Thursday, April 30, 2009
Vancouver Vatican
The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada invites the Pope to assist in returning the bodies of the 50,000 aboriginal children who died in Catholic, Anglican and United boarding schools. The indigenous tribunal is also asking that the Vatican help in bringing Catholic perpetrators of rape, torture and murder against these children to justice. The tribunal meets this summer in Vancouver.
Ups and Downs
John Robb discusses system failures and societal resilience.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Absence of the Sacred
In his book The Globalisation of Poverty, Michel Chossudovsky exposes UN agencies like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank as part of the credit cartel subverting state sovereignty and undermining indigenous autonomy. I thought about this book the other day when reading the declaration by the Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change, simultaneously noting the divisive tactics deployed by UN agencies in manipulating media in order to protect their carbon market trading scheme from the moral sanction imposed by aboriginal societies.
While corrupting states and corroding nations is a commonplace occurrence at the UN, crushing them through coercive measures such as those described in Chossudovsky's book are not well known outside activist-scholar milieus. What the World Indigenous Peoples' Movement is likely to find, is that the genocidal policies of the past by UN member states have now been reinforced not only by the present economic austerity measures of globalization, but are being devised for the future under the rubric of responding to the climate change crisis as well.
What the indigenous delegates advancing on the UN might be surprised to find, is just how few friends they have when it comes to advancing their agenda of sanity and sustainability in an institution organized to maintain the privileges of tyrannical powers. When the autochthonous peoples enter the labyrinth of the UN system, they will indeed be enveloped in the absence of the sacred.
While corrupting states and corroding nations is a commonplace occurrence at the UN, crushing them through coercive measures such as those described in Chossudovsky's book are not well known outside activist-scholar milieus. What the World Indigenous Peoples' Movement is likely to find, is that the genocidal policies of the past by UN member states have now been reinforced not only by the present economic austerity measures of globalization, but are being devised for the future under the rubric of responding to the climate change crisis as well.
What the indigenous delegates advancing on the UN might be surprised to find, is just how few friends they have when it comes to advancing their agenda of sanity and sustainability in an institution organized to maintain the privileges of tyrannical powers. When the autochthonous peoples enter the labyrinth of the UN system, they will indeed be enveloped in the absence of the sacred.
Monday, April 27, 2009
No Boondoggle Too Big
Tom Burghart reports on the FBI/FEMA/NSA collaboration in preventing anti-war protestors and journalists from communicating with presidential candidates last summer. While this is not entirely new news, the fact that military spy satellites were used to intercept phone and e-mail between activists and journalists lends an intriguing perspective on our national security state. Indeed, it only proves that for the ruling class, there is absolutely no boondoggle too big.
Stake Through Heart
Helen Redmond argues that the only way to make health care available to all Americans is by driving a stake through the heart of the insurance industry, and by reference through the heart of the sell-outs in Congress. We agree, and would only add that this likely requires dismantling much of the corrupt bureaucracy in Washington. A cursory look at the problem lends us to believe at least half of the federal bureaucracy is a complete waste of our money, while the other half is mostly self-serving.
Fighting REDD
World Indigenous leaders, meeting in Alaska, declare war on REDD, the UN World Bank Ponzi scheme for polluters.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Following the Money
The foiled assassination plot on President Morales of Bolivia reveals the unsavory aspects of transnational right-wing terrorism. Earlier reports linking right-wing terrorism in Bolivia to US officials and US government funding, should put the new US president on notice.
Canada in the Dock
The International Human Rights Tribunal into Genocide in Canada announces a public forum and inquiry into RCMP, church and state complicity in the death and disappearance of aboriginal peoples. The forum and inquiry, to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia this summer, will be filmed, broadcast, and forwarded to international human rights organizations and authorities.
Foreseeing the Unforeseen
One's point of view, of course, determines how one sees social dynamics developing. Goals, objectives, and resilience depend on this perspective. The attendant timeframes adjust to this reality.
Unlike the other elements of the TIMN structure, particular instances of the tribal form are not transitory; they can be extinguished, but otherwise they persist. In the case of the indigenous of the Americas, the referenced timeframes are in centuries. From this point of view, campaigns are part of a multi-generational movement, which in turn comprises a brief period of their political continuity and societal endurance.
As we witness throughout the world, the coming to terms between stateless nations and nation-states involves numerous adaptations toward autonomy, independence, and self-determination, each unique to its circumstances. Part of that accommodation is negotiating new relationships from positions of mutual respect; where respect is lacking, conflict continues.
Modern tribal institutions, and global tribal networks, are now prepared to engage from a position of moral and intellectual strength with the institutions of states and globalization. The only missing element, is indigenous media, which will in time make their invisibility disappear.
