Skookum

Globalization Canadian Style

2012-01-22T11:15:00.000-08:00

Arno Kopecky writes in The Tyee that Canada is beginning to feel like Peru; having covered the conflict between Peruvian President Garcia and indigenous peoples there, Kopecky notes the demonizing of First Nations recently by Canadian Prime Minister Harper has the same tone. The problem with that, says Kopecky, is that it paves the way for the Canadian government to trample all over them.

In recent years, especially since the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the natives of the Amazon and the Andes have become well-organized in asserting themselves before international bodies like the UN and OAS. Documenting the callous disregard of North American mining and oil companies in their territories, they have been effective in demanding environmental protections and a voice in the process of development. Now that Canadian corporations are looking toward cannibalizing their own country, the tribal peoples are again in their way.

Taking a page out of the Peruvian manual, the Prime Minister has chosen to attack First Nations that don’t surrender to globalization Canadian style. The problem with that is Harper meets next week with First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo to discuss a new relationship to carry Canada into the future. If that future is one of capitulation or annihilation, it’s hard to see how that can be considered a new beginning.

Demolishing Democracy

2012-01-11T10:14:00.000-08:00

When modern states like Chile and the United States abandon all pretense of being democratic political entities, the citizenry and indigenous nations ruled by these states have only one viable option left: civil disobedience. Diplomacy with these fully-owned corporate states is senseless; armed insurrection against these police states is suicide.

Within this scenario, pro-democracy scholars, activists and journalists are considered enemies of the state, which, given the total corruption of these institutions, is at least partially true. With the totalitarian tools enacted under Chilean and US laws, dissent is now considered terrorism, leaving little if any room for negotiation.

Back in 2006, US Senator Dianne Feinstein sought federal legislation to make it a federal crime to interfere in any way with a corporation. With Obama's recent signing of the bill to allow secret, unlimited detention of US citizens, it appears Dianne's dreams of a totalitarian state may yet come to fruition. How's that for hope and change?

Without a Second Thought

2012-01-09T11:21:00.000-08:00

Canada's Oil Tar Sands mining in northern Alberta is one of the world's largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, and one of the dirtiest polluters of waterways on the planet. As a result of the Canadian Tar Sands, Cree communities on the Athabascan River have been devastated by disease.

Knowing all this, one is hard pressed to comprehend how the oil companies in Canada actually believed their television ad Ethical Oil could succeed in duping American liberals into believing the Tar Sands nightmare equates to a human rights initiative. Then again, it wasn't all that long ago that a candidate for US President ran on a platform of hope and change that had liberals swooning.

I could come up with other examples of phony PR campaigns that hoodwinked liberals into supporting such frauds as the wars on Iraq, but I think you get my point. No matter how fraudulent, immoral, or simple minded, Madison Avenue has the upper hand when it comes to baffling liberals. All they have to do is invoke saving the panda, children, women or whales, and liberals will fall all over themselves to support warmongers and planet destroyers without a second thought.

The interesting thing about manipulating consumerism and human behavior today is that not only can populations be so easily persuaded to buy what they don't need as well as refrain from opposing war and other acts of aggression, but also to be complacent about the corruption of governance. While intellectuals may be amused by the pedantry of propaganda like Ethical Oil or Clean Coal, humanists who find expression of their values in consumerist behavior like shopping or voting are remarkably easily manipulated by emotions that appeal to their sense of morality.

Where they were once content to be mindless consumers of tangible products, in their advanced liberal imbecility they now demand to feel good about themselves and their purchases, happily congratulating themselves on their politically correct idiocy retooled by Madison Avenue into morality. No matter how patently absurd, if it feeds into their fantasy of painless piety, they'll buy it--hook, line and sinker.

A Matter of State

2012-01-08T10:33:00.000-08:00

Brenda Norrell recounts how the US State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton clandestinely undermined human rights for indigenous peoples in the Americas.

Retrospective

2012-01-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Twelve days after we landed in Marin County, N30 erupted in downtown Seattle. Twelve years later, as we were being displaced by the imploding Bay Area economy, Occupy had begun shutting down the Port of Oakland. During our intervening twelve years on the Golden Gate, the American psyche had been shattered by the tremors and upheavals of a civilization in collapse.

A Search for Meaning

2012-01-05T13:08:00.000-08:00

What was it that made Celts Celts as they migrated over centuries from the Caucasus Mountains across the northern Mediterranean and the Iberian Peninsula to the British Isles? According to Dr. T. Anantha Vijayah, in his Fourth World Journal article Digitizing Worldviews Intangible Cultural Heritages, it was their stories.

As they recorded and retransmitted ideas over generations and geographical locations, these stories that encompassed their indigenous knowledge and worldviews were more reliable than cultural artifacts and natural heritage sites in transporting their culture.

In his article about indigenous peoples’ cultural survival, Dr. Vijayah notes that while the expressive part of culture is subject to change, the culture that underlies that expression is that which determines the perception of the community and the worldview of their culture. Their worldview, in turn, determines their perception of reality.

Worldviews, Vijayah observes, emerge from the totality of peoples’ perceptions and beliefs. Aboriginal worldviews, he notes, are founded on a search for meaning from a metaphysical journey for knowledge based on the premises of skills that promote personal and social change that leads to harmony with rather than control over the environment.

Indigenous worldviews, intrinsically holistic and interdisciplinary, have had to survive alongside colonial worldviews. As indigenous peoples, Celts, like all other aboriginal societies, have experienced intercontinental migration and colonial subjugation. The stories they carried with them create a mental space for others to experience their culture and way of thinking.

Template for War

2012-01-03T11:51:00.001-08:00

War, first and foremost, is business. Big business. Perhaps second only to energy.

Going to war, however, has to follow certain protocols. In the American version, it has become customary to declare economic warfare against non-compliant countries, then military warfare when the targeted state fights back against economic sanctions. From beginning to end, psychological warfare is conducted in order to demonize societies that have the nerve to oppose US aggression.

As Antifascist Calling observes, this template for war -- used effectively by the US against Yugoslavia and Iraq -- is now being used by the Obama Administration against Iran. Perhaps every US president wants a war to call his own; Clinton and Bush had theirs, now Obama dreams of having his. No doubt it will also help get him re-elected.

To Lead an Authentic Life

2011-12-31T13:44:00.000-08:00

As the Occupy movement begs for definition, the struggle to lead an authentic life, that began with the counterculture movement in the 1960s, remains relevant. So, too, does the larger narrative that examines more fundamental aspects of identity.

On November 9, CWIS associate Taiaiake Alfred spoke at the University of Ottawa on The Psychic Landscape of Contemporary Colonialism. Recounting his own intellectual preparation in understanding the struggle for self-knowledge, self-governance, and maintaining integrity, Taiaiake examines the transformative power of pathways to wisdom. As a collective activity in the pursuit of happiness and the good way of life, Professor Alfred asks the most pertinent question–Who are you?

Semper Fi

2011-12-30T16:11:00.001-08:00

Psychological warfare, deployed by major corporations against American communities that try to protect themselves from the environmental ravages and public health disasters foisted on them, is nothing new. CBS 60 Minutes even did a segment on it back in 1992. Today, however, corporate mercenaries with prior psywar experience in the US military are being deployed to carry out the tasks of harassment and extortion previously carried out by industry thugs. That may seem like a minor distinction to some, but in light of the recent US legislation to authorize military detention of US citizens without access to civil courts or attorneys, it might be something to take into account.

Turtle Champagne

2011-12-29T09:30:00.000-08:00

UCLA professor Duane Champagne always has something interesting to say about indigenous peoples and their struggle for self-determination. His new book, Notes from the Center of Turtle Island, promises to be a stimulating discussion about indigenous identity, community, and relations between indigenous nations and modern states.

