My mom recently sent me this email explaining how 67% of Americans are dissatisfied with the way their country is going. The author explains that Americans are ‘spoiled brats’ because we have so much to be thankful for (electricity, running water, freedoms etc.) and that rather than look at the bigger picture we should be grateful for what our leaders are doing for us. Here is my response. I encourage you to check out the original email from Craig Smith, but essentially it’s neatly disguised pro-bush propaganda. Remember folks, interpret all the information you are exposed to and then come to your own conclusions; don’t let anyone think for you.
Dear Mom,
I like the emphasis on seeing the good and appreciating all that we have. We are truly blessed to be alive in the most exciting time in all of human history. Life is an amazing gift and to be able to truly live in the magic of the moment is what God asks of us. Re-read the 9 steps of spirituality by Brother Wayne Teasdale (I believe i sent this to you a long time ago… i’ll look for it again and re-send it to you)….. When you truly achieve oneness with yourself, with the universe, you have reached step 8. At this point you realize that selfless servitude to others to help them along their spiritual journey so that they may also achieve the oneness/satori/the zen etc… is part and parcel of our own spiritual quest. This means making a difference in the people’s lives that mean the most to you… family and friends can gain much strength from each of us…. However, it also means creating change on a more massive scale. Analyzing the politics/policies/laws/ etc. that impact our fellow man’s ability to be free, to have their basic needs met, and to realize that a MUCH better future is very easily possible if we actually become active members of society is how we can influence change on a major scale that ultimately can help more and more of us wake up from our daze and start to live life passionately again.
In many ways the average canadian/american lives life more comfortably than the wealthiest kings of past eras. In many ways our culture/lifestyle is preventing many of us from fully realizing our potential. There is a massive rise of anxiety and attention deficit disorders, depression, suicide, workplace violence, addiction… According to a 1992 World Health Organization study we are 3 times more likely to become depressed than our grandparents were at our age. A quarter of the US population will experience some symptoms of depression during their lives. While we may have adequate drinking water, police protection, clean hotels, etc. we as humans are still in a state of evolution. We work 8-10 hours a day (many of us in a job that we despise), we come home exhausted, put a microwave dinner in the microwave, turn on the reality t.v. and deep inside wish we were alive. Sure this cozy lifestyle is better than a lot of places in the world that experience great political and military turmoil. But are we truly better off and more ‘free’ than that tribe that was recently discovered in brazil that may be one of the last tribes that has not been exposed to the ‘real world’? The old evolution has always been about the efficiency of society… the agricultural revolution, the industrial/scientific revolution…. the new evolution is about the evolution of the individual… the new evolution is about the individual’s growth in the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical realm. Quantum mechanics (science) has come full circle… science originally branched from religion to seek truth and rationality and to get away from faith based logic….. what science is telling us now is that the power of our minds, the power of love, the power of living life in harmony with ourselves and with each other is helping us to realize the potential of our evolution. We are in the dawn of the new era… the age of aquarius is upon us… the spiritual prophets and visionaries have spoken about this time since the beginning of time. This is a new era of human consciousness…. We need leaders who are truly in tune with humanity, with the planet, with themselves to guide us. The policies of George Bush and Stephen Harper are steeped in corruption and evil… they are not true leaders… They are not spiritually in tune with themselves, with the planet, or with humanity as a whole…George bush can go to church every single sunday but it doesn’t take a prophet to recognize that he is spiritually empty. We are all spiritual beings and we are no better or worse than any one else, therefore we cannot judge. However, we can recognize when someone is ‘in tune’ and we have to use our judgement when electing leaders, especially the leaders who make the most impact on all of humanity and the planet. We have much to be extremely grateful for, but if our good fortune is at the stake of someone else’s than we can not be truly satisfied until everyone has the same opportunities to be free and to pursue their spiritual journey. Killing the taliban and replacing them with warlords is not the solution… how long will it take before we wake up and learn from our mistakes? A visionary like Depak Chopra makes wonderful arguments about the political force of love and spirituality, and 4 years under the guidance and leadership of a man like him could make the whole world wake up. Big business, big agriculture, big pharma, big industry, big oil have benefited from spiritually inept, corrupt, dishonest, deceitful, evil ‘leaders’ like bush, reagan, harper etc. for too long. Unfortunately when a visionary leader comes into power in a country like venezuela or guatemala and tries to free their people from the chains of american ‘big’ interests, they get assassinated. The CIA has mingled in the affairs of every leader who displays courage, a desire for change, a desire to truly help the poor and disenfranchised and the CIA has readily admitted to doing unspeakable things. Read the book “Confessions of an Economic Hitman” to learn more about this, and to verify any doubts you may have. The countries that we love so much have done many horrible and unspeakable things around the world because of the greed and lust for power that our system creates. I love life to the brim; without living in a location as free as Vancouver I likely would not have evolved into the person that I am today. That being said, I think we need to look at the direction that we are headed in as a country and find the strength to do what is right…. in our day to day lives as well as on the political scene.
I have hope for obama. he sounds like he speaks the truth. I am also hesitant to place complete trust in him. I know that he is backed by a lot of very powerful men. I also know that he is upsetting a lot of very powerful men. I hope he is able to initiate major change, and I hope he is able to open up the eyes, the minds and the hearts of the American people to help America as a whole lose their ego. Disconnection from our ego is a very potent spiritual message delivered by many very wise spiritual men and women, and America as a whole needs to lose its ego. Gorbachev referred to it as America’s “winning complex”, the idea that America believes it is the best and needs to always win and be the best. This is a horrible trait in an individual…. arrogant, snotty, ignorant, bullyish, naive….. and it is very evident to the rest of the world that America displays these same traits in both their domestic and foreign policies. Neither America or Israel are any more God’s chosen people than the Australians, the Argentinians, the Bangladesh, the Rawandans, etc. and it is blasphemous to believe that. We are all God’s children, and until America the great wakes up, realizes that, and truly starts to act like that I will continue to be critical.
Yes we are extremely lucky… Yes there is a lot more goodness in our lives than bad… However, the arguments made by Craig Smith are redundant, superficial, and are part of the ‘old-paradigm’ evolution that needs to be subject to de-emphasis. Sure, pumping money and fear into a war on terror might protect us from terrorists this year, maybe next, maybe even the next year. But eventually we need to take a step back and critically analyze the real issues that are causing terrorism because this ‘shield’ is artificial and will crack.
There are many authors, visionaries, poets, politicians etc. that communicate on a very deep level and are very worthy of all of our attention.
This issue is certainly of grave importance; we must be wary of any legislation that threatens to regulate the internet….. kudos for the NDP for attempting to introduce legislation that would keep the internet more ‘free’. Interesting how this story doesn’t generate much discussion on mainstream media…
From CBC.CA May 28
The NDP has followed through with its promise to introduce legislation to the House of Commons that seeks to keep the internet open and free from control by service providers.
“This bill is about fairness to consumers,” said Charlie Angus, the NDP’s digital spokesman, in the House of Commons on Wednesday. “The internet is a critical piece of infrastructure not just for Canada but for the world … this bill protects the innovation agenda of Canada.”
