Latin America in the 21st Century

Latin America in the 21st Century

New Visions New Challenges



Join us for a stimulating discussion about the social and political
changes currently sweeping through Latin America. Learn how progressive
governments backed by powerful social movements are gaining momentum and
joining forces to shift power into the hands of their people and foster
alternative models of development based on cooperation and regional
integration. Find out how countries of Latin America are working together
to confront current economic, environmental, and food crises facing the
planet. Discuss what these changes signify for the region as a whole and
for the U.S.

Featured speakers include the UN ambassadors of Bolivia, Cuba*, Ecuador,
Nicaragua, and Venezuela

When: Friday, September 5, 2008. 6:30 PM

Where: The Great Hall of Cooper Union - 7th Street and 4th Ave, Manhattan

This event is free and open to the public. Admission is on a first come,
first served basis.

Organized by the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle, together with our
partners , including: ANSWERS,Cuba Solidarity NY,Claridad, Casa de las Americas, Disarm, IAC, Worker World Party, Troop Out Now Coalition,Haiti liberte,Pro libertad, Iglesia San Romero las Americas, Committee of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, Judith Leblanc Communist Party, WBAI Justice and Unity, Free Mumia Abu Jamal Coalition NYC, People's Organization for Progress, Pastor Luis Barrios, Popular Education Project Free de Cuban Five,Socialist Workers Party, Partido Nacionalista de Puerto Rico Junta de Nueva York.




A full list of sponsoring organizations is forthcoming. If
your organization would like to be a sponsor,please let us know..

For more information: 212-942-5758

cbalbertolovera@ gmail.com.

SAVE THE FLOOD VICTIMS OF BIHAR

SAVE THE FLOOD VICTIMS OF BIHAR



Most of us are aware through media reports that Bihar state of India is facing worst tragedy as there is massive flood in North Bihar. Men, women and children, animals and villages are sinking in the flood waters. According to the latest media reports the catastrophe has created massive loss of lives, displacement of millions of people, damage of millions of hectare of standing crops, acute scarcity of drinking water especially in submerged areas, total destruction of food stocks/houses, and much more. More and more gruesome stories are being reported in media everyday. Considering the ferocity of the floods and damages caused thereof the Prime Minister of India has declared it as National Calamity. Some highlights of the devastation caused by national calamity are:

• The districts most affected are Supaul, Madhepura, Purnia, Khagaria, Araria, Saharsa, Bhagalpur, Katihar, etc.
• Over 40 lakhs (4 million) people are affected and uprooted leaving their homes, property, animals, families, and everything in the districts of Supaul,
• Madhepura is most affected district where 11 out of 13 blocks including Madhepura town have submerged under 6-ft deep (Times of India, 31 August 2008).
• Government of Bihar is falling short of rescuing the people who are trapped amid excessive flood waters. The rescue and relief crews are not able to reach the people in far remote village.
• Roads, highways, rail tracks are all submerged and damaged. Therefore, the boats remain to be the only mean to rescue the people, but the Government has no adequate number of boats
• Those who have somehow saved their lives or been rescued are staying at nearest dry places: railway stations, school building, other such public places.
• They need immediate help in terms of food, temporary shelter, clothes, medicines, etc.

GRASSROOTS INDIA TRUST, Labour League Foundation, SEWA and SEDEM in collaboration of several other organizations of Delhi and Bihar have decided to contribute in relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction process in Bihar. We have formed two teams of committed social development workers and volunteers for delivering the relief material to the flood victims wherever they have been staying at the moment. Our national team based at Delhi coordinates the relief work and fundraising, while the state team executes the actual relief work.

In first stage, our relief work includes quick delivery of FOOD, TEMPORARY SHELTER, and MEDICINES to the flood victims. In the second stage, we'll support flood victims in rehabilitation and reconstruction works. At each stage we'll be working in line with the government agencies, national and international relief agencies.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

WE APPEAL ALL THE CONCERNED TO CONTRIBUTE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME FOR PEOPLE OF BIHAR. PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY!
__________________________________________________________________________________________

MODE OF PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTION:

In Cash/Kind:
Deposit at Our Collection Centres in Delhi, Chandigarh, Shimla

By Cheque (from India):
Drawn in favour of GRASSROOTS INDIA TRUST payable at New Delhi.
Send it by post to:
Administrator, Grassroots India Trust, 301 H-51/E, A. F. Enclave, Okhla, New Delhi – 110 025 India

By Cheque (from Foreign country):
Drawn in favour of SEWA payable at New Delhi (FCRA No. 231660884).
Send it by post to:
Secretary, SEWA, BVK 3/4, New Seelampur (Brahmpuri Mod), Delhi – 110 053 India.

By direct Bank Transfer (from India):
Name of Account Holder: Grassroots India Trust
Account Number: 279010100007207
Name of Bank: AXIS Bank
Address of Bank: 18 Netaji Subhash Marg, Daryaganj, New Delhi – 110 002
SWIFT Code: CHASUS33

By direct Bank Transfer (from Foreign country):
Name of Account Holder: SEWA
Account Number: SB/CA 3092000100198100
Name of Bank: Punjab National Bank
Address of Bank: 4, L-Block, Connaught Place, New Delhi – 110 001
SWIFT Code: PUNB inbbdod

In case of any query please contact the following:

Dr. M. Mukhtar Alam, Chairman Labour League Foundation, 62A, DDA Flats, Ashok Vihar-III, Delhi – 110 052, Tel: +91-9968345380 E-mail: mukhtaralam2000@yahoo.com

Mr. H. Arjjumend, Executive Director, Grassroots India Trust, 1st Floor, Royal Apartment, J-68 A. F. Enclave, Okhla, New Delhi – 110 025, Tel: +91-9868993710 E-mail: grassrootsindiatrust@gmail.com, trust@grassroots.org.in Website: www.grassroots.org.in, www.grassrootsglobal.net



* When you send a Cheque or Transfer the amount, kindly intimate through e-mail or by post to all or any of the above contacts.



TRANSPARENCY STANDARD

Time to time, the details of donation receipts and the expenditures along with the progress of the relief work done will be placed this website: www.grassroots.org.in/biharfloodrelief-progress.htm .

Names of donors contributing Rs. 2000 or above (or its equivalent) will also be placed on the website: www.grassroots.org.in/biharfloodrelief-progress.htm .








--
=============================
GRASSROOTS INDIA TRUST
1st Floor, Royal Apartment
J-68, A. F. Enclave, Okhla
New Delhi - 110 025 India
Tel: 011-26955452, 09868993710
Fax: +91-11-26936366
E-mail: grassrootsindiatrust@gmail.com
Website: www.grassroots.org.in
www.grassrootsglobal.net

‘Taliban-style Anti-women Islamic fascism’ in Pakistani Senate?

‘Taliban-style Anti-women Islamic fascism’ in Pakistani Senate?


