Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Ecotourism
Ecotourism managed right can be a boon to indigenous communities, but the decision to capitalize on conservation has to be their own. Otherwise, tourism is just another invasion of indigenous privacy.
In the United States, ecotourism on indigenous lands created our most magnificent national parks, as well as sacred site desecration and traffic nightmares. Some tribes, however, are now managing tourism in their territories in a more respectful, holistic manner.
In the Mexican state of Chiapas, ecotourism on Indian ejidos has spawned a new wave of violence by the state against indigenous collectives resistant to the hotels and freeways the industry plans for their homeland. In order to divide the indigenous communities, the Mexican government issued individual title to Indians co-opted by greed, and in turn has armed these title holders so they can attack collectives.
In the end, ecotourism is neither good nor bad per se; as usual, it's the process of deciding that matters. When the process is designed to exclude or demonize indigenous opponents, then violence and misery will ensue.
As the ejidos of Mexico struggle to conserve their identity and resources within a corrupt and violent narcostate, tourists and investors must decide for themselves what role indigenous land tenure and human rights should play in their decisions. There are no neutral positions.
In the United States, ecotourism on indigenous lands created our most magnificent national parks, as well as sacred site desecration and traffic nightmares. Some tribes, however, are now managing tourism in their territories in a more respectful, holistic manner.
In the Mexican state of Chiapas, ecotourism on Indian ejidos has spawned a new wave of violence by the state against indigenous collectives resistant to the hotels and freeways the industry plans for their homeland. In order to divide the indigenous communities, the Mexican government issued individual title to Indians co-opted by greed, and in turn has armed these title holders so they can attack collectives.
In the end, ecotourism is neither good nor bad per se; as usual, it's the process of deciding that matters. When the process is designed to exclude or demonize indigenous opponents, then violence and misery will ensue.
As the ejidos of Mexico struggle to conserve their identity and resources within a corrupt and violent narcostate, tourists and investors must decide for themselves what role indigenous land tenure and human rights should play in their decisions. There are no neutral positions.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
We Will Know It
In 2003, there was a flurry of new voices online exchanging ideas on blogs. Initially a response to the new war in Central Asia, it quickly evolved into informal political science seminars that went on intensively through 2006. I haven't seen anything like it since.
What these discussions accomplished through the newly-discovered medium of weblogs, was elevate the level of analysis to an academic standard, while simultaneously maintaining its popular accessibility. No mean feat, given the total absence of resources for our efforts.
The significance of these uncensored conversations was twofold: a new milieu of intellectuals -- many self-educated -- established a network for sharing information and analysis, and those who engaged intentionally leveraged themselves into positions on a conceptual plateau where they could more easily observe social change, as well as more effectively intervene in social conflict. Others created niches for themselves where they could contribute their technical or imaginative skills to the rapidly-evolving humanitarian movement.
Conversations like those are difficult to sustain without time to reflect, and I suspect that is what some have been up to in the meantime. Meanwhile, new media like Real News and GRIT TV has catapulted some of these new voices into international venues, where they can bring their ideas to bear on such things as sovereignty and solidarity.
While it may seem to many that they exist in isolation -- especially as social safety nets unravel -- the new milieus we so carefully created during the first decade of this millenium are ready and willing to organize community actions. What they lack is leadership, and that is not something we can predict or determine. When it emerges, we will know it.
What these discussions accomplished through the newly-discovered medium of weblogs, was elevate the level of analysis to an academic standard, while simultaneously maintaining its popular accessibility. No mean feat, given the total absence of resources for our efforts.
The significance of these uncensored conversations was twofold: a new milieu of intellectuals -- many self-educated -- established a network for sharing information and analysis, and those who engaged intentionally leveraged themselves into positions on a conceptual plateau where they could more easily observe social change, as well as more effectively intervene in social conflict. Others created niches for themselves where they could contribute their technical or imaginative skills to the rapidly-evolving humanitarian movement.
Conversations like those are difficult to sustain without time to reflect, and I suspect that is what some have been up to in the meantime. Meanwhile, new media like Real News and GRIT TV has catapulted some of these new voices into international venues, where they can bring their ideas to bear on such things as sovereignty and solidarity.
While it may seem to many that they exist in isolation -- especially as social safety nets unravel -- the new milieus we so carefully created during the first decade of this millenium are ready and willing to organize community actions. What they lack is leadership, and that is not something we can predict or determine. When it emerges, we will know it.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Go to Commercial
Different societies and cultures respond to crisis in different ways. As Tokyo tries to downplay the threat of nuclear meltdown, the German Green Party has mobilized an anti-nuclear campaign that may land it the next premier of their country. In the United States, the federal government is busy figuring out how to spin its way out of the recent exposure of corrupt relations between nuclear oversight agencies and the industry they are supposed to regulate.
While we wait to see if Fukushima becomes the next Chernobyl, you might enjoy this guest article by my friend Juli in Atlanta. We both grew up next to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington state. Prior to Chernobyl, Hanford was the most contaminated site on earth.
