Saul Landau: Presente! (Soapbox Podcast: September 15, 2013)

Saul Landau and Fidel

Saul Landau

January 15, 1936 to September 9, 2013

Saul Landau was an internationally known scholar, author, commentator, and filmmaker who worked for forty years on social, political, and human rights issues. Landau produced over forty films, and won several awards, including an Emmy for "Paul Jacobs and the Nuclear Gang" and the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Assassination on Embassy Row, an investigation into the 1976 murders of Chilean Ambassador Orlando Letelier and his colleague, Ronni Moffitt. Landau wrote fourteen books his latest book puplished a month before his passing, "Stark in the Bronx" a murder mystery.

He won the George Polk Award for Investigative Reporting, the First Amendment Award, and the Letelier-Moffitt Human Rights Award. In 2008, the Chilean government presented him with the Bernardo O'Higgins Award for his human rights work, and the Cuban government gave him the "Amistad" award in 2013.

Gore Vidal once said, "Saul Landau is a man I love to steal ideas from." 

 FROM: Saul Landau dot com

Cindy Sheehan was in Cuba this past week and was not able

to record a new show, so we are honored to honor 

Saul by replaying the interview with him about his film:

Will the Real Terrorist Please Stand Up

 CLICK IMAGE FOR ORDERING INFO

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD SHOW 

BECOME A SOAPBOX SUPERSTAR

CLICK ON IMAGE TO FIND OUT HOW!

 

---

Campaign Song for Cindy Sheehan from Fresh Juice Party

Cuba Diaries; "Welcome to Your Second Home" Cuba 4.1 by Cindy Sheehan

Cuba Diaries
“Welcome to Your Second Home”

Cindy Sheehan

CUBA 4.1 (4th Trip; 1st Day)

September 9, 2013

Whenever I am invited to Cuba, if possible, I jump at the invitation. After the first time I visited in 2007, I was pleasantly surprised that I loved it here so much.

The first time I came, it was for the sixth anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay by the US as a prison camp for those rounded up in the Middle East by the Empire.

In Havana, Rubbing my sore shoulder

I was part of a delegation that included Asif Iqbal, a released detainee whose story was told by Mat Whitecross in the docudrama Road to Guantanamo, Mat himself, a mother and member of 9/11 Families for Peaceful Tomorrows Adele Welty whose firefighter son was killed on 9/11, and a mother whose son Omar Deghayes was actually being detained at Guantanamo at the time. Fortunately, Omar was finally released. Rounding out our delegation was my assistant Tiffany Burns, Bill Goodman of the Center for Constitutional Rights, Ann Wright, Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans of CODEPINK and Tahir Deghayes, the brother of Omar.

In January of 2007, most of the delegation met in Cancun to fly over on Cubana Airlines.

True story: the week before we were to go to Cuba, Sean Hannity phoned me personally to ask me if I would appear on a new show of his called, Hannity’s America on Fox News (first and last time I agreed to appear on any show on the Faux channel). I was to be “honored” to be his first guest in what he called the “Hot Seat.” Anyway, Sean said, “Cindy, I will fly you and your assistant to New York, put you up in a nice hotel and then fly you anywhere in the world you have to go.” I said, “Great Sean! I am flying to Cuba the next day!” So yep, Sean paid for Tiffany and I to fly to Cancun to meet the rest of our group. (Thanks, Sean).

When we were pulling out of the gate in Cancun, there was a dreadful noise and the plane whiplashed to an abrupt stop. The cockpit and cabin crews went hauling ass to the back of the plane, and we found out that the back stairs had dropped. A member of our group Medea was perched backwards on the seat in front of me talking to me, when the plane took off—her seat fell back and she was nearly in my lap. Despite all odds, we arrived safely in Havana to a gaggle of national and international media.

Medea Benjamin and me upon arrival

That first trip, we stayed in the Cuban version of a B and B. Mostly private, very bare, and dormitory style. The food was plain, but delicious and organic. Almost bottomless bowls of Cuban rice and beans awaited us after we checked in. The prices are very cheap, about $15 per person, per night. However, there was no way I could sleep like that. I am a horrible, light sleeper, and I was married to a buzz saw for 27 years. I cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot, cannot, abide snoring and a member of our lady’s room group snored like a lumberjack. After a few nights of this, I was incredibly exhausted and many demands were made on our time that I had little energy for.

Also, on that first visit, our delegation was taken to many places like chiropractic clinics and neighborhood initiatives. I still have the bizarre, yet sweet, little figurine that a senior citizen made in a craft class and presented to me at a neighborhood senior center.

The centerpiece of our trip was to go to Guantanamo and protest the US prison camp there. Of course, now over six years later, it is still there and over 100 prisoners are still being illegally held. Obama promised to close Guantanamo, but over 30 prisoners are on hunger strike and most of them have already been cleared to be released. What a hopeless situation? I have heard from the lawyers of the detainees that the prisoners believe the only way to get out is to die!

Our group flew from Havana to Santiago and then took a very rickety bus from Santiago to Guantanamo—I remember lying in the back of the bus on our luggage with Asif, Mat, and my assistant, Tiffany, while we sang old Beatles’ songs. A couple of times we flew up into the air as the bus hit epic potholes. It was a long and bumpy three-hour trip, but it was fun.

