"War is the Enemy of the Poor": Cornel West and Tavis Smiley on Poverty, MLK, Election 2012

A must watch (last 10 minutes) video with two of the most influential and righteous Black scholars in the world today. Enjoy!

Thanks as always to Democracy Now!   

Should Men Choose What Rights Women Have Over Their Own Bodies?

If you answered yes then you're reading the wrong blog. Or actually you're not and should keep reading to become better educated.

Recent news has been highlighting the struggle for women to maintain reproductive rights over their own bodies. Interestingly this debate has been tied to arguments surrounding religious freedom and those dogmatic institutions that put forth a belief system that women should not be able to obtain contraceptives.

The Personhood Bill is at the center of this reproductive debate regarding women and the reproductive rights women have in a lawful sense.

This article,

http://www.thelamron.com/opinion/new-legislation-should-not-limit-individual-women-s-reproductive-rights-1.2804226#.T1CL481WGPU

will fill you in more as will this current (3/1/12) headline from democracynow.org

Limbaugh Calls Student Birth Control Activist a "Slut"

The Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate is expected to defeat a symbolic Republican-backed measure today that would exempt Catholic institutions from a White House mandate requiring birth control coverage. The right-wing talk show host Rush Limbaugh made headlines on Wednesday after calling a student reproductive rights activist "a slut" for campaigning in favor of contraception coverage for women. Limbaugh made the comment during a rant on his radio broadcast.

Rush Limbaugh: "What does it say about the college co-ed Susan Fluke [sic] who goes before a congressional committee and essentially says that she must be paid to have sex? What does that make her? It makes her a slut, right? Makes her a prostitute. She wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so much sex, she can’t afford the contraception. She wants you and me and the taxpayers to pay her to have sex."

The student, Sandra Fluke, is a third-year law student and a member of the group Georgetown Law Students for Reproductive Justice. She was barred from testimony at an all-male panel on contraception on Capitol Hill last month. The day after her testimony was blocked, Fluke appeared on Democracy Now!

Sandra Fluke: "I strongly believe that our government has to legislate for reality, not ideology. So, if we don’t provide contraception coverage and healthcare, that’s not going to stop anyone from having sex, whether they should or should not be. And we really have to take care of women’s healthcare and not worry about policing their moral choices."

This link is a very useful resource that reminds us all that "isms" like sexism are unfortunately still alive and well and must continue to be combated by those who truly seek peace, justice, and sustainability!

http://www.democracynow.org/topics/womens_rights

Syria and its Pro Democracy Uprising

The wave of action from "Arab Spring" has continued throughout the Middle East during this past year, and perhaps nowhere has the action been more chaotic and confrontational than Syria. Here are a few recent headlines as told by democracynow.org

U.N.: Syria Uprising Toll Passes 7,500

Syrian forces have launched a ground attack on the embattled city of Homs today after a nearly month-long siege. The neighborhood of Baba Amr reportedly came under heavy shelling overnight before Syrian troops swept in. The latest violence comes as the United Nations now says more than 7,500 people have been killed in the Assad regime’s crackdown on the nearly year-long uprising. U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Lynn Pascoe announced the new death toll figure in comments before the U.N. Security Council.

Lynn Pascoe: "The disproportionate use of force and military aggression against civilian population by authorities has driven the largely peaceful opposition forces to resort to armed resistance. While we cannot give exact casualty figures, there are credible reports that the death toll now often exceeds 100 civilians a day, including many women and children. The total killed so far is certainly well over 7,500 people."

13 Activists Killed Helping Evacuate British Photographer from Syria

A number of foreign journalists are said to be trapped in areas of Homs that are coming under heavy fire. On Tuesday, British photographer Paul Conroy was safely escorted to neighboring Lebanon by a group of Syrian activists. Thirteen of Conroy’s rescuers were reportedly killed in the escape. There were reports another journalist, Edith Bouvier of France, also escaped to Lebanon, but her status remains unconfirmed.

