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World is Being Blogged Monday, May 31, 2010 Attack on Humanitarianism Highlights Need for Change in US and Israeli Policy The Elders, a group of global leaders founded in 2007 by Nelson Mandela, has condemned the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla as "completely inexcusable." I don't have much to add to that assessment of the events of the last 24 hours, except to say that I hope this strengthens the hand of those in Israel who see that the time of occupation and blockade of Palestinian territories must now come to an end, and that a final settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with a two-state solution, is the only way to end increasing Israeli isolation and bring justice and peace to the region. I don't support a boycott of Israel as a means of pressuring it toward negotiations, because that is the same sort of collective punishment involved in the Israeli blockade of Gaza. But, United States military aid to Israel should be made contingent on progress toward peace. US taxpayer dollars indirectly funded yesterday's assault on global humanitarianism, and implicit unconditional support of intransigent Israeli military policy must be reversed. Enabling one's friends to do wrong is not helping them. US military assistance to Israel, without conditions, decreases Israel's security in the long run by preventing the necessity of a negotiated peace.
Saturday, May 22, 2010 Remembering Harvey Milk's "Us's" Around the World Harvey Milk, the gay civil rights activist assassinated in 1978, would have turned 80 years old today. Milk, the first openly gay elected public official in the United States, had an expansive view of civil and human rights, advocating for the "us's," all those whose rights are forgotten, denied, or destroyed. Milk's famous "hope" speech, in which he talks about the role of hope in sustaining the rights of "us's" everywhere, is excerpted in the video below. Video Source: Causecast A fitting way to celebrate Milk's birthday is to send support to Steven Monjez and Tiwonge Chimbalanga, a gay couple in Malawi sentenced on May 20 to 14 years in prison for the "crime" of "unnatural practices between males and gross public indecency," brought to the government's attention when they held a traditional party to celebrate their engagement. Amnesty International has declared the couple "prisoners of conscience," and has called for their immediate and unconditional release. For more information on the couple's plight, and what you can do to help, see the "Free Malawians Steven Monjeza and Tiwonge Chimbalanga" Facebook page.
Saturday, May 1, 2010 Driving While Brown America is a republic, not a homeland. The first measure of good public policy involves ensuring that it doesn't trample on the rights or dignity of people, either as citizens or as human beings, including both constitutional rights and human rights. If we paid more attention to global economic justice, we wouldn't have to worry so much about our borders, since desparate economic conditions in many countries to our south wouldn't be driving so many people to seek work in the United States. The degrading nature of having to present an ID simply in order to live in a given state without getting arrested was explained most eloquently by Archbisop Desmond Tutu in yesterday's Huffington Post. Tutu speaks from experience, having lived under that kind of regime in South Africa during the apartheid period: "Abominations such as apartheid do not start with an entire population suddenly becoming inhumane. They start here. They start with generalizing unwanted characteristics across an entire segment of a population. They start with trying to solve a problem by asserting superior force over a population. They start with stripping people of rights and dignity - such as the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty - that you yourself enjoy. Not because it is right, but because you can. And because somehow, you think this is going to solve a problem."
Friday, April 30, 2010 Drill, Baby Drill? Nuke, Baby Nuke? The massive BP oil spill off the coast of Louisiana is causing some in the Obama Administration to question their new offshore oil drilling policy. It also raises the question: do we have to have another Three Mile Island or Chernobyl disaster in order to get them to reconsider their pro-nuclear power stance? We should be able to assess these risks in advance, and back away from developing a new generation of nuclear power plants. The International Conference for a Nuclear Free, Peaceful, Just and Sustainable World will take place this weekend in New York, and will draw the obvious connection between proliferation of nuclear power and the risks both of accidental and intentional nuclear disaster. The conference will be addressed by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon; portions of the conference will be available via livestream video.
