Occupy the Planet

Occupy Wall Street is now on day 15 as today begins Occupy Asheville. It is an amazing time in history that we find ourselves. We watch on TV as, night after night, the cable news shows show Egyptians rising against their oppressive regime, the "rebels" in Libya fighting Ghaddafi. Now after 2 weeks of Occupy Wall Street, MSNBC is finally showing coverage of Occupy Wall Street. I do not use the word "report" as even Chris Hayes' "live" report from New York last night, he said something along the lines of 'you see the typical drum circle, free hugs, etc'. After his coverage, @LastWord Tweeted 'this was recorded earlier'.
NO ONE is reporting on the actual number of cities participating in this movement. OccupyTogether.org currently lists 101 cities participating in the US and 20 International cities. On Twitter there are many feeling that this is the start of a #GlobalRevolution, an American Autumn to respond to the Arab Spring. Is this what the Mayans were predicting in 2012? A global rising in conscience? Where the world citizens are rising up against their global masters and saying ENOUGH! I do not want to buy the bullshit you are peddling! I will not longer be a consumer. I am a citizen of the world and I am responsible for the atrocities committed in the name of global financial domination and I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!

Crumbling Towers

As I dive back into the blogging pool, across the globe the young are rising up against the powers that be. It has been well over a year since my last post. Since then, the tea party Right have become so loud in the US their voices sound like gunshots, while Progressive voices have become silent and they were driven out of the House. Few in Washington speak for Mother Earth, but many claim to speak for Jesus. The State of the Union is comfortably numb. The youth of America are amused into a stupor with either technological gadgets or pharmaceutical drugs and want nothing to do with politics.
But it now seems that the heavy handed Republicans have awakened a sleeping giant, the middle class. For weeks people of Wisconsin have kept a vigil of sorts. A peaceful demanding to maintain our only safeguard against the Right's privatization of the US. There is a person I follow on Twitter, @WomensWorkUSA that has tweeted this recently,

As long as there are CEOs who will send people out to clean up an oil spill w/out clean up gear to prevent asphyxiation, we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who live in gated communities so they do not have to mix w/any but the affluent, we need unions to ensure equity.

As long as there are CEOs who cut jobs right before Thanksgiving or Christmas to make final quarter look good...we need family values unions

As long as there are CEOs who speculate on Wall Street with your hard earned cash like it is fake monopoly money, we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who do far better moving their corporation overseas where ppl will work gladly for $1/day, we need unions in USA.

As long as there are CEOs who will send truck drivers or pilots off to work...still sleeping/sleepless...we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who hold paychecks beyond bank closing time to get another day's interest in THEIR account, we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who think dropping a stack of work on your desk at 5 pm on Friday is amusing, we need unions to determine OT.

As long as there are CEOs who are in charge of your 401K (life savings), we need unions to protect it from being cannibalized.

As long as there are CEOs who might use their power to intimidate for sexual favors, we need unions to protect from abuse.

As long as there are CEOs who penalize workers for needing to go to a child's doctor apptmt, school meeting, or to vote...we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who pay men 1/3rd more than they do a woman because she might get pregnant, we need to have unions.

As long as there are CEOs who can take out an insurance policy on you in case you die in which they profit, we need unions 2 keep you alive.

As long as there are CEOs who are not women and do not realize women care for family and elderly too and need flexible hours, we need unions

As long as there are CEOs who do not themselves spend time w/their families and do not understand why you should either... we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who think in terms of "management"/us and "labor" /them we will need unions, to bridge the gulf.

As long as there are CEOs who can afford a Cadillac healthcare plan and want you to have only emergency care not prevention, we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who think "breaks" are for the weak and would gladly have you work without any...we need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who buy equipment from the "lowest bidder" instead of what is most safe, we will need unions to ensure safety.

As long as there are CEOs who will purposefully understaff and force people to work double and triple shifts, we will need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who hire illegals so they can underpay, abuse and threaten them... we will need unions to protect US workers.

