Join me

I just called on my Senators to support Senators Udall and Merkley's amendments to the Defense Authorization Act. Senator Udall's amendment removes dangerous language that would expand presidential powers to launch new wars and imprison U.S. citizens without charge or trial. And Senator Merkley's amendment to the same bill requests a plan to end U.S. war making in Afghanistan prior to December 2014.

Will you join me and help make even more voices heard? Just go here: http://bit.ly/sWFheP

The US war machine - #opblackout #fixndaa #sopa #solidarity #dec12ports #opmayhem #nonviolence

Message to a dear friend: wrt, The War Resisters League

Given that the US is armed high above the teeth, widely regarded as global policeman, and a worldwide empire, that is aggressively engaged in wrongful wars, I think that foreign invasion is the least of our worries at this time. This has been the state of the US ever since I learned of the league, which I applaud for their resistance to this ugly war machine. I have been a war resister since I was six years old, thanks in part to the league. That was 1966. Now the US is proposing overt police state legislation in the Senate, buried in the defense authorization bill. Draconian internet censorship measures are expected to pass in Congress. The people of the world have been so grossly abused at the hand of the US gov, that we can expect massive blowback in due course. The process is already underway. Such a pity, as the US had a far better potential than this. All tyranny faces justice eventually.

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

Blackout your Twitter and Facebook avatar picture for #OpBlackout - #sopa #pipa #internet #blacklist #censorship #protectip

Down with SOPA! Down with PIPA!  Stop censorship!

Here are some avatar blackout icons for your Twitter and Facebook accounts from Operation Blackout.  Black out your avatar to stop censorship.

For more information look up #OpBlackout, or check the pastebin, http://t.co/U8gY7Ew7 .

GNU-Darwin is participating in the web blackout, and the situation is likely to evolve, so be aware of the changes when using the website.  It is an invitation for you to participate.

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

See the full gallery on Posterous

GNU-Darwin.org #sitecensored #blacklist - #SOPA #pipa #acta #activism #coica #copyright #software #internet #freedom #opblackout

GNU-Darwin joins Operation Blackout to stop censorship. Stop SOPA!
Stop PIPA! These bills are internet killers. In addition, GNU-Darwin
supports the boycott of the following corporations which are
suppporting the bills. Action must be taken against these non
personae. Many thanks #OpBlackout, and others who contributed to this
list of targets.

-3M Company
-Adidas America
-Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)
-Caterpillar Inc.
-CBS Corporation
-Comcast Corporation
-CVS Caremark
-Dollar General Corporation
-Electronic Arts, Inc.
-Ford Motor Company
-Harley-Davidson Motor Company
-HarperCollins Publishers
-Johnson & Johnson
-Lexmark International, Inc.
-L'Oréal USA
-Merck & Co., Inc.
-Major League Baseball
-Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA)
-National Association of Broadcasters
-National Basketball Association (NBA)
-National Football League (NFL)
-NBCUniversal
-News Corporation
-Nintendo of America Inc.
-Pfizer Inc.
-Rite Aid
-Rolex Watch USA Inc.
-Sony Electronics Inc.
-The McGraw-Hill Companies
-The Walt Disney Company
-Toshiba America Business Solutions, Inc.
-U.S. Chamber of Commerce
-WAL-MART
-Zumba Fitness, LLC

Regards,
proclus
http://www.gnu-darwin.org/

Stop the Keystone XL pipeline

I just took action to stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Will you join me?

While the Obama administration’s recent decision will delay the Keystone XL pipeline, there is still a very real threat that the pipeline could be approved in the future, with reroute plans as one alternative the corporation is considering. There are still other tar sands pipeline proposals on the horizon.

Tell President Obama, Secretary of State Clinton and other State Department officials to reject the Keystone XL Pipeline, any other proposed tar sands pipelines, and to move away from U.S. dependency on Alberta tar sands oil.

