memory additions

continuing on. Fiction vs. reality. The crux of the point below, is that often your own experience is not reflective of society as a whole. So to justify the dictatorship because the 'economy was good' is infactual. One could possibly say ' i benefited from it, but the majority of people did not, - so then it is ok'. is quite different. How do people reconcile this factual error when they study the massive amounts of debt that the dictatorship created? This is what i do not understand. I believe it is both ignorance and denial. if facts don't support your justifications... what do you do? Another reason for denial: feeling guilty - what if you found out when your child turned five years old that she had been stolen from a murdered pregnant woman? (common practice during the Argentine dictatorship) Could you honestly say this was a good thing? Although many wives were presented with children with full knowledge of where they came from. (The theory being that activists pass on poison ideas to their children, so two generations must be dealt with)

As Susana Kaiser discusses - the culture of fear stifles communication, discussion and dissent. even people that nostalgically remember the 'good ole days' do not want their children involved in activism or even community events because of fear they will be killed. So even they recognize it was 'dangerous' all the while speaking out of the other side of their mouth to claim that really, it was quite safe. That silence in fact speaks quite loud. What people don't discuss, is just as important as what they do -in analyzing the grip that terror has on a society even after twenty years.

Another tactic is discussing the violence without placing it within a historical context. The guerrilla insurgency is always exaggerated, their grievances are never discussed. A common theme is that the war was between the government and the guerrillas (rather than an all out war waged on civilian activists). As if opposition to state policies are caused for no reason. I still read articles on Colombia claiming 'Communist FARC' is trying to take over the government. The Montoneros in Argentina arose from anger about economic inequality. Along these same lines - an article i read yesterday on Hamas - how absurd the idea is that a relatively weak 'terrorist' organization is a realistic threat to nuclear armed Israel with the fourth most powerful military in the world. and so civilian annihilation is justified - to save the nation from a made up threat. (although a real threat to economic policies) Also importantly, is that civilian dissent is always lumped in with 'subversives' or guerrillas. This is especially true in Colombia to the point where even US human rights groups, the most moderate of all of them are called 'collaborators'. However this tactic is not new, in fact it seems to be the norm rather than the exception to demonize and criminalize dissent.

I have come to the conclusion that only through ignorance can most people support policies of violence, torture and massive inequality. I still fail to understand the mindset of higher levels of responsibility - those that orchestrate the policies. They are not ignorant. Those who intentionally deceive and manipulate public opinion because they know that the average citizen could not follow their ideas unless they are tricked. War for profit and power. There is a connection between most wars i read about - iraq, vietnam, state violence in latin america, etc. All of them depend on lies to fuel the conflict. This mass destruction will continue as long as ordinary society continues to cede power to these types of individuals. If you don't know what your government is doing - its most likely because they don't want you to know.

Ongoing thoughts concerning Israel's occupation:
1. To what extent should historical validity play in drawing the borders
2. If you follow the logic that Israeli's have historical ties to the land, how far back do you go? What about ancient Gaza and Egyptian rule? Is it relevant if the bloodline is diluted, or even nonexistent? (e.g is Palestinian an ethnic group, or rather more related to geographical location with a constant influx of relatively recent migration. also - european jews vs. arab jews? who has more legitimacy if they want different things)
3., how can biblical justification for land be used in the creation of a nation state considering the nation state is a recent phenomena?
4. last but not least, to effectively use this argument would that not entail the re-carving up of the Middle East (if not the world)

memory

First off, I can't figure out the right way to eat muffins. Similar to large cupcakes, you cannot fit a proper bit into your mouth unless you bite if off the side or the top. Then it crumbles all over you. Everytime.
I have two different themes. One is, truth vs fiction with memories. "For memory is more about what we believe happened than about what actually took place" Susan Kaiser.
the book is on memories of the dictatorship by teenagers in Argentina that did not directly experience it. ie born right after it fell. The question that keeps coming back is one i have thought about before. Things people tell themselves to be 'ok' with the dictatorship are usually based on lies or infactual information. Because truthfully, how can one reconcile complicity with murder or torture? While there are many books exploring the memory of the victims, i am looking for one that examines what th ruling class / rich / military tell themselves, and how this period of time is remembered for them.
first innacuracy: "the economy at least, was good then" this is a big fat lie. the government brought in neo liberal policies, sky rocketed the debt, took over private debt, sold control of natural resources -- imf policies, decreased welfare spending. poverty increased, wealth for the wealthy increased, the economy tanked. I suppose it could be true then that the economy was ok. Because for them, it was. hmmm. interesting. but why do people say that when they are middle class, and they did not benefit from it? is it rich class envy? the idea that if only they were smarter then they, too, could take christmas in miami? However, - the economy did not flourish, and those policies paved the groundwork for the big crash in 2001.
2. "At least you could walk down the streets and be safe". It is interesting that people use this excuse considering 30,000 people were murdered. I tend to see a correlation between silent crime and chaos crime. Which is worse.
To be continued... i have been distracted.

dear human rights watch...

