Carnival of Chaos~ November 2011

Welcome to the Carnival of Chaos! It has been a busy couple of months for me and in the world. Occupy has spread worldwide. The American media, as well as the police, have shown that they are no better than any of the countries we like to demonize. I would like to remember that courageous group of NYPD in Albany that stood down and denied orders arrest the peaceful demonstrators!

.

If you are part of the 99% and have a story or comment for the 1% then you can go here! Write to those that are in the 1%, this is my letter....

Greetings,
I have six children 5-16 yrs. and live off of $12-15,000 a year. As you can imagine this is a difficult task. I home school all of them, so my money has to do a lot. Paper, pencils, crayons and books are expensive in my reality. I buy all our clothes at a thrift store or Salvation Army. Just about the ONLY new thing we buy are socks and underwear. The only way we make it is because we receive food stamps. (for that the hoops are many and I see how many deserving families can not do it). It is about $1000 a month to feed all eight of us. I challenge you to feed eight people on that! And make it healthy!
Last week my husbands paycheck bounced. It then began the roll of fees in the banks and with those bills that we paid out on the funds. It will take us weeks to catch up and we will have to do without.
I wonder if you live paycheck to paycheck? What do you struggle with ?
I consider myself blessed to be able to educate my children and to afford a roof over my head(we have been homeless).There are others who have less than us.
I believe deeply that a roof,food, health care and access to equal education are rights not a commodity for the highest bidder. Profit is a well educated and healthy community not a large bank account. If you think we are asking to spread the poverty then yes, in a sense we are. I think you and those in your reality could do with less and the rest of us could do much better with a little more!
What do you believe? What God do you follow?What doctrine do you spread by your actions and life style?
"Once I was in Victoria, and I saw a very large house. They told me it was a bank and that the white men place their money there to be taken care of, and that by and by they got it back with interest. "We are Indians and we have no such bank; but when we have plenty of money or blankets, we give them away to other chiefs and people, and by and by they return them with interest, and our hearts feel good. Our way of giving is our bank."
Chief Maquinna, Nootka

May you be granted wisdom to accompany your knowledge.

I would also ask for all to remember Scott Olsen who was at the Oakland Occupy. A soldier of two tours in Iraq returned unharmed to be brutalized in his own country by those that live off of his tax dollars for exercising his First Amendment rights. Truth is stranger than fiction!

In my personal life, the bees were taken to the fields and the gardens are still being planted. The winter greens are so delicious. Halloween is tonight, I am wring ahead of post. The kids are in their costumes already(9AM!) and I have a birthday,turning 10!, tomorrow. Skate boarding has become a new obsession with the boys, any mode of transport is great with me.

Our submissions this time are quite wonderful. Take the time to visit and leave a comment that tells them where you found their link!

What I do for Eden

tecatti.com presents How to be limitless- Day 1 posted at Tecatti.

Jake Moses presents TeachMe Kindergarten review | Best Kid Ipad Apps posted at Best Kid Ipad Apps, saying, "In-depth review of a spectacular educational app for kids aged 4-6."

If you must spend $ but if you do not have enough to spend on iPad stuff look for open source!

It's Art

Danette M. Schott presents Secret Agent Society for Social Skills posted at Help! S-O-S for Parents.

A fun idea for any kid!

Chaos

Rebecca Turner presents How Your Perception of The World Map is Wrong posted at 1000 Weird Facts.

This is good stuff! For too long we have seen the world from the wrong view! We are the ones 'down under"!

Laura Grace Weldon presents Fun Theory posted at Laura Grace Weldon, saying, "Fun is highly individual. It can’t be easily pre-packaged, even though promoters of textbooks, curricula, and enrichment programs assert their products do just that."

Laura is right but what will you do about it? Someone once said "If you want your child to go to Harvard,send them outside to play". I am usually annoyed by forum moms/teachers that are sure they need the next new edu toy. The trees are my kids toys!

Rose presents No Routine posted at Learning at Home.Some good advice for all of us!

Natural learning can facilitate formal learning.

Jailan Marie presents Idle Thoughts, I Don’t Think So, posted at Innovative Solutions For Positive Change.

JamescReedJr. presents The Razor Blade: Morning Tea posted at The Razor Blade, saying, "Great little article on being a writer. Blog is a philosophical in nature but the writer ties everything together in a way that is easily understood."

Thoughts of a young man.

Aloysiusmenulis presents Can Civil Disobedience ever be moral? posted at aloysiusmenulis.

I believe it is more than moral, it is our duty!

                                                                                                                         Katie Gilbert presents 11 Important Leaders in LGBT Education posted at Best Online Colleges.com, saying, "LGBTQIA individuals and organizations still have a ways to go before they can enjoy full equality in today's society, but that doesn't mean accomplishments and milestones pushing them towards broader acceptance should ever go ignored or unacknowledged."