The private member’s bill, C-552, is in reaction to moves by some of Canada’s largest internet service providers (ISPs), including Bell Canada Inc. and Rogers Communications Inc., to limit their customers’ uses of the internet. Bell, Rogers and a few others say a small percentage of customers have been congesting their networks by using peer-to-peer applications such as BitTorrent, so they have slowed the internet down at peak times of the day.
The ISPs’ actions have provoked outrage from internet users, with about 300 protesters taking to the steps of Parliament Hill on Tuesday. Critics have said the targeting of peer-to-peer applications is just the tip of the iceberg. If ISPs are allowed to decide which internet applications can and can’t be used, innovative new companies that were born from experimentation — such as Google, Amazon and eBay — may not happen in the future. Read the rest of this entry »
Dear Friends, Please join us to oppose a significant proposal for Condo developments covering 6 lots at 58 W. Hastings in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. We need HUNDREDS of Vancouver RESIDENTS to each write a letter AND sign up to speak at the Development Permit Hearing to make an impact.
It is ESSENTIAL that our letters are in Friday, May 17, in order for the Planning Department to reference them for the report that the Development Permit Board will use to make their decision.
We need your letters of concern to help ensure:
-that development in the DOWNTOWN EASTSIDE works for the people living in the Community Already!
-that Condominium development does not proceed without consultations with the Communities directly concerned
-that the City of Vancouver acknowledge and respect what Vancouver Residents have to say about what’s going on in the City.
Your letters do not have to be long or profound. A few sentences objecting to the development as it stands will do just fine. Add any information that is relevant to you and your reasons for rejecting the proposal; elaborate wherever you feel it is important.
The Concord Pacific development at 58 W. Hastings must be stopped. The rapid gentrification of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) is overwhelming the low-income residents of this neighborhood, who make up 75% of its population. The current rate of new development, in which new condos outstrip social housing 3 to 1, is a grave threat to the neighborhood. The feverish planning, approval and construction of market condos is a destructive force accompanied by massive aftershocks to this community.
Rising real estate prices are already resulting in increased rents, conversions and closures of residential hotels (SRO’s), creating a constant flow of displacement and evictions of low-income residents, and consequent homelessness. Condo construction will be accompanied by a flood of upscale amenities catering to the new residents of the area, which will further marginalize the low-income residents who have make this neighborhood home for many years.
Unlike people with significant resources, whose lives are marked by independence and mobility, people living in poverty form communities of interdependence, located in a specific geographical area, and embedded in neighborly networks of support and assistance. The community of low-income residents who currently call the DTES home should not be displaced from their neighborhood and relocated somewhere else for the sake of condo development. This is their home, and they should be able to live here.
Poverty is not grounds for displacement.
Condo construction in the DTES must be halted until a community vision is formulated, planned and implemented. Like putting up a tent in a windstorm, rooting and securing housing for low-income people in a community experiencing the hurricane of condo development and massive gentrification is impossible.
Residents need time to determine their own community vision and support the implementation of that vision, before the green light is given to condo developers. What is at stake is the existence of a vibrant, amazing community of people.
The cessation of condo development for the sake of this community can begin here and now, with the rejection of a development permit to Concord Pacific for the 58 West Hastings site.
We believe there is an opening at City Hall to support our position. On Thursday, May 1 at the Planning and Environment counil meeting, Cameron Gray, Director of the City’s Housing Centre said the surge of condos in the DTES is “like a hurricane and is going twice as fast as predicted…[and] we need to address the rapidity of change in order to stay on track with the Downtown Eastside Housing Plan.” He also said that a strong mechanism to control condo development “could signal to the Province that no market housing will be built and landowners/developers may be off to Victoria to get more housing here.” And he said: “its time to do a community visioning because groups are more united and able to do it and because of the rapidity of change.” At the same meeting, Councilor Anton of the NPA stated “we have the horrendous challenge of 4000 more units” in terms of securing replacement housing in the area and that “as long as the SRO’s are in private hands, they are in jeopardy.” Councilor Anton said she was “very encouraged by the [visioning] work in the DTES.”
Please write your letters by Friday, May 17 to:
Alison.higginson@vancouver.ca
The Chair, Development Permit Board
c/o Alison Higginson, Project Facilitator,
Development Services
453 West 12th Avenue
Vancouver BC
V5Y 1V4
Please bcc your email letter to: wpedersen@look.ca or send us a quick note to let us know that you wrote a letter.
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To sign up to speak at the hearing on Monday June 23, call:
Lorna Harvey
Assistant to the Development Permit Board
Development Services
604. 873-7469
Sincerely,
Carnegie Community Action Project [CCAP]
Streams of Justice
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Wendy Pedersen
Carnegie Community Action Project
Carnegie Association
604. 839-0379 https://ccapvancouver.wordpress.com/
Greg Bluestein, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ATLANTA – Cars passing O’Terrill’s pub screech to a halt at the sight of a 136 kilogram, waist-high robot marked “SECURITY” rolling through downtown long after dark.
The regulars hardly glance outside. They’ve seen bar owner Rufus Terrill’s invention on patrol before – its bright red lights and even brighter spot light blazing, infrared video camera filming and water cannon at the ready in the spinning turret on top.
“You’re trespassing. That’s private property,” Terrill scolds an older man through the robot’s loudspeaker. The man is sitting at the edge of the driveway to a child care centre down the street. “Go on.”
The man’s hands go up and he shuffles into the shadows. Almost immediately, a group of men behind him scatters too.
The Bum Bot’s reputation, it seems, has preceded it.
The electronic vigilante – on the beat since September – has enraged neighbourhood activists, who have threatened protests. Street people say it’s intimidating. And homeless advocates question the intentions of its inventor, who uses the Bum Bot as a marketing tool and a political prop. Read the rest of this entry »
At least 56 homeless British Columbians died during 2006 and 2007, according to provincial statistics obtained by The Tyee.
B.C.’s homeless died at a rate that’s at least 19 per cent higher than the general population, according to the office of the chief coroner.
Read the Coroner’s report
The original three-page document tallying homeless deaths, done at the request of The Tyee, can be found here.
“These deaths were preventable,” said MLA David Chudnovsky, a New Democrat who serves as the opposition critic for homelessness. “These are people who would still be alive if they’d had someplace to live.”
The report tallies 31 homeless deaths in 2006 and another 25 in 2007. But housing advocates criticized the coroner for excluding the deaths of some formerly homeless people who died in hospital.
“Our governments are culpable for these preventable deaths,” said David Eby, an attorney at Pivot Legal Society. “People are literally dying in the streets.”
Overdoses, blunt injuries, hangings
The office of the chief coroner prepared this report in response to requests from The Tyee. Among its findings:
The death rates among homeless persons in 2007 was 21.3 per 10,000 people, while the rate among the general population in 2006 was 17.9 per 10,000. So using the coroner’s indirect comparison, B.C.’s homeless population is dying at a rate 19 per cent higher than the general population.
Two thirds of the homeless dead were living on the street, while the remaining third lived in a homeless shelter. Thus the (uncalculated) rate of death among street homeless is higher than 19 per cent above average.
Poisoning by drugs or alcohol was the leading cause of death, followed by blunt injuries (e.g., hit by a car), hangings and stabbings. One drowned and one died of smoke inhalation. Another nine deaths are either undetermined or still under investigation.
