Zebra 3 Report by Joe Anybody

Saturday, 30 January 2010

Redress of grievances - Ungar Furs - Man Lights Himself on Fire
Mood:

crushed out
Now Playing: A post on Portland Indy Media Regarding Man who Burned to Death
Topic: ANYBODY * ANYDAY

Redress of grievances

Written By: Vegan Cabal

PIMC link

30.Jan.2010 01:46

Sounds like my Dad's trust in the system and persecution of anything critical of capitalist tradition and the nuclear family normative. From Warren's initial statement that this wasn't a political action we could take the hint that he, like most American fathers, lost time getting to know his son because adherence to the capitalist (dis)order means survival, retirement, "social security".

When the cops give us an obvious reason we must respond. How are po-lice, or parents so detached from a sense of empathy to see suffering and not respond with compassion? Warren would do well to investigate the situation of systemic abuse of animals, his son probably wanted to show him, as I tried for my dad, and he probably shit on the sentiment as a "weak" ideology like mine did.

Love is the way of strength.

That gives him no credibility for me, yet the worthless Feds might intend to pursue those fantasies for appeasement of "his loss". I see the vegan community here lost an unknown ally because dominion aligned predators like that cop and the 75% Christian demographic of America desire business as usual for security, to push the reality of suffering that feeds and clothes them further from awareness.

Really, my father dying would reduce the participants of meat, leather, dairy and vivisection industry by one, not a loss to the greater good, and Warren Shaull reminds me of my dad significantly. Sometimes extremism gives us in a single action what decades of symbolic actions don't achieve, though all tactics are there for people with different-abledness and willingness.

Our speciesist war rages on and resistance allied with nonhumyns and eARTh is gaining traction. I want to rally to honor the humyn casualties in the struggle and protest disgusting abuse of power of that sadist spraying pepper spray, that is just vile. Where is PDX copwatch on this? Is anyone else feeling like protesting at the precinct and honoring Daniel's action at Ungar?

Full Article is here

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/01/396984.shtml?discuss

Torture Never Stopped Under Obama

author: workers action

What is Torture? It can be physical or physchological, quick or unhurried. It implies lasting trauma unbefitting a human. The U.N. defines torture as:

" ...any act by which severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him, or a third person, information or a confession... " (U.N. Convention Against Torture).

By this definition the U.S. continues to practice torture. Yes, Obama outlawed some especially shocking forms of torture — water boarding, for example — but other types of torture were not labeled "torture" and thus continue.

Surprisingly, this fact was recently discussed at length in The New York Times, under an Op-Ed piece appropriately entitled Torture's Loopholes. In it, an ex-interrogator explains some of the more glaring examples of how the U.S. currently tortures and argues for the practices to end. In reference to Obama's vow to end the systematic, obscene torture under Bush, the article states:

"... the changes were not as drastic as most Americans think, and elements of our interrogation policy continue to be both inhumane and counterproductive."

The author says bluntly, "If I were to return to one of the war zones today... I would still be allowed to abuse [torture] prisoners."

The article also explains how the U.S. "legally" continues a practice that thousands of people in the U.S. prison system already know to be psychological torture:

"... extended solitary confinement is torture, as confirmed by many scientific studies. Even the initial 30 days of isolation could be considered abuse [torture]."

Other forms of torture commonly practiced — since they are part of the Military's updated Field Manual — are "... stress positions [shackling prisoners in painful positions for extended periods of time], putting detainees into close confinement or environmental manipulation [hot or frigid rooms]... "

Also mentioned as torture is sleep deprivation, a tactic used in combination with 20-hour interrogation sessions. The author concludes that these practices do "not meet the minimum standard of humane treatment, either in terms of American law or simple human decency." (January 20, 2010).

Unmentioned by the article are other forms of torture institutionalized under the Obama administration. One is "sensory deprivation," a deeply traumatizing psychological torture described in detail in Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine. The new Army Field Manual says that the tactic — though not called "sensory deprivation" — should be used to "prolong the shock of capture," and should include "goggles or blindfolds and earmuffs" that completely disconnects the senses from the outside world, where the captive is able to experience only the thoughts in their head.

Yet another blatant form of torture that Obama refused to stop practicing is "extraordinary rendition," or what critics call "outsourcing torture." This is the practice of flying a prisoner to a country where torture is routinely practiced, so that the prisoner can be interrogated. As reported by The New York Times:

"The Obama administration will continue the Bush administration's practice of sending terrorism suspects to third countries for detention and interrogation, but pledges to closely monitor their treatment to ensure that they are not tortured, administration officials said Monday." (August 24, 2009).

