29.9.08

Muslim Children Gassed at Dayton Mosque After "Obsession" DVD Hits Ohio

From Daily KOS...

On Friday, September 26, the end of a week in which thousands of copies of Obsession: Radical Islam's War Against the West -- the fear-mongering, anti-Muslim documentary being distributed by the millions in swing states via DVDs inserted in major newspapers and through the U.S. mail -- were distributed by mail in Ohio, a "chemical irritant" was sprayed through a window of the Islamic Society of Greater Dayton, where 300 people were gathered for a Ramadan prayer service. The room that the chemical was sprayed into was the room where babies and children were being kept while their mothers were engaged in prayers. This, apparently, is what the scare tactic political campaigning of John McCain's supporters has led to -- Americans perpetrating a terrorist attack against innocent children on American soil.


Notice that this happened Friday evening. The only write up I've seen was on Sunday and I just was sent this article today. Why the fuck isn't this on the news?!?!

28.9.08

Need homes for 4 cats!

Fuchsia and I have 4 cats that were rescues who need new homes. Please get in touch if you're at all interested or know someone who may be!

The cats’ back story: a friend found them in the alley with a note attached, saying that the person's mother (the cats' human) had died and the child could not take care of the cats. What we know of them, besides their initial personality, is from the note attached to their carrier.

The note said "I know nothing of shots"- Fuchsia and I will be taking them to a vet asap to get them tests, etc.


There are:

-Baby Boy: a 3 year old cat who is orange and white, the father of the other three. He's very vocal (he makes adorable sounds!), litter box trained, very adventurous- running right out of the carrier to explore his new surroundings, and playful (he went right to the toys I left in the library!). His name can not be changed as he responds to it! He also stops (generally) when you say no and is a very, very people-oriented, affectionate cat. Lastly, he uses his nails instinctively (not maliciously)- carpets may not be a good idea, and you should be comfortable trimming his nails often along with offering lots of scratching posts!

-Eric and Dude: siblings from different litters, Baby Boy is their father. They are white with dark splotches and a bonded pair- they must be adopted together! Both are very shy, although Eric, the 2 year old, seems a bit more adventurous and loves sitting in the windowsill. Dude, the 1 year old, likes to hide in a corner until he feels safe. Eric is very protective of Dude. Their names *might* be changeable as they are young and seem not to respond to them.

-Sparkle: the lone girl is a 1 year old tortoiseshell. She is incredibly sweet and, once she feels comfortable in a space, seems to want nothing more than to cuddle on your lap. She doesn’t respond to Sparkle and may be renamed.


NONE ARE SPAYED/NEUTERED AND MUST BE BEFORE OR AFTER ADOPTION! They are all scared and need forever homes asap. You will be asked to sign an adoption contract, and an adoption fee would be appreciated, though not required.


Want to see pictures? Check out this album:
http://flickr.com/photos/dorkyvegan/sets/72157607563456193/

Email Fuchsia (dorkyvegan@gmail.com) or Emelda (veganemelda@gmail.com) for more info.

26.9.08

The Subprime Primer

Up until recently, I was very confused as to what was going on with the market. Besides that rich fucks were fucking over poor fucks. Nothing new, right? Then a friend explained it to me, finally, in a manner I could understand. Then, another friend linked me to this- The Subprime Primer, a slideshow that explains the origins of the crisis- with stick figures!!!

Check it out here.

16.9.08

Amnesty International's Response to the Police Repression in St. Paul RNC

PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release:
Friday, September 5, 2008
Contact: AIUSA media office
202-544-0200 x302

Use of Force Against RNC Protesters “Disproportionate,” Charges Amnesty International

London--Amnesty International is concerned by allegations of excessive use of force and mass arrests by police at demonstrations in St. Paul, Minnesota during the Republican National Convention (RNC) from September 1-4, 2008. The human rights organization is calling on the city and county authorities to ensure that all allegations of ill-treatment and other abuses are impartially investigated, with a review of police tactics and weapons in the policing of demonstrations.

The organization’s concerns arise from media reports, video and photographic images which appear to show police officers deploying unnecessary and disproportionate use of non-lethal weapons on non-violent protestors marching through the streets or congregating outside the arena where the Convention was being held.

Amnesty International urges that an inquiry be carried out promptly, that its findings and recommendations be made public in a timely manner. If the force used is found to have been excessive and to have contravened the principles of necessity and proportionality, then those involved should be disciplined, measures put in place and training given to ensure future policing operations conform to international standards.

Police are reported to have fired rubber bullets and used batons, pepper spray, tear gas canisters and concussion grenades on peaceful demonstrators and journalists. Amnesty International has also received unconfirmed reports that some of those arrested during the demonstrations may have been ill-treated while held at Ramsey county jail.

Amnesty International is also concerned at reports that several journalists who were covering the RNC were arbitrarily arrested while filming and reporting on the demonstrations. They include host of independent news program Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman, and two of the program’s producers, Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, who were both allegedly subjected to violence during their arrest. A photographer for the Associated Press (AP) and other journalists were also arrested while covering the demonstrations.

Kouddous described his arrest to media, “…two or three police officers tackled me. They threw me violently against a wall. Then they threw me to the ground. I was kicked in the chest several times. A police officer ground his knee into my back…I was also, the entire time, telling them, ‘I’m media. I’m press….,’ but…that didn’t seem to matter at all.”