Courtesy: humanist_internatio nal


SENATOR Israrullah Zehri’s defence of a barbaric incident involving the burying alive of five women in Balochistan smacks of a medieval religious mindset — and one that is totally in tune with the Taliban’s own fascist and obscurant worldview. It takes one back nine years when similarly regressive-minded legislators in the Senate refused to condemn the ‘honour’ killing of Samia Sarwar who was shot dead at the behest of her own parents over a marriage-related issue in 1999. At the time, a fair number of senators who had initially agreed to support a resolution condemning Samia Sarwar’s murder backed out at the eleventh hour under pressure from their respective political parties’ leadership, leaving only four brave ones to raise their voice against the killing. Clearly, then, this mindset that trivialises the sanctity of human life — especially if the life is that of a woman — and is dominated so easily by the interests of those who wield political, economic and social clout, is not confined to the representatives of the backward provinces alone. It has come to be a national state of mind.

In the recent case, three of the five women were going to contract a court marriage with men of their choice against the wishes of their tribal elders, when they were injured with gunshot and then buried alive. Unfortunately, because of the alleged involvement of a political figure, the report of their death was suppressed, with the police even refusing to register a police report-an FIR. Can we hope for corrective steps to be taken, the case thoroughly investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice regardless of their political and feudal stripes? Considering our sad track record vis-à-vis human rights, this could be wishful thinking. For in a tribal order where traditions involving human rights violations are not even condemned, let alone rooted out, how can we hope for the miracle of justice for the oppressed — especially women — or for the reformation of a society in dire need of change?

While Senator Zehri staunchly defended the incident as a tribal custom, Senator Jamal Leghari chose to bury his head in the sand saying that no Baloch could carry out such a reprehensible act. A cursory look at statistics shows us how wrong he is. Honour killings are rampant across Pakistan — the province of Balochistan is no exception — with women, already in a position of economic and social disadvantage, being the main victims. The facts are undeniable; and it is inexcusable that those who have the power to change things for the better and to discourage primitive customs should refuse to even acknowledge them. Others turn a blind eye to the abhorrent practice for purely political expediency. The government talks ad nauseam about the need to counter the threat of Talibanisation. But it chooses not to recognise, and therefore to condemn, similar traits in mindsets and practices that are not linked to religion alone. It would do well to come out of its self-inflicted stupor to condemn those who perpetuate myths about the sanctity of traditions. A beginning could be made in the two Houses of parliament.

Today in Palestine! ~ Headlines September 1, 2008 ~

Free Gaza Movement: Israeli naval vessels firing on unarmed fishing boats and Human Rights Workers
Israeli Naval vessels are currently firing on unamrmed Palestinian fishing boats and international human rights workers off the coast of the Gaza Strip. The fishing boats are several miles off the coast of Gaza City, in Palestinian territorial waters. As of 11am (4am EST) no one had been injured, but live ammunition is still being fired in the direction of the civilian boats.
http://www.palsolid arity.org/ main/2008/ 09/01/free- gaza-movement- israeli-naval- vessels-firing- on-unarmed- fishing-boats- and-human- rights-workers/

Human Rights Workers to Accompany Gaza Fishermen on Monday
Human Rights Observers from the Free Gaza Movement and the International Solidarity Movement launch campaign to monitor Israeli naval aggression against Gazan fishermen. According to a recent article in The Guardian, "Under the Oslo accords, which in 1993 were supposed to herald the coming of an independent Palestinian state, Gazan fishermen were to be allowed 20 nautical miles out to sea, where they could catch sardine as they migrated from the Nile delta up towards Turkey during the spring.
http://www.theameri canmuslim. org/tam.php/ features/ articles/ human_rights_ workers_to_ accompany_ gaza_fishermen_ on_monday/ 0016631

Health ministry: Two children die due to the siege and the politicized strike
The health ministry in Gaza stated Sunday that the ongoing Israeli siege and the PA politicized strikes claimed the lives of two Palestinian children.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7ycAPuUrXQ7 KUSUV%2fVhygQVyJ wb694TG8A19qpxMV 1SBMSEqSwZDF6V7v 0Y7jd0q2ZshfBhSZ 1n8DDxFFb8DtUs7s JftoyYMVT7QFjcFP mE4%3d

Israel-OPT: Settler violence against Palestinians on the rise
Violence by settlers perpetrated against Palestinians has been on the rise in recent weeks in Hebron and the surrounding areas, residents and international observers said. "These areas are hot spots for violence and are priority areas for us," said Matteo Benatti, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross's (ICRC's) delegation in the city.
http://www.reliefwe b.int/rw/ rwb.nsf/db900SID /RMOI-7J2LPT? OpenDocument&RSS20=02-P

Rafah terminal opens on Sunday for patients, stranded students
The Egyptian authorities on Sunday opened the Rafah border terminal with Gaza and allowed entry of Palestinian patients and stranded students into its territory for the first time in several months.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7gW52NxKpjX d9UPXLfuMZ% 2b%2fHrkSE5Ytzgh Px4%2fpOYBe1S% 2bNlJAFP6K1Ltb7u aKZBoPwYhD% 2b7mKbmy6ev1qdYV epdkPExHoFds% 2bU2YV%2bH39IY% 3d

Report: Palestinian critically injured by IDF
Violent clashes in West Bank village of Naalin continue to claim victims: According to Palestinians, mentally ill man sustains wounded by four metal-coated rubber bullets fired at him point blank by Israeli soldiers during his brother's arrest.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3590347,00. html

IOF troops kidnap four Palestinians
Israeli occupation forces on Sunday kidnapped four Palestinian young men at a roadblock south of Nablus city after ordering them out of their car and searching them, eyewitnesses reported.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7U9XsLVZRBO f5fM1K%2b1pCLBNm 7EDWciUuLPKzos1R cWzPOYOsbnGKOhsK AfuMxOm1r1CZblOD W%2fmLx6BAJczdPV RVuZW0hSjChzmK7F g9c6Y%3d

Gazan woman slain by father over family honor; father and brothers arrested
A 24-year-old Palestinian woman found dead with her hands and feet bound was taken to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Sunday. A report from the Palestine Center for Human Rights said that the father of the woman, 67-year-old Hussein Mustafa Kaware from the Jourat Al-Lout area in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Yunis, went to the Gaza police station and confessed to killing his daughter, Hala. Police went to the man's home and dug up the body of the young woman, which was found with hands and feet bound, and her mouth muzzled. Hala's father is reported to have confessed to the crime, saying that he "did it to protect the family honor." Mustafa and his four sons were arrested by police.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=31632

Violence, attacks and threats? Not here
Does the latest indictment mean that the modesty patrols have finally been caught? The attack in question came to light due to a complaint by a 31-year-old woman who lives in Jerusalem's Ma'alot Dafna neighborhood. Until her divorce three years ago, she led a Haredi lifestyle, and after she abandoned this way of life, she continued to live in the Haredi neighborhood. According to the indictment, the modesty patrols suspected that she "was carrying on improper relationships with married men," and therefore planned to attack her in order to cause her to leave and to "pay her back" for her deeds. ..Many people interviewed for the current article, however, believe that the recent attack in Ma'alot Dafna was a local operation "related to family honor," and had no connection to the modesty patrols or the Committee for Preserving Our Camp's Purity.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1016870. html

