P O L I T I C A L R E F E R E N C E P A G E
Elaborated Descriptions of Links whereby you can get "the jist of the story" right here! --- This page is here to say why each citizen needs to give that 5 minutes a week (See Christopher's Political Page for specifics as needed). Updated Apr '08
There is also the Poly-Psy Spirit mailing list for the most recent postings on what's going on: you can either/both join the list or just peruse the Archives Or both. Thank you for your patience. -cp]
We Can Have Them In Jail By End of 2010 Find Link-loaded Messages for quickly getting your sigs on petitions and sending letters to Elected Officials via PolyPsyList Archives: Use "Impeach" in its efficient Search Engine, sort by latest, etc. For Rove, include "Mike Connell" (yep, another plane crash)
Provides the most recent postings on what's going on (as regards peace & justice, & citizen effectiveness, including action resources) - Planetary in scope with more specifics for Seattle/NW): you can join the list or just peruse the Archives without joining. The list was created in the effort to help us better see and UTILIZE opportunities to jump in and make things better when we can - while maintaining our psychological and spiritual capacity to do so - and to help keep the PolyPsyArts web site current.
This list is a "Newsletter" style list; NOT the kind that allows members to send email to other members. (It does NOT make member email addresses available to anyone, So members do NOT receive email from anyone but myself.) List Description is elaborated at http://lists.riseup.net/www/info/PolyPsySp. To subscribe, send email to:PolyPsySp-subscribe@lists.riseup.net. You can type the same in the subject and body areas of your message. Thank you, -Chris Pringer, ListOwner/Mgr
Personal Action Quotes
Conscience is the root of all true courage; if a man would be brave let him obey his conscience.
- James Freeman Clarke
"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
- Gandhi
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
- Leo Buscaglia
"If the nation states of the world are working day and night on a crash course of their own for our mutual annihilation, we cannot afford to be any slower in our work in the opposite direction. The leisurely teaching that was possible in ancient tribal cultures is no longer appropriate. The forces of nuclear and ecological destruction are in a hurry, and we must be too. People need to be awakened, not just through ordinary reality education, however important it is, but also through personal heartfelt spiritual realization-deep realization of the connectedness of all things. May we work together, and fast as we can."
-- Michael Harner, a Shaman
Before we can achieve Planetary Sustainability, we have to attain 'Citizenry Sustainability.' A military revolution - large enough to make any difference - will also reap more pain, confusion, and denial. More than we can heal to regain sufficient capacity for planetary healing - before Global Warming takes the rest of us. We're going to have to outsmart that unevolved part of us - and those who represent it politically. That means we vote with our our dollar and our pen or keyboard, and maybe with our feet - as well as with the ballot.
- Christopher Pringer
Buttons Commemorating the Oct 27 Action
Are still available for $2 ea!
Please ask Chris Pringer via PolyPsyArt@iinet.com
or ask your local Oct27 Coalition Rep
Yo! You Want Signs?
We Have Signs. More than I can show here - for your yard, for your hands, even for the top of your car, AND for certain Seattle area neighborhoods as well... Here you go! Tell 'em Rad-Dad sent you <grin>
You keep your activism current, right? Well then, let's keep the message on cue for the current situation, I say <grin>. A certain Veteran for Peace keeps used to his car-sign message on cue - at Greenlake pro-peace vigil in May of 2004 (with almost 800 crosses representing GI's killed in Iraq).
Well, after 3 years & the sign was ripped off or destroyed for the 6th time (in '06), I couldn't get a suitable replacement for the frame. But it was great while it lasted - and it was amazing, just for the (good) things I learned, wearing such a sign on my car. -Chris
1 2 W a r n i n g S i g n s O f F a s c i s m Do they remind you of anyone !?! Let us demand withdrawal of the "October Surprise" legislation that removed key citizen protections [right-click the above and open in new tab. More in Civil Rights section]
¤ The references here were assembled and, for the most part annotated, by Christopher Pringer, from Fall'02 onward. For statements about specific political/corporate issues or events made on political pages at this site, the following links should provide documentation to dispell any related doubts. If you would like to suggest better, more current or relevant references, or differ with items on this list as to actual relevance, etc, I would like to hear from you PolyPsyArt@iinet.com (incl. "permit2chris" in body of email). Thank you for utilizing this and related pages as your inner guidance directs. -Chris (incl. "permit2chris" in body of email)
A1. M I D - E A S T P O L I C I E S, & S T R A T E G I E S, -- AN O V E R V I E W -- D E V E L O P I N G T H E O B A M A A P P R O A C H
U.S. May Fill Afghan Civilian Posts With Military Personnel -- Obama to rely heavily upon mercenaries, NYTimes, 23 Apr 2009: The Obama administration will likely turn to military personnel to fill hundreds of posts in Afghanistan that had been intended for civilian experts, senior officials said Wednesday. Senior Pentagon and administration officials now acknowledge that many of those new positions will be filled by military personnel -- and by contractors... Not enough civilians are readily available inside the Afghan government, officials said, forcing the administration to turn to the military, Pentagon civilians and private contractors, at least for the initial deployments. [4/23/09]
The approach of wisdom by Afghanistan expert, Tamim Ansary: "When I asked him (in March at the NW VFP Regional Conference) about NGO's building community amongst the tribes, he seemed to say, if I can summarize it, that he appreciated those few that have hung in there while not taking credit for the U.S. while doing it. He gave the example of Julia Bolz building schools (info & links below). Tamim's background is impressive..." [yours truly from "Strategy for Tribalistan" - since the Afghanistani's respond much more as one community of tribes. (at this site; There are some very nicely done resource pages at Facebook, by the way].
Julia Bolz & Building Schools and Hope, Bridges of Understanding: Tamim Ansary mentioned Julia Bolz's project “Journey with an Afghan School” as an optimal NGO for bringing peace to Afghanistan. Primarily because Julia Bolz is not affiliated with any church or religion. Her work is entirely secular and humanitarian. Together with her American teammates, Julia has built and supplied 15 new schools and repaired 15 others destroyed by war in Afghanistan. Julia on Educating and Empowering the Developing World (mp3) They also provide schools with clean water; textbooks and supplies; provide teacher trainings, libraries and computer centers; and facilitate cultural exchanges. Currently they serve over 25,000 Afghan students. Here's how we can all help
(B)I. O N 9/11, E N R O N, I R A Q I O I L, AND B U S H W H I T E H O U S E R E L A T I O N S H I P S A H I S T O R Y O F C R I M E
Who said Caspian Sea Basin? (Lots of Maps Here) And Azierbajan? (Ever see an oil company map of this area? Check this. Check out the Caspian basin fuel & energy centers. Controlling this area, We would have Russia by the what? And then an easy deal with Russian Mafia to prevent loose nukes? (And who said, "what's this got to do with Chechnya?" Map of Chechnya 1 and more complex map with relationships... And Afganistan? Yes, on the other side of Iran from Iraq. Oh, and just this side of China? And the NORAD (missle complex) size tunnels in the Afgan mountains. I wonder what good those might be to someone who thinks like Cheney & Rumsfeld ? (What's Rummy up to these days?) Did I say "Caspian Sea Base" ? Well, of course, that's just conspiracy stuff... And there's a special section on Karl Rove, "The King Of Dirt", at the Machiavengelicals Exposed page.
Just WHO are these people currently in charge of the White House administration? What is "Project for a New American Century" (PNAC)?
[Links are provided in the sections below for referencing this, and most all to follow -- backing it up, that is]
... And why do I call them the "DOAPM" (Drugs, Oil, Arms, Power, & M stands for Mercenaries or Mafia)? How have we put these high-rolling international crooks in charge - with contract mercenaries doing their dirtywork (oh, that's "contractors" in the popular news, but I'm NOT talking about truck drivers). How'd we do it with all this documentation available? Their own PNAC documents the whole world dominion plan, that is. Below is just a sampling of the how's (including about the contractors, or "mercs.") Well, I needed to have an explanation because my head just wouldn't stop shaking and my eyes wouldn't stop blinking for a different view. And that's a big part of why I put together the "Overcoming Political Disillusionment" page.
The Bush Cabal planned Iraq 'regime change' before becoming President.
In "THE FRAUDULENT WAR," Richard W. Behan of Lopez Island provides a great summary of how we got into the Iraq War as well as Afghanistan, and includes some of the more recently revealed Iraq Oil shenanigans. Is possibly a little slow (for some) to substantiate the facts of the story, but an intriguing, illustrated presentation keeps it interesting in the meantime. "This presentation is deliberately not copyrighted: it may be reproduced and circulated without restriction." The detailed pdf file with illustrated slideshow presentation, is available via *http* (opens file in your browser), or by ftp (downloads the 5.5 mb file). A smaller digested article (105kb Word Doc) by Behan is "The So-Called War On Terror" (downloads by ftp).
The BLUEPRINT FOR THE CREATION OF A 'GLOBAL PAX AMERICANA,' uncovered by the Sunday Herald (details next paragraph), was drawn up for Dick Cheney (now vice-president), Donald Rumsfeld (former defence secretary), Paul Wolfowitz (Rumsfeld's deputy), George W Bush's younger brother Jeb and Lewis Libby (Cheney's chief of staff), among others. The document, put out in September 2000 by the neo-conservative think-tank Project for the New American Century (PNAC), and entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses: Strategies, Forces And Resources For A New Century," was a grand re-write of a 46-page document, "Draft Defense Planning Guidance," conceived in 1992, during the first Bush Administration. The 90 page 2000 version was apparently available at New American Century .Org (http://www.newamericancentury.org/iraqmiddleeast.htm) but is reported no longer available there. It was downloaded before it's disappearance however, and IS available (at various sites including here) via pdf for the browser or by ftp (downloads the .85 mb file)
Right after the September 11 attacks the Wall Street Journal's editorial writer, Max Boot, published "The Case for American Empire" in the Weekly Standard (a major conservative rag). "Boot endorsed a return to nineteenth century British imperialism, this time under American hegemony." See A SECRET blueprint for US global domination By Neil Mackay. or see "It's Empire Versus Democracy" at http://www.alternet.org.
Also: "History Repeats Itself Clear and Present Danger, Analysis of CPD and PNAC" by Candi Crider (2/4/07) -- A comparative analysis between four different groups that arose within the US government and had the purpose of influencing foreign policy in this country, incl. Committee on the Present Danger (CPD) and Project for a New American Century (PNAC)
Also: The President's Real Goal In Iraq: "In essence, it (the National Security Strategy plan released last Sept 20 by the Bush administration) lays out a plan for permanent U.S. military and economic domination of every region on the globe, unfettered by international treaty or concern."
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED: a) PNAC update by W.R. Pitt: "...Ten years on, the Project [PNAC] is doing quite nicely, thank you. Failure is only in the eye of the beholder, and if the beholder is getting everything he wants with a tidy payday to boot, "failure" is not what they are going to see. As far as PNAC is concerned, this has been a decade filled with astonishing achievements. In other words, it's all about priorities and perspective, especially for those who don't give a damn for the dead. ..." Compared to Pitt's earlier assessment, ... well, he's right on. b) "Oil-buying craze tops excess of dot-coms - And the speculator bubble is due to burst, analysts say," By Michael Patterson And Elizabeth Stanton, Bloomberg News, June 15, 2008: "The rally that recently drove oil to a record $139.12 a barrel has surpassed the gains in Internet stocks that preceded the dot-com crash in 2000..."
Scramble to carve up Iraqi oil reserves lies behind US diplomacy, The Observer (London), Sunday October 6, 2002, Ed Vulliamy in New York, Paul Webster in Paris, and Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow. "Manoeuvres shaped by horsetrading between America, Russia and France over control of untapped oilfields. Oil is emerging as the key factor in US attempts to secure the support of Russia and France for military action against Iraq, according to an Observer investigation..."
9-11 and US Global Hegemony by Ed Rippy - Indymedia, 17 July 2002: "...About two months before the attacks former US diplomats put out an unofficial message that the US would attack Afghanistan in mid-October, two days before the attacks US planners finished "contingency plans" for a war on al-Qaeda and Afghanistan, and tens of thousand of US and allied troops (including two aircraft carrier battle groups) were converging in the area around Afghanistan for exercises. Since the rout of the Taliban, oil companies are signing deals for pipelines across Afghanistan and the heroin business is booming as never before (and the US has exempted the provisional Afghan government from penalties for its failure to stop drugs while that government has gutted its drug eradication agency)..."
Suppressed details of criminal insider trading, lead directly to the Cia's highest ranks, including as related to the 9-11 attacks (!). Understanding the interrelationships between CIA and the banking and brokerage world is critical to grasping the already frightening implications of these revelations. Articles at Mike Ruppert's "From the Wilderness" Site look at the history of CIA, Wall Street and the big banks by looking at some of the key players in CIA's history, including AIG insurance, manager of the third largest capital investment pool in the world, and its connection to CIA drug trafficking and covert operations. Mike Ruppert, who also created the 138 minute video, "The and Lies of 9-11" (which is about much more than 9-11), offers $1000 to anyone who can disprove the authenticity of any of his source materials - which, obvious from this tape, are voluminous. He is a former LAPD narcotics investigator who discovered CIA trafficking in drugs in 1977. After attempting to expose this he was forced out of LAPD in 1978 while earning the highest rating reports possible and having no pending disciplinary actions. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, Ruppert was among the first to be publicly critical of a number of transparent flaws in the official story presented by the US Government. In more than twenty stories since 9-11 he has followed his tested strategy of using only government documents, official statements or verifiable press reports as the basis for his work. As a result he has been openly received by several members of Congress and maintains open lines of communication with congressional and committee staffs. Ruppert is publisher and editor of "From The Wilderness", a newsletter read in 27 countries, by 20 members of the US Congress, professors at 12 Universities in the US and Canada and by the Intelligence committee of both houses. You can also contact "From the Wilderness via phone 818-788-8791.
Poignant question. Photo by Gary Davis, Veterans For Peace Greater Seattle Chapter 92
US bribes and threatens "allies" over Iraq - A MUST READ!
What Valerie Plame Really Did at the CIA, David Corn, The Nation, 9/6/06. "Valerie Wilson was no analyst or paper-pusher. She was an operations officer working on a top priority of the Bush Administration. Armitage, Rove and Libby had revealed information about a CIA officer who had searched for proof of the President's case." ...she was in the Counterproliferation Division's "modest Iraq branch. But that summer--before 9/11--word came down from the brass: We're ramping up on Iraq. Her unit was expanded and renamed the Joint Task Force on Iraq. Within months of 9/11, [this unit] grew to fifty or so employees. Valerie Wilson was placed in charge of its operations group..."
See about another Intelligence Cover-up in Civil Liberties Section, where Attorney General John Ashcroft has ordered that information about the Sibel Edmonds (9/11 attack) case be retroactively classified, to Silence Former FBI Translator.
"What Congress Does Not Know about Enron and 9/11" As a former federal prosecutor, John Loftus had an insider's knowledge of high level intelligence operations, including obstruction of Congressional investigations. Loftus resigned from the Justice Department in 1981 to expose how the intelligence community had recruited Nazi war criminals and then concealed the files from Congressional subpoena. After appearing on an Emmy Award winning segment of 60 Minutes, Loftus has spent the next two decades writing histories of intelligence cover-ups, and serving as an unpaid lawyer helping other whistleblowers inside US intelligence.