"As a longtime human rights activist on Latin American issues I am concerned about the report by Jose Miguel Vivanco on Venezuela. In order to preserve the dignity of HRW, these accusations of bias and innacurate reporting need to be properly addressed."

fabulous websites: upside down world - "uncovering latin american activism"
Znet - absolutely awesome
znet has a two week course (some taught by noam chomsky!!) over the summer on alternative media and participatory democracy. i have been very politicaly influenced by many of these people and it would be one of the coolest things ever to take this course.
1. need to be employed before the deadline in a week
2. would need to be assured i could take the time off

i can't see the display of this blog anymore. my computer sucks ass and i deleted java and other programs in an effort to keep the computer running for longer. however, now i can't use a lot of programs. hmmm. i tried to re-dowload java which didn't work. did i break it? i need a new computer...

my other letter to the international labor rights forum.. since i occupy myself these days with reading immensly, then I offer my wonderful opinions to the open market. I also like to exagerate my credentials. Its interesting to think that even though I attended college, I am a self made "expert". most of what i learn i do on my own. Yet having gone to college is the only way I get some credibility with my self made knowledge. there is something seriously wrong with that picture.


Hello,
I read the educators packet on flower workers in Colombia. I study paramilitary violence against mine workers and various other trade unions in Colombia, as well as gendered studies. I found the report very informative but I suggest updating the portion on sexual violence.
1. connect sexual violence to the big picture of exploitation and globalization. The power structures involved in these exploitative jobs are at the root of sexual violence.
2 The issues of accountability and prosecution are only secondary problems considering 50% of the female floral workers experience sexual violence. even if the workers did not have work late at night or had better hours the problem would not go away.
2. The problem is not cultural attitudes in Ecuador. Please remember that immigrants in the U.S face similar proportions of sexual harassment and violence; as well as other groups working in exploitative working conditions around the world.

laws

to be continued: intial thoughts. To what extent do laws deter crime? What is more important - a value system in which people do not commit crimes, or a system of punishment to jail people after the fact. Is crime prevention more effective? If so, what would this model look like? Do laws have any affect except to serve the power of the state? even failed states have laws, but too many people break them to jail them. So it seems that norms are more important. Laws are better seen as a reflection of the power of the state.
perhaps laws are seen as "justice". is justice punishment? or perhaps justice is a society in which no crime exists.

Here is what I think

Ok. lets get down to business. Watching the news is always an excellent conversation starter. Especially among people with different political views. Lets talk Palestinian territories and Israel. As much as this conflict is rooted in history this is 2008/9. We live in a modern world and the current situation is bad news bears.
I just deleted previous section due to unpredented new knowledge. books are amazing. the book is on israel's occupation and details methods of control from 1967 through today. The striking thing i find in the news today is 1. disproportionate violence. as if proportionate violence of israeli's would make this all okay. 2. that hamas is the aggressor and israeli military is on the defense. as has been pointed out, an occupying force can never truly be on the 'defense' to protect itself. could france claim self defense in Algeria? Japan in China? no. What stikes me as so insane in all of this is that the US has voted down every UN peace settlement that is unfavorable to israel. While I do believe that the holocaust warrants protection of jewish people and awareness of their history of oppression, i do not believe that behaving in kind can be justified. The US media is so starchly uncritical of israel because it is like looking into a mirror. Attacking Hamas is essentially attacking all males over the age of 14 (or even younger) and rendering any kind of civil dissent as terrorist. Sound familiar? It goes to the very heart of what we consider 'terrorism', what creates violence, and how to combat it.
The book goes into detail about how the hospitals, schools, communication, borders, what you can/ cannot sell, electricity... everything imaginable was controlled and regulated by Israel. The creation of the internal spy system reminds me a lot of colombia. How much fear it brings to daily life and effective it is to styfle organizing and relationships because you are afraid of your neighbors. Promotions, lives, reduced sentences etc. were ways to get people to comply. The appartus really is quite immpressive. the palestininan authority was only created by the US and Israel as a proxy government because public opinion was against israel to openly occupy west bank and gaza. But with out a viable economy, no resources to build it with, civilian leadership infrastructure virtually destroyed by the occupation, half the population under 15, massive unemployement, a majority of people living off only through ngo welfare, israel still controls the borders, the country is level in shambles and essentially still 'occupied'. why does a radical group like hamas get elected? doesn't take a genious. why are people unrelated to hamas resisting but being called terrorists? it is impossible not to resist the occupation, essentially every civilian is a terrorist, every terrorist is a civilian.

