Theresa Cusimano

There is but one law for all: the law of humanity and justice. - Jimmy Carter

From an email from SOA Watch:

Those words adorn the wall inside the courtroom of Judge Stephen Hyles at the Columbus Georgia courthouse. And there they remain - strong words that ring hollow in face of injustice, merely adornments.

Theresa Cusimanocrossing the line.

For her act of peacefully crossing the line at Fort Benning, Georgia – a misdemeanor offense - a 6-month sentence was imposed on Theresa Cusimano. Those who train men with guns at the SOA/WHINSEC, those who created those torture manuals, have never had to defend their actions, yet Theresa is being sentenced to six months in prison for nonviolently calling attention to the US military's role in the violence carried out against her sisters and brothers in the Americas. 

Theresa Cusimano wrote the following statement to Judge Stephen Hyles before her sentencing, telling him that his complicity goes on record today as obstructing international justice and U.S. Rule of Law, and that she wished that he had the courage of Father Roy and the honor of being a subversive.:

"22 years ago, Father Roy Bourgeois played a recording of Bishop Romero's final homily from the day before he was assassinated by School of the America graduates. Romero was labeled a subversive for identifying with the poor. Roy was so sure that once Romero's community heard this homily, their hearts would be changed. So he climbed a tree with his friends, replaying Romero's words to Salvadoran soldiers who were being trained at the School of the Americas to kill their brothers and sisters. Roy wore a Navy uniform representative of his military service in Viet Nam. Because of this action, Roy and his friends joined this circle of "subversives" by shining light on the truth of how the
U.S. was spending our tax dollars on its gambling game known as U.S. foreign policy. In this dirty war business "subversives" become fair game for U.S. trained and financed militias while the U.S. continues to profit, sitting back and watching the body count grow, with mass graves filled with hundreds of thousands of mutilated children, raped women and countless, faceless corpses of unknowing communities.

Who are we?

Columbus is a proud community that does not deserve the stain that the Schools of the Americas brings. The Fort's barbed wire fence was not built to aid and abet the U.S. from international accountability for the human rights crimes facilitated by the SOA, violating U.S. statutes requiring transparency, not to mention military ethics. Yet you handcuff, videotape and fingerprint me as a criminal.

It seems we are in a bit of a stalemate. Our prisons are over filled, and our courts underfunded. Yet, you, Stephen Hyles, allow this expensive stalemate to continue. You pretend we are here for trespass, wasting precious resources, ignoring talent and idealism that could be put to better use. Because the Columbus magistrates do not recuse themselves despite their conflicts of interest, because you continue to deny defenses that would allow this debate to come to light. Since international law experts are not granted admission to this hearing, you and I are here today on Friday the 13th... you forced to listen and me sentenced to your prison, as a peaceful protestor. Nowhere else but in Georgia can such extreme sentencing be found to protect a base with a tagline, Maneuvers in Excellence. Is this what you call excellence? I want my tax dollars back. I suppose I should be grateful to make use of my tax dollars in another boondoggle economy that lacks accountability, the U.S. prison system.

I beg your pardon while you make a mockery of justice and we pay the price. General Eisenhower warned us of this stalemate as he left the White House. He warned that the military complex would suck all of the resources our country needed for its people, our schools, our hospitals to fuel its addiction to war. Nobel Peace Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu begs Americans to, "Stop exporting U.S. warfare." My witness today Judge Hyles, is to hold you accountable, for the schools that will close this year, the veteran benefits that will be too expensive to make good on, the national service programs like AmeriCorps that will be threatened because you sat silent as precious resources fund the renamed School of the Americas in its latest Honduran coup. You may not hold a machete, or ask children to detonate the landmines used in U.S. financed coups with the protections of a soldier trained here, but your complicity goes on record today as obstructing international justice and U.S. Rule of Law.  You have other choices. I only wish you had the courage of Father Roy and the honor of being a subversive.

With employment at an all-time low, who are we to challenge Georgia's largest employer? We are 300 prisoners of our conscience who have served more than 100 years in prison, collectively. We are supported by hundreds of thousands of protestors. Our legislative campaign with no real funding comes within ten votes of inviting accountability. Today you could choose justice, Judge Hyles... it's well within your reach."

*Theresa Cusimano, SOA Watch Prisoner of Conscience, January 13, 2012*

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Before carrying her protest onto the base in November 2011, Theresa addressed thousands of human rights activists at the gates of Fort Benning with a request:

"...Our message is not being heard in Congress, our lawmakers have been purchased by other priorities, so youth and students in the movement ask for you to help us in the Court of Public Opinion and go online to the Daily Show's Facebook page, register in for their Forum. Request that Father Roy be invited onto the Daily Show, and the Colbert Report. Don't stop until we get Roy's voice into the media mainstream, Hardball with
Chris Matthews, Rachel Maddow, Keith Olbermann and the Sunday morning circuit. Don't let my civil action go to waste."

"Almost Gone" by Nash and Raymond

A tribute to Bradley Manning, who is a hero of mine.  He has suffered greatly for his release of information about the US Government and US military that the world needed to know.  I wish there were more people like Bradley Manning.

The evil the US did in Fallujah

Of the current problems in Fallujah, the most alarming is a mounting public health crisis. In the years since the invasion, doctors in Fallujah have reported drastic increases in the number of premature births, infant mortality, and birth defects—babies born without skulls, missing organs, or with stumps for arms and legs. Fallujah General Hospital reported that, out of 170 babies born in September 2009, 24 percent died within the first seven days, of which 75 percent were deformed — as compared to August 2002, when there were 530 babies born, only six deaths, and one deformity. As the years go by, the problem seems to be getting worse, and doctors are increasingly warning women not to have children.

Rest of the story here.

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What the American people have done to Fallujah is massively, massively evil.

Protest against the war on Iraq - 9 years ago

Half a million people marched on Jan. 18, 2003, in opposition to the looming war on Iraq—the largest anti-war demonstration in Washington, D.C., since the Vietnam era.

Photo came from an A.N.S.W.E.R. email.

More Ron Paul

This video is on "Humanitarian Bombing" and the hideously evil results.  I don't like Ron Paul's domestic policies, but his positions on war and violence are outstanding in my opinion.  I am so sick of US politicians and Americans who don't give a shit about the violence they visit on other people.  This video includes scenes from the US/NATO bombing in Libya.  It is beyond shameful. 

Excellent ads by Ron Paul

In this first one, Paul tries to show how our occupations of foreign countries is indefensible.



This second ad is about the recent lies concerning Iran.  It reflects on how we were lied into war with Iraq.  It shows how Ron Paul clearly called out this war propaganda back then, and still is today.

Martin Luther King Jr Holiday

Pilgrimage to Nonviolence

By Martin Luther King, Jr.

Excerpted from "Stride Toward Freedom" in 1958

The philosophy of nonviolence - 
Since the philosophy of nonviolence played such a positive role in the Montgomery movement, it may be wise to turn to a brief discussion of some basic aspects of this philosophy.