William Hambleton Bishop, MA presents The Oppression of Creativity and Progression | How regulation, oversight, managed care, and “Big Brother” oppress growth | thoughts from a therapist posted at Thoughts from a Therapist, saying, "this is a post about how regulation hinders creativity... it is a call to do things many ways instead of the"right way.""

Acumen Associates presents Dolch Sight Word Activities – Irregular Verbs posted at sight words game.

And so I say go in peace but when peace is not possible fight for the greater good!

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of carnival of chaos using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

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Occupy Wall Street! Donate !

Don't believe mainstream media that there is no main purpose!    30 million unemployed! 1% holds 95% of the wealth, homelessness, living wage , Simply stated "Stop the wars on the People

http://www.livestream.com/globalrevolution      Donations are needed of all types. There are many ways to help. Go to this page for things needed and ways to help. NO CHECKS only money orders!
I am here because they are helping me!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDlf-erPtzM]

Occupy somewhere near you!

The Assassination of Alice Walker

Is Israel planning to assassinate Alice Walker? Has Secretary of State Hillary Clinton essentially given Israel the green-light for such an operation? Most

via The Assassination of Alice Walker.

"...I also feel that when our government, in the person of our president, can make a speech about this area, and really speak only to the Israelis and not to the Palestinians, this is unacceptable. We cannot accept this. I mean, we look at what has happened to the Palestinian people for all of these decades, and it is insufferable. We will not accept it. We will not. As Americans, with our history of enslavement of people, of segregation, of apartheid, of brutalization, of lynching, we will not accept this. We will not.

So, Gazans, and especially the children, we are on our way. We are coming. We hear you. We are coming. ...." Alice Walker

How did you celebrate the 4th?

Arrested for Dancing....... What is Freedom?

How do you define freedom to your children?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jUU3yCy3uI&feature=player_embedded#at=612



Why didn´t everyone start dancing? We let this happen. As Franklin said “Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one.”
What will you do?
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="688" caption="Billy Club Party"][/caption]

TURN UP THE VOLUME!

Dear Allies for Youth Justice in Mississippi:

SAVE THE DATE!!

The ACLU of MS, NAACP, Schoolhouse to Jailhouse Coalition is hosting two FREE weekend conferences this summer and you don’t want to miss out!

These separate but consecutive conferences will be held:

July 9-10, 2011 at Jackson State University in Jackson, MS.

For YOUTH:

4th Annual Mississippi Youth Hip Hop Summit:
Turn up the Volume!

This awesome event serves as a venue to bring social justice awareness, inform youth of your rights, and encourage leadership and responsibility in a creative culture. Youth must be engaged in the effort to improve school and police relationships with teens.  It is time that youth have a voice in the decisions that effect their futures.  This weekend will mark the beginning of a statewide youth movement.  It's time to TURN UP THE VOLUME!

Day 1: Social justice workshops and sessions focusing on issues relevant to Mississippi youth

Day 2: Creative workshops using hip hop as a means to spark a state wide youth movement in Mississippi

 

For PARENTS AND ADVOCATES:

2nd Annual Mississippi School House to Jail House Parent Advocate Conference: Take it to the Next Level!
As the youth participate in the Hip Hop Summit, parents and advocates will attend their own workshops regarding ways to act as effective advocates for your kids and youth in your community regarding school disciplinary and juvenile justice issues such as communicating with school boards and interacting with local legislators to stop the school house to jail house pipeline. It’s time for parents to TAKE IT TO THE NEXT LEVEL to advocate for youth!

Registration information to come soon!

For more information, call Nancy Kohsin-Kintigh at 601.354.3408 or go to www.facebook.com/ms.hiphopsummit

*Please NOTE:  These are seperate events on the same weekend and at the same location!  Parents, Advocates and Youth will be brought together for some meals, fun, and entertainment!

**Out of town participants will be housed in the JSU dorms.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND SPONSORED BY THE ACLU OF MS, NAACP, AND THE COALITION FOR THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOLHOUSE TO JAILHOUSE!  START ORGANIZING YOUR CHURCH, SCHOOL, AND COMMUNITIES NOW!

--
For Human Rights, Liberty, and Freedom for All!

Nancy Kohsin-Kintigh
ACLU MS
Program Director
nkohsinkintigh@aclu-ms.org
601.502.4196 cell

Earth Day , Late

Earth Day is my wedding anniversary. We did not really plan it, it just happened. But if I WAS to plan a wedding that would be the day. My wedding was earth friendly. Shorts,tank-top and in front of a judge in Austin,Texas. No fuss , just romance. I hope my daughters do the same.

In commemorating Earth Day , our family has watched the movie/documentary ¨Dirt!¨. It is full of information and inspiration that, if you are a caring person, you can help restore earth´s original Eden. Maybe not right away but for a future generation. It is also a maddening film to see how we have pillaged resources. And  to add to it they developed a site to encourage us to BE THAT HUMMINGBIRD!


