Finally, a Little Justice for Haiti

Breaking news: The United States Treasury Department has just announced U.S. government support for complete debt cancellation for Haiti and will work with our international partners to ensure that new assistance comes in the form of grants, not debt-incurring loans. It's exactly what more than 200,000 ONE members have been calling for. And this weekend, the U.S. will take this message to G7 finance ministers’ summit, creating strong momentum to get a global deal and guarantee debt cancellation for Haiti.

Read more here:
http://www.one.org/r?r=301&id=1443-4562280-vl39v1x&t=1

and continue to do whatever you can to send support to Haiti; financially, food, medical supplies, prayers, etc. Whatever you can do...

February 11th is an Important day in Iran

A note from Amnesty International....

Last week, two men were hanged after being accused of inciting the post-June 12 election violence that erupted last summer in Iran. The Iranian government failed to answer one key question - how these men could have been responsible for the violence when they were being held in detention long before it even occurred?

As if this injustice wasn't enough, now the lives of 9 more men hang in the balance on similar charges. We fear some of them may be executed before February 11th - a date holding much significance in Iran and one that could signify an end to these abuses.

February 11th is known as Victory of the Revolution Day - equivalent to the Fourth of July in the United States; it is meant to symbolize liberty, independence and freedom. Authorities in Iran fear that February 11th will spark a wave of massive protests and unite Iranians in their calls for change and accountability.

That is why on February 11th we intend to do all we can to stand in solidarity with the Iranian people on this important date, but we need your help.

In the days following the contested Presidential election, Iranian authorities took aggressive measures to stifle dissent and stem the flow of information. No outside reporters were allowed in. Iranians were not allowed to freely report out.

Virtually the only way the Iranian people could expose the horrific treatment being inflicted on them was to share their stories online, using blogs and websites like Twitter and Facebook.

We expect Iranians will once again rely solely on the Internet to carry their messages during next week's expected demonstrations. That is why we are asking everyone to show their solidarity online on February 11th - whether it's on your blog, website, or social networking profile. Help us raise the voices of those calling for freedom and justice inside Iran.
Bloggers Unite: Join our network of blogger's covering Iran and the events on February 11th.
Twitter Followers: The hashtag #iranelection was one of the most widely-used in the post-election aftermath. Since the violence is still unresolved, we'll continue to tweet using this hashtag. Make sure your related tweets include: #iranelection.
Share Online: Help share the message of February 11th by adding our solidarity image to your blog, website or social networking profile.
We will be keeping a close watch over Victory of the Revolution Day events. Our collective voices can help keep high-level Iranian officials in check. If authorities yet again brutally suppress people's right to peacefully express their opinions, we will harness the power of the Internet to push right back!



Thank you for standing with us and the people of Iran,

Elise Auerbach, Christoph Koettl and the rest of the Iran crisis response team



P.S. If you know someone or if you, yourself, expect to be in New York on February 11th, then be sure to wear black and join our coalition of activists as they stand in a silent vigil for the people of Iran.

A Quick Petition and Message

As I've shared in the past, signing online petitions are questionable in that one must ask how effectively they reach their intended parties. However, my feeling is in many cases, it's better than doing nothing at all.

In that spirit here's a petition I received this morning that we should all sign:

http://http://act.truemajorityaction.org/p/7002/bluepetition?petition_KEY=151

The main message here is when a critical eye is put to the amount of money that supports the military industrial complex, it becomes clear how poor, marginalized communities are forced to bear the brunt of lack of social services and resources, in lieu of, another war plane. You want health care for all? Schools for children with adequate resources, accessible healthy food? Then fight against the power structure that continually funnels money to the elites in efforts to keep the poor poor, and the disenfranchised disenfranchised.

This C-17 is just one micro example, but add in the funding given to the insurance industries, investment banks, etc. and all of this interconnects and intersects, to again point to how those with power continually abuse and manipulate "the system" to continue to keep the status quo in tact.

Do some research, educate yourself, and make it be know that the amount of people that could be feed, the greater aid Haitians could be receiving, and the shelters that could be built for houseless folks are worth far more in peace, sustainability and justice then another war plane that acts as a tool to undermine all that is Holistic Sustainability.

R.I.P. Howard Zinn, 1922-2010

We lost a great activist and educator today.

Howard Zinn passed away after having lived a very full life, and after sharing extremely important thoughts on the telling of history.

Howard's work goes well beyond being a provocative professor at Boston University. Every visitor to this site should click the following link and spend as much time on his site as you can, http://http://howardzinn.org/default/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=3&Itemid=25

Picking up a book or two won't hurt either...

I'm most aware of Howard's teaching's from his monumental book, A People's History of the United States: 1492-Present. Howard's basic premise is that history has been written by those with and in positions of power. Makes sense, doesn't it? I don't recall ever being taught that the US was founded on the genocide of Indigenous people, and that the US economy was built by the forced labor of African slaves. I was taught there were cowboys and Indians, and slavery was a "backwards" time in the US.