[more ref-links continued after "911 They Knew" section]
*
Posters available in JPG (for hi-quality 8.5" x 11") and PDF (for very large posters) by email for free or donation. Write for details via PolyPsyArt@iinet.com.
The W.M.D. Lie was not the first big one.
Before tossing this idea into "the conspiracy file," you may want to check out what Publisher Weekly says (see below the ThumbPic) about David Griffin's book on 911.
And if you like your posters large, you'll love the 5-foot wide version! Warning: This is an FTP link to a an extremely large (10Mb) file.
Publishers Weekly On David Ray Griffin and his book, *Debunking 9/11 Debunking: An Answer to Popular Mechanics and Other Defenders of the Official Conspiracy Theory* (Northampton, MA: Olive Branch Press, 2007):
Publisher's Weekly: "An emeritus professor of theology with no previous interest in conspiracy theories, Griffin has dedicated himself since 2003 to the ?9/11 truth? movement. As Griffin aptly notes, "the assumption that conspiracy theories are inherently irrational" has recently taken root in American culture, making any attack on the official government record instantly dismissible, but Griffin takes to the difficult task with solid reasoning and true zeal. All but the most dogmatic readers will find Griffin's evidence . . . detailed and deeply unnerving. ...Griffin (The New Pearl Harbor, 2004), a 9/11 truth advocate, continues to explore the internal inconsistencies in the official version of the events of September 11 . . . Readers will be surprised by Griffin's finding that conclusive evidence is still pending; U.S. officials submit that bin Laden's prior orchestration of attacks is proof enough, but today bin Laden is on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list for directing several terrorist attacks -- but not for 9/11. Although readers might be wont to dismiss this book as pure conspiracy theory, it succeeds as a searing and close reading of the events of September 11."
David Ray Griffin has now devoted five books totalling 1,536 pages to challenging what he calls "the public story about 9/11" and arguing that it is "riddled with internal contradictions" (9/11 Contradictions, pp. vi, 275). UFPPC (United for Peace of Pierce County) has been conducting "Digging Deeper" Monday-evening book discussion study circles Since July 2004, and has spent two weeks examining Griffin's two most recent volumes. See more via http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/7680/ (July'08)
The Real Reason $$$ Cheney Pushes for War ??? "When Dick Cheney was CEO of the oilfield supply firm Halliburton, the company did $23.8 million in business with Saddam Hussein ...As the former Secretary of Defense under Bush the Elder, Cheney was in particularly vulnerable position on the hypocrisy of doing business with Iraq....After the Gulf War...Using two subsidiaries, Dresser-Rand and Ingersoll-Dresser, Halliburton helped rebuild Saddam's war-damaged oil fields. The combined value of these contracts for parts and equipment was greater than that of any other American company doing business with Iraq -- companies including Schlumberger, Flowserve, Fisher-Rosemount, General Electric...." From Article by Molly Ivins - Creators Syndicate See Seattle Times article for a dryer but by the numbers report: "WASHINGTON — Since Dick Cheney became vice president, a subsidiary of his former company was chosen the exclusive contractor for overseas Army troop support and Navy construction despite being under federal investigation for fraud..."
The oil companies connections... They ARE the Administration, including the President (Arbusto Energy and Harkin Oil); Vice-President Dick Cheney (Halliburton Oil); Army Secretary Thomas White (Enron); Commerce Secretary Don Evans (Tom Brown Inc., an oil exploration company); and National Security Advisor, Condoleezza Rice (Chevron). "Lest anyone dismiss the oil connection as "cynical," keep the following in mind: According to Cheney's National Energy Policy Development Group, U.S. domestic oil production wi ll decline 12 percent over the next 20 years, while oil consumption will increase by one-third, two-thirds of which must be imported. Since the Middle East has 65 percent of the world's oil reserves, and Iraq might just have as much as-- or more than--Saudi Arabia, is it "cynical" to suggest that oil is a big part of this? As one unnamed U.S. diplomat told the Sunday Herald (Scotland), "the impending U.S. regime change in Baghdad is a strategic necessity."
"The American consumer has been the last gasp for the U.S. economy, "says Stephen Roach, Chief Economist for Morgan Stanley, "If the consumer weakens further, there is not a whole lot left." And, "This is not a good time for the world to be able to absorb the cost of war," says Brian Fabbri, an economist with the French bank BNP Paribas.
From "State of the Union's Empty Chairs" By Conn Hallinan, Baltimore Sun, January 31, 2003 [Recommended Reading: "Arrogant Capital", by Kevin Phillips; also interesting: "Resources for Democracy", Special Reports from Larry Chin, and 'Oil as a finite resource: When is Global Production Likely to Peak?' or "The Oil Coup: Bush's Master Oil Plan?".
How Did Iraq Get Its Weapons? We Sold Them. See Sunday Herald.com's Sept 16, 2002 article : Recent reports in the U.S. Senate reveal that the successive administrations of Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr. sold materials including anthrax, VX nerve gas, West Nile fever germs and botulism to Iraq right up until March 1992. Related Article, "US Role In Creation Of Iraqi Bioweapons Becomes Issue" (October 1)
This one is not just about the Iraq-War, but any War by/with the U.S. Uhmmm, but then most of the above also have broad ramifications, don't they!
The Pentagon seems to be generating bigger accounting mistakes than all of Corporate America combined. The GAO and the Defense Department’s own Inspector General found that $2.3 trillion in accounting entries were simply not supported by “adequate audit trails” or “sufficient evidence” in the books they audited. That makes Worldcom’s recent admissions of 7 billion mis-stated dollars seem like a rounding error. See "Take Action" at http://www.truemajority.com/ The Military Advisory Committee of TrueMajority includes a dozen distinguished military analysts and experts on the subject of excess Pentagon spending, including the Chair, Vice Admiral John J. Shanahan (USN, ret.); Former CIA Director, Admiral Stansfield Turner (USN, ret.); Dr. Lawrence Korb, Former Asst. Sec. Of Defense in the Reagan Administration; Rear Admiral Eugene Carroll (USN, ret.); and Col. David Hackworth (USA, ret.), America’s most decorated living combat veteran.
Cynthia McKinney, a five term Democratic Congresswoman, has taken the lead on demanding accountability for the $2.3 trillion "LOST" by Department of Defense, and is demanding a full independent inquiry of what Bush knew and when he knew it about 9-11. She has been targeted by her own party, and by the U.S. corporate media. Donations can now be given online at: http://www.cynthia2002.com. Those who want to volunteer in any other way to Cynthia McKinney's campaign can email: kharabia@khayumbia.com
"100,000 contractors in Iraq" - Renae Merle & Griff Witte, The Washington Post, Dec. 5, 2006. That number is 10 times that in first Gulf War, far more than previous estimates. "There are about 100,000 government contractors operating in Iraq, not counting subcontractors, a total that is approaching the size of the U.S. military force there, according to the military's first census of the growing population of civilians operating in the battlefield. The survey finding, which includes Americans, Iraqis and third-party nationals hired by companies operating under U.S. government contracts, is significantly higher and wider in scope than the Pentagon's only previous estimate, which said there were 25,000 security contractors in the country..."
BLACKWATER’S NOT GOING ANYWHERE By Jeremy Scahill Nation July 30, 2008 : Jeremy Scahill literally wrote the book on Blackwater, but an article posted on the web site of the *Nation* Wednesday about a Jul. 21 piece in which executives of the private military firm “told the AP Blackwater was shifting its focus to its other areas of government contracting, like law enforcement and military training, as well as logistics” was hedged about with ifs, mays, and maybes. -- “At the end of the day, maybe this is just a story, a whole lot of hype and a dash of misdirection from a pretty savvy company,” he wrote.[1] -- Maybe so, but something a bit more definite might have been expected from a journalist who has done more than any other to expose the workings of the company he called “the world’s most powerful mercenary army.” Related Articles & discussion at UFPPC.org
"Mercenaries 'R' Us" By Bill Berkowitz, AlterNet, March 24, 2004: "...While Blackwater USA is not nearly as well known as Halliburton or Bechtel - two mega-corporations making a killing off the reconstruction of Iraq - it nevertheless is doing quite well financially thanks to the White House's war on terror. The company specializes in firearm, tactics and security training and in October 2003, according to Mother Jones magazine, the company won a $35.7 million contract to train more than 10,000 sailors from Virginia, Texas, and California each year in 'force protection.' ...The practice of using mercenaries to fight wars is hardly new, but it is becoming increasingly popular in recent years. During the first Gulf War, one out of every 50 soldiers on the battlefield was a mercenary. The number had climbed up to one in ten during the Bosnian conflict. ...Apart from Chile, the other popular source for military recruits is South Africa. The United Nations recently reported that South Africa "is already among the top three suppliers of personnel for private military companies, along with the UK and the US. ...There are more than 1,500 South Africans in Iraq today, most of whom are former members of the South African Defense Force and South African Police." Mercenary casualties do not show up in reported casualty statistics, by the way.
"Clean separation with effective delegation": Our government employs "military contractors," see (a) extracts from a NY Times article, (b) remarks on a recent book by Philip Bobbitt entitled *The Shield of Achilles*, and (c) the latest update from Debka on what's going on militarily in Iraq. Mark Jensen has assembled a review for "The Military, the State, and the War" (at this site) Some key links there include "America's For-Profit Secret Army: Military Contractors Are Hired To
Do the Pentagon's Bidding Far From Washington's View." and http://www.debka.com Yes, we have a 'businesses' named MPRI, formerly known as Military Professionals Resources Inc., its revenue exceeding $100 million a year, mainly from Pentagon and State Department contracts. And we have the IPOA, International Peace Operations Association, to promote industry standards. I say "we" because they exist thanks to our tax dollars. Note that in both the corporate and government world, providers of services and administration are responsible to abide by reams of rules and regulations related to their contractors remaining in complieance with those regulations, and bow, not to the IPOA, but to the Office of Inspector General in their checks for Fraud and Abuse.
At this point, we begin going back into the history of what has developed into the most sophisticated mafia on the planet. The links here (and the many links these will take you to) don't focus too much on anything before the 60's (which begins a rich litany, especially including the 80's. And we're not talking about war on "the commies" - unless we got caught, and then that's what we called it.) The main exception to that regards the Bush family itself, including that of Prescott who made his millions supplying the Nazi's during WWII. He did get caught and officially punished by the US government. And he did bounce back with amazing... uhmmmm,... agility. [-Chris]
On the uncontrolled US arms market to terrorists and mercenaries, the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Colombia, on the State Department's foreign terror watch list: For the full story, read "The Guns of Opa-Locka" by Jake Bergman and Julia Reynolds from the December 2, 2002 issue of The Nation.
Understanding Special Operations And Their Impact on The Vietnam War Era
[or, go to http://www.ratical.org , then click on "Understanding Special Operations" beneath the picture of the rat]. "If you really want the truth about American governmental activities during the 1950's & 60's (as opposed to what we were brainwashed into believing in "history" classes), you can read (& copy/download) an entire 500-page book (at this site) written by a high-ranking American military officer (rank of colonel & offered the rank of general at one point) who was directly in the midst of all the key political leaders & who decided to retire & provide public documentation of all the covered-up activities perpetrated by your government & military. This is one of the most truthful, revealing, & informative sources of governmental operatons on the internet."
There does exist most credible documentation with the Christic Institute that clearly indicates, that since the 1960's, there have been some most interesting connections, brought out primarily through court proceedings in suites against various government entities, between many of the White House Administrations, the CIA, worldwide drug and arms sales, foreign governments initiated and deposed, and much more. Most of the operations, since they were primarily funded by international drug sales, are more obviously about personal gain of money and power. [Note: The Christic Institute was "legally" destroyed by the government, but it is quite alive as a search key word phrase]
The above reference about "military contractors" provides a powerful clue to the nature and capacities, and the types of connections existing between our government. The management policy might be called "clean separation with effective delegation," except that it has so much to do with so much "dirty work" taking place around the planet. A chronological history of People, events, operations, have been named and their relationships noted, reading like a family history. I've been calling it "the Bush Company Oil and Drug Syndicate," or maybe we could call it "pulling out the Arms-OileD rug." The complexity of the interwoven causes and effects implicate many people that we have believed were beyond such acts.
Until I get the web page for one organized document, you may email and ask me for a copy of the related document (about 100KB long, plain text, and/or a list of dozens of links to the documents that it was probably drawn from, including *George Bush: The Unauthorized Biography* Parts 1 to 8 (each part very long, ave. 160KB each) in plain text web pages, as obtained via FTP in ZIP format from www.kmf.org/williams/bushbook.html.
Another source might be http://www.halcyon.com/blackbox/hw/cryptocracy.html. This is an interview of Daniel Sheehan, General counsel for the U.S. Jesuit Headquarters Social Ministry Office in Washington (and former attorney for the New York Times, NBC, and former attorney in the offices of F. Lee Bailey). The investigation that developed this document was initiated (in Spring of '84) when it was found that two different ministers were given exact same story (related to claims of plans for organized communist terrorism against U.S. bases in the U.S. - by those illegals being smuggled in by these ministers in the santuary movement) by two different FBI agents. Another source for starters: http://www.parallaxresearch.com/dataclips/pub/research/irancontra/ The Christic Institute, whom Sheehan worked for at the time, had to find out just where the stories were coming from because if the Justice Department, "against whom we were defending in this case, really believed those stories, we were obviously going to be confronted with a much higher degree of militancy than we had any justifiable right to expect." The story of the investigation becomes quite interesting from the time it looks into the maze of curiously led (California National Guard based) operations for Martial Law, and involving FEMA, related to supposed S.American-born activities. One resource in this regard would be http://www.icdc.com/~paulwolf/cointelpro/ The point being: the current administration are comprised of the surving fathers (and their favorite children) of the S.E.Asian Opium Cartel, Watergate, Iran-Contra, the Mid-East arms trade and dictatorship installations (incl. Sadam Hussein and small fry Ben Ladin of the ruling Saudia Arabian family with extremely close ties to the Bush family and related businesses), the endless now not very surprizing litany of crime that continues today as listed and detailed in/via the links in this reference section. EG: We've elected and funded a bunch of crooks, and there's just too much proof to even begin to doubt it.
1 2 W a r n i n g S i g n s O f F a s c i s m Do they remind you of anyone !?! Let us demand withdrawal of the "October Surprise" legislation that removed key citizen protections [right-click the above and open in new tab. More in Civil Rights section]
(B)II. L I A R S W A R S (Iraq, Iran, Palestine, Lebonon, Caspian Basin (or Base), Etc)
What are those Iraq Sanctions Really About?