First, it must be emphasized that nonviolent resistance is not a method for cowards; it does resist. If one used this method because he is afraid, he is not truly nonviolent. That is why Gandhi often said that if cowardice is the only alternative to violence, it is better to fight. He made this statement conscious of the fact that there is always another alternative: no individual or group need ever submit to any wrong, nor need they use violence to right the wrong; there is the way of nonviolent resistance. This is ultimately the way for the strong man. It is not a method of stagnant passivity. The phrase "passive resistance" often gives the false impression that this is a sort of "do-nothing method" in which the resister quietly and passively accepts evil. But nothing is further from the truth.  For while the nonviolent resister is passive in the sense that he is not physically aggressive toward his opponent, his mind and emotions are always active, constantly seeking to persuade his opponents that he is wrong. The method is passive physically, but strongly active spiritually. It is not passive resistance to evil, it is active nonviolent resistant to evil.

A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that is does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship and understanding. The nonviolent resister may often express his protest through noncooperation or boycotts, but he realizes that these are not ends in themselves; they are merely means to awaken a sense of moral shame in the opponent. The end is redemption and reconciliation. The aftermath of nonviolence is the creation of the beloved community, while the aftermath of violence is tragic bitterness.

A third characteristic of this method is that the attack is directed against forces of evil rather than against persons who happen to be doing the evil. It is evil that the nonviolent resister seeks to defeat, not the person victimized by the evil. If he is opposing racial injustice, the nonviolent resister has the vision to see that the basic tension is not between races. As I like to say to the people in Montgomery: "The tension in the city is not between white people and Negro people. The tension is, at bottom, between justice and injustice, between the forces of light and the forces of darkness. And if there is a victory, it will be a victory not merely for 50,000 Negroes, but a victory for justice and the forces of light. We are out there to defeat injustice and not white persons who may be unjust."

A fourth point that characterizes nonviolent resistance is a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation, to accept blows from the opponent without striking back. "Rivers of blood may have to flow before we gain our freedom, but is must be our blood," Gandhi said to his countrymen. The nonviolent resister is willing to accept violence if necessary, but never to inflict it. He does not seek to dodge jail. If going to jail is necessary, he enters it "as a bridegroom enters the bride's chamber."

One may well ask: "What is the nonviolent resister's justification for this ordeal to which he invites men, for this mass political application of the ancient doctrine of turning the other cheek?" The answer is found in the realization that unearned suffering is redemptive. Suffering, the nonviolent resister realizes, has tremendous educational and transforming possibilities. "Things of fundamental importance to people are not secured by reason alone, but have to be purchased with their suffering," said Gandhi. He continued: "Suffering is infinitely more powerful than the law of the jungle for converting the opponent and opening his ears which are otherwise shut to the voice of reason."

A fifth point concerning nonviolent resistance is that it avoids not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. The nonviolent resister not only refuses to shoot his opponent but he also refuses to hate him. At the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love. The nonviolent resister would contend that in the struggle for human dignity, the oppressed people of the world must not succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter or indulging in hate campaigns. To retaliate in kind would do nothing but intensify the existence of hate in the universe. Along the way of life, someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate. This can only be done by projecting the ethic of love to the center of lour lives.

In speaking of love at this point, we are not referring to some sentimental or affectionate emotion. It would be nonsense to urge men to love their oppressors in an affectionate sense. Love in this connection means understanding, redemptive good will. Here the Greek language comes to our aid. There are three words for love in the Greek New testament. First, there is eros. In Platonic philosophy eros meant the yearning of the soul for the realm of the divine. It has come now to mean a sort of aesthetic or romantic love. Second, there is philia which means intimate affection between personal friends. Philia denotes a sort of reciprocal love; the person loves because he is loved. When we speak of loving those who oppose us, we refer to neither eros nor philia; we speak of love which is expressed in the Greek word Agape. Agape means understanding, redeeming good will for all men. It is an overflowing love which is purely spontaneous, unmotivated, groundless, and creative. It is not set in motion by any quality or function of its object. It is the love of God operating in the human heart.

Agape is disinterested love. It is a love in which the individual seeks not his own good, but the good of his neighbor (1 Cor. 10-24). 'Agape does not begin by discriminating between worthy and unworthy people, or any qualities people possess. It begins by loving others for their sakes. It is an entirely "neighbor-regarding concern for others," which discovers the neighbor in every man it meets. Therefore, agape makes no distinction between friend and enemy; it is directed toward both. If one loves an individual merely on account of his friendliness, he loves him for the sake of benefits to be gained from the friendship, rather than for the friend's sake. Consequently, the best way to assure oneself that love is disinterested is to have love for the enemy-neighbor from whom you can expect no good in return, but only hostility and persecution.

Another basic point about agape is that it springs from the need of the other person - his need for belonging to the best of the human family. The Samaritan who helped the Jew in the Jericho Road was "good" because he responded to the human need that he was presented with. God's love is eternal and fails not because man needs his love. St. Paul assures us that the loving act of redemption was done "while we were yet sinners" - that is, at the point of our greatest need for love. Since the white man's personality is greatly distorted by segregation, and his soul is greatly scarred, he needs the love of the Negro.

The Negro must love the white man, because the white man needs his love to remove his tensions, insecurities and fears. Agape is not a weak, passive love. It is love in action. Agape is love seeking to preserve and create community. It is insistence on community even when one seeks to break it. Agape is a willingness to sacrifice in the interest of mutuality. Agape is a willingness to go to any length to restore community. It doesn't stop at the first mile, but goes the second mile to restore community. The cross is the eternal expression of the length to which God will go in order to restore broken community. The resurrection is a symbol of God's triumph over all the forces that that seek to block community. The Holy Spirit is the continuing community creating reality that moves through history. He who works against community is working against the whole of creation. Therefore, if I respond to hate with a reciprocal hate I do nothing but intensify the cleavage in broken community. I can only close the gap in broken community by meeting hate with love. If I meet hate with hate, I become depersonalized, because creation is so designed that my personality can only be fulfilled in the context of community. Booker T. Washington was right: "Let no man pull you so low that he makes you hate him." When he pulls you that low he brings you to the point of working against community; he drags you to the point of defying creation, and thereby becoming depersonalized.

In the final analysis, agape means recognition of the fact that all life is interrelated. All humanity is involved in a single process, and all men are brothers. To the degree that I harm my brother, no matter what he is doing to me, to that extent I am harming myself. For example, white men often refuse federal aid to education in order to avoid giving the Negro his rights; but because all men are brothers they cannot deny Negro children without harming their own. They end, all efforts to the contrary, by hurting themselves. Why is this?  Because men are brothers. If you harm me, you harm yourself.

Love, agape, is the only cement that can hold this broken community together. When I am commanded to love, I am commanded to restore community, to resist injustice, to meet the needs of my brothers.

A sixth basic fact about nonviolent resistance is that it is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice. Consequently, the believer in nonviolence has deep faith in the future. This faith is another reason why the nonviolent resister can accept suffering without retaliation. For he knows that in his struggle for justice he has cosmic companionship. It is true that there are devout believers in nonviolence who find it difficult to believe in a personal God. But even these persons believe in the existence of some creative force that works for universal wholeness. Whether we call it an unconscious process, an impersonal Brahman, or a Personal Being of matchless power and infinite love, there is a creative force in this universe that works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole.

