We are the world (true USA version)

We bomb the world
We kill the children
We are the ones who make a darker day
So let's start bombing
There's a choice we're making
We're destroying our own lives
It's true we'll make a darker day
Just you and me  

"For Everyman" by Jackson Browne

Iraqi and American Reconciliation Project

Obama hit 1,000 today!

As you can see in the sidebar, there is a tally of the number of US military deaths in Afghanistan under Bush and Obama.... and Obama hit one thousand today!  Hooray!

Of course, there are likely more American deaths there- contractors, aid workers, mercenaries, etc.  And there are far, far, far more Afghan deaths under Obama than there are US military deaths.

Obomba is disgusting.

TORTURERS ARE US!!

FromGlenn Greenwald:

In August, 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder -- under continuous, aggressive prodding by the Obama White House -- announced that three categories of individuals responsible for Bush-era torture crimes would be fully immunized from any form of criminal investigation and prosecution:  (1) Bush officials who ordered the torture (Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld); (2) Bush lawyers who legally approved it (Yoo, Bybee, Levin), and (3) those in the CIA and the military who tortured within the confines of the permission slips they were given by those officials and lawyers (i.e., "good-faith" torturers).  The one exception to this sweeping immunity was that low-level CIA agents and service members who went so far beyond the torture permission slips as to basically commit brutal, unauthorized murder would be subject to a "preliminary review" to determine if a full investigation was warranted -- in other words, the Abu Ghraib model of justice was being applied, where only low-ranking scapegoats would be subject to possible punishment while high-level officials would be protected.

And now that the US Department of “justice” has done a preliminary review, they have determined that virtually ALL the cases of homicide (there are two exceptions) by torture done by US agents are okay-dokey.   This is what I expected, but it is still very depressing.   The Obama administration is going to “look forward” and ignore all evidence of wrong doing – except for the whistle blowers.  They will be prosecuted. 

Taguba, who wrote up and conducted the investigation into detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib said this:  "there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account."

And while torture and kidnapping have stopped under the Obama administration, it has been stopped for something worse – outright assassination.

What a sad time in America. 

As Leon Panetta said: "We are now finally about to close this chapter of our agency's history" but we have not closed our nation’s shame.  Far from it.

Upcoming events in the Asheville area and beyond....

Photo:  Samih Tariq, 27, left, and his wife Umm Sajad, center, holding 3-month-old, Sajad, Ahmed Tariq, 24, right, launch lit candles onto the Tigris river to make a wish near the al-Khadir shrine in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, July 3, 2011. Tariq and his wife wished during a similar ceremony last year to have a baby, and conceived Sajad soon afterward. Each candle represents the wishes of one individual for the following year. (AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

UPCOMING EVENTS

07/12/11 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PEACE PLANNING MEETING
This is at Room 102, downstairs at First Congregational Church of Christ in Asheville.  Time is 6 PM.  Peacetown Asheville is organizing this event.

07/15/11 FRIDAY NIGHT MOVIE SERIES AT COMMON LIGHT MEETINGHOUSE
July 15: Budrus - An amazing account of one family's leadership of a movement to prevent Israel's Separation Barrier from slicing the Palestinian village of Budrus in half.
July 22: The Singing Revolution - The people of Estonia had no weapons but their inspiration and their singing culture.  They sang their way to freedom from Soviet domination.
Time is 7:30 PM.  Location is Common Light Meeting House in Black Mountain.
This is presented by Daniel O. Snyder, PhD, who is a private practice pastoral counselor in Asheville and Black Mountain.  He has been studying and teaching nonviolence since l974 and since 2004 has taught a variety of workshops on peacemaking at Common Light Meeting place.   Dan is offering this summer's series of films and discussions, and clinics for the purpose of helping nonviolence toward its "tipping point," supporting awareness of a force that could transform the world.  To register or to find out more, email Mahan Siler at jahan222@bellsouth.net or call 828- 298-9509.

