Humanvalues Weblog

Hello, Federal Communications Commission, are you protecting the People? Or corporate interests?

This message is to encourage others to communicate with the FCC on this last day for testimony.

The voices of the American People must not be stifled! The only way that our voices can be heard is through Public Access availability and through Community, Local Government, state Government, and Local Origination programming, where information and ideas can truly be shared.

The ideal of Democracy, and the ideal of Freedom, so cherished in this country and which has served as a model over the past sixty years for newly emerging Nations, is being completely thwarted by corporate rule over Radio and Television. Except for C-Span, bless their hearts, which records gavel to gavel coverage of important meetings of Congress, the public is exposed to, not the entire discussions or arguments, but selected sound bites that fit into the corporate best-interest mold.

Those few reporters who deviate from this filtering of the “News” that will be presented to the American public, find themselves out of a job! Bill Moyers is one of my heroes; he shares my conviction that people are more important than profits! Look what happened to him! Too Lefty? Ha! Consider the great segment of the American Public who agree with his views? What happens to them? Who speaks for them? We need Public Access on Cable channels so we can speak to each other!

The Network pundits present a gamut of opinion from A-to-B, as the saying goes; we get a broad range of spokespersons from the ultra-right/war mongers to the right-right/corporate kissies, supposedly for the purpose of enlightening the American Public as to what is going on in the world. How will they learn what damage US foreign and domestic policies are doing watching/listening to lies? Goebbels was the first to use this technique; laxity of the FCC, has allowed the corporate media to perfect It!

The FCC, from 1934, that was supposed to be the watchdog protecting the “Airwaves that belong to the American People,” has become the lapdog of Corporate power. What did you guys do? We used to have equal access to rebut allegations made on Radio/TV. No more! There used to be requirements to prevent consolidation of media in a single market; now Newspaper/Radio/TV can speak with one voice in Cowpattie, PA, and the local folks don’t know the difference! What happened to divestiture?

Some of us watch foreign TV to get the REAL NEWS! The FCC has sold off the Birthright of the American Public to the HIGHEST BIDDERS! Of course, you are being pressured to release companies from any obligation to enter into contracts with local governments! They want access to the consumers without any obligation! They want to sell us their garbage, filled with “lowest common denominator” programming, riddled with unconscionable violence and inane titillation. They’ll make more profit!

This technology of Radio and TV has the potential, along with the potential of the Internet, to help the People of Earth recognize that they are more alike than they are different. With ETHICAL and HUMANISTIC programming that has intellectual content, and an anti-chauvinistic, truly ecumenical world view it can help to generate a Culture of Peace. If there were Peace in the world…the bomb builders and the bomb droppers and the planners of bomb targets would all have to get honest jobs and learn how to earn ethical livings, wouldn’t they? Perhaps this Anti-Corporate consideration is seen to be THE GREATEST THREAT TO THOSE WHO WANT YOU TO ELIMINATE PUBLIC ACCESS!
HELLO, FCC MEMBERS! PLEASE HELP?! SAVE PUBLIC ACCESS!

This appeal is from:
Beth K. Lamont, Humanist Chaplain, American Humanist Association, NGO Representative to the United Nations, and Producer of Manhattan Neighborhood Network Cable Access Program “Here & Now,” since 1984.

Ambassador Bolton! We hear you’re a Kick-Ass, Get-Things-Done Guy! Also, we heard that you are very interested in the architecture of the U.N.
This is really great news! Because, here’s what we want you to do:

First, arrange to add 10 more floors to the U.N. to accommodate the additional services that are needed for new Programs to Protect the Peoples of Earth from the Scourge of War! Then please do the following:

1. Dismantle the obsolete, so-called U.N. Security Council and its veto power, wherein a few powerful nations hold the rest of the world hostage! This body “Secures” only the perpetuation of inequitable and unethical power in the hands of the few. These hands have proven to be untrustworthy. Even the proposed expansion of this U.N. Branch, a move toward more power-sharing, will merely enhance its chauvinistic dominance over the majority of Earth’s People. It is time to put an end to this tyrannical situation. The Security Council was created 60 years ago in a completely different dynamic when fewer Nations were involved. It is a relic of the U.N.’s founding that is no longer relevant. Now there are 191 Nations in place to take full responsibility for solving Earth’s problems and creating Peace. Ambassador Bolton, if you absolutely insist on dismantling something, please start with the U.N. Security Council?

2. Help to create a new kind of U.N. Peacekeeping: A Standing Regional Intervention Peace Force, under the direction of the U.N. Secretary General, with the authority to exercise a new Responsibility to Protect. Kofi Annan, (who shall be accorded proper respect) has declared that the U.N. has a mandate to assume the responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves, those who are the helpless victims of war and aggression! He has pledged that there must never be another Rwanda! But, what do we have today? Sudan, Congo, Iraq, and what’s next? Iran? Think of this: the U.N. is criticized for non-intervention; this automatically implies that the world EXPECTS it has an obligation to intervene! We, of Civil Society agree! But critics do not understand that Kofi Annan has no Executive Power to do so! This power presently rests with the inconsistent Security Council. The same Council that is arbitrary and capricious, depending on “whose ox is being gored!” The original mandate for the U.N. was to protect the Peoples of Earth from the Scourge of War! Ambassador Bolton, after sixty preliminary years, it’s high time that we start protecting!

3. Help to create a new U.S. Humanitarian “Police” Force. If the U.S. feels that its role must be to police the world, then let it be for the purpose of protecting victims, not creating them! The natural corollary of such intervention would be the delivery of humanitarian aide to victims. Ambassador Bolton, what do you say? How about recruiting idealistic young people of the U.S. for such a noble role? Many of them have begun to recognize that a strictly military response serves only to exacerbate the problems with which we must deal. Veterans who’ve had a belly-full of lies and killing in behalf of the U.S. military will tell you! Ask one who has held the lifeless mangled body of a buddy or an “enemy combatant” that is only a child. If the U.S. had gone into Baghdad with only food and medicine, rather than despicable “shock and awe” bombing, our presence there would not have become a recruitment for “insurgents” and an influx of “terrorists.” Americans used to think of themselves as the Good Guys who would come to the rescue! Ambassador Bolton, we’re asking for your help in figuring this out. Let’s get it straight once and for all: Who are the Good Guys? Who are the Bad guys? And by what criteria is one expected to judge anymore?

4. Help to finance Humanitarian Aide by taxing the instruments of war! How can we pay for such an Intervention Peace Force? How will we pay for humanitarian aide? It’s very simple! Brazil’s President, Luiz Inacio da Silva, along with Jacques Chiraq, France’s President, proposed a perfect solution for raising the money needed to implement the humanitarian programs needed by the U.N. The solution is to impose a worldwide TAX ON ARMAMENTS! This tax could be extended to include manufacture of, sale of, purchase of, transfer of, all guns and military equipment and paraphernalia, tanks, military planes, all bombs, landmines, all potential death-making machines, especially all weapons of “mass destruction.” Such a tax would certainly take a big bite out of the profit of the war industry. The mercenary proliferation of the instruments of war are contrary to the best interests of the People of Earth. Who benefits? Corporate war-profiteers! No one else! The United Nations, in the best interest of the Peoples of Earth, must one day begin to deal with the unethical principles and irresponsibility involved in this, the creation of bullets and bombs, the sole purpose of which is to kill human beings. Ambassador Bolton, where do you stand? With the proliferators of death machines? Or with their victims? It can’t be both! An entrenched, traditional military response to crises serves only to exacerbate the problems we must deal with. We can learn responses that are more creative and life-affirming. Ambassador Bolton, if we invest in war, and we prepare for war, we will make war! Help the Nations of Earth to promote and invest in Peaceful pursuits instead!

