I'M A VISIONARY! AND I DIDN'T EVEN NEED PEYOTE!
Below is the rough draft of the NWOPC Vision Statement and Points of Unity, which I helped craft. Thought you'd all find it interesting.
(P.S. Below is now the revised/codified version, which we now use as a flyer at our weekly demonstrations.)
***
NORTHWEST OHIO PEACE COALITION
Weekly meetings: Mondays 7pm, First Unitarian Church, Bancroft and Collingwood
Phone: 419-255-7552
Website: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nwopc
NWOPC Vision Statement
NWOPC continues in the building of a mass movement for peace, social justice and environmental responsibility. Our movement respects the self-determination, human rights and well-being of all people and promotes the ecologically responsible, just and equitable preservation and use of the earth's natural resources. We strive to embody the values we espouse in our day-to-day activities, in the coalitions we build, and in the world we are working to create. NWOPC will be vigilant in addressing oppression based on age, class, cultural heritage, disability, ethnicity, gender, nationality, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
As non-violent residents of the Northwest Ohio area and as citizens of the world, it is imperative that we monitor the actions and policies of our local and national communities, sovereign nations, and corporations, and we assert our right to hold them publicly accountable for their actions and policies.
We say NO to war in all its manifestations.
Points of Unity
1. We seek global peace through non-violent social, economic and environmental justice. Violence comes in many forms: from individuals as well as from nation-states and corporations. Violence only serves to perpetuate itself. We will work to understand the root causes of violence and we will work for global peace by assuring that all human beings on this earth attain social, economic and political equality.
2. We oppose militarism and war. The Bush administration's current policies encourage the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Countries labeled as part of the "axis of evil" will logically arm themselves to discourage the possibility of a U.S. attack. This will only cause more terrorism here and abroad. The U.S. "war against terrorism" cannot be won, it will only serve to turn us from a civil society into a military one for a long time to come. We oppose the current expansions on military spending and will expose the risks of such actions. If we continue to prioritize militarism, military spending, and corporate greed above the welfare of our communities, the quality of our public services and the education of our children will suffer.
3. We uphold the democratic and human rights of all people at all times. We will work to examine and reveal how U.S. foreign policy leads to a perception of arrogance globally and to racial and class discrimination in the United States, thereby challenging the security and well-being of all. For example, U.S. military involvement is on the rise in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. U.S. political, economic and military aid is fueling Israel's rise as an unchallengeable regional military power and sustains Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem. We oppose the drive to expand U.S. control over other nations and will work to rectify the situation.
4. Justice not vengeance: bring the perpetrators of violence to justice through established principles of international law. Only the U.S. and Australia refused to sign a treaty forming an international criminal court. This signals to the community of nations that the U.S. does not stand for the rule of law and refuses to be accountable for its actions. We will work to educate our community about the dangers of pre-emptive war and forced regime change.
5. We stand in defense of civil liberties. Although we mourn the victims and condemn the attacks of 9/11, we will not stand by and allow civil liberties and civil rights to be stripped away as a consequence. Since the 9/11 attacks, Congress has passed a new law entitled the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act) which makes it possible for secret government searches of homes and offices, perpetual monitoring of telephones, e-mails, and library and credit card use, as well as the jailing of citizens and non-citizens on the basis of mere suspicion and without due process. All these trends represent a dangerous precedent for the people of this country.
Revised 7/21/03
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Friday, June 20, 2003
STOP THE GAY CANADIANS!
First icky legalized homosexual marriage, then the apocalypse. Conservative America trembles
By Mark Morford
First icky legalized homosexual marriage, then the apocalypse. Conservative America trembles
By Mark Morford
Monday, June 09, 2003
IN THIS INSTALLMENT OF "THE DOVE POND":
1. LIKE HITLER, LIKE BUSH...THINK ABOUT IT, WON'T YOU? (VEN GEORGE DUBYA SAYS 'VE IS ZE MASTER RACE...')
2. "THE MOST OBSCENE AND OFFENSIVE WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS SPELLED F-C-C."--YOURS TRULY ON THE ED TYLL SHOW, CIRCA 1990
3. WHY I DIG NEW ZEALAND (BTW DON'T TAKE THE BROWN ACID...OH NO, IT'S ANOTHER PLASTIC HATCHBACK!)
4. QUOTABLE QUOTE (BTW HOW CAN I NOT LIKE CLINTON? AFTER ALL, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON! TEE-HEE!)
***
ITEM #1:
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY -- AN INTERPRETATION OF BUSH'S CHARACTER
by John Chuckman, Counterpunch, May 27
***
ITEM #2:
DISNEYAOLVIACOM OWNS YOUR ASS
After all, who the hell wants diversity and choice in major media? Thanks, FCC!
by Mark Morford, June 4
***
WE'LL RETURN TO THE DOVE POND IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR...
***
YOU CAN BE DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY - HERE'S HOW
***
AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED ANARCHY...
***
ITEM #3:
PREPARE FOR MORE HALLUCINATIONS FROM THE GULF WAR SYNDROME
by Mark Steel, New Zealand Herald, May 30
I think I've detected a new type of Gulf War Syndrome, a shocking disease that attacks the nervous system.
