How the State Handles Dissent: Violence and Oppression in the US and Around the World
November 10, 2010, 9:06 pm
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wiretapping Moscow authorities sanction 1,000 people for opposition protest
UNITED STATES
New bill allows U.S. citizens to be kidnapped and detained without trial indefinitely based on “suspected activity”
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has forced the Pentagon to release over 800 pages of classified material documenting “possibly illegal” spying during the Bush administration. The heavily redacted documents include details of a spying program against Planned Parenthood and white supremacist groups in the runup to the Atlanta Olympics, as well as spying on Alaskans for Peace and Justice, an anti-recruiting group, civilian cell phone conversations, and other breaches of spying laws.
Fourteen anti-war activists may have made history today in a Las Vegas courtroom when they turned a misdemeanor trespassing trial into a possible referendum on America’s newfound taste for remote-controlled warfare. The so-called Creech 14, a group of peace activists from across the country, went on trial this morning for allegedly trespassing onto Creech Air Force Base in April 2009. From the start of today’s trial, prosecutors did their best to keep the focus on whether the activists were guilty of allegations they illegally entered the base and refused to leave as a way to protest the base’s role as the little-known headquarters for U.S. military operations involving unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, over Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. But a funny thing happened on the way to prosecutors’ hope for a quick decision. Appearing as witnesses for the Creech 14 today were some of the biggest names in the modern anti-war movement: Ramsey Clark, former U.S. attorney general under President Lyndon Johnson; Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and one of three former U.S. State Department officials who resigned on the eve of the 2003 invasion of Iraq; and Bill Quigley, legal director for the New York City-based Center for Constitutional Rights.
Ken Hayes, Father Louis Vitale and Nancy Gwin, the three human rights advocates who were arrested together with Michael Walli, were each sentenced in January 2010 to six months in prison as well – the maximum allowed for the charge of tresspass. The extremely harsh sentences are intended to deter others from following the example of the ‘SOAW 4.’
“Those who speak out for justice are facing prison time while SOA-trained torturers and assassins are operating with impunity,” said SOA Watch founder Father Roy Bourgeois.
Models for Developing Sustainable Water Systems
November 9, 2010, 7:11 am
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water “Every now and then in history, the human race takes a collective step forward in its evolution. Such a time is upon us now.” Maude Barlow on how to move the water justice movement forward.
The battle of the small Mexican town of Temacapulin to prevent a large dam from being constructed and submerging their home.
One practical solution to the water shortage is to replace our centralized water based sewer system with on site, waterless toilets and recycle grey water. Grey water is the water from the kitchen and shower and can be recycled, on site and reused for landscaping. This will reduce our demand on the water source by 80 percent while simultaneously creating a sustainable, renewable, agricultural resource, namely, organic nitrogen.
Models for Developing Sustainable Food Systems
November 9, 2010, 7:10 am
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water The 10 Biggest Issues with the Global Food System and What You Can Do
It’s difficult to separate the problems into discrete categories because everything is connected. Big problems lead to seemingly smaller problems, that, when allowed to fester, become open wounds – much like the foul waste lagoons on industrial pig farms that dot our landscape, or the actual wounds on human flesh caused by antibiotic resistant staph infections, which are a direct result of the overuse of antibiotics in livestock operations.
Most of the problems in the system stem from one giant problem: Concentration of power, land, wealth, and political influence in the hands of a few large players who have gamed the system for their benefit. Here are the biggest issues, as we see them, followed by suggestions for what you can do about them.
Vandana Shiva explains the effect of GMOs on Indian agriculture—and how to promote home-grown alternatives.
The three key components of a successful small scale backyard orchard and helpful tips
Another way of thinking outside the box
B-Line launced a new venture – B-Shares, which turns a $20 donation into more than 40 meals by providing the missing link between local food sources – famers and groceries – and the nonprofits that provide meals for people in need. The missing link, of course, is transportation, and in B-Line’s case, emissions-free bicycle-based transport of food that might otherwise go to waste.
LA public art project, Fallen Fruit, started by mapping public fruit–fruit trees growing in or over public property. Since then, the interests of this Meshy project “have expanded from mapping public fruit to include Public Fruit Jams in which we invite the citizens to bring homegrown or public fruit and join in communal jam-making; Nocturnal Fruit Forages, nighttime neighborhood fruit tours; Community Fruit Tree Plantings on the margins of private property and in community gardens; Public Fruit Park proposals in Hollywood, Los Feliz and downtown LA; and Neighborhood Infusions, taking the fruit found on one street and infusing it in alcohol to capture the spirit of the place.”