I love a good blackout operation. Down with #SOPA. #OpBlackout

I love a good blackout operation. Down with SOPA. OpBlackout

Tell Your Senators: Speed Afghan Withdrawal, Oppose War with Iran

The National Defense Authorization Act is now before the Senate. This is an opportunity for Senators to support an accelerated withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan and to formally end the war in Iraq. Unfortunately, it's also an opportunity for Senators to push the U.S. further towards military confrontation with Iran.

Will you join me in writing to your Senators and urging them to press for an expedited military withdrawal from Afghanistan, to repeal the authorization for the use of force in Iraq, and to oppose new sanctions on Iran that could push us towards a military conflict?

http://www.justforeignpolicy.org/act/ndaa2012senate

Thanks!

An open letter to the President of the United States, Barack Obama & the Pri...

An open letter to the President of the United States, Barack Obama & the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard on the occasion of Barack Obama's address to the Australian Parliament on 17th November, 2011.

via WL Central by on 11/16/11

Tweet

Signed by Stop the War Coalition, Sydney, Sydney
Solidarity for Bradley Manning, Wikileaks Coalition, Peace Bus.

While you meet in Australia’s Parliament House, Australians concerned about human rights, peace, justice and equality protest against your policies. We believe that the policies you jointly agree on undermine the security of our future and the opportunity for our children to live in a world free of war and violence; a world where economic equality, freedom of speech, expression and knowledge are sacrosanct.

We are prevented from having that world because of the support you give to the military industrial complex, of which Australia is a loyal subsidiary. Those interests would have us believe that they wage war to bring peace and something they call “democracy”.

But, after 10 years of war in Afghanistan, and nearly eight years in Iraq, there is scant evidence of any democracy, only destruction and death. Israeli military action against the Palestinians will not bring peace. Israel can continue its apartheid-like policies against the Palestinians because it knows it has Washington’s support.

Many dared to dream that you, Barack Obama, would begin to reverse the terrible crimes of your predecessor. Instead your foreign policy is underscored by the same violence and coercion.

The stated aim of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, to rid the world of terrorism and to bring democracy to the region, was deceptive. Both wars are illegal because they were conducted under false pretences. In his book “Axis of Deceit”, former Australian Intelligence Officer, Andrew Wilkie, now an Independent member of parliament, has said, that the over-riding reason for the invasion of Iraq was “the US’s determination to safeguard and enhance its global ideological, economic and military hegemony.” (64) We believe that the same applies to Afghanistan.

The “war on terror” has been used as an excuse to colonise Iraq and Afghanistan. In exchange for aid, the Governments of Iraq and Afghanistan have been coerced into adopting neo-liberal economic policies. In this “privatisation of war”, vital public infrastructure has been sold off or destroyed. Multinational corporations such as Blackwater, KBR (Halliburton), and agribusinesses such as Chemonics Inc, with the support of USAID, can now impose their products on these war-torn nations.

Meanwhile, mismanaged foreign aid falls into the hands of Afghan war-lords and criminals, fuelling corruption and violence and preventing Afghans from democratically deciding on their futures.

The majority of Australians do not want to benefit from the torture, maiming and impoverishment of civilians, the destruction of people’s livelihoods, and their environment. We call on you Julia Gillard to withdraw all Australian troops from Afghanistan.

WE ACCUSE

Barrack Obama and Julia Gillard: We accuse you of complicity in war crimes

You are responsible for killing and maiming unknown numbers of innocent men, women and children in Afghanistan and Iraq while peddling the illusion that war and occupation can still bring democracy.

These war crimes include: the execution of women and children in Ishaqi, Central Bagdad in 2006; an unprovoked helicopter attack on civilians and journalists in Bagdad in 2007 killing 11 people; and the bombing of Rigi village, Afghanistan in July 2010 where it is claimed 50 civilians, mostly women and children were killed. None of these atrocities have been adequately investigated by either the US or Australia. Human Rights Watch has reported that throughout 2011, there have been incidences of rape, torture and beatings committed by US/NATO backed Afghan Local Police forces. A recent report in Human Rights Watch has found that, with very few exceptions it is “rare for the US and NATO to hold independent and transparent investigations into possible acts of wrongdoing, or to hold individuals to account.”

