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Another
World is Being Blogged
Amnesty International Petition: Stop Mass Executions in Egypt An Egyptian court has sentenced 528 men to death, most in their absence, following a grossly unfair trail. The convicted men are supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi and were tried for their alleged role in a riat in which one police officer died. This mass trial represents the largest number of death sentences handed down in one case in recent years. Most of the men were tried and convicted in abstentia, without evidence, without witnesses, and without a defense. This is definitely not justice. Monday, December 8, 2013 Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). He Was Always Free. Saturday, November 9, 2013 Joyous Celebration of Marriage Equality in Hawaii Tuesday, October 1, 2013 Help Change the Rules That Create Global Poverty and Inequality Monday, September 23, 2013 Power Shift 2013: October 18-21, Pittsburg, PA Together, we can build a stronger and more vibrant climate movement to fight fracking, divest from fossil fuels, demand climate justice, and build a clean energy economy that works for everyone. Friday, July 12, 2013 A Voice of the Future Speaks to Us Now:
Saturday, June 15, 2013 Poignant Moment in Turkey: Police Burn "Wishing Tree" See both links within @Christie Miller tweet for "Wishing Tree" before/after... Wednesday, June 12, 2013 Solidarity with #OccupyGezi: Amnesty International Petition Sunday, March 24, 2013 Ahead of Her Time: A 1996 Statement on Equal Rights from Civil Rights Pioneer Coretta Scott King as U.S. Supreme Court Considers Marriage Equality Wednesday, September 12, 2012 "Occupy--Get Involved (#S17 1 Year Anniversary)" Thursday, November 17, 2011 "Our Stories Combined Give Us Hope From Despair"
Monday, November 14, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011 Democracy Hypocrisy The scenes on the streets of Oakland early this morning, and in San Francisco, Chicago and other US cities last week, are different from the brutal suppression of free speech and assembly taking place in Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere in the Middle East only by degree. By suppressing democracy at home, our local and national governments give succor to those who suppress it abroad, and undermine the stated human rights ideals of US foreign policy, as well as US democracy itself. The hypocrisy of promoting democracy elsewhere while suppressing it at home, is brilliantly captured in the "I Am Not Moving" film by Corey Ogilvie, below.
Monday, August 15, 2011 The World Should Be Watching Tahrir Square Global media coverage of news from Egypt over the last week was focused on the trial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. It ignored--or gave only footnote status to--a more important development: the forcible expulsion on Monday, August 1, of democracy activists from Tahrir Square in Cairo, and the occupation of the square by the Egyptian military and police. Armed forces now surround the central square area, literally taking up the space occupied by the democracy movement only a few days ago.
The trial of Hosni Mubarak, who oversaw his government’s killing of more than 1,000 Egyptians, whose only crime was peacefully protesting for basic human rights and dignity, is an important step toward establishing the rule of law in Egypt. But, it is only one step toward democratic reform. That the ruling Egyptian Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) saw fit to shut down Tahrir Square shows, at best, that they don’t understand the importance of that place for the democratic development of Egypt. Tahrir Square was, and is, the epicenter of social change in Egypt. The revolution began there on January 25, and it became a community of liberation, a place where Egyptians could voice to their deepest aspirations for freedom, social justice and dignity. It has been a gathering point for people coming from all over Egypt to debate the future of their country, and also to find and share their courage to express their needs and values, so long crushed by the Mubarak regime.
It has also been a genuine community, with Egyptians sharing food, music, living space, culture, and ideas. Dr. Pakinam El Sharkawy, Director of Cairo University’s Center for Civilization Studies and Dialogue of Cultures, describes the experience of Tahrir Square during the early revolutionary days as “magnificient….It was something really spiritual. There were gates in Tahrir, and when you entered the gates, you feel the spirit: people sitting together, caring for each other, loving each other. The most secure place in Egypt was Tahrir Square. The people were securing each other. When you ask anyone who had been there, they have the same answers, the same experience.” SCAF tactics since the initial closing of the square have only escalated in violence. After the square was cleared on Monday, August 1, the following Friday evening, August 5, a few hundred peaceful protesters gathered to break their Ramadan fast and briefly demonstrate. The protesters made it clear they weren't attempting to re-occupy the Square. But, unprovoked, the military violently attacked the protesters. I was a witness to this attack. The protesters were on an island of the square that was open earlier in the day, not the center area that has been cordoned off by the police since Monday. They shared food with each other. Then, they demonstrated, with speeches, chants, and songs.