Haredi chastity squad methods exposed
Following arrest of chastity squad members, riots erupt in religious neighborhoods. Former members reveal how squads operate - The arrests of two alleged chastity squads members, Elhanan Buzaglo and Binyamin Meirovich, have sparked a new wave of violence in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods. Following the arrests, garbage bins in the neighborhood of Geula were set on fire. Police officers who arrived were greeted with rocks being thrown at them. A store selling MP4 devices was attacked last week. Buzaglo, 29, was indicted over an incident which took place two months ago. The District Prosecutor's Office believes that Buzaglo, along with six other chastity squad members, broke into a divorced woman's home located in the Jerusalem neighborhood of, Maalot Dafna, beat her and threatened her.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3589470,00. html

Haniyeh's nephew released from Israeli prison after 15 years
Gaza – Ma'an – After serving 15 years in Israeli prisons, the nephew of Palestinian Prime Minister of the de facto government Ismail Haniyeh was released. Abel Mo'ti Haniyeh was released on Sunday afternoon, and is not at Erez crossing on his way to the Gaza Strip.
The announcement came Sunday from the media spokesperson for senior prisoners Mahmoud Abu Hasirah. According to Abu Hasirah, Haniyeh served his sentence in different prisons including Ashkelon, Nafha, Hadarim and Megedo. He also spent time in solitary confinement.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=31644

Caretaker gov't decides to flatten Saraya compound
Dr. Yousef Al-Mansi, the minister of public works, stated that the caretaker government decided to demolish, during the coming three months, the governmental Saraya compound.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7rZmvBOEQqY UNRaboZ7mowiVPmt AxQ5IjZhr% 2b39lhHNclPIrkF7 GmUlSgmafm9NZqDy WLZuJdACuZNo% 2fFlVpesQlME% 2bnscq7FNTEuuzlL Bhc%3d

Demonstrations in Ni'lin continue after a 4 month old baby is injured and a 9 year old shot in the head
On Thursday morning Occupation forces stormed the town in an attempt to suppress protests and intimidate the people of Ni'lin. The military gathered close to the girls' secondary school and fired tear gas and sound bombs, terrifying the the children. They fired on various homes and directly into the home of Said Salim Khawaje, whose 4 month old baby suffered from the suffocating gas. They later attacked a Bedouin family who lives close to the path of the Apartheid Wall outside the village.
http://stopthewall. org/latestnews/ 1722.shtml

New Israeli Medical Association boycott website
The Medical Committee for Boycott of the Israeli Medical Association (IMA) has launched a new website. The site contains information, articles and analysis on the Occupation's use of torture as well as the acceptance by Israeli doctors of this practice. The boycott targets the IMA because it has consistently refused to condemn or issue advise doctors who are involved with torture. As an institution, the role of the IMA is to insure that international medical standards are met.
http://stopthewall. org/worldwideact ivism/1719. shtml

Egypt closes Gaza border after thousands cross
AFP - Egypt on Monday closed the border crossing between Sinai and the Hamas-run Gaza Strip after a brief opening allowed thousands in and out of the besieged territory, a security official said.
http://us.rd. yahoo.com/ dailynews/ rss/mideast/ *http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20080901/ wl_mideast_ afp/mideastconfl ictgazacrossing

Hamas rejects Egypt's suggestion to send troops to Gaza
Gaza – Ma'an – Hamas slammed Egypt's suggestion that troops be sent into Gaza to stabilize the situation. The statements of Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al-Gheit were published in the Egyptian daily newspaper Ash-Sharq Al-Awsat on Saturday. He commented that he believed Arab forces would help end internal clashes, and make Israel paus e before braking the truce in Gaza.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=31642

Hamas angered by Egypt's statement of deploying Arab forces in Gaza
In what appeared as an angry objection letter from Hamas against the statements of Egypt's Foreign Minister Ahmad Abu Al Gheit who spoke of the possibility of sending Arab b forces to Gaza in order to end the tension and internal unrest, Hamas said that it totally rejects this idea and will fight any Arab or foreign forces that tries to deploy in Gaza.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 56785

As a Palestinian state recedes, Jordan contacts Hamas
Jordan's move to thaw relations with the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) following nine years of estrangement has raised eyebrows as to the timing and the motives behind this tactic. Internal and external factors dictated the rapprochement amid growing Jordanian dismay at American and Israeli behavior - the kingdom's main strategic allies since the turn of the century. Hence, the timing bears significance considering the last months of President George W. Bush's tenure and Israel's political paralysis. On the other side, the Palestinian Authority (PA) led by Mahmoud Abbas looks headed toward failure in light of Hamas' pounding and US-Israeli indifference.
http://www.dailysta r.com.lb/ article.asp? edition_id= 1&categ_id=5&article_id=95587

Hamas and Fatah agree to form committee to end political arrests
Rival Palestinian factions of Hamas and Fatah have finally reached a deal on forming a committee to end politically- motivated arrests.
The committee will be divided into one based in the Hamas-controlled Gaza and the other one based in the West Bank where the Fatah-dominated Palestinian National Authority (PNA) rules, said Kayed al-Ghoul, an official from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2008-08/31/ content_9744799. htm

Arab League vows not to accept continuation of Palestinian split
The Cairo-based Arab League (AL) vowed here Sunday not to accept the continuation of Palestinian division and bloodletting. AL Secretary General Amr Moussa reiterated the Arab stance in press statements at a ceremony to honor Hussein Abdel-Khaleq, permanent Palestinian delegate to the AL, on the occasion of the end of his tour of duty, according to Egypt's official MENA news agency.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2008-09/01/ content_9745990. htm

Olmert to Abbas: You're not supposed to meet killers
Prime Minister Olmert reprimands Palestinian leader over his meeting with released murderer Samir Kuntar; Abbas requests another prisoner release but Olmert's associates say PM made no such pledge.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3590171,00. html

Diskin: PA heading for tumultuous times
Shin Bet chief briefs cabinet on current security, political situation in Palestinian Authority, says end of Abbas' presidency may plunge PA into political turmoil.
http://www.ynetnews .com/articles/ 0,7340,L- 3590168,00. html

Shin Bet chief: Abbas' time as PA President is running out
Shin Bet chief Yuval Diskin on Sunday told the cabinet that Mahmoud Abbas' time as Palestinian President was nearing its end as elections in the Palestinian Authority approach.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1016836. html

Free Gaza Boat's members condemn being denied access through the Rafah terminal
Members of the Free Gaza Boat, who opted to leave Gaza through the Rafah crossing terminal, in solidarity with the Palestinian people, condemned on Monday the Egyptian authorities denial of their access through the terminal.
http://www.imemc. org/article/ 56795

Ynet: Gaza activists say will run Israel blockade again
'Free-Gaza' activists plan return to Strip within a month. 'This might be the beginning of a simple delivery service, if we can set up the mechanisms here in Cyprus,' member says.
http://www.palsolid arity.org/ main/2008/ 08/31/ynet- gaza-activists- say-will- run-israel- blockade- again/

Statistics: West Bank population above 2 million
An official Palestinian population census published on Monday by the Palestinian Statistic Center (PSC) showed that the Palestinian population in the West Bank has grown up to 2,350,000. Lo'ai Shabana, director in chief of PSC said in a statement that the latest results of the population census held in the West Bank in 2007 showed that the population grew from 1,873,000 people in 1997 to 2,350,000 people in 2007.
http://news. xinhuanet. com/english/ 2008-09/01/ content_9750880. htm