Human rights groups instantly called Obama's bluff: why transport terrorism suspects to other countries at all? If not for the fact that torture and other "harsh interrogation methods" are routinely practiced there? No justifiable answer has been given to these questions.

Another common way the U.S. continues to outsource torture is performed in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. There, the U.S. military often arrests suspects and hands over the interrogation duties to Iraqi or Afghan security forces, knowing full well that they regularly torture (this was also the strategy in the Vietnam war). Unfortunately, handing over someone to be tortured means you are also guilty of the crime.

A less obvious form of torture is the concept of "indefinite detention" — holding someone in prison indefinitely without a trial. The terrible experience of hopelessness that a victim of this crime experiences, over years, is a profound form of psychological torture. This is one of the reasons why the American Constitution guarantees due process, a legal detail that the Obama administration continues to ignore.

In connection, The Washington Post recently announced that the Obama administration will detain 50 Guantanamo inmates "indefinitely," without any legal charges or chance of a trial. This act is consistent with earlier statements made by Obama, when he stated that "some detainees are too dangerous, to be released." Of course, there does not exist any evidence to prove that these detainees are dangerous, otherwise they would be prosecuted in a legal court. The article reports that these detainees are "un-prosecutable because officials fear trials... could challenge evidence obtained through coercion [torture]." (January 22, 2010).

The Washington Post article also reports that 35 additional Guantanamo inmates will be tried in Federal or Military courts. In the latter court, far less evidence — if any — is needed, and the military jury can be handpicked to deliver the preferred outcome.

Obama, like Bush, has sought to undermine the legal rights of those detained and the victims of torture who seek accountability. Obama continues to refuse to release pictures (evidence) of detainee abuse, preventing Americans from really understanding what their government is guilty of. Obama has also refused detainees in so-called "black sites" (U.S. Bagram Air Base, for example) access to attorneys or courts. Finally, by not prosecuting anyone for torture crimes in the Bush administration, Obama is guaranteeing that the worst forms of torture will continue, since institutionalized behavior rarely stops unless rewards or punishments are implemented.

In the end, the act of torture is impossible to separate from war in general. The "rules of war" are always ignored by both sides, who implement the most barbaric acts to terrorize their opponents into submission.

Obama's wars, like Bush's, are wars of conquest. U.S. corporations want the oil and other raw materials in the region. They also want to privatize the conquered state-owned companies, and to sell U.S. products in the new markets the war has opened them. Many corporations benefit from the act of war itself (arms manufacturers and corporate-employed mercenaries), or from the reconstruction opportunities the destruction creates.

Working people have no interest in this type of war. The hundreds of billions of dollars that Obama is using for destruction should be used to create jobs instead, or for health care, public education, social services, etc. It is up to all working people to organize themselves — through their unions and community organizations — to broadcast this demand and make it a reality.

homepage: http://www.workerscompass.org

Posted by Joe Anybody at 7:21 PM PST

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Monday, 25 January 2010

Military base in Japan - Okinawa "not happening now!"
Mood:

bright
Now Playing: No Base's
Topic: WAR

Hello Zebra3 Report Peace Activists and CIA agents

I thought this was interesting article regarding a new military base in Japan that looks as if it is not going to happen

It might be an idea to wave a friendly hand of peace toward those that are moving on this anti-US base in Nago. Although I dont know of much of the policies, I do like "no bases" and thought you all would too

My idea was maybe to let them know not all of us here in the US wanted the damn thing there in the first place... any comments or suggestions?

~Solidarity

~joe anybody

Opponent of American military base wins mayoral election in key Japanese city

January 24, 2010 11:41 PM

Japan Headlines Examiner

Joshua Williams

http://www.examiner.com/x-16352-Japan-Headlines-Examiner~y2010m1d24-Opponent-of-American-military-base-wins-mayoral-election-in-key-Japanese-city

Japanese-American relations could take a hit as an opponent of the U.S. Military base in Japan’s Okinawa wins a key mayoral election in a small city that was set to be the new spot for the relocation of the currently controversial airfield.

On Jan. 24th, Susumu Inamine beat incumbent Yoshikazu Shimabukuro by only about 1,600 votes in a race that saw nearly 77% voter turn out for the mayoral election in Nago, a city of approximately 60,000 people in the Northern-half of Okinawa’s main island, according to Nago’s city office.

Nago is the would-be site for the relocation of the controversial Futenma Marine air station located just outside of Okinawa’s main city of Naha. Locals near Futenma have consistently complained about noise and pollution the airfield has caused in the area. Tensions and fears also mount when crimes are committed by stationed U.S. personnel in the area – agreements between the U.S and Japan largely restrict the ability of Japanese authorities to investigate suspected U.S. personnel without full arrest warrants.