Amnesty International recognizes the challenges involved in policing large scale demonstrations and that some protestors may have been involved in acts of violence or obstruction. However, some of the police actions appear to have breached United Nations (U.N.) standards on the use of force by law enforcement officials. These stipulate, among other things, that force should be used only as a last resort, in proportion to the threat posed, and should be designed to minimize damage or injury. Some of the treatment also appears to have contravened U.S. laws and guidelines on the use of force. The U.N. standards also stress that everyone is allowed to participate in lawful and peaceful assemblies, in accordance with the principles embodied in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302 or visit our website at www.amnestyusa.org.

15.9.08

"This is Your Nation on White Privilege"

By Tim Wise
9/13/08

For those who still can't grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because "every family has challenges," even as black and Latino families with similar "challenges" are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a "fuckin' redneck," like Bristol Palin's boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll "kick their fuckin' ass," and talk about how you like to "shoot shit" for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don't all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you're "untested."

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance because "if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it's good enough for me," and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the "under God" part wasn't added until the 1950s--while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is "Alaska first," and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she's being disrespectful.

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you're being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives close to Russia--you're somehow being mean, or even sexist.

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don't even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because suddenly your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a "second look."

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn't support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.

White privilege is being able to give a 36 minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God's punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you're just a good church-going Christian, but if you're black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you're an extremist who probably hates America.

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a "trick question," while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O'Reilly means you're dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and then Harvard Business school, and yet, still be seen as just an average guy (George W. Bush) while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then to Harvard Law, makes you "uppity," and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.

White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.) and that's OK, and you're cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.

White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly twenty years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."

White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you "dangerously naive and immature."

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren't sure about that whole "change" thing. Ya know, it's just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

White privilege is, in short, the problem.

13.9.08

Dog abuse, friends being deported.

Wow. Crazy past few days. First off, I still don't have the internet, so no daily updates for a while. I'm pirating someone else's internet currently.

Secondly, I'm doped up on pain meds. Yesterday, I stepped in between a man abusing his dog and he turned his aggression towards me. I spent a good deal of time in the ER- and the dog at the vet- but we're both OK, on the way to healing. I'll be seeing the man in court. As much as I disagree with the court system, I'm going to try to see if I can get him mandated counseling or something.

Thirdly, my friends are being deported to Poland and I wrote up a quick speech to say at their benefit party. It's written how I said it, so it's a bit different than had I written it to be read. Tell me what you think.

Hey everybody! I just wanted to say a little something about this benefit, privilege and other movements.

First, I want to thank everyone for coming out tonight and supporting M and F. I’m sure some of you came because you know them- and they are absolutely amazing- or maybe you’re here because you’re vegan and want to support fellow vegans- and they are tireless animal rights crusaders- or maybe you’re here because you’re sick of this government and how it treats people who come here to improve their lives and this world. In any case, I want everyone here to really think about the many implications that this case has for this great couple, their animals, the Chicago animal rights scene and more.

I’ve never actually talked to M and F about why they came here, but I personally don’t think the whys matter. They came, and they deserve more respect than living in fear about when the cops would kick them out, with absolutely no help from the government to help get them or their companion animals get back to Poland. To be cliche, we are a nation of immigrants. Personally, my father was born in Mexico, the maternal side of the family immigrated from Ireland and Germany and worked in the stockyards during The Jungle era. As a nation, we are living on stolen land that the mostly rich, old, white men in power- with some tokens- have made into their very own playground with confusing rules that try to make it so that no one can play except for them.

We have to fight to stop this. I choose animal rights and women’s rights, especially pertaining to access to abortion and other reproductive health services, but it doesn’t matter what your personal fight is- we must realize that these issues are all connected. How can you be anti-violence while murdering animals for meat? How can you fight for women’s rights and not empathize with cows being raped for milk, chickens being bred to produce more and more eggs for humans? How can we care about global warming but make personal excuses for buying cars, not supporting better public transportation, or riding a bike if you can? How can we be anti-police brutality and anti-war but support the occupation of Tibet and Palestine along with corporations like Boeing and Blackwater? How can we encourage equality between species when we’re so freaked out be people who play with their own gender, or love people of the same sex?

Last winter, after a racial slur was used against one of the animal rights activists that often comes to Animal Defense League events, we declared an emergency protest of the racist woman’s store- not only for selling leather and fur, but for being, well, a racist. We actually got an email from a member of our listserve who was dismayed that we were bringing others issues up at our protests. I’m sorry, but I can’t leave the fact that I’m a person of color at home when I’m at a protest. I get very different things yelled at me at demonstrations because I’m female, versus when a male speaks on the bullhorn. I can’t just ignore the fact that I’m bisexual or that I grew up in public housing and on welfare, nor can I dismiss my light skinned privilege or the fact that because my mother gave birth in this country, I have so many more rights I am “entitled” to than many, many others around the world. Each one of us holds within us our privileges and oppressions, and it’s important we realize how connected we are- to other people, other movements, other lives.

So, as you end the night- give money to M and F, they need it! But don’t forget the animals- so go vegan, stay vegan and get active for them. Don’t forget the protesters at the RNC, which were horribly brutalized for opposing this, well, brutal government. Please, get active in fighting the war and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, and fight to stop the war in Iran before it starts. Believe women who tell you they’ve been raped or abused and support them. Feed stray animals and donate vegan food to a food pantry. Fight for immigrants rights and workers rights and acknowledge the fact that you’re on stolen land whose original people are still some of the most marginalized, victimized people in this country and who are still being murdered by the U.S.A.’s policies. Get active for what fight you are most drawn to, but remember that it’s all connected. Because if we don’t do it, who will?

Thank you.

2.9.08

RNC Protests


Still in the process of moving.

Check out the RNC Welcoming Committee's website for updates, along with Cold Snap Legal Collective's (and here's their twitter).