Image: Earth at Night, NASA
”But I haven’t got uncommon skill and power,” said Harry, before he could stop himself.
“Yes, you have,” said Dumbledore firmly. “You have a power that Voldemort has never had. You can…”
“I know!” said Harry impatiently. “I can love!” It was only with difficulty that he stopped himself adding, “Big deal!”
“Yes, Harry, you can love,” said Dumbledore, who looked as though he knew perfectly well what Harry had just refrained from saying. “Which, given everything that has happened to you, is a great amd remarkable thing. You are still too young to understand how unusual you are.”
“So, when the prophecy says that I’ll have ‘power the Dark Lord knows not,’ it just means – love?” asked Harry, feeling a little let down.
“Yes – just love,” said Dumbledore ... J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
7 Days to 7-7-7 -- Three Ways to Turn This Long Hot Summer into A Summer of Love: Sign-On for Live Earth, See Sicko & Drink A Draught of Harry Potter Potion
By Richard Power
Those of us who wrestle, on a daily basis, with treason, disguised as national security policy, and mental illness, masquerading as a domestic agenda, must tend to our optimism and our elan vital.
In May and June 2007, Al Gore's book tour for Assault on Reason provided an energy boost in the struggle to save the USA from slipping into delusion, depravity and defeat.
"Mr. Gore takes a blowtorch to the Bush administration in his book. He argues that the free and open democratic processes that have made the United States such a special place have been undermined by the administration’s cynicism and excessive secrecy, and by its shameless and relentless exploitation of the public’s fear of terror. The Bush crowd, he said, has jettisoned logic, reason and reflective thought in favor of wishful thinking in the service of an extreme political ideology. It has turned its back on reality, with tragic results." Bob Herbert, NYT, 6-4-07
In June 2007, Michael Moore gave a second enery boost to this struggle, with high-profile media appearances, marches, rallies and teach-ins leading up to the debut of Sicko (even though Larry King bumped him for Paris Hilton).
Filmmaker Michael Moore, whose movie "Sicko" opens Friday, told CNBC that he's urging investors to dump shares of health insurers and health maintenance organizations because "people don't need a middleman between the doctor and the patient." ... Moore appeared at Federal Hall in lower Manhattan, which is next to the NYSE, along with representatives of nurses' unions from California, Massachusetts and New York, to publicly call on "individuals, pension funds, the government and other investors" to yank their holdings from publicly traded health insurers. Michael Moore, 6-29-07
(Healthcare is a basic human right, as in "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.")
In July 2007, three more cultural events offer inspiration, solace and revelry: the film version of J.K. Rowlings' fifth novel in the Harry Potter series, Order of the Phoenix, will premiere on 7-3-07; Al Gore's global, eight city Live Earth concert will occur on 7-7-07 and the release of Rowling's seventh (and final) Harry Potter novel, Deathly Hallows, on 7-21-07.
What do Al Gore's twin-barrel assault on unreason, J.K. Rowlings' mythical world of wizards, and Michael Moore's scathing expose on the USA's insane healthcare system have in common? Each offers hope, each empowers, each defies -- directly or indirectly -- those who in their own spiritual illness seek to drag humanity into an Orwellian nightmare while devastating the planetary climate that sustains all life. Each is predicated on the simple, ancient truth that all life is one, and that everything is inter-dependent and inter-connected.
The greatest magic, in Rowlings' writings, is the power of love. It is the shield of love that protects young Harry Potter from Voldemort's attacks, and it is with sword of love that Harry prevails over Voldemort (at least in the first six books).
Rowlings' books embrace the multi-dimensionality of life and the boundless depths of the creative imagination. Her work liberates the psyche and mocks those who would stifle and constrict the joy and power of the human spirit.
Her books have sold 320 million copies. I travel the world, and I have seen them read almost everywhere in almost every language.
It is going to be a long, hot summer, and it may be followed by a fierce autumn and a grim winter.
I encourage you to sign up for Live Earth, take the Live Earth Pledge, and sing and dance for the future.
Live Earth will use the global reach of music to engage people on a mass scale to combat our climate crisis. Concerts will be held in great urban centers on every continent: New York, London, Johannesburg, Rio de Janiero, Shanghai, Tokyo, Sydney and Hamiburg. It will be 24x7.
If you can go to a concert, go. If you can't, you can still participate -- Live Earth will be broadcast worldwide through multiple media channels - TV, radio, Internet and wireless channels. It will be streamed live by MSN at www.LiveEarth.MSN.com. For updates on broadcast information, click here.
To sign the Live Earth Pledge, click here. (I have included the full text at the end of this post.)
To show your support, thrown your own local Live Earth party, and register the event by clicking here.
I also encourage you to
-- read Assault on Reason, inculcate Gore's brilliant framing into your own discourse with friends, families and colleagues, and then buy another copy for an open-minded friend, colleague or loved one.
-- see Sicko, bring someone along with you, and then, the next morning, call your elected representatives, in Beltwayistan, and demand that they stick their fingers down their throat, vomit out that K Street money and do what must be done, i.e., work for the passage of legislation decreeing universal, single-payer health care.
-- affirm the wildness and wonder of life by going to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and by reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
However long we live, life is short. Embrace it. Celebrate to change the world.
The 7.7.07 Live Earth Pledge:
I PLEDGE:
1. To demand that my country join an international treaty within the next 2 years that cuts global warming pollution by 90% in developed countries and by more than half worldwide in time for the next generation to inherit a healthy earth;
2. To take personal action to help solve the climate crisis by reducing my own CO2 pollution as much as I can and offsetting the rest to become "carbon neutral;"
3. To fight for a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store the CO2;
4. To work for a dramatic increase in the energy efficiency of my home, workplace, school, place of worship, and means of transportation;
5. To fight for laws and policies that expand the use of renewable energy sources and reduce dependence on oil and coal;
6. To plant new trees and to join with others in preserving and protecting forests; and,
7. To buy from businesses and support leaders who share my commitment to solving the climate crisis and building a sustainable, just, and prosperous world for the 21st century.
To sign the Live Earth Pledge, click here.
SICKO, Paris Hilton, Assault on Reason, Harry Potter, Live Earth, Al Gore, Michael Moore, J.K. Rowlings, Global Warming, Climate Change, Healthcare Crisi, Magic, Richard Power, Words of Power
Friday, June 29, 2007
7 Days to 7-7-7 -- Three Ways to Turn This Long Hot Summer into A Summer of Love: Sign-On for Live Earth, See Sicko & Drink A Draught of Harry Potter
Labels:
Al Gore,
Climate Change,
Global Warming,
Harry Potter,
Healthcare,
Human Rights,
Live Earth 7-7-07,
Michael Moore,
Spiritual Challenges
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Hard Rain Journal 6-29-07: Katrina, 9/11 and Iraq -- An Almost Incomprehensible Truth
Image: Hurricane Katrina
Words of Power #34: Katrina, 9/11 and Iraq -- An Almost Incomprehensible Truth
By Richard Power
Over the last 13 years, I have delivered executive briefings on global security issues and led training sessions for professionals in forty countries, I have written well over a hundred security-related articles and op-ed pieces in the print media. I have an informed opinion. And there are two important points about the Bush-Cheney regime that I want to impress upon you, the first point is that this cabal is responsible for the most sweeping and significant failure of overall security policy -- both in the USA and in the world -- in modern history; the second point is that it is willful, it is not due to incompetence, it is driven by a need to turn the USA and the world upside side, just as a cosmetic surgeon would break the bones of someone's face to re-shape into a different one. It is not inconvenient truth, it is an inexcusable truth: this massive failure was not the result of bumbling, it was the result of betrayal.
The most important set of established facts concerning the 9/11 attacks supercedes any and all of the unanswered questions about 9/11; and that set of facts is that the Bush-Cheney national insecurity team was warned repeatedly -- both from inside our own intelligence community and from the intelligence agencies of numerous friendly governments -- that Bin Laden was coming for us that summer.
The story of FBI counterterrorism expert John P. O'Neill's last year on Earth confirms the heedlessness of this cabal. O'Neill was running the Cole investigation, he quit the Bureau in frustration because the Bush-Cheney connection to the Saudi rulers was blocking his efforts. He went to work as head of security for the WTC, and died on 9/11. As Alanis M. sings, "Isn't it ironic?" (You can learn more about O'Neill from PBS Frontline's The Man Who Knew.
Further corroborative evidence of the heedlessness of the Bush-Cheney national insecurity team is available at Borders or Barnes & Nobel (or better yet, the Buzzflash store): former National Security Council official Richard A. Clarke and former CIA Director George Tenet both write of desperate attempts to get the threat from Al Qaeda moved to the top of the agenda that summer.
