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21 May 03
My Country Right or Wrong
In the Los Angeles Times May 11 letters to the editor, one reader points out that the full quotation is as follows: "My country, right or wrong. Support it when it is right, dissent when it is wrong." I became curious, so I looked it up on the Internet and found the following attributed to Carl Schurz: "My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right!" (ref: http://sewaneetoday.sewanee.edu/alumnimagazine/articleoutput/8917.html) Now that you know more about the whole quote, do you agree that it's a moronic twisting of reality to use it to admonish people who dissent? (By the way, the article at Sewanee.edu is excellent.)
19 May 03
The Truth and Nothing But
Recent events prove one thing: you can learn something from even the worst situation. Take the terrorist bombings in Saudia Arabia last week. They say that war is our best geography teacher, and so it is in this situation. From those bombings we learn that Vinnell, the victim of the attack, is an American company that trains the Saudi National Guard. Jane's Defence Weekly calls it "a kind of Praetorian Guard for the House of Saud, the royal family's defence of last resort against internal opposition." (Read an entire article on this subject: click here).
Ever wonder how difficult it must be for our leaders, especially presidents of companies like Vinnell and U.S. presidents, to justify getting involved in shady deals like this? How do presidents calm their nerves when they're involved in drug deals, such as Iran-Contra? Old scandals never go away. I'm involved in helping the adult plaintiffs of a child abuse case that took place between approximately 1970 and 1985. Yes, it takes that long for a case like that to be aired and finally come to court. The court process may probably take many more years. Why did dishonest people think that moving the child abuse operation to India would hide their crimes?
The process of justice is a double edge sword. In the search for what is right, you must also look in the mirror. This takes hard work. However, if you're getting in your own way, you must find out. Therefore, when seeking justice, affirm to yourself that you want to see truth. You are ready for the truth. The truth is your friend. We must see the truth to make accurate decisions. Living in the dark is no longer necessary. If you're a religious person, also affirm this to God: Please show me the truth. If the truth is too painful to bear, please show it to me gradually, but fully. When enough people are ready to see the truth, then everything will come out in the open and we can start the healing process. I'm talking about everything from international politics to federal, state and local situations, to neighborhoods, families, and friendships. We need a spring cleaning to get all those trapped particles of filth out of our systems.
If you'd be been edgy lately, perhaps it's the threat that your freedoms are getting taken away. Or perhaps your very way of life. That's enough to make you nervous, angry, and bitter. So also forgive yourself and anyone who has snapped at you lately. We're fighting a war for the truth, against manipulation and abuse. People who are honest enough to pray to see the truth about themselves deserve to be a bit angry right now. There are a lot of people at the top of the pyramid (in any system) who have been getting away with murder (literally or metaphorically). Get angry enough to know the truth. It's okay! Just remember to learn from your anger, let it go and fix the problem. In this case, fixing the problem means taking off your blinders to look at what is really going on in yourself and your world.
Here's a statement by Senator Byrd: "Truth has a way of asserting itself despite all attempts to obscure it. Distortion only serves to derail it for a time. No matter to what lengths we humans may go to obfuscate facts or delude our fellows, truth has a way of squeezing out through the cracks, eventually." Read the entire statement, delivered on the floor of the U.S. Senate: http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/052203B.shtml
All 9-11 informtion and links that were here moved to: 9-11 Truth (at this site)
26 April 03
What in the Heck is Going on Here?
How big of a conflict of interest flag does the Bush Administration have to fly before people notice? Isn't a conflict of interest unethical? Is this Wonderland, or some other planet now? Here are some excerpts from "Bush Comes Clean: It Was About the Oil," by Ted Rall, Thursday 24 April 2003. Click here to read entire article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/042603I.shtml
". . . he appoints retired general Jay Garner, president of a GOP-connected defense contractor, SYColeman Corp., as viceroy of occupied Iraq. . . . a guy who has attachments to companies that provided the wherewithal for the military assault on that country . . . Then Bush slips a $680 million contract to the Bechtel Group, whose Republican-oriented board includes such Reagan-era GOP luminaries as secretary of state George Schulz and defense secretary Caspar Weinberger (the late William Casey, Reagan's CIA director, was a Bechtel executive). The deal puts the company in position to receive a big part of the $100 billion estimated total cost of Iraqi reconstruction. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Bechtel gave Republican candidates, including Bush, about $765,000 in PAC, soft money and individual campaign contributions between 1999 and 2002. . . . refusing to accept bids from potential competitors, Bush grants a two-year, $490 million contract for Iraqi oil field repairs to Halliburton Co., the Houston-based company where Dick Cheney worked as CEO from 1995 to 2000. . . . Only Bush's most intimate friends were invited to bid for these contracts. Even businesses based in Great Britain, where Tony Blair risked his political career to support Bush, have been excluded from a rigged process where only U.S.-based, Republican-led, Bush-connected companies need apply."