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This reading is from The Class of Nonviolence, prepared by Colman McCarthy of the Center for Teaching Peace, 4501 Van Ness Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016 202/537-1372

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I am posting this piece to honor Martin Luther King, Jr., and all people who struggle for justice via non-violent change around the world.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

01/15/12 WORLDWIDE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR UNITY
This will be held at Vance Monument at 7 PM.  Please bring your own light.  On his birthday and in the spirit of Dr. King's vision for racial and economic equality, peace, and non-violence, we are holding candlelight vigils to unite our world in a global movement for systemic change.  Wherever we may be, whether in our homes, in city squares, online, Occupies, or at work, we lift a beautiful message high above the political dialogue. We light the dream of a more equitable world in our hearts. We can overcome!  More information at http://j15global.com/

01/16/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR PEACE WALK AND RALLY
This starts at 11 AM with a singing and speeches event and a short rally for the MLK Peace Walk that starts at Noon.  The location is St. James Church.

01/16/12 FILM NIGHT AT KENILWORTH PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Join us Monday, January 16 in the Fellowship Hall for our Second Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Celebration.  There will be a community potluck from 5:30-6:30 pm and then a screening of the documentary Freedom Riders. The event will be hosted by Marvin Chambers, a Kenilworth resident and civil rights activist.  This will be a special evening of education and reflection.   www.kenilworthpresbyterianchurch.org

01/17/12 OCCUPY THE US CONGRESS DAY

01/17/12 PANEL DISCUSSION ON SNCC AT UNCA
Time is 12:20 PM and the location is Highsmith University Union, Room 224. Isaac Coleman and Carol Rogoff, members of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, will discuss their roles in this key civil rights organization on this panel discussion

01/17/12 DOCUMENTARY ON LIBERIA AT UNCA
Time is 8 PM.  The documentary film “Iron Women of Liberia,” will be shown at Highsmith University Union, Room 143.  In January 2006, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was inaugurated president, immediately earning a place in history as the first woman ever elected president of an African nation. Since her victory, President Johnson-Sirleaf has appointed women to key positions throughout the government. This diverse group, along with other women across the country, has adopted their popular president’s nickname: They are the “Iron Ladies of Liberia.” The film follows the president and the extraordinary women surrounding her as they develop and implement policies to rebuild their ravaged country and prevent a descent back into civil war.

01/19/12 PUBLIC MEETING ON LICENSING A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN SC
Car pools now being formed to attend and speak at Public Meeting that will focus on the licensing of two new units at a new site near Gaffney, SC on the Broad River. This would be 60 miles from Asheville. We are too concerned about the health of our community to allow this. Contact Laura Sorensen at 545-4443 or Lsredoak@gmail.com for more info.  This meeting will be held at Restoration Church International, 1905 North Limestone St., Gaffney, SC.  Time is 7 PM.

01/19/12 MOVE TO AMEND RESOLUTION MEETING
Please be reminded that our next meeting is to take place at 6:30 PM on Jan. 19 in classroom #4 which is on the basement level of Asheville's Unitarian Universalist Church, northwest corner on Charlotte St. and Edwin Place.  Parking is available on the north side of the building. The easiest way to enter is through the recessed door at the lower level on the northwest corner of the building & that will be unlocked.  We will consider progress re proposed AVL City Council resolution.  Please  incorporate Hal Hogstrom's accurate correction of the resolution to be more correctly worded: "Therefore be it resolved that the City Council of Asheville, NC, on behalf of the citizens of our municipality, calls on our elected representatives in the United States Congress to "initiate the process to amend the Constitution", rather than "enact an amendment to the Constitution", as the former would offer a constitutionally valid course of action.

01/19/12 FILM SCREENING AT UNCA
Time is 12:30 PM and the location is Highsmith University Union, Room 143.  The film “Whatever it Takes,” will be shown.  This film chronicles the struggles and triumphs of this innovative public high school. While the learning environment is a safe haven compared to many of the students’ former schools, principal Tom’s ideals run up against reality midway through the school year. More than half of his students are failing, detention hall is overflowing, and gang members start recruiting at the school. Even some teachers harbor doubts, exhausted from 16-hour workdays and disillusioned with Tom’s inconsistent discipline policy. Whatever it Takes is a deeply emotional story of dedicated teachers and cutting-edge ideas, united in their vision to restore hope to a community.

01/19/12 DISCUSSION ON RACISM AT UNCA IN OBSERVANCE OF MLK WEEK
Time is 7 PM and location is Lipinsky Auditorium.  Change starts with people, relationships and courage. Join our campus community and become empowered as damali ayo—activist, speaker and artist—uses her humorous stories and award-winning art to provide practical tools for building better communities. Her creative, pragmatic and satirical approach makes hard conversations about racial justice more accessible. Audience members will receive a copy of damali’s “I Can Fix Racism” guide following her talk. Free and open to the public. Contact Tracie Pouliot at 828/251-6991.

01/20/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at the home of Steve and Beth Gilman.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM.  Directions to the Gilman's home:  Take Highway 70 – Tunnel Road east from downtown Asheville. (From Interstate 240 going east, take Exit 7 and turn left at end of ramp.) Go several miles past the VA Hospital on left. Just before Blue Ridge Parkway overpass, turn right at stoplight onto Pleasant Ridge Road. Take 2nd right turn onto Wagon Road. Then turn left onto Birchwood to #18 on left.  Physicians, health personnel and, yes, everyone; all are welcomed at the monthly meetings!  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

01/20/12 OCCUPY FEDERAL COURTHOUSES
A local “Move to Amend” group is considering an action on this date at the Federal Courthouse at 100 Otis Street in Asheville.  Time TBD.  Also, the local Occupy Asheville group is planning on occupying the Federal Courthouse in Asheville all day.  Here is their statement:  This is a national event to draw attention to the US Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in favor of Citizen’s United.  The Wikipedia page is here.  Justice John Paul Stevens, in a dissenting opinion, wrote:  “At bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”  If you’re against corporate money controlling our elections, please help occupy our Federal Courthouse!

01/20/12 – 01/21/12 “Come Together and Create,”
This is two-day showcase and celebration of local performing artists at Carol Belk Theatre on the UNC Asheville campus.  To learn more contact Lise Kloeppel at 251-6940 or lkloeppel@unca.edu.  Performances include:
6:30 p.m. Jan. 20: UNCA Percussion Ensemble, La’Ney West African Dance Ensemble, DeWayne Barton aka BLove, Jonathan Santos and Greg Lynch aka Alpha Lee. Free.
8 p.m. Jan. 20: An original play, “I Hope You Dance,” presented by the Urban Arts Institute. Free.
6:30 p.m. Jan. 21: “Asheville’s Sunday Best,” gospel singing competition to benefit A Bridge to Independence, a nonprofit dedicating to helping homeless youth. $6 in advance at Venus Beauty Salon, 891D Patton Ave., Asheville, or $8 at the door.

01/22/12 BENEFIT FOR A-HOPE
Benefit dance at the Gray Eagle in Asheville.  Time is 5:30 to 9 PM, and this is to benefit Homeward Bound’s A-Hope Day Center.  Cost is $10.  The music will be by Vollie, Kari, and the Western Wildcats.  Homeward Bound is working to end the cycle of homelessness in our community.