Monday, March 1, 2010 For universal healthcare in America. Friday, February 26, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009 Saturday, October 30, 2009 Former Klansman Apologizes to Civil Rights Leader Wednesday, October 28, 2009 President Obama Signs Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill Into Law
Saturday, October 24, 2009 International Day of Climate Action Ahmadinejad Faces a "Soft Revolution," Just Not the One He Thinks When Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrives at the UN in New York this Wednesday, he will be met by thousands of demonstrators protesting the legitimacy of his election, and for greater democracy and human rights, most specifically for women, in Iran. An important message those in New York, and their compatriots elsewhere, are sending to Mr. Ahmedinejad is that he is not, as he has claimed, facing the threat of an American and British government fomented "soft revolution" that is being imported into his country. Instead, what he is facing is a transnational, universal, borderless civil society movement for global human rights, social justice, and peace, as it expresses itself in the case of Iran.
In his highly nationalistic, theologically-centered worldview, it does not make sense to Mr. Ahmadinejad that the same movement that protests for greater democracy in Iran also protests against the war in Iraq and for Palestinian statehood. It is the same movement that brought down apartheid in South Africa, works for the liberation of Tibet, thought George Bush stole the 2000 election, and helped bring about the presidency of Barack Obama. What he will see--or, more likely, avoid--on the streets of New York are simply the counterparts of the movement that he faces on the streets of Tehran.
The part of his analysis that Mr. Ahmadinejad has right is that those in this movement do indeed seek a "soft revolution," not just in his country, but throughout the world, created through nonviolent means and philosophies, and inspired by those like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Aung San Suu Kyi, aimed at the goals of universal human rights, democracy, social justice, and peace. It is a different sort of threat to his regime than he imagines, but no less real.
The Ahmadinejad protests in New York will be covered live on the United for Iran Twitter page and Facebook page. Wednesday, August 26, 2009 Teddy Kennedy: In Memoriam
As a little boy, I had a print of the image above mixed among my childhood belongings, and my childhood faith. For me, and for millions of others, the Kennedy brothers represented not only idealism and a commitment to hope, social justice, civil rights, and peace, but also a certain ideal of family dedication and loyalty. Teddy Kennedy was one of those rare public figures who held a special kind of moral center. He made the ideal seem obvious. He was a champion of the poor, the powerless, and those who were denied rights. What greater tribute can be made of any politician--or person? An email circulating this morning states, "In lieu of flowers, pass health care reform." That's a good start. But, Teddy Kennedy's passing is also a reminder to rededicate ourselves to family and friends, to those who have less rights and privileges than we do, to the common good, and to dreams of a better world.
Saturday, June 27, 2009 We are the World There comes a time
We can't go on
Send them your heart
When you're down and out
Sunday, June 21, 2009 Everyone has the right... "Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association....The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections..." --Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Farsi/Persian Translation)
Friday, June 19, 2009 To Our Brothers and Sisters in Iran I've heard that there may be some university students in Tehran and others in Iran reading this blog. No one from so far away and in great safety can say to another that they should risk their lives, even in a just cause like yours. It is up to you to decide what is best for you, your families, and your country. There is no certainty as to what will happen tomorrow and in the coming days, or whether the risks you may take will bring the liberation and rights that you seek in the short run. A year ago, many people doubted that it would be possible for America to elect a black president. But, it was accomplished. Now, you are the voices of hope and of change. Whatever happens, know that we are watching very closely, and there will be public demonstrations for you here as well. What so many of us in America and around the world want you to know is that our hearts are with you, and we are with you in spirit. You are the face of history today.
Thursday, June 18, 2009 The Whole World is Watching Iran: Calls to Action As Iranian pro-democracy demonstrations continue, calls from within and outside the country are being made for global support for the peaceful protests. Iranian Artists in Exile's "Open Letter to the People of the World" (see YouTube below) is particularly powerful.
A couple of simple actions you can take: (1) Click here or on Amnesty International (AI) USA logo below to sign an AI-sponsored email to Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei, Iran's "Supreme Leader," urging him to "ensure that security agents will exercise restraint in the use of lethal force to respond to protests, and to refrain from beating people for exercising their right to freedom of expression and association."
(2) Click here or on Center for the Study of Strategic Nonviolent Defense logo below to sign a petition calling on the United Nations to demand that Iran:
If you know of a website or wiki that is coordinating protests in support of Iranian democracy, please email me at joel@topia.net, and I will post them here.
