IT'S NOT ENOUGH THAT YOU HAVE FREEDOM

I BELIEVE USING YOUR VOICE TO SPEAK UP FOR JUSTICE IS NECESSARY

JUSTICE DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN

I have been preoccupied with real life recently and haven't posted in several days. I led a lobby meeting regarding Sudan, Darfur and genocide to our United States Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed's office on December 9, this past Tuesday. It is the fifth time since April 2006 that I have lobbied him on Darfur. During the preparation time and follow-up I have squeezed in a couple of movies, yesterday, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and today Changeling.

Over the years, I have also lobbied our other Senator who was Lincoln Chafee and now is Sheldon Whitehouse, as well as our U.S. RI Representative Patrick Kennedy regarding Darfur.

Here is some of the information used for our meeting this week:

OVERVIEW for Darfur and Sudan

On July 22, 2004 the United States Congress took an unprecedented step when it recognized that the ongoing atrocities occurring in Darfur were genocide. However—nearly 4 and a half years later—the genocide continues. So far this year, at least 1,200 people have been killed by direct violence and over 300,000 people have been displaced. 2008 also saw the continuation of the Sudanese government's offensive military overflights in Darfur with 43 attacks. Darfur peace initiatives have failed and the current peacekeeping mission is still largely ineffective.

What’s Needed in Darfur: a Three-Pronged Approach

Peace Surge: An expedited and robust commitment to peace is needed. This will require the selection of a senior official responsible for this issue. The United States must also reach out to interested parties with leverage in Sudan and the region, especially China, the United Kingdom, France and key African countries, to coordinate efforts.

Commitment to an Effective Peacekeeping Mission: UNAMID is failing to achieve its central goal of protecting the civilian population in Darfur. A robust force on the ground in Darfur, with a competent lead nation and a clear command and control structure, is essential for saving lives, creating an environment amenable to the peace surge and establishing the international credibility required to ensure that a broader peace strategy succeeds.

Accountability and Justice: Accountability for crimes against humanity in Darfur remains an essential element of a lasting peace in Sudan. A premature deferral of the cases against Sudan’s leadership through invocation of Article 16 of the ICC’s Rome Statute would set back the cause of peace. The U.S. should veto any UNSC resolution invoking Article 16.

Preferred Responses to Questions
for Presidential Nominees on Darfur/Sudan
December 9, 2008
U.S. RI Senator Jack Reed - Policy Director Nancy Langrall

Question 1: Is ending the genocide in Darfur a top-five foreign policy priority for the Obama administration?

• Genocide in Darfur has greatly contributed to instability in the entire region. Instability, particularly on this scale, should be a serious concern as it relates to U.S. security.
• Iraq and Afghanistan are important foreign policy priorities, but Darfur should be too.
• The U.S. does not need to send troops to Darfur, but we need a concerted diplomatic effort to get an international peacekeeping force on the ground, get an inclusive peace process, accountability for perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Question 2: Under what circumstances would the Obama administration consider Article 16 for the case of Sudan?

• Support vetoing Article 16.
• If Article 16 is going to be invoked, worries that the following won’t happen:
o Peace deal
o Alternative mechanism for accountability
o Evidence that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement has been implemented

Don’t trade accountability for war crimes for empty promises from Khartoum.

Question 3: What steps will you take to reinvigorate UNAMID?

UNAMID, the hybrid U.N.-African Union mission in Darfur, is failing to achieve its central goal of protecting the civilian population in the region.
• Sudanese government cannot be allowed to dictate the terms of UNAMID. We must not allow Khartoum to decide the mission’s force size, national composition, the extent of AU versus international participation, timeframe for deployment, or civilian protection mandate.
• We need a robust force on the ground in Darfur with a competent lead nation and a clear command-and-control structure is essential for saving lives, creating an environment amenable to the peace surge. This will establish the international credibility required to ensure that a broader peace strategy succeeds.

Question 4: Who will have the Sudan portfolio in an Obama administration? To whom will that person report?

• We need a senior U.S. official within the Administration (as high up as possible) to take responsibility for the “Darfur/Sudan Portfolio”. This person will make this issue progressively improve from the day he or she is assigned to the Sudanese issues.