Since Native Americans have born the brunt of the nuclear industry here, it might be wise for us to hear what they have to say as well. This talk by Russell Jim is also related to Hanford. Russell is a fellow and board member of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, and is in charge of the negotiations between the Yakama Indian Nation and the US Government to clean up Hanford, the largest Superfund site in the country.
Indigenous peoples in Canada also live on the front lines of the battle for survival. The film documentary Uranium lays it all out in detail.
When I was in college in the early 1970s, I did research on nuclear-related carcinogenic medical statistics for the people who ultimately stopped the proliferation of plants in Washington state. Later in that decade it was revealed that two of the plants, halted after construction, had life-threatening structural deficiencies due to fraudulent x-rays submitted by the contractor in order to omit the required steel reinforcement for the massive concrete structures and thence pocket substantial profits on the bid.
Later yet, watching the movie China Syndrome, I was reminded of this simple fact about nuclear energy: it's a boondoggle for heavy industry at taxpayers' expense -- always has been -- and with that amount of public funds on the table, it will always attract crooks.
Five years ago on NPR, I listened to a nuclear sceptic debate a nuclear apologist, and learned about both improved technology and the still-unsolved waste storage dilemma, as well as nuclear power's unavoidable vulnerability to sabotage. I also learned that each plant in the US requires a billion dollars annual government subsidy just to operate, waste disposal and management issues aside. And I almost learned about a recent failure of the most modern of designs built in France before NPR's host scrambled to commercial--a story covered later by Mother Jones.
While we wait to see if Fukushima becomes the next Chernobyl, you might enjoy this guest article by my friend Juli in Atlanta. We both grew up next to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in southeast Washington state. Prior to Chernobyl, Hanford was the most contaminated site on earth.
Since Native Americans have born the brunt of the nuclear industry here, it might be wise for us to hear what they have to say as well. This talk by Russell Jim is also related to Hanford. Russell is a fellow and board member of the Center for World Indigenous Studies, and is in charge of the negotiations between the Yakama Indian Nation and the US Government to clean up Hanford, the largest Superfund site in the country.
Indigenous peoples in Canada also live on the front lines of the battle for survival. The film documentary Uranium lays it all out in detail.
When I was in college in the early 1970s, I did research on nuclear-related carcinogenic medical statistics for the people who ultimately stopped the proliferation of plants in Washington state. Later in that decade it was revealed that two of the plants, halted after construction, had life-threatening structural deficiencies due to fraudulent x-rays submitted by the contractor in order to omit the required steel reinforcement for the massive concrete structures and thence pocket substantial profits on the bid.
Later yet, watching the movie China Syndrome, I was reminded of this simple fact about nuclear energy: it's a boondoggle for heavy industry at taxpayers' expense -- always has been -- and with that amount of public funds on the table, it will always attract crooks.
Five years ago on NPR, I listened to a nuclear sceptic debate a nuclear apologist, and learned about both improved technology and the still-unsolved waste storage dilemma, as well as nuclear power's unavoidable vulnerability to sabotage. I also learned that each plant in the US requires a billion dollars annual government subsidy just to operate, waste disposal and management issues aside. And I almost learned about a recent failure of the most modern of designs built in France before NPR's host scrambled to commercial--a story covered later by Mother Jones.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Into the Fire
Real News looks at the largest concentration of radioactivity on the planet, the spent nuclear fuel at hundreds of sites in the United States. With the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission deeply in bed with the nuclear industry, this accident waiting to happen won’t be addressed without Congressional action. Unfortunately, Congress is committed to making this public health hazard worse.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Dominance
How many times have you heard people say nothing ever changes? How often does this fatalistic attitude serve as an excuse to be lazy, cowardly, or otherwise self-indulgent, rather than responsible, upright good citizens? How does this philosophy enable dominance?
I've written extensively about applying the public health model to societal maintenance -- a system where contributions include regularized research, education, organizing, and community action -- but it seems the notion of social engagement requires more than a mechanical formula for some. Motivation, in a world that is often overwhelming, appears to be a threshold too high for many. Dominance, in this frame of mind, is accepted as part of unchangeable reality, and thus left unchallenged. Compliance is the convenient alternative.
But let's examine the underlying hypothesis. Has nothing ever changed? Do we not have such hard-earned liberties as civil and human rights? Do we not have fought-for equalities like Social Security and Medicare? Do we not have labored-over fraternities such as environmental and world indigenous peoples movements? Did these not all come about as a result of unified challenges to dominance? Through solidarity?
Leaving aside the rhetorical, humankind has met many challenges in overcoming dominance in the economic, political, and personal realms. We haven't always won the battles, but in the war of ideas, we have secured a place for consciousness of the human condition. Building on this achievement may require diligence, but what doesn't? Should we devote less to the health of our society than we do to the health of our families?