Before we get to Gitmo, a very bucolic little Cuban village, I need to talk about the physical pain that I was enduring the entire trip. I was suffering from a condition that wouldn’t be diagnosed for several more months as frozen shoulder. I have since learned a lot about frozen shoulder, a condition which the Europeans call, 50-year old woman disease. For some reason, probably due to hormones, the shoulder blade begins to fuse to the spinal cord by cartilage. I finally got rid of it in physical therapy, but it was a long and painful process and now I know dozens of women who have had it.

My left shoulder throbbed when I held it still and screamed when I tried to move it. I couldn’t sleep; I couldn’t stand, sit, walk, or breathe without being in severe pain and with the hard beds and physical hardships in Cuba the condition was brought to a climax during my trip there. Nothing alleviated the pain, massive does of ibuprofen only took the sharp edge off.

My hosts, ICAP (International Cuban Friendship Society) whisked me to a hospital where I met with the best orthopedic surgeon in the world, who did exercises and found arthritis in my neck, but no diagnosis of frozen shoulder. Some electro therapy at the hospital helped it feel a little better, but by the time we arrived in Gitmo, from the jostling of the bus, and exhausting schedule, I was miserable and missed a meeting because I had to stay in bed that day because the pain had prevented me from sleeping at all the prior night.

The Gates of Gitmo

So, my trip that time was cut short. After we protested at the gates of Gitmo, I was driven back to Santiago, and then flown to Havana. Ricardo Alarcon, president of the Cuban National Assembly met me at the airport and we were able to chat until I boarded my plane back to the States.

What surprised me about my first trip is that, after 50 years of overwhelming negative propaganda aimed at undermining the Cuban Revolution, I have to admit that I was a tiny bit nervous to go there. However, what I found was almost 180 degrees to what my perception was.

I discovered a beautiful country with beautiful and sweet inhabitants. Contrary to what I saw in Israel in 1999, there were no military patrols roaming the streets with automatic weapons. In Israel, we were told by our tour guide not to "look the soldiers in the eyes." There are no checkpoints in Cuba, and one may walk into the office of Alarcon without going through a metal detector.

Cubans have been the victims of counter-revolutionary terrorism and, of course, CIA interference for decades and the reason that I have grown to love the people is because my own family became victims of US imperial aggression and we continue to struggle, with the people of Cuba for peace and justice.

I have become involved in the case of the Cuban 5, five Cuban anti-terrorism agents who went to the US to infiltrate counter-revolutionary groups that had been responsible for thousands of deaths and destruction to try to prevent more acts of murder. On September 12, 1998, the Cuban 5 were captured by the US in Florida after Cuba shared some intelligence with the US. Four remain in US prisons and their families and nation have rallied around them for their release ever since. The Case of the 5 is why I am in Cuba today: It’s the 15^th anniversary of their arrest and their families and countries want them home.

This morning, I left LAX at 6am. For the first time, I was not flying Cubana and COPA air carried me Southeast to Panama City, Panama, then back up North and more East to Havana.

The first flight was practically empty, so I claimed a row and lied down and slept for a couple of hours. That’s what I call “Traveler’s Paradise.” Empty planes and personal rows!

I had a short layover in Panama City and I looked around the gate area and there was an older white woman, who could have been Cuban, but I thought not. When we were boarding, she asked me, “Are you from the UK?” (She sounded British, but was from Australia).

I told her that I was from the US. She said, “I thought your government banned you from going to Cuba.” My standard answer is, “I am a grown woman, my government can’t tell me where I can or can’t go.”

“So you have to use the ‘back door’?” Yes, we do. She was going to Cuba for the first time and for a 12-day adventure. I assured her that she would love it. I hope she’s having a good time!

When I arrived in Cuba, I was met by Kenya, the head of ICAP and she said, “Welcome back to your second house," read, "home." Kenya has excellent English skills, but the idioms can be difficult.

View of el Malecon (from my hotel room)

As I traveled the 20 miles from the airport to the hotel I am staying at (an upgrade from the B and Bs), I noticed a few changes. It seems like structures are being spruced up a little, and as a matter of fact, the Jose Marti International Airport is also going through a facelift. Also, I noticed about four or five new restaurants as Raul Castro has lifted a few restrictions on small business—but I did feel at home and there are few places that I travel to, now, where there is a fresh bouquet of roses waiting for me in my hotel room. AND I am using Wi-Fi in my hotel room. I didn’t even have Wi-Fi in Japan two years ago when I was there.

Because of the blockade, Cuba has many shortages, small things that we take for granted, like toilet seats and door handles, but going to Cuba has made me a better human. Cubans are masterful at the very needed skill of reclaiming, reusing and repurposing. Classic car collectors in the states can’t match the well preserved Chevys and Fords driving around the small island nation. Cubans even reuse “disposable” lighters. Here, in Cuba, nothing is disposable or taken for granted.

The town squares are always filled with people in community enjoying the company of each other because when consumerism and capitalism are absent, community is necessary. School children walk to and from school together secure knowing that their nation puts education and their safety as a high priority—there are no disposable humans here, either.

No society is without problems, but most of Cuba’s come from the decades long asinine US blockade.

End the blockade!

Free the Cuban 4 (5) and all political prisoners.

I will write everyday on this trip and each day I will also write about my previous trips and what I learned on them.

Peace and a Cup of Joe (SOAPBOX PODCAST 9/8/13)

Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox

September 8th, 2013

 

Peace and a Cup of Joe

 

 

On this week's Soapbox, Cindy chats with veteran, 

Shaun Crump, who served two deployments in Iraq

and became homeless.