The US President has conferred upon himself the right to murder US and other national citizens on the basis of “secret evidence”. Obama has escalated the use of unmanned predator drones to assassinate terrorist suspects, often killing innocent civilians. This undermines the rule of law and violates the US Constitution and the Geneva Convention. These CIA-based actions are morally wrong and set a dangerous precedent. The use of unmanned predator drones should be banned.

Barrack Obama and Julia Gillard: We accuse you of complicity in torture and continuing extraordinary rendition

For years Amnesty International has warned US, NATO and Australia that prisoner transfer agreements with the Afghani National Directorate of Security, will expose prisoners to the risk of torture. In 2010, Amnesty warned the Australian government that prisoners transferred by Australian officials in Afghanistan to US or Afghan detention centres may face torture and that this could put Australia in breach of International laws against torture.

You continue the practice of Extraordinary Rendition, sending suspected terrorists to compliant countries to be tortured. A report by the Human Rights Institute at Columbia University found that “the US government continues to take advantage of Bush-era secrecy in subjecting transferred detainees to the threat of torture”. (Dec 20, 2010 Press Release: Promises to Keep)

There are concerns that changes made to laws in 2009 governing the treatment of prisoners in US custody have loopholes that would allow for torture under specific situations.

Barack Obama and Julia Gillard: We accuse you of supporting the terrorist state of Israel and betraying Palestinians

Barack Obama, for years the US has paid lip service to peace between the Palestinians and Israelis while consistently voting in favor of Israeli interests at the United Nations Security Council and supplying aid and weapons to the Israeli military. Amnesty International reported in 2009 that over a 10-year period up to the year 2017, the US will provide Israel with $30 billion in military aid.

Barack Obama, in your September 21, 2011 address to the United Nations General Assembly you used the usual platitudes, the prevaricating language of the insincere, to excuse yourself from supporting Palestinian application for statehood. While in the Occupied Territories, East Jerusalem and throughout the refugee camps, the oppressed and dispossessed Palestinians suffer war, violence and hunger because of Israeli aggression towards them.
Julia Gillard deny Palestinians their right to statehood. How do you explain this to Australian Palestinians?

Barack Obama: We accuse you of the persecution and torture of Bradley Manning

You have declared Bradley Manning, the alleged WikiLeaks whistleblower, guilty before he has had his constitutional right to defend himself in a court of law. You have prosecuted more whistleblowers than any of your predecessors.

Bradley Manning’s detention conditions at Quantico Marine Base between July 2010 and April 2011 are reported to have included solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for 10 months, sleep deprivation and enforced nakedness during morning inspection. Yale Law School professor, Bruce Ackerman has stated that the treatment reported, “… is a violation of the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment, and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee against punishment without trial.” You continue to deny UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez an unmonitored visit to Bradley Manning to clarify the truth of these reports.

Barack Obama and Julia Gillard: We accuse you of persecuting Julian Assange, Australian citizen and founder of WikiLeaks

Julian Assange has released material, such as the Iraq War Logs and Afghan War Diaries that expose the “corruption, deceit, brutality and criminality of the world’s most powerful factions”. They show the horrific reality of the Iraq and Afghan wars and the degree to which US corporations benefit financially. The Wikileaks cables make it clear that you are both complicit in corruption, war crimes and human rights abuses.

By revealing these crimes against humanity, Julian Assange has provided a great service to the public.

WikiLeaks has also exposed the degree to which European, British and US government officials knew about the fraudulent activities and dishonest brokering which led to the global financial collapse and the impoverishment of millions in the US and around the world.

Barack Obama your attack on Julian Assange makes a mockery of the First Amendment right to free speech.