My new book is awesome: "The revolution will not be funded" only two essays in and it has a lot to think about. #1 human rights career is an oxymoron. (is that spelled right? moron.. haha) An NGO's primary focus should be enabling the movement, not the face of it. People who are trying to create a career for themselves must get paid. Career = paid. This not only moderates you, but also contributes to the idea that working for social justice is a profession rather than a way of life. That 'experts' better understand the world and only a certain few have the obligation and knowledge to act on our behalf. in the remembered word of the book: as if a few should or could do the work of many.
And.. interesting paragraph - why are poor people studied so intensely to understand their ' condition'. Why not study the rich and actually risk yourself. I find it an interesting topic. How many rich people are sellouts. And more specific - to boil down the ways that money is maintained. Using three case studies - ultra rich: possibly even a do gooder like Bill gates. Then a semi rich Josephine, then Joe the plumber type. And compare the ways in which their income/ spending etc. mushrooms out to exacerbate (spelling...) and perpetuate or what not oppression. Oppression easily defined but yet narrowed when only studying sweat shop labor, businesses without unions etc. This shall be my project.
Now off to read my fabulous book and figure out in what other ways I am a sellout. Although some comforting part of me recognizes that even though I want to have a human rights career, I do so because i want to further specific movements, and I would give my life for what I believe in. (not god) I am not a sellout intentionally, and life is a learning process. Understanding all ways that we contribute to "the system"
- On a closing note, snowboarding is awesome

Jericho movement!

I went to a really awesome discussion + documentary last night which spurred me on to a study day today and i have been listening to audio broadcasts on blackwater and speeches from death row inmates. I feel very inspired at the moment, so here is some cool stuff I have been learning!

The jericho movement is a movement to free the 100 + political prisoners in the U.S. www.thejerichomovement.com (it tells it way better than me) The discussion was about 8 of them. Formerly part of the black panther movement of the 60's they were framed in the killing of a policeman in San Fransisco. referred to now as the SF8. With out evidence, witnesses, or a murder weapon they were charged with murder. 3 of them were tortured which produced confessions. the case was later thrown out due to the fact that it is against U.S law to use evidence from coerced testimony. Sooo, fast forward 30 years: in 2003 the same men (6 of them) were tracked down and the trial is again being pursued. The murder of the police officer. they were only recently let out on bail after spending a year+ in prison. (these are senior citizens) The prosecution has yet to introduce any new evidence and a grand jury has thrown out the case 4 (5?) times and they have yet to receive an indictment. The two other "SF8" framed for the san fransisco cop murder did end up in prison after being set up a second time in New York. They have been in jail for 35 years. The main witness who testified against them recanted on public television saying he had been tortured by the police.

The attorney for the SF8 was at the discussion and she brought up how Barack Obama said he might negotiate with Cuba if Raul Castro freed the political prisoners. But what Castro should respond with is he will only deal with America if we free the more than 100 political prisoners that we are holding. The documentary that goes with the 'Free the SF8 movement' links the repression of social justice movements and torture (then) to the war on terror - now to show that this is not a new phenomena, and the tactics are alamingly similar. They talked about how the FBI tried to get them to testify against eachother, but instead it has built the movement to go around the country and talk about how the government is trying to discredit them with evidence that wasn't admissable 30 years ago but might now be because of the war on terror.

other tidbits from my audio lectures of today...