The army gathered across the street, but it seemed from their formations that they were just there to stop protesters from blocking traffic or reoccupying the central island of the square. Then, without any provocation, the army charged the island. This was not a standard police-style block formation to clear protesters out of a public space. This was a brutal attack by the military on completely unarmed, 100% peaceful protesters, whose protest was largely completed. The soliders beat dozens of protesters indiscriminately, most of whom were simply trying to escape. I repeatedly saw groups of five to ten soldiers chase down boys who couldn’t be any older than ten years old and beat them with yard-long sticks. The soldiers chased protesters many blocks from Tahrir Square, all the way to the Kasr-al-Nile Bridge half a mile away, for the purpose of beating them. Many dozens of bullets were fired as the soldiers chased the protesters through the streets, presumably into the air. Though there haven’t been reports of anyone being shot, though many protesters were hospitalized from their beating injuries.
Clearly, the purpose of the attack was not just to clear that little island of the square. The level of brutality suggests that its true purpose was to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who wants to make public political expression in the main town square of Egypt. In terms of world media attention, the Egyptian regime is getting away with tremendous brutality, possibly because the brutality in Syria at the moment is even worse, and the trial of Mubarak draws attention away from the suppression of the people power demonstrations that brought about his overthrow. SCAF tactics since the initial closing of the square have only escalated in violence. After the square was cleared on Monday, August 1, the following Friday evening, August 5, a few hundred peaceful protesters gathered to break their Ramadan fast and briefly demonstrate. The protesters made it clear they weren't attempting to re-occupy the Square. But, unprovoked, the military violently attacked the protesters. I was a witness to this attack. The protesters were on an island of the square that was open earlier in the day, not the center area that has been cordoned off by the police since Monday. They shared food with each other. Then, they demonstrated, with speeches, chants, and songs. The army gathered across the street, but it seemed from their formations that they were just there to stop protesters from blocking traffic or reoccupying the central island of the square. Then, without any provocation, the army charged the island. This was not a standard police-style block formation to clear protesters out of a public space. This was a brutal attack by the military on completely unarmed, 100% peaceful protesters, whose protest was largely completed. The soliders beat dozens of protesters indiscriminately, most of whom were simply trying to escape. I repeatedly saw groups of five to ten soldiers chase down boys who couldn’t be any older than ten years old and beat them with yard-long sticks. The soldiers chased protesters many blocks from Tahrir Square, all the way to the Kasr-al-Nile Bridge half a mile away, for the purpose of beating them. Many dozens of bullets were fired as the soldiers chased the protesters through the streets, presumably into the air. Though there haven’t been reports of anyone being shot, though many protesters were hospitalized from their beating injuries. Clearly, the purpose of the attack was not just to clear that little island of the square. The level of brutality suggests that its true purpose was to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who wants to make public political expression in the main town square of Egypt. In terms of world media attention, the Egyptian regime is getting away with tremendous brutality, possibly because the brutality in Syria at the moment is even worse, and the trial of Mubarak draws attention away from the suppression of the people power demonstrations that brought about his overthrow. Tahrir Square represents both the symbol and substance of democracy in Egypt. Democracy and freedom of assembly are part of the same principle. If you shut down the right of people to assemble peacefully to express their hopes, fears and dreams, you can’t claim to be a democracy, even an emerging one. SCAF cannot legitimately assert that it is facilitating the transition to democracy in Egypt while suppressing the fundamental democratic human right of “freedom of peaceful assembly and association,” as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 20). When asked about the importance of Tahrir Square, Sabah Hamamou, an editor at Al-Ahram, a prominent Egyptian newspaper, said in an interview, “Democracy is people finding space to express the things they want. But things start with a space.” In Egypt, that space begins in, and emanates from, Tahrir Square. Despite the brutality, the democratic movement in Egypt shows extraordinarily admirable resilience and courage. In the wake of the events of last Friday, a broad coalition of