They looked the other way, because they were looking for an opportunity to go to war in the Middle East and Central Asia (this hope is expressed wistfully in PNAC); and they were looking for an excuse to weaken the Constitution, and in particular the Bill of Rights, in an effort to turn the US federal government into a cash cow for cronies (can you say, "Halliburton"?) and a cudgel against political enemies (ala the DoJ scandal), etc.-- in short, the strategy was to control as much of the world's oil reserves as possible and to build a one-party state at home. 9/11 gave them a leg up.
The Bush-Cheney national insecurity team was warned by Middle East experts and weapons inspectors in our own intelligence community, military and diplomatic service, as well as those of friendly governments, that a) invading Iraq and overthrowing Saddam Hussein would lead to the destabilization of the entire region, b) Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11, and c) the highest probability was that there were no WMD in Iraq.
Nevertheless, Iraq was invaded and occupied.
There were many opportunities to take advantage of, e.g., political advantage in the 2002 and 2004 US elections, profits for corporate cronies, privatization of Iraqi oil, the establishment of permanent bases in the region, obtaining another launching pad in the encirclement of Iran and its oil, etc.
In the warped thinking of the neo-cons, the destabilization of the region provides us with an excuse never to leave. Even stressing the US military to the breaking point advances the agenda, it underscores the neo-con conviction that our armed forces must submit to increased privatization.
The abomination of the lack of Federal response before, during and after Hurricane Katrina is just more of the same. Katrina is the third excruciating twist in the same steep downward spiral that began on 9/11.
This is not conspiracy theory, this is simply the documenting of opportunism. Disaster planning in general, and Hurricane Katrina in particular presented the Bush-Cheney cabal with another set of opportunities and Rove, et al, took advantage of them. For example, psychologically, it broke people's faith in the US government's promise to come to their rescue in times of disaster, and it plunged the psyche of the USA deeper into PTSD developed from the theft of the 2000 election and the slaughter of the innocents on 9/11. Politically, it turned a purple state into a red state, giving the Cult formerly known as the Republican Party another advantage in the fierce contest for US Senate seats and Electoral College votes.
Robert Novak openly boasts: If Rep. Bobby Jindal (R) wins the race for governor this fall — and indications are that he will — then the governor and one senator will be Republicans. Of course part of the thinking, voiced publicly by no one, is that the state’s black population in New Orleans largely disappeared with Hurricane Katrina, significantly diminishing the base vote for Landrieu. Scholars and Rogues, 6-27-07
Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) has released a report on its analysis of several thousand Department of Homeland Insecurity documents it got hold of under the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA). In the report's executive summary, CREW concludes: The fundamental question raised by these failures is why, despite longstanding anticipation of a hurricane strike on New Orleans, significant forewarning of Katrina’s strength, the potential impact on the Gulf Coast, as well as the extensive planning in the days leading up to Katrina’s landfall, was the federal response so flawed? Executive Summary, Best Laid Plans, CREW, 6-2
The country needs a serious congressional investigation of the Bush-Cheney regime's actions (and inaction) before, during and after Hurricane Katrina.
There were thousands of more deaths than the oft-cited official count (1836). Will the truth about how many impoverished African Americans actually died in this incredible betrayal of trust ever be revealed? (It is talked about openly up and down the Mississippi.)
Unfortunately, Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, and he has so far blocked serious investigation on any aspect of the Katrina scandal.
Meanwhile,as we move forward into this long hot and fateful summer, I look back on 9/11, the invasion of Iraq, and the debacle of Hurricane Katrina, and wonder what will be the next twist in the steep downward spiral and when will it come? Iran? Another attack on US soil? This hurricane season? Or have we already begun to pull out of that spiral, over these last few months, as a result of genuine congressional oversight and the exercise of subpoena power?
Those of us who are patriots -- whether from left, right or center -- must hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Unlike the Bush-Cheney regime, which hopes for the worst and prepares only to take advantage of its opportunities.
To get re-enraged, read CREW's THE BEST LAID PLANS: THE STORY OF HOW THE GOVERNMENT IGNORED ITS OWN GULF COAST HURRICANE PLANS, and then watch Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke.
To channel that rage into helping Katrina survivors, go to Acorn Katrina Survivors Association.
Some Katrina-Related Posts
Words of Power #1: Truths Salvaged from Post-Katrina Debacle
Words of Power #5: Failed Leadership Invites Disaster
Hard Rain Journal 8-24-06: Updates on Darfur & Katrina, Failures of the Human Spirit
Words of Power #31: Ghosts of Christmas Past (Katrina) and Future (Iran))
CREW, Bush, Cheney, Karl Rove, John P. O'Neill, Katrina, Joe Lieberman, 9/11, Iraq, Richard Power, Words of Power
Labels:
9/11,
BP,
Bush-Cheney Regime,
Corporatism/Fascism,
Criminal Conspiracy,
Darfur,
Death of The Republic?,
DoJ,
Hurricane Katrina,
Katrina,
Natural Disasters
Hard Rain Late Night: Mary J. Blige -- Their Life (Tribute to Katrina Victims on BET Benefit)
Hard Rain Late Night: Mary J. Blige -- Their Life (Tribute to Katrina Victims on BET Benefit)
By Richard Power
Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive
Mary J. Blige, You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power
By Richard Power
Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive
Mary J. Blige, You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power
Labels:
Katrina,
Late Night,
Music,
Music Video,
You Tube,
youtube
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Sustainability Update 6-28-07: Will You Choose Green Cities & Family Planning or Industrial Age Energy Paradigm & Dark Age Religious Dogmatism?
* By 2008, more than half of the world's current 6.7billion population will live in cities.
* By 2030, the urban population will have risen to 5 billion, 60 per cent of the world's population.
* Half of the world's urban population is currently under 25. By 2030, young people will make up the vast majority of the 5 billion urban dwellers.
* Between 2000 and 2030, Asia's urban population will increase from 1.3 billion to 2.64 billion. Africa's population will rise from 294 million to 742 million, Latin America and the Caribbean from 394 million to 609million.
* Mega-cities do not have a monopoly on population growth. More than half of the urban world lives in cities with a population of less than 500,000. Planet of the slums: UN warns urban populations set to double, Independent, 6-27-07
Sustainability Update 6-28-07: Will You Choose Green Cities & Family Planning or Industrial Age Energy Paradigm & Dark Age Religious Dogmatism
By Richard Power
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has released The State of World Population 2007: Unleashing the Potential of Urban Growth, a report which highlights the projection that urban populations in Africa and Asia will increase by another 1.7 billion people over the next thirty years, i.e., a total amounting to the populations of China and the USA combined.
What are the implications of such growth? Well, it will impact the whole of the planet. In some ways, it will define this century for better and worse.
The UNFPA report calls for a "revolution in thinking." UNFPA Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid points out that the struggle to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, i.e., half poverty by 2015, will be won or lost in the planet's cities, urges "accepting the rights of poor people to live in cities and working with their creativity to tackle potential problems and generate new solutions."
It underscores the need to come to grips with our sustainability issues. It underscores the need to come to grips with over-population. It underscores the need to come to grips with both the destructive climate changes resulting from global warming and the ways in which the human footprint is aggravating and accelerating global warming.
Here are two easily grasped notions that belong together (this is Words of Power speaking now, not the UNPF, which is constrained by the politics of consensus):
We must green the cities.
We must engage in an intense family planning campaign, including both education and making safe and effective birth control available to all.
Greening the cities will mean overcoming the resistance of those who benefit from the current energy paradigms.
Launching an effective family planning campaign will mean overcoming the resistance of religious dogmatists.
I encourage you to advance these coupled notions at all levels of business, government, and everywhere within your communities.
Will you choose green cities and family planning or Industrial Age energy paradigm and Dark Age religious dogmatism?
Here is more news on the UNPF report from One World:
"What happens in the cities of Africa and Asia and other regions will shape our common future," says UNFPA Executive Director, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid. "We must abandon a mindset that resists urbanization and act now to begin a concerted global effort to help cities unleash their potential to spur economic growth and solve social problems."
To take advantage of potential opportunities, governments must prepare for the coming growth. "If they wait, it will be too late," she says. "This wave of
urbanization is without precedent. The changes are too large and too fast to allow planners and policymakers simply to react: In Africa and Asia, the number of people living in cities increases by approximately 1 million, on average, each week. Leaders need to be proactive and take far-sighted action to fully exploit the opportunities that urbanization offers." ...
According to the report, city authorities and urban planners should make it a priority to provide for the shelter needs of the urban poor. They should offer the poor secure tenure on land that is outfitted with power, water and sanitation services. Those living in poor communities should have access to education and health care and should be encouraged to build their own homes. ...