It afflicts anyone defending the latest Gulf war, making them see piles of imaginary weapons.
For example, one American soldier, interviewed after his regiment shot dead 14 demonstrating Iraqis, said his regiment was under attack, adding: "It was like the Alamo out there."
Yet not a single US soldier or US thing of any nature was dented by a bullet.
But this is a mild attack compared with the delusions of those victims who, for a year before the war, were certain they were in the presence of weapons of mass destruction.
Now Donald Rumsfeld is suggesting the reason they cannot be found is because they were destroyed before the war started. So we went to war to rid Saddam of weapons that were already destroyed.
We had no choice in this, because the destroyed weapons could have been used against us, or fallen into the hands of al Qaeda, who would then have been able to take them down to the council dump or maybe sell them for scrap.
In any case, as he had destroyed them, this meant he couldn't hand any over to weapons inspectors, which was a flagrant breach of UN resolution 1441. If he wanted to comply with the UN he would have built a nuclear plant so he could hand it over but, typically, he had no interest in co-operating.
The lack of weapons is embarrassing for the British Government, so you get statements like that by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw when he said it didn't make much difference that there was no "literal" evidence.
If only we were happy to accept conceptual evidence or imaginary evidence or evidence in which Straw puts an ashtray on the table and says: "So let's say this is his bunker. Then this salt pot here is his anthrax. Well there you are, there's his weapons of mass destruction."
Then there's astrological evidence, documented evidence from tea leaves, evidence that Nostradamus predicted a man with a moustache would threaten the land of the eagle with deadly vapour, but knee-jerk anti-Americans persist in demanding the literal type.
And presumably, because Saddam only destroyed the weapons because the threat of war was real, once they had been destroyed we had to have the war anyway as otherwise the threat of war would have turned out not to have been real, creating an unsolvable philosophical puzzle.
The amazing part is the Americans aren't even trying to lie properly. They almost take enjoyment from implying, "So what if we made it up, what's anyone going to do about it?"
They're like someone having an affair with a married woman in the office, having to keep things secret but desperately wishing they could stand in the middle of the room yelling: "Guess what I've been doing".
In some ways you can almost respect them. They made no secret, before the twin towers were bombed, of their "Project for the New American Century" with its military aiming for "full-spectrum dominance".
The really annoying people are the politicians who still think the war was fought to make the world a safer place.
Ironically it seems that the anti-war movement in this country did more than anything to stem the growth of militant Islam. Several imams and Muslim leaders have stated how the scale of the movement made it hard for militant groups to argue that all Westerners were the enemy.
Even more infuriating is the certainty that the same people who fell for the lies will fall for them all over again.
Already Iran is turning out to be backing terrorists and producing weapons of mass destruction. You would think the Americans could at least be original and say they are breeding dinosaurs or have made contact with Voldemort or something.
And, almost inevitably, as we hear stories of how atrocious Iran is, we refuse to believe an asylum-seeker who has been tortured in Iran.
Then, when he sews up his eyes and mouth in protest, the attitude of those most enthusiastic about backing America is: "Well, where did he get the needle and thread from, eh? That's our taxes paying for that cotton. We're mugs I tell you, mugs."
Blair believed that his actions would be proved right. Instead we've become the country that has officially no friends.
But so wild are his Gulf war sickness hallucinations, it must be almost certain that his response will be to say: "I fully support the bid for America to have a regular entry in the Eurovision Song Contest."
***
ITEM #4:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Once upon a time, we impeached a sitting President for lying under oath about sexual trysts. No one died, no one had their legs or arms or face or genitals blown off because of the lies of a President who had been caught with his pants down. Today in America, we endure a sitting President who lied for months about the threat posed by a sovereign nation. That nation was invaded and attacked, and thousands died because of it. The aftereffects of this action will be felt for generations to come. The very democracy which gives us meaning as a country has been put in peril by these deeds. When the smoke cleared, every reason for that war was proven to be a lie.
Of course, there will be no impeachment with a Republican Congress. This must not dissuade us from demanding satisfaction. Let the House be brought to order. Gavel the members to attention, and let the evidence be brought forth. Let there be justice for the living and the dead. Let this man Bush be impeached and cleansed from office for the lies he has told. These are not innocent lies. The dead remember."
--William Rivers Pitt, "We Used to Impeach Liars"
1. LIKE HITLER, LIKE BUSH...THINK ABOUT IT, WON'T YOU? (VEN GEORGE DUBYA SAYS 'VE IS ZE MASTER RACE...')
2. "THE MOST OBSCENE AND OFFENSIVE WORD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IS SPELLED F-C-C."--YOURS TRULY ON THE ED TYLL SHOW, CIRCA 1990
3. WHY I DIG NEW ZEALAND (BTW DON'T TAKE THE BROWN ACID...OH NO, IT'S ANOTHER PLASTIC HATCHBACK!)
4. QUOTABLE QUOTE (BTW HOW CAN I NOT LIKE CLINTON? AFTER ALL, WE HAVE A LOT IN COMMON! TEE-HEE!)
***
ITEM #1:
THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY -- AN INTERPRETATION OF BUSH'S CHARACTER
by John Chuckman, Counterpunch, May 27
***
ITEM #2:
DISNEYAOLVIACOM OWNS YOUR ASS
After all, who the hell wants diversity and choice in major media? Thanks, FCC!
by Mark Morford, June 4
***
WE'LL RETURN TO THE DOVE POND IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR...