Letter to the Editor

2011-12-26T15:43:00.000-08:00

In response to the 1968 federal indictment of eight political dissenters for conspiracy to promote disorder, a host of noted American liberals wrote a letter to the editors of the New York Review. In that letter, luminaries like Susan Sontag and Noam Chomsky observed that the law against dissent was the foundation of a police state in America.

Since that day in the aftermath of demonstrations at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, dissent has not gotten any easier. Peace activists are still infiltrated, harassed and incarcerated by the US Government; pro-democracy demonstrators are still pepper-sprayed and beaten by police.

As Congress and the White House recently approved the use of the US Army against anti-globalization protestors, we know the battle against fraud and militarism is far from over. Those on the front line of the war for democratic renewal could use a little help, even if it's only a letter to the editor.

Stormy Sunday

2011-12-25T16:30:00.002-08:00

Spray over the seawall. Waves crashing on the beach. Wind howling through the trees.

Good time to make tea and see how friends are doing around the world.

Witness

2011-12-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

Witness provides Tips for Filming Protests, Arrests and Police Conduct.

A Beloved Community

2011-12-23T18:37:00.000-08:00

Rebecca Solnit discusses displacement, democracy, and the generosity of the Occupy movement. Impressed by the striking learning curve of dispossessed Americans, Solnit discerns that those engaged in revitalizing citizenship have become what activists in the Civil Rights era termed a beloved community.

Money for Murder

2011-12-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Reminiscent of the Reagan era, Central America is again the target for US-funded state violence against socialists and indigenous peoples. This time around, however, the Obama Administration is promoting the privatization of military death squads once embraced by his ideological mentor Ronald Reagan.

As US State Department Secretary Hillary Clinton prepares to finance privatized vigilantes to murder opponents of globalization, transnational corporations -- reaping the harvest of murder for money -- carry on a long tradition in what once were called the banana republics. After two centuries of genocide by other names, the current US initiative looks more and more like the arrogant belligerence made famous by US President Theodore Roosevelt.

Apparently, the mold of US militarism has been altered little in that timeframe.

Noise

2011-12-18T11:06:00.001-08:00

In the 1971 book Crimes of War, Robert Jay Lifton described theatrical militarism as the inevitable conclusion of US dominance. Looking at the role militarism plays in today's media, it's not surprising that mainstream news is mostly noise generated to drown out other points of view.

As Lifton explained, the collective psychic trauma and delusions of dominant society are fostered by prior atrocities (the most egregious of which were perpetrated against indigenous peoples). Violently defended illusions of benevolence and an inability to come to terms with either defeat or loss of status are symptoms of this psychosis.

With the end of the American Dream, the indistinguishable corporate media and government propaganda respond by not only distorting the news, but by literally searching out and destroying all dissenting perspectives.

The Shooting in Baghdad

2011-12-17T11:09:00.002-08:00

As Americans reassess the military misadventure in Iraq, Real News examines the German documentary on the Pentagon versus Bradley Manning. As Manning goes to trial for releasing the video of a US gunship gleefully murdering civilians, reporters and children in Baghdad, fascist politicians and pundits in the US call for his execution. After suffering the torture of solitary confinement in Quantico, the question now is whether murdering the messenger will be the final act of the Pentagon's inhumanity in Iraq.

Death Wish

2011-12-16T11:01:00.000-08:00

Watching the cinematic essay Silhouette City last night, I recalled encounters with American religious fanatics seeking political power and influence in the 1990s. Some of them succeeded, others martyred themselves in confrontations with law enforcement, but their apocalyptic beliefs and murderous ideology live on.

In seeking world conquest for Christ, the Dominion movement and its soldiers have steadily infiltrated and corrupted the US military and other federal institutions. Perhaps even more alarming, the movement has infected mass media and other markets to the point that blatant bigotry is accepted as a normal aspect of American life.

As the documentary conveys in its coverage of the continuity of Christian intolerance that arrived on our shores with both Columbus and the pilgrims, the culture they embraced and nurtured through the centuries is nothing but a death wish. As a lethal social pathogen that corrodes all healthy relations, it is likely the greatest obstacle to democracy and peace on the planet. As such, it needs to be confronted and contained, if not eradicated.

Monster of Militarism

2011-12-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

As suggested in the media recently, turning the US military against the American people may be a sign of social collapse, but the American empire has a long way to go before it even remotely adheres to the international human rights regime. If history is any lesson, then wanton destruction across the globe on behalf of Wall Street is likely to escalate before the American main street can get a grip on the reins of power. Even if that happens, it will still be a monumental task to undo two centuries of militaristic madness and the mindset it has imbued in the American psyche. Some earlier European empires made democratic transitions with the aid of their military leaders, but in the United States, the corrosion of the Pentagon by transnational corporations and Christian fundamentalists makes that scenario unlikely. Realistically, we should expect to see considerable shedding of innocent American blood on the streets of America before the monster of militarism is tamed.

Axis of Evil

2011-12-13T14:07:00.001-08:00

Readers might recall that a year ago, responding to Obama’s July 2010 decision to lift the US funding ban for Indonesian death squads, Indonesia’s elite forces began assassinating indigenous Papuan spiritual leaders. Survival International ran a story on that last December. Today, Intercontinental Cry reports on the massive Indonesian military offensive (supported by Australia) against the West Papuan independence movement.

If one is looking for an example of the unity of modern states and transnational corporations in opposition to the world indigenous peoples’ movement for self-determination, West Papua would certainly stand out. The fact that two of the four states in the world that opposed the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are funding the current atrocities in West Papua should come as no surprise.

First Step

2011-12-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

In his post at Fourth World Eye, Rudolph C. Ryser likens the climate change talks in Durban to a ghost dance. As a glaring example of the failure of modern states to meet the needs of humanity, the death of the Kyoto protocols signals the beginning of a new dark age. As we come to terms with the ravaging of Earth and every living being in order to satisfy the insatiable appetite of Wall Street, we will need new tools and ancient wisdom to see us through. Abandoning faith in institutions and markets is a good first step.

Myth and Mayhem

2011-12-05T09:32:00.000-08:00

Ten years after the US invasion of Afghanistan, protests in Kabul against the American occupation join in solidarity with the Occupy protests around the world. As a criminal enterprise, the Pentagon’s Afghan adventure ranks right up there, and while the atrocities might not yet compare with the American military misadventures in Vietnam, the hypocrisy of fundamentalist allies become enemies and allies once again is tough to top. Independent Media Center — the folks who treated us to the truth in Seattle in 1999 — reports on the myth and mayhem of liberating Afghanistan.

Back of Beyond

2011-11-30T16:52:00.000-08:00

One of the drawbacks to moving out of the metropolitan region of San Francisco Bay is the lack of services we took for granted. Services like high speed DSL, rapid transit, and even telephonic voice mail are now wistful memories. Yet, as we admire the golden sunset over Vancouver Island, and enjoy the promenade along Birch Bay, we realize there are tradeoffs to surviving in today's austere economy.

Watching the geese and swans fly by our window, or witnessing the bald eagles performing acrobatics above our new home, cosmopolitan benefits like gourmet bread, olives and wine -- once taken for granted in our previous abode between San Francisco and Sonoma -- seem less important. Of course, paying $600 a month for an apartment a block from the beach, as opposed to $1,600 in the urban core, has its advantages.

After all, it's easier to learn to bake bread than it is to make money.

Carbon Market Fraud

2011-11-29T12:33:00.000-08:00

REDD, the carbon cartel's trading scheme hatched in partnership with the UN, unravels as Wall Street and the World Bank attempt to silence dissent at the COP 17 gathering in Durban, South Africa.

Armed with the Truth.

2011-11-28T10:18:00.000-08:00

Julian Assange rounds up the usual suspects in his acceptance speech as winner of the Walkley Journalism award.

