Video: Ground Noise and Static

A underground video of the RNC and DNC conventions put out by Pepperspray Productions and subMedia. It provides more of an anarchist perspective on the protests and, though I may not agree with everything in the videos it at least provides a different perspective then taken by the mainstream media. It provides a broader range of the media spectrum.

USA: Palin's Witchhunting Pastor

Despite all the major things going on in US politics right now the Economy crashing and, the Presidential debates last night there is something about Sarah Palin that fell through the cracks but worries me. Normally I wouldn't focus as much on a US VP candidate though, the possibility of Sarah Palin being President of the United States I have to admit scares me. The latest in the scandles surrounding her is her witch hunting pastor.

When I say witch hunting that is not a euphemism. Sarah Palin was blessed by Kenyan Bishop Thomas Muthee who stated "In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, every form of witchcraft is what you rebuke. In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus, father make away now." while behind then Mayor Palin with his arm on her. Bishop Muthee got his start actually persecuting a woman in Kenya as a witch. He and his wife after six months of prayer were told by God that a local woman was the cause of crime, deaths and, what he referred to as "spiritual warfare". He led his congregation in praying against the woman and convinced most of the town that she was a witch and needed to be run out of town. When three people died in a car accident in front of the woman's residence, the residents wanted to stone her to death in retaliation. Police entered her home and shot what they thought was a demon, which was actually her pet snake. After that the woman left town for her own safety.

This incident however, became a bragging point for Muthee who said that crime afterwards went down and that he did God's work. Independent reports however, note that there was no change in crime due to the woman leaving town. Palin's church the Wasilla Assembly of God also took note of this and saw it as a major shining point of Muthee's career. For those who thought witch hunting was gone, apperently that was a mistake. Sarah Palin believes has called US soldiers going to Iraq as "God's Soldiers" and, was prayed into office by a witch hunting Bishop. That cannot bode well for the division of Church and State, let alone those of other religions in the United States especially actual Pagans and Witches.

Below is the video of Muthee praying for Sarah Palin.

Video: Sarah Palin is Bush in Drag

This is too amusing for me to not post. Oh Naomi Klien. From Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday September 19th, 2008.

Opinion: Community Organizing

Last week Barrack Obama US Democratic Party Presidential nominee was criticized for being a Community Organizer. It was if it were a joke by both Rudy Giuliani and Sarah Palin who made fun of his community organizing during their speeches. This just shows how out of touch they are with real people. "I guess a small-town mayor is sort of like a ‘community organizer,’ except that you have actual responsibilities"(Palin). Perhaps Sarah Palin doesn't understand the value of community organizing due to being the mayor of a remote town of 9000 people, but to those of us who live in major centers community organizing is a major part of life.

It is through community organizing that people have been able to advocate for rights. Community organizers work on a direct level to help alleviate the barriers to those who are disadvantaged well being. It is through them that people fight to keep jobs, that we protect local environments, that programs are implemented to help the homeless and those struggling with addiction issues. Community organizers work to improve society and help those who are truly in need at their level. US Community Organizers started a blog: http://organizersfightback.wordpress.com/

As a Social Worker I have a particular bias. That bias comes with the origin of social work which was with organizing new immigrants and eventually expanding into all sections of society. Community Organizing is the legacy of Martin Luther King jr., Ghandi, César Chávez, Abbie Hoffman, and more. Especially for Ms. Palin as has been stated by many before Jesus was a community organizer, the person who ordered his death was a Governor.

Here is a rebuttal by Obama:

Activist Video: Killing in the Name of..

Rage Against the Machine taking the street after the police shut down them from playing on stage at the Republican National Convention.


The Original Video

USA: St. Paul Police Arresting People without Cause

Throughout St. Paul where the Republican National Convention is convening Police services have been arresting, detaining people, breaking in doors with guns drawn without any real charges. They are taking "pre-emptive" raids on protest organizers and even media members. Many of these raids have been done without warrants or correct warrants as well as using automatic weapons. Breaking into private homes without warrants is obviously illegal, but that hasn't stopped police and FBI members having done so.