 

Shaun in trying to create a sustainable, peaceful 

community around a coffee house in 

Jonesboro, Arkansas which will employ veterans

and the poor and use only local, organic ingredients.

 

CLICK THE IMAGE FOR MORE INFO AND HOW TO 

HELP SHAUN HELP HIS COMMUNITY

 

 

PART TWO:

 

Then we re-play an interview that 

Cindy did with the KPFA Morning Show, with 

host Anthony Fest, about her run for governor of 

California

 

CLICK HERE FOR SHOW

End the Wars; Begin the Healing by Cindy Sheehan

End the Wars

Begin the Healing

Cindy Sheehan

“War ... it paid well and liberated children from the pernicious influence of their parents.”

JOSEPH HELLER, Catch-22

Hypocritus Maximus

“What message will we send if a dictator can gas hundreds of children to death in plain sight and pay no price?” Barack Obama

“We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us.” Barack Obama

“I would much rather spend my time talking about how to make sure every 3- and 4-year-old gets a good education than I would spending time thinking about how can I prevent 3- and 4-year-olds from being subjected to chemical weapons and nerve gas.” Barack Obama

“…that this action happened, that Assad did it, that hundreds of – hundreds of children were killed. This is behavior outside the circle of civilized human behavior and we must respond.” House Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi

“At this critical juncture, it is essential that we make all Americans – the men and women we represent – fully aware of what the intelligence clearly and unequivocally demonstrates: that the Assad regime was responsible for chemical weapons attacks against innocent Syrians, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,400 people, including hundreds of children.” House Minority Leader, Nanny Pelosi

If acute hypocrisy suddenly became a fatal disease, I am certain that there would be not one left alive in the federal government. Democrats who opposed Bush’s wars are lining up to support Obama’s next war crime and vice-versa. However, the sudden concern for the children of the world is a particularly sickening hypocrisy since the Empire doesn’t even care about children here in the US.

Here is a partial list of the Empire "caring" about children—historically, and currently.

Native Populations: Massacred by rifle and intentional biological warfare; displaced from their lands. Children were often kidnapped from their families and communities to be raised in “civilization.” Today, many of the original people often live in abject poverty and comprise less than 1% of the total population.

Forced human bondage: Mostly stolen from Africa, or descendants of those stolen. Again, many were children and many were separated from their families, tortured, or killed. 

Of course, you, say, that was back in the “olden days” and nothing like this would happen today. However, according to the National Center of FamilyHomelessness, 1 in 45 (1.6 million) children are homeless and this reflects at 37% increase over the situation in 2007. Maybe Obama and Pelosi should devote some of those war resources to this emergency? 

MonsantObama has appointed many Monsanto executives to his regime and recently signed the "Monsanto Protection Act" into law. This "law" allows Monsanto to continue poisoning the children of this nation with literal impunity. 

Obama leaves his crocodile tears for those kids "gassed" in Syria, while at the same time, his use of drones and Hellfire missiles have lovingly slaughtered thousands of innocents in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Yemen, many of those children. 

Civilian casualties in “war” (those constitutionally declared, and those not) has risen from practically zilch during the US Civil War to over 95% today. Since the US has only not been at war for a few weeks since its inception, more and more children are being slaughtered by our rampant and escalating militarism. Of course, it's for their own good, I guess. Like Robert Gibbs (former White House SpokesSnake) said about Obama assassinating US citizen 16-year old Abdulrahman al Awlaki in Yemen in 2012: "I would suggest that you should have a far more responsible father if they are truly concerned about the well being of their children." Come on kids, if you can make sense of that tragically convoluted and callous sentence, choose better fathers if you don't want Obama to murder you! It's clearly the fault of the children who make the choice to be born to bad fathers, or in areas that unfortunately have vast reserves of oil, or other natural resources. 

I know you know that the US massacred tens of thousands of innocent humans when it dropped not one, but two, nuclear devices in Japan. I was at the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima in 2011 on August 6^th and I saw the display of a tricycle that belonged to a three-year old boy who was out riding in front of his home when the US decided to display its deep affection for children by dropping an a-bomb on his sweet little head. We’ve all seen the pictures of Vietnamese children burning and running from the Love-Napalm sprayed on them by US forces. Who can forget the hundreds of thousands of children starved to death in Iraq during the humanitarian Clinton regime in the ‘90s? Then the Bush regime decided to continue the love by invading the country and killing or displacing millions of children. What was it but concern for children that caused the US to use depleted uranium weapons, white phosphorous and cluster bombs in Iraq? Poisoning future generations of children by these methods and agent orange in Vietnam must prove to us all that the US truly adores them, right?

Now, Obama and Pelosi want to kill Syrian children so their government doesn’t kill them? I don't want the Syrian government or US supported rebels to kill anyone, but I am sure that dying by a US made and launched missile is much more compassionate than any other way? Obviously the “problem” that the US has, is not that it loves children so much, but that it’s Murder, Inc and wants a global monopoly on carnage.

To me, and many others who really pay attention to needs of children, what is urgent is for the US to stop all its wars that harm families all over the world, even here. Why do you think our economy is tanking and the social safety nets are being greatly reduced or eliminated? Our overwhelming monetary and psycho investment in the military industrial complex!