07/15/11 PHYSICIANS FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY MEETING
Lunch will be eaten at noon, and meeting starts at 12:30. Location is NIRS office at 45 Riverview Drive, please park on the street. This meeting is open to all, and a short program is usually included.  Please go to www.wncpsr.org  for more information, which includes how to get there and other details.

07/15/11 DAY OF ACTION ON NUCLEAR WASTE
Meet up at 4 pm on Friday July 15 at Pritchard Park in downtown Asheville, there will be speakers and a march to the US Federal Building to rally at Otis & Patton Avenue.  Message: keep high-level radioactive waste at the nuclear power plants where it is made.  Do not ship it to a so-called “temporary site,” do not ship it through these mountains, do not separate the plutonium.  This is sponsored by the Mountain Protectors Group.

07/16/11 WORK, CAPITALISM, ECONOMICS, RESISTANCE
This author event will be held at Firestorm Cafe & Books at 5 PM.  This is a presentation of the new book by Crimethnic, “Work: Capitalism, Economics, Resistance” followed by a discussion with contributors.

07/16/11 ZEITGEIST MOVEMENT TOWN HALL MEETING
The local sub-chapter of The Zeitgeist Movement will hold its first monthly Town Hall Meeting from 5pm to 7pm at the Hi-Fi Cafe, in the Downtown Market at 45 S French Broad Ave.  We encourage the public to ask questions about The Movement's background and mission, and learn about upcoming chapter events. Food donations requested for Manna Food Bank.  More event info: http://zeitgeist-nc.groupsite.com/group/asheville/calendar/soonest/283134.  Contact Gary at gkentnc@gmail.com for more info about TZM.

07/17/11 ETHICAL SOCIETY OF ASHEVILLE
“The YMI – It’s History, Significance and Present Programs” will be presented by Ronald King at the Sunday, July 17th meeting of the Ethical Society of Asheville, 2:00-3:30 PM, held in the Botanical Gardens Visitor Center, 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd.  The YMI Cultural Center has a rich history, having been built in 1892 and listed on the Historical Registry.  There will be a discussion period following the presentation.  Mr. King is a former battalion chief with the Asheville Fire Department, YMI board member and Interim Director of Operations at the YMI.

07/27/11 NIRS MEETING
“No nukes in WNC” is an educational workshop with Mary Olson, from NIRS Southeast.  Time is 6 to 8 PM.  Held at NIRS House, call for location and directions 828-252-8409.

07/24/11 LETTER WRITING TO IMPRISONED ACTIVISTS
Letter writing circle to send our words of support to imprisoned activists.  Location is the Battery Park Roof Garden from 1:30-3:30 PM. (0206 on keypad at door to be buzzed in).  Come learn about and share information about current U.S. political prisoners. Write letters of support.  Read letters from inside. For Info: Clare Hanrahan 828-242-5610.  Prisoner addresses, writing tips, information on issues and actions and prisoner profiles provided. Support our sisters and brothers who are bearing the burden of dissent. Bring snacks and postcards, stationery & stamps.  RSVP appreciated.

08/12/11 MOVIE NIGHT AT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH  
The movie “Bag It” will be shown at 7 PM.  Donations accepted, this is at the Asheville UU church at Charlotte and Edwin Streets.

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ACTIONS AND READINGS
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This piece (below) came from an email sent to United for Peace & Justice.  It was part of a discussion about the recent votes in the US House concerning wars and war funding.

++++++++

Apart from the wavering Reps in the Progressive Caucus, its worth thinking about the fact that last month  204 members of the House of Representative (178 Democrats) voted for the McGovern-Jones amendment asking the White House for "a plan for accelerated transition of US forces from Afghanistan." The plan did not materialize and most of those Congressional Representatives voted to fund the wars anyway.

In May I received a flood of alerts from national peace groups, Move-On, Campaign for America's Future and others progressive entities urging me to "end the war in Afghanistan" by supporting McGovern-Jones. I did support that amendment and respect both Congressmen for their antiwar efforts. But whatever its merits, that was not a "war-ending" piece of legislation. It was a plea to the President to end the war. Which he is plainly not doing.