Groups that have been targeted are Glassbead Collective, Food Not Bombs, the RNC Welcoming Committee, I-Witness Video, Communities United Against Police Brutality, Permibus and Democracy Now!. Democracy Now is an independent news organization which is on over 700 tv and radio stations. The host Amy Goodman and two producers were unlawfully arrested tonight while legally reporting and filming the protests. The incident was caught on film as shown by submedia.

For more information see the Democracy Now! report from before Amy Goodman was arrested, the newsweek blog by Starhawk on the PermiBus as well as submedia who has three reports. DNC Dispatch #3 RNC EMERGENCY DISPATCH #1, RNC Dispatch #2

UPDATE: Democracy Now Host Amy Goodman and producers were released last night. For full coverage watch their report. In the same series of arrests a Associate Press Photographer and other press were also violently arrested.

Canada, US: California Gay Marriage, Ontario SRS

Same sex couples in California, and transgendered people in Ontario have made great steps in the past week. In California same-sex couples won a great victory this week as the California Supreme Court struck down the ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional. This would make California the second state in the USA that same-sex marriage is legal, the other being Massachusetts which made same-sex marriage legal in 2004. In Canada it took slowly province by province before a decision was made in the Federal Court however, such a large state as California could prove to have weight on other states' rulings.

In Ontario transsexuals are on the edge of rejoicing with the decision that the provincial government will be reinstating coverage of sex reassignment surgery which was delisted from health care in 1998. The coverage of SRS will provide about 10 people with operations per year. There is apprehension however, about what standards will be used to approve people for the surgery. There is a hope among the trans community that the decision will not be left to the Clarke institute which works on very strict interpretations of gender as well as is heterosexist.

USA: Gender & Sexuality at the Winter Soldier hearings

The Winter Soldier hearings occurred in March of this year talking about what US military veterans saw and experienced in Afghanistan and Iraq. The name came from similar independent hearings that occurred in the 1970s about the Vietnam war. One of the special panels at the recent hearing was the Gender and Sexuality panel talking about what womyn and queer people experience in the US military.

This first video is of Tanya Austin talking about rape in the military and how it is common practice for womyn to be sexually assaulted in the military. The result of which is no affect on the record of those who commit the crime.

The second video is of Jeff Key talking about being gay in the military and being expelled under the "don't ask, don't tell policy".

For more information about the Gender and Sexuality Panel or the Winter soldier hearings to to Iraq Veterans Against the War.

USA: Presidential Politics and the War

Usually I stay out of US electoral politics, but after the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and the occupation going into the sixth year and a large number of Americans who watch my site I decided to comment. I hear a lot about ending the war by both the Democratic candidates. When in reality none of the presidential candidates are truly for ending the war despite the widespread opposition to the continued occupation throughout the United States. Below I will detail the three candidates and their actual policies.

John McCain - Republican

John McCain of the three candidates is probably the most honest about his position on the war. He has taken the quintessential stance of the current Republican leadership that the war should have been fought and the policy title on his website is "Strategy for Victory in Iraq". John McCain is an interesting candidate in that he previously had spoken out against the administration on torture, actually served in Vietnam and, had in the past talked out against those on the strong religious right. This resulted in him being liked by people such as Jon Stewart and Bill Maher. During this election that however, changed resulting in him falling in line with the hard Republican and religious right.

McCain currently wishes for more funding for security forces and reconstruction. He wants to keep senior officials in place instead of rotating them, put pressure on Syria and Iran, convince the American people that it is important to stay in Iraq called "Win the homefront" on his website and, ultimately has no plan for ever withdrawing unless the Iraqi's 'stand up'. Which at the moment they seem to be doing just against each other and against US rule.

Hillary Clinton - Democrat

Clinton's website may be very against the war with the title "Ending the War in Iraq" and quotes such as "Our message to the president is clear. It is time to begin ending this war -- not next year, not next month -- but today." These seem like more rhetoric then anything as her end to the war would still include tens of thousands of troops left in Iraq.

Clinton's campaign has been run on that she is the candidate with experience. When we look at her experience we also see a telling history. Clinton while her husband was President always supported his actions including bombings of Iraq and sanctions that resulted in the deaths of untold Iraqis. When she was acting as a Senator of New York she voted for the invasion and has not once truly apologized for that action. She sat on the Armed Services Committee during that time and, rarely created real opposition to the continuing occupation and, up until recently had not even acknowledged private military contractors. Clinton since a statement by the Obama team has now joined legislation to ban private contractors including groups such as Blackwater, but this has been a obviously political move not one based on ethics.