01/23/12 BUILDING BRIDGES
“Going Beyond Racism through Understanding and Respect”  This Building Bridges session will last for nine consecutive Mondays, from 1/23/12 to 3/19/12.   It will be held at 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, which is the new MAHEC campus.  Time is 7 to 9 PM.  Register at www.buildingbridges-asheville.org or call 828-777-4585.
More information:  Envision by 2020 an Asheville where race is just a part of our "flava" and not the means by which we allocate goods, services and access; where concepts like educational disparities and structural racism in health care delivery are a distant memory to our community.  Envision a Western North Carolina where employment opportunities are plentiful to anyone who is skilled or qualified for a position.  Envision a community burgeoning with commissions and councils, entities and enterprises, collectives and corporations joining to collaboratively help with unlearning racism, yet creating awareness of unearned privilege...thereby cultivating harmony among all of our neighbors.  We, at Building Bridges, believe that it is not only possible, but likely that we will restore and reconcile the family, community and global society with dialogue, awareness, justice-making action and mutual accountability. 

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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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Save Asheville’s water

Attached website has information on local issue with Asheville Water.  Activist Barry Summers spoke about this recently. He asked that I share this link to his website.  Thanks. Clare

Save Asheville's Water (www.ashevillewater.blogspot.com).

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From the listserve for Veterans for Peace, Chapter 099:

See http://warcrimestimes.org/ for an article on Martin Luther King that I wrote two years ago and just re-posted (it's accompanied by a Laura Sorensen photo of one of Ole's peace symbols on a well-placed pole). The message is still relevant as are MLK's words from 1967. What's changed is that folks have finally become fed up with the inequality and are taking the initiative that he called for, and are beginning to come together in solidarity. - Kim Carlyle


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A NEW NUCLEAR POWER PLANT 60 MILES FROM ASHEVILLE?  ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF CORPORATE GREED OVER PUBLIC NEED!

A new nuclear power plant is proposed near Gaffney, SC just 60 miles from Asheville.  Below are instructions on how to make a public comment on this proposed nuclear plant (to be called the William States Lee Nuclear Plant or Lee Nuclear Plant) and talking points that you can use.  The deadline for written comments is March 6. 2012.  Always reference document by putting this in the subject line of email or at the top of a written letter:   “76 FR 79228, December 21, 2011”

You can email your comment to:   LEE.COLAEIS@NRC.GOV

You can mail your comment to:
Chief, Rulemaking and Directives Branch       
Office of Administration                                                                     
Mail Stop: TWB-05-B01M                                                                        
US Nuclear Regulatory Commission                                                       
Washington, DC  20555-0001                                                                

TALKING POINTS CONCERNING THE PROPOSED LEE NUCLEAR PLANT

1)  Nuclear Power Is Dangerous:  Radiation exposure damages reproductive cells, immune system—causes genetic mutations and cancer, spontaneous abortion, mental retardation, spina bifida, heart disease, leukemia and more. (National Academy of Sciences, World Health Organization).   The truth is we are all are at risk.  According to the National Academy of Science, there is no safe level of radiation. You cannot taste it, smell it or see it.  Health effects can show up 10-30 years later. The NRC chief reported to Sen. Barbara Boxer in a recent report that 26 million potassium iodide tablets have been distributed to States.  US population is 310.5 million.  The so called 10 mile and 50 mile risk area around nuclear plants doesn’t hold true to the people and children of Belarus, victims of 1986 Chernobyl fallout who are still suffering debilitating diseases as a result of contamination from 124 miles away.  In Japan, Fukushima has sent fallout to Tokyo and Asheville is 3 times closer to Gaffney’s proposed nuclear site.  The NRC quotes the research done from the Chernobyl accident where thyroid cancer in children who ate radioactive food supplies OUTSIDE the safety zones was reported.  There is also Chernobyl Heart, a genetic disorder in which children in Ukraine are born with holes in their hearts.  Is nuclear worth this kind of risk and human suffering?

2) Broad River:  Lee Nuclear Plant would use 47 million gallons of water per day with 75% loss through evaporation. Two large cooling lakes, (one is a 3 day back-up) would steam and cool 2 reactors that produce as much heat as 1200 atomic bombs. Even the NRC calls the Broad River “small” and climate changes suggest possible droughts.  Shut down could happen due to lack of water for cooling; a very dangerous occurrence.  It currently supports a hydropower station, the huge Cliffside coal plant only 16 miles upriver and Summer nuclear plant (1 reactor, 2 more proposed) downstream near Columbia, SC.   After use, water is returned to the river as “thermal pollution” (warm water) which stresses fish, other animals living in the area and negatively impacts the surrounding environment.  The SC Dept of Natural Resources lists the Carolina Fantail Darter fish that lives in the Broad River as “critically imperiled” in South Carolina & warns of “high conservation priority”.

3) Money Problems:  Price tag for the 2 nuclear reactors has grown from $11 to $14 billion.  Duke Power wants customers, 70% in NC and 30% in SC, to pay pre-construction costs through rate hikes in addition to taxpayers shouldering the entire financial risk through Federal Loan Guarantees.  Another Bail-Out in the making! Wall Street won’t invest because as the Congressional Budget Office says, default rate on loans for new reactors “very high well above 50%”. Duke and Progress said their proposed merger was the only way to build more nuclear but the Fed. Govt. has refused the request twice in opposition to such a large monopoly.  The estimated start-up date is from 2018 to 2020.

4) Uranium Mining: Uranium fuel is not a renewable or clean source of energy.  Miners have been diagnosed with lung diseases, cancer. Uranium mining releases radon from the ground into the atmosphere. Mines and mining waste can release radionuclide, including radon and other pollutants to streams, springs, and other bodies of water.

5) Nuclear Waste:  Storing radioactive waste on-site has contaminated ground water at many reactor sites. After more than 40 years of commercial radioactive waste generation, there is no long term location to keep it safe and contrary to many claims, no way to “recycle” it. Out of 104 US reactor sites, 100 have contaminated soil leading to contaminated ground water.  Why will Lee be different?  Nuclear waste remains radioactive for millions of years. This is critical to safety planning. There is Currently 145 million tons of waste at 77 US sites.

6) AP1000 Westinghouse Reactor:  Rep Ed Markey’s statement: “Instead of doing all they should to protect nuclear reactors against seismically-induced ground acceleration, these Commissioners (NRC) voted to approve the acceleration of reactor construction.  They have fast-tracked construction of a reactor whose shield building could ‘shatter like a glass cup’ if impacted by an earthquake or other natural or man-made impact”.  This is a new design, that has never been built, that is proposed for 14 new reactors in the Southeast.

Jackson Browne and the Dawes in Zucotti Park

The US military empire in 2012

WHAT IS THE UNITED STATES AFRAID OF?
We are a nation of bed-wetting cowards who show their fear via aggression, and do untold damage to the innocent people of the world.

And defense spending is a lousy way to provide jobs. 

And I am sick, sick, sick of the cheerleaders for wars and destruction.

I see your true colors, shining through...

Well, the editor of the NYT has a new column out today, where he asks:

Should The Times Be a Truth Vigilante?