Another imperial assault on an innocent civilian population will cost many more billions of dollars and while that’s good for the bankers and other war profiteers, it sucks for most of the rest of us.

I demand of the hypocrites in DC that claim to be so worried about children, to cease and desist its warmongering and murder everywhere and devote every available resource to solving the nuclear meltdowns and catastrophes in Fukushima.

As a resident and gubernatorial candidate in California, I am afraid that the criminal incompetence and failure in Fukushima will further compromise the health and safety of my children and grandchildren and it will eventually hurt all the children of the world, even Obama’s and Pelosi’s.

Containing Fukushima Dai’ichi as soon as possible, if not sooner, is the most urgent global need at this very moment.

End the wars; begin the healing.

Cindy Sheehan On The Morning Mix With Anthony - 9/4/2013

www.cindy2014.org

Eat, drink, and be Merry! (Soapbox Podcast September 1, 2013)

Nuclear Armageddon and More Damned War Lies!

The catastrophic situation at Fukushima Dai'ichi combined with 

the damned lies that may get the US involved in yet another

war to slaughter innocents, make a very sober, yet

informative edition of Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox.

GUEST: ROBERT FANTINA

AUTHOR OF Look Not into the Morrow

TOPIC: EFFECTS OF WAR AND IMPENDING IMPERIAL AGGRESSION IN SYRIA

GUEST: ARNIE GUNDERSEN

NUCLEAR ENGINEER AND DIRECTOR OF FAIREWINDS

 TOPIC: FUKUSHIMA AND WHAT WE CAN DO  

"No Boots on the Ground" by Cindy Sheehan

-->

"No Boots on the Ground"

Cindy Sheehan

The President of the USA, aka, Able Servant of Empire, claims that his planned assault on Syria will be “limited” and he won’t order any “boots on the ground” as if he is angling for praise from the almost non-existent antiwar movement and/or to prove that he really earned that Noble Peace Prize!

Besides the fact that the US now has troops on the ground in 35 African countries; destroyed Libya for regime change; is bombing “al Qaeda” in Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, and Pakistan; AND is already arming and training “al Qaeda” in Syria, the Able Servant of Empire is chomping at the bit of more mass murder to launch a Tomahawk missile attack on Syria.

My friend Ann Wright, who is a retired Colonel, US Army and a former diplomat who resigned when the US invaded Iraq in 2003, wrote in this piece about what could be the possible consequences of Obama’s “limited” assault on Syria:

Syrian anti-aircraft batteries will fire their rockets at incoming U.S. missiles.

Many Syrians on the ground will die and both the U.S. and Syrian governments will say the deaths are the fault of the other.

The U.S. Embassy in Damascus will be attacked and burned, as may other U.S. Embassies and businesses in the Middle East.

Syria might also launch rockets toward the U.S. ally in the region—Israel.

Israel would launch bombing missions on Syria as it has three times in the past two years and perhaps take the opportunity to launch an attack on Syria’s strongest ally in the region Iran.

Iran, a country with a population of 80 million and has the largest military in the region untouched by war in the past 25 years, might retaliate with missiles aimed toward Israel and toward nearby U.S. military bases in Afghanistan, Turkey, Bahrain and Qatar.

Iran could block the Straits of Hormuz and impede the transport of oil out of the Persian Gulf.

These likely outcomes don’t even take into account that the nuclear powers of  Russia and China are also very opposed to further intervention in Syria from the Empire.

Besides the fact that there is no evidence that the Syrian regime gassed its “own people,” what gives The Able Servant of Empire the right to bomb Syrians with Tomahawk missiles? (At 300 million dollars, each: CHA-CHING, War Machine!)

Today (August 31) the Able Servant of Empire gave a speech in the Rose Garden of the White House and among other things, he said something that was at once chilling and revealing at the same time: “We cannot raise our children in a world where we will not follow through on the things we say, the accords we sign, the values that define us.”

What are those “values that define us?” I wonder? I have a strong suspicion that my values and Obama's values (a person can have rotten values) are diametrically opposed. Among the values that "define me" are unconditional peace for all the children in the world. I am afraid the values that define the Empire are the quest for profits over peace and power instead of protecting the lives, homes, and planet where the children live. The Able Servant of Empire has already ordered the murders of thousands of children and if there was a god, Obama would choke on his obvious and repetitive lies taken right out of the Empire's Playbook for World Domination.

How dare the Empire embark on another horrendous war to "save" people by killing them? I always think of my son killed for lies of the previous Able Servant and my surviving children and four grandbabies.

“No boots on the ground” in Syria? I look at the container my daughter has at the front door that holds various sizes and types of shoes for her family and I think of the doomed innocents in Syria.

Maybe there won’t be US boots on the ground there, but there are already sandals, bare feet, sneakers, dress shoes, and most importantly of all, baby shoes. Their lives are so precious and they have not done anything to harm, or even threaten the war criminal Obama or America.

The innocents in Syria do not deserve the fate that some dude in an expensive suit and tie thousands of miles away will deal out to them for the benefit of the war profiteers.

No more US intervention in Syria.

Protest in Sydney, Australia

Peace in Palestine.

US Troops out of everywhere.

For the babies.

PROTESTS AGAINST US INTERVENTION IN SYRIA HITS SACRAMENTO STREETS

Cindy Sheehan for Reichwing Dummies

Now that the War Party with its leader, Barack Obama, is ratcheting up the rhetoric for another war, the predictable Reichwing attacks against me begin.