As long as there are CEOs who want to cut public service jobs to engage in nepotism w/private companies, we will need unions.

As long as there are CEOs who think it's "socialist" to care for the elderly and disabled, we will need unions to protect pensions.

As long as there are CEOs circumventing the will of the many to benefit a few wealthy donors, we will need unions to protect the middle class.

As long as there are CEOs who do not profit share with their workers and pull 350X their salaries, we will need unions to ensure equity.

As long as there are CEOs who want products delivered into wee hours of night, faster than competition, we need unions to protect drivers.

As long as there are CEOs who think of children as commodity instead of as individuals who learn at own pace, we will need teachers unions.

As long as there are CEOs who engage frackting and risk causing spontaneous fires at job site and in homes, we will need unions 4 safety.

As long as there are CEOs who will build an oil rig w/o a single working blowout preventor, we will need unions to protect worker safety

As long as there are CEOs that will send men down into a mine 2640 feet below the earth's surface w/o an escape route, we will need unions.

Dennis Kucinich addressed a crowd in Wisconsin, try not to me moved:



While the US continues to be divided...on second thought, are we divided or are the powers that be, including the Corporate State Media, manipulating us into factions? Surely we all want to be able to see a doctor when we are sick, want our children to have a good education, want clean air and fresh water. We all want food that tastes good and doesn't harm our health. We ALL want these things and we want these things for future generations.
This brings me to nuclear power. In the shadow of the ongoing nuclear emergency in Japan after the 9.0 earthquake and 30ft tsunami, the US takes a look at it's nuclear power. On February 16th,

Promising "this is only the beginning," President Barack Obama announced more than $8 billion in federal loan guarantees Tuesday for the construction of the first nuclear power plant in the United States in nearly three decades.
MSNBC

The videos and pictures out of Japan are truly surreal.

NY Times Satellite Photos



The nuclear reactors withstood the earthquake, but the tsunami is another story. The current situation is terrifying. It is hard to find an article that is not downplaying the crisis. Last I read, there were over 180,000 people evacuated in a 10 km perimeter around the facilities.
This is the latest out of the UK:

Japan nuclear plant: meltdown fears after explosion

Now we see the US conversation is turning to the overall safety record of nuclear. On C-Span's Washington Journal this morning they were talking as if the Japan nuclear crisis were over and they had averted a nuclear catastrophe. Again downplaying the reality of the current dangerous situation. When asked about the problem with storage of the nuclear waste, the Republican Representative did not have an answer. This is a wake up call that we need to pursue energy policies that will leave a healthy planet 100...200...500 years down the road. Renewables, solar, wind, hydroelectric, are the only way. I want a healthy planet for my great, great, great, great....grandchildren.

I have a friend that has a blog called the Village Witch. She talks quite a bit about it being "Tower Time."



The basic story of the Tower card in the tarot deck is this:

Basic Tarot Story

As the Fool leaves the throne of the Goat God, he comes upon a Tower, fantastic, magnificent, and familiar. In fact, The Fool, himself, helped build this Tower back when the most important thing to him was making his mark on the world and proving himself better than other men. Inside the Tower, at the top, arrogant men still live, convinced of their rightness.

Seeing the Tower again, the Fool feels as if lightning has just flashed across his mind; he thought he'd left that old self behind when he started on this spiritual journey. But he realizes now that he hasn't. He's been seeing himself, like the Tower, like the men inside, as alone and singular and superior, when in fact, he is no such thing.

So captured is he by the shock of this insight, that he opens his mouth and releases a SHOUT! And to his astonishment and terror, a bolt of actual lightning slashes down from the heavens striking the Tower and sending its residents leaping out into the waters below.

In a moment, it is over. The Tower is rubble, only rocks remaining. Stunned and shaken to the core, the Fool experiences profound fear and disbelief. But also, a strange clarity of vision, as if his inner eye has finally opened. He tore down his resistance to change and sacrifice (Hanged man), then came to terms with Death (Death); he learned about moderation and synthesis (Temperance) and about power (The Devil). But here and now, he has done what was hardest: he destroyed the lies of his life. What's left are the foundations of truth. On this he can rebuild himself.