Dominance -- be it based on gender, race, state or religion -- is a disease, one that threatens life itself. Rooting it out in our schools, our governments, and in our relations with others, is a task that can be accomplished. I've seen it happen. But like public health or personal health, social health has to be maintained. If we rest on our laurels, or those of others, it will rapidly erode.
I've written extensively about applying the public health model to societal maintenance -- a system where contributions include regularized research, education, organizing, and community action -- but it seems the notion of social engagement requires more than a mechanical formula for some. Motivation, in a world that is often overwhelming, appears to be a threshold too high for many. Dominance, in this frame of mind, is accepted as part of unchangeable reality, and thus left unchallenged. Compliance is the convenient alternative.
But let's examine the underlying hypothesis. Has nothing ever changed? Do we not have such hard-earned liberties as civil and human rights? Do we not have fought-for equalities like Social Security and Medicare? Do we not have labored-over fraternities such as environmental and world indigenous peoples movements? Did these not all come about as a result of unified challenges to dominance? Through solidarity?
Leaving aside the rhetorical, humankind has met many challenges in overcoming dominance in the economic, political, and personal realms. We haven't always won the battles, but in the war of ideas, we have secured a place for consciousness of the human condition. Building on this achievement may require diligence, but what doesn't? Should we devote less to the health of our society than we do to the health of our families?
Dominance -- be it based on gender, race, state or religion -- is a disease, one that threatens life itself. Rooting it out in our schools, our governments, and in our relations with others, is a task that can be accomplished. I've seen it happen. But like public health or personal health, social health has to be maintained. If we rest on our laurels, or those of others, it will rapidly erode.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Our Condolences
Watching the chaos across North Africa and the Middle East, I was surprised to read that a military jet from Qatar was shot down while bombing Libya. As host to CENTCOM, the Qatari government is deeply in bed with the United States armed forces, but direct participation may come back to haunt this Persian Gulf oil emirate. Especially if the destabilization of the region results in religiously radical regimes replacing some of the dictatorships removed by rebels and NATO.
In the months to come, as we examine the authenticity of the uprisings -- looking at such things as narrative manipulation and possible CIA involvement -- we will be challenged to consider the wisdom of exacerbating widespread social disruption in societies unprepared to implement democratic change. Part of that analysis will include the background role of oil companies and other war profiteers in determining which factions get US, EU, and UN aid.
Unlike our fiascoes in Central Asia, we don't have manufactured monsters to serve as bogeymen, so we're unlikely to see a repeat of such infamous performances as Colin Powell's con job at the UN Security Council, or the clumsily staged toppling of statues by Iraqi Pentagon extras flown in to Baghdad for photo ops, but we will undoubtedly be treated to some silly theater by Secretary Clinton and President Obama. For all the innocents inevitably betrayed, we offer our condolences in advance.
In the months to come, as we examine the authenticity of the uprisings -- looking at such things as narrative manipulation and possible CIA involvement -- we will be challenged to consider the wisdom of exacerbating widespread social disruption in societies unprepared to implement democratic change. Part of that analysis will include the background role of oil companies and other war profiteers in determining which factions get US, EU, and UN aid.
Unlike our fiascoes in Central Asia, we don't have manufactured monsters to serve as bogeymen, so we're unlikely to see a repeat of such infamous performances as Colin Powell's con job at the UN Security Council, or the clumsily staged toppling of statues by Iraqi Pentagon extras flown in to Baghdad for photo ops, but we will undoubtedly be treated to some silly theater by Secretary Clinton and President Obama. For all the innocents inevitably betrayed, we offer our condolences in advance.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Never What They Seem
Americans, as we see time and time again, are incredibly naive about world politics. By and large, they accept government propaganda, no matter how absurd. They bought the Cold War script, the drug war script, and the War on Terror script, mostly without a second thought. They even bought the Hope and Change script, electing a Wall Street toady to fight as their champion against the powers that be.
Apparently, American gullibility knows no bounds. As evidenced by the popularity of the color-coded revolutions myth, they enthusiastically embrace the notion that a few thousand people armed with nothing but iphones can topple dictators, replacing them with authentic democracies due solely to their sincerity and good wishes.
Of course, power vacuums are filled by those who are prepared, not to mention connected. And when you're talking about reorganizing a society of tens or hundreds of millions of people, those connections -- be they economic, religious, or military -- count. How many times have we seen righteous indignation betrayed by notorious factions in cahoots with the IMF, World Bank, or CIA?
Whatever one might think about Egypt's Mubarak or other dictators who've fallen out of favor with the US and the EU, popular uprisings have political backgrounds, social context, and often unintended consequences. And when you're talking about regime change within totalitarian states, there is always a back story of international intrigue, as well as conspiracies to seize power.
In other words, things are never what they seem, especially if one's sources of information are the governments of intervening world powers, or the corporate media that does their bidding.
To state it bluntly, when the U.S. government and the former colonial powers of Western Europe decide to abandon dictators and proxy governments, they have to fabricate a narrative that conceals their sordid past, as well as reveals disingenuous outlines of their desired future. Both require distortion of the present. In the case of Egypt, that distortion is aided by not asking key questions.