In 2006, after nearly a decade of negotiations, the two countries agree to move Futenma base to Nago, as well as to transfer around 8,000 troops to Guam, by 2014, the Yomiuri stated. Nago was seen as an ideal location by the U.S, being close to Camp Schwab – a U.S. Marine camp in a more remote section of the island. Nago was also originally willing to allow the move, largely for the economic benefits.

However, when it was announced that Mr. Inamine had won the election on the 24th, he exclaimed to some 300 cheering and whistling supporters, “We fought in this election with the aim of reforming the city’s policies and not allowing a new base to be built at Henoko. Because of this we have gained the support of many of the city’s citizens,” Jiji.com reported. Cries of “That’s right!” and “You can do it!” were heard from the crowd.

With Nago’s new opposition, agreements between the U.S. and Japan regarding Futenma base’s future could fall back to the situation in 1996 when negotiations were just beginning, Jiji.com wrote. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama has said that the issue is a priority, and his party is looking for alternatives, such moving the base completely off the island – or even completely out of the country. However, the U.S. has rejected all of those ideas as of yet, stating among other concerns the cohesiveness of the units.

Read more news from Japan by the Japan Headlines Examiner

Posted by Joe Anybody at 8:43 PM PST

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Saturday, 23 January 2010

LABOR & UNIONS - OF TWO DIFFERENT KINDS
Mood:

bright
Now Playing: COMPANY UNION AND THE WORKERS UNION
Topic: CORPORATE CRAP

Fighting Company Union Ideology

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/01/396826.shtml

author: workers action

The evolution of the company union in the U.S. is a history of both labor's progress and its missteps. It is a story that, at bottom, speaks to the battle of workers to find an independent, powerful presence on the job — and to push this clout into the community to help shape the broader public realm.

Unions came into existence organically wherever capitalism developed. As soon as workers were brought together by a small number of employers and compelled to make profits for them, the employees naturally sought to defend themselves. A living wage and decent working conditions failed to emerge through the good will of the employers, unfortunately, so workers took matters into their own hands.

They formed organizations that promoted their interests at the expense of the bosses' profits. And as soon as these fledgling unions became powerful, the owners sought to undermine them. When the unions were too powerful to be drowned in blood, the bosses sought other techniques.

The company union was typically a preventative measure initiated by the employers to lure workers away from real unions. Where workers became militant and bold in their demands, the company would offer a venue for them to voice their concerns and, sometimes, have these concerns properly addressed.

Of course, these company unions were totally controlled by the employer — they could be whisked away if the workers were impolite or too demanding. These fake unions automatically eliminated the strength workers would have had if they belonged to an independent, larger labor union. Some issues that workers sought to remedy were purposely kept "off the table."

During World War I, the growth of company unions was encouraged by the U.S. government, which sought to stem the growing surge of worker radicalism. Employer-employee councils were set up en masse, and where nothing could be agreed upon, the federal government would swoop in to try and smooth over the conflict.

The union labor upsurge before, during and after World War II was unprecedented, scaring the employer class stiff by exhibiting its organized strength and winning workers demands. F.D.R. used a combination of tactics to defuse the worker-owner conflict: compromise, the National Guard, and finally, appealing to the national patriotism needed to win workers support for WWII.

F.D.R. also set up the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in an attempt to "balance" the conflict between workers and their employers. The NLRB falsely claimed that it would remain objective in its work, but it functioned inside a government where giant corporations dominate the political system.

F.D.R.'s Labor Relations Act effectively banned the company union in practice, but the essence of the phenomenon would linger until the present, where it maintains its historic, poisonous influence. The fundamental aim of modern company union ideology is to promote the concept of identical interests between workers and the employers. It is a philosophy of cooperation and teamwork, where in reality bitter hostility and mutual distrust are accurate reflections of the attitudes of workers and owners — emotions based on the real antagonism between wages and profits.

The 1947 anti-worker amendment to the Labor Relations Act — Taft-Hartley — was a counter-attack on the organized workers' movement. In it, a surplus of anti-worker measures are outlined that to this day render the union movement harmless in conflicts with employers (since most union officials refuse to disobey the unjust law).

In addition to making it impossible for unions to support one another during strikes, a special provision of Taft-Hartley is often incorrectly viewed by some union officials as being"pro-labor." The bill cleverly outlined an organizational body that today encompasses bank accounts of hundreds of billions of dollars. Taft-Hartley "funds" are employer-employee financed accounts that help workers save for retirement, pay for health insurance and buy homes, etc.

