Posts Tagged civil disobedience

The 99% Say Enough is Enough

We know the facts, but seeing them together is staggering: unemployment is firmly mired in the double digits and efforts to bring it down isn’t creating jobs; students leaving college, if they can even afford to go, have debts that would have seemed unimaginable just 15 years ago and when they don’t see any openings in their field they head straight for a McJob or the unemployment line; the climate crisis remains unaddressed by global leaders and the US Congress and President Obama contemplates whether or not to green-light the Keystone XL pipeline; we are heading into the 10th year of war spending (at $3 billion a week!); corporations fought hard to win Citizens United and the ‘right’ to spend unlimited funds to get candidates into office; wealthy men (sometimes brothers) encourage corrupt Governors to end worker protections; and banks and Wall Street continue getting huge bonuses and bail-outs. We know something isn’t working. Enough is enough.

We are 99% of the population and 1% is controlling the show! Enough is enough.

For years, solidarity was presumed to be a one-way street – North Americans supporting liberation struggles around the world – but this year support to those standing up is global and circular. In Cairo, young people, armed with the courage of their convictions, overthrew the Egyptian government and launched the Arab Spring in Tahrir Square, Egypt.  The power of their non-violent resistance, their ability to stay when it seemed impossible, is the inspiration we must take forward to say enough is enough.

The 99% Say Enough is Enough via Kirsten Moller – Global Exchange

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Letter from prison: Tim DeChristopher speaks

“If I had ever doubted the power of words, Judge Benson made their importance all too clear at my sentencing last month. When he sentenced me to two years in prison plus three years probation, he admitted my offense “wasn’t too bad.” The problem, Judge Benson insisted, was my “continuing trail of statements” and my lack of regret. Apparently, all he really wanted was an apology, and for that, two years in prison could have been avoided. In fact, Judge Benson said that had it not been for the political statements I made in public, I would have avoided prosecution entirely. As is generally the case with civil disobedience, it was extremely important to the government that I come before the majesty of the court with my head bowed and express regret. So important, in fact, that an apology with proper genuflection is currently fair trade for a couple years in prison. Perhaps that’s why most activist cases end in a plea bargain.”

Letter from prison: Tim DeChristopher speaks via Tim DeChridtopher – Grist

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘I’m scared out of my mind’—but still getting arrested to stop the tar-sands pipeline [VIDEO]

“More than 100 activists have been arrested so far for protesting against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in front of the White House — and more are getting locked up every day. At least 2,100 people have signed up to participate in the two-week sit-in, which kicked off on Saturday and will continue every day through Sept. 3. Not all of the protestors are intending to get arrested, but expect hundreds more to serve some time in the clink.”

‘I’m scared out of my mind’—but still getting arrested to stop the tar-sands pipeline [VIDEO] via Grist

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VIDEO: Bill McKibben Answers Questions about the Tar Sands Action

“Wednesday August 3rd, Bill McKibben took to LiveStream to give an updates on the action answer questions from folks who will be attending. Here is a recording of that conversation.”
VIDEO: Bill McKibben Answers Questions about the Tar Sands Action via Tar Sands Action

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tim DeChristopher Is Going to Jail, Now It's Our Turn

‘”The idea of wilderness needs no defense. It only needs more defenders.” –Ed Abbey

“The Eyes of the Future are looking back at us and they are praying for us to see beyond our own time.” –Terry Tempest Williams

There’s something about the redrock canyons that seems to inspire great writing — I was lucky enough to know Ed Abbey and to count Terry Tempest Williams as a great friend. Both wrote — and both fought. They fulfilled the duty they owed that great landscape. They fought to protect great chunks of land

And they’re joined by Tim DeChristopher, sentenced today to 24 months in prison for a creative act of resistance straight out of the Monkey Wrench Gang. He didn’t damage anything except the pride of the Bureau of Land Management, when he posed as a bidder and won 14 parcels of land at an oil-and-gas lease auction. They were gorgeous pieces of land that he protected — but far more, he was acting on behalf of every landscape left on the planet.”

Tim DeChristopher Is Going to Jail, Now It’s Our Turn via Bill Mckibben – Huffington Post

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,