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

Inspired by Mideast Youth

I recently came across a very interesting, informative, and inspiring website (thanks to my aunt and my sister sharing links on facebook). MideastYouth.com is a youth-run website created by Esra’a Al Shafei which is a grassroots network and platform for people in the Middle East and North Africa to discuss the struggle against oppression and serve as an alternative media. In an interview on TED.com, Esra'a Al Shafei explains that she began this MideastYouth.com in 2006. "At that time I was really just exploring how to use the Internet. I realized right away that it was going to be the tool, the weapon, with which we can advocate for change." (This makes me think of the inspiring youtube call to action that started the protests in Egypt). The authors are from many places, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Sudan, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, Yemen, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Libya, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Israel, Pakistan, Tunisia, and Morocco. Their message is peace, solidarity, tolerance, and freedom from oppression. "Listen to us now, because soon ours will be the generation in charge."


MideastYouth.com covers a variety of topics that we do not hear about in the mainstream media. I am certain that I will spend many, many hours on this website and the many offshoots of this website. It discusses the Arab Revolution, the desire for peaceful coexistence between Palestine and Israel, homophobia in Middle Eastern and African countries, ignorance, extremism, and so many other topics. Okay, so I'm linking a lot. That's because I want you to really check out this website! Those are just some examples.

There are many projects stemming from MideastYouth.com. I will highlight a few. CrowdVoice is a user-powered service that tracks voices of protest from around the world. Apparently it has been censored in Bahrain, but it has documented many of the recent people uprisings. I was unaware until I came across BahaiRights.org that in many countries people of the Baha'i faith are denied human rights, as basic as the right to live. KurdishRights.org focuses on the need for basic human rights of Kurds, the uprisings in the Middle East, and preventing further genocide of Kurds in the Middle East. FreeKareem.org is focused on pressuring officials to free Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who has been sentenced to 4 years in prison merely for expressing his opinions on his personal blog. There is MigrantRights.org, Israelis for Palestine, and many more. A new website they have started is Ahwaa.org. It is a place for discussion within the LGBTQ community in the Middle East and North Africa. This is a topic that is not only taboo in many places in the Middle East and Africa, where in many countries homosexuality is illegal and sometimes punishable by death, but it is also a topic that has been ignored by mainstream media (I'm talking BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera, and so on).

Here is a fun one: MideastTunes.com. It supports underground activist musicians in the Middle East! Here are a few interesting songs I found...

"My Existance is Rebellion" highlight of the OUT/LOUD festival

The other night my partner and I went to Out/Loud Queer Women's Music Festival in Eugene, OR. It was a fun show, we turned in early due to being tired old people, but not before seeing Taina Asili Y La Banda Rebelde perform! They were so inspiring and their energy was so high and moving, I have to share it!

This song is called "In the Time of Now". She explains at the beginning how the fact that we are breathing right now is a form of rebellion. While it is truly a song of indigenous resistance, I feel that it can be inspiring for all of us living under and fighting against oppression. This song starts off serious, and becomes a celebration of existence as rebellion.

Here is their music video for "In Our Hands." This song is wonderful. "Don't ask for your freedom, just take it."

 

And finally I will share "Prison Break" which is dedicated to political prisoners such as Mumia Abu Jamal.

Thanks for listening. Taina Asili y La Banda Rebelde moved me, in my heart and in my feet! Thank you Taina Asili!

History of Mother's Day: Mother's Day for Peace!

Did you know that Mother's Day began as a Mother's Day for Peace? Read Julia Ward Howe's Mother's Day Proclomation here:
Arise, Then, All Women Who Have Hearts! | Common Dreams
This article points out that Americans spend $14 billion on flowers, chocolates, and trinkets for Mother's Day. Oh, capitalism. The Common Dreams article by Abby Zimet provides some alternative ideas of where to put your money--organizations that help mothers around the world. More on that here: www.mothersdaymovement.org.

In 1870, Julia Ward Howe published the Mother's Day Proclamation, a manifesto against the the carnage of the American Civil War and the Franco-Prussian War. Julia Ward Howe believed that women have a responsibility to shape our societies at the political level. Her manifesto called for an international congress of women:

In the name of womanhood and humanity, I earnestly ask
That a general congress of women without limit of nationality
May be appointed and held at someplace deemed most convenient
And at the earliest period consistent with its objects,
To promote the alliance of the different nationalities,
The amicable settlement of international questions,
The great and general interests of peace.


Here is a beautiful prayer calling on the spirit of Julia Ward Howe in this time of war.  
...Mother Julia, remind us
that every life has inherent worth,
that each person had a mother somewhere.
Help us to use this moment for self-reflection,
that we might grow and evolve...


Left is a photograph of Jane Addams and another woman upholding Julia Ward Howe's vision of Mother's Day for Peace.

Here is an article from National Geographic on Anna Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and the history of mother's day.


This tradition still carries on in some communities. Yesterday in Dorchester, Massachusetts, thousands joined in the Mother's Day Walk for Peace.

CodePink calls for the U.S. to pull out of Afghanistan (here is their petition to the president) and provide their modern interpretation of Julia Ward Howe's proclamation.