And that certainly sheds some light on the concerns I have about the fact that the NYT is lying about Iran, just like they lied about Iraq. Apparently, the NYT does not realize what journalism is all about! I recommend reading the comments below the article, they are quite funny.

The NYT itself, however, is quite sad.

Protest against Guantanamo - 2012

Photo from a Witness Against Torture email

How very disgusting that the US has had a prison off-shore for 10 years that shows no respect for the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights or human decency.  Hundreds of people still are stuck in Guantanamo, many of whom have never been charged with a crime, and many of whom were told they would be released.  How very disgusting that Obama said he would close Guantanamo, but did not.  I could say that at least Obama has not sent more people there - but that is due to the fact that her prefers to kill those he thinks are "terrorists" rather than kidnapping and torturing them as Bush and Cheney did.

A STORY FROM GUANTANAMO:

My Guantánamo Nightmare

The fact that the United States had made a mistake was clear from the beginning. Bosnia’s highest court investigated the American claim, found that there was no evidence against me and ordered my release. But instead, the moment I was released American agents seized me and the five others. We were tied up like animals and flown to Guantánamo, the American naval base in Cuba. I arrived on Jan. 20, 2002.

I still had faith in American justice. I believed my captors would quickly realize their mistake and let me go. But when I would not give the interrogators the answers they wanted — how could I, when I had done nothing wrong? — they became more and more brutal. I was kept awake for many days straight. I was forced to remain in painful positions for hours at a time. These are things I do not want to write about; I want only to forget.

I went on a hunger strike for two years because no one would tell me why I was being imprisoned. Twice each day my captors would shove a tube up my nose, down my throat and into my stomach so they could pour food into me. It was excruciating, but I was innocent and so I kept up my protest.

ANOTHER ONE:

Notes From a Guantánamo Survivor

I later learned the United States paid a $3,000 bounty for me. I didn’t know it at the time, but apparently the United States distributed thousands of fliers all over Afghanistan, promising that people who turned over Taliban or Qaeda suspects would, in the words of one flier, get “enough money to take care of your family, your village, your tribe for the rest of your life.” A great number of men wound up in Guantánamo as a result.

I was taken to Kandahar, in Afghanistan, where American interrogators asked me the same questions for several weeks: Where is Osama bin Laden? Was I with Al Qaeda? No, I told them, I was not with Al Qaeda. No, I had no idea where bin Laden was. I begged the interrogators to please call Germany and find out who I was. During their interrogations, they dunked my head under water and punched me in the stomach; they don’t call this waterboarding but it amounts to the same thing. I was sure I would drown.

At one point, I was chained to the ceiling of a building and hung by my hands for days. A doctor sometimes checked if I was O.K.; then I would be strung up again. The pain was unbearable.

After about two months in Kandahar, I was transferred to Guantánamo. There were more beatings, endless solitary confinement, freezing temperatures and extreme heat, days of forced sleeplessness. The interrogations continued always with the same questions. I told my story over and over — my name, my family, why I was in Pakistan. Nothing I said satisfied them. I realized my interrogators were not interested in the truth.

++++++++++++++++++++

These stories make me very, very, very angry.  America has become very, very evil in the last 12 years.  And Americans, and the US government, is not interested in the truth.  The country I grew up in is gone.

NYT and articles on Iran

Dear Public Editor:

It seems your newspaper learned nothing from the Judith Miller fiasco.   Now you are printing a bunch of lies about Iran, and how it is a threat to the USA and the "west" -- all of which is total nonsense, as
any thinking person knows.  (However, history has shown us that Americans do not think much, unfortunately.)

Several years back, I head a "Judith Miller goes to jail for the wrong reasons" party.  It was fun, and I had a dozen friends who knew all about Judith Miller's lies that lead to war.  All of us lost respect for the NYT for publishing such nonsense.

I certainly believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe that freedom brings responsibilities.  And in regards to the fact that the NYT published lies (that were easy to disprove - just talk to those McClatchy folks), I believe that the NYT and all it's employees are responsible for the many innocent deaths in Iraq from the war that the NYT helped gin up.  There is no legal responsibility here - just MORAL responsibility.   And I believe the NYT and the people who work there were moral failures in 2002 and 2003.

And, it appears, that you and the rest of the NYT have not learned your lesson at all.

I see the NYT as being covered in innocent Iraqi blood.  It is quite grotesque.

Well, I certainly would prefer to see the NYT (and all of you who work there) go bankrupt, and go to jail for the wrong reasons, than to see one Iranian person's blood be shed for another unnecessary war or (as they are doing now) covert action.    Those innocent people are much, much, much more valuable than the human garbage at the NYT.

If you send a response, I will post it (and this letter) on my blog.

+++++++
The RESPONSE:

Thank you for contacting the Public Editor.  My assistant and I read every message that we receive.  Please note that this office deals specifically with issues of journalistic integrity at The New York Times.  Due to the number of e-mails that we receive on a daily basis, we can only respond to those e-mails that directly pertain to this office.

If a further reply is warranted you will be hearing from us in a timely manner.

Some messages to the public editor may be published in his column or on his blog.  Please let us know if you do not want your message published.

Please note that below the break you will find information on the corrections process, submitting an op-ed, contacting The Times, customer service complaints and more.

Sincerely,
Art Brisbane
Public Editor

Democracy is coming to the USA

Chase Bank

Chase Bank had sent me an unsolicited MasterCard back in May 2002.  I had called and asked them to cancel the card, and one department said it was cancelled while another letter I received said the opposite.  This went on for a few months, and the card kept showing up on my credit report.  I wrote this to Chase Bank in January 2003:

“It should be illegal to force accounts on people that they don’t want and did not ask for, but American banks and credit card operations know no limit to their greed and stupidity.  There lack of consideration and interest in other people knows no boundaries.”

This was in 2003, and I did not figure out there was a housing bubble until 2005 (driven by the banks/mortgage firms and speculators) or that there was extensive fraud going on in the mortgage industry, and that CDS and CDOs were expanding exponentially until 2007.  But even in 2003, I recognized that there was something seriously wrong here.

And the worst is yet to come, in regards to our economic situation.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

01/09/12 OCCUPY PICKET AND SOAP-BOXING AT CITY HALL ENCAMPMENT
Meet up at noon at the physical occupation in front of City Hall.  Come earlier if you want to make signs.  Citizens United is the Supreme Court case that gave corporations unlimited campaign financing rights.  End Corporate Personhood!

01/12/12 TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON
Amnesty International will be holding a protest in DC to mark this horrible anniversary. 