Colombia: about 50% of the military aid is spent on contracts for DynCorp - private defense contractors. - Part of the current negotiations with Bolivia for its Counternarcotics aid proram was that they have to hire out DynCorp for a percentage of its military operations. (although now on hold because bolivia expelled US ambassador) excellent... - Blackwater and Dyncorp and an Israeli defense contract firm were sent to New Orleans in the wake of Hurrican Katrina because Bush had deployed the National Guard to Iraq. This is illegal on so many levels. (military not allowed to patrol u.S cities much less private defense corporations) - there are more than 300 private defense contract firms operating in Iraq. - at the time of research, the average Blackwater employee made more than Gen. Petraeus

audio lectures are awesome!! - also watched the documentary "paying the price" on UN sanctions on Iraq under Clinton and how devestating that was. 500,000 children under the age of 5 died. (by film maker John Pilger)

SOA, Colombia, + ranting... = my sunday afternoon

My letter to the editor of the NYT. watch for it....

To the Editor:

The Nov. 14 article, "Jesuit Killings In El Salvador Could Reach Trial in Spain," reminded us of the horrors that took place in Central America in the 80’s, including the massacre of six Jesuit priests. What the article failed to acknowledge was the United States' hand in these brutal murders.

The notorious School of the Americas (SOA), renamed WHINSEC, has trained some of the worst human rights violators in Latin America, including those who killed the Jesuit priests. Yet the school still operates in Fort Benning, Georgia, and is funded with taxpayer dollars. Of the 26 army personnel responsible for killing the priests, 19 were SOA graduates. The SOA also trained those who assassinated Archbishop Oscar Romero, and four U.S nuns.

As the anniversary of the Jesuit massacre approaches, and 15,000 take to the streets to call for the SOA’s closure, it is shameful to leave the U.S.'s role out of the story. With the SOA's long history of condoning torture and abuse, it is appalling that the Jesuit murders and other atrocities are not denounced and the institution shut down.



.....................
Now for a new and exciting topic that I have never written about: Colombia! excuse me while I grab another beer. Or should i say glass of water. By accident I bought Corona light. I fail to see the point. Alcohol by its very nature has calories. It tastes like faucet water.


I have been monitoring trends in the major papers on what they write about Colombia. The logic is ridiculous at best at any attempt to justify Uribe, or our involvement there.

A statistic I have seen pop up at least twice, in both the Washinton Times and the Post (the latter by the editorial board) is that it is safer to be a union member in Colombia than a member of the general population. Considering Colombia is the most dangerous place for a union member in the entire world, this is a bit misleading. The math of this stat is as follows. lets say 70 union members are killed each year. and 8,000 civilians are killed. more civilians are killed than union members. Basic statistics lesson. To compare the two, you must use 70 divided by the total number of union members, not the whole population, dumbass.


Recently there has been a lot in the paper about Colombia concerning 'false positives' (killing civilians and pretending they are guerrilas), firing of military personnel, the free trade agreement, etc. Why congress should cut off the aid to Colombia in simple terms: as summarized from my current fantastic book "America's other War" by doug stokes.

The logic of Plan Colombia has failed miserably. In the war on drugs, 80% of the money was used in military spending due to the idea that to stop the drug flow was to defeat the guerrilla insurgency. This assumes: the guerrilas are the primary transporters of cocaine, and that the method of defeating them is by killing their support base.

Problem 1: FARC never has been a major narcotics trafficker. They historically used a 'taxation system" on the growers, but the major drug routes in the north and the major infrastructure is controlled by paramilitaries (a fact which has been well documented U.S officials since pre- Plan Colombia)

Problem 2: The coca growers are almost exclusively poor farmers with no other means of substinence. Measures were taken to give them compensation to not grow coca which might have been successful if followed through. it wasn't, and farmers are continuously displaced as a result of fumigation which effectively ruined the real crops, poisoned the water, poisoned people, and created a stronger need to grow coca because the other crops were ruined. result: support base strengthened.

Problem 3: The aid to Colombia is hinged on three basic criteria due to human rights concerns. 1 -suspension of military personnel who commite HR violations 2- prosecution of those suspended, and 2 -prosecute those who have committed, 3 - effective measure to severe links with paramilitary units.
The state department certified the aid despite the fact that Colombia failed to meet any of the above requirements. Supposedly no aid will be given to units that have evidence of serious human rights violations. Yet as Amnesty reported in its Oct. 28th report, half of the units that received U.S aid has records of serious HR violations. (as has been reported before numerous times, notably right after the conditions were certified)

So why was most of the money to Colombia (1.3 billion) given to combat the minor players in a drug war, to an army notorious for human rights violations, and strong ties to the major players in drug trafficking and terrorism? You do the math.

I have written on my thoughts on that before and will continue to be outraged everyday that another story on Colombia is printed: claiming that Uribe is doing fabulous, HR violations are under control, everything will be okay once FARC is eliminated, etc etc...