[LAAMN] VIDEO: US Peace Activists Join Anti-Drone March in Pakistan (2012-10-08)

[SIUHIN]

 
Activist Video Service: _http://www.activistvideo.org_ 
(http://www.activistvideo.org/) 


US Peace Activists Join Anti-Drone March in Pakistan  (2012-10-08)



DemocracyNow.org - Thousands of people marched in Pakistan over the weekend 
 to protest the ongoing U.S. drone strikes. On Sunday, the Pakistani 
government  blocked the march from entering the tribal area of South 
Waziristan, a 
frequent  target of drone attacks.

VIDEO: _http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3050_ 
(http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3050) 
 
 
Anti-US Drone Protest in Pakistan  (2012-10-08)
 

 
By CNC World (China)
 
VIDEO: _http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3051_ 
(http://www.activistvideo.org/views.asp?id=3051) 
 
 
 

==
Peace NO War Network_ http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ 
(http://www.peacenowar.net/)  
War  is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
Not in our Name! And  another world is possible!

Information for antiwar movements, news  across the World, please visit:_  
http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) 
e-mail: _Info@PeaceNoWar.net_ (mailto:pe...@actionla.org) 
Tel:  (213)403-0131

Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: 
_peacenowar-subscribe@lists.riseup.net_ 
(mailto:peacenowar-subscr...@lists.riseup.net) 

Please Donate to Peace No War Network!
Send check  pay to:
ActionLA/AFGJ

ActionLA
P.O. Box  751
South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751
(All donations are tax  deductible)



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[LAAMN] How the Drug War in Latin America benefits multinatinals and undermines democracy

[Romi Elnagar]

How the Militarized War on Drugs in Latin America Benefits Transnational 
Corporations and Undermines Democracy Sunday, 05 August 2012 00:00  By Mark 
Karlin, Truthout | News Analysis
A fountain in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico, just before the international bridge that 
leads to the United States. (Photo: Mark Karlin)This is the tenth and final 
article in the Truthout on the Mexican Border 
series by Mark Karlin, editor of BuzzFlash at Truthout. Together, the 
ten Truthout installments form a paradigm-shifting insight into the 
unstated US policy goals in Mexico - and their untoward impact. Looking 
at the US relationship with Mexico provides insights into the 
government's Latin American policies as a whole. You can find links to 
the previous coverage at the end of this article. 
Is the So-Called War on Drugs in Mexico and Latin America Being Used to Advance 
US Military and Economic Interests?
In an article that explored myths about the war on illegal narcotics, "Drug War 
Capitalism," Canadian journalist Dawn Paley dispels the notion that nearly a 
trillion dollars spent on eradicating illegal drug trafficking (since 
Richard Nixon's administration) has shown any serious success.
Paley noted, "In the 11 years since Plan Colombia was launched [for 
example], the US government has spent over $3.6 billion on narcotics and law 
enforcement initiatives. Yet the US government reports that 
'Colombia remains one of the world's largest producers and exporters of 
cocaine, as well as a source country for heroin and marijuana.'" Indeed, Paley 
cited a 2008 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report that 
found the "estimated flow of cocaine towards the United States from 
South America rising from 2000-2006."
As Truthout pointed out in "The US War on Drug Cartels in Mexico Is a Deadly 
Failure," the attempt to curtail trafficking in narcotics "in many of the 
southern nations of the Western Hemisphere is basically a bloody game of 
whack-a-mole There is no measurable indicator that the supply of 
illicit drugs into the United States is decreasing as a result. So, 
there is no end game here."
Juan Gabriel Tokatlian, professor of international relations at the 
Universidad de Di Tella, Argentina, substantiated this failure in an 
article, "Beating the Drug-War Addiction": "Indeed, USSOUTHCOM [United States 
Southern Command, headquartered in 
Miami, which oversees the US military in Latin America] has controlled 
75% of the more than $12 billion that the US government has allocated to 
anti-drug activities in Latin America and the Caribbean since 2000. 
But, despite this expensive military campaign, all evidence shows that 
the 'war on drugs' has been a fiasco."
The Truthout on the Mexican Border series has noted that more than 
50,000 persons have been killed since the outgoing Mexican President, 
Felipe Calderón, launched the escalation of law enforcement and military 
attacks on drug cartels in 2006, at the behest of the United States. 
But most of those murdered and injured are widely considered civilian 
collateral damage, as are the minimum of 10,000 missing persons and the 
more than 180,000 (primarily indigenous) Mexicans displaced by the 
conflict.
As a result of this record of destruction left in the wake of the 
US-declared war on drugs, Paley speculated that there may be other 
unstated goals at work, particularly US military hegemony through 
surrogate armies (and paramilitary forces) in Latin America that help 
facilitate economic "free trade" expansion for transnational 
corporations.
As Paley concluded in her detailed article:
Precedents in Colombia and ongoing events elsewhere suggest possible 
areas for deepening the research in order to better ascertain to what 
extent Mexico and Central America are being subjected to a model whereby as 
David Maher and Andrew Thomson report, paramilitary terror " ... 
continues to be instrumental in the creation and maintenance of 
conditions, such as low labor costs and access to land, which are 
conducive to the expansion of the neo-liberal program ..."
>Increased study and research of the new economic policies encouraged 
through US anti-narcotics policy could help reveal the full extent of 
the economic transformation that has been initiated in Mexico and 
Central America
>Without a better understanding, discussions about the war in Mexico 
could remain contained within the rhetoric of drug prohibition versus 
liberalization. This kind of debate is wholly inaccurate as a means of 
denouncing and mobilizing resistance to a "war on drugs" that may be 
better understood as being about increased social and territorial 
control over lands and people, in the interest of capitalist expansion. 
In short, are US taxpayers funding a losing war on drugs to the tune 
of hundreds of billions of dollars as a means of expanding military 
influence and increasing political dominance over as many governments 
south of the border as possible - with the deliverable resu

