Been a While, But I'm Still at it

I am still reading 1984 by George Orwell. Don't get discouraged, it's a slow starter, and in today's climate, some of the aspects of the book, which might be considered humorous, are rather somber and depressing. It is amazing how much some of it rings true when I look at what is happening to society. It starts getting more interesting around page 70 or 80.

Anyway, here's a couple interesting passages that I photo-copied:

Olympia Nuclear Free Zone Ordinance

Update: Here's an article published by the Olympian today, August 11, 2005.

Here is a pdf of the actual city ordinance that is going to be considered next week, and put to vote the week after (as I understand the timeline.)

Yesterday, on the ninth, the City Council of Olympia Washington held a hearing and public comment forum on a proposed ordinance to make Olympia a Nuclear Free Zone. About forty citizens of Olympia made comments, lasting nearly two hours. The citizens who chose to give oral testimony regarding the proposed ordinance were unanimous in support of adopting the Nuclear Free Zone ordinance. Way to go Olympia!

Currently, there are over 4,000 established Nuclear Free Zones world wide.

The seven person council appeared to favor adoption of the ordinance, with two exceptions. One was the mayor, Mark Foutch.

The language specific to, and legal basis of the ordinance revolves around three main points

1. Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons: Prohibition of nuclear
   facilities including development, production, transportation,
   storage, processing and disposal.
   
2. Investments of City Funds: Requests the City Manager to
   submit a proposal to the City Council to consider a socially
   responsible investment policy and implementation plan for
   investments of city funds in industries that are knowingly and
   intentionally engaged in the development, testing, evaluation,
   production, maintenance, storage, transportation and or disposal
   of nuclear weapons or their components.
   
3. Eligibility of City Contracts: Requires that the City of
   Olympia grant no awards or contracts for any purpose to any
   person, firm, corporation or entity which is knowingly or
   intentionally engaged in the development, research, production,
   maintenance, storage, transportation and/or disposal of nuclear
   weapons or their components.
   

Rumor has it that the Motorola corporation is strongly opposed to this ordinance. Nextel, which holds contracts with the city is a subsidiary of Motorola. Nextel provides communication technology, devices and services to everything from the police and fire departments to city maintenance. Motorola is known to be involved in the nuclear weapons industry.

Maybe it's time to divest from Motorola. Believe it or not, Motorola has lent technology to the Chinese to make their ICBM's able to "penetrate enemy defenses."

In September 1998, the CIA testified before the Senate National Security Committee that the Motorola technology is being modified by China to double the number of nuclear warheads on the CSS strategic missile. The Motorola transfer also allowed China to upgrade their DF-15 (DONG FENG - Maoist slogan "East Wind") missile with maneuvering warheads that can avoid American anti-missile defenses such as Patriot and Standard. Motorola transfers significantly upgraded the nuclear firepower and accuracy of Chinese weapons. Motorola technology transfers mean that Chinese warheads can now "penetrate enemy defenses."

Here's US senate testimony regarding Motorola, China and nuclear weapons technology:

Motorola is only the most recent example of American assistance. During the Clinton Administration, the Commerce Department allowed Huawei to buy high-performance computers worth $685,700 from Digital Equipment Corporation, worth $300,000 from IBM, worth $71,000 from Hewlett Packard and worth $38,200 from Sun Microsystems. In addition, Huawei got $500,000 worth of telecommunication equipment from Qualcomm.

We the people can divest and revoke our consumership of goods and services from businesses and corporations, which are involved and complicit in the nuclear weapons industry. We need to withdraw economic consent. When cities make the move to do this, it's all the better.

War Debases Human Dignity.

Judy Miller Deserves Jail

Here's a copy of a letter I recently sent to the editor at the NYT:

To the Editor:

Judi Miller should be kicked out on the street and her byline should never again be attached to a NYT article.