01/13/12 TRANSITION ASHEVILLE POTLUCK & POTLATCH
Interested in sharing resources in order to live?  Come join us! Bring a potluck dish to share, your own dishes and utensils, and an item to give away that you no longer need. This could be a book, an article of clothing, a tool, artwork-- whatever still has life and could be passed on to another user. And, you might win a door prize!  A potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. Extending the First Peoples’ tradition, potlatches now represent an alternative economic system based on redistribution and reciprocity of wealth (versus consumerism). It can also be thought of as a sharing solution that supports community.  After the potluck/potlatch, new book discussion groups will form for those wanting to explore the ideas of the Transition Town movement through Rob Hopkins’ Transition Handbook or his brand new Transition Companion.  Time is 6 PM and the location is First Congregational Church.  For more info, visit www.transitionasheville.org

01/14/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BREAKFAST
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County announced that Dr. Boyce Watkins will give the keynote address at the 31st annual Prayer Breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The breakfast will be the highlight of a series of events from Wednesday, Jan. 11 through Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.  The Prayer Breakfast, which will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, January 14, at the Grove Park Inn, is among the largest public celebrations in Western North Carolina, attracting more than 1,000 citizens and distinguished guests to the historic inn each year.  The Prayer Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. and includes music by the Asheville Unity & Fellowship Choir, directed by Alaysia Black Hackett. Tickets to the breakfast are $25 for adults ($30 after Dec. 31), $15 for youth under 18, and $35 for patrons. Tickets and additional information are available by phone at 828-335-6896 or by email at editor@myowneditor.com.

01/15/12 ASHEVILLE ETHICAL SOCIETY MEETING
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday “Peace and Violence, Two Perspectives into Action – MLK, Jr. and Johann Galtung” will be presented by John Spitzberg at the Sunday, January 15th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market Street in the Ray Auditorium. Spitzberg is a retired special education teacher, social worker, paramedic and currently is a service provider and volunteer with the homeless population in Asheville, president of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace and a member and former Ethical Action Chair of the Ethical Society of Asheville. Tying in his work and belief system to that of MLK, Jr. Spitzberg will introduce Johann Galtung, a Norwegian man in his 80s who is also known for his work for peace and non-violence.  There will be a discussion period following the presentation. Following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome!

01/15/12 WORLDWIDE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR UNITY
This event will be held at Vance Monument at 7 PM.  Please bring your own light.  On his birthday and in the spirit of Dr. King's vision for racial and economic equality, peace, and non-violence, we are holding candlelight vigils to unite our world in a global movement for systemic change.  Wherever we may be, whether in our homes, in city squares, online, Occupies, or at work, we lift a beautiful message high above the political dialogue. We light the dream of a more equitable world in our hearts. We can overcome!  More information at http://j15global.com/

01/16/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR MARCH
This starts at 11 AM with a singing and speeches event and a short rally for the MLK Peace Walk that starts at Noon.  The location is St. James AME Church at 44 Heldebrand Street in Asheville.  This is an annual event.

01/16/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. CELEBRATION

A community potluck will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 PM and then there will be a screening of the documentary “Freedom Riders”.  The event will be hosted by Marvin Chambers, a Kenilworth resident and civil rights activist.  This will be held at Kenilworth Presbyterian Church in Asheville.  Please call 828-252-8872 for more information. 

01/17/12 OCCUPY THE US CONGRESS DAY

01/19/12 PUBLIC MEETING ON LICENSING A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN SC
Car pools now being formed to attend and speak at Public Meeting that will focus on the licensing of two new units at a new site near Gaffney, SC on the Broad River. This would be 60 miles from Asheville. We are too concerned about the health of our community to allow this. Contact Laura Sorensen at 545-4443 or Lsredoak@gmail.com for more info.  This meeting will be held at Restoration Church International, 1905 North Limestone St., Gaffney, SC.  Time is 7 PM.

01/19/12 MOVE TO AMEND RESOLUTION MEETING
Please be reminded that our next meeting is to take place at 6:30 PM on Jan. 19 in classroom #4 which is on the basement level of Asheville's Unitarian Universalist Church, northwest corner on Charlotte St. and Edwin Place.  Parking is available on the north side of the building. The easiest way to enter is through the recessed door at the lower level on the northwest corner of the building & that will be unlocked.  We will consider progress re proposed AVL City Council resolution.  Please  incorporate Hal Hogstrom's accurate correction of the resolution to be more correctly worded: "Therefore be it resolved that the City Council of Asheville, NC, on behalf of the citizens of our municipality, calls on our elected representatives in the United States Congress to "initiate the process to amend the Constitution", rather than "enact an amendment to the Constitution", as the former would offer a constitutionally valid course of action.

01/20/12 WNC PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The next WNC PSR monthly meeting will be at the home of Steve and Beth Gilman.  Brown Bag lunch at noon with meeting from 12:30 to 2 PM.  Directions to the Gilman's home:  Take Highway 70 – Tunnel Road east from downtown Asheville. (From Interstate 240 going east, take Exit 7 and turn left at end of ramp.) Go several miles past the VA Hospital on left. Just before Blue Ridge Parkway overpass, turn right at stoplight onto Pleasant Ridge Road. Take 2nd right turn onto Wagon Road. Then turn left onto Birchwood to #18 on left.  Physicians, health personnel and, yes, everyone; all are welcomed at the monthly meetings!  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

01/20/12 OCCUPY FEDERAL COURTHOUSES
A local “Move to Amend” group is considering an action on this date at the Federal Courthouse at 100 Otis Street in Asheville.  Time TBD.  Also, the local Occupy Asheville group is planning on occupying the Federal Courthouse in Asheville all day.  Here is their statement:  This is a national event to draw attention to the US Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in favor of Citizen’s United.  The Wikipedia page is here.  Justice John Paul Stevens, in a dissenting opinion, wrote:  “At bottom, the Court’s opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt. It is a strange time to repudiate that common sense. While American democracy is imperfect, few outside the majority of this Court would have thought its flaws included a dearth of corporate money in politics.”  If you’re against corporate money controlling our elections, please help occupy our Federal Courthouse!

01/23/12 BUILDING BRIDGES
“Going Beyond Racism through Understanding and Respect”.  This Building Bridges session will last for nine consecutive Mondays, from 1/23/12 to 3/19/12.   It will be held at 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, which is the new MAHEC campus.  Time is 7 to 9 PM.  Register at www.buildingbridges-asheville.org or call 828-777-4585.   More information:  Envision by 2020 an Asheville where race is just a part of our "flava" and not the means by which we allocate goods, services and access; where concepts like educational disparities and structural racism in health care delivery are a distant memory to our community.  Envision a Western North Carolina where employment opportunities are plentiful to anyone who is skilled or qualified for a position.  Envision a community burgeoning with commissions and councils, entities and enterprises, collectives and corporations joining to collaboratively help with unlearning racism, yet creating awareness of unearned privilege...thereby cultivating harmony among all of our neighbors.  We, at Building Bridges, believe that it is not only possible, but likely that we will restore and reconcile the family, community and global society with dialogue, awareness, justice-making action and mutual accountability.

02/02/12  VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street (the corner of Haywood and Roberts), Asheville. VFP CHAPTER 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

02/04/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING BREAKFAST - BLACK MOUNTAIN
The Rev. Aubra Love is the keynote speaker for the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast in Black Mountain, NC on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at Camp Dorothy Walls, AME Conference Center. All are invited and encouraged to attend.  For more information, please contact Tom Cannon, MLK Breakfast Committee (828)778-7166.

02/05/12 BUSKERS FOR CHANGE
A benefit for the buskers of downtown Asheville as well as the Asheville Homeless Network. Performers :  Matt Getman, Sparrow, Fox Black, Nathan Robicheau & Kayvon Kazemini, Drayton and more.  This event is not during your normal business hours for Rosetta's Kitchen.  Rosetta will be providing a cauldron of delicious soup.  Time is from 6 to 9 PM.