5. Support the Millennium Development Goals! Children are starving! Ambassador Bolton, what will you do about starvation? Have you been sent to the U.N. to threaten to withhold the U.S.’s share of support for the Millennium Development Goals? When children are dying by the thousands every day from hunger, malnutrition, preventable disease, no clean water, from the lack of something as cheap as mosquito netting that could prevent malaria deaths, there is no justifiable excuse for the U.S. to turn its back on them! It is unethical and inexcusable to skimp or give niggling amounts to this effort. The relatively un-ambitious goal of just cutting hunger in half by the year 2015 will not be met, according to recent estimates on the lack of progress; we are going backwards, instead of forward! Ambassador Bolton, please support and sign-on to our obligation regarding the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.

   In order to reach the Millennium Development Goals by the year 2015, the industrialized Nations must increase their contributions to 0.44% of their Gross National Product starting in 2006. What actually is the amount of the GDP of the U.S. for 2005? Wall Street can help you out with these calculations. Ambassador Bolton, if you are a courageous man of integrity, do not allow yourself to be used as a tool of destruction. You can become a hero to all People of conscience and especially to the hungry of the World. We expect that you will do the conscientious thing: Hold your president’s feet to the fire and tell him to ante-up!

6. Affirm all treaties on Nuclear Non-Proliferation! Provide ethical world leadership! This is a crucial matter that the U.S. must face. Our foreign policy is extremely hypocritical, to say the least. We will invade a sovereign country simply with the allegation that they have the potential to create various “weapons of mass destruction,” and proceed to threaten those nations that wish to belong to the most powerful “Nuclear Club,” while, we ourselves, refuse to provide ethical leadership in preventing the further proliferation of our own nuclear weapons of mass destruction! The US opened the Pandora’s Box of unethical use of Atomic power; the U.S. has a moral obligation to forbid its further use for weapons by any Nation, and to slam the lid shut! Nuclear weapons must be located, accounted for, and verifiably dismantled. All weapons-grade fissionable material must be rendered harmless, and the by-products, such as depleted uranium, must not be used in weaponry because of its lasting damage to human health and the environment. Furthermore, weapons must not be placed in space. Ambassador Bolton, this Earth needs a Non-Nuclear Club! Start one!

7. Sign the Document supporting the already up-and-running International Criminal Court! Hundreds of activists and organizations in the U.S., along with representatives of many other nations, worked diligently to help design and perfect this instrument of justice to end age-old impunity to prosecution by perpetrators of genocide and war crimes. It is an insult to the International Community that endorses the Court, for the U.S. to have refused, first of all, to approve the Rome Statute, stating that it would interfere with military obligations of the U.S., and then, to Un-sign the document after President Clinton had given it his approval before leaving office. No U.N. document had ever before been Un-signed by any Nation. Ambassador Bolton, where were you when the U.S. went around bribing and coercing 80-some Nations to sign non-extradition treaties? We required of each a promise to not cooperate with the International Criminal Court if the U.S. were charged with war crimes. This seems to be a morally culpable indication that we were, still are, and even further, plan to continue being, in violation of the tenets of this Court. If the U.S. is ever to regain a shred of respect in the world community, especially when it covets a world leadership position, pretending to promote democracy, it is nothing but hypocrisy, if we do not endorse the International Criminal Court!

8. Renounce “Free Trade!” Economic aggression is just another kind of war that is being waged against the Peoples of Earth! There is a great deal of confusion over terms. What is the meaning of Free? It sounds great! It brings to mind the right of an individual to freely express a preference for a political system or an economic structure. Not so in the case of Free Trade! Ambassador Bolton, what is being pawned off in the guise of Free Trade, is actually economic colonialism and a form of ruthless capitalism. The corporate world is free to grind up workers and resources in its machinery, and freely, as well as callously and indifferently, spit them out in order to maintain profitability. Sure, the workers are free also! Free to eat out of garbage cans! Free to starve to death and to die of preventable illnesses! Free to be uneducated! Free to have their lands polluted! Free to be exploited as slave labor or worse, be murdered for labor-organizing!

9. Help to modify the World Trade Organization, and its Regional counterparts. They are engaged in unscrupulous, coercive, anti-democracy, anti-labor, anti-human rights, and anti-environment practices that dominate the most vulnerable Peoples of Earth and their natural resources and assets. For instance: anytime that a local government, concerned with its fishing industry, cannot cancel a previously and mistakenly entered-into-contract with off-shore oil drillers, without incurring a fine from the governing body of the WTO, which is greater than its gross national product, the antithesis of democracy is at work. Or anytime that a host country must abide by a contract to bring out its own police force to quell its own people’s labor dispute against a foreign corporate exploiter, you will see the antithesis of local democracy and of collective bargaining. It is union-busting! If the host country does not quell the strike, it can be charged and fined for the unforgivable crime of “interrupting profit-making!” Ambassador Bolton! These coercive practices must cease! Free trade is the wrong word; it needs to become FAIR trade. Any World Trade regulating body must have only democratically elected officers who can be withdrawn by the People. And those officers must be required to hold corporations to universal standards of human rights, and of internationally accepted labor practices, and environmental protocols. Consideration of the human values involved and of Earth’s shared-in-common goods, such essentials as air, water or forests, must always prevail over the claims of stock shareholders and the myopic “false profit” called the bottom line.

10. Sign the Kyoto Protocol! Global Warming is disturbing the Earth’s weather patterns, no matter how vigorously corporation-scientists deny that there’s a problem. We industrial Nations and our greenhouse gases are destroying mother Earth in demonstrable and observable ways right in our lifetimes; not in some distant predictable future! Ambassador Bolton, take steps to set standards to diminish the pollutants and destroyers of our environment, not tomorrow, but in order to stop pollution right now! Plan to diminish the use of non-renewable fuels; invest in solar, wind and water technologies. The ice caps are melting; the hole in the protective ozone layer keeps getting bigger. Flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, droughts, contamination of soil, pollution of air, spoiling of seas, waterways and marine life, are threatening life on Earth as we have come to know it. Ambassador Bolton, acknowledge that we are doing something very wrong! Please consult with the citizens of New Orleans! Will you ask their opinions? Provide leadership; sign the Kyoto Protocol!

11. While you’re at it, sign the Convention on the Rights of the Child! What an embarrassment! That the U.S., which purports to be a civilized Nation, will not sign a document agreeing with all other Nation’s concerns that children must be accorded basic human rights to water, to food, shelter, medical care, to education, to the right not to be abused, executed, sold, or conscripted into military, sexual or economic exploitation. Tell us, Ambassador Bolton, what part of sign-the-document do you not understand?

12. Support Civil Society and respect its concerns! This is the new collective name for Non-Governmental Organizations at the U.N., the issue-oriented groups that work to alert the world about, and to influence decisions on, various matters pertaining to every imaginable problem on Earth. Mostly international in scope, their focus is not necessarily bounded by sovereign state’s borders, but deal instead with the issues that transcend arbitrary boundary lines; issues like Peace, poverty, pollution, banning of land mines, refugees, immigration, labor standards, human rights, slavery of children and women, torture and abuse, or epidemics like Aids that can affect all Peoples of Earth. Some of these organizations are much older than the U.N. itself, yet we are shunted to a peripheral role, of little notice or consequence. We require the respect of a Civil Society Home of our own at the U.N. The Trusteeship Council Chamber is now mostly unused; more than a hundred Nations have passed through this Chamber in seeking their independence from colonial Nations. It now can be put to appropriate use, becoming the Civil Society Council Chamber! Ambassador Bolton, please help the NGOs that represent Civil Society obtain the use of this chamber?