Growth in the land of contradictions
Today's West Bank is a land of shocking contrasts – of one set of rules and rights for Palestinians and another for Jewish settlers. Palestinian lives are under the absolute control of the Israeli army, which can either seal off communities with roadblocks or invade them at will. The Palestinian economy is being slowly strangled by the separation barrier. Few Palestinians are allowed any longer to seek work inside Israel, and their freedom to move around the West Bank is severely curtailed by hundreds of checkpoints and almost unattainable travel permits.
http://www.thenatio nal.ae/article/ 20080831/ FOREIGN/77252559 6/1011/SPORT

Fuel prices to rise 0.50 percent Sunday at midnight
Bethlehem – Ma'an – Fuel prices will increase 0.50 percent at midnight on Sunday, according to Israeli sources. Benzene with 95 octane will reach 6.69 shekels per liter in self-service, and 96 octane benzene prices will reach 6.71 shekels per liter in self-service.
Full service prices will be 0.12 shekels higher per liter.
http://www.maannews .net/en/index. php?opr=ShowDeta ils&ID=31643

Israel opens Al Aqsa mosque to some Palestinians for Ramadan
Israel said Sunday it will allow some, but not all Palestinians to go to the Al Aqsa mosque in East Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan that begins Monday. In a statement, the Israeli military said Palestinian men aged 45 to 50 and married could join Friday prayers at the mosque, the third most sacred venue in Islam.
http://afp.google. com/article/ ALeqM5jsEJDRTA24 K1oeYZLcjBq1nfB7 pA

IOA bans entry of Palestinians less than 45 years old into Aqsa Mosque
A spokesman for the IOF has said that all Palestinians under 45 years living in the West Bank would be barred from entering the Aqsa Mosque during Friday congregations in the holy month of Ramadan.
http://www.palestin e-info.co. uk/En/default. aspx?xyz= U6Qq7k%2bcOd87MD I46m9rUxJEpMO% 2bi1s7agLnkEeAcs 5%2bC5cpf8Bv1218 RgQk4a0wCyx0jMj% 2fGJ3%2bcNvBgbIz Ix4MCC2cdOstiKTV Fr8ktSkGPHvOcHym SxIWW2uSEtC0CFef LJaNQek%3d

Shadow over Mideast Ramadan mood
Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, West Bank and Arab East Jerusalem stock up ahead of the holy month of Ramadan.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Jerusalem stock up ahead of the holy month of Ramadan. In Gaza, the crippled economy of a territory under siege overshadows the atmosphere.
http://uk.reuters. com/news/ video?rpc= 401&videoId=89906&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=401&videoChannel= 1

Ex-Ambassador to U.S.: Arabs in Galilee are secessionist threat
Will the Arabs of the Galilee declare independence one day like Kosovo, Abkhazia or South Ossetia? According to Danny Ayalon, Israel's former ambassador to the United States, the answer is definitely yes. In Ayalon's first public appearance since he joined the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party on Saturday, he warned on Sunday: "If the government of Israel does not act to have a Jewish majority in the North, then the Arab majority in the Galilee will declare independence and [demand] international recognition on the basis of the precedents of Kosovo, Abkhazia and [South Ossetia].
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1016855. html

Med-Enec backed West Bank geothermal pilot project presented at Ramallah conference
The pilot project is one unit in a complex of 62 'conventional' semi-detached villas built on an area of 24,000 square metres. The 390 square metres demonstration villa includes three floors, a walk-out basement and a garage. The main elements of the energy concept for the building are good insulation of the basement floor, walls and windows, and the use of geothermal energy. 10 vertical boreholes, each 70 metres deep, deliver enough energy to the 23 KW heating and cooling system with two heat pumps in order to reduce annual heating and cooling costs from $3,300 to merely $850 per year. This produces energy cost savings of over 70%, which means that, with the high energy prices in Palestine, the pay-back period is less than five years.
http://www.ameinfo. com/167457. html

Hamas Seeking to Come in from Cold
Chances of coming in from the cold are looking better for Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement ruling the Gaza Strip, as the world braces itself for crucial changes in political leaderships and power shifts that might also bring strategic policy turns in the Middle East.
The U.S. George W. Bush administration, which has led a fierce campaign against Hamas and is widely seen as the friendliest U.S. government yet to Israel, has fewer than 150 days left in office, with no sign that the peace talks it is sponsoring between the Palestinian Authority (PA), led by President Mahmoud Abbas, and Israel are getting anywhere.
http://www.miftah. org/Display. cfm?DocId= 17719&CategoryId=5

'Orchestra against ignorance' plays on
Tales are swapped of checkpoints and roadblocks, of persecution and circumscription, of inconceivable tragedy and duress. Whichever war-afflicted Middle East country they happen to be from, these youngsters have probably experienced horrors their Western counterparts could never dream of. "Suffering is the monopoly of no one," Said once observed: of course there are political and religious backgrounds in conflict here, but the moment the musicians are on stage, "the personal stories drop away, become irrelevant".
http://www.theaustr alian.news. com.au/story/ 0,25197,24271414 -16947,00. html

To Carry a Camera in Gaza
Anybody carrying a camera in the Gaza Strip is a potential target. This is the simple conclusion that can be reached following the Israeli military prosecutor's report that was issued a few days ago. The report cleared Israeli soldiers who shot dead Palestinian cameraman Fadel Shana who died on April 16, 2008 along with eight unarmed youths under 16 years of age. Why did Israeli soldiers venture upon launching two missiles towards a group of unarmed youths and the Reuters cameraman who was holding his camera and whose clothes and equipment were clearly marked 'press'?
http://www.miftah. org/Display. cfm?DocId= 17720&CategoryId=5

Israeli PR Fails the Test
When Ron Prosor arrived in London last year to take up his post as Israeli ambassador he was eager to step up public relations. He told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz: "I'm not afraid to appear anywhere, and there is no platform… that I will not utilize for PR work."
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=14121

Boy meets girl - it's a Middle Eastern EastEnders with checkpoints
There's a small but telltale moment in the first episode of Matabb, the new - indeed, first - Palestinian soap opera, when the camera shows a flashy, cherry-red BMW with the yellow licence plate starting to fall off. It is meant to tell you everything you need to know about its slick-haired driver, Abdallah - glossy on the outside, but really a thieving braggart not to be trusted with young ladies.
http://entertainmen t.timesonline. co.uk/tol/ arts_and_ entertainment/ tv_and_radio/ article4636846. ece

Seth Freedman: Giving, across the divide
Seth Freedman: The Jerusalem interest-free microfinance fund has been set up to benefit both poor Muslims and Jews in the holy city.
http://www.guardian .co.uk/commentis free/2008/ sep/01/israeland thepalestinians. charitablegiving ?gusrc=rss&feed=worldnews

Israel ready to mull leaving part of northern border town of Ghajar
Israel told the United States on Sunday it was prepared to withdraw from the northern part of Ghajar on the Lebanese border, a change in its policy for the past year and a half of not wanting to discuss the issue. A government source in Jerusalem said the decision was made after the Lebanese government delivered written assurances that UNIFIL would be given security and civilian control over the northern part of the village, which is in Lebanese territory.
http://www.haaretz. com/hasen/ spages/1016874. html

