a bit of fun history for you. More famously, 250,000 marched for on Washington for civil rights in 1963. 600,000 demonstrated against the war in Vietnam on Nov. 15, 1969. 260,000 protested the Reagan administration with a Solidarity March in 1981. In 1987, 500,000 people joined the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.1989: March for Women's Lives drew 500,000. An estimated 1,000,000 people participated in the March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bi Equal Rights and Liberation in 1993. In 2003, 200,000 protested the war in Iraq. 200,000 in the Equality March in 2009. 2010: Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, held by talk show hosts Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert had 215,000 participants rallying for political change. So many more protests and marches I did not mention, or did not have numbers for. The point is, if a million people joined together to rally for LGBT Equal Rights, I think we can find AT LEAST that many people willing to rally for Peace and political change. The terrible economy, the political corruption, massive pollution, loved ones lost to wars we don't support, unemployment, lack of health care, homelessness, and our general slavery to a machine that is built to benefit only the extremely rich and powerful, well, that affects us all. I believe an uprising can work for the united states. Especially if people are willing to camp out, and stay in Freedom Square until we see a change happening. Just like in Egypt, Tunisia, Spain, Greece, etcetera.

I know many supporters of Barak Obama. My question to them is this: If Obama stands for what you seem to think he stands for, if he can indeed be compared to Lincoln and MLK, then don't you think he would want us to have a People's Revolution?

A Mindful Memorial Day Post

memorial [m-môr-l] noun
1. Intended to commemorate someone or something.
2. A statement of facts. 
 commemorate [kəˈmɛməˌreɪt] verb 
1. to honour or keep alive the memory of
[from Latin commemorāre be mindful of]
Antonyms: dishonor, forget, neglect, ignore, omit.

To honor those who have died in the war, we must state the facts of the situations. Pretending that the wars our country is involved in are honorable is dishonest and does not commemorate those we have lost! Ignoring this day, which was first recorded to have been observed by freed slaves in remembrance of the Union soldiers, would also be a disservice (please check out this blog post).

The Facts.

I borrowed this from AntiWar.com.

Casualties in Iraq The Human Cost of Occupation Edited by Margaret Griffis
American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date	Total	In Combat
American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03):	4454	3511
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list	4313	3403
Since Handover (6/29/04):	3595	2878
Since Obama Inauguration (1/20/09):	226	107
Since Operation New Dawn:	36	17
American Wounded	Official	Estimated
Total Wounded:	33041	Over 100000
Latest Fatality May 22, 2011
List of U.S. Servicemembers killed since 5/1/03 Those are just the MILITARY CASUALTIES IN IRAQ SINCE 2003. Not including dates prior to the DECLARED WAR, not including IRAQI CIVILIAN CASUALTIES (which are still piling up). Here's more body counts for you: Other Coalition Troops - Iraq 318 US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 1,598 Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan 891 Contractor Employee Deaths - Iraq 1,487 Journalists - Iraq 348 Academics Killed - Iraq 448 Let us not ignore Iraqi civilian deaths: 1,455,590. That's the most recent number. You can keep track of these deaths at IraqBodyCount.org.  IVAW: Iraq Veterans Against the War is an amazing support network for U.S. soldiers who do survive the wars. Their current campaign is called Operation Recovery. It is a campaign to stop the deployment of traumatized troupes. They state that "Service members who experience PTSD, TBI, MST, and combat stress have the right to exit the traumatic situation and receive immediate support, and compensation. " I believe promoting these resources on Memorial Day is an important way to honor those who have served in the wars. Here is a link to the IVAW's explanation of why they are against the wars. I would like to write an intelligent and impassioned Anti-War Speech, but others have done so for me. I hope you Listen. POWERFUL WORDS: Rant by Stefan Molyneux from FreedomainRadio.com: Song by Ryan Harvey of Riot Folk: Please listen to the lyrics. I wanted to write them out, but this is getting to be a long post. Song by the Perceptionists: In Peace, Hopefulness, and Solidarity, Coco Pan

Bin Laden-Dead? And the Wars Rage On.

