[Peace-discussion] Medea Benjamin's Ten Good Things About 2006
Henry D.
henryduke2004@yahoo.com
Sun, 31 Dec 2006 11:19:00 -0800 (PST)
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Super activist and former green party candidate/member turned Progressive Democrats of America supporter makes notes.
If you think the anti-war movement is weak, think again and look at top ten thing #9.
It is important to be aware of our strength and how the war-makers do actually fear us and take us into account.
Happy new year!
-hank
>> Let's Toast to Ten Good Things About 2006
>>
>> By Medea Benjamin
>>
>> December 28, 2006, CommonDreams.org
>>
>> http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1228-28.htm
>>
>> As we close this year on the low of a devastating conflict in
>> Iraq and a President contemplating sending yet more troops to
>> fight and die in an unwinnable war, let us not forget that it
>> was a year of many positive gains for the progressive
>> movement. Here are just ten.
>>
>> 1. First, of course, is the November elections, when voters
>> gave Repubicans an 'electoral thumpin". From California's
>> Jerry McNerney to Ohio's Sherrod Brown to Minnesota's Keith
>> Ellison-Democrats all over the country won elections by
>> slamming Bush's war. The collapse of one-party rule in
>> Washington reflected a spectacular repudiation of George Bush
>> and handed Congress a mandate to get out of Iraq.
>>
>> 2. Latino communities throughout the United States took center
>> stage in the spring of 2006, putting May Day back on the map
>> as a day of grassroots mobilizing. From high school students
>> to union members to community organizers, the spirit and
>> energy of millions of immigrants demanding to be treated with
>> dignity and respect took the nation by surprise. Immigrants
>> not only carved out new political space, but in the age of e-
>> activism, they breathed new life into the importance of
>> 'street heat.'
>>
>> 3. After decades of dictating the rules of the global economy,
>> World Trade Organization talks fell flat on their face in
>> 2006. Activists the world over celebrated its collapse after
>> years of work to sink this titanic tool of empire. The work to
>> derail corporate-dominated trade policies is far from over,
>> with bilateral free trade agreements taking the place of the
>> WTO. But the WTO and its model of globalization have been
>> exposed as a dismal failure and opposition continues to grow
>> worldwide.
>>
>> 4. George Bush opened 2006 with a State of the Union Address
>> bemoaning our 'addiction to oil'; 86 prominent Evangelicals
>> called global warming a moral issue; Al Gore educated millions
>> with his film, An Inconvenient Truth; and Time magazine
>> declared the Earth is at a tipping point with melting ice,
>> drought, wind, disease, and fires raging out of control.
>> Historians may one day look back on 2006 as the 'tipping-
>> point' year when human societies-including the United States
>> as the major superpower and the major polluter-woke up to the
>> precarious state of our world and decided it was time to find
>> solutions.
>>
>> 5. As a clear indicator of the shift from debating global
>> warming to doing something about it, this year California
>> passed the nation's toughest legislation to curb greenhouse
>> gases. The groundbreaking bill would require the state to cut
>> back its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020-a
>> reduction of approximately 25 percent. A smart politico,
>> Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saw the green
>> writing on the wall and joined the state's Democrats in
>> setting a new environmental standard for the rest of the
>> nation to follow.
>>
>> 6. In a year when Enron executives were found guilty of
>> cooking the books, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace
>> Prize for proving that poor people can be more reliable money
>> managers than rich ones. Yunus' 'microcredit movement' that
>> started out giving small loans to poor Bangladeshis, mostly
>> women, mushroomed into a worldwide movement that has extended
>> small loans to millions of the world's poor. By awarding Yunus
>> the Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee not only
>> recognized the credit-worthiness of the poor but acknowledged
>> that poverty is a threat to peace. As Yunus said in his
>> acceptance speech, 'I believe that putting resources into
>> improving the lives of the poor people is a better strategy
>> [for combating terrorism] than spending it on guns.'
>>
>> 7. While the fighting between Israel and Lebanon left over
>> 1,000 dead, mostly Lebanese, a ceasefire was achieved after
>> only 34 days. When the violence threatened to spiral out of
>> control, the United Nations, the Arab League and individual
>> governments stepped forward to insist on negotiations, to
>> hammer out a ceasefire agreement and to provide international
>> peacekeeping forces to serve as monitors. What could have been
>> a prolonged conflict with devastating consequences for the
>> entire region was halted. The lessons that SHOULD have been
>> learned when the powerful Israeli military was unable to 'win'
>> the conflict through force are that military aggression will
>> not solve the deep-seated problems in the region, and that
>> negotiations and peace processes can work.
>>
>> 8. Speaking of dialogue, Jimmy Carter, with his new book
>> Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, took on the greatest taboo in
>> US politics: the gross violation of Palestinian rights and the
>> unqualified US government support for the Israeli government.