These accounts are presided over by an equally-weighted labor-management team, where often the fund is managed like a corporate bank, and the employers and employees view themselves as partner shareholders. The Taft-Hartley bill was a very conscious attempt to disarm the labor movement. By merging the interests of workers and management into a pot of money, sections of the labor movement found it difficult to demand their "fund partners" pay higher wages, etc. Some workers identified themselves more and more as investors and used these funds to enrich themselves, or as stepping-stones into the corporate world of finance. In any case, the company union philosophy blurred the interests of workers, who sometimes found difficulty in determining if they should go on strike or merely consult an investment broker.

Another modern example of company unionism is the openly "collaborationist" grouping inside of the Alliance for American Manufacturers (AAM). Here we have labor unions — the Steelworkers, for example — and giant corporations in the same organization working towards identical goals, aiming at a common enemy — China. One of the AAM's most cherished tasks is to promote "fair trade," which they define as U.S. corporations out-competing other nations' companies — though most notably China — on the world market.

The AAM uses its corporate money to "lobby" Congressmen, who oblige by putting up taxes (tariffs) on Chinese imports, an action the Chinese accurately view as "economic warfare." Of course, if workers are being taught to work with their bosses against the Chinese, the ability of workers to fight their bosses to win a good contract is greatly diminished.

A broader, political example of company unionism is labor unions' continued involvement in the Democratic Party. The Democrats have always been dominated by big business; it's a party where corporations come together to have their needs met, though less explicitly — and therefore more dangerously — than the Republicans.

The few crumbs that Democrats threw to the unions have long since dried up; both Clinton and Obama are blatantly pro-corporate Presidents, with Obama presiding over a very pro-corporate Democratic controlled Congress.

And although the Democrats have snubbed labor a thousand times, most top labor officials seem desperate to maintain this worthless "alliance," something that requires them to constantly make "compromises" with the Democrats that are against the interests of the working class. The most recent one is the acceptance of the Democrats' "Cadillac" tax on workers health care plans.

Another recent example of labor officials practicing dangerous cooperation with the corporate Democrats is the actions of the President of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), Randi Weingarten.

Instead of preparing teachers for a battle against Obama's anti-public education "reform," the AFT President has decided that "working together" would be more effective. Both the Democrats and mainstream media are attempting to adopt many long-time conservative notions regarding education. Obama calls his plan the"Race to the Top" campaign (a name as misleading as Bush's No Child Left Behind).

The Democrats attack on public education requires undermining the power of teachers' unions, a task done by instituting teacher-specific, conservative reforms, including tying a teacher's pay and job status to a student's performance or closing down "failing schools" and opening non-union, private charter schools. Both of these schemes are integral to Obama's education reform and have already been ruthlessly implanted in New Orleans and Chicago, to the huge detriment of both teachers and students.

In response to future, potentially crippling attacks in Obama's plan, the AFT President is disarming her membership while walking them into a war zone.

Weingarten has not only failed to condemn the President's plan, but has spoken positively of it, and how teachers could best work with the Obama administration.

In a recent speech to the U.S. Press Club, the AFT President cited two recent examples of teacher collective bargaining retreats — including an especially bad defeat in Detroit — and proclaimed the outcomes as victories of "collaboration", to be mimicked throughout the country in accordance of Obama's anti-teacher plan. Weingarten admits that one of the contracts included classic conservative reforms like "rigorous evaluations, more flexible hiring authority, and performance pay on a school-by-school basis... "

In a classic example of company union ideology, Weingarten states: "We must transform our mutual responsibility into mutual commitment. Our relationship should be a constant conversation that begins before and continues long after we meet at the bargaining table."

This would be a fine statement if not for the fact that Weingarten's partners in "mutual commitment" are out for teacher's blood.

Advancing the labor movement cannot be done with friendly cooperation with management or voting for either of the corporations' political parties. The past gains in living wages of union workers— which are now quickly shrinking— and their benefits were won in past generations through a combination of two very important factors. The first was the recognition that the interests of working people and the employers were diametrically opposite, where wages came at the expense of profits and vice versa.

Secondly, workers employed organized militant actions, for example, large demonstrations, strikes with massive picket lines and at times workplace occupations, etc. Those who promote less confrontational solutions to labor's problems have had decades to prove their theories. They have completely failed. Labor continues a decades-long backward slide. The promised Employee Free Choice Act is being relegated to the Obama bin of betrayals.