I watched the news tonight.  I never watch the news but my coworker turned the TV on to hear about the supposed death of Osama bin Laden.  What is everyone celebrating?  A friend of mine commented, "It looks like a kegger outside of the White House."  First of all, I don't know that I believe this news.  Second of all, I still believe 9-11 was an inside job.  It's hard to dispute when you look at all the facts.  I'm not saying I think Osama bin Laden was a decent fellow, but was he trained by the U.S., put in power by the U.S.?  Of course this has been denied, but there is evidence that it was so!  Set aside conspiracy theories about bin Laden and the U.S. having a deal (you take the blame for 9-11 and we'll have a reason for war, which will gain us oil and ultimately power), or of Bin Laden being a CIA agent or a character created by the U.S. government (the latter which Fidel Castro and many others around the world have suggested--Fidel points out "Any time Bush would stir up fear and make a big speech, bin Laden would appear threatening people with a story about what he was going to do.").  Just take a look at this timeline composed of facts taken from reliable sources, mainly government sources and mainstream media (which are linked to the timeline for you to view).  Put it all together, and the story does not add up to what the U.S. government would like us to believe.  Regardless of what the truth is about Osama bin Laden, as U.S. military analyst Mark Kimmit said, "Capturing or killing bin Laden has more iconic value. It will have symbolic value, because it has been a number of years since bin Laden has exercised day to day control over operations. We still have an al-Qaeda threat out there and that will be there for a number of years."

Now let's talk about Timing!  What stories are we not hearing about now? That is what I ask every time there is a big story taking over the media.  It's hard to find.  Have you heard about all the people who have died in Libya while the U.S., British, and French governments are "trying to remove Gadhafi" ("An Unfortunate Accident"-NATO, of the casualties).  Here are some articles highlighting civilian deaths--Libyan Civilians Killed by U.S. Missile Strikes, U.S. Chopper Shoots 6 Libyan Civilians, Civilian Casualties Over 100, Drones Kill Civilians in Libya and Pakistan. And perhaps you heard that Gadhafi's youngest son and 3 grandsons were killed in an assassination attempt just yesterday?  What a convenient time to kill off Osama bin Laden!  Now they have Americans thinking "Success!" "Justice!"  And the Wars can rage on!  I appreciate that Obama stated and reiterated that the U.S. is not at war with Islam (here is the text of Obama's speech tonight)  However, I was sickened to hear Obama say that "Americans understand the costs of war".  Do we?  We aren't the ones being invaded and bombed.  Many of us understand what it is like to have friends and family members return from war a changed person, and some of us know what it is like to have lost a loved one to a war on foreign land.  But compared to what War looks like on that foreign land, we do NOT understand the costs of war!  Have you seen the wikileaks video of war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan?  You can see it on www.collateralmurder.com.  Try living in that world and then say you understand the costs of war.  I know I don't fully understand it because I have not lived it.
The people in Afghanistan do not want us there (and no wonder: 2010 Deadliest Year for Afghan Civilians, not to mention the Kill Team--warning:disturbing photos!). 
The people in Iraq do not want us there (and no wonder: www.iraqbodycount.org)
The people in Libya do not want us there.  (The Libyan People against al-Qaeda, US, France and England)

The people of Africa do not want the U.S. there!   As the International Action Center wrote, "Britain, France, and the U.S. possess the most destructive military machines on earth. Despite their internecine rivalries for plunder, despite the rejection of their plans by most African countries, despite the misgivings of their key NATO ally, Germany, they are at war."  African Redemption through Resistance (click this link!).  People, not drones and armies and bombs, can overcome Gadhafi.  If the U.S. had honest intentions to remove Gadhafi and help liberate the Libyan people, that would be another story.  But the U.S. has an obvious track record with these situations--and always has ulterior motives.  POWER.