• The reporting structure should reflect the importance of the issue by ensuring that a lead decision-maker in the Administration is readily made aware of any changes on the ground.

Question 5: In 2008, there were 43 reported aerial attacks in Darfur. What will your administration do to enforce the UN ban on military offensive overflights by the Government of Sudan?

The U.N. Security Council has demanded an end to offensive military flights several times, most recently in Resolution 1769, which authorized UNAMID. UNAMID has not enforced that demand. It is clear that the Obama administration and the U.N. Security Council need to consider how best to counter these continuing aerial flights and provocations and then make the plans work.
• What are the nominee’s thoughts on a no-fly zone? What would a no-fly zone entail? How else might offensive military overflights be stopped?

Question 6: Given its dependence on Sudanese oil, China has an interest in a peaceful Sudan. What steps will you take to work with China to ensure that the Comprehensive Peace Agreement holds and that the crisis in Darfur is ended through a negotiated solution?

• We need to change the conversation with China. In other words, appeal to China’s economic interest in Sudan. Use China’s economic interest, as a starting point to work with China on an initiative for peace in Sudan.

Lobby your U.S. Congressperson -
Setting up and Preparing for a Face to Face Meeting

An in-person visit with a member of Congress or their staff is the single most effective way you can advocate for an end to genocide. You can meet your legislator or their staff in Washington, DC, or in their district office near your home.

How to schedule a meeting
• Find the office phone number for the district or Washington, DC office of your elected official. Go to www.congress.org
• Enter your zip code and then select which official you would like to send a message.
• The "contact" tab will give you the phone numbers of both the district and Washington, DC offices.
• Choose which office you would like to call based upon where you will be meeting (if you are meeting in-district call the district office closest to you).
• Call the office and ask to speak to the scheduler.

Schedule your meeting
• Let the scheduler know that you are a concerned constituent interested in meeting with your representative/senator.
• Be prepared to describe who you are and what you would like to talk to your legislator about.
• If your representative/senator is not available, ask to meet with the legislative assistant who handles international affairs.

What to expect
• It may be difficult to meet with your elected official in person. However, you can always meet with a member of your elected official's staff. Oftentimes meeting with the staff member who handles international affairs is the best person to talk to about your issue.
• Don't go alone. It will be easier to get a meeting and have greater impact if you have a group of people and/or represent a group of people.

What to bring to your meeting
• A printed copy of your legislator’s report card from www.DarfurScores.org
• Basic talking points on the conflict and your specific ask.
• Other members of your community concerned about the issue.
• Information about your efforts, your organization and any related local news coverage.
• A camera to document your visit. Got pictures? Send them to info@genocideintervention.net

My personal advice: As I have scheduled and organized several lobby meetings, I have found that the scheduler wants the names of constituents who will come one week in advance. Constituents don't always make this easy on you. I had one college student email me at 10:00 p.m the night before our appointment this week and say that four college students would be "showing up" at our lobby appointment. This puts the organzier of the meeting in an uneasy position. You want to present yourselves as well-prepared and follow rules of common courtesy to the Senator's office staff.

I have been asked to email my agenda in advance of the meeting to their offices. But always, I bring copies of the agenda to the meeting and hand it to the staff when arriving. This is much appreciated even if it isn't required by the office.

I have always had a meeting with the constituents one hour in advance near the Congressperson's office to go over the agenda and assign different points to the participants. This makes us look well-organized, answer any questions and allows us to feel more comfortable ourselves.

We want to make our "asks" known, but also the goal is to build a relationship with the Congressperson's staff for future follow-up contacts.

I encourage you to get the office phone numbers in your home state and in Washington, D.C. and email addresses of key people in your Congresspeople's offices. Let them know how you feel about any issue. It is their job to hear you. Tell them why the issue is important to you.

Senator Reed told me in the previous lobby meeting to let him know when I know something about Darfur, a bill about Darfur, etc, because he doesn't always know. It is very important to follow-up with their offices also. They don't do what they say they will do necessarily. "Squeaky wheels" will be the ones that get attention. Patrick Kennedy told me that one.

