A Doorway To Persia
This is a video I have been working on for these past few weeks. It’s a compilation of photos, information and music from my 2007 trip to Iran which hopefully will present a different picture.
We must encourage diplomacy and reconciliation, not war and violence.
Injured ‘Occupy Oakland’ Marine calls for justice, peace
It has been a month and still no answers about who fired the tear gas canister at Scott Olsen. Is this really how we want to treat our citizens and in particular our returning veterans? Where is the justice?
His final advice to supporters of the 99 Percent movement: “Stay peaceful, because that’s what this is about. It’s about working with one another and it’s about being open with each other, and that’s how we can solve our problems.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/11/29/released-from-hospital-injured-occupy-oakland-marine-calls-for-justice-peace/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Changing The Script
This video shows the profound effects of nonviolence dedication. In the face of an adversary who is aggressive and displaying violent behavior, these students shifted the mood by changing the script. One of the downfalls of our society is the deep-rooted programming of fear that breeds separation, contempt and aggressive reaction to conflict. It is what we have been taught. We have perpetuated a myth that might makes right. This video shows the amazing results that can come from grasping the energy of an intense moment and transforming it into something peaceful, constructive, inclusive and yes, even loving. Will every heated confrontation end this way? No, probably not. But it certainly makes everyone aware that it can.
Some people say that true change in this country will only come over the course of several generations. I say it can be as close as the next choice.
http://www.balloon-juice.com/2011/11/19/police-pepper-spray-ows-student-protestors-directly-in-their-faces-at-occupy-davis/
Second Iraq veteran wounded during Occupy Oakland protests recovering from spleen surgery
As the Occupy movement continues to move forward in the United States, there are more and more reports of police responding with violence on unarmed citizens. The prevalence of violence in our society is being spotlighted everywhere as people take to the streets and demand changes to laws and norms that only support the will and good of a select few.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/top-stories/ci_19274128
One Marine stands up to 30 NYPD officers….
Some sit quietly by and follow orders, no matter what the outcome to innocent civilians and others take a stand and speak truth to power. Thank you US Marine Sgt. Shamar Thomas from Roosevelt, NY.
Cornel West arrested outside the Supreme Court
West, a civil rights activist who supported Obama for president, teamed up with PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley to launch a multi-city poverty bus tour earlier this year, and has spoken out against the president’s performance, especially as it relates to alleviating the challenges facing the black community.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66129.html
I AM NOT MOVING
I urge you to watch this video, hear the words of our officials and watch the action by our police forces across the country against the American people who are gathering to exercise their rights.
Please share…….
Chevron’s Not Having a Very Good Week
Chevron seems to have hit a few legal snags over their oil contamination of the Amazon:
http://understory.ran.org/2011/09/22/wikileaks-cables-make-a-bad-week-for-chevron-even-worse/
Guilty Until Proven Innocent
The news is spreading like wildfire about the decision by the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles to reject Troy Davis’ clemency petition. He will likely be executed on September 21 at 7:00 pm.
When a question of doubt is raised about the guilt of anyone, that alone should be sufficient to warrant another look at the specifics of a case. A new trial would be the most responsible action to have taken and instead, we are left with a decision to turn a deaf ear and allow the killing of another potentially innocent man.
Seven out of nine witnesses recanted their testimony, no murder weapon was ever found, a witness has accused someone else present at the murder scene…..and the questions go on. And so does the plan for execution.
What has happened to us as a people, as a nation, that would allow anything to stand in the way of the justice and truth we say defines us?
Has something in fact happened? Or are we repeating the actions of our ancient ancestors who blood-lusted at the gallows or the guillotine? I no longer recognize my fellow man, nor am I inclined to put my faith and trust in his hands.
When do we begin to walk a path of justice, morality, compassion and truth? When do we look beyond the difference in race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual preference? When do we begin to live the tenets of the religions we presumably ‘practice’ and live with loving kindness?
It is a dark day for America. Mr. Davis is not the only life on the line within our penal system. There are hundreds currently sitting on death row and how many have been wrongfully executed? How many innocent lives have been ended because of our blood-lust or fear of being wrong?
When did we shift from innocent until proven guilty to guilty until proven innocent?
Please sign the petition attached, if you will and share it. It is his last hope for life.
http://blog.amnestyusa.org/deathpenalty/not-in-our-name-georgia-must-not-execute-troy-davis/
Do you know what is happening in Kashmir?
In May of 2011, I traveled to Srinagar, Kashmir to co-facilitate two workshops on nonviolence and peacebuilding skills, It was then that I saw for myself the oppressive conditions that the Indian military have imposed upon the people of Kashmir.
They are basically held captive to the curfew whims and damaged by the numerous methods of physical violence upon those who sometimes just happen to be in the way.
The world sits quietly while the atrocities continue and the emotional stress surrounding the kidnappings, rape, torture and murders of the youth go unchallenged by the authorities.
I share this story with you today because the memory of a murdered son, daughter or husband can never be stilled by the passage of time. I share this story with you today because the world needs to know what is happening in Kashmir:
http://www.kashmirdispatch.com/feature/06095687-palhallan-last-year-on-this-day.htm