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***Entry 475***
Wednesday, April 2, 2003
01:01 p.m.
Who Loves the Sun
I can't say it enough. I love spring! Nothing thrills me more than walking outside in the middle of the day and being warmed by sunshine. It's beautiful...and after a long, cold, lonely winter, it's simply amazing.
More Good News
Those cheesy and inaccurate ads that "link" drugs to terrorism are no more.
***Entry 474***
Tuesday, April 1, 2003
12:00 p.m.
On Criticism of the 'Anti-War Movement'
Damu Smith, the founder of Black Voices for Peace is hosting his radio show on WPFW right now. He's angerly waxing poetic about the racial divisions in the anti-war movement. Smith has been arguing that while white anti-war activists are all the willing to invite black anti-war activists to rallies, marches, etc--those same white anti-war activists don't attend the black anti-war events. It's a simple division of the anti-war movement that is not only unfair, it's inaccurate.
Before the war started, there was a protest--organized by Black Voices for Peace--in front of the Washington Post building. The crowd was racially diverse and united in opposition to the hawkish Post editorial page. The editorial page editor, Fred Hiatt, came outside and spent roughly 20+ minutes talking to some of the protesters. Despite the fact that the editorial page has hardly expressed a pro-peace sentiment since the protest, I considered the event successful. It merged supposedly disparate ends of the anti-war movement and was suitably discursive.
Smith's argument, therefore, is unfounded. On the otherhand, Joanne has found a fabulous critique of the San Francisco day after actions on [of all things] Mother Jones. A particularly telling quote:
The ability to stay on message is vital to any political cause, and yet the message that too many activists are most eager to convey is an individual one, of their own pet cause, their own noble conviction.
Smith has just admitted that he's assessment of 'racism' in the movement is a generalization. Perhaps, it's time for other anti-war activists to focus on anti-war activism--rather than "their own pet cause."
To comment on this piece: go here.
***Entry 473***
Tuesday, April 1, 2003
10:39 a.m.
April Fools Day: Not So Foolish
First: A search request for: The President, the Pope and the Dixie Chicks joke lead a reader to The Nominally/Arbitary Project.
Second: Peter Arnett writes about being fired and Fox News asks the DC IMC to respond to it.
And...Finally: This evening's labor anti-war protest. "We Ain't Fooling Around, Stop The War in Iraq!"
***Entry 472***
Tuesday, April 1, 2003
09:37 a.m.
"I am Nothing But Books/And Heart..."
...Well, I was nothing but books/and heart when I was in college. In the months since I unfortunately graduated, I have become nothing but a progressive-minded political socialite. I've become obsessed with my public image, rather than the substance of my ideas. In short, I fear that I've become superficial.
Why? Because the only thing I have time to post right now is an announcement about the latest party at my house...
Hello everyone...
In case you haven't heard...942 Westminster is having another party this Friday. In case you
haven't heard...this party has 6 djs and 2 kegs. In case you haven't heard...this party is
*vital.*
In other words, don't make weekend plans without it. [After all...I'm delaying a trip to Richmond
4 this party.]
Jill's original email follows below:
Spring house party! This Friday -April 4th from 10pm to 4am at 942 Westminster St NW in DC.
again two kegs of Dominion [lager, not ale!]. BYOB however is encouraged as our parties are large
and our parties run out of beer. Free jello shooters at midnight.
with deejays-Rob Bob, masta Lugi, Nate banDaddY, and Rubble from the Chuck Street Players [fox mill
estates/OakTon] as well as Mojo JOnes and Toby Roberts [falls ChuRch's finest!!!]
It should be fun.
And all my sorrow...for nothing
I actually read something substantial. Andy Lamey's piece on "Bush-speak" returns me to many earlier arguments on criticizing ideas, not other personal characteristics:
Does this mean we can never criticize Bush-speak? Of course not. The issue isn't whether there should be rules, but whether they conform with widespread usage. If a phrase makes you laugh out loud -- and I chortled at "resignate" -- it's probably far off anybody's standard. We can also -- just an idea -- criticize the U.S. President based on his bad policies. It ain't like there's a shortage of those.[via: A&L Daily]
***Entry 471***
Monday, March 31, 2003
12:02 p.m.
MPD Mishaps
Adam wrote a fascinating account of last Friday's critical mass bike ride. His comments on the police actions are particularly telling. After being stalked/"escorted" by MPD officers--even after he slipped into a bar, Adam attempted to have a fruitful conversation:
When I asked why they were following me, I was told by #1368 that they were ordered to follow me everywhere. This sent chills down my spine with a tinge of anger at the realization of irrefutable proof I am the victim of police harassment.
While the story has received some of the most substantive responses on the DC IMC lately, another good resource for understanding the incompetence and shame that the MPD place on DC residents is Safe Streets DC. It's a little Third-District-Focused, but given that I reside in the Third-District, I find it useful...
