Monday, April 30, 2012
Clarion Call
On Indian Country Today, Steven Newcomb examines the history of
terrorism as a method employed by empires and dominant states against
Indigenous nations and peoples. As the foremost tool for enlarging their
territories and maintaining control over them, terrorism by empires and
states deploys the psychology of fear against all opponents. In the
case of the American Empire, that takes the form of national security
laws like the one President Obama signed in December, allowing him to
detain US citizens without charge or trial.
As Newcomb notes, national security laws in the US are a well-designed plan to silence dissent, and as the successor to the British Empire in North America, the American Empire is rooted in the terrorism of its imperialism. For Indigenous nations in the United States, the extinction of civil rights by President Obama should be a terrifying warning; for Indigenous activists, it is a clarion call for Common Sense Security.
As Newcomb notes, national security laws in the US are a well-designed plan to silence dissent, and as the successor to the British Empire in North America, the American Empire is rooted in the terrorism of its imperialism. For Indigenous nations in the United States, the extinction of civil rights by President Obama should be a terrifying warning; for Indigenous activists, it is a clarion call for Common Sense Security.
Sunday, April 29, 2012
Turnkey Totalitarian State
As noted on Antifascist Calling, the electronic police state depends on weaponized data -- pristine, trial-ready evidence, obtained and constructed from blanket surveillance -- to enable criminal prosecution of dissidents. Described by NSA whistleblower Wiliam Binney as on the verge of becoming a turnkey totalitarian state, the US Government now has the capacity to crush dissent with ease. The question AC asks, is whether anyone will notice.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Dystopia Distilled
As human society reduces itself to slaves, soldiers and stockholders, the dystopia of the present and near future become mere stepping stones to a microbial planet. In the interim, monocropping feedlots and other pharmaceutically engineered organisms comprise short term high return investments for such enterprises as the harvesting of human organs and body parts, but as microbes inevitably gain the upper hand, such visionary recycling will eventually peak out in terms of derivatives. Such is the nature of capitalism you might say, but as widespread disease and starvation eliminate our concerns of overpopulation, the smart money's going to be on weapons and narcotics to combat humanity's hysteria.
Running through this march to dystopia is the thin red line of the saboteurs. Inhabiting the cracks in society, they lend an air of dignity to our ultimate demise.
Running through this march to dystopia is the thin red line of the saboteurs. Inhabiting the cracks in society, they lend an air of dignity to our ultimate demise.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Right to Live Free
Writing in Indian Country Today, Lise Balk King examines the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples within the context of the international human rights regime. As an expression of humanity’s aspirations, says King, UNDRIP — like the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — looks to international law and global consensus to provide a vision for the future. Most importantly, she notes, they engender a dialogue about the inalienable right to live free.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Freedom Train
On April 30, First Nations will embark on a Freedom Train from British Columbia to Toronto, where on May 9, they will bring their message to the Enbridge stockholders' meeting that the Enbridge Northern Gateway project has been banned from their territories. Enroute, the delegates will be joined by representatives from the 100 First Nations across Canada who've enacted laws banning the Enbridge pipeline and oil tankers from their lands and waters. As Yinka Dene Alliance and Coastal First Nations note, the project will not be permitted to proceed, and Enbridge stockholders need to know this.
Saturday, April 21, 2012
NSA Whistleblowers
Democracy Now interviews former National Security Agency official and whistleblower William Binney. One of a group of NSA technicians charged with gathering communications data, Binney resigned in October 2001 signing a complaint against the agency for corruption, fraud, waste and abuse. He and other whistleblowers were arrested at gunpoint by FBI agents exercising retribution for their exposure of illegal domestic spying on US citizens opposed to US policy under the Bush-Cheney administration.
Friday, April 20, 2012
BP's Lethal Legacy
Writing in today's edition of Climate Connections, Antonia Juhasz looks at BP's toxic legacy on the Gulf Coast. As the residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama struggle with acute and chronic adverse health effects of the oil spill and cleanup, the government and industry compound the tragedy through malign neglect of the victims. As perhaps the worst public health tragedy in US history, the chemical gumbo continues to plague those who were too poor to leave, to sick to fight, and too vulnerable to defy the most powerful industry on the planet.