Labor can and must change course, the sooner the better. This can be done by directly challenging the Obama administration's pro-big business policies of foreign wars, bank bailouts, cuts in needed social services, corporate health care, attacks on public education, etc. Mass demonstrations are an effective tool to organize and educate workers, while giving an explicit warning against politicians who promote anti-worker policies. Labor unions around the country have passed resolutions endorsing a march on Washington demanding jobs, peace and justice. Below is a model resolution to propose at your local union.

Workers Emergency Recovery Campaign Model Resolution

http://wercampaign.org/2010/01/07/monde_resolution/

National March on Washington for Jobs, Peace, Affordable Health Care For All and Ending Foreclosures and Evictions

Whereas — despite the so-called economic recovery — the economic crisis for working people has continued unabated with growing unemployment and rising home foreclosures and evictions,

And whereas this economic crisis has resulted in the underfunding and degrading of public education and social services,

And whereas the government has bestowed billions of dollars of bailout money on the financial institutions whose recklessness and greed created this economic crisis,

And whereas there is growing opposition to the wars and occupations in Afghanistan and Iraq by a majority of the people here in the U.S. -not to mention the great and ever-growing opposition by the citizens in Afghanistan and Iraq,

And whereas these wars are costing billions of dollars each month,

Therefore be it resolved that ____________ call on the AFL-CIO and Change to Win to organize a Solidarity Day III march on Washington D.C. in the spring of 2010 to demand jobs, housing, health care, full funding for public education and social services, and peace.

homepage: http://www.workerscompass.org

Posted by Joe Anybody at 1:37 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 23 January 2010 1:39 PM PST

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Thursday, 21 January 2010

HATE WATCH Report 1.21.10
Mood:

irritated
Now Playing: Hate Hate and Hate
Topic: HUMANITY
Hatewatch is a weekly e-newsletter from the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Week of January 21, 2010

Intelligence Report
Controversy Erupts on Holocaust Denial Scene
The small, bizarre world of Holocaust denial is in an uproar. It began in January, when the head of the Institute for Historical Review, the oldest and for decades the most dominant American denial outfit, published an explosive essay.

Nevada Man Funding Hate and Denial Groups
The Institute for Historical Review has had few better friends over the past decade than a Las Vegas resident named James Edward McCrink.

Key Philanthropist Supports Nativist Hate Group
FAIR is the leading organization fueling the backlash against immigration and stands to gain almost $1 million from Robert W. Wilson's largesse.

Hatewatch Blog
Fort Hood Report Calls for Change in Pentagon Hate Group Policy
An independent fact-finding report made public last week by the Pentagon in the wake of the November shooting spree at Fort Hood, Texas, concluded that the Pentagon was not well prepared to defend itself from many internal threats.

Racist Group Plans to Run Candidates Nationwide
The co-founder of the American Third Position (ATP), white supremacist Los Angeles lawyer William Daniel Johnson, says his new California-based group plans to run as many candidates for political office around the country as it can muster.

Posted by Joe Anybody at 6:33 AM PST

Updated: Thursday, 21 January 2010 12:34 PM PST

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Tuesday, 19 January 2010

Whats happening in Haiti - Insider report
Mood:

bright
Now Playing: Love and Compassion ... not your run of the mill terror and fear
Topic: SMILE SMILE SMILE
Subject: Fw: Good information about what's really happening in Haiti

] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

From: "M D"

Sent: Tuesday, January 19, 2010 9:59 AM

To: <m @>

Subject: Good information about what's really happening in Haiti

> Friends and Family,

> Below is a wonderful and heartbreaking account from Sasha Kramer ] she> is the co ]founder of SOIL (www.oursoil.org) ] a group based out of Cap

> Haitian whose normal mission is protecting soil resources, empowering

> communities and transforming wastes into resources in Haiti (I am a

> member of the board of directors). She and several staff members have

> taken supplies down to Port au Prince and are trying to put their

> working vehicle to good use in the devastated city. The location she

> refers to as "Matthew 25" is a guesthouse where I have been staying

> for years, those of you have traveled to Haiti with me on a delegation

> will remember it. The soccer field has been transformed into a

> make ]shift hospital.

> Subject: Kouraj cherie: Update from Port au Prince

> January 19, 2010

> This afternoon, feeling helpless, we decided to take a van down to

> Champs Mars (the area around the palace) to look for people needing

> medical care to bring to Matthew 25, the guesthouse where we are

> staying which has been transformed into a field hospital. Since we

> arrived in Port au Prince everyone has told us that you cannot go into

> the area around the palace because of violence and insecurity. I was

> in awe as we walked into downtown, among the flattened buildings , in

> the shadow of the fallen palace, amongst the swarms of displaced

> people there was calm and solidarity. We wound our way through the

> camp asking for injured people who needed to get to the hospital.