02/10/12 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST MOVIE NIGHT
The movie “A Sense of Wonder - the Rachel Carson Story” will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Asheville at the corner of Edwin and Charlotte Street.  Time will be 7 PM.  Donations accepted.  Contact David Williams for more information at devwilliams@juno.com.

*******************************************
ONGOING EVENTS
*******************************************
SUNDAY
Episcopal Peace Fellowship holds a weekly vigil from 4:30 to 5 PM at All Soul's Cathedral.

TUESDAY
Veterans for Peace have a weekly vigil at 4:30 PM at Pack Square, Vance Monument

WEDNESDAY
Haywood Peace Vigilers have a weekly vigil at 4 PM at Haywood Country Courthouse in Waynesville.
Asheville Cop Watch meeting at 5 PM at Firestorm Cafe.

THURSDAY
Asheville Homeless Network meeting at 2 PM at Firestorm Cafe.

FRIDAY
Women in Black have a vigil at 5 PM at Pack Square (Asheville) on the first Friday of the month only.
Women in Black have a weekly vigil at noon at the Old Courthouse in Hendersonville

SATURDAY
Transylvanians for Peace and WNC Physicians for Social Responsibility have a weekly vigil at noon in front of the courthouse in Brevard.

OCCUPY WALL STREET ASHEVILLE
Go to www.occupyasheville.org for more information, or call 888-378-0788. Information on Occupy Asheville late breaking events:  http://occupyasheville.org/calendar/.  General Assembly will be held at 6 PM on Tuesday and Thursday and at 3 PM on Saturday.  Check website for location.

Sad reflections.......

"Why is this man in the White House? The majority of Americans did not vote for him. Why is he there? And I tell you this morning that he's in the White House because God put him there for a time such as this": Lt Gen William Boykin, speaking of G. W. Bush, New York Times, 17 October 2003

=

"God gave the savior to the German people. We have faith, deep and unshakeable faith, that he was sent to us by God to save Germany.":  Hermann Goering, speaking of Hitler

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"A tyrant must put on the appearance of uncommon devotion to religion.  Subjects are less apprehensive of illegal treatment from a ruler whom they consider god-fearing and pious. On the other hand, they do less easily move against him, believing that he has the gods on his side":  Aristotle

=

"International law? I better call my lawyer; he didn't bring that up to me"; George W. Bush, 12 December 2003

Aftereffects of the war/occupation of Iraq

Fallujah Babies

Photo caption:  "Findings suggest the enriched Uranium exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases," says a recent scientific report on the incidence of birth defects in Fallujah. [Dr Samira Alani]

Dahr Jamail writes in Al Jazeera:

Fallujah babies:Under a new kind of siege

"We have all kinds of defects now, ranging from congenital heart disease to severe physical abnormalities, both in numbers you cannot imagine," Alani told Al Jazeera at her office in the hospital, while showing countless photos of shocking birth defects.  As of December 21, Alani, who has worked at the hospital since 1997, told Al Jazeera she had personally logged 677 cases of birth defects since October 2009. Just eight days later when Al Jazeera visited the city on December 29, that number had already risen to 699.

"There are not even medical terms to describe some of these conditions because we've never seen them until now," she said. "So when I describe it all I can do is describe the physical defects, but I'm unable to provide a medical term."  Most of these babies in Fallujah die within 20 to 30 minutes after being born, but not all.

(snip)

In July 2010, Busby released a study that showed a 12-fold increase in childhood cancer in Fallujah since the 2004 attacks. The report also showed the sex ratio had declined from normal to 86 boys to 100 girls, together with a spread of diseases indicative of genetic damage similar to but of far greater incidence than Hiroshima.  Dr Alani visited Japan recently, where she met with Japanese doctors who study birth defect rates they believe related to radiation from the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  She was told birth defect incidence rates there are between 1-2 per cent. Alani's log of cases of birth defects amounts to a rate of 14.7 per cent of all babies born in Fallujah, more than 14 times the rate in the affected areas of Japan.

In Babil Province in southern Iraq, the head of the Babil Cancer Centre, Dr Sharif al-Alwachi, said cancer rates have been escalating at alarming rates since 2003, for which he blames the use of depleted uranium weapons by US forces during and following the 2003 invasion.  "The environment could be contaminated by chemical weapons and depleted uranium from the aftermath of the war on Iraq," Dr Alwachi told Al Jazeera. "The air, soil and water are all polluted by these weapons, and as they come into contact with human beings they become poisonous. This is new to our region, and people are suffering here."

++++++++++++++++++++
I can think of nothing more evil than to take away a community's right to have healthy children.  And that is what the American people have done, and it will last for eons.  This type of pollution will never go away.

Photos from Iraqi photojournalists

A Collection of Photos from Iraq by Iraqi Photojournalists

Many excellent photos here, but I could not copy them to post to this blog.

"First we'll take Manhatten" by Leonard Cohen

Last fall

My sister Mary and I at the October 2011 event in DC.  You can see the Capital and the full moon in the background.  We are united in our opposition to the senseless, evil wars and occupations and bombings that the US government is running.  OUT OF AFGHANISTAN NOW!

Iraq on the brink of civil war?

Slogan in Baghdad:  "Baghdad was built by al-Mansour, humiliated by Saddam and destroyed by the Americans."

The aftermath for US troops who are Iraq war veterans

Regrets



 
More US Troops dying from suicide than combat

The Legacy, Part Sixteen

Mercenaries

The Iraq War Ain’t Over, No Matter What Obama Says

But the fact is America’s military efforts in Iraq aren’t coming to an end. They are instead entering a new phase. On January 1, 2012, the State Department will command a hired army of about 5,500 security contractors, all to protect the largest U.S. diplomatic presence anywhere overseas.  The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security does not have a promising record when it comes to managing its mercenaries. The 2007 Nisour Square shootings by State’s security contractors, in which 17 Iraqi civilians were killed, marked one of the low points of the war. Now, State will be commanding a much larger security presence, the equivalent of a heavy combat brigade. In July, Danger Room exclusively reported that the Department blocked the Congressionally-appointed watchdog for Iraq from acquiring basic information about contractor security operations, such as the contractors’ rules of engagement.


That means no one outside the State Department knows how its contractors will behave as they ferry over 10,000 U.S. State Department employees throughout Iraq — which, in case anyone has forgotten, is still a war zone. Since Iraq wouldn’t grant legal immunity to U.S. troops, it is unlikely to grant it to U.S. contractors, particularly in the heat and anger of an accident resulting in the loss of Iraqi life.  It’s a situation with the potential for diplomatic disaster. And it’s being managed by an organization with no experience running the tight command structure that makes armies cohesive and effective.