Also, President-elect Obama has set up a page for you to let him and his staff know what is on your mind. Here is the direct link: http://change.gov/page/s/yourstory

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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - Clips and Interviews
Thanks to the upload by allaboutfilm24

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Trailer - The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Thanks to and uploaded by TheMoviePreviews

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Changeling trailer
True story
Recommended
Angelina Jolie
Clint Eastwood
Thanks to and uploaded by screamingangieZ

I saw Imagining Argentina recently on cable TV
which is about governments who have silenced voices by murdering the people (happening now). This document includes case studies of enforced disappearances around the world including in Pakistan, Philippines, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia, USA and Chad: www.amnesty.org

Facts and Figures

Trial into the murder of human rights journalist Anna Politkovskaya

www.amnesty.org - Enforced Disappearances

www.amnesty.org - Human Rights by Country

They Dance Alone - During Pinochet's Regime

It is this time of year that Christians like to post
PEACE ON EARTH. That is far from the truth.

I hope you won't be silent or a "sheep" this season.
Justice only survives when we tend to it.

Otherwise injustice grows like weeds.

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All We Like Sheep Have Gone Astray
Maestro Marcelo Ramos
Coro Madrigale
Orquestra Sinfônica de Minas Gerais
December 19 and 20, 2007
Grande Teatro do Palácio das Artes
Thanks to and uploaded by gusarquiteto from Brazil

Human Rights Watch: www.hrw.org

Important News

PEACE IS BREAKING OUT WHERE?

WE'RE NOT FREE UNTIL WE ARE ALL FREE

SURVIVING silence Versus DYING because of silence in Pinochet's time

I only knew about the Chilean dictator, Pinochet, because of the song They Dance Alone that I heard on someone else's CD years ago. Hearing news stories about anything in South America was rare for me. Frankly, most of our USA "news" stories center around us. Or maybe I should say...all of our "news". Even when I was being formally "educated" the only continent I remember focusing on was Europe. And North America, was mostly limited to the United States, disregarding Canada. And the history of North America, dismissed the history of the indigenous peoples and the black Africans shipped in for slave purposes, except when auxiliary to the European immigrants' slant of history.

Today, I saw an HBO movie Pinochet's Last Stand which didn't really inform us of the 17 years of terror that he inflicted upon his country's own people, but it was still enlightening, in so far as it did cover how Pinochet's life played out in the end.
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They Dance Alone
(Cueca Solo) by Sting

From: rdpajarillo from the Phillipines

Pinochet's Last Stand

In 1973, General Augusto Pinochet overtook Chile in a violent military coup. During his 17-year rule, he ruthlessly repressed all opposition to his regime, leading to the deaths of 3,000 civilians and the torture of another 30,000.

HBO Films presents the true story of the 82 year old, retired Chilean dictator, Pinochet and his surprise 1998 arrest for crimes against humanity while undergoing back surgery during a vacation in London. Caught in international conflict, Pinochet's time in London forever changed his life - and the prospects for dictators across the globe. Emmy®-winning actor Derek Jacobi stars as Pinochet; also with Peter Capaldi, Phyllida Law and Anna Massey. Written and directed by Richard Curson Smith. (TV14)

I'm still learning about what happened and I don't like that the United States of America supported Pinochet. Apparently, we Americans are way too self-absorbed. The things being done in our name is dreadful. The following is one of the many sites telling the story.

The Stalinists and the Popular Unity government promoted unfounded and ultimately fatal illusions in Chilean parliamentary democracy, with the Stalinists describing the Chilean army as “the people in uniform.” It was Allende himself who brought generals into his cabinet and named Pinochet commander in chief of the Chilean armed forces, a position that Pinochet utilized to prepare and execute the coup that ended the Socialist Party president’s life.

In the days that followed the coup, tens of thousands were rounded up, many of them herded into Santiago’s football stadium, where most were beaten and tortured and many were executed. Among those murdered were two US citizens, Frank Teruggi and Charles Horman. Subsequent evidence has indicated that senior US officials not only worked to cover up the crime, but were complicit in these killings.

