You may have heard the fuss about it as HR 1955. Well, it passed the house, and now YOU may be considered a terrorist the next time you THINK about using force to protect your civil liberties.
Do you care about a political issue or religion or social change? Do you care about the Bill of Rights?
Here is language directly from S 1959:
“The term `violent radicalization’ means the process of adopting or promoting an extremist belief system for the purpose of facilitating ideologically based violence to advance political, religious, or social change.”
Take out the word “violence” and you’re looking at a law that threatens belief systems, ideology, politics, religion, and social change.
This bill is an offensive threat to our civil liberties.
How far will they go to silence any and all dissent? Will it soon be a threat to our security and freedom to protest, to question, to demonstrate, to think? Would Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Eddie Vedder be considered terrorists for the lyrical content of their songs? Even when the vast majority of all thinkers believe that peaceful means is the only means for facilitating change, is it still ‘unpatriotic’ to question the direction of our leadership? Are you a terrorist for wanting a better and brighter future that believes in equality, freedom, justice and peace? Is such thinking going to send you to jail for believing in an “extremist belief system”? Our freedoms and rights took thousands of years and innumerous suffering to gain, and many of us have had the luxury of living in a democracy our entire lifetime. But now, that luxury may very well be a thing of the past if this bill passes… What would the founders of America think if they knew what was happening to their treasured nation?
Please become politicalized. Learn about what is happening in our domestic politics, because the future of our nation and the world is at stake. Your voice counts. Failure to understand these issues coupled with an apathetic attitude could land those of us who believe in the ideals of freedom, love, peace, justice, and equality in some serious hot water.
For more information on this terrifying Orwellianish scenario, check out this link:
I challenge you to become spiritual; I want you to believe in Bhudda, I want you to believe in Allah, I want you to believe in Jesus. More importantly, I want you to believe in love, believe in the power of humanity, I want you to believe that you have God in you, I want you to believe that I have God in me. I want you to feel the power of nature, to feel the power of living in harmony with that nature. I want you to believe in magic, in miracles, in forgiveness, in divinity. I want you to learn to discover the inherent beauty in everything in life, I want you to believe in the sacred balance of the universe, the beauty of the stars and the galaxy, the beauty of the diversity of the life existing in the blue seas, the magic of each new dawn, and each new evening.
Does your spirituality allow that you be happy, be free, be beautiful, be loved? And does your spirit truly allow you to LOVE everyone and everything in this universe?. Does your spirituality allow you to connect to the Earth? Does your spirituality allow you to totally remove your desire for greed, for power, for injustice, for hatred, for dominance? Read the rest of this entry »
” PULITZER PRIZE ” winning photo taken in 1994 during the Sudan famine.
The picture depicts a famine stricken child crawling towards an United Nations food camp, located a kilometer away.
The vulture is waiting for the child to die so that it can eat it. This picture shocked the whole world. No one knows what happened to the child, including the photographer Kevin Carter who left the place as soon as the photograph was taken.
Three months later he committed suicide due to depression.
Cecil Rhodes: the man who financed the Cape-Cairo railway project, founded the De Beers Mining Company, and owned the British South Africa Company which established Rhodesia for itself. He wanted to “paint the map British Red” and declared “…all of these stars … these vast worlds that remain out of reach. If I could, I would annex other planets”.