[LAAMN] Second Annual Conference ~ SEEDS Of PEACE: Meditation & The Engaged Life ~ Saturday, April 20th, 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM ~ At The All Saints Church in Pasadena ~ Keynote Speaker: Marianne Williams

[Frank Dorrel]

The Southern California Committee for a Parliament of the World’s Religions
Presents Its Second Annual Conference

Seeds of Peace
Meditation & The Engaged Life

Saturday, April 20th - 11:30 AM to 6:30 PM
At The 
All Saints Church
132 N. Euclid Avenue, Pasadena 91101

Keynote Speaker:
Marianne Williamson
Internationally Acclaimed Spiritual Teacher & Author

!Personal Transformation Can & Does Have Global Effects.
As We Go, So Goes The World, For The World Is Us.
The Revolution That Will Save The World Is Ultimately A Person Alone.

Attend Workshops on:
Mindfulness, Yoga, Chanting, Sufism, Kabbalah,
Environmentalism, Immigration, Just Peace Making & More
www.SCCPWR.org–scc...@gmail.com 

To Register: www.seedsofpeace2013.eventbrite.com 

Tickets – Online Early Bird Special: $20 Each - At Door $30 Each
Seniors & Students: $15 Each
Groups Discount - 10 or More: $15 Each if Registered at the Same Time.
Booths - Non-Profit Full Booth: $50, Half Booth: $30
Retail Vendors: $150, Book Vendors Only: $75

Bridging Inner & Outer Peace!


We are delighted to announce that our very successful and unique 2012
program, Meditation and Contemplation as SEEDS OF PEACE, is coming back to
Southern California on Saturday, April 20th.

This year Marianne Williamson, a leading spiritual teacher and
best-selling New York Times author, will be our keynote speaker. In a new
and expanded version of last year's pioneering program, this year we will
explore the ways to bridge inner and outer peace.  Once again we are
inviting communities who practice meditation to share their techniques.  For
the first time we are also inviting communities engaged in social activism
to lead workshops as well.  Hence our new title SEEDS OF PEACE: Meditation
and the Engaged Life.
  

Our group, Southern California Committee for a Parliament of the World's
Religion (SCCPWR), is a dynamic interfaith organization founded in 2007 to
support the global work of the Parliament of the World's Religions and also
to create innovative local programs in Southern California. We bring
together communities that do not always have an opportunity to interface.
Our second annual SEEDS OF PEACE Conference will be hosted by the All Saints
Church of Pasadena--one of the most socially active religious communities in
Los Angeles, under the outstanding leadership of Reverend Ed Bacon.  Members
of the meditation community will have an opportunity to learn firsthand, if
they so desire, how to become active in causes devoted to the environment,
non-violent communication, immigration, women's rights and so forth, while
social activists will be introduced to meditation and contemplation
techniques that they may have never encountered before.

 We are committed
to building a vibrant Culture of Peace together.
We hope you'll join us on April 20, to plant many "seeds of peace" for our
collective future.
Interfaithfully Yours,

Ruth Broyde Sharone and Joseph Prabhu, Co-Chairs

Southern California Committee for the Parliament of the World's Religions
www.SCCPWR.org 








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[LAAMN] 3/15: Where's the Justice? (SOAW)

[SIUHIN]

 
3/15: Where's the Justice?  (SOAW)
 
 
Once more, the kangaroo court of Judge Stephen Hyles in Columbus, Georgia  
played the Pentagon’s tune. On Wednesday, March 13, just after 11am, he 
imposed  the maximum allowable punishment on SOA Watch activist Nashua Chantal: 
6  months in federal prison for crossing over the barb-wired fence at the 
main gates of Fort  Benning, last November to protest against the continued 
operation of the School  of the Americas (SOA/ WHINSEC). _Click  here to watch 
a video of Nashua and his supporters before the  trial._ 
(http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=bkt13MRA4uMkVtWKYhlrFApVEFaLHyxU)
 

Judge Hyles’ decision reaffirms the fact that the trials and  harsh 
punishments against SOA Watch activists are intended to quell dissent and  
dissuade 
others from taking action. Nashua himself had served 3 months after he  
crossed the line in 2004.

Nashua, a 60 year-old carpenter and community  helper from Americus, 
Georgia, entered the courtroom with quiet dignity. When  Nashua was handcuffed 
and 
about to get incarcerated following the sentencing by  Judge Hyles, his 
supporters in the courtroom started singing "We Shall Overcome"  and "You Do 
Not Work Alone." In response to the solidarity proclamations, the  judge 
ordered the U.S. Marshalls to remove all of us from the court  house.

Despite the hypocrisy and the injustice, as a movement we are  strong in 
our knowledge that military training and oppression will not bring  about the 
security and democracy that the U.S. government claims to defend.  