Village Voice Villainy

2011-11-24T13:33:00.000-08:00

When our friends at Prostitution Research and Education took on Craigslist a year ago for aiding and abetting the trafficking of women and children in the sex industry, we wholeheartedly endorsed their efforts. Now that they are taking on Village Voice Media -- owners of the Seattle Weekly, San Francisco Weekly and LA Weekly -- for profiting from the same crime against humanity, we once again applaud their efforts at abolishing this modern form of slavery.

Reading Village Voice Media's lame responses, which range from everybody else is doing it to we only support trafficking of women 18 and older, we are left wondering where they got their PR people--let alone their moral values.

Razing Rio

2011-11-23T13:14:00.000-08:00

Compared to the slum evictions and police harassment in the lead-up to the Vancouver Olympics, the systematic executions in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro in preparation for the 2012 World Cup and 2016 Olympics are in another league altogether. But the modern Olympics -- no matter where -- are always about windfalls for developers and politicians benefiting from urban redevelopment associated with spectacular sporting events. Creating mass homelessness and destroying communities is simply capitalistic collateral damage.

Chain of Command

2011-11-22T10:53:00.002-08:00

Glenn Greenwald discusses abuse of power as an anti-democratic strategy. As we witness the exercise of tyrannical abuse -- from Wall Street to the White House to the college campus -- we need to further examine the chain of command culminating in militarized police action against the citizens of the United States. As Greenwald suggests, when we cease to ask such questions, we are no longer citizens--or human beings.

Teach Your Children

2011-11-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

Watching the pro-democracy rallies this week in Cairo and New York, one can't help but wonder what the world might have been like without the Reagan revolution. As one of Reagan's disciples, Barack Obama this week voiced support for the Egyptian military dictatorship; meanwhile, on Wall Street, peace activists sang along with David Crosby and Graham Nash to the tune of Teach Your Children--a song made famous forty years ago during the Vietnam War.

Scanning the websites of organizations supporting the movement for humanity against Obama's masters who benefit from war and other forms of thievery, American Friends Service Committee says simply, "We're all in this together." Somehow, I don't think President Obama sees it that way.

FBI Fantasy

2011-11-17T14:30:00.000-08:00

In The Revealer on Monday, Nora Connor discussed the anti-Islamic bias taught at the FBI academy in Quantico. As part of the counter-terrorism curriculum, fostering ignorance and bigotry in America's top law enforcement institution raises serious questions. One question is how effective they can be after being indoctrinated to ignore reality while pursuing fantasy. As I note in the comments section, that hasn't worked so well in the past.

Obama Feels No Pain

2011-11-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

Sicking the Department of Justice on California medical marijuana dispensaries may seem like good electoral strategy to Obama, but attacking the sick and disabled could backfire on Goldman Sach’s golden boy. After all, California voters approved medical relief for people dealing with chronic pain, and Obama’s decision to unleash U.S. attorneys against pot clubs because he thinks people still hate hippies is misplaced. I mean, even Sarah Palin says pot should be legal.

In the end, abuse of power by the White House, exercised through the Attorney General's office, is about social control. If one is looking for an argument against centralized government, prohibition -- past and present -- is a pretty good one.

Final Solution

2011-11-12T08:05:00.001-08:00

If you look at the sum of UN programs rather than its pieces, a different picture emerges. As storytellers, it is our task to paint that picture through narratives that capture the totality of what is happening.

While minor concessions are being made to placate indigenous peoples and their civil society friends, ethnic cleansing on a scale not seen since the first wave of invasions out of Europe is well underway.

This final solution for the disposition of the world's 5,000 remaining indigenous societies, in order to extract fossil fuels and minerals without regard for human rights, is the result of conflating greed and need. Neglecting environmental concerns as well, TNCs, states and the UN are engaged in an all out effort to clear the way for wholesale ravaging of the planet. If you doubt my assertions, take a look at the UN Millenium Development goals sometime.

Development has to happen in order to meet the demands of a burgeoning world population, but how that happens depends on attitude. Taking into consideration the needs of all peoples, including indigenous nations, would temper the greed and focus on the need. Development without their consent leaves it to markets and institutions to decide our fate.

Given this horrific scenario, the bewildering manipulations within the UN to exclude indigenous peoples from a seat at the table on all matters of substance makes sense. Silencing their voices is a prerequisite to their marginalization and, ultimately, their annihilation.

Time Is Come

2011-11-11T11:56:00.000-08:00

Demonstrations and teach-ins return to Berkeley. It's about time.

Healing Connection

2011-11-08T19:31:00.000-08:00

Resettled and beginning to heal with the help of friends and my new massage therapist extraordinaire, Laura Hedges. For those willing and able to donate toward the latter, this is my new healer's online gift certificate link.

De-funding Globalization

2011-11-04T04:53:00.001-07:00

Reading through Bay Area coverage of the Oakland and San Francisco police clashes with anti-globalization protestors this week, I came across a useful suggestion in the Bay Guardian: transfer your funds from bailout bank accounts to credit unions. While this may be nothing new to pro-democracy advocates, it seems the time is right for the millions of us made homeless or jobless since 2008 to begin putting our money where our mouth is.

With direct deposit and online banking available no matter where you put your money, there's simply no reason to keep supporting Wall Street financial institutions.

Back to the Beach

2011-10-30T09:09:00.000-07:00

If your life falls apart and nothing seems to work, a day at the beach might be a good idea. Writing from our refuge on the bluff overlooking Birch Bay and the San Juan Islands, putting our perils in perspective is made a little easier with the knowledge that living a block from the beach serves as a salve for our recent displacement from San Francisco Bay.

Having encountered the flow of economic refugees hostel hopping in San Francisco for the past month opened my eyes to the housing disaster still unfolding there. Counting myself lucky to have the support of family and friends as I was immersed in the currents of homelessness, I found walking the waterfront promenade on Marina Boulevard overlooking the Golden Gate a means of washing away some of my worries.

Now that I am once again able to watch my poodle frolic in the waves as eagles, kingfishers, mergansers and loons fish nearby, I more fully understand the therapeutic value of sand and surf. For all those kind souls I met on my ongoing journey to stability, I hope there is a beach in their near future as well.

Usual Suspects

2011-10-10T19:29:00.000-07:00

Rotten to the Core might have been a catchier title for this post, but blaming poverty pimps like the Congress of Racial Equality for gaming the system of corporate philanthropy misses the mark. CORE always played it safe where it came to power politics, stabbing in the back authentic activists like those in SNCC, whose base was truly main street and not Wall Street. Just ask James Forman. Or read his book.

One doesn't have to look far to find plenty of dope on the Wise Use Movement, it's corporate benefactors, or the thuggery they've sponsored since the Reagan Administration. But using sell-out civil rights groups to attack environmentalism and Christians who believe it their duty to protect God's creation is a new twist.

One environmental activists -- be they Christian, pagan, or indigenous -- would do well to keep an eye on.

The Long Goodbye

2011-10-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

After spending two weeks in the solitude of the Marin Headlands across the Golden Gate, I am winding down from a weekend of hyper metropolitan experience in San Francisco. Breakfasting in the Fort Mason hostel cafe, while overlooking the morning fog hugging the bridge towers and obscuring Mount Tam, I reflected on my recent respite at the Headlands Hostel and Arts Center.

Today ended Fleet Week on San Francisco Bay, and the concurrent carnival of militarism. Even the dazzling air maneuvers of naval fighter jets leave something to be desired as loud speakers at the Maritime Museum blare with patriotic bon ami. Alas, the one point of sobriety and sanity on Fisherman's Wharf was the booth manned by Iraq Veterans Against the War. As their sign noted, "War is Not a Game."

Between my benign breakfast and hectic encounter with war tourists on the Embarcadero, however, I caught the Van Ness/Mission bus from Galileo Academy over to the Mission District, and enjoyed a brief stroll around the neighborhood where I went to graduate school ten years ago. The school itself is closed and boarded up, but the art nouveau iron work out front still sports the NC in silent memory of New College of California, an institution that for thirty years promoted peace and freedom and mindful creativity rather than mindless conformity.