We also watched  ¨Flow; for the love of Water¨ another excellent film. No matter how much you think you know there is more to learn. Did you know that the American company Bechtal privatized the rain!? In Bolivia with the insistence of the World Bank! Some info from their site and movie:

Of the 6 billion people on earth, 1.1 billion do not have access to safe, clean drinking water.
(www.charitywater.org)

While the average American uses 150 gallons of water per day, those in developing countries cannot find five.
(www.charitywater.org)

There are estimates that from five hundred thousand to seven million people get sick per year from drinking tap water. Erik Olson, Deputy Staff Director of Barbara Boxerʼs Environmental and Public Works Committee (EPW), FLOW.

The water and sanitation crisis claims more lives through disease than any war claims through guns.(www.water.org)

According to the National Resources Defense Council, in a scientific study in which more than 1,000 bottles of 103 brands of water were tested, about one-third of the bottles contained synthetic organic chemicals, bacteria, and arsenic. (www.nrdc.org)

Water is a $400 billion dollar global industry; the third largest behind electricity and oil.  CBS News, FLOW.

Next time your run the water to brush your teeth just think about it.                                      Next time it RAINS, think about the idea that someone, some corporation,                               thinks they OWN THE RAIN!! And when will it happen here?                                                    So for us, every little thing we can do is helping recreate Eden.                                           Compost your food and garden waste, garden, catch rain and conserve.

CLEAN WATER LINKS

Global Water Organization
NRDC
Oxfam
International Rivers
Pacific Institute
Polaris Institute
Riverkeeper
Delaware Riverkeeper

Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Potomac Riverkeeper
Sierra Club
Waterkeeper Alliance
Be Water Wise
Nuba Water Project
Wastewater Works
Clean Water Action

African Boreholes

Water Pure International

Whenever The Need

Hydraid

Ethnic Studies Week- 2011 Help needed!

Wed, April 20, 2011 10:10:12 AM
ETHNIC STUDIES WEEK 2011
...
From:
"winkl002@umn.edu"
...
View Contact
To:
*** Arizona law HB2281 banning ethnic studies,targeting Tucson School District, Mexican American studies dept, is now law.***
_______________________________________________________________________________

Organizing for ETHNIC STUDIES WEEK OCTOBER 1-7 2011 has begun! ENDORSE AND START PLANNING.

In this email:
1. 1-6 more volunteers needed for National coordinating committee. 2. Endorsers sent in so far. 3. Bi-weekly newsletter launched May 16. 4. Please send this out to your lists with your name on it.
1. NATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE This year we are putting together a national committee to deal with national coordination and publicity. We have three people so far. We need 4-10 people. If you are interested or can think of someone in your community who was involved last year and can be counted on to take one aspect of the national work ( for example, twitter, or face book, or press releases)please respond ASAP. This is all volunteer work. We want to have a committee together by May 9. Please respond if you are thinking about it and want to know more.

2. ENDORSERS OF ETHNIC STUDIES WEEK Following the March mailing, these people and organizations sent endorsed Ethnic Studies Week 2011.

**The National Association of Ethnic Studies
**The Chicano Studies Department of University of Minnesota **American Ethnic Studies program, Willamette University, Salem, OR
**K-12 Council of the California Federation of Teachers
**Emily Drew, Assistant Professor of American Ethnic Studies and Sociology, Salem OR
**Adela C. Licona,Assistant Professor,Department of English Rhetoric, Composition, and the Teaching of English program, University of Arizona
**Wendy Cheng, Assistant Professor,Asian Pacific American Studies | Justice and Social Inquiry,School of Social Transformation
Arizona State University
**Jenn Laskin, Pajaro Valley Federation of Teacher Local 1936,>Grievance Officer
Classroom Teacher @ Renaissance Continuation High School. **Elaine Chan, Wesleyan University. **Brittany Lewis, University of Minnesota
**Anne Winkler-Morey, Metropolitan State University.
This year I think we will have one list of individuals and organizations. (still figuring that out) SEND IN YOUR ENDORSEMENTS TODAY!

3. BI-WEEKLY NEWSLETTER until October 7, begins May 16. To have your news included in the first edition, respond by May 9. Newsletter editor will be Brittany Lewis. She will introduce herself in the first edition. The newsletter will include updates from Arizona by Roberto Cintli Rodriguez, reports from YOU about developments in your area, and, primarily, developments in the organization of Ethnic Studies Week 2011.

4. PERSONAL FORWARDS AND REPOSTS!! The most powerful publicity is the personal. Please commit to spending about 20 minutes total in the coming months, reposting or forwarding this announcement and the first few newsletters to your mailing lists WITH YOUR NAME ON IT. Last year Arturo Aldama did so early on and he recruited about 40 people in a matter of days. Many others followed suit. Your name is the most powerful persuasion to those you know. Last year we had 225 initiators from 25 states. That means there were 25 states and many localities that we never reached and not from lack of trying. The whole Southeast with the (important!) exception of Tallahassee FL, did not participate.