IMPERIALISM…. the conceptual reality of conquering foreign territory in the name of political and economic dominance, for the desire of ’empire building’, requires at its most fundamental level a subdued racial prejudice. One of the most dominant political forces of our time, imperialism has been, and continues to be, in a state of perpetual change. Once blatantly obvious, imperialism has survived through its ability to evolve. Imperialism is a well oiled machine that realizes it can no longer prevail unless it works in the shadows, behind the scenes; whereas once you sent your explorers overseas, dominated local tribes with your military might, established colonies, exploited natural resources and created new markets, we now send our bankers to G7 meetings or WTO forums and simply create global economic policies that continue to serve the same empire building objectives that traditional forms of imperialism did (prosperity for the powerful at the expense of ‘the other’). What traditional imperialism and newer forms of economic and political dominance have in common is a reliance on an inherent form of racism that allows the population of the prosperous nations to feel a sense of greater entitlement than the people who populate the countries we continue to exploit. Fanatical patriotism erodes our ability to feel empathy for ‘the other’; separated by seas, by differences in culture and belief, by skin colour, these differences are perpetuated by imaginary social barriers that the ’empire builder’ has constructed over time and engrained in our culture. How is it that 3 families can have more wealth than the poorest 48 countries combined? How is it that we in the west do not feel a moral sense of obligation to our brothers and sisters in Bolivia, in Nigeria, in Lithuania, in Burma? Patriotism is so deep and engrained that to question the direction and the moral fibre of one’s nation is to be ‘unpatriotic’. Without social support networks to reinforce one’s convictions, it is very difficult to stand out in a crowd where your beliefs, ethics and morality will see you chastised. Blind faith in the direction and leadership in our leaders without questioning the consequences of their actions on our country or on the countries of others is anything but patriotic; we need to encourage debate, we need to encourage and challenge people to seek a new direction, we need to encourage people to realize that dissent in the name of real progress is a fundamental responsibility for every citizen fortunate enough to live within a democracy.
I’ll try and kick it off…(Just woke up 5 mins ago, giving some stream of consciousness a shot here…)
Listening to some Ben Harper from Lifeline–Younger than Today & Fight outta you
“I would rather take a punch, then not give you a shot…I’d rather find out who you are, then who you’re not…Don’t let it take the fight outta you” BH
Last meeting, we talked about Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin‘s introductory essay from the Socialist Register, can’t remember the exact title right now, but it is from the 2004 edition on the Imperialism of Our Time.
The whole book is basically about reintroducing the word Imperialism into discourses, conversations, thoughts about Amercian power, American Hegemony, American Exceptionalism–whatever you might’ve (or are) calling it according to Panitch and Gindin actually refers to the Imperialism nexus of the present, that grows out from the past era of inter-imperial rivalry upto WWI.
Summaries aside, the importance of this article is that it helps the FUNGUS name the powers it wishes to speak truth to, or even more correct–it helps having a historical, conceptual, theoretical analysis of what we like to call the MACHINE.
Aside–the Machine, or evil?, just think Morpheus in the Matrix giving you the choice–blue pill or red pill–depending on what you choose, you’ll know what we’re talking about when we speak of the machine–a system, a structure, ways of organizing life that put the living species and ecosystems of earth in the slavery of the interests of a very small few elites, maybe their fucked up aliens? I don’t know, but it damn near time for our generations to really start fucking them up…sand in the wheels of the machine–to put those damn grinding gears to halt!
Ok, back to the Socialist Register–we read little more than half the article, and will finish today. After which I’ll put up a better analysis, with some questions for online folks to answer…
BUY NOTHING DAY
2nd outing of action in the name of the Fungus, and well, we had a great day of action. Spreading the good word, if sometimes problematic, of the busters, downtown.
I consider it like giving people a little shock, nothing taser deadly, but maybe like putting a fork in socket or something. And you could see it, sometimes, jolting people out of there zombie shopping states–double takes, stares, looking(but not looking), scowls, some smiles too!
We’re (I’m) not saying that buying nothing for a day will solve everything, we’re just trying to show folks (including ourselves) it doesn’t have to be like this, it shouldn’t–consuming more than you need, trying to fill some void (that emptiness inside you that most aren’t sure what to call) at the expense of others, on the backs of others. Maybe that’s one of the problems, that we see them as others…those whose slave-like service for the production of goods for our gross overconsumption.
Forget about what Jesus would do…think about What your gonna do differently from this day forward about your consumption and act on it muthafucka!
Myself included…I speak to myself on this as much as I do the readers of this thing.