Julia Gillard you are putting the interests of the US-Australia ANZUS alliance before the safety of an Australian citizen. You and Kevin Rudd have yet to apply diplomatic pressure to stop Assange’s possible extradition to the United States, which his lawyers say, would put him in grave danger. We call on you to fulfill your obligation to protect an Australian citizen in serious difficulty overseas.

Julia Gillard: We accuse you of ignoring public opinion on foreign policy

We do not accept that Australia's foreign policy is best served by a war alliance with the US. Signing a pact with the US government to allow joint command of military bases on Australian soil is not about preventing wars. Rather, it is about continuing the current illegal and unpopular wars, and being complicit in starting more.

Australians overwhelmingly opposed the invasion of Iraq and, now, the 10-year long war in Afghanistan. Australia's support for the NATO intervention into Libya, and the risk of such an intervention into Iran, will not help the democracy movements in these countries. Rather, these imperial interventions are about helping install compliant rulers with whom imperial powers, including Australia, can do business.

Barack Obama and Julia Gillard: We accuse you of putting the interests of corporations and the military industrial complex above the safety and well being of those in your care.

We support the worldwide Occupy movement against corporate greed and war. We, the 99%, want a co-operative and peaceful world. The wars being waged today are wars for the 1%.

The light on the hill is out.

But around the world, demands for justice, peace and equality, flare like a new sun.

Help me save a community from demolition

I just took action through Grassroots International to help save a Bedouin community that is slated for demolition on November 18. To learn more and add your voice to this struggle, visit http://bit.ly/uRYWJ0.

Save the Internet

Right now, Congress is debating a law that would give them the power to censor the world's Internet -- creating a blacklist that could target YouTube, Wikileaks and even Avaaz! Now, if we stand with key members of Congress, we can defeat this attempt at global censorship. I've just signed an urgent petition at Avaaz.org to save the Internet.

Join me in this campaign here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_internet_us_a/?sbc

Take Action, Support Free Speech!

I just wrote NYC District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr. to ask him to dismiss the charges against the more than 700 people who were arrested on October 1, 2011 during a peaceful and orderly march on the Brooklyn Bridge. Please help get the charges dropped and write New York City's District Attorney Vance now.

To take action on this issue, click on the link below:
http://www2.justiceonline.org/site/Advocacy?s_oo=UoaRiVVB7ryZI6eLMWGu1w&i... If the text above does not appear as a link or it wraps across multiple lines, then copy and paste it into the address area of your browser.
If you no longer wish to receive email messages sent from your friends on behalf of this organization, please follow the link below:
http://www2.justiceonline.org/site/TellFriendOpt?action=optout&toe=97d2db6729...

Censoring censorship opponents

Irony Alert: The House is holding hearings on sweeping Internet censorship legislation this week -- and it's censoring the opposition! The bill is backed by Hollywood, Big Pharma, and the Chamber of Commerce. All of them are going to get to testify at the hearing, but the bill's opponents -- tech companies, free speech and human rights activists, and hundreds of thousands of Internet users -- won't have a voice.

Please click here to demand that they let us censorship opponents testify too:

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sopa_testimony/?page=154&referring_akid=.4...

As if you need a reminder: This is the most offensive Internet legislation we've seen in years. It will give the government and corporations new powers to block Americans' access to sites that are accused of copyright infringement, force sites like YouTube to go to new lengths to police users' contributions, and put people in prison for streaming certain content online.

This sham of a hearing represents everything that's broken about our political system. Will you click here to demand that opponents of the Blacklist Bill be allowed to testify this week?

http://act.demandprogress.org/sign/sopa_testimony/?page=154&referring_akid=.4...