Thank you for everything you do to support ethnic studies.
Anne Winkler-Morey, Ph.D, Community Faculty, History, Metropolitan State University. Initiator and National Coordinator, First Annual Ethnic Studies Week, 2010
Convener and member of Coordinating Committee, Second Annual ESW 2011.

Daniel Ellsberg: The Shameful Abuse of Bradley Manning

America's Best Political Newsletter.

via Daniel Ellsberg: The Shameful Abuse of Bradley Manning.

Do you remember Ellsberg? You might recall he was called ¨The Most Dangerous Man in America¨ , he too was a leaker.

Nixon had nothing compared to Bush and Obama in regards to deceit, deception, malevolent, abhorrent behavior.

It´s Not Just Others that are Protesting

Food prices and unemployment are rising. This coupled with the assault on the common man, those in the lower and middle class, by the Wisconsin government  and Maine´s government have begun a people´s protest.
....But unions are right to be worried. Declining membership, being squeezed out of the private sector, and anti-union attitudes have all contributed to the labor movement's deterioration since the McCarthyist 50s, but particularly since the Reagan era. A blow like Wisconsin could never have been struck without the last 40 years of the slow debilitation of the unions after the incredible build-up of the workers' movement in the first half of the 20th century.

The corporations have been fighting a century long war of attrition, while we organizers have been either too-focused on the day-to-day, too-focused on the distant Revolution, or too willing to believe the myth of our own weakness.

The economy is but one indication that the current system hangs by but a thread. The environment is another. It's time we realized our own potential, our own power, and took advantage of the perpetual crisis to make a lasting change through overcoming--or at least balancing out--the over-concentration of wealth and power in the hands of the few and redistributing them among the many.

Look around you. All is not right, all is not equal. Stop the wars! stop the war on workers!

Even children understand equal and fair. It is only when we ¨grow up¨ that we tend to rationalize why things are not fair. Why our brothers and neighbors have less or more. They don´t work hard enough, they are not smart enough. Or they are rich because they worked hard or perhaps are ¨self-made¨.  Nothing happens by it self, the CEOS of any business are nothing without the worker, the labor. The amusement park does not run without the ticket taker, computers are not made by fairies, on and on. Even Henry Ford knew if he did not pay his workers a fair wage they would not be able to buy the same cars they were making.

¨.....Although the Model T had made Henry Ford rich and famous, he continued to advocate for the masses. In 1914, Ford instituted a $5 a day pay rate for his workers, which was nearly double what workers were paid in other auto factories. Ford believed that by raising the workers' pay, the workers would be happier (and faster) on the job, their wives could stay home to care for the family, and the workers were more likely to stay with the Ford Motor Company (leading to less down-time for training new workers). Ford also created a sociological department in the factory that would examine workers' lives and try to make it better. Since he believed he knew what was best for his workers, Henry was very much against unions.¨

Solidarity!

Copy and Paste

Subject: Nuclear disaster in Japan

Hi,

The disaster unfolding in Fukushima, Japan is a terrible reminder of the dangers of nuclear power.

Right now the President has $36 billion in taxpayer giveaways to the nuclear industry to build more plants here in the US in his proposed budget. Join me and tell the President and your members of Congress that there is no place for taxpayer giveaways for nuclear energy in this year's budget. Just click the link below...

http://us.greenpeace.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=801&s_src=taf

When Capitalism goes unchecked....A lesson in History

Originally posted in the WSWS, this is a lesson we all can understand. Never forget that the want of money can lead many people to the disregard of others. This is again happening. Unions are why you have your children in school and not working beside you in the factory or fish house. They are why you have a forty hour work week and some safety in the workplace. Much suffering and many deaths were caused by those that profited from the toil and sweat of the workers. Route out the infiltrators in the unions , take back the union for the worker and support others when they need it.

100 years ago: Triangle fire kills 146 in New York City

Tenth floor of Asch building after Triangle fire

On March 25, a fire broke out in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory, which was located on the eight, ninth, and tenth, and eleventh floors of the Asch building in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Before the blaze could be brought under control 146 garment workers died, most of them Jewish and Italian girls and young women.

The disaster, one of the worst in the history of US industry, illustrated in the most horrific fashion the brutality of American capitalism. The women, whose wages were not enough to support a family and were typically handed over to parents, worked in appalling conditions.

Their workplace was littered with the flammable cotton refuse used to make shirtwaists          (women’s blouses). To control “worker theft,” factory owners Max Blanck and Isaac Harris had factory doors locked from the outside; in the aftermath of the fire, charred bodies were found grouped together around these still-locked doors. The fire department of New York, the largest and most advanced city in the US, had no means of reaching the women screaming for help from the high rise factory. This resulted in dozens of women jumping to their deaths to avoid the flames.