People are feeling the effects around the globe, uprisings of the working class. A longing to tear down the ivory towers that the ubber rich hoard their excess in.


The working class around the world is the Fool. We are releasing our shout....hold on as the towers around the globe crumble.

Taking Back the Flag

My husband, after recently "coming out" of the Facebook closet, recently left as his status "Guess what people... I'm an AMERICAN too... and I'm taking this flag BACK." This makes me ponder about what it means to be American, what are our civil rights? For that matter, what ARE civil rights? These are the just claims we should have as a society. Merriam Webster defines civil rights as "the nonpolitical rights of a citizen; especially : the rights of personal liberty guaranteed to United States citizens by the 13th and 14th amendments to the Constitution and by acts of Congress". But it is more than that. The world does not revolve around the US, as this definition would imply, civil rights are not something we only have in America. Wikipedia describes it more universally as 'Natural Justice'. When I think of natural justice I think that people living in a just society would have the right to basic necessities of living such as water, food, shelter from the elements, education, to be treated equally no matter the color of their skin, spiritual beliefs, sex, social status or their sexual preference. People in a just society should be treated when sick, without the greed of profit hindering the healing process. They should not be tortured nor should they be detained without a fair trial.

Now I am talking more about human rights, I guess, but what is the difference? Civil rights should include human rights. One thing I do notice different in the US. The right to make a profit seems to be way ahead of any other rights, as seen in the bill recently put out by Baucus. It is written to ensure the insurance and pharmaceutical companies make a healthy profit. But it is obvious what the majority of the public wants by hearing the crowds react to Obama's recent speech at the University of Maryland.


(It's within the first 5 minutes) Originally posted here at the DailyKos, by Jed Lewison. When he talked about Baucus' bill, the crowd was quiet and started booing him. Earlier in the speech, he mentions the public option and the crowd goes nuts cheering. Shouldn't every person in the US have access to equal health care, without regard to economic status? Should this not be a basic human right? Or does the US have it's head so far up it's ass that it cannot see it is part of a global community?

After World War II, the world came together with a global expression of rights to which all human beings are entitled. Similar to the way Americans came together after 9/11, but that became merely feigned patriotism and a distrust, bordering on hatred, of Muslims. But on December 10th, 1948, after WWII, the world came together and the UN adopted the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.
Article 3
Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.
Article 4
No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms.
Article 5
No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
Article 6
Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.
Article 7
All are equal before the law and are entitled without any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any discrimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination.
Article 8
Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or by law.
Article 9
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile.
Article 10
Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.
Article 11

1. Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.
2. No one shall be held guilty of any penal offence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or international law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed.

Article 12
No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Everyone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks.
Article 13

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.
2. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country.

Article 14

1. Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.
2. This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 15

1. Everyone has the right to a nationality.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.

Article 16

1. Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution.
2. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses.
3. The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.

Article 17

1. Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others.
2. No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.
Article 19
Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.
Article 20

1. Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.
2. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.

Article 21

1. Everyone has the right to take part in the government of their country, directly or through freely chosen representatives.
2. Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in their country.
3. The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.

Article 22
Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free development of his personality.
Article 23

1. Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment.
2. Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work.
3. Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection.
4. Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests.

Article 24
Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, including reasonable limitation of working hours and periodic holidays with pay.
Article 25

1. Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
2. Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protection.

Article 26

1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.

Article 27

1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Article 28
Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized.
Article 29

1. Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible.
2. In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, everyone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and freedoms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society.
3. These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

Article 30
Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

We should make December 10, 2009 a day to take back our flag. Prove that being an American does not mean we only care for ourselves.


Take back our label of the melting pot. Embrace and live the words on the statue of liberty:

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me.
I lift my lamp beside the golden door."

Stand up and demand basic human rights, demand Universal Health Care!!