Next we read in the New Yorker that the bin Ladden family has a hand in the Betchel Group and its subsideraries. Where does it all end? Here's another recent article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_03/042803I.shtml American To Oversee Iraqi Oil Industry, by David Teather in New York, The Guardian, 26 April 03.
18 April 03
Focus Issues
Now that the military part of the war in Iraq is over, where does the peace movement go from here? The answer is to choose some projects that stir your heart and devote yourself to them. My favorites are alternative energy and legalizing marijuana. They overlap since hemp can help reduce dependence on petroleum products. I'm all for sun and wind power. If we put some energy into those things then we can still save the planet. There's a lot to do before we must join again in large worldwide demonstrations.
Here's an excerpt from an article by Stephen Hesse (original article http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?fe20030410sh.htm 10 April 03), Oil Dependence: Addiction Rages Blindly On:
"From a long-term perspective, oil is lethal. The welfare of human society and the global environment face no greater threat than our pervasive consumption of petroleum. With every barrel we guzzle we contribute to the mounting problems of plastic waste, toxic chemicals in our air, water and soil, and advancing global warming with its resulting climate change.
"Resource wars, too, are on the short list of global threats posed by oil. None of these dangers should come as a surprise to policymakers. In this month's issue of The Ecologist, writer David Fleming explains that we have known for decades that oil dependence would begin to haunt us early in the 21st century."
Hesse also reminds us that hemp is the answer because it can power cars, make plastic, and provide cloth, paper, and food. It was Dupont (with their interest in petro-based plastics) and William Randolph Hearst (with his interest in using trees to make paper) who conspired to outlaw marijuana and hemp. There are other alternative fuel sources as well, including wind and solar power.
We see the solutions to the problems. Now we must go forward with faith and detachment. We must expose the Bush Administration's lies, expand alternative energy use, and legalize hemp. These are no small tasks, but more vital now than ever. When enough people want solutions to the problems, then they will happen.
11 April 03
A Dream
On 09 April some men (with the help of a crane) tore down a big metal statue of Saddam Hussein. That night I had the following dream:
In Iraq, liberating forces sweep through. In one place, a banner is flying - "We're free of Saddam." But in another place people are afraid that America will enslave their country. I talk to both groups. The first one has a big banner; the 2nd one has a little flag.
One thing my dream meant to me is that the big banner and the little flag are just two sides of the same coin. On one side a statue of Saddam is pulled down, and on the other side people fear American domination. The two sides reflect each other like a mirror. You can't blot out the reflection through censorship or intimidation. It will naturally exist because the other side exists.
It's also true of war opposition. The war opposition exists because the war exists. The more the establishment tries to wipe out the protesters, the more they realize we are here for a purpose. We are the split off conscience, the natural result of denial. They cannot look at both sides of the issue, so we spring up with our protest signs to show them. We all exist as elements of the same equation.
As an ironic aside, some are now claiming that the statute toppling incident was a photo op carried out with associates of Ahmed Chalabi, one of the best known Iraqi opposition figures in the West who has been tipped as a possible successor to Saddam Hussein. See: http://www.democraticunderground.com/duforum/DCForumID66/17554.html.
There was no shortage of irony and hypocrisy in the day, because at the same time a small crowd gathered to topple the statue, American tanks fired on the Palestinian Hotel and planes dropped bombs on the al-Jazeera and Abu Dhabi TV buildings, killing journalists in each incident. (see: http://truthout.org/docs_03/041303D.shtml)
Poets Against the War
Speak Out
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
And a vast paranoia sweeps across the land
And America turns the attack on its Twin Towers
Into the beginning of the Third World War
The war with the Third World
And the terrorists in Washington
Are shipping out the young men
To the killing fields again
And no one speaks
And they are rousting out
All the ones with turbans
And they are flushing out
All the strange immigrants
And they are shipping all the young men
To the killing fields again
And no one speaks
And when they come to round up
All the great writers and poets and painters
The National Endowment of the Arts of Complacency
Will not speak
While all the young men
Will be killing all the young men
In the killing fields again
So now is the time for you to speak
All you lovers of liberty
All you lovers of the pursuit of happiness
All you lovers and sleepers
Deep in your private dream
Now is the time for you to speak O silent majority
Before they come for you!