A court acquitted Blanck and Harris of all wrong-doing that year, and a later civil settlement resulted in just $75 payment to the families of each dead worker. Taking into account a sizable insurance settlement, the owners actually gained money as a result of the tragedy.

It is often claimed that the Triangle fire encouraged the advance of reform in the US, and especially in New York. While this is undoubtedly true, the main impetus to reform was the threat posed by the growing militancy and radicalism of the workers. The garment industry was home to some of the first large industrial unions in the US. One of these, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, had in 1909 been at the head of the “Uprising of the 20,000,” largely immigrant garment workers in New York City. At the same time, socialism was exerting a profound and growing influence among New York’s immigrant workers.



For many more photos go to Cornell University

 

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="366" caption="Fire fighters arrived at the Asch Building soon after the alarm was sounded but ladders only reached the sixth floor and the high pressure pumps of the day could not raise the water pressure needed to extinguish the flames on the highest floors of the ten-story building. In this fireproof factory, 146 young men, women, and children lost their lives, and many others were seriously injured. Photographer: unknown, March 25, 1911"][/caption]

A police officer and others with the broken bodies of Triangle fire victims at their feet, look up in shock at workers poised to jump from the upper floors of the burning Asch Building. The anguish and gruesome deaths of workers was witnessed firsthand by many people living or walking near the corner of Greene Street and Washington Place. Others read about it in the many newspaper reports circulated during the following days and weeks, bringing the conditions of garment worker into public scrutiny as it had been during the shirtwaist strike of 1909. Photographer: Brown Brothers, March 25, 1911

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="650" caption="After the Triangle factory fire was extinguished, broken bodies, hoses, buckets, and debris around the building testify to the extent of the struggle and the scale of the tragedy. Photographer: unknown, March 25, 1911 "][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="650" caption="International Ladies Garment Workers Union Local 25 began the strike with $10 in their treasury. A special edition of the city's Socialist paper, The New York Call, told the story of the strike in English, Italian and Yiddish. Copies were donated to local 25 by the publisher and sold by union members to raise money for strike expenses. Photographer: unknown, December 1909"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="605" caption="Shirtwaist strikers march in snowy streets, often without warm clothes or sturdy shoes. Photographer: unknown, ca. 1910 "][/caption]

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="650" caption="Women who were arrested on the picket lines and sent to Blackwell’s Island wear “Workhouse Prisoner” signs claiming their service with pride, and were cheered by other strikers and supporters. Photographer: unknown, ca. 1910 "][/caption]

Is it wrong to want food for your family? Is it wrong to want a roof over your head? A warm dry place for your children to rest?  From each according to his ability, to each according to his need. Then and now it is a fight! Never let the mind of the oppressors rest.

Jeffrey Sommers: The Koch Brothers\' Plan for Wisconsin

America\'s Best Political Newsletter.

via Jeffrey Sommers: The Koch Brothers\' Plan for Wisconsin.

I can remember when my brothers went to live in California in the 70´s. It was the place to be. Prop 13 was in ´78.

How telling of us that we think a free education is bad socialism. An educated populous is in fact a burden to the elite, just like the educated slave of our recent past. To guarantee housing and food was voted down by the US and Israel at the UN. Our elite think even this is too much, no guarantees for anyone but them! Sold to us on the DREAM that one day we will be one of THEM. Keep dreaming.

It is not just the honeybees we have to worry about

 

Pollinators of all kinds are decimated by Big Agra and Big pharma. We will not survive without  bees.  The EPA is NOT looking out for ´the people´  just corporate.

Neonicotinoid pesticides (synthetic derivatives of nicotine) are probably the most serious man-made danger to bees, birds and other wildlife ever introduced into the environment: they are more than 7,000 times more toxic than DDT, according to recent research.

Biobees

This stuff is now on our plates, what is it doing to us? Our children?

Also read Wiki-Bee Leaks and see the EPA document that was revealed. Worth reading!

Brutal Reprisals Against Peaceful GA Inmate Strikers Confirmed. Was One Victim Hidden For Weeks By Prison Authorities?

Brutal Reprisals Against Peaceful GA Inmate Strikers Confirmed. Was One Victim Hidden For Weeks By Prison Authorities?.

GA Prison Strike Continues!

Listen to Elaine Brown speak again about the historic strike.

GA Prison Strike Update on Tuesday\'s Democracy Now Show

GA Prison Strike Update on Tuesday\'s Democracy Now Show.

The largest prison protest in history and a virtual blackout in media.  Solidarity with these men. No slave labor.

When the strike began, prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery.  Injustice in one place is injustice to all. Inform your family to support our cause.  Lock down for liberty!”

http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/65925 - Listen to Elaine Brown on Hard Knocks Radio, (About 6 minutes into the audio).