Yep, if you think they are/were meeting good purposes, you've been fed half-truths. Some very powerfully compassionate, not to mention courageous, people are doing their best to clarify the issues and make a difference. Read more at End Iraq Sanctions.Org. They can use all the help they can get to make a few things actually work there. Most of this is an oldie but goodie section except for the 2nd link (on IRAN)
CITIZENS’ HEARING ON THE LEGALITY OF U.S. ACTIONS IN IRAQ: Hearing held over January 20-21, 2007, more than 600 citizens joined a distinguished tribunal panel in listening to testimony about the legality of the US invasion of Iraq. The Citizens' Hearing was convened to present evidence that Lt. Ehren Watada would have presented in his February 5, 2007 court martial on the question that the military ruled barred from entry on Jan. 16 - the question of the Iraq War's legality. Testifiers included experts in military policy, international law and war crimes: * Daniel Ellsberg Military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in the Vietnam War; * Denis Halliday Former UN Assistant Secretary-General, coordinated Iraq humanitarian aid; * Richard Falk Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University; * Antonia Juhasz Policy-analyst and author on U.S. economic policies in Iraq; * John Burroughs Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy Executive Director; * Benjamin G. Davis Assoc. Prof. of Law, University of Toledo; expert on law of war; * Francis Boyle Professor of international law at Univ. of Illinois (video). * Marjorie Cohn National Lawyers' Guild President; Thomas Jefferson law school (video)
Speaking of Questions! Photo by Gary Davis, Veterans For Peace Greater Seattle Ch.92
See SNOW-news List Archives] and The Resource Page at SNOW (Sound Non-violent Opposition to War) for Lists of some most illuminating questions asked on the Iraq-War / Mid-East Conflicts -- in session by U.S.Congresspersons. In fact, this is a great page for Anti-War Resources in general (Is it strange that pacifists tend to be some of the least punchy and most intelligent people around? - Nah, I didn't think so either <grin>)
IS WAR WITH IRAN INEVITABLE? By Geoffrey Millard and Scott Galindez October 18, 2006 [Truthout video]: On Wednesday, October 11, Congressman Dennis Kucinich hosted a briefing on the march to war with Iran. Former chief nuclear weapons inspector David Kay testified that Iran currently does not pose an imminent threat to the United States or the region. Retired Air Force Colonel Sam Gardner, who was assigned to the War Planning College, presented his analysis of current preparations for war with Iran.
-- A Truthout video team was there and on Wedneday posted this report.[1] -- David Kay said he believes that the Iran is not on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons, and rejected the view that U.S faced a stark choice between accepting a nuclear-armed Iran and acting militarily. -- Gardiner said he has come to believe that a U.S. attack on Iran is not likely before the November 2006 elections, but that he considers the period between January 2007 and September 2007 to be a "window of high probability" for such an attack. --Mark Jensen [http://www.ufppc.org/content/view/5210/]
The Iraq Journal .Org website, featuring the reporting of independent journalists Jeremy Scahill and Jacqueline Soohen has reached thousands of people and groups across the globe. The material, which is uncensored by any government, provides a rare and different glimpse into the situation on the ground in Iraq. Neither Iraqi nor U.S. corporate journalists are able to deliver this kind of grassroots reporting. The site also includes links to other information sources and background material.
"The most inside view yet of Iraq war planning" by Karen Kwiatkowski, who teaches an American foreign policy class at James Madison University, and writes regularly for militaryweek.com on security and defense issues. excerpt: "...Neoconservatives are fairly easy to study, mainly because they are few in number, and they show up at all the same parties. Examining them as individuals, it became clear that almost all have worked together, in and out of government, on national security issues for several decades. The Project for the New American Century and its now famous 1998 manifesto to President Clinton on Iraq is a recent example. But this statement was preceded by one written for Benyamin Netanyahu's Likud Party campaign in Israel in 1996 by neoconservatives Richard Perle, David Wurmser and Douglas Feith titled 'A Clean Break: Strategy for Securing the Realm. David Wurmser is the least known of that trio and an interesting example of the tangled neoconservative web. In 2001, the research fellow at the American Enterprise Institute was assigned to the Pentagon, then moved to the Department of State to work as deputy for the hard-line conservative undersecretary John Bolton, then to the National Security Council, and now is lodged in the office of the vice president. His wife, the prolific Meyrav Wurmser, executive director of the Middle East Media Research Institute, is also a neoconservative team player...'" In email, ggersmehl@hotmail.com introduced this long article with "I received this from a friend under the title 'The New Pentagon Papers' -- not the author's title, and one that offended me at first. Yet for the Iraq war, it may be the closest thing to what the Pentagon Papers offered: the facts, from the inside."
Bush Sr., Clinton, Bush Jr. and the War Crimes Left Behind by Heather Wokusch, From the Baltimore Chronicle& Sentintel, June 4, 2004. On the use of DU weaponry, electrical attacks, and the pre-war sanctions. "Given repercussions over Abu Ghraib, it isn't surprising that Washington recently asked the UN Security Council for another one-year extension on its war crimes exemption for peace-keepers. The prison abuse scandal is just the iceberg's tip of Geneva Convention violations by the United States, and closer inspection could send Bush Jr. and Bush Sr., not to mention Bill Clinton, straight to the courtroom docks... A second US Defense Intelligence Agency document, 1991's 'Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities,' predicted how sanctions would then be used to prevent Iraq from getting the equipment and chemicals necessary for water purification, which would result in "a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the population" leading to 'increased incidences, if not epidemics, of disease.'" This article is also posted on the Veterans For Peace talking points under Battlefield Exposure and War Crimes page
Senator Byrd saw Iraq-Vietnam analogy. Senate debates how much authority to give Bush in using force against Saddam. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., has been leading Senate Democratic opposition to the resolution authorizing President Bush to use force against Iraq. WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 - As the Senate debated a resolution that would authorize President Bush to use military force against Iraq, one senior Democrat compared the measure to the 1964 Tonkin Gulf Resolution, which authorized President Lyndon Johnson to escalate the Vietnam War - and, some said later, gave him too much power to wage war. (...) "Things that I think should have been in there are all classified, they declassified some for release but not others," said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. "It is frustrating on this to have classified information which contradicts popularly held views. It is troubling to have classified information which contradicts statements made by the administration. It is maddening to have classified information which contradicts classified information leaked by the administration," Durbin said.
Daniel Ellsberg: "It's possible to tell the truth" re: Iraq War: Here's a link to what Daniel Ellsberg, the man who leaked the Pentagon Papers (published in the New York Times in June 1971 and revealing US duplicity to the public about Vietnam), had to say on Saturday [Oct 19, 2002] on CNN about US Iraq policy. At www.ellsberg.net there is a link to a chapter from his new book, "Secrets, a Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers" which is available online. Iraq-related excerpts from Daniel Ellsberg's speech is in honor of Mordechai Vanunu (the man who blew the whistle on Israel's nuclear arms program. An excerpt from the interview:
"It's possible to tell the truth. The message I would like to get to people inside right now: if they feel that what the President and the Vice President and the Secretary of Defense are saying is deceptive of the public, is not founded on the evidence that they know passing across their desks or they know, by expertise, I would like them to consider doing what I wish I'd done in 1964 and 1965, rather than waiting five years, as I did until 1969. They should consider going to Congress and the press and telling the truth with documents. They shouldn't do what I did, wait until the bombs are falling. That's why I think the message in my book is urgent. So urgent, in fact, that I decided to put the first chapter on the internet tonight on Ellsberg.net. You don't have to buy the book to read that. That tells us what is happening right now. It's about the week that Congress passed the first Tonkin Gulf Resolution, having nowthis is the time to read it, when they've just passed the second one."
Nagy Visit on Iraq Sanctions Takes Denmark by Storm (July 15) Nagy presented unshakeable documentation for how the sanctions have been applied to ban the import of water purification equipment and chemicals, thus provoking epidemics of diseases such as cholera, hepatitis and typhoid fever. See article at CommonDreams.Org
OOPS, MORE UNEXPECTED CASUALTIES Before we commit to another Gulf War, our government must come clean on what happened to our Desert Storm heroes.
THE DAY AFTER THE ATTACK Experts on Iran and the Kurds dread the aftermath of a U.S. invasion of Iraq, which they say would destabilize the entire region.
We Can Have Them In Jail By End of 2010 Find Link-loaded Messages for quickly getting your sigs on petitions and sending letters to Elected Officials via PolyPsyList Archives: Use "Impeach" in its efficient Search Engine, sort by latest, etc. For Rove, include "Mike Connell" (yep, another plane crash)
After Downing Street .Org Impeachment Center ...working to expose the lies that launched the war and to hold accountable its architects, including through censure and impeachment.
And what I added to the petition for impeachment at www.democrats.com: "Why bother with impeachment if they will be out of office in January 2008?": What most folks haven't stopped to realize, simply by taking stock of the wrecking crew's history, is that these guys are not done now, nor do they intend to let go of power - in 2008 or ever. Why else all the recent "stacking": stacking the nation's chain of command under emergincy conditions with no time limits, the martial law related authorities, the courts, the state judiciaries and voting authorities (Thank you Gonzalez, unpresidented in his silence in such a position), not to mention stacking the 911 commission panel, the presenters of the case for attacking iraq, the decision makers on Iraqi oil & profits, and now the insult to justice via the Libby sentence commutation. It's critical time to regain the Balance of Power in government.
Much of US favors Bush impeachment: poll WASHINGTON (AFP): Nearly half of the US public wants President George W. Bush to face impeachment, and even more favor that fate for Vice President Dick Cheney, according to a poll out Friday. The survey by the American Research Group found that 45 percent support the US House of Representatives beginning impeachment proceedings against Bush, with 46 percent opposed, and a 54-40 split in favor when it comes to Cheney. 07/06/07
Please sign this petition (of July '07) urging Congress to force Vice President Cheney to respond to its subpoenas. If he doesn't, Congress has to begin impeachment proceedings against him.
"Resign, Mr. President" This is one of the most impassioned and complete encapsulations of reasons why; might also be called the most accurate summary execution. On YouTube, Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:14:19 -0700
D E P L E T E D U R A N I U M W E A P O N R Y (often referred to as "DU," more correctly called "Uranium Munitions")
Basics: 1) When DU munitions explode, the DU is atomized into a fine powder that is extremely easily stirred up from the ground and inhaled. It also rises high into the atmosphere, by the way. More on that via the chart (link) below. 2) DU is the primary reason why 10% of veterans from the First Gulf War died from related cancers & toxicity, & another 30% are sick or dying. That amount of DU is a fraction of the amount that our soldiers are exposed to now. 3) But it's not just about our kids over there (see next paragraph as well as the "LIARS WAR" section intro).
Jim McDermott, US Representative from Washington State, said "In Iraq I visited children dying of leukemia. A 10-year-old boy dying of leukemia told me – through an interpreter, in Arabic – tell Mr. Bush that bombs are not the answer. Children there are getting leukemia from the dust from exploded shells made of depleted uranium that were used in the Gulf War. There's a five-year latency period, but in the last five years leukemia rates have increased 100% there. Birth malformation rates are up more than 100%. And we're thinking of sending American troops over to fight in this dust?" (Oct 6, 2002 at the Jefferson Community Center in Seattle)
"Depleted Uranium comes home" from http://lefti.blogspot.com::
"Since this blog began I've been writing about the evils of depleted Uranium, most recently here [at Blogspot.Com]. Iraqis and Americans (and others elsewhere that DU weaponry has been used) have suffered as a result. The story goes one step further, both qualitatively and quantitatively: "Preventive Psychiatry E-Newsletter No. 169 charged that the reason Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi stepped down was the growing scandal surrounding the use of uranium munitions in the Iraq War. Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York, stated, 'The real reason for Mr. Principi's departure was really never given, however a special report published by eminent scientist Leuren Moret naming depleted uranium as the definitive cause of the 'Gulf War Syndrome' has fed a growing scandal about the continued use of uranium munitions by the US Military.' "Bernklau continued, 'This malady (from uranium munitions), that thousands of our military have suffered and died from, has finally been identified as the cause of this sickness, eliminating the guessing. The terrible truth is now being revealed.
"He added, 'Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of 'Disabled Vets' means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!' The disability rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam. 'The VA Secretary (Principi) was aware of this fact as far back as 2000,' wrote Bernklau. 'He, and the Bush administration have been hiding these facts, but now, thanks to Moret's report, (it) ... is far too big to hide or to cover up!'"
And, as I've also discussed before, not only is this a health problem, it's also part of the never-ending cost of war. Repeating something from that just-linked post: "While the exact cost of compensating those injured in fighting in Iraq is uncertain, the Department of Veterans Affairs already expects to pay $600 billion over the next three decades in disability payments to veterans of earlier wars." Let's repeat -- that $600 billion does not include those serving in Iraq. Add to that the cost of paying for a lifetime of healthcare for hundreds of thousands of soldiers who have been exposed to DU in Iraq (on top of all the other medical problems resulting from the war) and, as Everett Dirksen famously said (http://en.thinkexist.com/quotes/everett_dirksen/), "Pretty soon you're talking about real money." And you're definitely talking about real lives. And real deaths.
Shown at Upper Right: A Chart illustrating the worldwide effects of using DU (Depleted Uranium), the "DU Cycle Problem-Solving Chart," by PolyPsyArts (yours truly). download via [Right-Click, "Save as"]
Link Includes a powerful description of DU (Depleted Uranium) history & effects
There is a very lengthy and detailed resume of US weapons for the war created by serious experts and focusing on the predominance of depleted uranium among the cruise missiles, bunker busters, etc. But the truth is, the DU is all over Iraq now, really. The URL is: http://www.eoslifework.co.uk/u231.htm That's a big part of the hundreds of thousands of Gulf War Sickness causualties and tens of thousands of deaths since then. One future question concerns *undepleted* uranium - currently a very very classified topic. An Index Page Link with more references at same site.
To verify the Afghan contamination, and the statement that it was undepleted not depleted Uranium, see the UMRC website (Dr Durakovic and Tedd Weyman).
On Jan. 10, the News Tribune (Tacoma) reported that the U.S. Navy has been firing DU off the Washington coast, apparently since 1977.
"Lowry Unrealistic About Depleted Uranium," by Roger Longley, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, February 6, 2003 (Roger Longley of Friday Harbor was a senior nuclear engineer for nine years at General Dynamics/Fort Worth.)
DU Links from the Canadian Military are linked to the VFP92 website.
The National Gulf War Resource Center, Inc. provides information to Gulf War veterans concerned with exposure to DU during our service in the Gulf War. This is a very comprehensive resource.Mushrooming depleted uranium (DU) scandal By Bob Nichols Jan 22, 2006: “...Out of the 580,400 soldiers who served in GW1 (the first Gulf War), of them, 11,000 are now dead! By the year 2000, there were 325,000 on Permanent Medical Disability. This astounding number of ‘Disabled Vets’ means that a decade later, 56% of those soldiers who served have some form of permanent medical problems!” The disability rate for the wars of the last century was 5 percent; it was higher, 10 percent, in Viet Nam.
Becoming one of the hottest reasons for concern during and AFTER the Iraqi War, for both Iraqi peoples' and our own soldiers' healthUranium Blitz Facts from Dai Williams, independent weapons researcher, Chartered Psychologist, Eos, Woking, Surrey, UK, eosuk@btinternet.com, Community projects (3/23/03). Article also posted at
http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=302602&group=webcast
(B)III. C H A N G E S I N C I V I L L I B E R T I E S & I M P L I C A T I O N S
Talk about a T-Shirt that hits HOME!