The coup itself enjoyed the full sponsorship of the administration of President Richard Nixon. Millions of dollars were covertly sent into Chile by the CIA to finance employers’ strikes and fund fascist groups seeking Allende’s overthrow. Nixon’s explicit order to the CIA was to “make the economy scream” in order to bring down the government. The plans of the military coup plotters were shared and coordinated fully with both the CIA and the Pentagon.

Henry Kissinger, then Richard Nixon’s national security advisor—and today a key advisor to the Bush administration—was the principal American architect of the coup in Chile. In 1970, when Allende’s Popular Unity government was first elected, Kissinger commented, “I don’t see why we need to stand idly by and let a country go communist due to the irresponsibility of its own people.”

The US government subsequently set out to reverse the results of this popular election by means of covert subversion, terror and military force.

While Pinochet is dead, Kissinger still lives and is liable for criminal prosecution for his role in fomenting a coup that claimed the lives of thousands.

Nor is he the only US official complicit in the crimes of the Pinochet dictatorship. George H.W. Bush, the former US president and current president’s father, was CIA director during the period in which Pinochet’s regime served as the axis for “Operation Condor,” a coordinated campaign of murder and repression carried out by military regimes throughout Latin America against left-wing opponents.

Declassified US documents have proven that the CIA was kept fully informed of this operation, in which hundreds if not thousands were murdered or illegally imprisoned and tortured.

Part of the operation included what was at the time the worst act of international terrorism ever carried out on US soil. On September 21, 1976, a car bomb took the life of Orlando Letelier, Allende’s former foreign minister and a prominent opponent of the Pinochet regime, as well as that of his American aide, Ronni Moffit, as they were riding through the streets of Washington, DC.

The CIA, under Bush senior’s leadership, worked to cover up the Pinochet regime’s responsibility for these murders. The killers themselves were subsequently placed under US protection and given new identities and financial support under the federal witness protection program.

Vice President Dick Cheney and outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are likewise implicated in Washington’s support for the Pinochet dictatorship during this period. Cheney was the White House chief of staff and Rumsfeld was also defense secretary then, overseeing US ties to the Latin American military as Operation Condor was unfolding.

Pinochet’s ability to escape prosecution until his death at the ripe old age of 91—more than 16 years after surrendering power—is testimony to the fact that the horrors his regime unleashed against the workers of Chile were carried out to defend the interests of the ruling elite both in that country and internationally, which continued to protect him.

This protection also constitutes a serious warning. The brutal methods of mass murder, torture and dictatorship that will forever be associated with the name of Augusto Pinochet remain the ultimate recourse of capitalism in crisis.
Source: www.wsws.org

Chile and the United States
Declassified Documents Relating to the Military Coup, September 11, 1973

The retrospective history of Chile

See Amnesty International

WHAT DAY DID THE CONSTITUTION GET ANNULLED

? The Patriot Act has deleted our constitutional liberties. And there is a silent movement in our social acceptance to give up our valued liberties. Democracy is messy. If you want all the ducks in order you don’t want a democracy. You want a fascist government.

A man’s “house has been surrounded 24 hours a day, seven days a week. His phone is tapped and his internet access and telephone are sometimes blocked… All this for a man who has not been formally charged with any criminal offense.” Though from a feature article of Amnesty International about a human rights activist in China, everything noted here can also be done in the United States of America via the Patriot Act. *

George W Bush swore on the Bible at his two inaugurations that he would preserve the constitution. And yet when he campaigned he wouldn’t allow anyone into his “town meetings” unless he or she was a republican. Bush’s campaign used a manual on how to muffle protestors. Today, I learned that Hillary Clinton does the same in her campaigning and doesn’t allow people in her campaign events if they wear t-shirts with words or symbols on them her handlers want to censor. I don’t want “Free Speech Zones” or “stay away orders” - I want my constitution rights freed and given back to me. Now. Not after some politician tells me I can have them back. Now. I want a voice. China doesn’t allow her citizens a voice. Fascism is alive in China. And it is creeping across the facets of our American daily lives.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry said “Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death” as an ending statement in a speech. ** Perhaps that is too drastic an ideal for us to live up to. However, I feel we need to find a spine and put our First Amendment values back into our lives without reservations. We aren’t safe just because - we give up our freedom of speech or freedom of press rights, or because we give our government the right to search our homes without just cause or a court’s pre-approval, or give the federal government the right to use our emails and blogs to steal our constitutional rights. The Patriot Act gives the government the rights to do all of these.