On an even more controversial note, there are those who say that this is an information war against Libya, that reports of violence by Gadhafi against the Libyan people were "greatly exaggerated" www.newsfrommiddleeast.com
And some sources are saying that the people of Libya largely support Gadhafi.
Youtube: What You Don't Know About the Libyan Crisis
Facebook: The Truth About Libya
This is troubling!  What media can be trusted?!  There are people in Libya condemning al-Jazeera for their reports on Gadhafi's "genocide".  It seems to me that Gadhafi is a tyrant, a dictator, and has committed horrible acts against his people. However, I have read in several reports that the rebels the U.S. governement is supporting has links to al-Queda!  Shall we bring this back around to al-Queda/Osama, then?  Here are a couple articles about this: Libyan Rebel Commander Admits his Fighters have al-Qaeda Links, al-Qaeda May Already Be Among Libya's Rebels, Connections Between al-Qaeda and Libyan Rebels Run Deep, U.S. to use al-Queda as Allies in Libya.

There is another anti-government uprising that we have not been hearing very much about: Iraq!  It is the Least Reported Unarmed Revolution in the Middle East. And from this article, a great point is made:  There is real possibility that this change can come about without an armed people's revolution. It would behoove the international community to pay attention and to think now about how to join with them hand in hand in their struggle for justice and an end to oppression which is carried out in the ruling parties current domestic policies and backed by the western country's foreign policies. If we pay attention now, maybe our children and our grandchildren will not have to be faced with the decision to use military force to drive out yet another entrenched dictator where more killing will be one of the few tools left to stop killing.  

http://www.libyanpeopleneedhelp.com

Outraged: The Kill Team. Wake-Up Call? Desensitization?

Yesterday I saw the Rolling Stones article, “The Kill Team”.  Saw, not read.   After seeing the photographs, I couldn’t bear to look at them anymore.  I did read about it, however, in an article that does not actually show the photographs.  It is strange to see these photographs in between an article about a comedian and a rock star, featuring a pop star interviewed about"sexting" on the cover.  Is it good that these photographs were published in a mainstream magazine?  I do believe the American people need a wake up call.  Where are all the anti-war protests these days?  Is everyone in la-la land?  Busy busy with our domestic lives, trying to make a happy childhood for our children while other people's children are shot and killed by our own sodiers?  Working all the time, trying to make enough money to afford gas for our cars (oil=war, partially) to get our children from girlscouts to soccer games to the mall to buy clothes by a brand that is socially acceptable (and socially deplorable)…is it just me?  Does it help at all that I recognize this?  We are sending trained and brainwashed murderers to Afghanistan.  I do believe we, as a society, need to be reminded of the reality of what is going on overseas.  Some questions, though…is it disrespectful to the memory of those lost and to their families to post these photographs in a popular magazine?  A friend of mine had me thinking today of how I would feel if it were my family member whose dismembered body was on display with smiling soldiers in a pop culture magazine.  And is this Rolling Stones being progressive or is it desensitizing our youth, who commonly buy that magazine?  I haven’t read the entire article, but I’m not sure it was respectfully done.  However, it left me feeling outraged and sick, as well I should.

This is a time of growth for those that know
And it's a time of hope for those that don't
But if your mind is open you'll get shown,
We've had our sights blinded, all of my like-minded,
People need to get up and discover the right time is,
Now, so start opposing the powers that arose,
In ancient days and paved the way to this load,
It's so controlled, it's sitting in most, just sit and stare,
At a television with a distant glare, 
And I'm ashamed to admit it, I'm a slave to this shit,
As much as anybody but I'm not afraid of it,
This is where the change comes, and this is where we make some difference,
Embrace what's within us and escape from this prison,
All it takes is a little bit of faith,
And a little bit of love, to get rid of all the hate
But the thing about it is we can't just sing about it,
We can't just sit around and wait until they thin us out,
We figure out where we're going while we live in doubt,
If you want my truth, listen now and just think about it,
The thing about it is we can't even think about it,
Can't afford a minutes time to figure how to bring about a change,
So, take a second, and shake your head,
And take a step ahead and think about it...

 (for the rest of the lyrics see here)