All of those counted were found in B.C.’s cities: 13 in Vancouver, 11 in Victoria, four in New Westminster, three each in North Vancouver and Surrey, and two each in Chilliwack, Kelowna and Nanaimo.
Young and Aboriginal
Aboriginals represented 14.3 per cent of the deaths in the coroner’s report, while comprising just 4.4 per cent of B.C.’s population.
Mayor Sam Sullivan and the Non-Partisan Association have rejected pleas for more new social housing by 2010. Critics warn that Thursday night’s decision by Vancouver City Council assures that homeless Canadians will outnumber athletes at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
“Homelessness is going to get a lot worse in this city, and the NPA is fully responsible,” said City Councillor David Cadman, who represents the opposing Council of Progressive Electors (COPE).
In a series of 6-5 votes, the NPA strong-armed Vancouver City Council into approving a misleading report drafted in the office of Housing Minister Rich Coleman and approved by the organizers of the 2010 games (VANOC). The report, awkwardly titled the Joint Partner Response to the Inner-City Inclusive Commitments (ICI) Housing Table Report, asserts that the housing recommendations developed for VANOC are “not binding.”
“We don’t need this motion,” Sullivan said. “We are working on a lot of things … Huge things.” The mayor did not provide details.
“Sullivan hasn’t delivered anything,” responded Councillor Cadman. “He claims credit for social housing at Woodward’s in spite of the fact that he voted against it. He claims credit for social housing at Southeast False Creek in spite of the fact that his first action as mayor was to slash social housing at that site. He claims credit for the SRO rooms purchased by the province, even though Minister Coleman has plainly said the city had nothing to do with that purchase.”
The Non-Partisan Alliance’s party-line votes came after a half-day of passionate public testimony, in which Vancouver citizens implored council to reject VANOC’s draft report and invite senior governments to a sit-down. Mayor Sullivan rolled out of council chambers during the second speaker, and remained missing-in-action for the remaining four hours of public testimony.
One of the many presentations that Sullivan refused to hear was a plan presented by Pivot Legal Society under which new homeless housing could be paid for out of existing provincial, city and VANOC funds. Pivot and 2010 Watch released documents on Thursday that they say show the city will earn $64.5 million from development of the Olympic Village, which is now under construction at Southeast False Creek.
The June 26 editorial was uncharacteristically blunt: “…this is no time for the Olympic partners to walk away from promises made. Many of the housing commitments were key to gaining community support for the Games, and they must be honoured.”
Vision Vancouver and COPE councillors warned that since it takes a minimum of two years to develop social housing, Thursday night’s vote was probably the last chance this council would get to address Olympic homelessness.
“In all likelihood there will be a strike,” Cadman said. “That will place a hiatus on everything. And that hiatus will effectively delay action on housing until the fall. At that point, it will simply be too late to develop, permit and build new social housing in time for the 2010 Olympics.”
“I don’t want to give up hope until the day before the opening ceremonies,” said David Eby, a housing activist and staff lawyer at Pivot Legal Society. “But I’m getting a sinking feeling that the streets of Vancouver are going to look a lot worse when the Olympics arrive.”
UN’s harsh view of Vancouver
Any doubt that the world is watching was erased by a top-of-page-one headline in Thursday’s The Vancouver Sun, which declared “Vancouver a scarred paradise.” The Sun report described Vancouver as “a city with staggering wealth and soul-crushing poverty.” The article cited a report by the United Nations Population Fund stating that the Downtown Eastside “is home to a hepatitis C (HCV) rate of just below 70 per cent and an HIV prevalence rate of an estimated 30 per cent — the same as Botswana’s.”
Another high-profile report issued this week seemed to predict the NPA’s failure to act. Shelter: Homelessness in a Growth Economy was written by Gordon Laird and published by the Alberta-based Sheldon Chumir Foundation. The report estimated that as many as 300,000 Canadians are already homeless, at a cost to taxpayers of between $4.5 and $6 billion every year.
“Canadian governments,” Laird wrote, “have focused more on short-term crisis management over long-term strategic investment. Their response to homelessness over the last decade has sometimes bordered on outright neglect. In practical terms, absenteeism on housing and homelessness has exacerbated efforts to reduce poverty in Canada.”
I have been a fan of your journalism since first reading your articles in the Vancouver Sun. I am a physical education highschool teacher in the lower mainland, educated at UBC, and have played, and continue to play, a variety of sports at a very high amateur level. While I whole-heartedly support sports and other physical endeavours and recreational pursuits, my position towards the 2010 Olympics has changed drastically since learning of the effects the Games have and will continue to have on my Vancouver community. I celebrated the winning of the games when I first learned they were awarded to Vancouver; now, however, I am quite adamantly opposed to the Olympics because of the tragic and inhumane effect they are having and will continue to have on the most vulnerable members of our community.
Your article, “blaming olympics for housing ills is wrong”, is, unfortunately, one of your worst pieces to date. How a reputable investigative journalist like yourself failed to report on the reality behind the government rhetoric is deplorable. “I think any link between Vancouver’s housing problems and the coming Olympics is misguided if not dead wrong“; perhaps you should interview Am Johal or David Eby and find out what’s really happening on the ground. Perhaps your opinion would be swayed if you interviewed tenants residing in the downtown eastside and learned of their illegal eviction stories. Please read David Eby’s blog https://davideby.blogspot.com/ … he has pasted hyperlinks into your article that challenge everything you convey as being ‘factual’. In a true democracy, the press has a responsibility to inform the people at large of the TRUTH, and neglecting to do so (whether to sell papers or to promote Government/business interests) is unbecoming of a journalist and jeopardizes your integrity. As a respected journalist, you have lost integrity with this article; you have the ability to win it back by writing a legitimate and informative article. Please do your research.
The situation for many residing in the downtown Eastside is very visibly dire. The complaint sent to the United Nations by UBC student Mike Powar makes a very strong case that Canada is violating fundamental human rights with regards to housing in the downtown eastside, and I hope that through ‘embarrassment’ and ‘shame’ the government will finally take affirmative action to improve the lives of our society’s most vulnerable. There’s no place like home…. In a country as prosperous as Canada, there’s no place for homelessness.
As much as I support the Tibetans and the ongoing struggle for human rights protections in China, it would be hypocritical of me to ignore the human rights violations taking place in our own back yard. The government can and should do more to ensure that adequate social housing is available to all Canadians, regardless of one’s socio-economic situation. As homelessness in our city as well as the rest of the GVRD increases, the situation is much more than embarrassing, it is tragic, and our government should feel ashamed of their inadequate ‘solutions’ to this issue.
Please help us out by sending as many letters to different papers/media outlets as possible. Here’s some sample templates to help you out so we can send as many letters to the editors as possible and show that there is much support in our communities for this cause. See links at bottom of this post for quick access to editors. If you can, send one to your MP.
Peace and Love (and thanks!!)
