David Swanson's Blog, page 192
January 18, 2012
Video of Charlottesville City Council Passing Resolution Against War on Iran
Speaking to the resolution:
David Swanson (activist and author) 11:30
Larry Bishop (activist) 19:45
Tony Russell (activist) 21:15
Helena Cobban (author) 27:40
Ira Bashkow (U. of VA anthropology professor) 31:30
Brandon Collins (activist) 35:20
Stratton Slatis (sp?) 44:45
Councilmember Dede Smith 48:00
Councilmember Dave Norris 49:30
Vice Mayor Kristin Szakos 50:20
Councilmember Kathy Galvin 55:15
Mayor Satyendra Huja 56:35
Council discussion (15 minutes) 1:02:30
January 17, 2012
Charlottesville, Va., City Council Passes Resolution Opposing War on Iran
The City Council of Charlottesville, Virginia, home of Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, and the University of Virginia, passed on Tuesday evening, January 17, 2012, a resolution believed to be a first in the country, opposing the launching of a war on Iran, as well as calling for an end to current ground and drone wars engaged in by the United States and urging Congress and the President of the United States to significantly reduce military spending. Below is the text of the resolution, followed by an account of how it came to be. As other towns and cities have been inquiring about how they can do the same, this may prove helpful.
RESOLUTION
If Dr. King Were in Charlottesville Tonight
Martin Luther King Jr. stood up and opposed the war in Vietnam for the last three years of his life. He did not believe that by doing so he was failing to do something that goes by the name "supporting the troops." In fact his interest was in the well being of those men and women when he said:
"A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war: 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of people normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."
Let us not hide acceptance of the mass murder of which war consists behind the patriotism of troops and flags. Howard Zinn spoke the truth when he said "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people for a purpose which is unattainable."
Let us not suppose that self-governance does not involve us, that using our money to kill in our name is none of our affair.
51 years ago today President Eisenhower warned of the danger posed by the Military Industrial Complex. He said "The total influence -- economic, political, even spiritual -- is felt in every city, every State house, every office of the Federal government."
Well, let us say this: not in our city.
Our City Council opposed attacking Iraq, and that stand was part of an effort that has educated the country. There are more ears prepared to hear warnings of war today. And the push for war is almost identical. Iran is not allowing inspections. The inspections that are not happening have found a weapons program. Never mind that the Secretary of Defense says it isn't true. Never mind that the New York Times has already had to apologize, several years ahead of schedule. Never mind that if all the claims were true there would still be no moral or legal ground for war.
The UN Charter forbids war, the Kellogg Briand Pact forbids war, the Hague Convention of 1899 requires that we take this dispute to arbitration.
We face the danger of a war with a nation three times the size and with many times the armaments of Iraq, a nation that has not attacked another in centuries, a nation which ours has almost completely surrounded, economically sanctioned, flown drones over, and funded terrorism within its borders, a nation we continue to threaten. Yes, we. You and I, unless we say otherwise.
Our lives begin to end, said Martin Luther King Jr, the day we become silent about things that matter. Let's not begin to end our lives tonight. Let's begin to end the institution of war instead.
Charlottesville City Council Peace Resolution Faces Challenge Tonight
The Charlottesville City Council in Charlottesville, Va., is set to vote on a resolution this evening urging Congress to reduce military spending and not to launch a new war on Iran. Four members of the five-member council publicly expressed their support for such a measure at the last meeting two weeks ago: Dave Norris, Dede Smith, Kristin Szakos, and Satyandra Huja. The City manager asked the councilors to submit any proposed changes by the following Friday, a process that resulted in this text for the resolution.
January 16, 2012
January 15, 2012
Corporate Personhood Cannot Withstand Organized Persons
There are many schemes now for undoing the doctrines under which corporations claim constitutional rights and bribery is deemed constitutionally protected "speech." Every single one of these schemes depends on a massive movement of public pressure all across the homeland formerly known as the United States of America. With such a movement, few of the schemes can fail. Without it, we're just building castles in the air. Nonetheless, the best scheme can best facilitate the organizing of the movement.
January 13, 2012
January 12, 2012
How Much Is an Earth, and Do You Have One in Extra Large?
A new book suggests that "It's the economy, stupid," may be more than political strategy; it may also be the key to environmental sustainability. The book is "Green Washed: Why We Can't Buy Our Way to a Green Planet," by Kendra Pierre-Louis. The argument developed is not just that the consumer choices of an individual won't save the planet without collective action, but also that the only collective action that will save us is abandoning the whole idea of consumer choices.
January 11, 2012
What We Owe to Bertha von Suttner
Just saying her name sounds like a joke: Baroness Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner, Gräfin, née Countess Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau. And when she began talking about ending war in mid-nineteenth century Austria it wasn't her name that was treated as a joke. Yet by the turn of the century, her idea seemed to be one whose time had come.