Another Mother for Peace was founded in 1967 in opposition to the Vietnam War. Here is their proclomation, A Pax Materna:

I join with my sisters in every land

In the Pax Materna--

A permanent declaration of peace

That transcends our ideological differences.

In the nuclear shadow, war is obsolete.

I will no longer suffer it in silence

Nor sustain it by complicity.

They shall not send my son

To fight another mother's son.

For now, forever, there is no mother

Who is enemy to another mother.

 Gloria Steinem, Vanessa Williams, Felicity Huffman, Fatma Saleh, Alfre Woodard, Ashraf Salimian, Christine Lahti and Mother's Day for Peace talk about the origin of Mother's Day by Julia Ward Howe as a protest against war. www.mothersdayforpeace.com

Disarm, Disarm! 

<3

Happy Mothering Day!

My family (myself, my wife, and our two daughters) went to a Unitarian Universalist church this morning. It was a lovely Mother’s Day service. While I was aware that Unitarian Universalists claim to be an accepting and welcoming community, I was happily surprised by the sermon. The sermon was titled “Mothering is a Verb.” The minister told her own story of struggling with, but finding acceptance with gender as a spectrum (as opposed to only two genders). She spoke about different types of families “some with two moms, some with two dads, some with a mom and a dad who used to be a mom." She spoke of Mother’s Day being about people (any gender) who are mothering, rather than about women who are mothers. Not only did I feel accepted as a queer family, but also I found myself pondering the ways others have been mothering to me, regardless of their gender identity. I then thought of Antony Hegarty (of Antony and the Johnsons). His song “For Today I Am A Boy” speaks of his yearning be a woman, “feeling full and pure”. It is an empowering song. Please listen!

Now listen to this little song and tell me s/he is not mothering! “Trust Your Mother”.

I am grateful for my Mama who raised me with wholesome, unconditional love. I am grateful for the people in my life who have been mothering to me (regardless of their age or gender). I am grateful, too, that I am now a mother (“Mama Coco”) and that I get to share this adventure of motherhood with such a kind and loving mother as my wife. 

So, happy Mothering Day to all you who mother! And here is a song dedicated to those who have mothered me:

Health Care in a Social Anarchist Society

Recently I had a discussion about anarchism which brought up some questions that I was not immediately able to answer. The main question being, in an Anarchist society, what would happen to those with disabilities? What would happen to social services, health services, and mental health services? It took some reflection on my part, and then some research.

My first reaction is that people are inherently good, and there are so many  people in the world (myself included) whose drive is to help people. This would not disappear. So many of the services to people with disabilities and mental health needs are non-profit. While they still have paid workers, many have several volunteers. I can think of several examples here in Eugene, Oregon: OSLP (where I work), Looking Glass, White Bird Clinic, Mind Freedom and SAFE, inc. (run by people who have mental illnesses for people who have mental illnesses), and those are just a few. I suppose it would look a little different in an anarchist society, but I do not believe that these services would disappear.

Another very important point: Anarchy is based on community and cooperation! Many anarchists envision a socialized system of health care in an anarchist society. This is an important aspect of Social Anarchism. There would be public services, and this would vary from one community to another based on the needs and desires of those communities.  Here is a great article on this topic--the last section focuses on what future anarchist health care might look like: An Anarchist Vision of Universal Health Care: Mutual Aid Through Self-Managed Health Cooperatives.


It is  often beneficial to look at the past to see how these ideas work in action. During the Spanish Civil War, there was a collective anarchist movement providing free health care to people. Doctors from rural areas joined village collectives. They built hospitals. Take away the government, and all you're really taking away from health care is politics, restrictions, and inequality. People naturally take care of people. Some recent examples of anarchist health care in the United States are:  the Anarchist Black Cross, which provides first aid, health care, and trainings to protestors (see "How to Deal with Pepper Spray at Protests," Peacework March 2008). There are Black Cross Support Groups around the country.  There is also the Common Ground Collective, which began in the wake of Hurricane Katrina (see "Military in New Orleans Requests Help from Anarchist Relief Project," Peacework, October 2005). And from 1969 to 1973,  there was the Jane Collective, which provided safe abortions to women during the years that abortions illegal.

There is also the view that our society is the cause of much of mental health problems we have today. I believe there is some truth in that. Our society is fast-paced, and not catered at all to the uniqueness of individuals. The media constantly makes us feel bad about ourselves, and the government instills fear in us. Still, a revolutionary society will not make mental illnesses or developmental disabilities disappear. What we need as a society is more acceptance. We need to embrace people who have mental illenesses/disabilities/autism/personality disorders, etc., into our communities. This not only needs  to happen in our present society (check out the "Look Me In The Eye Campaign" in Eugene and Springfield,  OR), but also within the anarchist community (this article pleeing for acceptance within the anarchist community rang true for me based on past experiences: "Making Room for Difference: An Anarchist Response to Disability").

This is a great article answering to many common arguments to anarchism, and also explaining the reason for the misconceptions of anarchism: "Everything you ever wanted to know about anarchism but were afraid to ask."

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