> Despite everyone telling us that as soon as we did this we would be

> mobbed by people, I was amazed as we approached each tent people

> gently pointed us towards their neighbors, guiding us to those who

> were suffering the most. We picked up 5 badly injured people and

> drove towards an area where Ellie and Berto had passed a woman

> earlier. When they saw her she was lying on the side of the road with

> a broken leg screaming for help, as they were on foot they could not

> help her at the time so we went back to try to find her. Incredibly

> we found her relatively quickly at the top of a hill of shattered

> houses. The sun was setting and the community helped to carry her

> down the hill on a refrigerator door, tough looking guys smiled in our

> direction calling out “bonswa Cherie” and “kouraj”.

> When we got back to Matthew 25 it was dark and we carried the patients

> back into the soccer field/tent village/hospital where the team of

> doctors had been working tirelessly all day. Although they had

> officially closed down for the evening, they agreed to see the

> patients we had brought. Once our patients were settled in we came

> back into the house to find the doctors amputating a foot on the

> dining room table. The patient lay calmly, awake but far away under

> the fog of ketamine. Half way through the surgery we heard a clamor

> outside and ran out to see what it was. A large yellow truck was

> parked in front of the gate and rapidly unloading hundreds of bags of

> food over our fence, the hungry crowd had already begun to gather and

> in the dark it was hard to decide how to best distribute the food.

> Knowing that we could not sleep in the house with all of this food and

> so many starving people in the neighborhood, our friend Amber (who is

> experienced in food distribution) snapped into action and began to get

> everyone in the crowd into a line that stretched down the road. We

> braced ourselves for the fighting that we had heard would come but in

> a miraculous display of restraint and compassion people lined up to

> get the food and one by one the bags were handed out without a single

> serious incident.

> During the food distribution the doctors called to see if anyone could

> help to bury the amputated leg in the backyard. As I have no

> experience with food distribution I offered to help with the leg. I

> went into the back with Ellie and Berto and we dug a hole and placed

> the leg in it, covering it with soil and cement rubble. By the time

> we got back into the house the food had all been distributed and the

> patient Anderson was waking up. The doctors asked for a translator so

> I went and sat by his stretcher explaining to him that the surgery had

> gone well and he was going to live. His family had gone home so he

> was alone so Ellie and I took turns sitting with him as he came out

> from under the drugs. I sat and talked to Anderson for hours as he

> drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point one of the Haitian

> men working at the hospital came in and leaned over Anderson and said

> to him in kreyol “listen man even if your family could not be here

> tonight we want you to know that everyone here loves you, we are all

> your brothers and sisters”. Cat and I have barely shed a tear through

> all of this, the sky could fall and we would not bat an eye, but when

> I told her this story this morning the tears just began rolling down

> her face, as they are mine as I am writing this. Sometimes it is the

> kindness and not the horror that can break the numbness that we are

> all lost in right now.

> So, don’t believe Anderson Cooper when he says that Haiti is a hotbed

> for violence and riots, it is just not the case. In the darkest of

> times, Haiti has proven to be a country of brave, resilient and kind

> people and it is that behavior that is far more prevalent than the

> isolated incidents of violence. Please pass this on to as many people

> as you can so that they can see the light of Haiti, cutting through

> the darkness, the light that will heal this nation.

> We are safe. We love you all and I will write again when I can.

> Thank you for your generosity and compassion.

> With love from Port au Prince,

> Sasha

> ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ] ]

> To reply to this message, follow the link below:

> http://www.facebook.com/n/?inbox%2Freadmessage.php&t=1192961705524&mid

> =1bfd6e5G4bf57f6aGbf42f3G0

Posted by Joe Anybody at 9:43 PM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 19 January 2010 9:45 PM PST

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Close GITMO protest day THURSDAY 1/21/10
Mood:

don't ask
Now Playing: twitter.... FB..... all will say one thing from me on this Thursday "CLOSE GITMO"
Topic: HUMANITY

War Criminals Watch is joining with the ACLU, Amnesty International, many other organizations, artists and musicians like Tom Morello and Trent Reznor to "flood Twitter" and Facebook this Thursday, January 21st with messages to #closegitmo. YOU can help, by spreading the word now, and tweeting messages on Thursday about Guantanamo, torture, habeas corpus rights, and more - using the hashtag #closegitmo.

You can also "donate" your Facebook status for the day with this message. We want to dominate the social networking discussion on Thursday with the message that torture and the prison at Guantanamo still continue, but must be stopped. Follow us on Twitter at worldcantwait or become a fan of World Can't Wait on Facebook for more details.