Jared Israel examines the media narrative of the insurrection in Egypt, what it does and doesn't tell us, and how it is even contrived to fit a preconceived pattern.
Apparently, American gullibility knows no bounds. As evidenced by the popularity of the color-coded revolutions myth, they enthusiastically embrace the notion that a few thousand people armed with nothing but iphones can topple dictators, replacing them with authentic democracies due solely to their sincerity and good wishes.
Of course, power vacuums are filled by those who are prepared, not to mention connected. And when you're talking about reorganizing a society of tens or hundreds of millions of people, those connections -- be they economic, religious, or military -- count. How many times have we seen righteous indignation betrayed by notorious factions in cahoots with the IMF, World Bank, or CIA?
Whatever one might think about Egypt's Mubarak or other dictators who've fallen out of favor with the US and the EU, popular uprisings have political backgrounds, social context, and often unintended consequences. And when you're talking about regime change within totalitarian states, there is always a back story of international intrigue, as well as conspiracies to seize power.
In other words, things are never what they seem, especially if one's sources of information are the governments of intervening world powers, or the corporate media that does their bidding.
To state it bluntly, when the U.S. government and the former colonial powers of Western Europe decide to abandon dictators and proxy governments, they have to fabricate a narrative that conceals their sordid past, as well as reveals disingenuous outlines of their desired future. Both require distortion of the present. In the case of Egypt, that distortion is aided by not asking key questions.
Jared Israel examines the media narrative of the insurrection in Egypt, what it does and doesn't tell us, and how it is even contrived to fit a preconceived pattern.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
The Business of War
As America's largest aircraft carrier, the State of Israel has long been viewed by its neighbors as a forward operating base for controlling Middle East oil fields. As the largest recipient of US military aid, this theocracy also justifies concurrent military aid to Arab dictatorships, all of which serves in keeping democracy down.
Jimmy Johnson reports on the role of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv in helping Israel's armaments industry promote itself to world customers.
Jimmy Johnson reports on the role of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv in helping Israel's armaments industry promote itself to world customers.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
A Sacred Undertaking
The failure of the modern state to meet our needs is structural--an inherent design flaw that renders essential reform of this structure impossible. Having relegated local and regional participation in setting social policy meaningless, the plenary powers of state-centric institutions are an open invitation to tyranny. Indeed, the voluntary confederation that respected regional autonomy at the outset of the American governance experiment was abolished by a tyranny of the majority of colonies, which set the stage for a tyranny of the minority composed of the inherently wealthy and their sycophants.
As societies rooted in ancient territorial homelands, First Nations are locally and regionally oriented, and as such are ecologically conscious and economically generous. As a practice, indigenous culture is inclusive, conserving community resources and sharing the wealth. Bolstering their cultures through cooperation with their non-indigenous neighbors is only logical.
With the breakdown of modern states as tools of the powerful and corrupt, Fourth World peoples and their civil society friends have begun to unite around local and regional autonomy, thereby starting the shift from dominant hierarchies to power-sharing democracies. Part of that shift includes finding ways to prevent looting of communal wealth -- whether from state treasuries or local landscapes -- by the private equity tyrannies which have usurped governance of most modern states.
Weathering the hardships ahead in a post-tyranny environment will challenge us to the core of our being, but that challenge is an inclusive one. In order to take back what is rightfully ours, we will have to work together or be hopelessly lost.
Whatever the outcome of our united efforts, the coming together itself will restore some of the human dignity sacrificed by tyrants on their altar of greed. Indeed, the process of working together -- meitheal in Irish -- is a sacred undertaking.
As societies rooted in ancient territorial homelands, First Nations are locally and regionally oriented, and as such are ecologically conscious and economically generous. As a practice, indigenous culture is inclusive, conserving community resources and sharing the wealth. Bolstering their cultures through cooperation with their non-indigenous neighbors is only logical.
With the breakdown of modern states as tools of the powerful and corrupt, Fourth World peoples and their civil society friends have begun to unite around local and regional autonomy, thereby starting the shift from dominant hierarchies to power-sharing democracies. Part of that shift includes finding ways to prevent looting of communal wealth -- whether from state treasuries or local landscapes -- by the private equity tyrannies which have usurped governance of most modern states.
Weathering the hardships ahead in a post-tyranny environment will challenge us to the core of our being, but that challenge is an inclusive one. In order to take back what is rightfully ours, we will have to work together or be hopelessly lost.
Whatever the outcome of our united efforts, the coming together itself will restore some of the human dignity sacrificed by tyrants on their altar of greed. Indeed, the process of working together -- meitheal in Irish -- is a sacred undertaking.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Image Management
Tom Hastings, Professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution at Portland State University, presents on image management in civil society campaigns. Hastings’ presentation and the ensuing discussion examine general principles that can help organizers think about this aspect of struggle. When it comes to nonviolent resistance, says Professor Hastings, “There’s no substitute for preparation.”