Policymakers and planners need to harness the potential of cities to improve the lives of all. Three initiatives stand out:
a.. Accept the right of poor people to the city, abandoning attempts to discourage migration and prevent urban growth. City authorities should work closely with organizations of the urban poor, including women's organizations.
b.. Adopt a broad and long-term vision of the use of urban space. This means,
among other things, providing minimally serviced land for housing and planning in advance to promote sustainable land use both within cities and in the surrounding areas.
c.. Begin a concerted international effort to support strategies for the urban future. Urban Boom Needs 'Revolution in Thinking', Says UN, One World, 6-27-07
For more information on the greening of cities, go to Worldchanging.com.
For more information on family planning and reproductive rights, go to Planned Parenthood.
United Nations Population Fund, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Agriculture, Food+Security, UNPF, Family Planning, UN Millennium Development Goals, Asia,Population, Richard Power, Words of Power
Hard Rain Late Night: John Coltrane, On Green Dolphin Street, Dusseldorf, 1960
Hard Rain Late Night: John Coltrane, On Green Dolphin Street, Dusseldorf, 1960
Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive
John Coltrane, You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power
Click here for Hard Rain Late Night Music Video -- Archive
John Coltrane, You Tube, Late Night, Music, Richard Power, Words of Power
Labels:
John Coltrane,
Late Night,
Music,
Music Video,
You Tube,
youtube
Monday, June 25, 2007
Human Rights Update (6-26-07) -- A Victory for Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone, But What About the Child Soldiers in the Streets of the USA?
Image: Child Soldiers In Sri Lanka, Amnesty International
Human Rights Update (6-26-07) -- A Victory for Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone, But What About the Child Soldiers in the Streets of the USA?
By Richard Power
The Special Court for Sierra Leone has established an historic precedent by declaring Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu guilty of, among other crimes, enlisting children under the age of 15 as child soldiers in Sierra Leone's 11 year civil war. This is the first time an international criminal tribunal has successfully prosecuted individuals for the recruitment and use of children as soldiers.
Commonly cited statistics indicate that there are several hundred thousand child soldiers in the world at any one time.
Although probably understated, such guestimates are reasonable in regard to the number of child soldiers compelled into armed conflict between, or within, states (or would be states) around the world.
However, those commonly cited statistics are grossly misleading in another regard -- they ignore the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of youths compelled, or lured, into gangs in the streets of the world's ghettoes, including, and especially, the mean streets of the USA's major metropolitan areas, and increasingly, their surrounding suburbs. Gangstas = Child Soldiers.
Do you remember Warren Beatty's brilliant 1998 film, Bulworth? In the midst of a spiritual awakening disguised as a nervous breakdown, Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (D-CA) finds himself in an L.A. ghetto, watching young child soldiers at work for the neighborhood drug dealer.
Bulworth turns away from suicide-by-contract-killing, and seeks redemption by rapping truth to power instead. He confronts the political establishment, the mainstream news media and the K Street lobbyists. In the end, Bulworth is assassinated.
Well, nothing meaningful has been done about campaign finance reform or media monopolization since the release of Bulworth, and nothing substantive has been done about the USA's child soldiers either.
Only one viable 2008 presidential candidate has been speaking out on the spiritual, economic, social and psychological costs of poverty in America, John Edwards. Consequently, most Americans know the price of his haircuts. And conveniently, the punditocracy thinks it unlikely he will win the nomination because of how much more corporate money has flowed into the coffers of Sens. Clinton and Obama. Now why would that be?
The problem isn't something that just exists far away in Africa, Asia and Latin America, it probably exists within a twenty to forty minute ride from your home.
In Africa, Asia and Latin America, the exploitation of children as soldiers is undertaken by those willing to meet the industrialized world's demand for natural resources -- e.g., diamonds, oil, coffee and cocoa -- at any cost.
In the USA, it is undertaken by those who traffic in heroin, cocaine, weapons, and yes, even music; and it is a by-product of racism, predatory capitalism and the economic warfare against the middle class.
The uprisings of 1965 (Watts) and 1992 (South Central) came out of nowhere, seemingly. Well, after the last seven years, we are closer to nowhere than we have even been.
While applauding the Court's verdict, and acknowledging its significance, the Child Soldiers Coalition (CSC) emphasizes how much more work there is ahead of us:
Those children who were the victims of enlistment and use, many of whom are now young adults, urgently need support. In its final report completed in 2004, the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission specifically recognized that forcibly recruited children were among those who still suffer the consequences of the war and recommended specific reparative measures for them.
The Coalition calls upon the Sierra Leone authorities, with the support of donors, to provide effective remedies to former child soldiers to ensure that their suffering is fully acknowledged and that they are provided with appropriate support and assistance. This must include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. It should also include psychosocial support and education, training, employment and other programs to facilitate their meaningful participation in society. Such assistance should be offered in the context of broader programs to help all war-affected children. ...
"The Special Court has set some important precedents and contributed significantly towards delivering justice to the countless victims of the civil war," said Dee Brillenburg Wurth, West Africa Project Manager to the Coalition. "However, the narrow interpretation by the Prosecutor on the 'greatest responsibility' standard applied along with the amnesty provision contained in the Lomé Peace Agreement means that many other suspects, including those who recruited and used children - will remain at large," she added.
The Coalition reminds the Sierra Leone government that it has the duty to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, to prosecute before national courts persons suspected of enlisting or conscripting children and, if found guilty, the duty to punish them. Child Soldiers Coalition via Relief Web
Help is what the child soldiers of Sierra Leonne deserve. Help is what the child soldiers of South Central deserve.
For more on the international dimension of this problem, here are some resources:
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Amnesty International - Child Soldiers
Human Rights Watch -- Child Soldiers
For more on the domestic US dimension of this problem, drive across town.
Some Related Posts
UN Millennium Goals Update 5-30-07: In the Struggle to Empower Women & Children -- Very Good News, Very Bad News, & A Dose of Reality
Hard Rain Journal 4-21-07: Human Rights Update -- In War and Poverty, Children Forsaken on a Planetary Scale
Hard Rain Journal 12-4-06: Human Rights Update -- Unless You Protect Women, Children and Indigenous Peoples, You Cannot Achieve Real Security
Words of Power #17: Harry Potter and the Night Commuters
Words of Power #3: Gangstas = Child Soldiers Without A Country
Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and Words of Power. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net
Sierra Leone, Warren Beatty, Humanitarian Crisus, South Central, Watts, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Child+Soldiers+Coalition, Refugees, Child Abuse, Human Rights, Genocide, John Edwards,
Human Rights Update (6-26-07) -- A Victory for Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone, But What About the Child Soldiers in the Streets of the USA?
By Richard Power
The Special Court for Sierra Leone has established an historic precedent by declaring Alex Tamba Brima, Brima Bazzy Kamara and Santigie Borbor Kanu guilty of, among other crimes, enlisting children under the age of 15 as child soldiers in Sierra Leone's 11 year civil war. This is the first time an international criminal tribunal has successfully prosecuted individuals for the recruitment and use of children as soldiers.
Commonly cited statistics indicate that there are several hundred thousand child soldiers in the world at any one time.
Although probably understated, such guestimates are reasonable in regard to the number of child soldiers compelled into armed conflict between, or within, states (or would be states) around the world.
However, those commonly cited statistics are grossly misleading in another regard -- they ignore the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of youths compelled, or lured, into gangs in the streets of the world's ghettoes, including, and especially, the mean streets of the USA's major metropolitan areas, and increasingly, their surrounding suburbs. Gangstas = Child Soldiers.
Do you remember Warren Beatty's brilliant 1998 film, Bulworth? In the midst of a spiritual awakening disguised as a nervous breakdown, Senator Jay Billington Bulworth (D-CA) finds himself in an L.A. ghetto, watching young child soldiers at work for the neighborhood drug dealer.
Bulworth turns away from suicide-by-contract-killing, and seeks redemption by rapping truth to power instead. He confronts the political establishment, the mainstream news media and the K Street lobbyists. In the end, Bulworth is assassinated.
Well, nothing meaningful has been done about campaign finance reform or media monopolization since the release of Bulworth, and nothing substantive has been done about the USA's child soldiers either.
Only one viable 2008 presidential candidate has been speaking out on the spiritual, economic, social and psychological costs of poverty in America, John Edwards. Consequently, most Americans know the price of his haircuts. And conveniently, the punditocracy thinks it unlikely he will win the nomination because of how much more corporate money has flowed into the coffers of Sens. Clinton and Obama. Now why would that be?
The problem isn't something that just exists far away in Africa, Asia and Latin America, it probably exists within a twenty to forty minute ride from your home.