(...wishing I could claim the design as my own PolyPsyArt! but alas...)
I'd like to introduce this great example of activist creativity in How to Define the Bottom Line (Preservering against hypocracy).
The spokespersons at this site say Tribal sovereignty and self-determination is the foundation of not only of tribal nations but also of Native families and individuals. "We should determine our future, because it's our legal right. Tribal sovereignty is meaningless unless it's exercised." For many great T-Shirt designs to choose from see the Tribal SovereignTees .Com CATALOG page!
Find more at The Home of the ORIGINAL "Homeland Security - Fighting Terrorism Since 1492"
t-shirt design
Bush Moves Toward Martial Law (August-October '06): In a stealth maneuver, President Bush has signed into law a provision which, according to Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), will actually encourage the President to declare federal martial law (1). It does so by revising the Insurrection Act, a set of laws that limits the President's ability to deploy troops within the United States. The Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C.331 -335) has historically, along with the Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C.1385), helped to enforce strict prohibitions on military involvement in domestic law enforcement. With one cloaked swipe of his pen, Bush is seeking to undo those prohibitions. Sources:
(1) http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/091906a.html and http://leahy.senate.gov/press/200609/092906b.html See also, Congressional Research Service Report for Congress, "The Use of Federal Troops for Disaster Assistance: Legal Issues," by Jennifer K. Elsea, Legislative Attorney, August 14, 2006
(2) http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill+h109-5122
(3) Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International, "Recent Contract Awards", Summer 2006, Vol.12, No.2, pg.8; See also, Peter Dale Scott, "Homeland Security Contracts for Vast New Detention Camps," New American Media, January 31, 2006.
(4) "Technology Transfer from defense: Concealed Weapons Detection", National Institute of Justice Journal, No 229, August, 1995, pp.42-43.
www.towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/911/
"WHEN LAWYERS ARE WAR CRIMINALS" By Scott Horton, 10/8/06; Military Commissions Act passed to protect Yoo, Bybee, Gonzales, Addington, Haynes, et al. In announcing the Military Commissions Act, President Bush insisted that he needed the legislation to lay to rest the concerns of 400-500 professional interrogators... [ 1 ] First, he suggested that the interrogators faced the prospect of prosecution under the War Crimes Act... [ 2 ] Bush revealed that there was a new "Program," of "extraordinary procedures" that he, personally, had been advised of and had approved... But the facts here are different: the Program was always against the law, and the U.S. Army's own interrogation manuals stated just that. [ 3 ] Bush stated that the reach for highly coercive new techniques came at the instance of the interrogators themselves. But in fact, we now know from an array of leaked documents that these techniques were rammed down their throats, often over courageous opposition, both within the CIA and the uniformed services...
...The Military Commissions Act seeks to accomplish its objective of granting impunity through three tools. First, it redefines "war crimes" into a series of specifically chargeable offenses, of which two, "torture" and "cruel treatment" are most important for these purposes. Second, it makes the restatement of these crimes retroactive to September 11, 2001. Consequently, a series of criminal offenses under the War Crimes Act will disappear retroactively when the Act goes into force. Third, it strips courts of jurisdiction over habeas corpus petitions and forbids litigants to cite the Geneva Conventions and related international and foreign law in those courts, in an effort to blind the courts to the law which the Constitution obligates them to enforce. ..."
US's approval of torture related to 'collective numbness and apathy': "A Soul-Defying, Tacit Approval Of Torture: How Did We Come To This?" By Phil Rockstroh, Dissident Voice 9/28/06; According to this analysis, it's American culture as a whole that is indicted by collective endorsement of torture that the legislative branch of the U.S. government has just conferred upon the the executive, at its urgent request. Phil Rockstroh argues that the embrace of a "false self" underlies the death of soul perceptible in so many of our fellow "corporate/consumer citizens", as Rockstroh calls them. As a result, he maintains, "a collective numbness and apathy levels upon the land and ultimately our desensitization to genocide and torture." -- Commentary by Mark Jensen
How the Anti-Terrorism Bill Affects Civil Liberties: 9 Updated Fact Sheets at ACLU In a rare maneuver, Attorney General John Ashcroft has ordered that information about the Sibel Edmonds (9/11 attack) case be retroactively classified, to Silence Former FBI Translator. Read "Translator in Eye of Storm on Retroactive Classification" By Anne E. Kornblut, Boston Globe: "Sifting through old classified materials in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, FBI translator Sibel Edmonds said, she made an alarming discovery: Intercepts relevant to the terrorist plot, including references to skyscrapers, had been overlooked because they were badly translated into English. Edmonds, 34, who is fluent in Turkish and Farsi, said she quickly reported the mistake to an FBI superior. Five months later, after flagging what she said were several other security lapses in her division, she was fired. Now, after more than two years of investigations and congressional inquiries, Edmonds is at the center of an extraordinary storm over US classification rules that sheds new light on the secrecy imperative supported by members of the Bush administration." Another piece on que: AN INTERVIEW WITH SIBEL EDMONDS By Christopher DeLiso. More quotes and paraphrases at Common Dreams .Org: (recent story), (original story),
and via Search at Commondreams.Org.
A not-so-minor detail you may have missed in the reporting on the new Department of Homeland Security: the entire department, and all information generated by or through it, will be exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Mr Cheney has been a key figure through three administrations in the history of the FOIA - since President Ford! And remember Iran-Contra? See Attack On The FOIA from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
"James Baker's firm is already a top player in the Great Game of seizing Caspian Sea oil. (An executive of Exxon-Mobil, one of Baker Botts's clients, has been charged with evading taxes on bribes paid in Kazakhstan.)" -Greg Palast "President's business partner slices up Iraq." In the same article: "All year the elves at his law firm, Baker Botts of Texas, have been working day and night to prevent the families of the victims of the September 11 attack from seeking information from Saudi Arabia on the Kingdom's funding of Al Qaeda fronts."
V O T I N G & R E L A T E D C R I S E S
FIXING ELECTRONIC FRAUD & USING ABSENTEE VOTING & INSTANT RUNNOFF VOTING
Diebold and ES&S, makers of voting machines and systems, have been involved in countless election irregularities over the years, involving both ballot scanners and touchscreens. Karl Rove has added his genius to other voting fraud methodologies, which have been innundating the U.S. since the 2000 election, if it wasn't bad enough in selected areas before (Florida & Texas would be the more notorius examples).
I VERY strongly believe that It is Vital now that we generate *the citizen's means* of citizen's empowerment. If citizens can't believe their vote doesn't count, how can they possibly believe a democracy effectively exists for them to speak for, or speak IN ? ! ! ! And we wonder: Why there is disillusionment, thence apathy? ...Why the name "Sheople" came about? ...How the current fascist administration came about? ...Why elected officials are too fearful, ashamed, and/or complicit to demand accountability? Well, here's another opportunity to change all that. Thank you for doing what you can. Details in the annotated links below. WHAT WE CAN DO:
Insure your city & state government(s) use a voting system that leaves a paper trail record. That it does not use Diebold machines which are too easily manipulated. AND, perhaps most easily. After that, shoot for the Instant Runnoff Voting system (now being termed 'rank-order voting' - see below). If nothing else, Please USE THE ABSENTEE VOTE OPTION (and if/where necessary, do the grassroots work necessary to make sure you can use this) and it has been found that it might be very wise to use two stamps - there have been some interesting developments related to the weight of these mailers. Safer still: take them to the polls and deposit them there. Also, I cannot emphesise enough: Along with fixing the voting machines and other vote fraud (links below), Instant Runnoff Voting is one of the most important innovations to incorporate in order to make our democracy work. It's different, but the following links make it easy to understand. PLEASE go there, then get active (write elected officials, create/join groups, etc) -cp, 10'06
I n s t a n t R u n o f f V o t i n g
or "Ranked Order" voting - where every candidate of ANY party (eg: multiple parties can be running candidates) can each have a shot at the presidency, and any other office where this system is in effect:
The above two sites also have an abundance of links to Black Box Voting and related sites
That includes all the horror stories you can stand. But let those MOTIVATE your being PRO-ACTIVE. Spreading horror stories (or conspiracy theories) w/o solutions doesn't always motivate. Constructive release of anger can initiate the healing of the planet. Then the love can bloom w/o passive agression, let alone purposeful infliction of pain. There will always be disagreement and conflict because there will always be ego. But conflict is a vehicle for growth when used with that intention.
Stop, Drop and Poll - What to Do if You Have Problems Voting -
This is a great, highly referenced and comprehensive list for any state. Exception to this page: unlike other states, it is reportedly safe in Washington State to use the absentee ballot. But you still might include a copy of your registration (you probably keep it in your wallet or purse), and use an extra stamp.
Velvet Revolution on Voting, and much on Karl Rove's "re-engineering" of the process.
Willie Nelson on Voting: I was at a concert this weekend in California to raise money for the National Veterans Foundation. I'm an Air Force veteran, and I have great respect for the military. I like to support the soldiers whenever I can. But I don't support this war in Iraq. I was against the war before it started. I always thought it was a terrible decision, badly thought out, badly planned, and then horribly executed. I want to see our troops come home right away, and so do most Americans. Unfortunately, too many politicians in both parties refuse to listen. So when will the troops come home? When we won't put up with it anymore-when we change our government. And how will we do that? By voting the bastards out! On November 7, you should vote for anyone who's against the war and vote against anyone who's for the war. It's that simple.
Just Try Voting Here 11 of Americas Worst Places to Cast a Ballot (or Try) By Sasha Abramsky, Mother Jones, September/October 2006 Issue: Machines that count backward, slice-and-dice districts, felon baiting, phone jamming, and plenty of dirty tricks.
Wanna Get Back? ( By Bringing us back to Reality, that is ? ) Still Want Your Vote to Count ?
V O T E W I T H Y O U R D O L L A R !
Use These Resources As Needed
Oldies but goodies:
Also, Greg Palast in "President's business partner slices up Iraq." quoted James Baker as having said, "I fixed the election in Florida for George Bush." That was the gravamen of his remarks to an audience of Russian big wigs as reported to me by my somewhat astonished colleagues with BBC television. It was Baker, as consiglieri to the Bush family, who came up with the strategy of maneuvering the 2000 Florida vote count into a Supreme Court packed with politicos. Baker's claim to have fixed the election was not a confession. It was a boast. He meant to dazzle current and potential clients in the former Soviet states about his Big In with the Big Boy in the White House. Baker's firm is already a top player in the Great Game of seizing Caspian Sea oil. (An executive of Exxon-Mobil, one of Baker Botts's clients, has been charged with evading taxes on bribes paid in Kazakhstan.)
Also, Greg Palast's book "The Best Democracy Money Can Buy" thoroughly documents the fraudulent removal of thousands of black voters' names from the state's registration list. It also seems that servicemen abroad were "urged" to cast late ballots which then did get counted. (You might also note Greg Palast's web site at http://www.gregpalast.com.)
"Johns Hopkins researchers at the Information Security Institute issued a report declaring that Diebold's electronic voting software contained "stunning flaws." The researchers concluded that vote totals could be altered at the voting machines and by remote access. Diebold vigorously refuted the Johns Hopkins report, claiming the researchers came to "a multitude of false conclusions." Find out more on "Blackbox Voting," Diebold Election Systems, the ES&S (software) system, and Bev Harris - who needs our support as she works tirelessly for the critically needed reform: Blackbox Voting .Com, Ecotalk .Org, Vote-Smart .Org and What Really Happened .Com. Worthy of Your Attention: Did you know that "The winner of past (U.S.) elections has been "nobody"-- more people have chosen not to vote than to support anybody. President Bush was elected by 17% of the public." according to an Utne .Com article.
Are you going to be out of town or busy on Election Day? What if you could check "vote" off your to-do list ahead of time? You may be able to accomplish both these things by voting early, using an absentee ballot. To learn how to get one, go to: Votes For Students.
"In the last election, we knew the election was stolen; in this election, we may not even know." --By John Greeley in "Protect Your Vote: Get A Receipt!" * Find out more about Instant Run-Off voting (or 'rank-order voting') at Fair Vote .Com - a ranking system where votes for lower-ranked candidates (that don't win) get moved up to a candidate higher on the list - read about the advantages and where it's caught on already.
Jim Hightower helps at Rock the Vote .Com in "Thieves In High Places - They've Stolen Our Country And It's Time To Take It Back!" and so do the Dixie Chicks.
Home page: http://www.rockthevote.org/
"Remember Poindexter? Brilliant man, first in his class at the Naval Academy, later earned a doctorate in physics, rose to national security adviser under President Ronald Reagan. He had this brilliant idea of secretly selling missiles to Iran to pay ransom for hostages, and with the illicit proceeds to illegally support contras in Nicaragua. A jury convicted Poindexter in 1990 on five felony counts of misleading Congress and making false statements, but an appeals court overturned the verdict because Congress had given him immunity for his testimony. He ... is back again with a plan even more scandalous than Iran-contra. He heads the 'Information Awareness Office' in the otherwise excellent Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which spawned the Internet and stealth aircraft technology. Poindexter is now realizing his 20-year dream: getting the "data-mining" power to snoop on every public and private act of every American..." -- words of conservative columnist and former Nixon administration official William Safire, in his famous NYTimes article, "You Are a Suspect," about the "Homeland Security Act." As written in the last weeks of November '02, it would create a single database to round up personal information on every American. Click Here to read the text of the Bill (it's official address in Congress). If the Senate passes this bill, the government will bring together in one grand database all the public and private information they can get their hands on including your credit history, the magazines you subscribe to, your banking, travel information, etc. It contains language to protect big drug companies from liability when they produce vaccines that hurt children. They've included a provision to ensure that our government can do business with the companies that avoid paying their fair share of taxes by renting a post office box in Bermuda or another tax haven. Click Here to tell Congress to Stop this legislation. or Here to see the bill's status (links to Cong. Record pages, votes)
"In 1975, Church told the nation, and J. Edgar Hoover, that COINTELPRO had been 'a sophisticated vigilante operation aimed squarely at preventing the exercise of First Amendment rights of speech and association.' And Church pledged: 'The American people need to be reassured that never again will an agency of the government be permitted to conduct a secret war against those citizens it considers a threat to the established order...' Back in 1975, Frank Church issued a warning that is far more pertinent now than it was then. He was speaking of how the government's intelligence capabilities--aimed at 'potential' enemies, as well as disloyal Americans--could 'at any time' be 'turned around on the American people, and no American would have any privacy left--such is the capacity to monitor everything, telephone conversations, telegrams, it doesn't matter. There would be no place to hide... There would be no way to fight back,' Church continued, 'because the most careful effort to combine together in resistance to the government, no matter how privately it was done, is within the reach of the government to know.' Without even a gesture of consultation with Congress, Ashcroft unilaterally has thrown away those guidelines... the poisonous core of this reorganization is its return to the time of J. Edgar Hoover and COINTELPRO, the counter-intelligence operation--pervasively active from 1956 to 1971--that so disgraced the Bureau that it was forced to adopt new guidelines to prevent such wholesale subversion of the Bill of Rights ever again..." -- Nat Hentoff, in 'There Would Be No Place to Hide' Unleashing the FBI, Village Voice.
