Yemeni Nobel Prize winner Tawakul Karma has publicly called on President Obama to stop drone strikes in Yemen. She urged her fellow Nobel laureate to stop aiding Al-quaeda by continuing the inhumane, popular-anger-inducing drone campaign.
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Showing posts with label justice. Show all posts
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Hillary’s shocking comments about Bradley Manning
News From Off the Web
by Logan Price
For those who don’t believe that Bradley’s personal life and sexuality may be used against him by officials or media critics, this gem of information was presented in a recent Vanity Fair articleabout Hillary Clinton, while on tour in the Middle East:
“Hillary told staff that she could not fathom how an army private, Bradley Manning, withpsychological problems and a drag-queen boyfriend could single-handedly cause the United States unprecedented embarrassment just by labeling massive downloads as Lady Gaga songs.”
Were those comments verbatim, or just the ill-chosen words of the author? We probably won’t know, but one thing is for sure: they were published in a major pop-culture outlet, so there is no taking them back.
Here, is a good take-down of the allegation that Manning had “psychological problems.” As for the comments about Bradley’s sexuality, you can be the judge of that.
If Hillary did indeed say anything of the sort, it is yet another reminder of the Obama administration’s willingness, almost as retaliation for their own embarrassment, to disregard public outcry about Bradley Manning’s charges and detainment and the fact that he has not yet been convicted of any crime.
At a fundraiser in San Francisco in April, Obama told me that Bradley Manning “broke the law,” a legally irresponsible and inappropriate statement that could constitute the ‘unlawful command influence’ of any military judge or jury that may preside over Bradley’s case.
Should the President and commander-in-chief –or the Secretary of State for that matter– really be saying such things about a high profile prisoner like Bradley Manning who has not yet been to trial?
The release of the Diplomatic Cables may have been embarrassing for the Obama Administration, but the life (not political career) of the most important whistleblower of my generation hangs in the balance.
It seems unlikely that we will hear any response from Hillary about this. This administration seems content to say one thing and mean another. Remember the sad irony felt when former white-house briefer Ray McGovern was rather brutally arrested last January for standing up in silent protest during Hillary Clinton’s lecture about free speech at George Washington University?
Not to mention Obama’s unexpected persecution of more whistleblowers under the Espionage Act than any previous administration, while giving this speech about the Arab Spring,
“Through our efforts we must support those basic rights to speak your mind and access information. We will support open access to the Internet, and the right of journalists to be heard – whether it’s a big news organization or a blogger. In the 21st century, information is power; the truth cannot be hidden; and the legitimacy of governments will ultimately depend on active and informed citizens. Such open discourse is important even if what is said does not square with our worldview.”
Ironically, that sounds a lot like Bradley’s alleged chat logs, which are being held by the Pentagon as evidence that Bradley was ‘aiding the enemy.’
“I want people to see the truth, regardless of who they are… because without the truth you can’t make informed decisions as a public.”
Doubly ironic is that the cables Manning is alleged to have leaked have beenhailed as a catalyst of the growing democracy in the Arab world.
The triple irony is that the greatest charge against him is that of ’aiding the enemy.’ Despite campaign promises our leaders act at home as if democracy is only good for us on their terms — in fact it just might be ‘the enemy.’ Or we are. Same thing, really.
Democracy, as the Arab world is showing us, is a do-it-yourself skill that requires courage, humility, and commitment to the truth– no matter the stakes. If Bradley Manning is indeed guilty, it is of these “psychological problems.” He is our Egyptian.
Logan Price is a member of the Bradley Manning Support Network. You can follow him on twitter @kstrel.
This is not the work of Ehahlil's Notebook.
What is Justice - Who is Bradley Manning
Seven NAVY Seals face disciplinary action after consulting for EA on the videogame ‘Medal of Honor: Warfighter’ and “disclosing classified information”. While these soldiers will face “disciplinary action” for selling classified information, alleged Wikileaks informant Bradley Manning remains imprisoned without conviction for more than 900 days for leaking human rights violations and war crimes committed by the United States military.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
America's Abortion Debate
Safe abortions have always been available to the rich, Dan. You simply want to deny them to the poor, and if you succeed, poor woman will be forced to get them anyway. They’ll be forced into the alleys with hangers, plungers and vacuum cleaners, risking death or mutilation. But you’d like that, wouldn’t you, Dan? You sadistic, elitist, sexist, racist, anti-humanist pig! Saturday Night Live 3x18
This aired in 1978. Thirty-four years later, it’s still a fucking ~debate.
Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible
Mirrors of Privilege: Making Whiteness Visible is a brilliant documentary and a must-see for all people who are interested in justice, spiritual growth and community making. It features the experiences of white women and men who have worked to gain insight into what it means to challenge notions of racism and white supremacy in the United States.