Howard's view, which to me resonates the deepest, is to tell the story from the bottom -up, as opposed to the top-down. A radical departure from common means of telling history, crafting policy, etc. this simple yet completely radical idea can and should be put into action in as many diverse ways as possible, so that standpoint and perspectives are not continually as skewed as they have been for hundreds (or thousands) of years.

Just think about it: what if the perspective of someone without health care for their family was able to dictate policy as opposed to a politician that has more coverage then they could ever factually use? Therein lies the message that perspectives, narratives, and stories are all very different when told from diverse perspectives; a slave story will be different from a slave owners story, a Native Americans story will be different from a white settlers, and an investment banker/hedge funder/insurance salesman/wall-street executive's story will be very different from a working class family's story. A houselesss persons story will be very different from one who has never gone without food and shelter for a night.

These are some of the contributions Howard Zinn made-to help us think about others perspectives as opposed to just our own. Worthy thoughts and beliefs to continue to learn from and absorb. Thanks for your lessons Howard, messages that promote a world of peace, justice, healing and sustainability.

The Greatest Holiday for Justice in the US

Everyday should be one where the thoughts, actions, and beliefs of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are celebrated far and wide. There are numerous sites out there celebrating the good Dr. on this day, and let us reflect on one of his many important quotes:

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?"

I think we should all mediate on this one quote, bring its message with us on our daily paths traveled in life, and let the energy of the statement stick with us in a way that we honor the answer.

On this day, let us also not forget the many continued struggles around the globe for Holistic Sustainability. Specifically speaking towards Haiti, think about how you can lend some form of support, no matter how large or small, to ongoing relief efforts.

Here's one link that I know is a righteous source if anyone would like to directly donate financial support, or look into how organizations are helping the Haitian people recover from this enormous natural disaster www.shop.thehungersite.com/

Hope for the New Year

There has been a lot that has happened in the last month. My sincere apologies for not posting during this time, but to be blunt, I've been all over the place. It's always worthy to check in with the latest news from democracynow.org, or look at my past posts on where else to go for up-to-date information on promoting peace, justice and sustainability.

As 2009 waxed its way into 2010, all I could think about was Hope. Hope in the sense of remembering to never let all the suffering, brutality, and socially constructed oppressions or natural occurring hazards have such an affect on you that you cease to desire for a sustainable world. I've found, as I have said before, once one is turned toward the goal of wanting to do whatever they can to promote Holistic Sustainability, the unimaginable yet very real impacts people, all species and the Earth face everyday is sincerely daunting. But Hope. Hope not in the sense of talking about it, but trying to enact it in any way one can is paramount. That's my continued message for now, moving us from 2009 into 2010.

Rather than reflect on the failures and victories of 2009, I'd rather just keep going from where we are at present, although I'll build off a few stories to get us to what today's cover picture represents.

For the Earth, the non-binding agreement that came as a result of the meeting in Copenhagen were a surprise. Wait a minute, of course it wasn't, but that does not mean that the pressure put on by activists all over the world can be forgotten. Instead continuing to work towards binding agreements so actual justice and sustainability can be fostered is essential. Here's a quick link from Indian Country, http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/global/79890897.html, but of course there are countless available resources on the web about what went down and how to stay involved by continuing the pressure on rich countries to take accountability for what human induced impacts are stressing the Earth's ecosystem. And yes, if you heard that at some point that rich countries would like to simply pay poorer countries to lessen their global warming footprint you're right. But it's up to us to make sure accountability is understood by rich, industrialized, "first-world" countries understanding that it's their model that has led to where things are economically, socially, politically, and environmentally, and to never forget that there would be no "problems" from "underdeveloped" countries if the industrialized nations were in fact sustainable for a holistic standpoint.

Also check out these stories for an idea of where activists were at in Copenhagen:

http://www.grist.org/article/2009-12-18-climate-activists-declare-copenhagen-agreement-a-disaster/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/16/copenhagen.summit.protests/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

http://ecopolitology.org/2009/12/09/danish-police-raid-copenhagen-climate-activists-at-3am/comment-page-1/

Another thing to add that follows suit from the Climate Change talks in Europe is the continued trouble wind farms are having from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Ontario, Canada, and on with the "problem" of aesthetics. One front that must be engaged with is how and when those who advocate for clean renewable energy are put off by the look of wind turbines will take a harder look at themselves for letting coal supply their electricity because emissions are invisible to the naked eye, yet wind farms are too ugly for implementation.

The then there's the settlement that took place regarding owed money the US should have paid Tribal people for many years. A story is here, http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/69913042.html, and there are many more related. The summary is the US has decided to pay Tribes a ridiculously small portion of what their owed as a gesture of just politics. A pat on the back from the colonizers, and business as usual at the end of the decade after court proceedings for several unnecessary years.

Please take a look at Friends of the Earth when you get a chance, http://www.foe.org/.

Regarding today's picture, please check out http://www.publicandprivateenterprise.org/, give it a read, digest it, and share what you think with the world. It's an idea where the merits of Holistic Sustainability come together, and imagine if the ideals set forth were to come true. What would it take? Does it look as good as it sounds or is this not even what we're looking for in the struggle to bring about peace, justice and sustainability? You decide.