How the anti-terrorism bill puts the CIA back in the business, article From www.ACLU.org of spying on Americans
Facts on Secret Evidence FROM SECRET EVIDENCE TO NO EVIDENCE: Why is the Attorney General Asking Congress for the Power to Jail and Deport Immigrants Without a Trial or Any Other Way to Establish Their Innocence? article From www.ACLU.org
Bush's war at home: government censorship, secrecy, and lies, From www.wsws.org
Widespread violations of civil liberties in US dragnet - Nearly 600 detained, From http://www.wsws.org
Americans Demand Freedoms Be Kept During Bush's Terror War - Article from www.NewsMax.Com WASHINGTON - More than 150 organizations on the left and right, and hundreds of computer scientists and law professors are circulating a petition urging that personal freedoms not be sacrificed in the fight against terrorism.
At a news conference organized by the Free Congress Foundation's Coalition for Constitutional Liberties, the broad coalition recalled that in every conflict since the Civil War, the long-range pressures in the crisis of the moment have been aimed at greatly expanding the powers of the federal government to restrict our freedoms.
Among the groups in the coalition are the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) and the Rutherford Institute, generally considered conservative, and the American Civil Liberties Union and Common Cause, often in the forefront of liberal causes. All signed on to the statement entitled "In Defense of Freedom at a Time of Crisis."
1 2 W a r n i n g S i g n s O f F a s c i s m Do they remind you of anyone !?! Let us demand withdrawal of the "October Surprise" legislation that removed key citizen protections [right-click the above and open in new tab. More in Civil Rights section]
* Dan Rather's $70 Million Lawsuit Likely to Deal Bush Legacy a New Blow by Christopher Goodwin, The Observer UK, Sunday 28 December 2008: Dan Rather's lawsuit could impact Bush's legacy. "Eight weeks before the 2004 presidential poll, Rather broadcast a story based on newly discovered documents which appeared to show that Bush, whose service in the Texas Air National Guard ensured that he did not have to fight in Vietnam, had barely turned up even for basic duty. After an outcry from the White House and conservative bloggers who claimed that the report had been based on falsified documents, CBS retracted the story, saying that the documents' authenticity could not be verified. Rather, who had been with CBS for decades and was one of the most familiar faces in American journalism, was fired by the network the day after the 2004 election.
"He claims breach of contract against CBS. He has already spent $2m on his case, which is likely to go to court early next year. Rather contends not only that his report was true - "What the documents stated has never been denied, by the president or anyone around him," he says - but that CBS succumbed to political pressure from conservatives to get the report discredited and to have him fired. He also claims that a panel set up by CBS to investigate the story was packed with conservatives in an effort to placate the White House. Part of the reason for that, he suggests, was that Viacom, a sister company of CBS, knew that it would have important broadcasting regulatory issues to deal with during Bush's second term. ..."
[One of the earlier reports on the above noted Dan Rather case:] "CBS' Cowardice and Conflicts Behind Purge - Network's Craven Back-Down on Bush Draft Dodge Report Sure to Get a Standing Rove-ation at White House," by Greg Palast, Published 1/12/05 by CommonDreams.org - remember Oliver North, the Ayatollah Khomeini, John Poindexter, and the Iran-Contra scandal in 1986? "And who are the journalists whom CBS has burned at the corporate stake? ... '60 Minutes' producer Mary Mapes. Besides the Bush draft dodge story, Mapes produced the exposé of the torture at Abu Ghraib when other networks had the same material and buried it." Yup, Dan Rather out-Roved...
DO POLLS REFLECT MEDIA DISTORTION? The vast majority of Americans are reported to support a war with Iraq, but a new organization is asking, "can we trust the polls?" After doing its own survey, Retro Poll calls into question the accuracy of major media polls. "The Retro Poll attempts to show that public opinion is molded by media misinformation and disinformation (propaganda). It addresses the question: does the public opinion reported in the usual major media polls reflect the true values and beliefs of those Americans polled, or not?" Retro Poll writes in a press release. Based on Retro Poll's own survey data, they suggest that "by continually highlighting Washington's viewpoint unchallenged, the news bureaus in the U.S. can change the facts in the minds of many Americans. The opinions formed from those unsubstantiated facts are then used by polling organizations to report back the values, ideas, and thinking of the public." SOURCE: Retro Poll Press Release, October 17, 2002 To discuss this story in the PR Watch Forum, visit:http://www.prwatch.org/forum/discuss.php?id=1034827200. PR Watch, a quarterly publication of the Center for Media & Democracy, is dedicated to investigative reporting on the public relations industry. It serves citizens, journalists and researchers seeking to recognize and combat manipulative and misleading PR practices. It specializes in blowing the lid off today's multi-billion dollar propaganda-for-hire industry, naming names and revealing how public relations wizards concoct and spin the news, organize phony 'grassroots' front groups, spy on citizens, and conspire with lobbyists and politicians to thwart democracy. We expose the hidden activities of secretive, little-known mega-firms such as Hill & Knowlton, Burson-Marsteller and Ketchum PR--the "invisible men" who control our political debates and public opinion, twisting reality and protecting the powerful from scrutiny.
Preparatory Note: In 1941 the atomic bomb was born in secrecy. In a few years more than a half-million Americans were involved in the project. Dr. Carl Jensen, professor emeritus of communication studies at Sonoma State University, says 'Successful information-control practices employed by the Manhattan Project paved the way for the news management, manipulation and obfuscation'... ... President Dwight Eisenhower warned about the 'military-industrial complex.' Today, an entity within that multi-billion-taxdollar complex runs 'black op'. 'Black' means even the US Congress is kept ignorant of the amounts of taxpayer money that go to certain operations, and of what's developed with that money. Black ops are formally called Unacknowledged Special Access Projects (USAPs).” --Jeane Manning
Report blasts FCC leaks to lobbyists: As the FCC prepares to announce the date and location of its final public hearing on media ownership, Commissioner Michael J. Copps observes that the agency is speeding up its examination of new media-ownership rules. He warns that some important questions about minority media ownership and newspaper-broadcast cross-ownership need to be resolved before any rules are proposed.
The National crisis in minority media ownership: Rep. Hilda Solis: The state of minority media ownership in America is in crisis. According to a recent study by Free Press, people of color own just three percent of all local TV stations and eight percent of all local radio stations, even though they make up 35 percent of the U.S. population. In another study, we find that women comprise 51 percent of the entire U.S. population, but only own approximately five percent of all full power broadcast stations. These numbers are shamefully low.
The secret lobbying campaign your phone company doesn't want you to know about: Consumer advocates have often accused the Federal Communications Commission of favoring big business interests. Now a government investigation appears to back up some of those complaints. A new report from the General Accountability Office criticized the FCC for leaking information about regulatory proceedings to phone and cable company lobbyists before the information was released to the public.
Copps warns against FCC rush to judgment on media ownership: The nation’s biggest telecommunications companies, working closely with the White House, have mounted a secretive lobbying campaign to get Congress to quickly approve a measure wiping out all private lawsuits against them for assisting the U.S. intelligence community’s warrantless surveillance programs. The campaign—which involves some of Washington's most prominent lobbying and law firms—has taken on new urgency in recent weeks because of fears that a U.S. appellate court in San Francisco is poised to rule that the lawsuits should be allowed to proceed.
"FREEDOM TO BE HEARD," by Norman Solomon, and MoveOn.org in the MoveOn Bulletin for Wednesday, November 6, 2002 - a great compilation on the Concentration of Media at Moveon.Org... That is, IF want to be amazed, perhaps disheartened, but definitely made aware of where you CAN get an accurate picture of world events, as well as where to go when just want to keep up with what everyone else is told. (stats, documentation, and commentary). AND...Take Back the Media .Com is on the forefront of this issue as well.
Wellstone and Most Interesting Contradictions in News Reporting Regarding the Death of Senator Paul Wellstone, Selected & Annotated Article Briefs & Links (separate page at this site)
"Media Are Out of Step With Democracy Acting as a Branch of Government" at www.commondreams.org
Common Dreams .Org is Just a great site, by the way,
for information on most every topic related to abuse of power, money, and influence.
Karl Rove promised media moguls that, if elected, Bush would carry out a major deregulation of the broadcast industry. He was instrumental in getting Michael Powell, son of US Secretary of State Colin Powell, to head the Federal Communications Commission. M. Powell then announced a comprehensive review of media ownership rules to allow an even greater concentration of outlets in the hands of a few giants, including overturning the current prohibition against mergers among the four major television networks-ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. -Jeremy Johnson, 9/17/02. And there's a special section on Karl Rove, "The King Of Dirt", at the Machiavengelicals Exposed page.
Mistranslated Osama bin Laden Video the German Press Investigates: On 20 December 2001, German TV channel "Das Erste" broadcast its analysis of the White House's translation of the OBL video that George Bush has called a "confession of guilt". On the show "Monitor", two independent translators and an expert on oriental studies found the White House's translation not only to be inaccurate, but "manipulative". "The American translators who listened to the tapes and transcribed them apparently wrote a lot of things in that they wanted to hear but that cannot be heard on the tape no matter how many times you listen to it."
Gross manipulation Re 9/11: The footage being shown constantly the week after 9/11 on corporate media of Palestinian women and children dancing seemingly celebrating the death of the United States -- was STOCK FOOTAGE FROM 1991.
DO POLLS REFLECT MEDIA DISTORTION? The vast majority of Americans are reported to support a war with Iraq, but a new organization is asking, "can we trust the polls?" After doing its own survey, Retro Poll calls into question the accuracy of major media polls. "The Retro Poll attempts to show that public opinion is molded by media misinformation and disinformation (propaganda). It addresses the question: does the public opinion reported in the usual major media polls reflect the true values and beliefs of those Americans polled, or not?" Retro Poll writes in a press release. Based on Retro Poll's own survey data, they suggest that "by continually highlighting Washington's viewpoint unchallenged, the news bureaus in the U.S. can change the facts in the minds of many Americans. The opinions formed from those unsubstantiated facts are then used by polling organizations to report back the values, ideas, and thinking of the public." SOURCE: Retro Poll Press Release, October 17, 2002 To discuss this story check out the PR Watch Forum.
ARMY PSY-OPS PEOPLE AT CNN LAST YEAR, (from a testimonial in GlobalVisionary Newsletter): Nexus magazine, published in NSW, listed as one of the most important under-reported stories of the past few months was that a whole bevy of Army psychological warfare personnel from Fort Bragg worked at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta for several weeks a few months ago. -Jeff Phillips, Melbourne, Australia. NOTE from ListManager: Other people also sent info confirming this above. The whole U.S. news media seems indeed to be very cunningly "controlled" in many respects - especially CNN - and are very vulnerable to being used as mouthpieces for the Administration's warmongering messages. But so are most other national news media anyway around the world...
Lucrative Parroting for Patriot Missiles After the Gulf War there were accounts and parroting of government claims that Patriot missiles hit almost every Scud they aimed at - led to a public celebration ... That November, Congress boosted the budget for the "Star Wars" anti-missile shield from $3.1 billion to $4.15 billion. The following year, as Columbia Journalism Review would report ("Patriot Games," July/August 1992), that film clip showed up at a Congressional hearing concerning inflated military claims. Pointing to the same clip Donaldson had narrated, a former nuclear weapons analyst pointed out that the Scud passed through whatever explosion appeared on the screen -- and that Patriots were a "total failure" in the Gulf War.
After the war, The New York Times retracted a story, repeated by other major news outlets, that Iraqi soldiers had killed 300 premature babies by removing them from incubators.
60 Minutes featured an interview with "Captain Karim," a supposed former Saddam bodyguard, spinning fearful tales about the Iraqi dictator. Karim turned out to be a fraud.
The Times, CNN, Time and others supported then-President Bush's attacks on Iraqi radio by reporting that a broadcaster named "Baghdad Betty" had told U.S. troops to return home because "Robert Redford is dating your girlfriend ... Bart Simpson is making love to your wife." In fact, the media was repeating a Johnny Carson Tonight Show gag. (Or misquoting. Johnny said Homer, not Bart.)
(B)V. R E C O V E R I N G D E M O C R A C Y
& R E L A T E D H E A L I N G
F a v o r i t e A l t e r n a t i v e S o l u t i o n S i t e s
The next 2-3 sections provide many solution oriented resources (within the blue background bordering)
The Declaration of Peace The Declaration of Peace is a grassroots nonviolent action campaign calling on the U.S. government to establish a comprehensive plan to end the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq. The nationwide campaign is working to move Congress to defund the U.S. occupation of Iraq, to initiate the complete withdrawal of U.S. troops and military contractors from Iraq, and to support an Iraqi-led peace process. In September 2007, the DoP Education Committee published a document “fleshing-out” the 9-point Peace Plan framework. The Comprehensive Peace Plan for Iraq and accompanying Talking Points continue to be updated and are designed for public education and for Congressional lobbying. Please Sign the Declaration of Peace. Hans von Sponeck, former UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, presenting the proposals at the World Against War conference in London in December '07. Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research put those in PDF format on the web in March '08.
Apollo Alliance Project The Apollo Alliance is a growing coalition dedicated to a just and sustainable economy. We are bringing together a broad partnership to rebuild America and face the challenges of conservation, freeing ourselves from dependence on foreign oil, and creating millions of good jobs in the industries of the future. Apollo Alliance launches at Campaign for America's Future "Take Back America" conference in Washington, DC. June 5, 2003.
Their set of web pages include "Our Ten Point Plan for Energy Freedom."
The Small Planet Institute - Tools and Links for Living Democracy: offers downloadable learning tools, including: "Getting a Grip: Handouts for Group Discussion, "The Spiral of Powerlessness & The Spiral of Empowerment," "Thin Democracy vs. Living Democracy," "Doing Democracy: Ten Practical Arts by Frances Moore Lappé," "Citizen Power 101—Lessons of Community Organizing"
"IMAGINE: What America Could be in the 21st Century" About Realities We Can Create (These are practical, accomplishable given a little re-education about our actual capabilities and resources, and NOT "new age" dreams) Featuring (in alphabetical order): Ed Ayres * Sarah Ban Breathnach * John Bradshaw * Fred Branfman * Denise Breton, Christopher Largent and Stephen Lehman * Deepak Chopra * Kokomon Clottey and Aeeshah Ababio-Clottey * Peter Coyote * Stanley Crouch * Sam Daley-Harris * David Deida * Dee Dickinson * Riane Eisler * Debbie Ford * Peter Gabel * * John Gray * Thom Hartmann * Paul Hawken * Hazel Henderson * bell hooks * Barbara Marx Hubbard * Daphne Rose Kingma * David C. Korten * Dennis Kucinich * Michael Lerner * Paul Rogat Loeb * Gay Gaer Luce * Thomas Moore * Caroline Myss * Dean Ornish * James Redfield * John Robbins * Vicki Robin * Robert Roth * Lance Secretan * Peter Senge * Judith A. Sturnick * Eric Utne * Neale Donald Walsch * Margaret J. Wheatley
All author proceeds go to the Global Renaissance Alliance,
P.O. Box 3259, Ceneter Line MI 48015, office: (586)754-8105, Fax: (586)754-8106 [Most currently, for solutions to begin applying: I'd go with Dennis Kucinich (almost always good for the relatively short term pragmatic), Al Gore and Dennis Hayes (for the current and intermediate), with David Korten and Riane Eisler (into the longer term pragmatic), and hopefully via O'Bama. Not to dismiss the others in the least - many of whose views I am very familiar with. - cp]
*The Great Turning - From Empire to Earth Community* by David Korten Summarized in YES Magazine. Find more at PCDForum Bulletin #5. Two more of his books include "When corporations rule the World" and "Post Corporate World" - insightful and important when contemplating responding to current challenges and the healing of the planet. You might also enjoy the transcript of Korten's keynote address at the 2002 EARTH CHARTER COMMUNITY SUMMIT. Timely articles include "What to Do Now That the War Has Started." A related sites include www.davidkorten.org and The Fourth Freedom .Org/.