++++++++++++
I think mercenaries are fucking evil too.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area this week

UPCOMING EVENTS

01/02/12 BILL OF RIGHTS DEFENSE COMMITTEE
Join us for a talk by George Friday of the Bill of Right Defense Committee.  Federal agencies have used fear and prejudice to undermine what used to be hollowed "freedoms". Since the "Citizen's United" case corporations have become predatory in seeking ways to sap public funds to prop up their economic systems at the cost of libraries, schools, and neighborhoods.  What's the connection and how to regular people make the needed transformation to truly secure communities where everyone is fully seen and valued? Join us to explore.  Location is Firestorm Cafe in downtown Asheville.  George Friday has been Field Organizer for BORDC since Oct 2010, and is a founding Executive Committe member of MTA.  Starting time is 7 PM per email, and 10:15 PM per website.  Call 828-255-8155 to see which one is correct before going (sorry, but I caught this very late and could not straighten out the confusion). 

01/02/12 MOUNTAIN PROTECTORS MEETING
Mountain Protectors meeting starts at 7 PM and will be held at the home of Monica Tilhou at 26 Ivy Street, Asheville.  For more information, contact Mary Olson at maryo@nirs.org or 828-252-8409.

01/04/12 SIERRA CLUB MEETING
Richard Kark will discuss his river canoeing adventures over his lifetime.  Social is at 7 PM and program starts at 7:30 PM.  Location is the Unitarian Church at 1 Edwin Street in Asheville.

01/05/12 VETERANS FOR PEACE MEETING
Time is 6:30 PM and location is VFP HQ at the Phil Mechanic Studios: 109 Roberts Street (the corner of Haywood and Roberts), Asheville. VFP CHAPTER 099: http://vfpchapter099wnc.blogspot.com/

01/06/12 UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST MOVIE NIGHT
The movie “Carbon Nation” will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Asheville at the corner of Edwin and Charlotte Street.  Time will be 7 PM.  Donations accepted.  Contact David Williams for more information at devwilliams@juno.com.

01/07/12 GREEN PARTY MEETING
The Buncombe County GREEN Party's business meeting is free & open to the public. It will be held from 10AM to noon, upstairs in the Fortune Building, 729 Haywood Rd., West Asheville. Contact Ronald @ 828LUCK180 or Larry @ 828-225-4347 for more information.

01/08/12 ASHEVILLE N.O.W. MEETING

Asheville National Organization of Women group will hold a meeting on January 8, 2012.   We will be meeting the 2nd Sunday in every month (unless otherwise noted) at the beautiful Roof Garden (top floor) of the Battery Park Apts., located at 1 Battle Square in downtown Asheville (right behind the Grove Arcade - in the same building as Havanna's Cuban Restaurant).  If you wish to attend, put in code #0810 at the front door and give the person your name and she will buzz you in. Our meetings are from 3:00pm - 5:00pm. Light refreshments are served. If you have a favorite, bring some to share. Green Tea is always available.  We welcome new supporters who share the Asheville NOW philosophy of seeking greater equality for all. Our meetings are informal, because we like it that way.

01/09/12 PUBLIC MEETING - LICENSING A NUCLEAR POWER PLANT IN SC
Car pools now being formed to attend and speak at a Public Meeting that will focus on the licensing of two new units at a new site near Gaffney, SC on the Broad River. This would be 60 miles from Asheville.  Contact Laura Sorensen at 545-4443 or Lsredoak@gmail.com for more info or to carpool.  This meeting will be held at Restoration Church International, 1905 North Limestone St., Gaffney, SC.  Time is 7 PM.

01/12/12 TENTH ANNIVERSARY OF GUANTANAMO BAY PRISON
Amnesty International will be holding a protest in DC to mark this horrible anniversary.

01/14/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BREAKFAST
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Association of Asheville & Buncombe County announced that Dr. Boyce Watkins will give the keynote address at the 31st annual Prayer Breakfast honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The breakfast will be the highlight of a series of events from Wednesday, Jan. 11 through Monday, Jan. 16, 2012.  The Prayer Breakfast, which will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, January 14, at the Grove Park Inn, is among the largest public celebrations in Western North Carolina, attracting more than 1,000 citizens and distinguished guests to the historic inn each year.  The Prayer Breakfast begins at 8:30 a.m. and includes music by the Asheville Unity & Fellowship Choir, directed by Alaysia Black Hackett. Tickets to the breakfast are $30 for adults, $15 for youth under 18, and $35 for patrons. Tickets and additional information are available by phone at 828-335-6896 or by email at editor@myowneditor.com.

01/15/12 ASHEVILLE ETHICAL SOCIETY MEETING
Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday “Peace and Violence, Two Perspectives into Action – MLK, Jr. and Johann Galtung” will be presented by John Spitzberg at the Sunday, January 15th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held at the YMI Cultural Center, 39 South Market Street in the Ray Auditorium. Spitzberg is a retired special education teacher, social worker, paramedic and currently is a service provider and volunteer with the homeless population in Asheville, president of the local chapter of Veterans for Peace and a member and former Ethical Action Chair of the Ethical Society of Asheville. Tying in his work and belief system to that of MLK, Jr. Spitzberg will introduce Johann Galtung, a Norwegian man in his 80s who is also known for his work for peace and non-violence.  There will be a discussion period following the presentation. Following the meeting, there will be time for informal conversation. All are welcome!

01/17/12 OCCUPY THE US CONGRESS DAY

01/23/12 BUILDING BRIDGES
“Going Beyond Racism through Understanding and Respect”
This Building Bridges session will last for nine consecutive Mondays, from 1/23/12 to 3/19/12.   It will be held at 121 Hendersonville Road, Asheville, which is the new MAHEC campus.  Time is 7 to 9 PM.  Register at www.buildingbridges-asheville.org or call 828-777-4585.  More information:  Envision by 2020 an Asheville where race is just a part of our "flava" and not the means by which we allocate goods, services and access; where concepts like educational disparities and structural racism in healthcare delivery are a distant memory to our community.  Envision a Western North Carolina where employment opportunities are plentiful to anyone who is skilled or qualified for a position.  Envision a community burgeoning with commissions and councils, entities and enterprises, collectives and corporations joining to collaboratively help with unlearning racism, yet creating awareness of unearned privilege...thereby cultivating harmony among all of our neighbors.  We, at Building Bridges, believe that it is not only possible, but likely that we will restore and reconcile the family, community and global society with dialogue, awareness, justice-making action and mutual accountability.

02/04/12 MARTIN LUTHER KING BREAKFAST - BLACK MOUNTAIN
The Rev. Aubra Love is the keynote speaker for the Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Breakfast in Black Mountain, NC on Saturday, February 4, 2012, at Camp Dorothy Walls, AME Conference Center. All are invited and encouraged to attend.  For more information, please contact Tom Cannon, MLK Breakfast Committee (828)778-7166.

The Legacy, Part Fifteen

Drones

U.S. drones allowed in Iraqi skies

American troops are almost gone from Iraq, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. military will cease its operations there entirely.  Baghdad has given Washington permission to keep flying Predator drones on surveillance missions over northern Iraq, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said Friday. The unmanned airplanes, which operate out of Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, are being used to look for fighters from the Kurdistan Worker’s Party, or PKK.

The U.S. military had flown the Predators on anti-PKK missions since 2007 from Iraqi bases, but had to move them out of the country this fall as part of the American withdrawal from Iraq. U.S. defense officials had previously acknowledged relocating the drones to Turkey, but Panetta’s statement was the first confirmation that they were still authorized to fly in Iraqi airspace.

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I think drones are fucking evil.

Greenpeace - year in pictures 2011