13. Help establish appropriate respect for the U.N. We NGOs are charged with the responsibility of promoting the U.N. to our constituencies. The new World Wide Web presence for U.N. information is excellent, but it is available to only a self-selected portion of the public. NGOs envision the dissemination of information about the efforts and the accomplishments of the U.N. and its day-to-day agenda, by the method that average Americans obtain their news: by Television in the 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week fashion of a U.N. C-Span. It is essential that it be available right here in the U.S., the most powerful Nation on Earth, and whose citizens consume the greatest amount of Earth’s resources, and who cause the greatest amount of pollution and desecration of the ecosystem of our endangered Planet. The Citizens of the U.S. have little knowledge of the United Nations or its value or its potential. They are taught by the corporate media to scoff and fear, in sound-bites that denigrate, urging replacement of its heroic Secretary General, and crying scandal, merely to discredit it. How can the Citizens of the U.S. possibly begin to understand that this amazing organization, envisioned and created 60 years ago, and dedicated to the protection of the Peoples of Earth from the Scourge of War, is their best hope for Peace on Earth? Ambassador Bolton, don’t undermine the United Nations; help us to sustain it and promote it, for all the world to witness. Help us to realize its potential for peaceful deliberations among Nations, and to celebrate its 60th anniversary, respecting the progress that it has made.

14. Help the U.S. to be a leader in the promotion of Peace by earnest and respectful negotiations, and by renouncing lawlessness on the world stage, thereby easing the perceived need for military might. Millions, perhaps a majority, of U.S. Taxpayers, the very conveyors of “family values,” immersed as they are in the struggles of balancing their own budgets, simply cannot be oblivious to the total insanity of the U.S. war-focused budget. Especially knowing that we are less safe now than ever! Ambassador Bolton, you surely recognize this insult, especially to our veterans! And what about the elderly, the homeless, ill, un-employed parents, under-funded schools and neglected children and hungry families right here at home? There’s something terribly wrong! What is going on here? Where is the money for needed social services? We NGOs will tell you where! Here is a practical lesson in family values, an example of kitchen-table budgeting. When your children are hungry and sick and under-educated, you don’t waste money on so-called “security measures” just because you fear that your neighbors might threaten you. You have finite resources; how will you spend them? You can borrow only as long as your credit lasts. Because you wish to appear strong and powerful and impenetrable, you can make a great show of guns, locks and barred windows, alarms, guards, vicious dogs, security systems, police protection, etc. spending the greater part of your focus and your budgetable income. With the little that is left, how will you sustain the life within your home? You simply cannot “serve up” a gun at the dinner table. Can you imagine such perverse “family values?” Such obsessively paranoid and totally insane bad budgeting is the absolute antithesis of family values! Instead of living in fear of them, you might try befriending your neighbors; invite them to a party; take your kids shopping at the grocery store, take them to the clinic, to the school, to the library. Your children are your future. Teach them to respect others. Give them reasons to enjoy life! Do you understand this kitchen-table budget analogy?

15. Help to bring respectful resolution to the extremely complicated and seemingly unsolvable dilemmas of self-determination, and of disputed lands. The People themselves must have the right, through a democratic process, to determine their own leadership. And as for disputed lands, the U.S., along with the inconsistent U.N. Security Council, has been in-cahoots with certain political entities that have a “god-given claim” to such lands. We admonish you: listen to the voices of all the occupants in such a dispute, and to protect all! The Native Peoples of the North and South American continent have much to say about such prior claims! If the U.S. champions the right of any Peoples to claim prior ownership of disputed lands, especially those who have long been persecuted, even decimated, over the centuries, we ask you, Ambassador Bolton, to be consistent and to consider also the plight of Native Americans right here at home!

Well, Ambassador Bolton, this is enough for a starter. If you can accomplish all of these assignments right here at the U.N. in New York City by January 2006, and express willingness to take on a second round of assignments, you will have the undying devotion and admiration of the Peace People of the World, but we must warn you: you’ll sure shock the sox off of all the war mongers, the religious nuts, and all of the corporate profiteers in Washington DC!

Good Luck to you! Have courage, Ambassador Bolton, to make changes that benefit the People of Earth!

For additional information on the UN General Assembly 2005 World Summit, September 14 thru 16, 2005 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, please visit the following page on the U.N. Web site.

2005 World Summit (14-16 September 2005)
http://www.un.org/ga/59/hl60_plenarymeeting.html

“Step away from the Keyboard! Hands in the air!”

The whole scenario races through my mind. The Blog Squad of the Anti-Terrorist Security Forces bursts in the door to arrest me. I’m protesting, “What’d I do? What’d I do? Why are you arresting me?” One of the growling military types smacks me with his AK47, knocking me to the floor, and snarls,” Don’t play innocent with me, you subversive sonofabitch! We know what you’ve been doing!”

Two of them carry my computer out the door. They swarm all over, ransacking my place looking for arms and explosives and Damn! They find my stash! “No! No!” I plead! “Don’t confiscate my chocolate!” (It’s my one and only, single, uncontrollable addiction). “We’re taking you to the Anti-Terrorist Security Center; we found your Blog on the Internet! You are guilty of criticizing the government! This kind of terrorist activity is now under our control! You will be nullified and rendered powerless!”

“What about my rights? Aren’t you supposed to read me my rights?” I scream, struggling to stand up. The one who knocked me down sneered, “You are a terrorist…you don’t deserve any rights! You bet, I’ll read to you! I’ll just read the charges against you. I’ll read every single word. These charges are serious and there are a lot of them. You are charged with the following crimes:

1. Stating that the most destructive and terrible anti-human force in the world today is the U.S. Military;
2. Stating that George Bush is an arrogant, lying, warmonger, who should be charged with War Crimes;
3. Stating that the whole Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld administration is a bunch of lying, arrogant, warmongers, who should all be charged with War Crimes;
4. Stating that Condoleeza Rice, who also lies, is not a fit person to head the U.S. State Department or to represent the US to other Nations around the World;
5. Stating that John Negroponte, is not a fit person to head the new, combined security forces, and also should be charged with War Crimes for his stint in Central America;
6. Stating that John Bolton is not a fit person to represent the US at the United Nations, inasmuch as he does not respect the institution, worse, is dedicated to destroying it; and
7. Stating that Paul Wolfowitz is not a fit person to head the World Bank, inasmuch as he views the world in Machiavellian terms of domination and power, shrugging off “collateral damage,” rather than viewing the world with decent, respectful, humanistic and humanitarian considerations of what measures will ease the suffering of the tortured, hungry, homeless, sick, oppressed human beings on the face of this war torn, ecologically doomed, planet. …..End of charges.”

Well, at least I was quoted correctly, I feel a little sense of relief!

I’m struggling against the handcuffs and feeling panicky. “Hey! Wait a minute!” I holler. “This is a democracy; don’t you know that? We have the right in this land of the free, to criticize the government; we have the right, even the obligation, to speak out and object to heinous crimes that are being committed in our name, in the name of the citizens of the US!

Don’t you know that George Bush is asserting that he’s bringing democracy to repressed citizens in other countries? Don’t you know these things? Where are you from? What the hell do you think democracy is all about? It’s the right of the people to know what’s going on, even to demand to know what’s going on, and to take responsibility to warn, when things are going wrong. What do you think we’re supposed to do? Sit on our assets and let everything that we believe in…the whole freakin’ American Dream, be destroyed by madmen who have taken control of our country?”

“Shut up, bitch! You’re in trouble enough already. Now we’ll get you for resisting arrest!” the leader snarls, grabbing me and forcing me toward the door. My eyes fall on the framed parchment copy of the Bill of Rights that hangs near the door. “See that document on the wall?” With my hands behind my back, I’m trying to gesture toward it; I’m screaming, “It’s the Bill of Rights. Article 1. says that Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech or of the press. Article 4. says that people have a right to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, and a warrant shall only be issued upon probable cause.”

“I told you to shut up, bitch!” He slams me forward and I’m literally and figuratively banging my head against the wall and The Bill of Rights, which crashes to the floor. As I’m dragged out the door I hear the crunch of the broken glass as boots stomp across the parchment page.

(fade to black)

Who was it, some Senator? I heard the other day that one fearful official or another was warning about those dangerous bloggers, and pledging to take action to bring them under control. It really freaked me out!

But then, I got to thinking about it. In the face of that feeling of despair that many of us share, that I’ve even described as the futility of the times, I suddenly felt very powerful…and proud of the new technology that belongs to the people. Click here to PUBLISH for all the world to see.

Nearly 60 years ago, when the United Nations was formed in 1945, a few key action phrases from the Preamble of its Charter clearly stated the intent of those gathered there with a new vision of peace in their hearts:

We the Peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, …and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, …have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims.

The very word save denotes the ability to protect or preserve, and although this may have been the original intent, and this organization of sovereign states has accomplished astoundingly beneficial changes, the sad truth is, that in all of the intervening years, no constant and effective mechanism has ever yet been established for the purpose of actually saving any succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

After Rwanda, a swift and deadly genocide of thousands of helpless people, the United Nations was called into question. Where were the rescuers when rescue was needed? The question, itself, became its own mandate. The world now expects the UN to come to the rescue and take responsibility to save those who are in danger. This is almost a pivotal point in UN history! Previous to this horrendous slaughter 10 years ago, all “Peacekeeping” forces had been dispatched only by the UN Security Council, episodically, into situations of varying degrees of intensity and complexity, always subject to very inequitable political influences, with no long-range plan, no accomplishment goals and no real exit strategy. Any successes were remarkable. No constant, and inflexible definition of danger to a helpless population had yet been established as the criteria for action.

New principles have now been set forth in a report entitled The Responsibility to Protect issued by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty, with the support of the Government of Canada. Kofi Annan, himself, in observing the sad anniversary of Rwanda, and then of the Holocaust, declared that human beings must never again suffer such atrocities. He affirmed that we, the International Community have a Responsibility to Protect.

The Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty made many recommendations; one is for permanent Regional Directors, who will be issued the authority to take immediate action. There should be a stand-by, quickly available intervention force, both military and humanitarian, assigned to the region. Instead of trying to solicit funding from various entities before any response can be made, there must be funds readily available for executing rehearsed contingency plans to protect civilians who are threatened, focusing on preventing further bloodshed. Another recommendation is for the Regional Director to be the single centralized authority for coordinating the efforts and activities of humanitarian organizations; there can be great counter-productive confusion over which agency is in charge. As additional funding becomes available it should be funneled into the Regional Director’s agency for the purpose of prioritizing and consolidating efforts so that the funds will be allocated most effectively. Some disasters are well publicized and civilian response may be tremendous; the response to the disastrous tsunami, for instance; while on the other hand, some humanitarian disasters are less known and receive less response; some can even be totally ignored, or worse, denied, which is another matter. How can the International Community respond to a disastrous situation that is denied by local governing bodies when witness testimony indicates otherwise!

But it has now been firmly established that the International Community has a “responsibility to protect” the world’s populations from genocide and other humanitarian crises even when states are unwilling or unable to protect their citizens. The responsibility to protect means that no state can hide behind the concept of sovereignty while it conducts - or permits - widespread harm to its population. Determining how this new mandate will be played out as it begins to be implemented makes for a defining milestone in human history. This means that the safety of human beings is, for the first time ever, a consideration to weigh in the balance against super-sanct sovereignty of nations. Another milestone is, of course, the founding of the International Criminal Court; a body that is dedicated to ending the impunity of individual perpetrators of heinous crimes against humanity and genocide. The concepts of protection, justice and punishment for wrongdoing seem so elementary, ideally taught as basic family values and reflective of life in the local community. The taking of such responsibility in the International Community is centuries overdue; how amazing to witness this mark of human progress.

Now at last the humanitarian disaster in the Darfur region of Sudan is getting attention. The U.N. Security Council in September authorized, under resolution 1564, the establishment of an international commission of inquiry to investigate serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law committed there. The Security Council was urged by Human Rights Watch to refer the commission’s findings to the International Criminal Court to help ensure justice for the serious crimes committed in Darfur.

As a result of this sequence of events a whole new dynamic is emerging. The United States supports action against the Sudanese government for allowing/supporting the atrocities against its people in the Darfur region. This is commendable. However, the US has placed itself in a very awkward position. How can it agree to use an institution that it fears? The present administration does not approve of the International Criminal Court, even moving to UN-sign the document that President Clinton had signed. They fear correctly that US personnel may be vulnerable to charges/ Not as a result of political manipulation as they anticipate, but of indisputable fact.

The US is suggesting instead that an ad hoc court be created for the sole purpose of trying Sudan. If this attempt prevails, it will certainly avoid the embarrassing issue. This old power play may create some interesting new alliances among the other Security Council States. Time will tell. The other point of contention/uncertainty is the definition of genocide. Has willful (meaning intent) targeting of a specific people for the purpose of causing their extinction occurred? What is the criteria for determining intent? Perhaps this is a matter for the Court itself to decide upon completing an investigation. What is the trigger condition that activates a UN response?

Meanwhile, human progress is taking place before our very eyes. I personally, am feeling very aware of this dichotomous situation. I have been bemoaning the extraordinary powers assumed by the US Executive Branch of government. I believe that deranged individuals have taken control of the US Presidency, and that they have an overwhelming influence upon the other branches of government. What has happened to this precious nation that we believed to be a democracy? Or, if not yet a democracy, then at least a republic, but a country in which the people had a voice in its major decisions. Not so, any more. So, on one hand, I distrust executive power, knowing in my heart that every decision taken by this administration is the wrong one…emanating from a very flawed philosophy. To see enemies all around us, is paranoia. To respond to difficult situations that demand diplomacy with deadly force instead, believing that shock and awe can make anything better instead of worse, is the most asinine faulty reasoning one can ever imagine. As a staunch Humanist I’m firmly convinced that this kind of fanaticism is from basic character flaws…gullibility and resultant illogical reasoning. If the good hearted well-meaning sensible American People with their touted power of Freedom do not gain control of their touted Democracy, we will, in the eyes of the rest of the world, be as guilty as they are. The paradox that I am seeing in the matter of executive power is that the United Nations has been handicapped by the lack of it! The structure of the institution needed reassessment and revision from the beginning. The one certain reason that wars and aggression have been allowed to prevail has been all of the power posturing among nations, with no executive branch to counter balance and to say “Stop!” In the person of Kofi Annan as its Secretary General, I will trust executive power of the United Nations because I believe in the principles to which it is dedicated. I trust his judgment as being in the best interest of the many, especially the vulnerable, rather than the few who flout military power and promote hypocrisy in the guise of democracy.

Civil society, the NGOs, and the various institutions of law and ethics and conscience must speak out in support of the United Nations at this pivotal time, and in behalf of the Responsibility to Protect if we are to become a more civilized human species. There is a call to the international community to take early and effective action to protect the world’s citizens. The Responsibility to Protect-Engaging Civil Society project (R2P-CS) is building a network of NGOs that seek widespread acceptance of these principles. Visit the Web site for information on how to take action.

Of the other issues that concerned citizens of the World are addressing, one of the most urgent is to raise people’s consciousness about the UN Millennium Goals, those of eradicating hunger, poverty, unemployment, lack of education and health care, discrimination against women, and lack of basic rights of the child to adequate protection and nurturing.

Another matter for consciousness raising is the unconcern by industrial nations, chiefly you-know-who, with the conditions that are destroying our environment and causing the unnatural devastation of global warming.

Overriding and influencing all of these concerns are the issues of weapons, (regardless of the hype on the danger of WMDs…all armaments are capable of the mass destruction of human beings); the fact that many corporations are more wealthy and powerful than most nations, and are infamous for generating exploitive labor conditions; and the inequities in the International Banking systems that promote hopeless debtor conditions among those nations most needful of help and least able to pay high interest rates.

We know of several responses to some of these prevailing problems that concerned citizens are working on. Corporate power can be curtailed by the states in which they are incorporated, by state-mandated inclusion of phrases in the corporate papers that make adherence to international standards regarding human rights, labor practices, concern for the environment, concern for common community values, etc. required.

Another effort that concerned citizens can pursue is advocating a new head of the World Bank. The term of the current president is about to expire. A person with experience in a developing nation, intimately familiar with its problems might be a good choice. Worth exploring anyway. Suggestions?

President Lula DaSilva of Brazil has the perfect two-pronged solution to one of the greatest plagues on Earth. His plan could be the best way of raising capital for humanitarian projects ever devised: TAX ARMAMENTS! If the manufacture, sale, transfer, purchase, even trade of all kinds of weapons were taxed, and the power to inspect and enforce such an international law were voted upon by the UN General Assembly and such law came into force, we citizens of earth will have achieved the ultimate victory. The cats at their convention dealing with problem of the danger posed by the cat, cheered at the suggestion of putting a warning bell on the cat. But then, it occurred to them that someone (who?) would have to do it! Dear fellow peace lovers: I can’t think of a better way to begin to control the menace of weapons. Can you? May peace prevail.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born a few months before I was. His resounding and inspiring voice was cruelly snuffed out in the ascendancy of his career. I’ve been privileged to live into the present day. I salute his memory, his wisdom, his experiences, his leadership, and his ability to inspire new generations beyond his living years. Those of us who identify with his message recognize that we share his dream.

I did not live most of his experiences, completely immersed in my own struggles, yet I empathize, even feel the impact of the reality that he lived. I was not permeated with religious faith. This must be very important to believe strongly in a better place, somewhere, someday, because the struggle against the day to day here and now adversity that we encounter is so powerful and even, perhaps, so hopeless. Faith for me was less essential. I knew little adversity; just normal WPA depression upbringing. I didn’t feel subjected to any discrimination, much less fear or suspicion or hatred.

I sang with the other Presbyterian Sunday Schoolers, “We are precious in His sight: red and yellow, black and white.” Diversity made sense to me. I grieved for and prayed for my Japanese schoolmates who had been whisked off to the Tulelake internment camp. I lived in a multicultural neighborhood, and chose my friends for their compatibility and similar interests. We focused a lot on the environment at our John Muir School which especially inspired respect for the endangered Redwoods. I still share, along with millions of others, concern about the plight of endangered mother earth.

Respect is the keyword! This is perhaps the most important word of all. It comes before Peace! It comes before Liberty or Justice or Freedom or Rights! Before all of the ideals to which we aspire! More than love and caring and compassion. The first thing that must be established in one’s heart and mind is to respect others for the individuals that they are, and to acknowledge their right to be themselves and to live in peace, unmolested, and allowed to follow their own dream. If only each of us could accord all others this basic right we would indeed have peace on earth.

Unfortunately, the powerful do not see it this way. The key word for them is not respect; it is control! I am cringing with shame at the behavior of the U.S. Government: of the Bush administration, most particularly! I am ashamed that the Bushites and corporations are spending millions of dollars on an inaugural gala while millions of people in this country and around the world suffer and do without. This is absolutely without decency or conscience!

And those of us who would protest this shameful extravagance will not be heard! We are to be barricaded away from the celebration for fear that we will disrupt the disgusting proceedings. Let’s hear it for respect! Where should respect begin? With the people? With the leadership?

I have a dream! My dream is also, as Martin proclaimed, that people are recognized for the content of their character, and not for the color of their skin, but more than that! They must be recognized for the truth of their voices! They must be recognized just because they are human beings upon this earth, deserving of respect. There must be first of all…respect. Kofi Annan says we have an obligation to respect the rights of those who are endangered. The hungry must be respected! The threatened must be respected! The unemployed, the homeless, the ill, the uneducated. Respect must include the right of self-determination for all of the peoples of the world. Nature itself is devastating enough; why must human beings plague other human beings? This is shameful, immoral!

My dream is that respect will at last permeate all of the lands, and all of the hearts in this world, beginning with the hearts of persons who are attending the out-of-context, incongruous, Washington, DC spectacle, almost in the very spot from which you made your famous speech. This shameful spectacle is sticking like an arrogant finger in the eye of the watching world.

I, too, have a dream, Martin! I salute you! And I salute all dreamers of your dream! May your dream and mine, and the dreams of all of us lovers of peace and happiness come true!. But first of all, may our dreams of respect for ourselves and for all the other people on the face of this earth come true. This is where it will begin.

An abiding dilemma for Humanists who are in the “ecumenical” position of working closely with people of all faiths, is how patient and understanding we need to be in our relationships with the rest of the world. There is the especially perplexing dilemma of how tolerant to be of other’s intolerance. An old and reliable admonition that flashes in my head like neon, simply states: Do not alienate those whom you might persuade!

Those of us who are working toward a goal with other dedicated activists, are often in the position of censoring our own comments so as not to blow away our colleagues. We understand so very well that the only way that this old world is ever going to improve at all, is through cooperation and respect among those of all beliefs, cultures, and traditions, so simply out of respect for these differences, we may find ourselves limiting our own exercise of free speech. I say to myself: Try not to criticize! Be constructive! You know, the old…don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater routine. Do the Mommy-thing: encourage others to become aware and involved in the project or activity at hand. This is all well and good for the shared goal…up to a point!

But what can we say or do about those practices and beliefs that are completely beyond comprehension? How long to ignore or look away, or bite your tongue, and wish that you didn’t have to know or feel this shame or anger. How can we contain our anger at those who refuse to acknowledge and respond to whatever “emergency” we may be dealing with. I picture some of us bailing frantically in our sinking ship, while some of our fellow passengers are outright denying that the water’s even rising, and treat our concern with contempt, while still others feel there’s no need for them to worry because god will save them. Yet we can’t simply write-off those whose beliefs clearly endanger us; we share our sinking lifeboat with them! Not only will they not bail, some are even shooting more holes in the boat!

No wonder we get frantic and impatient! They’ve got to come to their senses! How can we get them to come around to the logic of our way of thinking? How can we get them to recognize the real danger that we’re in, instead of their mistaken constructs of how to deal with world problems? How can we persuade the powerful to relinquish a portion of their power? How can we intervene to stop the inhumane militarized mentality that prevails on this Earth? How to stop bullying, hatred, murder, torture, ignorance, greed? Then how to stop fear and hunger and homelessness?

Our expectations that those in power will recognize their errors and set about correcting the horrible mistakes that they’ve set in motion are continually dashed in disappointment. What a shock it can be to learn that those whose opinions you might once have valued, no longer meet your standards or your expectations. You can shrug off the stupidity of a stranger, but what an extra shock when a member of the clan or the club fails you. That really angers you; how could they be so stupid? Perhaps it’s human nature for us to expect those closest to us to think and behave “normally” as we do; they, of all people in the whole world, should know better!

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the several Humanist Manifestos say it all! What more is there to ask than respect for all human beings and life on Earth? So then we’re back to the issue of needing to respect our differences: a principle which is essential to our own integrity and our own code of ethics.

We feel the urgency for making changes, but this heavy responsibility is indeed fraught with complex dilemmas. When shall we be courageous and uncompromising? When shall we be patient and conciliatory? Speak-up! Shut-up! The ideals of freedom of speech and democratic participation are precious and need to be fostered and protected, but unless they get a lot of exercise, they’re going to get flabby. We will no longer be able to protect these freedoms.

Those of you who recognize this syndrome of self-censorship may remember that in your first declarations of independent thinking you drew negative responses, even shock or derision from more traditional relatives or co-workers. You gathered courage over a period of time to begin to articulate the logic of your point of view more persuasively, and perhaps learned that some even agreed with you in your Humanistic values. And what a joy it is to connect with like-minded truth-seekers! To find others who reject the so-called authority that is thrust upon us, and who acknowledge that the universe is indifferent to us and that it is up to us humans, ourselves, to create our own purpose and our own peace!

In the arrogance of my youth, I had pasted onto my old typewriter these marching orders: Words that might help to create Peace on Earth are trapped inside this machine! Get them out!

HOW WE FAILED TO INFLUENCE THE DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM

Faithful supporters of the Peace-People’s favorite candidate, Dennis Kucinich, went to Boston to try to be helpful in influencing the platform that we hoped was being hammered out by the delegates who had gathered there from across the nation. Little did we know that all the deciding had already been done!

We handed out leaflets, we participated in all of the demonstrations, we stood in line outside the entry to the convention hall with our posters, chanting slogans and trying to greet, and shake hands with the delegates as they entered the hall. We were promoting: immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and ending the war; getting out of NAFTA; health care for all Americans; establishing a Cabinet Level Department of Peace; equal rights for all persons; and support for the UN and the International Criminal Court. Was that too much to ask?

Well, obviously, it was! We spent the evenings watching TV programming of the day’s proceedings, and groaning in disbelief at the total disregard for any of the planks that we Peace-People were advocating for the Democratic platform. Although many of the delegates nodded affirmatively and appeared to agree with our appeals, some on the streets scowled at us with disdain, even contempt. One said: What are you guys? A bunch of Commies? We were too lefty. We were too socialistic. We were too liberal. We heard criticism of our “Un-American” attitude. We were not properly supporting our troops that were fighting for us, and fighting to preserve our freedom…even our freedom to criticize the government, one person scoldingly reminded me.

CONSOLING HUGS WERE IN ORDER; DENNIS PLEDGED SUPPORT FOR KERRY

And that was it; with sadness we trekked homeward to close ranks behind the Democrats, even though our hearts were heavy with our failure have our voices heard, and truths that we told went unheeded.

The lightest moment of the whole Boston saga, for me, was the sighting of a T-shirt that had me howling with gales of laughter, and that seemed to sum up our collective experience succinctly!

This was a drawing of two cows, standing up, facing each other, you know the way Gary Larson does his hilarious cartoons. I do not know if was originated by him, but it definitely was his style. And I’m improvising on the dialogue, because by now, I’ve told the story so many times and embellished it so, with my own emphasis and exaggeration, that I can’t actually remember just exactly what the T-shirt really did say, but this is the gist of it:

First cow says, “I just learned how they make hamburger!”

Second cow says, “Oh, mygod! You sound like a liberal, leftist, commie-pinko, conspiracy-theorist! Get a grip, Mabel!”

To me, this was the delicious ironic brilliant analysis of our whole truth-telling trip to Boston. It really was…a moooooving experience! So, moove over, Mabel. You’re not the only one; I, too, gotta learn to “get a grip!”

In their postmortem, the Democrats, still staggering from the sucker-punch are trying to figure out what hit them. We could have told them way back in Boston, that it was their betrayal of the principles of ethical, clear-thinking, peace-loving, traditional, down-to-earth Democrats that screwed things up. This, in addition to outright sabotage at the polls, of course. But they still haven’t got a clue! The present leaders of the Democratic Party still think Republican-lite is the way to go. I guess, that in order to be a Democrat these days, if I even wanted to anymore, according to their mind-boggling analysis, I’ll have to get religion, and learn to love the war, and give up the old politically incorrect L-word. I guess the new L-word must be Lite, as in Republican-Lite.

What a shame that the Democratic leadership didn’t heed some of the truth-tellers like Dennis Kucinich. Just imagine! Getting ground-up in all that political machinery! Tsk! What a waste!

It’s worse than we thought! These are not isolated incidents, or impulsive responses by frightened soldiers. We are witnessing WAR CRIMES! By anybody’s impartial evaluation, what we are seeing and hearing, in the videos referenced here, are wanton shocking murders of unarmed civilians. The victims definitely are not in combat mode, or posing any threat to the US military. The killings depicted here are calculated, even approved by superior officers, and appear to be part of the ruthless, unethical violations of international law that are being perpetrated by the US military in Iraq.

See these videos for yourself! Go to http://www.newsgateway.ca/multimedia.htm

Other Web sites that show and describe these atrocities are:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/video1043.htm and
http://www.globalresearch.ca/articles/BUN410A.html

MOST AMERICANS BELIEVE THAT WE ARE THE GOOD GUYS!

I used to believe that too, but I don’t anymore. Some of the American voices in the video clips are almost gleeful, as though they were playing an exciting video game. There is no excuse for this inhumane mindset. It seems that our service personnel have been brainwashed with the idea that all Iraqis are potential enemies, and that “we must kill them before they kill us.” Did somebody forget to tell them that we went over there to hmmm, let’s see, was it excuse number 2 or 3? I forgot which. Was it to save the Iraqi people and to liberate them from an evil dictator? Should our military be reminded that one of our reasons for going to Iraq was to introduce the Iraqis to freedom and democracy? Pardon my observation, but, what a crock! What a hoax!

POSSIBLE NEW US ATTORNEY GENERAL DEEMS GENEVA CONVENTION “QUAINT!”

And now it appears that the very individual who decided that the United States of America is above international law in general, and has no need in particular, to comply with the “quaint” and “obsolete” Geneva Convention laws that regulate the treatment of prisoners of war, is scheduled to be the new Attorney General of the US! I just cannot understand what is happening to this country! What an irony it is in this land of the Free and the home of the Brave, where we regularly celebrate our Rights to freedom of the press and information, etc. that we usually can’t find the truth in our own media.

LOOK TO FOREIGN MEDIA FOR MORE TRUTHFUL INFORMATION

Searching out international news can keep us better informed on what our own country is doing on the world scene. Accurate information can even more likely be found on the Internet. How is it that the public can stay so deceived? Many Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, and will even deride those who try to point out the erroneous connection. Much of the US media: print, radio and TV are churning out pure drivel, but even worse than the absence of truthful information, or of a researched, and even-handed presentation, they foist upon the public, malicious lies that constitute a designed deception and can certainly be used to denigrate an individual who has fallen into the disfavor of King George. Witness the plight of Kofi Annan.

THE SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES EDITORIAL PRESENTS OIL-FOR-FOOD PROGRAM FACTS IN A DIGNIFIED WAY

Also, the Financial Times of London has a lengthy, in depth and respectful interview with Kofi Annan, in which a very tactful Kofi Annan refrains from responding in-kind to his accusers. He is confident that the UN itself has not engaged in any misappropriation of the program’s funds, and he assures that he has not benefited financially from the handling of the funds. He says the investigation will reveal what went wrong, and the extent to which his son, who is also accused, might be involved.

From most every other media outlet there is a hostile blitz of accusations against the UN and its handling of the program designed to help feed the Iraqi people during the UN imposed sanctions. Some, like the National Review, go so far as to demand the resignation of Kofi Annan, and hold him personally responsible for the mishandling of billions that seem to have gone into unauthorized pockets. Time and patient investigation will eventually unravel the plot and disclose the wrongdoers, but meanwhile Kofi is calmly discussing the need for continuing reform of the UN’s structure.

HOW WILL “RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT” MESH WITH AGGRESSION AGAINST TERRORISTS?

Actually, if the US has its way, it would be a perfect fit! Here’s how it would work. First, the US identifies the errant nation, state, tribe, nuclear installation, political party, “other” religious organization, movement, suspicious village, etc. Then it coerces the UN into approving a preemptive strike against that body to prevent it from harming the rest of the world. The UN can authorize the US to wage a war of aggression on any offender. The US treats the offender with Shock and Awe to teach it a lesson, and Viola! The UN has taken Responsibility to Protect us all from the wrongdoer! What a perfect solution!

And never mind that there’s a recommendation to expand the UN Security Council. Advocates want to break-up the monopoly that this body has exercised for all of its years. But this will pose no threat to the US in its bid for world dominance, because any nations that are added to the Council will not share the present member’s veto power. Their presence and their votes in the Security Council won’t make a whit of difference. With greater control, the US won’t have to bad mouth the UN anymore or try to dismantle it. It will be completely subsumed under the auspices of the United States. Well, after all, the UN’s right here in New York. How appropriate! Forgive my sarcasm; anger seems to be egging me on.

What an embarrassment for this administration: the head of the organization representing the nations of the world, challenging US policies and daring to warn against attacking Fallujah. The Bush bunch was probably scrambling a bit trying to figure out how to deal with this world leader with the courage to criticize the US, and right here in the belly of the beast. Let’s charge him with corruption! That will work! We’ll watch this suspenseful development with great anxiety. Pitting courage and truth against arrogance and power. Who can guess how it will turn out!

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION IS CRITICAL

(Washington, DC) “At a time when the White House dismisses the role of the United Nations as irrelevant, the need for international cooperation is especially critical,” states Fred Edwords, Editorial Director of the American Humanist Association.

“Humanists recognize the need for stronger international responses and united actions to prevent and respond to crimes against humanity. The raging genocide in Darfur, Sudan, illustrates the need for a swift, strong, and just international response. The international rule of law must have a mechanism for evaluating potential acts of genocide and other preventable crimes against humanity,” adds Edwords.

HUMANISTS URGE U.S. TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT

In pursuit of establishing the highest ethical principles as standards for the international rule of law, the AHA urges the United States to join the International Criminal Court in a resolution passed this weekend. The International Criminal Court is vital to global justice and would enforce real consequences for crimes against humanity.

“In order for world peace to ever be realized a strong system of consequences must be implemented. The International Criminal Court sends the message to the world: that those involved will be held responsible for atrocities,” continues Edwords.

HUMANISTS SUPPORT U.N. MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

The AHA also unanimously passed a resolution in support of the UN Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs stand in stark contrast to the Bush Administration’s “go it alone strategy,” continues Edwords. The resolution states, “Humanists recognize that it’s the obligation of every nation to build a safer, more prosperous, and equitable world.” Even the U.S.’s MDG awareness campaign is largely faith-based and excludes family planning and reproductive health organizations. Furthermore, the Bush administration suggested that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, should take a reprieve from issuing grants. This action raises concerns that delaying funds to combat HIV/AIDS, which is one of the eight goals of the MDGs, will cost lives. “The MDGs represent the first step toward a world where the inherent worth and dignity is a real achievable objective for every person,” Edwords concludes.

Here are the resolutions:

AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION ON THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT November 2004 ~ Albuquerque, NM

The twentieth century was perhaps the most violent in history as genocide and ethnic hatred raged. Recognition for stronger international responses and united actions to prevent and respond to crimes against humanity is needed. Modern genocide exemplifies the need for a swift, strong, and just international response. The international rule of law must have a mechanism for reviewing possible acts of genocide and other preventable crimes against humanity.

WHEREAS Humanists believe in the peaceful adjudication of differences by international courts; and

WHEREAS, genocide, acts of terrorism, war crimes, and other crimes against humanity are too often committed with impunity;

WHEREAS, the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION asserts that an effective international court is necessary to bring justice to the perpetrators of these terrible crimes;

WHEREAS, the International Criminal Court is bound to the same standards of independence, and fairness as those in proficient national court systems;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION, in pursuit of establishing the highest ethical principles as standards for the international rule of law, urges the United States to join the International Criminal Court.

AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION ON THE UNITED NATIONS MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS November 2004 ~ Albuquerque, NM

Humanists recognize that the problems of economic growth and development can no longer be resolved by one nation alone; they are worldwide in scope. It is the obligation of every nation to build a safer, more prosperous, and equitable world.

WHEREAS the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION affirms the notion that societies should not evaluate themselves by rhetoric or ideology, but by whether or not they increase the well being for all individuals and groups, minimize poverty and hardship, increase the sum of human satisfaction, and enhance the quality of life;

WHEREAS Humanists recognize the global community’s shared ethical responsibility to achieve the basic needs that lay the foundation for a sustainable society;

WHEREAS all 191 nations in the United Nations have pledged their commitment to achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015;

WHEREAS Humanists recognize the individual importance of the Millennium Development Goals which are: to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; achieve universal primary education; promote gender equality and empower women; reduce child mortality; improve maternal health; combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases; ensure environmental sustainability; and develop a global partnership for development;

BE IT RESOLVED that the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION supports the fulfillment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Humanists Geared Up for Struggle on Same-Sex Marriage

(Washington, DC) The Religious Right, bolstered by the bans on same-sex marriage that passed in eleven states, plan to push the debate further in the next Congress. “Despite these setbacks in the struggle, now is not the time to tolerate the withholding of equal rights on the basis of sexual orientation,” states Fred Edwords, editorial director of the American Humanist Association.

“It’s deplorable that the Religious Right uses discrimination against 601,209 same-sex families as a political weapon. It’s simply inexcusable to hurt families in an effort to put one narrow religious issue in the Constitution,” he adds.

Karl Rove told journalists this week, when asked if politicians should vote against same-sex marriage bans at their own risk, “I think people would be well-advised to pay attention to what the American people are saying. This is an issue on which there is a broad consensus.” Yet sixty percent of Americans favor legalizing same-sex marriage or support civil unions.

“For over six years the AHA has been pushing for equal marriage laws in all fifty states and the District of Columbia, and we won’t stop until every state respects the rights of all Americans. As most of us know instinctively, sexual orientation has no bearing on depth of commitment, ability to raise children, or overall family stability. Lesbian and gay couples deserve equal rights-not unenlightened legislation that tries to tie our society to blind tradition,” adds Tony Hileman, executive director of the AHA.

The AHA passed a resolution over the weekend on sexual equality and support of same-sex marriage. The resolution affirms, “Intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by fundamentalist religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress the right of the individual to freely and unreservedly express her/his sexuality,” and “prohibiting committed same-sex partners from legal recognition of marriage infringes on human freedom.”

Please see the resolution below:

AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION ON SEXUAL EQUALITY AND SUPPORT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
November 2004 ~ Albuquerque, NM

Humanists are committed to values of social systems that promote liberty, maximize individual autonomy, and ensure such rights as the right to marriage and divorce, to alternate family structures, and the right to birth control and abortion. In the area of sexuality, we believe that intolerant attitudes, often cultivated by fundamentalist religions and puritanical cultures, unduly repress sexual conduct. Without countenancing mindless permissiveness, a civilized society should be a tolerant one.