For students choosing alternatives in peace, to facilitates resources and connections to institutions of higher learning for lasting global peace. Here you may create a vital and permanent record of their sincere desire and choice to learn and wage the arts of peace, rather than the art of war - as well as establish Conscientious Objector Status. Includes the "James George Peterson Library at vUSPA - Suggested Courses and Books, suggested/sample outlines, prerequisites, links to solution-oriented organizations and resources.
Tikkun .Org and Spiritual Progressives .Org Rabbi Michael Lerner is editor of Tikkun Magazine, chair of the interfaith Network of Spiritual Progressives (NSP) spiritualprogressives.org, and rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue Without Walls in San Francisco and Berkeley, Ca. www.beyttikkun.org. He is the author of 11 books including The Poltiics of Meaning, Healing Israel/Palestine, and the 2006 national best-seller The Left Hand of God. "Our Vision: 1) Changing the Bottom Line in America; 2) Challenging the misuse of religion, God and spirit by the Religious Right; 3) Challenging the many anti-religious and anti-spiritual assumptions and behaviors that have increasingly become part of the liberal cultureSite." includes "A Global Marshall Plan," "Affirming the Sacredness of All Human Beings," "A New Spirit of Openheartedness and Reconciliation," and
"A Call for Lasting Peace" w/Respect to Gaza, Palestine, and Israel New article at Tikkun Magazine (Jan'09): "Trusting Obama". Many other "Memos to Obama" are Ref-Linked from the Tikkun Magazine home page.
The Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) PJSA is a non-profit organization that was formed in 2001 as a result of a merger of the Consortium on Peace research, Education and Development (COPRED) and the Peace Studies Association (PSA). Both organizations provided leadership in the broadly defined field of peace, conflict and justice studies. We are dedicated to bringing together academics, K-12 teachers and grassroots activists to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for social justice and social change. PJSA also serves as a professional association for scholars in the field of peace and conflict resolution studies. [Local ref: The Evergreen State College in Washington State has one of many ongoing Peace and Justice Studies programs, by the way, as well as ">regular current-topic conference events.]
Jean Houston was the protégé of the late anthropologist Margaret Mead, who instructed her in the workings of organizations and power structures in many different cultures. With the late mythologist Joseph Campbell, she frequently co-led seminars and workshops aimed at understanding interrelationships between ancient myths and modern societies. Her specialty is in the development and application of multiple methods of increasing physical and mental skills, learning and creativity. She has presented the results of her work and studies in some 17 books, as well as in person through speeches and conferences at educational institutions and business organizations in over 40 countries. She is often invited to work personally with leaders of such groups, as well as heads of governmental and non-governmental agencies, to assist them in rethinking their goals and agendas.Wisdom University includes the courses of Dr. Jean Houston. A special preview course for her 2007 Mystery School was held in San Francisco November 17-19, 2005. In 1985, Jean was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award from the Association of Teacher Educators. In 1993, she received the Gardner Murphy Humanitarian Award and the INTA Humanitarian of the Year award. In 1994, she received the Lifetime Outstanding Creative Achievement Award from the Creative Education Foundation. Presently, she is working closely with the United Nations Habitat Program creating programs in social artistry for training leaders around the world.
The Alliance for a Caring Economy (ACE) The newest (2007) of initiatives from Riane Eisler and The Center for Partnership Studies, ACE is a network to develop the foundations for a caring partnership economics is being formed with representatives from government, business, civil society, and academic sectors. Economic rules, measures, and policies that recognize the real value of the essential work of caring for children and the elderly, keeping our families healthy, and maintaining a clean and healthy environment, are foundational to the construction of an economics that can meet the challenges we face. ...will lead to the higher valuing of caring and caretaking in our homes, schools, and workplaces, as well as to the more caring economic and social policies needed to move toward a more equitable, sustainable, and prosperous world. ACE will bring together representatives from academia, government, business, and civil society to ...Collect information on what is already happening to give economic value to caregiving, such as paid parental leave and economic measurements that, unlike GDP, take into account the essential economic contribution of caregiving in both the formal and informal economies. ... Riane Eisler's speech to the World's Women Forum Plenary July 29, 2004 was *Revisioning The Economic Rules: Empowering Women And Changing The World*
See True Majority Principles worth working for: see TrueMajority.Com for a full description of each principle)
Buddhist Peace Fellowship website is a very well done website that includes a range of Buddhist Peace Fellowship activities as well as an archive of reports from David Berrian in Iraq.
Orion Online offers "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear" by Wendell Berry, Already reprinted in 73 countries and 7 languages, this powerful and poignant essay has been made available in print form, along with two related essays by Mr. Berry; another essay on the crisis of globalization by Wendell Berry: "The Idea of a Local Economy"
"Inspiring a New Human Agenda." A humanistic approach to governance & public policy. The POLITICS OF TRUST NETWORK is sponsored by its members and by The John Vasconcellos Legacy Project. Called a pragmatic idealist, John Vasconcellos is considered a leading visionary in the convergence of psychology, politics, and the human potential movement. His ground-breaking efforts in promoting self esteem, authentic leadership, and social diversity have distinguished his 35 years as member of the California Legislature.
Politics of Hope By Donna Zajonc "The Politics of Hope is a powerful reminder of what could be, and a guide to making it happen." -- Marianne Williamson, author Healing the Soul of America. Articles include "The Politics of Hope: Healing Post-Partisan Depression" and "The Six-Second Secret to Leadership." Articles Index. You can subscribe to Donna's newsletter by sending an email to: subscribe@politicsofhope.com
Solutions: Common Means to Efficient Paths, and "Bridging" in the Cross-Discipline Approach
How are we to find *The* solution, and *the path* to it, when our simply defining the problem -- "pragmatically" considered the "first" objective -- can be difficult enough in collaborative efforts these days? Sure, great thinkers provide inspiration, but which to choose from now? When in their presence, it's easy to submit to such experience, but what about when their guidance escapes our grasp?
How to develop means to "Centeredness," a balance of analytic and intuitive capacities, a grounded pragmatic understanding of the challenges at hand - your own as well as those of the individuals and community involved - as well as possible longer term outcome scenarios of the various potential solutions? But wait, what if "I'm not an expert" and "what the heck am I pretending to be and do...?"
All this sound familiar? Lao Tsu said a thousand mile journey begins with the 1st step. And there's more quotes around this site that basically says that *the* solution to socio-political problems begins "with you and me," that *we* might as well get with it, and that representatives, by definition, are the ones who put forth your and my thoughts and feelings - into the process of governing you and I.
And *ideally* ...Ahhhh, such a loaded word. But right now we are looking at global warming scenarios, or figuring out how to get people to the table and refrain from polarizing the discussion. The approach initiated at beginning of the "Machiavengelicals Exposed" likely would not be very useful here, I admit. That approach was designed to get certain mind-types to begin to focus on the site's topics and viewpoints. But I digress.
The gestalt view of facing challenges is not about the rose-colored glasses approach, but about honoring of the emotional delemnas, the pain, and the elephant in the frontroom (not to mention the baby, the furniture, and the weather outside). And about human skill, capability, and potential for growth and change.
Yeah, but "Common Means," did I say? Yes, there are certain commonalities in how humans solve problems (and create them), not to mention perceive them and define them. And yes, there ARE different means for different individuals to FIND those common means. And here we come to the crux of this writing and many of the writings and charts you find at this website. The first useful, response to any challenge, certainly one that is efficient for the long term, depends greatly on the nature of an individual or group facing the challenge. Ahhhh... the big "depends on..." stance that intelligent leftist politicians are so hated for by people demanding soundbytes and simple solutions.
One way of laying out those "common means" is put forth in "the Goals Chart - "Achievement of Goals, Attainment, And the Role of Inner Work ...". That way would seem to be more geared for the individual, but how often has an individual ever been totally responsible for his own, let alone his community's development? eg: It becomes an integrated individual and group effort. It's one thing to solve one's own problems, but when it comes to people solving problems together, Riane Eisler [see descriptive link at left] is a well known teacher/ facilitator who thoroughly covers the basic and advanced dynamics in listening, clarity, and objectivity for relationships or *Partnerships*, as well as in socio-political realms.
I believe things work best when things work together, and that people work best when people work in concert. And that would be whether they work together or separately in healthy competition (that does not degrade others or impede their efforts). MORE SPECIFICALLY: If we begin by a) looking at (a visualization of) what we really want, and b) consider some basic routes for how we might get there from here, c) work backwards from the end product to understand what key and core physicalities that would have to be created in the latter time periods prior to achieving what we really want, then d+) do the same for the physicalities preceding those... e+) do the same eventually for the attitudes that would be necessary to allow for all the above accomplishments... f+) From here a basic flow chart of required tasks and conditions are established. (This approach greatly influenced the development of many of the pages at this site. Which are, admittedly, tempting most people to consider them as "overly dense compilations of means to ideals too rich for human consumption." So... what happened to that "give me a challenge" attitude?)
Note that some of the most experienced people in examining cause and effect scenario's are in the healing trades, and most apparently not always in the government related professions. Cross-discipline Inter-Relations and Approach would be the order of the day (make that *of the century*), which implies the need for scholastic leaders in every school of thought, as well as the social sciences, to share knowledge and work together.
I'm also referring, in part, to one of our current challenges. And that is the relationship between a) monetary support for research, b) who or what determines the direction or purpose of research (ie: as related to humanity's true needs and who determines those for any amount of research), and c) how the results of research are employed and/or accessed.
And I'm referring to the relationship between any person's aptitude, attitude, talent base, and "True Calling" (and one's hearing that calling), and to the likelihood of the most efficient application of management/worker resources in industry, government, and social development.
But what about "real" solutions right NOW? Well, how fast do you truly expect to be rescued or fixed by someone else? I want to say that there truly is a place for immediate gratification. And for structured simplicity, mainly because some individuals truly require for their health - and that of others around them. And "representatives" worry about their image, so feel pressure to substitute wisdom with expediency (if "tempted" with wisdom in the first place). To those who still ask for here and now spelled-out solutions, I have two answers: read the above, and read the below ("As Above, So Below" ?).
[Most currently, for solutions to begin applying: I'd go with Dennis Kucinich (almost always good for the relatively short term pragmatic), Al Gore and Dennis Hayes (for the current and intermediate), with David Korten and Riane Eisler (into the longer term pragmatic), hopefully via O'Bama. - cp, 8/24/08]
"Our Children Will Save Us"
A day after writing the above, As I watched the closing ceremonies of the 2008 Olympics and remembered the other great choreographies therein, I came to understand that it will be the young people of the planet who come together - literally and in many other ways - and from there most powerfully persist and succeed in petitioning the leaders of the nations for the sake of mankind and the planet. And due to their determination and courage, the leaders agree (and basically get out of the way) so that the terribly needed changes are rapidly facilitated - which brings the world's people together, leading to the healing of Mother Earth. 2012 may indeed be the death of the planet as we know it, but also the re-birth of the planet as we truly know Her deeper inside - where we, who are also transforming, begin to know ourselves.
"Beliefs in Potential «§» Transition" (Large Version & more on it's symbology) at World Healing Prayers Page Including a "Happy New Era" Card
"Political Activism, Apathy, & Healing" Cause and effect patterns related to conscious choices for change toward sustainable living on the planet (a long term project)
"Poly-Psy & Citizen Health - Discussions & Charts on Political Participation, Apathy, & Healing" Introduces a study in current “Poly-Psy” with three graphic flow charts and discussion points
"Beliefs, Paths, & Service" Visually relates various philosophical origins, coping styles, roles in active citizenry...
The essay, "Healing the Citizenry" - guides pragmatic discussion for recognition of our current situation, examination of related cause-effect patterns, transitioning out of political apathy, and making conscious choices for change toward sustainable living on the planet (a long term project).
Why these "Poly-Psy" charts and essays?
Because our government has been greatly influenced by the 60-80% of the citizens NOT participating.
We (speaking of Americans over the last five centuries or so) have allowed/created our current condition -- in terms of various attitudes, beliefs, and values - and some interesting times wherein we re-defined certain values. And this implies, therapeutically speaking, we can therefore can *heal* our socio-political condition by changing those attitudes and re-clarifying some values over more time. That implies potential for a form of continuing *preventative health maintenance* curriculum at schools and colleges. Paradigm shift tension, anyone? How much are we ready for? But doesn't every writer asks that question - or just those who want us to "bridge" - to encourage exploration of our potentials and what we perceive as our limitations?
Many writers note the incredible degree of short memory and denial that is going on in America. Perhaps that is because we want so strongly, even tenaciously, to believe in our "good guy" image of ourselves - certainly more than we want to acknowledge our attachment to our standard of living. "Our national denial" happens apparently because of that. Well, I believe it essential to the planet, considering the power of the United States, that the citizenry wake up, suffer the inevitable heartbreak, get a hold of ourselves and heal that, get real AND learn to use our anger constructively, and get in charge of what we can be proud of, and create much more of same. An elaboration on "Trends, Memory, Tracking, Trust, and Forgiveness" can be found here.
All in all, the Poly-Psy charts page provides a good introductory, if not prerequisite, to the "OverComing Political Disillusionment" outline/study page (see next Link).
What would be accomplished if more than 40% of Americans felt empowered enough to Vote? Would we create a government that actually represented our highest values?
See "OverComing Political Disillusionment" for an outline of study of current political challenges and psychological considerations effecting American citizen potentials for stirring democratic participation, and the power to make a difference for the world, as well as suggestions for the healing & preventative maintenance necessary in so many arenas to get us there.
Page Description: There are now 15 prayers (as of Dec'08) at this page, generally invoking Divine assistance, calling for truth, justice, accountability, related healing, learning, & balance, etc. They include a resource-connecting prayer chart for the Economy (Oct'08) , two that are specific to global climate healing, one to Iraq & Middle East, two for comprehensive planetary healing in general, one specific to media communications... Page includes background and related information, links, and printing/downloading tips. (Yes, of course it's free, as I believe prayers are meant to be.)