***
YOU CAN BE DELIRIOUSLY HAPPY - HERE'S HOW
***
AND NOW BACK TO OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED ANARCHY...
***
ITEM #3:
PREPARE FOR MORE HALLUCINATIONS FROM THE GULF WAR SYNDROME
by Mark Steel, New Zealand Herald, May 30
I think I've detected a new type of Gulf War Syndrome, a shocking disease that attacks the nervous system.
It afflicts anyone defending the latest Gulf war, making them see piles of imaginary weapons.
For example, one American soldier, interviewed after his regiment shot dead 14 demonstrating Iraqis, said his regiment was under attack, adding: "It was like the Alamo out there."
Yet not a single US soldier or US thing of any nature was dented by a bullet.
But this is a mild attack compared with the delusions of those victims who, for a year before the war, were certain they were in the presence of weapons of mass destruction.
Now Donald Rumsfeld is suggesting the reason they cannot be found is because they were destroyed before the war started. So we went to war to rid Saddam of weapons that were already destroyed.
We had no choice in this, because the destroyed weapons could have been used against us, or fallen into the hands of al Qaeda, who would then have been able to take them down to the council dump or maybe sell them for scrap.
In any case, as he had destroyed them, this meant he couldn't hand any over to weapons inspectors, which was a flagrant breach of UN resolution 1441. If he wanted to comply with the UN he would have built a nuclear plant so he could hand it over but, typically, he had no interest in co-operating.
The lack of weapons is embarrassing for the British Government, so you get statements like that by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw when he said it didn't make much difference that there was no "literal" evidence.
If only we were happy to accept conceptual evidence or imaginary evidence or evidence in which Straw puts an ashtray on the table and says: "So let's say this is his bunker. Then this salt pot here is his anthrax. Well there you are, there's his weapons of mass destruction."
Then there's astrological evidence, documented evidence from tea leaves, evidence that Nostradamus predicted a man with a moustache would threaten the land of the eagle with deadly vapour, but knee-jerk anti-Americans persist in demanding the literal type.
And presumably, because Saddam only destroyed the weapons because the threat of war was real, once they had been destroyed we had to have the war anyway as otherwise the threat of war would have turned out not to have been real, creating an unsolvable philosophical puzzle.
The amazing part is the Americans aren't even trying to lie properly. They almost take enjoyment from implying, "So what if we made it up, what's anyone going to do about it?"
They're like someone having an affair with a married woman in the office, having to keep things secret but desperately wishing they could stand in the middle of the room yelling: "Guess what I've been doing".
In some ways you can almost respect them. They made no secret, before the twin towers were bombed, of their "Project for the New American Century" with its military aiming for "full-spectrum dominance".
The really annoying people are the politicians who still think the war was fought to make the world a safer place.
Ironically it seems that the anti-war movement in this country did more than anything to stem the growth of militant Islam. Several imams and Muslim leaders have stated how the scale of the movement made it hard for militant groups to argue that all Westerners were the enemy.
Even more infuriating is the certainty that the same people who fell for the lies will fall for them all over again.
Already Iran is turning out to be backing terrorists and producing weapons of mass destruction. You would think the Americans could at least be original and say they are breeding dinosaurs or have made contact with Voldemort or something.
And, almost inevitably, as we hear stories of how atrocious Iran is, we refuse to believe an asylum-seeker who has been tortured in Iran.
Then, when he sews up his eyes and mouth in protest, the attitude of those most enthusiastic about backing America is: "Well, where did he get the needle and thread from, eh? That's our taxes paying for that cotton. We're mugs I tell you, mugs."
Blair believed that his actions would be proved right. Instead we've become the country that has officially no friends.
But so wild are his Gulf war sickness hallucinations, it must be almost certain that his response will be to say: "I fully support the bid for America to have a regular entry in the Eurovision Song Contest."
***
ITEM #4:
QUOTE OF THE DAY
"Once upon a time, we impeached a sitting President for lying under oath about sexual trysts. No one died, no one had their legs or arms or face or genitals blown off because of the lies of a President who had been caught with his pants down. Today in America, we endure a sitting President who lied for months about the threat posed by a sovereign nation. That nation was invaded and attacked, and thousands died because of it. The aftereffects of this action will be felt for generations to come. The very democracy which gives us meaning as a country has been put in peril by these deeds. When the smoke cleared, every reason for that war was proven to be a lie.
Of course, there will be no impeachment with a Republican Congress. This must not dissuade us from demanding satisfaction. Let the House be brought to order. Gavel the members to attention, and let the evidence be brought forth. Let there be justice for the living and the dead. Let this man Bush be impeached and cleansed from office for the lies he has told. These are not innocent lies. The dead remember."
--William Rivers Pitt, "We Used to Impeach Liars"
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