whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

Dear Friends,

Greetings of Peace!

The call for massive mobilizations and protests of different forms on March 19 and 20 2005 has been supported by coalitions, forums and movements the world over. Preparations are underway in many countries and several have been trying to share and consolidate the information for easier dissemination and mobilization.

To this end, the various coalitions, organizations and movements involved in the General Assembly of the Anti-War Movement thought of contributing to this effort by setting up a common, neutral and open website that everyone can use for mobilizing for March 19-20. The website www.march20th.org attempts to list as many as possible of the actions planned for the global day of action against the war.

Estimados/as Compañeros/as,

Saludos de Paz!

El llamamiento para las movilizaciones y protestas massivas en el 19 et 20 de Marzo ha sido apoyado por distinctas redes y coaliciones, foros y movimientos por todo el mundo. La organización está sendo hecha en muchos países y muchos han deseado intercambiar y consolidar la información para facilitar la difusión y la movilización.

En este sentido, las muchas coaliciones, organizaciones y movimientos involucrados en la Asamblea Anti-Guerra han pensado en contribuir en este esfuerzo desarrollando un sito web común, neutral y abierto, que puede ser utilizado por todos/as que estean se movilizando para el 19-20 de Marzo. El sitio es el www.march20th.org y ententará hacer una lista del maior número posible de acciones planeadas para el día de acción global contra la guerra.

 Found here

posted by: Whitebeard at 11:03 | link | comments |

Today at Porto Alegre

 

30.01.2005
Puxirum ends the activities this Sunday
The indigenous group Puxirum of Arts and Indigenous Heritage wake up early even on Sundays. From 6:00 AM on, several indigenous religious leaders (Pajés and Shamans) will conduct a religious ceremony.

30.01.2005
Evaluation and cultural manifestations close the fifth edition
Monday (Jan. 31st), from 8:30, the ceremony of the end of the World Social Forum 2005 occurs.

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 17:07 | link | comments |

"Reclaim Our UN"
Working Document
of the International Seminar "Reclaim Our UN"
Padua, 19-20 November 2004 (*)

1. Unilateralism is bad for the world. Multilateralism is not an option, it is indispensable. The alternative is world chaos, wars, terrorism, growing poverty, greater insecurity, injustice, environmental devastation.
2. The UN remains the highest form of multilateralism available today. It is full of limitations, has been hijacked by powerful governments, but it is the only one we have.
3. ...The UN, with representatives from 191 countries, is the only worldwide forum that can and has to be the instrument for the people to achieve a world of peace and social justice, the goals of its charter.
4. The weakening of the UN, the failure of governments to fulfill their commitments to the decisions taken at the UN is part of a broader attack on a world order based on international law. It extends to international institutions the strategy of neoliberal globalisation, based on economic power, deregulation and privatisation, against peoples' rights and needs.
5. In the last ten years the emerging global civil society has become a new actor. Millions of people and thousands of organisations have become active against war, neoliberal globalisation and unilateralism, for a more democratic and just world order. They continue to challenge the actions and power of international institutions, developing alternatives from below on peace, security, human rights, combating impunity, economic and social justice, environmental sustainability.
6. ...

7. Today these mobilisations have to be drawn together and developed on a broader scale with a more focused and effective strategy, built on the broadest participation, bringing together a diversity of perspectives and experiences, and creating a new consensus. The key players in this process have to be, first of all, the peoples who are excluded from global decision making, social and grassroots movements, civil society organisations and NGOs, national and international networks, trade unions, religious groups, migrants and refugees groups, local authorities.
8. ..., it is now clear that there is a need for a global mobilisation of all sectors of civil society, from women to environmentalists, from indigenous people to human rights activists.
9. The fundamental objectives of such a strategy of mobilisation can be summarised as follows:
· oppose the strategy of "preventive and infinite" war, and unilateralism;
· reclaim and revitalise the UN system on the base of international law and human rights, putting it at the centre of a multilateral order;
· democratise the UN system, opening its doors to local authorities, local governments, other decentralised governments, parliaments, civil society voices representing the plurality of social, ethnic, gender and other diversities;
· ensure that the UN has the resources for implementing its mandate: prevent war, eradicate the causes of war (economic, social and cultural), promoting human rights, the global rule of law and international justice, and recover control over economic, social and environmental issues, subordinating the IMF, the World Bank and the WTO to the principles and agreements under the UN and it's agencies;
· promote general disarmament and the ban of all nuclear arms and of all weapons of mass destruction;
· prevent conflicts, protect civilians, and react to humanitarian catastrophes.