_________
If you are white, I highly suggest you take an hour to watch this documentary. It’s an oldie, but a goodie, and it touches on racism 101, the pathology of white privilege and the ideology of white supremacy (from a white perspective), including bits of intersectionality. Here’s a preview:
“We were talking about friendships, and those of us who are white are frequently interested in friendships… and this Latina said to me, “When you want to be my friend, you get up, you walk across the room, shake hands, [introduce yourself], and begin a relationship. When People of Color decide that they will again try to be friends with a white person, we are crawling…”—this is what this woman said, and I’ll never forget it—“we are crawling on our knees over the broken shards of relationships where we thought we could trust someone.”
“Being raised in a nice white liberal home… you come to understand racism like a lot of white folks—as this very obvious, overt manifestation of bigotry, and you don’t see yourself perpetuating that, therefore, you separate yourself from the problem even when you’re manifesting the problem.”
“What is the legitimate role of white folks in social justice and race in related to race issues and racism? How do we find a line… I mean in a legitimate, authentic work? My initial motivation when I got this job teaching was that I wanted to teach these white kids that they were racist. That’s another stage in white identity development—you want to blame your own group. In other words, it was a way I connected with some sense of purity in myself is by rejecting my own community, which is the white community, and we see white people caught in that. I had established my “goodness” by being imbedded in a Black community, Hispanic community, Asian, Native community, and I also demonstrate my distance from whiteness by rejecting my own group.”
“I think the main place that I was stuck was that I immediately expected People of Color to accept me once I had decided I was going to do this work, so as soon as I might go to a workshop and I might be one of only a handful of white folks, and I thought, “Well, doesn’t my presence here… you know, I’m a committed white person!” and I could feel the distress from folks of Color, and I was like “Uhh, I’m here. Think of all the other [white] people who aren’t here!”
etc.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Gary Johnson's Record Doesn't Quite Match His Rhetoric
By MARK ZUSMAN
For the last two weeks, we've been running clips from our interview with Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson. He's spoken with eloquence about taxes, health careand drug laws. In this clip, we ask him about his record as Governor of New Mexico for eight years and the seeming inconsistency between what he says he will do as President, and what he actually did as Governor. (Fact Check: In this clip, Johnson states several times that New Mexico is the youngest state in the country. That's not true. New Mexico is the ninth.
Read More
(from Williamette Week)
For the last two weeks, we've been running clips from our interview with Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson. He's spoken with eloquence about taxes, health careand drug laws. In this clip, we ask him about his record as Governor of New Mexico for eight years and the seeming inconsistency between what he says he will do as President, and what he actually did as Governor. (Fact Check: In this clip, Johnson states several times that New Mexico is the youngest state in the country. That's not true. New Mexico is the ninth.
Read More
(from Williamette Week)
Friday, October 19, 2012
MIDWAY
Midway is an upcoming documentary about an ecological tragedy unfolding on Midway Atoll in the Pacific: tens of thousands of baby albatross lay dead and dying, victims of starvation after mistakenly eating plastic trash from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (trailer). Photographer Chris Jordan began documenting the plight of the albatross back in 2009 with a heartbreaking photo series “Midway: Message from the Gyre.” Jordan subsequently began expanding the project to a feature length documentary, and raised more than $100,000 via a Kickstarter project this summer (donations are still being accepted on the film website). The film is currently in production, and is expected to be released in 2013.
Spirit Day
So today was spirit day and I of course wore purple today in support of the LGBTQ+ community on campus. I was also informed, just now, by the advocate of the many media celebrities that are wearing or wore purple today. Also encouraging was the number of organizations and sports teams that are going or went purple today to show support.
However I want to express some feelings that I have long had about spirit day. I love the idea that spirit day has, of being a way of showing support to LGBTQ+ youth. That the idea that the world gets better, that suicide is really and truly as ridiculous as giving broccoli out on Halloween, and that there are all these people out here that support them is spread around is fantastic!... That is not what I want to criticize. What I want to criticize is both the lack of participation and the complete politicization of the occurrence. I recognize that there are people out there in the world that aren't fans of equality, that don't like the LGBTQ+ community and are most likely never going to adopt healthy attitudes to anything regardless of what we do. They're the people that I could care less about because they are not rational people and consider everything but corduroy couch cozies a sin they are not going to be convinced to change their opinion by people such as myself. Who I'm talking about are the people at the margins of the debate. The people whose support could really magnify the inherent need for equality under the law that is lacking for the LGBTQ+ community that really should be there. These are people like parents of LGBTQ+ youth; like the elderly who are our ardent supporters; like teachers, professors, faculty and staff at schools, colleges and universities across the country; these are our healthcare providers and emergency services staff like first responders and; we need people from every cultural background to reach deep into the depths of their closets and pull out whatever hideous [or lovely] shade of purple that they have and wear it. Because in all reality we can wear purple, and see all the same people who just as ardently support LGBTQ+ equality wear purple, but that is not going to help anyone because there is no progress, no economic growth within our struggle because our labor market is staying the same. We need these people at the margins to create change because these are the people who can make the most change. These are the people who aren't ardent supporters of equality, but their support is just as passionate and just as meaningful. These are the people in both mainstream political parties working for LGBTQ+ rights [even though I think both are ridiculous and unhelpful] and that are on the lines with people that can most benefit from the slow osmosis of equality.