D-F(ng)s
Dear editor,
The situation for many residing in the downtown Eastside is very visibly dire. The complaint sent to the United Nations makes a very strong case that Canada is violating fundamental human rights with regards to housing in the downtown eastside, and I hope that through ‘embarrassment’ and ‘shame’ the government will finally take affirmative action to improve the lives of our society’s most vulnerable, There’s no place like home…. In a country as prosperous as Canada, there’s no place for homelessness.
Dear editor,
As much as I support the Tibetans and the ongoing struggle for human right protections in China, it would be hypocritical of me to ignore the human rights violations taking place in our own back yard. The government can and should do more to ensure that adequate social housing is available to all Canadians, regardless of one’s socio-economic situation. As homelessness in our city increases, the situation is much more than embarrassing, it is tragic, and our government should feel ashamed of their inadequate ‘solutions’ to this issue.
provletters@png.canwest.com or call 604-605-2029
(To permit speedy verification, and confirmation that the text received is uncorrupted, please provide your full name and full postal address including hometown, and a daytime telephone number.)
If you’d like to learn more about the Downtown Eastside issue, check out the link to the official web page that provides details of the ‘No Place Like Home’ complaint that will be sent to the United Nations today. You can view the actual complaint in PDF format from the website.
These days you hear a lot about the world financial crisis. But there’s another world crisis under way — and it’s hurting a lot more people.
I’m talking about the food crisis. Over the past few years the prices of wheat, corn, rice and other basic foodstuffs have doubled or tripled, with much of the increase taking place just in the last few months. High food prices dismay even relatively well-off Americans — but they’re truly devastating in poor countries, where food often accounts for more than half a family’s spending.
There have already been food riots around the world. Food-supplying countries, from Ukraine to Argentina, have been limiting exports in an attempt to protect domestic consumers, leading to angry protests from farmers — and making things even worse in countries that need to import food.
How did this happen? The answer is a combination of long-term trends, bad luck — and bad policy.
Let’s start with the things that aren’t anyone’s fault.
First, there’s the march of the meat-eating Chinese — that is, the growing number of people in emerging economies who are, for the first time, rich enough to start eating like Westerners. Since it takes about 700 calories’ worth of animal feed to produce a 100-calorie piece of beef, this change in diet increases the overall demand for grains.
Second, there’s the price of oil. Modern farming is highly energy-intensive: a lot of B.T.U.’s go into producing fertilizer, running tractors and, not least, transporting farm products to consumers. With oil persistently above $100 per barrel, energy costs have become a major factor driving up agricultural costs.
High oil prices, by the way, also have a lot to do with the growth of China and other emerging economies. Directly and indirectly, these rising economic powers are competing with the rest of us for scarce resources, including oil and farmland, driving up prices for raw materials of all sorts.
Third, there has been a run of bad weather in key growing areas. In particular, Australia, normally the world’s second-largest wheat exporter, has been suffering from an epic drought.
O.K., I said that these factors behind the food crisis aren’t anyone’s fault, but that’s not quite true. The rise of China and other emerging economies is the main force driving oil prices, but the invasion of Iraq — which proponents promised would lead to cheap oil — has also reduced oil supplies below what they would have been otherwise.
Three people protesting China’s human rights record and the impending arrival of the Olympic torch climbed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on Monday and tied a Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables. (Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)
Three pro-Tibet protesters climbed the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday to protest the coming arrival of the Beijing Olympics torch relay in San Francisco.
The protesters, tethered together on the suspension cables halfway up the bridge, unfurled two giant banners reading “One World, One Dream” and “Free Tibet ‘O8” — a play on the official slogan of the Beijing Games. One of the climbers also displayed a Tibetan flag.
The climbers spent about three hours suspended more than 25 metres above traffic before descending around 1:15 p.m. PT to be taken into police custody, the CBC’s Chris Brown reported from the city.
The climbers are all American citizens and supporters of Students for a Free Tibet, said Tsering Lama, a spokeswoman for the activist group.
Four other members, including a Canadian student who attends the University of British Columbia, were arrested at the site, Lama told CBC News.
All seven face charges related to trespassing, conspiracy and causing a public nuisance, CNN reported.
The torch is due to arrive Wednesday in San Francisco, its only North American stop on a tour that has been marked by protests against China’s policies toward Tibet and Sudan.
The highly visible protest has forced San Francisco officials to make some changes to the torch procession, and police said they were taking “extraordinary precautions,” the CBC’s Brown said.
“All in all, it’s going to be a very sizable police presence,” he said.
Last leg of Olympic torch run cancelled in Paris
Meanwhile Monday, the last segment of the Olympic torch run through Paris was cancelled after thousands of anti-China protesters repeatedly prompted officials to stop the procession, extinguish the flame and put the torch aboard a bus.
Despite beefed-up security, the relay had to be suspended at least five times as demonstrators threatened the torch. A vehicle carried the Olympic flame for the last part of the route but a runner was allowed to carry the torch for the final five metres into a sports stadium in the south of Paris.
At least 28 people were arrested during the relay as thousands of people including demonstrators lined the torch’s route through the city streets.
The protesters, tethered together on the suspension cables halfway up the bridge, unfurled two giant banners reading “One World, One Dream” and “Free Tibet ‘O8” — a play on the official slogan of the Beijing Games. One of the climbers also displayed a Tibetan flag.
The climbers spent about three hours suspended more than 25 metres above traffic before descending around 1:15 p.m. PT to be taken into police custody, the CBC’s Chris Brown reported from the city.
The climbers are all American citizens and supporters of Students for a Free Tibet, said Tsering Lama, a spokeswoman for the activist group.
Four other members, including a Canadian student who attends the University of British Columbia, were arrested at the site, Lama told CBC News.
All seven face charges related to trespassing, conspiracy and causing a public nuisance, CNN reported.
The torch is due to arrive Wednesday in San Francisco, its only North American stop on a tour that has been marked by protests against China’s policies toward Tibet and Sudan.
The highly visible protest has forced San Francisco officials to make some changes to the torch procession, and police said they were taking “extraordinary precautions,” the CBC’s Brown said.
“All in all, it’s going to be a very sizable police presence,” he said.
Here’s a link to the blog which covers a variety of issues in the dtes and elsewhere. It’s the one which was instrumental in the barring of homeless man and Carnegie director, William Simpson. There’s a posting on a CCAP rally on February 29th, and you may have to scroll around a bit to get other homeless posts. https://www.downtowneastsideenquirer.blogspot.com
This one is for the Sun article on William Simpson.
I was at a little gathering today at the old Storyeum in Gastown which shut down in November ’06 and has been empty since. There are some proposals coming in from the community for a new use for the space, one of which is a fitness facility. The group today is trying to promote it’s use as a homeless shelter, community centre and support services. It’s headed by a woman and Carnegie member named Audrey Laferriere. She has a petition going with about 3000 signatures but is not well-supported, especially by CCAP, who have a different perspective. Her site is:
Another activist slightly outside the mainstream (she is against the present head of DERA, and I think she may be at odds with David Eby as well), but a really nice person, well-spoken, passionate and knowledgeable about the history of the dtes. I met her today in person at the “rally”. This is her blog: www.downtowneastside.blogspot.com
Here’s a story in The Tyee about the Backpackers Inn on Hastings, which is owned by the same group of six friends who own the SRO next to me I was telling you about. Interesting background if you haven’t read it already. https://thetyee.ca/News/2008/03/20/Backpackers/
Today a peaceful celebration in defence of public space at UBC was violently quashed by the RCMP. This press release was written on April 5th at 1 a.m. with limited available information. All the events discussed herein have been either captured by camera or can be corroborated by multiple eyewitness accounts.