Thursday, March 17, 2011
neoghan ua niall
For all you red-haired Indians out there, Happy Saint Patrick’s Day from another tribe of salmon people.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Christian Jihad
Bruce Wilson reports on the Department of Defense merger with Christian jihad. With army bases in the United States now co-sponsoring evangelical Christian rock concerts, American invasions in Central Asia and the Middle East unavoidably take on the ambience of a religious crusade.
No doubt already strained relations between autocratic Arab monarchies and their subjects, outraged by corrupt relations with American oil companies and the Pentagon, will be inflamed by U.S. military leaders spouting biblical motivations. The question, though, is what are Americans going to do about it?
Looking for leadership on this from Obama, who sold out to Christian jihad on the day of his inauguration, seems a bit pointless.
No doubt already strained relations between autocratic Arab monarchies and their subjects, outraged by corrupt relations with American oil companies and the Pentagon, will be inflamed by U.S. military leaders spouting biblical motivations. The question, though, is what are Americans going to do about it?
Looking for leadership on this from Obama, who sold out to Christian jihad on the day of his inauguration, seems a bit pointless.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Nuclear Nemesis
Stephen Lendman notes that the Japanese government, like its counterpart in the United States, is more interested in containing the fallout from exposure of the inevitable dangers of nuclear power than they are in containing the radioactive releases. As these toxic emissions blow across the Pacific to Hawaii, Alaska and California, US nuclear energy corporations like General Electric will have no problem convincing major media that a coverup is preferable to revealing the unavoidable threat from nuclear power.
But convincing their cronies is not the same as fooling us. For that, they need craven opportunists in Congress and the White House, who are apparently in no short supply.
Even as radioactive waste accumulates, leaks, and is recycled into weaponry worldwide, politicians and pundits promote nuclear power as safe and cost effective. The reality is that all nuclear plants are hazardous waste sites waiting to explode or meltdown, and the real reason they are popular with politicians and Wall Street is that the publicly-insured industry is another looters' paradise. As with the most recent banking scandal, bribes, kickbacks and fraud abound in the nuclear corridors of power.
Forty years ago, when we stopped a nuclear boondoggle in Washington state, one of the many scandals uncovered was the revelation that contractors had faked inspection reports, falsely claiming all required steel reinforcement for the concrete structures was installed. That -- like current claims that nuclear energy is clean -- turned out to be a lie.
Given that nuclear waste remains lethal for all time, the question we have to ask ourselves is, how much faith should we put in politicians and those who bankroll them to look out for our health and safety? For those who aren't cortex impaired, it doesn't take much imagination to answer that question.
March 19 update
As explosions and meltdown continues, the radiation levels threaten twenty million people in the Tokyo area.
But convincing their cronies is not the same as fooling us. For that, they need craven opportunists in Congress and the White House, who are apparently in no short supply.
Even as radioactive waste accumulates, leaks, and is recycled into weaponry worldwide, politicians and pundits promote nuclear power as safe and cost effective. The reality is that all nuclear plants are hazardous waste sites waiting to explode or meltdown, and the real reason they are popular with politicians and Wall Street is that the publicly-insured industry is another looters' paradise. As with the most recent banking scandal, bribes, kickbacks and fraud abound in the nuclear corridors of power.
Forty years ago, when we stopped a nuclear boondoggle in Washington state, one of the many scandals uncovered was the revelation that contractors had faked inspection reports, falsely claiming all required steel reinforcement for the concrete structures was installed. That -- like current claims that nuclear energy is clean -- turned out to be a lie.
Given that nuclear waste remains lethal for all time, the question we have to ask ourselves is, how much faith should we put in politicians and those who bankroll them to look out for our health and safety? For those who aren't cortex impaired, it doesn't take much imagination to answer that question.
March 19 update
As explosions and meltdown continues, the radiation levels threaten twenty million people in the Tokyo area.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Remembering Che
Ernesto Guevara was Irish on one side of his family, so it is not surprising that the artist who created the iconic Che poster was also. Jim Fitzpatrick met Che when he was in his teens, and after Guevara’s death wanted to make sure he wasn’t forgotten. To say he succeeded would be a colossal understatement.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hope and Change
So much for hope and change under Obama. As ACLU reports, Obama has not only decided to reverse his promises to close Guantanamo and abandon the notorious military commissions, but has chosen to flaunt his betrayal with a military trial against a detainee whose ill treatment there was so abominable that the government could never have prevailed in a civilian court of law.
Imagine explaining to a jury that a suspect's confession was obtained hanging him by his arms while cuffed behind his back until they nearly dislocated, holding his face under water until he nearly suffocated, and bending him backwards naked, hooded, shackled and sleep-deprived while holding a gun to his head.