@OccupyBaltimore: http://t.co/rg6oBvJS #occupybaltimore mic checks Karl Rove

Fwd: @OccupyBaltimore: http://t.co/rg6oBvJS #occupybaltimore mic checks Karl Rove

No Speedy Trial for Bradley #Manning; Now in Pre-Trial Confinement for 560 Days

No Speedy Trial for Bradley Manning; Now in Pre-Trial Confinement for 560 Days

via (title unknown) by Craig Brown on 11/14/11

Ann Wright

Five months ago, on April 22, 2011, over 400 citizens converged on Quantico Marine Base to protest the pre-trial conditions of alleged Wikileaks whistleblower US Army Private First Class Bradley Manning.  Manning was arrested on May 26, 2010, on a U.S. military base in Iraq on suspicion of giving classified material to the website WikiLeaks.

No Speedy Trial-Manning still in pre-trial confinement after 560 days

read more

EU bans X-ray body scanners for health and safety reasons - #health #tsa #nhs #xray #body #cancer #civil #rights

http://ping.fm/JENED EU bans X-ray body scanners for health and safety reasons - health tsa nhs xray body cancer civil rights

4 days to save our children from cluster bombs

I've just signed an important Avaaz petition against cluster bombs. The US is pushing governments to reinstate the use of cluster bombs, allowing weapons that are responsible for killing thousands of innocent children. But we can stop this if we raise our voices together.

Join me in this campaign here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/cluster_bombs_ii_b/?sbc

Keystone XL pipeline delayed!

Dear Friend,


Thanks to the historic activism and pressure of thousands of people around the country, the State Department and Obama Administration announced today that they will re-evaluate the route of the Keystone XL pipeline, and restart their environmental assessment, which take until at least the beginning of 2013 to complete.

This is huge. The decision is not the same as rejecting the pipeline. But it is a major delay. And it is proof that our activism made a difference.

The Obama Administration has also said that the new evaluation will take into account the enormous climate change impacts of the pipeline. This is important progress, as the climate change pollution produced by this pipeline was not considered in the State Department's initial sham review.

I just signed a petition to thank President Obama for restarting the pipeline review process, and telling him to reject the pipeline once and for all:

http://ping.fm/nAiZw

White House Could Cast Decisive Vote to Permit 20,000 Fracking Wells in Dela...

White House Could Cast Decisive Vote to Permit 20,000 Fracking Wells in Delaware River Basin

via Democracy Now! by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) on 11/11/11

This week the Delaware River Basin Commission released draft regulations to allow for the natural gas drilling technique hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, in the river’s watershed, which provides water to 15.6 million people in New York City, Philadelphia and New Jersey. The proposed plan would allow for some 20,000 gas wells to be developed in the watershed. A vote on the regulations is set for Nov. 21 and could prompt a battle between activists and the White House, which holds a seat on the commission and may cast the deciding vote. We speak with Josh Fox, whose documentary about fracking, "Gasland," was nominated for an Academy Award, and play an excerpt of his new video about the possible impacts natural gas fracking could have in the Delaware River Basin. [includes rush transcript]

Occupy Cal: 39 Arrested in Forceful Crackdown on Massive Protest at UC-Berkeley

Occupy Cal: 39 Arrested in Forceful Crackdown on Massive Protest at UC-Berkeley

via Democracy Now! by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) on 11/11/11

This week the Occupy movement drew thousands of California college students to protests on at least 10 campuses, including UC-Irvine, UCLA, and UC-Berkeley, where police forcibly removed students and arrested 39 people. We get a report from John Hamilton, who reports for KPFA. [Rush transcript to come. Check back soon.]

Mexiko: Anonymous will korrupte Beamte outen

Mexiko: Anonymous will korrupte Beamte outen

via SPIEGEL ONLINE - Schlagzeilen on 11/9/11

In einem neuen drastischen Video prangert Anonymous Korruption und Gewalt in Mexiko an. Man werde jetzt Gegenmaßnahmen ergreifen, kündigt die Netzbewegung an. Offenbar haben die Aktivisten einen Trumpf in der Hand: Zehntausende abgefangene E-Mails aus Behörden.