It has been a month now since our lives were thrown into turmoil, and coming to terms with our exodus from Marin has been daunting. But today reminded me of the ties I will always have to San Francisco, regardless of where I venture forth. Taking another week to do these tasks is just something that has to be done.

All part of the long goodbye.

Life in the Slow Lane

2011-09-27T16:49:00.000-07:00

During my month long hiatus from posting here, I have encountered the new American reality of being homeless and all that entails. Without getting into details, my companion of 33 years and my poodle found refuge from our housing tragedy with friends 900 miles to the north, while I struggle to get things back on track here.

Needless to say, just getting our minds around surviving on Social Security, when that means adapting to total disruption of our once settled lives, has been a challenging ordeal. The good thing is that thanks to kind and generous friends, we are all safe and sound. Staying alive and well will undoubtedly present additional challenges before we are stable again, but at least the initial shock of having to separate our family and put our things in storage, while we recover and regroup, has abated somewhat.

When we have time and perspective to elaborate on the turmoil we recently endured, we'll be sure to update our online friends here. In the meantime, thanks to all for the encouragement and support that helped sustain us through our recent crisis.

Privilege and Perception

2011-08-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Chip Berlet runs down right-wing populism in the Tea Party ranks.

Plan Ahead

2011-08-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

As millions of low income seniors search for affordable apartments on meager benefits, there are a few things for them to keep in mind. As we are finding out, the subsidized HUD housing for very low income seniors is inadequate, confusing, and requires a multi-year plan of attack.

Income limits, amenities, and restrictions vary from complex to complex, as well as county to county, and preferences for local applicants often apply. What this means is that the rents will vary considerably, and if you find it necessary to look in a neighboring county, chances are your name may never come up, even if you are on the waiting list. Even if all goes well, waiting lists are often three to five years.

One of the drawbacks to this system is that in most instances you cannot apply for subsidized senior housing until you are 62. If you are still working, and simply planning for retirement three or four years hence, you cannot apply if you are making a living wage. You have to wait until you either reduce your income by working part time, or retire and live in substandard conditions while you wait several years for a habitable unit to become available.

If you think that makes no sense, imagine a system where instead of having a single database -- where seniors can apply for the program, and then tough it out until something, somewhere turns up -- each apartment complex has its own application, waiting list, rules and regulations. Simply going through the exercise of visiting the dozens of complexes, reviewing their qualifications, and submitting forms, can be daunting.

If you have a dog to keep you company, you will want to make sure it's a miniature, as the few complexes that permit dogs almost without exception limit the size to 25 pounds. If you've had problems with derelict landlords, which in the case of very low income applicants is a distinct possibility, your chances are nil that you'll get through the screening process. Any problem with credit, hardly a novelty these days, is also a killer.

Of course, given the trajectory of fraud supplanting governance in the federal government, HUD subsidized housing may disappear altogether. In that case, we'll all be on the street, and everything I've shared in this post will be moot.

Until then, plan ahead, seek advice, and get on the list.

Christian Dominion

2011-08-20T10:33:00.001-07:00

Rachel Tabachnick discusses Christian Dominion and the Uganda prototype. As a charismatic movement of world conquest founded on bigotry and murder, this form of faith professed by such notables as Sarah Palin threatens democratic aspirations worldwide. As Tabachnick notes, Uganda’s legislated death penalty for homosexuality is just the beginning.

Culture of Death

2011-08-19T09:29:00.001-07:00

Discussion in the New York Times over uranium mining in New Mexico reveals a lot about the industry. While the market for uranium has dropped as China, Germany, and Japan reorient toward a nuclear free future, US companies plan to increase their radioactive output to meet potential demand for more nuclear weapons. To the Navajo, Hopi, and pueblos of Acoma, Laguna and Zuni, not only is this a threat to their sacred cultural continuity; it is also an insult to the suffering they have endured from the carcinogenic effects of mining uranium in their front yard.

Even when it comes to the American culture of death, everything is connected.

Doing the Numbers

2011-08-17T09:40:00.000-07:00

The Young Turks do the numbers on nuclear meltdown in the US.

Whining as Strategy

2011-08-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

After eight years of Bush and nearly three of Obama, one might reasonably expect professional activists and other community organizers to come up with something more effective than protests and placards. Indeed, given their ineffectiveness in altering public policy, one might think they would be inclined to reconsider the conventional strategy of whining their way to power. It has never worked before, and it isn't working now.

Yet, I watch many unions and social justice activists continually investing their time and resources in mass protests, marches, and media campaigns that are all but ignored by those who currently wield power under the globalization agenda. If anything, I expect these titans of thievery are reassured and amused by how predictable and easily controlled or manipulated these groups and events have become. It's like watching reruns of silly soap operas where B actors hit their lines and marks under the guidance of off-screen directors.

The professionalization of protest under the guiding hand of derivative philanthropy, of course, is part of the system of keeping democracy down, but that doesn't mean the rest of us have to follow their lead. After all, in this fight to the death over whether we can live lives of dignity and fulfillment, or succumb to a miserable existence of impoverished expectations, we need access to more effective weapons of resistance. When we start to see strikes, blockades, sabotage and acts of civil disobedience against the power elite, we will know the whining paradigm has finally died; until then, it is all high drama.

No Food No Shelter No Medicine

2011-08-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

With demand at food banks in San Francisco and Marin counties up 70% since the 2008 bank bailout economic meltdown, the response by FEMA is to cut food bank funding by 40%. No, George Bush has not returned to the White House, just his policies. Of course, anyone who was paying attention five years ago -- as Obama was making his deals with Wall Street to become the next president of the US -- knew Obama's administration would further the worst attributes of both Reagan and Bush. Knowing this in advance was small consolation, as we now witness the complete collapse of our society.

Losing Control

2011-08-12T10:04:00.000-07:00

John Robb discusses central planning and the misallocation of resources that brought down the Soviet and American empires. As Robb argues, whether controlled by a small cadre of elites in state institutions or in global markets, the continued misappropriation of public wealth for inappropriate infrastructure and projects inevitably leads to social collapse.

Under those circumstances, Robb notes in an earlier article, the only ones likely to panic are those who are losing control; in such a chaotic situation, he asserts, the least responsible or reliable are those in authority.

Greed Kills

2011-08-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Hope, community, life itself; greed kills them all. Riots, arson and looting are symptoms of systematic greed; so are suicides, murders and genocide. As the ranks of unemployed, homeless, and the otherwise excluded grow, self-destructive scenarios will become the norm.

In his 1994 book Civil Wars: From L.A. to Bosnia, Hans Magnus Enzensburger examined the consequences of societies built on systems that treated people as if they didn't matter. Introduce weapons and scapegoating, and pandemonium will ensue.

Gangs and police interaction are fairly predictable street drama; what we can expect as societies unravel due to the gangs on Wall Street, however, is anybody's guess. Reading Enzensburger, it isn't likely to be anything good.

Dream Destroyed

2011-08-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Michael Moore reminds us how Obama's mentor Ronald Reagan, with help from the AFL-CIO, began the destruction of the American dream.

From the Ruins

2011-08-05T09:27:00.001-07:00

Over the last five hundred years, wealthy Europeans devastated the original societies of the Americas. Of course, they had a lot of enthusiastic help from less than wealthy Europeans, but by and large they grew rich while the rest of us muddled by.

Now that they have cannibalized the system that supplanted the indigenous one, many are left wondering how we got into this mess, and how we can get out of it. The answer is simpler than it might seem.

Correcting the moral flaw that enabled such colossal theft does not require intellectual genius or vast sums; what it does require is political engagement and moral commitment. As we rebuild our society from the ruins demolished by Wall Street, Congress and the White House, we now know that moral leadership cannot be found in any of these corrupted institutions. As we fight to defeat the predatory mindset from which they operate, we will simultaneously instruct and hopefully inoculate the young against this aggressive disease.