***Entry 470***
Saturday, March 29, 2003
04:12 p.m.
Remind Me...Because I Will Forget
Next time I get *nominally* guest-listed [read: reduced entrance fee] for a club...I should consider the following issues before arriving:
1. Is the club located in an obscure end of Fairfax County thus facilitating me getting dreadfully lost?
2. Is everyone there going to pass out at 3am while cheesy d&b is playing in the background?
3. Will the club specifically state "BYOB" only to have the "bar" *lose* the beer?
If I answer yes to any of these questions...I shouldn't bother with the 40+ minute commute... And, If I answer yes to *all* of these questions...I should just stay home.
Then again...I had to do something after seeing the sad-defeat of Maryland last night. But then again..."doing something" does not equal going to A.L.I.A.S.
***Entry 469***
Friday, March 28, 2003
03:54 p.m.
It's Friday: Apolitical Asides
I sent this out as an email earlier this week; however, Jill has made a formal announcement of tomorrow's "Washington Interns Gone Baghdad" filming/party on her blog. I don't usually make such blatant endorsements, but this is *the* party of the weekend. See you there...
***Entry 468***
Friday, March 28, 2003
02:03 p.m.
Hemp Foods and Medical Marijuana
On March 21, 2003, the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] announced its final rule on hemp food products. This rule purports to ban the sale of all hemp food products on April 21, 2003. The DEA’s rule is currently being challenged by the hemp industry in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, and hopefully will be Stayed. Regardless, the public and Courts need to hear from outraged citizens. How can you get involved in the hemp food issue? I've posted the call to action for April 21, 2003. ...Read it and contact me.
And...returning to yesterday's Maryland Medical Marijuana issue...
Although Gov. Bob Ehrlich (R) has supported medical marijuana in
the past and has hinted he will sign the bill, Walters said he
hope Ehrlich "will see through the con." Marijuana is no more "a
proven, efficacious medicine" than "medicinal crack," [John]Walters [US Drug Czar]
added.
"I'm almost starting to feel sorry for the man," retorted MPP's
Mirken, "because John Walters is losing his grip on reality.
Marijuana is a medicinal herb with 5,000 years of recorded
history. And crack is a form of cocaine, which is a Schedule II
drug with medical uses. Doctors can administer cocaine, and
nobody in their right mind believes marijuana is more dangerous
than cocaine. Yet you still can't prescribe marijuana. The drug
czar needs to spend more time on planet Earth."
From this week's The Week Online.
Update at 3:45pm: Sorry about this error-ridden post. I'm *really* tired.
***Entry 467***
Thursday, March 27, 2003
05:00 p.m.
Power in Numbers
Click here to see nearly 300 photos of worldwide anti-war demonstrations. Some, are simply amazing.
And...locally...
From the DC Labor Committee for Peace and Justice:
This April Fool's Day, tell President Bush…
"We ain't foolin'.
Stop the war!"
Rally & Protest
5 p.m. Tuesday, April 1
Farragut Square in downtown Washington
(17th Street between I and K Streets, NW)
Join union members, leaders, staff, friends, family and allies at a
rally and protest to tell President Bush to stop the war, create jobs
and lift the economy. While the Bush administration pushes for a
multi-trillion dollar tax cut and a $75 billion war chest, working
families here at home need good jobs, health care, schools and
pensions.
This April Fool's Day, come out and prove the joker in the White House
wrong. Tell Bush, "We ain't foolin'. Stop the war! Create jobs!
Lift the economy!"
***Entry 466***
Thursday, March 27, 2003
01:36 p.m.
Gotta Bike?
From the desk of Adam Eidinger:
Dear Bike Friends:
If you haven't heard already there will be a Bikes not Bombs Critical
Mass ride every Friday and Monday night at 6:00 PM in Dupont Circle.
This ambitious effort by long time Critical Mass organizers in DC
should take our rides to the next level in size and impact, but will
only be a success with YOUR participation. Please spread the word.
Remember to wear brightly colored clothes and think of ways to get the
anti-war message out during the ride.
See you Friday.
BIKES NOT BOMBS!
***Entry 465***
Thursday, March 27, 2003
10:14 a.m.
Maybe...Ehrlich isn't Awful for Maryland
The Maryland General Assembly has voted to dramatically reduce penalties for cancer patients and others who smoke marijuana to relieve suffering, and Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he is inclined to sign the measure....
...Sen. Nathaniel Exum (D-Prince George's) said personal experience with someone who is terminally ill might change opponents' minds. He said that his daughter died a painful death from cancer, and that he wished marijuana had been available for her. "Only 25 years old, on her way to a very fruitful life, and we lost her," Exum said. "If we could have gotten her marijuana, we would have done that for her."