When that happens, unforeseen dynamics are likely to follow.
Unlike the other elements of the TIMN structure, particular instances of the tribal form are not transitory; they can be extinguished, but otherwise they persist. In the case of the indigenous of the Americas, the referenced timeframes are in centuries. From this point of view, campaigns are part of a multi-generational movement, which in turn comprises a brief period of their political continuity and societal endurance.
As we witness throughout the world, the coming to terms between stateless nations and nation-states involves numerous adaptations toward autonomy, independence, and self-determination, each unique to its circumstances. Part of that accommodation is negotiating new relationships from positions of mutual respect; where respect is lacking, conflict continues.
Modern tribal institutions, and global tribal networks, are now prepared to engage from a position of moral and intellectual strength with the institutions of states and globalization. The only missing element, is indigenous media, which will in time make their invisibility disappear.
When that happens, unforeseen dynamics are likely to follow.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Pretense for Genocide
Tamils Against Genocide legal counsel Bruce Fein submitted to US Attorney General Holder a 12-count indictment against the top command of Sri Lanka's security forces. The two named, one an American citizen and the other an American resident alien, are accused of using counterterrorism as a pretense for genocide. TAG and world human rights organizations say the atrocities in Sri Lanka by the Buddhist majority Sinhalese against the Hindu/Christian minority Tamil rival those of Serbia against Bosnia and Kosova.
A New Latin America
The Real News Network examines a new Latin America, governed by leaders whose families suffered at the hands of US-backed dictators, and are demanding an end to US interference in the lives of their countries.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Stateless Nations
Eurominority, the website of stateless nations and minority peoples in Europe, has an interactive map featuring Europe's ethnic, national, linguistic, and cultural minorities.
A Different Way of Life
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly, President Evo Morales of Bolivia outlined the Rights of Mother Earth. Ending capitalism, says Morales, is the only way to end the planet's destruction. By listening to the indigenous peoples of the world, he notes, the dominant countries can learn how to begin a different way of life.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Cat Out of Bag
The AIPAC spy scandal, implicating top Democrats in Congress, gets juicier by the minute. As Tom Burghart reports, obstruction of justice and payoffs may lead to indictments. With the cat now out of the bag, Attorney General Holder may not be able to put it back in--no matter how badly President Obama wants him to.
Taking Control
A few years ago, W. Ron Allen, former president of the National Congress of American Indians, remarked, "Tribes must come to the realization that the federal government will never fully live up to its obligations to our peoples and that we must take control of our destinies through our own resourcefulness". Examining the unbroken chain of broken treaties, that is probably sage advice.
What that means in the present, is that in order to survive the breakdown of modern states and collapse of the market system, Indian tribes (and indigenous nations worldwide) will have to strengthen their own institutions. It also means they will have to assume management of all their lands and resources, a power of governance presently usurped in large part by federal agencies.
To take such bold measures in the face of tyrannical organizations like the United States of America and the United Nations, means that American Indians and indigenous peoples everywhere also need to develop and nurture their international solidarity networks. When you're taking on the giants of globalization, it's nice to have a few friends.
What that means in the present, is that in order to survive the breakdown of modern states and collapse of the market system, Indian tribes (and indigenous nations worldwide) will have to strengthen their own institutions. It also means they will have to assume management of all their lands and resources, a power of governance presently usurped in large part by federal agencies.
To take such bold measures in the face of tyrannical organizations like the United States of America and the United Nations, means that American Indians and indigenous peoples everywhere also need to develop and nurture their international solidarity networks. When you're taking on the giants of globalization, it's nice to have a few friends.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Lethal Horrors
Jenn Hollinger notes the lethal horrors of legalized prostitution, as well as some effective means of reducing demand in the slave trade of women and children for sex.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
The Price of Forgiveness
In the current episode of Northwest Indian News, Anglican Diocese Reverend Cruickshank admits the Anglican Church of Canada, United Church of Canada, and the Catholic Church in Canada are guilty of psychologically torturing, physically beating, and sexually molesting children placed in their care by the Canadian government under the Indian residential school system that existed for 150 years up to the 1980s. In his talk, Reverend Cruickshank asks for forgiveness as part of a truth and reconciliation process initiated by the Canadian government.
What the Reverend does not mention, however, is that when these crimes against humanity were revealed by one of the pastors, the United Church of Canada fired him, harassed his wife and children, forced the University of British Columbia to expel him, and used the RCMP to threaten him. Since then, the defrocked minister, Kevin Annett, has produced an award-winning documentary film on genocide in Canada, including the revelation of mass graves where 50,000 Indian children were buried by church officials after their murders.
