Friday, September 29, 2006
Corrosive Crisis
A recent conversation with a friend unaware of the connections between convicted felons of the Reagan Administration twenty years ago and the present core crew of the Bush Administration, highlighted for me the importance of independent investigative research and the communication of its results in curbing the burgeoning criminality now undermining our entire sociopolitical infrastructure.
Far from promising an easy victory or return to Camelot, we can at least point to the prophylactic achievements attainable when both courage and resources are mustered.
Lest cynical, apathetic readers think this unsatisfactory, we remind them that without opposition to criminality as a way of life, things can (and will) always get worse.
Far from promising an easy victory or return to Camelot, we can at least point to the prophylactic achievements attainable when both courage and resources are mustered.
Lest cynical, apathetic readers think this unsatisfactory, we remind them that without opposition to criminality as a way of life, things can (and will) always get worse.
You Can Help
Our friend, Dr. Mona El Farra, a physician with the Palestine Red Crescent Society , recommends supporting the humanitarian, medical, and social services of PRCS, as well as Middle East Children's Alliance. To find out more about what is going on in her work and their daily lives under the Israeli bombardment, read Dr. El Farra's blog, From Gaza, with Love.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Systemic Dispossession
In describing the betrayal and decomposition of the Mexican political class, Zapatista spokesman Subcomandante Marcos observes that by turning their backs on the just demands of the indigenous and other dispossessed in their country, something was definitively ruptured beyond reform. Looking at the dominant neoliberal socioeconomic model as the source of their misery in Mexico, the Zapatista leader goes on to note how this consolidated betrayal by the entire political class has foreclosed their rights as indigenous peoples.
Acknowledging that they once thought the process of dialogue and negotiation with the federal government by civil and peaceful means would strengthen the path of dialogue and negotiation as an alternative for the resolution of conflicts, they now admit that they were wrong.
Acknowledging that they once thought the process of dialogue and negotiation with the federal government by civil and peaceful means would strengthen the path of dialogue and negotiation as an alternative for the resolution of conflicts, they now admit that they were wrong.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Mineral Management Cooked Books
Osage turn up the heat over stolen oil royalties. Congressional coverup of $90 billion deficit in Indian Trust Fund account continues.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Basta
In Mexico, unlike the US, the disfranchised and unrepresented don't take stolen presidential elections sitting down.
in flagrante delicto
Wabanaki tracks the White House legal maneuvers since early 2002 to avoid prosecution for forthcoming--now past and present--war crimes.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Pass in the Fog
LUKANKA
Monday, September 18, 2006
Fair Return
In contrast to conventionally endowed non-profit enterprises, our initiative has been more like a communal barn-raising, with colleagues and friends donating time, thoughts, a good word, technical expertise, or a few crucial bucks just when we needed it. As an example, when word got around I was physically unable to attend a national human rights conference to speak with associates about this initiative and other things, a local physical therapist donated a thousand dollars worth of treatments that got me on the plane.
Sometimes it takes a while, but you get back what you put out.
Sometimes it takes a while, but you get back what you put out.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Synchronize the Energy
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
A Lawless Future
In The Will to Undemocratic Power, Philip S. Golub argues that the concentration of executive power in the UK, and especially the US--what he mockingly calls the state of exception--has, by constraining judicial autonomy and bypassing legislative prerogative, become in practice, "government by secret decree." This seizure of absolute power--now mimicked by allies across the globe--portends what Golub characterizes as, "a lawless future."
Lawless as in tyranny, not anarchy.
Lawless as in tyranny, not anarchy.
A Different Way
I was reading this morning about a settlement between the State of Washington and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe for the willfull destruction by Washington Department of Transportation of an ancient Elwha village and burial ground near Port Angeles, the largest pre-contact archeological site yet unearthed in Washington state. We've visited the Elwha Reservation and river in the past, on our way to camping on other S'klallam and Coast Salish tribal territories that surround the Olympic National Park, and--like the inhabitants of the Olympic Peninsula themselves--looked forward to the return of the Tyee salmon as the Elwha dams are removed in the near future.