Here's what Anita Bartholomew has to say about it, "When your source IS the government, and the government is attempting to use you to target a whistleblower, the notion of shielding a source must be reconsidered."

I urge the Times to publicly admonish Miller and to release her personal accounting so Fitzgerald can get to the bottom of this White House scandal. The NYT is obstructing justice by supporting Miller.

Sincerely,

Rob Whitlock

Perseid Meteor Shower: August 11th-13th

The annual Perseid meteor shower arrives later this week. It will be a wonderful opportunity to find some dark skies and take in the awesome night sky, which will be highlighted by the luminous streaking of speeding bits of space dust!

Here Come the Perseids!
The late-night sky will be moonless for meteor watching during this year's shower.
By Alan M. MacRobert

The most familiar annual meteor shower — which happens during many people's vacation seasons — should reach its 2005 peak on Thursday and Friday nights, August 11–12 and 12–13. The first-quarter Moon will set in mid - to late evening, leaving the sky nicely dark for the prime meteor-watching hours from about midnight until the first glimmer of dawn...(full story linked above)

Petition Bush for Withdrawal from Iraq

You can sign the petition associated with Democrats.com here.

DU and You

This past weekend, I attended a video presentation and forum sponsored by my local chapter of Veterans For Peace.

The topic was the use of depleted uranium munitions over the past fifteen years, from the '91 gulf war through Bosnia up to the present day in Iraq. There is a great deal of controversy regarding the consequences and long lasting health effects of using bombs and bullets fortified with depleted uranium. Opinions can range from viewing the use DU munitions as having no significant short or long term health effects (besides those being in a vehicle that is destroyed by one), to the view that DU presents significant health related problems and has the potential to degenerate the integrity of chromosomes (hence genomes) in a systematic widespread way.

That's a big difference - basically between yes and no, between a non-issue and a genocide worse than what happened in Germany to the Jews in WWII. Most likely this is not a black and white issue. But there are certainly some reasons to be concerned.

Basically, the addition of DU to munitions gives them more penetrating power. Uranium is roughly twice as dense as lead. The video, "The Doctor, the Depleted Uranium and the Dying Children" was produced by the Traprock Peace Center. I highly recommend seeing this movie. Certainly anyone in the military, or with family in military service, really needs to see this movie!

We were also treated to a question and answer period with three VFP'ers. Steve Steinfeld, who spent over 20 years in service told his story of working with Nuclear Weapons during his time in active duty. He told us how the Pentagon treated DU with tremendous respect in respect to precautionary measures taken by those involved in the manufacture and testing of the DU munitions. He said that the closer the ammunition got to the "user" the fewer safety precautions were put in place. On the battlefield, in a tank, the principle is expediency over safety.

In one scenario, the video showed how a German doctor undertook the transfer of a spent DU round from Iraq to three different German universities for testing. The first two refused to accept the bullet. The third told him that it was Friday, and to come back on Monday. When he came back, he was arrested for transporting and exposing the public to a hazardous radioactive substance. He was fined, he refused to pay, served 5 weeks in jail - and got his evidence, though in a circumstantial way. When the police came, a hazardous materials team secured the bullet he bore. I am no where near doing justice to the important message this film contains. You simply must see it for yourself.

Liars in White House Employ

Whether or not Karl Rove will be indicted for criminal misconduct in the outing of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent operating under non-official cover, it is well documented that he is a liar.

Therefore, we can assume that the White House isn't bothered by Karl Rove's indecent and smarmy behavior. Can we therefore also assume that the White House approves of Rove's attempt to calumnate and dissemble the issue of Iraq's lack of WMD? The president needs to make a reprimand concerning Karl Rove's behavior.

Maybe we have Bill Clinton to thank for this blatant disregard of the importance of honesty in the White House.

Forget the Facelift, Look for a New Body

Is it possible that America is beyond the point of return to sanity and normalcy? Damn right it's possible. The mainstream media is slipping gradually into full blown doublespeak. The federal government is nearly totally out to lunch regarding issues of concern (e.g. healthcare, tax cuts for the ultra-rich, the crisis in ecology, etc.) for the people of the United States of America.