10. ... The success of the global days of action such as February 15 2003 and March 20 2004 against the war in Iraq has shown the new strength and awareness of global civil society. The greater concern of many governments in defence of multilateralism offers opportunities for exerting pressure.
11. This strategy of mobilisation should be developed at a variety of levels. ...
Building new solidarities would strengthen the search for alternatives in countries of the South.
12. This strategy of mobilisation should develop from the bottom up with a process of education and communication within civil society and social movements. ...

13. Civil society has to monitor closely the activities of the UN and international institutions. A global observatory on the international institutions could be studied and established with the object to evaluate periodically the commitment in practice of the UN activities to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
14. 2005 can be a turning point for such a mobilisation at the local and global level. We propose a global day of action for democracy, freedom and peace, against all fundamentalisms and wars, to be held on the eve of the Summit of Heads of State convened by the UN in New York in autumn 2005 for a review of the commitments undertaken at the Millennium Summit and the reform of UN.
15. Within the dynamics of the World Social Forum, the participants to the international Seminar "Reclaim our UN" in Padua commit themselves to work together to continue the dialogue on these issues and facilitate the emergence of common mobilisations. ...

(*) This document has been elaborated, thanks to the contribution of the co-ordinators of the working groups during the International Seminar "Reclaim our UN" that took place on November 19-20 2004 in Padua (Italy). The seminar saw the participation of over 600 people representing 25 International networks, 50 national organisations and 284 Italian associations. This is a working document and therefore it is useful for understanding the central elements of the discussion that took place in Padua and for continuing the discussion up to the World Social Forum, that will take place in Porto Alegre from the 26 to the 30 January. All the participants of the Padua seminar and those that were not able to come can contribute with comments and proposals. Please send them to: international@peacepoint.org . We will gather and circulate them. In Porto Alegre we will discuss them all and try to find a common platform. 

posted by: Whitebeard at 17:00 | link | comments |

Is Al Qaeda Just A Bush Boogeyman?

Is it conceivable that Al Qaeda, as defined by President Bush as the center of a vast and well-organized international terrorist conspiracy, does not exist?

To even raise the question amid all the officially inspired hysteria is heretical, especially in the context of the U.S. media's supine acceptance of administration claims relating to national security. Yet a brilliant new BBC film produced by one of Britain's leading documentary filmmakers systematically challenges this and many other accepted articles of faith in the so-called war on terror.

Follow 

posted by: Whitebeard at 21:21 | link | comments |

 The Second Superpower

Rears its Beautiful Head

As the United States government becomes more belligerent in using its power in the world, many people are longing for a “second superpower” that can keep the US in check.  Indeed, many people desire a superpower that speaks for the interests of planetary society, for long-term well-being, and that encourages broad participation in the democratic process.  Where can the world find such a second superpower?  No nation or group of nations seems able to play this role, although the European Union sometimes seeks to, working in concert with a variety of institutions in the field of international law, including the United Nations.  But even the common might of the European nations is barely a match for the current power of the United States.

 

There is an emerging second superpower, but it is not a nation.  Instead, it is a new form of international player, constituted by the “will of the people” in a global social movement.  The beautiful but deeply agitated face of this second superpower is the worldwide peace campaign, but the body of the movement is made up of millions of people concerned with a broad agenda that includes social development, environmentalism, health, and human rights.   This movement has a surprisingly agile and muscular body of citizen activists who identify their interests with world society as a whole—and who recognize that at a fundamental level we are all one.  These are people who are attempting to take into account the needs and dreams of all 6.3 billion people in the world—and not just the members of one or another nation.  Consider the members of Amnesty International who write letters on behalf of prisoners of conscience, and the millions of Americans who are participating in email actions against the war in Iraq.  Or the physicians who contribute their time to Doctors Without Borders/ Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Continue 

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:30 | link | comments |

 Celebration of Freedom - tribute to democracy

something that "has never happened before" happened

We had planned for the new Not In Our Name statement of conscience to run on Friday, January 21, in the New York Times. We had a contract and a confirmation number. This ad was to be our answer to the inauguration, and it was timed to appear in the middle of the inauguration news coverage.