Here's the beginning to the message you can read from the link above:

TO ALL OF HUMANITY WITH LOVE...From"THE DUMMY WITH THE BIG IDEA"

First let me say: I want you to know that I'm the man with the vision but an amateur writer about the very important Movement and worldwide public conversation that I'm trying to inspire humanity to come together on and create. Please keep that clearly in mind. Why? Because it is so important for you to only focus on my ideas, not on my weak writing skills about them, since my vision for humanity, which I write about in very plain and simple language that everyone can easily understand, can absolutely solve almost ALL of the major problems in the world in so many different ways.

THE BOTTOM LINE
THE ESSENCE OF MY VISION IS EXPRESSED IN THIS ONE PARAGRAPH:

Help us build this very important and very strategic worldwide Movement -- a Movement to create the most important worldwide discussion in all of humanity's history, one that will empower our suffering humanity, worldwide, to finally be able to end poverty and unemployment worldwide, make every single nation and territory in the world prosperous, protect and clean up the environment, solve the energy crisis, provide health care and education to everyone in every nation, build and always properly maintain the needed infrastructure in every nation, provide all of the different kinds of necessary public transportation in every nation, end taxation for every person and every large and small business in every nation, and so much more. It's all about how to very lovingly, morally, ethically, skillfully, and easily change the money system throughout the whole world so that it finally works absolutely well for all of humanity, all of the time.


Welcome to 2010. Let's keep the fire burning to do what we can, always, to promote peace, justice and sustainability, and make this a year with more steps in the respect-centered direction. Remember, if it's livable in totality, it can be sustainable. And to do only what you can, with what you have, and hope to improve and grow as you go is an ultimate goal that will serve the whole Earth and every living species in a love centered, respect-filled way.

The Role of "Power" in Achieving Holistic Sustainability

Building of my post from 11/30/09, I have to briefly comment on Obama's plan to escalate war efforts in Afghanistan, and why a better understanding of the role "Power" plays in global society sheds a clearer understanding on the creation of positive social change.

However, let's first look at what happened in India 12/3/84. On this day, over half a million peoples lives were brutally impacted in Bhopal due to a hazardous gas leak. The ramifications of this horrible accident set of a wave of reforms across the globe regarding hazardous chemical manufacturing. The travesty in Bhopal happened 25 years ago, and while changes were made shortly after the gas leak, legislation and policy has still not ensured that the greater public and the environment are safe from future "accidents". Why? The WTO, who mandates policy for the globalized economy is not concerned with production standards. It really cares most about controlling product standards. So even after such a devastating, unnecessary point in history called to the industrialized to world to better safeguard people and the Earth from leaks of toxic gas (or fill in nuclear meltdown, left over land mines, dumping waste in waterways, etc) the emphasis the WTO promotes if how safe a product is-not how safely it was created.

The awareness of Bhopal , like many mirrored incidents since the industrial revolution, has somewhat permeated the mainstream conscious collective. Wait. No it hasn't. In reality, awareness has not really been absorbed in a way to remind people what that chain effect after Bhopal actually was. Tightening of pollution standards across the globe happened. People organized in communities thousands of miles away, in places like industrialized Worcester, MA where toxic particulates were being emitted where locals children played. The awareness came not from foresight of beating a problem before it was created, but rather from a reaction to a problem that was alive and had to be dealt with immediately.

My major point to share here is while it's essential to adapt to conditions as they present themselves, sustainability begs us to have the forethought to take action before problems present themselves. In that light adapting to catastrophe is "easier" in that precaution has brought with it the thought of what will everyone do if...

I feel a major reason that movements for peace, justice, and sustainability have failed to take a major hold of global society is because those with "Power" make those without "Power" believe that these conditions are the way it is; a natural path for humanity. That is, some have and will always have power (the affluent), while other will simply not. If people feel they are powerless to organize and act as a cohesive unit unless cataclysmic action falls by way of toxic leaks in low-income communities, war, etc. then how will lasting social change come to be?

Again, it's clear the paradigm of "civil society" must be critiqued.

Circling to the US and its escalation of war in Afghanistan, the American people were told last week that war is essential. That it's a necessity. What's not fully on the table is what interests compel the US to continue its war in the Middle East. For the US to be present, and risk lives and environmental destruction, what's really the cause?

If the main reason for action is the threat of the Taliban gaining control of nuclear weapons held currently by Pakistan, then why is that not discussed with the American people? Maybe the reason corresponds to why the WTO still has no concrete safeguards for the production of noxious materials across the world.

It goes back to power. Power held and power controlled is a major energy to understand while attempting to move forward the well-being of the total biotic community of Earth. Wealth, yeas. But not solely wealth. As I've said before, maybe if the US didn't hold the greatest amount of nuclear weapons in the world, they wouldn't be so anxiety driven to think they can defeat a radically fundamentalist group.

In the coming days, weeks, and months lets remember our power as individuals to do all what we can to reclaim our individual power, which collectively as a force can be power as Empire. It can also be a power that dismisses power, which may be what actually leads to Holistic Sustainability.

Read Holloway, think, talk, and act.

www.theworld.org/?s=Bhopal%2C+India

"Change the World Without Taking Power" by John Holloway

antiwar.com