The abuse and murder of thousands of Indian children is a fact that both the churches and the Canadian government have worked diligently to cover up, and apparently hope to sweep under the rug through a quick and fraudulent Truth Commission, run by the government, to exclude further exposure of official wrongdoing. Given some of the crimes were committed by people still alive and influential, we suspect the speaking tour of Reverend Cruickshank and others is an attempt to outflank the victims' families demand for an investigation by an international tribunal, and prosecution of those responsible.
What the Reverend does not mention, however, is that when these crimes against humanity were revealed by one of the pastors, the United Church of Canada fired him, harassed his wife and children, forced the University of British Columbia to expel him, and used the RCMP to threaten him. Since then, the defrocked minister, Kevin Annett, has produced an award-winning documentary film on genocide in Canada, including the revelation of mass graves where 50,000 Indian children were buried by church officials after their murders.
The abuse and murder of thousands of Indian children is a fact that both the churches and the Canadian government have worked diligently to cover up, and apparently hope to sweep under the rug through a quick and fraudulent Truth Commission, run by the government, to exclude further exposure of official wrongdoing. Given some of the crimes were committed by people still alive and influential, we suspect the speaking tour of Reverend Cruickshank and others is an attempt to outflank the victims' families demand for an investigation by an international tribunal, and prosecution of those responsible.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Heady Times
I knew that Hunter S. Thompson wrote for Rolling Stone when it was based in San Francisco, but I didn't know FRONTLINE producer and UC Berkeley journalism professor Lowell Bergman did, too. Heady times, as they say.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Interculturality and Mental Health
Noting that many westerners are currently engaged in an erratic search for solutions to their mental, moral, existential or spiritual suffering, the international conference on traditional medicine -- to be held in Peru in June -- has some interesting things to say about maintaining mental health in today's world.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Obama's Union-Busting
Obama's Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced plans to take power away from community-elected school boards and place control over their children's indoctrination in the hands of political bosses beholden to corporations. Truthout observes that this plan is a key strategy of the Obama Administration in busting teacher unions.
No Nomads
Amnesty International looks at the institutionalized discrimination and widespread violence toward Roma in Europe, where such things as anti-nomad laws are routinely used to harass Roma communities.
Dismantling Racism
Tim Coulter of the Indian Law Resource Center talks about dismantling the racism of US Indian law. Part of that, says Montana Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau, begins with teaching an accurate history of US-Indian relations.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
There Will Be Blood
Pepe Escobar at The Real News Network examines the last stand of the ruling class in America.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Into Disaster
A world conference of climate change scientists this week warned that the G-20 politicians are not leading the world to a low-carbon economy, but rather, by endorsing the obsolete economic model that brought on the crisis, are steering the world into disaster.
Manufacturing Monsters
Bruce Wilson continues his series on the New Apostolic Militancy, including a video clip from a mainstream Christian sickened by the evil enterprise of manufacturing monsters for global conquest.
Monday, April 13, 2009
War Against Equality
In this multi-part interview, The Real News Network examines the thirty-year war in Sri Lanka, and locates the conflict within the global war against equality waged by the major states to prevent self-determination. As a case study in how modern states repress dissent and subvert negotiation, Sri Lanka's violence against the Tamil people mirrors that of other dominant societies in denying human rights to indigenous nations. As the series denotes, the war on terror is in reality a war on human dignity.
Living Memory
Kevin Kelly writes about mindful intelligence.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Rude Awakening
For those who recall the unconstitutional spying, detention, and harassment of anti-war activists by the Bush Administration, Tom Burghart has a disturbing bit of news: Obama is worse.
By crushing the suit against the National Security Agency for admittedly illegal spying on innocent Americans, the Obama Administration has given the NSA (and the Bush/Cheney criminals) a free pass to continue undermining democracy. In case some might wonder why this matters, the fact is that no phone calls or e-mails can be made without the government knowing who, what, where, and why; if you happen to be a pro-democracy group opposed to US policy, or an investigative journalist looking into criminal wrongdoing by government officials, Obama's Department of Justice is no friend of yours.
Anyone who thinks these guys can't ruin your life is in for a rude awakening.
By crushing the suit against the National Security Agency for admittedly illegal spying on innocent Americans, the Obama Administration has given the NSA (and the Bush/Cheney criminals) a free pass to continue undermining democracy. In case some might wonder why this matters, the fact is that no phone calls or e-mails can be made without the government knowing who, what, where, and why; if you happen to be a pro-democracy group opposed to US policy, or an investigative journalist looking into criminal wrongdoing by government officials, Obama's Department of Justice is no friend of yours.