The ad did not run. The advertising department were themselves deeply surprised by this, and have not been able to explain what happened. In fact, we were told that to their knowledge this had never happened before.
 
At the same time, the Times lead editorial said that this should be a time of legitimacy and acceptance for the President -- and that this was especially something that the opposition has to come to terms with.
 
It is unacceptable that we do not yet know why something that "has never happened before" happened -- a full page paid ad, accepted and slotted in, did not run. This is especially so when the content of the ad, the need to resist the course that this administration has set, is so important to the people of this country and the world. There needs to be an investigation of what went wrong and why. If it was just an honest mistake, we expect that the Times itself would want to know why in order to prevent it from occurring again.
 
The Times has given us a new ad reservation number and assured us that the ad will now run on this Sunday. However, there is the danger of it being buried in the back of the first section. This would be another way of marginalizing and rendering relatively invisible the voices of conscience and dissent.
 
We urge signers and supporters of the statement to e-mail the Times to demand that the ad run in the Sunday Week in Review section (where there will be summation of the inauguration) or in the first 10 pages of the first section. Send to the President and General Manager of the Times at president@nytimes.com and to the advertising department at advertising@nytimes.com.

We also urge people to write letters to the Times in response to their editorial (http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/21/opinion/21fri1.html?oref=login) and requesting that your letter run on Monday. It would make a huge difference in making up the loss of the statement not running today, if people would quote or reference the Not In Our Name statement as part of their answer to the Times.

 
 

posted by: Whitebeard at 09:25 | link | comments |

Passaparola

Friday's New York Times. 

 The new Not In Our Name Statement will be published for the first time as a full page in Friday's New York Times.

Make plans now to blast this statement out in every way possible. It needs to be reproduced, printed in local papers, posted on bulletin boards and e-lists, and read on local radio stations.

Help make it clear that George W. Bush "does not speak for us. He does not represent us. He does not act in our name."

The New York Times ad contains a representative list of the over 8,000 people who have now signed the statement. The entire list of signers can be viewed on the statement web site at www.nion.us. The text of the statement can also be downloaded from there.

With your help we can now go on to print the statement in even more papers around the country. Go to the Not In Our Name statement web site at www.nion.us today, sign this statement, and make your on-line contribution.

Together, we are making this happen!

Update Member Info:
http://ezinedirector.com/subscriber/member_profile/?skid=25643038

posted by: Whitebeard at 11:00 | link | comments |

NOT IN OUR NAME

As George W. Bush is inaugurated for a second term, let it not be said that people in the United States silently acquiesced in the face of this shameful coronation of war, greed, and intolerance. He does not speak for us. He does not represent us. He does not act in our name.

No election, whether fair or fraudulent, can legitimize criminal wars on foreign countries, torture, the wholesale violation of human rights, and the end of science and reason.

http://www.nion.us/

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 18:06 | link | comments |

Israel furore

Italy's most popular cartoonist, Giorgio Forattini, was looking for a job yesterday after being controversially dropped by daily newspaper La Stampa in what is suspected to be a response to recent protests by readers incensed by the maestro's irreverent political sketches.

A Forattini vignette depicting Jesus Christ in a Bethlehem stable manger faced by Israeli tanks, asking "Are they going to kill me again?" generated a storm of protests, according to rival daily Corriere della Sera. Signor Forattini conceded that the cartoon "touched rather a delicate chord, but on the other hand that is my job".

Found here

posted by: Whitebeard at 07:41 | link | comments |

basic forms of dialogue
 the path of justice.

What brought me to Jerusalem?

 When people ask me why I chose to live in Jerusalem, I answer that I don't know. It was the Holy Spirit. There are inspirations for which one cannot give logical reasons. I always recollect that passage from the Acts of the Apostles in chapter 20, in which Paul tells the elders of Ephesus and Miletus: "I am going to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit, not knowing what shall befall me there." I have let myself be drawn in by these words and by this power of the Spirit.