The "Bleep Tool Kit" ...because habits are difficult to break Intro for application of principles from 'What The Bleep Do We Know - Down the Rabbit Hole' from WhatTheBleep.Com. Remember *TM* (Transcendental Meditation)? Once the media made it all about the person (the guru), and not about the function and capability - for anyone who wanted to invest the time and energy ...well, at that point the potential was neutralized - until 'Bleep' resurrected the offer (with a much more grounded yet far-reaching platform). And I don't mean to imply that 'Bleep' is all about such serious things. It's as fun as it is intellectually stimulating, even as "wondrous," as it pulls together and makes understandable so many realms of knowledge in a practical way, including the quantum physics that backs it all up! And the DVD set is available at most video outlets.
The "De-Stress Kit" from HeartMath.Org provides much for initiating healing on the personal level, with great potential for assisting development of inner stillness and clarity. Such benefits can certainly, even naturally, expand to most every communal context. The HeartMath.Org web site is rich with fun tools for self-assessment and quickly introducing body, mind, and emotional health. It also provides FAQ's and voluminous research reports and related links & references. [Please note: as far as I know, there is no formal relationship between HeartMath.Org and WhatTheBleep.Com; I am associating them by common function - tools for conscious personal & world change. I consider their kit a valuable, perhaps essential, part of the "Bleep Tool Kit" - as I would any system(s) that does the same for an individual, actually. In you want to get really serious about such a tool kit, I would suggest integrating Chi-Gung, yoga, and a well-formed 'power-of-spoken-word' system with all the above. -cp]
Pages on Related Body-Mind-Spirit Health topics can be found via "Related Web Pages" section of the "OverComing Political Disillusion" page. Or check out the Body-Mind Integration Home Page for many many health topics, resources, and related links, including for naturopathic health, self-healing techniques and methodologies, etc.
(B)VI. R E S P O N S I B L E S H O P P I N G & I N V E S T M E N T, C O R P O R A T E R E F O R M, & E C O N O M I C F A I R N E S S I S S U E S
NOTE: Many related ref/links, especially as related to the Iraq War, will be found on this page by using keywords "econ," "cost," "spending," in your browser's word search (usually via the edit or file menu on your browser).
One Definition of Insanity
How much is spent on military budgets a year worldwide?
How much of this is spent by the U.S.?
What percent of US military spending would ensure the essentials of life to everyone in the world ? (according the UN, & includes education, of course)
$900+ billion
50%
10% (That is about $40 billion, the amount of funding initially requested to fund our retaliatory attack on Afghanistan).
So, if the main rationale for war generally boils down to lack of sustainance... well, the above means that EXCUSE doesn't even shake out with Reality. "It's about Terrorism" ? How many would support extremists if would-be supporters already had all they needed ? However, if this war spending is about someone's lifestyle or RELIGION not being like our own (like the religion of our OWN extremists,' that is)... And "because they hate us because they're jealous of our freedom" ? Believing that one past homework hour would be another definition of insanity. Because any psychologist, let alone anthropologist, will tell you that this [freedom jealousy thing] from a politician is a lie of the most divide and conquer oriented, machiavelian sort, playing essentially on the religious fervor of those who feel but are afraid to think for themselves. Even more to the bottom line of it all: all related arguments are actually about related beliefs and emotion, and not about the facts of the matter. Otherwise, compromises could've been brought about long, long ago. But then we could say that about most any political matter.
Wanna Get Back? (By Bringing us back to Reality, that is ?) STILL WANT YOUR VOTE TO COUNT ?
V O T E W I T H Y O U R D O L L A R !
Please Use These Resources As Needed
Some of the best Pro-Active Resources for taking charge of our individual and collective economic health towards a sustainable planet are at www.coopamerica.org/.
Still another site for responsible shopping: www.ShopForChange.com, where you can access 60 popular merchants and donate 5% of your money spent on purchases. Also, a new corporate issue is featured there each month with the option to quickly email the targeted business leader.
www.realmoney.org offers advice on fostering sustainability in the ultimate local environment -your own home and hometown. A Bi-Monthly Newsletter available with Co-op America membership or by newsletter-only subscription ($20/year)
For Investments of a more Conscientious Approach to the planet, try www.socialinvest.org/. And www.shareholderaction.org describes actions many socially aware investors take to pressure companies to be more responsible.
Get shopping hints and details via Blue Shopping: Do any online shopping for books or CDs? Amazon donates nearly 60% of their political contributions to Republicans, while E-Bay donates 56% of theirs to Democrats, and both Barnes & Noble and Powell's donate 100% of theirs to Democrats or other non-Republicans. Also try Overstock.com: 85% to Dems. Nordstrom gives 99% of their political donations to Republicans. Federated Department Stores, which owns Macys, Bloomingdales, etc., gives 74% of their political contributions to Republicans. Limited Brands (parent company of The Limited, Express, Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works) gives 83% to Republicans. J.C. Penney: 88% to Republicans. On the other hand, J. Crew gives 99% to Democrats. American Apparel gives 77% to Dems. The Gap gives 82% to Dems. Levi-Strauss: 100% to Dems. LL Bean: 98% to Dems. Wal-Mart: 78% to Repubs; Costco: 99% to Dems.
"Act Now for a Just Planet" Energy/Cost Efficiency & other global warming related activism (letters and petitions to corporations & elected officials) via Climate Action .Org of Coop America
The Economics of War & Peace - the Iraqi War Example The many articles here focus on the some of the Costs of War. Most regard the Iraqi War, the dishonesty around it, and the political campaign creating it. The articles were assembled primarily from listserve email via SnowCoalition.Org of Washington. Also available: The Economics of War & Peace - Part II - The 'Neo-conomy' in War, deep effects and future implications, and The Economics of War & Peace - Part III - Considerations, Innovations, Accountability, Solutions, Resources. Extensive; together they comprise over 1 megabyte of material.
Citizens for Tax Justice - "Those of us who believe that progressive taxation is a moral issue need to try to stop Congress from lining the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans. Fortunatiely, Citizens for Tax Justice has been fighting for fairer taxes for the middle- and low-income families for more than two decades... this is the one group in the country that's really doing something to make things better for average taxpayers." - Jim Hightower; "I have long known of & admired the work of Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. (Director) Robert McIntyre is my ideal of the public citizen." - Bill Moyers
Boycott The War - Don't Pay For it! Join the AXIS OF PEACE campaign, redirect significant funds to local organizing efforts. Support a low risk, mass participation strategy at Nonviolent Action Community of Cascadia, 206-547-0952, cmtc@igc.org). Or to War Resisters League - Portland Chapter, 503-238-0605, wrl_pdx@msn.com
C O R P O R A T E R E F O R M
"Bush Cabal and Enron's Tangled Web" - key figures and connections in this messed up crime matrix, as well as Public Citizen's Financial Security Strategy and "Clean Up Washington" Campaign Goals- Our help is needed to achieve this.
At Public Citizen: Check their Index Page for Hot Issues & Take Action.
Here you can also see if your elected rep votes for you. You can write your local editor via "Get published".
And use their Search Engine to research their Publications - A wealth of knowledge gained in their fight for openness and democratic accountability in government, for the right of consumers to seek redress in the courts; for clean, safe and sustainable energy sources; for social and economic justice in trade policies; for strong health, safety and environmental protections; and for safe, effective and affordable prescription drugs and health care. Dozens of documents on Enron alone, including on the "tangled web" weaving through the whitehouse.
*When Corporations Rule the World* and *The Post-Corporate World: Life After capitalism,* by David C. Korten (www.davidkorten.org). Presentations by Korten drawn from these published books include a paper titled "Renewing the American Experiment." This and other papers, including "What to Do Now That the War Has Started" are available at www.developmentforum.net. Korten is President of the People-Centerd Development Forum, board chair of the Positive Futures Network (www.fourthfreedom.org/), and publisher of YES! magazine (www.yesmagazine.org). You might also enjoy the transcript of Korten's keynote address at the 2002 EARTH CHARTER COMMUNITY SUMMIT
nbsp; THE COURTS ALLOW CORPORATIONS TO STEAL: Before 1886, most states had laws that prevented corporations from meddling in politics... And, they teach in law school [that] in 1886 the U.S. Supreme Court changed all that ... [however] the Supreme Court ruled no such thing [as] "corporations are persons" [since the supposed ruling] was a fiction created by the Court's reporter. He simply wrote it into the headnote of the decision. In fact, it contradicts what the Court itself said. And we've found in the National Archives a note in the hand of the Supreme Court Chief Justice of the time to the court's reporter saying, explicitly, that the Court had not ruled on corporate personhood in the Santa Clara case. Nonetheless, corporations have claimed the human rights the Founders fought and often died to bequeath to living, breathing humans. And, using those rights, [corporations have] usurped our government to the point where our domestic policies are now based on what's best for the corporations with the largest campaign contributions, and our foreign policy has become a necessary extension of that..." --Thom Hartmann in "The Dinosaur War - To Protect Corporate Profits" Published on Friday, October 11, 2002 by CommonDreams.org.
For a "jolt of illumination" on the current realities and how they came about, get Thom Hartman's book, *We The People - A Call to Take Back America,* [ISBN 1-882109-38-4] illustrated in easy-to-grasp commic book form by Neil Cohn, gives much of the history of how corporations have been able to take over the political process in America. Says David Korten (ref'd below), "Clear and compelling. Democracy is at risk. Hartmann tells us why We the People can reclaim democracy... tells us how..." Says actress Janeane Garofalo, "Thom Hartmann's message for everyone (especially theoverstressed and uninformed)... Read this book for a jolt of illumination!" Thom Hartmann: "America faces its greatest threat since the Civil War. The worst fears of the Founders are being realized, as powerful corporate interests have taken over our culture and representative government. We the People now face a fundamental choice: take back our country ... or do nothing, and become victims of tyranny and empire." Available via Coreway .Com. More details also through Google Search
Reclaim Democracy .Org is dedicated to restoring democratic authority over corporations, reviving grassroots democracy, and establishing appropriate limits to the realm of corporate influence. 'We strive to work proactively for systemic change, rather than react to the agendas of corporate and moneyed interests.' See Their "About Us" page
*The Elite Consensus - When Corporations Wield the Constitution* is by George Draffan of Program on Corporations, Law & Democracy (POCLAD). POCLAD's work provides a framework and historical analysis of the Constitution and the role it has played in the political struggle between "We the People" and corporations. The Elite Consensus is the latest addition to the POCLAD body of publications. POCLAD's "Rethinking the Corporation/Rethinking Democracy" retreats are incubating nation-wide citizen efforts to curb the “corporate usurpation of citizen rights”. Pete Seeger says, “The first step in solving a problem is learning more about the problem, and how and why it grew. POCLAD is giving us U.S. history like it’s not usually taught in schools. Hooray!”
Whose Trade Organization? about A Comprehensive Guide To the WTO - a book by Lori Wallach and Patrick Woodall
The Seattle WTO People's History Project: "The story of resistance to the WTO in Seattle in '99 is one of how people power can change the world. It's a dangerous example for the elites and a powerful one for people. That's why for eight years, the corporate media, governments, and their police have waged a dis-information campaign about Seattle '99. Stories are how we understand the world and thus shape the future- and the story of Seattle '99 shapes what people think of protest, corporate globalization and repression. It's time that we in the social movements tell our own stories, reclaim our own histories, and publicly fight damaging myths past and present. This website is doing just that!"
"This Rare Historical Moment - Without social and economic justice there can be no peace with the Earth" -- Kenny Ausubel, in"Conscious Choice"
You may enjoy the book, *The Idea of a Local Economy* by Wendell Berry. "The Failure of War," is a Related article by Wendell Berry, An essay first published in YES Magazine. Other books by Berry at Orion Online: *On Discourse, Dissent, Patriotism* and *In the Presence of Fear: Three Essays for a Changed World*
Veterans for Peace, National and other groups have been providing information and assistance for re-education regarding Military Recruiting claims versus realities about, and Alternatives to, Military Service. The most local chapter of the Veterans for Peace is Chapter92 of the Seattle/Bellevue area, and has pdf versions of it's newsletter, "VFP92 Peace Call" available via www.vfp92.org.
Support Winter Soldier II: Iraq & Afghanistan
On March 13-16, 2008, Iraq Veterans Against the War members gathered near Washington DC to disclose the realities of U.S. war policy, to share eyewitness stories that have been censored from the American public about the true human cost of these occupations. They need your support! There are many ways to help. There will continue to be live audio/video feeds from the Washington DC hearings available to present at your local event. Listen to Audio Clips from Participating Veterans! Read and sign the Winter Soldier Statement of Support here, and encourage friends, family, coworkers and members of your group to sign it as well. "...We Support the Troops Who Oppose the War: Truth, honesty and integrity are essential components to a functioning democracy...".
Military/War/Anti-War/Sexual VIDEOs (Google Src Results): Probably one of the most powerful of these is of April Fitzimmons, Intelligence Analyst, USAF. A Comment at YouTube: "Thank you for posting this. It is truly amazing. She has real courage. 'My biggest enemy was my own company', just what Suzanne Swift said. This is something that anyone even considering joining the military needs to see, especially women.
Our youth who have questions about CONSCIENTIOUS OBJECTION and MILITARY RECRUITING
can find resources available via such organizations as the following:
Via the Home Page of The VIRTUAL U.S. Peace Academy @Seattle Students can create a vital and permanent record of their sincere desire and choice to learn and wage the arts of peace, rather than the art of war as taught at the military academies. The above and many other resources are accessible from this site as well.
I believe that to know the facts about the Project for a New American Century (PNAC, see ref/links this page) and their relationship to the Iraq War, and then support the administration's policy of war or occupation in Iraq, is to have cold blood on our hands. As a Veteran for Peace (VFP Ch.92), I believe US citizens are uniquely positioned to stop US hegemony - IF we act with sufficient skill, numbers, persistence, persistence, and persistence (!) And this is our most immediate responsibility as per the Call To Conscience.
The VFP keeps close track of the DEPLETED URANIUM situation (radioactive weaponry) - what US citizens don't know about what has been messing up our kids in Iraq. See the Q's re Iraq section for more info on DU and please write your congress persons.
Veterans for Peace has a link to Iraq War Casualty counts at the top of the Iraq Special Section Page. More statistics - including Iraqi civilian deaths - are kept at a few sites, including at AntiWar .Com, Iraq Body Count, HRW .Org, and The Iraqometer. Also there is a count for US Military Personnel Wounded in Iraq & Afghanistan. The KIA's apparently do NOT include those who die in US hospitals, and definitely don't include mercenary KIA's.
Veterans For Peace Call for Impeachment of George W. Bush!
Lt. Ehren Watada
Lt. Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the unlawful war and occupation in Iraq (with the Fort Lewis-based 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division). While doing this on June 22, 2006, Watada said, "As the order to take part in an illegal act is ultimately unlawful as well, I must refuse that order." Watada’s commander added a seventh count to the six he already faced for remarks Watada made in a speech Aug. 12 at the Veterans for Peace national convention in Seattle.