On Friday, April 4th, UBC students loosely associated with Trek Park and SDS held “Knoll Aid 2.0,” a musical celebration of public space on campus. Knoll Aid 2.0 was part of a larger campaign against the commercialization of campus, the demolition of the grassy knoll, and the development of a $40 MILLION underground bus-loop. Knoll Aid 2.0 was an overwhelmingly peaceful event and featured local musicians, free food, and three simultaneous petition drives. It was attended by primarily UBC students.
Though Knoll Aid 2.0 began at noon on Friday, at around 8:00/8:30 RCMP and the Fire department arrived at the area known as “Trek Park” (a liberated space near the grassy knoll) because some students had created a small bonfire. Citing a bylaw violation, the RCMP approached one student, Stefanie Ratjen, in a rather aggressive manner and began speaking with her. After a dialogue, the contents of which are still unknown, Stefanie was grabbed by an RCMP officer and thrown to the ground, pinned, and handcuffed. Her face was literally shoved in a puddle of mud while an RCMP officer sat on top of her. After this uncalled act of police aggression, fellow students came to her aid. One musician was immediately arrested for questioning the RCMP officer’s treatment of Stefanie. For approx. two hours students formed a chain to protest RCMP action and several students attempted to peacefully negotiate the release of Stefanie and the musician (whose name at this point is unknown). During this time approx. 30 RCMP cars with officers from across Vancouver and the lower mainland including Richmond came to UBC. Campus security was also present and threatened to discipline students if they did not cooperate with the RCMP. Police officers systematically attempted to break the human chain students had formed by pushing, shoving and kicking. RCMP officers randomly arrested any student present at the scene including Bahram Norouzi who was arrested in the middle of a CTV interview. At around 10:30 p.m. on approx. 25 students were arrested and detained. They were brought to a Main and Hastings detention center where they presently still remain.
This press release would like to draw attention to the conduct of the RCMP. A university is intended for students, not the police. Upon entering student space, the police should have had the decency, at the very least, to deal with students in a respectful and dignified manner. Instead, RCMP officers were highly aggressive and belligerent. RCMP officers committed gross abuses of power by, for example, threatening to release dogs on students and pointing taser guns at students that were already pinned down to the floor. The actions of RCMP officers are testament of police misconduct, if not brutality. We demand the release of all students arrested and demand that all charges be dropped. Furthermore, we demand an inquiry of the RCMP’s actions in relation to this event and the treatment of students. Lastly, we demand that UBC administration defends student’s rights to a peaceful protest.
To repeat, this was a peaceful celebration/concert in defence of public space. The RCMP had no right to violently quash a peaceful student protest.
On Monday, thousands of people in 84 cities worldwide marched for justice for Tibet–and delivered the 1.5 million-signature Avaaz petition to Chinese embassies and consulates around the globe. (Click below for photos.) Avaaz staff have engaged with Chinese diplomats in New York and London, delivering the petition and urging action. And a growing chorus of world leaders is joining the call.
China is on the fence–indicating an openness to talks with the Dalai Lama, while at the same time pressuring other governments to support its continuing crackdown. Each day, more leaders declare their stance. It’s time to redouble our efforts–click below to send a personal message to your head of state, urging support for dialogue with the Dalai Lama–and check out the photo gallery from Monday’s day of action!
Together, we’ve built an unprecedented wave of global pressure. The Avaaz petition is one of the biggest and fastest-growing global online petitions on any topic in history; since it launched on March 18, it has been signed by 100,000 people per day–an average of more than 4,000 per hour, day and night.
Politicians understand that there is power in numbers. We need to show them that they have more to gain by listening to their own people–and heeding the cry for help from Tibet–than by giving China a pass in the lead-up to the Olympic Games. Take action now
We’re privileged to be alive at a time when people anywhere can reach out and support people everywhere–instantly. If we have the power to make things better, we have a responsibility to act. Thanks for what you’ve done so far, for the people of Tibet and for a more humane world for all.
With hope,
Ben, Ricken, Graziela, Galit, Paul, Iain, Pascal, and the Avaaz team
PS – The more people sign the petition, the more powerful our call for change. We will hope to deliver it to the Chinese government again once we reach our target of 2 million signers. If you haven’t already, please forward the email below to your friends and family, and urge them to sign the Tibet petition!
I’d like to commend you for your efforts in living and promoting the messages and ideals of LOVE, peace, hope, human community, environmental stewardship and spiritual awareness. Collectively we need more cultural icons devoting energy to these worthy causes, and I’d like to thank you for staying true to your principles and not compromising your integrity, even as you have undergone both incredible scrutiny and success both in your career and personal life.
As you are well aware, our planet is facing many serious political, social and environmental issues. It is becoming more and more apparent that the coproratocracy – the alliance of corporations, governments and military- are leading us down a very dangerous path. It is also becoming more apparent that a non-partisan spiritual revolution/re-awakening is necessary now more than ever. The messages of LOVE and peace are universal and throughout the ages have been modeled by prophets and spiritually inclined wise men and women of all ethnicities. Every living organism is capable of experiencing the beauty and energy of an existence that is steeply rooted in love, and for those that still doubt the power and authenticity of love’s potential quantum mechanics is providing us with verifiable, scientific evidence that the power of the heart and mind are much greater than many of us have given them credit for. Read the rest of this entry »
The Fungus is doing a project on homelessness in Vancouver…. and here’s your chance to help out some good ol’ fashioned grass roots democracy! Our mission requires us to sift through some data – You Tube video clips and old media archives will help us convey the story of the Downtown Eastside – and we have a request! We would like concerned citizens to contribute stories, video footage, media archive reports/articles, and anything else, directly to us at TheFungus. Please send your material (or a link to access it) to us via a submitted comment to this post.
By Rob Annandale
Published: October 22, 2007
TheTyee.ca
Canada’s treasured self-image as a land of wealth and justice took a hit on Monday when two UN officials separately blasted the country’s recent social and human rights record.
UN Human Rights Commissioner Louise Arbour said Canada’s decision last month not to support a declaration on indigenous rights suggested her compatriots had an “unduly romantic” view of their country. And UN housing envoy Miloon Kothari wrapped up a two-week Canadian tour by releasing a highly critical preliminary report.
But the international organization has not soured entirely on the country that used to top its lists of the world’s best places to live. On the heels of last week’s survey suggesting the majority of Afghans approve of a continued foreign presence on their territory, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes praised Canada’s role in Afghanistan and expressed hope its troops would stay as long as necessary.
A new study puts Canada’s military budget at around $18 billion annually, its highest since World War II and more than 100 times higher than federal spending to combat homelessness. And while two out of three UN officials may disapprove, it doesn’t take a political scientist to know which of these issues – Afghanistan, aboriginal rights or homelessness – is most likely to be a major election issue next time around. No wonder Arbour aimed her barbs not at Stephen Harper, but at all Canadians.