Whether written by moronic bloggers, or emailed to me directly, the subject line is always something like this:

"Where are you now?"

I thought to save myself some time, I would write this fact sheet for those Dummies. It always amuses me that they can come to my blog, find the "CONTACT" link, then write me with misinformed accusations like those below. The Reichwingers can take the time to find my email, but they don't look down the page a little to see that I actually do the opposite of what they want to accuse me of?




"What? You only opposed war when Bush was in office? What a hypocrite!"

I oppose every war of the past and in the present. I oppose every war of the future.

War is a tool of barbarism and it is the opposite of sane and healthy for states to force its young to kill other people in some kind of geo-political game of serial madness and murder.

I don't care what war you want to throw at me, I oppose it and it was/is/will be wrong. People can sit across from one another and solve problems without resorting to murder, plain and simple. Any solution that involves troops, bombing, torture, etc, is evil and fraught with sorrow and destruction. Think about it...please...if you think about it with a rational mind, you will see yourself how demented war really is.

I can't remember a war that was waged to solve any geo-political problems that weren't created so the war profiteers can get more blood soaked money. The sane solution would be to dismantle the war machine and mantle a healthy economy based on peace and environmental sustainability. Again, if you take the red, white, and blue cloud out of your brain, I know you will know that I am correct.

Just the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost over three-trillion dollars. Where did all that money go? Into the pockets of multi-national corporations from oil companies, to tank builders, to drone manufacturers and even Burger King and AT&T. 

The planned misadventure in Syria will shoot off Tomahawk missiles at 300 million/per missile. Right off the top of my head, I could probably think of 300 ways that money could be spent to contribute to a healthy and sane society and not one that goes around the world killing people to save them from being killed by their own leaders? Again, if that doesn't cause some kind of incongruity in your Limbaugh-esque addelpation, then I am afraid there is very little hope for you.

War is only good for the global elite, and the rest of the billions of us should reject being harmed for the good of the elite.

Again, I can't say this strongly enough...Reichwing Dummies who call me a "hypocrite" should look at their own "values." If you supported Bush and his immoral wars of aggression, then you should support Obama and his. If you opposed Bush and his immoral wars of aggression, then you should oppose Obama and his.

It's just common sense, but when the two violent branches of the War Party come together, we lose our reasonableness and turn into stone cold killers, or the enablers of stone cold killers, ourselves.

 

"What else can I expect from a Democrat."

I left the Democratic Party in 2007--the irony here is that I probably loathe the DP more than you do, because Democrats not only support Empire, but their mission is to demobilize true opposition to the policies of Empire. At the moment, I belong to the Peace and Freedom Party and would NEVER return, or support, the War Party.

"You crawl up the ass of every Democrat out there."

This one is laughable and so easy to fact check. 

I ran against Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) in 2008 for Congress.

I ran against Barack Obama (D-MORDER) in 2012 as VP candidate for the Peace & Freedom Party. I have NEVER supported Barack Obama and voted for Cynthia McKinney of the Green Party in 2008 and also supported Ralph Nader (I). I made a vow at Camp Casey in 2005 to NEVER support any politician, or party that supported war--so that excludes most Democrats and almost every Republican.

Right now, I am challenging Governor Jerry Brown (D) here in California for Governor. 

I don't see how anyone with two seconds to devote to a google search can make that claim with a straight face. I am afraid all of you must really be Dummies, though.



"I haven't seen you crying on the TV every time I turn it on since Obama has been president."

I listed a few things above that I have done electorally, but other than that, I have held three protest camps near Obama: one in Martha's Vineyard and two in Washington, DC--I have been to every antiwar protest (as small as they are) locally and the ones I can get to nationally--I have been arrested several times protesting wars, nukes, drones, and the CIA/NSA---and I just completed a 90 day bike ride across the country trying to gauge the antiwar sentiment of people who should be opposing Obama's wars.

We send out press notifications and we have press events, but NO press ever shows. I haven't been invited on any of the "progressive shows," either, except for once on Mike Malloy and once on Democracy, Now for about 80 seconds in 2010. This lack of coverage doesn't discourage me, obviously, but the idiot box is apparently making idiots out of the Reichwing Dummies.

However, dear Reichwing Dummy, don't make the mistake of thinking that things only happen if they are happening on your magic TV box.

There is a thing called "life" and why don't you turn off your Dummy Box and set up camp in Washington, DC or Martha's Vineyard if you hate Obama so much?

Where are your large marches and rallies? Why don't I see you crying on TV about Obama being a Muslim or Commie (LOL)? I put my money where my mouth is and devote considerable time, energy and resources to what I believe in, now get off the computer and do the same.

But, Reichwing Dummy, maybe you should quit whining at me and get busy supporting Obama, since he is just carrying on the policies of your heroes, Bush and Cheney.

Hands Off Syria - Take action against U.S. intervention!

Call to Action for actions the day of/after U.S. military action begins

August 27, 2013

The Iraq war took far over 1 million Iraqi lives. Now the U.S. government is using essentially the same rationale to attack Syria.