The contrast this week was hard to miss. Most of the organizations, which sent out those previous alerts had nothing to say about the $648.7 billion defense budget ...in the same period, where even Medicare and Social Security were on the chopping block because of shortage of money. Why was that? Groups holding their fire for what reason?

Rusti

Nonviolence Guidelines

The photo above came from the anti-nuclear bombs conference in the summer of 2010 in Tennessee.

The information below was on a handout given to me at the demonstration in the recent past.

*Be nonviolent in speech and tone as well as in action.

*Show respect for all people; each person has a piece of the truth.

*Always leave the other a face-saving way out.

*In difficult moments, behave as a disciple of nonviolence.

*Try to make human contact with your antagonist, meeting them on the level of your common humanity.

*Do not hide anything.  Tell the truth.

Song: God Bless the Grass

Malvina Reynolds - Sings the truth (1966)

God bless the grass that grows thru the crack.
They roll the concrete over it to try and keep it back.
The concrete gets tired of what it has to do,
It breaks and it buckles and the grass grows thru,
And God bless the grass.

God bless the truth that fights toward the sun,
They roll the lies over it and think that it is done.
It moves through the ground and reaches for the air,
And after a while it is growing everywhere,
And God bless the grass.

God bless the grass that grows through cement.
It's green and it's tender and it's easily bent.
But after a while it lifts up its head,
For the grass is living and the stone is dead,
And God bless the grass.

God bless the grass that's gentle and low,
Its roots they are deep and its will is to grow.
And God bless the truth, the friend of the poor,
And the wild grass growing at the poor man's door,
And God bless the grass.

Nuclear waste from nuclear plants

"Until we know how to safely dispose of the radioactive materials generated by nuclear plants, we should postpone these activities so as not to cause further harm to future generations. To do otherwise is simply an immoral act, and that is my belief, both as a scientist and as a survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bombing."  -- Dr Shoji Sawada

Caught: Agent Provocateurs in Quebec in 2007

We need to catch the agent provocateurs here in the USA.

Cloisters Condominium Community Garden - June 30, 2011

Continuing my monthly series of our community garden. 

US Mayors Call for End to Wars and Nuclear Weapons

Photo:  Some of the nation's mayors gather for a press conference in downtown Oklahoma City.

Photo from the website of an Oklahoma TV channel.

Last month, the mayors of major US cities held a conference.  They voted to adopt two resolutions:  for the drawdown of US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and the abolition of nuclear weapons.  These resolutions also called for the money spent on these activities to be spent on the needs of Americans and American cities.  The resolution on nuclear abolition was unanimous.  This group of mayors represents all US cities that have more than 30,000 residents.

"We shall overcome" by Roger Waters (about Palestine)

Brian Haw

Photo:  Anti-war protestor Brian Haw poses near the Houses of Parliament in London in an October 25, 2004 file photo. British peace campaigner Brian Haw, who lived and slept outside the Houses of Parliament in London for a decade to protest about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, has died of cancer, his family said on June 19, 2011. He was 62.   REUTERS/Toby Melville/files

Brian Haw is a hero of mine.  He stood outside of the British Parliament in London against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.  He sacrificed a decade of his life to get a message across:  that war was wrong, very wrong.  He did not stop the wars, but he will be remembered as a man who stood against them by camping out with his signs that clearly stated that the wars were wrong.  He was there in all kinds of weather, all year round.  He did it for years.  This is what a writer in The Guardian saidabout him:

The remarkable thing about Brian was not only his principle, but his determination, alone, to be effective as indeed he was; for millions of people must have seen him there or on television, and came to know of his campaign.

He had a few friends who shared his long hours on the square and he must have done endless little broadcasts with TV crews. Film units from all over the world who were in London reporting on the likelihood of an Iraq war would also come to Parliament Square to see Brian, who they described as "the man of peace in Westminster", and thus he presented to the world a message of reconciliation that was certainly not coming from the two backbenches at the time.