All this got me thinking about how land and other natural resources are managed or mismanaged in our country, as well as the ongoing dispute over accountability between federal agencies responsible for conservation and energy royalties on Indian trust lands, and how long this fraudulent promise and charade has gone on.
My conclusion is that the only way to restore both the land and the indigenous/settler relationships that make up our United States is for the respective federal bureaucracies to devolve their powers and budgets related to federal lands to the first nations through some mechanism designed to maintain services through the transition. Perhaps in negotiation with the National Congress of American Indians.
Whatever form the discussion takes both formally and informally, I honestly believe it is time to move beyond the system of co-management and the process of informed consent to one of acknowledging that the federal bureaucracies that have defaulted on their trust responsibilities for two centuries now, are no longer deserving of our trust or monies. They have had their turn; it's now time to try a different way.
If not out of moral conscience or sense of honor, then for sake of sustainable development and environmental sanity.
All this got me thinking about how land and other natural resources are managed or mismanaged in our country, as well as the ongoing dispute over accountability between federal agencies responsible for conservation and energy royalties on Indian trust lands, and how long this fraudulent promise and charade has gone on.
My conclusion is that the only way to restore both the land and the indigenous/settler relationships that make up our United States is for the respective federal bureaucracies to devolve their powers and budgets related to federal lands to the first nations through some mechanism designed to maintain services through the transition. Perhaps in negotiation with the National Congress of American Indians.
Whatever form the discussion takes both formally and informally, I honestly believe it is time to move beyond the system of co-management and the process of informed consent to one of acknowledging that the federal bureaucracies that have defaulted on their trust responsibilities for two centuries now, are no longer deserving of our trust or monies. They have had their turn; it's now time to try a different way.
If not out of moral conscience or sense of honor, then for sake of sustainable development and environmental sanity.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Two Fingers Same Fist
Public Interest
I read today that John Groen, an attorney formerly employed by Pacific Legal Foundation, is running for the Washington State Supreme Court.
I remember him as a young mouthpiece twelve years ago when he represented a network of right-wing terrorists operating as covert agents of the Building Industry Association of Washington. Which is not surprising given PLF is one of several right-wing legal foundations in the US founded by industry magnates to undermine civil rights, environmental protection, and occupational safety.
PLF, initially funded by the California Chamber of Commerce, now--along with others like Mountain States Legal Foundation--are, believe it or not, tax-deductible charities. Find me the public interest there.
But this time, John Groen, Supreme Court candidate, is bought and paid for by the BIAW and friends through an elaborate money-laundering scheme that, alas, has no hope of being upended by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. The reason being that the BIAW is financed primarily by a racketeering scam whereby public insurance monies are managed by and for the BIAW through a deal set up just for them by state legislators bribed for such purpose through a perpetual campaign kickback scheme to members of both political parties, thereby foreclosing any hope that the PDC will ever enforce clean election laws for fear the bipartisan legislators would cut their budget in revenge.
It's part of a larger system that no governor has been willing to take on, and no major media willing to discuss. If the US Department of Justice were not equally corrupt, the BIAW criminal enterprise would be ripe for investigation, but then we saw how DoJ handled the theft of Florida 2000, didn't we.
I remember him as a young mouthpiece twelve years ago when he represented a network of right-wing terrorists operating as covert agents of the Building Industry Association of Washington. Which is not surprising given PLF is one of several right-wing legal foundations in the US founded by industry magnates to undermine civil rights, environmental protection, and occupational safety.
PLF, initially funded by the California Chamber of Commerce, now--along with others like Mountain States Legal Foundation--are, believe it or not, tax-deductible charities. Find me the public interest there.
But this time, John Groen, Supreme Court candidate, is bought and paid for by the BIAW and friends through an elaborate money-laundering scheme that, alas, has no hope of being upended by the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. The reason being that the BIAW is financed primarily by a racketeering scam whereby public insurance monies are managed by and for the BIAW through a deal set up just for them by state legislators bribed for such purpose through a perpetual campaign kickback scheme to members of both political parties, thereby foreclosing any hope that the PDC will ever enforce clean election laws for fear the bipartisan legislators would cut their budget in revenge.