Instead of the centralized events of past editions, WSF 2008 will have thousands of activities organized by social movements, unions, groups, networks and other organisations in their own regions. This will cover a one-week period, culminating in a Global Day of Action on January 26th. The global mobilization will be directly linked to the local agendas of social actors, making the week full of debates, cultural and artistic activities, demonstrations, protests, direct actions, meetings and many other ways of showing that another world is possible.
Fungus.co.uk? Starting up a UK fungal node–care package to get them started?
Podcast–musical score
To Do’s:
start working on podcast
fix up website/blog
format for the next few meetings–articles, projects, art, thoughts anyone?
insert more here if I missed any…
Quote of the Day:“African-Amercian orator, Frederick Douglass, a militant abolitionist and himself an escaped slave, who wrote”:
Those who profess freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without ploughing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean without the awful wrath of its many waters. Power concedes nothing without demands–it never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to, and you have the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them. And these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.
-from Taiaiake Alfred’s Wasase: Indigenous pathways of action and freedom
Hidden in the shadows, intertwined with virtually everything on the planet, mushrooms and fungus are an incredible dynamic force – they stink, ooze, metabolize, synthesize and decompose their way down a path of inebriation, murder and mayhem.
This film will be the first full-length documentary about the role and scope of fungus in our lives and environment; exploring a vast, untapped, and forgotten kingdom. Fungi are a branch of life as diverse and important as either the plant or animal kingdom, and yet people know very little about them. Hundreds of millions of years older than plant life and sharing a closer genetic make-up with animals, the fungi remain a mystery. Underworld: The Fun, Violent, Sexy Mushroom Movie will challenge its viewers to accept some radical ideas about communication, individuality, sexuality and the nature of death. In the fungal world sexual pairings are enormously intricate, allowing as many as 21000 pairings – a concept that humans have a hard time grasping. The largest organism on the planet is a single fungus in Oregon that stretches over 2200 acres.
http://www.myfootprint.org http://www.footprintnetwork.org/index.php Ecological footprint (EF) analysis measures human demand on nature. It compares human consumption of natural resources with planet Earth‘s ecological capacity to regenerate them. It is an estimate of the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate (if possible) the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology and current understanding. Using this assessment, it is possible to estimate how many planet Earths it would take to support humanity if everybody lived a given lifestyle. While the measure is widely used, some also criticize the approach (from Wikipedia)
Why Ron Paul Deserves Your Consideration – The Affirmation Spot for Friday November 23, 2007
November 23, 2007 — theaffirmationspot
Ron Paul is a very important man right now. He is challenging the political establishment, Republicans and Democrats. He is challenging many of the financial and political myths under which The United States currently operates. For many in the establishment, he is a very dangerous man. Today I want to discuss why he deserves your attention and your consideration.This blog is decidedly not political in nature. It’s mission is to promote the positive uplifting messages, tips, and ideas that help people enjoy a greater sense of freedom, prosperity, and opportunity in this life. Read the rest of this entry »
Check out this link to a solid UBC log that seems to share many of the same values, ideals, beliefs etc. as the fungus…. I met Devon Carr earlier this year and have had a few coincidental encounters with him recently, and so we began talking at the climbing gym and he informed me that he is a poli-sci and international relations student at ubc…. he is also the manager of this website….. strange coincidence? Perhaps….. regardless, I think it would be a good idea if we linked our blog sites, shared information, and continued to spread love with as many people as possible.D
This is an interesting study referring to human socialization, morals, values and the Goodness. Does this study show that we have an inherent value system that is passed on to us just like DNA… some kind of guiding energy perhaps that is ingrained in the human experience?Read the rest of this entry »
News Features By Travis LupickPublish Date: November 15, 2007Hari Sharma knows how to piss off a government. In 1965, he left India forwork in the United States. Three years later, he was asked to leave for”fraternizing” with Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Panthers,and other iconic groups of that era.After relocating to Canada, SFU hired Sharma as a professor. Over the nextfew years, political activity resulted in his Indian passport beingrevoked and a year-long battle for Canadian citizenship.Today, Sharma is 74 years old and president of the South Asian Network forSecularism and Democracy. His view on the present situation in Pakistanhas been shaped by a life of activism for secularism and peace.“Get the fucking Americans and Canadians out of Afghanistan and thatproblem would be solved forever,” Sharma said, answering a question on howto control Pakistani Islamists.Read the rest of this entry »
November 24th, 2:00 pm, at the art gallery downtown…. bring a mug for tea, bring a chair for chillin’, bring some warm clothes cause it’s rain or shine baby….