We were heartened to have our friend  
(http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/track.jsp?v=2&c=zN9zDwXvvqXWAhLjf9BEdFv0EIZaUOG8)
 Ed Dubose, president of 
the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP,  speak out with us, saying “
whatever the name – SOA or WHINSEC – we must end this  mess!” And the presence 
of Anton Flores, of the Alterna Community who denounced  the waste of 
taxpayer funds in the perpetuation of the SOA/WHINSEC and in the  imprisoning 
of 
activists, while local schools are shut down and the social  safety net cut.

SOA/WHINSEC graduates are the muscle that protects the 1%  in Latin 
America. They are slowly being brought to justice, as the current cases  
against 
SOA dictator Ríos Montt in Guatemala, and the Plan Condor/SOA Junta in  
Argentina show. We know that with truth on our side, someday those who trained  
the killers at the SOA/WHINSEC will also face the courts, not those that speak 
 out against them.

Making life difficult for them each day,
SOA  Watch

 

Update from Nashua!
Nashua called the main SOA Watch prisoner support  person from jail. He 
said that he is at Lee County (Alabama) Jail. They have  assigned him Inmate ID 
#5340. Nash said he would probably be there until space  opened up in a 
federal prison. So he could be there a while, just as it was with  SOA Watch 
Prisoner of Conscience Theresa Cusimano, who was at the same jail last  year. 
The SOA Watch prisoner support person is going to work today to get some  
cash in to his commissary account so that he can buy some clothes and thermal  
underwear. He said that he has only one very thin blanket and is  freezing.

Nash asked that the SOA Watch community be advised where he is.  We believe 
the mailing address to use for Nash is:

Robert Chantal,  #5340
Lee County Sheriff's Jail
P.O. Box 2407
Opelika, AL 36804



==
Peace NO War Network_ http://www.PeaceNOWar.net_ 
(http://www.peacenowar.net/)  
War  is not the answer, for only love can conquer hate
Not in our Name! And  another world is possible!

Information for antiwar movements, news  across the World, please visit:_  
http://www.PeaceNoWar.net_ (http://www.peacenowar.net/) 
e-mail: _Info@PeaceNoWar.net_ (mailto:pe...@actionla.org) 
Tel:  (213)403-0131

Please Join PeaceNoWar Listserv, send e-mail to: 
_peacenowar-subscribe@lists.riseup.net_ 
(mailto:peacenowar-subscr...@lists.riseup.net) 

Please Donate to Peace No War Network!
Send check  pay to:
ActionLA/AFGJ

ActionLA
P.O. Box  751
South Pasadena, CA 91031-0751
(All donations are tax  deductible)




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[LAAMN] Fukushima toxic waste swells as Japan marks March 11 disaster

[Romi Elnagar]

Fukushima Toxic Waste Swells as Japan Marks March 11 Disaster
By Jason Clenfield
Source link: 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-03-10/fukushima-toxic-waste-swells-as-japan-marks-march-11-disaster.html
Cached Document: 
fukushima_toxic_waste_swells_as_japan_marks_march_11_disaster_-_bloomberg.pdf
 
Issei Kato/Pool via Bloomberg
The utility estimates it may be eight years 
before radiation levels fall enough to let workers start the main task 
of removing 260 tons of melted nuclear fuel. Every morning, 3,000 cleanup 
workers at the Fukushima disaster site don 
hooded hazard suits, air-filtered face masks and multiple glove layers. 
Most of the gear is radioactive waste by day’s end.

Multiply those cast-offs by the 730 days since a tsunami wrecked the 
Dai-Ichi nuclear station two years ago and the trash could fill six 
Olympic swimming pools. The tens of thousands of waste bags stored in 
shielded containers illustrate the dilemma of dealing with a nuclear 
accident: Everything that touches it becomes toxic.

Contaminated clothing represents just a fraction of the waste facing 
Tokyo Electric Power Co. (9501) in a cleanup that may take four decades.
 A tour of the plant last week went past rows of grey and blue tanks 
holding enough irradiated water to fill 100 Olympic pools on the plateau
 overlooking Dai-Ichi’s four ruined reactors. And the water keeps 
coming.

The utility estimates it may be eight years before radiation levels fall
 enough to let workers start the main task of removing 260 tons of 
melted nuclear fuel. That process took more than a decade at the U.S. 
accident                                                                
                                          on Three Mile Island, a 
partial meltdown at a single reactor containing                          
                                                                        
            about one fifth the amount of fuel at Fukushima.

“The things they have to do now are measured in years rather than days 
and months,” Gregory Jaczko, the former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission, said in a telephone interview. “What they have to
 do is very, very challenging. It’s hard to put a grade on how well it’s
 going because it’s so unprecedented.”

Some Progress

Still, little more than a year after the plant’s stricken reactors were 
brought into a controlled state known as cold shutdown, progress is 
visible.

A steel structure is being built to hold a crane for removing Unit 4’s 
spent fuel and Unit 1 is covered in a vinyl- coated shroud to help 
contain its radiation. Workers are preparing to drive a steel wall into 
the seabed to prevent water leaking from the plant into the ocean.

At Unit 4, which avoided a meltdown, steel braces have been added to 
reinforce a storage pool that holds 1,533 spent fuel rods five floors 
above the ground. By November workers will start to lift out the 
assemblies, removing one more source of risk.

“We have a lot of damaged fuel but we’ll make every effort to maintain 
safety while we push on with the decommissioning process,” site manage 
Takeshi Takahashi told reporters.

‘New Nuclear Age’

A poster at Dai-Ichi’s command center reads: “This is not the end. This is the 
beginning of a new nuclear age.”