U.S. Drafts New U.N. Security Council Measure on Syria

The United States has reportedly drafted an outline for a new U.N. Security Council measure that would focus on delivering humanitarian aid to Syria. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney spoke about the effort on Tuesday.

Jay Carney: "I think that we need to focus on those actions which have the greatest chance of success. And that includes efforts to organize humanitarian aid. It includes efforts to further isolate and pressure Assad. It includes efforts to assist the Syrian opposition to organize itself and unify and then continue to work with our allies at the highest levels to examine additional steps that might be taken."

U.N. Human Rights Chief Calls for ICC Probe of Syrian Officials

At the United Nations, Syrian diplomats walked out of a U.N. Human Rights Council session on the crisis in Syria in protest of widespread criticism. The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said she would back the investigation of Syrian officials by the International Criminal Court.

Navi Pillay: "In the face of the unspeakable violations that take place every moment, I remain convinced that referring the situation of Syria to the International Criminal Court will be a step in the right direction. The international community must unite in sending a clear message to the Syrian authorities, and the Security Council must assume its responsibility to protect the population of Syria."

An interesting story, "Foreign Intervention in Syria? A Debate with Joshua Landis and Karam Nachar"

http://www.democracynow.org/2012/2/22/foreign_intervention_in_syria_a_debate

No one wants lives to be taken and humans to suffer. Will the people's voices be listened to?

Closing Guantanamo and Ending the Death Penalty

From Amnesty International: Will you help us keep our New Year's resolutions to close Guantánamo and abolish the death penalty in 2012? On January 11th, Amnesty activists all across the West are marking the 10th anniversary of Guantánamo by joining the National Day of Action Against Guantánamo and calling for an end to indefinite detention and unfair trials. On MLK weekend, Amnesty activists in California are getting involved with the SAFE CA campaign's "Weekend of Action" to honor the legacy of Dr. King and end death sentences in our state.

Help us kick off 2012 by joining us for these historic efforts! Please check out the events listed below, or find other human rights events near you by visiting: www.amnestyusa.org/events.

Happy New Year!
Rini Chakraborty
Western Regional Director
Amnesty International USA

California (Northern)

What: National Day of Action Against Guantánamo
When: Wednesday, January 11 at noon
Where: San Francisco, CA
Get specific event location
Description: Please join us on the 10th anniversary of Guantánamo for a protest and rally in San Francisco as 171 individuals - each representing a detainee still held at Guantánamo - form a human chain in front of the Federal Building and Courthouse. Help us show elected officials that citizens demand closure of Guantánamo and an end to unlawful detentions and human rights violations! Please wear orange or black, and bring signs that say "10 Years Too Many: No Guantánamo. No Torture. No Excuses!" For more information or to RSVP, please email Angela at amnestywest6@aiusa.org or contact Amnesty's Western Regional Office at (415) 288-1800.


What: "Weekend of Action" to Honor Dr. King and End the Death Penalty in California
When: Saturday-Monday, January 14-16
Where: Various locations across the state
Get specific event location
Description: AIUSA is teaming up with the SAFE CA campaign, California NAACP, Reverend Jesse Jackson, and other civil rights leaders to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by ending death sentences in our state. Please join us January 14-16th for a "Weekend of Action" to participate in MLK events statewide and gather signatures to qualify the SAFE California Act for the November 2012 ballot. For more information or to RSVP, please contact Field Organizer William Butkus at wbutkus@aiusa.org or (415) 288-1800.

California (Southern)

What: National Day of Action Against Guantánamo
When: Wednesday, January 11
Where: Los Angeles, CA
Get specific event location
Description: This international day of protest marks the 10th anniversary of the Guantánamo prison and the human rights violations it represents, including torture, detention without charge, unfair trials, Islamaphobia, and impunity for crimes by US government officials. Join Amnesty International USA, Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace, CAIR-LA and other human rights organizations as we call for the immediate closure of Guantánamo. A silent vigil and press conference will be held at 9 a.m. at the Downtown Los Angeles Federal Building, located at Temple and Los Angeles Streets. The press conference will be followed by a flash mob at noon at Bruin Plaza on the UCLA Campus. The day will conclude with a rally from 4:00-5:30 p.m. at the Westwood Federal Building, located at Wilshire Blvd and Veteran Ave. in Westwood.