Revolt of the Generals by RICHARD J. WHALEN,
The Nation, October 16, 2006: A revolt is brewing among our retired Army and Marine generals. This rebellion--quiet and nonconfrontational, but remarkable nonetheless--comes not because their beloved forces are bearing the brunt of ground combat in Iraq but because the retirees see the US adventure in Mesopotamia as another Vietnam-like, strategically failed war, and they blame the errant, arrogant civilian leadership at the Pentagon. The dissenters include two generals who led combat troops in Iraq: Maj. Gen. Charles Swannack Jr., who commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, and Maj. Gen. John Batiste, who led the First Infantry Division (the "Big Red One"). These men recently sacrificed their careers by retiring and joining the public protest. [10/19/2006]
the replacement of General Pace (June '07) ...and then (speaking of brass) - as related to his nay saying the BushCabal's rationale for attacking Iran - as related to this (from 2/18/07, covered here) "No sooner did unnamed military officials unveil their melodramatically secretive briefing in Baghdad last Sunday than Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, blew the whole charade. General Pace said he didn’t know about the briefing and couldn’t endorse its contention that the Iranian government’s highest echelons were complicit in anti-American hostilities in Iraq. ... After General Pace rendered inoperative the first official rationale for last Sunday’s E.F.P. briefing, President Bush had to find a new explanation for his sudden focus on the Iranian explosives. ..."
Navy Public Affairs Officer Who Worked in Iraq Condemns President Bush & The U.S. Invasion: A year ago Navy Lt. John Oliveira was appearing daily before television cameras defending the U.S. invasion. He was the top public affairs officer aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt. In a Democracy Now! exclusive he spoke on a national program for the first time criticizing the invasion he was once paid to defend. (Friday, March 26th, 2004)
Troops With Stress Disorders Fit For Duty? Some Soldiers With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Are Being Re-Deployed To Iraq. "Army Staff Sgt. Bryce Syverson spent 15 months in Iraq before he was diagnosed by military doctors with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and sent to the psychiatric unit at Walter Reed Medical Center, CBS News correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi reports. 'It ended up they just took his weapon away from him and said he was non-deployable and couldn’t have a weapon," says his father, Larry Syverson. "He was on suicide watch in a lockdown.' That was last August. This August, he was deployed to Ramadi, in the heart of the Sunni triangle — and he had a weapon." cbsnews, Oct. 19 2006
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Not All Wounds Are Visible - PTSD Alliance -- You should know that MORE VietNam Vets have committed suicide SINCE that war than were killed IN that war, due to PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome). The experts still debate whether the greatly increased factors for Iraq War related PTSD will be countered by the increased expertise in dealing with it. And then there's the Bush Administration's - C U T S ! - in the VA Health Benefits budget. [Yes, that 'brilliant crew' could use a letter from you!]
"Dishonoring the Sacrifice" by Jim Hightower, about Army Specialist Robert Loria, whom the pentagon sent a bill for $1,700, claiming he'd erroneously received family separation pay while in rehab, plus travel expenses connected to his treatment after the roadside bombing in Iraq that tore off his hand and forearm. They also billed him for some of the Humvee parts damaged in the explosion!
Survey Offers First Glimpse of 'War on Terror'; Combat Veterans Seeking Homeless Assistance, JANUARY 12, 2005 -"...combat veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan are likely to request assistance earlier than in previous conflicts, and possibly in greater numbers, for several reasons."
Also: The Federal Government estimates that hundreds of thousands (perhaps half a million) of American military veterans are homeless and living on the streets - from the book *The Unfinished War: Vietnam and the American Conscience* (Boston: Beacon: 1990), by Walter Capps. Excerpts & refs available from Frank Dorrel at (310) 838-8131 or www.addictedtowar.com for $10 (including shipping). For an additional $10 he will mail you a mind-boggling 10-part documentary video entitled "What I've Learned about U.S. Foreign Policy: The War against the Third World."] [12/02/02]
Bring Them Home Now and Military Families Speak Out are organizations of people who are opposed to war in Iraq and who have relatives or loved ones in the military. Formed in November of 2002, MFSO has contacts with military families throughout the United States, and in other countries around the world. Given this, MFSO has both a special need and a unique role to play in speaking out against war in Iraq. "It is our loved ones who are, or have been, or will be on the battlefront. It is our loved ones who are risking injury and death. It is our loved ones who are returning scarred from their experiences. It is our loved ones who will have to live with the injuries and deaths among innocent Iraqi civilians."
Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change (DMCC) Press for Peace in the Middle East- Breaking with the Administration over the war in Iraq! This most wonderful breath of fresh air into the mix is a group of retired ambassadors, generals and admirals calls for regime change in Washington. Their Mission Statement: "...On the basis of foreign and defense policy experience spanning half a century, members desire, through their participation in public forums, to share their expertise and express their deep concern over the current state of this country's diplomatic and security challenges. Never in recent years, in the view of the group, have those challenges been as serious as they are today."
Think the Days of the Draft are Gone? Think Again, By William Rivers Pitt, regards H.R. 3598, entitled "Universal Military and Training Act of 2001." It was introduced into the House of Representatives on December 20th, 2001 by Republican Rep. Nick Smith of Michigan, and calls for the drafting of all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 22 for military service. Even those who would declare themselves conscientious objectors would be drafted and given military training, whereupon they would be peeled off to another Federal agency to serve out their term.
Many thinking statespersons are now in need of your support for Creating a Department of Peace. As O'Kelly McCluskey (VFP92) put it, "Example: Imagine: On the day LBJ made the fateful Tonkin Gulf decision, that seated in the cabinet was the Sec. of Peace Ellsberg, He would have said: "Dammit, LBJ, everyone here knows there was no attack on the Turner Joy. If you're trying to trick this nation into an unjust war, I'm resigning and telling the nation of your deceit." Result: maybe no Vietnam War." DID YOUR CONGRESSMAN TO SIGN ON YET? U.S. House of Representatives- there are currently 50 co-sponsors (Tue 08/05/03). As per our WWVFP92-proposed and National VFP-adopted resolution: "We the people are entitled to know that before breaking the peace and entering into a state of war, the president has been fully advised by the advocates for peace vs. the advocates of war. To achieve the highest quality in this critical decision making process through a balance between the forces for war and the forces for peace, it is imperative to create a cabinet level Peace Dept. Failure to have an institutional balanced decision making process has led us into questionable wars which might have been avoided." Here's where you get Buttons & Bumperstickers.
Also proposed by VFP92 and passed at the National VFP Convention (August 03) was the Resolution for The US to be Working To Bring About United Nations Control Over Security And Reconstruction In Iraq
NOTICE: Masako Usui, a Japanese journalist living in St. Paul MN, is looking for NAVY VETERANS FOR PEACE, particularly former submarine crews to get information about sub operations that could be related to the "Ehime-maru accident." This is the 2001 incident in which 9 japanese people (including four students) died when the USS Greenville (SSN 772) collided into the Japanese Fisheries High School training ship Ehime-maru. Masako is supporting Japanese victim's families who seek for a peaceful ocean, and can be reached via masako.usui@att.net. Thank you.
You must see A Critical Decision .Org -- We-Are-All-In-This-Together - not just because it's put up *by an Airforce Officer* no less! But because it's a most impressive site in any case. Holy Cow ... AirForce Gaia! went there, read about Lt.Col. Gladish... amazing... Love his "We Are All in This Together" page, as one of my favorite sayings is "we all work best when we all work together" -- I also say that about the cells, organs, chakras, etc. I'll bet this guy becomes a chaplain if he stays in, well, except he's a pilot... would be a tough choice in that case - I mean, he's already flyin! :-) "William C. Gladish earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Indiana University. He received an Air Force officer’s commission in 1982 and served on active duty for over ten years as a pilot and navigator. In 1992, he completed a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He is a graduate of many professional military programs, including Air Command and Staff College. He has served as an assistant professor and has received numerous leadership awards from the Air Force. He presently serves as a Lieutenant Colonel (select) in the Air Force Reserve and continues to study the impact of large corporations on humanity and the environment and their threat to the U.S. Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights"
Author / Artist / Editor Information with Professional Bio, Quotes, Sample Artwork, Site Links & Stats
Body-Mind Integration
and Fascia Memory Research
Christopher Pringer Reiki Master, Ordained Minister
Chalice Bridging Ministries Body-Mind-Soul Integration for a Healthy Planet
Bridging Theology, Consciousness,
and Practical Emotional Intelligence
Site Map & Organization Chart
ABOUT THE SYMBOLIC ART: The symbols for the "Chalice" - or Holy Grail - that I often use are drawn essentially from ancient archetypes - including the symbol(s) composing what is known as "The Star of David," which symbols actually pre-date(s) the Jewish faith by many centuries or more. They all have their own rich meanings as related to the spiritual dilemma or paradox, balancing or synthesis of qualities (such as Yin & Yang), and healing transformation. Here, the Chalice is essentially a "cauldron" for the balancing and integrating of Humanity with the Divine - individually and communally. The "Chalice-Star" over the three traveling magi is used in my Solstice or Christmas Card design to represent our quest - in this earthly dimension of body, mind, and spirit - for the inner-most Source of one's spirit and faith -- whether that would be the Inner Christ, Inner Buddha, Inner Mohammed, or the Divine Mother's Spirit connecting All Life, etc.
That disclaimer said, you may find out the actual origins of my relationship with these archetypes at Home Page for Body-Mind-Chalice Integration (and related artwork). If you feel well served by what you found here, I would certainly appreciate your support. Although there is virtually 3 large books (and probably over a thousand hours) worth of written material and artwork here, nothing has ever been sold at this site (although I do promote my therapy practice and desktop publishing skills).
In any case, IF YOU FEEL YOU HAVE BENEFITED BY YOUR VISIT TO THIS SITE AND WOULD LIKE TO SUPPORT THE WORK HERE (which support this site may depend on soon), please check out the Chalice Bridging Ministries / PolyPsyArts Support System.
REPRODUCTION: I welcome my writing/artwork being reproduced, provided that it is in it's original and complete form (or an editing or excerpt by agreement with the author), and contact info are intact and readable ("Chris Pringer, chrispringer@chalicebridge.com, www.chalicebridge.com"), and so long as the following conditions are applied:
a) Hardcopy reproduction is ok so long as it is for personal or non-profit organizational use only; b) Distribution and posting on web pages, blogs, and forums with my permission (mostly because I want to know where it's been put, and I'd be most honored to be asked). c) Any distribution of my writings or artwork must be w/o charge unless with prior agreement in writing with the author. d) The only exception to that regards the World Healing Prayers, which I encourage people to make all the copies they think will be used effectively without obligation to get my permission or even contact me. By the way, I have yet to ever sell -or give permission for anyone else to sell- any of my artwork on E-Bay or anywhere else. [noted 12'07 ...10'09]
DISCLAIMER: None of my writing or artwork is intended to be, to replace, or discourage the appropriate use of, medical attention and/or treatment, but as educationally informative for the purpose of overall health enhancement and preventative maintenance. So far as I know, I have not quoted any other person without saying so. I have emulated a number of writers and teachers, so I wouldn't be surprised if many of my statements have similar words and meanings as they.
"Pragmatic Idealism" for getting "from here to there"
Commentary/Feedback is MOST APPRECIATED
via the Guest Book or directly via Chaliser@iinet.com. I Hope you have found this page useful. Please let me know if it (or any parts of it, or other pages here) do not make sense to you, or don't seem consistent, etc. Thank you. --Chris Pringer
Click here to see the Organization Chart / Site Map as well as "How and Why this Site Is Different - A study in Cross-Discipline Knowledge Sharing and Utilization." About the critical challenge of, and our potential for, optimal integration of diverse perspectives, talents, and capabilities. And to see how that relates to *Chalice-Bridging* - and to personal, community, and planetary healing. (And the full-size graphic)
Professional Bio & Training
Chris by Artwork (a 2005 photo over 2009 artwork)
Chris at Massage Chair, 2005, w/Beard in 2001 and 1984
I began my studies in multi-level self-healing when in the service, in Thailand in the Winter of '73. The focus then was on self-help psychology, consciousness, and eastern and western mystical perspectives. This continued through my university studies in Norman, OK '74-'79. 1980 took me into naturopathic studies, primarily nutrition and herbology when I lived in Oklahoma City. Not seeing the naturopathic doctor route as affordable at the time, I found direction via a five-evening massage course, Fall '83. That led to a six month professional practice, followed up with the training in Sante Fe, NM, '84-'85 (detailed in my on-line brochure).
Since then I have practiced massage and/or healing facilitation for others, initially in Santa Fe, NM (during/after my training), then San Louis Obispo, CA, and Seattle, WA. This includes exploring personal challenges and self-healing methodology. A session may include various energy-body-work modalities, Body/Energy-Awareness based Preventative Health Maintenance Instruction, or only Reiki or relaxation work in total silence. A client chooses based on whatever stress, pain, or concerns are present at that session. A client may request a "Body Pattern Reading," as well as various massage/bodywork therapies, all of which techniques are listed & described in the Body-Mind Integration Therapies Brochure. Individual, program, and 3-6 week interval-based rates are available.
My professional interests have primarily centered in three areas: 1) Body-Centered Psycho-Spiritual Process (as in "Hakomi" style of) counseling and bodywork, including as assessing an individual for the most efficient means of addressing connective tissue injury, short and long term, and the most efficient application of the results of that assessment (on physical and/or emotional levels);
in Santa Fe, NM (1984-85), and with various accredited bodywork and therapy workshops (`86-present), as well as 100 hours training with the Alchemical Hypnotherapy Institute (1989), over 100 hrs apprenticeship with healing practitioner Robert "Mitra" (`85-`86), 150 hours apprenticeship with Silena Heron in Herbal Studies (`83-`84), Training, Certification, & Empowerment as Reiki Master (3rd Degree Johrei, 1991; Kundalini Reiki to 9th Level w/Gtunmo & Devic Template, 2004). For the detailed version my training, you may go to the latter half of the Body-Mind Integration Therapies Brochure. Which also includes (and relates context for) links to essays elaborating on aspects of imbalance and injury, assessment, and healing.
Personal Quotes on Body-Mind Awareness [ cp, 12'07 ]
BODY-MIND AWARENESS, at the core of preventive health awareness, is one of the most simple, efficacious, & cost-effective forms of HEALTH INSURANCE there can be. Hence, massage is far from just "a luxury item," and bodywork therapies can be indispensable for the healing of certain conditions.
MUSCLES RELATE TO ATTACHMENTS - to what we use to take our stance, to hold our place, to perceive and respond to our environment, and to extend who we are and/or want to be. Or used to be (in too many cases, perhaps). That speaks not only to the body's condition and function, but to how it communicates awareness of where one is along one's path (of becoming who one truly is).
THE BODY IS . . . among other amazing things, a unique communications system -- intimately linked with one's TOTALITY.
Establishing rapport with one's body can be a PATH to self realization.
ONE OF MY DREAMS is a society where/in all children are taught how to feel/see/read their own body-mind communications such that preventive health maintenance eventually becomes second nature. And actually, for the most part, they would be encouraged to re-awaken and build upon what I believe to be a NATURAL INCLINATION - conscious self-healing and continuous expansion of awareness.
And the above goes FOR ALL OTHER ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES, to the degree that one utilizes them to improve such awareness and causative/pro-active connection with one's body-mind, and to employ the most effective tools for maintaining/improving one's health under any given condition or circumstance.