Imagine explaining to a jury that a suspect's confession was obtained hanging him by his arms while cuffed behind his back until they nearly dislocated, holding his face under water until he nearly suffocated, and bending him backwards naked, hooded, shackled and sleep-deprived while holding a gun to his head.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Anonymous
As noted on AlJazeera, Anonymous -- the freedom of information/free expression network -- has the capacity to disable corporate digital records, but has restricted itself to retaliations that further expose corporate wrongdoing. Showing such measured restraint against corporations collaborating with the U.S. Government attack on Wikileaks has not only gained Anonymous respect from pro-democracy activists, but also a wariness on the part of criminal corporations.
Wednesday, March 09, 2011
Blowback
Antifascist Calling runs down the background and context of the Wikileaks exposure of Bank of America criminal capers in the Caymans, the covert operations of the hit teams hired by BOA to destroy Wikileaks, and the blowback by Anonymous in defense of freedom of information. There hasn’t been anything remotely this sordid since Watergate.
Thick as Thieves
While teachers and unions are under assault in Wisconsin, President Obama and Jeb Bush co-sponsor the push to privatize education in Florida. Glen Ford reports on Obama's corporate takeover of education plan, and what it portends for the country.
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
Class Struggle
Watching filmmaker Michael Moore address the throngs of union workers in Wisconsin this morning made me think about class struggle in the United States. While some union leadership of my father's generation sold out the struggle in return for power and influence, those who fought to establish unions in my grandfather's generation understood the importance of solidarity.
When my generation rejected the American Dream of consumerism, it wasn't so different from my grandfather's generations' rejection of the American nightmare. We both supported the socialist values reflected in Social Security, workplace safety, and environmental protection.
But between the 1930s, when my grandfather's generation was beaten by soldiers and police for organizing against the aristocracy, and the 1960s, when the same was done to my generation, my father's generation was pacified by the promise of shared wealth. When that promise was broken, union leadership had by and large been co-opted.
Notable exceptions include the California nurses, Chicago teachers, and the international longshore workers, but for the generation that came of age in the 1990s, union leadership on critical social issues was almost non-existent. Like the warmongers of the 1960s, the national union leadership betrayed solidarity even to the point of supporting free trade.
So it should be no surprise that there is some anti-union resentment in the country beyond the fundamentalist Christians and the aristocracy. If the union movement wants to recover their influence and respect, they will need to promote to national leadership people who are strong enough to stand against the aristocracy, and smart enough to organize public support for that stand. And that's going to take a lot more than the occasional rally with celebrities like Michael Moore.
When my generation rejected the American Dream of consumerism, it wasn't so different from my grandfather's generations' rejection of the American nightmare. We both supported the socialist values reflected in Social Security, workplace safety, and environmental protection.
But between the 1930s, when my grandfather's generation was beaten by soldiers and police for organizing against the aristocracy, and the 1960s, when the same was done to my generation, my father's generation was pacified by the promise of shared wealth. When that promise was broken, union leadership had by and large been co-opted.
Notable exceptions include the California nurses, Chicago teachers, and the international longshore workers, but for the generation that came of age in the 1990s, union leadership on critical social issues was almost non-existent. Like the warmongers of the 1960s, the national union leadership betrayed solidarity even to the point of supporting free trade.
So it should be no surprise that there is some anti-union resentment in the country beyond the fundamentalist Christians and the aristocracy. If the union movement wants to recover their influence and respect, they will need to promote to national leadership people who are strong enough to stand against the aristocracy, and smart enough to organize public support for that stand. And that's going to take a lot more than the occasional rally with celebrities like Michael Moore.
Cynical Symbiosis
The Christian jihad got a big boost from the faith-based initiatives begun under Clinton and the privatization movement catalyzed by Reagan. The combination of federal funding for fundamentalists and the corporate takeover of education, both of which continue under Obama, makes it a lot easier for the Dominionists to dismantle democracy.
This cynical symbiosis of Wall Street and Mega Church moralities needs to be aired.
This cynical symbiosis of Wall Street and Mega Church moralities needs to be aired.
Monday, March 07, 2011
Peace and Justice
Socialist icons like Nelson Mandela, Che Guevara, and Gerry Adams are deservedly honored for their devotion to advancing human rights, but lesser known figures like Bernadette Devlin play an equally vital role in achieving peace and justice. While all are recognized for their freedom fighter status, not all took up arms to advance their particular struggle. Devlin, instrumental in advancing equality in Northern Ireland, led the civil rights movement there when even non-violent activists like herself were murdered by police, army, and paramilitaries.
Devlin, who once represented my ancestral homeland of Tyrone as an MP in Westminster, was no patsy when it came to fighting the British Empire, but today she has focused on preventing a return to warfare by building bridges between Catholic and Protestant communities. In this 2007 interview, Devlin acknowledges the different roles required to create a lasting peace.
Devlin, who once represented my ancestral homeland of Tyrone as an MP in Westminster, was no patsy when it came to fighting the British Empire, but today she has focused on preventing a return to warfare by building bridges between Catholic and Protestant communities. In this 2007 interview, Devlin acknowledges the different roles required to create a lasting peace.