Sheikh Kassem: Hezbollah Will Avenge Imad Moghniyeh
Hezbollah Deputy Secretary General Sheikh Naim Kassem told Al-Manar TV Friday that revenge for the assassination of top resistance commander martyr Imad Moghniyeh (Hajj Redwan) was a legitimate right of the resistance and "will come as a surprise to the Israelis when it happens." "Revenge is the legitimate right. For everything there is a time, God willing," Sheikh Kassem continued. "We won't get into details, but the Israelis will be surprised."
http://almanar. com.lb/NewsSite/ NewsDetails. aspx?id=55149&language=en

Strategies of Resistance in Palestine
In a recent article on Palestinian political economy we are given a lucid and comprehensive account of neo liberal economic policy and the US-Israeli and European involvement in the process of integrating the Palestinian economy into a source of profiteering for the former colonial powers (and Pax Americana). (1). This should not surprise anyone familiar with the historical trajectory of colonialism and neo-colonialism. However, it is incumbent on all who support the liberation of Palestine to understand the economic realities that are propelling the strategies of resistance to continued colonial and neo-colonial exploitation of the people of Palestine. It would also assist in identifying and forwarding these strategies if the big picture of the Palestinian Authority's fraudulent claims of settling final status issues with Israel are seen for what they are, a surrender of Palestinian national rights. In this article I shall draw out the implications of the above-mentioned article for political struggle in Palestine.
http://palestinechr onicle.com/ view_article_ details.php? id=14120

Hottentot Morality
"If he steals my cow, that is bad. If I steal his cow, that is good" - this moral rule was attributed by European racists to the Hottentots, an ancient tribe in Southern Africa. It's hard not to be reminded of this when the United States and the European countries cry out against Russia's recognition of the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the two provinces which seceded from the Republic of Sakartvelo, known in the West as Georgia.
http://zope. gush-shalom. org/home/ en/channels/ avnery/122018314 1

U.N. troops offer lessons in peace in Lebanon
EBEL AL SAQI, LEBANON -- The yoga instructor chuckles, and the three dozen or so women follow along, giggling nervously before bursting through some invisible layer of restraint or sorrow and laughing with abandon. Grins widen into smiles, tentative squeals bloom into full-bore howls. The yoga instructor is teaching inner peace, but he's also trying to keep the peace: He's Warrant Officer Mal Singh of the Indian army, part of a 30-year-old United Nations force stationed in southern Lebanon.
http://www.latimes. com/news/ la-fg-peacekeepe rs26-2008aug26, 0,4694580, full.story
http://www.latimes. com/news/ la-fg-peacekeepe r-pg,0,1286542. photogallery? 1
http://www.latimes. com/video/ ?slug=la- fg-peacekeeper- vids (both videos)

Sunday: 13 Iraqis Killed, 8 Wounded
Excerpt: Updated at 6:45 p.m. EDT, Aug. 31, 2008 At least 13 Iraqis were killed and 8 more were wounded in the latest attacks. Meanwhile, the tense situation between central government forces and Peshmerga forces continues in Khanaqin. Also, Ramadan begins tomorrow for Sunni Muslims and the day after for Shi'ites.
http://www.antiwar. com/updates/ ?articleid= 13392

Iraq: At least 7 killed as US occupation grinds on
A member of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol and three of his relatives were killed.
http://www.alertnet .org/thenews/ newsdesk/ ANW125710. htm

US to hand over Anbar as Iraqi Sunnis begin Ramadan
AFP - The US military will hand over security control of Anbar, once the most explosive battlefield in Iraq, to local forces on Monday as Iraqi Sunnis begin observing the holy month of Ramadan.
http://us.rd. yahoo.com/ dailynews/ rss/iraq/ *http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20080901/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestus anbar

Qaeda defectors claw way back into Iraq mainstream
AFP - Last month Al-Qaeda fighters Abdul Rahman Mohammed and Ahmed Ali laid down their arms after nearly four years of fighting US soldiers in Iraq.
http://us.rd. yahoo.com/ dailynews/ rss/iraq/ *http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20080831/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestqa eda

Relations sour between Kurds and central government
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has asked Kurdish militias known locally as peshmerqa to evacuate areas south of the "green line" demarcating the autonomous Kurdish enclave in northern Iraq. Maliki has went as far as sending Iraqi troops to flush out the Kurdish militias from villages, towns and cities officially not part of the Kurdish region. Iraqi troops have reportedly spread their control in the string of towns and villages in the restive Province of Diyala which the Kurds claimed as their.
http://www.azzaman. com/english/ index.asp? fname=news\ 2008-08-30\ kurd.htm

Immunity a sticking point in US-Iraq security pact: report
AFP - Iraq and the United States are still far apart on the issue of immunity for American troops, according to a draft security agreement between the two countries published by an Iraqi paper on Monday.
http://us.rd. yahoo.com/ dailynews/ rss/iraq/ *http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20080901/ pl_afp/iraqusmil itary

Maliki's growing defiance of U.S. worries allies and critics
BAGHDAD — Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has been on a roll, and American officials are getting worried.
http://www.mcclatch ydc.com/iraq/ story/51167. html

Iraq largely free of foreign fighters: police
AFP - Counter-offensives by the security forces over the past year have largely rid Iraq of foreign fighters recruited by insurgent groups such as Al-Qaeda, a top police commander said on Monday.
http://us.rd. yahoo.com/ dailynews/ rss/iraq/ *http://news. yahoo.com/ s/afp/20080901/ wl_mideast_ afp/iraqunrestqa eda

Iraqi unable to shake the feeling of homelessness
Reporter is able to get back his Baghdad home from squatters, but the plundered house and the state of the country leave him feeling bereft. My family's home was taken over by insurgents 19 months ago. On Sunday, we got it back.
http://feeds. latimes.com/ %7Er/latimes/ middleeast/ %7E3/380281292/ la-fg-iraqhome1- 2008sep01, 0,2669844. story

ME Arabs 'reject' idea of Iran strike
By and large, Arabs in the Middle East "absolutely reject" an Israeli or American strike on Iran or its nuclear facilities and believe the Islamic Republic is being "targeted" for reasons other than its nuclear program, an Egyptian expert on Iran has told The Jerusalem Post. Slideshow:Unlike the US-led Iraq War of 2003, an attack on Iran would likely fail to garner any Arab support and any country that chooses to participate in such a strike would be branded a traitor, said Mohammed Said Idris, head of the Gulf Studies department at the Cairo-based Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies and editor of Iran Digest.
http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=121991320242 4&pagename=JPost% 2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull

Evangelicals in Israel back McCain
Evangelical Christians living in Jerusalem on Sunday voiced unflinching support for presumptive Republican nominee John McCain, and heaped praise on his surprise selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as his running mate. "McCain has a depth of understanding of foreign policy - including in the Middle East - which makes him the best choice for Israel," said Michael Mott, a native of Colorado who has lived in Israel for the past 12 years. McCain's choice of Palin was a "strategic move" that "blew away" last week's Democratic National Convention, he said, adding that it was certain to win him more votes in the November election. The selection of Palin, who is anti-abortion and pro-gun rights, electrified social conservatives, including Evangelicals, who had previously been tepid about McCain's candidacy.
http://www.jpost. com/servlet/ Satellite? cid=122018649158 4&pagename=JPost% 2FJPArticle% 2FShowFull

www.TheHeadlines. org
__._,_.___

34 artikel menarik seputar Tan Malaka

34 artikel menarik seputar Tan Malaka

http://ruangasadiru mahkata.blogspot .com/2008/ 09/tan-malaka- bapak-republik- revolusi. html

Majalah Tempo dalam edisi khusus Kemerdekaan mengangkat profil Tan Malaka : Bapak Republik Yang Dilupakan. Tidak tanggung-tanggung edisi Tan Malaka ini terdiri dari 26artikel yang ditulis oleh wartawan Tempo dan 8 kolom/opini yang ditulis oleh pengamat/pakar dari Asvi Warman Adam hingga Ignas Kleden.

