In loving, living memory, John Melançon 1928 – 2007
The world didn't end today, but no Mayan ever (ever) said that it would. As Daniel Feder wrote: "Actual Mayans had other plans for today.... 6,000 EZLN members marching in complete silence into five Chiapas cities, in an action organized in secret that took the country by surprise."
Photo by Raul Vera. Marcha Zapatista, Ocosingo, Chiapas.
More detail from Narco News:
Like its dictator-nailing subtitle, “Granito” often feels in its certitude like an inversion of vintage neoconservatism.
GRANITO
How to Nail a Dictator
Opens on Wednesday in Manhattan.
Directed by Pamela Yates; edited by Peter Kinoy; produced by Paco de Onís; released by Skylight Pictures. At the IFC Center, 323 Avenue of the Americas, at Third Street, Greenwich Village. In English and Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 43 minutes. This film is not rated.
I've missed most news coverage, but i heard that Obama said "justice has been done" with our military's extra-judicial killing of Osama bin Laden. This is disconcerting given the lack of judicial process in this instance and the broader contempt for rule of law and legal process exhibited by the Obama administration and its predecessor. Not that i consider courts to be the only legitimate arbiters of the broad concept of justice, but when it's the president of my country talking about the crime of mass murder...
People who peacefully broke into a high-security military compound to object to the insane nuclear arsenal there (for submarine-launchable Trident missiles) are being sent to prison for this non-violent civil disobedience, possibly for the rest of their lives, as we are talking about months in prison for a couple people in their 80s.
It was an a very stupid and evil decision by the government to prosecute and ask for lengthy prison terms. For shame.
[Note: Every Indian word is misspelled]
Rape is placed as the one crime that is perpetrated against woman, and all the other crimes and mistreatment swept under the rug.
[first woman she was talking about, mentioned repeatedly, never caught the name enough to write it down]
She is completely uncompromising in woman having their full rights
Very radical thing in India, against arranged marriage
Movement against marriage as an institution entirely
sexual harassment in the workplace, she has brought
Climate Justice Can Help End Poverty
History teaches us that when decent people take risks and engage in struggle for principles, peacefully and courageously, pursuing civil disobedience where necessary, then those who occupy the instruments of power, whether in government or in the financial sectors, will listen and understand.
"From independence in 1821, an event led by the country's elite, an authoritarian state was created that excluded the majority of Guatemalans; it was racist in theory and practice and served to protect the interests of a small, privileged elite.... State violence has been fundamentally aimed against the excluded, the poor, and the Maya, as well as those who struggled in favor of a just and more equitable society....
With the caveat of not trusting any polls too much, especially as the demographic slices get smaller...
Why Prop 8 Won, by Richard Kim
The research suggests that even more important than the chance for one, two, or three voters to block a conviction or acquittal is the ability for one, two, or three jurors to force a more complete discussion of more aspects of the case.
That is, it seems that letting the "lone juror" (or jurors) have veto power on the whole proceeding doesn't usually end in an 11-1 vote with a unanimous requirement, but instead often leads other jurors to question their earlier conclusions.