In Africa, Asia and Latin America, the exploitation of children as soldiers is undertaken by those willing to meet the industrialized world's demand for natural resources -- e.g., diamonds, oil, coffee and cocoa -- at any cost.
In the USA, it is undertaken by those who traffic in heroin, cocaine, weapons, and yes, even music; and it is a by-product of racism, predatory capitalism and the economic warfare against the middle class.
The uprisings of 1965 (Watts) and 1992 (South Central) came out of nowhere, seemingly. Well, after the last seven years, we are closer to nowhere than we have even been.
While applauding the Court's verdict, and acknowledging its significance, the Child Soldiers Coalition (CSC) emphasizes how much more work there is ahead of us:
Those children who were the victims of enlistment and use, many of whom are now young adults, urgently need support. In its final report completed in 2004, the Sierra Leone Truth and Reconciliation Commission specifically recognized that forcibly recruited children were among those who still suffer the consequences of the war and recommended specific reparative measures for them.
The Coalition calls upon the Sierra Leone authorities, with the support of donors, to provide effective remedies to former child soldiers to ensure that their suffering is fully acknowledged and that they are provided with appropriate support and assistance. This must include restitution, compensation, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-repetition. It should also include psychosocial support and education, training, employment and other programs to facilitate their meaningful participation in society. Such assistance should be offered in the context of broader programs to help all war-affected children. ...
"The Special Court has set some important precedents and contributed significantly towards delivering justice to the countless victims of the civil war," said Dee Brillenburg Wurth, West Africa Project Manager to the Coalition. "However, the narrow interpretation by the Prosecutor on the 'greatest responsibility' standard applied along with the amnesty provision contained in the Lomé Peace Agreement means that many other suspects, including those who recruited and used children - will remain at large," she added.
The Coalition reminds the Sierra Leone government that it has the duty to investigate and, if there is sufficient admissible evidence, to prosecute before national courts persons suspected of enlisting or conscripting children and, if found guilty, the duty to punish them. Child Soldiers Coalition via Relief Web
Help is what the child soldiers of Sierra Leonne deserve. Help is what the child soldiers of South Central deserve.
For more on the international dimension of this problem, here are some resources:
Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers
Amnesty International - Child Soldiers
Human Rights Watch -- Child Soldiers
For more on the domestic US dimension of this problem, drive across town.
Some Related Posts
UN Millennium Goals Update 5-30-07: In the Struggle to Empower Women & Children -- Very Good News, Very Bad News, & A Dose of Reality
Hard Rain Journal 4-21-07: Human Rights Update -- In War and Poverty, Children Forsaken on a Planetary Scale
Hard Rain Journal 12-4-06: Human Rights Update -- Unless You Protect Women, Children and Indigenous Peoples, You Cannot Achieve Real Security
Words of Power #17: Harry Potter and the Night Commuters
Words of Power #3: Gangstas = Child Soldiers Without A Country
Richard Power is the founder of GS(3) Intelligence and Words of Power. His work focuses on the inter-related issues of security, sustainability and spirit, and how to overcome the challenges of terrorism, cyber crime, global warming, health emergencies, natural disasters, etc. You can reach him via e-mail: richardpower@wordsofpower.net. For more information, go to www.wordsofpower.net
Sierra Leone, Warren Beatty, Humanitarian Crisus, South Central, Watts, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Child+Soldiers+Coalition, Refugees, Child Abuse, Human Rights, Genocide, John Edwards,
Labels:
2008 Presidential Election Campaign,
Campaign '08,
Child Soldiers,
Economic Security,
Human Rights,
Indigenous Peoples
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Climate Crisis Updates -- Archive
Image: An Inconvenient Truth
Climate Crisis Updates -- Archive
Drastic climate change, with its dire consequences, is both the human race's greatest challenge and its best opportunity. I had been aware of global warming and climate change for many years, but it became a focus of my work at the turn of the Millennium, when I realized that the scope and impact of it would present us with a threat rivaled only by that of nuclear weapons, i.e., a threat to civlization itself. The intensity and urgency of my focus has increased each year, as it became clearer and clearer that the dysfunction in the US body politic and the US mainstream news media was so pervasive and so deeply ingrained that the political establishment of the most powerful and influential nation on the planet was going to do something worse than simply looking the other way, it was going to willfully disinform the public and delay progress. Government scientists and other committed public servants within the government have fought this policy of deceit and denial, so have a few (too few) brave political leaders, but by in large Beltwayistan is more eager to wage oil wars and ease existing regulations than it is to lead an energy revolution that would change the world. This archive includes Words of Power posts on various aspects -- political, financial, environmental, spiritual, psychological, etc. -- of this profound challenge. Taken as a whole, it serves as compelling testimony. -- Richard Power
Bigger Question than "Can We Save Burma & Darfur" -- Will the Nation & the Planet Go the Way of Burma & Darfur? Can We Save Ourselves from Ourselves?
At This Moment of Global & National Crisis, Do You have Eyes to See, & Ears to Hear? Are You Ready to Share the Hope & Courage this Moment Demands?
Why Don't US Biz, Gov & Media Leaders Understand What Louise Vet, Al Gore, Rep. Tom Perriello & the Loggerhead Turtle Mothers Understand?
I Sing the Body (Politic) Electric: 7 Hard Truths to Set Minds Free
Obama, Palin, the Super Bowl, the Healthcare Debacle, the Climate Crisis, & Don Juan's "Last Battle on Earth"
Tyger, Tyger Burning Bright in the Forest of the Night, But Not for Long; Ruminations on Zinn, Salinger, Obama, Pakistan & the Planet
Haiti & the Doomsday Clock Offer Some Post-Copenhagen Context: Time to Come On Hard & Fast in the Planetary Climate Crisis
The Future of the Planet, the Fate of the Nation, the Failure of the Collective Conscience, & Why Mahakasyapa Smiled When Buddha Twirled the Flower
2010 & Beyond: Beltwayistan, the Body Politic, & the Message of Avatar
Seeing REDD? It's Either a U.S. Bill Signed by Earth Day, Followed by a Summer Summit in Mexico City or Eco Cold War Devolving into Thunderdome
The Obama Presidency is a Mirror; Gazing Into It Progressives have Become Despondent. Can We Change What It Reflects Before It is Smashed?
Hey Jude, Patron Saint of Lost Causes, We are All in Hopenhagen, All of Us Not Already on Our Knees in Darfur; It's Gonna Take a Miracle (Well, Two)
Jobs? Afghanistan? Healthcare? Climate? Where & When Will Something Turn in Our Favor? It Better Be Here & Now
Crimes Against Humanity, Crimes Against Nature: Ideas on How to Spend the $300 Million for the Bush __residential Library
The Adversary is Not Ideology or Demographic, It is at its Most Innocent, Fear, at its most Disappointing, Apathy, & at its Worst, Sociopathy
The Day After: 350 is Still the Most Important Number in Your Life & the Lives of Everyone You Love. Do You Know Why?
Too Big to Fail? The Climate. The Human Race. Our Collective Conscience (Darfur). Health Care Reform. Our System of Government.
The 6th Mass Extinction: Irrefutable Proof that Gregory, Stephanopoulos, Schieffer & Blitzer are Not Real Journalists? (As if You Needed Any More)
A Secret is Lost Within Us, Between Darfur & Denmark; If We Don't Find It, We Will Perish or Wish We Had; Reflections on Thom Hartmann's Threshold
What Needs to Be Done? Create 100,000 Artificial Trees, Save Our Last Great Boreal Forest, Pass Waxman-Markey, Embrace "350" &, Yes, Wage Cultural War
The Second Coming of the Liberal Jesus: Yes to Universal Health Care & Green Power
Healthcare, Climate Change & the Ugly Political Realities: This Boat is Sinking?
Climate Crisis Update: New Studies Highlight Meat-Eating & the Life Styles of the Rich & Famous as Serious Issues
While the G-8 Stumbles, Weak & Conflicted, There is Clarity on the Streets of Tehran & in the Minds of James Hansen, Jane Hamsher & Joe Stiglitz
From Darfur, West Virginia, Downtown Jakarta, California & the Congo -- a Collective Cry for Freedom on Independence Day 2009
In the Near Future, the Global Economy will be Dominated by China & the Biosphere will be Turned Hostile by Global Warming, Unless ...
Of Yeats, Genocide and the Biosphere -- Looming Deadlines that Frame Our Future and Determine Our Legacy
Climate Crisis Update: Seven Vital Talking Points in the Outreach to Win Hearts & Minds
The Climate Crisis is Advancing *Invisibly* Only If You Have Shut Your Eyes; It is Escalating *Silently* Only If You Have Plugged Your Ears
Earth Day 2009: This is A Profound Moment -- Choose Your Battles Very Carefully. Do Not Lose Perspective. Keep Your Priorities Straight.