What: "A Day ON for Human Rights" to Honor Dr. King and End the Death Penalty in California
When: Sunday, January 15 from 9am to 4pm
Where: ACLU of Southern California
Get specific event location
Description: In honor of Dr. King's legacy, Amnesty USA activists in the greater Los Angeles Metro area will be dedicating Sunday, January 15th as a "Day ON for Human Rights." The "Day ON" will start with a general meet and greet and strategy session with LA Amnesty Activists. At noon, activists will be trained around messaging and signature gathering for the SAFE CA Campaign to end the death penalty in California. Directly following the training, activists will head into the field in team to collect signatures for the SAFE CA Campaign. After gathering signatures, teams will converge back at the ACLU office for a debrief and "Thank You" pizza party.

Washington

What: National Day of Action Against Guantánamo
When: Wednesday, January 11
Where: Seattle, WA
Get specific event location
Description: Join Washington State Religious Campaign Against Torture, Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, Code Pink, ACLU of Washington, and other justice activists in marking the 10 year anniversary of the arrival of prisoners at Guantánamo. We will hold a candlelight vigil at the Jackson Federal Building on 2nd Avenue between Madison and Marion, 5:00-6:00pm. For more information contact Sara at (415)288-1800 or sschmidt@aiusa.org.

Not That Any Time Makes "Sense", But Why Now?

Environmental protections and safeguards. Unemployment levels in the workforce. Foreclosures. Vet's in need of shelter. People going hungry, in need of access to health care and education. The U.S. is arguably in its most brittle state as an empire since it began. Many residents need help and are hurting. No empire has ever been able to sustain itself with prolonged war. From Afghanistan to Iraq, to drones like the picture shown here bombing Pakistan, with increased threats of militarization to the Asia-Pacific and beyond. The economy continues to have a poor outlook amongst a deficit that is completely unreal in it's amount.

Why Now?

U.S. and Iran to Hold Major Military Exercises in the Persian Gulf

Iran and the United States have both announced plans to hold major military exercises in the Persian Gulf in the coming months. The U.S. exercise will be done in conjunction with Israel. Meanwhile, in defiance of the United States, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has welcomed Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Venezuela. On Friday, a State Department official said, "We are making absolutely clear to countries around the world that now is not the time to be deepening ties, not security ties, not economic ties, with Iran."

From: Democracynow.org

Time Magazine's Person of the Year: THE PROTESTER!!!

"The times they are a changin'" could not be more truthful than at this beginning of the new year, 2012. In a surprising nomination Time Magazine has named its 2011 Person of the Year The Protester. We couldn't agree more, from OWS to the Middle East and beyond, 99% of the world's population is not okay with the economic, social, political, and environmental oppression employed by the top 1% or those who ascribe to be a part of the top 1%.

We encourage you to delve into this issue on Time, learn why they named The Protester person of the year, educate yourself on why this nomination matters, why people across the world are protesting, and how you are effected and can get involved.

A Happy and Just 2012 to all, let this year be the year for impartiality to rein free and rampant across this planet once and for all!

From time.com:

History often emerges only in retrospect. Events become significant only when looked back on. No one could have known that when a Tunisian fruit vendor set himself on fire in a public square in a town barely on a map, he would spark protests that would bring down dictators in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya and rattle regimes in Syria, Yemen and Bahrain. Or that that spirit of dissent would spur Mexicans to rise up against the terror of drug cartels, Greeks to march against unaccountable leaders, Americans to occupy public spaces to protest income inequality, and Russians to marshal themselves against a corrupt autocracy.Protests have now occurred in countries whose populations total at least 3 billion people, and the word protest has appeared in newspapers and online exponentially more this past year than at any other time in history.