Press Release

BIGGEST PRISONER STRIKE IN U.S. HISTORY—DAY TWO

Thousands of Georgia Prisoners Continue Peaceful Protest

Georgia Department of Corrections Responds with Violence

December 10, 2010…Atlanta, Georgia

Contacts: Elaine Brown, 404-542-1211, sistaelaine@gmail.com;Valerie Porter, 229-931-5348, lashan123@att.net.

Yesterday morning, December 9, 2010, thousands of Georgia prisoners refused to work, stopped all other activities and locked down in their cells in a peaceful protest for their human rights.  The December 9 Strike was the biggest prisoner protest in the history of the United States.

Thousands of men, from Augusta, Baldwin, Hancock, Hays, Macon, Smith and Telfair State Prisons, among others, went on strike to press the Georgia Department of Corrections (“DOC”) to stop treating them like animals and slaves and institute programs that address their basic human rights.  They have set forth the following demands:

·         A LIVING WAGE FOR WORK

·         EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

·         DECENT HEALTH CARE

·         AN END TO CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENTS

·         DECENT LIVING CONDITIONS

·         NUTRITIONAL MEALS

·         VOCATIONAL AND SELF-IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES

·         ACCESS TO FAMILIES

·         JUST PAROLE DECISIONS

Despite that the prisoners’ protest was non-violent, the DOC violently attempted to force the men back to work—claiming it was “lawful” to order prisoners to work without pay, in defiance of the 13th Amendment’s abolition of slavery.  In Augusta State Prison, six or seven inmates were brutally ripped from their cells by CERT Team guards and beaten, resulting in broken ribs for several men, one man beaten beyond recognition.  At Telfair, the Tactical Squad trashed all the property in inmate cells.  At Macon State, the Tactical Squad menaced the men all day, removing some to the “hole,” and the warden ordered the heat turned off, and today, the hot water.  Still, men at Macon, Smith, Augusta, Hays and Telfair State Prisons say they are committed to continuing the strike, one inmate stating, “We’re going to ride it until the wheel falls off.  We want our human rights.”

When the strike began, prisoner leaders issued the following call: “No more slavery. Injustice in one place is injustice to all.  Inform your family to support our cause.  Lock down for liberty"

Thanks to:

http://hiphopandpolitics.wordpress.com/2010/12/12/day-3-of-historic-prison-strike-in-georgia-blacked-out-by-media-guards-committing-violence/

Where I first saw this.

Where's Wikileaks? Or Censorship in the USA by US

Wikileaks and State Department correspondence

28 Nov 2010

Index on Censorship has obtained copies of correspondence between whistleblowing website Wikileaks and the US embassy in the United Kingdom, which took place between Friday and Sunday. They reveal Wikileaks editor in chief’s last-minute attempt to seek the cooperation of the United States government in redacting information from the latest controversial release of documents.

Mark Stephens of Finers Stephens Innocent, who represents Julian Assange in the UK, is a trustee of Index of Censorship.

26 November
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks
to
US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman

Subject to the general objective of ensuring maximum disclosure of information in the public interest, WikiLeaks would be grateful for the United States Government to privately nominate any specific instances (record numbers or names) where it considers the publication of information would put individual persons at significant risk of harm that has not already been addressed. PDF

27 November
Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser, United States Department of State
to
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks

We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials. PDF

28 November
Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks
to
US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman

I understand that the United States government would prefer not to have the information that will be published in the public domain and is not in favour of openness. That said, either there is a risk or there is not. You have chosen to respond in a manner which leads me to conclude that the supposed risks are entirely fanciful and you are instead concerned to suppress evidence of human rights abuse and other criminal behaviour. PDF