Forum for Global Exchange
Forum for Global Exchange features unique audio/visual talks and commentary by Fourth World scholars and activists. Take some time to browse the archives for inspiring and informative discussions about essential values and relevant developments.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
Earth to Hillary
Wikileaks documents reveal US impunity requires secrecy. Accountability, says Secretary of State Clinton, would undermine US influence.
Earth to Hillary: tell us something we don't already know.
Earth to Hillary: tell us something we don't already know.
Everything You Got
One can feel empathy for the Tea Party rage against government corruption without condoning their vengeful attitude toward scapegoats. In fact, one can treat the entire anti-democratic movement — from the Constitution Party to the DLC — with the contempt they deserve, without demonizing fanatics like Palin or opportunists like Obama.
But whether they are acting out of greed or vengeance for imagined and real grievances, one is foolish to treat the anti-democratic movement — fundamentalists and sycophants alike — as anything short of enemies. After all, they are out to destroy everything remotely generous, fair, or sane.
Protests and diplomacy have their place in the world, but when your society is under attack, you fight back with everything you got. In politics, that means gathering intelligence on your enemies, analyzing their vulnerabilities, and organizing interventions to defeat them. Anything less is doomed to fail.
But whether they are acting out of greed or vengeance for imagined and real grievances, one is foolish to treat the anti-democratic movement — fundamentalists and sycophants alike — as anything short of enemies. After all, they are out to destroy everything remotely generous, fair, or sane.
Protests and diplomacy have their place in the world, but when your society is under attack, you fight back with everything you got. In politics, that means gathering intelligence on your enemies, analyzing their vulnerabilities, and organizing interventions to defeat them. Anything less is doomed to fail.
Saturday, March 05, 2011
Fourth World Journal
As a contributing editor of Fourth World Journal, I’ve had the pleasure of meeting fascinating scholars writing on topics and ideas unlikely to be encountered in any other medium. Their essays, full of insight on perplexing problems, enlighten and inspire readers on a fundamental humanitarian level.
For anyone concerned about our wonderful world, Fourth World Journal is like a breath of fresh air. If you haven’t yet subscribed, take a look at the current issue table of contents, or browse some back issues.
I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
For anyone concerned about our wonderful world, Fourth World Journal is like a breath of fresh air. If you haven’t yet subscribed, take a look at the current issue table of contents, or browse some back issues.
I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Friday, March 04, 2011
Neutralizing Indigenous Sovereignty
As Rick Harp, editor of Media Indigena, notes, one way of neutralizing indigenous sovereignty is by undermining indigenous institutions. In the old days, that took the form of outlawing their councils, languages, economies, gatherings, and protector societies; today that takes the form of federal interventions that usurp indigenous governance all together. Laying the ideological groundwork for such bold acts of dominion, says Harp, involves sowing dissension by attacking the only institutions with the experience and ability to guard against transnational corporations and modern states intending to lay waste to indigenous territories.
Says Harp, this is already happening in Australia, and will happen in Canada, too, if Canada’s prime minister has his way.
While indigenous institutions like the Assembly of First Nations and the National Congress of American Indians play different roles than NGOs like the Indigenous Environmental Network or think tanks like the Center for World Indigenous Studies, they are all part of the indigenous peoples movement infrastructure, infrastructure that the movement requires to defend themselves. Cutting off the leadership from resources, impugning their integrity, or peddling crises to impute their viability, is all part of destroying indigenous sovereignty, and as Harp warns, the attack has begun.
Says Harp, this is already happening in Australia, and will happen in Canada, too, if Canada’s prime minister has his way.
While indigenous institutions like the Assembly of First Nations and the National Congress of American Indians play different roles than NGOs like the Indigenous Environmental Network or think tanks like the Center for World Indigenous Studies, they are all part of the indigenous peoples movement infrastructure, infrastructure that the movement requires to defend themselves. Cutting off the leadership from resources, impugning their integrity, or peddling crises to impute their viability, is all part of destroying indigenous sovereignty, and as Harp warns, the attack has begun.
People of the Standing Stone
The Oneida Nation, one of the five founding nations of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy), has a history of facilitating communication between Americans and Indians. During the American Revolution, they were well known and respected by Washington, La Fayette, and the Continental Congress. For their guidance and support in crafting the U.S. Constitution, they were granted six million acres by the United States, all of which was later stolen by the State of New York.
As publishers of Indian Country Today, the Oneida continue to facilitate communication between Americans and Indian nations, as well as shine a light on the evolving relationships between indigenous peoples and metropolitan populations worldwide.
As noted in the ICT welcome, they hope their online investment will revolutionize media for all Native Americans and indigenous peoples. As a regular reader, I can attest that the Oneida have created a valuable forum for communication and education-–something they have done since the founding of our country.
As publishers of Indian Country Today, the Oneida continue to facilitate communication between Americans and Indian nations, as well as shine a light on the evolving relationships between indigenous peoples and metropolitan populations worldwide.