It's part of a larger system that no governor has been willing to take on, and no major media willing to discuss. If the US Department of Justice were not equally corrupt, the BIAW criminal enterprise would be ripe for investigation, but then we saw how DoJ handled the theft of Florida 2000, didn't we.
Making Them Pay
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Will to Live
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Liberals for Bush
For some crazy reason, liberals (neo and otherwise) are quick to adopt conservatives (neo and fascist) who extol virtuous rhetoric while extending criminal violence. Don't ask me why, it just is.
So as we await the Laredo border fiasco slated to commence on Monday and end on election day, I expect we'll here more from the liberals about our president's long stale remark about the Minutemen being vigilantes, and little about why he has never denounced the Republican National Committee for supporting and organizing the anti-immigrant campaign of which these vigilantes are mere political pawns. So far, not a peep.
To be fair, liberals do listen to NPR and PBS, and can hardly be blamed entirely for their ignorance. Now that the GOP mercenaries are adding their firepower to the National Guard and Border Patrol for the duration of electoral season, I anticipate a liberal groundswell of support for the moderation of Bush and Republican candidates who offer soothing bromides while pocketing GOP cash and seats in Congress.
So as we await the Laredo border fiasco slated to commence on Monday and end on election day, I expect we'll here more from the liberals about our president's long stale remark about the Minutemen being vigilantes, and little about why he has never denounced the Republican National Committee for supporting and organizing the anti-immigrant campaign of which these vigilantes are mere political pawns. So far, not a peep.
To be fair, liberals do listen to NPR and PBS, and can hardly be blamed entirely for their ignorance. Now that the GOP mercenaries are adding their firepower to the National Guard and Border Patrol for the duration of electoral season, I anticipate a liberal groundswell of support for the moderation of Bush and Republican candidates who offer soothing bromides while pocketing GOP cash and seats in Congress.
Friday, September 08, 2006
We Didn't Make This Up
United States Institute of Peace, established and funded by Congress to help prevent and resolve violent international conflicts, has since March facilitated the Iraq Study Group co-chaired by James Baker III and Lee Hamilton that includes former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese III.
The Iraq Study Group is supported by the Center for Strategic and International Studies whose board of trustees includes such notables as Henry Kissinger and Richard Armitage.
Honest to God.
The Iraq Study Group is supported by the Center for Strategic and International Studies whose board of trustees includes such notables as Henry Kissinger and Richard Armitage.
Honest to God.
Ambassadors of Resistance
I was looking at the photo of Gerry Adams laying a wreath on Yasser Arafat's grave today, and recalled a photo of Sinn Fein's president shaking hands with Nelson Mandela. As political leaders of their respective armed struggles of liberation, who were able to make the transition into national statesmen and international ambassadors uniting worldwide resistance to colonialism, they serve as role models to indigenous leaders on all continents.
While not all struggles in the movement for self-determination will take up arms, they have and will continue to experience violent repression by dominant states and cultures. What we can hope for in the tireless efforts of Fourth World freedom fighters like Adams and Mandela today, is that a global awareness and appreciation of the need to be self-governed will somehow override the media-manufactured fear of freedom and hostility to genuine democracy that now pervades the First World airwaves.
While not all struggles in the movement for self-determination will take up arms, they have and will continue to experience violent repression by dominant states and cultures. What we can hope for in the tireless efforts of Fourth World freedom fighters like Adams and Mandela today, is that a global awareness and appreciation of the need to be self-governed will somehow override the media-manufactured fear of freedom and hostility to genuine democracy that now pervades the First World airwaves.