Beberapa petikan penting soal Tan Malaka, sehingga terlalu gegabah kalau kita mengabaikan edisi khusus tempo ini, mengabaikan Tan Malaka .....

”Ia menulis Naar de Republiek Indonesia (Menuju Republik Indonesia) pada 1925, jauh lebih dulu dibanding Mohammad Hatta, yang menulis Indonesia Vrije (Indonesia Merdeka) sebagai pleidoi di depan pengadilan Belanda di Den Haag (1928), dan Bung Karno, yang menulis Menuju Indonesia Merdeka (1933)”.

“Buku Naar de Republiek dan Massa Actie (1926) yang ditulis dari tanah pelarian itu telah menginspirasi tokoh-tokoh pergerakan di Indonesia. Tokoh pemuda radikal Sayuti Melik, misalnya, mengenang bagaimana Bung Karno dan Ir Anwari membawa dan mencoret-coret hal penting dari Massa Actie.”

“Bagi Yamin-yang kemudian bergabung dengan Tan dalam kelompok Persatuan Perjuangan-Tan tak ubahnya Bapak Bangsa Amerika Serikat, Thomas Jefferson dan George Washington: merancangkan Republik sebelum kemerdekaannya tercapai”

"W.R. Supratman sudah membaca seluruh buku Massa Actie itu," kata Hadidjojo. Muhammad Yaminlah yang memaksa Sugondo memberikan waktu bagi Supratman memainkan lagu ciptaannya di situ. Lalu bergemalah lagu Indonesia Raya, lagu yang terinspirasi dari bagian akhir Massa Actie: "Lindungi bendera itu dengan bangkaimu, nyawamu, dan tulangmu. Itulah tempat yang selayaknya bagimu, seorang putra tanah Indonesia tempat darahmu tertumpah”

“Ia hidup dalam pelarian di 11 negara. Ia memiliki 23 nama palsu. Ia diburu polisi rahasia Belanda, Jepang, Inggris dan Amerika Serikat”.

“Ketika memperingati sewindu hilangnya Tan Malaka pada 19 Februari 1957, Kepala Staf Angkatan Darat Mayor Jenderal Abdul Haris Nasution mengatakan pikiran Tan dalam Kongres Persatuan Perjuangan dan pada buku Gerpolek (Gerilya Politik Ekonomi) menyuburkan ide perang rakyat semesta. Perang rakyat semesta ini, menurut Nasution, sukses ketika rakyat melawan dua kali agresi Belanda. Terlepas dari pandangan politik, ia berkata, Tan harus dicatat sebagai tokoh ilmu militer Indonesia. “

“....jika saya tiada berdaya lagi, maka saya akan menyerahkan pimpinan revolusi kepada seorang yang telah mahir dalam gerakan revolusioner, Tan Malaka. (testamen Soekarno)”

“Di seputar Proklamasi, Tan menorehkan perannya yang penting. Ia menggerakkan para pemuda ke rapat raksasa di Lapangan Ikada (kini kawasan Monas), 19 September 1945. Inilah rapat yang menunjukkan dukungan massa pertama terhadap proklamasi kemerdekaan yang waktu itu belum bergema keras dan "masih sebatas catatan di atas kertas". Tan menulis aksi itu "uji kekuatan untuk memisahkan kawan dan lawan". Setelah rapat ini, perlawanan terhadap Jepang kian berani dan gencar”.

Ketua Partai Komunis Indonesia, D.N. Aidit, mengatakan sumber kegagalan pemberontakan 1926 antara lain kurang persiapan dan minim koordinasi. "Tapi, selain itu, ada orang seperti Tan Malaka, yang tidak melakukan apa pun, hanya menyalahkan setelah perlawanan meletus," kata Aidit. Dia juga menyebut Tan sebagai Trotskyite, pengikut Leon Trotsky (lawan politik Stalin), "sang pemecah belah".

”Musso bersumpah menggantung Tan karena pertikaian internal partai”.

"Kongres memberi tepuk tangan yang ramai pada Tan Malaka, seolah-olah telah memberi ovasi padanya," tulis Gerard Vanter untuk harian De Tribune. "Itu merupakan suatu pujian bagi kawan-kawan kita di Hindia yang harus melakukan perjuangan berat terhadap aksi kejam." (Konggres Komintern ke 4)

Tan Malaka adalah Che Guevara Asia – Harry Poeze (penulis gigih Biografi Tan Malaka)

Silah mengakses ke seluruh 34 artikel tersebut dibawah ini, klik

http://ruangasadiru mahkata.blogspot .com/2008/ 09/tan-malaka- bapak-republik- revolusi. html

Semoga bermanfaat

Salam hangat
Andreas Iswinarto

Artikel seputar Tan Malaka :
DIA YANG MAHIR DALAM REVOLUSI , Jalan Sunyi Tamu dari Bayah, Kisruh Ahli Waris Obor Revolusi, Si Mata Nyalang di Balai Societeit, Gerilya Dua Sekawan, Kerani yang Baik Hati, Naskah dari Rawajati, Bolsyewik yang Terbuang, Peniup Suling bagi Anak Kuli, Bertemu Para Bolsyewik Tua, Dukungan untuk Pan-Islamisme, Gerilya di Tanah Sun Man, Penggagas Awal Republik Indonesia , No Le Toqueis, Jawa!, Tumpah Darahku dalam Sebuah Buku, Macan dari Lembah Suliki, Cita-cita Revolusi dari Tanah Haarlem, Sobatmu Selalu, Ibrahim, Trio Minang Bersimpang Jalan, Perempuan di Hati Macan, Wawancara Setelah Mati, Persinggahan Terakhir Lelaki dan Bukunya, Misteri Mayor Psikopat, Tan Malaka, Sejak Agustus Itu, Tan Malaka: Nasionalisme Seorang Marxis, Tan Vs Pemberontakan 1926-1927, Republik dalam Mimpi Tan Malaka, Pemberontak dari Alam Permai Minangkabau , Madilog: Sebuah Sintesis Perantauan, (Bukan) Seseorang dalam Arus Utama Revolusi , Warisan Tan Malaka

Native elders, educators call for greater indigenous inclusion in climate change dialogue

Native elders, educators call for greater indigenous inclusion in climate change dialogue.
Tribal elders, educators and scholars are calling for inclusion of indigenous voices in the current international dialogue on global climate change.