06 April 03
Great and Glorious War
By the look of things in the media you would think this is the best war ever forced upon us. Oh stars and stripes forever. Holy, holy war. Glorious color photos. The first true video graphics war brought to you by Real Player. A marvelous invention, this war! Peace no more - we've found what we really love. Think of all the heroes! The "Next Great Generation" is in the making, echos MSNBC.
And what ho, those irreverent anti-war demonstrators?! Ever seen such pinko commie slime? When did those vermon appear on our shores? They can go back to where they came from. And those Germans, French, Chinese, Russians! Those traitors in Mexico! What to speak of you, Oh Canada! World opinion be damned, war plays well on the networks. At least the media are on our side (blessed be you gods of deregulation).
We're fighting to instill freedom. We're taking away the Constitution to spread democracy. Anyway, we're a republic. What is this democracy jive anyway? Are you with "them"? Shut up and take your medicine. Uncle Sam knows what's best for you. After all, America and Jesus Christ are One, fighting on the same side to prevent the Armageddon.
Has there ever been a greater duality than the one we're seeing right before our eyes? Perhaps. Any history scholars out there care to venture a guess? Are we living through something like Nazi Germany or the Cultural Revolution in China? This may be worse. After all Hitler and Mao didn't have nuclear arms. Any other historical period quite so grim? The Cold War was cold because the U.S. and USSR didn't fight, unless you count Vietnam and other proxy wars. For the most part we just stared at each other coldly and traded insults for forty years.
All through the beginning of this year we tried for peace, but some Dr. Strangeloves at the top have invested their lives to bring us to this moment in history. The 2000 election was one big step up in their plans. Has the maya ever defied our grasping so thoroughly? What is this illusion we're fighting, is it a nightmare? Is this even real? Are we entering World War Three? Is it the end of the world? All fair questions.
Affirmations Replace Fear
Instead of feeling frightened and worried, focus your energies on this prayer request from Jean Hudson, Global Visionary at Earth Rainbow Network (commondreams.org). Copy down a few lines from this prayer to refer to over the next few weeks if you begin to meditate on the problem.
Please dedicate your prayers and meditations, as guided by Spirit,
to contribute in freeing the human soul
from the yoke of enslaving thoughts and concepts
repressing the natural reaction of horror
regarding the consequences of any and all forms
of warfare and institutionalized violence.
May the spirit of Goodness flow freely
from the hearts of all human beings
so as to render utterly unacceptable
the very notion of doing harm to others
and may freedom from all psychological programming
and spiritual enslavement
become the ultimate goal of human existence,
for the Highest Good of All.
For more information:
Affirmations (at this site)
http://www.aei.ca/~cep/MeditationFocus85.htm
http://CommonDreams.org/
01 April 03
Quicksand War
At this point it's difficult to tell how things went so terribly wrong for the US and UK. Here are some speculations from William Rivers Pitt in an editorial published yesterday, called, The Miscalculations of Yes-Men.
"CIA officials, as well as analysts from the State and Defense Department, warned the administration that American forces would face stiff and deadly resistance from Iraqi forces. These warnings were utterly ignored. The spin now is that these views were not presented "forcefully" enough, intimating that Bush was not given all of the facts in the manner required.
"This is nonsense.
"What has happened is clear. Bush wanted war on Iraq, period. He is surrounded by a mob of yes-men who also wanted war, and so they made sure that only the rosiest of predictions were listened to in the planning stages. . . . Bush only wanted to hear good news about the progress towards combat, and so he got it, and so here we are." To read the whole editorial, click here.
Surrealist comments: Here we are all right, with America and the UK attempting to force "democracy" on the Iraqis with bombs and tanks. This is shocking but not very awe inspiring. The Bush Administration finds itself caught in a quagmire of a destructive war that involves daily death tolls. You can bet they wish they had a quick exit strategy that would allow them to save face. However, no such animal exists at the moment.
The rational conclusion to draw from this debacle is that war is dangerous and immoral. Unilateral pre-emptive war is doubly wrong. Young people now have the opportunity to see first hand what we went through during the Vietnam era. Then like now, we have recalcitrant and inept leaders perpetrating a cruel, senseless war with no end in sight. Instead of fighting communism, we're fighting terrorism. Neither war makes much sense.
History will continue to repeat itself until we take the time to learn from our mistakes. A note to anyone under 20: Please try to learn from history, so that by the time you get to be our age you can say that you rid the world of war once and for all.
31 March 03
Blame and Guilt
"We are each of us responsible
for the evil we may have prevented."