Washington is on the march toward yet another war of aggression in the Middle East, this time targeting Syria. In the event of U.S. military strikes against Syria, the ANSWER Coalition is calling on organizations and individuals to take to the streets in opposition to what would be a destructive and criminal war by the U.S. government.
Make plans now to hold a demonstration in your city on the day of or the day after U.S. military action begins. See a list of demonstrations around the country and fill out our Event Listing form so we can help spread the word!
Despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of the American people are clearly opposed to U.S. intervention, the signs all point to war. In a recent Reuters poll, only 9 percent favored direct U.S. military intervention, and 89 percent opposed arming the Syrian opposition. But the tiny elite clique who really run the country are completely discounting the will of the people, making a mockery of their so-called “democracy.”
The U.S. 6th Fleet has deployed war ships to the eastern Mediterranean and is threatening to launch missile and air strikes against Syria. Not only are the White House and Pentagon openly threatening direct intervention, they are also moving to further arm the Syrian opposition. A U.S./NATO attack on Syria could well lead to a wider, regional war with grave and unpredictable consequences.
A staged provocation: a pretext for war
The pretext for attacking Syria is the allegation that the Syrian government used chemical weapons last week in the suburbs of the capital, Damascus, just after a UN team had arrived in the country to investigate an earlier alleged use of chemical weapons. President Obama declared over a year ago that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government would cross a “red line,” triggering U.S. military action.
The idea that the Syrian government would launch a chemical weapons attack exactly at the moment when the UN team was in the country investigating chemical weapons defies all logic.
In a sign of their total disregard for the truth, the United States government has declared, in advance of any actual investigation, that the Syrian government is guilty of using chemical weapons. U.S. officials have stated that the United Nations weapons inspection team, which is today at the site near Damascus where hundreds of people died last week, is “too late.” In other words, the United States, along with Britain and France – the former colonizers of the region – have decided to use chemical weapons as an excuse to go to war.
We must remember the Iraq War in 2003, where “overwhelming evidence of weapons of mass destruction” was used as the pretext for a war that killed hundreds of thousands and tore Iraq apart. No such weapons were ever found.
If in fact chemical weapons were used in Syria last week, the far greater likelihood is that it was a staged provocation by the opposition to invite U.S./NATO intervention in order to save their weakening military position in the conflict. We have no reason to trust the U.S. government’s version of what happened. This is the same government that has routinely lied and deceived the American people on many issues, as was recently revealed by Edward Snowden’s leaks related to NSA spying.
U.S. foreign policy is not one of benign humanitarian concern, but one of Empire. Washington’s goal is control of the entire oil-rich and strategic Middle East region. To achieve this aim, U.S. leaders – Democrats and Republicans alike – have worked to destroy independent governments and popular movements in the region for more than six decades.
For the people of the United States, fighting against a U.S. intervention in Syria is of paramount importance to prevent the spread of war and destruction. The ANSWER Coalition is calling on all those opposed to this brutal war drive to take action against any U.S. attack on Syria! A broad coalition of organizations worked together in June and July 2013 for days of action opposing the U.S. role in Syria. We expect that the actions in the coming days and weeks will be of a similar unified character.
Plan a demonstration in your city on the day of or the day after U.S. military action begins. Fill out our Event Listing form so we can help spread the word!
Initial list of actions:
ALABAMA
Huntsville, AL
Saturday, August 31
Corner of Whitesburg Drive and Airport Road
Initiated by Occupy Huntsville
Contact: annnonm@gmail.com
CALIFORNIA
Costa Mesa, CA
Day of
Gather from 5:00PM - 7:00PM
at 3300 Bristol
Initiated by Orange County Peace & Freedom Party
Contact: 714-956-5037
Los Angeles, CA
Day of
Gather at 5:30PM
at LA City Hall (West Steps): 200 N. Spring St.
Contact ANSWER in LA at 323-394-3611 or answerla@answerla.org
Sacramento, CA
Day after
Gather at 5:30PM
in front of the Sacramento Federal Building
at the corner of 5th and I Sts. in downtown
Contact ANSWER in Sacramento at sac@answercoalition.org
San Francisco, CA
Day of or day after depending on the time
Gather at 5:00PM (weekday) or 12:00PM (weekend)
at Powell & Market Sts.
Contact ANSWER in SF at 415-821-6545 or answer@answersf.org
San Francisco, CA
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 5:00PM
at Powell & Market Sts.
Contact ANSWER in SF at 415-821-6545 or answer@answersf.org
Santa Cruz, CA
Saturday, August 31
Gather at 11:00AM
at Ocean and Water Streets
Initiated by Peace and Freedom Party Santa Cruz, ANSWER Coaliton, and others.
Contact 831-688-8692 or 831-334-3368
COLORADO

Colorado Springs, CO
Sunday, September 1
Gather at 6:00PM
at Acacia Park, 201 N. Tejon St.
Initiated by Occupy Colorado Springs
Contact 719-243-5238 or 719-460-2836

CONNECTICUT

New Haven, CT
Day of - if before 12 noon / Day after - if after 12 noon
Gather at 5:30PM
at 141 Church St.
Contact ANSWER in New Haven at 203-903-4480 or ct@answercoalition.org

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Washington, D.C.
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 6:30PM
at the White House
Initiated by the ANSWER Coalition
Contact ANSWER in DC at 202-265-1948 or dc@answercoalition.org
FLORIDA
Miami, FLThursday, August 29
Gather at 6:00PM
at Torch of Friendship
Biscayne Blvd. between N.E. 3rd & 4th streets
Initiated by POWIR, Veterans for Peace
Join the Facebook event