Is there a global tipping point for frustration? Everywhere, it seems, people said they'd had enough. They dissented; they demanded; they did not despair, even when the answers came back in a cloud of tear gas or a hail of bullets. They literally embodied the idea that individual action can bring collective, colossal change. And although it was understood differently in different places, the idea of democracy was present in every gathering. The root of the word democracy is demos, "the people," and the meaning of democracy is "the people rule." And they did, if not at the ballot box, then in the streets. America is a nation conceived in protest, and protest is in some ways the source code for democracy — and evidence of the lack of it.
The protests have marked the rise of a new generation. In Egypt 60% of the population is under the age of 25. Technology mattered, but this was not a technological revolution. Social networks did not cause these movements, but they kept them alive and connected. Technology allowed us to watch, and it spread the virus of protest, but this was not a wired revolution; it was a human one, of hearts and minds, the oldest technology of all.

Everywhere this year, people have complained about the failure of traditional leadership and the fecklessness of institutions. Politicians cannot look beyond the next election, and they refuse to make hard choices. That's one reason we did not select an individual this year. But leadership has come from the bottom of the pyramid, not the top. For capturing and highlighting a global sense of restless promise, for upending governments and conventional wisdom, for combining the oldest of techniques with the newest of technologies to shine a light on human dignity and, finally, for steering the planet on a more democratic though sometimes more dangerous path for the 21st century, the Protester is TIME's 2011 Person of the Year.


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,2101745_2102139_2102380,00.html #ixzz1iRddFyR0

RE-OCCUPY YOUR PUBLIC SPACE ON MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.S HOLIDAY

From Food Not Bombs:

A Proposal for a coordinated
RE-OCCUPATION OF PUBLIC SPACE in honor of the goals of Martin Luther King Jr. January 13-16, 2012

"Occupy Wall Street, on the other hand, has chosen a fixed target. And
you have put no end date on your presence here. This is wise. Only when
you stay put can you grow roots. This is crucial. It is a fact of the
information age that too many movements spring up like beautiful flowers
but quickly die off. It’s because they don’t have roots. And they don’t
have long term plans for how they are going to sustain themselves. So
when storms come, they get washed away."

Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now by Naomi
Klein - October 7, 2011

The occupation movement is the most important movement of our lives. I
get calls everyday from average middle American asking how they can
help, calling to say they are so proud of everyone, some even coming to
tears expressing that we just had to succeed.

The corporate media is seeking to claim that the police have
successfully swept away or movement but as you know this is just the
beginning. Reporters claiming that we have "moved" to walking from town
to town or other valid actions that should be supported but the
occupations are the action that is applying pressure and providing a
space for innovation and community.

We have the corporations and their governments really freighted. They
have a coordinated media and police campaign to shut us down but their
logic while effective in the short run won't work for long if we
continue to reclaim public space. Even if this means we must survive a
wave of evictions at some point there will be another critical event,
news of a national default or major bank failure, U.S. government
failing to continue unemployment payments or government shut down. News
that points to the fact that we are sliding into a great depression and
harsh austerity policies are necessary to transfer more of our resources
to the one percent. Our continued presence will provide a visible place
for those not yet living at the occupations to join us as their personal
situation changes or revulsion at the bold disregard shown by the
corporate state is so strong they feel they must take action.

As has been the case in past years the media will start to announce
that holiday sales just weren't as good as first predicted in mid
January. The re-writing of Martin Luther King Jr's legacy will be in
full swing as usual, this year with special effort to ignore the fact
that he would have been one of the first to sleep at Occupy Wall Street.

If there is a link it will be an attempt by the Democratic Party to
strengthen the connection between King and Obama with their special
effort to ignore the impact of Wall Street on the policies adopted or
not adopted by the president over the past four years. It is time to
dust off our copies of King's last book "Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos
or Community?" and remind America that King would most likely be
attending our General Assemblies and encouraging us to Re- Occupy Public
Space after each eviction.