~ James Martineau
I followed the issues on the radio, TV, newspapers, magazines, and the Internet; voted; demonstrated against the war; wrote letters to the media, the U.N., and the government to try to stop the war. I visualized a peaceful future and prayed for peace. I looked within to clear my own internal violence. I did everything I could but they had their bloody war anyway, and they continue. I'm responsible for trying to stop it - that's all.
If you are wondering what part you played in causing this war, and you're American, British, or Australian, then you are being victimized. Our "leaders" started this war. We were ignored, demonized, and marginalized. People who support the so-called leaders are usually brainwashed by all the paranoid one-sided information going around.
What do we have to learn from this? We are the witnesses who must render our verdict: war is illegal, war is uncivilized, war must stop. That's why we're here. We did not cause this mess, but we can help clean it up. There is a genuine peace movement that encircles the globe. We must learn how to prevent the evil of war. Each of us may decide to make this a personal priority. That's looking on the bright side. Just don't get into self-blame and guilt for the things that abusive people force on you.
Krishna and War
Another spiritual misconception people get is that Krishna would want this war to happen. I met another author I know at a demonstration a few days after the bombing started, and he said, "I thought Krishna told Arjuna it was his duty to fight." He had concluded that Krishna endorses war. Not exactly.
First of all, the Battle of Kurukshetra, where Krishna spoke the Bhagavad-gita, was a much different circumstance. It was a struggle between two branches of the dynasty for control of territory and power. Second, Krishna tried to prevent the war. He did not want to see the two sides fight. Third, the war killed nearly everyone on the battlefield and the "victors," the Pandava clan, lived out their lives in grief after killing their relatives.
Krishna did not want the war, but once the war started, he encouraged Arjuna to fight and win. So everyone can quit using Krishna to justify war.
Another deity who sometimes gets the blame for human beings' problems is the Goddess Kali. She is actually a peaceful goddess who loses her temper with humans sometimes. One of the things she despises is humans' tendency to make war. She does not make the war, but the warmongers can still expect her wrath.
Saturday 22 March 03 Peace Demonstration
Here are a couple pictures from the latest demonstration here in Hollywood. This was the first one I attended after the war started (Wednesday 19 March). This raises the question, is it "okay" to demonstrate for peace after the war starts? Is the Pope Catholic? Do war protesters protest during wars? If the PNAC* people were counting on us to stop out of respect for their bombs, they were mistaken. This is just one more missed detail that shows how ill-conceived this war is.
The Soviet Union disolved in the 1980s, leaving the US as the only military superpower. The PNAC types want us to rush in and take the helm, threatening all other countries to bow in submission. This is lunacy. We protest (and will continue to protest) because this is an insane war.
What's the alternative? America's duty is to help those nations who are weaker and work to build world cooperation. It's called generosity. If the current leaders think this is undesirable, inconvenient, or impossible, then we need a regime change.
* PNAC stands for "Project for a New American Century" and fighting Iraq was the first item on their list. See link page for more info.
26 March 03
Turning Points
Ever notice how life has its turning points? Think back to an imporant event in your life, where your decision shaped the rest of your life. Some decisions are good, such as the decision to marry a soul mate, move to a certain town, or take a particular job. Other decisions are a mistake that haunt you for the rest of your life. My most fatal mistake came in 1986 when I worked for the p.r. department of the Hare Krishna movement. A man was shot point blank one night while sitting in his parked van near the Los Angeles temple. I knew the man. He was a vocal critic of the organization. I also knew who killed him. As a matter of fact, it was people from the organization. One guru and the hitman are still in prison, seventeen years later.
When I found out Steve Bryant was murdered, I should have resigned. I was in over my head. I knew it was a murder of a critic and I should have had the moral bearings to tell them: "Sorry, but I don't do p.r. for organizations that kill people." Instead, I pretended like the people responsible for the murder were a renogade branch of the organization. Once they and their guru were expelled, the organization would be purified and things would go back to normal. Wrong! I found out later that many people were involved in planning the murder, allegedly including even my own "guru." There have been many times when I have tried to go back in my mind to fix what I did, but it's no use. I am sorry that I could overlook even murder, and so I have to live with the fact that I was a member of a "Manson Family" type of group.
Now that Bush has started his war, I wonder if there are people who are going through what i went through, making bad decisions they will regret for the rest of their lives. For example, what is depleted uranium? Is it really "depleated"? Heck no. And why does the mainstream media keep it a secret? Obviously, if the mainstream public found out what was really going on, many would disapprove. Still, there are drones everywhere shuffling the paper work, conveying the orders, shipping the materials, manufacturing and deploying the sprays, bullets, and bombs.