organizations organized a new protest in Tahrir Square, which took place Friday. Egypt’s Sufis, in coalition with Copt Christians and secular groups such as the April 6 Youth Movement, organized the demonstration for an Egyptian civil state, as opposed to a religion-based government, as was advocated in the Square by conservative Muslims a few weeks ago. The military police chased protesters with sticks and fired shots in the air when they attempted to retake the central island of the Square, but the main protest was allowed to continue as planned. The status of the Square is clearly in flux. What happens in Tahrir Square in the coming weeks will be an important measure of the state of democratic change in Egypt. Thursday, July 21, 2011 From Cloud to Street: Hacking in Support of Egyptian Democracy During the last few months, I've begun participating in an exciting project called Cloud to Street, a collaborative initiative bringing together Egyptian democracy activists, communication technology experts around the world, and other supporters of Arab Spring social movements. The purpose of Cloud to Street is to identify and create tools that help activists on the street advance democratic reform. The project is led by Canadian diplomat Ben Rowswell, now a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law (CDDRL). On May 14, Cloud to Street sponsored the first all-day Hack for Egypt event, during which Egyptian democracy activists, in person and by videoconference, spoke about specific projects that would benefit their efforts. Co-sponsors of the "hackathon" included the CDDRL Program on Liberation Technology and the Stanford Peace Innovation Lab. The May 14 session was the impetus for the development of a website, www.wathiqah.com (use Google Chrome browser to translate from Arabic), endorsed by the campaign of Egyptian presidential candidate (and Nobel Peace laureate) Mohamed ElBaradei, that allows Egyptians to consider and debate constitutional principles for their emerging democracy. A follow-up effort is focused on creating a "Constitution Explorer" website, that will allow democracy activists in all Arab Spring countries to draw from the principles and governmental structures in constitutions from around the world in developing their own democratic processes. The Constitution Explorer project needs volunteer "taggers," who are willing to work with the project team to create an index of global constitutions. To volunteer, contact Ben Rowswell, at rowswell@stanford.edu. The Spirit of Tahrir Another project I've been working on is "The Spirit of Tahrir," a web-based platform that links visitors to Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, and websites focused on nonviolent democracy and human rights movements in the Middle East. The goal of The Spirit of Tahrir is to build transnational solidarity for the democracy movement in Egypt, and democracy movements elsewhere, so that activists can learn from each other's victories and mistakes in real time. General resources on nonviolent social change are also provided, which may be useful for both pre- and post-regime change actions.
The Spirit of Tahrir site is currently housed as part of topia.net. Ideas for how the site can be developed further are most welcome. Monday, April 4, 2011 Nonviolent Change in Libya: Still an Option This insightful Huffington Post blog post by University of San Francisco Mid-Eastern Studies professor Stephen Zunes (also posted by Zunes on the topia.net Facebook page) makes the argument that nonviolent strategies were successful in the early stages of the Libyan conflict, and still could be employed now. Zunes provides an important reality check for the political dialogue about the uprising in Libya, and the military intervention to support it. There is a persistent drumbeat for increasing militarization of the Libyan uprising, and most mainstream media commentators and politicians frame the situation wholly in terms of the prospect of military victory or defeat. The assertion of the possibility of nonviolent strategies for change is treated as naive. But, it was nonviolent approaches that were in many ways responsible for the early victories in Libya, as well as the successful revolutions in her two neighbors, Egypt and Tunisia. From Memphis to Madison Here, on the 43rd anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., is a powerful video from the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), reminding us that supporting public employee AFSCME garbage workers was Dr. King's purpose for being in Memphis on the day he was killed, and showing the connecting between the events of that time and those of ours. It's a wonderful mashup: Martin Luther King, Jr. commenting on the current protests in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere.
Saturday, March 19, 2011 With the Whole World Reconsidering Nuclear Power, the US Government Should, Too Click on the "No Nukes: Not Now, Not Ever" button below to sign the Credo petition to President Obama to reconsider the $36 billion in loans to the nuclear power industry pledged in his 2012 budget.