Thousands of Towns in 88 Countries Turn Out Lights for Earth Hour; But Most of US Senate (including 15 "Democrats") Prepare to Tune Out Reason
Beyond the Swells of Geithner's Credibility & the AIG Bonus Babies, There is a Global Storm Moving in Fast, Do Not Be Distracted
Climate Crisis: Somewhere Between Al Gore's Optimism & George Monbiot's Pessimism is Where We Need to Be
Climate Crisis: Deaf to the Oceans & Rainforests, But Attuned to the Vapid Muttering of George Will? What has Happened to the US Body Politic?
The Year of Changing Dangerously: Krugman & Parry on the Danger to the Republic, Chomsky on the Threat to the Future of the Species
This is Not What Jefferson had in Mind -- Mainstream & Business News Media Fail in Covering Greatest Challenges of Our Time
The Delusional Opposition to the Economic Stimulus Package is a Precursor of What will Come When it is Time to Move on Climate Change Later This Year
Climate Crisis Update: Gore to the US Senate -- "We have arrived at a moment of decision."
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: The Sea & The Earth, The Beauty & The Bounty, In Peri
The Triple Meltdown, & Its Impact on Russia, Asia, Iran, & the Planet's Oceans
Economic Insecurity & the Climate Crisis: There is a Magic Bullet, There is a Holy Grail
In An Era of Global Crisis, Nobel Peace Prize Winners, Yunus & Gore, Issue Calls for Honesty & Realistic Priorities
Climate Crisis Update: "Consumers Rank Climate Concerns Ahead of Economy"
Billions Short of Water, Oceans Decimated, Crop-Killing Clouds -- But Le Monde's Herve Kempf Diagnoses Real Threat, Can Obama Overcome It?
Climate Crisis: "The global financial crisis has pushed climate change off the front pages despite new evidence ..." "Time is running out."
One Quarter of All Mammals Face Extinction; Meanwhile, the Number of Humans Living as Refugees or Internally DIsplaced People is Soaring
Climate Crisis Update: In Deep Denial, & Seemingly Rushing Toward Oblivion
Climate Crisis Update: Do Not Assume that Climate Change will Occur Slowly and Allow for Time to Adapt
Monbiot: "Everything now hinges on stopping coal. ... The industrial revolution has gone into reverse."
Climate Crisis & Sustainability: Say No to Milk & Steak and Pay NOT to Cut Down the Rainforests
"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more ... the future of human civilization is at stake."
What the Real News Tells Us -- You and I and the Lions of the Serengeti are on Our Own.
Climate Crisis Update: The Price of A Barrel of Oil is Not the Number You Need to Focus On, The Number You Need to Focus On is "350"
Big Sur is Burning
On Global Security, Stand w/ Hansen and El-Baradei Against the Disinforming and Delusional
The Climate Crisis is Getting Ugly Early, Not Just in Africa, But in the US Heartland; Some of the Choices Made, & to be Made, are Even Uglier
Climate Crisis: 1,700 Prominent US Scientists & Economists Call for Urgent & Sweeping Action, Senate Begins to Debate How Little It Can Get Away With
Climate Crisis Update: Scorched Earth Millennium Map Shows 'Fire Scars'
Only $30 Billion A Year Could Mitigate 20% of the Greenhouse Effect Responsible for the Planet's Climate Change Crisis
Climate Crisis Update: On Lake Baikal, They Know, In the Torres Islands, They Know, But in Beltwayistan, It is Business as Usual
As the First Paroxysms of the 21st Century Survival Crisis Hit, Two of the Three US Presidential Candidates Pitch a Measly Tax Cut at the Pump
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: "If uncontrolled, climate change will have security implications of similar magnitude to the World Wars."
The Monstrous, Two-Headed Crisis of Climate Change & Sustainability is Devouring the World's Food Before It Is Produced
More on How Our Climate & Sustainability Crises Impact Food Security: “Once the oceans are gone, we’re gone. The oceans sustain the planet.”
Madness of Pursuing Last Drop of Peak Oil, Instead of 21st Century Renewable Energy Model, has Caught Up w/ Us -- the Food Security Fuse has Been Lit
Climate Crisis Update: Thunderous Warning Echoing Down from the Highest Peaks; Still, Small Voice in the Garden Soil
$300 Million to Motivate USA on Climate Crisis + $500 Million to Save Starving Masses = $11.2 Billion Less than 1 Month in Iraq; How is this Possible?
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: "Lighting a Billion Lives" & Looking at Climate Crisis as "a Massive Market Failure"
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: For Ireland, It is Best of Times, for Philippines, it is Worst of Times -- A Tale of Two Island Nations
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: The Planet's Oceans and Forests -- Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: Green Economy? Yes. Bio-Fuels? No, Not Really.
Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update: Deforestation & Sanitation Issues Highlighted; What Global Warming Will Cost, & What We Aren't Spending
Climate Crisis Update: From Coal-Sponsored Presidential Debates to Increased Deforestation of the Amazon, Hypocrisy Abounds in Both North & South
Climate Crisis Update: Encouraging News from An Unexpected Source, & 50 People to Hold in Your Hearts & Minds
Climate Crisis Update: What Bali Does & Doesn't Do, What the US Mainstream News Media Doesn't Do, & What Will Happen to Spain
Climate Crisis Update: Nobel Winners Deliver Important Messages as the Bali Summit Opens
Climate Crisis Update 11-7-07: As the Planetary Crisis Deepens, So Does the Denial in Mainstream Media & the Political Establishment
Climate Crisis Update: Business Won't Lead, Technology Can't Deliver A Panacea -- Only Political Action Driven By Science & Conscience Will Prevail
Climate Crisis Update 10-1-07: The Planet's People have Awakened, But Many Business & Political Leaders, Particularly in USA, Continue to Pretend
Climate Crisis Update 9-21-07: Radio Eco-Shock Interviews Richard Power on Why Global Warming, Not Terrorism, is the #1 Security Threat
Climate Crisis Update 9-12-07: When will the nations of the world come to grips with reality? What will you and I do if they don't?
Climate Crisis Update 9-1-07: TV "Meteorologists" Can't Just Be Eye-Candy or Comic Relief Anymore, Now They Have to Hide the Truth
Climate Crisis Update 8-21-07: How Will You Spend Earth's Eleventh Hour? Thom Hartmann Interviews Eleventh Hour Directors
Climate Crisis Update 8-2-07: News from India, China, Russia, Brazil and the USA
Climate Crisis Update 7-24-07: Even Though The Sand Grains Are Dwindling Away In The Hour Glass, There is Still Time -- What Will You Do?
GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-7-07: Tune In, Take the Live Earth Pledge! However Long We Live, Life is Short. Embrace It. Celebrate to Change the World.