On that stream of thought I would like to break to my other qualm with what I saw today in the media and through my experience. There is this conception that the fight for LGBTQ+ equality is single sided. That the Democratic party is the party that has our best interest at heart and that we need to vote for President Obama because he is a democrat. There is this idea that people in the Republican party are misogynistic, that they hate equality of any kind, that they are beyond reason and that they are greedy beyond belief. We think that because we see a perception in the media of such hatred towards Women, Hispanics/Latinos/Chicanos, African American/Blacks*, LGBTQ+, First Nation People, the poor, etc... that it must be true of all people in the party. But I have met so many people that prescribe to the Republican party that don't believe in the same way. I have met some very eloquent persons who seek to create environments that foster the growth of our nation into the Isles of the Blessed. So I don't think we should harp on our Republican allies because of the choice of their party. If we are truly fighting for equality then we should harp on them for their policies regarding our brothers and sisters in the fight. We should ask for them to end racist policies regarding immigration and we should demand an end to class within our society. Because no one has rights while others lie in the chains of slavery; the more injustice we let pass the closer we get to having injustice committed against ourselves. And yes these are things that need to be seen in our community - a stronger tie being built with our allies in the fight for equality and apologize for the wrongs we have committed against them (from racism, sexism, cultural appropriation, religious bigotry, and all other forms of insensitivity) - and a political community of communal respect and communalism that has a House, Senate, Governmental Agencies, and all public works awash in clouds of purple.
We are a nation of people that believe strongly in the greatness that we can create. We know that any challenge can be overcome through our work. But it is time that we recognize that we are no longer the stream that fought injustices in the 1900s - that it is time to create a true nation, a nation that does not simply value equality, but HAS equality.
Happy Spirit Day
-Ehahlil
* I've included the term "Black" because I was told that for some the term "African American" does not capture their experience because of various reasons including 'African Diaspora' and inherent racisms structurally within our systems of government. I apologize if it happens to offend anyone, but it will remain.
Viewers Respond to Dr. Phil Episode About Baby Veronica Custody Battle: Boycott the Anti-Native American Dr. Phil Show
Found at ADailyRiot on Tumblr
"A handful of comments posted to the “Boycott the Anti-Native AmericanDr. Phil Show” Facebook page follow:
“I thought he was suppose to help matters? , this ONE hour show didnt help or change anything., all that went on was judging and arguing over the color of the baby, we are not the bad people. We never were, that child was not stolen, they stole our children along time ago, from every tribe and we still get the horrible side of everything.”
“I though that thete no racist view on your show, Dr.Phil?.really? How dare all of you to use the race card! Is that your sense of entitlement; to take what you want without asking? Even when you are being asking to give it back? Shame on All of you n the the audience for shameing those 2 lil boys of who they are. Mr. locator, do you think running n hiding with a child is scarey. Well maybe those alarms of your wrongful action. do you think these children will come to you with broken hearts in their hands, wanting you to find their real families, in 20 years. Pure selfishness, webs of lies and deceipt. SO This how you want to raise their in your so called -”loving families”?”
“At a minimum, Dr Phil should have read the 30+ page South Carolina Supreme Court’s opinion UPHOLDING the lower courts decision to return the child and the 30+ page dissent. Dr Phil showed a complete disrespect for Indian tribes. The only ignorant racists I watched were Dr Phil and his guests attacking Nimmo and Marsten. And where was the mother who placed the child for adoption?!”
“Please share this page in every group that you can, especially non-Native ones. We need mothers, fathers, bowlers, basketball players, etc. Your right to your child is a natural inalienable right. This Dad was not an unfit parent. He never got a chance. TELL EVERYONE YOU WENT TO SCHOOL WITH, WORK WITH, ETC”
“I am white and married to a Native. We have a daughter, I am trying hard to teach her as much as I can about her Native culture. Native children, whether full or half, need to know their culture!!”
“I think this is just a shame. This reminds me how Non-tribal people tried to make the State of Maine think we wanted to uproot them (when they realized the State was mostly ours) and said our trauma has NOTHING to do with today’s reality. ICWA was enacted to hep protect First Nations SOVERIGN tribes from further genocide. We DECIDE! This is ignorant interference in an ILLEGAL adoption.”
To view more comments, visit the “Boycott the Anti-Native American Dr. Phil Show” Facebook page and the Dr. Phil Message Board."
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