Radiation danger prevents workers from approaching a tangle of metal and
 upturned cars surrounding Unit 3, which was ripped apart by a hydrogen 
gas explosion after the tsunami. Remote controlled cranes are used to 
pull steel and concrete rubble from the top of the structure.

Dosimeters register a jump to 1.7 millisieverts during a bus ride past 
the rubble, indicating a 60-minute exposure would equal eight months of 
natural radiation. It will be years before even robots can work inside 
the steel- and concrete-encased core, according to Arnie Gundersen, 
chief engineer at Burlington, Vermont-based energy consultant Fairewinds
 Associates Inc.

“Unit 3 is in a condition that none of us has ever imagined,” he said by
 phone. “The entire structure is inaccessible to human beings right 
now.”

Mountain of Waste

While clearing debris helps reduce radiation levels, it’s also filling 
the plant with toxic waste for which the utility has no ultimate 
disposal plan. More than 73,000 cubic meters of contaminated concrete, 
58,000 cubic meters of irradiated trees and bushes, and 157,710 gallons 
of toxic sludge has built up, according to the utility.

Then there’s the water.

Tanks of it now cover an area equal to 37 football fields and the 
utility is clearing forest to make room for more. Some 400 tons of 
ground water each day seeps into reactor buildings and is contaminated.

There are 480 cesium-clogged filters, each weighing 15 tons, already warehoused 
in what the utility calls temporary storage.

“These filters will have to be stored for 300 years because cesium has a
 30-year half-life and the rule of thumb is 10 half-lives,” Fairewinds’ 
Gundersen said.

Tokyo Electric has b

[LAAMN] Lie of the Century... never stopped, it was reinforced

[scotpeden]

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is
for good men to do nothing"
Edmund Burke

If nothing changes, then nothing changes. Welcome to Hopey Change.

Old article, same old shit as we have today.

Scott
PS, the graphics refered to in the article are at the URL

***
Lie of the Century.
http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/lieofthecentury.php

The Downing Street Memo is only the beginning of the proof we were all
lied to.

Michael Rivero

"All war is based on deception." -- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

There is nothing new in a government lying to their people to start a war.
Indeed because most people prefer living in peace to bloody and horrific
death in war, any government that desires to initiate a war usually lies
to their people to create the illusion that support for the war is the
only possible choice they can make.

 President McKinley told the American people that the USS Maine had been
sunk in Havana Harbor by a Spanish mine. The American people, outraged by
this apparent unprovoked attack, supported the Spanish American War. The
Captain of the USS Maine had insisted the ship was sunk by a coal bin
explosion, investigations after the war proved that such had indeed been
the case. There had been no mine.
Hitler used this principle of lying to his own people to initiate an
invasion. He told the people of Germany that Poland had attacked first and
staged fake attacks against German targets. The Germans, convinced they
were being threatened, followed Hitler into Poland and into World War 2.
FDR claimed Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack. It wasn't. The United
States saw war with Japan as the means to get into war with Germany,
which Americans opposed. So Roosevelt needed Japan to appear to strike
first. Following an 8-step plan devised by the Office of Naval
Intelligence, Roosevelt intentionally provoked Japan into the attack.
Contrary to the official story, the fleet did not maintain radio silence,
but sent messages intercepted and decoded by US intercept stations.
Tricked by the lie of a surprise attack, Americans marched off to war.
President Johnson lied about the Gulf of Tonkin to send Americans off to
fight in Vietnam.

There were no torpedoes in the water in the Gulf. LBJ took advantage of an
inexperienced sonar man's report to goad Congress into escalating the
Vietnam War.


It is inescapable historical reality that leaders of nations will lie to
their people to trick them into wars they otherwise would have refused. It
is not "conspiracy theory" to suggest that leaders of nations lie to trick
their people into wars. It is undeniable fact.

This brings us to the present case.

Did the government of the United States lie to the American people, more
to the point, did President Bush and his Neocon associates lie to
Congress, to initiate a war of conquest in Iraq?

This question has been given currency by a memo leaked from inside the
British Government which clearly indicates a decision to go to war
followed by the "fixing" of information around that policy. This is, as
they say, a smoking gun.

But the fact is that long before this memo surfaced, it had become obvious
that the US Government, aided by that of Great Britain, was lying to
create the public support for a war in Iraq.
First off is Tony Blair's "Dodgy Dossier", a document released by the
Prime Minister that made many of the claims used to support the push for
war. The dossier soon collapsed when it was revealed that much of it had
been plagiarized from a student thesis paper that was 12 years old!

The contents of the dossier, however much they seemed to create a good
case for invasion, were obsolete and outdated.

This use of material that could not possibly be relevant at the time is
clear proof of a deliberate attempt to deceive.

Then there was the claim about the "Mobile biological weapons
laboratories". Proffered in the absence of any real laboratories in the
wake of the invasion, photos of these trailers were shown on all the US
Mainstream Media, with the claim they while seeming to lack anything
suggesting biological processing, these were part of a much larger
assembly of multiple trailers that churned out biological weapons of mass
destruction.
The chief proponent of this hoax was Colin Powell, who presented
illustrations such as this one to the United Nations on February 5th,
2003.

This claim fell apart when it was revealed that these trailers were
nothing more than hydrogen gas generators used to inflate weather
balloons. This fact was already known to both the US and UK, as a British
company manufactured the units and sold them to Iraq.