Saint Petersburg/Tampa, FL
Saturday, August 31
Gather at 6:00PM
at Gandy Blvd. and Dale Mabry Hwy.
Near MacDill AFB (CENTCOM), Tampa, FL
Initiated by St. Pete for Peace
Contact http://stpeteforpeace.org
Join the Facebook event

Tallahassee, FL
Thursday, August 28
Gather at 4:00PM
in front of the Old Capitol, 400 S Monroe St
Initiated by Tallahassee ANSWER Coalition and Tallahassee Veterans for Peace
Contact tallahassee@answercoalition.org
ILLINOIS
Chicago, IL
Day of if before 12 noon / Day after if after 12 noon
Gather at 5:00PM
at Federal Plaza
The ANSWER Coalition is initiating this action with partners, including the Anti-war Committee - Chicago and the Albany Park, North Park, Mayfair Neighbors for Peace and Justice
Contact ANSWER in Chicago at 773-463-0311 or answer@chicagoanswer.net
Chicago, IL
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 5:00PM
at Federal Plaza
The ANSWER Coalition is participating in this action.
Contact ANSWER in Chicago at 773-463-0311 or answer@chicagoanswer.net
INDIANA
Indianapolis, IN
Friday, August 30
Gather at 7:00PM
at High steps of Monument Circle
Initiated by Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center
Contact carlrisingmoore@gmail.com
LOUISIANA

New Orleans, LA
Saturday, August 31
Gather at 2:00PM
at Washington Square, 500 Elysian Fields Avenue
Contact aiglefort@hotmail.com
MASSACHUSETTS

Boston, MA
Saturday, August 31
Rally at 1:00 PM
Park St. T station Entrance - Park & Tremont Streets
Initiated by United for Justice with Peace and supported by ANSWER Boston
Contact ANSWER in Boston at 857-334-5084 or boston@answercoalition.org

Boston, MA
Day of - if before 12 noon / Day after - if after 12 noon
Gather at 5:00 PM
Park St. T station Entrance - Park & Tremont Streets
Initiated by United for Justice with Peace and supported by ANSWER Boston
Contact ANSWER in Boston at 857-334-5084 or boston@answercoalition.org
OHIO
Columbus, OH
Sunday, September 1
Gather at 5:00PM
at 15th and High Streets at the Main Entrance of the OSU Columbus Campus
Initiated by Sunday Night Peace Action Group
Contact markstansbery@gmail.com or cmhammond11@att.net
NEW MEXICO
Albuquerque, NM
Day of
Gather at 5:00 PM
at UNM Bookstore (Central & Cornell)
Initiated by the ANSWER Coalition
Contact ANSWER in Albuquerque at 505-268-2488 or abq@answercoalition.org
NEW YORK
New York City, NY
Thursday, Aug. 29
Gather at 6:00PM
at Times Square, 43rd Street and 7th Ave
Contact ANSWER in NYC at 212-694-8720 or nyc@answercoalition.org
Rochester, NY
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 7:00PM
at the Liberty Pole, corner of Main St and East Ave
Contact 585-943-8148
Syracuse, NY
Friday, August 30
Gather at 12:30PM
at Syracuse University main quad
Initiated by Youth and Student ANSWER Coalition - SU chapter
Contact syracuse@answercoalition.org
NORTH CAROLINA
Asheville, NC
Thursday, September 12
Gather at 4:00PM
at Vance monument
Contact asheville@defendwomensrights.org
PENNSYLVANIA
Philadelphia, PA
Day after
Gather at 4:30PM
on the Northwest corner of 15th and Market Sts.
Co-sponsored by the ANSWER Coalition and Philly Against War
Contact ANSWER in Philly at 267-281-3859 or philly@answercoalition.org
SOUTH CAROLINA
Hilton Head, SC
Day after
Gather at 4:00 PM
at Rt. 278 & Beach City Rd. (park in HH Library lot)
Initiated by Hilton Head for Peace
Contact fintaylor@hargray.com
TENNESSEE

Nashville, TN
Friday, August 30
Gather at 4:00PM
at 3322 West End Avenue
Initiated by Nashville Veterans for Peace and Nashville Peace Coalition
Join the Facebook event
TEXAS

Austin, TX
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 5:00PM
at West side of the state Capitol building emptying into Congress Avenue at 11th Street
Initiated by Occupy Austin
Contact 504-239-2764
VERMONT

Burlington, VT
Day of or day after depending on the time
Gather at 6:00PM
at top of Church St. by Unitarian Church
Initiated by Ad Hoc Committee Against US War in Middle East
Contact ronj1955@gmail.com
VIRGINIA

Richmond, VA
Day of
Gather at 5:00PM
at Richmond Federal Courthouse
Initiated by the Defenders For Justice and Equality
Join the Facebook event
WASHINGTON
Seattle, WA
Day after attack
Gather at 5:00PM
at Westlake and Pine
Initiated by the ANSWER Coalition
Contact 206-568-1661 to confirm
WISCONSIN

Jefferson, WI
Thursday, August 29
Gather at 6:00PM
at State Street side of the Capitol
(Lady Forward at corner of State Street and Mifflin Street)
Initiated by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice and others.
Contact 608-250-9240 or diane@wnpj.org
Join the Facebook event

Milwaukee, WI
Saturday, August 31
Gather at 12:00PM
at the intersection of Water Street and Wisconsin Ave
Initiated by Peace Action Wisconsin
Contact 414-964-5158 or website@peaceactionwi.org

Read also

Syria: War Makers in Crisis

The Obama administration’s rush to war is hitting obstacles and hurdles. With every passing hour, new information is coming out that exposes the weakness of the U.S. case.