Indian Country Today
1 September 2008.

BUT SEE:



Can engineering the earth save it from catastrophe?
Fears that the world is not doing enough to cut carbon dioxide emissions are forcing scientists to "think the unthinkable" by taking seriously the idea that humans may have to alter the global climate artificially with mega-engineering projects.
London Independent


Scientists warn that technology to beat global warming may backfire.
Engineering modifications the Earth's climate may be necessary if humanity is to adapt to global warming, a group of influential scientists will say today. But humanity may not be ready for the side effects.
London Times


Radical ideas to save the planet suggested by leading scientists.
With governments failing to grasp the need for measures to combat climate change, a group of scientists says radical - and possibly dangerous - solutions must now be seriously considered.
London Guardian

Linguistics professor George Lakoff dissects the "war on terror" and other conservative catchphrases

http://berkeley. edu/news/ media/releases/ 2004/08/25_ lakoff.shtml

George Lakoff, UC Berkeley linguistics professor and Rockridge Institute Fellow. (BAP photos)

Linguistics professor George Lakoff dissects the "war on terror" and other conservative catchphrases

By Bonnie Azab Powell, NewsCenter | 26 August 2004




BERKELEY – With the Democratic National Convention over and the Republican one beginning next week, it seemed a good time to check in with George Lakoff, the UC Berkeley professor of cognitive linguistics whose scrutiny of the language of politics has begun to bring him national recognition. The author of the seminal book "Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think," Lakoff's specialty is dissecting "framing," or the ways in which conservatives and liberals position issues to fit their respective moral worldviews. (For more on framing, read this excerpt from the NewsCenter's October 2003 interview with Lakoff.) He grasps how Republicans use language more effectively than Democrats, and what Democrats can do about it.





When we last talked to Lakoff, he had just embarked on a one-year sabbatical from UC Berkeley to work on three books, none of them about politics. He got sidetracked. Presidential candidate Howard Dean made "Moral Politics" required reading for his campaign staff, more than 200 advocacy groups called for Lakoff's advice, the Democratic senators invited him twice to their policy retreats, and he began getting calls from progressive groups around the country. The Rockridge Institute, the progressive think tank he cofounded with seven other UC professors to reframe public debate, began buzzing with activity. In response to demand, Lakoff set aside his linguistic research for intense - and in many ways more challenging - study of the application of linguistics and cognitive science to politics.




In the last couple of months he has written a short book, "Don't Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate," which will be marketed at first over the Internet with the help of a host of advocacy groups. Billed as the "essential guide for progressives, " the book is praised by such members of the liberal pantheon as Dean, the founders of MoveOn.org, the Sierra Club's Carl Pope, and billionaire political activist George Soros. The $10 paperback can be ordered from the publisher, Chelsea Green, and from BarnesandNoble. com; it will be published around September 8.

UC Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff filed daily dispatches about the language used in the major speeches of the Republican National Convention. (Bart Nagel photo)
• August 30: All terror, all the time
• August 31: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps — if you can afford the boots
• September 1: Red-meat night frames Kerry
• September 2: Freedom, liberty, freedom




Next week Lakoff returns to teaching at UC Berkeley with Linguistics 290L, a seminar that will train students to recognize frames and follow their usage in the presidential election. And starting August 30, he will comment for the NewsCenter on how issues are being framed by Republican Convention speakers.




What's in this new "essential guide for progressives" ?





Even the Democratic Party seems to have trouble defining what makes a liberal.




Well, for that reason I wrote a chapter on what unites progressives - a moral system, certain political principles, and what I call policy directions as opposed to policies. A policy direction is something like "Let's have a sustainable environment" and "Working people shouldn't be living in poverty" and "Everybody should have health care." The problem is that the Democrats have wanted to talk about programs rather than policy directions, and programs call up distinctions, which tend to separate people. For example, Kerry should be talking about health care for everyone, and just put a white paper with the details of the program on his website. The values, principles, and general directions are what people care about and what brings them together. It's pointless to argue about the policy-wonk details, because they're going to change anyway.




In another chapter I tell progressives how to talk to conservatives. This is not rocket science: you should show respect, know your values, always reframe, and say what you believe. The important thing is not to accept their framing of the issues, nor just negate their framing - that just reinforces it. Simply confronting them with facts won't help. Frames trump facts. The facts alone will not set you free. You have to reframe the issues before the facts can become meaningful and powerful.




Some conservatives are ideologues and you're not going to sway them. But most conservatives are nice people. What you want to do is activate their nurturing model, engage their empathy. Ask them who they care about, what they care about, and why. Find out where their empathy lies. Connect with the part of them that shares your values, and get that to spread to other issues.




Last October you said that "liberals don't get it" - they don't even realize that conservatives are controlling the terms of debate. Have they gotten any better at framing?




There's been a lot of improvement. In nine months we've managed to reach a lot of people. You saw it in action at the Democratic Convention, in the speeches by Bill Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Barack Obama, and John Kerry. They talked about values. That's a big change, and it's not an accident. They talked about unity, not the culture war. They began to explain why Democratic values are traditional American values - an important step. The idea is very simple: Look at the things we are most proud of in this country, from the Declaration of Independence to the present. We had slavery then. We abolished it. Only male property owners could vote. Now both non-property owners and women can vote.

The New Deal, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act - these too are all products of progressive, liberal values. They represent advances of the nurturant parent model versus the conservative "strict father" model [articulated in Lakoff's "Moral Politics," see here for a brief discussion]. These movements are also seen as stemming from traditional American values, part of our shared heritage. So, when you start looking at what this country is rightfully proud of, it's the extension of progressive values. And it's time to say that loud and clear.




One of the values that Democrats seemed to drop into every sentence of the Convention was "strength." How is that part of the progressive canon?




You have to fight strength with strength. That's straight out of "Moral Politics": the strict father has to be strong, but the nurturant parent must also be strong. However, I don't think the Democrats did a good job of defining what the difference is in Kerry's kind of strength, because they refused to use the word "weak" in reference to Bush. They wanted to have a completely positive campaign - which it isn't anyway - but they didn't want to say that Bush has made the country weaker. The issue of weakness awakens the stereotype of liberals, so instead they said, "Look, we just want America to be stronger."

But "stronger" doesn't necessarily imply weak. They could have talked more directly about all the ways Bush has weakened the country. When they have a case to be made on the basis of a pattern of behavior, they don't tend to use a grammar that really nails the message, like "We're weaker in education, and here's why. We're weaker in security, and here's why." You could write this argument in half a page. The Democrats aren't there yet, by any means.


'A "war president" has extraordinary powers. And the "war on terror," of course, never ends. There's no peace treaty with terror. It's a prescription for keeping conservatives in power indefinitely. '
-George Lakoff



Why do conservatives like to use the phrase "liberal elite" as an epithet?




Conservatives have branded liberals, and the liberals let them get away with it: the "liberal elite," the "latte liberals," the "limousine liberals." The funny thing is that conservatives are the elite. The whole idea of conservative doctrine is that some people are better than others, that some people deserve more. To conservatives, if you're poor it's because you deserve it, you're not disciplined enough to get ahead. Conservative doctrine requires that there be an elite: the people who thrive in the free market have more money, and they should. Progressives say, "No, that's not fair. Maybe some should have more money, but no one should live in poverty. Everybody who works deserves to have a reasonable standard of living for their work." These are ideas that are progressive or liberal ideas, and progressives aren't getting them out there enough.