Anyone who thinks these guys can't ruin your life is in for a rude awakening.
Keeping Up Appearances
As anyone who has observed the machinations of the United Nations knows, the UN is not a democratic organization; a handful of countries have more power than the rest combined. Still, this group of victors from World War II has to keep up appearances, and paying lip service to such things as democracy and human rights serves its purpose.
But in condemning bloodshed by ignorant savages and backward states, this elite group of countries has to be careful to hide the fact it is they themselves who are most often responsible for arming and instigating conflict. Making money off genocide is bad for public relations.
With the advent of independent media and Internet communications, covering up their hypocrisies is more of a challenge, so what they can no longer hide, they now distort. Not that psychological warfare disguised as news is new, but the presentation and tone of official blogs -- and other deceptive devices used by the powerful -- has recently been used to good effect in luring unsuspecting young people into complacency, even enthusiastic support for anti-democratic initiatives by UN agencies and member states. A good time to revisit the principles of psywar.
But in condemning bloodshed by ignorant savages and backward states, this elite group of countries has to be careful to hide the fact it is they themselves who are most often responsible for arming and instigating conflict. Making money off genocide is bad for public relations.
With the advent of independent media and Internet communications, covering up their hypocrisies is more of a challenge, so what they can no longer hide, they now distort. Not that psychological warfare disguised as news is new, but the presentation and tone of official blogs -- and other deceptive devices used by the powerful -- has recently been used to good effect in luring unsuspecting young people into complacency, even enthusiastic support for anti-democratic initiatives by UN agencies and member states. A good time to revisit the principles of psywar.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Genocide in Canada
Following on the heels of condemnation by the United Nations Human Rights Council last month, the national committee of friends and relatives of disappeared Indian children in Canada has called for a boycott of the 2010 Olympics in British Columbia. Two years this month since the national press in Canada reported that over half of these Indian children died in church-run residential schools, the government of Canada has yet to launch an investigation into the matter. Families of the thousands of children kidnapped by government officials and turned over to missionaries for brainwashing and torture have asked for an international tribunal into the crime of genocide in Canada.
Demilitarising Kashmir
Whether the once autonomous region of Kashmir gains independence or not, the non-violent strategy employed by the Muslim state signals a possibility of peaceful coexistence with both Pakistan and India. Key to that possibility, say the Kashmiris, is the demilitarisation of the region, a topic Kashmir's ambassadors are now taking up with the US and the EU. Despite the rocky relationship with the UN, most Kashmiris now support an internationally-brokered end to sixty years of occupation.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Serious Fraud
What do you get when the Saudi government gets caught blackmailing the British government and turns to the former head of the FBI for help? A spot on FRONTLINE.
Tuesday's FRONTLINE special "Black Money" about corruption in the arms industry explains more about why wars are invented than any government propaganda or NGO report. The theatre of war is an expensive and profitable production; justice and the rule of law rarely enter into it.
To slay this monster, we don't need a department of peace, we need an American equivalent of Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
Tuesday's FRONTLINE special "Black Money" about corruption in the arms industry explains more about why wars are invented than any government propaganda or NGO report. The theatre of war is an expensive and profitable production; justice and the rule of law rarely enter into it.
To slay this monster, we don't need a department of peace, we need an American equivalent of Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Attack Pack
While independent military experts agree the US military budget could be cut in half with no loss in national security, the Obama Administration has proposed increasing the military budget by $20 billion over that of the Bush Administration.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
The Christian Problem
Religious hysteria expressed as political insanity is not something new, but its merger with political elites could again pose a problem for public health and safety. Indeed, if European history tells us anything, it's that sometimes the only way to prevent Christian fanatics from completely disrupting society is to kill them. In the United States of today, where the apostolic Christian evangelicals increasingly manage to hijack politics while infiltrating the police and military, that solution might also prove problematic.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Looting with Obama
The Washington Post unveils the latest scheme by the Obama Administration to help their private equity friends evade regulation and avoid accountability to Congress for the taxpayer-funded bailout. By handing his hedge fund comrades a double dip into the US Treasury -- both dips without any limit on bonuses -- Obama has come through big time for Wall Street and the American aristocracy.
At this rate, looting with Obama may soon surpass the corruption of Bush/Cheney.
At this rate, looting with Obama may soon surpass the corruption of Bush/Cheney.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Inherent Sacredness
Mandan-Hidatsa law professor Ray Cross discusses the inherent sacredness of the American landscape, and how acknowledging that relationship today portends the possibility of a healthier, stronger America in the future.
Essential Values
Salish Indian speaker Joyce Silverthorne discusses maintaining essential values of traditional culture in today's world.