What would be a more fitting way to celebrate the legacy of one of
America's most dedicated nonviolent advocates for the 99% then to
Re-Occupy Public Space during the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday?

The hundreds of Occupations that have not been evicted or have returned
can remind our communities that news of our demise was premature. For
the other occupations that have been driven from public space we could
return with large card board paintings of our tents and spend the
holiday demonstrating the absurdity of clearing public space of our
message at a time when half our people are struggling to survive
according to the U.S. Census. America is not alone as we can see. The
Euro zone is collapsing as resistance to bank bailouts continues. The
Chinese and Indian economies are teetering and resistance is growing
there as well. People all over the world are resisting the austerity
measures proposed by the One Percent. Economic leaders announce daily
that the global economy is on the brink of disaster. If we don't shop
our way out of this crisis 2012 will be the big end we have been
promised. Or more likely the new beginning we know is necessary. What
is more important? Clean sidewalks and undisturbed lawns or the future
of our country and the world?

Our work is not finished. We have made it clear that we must take money
out of politics and replace it with democracy. We are the lobby of the
99% seeking a new economic and political system even as the current
crisis continues to force our friends and family into poverty.

January's economic news and reality will dramatize the continued need
for our occupations. Lets continue to talk and introduce some of these
ideas at the next General Assembly.

A. Organize a campaign of Re-Occupation during the Martin Luther King
Jr. holiday arriving first with paintings and other "images" of tents to
challenge the logic of restrictions against tents in addition to all
other types of culture jamming actions.

B. Continue the global dialog seeking a transition from the current
failed political and economic system to a post capitalist "real"
democratic future.

C. Strengthen inter occupation communication of ideas, solutions and
calls for global days of action.

D. Consider adopting some simple guidelines such as a dedication to
nonviolence, that the food is free for everyone without restriction,
that decisions will be make by consensus at the General Assembly and
that drugs and alcohol are not to be consumed at the occupation.

E. Encourage local officials to end their efforts to drive the
occupations and tents off of public space with petitions, meetings,
participation in public hearings and all other nonviolent actions.
Remind city officials that the UN and other international organizations
support our right to continue these very important occupations.

It is time for Obama Administration and city officials to stop their
efforts to evict our occupations. Clean pavement and healthy lawns are
not even close in importance as seeking solutions to the global crisis
and as we can see our presence occupying public space has been the
catalyst for this discussion. We know this from first hand experience.
Decades of marches, rallies, phone calls, letters, law suits and public
comment at hearings just didn't push the debate into public conscience.
The occupations did and will if we don't let ourselves be pushed out of
sight and out of mind. And I am sure your local Food Not Bombs group
will be happy to do what they can to support the kitchens so don't worry
about needing to eat. We aren't going any where.

Thanks for your consideration.
Keith McHenry

A modest proposal from Food Not Bombs co-founder Keith McHenry after
speaking with other activists about our transition and the corporate
media's attempt to clam our movement is history. Not an official idea
from a GA but hopefully one that will be discussed at your GA. I have
been a participant in GA's, kitchens and resident of at least 15
occupations so far with more to come.

ARTICLES TO SUPPORT THE SPIRIT OF THIS PROPOSAL

Why Tents (Still) Matter for the Occupy Movement by Jen Schradie
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/11/24-1

Occupy Wall Street: The Most Important Thing in the World Now by Naomi
Klien
http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/10/07-0


Top GOP Strategist Admits He’s ‘Scared’ Of Occupy Wall Street Because
It’s ‘Having An Impact’ by Zaid Jilani
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/12/01-3#.TtfFTyYTztk

U.N. Envoy: U.S. Isn't Protecting Occupy Protesters' Rights
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/occupy-wall-street-un-envoy_n_1125860.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref