Humanvalues Weblog

So, alright already! I’ll get back to my Blog!

Sheesh! Stop goading me; can’t you see that I’m suffering from Terminal Heartbreak? Gimme a break! What can you expect with the whole world crashing in on us and around us. One year ago I wanted to believe that we Earthlings could actually create change. I wanted to believe that we could get-it-together and unite in common purpose in at least one activity…for instance, such as generating a little respect for this mind-boggling, amazing way-station in the Universe; and even embarking upon the task of actually trying to save our Mother Earth and learning to live in harmony with Nature. This is not even to mention generating some respect for the beings and creatures who live here.

I thought that our voices could be heard!

You know….I even wanted to believe that we could actually create a democracy, the very one that many of us Americans believe that we already have. But, I wonder if most of us might feel like I do: thwarted, like little urchins with our faces pressed on the window where the hither-to only dreamed-of, and tantalizing goodies are displayed….out of reach. For a short while, I could actually taste the delights of a democracy. Even believing that our voices, the voices of the workers, the parents, the teachers, the students, the small farmers, the shop keepers, the small business owners, the retired, the unemployed, the homeless and the hungry, and whoever else is not represented… might be heard over the beguiling and demanding din of corporate interests.

Efforts seem futile!

Now, I’m back to the old routine of alternate bouts of frustration, disillusionment, sprinkled with tiny rays of hope that truly inspire me. I scramble to call Congress; click here to add my name to a petition; write to the editor, try harder to promote the Humanist philosophy; try to get publicity for the books of Corliss Lamont, etc. but seeing the Bill fail, and the petition ignored, and my letter not published, little interest in these ideas, my hopes again get dashed. Then the whole cycle of depression sets in again. The Corporate Networks pundits keep spewing out sound-bites of garbage and lies, and yeegods! some of my apparently normal friends fall for this stuff and repeat it!

Illogic prevails!

Someone in my world, who shall remain nameless, was gloating over what he alleged was Obama’s neglect in “allowing” the BP oil spill to take place. This was a shocker, but I queried rather calmly…what do you mean? The answer was surprisingly logical…he should have had more people in place to do inspections. Well, that was good news, I said; you approve of more regulatory agencies and governmental control in behalf of the best interests of the people and the environment? Hell no, was the answer…we’ve got to get the damn government off our backs and stop wasting our hard earned tax money with all that baloney! Oi! What can I say? There was no point in pursuing the issue any further with this non-thinking person who couldn’t connect the two ideas. I sort-of mused to myself, though, about nature’s interesting design of our species, particularly the ratio of ears to mouth. Doesn’t it actually seem like an admonition from nature for us to listen twice as much as we speak?

But, unfortunately, the fatal flaw in nature’s interesting design might ultimately become the death knell of our Species: the amazing cerebral circuitry between the ears and the mouth can be totally by-passed!

Hope in cyberspace?

Despite the permeation of our airwaves with Limbaugh-like illogic, a little voice in the back of my head keeps saying “don’t give up…good things are happening…more young folks are becoming aware…the Internet makes the sharing of ideas possible like never before. Maybe this could create an information stream that might eventually render irrelevant the vested interests of the television networks, and completely out-do them in meeting the People’s hunger for truth. I’m always quick to cite The Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace by John Perry Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead, and co-founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who says, in essence, but in eloquent prose, you governments and you corporations, keep your hands off of Cyberspace; it belongs to the people, who will communicate with each other, and we will do a better job than you have.

Give the Guy a break!

No matter how discouraged I get, there is an undying hope that underlies it all, as evidenced by my angry response when I hear any criticism of Barak Obama! I just fly into a tizzy! Give the guy a break…I’ll retort. He inherited a mess! What do you expect him to do? He’s trying (overlong, in my opinion!) to be conciliatory and he listens to all sides of the various appeals…after all, he’s supposed to be the President of ALL the People, not just the President of us Raging Grannies and Peace Persons and the ecologically astute and the alternative energy advocates, and insisters on more access to better education, and those of us who are screaming for change! I have to admit grudgingly that he must hear advice from Generals and Wall Streeters, BUT! Alrightalready! Enough!! We need the cabinet level Department of Peace advocated by Dennis Kucinich and dozens of Congresspersons. (1) We need jobs! How about putting people back to work, but with efforts to convert to a peace economy, and to transform our dependency on oil and gas toward solar, wind, geothermal and tidal energies. We could even use something akin to Roosevelt’s WPA and the Civilian Conservation Corps for service to the community.

(1) For additional information about the Department of Peace, please visit The Peace Alliance Web site.

Captaining the Titanic!

If I can get Obama critics to hold still and listen to my Grannyrant…here’s what I tell them: Imagine you’re on the Titanic in its last moments, but this scene is playing out in agonizing slow-motion.. Our trajectory is set! We are headed for disaster….there’s no denying it! Those persons who made the decision to throw caution to the wind, disregarding the danger surrounding us, in favor of gaining speed to set a record, or with this metaphor, in favor of an exercise of “shock and awe” power, aren’t even at the helm in charge, or even owning any responsibility for the devastation that they set in motion. Are you with me on this? Got the picture?

Now, airlift Obama onto the bridge! Please, Mr. President, now let’s see you turn around the Ship of State!

Be a real help to the cause of change:

Go to Organizing for America and please let’s don’t just sit there: please pledge your support in some manner, phone banking, voter registration, flyer distribution, etc. You know what they say: it ain’t over ‘til it’s over. We have a long way to go. Millions of Folks who had long felt disenfranchised and felt no incentive to engage in even political discussion, let alone vote, came out to register their faith in change. Their hopes were short lived, alas. We truly understand this great disappointment. But in our conversations, we can try to rekindle in others some hope that we together can ultimately achieve the needed change. We can try to explain and emphasize the truth that democracy is messy. The voice of the People might even prevail over the noise of corporate power. Please, come out and help?

The Anti-Empire Report

Here’s a brilliant essay that caused me to rededicate my resolve to keep hope alive. Bless you Bill Blum!

The Anti-Empire Report, July 5th, 2010, by William Blum
https://williamblum.org/aer/read/83?/bblum6/aer83.html

Some thoughts on “patriotism” written on July 4
Most important thought: I’m sick and tired of this thing called “patriotism”.

The Japanese pilots who bombed Pearl Harbor were being patriotic. The German people who supported Hitler and his conquests were being patriotic, fighting for the Fatherland. All the Latin American military dictators who overthrew democratically-elected governments and routinely tortured people were being patriotic — saving their beloved country from “communism”.

That’s just the start of his essay. Go there. Read the rest of it for yourself. Then sign up for his messages.

Who on earth ever heard of herding donkeys?

Come to think of it, I’ve never ever seen a circus act with donkeys following each other like those silly elephants with tails and trunks entwined. Donkeys must truly be mavericks, and maybe that’s why they can’t cooperate long enough to out-do the elephants. Maybe Chimps will do a better job? I’d vote for them over elephants or donkeys if they could get themselves on the ballot. But, back to herding donkeys: What do you say? Let’s try to find out? Please bring friends and come to the following Program:

Herding Donkeys: Howard Dean and Ari Berman on the Future of the Democratic Party
at the 92YTribeca, 200 Hudson Street, New York, NY, on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 at 7pm. Hope to see you there!

Something new is happening!

It is the North American New Humanist Forum that will take place in New York City November 16, 17, and 18. All are invited! Are you interested in helping to map out new directions for real democracy in this hemisphere? Come to this event and participate! I will! I hope to be a speaker or a panelist or as a member of a working group.

Information about this important gathering of concerned Humanists can be found on the Web site of the North American New Humanist Forum (NANHF).

Scheduled speakers will include representatives from many different countries, and working groups will be discussing new approaches to various issues and problems. I’ve had contact with the sponsoring group previously, and was much impressed with the scope of their Humanist activities in the community. The group has been referred to as Siloists. The name Siloist is used to describe those have been inspired by the teachings of the Argentinean philosopher, Mario Rodríguez Cobos, also know as Silo. Because there seemed to have been some misunderstanding about the group’s origin and intent, I wrote an article that was posted several years ago on the Humanist Society of Metropolitan New York Web site, discussing some of the issues, and inviting a humanist dialogue between the Siloists and the non-Siloists. This will be just such an opportunity to discuss our areas of agreement and explore any differences.

This article entitled The Other Humanists, can be found here.

Humanist Healing for the Woes of the World

Planet Earth, the home of all living things and life as we know it, is in mortal danger.

Fundamentalist religious fanaticism, greed, and exploits of empire, have brought us to this brink. The Humanist Philosophy respects and embraces the efforts of all caring persons, of all faiths, of all ethnicities, of all traditions, of all nations, who take responsibility, for trying to make changes to improve the perilous conditions of Humankind, working together to foster understanding among the diverse Peoples of Earth, working toward the development of a respectful, lawful, equitable, compassionate and care-taking Culture of Peace that most of Earth’s Peoples long for. Strangely, some beliefs hold to ancient notions of vengeful deities that champion one segment of humanity over another, giving rise to fears and hatreds, militarism, fascism, violence, vengeance, exploitation, inequities, and injustices that still abound, endangering our survival as a species, jeopardizing the lives of our children, grandchildren and all future generations.

I am concerned about this danger and, as an individual, I have the power to raise my own voice in protest. I value Life; I love my own Family and the larger family of Humankind. I revere the Human Species, and believe in the right to peaceful pursuit of individual and societal happiness. I pledge to support the ideals of a Culture of Peace, and will encourage others to do likewise. I, therefore, pledge to take responsibility to promote the following Human Survival Principles:

I, personally, and as a representative of my own ethical perspective, life-stance or faith, pledge to act with courage, in all ways short of violence, to renounce and thwart the various adverse forces that have gained the power to dominate Earth and its inhabitants. I renounce all systems of repression, whether by governmental or economic control. I support only systems that are in the best shared-interest of all of Earth’s Peoples and of Earth itself. I, personally, renounce violence and vengeance as an option to redress grievances for wrongs done to me, my people, or my ancestors. I pledge to seek justice and compensation, never before feasible, through pursuit of new lawful means, consistent with the recognized principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations’ Responsibility to Protect, and the newly established International Criminal Court. These new tools must be fostered and ultimately established, for all times, promoting the pursuit of justice in every village and in every community. No longer will there be impunity for perpetrators of Crimes against Humanity. There will now be justice in the Courts! I pledge to support this goal.

I agree that technology, medicine, science and biology must be harnessed to serve only the best interests of all Humankind, whether it be our means of communicating freely with each other in the pursuit of truth and democracy, and the sharing of information regarding our common interests, or for the creation of power sources that do not damage Earth’s ecosystem or harm living things. Biotechnology must not modify or claim ownership of Earth’s bounty, and the benefits to Humankind in all of these areas must not be tied to a corrupt and capricious profit motive, enslaving the many and ignoring the most needy.

I pledge to work in behalf of the survival and best interests of Humankind right here and now, because I believe in the basic goodness of other human beings. I will willingly join with them in order to help to create a Culture of Peace, regardless of any known traditional beliefs that aspire to other worlds or any belief in end-times scenarios. I will not allow my name or my belief to be used to endorse actions that are contrary to my own personal beliefs. I will not allow my faith to be conscripted or construed in order to justify support for actions that are harmful to others, such as seeking retaliation and vengeance, or to justify terrorist acts, or the making of war against alleged and illusory enemies, with whom I have no quarrel. If my tradition aspires to a Heaven elsewhere, I will surely have earned my place in it as a Peacemaker. Meanwhile, I will do my best to help make Peace on Earth, and to keep my pledge in behalf of the Human Survival Principles. In doing so, I reach out my hand in respect for others of good will, showing that I hold no weapon or animosity, and expect that others will do likewise.

I recognize that we humans are more alike than we are different.

These Human Survival Principles are logical and important to me and I’m leaving a comment below. I’m adding my name to many others online at this Web site.

Here are two Adobe Acrobat PDF (Portable Document Format) versions of the Humanist Healing for the Woes of the World brochure, one intended for on-screen viewing (four pages) and the other designed for duplex printing (two pages).

• On-screen viewing (1,691,053 bytes)
• Printing (997,285 bytes)

Comments can be posted anonymously and this blog can be used as a forum for communication. Registration is necessary if you wish to be contacted. Feel free to link to this blog post. The URL is https://www.humanvalues.net/blog/?p=35. Please discuss these important issues with others, and take action.

Dilemma: How shall we 16 Protestors Plead in court? Who is Guilty of What?

The reason that I’m writing to you is to ask your advice. Those of us who were arrested at the United Nations when Bush was speaking, (there are 16 of us) are trying to decide how to get the most mileage publicity-wise out of our situation. Most of us are charged with the offense #240.20 (6), which I believe is disorderly conduct. Admittedly we went to 44th Street across from the U.N. for the purpose of performing Civil Disobedience by challenging the police blockade, with our signs and chants, saying that Bush is a war criminal and that he should be arrested. We were waving copies of the 51 page verdict delineating the Crimes Against Humanity Committed by the Bush Administration, to call attention to the findings of fact gathered by testimony at the International Commission of Inquiry, published on September 13, 2006. We were told to remove our hands from the barricade that we were trying to open; we refused!

Three of us are additionally charged with resisting arrest which is totally absurd, inasmuch as we all went there to be arrested. Most of us are to appear in the Centre Street court on October 18th. We discussed the options for several hours this evening at John Jay in a room provided by Father Luis Barrios, the Episcopal Priest, who is also charged with assaulting an officer…a totally bogus charge; they were brutalizing him, instead. With us was disabled Iraq Vet, Geoffrey Millard, who was manhandled as well.

On Thursday, October 5th, we will be in the streets again protesting the imminent and insane bombing of Iran. We hear that October 9th will begin the “October Surprise,” and that warships are moving into position. This actually dominated our conversation tonight; no wonder we couldn’t focus on how we are going to plead when we get to court. We’re not finished getting arrested yet!

So, here’s my question: several other lawyers are already involved, Siegel, Stolar and Upton, all of whom gave differing and non-spectacular advice to their clients, so far. The 16 of us sat around a table this evening and each had a different idea of how to proceed. Ultimately, we did decide that we would stick together and try to make a media event of whatever we do, which was the whole point in the first place. We will all wear We Will Not Be Silenced black T-shirts to court, for one thing, but how we plead is the dilemma. Here are the options that we discussed:

1. Just plead guilty and take our lumps, whatever that may be. Some really objected, saying that of course, we are not-guilty of any real crime. The law is the crime: the police are guilty of thwarting our right to peaceably assemble, etc. and exercise our right to free speech, etc. Those few felt that they just couldn’t say “guilty.” We discussed the difference between morally and legally, etc. Those who favored “guilty” felt that we must turn the charge around, using that same word in referring to the Bush regime and its war crimes…like, we would each make the very same statement to that effect in court. We would probably be further charged, with contempt of court for giving the wrong answer? At least we might get the publicity that the issues deserve, plus, we 16 would go out with a bang, instead of a whimper. And, the other options discussed were:

2. All plead not-guilty and be postponed, coming back again and again, etc. Probably eventually to be dismissed. If that isn’t a whimper, I don’t know what could be worse, and wasting a perfect opportunity to make a valid point. There was the suggestion that if you promise not to get into trouble for 6 months you can be released. Most rejected that, saying “no way, we plan to be visible and vocal! This is our patriotic duty!” We probably will get arrested again on the 5th, because we want to gather at the U.N. on 47th Street at Noon, after speeches for an hour or so, start up the march onto Second Avenue heading south. We want to turn onto 42nd Street and go to Broadway, then down Broadway to 14th Street where we will have a speakers platform, and ending maybe 4 PM or so. The police say we have to stay on Second Avenue all the way to 14th. This is absurd. We might as well stay in the pen at 47th Street for all the notice and participation we would get on quiet Second Avenue. I’m asking for your advice because I value your courage and your judgment. How do you think we can make the maximum impact in this situation? Will you please be our advisor?

Or maybe just suggest the best way for us to get the media attention about the Real crimes initiated by the Bush regime that are going on, like torture, and bombing civilian populations.

Hugs from Beth. I’m now officially part of the Grannie Peace Brigade, and “The U.N.-16, who will not be silenced,” as well as speaking in behalf of the Humanists, The World Can’t Wait!, Not In Our Name, and International Action Center…and other groups as well. We hear that many student groups are planning come out on the 5th. That’s one thing that this country needs lots of: informed young people who are activists! Hoping to hear from you.

Best wishes to you and family. May there be peace!

PLANET EARTH, HOME OF ALL LIVING THINGS AND LIFE AS WE KNOW IT, IS IN MORTAL DANGER.

Militarism, exploitation, usurpation, arrogance, inequities and vengeance all abound, endangering our survival as a species, and actively prevent the development of a respectful, lawful, equitable, compassionate and care-taking Culture of Peace.

I am concerned about this danger and, as an individual, I have the power to raise my own voice in protest. I value Life, I love my own Family and the larger family of Humankind. I revere the Human Species, and believe in the right to peaceful pursuit of individual and societal happiness. I pledge to support the ideals of a Culture of Peace, and hope to encourage others to do likewise. I, therefore, pledge to promote the following Human Survival Principles:

I, personally, and as a representative of my own ethical perspective, life stance or faith, pledge to act with courage, in all ways short of violence, to renounce and thwart the various adverse forces that have gained the power to dominate Earth and its inhabitants. I renounce all systems of repression, whether by government or economic control. I support only systems that are in the best shared-interest of all of Earth’s Peoples and of Earth itself.

I, personally, renounce violence and vengeance as an option to redress grievances for wrongs done to me, my people, or my ancestors. I pledge to seek justice and compensation, never before feasible, through pursuit of new lawful means, consistent with the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nation’s Responsibility to Protect, and the newly established International Criminal Court. These new tools must be fostered and ultimately established, for all times, to promote the pursuit of justice in every village, in every community, in every nation, I will do my best to support this goal.

I agree that technology, medicine, science and biology must be harnessed to serve only the best interests of all Humankind, whether it be our means of communicating freely with each other in the pursuit of truth and democracy, and the sharing of information regarding our common interests, or for the creation of power sources that do not damage Earth’s ecosystem or harm living things. Biotechnology must not modify or claim ownership of Earth’s bounty, and the benefits to Humankind in all of these areas must not be tied to a corrupt and capricious profit motive enslaving the many and ignoring the most needy.

I pledge to work in behalf of the survival and betterment of Humankind right here and now, because I believe in the basic goodness of other human beings. I will willingly join with them in order to help to create a Culture of Peace, regardless of any known traditional beliefs that aspire to “other worlds” or any belief in “end times” scenarios. I will not allow my name or my belief to be used to endorse actions that are contrary to my own personal beliefs. I will not allow my faith to be conscripted or construed in order to justify support for actions that are harmful to others, such as seeking retaliation and vengeance, or to justify terrorist acts or making war against alleged and illusory enemies, with whom I have no quarrel. If there is a Heaven elsewhere, I will have earned my place in it as a Peacemaker. Meanwhile,….

I will do my best to help make Peace on Earth, and to keep my pledge in behalf of the Human Survival Principles

___________________________________________________
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Please state any affiliation that you feel is relevant. Please add an e-mail address, if you wish for others to reach you.

Please feel free to duplicate this document. Disperse it widely. Use these issues for a discussion with others. If you wish to publicize your pledge, and add your name to the pledges of thousands of others, please contact us via e-mail or postal mail at:

Fred Edwords
American Humanist Association, 1777 T Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009

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 Celebrant, 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)
https://www.un.org/en/conferences/environment/newyork2005

“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.

A website that shows and describes these atrocities is:
https://archives.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!