	One News Page > World > WikiLeaks domain killed

WikiLeaks domain 'killed' Reported by One News Page Staff on Friday, 3 December 2010 (4 hours ago) by Alice Monroe -Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has gone off-line after the U.S. company which hosts its domain name withdrew its support and caused the website to disappear into obscurity.Everydns.net cut the wikileaks.org domain off at 3am GMT on Friday (10pm EST on Thursday) after a number of unknown hackers persistently attacked the controversial intelligence site using "distributed denial of service" (DDOS) methods. According to the internet domain firm, the cyber attack affected other everydns.net customers and forced the company to take the wikileaks.org domain off-line after giving WikiLeaks 24 hours of notice.  Access to the WikiLeaks site will not be possible until it gets a new DNS service. DNS services facilitate the translation of domain names (e.g. wikileaks.org) to numeric internet IP addresses - a critical requirement for accessing any website. WikiLeaks issued a tweet on social networking site Twitter three hours after the support for its domain name was removed, stating: "WikiLeaks,org domain killed by US everydns.net after claimed mass attacks KEEP US STRONG https://donations.datacell.com/". State Department bans employees enter Wikileaks December 2, 2010 CubaDebate State Department bans employees enter Wikileaks A report of The Christian Science Monitor reveals that the U.S. State Department has barred its staff throughout the world to navigate through the website Wikileaks, who since Sunday has made the greatest revelation of classified documents in history from reports leaked communications between U.S. Foreign Ministry and its embassies. The passage of the Department of State continues to the same decision by the Pentagon following the recent publication in the same place incriminating papers on the U.S. war in Iraq. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has become a spokeswoman for the use of new technologies to subvert the governments of other nations, has issued this statement closed the site and ordered off their military network entity where information means were obtained from the leaked documents. Big Brother is telling us what we can look at. The thought Police are real and are working diligently.Free speech is NOT for Everyone. These acts were done in the name of the American people but we are not allowed to see what was done in our name with our money. We should hold the SAME standards for ourselves as we try to hold the rest of the world. I believe in a better way, a better world. Why would I post this here? Because this is a grande display of what we teach our children to fight against. Censorship, Ignorance, Apathy, Ethnocentrism, Imperialism, and Arrogance Besides, we have seen this sort of thing before, The Pentagon Papers . Those that can not remember the past are doomed to repeat it. <div攀 Wikileaks and State Department correspondence 28 Nov 2010 Index on Censorship has obtained copies of correspondence between whistleblowing website Wikileaks and the US embassy in the United Kingdom, which took place between Friday and Sunday. They reveal Wikileaks editor in chief’s last-minute attempt to seek the cooperation of the United States government in redacting information from the latest controversial release of documents. Mark Stephens of Finers Stephens Innocent, who represents Julian Assange in the UK, is a trustee of Index of Censorship. 26 November Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks to US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman Subject to the general objective of ensuring maximum disclosure of information in the public interest, WikiLeaks would be grateful for the United States Government to privately nominate any specific instances (record numbers or names) where it considers the publication of information would put individual persons at significant risk of harm that has not already been addressed. PDF 27 November Harold Hongju Koh, Legal Adviser, United States Department of State to Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks We will not engage in a negotiation regarding the further release or dissemination of illegally obtained U.S. Government classified materials. PDF 28 November Julian Assange, Editor in Chief, WikiLeaks to US Ambassador to London, Louis Susman I understand that the United States government would prefer not to have the information that will be published in the public domain and is not in favour of openness. That said, either there is a risk or there is not. You have chosen to respond in a manner which leads me to conclude that the supposed risks are entirely fanciful and you are instead concerned to suppress evidence of human rights abuse and other criminal behaviour. PDF One News Page > World > WikiLeaks domain killed WikiLeaks domain 'killed' Reported by One News Page Staff on Friday, 3 December 2010 (4 hours ago) by Alice Monroe -Whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks has gone off-line after the U.S. company which hosts its domain name withdrew its support and caused the website to disappear into obscurity.Everydns.net cut the wikileaks.org domain off at 3am GMT on Friday (10pm EST on Thursday) after a number of unknown hackers persistently attacked the controversial intelligence site using "distributed denial of service" (DDOS) methods. According to the internet domain firm, the cyber attack affected other everydns.net customers and forced the company to take the wikileaks.org domain off-line after giving WikiLeaks 24 hours of notice.  Access to the WikiLeaks site will not be possible until it gets a new DNS service. DNS services facilitate the translation of domain names (e.g. wikileaks.org) to numeric internet IP addresses - a critical requirement for accessing any website. WikiLeaks issued a tweet on social networking site Twitter three hours after the support for its domain name was removed, stating: "WikiLeaks,org domain killed by US everydns.net after claimed mass attacks KEEP US STRONG https://donations.datacell.com/".

Don't Eat the Fish...

Why?

Because they're spoiled!




Parts per million sound small but consider this The Environmental Working Group has put it into perspective for all of us. Small amounts DO make an impact. We are part of the food chain , the food web or whatever term you choose to use. What we eat , breath and touch  effects us. I live in the Gulf region and am angered each time I see that there are those who would want us to believe it is o.k now. It clearly is not.

This video on toxins should inspire us to try to live more simply and give our children a chance at living a healthy, God given life.

Know Your Rights AND Use Them; A Civics Lesson

"All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent. "
Thomas Jefferson



It is not enough for us to know our rights. We must use them. Whether it is at a traffic stop, a trip to Walmart or closing the door on CPS at our home, we need to flex our rights . Understand , that to do so is protecting those rights for future use. If they are eroded in 'small' areas, it will be easier to deny them on a grander scale.

When I teach the children  their Bill of Rights, we also discuss how these rights are implemented in the everyday. The ability to convey the knowledge to another that you will not be intimidated into waiving those rights should be practiced. There are many videos on this topic ranging from law professors to the Legalization Movement. The Rainbows school their followers on their rights. It is preparation , as with any topic, that will give you that confidence to use what is legally afforded us.

As we journey through life things change. I did not concern myself with parental matters until I became one. But I did not wait for the children to put a finger in an outlet to put covers on the outlets. I prepared accordingly. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Could any one of us end up in a situation that requires us to exert our rights?  Just the average traffic stop is this situation.