Barack Obama - Democrat

Obama has been touted by many to be the anti-war candidate. He made a speech against the invasion of Iraq prior to the invasion and in comparison to the other two candidates has a fairly clear history. Obama is believed to be a bridge due to his ethnic background, eloquent persona and, relative blank slate. Although, he has been better then the other candidates on the issue of Iraq, but is not anti-war. He may have the rhetoric of ending the war.

Of all the candidates Obama has probably the most comprehensive policy on foreign policy, but that includes being staunchly pro-Isreal, enlarging the US military, sending more forces to Afghanistan and, keeping 'residual forces' in Iraq. These residual forces would include 40-80 thousand forces as well as keeping in place the private contractors of which there are currently around 180 thousand which are not accurately kept in line. The US Embassy (which is less an embassy and more a giant military Americanized zone) and the green zone would still be kept in place under Obama's plan.

Ultimately I would like it to be understood that the rhetoric put out in the media about ending the war is anything but true by these candidates. Though Senator Obama seems to have the most comprehensive foreign policy plan he too is not anti-war and that should be understood. I ultimately do not support any candidate nor do I think a Canadian has the need to do so or not, but sadly what happens in those elections will effect Canada, Iraq, Afghanistan and, the rest of the world.

Activist Video: Drug War Reality Tour

I have to admit on this Saint Patrick's Day my mind does not go to celebration it goes to addiction. I see so many people use any holiday simply as an excuse for addictive behaviour. Therefore for those who haven't seen this Guerrilla News Network video Drug War Reality Tour, this is an amazing video. Addiction is a medical and economic issue not a legal issue.

Original video at: Guerrilla News Network

DRUG WAR REALITY TOUR PART 1
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

DRUG WAR REALITY TOUR PART 2
Uploaded by Top-Notch112

Activist Video: 5 Years Too Many

Protests are happening around the world to mark the 5th anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. For those in Ottawa please join in the protest against the occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ottawa Saturday March 15th
1pm Rally And March starting at the National Gallery
2:30pm A Teach in at the National Archives of Canada

For those in other parts of Canada go to: The Canadian Peace Alliance
For those in the United States go to: 5 Years Too Many
For those in the UK go to: Stop the War Coalition

Quotes: In Memory of 1973 Wounded Knee

I was enlightened to find out the standoff at Wounded Knee in 1973 by the American Indian Movement started today. They were the same people who fought at Wounded Knee in the massacre of 1890 and the same people who today they are seperating from the US.

Quotes from the Sioux Nation:

"Western civilization, unfortunately, does not link knowledge and morality but rather, it connects knowledge and power and makes them equivalent." - Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933 - 2005)

"One does not sell the land people walk on." - Crazy Horse, Sept. 23, 1875

"You have noticed that everything as Indian does is in a circle, and that is because the Power of the World always works in circles, and everything tries to be round..... The Sky is round, and I have heard that the earth is round like a ball, and so are all the stars. The wind, in its greatest power, whirls. Birds make their nest in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours....

Even the seasons form a great circle in their changing, and always come back again to where they were. The life of a man is a circle from childhood to childhood, and so it is in everything where power moves. " - Black Elk Oglala (1863-1950)

And an Ancient First Nations proverb of unknown origins:

"Treat the earth well: it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children. We do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from our Children."

Image from http://themartyrindex.com

Canada: Authorization of US troops on Canadian Soil

It seems the Harper and Bush governments have signed a no-longer secret agreement on February 14th authorizing the use of the foreign government's military on domestic soil. Canadian Troops on American soil and American troops on Canadian soil. The result of which is the further integration of the Canadian and American militaries as well as possible abuses of power.

There is distrust of this agreement on both sides of the border. On the Canadian side of the border there is a distrust of the American military and how it has been used around the world. According to many polls Canadians want to be less connected militarily to the United States and want to be more independent working with many other countries around the world. There is a fear that the American military may be called in to quell civilian disturbances such as protests opposing corporations, further integration, the control of Canada's natural resources or dissent against foreign policy decisions. In the United States people feel that Canadian forces may be called in to also quell local dissent and aren't bound by the same laws preventing the use of military and military searches in civilian situations.

