“We stand in solidarity with the Guantanamo hunger strikers. We will shut down Guantanamo,” Anonymous’ online statement reads. The group did not detail how it is would achieve this goal, but promised “twitterstorms, email bombs and fax bombs” would be part of its anti-Gitmo efforts. The group said mass protests would take place from May 17 to 19. The group’s online call for action condemned the US for failing deliver on President Obama’s promise to shut down the facility. The group described the prison as a concentration camp, and said that many of the inmates are being kept there despite having been cleared for release. Anonymous also lashed out at the Guantanamo administration for force-feeding some of the hunger-striking prisoners, which the UN recently condemned as torture and in breach of international law. Anonymous also expressed indignation over how the facility, which they called a “disgrace for any civilized country,” is one of the most expensive prisons in the world, costing $900,000 annually to house each prisoner. “Guantanamo Bay must be closed at once, and the prisoners should be either returned to their home countries or given a fair trial in a federal court. Guantanamo Bay is an ongoing war crime. Anonymous will no longer tolerate this atrocity,” their statement said The Anonymous website also posted phone numbers for the White House, US Southern Command and the Department of Defense, urging supporters to ‘phonebomb’ officials with calls about Guantanamo. Inmates at Guantanamo went on a hunger strike at the beginning of February over alleged mistreatments, including the mishandling of their Korans. Currently, more than 100 inmates are refusing food, two dozen of whom are being force-fed.Follow RT’s day-by-day timeline of the Gitmo hunger strike. ‘Anonymous’ is notorious for its politically motivated cyber-attacks. A recent hack attack took down the Spanish parliament’s website in late April, the same day mass anti-government protests were held in Madrid. … Read More
Let’s hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American
As we now move into the official Political Aftermath period of the Boston bombing — the period that will determine the long-term legislative fallout of the atrocity — the dynamics of privilege will undoubtedly influence the nation’s collective reaction to the attacks. That’s because privilege tends to determine: 1.) which groups are — and are not — collectively denigrated or targeted for the unlawful actions of individuals; and 2.) how big and politically game-changing the overall reaction ends up being.This has been most obvious in the context of recent mass shootings. In those awful episodes, a religious or ethnic minority group lacking such privilege would likely be collectively slandered and/or targeted with surveillance or profiling (or worse) if some of its individuals comprised most of the mass shooters. However, white male privilege means white men are not collectively denigrated/targeted for those shootings — even though most come at the hands of white dudes.Continue Reading… … Read More
CES? DGAF! Bill Clinton Pivots Samsung Speech Into Call for Gun Control
From: CES? DGAF! Bill Clinton Pivots Samsung Speech Into Call for Gun Control
Send our kids to Washington!
On Monday, the teachers and counselors in my children’s schools – and no doubt yours as well – talked with our kids about the atrocity that happened in Newtown, Conn., on Friday morning. They held town meetings and class discussions; they answered questions and offered hope. It was a continuation of the heartbreaking conversations we parents engaged in all weekend long with our sons and daughters, as we struggled to find words to explain the most unexplainable horror. But as the initial shock and sadness of the shooting begin to subside and we move forward, we’re going to choose how the tragedy will inform our lives. And we have a chance to not just console and reassure our kids, but to empower them.Inspired by other “millions” marches of the past, a movement to hold A One Million Child march on Washington in February to lobby for “sane” gun laws has sprouted up on Facebook. It’s already garnered thousands of likes and RSVPs, because as the organizer, a father of two, asks, “Who could say no to a million kids? Not even Congress.” Aside from the fact that Congress has a long and storied history of flipping the bird at kids, minorities, the elderly, the disabled — you get the point – the march has the potential to become a galvanizing moment not just in the debate over guns, but in the lives of thousands of families. It’s an opportunity to teach kids the power of their voices, of their hope, of their love — and to show that power to the world.Continue Reading… … Read More
Beyond Our Sight
As I write, Thanksgiving is several days away. Thanksgiving. I stare at the letters, separating the word. Thanks giving and … Read More
Was Houla Massacre a Manufactured Atrocity?
It's been widely reported that on May 25, pro-Syrian forces massacred 108 civilians in the Syrian village of Houla, including 34 women and 49 children, many of whose throats were cut. The reported atrocity has sparked the latest round of appeals for intervention in the conflict in Syria. Syrian diplomats have been expelled from several countries over the massacre, including by U.S., Britain, France, Australia and Canada; "Syrian Diplomats Expelled Across World as Outrage Over Houla Massacre Grows," the British Guardian (5/29/12) declared. "Who Will Stop the Massacres?" asked the headline on a May 29 Washington Post editorial. As the editors [...] … Read More