>> Likening Israel's policies in the Palestinian territories to
>> the racist white rule in South Africa, Carter has raised a
>> firestorm of controversy. But finally, FINALLY, someone with
>> the credentials of a statesman, a peacemaker and a friend of
>> Israel is crying out against Israel's hellish treatment of
>> Palestinians. The public is embracing his views: his book
>> quickly became a bestseller and he has been greeted by
>> enthusiastic crowds at appearances around the country.
>> Hopefully, our elected officials will start listening as well.
>>
>> 9. In 2006 we managed to stop the next war from starting! With
>> the US bogged down in Iraq and the public sick of war, it has
>> been impossible for the Bush administration to launch an
>> attack against another country like Iran or North Korea. The
>> army doesn't have enough recruits to fight a new war and the
>> politicians know it would be political suicide to reinstate
>> the draft. Two major warmongers-Donald Rumsfeld and John
>> Bolton-were forced out of power. And with Bush obligated to
>> appoint a new ambassador to the United Nations, perhaps
>> diplomacy will come back into fashion.
>>
>> 10. Across Latin America, elections have continued to bring a
>> wave of progressive leadership to power. With the victories of
>> Daniel Ortega and Rafael Correa, Nicaragua and Ecuador join
>> Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and Brazil as governments committed
>> to improving the lives of the majority. As a sign of the
>> radical changes in the region, Bolivia's Evo Morales marked
>> May 1 by nationalizing the country's oil and gas resources.
>> 'After today,' he declared, 'the hydrocarbons will belong to
>> all Bolivians. Never again will they be in the hands of
>> transnational corporations. Today the country--la patria--
>> stands up.'
>>
>> So here's a toast to nations standing up to greedy
>> transnationals, to people standing up to leaders who abuse
>> their power, to humanity standing up to save the planet we
>> inhabit-and to bringing our troops home in 2007!
>>
>> [Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of
>> CODEPINK (www.codepinkalert.org) and Global Exchange
>> (www.globalexchange.org).]
>>
>
>
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<BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> <div>Super activist and former green party candidate/member turned Progressive Democrats of America supporter makes notes.</div> <div> </div> <div>If you think the anti-war movement is weak, think again and look at top ten thing #9.</div> <div> </div> <div>It is important to be aware of our strength and how the war-makers do actually fear us and take us into account.</div> <div> </div> <div>Happy new year!</div> <div>-hank</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>>> Let's Toast to Ten Good Things About 2006 <BR>>> <BR>>> By Medea Benjamin<BR>>> <BR>>> December 28, 2006, CommonDreams.org<BR>>> <BR>>> http://www.commondreams.org/views06/1228-28.htm<BR>>> <BR>>> As we close this year on the low of a devastating conflict in<BR>>>
Iraq and a President contemplating sending yet more troops to<BR>>> fight and die in an unwinnable war, let us not forget that it<BR>>> was a year of many positive gains for the progressive<BR>>> movement. Here are just ten.<BR>>> <BR>>> 1. First, of course, is the November elections, when voters<BR>>> gave Repubicans an 'electoral thumpin". From California's<BR>>> Jerry McNerney to Ohio's Sherrod Brown to Minnesota's Keith<BR>>> Ellison-Democrats all over the country won elections by<BR>>> slamming Bush's war. The collapse of one-party rule in<BR>>> Washington reflected a spectacular repudiation of George Bush<BR>>> and handed Congress a mandate to get out of Iraq.<BR>>> <BR>>> 2. Latino communities throughout the United States took center<BR>>> stage in the spring of 2006, putting May Day back on the map<BR>>> as a day of grassroots mobilizing. From high school students<BR>>>
to union members to community organizers, the spirit and<BR>>> energy of millions of immigrants demanding to be treated with<BR>>> dignity and respect took the nation by surprise. Immigrants<BR>>> not only carved out new political space, but in the age of e-<BR>>> activism, they breathed new life into the importance of<BR>>> 'street heat.'<BR>>> <BR>>> 3. After decades of dictating the rules of the global economy,<BR>>> World Trade Organization talks fell flat on their face in<BR>>> 2006. Activists the world over celebrated its collapse after<BR>>> years of work to sink this titanic tool of empire. The work to<BR>>> derail corporate-dominated trade policies is far from over,<BR>>> with bilateral free trade agreements taking the place of the<BR>>> WTO. But the WTO and its model of globalization have been<BR>>> exposed as a dismal failure and opposition continues to grow<BR>>>
worldwide.<BR>>> <BR>>> 4. George Bush opened 2006 with a State of the Union Address<BR>>> bemoaning our 'addiction to oil'; 86 prominent Evangelicals<BR>>> called global warming a moral issue; Al Gore educated millions<BR>>> with his film, An Inconvenient Truth; and Time magazine<BR>>> declared the Earth is at a tipping point with melting ice,<BR>>> drought, wind, disease, and fires raging out of control.<BR>>> Historians may one day look back on 2006 as the 'tipping-<BR>>> point' year when human societies-including the United States<BR>>> as the major superpower and the major polluter-woke up to the<BR>>> precarious state of our world and decided it was time to find<BR>>> solutions.<BR>>> <BR>>> 5. As a clear indicator of the shift from debating global<BR>>> warming to doing something about it, this year California<BR>>> passed the nation's toughest legislation to curb