I don't doubt the importance of the military during natural crises, but why we need a foreign power especially one that has had serious abuses of power is dangerous for Canadians. When we are in a period when the use of our military is being so hotly debated it is undemocratic and an abuse of power to sign an agreement allowing foreign military on our soil without parliamentary or public consent. This seems just one more step in a North American Union.

Image of Bush, Fox, and Harper at the Security Prosperity Partnership

Activist Video: Take America Back

A video of Steve Connell and Sekou at the 2006 ACLU conference. It is a very good spoken word poem, performed with such ease that it impresses me.

USA: Lakotah Seperates from the US

The official cessation of the Republic of Lakotah occured on December 17th, 2007. According to both United States constitutional law and international law it has a strong case. The new republic takes large portions out of the Northern Mid-west of the United States. These are descendants of Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and the resisters of Wounded Knee. This is completely legal and has been done with full legal requirements. The question that it really comes down to is whether the US will follow its own constitution and international law, in a time where it is regularly broken and, against a people it has historically had no trouble violating. Below is a video by Elder Russel Means explaining the withdrawal.

Movie: Peace, Propaganda & The Promised Land

Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land

This is an excellent movie. It shows the other side of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and how it is falsely portrayed in the American Media.

"Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This pivotal documentary exposes how the foreign policy interests of American political elites--oil, and a need to have a secure military base in the region, among others--work in combination with Israeli public relations strategies to exercise a powerful influence over how news from the region is reported.
Through the voices of scholars, media critics, peace activists, religious figures, and Middle East experts, Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land carefully analyzes and explains how--through the use of language, framing and context--the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza remains hidden in the news media, and Israeli colonization of the occupied terrorities appears to be a defensive move rather than an offensive one. The documentary also explores the ways that U.S. journalists, for reasons ranging from intimidation to a lack of thorough investigation, have become complicit in carrying out Israel's PR campaign. At its core, the documentary raises questions about the ethics and role of journalism, and the relationship between media and politics."

Opinion: International Terrorism

I decided to post this as I will be gone for the weekend. This was from the same course as the Free Trade paper. I think I've seriously progressed since writing this but its still something interesting to read.

The Fall of the Soviet Union brought with it hope for a more peaceful future, a future that had been hoped for after many major wars such as World War One and Two. A concept of not having two opposing sides in constant opposition and struggle, that undermine world peace. President George W. Bush's famous speech after the September 11th terrorist attacks has undermined that concept of peace and reinvigorated a duality of being ' either with us or with the terrorists'. They have since used hegemonic control to lead a war on terror. The war on terror however, only further destabilizes the world in their defile of international law in the name of national security.

Terrorism creates an entirely mode of physical conflict in comparison to war. Conventional methods of military intervention are not effective in the ending of terrorism. The United States method of otherthrowing governments that are deemed bastions for terrorists has proven extremely ineffective. Iraq has become a breeding ground for terrorist organizations since the fall of Saddam Hussein and, although the Taliban, who had close ties with Al Qaeda, in Afghanistan was overthrown the country is mainly run by regional warlords. This entire policy runs upon a concept that the United States can combat terrorists in other nation-states so, they do not have to deal with terrorists upon it's soil. This entirely conception of reality has flaws if one looks at September 11th and the London Bombings. The terrorists who flew the planes into the World Trade Center were trained at flight schools in the United States and, the London suicide bombers were British born. Terrorism is a new type of warfare, a international battle that in many ways cannot be fully won.