This is one of many out there. Some are funny in their approach but just as useful.

I try to use the sites  that use references to court rulings. Kidjacked is one of those sites. Flex Your Rights is another interesting site.It may be scary and uncomfortable to look at information like this but to some extent necessary. That is the point of the Miranda Warning. At one point ,the police did not inform you of these rights, the court ruled we must be reminded of them. It is up to us to use them.

From KIDJACKED;

"You, as a parent or care-giver, must be totally informed of what your legal rights are, whether you are a parent caught up in an oppressive, abusive or often unlawful action of CPS, or if you have never been investigated by CPS. Many individuals come to the wrongful conclusion that the parents must have been abusive or neglectful in order for CPS to investigate. This is a myth. The fact of the matter is that over 80% of all abuse calls received by CPS workers are false."

(Highlight mine)

"CPS must by law, investigate the caller to determine if he or she is the
person they say they are and that the accusations are credible. The
call alone, standing by itself, is insufficient to support probable
cause under the law. Many fabricated allegations are made by disgruntle
neighbors, ex-spouses or someone wanting to gain revenge. As such CPS
is required to show due diligence, just as police are required to obtain
sworn statements."
(Highlight mine)

If you protest the war you may need to review and prepare. If you are poor or of color you should review and prepare. Even lawyers must flex their personal rights.

“Today, more than ever before, life must be characterized by a sense of Universal responsibility, not only nation to nation and human to human, but also human to other forms of life.”

Dalai Lama quotes (Head of the Dge-lugs-pa order of Tibetan Buddhists, 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, b.1935)

Responsibility and a Home School Forum

As a home educator it is nice to participate, be it electronically, with others who do the same.  We share educational resources. Free things found in our travels and tips on all kinds of topics from the family dog to the mother-in law that thinks home school is crazy.  It can keep you from feeling alone and can broaden your educational resources. A great idea. The one I belonged to was the PEAK Network . It was an inclusive group, no faith-based or schooling style affiliation.

The topics were generally light even when controversy was in the air. Not quite a forum as a bulletin board. Not many opinions were ever expressed. This may be what some like but to exchange ideas some opinions must be expressed. I don't have to agree and I can remain civil .  It was to be a place where we shared the good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful.

The other day a member began a thread on DHS . First an inquiry then her story. A nightmare was unfolding before our eyes. I suggested she might be more comfortable in Private Messaging and expressed my concern and offered any help I could give. In the span of about three days, almost 100 views of this thread only had eighteen replies. I offered links to lawyers and other sites that fight CPS/DHS .  Me and a few others told heer about the history of the agency's lies and deceit. Then the thread was LOCKED. The  founder of the network expressed that this conversation was BEYOND the forum and should be dealt with by lawyers.

I was amazed! Here was someone asking for a sympathetic ear, help,or an outlet. The forum turned away. DHS/CPS  actions toward home schoolers nationwide are well-known.  The Home School Defense League is always defending cases from this agency. I wrote to Lioness, her user name, and told her I disagreed with the action. Then I started a new thread and stated my disagreement. This  was  deleted within minutes.

Now, I understand forum rules but while this is not a nice topic it is a reality in home schooling. It is not political because there is no side or lobbying effort. It just was not comfortable . The PEACE of  our little world was shaken with the reality of what CAN and DOES happen. My first attempt at rebuttal deleted I set about another. This time I sent personal messages to those on-line at the time. Again ,the admins cut off my privileges and in short order I could not read or post.

Well,  when do we stand up for our right of free speech? The little fight is as important as the big. We must use our rights in every aspect of life. Our responsibilities to our fellow humans are never diminished because of the space we are in at any given moment. The following is my rebuttal to the removal of the initial thread( the name of the founder was added after my first attempt was deleted);

By the removal of the DHS thread posted under 'Chat', Natalie, our Peak founder, has become complicit with DHS and those who wish to isolate and persecute homeschoolers.

This is not a personal issue....this is a national issue. So much so, that the Home School Defense League provides a training manual for members on dealing with DHS threats.

It is well known within homeschooling communities that DHS is used often to isolate homeschoolers from their communities under the pretext of vague accusations.

This was a plea from a fellow homeschooler. It is our responsibility to help those in need, to speak out against ugly truths, and share beauty.

The Peak founder failed us all with this gross injustice, and further discredited herself by removing all threads that chastised her for this act. It is no longer a forum but her ivory tower blog, where nothing is wrong.

Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group. The text of the quotation is usually presented roughly as follows:

They came first for the Communists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews,

and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.

Then they came for me

and by that time no one was left to speak up.

I AM SPEAKING UP!!! Join my eviction from Peak, and speak up also.

Peace
"To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor. Noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. The oppressed must never allow the conscience of the oppressor to slumber..." - M L K Jr

I will take the words of Martin Luther King and Pastor Niemoller to heart. What will you do?