Monday, June 15, 2009 In Solidarity with Iranian Democracy As American-world victims of Bush v. Gore 2000, it's easy for us all to identify with those on the streets of Iran today, protesting what certainly looks like a stolen election (see Juan Cole's June 13 blog for a concise analysis of the election results).
According to some estimates (see video below), Iran has the third largest number of bloggers of any nation, many of them young people speaking out anonymously for greater freedoms and human rights in their country. These blogs and tweets, like the demonstrations these past days in the streets, tell the world that a different Iran than the ruling regime imposes is impatiently beginning to emerge.
The Twitter feed for Iranian opposition presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi has some of the best up-to-the-minute English-language information on the events unfolding directly from Iran. Nico Pitney's Huffington Post blog and Andrew Sullivan's blog are also focused almost exclusively at the moment on the events in Iran, with many links to other sources.
Friday, May 29, 2009 64 For Suu: International Campaign to Free Imprisoned Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, is "in desperate need of proper medical treatment," according to Burma's National League for Democracy. The international campaign to release the democratically elected leader of Burma, a champion of nonviolence, has kicked into high gear over the past weeks, since her new arrest and trial by the Burmese military government. A new organization, 64forsuu.com, has been formed to coordinate appeals for her release from around the world.
Below is a video of Aung San Suu Kyi, explaining the Burmese pro-democracy movement's commitment to nonviolence:
Monday, May 26, 2009 California Court: Marriage is a Right, Just Not Significant Enough to Uphold for Everyone One of the basic reasons we have a constitution and the rule of law is to protect the rights of the minority against the unfair prejudices of the majority. This the California Supreme Court failed to do today, in ruling that the majority has the right to deny equal marriage rights to same-sex couples. As California Supreme Court Justice Carolos Moreno wrote in dissent to today's decision to uphold Proposition 8, this "is not just a defeat for same-sex couples, but for any minority group that seeks the protection of the equal-protection clause of the California Constitution." The California court had a precedent they could have followed to declare Proposition 8 unconstitutional, a 1996 US Supreme Court decision, Romer v. Evans, involving a constitutional amendment, Amendment 2, passed by a majority in Colorado, and intended to deny state and local government protection of "homosexuals, lesbians or bisexuals" from discrimination. As Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the majority in that decision, striking down Colorado Proposition 2: "A state cannot...deem a class of persons a stranger to its laws." That eloquent phrasing captured the essential meaning of equal protection under the law, and applied it to same-sex discrimination.
The California court today responded to the elegant truth of the Romer decision with the convoluted logic that the definition of marriage may be a right (which they had asserted in an earlier decision), but it could be made an exception to equal protection because it is not an substantive or fundamental right: "Proposition 8 does not by any means “repeal” or “strip” gay individuals or same-sex couples of the very significant substantive protections afforded by the state equal protection clause either with regard to the fundamental rights of privacy and due process or in any other area, again with the sole exception of access to the designation of “marriage” to describe their relationship." Not a substantive or fundamental right? Tell that to the people on both sides of the Proposition 8 fight who spent tens of millions of dollars and uncounted hours of election campaigning. So, now there will be protest, community organizing and a new statewide vote, likely in 2010. Eventually, same sex marriage will be an unquestioned right, as obvious to the fair-minded as interracial marriage. But, in the meantime, we protest. Protests Click here to find protests of the California Supreme Court decision in your area, or click here to read about how have a text message about local protests sent directly to your phone. Background On Tuesday, May 26, the California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Proposition 8, which bans same sex marriage in California.