Click for full sized image
Colin Powell's speech to the UN was itself one misstatement after another.
Powell claimed that Iraq had purchased special aluminum tubes whose only
possible use was in uranium enrichment centrifuges. Both CIA and Powell's
own State Department confirmed that the tubes were parts for missiles
Saddam was legally allowed to have. Fol

[LAAMN] The ironies of the Venezuelan opposition, part 2

[Cort Greene]

http://www.sabinabecker.com/2013/03/the-ironies-of-the-venezuelan-opposition-part-2.html

The ironies of the Venezuelan opposition, part 2March 14, 2013 — Sabina
Becker

[image: majunche-mustache]

*“I’m not a copycat — Maduro didn’t invent the mustache!”*

Maybe not, Majunche, but he also doesn’t look stupid wearing one. *You,* on
the other hand…

*Good afternoon!* And welcome to today’s edition of VenOpIronía. Today, we
have more Majunche copycatting the Bolivarians and hoping no one notices.
What else?

[image: chavez-eyes-copycat]

Here, we have Majunche, giving his best cheap imitation of Chavecito:
copying the iconic logo of the late Comandante’s deep, expressive eyes.Here’s
the story behind
that:

*It appears that the defeated ex-presidential candidate of 2012, Henrique
Capriles, hasn’t abandoned his electoral strategy of imitating the leader,
Hugo Chávez, and of trying to appear as a politician of the centre-left,
concerned about the poorest.*
*

In this latest attempt to attain the presidency of the Republic, the owner
of a $5 million apartment in the United States has decided to call his
campaign command “Simón Bolívar, even though it is well known that the
Liberator’s page was taken from the history books and turned into an
everyday personage by Comandante Chávez himself, who also made Bolívar’s
thought one of the roots of Chavismo.

Bolívar was less acceptable when one of the first acts of the Venezuelan
oligarchy, during the coup of 2002, was to remove the portrait of Bolívar
from Miraflores Palace and, with the single stroke of a pen, remove the
adjective “Bolivarian” from the official name of the Republic.

But, if the foregoing was not enough, recently the protagonist of the
assault on the Cuban Embassy in Venezuela has launched, as a symbol of his
new campaign, the same used by the leader of the Revolution: his eyes,
along with the slogan “Chávez, heart of the people”, which appeared on
t-shirts in various colors.

It’s not the first time that the representative of the Venezuelan and
international right wing has tried to steal images, icons, sayings and/or
symbols of the Bolivarian left; he did it in 2002 with “Not One Step
Backward”, and, most recently, with the tricolor flag cap, although with
seven stars — that is, without recognizing the eighth province whose
inclusion Chávez approved by official decree.
*

*The image copied by Capriles was obtained from one of his Twitter messages
by Andrés Izarra (@izarradeverdad), member of the publicity team for the
Hugo Chávez Command.*

Translation mine.

Oh Majunche, you fail so hard. Not only do you lack the Comandante’s depth
of vision, your eyes just don’t look as good in high-contrast for the
purposes of iconography. But hey! When you get trounced, exactly a month
from today, you’ll at least get to lick your wounds in a $5 million
apartment in Miami. Just please don’t decorate the walls with that picture,
‘kay?


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[LAAMN] Phoenix's Too Hot Future

[bigraccoon]

Phoenix's Too Hot Future

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-debuys-phoenix-and-climate-change-20130314,0,4490600.story






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[LAAMN] Hear Bradley Manning Explain Acts of Conscience ~ Afghans Rally in Support of Bradley Manning

[Frank Dorrel]

Hear Bradley Manning Explain Acts of Conscience

Is this email not displaying correctly?
  View it in your browser. 

 



  Bradley Manning Support Network





Audio of Bradley's Statement on Motives Published Online 


 

 

A recording of Bradley Manning's statement was released this week. It was the 
first time Bradley's voice has been heard outside the courtroom. 

The transparency group Freedom of the Press Foundation has published an illicit 
audio recording of Pfc. Bradley Manning’s full statement on releasing 
classified documents to WikiLeaks as an act of conscience. 

 

Despite this being among the most important trials in America today, 
journalists are not allowed to record any audio or video of the proceedings. 
Therefore, prior to this release, the public and press at large have never been 
able to hear Bradley Manning’s voice. 

In the moving statement, Bradley describes his decisions to release the Iraq 
and Afghan war databases, the Collateral Murder video, Department of State 
diplomatic cables. He said he hoped these releases would “spark a domestic 
debate on the role of the military and our foreign policy in general as it 
related to Iraq and Afghanistan.” Glenn Greenwald breaks down the statement in 
several audio segments here. 

 

Upon hearing the audio recording, Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel 
Ellsberg said, “I believe Bradley Manning is the personification of the word 
whistleblower.”

Read more... 

 

  _  


Afghans Rally in Support of Bradley Manning 


  

Demonstrating support for Bradley in Afghanistan

About one hundred Afghan men, women, and children held signs and banners 
calling for Bradley Manning’s freedom in the center of Kabul on March 8th. 
Their giant banner read, ‘Bradley Manning, you are a hero of suffering 
Afghans!’ Other signs say, ‘When Bradley is stripped, America is exposed,’ and 
‘Refusing to kill is not a crime.’

In addition to the “Afghan War Diaries,” Bradley found and passed to WikiLeaks 
a video and accompanying investigation of a 2009 U.S. airstrike on an Afghan 
village that killed more than 140 civilians, mostly women and children.