It's nice to know that 'making progress' is not just another term for 'killing people.'
...And if you'd like to help with drug reform, consider making a donation to help fund DRCNet's The Week Online project. It's simply the *best* resource for drug reform advocates around...
***Entry 464***
Thursday, March 27, 2003
09:42 a.m.
Because 'In My Spare Time' is Always an Inside Joke
Sorry kids, there will be no West Wing Review this week. For the first time in season four, I chose organizing against the war over watching the most stellar program on television. I'm feeling like I missed something important...
On the otherhand, a couple of nights ago I got a chance to read the profile of Noam Chomsky in The New Yorker [article not available online...]. If you have a few hours to "spare" sit down and read it all...especially, if you are involved in anti-war organizing.
***Entry 463***
Wednesday, March 26, 2003
09:43 a.m.
We're Back...
The SF-based Direct Action to Stop the War has announced another National Day of DIRECT Action and Civil Disobedience to Stop the War at Home and Abroad. According to their call to action:
We call upon all cities, organizations, and individuals to organize
widespread non-cooperation targeting:
--Federal and Government buildings
--Oil corporations
--Arms manufacturers
--Arms transportation systems
On Monday April 7th, instead of going to work or school, sustain the
resistance to this war by participating in or supporting mass nonviolent
direct action in any way possible.
What will the DC-based Shirts Off Coalition do? Stay tuned...and if you're *really* interested, come out to the meeting tonight.
WHAT: Shirts Off Meeting
WHEN: Wednesday March 26, 2003 at 7:30pm
WHERE: 2nd Floor Lounge, Marvin Center, at George Washington University
WHY: To build on the key Bridge Action. To keep contributing to the unwavering global resistance
to this bloody war. To synthesize with other activists in the city.
And...speaking of direct actions and organizing against the war, Joanne has posted a condensed-version-of-our-radio-show-last-week as a long, comprehensive "blog essay." If you have time, check out how she analyzes the impact of direct actions and how she links that to libertarians' lack of passion. Fascinating.
***Entry 462***
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
10:04 a.m.
Media Criticism from Abroad...er, Canada, eh?
Perhaps, "blame Canada" is not the accurate "catchphrase" here...but the National Post's Scott Feschuk has taken on the American media. Perhaps it's fitting for the article, but Feschuk's approach is "rather" indecisive. Case in point: these two back-to-back sentences:
But the true test of the "embed" program won't come until one of the units encounters genuine military resistance and suffers significant casualties, at which point we'll finally be able to determine from the nature of the reports just how far up the Pentagon's ass the correspondents are embedded.
I'm as cynical as the next person* (* does not apply if next person is Santa Claus) but there is no denying the visceral, obscenely thrilling lure of live television pictures of stuff being blown up.
See, while I agree with the first sentence, I can't agree with the second. The "embedded" [or read: "in bed"] journalists are often impromptu Pentagon spokespeople; however, "obscenely thrilling?" That combination of words, is more vomit-enducing [Pukers4Peace, anyone?] than legitimate. [link via: A&L Daily.]
***Entry 162***
Monday, March 24, 2003
03:50 p.m.
'Up The Ante'/First Amendment Fatalities
Returning to Web Travels
This article encouraged me to engage in the most vain of internet activities, googling myself. And that search lead to this shocking discovery: apparently neocons don't like direct actions.
First, a brief explanation. I was quoted last week in a Wall Street Journal piece by Jim Carlton, who contacted me about the Shirts Off Coalition Day After Actions. Here's what he wrote:
"We have decided to up the ante," says Zoe Mitchell, an organizer of Shirts Off Anti-War Coalition, a Washington, D.C., group that hopes to shut many federal buildings on the day after an Iraqi invasion; they plan to use bicycle brigades and human barriers to tie up capital traffic and keep employees from reaching work. The activists say they are left with little choice but to express their opinions through targeted disruption of commerce and government. After all, their months of more-benign demonstrations haven't dissuaded the Bush administration from its course of war.
And...here's what happened in the blogosphere:
Case #1: Clubbeaux.
That’s not exercising your Constitutionally-protected freedom of speech. That’s acting against the interests of the United States in a time of war, and should be treated as such.
I’m all for protests. I’m all for freedom of speech. This wouldn’t be America if we couldn’t do that. They can protest the war all day long if they want. Disrupting society is something else. You’ve made your point, believe me. Duly noted. Thanks for expressing, now let the President make the decisions he was elected to make, taking into consideration not only your opinion but the majority’s as well.
Oh...yes, Clubbeaux, you've written a logically sound rejoinder...because Bush was "elected." Hmmm...
Case #2: Phil Carter.