Pardon Me
On the way to the beach yesterday, we listened to Paul Thompson--author of The Terror Timeline--describe the enormous conflicts of interest by members of the 9/11 Commission, as well as recount selected anecdotes about how the commission's director (now Condoleeza Rice's aide) chose who they would interview, who they would not, and what questions they were allowed to ask. The term whitewash came up several times, as did sham, fraud, and coverup.
What did not come up within the limited timeframe of the radio program, however, was that for one distinguished member of the 9/11 Commission, Lee Hamilton--a leading Democrat--this wasn't the first time he'd kept a president of the United States from being impeached for proven high crimes. Not even the first time he'd kept a President Bush from being removed from office.
Lee Hamilton, as some may remember, was--along with Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye--head of the Congressional investigation into Iran-Contra, the criminal enterprise run out of the White House, with then Vice President Bush's participation, to ship advanced missile weaponry to the state of Iran, that was at the time holding American citizens hostage. On Wednesday of this week, house Democrats finally found a way to help house Republicans retroactively legalize President Bush's illegal wiretapping of US citizens opposed to his various criminal enterprises.
What did not come up within the limited timeframe of the radio program, however, was that for one distinguished member of the 9/11 Commission, Lee Hamilton--a leading Democrat--this wasn't the first time he'd kept a president of the United States from being impeached for proven high crimes. Not even the first time he'd kept a President Bush from being removed from office.
Lee Hamilton, as some may remember, was--along with Democratic Senator Daniel Inouye--head of the Congressional investigation into Iran-Contra, the criminal enterprise run out of the White House, with then Vice President Bush's participation, to ship advanced missile weaponry to the state of Iran, that was at the time holding American citizens hostage. On Wednesday of this week, house Democrats finally found a way to help house Republicans retroactively legalize President Bush's illegal wiretapping of US citizens opposed to his various criminal enterprises.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Choosing Sides
For those who need a moral reason to boycott Disneyland and Disney products, Tiny Revolution has this story about how Disney is spending $30 million to support a pro-Bush documentary and $200 million to stop a Michael Moore anti-Bush film.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Alternative to Hopelessness
In his memoir Strangers in the House, Palestinian human rights attorney Raja Shehadeh describes through his family's personal ordeals since the Zionist invasion of 1948, the increasingly sadistic daily violence, humiliations, harassment, and brutal disregard for human rights systematically conducted by the Israeli state against the indigenous population. Reinforcing what we've written previously about Zionism projecting the earlier Jewish pogrom and Holocaust traumas onto the Palestinian people, author Shehadeh recounts the futility of peaceful negotiation over coexistence exemplified by his statesman father, as well as the suicidal yet noble heroism of armed struggle against genocide.
Shehadeh's answer to the seemingly hopeless future for his people in facing down a superpower and its protege is to document and expose the largely hidden ethnic cleansing policies and conduct to the world and its civil institutions. Admittedly only a small part of the overall liberation struggle against US and Israeli hegemony, Shehadeh offers an alternative to hopelessness, perhaps his greatest contribution to the children of Palestine.
Shehadeh's answer to the seemingly hopeless future for his people in facing down a superpower and its protege is to document and expose the largely hidden ethnic cleansing policies and conduct to the world and its civil institutions. Admittedly only a small part of the overall liberation struggle against US and Israeli hegemony, Shehadeh offers an alternative to hopelessness, perhaps his greatest contribution to the children of Palestine.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
When Liberals Go Bad
UFOB provides a handy series on neoliberals gone berserk.
Much like old-time revival preachers, new age hucksters, and Wise Use provocateurs, they invoke their audience to find confirmation in a repentant celebrity (albeit convicted felon for high crimes), and corroboration in an academic who served as inspiration for said felon. You just gotta believe!
As I've remarked before, I'm tempted by pity for born-again neoliberals, but they're so full of diplomatic evangelism--spurred on by their neoliberal projectionists--that they have inadvertently created a teachable moment on the psychoses of neoliberalism. Had they only stuck to their fundie half-way house activities, but alas, like other martyrs to faithful visions, they insist on crucifixion through ridicule. Sadly, they brought this all on themselves.