Posted by Joe Anybody at 8:57 PM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 19 January 2010 9:22 PM PST

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Monday, 18 January 2010

Greg Palast reports about the Haitian Holocaust
Mood:

loud
Now Playing: The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust
Topic: HUMANITY

The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust

Posted by: "NYCLAW" NYCLAW mletwin2001

Mon Jan 18, 2010 8:01 pm (PST)

The Right Testicle of Hell:

_{http://www.gregpalast.com/the-right-testicle-of-hell-history-of-a-haitian-holocaust/}

History of a Haitian Holocaust
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Blackwater before drinking water
by Greg Palast for The Huffington Post

--------
"For Gates, appointed by Bush and allowed to hang around by Obama, it's security first. That was his lesson from Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater before drinking water."
--------

1.
Bless the President for having rescue teams in the air almost immediately. That was President Olafur Grimsson of Iceland. On Wednesday, the AP reported that the President of the United States promised, "The initial contingent of 2,000 Marines could be deployed to the quake-ravaged country within the next few days." "In a few days," Mr. Obama?

2.
There's no such thing as a 'natural' disaster. 200,000 Haitians have been slaughtered by slum housing and IMF "austerity" plans.

3.
A friend of mine called. Do I know a journalist who could get medicine to her father? And she added, trying to hold her voice together, "My sister, she's under the rubble. Is anyone going who can help, anyone?" Should I tell her, "Obama will have Marines there in 'a few days'"?

4.
China deployed rescuers with sniffer dogs within 48 hours. China, Mr. President. China: 8,000 miles distant. Miami: 700 miles close. US bases in Puerto Rico: right there.

5.
Obama's Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "I don't know how this government could have responded faster or more comprehensively than it has." We know Gates doesn't know.

6.
From my own work in the field, I know that FEMA has access to ready-to-go potable water, generators, mobile medical equipment and more for hurricane relief on the Gulf Coast. It's all still there. Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honor, who served as the task force commander for emergency response after Hurricane Katrina, told the Christian Science Monitor, "I thought we had learned that from Katrina, take food and water and start evacuating people." Maybe we learned but, apparently, Gates and the Defense Department missed school that day.

7.
Send in the Marines. That's America's response. That's what we're good at. The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson finally showed up after three days. With what? It was dramatically deployed -- without any emergency relief supplies. It has sidewinder missiles and 19 helicopters.

8.
But don't worry, the International Search and Rescue Team, fully equipped and self-sufficient for up to seven days in the field, deployed immediately with ten metric tons of tools and equipment, three tons of water, tents, advanced communication equipment and water purifying capability. They're from Iceland.

9.
Gates wouldn't send in food and water because, he said, there was no "structure ... to provide security." For Gates, appointed by Bush and allowed to hang around by Obama, it's security first. That was his lesson from Hurricane Katrina. Blackwater before drinking water.

10.
Previous US presidents have acted far more swiftly in getting troops on the ground on that island. Haiti is the right half of the island of Hispaniola. It's treated like the right testicle of Hell. The Dominican Republic the left. In 1965, when Dominicans demanded the return of Juan Bosch, their elected President, deposed by a junta, Lyndon Johnson reacted to this crisis rapidly, landing 45,000 US Marines on the beaches to prevent the return of the elected president.

11.
How did Haiti end up so economically weakened, with infrastructure, from hospitals to water systems, busted or non-existent - there are two fire stations in the entire nation - and infrastructure so frail that the nation was simply waiting for "nature" to finish it off?

Don't blame Mother Nature for all this death and destruction. That dishonor goes to Papa Doc and Baby Doc, the Duvalier dictatorship, which looted the nation for 28 years. Papa and his Baby put an estimated 80% of world aid into their own pockets - with the complicity of the US government happy to have the Duvaliers and their voodoo militia, Tonton Macoutes, as allies in the Cold War. (The war was easily won: the Duvaliers' death squads murdered as many as 60,000 opponents of the regime.)

12.
What Papa and Baby didn't run off with, the IMF finished off through its "austerity" plans. An austerity plan is a form of voodoo orchestrated by economists zomby-fied by an irrational belief that cutting government services will somehow help a nation prosper.

13.
In 1991, five years after the murderous Baby fled, Haitians elected a priest, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, who resisted the IMF's austerity diktats. Within months, the military, to the applause of Papa George HW Bush, deposed him.

History repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. The farce was George W. Bush. In 2004, after the priest Aristide was re-elected President, he was kidnapped and removed again, to the applause of Baby Bush.

14.
Haiti was once a wealthy nation, the wealthiest in the hemisphere, worth more, wrote Voltaire in the 18th century, than that rocky, cold colony known as New England. Haiti's wealth was in black gold: slaves. But then the slaves rebelled - and have been paying for it ever since.