Well, blessings to you, Beloved Ones! You have traveled many different planes (of existence) and many existences in your Earth and beyond your Earth. You are like a little time traveler. You are one to be honored and one to be cherished. For you are a divine child of God. And yet living on the Earth is not always easy for you. But then you chose this. You asked to be present on the Earth at this time. And you asked to be able to bring a certain focus that may be slightly different. In other words, the focus on the Earth and the perspective of many who live there, what is expected of you by many and what is desired of you by some, is NOT your focus. Is that so? You have a different gift to bring to the Earth. And you are an Indigo Child. You may not be an indigo child like some; you are a variation, for they are not all the same. Perhaps you have brought in the indigo heart and the indigo need for truth and the need for beauty. Perhaps you have brought in the indigo sensitivity that only wants to be about love. It wants to circulate love and create love. Maybe you have brought in the artistic perception of an Indigo. Or even the Grand Intelligence and Deep Scientific Calculations of an Indigo who is at home with computers and devices of intricacy.
There are things for you to learn
and there are things for you to teach.
This does not make you better than anyone else. Nor is anyone else better than you are. All are of GOD. It is like a grand garden. There are many flowers that grow in this garden. The seed that sprouted your particular flower has come from a long way away. And yet it has seeded in the garden of the Earth. So know that you are in your right place for now because you are here. You need to be here. There are things for you to learn and there are things for you to teach. You need to be here. So do not waste your time dreaming of leaving. Because in your dreams and in your visions and those that are forthcoming, you may see and catch glimpses of other worlds. They are worlds that you have lived in. But it does not mean that there is any mistake that you have come here. For you have come here to open the heart. Even if it is in a rather unique way, as seen from the perspective of some on the Earth.
And I shall not tell to you all the things that you will do. For you are a flower that grows upon a vine. And what does that mean? It means that you grow intertwined with others. And there are others that shall come and they will join you. And you shall grow together. And you shall find the others that are like you. And then you will not feel so alone.
For you have come to build a new society
Deep inside of you you know why you have come, for your heart knows. And you have come to seed a New Kind of Being. And it does go against the grain of your society. For you have come to build a new society. You have come to become a builder of a new focus and a new society. And it is as if there is a prism and you have come to polish one of the colors on the prism. But I say to you in order to accomplish that which you have come to do – your job – your gift – it is important for you to honor the other colors in the prism. And it is important that you achieve a certain amount of balance in your world, so that others might listen to you. So that you might learn about many things. So that THEN you can bring your own gift, and others will listen to you. For they will not always understand you, but when you understand them, by dabbling, you might say, a little bit in all of the things that are important to them, then you shall bring them to you, endear them to you. And then they will not be afraid of you. And they will not be put off by you. And they will come closer to you. And then they will be able to see your gift. And those things that you create, you will then be able to share with them, because you have not separated yourself from them.
It is important that you learn something about
everybody. That is why you are in school
And it is not that you should separate yourself from any other, but that you would bring the Gift of Unity and Oneness. Perhaps you are a golden thread. But then there are threads that are silver and threads that are white and there are threads that are green and gray. And you have come to take a needle and unite all of the threads. And not to be superior and not to be inferior. And not to stop listening to your own heart either. But in order to gain the heart and the ear, so that others will see your works and listen to you, it is important that you learn something about everybody. That is why you are in school.
You have already come with a gift and you have a purpose. It is to restore beauty on the Earth. To restore the heart. And to hold a focus of the Divine Feminine. And the Divine Feminine comes forth from you like a fountain. Much beauty and much flow of harmony, for you are all about harmony and love. And where there is no harmony, you do not understand it. And where there is no love, you do not want to be there. And where it does not make sense to your heart, your mind wants to leave and not be there. And that is why the dreams are so strong within you. And that is why the force of love is so strong within you. But in order to grow and strengthen your stem and build your leaves and branches as the bright flower are, it is important, since you are planted in the soil of the Earth, to understand something of the Earth. And that is why you are in school. To understand something of things that you may not choose to be with for very long. But go through the learning of it. And learn something about it. Why? So you can speak with many people. So you can love many people. So you can share your gifts with them and learn from their gifts. And it doesn’t mean that you will lose the wondrous gift that you bring.
You are different but you are also the same
You are different but you are also the same. Because everything is united. That which created Everything. Every flower, every bird, every planet, every universe, every little dog and every little human and every little angel. The Creator of All put a thread of Unity through all so that everything moves altogether. On your Earth, it is not so easy to see the threads. They look invisible, but they are not. Everything is united.
So please, Beloved Indigo Child, please honor and love yourself
So please, Beloved Indigo Child, please honor and love yourself and know that you are honored in Heaven, even as you shall be honored on Earth. And there is unity there as well! Heaven and Earth are really one. Everything is really connected. This you will see before too long, if you do not already see it.
Earth is a little bit of a school itself. You may not like school and you may not like Earth at times. But please honor Her. Know that She is alive. She isn’t just a big ball that you walk on. She is alive. Every little part of Her. Even as you walk on Her Big Body, She is conscious and She is growing. And She is, in one sense, in Her own school of development, of expansion. She is spinning through space and doing many things. And She shelters you. And She is one of your mothers, for She nourishes you. Her elements are in your physical body and Her soils, although depleted by Humanity, give you food to eat. Her waters give you drink.
So, please, Beloved One, honor your heart for it is full. And honor your mind as well. For it is full. They go together. The mind follows the heart; let the mind keep pace with the heart.
We reached our target! In just 7 days over 1 million of us have signed the petition calling for human rights and dialogue in Tibet–the fastest growing internet petition in history. As the crisis continues, it’s time to deliver our petition and make sure Chinese President Hu Jintao hears our voices.
An International Day of Action has been declared for Monday, March 31st. On Monday, thousands of people in cities across the world will march to Chinese embassies and consulates, and stack hundreds of boxes containing our petition outside them. 1 million signatures makes a mountain of boxes–it will send a powerful global message.
We have just 4 days left until the petition delivery. Could we get to 2 million signatures in 4 days? We can do it–if every one of us recruits at least one more friend to sign the petition by forwarding the email below.
————————————————–
Dear friends,
After decades of repression, the Tibetan people are crying out to the world for change. The Olympic spotlight is now on China, and Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama is calling to end all riots and violence through restraint and dialogue.
China’s hardliners are lashing out publicly at the Dalai Lama–but many Chinese leaders believe dialogue is the best hope for stability in Tibet. The government is right now considering a crucial choice between repression and dialogue that could determine Tibet’s–and China’s–future.
We can affect this historic choice–President Hu Jintao values China’s reputation, and he needs to hear from us that the ‘Made in China’ brand and the upcoming Olympics in Beijing will succeed only if he chooses dialogue over the hardliners’ repression. An avalanche of global people power is moving to get his attention. In just one week, over 1 million people have signed our petition, which will be delivered in rallies at Chinese embassies worldwide on Monday–click below to join the global outcry, and then forward this email to friends and family right away:
China’s economy is dependent on “Made in China” exports that we all buy, and the government is keen to make the Olympics in Beijing this summer a celebration of a new and respected China. China is also a sprawling, diverse country with much brutality in its past, so it has good reasons to be concerned about stability–some of Tibet’s rioters killed innocent people. But President Hu must recognize that the greatest danger to Chinese stability and development today comes from hardliners who advocate escalating repression, not from those Tibetans seeking dialogue and reform.