we’ll set up an environment where strangers can break down the barriers that keep us apart, where strangers feel comfortable chillin’ and socializing and participating in fun and free activities (ie chess, checkers, a game of soccer, maybe a game of street hockey, cards, listening to some tunes on the geetar, maybe people could give away books that they’ve already read for free, free back massages are always a possibility….. come down and join the fun…..
Quite simply, I think over consumption is a result of the emptiness of our culture… The notion that there is a correlation between consumption and fulfillment, wealth and happiness, is deeply embedded within our culture. I think individuals have a very tough time feeling fulfilled when many work in a job they hate for 8hours, come home to a microwave supper low in nutritional value , watch reality t.v., read a fashion magazine that tells them they need to buy this cream and that lotion to feel beautiful, and then fall asleep on the couch to the 11:00 state funded network news. On the weekends they spruce up their lives by watching football and drinking a case of budweiser, and call themselves spiritual beings by trying hard not to fall asleep during Sunday service. The interesting thing is the advertising agencies of budweiser, of the microwave dinners, of the football game, etc. would have you believe, through the brilliance of their marketing campaigns, that consuming their products will help to make you feel like you’re happy and fulfilled. We’ve bought in, believing in the misnomer that drinking excessive amounts of budweiser on a friday night will help you feel happy, accepted, attractive, invincible…. just like the image the tv commercials so aptly personify. And so in order to fill the void of living this cultureless life comprised of empty cultural calories, we reward ourselves with an unnecessary new pair of shoes, or the latest cell phone, or a new car, because it makes us feel good, it makes us feel like our peers will accept us, but yet we are totally oblivious to the effect that this purchase has on the ecosystems of the world.Our appetite for consumption provides the markets for ‘the machine’ to exist and so ‘the machine’ will make every effort to ensure that you comply and be a good citizen and continue to consume. Immediately after 9/11, George Bush, in his address to the people, informed citizens that the best way they could help America was to go out and shop!!! (reference still being sought after). The machine desperately requires your non questioning compliance to consume, and as a result spares no effort to ensure that you are inundated with messages to buy shit. Probably more frightening than this is the realization that many aspects of our culture have been set up to ensure that we feel unfulfilled in order to create a desire in us to buy shit. Or that much of our consumption stems from the fact that our lives are so busy with the responsibilities of a 40 + hour work week that we will spend our hard earned money on convenience products that promise to free up more time in our day so we can watch more t.v. They are selling the product of ‘convenience’ because it is so desperately desired in our hyperactively hectic lives.
I think the solution is simple, but will not be easily attained: shopoholicism is a major problem, with devastating ecological, political, and social consequences that we need to be aware of…. rather than continuing the trend of mindlessly consuming, we need to find healthier, more natural ways of seeking happiness and fulfillment. Perhaps an emphasis on play, on relaxation , on exercise, on socializing, on reading, on pondering, on thinking, on wondering, on loving, on truly LIVING is what we need to reduce our ecological footprint. Our current emphasis on competition, on material wealth, on consumption, on vanity items, on social status, on PROFIT AT ALL COSTS, is leading us in a very dangerous direction , both individually (highest ever recorded rates of depression, anxiety disorders, low mental health) and collectively (global warming, growing gap between the rich and the poor, a very likely World War 3)…… Open your eyes, open your hearts, open your mind, open your soul….