I found this great piece of wisdom on an open thread discussion at TruthOut.org;

Quinn's First Law. It won't surprise you. It may even strike you as obvious. Here it is. 'No undesirable behavior has ever been eliminated by passing a law against it'.

The second is Buckminster Fuller's Law, which is this: You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.

I have been troubled lately by a sense of overwhelm and powerlessness when confronted with the realities of our environment. Belligerence is reaching unprecedented levels, both in government, but also in civil society. There is a polarization that is undermining society. The mainstream media representations of current events is desensitizing and debasing.

The comment I found came in the nick of time. Yes, I feel and believe it is high time for a new model, a new culture, a new society altogether.

There are some ideas already floating around in many of our consciousnesses. I am looking forward to a discussion about this topic!

Election Strategies

Now is the time for progressives, independents, democrats, anyone who is interested in opposing the status quo in government to begin developing election strategies for 2006.

There are a multitude of important decisions to make, like; endorsement considerations and running third party candidates to challenge the status quo opposition.

It is obvious that the neo-conservative agenda is harmful, and destructive to America and the world at large. Should we focus on de-throning the neo-cons? Should we vote our consciences? Maybe de-throning the neo-cons is obeying the conscience; it may be. At least, we need a greater set of voices of reason in government. Perhaps we should focus on small steps, then we can work on healing and improving things, once the wound is cauterized and the bleeding stopped.

Or in Naderesque fashion, is a better strategy to come right out with it and challenge the whole power structure? To call-out the inherent problems in America vis a vis Corporatism, environmental and social crisis, etc - Maybe the majority is not ready for these messages. But maybe we can develop a system of framing to make this message not only palatable, but exciting, appealing and ultimately successful.

These are some important questions that all of us who care about America, and want to see beneficial change, need to start asking. Now is the time to formulate both general and specific electoral strategies.

I think a focus on the local races is important. If we all put our effort in at the local level, then that energy will eventually percolate up the ladder, to state and federal campaigns.

What do you think?

Defending America Against the Bush Administration's Destructive Tendencies

It is now over four years since Bush, Cheney et al. have taken up the reigns at the White House and led America into a new century. It is high time to be asking the tough questions about what sort of progress, or degeneration has occurred during the four and a half years of rule under Bush. One thing is for sure: things have changed. Both on the domestic front and the international; America's relationship with itself and also with the rest of the world have taken on dramatic new character. There is a widening rift in American society that hasn't existed perhaps since times previous to the civil war.

The Bush administration and its gaggle of pushers, mongers, hangers-on and cronies came to office with a far reaching agenda. They have pushed social, economic and military policies which have had profound and highly noticeable effects and ramifications; they have over 3 more years to continue their radicalization of domestic America and also, of America as a member of the international community. The current White House has pursued an aggressive policy of militarization, corporatism and an intense sequestration of political will and power. They have taken official secrecy to entirely new levels, which continue to expand in scope.

The mainstream media can also take its own share of the blame for the current political and social environment. There has been far too much pandering and far too little coverage of the scandal ridden, criminal clad; Bush White House.

So; What's to do? - A lot! The defense of America against the onslought of the neo-conservative juggernaut must be a people's movement. It must encompass both economic and electoral politics. It will be a social movement. It should evolve from roots deep within local communites. Then, a solid base, a well founded structure will exist to provide a network for expansion and networking on the national and eventually, international levels.

Where to start? Right where you are! Take some time to brainstorm, think of a project in your community you would like to work on. Do some lobbying of local officials, write a letter to the editor of your local news source(s). Find people who live near you who are interested in the same issue(s) and organize. Start a movement. Small victories can build momentum, sustain hope and promise that we can create a benign society and live to see a peaceful world, a world in the process of healing.