Brian Haw made great sacrifices for peace, and while he was not successful, he tried very, very hard to achieve that goal.  He will be remembered forever as the man who tried to stop the wars, particularly on Iraq.  He died in June, 2011.  Rest in peace, Brian.

Ann Wright

This is a picture of Ann Wright in Greece, taken last week.  Last I heard, the Flotilla for Gaza is still blocked in a port in Greece.  Several folks have been arrested for protesting peacefully.  I don't know how this will end, but I am following events there pretty closely.

I hope the Flotilla for Gaza makes it to Gaza.

A protest song for the drone bombers

"For America" by Jackson Browne

Let your love flow...

Dancin' in the moonlight......

Witness Against Torture - July 2011

US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISRUPTED BY ANTI-TORTURE ACTIVISTS
Witness Against Torture Interrupts a Vote on the
House Floor with the call "Close Guantanamo!"

WASHINGTON, DC – While the US House of Representatives chamber filled for a vote today at 4:40pm, Representatives' eyes and ears turned toward the Chamber's gallery as a group of activists interrupted proceedings to call for the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison and denounce provisions in the Defense Appropriations Bill concerning detention policy.  Fifteen people from the group Witness Against Torture stood in the gallery to read the following statement:

Today the House of Representative is in the process of contemplating not the passage of a bill but the commission of a crime. Provisions in the proposed Defense Appropriations Bill grant the United States powers over the lives of detained men fitting of a totalitarian state that uses the law itself as an instrument of tyranny. The law would make the prison at Guantanamo permanent by denying funds for the transfer of men to the United States, even for prosecution in civilian courts.  Abandoning the civilian courts, the bill would be the ultimate concession that the rule of law and cherished American values cannot survive the fear and hatred that have consumed this country.  The proposed bill makes restrictions on the transfer of detainees even to foreign countries so severe that no one — whether cleared for release by our own government or acquitted in trials — could be expected to leave Guantanamo. It therefore mandates the indefinite detention even of innocent human beings, which is the very essence of tyranny. Congress has an obligation to uphold the US Constitution. All Americans have the obligation to defend human rights. The proposed bill makes America a callous and reckless jailer, unworthy of the name of democracy. It must be defeated.  Guantanamo must close. Those unjustly bound must be freed. Justice must rule.

The activists were removed from the gallery by the police and placed under arrest.  They will likely appear for arraignment in District of Columbia Superior Court on Friday. 

Earlier today, before entering the House chamber, members of Witness Against Torture, the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition (TASSC), Amnesty International and other groups embarked on a March of Shame, walking between the institutions in Washington DC that continue to be responsible for unjust, illegal, and immoral American policies and conduct.

Beginning at the White House at 11am, the anti-torture activists, dressed in the orange jumpsuits and black hoods that are now emblematic of the policies of torture and abuse that the Obama administration inherited from President George W. Bush and has further entrenched. Then the group solemnly processed to the Department of Justice, the Supreme Court, and the Capitol.

The demonstrators called on all branches of government to close Guantanamo, end indefinite detention, repudiate the Military Commissions, and resist any effort to reauthorize torture in the form of “enhanced interrogations.”  The procession took place as the House of Representatives is dealing with a version of the 2012 defense appropriations bill that undermines US Federal Courts, keeps Guantanamo open, and attempts to expand indefinite detention.

Witness Against Torture will vigil at the Department of Justice on Friday (6/24) from noon to 2pm. These demonstrations are part of a week of activities organized by the Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition International, culminating in a vigil in front of the White House on Saturday, June 25^th from 7am to 7pm. 

Witness Against Torture demands:

• Close the prison at Guantánamo Bay;
• Free all prisoners who have been cleared for release, ensuring their safe resettlement and providing asylum in the U.S. for those unable to go elsewhere;
• Produce charges against all other prisoners and prosecute them in U.S. courts;
• Open all detention centers to outside scrutiny. That includes accepting the oversight of the International Committee of the Red Cross of all facilities; and
• Conduct a comprehensive criminal inquiry against all those who designed and carried out torture policies under the Bush administration.

Witness Against Torture

http://www.witnesstorture.org/