My life here is very good, and I am very happy to be here, because Jerusalem is truly a place of extraordinary symbolism, it is a place in which one breathes biblical history, from the patriarchs to the prophets to Jesus and His passion, death, and resurrection. It is a place full of fascination for the Christian, for the believer, because Jesus was here, this is the land He saw, the sky He contemplated, the stones He tread upon, the places where He spilled His blood, the places in which the word was spread: "He is risen." I find continual inspiration here for my prayer and meditation.

I live, moreover, that prayer defined as intercession, in the etymological sense of the word. I "walk among" different contenders without wanting to agree or disagree with any of them, but praying equally for all. The political situation today is so intricate and entangled that even a competent person would find it difficult to explain objectively what has happened, why, and how. I don't know Arabic; I understand biblical Hebrew, but not the modern kind. I don't have the credentials to judge. I prefer [...] to put into practice the words of Jesus: "Judge not, and you will not be judged." It is difficult to say: "That one suffers more, this one suffers more." Who will begin to list the rights and wrongs? They extend to infinity. And there is no exit without some new step.

On the other hand, this is not only a place of conflict, it is above all a place of dialogue. Many basic forms of dialogue are carried out: dialogue between Jews and Christians, between Jews and Muslims, three-way dialogue among Jews, Muslims, and Christians. There are many institutions in Jerusalem that cultivate these forms of dialogue. And there are also many initiatives of welcome, forgiveness, reconciliation, help, assistance, volunteerism. That is truly extraordinary.

Some time ago I met two persons who are well known in the professional life of this country, one Jewish and one Arab. Both have mourned the effects of violence on their families, and they decided to get together to understand each other's suffering. Thus was born a group of families, each of which has a son or daughter killed by terrorism, war, etc. These families meet regularly, speaking together and promoting peace initiatives.

In my view this is the way, the path of justice. Justice must be rendered to those who deserve justice, and many are crying out because they deserve justice

Found here

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 07:32 | link | comments |

Not In Our Name

A STATEMENT OF CONSCIENCE AGAINST WAR AND REPRESSION

Click here to sign the NEW statement and/or contribute by credit card

Our next target for publication of the NEW Not In Our Name statement in major papers across the country on the very eve of George Bush's coronation. Please help make your voice heard at this crucial moment in history. The cost of "free speech" in this country is very high. The suggested contribution is $200, but all contributions are very welcome. The names of all contributors will be posted on the web site (unless you designate otherwise). Make check payable to: Not In Our Name

and mail to:         Not In Our Name
                          305 West Broadway St., PMB 199
                          New York, NY 10013-5306
 

Click here for a list of newspapers where the original NION statement appeared

Click here to read the original statement in many languages      

Click here to read the whole list of original signers

Click here for a recording of Ossie Davis reading the original statement.
Click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the original statement.

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 07:06 | link | comments |

Most Censored Stories for 2004 Thu, 06 Jan 2005 18:12:08
Da:	"Peter Phillips" <peter.phillips@sonoma.edu>
Oggetto:	Most Censored Stories for 2004
A:	project-censored-L@sonoma.edu

posted by: Whitebeard at 11:41 | link | comments |

The twins Tsunami

The American media has descended on the Asian tsunami with all the fervor of feral animals in a meat locker. The newspapers and TV’s are plastered with bodies drifting out to sea, battered carcasses strewn along the beach and bloated babies lying in rows. Every aspect of the suffering is being scrutinized with microscopic intensity by the predatory lens of the media.

This is where the western press really excels: in the celebratory atmosphere of human catastrophe. Their penchant for misery is only surpassed by their appetite for profits.

Where was this “free press” in Iraq when the death toll was skyrocketing towards 100,000? So far, we’ve seen nothing of the devastation in Falluja where more than 6,000 were killed and where corpses were lined along the city’s streets for weeks on end. Is death less photogenic in Iraq? Or, are there political motives behind the coverage?
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=21&ItemID=6941 

posted by: Whitebeard at 09:25 | link | comments |