Saturday, February 26, 2011 Right Back At You Here, literally, are some signs of growing solidarity across different parts of the global civil society movement for democracy and human rights. The first sign, below, is from the Madison, Wisconsin demonstrations for keeping the right of collective bargaining, with a nod to the revolution in Egypt, and the second is from Tahrir Square in Egypt, showing support for the demonstrations in Madison.
Speaking of solidarity, here is a video from the Wisconsin State Capitol, showing Wisconsin police officers ("Cops for Labor") joining the demonstrations in the Capitol, reminiscent of the Egyptian army's behavior during the anti-Mubarak demonstrations.
Protecting Democracy in the US: The Wisconsin Prairie Fire
Sarah van Gelder, writing in Yes! Magazine, argues that the Wisconsin protests may be the beginning of a larger American movement "aimed at protecting the poor and middle class." As a former student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I take special pride in the fact that the push-back against the conservative attack on the rights of workers and government programs affecting the poor and middle classes is beginning there. The US Progressive movement, dating back to the late 1800s, has its roots in Wisconsin, and has continued, especially in Madison, through to today, as evident in the growing protests. Click on the "Solidarity" button below to send a message of support to the 14 Democratic Wisconsin State Senators who fled the state to block the vote on Governor Walker's bill to remove most collective bargaining rights for public employees in the state. Sunday, January 30, 2011 Bread, Freedom and Dignity It is said that one of the most common slogans on the streets of Egypt this past week is "bread, freedom and dignity." What does "bread, freedom, and dignity" mean? No doubt it means many different things among the hundreds of thousands of people in those demonstrations, unified by their opposition to the Mubarak regime.
But, I have no doubt that for many of those people, it means more than just the need to end the Mubarak regime. It means, as Egyptian Nobel Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei has said, that the time for the rule of Pharaohs and kings is over. It means that the time is over for the rule of religious minorities, or even majorities, of whole societies; the rights and freedoms of each individual must be respected. It also means that the time is over for the rule of men over women, in religious, cultural, political, economic and social contexts.
For those in Egypt for whom it means those things, please do know that there are very many people throughout the world who share your views, who, like you, make up a not-very-well organized social and political global set of movements for peace, justice, democracy, green economics, human rights, and nonviolent means of social change. We support you, and we join you in demonstrations and in online forums from wherever we are. One of the most poignant such messages of support is a Facebook posting by Ahmad Zeidabadi, an Iranian journalist and current political prisoner, who advises Egyptions to "learn from our mistakes," referring to those of the Iranian revolution that overthrew the Shah in 1979. Among his suggestions:
Monday, January 17, 2011 MLK, Jr. Remembered: "The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Toward Justice"
Friday, January 7, 2011 "New Year's Resolution: Kick the Plastic State of Mind" Video
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Tahrir Square, February 8, 2011
Your Voice Toward Another World Topia.net on Facebook
Topia.net is on Facebook. Click on the "Like" button above to show your support and receive updates from the site on your Facebook News Feed. Go to Topia.net on Facebook to see other user comments, and add your own comments and links to articles, websites, blogs, organizations, and Facebook and Twitter pages on the growing global civil society movement for peace, social justice, human rights, democracy, green alternatives, interspirituality, and universal compassion. Links to Another World: Freecycle Network
The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,885 groups with 7,017,000 members across the globe. It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer. Membership is free. Global Zero: A Step Toward Global Disarmament
The Resist Network: Resist is a documentary film-in-the-making about economic and social injustice around the world and the people who are challenging it. Director Marc Silver, who has produced documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 in Britain, has enlisted actor Gael Garcia Bernal to interview global change activists, including Noam Chomsky (see below), Naomi Klein and John Berger.
One of the most innovative aspects of the project is that Silver has created an online forum, the Resist Network, that will inform the production itself. Participation in the Resist Network is an opportunity to help shape both the documentary and the movement it describes.
Nonviolent Regime Change Computer Game DarfurGenocide.org Your
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