Climate Crisis Update 7-1-07: Gore Calls on USA to Lead, Sign New Treaty by End of 2009
7 Days to 7-7-7 -- Three Ways to Turn This Long Hot Summer into A Summer of Love: Sign-On for Live Earth, See Sicko & Drink A Draught of Harry Potter
Climate Crisis Update 6-15-07: Lessons from the Failure to Change Course on Iraq -- What has Crippled the Body Politic? Corporatist Money & Media
Climate Crisis Update 6-4-07: Lots of News, None of It Good -- Arctic Ice Cap Melting Three Times as Fast, Seas are Rising Twice as Fast as Predicted
Sustainability Update 6-1-07: Are You Ready for Solartopia? Thom Hartmann Interviews Harvey Wasserman on Air America Radio
Climate Crisis Update 5-22-07: Look to the Cities for Leadership Now, or Catastrophe Later
Climate Crisis Update 5-16-07: Business & Government Must Be Compelled to Accept Responsibility, But So Must Each Individual
Climate Crisis Update 5-9-07 - Desmond Tutu and Sheryl Crow Challenge Denial, Environmental Groups Warn Against Reliance on Biofuels
Climate Crisis Update 5-4-07: Is Glenn Beck Going John-Hickley-Jr.? 7 Stories CNN Could Have Aired Instead of Beck's Eco-Nazi Conspiracy Theory
Hard Rain Journal 4-30-07: Climate Crisis Update -- Media Matters in the Struggle Against Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 4-22-07: Climate Crisis -- Sheryl Crow Confronts Karl Rove, Mother Nature Confronts John Howard; This Earth Day is The Turning Point
Hard Rain Journal 4-15-07 -- Climate Crisis Update: Eleven Retired Admirals and Generals Concur -- Global Warming IS A National Security Issue
Hard Rain Journal 4-10-07: Climate Crisis Update -- April could be the Turning Point for the USA -- Step It Up to Save the Planet
Hard Rain Journal 4-1-07: Hartmann & Gelbspan Debunk the Swindle that is "The Great Global Warming Swindle"
Hard Rain Journal 3-28-07: Climate Crisis Update -- -- The Greatest Climate Crisis Challenges are Spiritual and Psychological
Hard Rain Journal (3-20-07): Climate Crisis Update -- Four Simple Truths to Advance in Your Dialogue with Those Still in Denial
Hard Rain Journal 3-13-07: Climate Crisis Update -- Seven Stories that Underscore Dangers and Highlight Proactive Efforts
Hard Rain Journal 3-3-07: Climate Crisis & UN Millennium Goals Update -- The Interdependence of All Life
Hard Rain Journal 2-24-07: Climate Crisis Update -- Our Greatest Planetary Threat is Our Greatest Planetary Opportunity
Hard Rain Journal 2-10-07: Climate Crisis Update -- It is a Strange Bird that Fouls its own Nest
Hard Rain Journal 2-1-07: Climate Crisis Update -- From California to Queensland, the "Inconvenient Truth" has Become Unavoidable
Hard Rain Journal 1-22-07: Climate Crisis Update -- At Five Minutes to Midnight, Europe at Risk
Hard Rain Journal 1-2-07: Climate Crisis Update -- Dire Warnings from the West's Experts and from Chinese Gov; Meanwhile, from the US Gov -- NOTHING
Hard Rain Journal 12-27-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Lohachara is Gone, the Bears in Spain are Not Hibernating, Wall Street Wonders What It All Means
Hard Rain Journal 12-14-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Damn Good Reasons for "Carbon Freeze" and Peace is One of Them
Hard Rain Journal 12-6-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Seven Stories To Keep You Awake At Night -- Severe Weather, Famine and the Worst-Case Scenario
Hard Rain Journal 11-29-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Play the Economic Card, But Don't Forget the Psychological and Spiritual Impact
Hard Rain Journal 11-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- NSTA and State of Texas Exhibit Wanton Disregard for the Public Good
Hard Rain Journal 11-17-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Three Big Questions for Your Elected Representatives
Hard Rain Journal 11-16-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Annan and Stiglitz Urge Leaders to Face Risk
Hard Rain Journal 11-12-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Greatest Challenge is Overcoming Denial and Greed that Cloud Minds and Close Hearts
Hard Rain Journal 11-10-06: Sustainability and Climate Change Update -- Water, Its Unhealthiness and Its Increasing Scarcity, Demands Urgent Attention
Hard Rain Journal 11-02-06: Climate Crisis Update -- What Bush, Cheney, Bork & Starr Don't Want the US Electorate to Know About Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 10-27-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- The Economic Cost of Continued Denial
Hard Rain Journal 10-25-06: Climate Crisis & Sustainability Update -- Are You Ready for Global Eco-System Collapse by 2050?
Hard Rain Journal 10-21-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Bad News from Armenia, Good News from Germany & Oregon, & More Proof for Those who Still Doubt
Hard Rain Journal 10-16-06: Climate Crisis Update - The Cost of NOT Coping with the Challenges of Global Warming
GS(3) Thunderbolt 10-11-06: Climate Crisis Update -- How Bad It Is & What To Do About It
Hard Rain Journal 10-1-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Xangsane and The Elephant in the Dark
Hard Rain Journal 9-26-06: Climate Crisis Update -- Global Warming & The Nuclear Option, A Convergence of National Security Issues
Hard Rain Journal (9-24-06): Climate Crisis Update -- News on Farmers, Home Builders and Small Business Owners from Costa Rica and the UK
Hard Rain Journal 9-19-06: Climate Crisis Update – Gore Articulates The Profit in Prophecy and The Return on Reality
Hard Rain Journal 9-15-06: Climate Crisis Update – If You Have Children, or Care About the Future for Any Reason, Read These Five News Items
Hard Rain Journal 8-28-06: Six Ways for the US to Fight Global Warming
Hard Rain Journal 8-17-06: Typhoon Season Intensifes, Canada Starts to Slide into Denial, New Study Offers Insight on Global Warming Impact
Hard Rain Journal 8-2-06: North Korean flood toll thought to be 10,000, Agence France Press reports
Hard Rain Journal 7-27-06: Killer Heat Waves, Massive Blackouts -- You Were Warned 3 Years Ago
Hard Rain Journal 7-26-06: NRDC Reports on Global Warming's Direct Threat to 12 National Parks in Western USA
Hard Rain Journal 7-24-06: Five Stories about the Reality of Global Warming, Is Continued Denial Criminally Insane?
Hard Rain Journal 7-24-06: Five Stories about the Reality of Global Warming, Is Continued Denial Criminally Insane?
Hard Rain Journal 6-27-06: Global Warming, Bush's Alleged "Incompetence," and the So-Called "Conservative" Agenda
Words of Power #20: Cusco, Kyoto and The Yellow Sand Storm
Words of Power #7: Global Warming Is A Security Threat To Your Family & Your Business
Global Warming, Energy Security, Environmental Security, Alternate Energy, Sustainability, Green Power, Renewable Resources, Climate Change, Weather, Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth,Laurie David, Stop Global Warming!, Cheney, Bush, NASA, G-8,IPCC, Greenpeace NRDC, UN, Richard Power, Words of Power
Labels:
Al Gore,
Climate Change,
Climate Crisis,
Darfur,
Energy Security,
Environmental Security,
Global Warming,
Oceans,
Sustainability,
Thom Hartmann,
Words of Power,
Words of Power Archive,
Words-of-Power
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Election Security -- Archive
Image: Diebold Voters
Election Security -- Archive
The 2000 US presidential election was stolen in Florida, the 2004 US presidential election was stolen in Ohio. And all the misery, loss and disgrace that has befallen our republic over the last seven years is the direct result of not challenging this illegitimate regime at its original installation by Supreme Injustice in Bush v. Gore.
There is no mystery or surprise in the fact that the US mainstream news media has avoided these tragic events. But it is profoundly disturbing that the Democratic Party's political establishment has chosen to ignore them.
However, although disturbing, it should not be viewed as either mysterious or surprising. Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has been seriously compromised by special interest money (and I don't mean teachers, nurses or lawyers). Ill-conceived legislation (e.g., the Holt bill) and half-hearted protests (e.g, the Party's weak-wristed response to the 2006 theft of F-13) are insufficient.
The threat is real. The nefarious schemes put in place for such information warfare have not yet been fully neutralized. The trail is there for those willing to follow it. Don't you think Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) deserve better than to be labeled "conspiracy theorists"? There is need for an aggressive congressional investigation. It would lead to revelations that would require serious criminal investigation.
(Nor is this criminality limited to the USA, it was at work in 2006 Mexican presidential election, and some say it was at work in the 2007 French election.)
Words of Power has a personal interest and a longstanding focus on election security issues. I post news and analysis on major development.
To follow the story on a day to day basis, I refer you to Mark Crispin Miller's Notes From The Underground and Brad Freidman's Brad Blog. These two sites offer remarkable detail and tremendous insight. And, of course, Greg Palast doesn't just report history in the making, he makes history.
-- Richard Power
Those in the Developed World Who Think What is Happening in Kenya is Something Distant & Peculiar to the African Continent are Living in a Dream ...
Ode to Freedom Fighters: Iranian Election Theft, Show Trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, Slow Motion Genocide in Darfur & US Chamber of Commerce's War Chest
Hard, Urgent Lessons from Kilimanjaro & the Slums of Nairobi
"Live Free or Die" has New Meaning: Stolen Elections? Not Just 2000 and 2004, But Also 2002
Steroids in Baseball? As Shocking as Gambling in Casablanca; What Would A Mitchell-Style Probe Reveal About the 2000 & 2004 Elections?
Hard Rain Journal 9-19-07: Your Name is Andrew Meyer & You Are Under Arrest
Election Security Update 7-31-07: If We Had Not Been Ridiculed 7 Years Ago, Hundreds of Thousands of Lives & A Trillion Dollars Could Have Been Saved
Hard Rain Journal 3-25-07: DoJ Purge Update: Four Blockbusters that Have Not Hit -- YET
Hard Rain Journal (9-22-06): Election Security Update -- In MX, Lopez Obrador Will Be Sworn In First; In US, RFK, Jr. Asks Will 2006 Be Hacked?