Fear dictates what liberties we are willing and ready to give away.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xieOPvWLji4 Michael Moore’s “The Making of America” in cartoon format

ANDREW MEYER was tased today for asking questions on a college campus to John Kerry. He may have been out of order, but he broke no law, until he was told to shut up. Then his crime was to accept his freedom of speech as a sham and not something he had the right to expect. SALLY FIELD was censored by Fox in her Emmy acceptance speech. MEDEA BENJAMIN was removed from Hillary Clinton’s event because she wore a t-shirt about leaving Iraq. Bush has lied to us and broken the law, but he gets pass after pass. And no one is tasing him or censoring him.

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“And, let’s face it, if the mothers ruled the (world), there would be no God Damn wars in the first place,” Sally Field said.
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http://youtube.com/watch?v=CheY0jYXJjY

This is a video of the University of Florida Police Department using force on student, Andrew Meyer, asking a question of Senator Kerry. Meyer was arrested on September 17, 2007 for disturbing a public educational function and resisting arrest. The police did not inform him that he was under arrest and did not read him his Miranda rights but used a taser gun to control him”.

Tasers deliver a 50,000-volt jolt through two barbed darts designed to penetrate clothing. http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070903/NEWS01/309030019/1056/COL02

“Amnesty International’s continuing concerns about taser use” article can be found at: http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr510302006

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u1eyuH1-8A4 “Four Dead in Ohio” “On May 4th, 1970 - National Guardsmen opened fire on a crowd of unarmed students at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others wounded. Commemorating this sad day, at this link is an excerpt of the documentary, "Kent State: The Day the War Came Home" that includes interview with students and National Guardsmen who were there.” From: http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/04/1342257

Fascism synonyms: repression, oppression, tyranny.
Antonym: democracy.
fas·cism or fas·cism
1. a system of government practiced by Benito Mussolini in Italy between 1922 and 1943 that was characterized by dictatorship, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of opposition, and extreme nationalism

2. any movement, tendency, or ideology that favors dictatorial government, centralized control of private enterprise, repression of all opposition, and extreme nationalism

“The American system of government is founded on two counterbalancing principles: that the majority of the people governs, through democratically elected representatives; and that the power even of a democratic majority must be limited, to ensure individual rights.

Majority power is limited by the Constitution's Bill of Rights, which consists of the original ten amendments ratified in 1791, plus the three post-Civil War amendments (the 13th, 14th and 15th) and the 19th Amendment (women's suffrage), adopted in 1920.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU, mission is to preserve all of these protections and guarantees:

* Your First Amendment rights - freedom of speech, association and assembly; freedom of the press, and freedom of religion.
* Your right to equal protection under the law - equal treatment regardless of race, sex, religion or national origin.
* Your right to due process - fair treatment by the government whenever the loss of your liberty or property is at stake.
* Your right to privacy - freedom from unwarranted government intrusion into your personal and private affairs.

We work also to extend rights to segments of our population that have traditionally been denied their rights, including Native Americans and other people of color; lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and transgender people; women; mental-health patients; prisoners; people with disabilities; and the poor.

If the rights of society's most vulnerable members are denied, everybody's rights are imperiled.” From: http://aclu.org/about/index.html

The First Amendment to the United States of America’s Constitution is: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” …Except since the Congress gave George Bush sweeping rights to delete the First Amendment rights.

The standard of United States Free Speech is in sinking sand. Repeal the Patriot Act and reinstate the U.S. Constitution.

* Interview With AIDS Activist Hu Jia http://www.rfa.org/english/news/2006/03/29/china_hujia/
*Patriot Act
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USA_PATRIOT_Act

** Patrick Henry’s Liberty Speech: http://libertyonline.hypermall.com/henry-liberty.html