What progressives are promoting is not elite at all. Progressives ought to be talking about the conservative elite. They shouldn't be complaining about "tax cuts for the rich," they should be complaining about "tax cuts for the conservative elite," because that's who's getting them.




Speaking of taxes, Democrats seem to have at last stopped falling into the trap of using the phrase "tax relief" - thereby adopting conservative framing that taxes are an affliction from which citizens need to be rescued. But they haven't yet presented an alternate frame for taxes.




Every now and then they slip and say "tax relief for the middle class," but yes, they're learning. The Republicans, meanwhile, have increased their usage.




Recently I've been talking about taxes as investments for the common good. In the past the government made certain wise investments in things like the interstate highway system. You just get in your car and drive; you don't think about how every time you use the highways you're getting a dividend on that previous investment - and so is every business that sends a truck over the interstate highway system. The Internet is another example. It started out as a network funded by the Defense Department, by the government investing taxpayers' money. Now, every time you surf the Web, you're getting a dividend. Drugs and medical advances that come out of National Institutes of Health grants are financed by taxpayers. Computer chips in our computers and cars exist because of the government's early investment of taxpayers' money in semiconductor research.




But wouldn't conservatives argue, as they have with Social Security, that individuals can invest their money better than the government?




That's simple. Would you prefer to have the government build and maintain the highway system, or do it yourself? Would you rather have a private company owning the highway system and the Internet, and charging you God knows how much to use them? You like the army, but do you want to build your own? How about your own police and fire departments? No. You want a government that can do the things you need, in the areas where private companies can't or won't do them or simply can't be trusted to do them right. One of progressives' main goals is a better future for all. A wise and efficient government is needed for that in hundreds of ways.




When it comes to government investment of your tax money, businesses benefit even more than ordinary people. To start a business, you don't have to invent computer science or the telephone network, you don't have to build a highway system. They're just there for businesses to use, as is the Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department, the SEC, the Commerce Department, and the courts. A company doesn't have to make up a way to adjudicate its disputes with other companies; we paid for it already. Nine-tenths of the courts are there for corporate law. Corporations get enormous benefits paid for by other taxpayers, but they've stopped paying their way. Corporate income tax used to make up about 38 percent of all U.S. taxes. Now it's less than 10 percent. Ordinary taxpayers are making the investments in infrastructure, and corporate stockholders are getting the dividends. And that's just not fair.




You've said that progressives should never use the phrase "war on terror" - why?




There are two reasons for that. Let's start with "terror." Terror is a general state, and it's internal to a person. Terror is not the person we're fighting, the "terrorist." The word terror activates your fear, and fear activates the strict father model, which is what conservatives want. The "war on terror" is not about stopping you from being afraid, it's about making you afraid.





Next, "war." How many terrorists are there - hundreds? Sure. Thousands? Maybe. Tens of thousands? Probably not. The point is, terrorists are actual people, and relatively small numbers of individuals, considering the size of our country and other countries. It's not a nation-state problem. War is a nation-state problem.




What about the "war on drugs" or the "war on poverty"?




Those are metaphorical. Real wars are wars against countries, and in the "war on terror," we are attacking countries. But those countries are not the same as the terrorists. We're acting at the wrong level. Meanwhile, by using this frame, we get a commander in chief, as the Republicans keep referring to Bush - a "war president" with "war powers," which imply that ordinary protections don't have to be observed. A "war president" has extraordinary powers. And the "war on terror," of course, never ends. There's no peace treaty with terror. It's a prescription for keeping conservatives in power indefinitely. In three words - "war on terror" - they've enacted vast political changes.





Bush has positioned war with Iraq as part of the "war on terror." How can progressives frame opposition to the Iraq war without being tarred as unpatriotic or as in league with the terrorists?




By criticizing Bush for weakening us. By saying out loud, while waving the flag, that the Iraq war has made us more vulnerable to terrorists in many ways. Iraq had nothing to do with 911 or al Qaeda. By moving troops from Afghanistan to Iraq, Bush may have let Osama bin Laden escape, and he certainly allowed al Qaeda and the Taliban to regroup. Moreover, the Iraq war has recruited more terrorists. The $200 billion we've spent there could have been used to enhance homeland security, which has mostly been ignored. It could also have been used to address the root causes of terrorism, which the Bush administration is ignoring. Moreover, Bush has allowed North Korea and Iran to move toward becoming nuclear powers, while he concentrated our efforts on Iraq, which had no nuclear weapons program. Allowing nuclear proliferation aids terrorism.




The Bush reply is always avoidance: that we're better off without Saddam Hussein. Clinton gave the clearest rebuttal of that argument: There are other bad guys like Saddam Hussein in the world, in North Korea, Iran, and Sudan. There are bad guys all over the place. Are we going to invade all these countries? As Clinton said, we can't possibly attack, imprison or kill everyone who's against us. We have to make friends.




You can also take a patriotic stand and criticize Bush for being ineffectual. You have to be on the offensive. Why did we go into Iraq without a peace plan? Without properly equipping our troops? Without our allies?




How do you frame this issue of Iraq? You say, "We go to war when we have to, when it's really necessary, when we're being attacked. We don't go to war as an instrument of economic policy. We don't go to war as an instrument of geopolitical positioning. We go to war when we have no other choice. We go with a plan for winning the peace, and we go with enough troops to be effective. Those are the minimal conditions." In short, you don't have to go on the defensive at all.




The old definition of a conservative was someone in favor of maintaining the status quo, that is, upholding tradition and opposing major changes in laws and institutions. Are Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft et al. mainstream conservatives?




As I say in the new book, they're radicals. They're not trying to conserve anything. They're trying to impose a strict father model taken from a terrible, disastrous parenting method - one ruled by the use of abusive power and force - on America and the world. If you're disciplined enough to make enough money to buy good health care, you deserve it, and to buy a good education for your children, you deserve it. Otherwise you don't deserve it and you won't get it.




This goes against American egalitarianism and the idea of economic equity - that is, if people work hard and play by the rules, they should have a decent standard of living, assuming there's enough money in the economy as a whole. There is enough money in this economy. To deny good health care and education to people who work goes against the best in American policy. It's radical and it's un-American.



More information

• The website for the Rockridge Institute has many articles describing framing and progressive policies in more detail

• Lakoff was interviewed July 23, 2004 by David Brancaccio for PBS's "NOW with Bill Moyers." Read the transcript or watch a RealPlayer video

• "Framing the Dems: How conservatives control political debate and how progressives can take it back," by George Lakoff, The American Prospect, Sept. 1, 2003

• "Wiring the vast left-wing conspiracy," by Matt Bai, New York Times Magazine, July 25, 2004

• "Framing the issues: UC Berkeley professor George Lakoff tells how conservatives use language to dominate politics," by Bonnie Azab Powell, UC Berkeley NewsCenter, October 27, 2003

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Come Together and Create!
Peter S. Lopez aka: Peta
Email: sacranative@ yahoo.com
Sacramento, California, Aztlan