Hard Rain Journal 8-23-06: Struggle for Sanctity & integrity of Electoral Process Rages on in Both US & Mexico
Hard Rain Journal 8-9-06: Lamont & McKinney Stories Underscore the Importance of Lopez Obrador's Struggle
Hard Rain Journal 7-30-06: Struggle for Fair Elections, North & South of the Rio Grande
Hard Rain Journal 7-18-06: Update on Disputed Mexican Presidential Election
Hard Rain Journal 7-15-06 Weekend Edition: Updates on US Election Fraud, Treason as a Tort Case, & "Once-Boastful President...Reduced to Pathetic Bleats"
GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-10-06: Will the Disputed Mexican Election Lead to Insurrection? Lessons for Mexico from the US, and Lessons for the US from Mexico
GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-7-06: Mexican Presidential Election Still in Doubt
GS(3) Thunderbolt 7-3-06: Greg Palast on the Case in the Mexican Presidential Election
Hard Rain Journal 6-28-06: NYU Law School's Brennan Center Reports E-Voting Software Attacks are a Real Danger
Words of Power #22: Election Fraud As Information Warfare, And A National Security Issue
Labels:
Aung San Suu Kyi,
Darfur,
DoJ,
Election Security,
Words of Power,
Words of Power Archive,
Words-of-Power
Thursday, June 21, 2007
GS(3) Thunderbolt 6-21-07: Another Way to Celebrate the Solstice
Danish Meteorological Institute
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Ecclesiastes, Bible (King James)
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The great wheel is turning. In Tallinn, Kyoto and Calgary, it is the Summer Solstice. In Perth, Capetown and Quito, it is the Winter Solstice. Either way, and in all directions, it is a celebration and an affirmation of life on this beautiful blue-green world.
If you have already made a donation to Words of Power, I am grateful, and it was very helpful. If you have not, please consider doing so.
Words of Power offers a uniquely global, 21st Century perspective on a range of issues concerning security, sustainability and spirit, with particular focus climate change, green power, counterterrorism, human rights, the UN Millennium Goals, and the health of democratic institutions (including the Fourth Estate).
The US mainstream news media failed the nation on the war in Iraq, and on climate change, and on the threat to our very form of government. Over these last few hard years, the alternative news media, citizen journalism, and the Blogosphere, have provided a vital resource both for US citizens trying to understand the world better, and for those concerned friends throughout the world trying to understand what has gone wrong in the USA.
There is more proof everyday that sites such as Words of Power are making a profound difference. So far this week, Morton Kondracke has called the progressive Blogosphere a "pox," and Fred Thompson has called it "Anti-American." It will get worse as the influence of the Blogosophere increases. Such epithets should be worn as badges of honor.
Words of Power is approaching its second anniversary on-line. Traffic and e-mail subscriptions (free) are growing exponentially. Some important and heavily-traffic sites are linking to our content. I am adding new features all the time.
Words of Power is, and will remain free, and available to everyone. But your donations will allow us to grow the site, in the following ways:
1) Go truly 24x7
2) Deliver Words of Power Podcasts on a weekly basis
3) Expand the content to include Arts and Literature
4) Conduct more in-depth interviews, and attend important conferences
You can donate (no, it is not tax-deductible) with Visa or Master Card via Paypal on the Words of Power site, or if you are more comfortable off-line, you can snail mail your check to Richard Power, 182 Howard St. #135, San Francisco, California, 94105.
And don't be concerned about perpetual fund-raisers, I will only reach out to you four times a year -- on the Solstices and the Equinoxes.
All the Best,
Richard Power
GS(3) Intelligence & Words of Power
http://www.wordsofpower.net
http://words-of-power.blogspot.com
Global Warming, Climate Change, Human Rights, Environment, Southern Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere, Solstice,News Media, Media Matters, UN Millennium Goals, Blogosphere, Alternate Media, Security, Sustainability, Politics, Risk, Geopolitics, Philosophy, Religion, Richard Power, Words of Power
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
3:2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3:3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
3:4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
3:5 A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
3:6 A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
3:7 A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
3:8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.
3:9 What profit hath he that worketh in that wherein he laboureth?
Ecclesiastes, Bible (King James)
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
The great wheel is turning. In Tallinn, Kyoto and Calgary, it is the Summer Solstice. In Perth, Capetown and Quito, it is the Winter Solstice. Either way, and in all directions, it is a celebration and an affirmation of life on this beautiful blue-green world.
If you have already made a donation to Words of Power, I am grateful, and it was very helpful. If you have not, please consider doing so.
Words of Power offers a uniquely global, 21st Century perspective on a range of issues concerning security, sustainability and spirit, with particular focus climate change, green power, counterterrorism, human rights, the UN Millennium Goals, and the health of democratic institutions (including the Fourth Estate).
The US mainstream news media failed the nation on the war in Iraq, and on climate change, and on the threat to our very form of government. Over these last few hard years, the alternative news media, citizen journalism, and the Blogosphere, have provided a vital resource both for US citizens trying to understand the world better, and for those concerned friends throughout the world trying to understand what has gone wrong in the USA.
There is more proof everyday that sites such as Words of Power are making a profound difference. So far this week, Morton Kondracke has called the progressive Blogosphere a "pox," and Fred Thompson has called it "Anti-American." It will get worse as the influence of the Blogosophere increases. Such epithets should be worn as badges of honor.
Words of Power is approaching its second anniversary on-line. Traffic and e-mail subscriptions (free) are growing exponentially. Some important and heavily-traffic sites are linking to our content. I am adding new features all the time.
Words of Power is, and will remain free, and available to everyone. But your donations will allow us to grow the site, in the following ways:
1) Go truly 24x7
2) Deliver Words of Power Podcasts on a weekly basis
3) Expand the content to include Arts and Literature
4) Conduct more in-depth interviews, and attend important conferences
You can donate (no, it is not tax-deductible) with Visa or Master Card via Paypal on the Words of Power site, or if you are more comfortable off-line, you can snail mail your check to Richard Power, 182 Howard St. #135, San Francisco, California, 94105.
And don't be concerned about perpetual fund-raisers, I will only reach out to you four times a year -- on the Solstices and the Equinoxes.
All the Best,
Richard Power
GS(3) Intelligence & Words of Power
http://www.wordsofpower.net
http://words-of-power.blogspot.com
Global Warming, Climate Change, Human Rights, Environment, Southern Hemisphere, Northern Hemisphere, Solstice,News Media, Media Matters, UN Millennium Goals, Blogosphere, Alternate Media, Security, Sustainability, Politics, Risk, Geopolitics, Philosophy, Religion, Richard Power, Words of Power
Campaign '08 -- Archive
Bulworth, Written and Directed by Warren Beatty
Campaign '08 Related Posts
In this directory, you will find all Words of Power posts that relate to the 2008 US national elections in general or mention a specific candidate in particular. They are posted in reverse chronological order. -- Richard Power
Echoes of A Message from Post History: Reflections on the Inaugurations of JFK and Barack Obama
Campaign '08 Summary: Beyond Grant Park -- Many Rivers to Cross
Campaign '08 Update: Random Courage & Senseless Acts of Conscience
Do Not Miss the Deeper Significance in the Endorsements of Powell & Buckley
Election Security Update: How Bitter can the Irony Get? Will the Democratic Party Finally Fight the Criminality of Right-Wing Vote Suppression
Gore & Krugman, Peace & Prosperity: In This Election & After, Will the USA Heed the Message the Nobel Committee has Been Sending These Last Two Years?
Bridgette Bardot to Sarah Palin: "You are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe."
Campaign '08 Update: Overcoming the Triple Threat to the Election of 2008
Updates on Darfur and Campaign '08: the Good Storyteller vs. the Bad Storyteller; What Lehrer Didn't Ask About & Why
While Palin Rattles A Saber She Should Not Have Been Given; Aung San Suu Kyi Quietly, Peacefully Delivers Another Blow to the Burmese Thugocracy
Weigh the Coverage of Sarah Palin's Ascension Against the Coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's Hunger Strike & Ask Yourself What Happened to Your Culture?
The Last Best Hope for The Last Best Hope
The Biden Primer
Michael Moore: How the Democrats can Blow It in Six Easy Steps
CEOs 10-1 for McCain; US Troops 6-1 for Obama -- What Does This Tell You?
Will the US Electorate Lay Down in the Poppy Field Sowed by Right-Wing Propagandists & Tilled by the Corporatist Media?
Obama in Berlin: The Context? Think Kennedy at American University, Think the Farewell Speeches of Eisenhower & Carter, i.e., Bravery & Prescience
"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more ... the future of human civilization is at stake."