  

View photos from the demonstration 
 

In his statement to the court last week, Bradley said, “I wanted the American 
public to know that not everyone in Iraq and Afghanistan are targets that 
needed to be neutralized, but rather people who were struggling to live in the 
pressure cooker environment of what we call asymmetric warfare."

Last week’s rally for Bradley in Kabul was sponsored by The Solidarity Party of 
Afghanistan.

  Read 
more...

  _  


Help us continue to cover 100%
of Bradley's legal fees! Donate today. 
 

  _  






  follow on Twitter |  
 friend on Facebook | 




 



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[LAAMN] "THE GIRL" ~ Opens In Los Angeles this Friday, March 15th at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in Hollywood ~ Have Dinner with Film's Director DAVID RIKER at The VEGGIE GRILL at 6:00 PM - 8000 W. Sun

[Frank Dorrel]

>From Carolfrances Likins: cfljust...@gmail.com

Theatre/Dinner Party with DAVID RIKER, Director-Writer of New Film: "THE
GIRL" - 

Dinner at 6:00 PM Friday Night, March 15th at The VEGGIE GRILL, Located at
8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles

Organized by BREAKTHOUGH (New Group) - For More Information Contact
Carolfrances Likens at: 213-736-5742 - cfljust...@gmail.com 

Star Abbie Cornish & Director David Riker will do Q&A at the 8:00 PM
Screening of THE GIRL - Friday, March 15th at the Sundance Sunset Cinema in
Hollywood: 8000 W. Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles 90046

BREAKTHOUGH is a new organization dedicated to getting onto the big screen
stories that we need to experience if we are to transform our society. Our
work includes supporting communities and individuals in developing their
stories into screenplays and getting it to the people in the industry who
share their passions, but it also includes mobilizing the community to come
to the theatre on that critical opening weekend. For more on Breakthrough!:
 BreakthroughIndies.org  




The Producer of MARIA FULL OF GRACE

And The Executive Producers of BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

Present

 

THE GIRL

A Film by David Riker, The Award-Winning Director of LA CIUDAD

Starring Abbie Cornish, Will Patton & Maritza Santiago

 

Opening In Los Angeles - Friday, March 15th

 

More than ten years after his acclaimed debut film LA CIUDAD (THE CITY) --
about the lives of Latin American immigrants in New York City, 

director David Riker travels to the border for his long-awaited follow-up,
THE GIRL. Abbie Cornish stars as a working class south Texan who 

seeks to escape the quicksand of her life by smuggling immigrants across the
border. When the attempted crossing ends in tragedy, she finds 

herself stranded with a young girl who lost her mother in the river
crossing. Harrowing, moving and ultimately hopeful, THE GIRL invites us to 

look at the border through a new lens, turning the central myth of the
border upside down -- that hope flows north.

 

 

As Featured on Democracy Now! 

The Girl: Abbie Cornish Stars in Film About Tragic Smuggling of Immigrants
Across US-Mexico Border
 

Click   HERE to Watch the Film's
Trailer: www.davidrikersthegirl.com/videos  

 

 Opening Friday, March 15th 

Sundance Sunset Cinema in West Hollywood:
www.sundancecinemas.com/sunset_showtimes.html

AMC Broadway 4 - 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica:
www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/amc-loews-broadway-4

AMC in Orange: www.amctheatres.com/movie-theatres/amc-orange-30

Edwards University Town Center 6 in Irvine:
www.fandango.com/edwardsuniversitytowncenter6_aabhi/theaterpage

 

Struggling with the loss of her child to Social Services, a single mother is
trapped in the quicksand of her south Texas life, unwilling to accept the
consequences of her actions. When her path collides with a young girl from
Mexico, she begins a journey that will change her life - discovering that
she is the architect of her own fate and learning what it is that truly
defines home.

 

"Abbie Cornish Gives the Most Impressive Performance of Her Career"
Pete Hammond, BOX OFFICE MAGAZINE

 

Abbie Cornish & David Riker will Do a Q&A at the 8:00 PM Screening on
Friday, March 15th at the Sundance Sunset Cinema

 

For Details Please Check Website or Facebook:

Website: www.davidrikersthegirl.com  

Facebook: www.facebook.com/DavidRikersTheGirl 

 



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[LAAMN] What the Assad regime was and what it has become – Part Three

[Cort Greene]

http://www.marxist.com/what-the-assad-regime-was-and-what-it-has-become-3.htm

What the Assad regime was and what it has become – Part
Three
Written by Fred WestonThursday, 14 March 2013
[image: 
Print][image:
E-mail]

Although there had been some concessions to private capital under the old
Assad, what was to rapidly accelerate the process and lead to a qualitative
change was the collapse of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 and the Soviet Union in
1991. The system the Assad regime had modelled itself on collapsed like a
house of cards. And just as the Soviet model attracted the young officers
who carried out the coup in 1963, now its collapse shook their confidence
in that same regime. [Part
one
][Part 
two
]
Impact on Syria of the collapse of the USSR

None of them had ever understood the limitations of the Soviet Union, where
the planned economy was not under the control of the working class, but was
in the hands of a privileged bureaucratic elite. In fact they had been
attracted to the Soviet model precisely because it seemed to give results
in terms of economic growth.

Now they reacted in an equally empirical manner and began to turn much more
boldly to capitalist measures. After 1990-91, having lost a solid point of
reference in the Soviet Union – and aid – the regime embarked on a road
that would eventually lead to the dismantling of the old planned system. A
sign of how things were changing was the fact that in 1990 businessmen
entered the Syrian parliament and in 1991 Law No. 10 was passed to
encourage private investments.