Roma Refugees
Writing in The Dominion, Kristyna Balaban discusses the dramatic reversal of Canadian refugee policy toward Roma immigrants. Persecuted by government officials and neo-Nazi skinheads alike, Roma in Central and Eastern Europe are fleeing in droves. In what was once a safe sanctuary, the welcome mat in Canada has been rolled up, and thousands of Roma refugees have been deported back to unsafe and discriminatory states like Hungary, Romania and the Czech Republic.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Killing Nuclear Power
As noted in Climate Connections, killing nuclear power once and for all is now a possibility. As the key to ending this lethal anachronism is in Obama's hands, putting him on the spot is perhaps the most urgent task of American citizens.
As his predecessor in the White House observed, he's either with us or against us.
As his predecessor in the White House observed, he's either with us or against us.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Innocence Is Not Enough
With environmental activists topping the FBI most wanted list, undercover Department of Justice agents -- operating as snitches and provocateurs -- are to be expected. Sometimes they are easy to spot, sometimes not.
Perhaps less insidious is when FBI agents walk in the door and say they want to be your friend. Accepting such seemingly innocuous relations, however, can land the innocent in prison.
For those who've never attempted to defend democracy from the ravages of the corporate state, the reality of how the national police conduct themselves may seem unreal, but for those who've been railroaded into a jail cell for doing nothing illegal, it is all too real.
As noted in this article about FBI liaisons, sharing anything with the federal police can be a nightmare experience. For those who still maintain illusions about FBI fairness or integrity, links to additional reading materials are readily available.
It's a cruel world out there, and for those who fight for humane ideals, innocence is not enough.
Perhaps less insidious is when FBI agents walk in the door and say they want to be your friend. Accepting such seemingly innocuous relations, however, can land the innocent in prison.
For those who've never attempted to defend democracy from the ravages of the corporate state, the reality of how the national police conduct themselves may seem unreal, but for those who've been railroaded into a jail cell for doing nothing illegal, it is all too real.
As noted in this article about FBI liaisons, sharing anything with the federal police can be a nightmare experience. For those who still maintain illusions about FBI fairness or integrity, links to additional reading materials are readily available.
It's a cruel world out there, and for those who fight for humane ideals, innocence is not enough.
Sunday, April 08, 2012
Obama's Empire
Paul Jay of The Real News Network interviews Glenn Ford, executive editor of Black Agenda Report, about the United Anti-War Coalition's plans for demonstrating against the NATO conference next month in Chicago. As part of the infrastructure of US aggression, NATO has spearheaded numerous wars on behalf of US imperialism, a doctrine bolstered by US laws against free speech and freedom of assembly. As Ford indicates, the US is no longer a democracy, and by declaring marshal law zones as well as enacting indefinite detention laws, the Obama Administration is laying the groundwork for a massive military buildup and extended military campaigns across the globe.
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Model of Modernity
As Philip Mansel writes in Le Monde diplomatique, the colonial experience in the Levant was not what some might imagine. Cosmopolitan, open, tolerant and thriving, Alexandria, Smyrna and Beirut were like Paris, New York and Hong Kong today. According to Mansel, the Eastern Mediterranean was the first region to escape the prison of the nation state.
Monday, April 02, 2012
Age of Opiates
Esther Inglis-Arkell writes about The Great Binge, that period between the Civil War and World War One when opium, heroin, cocaine and other such products were sold in corner stores for medicinal use by people of all ages.
Sunday, April 01, 2012
Military or Militarism
Aung Suu Kyi's taking a seat in the Burmese parliament reminds me of a young MP in Westminster long ago by the name of Bernadette Devlin. Both used their platform in the belly of a tyrannical beast to raise hell.
As noted in the CBC, Suu Kyi's being allowed to run for parliament is part of Burma's attempt to appear more democratic, while maintaining essentially a rule by military proxy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hypocritical remarks on the subject might be excused in this instance, since the US is instead ruled by Wall Street, with only a penchant for militarism that prevents democracy elsewhere by force of arms.
What they have in common, of course, is an entrenched system of fraud by their respective ruling elites.
As noted in the CBC, Suu Kyi's being allowed to run for parliament is part of Burma's attempt to appear more democratic, while maintaining essentially a rule by military proxy. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's hypocritical remarks on the subject might be excused in this instance, since the US is instead ruled by Wall Street, with only a penchant for militarism that prevents democracy elsewhere by force of arms.
What they have in common, of course, is an entrenched system of fraud by their respective ruling elites.
