Arizona Governor Jan Brewer just signed a law that will authorize officers to pull over, question, and detain anyone they have a “reasonable suspicion” to believe is in this country without proper documentation. It’s legalized racial profiling, and it’s an affront on all of our civil rights, especially Latinos. It’s completely unacceptable.
more images from that action are here...Spring Event Report
by Cassandra Morgan, SOA Watch
SOA Watch held its annual Spring Event in Washington, DC from April 17-19, 2010. The weekend was full of great events including an anti-oppression workshop, discussions about torture, immigration, as well as a panel discussion about the recent U.S.-Colombia bases agreement. We started Saturday night with a social gathering where SOA Watch activists were able to meet and talk about the events for the weekend.
Sunday morning started with a great workshop discussing anti-oppression in US foreign policy and within our own movement to close the SOA. Cathy Woodson of the Virginia Organizing Project lead participants in a variety of activities exploring ways to stop the cycle of oppression and how to address it while continuing to move forward with our movement. We continued the day with a self evaluation of the movement's work, addressing strengths, weaknesses, and suggestions for change. We will be sure to follow up with you all about the these suggestions. Later, we were joined by Reverend Richard Killmer and Orlando Tizon who discussed torture and why it is so important to hold our government accountable to make sure that torture is stopped.
The afternoon continued with a discussion of the connections between immigration and the SOA with Sarahi Uribe of the US Social Forum, where we also discussed recently proposed legislation by Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, SB 1070, which would encourage police to engage in racial profiling and criminalize undocumented migrants for entering into Arizona.
from the National Center for Lesbian RightsGreene v. County of Sonoma et al.
Clay and his partner of 20 years, Harold, lived in California. Clay and Harold made diligent efforts to protect their legal rights, and had their legal paperwork in place—wills, powers of attorney, and medical directives, all naming each other. Harold was 88 years old and in frail medical condition, but still living at home with Clay, 77, who was in good health.
One evening, Harold fell down the front steps of their home and was taken to the hospital. Based on their medical directives alone, Clay should have been consulted in Harold’s care from the first moment. Tragically, county and health care workers instead refused to allow Clay to see Harold in the hospital. The county then ultimately went one step further by isolating the couple from each other, placing the men in separate nursing homes.
Ignoring Clay’s significant role in Harold’s life, the county continued to treat Harold like he had no family and went to court seeking the power to make financial decisions on his behalf. Outrageously, the county represented to the judge that Clay was merely Harold’s “roommate.” The court denied their efforts, but did grant the county limited access to one of Harold’s bank accounts to pay for his care.
What happened next is even more chilling: without authority, without determining the value of Clay and Harold’s possessions accumulated over the course of their 20 years together or making any effort to determine which items belonged to whom, the county took everything Harold and Clay owned and auctioned off all of their belongings. Adding further insult to grave injury, the county removed Clay from his home and confined him to a nursing home against his will. The county workers then terminated Clay and Harold's lease and surrendered the home they had shared for many years to the landlord.
the rest is here...
As a patriarchal society, the United States, along with much of the rest of the world, has established the male in a dominant role, with men socially conditioned to be providers, in control, and always to remain strong and manly. As a result of these socially constructed definitions of manhood, men have historically had to suppress their more tender feelings, leading sometimes to emotional isolation, alienation from their true feelings, and a feeling of powerlessness. Today men are finding the attributes of hegemonic, patriarchal masculinity untenable. Accordingly, men have begun to realize that they can take responsibility for their situations and change their lives if they so desire. Part of that change involves re-visioning, re-creating, and reconstructing healthier and less conflicted forms of masculine identity by making intentional choices to move out of the power and control cycle. As effective social remedies have been sought to help "men in crisis" (aside from therapeutic solutions), a highly, and increasingly successful intervention has proved to be participation in both self-help and mutual support groups. Mythopoetic men's peer mutual support groups are one setting where these reconstructions of masculine identity are occurring. This study focuses on the value of the mythopoetic branch of the contemporary men's movement as a rejection of patriarchal values, patriarchal masculinity, rather than just being another form of "repackaged" patriarchy.I'm curious about this work. Does anyone have access to this database who can send me this?
Edward Read Barton
Michigan State University
Fucking A. Protestors who actually move with power and determination. Fine. I'm not sure whether they're a bunch of conservatives or not. And I found the article via yahoo which isn't a reliable or critical source whatsoever. I'm not even certain that this news is fresh. But what caught my eye and formed a mental picture was the significance of this event, the concept, the very idea of a bunch of people protesting in the streets storming government buildings and chasing off say...obamarama (or any war mongering amerikkkan president, for that matter) and his administration or steven harper and his cronies...that's a fucking tasty sweet picture. Just imagine if the people in this photo were climbing the gates of the white house or overrunning parliament hill. heh.
Protests force state of emergency in Bangkok
By Jason Szep and Kitiphong ThaicharoenBANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand declared a state of emergency in the capital on Wednesday after protesters stormed the grounds of parliament, forcing government ministers to flee by helicopter and raising pressure for snap elections.
The red-shirted supporters of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra retreated from parliament but tens of thousands remain in Bangkok's main shopping district, refusing orders to leave until Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolves parliament.
The "red shirts" responded to the decree with defiance, exhorting followers in rural provinces to mass at city halls.
"We will declare war," Arisman Pongruangrong, a "red shirt" leader, told supporters. "No more negotiations."
the rest is here...
HYE WON HYE"that which does not burn "
symbol of imperishability and endurance
This symbol gets its meaning from traditional priests that were able to walk on fire without burning their feet, an inspiration to others to endure and overcome difficulties.
DENKYEM"crocodile"
symbol of adaptability
The crocodile lives in the water, yet breathes the air, demonstrating an ability to adapt to circumstances.
WAWA ABA"seed of the wawa tree"
symbol of hardiness, toughness and perseverance
The seed of the wawa tree is extremely hard. In Akan culture, it is a symbol of someone who is strong and tough. It inspires the individual to persevere through hardship.