Seeds of Hope

2011-08-04T10:43:00.001-07:00

In hard times, it is community that sees us through. An essential but often neglected part of nurturing community, especially when things fall apart, is mentoring. In this inter-generational exchange lies the seeds of hope for a better tomorrow.

With the knowledge and understanding gained from experience and reflection, imparted to those freshly assuming social responsibilities, comes an obligation to see that participating elders are able to live a life of dignity and fulfillment. Tribes, institutions and markets routinely make use of mentoring in order to perpetuate themselves; now it is time for networks devoted to intellectual development and humanitarian ideals to make use of this human resource in a way that respects the generosity of and meets the needs of mentoring elders.

Some programs honor wisdom of the elders through exposure of their ideas or examination of their lives, but it is the working relationships between elders and young people that promises to bear fruit. Investing in this relationship with scholarships and stipends, so both may participate without undue hardship, is possibly one of the most efficient uses of scarce funds to achieve meaningful change.

Large grants to tribes and institutions are important, but small grants to mentoring programs can prove to be equally effective. When they work in tandem, the sky’s the limit.

The world’s problems may get worse before they get better, but investing in mentoring now gives us a vital chance down the road. Without it, there is no chance at all.

Calling the Shots

2011-08-04T09:18:00.000-07:00

Cyrano's looks at the net worth and income of those who rule the United States, as well as those who work directly under them. While it is popularly known the vast concentration of wealth is in the top 1% of society, it is the top 0.1% who actually call the shots.

Lost Languages

2011-08-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

Lost Languages looks at the challenge of Native American language revitalization.

Paddle to Swinomish

2011-08-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Paddle to Swinomish landed last week. In 1977, I worked as a vessel captain for New England Fish Company in La Conner, just across the channel from the Swinomish Indian Reservation. The north end of the channel leads to Anacortes and the famed San Juan Islands, the south end to the renowned Deception Pass and Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Values and Attitude

2011-07-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Watching thievery and the consequential social collapse unfold, I keep coming back to values and attitude. As a cultural hippie, the solution seems obvious.

It's odd, but I was thinking of a guy I knew forty years ago who inherited a small fortune from his family that publishes the Seattle Times. It was just two years after Woodstock, and the communal spirit was still alive, so he bought a three story brick building in a neighborhood commercial zone and turned it into a hive of hippie enterprise.

We had a cooperative grocery, flour mill, pottery studio, alternative media, stringed instrument repair, and community garden. The apartment on the top floor was mine for free, as he wanted someone to live in the building, but didn't want any rent. Every day was a festival.

Today, there are many inheritors of unearned wealth in our society. Some even seem to care about what is happening. Putting their wealth to work for public good would not be that hard to do.

All you need is love.

New Reality

2011-07-27T10:23:00.001-07:00

Internally Displaced Persons, as defined by international institutions, generally refers to refugees uprooted by civil war or natural disasters who still remain in their country of origin, but those forced to migrate due to development practices also qualify as IDPs. While development of megadams, agricultural plantations, mines, and other industrial projects often displace indigenous populations, we have yet to apply the term IDP to those displaced by economic policies under the new world order.

As many of the areas plagued by the problems of IDPs were propelled into violent conflict by IMF and World Bank policies to implement privatization, those displaced by concurrent state austerity measures would likely soon surpass the present global estimate of 25 million conventional IDPs. Just because we haven't erected Red Cross or UN humanitarian camps and services for IDPs in the United States, doesn't mean that the concept isn't valid; it simply means that keepers of official statistics have yet to catch up with the new reality.

Survival

2011-07-26T09:50:00.000-07:00

Food, shelter, medicine; pick two. That's austerity under the new world order.

And that's only true where tribal or state institutions still function. If markets have their way, even one will soon be a luxury.

So where does that leave us? Family, friends, and social networks can provide a safety net of sorts, but what happens when they're all in the same sinking boat?

My guess is that relationships between state and federal governments are going to change, because the catastrophe of corruption that has captured the federal power of the purse is devastating the ability to provide state, county and municipal services essential to our economy and environment. While the White House and Congress might dance with glee over handing the U.S. Treasury to Wall Street, I imagine most governors and mayors are appalled at the carnage they have caused.

Living inside the beltway bubble, lavished with perks and presents from lobbyists, our pain is invisible or unimportant to those involved in dismantling our society. Fortifying our networks by creating alternative forms of survival -- like we did as part of the 1960s counterculture -- may not solve our problems, but in the meantime, it is perhaps all we can do under the current circumstances.

Guild Whups Baptists

2011-07-25T19:02:00.000-07:00

Hats off to the National Lawyer’s Guild, including Bellingham, Washington attorney Larry Hildes in our previous home town of 27 years. Seems those fundamentalist Baptists are good at dishing it out, but not so tough when it comes to taking it on the chin. Good to know that once in a while free speech wins out over flaky religion.

Cheryl Stromer Prall

2011-07-23T16:48:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, I mentioned to my supervisor at the college library where I worked that I wondered what ever happened to a childhood friend of mine I hadn't seen in thirty years. Having listened to my fond memories of her generosity, the librarian encouraged me to attempt to locate her. Fortuitously coming across her older brother's profile and e-mail address on an East coast university faculty page, we eventually reestablished contact, and began a distance dialogue culminating in a rendezvous years later at the Sausalito ferry landing.

Cheryl Stromer (now Prall) had come up from San Diego to Berkeley to attend her daughter's graduation from culinary school, and arranged for us to meet for lunch. Later, when her daughter was preparing to move to New York, Cheryl returned with her other daughter, and we all once again met for lunch and a stroll along the Sausalito waterfront. Both occasions were delightful, prompting me to recall some of the congenial attributes of Cheryl when growing up together, in particular her bohemian interests, such as frequenting the local coffee house poetry readings.

As these poetic pursuits preceded my coming of age after the Summer of Love and Woodstock, I recalled to Cheryl's daughter that it served as peer approval to opt out of the militaristic madness that consumed so many of our generation in Vietnam. As I remember telling her daughter, I felt that becoming a hippie was OK.

Life, of course, is too short, and sometimes too hard or unfair, but remarkable people like Cheryl -- always ready with an encouraging word and fine sense of humor -- make our travails a little more bearable. And for that I will be forever grateful to good friends like her.

In view of all the suffering in the world, it is nice to know that a poetic inclination and kind heart can still make life worth living. For friends like Cheryl, who passed on in June, that seems like a pretty good tribute.

Listening with Respect

2011-07-21T09:45:00.000-07:00

Depression is a disabling disease, now on a trajectory to become a pandemic. And while depression can affect anyone dealing with displacement or trauma, it is particularly devastating to teens, whose minds are far from being fully developed, yet whose awareness and demands can be overwhelming.

For parents and school counselors, this is not necessarily news, but for seniors suddenly found redundant, it is possibly an opportunity to meld two generations into programs that benefit both.

Reorienting youth away from the false promises of consumerism and toward more fulfilling lives is not an easy task, but listening to them with respect for what they have to deal with in today's world is something we can do with little effort or expense. Sharing our perspectives on resiliency and philosophy might help them to endure the social pressures to conform to the market mentality. While we cannot tell them what to do, we can at least advise them as to the consequences of their choices.

Cote d'Ritz

2011-07-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

When we first ventured forth from the rainy Pacific Northwest to the sunny shores of San Francisco Bay, we did not know what the future held in store, but celebrating our first Thanksgiving in shorts and sandals seemed like a good omen. Now, twelve years later, our sense of adventure, dignity and fulfillment here seems to have run its course. Having spent the last two years dealing with derelict landlords, while simultaneously coming to terms with a rental market that has overtaken our income, we simply haven't the resources or energy to sustain our stay in paradise.