From 1825 to 1947, France forced Haiti to pay an annual fee to reimburse the profits lost by French slaveholders caused by their slaves' successful uprising. Rather than enslave individual Haitians, France thought it more efficient to simply enslave the entire nation.

15.
Secretary Gates tells us, "There are just some certain facts of life that affect how quickly you can do some of these things." The Navy's hospital boat will be there in, oh, a week or so. Heckuva job, Brownie!

16.
Note just received from my friend. Her sister was found, dead; and her other sister had to bury her. Her father needs his anti-seizure medicines. That's a fact of life too, Mr. President.

***
Through our journalism network, we are trying to get my friend's medicines to her father. If any reader does have someone getting into or near Port-au-Prince, please contact Haiti@GregPalast.com immediately.

Urgently recommended reading - The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution, the history of the successful slave uprising in Hispaniola by the brilliant CLR James.

Posted by Joe Anybody at 12:01 AM PST

Updated: Tuesday, 19 January 2010 9:23 PM PST

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Sunday, 17 January 2010

WASHINGTON DC "Camp Out Now" Protest in Washington
Mood:

celebratory
Now Playing: Cindy Sheehan = Come To Washington Civil Resistance
Topic: PROTEST!

Scott Horton Interviews

Cindy Sheehan

By: Cindy

January 10, 2010

Source: antiwar.com

January 05, 2010

Peace activist Cindy Sheehan discusses the Peace of the Action anti-empire protests beginning in March in Washington, DC, how current US wars are outlasting the public’s attention span and the need for focused antiwar goals to prevent division among allies and derision in the media.

DOWNLOAD. Time: (20:23)

Cindy Sheehan became a leader of the antiwar movement after her son, Casey, was killed in Iraq. Her efforts to get answers from President Bush, including a vigil in Crawford, Texas, have received national media attention. She has a website and radio show, is the author of Peace Mom: A Mother’s Journey through Heartache to Activism and wrote the introduction to 10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military

Posted by Joe Anybody at 9:45 PM PST

Updated: Sunday, 17 January 2010 9:47 PM PST

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Saturday, 16 January 2010

2 programs that I have running on my computer
Mood:

caffeinated
Now Playing: Computer Malware and SpyWare Protection Suggestions
Topic: ANYBODY * ANYDAY

Computer Protection

http://tiny.cc/pQ13M

[[[ spybot ]]]

Spybot - Search & Destroy has been in the antispyware game for a long time offering features we've come to expect in the best apps in the category, but bugs and false positives make it difficult to recommend.

The program checks your system against a comprehensive database of adware and other system invaders. It also features several interface improvements, including multiple skins for dressing up its appearance. Scan results now appear arranged by groups in a tree, and a sliding panel lets you instantly view information about a selected item to help you decide whether to kill it or not. The Immunize feature blocks a plethora of uninvited Web-borne flotsam before it reaches your computer. Other useful tools, including Secure Shredder, complement the program's basic functionality for completely destroying files. Hosts File blocks adware servers from your computer, and System Startup lets you review which apps load when you start your computer.

Unfortunately, the program has the tendency to lock up at times and even during the install process for this review, we encountered several errors. The ambitious feature list and functionality make Spybot a good choice for those in search of a second antispyware program, and recent updates have made it run faster. It still makes errors in flagging spyware that isn't, and overall there are others in the category that do a better job

http://tiny.cc/Psfjf

[[[ adAware ]]]

We have taken the security product millions of people know and trust one step further to give all users the power to protect themselves. By combining Lavasoft's pioneer anti-spyware technology with advanced Genotype detection, Ad-Aware Free is your proactive malware removal tool, allowing you to combat today's toughest cyber threats.

Ad-Aware Free Anti-Malware features real-time protection, a rootkit removal system, automatic updates, and much more — to ensure that you have the power to protect yourself online. Shop, bank, and make travel arrangements onlineWe keep you safe from password stealers, keyloggers, spyware, rootkits, trojans, online fraudsters, identity thieves and other potential cyber criminals. Control your privacy. Erase tracks left behind while surfing the Web - on browsers such as Internet Explorer, Opera, and Firefox - in one easy click. Get Peace of Mind. Know that your personal information is kept safe from dangerous intruders and prying eyes.Just set and forget - we'll keep you safe.

For full anti-virus protection and advanced real-time protection, including behavior-based heuristics scanning, and advanced rootkit removal technology,

Posted by Joe Anybody at 7:03 PM PST

Updated: Saturday, 16 January 2010 7:06 PM PST

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