The People Affected: "Please Don't Divorce Us" The Universal Civil Rights Implications NAACP President Julian Bond spoke recently about the parallels between the struggles for GLBT civil rights and those for African Americans. Source: Human Rights Campaign Prop 8: The Musical
The Colbert Coalition's Anti-Gay Marriage Ad
Friday, May 15, 2009 "Gross National Happiness"--How Bhutan Has Formulated an Alternative to GNP/GDP Today's New York Times carries a fascinating story about how the country of Bhutan has formulated an alternative to GNP/GDP for calculating its national wealth and well-being. It is called "gross national happiness (GNH)." Unlike GDP, GNH takes into account non-economic factors in its calculation of societal health, including "psychological well-being, ecology, health, education, culture, living standards, time use, community vitality and good governance." The Center for Bhutan Studies' website provides fuller background and a description of the measures. Wednesday, April 1, 2009 As G20 Leaders Meet to Address Global Economic Crisis, Public Offers Policy Alternatives to "Put People FIrst"
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 Obama and the Dawn of Transformational Politics There’s a healing ritual in Bali where people who have been wounded, either physically or spiritually, go back to the place where they were wounded, and bring back into themselves the spirits that left them when the wound occurred. A lot of us, myself included, have felt a particular kind of wound over the last the last eight years, especially since September 11 and everything that followed it: the war in Iraq, Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, rendition, torture, domestic spying. Those policies collectively changed both the perception and the reality of what America is, and what the world can be. So, the inauguration of Barack Obama is not only a chance for us to celebrate a change in all those policies, but also a chance to heal a deep wound about what it means to be an American citizen, and a citizen of the world.
But, even more than that, I think that what Barack Obama represents is a shift from progressive, liberal politics to "transformational politics," a phrase that has now entered our political vocabulary. Transformational politics is different from liberal or progressive politics in that it assumes a progressive direction, but it adds one more element: an engaged citizenry. It was Obama’s campaign strategy and his intention for his presidency to transform the way people understand their role in a democracy. More than 280,000 people created accounts on barackobama.com; they created 6,500 grassroots volunteer groups; and they submitted 15,000 policy ideas. His official technology policy says that he will “involve the public in the work of (government), not simply by soliciting opinions, but by tapping into the vast and distributed expertise of the American citizenry to help government make more informed decisions.” So, we need to see this moment not as an external event in history that we are witnesses to, but history that we are participants in. That will be the healing that we need, and that will be change worth hoping for. Saturday, January 3, 2009 A Song Around the World: "Stand by Me" "Playing for Change" is a documentary film and social movement aimed at connecting people through music. "Stand by Me," below, is the first individual release of one of the film's "songs around the world," featuring an ensemble of musicians from Africa, Europe, Asia,, and the Americas, adding their parts as the music video unfolds. For more, check out the Playing for Change website.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008 40th Anniversary of an Image that Illuminates the World In 1948, thirteen years before the first human cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, orbited the Earth, Sir Fred Hoyle wrote prophetically of one of the as-yet unforeseen impacts of space exploration: "[O]nce a photograph of the Earth, taken from the outside, is available...a new idea as powerful as any in history will let loose." On December 24, 1968, that dream was realized, when Apollo 8 astronaut Bill Anders, in orbit around the moon, took the photograph now widely known as "Earthrise."
Here, finally, was undeniable proof of the assertion of seers, sages, and prophets throughout the ages, that humanity is one family whose home is this planet. Many credit the image for inspiring the rise of the environmental movement, and the first Earth Day in 1970. But, the wider enduring impact of the image will be that it serves as a counterpoint to all social, religious, political, cultural, and economic worldviews that are based on dividing humanity, and all living beings on Earth. It is an image that tells us that those who would divide the world are the naive ones, and that those who are often called utopian or unreasonably idealistic for reaching out for world peace and social justice are in fact advancing the most realistic and practical social and political vision. Friday, December 5, 2008 Prop 8--The Musical This is pretty amazing: a three-minute musical that sums up everything about Proposition 8 in the aftermath of the Obama election--and even solves the economic crisis. Conceived by Marc Shalman, and starring Jack Black (as Jesus), John C. Reilly, Margaret Cho, Kathy Najimy, Neil Patrick Harris, and a cast of thousands.
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Links to Another World: US Social Forum 2010
The US Social Forum (USSF) is a movement building process. It is not a
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,885 groups with 7,017,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free. Global Zero: A Step Toward Global Disarmament
The Resist Network: Resist is a documentary film-in-the-making about economic and social injustice around the world and the people who are challenging it. Director Marc Silver, who has produced documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 in Britain, has enlisted actor Gael Garcia Bernal to interview global change activists, including Noam Chomsky (see below), Naomi Klein and John Berger.
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is that Silver has created an online forum, the Resist Network, that will inform the production itself. Participation in the Resist Network is an opportunity to help shape both the documentary and the movement it describes.
Nonviolent Regime Change Computer Game DarfurGenocide.org Your
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