As the process towards the restoration of capitalism gathered strength,
divisions opened up within the regime, between the so-called
“conservatives” who stood for the continuity of the old system and the
“modernisers” who were for gradual reform, a slow controlled transition
towards a market economy. The former represented all the apparatchiks of
the state owned economy who risked losing much in a process of
privatisation. The latter represented the growing pressures of world
capitalism and the desire of a section of the bureaucracy to become direct
owners of the means of production. This division was very similar to the
divisions that emerged within the Chinese bureaucracy as the economy moved
in the direction of capitalism from the 1980 onwards.

In spite of all this, the Bush administration’s approach to Syria was to
treat it as a “rogue state”, in the same way as it treated Iran or North
Korea. It imposed sanctions and did all in its power to isolate the regime.
The more intelligent of the US bourgeois, however, were for “engaging” with
the Syrian private sector and establishing joint ventures, investing in the
country, etc., as a means of pulling Syria into the US sphere of influence
and accelerating further the country’s transition to capitalism.

In an attempt to circumvent this isolation, the regime turned to the
European Union and in 2003 began negotiations to acquire Associate status
with the EU, but this failed to get the desired results and eventually
Syria was forced to turn to countries like Iran and Russia. For example in
2005 Russia cancelled 73% of what Syria owed it. Capitalist Russia saw the
opportunity of winning back spheres of influence it had lost in the past,
especially as the Iraq war was unfolding as the US widened its influence in
the region with a direct military presence.

In 2004 Assad went to Beijing on an official visit, again seeking a point
of support as the US attempted to tighten the economic stranglehold on the
country. China provided the model the Syrian regime required, for it had
economic liberalisation, i.e. a growing role for the private sector, but
without any hint of moving towards a western style parliamentary democracy.
Authoritarian rule continued without so-called “political reform”.

It was in this period, in 2004 that the regime also sought openings towards
both Israel and the United States. The result was that the regime agreed to
withdraw its troops from the Lebanon. In April 2005 the last Syrian
soldiers withdrew from Lebanon after a 29-year presence in the country. The
west, Washington included, welcomed the role that Syria had played in
Lebanon.

What we have to understand about Lebanon was that it had played an
important role in Syria’s economy as a source of investment. a sort of Hong
Kong for Syrian businessmen interested in having greater access to the
global market, particularly in terms of trade, financing and banking
services.

Having lost direct control over Lebanon it now became more urgent tha

[LAAMN] Fwd: SAVE THE DATE: COMMUNITY CONTROL OF THE POLICE MEETING

[John A Imani]

-- Forwarded message --
From: Bilal Ali 
Date: Thu, Mar 14, 2013 at 4:08 AM
Subject: SAVE THE DATE: COMMUNITY CONTROL OF THE POLICE MEETING
To: othla-core-organi...@googlegroups.com, May 19th Movement <
may19thmovem...@lists.riseup.net>, John A Imani ,
Michael Novick , Mary Sutton <
masutt...@earthlink.net>, Aim Santa Barbara , tiah star
, "James M. Simmons Atty" , general
dogun , kellyflor del ,
"dedon.kamathi" , Kim McGill ,
Gardenia Rivera , Hamid Khan ,
cindy henderson , javier rodriguez <
bajolamiradejav...@yahoo.com>, Kruti Parekh , Pete
White , Black Riders ,
Thandisizwe Chimurenga , Los Angeles Critical
Resistance , Diana Zuniga ,
Bilal Ali , "B. Kwaku" , Mo
Nishida , Margaret Prescod 


The Sisyphus Syndrome: ( In Greek mythology Sisyphus  was a king
punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an
immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to
repeat this action forever), whenever there is a atrocity committed by
the pigs the response has been righteous indignation by the people,
there are demonstrations, protest, press conferences, so-called chosen
leaders are trotted out for the purpose of chilling out the people’s
anger, promises of an investigations, and blood money is paid out to
relatives of the victims of pig terror and murder.  After all the
attention to the latest in pig terror everything returns to normal
until the next pig murder or atrocity is committed again at the hands
of the pigs.  This scenario is played out time and time again.  This
Sisyphus Syndrome has mostly been about a reactionary approach…we need
a more pro-active approach that builds people power…the necessary
power to change the genocidal practices of law enforcement in a racist
and capitalist social order. Because of this Sisyphus syndrome the
LAPD continues to be a notoriously racist institution.  The Rampart
Division scandal of the late 1990's is one recent reminder of how
racist and corrupt the institution is and continues to be. What Chris
Dorner's manifesto calls into question is the degree to which racism
is blatantly ignored, reasoned away, and legitimized in this society
in general and in law enforcement in particular. The Dorner manifesto
mirrors the deadly impact of racism and national oppression of people
of color.
The history of the LAPD has clearly shown that the LAPD has been
consistently unwilling to impose serious punishment for racist and
terrorist acts committed by LAPD officers either through internal
mechanisms, or by referral for prosecution.  Again it has been made
evident that the LAPD lacks in its effort to track problem officers or
implement any structural change proposed to ameliorate the problem.
This malfeasance of the public trust by the LAPD sends a clear message
to their officers who serve out “street justice”, that they will be
protected even awarded for their conduct and culture of racism, sexism
and violence.
Our research and investigations of the Board of Police Commissioners
informs us that (1) Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners is an
utter failure and creates an atmosphere of mis-trust on the part of
the people (2) Our findings also informs us that this board as
currently composed is not a solution to our problems with the police(
3) The Board of Police Commissioners acts merely as a Rubber-Stamp for
internal police investigation and cover-up (4) The board as currently
composed lacks real power and failure to confront lapd on
controversial polices..