United States' foreign policy tends to create more problems that it later combats with military force. Here are three examples Panama in 1990, Afghanistan in 2001 and, Iraq in 2003. In 1990 United States troops invaded Panama and devastated the civilian population to capture the 'narco-terrorist' General Noriega. Noriega was a former CIA contact who had been on the CIA payroll when George H. W. Bush was CIA director. In 2001 the United States led a coalition to invade Afghanistan in order to disband the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Al Qaeda had been given CIA money and training in the 1980s in an effort to stop the country from coming under Soviet control and, the Taliban had been honoured guests of George W. Bush earlier in his political career. The most currently talked about war is the war in Iraq. The United States led a “coalition of the willing” to invade Iraq to quell terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction yet both of these reasons were false. The ruler they deposed was Saddam Hussein who had been given United States' support during the Iran-Iraq war and whose Ba'ath party had been given support earlier to launch a coup d'etat over the former government of Abdul Karim Qassim. These three conflicts are only a small example of United States' international involvement. The first and foremost change the United States government could do to prevent terrorism would be to stop funding terrorist groups or regimes, even if at that time the support is militarily convenient.

The worst part of United States foreign policy is its disregard for international law. The invasions of Panama in 1990 and Iraq in 2003 were direct violations of international law and were in fact condemned as illegal by many states around the world. The United States government did not stop with its illegal activities there. There have been growing scandles about unlawful detention, illegal invasions of privacy and, the use of torture. For the stability of world peace and to be in the moral right a state must follow international law especially in relation to the conduct of war.

The United States' approach to the war on terror goes against moral and legal conviction. International law and cooperation are the only way to ensure world peace. The United States has gone against the fundaments of peace and has been a major contributor to terrorism. To prevent further terrorism the United States should begin by ending their engagement in it and to work with the other many states of the world.

USA: Veteran Homelessness

Homelessness in America as well as many other western countries continues to be a problem. This is due to the growing economic inequality which is brought about by the current economic system if the right social institutions are not in place. In places like New Orleans homelessness has skyrocketed due to mismanagement and corruption after hurricane Katrina. Many poor residents in large public housing units have been locked out from returning to homes, while many bought mobile homes were left to rot unused instead of actually distributing them to the poor public.

There has been an increase in homelessness in another segment of the population however, Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans. Homelessness in military veterans is not a new phenomena in the United States. The Vietnam war left many vets on the streets to fend for themselves and some still are homeless after sometimes 25 or 30 years. Now with a new generation of veterans a new generation of homeless veterans are popping up. This is not surprising considering if one looks at the way economics plays into military service.

The most obvious reason contributing to veteran homelessness is the slashing of veteran benefits. The Bush administration has created the largest military budget in history, but at the same time cut military personnel's benefits. Its also important to look at unemployment and the use of the military in order to better oneself in life. Many people join the military in order to have some type of job as the number of Americans grow, but the number of American jobs shrink. After being released from the military with decreased benefits it is quite possible that many veterans from poor families will end up on the streets. The other major use of the military is a way to pay for extremely expensive post-secondary education. These individuals are pulled away from actually doing their degree and if also low-income it is possible to become homeless. The other major category are partially disabled veterans who find themselves unable to pay large medical bills and wind up on the street because of it.

Most homeless veterans are from the Vietnam war still, but with the wars still raging and the possibility of further US aggression against Iran, North Korea or, elsewhere the numbers of recent veterans on the streets will only rise. According to the Associated Press there are currently 200,000 homeless veterans on US streets.[1] With statistics like these it shows that the current government is not the one that is pro-military.

USA: On July 4th

Not being American, I feel others should be doing the talking today. So, I will let the youth blogging sensation speak for me.

Not Just a Number

Bravery

The Time is Now

Ottawa: USA Patriot Act Considered a threat to Canadians

The USA Patriot Act which severely takes away US Citizens' civil liberties in the name of security is coming under scrutiny in Canada. There is a worry about how much the Patriot Act can take away Canadians' privacy. Canadians have a natural worry about anything that would take away their rights to privacy and this is reflected in Canada's Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart. A new report has come out lead by her which calls for amendmants to the Canadian Privacy Act to better guard Canadians. The report even directly takes aim and states "The USA PATRIOT Act has become the symbol of the increasing concern of Canadians about the security of their personal information when it leaves Canada."[1]

This comes in a month where Quebec has introduced new legislation for the protection of Quebeckers privacy. Quebec however, is only following similar legislation to that introduced in British Columbia, Alberta and, Nova Scotia already. The legislation would limit the ability of companies from passing on information about citizens of those provinces. Companies passing on information to the US government has become famous due to a domestic spying program where companies such as AT&T and, Verizon which passed on telephone information to the NSA.