Their use of scapegoating as a tool of self-promotion aside, I guess their mutual admiration for the new-and-improved Al Gore overshadows any possible concerns over the social damage caused by red-baiting or marginalizing those who characterize their self-destructive behavior as a form of psychosis. And for this alone, I suspect, they will have to be sacrificed in the arena of ideas.
Much like old-time revival preachers, new age hucksters, and Wise Use provocateurs, they invoke their audience to find confirmation in a repentant celebrity (albeit convicted felon for high crimes), and corroboration in an academic who served as inspiration for said felon. You just gotta believe!
As I've remarked before, I'm tempted by pity for born-again neoliberals, but they're so full of diplomatic evangelism--spurred on by their neoliberal projectionists--that they have inadvertently created a teachable moment on the psychoses of neoliberalism. Had they only stuck to their fundie half-way house activities, but alas, like other martyrs to faithful visions, they insist on crucifixion through ridicule. Sadly, they brought this all on themselves.
Their use of scapegoating as a tool of self-promotion aside, I guess their mutual admiration for the new-and-improved Al Gore overshadows any possible concerns over the social damage caused by red-baiting or marginalizing those who characterize their self-destructive behavior as a form of psychosis. And for this alone, I suspect, they will have to be sacrificed in the arena of ideas.
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Someone Like You
As I've written about previously, fascism requires the assent of the populace and the collaboration of ostensible opponents. But perhaps more importantly, it requires time for its perverted ideas to develop in the minds of the populace, time to follow a progression of ideas that begins with the marginilization of other ideas and the people who believe them.
Once marginilization has succeeded in establishing that these other people's ideas are less valued, even dangerous, the ostracizing can proceed to step two--demonization. Through the process of demonizing, the views and ways of life of the already marginalized become a perceived threat to those of the dominant culture. This fear, real or unfounded, then becomes the basis for step three, or, the final solution.
The final solution, of course, is extermination. It doesn't have to be carried out enmasse, or by government officials; it can be just as well accomplished by vigilantes. In fact, a few seemingly random assaults, malicious harassments, and murders can go a long way in silencing dissent and stemming participation in public affairs--perhaps more so than systematic purges by the state.
The important thing to remember, though, is that the progression from marginalize to demonize to exterminate is begun by acceptance of the opinion of someone you trust, someone like you, someone who expresses beliefs you share in common. Neoliberals start unsuspecting consumers down this relay, hand them off to neoconservatives, who in turn leave them at the doorstep of fascists.
The only way to stop this process of social disintegration is to nip it in the neoliberal bud.
Once marginilization has succeeded in establishing that these other people's ideas are less valued, even dangerous, the ostracizing can proceed to step two--demonization. Through the process of demonizing, the views and ways of life of the already marginalized become a perceived threat to those of the dominant culture. This fear, real or unfounded, then becomes the basis for step three, or, the final solution.
The final solution, of course, is extermination. It doesn't have to be carried out enmasse, or by government officials; it can be just as well accomplished by vigilantes. In fact, a few seemingly random assaults, malicious harassments, and murders can go a long way in silencing dissent and stemming participation in public affairs--perhaps more so than systematic purges by the state.
The important thing to remember, though, is that the progression from marginalize to demonize to exterminate is begun by acceptance of the opinion of someone you trust, someone like you, someone who expresses beliefs you share in common. Neoliberals start unsuspecting consumers down this relay, hand them off to neoconservatives, who in turn leave them at the doorstep of fascists.
The only way to stop this process of social disintegration is to nip it in the neoliberal bud.
Mills Update
Long time readers might recall the saga of Professor Mills. Some might wonder whatever happened to this valiant instructor of theatre arts. We're happy to report that the good professor, while no longer teaching, has apparently come to terms with his premature retirement brought on as retribution for his challenge to bureaucratic corruption.
Alas, Perry Mills--like so many others who've faced down the administrative system of governance that destroys creativity and free thinking throughout our land--has gotten on with his life of forced retirement. Perhaps, in time, he can take solace in the great works of his many distinguished former students who continue to garner national awards and acclaim. Maybe he already has.