The Tibetan people have suffered quietly for decades. It is finally their moment to speak–we must help them be heard.
With hope and respect,
Ricken, Pascal, Graziela, Iain, Paul, Galit, Milena, Ben and the whole Avaaz team
Here are some links with more information on the Tibetan protests and the Chinese response:
A Tibetan woman cries inside a police van in frustration after their peace rally being held along with Amnesty International was dispersed by policemen in Katmandu, Nepal, Monday March 24, 2008. Eleven members of Amnesty International along with their country head were also detained. (AP Photo/ Saurabh Das)
Peter Harmsen, AFP
Published: Tuesday, March 25, 2008
BEIJING, March 25, 2008 (AFP) – China said Tuesday attempts to disrupt the Olympic torch relay were “shameful” after protests at the ceremony to light the flame added to pressure over its handling of ongoing unrest in Tibet.
Amid reports of new bloodshed during a major crackdown by Chinese forces, the demonstrations in Greece on Monday underlined world anger over Tibet and a determination to keep harassing China’s communist leaders on the issue.
But China’s foreign ministry had only sharp words for the protests and urged countries on the relay route to ensure its smooth progress.
“Any act to disrupt the Olympic torch relay is shameful and unpopular,” ministry spokesman Qin Gang told reporters in Beijing in China’s first official reaction to the incidents.
“We also believe that competent authorities in countries through which the torch relay will pass have the obligation to ensure a smooth relay.”
With Tibetan exiles putting the death toll from 10 days of unrest at around 140, protesters condemning China’s rights record briefly disrupted the flame ceremony as it was broadcast live to the world from Ancient Olympia.
Later, 10 Tibetan activists staged a protest in the town’s main street.
Chinese media largely ignored the incidents in their accounts of the torch lighting, which kicked off a five-month world tour of the Olympic flame in the run-up to the August 8-24 Games, seen by Beijing as China’s great coming-out party.
The China Daily called the flame ceremony “a perfect start,” while the Global Times, a specialised newspaper focusing on international issues, carried a short reference to the protests at the end of a lengthy, positive report.
The incidents refocused international attention on China’s crackdown on the two weeks of protest over its rule of Tibet, which Beijing has blamed on the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader.
However, the Dalai Lama reiterated a pledge to quit as “spokesperson for the Tibetan people” if there are more violent anti-Chinese protests either in his homeland or in other parts of China.
“If the violent demonstrations continue, I would resign,” the exiled Buddhist leader said in India on Tuesday.
State-run Xinhua news agency reported a policeman was killed, and other officers injured, in fresh clashes Monday in Garze, a southwest region in Sichuan province with a large proportion of ethnic Tibetans.
The India-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported one Tibetan protester was shot dead and another left in critical condition following “indiscriminate firing” at a group of about 200 demonstrators.
Protests began in Tibet on March 10 to mark the anniversary of a failed 1959 uprising against Chinese rule in the region, but have since turned deadly and spread to other parts of the country.
Thirteen people who took part in the March 10 demonstration are now under arrest, the state-controlled Tibet Daily reported Tuesday.
“This repression is not tolerable,” French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Tuesday on the Europe 1 radio network, referring to the Chinese crackdown.
By contrast, Singapore said Tuesday it “supports the declared policy of the Chinese government to protect the lives and property of its citizens from violent demonstrators with minimum use of force.”
Xinhua on Tuesday reported a visit to Tibet by Meng Jianzhu, the head of the public security ministry and China’s top police official, covering several areas in Lhasa hit by the clashes.
“Participating in the riot essentially violated the doctrines of Tibetan Buddhism,” Meng said, according to the agency.
Independent confirmation of reports from the region and areas populated by Tibetans has been extremely difficult due to curbs China has placed on foreign media.
The foreign ministry said Tuesday it would organise a three-day trip to Lhasa by about a dozen selected foreign journalists.
Tibet, a mountainous region that straddles Mount Everest and is more than twice the size of France, has been a flashpoint issue for China’s Communist leadership ever since it came to power in 1949.
Tibet has taken on greater importance in the run-up to the Olympics in August, which the country’s leaders hope will be a chance to show off China’s rapid transformation into a modern economic power.
Despite the protests, calls for a boycott of the Games have been muted.
International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge said Monday there was “deep concern” over events in Tibet but has dismissed talk of boycotting the event.
The 2008 Beijing Olympic Games offer Tibetans and their supporters an unprecedented opportunity to draw attention to China’s occupation of Tibet. As the spotlight shines on Beijing we must pressure the Chinese government to FREE TIBET!
LAUSANNE, Switzerland, March 18, 2008 (AFP) – Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Tuesday at the seat of the International Olympic Committee in the Swiss city of Lausanne to denounce China’s crackdown in Tibet.
The demonstrators, many holding banners and Tibetan flags, arrived with a police escort. The procession was led by monks in traditional robes.
“Stop Killing in Tibet,” read one banner, while another said: “Mr Rogge, your silence kills Tibetans” – a plea to the president of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge.
One organiser put the number of demonstrators at around 500, while another said it was closer to 1,000.
Lausanne police put the number at around 450.
Despite the police presence, the demonstration was peaceful – in contrast to scenes in the eastern Swiss city of Zurich over the weekend when police fired tear gas at protestors calling for Tibet’s independence.
The demonstrators planned to hand a letter to the IOC urging them to break their silence on the unrest.
“We, the undersigned representatives of Tibetan organisations and support groups around the world, are writing to urgently request that the IOC make a public statement about the discrepancy between China’s promises to uphold human rights as an Olympic host, and its violent crackdown in Tibet over the last five days,” the letter said.
“We also urge you to immediately remove Tibet from the Beijing Olympic Torch relay route,” it added.
In a brief statement issued on Monday, the IOC said it had no plans to change the route of the Torch relay.
“The Olympic Torch Relay, which embodies the Olympic values of friendship, respect and excellence, is due to travel to Lhasa in June,” the IOC said.
“The Olympic Torch is a powerful symbol which inspires people from all over the world to overcome their differences and come together in mutual understanding in anticipation of the Games which it heralds,” it added.
But Swiss Olympic Committee president Joerg Schild said Sunday the credibility of the Olympic movement will be at stake if there is no official reaction to the recent crackdown.
“Whoever remains silent in the face of the latest events gives the impression that they do not care about the fate of the people in the host country,” Schild said in a statement.