Honest people are hurting all over the country, and many of them have to contest with horrendous weather or social backwardness, so we're not complaining about making a sacrifice to live in this benign, Mediterranean climate and cosmopolitan ambience, but we're wondering what will become of this incubator of social change as the predatory process of austerity unfolds. Without major public investment in low income housing and social programs, the Golden Gate will become a Cote d'Ritz serviced by people living in their cars.

Hard as we've tried, and much as we'll miss the redwoods and palms, it looks like our senior years will have to be lived elsewhere. Such is life.

Climate of Corruption

2011-07-19T10:03:00.001-07:00

Austerity as a symptom of systematic theft has many faces; one of those is the closure of schools, libraries and state parks. Now we have the closure of courts.

After three years of layoffs and cuts to public services following in the wake of bank bailouts, America is becoming less of a society and more of a disaster. Homeless seniors and incarcerated youth are not a sign of cohesion, but rather a result of corruption.

The corruption of governance that caused this calamity has yet to be addressed. Indeed, the only argument between the White House and Congress is how much to steal from Social Security and other social programs to cover the bank bailouts and Pentagon misadventures. In this climate of corruption, it is not only difficult to imagine a prosperous, peaceful future, it is increasingly hard to conceive of interventions capable of preventing social collapse.

Fighting Fraud

2011-07-17T11:17:00.001-07:00

Norman Solomon challenges Obama and the GOP in defense of Social Security and Medicare.

Portents of Proxy Process

2011-07-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Someone once remarked that representative democracy is neither. Setting aside for the moment whether our government reflects or causes the calamity we are immersed in, the simple fact we have no say in public policy other than to respond to propaganda and press releases disguised as news, signals our vital vulnerability.

As we watch with horror the bipartisan effort to remove what little safety nets we have in the form of Social Security and Medicare, the notion of future dysfunction being an order of magnitude beyond the present isn't hard to imagine. What is hard to conceive is a route around the current impasse, one that engages our citizenry in direct involvement rather than the failed experiment in governance by proxy.

Portents of the proxy process, as seen in the collapse of social institutions targeted by the WTO, IMF and World Bank, are more than just warning lights requiring our attention; they are sirens demanding our action. Assuming our responsibilities to right these wrongs in the face of full-on fraud means abandoning our childish dreams of peace and prosperity by proxy; it simply isn't going to happen.

Reefer Sadness

2011-07-14T10:05:00.000-07:00

Obama attacks medical marijuana.

Tarmageddon

2011-07-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

In its latest project, Anonymous targets the usual suspects of boundless greed.

Wise Use Militias

2011-07-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

Talk to Action discusses militias and right-wing terrorism in the United States. Q&A in the comments section grapples with the important difference between facts and information in the struggle for democracy within a free market state.

Wipeout

2011-07-08T10:45:00.000-07:00

As Americans return from fossil fueled adventures on the highways and skyways of summer vacation, indigenous communities on the fossil frontier disintegrate in a cloud of toxic waste. Already living a Mad Max reality extending from the Alberta Tar Sands to the Niger Delta, they serve as eyewitnesses at the ground zeroes of the global carbon catastrophe. In this segment by Mother Jones, mass extinction is explored within the context of climate change on steroids--what some are calling "wipeout".

A Totalitarian Objective

2011-07-06T09:44:00.001-07:00

Privatization, first and foremost, is a totalitarian objective. The goal of eradicating the public interest depends on this misanthropic philosophy.

Subjugating public institutions to market tyranny, however, involves more than just greed and the misery it ensures. Pitting the poor against each other as they grovel for life’s basic necessities also mobilizes resentment against any group perceived as benefiting from the public good.

While we’ve witnessed this dynamic in operation since Reagan glorified greed as a national virtue, its institutionalization under the Clinton, Bush and Obama administrations has helped to propel bigotry as well. Eliminating social services for immigrants, jailing blacks, and terminating the sovereignty of indigenous nations are some of the most visible agenda items of this bigotry.

As popular resentment against the federal government is mobilized concurrent with the implementation of privatization, outbreaks of vigilante violence encouraged by state and market interests is a given. How we respond to this coming crisis will determine whether the crisis becomes an epidemic.

The research, education, and organizing we do in advance makes all the difference in what type of community action we can expect.

Maintaining Social Bonds

2011-07-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Coping with transition -- be it work, age, or health related -- consumes energy, something not in abundance for those already living on the margin of stability. With the destabilization of American society brought on by banking scandals and the consequent public sector cuts to low income programs, finding a stable living environment can be challenging--especially for seniors and the disabled.

Having weathered the initial round of dislocation and relocation associated with the foreclosure tsunami that struck landlords and tenants over the last couple years, we managed to land on our feet in a unit where we thought we might be able to survive on our social security and medicare benefits. Due to unforeseen health factors involved with our apartment, that has not turned out to be the case, and we now need to muster both the energy and expense of finding and moving into a new place--our third move in less than a year and a half.

Without getting into the difficulty of chasing down a low rent apartment in an extremely competitive tenant market, the point I guess I'm making is that the process of displacing upright good citizens like ourselves and others like us, also destabilizes neighborhoods and communities. When we are forced, through no fault of our own, to repeatedly scramble to keep a roof over our heads, we no longer have the energy to invest in maintaining social bonds that keep communities strong. Apparently, that's what the CEOs on Wall Street had in mind.

Israeli Blood Diamond News

2011-07-03T17:05:00.001-07:00

As a luxury item, foregoing the purchase of diamonds is a painless gesture, especially when many are brutally produced by forced labor in horrific conditions. But blood diamonds, as these have come to be known, are not merely a topic of human rights abuses against slave labor; they are also a growing topic of focus for global solidarity opposing human rights abuses perpetrated by the State of Israel against Palestine.

In his article on how the diamond cutting and polishing industry in Israel supports the Israeli military occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, Sean Clinton reports that as Israel’s #1 export commodity, blood diamonds contribute $1 billion a year to the Zionist Apartheid. Along with the $3 billion a year from the U.S. Treasury in the form of military aid, American consumers are often oblivious to their underwriting of the occupation.

Given that nearly half of the diamonds purchased in the US are from Israel, a boycott of this luxury good is a campaign American jewelers are hoping to avoid. Fortunately, as word gets out about their efforts to censor Israeli blood diamond news, consumer resentment might prove to be as effective a motivator as human rights.

Decriminalizing Consciousness

2011-07-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

In light of the colossal failure of the world war on drugs, one might think the United Nations would step forward to end the human rights abuses and official violence associated with this misguided global project. Given the fact that psychoactive plants have provided therapeutic medicinal relief to humankind for millenia, one might imagine the senseless campaigns against entheogens like cannabis, psilocybin and peyote would someday come to an end.

But the UN is also a collection of states with conflicts of interest that prevent humanitarian perspectives from prevailing. Perhaps most prominent in these interests is the militarization of police and commercialization of militaries that undergirds the criminalization of sacred, therapeutic botanicals. The consequence of such misguided and corrupt policies, unfortunately, is the marginalization and even demonization of indigenous sacred rituals, practices and ceremonies.

As the epidemic of mental, spiritual and social affliction expands exponentially, leading the World Health Organization to declare depression as second only to heart disease as a disabling condition, it is disappointing to witness organizations like the UN International Narcotics Control Board continuing in the wrong direction on ethnobotanicals. If humankind is to find new directions in the evolution of contemporary society, ancient indigenous knowledge and modern therapeutic practice will need to inform each other.

Toward that end, the International Center for Ethnobotanical Education, Research and Service -- a Netherlands non-profit -- is campaigning for a more enlightened UN response. Take a look at this and other initiatives aimed at ameliorating the militaristic mindset behind the war on drugs and therapeutic botanicals.

Imagine a future where consciousness is no longer a crime.

Understanding American Politics

2011-06-30T09:31:00.001-07:00

I always said that the best field of academic study to understanding American politics is theatre arts. After handing over the keys to the U.S. Treasury in the bank bailout, Obama is now decrying tax breaks for the wealthy.