The U.S. federal government has given thousands of people the opportunity to find out first hand what it's like to be a pawn in a dangerous shell game. The radioactive fallout from the uranium will affect all future generations. If your hands are dirty, you will have to do a lot of soul searching and hard work to get over it.
23 March 03
21st Century Peace Movement: Where To?
Today was a day for radio call-in shows. At one point a caller and host talked about the peace movement and how powerful it is. They didn't mention this, but I just want to add that what has happened so far this year far surpasses what we had going in the 1960s, in terms of numbers of protesters, numbers of countries, and the speed that we can organize things. The credit all goes to the Internet and the networks people have built. During the last months I even revived the old PFPF News mailing list and sent a few things around. Some of the heroes of all this have been Moveon.org, International Answer, Neighborhoods for Peace and Justice, Not in Our Name, public radio, Dream Keepers, Truthout.org, and many others.
On tonight's talk show, the host asked people where the movement should go from here. What's the most effective thing we can do? I'd like to throw my two cents worth in here. First, the demonstrations are important. They help us remember that we are strong. The corporate controlled media is always there hammering away, making people more confused and despondent. It's a blessing to have a demonstration nearby. Yesterday, getting out for the peace march lifted me out of the funk I was in; the candle light vigil on 16 March did the same. Those are valuable and will ultimately prove effective.
However, what this movement really needs is a coherent message. We need to circulate position papers that list all our points in a concise format that's easy to absorb. One reason why so many Americans support the president is that he has a simple message that can be summed up in about three sentences, as he proved in his press conference held 06 March. He just said the same thing over and over no matter what the question. People listen and understand, and support him, because his message is so simple to explain. We could do something similar and fight fire with fire. Our slogan could be "America wants peace." We could all carry American flags just like the pro-war protests.
Our movement needs a clear message. Yesterday about 3,000 of us marched from Hollywood and Vine to the CNN building on Sunset. However, when we got there nothing happened. Next time we need a proclamation to present to CNN that spells out our position. We could compile and disseminate a list of things we know about from the underground media, which were neglected by the corporate media. For example, most Americans are unaware that US and UK intelligence agencies were caught tapping the telephones and email of undecided UN Security Council members. Some of the things the Bushies have done is so outrageous that people would never even think it possible, such as forging documents to convince legislators to vote for pro-war proposals. A massive education campaign would bring the truth to the forefront of this debate. We could give CNN (and other TV news shows) our list of under reported stories. We could also give them a list of speakers they've never interviewed. If we supply them with information, they're more likely to respond.
We in the peace movement must remember that this is the information age. Most people must juggle heaps of info. Since there's such an overwhelming amount of information, we must publish ours in a way that invites people to read it. Instead of a two page letter in 9 point single spaced type, we have to have concise but thorough statements that are interesting graphically. Less is more when it comes to information. For example, print up a collage of headlines and excerpts from radio broadcasts that list the under reported news stories. Then print a page that looks like a giant Roladex card, listing the names and contact information for speakers we'd love to hear. Then mail these two sheets to the news offices with a short, polite cover letter asking them to consider broader coverage.
The future of the peace movement is up to each and every one of us. If you have a good idea, or you have a clear understanding of the issues, consider yourself a self-appointed general in the army and carry out your plans. This is the wrong time to sit back and think that somebody else will do the work. By the way, if you send something out, please include me on your list (contact). Also, check our activist's workshop. You can use my mailing lists and send in new names and suggestions. I'm always interested in adding more to this page: Activist's Workshop.
The last point is more delicate. We all have friends and relatives who are pro-war, pro-Bush. Somehow we have to bridge the gap with them. Never let your political ideas wreck your friendships. We need these people, even though they're slightly (or very) brainwashed right now. Gently try to tell them about your feelings. It can be very tense, so go slowly. However, getting through to your own circle of friends and family is essential. Even if they do not want to listen to you and just argue or spew some pre-programmed response, at the very least, establish your right to your views. This is America, after all, where everyone is entitled to freedom of thought and speech.
Above all, try to remain on friendly terms with the pro-Bush people you know. The very worst thing that could come out of a "peace" movement is the kind of fire that isolates you from the people around you. This is about peace. Peace begins in your own life. If your relatives are too right-winged to talk to about the issues directly, at least try to establish a friendly rapport, bassed on the other things you have in common. Remember, approximately half of all Americans are enamored with Bush. Right now, with the bombs falling, the numbers have increased. If the divisions cut too deep, we could find ourselves proven "right," but missing our old close friendships. You add to the overall level of peace when you establish peace in your personal life too.
Here's another article on this subject: For Those Who Oppose War, What Now? by Peter J. Gomes, Boston Globe