I would like to add a very important side-note (especially with regards to the recent posts I have made…. )
I think the most important skill we can develop today is the ability to think critically. The ability to absorb information and then ask the appropriate questions to (attempt to) ascertain the authenticity and validity of the information cannot be stressed enough. First and foremost…. learning to recognize the bias inherent in all sorts of media is vitally important. Certain media outlets are considered by “experts” to be more reliable and credible than others: BBC is considered by many to be the “spinach” of the media diet, while Fox news is deemed by many as the “fastfood” alternative. Media outlets are ‘regulated’, and are supposed to live up to certain journalistic standards. Whether these media outlets are being held accountable to these standards is anyone’s guess, but there certainly seems to be a lot of speculation that they are not. Reported incidents of ‘propaganda’ and factual distortion have been quite rampant over the past 60 years on many of the major news networks. That being said, I have seen some wonderful examples of truly investigative journalism from even the biggest media outlets. The problem, however, is that the ‘bread and butter’ of mainstream media’s quality investigative journalism is usually buried behind a main section article on Britney Spears, or is strategically located on a page with glossy advertising aimed at taking your attention off the targeted article. Regardless, understanding who stands to gain from the outcome of the article is usually a good place to start when becoming an informed, critically thinking, media consumer.
When viewing information on the internet we must also be extremely careful; being a completely unregulated source of media has its pros and cons. The credibility of internet ‘authors’ is always questionable. Are these people ‘experts’ on the given topic? What are their credentials? Why do they want me to believe their point of view? These are all good questions to ask and as you begin your quest for truth you will find it necessary to conduct further research to determine the validity of certain quotes, certain historical facts, certain details that could easily be manipulated. Read the rest of this entry »
A work colleague said it me with respect to the current state of Corp-ocracy:
“Think of yourself as a Jew in Nazi Germany in 1932. Get out! Some people thought it would never happen… they had jobs… their kids were in school… they didn’t get out…”
There is still an opportunity for the people to take back what’s rightfully theirs and stop this from happening. Nobody would have to go anywhere… except of course for the demons trying to pull this shit off who would go straight to hell. All we need is a collective awareness. If you end up being wrong about these suspicions towards the government that has never given a fuck about you then you’ve lost nothing… but if your right!
Think outside the box they have manufactured you into… it’s a conspiracy theory only b/c you’re inside the box.
~Nims
Wikipedia
Rex 84, short for Readiness Exercise 1984, was a plan by the United States federal government to test their ability to detain large numbers of American citizens in case of massive civil unrest or national emergency. Exercises similar to Rex 84 happen periodically.[1] Plans for roundups of persons in the United States in times of crisis are constructed during periods of increased political repression such as the Palmer Raids and the McCarthy Era. For example, from 1967 to 1971 the FBI kept a list of persons to be rounded up as subversive, dubbed the “ADEX” list.[2]
According to scholar Diana Reynolds:
The Rex-84 Alpha Explan (Readiness Exercise 1984, Exercise Plan), [otherwise known as a continuity of government plan], indicates that FEMA in association with 34 other federal civil departments and agencies conducted a civil readiness exercise during April 5-13, 1984. It was conducted in coordination and simultaneously with a Joint Chiefs exercise, Night Train 84, a worldwide military command post exercise (including Continental U.S. Forces or CONUS) based on multi-emergency scenarios operating both abroad and at home. In the combined exercise, Rex-84 Bravo, FEMA and DOD led the other federal agencies and departments, including the Central Intelligence Agency, the Secret Service, the Treasury, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Veterans Administration through a gaming exercise to test military assistance in civil defense.
The exercise anticipated civil disturbances, major demonstrations and strikes that would affect continuity of government and/or resource mobilization. To fight subversive activities, there was authorization for the military to implement government ordered movements of civilian populations at state and regional levels, the arrest of certain unidentified segments of the population, and the imposition of martial rule.[3]
Existence of a master military contingency plan, “Garden Plot” and a similar earlier exercise, “Lantern Spike” were originally revealed by journalist Ron Ridenhour, who summarized his findings in “Garden Plot and the New Action Army.”[4]
Rex 84 was mentioned during the Iran-Contra Hearings in 1987, and subsequently reported on by the Miami Herald on July 5th, 1987. [5]A number of websites and alternative publications that span the political spectrum have hypothesized upon the basic material about Rex 84, and in many cases hyperbolized it into a form of urban legend or conspiracy theory. Rex 84 is sometimes cited as an extension of the King Alfred Plan, a strategy to detain African Americans. Nonetheless, the basic facts about Rex 84 and other contingency planning readiness exercises–and the potential threat they pose to civil liberties if fully implemented in a real operation–are taken seriously by scholars and civil liberties activists.[6]
There over 600 prison camps in the United States, all fully operational and ready to receive prisoners. They are all staffed and even surrounded by full-time guards, but they are all empty. These camps are to be operated by FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) should Martial Law need to be implemented in the United States.
The Rex 84 Program was established on the reasoning that if a mass exodus of illegal aliens crossed the Mexican/US border, they would be quickly rounded up and detained in detention centers by FEMA. Rex 84 allowed many military bases to be closed down and to be turned into prisons.
Operation Cable Splicer and Garden Plot are the two sub programs which will be implemented once the Rex 84 program is initiated for its proper purpose. Garden Plot is the program to control the population. Cable Splicer is the program for an orderly takeover of the state and local governments by the federal government. FEMA is the executive arm of the coming police state and thus will head up all operations. The Presidential Executive Orders already listed on the Federal Register also are part of the legal framework for this operation.
The camps all have railroad facilities as well as roads leading to and from the detention facilities. Many also have an airport nearby. The majority of the camps can house a population of 20,000 prisoners. Currently, the largest of these facilities is just outside of Fairbanks, Alaska. The Alaskan facility is a massive mental health facility and can hold approximately 2 million people.
A B.C. civil rights organization says it has obtained federal government documents that detail reports of torture of detainees in Afghanistan after Canadian troops handed them over to Afghan authorities.
The British Columbia Civil Liberties Association says it obtained the heavily censored documents as part of its court case in conjunction with Amnesty International demanding that the Canadian military stop the transfer of prisoners.
The association said the documents, made available on its website on Monday, are an exchange between diplomatic and Foreign Affairs Department personnel who visited various facilities in Afghanistan.
The diplomatic communiqués — marked “secret” — disclose that Canadian officials were aware that the Afghan National Directorate of Security (NDS) engaged in forms of torture of prisoners after they were transferred into NDS custody, the rights group said.
The documents contain summaries of interviews with detainees, who report being whipped with cables, shocked with electricity and beaten unconscious while in Afghan custody. One detainee interviewed showed fresh welts on his body, then led Canadian investigators to discover a hidden electrical cable and rubber hose he said was used to strike him.
new society. And it is as if there is a prism and you have come to polish one of the colors on the prism. But I say to you in order to accomplish that which you have come to do – your job – your gift – it is important for you to honor the other colors in the prism. And it is important that you achieve a certain amount of balance in your world, so that others might listen to you. So that you might learn about many things. So that THEN you can bring your own gift, and others will listen to you. For they will not always understand you, but when you understand them, by dabbling, you might say, a little bit in all of the things that are important to them, then you shall bring them to you, endear them to you. And then they will not be afraid of you. And they will not be put off by you. And they will come closer to you. And then they will be able to see your gift. And those things that you create, you will then be able to share with them, because you have not separated yourself from them.
one sense, in Her own school of development, of expansion. She is spinning through space and doing many things. And She shelters you. And She is one of your mothers, for She nourishes you. Her elements are in your physical body and Her soils, although depleted by Humanity, give you food to eat. Her waters give you drink.
The Fungus 