While on the surface that may seem incongruous, it actually makes perfect sense. Obama knows Congress -- also in the pocket of the aristocracy -- will do nothing to upset their benefactors. Thus, by exhibiting false bravado, Obama deflects criticism while providing cover for his next betrayal.

Were Obama not so obvious in his performances, he might avoid accusations of fraud, but his repetition of this pattern of misbehavior and dishonesty makes it difficult for all but the infantile and ignorant to believe anything he says. Unfortunately, that describes a lot of Americans.

Dreams of Humanity

2011-06-27T08:20:00.001-07:00

The success of the rule of law depends on who is making the law, or breaking it. The failure of the rule of law occurs when those people are one and the same.

The failure, dramatized in the WTO Ministerial in Seattle and numerous gatherings by lawless milieux since, demonstrate only a continuity of the rule of force--the underpinning of the distribution of power in most domestic and international institutions today. Changing the relationships between forceful and peaceful peoples, especially between indigenous nations and industrial states, can thus not be accomplished through existing venues.

In order to reconcile current conflicts and achieve meaningful resolution of power imbalance requires new methods, new attitudes, and new ideas. Naturally, those ideas will not come from those who rule by force; to accomplish the dreams of humanity, they will have to step aside.

Willful Ignorance

2011-06-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Steven T. Newcomb recalls a conversation with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Scalia.

Every Last Drop

2011-06-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Scott Thill examines the privatization of the United Nations.

Drug War Report

2011-06-24T10:56:00.000-07:00

While the U.S. drug war in Latin America might not -- as in Iraq -- have routinely misplaced pallets of shrink-wrapped bundles of U.S. currency used to bribe officials and informants, the accounting for U.S. drug war funds is anything but transparent. In the wake of the international drug commission report that concluded the drug war has been a colossal failure, one that dramatically increased violence without significantly decreasing the flow of drugs, the Pentagon is having difficulty persuading Congress to continue pouring billions into the program. Even if it weren't for the fact that the drug war is replete with scandals, the outsourcing of accounting as well as mercenaries leaves some members of the U.S. Senate wondering what else they don't know.

Perspective Proportion Design

2011-06-23T09:05:00.000-07:00

In his article at Indian Country Today, Duane Champagne discusses academia's propensity to pay lip service to Native American studies without allowing it to flourish from the perspective of Native American students, scholars, and intellectuals.

The Price of Petroleum

2011-06-22T12:09:00.001-07:00

In this short video, Melina Laboucan-Massimo of the Lubicon Cree in Northern Alberta discusses the destruction of their way of life by the Government of Canada and the oil and gas companies it has collaborated with in decimating the Cree homeland. Once the type of story associated with what were considered third world peoples in former European colonies like Nigeria, the toxic wasting of the Fourth World, or First Nations in Canada, vividly demonstrates the connection between industrial human rights atrocities and the consumer demand for fossil fuels. In a morbid poetic sense, every barrel of tar sands crude represents a dead Canadian Indian, for that is now part of the price of petroleum.

Tyranny in Blue

2011-06-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

In The Policing of Political Speech: Constraints on Mass Dissent in the U.S., the National Lawyers Guild examines the preemptive disruption of free speech and assembly, the misuse of grand juries, and the media cover for police violence against peace and freedom activists.

Vast Values Divide

2011-06-20T10:47:00.001-07:00

When Crystal Willcuts says being respectful, truthful, and caring is un-American, she is observing the vast values divide between indigenous peoples and American culture, which she describes as immature, greedy, and deceitful. Of course, our culture is not static, and while Willcuts’ description is generally accurate, we are now two generations into a revaluation that began with the hippie counterculture in the 1960s.

While the rich and powerful maintain their privileges through the corruption of governance in mainstream American institutions, the undercurrent of dissatisfaction with the dominant model, that impoverishes the rest of us, is pulling our society away from the values void promoted by politicians and their parasitic patrons. Navigating that current toward a more generous, sustainable future is perhaps our greatest challenge, but making the vacuum of values a primary topic of discussion is an integral first step in revitalizing a landscape that was once fabulously wealthy in authentic lives.

As America the ugly collapses, perhaps America the beautiful will arise.

Recreating Reality

2011-06-19T11:24:00.001-07:00

When it comes to writing and storytelling, we’d all like to be the next N. Scott Momaday, Leslie Marmon Silko, Ray A. Youngbear, or Sherman Alexie. But the reality is that most of us won’t win the Pulitzer Prize or other esteemed honors for literature. What we can do, like Momaday and Silko, is tell our stories. Thus contributing to the web of consciousness, we can honor what’s important to us, and maybe at the same time participate in recreating our mutual reality. There is a lot of work to be done in rewriting the script of humanity, and contributions both great and small are required. So I encourage writers to share whatever gift you have; every little bit helps.

Indoctrination in Dominance

2011-06-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

Anyone not in a coma knows American culture is overwhelmingly one of violence. Drug wars, religious wars, oil wars; you name it.

The US military is larger than the rest of the world combined. ACLU graphics on US incarceration are startling: 5% of the world's population with 25% of the world's prison population. Mostly for non-violent offenses. Predominantly black.

While we watch schools closed in order to build more prisons, close libraries to open offensives against immigrants, or simply hand over the keys to our public treasuries to thieves on Wall Street, one has to wonder how long our culture of violence can last. Or will our indoctrination in dominance simply acculturate us to mount little American flags on the cardboard boxes we soon will call home?

A Predatory Process

2011-06-16T11:46:00.001-07:00

In Steven Newcomb's critique of a doctrine of reconciliation, he reviews the Christian domination paradigm, and the assimilation/reconciliation process. As a destructive legacy of church and state domination, says Newcomb, it is senseless to speak in terms of reconciliation with such illegitimate religious ideologies.

FBI v The People

2011-06-15T09:56:00.000-07:00

Democracy Now interviews activist Scott Crow and ACLU spokesman Mike German about FBI harassment of activists nationwide.

A More Holistic Tradition

2011-06-14T15:22:00.000-07:00

In the beginning, it must have puzzled indigenous peoples why the Europeans were so aggressive and ungrateful. Later, having gotten to know more about Christianity and corporations, indigenous societies came to realize the Europeans -- for whatever reason -- had chosen the wrong fork in the road, opting for the values of greed over those of generosity. After that, the ambience of European cultures could do little other than act out aggression and ingratitude repeatedly -- generation after generation -- around the world.

Now, as this aggression and greed are bringing about social and ecological collapse, even Europeans are rejecting this aspect of their heritage. Some are even turning to their indigenous roots in order to discover a more holistic tradition--one with a more harmonious ambience.

While it might be tempting to be smug about having surpassed the ignorance of capitalistic dinosaurs, it does us no good if we don't commit to removing these throwbacks from positions of leadership. Until we replace them with people devoted to enacting our vision of governance and accountability, we will be forced to continue fighting just to keep our values alive.

State Secrets

2011-06-10T13:41:00.000-07:00

FRONTLINE looks at the biggest story on the planet, the tension between transparency and secrecy, and how Wikileaks is changing the world.

Global Justice Networks

2011-06-09T10:21:00.000-07:00

In the current issue of the International Journal of Communication, Patrick McCurdy discusses media-oriented practices by social movement actors within global justice networks.

Counter Surveillance

2011-06-08T09:47:00.000-07:00

As peace and freedom activists across the world encounter growing surveillance by national security states, protecting digital security and privacy online is a priority in keeping friends and allies out of jail. Toward that end, Security in a Box goes a long way toward getting activists thinking and acting in ways that help prevent state infiltration, disruption, and repression of social movements. With the criminalization of dissent in what are considered democratic countries like the US, UK and Canada, deploying counter surveillance measures is the only way to reestablish freedom of expression made illegal by national security policy.