Iglesias and Taguba Reflect A Brilliant Ray of Hope
Kucinich, Obama & Pelosi -- Three Very Different Tasks, One Shared Goal
The Rescue of the Planet, The Restoration of the Republic, and Some Unfinished Business
The Crow Nation Understands, So Do Joe Biden & Mike Papantonio, It is Time to Find the "Impeccable Warrior" Within
Let's Prove Gore Vidal Wrong; He Deserves That Precious Gift for His Long Life of Truth-Telling
Campaign '08 Update: The Medium, the Message & the "Monster" -- Clinton Has Lost Herself Along the Way; It Has to Be Obama
Campaign '08: Two Key Factors -- Unity and Forcing McCain to Choose Between His Captors and the Truth
Campaign '08 Update: Open Letter to Sen. Barack Obama -- This is Not a "Food Fight." This is a *Civil* War
Campaign '08: Ron Paul Understands the Danger of Mike Huckabee, Do You?
Campaign '08 Update: Edwards vs. Clinton and Obama -- Reality vs. Fantasy, This is No Time for A Tin Ear or A Pipe-Dream
Campaign '08 Update: Rachel Maddow Smacks Down Clinton Strategist Mark Penn & His Firm Burson-Marsteller
Hard Rain Journal 9-17-07: An Open Letter to Al Gore -- The List, & What Will Happen to the USA & the Planet if We Don't Address It In 2008
Campaign '08 Update 8-25-07: Edwards -- "They will not give up their power -- you have to take it from them."
Campaign '08 Update 8-12-07: Open Letter to Democratic Primary & Caucus Voters -- Turn This Race Upside Down!
Hard Rain Journal 6-19-07: Bring Me the Head of Osama Bin Laden, or Shut Up & Release the CIA Inspector General's Post 9/11 Report
Hard Rain Journal 6-10-07: Chalmers Johnson on George Washington, Ron Paul, the False Iraq-as-Korea Meme, & the Fall of Roman & Soviet Empires
Hard Rain Journal 6-8-07: Will They Actually Get Away With It All? Will the USA Choose Reason or Madness? The Long, Hot Summer May Tell
Hard Rain Journal 5-21-07: Campaign '08 Update -- Questions for Clinton & Obama; Why Edwards Has Solid Lead in Iowa & Richardson Surges
Hard Rain Journal 5-18-07: Is This The Week The USA Got Its Mojo Back?
Hard Rain Journal 5-1-07: “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine …” –- George Tenet, Hillary Clinton and the Truth
Hard Rain Journal 4-28-07: Giuliani, McCain, Romney and the Nightmare Beyond Bush, Is This Our Prague Spring?
Hard Rain Journal 4-26-07: Edwards & Kucinich Show Bold Leadership; Clinton & Obama Seem Not to Have Learned the Lessons of the Last 7 Years
Words of Power #34: Religion, Politics and Business: The Dalai Lama, MLK and the Importance of Dennis Kucinich
SPECIAL EDITION: Words of Power Interviews George Lakoff on Impeachment, 2008, the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy and Progressive Think Tanks
Hard Rain Journal 2-6-07: Updates on Election Security and the Short List for 2008
Hard Rain Journal 2-2-07: Forget about 2008, the Fate of the Republic could be Decided in the Next Six Months
Campaign '08 Related Posts
In this directory, you will find all Words of Power posts that relate to the 2008 US national elections in general or mention a specific candidate in particular. They are posted in reverse chronological order. -- Richard Power
Echoes of A Message from Post History: Reflections on the Inaugurations of JFK and Barack Obama
Campaign '08 Summary: Beyond Grant Park -- Many Rivers to Cross
Campaign '08 Update: Random Courage & Senseless Acts of Conscience
Do Not Miss the Deeper Significance in the Endorsements of Powell & Buckley
Election Security Update: How Bitter can the Irony Get? Will the Democratic Party Finally Fight the Criminality of Right-Wing Vote Suppression
Gore & Krugman, Peace & Prosperity: In This Election & After, Will the USA Heed the Message the Nobel Committee has Been Sending These Last Two Years?
Bridgette Bardot to Sarah Palin: "You are a disgrace to women and you alone represent a terrible threat, a true environmental catastrophe."
Campaign '08 Update: Overcoming the Triple Threat to the Election of 2008
Updates on Darfur and Campaign '08: the Good Storyteller vs. the Bad Storyteller; What Lehrer Didn't Ask About & Why
While Palin Rattles A Saber She Should Not Have Been Given; Aung San Suu Kyi Quietly, Peacefully Delivers Another Blow to the Burmese Thugocracy
Weigh the Coverage of Sarah Palin's Ascension Against the Coverage of Aung San Suu Kyi's Hunger Strike & Ask Yourself What Happened to Your Culture?
The Last Best Hope for The Last Best Hope
The Biden Primer
Michael Moore: How the Democrats can Blow It in Six Easy Steps
CEOs 10-1 for McCain; US Troops 6-1 for Obama -- What Does This Tell You?
Will the US Electorate Lay Down in the Poppy Field Sowed by Right-Wing Propagandists & Tilled by the Corporatist Media?
Obama in Berlin: The Context? Think Kennedy at American University, Think the Farewell Speeches of Eisenhower & Carter, i.e., Bravery & Prescience
"The survival of the United States of America as we know it is at risk. And even more ... the future of human civilization is at stake."
Iglesias and Taguba Reflect A Brilliant Ray of Hope
Kucinich, Obama & Pelosi -- Three Very Different Tasks, One Shared Goal
The Rescue of the Planet, The Restoration of the Republic, and Some Unfinished Business
The Crow Nation Understands, So Do Joe Biden & Mike Papantonio, It is Time to Find the "Impeccable Warrior" Within
Let's Prove Gore Vidal Wrong; He Deserves That Precious Gift for His Long Life of Truth-Telling
Campaign '08 Update: The Medium, the Message & the "Monster" -- Clinton Has Lost Herself Along the Way; It Has to Be Obama
Campaign '08: Two Key Factors -- Unity and Forcing McCain to Choose Between His Captors and the Truth
Campaign '08 Update: Open Letter to Sen. Barack Obama -- This is Not a "Food Fight." This is a *Civil* War
Campaign '08: Ron Paul Understands the Danger of Mike Huckabee, Do You?
Campaign '08 Update: Edwards vs. Clinton and Obama -- Reality vs. Fantasy, This is No Time for A Tin Ear or A Pipe-Dream
Campaign '08 Update: Rachel Maddow Smacks Down Clinton Strategist Mark Penn & His Firm Burson-Marsteller
Hard Rain Journal 9-17-07: An Open Letter to Al Gore -- The List, & What Will Happen to the USA & the Planet if We Don't Address It In 2008
Campaign '08 Update 8-25-07: Edwards -- "They will not give up their power -- you have to take it from them."
Campaign '08 Update 8-12-07: Open Letter to Democratic Primary & Caucus Voters -- Turn This Race Upside Down!
Hard Rain Journal 6-19-07: Bring Me the Head of Osama Bin Laden, or Shut Up & Release the CIA Inspector General's Post 9/11 Report
Hard Rain Journal 6-10-07: Chalmers Johnson on George Washington, Ron Paul, the False Iraq-as-Korea Meme, & the Fall of Roman & Soviet Empires
Hard Rain Journal 6-8-07: Will They Actually Get Away With It All? Will the USA Choose Reason or Madness? The Long, Hot Summer May Tell
Hard Rain Journal 5-21-07: Campaign '08 Update -- Questions for Clinton & Obama; Why Edwards Has Solid Lead in Iowa & Richardson Surges
Hard Rain Journal 5-18-07: Is This The Week The USA Got Its Mojo Back?
Hard Rain Journal 5-1-07: “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine …” –- George Tenet, Hillary Clinton and the Truth
Hard Rain Journal 4-28-07: Giuliani, McCain, Romney and the Nightmare Beyond Bush, Is This Our Prague Spring?
Hard Rain Journal 4-26-07: Edwards & Kucinich Show Bold Leadership; Clinton & Obama Seem Not to Have Learned the Lessons of the Last 7 Years
Words of Power #34: Religion, Politics and Business: The Dalai Lama, MLK and the Importance of Dennis Kucinich
SPECIAL EDITION: Words of Power Interviews George Lakoff on Impeachment, 2008, the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy and Progressive Think Tanks
Hard Rain Journal 2-6-07: Updates on Election Security and the Short List for 2008
Hard Rain Journal 2-2-07: Forget about 2008, the Fate of the Republic could be Decided in the Next Six Months
Labels:
2008 Presidential Election Campaign,
Al Gore,
Aung San Suu Kyi,
Campaign '08,
Darfur,
Hillary Clinton,
Michael Moore,
Paul Krugman,
Rachel Maddow,
Words of Power,
Words of Power Archive,
Words-of-Power
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)