Free speech is an important value, and one of the many that we are fighting for the desert. However, these protests appear to cross the line from free speech to criminal activity. I wholeheartedly embrace the concept of free speech and endorse these activists' right to speak their minds. But these plans appear to cross the line. Staging massive disruptions of traffic and infrastructure starts affecting the rights and livelihood of all of us. Imagine how many man hours are lost in traffic, or how much productivity is lost because workers can't get to work on time. Imagine the number of police who must be paid to protect these protesters, and arrest them when they run astray. Those resources could be devoted to other things, and average citizens should not have their rights and livelihoods trampled so that these protesters can speak a little more loudly.
Imagine...if he had read our press release...
***Entry 461***
Monday, March 24, 2003
12:35 p.m.
Because the Anti-War Movement Doesn't Stop
Today: First, speak out against the war at 5pm in Dupont Circle. Then, if you've got a bike and you are against the war...head down to Dupont Circle at 6pm tonight.
And Beyond...: Stick to the DC IMC for announcements of more anti-war demonstrations.
***Entry 460***
Monday, March 24, 2003
09:46 a.m.
Over the Ledge
Maybe I'm growing despondent, but the only thing I care to write about this morning is Michael Moore's speech at the Oscars last night. With more than one billion people watching, Moore stated:
We live in the time where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president.
We live in a time where we have a man sending us to war for fictitious reasons.
Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or fiction of orange alerts we are against this war, Mr. Bush.
Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you.
And any time you got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up.
And...as I watched this live...listening to the relatively evenly matched boos and cheers...I thought...50/50 Nation for sure. But what about the hundreds of millions of viewers watching from outside the US?
Update/Somewhat
And...if you think that the music unfairly cut Moore off last night, take a look at what happened when a Iraq-stationed CNN reporter was forced off his blog. [Link via: Matt Bradley]
***Entry 459***
Friday, March 21, 2003
01:13 p.m.
Repulsion
The obscene strategy of "Shock and Awe" in underway in Baghdad. And Bush calls this "progress?"
"We will stay on task until we've achieved our objective, which is rid Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and free the Iraqi people so they can live in a society that is hopeful, democratic and at peace with its neighbors," Bush said.
But, who will be the Iraqi people after "shock and awe?"
***Entry 458***
Friday, March 21, 2003
12:41 p.m.
Un/Covering Other News
Off The Iraq-Warfront...Onto the Drug-Warfront
And...while the whole world is distracted by this ridiculous war against Iraq, the Drug Enforcement Administration quietly announced it's "final rule" on hemp foods. Guess what? They're illegal. According to Vote Hemp:
Today DEA has issued 2 final rules making hemp seed and oil products illegal if they contain "any" THC and then exempting certain products (which have always been legal) from control. The new regulations disregard the more than 115,000 comments which DEA received on the rule. The rules become effective on April 21, 2003 and until then the Stay issued by the 9th Circuit last year remains in effect and hemp products continue to be legal to possess and sell.
For *all* the information about this issue, go here.
And...
Drug legalization advocate and Member of the European Parliament, Marco Cappato, was arrested in Manchester, England for "drug-related" charges...err...civil disobedience. Cappato stated:
I am here today to face the serious consequences of an unjust law. As a nonviolent antiprohibitioinst activist, I am ready to go to prison for having disobeyed a law that has not been able to reduce the use and abuse of drugs in this or in any other country of the world. Prohibition on drugs, as well as prohibition on other issues, has never proved to be the remedy to the questions at stake. Quite the contrary! In the case of drugs, it has been instrumental in generating enormous profits for transnational criminal organizations, and in criminalizing non-violent offenders such as drug consumers -who do not hurt anybody- and addicts -who should be treated as people in need of medical help.
Monday, March 24, 2003 Update
Cappato was released!
***Entry 457***
Friday, March 21, 2003
12:40 p.m.
Reporting Back from the Streets
While I am Back in the Office
First off: Yesterday evening, Rachel,Joanne and I had a long conversation about the politics of the anti-war movement. Why are there so many disparate groups? Why is the anti-war message being intregrated with increasingly disconnected issues? And we came to a conclusion--host a radio show on the DC IMC internet stream called "Smash the Spectrum" to discuss these, and other anti-war topics. Listen in this afternoon at around 5pm. We will be accepting listener calls as well.
There have been many interesting reports and compiliations of yesterday's Shirts Off Coalition actions. Here's my second compiliation:
Joanne has posted some photos of the action on her photo page. Her photos successfully capture the "feel" of the protest...and this was her *first* major demonstration.
John has written an entry about life as an indymedia journalist. He should be commended for using his photo-phone to instantly email photos of the Shirts Off actions for the DC IMC newswire. Additionally, he has posted these photos here.
Michael has posted an excellent complilation. In case, I missed anything...you should go to his site.
And finally, for the *best* account from the corporate media, check out Manny Fernandez's report from the PM-Extra section of the Washington Post online.
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