Alas, Perry Mills--like so many others who've faced down the administrative system of governance that destroys creativity and free thinking throughout our land--has gotten on with his life of forced retirement. Perhaps, in time, he can take solace in the great works of his many distinguished former students who continue to garner national awards and acclaim. Maybe he already has.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
No Artificial Ingredients
Part of the crucial role of winning the populace away from elite-brokered politics is providing an appropriate alternative narrative. Differences in consciousness, education, and outlook make that easier said than done.
Recent discussions featured here lately illustrate that absent a shared experience in public affairs, one that includes a common sense of threat and shared fate, it is difficult at best to integrate around a mutual sense of identity. This observation holds equally true for the relationship between conventional liberal Democrats and those who demand total social inclusion, as it does between these liberals and Republican conservatives.
Acknowledging the vital role of authentic communication in the current process of social disintegration and hopefully future reintegration around common values, necessitates the abandonment of artificial means of persuasion so abundant in the field of advertising and politics at present. If we want our relations to be more genuine, our understandings must likewise be less synthetic.
Recent discussions featured here lately illustrate that absent a shared experience in public affairs, one that includes a common sense of threat and shared fate, it is difficult at best to integrate around a mutual sense of identity. This observation holds equally true for the relationship between conventional liberal Democrats and those who demand total social inclusion, as it does between these liberals and Republican conservatives.
Acknowledging the vital role of authentic communication in the current process of social disintegration and hopefully future reintegration around common values, necessitates the abandonment of artificial means of persuasion so abundant in the field of advertising and politics at present. If we want our relations to be more genuine, our understandings must likewise be less synthetic.
Friday, September 01, 2006
NPR Promotes Vigilantes
Devil's Game
If his book Devil's Game is anything like his radio interview yesterday, author Robert Dreyfuss has a best-seller on his hands. The clarity and sobriety he brings to the often confusing history of the Middle East, and the reckless US policy that has played such a major role in its demise, is long overdue. We hope he sells a million.
Endurance
Living here on the coast of Northern California, good weather is something we come to expect, but some days are so perfect it's hard not to feel especially blessed. Yesterday, walking the shoreline of Stinson Beach while our dog and local kids played in the surf and pelicans dove for sardines offshore, was one of those perfectly placid days. Waves lazily rolling in from the Pacific Ocean, barely a noticeable breeze, and the fog bank hanging far enough out to give a clear view of the horizon.
Having recently read a post from my weblog friend in Gaza--another coastal location--I thought about her laments at not being able to swim or sunbathe or picnic or eat sardines this summer, due to the Israeli gunships and gunboats shelling her community daily. Absorbing the natural peace and quiet on our blissful stroll, I also reflected on the stress she and her daughter live under as bombs explode and buildings collapse at night around their small apartment overlooking the beach they cannot enjoy.
As a physician with the International Red Crescent, Dr. Mona El-Farra has an enormous amount of responsibility and sadness in her daily work with the injured and traumatized at the hospital there in her hometown, but somehow it was the thought of there being no relief available for her, no down time, no rest and relaxation, that stuck in my head this glorious morning before Labor Day weekend. And to think she's lived with this her entire life.
Having recently read a post from my weblog friend in Gaza--another coastal location--I thought about her laments at not being able to swim or sunbathe or picnic or eat sardines this summer, due to the Israeli gunships and gunboats shelling her community daily. Absorbing the natural peace and quiet on our blissful stroll, I also reflected on the stress she and her daughter live under as bombs explode and buildings collapse at night around their small apartment overlooking the beach they cannot enjoy.
As a physician with the International Red Crescent, Dr. Mona El-Farra has an enormous amount of responsibility and sadness in her daily work with the injured and traumatized at the hospital there in her hometown, but somehow it was the thought of there being no relief available for her, no down time, no rest and relaxation, that stuck in my head this glorious morning before Labor Day weekend. And to think she's lived with this her entire life.