Pakistan is on the brink: unpopular president General Pervez Musharraf has imposed a state of emergency, sacked the Supreme Court, shut down the media and basic freedoms, and imprisoned democratic opposition leaders. The general blames his actions on an imagined coalition of terrorists and independent-minded judges — but his real fear may be losing absolute power.Elections are planned for January 2008 — they must not be postponed. But martial law and the imprisonment of democratic opposition leaders don’t make for a free and fair vote either. So we’re calling on the international community — particularly the US Congress, which has voted Musharraf billions of dollars in military aid over the last six years — to use all its leverage for swift elections and restoring constitutional protections. Click below to sign our petition immediately, then tell your friends so they can do the same —http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistanWe just received this email from Asma Jahangir, head of the Pakistani Human Rights Commission and the UN’s Special Rapporteur for freedom of religion worldwide. Now under house arrest in Lahore, she’s one of many Pakistanis urgently asking the world community to raise our voice:
There is a strong crackdown on the press and lawyers… The Chief Justice is under house arrest (unofficially). The President of the Supreme Court Bar (Aitzaz Ahsan) and 2 former presidents, Mr. Muneer Malik and Tariq Mahmood have been imprisoned for one month under the Preventive Detention laws…There are other scores political leaders who have also been arrested. Yesterday I was house arrested for 90 days… the President (who has lost his marbles) said that he had to clamp down on the press and the judiciary to curb terrorism. Those he has arrested are progressive, secular minded people, while the terrorists are offered negotiations and ceasefires.Lawyers and civil society will challenge the government and the scene is likely to get uglier. We want friends of Pakistan to urge the US administration to stop all support of the instable dictator, as his lust for power is bringing the country close to a worse form of civil strife… –Asma JahangirLahore, Pakistan
General Musharraf claims that martial law is necessary to combat extremist terror. But it just doesn’t add up. Musharraf retains strong links with the Pakistani Taliban (see PS below). His emergency powers are being directed only against the democratic opposition, free press and judiciary – just days before a scheduled ruling on whether Musharraf could run for president while remaining army chief. In an August poll, too, Pakistanis rated “ensuring an independent judiciary, free press and free elections” as their top priority.Right now, leaders around the world are deciding how to respond. The General is dressing up his crackdown in the rhetoric of “anti-terrorism” because Musharraf and his military supporters depend on foreign military aid and international recognition to maintain their legitimacy. That’s why we have to speak out now.The world can’t ignore the threat of chaos in Pakistan, or the voices of our fellow democrats there. Let’s come together as we did on Burma, and move our governments to act. In these crucial early days, the voice of the world’s people has tremendous power. Let’s use it. Sign the petition and tell your friends today –http://www.avaaz.org/en/emergency_pakistan
you’ve got to watch all the videos. You’ll get a good sense of what Hardt is referring to in the Multitude, when he refers to love as a political concept.
Well, here goes…Living here in Vancouver, a desi–native to south asia, a man of colour, a son of privilege, the displaced son of revolutions passed–the machine (re)presents itself in a variety of ways.
I am a product of my time and my understanding of how human society engages with this world is formed through these contexts. That which our collective likes to call the machineThere is no doubt of its existence–we know that this imperial, western-centric, racialized, capitalist global structure/system acts like a machine–but cannot be defined as one. The reference to it as a machine is a useful analogy, especially if one then adds to this the understanding that THE MACHINE is controlled by some human beings for the intended and many times unintended control of the lifeblood of this planet (outerspace?)
The key, is to understand the intersecting logics that operate the machine and who in our times continue to unleash its effects on the planet (people included), well one of the keys anyways. Another key being the recognition, by those of us who exist within it, of the ways in which we help it along. Read the rest of this entry »
under which The United States currently operates. For many in the establishment, he is a very dangerous man. Today I want to discuss why he deserves your attention and your consideration.This blog is decidedly not political in nature. It’s mission is to promote the positive uplifting messages, tips, and ideas that help people enjoy a greater sense of freedom, 
The Fungus 