Who Are the Police?
The state is the mechanism which guarantees the supremacy of the
ruling class. (Cutting off the arm cripples the ruling class). The
capitalists (or bourgeoisie) control science, education, culture and
all the levers of social power. This allows them to run things for
their own benefit and appropriate the lion’s share of social wealth.
To maintain their rule the bourgeoisie requires a monopoly of armed
power with which it can exert violence against those who might resist.
The police are the institution charged with the day-to-day exercise of
that power to coerce and suppress other classes when the preferred
means of persuasion do not work.
The police are not part of the working class, and their "unions" are
not part of the workers movement. They should be thrown out of all
trade union federations and other working class organizations. The
police serve as the first line of defense of capitalist property and
safeguard the dictatorship of the capitalist class over society. As an
arm of the state, the police are not neutral in any dispute between
the powerless and the powerful, workers and bosses, tenants and
landlords or oppressed and oppressor. Cops enforce a capitalist law
and order which places the interests of property, wealth and social
privilege above all else.

Occupy The Hood LA Action Assembly believes that the reign of terror
by the LAPD and by sheriff’s departments across the country including
the FBI, CIA and INS must be opposed.  This means mobilizin

[LAAMN] March14th - 130th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx

[Cort Greene]

*Britain - Socialist Appeal *
The website of the British Marxists of the IMT.

http://www.socialist.net/130th-anniversary-of-the-death-of-karl-marx.htm

130th anniversary of the death of Karl
Marx

   - [image: 
Print]

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Email]

Thursday, 14 March 2013 Written by Phil Mitchinson
Share

*To mark the 130th anniversary of the death of Karl Marx – who died in
London on 14th March 1883 - we are republishing here a revised version of
an article by the late Phil Mitchinson. Here Phil outlines the life and
contribution made by Marx to the building of the socialist movement and the
development of the ideas of scientific socialism.*


--



One hundred and thirty years ago - on 14th March 1883 to be precise - Karl
Marx, one of the greatest figures in human history, died. In an online poll
conducted by the BBC a decade ago, Marx was voted the greatest thinker of
all time. Despite over a century of attacks, distortions and attempts to
belittle Marx's contribution, few can doubt that he dramatically altered
the course of human history. That would be reason enough to study Marx's
ideas and his writings, whether one agrees or disagrees with them.

For those workers and youth who wish to struggle to change society however,
there is an even more pressing reason to study Marxism. On reading Marx's
writings on philosophy, history, economics, and sociology, one is struck
not only by their remarkable breadth and depth, but above all by their
relevance to the world today. These writings are an invaluable weapon in
the hands of workers and youth everywhere fighting for the socialist
transformation of society.

A word of warning here. Libraries and bookshops the world over are littered
with learned tomes 'about Marxism'. In reality these are usually 'against
Marxism', but few are honest enough to admit it. These works fall into two
main categories. First the method of knocking down a straw man, that is,
spurious arguments that have nothing to do with Marxism are presented as
the ideas of Marx only to be easily countered and defeated. Secondly there
are the 'interpretations', that is works that go to great lengths to tell
us 'what Marx really meant', when in fact they proceed to distort Marx's
ideas out of all recognition. To discover what Marx meant is in reality
quite easy. All one has to do is read the books he wrote.

Some people will tell you that these books are very difficult to read. This
is not really true. Marx wrote in such a way that the average person could
understand him. He wrote essentially for the workers. Having said that Marx
did not believe in  'dumbing down', that is talking to the workers as if
they were little children. As every worker knows nothing worth having in
this life is achieved without a struggle. To study Marx's writings with the
necessary attention undoubtedly requires a certain amount of work. The
rewards however merit such effort.

Marx wrote not just about politics and economics for which he is perhaps
most widely known, but also about philosophy, art, history, science, and
all questions relating to human society. Marx declared once that his
favourite maxim was that of the Roman general and poet Terence "Nihil
humani a me alienum putu. " (Nothing human is alien to me).

The advanced worker must make it his or her duty to make a thorough study
of Marx's writings, to master the method of Marx. This is not an academic
exercise. Marx's ideas are above all a guide to action, they provide a
method for understanding the world, the better to be able to change it.
Marx's youth

Marx was born 195 years ago, on May 5, 1818, in the city of Trier in
Rheinish Prussia. His father was a lawyer and his family was comfortably
well off. They were not particularly revolutionary in their outlook. After
leaving school in Trier, Marx went on to university first in Bonn and then
later in Berlin, where he read law, majoring in history and philosophy. As
a student Marx was a follower of the great German philosopher Hegel's
ideas. In Berlin, he belonged to a group of "Left Hegelians" who sought to
draw atheistic and revolutionary conclusions from Hegel's philosophy.

After graduating from university, Marx moved to Bonn, hoping to become a
professor. However, the reactionary policy of the government, which
deprived Ludwig Feuerbach of his academic position in 1832, led Marx to
abandon the idea of such a career. At this time Left Hegelian views were
making rapid headway in Germany. Feuerbach, in particular, developed a
criticism of theology and began to develop materialist ideas. The ideas of
Feuerbach had