Posts Tagged ‘assembly’

An Occupy Manifesto

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

The Occupy movement is a leaderless collective demonstrating against overlapping grievances, with the majority of the people demanding some form of reform in government.

While there is no one goal or single concrete agenda for all to follow, many beautiful visions of a potential future are emerging, as evident by the following statement of principles arising from the Occupy Wall Street’s General Assembly:

We Envision:

  1. A truly free, democratic, and just society;
  2. where we, the people, come together and solve our problems by consensus;
  3. where people are encouraged to take personal and collective responsibility and participate in decision making;
  4. where we learn to live in harmony and embrace principles of toleration and respect for diversity and the differing views of others;
  5. where we secure the civil and human rights of all from violation by tyrannical forces and unjust governments;
  6. where political and economic institutions work to benefit all, not just the privileged few;
  7. where we provide full and free education to everyone, not merely to get jobs but to grow and flourish as human beings;
  8. where we value human needs over monetary gain, to ensure decent standards of living without which effective democracy is impossible;
  9. where we work together to protect the global environment to ensure that future generations will have safe and clean air, water and food supplies, and will be able to enjoy the beauty and bounty of nature that past generations have enjoyed.

Wow. What an incredibly just global civilization we could have if every nation internalized these values into the heart of their constitutions.

Well, there’s no time like the present for seizing the day. Take action now! The better world we’re dreaming of won’t arrive without our help.

End of Israel’s Atrocities?

Monday, September 5th, 2011

Later this month, it is expected that the United Nations will vote in Palestine as a new member nation, based on the 1967 borders. When this happens, Israel’s current occupation of Palestinian land will be officially illegal in the eyes of the international community.

In preparation, Israel’s military – the IDF – has been handing out tear gas and stun grenades to civilians, anticipating the coming demonstrations from the newly freed Palestinians. But what they should really be preparing for are the economic sanctions coming from the rest of the world in response to Israel’s decades long record of human rights violations.

For example, a recently leaked cable exposes the IDF’s willingness to use ‘harsh measures’ upon peaceful Palestinian protestors. Another story reveals how the State of Israel consistently tortures confessions from Palestinian children, as if that’s going to earn them any love from the world.

Sure, Israel still has the support of the US and its taxpayers, who, over the past 10 years, have subsidized every 5-person Israeli family the staggering sum of $200,000. And, of course, the US has been urging the UN to stall the upcoming vote, not that the UN intends on listening.

But the US is waning as the world’s superpower, and without their giant ally overseas to protect them, Israel is fast finding itself alone, surrounded by enemies while facing a huge upswell of dissension from within.

It won’t be long until the State of Israel has no choice but to capitulate to mounting pressure from the globe, forever ceasing their crimes against humanity. What a glorious day this will be for the world’s peace movement.