Social Identity

2011-06-06T12:56:00.001-07:00

Social identity on the Internet is widely recognized as integral to today's social movements. In this issue of First Monday, Sandy Schumann and Francois Luong introduce a framework of mechanisms that can enforce a transfer of online actions off-line.

Disaster Recovery

2011-06-05T20:07:00.001-07:00

The 6 stages of Disaster Recovery

1
Time: 0
Disaster! Marked by total loss of information, in state of shock and confusion

2
Time: 10 hours (the day of)
Slowly the dawn of a new prospect emerges in the collective psyche of the affected community

3
Time: 100 hours (3-4th day)
Solidarity and sense of support peaks among disaster victims, amidst influx of workers, aid and volunteers

4
Time: 1,000 hours (1.5 month)
Reconstruction effort begins

5
Time: 10,000 hours (1 year)
Livelihood pattern stabilizes; rebuilding life, work, family and community begins

6
Time: 100, 000 hour (10 years)
Post-disaster recovery & reconstruction effort reaches completion

Source: "The Relief Volunteer's Pocket Guide to Disaster Stress Management and Mental Health," by Shin SUGOK

No Nuclear

2011-06-04T15:12:00.000-07:00

No Nukes Action Committee plans an anti-nuclear conference and teach-ins for September in the Bay Area.

Wasteland

2011-06-03T12:57:00.000-07:00

Industrial culture, where everything and everyone is a commodity to be consumed, does not concern itself with sustainability or morality. What was once sacred -- be it a river, mountain or forest -- is simply a resource to be bought and sold.

Indigenous culture, which forms the bedrock of our consciousness and heritage as a species, has become yet another commodity. When they no longer exist, due to climate change and other manifestations of industrial life, they will be consumed in museums and pageants commemorating the extinction of sacredness.

As extinction of cultures and species proceed apace, memory will become another worldly project archived on CDs, DVDs and hard drives, curated for the benefit of generations no longer able to experience unpolluted landscapes, food, or ideas. Busy battling starvation, toxic waste and plagues, these novelties will no longer serve to inspire, but rather serve as quaint distractions from what will be an infested wasteland.

Institutionalized Aggression

2011-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

Institutionalized aggression can take many forms; in the UN, agencies like the World Bank and the Security Council reward economic and military aggression with positions of privilege vis-a-vis other states. Indeed, nuclear arms play a key role in determining which states have the greatest influence in world affairs. Legitimizing aggression with the UN imprimatur allows NATO and its member states to exercise unilateral violence against states contesting this hierarchy of the new world order.

Political violence by the UN against indigenous nations involves confiscation of Fourth World properties without their consent, rationalized by philosophies of dominance like the Doctrine of Discovery, plenary powers, and national security. While charges of racial discrimination are levied against member states by the Human Rights Council, the UN itself practices exclusion based on forms of social organization; even as the global body celebrates cultural and biological diversity and bestows human rights on indigenous peoples, it simultaneously funds development programs intent on both ecocide and genocide.

Yet, despite the hypocrisy of the UN, the states and nations of the world need a place to talk about our mutual future. The fact that that future is imperiled by the institutionalized aggression there may be cause for cynicism, but it should not be an excuse for inaction. There is simply too much at stake.

Death's Door

2011-06-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, when I began receiving MediCal benefits, my physician had me evaluated by the physical therapy center of our local hospital. Based on that and my records for the ten years he'd been seeing me, he prescribed a course of treatments to manage my chronic back pain and low energy. Unfortunately, none of these are covered by MediCal.

Two weeks ago, MediCal sent me a letter informing me I can no longer see my physician of the last twelve years, and am now required to limit my medical care to the local community clinic. I suppose this is part of the plan to eliminate health maintenance for low income people, leaving them with only drugs and emergency room visits when they're on death's door.

Apparently, the choice we now have is between food, shelter and medicine. At present, I can only afford two of the three.

Camp Marigold

2011-05-31T09:29:00.000-07:00

When you have a dog, bad credit, and low income, it's not easy finding a place to live in California's wealthiest county. So when we had to relocate from our studio apartment of nine years due to property foreclosure a year ago, we counted ourselves lucky to find an apartment in a nice neighborhood.

Our ground level unit faces the off street gravel parking area under a big oak tree, so we have a handy area to barbecue as well as for storing our Volkswagen Van. When we first saw the place, we named it Camp Marigold, after the stop over cabins we once stayed at up near the Klamath River.

The fourplex of apartments we're in -- two up and two down -- is complemented by two detached units out back behind the coin-op laundry facility. Both of those are public housing subsidized, and are occupied by middle age individuals--one female and one male. The male has mental problems, but generally behaves, with occasional late night loud music or visitors.

That unfortunately changed when our landlord inadvisedly rented the front lower unit next to ours to another publicly subsidized mentally ill middle age man with disposable income. The combination of the two quickly turned into a problem for the other tenants and neighbors. Now able to supply free beer and a place to hang out, they soon attracted a steady stream of derelicts from the Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings, including small time dealers and prostitutes.

As the daytime partying grew to be a regular nuisance, the host's mental health deteriorated, causing him to nail his windows shut and phone police when he thought people were trying to break in. We'll never know what was real and what was imagined, but after numerous visits from local police and the public housing authority, the cabin tenant is moving to a more suitable facility where he'll get greater supervision. We're hoping things will return to the normal trials of living in close proximity to people with different lifestyles, but for now we're just glad the homey hookers and other lowlifes have found other haunts.

Self-Rule

2011-05-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Much as we'd like democratic revolution to be as simple as using a cell phone and waving a rainbow flag, the dreadful reality of our globalized world is that isn't going to cut it. Transitioning from feudal fiefdoms, be they transnational corporations or local thugs, requires intellectual preparation and political organization.

In their report on the transition from feudalism to democracy in Bolivia, the International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs documents the mechanisms used to change land ownership and territorial resource management to support self-rule.

For civil society in countries lacking indigenous majorities, the political science lessons from Bolivia and throughout the Andes help to illustrate that research, education and organizing go hand in hand. Trying to short cut that process is just wishful thinking.

Wealth of Ideas

2011-05-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

How do people decide what to talk about? What method do they use to determine what they discuss? Why do they cede this function to Wall Street?

The narratives we engage in our daily lives about vital issues create the context within which we organize our communities and societies. If we limit that context to market perspectives, then nothing but money matters. Understanding our world demands more.

Since market narratives control most major media, expanding our comprehension requires stepping outside these dominant venues to look around at the wealth of ideas excluded by their gatekeepers. One place to look is in tribal explanations of world affairs, made available by networks of activists and scholars devoted to indigenous studies.

For the last five years, I have actively associated with the Center for World Indigenous Studies, contributing my views to their various publications like Fourth World Eye, Fourth World Journal, and the Forum for Global Exchange. Reading the contributions from other scholars has broadened my perspective considerably.

Reviewing past and present issues of Fourth World Journal, I can see that translation of indigenous ideas to a popular audience begins with thoughts first explored in academic surroundings. I suppose that's why they're called think tanks.

Sorrow of War

2011-05-24T09:13:00.001-07:00

Bao Ninh was born three weeks after me in October 1952. He spent 1965 to 1975 in the North Vietnamese Army fighting the American Army, and then spent ten more years retrieving bodies from the jungle. His novel The Sorrow of War was published in 1994.

Quest for Vengeance

2011-05-23T09:45:00.001-07:00

The collapse of the modern state as a stable social institution is accelerating beyond most people’s imagination. Although we had early warnings from Argentina and elsewhere, the turbo–charged theft of Wall Street heists and IMF austerity is now reverberating throughout North America and Western Europe.

No longer is colonialism limited to the Third and Fourth World; today, agents of private equity are quickly cannibalizing public reserves set aside for health, education and retirement. As public health collapses in former superpowers like the US and Russia, economic panic and religious hysteria will soon become commonplace.

Scrambling for survival, no one will be immune to the pandemonium. As calamities proliferate, the quest for vengeance will likely replace our demands for justice.