As noted in the ICT welcome, they hope their online investment will revolutionize media for all Native Americans and indigenous peoples. As a regular reader, I can attest that the Oneida have created a valuable forum for communication and education-–something they have done since the founding of our country.
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Killing the Messenger
It is a truism that not all messages are appreciated; when it comes to exposing fraud as an imperial adventure, killing the messenger is an automatic imperial response. In the case of Bradley Manning, the source for the Wikileaks expose on the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the new charge of aiding the enemy comes with the death penalty.
Beyond Manning, the desire of the U.S. Government to execute Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange is less about security and more about control. What the White House can't narrate through the imperial friendly, corporate media machinery is considered the enemy, especially if, like Wikileaks, it tells the truth.
Of course, everyone who wants to find the truth already knows. Thanks to Manning, Assange, and Wikileaks, the ugliness of imperial savagery is available online. In the twisted imperial logic of our national security state, if they can't shut down the Internet, then they have to start killing whistleblowers. As such, Obama and Clinton may be the last people in America to get the most crucial message of all--the empire is over.
Beyond Manning, the desire of the U.S. Government to execute Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange is less about security and more about control. What the White House can't narrate through the imperial friendly, corporate media machinery is considered the enemy, especially if, like Wikileaks, it tells the truth.
Of course, everyone who wants to find the truth already knows. Thanks to Manning, Assange, and Wikileaks, the ugliness of imperial savagery is available online. In the twisted imperial logic of our national security state, if they can't shut down the Internet, then they have to start killing whistleblowers. As such, Obama and Clinton may be the last people in America to get the most crucial message of all--the empire is over.
Mad Max
The collapse of the world economy is popularly attributed to deregulation of derivatives, but the breakdown of modern states has more to do with the unsustainable nature of societies built on systematic theft. At some point, people get tired of being deprived of a decent life, and the system no longer works.
Financial panic, religious hysteria, corruption and criminality are symptoms of a system that is in its death throes. From here on out, there is no cyclic recession, depression, recovery scenario; it’s Mad Max time.
The US is responsible for 75% of the world’s toxic waste. America accounts for 5% of the global population. Do the numbers on the sustainability of that equation.
Financial panic, religious hysteria, corruption and criminality are symptoms of a system that is in its death throes. From here on out, there is no cyclic recession, depression, recovery scenario; it’s Mad Max time.
The US is responsible for 75% of the world’s toxic waste. America accounts for 5% of the global population. Do the numbers on the sustainability of that equation.
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Obama's CEOs
Thirty years ago, the Savings and Loan scandal generated 1,800 convictions for felony fraud, with 1,000 of those resulting in jail time. By contrast, the Wall Street meltdown of 2007, that has crippled the entire US economy, has not resulted in one conviction of a banking CEO. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, that has a lot to do with President Obama’s fear of prosecuting the Wall Street titans for the largest fraud in US history. Likewise his timid Attorney General Eric Holder, who seems more comfortable conducting police raids against peace activists than investigations against his boss’ benefactors.
Tuesday, March 01, 2011
Nuclear-Armed Jihad
Chris Rodda examines the unconstitutional religious enterprises funded by the Department of Defense to create a Christian U.S. military. Having sunk tens of millions of dollars into evangelizing military bases, and pressuring military families to come to Jesus, the Pentagon is preparing a nuclear-armed jihad from an institution already fraught with corrupt mercenaries and derelicts who would have been screened out in earlier years due to failed intelligence tests and criminal records.
Imagine what these people would do if turned loose on civilian Americans demonstrating against the government for such grievances as union-busting, bank fraud, or heaven forbid–-starting wars based on phony evidence.
Imagine what these people would do if turned loose on civilian Americans demonstrating against the government for such grievances as union-busting, bank fraud, or heaven forbid–-starting wars based on phony evidence.
Full Spectrum Dominance
The attitude of dominance undergirds many institutions, from the Pentagon to the Vatican to the New York Stock Exchange. As a belligerent attitude, those who subscribe to it are programmed to seek out and destroy all challenges to its philosophy. Peace societies, indigenous spiritual practices, and collective economic ventures have all fallen prey to the vindictive acts of dominant institutions and their free market brethren.
Ending dominance as a way of life, especially in the United States, is an undertaking that takes courage and commitment. Organizing effective resistance to dominance requires analysis of dominance as a system, with a focus on its vulnerabilities.
If dominance is to be sufficiently uprooted in order for Americans to keep their society from falling apart entirely, resistance will need to take on a degree of sophistication beyond protest, voting and lobbying. It will, in fact, require a new perspective on our governance, and the role dominance plays in it.
Ending dominance as a way of life, especially in the United States, is an undertaking that takes courage and commitment. Organizing effective resistance to dominance requires analysis of dominance as a system, with a focus on its vulnerabilities.
If dominance is to be sufficiently uprooted in order for Americans to keep their society from falling apart entirely, resistance will need to take on a degree of sophistication beyond protest, voting and lobbying. It will, in fact, require a new perspective on our governance, and the role dominance plays in it.