greenhouse<BR>>> gases. The groundbreaking bill would require the state to cut<BR>>> back its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020-a<BR>>> reduction of approximately 25 percent. A smart politico,<BR>>> Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger saw the green<BR>>> writing on the wall and joined the state's Democrats in<BR>>> setting a new environmental standard for the rest of the<BR>>> nation to follow.<BR>>> <BR>>> 6. In a year when Enron executives were found guilty of<BR>>> cooking the books, Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace<BR>>> Prize for proving that poor people can be more reliable money<BR>>> managers than rich ones. Yunus' 'microcredit movement' that<BR>>> started out giving small loans to poor Bangladeshis, mostly<BR>>> women, mushroomed into a worldwide movement that has extended<BR>>> small loans to millions of the world's poor. By awarding
Yunus<BR>>> the Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee not only<BR>>> recognized the credit-worthiness of the poor but acknowledged<BR>>> that poverty is a threat to peace. As Yunus said in his<BR>>> acceptance speech, 'I believe that putting resources into<BR>>> improving the lives of the poor people is a better strategy<BR>>> [for combating terrorism] than spending it on guns.'<BR>>> <BR>>> 7. While the fighting between Israel and Lebanon left over<BR>>> 1,000 dead, mostly Lebanese, a ceasefire was achieved after<BR>>> only 34 days. When the violence threatened to spiral out of<BR>>> control, the United Nations, the Arab League and individual<BR>>> governments stepped forward to insist on negotiations, to<BR>>> hammer out a ceasefire agreement and to provide international<BR>>> peacekeeping forces to serve as monitors. What could have been<BR>>> a prolonged conflict with
devastating consequences for the<BR>>> entire region was halted. The lessons that SHOULD have been<BR>>> learned when the powerful Israeli military was unable to 'win'<BR>>> the conflict through force are that military aggression will<BR>>> not solve the deep-seated problems in the region, and that<BR>>> negotiations and peace processes can work.<BR>>> <BR>>> 8. Speaking of dialogue, Jimmy Carter, with his new book<BR>>> Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, took on the greatest taboo in<BR>>> US politics: the gross violation of Palestinian rights and the<BR>>> unqualified US government support for the Israeli government.<BR>>> Likening Israel's policies in the Palestinian territories to<BR>>> the racist white rule in South Africa, Carter has raised a<BR>>> firestorm of controversy. But finally, FINALLY, someone with<BR>>> the credentials of a statesman, a peacemaker and a friend of<BR>>>
Israel is crying out against Israel's hellish treatment of<BR>>> Palestinians. The public is embracing his views: his book<BR>>> quickly became a bestseller and he has been greeted by<BR>>> enthusiastic crowds at appearances around the country.<BR>>> Hopefully, our elected officials will start listening as well.<BR>>> <BR>>> 9. In 2006 we managed to stop the next war from starting! With<BR>>> the US bogged down in Iraq and the public sick of war, it has<BR>>> been impossible for the Bush administration to launch an<BR>>> attack against another country like Iran or North Korea. The<BR>>> army doesn't have enough recruits to fight a new war and the<BR>>> politicians know it would be political suicide to reinstate<BR>>> the draft. Two major warmongers-Donald Rumsfeld and John<BR>>> Bolton-were forced out of power. And with Bush obligated to<BR>>> appoint a new ambassador to the United Nations,
perhaps<BR>>> diplomacy will come back into fashion.<BR>>> <BR>>> 10. Across Latin America, elections have continued to bring a<BR>>> wave of progressive leadership to power. With the victories of<BR>>> Daniel Ortega and Rafael Correa, Nicaragua and Ecuador join<BR>>> Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile and Brazil as governments committed<BR>>> to improving the lives of the majority. As a sign of the<BR>>> radical changes in the region, Bolivia's Evo Morales marked<BR>>> May 1 by nationalizing the country's oil and gas resources.<BR>>> 'After today,' he declared, 'the hydrocarbons will belong to<BR>>> all Bolivians. Never again will they be in the hands of<BR>>> transnational corporations. Today the country--la patria--<BR>>> stands up.'<BR>>> <BR>>> So here's a toast to nations standing up to greedy<BR>>> transnationals, to people standing up to leaders who abuse<BR>>> their power,
to humanity standing up to save the planet we<BR>>> inhabit-and to bringing our troops home in 2007!<BR>>> <BR>>> [Medea Benjamin (medea@globalexchange.org) is cofounder of<BR>>> CODEPINK (www.codepinkalert.org) and Global Exchange<BR>>> (www.globalexchange.org).]<BR>>> <BR>> <BR>><BR></div></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>
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