WHEREAS Humanists believe in the right of the individual to freely and unreservedly express her/his sexuality;

WHEREAS Humanists recognize the right of human beings to express their sexual desires and enter into sexual relationships as they see fit regardless of sexual orientation;

WHEREAS laws prohibiting committed same-sex partners from legal recognition of marriage infringes on human freedom;

WHEREAS marriage is a civil rather than a religious institution, neither state nor federal governments should exclude a group of people from receiving certain benefits, like those marriage confers, on religious grounds;

WHEREAS a civil union does not provide the legal benefits or recognition equivalent to marriage;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION recognizes that a civil union does not guarantee sexual equality or freedom from discrimination;

WHEREAS the financial, mental, emotional, and legal security that results from having legally recognized parents and spouses shall be afforded regardless of sexual orientation;

WHEREAS marriage has historically been a dynamic institution-race restrictions on marital choice have been eliminated, divorce regulations have been equalized to protect both parties, and government can no longer intrude on sexual intimacy-affording gays and lesbians the right would be the next logical change;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the AMERICAN HUMANIST ASSOCIATION reaffirms the validity of sexual equality and supports local, state, and federal action to legalize same-sex marriage.

CHECK OUT THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE HUMANIST MANIFESTOS FOR OTHER ISSUES SUPPORTED BY HUMANISTS

This callous Christmas Story of 2004 will scare the dickens out of any caring person. What does it matter that Congress closes up shop, goes home for the holiday, and slams the door on Tiny Tim! They’ve as much as said “Bah, Humbug!” to dozens of developing countries that look to the UN for help. Tiny Tim will not only go hungry and be cheated of nutrition and needed immunization and access to a clinic where there might be treatment for his crippled leg, but even worse, there’ll be no hope for a better future to break the hunger/ poverty cycle. No hope for his education which will empower him and his siblings and enable them to prepare for a more rewarding life. And you can bet that their struggling parents, not as lucky as the Cratchetts, definitely won’t get the holiday off! Believe me, they’ll be scraping and scrambling more than ever to feed the family. Or if they have any kind of minimal job it’s more likely they’ll be laid-off instead of enjoying any holiday or benefits, thereby wiping out even scanty support for the family! Such is the under-funded state of affairs that many developing countries needful of special UN humanitarian assistance programs will find themselves. Congress sent less than the assessed share of the US contribution. It shortchanged programs that are lifelines to millions of people who are in starvation situations. Can you imagine surviving on less than $1-a-day? I wonder if our members of Congress, immersed in holiday excesses, will even give this matter a moments’ thought. In the midst of our access to plenty they can’t identify with starvation. With a compassionate yes-vote, they can save children’s lives. This is the connection between power and poverty.

UNDERCUT

Maybe it was easier this year to undercut the appropriations for the United Nations. We’ve had a lot of practice, what with the power over the years of Jesse Helms’ Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A lot of paranoid people in Washington have focused on fearing and hating the United Nations. You’d think that at least someone in Washington would be wise enough by now to recognize that the US is actually a part of the international family, and to point out the screaming inequities between our super-nationalistic-military-zillion-dollar budget and the relatively paltry sum that we grudgingly allot to the essential UN international humanitarian efforts. But no! ‘Tis not the season to be jolly or generous! Or to consider how to help promote Peace on Earth! ‘Tis the season to bad mouth the UN! Make sure that everyone hears the accusation: UN guilty of corruption! The timing, alas, alerts my conspiratorial instincts. So, how does it happen that a major scandal about the oil-for-food program gains its greatest notoriety about the time that Congress has to, at the last minute, belatedly, mind-you, deal with releasing money that was due and owing to the UN on January 1, 2004! It’s not right-on-time for next year; it’s late for this year! The chintzyness of the US contribution makes Scrooge, the tightwad, look like a “conspicuous consumer!” And why give anything to the UN, anyway…in light of the scandalous corruption? Right? Wrong!

UNDERMINED

Considering that the charges against the UN are not only unfounded and misreported by the major media, but completely scurrilous, it seems like a smear tactic that the likes of ol’ Karl Rove might pull out of his great big bag of dirty tricks! When we learned a little more about the circumstances of the UN’s overseeing of the oil-for-food program from Professor Joy Gordon who is studying the issue in depth, guess what! It was not the UN directly, that was even administering the program. The Security Council itself, with its 15- member states, the most powerful of which is the United States, was the administering body! How does that fit into the corruption pattern? There were UN staff members assigned to working on contracts that had already been approved by the Security Council, who then, after their own review went back and alerted the Security Council about 70 instances of contracts that needed to be given further attention because of irregularities. Did the Security Council look into the issues? No! Then, a major on-the-spot observer/participant failed to report any problems: the so-called Multinational Interception Force, which consisted almost exclusively of US 5th Fleet Naval Operations, was physically overseeing shipments of oil to approved countries. It seems that some nations with whom the US wanted to promote a best relationship, such as Turkey and Jordan, had special transaction arrangements that favored their supply of oil. I really resent hearing the efforts of the UN maligned, especially with those sound-bites of misinformation that reverberate with the public. My own son asked me why I still believed in the UN when it was proved to be corrupt! I answered, “Oh, mygod! You’ve been listening to Rush Limbaugh or some other rabid-right-wing-nut! Honey, do some research! Use a little critical reasoning, please?

UNDERRATED

I truly believe in the United Nations! It is the best thing that the Human race has going for it, believe me! And I will not tolerate hearing it denigrated by ignorant know-nothings! United States citizens generally approve of the concept of the UN, but in actuality know very little about its accomplishments. This is mainly because it is largely ignored by the media, except, that is, for something that is an attention-getter. Bad news is better than no news, I guess is the principle for the competitive media to follow. There is something so perverse about the sensationalism and misinformation presented by the networks in this country! Someone described them as lap dogs instead of watch dogs; I think this is an apt description! There is a UN TV Channel that airs current and historical information, but it isn’t carried on cable. It should be factored into every cable contract with a city, like making available C-SPAN or public access channels, so that those who are interested in the UN can find the straight, rather than skewed, information. We hear the UN criticized from every angle, as being both a useless debating society, and of being too powerful and a threat to the sovereignty of nations. Well, which is it? It can’t be both! Maybe, somewhere in-between would be about right. The flaws were designed that way, and many wish to keep the UN powerless. Kofi Annan has no power because there is no executive branch! I’ve heard peace-people complain, “Why doesn’t Kofi Annan take charge and do this or do that?” Well, the answer is, he does not have the authority to take executive action. He can recommend, and he can carry-out the wishes of the majority of the voting nations, but he has never been authorized to act unilaterally, and to take bold action, as we have seen the President of the United States do.

THE NEW MANDATE: ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT’ MAKES CHANGE NECESSARY

When the UN was formed only a few powerful nations were involved. Today there are 191 nations. Of these, 144 are self-designated developing nations, by far, the majority of nations on the face of this earth, representing in total, the majority of Earth’s population. The inequity is screamingly obvious. Something is wrong here! There must be better balance in representation. The big problem is an old one; there’s even an old saying that describes the problem: “Power does not relinquish itself.” I love the old fable about the mice having a convention to discuss the problem of the cat. They considered long and hard about how to deal with this problem. There was much jubilation and agreement when they decided that the cat needed a bell around its neck to warn them it was coming. What a grand solution! Except that, hmmmmm, ah,… how can?, er, ah,….. who will? You got it! And we have the same situation to deal with, and to work out a solution for. The tragedy of the Rwandan massacres, for which the UN took disproportionate blame, has been the impetus for soul-searching and the newly-articulated conviction that the UN has a Responsibility to Protect those who cannot protect themselves. This is a whole new concept! Of course, the UN was formed to protect the “Peoples of Earth from the scourge of war,” but, unfortunately, the organization was not placed in the hands of the People! It was left to the nations, whose representatives have been posturing and maneuvering on the world stage even since. Change will come. But it will not be easy. One of the major factors will be public sentiment. And without positive information, and exchange of ideas, and the building of momentum for a great public outcry, and demand for change, we can’t get there from here! Especially, with a media that knows nothing and wants to ballyhoo alleged corruption instead of promoting a UN that can take responsibility to create the “Peace on Earth” that we read about on holiday greeting cards.