“Lies the imperialists told us”

The criminal attack being planned against Syria is based on lies, masking the true aims of the U.S. government and its junior partners

What you can do

Cindy for Governor, 2014 Launched Today!

Cindy Sheehan on the steps of the California State Capitol

(From the Sacramento Bee)

Andy (CampMan) Conn, Cindy, Lanette Davis and Supporter

 Today, I launched my bid for Governor of California.

NOTE: We didn't get a permit because I reject the restriction placed on my first amendment rights. 

Read the text (minus a few adlibs) of my announcement here. 

(VIDEO OF MY ANNOUNCEMENT BELOW).

COVERAGE IN THE SACBEE 

COVERAGE IN THE LATIMES

 

VIDEO OF MY ANNOUNCEMENT
AUGUST 26


JERRY BROWN ACCEPTS $27, 200 FROM 
OCCIDENTAL PETROLEUM
HE IS THE GOVERNOR FOR THE 1% AND 
CORPORATIONS.

CINDY FOR GOVERNOR WANTS 27, 200
PEOPLE TO CONTRIBUTE $1 EACH.

CINDY WILL BE THE GOVERNOR OF AND FOR THE PEOPLE.

  CLICK TO DONATE $1 (OR MORE) TO 
CINDY SHEEHAN'S EPIC CAMPAIGN

The Power of Love....(Special Soapbox Podcast)

The Power of Love by Joe Bravo

The Power of Love turns mild mannered mothers into Super Moms; loving cousins into Fighters of "Crime Fighters;" and uncles into one man Justice Leagues. One thing that I know since my own son Casey was killed in Iraq for the lies of Empire, is that we have this secret weapon that the war mongers and police statesmen don't know very much about: LOVE.

One thing I often wonder about is what if George Bush had a loving mother instead of Mrs. IceWoman Sarcasticon? 

What if George Bush had a father that adored him and encouraged his healthy growth instead of assassinating people and starting wars? Well, for one, George Bush would have grown up to be a different man, and my son would probably still be alive. 

George Bush grew up to follow in the horrendous footsteps of his father as a liar and murderer. No one could, or would (Thanks, Plastic Woman Pelosi) hold George Bush accountable, except a Gold Star mother from Vacaville, California. Can you guess why I was able to drop everything and set up Camp Casey in Crawford, TX and sacrifice everything to confront the Empire that kills, maims, or impoverishes millions? Something George didn't count on, LOVE. 

I don't hate George Bush, I don't squander powerful emotions on trash---but I love my son with all my heart, still, and I love all the people put in harm's way because of George and all the war mongering police statesmen. 

My guests for this very special, powerful and important Soapbox are four people whose lives were changed forever when their loved ones were murdered by out of control killer cops and they fight a system that refuses to hold the murderers accountable, or just slaps the killer cop on the wrist.

Learn about their stories, the stories of their loved ones and the inspiring heart-connection they have made to do something that I know is not easy.

None of us asked for "this," let's hear stories that are so difficult to hear, but harder to tell. 

BIOS AND RELEVANT LINKS

Christina Arechiga – Sacramento, CA– Prison right activist for over 15 years then changed focus to police brutality when her first cousin Ernest Duenez Jr was murdered by John Moody of the Manteca PD. Now works full time as a private investigator and in the CA Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality for all families who have been victims of law enforcement corruption and working on changing procedures and laws allowing such corruption.

Rosemary Duenez – Lathrop, CA – a mother and grandmother whose son Ernest Duenez Jr. was murdered by John Moody of the Manteca PD on June 8, 2011 – Ernest 34 yrs old was a father of an 11 month old son at the time, the Duenez family maintains weekly Sunday protests at the Manteca PD and is actively working with the CA Statewide Coalition Against Police Brutality. They fought to have the dash cam video released to them and they in turn released to the public in their fight for justice. Their civil case is currently in the federal courts in Sacramento, Ca and trial will begin in early 2014. The officer was cleared by the DA’s office but the family maintains an ongoing investigation and continues to put pressure on law enforcement to be accountable and file murder charges.

You can view the video here: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhnY17F_eiQ

 Denika Chatman – Vallejo, Ca – mother of Kenneth Harding 19 years of age was murdered on July 16, 2011 by San Francisco Police and then left to bleed out while medical personal was not allowed through police barricade – she moved her family back to California from Seattle to fight for justice for her son and holds monthly feeds for the homeless in the spot that still is stained with the blood of her son. Aka the Kenny Feeds held by the Kenneth Harding Foundation – they have recently been blessed with a new location in a church to continue their work. She is currently in a civil trial.


You can view the video here: 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7K9RS34WG7M


Cephus Johnson aka “uncle bobby”– uncle of Oscar Grant murdered by Johannes Mehserle on a BART platform in Oakland, works nationally to organize and unite families who have been affected by the injustice system, their story is on screens nationwide in the film FRUITVALE STATION – you can read reviews here: 
https://www.facebook.com/FruitvaleStationMovie 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 ABOUT THE 

CALIFORNIA CAMPAIGN TO 

END POLICE BRUTALITY